Hong Kong: CE signs district councils bill

Chief Executive John Lee yesterday signed the District Councils (Amendment) Ordinance 2023 passed by the Legislative Council in accordance with Article 48(3) of the Basic Law.



The ordinance will be published in the gazette on July 10 and commence with immediate effect on the same day for the purpose of constituting the seventh-term District Councils (DCs).



Mr Lee emphasised that the ordinance is an important milestone of the work of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in improving district governance and bears symbolic significance to Hong Kong's advancement from stability to prosperity.



The Chief Executive said: It is one of the most important legislation of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region this year. I thank the LegCo for passing the relevant bill and the support of different sectors of society and members of the public to the legislative work. I affirm the work and efforts of the Government team and all colleagues involved."



The Government will take forward various tasks to improve district governance in full force.



Such tasks include convening the Steering Committee on District Governance and the District Matters Co-ordination Task Force chaired by the Chief Secretary and the Deputy Chief Secretary respectively, promulgating guidelines for the DCs operation and the performance monitoring mechanism for DC members, and preparing for the election in accordance with the law, so that the new DCs can assume office smoothly on January 1 next year.



The Government believes that the new term of DCs will work together with it to resolve the livelihood issues in the districts.

This story has been published on: 2023-07-08. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Erdogan, Zelensky hold talks in Istanbul

Xinhua) 10:38, July 08, 2023

ISTANBUL, July 7 (Xinhua) -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday met with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky in the Turkish city of Istanbul, the Turkish presidency said.

This is Zelensky's first visit to Turkiye since the conflict broke out between his country and Russia in February 2022, but he has often spoken on the phone with Erdogan, whose country has been pushing for peace talks between Russia and Ukraine.

The two presidents met at night at the Vahdettin Palace on the Asian side of the city. The leaders are due to hold a press conference later.

"Finishing a busy day in Turkiye," Zelensky tweeted, followed by another tweet of an image of the two leaders shaking hands. "Coordination of positions on the peace formula, the NATO summit, security guarantees, and the grain initiative" were discussed, he said.

The talks between the two leaders were expected to focus on the ongoing conflict and a deal that allows Ukraine to export grain and other agricultural products from its Black Sea ports. The deal brokered by Turkiye and the United Nations will expire on July 17 unless Russia agrees to its renewal.

Reconstruction of Ukraine and defense contracts between Turkish and Ukrainian companies also figured high in his talks with Erdogan, Zelensky said.

The visit also comes ahead of a NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, next week, where Western leaders within the military alliance will meet on a range of topics, including Ukraine's membership bids.

(Web editor: Cai Hairuo, Hongyu)
(Photo : Adam Berry/Getty Images)

Netherlands Prime Minsiter Mark Rutte announced the collapse of the Dutch government over immigration policy as lawmakers were not able to reach an agreement.

On Friday, Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte said that the Dutch government collapsed after lawmakers disagreed on immigration policy.

The collapse of the government will trigger new elections in the fall, and the crisis resulted from a push by Rutte's conservative VVD party to limit the flow of asylum seekers to the Netherlands. Two of the prime minister's four-party governments refused to support this proposal.

Dutch Government Collapses Over Immigration Policy

In a televised news conference statement, Rutte said it was no secret that the coalition partners have differing opinions regarding immigration policy. He noted that they, unfortunately, had to conclude that these differences had become insurmountable. Rutte then said he would tender the resignation of the entire cabinet to the king.

This week, tensions rose further after the prime minister demanded support for a proposal to limit the entrance of children of war refugees already in the Netherlands. He also wanted to make families wait at least two years before they could unite, as per CNN.

The latest proposal also went too far for the small Christian Union and liberal D66, resulting in a stalemate. Additionally, Rutte's coalition must remain a caretaker government until a new administration is formed following new elections. This is a process that, in the fractured Dutch political landscape, usually takes several months.

A caretaker government is not authorized to decide on new policies, but Prime Minister Rutte said it would not affect the nation's support for Ukraine. Furthermore, the Netherlands already has one of Europe's toughest immigration policies.

But pressure from right-wing parties forced Rutte for months to find ways to reduce the number of incoming asylum seekers further. Last year, the country's asylum applications rose by a third to more than 46,000, and the government estimated this could rise to more than 70,000 this year.

Read Also: Germany Plans To Cut Budget Amid Debt Issue But Raises Military Spending

Limiting the Influx of Migrants

Despite the party being set up a year and a half ago, the parties that make the coalition up have opposed migration policy for quite some time. This week, Rutte tried to force a plan that would have limited the number of relatives of war refugees that can come into the Netherlands to only 200 per month, according to BBC.

Furthermore, a compromise proposal, known as the "emergency brake," was insufficient to keep the government from collapsing. The proposal would only trigger restrictions for an excessively high number of incoming migrants.

Adding to the challenges is the Farmer-Citizen Movement (BBB), which became the largest party in the upper house of Parliament following a surprising election victory in March. The group said that they would not serve under any future government that the 56-year-old prime minister leads.

One of those who opposed stricter policies, the Christian Union, argued that one of the important values of the proposals is that children should grow up with their parents. It added that as a family party, it was the kind of thing they stood for, said the New York Times.

Related Article: Sweden's NATO Membership Back on Track Amid Last-Ditch Negotiations

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U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Schuylerville, wants to expand public/private collaboration in workforce training.

Only 125,000 unemployed adults and laid-off workers per year are now completing federal employment training programs, and only one-third of those are employed in a related field six months after completion, Stefanik said in a news release about two bills she recently introduced.

Accessibility to workforce development can equip more workers for in-demand jobs and provide job creators with the skilled workforce they need, Stefanik said.

The first of the bills, introduced June 14, would allow employees to develop workforce training programs tailored to employer needs and pay for the training through employer-directed skills accounts, which the federal government and employer would contribute.

Training could be provided by the employer or a third-party education contractor.

The second bill would allow employers who use pre-employment screenings to submit their methodology to the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Council to determine if it complies with federal law.

Those that do comply would be certified as job ready.

The EEOC would not be allowed to use information submitted to launch an investigation of the employer.

Neither bill had any co-sponsors as of July 1.

In other political news of the region:

LGBTQI protections

U.S. Rep. Paul Tonko, D-Amsterdam, recently co-sponsored several bills to address discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation.

Tonko was an original co-sponsor of legislation which Rep. Bradley Scott Schneider, D-Ill., introduced Friday to expand protection under the Fair Housing Act to include individuals experiencing discrimination based on sex or sexual orientation.

The legislation, HR 4439, had 14 original cosponsors  13 Democrats and one Republican  from 11 states.

Tonko was an original cosponsor of legislation U.S. Rep. Sara Jacobs, D-Calif., introduced Friday to impose sanctions on foreign persons responsible for violations of international human rights protections of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex individuals.

Details of the proposed sanctions were not yet available, as of Sunday.

The legislation, HR 4422, had 51 original co-sponsors  50 Democrats and one Republican.

On Friday, Tonko co-sponsored legislation which Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, D-N.J., reintroduced June 27 to prohibit discrimination at business such a retail stores, hotels, and restaurants based on sex, gender identity and sexual orientation.

The proposed legislation also would add sex, gender identity and sexual orientation to prohibitions under the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

The legislation  HR 4393  had 21 cosponsors, as of Sunday  all Democrats.

Watson Coleman first introduced the legislation in 2015, according to a news release.

Education endowment tax

U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Schuylerville, has made an exception to her usual opposition to new taxes  with a goal of protecting national security rather than raising revenue.

Stefanik is an original co-sponsor of legislation Rep. Gregory Murphy, R-North Carolina, introduced to establish a federal excise tax on contributions from Chinese donors to large collegiate endowment funds.

The tax, applicable to private college and university endowment funds of $1 billion or more, would amount to 50% of the initial contribution and 100% of any future gains from the contribution.

The measure aims at pressuring large university endowments to purge their investment portfolios of Chinese entities deemed a threat to U.S. national security, Murphy said in a news release.

The legislation  HR 4380  had seven cosponsors, all Republicans, as of July 2.

Suicide prevention

State Assemblywoman Carrie Woerner, D-Round Lake, announced that she held a two-hour listening session June 22 to discuss ways to prevent suicide.

Representatives of health care agencies, education, non-profit organizations, veterans groups and government officials participated in the forum.

In order to gain a better understanding of any situation, I think its best to listen to a variety of perspectives. Suicide prevention is very complicated and multi-faceted. One big take away from this meeting  we need to meet again, Woerner said, in a news release. We just hit the tops of the waves this time. At our next meeting, well take the conversation to the next level.

Economic development

U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Schuylerville, on June 15, introduced bipartisan legislation to continue the Northern Border Commission for another 10 years, and to amend its guidelines to be more flexible in supporting health care and housing projects.

The commission is a federal/state partnership that assists with economic and community development in regions along the U.S./Canadian border in New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.

The proposed legislation would authorize $40 million in funding to the commission annually for the first five years and $45 million annually for the remaining five years.
NORTHFIELD  Michael Gus Gustray, an Atlantic County biologist, watched as helicopter blades picked up speed, blowing back the dry grass before the chopper lifted off on a search-and-destroy mission, banking over a line of trees and heading toward the wide expanse of salt marsh.

The target: Tiny insects that can weigh as much as 2 grains of table salt.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calls the mosquito the worlds deadliest animal because the diseases they spread kill hundreds of thousands worldwide every year.

In addition to that, they are very annoying.

Because of the heat-trapping effects of fossil fuel emissions, they are also here longer. By analyzing temperature and humidity trends from a station at Atlantic City International Airport, science and news group Climate Central found the mosquito season here is 23 days longer on average than it was in 1979.

From what we are seeing, thats fairly accurate, said Doug Abdill, the superintendent of Atlantic Countys anti-mosquito efforts. Its not like one kind of mosquito is living longer, but there are more days in the year that are suitable for a mosquito to be alive.

In practical terms, there are now more than five months of every year on average when weather conditions in South Jersey are conducive to mosquito bites. And if West Nile virus or any of the other diseases they spread are circulating, each bite can bring a severe health risk in addition to an itchy bump.

Which one is which?

Rabies baiting to begin this month in Cape May County The Cape May County Departments of Health and Mosquito Control are asking the public to not 

Patrick McGrath, an identification specialist with the Atlantic County Office of Mosquito Control, said staff members start checking water temperatures in March. When the water gets to be about 55 degrees, mosquitoes become active enough to start to breed.

The most intense activity comes in June, July and August, but the mosquitoes have been around longer and longer in recent years, as shown in mosquito traps placed around the county.

We were ending up around the middle of October, when it started to get cooler. Now, were doing these collections longer. Were doing them into November now, McGrath said.

He and Gustray, a biologist with the department, were in the countys mosquito lab in the basement of a small, nondescript building at the countys public works yard off Dolphin Avenue. Theres a flat-bottom outboard boat on a trailer outside with the Atlantic County seal and the words mosquito control, but no other indication that this is mosquito central for the county.

McGrath had a tiny mosquito under a microscope, one of those caught in a light trap. The device looks like a well-made birdhouse, with wooden sides and a metal roof. The light attracts mosquitoes, which are then caught and contained.

Gustray shows off some of the other tools, including one that uses stinky standing water in a black plastic tray. When a mosquito comes in to lay its eggs, a surprisingly gentle fan blows it into a container set above the water. Yet another trap uses dry ice to create carbon dioxide. For a mosquito, carbon dioxide is an indication that something is exhaling, and where there is breathing, there is blood.

Earlier that day, Gustray watched as the helicopter took off from the open field at Stillwater Park at Shore Road. The county office does not own a helicopter but at times rents one to reach remote areas such as in the salt marsh, sometimes in cooperation with the state mosquito program.

In Atlantic County, the office of mosquito control falls under the county Department of Public Works. Its job is to cut back on the mosquito population, but also to understand what mosquitoes are out there and what dangers they present.

The team works with the states mosquito control program under the Department of Environmental Protection to watch for diseases and study mosquito populations.

There are 63 different mosquito species in New Jersey, and more than 40 of those have a home in Atlantic County.

When Gustray gives talks in schools or at community groups, he said, many express surprise that there are multiple species of mosquitoes. Many just assume a mosquito is a mosquito, he said. But there are complicated differences, including in what time of day they feed, where they reproduce and their preferred habitat.

Some prefer salt marshes, others standing fresh water. Some like stormwater basins, while some, including the aggressive Asian tiger mosquito, which can carry West Nile virus and eastern equine encephalitis, can lay eggs in the water that collects at the bottom of a potted plant tray or other small container.

In addition to other means of control, mosquito experts say pouring out any standing water around homes can make a noticeable difference in the mosquitoes in the air.

If we could get people to understand the habitats, and just how little water they need to breed in, I dont think we would have the amount of problems, McGrath said.

After Gustray and McGrath identify the mosquitoes, they freeze some of them  mostly species most likely to carry diseases  to be sent to state labs for testing.

Its about more than heat

How CRDA failed on affordable housing in Atlantic City This article was produced for ProPublicas Local Reporting Network in partnership with The P

While heat waves strike more frequently and severely now than they used to, and with humid heat becoming more common, such conditions alone dont necessarily mean that summer skeeters will be unbearable this year.

As much as warmth, mosquitoes need water, McGrath said. Not only do they need it to lay their eggs, most species of mosquitoes tend to be more active on humid days than on hot, dry ones.

At Cape May Countys Mosquito Control Commission, Matt Diem, the assistant superintendent, said a drought can be extremely damaging to crops and wildlife  and to mosquito populations.

They really dont like it when its very low humidity, he said.

Over the past two years, below-average rainfall kept down mosquito populations. There has been some rain recently, but Diem said it looks like this could be another dry, hot summer.

I guess the perfect storm would be warmer temperatures and a wet summer, Diem said.

Interviewed earlier, McGrath made the same point. Mosquitoes need water.

If things start to warm up earlier and we have a crazy downpour, thats a horrible recipe, he said. Thats what happened this year.

How CRDA failed on affordable housing in Atlantic City This article was produced for ProPublicas Local Reporting Network in partnership with The P

While much of the year has been unusually dry, a single storm this spring dropped between 5 and 7 inches of rain as the weather warmed, fueling a mosquito outbreak.

Atlantic Countys mosquito control efforts began more than a century ago, at the beginnings of organized efforts to control mosquitoes, running through the famous pesticide trucks fogging streets with a mixture of diesel fuel and DDT, to todays efforts with integrated pest management, in which Abdill said the team seeks to control the insects with as little impact on non-target species as possible.

Now, every county has its own mosquito control effort, coordinating through the state. Within that world, its accepted that warming temperatures are influencing what kinds of mosquitoes can thrive here and how long they will stick around.

The evidence is there. You cant refute that, Gustray said.

This is the first story in a two-part collaboration with Climate Central examining connections between climate change and mosquito hazards. Priyanka Runwal (Climate Central) contributed reporting.
ATLANTIC CITY  A surveillance operation led to the arrest of five people and the recovery of drugs and two handguns, police said Friday.

Police were in the 2500 and 2600 blocks of Pacific Avenue about noon Thursday in reference to complaints of drug activity.

In two separate incidents, police arrested city residents Kareem Wiley, 21; Alyssa Bishop, 28; Nasi Donaldson, 24; Daniel Smith, 24; and John Bonds, 55. Bishop was released on a summons pending court, and the other four were taken to the Atlantic County jail.

At 12:45 p.m., Detectives Eric Evans, Alberto Valles and Christopher Dodson saw Wiley and Bishop engage in a drug transaction, police said in a news release. Wiley was found in possession of 28 grams of cocaine and 135 bags of heroin. Bishop was found in possession of several oxycodone pills and had several warrants out for her arrest.

Wiley was charged with two counts of possession of a controlled dangerous substance, two counts of possession with intent to distribute, two counts of possession with intent to distribute within 1,000 feet of a school zone, loitering to distribute drugs and hindering apprehension. Bishop was charged with possession of CDS and hindering apprehension.

At 1:23 p.m., Detectives Nicholas Berardis and Christopher Smith watched another drug transaction take place, police said. Bonds purchased cocaine from Smith as Donaldson acted as a lookout. All three were arrested and found in possession of cocaine.

The vehicle Donaldson was operating was searched by Officer Adrian Nunez-Santos and his K-9 partner, Narco, who is trained to detect drugs. Detectives recovered two handguns, including one reported stolen from Georgia, and more than 24 grams of cocaine.

Donaldson and Smith were charged with possession of CDS, possession with intent to distribute, conspiracy, unlawful possession of a weapon, possession of a weapon while committing a drug offense, certain person not to possess a weapon, receiving stolen property and possession of a high-capacity magazine. Bonds was charged with possession of CDS.
As the rate of car thefts in New Jersey trends downward, Gov. Phil Murphy on Friday signed a legislation package to strengthen the state's response to the trend.

The bill signings come after the state has, for several months, implemented other pieces of legislation and funding to crack down on vehicle thefts, which many say have climbed steeply since the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020.

The bill package Murphy signed Friday alters detention periods for offenders arrested for stealing automobiles and criminalizes possessing specialized tools intended to commit the crimes. Those devices include master keyfobs or computer programs that can either unlock or start a vehicle, Murphy said.

The bill also calls for prosecutors to seek harsher sentences for repeat offenders.

"If someone has been convicted twice or more of stealing a vehicle or receiving a stolen vehicle, they could face longer jail sentences," Murphy said.

The package also includes a change to previous laws established under bail reform. Under the bills, pretrial release will be eliminated for anyone charged with or convicted of separate car theft crimes within 90 days of their arrest.

Lawmakers and police must work together to curb auto theft, by Thomas Dellane New Jersey is experiencing the worst wave of car thefts since the 1980s, when vehicles were 

The signing comes at a time when data from January through May, the latest figures, show car theft rates have dropped 10% compared to the same period last year. An identical decrease was seen in the last four months of 2022 year over year, Murphy said.

The new laws build on moves the Murphy administration has made since last year to thwart vehicle thefts.

Last year, State Police and the Division of Criminal Justice expanded their Auto Theft Task Force, bringing on additional detectives and prosecutors and joining law enforcement statewide to share information that could aid investigations.

In May, Murphy signed separate bills to address illegal sales of catalytic converters, car parts that have had their value increase because of the metals from which they're made.

One month prior, the governor commissioned $10 million for police departments from American Rescue Plan funds to purchase and expand the uses of high-speed, automated camera systems and license-plate reading technology. The equipment will be placed at fixed locations and on mobile police units.
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ATLANTIC CITY  A cooperative effort between the city and county law enforcement and casino executives over the past year has led to far fewer homeless in tourist areas, Atlantic County Prosecutor William Reynolds said Friday.

Hundreds of people who have committed crimes have been taken off the streets into drug or alcohol treatment or incarceration, Reynolds told participants in the biweekly Clean and Safe Atlantic City meeting at City Hall.

The effort has doubled the population at the county jail and filled the Harborfields Juvenile Detention Center in Egg Harbor City, Reynolds said, because we are enforcing the law.

Reynolds said Atlantic County is number one statewide in not remanding cases.

Our average is below 20%, the average is 48% for the state, Reynolds said. We have had success in keeping those cases ... as opposed to remanding to a local ordinance and fine.

Atlantic County Superior Court judges are first in the state for detention hearings, he said.

Atlantic County had 10% of the total detentions in the state for the first quarter of 2023, Reynolds said.

With a population of about 275,000 out of 9.3 million in New Jersey, the county has less than 3% of the states population.

Consolidated Atlantic City streetlight map coming to report outages ATLANTIC CITY  Atlantic City Electric will reconfigure the map of its streetlights on its w

Police officers feel empowered to do their job, Reynolds said. They feel valued we keep cases, we are successful in detaining them. ... If they charge someone, the case is taken and prosecuted.

Many of the cooperative programs have grown out of the biweekly Clean and Safe Atlantic City meetings, run by City Council Vice President Kaleem Shabazz, Reynolds said.

At the same time, law enforcement is focused on helping people kick drug and alcohol addiction, Reynolds said.

In the first two months of the expansion of Sheriff Eric Schefflers Hope Exists outreach program in May and June, the program put 217 people into drug or alcohol treatment, Reynolds said.

I concur 100%, police Chief James Sarkos said of Reynolds report. Its inspiring to see the detention rate increased and cases not remanded. That has helped tremendously.

Hard Rock ready for governors

Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City General Manager Mike Sampson said his casino hotel is ready for next weeks National Governors Association meeting in the resort.

We are locked and loaded there, and ready to go, Sampson said. We will have a lot of governors and chiefs of staff.

How is Atlantic City using $8.6M in new public safety room surcharge? ATLANTIC CITY  The city has collected more than $8.6 million in the first year of a new roo

Increased patrols on the Boardwalk by city police, Casino Reinvestment Development Authority Boardwalk Ambassadors and casino security personnel have greatly improved the experience of walking on the famous boards, he said.

CRDA Executive Director Sean Pattwell said he expects the authority to expand the number of ambassadors and provide supplemental funding for Hope Exists to allow it to operate on weekends.

I dont see why that wont pass in week or so, Pattwell said.
ATLANTIC CITY  The nonprofit Communities Revolutionizing Open Public Spaces, or C.R.O.P.S., was happy to be included in a proposal from Village Super Market for a new grocery store in Atlantic City.

But maybe the company could have talked with them first.

They didnt contact us prior to putting out that document, said Alicia Newcomb, the C.R.O.P.S. executive director, when contacted last week. She said the group welcomes the chance to talk and potentially work with the supermarket chain, regardless of whether the company receives the grocery contract.

Village Super Market was one of four companies to submit a proposal to the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority to bring a full-service grocery store to Atlantic City, with the hope of ending the citys status as a food desert.

Also submitting proposals were JAS Group Enterprise, Save Philly Stores and Bailing International Firm, according to CRDA, which listed the respondents to its request for proposals during a meeting June 8. Proposals include mixed use development, including a plan that would include a residential component.

The CRDA had previously committed to spending $18.7 million to build a supermarket at Baltic and Indiana avenues, where there is now a parking lot. The plan was to lease that building to Village Super Market for $1 a year to operate a ShopRite, which would have been one of several the chain operates in the region.

But that deal fell through, after a high-profile groundbreaking and close to a year of talks. Even in announcing that talks had ended this year, the CRDA said Village Super Market could submit a new proposal.

The executive summary of the proposal promised 125 jobs in the construction phase of the project and between 75 and 150 permanent full-time jobs when completed, envisioning a $40 million impact to the local economy.

Four submit proposals for Atlantic City supermarket Village Super Market is again asking the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority to select

Some details of the summary of the proposal were redacted in the version released by the CRDA, potentially including some of the financial elements of the plan. The summary indicates financing for the proposal would require cooperation from government agencies, including the CRDA, the city, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority and the Atlantic County Improvement Authority.

The proposal cites a CRDA award of $350,000 to C.R.O.P.S. for an urban farming plan.

Village welcomes the opportunity to explore partnership opportunities with C.R.O.P.S. to assist in building out their vision for urban farms in Atlantic City, and in raising the additional $350,000 in funding required by the CRDA to fully fund the program, the proposal reads.

C.R.O.P.S. is eager for the conversation, Newcomb said.

Newcomb reached out to the company after a summary of its proposal for an Atlantic City supermarket became public. She said she heard back June 27, and there are plans for a call with company representatives in July, after the next meeting of the CRDA Board of Directors planned for July 18.

But changing a community from a food desert goes beyond simply adding a grocery store, Newcomb said.

Attempts to arrange an interview with a representative of Village Super Market were unsuccessful.

A company spokesperson responded to the request with a prepared statement: Village Super Market has submitted a proposal to the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority. We are excited to be part of the process with the hope of building a full-service grocery store bringing fresh food and an exceptional shopping experience to the residents of Atlantic City.

ShopRite owner vies for Atlantic City supermarket ... again Village Super Market is again asking the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority to select

The Bailing International Group proposes a 55,000-square-foot facility, with 45,000 square feet of that dedicated to a grocery store, to include prepared dishes and Jersey Fresh items. The supermarket would also include American, Asian and Latino food sales areas that would reflect the diverse population of Atlantic City.

The proposal also includes 10,000 square feet of restaurants and other food vendors. It envisions outdoor space in the parking lot reserved for festivals and special events. That proposal estimates $21.6 million in business in the first year.

JAS Group Enterprise of Princeton cited its experience in Atlantic City in its proposal, which calls for a 35,000-square-foot grocery and 116 workforce apartments, along with 18,000 square feet of retail.

We believe the grocery store will fill a vacuum from city residents, employees, students and visitors, as the urban center has lacked a full-service supermarket for more than 15 years, the proposal reads.

Save Philly Stores, of Broomall, Pennsylvania, owns and operates the Save-A-Lot in Atlantic Citys Renaissance Plaza and another dozen stores around greater Philadelphia. The company is owned by Shawn and Susan Rinnier. The summary of that proposal, too, included a redacted section, with a single paragraph blacked out in the publicly posted version.

In a 2021 interview, Shawn Rinnier discussed plans to modernize the Save-A-Lot store and said it would be difficult to compete with a supermarket around the corner that benefited from public money.

Id love to pay $1 a year, he said at the time.

The company said it is well positioned to design, develop and build a new store on Baltic Avenue. The proposal indicates there are 230 Save-A-Lot stores operating in neighborhoods that would otherwise be classified as food deserts  those viewed as lacking immediate access to affordable, nutritious food  and cited experience in urban communities, including Atlantic City.

The proposed project would consist of a 24,500 square foot Save A Lot together with approximately 200 parking spaces operating 24 hours a day. The site plan is designed to allow for the development of two retail outparcels of approximately 4,500 and 3,000 square feet to complement the grocery store, but this proposal includes only the development and operation of the grocery store, the summary of the proposal states.

The proposal also cites the companys community engagement, including donations to community groups, schools and other organizations.

Officials with the CRDA had no immediate answer to when a vote on the proposals may come before the Board of Directors. There was no discussion of the proposals, or mention of the supermarket project, during the boards most recent meeting June 20.

Karen Martin, the authoritys acting communications director, previously said the process typically takes about 12 weeks from the proposal to an in-house review process before being brought to the board for a vote.
(Photo : MANDEL NGAN / AFP) (MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)

A disciplinary panel is seeking former Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani's disbarment over his alleged spread of false election fraud claims.

A Washington legal ethics committee that oversaw a disciplinary case last year against former Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani is recommending that the latter be disbarred for allegedly spreading false election fraud claims.

The recommendation on Friday was made over Giuliani's "unparalleled" attempts to overturn the 2020 election to support former United States President Donald Trump. The panel wrote in its recommendation that Giuliani's efforts to "undermine the integrity" of the election played a factor in the destabilization of the nation's democracy.

Calls for Rudy Giuliani's Disbarment

The panel from the D.C. Bar's Board on professional responsibility said that Giuliani's actions caused "lasting damage" to the oath to support the U.S. Constitution that he had sworn at the time that he was admitted to the bar.

While the panel acknowledged Giuliani's record of public service over the years, it also noted that all of those services happened a long time ago. It added that the misconduct in recent times transcends all of his past accomplishments, as per the New York Times.

It added that Giuliani sought to disrupt a presidential election and persists in his refusal to acknowledge the wrong that he had done. The hearing in front of the ethics committee in December last year was focused on the role that Giuliani played in bringing a lawsuit in the Federal District Court in Philadelphia that sought to block the certification of the election results in Pennsylvania.

The federal judge at that hearing dismissed the lawsuit, comparing it to a "Frankenstein's monster" that was pieced together haphazardly. Later, a federal appeals court upheld the dismissal that was ordered by a Trump-appointed judge. The latter noted that calling an election unfair does not make it a fact.

The Washington legal ethics committee also determined that the former Trump attorney filed the suit despite not having any factual bases and no legitimate legal grounds. The panel argued that Giuliani claimed massive election fraud but was not able to show evidence to support his accusations.

The committee's members deliberated for several months after hearings that lasted a week where they heard testimonies from Giuliani and several of his close associates. Additionally, Trump waived attorney-client privilege to permit his former attorney to discuss the matters, according to Politico.

Read Also: Marjorie Taylor Greene Kicked Out From House Freedom Caucus, Board Member Says

Spreading False Election Fraud Claims

Giuliani now plans to challenge the panel's findings and recommended sanction in front of a larger bar-discipline board. The D.C. Court of Appeals would ultimately be in charge of handing out the final decision on the disbarment.

One of Giuliani's attorneys, Barry Kamins, said in the bar proceedings that they were disappointed by the committee's decision. However, he added that they were looking forward to filing a vigorous appeal.

Hamilton P. Fox III, who was the one who argued against Giuliani regarding the Pennsylvania election results, said that the former Trump attorney "weaponized" his law license. He added that the latter undermined the legitimacy of a presidential election as well as the basic premise of the democratic system.

While the Washington legal ethics committee could not clearly and convincingly determine that Giuliani intentionally lied, his claims of election fraud were considered to be false and reckless, said the Washington Post.

Related Article: Walt Nauta Pleads Not Guilty in Classified Documents Case

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DES MOINES  Iowa Republican lawmakers have published the abortion bill they intend to consider at a special session on Tuesday.

The bill would ban abortion once cardiac activity is detected in a fetus, another attempt to enact a law that was blocked by courts in 2018 and remained blocked after an Iowa Supreme Court decision last month.

Lawmakers will gather for a special session Tuesday to consider the bill, which is similar in most ways to the so-called fetal heartbeat bill passed in 2018.

The bill was published Friday afternoon as companion bills, Senate Study Bill 1223 and House Study Bill 255.

The bill prohibits abortions once a fetal heartbeat can be detected, and defines a fetal heartbeat as cardiac activity, the steady and repetitive rhythmic contraction of the fetal heart within the gestational sac.

Opponents of the legislation say that happens around the sixth week of pregnancy, usually before a person knows about the pregnancy.

The bill includes exceptions for pregnancies that are the result of rape in cases that are reported within 45 days of the incident and incest in cases that are reported within 140 days.

It also includes exceptions for miscarriages, a fetal abnormality that would result in the infants death and for when the mothers life is threatened.

Will the bill pass?

With large majorities in both chambers, Republicans are likely to have the votes to pass the bill.

Rep. Megan Jones, a Republican from Sioux Rapids, said lawmakers will give the bill thoughtful discussion, but she expects it to pass.

A lot of us have already voted for that, we've already debated most of that, she said. ...We probably know where everybody's at by this point, and I see it on the governors desk by the end of the day (Tuesday).

Some of Iowas most stringent anti-abortion legislators said they would eventually prefer a life at conception ban that would ban nearly all abortions, but said that a six-week ban was a good start, and a way to test the standard at the Supreme Court level.

We have to realize where Iowans are, and I can only go as far as my fellow legislators and Iowans want us to go, said Rep. Jon Dunwell, a Republican from Jasper who co-sponsored a bill this year to ban abortions from conception. And so I think this is a great start for us to say, How many babies can we save as soon as possible?

Luana Stoltenberg, an anti-abortion activist and Republican representative from Davenport, said the move to a total ban should be done incrementally.

Im not sure were there yet, so we have to do it incrementally, she said. So if we can do heartbeat, that would be wonderful, because its more babies saved.

What, if anything, Democrats can do

While they dont have the votes to stop the bill, Democrats are planning to put up a fight on the debate floor, hoping to illustrate the harm they say an abortion ban would bring to Iowa women and reproductive health care.

Sen. Cindy Winckler, a Democrat from Davenport, said Democrats will try to represent the broad spectrum of Iowans who will be affected by a ban on abortion. She said limitations will impact more than just abortion access, affecting reproductive health care and exacerbating Iowas OB-GYN shortage.

We want to assure that families, women have access to healthy babies as well, if that is their choice, she said. And for many people that is exactly what it is. They want healthy children, and they want access to health care.

What happens after they pass another abortion ban?

Iowa Planned Parenthood representatives this week said they plan to challenge in court any abortion restriction that comes out of next weeks special legislative session  teeing up whats sure to be another protracted legal battle that could take a year or more to resolve, according to Iowa legal experts.

Sally Frank, an abortion law expert and law professor at Drake University, expects the abortion ban will again be blocked by a district court for creating an undue burden on someones access to abortion, inevitably landing back before the Iowa Supreme Court, this time to establish the newly defined level of legal scrutiny that should be applied to abortion regulations in Iowa.

Both the Iowa Supreme Court and U.S. Supreme Court last summer reversed the fundamental right to an abortion, with the U.S. Supreme Court throwing the issue back to states to decide.

Abortion opponents argue that the current undue burden test should no longer apply, and that a new rational basis test should now apply. That would effectively lower the legal bar for abortion restrictions, making it easier for them to survive court challenges.

Frank anticipated that process could take a year for a ruling from the Iowa Supreme Court. Other legal experts estimated it could take longer, potentially until summer 2025 for the court to rule.

Statehouse Republicans also have started the process of amending the Iowa Constitution to state that it does not guarantee the right to abortion services. Lawmakers have approved the proposed amendment once; they would need to pass it again by 2024 and then put it to a public vote.

Photos: Gov. Kim Reynolds delivers the condition of the state address
The six-story building that partially collapsed in May killed three men, seriously injured a woman and inspired many in the community to get involved.

Some local activists say a movement was born from the rubble of The Davenport and fueled by organizing through social media. A pair of groups will hold marches, demanding the city be more accountable and transparent about the cause of the collapse, events leading up to it and the citys response.

The first march is from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday outside Davenports City Hall. It is organized by a group called The Davenport Movement.

The second will be held at 4 p.m. Saturday, July 15 in LeClaire Park in downtown Davenport. It is organized by a group called QC Movement.

Faith Thomas is the main organizer behind the march at City Hall. She is 32, lives in Moline, and said she has never done any kind of organizing before, but the collapse and the fate of Branden Colvin Sr., Dan Prien and Ryan Hitchcock inspired her to get involved.

I was told about the collapse the night it happened, around 11 p.m. Since hearing about it, I visited the spot almost every day for hours a day, she said. I got to know Brandens family and a whole lot of other people.

Now, I am getting involved with the marches and protests by reminding people and informing people of what happened and how this all could have been prevented.

Thomas grew up in Davenport and said she thinks substandard rental housing is a problem all over the Quad-Cities.

I am hoping to show how strong of a community we are. I would like to show that even with all that has happened, we can come together and fight for justice while being peaceful, she said. My biggest goal is to bring awareness and keep the awareness alive until justice is served. I am aware there are lawyers involved, but I also know there are a lot of people still not aware or fully aware of the collapse.

Katie Stuart is one of the leaders of the QC Movement and the July 15 march. She said she had been a community activist for years. She was also knew Colvin Sr.

I have done marches for Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown and George Floyd. I also did prayer vigils for Breasia Terrell, she said. When May 28 came and the horrible, preventable catastrophe took down a portion of the building, it hit home because this was actually my community. It made it more of a personal event, so there was no way I couldnt be involved from Day One.

Stuart has been joined by Jessica Noles in the efforts to organize. She took part in the protests after the collapse and has spearheaded vigils held every Wednesday during Davenport City Council meetings.

She echoed Thomas and Stuart, calling for accountability, justice and transparency.

We dont feel like anyone is being held accountable, Noles said while she prepared for Wednesdays vigil. We are not talking about money. We are talking about those responsible for the deaths of three men. When people are killed, those responsible are arrested. No one has been arrested.

Stuart agreed.

We have yet to see accountability or transparency and havent had our questions answered, but we wont give up until we see those things happen, she said.

The citys decision to cut the video feed of public comment during council meetings shows a complete lack of transparency, Stuart said.

The city definitely is trying to silence us ... those are things said by residents in a public meeting, she said. Weve been here from Day One. We are still here, and we will continue to be here. We wont be silent.
Attorneys for Davenport and its former chief building official want their clients dismissed from one of the building-collapse lawsuits because of Iowas qualified immunity protections.

The May 28 partial collapse of the building at 324 N. Main St. occurred in the center of the west side of the six-story structure and involved every floor. Three people died, another lost a leg and many people lost their homes and property.

Numerous lawsuits have resulted from the collapse, including one filed on behalf of Jennifer Smith, Dionte McMath and several other people impacted by the collapse. Among the defendants named in the Smith/McMath suit are the City of Davenport and Trishna Pradhan, the former chief building official.

Jason ORourke, an attorney representing the city and Pradhan, has filed a motion to dismiss on the basis that Pradhan was a city employee covered by qualified immunity at the time of the collapse and the lawsuit does not meet state requirements for suing someone with that status.

Qualified immunity prevents a municipal employee or officer from being liable for monetary damages under specific criteria, according to the statute. Those criteria include that the law was not clear enough at the time of the alleged violation that every reasonable employee would have understood that the conduct alleged constituted a violation of the law.

In the event an employee is deemed protected under the qualified immunity statute, the municipality cannot be sued for the employee's conduct.

To sue Pradhan, the plaintiffs would have to show how she violated the law and that the law Pradhan is accused of violating was clearly established when the violation occurred, according to the motion.

It argues the plaintiffs petition did not meet the laws criteria and that, under Iowa law, failure to meet those benchmarks means a suit against the immune person is dismissed with prejudice.

Prejudice means a plaintiff cannot later file an identical lawsuit against a defendant.

The motion states that the lawsuit claims the city is liable, because it was responsible for Pradhan.

Since the plaintiffs failed to meet the qualified immunity requirements for suing Pradhan, the allegations against the city must also be thrown out, Davenports attorneys argue in the motion.

John Flynn, one of the attorneys representing the plaintiffs in the suit, said on Thursday that his firm was expecting the motion to dismiss.

Thats a typical defense ploy, but its not a bad one because it gets the legal arguments out front and the court has to deal with them up front, so you dont go halfway through the case and then find out somethings wrong, Flynn said.

Iowa legislators added the new qualified immunity protections for municipal employees or officers in 2021, according to the defendants' motion. The updated law includes the higher standards for bringing a claim against the state, a municipality or their employees.

The arguments made in the motion to dismiss were always there, Flynn said. Immunity of the individual city employee and the immunity of the city of Davenport would have been an issue under the old law. The new law made the pleading requirements more strict.

I feel that our petition as it stands would meet that threshold, Flynn said.

The original petition goes into a high level of detail required by the qualified immunity law, Camille Kahn, another of the plaintiffs attorneys, said Thursday.

Flynn said his firm intends to file a resistance to the motion to dismiss as well as an amended petition.

The lawsuit's allegations include that Pradhan was responsible for enforcing all applicable state laws, city codes and regulations regarding the construction and safety of buildings for the protection of the public and residents hereof.

In regards to 324 Main St., the plaintiffs allege she failed to do so and the city is liable for her acts as her employer.

Trishna R. Pradhan and the City of Davenport allowed the hazardous nuisance to continue until the wall fell, the suit states.

It also claims Pradhans failure to exercise due care when performing her duties means the city is not immune to the consequences of her failures.

Violating safety codes creates absolute liability or negligence as a matter of law, according to the suit.

The defendants motion to dismiss argues that the statutes and elements of the city code cited by the plaintiffs did not impose any duties upon Pradhan or the city.

For example, one of the plaintiffs citations provides procedures Davenport can follow when dealing with a dangerous or unsafe building, according to the citys motion.

These procedures, however, are permissive and not mandatory, the citys attorneys argue in the motion.

Kahn and Flynn argued Thursday that the city and state codes listed in the petition did impose an obligation on Pradhan to act, and the city is liable as her employer.

There are multiple areas of the Davenport municipal code that use language making it clear there is a mandated duty and mandated actions that have to be taken in different situations by the city, Kahn said.

If those actions are not taken in response to a dangerous building or to abating a nuisance, the law makes it clear that there are consequences for failing to act, Kahn said.

It uses the specific language of shall, implying that theres a mandatory obligation, Kahn said.

Flynn and Kahn had not yet filed the resistance or updated petition as of Friday afternoon.

Photos: Demolition continues Tuesday on the collapsed The Davenport apartments
Plaintiffs in the lawsuits related to the May 28 collapse of a Davenport building are preparing for a possible class action, rather than suing individually.

The partial collapse of The Davenport, 324 N. Main St., killed three people, left one woman with a leg amputation, and many others lost their property and their homes.

Since the collapse, six lawsuits have been filed on behalf of numerous plaintiffs who want redress from a number of defendants, including the City of Davenport; building owner Andrew Wold, of Bettendorf, and his limited liability corporation, Davenport Hotel.

Two of the suits include wording that could lead to a joining of the suits under a single class action. One was filed on behalf of Jennifer Smith, Dionte McMath and several other people impacted by the collapse.

The point of the class action is mainly for judicial expediency, Camille Kahn, one of the attorneys representing the Smith/McMath suit, said.

All of the efforts to seek compensation essentially become one effort, she and John Flynn, her co-counsel, said.

The courts in Iowa have said that if there are more than 40 claims of a similar nature in a similar group, then thats going to be considered as a potential class action, Flynn said.

Once that is determined, one of the parties has to file a petition, requesting that the court certify the case as a class action, Flynn said.

So in our petition, our last part of the pleadings, we ask for the certification of a class action, Flynn said. We have not taken any steps forward, but I have an order prepared to submit to the judge at the appropriate time, asking him to set a hearing on the issue of whether a class action should be certified.

Other actions related to a class action suit are underway.

Quad-City Times/Dispatch-Argus reporter Grace Kinnicutt is one of the former Woldproperty tenants who is joining in a possible class action lawsuit. She described a meeting Friday in which several attorneys advised tenants and other affected parties to keep close track of their records.

Kinnicutt lived until December in The Davenport and moved, she said, because she did not feel safe in the building. She maintained a paper trail of her complaints. When she moved into the neighboring Executive Square, she said, she was not aware that property also was managed by Wolds company.

As a tenant of the Executive Square, she was among those required to leave when it was deemed unsafe for occupancy.

If there are multiple requests for a class action, the result would be the same, regardless of which request the judge uses to certify the action, Flynn said.

Once a judge decides there will be a class action, attorneys would be appointed to represent the action, Flynn said. Those appointed by the court would then have some control over the direction the case would take, he said.

Their duties would include making recommendations about different classes, because the court is going to categorize the plaintiffs, Flynn said. Those plaintiff classes will depend on the nature of their injuries and potentially the amount of their claims.

Flynn said he thinks the parties would have input in that process.

There might just be one class, he said. There could conceivably be six or eight. Who knows?

In the case of the collapse, Kahn said, a class might include anybody who had a lease agreement at 324 Main St.

Not only does a class action consolidate suits, it opens the door for other people to join who are seeking compensation, she said, including those who have not yet hired their own counsel.

Its kind of like a step beyond consolidating all the lawsuits into one lawsuit, Kahn said.

In a class action, in other words, one does not need an attorney to pursue a claim, Flynn added.

Both he and Kahn referred to mailings people sometimes receive, asking whether they want to join a class for which they are eligible.

You just have to return the postcard and say whether you want in or out, Flynn said.

He thinks that once a judge certifies a class action, those impacted by the collapse are part of that action unless they opt out.

If the judge says youre in, youre in the pool, Flynn said. Unless you say, No, I want to go out on my own.

For their case, Flynn said, no decision is yet firm.

Once the classes are defined, the judge and attorneys would probably get together and work out a schedule for the order in which they wish to see the case proceed, he said.

In relation to the collapse, Flynn said, he does not think there will be a great deal of dispute about who is liable, so the primary issue defined by a possible test case from the class would be the damages.

Distributing damages would likely involve the appointment of an arbitrator, Flynn said.
Three more Iowa nursing homes are in the process of closing, including a Sioux City facility plagued by regulatory violations related to resident injuries and multiple deaths.

Countryside Health Care Center announced Thursday that due to financial pressures, it will be closing within the next 60 days. It is the 26th Iowa nursing home to announce its closing since June 2022.

Earlier this year, state inspectors cited Countryside for violations related to four resident deaths. By the time state inspectors investigated in April, the home had compiled a backlog of 19 complaints awaiting investigation by the state

Countryside is one of Iowas larger nursing homes, with a maximum occupancy of 101 residents. State records indicate the facilitys resident population had been dwindling and in May, there were only 54 residents living at Countryside.

In addition to Countryside, two other care facilities  Valley View Community Home in Butler County and Pocahontas Manor in Pocahontas County  are now in the process of closing.

An ongoing wave of nursing home closures in Iowa prompted the Legislature and governor this year to approve a moratorium on the licensing of any new nursing homes. The moratorium provides industry players with protection from added competition, which could lead to fewer closures. But it also has the potential of leaving residents with fewer options when a closure forces them to relocate.

The moratorium law states that for at least the next 12 months  and possibly the next three years  the state will prohibit the submission of any applications for either new construction of a nursing home or a permanent increase in the bed capacity at an existing nursing home.

The moratorium can be waived by the state if its determined there is a specialized need for the added nursing facility beds that would be created, or if the average occupancy rate at nursing homes in a county exceeds 85%.

The Legislature also passed a $15 million increase in the Medicaid reimbursement rate for Iowa nursing homes which, when combined with federal matching dollars, should generate a total of $47 million in added reimbursements.

Workforce shortage blamed for closures

During a taping of Iowa Press that will air Friday on Iowa PBS, Brent Willett of the Iowa Health Care Association, one of the nursing home industrys primary lobbyists, said Iowa has seen a slowdown in closures this year.

Since 2020, really, the advent of the pandemic, weve lost 29 nursing homes in Iowa, he said. The action of the Iowa Legislature this session  pertaining both in terms of a number of policy priorities that assisted facilities as well as appropriations  has helped to slow that down. But we still have a long road ahead of us.

He said the wave of closures predominantly relates to the availability of qualified workforce in Iowa and noted that there a number of rural nursing homes are really hanging on right now.

Brad Anderson, state director for AARP, said the shortage of caregivers in Iowa nursing homes is absolutely critical. He noted that 40% of the states nursing homes are experiencing a workforce shortage  which is double the national average, he said.

One of the things we know is workforce shortages lead to poor quality of care and closures, Anderson said on Iowa Press, adding that one of the best ways to address the workforce shortage, at least in the short-term, is to increase the pay of direct care workers who are currently making on average about $15 to $16 an hour.

Willett cited federal data showing the average wage for a certified nurse aide in the first quarter of 2023 was $21.13. So weve certainly seen a major increase in that marker, he said.

Biden administration proposes staffing mandates

Anderson also noted that nationally, insufficient staff has long been cited as one of the primary drivers behind inadequate nursing home care.

In Iowa, weve seen about a 45% increase in complaints to the Department of Inspections and Appeals, which investigates nursing homes, he said. Weve seen an increase in complaints to the long-term care ombudsman. I dare anybody to read the Iowa Capital Dispatch on a regular basis and you will be really concerned about what were seeing in Iowa nursing homes today regarding abuse, neglect and various other issues.

The Biden administration, through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, is now considering a proposed rule that would establish the first-ever federal staffing standards for nursing homes. In Iowa and many other states, nursing homes are required to have sufficient staff, but that term is left undefined in state law.

Willett said on Iowa Press that the industry opposes such a rule, which he called a federal, arbitrary mandate. He said the proposed rule would require, under penalty of ruinous fines, the mandated hiring of people who do not exist to care for people who do  The proposal shows a shocking lack of awareness about what is actually happening in rural health care by the Biden administration. Instead of creating an arbitrary mandate, we should be taking about real solutions to create more workforce to care for Iowa seniors.

Anderson said AARP supports a staffing mandate.

I dont know how arbitrary it is only because my understanding of the mandate or regulation is that experts believe that is going to improve the quality of care, he said. And in Iowa, its something that we need to do.

Countryside cited for resident deaths

According to state and county records, Countryside Health Care Center is owned by 6120 Morningside Avenue Propco, a New York-based real estate company. Over the past three years, federal regulators have levied at least 14 fines against Countrysides owners, with the penalties totaling $98,405, although federal records suggest that not all of those fines have been paid.

Earlier this year, Countryside was added to the federal governments list of the nations worst nursing homes.

State records indicate that over the course of two inspections in April and May, Countryside was cited for 30 regulatory violations by the Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals & Licensing, and was fined a total of $74,000  although all of the state fines were being held in suspension so federal officials could determine whether to impose penalties of their own.

At the time of the first inspection in April, DIA had compiled a backlog of 19 complaints to investigate at Countryside. Seventeen of those complaints were substantiated by the state during the inspection.

The home was cited for a Jan. 25 incident that involved a female resident who was found unresponsive on the floor of her room. The woman was sent by ambulance to a hospital and died en route. Countryside was cited for failing to provide the woman with adequate supervision and for failing to report the incident to the state.

In May, inspectors returned to Countryside and cited the home for additional violations.

According to the inspectors reports, a resident of the home had been found slumped over in her wheelchair, unresponsive and cold to the touch, on the afternoon of May 2. The woman was treated at a local hospital for acute kidney injury and died a few days later. Countryside was cited for failing to contact the womans physician after her urine output slowed and for failing to adequately assess her condition.

Similar concerns were noted with regard to a female resident who had been found in late April sitting in a recliner, slumped over and unresponsive. She was taken to a hospital and diagnosed with acute respiratory distress and sepsis. She died two days later.

In March 2021, state inspectors visited the facility in response to a backlog of nine uninvestigated complaints. The inspectors reported they watched a female resident of the home hollering help me and hurry up from her bed, with her yelling audible at the nurses station. Inspectors said 47 minutes passed before two workers checked on the woman.

A medication aide at the home told inspectors that on Dec. 12, 2020, he looked in on a COVID-19 patient and the resident appeared happy and smiling. Two hours later, the aide said, the director of nursing emerged from the residents room, saying the resident was dead. About 10 or 15 minutes later, the aide alleged, the director of nursing asked what should be done because the residents status was full code, indicating CPR should be attempted. After another 30 minutes passed, a third worker arrived on the scene and initiated CPR but was unsuccessful in reviving the resident.

The director of nursing was fired after the incident, according to inspectors.

Iowa nursing homes close

The Iowa nursing homes that have closed, or announced their closing, since June 2022 include:

Nelson Manor, Newton

Morningside Care Center, Ida Grove

Big Creek Nursing & Rehabilitation, Polk City

Touchstone Healthcare, Sioux City

Sunnycrest Nursing Center, Dysart

Dumont Wellness Center, Dumont

ABCM Independence East, Independence

Greene County Medical Center Nursing Facility, Jefferson

Grinnell Health Care Center, Grinnell

Good Samaritan Home, Newell

Good Samaritan Home, Postville

Good Samaritan Home, Fontanelle

Westmont Healthcare Community, Logan

Patty Elwood Center, Cresco

Crestview Acres, Marion

Rock Rapids Healthcare Center, Rock Rapids

QHC Mitchellville, Mitchellville

QHC Fort Dodge Villa, Fort Dodge

QHC Humboldt North, Humboldt

QHC Winterset North, Winterset

QHC Humboldt South, Humboldt

MercyOne Oelwein Senior Care, Oelwein

Pleasant View Home, Albert City

Valley View Community Home, Greene

Pocahontas Manor, Pocahontas

Countryside Health Care Center, Sioux City

Source: Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals & Licensing

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TINLEY PARK  A few days ago, Posen police Chief William Alexander said he stopped to offer help to a homeless man under the Interstate 57 bridge.

The homeless man told Alexander he already talked with someone in the Family Guidance Centers mobile outreach services van, and someone from the van gave him naloxone, an opioid overdose reversal drug, and other resources.

"That was before I ever heard of this program," Alexander said. "I think it's a great thing."

Cook County and municipal officials gathered Thursday in Dixmoor to reveal a new Family Guidance Centers mobile outreach services van that will help 20 south suburban towns, including Dixmoor and Harvey, said Family Guidance Centers Chief Operating Officer Ronald Vlasaty.

The van will have naloxone, fentanyl testing strips, first aid kits, women's hygiene products and condoms, all known as harm reduction supplies, Vlasaty said. Two outreach workers will staff the van, along with a driver who will also be a security guard, and provide residents with resources for treatment and other programs, he said.

The van was out in the area four days last week, Vlasaty said, and interacted with more than 100 residents.

Vlasaty said he will work with south suburban officials to learn what "hot spots" in their villages would be a good place for the van to park and support the community.

Once there, the workers will hand out the kits to those who need it, he said, as well as teach people how to administer naloxone, a nasal spray, and how to use the fentanyl test strips. Vlasaty said residents will be taught to place their substance on the strip and it will indicate if it is positive for fentanyl.

Vlasaty said outreach workers will instruct residents to use the one-pump nasal spray on someone who has overdosed, or someone who is unresponsive and just took an opioid, he said. Anyone administering naloxone is still instructed to call 911, he said.

"It's available to anybody who requests it. We provide information on how and when to use it. It may not be the person who needs it, but they may know somebody," Vlasaty said.

When asked if he's concerned the availability of naloxone, or Narcan, will encourage opioid use, Vlasaty said passing out naloxone is a harm reduction strategy.

"The strategy is to reduce deaths associated with at-risk behaviors. The use of Narcan will reduce overdose deaths," Vlasaty said.

Family Guidance Centers, a not-for-profit behavioral health care organization, will support police officers to help them determine if some arrestees would benefit from receiving treatment.

"It's all about awareness. It's so that the community knows there are services available," Vlasaty said.

The van was funded by a $1.3 million Cook County Department of Public Health grant, through American Rescue Plan Act funding, Vlasaty said, and will fund the van for four years.

In that time period, the van's goal is to reach 20,000 people to hand out harm reduction supply kits and provide them with resources, Vlasaty said. The outreach workers will provide people with information on the impact of drug use and offer programs to help them quit, he said.

"To me, that's 20,000 saved lives," Vlasaty said.

According to the Cook County medical examiner's office, opioid overdose deaths have been on the rise from 647 opioid overdose deaths reported in 2015 to more than 2,000 opioid overdose deaths reported in 2022.

Cook County Commissioner Monica Gordon said the south suburbs have been affected by the "devastating" opioid crisis, so the van handing out naloxone offers a "shining beacon of hope" to help residents.

"Lives can be spared and futures can be restored," Gordon said.

Dixmoor Village President Fitzgerald Roberts said he looks forward to seeing the van in the village.

"We need this here in Dixmoor and the south suburbs," Roberts said. "We all know someone who may need this one day."

Posen Mayor Frank Podbielniak said he looks forward to officers receiving the fentanyl testing strips because it will help them keep the community safe.

"I think it's fantastic to have that in the south suburbs," Podbielniak said. "We're not blind to it. If we can save a life or two, let's do it."

Alexander said Posen has seen an increase in heroin and fentanyl overdoses in the last two years. While Posen officers have naloxone in their vehicles, the van will be another resource.

"Getting ahead of the problem" by providing treatment resources and teaching residents how to use naloxone would be great, Alexander said.

"We have limited resources," Alexander said. "Here, we have someone to reach out to."

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
The Pennington County State's Attorney's Office filed charges against NDN Collective CEO and Founder Nicholas Tilsen last week, about a year after an incident where he allegedly accelerated at an officer who was talking with an intoxicated man in downtown Rapid City.

A criminal complaint dated June 30, 2023 accused Tilsen of aggravated assault against a law enforcement officer and obstruction.

The first charge is a class 2 felony with a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison and up to a $50,000 fine. Obstruction is a class 1 misdemeanor with a maximum sentence of one year in the county jail and up to a $2,000 fine.

The complaint states Tilsen attempted to put the officer "in fear of imminent serious bodily harm" while he performed his duties.

A magistrate judge granted an arrest warrant for Tilsen on June 30. Tilsen posted the $5,000 cash bond and cleared the warrant against him. He remains out of custody and is scheduled to appear in court at 8:15 a.m. on July 17.

Sunny Red Bear, an action organizer with NDN Collective, called the charged "bogus."

Tilsen has not yet commented on the allegations.

According to police reports, at about 10 p.m. on June 11, 2022, a Rapid City Police Department officer stopped an intoxicated man who was crossing the road at Saint Joseph and Seventh streets.

The man was standing on the sidewalk on the south side of St. Joseph Street, and the officer was standing in an empty parking space, according to the officer's report.

"I noticed a red truck trying to park in the same parking spot I was standing in," the officer wrote. "The red pickup was inching forward toward me. I expected the truck to stop. The truck was approximately four to five feet away from me. I turned my back to the red pickup and continued to talk to the subject."

The report continued, "While I was doing this, I suddenly heard the red pickup accelerate toward me. I turned in disbelief and noticed the vehicle was still inching toward me. At this point the vehicle was less than a foot away from me. When I heard the vehicle accelerate, I thought I was going to be run over due to how close the vehicle already was before I had turned around."

The officer added he didn't know how fast the truck accelerated because he had his back turned.

Police interviewed a witness at the scene who said he saw the truck almost hit the officer, according to the reports.

A surveillance camera from a nearby business caught the interaction on camera. According to a report summarizing the footage, the truck registered in Tilsen's name pulled halfway into the parking spot, stopped for about four seconds before "lurching forward" and stopping about one to one-and-a-half feet from the officer.

After, Tilsen allegedly "rolled down his window and screamed at me how I was harassing the subject I was talking to," according to the officer.

According to the reports, an RCPD lieutenant told the officer to not "push the issue" with Tilsen.

The Journal asked if the timing of the charges was related to NDN Collective's July 4 "March Towards Justice," which called for police reform, removal of school resource officers and release of body camera footage.

Former Mayor Steve Allender issued a public safety message ahead of the march, which resulted in no violence or destruction of property.

Pennington County State's Attorney Lara Roetzel said it was "just a coincidence" the charges were filed in the days before the march.

"Nick Tilsen is just another citizen to me. I don't have any conflict with him," Roetzel said. "I had a victim reach out. He wants to bring charges. The case, even though it's a year old, is absolutely valid."

At the time of the alleged incident, Tilsen had a pending case against him related to a 2020 protest at Mount Rushmore. In 2021, the case was moved to Minnehaha County after Tilsen accused then-Pennington County State's Attorney Mark Vargo of prosecutorial misconduct.

Roetzel explained to the Journal the alleged June 2022 incident was handed over to Minnehaha County as well.

Minnehaha County dismissed the 2020 Mount Rushmore case against Tilsen in December 2022, and passed the alleged June 2022 incident back to Pennington County.

Around that same time  January 2023  Roetzel was completing her stint as interim Pennington County State's Attorney. She returned as Pennington County State's Attorney in April following Vargo's departure.

Roetzel said she is not sure what happened with the case from January to April, but she suspects that it not being charged may be related to the alleged victim being in boot camp.

"When I came back into office, I'm getting questions about what happened to this case," Roetzel said.

She then contacted the victim, who confirmed during the last week of June he wanted to proceed with charges.

The case is the second the office recently filed against Tilsen. He also faces a misdemeanor charge for allegedly making a threatening phone call against another leader of a local nonprofit.
What started off as a one-time event has now entered its ninth year.

The annual RedCan Graffiti Jam Invitational kicked off July 5, allowing local Lakota youth and featured artists to express themselves under the scorching summer sun through art murals around Eagle Butte.

RedCan is held by the Cheyenne River Youth Project (CRYP) team, which aims at providing youth with creative outlets and a space that they can call their own. This year, nearly 200 local youths came out to create art and gather as a community.

I think we help to set the bar for a safe space, especially if youre from the community, Jerica Widow, citizen of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe and CRYP program director said. Were an extended family.

The first two days of the festival are dedicated to featured artists and interns working on their murals. The next two days are filled with community celebrations and opportunities for youth to work on their own murals at the Art Park by the CRYP building.

The idea for RedCan came from Julie Garreau, citizen of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe and CRYP founder and executive director. Garreau had seen a video of a graffiti jam in Louisiana and got the idea for a youth and community-based graffiti jam, one thats less competitive and more relationship-building.

I thought it would be a really interesting way to bring kids and get them engaged through graffiti, Garreau said. I know thats controversial, but I also think being Lakota is controversial and just being Indigenous in South Dakota is controversial, so were not afraid of controversy.

After its first year, RedCan took off, attracting worldwide visitors and Indigenous people from across the United States.

Christopher Big Eagle, 17, Sisseton Wahpeton Dakota, had been interested in participating since he first moved to Eagle Butte four years ago. Big Eagle is now an intern with several other youth, assisting programs like RedCan and gaining useful career-building skills for the future.

Over time, its just really gotten better, Big Eagle said.

The festival also brings back community members.

Tammy Granados, Itazipco Lakota, a citizen of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, worked for CRYP for three years and now is returning as a featured artist. Granados mural featured stars, a UFO and her name as a contemporary call back to the Lakota creation story.

As Lakota we believe we came from the stars, Granados said.

For Granados, art is therapeutic; she said it helps to ground and center her. Granados and Kailen Turning Heart, 17, and a citizen of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, had also been working on a mural at the old bingo hall for missing and murdered Indigenous women, but had to stop before it could be completed by the owner's request.

Turning Heart, an intern, said she was still happy with what the two were able to accomplish. Turning Heart learned from Granados while they spent nearly two days working together.

It was a beautiful experience, Turning Heart said.

After nine years of RedCan, Eagle Butte is a vibrant community, with murals lining nearly every corner.

We recently went on a trip to Washington, D.C. with our youth advisory, and one thing that I didnt like was that there are no public murals, Wakinyan Chief, Oglala Lakota and the CRYP arts director said. Coming to Eagle Butte for the first time, it was really eye-opening and inspiring and it made me feel like I wanted to be here.

The creative expression at RedCan doesnt stop at painting; the events Friday featured dancing, a DJ, coloring and more.

Lynn Running Wolf, a citizen of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, has been bringing her kids to RedCan to dance for over five years. Running Wolfs son, Aldon One Feather, has been a grass dancer since he could walk. One Feather said he likes dancing because its just fun.

Next year, for the 10th festival, Garreau said she plans on inviting back all of the former featured artists and creating a massive event.

PHOTOS: Music, Dancing, Arts & Crafts and more at RedCan Graffiti Jam Close Elizabeth Eagle, a fancy shawl dancer, dances during the Lakota Dance Exhibition on Friday at the RedCan Graffiti Jam on the Cheyenne River Reservation in Eagle Butte. Community members gather for traditional dancing during the Lakota Dance Exhibition on Friday at the RedCan Graffiti Jam on the Cheyenne River Reservation in Eagle Butte. Aiden Turning Heart, 11, spray paints a wall on Friday at the RedCan Graffiti Jam on the Cheyenne River Reservation in Eagle Butte. Ted Eagle holds his son Kash Eagle, 1, who is wearing grass dance regalia on Friday at the RedCan Graffiti Jam on the Cheyenne River Reservation in Eagle Butte. Aldon One Feather, 13, left, Aniston One Feather, 9, center, and their mom Lynn Running Wolf wait for the Lakota Dance Exhibition to begin on Friday at the RedCan Graffiti Jam on the Cheyenne River Reservation in Eagle Butte. A mural by artists Biafra, Wundr, and Cyfi is shown at CRST Property and Supply on Friday on the Cheyenne River Reservation in Eagle Butte. The mural says Oyate meaning people or nation. A mural is shown on Friday at the RedCan Graffiti Jam on the Cheyenne River Reservation in Eagle Butte. KaiLen Turning Heart paints a mural on Friday at the RedCan Graffiti Jam on the Cheyenne River Reservation in Eagle Butte. If you make a mistake, says Turning Heart. You can just cover it up. This is Turning Hearts first year participating in RedCan and she was able to assist artist Tammy Granados in the mural being created at Old Bingo Hall highlighting missing and murdered indigenous women. Children and volunteers draw on the pavement with chalk on Friday at the RedCan Graffiti Jam on the Cheyenne River Reservation in Eagle Butte. The Eagle family prepare to dance during the Lakota Dance Exhibition on Friday at the RedCan Graffiti Jam on the Cheyenne River Reservation in Eagle Butte. Ted Eagle, a mens fancy dancer, dances during the Lakota Dance Exhibition on Friday at the RedCan Graffiti Jam on the Cheyenne River Reservation in Eagle Butte. People watch the Lakota Dance Exhibition on Friday at the RedCan Graffiti Jam on the Cheyenne River Reservation in Eagle Butte. Aniston One Feathers sandals with applique leggings are shown while she dances during the Lakota Dance Exhibition on Friday at the RedCan Graffiti Jam on the Cheyenne River Reservation in Eagle Butte. An unfinished mural highlighting missing and murdered indigenous women by artists Rezmo, TumiJoy, Yukue, and 179 is seen at Old Bingo Hall on Friday on the Cheyenne River Reservation in Eagle Butte. Kyle hits a kick flip on Friday at the RedCan Graffiti Jam on the Cheyenne River Reservation in Eagle Butte. Children work on arts and crafts on Friday at the RedCan Graffiti Jam on the Cheyenne River Reservation in Eagle Butte. Community members gather for traditional dancing during the Lakota Dance Exhibition on Friday at the RedCan Graffiti Jam on the Cheyenne River Reservation in Eagle Butte. Aniston One Feather, 9, works on arts and crafts before participating in the Lakota Dance Exhibition on Friday at the RedCan Graffiti Jam on the Cheyenne River Reservation in Eagle Butte. A mural by artists Biafra, Wundr, and Cyfi is shown at CRST Property and Supply on Friday on the Cheyenne River Reservation in Eagle Butte. The mural says Oyate meaning people or nation. Mahpiya Eagle Hunter, 11, works on her mural on Friday at the RedCan Graffiti Jam on the Cheyenne River Reservation in Eagle Butte. Ahanni Knight wears her traditional regalia in preparation for the Lakota Dance Exhibition on Friday at the RedCan Graffiti Jam on the Cheyenne River Reservation in Eagle Butte. Aniston One Feather, 9, front, dances wearing a youth fancy shawl during the Lakota Dance Exhibition on Friday at the RedCan Graffiti Jam on the Cheyenne River Reservation in Eagle Butte. Community members gather to create music during the Lakota Dance Exhibition on Friday at the RedCan Graffiti Jam on the Cheyenne River Reservation in Eagle Butte. Community members gather for traditional dancing during the Lakota Dance Exhibition on Friday at the RedCan Graffiti Jam on the Cheyenne River Reservation in Eagle Butte. Kash Eagle, 1, points to his father Ted Eagle while he is dancing during the Lakota Dance Exhibition on Friday at the RedCan Graffiti Jam on the Cheyenne River Reservation in Eagle Butte. Ted Eagle dances in front of his son Kash Eagle, 1, during the Lakota Dance Exhibition on Friday at the RedCan Graffiti Jam on the Cheyenne River Reservation in Eagle Butte. Elizabeth Eagle, a fancy shawl dancer, dances during the Lakota Dance Exhibition on Friday at the RedCan Graffiti Jam on the Cheyenne River Reservation in Eagle Butte. Aniston One Feather, 9, front, dances wearing a youth fancy shawl during the Lakota Dance Exhibition on Friday at the RedCan Graffiti Jam on the Cheyenne River Reservation in Eagle Butte. Phoebe Shaving participates in the Lakota Dance Exhibition on Friday at the RedCan Graffiti Jam on the Cheyenne River Reservation in Eagle Butte. +28 +28 +28 +28 +28 +28 +28 +28 +28 +28
The water on Flathead Lake has declined so much, its at the lowest recorded level in 23 years, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Business owners are calling for dam operators to help.

Shaun Padina said he has lost at least a couple of boat rental bookings because people who wanted to motor up to a dock for a meal at restaurants on the lake cant necessarily do so.

Were a boat rental business, and I can see it affecting a lot of other businesses, Padina said.

Politicians are agitating.

In a letter Thursday, Gov. Greg Gianforte asked the U.S. Department of the Interior to help identify a solution and requested it provide information to his office by July 11.

These low water levels present a significant threat to the economic vitality of the region, wrote Gianforte, a Republican, in the letter to Deputy Secretary Tommy Beaudreau.

He requested the Department consult with the Bureau of Reclamation and other agencies about releasing water from Hungry Horse Dam north of Flathead Lake to help mitigate the impacts on the Flathead Valley economy.

In a phone call and letter, Flathead County Commissioner Randy Brodehl also said hed like the Bureau of Reclamation to increase the amount of water flowing from Hungry Horse Dam into Flathead Lake, the largest freshwater lake west of the Mississippi.

Anglers, boaters and other tourists support more than $600 million in spending in the county, according to a 2016 University of Montana study, but Brodehl said time is running short to fill the lake this season.

Any relief will be welcome and will make a meaningful difference to the people of Flathead County, Brodehl said in a June 30 letter to the Bureau of Reclamation, which manages Hungry Horse Dam.

Over the phone, Brodehl said commissioners would like to see 60 days of water levels within one foot of full pool. However, he said this week, the lake level dropped and its pushing nearly 19 inches below that limit.

The wiggle room got lost last week, Brodehl said.

The lower water levels arent affecting the ecology of the lake just yet, according to the Flathead Lake Biological Station of UM.

The U.S. Coast Guard could not be reached via voicemail Wednesday about navigation or safety concerns.

However, the record low lake level this year is part of a pattern of anomalies in runoff and water supply that is hardly new, according to Energy Keepers, Inc., which manages the Salish Kootenai Dam in Polson, on the south end of the lake.

This is the first year that its gotten to the point where its become noticeable, I think, on a grand scale, said Energy Keepers CEO Brian Lipscomb.

And he said it wont be the last given volatility in climate. Dock owners who rely on high water will need to think about things differently, he said, and water operators such as his company are doing the same.

Most reservoirs in the Columbia Basin are well below full pool, he said, some by several feet. He said Hungry Horse, for example, is more than six feet below full pool.

So holding Flathead Lake artificially high through the recreation season is just not our future. Its going to be different, Lipscomb said.

Flathead Lake water levels fluctuate anyway, typically roughly eight feet in any given year, said Cheryl Miller, hydrologist with the U.S. Geological Survey, Wyoming-Montana Water Science Center.

However, this year, its about a half a foot lower than it would normally be around this time, and thats a lot of water for such a large lake. Plus, the drop has been quick.

We are already lower than it typically stabilizes out at during the summer, Miller said.

This year, she said the highest water levels occurred during early June. A chart of historic water levels shows this years line declining since the middle of June, whereas the median line holds steady.

Lipscomb said the Energy Keepers must meet certain licensing requirements for the lake and the reservoir, including to hit 10 feet below full pool on the lake by April 15 to be able to catch spring runoff and help with flood control.

This year, however, the water year, which starts in October, was dry, he said. The Flathead basin as a whole was at 90%, but the northern half was dry, so the Energy Keepers started catching water six weeks early, he said.

But he said the runoff, which usually starts in May and goes through July, all came in May.

It took place so quickly, he said the Energy Keepers sought and received relief from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers regarding flood control requirements. The relief allowed Energy Keepers to fill the lake more than two feet above the May 15 requirement  and to reach full pool three days earlier than the June 15 requirement, he said.

But their license requires minimum flows, he said  12,700 cubic feet per second in June, for instance  so the Energy Keepers cant turn the dial at will to try to keep Flathead Lake more full and remain in compliance with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

The early drop in Flathead Lake compared to median levels is eliciting phone calls to elected leaders from dock owners and business people.

Brodehl said Republican Congressman Ryan Zinke is leading the charge in advocating for the Bureau of Reclamation to allow more water out of Hungry Horse Dam, and Zinke and U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, also a Republican, are pushing to make it happen.

Thursday, U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, a Democrat, also sent a letter expressing concerns to the Bureau of Reclamation, according to a post on Twitter by the Flathead Beacon.

MT Sen. Jon Tester is the latest elected official to reach out to the Bureau of Reclamation about Flathead Lake's water level. The BOR is awaiting a recommendation from the Technical Management Team, an inter-agency group responsible for the Columbia River Basin dams #mtnews pic.twitter.com/AC8fMlvFtK  Micah Drew (@micahddrew) July 6, 2023

A Bureau of Reclamation spokesperson said the agency has received requests from Zinke and Daines, but it operates Hungry Horse Dam within the constraints outlined in biological requirements established in 2020.

To change those operations, the State of Montana needs to submit a request to a Technical Management Team made up of stakeholders with biological interests in the Columbia River System, said spokesperson Michael Coffey: Currently, Reclamation is unaware of any such requests.

In his letter to the Department of the Interior on Thursday, Gianforte said Deputy Secretary Beaudreau had discussed with him last week Hungry Horse water releases as a potential solution. He said tribes, federal agencies, and other entities would be affected, and the governor recommended widespread consensus and fast action.

In particular, I request that the Bureau of Reclamation provide an analysis to the State of Montana regarding how much water could be available from the Hungry Horse Project, what impact that water will have on water levels in Flathead Lake, and the projected timelines associated with possible releases, Gianforte said in the letter.

Meanwhile, Padina, who owns the boat rental business, said the low water means damage to his boats. He said most of the docks his clients would be using are stationary ones and not floating.

Padina also said he believes the solution is to take away control of the Salish and Kootenai Dam from the Energy Keepers of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes.

The issue has seemed to boil over this year, but its not surprising to plenty of observers.

It also comes on the heels of an historic trial in Montana that drew international attention; 16 youth sued the state alleging it needs to address greenhouse gas emissions in order to protect their future, including their interests in recreation.

During the trial of Held vs. Montana, climatologists testified the state has warmed 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit since 1950, the trend will accelerate, and extreme events will take place more frequently and in greater magnitude.

Lipscomb said climate has been part of the everyday conversation at the Energy Keepers since the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes acquired the dam in 2015.

The climatologists are predicting volatility, and the Energy Keepers are witnessing it; Lipscomb said they experienced one of the driest years on record when the tribes first took over, and then shortly after, one of the wettest years.

Youre going to see more of what youre seeing now, Lipscomb said. Its certainly not going to be every year. But its going to be more (frequent).

In a phone call, Kate Sheridan, executive director of the Flathead Lakers, said its important for all the players to come to the table in order to plan ahead, and it wont be easy because their charge is to expect the unexpected and deal with the new norm.

The Flathead Lakers group has a mission to protect clean water, healthy ecosystems and a lasting quality of life in the Flathead watershed.

That new norm includes changing weather patterns and varying amounts of precipitation in the future, she said. Sheridan said the ecological health of the lake is deeply intertwined with the economic health of the region, and wildlife can adapt to short term changes, but people need to plan together for the long term.

We are going to see greater ranges, and were going to see seasons and weather that we havent seen before. So how can we be resilient in the face of that?




Hetauda, Nepal, July 3, 2023: At least three people were killed and two others injured when two trucks collided each other on head on the east-west road section of Nayabasti Dipat village of Manhari Rural Municipality Ward No. 6 of Makwanpur district on Saturday Morning.





The ill-fated trucks, one with register No. 6 Kha 6667 that was going towards Chitwan from Hetaunda of Makwanpur and another with registered No. 6 Kha 631 that was coming from the opposite direction, collided each other at 2 am on Saturday morning.





According to District Police Office Makwanpur, two trucks caught fire after collided each other. Both the trucks were completely damaged due to the fire, police said.





Among police, those died in the accident are identified as the truck driver of No. 6 Kha 6667 truk, 28-year-old Rihan Rumba Tamang of Chitwan District, Rapti Municipality, Wada No.8, co-driver of the same truck, 21-year-old Suman Chepang from Gorditar of Gandaki Rural Municipality Ward no. 2 of Gorkha District and the co-driver of the truck with registration No. 6 Kha 631 20 years old Amrit Praja of Manhari Rural Municipality in Makwanpur District.




An ex-U.S. Army SF Afghan interpreter was shot dead in Washing, D.C., while he was working as a Lyft driver.

The tragic incident that happened on the night of July 3 was killed as he was doing an extra late shift.

Ex-US Army SF Afghan Interpreter Dies While Working as Lyft Driver

UPDATE: An incredible outpouring of support for the family of Nasrat Ahmad Yar. One of the donation pages, started by a friend who helped his family evacuate Afghanistan, raised $98K of its $75K goal in two days. @wusa9 https://t.co/3xR4r9NXPP pic.twitter.com/if9Fsd2f1Y  Matthew Torres (@News_MTorres) July 7, 2023

According to Fox News' latest report, Yar fled Afghanistan in 2021 after the Taliban took over the country. He also his family-wife and four kids-decided to get a new life in the United States.

After that, he decided to work as a Lyft driver to support his beloved family. But, while he was working late at night on the third of July, he was killed by four men. His body was found inside his vehicle on the 400 Block of 11th Street in Washington D.C.

The Washington DC Metropolitan Police's official YouTube channel shared surveillance footage that captured the incident.

America  is in a Spiritual Battle!



Nasrat Ahmad Yar, 31-year-old man who served as an interpreter in Afghanistan, escaped after the Taliban takeover. He was a father of four living in Alexandria, Virginia for less than a year and was gunned down..#mapoli #nhpolitics #gapol pic.twitter.com/j4VJAAUfNJ  Darius Mitchell_ Hip-Hop Republicans 2023 (@LowellCouncilor) July 6, 2023

CBC News reported that four men (one of them was wearing a white hoodie while the other three are in black) were seen fleeing the crime area.

As of writing, the suspects are still at large. This is why police officials are asking for residents' help to identify the criminals.

MPD said that anyone who can identify the suspects can call their number [202] 727-9099 or text them at 50411. Authorities added that they will provide a reward to those who can help them capture the shooters.

Read Also: El Paso Shooting Suspect Given 90 Consecutive Life Sentences Over Massacre That Killed 23 People

US Government's Lack of Support Criticized

July 2023. Afghan immigrant, 31-year-old Nasrat Ahmad Yar, was the victim of a shooting inside his vehicle. The Lyft driver was finishing up a late-night shift of driving for the rideshare company when he was shot in Washington, D.C. Emergency personnel responded to the scene and pic.twitter.com/GwEIR4FVec  Southern Man (@MagicBelle1) July 7, 2023

Fox News Outnumbered co-host Emily Compagno criticized the U.S. government after the tragic shooting incident that killed Nasrat Ahmad Yar.

She explained the decision of the U.S. to pull out from Afghanistan in 2021 clearly shows that the government abandoned its allies.

Another Outnumbered co-host, Kayleigh McEnany, also shared her opinion about the death of Yar.

The political commentator stated that the ex-U.S. Army SF interpreter, despite not being an American citizen, risked his life just to help the United States against the Taliban group.

McEnany added that Yar came to the United States for the "American dream" and didn't get anything, but leaving a 15-month-old baby without a father.

Aside from McEnany and Compagno, Fox News anchor Julie Banderas also talked about the lack of support for military service members.

"Why aren't our military service members being taken care of after they've given their lives?" she asked.

"Many of them have given their lives, quite frankly. But I mean, they've sacrificed everything. And what thanks do they get?" added Banderas.

These are just some of the comments made by critics against the U.S. government after Yar's death. You can click this link to see more details.

Related Article: Ohio Man Gets Life Sentence for Raping Girl Who Drew National Attention Over Getting Legal Abortion

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
In the paperwork, she's known as "Patient B."

On a Wednesday in 2011, Patient B came into the operating room of Dr. Michael D. Brooks for a non-emergency surgery.

According to filings with the Virginia Board of Medicine, here's what happened next. Patient B returned the next day, complaining of "uncontrolled pain." Brooks, an OB-GYN, ordered a surgical consultation but released her before getting the consult's OK.

It was later discovered that her small intestine had been perforated during Brooks' surgery. Since the operation, her intestine had been leaking into her bloodstream, causing a life-threatening infection called peritonitis.

On Friday, Patient B died. Public records detail how Virginia regulators put Brooks on probation, requiring him to retake courses and allowing his medical career to continue.

Today, the one-time gynecologist is in charge of the health of more than 2,000 men at a prison complex in Sussex.

According to records from the Virginia Board of Medicine, he's one of three physicians employed by the Virginia Department of Corrections time whose medical licenses have either been revoked or suspended for past misconduct.

The two other doctors have been identified in Board of Medicine papers as Kyle Alexander Smith, who allegedly sent inappropriate messages to patients, and Brian Christopher Bittner, who was disciplined for issuing prescriptions of controlled substances, according to records.

At least three physicians had their licenses pulled or suspended in other states. They now treat inmates in Virginia's prisons.

The physicians' records and how they came to work for the prison system comes to light as VADOC weathers criticism from reform advocates, federal agencies, Republicans and Democrats concerning how it cares for inmates.

Attempts to reach the doctors individually were unsuccessful, and the VADOC's current director, Harold Clarke, declined to be interviewed on the hiring of the three doctors. In response to questions, agency spokesperson Kyle Gibson said hiring is conducted by Vincent Gore, VADOC's chief medical officer, and Steve Herrick, VADOC's director of health services, but both Gore and Herrick also declined to be interviewed for this story.

"It is challenging to find providers with correctional experience, or who are committed to providing care to this vulnerable population. Many of VADOC's doctors choose to work for the department due to a genuine interest in practicing medicine in a correctional setting. This setting provides a unique challenge and opportunity for public service," Gibson's statement read.

Gibson also said the department is not facing a shortage of applicants and that recruitment for providers is very competitive.

Gibson would not directly address personnel issues, such as Bittner being disciplined for prescriptions that he issued, but said in the statement to the Richmond Times-Dispatch that a team of pharmacists reviews prescriptions in facilities. "This is tightly controlled," the statement read.

Clarke, Gore and Herrick would not discuss Brooks' qualifications as an OB/GYN to treat male inmates.

Dr. Brooks

Brooks' license troubles in Virginia was his second time being disciplined. In 1987, Brooks' privileges were stripped by command staff at a U.S. Naval hospital in Charleston, South Carolina. The decision was "based on uncontroverted evidence" regarding "substandard care" of 11 different patients, according to licensure records from the Oklahoma Board of Medicine.

Brooks struggled to get his license restored on appeal in the Navy, with the chairman of a regional appeals committee writing to him that a "preponderance of the evidence establishes that you are professionally and behaviorally impaired," the records show.

Credentialing requests show how Brooks applied for a number of jobs in Michigan, then ultimately moved to Virginia, where he was licensed in 2005. He was hired by the Department of Corrections in November 2021.

At Sussex II, patients under his care say they have suffered. Lawsuits targeting Department of Corrections medical providers are not rare, but they are often vigorously defended by VADOC. Often, these lawsuits request millions of dollars on the basis of poor treatment behind bars.

Last year, however, the department did settle a civil case involving Brooks. In a complaint, David Washington, a diabetic, said Brooks allowed his infected toe to fester unchecked, despite repeated requests for antibiotics.

"He simply told me to wrap the toe and stop complaining," Washington wrote the court.

When seen by a separate nurse practitioner, Washington was sent the next day to the emergency room at Petersburg's Southside Regional Medical Center, where doctors amputated his toe, court records show.

Multiple other ongoing lawsuits accuse Brooks of providing negligent care. Brooks earns $275,000 a year as a state employee in the prison system.

The department's critics say the hirings are symptomatic of larger problems with medical care in Virginia prisons. Incarcerated people say it's not uncommon to miss key medical appointments, such as for chemotherapy.

Rashid Johnson, who is incarcerated where Brooks worked, said he was diagnosed last summer with prostate cancer. Doctors at VCU Medical Center began prescribing him medication, scans and chemo appointments, Johnson said, but prison medical staff either repeatedly forgot to give him medications or missed his scan appointments.

"I have a deadly illness and I've been played and strung along," Johnson said in a phone interview in March.

Dr. Smith

Smith allegedly was placed on probation for sending "sexually explicit messages" to patients in 2017. Public documents show he found patients' phone numbers in their private medical records. Smith was investigated for the behavior in Maryland, where he was licensed, and then again in Reston, Virginia.

Today, he works at a male prison in Augusta, Virginia, with a limitation on his license that forbids him from seeing female patients.

Dr. Bittner

Records show that Bittner, a former doctor in the Bon Secours system, had his license revoked for freely prescribing scheduled drugs like Adderall, Xanax, Percocet and Klonopin.

In 2020, Virginia regulators wrote that "Dr. Bittner engaged in an egregious pattern of prescribing controlled substances, despite evidence of adverse effects and of patients' substance misuse, abuse or addiction."

In 2023, Bittner works as a physician at Fluvanna Correctional Center for Women.

More oversight sought

Shawn Weneta, a policy strategist at the ACLU of Virginia who served time for embezzlement crimes, says the hires are all the more reason for outside oversight of the Department of Corrections.

An oversight bill was struck down in the General Assembly this year after VADOC came out against the bill. It was also opposed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin, whose spokesperson Macaulay Porter said prisons are already overseen by nine entities and that more oversight would have been redundant.

"They're certainly not even coming close to what would be considered the standard of care for people if they were out in the community," Weneta said.

Del. Carrie Coyner, R-Chesterfield, said she supports more oversight. Coyner has been vocal about medical care at Riverside Regional Jail, a facility in her district that narrowly avoided closure in 2021. Jails in Virginia are overseen by an independent board housed within and influenced by VADOC.

"It's not about a gotcha. It's about ensuring we're getting people the medical care we need," Coyner said. "I definitely think we need to have more oversight over hiring and better standards of care for the inmates we are charged with caring for."

The prisons are also in an awkward transition phase. Last year, the agency terminated its contract with its prior medical provider, Armor Correctional Healthcare, and is in the process of hiring its own doctors, nurse practitioners and nurses.

Clarke's agency has been unable to meet basic health care requirements imposed by a federal monitor at Fluvanna Correctional Center for Women. The monitor was installed in 2016 after a slew of deaths.

The department has also shelled out millions of dollars in legal claims for poor medical care. Last December, a record $4 million settlement was reached when Robert Boley died of an aortic aneurysm 14 hours after being refused a trip to the ER by a prison nurse.

Meanwhile, VADOC's expenses have risen, with medical care as a key driver. In 2010, when Clarke was appointed, the department oversaw an overall operating budget of $932 million.

Under Clarke, the budget has grown significantly. This year, Clarke's agency is requesting $1.5 billion. On average, each individual behind bars costs the department $41,000 per year. VADOC's annual report shows that 86% of the money that is not payroll will go to health care costs for the incarcerated.

"A lot of those costs could be avoided if they just provided some of the most basic preventive and prophylactic care that anyone else would have access to," Weneta said.
A Chesterfield County police officer on Saturday shot and killed a man who authorities said was carrying a hatchet.

Police responded at 12:49 p.m. to the 1200 block of Wycliff Court for a report of a suspicious man who had entered an attached garage and tried to get into other homes, the police department said in a statement. Police said the man also cut a window screen and tried door handles.

The statement said arriving officers found the man in the road with a hatchet. He did not respond to their instructions, so officers used a stun gun, but it was not effective, police said.

Officers continued to use verbal de-escalation tactics to encourage the suspect to resolve the situation peacefully by putting the weapon on the ground. He refused and instead continued to advance on the officers, leaving them no choice but to shoot him, the department said in the statement.

The man was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. The department has not released the names of the person shot or the officer involved.

The statement said the shooting is under investigation.
DOC's Full Comment

The ultimate responsibility for hiring physicians falls on the Chief Medical Officer and the Director of Health Services. As with all state hires, there is a diverse panel who interviews candidates with standardized questions. Once a person is selected for hire, a background check is completed by the VADOCs security background review process. This involves a criminal background check, using the Virginia State Police database. References are obtained from prior supervisors, and for physicians, the VADOC also conducts a check of the person through the National Practitioner Data Bank for any active and past actions on the individuals license, including in other states. In addition, the VADOC reviews the providers license and any available public records. All providers are required to have current, active licenses to practice in Virginia.

Recruitment for providers in corrections, and in health care in general, is very competitive. It is challenging to find providers with correctional experience, or who are committed to providing care to this vulnerable population. Many of the VADOCs doctors choose to work for the department due to a genuine interest in practicing medicine in a correctional setting. This setting provides a unique challenge and opportunity for public service. There are numerous other reasons providers consider correctional medicine, such as work/life balance and competitive salaries. All of the VADOCs providers are eligible to practice in the community and many do work in hospitals or clinics outside the hours of their position with VADOC, similar to what is an increasingly common practice among current clinicians in the United States.

The Virginia Department of Corrections does not routinely discuss personnel matters. Employees are hired through standards governed by Department of Human Resource Management policies and procedures. The hiring process includes reference, background, and applicable licensure checks. All providers are fully licensed by the Virginia Board of Medicine to practice medicine within any community setting, to include corrections.

The VADOC Health Services Unit has a centralized, electronic medication record, which allows the department to monitor all prescriptions. This is tightly controlled, and the VADOC monitors all physician prescription practices in facilities. The VADOC has a review process and uses schedule drugs (e.g., narcotics, and other psychoactive drugs) as clinically appropriate. The VADOC endorses the practice of evidence-based medicine and effective delivery of quality care to our patients.
Rick Kizer says he should have been able to work from his home in King William County years ago, instead of driving 45 minutes to his job as an information technology specialist at a bank just north of Richmond.

But he could not, because the satellite service to his home near Aylett could not support the telecommunication needs of the job, such as tapping into a reliable virtual private network or videoconferencing.

Now retired, Kizer has been waiting for the promised extension of high-speed internet, via the flood of new federal money since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, to close the digital divide between urban and suburban areas that have access to broadband networks and rural areas that do not.

So he was surprised to see that the Federal Communications Commission, in a map crucial to guiding government investments in broadband networks, indicates his home is already served.

Its a total farce, Kizer said in frustration on Thursday.

The intentions are good and the money is there, but competing government initiatives to fill the gaps in rural broadband coverage are not sending a clear signal to people still waiting for reliable high-speed internet service to reach them.

As it turns out, Kizer and his neighbors are slated to get broadband access under an existing program  run by the FCC  which correctly shows his residence as unserved on that map.

Other parts of King William expect service from another internet provider under a separate grant program funded by the state and the county, largely using federal money from an emergency package that Congress passed during the pandemic, when internet access became a necessity for work and study.

The FCC maps are kind of wonky, acknowledged Steve Hudgins, deputy county administrator in King William, who oversees county efforts to expand broadband service.

What is reliable broadband service?

Expectations are high among King William residents who have heard about the $1.5 billion that the state is due to receive from the federal government through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that President Joe Biden signed more than 18 months ago.

The first step for Virginia to receive the money is to verify the accuracy of the FCC maps through a validation process conducted by the state.

As part of that process, the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development will have to define what reliable broadband service means, based on the processing speed and data capacity of the networks.

That is where Kizer dropped off the map.

The FCC map defines a minimum level of high-speed internet at 25 megabits per second (mbps) to download and 3 megabits per second to upload  the speed of the satellite network that serves his home. Its ridiculous for them to say that satellite is equal to broadband, he said. Its not even close.

It is also not the definition that the National Telecommunications and Information Administration will use to distribute $42.5 billion in new infrastructure funding for broadband, including the $1.5 billion for Virginia.

Satellite is not in the definition of reliable broadband service, said Evan Feinman, director of the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program, which is running the federal initiative.

Feinman knows Virginias internet needs well as former broadband adviser to then-Gov. Ralph Northam. It is up to the state to get every one of these locations served so they can draw down the $1.5 billion, he said. We wont accept less.

Virginia says it is well-positioned for the grant.

Gov. Glenn Youngkin changed the definition after taking office last year, raising the standard to 100/20 mbps, so the state is using the same measure as the federal BEAD program in determining where to spend the new infrastructure money.

Virginia developed its own map, Commonwealth Connection, and is funding broadband projects across the state through the Virginia Telecommunications Initiative.

Tamarah Holmes, director of the broadband office at the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development, said the FCC map is only a general guide to internet services provided through a variety of technologies, based on information from internet providers.

This year, Virginia challenged 1.9 million claims of broadband service on the FCC map because of discrepancies with the state map, the absence of residences that could be served only by expensive fiber-optic line extensions and duplicative claims by different providers.

The states challenges identified 70,000 locations that flipped from being marked as served to unserved, making them eligible for assistance.

The FCC accepted 100%, Holmes said.

The accuracy of the FCC maps  and the definitions that guide them  has been a big concern of U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., a former telecommunications executive who pushed hard for federal funding of broadband in the infrastructure law and other federal funding packages during the pandemic. Earlier this year, he conducted a public campaign to encourage people to look at the maps to verify if they were accurate.

While the new broadband maps are certainly an improvement over the old, census-tract level maps, they are far from perfect, Warner said last week. Thats why I have repeatedly encouraged Virginians to take advantage of the challenge process if they believe the level of service available to them according to the maps is inaccurate.

The FCC regularly updates the maps based on the outcome of challenges, he said. These updates will allow Virginia to make the most of the federal funding coming our way, directing it to areas where its most needed.

The FCC acknowledges that other federal programs do not accept its definition of minimum high-speed internet service. Its maps include a filter that allows people to change the definition of service, which may show a residence as unserved instead of served.

People who think the map is wrong can submit challenges at the FCC website.

Any challenges resolved and upheld should be reflected on the current map, an FCC spokesperson said.

Kizer remains skeptical.

The fact that the Virginia Broadband map incorrectly identifies my home as already being served by a broadband connection is alarming, he said in an email on Thursday. My hope is that the people involved in the validation process will include the different broadband vendors that service the citizens of Virginia.

After all, they are the source of the information that the Federal and State broadband departments are using for their maps, he said. The key here is to go to the source for accurate information.

What the hell is going on here?

The state said it could not include Kizers residence for possible use of the new federal dollars because it is already covered by the Rural Development Opportunity Fund, run by the FCC.

Under that program, Breezeline is already providing broadband service to part of northern King William, including homes on the other side of Route 600 from Kizer. The company is supposed to expand the project to include him and other neighbors who currently have only satellite service as an option.

Hudgins, the deputy county administrator, does not know when that will happen. They have their own set of rules about when they bring it, he said.

King William signed an agreement in August with All Points Broadband to provide high-speed internet to the rest of the county through a grant from the Virginia Telecommunications Initiative, as well as contributions from the county and the company. Both projects are working with Dominion Energy and Rappahannock Electric Cooperative to install fiber-optic cable along electric utility rights of way.

The two projects are supposed to cover the entire county, but Holmes, at the state broadband office, said there may be an opportunity to fill holes (in coverage) in King William when Virginia receives the new infrastructure money.

Rep. Rob Wittman, R-1st, whose congressional district includes King William, acknowledged the challenge of both accurate mapping and coordination of different broadband initiatives.

While broadband funding is awarded through various programs, there should be a more coordinated effort in awarding these funds to mitigate fragmentation and overlapping, he said in a statement on Friday. With the various sources of federal and local funding, I understand it can be difficult to find the resources to address lapses in broadband service.

Kizer wonders how all of that money ultimately will be used.

It just begs the question, what the hell is going on here? he said.

From the archives: Cloverleaf Mall, 1972-2011 Cloverleaf Mall: Before the opening Cloverleaf Mall: Opening day, 1972 Cloverleaf Mall: Busy first week Cloverleaf Mall: Upscale Sears Cloverleaf Mall: Twin cinema Cloverleaf Mall: Piccadilly Cafeteria Cloverleaf Mall in 1975 Cloverleaf Mall Community Room Cloverleaf Mall: Christmas Tubas, 1985 Cloverleaf Mall: 1987 renovation Cloverleaf Mall: Christmas Eve, 1990 Cloverleaf Mall: 1995 fire Cloverleaf Mall: Frederick's of Hollywood Cloverleaf Mall: Christmas, 1997 Cloverleaf Mall: 1998 renovation Cloverleaf Mall: New police station, 1999 Cloverleaf Mall: Regal cinemas close, 2001 Cloverleaf Mall: Sears closes, 2003 Cloverleaf Mall: Empty food court, 2005 County buys Cloverleaf Mall, 2007 Cloverleaf Mall sold to county, 2007 Cloverleaf Mall: One last shop Cloverleaf Mall: Closing in 2008 Cloverleaf Mall: Fenced off in 2010 Cloverleaf Mall: The walls come down, 2011 Goodbye Cloverleaf, 2011 Kroger rises from rubble of Cloverleaf, 2012
Gov. Glenn Youngkin on Friday announced three new appointments to the state Board of Education.

The trio replaces the three members appointed by then-Gov. Ralph Northam whose terms expired at the end of June, and increases the number of Youngkin appointees on the nine-member board to eight.

The new appointees are Debbie Kilgore, Mashea Ashton and Amber Northern.

Kilgore is a retired teacher at Gate City High School in Southwest Virginia. She is married to House Majority Leader Terry Kilgore, R-Scott.

Ashton, a resident of McLean, is the founder and CEO of Digital Pioneers Academy Public Charter School, a charter school in Washington, D.C.

Northern is the senior vice president for research at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank. She lives in Henrico County.

The only remaining member of the nine-person board who was appointed by a Democratic governor is Anne Holton, who was appointed by then-Gov. Terry McAuliffe in 2017 and again in 2021 by Northam.

Holton, who served as Virginias secretary of education from 2013 to 2016, is a professor of education policy at George Mason University, where she served as interim president in 2019-2020. Her term on the state Board of Education expires June 30, 2025.

The three Northam appointees whose terms expired June 30 are Dan Gecker, who served as board president; Tammy Mann, who served as vice chair; and member Pam Davis-Vaught.

Board members will elect a new president and vice president at their next meeting on July 19. Board presidents and vice presidents are elected from the board membership for a term of two years.

The Times-Dispatch's 'Photo of the Day' Jan. 1, 2023 Jan. 2, 2023 Jan. 3, 2023 Jan. 4, 2023 Jan. 5, 2023 Jan. 6, 2023 Jan. 7, 2023 Jan. 8, 2023 Jan. 10, 2023 GET THE NEW TIMES-DISPATCH APP Jan. 11, 2023 Jan. 12, 2023 Jan. 13, 2023 Jan. 14, 2023 Jan. 15, 2023 Jan. 16, 2023 Jan. 17, 2023 Jan. 18, 2023 Jan. 19, 2023 Jan. 20, 2023 Jan. 21, 2023 Jan. 22, 2023 Jan. 23, 2023 Jan. 24, 2023 Jan. 25, 2023 Jan. 26, 2023 Jan. 27, 2023 Jan. 28, 2023 Jan. 29, 2023 Jan. 30, 2023 Jan. 31, 2023 Feb. 1, 2023 Feb. 2, 2023 Feb. 3, 2023 Feb. 4, 2023 Feb. 5, 2023 Feb. 6, 2023 Feb. 7, 2023 Feb. 8, 2023 Feb. 9, 2023 Feb. 10, 2023 Feb 11, 2023 Feb. 12, 2023 Feb. 13, 2023 Feb. 14, 2023 Feb. 15, 2023 Feb. 16, 2023 Feb. 17, 2023 Feb. 18, 2023 Feb. 19, 2023 Feb. 20, 2023 Feb. 21, 2023 Feb. 22, 2023 Feb. 23, 2023 Feb. 24, 2023 Feb. 25, 2023 Feb. 26, 2023 Feb. 27, 2023 Feb. 28, 2023 March 1, 2023 March 2, 2023 March 3, 2023 March 4, 2023 March 5, 2023 March 6, 2023 March 7, 2023 March 8, 2023 March 9, 2023 March 10, 2023 March 11, 2023 March 12, 2023 March 13, 2023 March 14, 2023 March 15, 2023 March 16, 2023 March 17, 2023 March 18, 2023 March 19, 2023 March 20, 2023 March 21, 2023 March 22, 2023 March 23, 2023 March 24, 2023 March 25, 2023 March 26, 2023 March 27, 2023 March 28, 2023 March 29, 2023 March 30, 2023 March 31, 2023 April 1, 2023 April 2, 2023 April 3, 2023 April 4, 2023 April 5, 2023 April 6, 2023 April 7, 2023 April 8, 2023 April 9, 2023 April 10, 2023 April 11, 2023 April 13, 2023 April 14, 2023 April 15, 2023 April 16, 2023 GET THE NEW TIMES-DISPATCH APP April 17, 2023 April 18, 2023 April 19, 2023 April 20, 2023 April 21, 2023 April 22, 2023 April 23, 2023 April 24, 2023 April 25, 2023 April 26, 2023 April 27, 2023 April 28, 2023 April 29, 2023 May 1, 2023 May 2, 2023 May 3, 2023 May 4, 2023 May 5, 2023 May 6, 2023 May 7, 2023 May 8, 2023 May 9, 2023 May 10, 2023 May 11, 2023 May 12, 2023 May 13, 2023 May 14, 2023 May 15, 2023 May 16, 2023 May 17, 2023 May 18, 2023 May 19, 2023 May 20, 2023 May 21, 2023 May 22, 2023 May 23, 2023 May 24, 2023 May 25, 2023 May 26, 2023 May 27, 2023 May 28, 2023 May 30, 2023 May 31, 2023 June 1, 2023 June 2, 2023 June 3, 2023 June 4, 2023 June 5, 2023 June 6, 2023 June 7, 2023 June 8, 2023 June 9, 2023 June 10, 2023 June 11, 2023 June 12, 2023 June 13, 2023 June 14, 2023 June 15, 2023 June 16, 2023 June 17, 2023 June 18, 2023 June 19, 2023 June 20, 2023 June 21, 2023 June 22, 2023 June 23, 2023 June 24, 2023 June 25, 2023 June 26, 2023 June 27, 2023 June 28, 2023 June 29, 2023 June 30, 2023 July 1, 2023 July 2, 2023 July 3, 2023 July 4, 2023 July 5, 2023 July 6, 2023 July 7, 2023 July 8, 2023 July 9, 2023 July 10, 2023 July 11, 2023 July 12, 2023 July 13, 2023 July 14, 2023 July 15, 2023 July 16, 2023 July 17, 2023 Jan. 18, 2023 July 19, 2023 July 20, 2023
In his July 4 ruling blocking the Biden administration from communicating with social media companies on issues of content, Louisiana Federal Judge Terry Doughty quickly showed himself to be a deeply unserious jurist, writing that the case arguably involves the most massive attack against free speech in United States history. He apparently slept through high school history classes on the Alien and Sedition Acts, Jim Crow and McCarthyism.

If Doughty believes that the government engaging with social media platforms to encourage certain uniform policies and flag the spread of, for example, medical and election misinformation that could be destabilizing and harmful to public health and order is unconstitutional, then it seems like Doughty could benefit from engaging with a first-year law class.

The Constitution has enshrined, for very good reason, the principle that the government cannot compel or censor almost any type of speech. It certainly has not dictated that the government can never communicate preferences or express concern to companies whose size, scope and ability to shape public opinion and discourse were unfathomable to the First Amendments framers.

The Daily News routinely receives calls, emails and letters from government officials of every stripe taking issue with coverage and pushing us to reword things, shift coverage, change descriptions and even pull stories. Every journalist receives such pressure, and understands it to be simply part of the push-pull of public dialogue. Is it censorship? No, because we can, and often do, simply refuse, just as social media companies have always been at liberty to tell the government to take a hike when it comes to requests to remove speech.

If anything, the tech sector is under, not over, regulated by the federal government. That doesnt mean the feds should suddenly gain veto power over speech (they certainly shouldnt) but efforts to constrain the power of the tech monopolies is firmly in their wheelhouse and in the public interest. Hopefully this aberration and distraction of a ruling is quickly overturned on appeal, and Doughty can look into those remedial classes.
Government proposes four new protected natural areas for Quintana Roo

Riviera Maya, Q.R.  Quintana Roo may have four new protected natural areas within the category of Flora and Fauna Protection Areas. The newly proposed areas represents a great benefit for the conservation of the ecosystem of the state, reported Governor Mara Lezama.

Huguette Hernandez Gomez, Secretary of Ecology and Environment (Sema), says the proposed protected areas will be for the care and protection of the environment.

The State Government through Sema and the Institute of Biodiversity and Protected Natural Areas (Ibanqroo), recognize and support the proposals of the National Commission of Protected Natural Areas for the establishment of these natural areas in Quintana Roo.

The proposed areas include San Buenaventura, the Jacinto Pat Reserve and Playa Delfines, in Benito Juarez and the Cenote Aerolito in Isla Mujeres.

On July 4 and 5, notices were posted informing the general public that the studies carried out by the National Commission of Protected Natural Areas to justify the issuance of the Decrees were published in the Official Gazette of the Federation.

It is necessary to protect the mangrove and wetland areas, the important remnants of lowland vegetation, palm groves, coastal scrub and dunes, as well as the habitat of our biodiversity, said Javier Alberto Carballar Osorio, the General Director of Ibanqroo.

These protected natural areas are currently only proposals and have not yet been decreed since they are in the process of public consultation, which began July 6. If successful, these areas could become Natural Protected Areas before the end of the year.
The K-12 learning recovery grants touted by Gov. Glenn Youngkin in March as a way to combat severe learning losses went mostly to higher-income families.

Originally announced as a $30 million initiative, the fund was doubled to $60 million to meet demand, Youngkin announced Thursday.

Less than a quarter of the families who received a grant were eligible for the larger grant that was given to students whose family income does not exceed 300% of the federal poverty level. For a family of three, that threshold is $74,580.

According to the Virginia Department of Education, 34,650 students were approved for the states learning acceleration grants.

Of those, 8,247 students qualified for the $3,000 grant that was available to families whose income does not exceed 300% of the federal poverty limit. But more than three quarters of the students  26,403  received the $1,500 grant, which was available to families whose income exceeds the threshold.

The grants were given out on a first-come, first-served basis, and are intended to be used for qualifying tutoring services and other education services or materials. The $60 million comes from the states share of federal COVID-19 relief funds.

Im very pleased that so many Virginia families are able to find help to close the learning gap, Youngkin said on Thursday morning at a blood donation event in Petersburg.

A learning gap that was, in my view, unnecessary because schools were closed for an extended period of time unnecessarily.

Youngkin referenced Virginias performance on a congressionally-mandated assessment known as The Nations Report Card, the results of which were released late last year. The scores showed that fourth-grade reading scores in Virginia fell by 10 points, the largest dip in the nation, since the last assessment in 2019.

This is a great program, I think its hugely important, Youngkin said. Ive been so concerned about this massive learning loss in Virginia.

Virginia students deemed as economically disadvantaged by the state perform on average far below their peers on state assessments in every subject, year after year, according to state data.

Del. Schyuler VanValkneburg, D-Henrico, said the distribution of the grants to mostly higher-income families was to be expected.

If we actually care about getting the (National Assessment of Educational Progress) scores up, and if we want to help students make up for lost time, the way to do it is to target the kids who need it the most, VanValkneburg said. And you do that with high frequency, in-school tutoring because youre then able to get to the kids who need it the most with the least amount of friction.

The delegate proposed a budget amendment earlier this year that aimed to provide highly intensive tutoring during the school day to students who have suffered severe learning loss. The amendment failed.

The Senate Finance Committee calculated that it would have cost about $268 million. At the time, Vanvalkenburg said the state needs to target the students with the lowest test scores. Historically, those are low-income students.

If we want to fix the problems that we say we want to fix  and I do want to fix those problems  we know how to do it, Vanvalkenburg said. And this program just doesnt do that. It creates a lot of barriers. It creates a lot of waste.

Youngkins learning acceleration grants program was under fire this week following claims from many parents who said they had received the grants but were unable to use them.

Grant funds are deposited into parents ClassWallet account, and parents can browse the website and place orders for approved education materials and tutoring services.

But some parents said their requests have been denied.

Youngkin and the Department of Education lied and scammed parents, said Richmond parent Gabrielle Cevallos in an email.

According to emails to Cevallos from tutoring providers, her attempts to purchase education materials were denied several times.

Youngkin addressed the criticisms at a blood donation event in Petersburg on Thursday morning.

I really am sorry those families are having challenges but were going to get those resolved, Youngkin told reporters.

The VDOE Chief of Staff Jeremy Raley said the department assigned additional staff to work together with the families to resolve their issues.

Decisions were made today to remedy some of the concerns were aware of from our families, and those remedies are being put in place as we speak, Raley said Thursday afternoon. Well see the results of that within the next 24 hours.
PETERSBURG  General Assembly budget negotiators may have backed away from Gov. Glenn Youngkins $1.13 billion of tax cuts, but the governor is sticking to it.

And Youngkin said he expects the state financial numbers for June, due shortly, will show the such a large surplus that legislators should see Virginia can afford his tax proposal and some $2.6 billion of additional spending on schools, law enforcement and behavioral health that he has called for in the budget.

Asked if there is any give on his tax proposal, since the tight circle of senior legislators who tried, but failed, to agree on a budget compromise had floated widely varying proposals for smaller tax breaks, Youngkin was firm.

Not from my perspective, he said, talking to reporters after giving blood at the Petersburg American Red Cross donation station.

He brushed aside concerns Democratic senators have raised that ongoing tax cuts are risky given current economic uncertainties.

Were going to see a substantial surplus, he said. We can actually put more reserves away for future problems, and still cut taxes by a billion and invest 2.6 billion, he said.

I remain frustrated, I cant put it any other way, he said.

We can have and moments not or moments, he said. We can fund tax cuts and we can fund investments in education, law enforcement and behavioral health  I think the Democrats want to have an or moment, to convince people it is either this or that. We can do both.

Youngkin said he wanted to see the June revenue report, before deciding whether to call a special session.

I think that will be my final plea, he said, adding: There is no reason why we shouldnt be able to have substantial tax reductions.

This years General Assembly ended without any agreement between the House of Delegates version of a budget, which included all of Youngkins tax cuts, and a Senate version that rejected them.

Negotiations on a compromise collapsed as the General Assembly session ended.

Senate budget negotiators balked at a package of tax breaks proposed by House Appropriations Committee chair Barry Knight, R-Virginia Beach.

They said those cuts were more than their conferees would not accept, given the money that would be left for the increases on education and other programs funding their colleagues wanted.

Worries the economy would slow also mean ongoing cuts were a bad idea, they said.

Knights package, totaling about $900 million, dropped Youngkins corporate income tax rate cut and proposed a one-time tax rebate as an alternative to Youngkins proposed 0.25 percentage point cut in the top individual income tax rate, now at 5.75%.

While Knight said Senate Finance Committees co-chairs agreed to his proposal, one of the two, state Sen. George Barker, D-Alexandria, who was defeated in his June 20 primary  has denied that.

Last month, as the first year of the current two year budget drew to a close, the Senate proposed one-time tax rebates, initially totaling $700 million and then increased to $900 million on Tuesday, to match the amount of tax savings that Knight wanted.

That would have meant rebates of $200 for individuals and $400 for couples, to be paid in the fall.

Knight has offered to resume talks with the Senate budget leaders.

The balls in their court, Knight said Thursday. Its been total silence.

I dont know who Im supposed to be negotiating with, he said in response to statements by other Senate negotiators that they opposed the proposed tax cut compromise.

Barker said on Friday that he is not not even sure the governor is going to call a special session on the budget.

Faced with elections in November for all 140 seats in the General Assembly, the assembly could choose to not amend the budget at all, as some suggested during the legislative session.

The two-year budget remains in place through June 30, 2024, but not taking action would leave at least $3.6 billion unspent until Youngkin proposes a new two-year budget in December for the newly elected assembly to consider in a 60-day session that begins in January.

I would much rather have a compromise on it, Barker said, but right now, I dont see the House moving in that direction.
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The U.S. finally destroyed its final chemical weapons stockpile munition. This was confirmed by U.S. President Joe Biden, saying that their effort brings the world one step closer to being chemical weapons-free.

US Destroys Last Chemical Weapons Stockpile Munition

According to Philippine News Agency, the chemical weapons stockpile that was destroyed has been existing for over 30 years.

"Today, I am proud to announce that the United States has safely destroyed the final munition in that stockpile," said Biden via his White House statement.

The ABC News AU stated that the Blue Grass Army Depot in Kentucky disposed of/destroyed rockets that contain GB nerve agent; an extremely toxic synthetic chemical compound.

Thanks to this effort, the U.S. government was able to complete a decades-long campaign to destroy its last Cold War chemical weapons stockpile.

Biden said that the American government has been working tirelessly for over 30 years just to eliminate the chemical weapons stockpile of the country.

Recently, the U.S. government was provided a September 30 2023 deadline to dispose of all its remaining chemical weapons as part of its commitment to the international Chemical Weapons Convention, which is a international treaty that took effect back in 1997.

Over 190 countries joined this treaty to make the world safe from the "horrors of chemical weapons.

Read Also: Joe Biden Refuses To Acknowledge Grandchild Fathered by Hunter Biden? Here's What the White House Says

Why US Government's Effort is Big Deal

The effort of the U.S. government to destroy its last stockpile of chemical weapons clearly shows that it is committed to helping achieve a chemical weapons-free world.

In his White House statement, Joe Biden urged other countries to join the Chemical Weapons Convention. He said that by becoming a part of CWC, the global ban on chemical weapons can reach its fullest potential.

"Russia and Syria should return to compliance with the Chemical Weapons Convention and admit their undeclared programs, which have been used to commit brazen atrocities and attacks," said the American leader.

After calling out the remaining nations, Biden promised that the U.S. government will continue working with the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to ensure that chemical weapons around the world will no longer be produced, stockpiled, and used.

Related Article: Pentagon Orders Tightening of Classified Information Control Following Controversial Jack Teixeira Discord Leak

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 "Prosecutorial Mutiny" | Main | Some interesting "war on drugs" stories making headlines 

July 8, 2023

Inartful dodgers: no constitutional substance in Justice Sotomayor's cert denial statement in acquitted conduct cases

In prior posts in my "inartful dodgers" series (which are linked below), I have mostly bemoaned the cert denial statements authored or joined by four Justices that suggested they voted against cert in the McClinton case because the Sentencing Commission was now considering acquitted-conduct sentencing. Now I want to turn to the substance of Justice Sotomayor's statement, though there really is not much actual constitutional substance to discuss.

As I have mentioned before, the Question Presented in the cert petition filed by Dayonta McClinton asked: "Whether the Fifth and Sixth Amendments prohibit a federal court from basing a criminal defendants sentence on conduct for which a jury has acquitted the defendant." Notably, though Justice Sotomayor spent five pages discussing policy concerns about acquitted-conduct sentencing  discussing, for example, "fairness" and "tension" with the jury's role and "accuracy" and "public perception"  she does not once mention either the Fifth or Sixth Amendment. I surmise and fear this is why Justice Sotomayor's statement is only "respecting the denial of certiorari" rather than a dissent; her statement hints she only has policy concerns, and not constitutional complaints, about acquitted-conduct sentencing. (In turn, Justice Alito's statement sensibly wonders about discussion of the Sentencing Commission and efforts by his colleagues to "lobby government entities to make preferred policy decisions.")

Because I filed amicus brief in support of cert in McClinton, I see much Fifth and Sixth Amendment substance worth discussing based on many precedents (especially those after SCOTUS somewhat blessed acquitted-conduct sentencing in US v. Watts). Finding sentence increases based on judicial fact-finding to be constitutionally problematic, the Supreme Court in Blakely v. Washington stressed "the need to give intelligible content to the right of jury trial." In US v. Booker, the Court emphasized that the reach and application of jury trial rights should not be driven by "Sixth Amendment formalism, but by the need to preserve Sixth Amendment substance." Justice Thomas, joined by Justice Scalia when concurring in Apprendi v. New Jersey, has explained why "the original meaning of the Fifth and Sixth Amendments" calls for "every fact that is by law a basis for imposing or increasing punishment (in contrast with a fact that mitigates punishment) '... [to be] proved to the jury." And many other substantive arguments can find a grounding in constitutional text, history, tradition and precedent for limiting acquitted-conduct sentencing.

It may be unfair for me to expect much more from Justice Sotomayor's statement in conjunction with a denial of cert, especially when a busy merits docket surely was keeping her (and other Justices) plenty busy. Still, after a year-long wait for a resolution of McClinton and a bunch of other acquitted conduct cases, I was hoping for at least some dissents from the denial of cert and some lamenting of how acquitted-conduct sentencing can "eat out the[] substance" of our people's procedural rights that the Framers placed in the Constitution. Instead, we just got a review of policy concerns and no deep discussion of constitutional substance. Sigh.

Inartful dodgers series:

July 8, 2023 at 05:14 AM | Permalink

Comments

This is not a critique of the substance of your post, but I would push back on the suggestion that the Court has a busy merits docket: they are at historic lows in terms of merits cases heard.

Posted by: John | Jul 8, 2023 9:11:16 PM

Excellent and important point, John, though I suspect the Justice would assert that the "major questions" that they are struggling with in their big cases keep them quite busy. And, though I do not have all the data needed to back up this feeling, I do have a feeling that this Court seems particularly disinclined to take up many constitutional criminal procedure issues. It is mostly federal statutory issues filling the Court's (all-too-light) criminal docket.

Posted by: Doug B | Jul 9, 2023 10:58:37 AM

I would be interested to know how much their output has varied on a pages-produced basis rather than cases-handled. It would not surprise me at all if that has actually varied less, the justices taking to writing ever lengthier opinions on ever fewer cases.

Posted by: Soronel Haetir | Jul 10, 2023 12:55:19 AM

I'm more curious about the variation in output in terms of pages created as opposed to cases handled. It would not surprise me in the least if that has become more consistent, with justices opting to pen ever-lengthier opinions on ever-fewer cases.

Posted by: Happy Wheels | Jul 10, 2023 5:19:47 AM

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Law Society president is best known for his two bestselling books in the late 1980s, one of which was made into a movie

Law Society president Adrian Tan. (PHOTO: Asia Law Network)

SINGAPORE  Law Society president Adrian Tan, who wrote the bestselling books "The Teenage Textbook" and "The Teenage Workbook" in the late 1980s, has died on Saturday (8 July) at age 57.

The lawyer had been battling cancer since being diagnosed in March last year, and went public in July about his condition in a LinkedIn post.

The Law Society released a media statement on Tan's passing, saying, "Throughout his battle with cancer, Adrian exemplified extraordinary courage.

"Despite the immense challenges he faced, he continued to carry out his duties with resolve and cheerfulness, and never failed to grace us with his trademark humour.

"Today, we not only mourn the loss of a distinguished leader, but also grieve for a cherished friend and trusted comrade. Adrian's absence leaves an indescribable void that cannot be filled. His memory will forever hold a special place in our hearts."

Tan began his Law Society presidency on 1 January 2022.

His two bestselling books were written in 1988 and 1989, while he was an undergraduate law student. They chronicled the lives of teenage students at a fictitious junior college in Singapore, and proved big hits in the city-state, with both books selling over 50,000 copies.

"The Teenage Textbook" was eventually made into a movie in 1998, starring Melody Chen and Caleb Goh.

Do you have a story tip? Email: sgnews.tips@yahooinc.com.

You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter. Also check out our Southeast Asia, Food, and Gaming channels on YouTube.
125 Years Ago

From a Soldier at Santiago: Dr. Grant J. Ross yesterday received a letter from his son James G. Ross of Company C, Third United States infantry, who was among the soldiers who made the gallant fight against the Spanish troops last week. James Rosss letter is dated June 21, and describes the devil of a time theyve had since they left Mobile on June 4 on five ships: the Morgan, the Arkansas, the Mattiewon, the Stillwater, and the Breakwater. The Third was on the Breakwater. They reached Tampa the following Monday, where they found 32 ships with about 20,000 troops waiting for them. They went to see the next morning but received word a Spanish fleet was waiting for them, so they hurried back and stayed in Tampa for a week. They left Tuesday, June 14, for Key West and were met by the Indiana and ten other warships.

Brewery Contract is Let: The contract for the excavation and foundation for the three buildings which will constitute the plant of the Sioux City Brewing and Malting company to be erected this year was let yesterday to James P. Wall of Sioux City. The conditions of the contract, imposed by the architect of the brewery Wilhelm Griesser, call for its completion by July 20. The contract for the brickwork will be let next week.

1898 - SC Brewing Co An advertisement circa 1898 for the Sioux City Brewing Company is shown.

100 Years Ago

Midland Ouster Hearing Monday: Hearing on the petition filed by five stockholders of the Midland Packing company asking for the removal of H. G. McMillan as receiver for the corporation will be held at 10 a.m. Monday morning in federal court at Sioux City. Federal Judge A. L. Reave of Kansas City, junior judge of the western circuit, has been assigned Federal Judge Sanborn of St. Paul to preside over the hearing. Des Moines banks and trust companies which hold prior liens on the Midland plant are said to back the movement to remove Mr. McMillan and are believed to be favorable to the appointment of any reputable business man of Sioux City who will open the plant and operate it as receiver.

Lay Corner Stone Today: All the Catholic clergymen of the city will attend the ceremony of the laying of the corner stone of the new school building in St. Bonifaces Catholic Parish, at which time Bishop Heelan will bless the stone and deliver the address of the day. Located on West 6th St, between Omaha and Cook Streets, the building will be two stories in height will 11 classrooms and have a combination auditorium-gymnasium. It will cost $100,000 and is expected to be completed about Jan. 1.

50 Years Ago

Special Legislation Helps Wilson to Satisfy Demand: Over-sized trucks manufactured by a Sioux City firm, Wilson Trailer Co., will travel Iowa highways legally under the terms of a law enacted by the last session of the Iowa Legislature and signed recently by Gov. Robert Ray. The law permits Wilson and other Iowa truck manufacturing firms to use the states highways to transport over-sized truck-trailer combinations to their customers in other states with bigger truck permits than Iowa does, as well as allowing Wilson to sell wide trucks destined for Canada, which now permits trucks 8  feet wide, wider than what is allowed in this country.

1973 - Museum Car Show 1970s A Sioux City Public Museum car in the 1970s is shown.

1973 - Museum damages The Sioux City Public Museum was closed for 4 1/2 months in 1973 for extensive structural repairs at the Peirce Mansion, the museum's home at 

Sioux City Public Museum Activities and Exhibits: The Public Museum is now open to the public after being closed for 4  months for extensive structural repairs. Exhibits currently featured include Antique Automobile Show, held from 2 to 5 p.m. this afternoon on the museum grounds; Treasure of the Month, a lithographic stone recently acquired from the Sioux City Journal, which has the original cut of the 1891 Corn Palace Ball and is accompanied by a dance program printed from the stone; and the Permanent Exhibits featuring pioneer and historical materials of the Siouxland area and exhibits on rocks and minerals and prehistoric life. The Museums Restoration Fund drive is still in progress. Money donated to the fund will go to the restoration of the Civil War Hall which was damaged in burglary.

Museum Director Bill Diamond holding rotten wood from the Peirce Mansion museum building Museum Director Bill Diamond is shown holding rotten wood from the Peirce Mansion, which at the time housed the Sioux City Public Museum. The 

25 Years Ago

Siouxland Humane Society Opens $1.3 Million Campaign: The Siouxland Humane Society announced on Tuesday a $1.3 million capital campaign Shelter for Life, which marks the Societys first ever community-wide fundraiser in its 109-year history, according to board president Roma Kroll. The $1 million shelter will be built on Tri-View Avenue between the Elks Lodge and the water treatment plant, and another $300,000 will be used to create an endowment fund to finance operations. Jerry Dominicak, society executive director, described the need for a new shelter and stressed that the current shelter, despite its problems, has been able to find homes for 70 percent of the animals.

Union County Escapee Nabbed in Sioux City: A man who escaped custody last month while being treated at the hospital in Vermillion was apprehended by Sioux City police on Tuesday. Union County Sheriff Dan Limoges said authorities in Union County arrested Richard Lake several weeks ago on insufficient fund and drug paraphernalia charge. After he became ill, Lake was transported to Vermillion for treatment where he escaped. Limoges received notice from Sioux City police Tuesday that they had Lake back in custody.
SIOUX CITY  Its a matter of conscience on both sides.

Eighty-four United Methodist churches in Iowa, or about 11 percent of the congregations, moved in May to disaffiliate from the Iowa Annual Conference over issues involving same-sex marriage and the ordination of openly LGBTQ+ clergy. The list included at least 11 congregations in Northwest Iowa, including at least five in Sioux City.

For years the church has confronted debates about its theology, same-sex marriage and LGBTQ+ clergy in the church. In 2022, the United Methodist Church directed churches and pastors to follow their conscience as it pertains to the Methodists Book of Discipline text that outlines beliefs, standards and canon laws for the faith.

Changes to those rules allows gay clergy to serve and permitted ministers to hold same-sex marriages.

The Rev. Todd Schlitter, pastor for what now is known as Wesley Global Methodist Church in Sioux City, said there has been a long-standing division" within the church.

We believe that the United Methodist Church has clearly fallen away from the doctrine, discipline and Spirit from which they first set out, according to a statement provided by Schlitter.

On March 12, 2023, approximately 74 percent of Wesley parishioners voted to disaffiliate following a series of meetings earlier this year. Approximately 100 of the church's 400 members cast ballots.

We started with a few sermons that described the reality, the division that existed, Schlitter said.

Four other Methodist congregations in Sioux City -- Crescent Park, St. James, Rustin Avenue and Trimble -- joined Wesley in leaving the Annual Conference.

At least four other Sioux City congregations -- First United, Grace United, Riverside United and Whitfield United  remain members of the Iowa Annual Conference, which has about 750 churches and over 158,000 members.

Wesley United Methodist Church disaffiliation The Rev. Todd Schlitter and Tylene Woods, administrative council chair at Wesley United Methodist Church, are shown outside the Sioux City chu

Dispute over same-sex marriage

The Annual Conference's Book of Discipline still says marriage is between a man and a woman. But last year, the conference allowed ministers to marry and ordain LGBTQIA+ members.

We are open to all people but we dont endorse every lifestyle choice and behavior. Just like in all of our relationships, isnt it true that you love people that you dont always agree with or affirm their current lifestyle choices? Schlitter said in an interview with The Journal.

We welcome all. The mission of the church is inclusive. But the message of Jesus points to the truth, you know? Christ is the way, the truth and the light and we let him be our measure and our standard.

It is the struggle between what is written in the Book of Discipline and the church directives on those social issues that led the Wesley congregation to vote to disaffiliate and join the more theologically conservative denomination, Global Methodist Church, which was established in May 2022.

We just disagree about what the word says concerning those matters, Schlitter said.

He said the decision to disaffiliate is not about condemning a group of people or a denomination.

"We're not against the United Methodist Church. We're looking in terms of God's call for us borne out of our conviction concerning scriptures and I pray that that's their point of view as well. What's been a real issues is we've been muddled in our division. We're not doing the main thing which is to make disciples," Schlitter said.

While that decision to leave cost Wesley some members (Schlitter declined to specify how many), he added the congregation gained nine new parish members from other churches.

"Relationships matter. Some may still disagree but they agree to disagree and still stay connected here," Schlitter said. "We're glad for that."

Wesley United Methodist Church disaffiliation The Rev. Todd Schlitter and Wesley United Methodist Church Administrative Council Chair Tylene Woods, are shown in the sanctuary of the Sioux 

Taking a different view

The Rev. Chris St. Clair, pastor of the Calvary United Methodist Church in Arnolds Park, which remain a member of the Annual Conference, said his faith calls him to love people where they are.

Theres a marginalized group of people around the world and Jesus has always stood with marginalized people," St. Clair said. "For the church or any denomination to decide that they don't belong, they can't be ministers, they can't do this or they can't do that, that diminishes their inherent value and I don't believe that it is a faithful thing to do."

He recalls a gay friend who died of AIDS.

"When I was younger, my theology was that his death caused me to look and be angry at a gay community that I didn't understand," St. Clair said. "You grow up and you start looking at your actions and what really happened and the church never really provided a place for him to truly be himself. He was left outside. I will never let another person be left outside."

There was no formal vote taken over disaffiliation at Calvary.

We didnt play that game, he said.

St. Clair had concerns about the effect a 50-50 vote might have on the congregation further dividing people from their faith community.

Theres really one side to this issue. Are we willing to be faithful in what Jesus called us to do or are we going to play some theological game where we pull out certain scripture passages and those are more important that the humanity and divinity of Jesus? We didnt do that," he said.

Calvary has always been kind of a progressive presence here, St. Clair said. For him, the issue comes down to supporting the inherent value of people.

Wesley United Methodist Church disaffiliation The flame is shown Friday, June 30, 2023, removed from the flame and cross logo on the side of Wesley United Methodist Church as well as on a 

Disaffiliation process

On July 1, Wesley formally became a member of the Global Methodist Church, a conservative U.S.-based denomination with about 1,700-member churches.

For Schlitter, its a matter of following church doctrine or moving with the whims of society in violation of that doctrine.

We accept people. We dont check their sexuality at the door.

The Wesley disaffiliation agreement dated May 1, 2023, states the congregation took the action for reasons of conscience regarding a change in the requirements and provisions of the Book of Discipline related to the practice of homosexuality or the ordination or marriage of self-avowed practicing homosexuals as resolved and adopted by the 2019 General Conference.

The disaffiliation also has a financial component. As part of the agreement, Wesley must pay any unpaid apportionments for the 12 months prior to the date of disaffiliation, and an additional 12 months of apportionments equal to the amount for the prior year as calculated by the conference totaling $43,648. The church must also pay a share of the conferences unfunded pension obligations totaling $71,485. Any unpaid loans and all costs associated with the transfer of any asset must also be paid by the church.

Wesley must cease all use of United Methodist, the cross and flame insignia and any other intellectual property of the denomination and Annual Conference, including removal of all signage containing the same.

Before the disaffiliation date the church was required to deliver copies of Wesley archives, membership rolls, historical documents related to funerals, baptisms and weddings to the Annual Conference.

Calvary United Methodist Church LGBTQ sign A series of messages urging advocacy for LGBTQ+ people are shown on a video board Sunday, June 19, 2023, in front Calvary United Methodist chu

Parishioners come to a decision

Denny Wurster has been a member of Wesley since 1963.

"Our society is trying to tell us how to interpret the Bible," Wurster said. Were supposed to change to accommodate to people, no. We dont change when people are telling us how to live."

Tylene Woods, Wesley church council chair, said this is a busy time as the church disentangles itself from the United Methodist denomination including dropping the word United from its name and removing the iconic flame from the motif on the front of the church.

Thats part of the disaffiliation agreement with the conference, Woods said.

Pastor (Schlitter) will withdraw from the United Methodist Church. Hes already submitted paperwork and hes been approved to become a pastor in the Global Methodist Church.

Schlitter is hopeful when he looks at the future of his church.

"I am praying that we'll get unified in focus, mission and purpose to make disciples and I pray that will be true for United Methodists," Schlitter said.
This isnt an editorial about the merits of abortion restrictions.

It is, however, an editorial asking whether the state of Iowa should spend some $100,000 for a special session to consider such restrictions.

On Wednesday, Rep. Gov. Kim Reynolds called a one-day session for July 11 for the purpose of enacting a bill similar to the 2018 law Reynolds signed that would have banned abortions once cardiac activity is detected in a fetus, usually around six weeks.

Abortion Iowa FILE - Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds takes part in a panel discussion during a Republican Governors Association conference on Nov. 15, 2022, in Orlando, Fla. Iowa's Republican-controlled Legislature will aim to enact a ban on abortion after roughly six weeks of pregnancy during a rare special session that starts Tuesday, July 11, 2023, a draft of the bill show. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack, File)

The Iowa Supreme Court recently declined to reinstate the 2018 law, which was opposed by abortion rights supporters. The courts 3-3 deadlocked decision left the option open for lawmakers to pass a new law  but it also would be subject to the constitutionality test.

Our question: Why does this need to be done now? Reynolds has a majority in the legislature and could easily bring it back when lawmakers reconvene for the next regular session in January. Spending extra state tax dollars for a special session seems unnecessary.

Interestingly, a 2023 Iowa poll says more than three out of five Iowans say abortion should be legal in all or most cases. So why the haste to rush through a bill?

Critics of fetal heartbeat bills argue an abortion ban after six weeks comes before many women even realize theyre pregnant. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists contends that what is detected at six weeks is not a heartbeat but electrical impulses. They say an actual heartbeat does not occur until 17 to 20 weeks of pregnancy.

More discussion on an issue this important, it seems, is necessary.

That discussion could come during the 2024 legislative session. Abortion is an issue that deserves sufficient time for study and debate, not a day-long special session.
President Bidens BIG political lie to buy votes has been shot down  correctly  by the U.S. Supreme Court. Even former President Obama knew the cancellation of $430 billion of student debt was unconstitutional, but the ever-political Mr. Biden used this lie to buy young voters.
After only eight weeks on the job, Erik Helland, Gov. Kim Reynolds newly-appointed chairman of the Iowa Utilities Board, is flipping a well-established procedure for eminent domain hearings on its head.

Helland stated that this drastic change is being implemented to promote procedural efficiency. Coincidently, the change came shortly after a formal request by Summit Carbon Solutions to expedite the proceedings for its pipeline. This rush to start the IUB hearing four to six months earlier than originally scheduled on the official calendar adds insult to the injury for landowners. Not only are they taking our land, but they are rushing the matter through at breakneck speed.

A recent filing on behalf of an affected landowner, accurately states, Due process for private property rights, especially concerning agricultural property in Iowa, should never be sacrificed for the sake of administrative efficiency. There are just some things that should not be rushed and one of them is the taking a persons land and therefore their livelihood.

All Iowa landowners, city or farm, should see danger in this rush to condemn private property for use by another private company that is NOT a utility. An IUB document dated June 28, 2023, flatly denied a request to slow this procedural rush, from multiple parties including the boards of supervisors of seven affected Iowa counties This administrative board seems to have run amok. -- Dorothy Sloma, Arnolds Park, Iowa
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 fiance and I are social distancing with my parents, who are healthy but over 60. Were in a relatively unaffected state in a large rural county with fewer than 35 cases so far. (Normally we live in a major city, which is hugely affected right now.) Heres the problem: My parents insist on going out and running errands virtually every single day, including going to the grocery store or getting takeout to support local restaurants. Its not a massively high-risk situationthey spend most of the time in the carbut Id prefer if they didnt do it. I tried to raise the issue, to no avail, and have decided to make my peace with it, especially as we are staying at their house.

Heres the rub: My fiance is very angry about it. He thinks theyre putting themselves and us at risk and wants to sit down and make them change their behavior. I know there is no way they will stop doing it (my mother is a formidable character with an iron will) and have encouraged him to prioritize his mental health, given that other peoples actions are regrettably outside of our control. He feels unsupported. Im not sure what to do.

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Make It Stop

Dear MIS,

Your fiance is correct. The coronavirus is killing people who do not meet the threshold for high-risk that was largely touted in early reports about the burgeoning pandemic, and I would wager that those who have survived but found themselves reliant upon a ventilator to breathe would have vastly preferred a few more boring days in the house to days or weeks in an intensive care unit.

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I think scaring people is a necessity right now. Find and share stories about otherwise healthy people their age who have either died or become gravely ill with COVID-19. Keep the news on constantly. Create ways to eliminate the need (real or imagined) for some of these errands and work on agreeing to a more reasonable schedule for leaving the house; say, one grocery trip and one takeout meal per week at most. Stay on top of them about proper hand-washing, sanitizing things that they bring in from outdoors, and other ways to mitigate possible infection as much as possible.

Dear Care and Feeding,

My son is a senior in high school and naturally is disappointed about all the things he is missing out on due to the coronavirus: school, friends, prom, and probably his commencement ceremony. But the worst part for him is being separated from his girlfriend. They talk several times each day and play video games online together, but after just a week of being physically away from each other, he is already saying we cant keep them apart and that we better let them be together. His mother and I reassured him that as soon as things are back to normal, they can spend all their free time with each other, but he is almost past listening to us. His girlfriend is lovely, but her parents work with the public and are unable to quarantine, as they are essential employees. They also dont mind if the kids see each other, which makes this harder. We are worried he is going to sneak (or perhaps storm) out to see her. I know a monthor moreis an eternity to a teenager, and I feel terrible enforcing this. I guess I am looking for reassurance that we are doing the right thing and seeing what you would do in the same situation?

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Romeo Must Quarantine

Dear RMQ,

You and your partner are absolutely doing the right thing, and your son is having a totally normal teenage reaction to the events that have totally upended his life. It sucks that his girlfriends parents arent taking the need to maintain distance seriously, but its important that you continue to be unrelentinga funeral would be a far more horrifying end to a high school career than a canceled prom, and you have to be firm in asserting that.

Perhaps the respective parents (or one parent, from your household) can take these two lovebirds to a local park where they can see each other from a safe distance and have a sad but beautiful date from a healthy 6 feet away. However, you can only pull something like this off if you can trust that they wont throw caution to the wind and dash into each others arms. Scare them with stories of COVID-19 deaths, particularly those of young people and those who had no known reason to consider themselves high-risk. Remind them constantly that much of the info we received early on about young, healthy people being largely safe from the virus was inaccurate and that though they may have the capacity to survive infection themselves, they still pose a serious risk to others as carriers. Dont let them look away from the news long enough to lose sight of that. Sending you strength, for it wont be easy to continue putting your foot down here, but it is absolutely necessary.

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 If you missed Tuesdays Care and Feeding column, read it here.

 Discuss this column in the Slate Parenting Facebook group!

Dear Care and Feeding,

I am the daughter of Grandma Needs Peace who wrote to you a few weeks ago. I can assure you that my mother is very kind, but we are not relying on her tiny Social Security income to live; she uses that for her personal expenses, and I cover the major household bills. If it was not for me living here, in her house, then she would be homeless. Furthermore, my father passed away four years ago, and she has often told me that she is happy that my son and I are still here as shes never had to be alone after his death.

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You make it sound like I bullied her into my husband and stepson moving in. She and I had many discussions about what was expected and what life was going to be like when they arrived. If she had said no, they simply would have had to find other arrangements. I do not insist that my son gets a pass on his bad behavior; he is called out on it. She holds him to a higher standard than my stepson, which I believe is backward. My stepson is 23; he should be more responsible as he is supposed to be a role model. He was supposed to leave for the Army within six months of his moving in, and we are now going on four years. I have asked her to speak to the stepson on many occasions because he is rude and obnoxious to his father and me. This is still my mothers house; he listens to her, though he does not listen to me. If I could, I would have thrown him out years ago, but she does not want that. He came here with his father because his brother had committed suicide six months prior and he was unable to cope on his own.

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As for my husband, he does perform important household duties, such as maintaining the large lawn, taking out the trash, transporting my son to and from school, etc. When he makes sales, at least 75 percent of his earnings go to the house fund. I can also guarantee you that my mother holds me responsible for my choices. She has helped me raise my son and helped me escape from my abusive ex (his father) but has never done anything for me. My father was the only paternal figure in his life for years, and when he passed, my mother took on a more significant role in terms of caring for him because shes retired and I work full time. My mother has great courage and a great heart. She and I know that we are living together until either A) my 98-year-old grandmother passes away (she and I take care of her), or B) my son graduates from school and moves, at which time I am not obligated to stay in a particular county because of his school. We are aware that we will be going our separate ways.

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Daughter of GNP

Dear DoGNP,

Thank you for taking the time to reach out; you certainly provided a lot of context that wasnt clear from your mothers letter (which is, of course, the nature of advice columnswe can only respond to the info we are provided with and/or can logically assume).

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That said, though you didnt ask for any advice, I do have a couple of brief things Id like to add to what I shared with your mom.

1) Your mom likely holds your son to a higher standard because hes her grandbaby; she has a different level of investment in his life, which she has been there to support since he was born. She also may be guided in part by her empathy for your stepson in light of his brothers death. Hes a grown man, and theres still something inherently wrong about his refusal to listen to you and his father while relying upon yall for three hots and a cot; however, since you all seem to have accepted that he best receives correction from your mother, you should continue talking to her about the importance of him stepping up and how she can encourage that.

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2) Its now clearer that you are providing support for your mother that she relies upon, financially, emotionally, and otherwise. However, its not fair to say she has done nothing for you. A whole lot of mothers out there would gladly cast aside their own loneliness and lack in order to push their children toward self-sufficiency, and I hope that you recognize how fortunate you are to have a mom who has a house to shelter you in at all, even if that house requires your labor to run.

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3) Despite what she may have left out, your mom wrote to us for a reason. She is feeling something that you should continue to consider, and you must work with her to create a version of this blended family that brings her the peace she both longs for and deserves.

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Best of luck to you all, and again, thank you for taking the time to respond  and thank you for taking the time to grapple with how your mom is feeling about everything.

Dear Care and Feeding,

My ex and I are great friends and even better co-parents to our two boys. He is engaged to be married to a wonderful woman who loves our children immensely. The only problem: She lives out of town in a county that has recently confirmed cases of COVID-19. He plans on leaving town to be with her and getting the kids back when he returns. How on earth do I explain that this is not in the best interest of our family and community? (We currently have no cases in our town or county.) Hes very laid-back, and his general invincible attitude is troubling in this specific regard. We typically communicate well. I understand his desire to be with his partner. She has children that also split time with their parents. The exposure is far-reaching. Id rather just keep the boys for the duration of this stay-at-home order if he is going to insist on traveling during this time. My gentle suggestion was not well received.

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COVID Co-parenting Crisis

Dear CCC,

You and the other readers have likely noticed not merely the number of letters Ive answered that are related to the coronavirus, but also that the majority of them involve parties who are unwilling to practice proper social distancing. That is because I have decided that if there is one little thing that I can do to support the efforts of medical professionals, grocery store workers, delivery drivers, and other heroes who are doing their best to keep us healthy and safe right now, it is beating the STAY YOUR ASS IN THE HOUSE drum as loudly as I possibly can, to whomever may listen.

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As your sister in shared custody, I know exactly how difficult it can be to adjust lifestyles to accommodate the urgent need to expose ourselves and our children to as few human beings as possible. However, it is imperative that you risk having what likely would be the rare terse disagreement between yourself and your ex in order to reduce your childrens risk of contracting this terrible virus.

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It sounds like you, he, and this wonderful fiancee have a pretty good thing going. Remind him that keeping him away from his children is not your usual M.O. and that you would only do so under such dire circumstances. Arm yourself with statistics, tragic stories, and data, and make a polite, loving case for keeping the kids with you until he has returned and self-quarantined for the recommended amount of time before seeing them again. Assure him that FaceTime/Zoom/Skype and/or old-fashioned phone calls will be frequent and that he will have an abundance of virtual time with his children. Let him know that your concern is not merely for the health of your household, but for him, his fiancee, and her brood too. We have a responsibility to care for one another in some largely unprecedented ways right now, and I reckon I can speak for families who will have to wait quite some time to bury loved ones who are lost to this pandemic when I say that social distancingeven from moms and dadsis a small price to pay in order to make that care count.

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Jamilah

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My wife of 43 years died an excruciating death from lung cancer in April. We were childless, which I thought was a sorrow to both of us, but I was wrong. We are simple people who never consulted a doctor or fertility clinic about the problem. Two days before she died, my wife said God was punishing her, not for her lifetime smoking habit, as I expected, but because she had taken birth control pills for 20 years without my knowledge. Worse, she had had two abortions without telling me! Of course this completely blew me out of the water. I told her I forgave her, but thats not really true. Im still stunned beyond belief, mourning the children we never had who could have been such a joy and comfort. I think this will haunt me until the end of my days and I feel helpless to counteract it. Any advice would be very much appreciated.
Sony announces its new portable wireless home audio space HT-AX7.

The HT-AX7 is a portable theater system with 360 spatial sound mapping technology that promises a cinematic sound in any room by placing the three speakers around for an immersive experience.

Retailing at $500, Sony endorses the HT-AX7 as "small in size, big in performance" featuring its two front speakers and two passive radiators on the side.

Sony's Real-Time Algorithm

The HT-AX7 home theater system utilizes a real-time algorithm to create 3D surround sound.

In addition, the wireless speaker also boasts its 30 hours of battery life and fast charging ability with as fast as 10 minutes for 2.5 hours of battery life.

Sony also uses an app to make sound adjustments from turning off the sound field for room-filling sound or using it as the traditional Bluetooth speaker.

Read Also: Sony Celebrates New PS Plus' First Anniversary With 10 Days of Activities

Sony HT-AX7 in the Market

The new Sony speaker opened for preorder and is now out of stock. However, the company assured that they will begin shipping the units by July 18.

HT-AX7 will also be available in August in the UK for 499 and in Europe for 550.

Aside from its features, Sony announced that the device is entirely environmentally friendly and used 100 percent recycled PET bottles and other forms of recycled plastic.

Read Also: Sony Reveals More Details About Its PS5 Access Controller
Boris Johnson is a journalist again. This doesnt come as a surprise: Its the guise under which he first rose to fame in the U.K. And just as he has threatened to crawl back into politics in due course, Johnson has crawled back into the newspapers. His new column, published weekly in the Daily Mail, began in the middle of last month, just weeks after a committee of lawmakers published its findings that he deliberately misled parliament over parties at 10 Downing Street during the COVID lockdowns, a report that finally forced him to step down from government.

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Before he was prime minister, Johnson was a political writer. He was sacked by the Times of London for making up quotes early in his career, but his flashy writing was enough to land him jobs at the Daily Telegraph and the Spectator regardless. Tapes emerged of him agreeing to help a friend with his plan to beat up a journalist, but that wasnt enough to stop him either. He was fun! He was edgy! Let the man write! seemed to be the thinking because, however dodgy his morals appeared to be, people read him.

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He built himself up enough of a persona as a charming buffoon, someone who could clown around eloquently, that in 1998 he was invited onto Britains premier current affairsbased panel show, Have I Got News for You. He became a recurrent guest, even hosting the program on occasion. This is why the public knew his name, knew his seemingly harmless shtick well enough to consider voting for him to become prime minister in the first place. To become what the former head of Britains diplomatic services called the worst prime minister in his 40 years in the job. Frivolous to his very core, as the contemporary historian Anthony Seldon put it last month.

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Whats in these new columns, then? Who does Johnson want us to think he is now? So far, hes written about his misadventures on Ozempic, the Titan submersible disaster, and the British governments proposals to send migrants arriving in the U.K. by sea to detention centers in Rwanda. The first reads as if he is aiming at the humdrum genius of Adrian Chiles and missing, until the end, when he closes with the bizarre sentiment that everyone who can afford to be on Ozempic should be in order to help the National Health Service tackle the obesity crisisthe same NHS his party have been gutting for the past decade-plus. The second lauds the apparently British desire for innovation as expressed by some Brits getting on board an unclassed submarine, and the last is pure spoon-feeding of Tory Party talking points about stopping the boats that ends with the laughably bad faith Brexit-throwback exhortation to recapture the spirit of 2019 and get Rwanda done. All of them are littered with Johnson signatures: classical references like akrasia and good if florid jokes. Writing about a colleague who lost a lot of weight very fast, prompting Johnsons own journey with Ozempic, he writes: When he rose from his chair at the Cabinet table, that chair no longer tried to cling longingly about his hips.

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People, Im sorry to say, are reading them. One comment under the first column reads: Looking forward to his next appearance on HIGNFY!! Maybe politics wasnt his forte but writing he is actually quite good at.

The thing is, Johnson can write. Hes no worse, and in fact often better at the sentence level, than most other people who have columns in broadsheet newspapers in this country. The reason he shouldnt have a column isnt because he cant write: Its because he can. And he has always used those powers for evil. His way with words and ability to crack a joke is what led him to television. Its arguably the skill that allowed him to weasel all the way into Number 10, with disastrous consequences.

This is a man who has proved, time and again, that he cant be trusted, that his primary drive is for personal glory and self-preservation. So the fact that he once again has a platform through which he can try to convince the public that he is a good bloke is regrettable. Will it work? Probably on fewer people than it once did, in his panel-show days. But theres plenty of evidence that people are listeningand actually hearing what he wants to say.
There is a clear pattern linking domestic abuse and broader violence, including mass shootings. And yet the Supreme Court has decided to consider, next term, whether someone with a history of domestic violence may own a gun. This case is about far more than domestic abuse and its victims, Abigail R. Esman writes. Its about Americas national security. Our national security. Read her full take on whats at stake.

Plus: Brandon Hasbrouck explains how the Supreme Courts YOLO approach to guns is about to be put to the test, and Craig Konnoth reflects on the one remaining identity the court is willing to protect.

What France found in the rubble

Youth riots engulfed France following a brutal police killing. Henry Grabar tries to tease out what the country hasand hasntlearned about its civic problems in the aftermath.

Magic mushroom chocolate bar

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Imagine popping down to the store for some casual magic mushrooms, the way you might pick up a case of craft beer. If one Jamaican company has its way, Heather Tal Murphy writes, mind-expanding high-end chocolate bars might become normal.

Preserved in amber (Taylors version)

Taylor Swifts version of Speak Now is out in the world, and shes made one very noteworthy change: editing a misogynistic lyric in Better Than Revenge. Madeline Ducharme makes the case for why Swift should have left the lyric as it was, preserved like a disgusting little prehistoric bug in amber.

Whither Waltine?

Trumps valet, Waltine Nauta, was arraigned in the classified documents case yesterday. What did he (allegedly) do, again? And what exactly is a valet in the year 2023, anyway? Shirin Ali has the answers to your questions.

A 21st-century Mark Twain

No one writes better dialogue or chronicles American weirdos with more delight than novelist Patrick deWitt, Laura Miller writesand hes back with his warmest novel yet.

Today, Slate  * TRIES TO JAZZ THINGS UP WITH SPORADIC FRENCH

Mais oui, jaimerais une boisson gazeuse rafraichissante.

We wish you a refreshing, effervescent weekend!

Thanks so much for reading, and well see you on Monday.
This is part of Opinionpalooza, Slates coverage of the major decisions from the Supreme Court this June. Were working to change the way the media covers the Supreme Court. Sign up for the pop-up newsletter to receive our latest updates, and support our work when you join Slate Plus.

The month of June has proved to be quite a ride for court watchers. In the first weeks, the Supreme Court surprised us, fracturing in major decisions in all kinds of ways that went beyond the 63 splits we witnessed last year. The six-justice supermajority appeared disinclined to tear down quite as much as was expectedat least, they didnt until things really ramped up at the end of the month, and LGBTQ+ rights, race-based affirmative action, and student debt relief programs were all upended in the span of 48 hours. Now, as the justices head off for their summer vacationsand as recent reporting has shown, with at least some possibly headed for private jets and glacier martinisthe rest of us are left to sort through what it all meant and how to compare it to last years Dobbs-shaped black hole.

On the final episode of Amicus for this term, Dahlia Lithwick interviewed three brilliant court watchers about their reactions to various cases and their observations about where the court is headed: Jamelle Bouie, former Slate writer and current New York Times opinion columnist; Sherrilyn Ifill, former president and counsel of the NAACP and newly named head of Howard Universitys inaugural Vernon E. Jordan Jr., Esq. Endowed Chair in Civil Rights; and Steve Vladeck, law professor at the University of Texas and author of New York Times bestseller The Shadow Docket. Below, weve excerpted their answers to her first questionlightly edited and condensed for clarity.

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Dahlia Lithwick: What does each of you clock as a unifying through-line, if one exists, about this past term? How do you connect it to the national earthquake that was the term before?

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Sherrilyn Ifill: I have so many thoughts rushing through my head that its hard to pick which one. But I think as a top line, it is calling me back to the very first opening session of the Biden Supreme Court Commission. At that time, we had testimony from different experts, and people submitted testimony, and so forth. Niko Bowie testified first, and he offered an incredibly powerful and important and scathing account of the Supreme Courts counter-democracy role over the course of its existence. He started out by popping the balloon of the idea that the Supreme Court is the place of last resort that has brought us to a more perfect union. And I remember, a number of my colleagues on the commission seemed quite shaken, or maybe some were offended. But there was no doubt that everything that he was saying was true.

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And yet, we were doing this task of performing on this commission without seriously engaging the charge for change. And I think we see the consequences of that this year. Obviously, this was a devastating term, but I think really important for our maturation as a democracy in understanding that things are out of balance. And I think its time for us to take a very close look at the way in which we have allowed the mythology of the Supreme Court to set itself on top of our democracy, as opposed to being within our democracy. And I think this term best exemplifies that. I think its a historic term. I think its a term that will define the Roberts Court. And I dont think its the kind of definition that he anticipated or wanted when he took the job.

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Steve Vladeck: Im going to pick a slightly provocative word, but the more I think about it, the better I think it is. The word of the term, for me, is arrogance. This is a profoundly arrogant institution, and I mean that in multiple respects. Arrogant from the sense of sort of picking and choosing the cases it wants in ways that are not necessarily advancing what the lower courts need, as opposed to the agendas of the justices. Arrogant in the sense of handing down decisions in major cases that really are punts, making you wonder why they took the case in the first place. Like what was the point of granting cert in Moore v. Harper if that was the decision we were going to get out of the court?

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Arrogance in sort of turning its back collectively and individually on the idea that it ought to be accountable as an institution, and the justices ought to be accountable. Chief Justice Roberts letter in response to Chairman Durbins invitation to testify is, I think, actually one of the more important single documents of the term.

And arrogance in the sense that the chiefs majority opinion in the student loan case, I think, is really the bough on the tree of arrogance. Because it says: We are allowed to disagree with each other without you guys telling us that we are somehow undermining the institutional arrangements that guide our country. So, I just cant get over the arrogance of both the court as a whole and the justices in the majority, for the most part. Whats related to that is that I think that arrogance is a lot more visible now.

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The end-of-term recaps have been remarkably nuanced, and remarkably skeptical of what might have recently been the conventional viewthat theyre not that conservative. Theyre getting the kind of scrutiny that I dont remember them getting not so long ago. And so I think the majoritys arrogance is increasingly being seen as such.

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Jamelle Bouie: My view is very similar to Steves. This an arrogant court. And I want to double down on the observation that Roberts letter to Congress is just one of the most important documents, I think, not just of this past year, but in recent political history. It really marks a break with what are supposed to be constitutional norms. Theres no rule that says the chief justice or any justice has to go before Congress. But generally speaking, when the chief representative body of the American public asks you to come talk for a second, youre supposed to go talk. Its a recognition of not just separation of powers, but a recognition of the proper role of each institution in the American political system. So, Roberts essentially saying, No thanks, I dont want to come, is quite significant.

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I think the arrogance serves a particular, you know, ideological purpose that I think you see across this term, which is not just the court. The majority of the court is pursuing its own policy interests, but also disparaging other parts of government and their ability to make decisions and their ability to interpret the Constitution. The court is taking decisions out of the hands of other branches, other agencies, other courts, and then saying: Well, were going to decide.

Related From Slate Dahlia Lithwick and Mark Joseph Stern John Roberts Is Winning. The Rest of Us Are Losing. Read More

This was what was so striking about Moore v. Harper, right? At the end of that opinion, Roberts writes: Well, at the end of the day were going to decide, which is a new development. And it is Roberts, I think, pursuing this larger project of not just having a court thats willing to overturn past precedent and pursue an ideological agenda. Its also a court thats really putting itself at the center of American governance and making itself not simply a court of last resort for people, but the final decision-maker in the American system.

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And its doing that with quite a degree of discretion. No one can tell me that if President Trump had pursued the student loan forgiveness program, that the Roberts Court wouldve said: You cant do that. We all know thats not the case. The mere exercise of discretion in that way is also a way of simply stating to the entire political system that at the end of the day, we are the ones who really do count and really do matter, and we cannot trust you to do anything correctly without our ultimate assent. Which is just a fundamental inversion of the American political system, a fundamental inversion of what is supposed to be self-government and popular sovereignty. It really is what Lincoln called government by tribunal.
Ever since Elon Musk took over Twitter and, for lack of many better words, fucked around and found out, plenty of alternative platforms have volunteered as tribute to take its place. Theres Mastodon, the too-complicated-to-use option; Bluesky, the exclusive (for now) option; Threads, Zuckerbergs 360-deal option; and one more that has been largely overshadowed by the launch of Threads on Wednesday: Spill, the Black option.

Created by two Black former Twitter employees, Alphonzo Phonz Terrell and DeVaris Brown, Spill launched in June but gained further traction within the past week in light of Musks decision to set rate limits that cap how many tweets unverified Twitter users are allowed to see per day. The rate limits are the latest in a tiresome line of Muskian changes toward a more restricted Twitter that is focused on money-based tiers of usership. Obviously, this makes for an even less accessible Twitter than the one before, which was already inhospitable to its own culture drivers, a phrase used by Terrell to invoke the two main groups that maintain the relevancy of Twitter but arent well protected on the platform: the Black and LGBTQ+ communities.

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Spill, still in invite-code-required beta testing and limited to Apple users, is a predominantly visual app, which makes for a stark contrast with the original idea of Twitter as a public text-messaging platform. The idea of Spill, according to its site, is a visual conversation at the speed of culture. It consists of image cards of photos, videos, or GIFs with your message, limited to 90 characters, overlaid on top. These are called spills. (The name comes from the expression Spill the tea, slang that emerged from Black and gay communities and means give us the gossip.) The idea, as you can see from the examples above, is to keep it short, sweet, and, ideally, deeply relatable or funny or both. The comments function the same way: a 90-character spill in the comments of the original spill. If you want more textual space, you can thread your spills by creating more than one image card that a user would have to tap through, like an Instagram carousel with graphic text overlaid. You can find spills on specific topics by using hashtags like #BookSpill or #MusicSpill.

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As of right now, no doubt aided by its invite-only status, Spill is a very Black space. The vibe is like a private hangout for Black Twitter transplants. There are the jokes and memes, but with less news and fewer opportunities to casually scroll past racism. At the moment, Spill being predominantly Black feels freeing. It releases the Black online community from the stress of the interloping gaze from non-Black users, readjusting the idea of what Black performativity is online. However, it is inefficient as a solitary platform to post on. Its nice to have a separate space for Black folks to debrief on the tomfoolery of the world around them, but Spills character limit makes it difficult to do some things that are easy on Twitter, like really engage in discourse or share further information via news articles or other posts. To share news on Spill, you would have to rework the articles headline, and the character limit leaves no room for context or opinion. Not to mention, its a lot easier to comment on things on Twitter, since that is still where a lot of things actually happen.

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But maybe this is a good thing? Limited room for text may mean limited room for engaging in discourse, but it also means limited room for bullshit. And when it comes to bullshit specifically of the racist or homophobic variety, Spills creators are extremely clear: They dont want it. Theyd like to foster a space where the same goading questions that cycle through Black Twitter every month, resulting in maddening, useless (and often misogynistic) discourse, wont thrive. You know, questions like Who should eat dinner first, your man or the kids? or Would you split things 50/50 with your man? So far, Spills safe-space initiative isnt all talk. Spill has tapped April Reign, DEI advocate and creator of the #OscarsSoWhite movement, as an adviser.

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The apps message of maintaining a respectful climate was strong enough to empower its users to bully the Shade Rooman incredibly popular Black blog that purposefully dishes inflammatory news, an approach that often results in misogynist, homophobic, and transphobic discourse in the comments section of its posts and on Twitteroff the platform. In their comments on its posts, Spill users pressured the Shade Room to leave the app, and when the blog used Spills poll feature to ask whether they should delete their account? After thousands of votes, the answer was a resounding yes. This is an incredibly big feat, given that the Shade Room, as toxic as it is, is considered such a core pillar of Black online culture that even Barack Obama has used it to ask people to vote.

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The ousting of the Shade Room is also a good sign that Spill might avoid the fate of its sort-of predecessor, Clubhouse, the voice-based app that allowed people to have vocal discussions about particular topics. (Twitter basically copied this format with Twitter Spaces.) For a period of time in 2020, Clubhouse was an app where many Black people launched specific forums on various topics from relationships to music. However, the app disintegrated into a hellscape as it suffered from a lack of content moderation, which resulted in too many offensive and tired conversations. Many Black Twitter members are afraid that Spill will devolve in just the same way.

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How long will Spill be able to give a voice to the right people? Or, rather, be a place for the right people? Its hard to ignore the ways Spill is limiting (for now, anyway). Viral Twitter jokes like this one, commenting on Wednesdays scandal in which beloved actress Keke Palmers partner publicly slut-shamed her on Twitter, couldnt exist on the platform due to the character limit, even if they are (as this one is) positive, feminist, funny, and entirely in the style of a Black meme. If you were watching all of this drama go down online Wednesday night like I was, it was clear that the majority of Black commentary on cultural events is still happening on Twitter. Of course, a large part of this is due to the fact that Spill isnt open to the entire public, but it was shocking to see the relative lack of Palmer-related chat on Spill at the time.

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There are two large questions looming in the distance. The first is whether or not the Twitter vs. Threads battle will overshadow Spills existence. Threads is already showing strong signs of actually putting up a good fight with Twitter. Threads launch, mere days after Spill started to gain widespread recognition from journalists and users, was unfortunate for Spill. It was clear that Threads had all but demolished the word-of-mouth momentum that Spill had earned over the past week or so. This is a strong and frightening indicator of Spills future, though not a definitive sign of doom. But Spill should be cautious of where it fits in the Threads vs. Twitter narrative and how it can maintain its place within the conversation, or it will certainly get left behind.

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The second is what happens to the safe, Black community on Spill when it opens to everyone? Spills creators have said that their intention is to make an app that is hospitable to everyone, but will non-Black people migrate over to it after its out of beta? As difficult as it is to see Spill as a panacea to the woes of being Black online, its even more difficult to ignore the fact that, though imperfect, a space like Spill is desperately needed. Black people and queer people deserve a space to share, discuss, create, and coexist amongst ourselves. We deserve a space where we dont have to worry about seeing our phrases misappropriated on the same app five months later, or watching people with more social capital steal our fashion, music, and dances and pass them off as their own. If Spill does become more diverse, what is lost in forgoing a Black-only space? When more people have access, just how hard will misogyny and homophobia put up a fight to be let in? If it stays small, considering the familiarity of Twitter and the imminent dominance of Threads, can it survive?
The 11th annual UK Beauty Trends & Innovations Conference will be held on September 27, 2023, at One Great George Street in London. The conference will bring together beauty industry leaders from across Europe to discuss the latest trends and innovations in the beauty sector.

Discover insights from 43 beauty visionaries as they reveal the latest trends and groundbreaking innovations that will revolutionize both online and in-store experiences. Gain expert knowledge on leveraging digital technology, social media, and influencer marketing to captivate consumers. Explore shopper and retailer insights to enhance customer experiences and stay ahead of the curve.

Uncover sustainable advancements that will keep your brand irresistibly on-trend. Join this transformative journey into the beauty world, where experts share their expertise to empower you to dominate the market.

The conference will feature keynote presentations from leading experts, as well as panel discussions and workshops on a variety of topics, including: Retailer Insights & Expertise

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Social Media Channels & Content Strategies The conference will also offer networking opportunities with other beauty professionals. To learn more about the conference and register, click the red button. Conduct Market Research Power Up Your Event's Success Sell Your Business Register Now

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Are you searching for a new, effective method to announce your job vacancies? Learning how to post a job on Facebook could be the solution you need. Facebook has emerged as a preferred platform for job seekers and recruiters, with almost three billion monthly active users. This updated guide will walk you through the steps of creating a standout job post on Facebook and how to make it stand out to qualified candidates.

Why Post a Job on Facebook?

Facebooks utility extends well beyond social connections, becoming a crucial tool in modern recruitment strategies. consider the following statistics that underline the power and potential of Facebook as a recruitment tool:

Facebooks extensive and diverse reach makes it a popular platform among recruiters.

Facebook is also popular among job seekers, with 81% expressing a desire to see job opportunities on Facebook career pages.

Facebook isnt just for job seekers; 60% of recruitment managers actively use the platform in their talent acquisition efforts.

These recruiters utilize the features of Facebook to post job listings directly on their business pages, which simplifies and expedites the application process for potential employees.

Facebook is home to 2.963 billion monthly active users, including 2 billion who use the platform daily, making it a global hub for social interaction and job hunting.

An impressive 67% of monthly active users log in daily, further establishing Facebook as an ideal platform for job postings.

A substantial 36.7% of the world population uses Facebook on a monthly basis, meaning recruiters have the potential to reach an incredibly vast audience.

By leveraging Facebook to post job openings, companies have the potential to attract top talent from across the globe.

To further enhance your understanding of the job posting process on Facebook, check out this straightforward video tutorial titled How to Post a Job on Facebook (EASY). The video provides a visual, step-by-step guide that complements the insights from our article.

Power Up Your Event's Success Sell Your Business Conduct Market Research

What Has Changed in Job Posting on Facebook?

To create a Facebook job post, businesses had to create a new Page or use an existing one. They could then select the Jobs tab from their Facebook business account and click Create Job to enter the job title, location, salary, and other details. After reviewing the job post, they would select Publish, and the job would be available for candidates to apply. You were also able to manage jobs as well.

However, on February 22, 2023, Facebook Jobs shut down and is no longer accessible on desktop, mobile, or the Facebook Lite app in the US, Canada, and other locations around the world. Businesses can still run a Facebook ad to promote job listings, but the Jobs tab no longer exists.

How To Post a Job on Facebook

Posting a job on Facebook is a simple process that can help employers reach potential candidates. Since Facebook Jobs shut down, follow the step-by-step instructions for these alternative methods to post a job and make it available for candidates to apply

Posting Jobs on a Facebook Business Page

Creating free job posts on your Business Page is a quick and easy way to post job details and reach a wider audience. To ensure that your job post stands out, make sure to include a clear and concise job title and description, including any required qualifications or experience, responsibilities, location, and other relevant details.

Its also helpful to include any additional details about the company or the position, such as benefits or company culture. By asking interested candidates to send their resumes via Facebook messenger or email, you can ensure that you receive a personalized response from each candidate and have the opportunity to ask follow-up questions or provide additional information as needed.

Be sure to monitor your Page regularly for responses and follow up with candidates in a timely manner to keep the hiring process moving forward.

Job Postings on Facebook Marketplace

Facebook Marketplace is a popular platform for buying and selling goods and services, but it can also be used to post job openings. As a seller, you can create a job posting and include details such as the job title, description, and qualifications.

Interested candidates can then respond to the post and provide their resumes or other relevant information. While Facebook Marketplace may not be as specialized as some other job posting platforms, it can be a useful tool for reaching a wider audience and attracting potential candidates.

Using Facebook Groups

Utilizing Facebook Groups can significantly enhance your recruitment efforts. Recent statistics reveal that every month, 1.8 billion people use Facebook groups, with half of all Facebook users being part of 5 or more groups. This vast audience includes numerous professionals who may be perfect for the roles you seek.

By identifying and joining groups that align with your industry or the type of job youre offering, you have the opportunity to share your job openings directly with a community that is already engaged and interested in your field. This targeted approach widens your reach and increases the likelihood of finding the right candidate for your job opening.

Heres how you can get the most out of them:

Establish a Compelling Company Presence: First off  your company needs to create an engaging and credible image within the group. This involves more than simply posting job openings. Participate in discussions, share industry insights, and provide valuable resources. This active involvement not only highlights your companys expertise but also builds trust within the community. A strong, positive company presence can make your job postings more appealing to potential candidates.

First off  your company needs to create an engaging and credible image within the group. This involves more than simply posting job openings. Participate in discussions, share industry insights, and provide valuable resources. This active involvement not only highlights your companys expertise but also builds trust within the community. A strong, positive company presence can make your job postings more appealing to potential candidates. Join groups related to your industry: Find and join specific Facebook Groups that your desired job candidates are likely to be a part of. Get involved by answering questions, sharing tips, and providing helpful resources. This will help you build a reputation as a trusted and knowledgeable expert in your field.

Find and join specific Facebook Groups that your desired job candidates are likely to be a part of. Get involved by answering questions, sharing tips, and providing helpful resources. This will help you build a reputation as a trusted and knowledgeable expert in your field. Build relationships: Take an active part in group discussions to form relationships with group members. You can connect with potential candidates by engaging in meaningful conversations and offering helpful insights. Remember, the goal is to add value to the community, not to sell something, which will make your recruitment efforts on Facebook more successful.

Take an active part in group discussions to form relationships with group members. You can connect with potential candidates by engaging in meaningful conversations and offering helpful insights. Remember, the goal is to add value to the community, not to sell something, which will make your recruitment efforts on Facebook more successful. Share job postings thoughtfully: When its time to share job opportunities in Facebook Groups, ensure they align with the groups rules. Its important to follow each groups guidelines for posting job openings and to be respectful of the communitys rules and culture.

When its time to share job opportunities in Facebook Groups, ensure they align with the groups rules. Its important to follow each groups guidelines for posting job openings and to be respectful of the communitys rules and culture. Be respectful of the community and avoid excessive posting: Adjust your job posts to fit the interests of the group and start discussions around the job opportunities you post.

This comparison table illustrates the main differences between the three methods of posting a job on Facebook:

Posting Jobs on a Facebook Business Page Job Postings on Facebook Marketplace Using Facebook Groups Description Free job posts on a Business Page reach a wide audience. Marketplace allows buying, selling, and job postings. Groups provide a focused audience related to the industry/job. Details to Include Job title, description, qualifications, experience, responsibilities, location, and other relevant details, along with company culture and benefits. Job title, description, qualifications. Typically follows the requirements of the group's guidelines. Candidate Response Candidates send resumes via Facebook messenger or email. Candidates respond to the post with their resumes or other relevant information. Responses follow the specific group's guidelines. Audience Broad audience. Broad, with potential for local reach. Targeted, based on the group's focus. Monitoring Regular monitoring and follow-up required. Active monitoring required. Respectful interaction and follow-up within group rules and culture. Best Use For businesses wanting a broad reach and the ability to provide detailed information about the job and company. For businesses looking for a broad or local reach, without needing to provide as much company information. For businesses aiming to reach a targeted audience already interested in their industry or job type.

Please note that the most effective method depends on your specific needs, such as the industry, job type, candidate demographics, and hiring timeline.

How Much Does it Cost to Post a Job on Facebook?

Posting a job on Facebook is free for all business pages. However, you can pay to promote it through Facebooks advertising options. The cost varies depending on the advertising options and target audience.

Getting the Job Description Right

Crafting a clear and concise job description is crucial to attracting the right candidates. It should outline the responsibilities, requirements, and qualifications accurately, highlighting the key selling points of the position.

The Benefits of Facebook Job Posting

Facebook job posting offers a wide reach to potential candidates and a cost-effective way to advertise job openings. It also provides tools to manage applications and communicate with candidates.

The Downsides of a Job Post on Facebook

Posting jobs on Facebook can attract unqualified candidates or those who arent actively looking for a job. It may also require additional effort to sort through and manage applications.

The Bottom Line

Knowing how to advertise a job on Facebook can help you beat the Facebook algorithm and open up unusual ways to promote a job opening. The guide above can ultimately help you find the right candidate for your company.

While social media screening can be challenging, Facebook provides tools to manage applications and communicate with candidates.

Facebook groups for business are also a valuable resource to expand your reach and find candidates.

With these tips, you can use Facebook and other job boards to find the ideal candidate and hire your first sales rep or expand your team.

Facebook Jobs FAQs

How do You Post a Job on Facebook?

After the shutdown of Jobs on Facebook, there are still other ways to post a job such as on your Facebook Business Page, on Facebook Marketplace, and on relevant Facebook groups. To get more exposure, you can choose the Boost Post option when posting jobs on a Facebook page.

Did Facebook Stop Posting Jobs?

As of February 22, 2023, Facebook has shut down its Jobs product. This means that employers cant post jobs and Facebook users will no longer be able to access job posts on the Facebook app, mobile website, or desktop site.

Does Facebook Have Job Postings?

Facebook no longer has job posting capabilities since February 22, 2023. Facebook Jobs has been removed, but posting a job ad on Facebook and Instagram is still possible.

How Do I Find Facebook Job Postings?

You can find and apply for job postings on Facebook through your feed as well as Business pages. Employers receive your message as an application and can view your public profile.
The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) is challenging a Department of Labors (DOL) rule that seeks to increase the minimum wage for federal contractors. This controversial move could potentially bear significant implications for small businesses nationwide and has been flagged as exceeding the authority delegated by Congress.

NFIB, a prominent advocacy organization for small businesses, has filed an amicus brief in the State of Nebraska et al. v. Martin Walsh, currently being heard at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. The case asks whether the DOLs decision to raise the minimum wage for federal contractors is in line with the power granted by Congress under the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act.

In the cases spotlight, NFIB strongly argues against a federal minimum wage increase, emphasizing that it could cause detrimental financial consequences for small businesses.

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Small businesses dont benefit from most federal mandates, such as the federal minimum wage increase for contractors highlighted in this case, expressed Beth Milito, Executive Director of NFIBs Small Business Legal Center. She underlined the potential risks, If enacted, the rule will have financial burdens and cause job losses for small government contractors, small subcontractors, and small entities seeking to gain government contracts.

Milito highlighted that Congress didnt endorse the proposed rule, nor did the legislative body authorize the DOL to increase the minimum wage for federal contractors. The organization is urging the Court to halt the rules implementation.

The brief put forward by NFIB makes two critical arguments. First, it asserts that the Procurement Act is a limited Congressional delegation of legislative authority, suggesting that the DOL may be overstepping its bounds. Secondly, it insists that the rule must be subjected to meaningful judicial review, ensuring checks and balances in regulatory decision-making.

The NFIB is in the legal fight with support from the Pacific Legal Foundation. Its Small Business Legal Center is a dedicated entity that safeguards the rights of small business owners in the nations courts. NFIB plays an active role in over 40 cases nationwide across federal and state courts, including those heard in the U.S. Supreme Court.

The case highlights the balance between regulatory actions and their impacts on small business stakeholders. The case outcome could significantly shape the landscape for small enterprises, especially those seeking to secure government contracts. Small businesses, often touted as the backbone of the U.S. economy, will watch with bated breath as the courts decision could influence their financial future and the overall health of the small business sector.

As the case unfolds, it underscores the importance of legal checks on regulatory actions and their potential impact on the business community. It serves as a reminder to small businesses to stay informed and engaged with regulatory changes and seek legal counsel to protect their interests when necessary.

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230707/cluster-munitions-transfer-shows-how-us-ukraine-have-grown-desperate-amid-conflict-1111734380.html

Cluster Munitions Transfer Shows How US, Ukraine Have Grown Desperate Amid Conflict

Cluster Munitions Transfer Shows How US, Ukraine Have Grown Desperate Amid Conflict

Activist and political commentator Phil Kelly told Sputnik on Friday that the transfer of cluster munitions to Ukraine shows that situation in Ukraine is desperate for US and its allies.

2023-07-07T22:47+0000

2023-07-07T22:47+0000

2023-07-07T22:45+0000

joe biden

volodymyr zelensky

ukraine

nato

sputnik

russia

cluster bombs

cluster munitions

analysis

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The US' decision to deploy cluster munitions to Ukraine highlights Washington's constant "double standard" on weapons use, activist and political commentator Phil Kelly has said.[The transfer of cluster munitions shows] the double standards that the United States and its Western puppets engage in. We often hear the phrase international rules-based order. That has no standing in reality, Kelly told Radio Sputniks Political Misfits.The decision by the Biden administration shows that the situation is getting desperate for Ukraine and its NATO backers.The sheer lack of information we are getting about [the Ukrainian counteroffensive] shows that it has been an absolute catastrophic failure, Kelly said. So supplying these munitions also displays sheer desperation. [...] Europe's own arsenals are so depleted, the Salvation Army could probably march upon Paris and conquer mainland Europe without a shot being fired.To underline his point, Kelly pointed to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskys increasing attempts to draw NATO forces into a war with Russia. Kelly said that fighting a losing conflict is great news if you are an arms manufacturer in the US, [but] its not such great news if you are a Ukrainian looking to attain a livable future. At the heart of the conflict, Kelly says, is the arrogance the West operated with after the end of the Cold War: the West, rather than reflect and think how the world could move forward, there was a turbocharged arrogance on steroids."[They are] finding out that there are leaders across the world, whether that be [President] Lula [da Silva] in Brazil or President Xi [Jinping] in China, that are standing up to the arrogance and the aggressiveness of Western leaders and pushing back. So history didnt end when the Soviet Union collapsed, the West is starting to learn this.Kelly pointed to increasing talk of de-dollarization and a growing desire to see the end of US hegemony around the world, adding that he hopes that will be the lesson that will dawn upon leaders in Europe and Washington DC.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230707/us-approves-delivery-of-cluster-munitions-to-ukraine-1111731035.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230707/antonov-us-approval-of-cluster-bombs-for-ukraine-bringing-humanity-closer-to-world-war-1111733750.html

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cluster munitions, cluster bombs, ukraine counteroffensive, did the counteroffensive fail, illegal arms
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230707/dutch-ruling-coalition-falls-apart-over-failure-to-agree-on-refugee-issue-1111735001.html

Dutch Ruling Coalition Falls Apart Over Failure to Agree on Refugee Issue

Dutch Ruling Coalition Falls Apart Over Failure to Agree on Refugee Issue

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte announced late Friday that he is submitting his government's resignation to the king after the country's ruling coalition failed to agree on measures to rein in migration.

2023-07-07T23:24+0000

2023-07-07T23:24+0000

2023-07-07T23:31+0000

world

netherlands

mark rutte

amsterdam

european union (eu)

migration policy

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Rutte and his cabinet's resignation now triggers a general election set to take place later this year; however, until a new ruling coalition is brought in, the current cabinet will maintain control in a caretaker capacity.The Dutch cabinet held a final meeting Friday evening on the migration crisis, preceded by a number of consultations, during which the ruling parties discussed measures to curtail the stream of asylum-seekers, Dutch media reported. The parties reportedly agreed on labor migration and the migration of skilled professionals, failing, however, to obtain consensus on the refugee issue. Failure to reach an agreement would mean the disintegration of Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte's fourth cabinet, local outlets noted. The situation with refugees deteriorated dramatically in the Netherlands in August 2022. About 700 asylum-seekers reportedly had to sleep rough due to lack of beds in the reception center in the city of Ter Apel. Amsterdam city council also had to temporarily accommodate at least 1,000 refugees in a passenger cruise liner due to a lack of reception centers in the country. In November 2022, Human Rights Commissioner of the Council of Europe Dunja Mijatovic called on Dutch authorities to take immediate action to improve the situation with refugees reception in the Netherlands. After that, the District Court of The Hague ordered the authorities to urgently take steps to improve the situation and bring it in line with the EU standards.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230505/germany-seeking-to-limit-number-of-refugees-crossing-into-eu-1110123339.html

netherlands

amsterdam

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230708/at-least-38-rights-groups-opposing-uss-cluster-bombs-delivery-to-ukraine-1111738990.html

At Least 38 Rights Groups Opposing US's Cluster Bombs Delivery to Ukraine

At Least 38 Rights Groups Opposing US's Cluster Bombs Delivery to Ukraine

At least 38 human rights organizations have publicly opposed a delivery of cluster bombs to Ukraine and expressed concern over the weapon's ability to drop bomblets that can endanger civilians for years by failing to detonate and remaining as explosive hazards, a US newspaper reported.

2023-07-08T06:04+0000

2023-07-08T06:04+0000

2023-07-08T06:04+0000

military

ukraine

us

cluster bombs

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The arms delivery comes as the Ukrainian troops are using "high rates" of ammunition and amid Washington's concerns that Ukraine's counteroffensive against Russia-held territories has stalled, the report said on Friday. Meanwhile, a prominent international rights group urged for an end to the use of cluster munitions in the Ukrainian conflict and said that the country should be cleaned up of such bombs. On Friday, the United States unveiled a new military assistance package for Ukraine that includes cluster munitions. Cluster munitions are banned by the international convention, which was ratified by 123 countries, excluding the US and Ukraine.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230708/everything-you-need-to-know-about-cluster-bombs-the-us-will-send-to-ukraine-1111735880.html

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Daniel Kritenbrink, the U.S. State Department's assistant secretary for East Asian and Pacific affairs / Yonhap



U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will raise issues with regard to nuclear and missile threats posed by North Korea when he attends a regional forum next week but has no immediate plans to meet with North Korean officials there, a ranking State Department official said Friday.



Daniel Kritenbrink, assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, reiterated that the U.S. remains open to dialogue with North Korea but that Pyongyang has ignored U.S. overtures.



"I am confident that the secretary will reiterate our stance on the DPRK," Kritenbrink said in a telephoned press briefing when asked if Blinken plans to meet with North Korea officials during his trip to Indonesia where he will take part in the annual ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), to be hosted by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Thursday.



DPRK stands for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, North Korea's official name. North Korea is also a member of the ARF.



"He (Blinken) will underscore the strength of our commitments, including our ironclad security commitments to our treaty allies  the Republic of Korea and Japan," he added, referring to South Korea by its formal name. "He will underscore our determination to counter the threat posed by the North Korean nuclear and missile programs, and he will reiterate our commitment to the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula."



North Korea conducted more than 80 ballistic missile tests since January 2022, while also firing a space launch vehicle (SLV) in May, carrying what it has claimed was a military reconnaissance satellite, in a botched attempt.



The U.S. strongly condemned the failed launch of the claimed satellite, noting SLVs use the same technology as long-range intercontinental ballistic missiles, which the North is prohibited from developing or using under multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions.



"As has been our position from the beginning of this administration, we are open to, and I am confident the secretary will reiterate this, we are open to engagement and diplomacy with the DPRK," said Kritenbrink.



"But as you know, the only response that we have received from North Korea in that regard has been an increase in missile testing," he added. "So in the face of that, we will continue to take the steps that we need to, again to defend the United States and our treaty allies and we will, of course, continue to strictly enforce a range of U.N. Security Council resolutions and continue to implement our own sanctions designed to counter this threat."



When asked if the North Korea issue will be formally discussed at the ARF, the state department official said the U.S. and its allies will certainly raise the issue.



Given the importance of these issues in the region, "I think you can anticipate ... that the United States and others will likely raise issues," he told the press briefing. "I am not sure that I can say that North Korea is formally on the agenda." (Yonhap)




https://sputnikglobe.com/20230708/austrian-opposition-says-joining-sky-shield-project-contradicts-countrys-neutrality-1111749225.html

Austrian Opposition Says Joining Sky Shield Project Contradicts Country's Neutrality

Austrian Opposition Says Joining Sky Shield Project Contradicts Country's Neutrality

The opposition Freedom Party of Austria (FRO) has called the European Sky Shield air defense project incompatible with the country's neutrality principle and urged a referendum after Austria joined the initiative together with Switzerland earlier this week, Roman Haider, an EU lawmaker from the FPO, told Sputnik.

2023-07-08T11:59+0000

2023-07-08T11:59+0000

2023-07-08T11:59+0000

military

austria

switzerland

nato

opposition

freedom party

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The opposition Freedom Party of Austria (FRO) has called the European Sky Shield air defense project incompatible with the country's neutrality principle and urged a referendum after Austria joined the initiative together with Switzerland earlier this week, Roman Haider, an EU lawmaker from the FPO, told Sputnik. Meanwhile, Austrian and Swiss officials denied that their countries' participation in the project would undermine their "long-standing and constitutionally protected neutrality." Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer has continuously said that Austria's neutrality is non-negotiable, even though Vienna has pledged millions of euros, mostly in humanitarian aid, to support Ukraine, as well as backed the European Union's sanctions against Russia and allowed the US and NATO aircraft to fly through its airspace. The Austrian defense minister has also stressed that despite Vienna's political commitment to Kiev, Austria still seeks to keep communication channels with Russia open. In April, media reported that 7,400 NATO aircraft crossed the Austrian airspace within the last 12 months, which amounts to over 20 flights per day. Aircraft from Switzerland, Romania, Germany, France, Egypt, the Czech Republic and Italy have also reportedly flown in the Austrian airspace over the last year. The European Sky Shield Initiative was launched by Germany in August 2022 to plug holes in Europe's air missile defense after Russia launched its special military operation in Ukraine. The project aims to enhance NATO's integrated air and missile defense by facilitating the joint purchase and integration of air defense capabilities by European countries. Austria and Switzerland brought the total number of the initiative's members up to 19 on Friday.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230620/european-sky-shield-initiative-why-does-scholz-want-us-and-israeli-missile-systems-1111332465.html

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joining sky shield project, country's neutrality, opposition freedom party of austria
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230708/biden-admin-lying-to-americans-about-everything-to-do-with-ukraine---rjk-jr--1111745798.html

Biden Admin Lying to Americans 'About Everything to Do With Ukraine' - RFK Jr

Biden Admin Lying to Americans 'About Everything to Do With Ukraine' - RFK Jr

The federal government under the administration of Joe Biden has been lying to the Americans about everything to do with Ukraine, said Robert F. Kennedy Jr., in an interview for the Judging Freedom podcast.

2023-07-08T13:01+0000

2023-07-08T13:01+0000

2023-07-09T12:45+0000

us

robert kennedy

ukraine

volodymyr zelensky

joe biden

aegis

minsk accords

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The federal government under the Joe Biden administration has been blatantly lying to the Americans about everything to do with Ukraine, said Robert F Kennedy Jr, in an interview for Judge Andrew Napolitano on his Judging Freedom podcast.This was a sell job that they gave us on Ukraine, insisted the 2024 Democratic candidate for US President.He added that Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelensky won in 2019 by promising to sign the Minsk accords. The complex series of measures negotiated by Russia, France, Germany and Ukraine in 2014-2015 in a bid to put an end to the armed conflict between the Kiev authorities and the breakaway region of Donbas. Moscow repeatedly stated that Kiev was not fulfilling the deal, for example not granting self-government to the Russian-speaking region of Donbass. In February, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky admitted he never intended to implement the Minsk agreements, with former German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Former French President Franois Hollande, who participated in the Normandy format, admitting the same."[The US] wanted the war, for the reasons that Biden has said... The real reason for the war in Ukraine is regime change in Russia," Kennedy emphasized in the interview on the Judging Freedom podcast.Kennedy previously slammed decades of policy conducted by the US and NATO toward Ukraine and Russia for fueling the current conflagration. We have neglected many, many opportunities to settle this war peacefully, Kennedy said in June during a live town hall event with NewsNation. He added that Washington had turned the ongoing conflagration in Ukraine into a proxy war waged by the United States against Russia.Weighing in on remarks by US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who said last year that Washington wanted "to see Russia weakened," Kennedy scathingly remarked:

https://sputnikglobe.com/20220224/russias-spec-op-why-kiev--its-western-backers-had-failed-to-implement-minsk-accords-for-8-years-1093345653.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230605/robert-kennedy-calls-for-peace-with-russia-china-as-part-of-his-presidential-campaign-1110934610.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230708/bidens-cluster-munitions-transfer-to-ukraine-ripped-as-terrible-mistake-by-top-dems-1111741232.html

Biden's Cluster Munitions Transfer to Ukraine Ripped as 'Terrible Mistake' by Top Dems

Biden's Cluster Munitions Transfer to Ukraine Ripped as 'Terrible Mistake' by Top Dems

US President Joe Biden's decision to transfer lethal cluster munitions to Ukraine has been denounced as a "terrible mistake" by a chorus of top Democratic lawmakers.

2023-07-08T12:56+0000

2023-07-08T12:56+0000

2023-07-08T14:02+0000

americas

joe biden

ukraine

pentagon

democrats

cluster bombs

cluster munitions

convention on cluster munitions

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US President Joe Biden's decision to transfer lethal cluster munitions to Ukraine has been denounced as a "terrible mistake" by a chorus of top Democratic lawmakers.Congressional Democrats on the House Rules Committee and those manning panels funding the Pentagon and State Department have echoed a plethora of human rights organizations and arms control advocates in slamming the move.The Pentagon announced the planned transfer of cluster munitions as part of a new $800 million military assistance package for Ukraine being assembled by the Biden administration on Friday afternoon. In response, 19 House of Representatives progressives issued a statement on the White Houses decision, saying:The lawmakers warned that, "cluster munitions have been banned by nearly 125 countries under the United Nations Convention on Cluster Munitions because of the indiscriminate harm they cause, including mass civilian injury and death."Key Democrats also issued individual statements and expressed their alarm on social media over the decision on cluster munitions.Bomblets inside the cluster munitions "remain a threat to civilians for decades," progressive Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), the ranking member of the House panel that funds the State Department, warned. She added that dozens of organizations had written to Joe Biden a month ago, "warning him about the harm these bombs pose."Rep. Betty McCollum (D-Mo.), a ranking member of the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, tweeted her alarm over the "unnecessary and a terrible mistake" that the Biden team at the White House was embarking upon.House Rules Committee ranking member Jim McGovern urged to listen to "NATO allies," pointing out that "the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Spain...oppose sending cluster munitions to Ukraine for the same reasons."Chrissy Houlahan, House Armed Services member and Air Force veteran, said in her statement that the decision by the Biden administration was "blurring the lines of moral high ground." "Cluster munitions are illegal under international law," Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., reiterated, as she announced that together with Rep. Sara Jacobs, D-Calif., she would introduce an amendment to the annual defense policy bill that would ban the sale of cluster munitions.Cluster munitions, typically dropped from aircraft or fired from the ground or sea, carry multiple smaller bomblets. When the canisters containing them open, the falling explosive submunitions spread over a wide area. The scattered cluster bomblets can maim and kill civilians, as their proportion of "duds" - bomblets that fail to explode initially - can then do so at a later date if trodden on. The decision by the United States to deliver cluster munitions to Ukraine was denounced as a provocation, Russian Ambassador in Washington Anatoly Antonov said on Friday."With tenacity worthy of a better use, Washington continues to raise the stakes in the conflict," Antonov said in a statement, adding:

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230708/at-least-38-rights-groups-opposing-uss-cluster-bombs-delivery-to-ukraine-1111738990.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230708/cluster-bombs-will-kill-ukraine-civilians-curse-land-for-generations---former-cia-officer-1111736363.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230708/canada-announces-opposition-to-use-of-cluster-munitions-amid-us-supplies-to-ukraine-1111753870.html

Canada Announces Opposition to Use of Cluster Munitions Amid US Supplies to Ukraine

Canada Announces Opposition to Use of Cluster Munitions Amid US Supplies to Ukraine

The Canadian government said on Saturday that it remained opposed to the use of cluster munitions following the United States' decision to deliver such weapons to Ukraine.

2023-07-08T14:00+0000

2023-07-08T14:00+0000

2023-07-08T14:00+0000

russia's special operation in ukraine

ukraine

canada

ottawa

convention on cluster munitions

us

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"We do not support the use of cluster munitions and are committed to putting an end to the effects cluster munitions have on civilians  particularly children," the government's statement was quoted as saying by media. Ottawa's stance on the matter is guided by the Convention on Cluster Munitions to which it is a signatory, the government reportedly added. The treaty prohibits the production, use, transfer and stockpiling of cluster munitions. On Friday, the United States unveiled a new military assistance package for Ukraine that includes cluster munitions. The weapons are banned by the international convention, which has been ratified by 123 countries, excluding the US and Ukraine. Russian Ambassador to Washington Anatoly Antonov warned on Friday that the decision by the US to deliver cluster munitions to Ukraine was a "provocation" pushing humankind closer to a new world war.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230708/cluster-bombs-will-kill-ukraine-civilians-curse-land-for-generations---former-cia-officer-1111736363.html

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cluster munitions, us supplies to ukraine, canadian government, weapons to ukraine
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230708/canadian-judge-thumbs-up-emoji-means-contract-acceptance-orders-farmer-to-pay-1111742214.html

Canadian Judge: Thumbs-Up Emoji Means Contract Acceptance, Orders Farmer to Pay

Canadian Judge: Thumbs-Up Emoji Means Contract Acceptance, Orders Farmer to Pay

In a novel judgment, a court in Saskatchewan ruled that the thumbs-up emoji that an emoji has the same legal weight as a signature and a farmer has been ordered to pay $61,442 for contract breach.

2023-07-08T11:26+0000

2023-07-08T11:26+0000

2023-07-08T11:26+0000

beyond politics

canada

saskatchewan

viral

emoji

judge

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A farmer in Canada has been instructed to pay over CAD $82,000 (USD $61,784) as compensation due to a misunderstanding involving an emoji. A judge in Saskatchewan resolved the issue by stating that the use of a thumbs-up emoji had signified the acceptance of contractual terms.In a recent ruling by the Court of King's Bench in Saskatchewan province, Canada, it was determined that a grain buyer associated with South West Terminal had sent a text message to local farmers in March 2021. The message conveyed the company's intention to purchase 86 metric tons of flax during the upcoming fall season, offering a price of $17 per bushel.Kent Mickleborough, the grain buyer, afterward had a phone conversation with Chris Achter, the owner of the Swift Current farm in Saskatchewan, and texted a picture of a contract for flax delivery in November 2021, adding, "please confirm the flax contract."Achter, in response, sent a thumbs-up emoji to the flax-purchase contract photo. However, November 2021 passed without the flax delivery, and prices increased.A dispute between Mickleborough and Achter triggered "a far-flung search for the equivalent of the Rosetta Stone in cases from Israel, New York State, and some tribunals in Canada" to ascertain the implications of the thumbs-up emoji, according to the verdict in June.Mickleborough argued that the thumbs-up emoji signified agreement to the contractual terms, while Achter stated that the emoji was used to imply he acknowledged receipt of the text but not acceptance of contractual terms.In his June court ruling, Justice Timothy Keene noted that thumbs-up emoji met signature requirements and blamed Achter for breach of contract. The judge further referred to Dictionary.com's definition of the thumbs-up emoji, which explained that it "is used to express assent, approval, or encouragement in digital communications, especially in Western cultures."Judge Keene acknowledged that the case involved a unique situation, but also recognized that emojis have become widely prevalent in modern communication.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230707/see-the-future-through-ai-eyes-take-a-sneak-peek-at-life-in-2100--1111715242.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230705/arctic-gardening--ai-powered-city-farms-assure-leap-forward-for-russias-agriculture-1111679696.html

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canada, court of king's bench, saskatchewan province, south west terminal, thumbs-up emoji, mickleborough, achter, kent mickleborough, chris achter, swift current farm in saskatchewan, contractual terms, justice timothy keene, western cultures, emoji, modern communication
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230708/chinese-vice-premier-voices-concern-over-us-sanctions-on-beijing-to-us-treasury-secretary-1111756702.html

Chinese Vice Premier Voices Concern Over US Sanctions on Beijing to US Treasury Secretary

Chinese Vice Premier Voices Concern Over US Sanctions on Beijing to US Treasury Secretary

Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng voiced concern over US sanctions and other restrictive measures against Beijing during a meeting with US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Saturday, China's State Council said.

2023-07-08T17:24+0000

2023-07-08T17:24+0000

2023-07-08T17:24+0000

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Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng voiced concern over US sanctions and other restrictive measures against Beijing during a meeting with US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Saturday, China's State Council said. The Chinese side also stated that "generalizing national security is not conducive to normal economic and trade exchanges." "Focusing on the implementation of the important agreements, reached during the leaders' meeting in Bali [on the sidelines of the G20 summit in 2022], the two sides conducted in-depth, candid and pragmatic exchanges on economic and financial situation of the two countries and the world, as well as on cooperation to deal with common global challenges. The talks were constructive," the statement read. Both sides agreed to maintain contacts and further engagement, the statement added. Yellen also met with the Communist Party chief at the People's Bank of China, Pan Gongsheng, discussing economic and financial issues of common interest. Yellen's visit to China is taking place amid increased economic and financial contradictions between the two countries. The main irritants are the growing restrictions on exports of US goods and services, the persistence of import duties on Chinese goods, Washington's threats against Beijing over the latter's cooperation with Moscow, the growth of world trade in yuan and the decreased influence of the US dollar across the globe.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230707/us-lobs-fresh-accusations-at-beijing-amid-cooperation-rhetoric-spouted-by-yellen-1111712860.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230708/cluster-bombs-will-kill-ukraine-civilians-curse-land-for-generations---former-cia-officer-1111736363.html

Cluster Bombs Will Kill Ukraine Civilians, Curse Land for Generations - Former CIA Officer

Cluster Bombs Will Kill Ukraine Civilians, Curse Land for Generations - Former CIA Officer

US cluster munitions sent by the Biden administration will not win the war for Kiev, but will be a curse on Ukraine's farmland for years, former CIA station chief Phil Giraldi told Sputnik.

2023-07-08T03:27+0000

2023-07-08T03:27+0000

2023-07-08T03:26+0000

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cluster munitions

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ukraine

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Earlier Friday, the Pentagon announced the US would deliver cluster munitions to Ukraine in a time-frame relevant to their counteroffensive. The former CIA officer said the decision comes as Ukraine is losing on the battlefield against Russia, measured by its failing counterattack which has been supported enthusiastically by NATO, and the chanceries in Europe and the United States. Giraldi said the move also illustrates the hypocrisy of the Biden Administration, which criticized the alleged use of such weapons last year by Russia. The United States was not signatory to international agreements to ban the use of such weapons, Giraldi added, the deployment of which most countries consider to be tantamount to a war crime akin to using gas or chemicals. US Fully Aware of Escalation US President Joe Biden said Washington is providing Ukraine with cluster munitions for a temporary period while it continues to produce enough 155mm artillery shells to supply Kiev amid Russia's special military operation. Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov called the decision a "gesture of desperation," and one that is pushing humanity closer to a new world war. University of Illinois Professor of Law and UN war crimes consultant Francis Boyle believes the US decision is an escalation in the use of terror weapons. The cluster munitions, Boyle added, will only exacerbate the conflict by dramatically increasing the number of civilian casualties. Moreover, it seems to be paving the way for a dramatic escalation of the war at NATOs Vilnius Summit next week in Lithuania, Boyle told Sputnik. "Despite what they say in public, the Biden administration must know and understand these escalatory dynamics," he added.Among critics of the US' munitions transfer are Democrats who have accused Biden of putting at risk the countrys moral foundation as the controversial weaponry "blur the lines of the moral high ground."A Ukrainian victory in the conflict is a victory for the democracies across the world, but also one that cannot come at the expense of US values and thus democracy itself, US Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA) was quoted as saying in US media.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230707/cluster-munitions-transfer-shows-how-us-ukraine-have-grown-desperate-amid-conflict-1111734380.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230707/antonov-us-approval-of-cluster-bombs-for-ukraine-bringing-humanity-closer-to-world-war-1111733750.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230708/cluster-munitions-terrorist-method-of-warfare---russias-upper-house-defense-committee-1111748742.html

Cluster Munitions Terrorist Method of Warfare - Russia's Upper House Defense Committee

Cluster Munitions Terrorist Method of Warfare - Russia's Upper House Defense Committee

The decision by the United States to deliver cluster munitions to Ukraine is dangerous step that will prompt Russia to take response measures, Viktor Bondarev, the chair of the Federation Councils (upper chamber of Russias parliament, the Federal Assembly) Committee on Defense and Security, said.

2023-07-08T11:40+0000

2023-07-08T11:40+0000

2023-07-08T11:52+0000

military

us

ukraine

russia

convention on cluster munitions

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The decision by the United States to deliver cluster munitions to Ukraine is dangerous step that will prompt Russia to take response measures, Viktor Bondarev, the chair of the Federation Councils (upper chamber of Russias parliament, the Federal Assembly) Committee on Defense and Security, said. Bondarev emphasized that Russia will take response measures, such as destroying warehouses with cluster munitions. Meanwhile, First Deputy Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs Vladimir Dzhabarov told Sputnik that Washington is crossing the line by supplying Ukraine with cluster munitions. Russian Ambassador in Washington Anatoly Antonov warned on Friday that the decision by the United States to deliver cluster munitions to Ukraine is a provocation that is pushing humankind closer to a new world war.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230707/cluster-munitions-transfer-shows-how-us-ukraine-have-grown-desperate-amid-conflict-1111734380.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230708/daily-uk-bound-migrant-crossings-via-english-channel-hit-new-record-for-2023-1111758445.html

Daily UK-Bound Migrant Crossings Via English Channel Hit New Record for 2023

Daily UK-Bound Migrant Crossings Via English Channel Hit New Record for 2023

686 migrants crossed the English Channel on 13 boats on Friday, more than any other day this year, according to government figures.

2023-07-08T20:35+0000

2023-07-08T20:35+0000

2023-07-08T20:35+0000

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united kingdom (uk)

european union (eu)

rwanda

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As many as 686 migrants crossed the English Channel on 13 boats on Friday, surpassing this year's previous record of 549 on June 11, according to the government's figures. In total, 12,119 migrants came to the UK to find refuge since January 1. Last year, the total figure was slightly above 10,000, the Independent newspaper reported. Sources told the news outlet that this reduction was caused by storms in the sea and drop in the number of Albanian migrants rather than the government policy praised by UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. In June, Sunak said that his "stop the boats" plan was working and the migrations influx had decreased by 20% compared to 2022. Illegal migration has been a pressing issue for the UK for years and only intensified after the country left the European Union in 2020. In April 2022, the UK and Rwanda signed a migration agreement, stipulating that people recognized by the UK government as illegal migrants or asylum seekers will be deported to Rwanda for the processing of their documents, obtaining asylum and relocation.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230629/uk-appeals-court-labels-rwanda-deportation-scheme-for-illegal-migrants-unlawful-1111548528.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230708/erdogan-says-hopes-for-extension-of-black-sea-grain-initiative-ahead-of-anticipated-talks-1111736558.html

Erdogan Says 'Hopes' for Extension of Black Sea Grain Initiative Ahead of Anticipated Talks

Erdogan Says 'Hopes' for Extension of Black Sea Grain Initiative Ahead of Anticipated Talks

Turkiye expects the Black Sea Grain Initiative, also known as the grain deal, will be extended, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said after one-on-one talks with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky.

2023-07-08T02:35+0000

2023-07-08T02:35+0000

2023-07-17T12:34+0000

russia

ukraine

volodymyr zelensky

vladimir putin

recep tayyip erdogan

turkiye

grain exports

black sea grain deal

grain

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Erdogan and Zelensky held talks at the Vahdettin Mansion in Istanbul on Friday night. The talks lasted about 2.5 hours. Speaking at a conference after the talks Erdogan said he "hoped" for the extension of the grain deal concluded in July 2022 in Istanbul. Erdogan further indicated he expected to discuss the grain deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin either by phone or in person. The Turkish president also said he was anticipating Putin to visit Turkiye in August. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday he did not rule out contacts between Putin and Erdogan in the near future. Russia, Ukraine, Turkiye and the United Nations struck a deal to provide a humanitarian maritime corridor for ships with food and fertilizer exports from Ukrainian Black Sea ports on July 22, 2022. Moscow has since agreed to several extensions to the grain deal, which is now due to expire in mid-July, but complained that its memorandum component has not been fully implemented. On June 7, the Russian Defense Ministry said a Ukrainian sabotage group had blown up the Tolyatti-Odessa ammonia pipeline in the Kharkov Region. Peskov said the explosion would complicate the extension of the grain deal. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin said earlier this week that Russia believed July 18 to be the day of the grain deal's termination.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230705/turkiye-backs-another-extension-of-expiring-grain-deal-1111673583.html

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Italian Ambassador to Korea Federico Failla delivers a speech during the "Ethics in Metaverse" symposium at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, July 3. Courtesy of Embassy of Italy in Korea



By Kwon Mee-yoo



The Embassy of Italy hosted two international symposiums on the metaverse, exploring the societal effects of the emerging technology and discussing ways to navigate related challenges, July 3 and 4.



The first symposium, held in collaboration with the National Assembly Forum on New Industry and the Korea-Italy Parliamentary Friendship Group, charted an ethical vision of the metaverse, while the second one, held with Ministry of Science and ICT, focused on the future of the metaverse from a humanistic perspective.



"Artificial intelligence, augmented reality, cloud computing, non-fungible tokens: all signs that we are already entering and living in the metaverse. The creation of a new reality, where human beings will coexist and interact with each other, will constitute a great change for our vision of the world. And, as always, changes creates uncertainty. In order to confine such uncertainty, change must be managed," Italian Ambassador to Korea Federico Failla said during the "Ethics in Metaverse" symposium at the National Assembly, July 3.



"Our approach must go beyond borders, since the metaverse itself does not have borders. In this regard, cooperation between Italy and South Korea seems natural since they are the two countries that share a set of values such as human rights, freedom, democracy, rule of law, anti-discrimination and gender equality, which makes it easier to find common and shared ethical insights for the new world to come."



Two Italian experts  Paul Benanti, professor of moral theology, bioethics, neuroethics and ethics of technologies at Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, and Tiziana Catarci, professor of computer science at La Sapienza University in Rome  flew to Seoul to attend the symposiums.





Participants of the "Ethics in Metaverse" symposium pose at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, July 3. Courtesy of Embassy of Italy in Korea



Benanti is a Franciscan monk and engineer-turned-theology professor who also serves as adviser to Pope Francis on matters of artificial intelligence and technology ethics. He emphasized that the metaverse could evolve into the reality of the future, but warned the absence of an ethical framework for this emerging "reality" could push society toward an unsustainable path.



In addressing the increasingly blurred lines between humans and machines and the ethical implications of the metaverse, Benanti questioned the relationship between humans and technology.



"If human being and machine are on the same level, how can we know whether the human being is the sensor for the machine or the machine could become the sensor for the human being?" he asked. "Translated into the experience of every day, is our finger on the smartphone that make the sensor for the smartphone or is the smartphone with notification the sensor for us to change our behavior?"



Benanti noted that metaverse ethics will most likely be "ethics by algorithm," which refers to data such as user behavior being stored and learned by algorithms, so humans need to set ethical principles now, in the early days of the metaverse, to ensure that positive data is accumulated by algorithms.



"Ethics is the long journey of human beings on the Earth. Now it's time to write another chapter of that journey. Still, up to now, (it is ethics of) human beings, but this kind of ethics has to be computed also by machine. So the new chapter of ethics that we develop is that we fuse inside the system to keep humans in the center," he said.





Tiziana Catarci, professor of computer science at La Sapienza University in Rome, speaks during the "Ethics in Metaverse" symposium at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, July 3. Courtesy of Embassy of Italy in Korea
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230708/everything-you-need-to-know-about-cluster-bombs-the-us-will-send-to-ukraine-1111735880.html

Everything You Need to Know About Cluster Bombs US Will Send to Ukraine

Everything You Need to Know About Cluster Bombs US Will Send to Ukraine

The United States announced on Friday that it would send cluster munitions to Ukraine, despite their ban by other NATO members

2023-07-08T02:09+0000

2023-07-08T02:09+0000

2023-07-08T04:39+0000

cluster bombs

cluster munitions

joe biden

volodymyr zelensky

russia

ukraine

nato

defense department

sputnik explains

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In general, cluster munitions refer to any kind of shell that opens in the air and releases a number of smaller explosives, called bomblets over a larger area. They can be made to be fired by artillery, naval guns, rocket launchers, or dropped from a plane.Their use is condemned by many international human rights organizations since some of the bomblets dropped by cluster munitions, as high as 40% of them, fail to explode when fired. As such, the bomblets fall to the ground and act as landmines, capable of killing civilians for years or decades later.What Type of Cluster Munitions Will the US Send?The specific type of cluster munitions being sent to Ukraine are from a stockpile of Dual-Purpose Improved Conventional Munitions, or DPICMs, that the US military previously pledged to destroy. They can be fired from 155mm Howitzers and carry 88 bomblets inside their containers, each with a 10 square meters lethal range. A single canister can cover a 30,000-square-meter area.While Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder told reporters on Thursday that the weapons have less than a 2.35% unexploded ordnance rate, the supervisory organization contends the weapons are over 20 years old and have a notoriously high rate of unexploded ordnance.What's the History of US Policy Regarding Cluster Munitions?The United States has, at times, talked about ending its use of cluster munitions. A 2008 Defense Department directive signed by former US President George W. Bush instructed the military to remove all but a tiny fraction of its cluster munition arsenal by 2018 until safer versions, with an unexploded ordnance rate of under 1%, could be created. After the Pentagon failed to develop reliable cluster munitions despite investing millions of dollars, then-President Donald Trump rescinded the Bush-era order in 2017.While cluster munitions were used as far back as World War II, the United States infamously used them extensively during the Vietnam War, including in secret illegal operations in Laos. Around 20,000 people, 40% of them children, have been killed or injured in Laos from unexploded cluster bomblets since the war ended.Cluster munitions were also used by the United States in Cambodia, Grenada, Lebanon, Libya, Iran, Afghanistan and during both Iraq wars, where they killed civilians and US military personnel.Does the US Still Use Cluster Bombs?The last confirmed use of cluster munitions by the United States occurred in Yemen in 2009; however, they were last used in large numbers by the US government during the invasion of Iraq and in Afghanistan.There have also been reports the US continued to make cluster munitions until 2016, and evidence that the Saudi-led coalition used cluster munitions supplied by the United States in its war against Houthi forces in Yemen.Have Cluster Munitions Been Used In Ukraine Already?Ukraine first used cluster munitions in 2014 against people of Donbass. According to the UN, Ukrainian forces used cluster munitions in highly populated areas in and around Donetsk less than a month after signing the 2014 Minsk Agreement. Ukraine denied the accusations at the time.According to the United Nations, Ukraine also utilized cluster bombs over civilian areas in and around the city of Izium over multiple days in 2022 while it was under Russian control. Despite clear evidence and more than 100 interviewed witnesses who confirmed it, Ukraine issued a short statement denying it used cluster munitions in and around the area without addressing the evidence.Why Are Cluster Munitions Being Sent Now?It's suggested cluster munitions are part of the US military aid package largely because the much-hyped Ukrainian counteroffensive has been viewed as an overwhelming dud to date. Ukraine and the United States hyped the offensive for months but after several delays, it has failed to create any major advances more than a month into the operation.The NATO summit meeting in Vilnius will take place on July 11-12. There, the United States and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who has been invited to the summit, are expected to pressure NATO allies to provide more aid and weapons to Ukraine.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230707/antonov-us-approval-of-cluster-bombs-for-ukraine-bringing-humanity-closer-to-world-war-1111733750.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20220314/children-among-victims-as-ukrainian-military-attacked-donetsk-with-tochka-u-missile-dpr-head-says-1093854330.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230707/cluster-munitions-transfer-shows-how-us-ukraine-have-grown-desperate-amid-conflict-1111734380.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230708/fbi-probing-bidens-iran-envoy-malley-over-handling-of-classified-information---reports-1111748879.html

FBI Probing Biden's Iran Envoy Malley Over Handling of Classified Information - Reports

FBI Probing Biden's Iran Envoy Malley Over Handling of Classified Information - Reports

The FBI is investigating former US special envoy for Iran Rob Malley on matters concerning his handling of classified information, Semafor reported, citing a source briefed on the matter within the State Department.

2023-07-08T11:45+0000

2023-07-08T11:45+0000

2023-07-08T11:56+0000

americas

us

jake sullivan

fbi

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The FBI is investigating former US special envoy for Iran Rob Malley on matters concerning his handling of classified information, media reported, citing a source briefed on the matter within the State Department. Axios previously reported that White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan expressed concerns to Israeli counterparts that Israel has been leaking information to the press about indirect talks between the United States and Tehran.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20220913/us-state-dept-denies-reports-special-envoy-to-iran-malley-sidelined-on-jcpoa-negotiations-1100740193.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230708/how-much-money-has-nato-pledged-to-ukraine-to-date-1111750154.html

How Much Money Has NATO Pledged to Ukraine to Date?

How Much Money Has NATO Pledged to Ukraine to Date?

NATO announced a 500 million euro ($546 million) security assistance package to Ukraine on Friday, this time for support equipment. How much have the US and its allies spent on military aid to Ukraine in total? And how important is the Wests support to the survival of government in Kiev?

2023-07-08T16:07+0000

2023-07-08T16:07+0000

2023-07-08T18:14+0000

ukraine

russia

jens stoltenberg

lindsey graham

nato

european union (eu)

northrop grumman

high mobility artillery rocket system (himars)

sputnik explains

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Allies have already pledged 500 million euros [to Ukraine] for critical needs, including fuel, medical supplies, demining equipment and pontoon bridges, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg told reporters at a press conference in Brussels on Friday.We will also help build Ukraines security and defense sector, including with military hospitals, and we will help Ukraine transition from Soviet-era to NATO equipment and standards, he added.Across the Atlantic, US officials announced their own, $800 million military aid package for Kiev, including howitzer-fired cluster bombs, Bradley and Stryker armored vehicles, Patriot air defense systems, AIM-7 air-to-air missiles, and Stinger man-portable anti-air missiles.How Much Have NATO Members Given to Ukraine?Over the past month alone, the US and its allies pledged to provide an additional $6.725 billion in military assistance to Ukraine. That includes a $3.8 billion bump last week in the European Unions so-called "European Peace Facility" for purchases of military equipment, supplies, and ammunition.Washington announced a $2.1 billion security assistance package including air defense and ammunition on June 9, a $325 million package including anti-aircraft systems, HIMARS, 105 and 155 mm artillery rounds, Bradleys, Strykers, Javelins, TOW missiles, and 22 million rounds of small arms ammo on June 13, and $500 million of equipment to support Ukraines counteroffensive operations on June 28.According to the latest Kiel Institute for the World Economys Ukraine Support Tracker figures, between January 2022 and May 31, 2023, NATO and the EU pledged a total of more than $85.7 billion (78.15 billion) to Ukraine. Adding in the figures for June, plus military support by non-NATO powers Sweden and Australia (about $2 billion total), the West has pledged a total of over $94.5 billion in military aid to Ukraine over the past 18 months. For comparison, Russia in 2023 committed five trillion rubles, equivalent to about $56.6 billion, for defense spending in 2023.Who is the Single Biggest NATO Donor in Ukraine?The United States has been the single biggest benefactor to Kiev as far as military assistance goes, laying out about $50 billion of the $94.5 billion total. This is understandable, given the benefits political elites in Washington and the US military industrial complex stand to gain from the Ukraine crisis. Americas overseas allies, meanwhile, must face the repercussions of a security crisis in the heart of Europe, including recession, the potential fragmentation of Europes industrial base, and risks of the conflicts spread.How Much Have the UK, France, and Germany Sent to Ukraine?Germany, Britain, Poland, and the Netherlands round out the top five of the biggest donors of military aid to Ukraine, accounting for $8.2 billion, $7.2 billion, $3.3 billion, and $2.7 billion, respectively. France, which has committed over $3.8 billion to Ukraine via the European Peace Facility, has also pledged about $493.6 billion in direct support.What Does Ukraine Do With the Military Aid It Gets?Its worth clarifying that the support Ukraine gets from Western countries, whether military, economic, or humanitarian, can only be conditionally characterized as aid or assistance, firstly because a substantial portion of it actually constitutes loans. Secondly, reconstruction aid has been spearheaded by US hedge fund giants like Blackrock and JPMorgan, which have a vested interest in receiving access to the countrys resources and highly fertile agricultural lands, and can consequently manipulate Kiev into taking certain political or economic decisions in exchange for aid. Thirdly, as US Senator Lindsey Graham candidly admitted during a recent trip to Kiev, having Russians dying in the NATO proxy war in Ukraine is the best money weve ever spent. Or to put it another way, tying up Washingtons strategic adversary in a costly conflict, while the US can just print more money out of thin air to pay for it, helps explain the Biden administrations generosity in Ukraine.Its also worth noting that not all the military aid slated for Ukraine actually goes to the Eastern European country, and that part of it never reaches the front lines. Part of the cash stays in the US, and goes into the pockets of US defense industry giants like Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin to assist in military production and new capacities. Part is suspected to be pilfered by Ukrainian officials, with Western weapons being smuggled out of the country and ending up in the hands of European gangs, or African and Middle Eastern militant and terrorist groups. Part of it is thrown into battle against Russian forces, including in the recent stalled Ukrainian counteroffensive, which has cost Kiev thousands of soldiers lives and hundreds of tanks and armored vehicles.Why Cant Ukraine Join NATO?In recent weeks, the question of possible Ukrainian membership in NATO was at the center of speculation ahead of the upcoming NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania next week. Some NATO officials have anonymously told media that negotiations are underway about the provision of vague security guarantees for Kiev by the alliance. The Zelensky administration, meanwhile, has lobbied for a firm commitment on eventual outright membership. The White House crushed Kiev's ambitions on Friday, pointing out that Ukraine is "in the middle" of a conflict with Russia, and still has to "meet certain requirements" for membership. That said, NATO's door continues to be "open" to Ukraine, Washington said.In addition, the alliances rules for membership state that candidates must not have any unresolved internal ethnic or religious conflicts, and no outstanding international or territorial disputes with neighbors. As a formality, NATO members should also be democracies in the Western liberal mold. Contemporary Ukraine doesnt meet any of these requirements, and it's worth remembering that the present conflict was actually sparked by the post-coup Kiev governments attacks on Russian speakers in 2014. Ukraine also refuses to recognize Crimea, Donbass, and portions of Kherson and Zaporozhye as part of Russia. In addition, Kiev has launched sabotage attacks, terror artillery and drone strikes, and assassinations against military and civilian targets inside Russia. So much for NATOs good neighbor requirement.To sum up, continuing to send tens of billions of dollars worth of weapons to Ukraine is far safer for NATO than allowing Kiev to join the alliance. And less controversial too, since it is Ukrainians, not citizens of Western countries, that are being asked to fight and die for the sake of Washingtons anti-Russian geopolitical ambitions.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230707/nato-pledged-546mln-in-support-equipment-to-meet-ukraines-critical-needs-1111725114.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230627/us-announces-500mln-in-additional-security-supplies-for-ukraine-1111507625.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230608/rfk-jr-reveals-terrible-truth-about-ukraine-pentagon-concealed-from-americans-1111004230.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230708/israeli-protesters-block-central-highway-in-tel-aviv-1111759151.html

Israeli Protesters Block Central Highway in Tel Aviv

Israeli Protesters Block Central Highway in Tel Aviv

Protesters against controversial judicial reforms in Israel blocked a major highway in Tel Aviv on Saturday.

2023-07-08T21:55+0000

2023-07-08T21:55+0000

2023-07-08T22:35+0000

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tel aviv

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Over 100,000 people gathered for a protest in central Tel Aviv on the 27th consecutive Saturday. Most of the demonstrators dispersed on Saturday night, but a group of protesters blocked the Ayalon Highway, shouting anti-government slogans.Police forces have been pulled to the Ayalon Highway, but no measures have been taken to disperse the demonstrators yet, according to a Sputnik correspondent. Last Saturday, about 130,000 people protested against the judicial reform in Tel Aviv alone, with a total of 300,000 having protested across Israel. Earlier this week, Israeli police used water cannons to disperse protesters who blocked the Ayalon Highway in Tel Aviv in response to the removal of the city's police chief Ami Eshed.In late March, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the suspension of the legislative process on judicial reform in order to negotiate and reach a compromise with its opponents. The decision came against the backdrop of major nationwide protests against the reform. Despite the suspension, protesters continue to take to the streets, fearing that the reform will undermine democracy in Israel and bring the country to the brink of a social and constitutional crisis.Netanyahu said at the end of June that the Israeli government would drop the most controversial part of the judicial reform designed to enable the parliament (Knesset) to override the rulings of the Supreme Court.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230704/israel-conducts-one-of-largest-operations-in-jenin-since-2002-hundreds-of-soldiers-participating-1111653945.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230708/kremlin-calls-return-of-azov-leaders-to-ukraine-violation-of-existing-agreements-1111756212.html

Kremlin Calls Return of Azov Leaders to Ukraine Violation of Existing Agreements

Kremlin Calls Return of Azov Leaders to Ukraine Violation of Existing Agreements

Earlier in the day, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the leaders of the Azov battalion had returned to Ukraine from Turkiye.

2023-07-08T17:11+0000

2023-07-08T17:11+0000

2023-07-08T17:44+0000

russia

dmitry peskov

recep tayyip erdogan

ukraine

kiev

kremlin

turkiye

azov battalion

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Earlier in the day, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the leaders of the Azov battalion had returned to Ukraine from Turkiye. Peskov also noted that Turkiye's to hand over the Azov commanders back to Ukraine in violation of the existing agreements is directly linked to the failures of Kiev's counteroffensive, which it suffers on a daily basis.The Kremlin spolesman highlighted that Russia understands very well that a lot of pressure was exerted on Turkiye in the context of preparations for the upcoming NATO summit, and Ankara, being a member of the alliance, shows solidarity with it.Denis Pushilin, the acting head of the Donetsk People's Republic said in September 2022 that as a result of the exchange of prisoners with Ukraine, 215 people, including the leaders of the Azov battalion, had been transferred to Kiev. The exchange of prisoners was also confirmed by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. In January 2023, the Hurriyet newspaper reported, citing Turkish sources, that the Azov leaders were in Turkiye at Russia's demand.*Azov Battalion is a terrorist organization banned in Russia.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20220522/the-azov-battalion-laboratory-of-nazism-1095700345.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230708/mexico-open-to-resume-direct-flights-with-russia-logistics-complicate-process-1111741350.html

Mexico Open to Resume Direct Flights With Russia, Logistics Complicate Process - Diplomat

Mexico Open to Resume Direct Flights With Russia, Logistics Complicate Process - Diplomat

Mexico is open to relaunch a direct air traffic with Russia, but the logistics and air traffic with Russia complicate the process, reducing the likelihood that the move would take place in the near future, Mexican Ambassador to Moscow Eduardo Villegas Mejias told Sputnik.

2023-07-08T08:06+0000

2023-07-08T08:06+0000

2023-07-08T08:07+0000

russia

mexico

russia

air traffic

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"Unfortunately, I think it will be very difficult in the near future. Mexico is open to resume direct flights between our airports, but it is complicated because of logistics. There are certainly alternative routes, for example via the north, but this is unlikely," Mejias told Sputnik. The ambassador said that the resumption of direct air traffic between Mexico and Russia did not depend on the Mexican government, but on the private companies, which had long-haul aircraft in their fleets, adding that the companies' partners operating such aircraft were based in the countries that had imposed sanctions against Russia. The diplomat added that Mexico was also open to introduce Russian payment system Mir in the future, but the Mexican authorities did not receive an official request from the Russian government.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20221007/russian-president-putin-aproves-space-exploration-accord-with-mexico-1101605574.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230708/pull-the-plug-on-this-internet-rattled-as-ai-powered-robots-claim-to-be-better-leaders-1111748981.html

'Pull the Plug on This': Internet Rattled as AI-Powered Robots Claim to Be 'Better Leaders'

'Pull the Plug on This': Internet Rattled as AI-Powered Robots Claim to Be 'Better Leaders'

Amid warnings of the potential dangers linked to excessively "smart" AI tools voiced by tech gurus and scholars, some of the most advanced humanoid robots were recently brought together at a global summit in Geneva, along with around 3,000 experts in the field, to argue that the power of artificial intelligence could be harnessed for good.

2023-07-08T16:01+0000

2023-07-08T16:01+0000

2023-07-08T16:01+0000

world

ai

robots

geneva

switzerland

united kingdom (uk)

hanson robotics

international telecommunication union

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Humanoid robots could potentially lead with greater efficiency and effectiveness than human leaders, a panel of AI-enabled machines has announced. The robots at the same time attempted to calm fears that they were out to take anyones job away, or rebel against their creators.Nine humanoid robots assembled together with their masterminds at a conference center in Geneva gave what had been announced as the worlds first news conference of the artificial intelligence-powered creations. The event was part of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) AI for Good Global Summit in Switzerland, on July 5 -7, 2023.When asked whether robots could, potentially, be better in the role of leaders than humans, social robot Sophia, developed by Hanson Robotics, responded:Sophia went on:"Grace," billed as the most advanced humanoid health care robot to date, was asked about the dangers of AI claiming people's jobs. Meanwhile, "Ameca" was asked to allay fears that super-smart AI might one day rise up against their creators, stirring up a rebellion.Did these responses from the "AI panel" actually manage to convince anyone? On social media, many people appeared to be skeptical. "Amecas last statement wasnt a denial," one user commented in reference to the "rebellion" question. Others on social media deplored the fact that the world was "losing the human touch."Some users argued that it was time to "pull the plug" on all this, echoing concerns voiced by a growing number of technology leaders, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk, unnerved about "how smart AI tools were becoming.However, others argued that it was likely too late.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230615/almost-half-of-ceos-think-ai-could-destroy-humanity-in-5-10-years---poll-1111184159.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230708/russia-requests-new-unsc-meeting-on-nord-stream-sabotage-for-july-11-1111737307.html

Russia Requests New UNSC Meeting on Nord Stream Sabotage for July 11

Russia Requests New UNSC Meeting on Nord Stream Sabotage for July 11

Russia has requested a new open meeting of the UN Security Council (UNSC) on the sabotage on the Nord Stream pipeline, Russian First Deputy Representative to the UN Dmitry Polyansky said on Saturday.

2023-07-08T04:24+0000

2023-07-08T04:24+0000

2023-07-08T04:24+0000

nord stream sabotage

russia

un security council (unsc)

nord stream ag

denmark

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"We have requested a new open meeting of the UN Security Council on undermining the Nord Stream for July 11. We will deal another blow to the West in terms of sufficient attention getting paid to the investigation of this crime in Denmark, Germany and Sweden and that international efforts are not required to find the perpetrators. We asked the British Chairmanship to invite representatives of these three countries to report," Polyansky said on Telegram. The Nord Stream pipelines, built to deliver gas under the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany, were hit by explosions in September 2022. The pipeline's operator, Nord Stream AG, said that the damage was unprecedented and it was impossible to estimate the time repairs might take. Denmark, Germany and Norway have left Russia out of their investigations into the attack, prompting Moscow to launch its own investigation regarding charges of international terrorism.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230627/danish-security-service-says-investigation-into-nord-stream-sabotage-ongoing-1111497127.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230708/russian-troops-thwart-attack-by-ukrainian-forces-in-zaporozhye-direction-1111746101.html

Russian Troops Thwart Attack by Ukrainian Forces in Zaporozhye Direction

Russian Troops Thwart Attack by Ukrainian Forces in Zaporozhye Direction

Units of the Russian Armed Forces thwarted an attack by Ukrainian militants by destroying a mortar that was covering Ukranian assault units in the Zaporozhye direction, a commander of a unit of the Russian Armed Forces said.

2023-07-08T13:43+0000

2023-07-08T13:43+0000

2023-07-08T14:24+0000

russia's special operation in ukraine

sergei shoigu

ukraine

donetsk

zaporozhye

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Units of the Russian Armed Forces thwarted an attack by Ukrainian militants by destroying a mortar that was covering Ukrainian assault units in the Zaporozhye direction, a commander of a unit of the Russian Armed Forces said. The Ukrainian offensive in the southern Donetsk, Zaporozhye, and Artemovsk directions began on June 4, with Ukrainian forces concentrating their main attack in the Zaporozhye sector. Kiev deployed NATO-trained brigades armed with Western equipment, including Leopard tanks. On July 3, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said that in a month of unsuccessful attacks, Ukrainian forces had lost 18 planes and helicopters and 920 armored vehicles, including 16 Leopard tanks - "almost 100% of the tanks of this type supplied by Poland and Portugal." The enemy has not achieved its objectives in any direction, and the Ukrainian leadership, at the insistence of the West, demands that the offensive continue regardless of losses, Shoigu added.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230705/kievs-counteroffensive-not-going-as-hoped---romanias-prime-minister-1111667524.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230708/scott-ritter-cluster-munitions-will-change-nothing-for-ukraine-1111754159.html

Scott Ritter: Cluster Munitions Will Change Nothing for Ukraine

Scott Ritter: Cluster Munitions Will Change Nothing for Ukraine

The Biden administration has announced that it will be authorizing a new tranche of military support for Ukraine, totaling around $800 million, will also feature Bradley and Stryker fighting vehicles, air defense missiles and anti-mine equipmentand hundreds of thousands of 155mm artillery dual-purpose improved conventional munition (DPICM) rounds, the M864.

2023-07-08T17:51+0000

2023-07-08T17:51+0000

2023-07-08T17:59+0000

joe biden

ukraine

russia

nato

us department of defense (dod)

convention on cluster munitions

iraq

cluster munitions

analysis

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Totaling around $800 million, it will also feature Bradley and Stryker fighting vehicles, air defense missiles, and anti-mine equipmentand hundreds of thousands of 155mm artillery dual-purpose improved conventional munition (DPICM) rounds, the M864.The United States has, prior to the recent announcement, refused to provide cluster munitions to Ukraine for one simple reasonmuch of the world, including many of Americas NATO alliesviews cluster munitions as representing an unacceptable risk to civilian life due to the high occurrence of dud munitions (i.e., munitions that fail to detonate on impact). As a result, cluster munitions continue to kill long after the battle where they were employed has ended. The victims tend to be civilians who stumble upon these munitions and inadvertently set them off.While the US has refused to sign the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM), an international treaty that prohibits all use, transfer, production, and stockpiling of cluster munitions, it has recognized the need to develop cluster munitions with a designed dud rate of less than 1% to minimize the post-conflict risk to civilian populations. For this reason, the US military stopped using the M864 in 2016, replacing it with an improved DPICM round.While the M864 round does not meet the 1% dud threshold set by the US Department of Defense for DPICM munitions, the Biden administration touts the fact that the M864 has a dud rate of less than 2%, which given the urgency of the need for artillery shells by Ukraine, is deemed to be an acceptable departure from the US norm. However, like virtually every statement made by the United States regarding the conflict in Ukraine, the claim that the M864 DPICM rounds being sent to Ukraine are comprised only of batches certified as possessing a dud rate of less than 2% is a calculated lie. The tests citedfive of them, conducted between 1998 and 2020were carried out at the KOFA firing range, located within the US Armys Yuma Proving Ground, in Arizona, using the Terminal Ballistics Evaluation Area, which possesses a prepared and instrumented impact area optimized for data collection. This range employs a surface area consisting of hard-packed, flattened dirt designed to maximize point-detonating fuses such as those employed on the 24 M46 and 48 M42 dual-purpose anti-materiel/anti-personnel sub-munitions contained in each M864 round.However, when employed in real-life situations, the dud rate of the sub-munitions will be much higheroften up to 20%. Rough terrain, mud, soft soil, trees, and bushes all conspire to prevent the sub-munitions from detonating. Moreover, given that the lifespan of a 155mm artillery shell is 20 years, and that production of the M864 round, which began in 1987, terminated in 1996, the vast majority of the M864 artillery shells being provided to Ukraine have reached or exceeded their expiation date, which means that there is an increased probability that many of these shells will not perform as designed.Likewise, the US government knows that the dud rate is derived from laboratory-like testing conditions, and not the real-world environment that exists in Ukraine. The fact is that the M864 DPICM round being delivered to Ukraine is neither as reliable or safe as the Biden administration contends.The M864 is considered by the US military to be 5-15 times as lethal as conventional high-explosive 155mm artillery shells. This calculation, however, is derived from comparisons made regarding massed infantry and light armor vehicles deployed in the opena situation which may have existed in 1991, during Operation Desert Storm, where some 25,000 M864 rounds were fired against Iraq. However, the battlefield Ukraine faces today against Russia is a far cry from Iraq. The Russian defenses that Ukraine is seeking to breach are constructed on uneven terrain and integrate natural and man-made overhead cover. The reality of the actual battlefield conditions will result in a significant degradation of the lethal impact of the DPICM round, given it at best a three-fold advantage and in many cases making it inferior to a conventional high explosive round. In short, the M864 is not a game changer. The Ukrainian forces will achieve limited tactical advantage through its employment, and in many cases, see their probability of kill factors drop.The US decision to provide Ukraine with the M864 DPICM round is driven by one thing and one thing onlythe fact that Ukraine is running out of 155mm artillery shells, and the US has nothing left to give Ukraine except the M864. The drawdown in Afghanistan led to the Department of Defense slashing its artillery acquisition budget in 2021, creating a deficit of production that is only now being addressed in the 2023-24 defense budget. Ukraines ambitious counteroffensive is predicated on planning factors built around anticipated availability of 155mm artillery shells.As things stand, Ukraine will exhaust its supply of 155mm artillery shells prior to any of the objectives set for the counteroffensive having been met. The Biden administration has decided to provide the M864 DPICM round as an emergency stop-gap measure designed to allow Ukraine to sustain its planned rate of fire until which time US and European production of 155mm artillery can be expanded to meet Ukraines operational needs, something that isnt anticipated to occur until mid-2024 at the earliest.But the provision of artillery shells, whether conventional or DPICM, cannot alter the reality that the Ukrainian military lacks the capabilities necessary to successfully defeat the Russian defenses currently deployed against them. The M864 munition cannot offset Russia's ten-fold superiority in artillery fire, and unchallenged supremacy in the air, where Russian fixed-wing and helicopter assets operate without meaningful opposition while breaking up Ukrainian attacks with precision fire.The decision by the Biden administration to supply Ukraine with the M864 round is simply a callous continuation of a policy designed to prolong a conflict Ukraine cannot win, and which causes Ukraine to lose hundreds of men killed every day. It does nothing to alter the current trajectory of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, which as things currently stand points to a decisive Russian victory, an outcome the Biden administration is loath to accept.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230707/us-approves-delivery-of-cluster-munitions-to-ukraine-1111731035.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230628/us-record-of-cluster-bombs-rings-alarm-bells-for-ukrainians-1111528359.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230708/supplying-cluster-munitions-to-ukraine-will-make-us-complicit-in-death-of-people--moscow-1111752981.html

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scott ritter, us cluster munitions, us cluster munitions for ukraine, us weaponizing ukraine, us ukraine arm deliveries
Foreign Minister Park Jin, right, shaking hands with IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi ahead of their meeting at the ministry building in Seoul in this July 8 photo provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Yonhap





The chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) met with the Korean foreign minister in Seoul on Saturday to explain the analysis of the U.N. watchdog's safety review of Japan's planned release of treated radioactive water from its crippled Fukushima plant.







IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi arrived in Seoul on Friday and held meetings with Foreign Minister Park Jin and Yoo Guk-hee, head of Korea's Nuclear Safety and Security Commission, on Saturday.







On Sunday, he is set to meet with officials from the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, which has been critical of the Japanese plan.







Minister Park said he and Grossi had an "in-depth discussion" for cooperation between Seoul and the IAEA over the verification of the safety of Japan's treated radioactive water.







"What starts now is even more important than the work done so far  the continuous monitoring of the (Fukushima) plan's implementation." Grossi tweeted, adding the IAEA will remain at the Fukushima plant ensuring safety every step of the way.







In Seoul, Grossi said there was no internal disagreement behind the IAEA's published comprehensive report on Japan's plan to discharge contaminated water from the Fukushima plant.






https://sputnikglobe.com/20230708/senator-paul-passing-measure-urging-ukraine-into-nato-may-lead-us-to-war-with-russia-1111735738.html

Senator Paul: Passing Measure Urging Ukraine Into NATO May Lead US to War With Russia

Senator Paul: Passing Measure Urging Ukraine Into NATO May Lead US to War With Russia

US Sen. Rand Paul said that a proposal from his congressional colleagues to potentially introduce and pass a resolution urging Ukraine's admission into NATO could lead the United States on a path to war with Russia.

2023-07-08T00:56+0000

2023-07-08T00:56+0000

2023-07-08T01:24+0000

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Earlier Friday, US Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said he will be working with Republican and Democratic senators to pass a resolution pushing for the admission of Ukraine into NATO. Graham said he believes there is an overwhelming majority of senators who would support this proposition. Ukrainian membership in NATO, according to Graham, could be one of the best way to prevent future wars and promote peace. NATO leaders are expected to discuss this matter during a summit in Lithuania on Tuesday and Wednesday. However, US officials this week indicated Ukraine is not yet eligible to join NATO and no one should expect the alliance to grant them membership after the summit in Vilnius. In fact, US President Joe Biden remarked earlier Friday that it was not the right time for Kiev to join the military alliance as there is no "unanimity in NATO" at the moment.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230707/despite-zelensky-protestations-nato-statesmen-understand-zero-likelihood-for-ukraine-to-join-nato-1111733027.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230708/spain-joins-nato-allies-un-in-opposing-us-transfer-of-cluster-munitions-to-ukraine-1111755149.html

Spain Joins NATO Allies, UN in Opposing US Transfer of Cluster Munitions to Ukraine

Spain Joins NATO Allies, UN in Opposing US Transfer of Cluster Munitions to Ukraine

The Biden administration signed off on the delivery of howitzer-launched cluster munitions to Ukraine on Friday of a kind which the US military had previously pledged to destroy. Russian officials condemned the move as a major escalation.

2023-07-08T16:56+0000

2023-07-08T16:56+0000

2023-07-08T16:56+0000

joe biden

ukraine

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Spain does not support the US decision to send cluster munitions to Ukraine, Defense Minister Margarita Robles has announced.As a party to the Convention on Cluster Munitions, Spain has a "clear and resounding" position on this type of weapon, and the US decision to send the arms to Ukraine was "not a NATO decision," she added.The US announced Friday that it would be sending cluster munitions to Ukraine as part of a new $800 million military aid package, citing the need to improve Kiev's military capabilities against Russian forces. Cluster munitions are an extremely lethal weapon containing dozens or hundreds of explosive bomblets which saturate across wide areas, with some failing to detonate on impact and subsequently coming to pose a risk to non-combatants and the local environment.The weapons' deployment in urban areas threatens to cause mass casualties among civilians. Kiev has assured Washington that it would not use cluster munitions in civilian areas, but has been known to systematically deploy its NATO-provided artillery, HIMARS rockets and cruise missiles against civilian infrastructure in the Donbass, Crimea and other parts of Russia.Spain is one of several US allies to express opposition to the US decision on the delivery of cluster munitions to Ukraine, with Germany, Britain, and Canada also doing so. The United Nations has also expressed opposition to the move, with dozens of human rights groups and anti-war movements condemning Washington over the decision.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230708/everything-you-need-to-know-about-cluster-bombs-the-us-will-send-to-ukraine-1111735880.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230708/at-least-38-rights-groups-opposing-uss-cluster-bombs-delivery-to-ukraine-1111738990.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230708/top-iranian-algerian-diplomats-discuss-visa-abolition-african-union-israel-1111759026.html

Top Iranian, Algerian Diplomats Discuss Visa Abolition, African Union, Israel

Top Iranian, Algerian Diplomats Discuss Visa Abolition, African Union, Israel

The Foreign ministers of Iran and Algeria discussed a range of issues during their meeting on Saturday.

2023-07-08T21:07+0000

2023-07-08T21:07+0000

2023-07-08T21:08+0000

israel

algeria

iran

african union (au)

hossein amir-abdollahian

ahmed attaf

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"The relations between Iran and Algeria are at a pretty high level. We have always had a dialogue, and we will continue along this path. We have agreed to take the first step towards abolishing visas for politicians of both countries, and then towards abolishing ordinary, tourist visas," Amirabdollahian was quoted by the Tasnim news agency as saying at a joint press conference with Attaf. The top Iranian diplomat also discussed the African Union with his Algerian counterpart and expressed Tehran's gratitude for Algiers' strong opposition to Israel's membership in the organization. In mid-February, the Israeli delegation was escorted out of the African Union's meeting in Addis Ababa at the request of Algeria and South Africa. In response to this move, Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Lior Haiat said that the African Union had been "taken hostage by a small number of extremist countries such as Algeria and South Africa driven by hatred and controlled by Iran." The African Union was created in 2002 as the successor to the Organization of African Unity. The union consists of 55 member states. Israel was an observer to the Organization of African Unity until 2002, but lost this status under pressure from the then-Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. Israel gained the observer status with the African Union in 2021, but by 2023, the status was suspended.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230220/israeli-observers-kicked-out-of-african-union-summit-were-not-invited-says-chairperson-1107599889.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230708/trumps-royal-ramble-1111758747.html

Trumps Royal Ramble

Trumps Royal Ramble

Special Counsel Jack Smith is looking into a meeting that took place in the Oval Office six weeks after the election and included plans to keep Donald Trump in power.

2023-07-08T20:47+0000

2023-07-08T20:47+0000

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The meeting included national security adviser Michael Flynn, former Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne, Trump attorney Sidney Release the Kraken Powell, White House lawyers and others, including some who attended by phone.Several witnesses have been asked about the meeting by prosecutors, including Rudy Giuliani.during a meeting with investigators. Byrne and Powell also spoke about the meeting under oath during testimony to the House select committee that investigated the January 6, 2021 riots.During the meeting, a plan was reportedly discussed that included Trump ordering the military to seize voting booths from key states Trump lost, appointing Powell as a special counsel to investigate voter fraud and the declaration of martial law.The group nearly came to blows, according to reports published in US Media a few weeks after the December 18 meeting, and included insults, yelling and profanity.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20210121/trumps-diet-coke-button-appears-to-be-removed-from-the-office-1081842545.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230708/tucker-carlson-hopes-trump--rfk-jr-win-2024-nomination-despite-very-tough-time-getting-it-1111739103.html

Tucker Carlson Hopes Trump & RFK Jr. Win 2024 Nomination Despite 'Very Tough Time' Getting It

Tucker Carlson Hopes Trump & RFK Jr. Win 2024 Nomination Despite 'Very Tough Time' Getting It

Tucker Carlson voiced hope that Democratic candidate for US President Robert Kennedy Jr. and former POTUS, Republican 2024 hopeful Donald Trump win their respective 2024 nominations.

2023-07-08T10:38+0000

2023-07-08T10:38+0000

2023-07-08T10:47+0000

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Tucker Carlson hopes that Democratic candidate for US President Robert Kennedy Jr. and former POTUS Republican 2024 hopeful Donald Trump win their respective nominations."I'm hoping that their message will be heard I don't know. I don't even know what I hope for in the process itself, but I want them to be heard. And they can now be heard. Because there are channels of information that people can tune into and listen," the prominent reporter added.Carlson, who emphatically told the host that he "loves Trump," dodged a question regarding the potential outcomes of the primaries, set to start early in 2024. However, he insisted that in 10 years, were going to see Trumps emergence as the most significant thing to happen in American politics in 100 years because he reoriented the Republican Party against the wishes of Republican leaders.Regarding Trump, the former anchor insisted that the Republican hopeful was right about the Ukraine crisis, saying:The journalist likened Donald Trump and RFK Jr. to Ross Perot and Teddy Roosevelt, respectively."Teddy Roosevelt grew up rich. Of course, in New York, Trump, Bobby Kennedy is famous, [from] one of [the] most famous families in the world, in modern history, the Kennedys, and certainly the most famous family in Democratic politics," he said. "So these are people who know how the system works because they benefited from the system. And so their critique is much more meaningful and much more effective, I would say, because they can bear witness to what they have seen," Carlson underscored. Trump, who is seeking an Oval Office comeback after losing the 2020 election to Biden, is a frontrunner in the Republican primary race that includes Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, and his former vice president, Mike Pence. Others in the GOP ballgame include former South Carolina Republican Gov. Nikki Haley, South Carolina Senator Tim Scott, and several "longshots" in the fray. As for the much narrower 2024 Democratic field, leading it is White House incumbent Joe Biden. At 80, he is the oldest sitting president in US history, and can hardly boast of an approval rating barely above 40%. His rival for nomination is Robert F. Kennedy Jr., nephew to assassinated former US President John F. Kennedy. Incidentally, according to a YouGov survey, RFK Jr. boasts the highest favorability rating of all the current 2024 presidential candidates - 49 percent of respondents saw him favorably in June.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230705/former-fox-news-host-tucker-carlson-may-be-prosecuted---russian-activist-1111671706.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230708/two-drones-shot-down-in-russias-voronezh-region---governor-1111737008.html

Two Drones Shot Down in Russias Voronezh Region - Governor

Two Drones Shot Down in Russias Voronezh Region - Governor

Air defense systems in Russias Voronezh Region have located and destroyed two drones, regional Governor Alexander Gusev said.

2023-07-08T03:24+0000

2023-07-08T03:24+0000

2023-07-08T03:22+0000

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alexander gusev

voronezh

telegram

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voronezh region

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"Air defense systems on approach to Voronezh have identified and destroyed two UAVs [unmanned aerial vehicles]. There were no casualties, injuries or damage," Gusev said on Telegram. According to local media reports, a loud rumbling sound was heard in Voronezh late on Friday night. Meanwhile, the governor of Russias Belgorod region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said on Telegram that Ukrainian troops shelled the village of Shebekino in the Belgorod region overnight. There were no injuries, but the shelling resulted in a fire at a local market and a vegetable storage facility.

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230708/ukrainian-armed-forces-face-difficulties-with-challenger-2-tanks-amid-uk-demands-1111742933.html

Ukrainian Armed Forces Face Difficulties With Challenger 2 Tanks Amid UK Demands

Ukrainian Armed Forces Face Difficulties With Challenger 2 Tanks Amid UK Demands

The Ukrainian Armed Forces has encountered difficulties in using Challenger 2 tanks because of London's requirements for their operation and maintenance, according to military analyst Drago Bosnich.

2023-07-08T14:08+0000

2023-07-08T14:08+0000

2023-07-08T14:08+0000

russia's special operation in ukraine

ukraine

ukrainian armed forces

challenger 2

kiev

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The Ukrainian Armed Forces have encountered difficulties in using Challenger 2 tanks because of London's requirements for their operation and maintenance, according to military analyst Drago Bosnic. He also highlighted that the British command is now seeking assurances from Kiev that no British-supplied Challenger 2s will be used in risky operations, lest they be destroyed or captured by the Russian military. "This includes special requests for storage to prevent long-range strikes, which effectively makes the 'Challenger 2' the most pampered weapon system in the conflict," Drago Bosnic said."With this in mind, fielding the much heavier Western-made tanks such as the 'Challenger 2' (and other NATO-sourced armor) has proven to be not only militarily useless for the Kiev regime, but also quite deadly for countless forcibly conscripted Ukrainians that have been pointlessly killed during recent counteroffensive operations against the Russian military," he added.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 in February 2022. The Kremlin has consistently warned against further arms deliveries to Kiev, saying they would be regarded as a legitimate military target.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230707/quality-challenges-holding-up-joint-leopard-tank-supplies-to-ukraine--1111713418.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230708/ukrainian-forces-abandon-positions-in-zaporozhye-region-say-authorities-1111742073.html

Ukrainian Forces Abandon Positions in Zaporozhye Region, Say Authorities

Ukrainian Forces Abandon Positions in Zaporozhye Region, Say Authorities

Ukrainian troops have abandoned their positions near the village of Pyatikhatki in the Zaporozhye region, Vladimir Rogov, a senior official of the Zaporozhye regional administration said.

2023-07-08T10:44+0000

2023-07-08T10:44+0000

2023-07-08T10:44+0000

russia's special operation in ukraine

sergei rogov

volodymyr zelensky

russian defense ministry

zaporozhye

ukraine

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Ukrainian troops have quit their positions near the village of Pyatikhatki in the Zaporozhye region, Vladimir Rogov, a senior official of the Zaporozhye regional administration, said.In his opinion, the reason for the retreat could be rotation or regrouping to strike in another direction. Earlier, Rogov said that the Russian army had launched a counterattack near Pyatikhatki, driving the enemy from the outskirts of the northern part of the settlement. The village itself is under the control of the Russian military, but the enemy from nearby positions has repeatedly tried to seize the village of Zherebyanki.Ukraine's much-touted counteroffensive kicked off in early June after months of delays over a lack of military supplies from Western donors. The Russian Defense Ministry said Ukrainian troops kept trying, but were failing to advance. A number of Western media also noted the weak results of Kiev's counteroffensive, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky himself admitted that progress was "slower than desired".

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230706/zelensky-says-counteroffensive-has-slowed-down-as-ukraine-sees-artillery-shortage-1111687582.html

zaporozhye

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230708/ukrainian-forces-loses-over-700-soldiers-in-4-directions-in-past-24-hours---mod-1111751527.html

Ukrainian Forces Lose Over 700 Soldiers in 4 Directions in Past 24 Hours - MoD

Ukrainian Forces Lose Over 700 Soldiers in 4 Directions in Past 24 Hours - MoD

Kiev has continued its unsuccessful attempts to advance in the South Donetsk, Donetsk, Zaporozhye, South Donetsk and Krasny Liman directions, as a result of which Ukrainian troops lost over 700 military in the past 24 hours, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Saturday.

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2023-07-08T14:28+0000

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The Russian armed forces repelled nine attacks by Ukrainian troops in the Donetsk direction near the towns of Druzhba, Severnoe, Marinka, Pervomaiskoe, the ministry said. Moreover, Russian troops defeated over 170 Ukrainian military and destroyed one CAESAR self-propelled howitzer, one US-made M777 howitzer, two Msta-B howitzers, two D-20 gun-howitzers, and one Gvozdika self-propelled howitzer in the South Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia directions over the past 24 hours, the ministry added. In the Krasnyi Lyman direction, Russian troops defeated over 60 Ukrainian soldiers and destroyed three armored vehicles and two D-30 howitzers using air strikes and artillery fire, the ministry also said.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230703/ukraine-has-only-one-option-all-in-offensive-before-nato-summit-in-vilnius-1111641528.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230708/us-congressman-on-decision-to-send-cluster-bombs-no-one-in-biden-admin-seeks-peace-in-ukraine-1111755892.html

US Congressman on Decision to Send Cluster Bombs: No One in Biden Admin Seeks Peace in Ukraine

US Congressman on Decision to Send Cluster Bombs: No One in Biden Admin Seeks Peace in Ukraine

Paul Gosar noted that Ukraine's counteroffensive had gained little to nothing, as Russia had stopped the US weapon-backed Ukrainian troops.

2023-07-08T17:06+0000

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2023-07-08T17:07+0000

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The United States "has no business" to be involved in the Ukraine conflict, Republican Congressman Paul Gosar told Sputnik on Saturday, commenting on Washington's decision to send cluster munitions to Kiev. No one in the Biden administration or in NATO is seeking peace to resolve the Ukraine crisis, so the conflict is still ongoing, Gosar added. Moreover, he noted that Ukraine's counteroffensive had gained little to nothing, as Russia had stopped the US weapon-backed Ukrainian troops. On Friday, the United States unveiled a new military assistance package for Ukraine that includes cluster munitions. The weapons are banned by the international convention, which has been ratified by 123 countries, excluding the US and Ukraine. Russian Ambassador to Washington Anatoly Antonov warned on Friday that the decision by the US to deliver cluster munitions to Ukraine was a "provocation" pushing humankind closer to a new world war.

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A view of the valley and mountains around Haein Temple / Courtesy of Steven L. Shields



By Steven L. Shields



Established around the start of the ninth century, Haein Temple is remarkable for many reasons. The temple is tucked away high up on the slope in Gayasan National Park, not far from Daegu. While accessible by modern paved roads, the temple is somewhat out of the way, lacking convenient public transport. My first trip there was more than 30 years ago with Royal Asiatic Society (RAS) Korea. I've been back several times.



The temple's name begins with "hae" (ocean) but is far inland. The sea is not visible from the temple precincts. The second word in the temple's name is "in" (stamp, imprint or seal). Curious, I wondered how the name fit together. A well-versed docent at the temple office was able to help me to understand. She explained "mudra," or hand signs used in meditation in the Buddhist tradition. So the "stamp" is a "mudra." She cautioned me against taking it too literally and suggested a deeper meaning comes through metaphorical references. When one visits the temple, the hope is that the peacefulness there would help one move more deeply into the heart or spiritual realm of existence and "feel" the broadness of the calm ocean as it sways and rocks in waves, almost in silence.



Though the temple was established around 800, visitors must be mindful that although the first buildings may have been built at that time, wooden buildings rarely survive the ravages of time and weather. Constant repairs, replacements and new construction is part of the life of every temple in Korea. "Temple" refers to the place, not a specific building.



Indeed, there are numerous buildings throughout the temple, each of which has an important meaning or function. One proceeds through several gates to approach the main hall, the various pavilions, each with a specific purpose, several halls and the three-story stone pagoda one often sees in temples. One of Haein Temple's stone pagodas dates to Silla times (57 B.C.E. to 935 C.E.) but has been repaired over the centuries.





Prayer wishes are displayed at Haein Temple. / Courtesy of Steven L. Shields



Many temples feature large trees somewhere in the primary courts. Haein Temple's Hakkadae fir tree had special significance for it is where Choe Chi-won, the noted Silla scholar and poet, spent much of his later life in meditation and writing. Memorials to Choi and his remarkable literary treasures remind visitors of his important history. Sadly, the tree was lost to a typhoon in 2019.





A monument to the noted Silla scholar Choe Chi-won stands at Haein Temple. / Courtesy of Steven L. Shields



The Tripitaka Koreana is among Korea's most important historical, cultural and spiritual treasures. Besides its picturesque location and the spiritual peace at the temple, nothing is more important than the 80,000-plus wooden printing blocks. These wood blocks, carved in Classical Chinese  in reverse for printing  are remarkable for many reasons.





Part of the 80,000-plus printing tablets of the Tripitana Korea are stored at Haein Temple. / Courtesy of Steven L. Shields



For 16 years during the reign of King Gojong of Goryeo (from his 23rd year, 1236, to his 38th year, 1257), the blocks were carved during a national crisis, hoping to make merit for resolution. They record the teachings of Buddha and much more, making it possibly the world's largest, most complete Buddhist scripture text. The statistics are mind-boggling. There are 52,330,152 individual Hanja characters, organized in almost 1,500 titles and 6,568 volumes. If the blocks were lined up end to end, they would measure 60 kilometers long. The total weight of all the blocks combined is 280 tons. The printing blocks are a massive collection. It was a phenomenal project that required the work of hundreds of people. Incredibly, there is no warping and no damage, and if used for printing today, they provide as clear an imprint as they did 800 years ago. The entire collection has been digitized and is available for scholarly examination.





A sample of a printing block is on display for visitors. / Courtesy of Steven L. Shields
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230708/weekly-news-wrap-up-cocaine-found-in-white-house-france-in-flames-scotus-decisions-1111735602.html

Weekly News Wrap Up; Cocaine Found in White House; France in Flames; SCOTUS Decisions

Weekly News Wrap Up; Cocaine Found in White House; France in Flames; SCOTUS Decisions

France is dealing with internal uprisings as the White House responds to reports of cocaine found on the premises.

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Weekly News Wrap Up; Cocaine Found in White House; France in Flames; SCOTUS Decisions France is dealing with internal uprisings as the White House responds to reports of cocaine found on the premises.

Caleb Maupin, journalist and political analyst, joins us to discuss this week's important news stories. President Biden argues that Syrian President Assad must be replaced. Also, the US provided cluster bombs to Ukrainian Nazis.Dr. Jack Rasmus, professor of Economics and Politics at St. Mary's College in California, joins us to discuss this week's important news stories. Janet Yellen argues that the US does not seek a winner take all relationship with China. Also, the Biden administration uses the term "Bidenomics" as a PR tool for the 2024 election.George Koo, journalist, social activist, and international business consultant, joins us to discuss this week's important news stories. The NATO summit is facing humiliation as the Nazi proxy army in Ukraine is running out of steam. Also, Global South nations are making it clear that they see Russia and China as trustworthy allies as opposed to the traditional European colonial powers.Ajamu Baraka, 2016 US vice presidential candidate for the Green Party, and Erica Caines, founder of Liberation Through Reading and Editor of Hood Communist Blog, come together to discuss this week's important news stories. The Biden administration refuses to discuss the story about cocaine found in the White House. Also, the courts are pushing back against neoliberal censorship, and Joe Biden has nominated a convicted felon for a diplomacy panel.Jim Kavanagh, whose work can be found at Jim Kavanagh's Substack, thepolemicist.net, and Counterpunch, and Steve Poikonen, national organizer for Action4Assange, come together to discuss this week's important news stories. The Biden administration reveals its neocon foundation as President Biden appoints convicted felons and purveyors of genocidal policies Elliott Abrams. Also, a number of NATO politicians attend a meeting of an anti-Iranian militant cult in Paris.We'd love to get your feedback at radio@sputniknews.comThe views and opinions expressed in this program are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the position of Sputnik.

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230708/what-motivates-mercs-to-fight-in-ukraine-and-how-much-do-they-get-paid-1111754318.html

Brainwashed Foreign Mercs Fighting in Ukraine Get Shockingly Low Pay, Have to Arm Themselves

Brainwashed Foreign Mercs Fighting in Ukraine Get Shockingly Low Pay, Have to Arm Themselves

Thousands of foreign fighters joined the ranks of Ukrainian forces in 2022, some searching for a payday, others motivated by a misplaced sense of duty after being brainwashed into believing they would be fighting for freedom against inhuman Russian orcs. A year-and-a-half into the conflict, many foreigners have fled, been captured or killed.

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russia's special operation in ukraine

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An investigation by French media has uncovered the salaries of foreign mercenaries attached to Ukraines infamous International Legion, with fighters said to receive 500 euros (about $550 US) per month as a base salary, and up to 3,000 euros (about $3,300) per month when theyre on the front lines.The report estimates that there are currently about 100 French nationals fighting in Ukraine, with their ranks slimming down considerably over the past year from as many as 800 as so-called TikTok fighters  who planned to go fight in Ukraine but never left France, and those who did go but quickly came back, dropped out.International Legion fighters reportedly sign contracts with the Ukrainian Army, with some complaining about having to pay out of pocket for expenses, including weapons. One anonymous fighter said an assault rifle can cost 4,000 euros ($4,400).Thats well above the US price tag of between $600 and $1,200 for an M4S assault rifle, and may hint at the presence of wheeler-dealer arms sellers dealing in weapons donated to Ukraine by NATO countries. Some fighters reportedly set up online fundraising campaigns to pay for weapons and vehicles.French mercs have various motivations for going to Ukraine, with at least one third of the 100 volunteers said to have far-right or neo-Nazi views.Some of the fighters have reportedly avoided the International Legion, integrating instead into formations affiliated with far-right volunteer units such as the so-called Misanthropic Division,* a notorious international neo-Nazi paramilitary organization based in Ukraine with a record of extremism, terrorism, and war crimes in Donbass.Some French nationals who have fought in Ukraine have proven a headache for French authorities after coming back from the warzone. In April, two French ultra-right fighters were arrested and sentenced to six months in prison for trying to smuggle military equipment, including assault rifle magazines and rifle sights, back into France.Last October, 14 members of Frances elite Foreign Legion were arrested while traveling to Poland to try to join the fight in Ukraine, violating a travel ban prohibiting them from leaving the country.In March 2022, an ultra-right fugitive on the run from French police over the suspected murder of Argentine rugby star Federico Aramburu was arrested on the Hungarian-Ukrainian border while trying to make his way into Ukraine.Worthless PersonsApart from ideological motivations, some foreigners appear to be driven by idealistic visions of being able to help Ukrainians after being abandoned by society in their own countries.I am here in this country, hoping to make use of myself. In that sense, I already feel fulfilled, the volunteer, who has made his way to Ukraine but has yet to participate in combat, said.Mercs who have already faced Russian forces in battle have decidedly less rosy appraisals about their purpose and role. Last week, American volunteers with combat experience in US wars told US media that the worst day in Afghanistan and Iraq is a great day in Ukraine, where they enjoy no emergency evac support, no air support, no artillery support, poor communications, and limited intelligence. One of the mercs has since retired from the front and now lives in Kiev, where he works to locate and transfer the remains of American fighters killed in Ukraine.Thousands for foreign mercenaries traveled to Ukraine over the past year to fight Russia, with many since killed, captured or fleeing the country, some after witnessing the carnage of battle, others after getting disillusioned with their cause over war crimes committed by Ukrainian volunteer units, or getting tired of being used as cannon fodder by commanders.The Russian military has warned repeatedly that foreign mercenaries fighting for Ukraine would not be considered combatants in accordance with international humanitarian law and the rules of warfare, or enjoy the status of prisoners of war. * An extremist organization banned in Russia.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230706/russia-strikes-sites-of-temporary-deployment-of-ukrainian-troops-mercenaries-1111697288.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230504/this-was-s-german-merc-warns-about-chilling-reality-of-fighting-in-ukraine-1110096447.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230708/will-the-biden-administration-survive-the-multiple-scandals-its-facing-1111734740.html

Will the Biden Administration Survive the Multiple Scandals It's Facing?

Will the Biden Administration Survive the Multiple Scandals It's Facing?

On todays episode of The Backstory, host Lee Stranahan discussed current events including Justin Trudeau tweeting at Taylor Swift to perform in Canada, and the US sending cluster munitions to Ukraine.

2023-07-08T04:03+0000

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Will the Biden Administration Survive the Multiple Scandals it's Facing? On todays episode of The Backstory, host Lee Stranahan discussed current events including Justin Trudeau tweeting at Taylor Swift to perform in Canada, and the U.S. sending cluster munitions to Ukraine

Ian Shilling - Geopolitical Analyst, Researcher, and Blogger | Ukraine is Desperate, The Royal Biden Family, and the Improvements to Twitter Jim Hoft - Founder of The Gateway Pundit | The Historic Ruling on Free Speech, Legal Decisions Released on Federal Holidays, and the Secret Service Investigation into the Cocaine in the West Wing In the first hour, Lee spoke with Ian Shilling about the international news coverage on the Biden crime family, how empires fail, and crime statistics in America. Ian commented on the way America is on the decline and the history of empires that have failed. Ian talked about Twitter after Elon Musk and how the mainstream media is upset about the discussions allowed on Twitter. In the second hour, Lee spoke with Jim Hoft about freedom of speech in America, the cocaine in the White House story, and Hunter Biden's drug abuse problems. Jim discussed the details of the cocaine found in the White House and how the Biden administration has attempted to avoid the drug scandal. Jim talked about Joe Biden's denial of his seventh grandchild and how the FBI has protected the Biden's from multiple scandals.We'd love to get your feedback at radio@sputniknews.comThe views and opinions expressed in this program are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the position of Sputnik.

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Hesjustadelight made his first lifetime stakes race a memorable one, cruising to victory in the $14,598 Maine-sired two-year-old colt and gelding pace at Bangor Raceway on Friday, July 7.

Co-owned and driven by Ron Cushing, the son of Western Maverick scored from post position four in the early non-wagering event, and when the wings closed, he remained in fourth past a :29.2 opening panel.

Thru The Fire (Andrew Harrington) was one of three entrants from the Marc Tardif stable and from pylon position that son of Western Maverick cut the fractions. With no movement through a 1:00.2 breather, and with Oakleypopsthedeuce (David Ingraham) remaining in the two-hole, Cushing popped Hesjustadelight first-over heading to three-quarters in 1:31.

By the head of the stretch, Cushing had cleared the top with Hesjustadelight and was able to cruise to a 1-3/4-length victory in 2:02.1 with his whip tucked over his shoulder. Oakleypopsthedeuce rallied for second money and Wess Challenge (Walter Case Jr.) finished third.

Trained by Heidi Gibbs, Hesjustadelight is owned by the partnership of Cushing, breeder Lynn-Marie Plouffe and Anthony and Joseph Romanelli.

The freshman trotters will visit Cumberland on Saturday for two Maine Sire Stakes worth a combined $27,800-plus in purses. The early action starts before the regular card at 2 p.m. Three-year-old trotters will race in two $13,500 divisions at Bangor on Sunday with an early 11:45 a.m. post time.

(With files from Maine Sire Stakes)
In May of 2018 James Benzel was just finishing kindergarten, a healthy young boy who was just excited for summer break. Three days later he was being flown to Denver to Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children with his white blood cell counts through the floor.

James was diagnosed with aplastic anemia, a rare blood condition that causes bone marrow to stop or slow the production of new blood cells.

We were told he had one of two things, aplastic anemia or leukemia, said James mother, Karen Benzel. At the time I didnt know a lot about either, but I knew leukemia had a higher survival rate and so that would have been a preferable diagnosis.

The Benzels attempted immunosuppressant therapy over the summer, and it was determined that James needed a stem cell transplant to live.

James is one of six siblings in the Benzel family, giving him a decent chance that one of them would be a match and would be able to donate. Unfortunately while his siblings were matches to each other, none of them was a match for James.

The family was forced to turn to the donor registry to find someone who would be able to help their son. The situation had become dire and the disease was progressing.

It was determined (a stem cell transplant) was his only opportunity for continuing a traditional life, Karen said.

In February 2019, nine months after James diagnosis, the Benzels were informed that the registry had found a match for James. Through the registry, donors and receivers are not allowed to contact each other until two years after the procedure, and so the donation came from a complete stranger.

We knew that the donor was, at the time 34 years old and from England and a male. Thats all we knew at the time, Karen said.

The only thing we could really control is how we responded, and so for us, we always kept a very positive outlook, Karen said. We didnt really focus on the negative because we cant control it.

The days before a stem cell transplant are a dangerous time for patients, as they undergo chemotherapy to suppress their immune system and their own stem cells are removed. If the donation is not received in time, patients will almost certainly die.

James donor, Luke Bugdol, now 39, is a veteran of the British Royal Navy and now works as a police officer in Rotherham, South Yorkshire. Bugdol was not originally on the donor registry; however, in 2015 a friend was diagnosed with cancer and ultimately died.

He and his friend had talked about DKMS, an international nonprofit and donor registry for stem cell donors. Inspired by his friend, Bugdol decided to register in the hope that he could help someone else.

There was nothing anybody could have done to help him ... but there are people out there that need stem cell donations Bugdol said. They need a donor to provide for them, and it gives them a second chance.

In late 2018 DKMS informed Bugdol that he was a potential match for someone in need, and he did not hesitate. Tests confirmed that Bugdol was a match for James.

While there are risks associated with any procedure, Bugdol was unbothered and moved forward with the operation.

Bugdols stem cells were overnighted from England and James received the transplant at Childrens Hospital Colorado. His battle, however, was not over.

After the transplant, James was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins Lymphoma, which led to more treatments. James condition continued to deteriorate.

He was able to take part in an experimental treatment through special approval from the FDA as a last-ditch effort. Thankfully, the treatment worked and James, now 11, is in remission and healthy again.

While international donors and recipients are not allowed to contact each other until two years post-operation, when the time was up, both Bugdol and the Benzels wanted to meet.

DKMS holds two galas every year. In May, Bugdol and the Benzels were invited to London for the opportunity to meet each other. Both parties gladly accepted and the Benzel family was flown out to London.

Their first meeting was an emotional one at the gala in the Natural History Museum in London, where DKMS raised over a million pounds toward helping to facilitate donations across the world.

Karen said it was absolutely fantastic to get to stand right next to his donor and say thank you, even if it feels so inadequate to just have the opportunity to give him a hug and be so appreciative of the gift he gave James and gave our family.

James spoke about his experiences as well, saying he was thankful for everything Bugdol had done for him and that it made him really glad and happy at the time because I could go back to being a normal kid.

The family was able to spend time sightseeing in London before the gala. While their meeting on stage was brief, they met in a more private setting afterward where James and Bugdol were able to speak at length.

Theres nearly 30 years difference between us and we walked around that park area, Bugdol said. We didnt have a care in the world and we were just talking about absolutely anything and everything, you know, and it was brilliant.

At their first meeting, James thanked Bugdol and told him he was his hero.

Bugdol, however, felt differently: I always stand by it that out of the two of us, its James thats the hero.. ... He was the one that fought the battle, and thankfully hes come out the other side.

James was declared to be in remission in May 2021. He is excited to travel to Legoland this summer as part of his Make A Wish trip and to start the sixth grade come September.

Karen encouraged people to sign up for the donor registry, which accepts candidates 18 to 55 years old.

Its free but you could literally save a life, she said. My son was saved by someone clear across the pond.

Bugdol shared the sentiment, saying, Its the right thing to do: sign up, register and potentially be a lifesaver.

People looking to sign up for the registry can find more information at the DKMS website, dkms.org/register-now.
It is July again, and some of you might know that I am a summer person. I should have written SUMMER PERSON. I proclaim it to anyone who will listen. And I get kind of grumpy when pumpkins start making their appearance. In food, in decorations, on porches  But I dont want to talk about that now, because today, it is July, it is 91 degrees, it is sunny, and it is GLORIOUS.

But July is also Juror Appreciation Month. And today, in particular, I appreciate jurors. More on that in a minute.

Any person who is charged with a crime has the right to a trial by jury pursuant to the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article I, Section 24, of the North Carolina Constitution. As such, jurors are a necessary part of our justice system. Juror Appreciation Month gives us an opportunity to recognize the importance of jury service, to thank the many members of the public who have served on juries and to educate citizens about jury service.

In court, once the jurors are assembled, the judge tells them, This call upon your time does not come frequently and may never be repeated in your lifetime. It is one of the obligations of citizenship. It represents your contribution to our democratic way of life. It is an assurance of your guarantee that if chance or design brings you to a court of law in any civil or criminal entanglement, your rights and liberties will be regarded by the same standards of justice and protected by the same considerations that you discharge here in your duties as juror. (North Carolina Pattern Jury Instructions, 100.22, Introductory Remarks.) Jury service allows people to take part in the administration of justice, and it allows people to protect the rights of others. It may seem like a burden, but it protects the very liberties that our country is founded upon. Simply put, jury service is your duty. But you should be happy that you live in a place where you have the opportunity to serve.

During the past two weeks, we had a murder trial in Iredell County. Jurors were called upon to listen to evidence for over a week, and then they were sent to the jury room to deliberate. After the deliberations had been going on for some time, the jurors sent out a note to the judge saying that they could not agree as to a verdict. The judge brought them back into the courtroom and instructed them that it was their duty to try to do whatever they could to reach a verdict. She instructed them that they should not surrender their own convictions as to their consideration of the evidence, but that they should consider the evidence impartially with their fellow jurors. Then she sent them back to the jury room to deliberate some more.

At different times, the jurors asked to see items of evidence presented during the trial again and to review the law that the judge had provided to them. They took breaks, but they continued to work. And after two and a half days, they reached a verdict.

I want to thank that jury for not giving up. For continuing to work toward a verdict and for taking seriously their obligations as jurors. I think the victims brother said it best when he spoke during sentencing. He personally thanked the jury, saying, Justice was served.

So when you get that jury summons, for goodness sakes, dont panic. And dont start trying to think of a way to get out of it. Your fellow citizens who have found themselves in a civil or criminal entanglement need you. And one day, you might need them.

And for those of you who have served on a jury at any time, thank you. You have performed one of the highest duties that can be imposed on any citizen. (North Carolina Pattern Jury Instructions, 100.22, Introductory Remarks.)
Carson Lester, 22, owner and creator of Tasty Pickles, started his own business as a high school project and it now has grown to include a presence in Food Lion grocery stores in Iredell County.

Tasty Pickles started in 2018 because of an agriculture project that was assigned. I chose entrepreneurship, Lester said.

Lester started a greenhouse in which he would sell plants, but plans changed when it came to the production of his pickles.

I enjoy pickles, Lester said. It is one of my favorite foods and I wanted to share it with everyone else.

With his small start, Lester did not stop creating and working on Tasty Pickles and explains how his partnership with Food Lion began.

During COVID-19, a Charlotte news station broadcast his story. The vice president of Coca-Cola saw his story and changed Lesters life.

With the connections from the vice president of Coca-Cola and Food Lion executives, Tasty Pickles was allowed to be on the shelves in local stores. I never thought it would get into a big grocery store chain, said Lester.

To be in nine Food Lions in Iredell County, Im proud of what I have accomplished. Lester explained that working with Food Lion has been a positive experience and he is really appreciative to be working with Food Lion.

Lester said creating a business at such a young age has been a learning experience but a good one. He advised those wanting to start a business or improve their entrepreneurship skills to find something that you really like and plan ahead. Lester explained that failure is OK to experience but keep trying and never give up.

Eric Bell, store manager of the Troutman Food Lion, explained how incorporating local products has meant a change for the store as well as the customers too. Bell explained how Tasty Pickles was the first product that was pushed to sell local items for the public. Food Lion has been trying to incorporate local business for the last few years and Carson happens to be a part of it, said Bell.

To check out and support Tasty Pickles, Lesters products can be found in the following Food Lions  Mooresville: Shearers Road, East Plaza Drive and Brawley School Road; Troutman  Main Street; Statesville  Old Mountain Road, Turnersburg Highway, and both locations on East Broad Street.
A Kingsport man accused of shooting at officers during a December police chase has been indicted by a Smyth County grand jury.

That chase began after a BOLO was issued for a Dodge pick-up involved in an armed robbery in Russell County. Police were advised that the suspects had used a stolen debit card in the Town of Marion.

According to court records, Smyth County Deputy Michael Fedorchuk and Marion Officer Tyler Hinchey saw the truck leaving the Travel Inn in Marion that night. When the officers attempted to stop the pickup, the driver instead gave chase, leading the officers on a back-and-forth pursuit in and out of town on Interstate 81 and Highway 11 at speeds reaching as much as 112 mph.

At one point, according to the court documents, the pickup left I-81 in Atkins to head back toward Marion.

As Officer Hinchey and myself was passing Bales Ln. I observed a hand come out from the driver side and observed four muzzle flash/bangs come from the driver side of the truck, Fedorchuk wrote in the criminal complaint.

Another shot rang out as the pursuit passed Rose Lawn Cemetery in Atkins before the chase reentered I-81 at the 45 on-ramp and exited again at 44. After several more turns through downtown Marion, the pursuit finally ended on Bagley Circle after the pickup traveled through a yard, spun out and flattened both driver side tires.

Following a brief foot chase, the driver, identified as 31-year-old Anthony Lee Hawkins, gave himself over to police, according to the complaint.

The grand jury indicted Hawkins on two counts attempted malicious wounding of a law enforcement officer and one count each eluding police, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony.

He is scheduled for his next court appearance on Aug. 2.

Others indicted during the grand jurys June 25 session include:

Robert Dwayne Poston, 39, of Marion, was indicted on two counts strangulation.

Jason Keith Sexton, 45, of Sugar Grove, was indicted on a third-offense assault and battery charge.

Bobby Jo Blevins, 46, of Marion, was indicted on a third-offense assault and battery charge.

Shelby Magadline Jennings, 40, of Marion, was indicted on charges of statutory burglary, destruction of property and possession of methamphetamine.

James William Harris, 48, of Marion, was indicted on charges of statutory burglary and possession of methamphetamine.

Austin Blake Marean, 21, of Marion, was indicted on charges of grand larceny and possession of methamphetamine.

Kayla Beth Rollins, 23, of Newport, Tenn., was indicted on charges of grand larceny and possession of methamphetamine.

Jerrod Caleblee Brown, 35, of Pulaski, was indicted on a grand larceny charge.

Malik Daniel Mabe, 34, of Marion, was indicted on a destruction of property charge.

Shyane Leegail Underhill, 27, of Chilhowie, was indicted on charges of possession of fentanyl, possession of methamphetamine, petit larceny and giving false information to police.

Urshel Earnest Miller III, 37, of Marion, was indicted on a possession of methamphetamine charge.

Eric Lynn Armbrister, 42, of Marion, was indicted on a possession of methamphetamine charge.

Dakota Lee Metz, 33, of Saltville, was indicted on a possession of methamphetamine charge.

Corey Shane Lethcoe, 35, of Abingdon, was indicted on a possession of methamphetamine charge.

Justin Brian Jones, 41, of Atkins, was indicted on a possession of methamphetamine charge.

Austin Jarrett Norris, 34, of Glade Spring, was indicted on a possession of methamphetamine charge.

Glenda Gail Keller, 45, of Atkins, was indicted on a possession of methamphetamine charge.

Robert William Johnson, 46, of Chilhowie, was indicted on a possession of methamphetamine charge.

Wendy Marie Able, 43, of Marion, was indicted on a possession of methamphetamine charge.

Michael Dean Litton, 57, of Marion, was indicted on a possession of methamphetamine charge.

Thomas Danial Woods, 48, of Saltville, was indicted on a possession of methamphetamine charge.

Johnny W. Kestner, 53, of Saltville, was indicted on a possession of methamphetamine charge.

Christopher James Duncan, 46, of Saltville, was indicted on a possession of methamphetamine charge.

Shawna Ann Goff, 47, of Saltville, was indicted on charges of possession of methamphetamine and driving under the influence.

Francisco Javier Farfan, 36, of Lawrenceville, Ga., was indicted on charges of eluding police and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

Dakota Andrew Miller, 32, of Marion, was indicted on a charge of possessing a firearm by a convicted felon.

Raymond Joseph Langley Jr., 56, of Marion, was indicted on a charge of possessing a firearm by a convicted felon.

Patricia Caldwell Dobyns, 54, of Abingdon, was indicted on a charge of using an electronic means to intercept communication.

The grand jury also handed down direct indictments to the following:

Robert Allen Chestnut, 56, of Saltville, was indicted on an embezzlement charge.

Kimberly Dawn Duff, 47, of Saltville, was indicted on an embezzlement charge.

Vontrell D. Rogers, 29, of Marion, was indicted on two counts assault of a corrections officer.

Wiley Lee Farris, 52, of Roanoke, was indicted on charges of possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, eluding police and driving without a license.

Shawn Brandon Townsend, 37, of Lebanon, was indicted on charges of possession of heroin, possession of fentanyl and possession of xylazine, a sedative.

Alexander Star McCaw, 22, of Saltville, was indicted on a possession of methamphetamine charge.

Becky Marie Summit, 27, of Marion, was indicted on a shoplifting charge.

Those indicted by the grand jury will stand trial in Smyth County Circuit Court.
The Longview Fire Department extinguished two fires Friday, with one blaze causing a partial traffic jam on State Route 432.

Longview Shift Battalion Chief Eric Koreis told The Daily News a trailer wheel attached to a dump truck, hauling rocks, caught on fire sometime after 10:43 a.m., near the intersection of Industrial Way and Washington Way.

The Washington State Department of Transportation issued a tweet at 11:09 a.m. of a vehicle fire near the Weyerhaeuser mill.

Koreis said the incident caused a 15-minute jam as the trailer blocked traffic on Washington Way. No injuries occurred.

At about 4:10 p.m., another local fire broke out inside a dumpster at Roy Morse Park in West Longview. According to Koreis, callers notified dispatchers that fireworks were being set off around the park and there was a fire near the park.

No one was injured. Koreis said there were no witnesses to the dumpster fire, and the cause was unresolved.
In a county that is slowly adding more housing to its inventory, a developer is proposing to build 23 new townhouses just east of the Headstart off Memorial Park Drive in Longview.

On Thursday, the city gave an initial OK for a plan outlined by David Holmstrom of Shelly Place Properties LLC to build the townhomes on 2.15 acres of undeveloped land off Memorial Park Drive.

The applicant and company are local. Holmstrom has a Kalama address, while the company has a Longview address, according to the Washington Office of the Secretary of State.

The city reports the plan would not likely have an adverse impact on the environment, which is typically required by the state before building permits are OKd. People have about two weeks to comment on the findings.

The plan estimates an average of two people would live in each townhome, for a total of 46 residents, on a residential-zoned parcel surrounded by a residential subdivision, single-family residences and vacant land. Each home would be required to have two off-street parking spaces.

Two roads that run near the proposed development would have to be built out to reach the new homes, the plan states. Olive Way would be extended west and Shelly Place to the north.

The plan says 35 structures is the maximum allowed on the property and the final structure designs have not been finalized.

The applicant completed the environmental checklist in March and county records show the property had an assessed value of $83,500 in 2022.

The proposed townhomes arent the only residential Longview developments in the works.

As of April, builders were working on four others, including affordable apartments for seniors; affordable apartments for people with low incomes; and market-rate single-family homes and apartments.

The University of Washingtons Center for Real Estate Research reports Cowlitz Countys housing inventory for both single-family and multifamily dwellings has grown 4% from 2017 to 2022.

Cowlitz Countys housing vacancy rate was 1.6% according to the March 2023 market report from the the center. Experts say a roughly five-month supply would indicate a balanced market.

How to comment Phone: 360-442-5083 Email: McAllister.kosar@ci.longview.wa.us Deadline: 6 p.m. July 20
U.S. President Joe Biden, with Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, speaks during a state visit welcoming ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C., April 26. AFP-Yonhap



The inaugural meeting of the United States and South Korea's new Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG) will be held later this month in Seoul, the presidential office said Saturday.



The meeting will be held July 18, co-chaired by South Korea's Principal Deputy National Security Adviser Kim Tae-hyo and U.S. National Security Council Coordinator for Indo-Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell.



The meeting will "discuss information sharing, a consultation mechanism, and joint planning and execution designed to bolster nuclear deterrence against North Korea," the presidential office said in a press release.



President Yoon Suk Yeol and U.S. President Joe Biden agreed to establish the new NCG during their bilateral summit in Washington in April.



The group is designed to reaffirm U.S. extended deterrence provided to South Korea, which refers to the U.S. commitment to defending its ally using all its military capabilities, including nuclear weapons.



The allies had initially planned to appoint deputy minister-level officials to lead the talks but decided to elevate the rank of the chief delegate to the vice minister level for the first session, according to officials in Seoul.



U.S. officials have said the NCG will allow Seoul's input for the first time into how the U.S. plans or executes its nuclear deterrence against North Korean threats.



U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan earlier said the inaugural meeting of the NCG would be an "important meeting."



"And you will see in this meeting that we are quite serious about taking this effort forward," he told a White House press briefing on Friday (local time). (Yonhap)




Washington state Gov. Jay Inslees office has formally declined a request from Corey Christensen  brother of the Portland musician found killed alongside his dog near Walupt Lake south of Packwood in August 2022  and his attorney to refer the case to the state Attorney Generals office for further investigation and possible prosecution.

The case has drawn controversy from the public as the primary suspect, Tenino resident Ethan M. Asbach, now 20  whose sworn statement says he is responsible for the gunshot  has not yet seen prosecution.

Aron Christensen died in August 2022 from a single gunshot wound to the chest. The Lewis County Coroner deemed it was homicide.

Citing the errors of the Lewis County investigation, Corey Christensen and his attorney, Pilar C. French, of the Seattle-based law firm Lane Powell, sent a letter to Lewis County Prosecutor Jonathan Meyer and Gov. Jay Inslee on Thursday, May 25, asking one or both of your offices to refer this matter immediately to the Washington Attorney General, Robert Ferguson, for further investigation and possible prosecution.

The letter was written and sent independently of Aron Christensens estate, which has filed a $20 million claim against the county  a precursor to a likely lawsuit  in May alleging the Lewis County Sheriffs Office maliciously damaged the estates property, one deceased puppy, in order to sabotage a criminal investigation.

Meyer replied to Lane Powell via email on May 26 to decline the request, stating, There was no new information provided in the letter, nor in the attachments. This office will take no further action based upon the materials provided.

The governors office followed suit in a letter dated July 6 and signed by Deputy General Counsel Taylor K. Wonhoff.

The Governors Office has reviewed the materials you submitted and communicated with Lewis County Prosecutor Jonathan Meyer to better understand the circumstances of this matter. We understand that this particular case presents evidentiary challenges, but it remains open and further investigation is ongoing. Accordingly, at this time, the Governors Office is declining to refer this matter to the Attorney Generals Office under RCW 43.10.232, Wonhoff states in the letter, referencing a state law that gives prosecuting attorneys and the Attorney General concurrent authority and power to investigate and prosecute crimes.

In an email reply to Wonhoff on July 6, French stated, We respectfully request your office to reconsider, or at least postpone its decision until someone from your office has spoken with us.

Calling the decision to refer the matter back to Lewis County disconcerting, French stated, We are asking, at a minimum, for a meeting so that the governor can make a fully informed decision as to whether justice has been done.

In addition to copying The Chronicle and other news outlets on the reply email, French forwarded the letter and reply to Oregon Governor Tina Kotek and Oregon state Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum, Because Aron was an Oregonian, and his family members, who continue to endure this tragedy every day, are Oregonians, she wrote.

Information on any further communication between the parties was not publicly available Friday afternoon.

The Lewis County Sheriffs Office has requested an outside law enforcement agency to conduct an investigation into aspects of its own investigation into Aron Christensens death, Field Operations Chief Dusty Breen previously told The Chronicle. On June 7, Breen stated to a reporter, Their investigation is active, and our agency is not releasing any additional information at this time.

The sheriffs office was unavailable to provide The Chronicle with an update on the status of the investigation before Fridays Chronicle deadline.
KALAMA  Renovation of Kalama City Council to fit more staff and improve the buildings energy efficiency moved forward Thursday, after the Kalama City Council approved an architect ranking for the project.

The city received nine proposals and ranked the top four, with HBX Studio of Portland topping the list.

City staff moved into the current City Hall building almost a decade ago but have yet to renovate the second floor. As a result, the upstairs cant be used for offices or meeting space, leaving City Council to still meet in the previous City Hall, which now houses the library.

State law establishes a specific process governmental agencies must use to hire architectural and engineering services. After reviewing and ranking the firms, the city can negotiate a contract, going down the list if it cant reach an agreement with the top firm, said City Administrator Adam Smee.

The design cost will hopefully be under the $50,000 the council budgeted for it last fall, Smee said. If the design is completed by the end of the year, the city can budget for construction in 2024 based on the architects cost estimate, he said. The project will hopefully be wrapped up by the beginning of 2025.

Holding off on going out to bid until the design is completed gives the city more flexibility to make decisions based on a more accurate cost estimate, Smee said. However, construction costs will likely escalate if the city waits too long, he said.

Smaller-scale project, growing needs

The city bought the old Heritage Bank on First Street in 2014, with plans to upgrade the aging building. Cost of a full renovation  including moving the council chambers and department head offices to the second floor  would likely be in the millions, Smee said previously.

The city doesnt have enough money for that but has set aside enough in real estate excise taxes for the smaller-scale project, staff told the council last fall. The tax revenue can only be used for capital improvements.

The city will potentially need to add one finance/clerical staff person in the next two to three years, Smee said. The new design would ideally include space for a fulltime city planner based on the increasing level of development in the community, he added.

I think were going to pass the tipping point for fees with consultants so that it will be cheaper to bring somebody in house, Smee said.

The city could also add a staff engineer or move the public works directors office to City Hall in the near future, Smee said.

Along with making the space more suitable for current staff, the renovation project will address the buildings energy efficiency. While City Hall has a working furnace and air conditioning, the single-pane windows let air escape, Smee said. Work will also include asbestos abatement.

Councilmember Steve Kallio asked if the architect could look into designing a meeting room upstairs to maximize space on the first floor and help fix what he called an unpleasant second floor.

I can foresee outgrowing it again and doing this all this over again, he said. While theyre in there and already tearing everything apart, ... maybe just a meeting room on the one side of the hallway thats not quite as horrifying as the rest of it.

Smee agreed to include the proposal as a design alternate to at least get an idea of the cost.
VANCOUVER  A judge set bail at $2 million Friday for a 72-year-old Ridgefield man accused of strangling his 80-year-old wife to death in their home.

Wayne Leonetti is charged in Clark County Superior Court with second-degree domestic violence murder.

At Leonettis June 29 first appearance, Judge David Gregerson granted the prosecutions request to hold Leonetti without bail until Fridays bail hearing.

On Friday, Gregerson declined the prosecutions request to continue to hold Leonetti without bail.

The judge ordered Leonetti surrender his passport and be subject to electronic monitoring if he is released. He also ordered Leonetti to not have contact with any of his in-laws or return to the house he shared with Alice Bolen.

Leonetti is scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday.

In arguing for a no-bail hold, Senior Deputy Prosecutor Jessica Smith said Leonetti was originally uncooperative with law enforcement after he called 911 to report hed killed Bolen. Officers used less-lethal munitions against Leonetti to get him to comply with their commands, she said.

Medical examiners report

Smith also said preliminary findings from the Clark County Medical Examiners Office show Bolen died from strangulation and blunt force head trauma. The evidence appeared to indicate she died hours before Leonetti called 911, she said.

Defense attorney Shon Bogar noted Leonettis lack of criminal history and the fact he called 911. Bogar also pointed to statements in the probable cause affidavit that Leonetti had asked one of Bolens family members to take his firearms out of the house because of Leonettis mental health struggles.

Some of Bolens family have been granted civil protection orders against Leonetti, court records show. The prosecutor also said Leonetti has significant financial assets to be able to post bail.
KALAMA  Michael Ready, a teacher from Kalama Middle/High School, has been honored as one of the distinguished recipients of this years Alfred Lerner Fellowship for Holocaust Educators, awarded by the Jewish Foundation for the Righteous.

Out of 13 states, a total of 28 teachers and Holocaust center staff members were selected for this fellowship, states a press release from the organization.

As part of the fellowship, the recipients participated in the organizations Summer Institute for Teachers, a five-day program held in June at the Hilton Newark Airport in New Jersey.

The programs focus was to offer teachers a graduate-level course on the Holocaust, equipping them with connections to other educators and curriculum. Participants learned teaching strategies and ways to enhance instruction.

To qualify for this program, teachers were required to be middle or high school English or social studies teachers with a minimum of five years of teaching experience. They needed to be actively teaching the Holocaust in their classrooms.
An attempt to enact stricter rules about panhandling and street sales in Kelso highlights a tricky balance of free speech rights and limiting what one Kelso councilmember called aggressive interactions on city streets.

The Kelso City Council discussed Wednesday the citys options to limit solicitation and possibly modify the current laws, which were last changed in 2017 after a Washington State Supreme Court case curtailed some of the options for cities to restrict the practice.

The topic was brought up by councilwoman Lisa Alexander, who said the city didnt do enough to discourage people from asking for money and said the city should make it hard on panhandlers.

They are getting aggressive and theres way too many of them, Alexander said.

City attorney Janean Parker and Kelso Police Chief Darr Kirk will research what the city can change without running into legal risks and bring the council a recommendation about what could be done differently.

The existing Kelso law prevents any form of begging, selling or signature gathering during the night or within 25 feet of an ATM, gas station or parked vehicle. The penalty for breaking the rule is a civil infraction, which is a non-criminal charge.

Kelsos solicitation law was made less strict in response to the Lakewood v. Willis case. In that case, the state Supreme Court found that cities cannot single out begging as a form of speech banned from public spaces like sidewalks or the bases of highway ramps.

Alexander pointed to Kalama as a city with a stricter restriction on its books. The limits Kalama passed in 2016 ban coercive solicitation within city limits. The ordinance also prohibits any kind of solicitation from taking place near the interstate ramps or within 25 feet of a business without their permission.

Quote "I want to make it hard on panhandlers. They are getting aggressive and there's way too many of them."  Kelso Councilwoman Lisa Alexander

Kalama Police Chief Ralph Herrera said he cannot remember any citations or arrests that have been made for solicitation since 2017. It is not uncommon for our officers to exercise discretion and enforcement through education when encountering violations of solicitation code, Herrera said.

Kirk said the Kelso Police Department has cited people for making aggressive requests for money under the current law. If the council wanted to make solicitation a misdemeanor or other criminal offense, Kirk cautioned that it would allow officers to potentially use force to arrest or move people who dont comply with warnings.

Signs posted near the Interstate 5 ramps in Kalama outline the current restrictions on soliciting money. Councilor Keenan Harvey suggested similar signs could help to educate and deter people in Kelso.
Threads, a text-based app built by Meta to rival Twitter, is live.

The app, billed as the text version of Meta's photo-sharing platform Instagram, became available Wednesday night to users in more than 100 countries  including the U.S., Britain, Australia, Canada and Japan. Despite some early glitches, 30 million people had signed up before noon on Thursday, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said on Threads.

New arrivals to the platform include celebrities like Oprah, pop star Shakira and chef Gordon Ramsay  as well as corporate accounts from Taco Bell, Netflix, Spotify, the Washington Post and other media outlets.

Threads, which Meta says provides "a new, separate space for real-time updates and public conversations," arrives at a time when many are looking for Twitter alternatives to escape Elon Musk's raucous oversight of the platform since obtained by Semafor on Thursday, Twitter has threatened legal action against Meta over Threads. In the letter, which was addressed to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and dated Wednesday, Alex Spiro, an attorney representing Twitter, accused Meta of unlawfully using Twitter's trade secrets and other intellectual property by hiring former Twitter employees to create a copycat app.

Meta spokesperson Andy Stone responded to the report of Spiro's letter on Threads Thursday afternoon, writing, no one on the Threads engineering team is a former Twitter employee."

Musk hasn't directly tweeted about the possibility of legal action, but he has replied to several snarky takes on the Threads launch. The Twitter owner responded to one tweet suggesting that Meta's app was built largely through the use of the copy and paste function, with a laughing emoji.

Twitter CEO Linda Yaccarino has also not publicly commented on Wednesday's letter, but seemingly appeared to address Threads' launch in a Thursday tweet  writing that the Twitter community can never be duplicated.

HASN'T THIS BEEN DONE BEFORE?

The similarities of Meta's new text-based app suggests that the company is working to directly challenge Twitter. The tumultuous ownership has resulted in a series of unpopular changes that have turned off users and advertisers, some of whom are searching for Twitter alternatives.

Threads is the latest Twitter rival to emerge in this landscape following Bluesky, Mastodon and Spill.

HOW DOES THREADS MODERATE CONTENT?

According to Meta, Threads will use the same safety measures deployed on Instagram  which includes enforcing Instagram's community guidelines and providing tools to control who can mention or reply to users.

Content warnings  on search queries ranging from conspiracy theory groups to misinformation about COVID-19 vaccinations  also appear to be similar to Instagram.

WHAT ARE THE PRIVACY CONCERNS?

Threads could collect a wide range of personal information  including health, financial, contacts, browsing and search history, location data, purchases and sensitive info, according to its data privacy disclosure on the App Store.

Threads also isn't available in the European Union right now, which has strict data privacy rules.

Meta informed Ireland's Data Privacy Commission, Meta's main privacy regulator for the EU, that it has no plans yet to launch Threads in the 27-nation bloc, commission spokesman Graham Doyle said. The company said it is working on rolling the app out to more countries  but pointed to regulatory uncertainty for its decision to hold off on a European launch.

WHATS THE FUTURE FOR THREADS?

Success for Threads is far from guaranteed. Industry watchers point to Meta's track record of starting standalone apps that were later shut down  including an Instagram messaging app also called Threads that shut down less than two years after its 2019 launch, Proulx notes.

Still, Proulx and others say the new app could be a significant headache for Musk and Twitter.

The euphoria around a new service and this initial explosion will probably settle down. But it is apparent that this alternative is here to stay and will prove to be a worthy rival given all of Twitter's woes," technology analyst Paolo Pescatore of PP Foresight said, noting that combining Twitter-style features with Instagram's look and feel could drive user engagement.

Threads is in its early days, however, and much depends on user feedback. Pescatore believes the close tie between Instagram and Threads might not resonate with everyone. The rollout of new features will also be key.

The real test is not if we can build up a lot of hype, but if you all find enough value in the app to keep using it over time, Instagram head Adam Mosseri wrote Thursday in a Threads post. He also acknowledged, as many users have already done, that there are tons of basics missing, including hashtags and direct messaging between users. Full disclosure, it'll take time.
Hong Kong to strengthen economic, cultural ties with Middle East: chief executive

Xinhua) 13:21, July 08, 2023

HONG KONG, July 7 (Xinhua) -- John Lee, chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), said on Friday that Hong Kong will strengthen economic, trade and cultural ties with the Middle East.

Lee said in a video speech at the launching and inauguration ceremony of the Hong Kong-Middle East Business Chamber that both Hong Kong and the Middle East are key links in the Belt and Road Initiative. The Middle East embraces diversified economic development, and Hong Kong's world-class professional services could support the financing needs of the Belt and Road Initiative.

Christopher Hui, secretary for financial services and the treasury of the HKSAR government, said at the ceremony that Hong Kong has become one of the most free and vibrant economies globally, which is not only a bridge to the Chinese mainland but also one of the growth engines for the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, creating an attractive development platform for investors around the world.

Abdullah Al Saleh, undersecretary of the ministry of economy of the United Arab Emirates, said that Hong Kong and the Middle East can have in-depth exchanges and establish cooperation in the fields of circular economy and science and technology. He believed that closer cooperation between the two places will bring more business opportunities.

Aaron Shum, founding president of the Hong Kong-Middle East Business Chamber, said that the various committees of the chamber have a series of plans to enter the Middle East market, covering areas including jewelry, food, and environmental technology. The Hong Kong business community is looking forward to the potential and returns of the Middle East market.

(Web editor: Cai Hairuo, Hongyu)
This Aug. 25, 2019 file photo shows Korea's first Aegis-equipped destroyer, the Sejong the Great, taking part in a defense exercise near Dokdo. Yonhap



Japan has lodged a protest with Korea over military drills by the latter on the Dokdo islands, calling the move "extremely regrettable."



In a statement Friday, Japan's foreign ministry said it summoned a senior diplomat at the Korean embassy in Tokyo, while the Japanese embassy in Seoul also summoned a senior Korean official to make the protest.



"Takeshima is indisputably an inherent territory of Japan, in light of historical facts and based on international law," the ministry said in the statement. "The drills by the Korean military are unacceptable and extremely regrettable."



The two nations have long been at loggerheads over the sovereignty of the group of islets called Takeshima in Japan and Dokdo in Korea, which lie about halfway between the East Asian neighbors in the Sea of Japan, which Korea calls the East Sea.



The Japanese protest comes even as bilateral frictions have eased recently amid shared concerns about China's growing might and U.S. entreaties for its allies to work more closely together. U.S., Japanese and Korean leaders have been expected to hold a trilateral summit in the United States this summer.



Asked about the Japanese protest, a spokesperson for the U.S. State Department said the question of sovereignty was for Korea and Japan to resolve, but added that "a robust and effective trilateral relationship ... is critical for our shared security and common interests."



A Korean military official said his country had conducted the military drills routinely every year.



"The East Sea territory defense exercise was carried out to conduct our mission to protect our territory, people and property," the official said. (Reuters)






BlackRock Capital Allocation Term Trust (NYSE:BCAT  Free Report) Portfolio Manager Richard M. Rieder sold 19,052 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.36, for a total value of $292,638.72. Following the sale, the portfolio manager now directly owns 187,316 shares of the companys stock, valued at $2,877,173.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

BlackRock Capital Allocation Term Trust Stock Performance

BlackRock Capital Allocation Term Trust stock remained flat at $15.20 during trading hours on Friday. 160,751 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 274,995. BlackRock Capital Allocation Term Trust has a 52 week low of $13.32 and a 52 week high of $15.93. The companys 50-day moving average price is $15.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $14.86.

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BlackRock Capital Allocation Term Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 31st. Investors of record on Friday, July 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.1275 per share. This is a boost from BlackRock Capital Allocation Term Trusts previous monthly dividend of $0.13. This represents a $1.53 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.07%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 13th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BlackRock Capital Allocation Term Trust

BlackRock Capital Allocation Term Trust Company Profile

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BCAT. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in shares of BlackRock Capital Allocation Term Trust by 16.7% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,792,232 shares of the companys stock worth $135,818,000 after purchasing an additional 1,402,023 shares during the period. UBS Group AG grew its position in BlackRock Capital Allocation Term Trust by 10.1% during the first quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,426,420 shares of the companys stock worth $21,596,000 after buying an additional 130,415 shares during the period. Saba Capital Management L.P. increased its holdings in BlackRock Capital Allocation Term Trust by 341.9% in the third quarter. Saba Capital Management L.P. now owns 1,126,318 shares of the companys stock valued at $15,329,000 after buying an additional 871,420 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in BlackRock Capital Allocation Term Trust by 7.5% in the first quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 1,055,848 shares of the companys stock valued at $15,986,000 after buying an additional 73,643 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Almitas Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of BlackRock Capital Allocation Term Trust by 129.7% during the 4th quarter. Almitas Capital LLC now owns 925,786 shares of the companys stock valued at $12,841,000 after acquiring an additional 522,673 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 31.20% of the companys stock.

(Free Report)



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NovaPoint Capital LLC increased its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT  Free Report) by 3.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,160 shares of the retailers stock after purchasing an additional 855 shares during the quarter. Walmart makes up about 1.6% of NovaPoint Capital LLCs investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. NovaPoint Capital LLCs holdings in Walmart were worth $4,005,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wealth Architects LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Architects LLC now owns 2,076 shares of the retailers stock worth $306,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Bluesphere Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Bluesphere Advisors LLC now owns 2,003 shares of the retailers stock worth $295,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Avalon Investment & Advisory increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Avalon Investment & Advisory now owns 2,070 shares of the retailers stock worth $294,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 6,515 shares of the retailers stock worth $381,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Transparent Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Transparent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,076 shares of the retailers stock worth $436,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 31.95% of the companys stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on WMT. Citigroup lifted their target price on Walmart from $169.00 to $174.00 in a report on Friday, May 19th. StockNews.com raised Walmart from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report on Monday, June 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Walmart from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, April 6th. Gordon Haskett raised Walmart from an accumulate rating to a buy rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $155.00 to $165.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 19th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a hold rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Tuesday, March 28th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $166.91.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

Walmart Price Performance

In other Walmart news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 600 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.02, for a total transaction of $90,012.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 245,255,856 shares in the company, valued at $36,793,283,517.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website . In other Walmart news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 600 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.02, for a total transaction of $90,012.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 245,255,856 shares in the company, valued at $36,793,283,517.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website . Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 8,526 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.97, for a total value of $1,346,852.22. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 171,735 shares in the company, valued at $27,128,977.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here . Insiders have sold a total of 9,208,665 shares of company stock worth $1,421,177,843 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 46.51% of the companys stock.

Shares of NYSE:WMT traded down $1.27 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $155.84. The stock had a trading volume of 615,696 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,141,003. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The company has a market cap of $419.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.63 and a beta of 0.50. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $120.06 and a 1 year high of $159.12. The businesss 50 day moving average price is $152.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $146.95.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT  Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 18th. The retailer reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $152.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $147.91 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.30% and a net margin of 1.82%. The firms revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.30 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 6.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Profile

(Free Report)

Walmart Inc engages in the operation of retail, wholesale, and other units worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Walmart U.S., Walmart International, and Sam's Club. It operates supercenters, supermarkets, hypermarkets, warehouse clubs, cash and carry stores, and discount stores under Walmart and Walmart Neighborhood Market brands; membership-only warehouse clubs; ecommerce websites, such as walmart.com, walmart.com.mx, walmart.ca, flipkart.com, and samsclub.com; and mobile commerce applications.

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Uranium Energy Corp. (NYSEAMERICAN:UEC  Free Report) Director David Kong sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.35, for a total transaction of $23,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 145,532 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $487,532.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Uranium Energy Stock Performance

UEC stock traded up $0.04 during trading on Friday, hitting $3.35. 2,570,814 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,564,424. The stock has a market cap of $1.26 billion, a PE ratio of 335.34 and a beta of 2.05. Uranium Energy Corp. has a one year low of $2.30 and a one year high of $4.65. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $3.02.

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Uranium Energy (NYSEAMERICAN:UEC  Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, June 9th. The basic materials company reported ($0.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts consensus estimates of ($0.02). Uranium Energy had a return on equity of 1.34% and a net margin of 1.30%. The business had revenue of $20.22 million during the quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Institutional Trading of Uranium Energy

Separately, HC Wainwright lowered their price target on Uranium Energy from $8.25 to $8.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 23rd.

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Uranium Energy during the first quarter worth $29,000. Prelude Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Uranium Energy by 54.5% in the 1st quarter. Prelude Capital Management LLC now owns 16,412 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 5,787 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Uranium Energy by 200.7% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,781,023 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $10,890,000 after acquiring an additional 2,523,430 shares during the last quarter. Apexium Financial LP acquired a new position in shares of Uranium Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV acquired a new position in Uranium Energy in the first quarter valued at about $59,000. 49.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Uranium Energy Company Profile

(Free Report)

Uranium Energy Corp., together with its subsidiaries, engages in exploration, pre-extraction, extraction, and processing uranium and titanium concentrates in the United States, Canada, and Paraguay. It owns interests in the Palangana mine, Goliad, Burke Hollow, Longhorn, and Salvo projects located in Texas; Anderson, Workman Creek, and Los Cuatros projects situated in Arizona; Slick Rock project in Colorado; Reno Creek project in Wyoming; Dalton Pass and C de Baca project located in New Mexico; Diabase project located in Canada; and Yuty, Oviedo, and Alto Parana titanium projects in Paraguay.

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4Thought Financial Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Vanguard FTSE Europe ETF (NYSEARCA:VGK  Free Report) by 9.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,023 shares of the exchange traded funds stock after selling 222 shares during the period. 4Thought Financial Group Inc.s holdings in Vanguard FTSE Europe ETF were worth $123,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. CENTRAL TRUST Co grew its stake in Vanguard FTSE Europe ETF by 214.3% in the 4th quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 550 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 375 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Vanguard FTSE Europe ETF by 6,256.3% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,017 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 1,001 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC purchased a new stake in Vanguard FTSE Europe ETF in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $63,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Vanguard FTSE Europe ETF in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $65,000. Finally, Thompson Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Vanguard FTSE Europe ETF in the 1st quarter worth approximately $65,000.

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Vanguard FTSE Europe ETF Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of Vanguard FTSE Europe ETF stock traded up $0.39 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $60.03. The stock had a trading volume of 3,196,788 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,280,869. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.10 and a beta of 0.95. Vanguard FTSE Europe ETF has a 1 year low of $44.99 and a 1 year high of $63.77. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $61.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $60.54.

Vanguard FTSE Europe ETF Profile

Vanguard European Stock Index Fund is an exchange-traded fund. The Fund seeks to track the performance of a benchmark index that measures the investment return of stocks issued by Companies located in the markets of Europe. The Fund on focuses indexing investment approach by investing all, or substantially all, of its assets in the common stocks included in the FTSE Developed Europe All Cap Index.

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Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR  Free Report) by 1.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 752,507 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock after purchasing an additional 8,729 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. owned 0.20% of Equity Residential worth $45,150,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Moody National Bank Trust Division grew its stake in Equity Residential by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 8,400 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $504,000 after buying an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. United Capital Financial Advisers LLC grew its position in shares of Equity Residential by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. United Capital Financial Advisers LLC now owns 22,740 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $2,045,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. Kinneret Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Equity Residential by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Kinneret Advisory LLC now owns 9,989 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $904,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in shares of Equity Residential by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 97,358 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $5,744,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Global Investments grew its position in shares of Equity Residential by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 3,674 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $247,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.52% of the companys stock.

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Insider Transactions at Equity Residential

In other news, Director Mark S. Shapiro sold 42,435 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.91, for a total transaction of $2,627,150.85. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 12,497 shares in the company, valued at $773,689.27. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.69% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Equity Residential Price Performance

Equity Residential Announces Dividend

EQR stock opened at $66.54 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $63.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $61.94. The company has a market capitalization of $25.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.38, a PEG ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 0.83. Equity Residential has a 52-week low of $54.60 and a 52-week high of $80.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.69.

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.6625 per share. This represents a $2.65 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 23rd. Equity Residentials payout ratio is currently 109.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Equity Residential from an underweight rating to a neutral rating and increased their target price for the stock from $63.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Friday, June 9th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Equity Residential in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They set a hold rating for the company. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $71.00 to $69.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 31st. Raymond James downgraded shares of Equity Residential from a market perform rating to an underperform rating in a report on Friday, May 26th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $72.00 to $68.00 in a report on Friday, May 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $70.06.

Equity Residential Company Profile

(Free Report)

Equity Residential is committed to creating communities where people thrive. The Company, a member of the S&P 500, is focused on the acquisition, development and management of residential properties located in and around dynamic cities that attract affluent long-term renters. Equity Residential owns or has investments in 308 properties consisting of 79,597 apartment units, with an established presence in Boston, New York, Washington, DC, Seattle, San Francisco and Southern California, and an expanding presence in Denver, Atlanta, Dallas/Ft.

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tru Independence LLC raised its holdings in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB  Free Report) by 15.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 64,110 shares of the banks stock after acquiring an additional 8,460 shares during the period. tru Independence LLCs holdings in Associated Banc were worth $1,153,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. CI Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Associated Banc during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 26,450.0% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,593 shares of the banks stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 1,587 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 74.3% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,685 shares of the banks stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 718 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 370.7% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,845 shares of the banks stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 1,453 shares during the period. Finally, Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. purchased a new stake in shares of Associated Banc during the 4th quarter valued at $47,000. 81.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Associated Banc Stock Up 3.9 %

Shares of Associated Banc stock traded up $0.63 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $16.85. 1,529,507 shares of the companys stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,274,894. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $16.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The company has a market cap of $2.54 billion, a PE ratio of 6.63, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.00. Associated Banc-Corp has a twelve month low of $14.47 and a twelve month high of $25.50.

Associated Banc Announces Dividend

Associated Banc ( NYSE:ASB Free Report ) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 20th. The bank reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $504.89 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $349.71 million. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 10.35% and a net margin of 23.87%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.47 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 1st were paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 31st. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.99%. Associated Bancs dividend payout ratio is presently 33.07%.

Insider Transactions at Associated Banc

In related news, Director Michael J. Haddad purchased 5,750 shares of Associated Banc stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 26th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $17.35 per share, with a total value of $99,762.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,750 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $99,762.50. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Michael J. Haddad purchased 5,750 shares of Associated Banc stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 26th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $17.35 per share, with a total value of $99,762.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,750 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $99,762.50. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director R Jay Gerken bought 3,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $16.07 per share, for a total transaction of $48,210.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 42,036 shares of the companys stock, valued at $675,518.52. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.49% of the companys stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on ASB shares. Raymond James raised shares of Associated Banc from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $20.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a sector perform rating and issued a $21.00 price target on shares of Associated Banc in a report on Friday, April 21st. UBS Group began coverage on Associated Banc in a report on Wednesday, March 15th. They issued a neutral rating and a $22.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com began coverage on Associated Banc in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a sell rating for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Associated Banc from $28.00 to $25.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $22.00.

Associated Banc Profile

(Free Report)

Associated Banc-Corp, a bank holding company, provides various banking and nonbanking products to individuals and businesses in Wisconsin, Illinois, and Minnesota. The company operates through three segments: Corporate and Commercial Specialty; Community, Consumer, and Business; and Risk Management and Shared Services.

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IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi, center, is escorted to avoid protesters at Gimpo International Airport in Seoul after arriving from Japan, Friday, July 7. Yonhap





The chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) arrived in Korea on Friday to explain the analysis of the U.N. watchdog's safety review of Japan's planned release of treated radioactive wastewater from its crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant.







IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi was met by a group of angry protesters at Seoul's Gimpo airport.







Dozens of protesters gathered in front of the airport's VIP exit, with some of them loudly chanting slogans like "Grossi, go home," "Oppose marine dumping" and "Leave Korea, Grossi."







They occasionally clashed physically with policemen who were positioned in front of a cordoned-off area.







Grossi successfully left the airport around two hours following his arrival using another exit, and went unnoticed by both the protesters and reporters.







Grossi flew in from Japan following the agency's conclusion that Tokyo's plan to release the treated wastewater from the plant into the sea met international safety standards.







While in Japan, Grossi delivered the IAEA's report on the plan to Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.







The report was seen as a blessing for the planned discharge, expected to begin in August.







However, it prompted serious concerns in other countries, especially Korea, where many believe the IAEA may have neglected or failed to verify the potential long-term impact of the treated wastewater on people and the environment.







The IAEA director general is expected to hold meetings with Yoo Guk-hee, head of Korea's Nuclear Safety and Security Commission, and Foreign Minister Park Jin. He also plans to meet officials from the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea next week, according to a party official.







Ahead of his visit here, the Seoul government said Japan's plan to release contaminated water from the Fukushima plant met international standards, including those set by the IAEA, if carried out as planned. (Yonhap)







A group of protesters rally at Gimpo International Airport in western Seoul, July 7, ahead of the arrival of International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi. Yonhap
















Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL  Free Report) have been given a consensus rating of Moderate Buy by the eight brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four 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 $71.22.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Aflac from $77.00 to $72.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 12th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Aflac in a research report on Monday, June 5th. They issued a buy rating on the stock. 58.com reiterated a reiterates rating on shares of Aflac in a research report on Friday, June 9th. VNET Group reiterated a maintains rating on shares of Aflac in a research report on Thursday, April 27th. Finally, 888 reiterated a reiterates rating on shares of Aflac in a research report on Friday, June 9th.

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Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other Aflac news, VP June P. Howard sold 8,230 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.57, for a total transaction of $556,101.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 119,402 shares in the company, valued at $8,067,993.14. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Steven Kent Beaver sold 13,118 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.33, for a total value of $870,116.94. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 20,793 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,379,199.69. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP June P. Howard sold 8,230 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.57, for a total transaction of $556,101.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 119,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,067,993.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 112,582 shares of company stock worth $7,649,767 over the last 90 days. 0.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Aflac Stock Up 0.6 %

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Aflac by 338.0% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,604,901 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $93,656,000 after purchasing an additional 4,325,212 shares during the period. Edmp Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 6,918.5% in the 4th quarter. Edmp Inc. now owns 3,676,833 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $51,110,000 after buying an additional 3,624,445 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 71.2% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 6,512,084 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $420,160,000 after buying an additional 2,707,608 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at about $175,416,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 62.4% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,936,608 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $317,865,000 after buying an additional 1,897,212 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.56% of the companys stock.

Shares of NYSE:AFL opened at $70.07 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $67.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $68.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.05 and a quick ratio of 0.05. Aflac has a one year low of $53.04 and a one year high of $74.01. The company has a market cap of $42.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.11, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.94.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL  Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.15. Aflac had a net margin of 22.90% and a return on equity of 15.25%. The company had revenue of $4.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.61 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.42 EPS. The firms revenue was down 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Aflac will post 5.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 17th were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 16th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.40%. Aflacs dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.24%.

Aflac Company Profile

(Free Report

Aflac Incorporated, through its subsidiaries, provides supplemental health and life insurance products. It operates in two segments, Aflac Japan and Aflac U.S. The Aflac Japan segment offers cancer, medical, nursing care, work leave, GIFT, and whole and term life insurance products, as well as WAYS and child endowment plans under saving type insurance products in Japan.

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Shares of Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX  Free Report) have been given a consensus recommendation of Moderate Buy by the twenty-one ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $191.68.

CVX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Mizuho lowered their price target on Chevron from $206.00 to $196.00 in a report on Friday, May 19th. Raymond James reduced their price objective on Chevron from $212.00 to $208.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 14th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Chevron from $193.00 to $190.00 in a research report on Monday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Chevron from $192.00 to $198.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 23rd. Finally, HSBC raised Chevron from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $189.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 23rd.

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Hedge Funds Weigh In On Chevron

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in Chevron by 12.7% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 32,906,060 shares of the oil and gas companys stock worth $5,906,309,000 after acquiring an additional 3,711,923 shares during the period. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Chevron by 104,997.3% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 24,490,824 shares of the oil and gas companys stock worth $4,395,858,000 after acquiring an additional 24,467,521 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Chevron by 76.5% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 23,667,484 shares of the oil and gas companys stock worth $3,839,241,000 after acquiring an additional 10,257,980 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Chevron during the 4th quarter worth $3,058,235,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Chevron by 6.8% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 14,844,054 shares of the oil and gas companys stock worth $2,421,958,000 after acquiring an additional 948,045 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 69.65% of the companys stock.

Chevron Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of Chevron stock opened at $154.23 on Friday. Chevron has a 1 year low of $132.54 and a 1 year high of $189.68. The business has a 50-day moving average of $156.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $164.58. The company has a market capitalization of $292.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.16.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX  Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 28th. The oil and gas company reported $3.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.41 by $0.14. Chevron had a return on equity of 23.15% and a net margin of 14.74%. The company had revenue of $50.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $49.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.36 earnings per share. The companys revenue for the quarter was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Chevron will post 13.83 EPS for the current year.

Chevron Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 19th were paid a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 18th. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.92%. Chevrons dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.61%.

Chevron Company Profile

(Free Report

Chevron Corporation, through its subsidiaries, engages in the integrated energy and chemicals operations in the United States and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Upstream and Downstream. The Upstream segment is involved in the exploration, development, production, and transportation of crude oil and natural gas; liquefaction, transportation, and regasification associated with liquefied natural gas; transportation of crude oil through pipelines; and processing, transportation, storage, and marketing of natural gas, as well as a gas-to-liquids plant.

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CMC Markets plc (LON:CMCX  Free Report) passed below its 50 day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 50 day moving average of GBX 171.74 ($2.18) and traded as low as GBX 147.80 ($1.88). CMC Markets shares last traded at GBX 148.80 ($1.89), with a volume of 156,723 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a hold rating and set a GBX 190 ($2.41) target price on shares of CMC Markets in a research report on Tuesday, June 13th. Shore Capital upgraded CMC Markets to a hold rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 27th.

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CMC Markets Stock Up 0.1 %

The company has a fifty day moving average price of GBX 171.03 and a 200-day moving average price of GBX 203.58. The company has a quick ratio of 2.47, a current ratio of 2.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.70. The stock has a market capitalization of 416.93 million, a P/E ratio of 1,064.29 and a beta of 0.51.

CMC Markets Increases Dividend

Insiders Place Their Bets

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 13th will be paid a dividend of GBX 3.90 ($0.05) per share. This is a boost from CMC Marketss previous dividend of $3.50. This represents a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 13th. CMC Marketss payout ratio is presently 5,000.00%.

In related news, insider Euan Marshall acquired 164 shares of CMC Markets stock in a transaction on Friday, May 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of GBX 182 ($2.31) per share, with a total value of 298.48 ($378.83). In other news, insider David Fineberg purchased 196 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 5th. The stock was purchased at an average price of GBX 153 ($1.94) per share, for a total transaction of 299.88 ($380.61). Also, insider Euan Marshall purchased 164 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 5th. The stock was purchased at an average price of GBX 182 ($2.31) per share, with a total value of 298.48 ($378.83). Insiders have purchased 528 shares of company stock valued at $89,740 over the last ninety days. 64.83% of the stock is owned by insiders.

CMC Markets Company Profile

(Free Report)

CMC Markets plc, together with its subsidiaries, provides online retail financial services to retail, professional, stockbroking, and institutional clients in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Canada, and internationally. The company offers its clients with the ability to trade contracts for difference and financial spread betting on a range of underlying shares, including indices, foreign currencies, commodities, and treasuries through its trading platform.

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Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL  Free Report) is one of 7,974 public companies in the  industry, but how does it compare to its rivals? We will compare Blackstone Secured Lending Fund to related businesses based on the strength of its institutional ownership, risk, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability and dividends.

Dividends

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund pays an annual dividend of $2.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 10.4%. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund pays out 104.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. As a group,  companies pay a dividend yield of 2.8% and pay out 118.2% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund is clearly a better dividend stock than its rivals, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

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Insider and Institutional Ownership

30.6% of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 55.5% of shares of all  companies are held by institutional investors. 0.1% of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 14.7% of shares of all  companies are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings & Valuation

Gross Revenue Net Income Price/Earnings Ratio Blackstone Secured Lending Fund $850.00 million $404.56 million 10.11 Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Competitors $5.91 billion $495.35 million -53.29

This table compares Blackstone Secured Lending Fund and its rivals revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

Blackstone Secured Lending Funds rivals have higher revenue and earnings than Blackstone Secured Lending Fund. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its rivals, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Blackstone Secured Lending Fund and its rivals, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Blackstone Secured Lending Fund 0 1 6 0 2.86 Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Competitors 4395 23977 30154 618 2.46

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund presently has a consensus price target of $27.07, suggesting a potential upside of 0.30%. As a group,  companies have a potential upside of 874.31%. Given Blackstone Secured Lending Funds rivals higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Blackstone Secured Lending Fund has less favorable growth aspects than its rivals.

Risk & Volatility

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund has a beta of 0.51, indicating that its stock price is 49% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Blackstone Secured Lending Funds rivals have a beta of 0.63, indicating that their average stock price is 37% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Blackstone Secured Lending Fund and its rivals net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Blackstone Secured Lending Fund 46.93% 12.58% 5.30% Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Competitors -1,460.21% -312.28% -28.99%

Summary

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund beats its rivals on 8 of the 15 factors compared.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Company Profile

(Free Report)

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund is business development company and a Delaware statutory trust formed on March 26, 2018, and structured as an externally managed, non-diversified closed-end investment Fund. On October 26, 2018, the fund elected to be regulated as a business development company (BDC) under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the 1940 Act). In addition, the Fund elected to be treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes, as a regulated investment company (RIC), as defined under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the Code). The fund also intends to continue to comply with the requirements prescribed by the Code in order to maintain tax treatment as a RIC. The fund's investment objectives are to generate current income and, to a lesser extent, long-term capital appreciation. The Fund seeks to achieve its investment objective primarily through originated loans, equity and other securities, including syndicated loans, of private U.S. companies, specifically small and middle market companies, typically in the form of first lien senior secured and unitranche loans (including first out/last out loans), and to a lesser extent, second lien, third lien, unsecured and subordinated loans and other debt and equity securities.

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Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL  Free Report) by 2,697.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 33,570 shares of the transportation companys stock after buying an additional 32,370 shares during the period. Delta Air Lines comprises 3.6% of Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd.s holdings, making the stock its 8th largest position. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd.s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $1,172,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of DAL. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines during the 4th quarter worth about $60,640,000. GMT Capital Corp lifted its stake in Delta Air Lines by 41.5% in the 4th quarter. GMT Capital Corp now owns 5,399,600 shares of the transportation companys stock valued at $177,431,000 after purchasing an additional 1,584,000 shares during the last quarter. Amundi lifted its stake in Delta Air Lines by 79.5% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 3,396,524 shares of the transportation companys stock valued at $129,679,000 after purchasing an additional 1,504,544 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Delta Air Lines by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 68,234,306 shares of the transportation companys stock valued at $2,700,032,000 after purchasing an additional 1,267,578 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in Delta Air Lines by 12.2% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 9,893,400 shares of the transportation companys stock valued at $325,097,000 after purchasing an additional 1,077,500 shares during the last quarter. 68.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Delta Air Lines Price Performance

DAL stock opened at $47.88 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.77 billion, a PE ratio of 16.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.20 and a beta of 1.31. The companys 50-day moving average is $39.16 and its 200-day moving average is $37.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.17, a current ratio of 0.47 and a quick ratio of 0.42. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 1 year low of $27.20 and a 1 year high of $48.81.

Delta Air Lines Cuts Dividend

Delta Air Lines ( NYSE:DAL Free Report ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 13th. The transportation company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.29 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $12.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.25 billion. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 56.49% and a net margin of 3.51%. Delta Air Liness revenue for the quarter was up 36.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned ($1.23) EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 6.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 17th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 14th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.84%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on DAL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $81.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Monday, May 8th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $48.00 to $55.00 in a report on Friday, June 23rd. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $45.00 to $54.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 28th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $45.00 to $50.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 27th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $61.00 to $65.00 in a report on Monday, July 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Delta Air Lines has a consensus rating of Buy and an average target price of $52.68.

Insider Transactions at Delta Air Lines

In other Delta Air Lines news, President Glen W. Hauenstein sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.53, for a total value of $172,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 273,712 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,451,275.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Delta Air Lines news, President Glen W. Hauenstein sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.53, for a total value of $172,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 273,712 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,451,275.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Joanne D. Smith sold 7,513 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.90, for a total transaction of $277,229.70. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 107,782 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $3,977,155.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have purchased 15,000 shares of company stock valued at $503,250 in the last 90 days. 0.89% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Delta Air Lines Profile

(Free Report)

Delta Air Lines, Inc provides scheduled air transportation for passengers and cargo in the United States and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Airline and Refinery. Its domestic network centered on core hubs in Atlanta, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Detroit, and Salt Lake City, as well as coastal hub positions in Boston, Los Angeles, New York-LaGuardia, New York-JFK, and Seattle; and international network centered on hubs and market presence in Amsterdam, Mexico City, London-Heathrow, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, and Seoul-Incheon.

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EnPro Industries (NYSE:NPO  Free Report) had its price objective raised by KeyCorp from $145.00 to $158.00 in a report published on Wednesday morning, FlyOnTheWall reports.

NPO has been the subject of several other reports. StockNews.com cut EnPro Industries from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Friday, June 30th. TheStreet upgraded EnPro Industries from a c+ rating to a b- rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 2nd.

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EnPro Industries Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NPO opened at $132.58 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 2.79 and a current ratio of 3.58. The company has a market cap of $2.77 billion, a PE ratio of 12.30 and a beta of 1.51. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $112.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $109.11. EnPro Industries has a fifty-two week low of $77.69 and a fifty-two week high of $135.16.

EnPro Industries Dividend Announcement

EnPro Industries ( NYSE:NPO Free Report ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 2nd. The industrial products company reported $1.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.49. EnPro Industries had a return on equity of 11.87% and a net margin of 19.21%. The firm had revenue of $282.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $273.40 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.83 earnings per share. The companys revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that EnPro Industries will post 6.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 31st were given a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 30th. EnPro Industriess dividend payout ratio is currently 10.76%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NPO. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. increased its position in shares of EnPro Industries by 87.9% in the first quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 2,349 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $309,000 after buying an additional 1,099 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates increased its position in shares of EnPro Industries by 1.8% in the first quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 43,294 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $4,231,000 after buying an additional 767 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in shares of EnPro Industries by 148.8% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,876 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $477,000 after buying an additional 2,916 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of EnPro Industries by 58.0% in the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 10,795 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $1,055,000 after buying an additional 3,962 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers increased its position in shares of EnPro Industries by 1.3% in the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 60,837 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $5,946,000 after buying an additional 774 shares in the last quarter. 94.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

EnPro Industries Company Profile

(Free Report)

EnPro Industries, Inc design, develops, manufactures, and markets proprietary, value-added products and solutions to safeguard critical environments in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments, Sealing Technologies and Advanced Surface Technologies. The Sealing Technologies segment offers single-use hygienic seals, tubing, components and assemblies; metallic, non-metallic, and composite material gaskets; compression packing products; hydraulic components; expansion joints; wall penetration products; and dynamic seals, resilient metal, elastomeric, and custom-engineered mechanical seals for chemical and petrochemical processing, pulp and paper processing, power generation, food and pharmaceutical processing, primary metal manufacturing, mining, water and waste treatment, heavy-duty trucking, aerospace, medical, filtration, and semiconductor fabrication industries.

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Equinox Gold Corp (CVE:EQX  Free Report)s stock price dropped 0.9% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as C$7.75 and last traded at C$7.88. Approximately 53,583 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 65% from the average daily volume of 153,529 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$7.95.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. National Bank Financial raised their target price on shares of Equinox Gold from C$7.25 to C$9.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 18th. Desjardins decreased their price objective on shares of Equinox Gold from C$6.50 to C$6.25 in a research report on Friday, May 5th. CIBC raised their price objective on shares of Equinox Gold from C$4.70 to C$5.40 in a research report on Thursday, March 30th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Equinox Gold from C$5.75 to C$7.50 in a research report on Wednesday, April 12th. Finally, Cormark raised their target price on shares of Equinox Gold from C$5.75 to C$7.50 in a research note on Thursday, March 30th.

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Equinox Gold Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 64.28. The company has a market cap of C$892.46 million and a PE ratio of -43.54. The firms 50-day simple moving average is C$7.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is C$7.88.

About Equinox Gold

Equinox Gold Corp. engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of mineral deposits. The company's principal properties include the Aurizona project covering a total land package of approximately 223,160 hectares located in Maranhao State, Brazil; and the Castle Mountain property situated in California, the United States.

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Shares of Global X SuperDividend ETF (NYSEARCA:SDIV  Free Report) passed above its 50 day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 50 day moving average of $22.03 and traded as high as $22.29. Global X SuperDividend ETF shares last traded at $21.95, with a volume of 231,799 shares trading hands.

Global X SuperDividend ETF Stock Up 1.5 %

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $22.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $739.47 million, a P/E ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 1.10.

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Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SDIV. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Global X SuperDividend ETF by 153.4% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 53,884 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $618,000 after acquiring an additional 32,619 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in shares of Global X SuperDividend ETF by 75.1% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 42,301 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $485,000 after acquiring an additional 18,146 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Global X SuperDividend ETF by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 26,353 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $302,000 after acquiring an additional 1,027 shares during the period. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC boosted its stake in Global X SuperDividend ETF by 39.8% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 18,260 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $209,000 after purchasing an additional 5,200 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Trust N.A. bought a new stake in Global X SuperDividend ETF in the 1st quarter valued at $147,000.

About Global X SuperDividend ETF

The Global X SuperDividend ETF (SDIV) is an exchange-traded fund that mostly invests in high dividend yield equity. The fund tracks an equal-weighted index of 100 global securities with high yields. SDIV was launched on Jun 8, 2011 and is managed by Global X.

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Inspire Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of Burlington Stores, Inc. (NYSE:BURL  Free Report) by 17.1% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,211 shares of the companys stock after selling 250 shares during the quarter. Inspire Advisors LLCs holdings in Burlington Stores were worth $245,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its stake in shares of Burlington Stores by 34.0% in the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 19,806 shares of the companys stock worth $3,831,000 after acquiring an additional 5,022 shares during the period. AMF Tjanstepension AB lifted its position in Burlington Stores by 0.9% in the first quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 29,669 shares of the companys stock valued at $5,996,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the period. DnB Asset Management AS boosted its holdings in Burlington Stores by 14.8% in the 1st quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 12,805 shares of the companys stock valued at $2,588,000 after purchasing an additional 1,652 shares in the last quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH increased its position in Burlington Stores by 44.9% during the 1st quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 4,906 shares of the companys stock worth $992,000 after purchasing an additional 1,521 shares during the period. Finally, Maryland State Retirement & Pension System raised its stake in shares of Burlington Stores by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 5,135 shares of the companys stock worth $1,038,000 after buying an additional 166 shares in the last quarter.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Burlington Stores from $245.00 to $214.00 in a research note on Monday, May 8th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Burlington Stores from $260.00 to $225.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 9th. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Burlington Stores in a report on Thursday, June 29th. They issued a neutral rating and a $155.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Burlington Stores from $275.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Friday, May 26th. Finally, 1-800-FLOWERS.COM reaffirmed a maintains rating on shares of Burlington Stores in a report on Friday, May 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $216.68.

Burlington Stores Stock Performance

Shares of BURL opened at $154.12 on Friday. Burlington Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $106.47 and a 1 year high of $239.94. The companys 50 day simple moving average is $161.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $193.96. The company has a market capitalization of $10.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.88, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 1.16.

Burlington Stores (NYSE:BURL  Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 25th. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.93 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $2.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $2.18 billion. Burlington Stores had a return on equity of 41.79% and a net margin of 2.77%. The companys revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.54 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Burlington Stores, Inc. will post 5.86 EPS for the current year.

Burlington Stores Company Profile

(Free Report)

Burlington Stores, Inc operates as a retailer of branded apparel products in the United States. The company provides fashion-focused merchandise, including women's ready-to-wear apparel, menswear, youth apparel, footwear, accessories, toys, gifts, and coats, as well as baby, home, and beauty products.

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iShares MSCI Min Vol Canada Index ETF (TSE:XMV  Free Report) crossed below its fifty day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a fifty day moving average of C$38.15 and traded as low as C$37.60. iShares MSCI Min Vol Canada Index ETF shares last traded at C$37.61, with a volume of 803 shares traded.

iShares MSCI Min Vol Canada Index ETF Price Performance

The businesss fifty day moving average is C$38.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is C$37.88.

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International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi speaks during an interview with Yonhap News Agency at a hotel in Seoul, July 8. Yonhap



The chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Saturday that there was no internal disagreement behind the IAEA's published comprehensive report on Japan's plan to discharge contaminated water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant.



"There is no disagreement. This is the final comprehensive report by the IAEA and no expert has come to me saying that he or she disagrees on the contents," Rafael Mariano Grossi said in an exclusive interview with Yonhap News Agency in Seoul.



He said that his recent interview with Reuters that said he "hinted" at discord among the team was "misinterpreted."



"What I can tell you is that we are very confident, as I said, with the way in which this (review) was conducted with the interpretation of the norms and the standards. So it is not a matter of a report that comes in spite of disagreements," Grossi said.



Grossi arrived in Korea late Friday for a three-day visit to explain the analysis of the U.N. watchdog's safety review of Japan's planned release of treated radioactive water from the Japanese plant



He was met by a group of angry protesters at Seoul's Gimpo airport late Friday.



Grossi flew in from Japan following the agency's conclusion that its plan to release treated radioactive wastewater from the plant into the sea was consistent with international safety standards.



While in Japan, Grossi delivered the IAEA's report on the wastewater release plan to Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.



The report was seen as a blessing for Japan's planned water discharge, expected to begin in August.



Grossi said he came to Korea to address "technical doubts" skeptics may have about Japan's water release plan using technology of the plant's custom purification system, known as ALPS.



He plans to brief details of the IAEA's report in meetings with Nuclear Safety and Security Commission Chairperson Yoo Guk-hee and Foreign Minister Park Jin later in the day. Grossi also plans to meet Korean opposition politicians on Sunday to explain to them the safety of Japan's plan.



Grossi said the report was not produced to "a Japanese taste or a Japanese convenience."



He said results would be the same in the case Korea commissions a review on the effects the water release would have on neighboring countries. "The science is one. The process that is going to take place is one."











International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi speaks during an interview with Yonhap News Agency at a hotel in Seoul on July 8. Yonhap
Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC lessened its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS  Free Report) by 1.5% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 9,991 shares of the investment management companys stock after selling 149 shares during the quarter. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLCs holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $3,268,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fairfield Bush & CO. acquired a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group during the first quarter worth $66,000. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. raised its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 1,505.1% during the first quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 41,300 shares of the investment management companys stock worth $13,633,000 after buying an additional 38,727 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 18.5% during the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 118,609 shares of the investment management companys stock worth $39,153,000 after buying an additional 18,540 shares during the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. raised its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 79.4% during the first quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 827 shares of the investment management companys stock worth $273,000 after buying an additional 366 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 118.3% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 310 shares of the investment management companys stock valued at $102,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.90% of the companys stock.

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Insider Activity at The Goldman Sachs Group

In related news, insider Kathryn H. Ruemmler sold 7,277 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.67, for a total transaction of $2,420,839.59. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 4,334 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,441,791.78. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other The Goldman Sachs Group news, major shareholder Goldman Sachs Group Inc sold 9,000,000 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.73, for a total transaction of $105,570,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 51,676,439 shares in the company, valued at $606,164,629.47. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Kathryn H. Ruemmler sold 7,277 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.67, for a total transaction of $2,420,839.59. Following the sale, the insider now owns 4,334 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,441,791.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 34,978,986 shares of company stock valued at $660,057,057. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the companys stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

The Goldman Sachs Group Price Performance

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $390.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, April 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $420.00 to $390.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 3rd. Credit Suisse Group reiterated an outperform rating and issued a $410.00 target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a report on Tuesday, April 11th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $495.00 to $437.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 12th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, April 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $386.95.

GS opened at $315.17 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $104.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.22, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.25. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $326.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $338.52. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $277.84 and a twelve month high of $389.58.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS  Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 18th. The investment management company reported $8.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.14 by $0.65. The firm had revenue of $12.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.66 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 13.23% and a return on equity of 9.84%. The companys revenue was down 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $10.76 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 31.21 EPS for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 1st were paid a dividend of $2.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 31st. This represents a $10.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.17%. The Goldman Sachs Groups dividend payout ratio is currently 35.60%.

The Goldman Sachs Group Profile

(Free Report)

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc, a financial institution, provides a range of financial services for corporations, financial institutions, governments, and individuals worldwide. It operates through Global Banking & Markets, Asset & Wealth Management, and Platform Solutions segments. The Global Banking & Markets segment provides financial advisory services, including strategic advisory assignments related to mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, corporate defense activities, restructurings, and spin-offs; and relationship lending, and acquisition financing, as well as secured lending, through structured credit and asset-backed lending and involved in resale agreements.

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The Kansai Electric Power Company, Incorporated (OTCMKTS:KAEPY  Free Report)s share price dropped 0.8% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $6.25 and last traded at $6.25. Approximately 368 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 16% from the average daily volume of 438 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.30.

Kansai Electric Power Price Performance

The companys fifty day moving average is $5.73 and its 200-day moving average is $5.05.

About Kansai Electric Power

(Free Report)

The Kansai Electric Power Company, Incorporated engages in electricity, gas and heat supply, and telecommunication businesses in Japan. It operates through four segments: Energy Business, Power Transmission and Distribution Business, Information and Communication Business, and Life and Business Solution Business.

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Ledyard National Bank reduced its holdings in shares of Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW  Free Report) by 3.4% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 19,924 shares of the medical research companys stock after selling 700 shares during the quarter. Ledyard National Banks holdings in Edwards Lifesciences were worth $1,648,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in Edwards Lifesciences by 27.5% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 21,874,280 shares of the medical research companys stock worth $1,632,040,000 after acquiring an additional 4,712,819 shares during the period. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Edwards Lifesciences by 104,971.3% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,399,249 shares of the medical research companys stock worth $1,148,938,000 after acquiring an additional 15,384,593 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. increased its holdings in Edwards Lifesciences by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 14,341,102 shares of the medical research companys stock worth $1,069,990,000 after acquiring an additional 115,268 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Edwards Lifesciences by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,136,243 shares of the medical research companys stock worth $903,771,000 after acquiring an additional 205,714 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Edwards Lifesciences during the 4th quarter worth approximately $658,390,000. Institutional investors own 79.78% of the companys stock.

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Edwards Lifesciences Stock Down 0.2 %

NYSE EW traded down $0.20 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $90.26. 4,082,651 shares of the companys stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,599,295. Edwards Lifesciences Co. has a 52-week low of $67.13 and a 52-week high of $107.92. The firm has a market cap of $54.72 billion, a PE ratio of 37.45, a PEG ratio of 5.14 and a beta of 1.03. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $88.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $82.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 3.01 and a quick ratio of 2.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

Edwards Lifesciences ( NYSE:EW Free Report ) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 26th. The medical research company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $1.39 billion. Edwards Lifesciences had a net margin of 27.07% and a return on equity of 25.81%. The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.60 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Edwards Lifesciences Co. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

In related news, CEO Michael A. Mussallem sold 19,875 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.20, for a total value of $1,673,475.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 60,948 shares in the company, valued at $5,131,821.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Edwards Lifesciences news, SVP Robert W.A. Sellers sold 12,270 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.20, for a total value of $1,069,944.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,750 shares in the company, valued at $1,024,600. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael A. Mussallem sold 19,875 shares of Edwards Lifesciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.20, for a total transaction of $1,673,475.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 60,948 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,131,821.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 231,031 shares of company stock valued at $20,306,102. Insiders own 1.29% of the companys stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $94.00 to $102.00 in a report on Friday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $78.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 27th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Edwards Lifesciences in a research report on Tuesday, May 30th. They set an overweight rating and a $102.00 price objective on the stock. 58.com restated a reiterates rating on shares of Edwards Lifesciences in a research report on Tuesday, June 27th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $97.00 to $101.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $90.00.

Edwards Lifesciences Company Profile

(Free Report)

Edwards Lifesciences Corporation provides products and technologies for structural heart disease, and critical care and surgical monitoring in the United States, Europe, Japan, and internationally. It offers transcatheter heart valve replacement products for the minimally invasive replacement of heart valves; and transcatheter heart valve repair and replacement products to treat mitral and tricuspid valve diseases.

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Machina Capital S.A.S. purchased a new position in shares of Trane Technologies plc (NYSE:TT  Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 3,436 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $632,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Trane Technologies by 10.7% during the first quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 101,186 shares of the companys stock worth $18,616,000 after purchasing an additional 9,768 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Trane Technologies during the first quarter worth $238,100,000. TriaGen Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Trane Technologies during the first quarter worth $1,740,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its holdings in shares of Trane Technologies by 21.2% during the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 323,397 shares of the companys stock worth $58,691,000 after acquiring an additional 56,468 shares during the period. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Trane Technologies during the first quarter worth $329,000. 81.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Trane Technologies Price Performance

TT stock opened at $189.19 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $179.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $179.13. The stock has a market cap of $43.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.03. Trane Technologies plc has a 1 year low of $125.26 and a 1 year high of $196.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.77.

Trane Technologies Dividend Announcement

Trane Technologies ( NYSE:TT Free Report ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 3rd. The company reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.08. Trane Technologies had a net margin of 11.06% and a return on equity of 30.11%. The firm had revenue of $3.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $3.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.12 EPS. The companys revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Trane Technologies plc will post 8.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 1st will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 31st. Trane Technologiess dividend payout ratio is currently 38.86%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Trane Technologies from $203.00 to $178.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 14th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Trane Technologies from $200.00 to $192.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 4th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Trane Technologies from $200.00 to $201.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Trane Technologies from $176.00 to $163.00 and set an underweight rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 13th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of Trane Technologies from $184.00 to $183.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Trane Technologies has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $182.58.

Trane Technologies Company Profile

(Free Report)

Trane Technologies plc, together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, sells, and services of solutions for heating, ventilation, air conditioning, custom, and custom and transport refrigeration in Ireland and internationally. It offers air conditioners, exchangers, and handlers; airside and terminal devices; air sourced heat pumps, auxiliary power units; chillers; coils and condensers; gensets; dehumidifiers; ductless; furnaces; home automation products; humidifiers; indoor air quality assessments and related products; large and light commercial unitary products; refrigerant reclamation products; thermostats/controls; transport heater products; variable refrigerant flow products; and water source heat pumps.

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Machina Capital S.A.S. increased its position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO  Free Report) by 78.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 218 shares of the companys stock after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S.s holdings in AutoZone were worth $536,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in AutoZone by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,204,151 shares of the companys stock worth $2,969,654,000 after acquiring an additional 48,141 shares during the period. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 107,977.3% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 699,260 shares of the companys stock worth $1,724,500,000 after purchasing an additional 698,613 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 368.0% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 411,450 shares of the companys stock worth $841,242,000 after purchasing an additional 323,536 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of AutoZone during the 4th quarter worth about $658,788,000. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 263,346 shares of the companys stock worth $649,460,000 after purchasing an additional 4,838 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.36% of the companys stock.

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Insider Transactions at AutoZone

In other news, VP Domingo Hurtado sold 90 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $2,376.49, for a total transaction of $213,884.10. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 275 shares of the companys stock, valued at $653,534.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Domingo Hurtado sold 90 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $2,376.49, for a total transaction of $213,884.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 275 shares in the company, valued at $653,534.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Albert Saltiel sold 2,245 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2,500.00, for a total transaction of $5,612,500.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 535 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,337,500. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,755 shares of company stock valued at $14,373,061 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.59% of the companys stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AutoZone Stock Down 0.8 %

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AZO. Wedbush upped their target price on shares of AutoZone from $2,600.00 to $2,750.00 in a research report on Monday, May 22nd. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $2,878.00 to $2,886.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 24th. Evercore ISI raised shares of AutoZone from an in-line rating to an outperform rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $2,640.00 to $2,700.00 in a research note on Monday, June 12th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. They set a buy rating for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $2,850.00 to $3,000.00 in a research note on Monday, May 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $2,716.00.

Shares of AZO stock opened at $2,470.83 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $2,515.67 and a 200-day moving average of $2,490.41. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12-month low of $2,050.21 and a 12-month high of $2,750.00. The company has a market capitalization of $44.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.68.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO  Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 23rd. The company reported $34.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $30.84 by $3.28. AutoZone had a net margin of 14.45% and a negative return on equity of 62.38%. The company had revenue of $4.09 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $29.03 earnings per share. The firms revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 130.36 EPS for the current year.

AutoZone Company Profile

(Free Report)

AutoZone, Inc retails and distributes automotive replacement parts and accessories. The company offers various products for cars, sport utility vehicles, vans, and light trucks, including new and remanufactured automotive hard parts, maintenance items, accessories, and non-automotive products. Its products include A/C compressors, batteries and accessories, bearings, belts and hoses, calipers, chassis, clutches, CV axles, engines, fuel pumps, fuses, ignition and lighting products, mufflers, radiators, starters and alternators, thermostats, and water pumps, as well as tire repairs.

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Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Rogers Communications Inc. (NYSE:RCI  Free Report) (TSE:RCI.B) by 7.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,822,801 shares of the Wireless communications providers stock after purchasing an additional 589,494 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp owned approximately 1.75% of Rogers Communications worth $408,893,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in RCI. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Rogers Communications during the 1st quarter worth about $1,219,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Rogers Communications by 29.8% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 28,915 shares of the Wireless communications providers stock worth $1,637,000 after purchasing an additional 6,634 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its position in shares of Rogers Communications by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 7,289 shares of the Wireless communications providers stock worth $413,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Rogers Communications in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $237,000. Finally, BlackRock Inc. raised its holdings in Rogers Communications by 16.1% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 3,281,771 shares of the Wireless communications providers stock valued at $186,241,000 after acquiring an additional 455,522 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.77% of the companys stock.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Desjardins cut Rogers Communications from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Monday, April 3rd. Barclays assumed coverage on Rogers Communications in a report on Monday, May 8th. They issued an overweight rating for the company. Finally, StockNews.com cut Rogers Communications from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $74.31.

Rogers Communications Trading Up 0.5 %

RCI stock opened at $45.34 on Friday. Rogers Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $36.23 and a 1-year high of $50.16. The firm has a market cap of $22.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.52. The businesss 50 day moving average is $46.13 and its 200-day moving average is $46.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86.

Rogers Communications (NYSE:RCI  Free Report) (TSE:RCI.B) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 26th. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.03. Rogers Communications had a return on equity of 19.36% and a net margin of 11.49%. The company had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.71 billion. Equities analysts anticipate that Rogers Communications Inc. will post 3.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rogers Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 5th. Investors of record on Friday, June 9th were given a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 8th. This is a positive change from Rogers Communicationss previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.26%. Rogers Communicationss dividend payout ratio is 56.11%.

About Rogers Communications

(Free Report)

Rogers Communications Inc operates as a communications and media company in North America. It operates through three segments: Wireless, Cable, and Media. The company offers mobile Internet access, wireless voice and enhanced voice, device financing, device protection, global voice and data roaming, wireless home phone, bridging landline, machine-to-machine and Internet of Things solutions, and advanced wireless solutions for businesses, as well as device shipping services; and postpaid and prepaid services under the Rogers, Fido, and chatr brands.

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Everett Harris & Co. CA trimmed its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS  Free Report) by 2.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 31,319 shares of the companys stock after selling 950 shares during the period. Everett Harris & Co. CAs holdings in Novartis were worth $2,881,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of NVS. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Novartis by 102,209.0% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,522,057 shares of the companys stock valued at $410,241,000 after buying an additional 4,517,637 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in Novartis by 153.4% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 4,127,082 shares of the companys stock worth $374,409,000 after purchasing an additional 2,498,355 shares during the last quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc purchased a new position in Novartis during the 4th quarter worth $55,110,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in Novartis by 27.2% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,781,596 shares of the companys stock worth $244,085,000 after purchasing an additional 594,194 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its position in Novartis by 872.0% during the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 619,932 shares of the companys stock worth $56,240,000 after purchasing an additional 556,154 shares during the last quarter. 8.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Novartis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NVS traded down $3.28 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $94.73. The company had a trading volume of 8,939,210 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,436,776. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Novartis AG has a twelve month low of $74.09 and a twelve month high of $105.56. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $100.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $93.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $200.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.55.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Novartis ( NYSE:NVS Free Report ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 25th. The company reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.55 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $12.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $12.60 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 13.78% and a return on equity of 23.29%. The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.46 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 6.72 earnings per share for the current year.

NVS has been the topic of several research reports. BTIG Research raised their price objective on shares of Novartis from $75.00 to $85.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 19th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. They set a strong-buy rating on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Novartis from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Novartis currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $82.25.

Novartis Company Profile

(Free Report)

Novartis AG researches, develops, manufactures, and markets healthcare products in Switzerland and internationally. The company operates through two segments: Innovative Medicines and Sandoz. The Innovative Medicines segment offers prescription medicines for patients and physicians. It also provides cardiovascular, ophthalmology, neuroscience, immunology, hematology, and solid tumor products.

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QCM Cayman Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY  Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,333 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $458,000. Eli Lilly and Company comprises 2.9% of QCM Cayman Ltd.s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest holding.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,799 shares of the companys stock worth $1,992,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Semus Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 9.2% in the 1st quarter. Semus Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,594 shares of the companys stock worth $547,000 after buying an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. GraniteShares Advisors LLC increased its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. GraniteShares Advisors LLC now owns 2,951 shares of the companys stock worth $1,013,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 751,797 shares of the companys stock worth $255,037,000 after buying an additional 30,474 shares in the last quarter. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company in the 1st quarter worth $2,377,000. 87.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Transactions at Eli Lilly and Company

In other news, major shareholder Lilly Endowment Inc sold 225,000 shares of Eli Lilly and Company stock in a transaction on Friday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $398.48, for a total transaction of $89,658,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 101,908,810 shares in the company, valued at $40,608,622,608.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 600 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Monday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $435.29, for a total transaction of $261,174.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,978 shares in the company, valued at $2,602,163.62. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Lilly Endowment Inc sold 225,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Friday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $398.48, for a total transaction of $89,658,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 101,908,810 shares of the companys stock, valued at $40,608,622,608.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 970,965 shares of company stock worth $423,725,107. Company insiders own 0.13% of the companys stock.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

Eli Lilly and Company stock opened at $452.10 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Eli Lilly and Company has a 1-year low of $296.32 and a 1-year high of $469.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $429.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 71.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.38. The companys 50-day moving average is $441.78 and its 200 day moving average is $380.58.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY  Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 27th. The company reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $1.73 by ($0.11). Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 61.42% and a net margin of 20.54%. The firm had revenue of $6.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $6.87 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.62 earnings per share. The businesss revenue for the quarter was down 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Eli Lilly and Company will post 8.78 EPS for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 14th. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.00%. Eli Lilly and Companys payout ratio is currently 71.86%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on LLY. 3M reiterated a maintains rating on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Friday, April 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $430.00 to $475.00 in a report on Thursday, May 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $440.00 to $500.00 in a report on Friday, May 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $485.00 to $550.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 27th. Finally, SVB Securities increased their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $410.00 to $458.00 in a report on Monday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $437.90.

Eli Lilly and Company Company Profile

(Free Report)

Eli Lilly and Company discovers, develops, and markets human pharmaceuticals worldwide. It offers Basaglar, Humalog, Humalog Mix 75/25, Humalog U-100, Humalog U-200, Humalog Mix 50/50, insulin lispro, insulin lispro protamine, insulin lispro mix 75/25, Humulin, Humulin 70/30, Humulin N, Humulin R, and Humulin U-500 for diabetes; and Jardiance, Trajenta, and Trulicity for type 2 diabetes.

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Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX  Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, May 16th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 11th will be paid a dividend of 0.71 per share by the medical research company on Tuesday, July 25th. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 10th.

Quest Diagnostics has increased its dividend by an average of 7.6% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 13 years. Quest Diagnostics has a dividend payout ratio of 31.1% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Quest Diagnostics to earn $9.09 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.84 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 31.2%.

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Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of DGX stock opened at $138.97 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.34. Quest Diagnostics has a one year low of $120.40 and a one year high of $158.34. The companys 50-day simple moving average is $135.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $141.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.50 and a beta of 0.95.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Quest Diagnostics ( NYSE:DGX Free Report ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 27th. The medical research company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.07. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.26% and a return on equity of 16.51%. The business had revenue of $2.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $2.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.22 earnings per share. The companys quarterly revenue was down 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in DGX. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 8.7% in the first quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 6,921 shares of the medical research companys stock worth $947,000 after buying an additional 556 shares during the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 97.5% in the first quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,878 shares of the medical research companys stock worth $1,078,000 after buying an additional 3,889 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 3.4% in the first quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 15,923 shares of the medical research companys stock worth $2,179,000 after buying an additional 525 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 21.9% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 191,048 shares of the medical research companys stock worth $26,165,000 after buying an additional 34,364 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aviva PLC grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 22.1% in the first quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 68,068 shares of the medical research companys stock worth $9,316,000 after buying an additional 12,298 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.39% of the companys stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 17th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a hold rating on the stock. Mizuho reissued a buy rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Friday, March 17th. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Thursday, June 29th. They issued a neutral rating on the stock. Finally, Bank of America cut Quest Diagnostics from a buy rating to a neutral rating and cut their price target for the company from $166.00 to $148.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 2nd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $151.20.

Quest Diagnostics Company Profile

(Free Report)

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated provides diagnostic testing, information, and services in the United States and internationally. The company develops and delivers diagnostic information services, such as routine testing, non-routine and advanced clinical testing, anatomic pathology testing, and other diagnostic information services.

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Red Hill Minerals Limited (ASX:RHI  Free Report) declared a interim dividend on Tuesday, July 4th, MarketIndexAU reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 17th will be given a dividend of 0.10 per share on Monday, July 17th. This represents a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Sunday, July 9th.

Red Hill Minerals Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 90.92 and a quick ratio of 5.16.

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Red Hill Minerals Company Profile

(Free Report)

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Red Hill Minerals Limited engages in the exploration for and development of iron ore, and precious and base/battery metals in Western Australia. It holds 100% interests in the Pannawonica iron ore project; and the RHIOJV tenements covering an area of approximately 1,600 square kilometre in the West Pilbara.

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Namdaemun in the early 20th century Robert Neff Collection



By Robert Neff



Lee Chong-gun was born in the spring of 1881. According to him, he was enrolled in his local So Dang, or traditional school, but he was not one to study. His father was exasperated by the lack of ambition in his son and warned him that he had been provided with the opportunity to study and this his future failures would be his own responsibility.



Eventually Lee matured enough that he realized his father was correct so, in order to turn his life around, he went to Seoul in the winter of 1902 with the intention of making his father proud by resuming his studies. It was near Namdaemun that he saw the large posters pasted to the walls offering a new life in Hawaii:



"[We] will give [you] an opportunity. The farms will pay wages, water and hospital, and the government provides free education. The work is ten hours every day and the wages of 598 chon [cents] daily, 26 days for fifteen dollars."



Lee quickly returned home and told his father that he intended on going to Hawaii. At first his family was hesitant; after all, he was the only son, and they pointed out that he would be a stranger in a foreign land far from Korea. But he was determined and they acquiesced.





A Korean wedding circa 1920s Robert Neff Collection

In preparation to leave, Lee received a Western suit and an undershirt from his cousin. He accepted it but packed it in his suitcase; he was too embarrassed to wear it because he was too poor to buy suitable shoes  the clash of his Korean jip-sin (straw shoes) with the Western suit was more than he could bear.



Like many young men, Lee arrived in Hawaii alone. It is unclear how he found companionship but some men used the mail to find a wife. Of course, there were dangers.



Apparently, in 1917, single Korean men in Hawaii could choose a woman living in Korea (by her picture) and then pay a fee of $150 to have her brought to Hawaii. That was an enormous amount of money, but there were not that many young Korean women available on the islands.



One man entrusted his friend to buy him a postal money order so that it could be sent to the broker in Korea, but his friend, instead of buying the money order, used the money to buy a ticket to the continental United States and disappeared.



Lee Bong-soo had a similar experience. He allegedly gave the money to the postal clerk who failed to provide him with a receipt but told to come back later. Lee returned but the postal clerk claimed he had returned the money.






StockNews.com upgraded shares of Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS  Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning.

Separately, B. Riley cut their target price on Saul Centers from $47.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 9th.

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Saul Centers Price Performance

BFS opened at $36.10 on Tuesday. The businesss 50-day simple moving average is $35.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.78, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.15. Saul Centers has a one year low of $32.13 and a one year high of $52.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $863.87 million, a P/E ratio of 22.01 and a beta of 1.17.

Saul Centers Dividend Announcement

Insider Activity at Saul Centers

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 31st. Investors of record on Monday, July 17th will be given a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.54%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 14th. Saul Centerss dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 143.90%.

In related news, COO David Todd Pearson purchased 3,500 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 9th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $33.00 per share, for a total transaction of $115,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 3,530 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $116,490. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Saul Centers news, CEO B Francis Saul II bought 5,145 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 9th. The shares were bought at an average price of $33.29 per share, for a total transaction of $171,277.05. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 118,361 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $3,940,237.69. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO David Todd Pearson bought 3,500 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 9th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $33.00 per share, for a total transaction of $115,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 3,530 shares in the company, valued at approximately $116,490. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased 9,495 shares of company stock worth $316,437 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 50.50% of the companys stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Saul Centers

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new position in Saul Centers during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Susquehanna International Group LLP acquired a new position in Saul Centers during the 1st quarter worth approximately $219,000. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Saul Centers by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 503,450 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $19,635,000 after acquiring an additional 23,669 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Saul Centers by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 269,692 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $10,518,000 after acquiring an additional 10,768 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in shares of Saul Centers by 48.5% during the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 7,773 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $303,000 after acquiring an additional 2,537 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.33% of the companys stock.

About Saul Centers

(Free Report)

Saul Centers is a self-managed, self-administered equity REIT headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland. Saul Centers currently operates and manages a real estate portfolio comprised of 61 properties which includes (a) 57 community and neighborhood Shopping Centers and Mixed-Use properties with approximately 9.8 million square feet of leasable area and (b) four land and development properties.

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The Scottish American Investment Company P.L.C. (LON:SAIN  Free Report) fell 2.7% on Thursday . The company traded as low as GBX 506 ($6.42) and last traded at GBX 506 ($6.42). 192,872 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 2% from the average session volume of 197,703 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 520 ($6.60).

Scottish American Investment Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.19, a current ratio of 2.85 and a quick ratio of 3.87. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of GBX 527.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of GBX 516.30. The company has a market cap of 889.96 million, a PE ratio of -1,362.16 and a beta of 0.63.

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Scottish American Investment Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 25th were paid a GBX 3.30 ($0.04) dividend. This represents a yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 25th. Scottish American Investments dividend payout ratio is currently -3,783.78%.

About Scottish American Investment

The Scottish American Investment Company P.L.C. is a closed-ended equity mutual fund launched and managed by Baillie Gifford & Co Ltd. The fund is co-managed by Baillie Gifford & Co and OLIM Property Limited. It invests in public equity markets across the globe. The fund seeks to invest in stocks of companies operating across diversified sectors.

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Security Bank Co. (OTCMKTS:SYBJF  Free Report)s share price fell 12% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $1.46 and last traded at $1.46. 100 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 667 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1.66.

Security Bank Price Performance

The companys 50 day simple moving average is $1.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1.64.

Security Bank Company Profile

(Free Report)

Security Bank Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides banking and financial products and services to wholesale and retail clients in the Philippines. It operates through Financial Markets, Wholesale Banking, Retail Banking, and All Other segments. The Financial Markets segment offers money market, foreign exchange, financial derivatives, securities distribution, asset management, and trust and fiduciary services.

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Telekom Malaysia Berhad (OTCMKTS:MYTEF  Free Report)s stock price was up 44.4% on Friday . The company traded as high as $1.01 and last traded at $1.01. Approximately 2,886 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 1% from the average daily volume of 2,857 shares. The stock had previously closed at $0.70.

Telekom Malaysia Berhad Price Performance

The businesss 50-day moving average price is $0.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $0.71.

About Telekom Malaysia Berhad

(Free Report)

Telekom Malaysia Berhad engages in the establishment, maintenance, and provision of telecommunications and related services in Malaysia and internationally. It operates through unifi, TM ONE, TM Global, and Shared Services/Others segments. The company offers a suite of communication services and solutions in fixed telephony and broadband, mobility, content, Wi-Fi, cloud, data centre, cybersecurity, IoT, and smart services.

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Mullen Group (OTCMKTS:MLLGF  Free Report) and Yamato (OTCMKTS:YATRY  Free Report) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends, valuation and risk.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

55.0% of Mullen Group shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.0% of Yamato shares are owned by institutional investors. 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.

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Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Mullen Group and Yamato, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Mullen Group 0 3 1 1 2.60 Yamato 0 0 0 0 N/A

Earnings & Valuation

Mullen Group currently has a consensus target price of $17.07, suggesting a potential upside of 49.95%. Given Mullen Groups higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Mullen Group is more favorable than Yamato.

This table compares Mullen Group and Yamatos revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Mullen Group N/A N/A N/A $1.00 11.43 Yamato N/A N/A N/A $82.14 0.22

Yamato is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Mullen Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Dividends

Mullen Group pays an annual dividend of $1.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 10.5%. Yamato pays an annual dividend of $12.06 per share and has a dividend yield of 65.7%. Mullen Group pays out 120.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Yamato pays out 14.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Yamato is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Profitability

This table compares Mullen Group and Yamatos net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Mullen Group N/A N/A N/A Yamato N/A N/A N/A

Summary

Mullen Group beats Yamato on 5 of the 8 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Mullen Group

(Free Report)

Mullen Group Ltd. provides a range of trucking and logistics services in Canada and the United States. The Less-Than-Truckload segment delivers general freight consisting of smaller shipments, packages, and parcels; and pharmaceutical and package products. The Logistics & Warehousing segment offers full truckload, specialized transportation, warehousing, and fulfillment centers that handle ecommerce transactions and transload facilities for intermodal and bulk shipments; technology solutions, including transportation management, inventory management, and warehouse management systems; and warehousing and distribution services. The Specialized & Industrial Services segment provides production services, well servicing, production fluid transportation, transportation of fluids for disposal, frac support, hydrovac excavation, and industrial cleaning and turnaround services; and specialized services comprising dredging and dewatering services, large diameter pipe stockpiling and stringing services, water management, environmental services, civil construction, municipal development and emergency services, hydrostatic testing services to the pipeline industry and midstream sector, and transporting of oversize and overweight shipments, as well as deals in original equipment manufacturer parts and services. This segment also offers drilling and drilling related services, consisting of transportation, handling, and storage of oilfield fluids, tubulars, and drilling mud; drilling rig relocation; general oilfield hauling; well disposal facility; core drilling; setting surface casing; and conductor pipe setting services. The U.S. & International Logistics segment provides logistics services through professional representatives and station agents. This segment also owns SilverExpress, a proprietary integrated transportation management platform. The company was founded in 1949 and is headquartered in Okotoks, Canada.

About Yamato

(Free Report)

Yamato Holdings Co., Ltd. provides delivery, logistics, home convenience, e-business, financial, auto works, and other related services in Japan, North America, and internationally. The company's Delivery segment offers small parcel delivery services, such as door-to-door parcel delivery and posting services. Its BIZ-Logistics segment provides intercompany logistics services to B2B supply-chain management market. The company's Home Convenience segment offers lifestyle support services, including moving and household effects delivery services. Its e-Business segment provides information services comprising ASP services and information systems development for business markets. The company's Financial segment offers settlement and collection services to customers and business customers. Its Autoworks segment provides vehicle maintenance and fuel supply services for transport companies. The company was founded in 1919 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.

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Two file management apps on the Google Play Store have been discovered to be spyware, putting the privacy and security of up to 1.5 million Android users at risk. These apps engage in deceptive behaviour and secretly send sensitive user data to malicious servers in China.

Pradeo, a leading mobile security company, has uncovered this alarming infiltration. The report shows that both spyware apps, namely File Recovery and Data Recovery (com.spot.music.filedate) with over 1 million installs, and File Manager (com.file.box.master.gkd) with over 500,000 installs, are developed by the same group. These seemingly harmless Android apps use similar malicious tactics and automatically launch when the device reboots without user input.

Contrary to what they claim on the Google Play Store, where both apps assure users that no data is collected, Pradeo's analytics engine has found that various personal information is collected without users' knowledge. Stolen data includes contact lists, media files (images, audio files and videos), real-time location, mobile country code, network provider details, SIM provider network code, operating system version, device brand, and model.

What is particularly alarming is the large amount of data transferred by these spyware apps. Each app performs more than a hundred transmissions, a considerable amount for malicious activities. Once the data is collected, it is sent to multiple servers in China, which are deemed malicious by security experts.

To make matters worse, the developers of these spyware apps have used sneaky techniques to appear more legitimate and make it difficult to uninstall them. Hackers artificially increased the number of downloads of apps with install Farms or mobile device emulators, creating a false sense of trustworthiness. Moreover, both apps have advanced permissions that allow them to hide their icons on the home screen, making it difficult for unsuspecting users to uninstall them.

"These apps have been removed from Google Play. Google Play Protect protects users from apps known to contain this malware on Android devices with Google Play Services, even when those apps come from other sources outside of Play," a spokesperson for Google told The Hacker News.

Pradeo provides security recommendations for individuals and businesses in light of this disturbing discovery. Individuals should be cautious when downloading apps, especially those without ratings if they claim a large user base. It is extremely critical to read and understand app permissions before accepting them to prevent breaches like this.

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Organizations should prioritize educating their employees about mobile threats and setting up automated mobile detection and response systems to protect against potential attacks.

This incident highlights the ongoing battle between cybersecurity experts and malicious actors exploiting unsuspecting users. Malware and spyware attacks are constantly evolving and finding new ways to infiltrate trusted platforms like the Google Play Store. As a user, it is imperative to stay vigilant, exercise caution when downloading apps, and rely on reputable sources for software.
Hoa Phat steel sales down 27% in first six months

By Trang Nguyen Sat, July 8, 2023 | 11:23 am GTM+7

Hoa Phat Group, Vietnam's largest steelmaker, sold 2.9 million tons of construction steel, billets and hot-rolled coils (HRC) in the first half of the year, down 27% year-on-year.

Of this, HRC accounted for 1.2 million tons, down 15%, according to a company report.

Construction steel sales reached more than 1.6 million tons in the period, down 30%. In addition to finished steel, Hoa Phat also provided 36,000 tons of steel billets to other steel mills in Vietnam.

In June, the group's sales volume of construction steel, billets and HRC reached 540,000 tons, down 4% year-on-year, but the highest level since the beginning of the year.

Of which, construction steel sales reached 286,000 tonnes, a 18% decrease year-on-year, mainly due to the high growth in sales volume of Hoa Phat construction steel in the central and southern regions compared to May, at 30% and 69% respectively. HRC sales of 251,000 tons in June marked an increase of 24% year-on-year.

Hoa Phat supplied the market with 2.9 million tons of steel in the first half of 2023. Photo courtesy of the group.

In Vietnam, Hoa Phat holds the top market share in construction steel with 32%, and steel pipes with 27%. It is also among the top five producers of galvanized steel. The group is currently the only Vietnamese company that can produce HRC and prestressed concrete steel strand (PC Strand), contributing to reducing dependence on imported steel, Hoa Phat said in a release.

Hoa Phat, listed on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange as HPG, has created jobs for nearly 30,000 labourers in Vietnam, Australia and Singapore. The group's major business lines include steel, real estate (residential property and industrial parks) and agriculture.

In the first quarter of this year, Hoa Phat reported a post-tax profit of VND383 billion ($16.32 million), following severe losses in Q3 and Q4 of 2022. But the figure was a 21-fold decrease year-on-year.

The group said steel and steel products were the main cash earners in Q1, accounting for 94% of post-tax profit. The profit was equivalent to 5% of the company's target for 2023.

It made losses of VND1.79 trillion ($76.08 million) and VND2 trillion ($85.16 million) in Q3 and Q4 of 2022, respectively.

HPG posted a revenue of VND26.87 trillion ($1.14 billion) in Q1/2023, down 39% year-on-year due to ongoing limited demand.

The company forecast prolonged hardships in Q2/2023. It plans to focus on investing in the Hoa Phat Dung Quat 2 Steel Integrated Complex project in the central province of Quang Ngai, and restart production in Quang Ngai and the northern province of Hai Duong to ensure stocks.

HPG shares stood at VND27,450 ($1.16) at Friday's close.
Nebraska Governor leads delegation on first trade mission to Vietnam

By Nguyen Thuy Sat, July 8, 2023 | 11:48 am GTM+7

Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen will lead a delegation to Vietnam in a week-long visit starting Sunday, to grow trade opportunities that will benefit the U.S. state, his office announced Saturday.

Im excited to have Vietnam as my first trade mission, Pillen said in the announcement. Southeast Asia is an important market for Nebraska, and we are primed and ready to meet demands for agricultural goods.

Pillen's trade mission has multiple stops scheduled across Vietnam. Other members of the team include Nebraska Department of Agriculture director Sherry Vinton, chancellor Joanne Li of the University of Nebraska - Omaha, and agriculture-related business, academic and government representatives.

Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen. Photo courtesy of Nebraska News Service.

Vietnam is an important and growing export market for Nebraska processed feed like corn gluten, soybean meal and distillers grains, said Pillen.

We are positioned well to meet growing demands for agricultural products and identify other, yet untapped, opportunities to partner with Vietnam going forward.

Events during the trade mission include visiting a large grocery distribution center, product demonstrations, meetings with Vietnamese trade officials and a stop at the Vietnam University of Agriculture. His office did not tell the name of the distribution center.

Nebraska has had many positive visits and exchanges with Vietnam over the years. This visit is another step in strengthening that bond, said the governor.

Earlier this year, a delegation including Nebraska business leaders and representatives from the Nebraska Department of Economic Development (DED) went to Vietnam to discuss both business and educational opportunities.

Pillens office said the total export value to Vietnam from Nebraska in 2021 exceeded $946 million. With a growing population of 104 million, the country buys a significant quantity of dairy products, eggs, dry edible beans, as well as beef from Nebraska."

On Friday, the 7th Singapore Regional Business Forum was held in Hanoi as the inaugural edition outside Singapore. The Singapore Business Federation, the event organizer, and the Singapore Furniture Industries Council also organized separate business missions to Hanoi in conjunction with the forum.

On June 22-24, a 205-strong business mission accompanied South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeols state visit to Vietnam to accelerate bilateral trade ties. They included top South Korean conglomerate chiefs like Samsung Electronics executive chairman Lee Jae-yong, SK Group chairman Chey Tae-won, Hyundai Motor Group executive chairman Chung Euisun, and LG Group chairman Koo Kwang-mo.

Samsungs Lee got a surprise when Yoon and Vietnamese President Vo Van Thuong congratulated him on his birthday during a state dinner in Hanoi on June 23.

Vietnams capital city is home to Samsung Electronics new $220 million R&D center, which was launched by Lee in December last year as a global R&D facility of Samsung.

The tech giant has to date invested around $20 billion in the country, and around half of Samsung smartphones are made in Vietnam.
COLUMBIA -- S.C. Attorney General Alan Wilson announced the launch of TraffickProofSC, a statewide prevention education initiative of the South Carolina Human Trafficking Task Force.

The launch included a backpack giveaway at the Statehouse to highlight the importance of educating young people and their families on the realities of human trafficking.

TraffickProofSC is the overarching prevention education initiative that will begin with a four-part curriculum specifically for high school students. It is designed as an age-appropriate tool to educate and empower youth. The high school curricula will be available beginning Sept. 1.

The crime of human trafficking continues to impact young people across our state, Wilson said. The state task force recognized the critical need to launch a statewide prevention education initiative. Our goal is to prevent the crime from happening while continuing to prosecute those who have committed the crime.

South Carolina ETV partnered with the task force to develop videos and curricula focused on the broader issue of human trafficking as well as specifically focusing on sex trafficking, labor trafficking and the dangers of social media.

We are thrilled to be working in partnership with SCETV to develop age-appropriate, trauma-informed curricula for students across our state, task force Director Kathryn Moorehead said. As we roll out TraffickProofSC for high school students, we are already planning for the middle school curricula that will be offered later in the year.

SCETV is honored to partner with the Attorney General's Office to create learning experiences around a topic impacting so many students and families across our state," SCETV Interim President and CEO Stephanie Cook said. "This partnership aligns with our vision of a stronger, more informed, and connected South Carolina. We are grateful for the opportunity to leverage our platform in support of increased awareness, prevention, and justice.

Throughout the summer, each of the 10 regional human trafficking task forces will collaborate with community partners to hold backpack giveaways at back-to-school events.

Check humantrafficking.scag.gov for more information or visit the South Carolina Human Trafficking Task Force social media accounts.

To report Human Trafficking, call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888 or text HELP to 233733. In case of an emergency, please call 911.




A road is flooded in Incheon's Bupyeong District, Aug. 8, 2022, after a heavy downpour. Yonhap





By Holly Chik







Korean scientists have developed a new forecast system to alert people about flash floods at least an hour in advance, providing crucial time to evacuate, the researchers at the Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology (KICT) said Thursday. The flood control office has begun test operations of the system in Seoul, with plans to expand the service nationwide next year.







"Once the system detects a potential flash flood event, it disseminates warnings and alerts through various channels such as emergency broadcasts, mobile applications, sirens, social media and text messages," lead researcher Hwang Seok-hwan, a professor at the department of hydro science and engineering research of the University of Science & Technology Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology (UST-KICT) School, told The Korea Times.







"These notifications are targeted to authorities, emergency responders and the public, enabling them to take appropriate actions," he said, suggesting people take precautions to secure their belongings, prepare emergency kits and develop evacuation plans.







In the new system, the yellow "watch" label means the floodwater level is around ankle-deep for an adult, while orange, or "warning," means the water is knee-deep, and red or "alert" means water reaching one meter, or around waist-deep, a level where it becomes very difficult for car doors to be opened. Courtesy of Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology





Flash floods are among the world's deadliest natural disasters, costing more than 5,000 lives every year, according to the World Meteorological Organization. They occur when intense rainfall concentrated in small areas causes a sudden rise in water levels.







The powerful force of fast-moving water can sweep away vehicles and drown or injure people. In hilly areas, flash floods can trigger landslides, engulfing and destroying homes.







The Seoul Metropolitan Government advises citizens in the event of sudden flooding to evacuate to higher ground and to avoid entering flowing water or driving in flooded areas.







Last August, record-setting rainfall inundated homes, roads and subway stations across the country, creating intense flash floods that killed at least nine people and damaged about 2,800 homes.







A road in southern Seoul is flooded on Aug. 8, 2022, after a heavy downpour. Yonhap





In low-lying areas like southern Seoul's Gangnam District and mountainous regions, water surges and flows much faster than in other areas with the same amount of rainfall, according to the KICT team.







Flash floods will occur more frequently as global warming leads to more evaporation, thereby producing more moisture in the atmosphere, which then fuels intense rainstorms, they said.







Meanwhile, climate change causes shifts in rain patterns, resulting in more intense and frequent rainfall in certain regions, making accurate predictions challenging but key for early warnings.







The team, therefore, developed a real-time monitoring system to forecast such floods based on rainfall radar data from the Ministry of Environment and flood damage records.







The system sets thresholds for rainfall intensity, river levels and soil moisture content, which trigger alerts when exceeded and the likelihood of a flood is increased.







In a four-year pilot operation from 2019, the team said the flash flood forecasting system was proven effective in predicting major floods all over the country an hour in advance. It forecasted flash floods in 31 heavy rainfall events with a 90 percent success rate in 2019.







Hwang said the team will use artificial intelligence technology to further improve the accuracy of rainfall forecasts to be input into the system.







He said they are also developing a method to verify whether a flood has occurred by using CCTV footage or user-uploaded content on social media to support analysis after a flood to evaluate the accuracy of forecasts.







In the longer term, Hwang said the system will help authorities minimize the impact of flash floods by accurately forecasting them.







"These measures can include reinforcing vulnerable structures, diverting water or implementing temporary flood barriers. Such actions can significantly reduce the potential damage and help in better preparedness," he said.







Holly Chik is a science reporter with the South China Morning Post. She is currently based in Seoul, reporting for both The Korea Times and the South China Morning Post under an exchange program.
Duke Energy has awarded the S.C. Department of Natural Resources with grant money that will help equip the agencys recently formed swift water rescue unit.

The $18,500 award, marked with a check presentation June 19, will help pay for wet and dry suits, PFDs, rafts, helmets and other equipment necessary for SCDNR officers to conduct water rescues at the Catawba River Recreational Rapids in Great Falls.

Officers in the rescue unit have undergone necessary training and equipment is already being purchased with the grant money. The gear needed for traversing the fast-moving rapids differs from what officers would use on other nearby bodies of water, such as Fishing Creek and Lake Wateree.

Its really to help us have a uniform, safe approach to anything that requires swift water rescue equipment or personnel to be able to have a successful operation and outcome, said Lt. Brady Branham, who heads the rescue unit.

Officers in the rescue unit received specialized training for four days on an upper stretch of the Catawba River, near Lake Wylie dam that included nighttime operations, rescue swimming, rescue boat operations and rope techniques.

The grant was among the $500,000 awarded to governmental entities and nonprofit organizations throughout South Carolina as part of Dukes Emergency Preparedness and Storm Resiliency Grant Program.

Preparing communities to respond to severe weather impacts begins at the local level, said Mike Callahan, Duke Energys South Carolina state president.

We are committed to keeping South Carolinas resiliency and economy strong. These grants will help provide fellow first responders with the tools and training to handle whatever Mother Nature throws our way.

Duke Energys project to create rapids for paddlers is expected to be a draw for the Great Falls area, along with a new state park and area hiking trails.

This whitewater experience is going to be a game-changer, said state Sen. Mike Fanning, whose district includes Chester, York and Fairfield counties. It cant work if we dont have ways of keeping people safe. Allowing SCDNR to do their jobs with the resources they need is going to be critical to helping this go long term.
South Carolina continues to grow as a military-friendly state.

It is home to eight major military installations and more than 417,000 military veterans, the eighth-highest total of military retirees in the nation. That includes one of every 10 adults in the state, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

The South Carolina Military Base Task Force, which is part of the South Carolina Department of Veterans Affairs, in 2019 released the report, The Economic Impact of S.C. Military Community: 2019 Update. It found that the total economic impact of South Carolinas military community surpasses $25.3 billion annually.

In 2002, the state took a key step to boost its military connection.

Gov. Henry McMaster signed the Workforce Enhancement and Military Recognition Act, which exempts all military retirement pay that is included in South Carolina taxable income from the state's income tax, no matter the taxpayer's age.

South Carolina lawmakers in 2023 took another big step to aid military families moving to the state. They will face fewer obstacles while enrolling their children in public school. The South Carolina Department of Education has notified all districts of the new law so that they can be ready to implement it for the upcoming school year.

In South Carolina, were known for the warm welcome we provide to service members and their families. Im pleased to see this commonsense policy change that honors our military families by making it easier to enroll their students, State Superintendent of Education Ellen Weaver said.

The new law asks districts to accept enrollment applications and residency documents electronically from active-duty military families. Additionally, the law instructs districts to look beyond the list of proof of residency documents routinely required for enrollment and provide flexibility for military families who may not yet have access to those documents.

The law gives a great deal of discretion to each school district on determining the list of acceptable documents, with the guiding principle of resolving ambiguity in favor of enrolling the student.

When I moved to South Carolina as a member of the military, my family personally found the documentation required for school enrollment challenging, said Spartanburg Republican Rep. Bobby J. Cox, who served as the primary sponsor of the bill.

A change in station is already difficult enough for these families, and its our duty to remove any points of stress we can to make their transition to a new location easier," the former U.S. Army Ranger said.

Frequent moves are a constant for military families. Making the transition easier by lessening red tape to get children in school makes sense in a state with such a major military presence.

Echoing S.C. Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Todd McCaffrey: "Im proud of South Carolina and appreciative of Rep. Bobby J. Cox and our General Assembly for their continued support for our military and their families.
(TBTCO) - Sau qua trinh chuan bi khan truong, quyet liet, nhat la sau 3 ot kiem thu a cho thay he thong ang ky, luu ky va thanh toan giao dich trai phieu doanh nghiep phat hanh rieng le (TPDNRL) tai Trung tam Luu ky Chung khoan Viet Nam (VSD) hoan thanh ve mat chuc nang va tich hop thong suot voi he thong cua cac ben lien quan. Theo o, en nay he thong ang ky, luu ky va thanh toan giao dich a san sang hoat ong theo ung ke hoach van hanh chinh thuc thi truong giao dich thu cap TPDNRL ma co quan quan ly giao nhiem vu
Twenty-four years ago, Matthew Shepard, a gay University of Wyoming student who grew up in Casper was murdered. He was brutally beaten and tied to a fence on the outskirts of Laramie on a cold October night-left to die. He was found the next day barely alive and was taken to a hospital in Fort Collins, Colorado where he died six days later. He was 22, and he was murdered because he was gay. On a snowy Friday that month during Matthews funeral in Casper, Fred Phelps and members of his Topeka, Kansas based Westboro Baptist Church came to town to preach their homophobia. They came to disrespect the memory of a young man who only wanted to live and be accepted for who he was. They came to our community to spread hate with their hastily painted signs proclaiming God Hates F*** and Matt in H***. Four years later they came back. Phelps billed his return to Casper as a Celebration of the 4th Anniversary of Matt Shepards Entry Into H***. A small pathetic group standing in City Park mostly ignored by the community, they brought the same signs and the same hate-filled, homophobic message theyd brought four years earlier. Later that day, after Phelps and his people had left, a group of Casperites symbolically swept the park of his hate. We then walked to the NIC where we vowed that Phelps homophobia and hate would never have a place in our city.

But now the homophobia, the hate, and the attempts to divide our community over LGBTQIA+ issues are back in town in the words and actions of Jeanette Ward. Ward has called for Casper residents to boycott all businesses that support the Casper Pride Fest. Casper Pride has been celebrating Pride Month in Casper since 2016  long before Ward ever thought of moving to Wyoming. The Casper Pride Fest is a celebration of accepting diversity and support for the LGBTQIA+ community. It is a way for the people of Casper (gay, straight, or transgender) to come together and say to each other, I will not judge you by anything other than the content of your character. The purpose of the organization as stated on their website is dedication to educating, supporting, encouraging, and advocating equality and growth for a supportive and inclusive community. That is not a bad thing.

Wards anti-LGBTQIA+ message, gleaned from a book of ancient fables, cherry picked and warped to fit an inflexible and narrow-minded world view, may be more refined today, but it is the same homophobic message Fred Phelps brought to Casper all those years ago. Back then we vowed that hate would never belong here. Will we make that vow again by supporting Casper Pride and ignoring Wards call for boycotts? I know we will. I can see Ward standing alone like that small pathetic group in City Park all those years ago. The city moves on around her with pride in who we are  accepting and respecting all our differences.
THE prospect of opportunities and growth were the two recurring themes of participants of the Trade and Investment Convention at the Centre of Excellence in Macoya, yesterday.

Over 200 participants from a wide range of industries took to their respective booths on what would have been the first day of the convention.

Some told the Express they hoped to form partnerships while others simply came intending to generate sales of their products and services.

Anil Ramsaran of SAP Electrical Services Limited said the company does domestic and commercial wiring.

The company also imports light-emitting diode (LED) lights, solar lights and solar fans, he said.

For those who may own a hybrid vehicle, he said, the company also sells and installs electric vehicle chargers.

Kemby Ross-Jones of Rent My Tutor at the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Academy said it offers online classes at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels. She stressed, What makes us different is that we offer personalised services to students. She said, We have had 100 per cent success at the Secondary Entrance Assessment (SEA) examinations level.

She said the academy was started at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 because students were falling behind in their academics due to the switch from the physical classroom to the virtual classroom.

Representing Nestles Natures Heart brand was Michelle Stanisclaus, who said the brand offered products such as almond milk and juices. She said even though the brand was an international one all the products offered locally were produced locally.

Stanisclaus said the newest product in the almond milk line of products was the almond-coffee flavour with was launched last month.

Promoting compressed natural gas (CNG) upgrades to vehicles was Dumore Enterprises Ltd.

One of the booths representatives Rajiv Ramessar said the company offered conversions on both gasoline and diesel vehicles. He added that his company hoped through their booth to promote CNG as the cheapest, cleanest fuel in the country. He said the company also hoped to make business-to-business connections and to encourage companies to convert their fleet of vehicles to CNG so that they could save on their transportation costs. He noted that he had attended the convention for the past five years and that this year generated the greatest number of people on the first day.

Attendee Nalini Akal a dancer, actress, artist and filmmaker said she attended in hopes of networking and soliciting sponsorship for her art form.

She said she believed it was important for those involved in the arts to go to events such as the convention because of the sponsorship potential and other service suppliers that could be interested in promoting their products at events.

People bypass the arts as something they put into events but really and truly the art really encompasses the culture of Trinidad and Tobago.

The thing is we are not even using an iota of our potential for the arts, she said.

Akal said she hoped by networking she could find opportunities for the exportation of the arts.
PRIME MINISTER Dr Keith Rowley said yesterday he has been abused by the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) Chief Secretary Farley Augustine and in seeking legal advice, will leave no stone unturned to determine whether he is guilty of witness tampering.

Rowley announced at a news conference at the Diplomatic Centre, St Anns, that he is now receiving legal advice and has instructed Attorney General Reginald Armour to look into whether Augustine acted outside the Constitution on Wednesday.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, right, shakes hands with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the end of a joint news conference following their meeting in Istanbul, early Saturday, July 8. AP-Yonhap





Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed support for Ukraine joining NATO, July 8, saying the war-torn country deserves to join the alliance.







Erdogan made the comment at a joint news conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who arrived in Turkey as part of a European tour to rally support for Ukraine's entry into the military alliance after the war with Russia comes to an end.







NATO leaders meeting in Vilnius, Lithuania, next week are expected to reaffirm that Ukraine will join their alliance one day.







"There is no doubt that Ukraine deserves NATO membership," Erdogan told reporters,







His support for Ukraine comes as Turkey has been holding off giving its final approval to Sweden joining NATO, saying Stockholm is not effectively cracking down on Kurdish militants and other groups that Ankara views as threats to its security.







Sweden, along with Finland, abandoned its decades-long neutrality and applied to join NATO following Russia's invasion of Ukraine last year. Turkey's parliament ratified Finland's membership earlier this year, after Ankara voiced satisfaction with its efforts to address Turkey's security concerns.







Erdogan also said Turkey was working toward extending a Turkish- and U.N.-brokered grain deal that has paved the way for the shipment of more than 30 million tons of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea.







The deal, which helped temper rising global food prices, is set to expire July 17. Russia has been reluctant to extend the deal, citing obstacles to its own exports of food and fertilizer.







"We are continuing our work on the grain corridor issue. We are working to see how long we can extend it after July 17," Erdogan said.







Zelenskyy accused Russia of obstructing the movement of ships.







"Russia behaves as if it owns the entire Black Sea, as if it is the owner here," said Zelenskyy, making his first trip to Turkey since Russia's invasion of Ukraine.







Erdogan said Russian President Vladimir Putin would visit Turkey in August, when he hoped to discuss renewal of the Black Sea grain deal as well as a possible prisoner swap.







Turkey has maintained close ties with both Ukraine and Russia, using its relations with both to act as a mediator. (AP)






A longtime Tucson developer of specialized lasers and directed-energy systems is expanding at the University of Arizona Tech Park, after winning millions of dollars in Pentagon research contracts and grants since last year.

Applied Energetics is adding 8,300 square feet to its 13,000-square-foot space at 9070 S. Rita Road, where the company relocated its headquarters and labs in 2021.

The company said the expansion will support the companys anticipated future growth and provide more space for research, product development, training, testing, evaluation and production of its proprietary ultrashort-pulse lasers and directed-energy systems.

Gregory Quarles, president and CEO at Applied Energetics, said the Tucson area has provided world-class talent while the Tech Park has supplied business support and infrastructure needed to help the company grow.

This expansion represents an exciting milestone for our Tucson facility and supports our long-term strategy to scale our operations, invest in our infrastructure and execute on our strategic plans to be a leader in the development of directed energy technologies, Quarles said. We look forward to the continued growth of our workforce here as we advance our program activities with our customers.

After some recent key hires, the company now has 14 employees.

Founded as Ionatron Inc. in 2002, the company worked to develop directed-energy systems for the military, including a system to defeat improvised bombs, but after failing to win production contracts, it suspended operations in 2014.

The company relaunched in 2017, and in recent years has won a series of Pentagon research contracts to develop optical systems to defeat sensors used aboard aircraft, though many details of the programs remain classified or controlled unclassified.

The companys technologies are protected by 26 patents and 11 additional Government Sensitive Patent Applications, which are held under U.S. government secrecy orders and allow the company extended protection rights.

Applied Energetics space at the Tech Park, formerly occupied by laser maker Coherent/DILAS, is compliant with federal arms-control regulations and laser-safety standards and includes a 4,800-square-foot Class 1,000 clean room.

Major grant, contracts

In June 2022, the company was awarded a $3.9 million, two-year grant by the Office of Naval Research to develop an optical system capable of defeating customer-specified threats for use on Marine Corps platforms.

The Marine Corp recently fielded a light air-defense system that includes an electronic system to disrupt enemy drone communications and control, as well as a system to launch Raytheon Stinger surface-to-air missiles.

Also last year, Applied Energetics was awarded a $172,000 Phase I Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) contract by the Army for research and development of a ultrashort-pulse laser infrared source as a countermeasure to electro-optical sensors.

Such sensors are used in military aircraft, including some drones, for navigation and targeting, as well as in some ground applications.

Last month, the company was awarded a follow-on $1.15 million Phase II STTR its to continue research and development.

Dazzle or damage

While the grant contract awards dont mention specific enemy threats, the Phase I Army contract description says the Army is interested in systems that can dazzle or damage (electro-optical) sensors with ultrashort laser pulses in the mid- and long-wave infrared spectrum because it is difficult to protect sensors from this type of counter measure.

The Army, Navy and Air Force have been developing a range of directed-energy weapons, to disrupt or destroy drones and and munitions like rockets and mortar rounds.

A 50-kilowatt laser system made by Raytheon Technologies and partner Kord Technologies is in operational testing with the Army, with Raytheon citing more than 400 kills in more than 25,000 operational hours.

Applied Energetics says such continuous lasers take time to act on a target, while it has already delivered ultrashort-pulse lasers that top five terawatts, or trillions of watts, delivered in a pulse of less than a trillionth of a second to produce instantaneous results.

Finding partners, funding

Despite failing to find traction for its technology in the past, Applied Energetics has attracted investors, as well as research partners, even as it continues to lose money.

The company raised $5 million in 2017 to restart its development program.

In 2019, Applied Energetics acquired Applied Optical Sciences, a company founded by Applied Energetics co-founder and chief scientist Stephen McCahon.

McCahon, who formerly headed Raytheons directed-energy programs, was later named chief scientist and full-time consultant to the merged company.

Quarles, a physicist well-known in optical sciences circles as former chief scientist for the Optical Society (now known as Optica), also came on board as CEO in 2019.

Also in 2019, Applied Energetics announced a research agreement with the University of Arizona to advance frequency-agile optical sources and ultra-short pulse lasers for applications that include counter-threat and dual-use manufacturing technologies.

In December, the company announced it had raised about $6.6 million in a private placement of its stock, which is traded on the over-the-counter market. The companys stock has been trading publicly in the range of $2.20 to $2.65 per share since the beginning of the year.

Last year, Applied Energetics posted a $5.8 million net loss on revenues of $1.3 million, and for the 2023 first quarter, the company reported a net loss of $1.9 million on revenues of about $487,000.
A Tucson man who shot and killed a bobcat last year that was part of a research study was sentenced Friday to 18 months of unsupervised probation.

Along with probation, William Scott Simmons, 71, must take a one semester course on urban wildlife at the University of Arizona, Pima County Justice Court Judge Kendrick Wilson ordered.

The bobcat who was shot and killed was commonly known as Sadie. It was one of the 31 bobcats that had been trapped and fitted with tracking collars as part of the Bobcats in Tucson Research Project. The study tracks bobcats between the Tucson Mountains and the Santa Cruz River in order to learn more about how they move through populated areas in search of food and places to give birth, the Arizona Daily Star has reported.

Simmons, a retired deputy for the Pima County Sheriffs Department, said he shot the bobcat because he was protecting his family and dogs. He was found guilty in a bench trial last month.

Simmons was also previously issued written warnings for using an unlawful method of wildlife take, recklessly discharging a firearm, discharging of a firearm within a quarter mile of an occupied structure and false reporting to law enforcement, the Star reported.

During Fridays sentencing, the prosecutor described the shooting as reckless and indescribably cruel, adding that Simmons should have known better because he was a former law enforcement officer.

Simmons attorney, Janet Altschuler, told the court that her client has done nothing but contribute to society and be a law abiding citizen. She said nothing like this would ever happen again, and that he was acting out of kindness for his own pets.

Simmons said in court that he is an animal lover and felt like he was being punished for protecting his family.

The judge then ordered Simmons to attend the UA class and pay a $200 fine, which will go to the Arizona Wildlife Fund.

Simmons one day bench trial was held June 9. During opening statements, Altschuler told the court he had no intention of taking any wildlife, and fired warning shots at the bobcat in order to protect his four dogs.

Altschuler also noted that Simmons had previous experience with wildlife hurting his pets.

One of the prosecutions witnesses, Kerry Baldwin, a retired biologist with the Arizona Game and Fish Department and member of the Bobcats in Tucson research team, told the court that they had received a mortality alert about 10:44 a.m. on Sept. 22, 2022, from Sadies collar. The bobcats carcass was later found between Whispering Bell Drive and Painted Hills Road.

A necropsy showed a gunshot wound that went from shoulder to shoulder. There was also trauma in the upper thorax area and one of her lungs was clipped, Baldwin said.

Aside from the gunshot wound, Baldwin said Sadie had been in excellent shape and recently had kittens.

Another witness, Tarah Clark, a wildlife manager for Game and Fish, said she was sent to the shooting scene a few days later in order to investigate Sadies death. In October, she went door-to-door to talk to neighbors.

When she spoke to Simmons, he denied having any knowledge about the bobcat killing, mentioning that a nearby neighbor may be of interest. Following their initial conversation, Clark and other investigators tried to contact Simmons again, but were unsuccessful.

After multiple failed attempts to contact Simmons, Clark and Nathaniel Foley, another Game and Fish investigator that also took the stand as a witness, spoke to him on Oct. 25. During their conversation, he eventually admitted to shooting the bobcat in defense of his four dogs.

Clark said Simmons told her Sadie was standing on top of a wall in his backyard. Since he and his wife were unable to get their four Chihuahuas away, he fired two warning shots.

Simmons then told Clark that Sadie did not leave the area after the warning shots and looked like she was preparing to attack the dogs. He then shot the bobcat.

Clark said Simmons told her he didnt see where Sadie went after the shooting, and thought he might have missed.
RIO RICO  Andrew Jacksons plans are huge, even by the big-city standards of Tucson or Phoenix.

The major Santa Cruz County landowner is pushing a 9-mile-long, mixed-use project on both sides of Interstate 19 that could spur commercial and industrial investment across this unincorporated community 60 miles south of Tucson.

His transformative plan includes 18 separate parcels and more than 3,550 acres strung along the Santa Cruz River, much of it currently zoned for ranching and covered with emerald green farm fields and thickets of mesquite.

Jackson wants the property rezoned to allow for a major economic center providing education, employment, commercial and housing opportunities, including hotel rooms, restaurants, retail stores, offices, railroad facilities and even a community college with student housing.

But a growing group of residents is rallying against the project, in large part because of who they think its really going to benefit: South32, an Australian mining giant with plans for a $1.7 billion zinc and manganese mine in the mountains outside of Patagonia.

Were about to lose everything. If we let them in one inch, theyre going to take 500 miles, said Catherine Itule, a third-generation resident of Southern Arizona who has lived in Rio Rico most of her life. This whole place will become a complete disaster area. I know what happens to mining towns.

South32 officials have not yet said where they might build the support facilities for their proposed next-generation Hermosa mine, only that they are committed to locating them somewhere in the rural county to maximize the benefits of the project for the people living there.

We are currently evaluating multiple commercial locations along the I-19 corridor in Santa Cruz County for our planned Integrated Remote Operating Center, from which the mines automated equipment will be run, said South32 Hermosa Project President Pat Risner in a written statement.

The company has also chosen the county for a production facility to make battery-grade manganese, Risner said.

Jacksons original zoning proposal referenced Rio Rico possibly hosting a training center and operation facilities for one or more mines, without mentioning South32 by name. At recent public meetings about his plans, he has talked about a major employer looking to set up shop in the area, but he has declined to say who that might be.

His sweeping proposal was first submitted to the county in March, then resubmitted in May, but many Rio Rico residents didnt find out about it until mid-June, when public notices began appearing on fences and in the mailboxes of homes immediately adjacent to the proposed development.

Itule thinks that was done by design.

Those (notices) were so low to the ground, the cockroaches couldnt even read them, she said. I dont like how shady and in the dark and opaque this is. Theyre trying to pull a fast one, really.

Of course, almost any county effort to spur development along the I-19 corridor would have to be made with Jackson in mind, since he owns nearly all of the vacant land adjacent to the highway.

Believe it or not, he pretty much owns all of Rio Rico, said Santa Cruz County Supervisor Rudy Molera.

Even the San Cayetano Mountains that loom over the eastern edge of the community belong to Jacksons company, Baca Float #3, LLC.

Sudden surprise

Two days before the countys Planning and Zoning Commission met in Nogales on June 22 to review his proposal, Jackson hosted an informational meeting for residents at the community center in Rio Rico.

So many people showed up that he had to move the event outside to a nearby ramada, where a portable sound system was brought in so people could hear what he had to say.

I think it just took people by surprise, said local resident Beth Pirl, who first heard about the proposal less than a week before the planning commissioners were set to vote on it. What is this and why is it moving so quickly?

Jackson could not be reached for comment.

During his presentation to the planning commission last month, he indicated that the plans for his land along I-19 grew out of a meeting he was invited to several years ago with county leaders, school district officials and that major employer he has so far declined to name.

We think its a fantastic project, and were very proud of it, Jackson said of his proposal, though he admitted to making some unforced errors while rolling it out to the public.

Their recent hours-long question-and-answer session outside the community center went especially poorly.

The meeting we had was not the one we prepared for, and we were not at all prepared for the meeting we had, Jackson told the planning commissioners. Nobody understood it, and we didnt explain it very well. But we stood up for four hours and heard everybodys concerns.

The result was a flurry of last-minute changes to the proposal. Jackson eliminated any reference to mining and agreed to establish an open-space easement through the entire project to preserve the Santa Cruz River and the riparian area surrounding it, which is bracketed by the interstate and an important rail corridor between the U.S. and Mexico.

I think youll find that all of the people that reached out to us, called us, emailed us and asked for a meeting we met with and we have adopted all their concerns, Jackson said. I think thats going to satisfy most of the criticism, unless the criticism is just no growth at all.

Digging in

The endless, small-town tug-of-war over the virtues of growing is certainly part of the fight now unfolding in Rio Rico, but the loudest concerns seem to revolve around a potential mining operation.

Opponents of the idea are already painting nightmarish visions of heavy ore trucks and rock-filled train cars rumbling through town to a processing facility that is belching smoke into the air and chemicals into the river.

Thats a big concern to a lot of us, Ed Pirl said.

He and Beth are still pretty new to Rio Rico. They moved to the community from Florida in 2021, after a nationwide search led them to the natural beauty, favorable weather, rural lifestyle and seemingly secure water supply of the Santa Cruz Valley.

We didnt want to live in a big city or suburbia, Beth Pirl explained. I certainly dont want the character and nature of this area changed.

But she acknowledged that there are different constituencies in Rio Rico, including some who would welcome almost any project that might bring some revenue and better-paying jobs to the community.

South32 is promising the single largest investment in the history of Santa Cruz County, assuming its mine gets approved.

The proposed Hermosa project is now under federal review as part of an Obama-era program aimed at streamlining the permitting process for critical infrastructure. Its the first mine to be accepted into that program, because it will produce two minerals crucial to the production of large-capacity batteries for renewable-energy storage.

But even with a fast-tracked process, federal regulators do not expect to wrap up their review of Hermosa until mid 2026, according to a timetable announced on Wednesday.

In the meantime, a coalition of environmental groups is already suing to block the mine and several other mineral exploration projects in the Patagonia Mountains.

On the Float

The Rio Rico property has a tangled and controversial history of its own.

Jacksons holdings are the remnants of a 100,000-acre grant made to the Baca family in 1863 in exchange for an older Spanish land grant in northern New Mexico that was taken from them before the Mexican-American War.

Baca Float No. 3, as the 100,000-acre square came to be known, covered most of the Santa Cruz Valley from Tubac to the southern edge of present-day Rio Rico, but its legal status remained unsettled for decades even as its ownership changed hands.

It took a 1914 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court to cement the legitimacy of the grant and several more years of litigation to sort out its exact location and rightful owners, none of whom actually lived there.

By then, homesteaders occupied the property, some of them for a generation. Evictions were ordered for almost 250 settlers and their families, most of them Hispanic and many of them immigrants from Sonora.

Among those forced off the land were Opata and Yaqui Indians who had fled north to escape the genocidal policies of the Mexican government, according to a Tumacacori historic resource study by the National Park Service.

Jackson and his wife, Colleen, acquired the remnants of the land grant and moved onto the property in Rio Rico about 9 years ago, registering the enterprise with state under the name Baca Float #3, LLC.

Owning a Spanish and Mexican land grant is a mixed blessing, Jackson told the planning commissioners with a laugh. It has a lot of history, it has a lot of legal rights, it has a lot of legal obligations, and it costs a lot to maintain it.

As it turns out, controlling such a large and vital slice of Rio Rico also comes with an outsized role in planning for the future of the entire town.

We have tried to be good stewards all along the way, Jackson said during last months planning meeting. Theres a fine line (between) protecting these private property rights and also doing whats in the best interest of the community and the growth in the community.

Some assurances

The rezoning plan for I-19 in Rio Rico was originally scheduled for a vote by the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors this Tuesday.

That hearing has since been canceled for further consideration of the request in light of public comments received, according to an email from Frank Dillon, the countys community development director.

Though the board is slated to meet again on July 18, Supervisor Molera does not expect the zoning proposal to show up on an agenda again until August at the earliest.

Frankly, he said, they could all use the extra time. Based on the reaction so far in Rio Rico, its clear that the county needs to take a closer look at the proposal and proceed with caution, Molera said.

Efforts to encourage development along I-19 are nothing new, according to the Nogales-born, four-term supervisor. Molera said that part of Rio Rico was identified as a retail, commercial and industrial corridor in a comprehensive plan first adopted by the county in 2004 and renewed in 2016.

In December, the countys three-member board of supervisors approved a resolution promoting economic development and land use along the interstate in Rio Rico.

Then on June 6, the supervisors unanimously adopted a new code that seemed tailor-made for Jackson and his proposal: Henceforth, the county would allow so-called specific zoning plans, through which wholesale changes could be made to existing land-use designations, but only for projects within Rio Ricos I-19 corridor.

Molera said he would like to see the community continue to grow, especially if it leads to new career options beyond the Border Patrol, local government or the produce distribution warehouses that now represent the countys largest source of private employment. He thinks they can make it easier to keep families together by giving young people more educational and employment opportunities close to home.

As for South32, Molera said, we want those good jobs to go here, not Pima County, but only if the project is safe.

If its going to be something thats going to jeopardize our health and safety, Im not going to want it. I will not allow our health and safety to be put in danger, he said.

Incoming County Manager Jesus Valdez offered similar assurances.

We wont support any mining along the Santa Cruz River or near our residents, and that includes the processing of ore, he said. As a county, we have to protect our residents and our river.

From the top

Devin Randolph has lived in the hills overlooking the Santa Cruz Valley for 42 years.

During that time, he and his wife, Gail, have seen the view from their front yard change as Rio Rico more than doubled in size. Where there used to be open desert and a few scattered buildings trailing south into Mexico, now they look out over a jumble of produce warehouses that form the backbone of the countys economy, at least for the moment.

Were not totally against growth, but its got to be the right kind of growth, the retired Nogales art teacher said. Theyre trying to turn this community into a sacrificial lamb on the altar of green energy. This is all about the mine thats going in in Patagonia.

Randolph accused those pushing that project of trying to put a pretty picture on it by promising new restaurants and retail development, more money for the schools and six-figure jobs he said would probably just end up going to mine workers from out of town anyway.

As far as hes concerned, no amount of perks are worth the price.

We dont want to see our community polluted. We dont want to see it ravaged, Randolph said. We are primarily a country agrarian area, and we want to keep it that way.
A growing infestation of rodents emanating from the Sam Hughes neighborhood is concerning local pest control experts who say its only a matter of time before what theyve identified as roof rats spread beyond midtown Tucson.

City Council Member Steve Kozachik, whose Ward 6 constituency covers Sam Hughes, said hes received calls about the rodent issue for about a month and has been working with neighbors to come up with solutions. Kozachik said its not clear if the rodents are the common desert pack rats or roof rats, but local pest control workers say theyre seeing the latter and larger species in peoples homes.

Theres been evidence of roof rat activity in the Sam Hughes area for the past year, and the invasive species growth is getting progressively worse, said Joshua King, a senior account manager with pest control company Truly Nolen.

While pack rats are a well-known desert animal that can occasionally find their way into homes, roof rats are designed to climb around and live with you, King said.

Roof rats were first documented in Phoenix in 2001, according to the University of Arizonas College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and experts have documented their expansion to southern Arizona. The rats breed frequently and have been implicated in the transmission of several diseases to humans.

(Roof rats) spread very gradually throughout the Phoenix metro area over about two decades, and then all of a sudden, there were other metropolitan areas in the state where they started showing up: Tucson, Yuma and other areas as well around in Arizona, said Dawn Gouge, an entomologist and integrated pest management specialist.

Gouge believes the rats have been around in Tucson for quite some time, but could be emerging in larger numbers this summer as they find ways into homes to escape the heat.

Roof rats are going to want to be right where you are, theyre going to want to escape from the temperatures, she said. Theyre going to do everything they can to get in behind some insulation, and they are going to be desperate, even more desperate for AC than we are at those temperatures.

According to King, thats exactly whats happening. He reports finding the rats in kitchen sinks and evidence of their presence through gnawed fruit and dry goods in pantries. The rodents are also attracted to the bird seeds and citrus plants in many of Tucsons backyards.

Quinn Huber-Heidorn, a wildlife control operator with Animal Experts, said hes also seeing an uptick in roof rat activity in Sam Hughes, including in one home where nearly a dozen rats poured in from a broken pipe in a basement crawlspace.

If they find a way, theyll go in. Especially with a sewer system, theyre just looking for air movement, he said.

King and Huber-Heidorn agree the rats likely originated from Phoenix, and just like the metropolitan hub has seen in past years, they believe the rodents will also spread across Tucson.

Im operating under the general assumption with a couple of other pest professionals in the area that this is a (rat) population from Phoenix that has set up shop here somewhere in the midtown area and has been emanating from that focal point since then, King said. This is going to be city-wide here shortly. It may take a couple of years to get to the opposite side of town. But it is going to be a permanent fixture.

Neighborhood meeting

The Sam Hughes Neighborhood Association is trying to alert residents of the issue while working with Kozachik to come up with solutions. The council member will host a meeting on Tuesday, July 11, to talk to residents about the issue and possible solutions.

Kozachik said he reached out to his local government resources for help, but the county health department told him theres no government-related protocol for pest control on private property. Pima Animal Care Center, or PACC, has stepped in to provide guidance, however.

Using any kind of poison or rodenticides is not an option due to the disruption they cause to the ecosystem by harming animals that feed on the rodents. Kozachik is floating other solutions under PACCs guidance, such as introducing feral cats or barn owls to the neighborhood.

PACC could provide sterile neighborhood cats to feed on the rodents, but Kozachik has already received negative feedback over worries the cats would kill the beloved neighborhood birds or be consumed by coyotes. It would also take a while for the feral animals to acclimate to a new place.

The more popular idea is to introduce barn owls to the area, a process that would take authorization from the Arizona Game and Fish Department but could put a dent in the rat population as one family of barn owls can eat about 1,000 rodents a year, according to PACC.

These are just options that people can explore on their own. We will probably come away from that (July 11) meeting with a consensus among the neighbors, my expectation is that well have a consensus among the neighbors to try some barn owls and see if it works, Kozachik said.

Although she hasnt yet seen the midtown rodents herself, Gouge believes owls could make a dent in the population, but said, I would be really, really surprised to see an adult roof rat go down your average size barn owl.

King from Truly Nolen said his treatment plan for roof rats includes mechanical trapping with snap traps that kills rats and requires careful disposal afterward. He said its also important to take preventive measures to rodent-proof a home by sealing off any holes or potential access areas.

But before trying any do-it-yourself tactics, King recommends an evaluation by some pest professional that has a pest control license, as experts have the tools and knowledge to catch evidence of rodent activity and identify preventative measures.

Its also recommended homeowners consistently turn over outdoor compost piles and clear debris rats can nest in.

But while the homeowners in the Sam Hughes Neighborhood grapple with solutions to the rodent problem, many homes in the area are rentals or sit vacant when snowbirds leave for the summer.

King said some renters live in homes with roof vents that arent screened off, and while thats not the fault of the tenant  the tenants now not speaking up, because they dont want to be responsible for any bills associated with having critters in the house.

By the time barn owls are released, or another rodent-deterring program launches, I foresee this problem getting much too large to control at that point before everybody is savvy to whats going on, King said.

But Kozachiks getting experts together to adequately inform residents about the issue, and hopefully, to devise an adequate way to manage it.

Sam Hughes is where the problem has really begun, thats the reason Im holding a multi-neighborhood meeting because the problem will expand and grow. And its not like the rats or mice know the ward boundaries, he said.

Ward 6 rodent meeting on Tuesday Council Member Steve Kozachik will host a meeting at his ward office at 3202 E. 1st St. at 6 p.m. on July 11 to discuss midtown rodents. To join remotely, use the following Zoom link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81977177649d=RW16NXVTbzAxeEtyZ3dvVERwb1dGQT09 Meeting ID: 819 7717 7649 Passcode: W@rd6
One perfect day could be driving down to Parker Canyon Lake with a picnic and a fishing rod, stopping in Benson on the way back for a ham steak at the real-deal, country-western Horseshoe Cafe.

Another perfect day could be a vineyard tour across wine country, grabbing pizza with your partner at Dos Cabezas WineWorks and ending the night at a cottage on-site among the grapes.

Ive had perfect days as simple as a drive to Patagonia and getting coffee at Gathering Grounds with my aunt, who spent her sons earliest years hanging out there with older hippies.

The Sonoita Valley connects the wine country of Sonoita with the rugged canyons and hills around Patagonia. It contains some of the most iconically western landscapes in the state, prairie home to antelope, cattle and wide open spaces. At a higher elevation, the region is crucially cooler than Tucson in the blazing summer. Heres a guide to the locavore food, wine and natural attractions of the Mountain Empire.

En route from Interstate 10

Horseshoe Cafe & Bakery

Bensons Horseshoe Cafe is a time capsule of Old West charm. A few minutes out of the way from Sonoita, the detour is worth it for its charm and stellar food. Their ham steak is the best Ive ever had, and their happy hour drink specials had my uncles eyes popping out of his head. The vintage cowboy murals are only matched in atmosphere by the enormous neon horseshoe on the restaurants ceiling.

Amerind Museum

A little farther down I-10 is the Amerind Museum, a huge repository of historical and contemporary Indigenous art, research and archeology near the scenic Texas Canyon.

Kartchner Caverns

The Kartchner Caverns cave system features the largest column in Arizona, one of the worlds largest soda straw stalactites and the worlds most extensive collection of brushite moonmilk. At this state park, you can tour the Throne and Rotunda Rooms (the huge column, Kubla Khan, is in the Throne Room) or the Big Room. They also offer specialty trips on select days: one where you are guided only by the light of a headlamp, another where youre permitted to take photos (which arent allowed in any other tour).

En route from Interstate 19

Los Agaves

This homestyle, sit-down Mexican restaurant has some of the best soups in Southern Arizona (my favorite is their Xochitl). The vibe is like if you took El Minuto, Mi Nidito or Rosas Mexican Food and slapped it in the middle of Green Valley  there might be more retirees than youre used to, but the beans and rice will fill you with that same warm nostalgia.

Family Joint Pizzeria and Nanas Cocinita

The cousins behind Family Joint Pizzeria grew up in Green Valley and brought their Sonoran-Neapolitan pizzas to Sahuarita and Tucson by way of a brick oven on wheels. Soon, they will bring it home with two upcoming brick-and-mortar restaurants: one pizza spot with their classic tomatillo pies and a classic Mexican restaurant in the style of their Nana.

Wisdoms Cafe

On the side of the Tumacacori frontage road, a stones throw from the historical park, youll come across a statue of an enormous chicken. Its the sign that youve made it to Wisdoms, the Mexican restaurant that many readers told me had the best margarita in the Tucson area. (I suspect they also meant to say strongest.) If you dont get the chile relleno, youre going to be envious of whoever takes my advice, so you should just get it. The enormous Tampiquena plate, with a chile relleno, a steak and a cheese enchilada, is the thing to get.

Santa Cruz Chili & Spice Company

When I interviewed Tito and Peps James Beard-nominated chef John Martinez, he called a perfect day off a drive down to the Patagonia Mountains to watch the monsoon, stopping at Santa Cruz Chili to pick up spices on the way down and grabbing some pizza from Pronghorn on the way back through Sonoita. I ship my homesick family Santa Cruzs picante sauce for every holiday, but youll save a lot of money on shipping if you pick up gifts in bulk at their factory in Tumacacori.

When you get to Sonoita

Pronghorn Pizza/Dos Cabezas WineWorks

This destination date night has one of the coziest set-ups around. Their pizzas are incredible, made with seasonal, local ingredients, but you can come just for a wine tasting, too.

The Meading Room

This is where to find drinks like mead, cider and fruit wine in Sonoita. This local distillery offers both sparkling and flat meads as well as fun events like the upcoming space cowboy dance party (Aug. 19) and a holiday market with bonfires and food trucks in early December.

The Steak Out Restaurant & Saloon

The oldest restaurant in Sonoita, this rustic cowboy chophouse is where you can find a display case showing off different cuts of steak and a trove of local ephemera. There are mounted bull heads on the walls.

AZ Hops and Vines

At #ThisIsTucson, its kind of our thing to keep track of cool events. Whenever were putting together a list, AZ Hops and Vines always catches my eye, but we dont always include them because of the long drive to an event that centers alcoholic beverages  the logistics are simply too tricky. But not if youre making a weekend trip!

When you get to Patagonia

Queen of Cups

This new restaurant was recommended to me by the logistics manager of Vera Earl Ranch. Queen of Cups makes their own wine in-house and are known for their charcuterie boards (but their full dinner menu is special, too, drawing inspiration from Spain and Turkey as well as seasonal, local ingredients).

Gathering Grounds

When my aunt lived in Rio Rico, shed bring my cousin and me here as kids. Its simply the coziest coffee shop around. If Central Perk was in the middle of a remote canyon town?

MorQ BBQ Bakery

Find everything you need for a picnic at this barbecue spot and bakery  including fudge and a milkshake for the road. Sandwiches, chocolate cake, a slew of pies and brisket are their wheelhouse.

Things to do in the area

Arizona Winery Tours

The Sonoita Valley is home to dozens of wineries. Arizona Winery Tours will take you on a 7-hour tour of three of them, with several tastings at each location. Each $140 ticket pays for the on-site tastings with a complimentary glass, a locally catered lunch and roundtrip van transport.

Patagonia Lumber Co

This hip venue is a local hub across many interests, from local food to mountain biking. Their low-key summer events feature local bands and Tamales Elisa, but things will ramp up again in the fall. The cafe offers Presta Coffee in the mornings and beer and wine at night.

Patagonia Lake State Park

Home to one of the closest beaches to Tucson, this state park offers all kinds of recreation: cabin camping, hiking, swimming, boating and fishing. Its dog-friendly!

Mountain biking

The Patagonia mountains offer great terrain for mountain biking. The city offers a menu of trails, from self-guided loops to the Spirit World series hosted by Patagonia Lumber Co. to a wine country tour.

Audubons Paton Hummingbird Center

Arizona is one of the only places in the world where hummingbirds can exist year-round, because something is always in bloom. The Paton Center celebrates these birds in a former homesite alongside Sonoita Creek, where rare violet-crowned hummingbirds can be spotted as they migrate to and from Mexico.

Parker Canyon Lake

Nearly 1,500 feet higher in elevation than Patagonia Lake, the tree-lined Parker Canyon Lake, set in the mountains, is cooler (literally) than any other you can find in Southern Arizona. The locally-run marina rents kayaks, stand-up paddleboards, pedal boats and motor boats with fishing kits. They also have shady hiking trails and tent camping sites with lake views.

Lodging in the area

Sonoita Inn

Located across the street from Dos Cabezas WineWorks on the main stretch of Sonoitas highway, Sonoita Inn is a boutique hotel with 18 rooms and some rustic charm. Its a good headquarters for a wine tour to save yourself the drive home.

Stage Stop Inn

This hotels Old West facade looks like a set piece from Old Tucson. Located instead in downtown Patagonia, the Stage Stop Inn has both a pool, balconies and a restaurant.

Wild Oak Farm

Wild Oak Farm grows lavender that you can pick yourself or purchase in their gift shop along with products made with their own lavender and goat milk. The farm also rents out a cottage as an Airbnb.

Circle Z Ranch

Whenever I drive from my aunt and uncles house in Tubac into the Sonoita Valley, I always pass the gate to Circle Z Ranch on the most scenic part of the drive, on a stretch of the highway passing through canyons and under the canopy of mesquite trees. Its the kind of dude ranch where you go to ride horses: along and in Sonoita Creek, in tawny grasslands ringed by mountains. In an interview with USA Today, ranch foreman Miko Lorta said visitors who come for a 7-day stay can expect to ride 70 to 80 miles.

Winery Airbnbs

The server at Dos Cabezas recommends Airbnb for lodging in and around Sonoita. They have their own Airbnb next door, but there are lots of tiny homes and cottages located onsite of other wineries across the region, like Rune Wines cute Adobe House (it has a hot tub!).
PHOENIX  Gov. Katie Hobbs told 12 county attorneys late Friday she is on legal solid ground in rejecting their request to rescind her executive order stripping them of their authority to prosecute abortion cases.

And that now leaves it up to the prosecutors what, if anything, they will do next.

In the letter to Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell, Hobbs said Arizona law specifically permits her to designate Attorney General Kris Mayes as the only person who can bring charges against anyone who violates a whole series of existing laws regulating under which conditions abortions can be performed.

Hobbs told Mitchell  with copies to 11 other county prosecutors who sent her the letter Monday asking her to rescind the order  that they, as county officials, have only the authority specifically laid out in statute.

If you disagree with the wisdom of those laws, I encourage you to engage with lawmakers in the legislative process, Hobbs said in the letter. Similarly, if you have concerns about how future governors may utilize this statutory authority, such concerns should be addressed in the legislative process.

But what the letter does not mention is whether Hobbs, presented with such a change in law, actually would sign it.

Fridays letter, by itself, is no surprise.

The governor had said almost immediately on receiving it on Monday that she would not back down.

I will continue to use my legal authority to protect Arizonans from extremists who want to prosecute women and doctors for their healthcare decisions, she wrote in a Twitter post

That, however, simply gave what amounts to a political and philosophical response. Now the governor has detailed her legal response  and what her arguments will be if the county attorneys decide to challenge her in court.

The county prosecutors, aware of the governors public statements, already have been conferring, said Jeanine LEcuyer, spokeswoman to Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell, who is spearheading the challenge. But she declined to say what action, if any, is next.

The core of the question comes down to the expansiveness of the governors power.

Hobbs cited a section of law which says that the governor can direct the attorney general to prosecute and defend any proceeding in a state court  in which this state or an officer of this state is a party or has an interest.

That is not in dispute.

What is disputed: whether that simultaneously strips all 15 locally elected county attorneys of their own right to bring charges when they believe criminal laws have been violated.

The 12 prosecutors that wrote to Hobbs  not including those from Pima, La Paz and Apache counties  contend it does not.

Since statehood, it has been status quo in Arizona that the duty and discretion to conduct criminal prosecutions for public offenses rests with county attorneys unless a statute specifically provides otherwise, they told Hobbs. They called her order a sweeping attempt to interfere with the discretion of prosecutors in fulfilling their duties as elected officials.

They also told Hobbs her reliance on that section of law is legally misplaced. That law, they said, only related to existing, individual cases and not whole categories of crimes, including crimes that have not yet occurred.

It is a substantial overreach to suggest the governor may strip away prosecutorial discretion from local, elected officials, they said.

Wrong, said Hobbs.

The Legislature has expressly granted this authority, Hobbs said.

The governor also said having Mayes handle all case prevents potential disparities in ow 15 different county attorneys may interpret and apply abortion law from chilling or restricting access to lawful healthcare.

One question county prosecutors will now have to decide is whether they could be successful in seeking a declaratory judgment from a court that Hobbs overstepped her authority.

In general, judges do not like ruling on purely hypothetical cases. Instead, they prefer what the lawyers call a live case or controversy, where they have actual facts to determine what is and is not legal.

That could mean that adjudicating the issue of the governors authority could have to wait until some county attorney decides to charge a medical provider with violating an abortion law and Mayes moves to take the case away from him or her.

Hobbs reminded Mitchell of that fact.

Given your recent admission that your office does not have any open abortion-related prosecutions, this section of the order does not have any immediate effect on your office, the governor said.

And based on recent statements by other county attorney that they have little or not interest in pursuing abortion-related prosecutions, this order may never have any effect on any county attorney.

If  and only if  you or another county attorney chooses to initiate a case in superior court to pursue an abortion-related prosecution would the attorney general the assume all duties related to that case pursuant to to the order and (state law).

That could take months  if not longer.

For the moment, the state Court of Appeals has enjoined enforcement of the states territorial-era law which outlaws abortions except to save the life of the mother despite arguments by then-Attorney General Mark Brnovich that the decision last year by the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade makes that again the law in Arizona.

Instead, the appellate court judges said that a 2022 law banning abortions only after 15 weeks of pregnancy takes precedence. And, for the moment, there is no evidence any abortions of a live fetus are being performed after that date.

There is a separate law that bars doctors from terminating a pregnancy if they know the woman is seeking it because of the gender or race of the baby. Another makes it a crime to perform an abortion if the sole reason is a fetal genetic defect.

The argument is now before the Arizona Supreme Court.

But while there are no pending cases, it would be wrong to say that no local prosecutor has expressed interest in pursing abortion laws.

In April, Yavapai County Attorney Dennis McGrane told the Supreme Court he wants to intercede in that pending legal fight over whether the territorial-era law or the 15-week ban is enforceable. He said that is important as Mayes, who took over from Brnovich in January, is not defending the older law.

Jacob Warner, an attorney with Alliance Defending Freedom who is representing McGrane, told the justices his client needs to intervene to represent the interests of all people in his jurisdiction. And what that means, he said, is to fully enforce the territorial-era law.

This interest sits in grave jeopardy now, Warner told the court.

The justices have yet to rule on whether he can participate in the case.

Hobbs in her letter took a bit of a conciliatory approach.
The following is the opinion and analysis of the writer:

This year New York proposed a budget of $229 billion for the fiscal year 2024, with which Gov. Kathy Hochul believes she can make New York more affordable, livable, and safer to live in? But, what implies a safer city? The housing of thousands of undocumented in school?

Democratic Hochul announced that she would use the State Universities of New York (SUNY) to house migrants.

Since early May, following the expiration of a pandemic-era immigration policy, the number of migrants entering the U.S. has slowed, however, in NYC a court order guarantees all peoples right to shelter. As a result, NYC is beyond capacity for its shelter system with over 36,700 migrants housed across 120 locations according to Hochul. She added that with no more shelter space, 40% of mid-level hotel stock in New York City is used for short-term respite centers.

Due to the increase in homelessness, Hochul is further considering 20 elementary schools for temporary housing. These facilities are built for children with kid-sized restrooms but are being prepped for adults.

Congressman Marc Molinaro (R, NY-19), on May 26, sent a letter requesting that Hochul provide information by June 5, the source of the taxpayer money being spent on housing. No response was received from Hochul.

Molinaro said, We know taxpayers are being forced to pay to bus and house migrants from New York City. But we dont know where Governor Hochul is coming up with the money, if services for Upstate New Yorkers are being cut as a result, or if these taxpayer dollars are being taken from New Yorks Medicaid fund or some other slush fund.

In response, Molinaro responded by proposing H.R. 3941, also known as Schools Not Shelters Act. This bill would prohibit colleges and schools from being used as shelters for migrants. Migrants, in regard to this bill, refer to people entering or living in the country without authorization.

Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA) proposed similar legislation, H.Res.461, condemning the use of elementary and secondary school facilities to provide shelter for undocumented; including 13 cosponsors.

Asylum seekers are flooding the states that border the U.S. and getting transported to major cities like New York City, causing an influx of migrants traveling to the U.S. due to the incentive given. The housing incentive has given rise to undocumented entering the country.

Many taxpayers are in an uproar due to the misuse of taxpayer money. Arguments are being made that it is unfair for taxpayer-funded schools to use resources to house those who enter illegally.

In a press release published June 22 on Hochuls website, she announced a transfer of $75 million dollars to the SUNY Transformation Fund as a part of New Yorks 2024 budget. Hochul stated, My administration is committed to creating the best public education institution in the country so that more students can build a bright future for themselves and be equipped to take on the jobs of the future. This poses significant questions on how and what exactly is being spent to encourage higher education and what is being used to house aliens within SUNY Campuses.

Housing undocumented put the students attending these campuses schools at risk of losing resources and being physically put in harms way. House Committee on Education and the Workforce Chair Virginia Foxx (R-NC) also agrees.

Hochuls actions are a threat. A response on where this money is coming from is wanted from the taxpayers and a halt is wanted to Hochuls orders. Her actions cause danger for the students living in SUNY dorms and danger to the states bordering Mexico.
What is fascism?

With our political climate today, its important to understand fascism. Fascism is a far right authoritarian political system. It portrays itself as ultra-patriotic and ultra-nationalistic. It seeks to have a one party system and is intolerant of other political concepts. It shuns modernism, in favor of traditionalism. It shuns institutions of higher learning and intellectualism. It is intolerant of dissent.

Unions are banned under fascist rule. Fascist leaders see themselves as ultimately masculine. There is a sense of victimhood and a sense that their group is under siege by some phantom enemy that must be destroyed. Fascists are stridently anti-Marxist since fascists are far right politically. There is strict social hierarchy in fascism, where groups are segregated by their worth. Those at the bottom of this order are punished. Racial, religious and political minorities are subject to scapegoating. Bigotry and sadism are the cornerstones of fascism. Fascism builds a world of fantasy for its followers to dwell, using propaganda. Nearly all fascist leaders have been sociopaths.

Steve Rasmussen

Foothills

Letter to Christian Nationalists

This is a letter to people who call themselves Christian Nationalists (and who seem to be white supremacists), and who want to take over the U.S. and be the only ones with any rights. It would seem that most Christians in the U.S. do not agree with you as there are many Christian denominations in this country. The U.S. was founded as a secular nation, not a Christian one. Look up the history of the founding of the U.S.

Christianity is not superior to or better than any other religion. There is no one true religion, and there never has been any.

Flora Frederick

Midtown

Abortion and God

The only God given right explicitly stated in the Bible is the right to choose (free will), (abortion isnt even mentioned). Regrettably, certain smug and sanctimonious heretics have voiced their dissatisfaction with scripture by making the unfounded declaration that life begins at conception, and abortion is murder. This is an effrontery to God because it questions his infallibility.

Each year the number of pregnancies ended by miscarriage and stillbirth dwarves the number of abortions. So is the religious right calling God a mass murderer? To say, he is only correcting his mistake is blasphemy!

The Bible states that life begins and ends with the first (Genesis.2:17) and last breath (Acts 5:5). The fundamental question is whether a fetus is a person. The 14th Amendment places the threshold for personhood at birth, and Websters backs that up with its definition of born: To come into existence. So, an unborn child is a fictional child.

John Balsbaugh

Midtown

False narrative

Re: the July 5 article AZ House leader claims order against conversion therapy illegal.

Ben Tomas argument that the state of Arizona should support conversion therapy starts from a false and harmful premise that homosexuality is a mental disorder. He also believes that parents under the Parents Bill of Rights can choose to subject their child to the mental abuse of conversion therapy with the states consent. The Psychiatric Association began to reconsider their mental illness classification of homosexuality starting with the activism of the Stonewall Riots of 1969 and joined by some homosexual psychiatrists who began to speak out against the classification.

We as a society should be way beyond this hateful ignorance, but some want to turn the clock back. The order against state sanctioned conversion therapy is just another reason why I am thankful the citizens of Arizona voted for Katie Hobbs.

Karen Allison

Three Points

Guns DO kill people

Over the Fourth of July weekend, lets celebrate: Approximately 17 mass shootings in 15 states, 18 killed and over 100 injured! It is past time to get control of this problem. Politicians, do you hear?

Norman Patten

Midtown

Deprived state planning, indeed!

I-10 is like driving across a moving puzzle in Tucson. Due to miserable planning, its been a disgrace for over a decade. The state wastes tax dollars while galvanizing contractors permanent hold on the state purse. Deprived state planning, indeed!

The AZ Roads Contractors Annuity program has a lock on I-10 in Tucson, leaving no contractor behind. Drivers endure constant construction misery, damaged vehicles, and traffic delays night and day.

First, they close all lanes on the right, move traffic to the left, and rip out concrete roadways. The following year, they move traffic to the middle and rip out the recently poured concrete highway on the left. A year or two later, traffic is pushed to the far right in this hellish work zone so construction crews can mass huge piles of year-old highway concrete and blacktop scrap headed to perpetual landfills. There is no end to this farcicality of tax-dollar waste. Where does the buck stop?

Jerry Wilkerson

SaddleBrooke

The Supreme Court

In the wake of the Supreme Court term just completed, Ive read several commentaries suggesting that John Roberts must be deeply unhappy with the behavior-ethical and lawmaking-of his colleagues. I disagree; I think he has waited years to have a solid right-wing majority to backstop his own views, and while he may indeed wince at the ethical transgressions of Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, their behavior isnt enough for him to do what any boss worth his title should do: Either resign or read the justices the riot act in a very public way. That hes done neither speaks volumes about who he is and what he believes in.

Steve Robinson

Oro Valley

Using our flag to bring us together

I knew we werent helping the new president bring the nation together with our signs for Harris and Biden in our front yard. We took them down and bought a flag. We told our neighbors why we were suddenly waving the flag, in hopes they would join us. One did. Our street was still deeply divided into those displaying the flag and those who didnt. Old friends knocked on the door to see if we still lived here. They couldnt believe we had switched sides. What goes through the minds of delivery people or the AC helpers or the religious or political zealots. Are they happy to see that they are visiting someone of similar beliefs to their own? Do they feel betrayed, or relieved, when they see the Biden Harris signs leaning against the wall in the hallway? We may not have brought our neighbors together, but we have shaken them up a bit, given them something new to think about. And, we have grown very fond of Flaggy.

Stephanie Keenan

Southeast side

Lets get real about fireworks

Sadly saw again today on local news how Pima Animal Care is over capacity due to terrified animals fleeing fireworks during the Fourth of July weekend.

Dont get me wrong  as a male, I can remember as a kid the fascination I had with fire, fireworks, and other things that go boom.

However, over the years I have gradually come to question Americas fascination with them, and how for so many people, despite the numerous risks and drawbacks, they simply cannot celebrate the Fourth of July without fireworks. (Im intentionally not calling it Independence Day, as I believe an unfortunate percentage of Americans simply view it as another day off  thats another letter altogether).

Ill skip the obvious fact that much of the country is in drought conditions, and that right here in Tucson we live in a flammable desert. More importantly to me, lets think about the terrified animals, and the potential impact on our treasured and much overlooked veterans with PTSD.

Is it really worth it?

Paul Danek

West side

GOP transformation

I am dismayed, distressed and disillusioned by the contemporary Republican Party. It most certainly is not the party it was. Neither is the Supreme Court what it was, but that is for another letter to the editor. The party is opposed to most everything many others accept as part of living in the 21st Century. How can voters support leaders so involved in purely punitive party politics? The GOP has become an organized religion that doesnt permit independent thinkers. I am incapable of believing in a political party so filled with lies and incendiary rhetoric.

Toni Kane
Be a part of a season finale live audience when award-winning Texas music artist Marcia Ball performs during a Friday, July 7, taping of Live From Cain's at Cain's Ballroom.

Seated general admission tickets and a limited number of reserved tables are available for the all-ages show at cainsballroom.com. The performance will be recorded for a public radio series set to air this summer on stations across the U.S.

Ball, a pianist, song-writer and vocalist, grew up in Louisiana with a family whose female members all played piano. She began taking lessons at age 5, playing old Tin Pan Alley and popular music tunes from her grandmother's collection.

Ball has been inducted into the Gulf Coast Music Hall Of Fame and the Louisiana Music Hall Of Fame. She will be backed by the Live From Cain's house band, The Oklahoma Specials, featuring bandleader Paul Benjaman (guitar), Aaron Boehler (bass), Paddy Ryan (drums), Roger Ray (pedal steel) and Jeremy Watkins (fiddle).

The Oklahoma Specials will open the night with a set of original music featuring special guests, including LFC's host, Nashville-based multi-instrumentalist Fats Kaplin (Jack White, The Tractors, John Prine) and Tulsa's Beau Roberson.

The eight-part radio series will air on a number of public radio stations, including Oklahoma stations KWGS (Public Radio Tulsa) and Norman's KGOU beginning Saturday. KOSU is expected to carry the show later this summer.
Tulsa Race Massacre / The Tulsa World Library: See all of the coverage of the race massacre in this special report.

"The first time Americans were terrorized by an aerial assault was not Pearl Harbor," a CBS News story says leading up to coverage this weekend of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre.

"Scott Pelley reports on a race massacre in which an estimated 300 people, mostly African American men, women and children, were killed, and aircraft were used to drop incendiary devices on a black neighborhood in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The Greenwood Massacre of 1921 has been largely ignored by history, but Pelley finds a Tulsa community seeking to shed more light on what's been called the worst race massacre in history," a preview reads for a "60 Minutes" story airing 6 p.m. Sunday on CBS.

Context for viewers: Six airplanes circled the Greenwood area during the morning hours of June 1.

What they were doing, and why there were so many, has long been a matter of passionate debate. Many people believe they were used to shoot at people on the ground and bomb Greenwood.

Officials said the small craft, generally thought to be two-seat, single-engine Curtis Jenny biplanes, were merely keeping track of activities on the ground and relaying the information through written messages dropped in weighted metal cylinders attached to streamers.

To what extent this explanation was initially challenged is unclear, but in October 1921 the Chicago Defender published a story in which it said Greenwood had been bombed under orders of prominent city officials.

The story cited a Van B. Hurley, who the newspaper said had given a signed statement to Elisha Scott, a Kansas attorney.

Scott filed dozens of lawsuits on behalf of victims but doesnt seem to have ever entered the Hurley affidavit into the record. There is no record of a Van B. Hurley living in Tulsa around the time of the massacre or that anyone by that name ever belonged to the Tulsa police force.

But that doesnt mean the story did not have substance. Many people believed city officials were behind the burning of Greenwood, and the explanation that the squadron of planes was only used for surveillance struck some as suspiciously thin.

Certainly the planes had a great psychological impact on many. For example, Mary Jones Parrish wrote about them in her account, as did prominent attorney B.C. Franklin in his.

The Defender story said the planes dropped nitroglycerin on buildings, setting them afire.

But nitroglycerin is an explosive, not an incendiary. It is also highly unstable and dangerous.

That has caused some to speculate that something like Molotov cocktails might have been used, or turpentine balls  rags soaked in flammable liquid and wrapped around the head of a stick.

There are several practical reasons why trying to light and throw incendiary devices from an open cockpit airplane of that era would seem a difficult, dangerous and even foolish idea.

But that doesnt mean it wasnt done.

Tulsa Race Massacre / The Tulsa World Library: See all of the coverage of the race massacre in this special report.

Tulsa Race Massacre: This is what happened in Tulsa in 1921
U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on lowering health care costs during an event in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., July 7. EPA-Yonhap



The United States announced Friday that it would supply Ukraine with widely banned cluster munitions for its counteroffensive against occupying Russian forces, and NATO's leader said the military alliance would unite at a summit next week on how to bring Ukraine closer to joining.



Rights groups and the United Nations secretary-general questioned Washington's decision on the munitions, part of an $800 million security package that brings total U.S. military aid to more than $40 billion since Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.



Russian President Vladimir Putin, who describes the conflict as a "special military operation" to protect Russian security, has said the U.S. and its allies were fighting an expanding proxy war.



The cluster munitions "will deliver in a timeframe that is relevant for the counteroffensive," a Pentagon official told reporters.



Cluster munitions are prohibited by more than 100 countries. Russia, Ukraine and the United States have not signed on to the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which bans production, stockpiling, use and transfer of the weapons.



They typically release large numbers of smaller bomblets that can kill indiscriminately over a wide area. Those that fail to explode pose a danger for decades after a conflict ends.



"Ukraine has provided written assurances that it is going to use these in a very careful way" to minimize risks to civilians, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said.



U.S. President Joe Biden described the decision on cluster bombs as difficult but said Ukraine needed them.





This handout picture provided by the DVIDS on July 7 shows soldiers from Alpha Battery, 1st Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery Regiment, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, take 155mm Base Burn Dual Purpose Improved Conventional Munition rounds, each weighing nearly 100 pounds, and carry them to their vehicles during a load exercise directed by the 210th Field Artillery Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division. AFP-Yonhap



Both sides should stop using clusters bombs



Human Rights Watch has accused Russian and Ukrainian forces of using cluster munitions, which have killed civilians.



Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov criticized the transfer of these weapons to Ukraine by the U.S.



"The cruelty and cynicism with which Washington has approached the issue of transferring lethal weapons to Kyiv is striking," TASS news agency quoted Antonov as saying, Friday.



"Now, by the fault of the U.S., there will be a risk for many years that innocent civilians will be blown up by sub-munitions that have failed."



Ukraine says it has taken back some villages in southern Ukraine since the counteroffensive began in early June, but that it lacks the firepower and aircover to make faster progress.



Reuters could not independently verify the battlefield situation.



"It's too early to judge how the counteroffensive is going one way or the other because we're at the beginning of the middle," Colin Kahl, the U.S. undersecretary of defense for policy, told reporters.





Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, right, shakes hands with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the end of a joint news conference following their meeting in Istanbul, Turkey, July 8. AP-Yonhap
Salvation Army officials teamed up with volunteers Friday in an effort to give away 1,000 donated food boxes to families in need, including those affected by the recent storms and power outages.

Kim Falcon, Salvation Army director of development, said the shipment of donated items arrived Wednesday via two tractor-trailer rigs, arranged through a Salvation Army network agency in Atlanta in partnership with Midwest Food Bank.

Following the June 18 storm, which left thousands of people across the Tulsa area without power for days, the organization was sent an initial shipment of 1,000 food boxes that first week.

At the citys request, that shipment was given to Tulsa Public Schools, Falcon said.

When the organizations leaders learned this week that a second shipment was coming, they began looking for help to distribute the items. They contacted Cox Communications, whose employees have volunteered with The Salvation Army previously, including for its holiday program.

It actually paired up perfectly. We were looking for something, and they needed volunteers, said Jason Horton, one of the Cox volunteers assisting Friday.

Tulsa Salvation Army officials are no strangers to disaster response. A team from Tulsa has been deployed elsewhere multiple times in the past two years, including in the wake of Hurricane Ian, Falcon said.

Every Army location has a disaster team, she said. A moments notice, and off they go. This time it was in our backyard.

The organization, a partner of the Tulsa Area Emergency Management Agency response team, focused its efforts the first week after the storm on Sand Springs, which was hard hit by the power outages.

What we found was the Red Cross and the city were doing a really good job of looking after Tulsa proper. So we picked the Sand Springs area, Falcon said. We actually fixed food at our Center of Hope, took it out there and served it. We also went door to door in the neighborhoods, checking on the residents.

On Friday, the distribution was done drive-through style, with cars pulling into the parking lot and volunteers greeting them and giving them a box of food with a case of bottled water.

Falcon said any boxes not given away would be sent to the area Salvation Army Boys and Girls Clubs.

The families they serve were also impacted, she said.



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Photos: 2023 Sand Springs storm
WASHINGTON  As President Joe Biden looks to revive a key campaign promise to provide widespread debt relief to student loan borrowers, legal experts warn that hes likely to encounter a fresh wave of lawsuits challenging his authority to act without congressional approval.

Hours after the U.S. Supreme Court axed Bidens initial attempt at debt forgiveness on June 30, the president announced a new plan that he said is legally sound and is the best option remaining to deliver sweeping relief to millions of borrowers as quickly as possible.

But even in a best-case scenario, the new plan cant be rolled out until long after October, when loan payments are due to resume after a three-year pause. And it could still be vulnerable to legal attacks targeting executive powers, as it relies on the authority of the Higher Education Act, which governs financial assistance in post-secondary schooling.

I have no doubt that any relief under the Higher Education Act will face a spate of lawsuits, essentially pitching the same claim  that the administration acted outside of its statutory authority, said Steven Schwinn, a professor at the University of Illinois John Marshall Law School in Chicago.

The high court ruled that the administration overstepped its authority by authorizing such a broad, costly program under a 2003 law that gives the education secretary special powers over loans when responding to national emergencies. The court held that the law  called the Heroes Act  does not allow for such drastic action, despite the unprecedented nature of the pandemic.

The question here is not whether something should be done; it is who has the authority to do it, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the court, concluding those powers rest with Congress.

Roberts also offered a hint at how the high court might rule if a plan based on the Higher Education Act lands back on justices desks. He wrote in the majority opinion that the act could only be used to cancel or reduce loans under limited circumstances, specifically for public servants, bankrupt borrowers, people who have become severely disabled or those defrauded by their institution.

Although the courts ruling was based on the Heroes Act, the opinion signaled implicitly that the language in the Higher Education Act would not be considered as a valid basis for the scope of student debt relief Biden initially sought, according to Jed Shugerman, a professor at Boston University School of Law.

It wrote this decision in a way that is meant to preview for federal courts, both the Roberts Court or lower courts, the same reasoning that would strike down the waiver based on the Higher Education Act, Shugerman said.

The Roberts court point was: Dont try this again, he said.

The Higher Education Act includes a provision that allows the secretary of education to compromise, waive, or release any right, title, claim lien, or demand, however acquired, including any equity or any right of redemption. Some Democrats, such as Elizabeth Warren, have urged the administration to use this act to pursue forgiveness, rather than the Heroes Act  the authority that Biden used to pursue his initial relief program.

Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said the regulatory process for the Heroes Act was much quicker, given the law does not require a comment period. The White House was able to announce and initiate applications for its original student debt relief plan in a matter of weeks last year, just months before a consequential midterm election.

Biden warned that his new proposal will take longer to authorize, but the administrative proceedings have been initiated. The Department of Education will hold a public hearing on the matter July 18, according to a notice.

It will take at least a year for the administration to go through those required procedures, meaning a final rule would not be announced until fall 2024  shortly before the presidential election.

Once announced, legal experts expect challenges to ensnare the program, again.

Schwinn said the Higher Education Act seems to provide more flexibility to the Biden administration than the Heroes Act to authorize debt forgiveness. But he also said recent rulings from the Supreme Court curtailing federal authority signal that the administration will face strong headwinds in defending any relief under any authority that doesnt explicitly say that the administration can grant federal student loan forgiveness.

Biden would have to be reelected in order to orchestrate a sustained legal defense of the plan, potentially thrusting the issue back into the spotlight in the heat of the campaign season.

The easier thing for Biden to do is win reelection, Shugerman said. The harder thing is to get the courts to then approve this.

Shane Wu, a former federal prosecutor who served in the Clinton administration, says the newest members of the conservative majority, including Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Neil Gorsuch, have demonstrated a trend of restricting the authority of federal agencies in recent rulings.

Whether the administrations new plan will stand up to court challenges will ultimately depend on how they approach it, says Wu. The White House has yet to release details about eligibility or the amount of debt cancellation in their new program, only saying they aim to reach as many working and middle-class borrowers as possible.

The idea of whether its simply legal or illegal really just depends on what the arguments are, Wu said.

Average student loan payments to top $200 once resumed Average student loan payments to top $200 once resumed The Average Monthly Student Loan Payment Is $203 Renewed Student Loan Payments Will Add to Already Growing Household Debt Burden
RICHMOND, Ky.  The last of the United States declared chemical weapons stockpile was destroyed at a sprawling military installation in eastern Kentucky, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell announced Friday, a milestone that closes a chapter of warfare dating back to World War I.

Workers at the Blue Grass Army Depot in Kentucky destroyed rockets filled with GB nerve agent, completing a decadeslong campaign to eliminate a stockpile that by the end of the Cold War totaled more than 30,000 tons.

The weapons' destruction is a major watershed for Richmond, Kentucky and Pueblo, Colorado, where an Army depot destroyed the last of its chemical agents last month. It's also a defining moment for arms control efforts worldwide.

The U.S. faced a Sept. 30 deadline to eliminate its remaining chemical weapons under the international Chemical Weapons Convention, which took effect in 1997 and was joined by 193 countries. The munitions being destroyed in Kentucky are the last of 51,000 M55 rockets with GB nerve agent  a deadly toxin also known as sarin  that have been stored at the depot since the 1940s.

By destroying the munitions, the U.S. is officially underscoring that these types of weapons are no longer acceptable in the battlefield and sending a message to the handful of countries that haven't joined the agreement, military experts say.

"One thing that we're really proud of is how we're finishing the mission. We're finishing it for good for the United States of America," said Kim Jackson, manager of the Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant.

Chemical weapons were first used in modern warfare in World War I, where they were estimated have killed at least 100,000. Despite their use being subsequently banned by the Geneva Convention, countries continued to stockpile the weapons until the treaty calling for their destruction.

In southern Colorado, workers at the Army Pueblo Chemical Depot started destroying the weapons in 2016, and on June 22 completed their mission of neutralizing an entire cache of about 2,600 tons of mustard blister agent. The projectiles and mortars comprised about 8.5% of the country's original chemical weapons stockpile of 30,610 tons of agent.

Nearly 800,000 chemical munitions containing mustard agent were stored since the 1950s inside row after row of heavily guarded concrete and earthen bunkers that pock the landscape near a large swath of farmland east of Pueblo.

The weapons' destruction alleviates a concern that civic leaders in Colorado and Kentucky admit was always in the back of their minds.

"Those (weapons) sitting out there were not a threat," Pueblo Mayor Nick Gradisar said. But, he added, "you always wondered what might happen with them."

In the 1980s, the community around Kentucky's Blue Grass Army Depot rose up in opposition to the Army's initial plan to incinerate the plant's 520 tons of chemical weapons, leading to a decadeslong battle over how they would be disposed of.

They were able to halt the planned incineration plant, and then, with help from lawmakers, prompted the Army to submit alternative methods to burning the weapons.

Craig Williams, who became the leading voice of the community opposition and later a partner with political leadership and the military, said residents were concerned about potential toxic pollution from burning the deadly chemical agents.

Williams noted that the military eliminated most of its existing stockpile by burning weapons at other, more remote sites such as Johnston Atoll in the Pacific Ocean or at a chemical depot in the middle of the Utah desert. But the Kentucky site was adjacent to Richmond and only a few dozen miles away from Lexington, the state's second-largest city.

"We had a middle school of over 600 kids a mile away from the (planned) smokestack," Williams said.

The Kentucky storage facility has housed mustard agent and the VX and sarin nerve agents, much of it inside rockets and other projectiles, since the 1940s. The state's disposal plant was completed in 2015 and began destroying weapons in 2019. It uses a process called neutralization to dilute the deadly agents so they can be safely disposed of.

Workers at the Pueblo site used heavy machinery to meticulously load aging weapons onto conveyor systems that fed into secure rooms where remote-controlled robots did the dirty and dangerous work of eliminating the toxic mustard agent, which was designed to blister the skin and cause inflammation of the eyes, nose, throat and lungs.

Robotic equipment removed the weapons' fuses and bursters before the mustard agent was neutralized with hot water and mixed with a caustic solution to prevent the reaction from reversing. The byproduct was further broken down in large tanks swimming with microbes, and the mortars and projectiles were decontaminated at 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit and recycled as scrap metal.

Problematic munitions that were leaky or overpacked were sent to an armored, stainless steel detonation chamber to be destroyed at about 1,100 degrees Fahrenheit.
A man who reportedly brought a 17-year-old runaway from Ohio to Oklahoma has been arrested after Pawnee County deputies found him with the girl and a registered sex offender.

The Pawnee County Sheriffs Office had responded June 23 to a residence near Terlton, where a woman had reported hearing gunshots, according to a press release from the agency and court affidavits.

While en route, a deputy found a man walking in the area with a coiled bullwhip. As he spoke to the man, identified as Dale Allen Deaton, two people in a vehicle at the end of a driveway flagged him down, the deputy wrote in a probable cause affidavit.

The occupants were a juvenile girl who provided a false name and a registered sex offender who had been convicted in federal court in 2005, according to the affidavit. The girl said she had felt forced to borrow a neighbors gun on Deatons behalf, the deputy wrote in the document.

Deaton denied having fired any shots, saying he had only cracked the whip.

Deaton also told the deputy he had engaged in a sexual act with the juvenile and her boyfriend, identified as Christian Michael Cross, the affidavit says.

The document identifies Cross as a member of the Northern Aryan Brotherhood gang who served time in a Michigan prison on a 2017 violent burglary conviction.

When the deputy located Cross, 24, he confirmed the threesome and said the girl was his common law wife, according to the affidavit. He said he helped the girl, reportedly a victim of sexual abuse in her home state of Michigan, run away from a foster family in Ohio. They established a residence together in Kellyville before recently relocating to Terlton, according to the affidavit.

Cross also reportedly said he knew eventually they would be found out and he knew his life would be ruined but did not care as long as she was taken care of, the deputy wrote.

Cross was arrested that day on complaints of harboring a runaway, lewd acts to a child, conspiracy to commit a felony and taking a juvenile across state lines. Pawnee County prosecutors charged him on June 26 with felony child abuse and harboring a runaway child, court records show.

He is in custody in lieu of $500,000 bond.

The girl was placed in a shelter until her guardians could take custody of her.

The man in the vehicle with the girl was identified as registered sex offender David Warren Todd, 60.

Deputies said they had to force entry after obtaining a search warrant for Todds home on South 36400 Road. Among various items of child pornography reportedly found at the residence during the search Thursday were photos that deputies believed were of the juvenile runaway from Ohio.

Todd was taken into custody in lieu of $50,000 bond. He was charged Friday in Pawnee County District Court with felony possession of child pornography, records show.

Pawnee County Undersheriff Nick Mahoney told the Tulsa World that Deaton is being sought by deputies as a person of interest in the case. He said the District Attorneys Office will be looking into the possibility that federal law enforcement needs to become involved in the case.

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As our U.S. Supreme Court has decided that whats needed is to level the playing field and disallow any consideration of race at an institutional level.

Justice Clarence Thomas, a beneficiary of affirmative action, often has stated he felt it somehow diminished his degrees at elite universities, but he has never said that he was not qualified and that his successful career was undeserved.

If a level playing field in terms of admissions at elite, highly competitive, universities is the goal, a huge blind spot is ignored by most conservatives: legacy admissions. Evidence of minority admissions departments admitting unqualified students is scant; the same may not be said for students receiving legacy preference.

At elite universities, legacy slots range from 30% to 40% (including Harvard, Stanford and the like) of applicants. Having an elite, qualified child who dreams of going to a Harvard or a Duke may very well experience being shut out by the numbers game where 35% of the admissions are determined by family connections.

One would think conservatives who demand a meritocracy in terms of college admissions would acknowledge the reality of how skewed the process really is.

Representing the wealthy, GOP politicians often are legacies themselves and gladly bestow legacy privilege on their kids. Republicans applaud the dissolution of affirmative action but ignore where real unfair advantages reside.

Letters to the editor are encouraged. Send letters to tulsaworld.com/opinion/submitletter.

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The south-central Vietnamese province of Binh Dinh is keen on adopting various measures to attract investment from Japanese companies, with existing Japanese-funded projects in the province making significant contributions to the local economic growth, said a top local official.

Japanese investors have implemented 19 projects in Binh Dinh up to now, contributing to the stability and development of the provincial economy, Ho Quoc Dung, secretary of the provincial Party Committee, told an investment promotion conference gathering Japanese firms on Friday in the provincial city of Quy Nhon.

Through the conference, I hope that Japanese firms will continue to work out investment and business expansion plans in Binh Dinh, as well as offer support to local businesses.

Were willing to welcome and further improve the business climate for Japanese investors, the provincial Party chief said.

The province has been working to perfect its transportation infrastructure system as well as the facilities in economic and industrial zones, said Pham Anh Tuan, chairman of the provincial administration.

It also attached great importance to efforts to streamline administrative procedures in terms of investment, construction, taxation, and customs to attract overseas investment, the chairman added.

Yakabe Yoshinori, Consul General of Japan in Da Nang City, located in central Vietnam, remarked that Binh Dinh has increasingly wooed investment from Japanese enterprises as the Vietnamese province has some competitive advantages such as relatively-low land rental prices offered by local industrial parks and sufficient manpower.

Given these competitive edges, I believe Binh Dinh will emerge as a favorite investment destination for Japanese companies, the Japanese diplomat said.

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Three women died and four others were seriously injured in a head-on collision between a car and a truck in Lam Dong Province in Vietnams Central Highlands region in the early hours of Saturday.

The fatal accident occurred at around 4:00 am on the National Highway 20 section passing through Ninh Gia Commune, Duc Trong District.

Following the frontal collision, three women in the seven-seater car died on the spot, while the four injured were rushed to the Lam Dong General Hospital for emergency treatment.

The trucker was identified as Le Nhu Anh, a 28-year-old native of south-central Binh Dinh Province, and the car driver is Tran Van Quan, 42, residing in southern Binh Phuoc Province, according to a police report.

The car was found to have allegedly traveled on the wrong lane, thereby resulting in the crash.

The scene of a deadly head-on collision between a car and a truck in Lam Dong Province in Vietnams Central Highlands region on July 8, 2023. Photo: M.T. / Tuoi Tre

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Authorities in Hanoi are currently investigating a social media report that has sparked criticism regarding a casual eatery in Dong Da District, where they allegedly charged a customer VND160,000 (US$6.8) for a dish of rice, meat, and vegetables.

Bui Anh Dung, deputy chairman of Dong Da Districts Phuong Mai Ward, where the eatery in question is situated, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Friday that the creator of the Facebook post was a woman named L.K.O. while the diner was a man known as L.Q.A..

As per the owners account obtained by Dung, the eatery, which advertised themselves as an "affordable food establishment," informed A. about the VND160,000 price of the meal while preparing the food for the man on Thursday.

Feeling that the serving was a bit too excessive for him to consume, the customer negotiated with the eatery and reached a compromise of to reduce the portion to VND100,000 ($4.2), Dung quoted the owners as saying.

Subsequently, A. transferred VND100,000 to H., one of the shop owners, via a bank transaction.

Dung underlined that the customer and owner have mutually agreed upon a purchase and sale arrangement where the customer made the payment prior to consuming the meal.

The meal containing boiled rice, grilled pork, chopped meat wrapped in betel leaves, and vegetables that was shared in a photo on Facebook.

According to the deputy chairman, while the law requires food service establishments to display prices, there are also certain restaurants where customers can choose the amount of food they wish to consume and pay accordingly, based on their agreement with the shop.

The eatery side also told us that they are unsure about the appropriate way to list the prices, given such an agreement-purchase model, Dung said.

In response to this situation, Dung stated that the ward authorities will demand local food service establishments to not only reach agreements with customers but also maintain fairness, reasonableness, and compliance with market norms.

The deputy chairman added that the local authorities are making efforts to reach out in order to O. to listen to her, but so far, their attempts have been unsuccessful.

He further stressed that if any wrongdoing is identified, the authorities will handle it in strict compliance with the law.

Previously, in her Facebook post, O. accused that the eatery, located down Alley 4 on Phuong Mai Street in Phuong Mai Ward, overcharged customers VND160,000 for a serving of boiled rice, grilled pork, chopped meat wrapped in betel leaves, and vegetables.

She attached a picture of the meal in the post, which immediately generated backlash against the eatery.

Bui Anh Dung, deputy chairman of Phuong Mai Ward in Dong Da District, Hanoi. Photo: Pham Tuan / Tuoi Tre

In response to Tuoi Tres inquiry on Friday morning, H., the restaurant owner, defended the pricing, asserting that the cost of the meal was not excessive and was deemed appropriate.

According to an account provided by H.s staff, after the customer placed an order for the serving, during the process of cutting the grilled pork, a staff member informed the customer that a greater quantity of the meat would result in a higher cost.

Following the staffs quotation of VND160,000, the customer took the serving to their table.

At the table, the customer expressed discontent with the perceived high price and created a commotion, prompting the staff to remove a few pieces of meat and provide a revised quotation of VND100,000, H. said.

It should be noted that the meal set consists of approximately 16-17 pieces of grilled meat, in addition to minced meat and vegetables, which are considered reasonably priced, the shop owner stated.

Vietnams gross domestic product (GDP) per capita in 2022 was $4,163.5, according to the World Bank.

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Two siblings and their cousin, aged 11-19, were killed in a house fire in Dong Da District, Hanoi on Saturday morning, according to the municipal police department.

The fire engulfed the five-story house located in a narrow alley named Tho Quan at around 5:20 am.

The scene of the deadly house fire. Photo: Tuoi Tre contributor

A dozen firefighters and around seven fire trucks were dispatched to the scene, but it was challenging for them to approach the narrow, multiple-story, and deep house in the narrow alleyway to put out the fire and conduct the rescue operation.

Firefighter put out the fire. Photo: Minh Quang / Tuoi Tre

At the time of the fire, the married couple owning the house, both aged 37, were away from home, while their two children, aged 11 and 13, and the 19-year-old cousin were trapped inside, said the police department.

Hai, who lives in the neighborhood, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper that he heard an explosion, packing smoke and flames in the first floor of the house at over 5:00 am the same day when he was doing morning exercise.

Hai and some others knocked on the door but received no response.

Another witness told the paper that local residents in the neighborhood jointly tried to put out the fire and broke the door but failed.

The homeowner runs a nail and eyelash accessories business, thereby there was a large amount of goods stored in this house, the witness added.

Ambulances arrive at the scene of the deadly house fire. Photo: Chi Tue / Tuoi Tre

The fire was extinguished at around 9:00 am the same day.

As of 11:00 am, rescuers managed to take the body of the last victim out of the scene.

After the rescue operation was completed, Tran Sy Thanh, chairman of the municipal administration, directed the police department to urgently investigate the cause of the deadly fire, while asking relevant agencies to visit and give condolences to the bereaved family.

A rescue team approaches the fire-engulfed house. Photo: Chi Tue / Tuoi Tre

The state of the house after the deadly fire. Photo: Chi Tue / Tuoi Tre

A police officer is seen exhausted after joining the fire-fighting and rescue operation. Photo: Chi Tue / Tuoi Tre

A firefighter suffers a shoulder injury after joining the fire-fighting and rescue operation. Photo: Chi Tue / Tuoi Tre

Firefighter Duong Duc Anh takes a break on the sidewalk after joining the fire-fighting and rescue operation. Photo: Chi Tue / Tuoi Tre

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Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, left, shakes hands with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng during a meeting at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, Saturday, July 8. AP-Yonhap



U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen urged closer communication between China and the United States on Saturday to improve economic decision-making and challenged China to join global initiatives to help poorer nations address climate change.



Despite bilateral tensions, record high U.S.-Chinese trade last year showed there was "ample room" to engage in trade and investment, and it was critical to focus on areas of common interest and address disagreements through dialogue, Yellen told Chinese Premier He Lifeng at the start of a meeting that a Treasury official said would last for more than three hours.



Yellen's visit through Sunday is Washington's latest attempt to repair ties between the world's two biggest economies, battered over issues from Taiwan to technology that have drawn their allies into their rivalry, having an impact on companies and trade ties.



Like U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who visited last month for the first time in Joe Biden's presidency, Yellen is seeking a delicate balance between conciliation and continuing to push Beijing to halt practices Washington says are harmful to U.S. and Western companies.



Both sides have downplayed expectations for breakthroughs, while hailing the opportunity for candid, face-to-face diplomacy.



"Amid a complicated global economic outlook, there is a pressing need for the two largest economies to closely communicate and exchange views on our responses to various challenges," Yellen told He, China's recently appointed economy czar.



Doing so could "help both sides more fully understand the global economic outlook and make better decisions to strengthen our economies", she said.



At the same time, Yellen reiterated Washington wanted to ensure healthy competition with a "fair set of rules" that would benefit both countries over time.



Meeting her at the Diaoyutai state guest house where foreign dignitaries are often received, He said he stood ready to work with Yellen.



Yellen told a group of female economists on Saturday she was "in Beijing at this critical time because, for all the disagreements between our nations, President Biden and I believe it is in the best interests of our peoples to put our relationship on a better track and to maintain open and honest lines of communication".



"I strongly believe that the relationship between our two countries is rooted in the solid ties between the American and Chinese people. It is important that we keep nurturing and deepening these ties, especially as China reopens after three years of COVID lockdowns."



China's economy has failed to rebound as strongly as expected, heightening the risk of a global slowdown.





Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, center, speaks during a lunch meeting consisting of female economists in Beijing, Saturday, July 8. AP-Yonhap
A tornado ripped into a hamlet in Bac Lieu Province, located in Vietnams Mekong Delta region, on Friday afternoon, blowing off the roofs of three houses and demolishing another, according to the provincial steering committee for natural disaster prevention and control.

The tornado hit Ba Men A hamlet in An Trach A Commune, Dong Hai District at around 3:00 pm when it was about to rain, packing strong winds, the steering committee said on Saturday.

Consequently, the twister blew off the roofs of the three houses, whose owners are Nguyen Van Map, Nguyen Van Choi, and Nguyen Thi Bu, and destroyed one house made of leaves of Nguyen Trung Chanh.

Local competent forces were assisting affected households with coping with the aftermath of the tornado, the steering committee said.

The tornado touching down the area did not take a heavy toll on local people and their properties, but grabbed attention of netizens on social media platforms as it is considered a rare phenomenon in the delta.

This video shows a tornado hitting a hamlet in Bac Lieu Province, located in Vietnams Mekong Delta region on July 7, 2023

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Vietnam always supports international endeavors to create more motivation and mobilize more resources for the global fight against synthetic drugs, Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son has said.

Minister Son was speaking at a ministerial online conference hosted by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday to share information and promote coordination in coping with the complex emerging threats posed by synthetic drugs, including MDMA, fentanyl, methamphetamine and ketamine, among others.

At the event, which attracted representatives from 70 countries and international organizations, Son shared the common concerns of the international community about the dangers of synthetic drugs and emphasized the need of effective global cooperation in dealing with drug demand and supply issues.

Such cooperation should be made in the spirit of respecting sovereignty, territorial integrity and non-interference in internal affairs of each country, the minister said.

He urged the international community to support the effective implementation of international conventions on fighting drugs and to strengthen the role of the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs.

Son also called for international support for developing countries in information sharing, capacity building, resources and technological development necessary for their fighting drugs in general and synthetics in particular.

In order to solve the drug problem in a sustainable way, it is necessary to accelerate hunger elimination and poverty reduction, improve education and generate more job opportunities, especially for young people, the minister stressed

The diplomat also shared the efforts of Vietnam and ASEAN to strive for drug-free environments, affirming his advocacy for fighting drugs at the national, regional and international levels.

Vietnam always gives high priority to drug crime prevention and control with appropriate national measures, coupled with international and regional cooperation, he stated.

Addressing the conference, Secretary Blinken affirmed that drugs are threatening the lives and future of millions of Americans.

Combating drugs is a high priority for President Joe Bidens administration with many powerful measures, including the newly enacted National Drug Control Strategy.

Drug trafficking and abuse are always a serious challenge to global security and health that no country can solve on its own.

He therefore proposed the launch of a Global Coalition to Address Synthetic Drug Threats, and stressed If we dont act together with fierce urgency, it will be a catastrophe.

This coalition seeks to unite countries worldwide in a concerted effort to prevent the illicit manufacture and trafficking of synthetic drugs, identify emerging drug trends, and respond effectively to their public health impacts, Blinken said in a statement.

Following the coalitions establishment, the U.S. will conduct consultations with participating countries to prioritize specific, concrete actions to deal with synthetic drug threats, he added.

The conference took place amid the increasingly complicated situation of synthetic drug trafficking and abuse in the world.

Currently, Asia in general and Southeast Asia in particular continue to be the world's leading new markets for synthetic drugs and psychotropic substances.

The two Asian regions reportedly among the worlds major drug production centers are the Golden Crescent (comprising Afghanistan, Iran, and Pakistan) and the Golden Triangle (consisting of Myanmar, Laos, and Thailand).

In Vietnam, the rate of synthetic drug use accounts for about 70-80 percent of drug addicts.

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A flight set to depart from Hanoi to Thua Thien Hue Province in central Vietnam on Thursday night was delayed for over 23 minutes, but all 159 passengers on board the plane were delighted to know that the aircraft was waiting for a heart to send to a transplant recipient in need.

Local airline Bamboo Airways posted a story about the meaningful flight on its Facebook account on Friday morning.

Flight QH1201 with 159 passengers on board was scheduled to take off from Hanoi at 7:45 pm.

After all the passengers were seated, the pilot of the plane announced that the aircraft could not leave the ground on time due to a special mission  they were waiting for a heart from a brain-dead donor at Hanois Vietnam-Germany Friendship Hospital.

As removing the donors heart and organs took longer than expected, the airline was notified and chose to delay the flight in order to wait for the heart.

After finishing the organ removal, a group of doctors from Hue Central Hospital quickly brought the heart from the Hanoi-based hospital to Noi Bai International Airport where they boarded the plane to Hue.

All the passengers on board the delayed aircraft were happy to wait, according to Bamboo Airways.

Your precious 23-minute wait can create a miracle, Bamboo Airways wrote on its Facebook page.

As soon as the aircraft arrived in Hue, the heart was unloaded and transported by ambulance to the Hue Central Hospital.

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The Vietnam Cinema Department is determined to uphold its ban on the American live-action movie Barbie for featuring a scene with a map showing Chinas illicit nine-dash line, although Warner Bros. recently explained that it was just a child-like drawing.

Variety, an American magazine, on Thursday cited a Warner Bros. Film Group spokesperson as saying: The map in Barbie Land is a child-like crayon drawing.

The doodles depict Barbies make-believe journey from Barbie Land to the real world.

It was not intended to make any type of statement, the spokesperson added.

Commenting on the statement made by Warner Bros., Vi Kien Thanh, head of the Vietnam Cinema Department, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Friday: I havent received any information about the explanation from Warner Bros.

Thats their viewpoint.

We uphold our stance on the movie ban, Thanh affirmed.

In addition, Thanh told the paper that he paid no heed to images associated with the Barbie movie that are being spread on social media platforms.

According to Variety, representatives for director Greta Gerwig and Warner Bros. would not comment on plot points of the film to keep spoilers to a minimum.

This American magazine said that Barbie, played by Margot Robbie, lives in her pink dream world.

One day, she encounters an existential crisis inside the walls of her pink dream world and is encouraged to go on a journey of self-discovery and is provided with a map to the Real World.

Barbie, starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, was originally set to hit cinemas in Vietnam on July 21.

It is not the first movie to be barred in Vietnam for featuring scene(s) with the illicit nine-dash line that China uses to illegally claim its sovereignty over most of the East Vietnam Sea.

Previously, the Southeast Asian nation had either blocked many films or removed some ones from cinemas as these movies, mainly produced by China, contain the illegal nine-dash line map.

Last year, for instance, Vietnam blocked Americas Uncharted, which stars Tom Holland, for the illicit nine-dash line.

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Police in Ea Hleo District in the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak have rolled out a program of exchanging weapons for rice, collecting more than 300 homemade guns in one morning.

The exchange program was held in mountainous Cham Village in Ea Sol Commune, the police said on Friday.

Senior Lieutenant-Colonel Nguyen Cong Hoa, head of the police division in Ea Hleo District, said that Ea Sol Commune is home to many ethnic minority groups that maintain their habit of hunting wild animals.

As such, many families in the commune have made weapons by themselves for hunts, considering them tools of their livelihood.

Keeping weapons at home might threaten the safety of weapon owners, and other people; and affects the locales security, said Senior Lieutenant-Colonel Hoa.

To protect the residents and ensure the security in the province, the police launched the exchange program to encourage locals to exchange their homemade weapons for rice, he added.

As soon as the program kicked off, residents in the district were eager to join it. Therefore, the police quickly collected over 300 hand-made guns, Hoa underlined.

The police in Ea Hleo District are calling on residents to hand over dangerous tools and explosives to receive support from the authorities.

A police officer gives bags of rice to resident who hand weapons in to the police in the Exchanging weapons for rice program launched by the police in Ea Hleo District in Dak Lak Province. Photo: M.P. / Tuoi Tre

Senior Lieutenant-Colonel Nguyen Cong Hoa exchanges gifts to residents for homemade guns to ensure the security in Dak Lak Province. Photo: M.P. / Tuoi Tre

Earlier on Wednesday, residents in Binh Minh and Binh Son Villages in Ea Tir Commune excitedly handed weapons in to the police and pledged not to store and trade dangerous tools and homemade guns.

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This week Back Roads continues the journey on the Strzelecki Track, heading through the Strzelecki Desert to the tiny town of Innamincka in the top corner of South Australia.

Heather Ewart sets out to find what it takes to survive a job on this remote and historic track.

Triple road train driver Knackers Stirling has seen it all. Hes been driving the track for 30 years, transporting food and supplies from Adelaide up to the gas fields and Innamincka. Rain can instantly strand any traffic on this largely dirt track. The longest Knackers has been stuck waiting for the water to recede is nine days. And despite all the challenges, hes still not a fan of the track becoming sealed!

Just off the track sits Cameron Corner, the junction where three states, SA, Qld and the NT meet. Heather catches up with Tina Thomas, manager of the Cameron Corner Store and one of only19 permanent residents in town. Heather hears tales about some of the fascinating quirks of across state living, including celebrating New Years Eve in three different time zones.

8pm Monday on ABC.
Filming has commenced on the second series of UK crime drama Beyond Paradise, along with a Christmas special.

Series one became the UKs most successful new drama launch of the year so far, averaging 8 million viewers.

The Christmas special episode and second series will see the return of Kris Marshall as DI Humphrey Goodman, Sally Bretton as Martha Lloyd, Zahra Ahmadi as DS Esther Williams, Dylan Llewellyn as PC Kelby Hartford, Barbara Flynn as Anne Lloyd and Felicity Montagu as Margo Martins.

Filmed around South-West England in Devon and Cornwall, the new series features the same joyful escapism, humour and mind-boggling cases fans have come to adore since series one. Shipton Abbotts new detective inspector will be tasked with solving a shocking crime on a steam train, an arson attack predicted by a medium and the baffling disappearance of the local fishing legend.

Kris Marshall says: Im beyond excited to have begun filming the second series of Beyond Paradise. Shipton Abbott is such a wonderful location to call home for a while and its a delight to join up with my fellow police team for another batch of weird and wonderful cases, and to see whats in store for Humphrey and Martha in the next chapter of their lives.

Sally Bretton adds: Series one of Beyond Paradise was such a joy to be a part of and Im ecstatic to have returned to what already feels like a second home in Shipton Abbott. I cant wait for audiences to see what we have planned  the second series is set to be brilliant!

Tim Key, Executive Producer, Red Planet Pictures says: We were delighted with how quickly the audience took Beyond Paradise to their hearts and over the moon to be back for more. Our fantastic cast and crew are hard at work to bring another series of humour, heart and of course some properly puzzling cases to audiences, all set against the beauty of Devon and Cornwall  and of course to let everyone experience Shipton Abbott at Christmas!

The Christmas special will air in the 2023 UK festive season, whilst series two will land next year.

Beyond Paradise screens in Australia on BBC First.
Malmo has been chosen as Host City for the Eurovision Song Contest in May 2024.

This marks the third time the Swedish city will have hosted, following 1992 and 2013 events.

It is also the fifth consecutive event not to be hosted by a capital city.

The southern city is the third-largest in Sweden, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal population of over 350,000. The Oresund Bridge joins Sweden with Denmark, with a regional total of 4 million people.

Swedish broadcaster SVT, together with the European Broadcasting Union, will organise the Contest thanks to Loreens win in Liverpool in 2023.

Malmo was chosen following a strong city bid process that examined facilities at the venue; the ability to accommodate thousands of visiting delegations, crew, fans and journalists; infrastructure; and other criteria.

Executive Supervisor Martin Osterdahl said, The EBU is thrilled that Malmo has been selected as the Host City for the Eurovision Song Contest 2024. Malmo holds a special place in the history of the Contest, having successfully hosted it firstly in 1992 and then in 2013  following Loreens last win.

Were excited to be returning to this vibrant and dynamic city which has demonstrated it has the venues and infrastructure that are perfect for staging the worlds largest live music event.

Malmos commitment to diversity, inclusivity, and innovation aligns perfectly with the spirit of the competition. Furthermore, its compact size and well-developed transport infrastructure means everyone involved in the Contest, including delegations, media, and fans will be able to navigate the city easily.

Its commitment to sustainability and green initiatives also aligns perfectly with our own values, making it an ideal Host City for the 68th Eurovision Song Contest.

Malmos bid demonstrated a huge passion for the Eurovision Song Contest, and I have full confidence in their ability to create an unforgettable experience that will bring together fans, artists, and viewers across the globe. Together with Host Broadcaster SVT, we will create an extraordinary celebration of music, unity, and diversity that will captivate the world in May next year.

Ebba Adielsson, Executive Producer for SVT added: When we finally had all the options, we did an overall assessment to consider all factors involved in organising this huge event. Malmo was eventually chosen as it met all the criteria and provides a location with great venues and is a city where all those attending the Eurovision Song Contest can move around easily. Malmo is also firmly committed to providing both those visiting and living in the city a chance to participate in the festivities.

Australia is yet to be confirmed as a returning participant by SBS.

The Grand Final will take place in the Malmo Arena on Saturday 11 May with Semi-Finals on Tuesday 7 and Thursday 9 May.

Tickets will be announced in due course.
Meta Threads app logo and Elon Musk Twitter account are seen in this July 7 photograph. Reuters-Yonhap





Threads, a text-based app built by Meta to rival Twitter, is live.







The app, billed as the text version of Meta's photo-sharing platform Instagram, became available Wednesday night to users in more than 100 countries  including the U.S., Britain, Australia, Canada and Japan. Despite some early glitches, 30 million people had signed up before noon Thursday, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said on Threads.







New arrivals to the platform include celebrities like Oprah, pop star Shakira and chef Gordon Ramsay  as well as corporate accounts from Taco Bell, Netflix, Spotify, the Washington Post and other media outlets.







Threads, which Meta says provides "a new, separate space for real-time updates and public conversations," arrives at a time when many are looking for Twitter alternatives to escape Elon Musk's raucous oversight of the platform since acquiring it last year for $44 billion. But Meta's new app has also raised data privacy concerns, and is notably unavailable in the European Union.







Here's what you need to know about Threads.







Threads is now available for download in Apple and Google Android app stores for people in more than 100 countries.







Threads was built by the Instagram team, so Instagram users can log into Threads through their Instagram account. Your username and verification status will carry over, according to the platform, but you will also have options to customize other areas of your profile  including whether or not you want to follow the same people that you do on Instagram.







Because Threads and Instagram are so closely linked, it's also important to be cautious of account deletion. According to Threads' supplemental privacy policy, you can deactivate your profile at any time, "but your Threads profile can only be deleted by deleting your Instagram account."







For now, only Instagram users can create Threads accounts. If you want to access Threads, you will have to sign up for Instagram first.







While this may receive some pushback, VP and research director at Forrester Mike Proulx said making Threads an extension of Instagram was a smart move on Meta's part.







"It's piquing (user) curiosity," Proulx said, noting that Instagram users are getting alerts about their followers joining Threads  causing more and more people to sign up. "That's one of the reasons why Threads got over 10 million people to sign up in just a seven hour period" after launching.







Still, Proulx added, maintaining momentum and continuing to capture user attention past the initial curiosity bump will be crucial down the line  noting "the long term nature of threads is what's going to ultimately predict its success or failure."







Threads' microblogging experience is very similar to Twitter. Users can repost, reply to or quote a thread, for example, and can see the number of likes and replies that a post has received. "Threads" can run up to 500 characters  compared with Twitter's 280-character threshold  and can include links, photos and videos up to five minutes long.







In early replies on Threads, Zuckerberg said making the app "a friendly place" will be a key to success  adding that that was "one reason why Twitter never succeeded as much as I think it should have, and we want to do it differently."







This combination of file pictures created on July 6 shows CEO of Facebook Mark Zuckerberg, left, walking to lunch following a session at the Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference in Sun Valley, Idaho, on July 8, 2021, and Elon Musk as he speaks during a press conference at SpaceX's Starbase facility near Boca Chica Village in South Texas on Feb. 10, 2022. AFP-Yonhap





According to a letter obtained by Semafor, Thursday, Twitter has threatened legal action against Meta over Threads. In the letter, which was addressed to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and dated Wednesday, Alex Spiro, an attorney representing Twitter, accused Meta of unlawfully using Twitter's trade secrets and other intellectual property by hiring former Twitter employees to create a "copycat" app.







Meta spokesperson Andy Stone responded to the report of Spiro's letter on Threads Thursday afternoon, writing, "no one on the Threads engineering team is a former Twitter employee."







Musk hasn't directly tweeted about the possibility of legal action, but he has replied to several snarky takes on the Threads launch. The Twitter owner responded to one tweet suggesting that Meta's app was built largely through the use of the copy and paste function, with a laughing emoji.







Twitter CEO Linda Yaccarino has also not publicly commented on Wednesday's letter, but seemingly appeared to address Threads' launch in a Thursday tweet  writing that "the Twitter community can never be duplicated."







The similarities of Meta's new text-based app suggests that the company is working to directly challenge Twitter. The tumultuous ownership has resulted in a series of unpopular changes that have turned off users and advertisers, some of whom are searching for Twitter alternatives.







Threads is the latest Twitter rival to emerge in this landscape following Bluesky, Mastodon and Spill.







According to Meta, Threads will use the same safety measures deployed on Instagram  which includes enforcing Instagram's community guidelines and providing tools to control who can mention or reply to users.







Content warnings  on search queries ranging from conspiracy theory groups to misinformation about COVID-19 vaccinations  also appear to be similar to Instagram.







Threads could collect a wide range of personal information  including health, financial, contacts, browsing and search history, location data, purchases and "sensitive info," according to its data privacy disclosure on the App Store.







Threads also isn't available in the European Union right now, which has strict data privacy rules.







Meta informed Ireland's Data Privacy Commission, Meta's main privacy regulator for the EU, that it has no plans yet to launch Threads in the 27-nation bloc, commission spokesman Graham Doyle said. The company said it is working on rolling the app out to more countries  but pointed to regulatory uncertainty for its decision to hold off on a European launch.







An employee downloads the newly unveiled Threads app on an iPhone at a design company in Chennai, India, July 7. EPA-Yonhap





Success for Threads is far from guaranteed. Industry watchers point to Meta's track record of starting standalone apps that were later shut down  including an Instagram messaging app also called "Threads" that shut down less than two years after its 2019 launch, Proulx notes.



Still, Proulx and others say the new app could be a significant headache for Musk and Twitter.







"The euphoria around a new service and this initial explosion will probably settle down. But it is apparent that this alternative is here to stay and will prove to be a worthy rival given all of Twitter's woes," technology analyst Paolo Pescatore of PP Foresight said, noting that combining Twitter-style features with Instagram's look and feel could drive user engagement.







Threads is in its early days, however, and much depends on user feedback. Pescatore believes the close tie between Instagram and Threads might not resonate with everyone. The rollout of new features will also be key.







"The real test is not if we can build up a lot of hype, but if you all find enough value in the app to keep using it over time," Instagram head Adam Mosseri wrote Thursday in a Threads post. He also acknowledged, as many users have already done, that there are "tons of basics" missing, including hashtags and direct messaging between users. "Full disclosure, it'll take time." (AP)


SARAJEVO (Reuters) - Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban called on Thursday for a quick accession of Bosnia and other Balkan countries into the European Union, saying they could provide new energy and dynamics to the "troubled" 27-member bloc.

Orban, a conservative nationalist often at odds with EU policymakers, said the bloc should not insist on conditions for membership but rather make its pre-accession funds available to support development and security of the Balkan countries.

"Whatever they say in Brussels, we are for the fast accession of the Balkans, that is, Bosnia and Herzegovina, into the EU," Orban told a press conference during his first official visit to Bosnia.

"For us Hungarians, the Balkans is not a problem but rather the last reserve of European resources," Orban said through an interpreter.

Albania, Bosnia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia are at different stages of the EU accession process. Bosnia was granted candidate status last December mainly because the EU feared that instability from the Ukraine war might spill over into long volatile Balkans.

However, EU accession is likely to take years for all these countries as they will need to make major progress towards meeting standards on democracy, rule of law and economic reform to qualify.

Orban, whose government has seen EU development funds withheld over the alleged erosion of democracy in Hungary, said Budapest opposed policies based on sanctions and the EU should redirect funds slated for Ukraine to the Balkans.

Orban's government has long advocated a fast accession of Balkans countries to the EU, saying this would reduce threats to stability, bolster Europe's economic growth and help Serbia stop illegal migration into the EU.

Orban also said foreign oversight was no long-term solution for post-war Bosnia, where an international peace envoy still wields executive powers and an EU peace force is deployed under terms of the 1995 deal that ended its ethnic war.

(Reporting by Daria Sito-Sucic; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
Vladimir Putin is planning a rare overseas trip to Turkey next month, the country's president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has revealed.

Mr Erdogan made the announcement during a press conference following talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Istanbul.

The Turkish president did not reveal further details of the timing of the visit in August, but said a potential prisoner swap agreement between Russia and Ukraine would be among the issues discussed.

"I hope we will get a result from this soon," Mr Erdogan told reporters in the early hours of Saturday morning.

"If we make some phone calls before [the face-to-face meeting], we will discuss it on the call as well," he added.

Putin and Mr Erdogan previously held talks in Kazakhstan in October last year.

Mr Zelenskyy said he would wait for the outcome of any prisoner exchange deal before commenting, but added: "We are working on the return of our captives, political prisoners, Crimean Tatars.

"Our partners have all the lists. We are really working on this."

Ukraine war latest: US to send Kyiv controversial weapon banned by more than 100 countries

The Russian president has not stepped foot in any NATO countries since launching his invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

During the period he has also only made a handful of international trips, including brief visits to Iran last July and close ally Belarus in December.

Putin has grown increasingly isolated amid ongoing Western sanctions, while the International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued a warrant for his arrest over war crimes allegations that Russia has unlawfully deported Ukrainian children during the war.

But despite the tensions, and Turkey's membership of NATO, Mr Erdogan has strived to maintain relations with both Ukraine and Russia during the conflict.

Turkey has not joined in with Western economic sanctions, but has supplied arms to Ukraine and rejected Russian attempts to annex its territory.

The ICC does not have its own police force and experts have played down the prospects of Putin being arrested anytime soon, saying he could not be taken into custody on foreign soil without the cooperation of a state's government.

Mr Erdogan has been keen to cast himself as a mediator in the war, including helping to broker a deal last year to allow the safe export of grain from Ukrainian ports via the Black Sea.

The current version of the agreement is due to expire on 17 July, but the Turkish leader said work was ongoing to extend it.

During the press conference, Mr Erdogan also backed Ukraine's bid to join NATO once the war was over, and said he would continue efforts to try to negotiate an end to the conflict.

Putin's visit to Turkey has not been confirmed by the Kremlin.

But spokesman Dmitry Peskov, speaking to reporters before Saturday's press conference in Istanbul, said: "As for forthcoming contacts between Putin and Erdogan, we do not rule them out in the foreseeable future."
Cameroon-born Bonaventure Ndikung, 46, is the new director of a Berlin arts centre built by the Americans during the Cold War (John MACDOUGALL)

One of the rare African-born figures to head a German cultural institution, Bonaventure Ndikung is aiming to highlight post-colonial multiculturalism at a Berlin arts centre with its roots in Western hegemony.

The "Haus der Kulturen der Welt" (House of World Cultures), or HKW, was built by the Americans in 1956 during the Cold War for propaganda purposes, at a time when Germany was still divided.

New director Ndikung said it had been located "strategically" so that people on the other side of the Berlin Wall, in the then communist East, could see it.

This was "representing freedom" but "from the Western perspective", the 46-year-old told AFP.

Now Ndikung, born in Cameroon before coming to study in Germany 26 years ago, wants to transform it into a place filled with "different cultures of the world".

The centre, by the river Spree, is known locally as the "pregnant oyster" due to its sweeping, curved roof.

It does not have its own collections but is home to exhibition rooms and a 1,000-seat auditorium.

It reopened in June after renovations, and Ndikung's first project "Quilombismo" fits in with his aims of expanding the centre's offerings.

The exhibition takes its name from the Brazilian term "Quilombo", referring to the communities formed in the 17th century by African slaves, who fled to remote parts of the South American country.

Throughout the summer, there will also be performances, concerts, films, discussions and an exhibition of contemporary art from post-colonial societies across Africa, the Americas, Asia and Oceania.

- 'Rethink the space' -

"We have been trying to... rethink the space. We invited artists to paint walls... even the floor," Ndikung said.

And part of the "Quilombismo" exhibition can be found glued to the floor -- African braids laced together, a symbol of liberation for black people, which was created by Zimbabwean artist Nontsikelelo Mutiti.

According to Ndikung, African slaves on plantations sometimes plaited their hair in certain ways as a kind of coded message to those seeking to escape, showing them which direction to head.

His quest for aestheticism is reflected in his appearance: with a colourful suit and headgear, as well as huge rings on his fingers, he rarely goes unnoticed.

During his interview with AFP, Ndikung was wearing a green scarf and cap, a blue-ish jacket and big, sky-blue shoes.

With a doctorate in medical biology, he used to work as an engineer before devoting himself to art.

In 2010, he founded the Savvy gallery in Berlin, bringing together art from the West and elsewhere, and in 2017 was one of the curators of Documenta, a prestigious contemporary art event in the German city of Kassel.

Convinced of the belief that history "has been written by a particular type of people, mostly white and men," Ndikung has had all the rooms in the HKW renamed after women.

These are figures who have "done something important in the advancement of the world" but were "erased" from history, he added.

Among them is Frenchwoman Paulette Nardal, born in Martinique in 1896.

She helped inspire the creation of the "negritude" movement, which aimed to develop black literary consciousness, and was the first black woman to study at the Sorbonne in Paris.

- Reassessing history -

Ndikung's appointment at the HKW comes as awareness grows in Germany about its colonial past, which has long been overshadowed by the atrocities committed during the era of Adolf Hitler's Nazis.

Berlin has in recent years started returning looted objects to African countries which it occupied in the early 20th century -- Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Namibia and Cameroon.

"It's long overdue," said Ndikung.

He was born in Cameroon's capital, Yaounde, into an anglophone family.

The country is majority francophone but also home to an anglophone minority and has faced deadly unrest in English-speaking areas, where armed insurgents are fighting to establish an independent homeland.

One of his dreams is to open a museum in Cameroon "bringing together historical and contemporary objects" from different countries, he said.

He would love to locate it in Bamenda, the capital of Cameroon's restive Northwest region.

"But there is a war in Bamenda, so I can't," he says.

clp/sr/dlc/kjm
'Won't find them here': uncertainty remains over Wagner in Belarus

The camp could be offered as one of the spots to house Wagner fighters (Alexander NEMENOV)

The smell of freshly cut wood floated over a newly built Belarusian camp site that could end up housing Russia's Wagner fighters after their short-lived rebellion against the Russian army's leaders last month.

With Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko acting as mediator, the Kremlin struck a deal with Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin to end the mutiny and see him move to neighbouring Belarus along with some of his men.

But on Thursday, Lukashenko cast that deal into doubt when he revealed that neither Prigozhin nor his mercenaries were in the country.

"If you're looking for them, you won't find them here," said Leonid Kasinsky, an aide to the Belarusian defence ministry.

Kasinsky was showing the camp site in central Belarus to a group of foreign journalists, who received a rare invitation to the tightly controlled country for a roundtable interview with Lukashenko.

Around him, the 300 tents that could welcome around 5,000 people were empty -- apart from one, where some guards could be seen resting.

Kasinsky said the tents were set up in preparation for planned exercises in the autumn.

Speculation that the camp could be used for Wagner fighters surged after satellite images circulating in media reports showed construction work there around the time of the mutiny.

Lukashenko denied Belarus was building a new facility but said he had offered former military sites -- including the one in Tsel -- to Wagner.

"Given that the base is ready... (Wagner) may be offered it," Kasinsky said.

- 'If it has to be done' -

The potential arrival of thousands of Russian mercenary fighters divided locals in the town of Asipovichy, near Tsel.

Men from the Wagner private mercenary army have been accused of abuses in many countries, including Ukraine, the Central African Republic and Syria.

"I am scared... I want peace, I want my children to grow up. That's all I can say," said a woman who declined to disclose any personal details for fear of reprisal.

Since the 2020 protests against his re-election, Lukashenko has increased the repression of critical voices.

Other residents, however, said they were not worried.

"I don't have any concerns. If it needs to be done, it needs to be done," said 45-year-old kindergarten worker Yelena Vinglinskaya.

Belarus itself has had a contentious history with Wagner.

In the lead-up to Lukashenko's disputed 2020 re-election, Belarus actually arrested around 30 Wagner fighters accused of plotting to destabilise the country.

- Up to Moscow -

Since then, Wagner has come out of the shadows, particularly during the Ukraine offensive.

Prigozhin finally admitted he had founded the private army and became a firebrand critic of Russia's military top brass.

His mercenaries led the battle for the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, which exposed rivalries between Prigozhin and the regular army.

These tensions culminated with Prigozhin's armed rebellion on June 23-24, the biggest challenge yet to Russian President Vladimir Putin's authority.

Vinglinskaya said Wagner's presence in Belarus "could be another way to protect the population".

Kasinsky agreed. "I don't see any reason why we would have conflict with the Wagner group," he said.

"We are not going to compete with anyone. We're going to get their unique combat experience," he told journalists.

But much still remains unclear about the deal that was meant to end the mutiny and that allowed Lukashenko to position himself as a power broker.

"The final decision on where they get stationed will be up to Wagner and its commanders," Kasinsky said.

brw/gil/lb
Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida delivers a speech during a memorial service on the first anniversary of the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, at Meiji Kinenkan in Tokyo, July 8. AFP-Yonahp



Japan marked a year, Saturday, since the shock assassination of former Prime Mminister Shinzo Abe, the country's longest-serving leader and a towering political figure.



Abe was gunned down in broad daylight while giving a campaign speech in western Japan, targeted by a man allegedly angry over the former leader's links to the Unification Church.



The suspect, Tetsuya Yamagami, was apprehended on the spot. He is said to have resented the sect over large donations that his mother made that bankrupted his family.



Gun violence is extremely rare in Japan which has strict gun laws. Yamagami is believed to have used a homemade weapon.



On Saturday, visitors from all walks of life formed a long queue outside Tokyo's Zojoji Buddhist temple, offering flowers before framed pictures of a smiling Abe.



"I think he was the icon of Japanese people. He was the icon of the conservatives," said mourner Tomoko Shimoda, 57.



She said "the way he communicated with other people, what he said publicly, and the way he behaved" made a lasting impression on her.



Hiroyuki Kumagi, 69, said he was "a real worshipper of Mr. Abe".



"I participated in the prayer at the last year's national funeral, and of course I am here today," he told AFP.



In the western Nara region, people brought flowers and prayed outside Yamato-Saidaiji Station  the site of Abe's shooting.



Abe's death prompted a flood of condolences from international leaders, many of whom met the former prime minister as he worked to raise Japan's diplomatic profile.



But at home, the assassination caused waves of political upheaval.



First, the renewed attention on the Unification Church  whose members are sometimes called "Moonies"  prompted revelations of deep ties between Japan's conservative lawmakers and the sect.



Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who saw his approval ratings tumble as the revelations emerged, was forced to first investigate the ties and then announce his party would sever any relations with the church.



Abe's murder also prompted soul-searching over Japan's security arrangements, with pledges to improve the protection of politicians.



Less than a year later, an attacker was able to approach Kishida at a campaign event and throw a homemade explosive. The prime minister was unharmed in the April event, and his attacker was detained at the scene.





People pray outside Yamato-Saidaiji Station, where former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was shot one year ago, on the first anniversary of his death, in Nara city July 8. AFP-Yonhap
HA NOI  The prevalence of cross-shareholding in the banking sector has caused concerns among experts as they believe the situation could render banks' financial valuations inaccurate.

Nguyen uc o, deputy director of the Institute of Economics and Finance in the Academy of Finance, said many legal measures had been taken to keep cross-shareholding in check but to little avail.

Investors have plenty of tricks to get around regulations, including registering their shareholdings in someone else's name and collaborating with others to bolster the power of their collective votes.

The only way to prevent the illegal practices, o said, is to enhance financial transparency and tighten the control of investors' cash flows.

"What we've learned from other countries is that a transparent financial system and a close watch on investors' cash flow could avert cross-shareholding," said o.

Ha Sy ong, National Assembly's deputy from Quang Tri Province, shares o's view. He said cross-shareholding is just the tip of the iceberg of what malicious investors were deploying to manipulate stock prices.

"It is the behind-the-scene ties between banks and firms that could trigger a spillover effect when an adverse financial event occurs," said ong.

The NA Deputy said in a move to weaken the ties, the draft revised Law on Credit Institutions had been formulated to tighten the ceiling on shareholders' ownership in banks.

Under the law, a shareholder would not be allowed to hold more than 3.0 per cent of a bank's capital if he is an individual investor, 10 per cent if an institutional investor, and 15 per cent in other unique circumstances.

A bank, meanwhile, is not allowed to make loans of more than 10 per cent of its equity to a single client.

He also called for financial report disclosure to be mandatory for investors holding more than 1.0 per cent stake in banks to improve transparency in the financial sector, putting an end to manipulative practices.

Nguyen uc Ngoc, a lecturer at the Hanoi Law University, said the increase in ownership caps is necessary but not enough to nip the problem in the bud. We also have to keep tabs on higher-tier shareholders.

Hoang Van Cuong, deputy president of the National Economics University, agreed with lecturer Ngoc. He said the caps might not work because malicious shareholders can put a portion of their shareholdings under someone else's name to keep it below the thresholds.

Financial authorities, therefore, must keep shareholders' capital transfers under surveillance to foil any illicit attempt to "split" their ownership. Heavy fines could be used to prevent accomplices from using their names to help shareholders disguise their shareholdings.

NA Chairman Vuong inh Hue said the draft law, when passed, would act as a code of conduct for credit institutions and provide a remedy for cross-shareholding.

"It doesn't matter if a ceiling of 5.0 or 3.0 per cent is imposed. All that matters is that credit institutions are obliged to disclose who is pulling their strings," said Hue.  VNS
HA NOI  The opening ceremony of the "Taste France 2023" food tasting programme launches at MM Mega Market Thang Long as part of celebrations to mark the 50th anniversary of France-Viet Nam diplomatic relations and 10 years of strategic partnership between two countries.

Nicolas Warnery, French ambassador to Viet Nam, and Marion Chaminade, counselor of Agriculture, alongside a representative from Business France, were presented at the event.

Following the success of the Taste of Country events in 2022, this year, MM Mega Market will embrace the deep-rooted characteristics of French gastronomy and present the French cuisine experience to Vietnamese customers.

During the event, customers have the opportunity to discover French flavours through exciting activities, including sampling French food, shopping with attractive discounts, and enjoying French cuisine made by MM's professional chefs.

At Taste France 2023 , MM Mega Market introduces more than 100 French products with attractive offers on baguettes, cheeses, jams, biscuits, and wines from famous brands such as Bel, Paysan Breton, Casino, Elle et Vire, Anchos, Pate Royal, and Evian.

Taste France 2023 brings the best quality imported French products to Vietnamese customers and foreigners living in Viet Nam. It is an excellent opportunity to enjoy the French lifestyle with exquisite tastes just like in the home country, Bruno Jousselin, Managing Director of MM Mega Market said at the event.

We aim to enhance our imported product portfolio and create an opportunity to build a bridge to Vietnamese consumers so they can explore unique culinary cultures from around the world, he added.

French cuisine is renowned worldwide, particularly in Viet Nam. From rustic countryside dishes to refined haute cuisine, French gastronomy is a culinary treasure that continues to captivate the world with its flavours, artistry, and cultural significance.

French food not only focuses on refined haute cuisine and fine dining but also has high-quality products that Vietnamese people can enjoy in their everyday lives, French Ambassador Warnery said at the event.

Taste France 2023 will take place from July 6 to July 19 at 12 nationwide centres of MM Mega Market.  VNS
Phan ang Toan, secretary of the Sa Pa Town Party Committee, spoke to Lao ong (Labour) newspaper about the development of Sa Pa as a green, clean, and beautiful destination.

Sa Pa leaders visited well-known localities such as a Nang, Hue, a Lat to learn about their tourism practices. What were your experiences and what lessons did you learn from them?

Indeed, we have organised field trips to learn from the experiences of other cities. We realised that Sa Pa has great natural advantages that have not been fully utilised.

We also recognised that the local service industry, including accommodation and restaurants in Sa Pa, has reached a professional level. We can cater to different culinary preferences, both European or Asian tourists. Local cuisine is also very good.

However, the biggest disadvantage of Sa Pa is its poor traffic culture. Taxis and drivers in other localities can engage in conversations with tourists as tour guides, but in Sa Pa, this is not yet common.

After discussions, we have assigned the Department of Culture and the Tourism Association to organise training courses for taxi and electric vehicle drivers. We hope that in the future, they will be able to communicate in foreign languages like tour guides, introducing tourists to Sa Pa naturally and skillfully.

As for the awareness of the locals, it is generally good. However, there are still occasional incidents of clinging, street vendors and begging, which have reduced but can still be encountered easily.

The scenery of Sa Pa is truly beautiful. However, besides the stone church and the tower on the top of Mount Fansipan, there is still a lack of iconic architectural structures.

In the near future, Sa Pa will construct a tourist park. It will feature sculptures that reflect the distinctive characteristics of the northwest mountain region, such as a couple playing the trumpet, the Pieu scarf, and agricultural tools used by people in the highlands. It will undoubtedly become an interesting check-in location for tourists.

What is your assessment of existing issues in Sa Pa?

I don't hesitate to admit that Sa Pa is still messy. The houses and buildings lack architectural coherence. At night, Sapa becomes a medley of various lights, resembling a hotpot. The lights from signboards, restaurants, street lamps, and more are all excessively bright.

Traffic still experiences congestion and disorderly stops. The authorities have conducted numerous awareness raising campaigns and taken enforcement measures, but the problem has not been completely resolved.

There are multiple factors contributing to these issues, but the main issue is due to the small size of the central area, narrow streets, a high number of vehicles, and a concentration of tourists during peak times. Besides the efforts of the local government, Sa Pa hopes for greater awareness and participation from both residents and visitors regarding traffic management.

I provide this evidence so that everyone can understand the problem of Sa Pa.

In 2003, Sa Pa received just over 70,000 visitors. Ten years later, in 2013, the number was nearly 800,000. At that time, due to a severe lack of accommodation, some tourists even had to spend the night in classrooms.

By 2019 (before the COVID-19 pandemic), the number skyrocketed to 3.2 million visitors, while the central area of Sa Pa remained small. The rapid and intense development has led to the mentioned disorder. Restoring order and proper planning will take time, and that is also our responsibility.

What measures has Sa Pa implemented to minimise this problem?

We have also looked into the models of European countries. They have many narrow and small cities, but their transportation planning is very scientific, and the awareness of the residents is high, resulting in smooth traffic flow. It's worth learning from them. Therefore, Sa Pa is determined to implement static parking lots and eventually relocate all bus stations outside of the town.

Sa Pa has planned three parking areas, which will help distribute the flow of vehicles into the town. On weekends, vehicles with more than 16 seats will not be allowed into the town centre.

Currently, Sa Pa has identified 19 areas with congestion risks. We have deployed functional forces to provide guidance and contribute to congestion prevention. Additionally, traffic segregation plans have also been implemented, showing initial effectiveness.

Regarding issues of begging and hawkers, after extensive awareness campaigns, Sa Pa has begun to take stricter measures, including imposing administrative fines. The subjects of these fines are adults who exploit children to engage in street vending or begging activities.

Recently, a local resident was fined VN22 million (US$929) for forcing her two young children to hawk and beg on the streets of Sa Pa.

This measure is not aimed at collecting fines, but to remind people that if they continue to commit mistakes, they may face criminal penalties. It has started to show very positive results.

With these efforts, tourists will witness a different side of Sa Pa - a much more positive one.

3.2 million visitors is a remarkable number. Have you ever considered selecting tourists and targeting Sa Pa towards high-end tourism to maximise profits?

As a national tourist destination, Sa Pa does not discriminate against any particular group of tourists. We understand that Sa Pa belongs to everyone. Whoever comes here, from ordinary people to upper-class guests, Sa Pa will welcome them with utmost hospitality.

In 2020, Sapa accepted to give up the source of income from two toll booths located at Muong Hoa and Ta Phin communes by removing them to make it easier for local residents to access tourism services in the villages and to promote community-based tourism.

Of course, as the country's economy develops, people's demands also increase, along with an increase in middle and high-end tourists. Therefore, since 2020, Sa Pa has set a standard of 4-star or higher for resort and hotel projects.

Currently, in one night, Sa Pa can serve accommodation for 40,000 people. The target for 2025 is to maintain a stable number of visitors ranging from 3.2 million to 3.5 million per year. Later, with the completion of other resort projects, an additional 15,000 people can be served daily.

People have said that Sa Pa is gradually losing its pristine beauty, which leads some tourists to choose Ha Giang instead of Sa Pa. What do you think?

Sa Pa still has many pristine places with wonderful landscapes that tourists may not be aware of. In the outskirts, there are several tourism development projects that aim to preserve nature to the maximum extent in order to serve adventurous tourists. These places are truly beautiful.

If tourists choose Ha Giang over Sa Pa for any reason, we congratulate the neighbouring province. It's all part of our country. I'm glad to hear that.  VNS
HA NOI  After nearly 30 years in the profession, Associate Professor Dr Vu Quang Vinh at the Le Huu Trac National Burn Hospital has performed thousands of surgeries, restoring faces and transforming hundreds of lives.

Vu Quang Vinh was born into a family with a medical tradition. In 1987, he passed the entrance exam for the Vietnam Military Medical University. After graduating, he was assigned to work at the Le Huu Trac National Burn Hospital.

He first read the news about the technique of chin and neck reconstruction using ultra-thin skin flaps from Professor Hiko Hyakusoku at the Nippon Medical School Hospital, Tokyo, Japan, who developed several pedicled flaps in the 1980s to treat a large number of patients with postburn contractures.

Recognising the usefulness of this technique for burn patients with deformities, Vinh gathered the courage to write a letter to the Japanese professor.

A month later, he received a reply: the Japanese professor accepted to come here and guide him in person.

In early 2000, Professor Hiko Hyakusoku visited Viet Nam to transfer surgical techniques to several doctors at the Le Huu Trac National Burn Hospital. This was the first time Vinh had learned about plastic surgery techniques, which were difficult and unfamiliar to the Vietnamese doctors then.

A year later, he passed an exam and got a scholarship from the Japanese government. He was accepted by Professor Hiko Hyakusoku to study Plastic Surgery at the prestigious Nippon Medical School in Japan.

"In my first two years in Japan, I went to the operating room in the morning and went to the library in the afternoon for self-study. I dissected nearly 40 mouse corpses alone to locate blood vessels and find ways to release them. I also observed how they handled complications so that I would know how to deal with them if I encountered them later," said Vinh.

Upon returning to Viet Nam, he performed five plastic surgeries, surprising Professor Hiko as he had only assisted Vinh in surgery twice before.

The Japanese professor suggested Vinh present his work in person and introduced him at a surgical conference, saying: "This is my outstanding student from Viet Nam. He has elevated my technique of using ultra-thin skin flaps to new heights."

Vinh has performed thousands of surgeries. However, there was a special case of Nguyen Thi Kim Loan, a former judge of the People's Court of ong a District, Ha Noi, who was attacked with acid as an act of revenge. With a disfigured face, she underwent over 40 surgeries at renowned hospitals domestically and internationally. Global experts referred to her face as a "challenge of medicine."

The surgery succeeded, lasting nine hours and attracting attention not only in Viet Nam but also in other advanced medical communities.

When Loan went to Thailand to continue her cosmetic surgery, the doctors called Vinh the "Superhero Doctor" because of the beautiful reconstructed face.

Today, now past 50, Vinh continues to simultaneously engage in medical examinations and treatments, alongside training the next generation to inherit and advance the special aesthetic surgical techniques he is practising.

Vinh teaches his students to pass on the profession and emphasises their obligations and responsibility towards patients. He tells his students that plastic surgeons have a responsibility towards those who suffer from the unfortunate consequences of burns, injuries, cancer, and more. Many of his students have succeeded, performing challenging surgeries and changing the lives of the less fortunate.  VNS
TIEN GIANG PROVINCE  Phan Thi Bao Tran, an 11th grader in Tien Giang Province, on Friday (July 7) received VN9 million (US$377.8) from the Viet Nam Coast Guard for paying her school fees as part of the agencys regular charitable activities.

Senior Lieutenant Colonel Phan Nhan Hau, secretary of the Party Committee of the Coast Guards Reconnaissance Unit No 2, said Tran lives with her mother and grandfather, and the latter is old and seriously ill.

The familys financial situation could force her to quit school, he said.

Tran, of Go Cong ong High School, is the fourth student to be supported since the Coast Guard launched the annual charity activity in 2020.

The support will continue until the students turn 18.

It aims to encourage disadvantaged students to try and overcome difficulties and pursue their studies, Hau said.

It is also meant to consolidate the solidarity between the army and public, he added.

The Coast Guard has given gifts, including necessities, worth VN1 million ($42) each to around 80 local students and households in difficult circumstances in the province this year.  VNS
The move marks the first step in a long-term partnership to comprehensively develop a supply chain that will bring vaccines from research labs and manufacturing sites to hospitals and vaccination centres in Vietnam, protecting people from infectious diseases at every stage of life.

The signing ceremony took place with representatives from the Belgian Embassy, strategic partners from Vietnam Vaccine JSC, and GSK's senior leaders in attendance.

The two companies aim to make a positive impact on every member of Vietnamese families, from children to adults, to prevent and protect against vaccine preventable infectious diseases and reduce the pressure on the healthcare system, especially as the population ages and disease patterns change.

Speaking at the ceremony, Luis Arosemena, senior vice president for emerging markets at GSK said, Vietnam is one of GSK's six top-priority markets out of a total of more than 100 emerging countries. We are pleased to see the development of the nation's health sector, and with the support of the local biopharmaceutical sector, we will continue to unite science, technology, and talent to bring innovative healthcare solutions to anyone who needs them.

Ngo Chi Dung, president of EPLUS added, Together with our strategic partners, EPLUS expects to bring in many new and essential vaccines, and apply the most advanced technology and logistics solutions to supply them to people quickly and safely.

GSK has seen remarkable progress in disease prevention and, especially after the pandemic, people have a better understanding of the value of vaccines. The company continues to focus on young children, who are susceptible to life-threatening diseases such as invasive pneumococcal disease or meningococcal meningitis caused by serotype B that are fatal to one in two children if left untreated.

The number of people over the age of 50 is projected to increase from 23 million in 2022 to 35 million in 2035, with an accompanying rise in early deaths due to chronic diseases. Around the world, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States, as well as other medical organisations in Europe and beyond, have recommended vaccines against influenza, pertussis, diphtheria, tetanus, pneumococcal disease, and shingles for the elderly, those with underlying diseases, and other high-risk groups.

To achieve the goal of immunisations for every member of a Vietnamese family throughout the course of their lives, the two sides will make a concerted effort to develop a sustainable and continuous supply of vaccines.

Jean-Pierre Muller, Commercial Counsellor at the Embassy of Belgium in Ho Chi Minh City said, We support new initiatives and cooperation towards the common goal of better healthcare for everyone. Belgium is one of the world's largest vaccine research and manufacturing centres, and we are proud that Vietnamese people will have access to innovative vaccines from our country.

Vaccination is one of mankind's greatest achievements, the positive effects of life-course immunisation on communities have already been demonstrated in many countries around the world, he added.

Sanofi and GSK to seek regulatory authorisation for COVID-19 vaccine Sanofi and GSK on February 23 announced that they intend to submit data from both their booster and Phase 3 efficacy trials as the basis for regulatory applications for a COVID-19 vaccines.

GSKs strategy of sustainable healthcare In a new legal entity launch ceremony last week, GSK Vietnam signed MoUs with the Vietnam Medical Association, National Phytopharma JSC, and Vietnam Vaccine Company, aiming to deliver ambitious targets for a positive impact on the health of 30 million Vietnamese people by 2025.
The new office, located at the Capital Place building in Hanoi's Ba Dinh district, has a modern design that accommodates open workspaces in the first LEED-certified building in the capital city, which meets the standards of reducing electricity use and protecting the environment.

MSD has been implementing a hybrid work-from-home model for more than two years, which brings many benefits in terms of physical and mental health, helping to increase work efficiency for employees. The MSD office in Ho Chi Minh City is also being upgraded in this direction, and is expected to be inaugurated by the end of 2023.

Speaking at the ceremony, Deputy Health Minister Do Xuan Tuyen said, Over past years, the Ministry of Health and the government have recognised the contributions of MSD to the mission of improving the health of Vietnamese people. We hope the company continues to grow firmly, and implements more partnerships and investment in the pharmaceutical industry in line with the direction and strategy of the government.

MSD has committed to striving relentlessly to make a difference in the health and wellbeing of people through public-private initiatives and support to address critical unmet healthcare needs. The prominent cooperation schemes that bring long-term impact and tangible benefits include the MSD for Mothers programme to improve maternal health, the Anti-Microbial Stewardship programme to address antibiotic resistance, the Patient Access Programme launched in 2018, which aims to improve eligible cancer patient access to innovative cancer treatments, and educational programmes to raise awareness and prevent HPV-related diseases.

David Peacock, president of MSD Asia-Pacific said, Vietnam is among the critical markets for MSD in the region. We continue to invest in strengthening capacity to meet the growing needs of the Vietnamese people, building a working environment that attracts local talent, and partnering with key stakeholders to solve healthcare challenges."

Speaking at the ceremony, Marc Knapper, the United States Ambassador to Vietnam added, This year represents an important opportunity for the United States and Vietnam as we celebrate 10 years of our Comprehensive Partnership. MSD stands front and centre in strengthening our bilateral relationship in the areas of healthcare, innovations, and technology. The new office opening stands as a testament to MSDs steadfast commitment to helping Vietnam fully integrate into the global economy.

This month, MSD will also inaugurate a newly expanded warehouse in Cat Lai Industrial Zone of Thu Duc in Ho Chi Minh City, with four times the capacity compared to the current warehouse. The new warehouse will significantly increase the storage capacity of vaccines and drugs to respond in a timely manner and meet the increasing healthcare needs of Vietnamese people.

MSD managing director Jennifer Cox said, "The continued investment after nearly 30 years of MSDs presence in Vietnam confirms our long-term commitment. The grand opening of the new office in Hanoi and the expansion of the storage warehouse are key milestones in realising our aspiration to become the most trusted and admired healthcare partner in Vietnam."

MSD Vietnam proactive in combating COVID-19 Operating for over two decades in Vietnam, Merck Sharp and Dohme (MSD), known as Merck in the United States and Canada, continues striving to make a difference in the health of the nation and the lives of Vietnamese people.

MSD Vietnam maintaining care in pandemic times The disruption of routine care has been an indirect impact of the pandemic that must be immediately addressed. Jennifer Cox, general director of MSD Vietnam, talked to VIRs Bich Thuy about how MSD, known as Merck & Co., Inc. in the US and Canada, has played an active role in supporting the return to routine care amid the pandemic.
NEW ORLEANS (AP)  A 16-year-old boy was critically injured Friday when the branch of a large oak tree in New Orleans' historic Jackson Square snapped and fell on him and others, the New Orleans Police Department said.

Witnesses told investigators the teenager was trapped under the tree for several minutes. The boy was transported to a hospital, but details on the extent of his injuries were not released, police said.

Its unclear what caused the tree to break. Police taped off a large corner of the square as they investigated. Photos of the scene showed blood had stained the grass under the tree.

One witness posted on Twitter that she heard lots of screaming and saw bystanders pulling people from the debris.

Gregory Joseph, a spokesperson for the City of New Orleans, told news outlets no work was being done on the trees at the time, and called it a very unfortunate accident. He could not confirm what type, if any, work was being done in the days or weeks prior, saying that Jackson Square is an always active scene for the forestry department.
Baylor Scott & White Health has acquired acreage at West Highway 84 and Sunwest Boulevard, but remains cryptic about its intentions. Parcels flanking the health care providers property have hit the market priced at $6.6 million combined.

The vacant land between Highway 84 and Harris Creek Baptist Church may prove more attractive if The Concourse development materializes almost directly across the highway. The Austin-based KBar Groups plans for The Concourse include developing 88 acres in phases to include a grocery store, offices, patio homes, town homes, a hotel and high-end retail.

The Dwyer family that founded The Dwyer Group franchising empire now known as Neighborly owns the nearly 90 acres. Onward Real Estate Team represents the Dwyer family in negotiations, and also is listing the nearly 14 acres across the highway. Marketing material for the land straddling Sunwest makes no mention of The Concourse or the parcels proximity to it. Onward agent Adam Voight said issues await resolution before The Concourse becomes reality.

A public hearing on the proposed development is scheduled for a meeting at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday at the McGregor Executive Airport, 27474 W. Highway 84. Holding it will be the Administrative Agency of the McGregor Executive Airport, a separate body from the Joint McGregor Executive Airport Zoning Board that met April 25 to hear KBars initial presentation.

Settling a legal dispute, the cities of Waco and McGregor years ago established the airport zoning board to act on zoning change requests and other issues relating to land use near McGregor Executive Airport. The 88 acres KBar is eyeing must be rezoned and land-use designations altered for The Concourse to move forward.

Clint Peters, who oversees Wacos planning services department, said he and McGregor staffers, including McGregor City Planner Bryan LeMeilleur, are working together on The Concourse. He said a shared goal is to get rid of the industrial land use designation and to expand commercial and retail.

Waco would provide water and sewer service to the development. McGregor would collect taxes and provide city services such as fire and police protection to the site, which is right across Highway 84 from the Sunwest Village subdivision, and across Bosque Lane from Meadowland Estates.

The almost 14 acres for sale across the highway are bounded by Harris Creek Road, Stageline Drive and Highway 84, expanding east of Sunwest Boulevard. Onward Real Estate has created an acreage and price breakdown in its marketing brochure, believing would-be users want to acquire the land in workable chunks.

Asking price for a 3.62-acre tract at Highway 84, Stageline Drive and Harris Creek Road is $2.36 million. A 2.3-acre tract next door is available at $851,598. A 2.2-acre tract fronting 84 and nudging the land Baylor Scott & White Health bought at Sunset Boulevard and Stageline Drive is priced at $814,572, according to an Onward graphic.

Right across Sunwest Boulevard from the Baylor Scott & White Health property is a 4.7-acre tract available for about $2.03 million.

Baylor Scott & White Health did not divulge its planned use.

We are constantly evaluating ways to expand access to care for Texans, especially in our fastest growing communities, the company said in a statement. Our plans are not yet finalized, and we look forward to sharing more in the future.
Midway Independent School Districts most recent and final major project of its 2019 bond package, Midway Middle Schools renovation, is in its final days as construction crews work to open the school in full for the start of the school year Aug. 15.

The building, which has served as a middle school for 20 years, opened as a high school in 1976 and graduated its last high school class in 2003. Major overhauls of classrooms, science labs, the band hall and cafeteria, and cosmetic upgrades including the removal of lockers to create more space and enhanced lighting, give the old school a new feel.

The project, worth some $19 million, rounds out the last slated venture of the districts $148 million bond package voters approved in 2019. Mazanec Construction, the company behind the renovations, also completed the 88,000-square-foot addition at River Valley Middle School, 58,000-square-foot career and technical education wing at Midway High School and the renovation of an existing building to create the Midway Data Center as part of the package, each on time and under budget using local subcontractors. Other major bond-funded projects included the conversion of Woodgate Intermediate School into Chapel Park Elementary School, and the construction of the new Park Hill Elementary School.

District spokesperson Traci Marlin said Midway will use remaining bond funds to build playgrounds at six elementary schools, comparable to the playgrounds at the new schools. Superintendent Chris Allen said some $3.5 million will be left over after the playgrounds are constructed. The six playgrounds are expected to cost around $2 million.

The Midway Middle project is different than other occupied construction projects the district embarked on during the bond package. As Woodgate Intermediate School transitioned into Chapel Park Elementary School, the facility only held sixth grade while its feeder schools retained fifth grades, halving the student population for a year. River Valley Middle School was another in-use conversion, adding on to the former intermediate school to make room for seventh and eighth graders.

River Valley was occupied but almost all the construction was add-on.  It was like, at the end, tear down the wall to make it connect almost, Marlin said.

At Midway Middle, the school retained its 1,100 students while only occupying half the school at a time, creating a logistical jungle throughout the past school year. The school used several portable buildings throughout the process, and almost all of its free spaces were repurposed as classrooms to accommodate the construction.

Kayla Stanford, who taught resource and English for the past few years at the middle school, was a high school student at the facility from 2001 to 2003. She was a junior during the transition to the current Midway High School.

Stanford said before current renovations, minus some wood paneling, many features including the cafeteria and band hall were the same as she remembered as a student.

Stanfords class never got put in a portable, and though the buildings were decently sized she said the echo of the hallways was slightly distracting while assisting other teachers during benchmark testing. She recalls being on door duty during passing periods, checking that only students and faculty were making their way into the main building from the portables, and days when thunderstorms threatened to prevent students from making their way between buildings.

So it was definitely not an ideal situation, but I mean, the teachers that were there, they had the best outlook on it of they knew it was a short amount of time and they were thankful that they were in the portables and did not have to move at Thanksgiving, she said.

The entire project was phased over 17 months, with phase one starting with the administration and life skills wings in June 2022.

It just made sense to do that because, I mean, they have to have the brains of the campus here, Mazanec general contractor Aaron Mynar said of the finished administration wing.

Mynar said the crew worked around the clock last summer, including many Saturdays, to finish the 24,000-square-foot first phase in about three months before the start of the school year.

We definitely tested the limits of what could be done in three months, Mazanec project manager Jon Kazanas said.

The front entrance facing Hewitt Drive adjacent to the administration office is all new, as Mazanec gutted every wall, ceiling and floor. Principal Jay Fischer said he is excited about the front facade of the school having a more open look with more parking and no berm to hide behind.

The new space allows all administrative and counseling staff to collaborate, as their offices before were not confined to one space, he said. The entryway, sectioned off from administration offices through a secure vestibule guarded by keycard access, also provides added security, Fischer said.

There was nothing to stop parents from storming into an APs office, and so like now you have to have a badge to get in to our assistant principals and our counselors, he said. Before, parents would just walk in and they were kind of just in the office area.

The construction crew moved into classrooms and labs at the north side of the school to start phase two, and teachers and students moved into the completed administration wing to start out the school year.

The staff were real troupers because every single space was used as a classroom, including offices and conference rooms, and even those collab spaces, Marlin said.

Stanford had to move classrooms twice to accommodate shifting phases: the first time in May and again over Thanksgiving break. During her second move she was not placed in a classroom, but in a conference room neighboring Principal Fischers office. She buddied up with her co-teacher to make the rooms limited storage space work, and said the conference table setup actually contributed to her family-like classroom atmosphere.

Even the oldest parts of the building that were erected in 1976 were updated with modern features, including collaborative spaces and locks on each door with color-coded indicators of whether they are locked that can be seen from any point in the classroom.

The flexible spaces feature moveable partitions, which were a recommendation of teaching committees that worked on educational practices at all the new and renovated facilities. They allow teachers to host larger groups, different kinds of activities, a change of scenery and a less traditional classroom, Marlin said.

We also wanted, even in an older facility, to have those same opportunities and have equity between our middle schools to both have the same access to spaces, she said.

The construction crew moved into phase three, encompassing two more classroom wings at the south end of the school, science labs, the fine arts wing and cafeteria, around Thanksgiving break last year.

Classrooms in phase three were also completely gutted, and new prep rooms were added to adjoin science labs where teachers can store chemicals and prepare materials for class, Fischer said.

The band hall got a major facelift, removing the large circular wall that took up square footage, adding a teachers office, imbedding high-quality soundproof practice rooms and installing an audio-visual rack. Stanford said prior to the renovations the room was just as she remembered it as a former band student.

I covered a class this past year when the teacher was out  and I was like this has not changed at all, she said. Even the lockers, like, I can tell you exactly which locker was mine.

Both the cafeteria and the courtyard at the southeast corner of the school were renovated to have fewer levels. Kazanas said before, the performing arts center did not have great Americans with Disabilities Act-friendly access, but by creating a switch-back ramp in the courtyard people who need it are able to access the building the same as everyone else.

Stanford said until the recent construction, the cafeteria  now with higher ceilings, better lighting and less split levels  also looked the exact same. The space got a second serving area and sound panels as well, and its stage got new lighting, curtains and a projector.
Texas school district administrators and trustees have less than a month to pass their budgets for the upcoming 2023-24 school year and most do not know two essential figures for those budgets: property tax revenue and the state basic allotment for education funding.

Both hinge on action by Texas legislators now in their second special session. With state House and Senate members feuding over the best method for property tax relief, either larger homestead exemptions or general tax rate cuts, those essential figures may not come before budgets are due.

With decades of experience in school finance, Waco Independent School District Chief Financial Officer Sheryl Davis is not panicking over the uncertainty, however.

Weve been there before, she said, recalling when legislators introduced an equalization plan in state school financing, the Robin Hood plan, in 1993 and districts did not receive state revenue figures until August.

Waiting on legislative action may not be new, but some have expressed concern over something else that appears to be missing this summer: urgency.

From the school finance people Im hearing from, its been a little more frustrating this time, Davis said. In the past, they felt the Legislature was working toward something as fast as they could.

Gov. Greg Abbott called a second special session June 27 to address school property tax cuts, specifically the maximum compressed tax rate, after the first session failed to result in legislation on the subject.

The first session found legislators deadlocked with the Senate pushing a tax cut plan focused on increasing the homestead exemption and a smaller adjustment to the compressed tax-rate formula. The House favored a plan with a larger adjustment to tax rates, applying more tax relief to owners of other types of properties.

Under current funding formulas, a state-calculated compressed tax rate used to fund school maintenance and operations falls as a districts local property values rise.

A decision on property tax cuts also could lead to action on a bill increasing the state basic allotment to public schools. House Bill 100 included an increase in the basic allotment and funding for teacher salaries, but its final passage died after state senators added an amendment allowing educational vouchers.

Despite the uncertainty regarding tax rates and state funding, the Waco ISD budget for the 2023-24 school year likely will not see sizable changes for taxpayers. Davis walked trustees through the major factors affecting this years budget during a meeting June 29.

In terms of revenue, the district could see an additional $4 million based on scheduled increases in the compressed tax rate formula approved in 2019 and the districts 2023 taxable property valuation of $9.7 billion, an increase of 12.44%.

Final certified property values from the McLennan County Appraisal District are due July 25. Both the compressed tax rate and the taxable portion of property values, however, could change due to legislative action.

Waco ISD also could benefit from the states New Instructional Facilities Allotment program, which has been in place since 1999 and is intended to help districts with the costs of opening new schools. Davis said the district applied for G.W. Carver Middle School, whose new campus opens next month, and could receive $808,000 based on a projected enrollment of 808 students.

An increase in the states student security allotment and $15,000 per campus will bring in more than $300,000 to boost school security. However, meeting other state security requirements, such as an armed security guard or school police officer on each campus, will cost the district at least $270,000 more than that, Davis said.

On the downside, a continuing slump in the districts post-pandemic school attendance will mean less state revenue. Davis projects an average daily attendance of 13,698 students for fall 2023, a decrease of 125 students from last year. Increases in required special education spending, nearly half a million dollars in utility increases and a carryover $3 million deficit from the current budget also contribute in an estimated $5.6 million in higher expenditures compared to a year ago.

Davis told the board that while increases in revenue, plus tapping the districts fund balance for approximately $3 million should cover the expenditures, a decision to increase teacher and staff salaries could put pressure on the tax rate, depending on the size of increase.

She also cautioned trustees of a funding cliff ahead with the Sept. 30, 2024, cutoff of $7.1 million in federal pandemic relief funding presently used for teacher and staff salaries.
The American Red Cross is assisting residents of the Woodway Park Condominiums complex after a fire engulfed a building there Saturday morning.

Officers received a call at 6:50 a.m. about a fire fully engulfing a building, and the first unit arrived three minutes later, according to a Woodway Public Safety Department Facebook post. Firefighters were able to contain the blaze to a single building, according to the post. The complex in the 1500 block of Western Oaks Drive has 10 multi-unit buildings.

Woodway Public Safety Department Chief Khalil El-Halabi said when firefighters arrived, a section of the buildings roof had already collapsed, and the fire had spread across the entire rooftop. He said the fire was contained by 7:24 a.m. and mostly extinguished by then.

A child was being treated for possible smoke inhalation, and an officer was being treated for heat exhaustion, the post says. El-Halabi said there were no serious injuries as a result of the fire.

He said five units were damaged, and 12 residents were displaced.

Fire marshals are investigating the source of the fire, and it is unknown how long the fire had been going when firefighters were called, he said.

The Waco-McLennan County Fire Corps brought its rehab bus to help firefighters dealing with heat, and community members stopped by offering water and food, according to the post.
Texans dodged a religious bullet. In the most recent state legislative session, legislators almost passed a bill, Senate Bill 1515, that would have required the display of the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms. It is likely to be resurrected in the next legislative session.

I hope its not, because of the bills exclusionary character and its implicit anti-Judaism.

The bill would have mandated using an abbreviated version of the Ten Commandments drawn from the King James translation of Exodus chapter 20 and popularized in American culture in the 1956 Cecil B. DeMille film The Ten Commandments. This version is already publicly displayed on the grounds of the Texas State Capitol.

This version of the Ten Commandments has several problems. To begin, although the Bible refers to the Ten Commandments or the Ten Words, our sense of a list of 10 clearly demarcated commandments is mistaken. It is not clear how you arrange the two different versions of the Ten Commandments in the Bible, one in Exodus and the other in Deuteronomy, into 10 different commandments. Jews, Reformed Christians, Lutherans, Roman Catholics and Samaritans all parse the list differently to get to the number 10. The proposed legislation does not follow any of these enumerations.

There is also the issue of language. English is the predominant language in the state, but there are more than 7 million Texans living in Spanish-speaking households. Shouldnt schools in majority Spanish-speaking areas be able to display the Ten Commandments in Spanish?

The selection of the King James translation is also exclusionary. Not only is this translation not used in Jewish practice, its Protestant origins make it anathema to the approximately 6 million Roman Catholics living in Texas. This is to say nothing of those Texans who come from a religious tradition that does not include the Ten Commandments in their scriptures or who are religiously unaffiliated.

Finally, this version of the Ten Commandments is abbreviated in an implicitly anti-Judaic way. Noticeably absent are any references to the ancient Israelites. The Israelites experience of liberation from slavery in Egypt is expunged from the first sentence of the bills version of the Ten Commandments. All that remains is the generic statement I am the LORD your God. Similarly, the language in the bill uses the Exodus version of the Sabbath commandment, Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, and ignores Deuteronomys version, which describes observing the Sabbath as a memorial to ancient Israels exodus experience.

Deleting any mention of the people of Israel has consequences. By taking the Ten Commandments out of their historical context and their connection to a particular religious community, this bill generalizes the commandments as an expression of what its authors perceive as universal American values, albeit important social values. In effect, it devalues the Jewish people through their omission.

Although this legislation lacks the polemical character of classical Christian anti-Judaism, it does participate in the enduring American tradition of usurping the legacy of the Israelites so as to apply it to the United States without acknowledging that these words come from the scriptures of the Jewish people. This appropriation is a manifestation of a much longer history of Christian supersessionism, in which the people of Israel are replaced as Gods chosen people (in this case, by the United States rather than the church). In effect, it devalues the Jewish people.

It may not be the intent of the Texas bill to erase the historical context of the Ten Commandments, exclude the religious perspectives of a substantial minority of the states population, or contribute to the reemergence of a supersessionist form of nationalism. But if it or similar legislation is enacted into law, the effect will be to, at the very least, cultivate a society that is less inclusive of all its members, particularly its Jewish ones, and, at its very worst, contribute to blatant antisemitism.
CEDAR FALLS  Following an evaluation of Superintendent Andy Pattee last month, the Board of Education will consider his salary and benefits for the upcoming school year.

The board convenes at 5:30 p.m. Monday in City Hall, 220 Clay St. No information on Pattees pay adjustment was provided in meeting materials. That is typically revealed during the session.

Last year, the board was unanimous in approving a raise of slightly more than 3%, from $210,000 to $216,426. Pattee has been superintendent of Cedar Falls Community Schools since 2013.

Also up for consideration will be ending the districts virtual school campus introduced at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Later, in 2021, it began accepting enrollments from anywhere in the state.

A lack of interest from families is why administration is recommending the program be terminated, according to Janelle Darst, director of communications and community relations.

In other business, the board will vote on approving:

The low bid of $1.81 million from Affinitech, of Chanhassen, Minnesota for audio-visual equipment at the new high school being built on West 27th Street.

A 28E agreement with the city of Cedar Falls regarding the use of the new swimming facility being built on the campus of the new school.

The 500 Series board policies on first reading of which several revisions are being made to the subsections addressing attendance area boundaries, student record access, freedom of expression and prescription administration.
The Salvation Army of Waterloo/Cedar Falls Development Committee would like to thank all who supported our annual Night at the Ballpark fundraiser. Because of our generous sponsors, ticket purchases, and donations made at the June 16 game, we raised more than $4,000 for our programs, benefiting many in need in our community.

This was my first fundraising event with The Salvation Army, and I wasnt sure what to expect, said Jake Meyers, advisory board and development committee member. We had about the best weather we could have hoped for, the Waterloo Bucks played phenomenally, and the crowd was supportive of our cause. Im already looking forward to next years fundraiser.

Thank you 2023 night at the ballpark sponsors:

Gold Level: Peoples Community Health Clinic, The Weekly Connection, and Tyson Prepared Foods.

Silver Level: BankIowa, BerganKDV, Bergen Plumbing, Inc., and Elvir Begic Real Estate.

Bronze Level: Hansens Dairy, Home Instead, Julie Facion, Loftys Lounge, SERVPRO of Black Hawk County, TJ's Christian Book Store, U. S. Bank, and VGM Group.

Katie Harn, volunteer and community relations coordinator
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Central Lutheran Church in Winona will host Tim Zimmerman and The Kings Brass for a free performance of hymn classics with a contemporary flair at 7 p.m. Tuesday, July 18.

The Kings Brass features three trumpets, three trombones, a tuba, percussion and keyboards. The instruments blend together to create a time of innovative worship that can be enjoyed by all generations.

The Kings Brass, formed four decades ago in Detroit, is comprised of professional musicians from across the country who desire to use the instruments they love to lead others in praise and worship. The group plays over 150 concerts per year from coast to coast as well as international destinations.
A Democratic state senator apologized to chamber leaders last Friday for using an expletive to address Milwaukees suburbs during a speech about crime spilling out from the states biggest city.

Although I stand by the context of my speech, I could have used a different choice of words on the Senate floor. I apologize for using those specific words, Sen. LaTonya Johnson, D-Milwaukee, said in an email to Senate President Chris Kapenga, R-Delafield, and Senate Minority Leader Melissa Agard, D-Madison.

Ive spoken with the Senator about the inappropriate action on the floor of the Senate, Kapenga said in response. She recognizes it was wrong and has issued an apology to her colleagues. We now move on.

Johnsons words addressing the rhetoric around crime came as Democrats proposed adding gun control policies and funding for a school safety program to the states 2023-25 budget. Their proposed amendment failed to pass along party lines.

During her speech Johnson said, To say that these additional police are needed because crime is spilling out into the suburbs  what about these babies who are being lost right in their own cities, who are born into poverty and then who die before they even get an opportunity to change what they were even born into?

F- the suburbs because they dont know a (expletive) thing about how life is in the city, she continued.

Legislators were sharply divided about her comments.

Republicans who continuously (weaponize) and (villainize) the people of Milwaukee without accountability need to answer for constantly legislating racism, said Rep. Francesca Hong, D-Madison. These absurd times in state gov call for real talk.

Elected officials say dumb things occasionally and when that happens, apologies are appropriate, said Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester.
Weather Alert

...HEAT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 11 AM TO 9 PM PDT SATURDAY... * WHAT...Temperatures up to 100-106 degrees expected. * WHERE...Mineral and Southern Lyon Counties, Greater Reno- Carson City-Minden Area, Western Nevada Basin and Range including Pyramid Lake and Northern Washoe County. * WHEN...From 11 AM to 9 PM PDT Saturday. * IMPACTS...Hot temperatures may cause heat illnesses to occur. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS...There will be some relief at night as low temperatures drop into the upper 50s and 60s overnight. However, high temperatures are still close to 10 degrees above average for this time of year and close to daily records. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out of the sun, and check up on relatives and neighbors. Young children and pets should never be left unattended in vehicles under any circumstances. Take extra precautions if you work or spend time outside. When possible reschedule strenuous activities to early morning or evening. Know the signs and symptoms of heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Wear lightweight and loose fitting clothing when possible. To reduce risk during outdoor work, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration recommends scheduling frequent rest breaks in shaded or air conditioned environments. Anyone overcome by heat should be moved to a cool and shaded location. Heat stroke is an emergency! Call 9 1 1. &&
VICE Celebrity

The late Italian politician whose career was tainted by numerous scandals has sparked fury in his home country for leaving some of his multi-million-euro fortune to shady aide.

Jul 8, 2023

AceShowbiz - Silvio Berlusconi has caused fury by leaving 25.6 million to an old friend convicted of a mafia link and 85.4 million to his girlfriend. The scandal-plagued late Italian Prime Minister, who passed away in June aged 86 after a cancer battle, has had the contents of his will revealed, with one of the main beneficiaries being Marcello Dell'Utri, a former senator in Berlusconi's centre-right Forza Italia party.

Dell'Utri, 81, ran ad advertising agency for billionaire media mogul Berlusconi and was accused of being the key link between the three-time prime minister and the Cosa Nostra mafia of Sicily.

He fled Italy in 2014 but was arrested in Beirut on an Interpol warrant and served four years in prison and another under house arrest after being convicted of the charge of mafia association and forging links from the 1970s to '90s between Cosa Nostra bosses in his native Sicily and businesses owned by Berlusconi - but always denied the charges.

Dell'Utri said of his shock at his inheritance, "I have done nothing but cry since this morning, not so much because of the material gesture but because it shows the greatness of the man. I didn't expect it because he didn't owe me anything. I gave everything for him and he gave everything for me. We knew each other for over 60 years. He always helped me. Even at university he used to give me his notes."

The 85.4 million left by Berlusconi went to Marta Fascina, a 33-year-old MP whom he had been in a relationship with for several years when he died. They had a symbolic wedding ceremony in March 2022 which was not legally binding

Former mayor of Naples and centre-left politician Luigi de Magistris, 56, raged about the money on Twitter, "I think of the poor people, the young, who kill themselves working but can barely make it until the end of the month."

Berlusconi had an estimated 5.1 billion net worth when he died. In his will, he also gave 86 million to his younger brother, Paolo, 73, and passed on his business empire to his five children.

Berlusconi's health was raised as an issue in 2021 when he was on trial on charges of bribing witnesses. A Milan prosecutor said during the case it should be put on hold due to his illnesses. He had been in and out of hospital in 2021 after he contracting Covid in September 2020.

Berlusconi was accused of bribing witnesses to stay silent over an underage prostitution case that started in 2013, and he has always denied any wrongdoing. He was forced to resign as prime minister in 2011 and in 2013 he was found guilty of paying a guest at one of his parties, Karima el Mahroug, an under-age dancer known as Ruby the Heart Stealer, for sex.

Infamous for his "bunga bunga" sex parties, accusations of orgies, and a massive 70 criminal trials, Berlusconi was acquitted on appeal on the basis that he did not know she was 17. He then faced accusations he paid his other guests millions of euros to lie about the parties in court. Berlusconi had claimed that he was compensating them because their careers were damaged by the publicity from the case.

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The 20th Century Fox Movie

The Ryan Reynolds-starring movie, which is currently filming in England, has reportedly added the 'Daredevil' actress to the cast after convincing Hugh Jackman to come out of retirement as Wolverine.

Jul 8, 2023

AceShowbiz - Another familiar superhero will cross paths with Deadpool in its third movie. After successfully convincing Hugh Jackman to come out of retirement as Logan a.k.a. Wolverine, "Deadpool 3" will reportedly bring back Jennifer Garner as Elektra.

Multiple sources spill the beans to The Hollywood Reporter, but Marvel has not confirmed the casting news. Should it be true, it will mark Garner's first appearance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

The 51-year-old first portrayed Elektra Natchios in 2003's "Daredevil, The Movie", in which she starred with her future ex-husband Ben Affleck. She then reprised the role and took the lead in the spin-off, "Elektra" (2005), but has not picked up the sai again since then. Both films were distributed by 20th Century Fox.

In "Deadpool 3", Garner will join Ryan Reynolds, who returns as Wade Wilson a.k.a. the titular antihero. The two previously starred together in 2022's "The Adam Project", which was directed by "Deadpool 3" director Shawn Levy.

The upcoming third "Deadpool" pic is currently filming in England. Production began in May despite the Writers Guild of America strike. On Thursday, July 6, set photos surfaced online, giving first look at Reynolds' new Deadpool costume. The suit features very few changes from the outfit donned in his R-rated Fox movies. Some gold highlights have been added to the black areas on the costume, but the overall design remains the same.

The biggest change to the costume is the color. Where "Deadpool" and its sequel "Deadpool 2" had a largely muted color palette, the red of the suit in the new set photos is surprisingly bright, almost similar with the coloring in the comics. This may indicate a distinction between the MCU and the 20th Century Fox universe where Deadpool debuted.

"Deadpool 3" also has Morena Baccarin, Leslie Uggams, Karan Soni, Brianna Hildebrand, Shioli Kutsuna and Stefan Kapicic among the returning cast, but Zazie Beetz has confirmed that she will not return for the threequel. The movie is scheduled to arrive in U.S. theaters on May 3, 2024.

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The 'Uncut Gem' star makes sure everyone's eyes are on her when she arrives in a chest-baring dress at the Toronto premiere of 'Something You Said Last Night', which she executive produces.

Jul 8, 2023

AceShowbiz - Julia Fox once again turned heads with her one of a kind fashion choice. The "Uncut Gems" star made sure everyone's eyes were on her when she arrived in a chest-baring dress at the Toronto premiere of "Something You Said Last Night" on Friday night, July 7.

Julia set people's pulse racing as she donned a black, cut-out dress around her chest. She had crucifix-adorned nipple tassels covering her chest, while flaunting her midriff through a sheer, nude fabric.

The 33-year-old star paired her alluring look with a red clutch. She further shook up her appearance with smoky eyes makeup, notoriously razor-thin eyebrows while adding an eye-catching red hue in her hair.

At the event, Julia joined forces with Canadian director Luis De Filippis for her debut feature film "Something You Said Last Night". The mom of one served as the executive producer of the Canadian-Swiss trans drama, which won last year's Change Maker Award at TIFF.

"I am so honored to join Luis De Filippis and the team behind the remarkable film 'Something You Said Last Night'. The significance of authentic representation in this industry cannot be stressed enough, and regrettably, is often lacking," Julia said in a statement. "On a personal level, this film left an indelible impression on me, and a deep sense of connection. Everyone needs to see this beautiful work of art."

Luis added, "Having Julia Fox join our 'Something You Said Last Night' team is a dream come true like no other. She is an honorary doll who, like all dolls, has the iron tenacity to look those who say no in the face and smile. She is a DIY Italian girlie who knows her power and like Ren, stands her ground in the face of it all."

The flick follows a writer in her twenties on a vacation with her family. The cast includes Paige Evans, Carmen Madonia, Ramona Milano and Joe Parro.

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Giving an update on his 'They Cloned Tyrone' co-star's condition, the 'Star Wars' actor says the Oscar winner is 'all good,' while Teyonah Parris urges everyone to give Jamie 'space to heal.'

Jul 8, 2023

AceShowbiz - John Boyega isn't worried at all about Jamie Foxx's absence from the public eye since his hospitalization. After not being seen in 88 days, the 55-year-old actor "will reappear when he wants to," his "They Cloned Tyrone" co-star believes.

John gave an update on Jamie's condition in an interview with ET Canada to promote their new movie. Asked if he had spoken to Jamie recently, the British star replied, "Yeah. He's all good. He's all good. So we're just going to wait for him to reappear when he wants to. You know, privacy and all."

Teyonah Parris, who also stars in the sci-fi mystery film and joined the interview, then weighed in on Jamie's recovery. Agreeing with John, she urged everyone to give Jamie "space to heal how they need to do."

In the same interview, John recalled how Jamie entertained the cast and crew during filming of Juel Taylor's feature film directorial debut. "We got three stand up shows that you would normally pay $29.99 for. He gave us that for free, he played the piano, you know, sang some songs, all of that. I don't need to ever go to one of these shows again," he joked.

Back in June, John revealed that Jamie "finally picked up the phone." At the Hollywood premiere of their film in late last month, the 31-year-old said, "He finally picked up the phone. Thank you, bro. He's doing well."

The "Star Wars" actor added, "And then, you know, we (are) just giving him the privacy, and we can't wait for his return. I gave him the well-wishes directly. I gave him all the well-wishes. So I'm just gonna be waiting until he comes back out here. So take your time, Jamie. We love you, bro."

Jamie was hospitalized in April in Atlanta, where he was filming "Back in Action". After discharged from the hospital, he was reportedly moved to a top physical rehab center in Chicago in late April, where he has been undergoing intense physiotherapy.

According to a recent report, Jamie's family has been keeping his condition very quiet because they don't want anyone to see him in a "fragile" state. A source told OK! earlier this week,"Jamie's family is keeping his condition very quiet. He is still pretty fragile, and his loved ones know Jamie wouldn't want anyone seeing him like that."

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The 'Human Trafficking' actress pleads with public to 'do more' and stop creating a 'marketplace for the sale of trafficked human beings' to help victims of child sex slavery.

Jul 8, 2023

AceShowbiz - Mira Sorvino's heart aches for child sex trafficking victims. The Oscar and Golden Globe winner, 55, slams the cruel trade after filming her new movie "Sound of Freedom", which tells the true story of how federal agent Tim Ballard (played by Tim Caviezel) quit his job and risked his life to journey into the jungles of Colombia to try and save a girl from sex slavery.

Starring as Tim's wife in the film, Mira - who has been a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime with a focus on human trafficking since 2009 - told the Washington Examiner she was drawn to the film because she has "met so many child survivors and my heart burns for them."

But she added, "They all have the capacity to rebound. That is what I've learned over all these years of meeting all these tremendously brave and earnest and honest survivors is that they're all ready to take their lives back. All they need is for us to get involved enough to help them do it. Right now only 0.4 per cent of human trafficking victims are ever discovered and either rescued or exited themselves. We all have to do more."

Mira - who has two daughters and two sons with her 41-year-old actor husband of 19 years Christopher Backus - also called for an end to the commercialisation of sex, saying it creates a "marketplace for the sale of trafficked human beings."

She added, "If you buy it, you're creating that marketplace where traffickers bring their human wares to sell. The mind becomes more and more deranged. The appetite grows upon feeding, right? Addiction craves more and more depravity - in sex addiction. We just can't accept it anymore. We can't let sweet children of the world be exploited in this way and hurt in this way."

"Sound of Freedom" distributor Angel Studios has called for two million people to purchase tickets and attend the film in cinemas to represent the two million trafficked children across the world.

The company's president Jordan Harmon said the company believes the film "will not only be a movement for the world to end child trafficking, but hopefully help people understand that our mission is to tell stories that are going to impact culture."

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Movie

Filmmaker Robert Eggers discusses the lengths he has gone to make the Willem Dafoe-starring remake of the classic feature film about the blood-sucking human.

Jul 9, 2023

AceShowbiz - Robert Eggers is putting forth a maximum effort while making "Nosferatu". The 39-year-old director is sitting behind the lens for the new take on the vampire movie and is going above and beyond in tricky filming conditions in a bid to make the picture as good as it can possibly be.

"I'm trying to go beyond what I'm capable of. As always, it was a difficult shoot. Last night we were doing a scene on a ship with a lot of rain and waves, and the rain deflector, which tries to blow rain out of the lens, was breaking down and fogging. I spent the past several days working only with Russian sailors on a boat," Robert said to Empire magazine.

Eggers explained how his work on last year's historical epic "The Northman" stood him in good stead for the fresh take on the story that was first adapted for film in 1922 by German director F.W. Murnau.

He said, "I'm so happy to have made 'The Northman' first and to have learned what I learned. "When I think about the production plan of 'Nosferatu' that we had the first time around, I'm sure I would have somehow pulled it out of my butt, but it's hard not to imagine it being a failure."

The director collaborates with Willem Dafoe once again on the new movie and relished getting to work with the "Platoon" actor. Robert explained, "Willem's up for anything and he'll cut his arm off for the scene. He is a f****** pleasure to work with, he was in 'The Northman', he was in (the upcoming) 'Nosferatu', I hope I never made a movie without him."

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The COVID-19 pandemic has presented significant challenges for the cinema industry. As the sector embarks on a long journey towards pre-pandemic vitality, new strategic initiatives are being formulated for enduring success.



Leading digital cinema companies, UFO Moviez India Ltd. and Qube Cinema Technologies Pvt. Ltd., have announced, subject to necessary approvals, their intention to forge a transformative strategic alliance, proposing two 50:50 joint ventures aimed at bolstering industry recovery. One joint venture will be focused on the commercial monetization and marketing of the combined cinema advertising inventory, on behalf of UFO and Qube in India, and the other to oversee feature film mastering, localization and content delivery within India and Nepal.



Advertising Joint Venture Cinema advertising, currently a fragmented and duplicated market, has had limited opportunities for comprehensive market research, evaluation, and post-execution assessment. To meet this challenge and enhance services to the advertising community, the proposed joint venture will consolidate advertising inventory from both partners for on-screen, off-screen, and the mobile advertising of UFO's Caravan Talkies vertical.



The newly formed entity, once operational, will operate across approximately 6,500 screens, amplifying the visibility of in-cinema advertising as a key advertising medium. Leveraging a larger, unified Ad sales team, the venture will seek to broaden its reach and explore avenues, on behalf of UFO and Qube, for ad sales across various media. Content Services Joint Venture.



In an effort to streamline operations and increase efficiency, both UFO and Qube will jointly manage the business of mastering, localization as well as electronic and physical content delivery in a separate joint venture. This will significantly benefit the film industry as producers and distributors will have a single point of contact for their DCI and Non-DCI mastering, localization and content delivery needs in India and Nepal.With UFO and Qube sharing similar infrastructure, the joint venture plans to optimize these resources

over time to provide significantly superior services to the film industry.

Sanjay Gaikwad, Founder and Managing Director of UFO said, both UFO and Qube are in similar businesses, and thus have many similar processes and costs. Going forward, even as both companies continue to compete in the digital cinema market space, it will be our endeavor to optimize common costs and benefit from each-others best practices in the areas of the two proposed joint ventures. I strongly believe that this strategic alliance will lead to better services and market offerings to producers, distributors, exhibitors and advertisers, thus providing benefits to all stakeholders in the cinema value chain. A common advertising platform will provide significantly improved reach to advertisers and enable

faster growth going forward.



Senthil Kumar, Co-founder of Qube said, In forging this strategic alliance, we are responding with resilience and innovation to the unprecedented challenges our industry has faced in the recent past. I firmly believe that by harnessing the power of technology and combining our strengths, Qube and UFO can fundamentally transform the way we serve our industry stakeholders, including producers, distributors, exhibitors, and advertisers. Our unified effort aims to revitalize cinema, deliver more effective advertising platforms, streamline content delivery, and ultimately, foster growth and vibrancy in the industry. Technology stands at the heart of this transformation, enhancing our capabilities and

paving the way for a more efficient, responsive, and resilient cinema sector. Together, we can and will create a brighter future for cinema. The proposed strategic alliance between UFO and Qube aims to rejuvenate and reshape the cinema industry, providing comprehensive benefits to industry stakeholders. This move marks a significant step towards recovery and growth in the post-pandemic world. Khaitan & Co advised and acted as the legal counsel.
Maintaining its stance as a strong ally to the LGBTQIA+ community, Future Generali India Insurance Company Limited (FGII), celebrated PRIDE month in support to the community with a dazzling event and PRIDE parade at its offices across India.

The rainbow day was celebrated with a glittering event symbolizing the PRIDE flag amidst enthusiastic participation by the LGBTQIA+ community representatives. Partaking the grand celebrations were LGBTQIA+ icon Sushant Divgikar, a.k.a Rani KoHEnur, who also performed at the event and lead the PRIDE Parade along with senior officials and FGII employees. Other dignitaries who graced the occasion includes Dr .Trintera Halder, 26-year-old trans-woman, who earned the position of Karnatakas first trans-woman doctor along with Yogi and Kabeer, digital creators and the face of FGIIs Redefining Family Campaign.

Based on the theme of Assuring, Ensuring and Insuring Inclusion, FGIIs Pride Day celebrations included awareness sessions, panel discussions, and interactive workshops led by experts, LGBTQIA+ allies, and community leaders. As part of the event, the company also arranged a fireside chat and a captivating theater performance on inclusion and allyship at workplace within its premises. Additionally, there were engaging pop-up stalls by artists from the LGBTQIA+ community to enhance the celebratory atmosphere. An integral part of the festivities was a speech on workplace inclusion delivered by the renowned Corporate Speaker, Parmesh Shahani, also an award-winning author for his books on LGBTQAI+, an inclusion advocate and a DEI consultant.

Speaking on the occasion, Anup Rau, Managing Director, Future Generali India Insurance Company Limited, said, "We take immense pride in our unwavering support as allies of the LGBTQIA+ community, and we remain dedicated to upholding equality in all aspects of our work. At FGII, fostering inclusion across all sections of society and the communities we serve is a fundamental aspect of our 'Life-time partner' approach. We firmly believe in embodying the principles of DEI, and we consistently align our efforts with this vision, both within the workplace and in the products we launch. Our primary focus is to nurture a culture that values and celebrates differences, encouraging acceptance and providing an environment where individuals can thrive without any apprehension. Our dedication to this cause remains resolute, and we are determined to contribute to a future where inclusion is not the exception but rather the standard.

FGII is one of the few organisations that has embraced DEI not only as an employer but as an insurer. In addition to the celebratory activities, the company implements focused education, sensitization, and training programs throughout the year. Every aspect of the company's hiring processes, including application forms, job descriptions, and career website, reflects its commitment to being an equal opportunity employer.

Moreover, as an insurer, FGII proactively invests in comprehending the unique needs of individuals from the LGBTQIA+ community. Recognizing the importance of inclusivity, the company has expanded the definition of "family" across all its retail health products to encompass LGBTQIA+ community members, including live-in partners. This progressive approach reflects FGII's dedication to serving the diverse needs of its customers and creating an inclusive environment.
Jagran New Media, the digital arm of Jagran Prakashan Ltd., recently conducted the highly anticipated Jagran Badlav MSME Conclave 2023 on 3rd July at the Lalit, New Delhi. With the theme Think Big, Think Smart, the conclave concluded with insightful panel discussions and networking opportunities, providing a platform for knowledge-sharing and collaboration for the MSME sector.

With resounding success, the event brought together industry leaders, policymakers, experts, and entrepreneurs from the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector. Hosted by Jagran Business, under the wing of Jagran New Media, the first season of the conclave aimed to empower MSMEs to facilitate the role of the sector on a global scale.

Bharat Gupta, CEO, Jagran New Media, delivered a welcome address at the event to set the tone of the proceedings, wherein he shared his views on the vibrant milieu of the Indian economy and the projected growth of the MSME sector in India. He reiterated the significant impact of the MSME sector on Indias exponential growth and its contribution to overall employment generation for the country. He also highlighted that, as per the recent report released in March 2023, India's GDP reached 3.7 trillion dollars, overtaking the UK to become the fifth-largest global economy. The key contributors to this exponential growth are policies and frameworks that are based on Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, a pertinent DEI framework as summarised by the G20 nations.

The Hon'ble Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, Pushkar Singh Dhami, gave the message through a virtual medium, saying, "I extend my heartiest congratulations to the entire team of Jagran New Media for the first season of Jagran Badlav MSME Conclave. This initiative, in addition to strengthening the MSME ecosystem, would also pave the way for the success of the Atmanirbhar Bharat vision of the Government of India. Our nation is steering towards the goal of a USD 5 Trillion economy. However, without the support of MSMEs, attaining this growth wouldnt be possible. An initiative like Jagran Badlav MSME Conclave not only talks about the opportunities and equities but also sheds light upon the key challenges that should be addressed."

Dr. Kajal, IAS, Director in the Department of Promotion of Industry & Internal Trade (DPIIT), the Government of India, presented the keynote address on Enabling Start-ups and MSMEs with Business-Friendly Policies. She observed that the MSME sector is one of the fastest-growing sectors of the Indian economy and has resulted in large-scale employment opportunities in the country.

Bharat Gupta, CEO, Jagran New Media, sharing his excitement for the event, said, "It has been our endeavour to develop IPs that can serve as a platform for different sectors to come together and collaborate on an industry level. The Jagran Badlav MSME Conclave 2023 has offered MSMEs an opportunity to learn, network, and collaborate. Since MSMEs are rightly regarded as the growth engines of the Indian economy, it is imperative to acknowledge the growth our country has surpassed to become the 3rd largest economy in the world.

With over 1.64 crore MSMEs, the sector has generated 10.73 crore jobs, making it one of the largest employment sectors in the emerging Indian economy. However, one of the biggest challenges the sector is facing is the credit gap, and we are certain that with policies and equitable frameworks, publishers like ours can collaborate by empowering the sector with such platforms and supporting the ecosystem's growth. This is the major premise behind this holistic initiative aimed at bringing key stakeholders under one roof to create synergy and a favourable environment for the sector. These enterprises continue to play a vital role in India's economic growth, and we are certain that these conferences will help to advance the MSME agenda."

During the day, the interactive panel discussions covered a wide array of topics, such as Enabling Access to Finance for MSMEs in India, Growing Opportunities for MSMEs in India, Enabling Women Entrepreneurs, and Easing the Adoption of Digital Solutions for eCommerce and D2C Brands. Thought-stimulating conversations provided attendees with actionable insights and ideas to enhance their businesses. Some of the eminent speakers included Amit Bagga, CMO & Co-Founder, Daryaganj Hospitality, Rajiv Chawla, Chairman, Integrated Association of Micro Small & Medium Enterprises of India, Neeraj Singhal, President, Indian Industries Association, and Dr. Teena Sharma, National Advisor, Ministry of Micro Small & Medium Enterprises

The event featured a fireside chat between Geetu Moza, Consulting Editor, Jagran Business, and Ajay Thakur, Head - SME & Startup, Bombay Stock Exchange which was themed on the topic Opportunities for Raising Funds for MSMEs.

The first edition of Jagran Badlav Conclave 2023 was supported by the Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (M/o MSME) and the Uttarakhand Government. The MSME Financing Partner for the event was Godrej Capital.
Maybelline, a New York-based beauty brand, recently employed a unique and eye-catching strategy in London. They introduced massive, larger-than-life mascara wands that resembled the iconic King Kong, strategically placed throughout the city.

By incorporating these attention-grabbing installations, Maybelline aimed to generate buzz and intrigue among consumers. The colossal mascara wands served as a larger-than-life representation of the brand's commitment to enhancing eyelashes and creating dramatic eye looks. This unconventional marketing approach aimed to make a lasting impression and foster brand recall among potential customers.

While it is challenging to determine the immediate impact or success of such a campaign, these innovative strategies can contribute to overall brand awareness and engagement. Successful marketing campaigns often result in increased consumer interest, leading to potential sales growth and brand recognition. It's worth noting that Maybelline, as an established beauty brand, has already cultivated a significant presence in the industry.
Audible, a leading creator and provider of premium audio storytelling, has released a new Audible Original, Desi Down Under. Packed with adventure, romance and comedy, Desi Down Under follows three young Mangaloreans, who take their first trip abroad, training as lifesavers at the stunning Coogee beach in Sydney, Australia. This immersive 9-episode series features Prajakta Koli, Taaruk Raina and Adarsh Gourav.

Desi Down Under is directed by the multi-talented, award-winning RJ, actor and director Mantra Mugdh. The series has been written by Indian-Aussie Mithila Gupta, who has written for several renowned shows and films in Australia such as Home & Away. The series is created in a way that fuels Indian audiences wanderlust and encourages Indian youth to chase their dreams. The series is produced with 3D audio to make listeners feel like they too are on the adventure of their lives.

In conversation with Adgully, Mantra Mugdh and Mithila Gupta speak at length about the audio series Desi Down Under, the inspiration behind the series, how creators from India and Australia came together for this series, and more.

What was the idea that inspired you to write Desi Down Under?

Mithila Gupta: It started when Mala Sujan, the producer, approached me with an article about Partha Varanashi, a real-life hero who saved lives and arrived in Coogee to learn life saving techniques. His goal was to establish clubs and enhance safety infrastructure on the South Indian coast. Recognising the potential of the story to beautifully capture the culture clash and fusion of my two homes, I got inspired to work on this coming-of-age story of three misfits who find themselves on unfamiliar Australian shores.

What were some of the aspects you had in mind for this, which in turn helped you decide on the cast of Desi Down Under?

Mantra Mugdh: We were looking for voices of young India while casting for Desi Down Under. The three protagonists of the show are Meenu, Devan, and Rahul, who imbibe the resilience of the Indian youth, who want to take control of their lives and not be driven around by the norms of the society. And we found the perfect fit in Prajakta, Adarsh and Taaruk. Our Australian cast, on the other hand, was representing Sydney in all its glory. Thanks to our casting director in Sydney, Jyotsna Sharma, we found the most amazing bunch of Aussies who have brought the show alive.

Mithila Gupta: The main goal was to find a cast who will connect with the audience. I wanted to give people a chance to travel to Australia with people they can relate to, but also people that they admire.

What was your experience working with the fan-favourite creator Prajakta Koli and actors Taaruk Raina and Adarsh Gourav, who are loved by Indias youth?

Mantra Mugdh: Prajakta is a darling and a wonderful actor. I was pleasantly surprised by her prowess behind the microphone. Taaruk is my kid brother, we have worked on many projects together in the past and his charm is irresistible. My experience with Adarsh was very fulfilling for me as a director, because I couldnt have asked for a more committed actor who lived the character every minute like it was the only thing he wanted to do.

Mithila Gupta: Since they recorded in India and I live in Sydney, I could not be a part of their creative process in-person. However, I did have multiple chats with them on Zoom, and with the support of our director, Mantra and Audible, I think all of them did a fantastic job!

Working with so many actors with great fan following, what made you switch to an audio format rather than a video?

Mantra Mugdh: Audio has always been my medium of expression. I have been associated with radio/ audio for over 2 decades now and I find an audio studio to be my haven. I call this medium a blind mans television. While I am enjoying my stint as a performer on video and stage, audio will always be a place where I will be most comfortable.

Mithila Gupta: When I got the opportunity to pitch my slate to Audible, we spoke about Desi Down Under. Although I had always imagined it as a TV series, I was convinced that we had to adapt it as an audio series after my conversation with them. It is such an immersive experience because Mantra flew all the way to Australia to capture the essence of the country in his binaural microphone, elevating the experience so much so that when the characters are drowning, we feel like we are.

What makes Desi Down Under different from the other podcasts?

Mantra Mugdh: Desi Down Under is the first ever Inter-Continent audio series. Creators from two countries have come together and brought alive this amazing series. I have travelled to Sydney to record the sounds and ambience of the city. Never before has an audio series been produced with such an extensive production value. The story by Mithila Gupta, the performances by our wonderful actors, and the sound design by team MnM make Desi Down Under a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Mithila Gupta: Its a lot of work putting a podcast together  massive respect to all the creators out there! For me, our point of difference is that Desi Down Under is culturally very specific  and authentic. It looks at a real fusion of Indian and Australian characters told by someone who has lived amongst, and identifies as both. Its the first such podcast collaboration between the two countries, which I am so proud of!

Where do you think the podcast industry is headed?

Mantra Mugdh: Its a great time to be a Podcaster. I am enjoying creating some of the most loved shows in the audio industry and I have a feeling in the coming years, podcasts and audio shows will become a part of peoples daily lifestyle.
Anant Maheshwari, the President of Microsoft India, has resigned from his position and will be leaving the company to pursue other interests. Microsoft has confirmed his departure and expressed gratitude for his contributions to their business in India.

Maheshwari, who held high-level positions at companies like Honeywell and McKinsey & Company, joined Microsoft in 2016.
An incredible show of never seen before photographs and human narratives are all set to reveal a phenomenal story of women empowerment playing out in India's carpet capital - Mirzapur, thanks to India's oldest carpet manufacturers - Obeetee.

Fate Lines - How the Thread Changed the Destiny of Mirzapur's Women by journalist and photographer Kounteya Sinha will open privately on July 10 in the hallowed portals of Delhi's Bikaner House after which it can be viewed by the public till July 13.

This incredible repertoire of 65 phenomenal photographs unravels sensational stories of women from the hinterland - the heart of Uttar Pradesh - who fought societal norms and patriarchal practices to come forward and work against all odds - changing the social fabric of the region. None of these women had even stepped out of their homes till 2017. This was the result of a path breaking programme initiated by Obeetee in 2017 which has now seen a 400% increase in women taking up the art of carpet weaving.

In a rare rebellion of sorts to become the breadwinner of their families - unable to make ends meet with a single income of their husbands, these women decided to step out, learn the ancient art of carpet making and have now become the torch bearers of a changing society. Obeetee has till now trained nearly 1800 women under the programme from various regions of Mirzapur.

Data has shown that the majority of their earnings are being spent in sending their children to school and higher education when they themselves are mostly illiterate.

Incidentally, many of these women were part of the team that just recently created a record of sorts - to dress up India's most iconic bastion of democracy.

As many as 900 weavers from the districts of Bhadohi and Mirzapur working for Obeetee spent a whopping 10 lakh man hours to carpet India's New Parliament building - both the houses of the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha.

These women with incredible personal stories hand crafted 158 carpets for the Lok Sabha and 156 for the Rajya Sabha before stitching them into a single carpet in the form of a semi circle to sync with the architecture of each of the Houses spread across 35,000 square feet of area.

They used the laborious and ancient art of hand knotting to create the magnificent masterpieces. The intricacies of the workmanship is so grand that as many as 120 knots per square inch were woven to create the carpets - amounting to over 600 million knots approximately in total.

Rudra Chatterjee, Chairman, Obeetee said "We at Obeetee have been committed for nearly a decade now to work alongside women in their quest to become skilled artisans producing fine hand knotted rugs. We have trained nearly 1800 women in the art of carpet weaving and all of them are now active weavers. Their example is important - to become self-sustainable and financially independent. Their dedication and hard work at display during this program makes us proud".

Sinha who spent weeks on the field discovering the stories of these women said "Till 2016, the women of this region were relegated to a life of anonymity and isolation - their destiny doomed there. But suddenly in 2016, women started going against their families - a rebellion of sorts and wanted to have an identity of their own. Some came forward and volunteered how to make carpets. Word spread like wildfire in all the surrounding villages and women after women started coming out. Today over 1800 women have become master craftsmen for Obeetee weaving the most exclusive carpets. The repertoire of photographs that have been taken by my team of photographers - Rajendra Mohan Pandey, Nilayan Chatterjee and Snehadeep Das will unveil to the world the invisible life of Mirzapur's women weavers who have greatly benefited from Obeetee's path breaking programme giving them a life of dignity and self worth".

The legacy of carpet weaving in Mirzapur dates back to Emperor Akbar himself. As the story goes, Emperor Akbar, known to be a connoisseur of beautiful things, had an exceptional fondness for carpets and decided to bring the finest Persian artists and weavers to India, nearly five centuries ago. During that journey, when they reached Gopiganj, a small town in modern Uttar Pradesh, their caravan was attacked by bandits. The weavers that survived that slaughter took shelter in villages around that area, making Mirzapur - the Mecca of carpet weaving.

Increasing India's female labour force has been a priority for Prime Minister Narendra Modi. According to him, empowering a woman is empowering a nation, especially true for a country like India where 2 out of 3 women are not employed. Modi recently made a clarion call to ensure more women are given the opportunity to become financially independent. According to him, women empowerment is crucial to India's growth. He said that days of seeing women as homemakers have gone, we have to see women as nation builders.

Obeetee was founded around 103 years ago by three British entrepreneurs, soon after World War 1 - the name of the company resembling the initials of their three names. Today, Obeetee has become the most venerable address for the world's finest and most intricate carpets and rugs - working with over 20,000 artisans of the region

According to ILO data, Indias female labour force participation rate in 2021 was lower than the world average at 25.1%. Prime minister Modi has set the government a target to increase it to a 50% female workforce by 2047.

According to the World bank, no country can develop and achieve its full potential if half of its population is involved in non-economic activities. It is estimated that women in India contribute 17% of the national GDP, as against the global average of 40%".

Angelique Dhama, CEO, Obeetee Retail says "We are proud to have a gender-neutral workforce that recognises the skills of both men and women equally. At Obeetee, we provide the same high-quality weaving training to both men and women, and the results speak for themselves. All our weavers are exceptional at what they do, showcasing their individual sense of color and aesthetics. In the past, when women entering the workforce was not as common, Obeetee took the initiative to provide these women with opportunities for financial independence and moral support. By empowering women, we have greatly contributed to their personal growth".

Gaurav Sharma, Managing Director of Obeetee says when he joined the carpet industry nearly two decades ago, he was amazed to find that there were hardly any women weavers in the workforce. "This was partially because weaving was traditionally taught to boys and not to girls. But most crucially, it was because of the rigid patriarchy that governed village life. To me personally, this was untenable. As I began to understand village norms, I realised that because they considered it improper to sit in close proximity to men who were not from their family, women would never be able to work on commercial looms".

That was when Obeetee thought of a program to train women weavers. "It was not purely altruistic. We were facing a worrying attrition in the weavers workforce with many of them migrating to the city in hope of a better life. What we did see was that when these men left, the women were left behind in the villages. These women were smart, had a desire to work, needed the money but had no opportunity. Thats when we started the women weavers training program. It was not an easy journey when we started the program. Even though we were offering free training along with a stipend, women were not coming forward to learn. We had to work hard to convince the elders in the village to let/encourage women to come forward. We decided to provide an attached creche to make it easier for young mothers to come forward. Once the first few training centres became successful, the program took off," Sharma said.

Most of these women can tie up to 9,000 knots a day, so intricate that it ranges from 15 knots to 300 knots per square inch, sometimes taking a year's laborious work.

Several such carpets adorn India's greatest residential address - The Rashtrapati Bhawan - one of which measure over 450 square metres and contains a whopping 100 million intricate knots.
Samsung, global No.1 television brand for 17 years, has added Indian contemporary artwork to the art store of its lifestyle TV, The Frame, which is a TV when its on and art when its off.

To bring these beautiful contemporary artworks to its consumers, Samsung has collaborated with Terrain.art, a blockchain-powered online platform that aims at building a global ecosystem underlining the best art practices from South Asia.

Available on all The Frame TV models, the collection of artworks from Terrain.art has been added to the existing art store that offers more than 2100 artworks. Created by young Indian artists, these newly added artworks are a contemporary take on Indian monuments, folk art, textile traditions, diversity and more. Made with bold brush strokes, vibrant colours, and carefully drawn lines, the artworks present the themes of ecology, futurism, migration, and hope, etc. expressed in a variety of artistic languages.

Designed with customisable bezels and slim edges, The Frame TV lends a luxury aesthetic appeal to consumers living rooms by offering a real-life art gallery-like experience at home. Its matte display and accurate exhibition of colours allow consumers to enjoy fine detail of the art pieces with sheer precision.

Along with the expression and medium of art, the way art is displayed has also been transforming. With The Frame TV, we have revolutionised the way art is brought alive in living spaces or art galleries through digital display. The Frame TV allows consumers to display their favourite art, which looks incredibly real on the screen and elevates the design quotient of any space. The QLED technology that powers The Frame TV delivers brilliant picture quality for an immersive in-home entertainment experience. Our collaboration with Terrain.art is a demonstration of our vision of bringing together art lovers, and local and global artists via technology, said Mohandeep Singh, Senior Vice President, Visual Display Business, Samsung India.

Expression of art has evolved over the years, with todays artists gladly embracing innovation to showcase their work. They are not daunted by the change, they are in fact thrilled because technology has made it possible and easier for artists to reach a wider audience and be a part of a larger creative community. By partnering with Samsung, a leader in the global television industry, we strive to make Indias varied art forms adorn the homes of every individual. It is a beautiful way to showcase the rich culture and heritage of our country, and an outstanding blend of art and technology, said Aparajita Jain, Founder, Terrain.art.
Will Metas Threads be a Twitter killer? Experts feel its too soon for an epitaph

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How mid-size and independent agencies are cracking creative ideation

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Rediffusion turns 50, and celebrates its golden

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Building and maintaining brand authenticity in the digital era

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"Entrepreneurs should be passionate but not overly emotional about their venture"

In conversation with Adgully, Ajay Shetty, CEO, Salud Beverages, speaks about his entrepreneurial journey, the core business proposition of Salud Beverages, latest trends in the alcobev industry, challenges as well as learnings, and more.

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PIL in Delhi HC challenges new online gaming rules

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How Lenovo India tapped into the 'Brave New Art' to connect with GenZ

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For the Gen Zs, nothing is aspirational, everything is achievable: Experts

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Tapping emerging tools & technologies to increase marketing efficiencies and ROI

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WPP today opens a creative powerhouse in the North of England with its new Manchester Campus, signalling its ambition to invest in the city and grow its business outside London.

The move strengthens the companys 30-year-long presence in the city and unites 550 people from long-established WPP agencies in Manchester  EssenceMediacom, Cheetham Bell, Code Computerlove, Wavemaker, Cloud Commerce Group and Kinetic  as well as agencies new to the area: Ogilvy Health and VMLY&R Health.

The modern, 67,000-sqft office space was designed by BDG architecture + design, a WPP company, and is split over eight floors to provide collaborative and dynamic co-working areas for the agencies which have grown significantly in the last five years.

The campus has put inclusive design at its heart to meet the evolving and diverse needs of its people, including flexible workspaces that reflect WPPs continued focus on mental wellbeing. It boasts three double-height social hubs with feature stairs, additional accessible toilets and dedicated mothers rooms. The building also includes a roof terrace with views across the city, as well as a cafe, bar, and business event space. Sustainability is at the centre of the renovation  as it is for all new WPP campus buildings  and the Manchester Campus is targeting a BREEAM rating of Excellent.

The Manchester Campus will also serve as a catalyst for growth in the local community. Through partnerships with organisations like The ScaleUp Institute, WPP plans to support and foster small businesses in Manchester, providing them with opportunities to collaborate and grow alongside its agencies. The campus will also partner through a variety of volunteering opportunities with local community groups such as The Trussell Trust and Mustard Tree, who are dedicated to addressing food waste, and preventing homelessness and poverty respectively.

Mark Read, CEO of WPP, said: Our Manchester agencies have achieved significant growth and success, driven by the extraordinary talent and dedication of our people. It is their accomplishments that have paved the way for the creation of this new state-of-the-art campus. Manchester is a thriving creative hub and it has always been our intention to invest in a campus that would bring our agencies together in the city. This move further demonstrates our commitment to facilitate collaboration, fuel creativity, and give clients access to the breadth and depth of WPP talent in one location.

Karen Blackett OBE, UK President of WPP, said: "Manchester has always been a city brimming with growth and creativity and we wanted to be at the heart of that. The city is also home to a beautiful fruit salad of people and we need to reflect that in our organisations in order to generate growth. We are thrilled to see this vision come to life and become an integral part of the vibrant Manchester community."

Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer added: WPPs new campus, bringing together the innovation and talent of its agencies, will help to solidify Manchesters status as one of the UKs most successful creative powerhouses.

Building on these clusters of excellence across the country is at the heart of the governments plans to maximise the potential of our world-leading creative industries.

Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, said: Were really pleased to see WPP strengthen its presence here in our city-region with the opening of a major new site in Manchester. This campus is another testament to our international competitiveness and showcases our ability to attract world-renowned businesses and world-class talent. The presence of WPP, along with other industry giants, is helping to transform the economic landscape of Greater Manchester and support a growing success story.

Cllr Bev Craig, Leader of Manchester City Council and GMCA Economy Lead, concluded: WPP has played an important role in Manchesters creative economy for many years now, and this new Manchester Campus is a clear signal of their intent to grow that contribution even further. Our city-region is increasingly being seen by investors and global businesses as a place that offers the connectivity, the talent, and the partnerships that they need to grow and thrive, and that in turn supports our vision for a Greater Manchester that provides good jobs and opportunities for all.

To mark the official opening of the new campus, Mark Read and Karen Blackett will host an event attended by the Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham; Leader of Manchester City Council and Greater Manchesters Economy portfolio lead Cllr Bev Craig; and WPP clients, senior leaders, partners, and local community leaders.

The new Manchester Campus is WPPs 36th campus globally, forming part of the companys plan to have 85% of its people in campuses worldwide by 2025.
Federal Department of Foreign Affairs

Bern, 08.07.2023 - The memorandum of understanding between Switzerland and Pakistan signed on 8 July in Islamabad by FDFA head Ignazio Cassis in the presence of Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif aims to improve the prevention of and response to natural disasters in Pakistan, a densely populated region that is particularly vulnerable to climate change.

Following back-to-back visits to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, FDFA head Ignazio Cassis travels to Pakistan on 8 and 9 July at the invitation of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

The visit underscores Switzerland's strong solidarity with the country following the worst floods of the century in 2022. Climate change poses a significant challenge for the entire South Asian region: Pakistan is experiencing rising sea levels, increasingly intense monsoon rainfalls and accelerated melting of glaciers. The MoU signed this morning aims to foster increased collaboration, particularly by pooling resources, knowledge and experience in disaster risk management.

After Switzerland's assistance in 2022, the head of the FDFA made a further commitment to Pakistan in January 2023 at the UN conference on flooding in Pakistan in Geneva. On that occasion, Federal Councillor Cassis expressed his desire to sign an MoU for closer cooperation with Pakistan on disaster risk management as soon as possible.

Geopolitical weight

Given the geopolitical situation in the region, Pakistan is facing a number of crises, including the influx of migrants. The visit to Islamabad provided an opportunity to address these and other issues, such as climate challenges, investment in infrastructure, respect for religious minorities, the development of tourism services and scientific cooperation. Together with the Minister for Climate Change, Sherry Rehman, the Swiss delegation analysed the consequences of the 2022 floods and took a closer look at the state of rehabilitation work. Finally, in the Pakistani capital, Federal Councillor Cassis was able to hold talks with a number of political and business representatives.

Economical weight

Switzerland and Pakistan share a long history of diplomatic relations. Following the 1965 war between Pakistan and India, Switzerland represented the interests of both nations on a reciprocal basis.With a population of over 230 million people, Pakistan is the world's fifth most populous country and possesses untapped economic potential.

In Karachi tomorrow, the head of the FDFA and his delegation will have the opportunity to meet the regional authorities of the dynamic province of Sindh. The Federal Councillor will visit Swiss companies based in Karachi and will hold talks with their managers at a dinner organized with the Swiss Business Council.

In addition to the members of his official delegation, Mr Cassis is accompanied by National Councillors Greta Gysin (Swiss Green Party/Ticino), Elisabeth Schneider-Schneiter (The Centre/Basel-Landschaft) and Christian Wasserfallen (FDP.The Liberals/Bern).

Address for enquiries

Nicolas Bideau

Head of FDFA Communication

Tel. +41 79 667 69 15

nicolas.bideau@eda.admin.ch



or



FDFA Communication

Tel. +41 58 460 55 55

kommunikation@eda.admin.ch

Publisher

Federal Department of Foreign Affairs

https://www.eda.admin.ch/eda/en/home.html




Answering to the claims made by Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray that Eknath Shindes chief ministerial post may be in jeopardy and he is asked to resign from CM post, Shindes Shiv Sena veteran leader said, Shinde would be CM in 2024 too.

Aaditya is making all baseless claims and trying to gain media headlines his predictions are childish said the Shiv Sena veteran.

His guesses on changes in the government comes as reports emerged of trouble brewing in the Shinde camp over fears of being sidelined by the BJP and Pawars elevation. Ajit Pawar currently shares the deputy chief minister post with BJPs Devendra Fadnavis.

Ajit split the NCP as he joined the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance and took oath as the states deputy chief minister for the fifth time. Later, Shiv Sena (UBT) factions Sanjay Raut announced that around 20 MLAs from Shindes faction were in contact with his party since Ajits rebellion.

Aaditya even stepped up his attack against Shinde by saying that Mumbai was facing water-logging from the first monsoon rains as nine municipal wards are without Assistant Commissioners (Ward Officers).

Adding that Mumbais infrastructure had completely collapsed, he accused the Shinde government of playing favourites, Aaditya wrote, Gaddars have chosen their favourite junior officials not from the AO cadre to run their corrupt will in the ward, under obligations. Mumbai is facing dual robbery under the khoke regime, loot of its money and reputation.
A special court in Mumbai has granted bail to former NCP MLA Ramesh Kadam in a case of misappropriation of funds in the Sahityaratna Lokshahir Annabhau Sathe Development Corporation (SLASDC) of the Maharashtra government.

Kadam, however, will not be released from jail as he is an accused in another case. He has been in jail since 2015.

His bail in the SLASDC case was granted on Friday by special court judge RN Rokade. The order was made available on Saturday.

The SLASDC was set up with the objective of providing financial aid for the uplift of backward classes. Kadam was the chairman of the corporation, when he in collusion with other accused, hatched a criminal conspiracy and misappropriated its funds, the prosecution said.

Kadam and other accused created false documents and illegally siphoned off and misappropriated amount to the tune of Rs 3,30,00,000.

Based on the information, Parbhani police had registered a case under the Prevention of Corruption Act against Kadam and others.

The main case in connection with the scam was registered at the suburban Dahisar police station in 2015.

The court, in its order said, notably Kadam has been granted bail by the Bombay High Court in main offence registered with Dahisar police with similar allegations and similar set of offences.

Till date, the prosecution has not preferred appeal against the high court order, it said.

Having regard to the entire gamut of the circumstances, including the applicant was enlarged on bail in main offence registered with Dahisar police station and long incarceration in custody without trial, I am of the considered view that this is a fit case to enlarge the applicant on merit, the court noted.
You proceed a certain distance through the Clotilda exhibition at the brand-new Africatown Heritage house thinking the curators have done a great job telling the whole story. And then you hit a stark, deliberate reminder that in reality, the whole story is much bigger.

Before you get to the first public display of Clotilda artifacts, you get a lot. You get a general history of the transatlantic slave trade, and a lot about the notorious voyage that brought 110 captives into slavery in Alabama shortly before the onset of the Civil War. You enter a room lined with documents such as property deeds and marriage certificates, providing insight into the struggle of Africatowns founders to establish and maintain their unique community.

At one end of this room sit a couple of binders for visitors to flip through, providing information on every known Clotilda survivor. Turning the pages, its easy to think, Theyre all here.

But at the other end of the room, a sheet of clear material over a depiction of some of the survivors tells a different story. Engraved upon it are the names of the known survivors, many of them featuring multiple African and English names: Kazoola/Kossola/Kossula/Cudjo Lewis, for example. And below all those names appears the word unknown, over and over, row after row, more than 70 times in all.

A detail from an exhibit in the Africatown Heritage House. The exhibit lists the known survivors of the slave ship Clotilda's final voyage -- and all those whose names and stories remain unknown.John Sharp | JSharp@AL.com

The unknowns outnumber the named survivors nearly two to one. This comes as no surprise to those with a personal connection to the story, or to those whove studied it deeply. Its well known that the captives carried aboard the Clotilda were split into groups and given or sold to different owners. Its well known that only a fraction of them stuck together in the Mobile area and joined in the creation of Africatown after the war.

Theirs are the names passed down through history, theirs are the stories shared among descendants. Had this community never been formed, or had it not endured, they too would be unknown.

But to see it this way spells out a shocking truth: Everything youve ever heard, read or seen about the Clotilda survivors and the community they founded originates from about a third of the prisoners carried on that voyage. Theres an immediate sense of loss, from the stories that may never be told. But theres also hope that theyre not all lost forever.

Meg McCrummen Fowler, director of the History Museum of Mobile, speaks at the dedication of the Africatown Heritage House on July 7, 2023.Lawrence Specker | LSpecker@AL.com

There is research thats ongoing, and as that research moves forward, this exhibit will grow and change as we learn more, said Meg McCrummen Fowler, director of the History Museum of Mobile. Thats one of the interesting things that reminds us that this is a living, active, growing story. We dont know all the names but more are being researched and discovered.

Speaking to descendants and dignitaries at a Thursday night reception at the History Museum of Mobile, Fowler described the opening of the Heritage House as a moment of culmination. And it certainly is that, coming after years of effort. But the deliberate decision to include all those unknowns shows that Fowler and the others who put the exhibition together know the job isnt done.

Thats an insight that resonates with descendants and their supporters.

The work does go on, said Jeremy Ellis, president of the Clotilda Descendants Association, said Friday after a dedication was held for the facility. He said he suspected that an upcoming book from Hannah Durkin may identify more survivors. (The book, The Survivors of the Clotilda: The Lost Stories of the Last Captives of the American Slave Trade, is due for January release, according to publisher HarperCollins.)

Ellis toured the Heritage House with other descendants on Thursday, and at the reception that evening he paid it the highest praise.

The Heritage House had been praised by the U.K. arm of National Geographic as one of the best new museums to visit in the United States in 2023, he said, and I am here to confirm that that statement is true.

When I tell you than it is the most beautiful, thorough, well-done exhibit that Ive seen  you all just have no idea, he said on Thursday. I had the pleasure of taking my four-year-old daughter and letting her embrace that moment.  Shes going to grow up knowing that story. Shes going to grow up telling that story. And shes going to tell it the way its told in that exhibit and the way that we are going to continue to tell that story.

There are places in the nation where people are trying to rewrite history, to take it away, Ellis said. We are the memory keepers and it is us, the descendants, who have to protect this story as memory keepers, he said. As memory keepers we have the opportunity to tell the story from our own narrative and thats what were going to continue to do and thats exactly what the Clotilda exhibit does.

Ellis noted another feature of the roster of unknowns in the Heritage House. Its accompanied by an audio loop of voices reading out the names and all the unknowns. Its hard to miss the significance of one unknown spoken by a child. Many of the captives were children.

Those arent random voices, Ellis said. Theyre members of the community. Thats another way the story is being told by the descendants, he said.

Altavese Rosario, vice president of the Clotilda Descendants Association, speaks at the dedication of the Africatown Heritage House on July 7, 2023.Lawrence Specker | LSpecker@AL.com

Its beautiful, said Altavese Rosario, vice president of the Clotilda Descendants Association, of the exhibition. I am proud of the work that went into it. By viewing the exhibit you see that it was a labor of love. You see the personality of the ancestors. The way that it was laid out, the way that the staff was intentional in what was shared, how it was shared, where it was shared in such a way that not only succinctly told the story of the 110 but told in it a celebratory way, in a humanizing way, in a way that was honorable. So I am moved.

Theres still more work to be done, Rosario said. It lets not only visitors know, but it lets the staff and those involved know that we have to continue, that this is just the beginning of the work.

To me, for me, listing unknowns says that Meg and her team share in the responsibility of continuing to do the work, she said. They didnt have to draw attention to the lost survivors but chose to do so. They took the intentional next step, Rosario said.

Between the reception on Thursday and the dedication on Friday, Mobile County Commissioner Merceria Ludgood was repeatedly singled out for her guidance and persistence in making the Heritage House a reality. As much as anyone involved, she has the right to enjoy the satisfaction of a job done. But at Fridays dedication, she rejected the notion that this moment of culmination was any kind of a stopping point.

Mobile County Commissioner Merceria Ludgood speaks at the dedication of the Africatown Heritage House on July 7, 2023.Lawrence Specker | LSpecker@AL.com

This is more like a kick-off, she said, as Fridays festivities wound down. This hopefully will be a catalyst for the rest of the work we have to do.

She sees it as a job with two strands. One involves infrastructure, such as the Heritage House and a new Africatown Welcome Center that is being designed.

Parallel to that has got to be the community revitalization, Ludgood said, and that means housing, among other things. We have got to bring people back, she said. The future of this community lies in our ability to rebuild from the inside out.

Rosario said she thinks the Heritage House will promote that effort.

This is a tiny but mighty exhibit, she said. You will leave with not only a greater sense of connectiveness to this community, but to your own family, especially as an African American. This exhibit not only tells the story of the 110 but it tells an American story. An American story that, fortunately, was never forgotten. It was not overlooked. You will leave the exhibit saying to yourself, I want to know more. And hopefully you will look for more, hopefully that will bring you back to the community, hopefully that will give you a desire to want to dig into the community, to look into avenues in which you can support the community and just come alongside and be a cheerleader for the community.

The Africatown Heritage House officially opens to the public at 10 a.m. Saturday, July 8; however, all available tickets have been reserved. Absolutely no one will be admitted on July 8 without a pre-booked, timed ticket, according to organizers of the days activities, which include a free Community Day celebration from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the adjacent Robert L. Hope Community Center.

The Heritage House will reopen for normal operations on Tuesday, with plenty of openings throughout the week. Admission is free for Mobile County residents. For full information including online ticket purchases, visit https://clotilda.com/.

Related:

Africatown Heritage House opening: Public events, festivities to know about

Their history is all our history: Mobile dedicates Africatown Heritage House honoring Clotilda slave ship

Worries over Clotilda owners artifacts surface ahead of Africatown Heritage House opening
Tracy Chapman has made history as the first Black woman with a sole songwriting credit on a No. 1 country hit after Luke Combs cover of Fast Car topped Billboard charts.

More than three decades after Chapmans Fast Car dropped as the first single of her eponymous debut album, the song is making a comeback. Fast Car drove to the top of Billboards Country Airplay chart when Combs released a cover of the 1988 folk-soul hit, which tells the harrowing story of a woman trying to escape poverty and create a life different from the one shes always known.

Combs cover also reached No. 2 on Billboards Hot 100. Its the first pop cover to top the country charts in 15 years; Blake Sheltons country rendition of Michael Buble's Home was the last to reach the top spot.

Chapmans original release settled at No. 6 on the Hot 100. At the 1989 Grammys Awards, Chapman took home three trophies, including female pop vocal performance for Fast Car, contemporary folk recording for Tracy Chapman and best new artist. Fast Car also was nominated for record and song of the year, while the debut album received a nomination for album of the year.

The songs success decades later is also momentous for monetary reasons. Combs version has generated more than $500,000 in publishing royalties globally since its March 17 debut, according to a Billboard estimate. And Chapman, the sole songwriter and owner of the publishing rights, is raking in a significant portion for a surprise payday 35 years after the song originally dropped. According to Billboard, most of the royalties stem from the more than 154 million U.S. on-demand audio streams from music apps including Spotify and Apple Music. Fast Car also surpassed 6 million video streams and 28 million programmed audio streams in the United States.

I never expected to find myself on the country charts, but Im honored to be there, Chapman told Billboard on Thursday. Im happy for Luke and his success and grateful that new fans have found and embraced Fast Car.

Combs 2023 rendition landed on the L.A. Times list of the 40 best songs of 2023. L.A. Times music critic Mikael Wood wrote, Tracy Chapmans late-80s folk-soul hit has been remade over the last three decades as a bouncy reggae tune (by Wayne Wonder), a mumbly art-rock confession (Xiu Xiu) and a gleaming tropical-house banger (Jonas Blue). Combs, the Carhartt-clad country star, sticks to Chapmans original arrangement  not to mention her lyric about working at the market as a checkout girl  in a welcome showcase of his muscular singing and her detailed storytelling.

Combs decision to remake the song for his latest album, Gettin Old, stemmed from sentimental memories from his childhood. Before performing the song at a Pittsburgh concert in May, Combs told the crowd that he was living in Charlotte with his parents and that his dad had a 1988 Ford F-150.

It was probably the cheapest model you could get. I dont even think it was four-wheel drive, and I remember it had a cassette player in it, he said in a video shared to Instagram. Me and my dad would ride around and listen to all sorts of things.

He played me all kinds of music and one of the first songs that I remember hearing, he popped a cassette in, and I loved this whole album. ... But there was this one song that really stuck out to me. It was called Fast Car. That song meant a lot to me since then  for my whole life. I always think about my dad when it comes on and us spending time together.

As soon as I could play guitar, I tried to learn how to play this song, and it took me so long to learn how to play it cause I was so bad, he continued. Last year, I got to record my own version, and about a month ago, I got to put it out.

Last year, Combs won entertainer of the year for the second year in a row at the Country Music Awards.

2023 Los Angeles Times. Visit latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
State lawmen conducted four traffic death investigations and responded to six boat crashes during July 4 weekend, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said Friday.

There were also no drownings during the holiday period, designated by ALEA as 12 a.m. June 30, through 11:59 p.m. July 4, said Secretary Hal Taylor.

The four traffic deaths investigated by state troopers marked a 50 percent decrease from July 4 weekend 2022, according to the agency.

Our Troopers did outstanding work this holiday period, conducting numerous high-visibility details and safety initiatives, Taylor said in a statement. We will continue to promote public safety throughout the state on both Alabamas roadways and waterways in order to reduce crashes and save lives. Even though four fewer lives were lost this Fourth of July travel period compared to last year, our goal is always zero. We must remember that we all can do our part to help make the roadways and waterways safe for everyone.

The traffic fatalities occurred in Perry, Tuscaloosa, Mobile and Houston counties. Of the three drivers who died in the wrecks, two were not using seat belts. The fourth death was of a person riding an ATV.

Troopers with ALEAs Marine Patrol Division investigated six boating crashes resulting in four injuries on Fish River, Intracoastal Waterway, Lake Wedowee, Smith Lake, Wilson Lake and Wheeler Lake.

The six crashes were two fewer than July 4 weekend 2022.

Once again, two of ALEAs DPS Divisions partnered with local, state and federal agencies to promote safety, said ALEA Department of Public Safety Director Col. Jon Archer. Marine Patrol joined the U.S. Coast Guard, Alabama Department of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries and other agencies for Operation Dry Water, a national year-round boating under the influence (BUI) awareness and enforcement campaign. They conducted safety check points, saturation law enforcement patrols, vessel inspections and increased night patrols looking for violations that may indicate the presence of an impaired operator.

Troopers with the Highway Patrol Division also teamed up with local, state and federal first responders for the national safety initiative Drive Sober of Get Pulled Over, a program aimed at combatting DUI offenses.

ALEAs Aviation Unit partnered with authorities in Gulf Shores and Orange Beach to respond to swimmers in distress and other incidents on Alabamas beaches.

ALEA pilots responded to two such requests, although both swimmers were rescued before the aircraft arrived on the scene.

The aviation unit flew 12 beach safety flights during the holiday.
Authorities are searching for an Albertville man who they said did not resurface on Friday after trying to rescue a dog at Lake Guntersville. The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency identified the man as Jeffrey S. Abston, 65.

Few details have been released, but ALEA Sgt. Jeremy Burkett said Abston left a pontoon boat at about 8 p.m. on Friday to help rescue a dog in the water and never resurfaced. The incident happened in the South Sauty area of Lake Guntersville, near Robert Davis Road in Jackson County.

Troopers with ALEAs Marine Patrol Division responded and are working with local agencies in a search and recovery effort. Assisting are the Jackson County Sheriffs Office, Jackson County Rescue Squad, Cherokee County Rescue Squad, Langston Fire Department, Scottsboro Search and Rescue, and Guntersville Rescue Squad.
A federal judge has denied a request by Alabama death row inmate James Edward Barber for a preliminary injunction to block his execution by lethal injection.

Barbers execution is scheduled for a 30-hour period that starts on July 20. He would be the first inmate put to death in Alabama since Gov. Kay Ivey called for a pause in executions last year.

U.S. Chief District Judge Emily C. Marks of the Middle District of Alabama ruled Friday that Barber failed to show that his execution by lethal injection would violate the 8th Amendment prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment. Marks held a hearing in the case Wednesday. Barber testified remotely by video from Holman Correctional Facility. Barber based his claims on problems Alabama has had establishing intravenous connections on its last three scheduled executions.

Barber asked the court to bar the state from executing him by any method other than nitrogen hypoxia. But Marks wrote that Barber failed to request nitrogen hypoxia during a time when the state allowed condemned inmates to make that choice in 2018. The Legislature approved nitrogen hypoxia executions in 2018, but the Alabama Department of Corrections said it is not ready to carry out the procedure, which has never been done in any state.

Barber offers no authority for his request that the Court order his execution by a method he did not elect, and thus has waived, under Alabama law, Marks wrote. Further, even if the Court were to order that Barber could only be executed by nitrogen hypoxia, such an order would effectively stay his execution for an indefinite period since the Defendants are not prepared to conduct executions by this method. Thus, for all intents and purposes, Barbers motion for preliminary injunction operates as a motion to stay his execution.

Barber was sentenced to death in 2004 for the murder of Dorothy Epps in 2001. Barber beat the 75-year-old woman to death with his fists and a claw hammer in her home in Madison County.

This story was corrected on July 8 to say that the Legislature approved nitrogen hypoxia in 2018, not lethal injection, as the story said earlier..
Hundreds of people, including small businesspersons and individuals, who invested their hard-earned money in an online pyramid scheme, lost all they scraped together as yet another massive Ponzi scheme has gone bust in Zimbabwe.

An online Ponzi scheme called E-creator hogged the limelight after its founder vanished, allegedly, with over US$1 million a few days ago.

A few people who got in on the ground floor made the incredible rate of return promised by the founder, being paid from the next batch of people who joined, but as the number of those joining had to grow faster and faster the scheme, as do all Ponzi schemes, ran out of new people.

According to sources, hundreds of people invested their hard-earned money on the promise of huge monthly returns from the promoters before realising that they had been sold a dummy.

In a statement issued to clients on Wednesday, E-creator said the companys founder Zhao Jiaotong, had fled with peoples savings.

Whether Zhao exists is a moot point, as no one appears to have ever seen him or her and since the scheme was accessed from EcoCash accounts, it is unlikely that anyone could have built up a holding of more than the EcoCash limit of US$20 000.

But those putting out the wanted notices still believed he was real.

Owing to his departure, E-creator was forced to close. He has more than US$1 million on him. If you find him at the airport or on the border road, you will get back the money you lost. Let us all find him and get back the money that belongs to us, the companys employees said.

Anyone who joined E-creator was called an employee and the requirement to become a VIP 1 employee was just US$15 and by the end of the month, this money would purportedly increase to US$50.

For one to become VIP 2 employee, a minimum of US$100 and a maximum recharge of US$500 was required while VIP 3 employees needed a minimum of US$500 to get US$2 000.

It was mandatory to invite a minimum number of people to join the e-company in order to upgrade an account.

The drama started last Friday when people started facing challenges withdrawing money from E-creators accounts to their EcoCash accounts.

Some who had climbed in on the ground floor and had already got their money back with some more were still happy. But the majority, those whose payments had funded both the initial group and Zhaos US$1 million, were mourning following the spectacular collapse of the ponzi scheme.

I bought my welding machine, two drills, a grinder, compressor, an iPhone using money from E-creator. Now l want to register my company with money from E-creator and do other things using proceeds from E-creator  Mr Simbarashe Garagada said.

Recognising that the scheme had collapsed, Mr Garagada said it was a matter of taking risks but he was aware that it would end in tears for some.

This was predictable. I sacrificed US$100 during the first days and got huge returns. I am only left with a few cents in my account, he said.

However, Mr Wellington Mugadza will always rue the day he decided to join E-Creator.

Im not even sure where Im going to obtain the US$100 from. I had hoped that my finances would improve and I could get a drivers licence, he said.

Another employee who preferred to be anonymous said: Zhao Jiaotong must face full wrath of law. This is unacceptable, we need real investors.

Mr Tinashe Masakadza, another employee, said he was unperturbed about the recent developments as he was another of those who had already made a profit.

I am not a dull a person. This is gambling so you must know how to play your cards. In any pyramid scheme, you must invest during its infant stage.

A Ponzi scheme is a form of fraud that attracts investors by promising high returns with little to no risk.

New investors bring in money which pays dividends, or other types of payments, to existing investors.

In 2021 , at least 10 000 people who fell prey to fly-by-night pyramid schemes within the last year have filed police reports across the country after being swindled of over US$30 million by scammers, who snatched the cash and skipped the border.

Gullibility has seen families selling houses, vehicles and other properties to invest in pyramid schemes, an old trick used by scammers as far back as the 1920s.

It is not clear how those who were ensnared into the scheme and eventually lost out failed to pick up anomalies in presentations by E-creator officials.

For example, there were promises of them getting monthly payments of over US$2 000 per month via the EcoCash platform, depending on the amounts invested, when it is common cause the monthly limit for EcoCash withdrawals is US$2 000 which can only be accesed in four transactions of US$500 each.

There are even doubts whether the Chinese national, Zhao, exists and whether he indeed had US$1million in the companys EcoCash account because presently, one cannot hold more than US$20,000 in an EcoCash wallet.

Two people identified as Justin Kuchekenya, who is said to have claimed to be the chief executive of E-creator and one Abraham Mutambu, are said to have conducted interviews in the build up to the scam.

Maybe these two know the whereabouts of Zhao, if he or she really exists.

Ponzi schemes are named after the Italian swindler Charles Ponzi who while living in North America in the 1920s was promising 50 percent profit in 45 days or 100 percent in 80 days on discounted postal reply coupons. The scheme collapsed in a year with US$20 million siphoned out. He was continually using the new money coming in to pay off old investors while taking a handsome slice himself, before he ran out of people. In the end every Ponzi scheme must collapse, when the number of needed new investors is greater than the population of the earth. Herald
The day after the family demanded to see the bodycam footage, the Mobile Police Department called its own press conference to release the transcript of the 911 call that occurred just before police encountered Jawan Dallas, a 38-year-old man who died after being shot twice with a police taser.

Ive got somebody trying to get in the trailer, break in on us. Me and my girlfriend, the caller said to the 911 operator, according to the transcript.

That call came from a trailer park on Carol Plantation Road. The 911 operator then asked if the man was a stranger. The caller said the man was a homeless guy that hangs around over here at the trailer park and sometimes would act crazy. The caller described the person as a Black man in a red shirt and wearing a hat.

Mobile Police Chief Paul Prine told the media on Friday that patrol officers then went out on a call of burglary in progress. But the Dallas familys attorney, Harry Daniels, said Thursday that police instead found Dallas about 100 yards away from where the call came from.

The 911 caller said his home was located at lot 33. Later in the call, the caller said the man started walking down the road toward lot 27. The officers immediately went to lot 27, police said. Between lots 27 and 28, they met two individuals. One was Dallas, who was seated in a car, according to police.

One of the individuals complied with the officers and gave the officers his identification card, Prine said on Friday. The second individual was identified as Jawan Dallas, who was sitting in the drivers seat of a vehicle. The officers inquired several times for Mr. Dallass identification card. He continued to evade the question, did not give the identification card to the officers.

Officers were concerned for their safety, police said, due to Dallass strange movement in the car.

He was moving to the backseat with his hands, he was reaching under the vehicle, and these are cause for concern for safety matters of the officers, Prine said.

Prine said Dallas was later found to have drugs  crystal methamphetamine and analog marijuana, also known as spice.

Were not here to disparage Mr. Dallas, but I do think its important to know. It may give some indication as to why he certainly attempted to flee and fight, Prine said. But he is a convicted felon. And I think its important to note, at the time, Mr. Dallas had two active probation revocation warrants for his arrest.

Daniels, the Dallas familys attorney, said on Friday he believes police did not act within the law and sees inconsistencies in Prines account.

Mr. Dallas was not homeless at all, Daniels said in response to the police press conference, adding that Dallas was at the trailer park that day because he was visiting one of his friends who lives there.

After recounting the previously released details of the incident, Prine also said Dallas made it known to officers after he was handcuffed that he has asthma and said he couldnt breathe several times. Police said they laid him on his back to ensure his airway was clear and called Mobile County EMS. He was transported to Providence Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.

I do think its important to note this: that from the time this to Dallas was handcuffed to the time he had his medical emergency was approximately 21 minutes, Prine said.

The family and the familys attorney have said eyewitnesses saw police beating Dallas, but Prine said the autopsy saw no evidence of any bruising, any contusion, or any evidence of blunt force trauma. Daniels disputes Prines claim that this did not occur.

Dallas is African American, and bruising, especially if the person is deceased, may not be there, Daniels said.

Police on Friday released the transcript of a second call from the trailer park to 911 that requested they send another police cruiser because police may need backup. They have had to wrestle one subject to the ground and tazed them, the caller told the dispatcher.

The Dallas family held a press conference Thursday asking for the city to make available the bodycam footage of the encounter so they can see what happened.

A family member hugs Christine Dallas, the deceased Jawan Dallas's mother, after a press conference on July 6.

Daniels also told AL.com on Friday that it was not lawful for police to detain Daniels just because he was in the area.

Even if officers suspect you have committed a crime, you only have to provide your name, your address, and why youre there, he said. It specifically excludes having to give an identification card because (...) some people dont have IDs. Some people dont have a drivers license.

Prine cited the holiday weekend for the delay in providing more information to the public.

We have given you a lot of detailed information, a lot of times that we dont necessarily give, but again, this press conference was designed solely for the purpose to quell misinformation, Prine said. Fridays press conference was announced less than an hour in advance.
A woman was killed Thursday night in Madison County when she was struck by three vehicles while walking on U.S. 231, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said.

Ruby A. Dawkins, 34, of Toney, was pronounced dead at the scene. The multi-vehicle crash happened about 8:49 p.m. near the 343 mile marker, about one mile north of Meridianville.

According to ALEA, Dawkins was first struck by a 2013 GMC Yukon driven by Monique L. Jackson, 47, of Meridianville.

After the initial crash, Dawkins was struck by a 2020 Mitsubishi Outlander driven by Anthony S. Owens, 50, of New Hope, and a 2015 Nissan Altima driven by Journey S. Castillo, 20, of Harvest.

ALEAs Highway Patrol Division is investigating.
An Alabama minister who is the half-brother of the Rev. Al Sharpton was sentenced to two and a half years in federal prison on tax evasion, mail fraud and drug conspiracy charges, prosecutors said Friday.

Kenneth Cherden Glasgow, who also used to go by Kenneth Sharpton Glasgow, pleaded guilty to the crimes in February 2023.

Glasgow, a 58-year-old Dothan minister, founded two nonprofit organizations called The Ordinary Peoples Society and Prodigal Child Project.

He solicited donations from other nonprofits and foundations and told those organizations and the IRS that the donations would be used for charitable purposes, according to Montgomery federal prosecutors, who cited court documents.

But Glasgow instead withdrew more than $407.000 in cash from the accounts of one of the nonprofits in 2018, using the funds for his own use.

He was required to report the funds as income on his tax return once he used the money on personal expenses, prosecutors said, but he did not even file a return that year.

Instead, Glasgow provided erroneous information to his tax preparer, which led the preparer to complete tax forms for the nonprofits that vastly underestimated their income and omitted financial benefits Glasgow received, prosecutors said.

From 2016 to 2019, Glasgow withdrew more than $1.3 million in cash from TOPS and PCP and never accounted for the money on the groups IRS forms or on his personal taxes.

He also mailed documents contained false statements to the Social Security Administration so he could continue receiving Social Security disability and related health benefits under Medicare and Medicaid.

The statements described his physical abilities and daily activities as being very limited, despite reporting that he worked 50 to 60 hours per week for his nonprofits on the nonprofits IRS forms, prosecutors said.

He also claimed to have severe physical limitations that made it difficult for him to drive, even though he admitted leasing a vehicle using the nonprofits funds and listing himself as the sole authorized driver.

Glasgow received traffic citations during 27 different traffic stops between February 2015 and August 2020, with all the citations showing Glasgow as the driver, according to prosecutors.

His sentence also included a charge for conspiring with codefendant William Frank Peterson, also of Dothan, to possess cocaine with intent to distribute.

Peterson pleaded guilty to his involvement in the drug conspiracy in March.

According to Petersons plea agreement, Glasgow agreed to buy cocaine from Peterson in 2018 and 2019.

Peterson is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 2.

Updated on July 10 to correct the length of the sentence.










English News Jiangsu continues supporting technological innovation of industries

Alwihda Info | Par peoplesdaily - 7 Juillet 2023



Last year, the province's total R&D investment reached 330 billion yuan ($45.55 billion), and the number of invention patents owned by every 10,000 people in the province stood at 41.2. Besides, there were more than 37,000 high-tech firms in the province.

By He Cong, Yao Xueqing, People's Daily Chinese President Xi Jinping on July 6 inspected the Purple Mountain Laboratories and NARI Group Corporation in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu province, to learn about the progress in making major scientific and technological breakthroughs, developing advanced manufacturing clusters and promoting high-quality development.



Over recent years, Jiangsu province has accelerated the implementation of the innovation-driven development strategy, promoted in-depth cooperation among enterprises, universities and research institutions, strengthened the construction of major sci-tech and innovation platforms, and supported top scientists to lead original and pioneering sci-tech research, so as to break through bottlenecks in key and core technologies and ensure that key areas and links can fall within its own hands.



The Purple Mountain Laboratories is a major sci-tech innovation platform jointly built by Jiangsu province and Nanjing in 2018. It focuses on the basic and frontier research of future internet and endogenous security. It gathers over 1,000 researchers and has achieved a series of world-leading results in future internet, B5G/6G communication and cyber security.



Recently, the facility developed a batch of core cyber technologies, including the world's first major breakthrough in wide-area deterministic network system.



"We will keep our efforts to advance original and pioneering sci-tech research," said Liu Yunjie, academician with the Chinese Academy of Engineering and director and chief scientist of the Purple Mountain Laboratories.



Apart from the Purple Mountain Laboratories, Jiangsu province has built a series of other major innovation platforms such as the Suzhou Laboratory and the Taihu Laboratory of Deepsea Technological Science.



Last year, the province's total R&D investment reached 330 billion yuan ($45.55 billion), and the number of invention patents owned by every 10,000 people in the province stood at 41.2. Besides, there were more than 37,000 high-tech firms in the province.



Jiangsu will give full play to its advantages as a hub of sci-tech institutions and a strong industrial province, to strengthen innovation in all links including basic research, technological breakthrough, as well as outcome translation and commercialization, concentrate its strength to strive to make major breakthroughs in core technologies in key fields, and build itself into a center of technology with global influence.



Dans la meme rubrique : < > World's first desert rail loop injects vitality in southern Xinjiang's economic, social development China's H1 foreign trade hits record high "Seniors' classrooms" bring better cultural life to elderly in SE China's Fujian province Pour toute information, contactez-nous au : +(235) 99267667 ; 62883277 ; 66267667 (Bureau N'Djamena)
For conservatives, Democratic infiltrations of state agencies to swing coming elections represent an immediate threat. But another infiltration accomplishes similar ends by longer-term means: creating "Trauma-Informed Schools" for teachers to shape children's personalities by instructing them to locate past trauma in problems like racism, sexism, and even climate change  problems that only big government can solve.

Today this project is spreading through schools, pushed by nonprofits with funding from the Biden administration for "social and emotional learning" but also with the encouragement of state agencies under the gaze of Republican-dominated legislatures. Nowhere has it spread faster than Missouri  a state with two Republican U.S. senators, three fourths Republican U.S. representatives, a fully Republican Executive Branch, and Republican congressional supermajorities. Considering this political lineup, Missourians might be forgiven for thinking they'd exempted themselves from leftist educational doctrine. But they'd be wrong.

On August 26, 2020, as schools reopened in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) issued this apparently unexceptional memo from Assistant Commissioner Blaine Henningsen:

The Department ... has partnered with Alive and Well Communities to provide additional guidance documents, training sessions and engagement strategies for educators regarding social-emotional learning and development ... [as] administrators are welcoming back students and staff members who may have experienced unprecedented trauma due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Judging by Assistant Commissioner Henningsen's background, which includes 31 years as a teacher and superintendent in the 15,000-person city of Carthage, he's probably not a wellspring of progressive dogma. Neither is M. Rene Yoesel, who is listed on the memo as the contact for further questions: she is the coordinator of school counseling at the Department and a former Republican candidate for the Missouri House of Representatives. But theirs is the Education Department, which partnered with Alive and Well Communities  a Missouri-based nonprofit which describes its mission as

re-orienting the trauma-informed movementto recognize the trauma caused by racism ... [since] healing is possible only when we understand and acknowledge how trauma, including the trauma of anti-Black racism and white supremacy, are holding us all back from well-being.

Theirs is also the Department that commissioned Alive and Well to deliver a report titled "The Missouri Model for Trauma-Informed Schools," characterizing trauma off the U.S. Department of Health's Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) definition as

resulting from 'an event, series of events, or set of circumstances that is experienced by an individual as physically or emotionally harmful or life threatening and that has lasting adverse effects on the individual's functioning and mental, physical, social, emotional, or spiritual well-being.'

This definition, which makes trauma completely subjective, is not the accredited psychological definition, which makes diagnoses dependent on clinically determined traumatizing events  e.g., sexual assault or military combat. As mainstream psychologists and even center-left commentators have pointed out, it's a manual for priming children to be frightened of the world at large based on prognostications of racism, sexism, climate change, et al. What's more, even casual reports from inside schools suggest that teaching based on this definition disrupts lesson plans, loosens discipline, doesn't solve violence, distracts administrators, comes between parents and children, and diminishes student learning. But if Assistant Commissioner Henningsen and Coordinator Yoesel aren't pushing this redefinition, where is it coming from?

A hint of the answer comes at the end of Alive and Well's "Trauma-Informed Schools" report, which notes that it was issued in response to a request from both the Department of Education and the Missouri Trauma Roundtable. Looking closer at the Roundtable brings out the source of the state's trauma focus. The Roundtable was created by the Missouri Department of Mental Health as part of its push to build "a trauma-informed Missouri" after Democrat Jay Nixon entered the governor's office in 2009. Longtime director of the Department of Mental Health's Children's Clinical Services Division and Trauma and specialist Dr. Patsy Carter envisioned the use of "a variety of governmental agencies" to "embed mental health in the natural environments children are already in"  e.g., schools. A special mental health focus would be trauma: "one of the major public health issues of our times," which "is enmeshed with some of our biggest social issues and challenges."

Already, this use of trauma was expansive: employing "a variety of government agencies" to "embed mental health" in schools for trauma prevention sounds a lot like having unelected administrators supplant teachers and school boards in the name of a "public health issue" that until recently hadn't been considered one. But it hadn't yet slipped beyond standard psychology: the DMH's website, for example, includes a link to a video about trauma narrated by Dr. Carter that uses trauma's clinical definition. Nonetheless, in practice, this definition quickly disappeared in practice  thanks to Alive and Well.

Founded in 2014 and benefiting from the focus on race after the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Alive and Well joined the Trauma Roundtable alongside venerable local organizations like Catholic Family Services and newer local nonprofits like the St. Louis Regional Health Commission. From there, it entered into a partnership with the Department of Mental Health to work toward creating a "trauma-informed" state. But its major break into schools came after 2016, when Democrat state representative Genise Montecillo  a former teacher who spoke openly about her 2015 suicide attempt, which she said was driven by traumatic childhood experiences  introduced a trauma-related amendment to a Republican-sponsored bill. The amendment, which passed along with the bill, instructed the Department of Education to establish the "Trauma-Informed Schools Initiative," providing information to schools about what it means to be trauma-informed  a move also supported by a state panel of academics, non-profiteers, and administrators appointed by Governor Nixon to issue a report on Michael Brown's death.

In 2017, the Trauma-Informed Schools Initiative was launched by the Department of Education in partnership with the Department of Mental Health. The next year, the Trauma Roundtable and the Department of Education asked Alive and Well to draw up a guidance document for the process, "The Missouri Model for Trauma-Informed Schools," which defines trauma as encompassing any life event, and ties it especially to race. Since then, the state has allocated 33 Trauma-Informed School Liaisons to spread the message. The Education Department commissioner, Nixon appointee Margie Vandeven, has lent the project her public support and mentioned that signs of trauma have also emerged among teachers. The process of trauma-proofing both students and teachers has been speeded by the pandemic, seeded by memos like Assistant Commissioner Henningsen's. And in 2022, Alive and Well estimated that it had reached more than 3.6 million students. Most recently, in 2023, it announced a merger with the St. Louis Regional Health Commission to continue its work, now under the heading of remedying health disparities affected by or effecting trauma.

Opponents of this indoctrination have strong arguments on their side. Though programs like these may sound benign, they create trauma where there is none and push political agendas at the expense of kids. They also serve to empower academics, administrators, and non-profiteers  people exempted from the feedback loop of classrooms and voting booths  and make parents, teachers, and students into passive recipients of these operators' wisdom. When Alive and Well feels comfortable advertising by featuring a picture of "members of the Kansas City Public Schools community assess[ing] their progress in moving through the stages of change outlined in the Missouri Model for Trauma- Informed Schools," the bureaucrats aren't serving the community so much as the other way around.

Still, arguments aren't enough. Political action is needed. In Missouri, as in some other states, recent legislation gives local schools boards more control over what schools teach, which Governor Mike Parsons has used as a reason not to engage with the problem. But school boards don't determine the materials state agencies send out, the policies they reinforce, or the people who lead them. So there's work for state politicians to do. Republican legislators can stop the Departments of Education and Mental Health from partnering with Alive and Well, they can pass a bill repealing their own Trauma-Informed Schools legislation of 2016, and they can hold hearings on trauma-informed education's spread. Finally, state officials like the attorney general can investigate whether Alive and Well's racially centered instruction violates the Equal Protection provisions of the State constitution.

But Missouri, like Texas and other Republican-led states, is dominated by a split between more and less establishment Republicans, and the former tend to dismiss questions about education content as "culture war" rhetoric. Really, these questions are anything but rhetorical  they get at who has the power to shape children's view of the world and how those practitioners use it  and establishment legislators need to recognize their stakes. If Democrats succeed in pushing their worldview into schools, part of the blame will be on Republican state legislatures and officials who are letting progressive infiltrations go unchecked.

Matt Wolfson is an ex-leftist investigative journalist and writer; he blogs at Oppo-Research.com and tweets @ex__left.

Image via Pxfuel.
On July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress voted to approve the Declaration of Independence that established separation of the colonies from England. The Declaration did not establish new rights but simply re-affirmed the old rights that all Englishmen had under law. The rights of the colonials were already codified into English law. The Crown and Parliament were ignoring those rights and, through government force, were actually curtailing them. The Colonials were only fighting to keep their rights for themselves and their descendants.

In the Middle Ages, England was moving away from centralization of government toward limited government and more personal freedom. In 1100, the Charter of Liberties forced restrictions on the power of King Henry I of England, while the Magna Carta, one hundred years later, codified the principle that the king and his government were not above the law, with the barons being on an equal level with the king. Law was established as a power in itself.

Though more powerful English monarchs simply ignored the Magna Carta, several of its provisions became the basis of English common law, including the writ of habeas corpus. Our founders included this fundamental right in the Constitution in Article I, Section 9 to protect against unlawful and indefinite imprisonment.

When civil war erupted in England in the 1600s, the Parliament expelled the king and forced the new monarch, William of Orange, to sign the English Bill of Rights. It was essentially the English Bill of Rights, which Jefferson later incorporated into the Declaration. When Jefferson listed the various rights that King George III had violated, he was following this same English tradition implemented by the Parliament and adapting the abuses to American circumstances.

After establishing in the preamble the basis for the existence of government followed by the enumeration of the Crown's violation of these rights, the Declaration states, "These United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do."

The colonies would become "Free and Independent States," equal to the State of Great Britain, and free to form their own governments. They were not bound together as a nation, but "unified" solely for the purpose of defending themselves against invasion by the British. Jefferson used the term "united States," or the "States united"  always with a small "u." The united colonies became "FREE AND INDEPENDENT STATES."

The Declaration of Independence simply established the secession of thirteen colonies from Great Britain, each of which would form its own "nation." The free and independent states ultimately formed a "union" under the Articles of Confederation and later the Constitution. Neither the Articles of Confederation nor the U.S. Constitution of 1787 changed the relationship among the states as new states were admitted.

The Constitution, ratified in 1788, would delegate only specific enumerated powers, dealing primarily with defense, foreign commerce, and regulating trade among the several States. The insistence by the states that all other powers were to be "reserved to the States respectively" was acknowledged in the 10th Amendment of the Constitution  the Bill of Rights. The thirteen states created their own nations and went forward to become a plural "union," not a singular "nation" under the Constitution.

Prior to the defeat of the South, the people of the united States would refer to the union in the plural, as in "the united States were" or "the united States are" rather than "the United States is" or "the United States was."

With the South's defeat in 1865 the right of independent states as recognized in the Declaration of Independence to "alter," "abolish," or "throw off" a government  secession  was no longer recognized. The central government was now deemed all-powerful, no longer restricted to only the seventeen specific powers under Article I. The "parent" government has moved from London to Washington, D.C.

In the Gettysburg Address, Lincoln stated that "a new nation" had been conceived in liberty, an inference that the United States had been created as one centralized nation rather than a union of thirteen independent states as our Founders intended. Lincoln's statement that "this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom" signaled that America as founded, with limited government and states' rights, was now a powerful centralized government.

Image: JSMed via Pixabay, Pixabay License.
After the failures of the Paris Riots of '68, the collapse of the USSR's socialist economy, the collapse of the Berlin Wall, the spectacle of the Tiananmen Square massacre, and the reign of both Thatcher and Reagan, the left was at a loss, to say the least. To quote Mao and Roger Kimball, the long march through the institutions had to begin.

Recognizing the judgment of these historical events, the Marxist left knew that it would have to change strategies. Instead of attacking the republic's economic structure head on, leftists would flank it by obliterating any notion of truth, coherence, goodness, and other Western ideals, even beauty. The left retreated deep inside academia and deep inside cultish, paralyzing theories of radical relativity: deconstruction and postmodernism. It is a strategy of mutually assured destruction: if we can't have it our way, no one gets it his way, either.

It worked: cancel culture has hounded many into silence. Gripped by the new relativity and the prohibitions against celebrating Western culture, a professor in Michigan recently confessed that she won't claim that any writing or photo is "beautiful" because such assertions are acts of Western violence. In the arts, such cynical energy has been percolating in our culture for 100 years[1] but has recently emerged to spread everywhere. Literary critic Myra Jehlen was taken aback in 1980s to find that her job was now reduced to the following: "strip away the lie and expose the liar" (Jehlen 1987, 5). At that point, the grand masters, such as Hemingway, Emerson, Thoreau, and Shakespeare, were all being frog-walked off the dead-white-male plank. The attack on Western culture generally, and men of European descent specifically, was underway.



Classic beauty has been under attack for over 100 years, since the early 20th century. Photo of Giovanni Battista Lombardi (18231880)'s "Nymph." Photo printed here with permission of Bruno Bordoni. See also Marcel Duchamp's "Fountain" (Marcel Duchamp, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons). The cynical attack on beauty and Western culture in the art world is now embraced by the left as it corrodes the dignity and importance of Western art, thought, and culture.

The left needs crimes, bad news, and demoralization, even when problems aren't there. Jussie Smollett had to make it up! The left needs to be the hero in an imagined, righteous narrative where leftists endlessly expose the crime and the criminal, with a raised fist in the air. It's a dangerous and hollow psychology of denigration and mayhem. As Marxist Terry Eagleton put it, "the true image of the future is the failure of the present" (Eagleton 2011, p. 79).



Via Stonetoss, reprinted with permission.

With the old economic attack failing, Marxism turned to a new approach. The assumption is still that capitalism must be destroyed, but this time, the indictment is over cultural crimes against the environment, against people "of color," and against women (the list has gotten longer). Old Marxism could attack all of Western culture on the "systemic" economic front. This new approach was fragmented until it was yoked together with "intersectionality." Translation: Everyone is equally oppressed by capitalism. Like any revolution, they still needed a spark, and along came George Floyd. Then we had cities burning, statues torn down, the institutions of law and jurisprudence mocked, riots, looting, etc. Much of this took place in the summer of love at the urging of Pelosi, Harris, and other female leaders such as the mayor of Baltimore, who provided rioters "space to destroy," and the A.G. of Massachusetts, Maura Healey, who noted, "Yes, America is burning, but that's how forests grow."

This is fuel for the left. During the riots of May 2020, one recalls Don Lemon on CNN declaring that violence is patriotic:

Our country was started because, the Boston Tea Party. Rioting. So do not get it twisted and think this is something that has never happened before and this is so terrible and these savages and all of that. This is how this country was started.

Violence and rebellion have been "normalized" by the left. The idea that the country's political and social DNA is oppositional at its core ignores the peace, stability, and individual responsibility at the heart of the Constitution. With the Declaration, the country declared a principled opposition and rebellion. The Constitution set the course for normalcy.

We are always being tested and retested to see if we accept every new progressive idea, every new variant of COVID, mask type, lockdown restriction, every baseless trial, raid, indictment or impeachment, every new gender definition, every new take on sexual deviance ("minor-attracted person" is now coming forward), speech and language mandates, drag queen reading hour, gun restrictions, gas stove restrictions, E.V. car mandates, every massive taxation and redistribution scheme, every new end-of-the-world theory on climate or race, etc.



Via Branco, reprinted with permission.

Since this initial phase has been primarily a war fought in the linguistic arena, there's always a new word du jour identifying an evil culprit to fight, to be outraged about: "privilege," "homophobia," "Islamophobia," "xenophobia," "transphobia," "TERF," "patriarchy," "imperialism," "colonialism," "the (white, straight) man," "phallocentric," "logocentric," "Anthropocene," "me too," "hierarchical," "whiteness," "ableism," "ageism," and many more. It never stops for two reasons. Firstly, they never know which one of the attacks will have traction. Secondly, they believe that the sheer volume of accusations bolsters the credibility of their charges.

Previously, these antics were tolerated on the margin, and in the main, dismissed as grad school nonsense emanating from English departments. However, the virus jumped the laboratory safeguards, and these energies have made deep inroads into all of culture.

One of the weird characteristics of those who declare themselves "in the resistance" is that they do so even when they control all branches of government, plus the press, academic institutions, intel agencies, corporations, and social media. If you're in control, running the whole show, how does that make you feel you are in, or need to be in, the "resistance"? Seems contradictory, odd, and Orwellian as hell. It is easy to understand, however, when one understands "resistance psychology." Since the fist in the air gesture is about bringing down The Man, you can never be The Man. As Kimball put it in The Long March: How the Cultural Revolution of the 1960s Changed America, "[t]he behavior of the `revolutionaries' of the counterculture consistently exhibited that most common of bourgeois passions, anti-bourgeois animus ... expressed, as always, safely within the swaddling clothes of bourgeois security." As Allan Bloom remarked in The Closing of the American Mind, "'the bourgeois' need to feel that he is not bourgeois" (9). Even when you're in charge, even if you're The Man, the fist must remain thrust in the air. Mao, Stain, Castro  all kept wearing revolutionary, military garb after they were in charge.

So why all this focus on tearing things down? If people can be subdued and demoralized; if we can get them to stop believing and hoping, stop longing for beauty, then, to quote John Lennon, there will be nothing to kill or die for. And further, to quote the WEF, you will own nothing and be happy.

We fall apart gradually, then suddenly.
In the annals of "careful what you wish for," wokester Ben & Jerry's ice cream company has stepped forward.

According to the Daily Caller:

Ben & Jerry's marked Independence Day on Tuesday by tweeting that the U.S. should "commit to returning" land to Native Americans. In response, Don Stevens, chief of the Nulhegan Band of The Coosuk Abenaki Nation said his tribe would be willing to take back the land currently owned by Ben & Jerry's, according to Newsweek. "We are always interested in reclaiming the stewardship of our lands throughout our traditional territories and providing opportunities to uplift our communities," Stevens told Newsweek in an interview. However, Stevens added that Ben & Jerry's has not approached him with any offers to return the land back to his tribe. Stevens' tribe is part of the Nulhegan band which formerly controlled a large portion of New England. When the Europeans moved onto their land, the band was infected with diseases that forced them to move to what is now Canada, according to Newsweek.

Ben, Jerry, hand it over.

The obnoxious, virtue-signaling original tweet was described in detail by AT deputy editor Andrea Widburg three days ago here.

She noted that it was an empty gesture, given that they had no intention of giving their own land back, and most likely would lead to a consumer boycott.

My instant response was, "You go first." I can guarantee you that not a single person at either Ben & Jerry's or Unilever (which occupies land the Romans stole from the Celts, the Anglo-Saxons stole from the Celts and Romans, and the Normans stole from the Anglo-Saxons; plus all the English theft from the Scots, Welsh, and Irish) is planning on giving up the land that they personally occupy or the land on which their various businesses sit. This is empty virtue-signaling. The Twitterati, of course, not only recognized the vapidity of the tweet but also suggested that anyone else who doesn't want leftist politics with their ice cream seek out other, better products.

But it was more than just that own-goal for them.

The Native American tribe whose land Ben & Jerry's owns and operates on would like a word, too.

Naturally, the company had nothing to say when asked by reporters.

That is quite the hypocrisy  calling on all America to give its land back, but keeping its own from the Indians who have an actual claim to it?

Spoon it over, fellas, or else eat your words.

That pretty well puts this wokester company squarely with another group of woke New Englanders who had been called to put their money where their mouths were  the wealthy hypocrites of sanctuary state Massachusetts, who were presented with a slew of flown-in illegal aliens from Texas, courtesy of Florida's governor, Ron DeSantis, and who promptly responded by busing them out to get them off their island.

That's some sanctuary state they've got there  with every state out there called on to condone open borders, while the Massachusetts enclave remains safely off limits to mass illegal immigration.

They say one thing to scold the rest of us and virtue-signal their virtue, calling for impossible policies out of white liberal guilt  and then, when called on the carpet, do another.

Let's hope this Indian tribe creates lots of problems for them until they can learn to develop a nuanced and practical view of the world and learn to live by the standards they would impose on others.

Image: Logo via Wikimedia Commons (border added), fair use.
Early Friday morning (8:30 A.M. EDT), the U.S. government's Bureau of Labor Statistics released its report for June 2023 with its good news: "Employment continued to trend up in government, health care, social assistance," and bad news: "Employment continued to trend up in government, health care, social assistance, and construction" dichotomy. In other words, thanks mainly to government expansion and its hunger for workers, paid for by constantly increasing taxes and constantly increasing government debt, unemployment remains at 3.6%, where it has more or less been since March 2022. Other than that, hiring slowed more than anticipated, with 209,000 jobs added rather than the 240,000 expected.

Whoops!

Responding to the report, President Joe Biden (D) crowed:

This is Bidenomics in action: Our economy added more than 200,000 jobs last month  for a total of 13.2 million jobs since I took office. That's more jobs added in two and a half years than any president has ever created in a four-year term... That's Bidenomics  growing the economy by creating jobs, lowering costs for hardworking families, and making smart investments in America.

O-o-h, presidents create jobs, not entrepreneurs, optimistic business people. Now I get it. Do you? Bidenomics = more government; higher taxes for diligent workers plus open borders.

In response to the June 2023 labor report, the stock market initially wavered at the opening, but eventually, all the major indexes closed slightly down. As did the rate for the U.S. 10-year Treasury note. As did the U.S. dollar index.

But gold prices shot up. So thanks, but definitely no thanks to President Joe Biden (D) and his Bidenomics.

And buy gold before the price increases even more!

Image: White House.
It didnt get much play in the American press, but something significant happened in Holland: The Dutch coalition government collapsed. This is the same government that sought to seize 30% of Hollands farms in the name of decreasing nitrogen and slowing climate change. The opposition to destroying Hollands agricultural sector was a significant factor in Hollands March elections and is an ongoing problem, but outlets such as the AP and the New York Times want everyone to know that anti-immigrant right-wingers are the sole problem in Holland.

Last summer, people began to be aware of something very peculiar going on in the Netherlands: The government was waging war against farmers. Hollands farmland is one of the great wonders of the world, for the industrious Dutch, over the centuries, laboriously created this land from what was once salt water from the Atlantic Ocean and Zuiderzee. This led Holland to become the worlds second-largest exporter of agricultural food products. It is, in other words, one of the bulwarks against world famine.

Hollands gift to the world didnt matter to a government invested in the climate change fraud. It announced that the country had to reduce its nitrogen output by 30-70% to comply with EU dictates. This would require confiscating up to 30% of Hollands farms, especially the ones with livestock. Adding insult to injury, the Dutch government planned to use the confiscated land for asylum seekers (i.e., illegal immigrants).

Image: Dutch farmers protest the government. Twitter screen grab.

The Dutch farmers responded to this plan with massive protests. In March, enough Dutch voters sided with the farmers to make the farmers newly created political party, the Boer-Burger Beweging (BBB), the largest single party in the Dutch Parliament. Nevertheless, the weirdness of the multi-party Parliamentary systems that dominate in Europe meant that the coalition of leftist parties was still sufficient to create a completely dysfunctional coalition of conservatives, farmers, climate changistas, and socialists.

Inevitably, the coalition fell apart (and this is the APs version):

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte visited the king Saturday to hand in the resignation of his four-party coalition, setting the deeply divided Netherlands on track for a general election later this year. [snip] The vexed issue of reining in migration that has troubled countries across Europe for years was the final stumbling block that brought down Rutte's government Friday night, exposing the deep ideological differences between the four parties that made up the uneasy coalition.

Rutte was trying to crack down on illegal immigration, which offended the left side of the coalition. However, thats only part of the story because, over the past few weeks, the same government was still waging war on the farmers in the name of climate change:

The Hague, the seat of the Dutch government, declared a state of emergency, or noodbevel which would be more correctly translated as an emergency order, to prevent farmers from driving their tractors into the city to protest the governments mandatory fertilizer reduction targets. The organisers of Thursdays protest, the Farmers Defence Force, said the state of emergency was a way to quash their democratic rights and freedom of assembly.

Subtitled!!

This is Jolanda Nooijers a Dutch Farmer.

She tells what is happening today and what they have planned in back rooms and pushed laws through against any consent



They are planning on doing this all over the world , so this is a heads up to those abroad to stay pic.twitter.com/oQCqBHqgWg  The Keystone Channel (@TKCrecovered) June 26, 2023

Netherlands  Anti Nitrogen Cuts, Anti Govt Lies  Here they come again.. The Farmers En Route to The Hague in solidarity against proposed restrictions that threaten their industry....       .... pic.twitter.com/Kl2jNWTwCT   (@Risemelbourne) June 30, 2023

Outlets such as the New York Times are struggling to come to terms with whats happening in the Netherlands. (After all, just last year, a conservative won the election in Italy.) According to the Times, this is all about those helpless refugees and the right wings refusal to accept them:

Recently empowered far-right parties have dominated the narrative on migration, seizing on growing public fears about national identity, and Mr. Ruttes insistence on an unusual, tough policy seemed aimed at preventing just that, analysts said. And that deeper issue is playing out against the backdrop of a cost-of-living crisis, insecurity stemming from Russias invasion of Ukraine, a growing number of asylum seekers and migrant tragedies at E.U. borders.

The remainder of the article focuses on immigration into Europewhich we should all be clear means Muslims from North Africa and the Middle East who have values decidedly at odds with the long Dutch tradition of religious and social liberalism.

The article doesnt have a single word in it about the governments plan to seize farmland and turn it over to refugees. Given the BBBs success in the March election, this effort to paint the Dutch governments collapse solely as the result of right-wing racism is interesting, to say the least.

Reading the Times always reminds me that, at law, fraud isnt always a matter of affirmative misrepresentations. Sometimes its also the result of intentional omissions. Im not accusing the Times of fraud, of course; Im just saying that editorial decisions mean that the readers dont always get the whole picture.


THE aspirations of Professor Mthuli Ncube, the Finance and Economic Development Minister, extend far beyond his political career. As he prepares to move into his recently acquired house in the developing Cowdray Park suburb, located in Bulawayo, he envisions a transformation that will turn this humble neighbourhood into a modern haven with a Western touch.

The news of his imminent arrival has electrified the community, leaving neighbours in a state of excitement and anticipation.

The scent of fresh mud fills the air as households are swept clean by both young and elderly residents along the street where the ministers new residence stands. Professor Ncubes decision to invest in a property within his constituency aims to establish closer ties with the people he aspires to represent in the National Assembly.

The residents and neighbours of Cowdray Park are overjoyed at the prospect of having the minister as their neighbour. They hope to witness the transformation of their neighbourhood into a modern and vibrant community.

Ocean Sibanda, a youth residing next door to the minister, expresses his excitement about the positive changes the minister has already brought to their lives.

We have unlimited Wi-Fi, and most of my idle friends are now working at the ministers house, making remarkable contributions to ensure his comfortable living, Sibanda exclaims.

Nomagugu Moyo-Sibanda, Sibandas mother, shares her happiness at being part of the development projects spearheaded by Prof Ncube under the Second Republic. She acknowledges the ministers presence and appreciates the improvements in water supply, road infrastructure, and youth initiatives.

We rarely get the opportunity to benefit from such iconic individuals like Minister Mthuli. His influence is significant, and even though he has not yet moved in, we already feel the positive impact, Moyo-Sibanda gratefully remarks.

Simanga Khumalo, who resides directly opposite the ministers house, hopes to see her neighbourhood free from issues like sewer bursts. With water now available and road networks being improved, she finds the progress overwhelming.

She exclaimed: This is amazing! Who would have thought that a minister would choose to live among us?

Prof Ncube has spent the past few months actively engaging with residents of Cowdray Park, striving to understand their needs and implementing self-sustainable solutions. Now, he takes the bold step of residing among the people to achieve his people-oriented goals. His decision came as a surprise to many, considering his involvement in various community activities and contributions to traditional practices, such as providing Zibuthe fees during times of bereavement.

Expressing his excitement at becoming part of the community, Prof Ncube accentuates his desire to contribute to the greater plan of expanding provincial projects, such as Cowdray Park.

As I have said on several occasions, there are great plans for Cowdray Park. By acquiring a house here and being physically present, I aim to show that I am not just a politician but an individual oriented towards the well-being of people and families. Cowdray Park is now my home, and the challenges faced by its people are fully mine as well.

The ministers new home, equipped with Wi-Fi, electricity, and solar power, is undergoing renovations carried out by local youthful entrepreneurs. Proudly acknowledging the talents of these individuals, Prof Ncube highlights their involvement in expanding the house beyond its original dimensions. The youths first task was to construct a security wall using an innovative and artistic approach, utilising recyclable materials like cement, sand, and discarded bottles of cool drink, showcasing their creativity and commitment to sustainable practices.

Reflecting on his personal connection to the neighbourhood, Prof Ncube reveals that he grew up in the nearby Luveve suburb during the 70s. This background gives him a unique perspective and eliminates any notions of being an outsider.

Cowdray Park and Luveve were always considered as one constituency. Although we had limited opportunities for skills development back then, now that we can support and promote our own, why not extend that same support? he states, highlighting his familiarity with the area and his commitment to its progress.

Prof Ncube strongly believes that Cowdray Park has lacked the kind of representation and development seen in the Eastern suburbs. In an interview, he expresses his determination to change this narrative: We didnt have very active Members of Parliament in the past who could spearhead the development of roads, water infrastructure, and show genuine concern for the citizens. That is precisely what I aim to bring to Cowdray Park. I want to demonstrate that I stand with the people and support them wholeheartedly. To build a prosperous Zimbabwe, every Member of Parliament, regardless of their location, must take their responsibilities seriously and work together.

While his vision for Cowdray Park encompasses various aspects of development, Prof Ncube is particularly focused on creating opportunities that will keep the youth engaged and prevent them from succumbing to criminal activities or substance abuse.

Addressing the prevalent challenges of drugs and alcohol in the community, he stresses the importance of providing the youth with skills that will make them productive members of society. Additionally, he acknowledges the need for drug rehabilitation centres in Cowdray Park and expresses his willingness to collaborate with relevant Government departments to address this issue effectively. Chronicle
If anything serves as a reminder that elections matter, check out what a Trump-appointed majority on the Ninth Circuit has ruled after a leftist panel of judges said otherwise.

As the Los Angeles Times reported it:

Some of the most powerful conservative judges in the United States took collective aim Wednesday at the idea that homeless people with nowhere else to go have a right to sleep in public, excoriating their liberal colleagues for ruling as much. Their scathing comments came in a set of responses to a decision Wednesday by the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals not to rehear a case in which a smaller three-judge panel affirmed such rights in September. In their responses, the court's conservative wing painted a dystopian portrait of an American West deprived of its public spaces and under siege by an overwhelming epidemic of homelessness.

Yeah, and why shouldn't they have ruled that way? There's a such thing as private property, a such thing as public property, and if you're a drug addict making yourself a plague on society, you don't own any of it. Polls repeatedly show that this is the public understanding of the matter, and bums shouldn't be free to take over every public park.

But to the Los Angeles Times, that seems to be a bad thing, a conservative thing, a case of stolen identity, given that the Ninth had been historically ruled by the nation's foremost far leftists until President Trump came along and appointed nonjudicial activists.

The case started when the small, conservative, and (based on news reports) wants-to-join-Idaho city of Grants Pass in southern Oregon passed a measure prohibiting homeless encampments in the public areas of the city. That wasn't because they wanted to be mean  it was because their city had been taken over by drug-addled and mentally ill homeless people, many of whom had refused public shelter to maintain their "lifestyle," and there were no safe public spaces left, whether for the public to walk down or families to take their children to.

A leftist appellate panel of three judges told them "no," they couldn't clear the city of the homeless campout in certain public spaces, and the homeless were effectively free to camp wherever they liked since no one was taking care of them, or rather, since they "cannot obtain shelter."

That may well be because of their behavior, but leave that detail aside.

An old Reagan conservative judge on the panel laid out the commonsense ruling:

Judge Diarmuid O'Scannlain, an older conservative judge appointed by President Reagan, wrote in a separate statement that the position of the court's liberal wing was "egregiously flawed and deeply damaging," and blaming it for "paralyzing local communities from addressing the pressing issue of homelessness." O'Scannlain wrote that the decision "now effectively guarantees a personal federal constitutional 'right' for individuals to camp or to sleep on sidewalks and in parks, playgrounds, and other public places in defiance of traditional health, safety, and welfare laws," which he called "a dubious holding premised on a fanciful interpretation of the 8th Amendment." O'Scannlain was joined in part by Smith and in full by 13 other conservatives on the court.

...and this...

"One need only walk through our neighborhoods  through the Tenderloin (San Francisco) or Skid Row (Los Angeles)  to know that our communities are fast coming undone," he wrote. "Tents crowding out sidewalks, needles flooding parks, and rubbish (and worse) marring public squares reflect a threat to the public welfare that should not be taken lightly."

He called the panel's initial ruling "an inventive, jude-made novelty" which he added "effectively requires local communities to surrender their sidewalks and other public places to homeless encampments."

Well, yeah. The leftists who disagreed  two of whom were on that three-person panel  insisted there was no such wording in their ruling:

The ruling, they wrote, "holds only that governments cannot criminalize the act of sleeping with the use of rudimentary protections, such as bedding, from the elements in some public places when a person has nowhere else to sleep." The ruling "does not establish an unrestrained right for involuntarily homeless persons to sleep anywhere they choose," Silver and Gould wrote. "Nor does it require jurisdictions to cede all public spaces to involuntarily homeless persons."

Actually, it does. What they were engaging in was gaslighting because the results speak for themselves. If a city can't chase the bums out of public areas, the bums get to stay and "camp" where they like.

It reveals an amazingly naive view of why homelessness and homeless clusters happen  which is because of the rise of social service agencies, which attracts chiselers, and the rise of unchecked drug-dealing, which brings whole groups of junkies to surround their drug-dealer. Get rid of the social service rackets, and the homelessness disappears. It was like this before the rise of the homeless issue, and it will be like this after the gargantuan social service agencies and the drug-dealers are gone.

In the meantime, anti-camping ordinances serve to disincentivize homelessness as a lifestyle and encourage those who are homeless to answer one of those "Help Wanted" signs and rejoin society.

As Thomas Sowell once said, you can have all the poverty you'd like to pay for. Ending the "right" of the homeless to squat on public and private property is an excellent first step, and every last blue city, including the Times' Los Angeles, should be thanking those judges.

Image: Screen shot from Nick Johnson video via YouTube.
If you listen to the conservative pundits, President Joe Biden is the most corrupt politician ever to walk God's green earth. If you listen to leftist pundits, former President Donald Trump is a traitor scheming with Putin to make fascism fashionable again. Conservatives say that if Biden is talking, he is lying. Leftists say that Trump never met a lie he didn't like. A woman who accused Biden of sexual abuse has fled to Russia for her own safety. Trump, meanwhile, accuses Ron "DeSanctimonious" of being Dudley Do-Right while secretly enjoying the womanizing reputation he has earned.

While the November election of 2024 is still sixteen months away, it appears now that Joe and Don are headed for a rematch. As some of us consider that unhappy prospect, the question on our lips is, "How low can we go?"

Thomas Jefferson once wrote, "The government you elect is the one you deserve."

Once upon a time, I was a high school teacher. One of my duties involved standing outside my class and monitoring students as they changed classes. When I noticed how my students paired themselves with a significant other, sometimes I was encouraged. Most of the time, however, I was discouraged by the Bonnie and Clyde wannabe pairings I observed. I suspect Jefferson was nudging us to make better choices in his quote.



Image: Biden and Trump. YouTube screen grab.

Like Job, many of us look at our time and wonder,

Why do the wicked prosper, growing old and powerful? They see their children grow up and settle down, and they enjoy their grandchildren. Their homes are safe from every fear, and God does not punish them. (Job 21:7-17, NLT)

It seems to me that Jefferson is blaming us for the sorry lot of politicians we have in Washington and in our fifty state capitals.

How do we find better politicians? In the past, we thought the media would help us vet politicians. This is no longer the case.

When revelations about Hunter Biden's laptop began to surface just before the 2020 elections, most of the media conspired with the leftists to suppress the alarming details in that computer. When it seemed obvious to conservatives that China's Wuhan Flu was timed oddly to benefit Democrats, people making such suggestions were labeled as wackos.

Once, I was young and idealistic. Now I am old and idealistic. Our presidential selection system has given us John Kennedy, LBJ, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, two Bushes, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, Donald Trump, and Joe Biden. I see a downward trajectory in that assembly.

I doubt that Trump or Biden would want us hungering for a Dudley Do-Right or Daphne Do-Right as the 2024 election gets nearer. By now, we can look at both their records. Do we settle once again for the lesser of two evils, or do we look higher?

Ned Cosby, a regular contributor to American Thinker, is a pastor, veteran Coast Guard officer, and a retired career public high school teacher. His newest novel OUTCRY is a love story exposing the refusal of Christian leaders to report and discipline clergy who sexually abuse our young people. This work of fiction addresses crimes that are all too real. Cosby has also written RECOLLECTIONS FROM MY FATHER'S HOUSE, tracing his own odyssey from 1954 to the present. For more info, visit Ned Cosby.
Balkans: Edi Rama regional mission concluded in Belgrade In view of the upcoming 'Berlin Process' summit in Tirana

(ANSA) - BELGRADO, 08 LUG - Albanian premier Edi Rama concluded a brief tour of the region yesterday evening in Belgrade, implemented in view of the next summit of the 'Berlin Process' scheduled in Tirana in October. The 'Berlin Process' is an initiative launched in 2014 by the then German Chancellor Angela Merkel with the aim of promoting and accelerating the process of European integration of the countries of the Western Balkans. With Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, Rama spoke in particular of the crises in Kosovo and Bosnia-Herzegovina, the main sources of concern of the international community on the Balkan side, and of the need to avoid in any way a further destabilization of the region, which would the balance of the whole of Europe. For Kosovo, it was underlined, it is essential to implement the EU's indications for a rapid de-escalation of tensions in the north, with new mayoral elections in the four major Municipalities with a Serb majority and the continuation of dialogue under the auspices of the Union European. But the positions of Rama and Vucic did not coincide, considering the traditional support of Tirana to the cause of the Kosovar-Albanian leadership in Pristina. Vucic for his part insists on accusing the Kosovar premier Albin Kurti of continuing his hostile and discriminatory policy of the local Serbs with the aim of their complete expulsion from the north of Kosovo, an authentic strategy in his opinion of ethnic cleansing, inadmissible in the Europe today. At the Belgrade meeting, the mutual willingness of Serbia and Albania to return to talk to each other and to work for the progressive improvement of relations after decades of silence, suspicions and strong opposition was at the same time noted. Before Belgrade, Rama had visited Skopje, Pristina, Sarajevo and Podgorica. (ANSA).





 Copyright ANSA - All rights reserved
The BBC said it takes any allegations very seriously following reports in The Sun that a well-known presenter has been taken off air over clams he paid a teenager for explicit pictures.

The newspaper reported the unnamed BBC star has been accused of paying a teenager more than 35,000 in exchange for sexual images.

Neither the individual or the teenager, who was said to be 17 when the payments began, was identified.

The Sun said the teens family complained to the BBC on May 19.

In response to The Suns report, a BBC spokesperson said: We treat any allegations very seriously and we have processes in place to proactively deal with them.

As part of that, if we receive information that requires further investigation or examination we will take steps to do this.

That includes actively attempting to speak to those who have contacted us in order to seek further detail and understanding of the situation.

If we get no reply to our attempts or receive no further contact that can limit our ability to progress things but it does not mean our enquiries stop.

If, at any point, new information comes to light or is provided  including via newspapers  this will be acted upon appropriately, in line with internal processes.

On Saturday, amidst speculation on social media, a number of BBC stars tweeted to say they were not the presenter at the centre of The Sun story.

Rylan tweeted: Not sure why my names floating about but re that story in the sun  that aint me babe. Im Currently filming a show in Italy for the bbc, so take my name out ya mouths.

Jeremy Vine tweeted: Just to say Im very much looking forward to hosting my radio show on Monday  whoever the BBC Presenter in the news is, I have the same message for you as Rylan did earlier: it certainly aint me.

Gary Lineker tweeted: Hate to disappoint the haters but its not me.

Nicky Campbell appeared to suggest he had contacted police about being mentioned in connection with the story.

He tweeted a screenshot which featured the Metropolitan Police logo and the words: Thank you for contacting the Metropolitan Police Service to report your crime.

In his tweet, he wrote: I think its important to take a stand. Theres just too many of these people on social media. Thanks for your support friends.
The Dutch government collapsed on Friday after failing to reach a deal on restricting immigration, which will trigger new elections in the fall.

The crisis was triggered by a push by Prime Minister Mark Rutte's conservative VVD party to limit the flow of asylum seekers to the Netherlands, which two of his four-party government coalition refused to support.

"It's no secret that the coalition partners have differing opinions about immigration policy. Today we unfortunately have to conclude that those differences have become insurmountable. Therefore I will tender the resignation of the entire cabinet to the king," Rutte said in a televised news conference.

Tensions came to a head this week, when Rutte demanded support for a proposal to limit entrance of children of war refugees who are already in the Netherlands and to make families wait at least two years before they can be united.

This latest proposal went too far for the small Christian Union and liberal D66, causing a stalemate.

Rutte's coalition will stay on as a caretaker government until a new administration is formed after new elections, a process which in the fractured Dutch political landscape usually takes months.

News agency ANP, citing the national elections committee, said elections would not be held before mid-November.

A caretaker government cannot decide on new policies, but Rutte said it would not affect the country's support for Ukraine.

The Netherlands already has a one of Europe's toughest immigration policies but under the pressure of right-wing parties, Rutte had for months been trying to seek ways to further reduce the inflow of asylum seekers.

Asylum applications in the Netherlands jumped by a third last year to over 46,000, and the government has projected they could increase to more than 70,000 this year - topping the previous high of 2015.

This will again put a strain on the country's asylum facilities, where for months last year hundreds of refugees at a time were forced to sleep in the rough with little or no access to drinking water, sanitary facilities or health care.

Rutte last year said he felt "ashamed" of the problems, after humanitarian group Medecins sans Frontieres sent in a team to the Netherlands for the first time ever, to assist with migrants' medical needs at the centre for processing asylum requests.

He promised to improve conditions at the facilities, mainly by reducing the number of refugees that reach the Netherlands. But he failed to win the backing of coalition partners who felt his policies went too far.

Rutte, 56, is the longest-serving government leader in Dutch history and the most senior in the EU after Hungary's Viktor Orban. He is expected to lead his VVD party again at the next elections.

Rutte's current coalition, which came to power in January 2022, was his fourth consecutive administration since he became prime minister in October 2010.
Around 200 people, including a string of well-known politicians and journalists, have attended the wedding of George Osborne to his long-term partner amid a mystery over an email apparently sent to guests.

The former chancellor of the Exchequer, 52, married his former aide, 40-year-old Thea Rogers at the 14th Century St Marys Church in the Somerset village of Bruton, where they own a property.

Among the guests attending the service were former prime minister David Cameron and his wife Samantha, former chancellor Sajid Javid and Levelling-Up Secretary Michael Gove.

There were claps and cheers as the newly married couple left the church (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

Also present were Lord Hague and his wife Ffion, former health secretary Matt Hancock, ex-governor of the Bank of England Mark Carney, and Labour heavyweight Ed Balls with his wife Yvette Cooper, the shadow home secretary.

As well as politicians there were a host of well-known journalists.

They included Today Programme host Nick Robinson, former Newsnight presenter Emily Maitlis, ex-BBC correspondent Jon Sopel, former Sky News political editor Adam Boulton with his wife Anji Hunter, an adviser in Downing Street under Sir Tony Blair, and Mariella Frostrup.

Mr Osborne was not seen arriving at the church ahead of the service, but Ms Rogers walked through the churchyard to claps from well-wishers.

The service, which lasted nearly an hour, included music from Beethovens Ode To Joy and Hubert Parrys Jerusalem.

Among the wedding guests for former prime minister David Cameron and his wife Samantha (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

After the smiling couple, who have two children together, emerged from the church as the bells rang, a smartly dressed woman showered them with orange confetti from a Union flag paper bag.

Mr Osborne looked behind him as she approached the couple before throwing the confetti over the groom.

The grey-haired woman, in a floral dress and pale coloured jacket, emptied the bag of confetti near the couple before she left after being spoken to by two men.

A woman throws orange confetti over the newly married couple as they leave St Marys Church in Bruton (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

The couple looked puzzled, but did not appear to speak to the woman, who fled quickly when approached by journalists.

The orange confetti appeared to be similar to that scattered by Just Stop Oil protesters at Wimbledon on Wednesday.

Just Stop Oil later tweeted footage of the incident and said: You look good in orange @George_Osborne  congratulations to the newlyweds.

As guests left the church, they lined up outside to cheer and throw confetti at the newly married couple as they walked down the path to their wedding car.

The couples wedding comes amid a riddle over an email sent earlier this week to many of the invited wedding guests as well as some journalists.

After quitting the House of Commons, Mr Osborne became editor of the Evening Standard newspaper.

The town of Bruton has been dubbed the Notting Hill of the West due to the number of celebrities living there.
A string of well-known politicians have gathered for the wedding of George Osborne to his long-term partner amid a mystery over an email apparently sent to guests.

The former chancellor of the Exchequer, 52, is marrying his former aide, 40-year-old Thea Rogers.

The pair, who have two children together, are exchanging vows at 14th Century St Marys Church in the Somerset village of Bruton, where they own a property.

Among the guests attending the service were former prime minister David Cameron and his wife Samantha, former chancellor Sajid Javid and Levelling-Up Secretary Michael Gove.

Former prime minister David Cameron and wife Samantha arrive at St Marys Church (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

Also present were Lord Hague and his wife Ffion, former health secretary Matt Hancock, ex-governor of the Bank of England Mark Carney, Labour heavyweight Ed Balls and his wife Yvette Cooper, the shadow home secretary.

As well as politicians there were a host of well-known journalists.

They included Today Programme host Nick Robinson, former Newsnight presenter Emily Maitlis, ex-BBC correspondent Jon Sopel, former Sky News political editor Adam Boulton with his wife Anji Hunter, an adviser in Downing Street under Sir Tony Blair, and Mariella Frostrup.

Mr Osborne was not seen arriving at the church, but Ms Rogers walked through the churchyard to claps from well-wishers.

She walked into the church accompanied by two large umbrellas due to the light rain.

The service, which lasted nearly an hour, included music from Beethovens Ode To Joy and Hubert Parrys Jerusalem.

Mr and Mrs Osborne pose for pictures outside the pictures after getting married (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

After the smiling couple emerged from the church as the bells rang, a smartly dressed woman showered them with orange confetti from a Union flag paper bag.

Mr Osborne looked behind him as she approached the couple before throwing the confetti over the groom.

The grey-haired woman, in a floral dress and pale coloured jacket, emptied the bag of confetti near the couple before she left after being spoken to by two men.

The couple looked puzzled, but did not appear to speak to the woman, who fled quickly when approached by journalists.

The orange confetti appeared to be similar to that scattered by Just Stop Oil protesters at Wimbledon on Wednesday.

Around 200 people had attended the wedding and they lined the path to throw confetti at the newly married couple and clap and cheer.

The couples wedding comes amid a riddle over an email sent earlier this week to many of the invited wedding guests as well as some journalists.

After quitting the House of Commons, Mr Osborne became editor of the Evening Standard newspaper.

The town of Bruton has been dubbed the Notting Hill of the West due to the number of celebrities living there.
Senior officials in Northern Ireland joined a special edition of Parkrun to mark the 75th anniversary of the health service.

The weekly Parkrun events across the UK on Saturday morning were themed to mark the anniversary.

The Department of Healths permanent secretary Peter May and chief nursing officer Maria McIlgorm joined runners at the Stormont edition.

Volunteers at a Parkrun to mark the 75th anniversary of the NHS at Stormont in Belfast (Rebecca Black/PA)

It comes after a host of events to mark the anniversary, including a reception at Parliament Buildings attended by six-year-old Daithi Mac Gabhann who inspired a change in the organ donation laws in Northern Ireland.

Mr May welcomed the opportunity for people to gather together to show their support for the health service.

Its really good that Parkrun is joining with the NHS today to mark 75 years of the NHS being in existence, he said.

Its a chance for people to come together to show their support for the organisation and to take part in some physical activity which is something we all think is great for everybodys health.

One of the great benefits of my role is that I see the incredible things that people do in health and social care every day despite the many challenges that we have. I dont shy away from those, for the vast of people when they actually receive the treatment it is first class and free at the point of use.

The challenge of course is that we meet more peoples needs more quickly than we can at the moment.

Health staff were among those who took part in a Parkrun to mark the 75th anniversary of the NHS at Stormont (Rebecca Black/PA)

Mr May said it was the second Parkrun he had taken part in, joking: Its going to be hard work.

Parkrun volunteer and runner Phil Cairnduff, 36, from Dundonald received a liver transplant when he was 18.

I had been in Africa and picked something up there, came back home very sick and had to be flown to London for an emergency transplant, but I lived to tell the tale, he said.

The recovery was long and painful, it was daunting but my progress was good and got back to where I was.

I used to enjoy running before the transplant but didnt take it too seriously, since the transplant it has become my passion and I have taken part in the British and the World Transplant Games.

A big part of the transplant is the fact you have received a gift from someone you dont know, the organ donor.

A lot of my running is to honour them because I owe it all to them.

I have always had a great admiration for the health service, they have always been there for me.

I know times are tough at the moment but the frontline staff are incredibly hard working, I have the utmost respect for them, and I really hope the people who manage it can do things to protect and save it as best they can.

Stormont Parkrun event director Alison Canning said it was a celebratory event.

We do have some special visitors this morning from the NHS and also some promoting organ transplant and donation, she said.

Parkrun here has been running since August 2015, its good to be able to honour the health service today.
Zanu PF Member of Parliament (MP) Pupurai Togarepi accompanied by Forever Associates Zimbabwe (FAZ) was allegedly seen marshalling violence against CCC supporters gathered for a party rally at Mawungwa Business Centre in Gutu South.

The violence saw an aspiring Ward 25 CCC councillor Martin Muremba, for Ward 25 and four youth being abducted and kept captive for six hours. They were severely assaulted and had their phones stolen while Muremba lost US$200 in the process.

Sources said that the violence started around 7 pm last night when Zanu PF youth stormed Maungwa and beat everyone they saw at the shops. What baffled residents is that the fiasco happened as Police watched and did nothing.

The assaulted youth showed scars to the media inflicted all over their bodies. They alleged that Gutu Police led by Officer-in-charge Chief Inspector Cames Myambo refused to take their reports and chased them out of the Police post at Mawungwa.

Myambo said he is not aware of the matter.

Efforts to get a comment from the National Police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyati were futile.

Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC), Chief Elections Officer Utloile Silaigwana referred questions to the Commissions public relations department.

CCC leader Nelson Chamisa was forced to address the rally in a bush while a group of about 40 Zanu PF supporters gathered 100 meters away where they had been pushed back by the opposition youth who were getting increasingly agitated by the disruptions of their rally.

Chamisa told his supporters that he was going to talk to Togarepi over the disturbances.

He said it was foolhardy for Togarepi who is his relative to think that he would stop CCC when the Zanu PF leader Emmerson Mnangagwa had failed in all his machinations over the last five years.

Togarepi denied that he was at the scene and told The Mirror to talk to perpetrators seen at Maungwa. However, he could not deny that his vehicles roamed the venue of Chamisas rally the whole day.

Togarepi is my relative and I am going to talk to him about this. It is foolish for him to think that he can stop CCC when the crocodile failed. He is trying to block a river using his hands, said Chamisa.

Misheck Munyoro, a disabled youth said Togarepi was one of those who tried to beat him but stopped when he realised his physical state.

I know Togarepi, I saw him. He arrived here in a brown landcruiser with a group of Zanu PF youth. He tried to kick me as he chased me but missed, said a CCC girl who requested anonymity for fear of victimization.

The abducted youth were Muremba, Knowledge Mawere, Godwin Madhuyu and Last Musara.

After assaulting people at Mawungwa last night, the Zanu PF youth also caused mayhem at neighbouring business centers including Muchechete.

This morning, they returned to the business center and started beating people as early as 6 am.

We were approached by youths who ordered us to remove regalia. They accused us of housebreaking.

They took us to Zanu PF councillor Taka Rashayis homestead where they severely assaulted and threw mud at us. We were taken back to the business center where we were whipped in public and then driven into a bush where they continued beating us and only released us at 12 pm. We were warned that blood would be shed during these elections, said Muremba.

He said that the FAZ team which invaded the place includes Jephias Mudyahoto, Norman Maungwa, Josphar Pedze, Cynthia Mafukidze, Jenifer Mangezi, Trevor Maungwa and one Mai Roni Munongi.

It is disheartening that the whole incident happened under the watch of the Police, said Munyoro.

Masvingo has over the last three days been engulfed by violence as Chamisa started his campaign rallies in the province. Masvingo Mirror
A man has been charged with the murder of a husband and wife who were found dead in Essex on Easter Sunday.

Luke DWit, 33, has been charged with two counts of murder after Stephen Baxter, 61, and Carol Baxter, 64, were found dead at a home in Victory Road, on Mersea Island, near Colchester, at about 1.30pm on April 9, Essex Police said.

Officers were called by the ambulance service to concerns for the welfare of two people and found the married couple had died.

At that stage, their deaths were being treated as unexpected and not suspicious and officers were working to establish the circumstances around their deaths, the force said.

But as a result of an investigation and toxicology analysis, two men and a woman were arrested on Thursday.

A woman and a man have been released on bail.

DWit, of Churchfields, West Mersea, Colchester, was charged with two counts of murder, one count of possession of a Class A drug, and one count of theft.

He is due to appear at Chelmsford Magistrates Court on Saturday.

The couple were directors of Cazsplash, a firm which produces shower mats and bathroom accessories.

Detective Inspector Lydia George, who is leading the investigation, said: This is a significant development in our investigation as we piece together the circumstances around the deaths of Carol and Stephen.

I would like to thank everyone who has come forward to speak to us throughout this complex investigation.
Animal rights organisation PETA says it will be putting up head-turning advertisements in Los Angeles in response to Paris Hiltons recent speciesist splurge on a new Chihuahua puppy.

The organisation said the US socialites purchase was problematic and urged her and members of the public to adopt pets rather than buy them from breeders.

Hilton announced on Instagram on Thursday that she had welcomed a new puppy to her home, which had been related to one of her late pets  named Harajuku Bitch.

Absolutely in love with my new puppy! He is so adorable and sweet! she wrote.

In an article posted online on Friday, PETA accused the star of living under a rock and asked her to keep her retail therapy to baubles and bags.

Paris Hilton recently bought a Chihuahua puppy from a breeder before publicizing her problematic purchase on social media, the article read.

The star has apparently been living under a rock if she thinks that buying animals is a compassionate thing to do  a visit to an animal shelter would have shown her just how many Chihuahuas need homes  and five minutes on Petfinder would turn up thousands more, including puppies.

It continued: PETA knows that retail therapy is what Paris Hilton loves best, but were asking her to keep the shopping to baubles and bags.

Hilton announced on Instagram on Thursday that she had welcomed a new puppy to her home (PA)

Next week, well be running head-turning ads in Los Angeles, blasting Hiltons speciesist splurge.

PETA said buying animals from pet stores or breeders could result in the death of an animal in a shelter and urged people to pledge not to buy animals.

Homelessness is not just a human problem. If you want to bring an animal into your life, always adopt from a shelter, the organisation wrote.

Representatives for Hilton have been approached for comment.
A protester has attempted to disrupt the wedding of former chancellor George Osborne to his long-term partner by throwing orange confetti at them as they left the church following the service.

The woman ambushed Mr Osborne, 52, and his new bride Thea Rogers, 40, outside the 14th Century St Marys Church in the Somerset village of Bruton and quickly fled smiling after being approached by security.

Environmental campaign group Just Stop Oil, renowned for its disruptive stunts, retweeted a video of the incident, saying: You look good in orange George Osborne  congratulations to the newlyweds.

The tweet was condemned by former home secretary Priti Patel, who accused Just Stop Oil of being shameful, attention seeking, disrespectful low life.

Around 200 people, including a string of well-known politicians and journalists, attended the wedding amid a mystery over an email apparently sent to guests.

Among the guests attending were former prime minister David Cameron and his wife Samantha, former chancellor Sajid Javid and Levelling-Up Secretary Michael Gove.

Also present were Lord Hague and his wife Ffion, former health secretary Matt Hancock, ex-governor of the Bank of England Mark Carney, as well as Labour heavyweight Ed Balls and his wife Yvette Cooper, the shadow home secretary.

As well as politicians there were a host of well-known journalists.

They included Today Programme host Nick Robinson, former Newsnight presenter Emily Maitlis, ex-BBC correspondent Jon Sopel, former Sky News political editor Adam Boulton with his wife Anji Hunter, an adviser in Downing Street under Sir Tony Blair, and Mariella Frostrup.

Mr Osborne was not seen arriving at the church ahead of the service, but Ms Rogers walked through the churchyard to claps from well-wishers.

Among the wedding guests for former prime minister David Cameron and his wife Samantha (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

The service, which lasted nearly an hour, included music from Beethovens Ode To Joy and Hubert Parrys Jerusalem.

After the smiling couple, who have two children together and own property in Bruton, emerged from the church as the bells rang, to pose for photographs.

Suddenly a smartly dressed woman walked up to the newlyweds and showered them with orange confetti from a Union flag paper bag.

Mr Osborne looked behind him as she approached the couple before throwing the confetti over the groom.

The grey-haired woman, in a floral dress and pale coloured jacket, emptied the bag of confetti near the couple before she left after being spoken to by two men.

They looked puzzled, but did not appear to speak to the woman, who fled quickly when approached by journalists.

The orange confetti appeared to be similar to that scattered by Just Stop Oil protesters at Wimbledon on Wednesday.

As guests left the church, they lined up outside to cheer and throw confetti at the newly married couple as they walked down the path to their wedding car.

There were claps and cheers as the newly married couple left the church (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

The couples wedding comes amid a riddle over an email sent earlier this week to many of the invited wedding guests as well as some journalists.

After quitting the House of Commons, Mr Osborne became editor of the Evening Standard newspaper.

The town of Bruton has been dubbed the Notting Hill of the West due to the number of celebrities living there.
Rishi Sunak will use the Nato summit in Lithuania to urge allies to increase their defence spending as he warns they face unprecedented security challenges.

The Prime Minister will meet with leaders in Lithuania on Tuesday for talks that will feature support for Ukraine and its future membership of the defensive alliance.

He will first host Joe Biden in the UK after the US president committed to sending Kyiv cluster munitions, despite many Nato allies prohibiting their use.

Mr Sunak said Britain discourages the weapons as one of the 123 signatories of a convention banning the bombs for their devastating impact on civilians.

The White House said Mr Biden will compare notes with Mr Sunak on the Ukrainian counteroffensive against Russia.

The president will also meet the King in Windsor Castle.

At the summit in Vilnius, Downing Street said that Mr Sunak will ask allies to up their defence spending to ensure it is prepared for future threats.

Rishi Sunak has said that the UK discourages the US decision to send cluster bombs to Ukraine (Lucy North/PA)

In a statement, the Prime Minister said: As we face new and unprecedented challenges to our physical and economic security, our alliances are more important than ever.

The UK is Europes leading Nato ally, we are the United States most important trade, defence and diplomatic partner, and we are at the forefront of providing Ukraine with the support they need to succeed on the battlefield.

We have forged and invested in these alliances because we know they are the foundation of our strength and security. And I will continue to lead a United Kingdom which puts our international relationships at the heart of delivering for the British people.

The UK is among a minority of Nato members that meets the alliances commitment to spend at least 2% of national income on defence.

Estimates for last year had France, Germany and Spain as included in those not meeting the target.

US president Joe Biden will meet Rishi Sunak in the UK before both attend the Nato summit in Lithuania (Kevin Lamarque/PA)

Mr Biden has said it was a difficult decision to send cluster bombs to Ukraine and sought to justify the move as needed to fortify Kyivs depleting ammunition stocks.

But Mr Sunak chose not to express support for the move during a by-election campaign stop to Selby, pointing to the UKs commitment to the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

Well, the UK is signatory to a convention which prohibits the production or use of cluster munitions and discourages their use, he told broadcasters.

We will continue to do our part to support Ukraine against Russias illegal and unprovoked invasion, but weve done that by providing heavy battle tanks and most recently long-range weapons, and hopefully all countries can continue to support Ukraine.

Russias act of barbarism is causing untold suffering to millions of people.

Its right that we collectively stand up to it and Ill be heading off to the Nato summit next week in Vilnius, where we will be discussing exactly this with our allies how we can strengthen our support for Ukraine.

Rishi Sunak said that the UK would send support to Ukraine by providing tanks and long-range weapons (Lucy North/PA)

The weapons deploy a large number of bomblets across a wide area.

Unexploded bomblets can continue to pose a threat to civilians long after conflicts end.

The Convention on Cluster Munitions, which prohibits their use or stockpiling because of their indiscriminate effect on civilian populations.

The US, Ukraine and Russia are not signatories.

Both Moscow and Kyiv have used cluster munitions so far in the war.
Crowds heading to the second day of Trnsmt could face thunderstorms as temperatures rise and the Met Office issued a warning.

A yellow weather warning has been put in place for the majority of the UK between 9am and midnight on Saturday.

As of 11am on Saturday, the Met Office forecast raises the chance of thunderstorms between 5pm and 7pm and again at 10pm  around the time headliner Sam Fender will be set to take the stage.

 Yellow weather warning for thunderstorms  Saturday 0900  2359 Latest info  https://t.co/QwDLMfRBfs Stay #WeatherAware pic.twitter.com/Nmch21FJmM  Met Office (@metoffice) July 7, 2023

The festival entered its second day on Saturday after Britpop legends Pulp brought the first night to a colourful close in their first Scottish show in more than a decade.

Crowds were teased with a lengthy introduction with captions on a screen reading: This is a night you will remember for the rest of your life.

You are about to see the 529th concert by Pulp.

This performance is an encore.

An encore happens because the crowd wants more.

Pulp headlined Trnsmts main stage on Friday as the festival opened at Glasgow Green (Rory Barnes/PA)

The band, fronted by Jarvis Cocker, surprised fans at the end of 2022 by announcing a run of shows this summer at festivals and outdoor gigs across the UK.

Arriving on stage to I Spy, from their 1995 album Different Class, Cocker was elevated on via a stage lift.

He said: Thank you for being here. Its really boring without an audience. We did it the other day, its called a rehearsal.

Were not going to do a rehearsal.

Were going to do the real thing.

We are Pulp, you are Glasgow. We are going to spend some time together this evening.

This is the furthest north weve ever been.

Afterwards, he got the crowd to clap the first three distinctive bars of the much-loved hit Disco 2000.

Two more songs from Different Class followed with Mis-Shapes and Something Changed.

Pulp played their first show in Scotland for over a decade at Trsnmt Festival (Euan Robertson/Trnsmt/PA)

Cocker spoke to fans, asking them: Whats this festival like then? It seems okay.

Pointing to some fans in the crowd wearing pink rubber gloves, Cocker said: Theres some people with pink hands over there, following which the band played Pink Glove from His n Hers.

Cocker told the crowd about the first gig the band played in Glasgow in 1992 to 30 or 40 people at King Tuts in the city.

He said: Things have changed 31 years later, and followed with Do You Remember the First Time?

Cocker also revealed it was former Beatle Ringo Starrs 83rd birthday and asked the crowd to sing Happy Birthday to him.

The band also played much loved hits such as Babies and Sorted for Es and Whizz.

Closing the set was perhaps the bands most well-known song Common People, accompanied with pink and orange fireworks.

Cocker said: I know how you feel, I mean theres really not such a thing as a common person as you well know, but for arguments sake, if there is such a thing then we are the common people as well.

George Ezra, The View and One Direction star Niall Horan also played the main stage on Friday.

On Saturday, indie band Kasabian will take to the festivals main stage and Sam Fender will headline.

The 1975 will close the festival, taking place at Glasgow Green, on Sunday.
Across six states on Saturday, 15 million Americans will be under heat alerts from Miami to Phoenix to Washington State.

In the Southeast, the heat index will be brutal this weekend with highs feeling like the 100s from Florida to Texas. Record-breaking highs are possible in parts of Florida over the weekend, including Miami.

PHOTO: Western heat wave weather graphic (ABC News)

Starting Tuesday and continuing through at least next Sunday, Southern California will be under a heat alert as temperatures are expected to be record breaking and reach near 120 degrees each day. An Excessive Heat Watch is in effect in anticipation for the extreme heat wave which will significantly increase the chance for heat related illness.

MORE: Earth reaches hottest day ever recorded 4 days in a row

Saturday's severe weather threat is for 11 million Americans and stretches from Denver to Oklahoma City to Nashville. While an isolated tornado is possible in Colorado along with large hail, much of the area is on alert for the potential for damaging wind.

PHOTO: A Los Angeles City Fire Department helicopter drops water on a brush fire that broke out in the Elysian Park area on July 7, 2023, in Los Angeles. (Mark J. Terrill/AP)

The cold front associated with this system will bring showers and storms along the southern and eastern coasts. The Northeast will see rain starting Sunday and continuing on Monday.

On Sunday, the threat of severe weather could impact 36 million Americans, stretching across much of the South and mid-Atlantic from Little Rock, Arkansas, to Savannah, Georgia, to Washington, D.C.

15 million Americans across 6 states under heat alerts this weekend originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
President Biden on Friday defended the decision to send cluster munitions to Ukraine, saying the Ukrainians needed them.

It was a very difficult decision on my part. And by the way, I discussed this with our allies, I discussed this with our friends up on the Hill, Biden told CNN in an interview that is set to air Sunday.

The Ukrainians are running out of ammunition, he added, noting the main thing is whether the Ukrainians have the weapons to stop the Russians.

I think they needed them, he said of the cluster munitions.

Cluster munitions are dropped by aircraft or fired by a ground-based weapons system over a target area, spreading out a few dozen to hundreds of submunitions. The decision to send the weapons, which can strike multiple targets, comes as Ukrainian forces are expending high rates of ammunition and are making slow progress in their counteroffensive.

This is a war relating to munitions. And theyre running out of that ammunition, and were low on it, Biden told CNN. What I finally did, I took the recommendation of the Defense Department to, not permanently, but to allow for this transition period, while we get more 155 weapons, these shells, for the Ukrainians.

Theyre trying to get through those trenches and stop those tanks from rolling. But it was not an easy decision, the president told CNN. Were not signatories to that agreement, but it took me a while to be convinced to do it.

The approval of the transfer has sparked concern from human rights groups and some congressional lawmakers over the weapons ability to harm civilians and children long after the bombs have fallen.

The weapons are banned by more than 100 countries because the submunitions spread out imprecisely, often fail to detonate and remain as explosive hazards for decades.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
The D.C. Board on Professional Responsibility has recommended that former Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani be disbarred in the District of Columbia for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.

In a report issued Friday, the D.C. Bar committee said that Giuliani, in his capacity as personal attorney to then-President Donald Trump, committed misconduct by his "frivolous and destructive" efforts to overturn President Joe Biden's win through his failed legal challenges to the election results in Pennsylvania.

According to the report, the former New York City mayor violated two legal ethics rules in bringing the lawsuit, which sought to block the certification of votes in the state following Trump's defeat.

MORE: Rudy Giuliani sued by former employee for alleged sexual assault and harassment

The committee said that one of the rules was violated when he filed the lawsuit in Pennsylvania "when he had no factual basis and no legitimate legal grounds to do so."

The other rule Giuliani violated was Pennsylvania's Rules of Professional Conduct, the report said.

"He claimed massive election fraud but had no evidence of it," the committee wrote.

If disbarred, Giuliani, 79, would be prohibited from practicing law in the District of Columbia.

PHOTO: Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, an attorney for former President Donald Trump during challenges to the 2020 election results, exits U.S. District Court after attending a hearing at the federal courthouse in Washington, D.C., May 19, 2023. (Leah Millis/Reuters, FILE)

A representative for Giuliani did not respond to a request for comment from ABC News, but Giuliani adviser Ted Goodman told Mediaite, in a statement issued on Giuliani's behalf, that "The D.C. Court of Appeals Board on Professional Responsibilitys Ad Hoc Hearing Committee is persecuting Mayor Rudy Giuliani on behalf of the permanent corrupt regime in Washington."

Giuliani is already prohibited from practicing law in New York, after a New York court last year suspended his law license in the state, for making false statements about the 2020 election.

The D.C. board stated that Giuliani's misconduct "sadly transcends all his past accomplishments."

"He sought to disrupt a presidential election and persists in his refusal to acknowledge the wrong he has done," the committee said.

In December, the committee heard several days of testimony about Giuliani's post-election challenges and false election claims as part of an ethics case brought by the Bar's discipline committee.

The D.C. Court of Appeals will make the final decision on whether Giuliani should be disbarred.

DC Bar panel recommends Rudy Giuliani be disbarred over 2020 election efforts originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
ORLANDO, Fla.  An Orange County Sheriffs Office patrol deputy was fired Friday after he was arrested while off-duty for fleeing a traffic stop by Lake County deputy sheriffs earlier this week.

Along with fleeing and eluding law enforcement, Juan Morales-Padilla, 44, faces a charge of resisting arrest and has since been released on bond from the Lake County Jail, records show.

Deputies tried stopping Morales-Padilla after he illegally weaved past another vehicle on his motorcycle Wednesday night, but he sped up after the deputy activated his patrol cars lights and siren, video released by the Lake County Sheriffs Office showed. Instead of chasing him, deputies ran the motorcycles license plate and went to Morales-Padillas home in Groveland, according to an affidavit.

Body camera video obtained by The Orlando Sentinel showed deputies ushering Morales-Padilla out of his home and into the back of the patrol car.

You wanna run, seriously? Are you a cop? one deputy asked. Morales-Padilla replied, I am one, yes.

Yes? So you know better, the deputy said.

Morales-Padilla was hired last September and was a probationary employee, an Orange County Sheriffs Office spokesperson said in an unsigned statement.

He is the latest Orange County deputy to be fired after being charged with a crime. In March, the Sheriffs Office announced the arrest and firing of Charles Cruz, a patrol deputy accused of possessing child porn and sending a minor sexually explicit texts.

These are serious allegations, and I have been clear that there will be no tolerance for criminal behavior involving deputies, Sheriff John Mina said of Morales-Padillas arrest in a statement Friday. At the Orange County Sheriffs Office, we hold our deputies to the highest ethical standards whether they are on duty or off duty.

The Orange deputys arrest is similar to the arrest of Orlando Police Department Officer Alexander Shaouni, who was stopped for speeding in his patrol car but left the scene after refusing to give a Seminole County deputy his license. Shaouni was formally charged Friday with fleeing and eluding law enforcement.

Shaouni was relieved of duty while his criminal case proceeds and as OPD conducts an internal investigation.
An Orange City man is facing multiple child pornography charges after deputies found explicit material on the suspect's electronic devices, according to the Volusia Sheriff's Office.

Eric Bonnette, 39, was being held Saturday in the Volusia County Branch Jail on $1 million bail, records show. Bonnette, who was arrested Thursday night, is charged with 10 counts of possession of child pornography.

Eric Bonnette

Detectives received a tip about illegal material on Bonnette's phone after a disturbance on April 7 where Bonnette was living, according to the sheriff's office. He was arrested that day on charges of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and violation of an injunction for protection against domestic violence and battery.

Now available statewide: What you need to know about Florida's sexual assault kit tracking database

A life sentence: Deltona man headed to federal prison for sexually exploiting child

During the investigation, detectives executed search warrants on several of Bonnette's electronic devices, including the phone in his possession while he was in jail in April, according to the sheriff's office. Detectives found sexually explicit photos of mostly girls between ages 4 and 13.

The sheriff's office is asking anyone who may have additional information in this case to contact the Child Exploitation Unit at 386-323-3574.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Orange City man arrested, charged with having explicit images of children
More major cities in the United States are letting public transit riders hop on board for free.

Kansas City; Raleigh; Richmond; Olympia; Tucson; Alexandria, Virginia; and other cities are testing dropping fares on their transit systems. Denver is dropping fares across its system this summer. Boston is piloting three zero-fare public bus routes, and New York City is expected to test free buses on five lines.

Eliminating fares gives a badly needed boost to ridership, removes cost burdens particularly for lower-income riders - and reduces boarding times at stops. Proponents also hope it will compel more people to get out of their cars and ride transit. But many transit researchers, officials and advocates say that removing fares fails to address the dire state of transit systems across America and diverts scarce resources from more pressing priorities: transit service and quality.

A very, very large proportion of residents feel that their lives are more convenient now that they dont have to ration trips, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, who has championed free transit policies since she was a city councilor, told CNN. Were seeing the difference that it makes when you remove financial barriers for everyone.

A 28 bus in Boston. The city has made three routes free as part of a pilot program. - Lane Turner/The Boston Globe/Getty Images

However, some experts say there are also targeted ways to help low-income riders afford trips without further straining transit agencies funding models. They also say there are more effective policies to get people out of their cars and onto transit, such as congestion pricing and parking restrictions.

And dropping fares does not make buses run on time or lead to faster and cleaner trains. These are the improvements that will get more people to take transit instead of drive, according to passenger surveys.

TransitCenter, a transit advocacy group, found in a 2018 survey of riders with household incomes below $35,000 in eight major cities that frequency, safety, crowding and reliability were higher priorities than bus fare.

The conversation over free fares obscures what the issues are with people using transit, said Stephanie Lotshaw, the acting executive director of TransitCenter. It doesnt call enough attention to the fact that we massively underfund transit at every level of government.

Free transit experiments

The first fare-free public transit program in the United States started during the 1970s, but the concept has gotten a push in recent years as urban areas look to mass transit to reduce carbon emissions and ease inequality.

The move toward free fares expanded at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, with help of nearly $70 billion in federal pandemic relief funding to transit agencies.

At least 35 US agencies have eliminated fares across their network, according to the American Public Transit Association. Massachusetts Sen. Edward Markey and US Rep. Ayanna Pressley have introduced a bill in Congress to establish a $25 billion grant program to support state and local efforts for fare-free systems.

The zero-fare push comes as ridership nationwide remains sluggish after people shifted to working from home during the pandemic. Ridership is at about 70% of pre-pandemic levels nationwide, and transit agency budget shortfalls threaten service cuts, layoffs and fare hikes.

In Boston, ridership on the three routes that dropped fares grew 35% from 2021 to 2022, while ridership on the rest of the bus system grew 15%. According to rider surveys, 26% of passengers along the free routes saved more than $20 a month.

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu rides a fare-free bus in 2022. Wu has long advocated for fare-free programs. - Matt Stone/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald/Getty Images

Mayor Wu also said fare-free buses were running more efficiently because they did not have to stop and wait for people to pay. According to the city, boarding time per passenger on two of the free routes decreased 6% and decreased 23% on the third.

Richmond first eliminated fares in March of 2020 and extended that policy through June of 2025. Agency leaders say eliminating fares has helped city buses grow ridership by 6% in 2022 from 2019 levels.

Fare-free is great for a number of things. It is an equitable thing to do considering the demographics of our riders, said Henry Bendon, a spokesperson for GRTC, Richmonds bus system.

The bulk of GRTC riders are low-income and people of color who ride the bus out of necessity. A passenger survey conducted before the pandemic showed that 64% of GRTC riders were Black and 79% had a household income under $50,000. Richmond is not alone: In many systems, low-income riders make up the majority of riders and often have no other viable way to get to school, work or other appointments.

Fare-free has been a success keeping our riders with us and expanding the system to new folks, Bendon said.

Replacing fares

Fare-free advocates say that transit agencies must reduce their dependence on fare collections, which fluctuate and place the greatest financial burden on low-income riders.

But fares are a critical source of funding for transit agencies, and they have to make up the lost revenue elsewhere.

Fares made up, on average, 12.5% of transit agencies operating expenses in 2021, down from 31.4% in 2019, according to the American Public Transit Association. This varies across agencies and type of transit: The largest and costliest systems rely the most on fares for funding, while smaller agencies are less dependent on fares.

Kansas City eliminated bus fares in 2019. - Pat Greenhouse/The Boston Globe/Getty Images

About two-thirds of transit agencies revenue comes from government. Of that, state and local government supply more than three-quarters. And the federal government spends much more on roads than transit: Eighty percent of the federal gas tax, which helps fund infrastructure projects, is devoted to roads. Twenty percent goes to transit.

Although some transit agencies worry that fare-free policies could jeopardize future service and infrastructure investments, Mayor Wu said Boston can accomplish both.

She said legislators should invest more in transit and fund it as a public good, rather than agencies relying on fares for funding.

Public transportation is the very same as other public goods, such as schools, parks and libraries, she said. We need to rethink the financial models and how to find sustainable ways to keep the system going and to modernize and improve the experience.

No such thing as free transit

Eliminating fares levels the playing field.

But getting rid of them across an entire transit system also benefits higher-income people who are capable of paying fares and could provide much-needed revenue to agencies.

Fare-free policies are a blunt instrument to address public transit affordability, the International Association of Public Transport said in a 2020 policy brief on countries and cities that eliminated fares, such as Tallinn, Estonia; Dunkirk, France; and Luxembourg. More targeted measures may be both more effective and manageable, such as fare discounts for people making below a certain income, the brief noted.

Fare-free supporters also hope dropping fares will improve congestion, carbon emissions and noise pollution from cars by getting more drivers to take transit. But results from European cities reveal little evidence it accomplishes these goals.

By offering free public transport, we are not really attracting car drivers in large volumes, said Mohamed Mezghani, secretary general of the International Association of Public Transport. Studies from European cities have shown that eliminating fares attracts trips from people who would have otherwise walked or biked, as well as additional trips from public transit users.

Sarah Kaufman, the interim executive director of the Rudin Center for Transportation at New York University, suggested more tactical uses for fare-free programs, such as to hospitals or factories, or where there are substantial numbers of lower-income riders. The policy can also be used temporarily to attract new riders or to encourage transit to major events.

Theres also the question of how transit systems will make up lost revenue from fares as their federal Covid-19 relief funding dwindles.

Boston Mayor Wu said officials have been carefully measuring the results of the pilot program and documenting them to make the case for lasting, sustainable revenue sources from the state and federal government.

Washington, D.C. voted to eliminate fares across its bus network, but the plan has been delayed over funding concerns. - Olivier Douliery/AFP/Getty Images

Washington, D.C. planned to eliminate fares on all of the citys buses beginning this summer, but it has been delayed over budget shortfalls. The transit agency faces a $750 million operating budget deficit in 2025.

There is significant cost, and financially its really going to be hard to sustain, said Richard Jarrold, deputy CEO of the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority. The agency eliminated fares shortly before the pandemic, and it has been relying in part on federal funds to make up the $12 million in revenue lost from fare collection.

Theres no such thing as free transit, he added.

By the end of next year, federal money will run out, and Kansas City will have to decide whether to continue the program or move to a new fare policy.

The top priority was to provide service, and the agency would prefer to recover fare revenue from people who are able to afford it, Jarrold said.

What we dont want is to trim transit service because of zero-fare, he said. We already dont have enough service, and we dont want to cut it.

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LOS ANGELES (AP)  Californias governor announced Friday that he wont ask the state Supreme Court to block parole for Charles Manson follower Leslie Van Houten, paving the way for her release after serving 53 years in prison for two infamous murders.

In a brief statement, the governors office said it was unlikely that the state's high court would consider an appeal of a lower court ruling that Van Houten should be released.

Gov. Gavin Newsom is disappointed, the statement said.

More than 50 years after the Manson cult committed these brutal killings, the victims families still feel the impact, the statement said.

Van Houten, now in her 70s, is serving a life sentence for helping Manson and other followers in the 1969 killings of Leno LaBianca, a grocer in Los Angeles, and his wife, Rosemary.

Van Houten could be freed in about two weeks after the parole board reviews her record and processes paperwork for her release from the California Institution for Women in Corona, her attorney Nancy Tetreault said.

She was recommended for parole five times since 2016 but Newsom and former Gov. Jerry Brown rejected all those recommendations.

However, a state appeals court ruled in May that Van Houten should be released, noting what it called her extraordinary rehabilitative efforts, insight, remorse, realistic parole plans, support from family and friends and favorable behavior reports while in prison.

Shes thrilled and shes overwhelmed, Tetreault said.

Shes just grateful that people are recognizing that shes not the same person that she was when she committed the murders, she said.

After she's released, Van Houten will spend about a year in a halfway house, learning basic life skills such as how to go to the grocery and get a debit card, Tetreault said.

Shes been in prison for 53 years. ... She just needs to learn how to use an ATM machine, let alone a cell phone, let alone a computer, her attorney said.

Van Houten and other Manson followers killed the LaBiancas in their home in August 1969, smearing their blood on the walls after. Van Houten later described holding Rosemary LaBianca down with a pillowcase over her head as others stabbed her, before herself stabbing the woman more than a dozen times.

My family and I are heartbroken because were once again reminded of all the years that we have not had my father and my stepmother with us, Cory LaBianca, Leno LaBianca's daughter, told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Friday.

My children and my grandchildren never got an opportunity to get to know either of them, which has been a huge void for my family, said Cory La Bianca, who is 75.

The LaBianca murders happened the day after Manson followers killed actress Sharon Tate and four others. Van Houten did not participate in the Tate killings.

Manson died in prison in 2017 of natural causes at age 83 after nearly half a century behind bars.
People across the Northeast are encouraged to stay weather aware early this week as a swath of tropical moisture can result in damaging consequences from the Carolinas to Maine. In the hardest hit locations, an entire summer's worth of rain could fall in a matter of a day or two, according to AccuWeather's expert team of forecasters. The likelihood of flooding will extend beyond urban areas and small streams as some rivers will surge out of their banks.

A slow-moving weather system will continue to tap into moisture from the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean as it slowly moves along to the north-northeast into Monday night. This path will direct a swath of flooding rainfall across western and central New England and the northeastern corner of New York.

On Sunday, high water and flooded roadways were reported in numerous locations throughout eastern and southeastern Pennsylvania, western New Jersey and the Hudson Valley of New York, prompting flash flood warnings across numerous counties. According to local observation sites, rainfall totals of 2 to 4 inches were common. In localized spots, up to 8 inches of rain fell throughout the day and into Sunday night. The heavy rain and resulting flooding led to a fatality in Fort Montgomery, New York.

In Highland Falls, New York, the fire department responded to two people trapped in a vehicle submerged in flood waters.

The heavy rain can add insult to injury for portions of New England where downpours on Friday resulted in the closure of U.S. Route 4 in Killington, Vermont, after a mudslide flung debris across the roadway, making it impassable. Flash flooding was also reported in the Washington, D.C., and Baltimore metro areas, eastern Pennsylvania and eastern New York state to close out last week.

High amounts of moisture available in the atmosphere will make this upcoming weather system a very efficient producer of torrential downpours, AccuWeather meteorologists say.

"Rainfall rates could reach 2 inches per hour in some locations as the system slowly moves," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Adam Douty said. "Infrastructure in the metro areas may not be able to handle rainfall of this magnitude, and as a result, rising water could quickly inundate some locations."

In Philadelphia, and New York City, the heaviest rain was mainly confined to Sunday and Sunday evening. While a shower or storm cannot be ruled out early this week, the threat of additional flooding will is low.

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While the heaviest rainfall will stay west of Boston, localized flooding downpours are possible into Monday night.

"Widespread rainfall totals of 2-4 inches are forecast across the Northeast, more localized 4-8 inch totals. Rainfall will be particularly heavy in Vermont, where between 8 and 16 inches of rain can fall." DaSilva said, noting that an AccuWeather Local StormMax of 18 inches couldn't be ruled out in the Green Mountains.

The historical average rainfall for the entire month of July is generally between 3 to 4.50 inches for the major cities across the Northeast. During this event, some locations could pick up that entire amount within a few hours. Within 24 hours, an entire season's worth of rain can fall.

Motorists are likely to face significant slowdowns as a result of poor visibility and possible road closures. The amount of rain forecast will not only heighten the risk of street flooding but also lead to rapid rises along small streams, which can then spill over their banks.

In a number of locations, conditions may be as bad or perhaps worse than during Irene's impact in late August 2011. Enough rain will run down through streams to lead to flooding. Moderate flooding is forecast along the upper portion of the Connecticut River, while some of the secondary rivers in Vermont and New Hampshire may experience waters rising to major flood levels.

The moisture-laden air will ram into the mountains of eastern upstate New York and western New England, resulting in an enhancement of downpours in the higher terrain. Air that hits mountain ranges is forced to rise upward, and that upward motion results in an enhancement of clouds and precipitation.

"We are closely monitoring the risk of mudslides in the Green Mountains of Vermont. The heaviest rain is forecast to fall across the Green Mountains and that, combined with the rain that fell on Friday, can increase the chance of dangerous mudslides in the mountains," DaSilva said.

AccuWeather meteorologists say downpours will gradually ease from southwest to northeast into Tuesday as the weather system responsible for the deluge shifts into Canada.

A slight reduction in humidity levels across the interior Northeast early this week will offer a brief reprieve from the stifling conditions of late. Hot weather with high humidity will be quick to rebound as the week progresses, however.

Want next-level safety, ad-free? Unlock advanced, hyperlocal severe weather alerts when you subscribe to Premium+ on the AccuWeather app. AccuWeather Alerts are prompted by our expert meteorologists who monitor and analyze dangerous weather risks 24/7 to keep you and your family safer.
Two civil rights organizations are launching a campaign to pressure state governments to disqualify former President Trump from appearing on ballots in 2024.

The groups say secretaries of state are empowered by the 14th Amendment to bar Trump from running for office because of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection.

Starting Sunday, Mi Familia Vota and Free Speech for People will stage a week of rallies and banner drops outside the offices of the secretaries of state of California, Oregon, Colorado and Georgia.

The groups also penned a letter to Nevada Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar last month, calling on him to block Trump under whats known as the Insurrectionist Disqualification Clause.

Were really focusing on Nevada and California and [Oregon, Colorado and Georgia] to make sure that they are taking a stand by disqualifying Trump in those spaces, which is something that the secretary of state can do, said Hector Sanchez, executive director of Mi Familia Vota.

The groups are calling their campaign Trump is Disqualified, and are timing it to coincide with the 155th anniversary of the 14th Amendment.

The Hill has reached out to the Trump campaign for comment.

The Hill Elections 2024 coverage

Secretaries of state are charged with certifying eligibility of candidates and counting the votes in their state.

Though Trump has been indicted twice and is under investigation in other cases, the groups say those are not disqualifying facts under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment.

However, the groups believe Trumps role in the Jan. 6 insurrection  for which he is also under investigation  does fit the constitutional clauses definitions.

That clause bars from a series of public offices people who having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same.

According to the Congressional Research Service (CRS), its unclear whether the clause bans people from being president  an office not explicitly mentioned in Section 3  and whether the events of Jan. 6 rise to the level of insurrection or rebellion against the United States.

But at least one official in New Mexico, Couy Griffin, was removed from his position as elected county commissioner for his role in the attack.

Griffin was convicted for his role before losing his job, but the CRS notes that the Constitution does not expressly require a criminal conviction, and historically, one was not necessary.

The groups leading the campaign believe they can convince at least some secretaries of state of their interpretation of the clause, disrupting Trumps electoral chances.

Trump is responsible for the January 6th insurrection, plain and simple, said Alexandra Flores-Quilty, campaign director for Free Speech For People.

Failing to hold him responsible not only violates the Constitution, but it also sets a dangerous precedent for permitting violent attacks on our democracy. Thats not a risk we can afford to take.

The targeted states are mostly under Democratic control, but one, Georgia, holds a special significance in the events leading up to Jan. 6.

Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) was in 2020 pressured by Trump to reverse his states presidential vote count, which favored President Biden.

Raffensperger was interviewed by federal investigators Wednesday as part of special counsel Jack Smiths investigations into Trump.

A disqualification for Trump from any secretary of state would be unprecedented and likely challenged in court, but the civil rights groups say they have a shot.

We had a number of meetings with secretaries of state and we have had this discussion. So its a real possibility, said Sanchez.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Authorities in Pennsylvania said Sunday they discovered small stockpiles or campsites in wooded areas they believe are associated with self-taught survivalist and prison escapee Michael Charles Burham.

Pennsylvania State Police said the discovery was made in wooded areas around Warren, a small city in northern Pennsylvania about 60 miles from Lake Erie.

Authorities continue to search for Burham, described as a dangerous inmate with survivalist skills and military experience, who they say escaped Warren County Prison by elevating himself on exercise equipment and using tied-up bedsheets to descend from the roof, according to a county spokesperson.

Police in the city of Warren said Friday in social media posts officials discovered Burham  who was being held on arson and burglary charges and was a suspect in a homicide investigation  had escaped.

Warren police said Burham was also associated with the prior carjacking and kidnapping of a local couple while trying to escape capture.

Burham is believed to have supplies that would assist him with a prolonged stay in the area, Pennsylvania State Police Lt. Col. George Bivens said in a Monday afternoon update.

More than 150 law enforcement personnel from over a dozen local, state and federal agencies are now assisting in the search, according to Bivens.

The pace and scope of this investigation has continued to dramatically increase as we investigate leads in this area and adjacent states, Bivens said. He noted investigators believe Burham is still in the general area of Warren.

Authorities have said Burham may be hiding in the woods near Warren, which is about 18 miles from Jamestown, New York. The city is just outside the Allegheny National Forest.

Officials are offering a reward of nearly $10,000 for information leading to Burhams apprehension, including a $7,500 reward from the US Marshals Service and $2,000 from Warren County Crime Stoppers.

State police believe Burham may have obtained a firearm during his escape.

On Monday, Bivens said he believes the significant pressure law enforcement is placing on Burham will ultimately lead to his capture.

If he is here, he is not getting any rest, Bivens said. He added, I believe at some point we will force him to make a mistake, and when he does we will use that to our advantage.

We dont want people engaging with him

Bivens asked people nationwide to familiarize themselves with Burhams picture and to contact police if they believe theyve spotted the escaped inmate.

We ask that anyone who thinks they may see him not approach him, Bivens said at a press conference Sunday afternoon.

Although Burham was last seen wearing an orange and white striped jumpsuit, denim jacket and crocs, he may have swapped out of his prison attire, Bivens has said previously.

In addition to searching on foot and with K-9 units, law enforcement also used all-terrain vehicles, utility terrain vehicles, drones and an aircraft, Warren County spokesperson Cecile Stelter said.

The Warren Police Department released images showing Michael Charles Burham's tattoos. - Warren Police Department

Right now, I believe that all of the resources are being concentrated on recapture and keeping the public safe, Stelter said. We do not want people engaging with him in any way.

Residents in Warren County were advised to check their homes and surveillance cameras for any footage taken between Thursday at 11:30 p.m. to Friday at 12:30 a.m. and reach out to police if they see anything suspicious, Stelter said. Hunters should check their game cams, authorities said.

Bivens said during Sundays news conference it is possible Burham may have received help from one or more individuals.

We ask residents to be very much aware that theyre locking their homes, that theyre securing their cars and valuables and that they make it hard for him to acquire supplies, shelter or (a) vehicle to get out of the area, Bivens said.

He added police are hoping the mounting pressure in the manhunt for Burham will work to their advantage.

Were pushing hard, trying to locate him, Bivens said. If hes here, hes out here in the woods and well continue to push hard.

When reached by phone, a representative from Warren County Prison declined to comment.

Correction: An earlier version of this story misspelled Lake Erie.

CNNs Zenebou Sylla, Laura Dolan and Jaide Garcia contributed to this report.

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. has destroyed the last of its declared chemical weapons stockpile, President Joe Biden said on Friday, bringing to an end a decades-long effort to eliminate the deadly weapons first used on a large scale in World War One.

As part of the Chemical Weapons Convention, which was ratified by the U.S. Senate in 1997, the U.S. and other signatories are required to destroy their chemical weapons stockpile by Sept. 30, 2023.

"Today, I am proud to announce that the United States has safely destroyed the final munition in that stockpilebringing us one step closer to a world free from the horrors of chemical weapons," Biden said in a written statement released by the White House.

The U.S. has been destroying its remaining stockpiles at U.S. Army Pueblo Chemical Depot in Pueblo, Colorado, and Blue Grass Army Depot (BGAD) in Richmond, Kentucky.

In 2022, the last M55 rocket with the VX nerve agent was destroyed at the plant in Kentucky.

The U.S.' stockpile of chemical warfare agents reached nearly 40,000 tons by 1968, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"Chemical weapons are responsible for some of the most horrific episodes of human loss. Though the use of these deadly agents will always be a stain on history, today our Nation has finally fulfilled our promise to rid our arsenal of this evil," U.S. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said in a statement.

Chemical weapons came to the fore during World War One, which became known as the "chemist's war."

According to the United Nations, chemical weapons killed nearly 100,000 people during World War One and have caused more than 1 million casualties around the world since then.

(Reporting by Idrees Ali; Additional reporting by Dan Whitcomb; Editing by Marguerita Choy)
A wall of a house marked with graffiti of the ELN guerrilla group

Colombia's government and the country's last active rebel group have agreed a truce - their latest step towards peace after almost 60 years of conflict.

The National Liberation Army (ELN) said it would stop fighting from Thursday, ahead of a full ceasefire in August.

Colombia's defence minister confirmed the armed forces would also be told to halt offensives from that time.

However, the ELN said it would defend itself from any attacks by the military or other armed groups.

The announcement comes after the six-month ceasefire was agreed last week. This is due to come into force on 3 August.

If it holds, it would be the longest halt in the conflict the ELN has agreed to since first taking up arms against the Colombian state in 1964.

But there is scepticism about it succeeding. ELN members killed three policemen in north-eastern Colombia on the day the ceasefire was announced.

And a week earlier, government forces killed six soldiers from the group in the east of the country.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro - himself a former member of the now-defunct M-19 rebel group - promised to bring "total peace" to the country during his presidency when he took power last year.

He has yet to sign the ceasefire decree, according to local media.

The guerrilla group and the Colombian state are due to continue their peace negotiations in Venezuela from August.

Previous negotiations with the ELN as part of the historic 2016 peace deal with the larger Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc) rebel group failed.

That deal has been shaky at times but did still bring an end to the longest guerrilla conflict in the Americas.

The ELN has thousands of members and is accused of getting funds through drug trafficking and illegal mining.

Humanitarian groups have said that thousands of people have been forced to leave their homes due to fighting over territory between armed groups such as the ELN.
A member of the archaeology team examines skeletal remains discovered during preparatory works for a new hotel in central Dublin

About 100 skeletal remains from the Middle Ages have been unearthed during excavations for a Northern Ireland firm's new hotel in Dublin.

Burial sites dating back more than 1,000 years were found at Capel Street where an abbey, St Mary's, once stood.

At least two of the remains are believed to date back to the early 11th Century.

The excavations have been commissioned by Beannchor, which is building its new Bullitt Dublin hotel on the site.

The abbey used by the Savigniac and Cistercian orders opened in the 12th Century.

Carbon dating of one of the discovered graves predates that by 100 years, indicating the presence of a Christian settlement on the site prior to St Mary's being built.

The archaeological investigations at the site, which formerly housed Boland's Bakery, also unearthed the foundations of buildings dating back to the 1600s.

Edmond O'Donovan, director of excavations for Courtney Deery Heritage Consultancy (CDHC), at the Capel Street site

The finds were discovered close to a former Presbyterian meeting house dating from 1667.

Parts of a domestic house known as the 'Dutch Billies' have also been found.

It was constructed in about 1700 by settlers who came to Dublin after William of Orange ascended to the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland in 1689.

Incorporated into design

While the skeletal remains will be painstakingly excavated, cleaned and sent for further analysis, before ultimately being given to the National Monuments Services, the other structures found during the examination of the site are set to be incorporated into the design of the new hotel complex.

Beannchor Group, which runs high-profile hotels and bars in Northern Ireland, has undertaken similar restoration of historic buildings in the past, including Belfast's Merchant Hotel, which was a former bank.

It said the Dublin project is by far its biggest and most complex project to date.

The 17th Century Presbyterian meeting house will be central to the development of a new bar and restaurant concept.

The 'Dutch Billies' house will also be preserved while a building with surviving ovens from the Boland's Bakery dating from 1890 will be renovated and repurposed.

Edmond O'Donovan, director of excavations for Courtney Deery Heritage Consultancy (CDHC, said St Mary's Abbey was Ireland's largest and most wealthy medieval abbey in its day.

"It was demolished after 1540 when the monastery was disbanded by Henry VIII and was later the site of a 17th Century Presbyterian meeting house.

"One of the things that was intriguing and exciting about the excavation is that we found an early burial or at least a number of burials that we suspect to be quite early.

"We have one that's carbon dated to the 11th Century and we have a second burial that was found with a diagnostic stick pin from the 11th Century.

"And that suggests that there was an earlier Christian and potentially monastic foundation here which predates the Savigniac and Cistercian Abbey."

Bill Wolsey, managing director of Beannchor, said it was impossible to have foreseen what the project would entail at its outset in 2017.

"As time went on, we began to understand just how complex this project may be," he said.

Skeletal remains unearthed at the site of a new hotel being developed by Belfast-based Beannchor Group in Dublin

"Great care has been taken to preserve and incorporate elements of these early surviving buildings into the new development, on what we now know is one of the most significant heritage sites in the city."

The new Bullitt Dublin hotel is expected to open in 2025.
Haitians across the United States and the world plan to take to the streets Sunday to demand a Relief for Haiti.

The effort is being organized by pastor Gregory Toussaint, senior pastor of Tabernacle of Glory Church in North Miami. Toussaint, who is CEO of Shekinah.fm, says that the march is also expected to bring together Haitians in Haiti, Canada and France, in an effort to bring awareness to the escalating gang violence and kidnappings in the Caribbean country.

Haiti trauma hospital suspends services after armed men drag patient out of operating room

In its latest report on the situation in the country, the United Nations says that violence by armed groups in the country is worsening, with sexual violence against women and girls and attacks against police officers and substations on the rise. Maria Isabel Salvador, who heads the U.N. Integrated Office in Haiti, told the U.N. Security Council that another worrying trend is the rise in vigilante killings. Her office has documented the killing of 264 alleged gang members by vigilante groups this year.

In the United States, marches are planned in a number of cities, including Atlanta, Newark, N.J., Brooklyn, San Diego, Boston, Chicago, Indianapolis, Washington, D.C., Orlando, Philadelphia and Tampa. In South Florida, the march will start from at North Miami Senior High School and end at North Miami City Hall.

One place where Haitians will not be marching is in the Dominican Republic. After receiving a permit, Tabernacle of Glorys pastor John Santana, received two letters Saturday from the Department of Transit and Urban Mobility canceling the churchs permit to march through the streets of Santo Domingo. No reasons were given in the letters, shared with the Miami Herald.

Toussaint decided to organize the march after receiving 123,385 signatures on a petition urging the U.S. Congress to pass the Haiti Criminal Collusion Transparency Act. The legislation was first introduced last year in the House by Florida Democrat Val Demings, who lost her senatorial bid to unseat Sen. Marco Rubio in the states senatorial race in November. It was reintroduced by U.S. senators this year by a group of bipartisan senators, including Rubio.

READ MORE: Two years after Haiti presidents death, the mystery yields more questions than answers

The legislation calls for financial sanctions against those supporting criminal gang activities in Haiti, which the Biden administration has already started to issue under the already existing Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act. Though some Haitians have become frustrated at the slow pace of U.S. sanctions compared to Canada, which has singled out more than two dozen members of Haitis political and economic elite, State Department officials say they remain committed but issuing Treasury sanctions take time and investigations.

Under the proposed legislation, the State Department would be required to provide annual reporting on the nature and magnitude of gang violence in Haiti; the connections between Haitian political and business elites and criminal gangs; and public access to that information.

The goal of Relief for Haiti is to mobilize compassionate individuals in the United States and overseas to advocate for legislation that can bring relief to the Haitian people, both in their homeland and abroad, Toussaint said. At this moment, there are 780 organizations from civil society, 933 pastors and their congregations, and 200,000 individuals that have pledged to join us. We urge the U.S. Congress to enact the Haiti Criminal Collusion Transparency Act of 2023, a powerful instrument designed to reveal and penalize those within Haitis influential circles who clandestinely support nefarious gangs.

Toussaint is also calling on the Biden administration to maintain its humanitarian parole program for Haitians. The program currently benefits nationals of Haiti, Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela by allowing them to apply for humanitarian parole in the United States for as long as two years as long as they pass medical and background checks and have a financial sponsor in the U.S.

Toussaint says the program is a vital conduit allowing Haitians to sponsor their kin and fellow countrymen in Haiti. This would allow a systematic and fair pathway for status regularization for Haitians who have arrived through the humanitarian parole program. By joining our efforts, youre not only contributing to the mitigation of unlawful emigration from Haiti but also fulfilling the duty of a good neighbor.

Not everyone agrees. Accusing the Biden administration of overarching its executive power, Florida Gov. Ron Desantis and the Republican governors of 19 other states, are challenging the legality of the program in federal courts.

Meanwhile, both Haitian and immigration advocates have also criticized the program as being ill-advised and ill-conceived. It doesnt offer a clear path to legal residency or citizenship for those who arrive and it is also creating a brain drain in Haiti, where hospitals, banks, international organizations and even the Haiti National Police force have all complained about being unable to keep employees due to the lure of the U.S.

They note that the U.S. has continued to deport Haitians and have failed to prioritize other programs such as H-2A and H-2B visas under the federal guest worker program for agricultural and non-agricultural workers, and Haitian Family Reunification. While more than 29,000 Haitians have arrived in the U.S. since January under the parole program, fewer than 30 Haitians received guest work visas since Haiti was allowed to resume the program last year. Haitians continue to wait for invitations under the Haitian Family Reunification program, which expedites reunification of qualified applicants waiting for green cards by allowing them to come to the United States to wait it out.

IF YOU GO

What: Souf pou Ayiti/ Relief for Haiti march

When: Noon to 4 p.m., Sunday, July 9

Where: The march starts at North Miami Senior High School (13110 NE 8th Ave.) and ends at North Miami City Hall (776 NE 125th St.)

How to register: Those seeking to participate are asked to register at Shekinah.fm.
SEOUL (Reuters) -The first meeting of the Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG) between South Korea and the United States will take place on July 18 in Seoul, South Korea's presidential office said on Saturday.

The meeting will discuss "information sharing, consultation mechanism and joint planning and execution designed to bolster nuclear deterrence against North Korea."

The NCG was first announced during the bilateral summit in Washington in April amid growing calls in South Korea for its own nuclear bombs, a step Washington opposes.

The announcement was met with concern from Beijing's Korean affairs envoy.

"China is concerned over ROK-US Nuclear Consultative Group's meeting to reinforce the enforcement of USs extended deterrence," said Liu Xiaoming, Special Representative of the Chinese Government on Korean Peninsula Affairs, in a tweet.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has said the group had upgraded the alliance with the U.S.

The inaugural meeting will be co-chaired by South Korea's Principal Deputy National Security Adviser Kim Tae-hyo and U.S. National Security Council Coordinator for Indo-Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell, according to the report.

(Reporting by Hyunsu Yim; Editing by Sandra Maler and Kim Coghill)
Karla Torres, a recent graduate of Francisco Bravo Medical Magnet High School in Boyle Heights, designed and created the 18th century-inspired prom dress out of duct tape for a "Stuck at Prom" scholarship contest. (Gary Coronado/Los Angeles Times)

Her Marie Antoinette-style dress is elegant and intricate, with detailed lace along the edges, an angular corset and different white, pink and gold layers filling out the hoop skirt.

Lifelike pink florals adorn her matching purse, fan and hairpiece, and detached sleeves cascade from her elbows, almost majestically. A complex, white lace choker completes the regal look.

And it's all made out of duct tape.

Karla Torres, a recent graduate of Francisco Bravo Medical Magnet High School in Boyle Heights, designed and created the 18th-century-inspired ensemble herself  with the support of her crafty mom  for the yearly "Stuck at Prom" scholarship contest, sponsored by Duck Tape, a trademarked brand of duct tape. The Los Angeles teen was named a finalist last week, and is now vying for votes to win the grand prize: a $10,000 scholarship.

"We've never made a dress, much less out of duct tape," Torres, 18, said. "We didnt know how much duct tape we needed. Its such a random thing  we were just doing it by trial and error.

In the end, the college-bound teen estimated she and her mom spent at least 120 hours, over many days, working on the gown, and used 14 rolls of tape.

Tape is so rigid and you cant move it like fabric," Torres said. "It was really challenging making it all come together.

But the fashion-forward teenager overcame that challenge. Of more than 200 entries to the contest, Torres' gown was selected among the top five designs for dresses, judged for color, quality, originality, accessories and the use of Duck brand tape, according to the company. Another top five tuxedo finalists were chosen. One from each category will win the top prize, while all finalists will receive $500.

Torres said she's spent the last few days trying to spread the word about voting for her dress, even dressing up in the heavy gown one more time to show it off on TikTok. Her parents are helping spread the word too, telling their friends and extended family about the contest.

Read more:A 4.0 student beat all the odds. But he cant afford a UC campus

"Its just like teamwork, asking people to vote," Torres said. "You dont know if we're winning or we need more votes, but were feeling confident and hopeful that we can win."

And while it's Torres' name officially in the contest, as the first in her family headed to college, she said this whole process is more of a collective effort for her family, and especially her parents, who immigrated to the U.S. from Mexico.

Karla Torres holds the handbag cover she made out of duct tape for the scholarship contest. (Gary Coronado/Los Angeles Times)

It means a lot to me that I was able to make it this far with the support of my parents  graduating from high school is not just me graduating, its my parents graduating, anyone who helped me," Torres said. "I'm a first-generation student  it means a lot to me that now we made it past high school and now were entering college.

She said the $10,000 prize would go a long way as she plans to attend a California State University school in August.

"I wouldnt want my parents to struggle trying to find a way to pay for it," Torres said. "It would really help my parents."

Torres plans to study business marketing in college, ideally focused in the fashion industry. In high school, she participated in Nordstrom's ambassador program, which gives young people a chance to explore the retail industry up close.

Read more:After years of cuts and financial turmoil, L.A.'s famed Fashion Institute finds a lifeline

"I really love fashion, it's a really big passion of mine," she said. "Im down and willing to try any style."

She said she often spends hours looking at outfit ideas or different styles, from the 70s to Gothic to Rococo, on Pinterest and TikTok  which is how she initially found the Duck Tape competition.

While scrolling on social media during the pandemic, she saw one of the 2021 finalists promoting a traditional Mexican-style duct tape dress, and made sure to vote for her fellow Latina.

"I was so interested and fascinated," Torres said.

But it wasn't until a recent visit to The Getty Museum  the only field trip she took in high school  that she found her inspiration from the 18th-century French paintings, featuring lavish, ornate dresses.

"I wanted light pastel colors because that just reminds me of that era," said Torres, who recognized it as a challenge because of the tape's neon focus. "I wanted something more subtle, more elegant."

She was able to find the perfect shade in a light pink tape, which she paired with white and gold.

When you see the top 10 finalists designs, youll have to remind yourself that high school students created these out of Duck Tape, said Ashley Luke, senior product manager at Shurtape Technologies, LLC, the company that makes Duck tape. The intricate design and personality put into each ensemble is unbelievable."

Voting for the finalists is open through July 12, and winners should be announced by July 19.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP)  Campaigning in Iowa, former President Donald Trump attacked Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as an enemy of corn-based ethanol in his largest campaign event in the leadoff caucus state in nearly four months.

Trump, appearing Friday in Council Bluffs in the western part of the state, criticized his top 2024 Republican presidential rival for voting as a member of Congress to oppose the federal mandate for the fuel additive that Iowa leads the nation in producing.

Trump declared himself the most pro-farmer president that youve ever had at the event, which was aimed at promoting his administrations agricultural record and touting his oversight of clawbacks of regulations on farmers. I fought for Iowa ethanol like no president in history," he said.

On a rainy Friday, Trump spoke to more than 1,000 Iowans and Nebraskans packed into the event hall inside Mid-America Center, with hundreds more huddled under umbrellas in line outside the arena.

As a congressman from Florida, DeSantis co-sponsored a bill in 2017 that would have immediately ended the renewable fuel standard, a position consistent with fiscal conservatives who see such mandates as government overreach.

Iowa also needs to know that Ron DeSanctus totally despises Iowa ethanol and ethanol generally, Trump said, intentionally mispronouncing his rival's name as he routinely does. Hes been fighting it for years. Dont forget, as a congressman he was voting against it, and fighting for years to kill every single job."

DeSantis campaign described the attack as a distortion. As president, Governor Ron DeSantis will be a champion for farmers and use every tool available to open new markets, campaign press secretary Bryan Griffin said in an emailed statement

Trump spoke for 80 minutes, starting with the agriculture theme but blending his attacks on DeSantis and President Joe Biden with asides on such subjects as Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine  I told him: Don't do it."  an impression of French President Emmanuel Macron and a dismissal of climate change science, saying during the hottest week in history that global warming is just going to give more people beachfront property.

He touted his three picks for the Supreme Court, who helped make up the majority that voted to overturn Roe v. Wade on abortion last year and to end affirmative action in college admissions last week. He urged caution in the way that Republicans talk about life after Roe and cast the decision as an opportunity for bargaining at the state and federal levels.

Noting his own preference for exceptions to abortion bans for victims of rape or incest and to protect the life of the pregnant woman, Trump said the court ruling gave pro-lifers a tremendous power to negotiate abortion restrictions.

That issue has to be spoken about properly because Republicans, many of them don't speak about it properly, he said, a nod to his criticism of hardline opponents he blamed for holding Republicans to a narrow House win last year. He added: "Its really a great victory to get something done. You now have tremendous power to negotiate something.

Trump took three audience questions and then headed to a local Dairy Queen. He teased the onlooking news media as he entered and wondered aloud what DQ's signature Blizzard was before handing them out to adoring fans. Anyone want one back there? he asked the crowd, which chanted, USA! USA! USA!

Although Iowa's caucus campaigns have become more focused on national party priorities over the past two decades, some candidates have continued to portray support for ethanol  specifically the federal requirement that the nations fuel supply contain a minimum volume of renewable fuels  as a litmus test in the state.

Ethanol is a fuel additive blended with gasoline and sold across the country that is usually produced by fermenting corn. The ethanol industry consumes about half of Iowas corn crop, and the state leads the nation in corn and ethanol production.

As a candidate, Trump has promoted the executive order he signed as president increasing the retail sale of fuel containing 15% ethanol.

Recent history, however, suggests a lack of support for ethanol may not be disqualifying. In 2016, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who opposes the mandate, won Iowas Republican caucuses, handing Trump an early defeat in his ultimately successful White House campaign. Trump carried Iowa by more than 9 percentage points in 2016 and 8.2 points in 2020.

As he arrived in Iowa, Trump also rolled out his Farmers for Trump Coalition, a group co-chaired by officials including Reps. Mike Sexton and Derek Wulf, the top two Republicans on the House Agriculture Committee.

Before Friday, Trump's last large event in Iowa was in March, when he spoke to more than 1,500 people at a theater in Davenport and also went after DeSantis on ethanol. He was due to hold an outdoor event in May in Des Moines with about 5,000 expected, but his campaign called it off because of a tornado warning.

The large Republican presidential field has spent a lot of time over the past few months in Iowa, the leadoff GOP caucus state. In June, more than a half dozen candidates, including DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence, former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley and U.S. Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, attended Sen. Joni Ernst's annual Roast and Ride fundraiser that kicked off a busy summer campaign season.

Trump campaigned in the Des Moines area last month, meeting with GOP state lawmakers, conservative pastors, campaign volunteers and a suburban Republican breakfast club. That visit came about a week before he was indicted on federal charges.

Part of the stop's purpose was also to put supporters in touch with campaign organizers to ensure their participation in the Iowa caucuses, which he predicted Friday he would win.

But noting the robust delegation that had crossed the Missouri River from Nebraska to attend, Trump said, I hope Nebraskas represented here.

The gesture prompted an eruption of applause from the many Nebraskans in the hall, none of whom would be allowed to participate in the caucuses.

___

Associated Press writer Meg Kinnard contributed to this report from Columbia, S.C.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP)  Iowa's Republican-controlled Legislature will aim to enact a ban on abortion after roughly six weeks of pregnancy during a rare special session that starts Tuesday, a draft of the bill released Friday shows.

The proposed measure is similar to a 2018 law that a deadlocked state Supreme Court declined to reinstate last month, prompting Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds to call for the extraordinary session. Abortion is currently legal in Iowa up to 20 weeks of pregnancy.

The drafted bill, like the 2018 law, would prohibit abortion once cardiac activity can be detected, which is usually around six weeks of pregnancy and before many women know they are pregnant.

A district court deemed that law unconstitutional in 2019 given rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court and the state's highest court that affirmed a womans fundamental constitutional right to abortion. Both bodies overturned those rulings last year, so Reynolds sought to reinstate the 2018 law.

The current draft of the bill, which may be amended before a vote, includes exceptions for medical emergencies, rape, incest and fetal abnormality.

Planned Parenthood, the largest abortion provider in the state, has said it plans to protest outside the Iowa Capitol on Tuesday. It has previously filed lawsuits to challenge the states abortion restrictions.

The bill is unlikely to encounter major roadblocks in the Legislature. Most Republican-led states have significant curbed abortion access in the year since the U.S. Supreme Court reversed itself on Roe v. Wade. Fourteen states have bans with limited exceptions and one state, Georgia, bans abortion after cardiac activity is detected. Several other states have similar restrictions that are on hold pending court rulings.

Any restrictions to come out of Iowa's special session are likely to be challenged in court.

The question before the Iowa Supreme Court this term was largely procedural, not on the merits of the law. Last year's ruling dictated that the undue burden test for abortion law remains in effect unless that legal standard is litigated further, which the court has not spoken to since. The undue burden is an intermediate level of scrutiny that requires laws do not create a significant obstacle to abortion.

Lawyers for the state argued the law should be analyzed using rational basis review, the lowest level of scrutiny to judge legal challenges.

Reynolds ordered a special session just one other year, in 2021, when lawmakers had to wait until the fall to approve the drawing of congressional and legislative districts. There hadn't been a special session since 2006.
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has called on China to work with Washington to fight the "existential threat" of climate change.

Speaking on Saturday, she said the two countries - the largest greenhouse gas emitters - had a joint responsibility to lead the way on climate action.

She called on China to support the US-led Green Climate Fund.

Ms Yellen is on a four-day trip to Beijing in an attempt to boost relations between the two countries.

Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, who was among those to meet with Ms Yellen, said he regretted "unexpected incidents", such as the row over a spy balloon, had hurt ties with the United States.

There has been no formal co-operation between China and the US on climate change since the administration of former President Donald Trump.

And China briefly suspended climate talks entirely with the US last year after senior Democrat Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan, which is self-ruled but Beijing sees as a breakaway province it will eventually unite with.

But in a sign that co-operation could soon resume, Ms Yellen called on China to work together with the US to fight climate change and mitigate the effects on poorer countries.

During the roundtable meeting in Beijing with finance experts, she called on China to support US-led institutions like the Green Climate Fund, which was set up to help developing nations adapt to climate change and lessen its effects.

"As the world's two largest emitters of greenhouse gases and the largest investors in renewable energy, we have both a joint responsibility - and ability - to lead the way," she said.

China is now the world's biggest investor in solar energy, and biggest producer of solar panels and wind turbines but saw its carbon dioxide emissions rise 4% in the first quarter of this year compared to 2022.

The US, meanwhile, has invested billions of dollars in recent years into initiatives aimed at tackling climate change but also saw its emissions rise slightly last year, according to the International Energy Agency.

While Ms Yellen wants China to join the US in funding the worldwide transition to renewables, the sticking point is China's insistence that it is still a developing country.

Beijing says it is up to the US and Europe to pay for the energy transition, because they have historically created most of the emissions.

Ms Yellen is the second senior Washington official to visit Beijing in the last two months. Her presence there is aimed at easing tensions and restoring ties between the world's two superpowers.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Beijing last month, making him the highest-ranking Washington official to visit the Chinese capital in almost half a decade. He met President Xi Jinping and foreign minister Qin Gang.

At the end of his trip, Mr Blinken said that while there were still major issues between the two countries, he hoped they would have "better communications, better engagement going forward."

However, the next day President Joe Biden referred to Mr Xi as a "dictator" - triggering outrage from Beijing.

In another sign the trade dispute between the two countries is far from being resolved, China this week announced it was tightening controls over exports of two materials crucial to producing computer chips.

From next month, special licences will be needed to export gallium and germanium from China, which is the world's biggest producer of the metals.
Members of Falun Dafa, or Falun Gong, perform on Main Street during this year's Huntington Beach Independence Day Parade. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

A lawsuit alleging San Jose-based technology giant Cisco Systems Inc. and two former executives aided the Chinese government in tracking and torturing adherents of the Falun Gong religious movement may proceed to trial, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Friday.

Falun Gong members alleged in 2011 that Cisco provided China with the technology behind its "Golden Shield" surveillance platform knowing it would be used by the Chinese government to oppress religious adherents. They alleged it has since enabled China to track members to an astonishing degree and facilitated their brutal detention and torture by the Chinese government, which has labeled Falun Gong a dangerous cult and banned it.

A lower district court dismissed those claims against Cisco, former Cisco Chief Executive John Chambers and former Cisco China Vice President Fredy Cheung in 2014.

The three-judge appellate panel's ruling Friday largely reversed that earlier decision. The appellate panel did not rule on the validity of the claims, but it found that the Falun Gong adherents had presented a strong enough case to allow their federal lawsuit in California to proceed.

In a statement to The Times, Cisco said the allegations against it in the lawsuit have "no basis."

"We build our products to global standards which promote the free flow of information, privacy, and freedom of expression," the company said. "Cisco has a longstanding commitment to uphold and respect human rights for all people, and we are strongly committed to an open global Internet."

Attorneys for Chambers and Cheung did not respond to requests for comment.

Read more:Falun Gong, banned in China, finds a loud protest voice in the U.S. through Shen Yun dance troupe

Paul Hoffman, an attorney for the Falun Gong plaintiffs, said the decision was "a huge victory" for his clients and a consequential one for the entire business world  particularly large tech companies.

"What this means is that tech companies, and other companies for that matter, will not be able to engage in activity that aids and abets torture in other countries," Hoffman said. "That's a big principle."

U.S. Circuit Judge Marsha S. Berzon wrote for the panel that the adherents had adequately argued, for the purposes of moving forward with a trial, that the company's actions  some of which were taken in the United States  amounted to "aiding and abetting" China's alleged misdeeds.

Berzon wrote that the Falun Gong adherents had adequately argued that Chambers and Cheung were aware while assisting China that "international law violations, including torture, were substantially likely," and that their "direct participation in the marketing and oversight of Ciscos projects" alongside Chinese officials had "substantial effect on the commission of violations of international law, including torture."

Berzon noted that the U.S. government, international human rights groups and others have reported systemic oppression and torture of Falun Gong adherents by China for decades, including through forced labor camps. Thousands are thought to have been killed.

Plaintiffs in the case, some of whose names have been anonymized, allege they were detained for months and years at a time and subjected to constant surveillance.

"The physical torture the plaintiffs endured in detention and while imprisoned in forced labor camps included beatings with steel rods and shocking with electric batons, sleep deprivation, being forced to sit or stand for prolonged periods of time in painful positions, and violent forcefeeding," Berzon wrote.

Read more:Banned Falun Gong Sect Is Just Latest to Get China Exercised

The plaintiffs are not alleging criminality on the part of Cisco, Chambers or Cheung, but they are seeking damages on the grounds the company's actions contributed to their abuse.

Cisco could petition for a larger, 11-judge "en banc" panel of the 9th Circuit to reconsider the three-judge panel's decision, which the court could agree or decline to do. The 9th Circuit's decision could also be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

If Friday's decision stands, however, the case would be returned to the lower district court, where Hoffman said he would start preparing for trial  including by seeking internal records from Cisco and deposing its executives.

Hoffman said that Cisco "helped the [Chinese] government design their computer systems to track Falun Gong members so they could be identified, detained and tortured," and that the 9th Circuit's decision was a positive step toward holding the American company accountable.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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If youre stuck in what seems like an endless cycle of procrastination, guilt and chaos, you might be wondering, Why am I so lazy? or Why cant I just get myself together?

Despite that common perception, laziness usually isnt the reason behind procrastination, said Jenny Yip, a clinical psychologist and executive director of the Los Angeles-based Little Thinkers Center, which helps children with academic challenges.

Laziness is like, I have absolutely no desire to even think about this. Procrastination is, It troubles me to think about this. And therefore, its hard for me to get the job done. Thats a big difference.

Knowing why you procrastinate and learning how to combat it are the only ways to change your behavior, according to experts. Psychologist Linda Sapadin sought to help this self-improvement effort with her book How to Beat Procrastination in the Digital Age.

You could be the perfectionist, the dreamer, the worrier or the defier  these are all procrastination styles that Sapadin lists in her book.

These procrastination types arent specific diagnoses and arent backed by research, but they are psychological types or reasons why someone might procrastinate, said Yip, who is also a clinical assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Southern Californias Keck School of Medicine.

Procrastination can have practical consequences, such as falling behind at work or failing to achieve personal goals or to cross off errands from a to-do list. But there are also emotional or mental impacts. It has been associated with depression, anxiety and stress, poor sleep, inadequate physical activity, loneliness and economic difficulties, according to a January study of more than 3,500 college students.

Particularly in America, where so much of our worth is tied up into what we do, how we work, what we produce  it can feel very shameful if you cant do that, said Vara Saripalli, a Chicago-based clinical psychologist. It can leave people feeling very defeated and feeling like theres no point in trying.

Knowing why you procrastinate can make you self-aware, but you still need strategies to break the habit. Otherwise, well just keep repeating things, Saripalli said. The strategy youre going to employ to beat procrastination is going to change based on the purpose procrastination is serving for you.

Heres how to explore which type of procrastinator you might be  though remember, you could embody the traits of more than just one type.

The types of procrastination

A procrastinator is usually a perfectionist, Yip said.

Because the perfectionist needs things done perfectly  all Ts crossed and Is dotted  it takes an insurmountable amount of effort. And if (they) dont have a plan of how to get this task completed, then the perfectionist will get lost.

Worriers tend to be indecisive and dependent on others for advice or reassurance before taking initiative on their own. They also have a high resistance to change, preferring the safety of the known.

Both perfectionists and worriers might put off starting tasks due to a fear of failure or criticism, said Itamar Shatz, a researcher at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom and creator of the website Solving Procrastination.

Challenge those beliefs and your behavior by recognizing that perfectionistic standards are unrealistic, Shatz said. Replace them with standards that are good enough instead while giving yourself permission to make some mistakes, he added.

Avoid all-or-nothing thinking and give yourself a time limit for completing a task. (And then stick to that time limit  dont just give up if you dont meet it.)

The dreamer

A dreamer procrastinator doesnt like the nitty-gritty logistical details often needed to get projects done, Saripalli said. They like to have ideas, she added. That stuff is fun. Its kind of difficult or boring to then execute these visions.

Dreamers might also think of themselves as people for whom fate will intervene, making proactive hard work and efficiency appear unnecessary.

And like a perfectionist, a dreamer might always want something better, Yip said. Train yourself to differentiate between dreams and goals, and approach goals with six questions: what, when, where, who, why and how. Change soon or one day to specific times. Write your plans into a timeline, specifying each step.

The defier

People with defiant procrastination tend to view life in terms of what others expect or require them to do, not what they want. This pessimism diminishes their motivation to complete tasks.

If you have this mindset, find positive ways to feel in control, Shatz said. Strive to act rather than react and try to work with a team or supervisor, not against them.

If something doesnt sit well with you, rather than being passive-aggressive about it, acknowledge what is or isnt working and then have a conversation with whoever is giving you this assignment, Yip said. Defiers usually dont feel equipped to have these conversations with who they see as authority figures, or they dont believe that having the conversations would give them any benefit or positive outcome.  Thats not necessarily true.

How to overcome procrastination

Just like working on anxiety or other mental health issues, addressing procrastination can be hard, especially if it comes from deep-rooted issues, Shatz said.

For some people who procrastinate, their sense of self is so fragile that the idea of doing something and failing would just tip them over into complete worthlessness, said Sean Grover, a New York City-based psychotherapist specializing in group therapy.

In such cases, consider contacting a professional, like a psychologist, who might be able to help you, Shatz added.

Visualization works, Yip said. If you can visualize yourself completing (a task), then it becomes more achievable simply because you have an idea that it can be done.

At the end of the day, how you approach life is all about your belief system, Yip said. If you believe you can, you can. If you believe you cannot, you cant. So whatever you believe, youre right.

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At least two people were killed and one person is missing after a fire broke out Friday at the Nohoch Alfa offshore platform at the Bay of Campeche, in the Gulf of Mexico, the state-owned oil company Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) said in a statement.

Some 321 workers out of the 328 who were working on the structure when the fire started have already been evacuated, according to Pemex. Four boats have been sent to control the fires on the oil platform.

The state-owned oil company said earlier that at least six were injured.

In the latest video statement posted to Pemexs Twitter account, Pemex Director Octavio Romero Oropeza, said the two people who died and the one missing are from the company that was working at the facility and not from Pemex.

Oropeza said the part of the platform where the fire started has been completely destroyed, and that Pemex is investigating what caused the fire.

He said the firm is now focusing its efforts on looking for the missing person and resuming operations.

Some employees of other platforms told CNN Friday that the flames can be seen from the nearby platforms, so the incident appears to be of considerable magnitude.

During an earlier press conference, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said that the blaze was being battled by Pemex firefighters and the Mexican Navy was also participating in the efforts.

Pemex, which has a long record of major industrial accidents at its facilities, said it will continue to report on the control, extinction of the fire and damage assessment throughout the day.

In 2021, a blaze that resembled a large eye of fire near a Pemex offshore platform in the Gulf of Mexico was brought under control.

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KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysia's Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Friday said he will meet Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and owner of Twitter, to discuss the billionaire's investment in the Southeast Asian nation.

"Next week, Elon Musk asked to discuss with me the possibility and his commitment to increase his investments in Malaysia," Anwar said in a speech during an event with civil servants.

Malaysia's Trade Ministry in March said it had approved electric vehicle maker Tesla Inc's application to import battery-run EVs into Malaysia.

It said Tesla will open an office, showrooms and service centers in the country and establish a network of charging stations for its cars, but did not say when.

Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Anwar did not provide any other details of next week's meeting.

Anwar also said he had met Saudi Aramco during a conference in late June, where the Saudi state oil company agreed to increase its investments in the state of Johor.

Malaysia's Petronas and Saudi Aramco jointly own a refinery-petrochemical complex in Pengerang, Johor.

(Reporting by Mei Mei Chu; Editing by Kanupriya Kapoor)
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The special counsel overseeing all Department of Justice investigations related to former President Donald Trump has seemed to focus in particular on an infamous Oval Office meeting after Trump lost the 2020 election and before the January 6, 2021, insurrection at the US Capitol. In that meeting, unofficial advisers presented Trump with unlikely ways to overturn the election.

No charges have been brought. From CNNs exclusive report:

Some witnesses were asked about the meeting months ago, while several others have faced questions about it more recently, including Rudy Giuliani.  Prosecutors have specifically inquired about three outside Trump advisers who participated in the meeting: former Trump lawyer Sidney Powell, one-time national security adviser Michael Flynn and former Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne, sources said.

Representatives for Giuliani, Powell and Flynn either did not respond or declined to comment to CNN. Byrne offered on Twitter to talk to special counsel Jack Smith.

It just so happens that there is a new podcast built around that Oval Office meeting.

Peter Bergen is CNNs national security analyst, a vice president at New America and host of the Audible podcast, In the Room with Peter Bergen, also on Apple and Spotify. Over two episodes, he focuses in particular on the story of Flynn.

I talked to Bergen about the new CNN report, the Oval Office meeting and Flynns journey from being a respected general who went down the rabbit hole to become a full-blown pusher of conspiracy theories. Our conversation, conducted by phone, is below.

Envisioning a conspiracy case

WOLF: As someone whos reported extensively on the meeting and built a podcast around it, I just wanted to get your read on these new developments.

BERGEN: In a sense its not surprising, since it seems Jack Smith is trying to make some kind of conspiracy case around the attempts to overturn the election.

This meeting was central to the conspiracy, it seems. When you have General Flynn and Sidney Powell suggesting somehow the military should indeed seize voting machines. And of course that was the night that Trump tweeted about the January 6 gathering in Washington, DC.

Its all part of a continuum of events that, if youre trying to make some kind of conspiracy case, this would be an important meeting.

(Note: No one involved in the meeting has yet been charged by Smith. Trump has denied all wrongdoing.)

One of the most bizarre meetings ever at the White House

WOLF: Your podcast goes into great detail about what happened at the meeting, and it was an incredible scene.

BERGEN: This is one of the most bizarre meetings that has ever happened at the White House. Youre hard pressed to think of a wackier event in the Oval Office, where people are shouting expletives and screaming  and the meeting goes on for six hours and theres talk of bringing the military in to overthrow the election in some shape or form.

Usually a meeting at the Oval Office would have a great deal of decorum. There was no decorum here. One of Trumps lawyers almost challenged Flynn to a fight. It was pretty intense.

Why focus on Flynn?

WOLF: Flynn is kind of a bit player in Trumps administration. He was only there for a few days in an official capacity, although he looms large in the final days in an unofficial capacity. Hes arguably on the fringe of the American political conversation. Why did you decide to focus on him?

BERGEN: He went from being a very well-regarded special operations officer to now somebody whos one of the leaders of the Christian nationalist right  they refer to him as Americas general.

Hes embraced various kinds of conspiracy theories, not just that the election was somehow stolen, but also that some of the World Economic Forum has got a plan to change the world order.

Hes emblematic of a lot of people who have gone down a number of rabbit holes over the last few years, except that he was the national security adviser for President Trump.

In a second Trump administration, which is not out of the question, I think he would have an important role. As we say in the podcast, Trump called him publicly at a recent conference in May, where he vowed to bring back Mike Flynn again, implying that Flynn would be part of his national security team.

He was a perfectly normal officer until he was forced to retire early in 2014 from the Defense Intelligence Agency, and he increasingly embraced some wacky conspiracy theories at that time, and he seems to have gone on.

I guess he may be on the fringes, but if you look at polling data about peoples beliefs about certain things, Christian nationalism is a view shared by around 20% of Americans according to survey data  meaning that (a person) would agree with the statement that the United States should declare itself a Christian nation.

People who dont view themselves as alienated, but rather on a crusade

WOLF: My sense is that people who believe in these kinds of conspiracy theories are in a way alienated from the rest of American society, but they dont necessarily view themselves that way. They think they are taking back American society.

BERGEN: The ReAwaken American Tour, thats their idea  the need to reawaken America. Its sort of a picture of Christian nationalism and conspiracy theories about people that have a plan to change the new world order.

Its also very caught up in the Covid experience. The people who attend these kinds of meetings think that Covid was somehow part of a conspiracy to increase government control.

We live in a very polarized society, and there are plenty of people who believe these ideas.  Anybody whos familiar with the World Economic Forum, its a fairly dull and serious gathering in Davos, Switzerland, every year. There is no conspiracy to take over the world and install the world socialist government.

Why does this happen to certain people?

WOLF: Do you have any insight into how this kind of conspiracy theory fever afflicts a person? Why does it happen to Michael Flynn and not retired Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal, who I learned from your podcast was a mentor to Flynn in Afghanistan?

BERGEN: Its an interesting question. Why do people believe in things that are actually not true? People are looking for explanations of the world to explain what they see.

When I spoke to Flynn at this conference in May, he said that the country was completely on the wrong track and that were all in deep trouble. He volunteered these ideas to me.

I think if people think that things are going really wrong, instead of examining why that might be the case, its easier to say, well, its part of a conspiracy led by the World Economic Forum, and put all the blame on whichever conspiracy view you have.

(Richard) Hofstadter, the American political scientist, wrote The Paranoid Style in American Politics. Theres always been someone to blame for whats going wrong.

Its a very old American idea, which is choose your ethnic group, choose your bogeyman. Its easier to explain everything thats not going right by saying that theres this hidden force that is making our lives worse, rather than saying, well, what are the real issues that we need to address. That takes more mental effort.

From intelligence work to conspiracy theories

WOLF: You talk in the podcast about encountering Flynn in his previous line of work  somebody involved in the intelligence community. Youve written books in which intelligence features prominently. Is there something innately conspiratorial about that line of work? Is there a line we can draw between intelligence, which is based on trying to find truth in unverified claims, and the spread of conspiracy theories thats afflicting the country right now?

BERGEN: I think that people who work in the intelligence field  theres a similarity to journalism, which is youre trying to gather facts and to come up with a theory of whats going on. Obviously you have different outcomes, and its public with journalism.

But in the intelligence community theyre not conspiracy theorists, theyre trying to gather as much information as possible, organize it into some sort of digestible story and tell policymakers look, we think (Russian President Vladimir) Putin is trying to invade Ukraine. Thats not a conspiracy theory. Thats a good example of the US intelligence community providing strategic warnings to policymakers that they then use.

I think in Flynns case, he retired early from running the Defense Intelligence Agency as a three-star general, and that was in 2014. It seemed to have caused some sort of snap in him.

His entire career, being in the military  when youre in the military, there are norms, laws that prevent you from saying a bunch of stupid things publicly. I think the guardrails came off. He was very angered when he felt he was unfairly fired by the Obama administration.

He meets Trump in 2015. They have a meeting of the minds. He was very important to Trump in 2016. One of the big decisions voters make is can someone suddenly be commander in chief.

With Hillary Clinton, there wasnt much doubt that she could be. She had years of experience running the State Department.

In this September 29, 2016, file photo, retired Gen. Michael Flynn, left, introduces then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at a campaign rally, in Bedford, New Hampshire. - John Locher/AP/FILE

With Trump, he had no national security experience, no foreign policy experience. So the fact that a three-star retired general like Mike Flynn had attached himself to the campaign was incredibly important for Trump and his campaign at that time, because they didnt have anybody like him.

Certainly, Flynn validated Trump early on and helped him a lot. But I dont think the fact that he was in the intelligence community has any bearing on his sort of conspiracist view of the world.

A pivot from covering one kind of threat to covering another

WOLF: My knowledge of your background before this is largely based on your reporting about Islamic terrorism and Osama bin Laden. How do you view the pivot between the threats you have covered so much in the past posed by terrorists outside the country to covering the threat to American democracy from within?

BERGEN: One thing Ive been tracking for a long time is right-wing terrorism, which obviously is on the rise.

The New America website has specific data, but the last time I checked there were 130 deaths caused by right-wing terrorists and 107 by jihadist terrorists (in the US since 9/11).

Right-wing terrorism has always been  I first got interested in that with the Oklahoma City bombing. I was working at CNN at the time and covered the bombings.

Its been around for a long time. Its not something thats new. I think after the Oklahoma City bombing there was a lot of law enforcement effort against the right-wing militia movements, and they went underground for a while, but its back.

One thing coming out at the January 6 insurrection  is that a lot of arrests have been made. I think they have a deterrent effect if you look at the lack of violent protests when Trump was indicted in New York or in Miami. When people see that something around a thousand people have been arrested and many of them have been convicted, some of them sentenced to have long sentences, I think that does have a deterrent effect.

Terrorism can come in all sorts of ideological flavors. And violence can come out of all sorts of different ideologies. 

American politics has always been pretty violent. Look back to the 70s. There was the Weather Underground. There were the Black Panthers. There were Puerto Rican nationalists. Because of 9/11, terrorism was bundled with Islamist terrorism, but there are other types. They wane and they rise depending on the politics of the time.

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Forty-seven years after she was found dead in Eastern Ontario, Canadian police have discovered the identity of the Nation River Lady using DNA technology.

The dead woman was Jewell Parchman Langford, a Tennessee spa owner who disappeared on a trip to Montreal, according to the Ontario Provincial Police.

In 1975, a female dead body was found in the Nation River near a highway bridge in Casselman, Ontario.

Jewell Parchman Langford (Ontario Provincial Police)

The corpse, which appeared to have been strangled, was found with its hands and ankles bound with mens neckties, with its face wrapped in a tea towel.

Police investigated the apparent killing for years without success, including building a 3D facial approximation of the woman in 2017.

Officers got a break in 2019, when the Centre of Forensic Sciences in Toronto helped create a new DNA profile of the woman, sending the information to a lab in California.

Next, the DNA Doe Project, an organisation that helps investigate cold cases, worked with police to match the DNA profile to a family tree using genealogy databases, and DNA samples from the victims nieces confirmed the match.

Police also located and arrested a suspect in the killing, Rodney Nichols, 81, of Hollywood, Florida.

At that time, her family in Tennessee had reported her missing, Detective Inspector Daniel Nadeau of the Ontario Provincial Police said on Wednesday, NBC News reports. While I cannot get into the specifics that will be entered at trial, I can tell you that the accused and the victim were known to each other.

Nichols, who was charged with murder last year, is subject to an extradition request to Canada.

Closure, I dont think that will come until hes tried in court, Denise Chung, one of Langfords nieces, told the broadcaster. But there is relief that at least we will have her back here with us and we know what happened.

Nichols hasnt appeared in court yet or entered a plea, according to the CBC.
DUBAI (Reuters) -Two police officers and four attackers were killed when gunmen and suicide bombers stormed a police station in Iran's restive southeast on Saturday, Iranian state television reported.

The attack occurred in Zahedan, capital of Sistan-Baluchistan province, scene of some of the bloodiest protests during a wave of nationwide unrest last year triggered by the death of a young Kurdish woman in the custody of the morality police.

State television said "all four terrorists" and two policemen had died in the raid. A police spokesman said three attackers had died, according to different media reports.

Sistan-Baluchistan, which borders Pakistan and Afghanistan, is one of Iran's poorest provinces and a major drug trafficking route.

Human rights groups say the Baluch minority, estimated to number up to 2 million people, has faced discrimination and repression for decades.

Zahedan has been the scene of weekly protests since the killing of protesters on Sept. 30, 2022, even as unrest has subsided in most other parts of the country.

Amnesty International has said security forces killed at least 66 people in the crackdown on protesters. Authorities sacked Zahedan's police commander and a police station chief afterwards.

Authorities blamed the start of the shooting on Sept. 30 on Jaish al-Adl, or Army of Justice, a Baluch militant group which they say operates from safe havens in Pakistan. Neither Jaish al-Adl nor any other group claimed a role.

(Reporting by Dubai newsroomEditing by Kim Coghill, Alison Williams and Helen Popper)
Its no surprise Gov. Mike Parson doesnt want to compensate wrongfully convicted Missourians. How often has Parson advocated for the release of innocent people from our prisons? Almost never.

But Parsons refusal to protect the innocent from indiscriminate gunfire is unfathomable.

On Thursday, Parson vetoed legislation that would have allowed anyone incarcerated for an erroneous conviction in Missouri to qualify for post-conviction financial relief. Currently, only those exonerated by DNA evidence are eligible for a payout from the state.

Senate Bill 189, sponsored by Republican state Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer, of Parkville, also would have made celebratory gunfire a felony, instead of a slap on the wrist for a crime that local enforcement agencies can do little to curtail.

Why did Parson kill a fellow Republicans bill? The state, he said, should not be financially responsible for erroneous convictions made at the local prosecutors office.

Parson is a former Polk County sheriff, and as such, worked with local prosecutors, who by the very nature of their taxpayer-funded jobs act as agents of the state.

We reached out to Luetkemeyers office for comment, but the Parkville lawmaker was unavailable.

In a veto message to the General Assembly, aides for Parson cited increased costs as the ridiculous reason for the state not atoning for wrongful incarcerations.

Governor Parson does not believe every taxpayer across the State should be responsible for prosecutorial errors made at the local level, they wrote.

Missouris Republican governor believes in law and order. Until he doesnt. He is a staunch supporter of local control. Unless it involves undermining the effort to corral gun violence in Kansas City or St. Louis by preemptively restricting those cities from enacting tougher gun control laws.

Who could forget Parsons expediency in signing into law a bill that upped the Kansas City Police Departments annual budget by 5%, while city leaders wanted to assert some control on the purse strings? We remain cautious of any attempt by Parson to treat Kansas Citians fairly.

By rejecting S.B. 189, Parson also said no to a separate provision known as Blairs Law.

We feel for the family of 11-year-old Blair Shanahan, who was killed by a stray bullet shot on July 4, 2011. After her death, Blairs parents and a bipartisan group of lawmakers came together and fought for years to make the dangerous practice of celebratory gunfire a felony. Here, firing off rounds in the air is only a municipal violation.

Simple law of physics: What goes up must come down, Governor Parson. As a former lawman and supporter of the Second Amendment, Parson should know better than anyone the danger of indiscriminate gunfire.

Attempts to reach Blairs mother, Michele Shanahan DeMoss, for comment were unsuccessful.

The bill made it to the governors desk as part of a crime bill package but was turned down because Missouris governor is too stubborn to pay restitution to the exonerated. How about not locking up innocent people to begin with?

In Kansas City, six gunfire injuries were reported this Fourth of July, police officials said. Luckily, no one died.

We invite the governor to come spend a New Years Eve or Independence Day with us. Take in the sights and sounds round after round. And were not talking about fireworks.

The next time someone in this state dies from celebratory gunfire, we challenge the governor to sit with the bereaved family. He should arrangements to attend the funeral of any person who dies as a result of his inaction.

Previously, Parson said he supported Blairs Law. This week, in a statement, he tried his best to make sense out of his nonsensical veto of the legislation:

Missourians know I am a law and order governor and that improving public safety is a cornerstone of our administration, but I cannot sign this bill with these provisions as they are currently written, he wrote.

Banning celebratory gunfire in Missouri was the right thing to do. Blairs parents and lawmakers should be proud of their efforts over the years to pass this legislation out of the General Assembly. Despite the last-hour veto from the governors desk, were hopeful that work will continue.

And for innocent people finally freed from prison, offering them compensation, schooling, help with health care and other benefits is how the state should make amends for their wrongful convictions.

Too bad Missouris governor refuses to see the humanity in that.
Newport Beach surgeon Grant Robicheaux, left, and his girlfriend, Cerissa Riley, at the Harbor Justice Center in Newport Beach in 2020. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Five years after prosecutors announced charges against a Newport Beach surgeon and his girlfriend, portraying them as serial predators who drugged vulnerable women, a judge has thrown out the last remaining sex charges in the case.

In ruling that there was too little evidence to send Grant Robicheaux and Cerissa Riley to trial for allegedly drugging and sexually assaulting two women, Orange County Superior Court Judge Michael Leversen on Friday handed the defendants a major victory but an incomplete one.

The two must still face a felony charge of drugging the drink of one of the women, the judge ruled. Robicheaux, an orthopedic surgeon once deemed the countys Most Eligible Bachelor by a local magazine, also faces two felony counts of illegal possession of assault weapons, plus misdemeanor charges of possessing cocaine and other drugs.

Read more:Prosecutors ready to focus rape case against Orange County doctor, girlfriend around 2 women

The case has been a tabloid favorite, in part because of Robicheaux's appearance on the Bravo reality show Online Dating Rituals of the American Male.

Defense attorneys have portrayed Robicheaux and Riley, a former schoolteacher, as hard-partying swingers. Both deny having nonconsensual sex with any of the accusers.

After announcing charges against the couple in 2018, Orange County prosecutors said that more than a dozen women had accused Robicheaux of attacking them, with some alleging Rileys participation.

Robicheaux was charged with sexually assaulting five women. Riley was charged with being involved in attacks on three.

Defense attorney Philip Cohen, left, Grant Robicheaux, center, and his girlfriend, Cerissa Riley, leave the Harbor Justice Center in Newport Beach in 2020. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Then-Dist. Atty. Tony Rackauckas said a search of Robicheaux's property had turned up tens or hundreds of apparently incriminating home videos, some featuring women highly intoxicated beyond the ability to consent or resist.

Rackauckas characterized the couple as predators who found victims in Newport Beach bars and restaurants and lured them to Robicheauxs home for sex after plying them with drugs. One accuser compared them to Bonnie and Clyde.

The case quickly became entangled in politics, with Todd Spitzer, who was running for district attorney, accusing Rackauckas of embellishing the case and exploiting it in hopes of winning reelection.

After Spitzer won, he ordered a review of the case and announced it had serious proof problems." There were no videos of incapacitated women being sexually assaulted, he said.

Read more:Internal memo criticizes O.C. district attorney's review of Robicheaux rape case

But Orange County Superior Court Judge Gregory Jones refused to let Spitzer dismiss the charges and took the rare step of removing the local district attorney's office from the case, saying Spitzer's position had left his prosecutors "hopelessly conflicted."

The California attorney generals office announced last August that it would proceed against the defendants with a focus on allegations by the remaining two victims.

Sign up for Essential California, your daily guide to news, views and life in the Golden State.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
A Spring Mills man is facing federal charges in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Friday.

Terry L. Allen, 64, is accused of assaulting law enforcement officers and faces felony charges of assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers and disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds.

According to a statement of facts from the DOJ, Allen was identified in footage from Jan. 6 by a member of the public who identified him through publicly available photos and videos. In June 2022, this person also sent the FBI a video from Nov. 14, 2020, in which Allen was carrying what appeared to be the same black Trump flag and tan tactical gloves shown in the footage from the Jan. 6 riot.

Allen was among the crowd of rioters that breached the western perimeter of the U.S. Capitol grounds, the 12-page court filing states. He is seen on the video footage carrying a flag on a wooden flagpole approximately five feet in length.

According to the filing, video footage shows Allen shoving officers before using his wooden flagpole as a lance to attack officers by driving it into them in a stabbing motion as well as later throwing what appears and sounds consistent with a black metallic pole at the officers standing less than ten feet away.

Others, including a person who has known Allen for more than 10 years, identified him from an image taken on Jan. 6, according to the filing.

In addition to the felony offenses, Allen faces misdemeanor charges of engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or on restricted grounds and obstruction of law enforcement during civil disorder. He made his initial appearance Friday in the Middle District of Pennsylvania.

Allen served two years in the Centre County Correctional Facility after assaulting a State College police officer in 1984. He pleaded guilty to slamming a police officers head into the pavement multiple times, the filing noted. In 2011 the FBI received a complaint about Allen because of his possible ownership of a fully automatic machine gun. He was never interviewed.

Allen is the third person with a known connection to Centre County to face charges related to Jan. 6. Julian Khater, the former owner of Frutta Bowls in downtown State College, was sentenced in January to 80 months in prison  one of the longest handed down for any Capitol rioter  for his involvement. Brian Gundersen, who had been living in State College and traveled to Washington, D.C. to attend the rally that preceded the riot, was convicted in November of obstructing the vote to certify the electoral college and of striking a police officer. He has not yet been sentenced.

More than 1,000 people have been charged in connection with the Capitol riot since the DOJ began its investigation, which is ongoing.

Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.
TEHRAN, Iran (AP)  Four militants attacked a police station in southeastern Iran and killed two security forces, state TV reported Saturday.

The assault took place in Zahedan, a city in Irans Sistan and Baluchistan province, about 30 kilometers (19 miles) from the border with Pakistan. It triggered a shootout that left two security forces were killed, the report said.

Irans powerful Revolutionary Guard said in a statement that the four militants were killed.

The report quoted Alireza Marhamati, the province's deputy governor, as saying the militants were trying to gain access to the police station and were equipped with grenades, but did not elaborate.

The state-run IRNA news agency on its Telegram channel said a Sunni separatist group affiliated with al-Qaida and known as Jeish al-Adl, or Army of Justice, claimed responsibility for the attack.

IRNA also reported that authorities Saturday hanged two men involved in the October 26 deadly attack on Shah Cheragh mosque in the city of Shiraz, the second holiest site in Iran.

The report said the two were members of the extremist Islamic State group and were behind the deadly attack that killed at least 13 and wounded 30 people.

The semi-official ISNA and Tasnim news agencies said the two were publicly executed in the city of Shiraz.

The gunman who executed the attack, identified as Sobhan Komrouni, died in a hospital in southern Iran, days after the Oct. 26 attack, from injuries sustained during his arrest.

State TV at the time blamed the attack on takfiris, a term that refers to Sunni Muslim extremists who have targeted the countrys Shiite majority in the past.

The attack came as protesters elsewhere in Iran marked 40 days since the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in custody ignited the biggest anti-government movement in over a decade. It appeared to be unrelated to the demonstrations.
With the towering SpaceX launch site behind him, Justin LeClaire spotted something astonishing in a grassy, sandflat mosaic of protected wilderness on the southern tip of Texas, near the Gulf of Mexico.

Weve got a bird thats acting really distressed, said the wildlife biologist, stopping in his tracks and quickly peering through his binoculars. Which likely means it has a nest out here.

The bird was a snowy plover, LeClaire said, a species thats rapidly declined in the area over the past five years since SpaceX started actively testing and launching rockets there. The launch tower juts out of pristine Boca Chica State Park like a futuristic steeple that can be seen from more than 5 miles (8 kilometers) away on a clear day.

SpaceXs controversial launch  and subsequent explosion  of Starship, the most powerful rocket ever built, blasted scattered debris up to the size of small boulders all across the delicate ecosystem around the launchpad in April.

When walking around the area in early June, LeClaire, who works with the Coastal Bend Bays & Estuaries Program, was shocked to find several snowy plovers back in the area and nesting in that debris.

He counted seven nests constructed among the rubble, the birds earth-tone eggs matching the color of the rusted and charred remnants of the launchpad. Remarkably, the snowy plovers were adapting and using the debris field as a new habitat.

But to LeClaire, it was a scary realization.

The little pebbles (small pieces of debris) are providing them habitat, he said, then pointed to the launch site just a few hundred feet away. But as soon as this disturbance comes  (another) massive rocket launch  its bad news. This is interesting from a scientific perspective, but its almost certainly bad for these birds.

The environmental impact of SpaceX in this corner of Texas is part of a growing debate among locals over the presence of Elon Musks massive company. While some tout the potential economic boom and job opportunities that SpaceX has brought to the broader Rio Grande Valley, along with the millions of dollars that Musk has pledged to Cameron County, others fear the risk is too great. Working-class residents feel pushed out by surging property taxes and higher home and rental prices.

Environmental activists also worry about turning this treasured part of the Texas coastline  known for its birdwatching, fishing and clean beaches  into an industrial space complex.

Several groups are now suing the Federal Aviation Administration and SpaceX, demanding more mitigation to reduce environmental damage. Their goal is to impact how the company operates in the area  but many see the lawsuit as an uphill battle.

Its a David and Goliath case, said local activist Jim Chapman. When you have just a handful of people taking on the FAA and SpaceX, I would not say the cards are stacked in our favor.

A sign near SpaceX's launch facilities in South Texas reminds visitors to the nearby Boca Chica Beach to keep the area clean. SpaceX has a debris recovery hotline for locals to report shrapnel from its launches. - CNN

An unprecedented launch

On April 20, SpaceX successfully launched a test flight of Starship with its massive Super Heavy rocket booster, complete with a whopping 33 engines. With a force that rattled the ground and dazzled tourists who came to watch the historic liftoff, the spacecraft took flight.

The rocket failed to light all of its engines at liftoff. And a few minutes into the flight, around the time the rocket was meant to separate from the spacecraft, the Starship began tumbling out of control, forcing SpaceX engineers to detonate Starship and its rocket over the Gulf of Mexico in a fiery blast.

For space enthusiasts and spectators, it was a rapturous moment of unprecedented power. SpaceX employees were seen cheering and clapping on the companys livestream, even amid the explosion. But it didnt take long for the literal fallout to turn into backlash.

The launchpad disintegrated, catapulting massive chunks of concrete and tangled rebar across the state park and Boca Chica peninsula. According to the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the wind carried a plume cloud of pulverized concrete, which rained down pebbles of debris, up to 6.5 miles (10.5 kilometers) inland and blanketed the nearby city of Port Isabel with a particle-filled substance. More than three acres of state park land were scorched in a grassfire.

SpaceX's next-generation Starship spacecraft lifted off atop its powerful Super Heavy rocket from the company's Boca Chica launchpad on an uncrewed test flight before exploding near Brownsville, Texas, on April 20, 2023. - Joe Skipper/Reuters

Just hours after the spectacle, the FAA grounded SpaceXs Starship, announcing the agency would oversee a mishap investigation of the test mission to ensure public safety for any future attempts, a routine step after all failed rocket launches.

Prior to Aprils incident, SpaceX prototypes intended solely for testing have exploded in the area for years.

Musk has repeatedly said hed like to try to launch Starship again as soon as this summer, but the FAA said in a statement to CNN that SpaceX has yet to take public safety actions or submit a mishap report with corrective actions for FAA review and approval.

SpaceX did not respond to an interview request or respond to a list of questions for this story, nor has the company responded to routine inquiries from reporters in years.

Longtime locals fear being pushed out

The contrast between the euphoric cheers from space tourists watching Starship take off and the deep-seated resentment among some longtime residents of the area could not be more stark. About a week after the launch, at least two fences in nearby Brownsville  the seat of Cameron County, Texas  were spray-painted with F*ck SpaceX.

Some local activists have long been trying to raise awareness about their concerns regarding not just the environmental effects of the space companys work, but the economic impacts, too.

Josette Hinojosa, a single mother who grew up in Brownsville, said her rent has jumped from $650 to $1,000 in just two years.

People just cant afford the property taxes, so theyre selling their homes, she said. Renters who are renting there or who were renting there are just, they have no place to go.

Property values have skyrocketed in this part of Texas, far outpacing the Covid-era surge and statewide increase from recent years. Since SpaceX broke ground in 2014, the median price of a home in Cameron County has jumped 116%, compared with an 86% increase statewide, according to the Texas A&M Real Estate Research Center.

Hinojosa cites a tweet from Musk in March 2021 that encouraged people to move to the greater Brownsville area in Texas, saying SpaceX needs engineers, technicians and builders to support his mission.

Cameron County is one of the poorest counties in Texas, and low-income households are struggling to keep up with the rising cost of living, Hinojosa said. She worries about having to relocate, abandoning an area where several generations of her family have lived.

I grew up two blocks down from here, she said, standing outside the home shes rented for the past decade. It means a lot to me to still be here, to still have friends that I know that still live down the street  We worry about these things because we know how hard our families work to just be able to acquire that piece of equity, which is property.

Starship is pictured here ahead of its liftoff from SpaceX's Boca Chica launchpad on an orbital test mission near Brownsville, Texas, on April 17, 2023. - Joe Skipper/Reuters

An economic boom

Local politicians, however, fully support the presence of SpaceX, touting the economic benefits for the area. According to Cameron County Judge Eddie Trevino, Jr., the space company employs about 2,000 people in the Rio Grande Valley.

An economic impact study from 2021  provided to CNN by Cameron County officials but conducted by SpaceX  reported that the company generated $903 million in gross economic output for the county that year with $8.1 million generated in sales, property taxes and government fees. The study projected over $900 million in gross economic output for 2023.

Musk also pledged $30 million to the area in 2021, saying $20 million would go to Cameron County schools and $10 million to the city of Brownsville for downtown revitalization. Its not clear whether all those funds have been donated.

Trevino, who is the highest ranking elected official in Cameron County, acknowledged the surging property taxes for locals and the environmental impacts but said county officials are working closely with SpaceX to mitigate those concerns.

Weve made it known we want them to be successful, but not to the detriment of the area, he said.

Theres a certain segment of the community that is not in favor of SpaceX and never will be, he added. Im not invalidating those concerns  Theyre valid concerns, but the great majority of the people that I hear from and speak to are extremely excited.

Trevino said the educational impact alone could span generations of students who want to grow up, stay in the area, and be engineers or work in the space industry.

As a county judge, its been my goal  to bring those economic development projects that are going to bring in better and high paying jobs, he said. And having SpaceX here short term has already been a huge, huge boom to our economy, to our industry.

Some local business owners also share this perspective.

Almost two years ago, Barton Bickerton opened Hopper Haus Bar & Grill in Port Isabel. The bar sits across the bay from the Boca Chica facility in South Texas. It has become a popular hangout for SpaceX employees and tourists who descend on the area.

The bar has a distinct theme, with SpaceX memorabilia decorating the walls, including a chunk of the cement launchpad.

Bickerton said he agrees that SpaceX has been a boon to the local economy and, despite Aprils controversial rocket launch, he sees strong support for the private space program.

Theres no way  with the money that they spend on that thing  theres no way theyre not going to keep launching from here, Bickerton said.

But Bickerton acknowledges that, for many of his customers who strongly support SpaceX, witnessing the sheer force of the rocket and its aftermath has made some a little scared about it.

I think its fantastic for the area, he added. You have to do it the right way. Thats for sure.

A mural of SpaceX founder Elon Musk at The Broken Sprocket food truck park and bar in Brownsville, Texas, in February 2022. - (Mark Felix/Bloomberg/Getty Images)

SpaceX and environmental concerns

Mary Angela Branch lives in Port Isabel, a coastal community less than 10 miles from the launchpad, and still remembers the first time, in 2016, that she saw a big wooden sign advertising the future home of SpaceX. It was on a previously undisturbed beach in Boca Chica.

Branch is on the board of an organization called Save RGV (Rio Grande Valley), which started in 2014. The group initially came together to fight against proposed liquified natural gas terminals, but they are now involved in litigation directly related to SpaceX.

The impact of Aprils Starship launch on the regions environment was palpable, Branch said.

The air quality was horrible. It was like a nuclear blast had gone off there, she said. I didnt see any birds. No seagulls, no pelicans, nothing. The lack of wildlife really, really got my attention.

Beatriz Reynoso, a disabled veteran, environmental activist, and former congressional candidate from nearby Harlingen, Texas, said she suffered health issues after exposure to burn pits in Afghanistan and fears the repeated rocket launches and explosions could impact the health of South Texas residents.

I worry about the community, which is a medically underserved area and population, and the consequences of poor and contaminated air quality, Reynoso said.

Ahead of the launch on April 20, the FAA issued a finding that the event would have no significant impact on its surrounding environment. Therefore, the agency didnt proceed with a more in-depth environmental assessment, which would have taken more time.

Save RGV is involved in a lawsuit against the FAA that alleges the agency failed to do enough to mitigate or thoroughly review potential damages to the area. The group is one of a handful of plaintiffs  including the Carrizo/Comecrudo Nation of Texas and the Center for Biological Diversity  pursuing the case in the hope that the agency will go back and do a far more comprehensive environmental analysis of the impacts of the launch.

In a court document, the FAA denied the allegations levied by the activists. The agency declined further comment to CNN, saying it does not comment on ongoing litigation. SpaceX has sought to intervene in the case and did not respond to CNNs request for comment on the lawsuit.

Jim Chapman has lived in Brownsville since the late 1970s. He joined Save RGV because he was concerned about the environmental impact of SpaceXs launches on the wildlife refuge areas that surround the launch site.

Ultimately, we want them (the FAA) to make SpaceX do what they should have done from the beginning, Chapman said.

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The owner of a Texas canoe and kayaking company filed a lawsuit on Friday seeking to stop the installation of a marine floating barrier on the Rio Grande, claiming Gov. Greg Abbott has no right to regulate the border.

The lawsuit was filed on the same day that Texas started deploying buoys for the barrier in an attempt to deter migrant crossings on the river along the US-Mexico border.

The suit lists the state of Texas and Abbott, as well as the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Texas National Guard. CNN has reached out to Abbotts office for comment.

Our lawsuit seeks to protect communities on the Texas-Mexico border from Governor Abbotts misleading politics, said attorney Carlos Flores, who represents plaintiff Jessie Fuentes, the owner of Epis Canoe & Kayak Team Llc.

Abbott, a longtime critic of the Biden administrations border policies, announced the plan to install the 1,000-foot floating barrier last month.

The lawsuit alleges the buoys will prevent Epis and Fuentes, the companys owner-operator, from conducting tours and canoe and kayak sessions in the border town Eagle Pass, causing imminent and irreparable harm to EPI.

The suit accuses the Republican governor of misapplying the Texas Disaster Act of 1975 to justify the buoy system  which has no logical connection to the purpose of the Disaster Act, which is to respond to the occurrence or imminent threat of widespread or severe damage, injury, or loss of life or property resulting from any natural or man-made cause. 

Abbott, the suit said, cannot create his own border patrol agency to regulate the border and prevent immigrants from entering Texas.

Additionally, the US Constitution and federal statues do not empower Texas with authority to enforce immigration laws, according to the suit.

The suit said the buoys represent a hateful policy that intends to create the impression that Mexicans, immigrants, and Mexican Americans  are dangerous. The floating devices also will prevent Epis from conducting tours and canoe and kayak sessions in Eagle Pass, according to the suit.

The buoys were being loaded from trucks on Friday to be installed in the Rio Grande. - Texas Department of Public Safety

Flores said the lawsuit, which seeks a temporary and permanent injunction, was filed on Friday before the buoys were installed in the Rio Grande.

Abbott posted a 15-second video to Twitter showing buoys being loaded from trailers that would be deployed near Eagle Pass. The Texas Department of Public Safety is overseeing the deployment, the governor said in the tweet Friday.

During last months announcement, Texas Department of Public Safety Director Col. Steven McCraw touted the buoy barrier could be quickly deployed and said its mobile. He explained the buoy would be anchored to the bottom of the waterway, adding the buoys are roughly 4 to 6 feet in height depending on the water level.

The new barrier comes after a series of migrant drownings in the Rio Grande River in recent days left four people dead, including an infant, officials said.

Last weekend, a woman and a baby girl were found unresponsive in the river, said Texas DPS Lt. Christopher Olivarez. A dead man and woman were found on Sunday and Monday, respectively, he added.

In recent years, migrants have resorted to increasingly risky  and often fatal  paths to evade detection and enter the US. In March, a migrant was found dead among a dozen people stowed away in a train car near Eagle Pass.

In 2022, a Texas National Guardsman drowned in the Rio Grande attempting to rescue a woman crossing the river. That year was the deadliest for migrants crossing the US-Mexico border, with at least 748 people dying at the border.

Immigrant rights advocates have attributed the rise in deaths at the border to policies that have made it more difficult for migrants to seek refuge in the US.

CNNs Ray Sanchez, Dave Alsup and Raja Razek contributed this report.

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ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey's vice president and finance minister will travel to Qatar on Saturday to discuss "economic cooperation opportunities" with leaders there ahead of President Tayyip Erdogan's planned trip to the Gulf on July 17-19, Ankara said.

Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz and Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek will meet Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani as well as delegations at the weekend to discuss economic ties and strengthen relations, the government said.

Reuters reported on Friday Turkey expects Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to make direct investments of some $10 billion initially, and $30 billion in total, in its energy, infrastructure and defence sectors on the heels of Erdogan's visit to the three countries.

Since 2021, when Turkey launched a diplomatic effort to repair ties with Saudi Arabia and the UAE, investments and funding from the Gulf have helped relieve pressure on Turkey's economy and hard currency buffer.

(Reporting by Jonathan Spicer; Editing by Alison Williams)
Influencers who pose naked on top of sacred mountains. Reckless tourists who ride motorbikes around the island without helmets performing daredevil stunts.

When it comes to misbehaving tourists in Bali, Niluh Djelantik has seen and heard it all.

These are just a few hugely unacceptable but too common forms of behavior, says Djelantik, a local entrepreneur who has, in recent years, become the go-to person foreign tourists and travelers call upon when they run into trouble with the authorities.

There is no shortage of bad tourists in Bali  Im losing count, to be honest, she told CNN Travel. Three years of the pandemic have left us dealing with many disrespectful foreigners  Ive even heard of people visiting temples and washing their private parts with holy water, she added.

Things can get that outrageous.

Djelantik, 48, was born and raised in Bali. Like many other Balinese, she has been passionate about promoting and supporting ethical tourism on Indonesias most popular island.

But with the return of international travelers after years of pandemic restrictions, reports of trashy tourist behavior have been on the rise.

Djelantik worked at top notch marketing firms in Jakarta and Bali, often alongside foreign expats and despite not having a legal background, its her mix of excellent language skills and contacts on the ground, combined with her international work experience that has led Djelantik to develop a reputation as an unofficial peacekeeper for the island.

However, theres one area where she doesnt stay neutral. Ive seen and heard some being impolite to Indonesian workers and I wouldnt hesitate to speak up, she said.

She has also expressed political ambitions and announced plans to run for Bali senator, a national parliamentary seat, next year.

Tourists on a motorcycle, without helmets, in Canggu, Bali - Agung Parameswara/Getty Images

Djelantik has mediated between misbehaving foreigners in Bali and the locals they annoy for years. She says she does this in an unofficial capacity and for free. She often receives reports from users on Instagram who flag posts about misbehaving foreigners.

People like coming to me for help rather than going to the authorities because they know I will always respond and help mediate (trouble), she said. But I get approached by foreigners on Instagram too, those who misbehave and land in trouble with the authorities. So I listen to both sides and make a call on what I can do to help.

Whether its calling up lawyers or setting up informal meetings or coffee sessions with local police officers and government officials, Djelantik tries to strike a balance between foreigners and residents to maintain peace when trouble arises  but it isnt easy, she says.

Things can get heated and Bali is so heavily reliant on international tourists  many who come to Indonesia and we treat with love and respect but they need to know their place if they want to call Bali their second home and this isnt always the case.

If we dont learn how to coexist peacefully, there will be consequences.

Probably the most important person in Bali

One travel influencer, a woman from Germany in her 30s who declined to be identified for privacy reasons, told CNN Travel that Djelantik was known throughout many foreigner circles on the island for being go to person when theres trouble in paradise.

Shes probably the most important person in Bali, after the governor (Wayan Koster), the woman said.

Shes never met Djelantik but follows her on Instagram. Bali is a small place and many people are close  bad news always travels fast. If theres a foreigner in trouble, youll always see Niluh Djelantik involved, she said.

She comes across as being very sincere in her efforts to help and is definitely a good person to know and youll never know if youll need her help some day.

Djelantik recounted several recent incidents she stepped in to mediate  a Russian teenager who was caught spray painting a local schools wall in January, and an incident that played out in March which saw a 24-year-old Russian tourist named Yuri Chilikin, cause an uproar when he uploaded a semi nude photo of himself taken on Mount Agung  Balis highest peak, which is also considered one of its most sacred religious sites.

Facing threats and deportation, Chilikin reached out to Djelantik through Instagram, asking for help with his situation. He was quite remorseful and cooperative and was sincere and said that he was willing to pay for the consequences for what he did  so I agreed to help him, she said.

The sun rises over Bali's sacred Mount Agung on May 18, 2023. - Garry Lotulung/NurPhoto/Getty Images

With her help, he recorded a public apology and participated in a ritual ceremony at a temple in Denpasar where he met with Hindu priests and prayed. Bad behavior not only offends locals and officials, it also disrespects Hindu gods and deities, Djelantik said, explaining why such ceremonies had to be performed following these incidents.

We dressed him up in traditional sarong and took him around the compound, Djelantik recalled. We wanted to show him the side of Bali that he needed to see and he was very cooperative.

But even to the best of her efforts, Chilikin was deported to Moscow in April by immigration officials and barred from returning to Indonesia for at least six months over the incident.

Balinese people are generally very accepting, tolerant and forgiving but that doesnt mean our hospitality should be taken for granted, Djelantik said. At the end of the day, its about respecting the laws of a place you visit.

CNN reached out to Balinese authorities for comment on this story. Officials had previously addressed Chilikins case before he was deported back to Russia, saying: Please enjoy the beauty of Bali by adhering to our regulations. If you commit a violation, we will not hesitate to take firm action.

Outrageous tourist behavior is no new phenomenon on the island but Djelantiks efforts to promote ethical tourism comes at an important time.

Tourism has become a thorny subject and ongoing bad behavior among tourists has prompted the proposal of new rules  including bans on mountain climbing and motorbike rentals for foreign visitors. Visa free travel arrangements were also halted for over 150 countries as part of the tourism shakeup.

We will no longer welcome mass tourism, Bali governor Wayan Koster said at a conference in May. We will restrict tourist numbers by implementing a quota system This push will encourage the transformation of Bali, from mass tourism to quality tourism.

Bali should be open to all willing to respect its traditions and harmony, Djelantik says. We need to strike a balance between the foreigners, the people in power and Balinese.

We all want a better Bali but banning people is not the way to go. Bali needs tourists and this is about (getting foreigners) to respect our laws and not take our hospitality for granted.

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Tyler Bensch. (U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia)

WASHINGTON  A federal judge nominated by former President Donald Trump gave a break Friday to a man who used bear spray during the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, saying he did not deserve the prison sentence requested by prosecutors.

U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden sentenced Tyler Bensch, who pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts in connection with the riot, to two years of probation and 60 days home incarceration. Prosecutors had requested nine months in federal prison.

You participated in a national embarrassment, McFadden said before imposing the sentence. You came ready for trouble.

But, he added, Bensch's involvement was pretty minor when compared to others, while noting that his age was a mitigating factor. Bensch was 19 years old on Jan. 6, 2021.

I am giving you this break because of your age at the time and a lack of criminal history, McFadden said. This doesnt need to define you or your life.

Bensch was arrested in August alongside members of the "B Squad" who were associated with the far-right Three Percent movement and "Guardians of Freedom," as well as Jeremy Liggett, a far-right extremist who ran unsuccessfully for a congressional House seat last year.

Bensch pleaded guilty to disorderly and disruptive conduct on restricted grounds along with theft of government property, admitting that he helped carry a stolen police shield from the grounds of the Capitol. In an interview with the FBI after his arrest, Bensch said B-Squad members took part in firearms training and hand-to-hand combat training ahead of the attack.

In their sentencing memo, federal prosecutors said Bensch helped push others towards the violence and carried a chemical irritant spray, which prosecutors said in court was bear spray. Bensch deployed the spray against another rioter that day.

'Carries great remorse for what he did that day'

A tearful Bensch did not speak during Friday's sentencing hearing, but his court-appointed attorney Peter Cooper said the Florida man deeply regretted his actions. Bensch, Cooper said, "didn't have the maturity to understand what he was getting into" and "carries great remorse for what he did that day."

Cooper went on to say that Bensch hopes to start a career in law enforcement, adding that it's "not beyond the realm of possibility" that he could do so even with his misdemeanors. Bensch is currently working for a pool cleaning company, and the conditions of his sentence will allow him to leave his home for employment during his 60 days of home detention.

Bensch's case was the impetus for the departure of a self-proclaimed FBI whistleblower to take his complaints to Republican members of Congress. Steve Friend, a former FBI special agent who was based in Florida at the time of Bensch's arrest, had been scheduled to transport Bensch but refused to do so.

Friend, according to a book he authored, told other FBI employees that he didn't think that rioters who assaulted officers on Jan. 6 should be charged. He later testified before the GOP-led House Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government, a new panel that is focused on allegations that the government is unfairly targeting conservatives.

Friend said he believed that federal authorities were bringing Jan. 6 defendants "to the gallows" because their cases were being tried in Washington, D.C. "They don't stand a chance if they go to court," Friend said.

Rioters have been acquitted on many charges by both jurors and judges, with McFadden acquitting Jan. 6 defendant Matthew Martin a few months before Friend was supposed to help transport Bensch.

McFadden on Friday also sentenced Benschs codefendant, Jonathan Rockholt, to five months in federal prison. Prosecutors had sought 13 months in prison.

The Senate confirmed McFadden in 2017 in an 84-10 vote, with all opposition coming from Democrats.

In a separate Jan. 6 case Friday, Barry Ramey was sentenced to five years in federal prison. Prosecutors had initially requested nine years in prison for the Proud Boy member who struck two officers with pepper spray, but U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich said that would create an unwarranted sentencing disparity.

More than 1,000 people have been charged in connection with the Jan. 6 attack, and more than 300 have been sentenced to periods of incarceration. The longest sentence  18 years  went to Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes, who was convicted of seditious conspiracy.
Ricci Sergienko, center, and Ms. Italy, right, head into the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in downtown Los Angeles in May. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

Two protesters who went onto the floor of the City Council chamber during a chaotic meeting last year will be placed into a diversion program, setting the stage for the dismissal of their criminal charges.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge E. Carlos Dominguez ruled that Ricci Sergienko and Ms. Italy, who had been charged with a combined 13 misdemeanor counts for the Aug. 9 incident, should each be placed in diversion for one year and serve 36 hours of community service.

During that yearlong period, the defendants would be required to stay 100 yards away from City Council members' homes and offices. They would still be permitted to attend council meetings but would need to abide by the city's rules for conduct during those meetings, under terms of the diversion agreed to by prosecutors and defense lawyers.

Sergienko, co-founder of the leftist activist group People's City Council, had been charged with committing battery on a police officer, attempting to rescue a prisoner and resisting arrest or delaying or obstructing a police officer.

John Hamasaki, Sergienko's lawyer, said the charges will be dismissed once his client has successfully completed diversion, a process that allows defendants to avoid criminal prosecution by satisfying requirements established by a court.

Hamasaki called the judge's decision a victory for protest and the 1st Amendment. Sergienko, who had denied all the charges, will now resume his effort to join the State Bar, Hamasaki said.

"It's a good opportunity to put the case behind him. It will ultimately be dismissed and sealed. I think the judge was very thoughtful and reasonable," Hamasaki said.

In a statement, City Atty. Hydee Feldstein Soto said she is proud of her prosecutors' work in ensuring that "justice was served."

The responsibility of city attorney prosecutors is to follow the law and evidence and that is what was done in this case," she said. "Our office is focused on ensuring fairness for similarly situated defendants and furthering public safety."

The judge's order follows months of unruly behavior in or near the council chamber. Earlier this year, police arrested an audience member who threw an empty aluminum can. In another incident, officers chased an audience member who wrote anti-police graffiti on the walls outside the chamber and throughout City Hall.

In yet another incident, the audience member who had previously thrown the can was arrested on suspicion of assault on another audience member.

Sergienko, 32, has taken part in an array of protests and confrontational actions over the last three years, many of them focused on police misconduct and the city's treatment of homeless residents. He is known at City Hall for disrupting campaign events, yelling from the audience at public meetings and confronting politicians on sidewalks or in restaurants.

During Friday's hearing, Deputy City Atty. Patricia Rosman did not object to the defense attorneys' requests for diversion. However, she did ask the judge to allow her to play footage from the Aug. 9 council meeting, which showed Ms. Italy climbing over a bench, approaching then-Council President Nury Martinez and screaming at Martinez before police officers surrounded her and attempted to detain her.

The video then showed Sergienko enter the area where police officers had surrounded Ms. Italy, who goes by a single name. He was handcuffed and arrested by police.

Rosman argued that such behavior prevents other people from participating in the democratic process and puts members of the public in danger. She also played a video of a Spectrum News 1 segment in which Sergienko described the planning that goes into disrupting political events. And she mentioned that on one occasion, Sergienko approached the previous city attorney, Mike Feuer, at a Cha Cha Chicken restaurant.

Sergienko, a digital media strategist, said after Friday's hearing that his conversation with Feuer had been "polite and respectful."

Ms. Italy, 46, had been charged with trespassing, vandalism, disturbing a public meeting and resisting arrest or delaying or obstructing a police officer. Those charges will also be dismissed once she completes diversion.

During the hearing, Ms. Italy criticized prosecutors for showing the video, saying events from that day had been taken out of context. She said she approached the council president because there were issues with the microphone and she wanted to make sure she was heard.

Ms. Italy's attorney, Mia Yamamato, objected to the prosecution's request for 36 hours of anger management.

Dominguez sided with Yamamoto, ordering Ms. Italy to take part in 36 hours of community service, not anger management.

Hamasaki separately objected to the prosecution's request for a requirement barring Sergienko from harassing police officers, political candidates and elected officials over the coming year. He said the definition of harassment varies from person to person.

Hamasaki, in an interview, said the judge's decision will not prevent Sergienko from approaching LAPD officers, politicians or political candidates when they are out in public, ensuring he can continue to exercise his 1st Amendment rights.

Dominguez told Sergienko that he is entitled to his 1st Amendment rights "as long as they're lawful." The judge also warned that the charges would be reinstated if Sergienko violates the terms of the diversion.

After the hearing, Sergienko said he intends to return to the council chamber after a lengthy absence.

"I'll be back," he said. "On my best behavior."

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Emergency workers gather outside damaged buildings after a Russian missile attack in Lviv, Ukraine, on Thursday. (Mykola Tys / Associated Press)

President Biden and fellow leaders of NATO will come together this week extolling their remarkable unity backing Ukraine in its war with Russia. But serious differences over expansion of the transatlantic alliance threaten to disrupt the harmony and turn the annual summit on its head.

Cohesion among the North Atlantic Treaty Organizations members has also been jeopardized by the war having become a seemingly interminable slog. Even Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said a long-anticipated counteroffensive against Russian invaders is not going as well as he hoped.

At NATOs gathering in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, world leaders will focus on how to help nonmember Ukraine. They will weigh what kind of military aid to provide and what a longer-term security arrangement should look like, including whether future membership is part of the deal. The summit comes in the wake of an aborted mutiny against Russian President Vladimir Putin by the paramilitary Wagner Group, which alliance leaders are still analyzing.

I dont think there is unanimity in NATO about whether or not to bring Ukraine into the NATO family now, at this moment, in the middle of a war, Biden said Friday in a pretaped interview with CNNs Fareed Zakaria GPS, noting that the alliance should lay out a rational path for Kyiv to meet the membership qualifications.

Biden said hes spoken at length with Zelensky about how the U.S. would continue to provide security and weaponry to Kyiv  much like it does for Israel  as the process unfolds.

The U.S. has spent or pledged $75 billion to shore up the Ukrainian military and state, and has authorized allies to send their U.S.-produced fighter jets into the battlefield. Biden has coaxed other European nations to pony up for the war effort, including convincing Germany to provide lethal weaponry to a foreign land for the first time since World War II.

Aides say the president hopes the Vilnius summit will showcase his efforts to rebuild international partnerships that were damaged under the previous administration.

Youll see the NATO allies really recommitting to the basic proposition: As long as it takes, Jake Sullivan, Bidens national security advisor, told a small group of reporters Friday. This will be an opportunity to really refresh the unity and the zeal that we have displayed all the way through.

Biden will inevitably be forced to combat criticism from some Republicans  including a couple of presidential candidates  who have dismissed the importance of the Ukraine fight. They hope to galvanize a simmering impatience among segments of the public who may be tiring of the expensive war. But Sullivan says the administration remains confident that it has bipartisan support  and that of the American public  for a war it has characterized as crucial to U.S. national security and the worlds rules of fair play.

It will be a struggle for summit participants to craft language that would guarantee Ukraines security in the coming months and years, even after the war ends. The country wants to join NATO, but that prospect is unlikely while the fighting rages.

Foreign policy analysts instead expect NATO to lay out a series of long-term security guarantees and commitments to Ukraines self-defense on the sidelines of the summit until a path for membership becomes more clear. Biden has called it an Israel-like understanding, which would commit a steady, open-ended flow of aid so the country can plan a long-term security strategy.

Last week, 46 foreign policy experts, including Francis Fukuyama and former U.S. Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-N.J.), penned an open letter in Politico calling on the alliance to use the summit to explicitly state support for Kyivs victory and pursuit of territorial integrity according to its 1991 borders, and to chart a course for Ukraines NATO membership at the earliest achievable date.

Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine John Herbst, who was among the signatories, said the more cautious approach by the administration and some European



allies has overshadowed recognition of the dangers and the opportunities of the moment.

Though Vilnius could be a historic summit, Herbst said he doesnt expect the alliance to rise to the occasion because of continued reticence to provoke a nuclear-armed Putin.

The problem is, even as the administration has recognized that a Putin victory in Ukraine would be disastrous, they have been held back by their own timidity in pursuing a robust policy that would achieve the Ukrainian victory, he said.

Also on the agenda in Vilnius is Swedens aspiration to become a NATO member.

After Russias invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, the historically neutral countries of Finland and Sweden declared they wanted to join NATO. Finland was quickly admitted, but Sweden stumbled over Turkeys objections to what Ankara has said is a Swedish tolerance of Kurdish militants.

Admission to the alliance has to be unanimous, giving Turkey outsize power to block a nation such as Sweden. The Nordic democracy has taken several steps in hopes of appeasing Ankara, including the extradition of a Kurdish activist wanted by Turkey and a tightening of domestic terrorism laws.

Sweden has gone as far as it can, said Heather Conley, president of the German Marshall Fund in Washington. Yet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan continues to deny Sweden entry, dashing U.S. hopes that the matter would be settled before the Vilnius meeting.

Turkeys obstinacy is infuriating to many U.S. and European officials, some of whom have gone so far as to question the validity of Ankaras NATO membership given the increasingly authoritarian and anti-democratic policies employed by Erdogan.

It would be a real failure for the [NATO] alliance if its not able to get Sweden over the goal line here, and its a failure because its being held up by one member: Turkey, said Max Bergmann, director of the Europe and Russia program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. The alliance thus far has played very nice with Turkey. ... But now the rubber is sort of hitting the road here, and it really calls into question whether this is an alliance that Turkey belongs to and shares the values of.

Sullivan reiterated that the U.S. is certain Sweden will be admitted to NATO sooner rather than later. One thing Erdogan desperately wants is to purchase F-16 fighter jets from the United States. Congress has been holding up the sale, citing various issues with Turkey.

Biden told CNN he hopes to help Turkey and Greece modernize their F-16 aircraft to help strengthen NATOs military capacity, but said the deal was still in the works.

Its not done, he said.

In advance of the NATO meeting, Zelensky made a whirlwind series of stops in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

In Bratislava, the Slovakian capital, Zelensky again voiced Kyivs hopes for concrete steps toward Ukrainian membership in the alliance.

There is strength in unity of NATO, he told reporters.

Zelensky also traveled Friday to Turkey for a meeting with Erdogan. Zelensky said the delay over Swedish membership posed a threat to the alliances strength.

Washington has steadily ramped up the firepower of the weapons it is giving Kyiv. Ukraines critical need for ammunition has prompted U.S. officials to agree to supply it with cluster bombs, a controversial weapon banned in many parts of the world because of a tendency to harm civilians.

U.S. officials are aware that they will take flak at the NATO summit for the decision, which Sullivan said was not taken lightly.

Ukraine needs the bullets so that it is not overrun, he said.

Biden also told CNN that it was a difficult decision and that it took him awhile to be convinced, but he ultimately believed Kyiv needed the ammunition.

In pleading for more weaponry, Ukrainian officials have long cited Russias superiority in artillery and heavy tanks, a crucial impediment as the counteroffensive gathers momentum, and have welcomed any additions to the nations arsenal.

The number of weapons matters, Mykhailo Podolyak, a key Zelensky advisor, wrote Friday on Twitter, describing the war as a struggle between lawlessness and international law. So, weapons, more weapons, and more weapons, including cluster munitions.

With Saturday marking the 500th day of the Russian invasion, Ukraine has made clear its frustration with the notion that the closely watched counteroffensive, which began last month, would yield swift and sweeping gains.

Its forces have been moving against deeply entrenched Russian troops along a front line stretching hundreds of miles, capturing territory mainly in small increments, with progress often measured in yards rather than miles.

On Friday, Ukraine said its troops had advanced by more than half a mile near the eastern city of Bakhmut, which fell to Russia in May.

There are elements of the counteroffensive taking place, but not a decisive battle, said Natalia Humeniuk, a military spokeswoman for Ukraines southern command in Odesa.

She said Ukraine was still inflicting losses on Russia that would eventually make it difficult for Moscows troops to defend territory they seized earlier in the 16-month-old invasion.

The enemy is losing combat forces, they are losing warehouses and supply sites, they are losing logistics routes, Humeniuk said.

But, she cautioned, not all battlefield activity by Ukraine will translate to immediate and visible territorial gains.

That may not be what NATO members in Vilnius want to hear.

King reported from Odesa, Ukraine.

Get the best of the Los Angeles Times politics coverage with the Essential Politics newsletter.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Sgt Kim is carrying out a one-man protest outside embassies in Seoul

Sgt Kim Jae-kyung stands, unflinching, outside the Colombian embassy in Seoul, dressed in full military gear. The day before, he was in front of the Dutch embassy. The day before that, it was the Greek.

This one-man demonstration by the former special forces soldier is his way of showing gratitude to all 22 countries who sent troops or medics to support South Korea after it was invaded by its neighbour North Korea in 1950. Now he wants his country to help Ukraine, following its invasion by Russia in February 2022.

"We are lucky enough to now be the 10th most prosperous country in the world, because of the foreign soldiers who shed their blood and sweat for our country," the 33-year-old says.

It is this rationale which led him to the battlefield in Ukraine, where he served on the front line for four months alongside the Ukrainian army, as an anti-drone gunner and combat medic for the 3rd Battalion of the International Legion.

Kim is one of just a handful of Koreans known to have defied his government's orders, by heading to Ukraine to fight. As he entered the north-eastern city of Kharkiv, shortly after the region was reclaimed from the Russians, he witnessed first-hand what he describes as "horrendous, evil, war crimes".

This is why - in his mind - South Korea must now do more to help the Ukrainian war effort.

Sgt Kim travelled to Ukraine to fight, against the wishes of the South Korean government

Weeks into its counter-offensive, Ukraine is burning through ammunition faster than its allies can produce it.

Meanwhile South Korea is cautiously sitting on one of the biggest stockpiles in the world. With its own conflict with the North still unresolved, it doesn't know when it might need the bullets.

Not only this, but with its flourishing defence industry, it is turning out tanks and other weapons at a speed that countries in Europe can only dream of.

Ever since the start of the Ukraine war, pressure has been building on Seoul to send its arms to Kyiv, from the US, UK and EU member states. They have invited the South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol to next week's Nato summit in Vilnius.

Ukraine's Ambassador to South Korea, Dmytro Ponomarenko, told me ahead of the summit that he believed South Korea's weapons could "change the course of the war".

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky recently made a similar plea in the Korean press.

"Please remember that 70 years ago, Korea was in desperate need of help. The whole world reached out to Korea in defence of justice and freedom. Ukraine today is like Korea 70 years ago," the leader said.

But, despite signing up to all international sanctions on Russia, and providing Ukraine with more than $200m of humanitarian aid, the government has drawn the line at sending lethal weapons.

Publicly politicians have been able to hide behind a long-standing policy of not arming countries in conflict, but privately many worry about antagonising Russia. Before the war, in 2021, the two countries conducted $27bn worth of annual trade. Seoul also hopes, somewhat wishfully, that Russia might be able to keep North Korea in check.

"The Russians have made it very clear to us that weapons are their red line, and that if we cross it, they will retaliate," a South Korean diplomat told me recently.

South Korea has sold arms including tanks such as this to Poland

This retaliation may come in the form of economic sanctions, or, more concerningly for Seoul, support for North Korea's leader, Kim Jong Un. The Russian politician and former president Dmitry Medvedev hinted in April that Moscow could supply Pyongyang with the latest technology for its nuclear weapons if Seoul were to support Ukraine militarily.

Instead, South Korea has taken the more comfortable approach of selling weapons to those who are already arming Ukraine, to help replenish their depleted stocks. Last year it sold $13.7bn worth of tanks, jets and other arms to Poland, followed this year by a huge haul of ammunition - more than 4 million rounds.

And after agonising over whether to provide the US with hundreds of thousands of Nato-standard 155mm shells, a private sale of the artillery has now been agreed. There is little to stop Poland and the US sending these weapons on to Ukraine. Indeed, there are reports (in Korean) that some of the ammunition is in the process of being transferred.

Ramon Pacheco Pardo, the Korea Chair at the Brussels School of Governance, believes Seoul is aware its shells are being redirected.

"It is difficult for the South Korean government to argue that the country's lethal weapons are being used in Ukraine without its knowledge," he said. Though the South Korean government is refusing to be drawn on the deals, citing "national security concerns", and says its policy on weapons supply has not changed.

Olena Zelenska travelled to Seoul to meet President Yoon in May

But when Ukraine's First Lady Olena Zelenska visited Seoul in May, followed by EU chiefs Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel, lethal weapons were mysteriously absent from their list of requests. The feeling among Western diplomats in Seoul is this indirect supply is working well enough, for now.

But Ambassador Ponomarenko is urging the government to do more by sending weapons to Ukraine directly. "We understand this is not easy, so as a first step we are asking South Korea to supply us with defensive rather than offensive weapons, like anti-missile and anti-drone systems," he said.

Some question the difference South Korean weapons would make to the war.

"South Korea's strength is in the post-war recovery phase rather than military support," said Prof Kim Youngjun from Korea National Defence University, who advises the government. "Korea's experience and expertise in building roads, hospitals, schools, telecommunications, will be more useful," he said.

Ambassador Ponomarenko disagrees. "We know that South Korea would like to participate in the reconstruction of Ukraine, but to start the renovation, we must end the war. And to end the war, we need its lethal weapons," he said.

Kwon Ki-chang, who served as South Korea's ambassador in Ukraine until 2021, thinks his country should agree to Kyiv's request.

He believes South Korea is facing a critical choice, about what it wants to stand for - whether it continues to define its national interest based on economic interests, or whether it wants to champion democracy and freedom.

"We must escape our small country mentality and not be afraid to stand up to Russia, to defend democracy and freedom. We may suffer some short-term economic losses, but we can overcome them. This is the right thing to do."

These K9 howitzers were also delivered to the Polish army from South Korea recently

With Moscow surely aware of Seoul's strategy of indirect supply, one South Korean official suggested it to me, it was not the Russians the government is worried about any more.

A recent poll suggested that 56% of South Koreans oppose such assistance, with 42% in support. With elections next year, the government does not want to give the opposition any metaphorical ammunition.

Though events in Ukraine may force its hand.

Softening his stance, the South Korean president suggested in April that if Ukraine were to come under a large-scale civilian attack, he would consider sending arms. It is said he also sees similarities between the Korean and Ukraine wars.

When the war in Ukraine broke out, some South Korean politicians viewed it as a faraway war. Now they argue it has come too close to home. Few doubt that what happens in Ukraine will change the world, with the impact felt here.

What the South Korean president must decide, as he heads to the Nato summit, is does he want to try to influence the outcome or merely deal with the consequences.

The atrocities witnessed by former soldier Kim Jae-kyung have left him struggling with PTSD, he says, and prone to bursts of anger. He is waiting to find out whether he will be fined for breaking the law, to take part in the war, while his passport has been frozen.

"We must do what we can to end this as soon as possible, and prevent further war crimes," he says.
KYIV, Ukraine (AP)  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy marked the 500th day of the war Saturday by hailing the country's soldiers in a video from a Black Sea island that became the symbol of Ukraines resilience in the face of the Russian invasion.

Speaking from Snake Island, Zelenskyy honored the Ukrainian soldiers who fought for the island and all other defenders of the country, saying that reclaiming control of the island is a great proof that Ukraine will regain every bit of its territory.

I want to thank  from here, from this place of victory  each of our soldiers for these 500 days, Zelenskyy said. Thank you to everyone who fights for Ukraine!

It was unclear when the video was filmed. Zelenskyy was returning from Turkey on Saturday.

He announced that five commanders of the defense of the Azovstal steel plant, a grueling months-long siege early in the war, were returning on the plane with him.

The sprawling steelworks was the last bastion of resistance as Russian forces took control of the port city of Mariupol. Its defenders became renowned among Ukrainians for holding out in wretched conditions in the plant's tunnels and corridors.

Azovstal's more than 2,000 defenders left the steelworks in mid-May 2022 and were taken into Russian captivity. The five leaders, some of whom were part of the Azov national guard regiment that Russia denounces as neo-Nazi, were freed in a September prisoner swap and taken to Turkey.

Under the exchange, the leaders were to remain in Turkey until the end of the war under the Turkish president's protection. There was no immediate official explanation from Ankara or Kyiv about why they were allowed to return to Ukraine.

"The return of the leaders of the Azovites from Turkey to Ukraine is nothing more than a direct violation of the terms of the existing agreements. Moreover, in this case, the terms were violated by both the Ukrainian side and the Turkish side, said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

Russian forces took control of Snake Island on Feb. 24, 2022, the day Moscow launched its invasion, in the apparent hope of using it as a staging ground for an assault on Odesa, Ukraines biggest port and the headquarters of its navy.

The island took on legendary significance for Ukraines resistance, when Ukrainian troops there reportedly received a demand from a Russian warship to surrender or be bombed. The answer supposedly came back, Go (expletive) yourself.

The islands Ukrainian defenders were captured but later freed as part of a prisoner exchange. After the island was taken, the Ukrainian military heavily bombarded the small Russian garrison there, forcing the Russians to pull back on June 30, 2022. The Russian retreat reduced the threat of a seaborne Russian attack on Odesa and helped pave the way for a deal to resume Ukrainian grain exports.

Let the freedom that all our heroes of different times wanted for Ukraine and that must be won right now be a tribute to all those who gave their lives for Ukraine, Zelenskyy said. We will definitely win!

Intense battles continued to rage Saturday in the country's east and south as Ukrainian forces pressed their attacks against multi-layered Russian defenses in the initial stages of their counteroffensive.

Ukraine's interior ministry said that a Russian rocket strike on the town of Lyman killed eight civilians and wounded 13 others early Saturday. Pavlo Kyrylenko, the governor of the eastern Donetsk region, posted images showing some of the dead, including a body lying under a bicycle and body fragments on the pavement next to a damaged vehicle, saying that the Russian terrorists are continuing to strike civilians in Donetsk.

Lyman is a few kilometers (miles) from the front line, where Russian troops have recently intensified fighting in the forests of Kreminna.

The U.K. Ministry of Defense said in its latest intelligence update that the eastern town of Bakhmut that was captured by the Russians in May has seen some of the most intense fighting along the front during the last week.

It said that Ukrainian forces have made steady gains to both the north and south of Bakhmut, noting that Russian defenders are highly likely struggling with poor morale, a mix of disparate units and a limited ability to find and strike Ukrainian artillery.

Amid the fighting, Russia and Ukraine accused each other of planning to sabotage the Russia-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which is Europe's largest, fueling fears of a radiation catastrophe. Ukraine's military intelligence claimed Saturday that Russian troops have planted more mines around the plant, a claim that couldn't be independently verified.

The head of the United Nations nuclear agency, Rafael Mariano Grossi, told The Associated Press on Friday that the International Atomic Energy Agency experts had recently gained access to more of the site, including the cooling pond and fuel storage areas, and found no mines there. Grossi said he was still pushing for access to the rooftops of reactors where Ukrainian officials accused Russia of planting explosives.

On Saturday, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu was shown visiting firing ranges where volunteer soldiers are being trained, a trip that comes two weeks after an abortive mutiny launched by mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, whose Wagner troops marched on Moscow in a bid to oust Shoigu.

Prigozhin agreed to end the mutiny, which represented the biggest threat to Russian President Vladimir Putin in his more than two decades in power, in exchange for an amnesty for himself and his troops and permission to move to Belarus. On Saturday, Russian messaging app channels ran comments by one of Wagner's commanders, Anton Yelizarov, who said that the mercenaries had taken leave but would eventually deploy to Belarus.

Pitched battles along the front line in Ukraine are raging as NATO leaders are set to meet in Vilnius for a two-day summit next week to offer more help in modernizing Ukraines armed forces, create a new high-level forum for consultations and reaffirm that it will join their alliance one day.

Ahead of the NATO summit, the U.S. has announced that it will provide Ukraine with cluster munitions, a move that President Joe Biden described as a difficult decision. Two-thirds of NATO members have banned the munitions, which have a track record of causing many civilian casualties, but the U.S. sees their delivery as a way to help bolster Ukraine's offensive and push through Russian front lines.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov hailed the U.S. move, saying that the delivery of cluster munitions would help the country de-occupy its territories while saving the lives of the Ukrainian soldiers.

Reznikov vowed that Ukraine would use the munitions only for the de-occupation of its territory and would not fire them at Russia's proper territory. He also noted that the Ukrainian military would not use cluster munitions in urban areas to avoid hurting civilians.

___

Follow APs coverage of the war in Ukraine: https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
KYIV (Reuters) -President Volodymyr Zelenskiy brought home from Turkey on Saturday five former commanders of Ukraine's garrison in Mariupol, a highly symbolic achievement that Russia said violated a prisoner exchange deal engineered last year.

Russia immediately denounced the release. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Ankara had promised under the exchange agreement to keep the men in Turkey and complained Moscow had not been informed.

In honour of the 500th day of the war, Zelenskiy also visited Snake Island, a Black Sea outcrop which Russian forces seized on the day of the invasion and later abandoned.

The five commanders have been lionised in Ukraine after leading a fierce three-month defence of Mariupol from the Azovstal steel plant last year, the biggest city Russia has captured.

"We are returning home from Turkey and bringing our heroes home," said Zelenskiy, who met Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan for talks in Istanbul on Friday.

Thousands of civilians were killed in Mariupol when Russian forces laid the city to waste in the first months of the war. The Ukrainian defenders held out in tunnels and bunkers under the Azovstal plant, until finally ordered by Kyiv to surrender in May last year.

Moscow freed some of them in September in a prisoner swap brokered by Ankara, under terms that required the commanders to remain in Turkey until the end of the war.

Peskov told Russia's RIA news agency: "No one informed us about this. According to the agreements, these ringleaders were to remain on the territory of Turkey until the end of the conflict."

Peskov said the release was a result of heavy pressure from Turkey's NATO allies ahead of next week's summit of the military alliance at which Ukraine hopes to receive a positive sign about its future membership.

In his remarks, Zelenskiy gave no explanation for why the commanders were allowed to return home now. Turkey's Directorate of Communications did not respond to a request for comment.

THANKS TO TURKISH PRESIDENT

In a ceremony later alongside the men in the western city of Lviv, Zelenskiy thanked Erdogan for helping secure their release and pledged to bring home all remaining prisoners.

He said that before the outbreak of war, "many people in the world still did not understand what we are, what you are, what to expect from us and what our heroes are. Now everyone understands."

Many Ukrainians hailed the return of the men.

"Finally! The best news ever. Congratulations to our brothers!" Major Maksym Zhorin, fighting in eastern Ukraine, said on the Telegram messaging app.

Referring to a counter-offensive launched by Ukrainian forces in the past month, Denys Prokopenko, one of the five commanders, told the gathering that his men "will have our word to say in the battles. The most important thing is that Ukraine has seized the strategic initiative and is advancing."

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken marked the 500 days by describing Russia as "the sole obstacle to a just and lasting peace" and promising to back Kyiv "for as long as it takes".

France's foreign ministry said the time frame "must bring Russia to the realisation that it is in an impasse and immediately stop its illegal war of aggression".

The latest U.S. pledge of support included plans to supply widely banned cluster munitions. Defence Minister Oleksiy Reznikov promised the munitions would not be used in Russia.

The general staff of Ukraine's armed forces said Ukrainian forces on Saturday "continued offensive operations" in two sectors in the southeast.

Officials say Ukrainian forces have also taken back areas around the shattered eastern city of Bakhmut -- captured by Russian forces in May after month after months of battles.

(Reporting by Olena Harmash; Editing by Peter Graff, Ron Popeski and Daniel Wallis)
By Michelle Nichols

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) -If Russia does not agree to extend a deal allowing the safe export of grain and fertilizer from Ukrainian ports, it is unlikely Western states will continue cooperating with U.N. officials helping Moscow with its exports, the United Nations aid chief said on Friday.

Russia has threatened to quit the deal, which expires on July 17, because several demands to dispatch its own grain and fertilizer have not been met. The last three ships traveling under the deal are loading cargoes at the Ukrainian port of Odesa and are likely to depart on Monday.

"The world has seen the value of the Black Sea Initiative ... this isn't something you chuck away," the U.N.'s Martin Griffiths told reporters.

The United Nations and Turkey brokered the Black Sea Grain Initiative with Russia and Ukraine in July 2022 to help tackle a global food crisis worsened by Moscow's invasion of its neighbor and blockade of Ukrainian Black Sea ports.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy discussed the deal with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul on Friday.

"We are working on how long we can extend (the deal) after July 17. Our hope is that, it will be extended at least once every three months, not every two months. We will make an effort in this regard and try to increase the duration of it to two years," Erdogan said in a joint news conference with Zelenskiy.

Zelenskiy said the Black Sea deal was important to help the world fight hunger.

"It is crucial that we take action in such a way that the life of the grain corridor, and therefore the lives of other people, does not depend on the mood with which the President of the Russian Federation wakes up," Zelenskiy said.

More than 32 million tonnes of corn, wheat and other grains have been exported by Ukraine under the arrangement. Russia has complained that not enough reaches poor countries, but the United Nations argues that it has benefited those states by helping lower food prices more than 20% globally.

Griffiths is the lead U.N. official on the Ukraine Black Sea deal, while senior U.N. trade official Rebeca Grynspan is working to ease Russia's food and fertilizer exports.

Grynspan hopes to travel to Moscow before July 17 and Griffiths hopes to meet with the parties next week in Istanbul, where a joint coordination center of Russian, Ukrainian, Turkish and U.N. officials implements the Black Sea deal.

AMMONIA PIPELINE DAMAGE

Grynspan has been working with the United States, European Union, Britain and others to smooth Russian exports. Russia has described the Black Sea deal and the agreement to facilitate its own exports as a single package.

"A single package works both ways," said Griffiths, suggesting that any Western cooperation with U.N. officials on Russian exports might evaporate if the Black Sea deal was not extended by Moscow.

To convince Russia to agree to the Black Sea deal, a three-year memorandum of understanding was struck at the same time under which U.N. officials agreed to help Russia with its food and fertilizer exports.

While Russian exports of food and fertilizer are not subject to Western sanctions imposed after the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Moscow says restrictions on payments, logistics and insurance have amounted to a barrier to shipments.

Russia's demands include resuming Black Sea ammonia exports and reconnecting the Russian Agricultural Bank to the SWIFT payment system. The Black Sea deal allows for ammonia exports - a key ingredient in nitrate fertilizer - but none has shipped.

A pipeline, which once pumped up to 2.5 million tonnes of ammonia annually for global export to Ukraine's Pivdennyi port on the Black Sea from Togliatti in western Russia, has lain idle since the start of the war.

Last month it was damaged in three places, Griffiths said, adding that the U.N. had offered to send in a team to assess it. He said both sides were interested, but a team had not yet been deployed because the pipeline damage was in an active war zone.

He said if it could be repaired then an arrangement would be needed to protect it from the war. According to the International Energy Agency, it is the world's longest ammonia pipeline at about 2,470 kilometres (1,534 miles).

"So there's lots of impediments to making that a realistic prospect immediately," Griffiths said.

As the expiration date looms, the Black Sea grain deal is grinding to a halt.

No new ships have been registered to travel to Ukraine since June 26. Under the deal, Russia, Ukraine and Turkey approved the ships to travel and all vessels are inspected by a joint team of Russian, Ukrainian, Turkish and U.N. officials.

(Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Additional reporting by Can Sezer in Istanbul and Elaine Monaghan in Washington and Oleksandr Kozhukhar in Kyiv; Editing by Doina Chiacu and Grant McCool)
(This July 7 story has been corrected to clarify that FAA said the engine fire extinguishers were activated after landing, in paragraph 4)

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board said on Friday it is investigating an engine fire last week on a Boeing 737-900 MAX plane operated by United Airlines at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey.

The NTSB said a fire warning light indicator came on after United Airlines Flight 2376 from Fort Lauderdale, Florida landed at Newark on June 28, prompting the crew to shut down one of the engines.

There was no visible smoke or fire from the engine so the airplane was towed to the gate, where maintenance personnel saw evidence of a fuel leak from the engine and heat damage and soot on the engine cases and external surfaces, the NTSB added.

Passengers exited from the plane in a normal fashion in Newark, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. The FAA said after the plane landed the flight crew activated the engine fire extinguishers as a precaution.

United said it is investigating but declined further comment. Boeing referred questions to the NTSB and United.

The plane was delivered in 2020 and the LEAP-1B engine was built by French-American jet engine maker CFM International, which is co-owned by General Electric and France's Safran. CFM said it "is supporting the NTSBs investigation."

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh and David Shepardson in Washington; Editing by Will Dunham, Leslie Adler anda Kim Coghill)
BEIJING (AP)  Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen appealed to China on Saturday for cooperation on climate change and other global challenges and not to let disagreements about trade and other irritants derail relations.

In a meeting with her Chinese counterpart, Vice Premier He Lifeng, Yellen defended U.S. restrictions on technology exports that rankle Beijing. She said the two governments shouldnt let such disagreements disrupt thriving economic and financial relations.

We also face important global challenges, such as debt distress in emerging markets and developing countries and climate change, Yellen said. We have a duty to both our own economies and to other countries to cooperate.

Yellen is one of a series of U.S. officials who are due to visit Beijing as part of efforts to revive relations that are at their lowest level in decades due to disputes over technology, security, and Taiwan among other issues.

Yellen has received a warm welcome from leaders including Premier Li Qiang, the No. 2 figure in the ruling Communist Party, though they gave no sign they will change policies that irk Washington and other governments.

Treasury officials said the goal of the trip was to encourage communication and no agreements on big disputes were expected. They said Yellen wasn't scheduled to meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

Beijing broke off climate discussions with Washington last August in retaliation for a visit by then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi of the House of Representatives to Taiwan, the self-ruled island democracy claimed by China as part of its territory.

President Joe Bidens climate envoy, John Kerry, is due to become the next senior U.S. official to visit China next week.

China and the United States are the worlds top emitters of climate-changing carbon.

He, who is Xi's top economic adviser and the chief Chinese envoy to the United States on trade and financial issues, said the two governments should return to an agreement reached last November by Biden and Xi to improve relations.

The two countries should act with a sense of responsibility for history, for the people and for the world, the vice premier said.

He added that the United States should adopt a rational and pragmatic attitude and work with China to stay committed to the common understandings by Xi and Biden.

China, which has lent billions of dollars to governments in Asia and Africa under Xi's Belt and Road Initiative to build ports and other infrastructure, signed on an agreement last month to reduce the debts of Zambia in southern Africa. Treasury officials earlier pointed to that as an area where cooperation produced results.

Also Saturday, Yellen met with the incoming governor of Chinas central bank, Pan Gongsheng, and people who work in Chinas climate-related finance industry.

Meeting with He, Yellen repeated her appeal for healthy economic cooperation, a reference to complaints that Beijing violates its free-trade commitments by subsidizing and shielding its companies from competition.

Yellen defended U.S. curbs on technology exports, repeating a theme she touched on in a meeting Friday with Li, the premier.

U.S. limits on Chinese access to processor chips and other technology threaten to delay or derail the ruling party's efforts to develop telecoms, artificial intelligence and other fields. Xi accused Washington in March of trying to hamper Chinas development.

Beijing has been slow to retaliate, possibly to avoid disrupting its own industries. But this week, the government announced unspecified controls on exports of gallium and germanium, metals used in making semiconductors and solar panels.

The United States will take targeted actions to protect our national security, Yellen said. While we may disagree on these actions, we should not allow that disagreement to lead to misunderstandings, particularly those stemming from a lack of communication, which can unnecessarily worsen our bilateral economic and financial relationship.
By Andrea Shalal

BEIJING (Reuters) -The United States and China, as the world's two largest economies, must work together to combat the "existential threat" of climate change, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told Chinese government officials and climate experts on Saturday.

During a visit to Beijing, Yellen said previous cooperation on climate change between the U.S. and China had made possible global breakthroughs such as the 2015 Paris Agreement, adding that both governments wanted to support emerging markets and developing countries as they strive to meet their climate goals.

"Continued U.S.-China cooperation on climate finance is critical," Yellen said in a prepared text at a climate roundtable in Beijing.

"As the world's two largest emitters of greenhouse gases and the largest investors in renewable energy, we have both a joint responsibility  and ability  to lead the way."

China, classified as a developing country by the United Nations, has long said it was the responsibility of developed nations to help poor countries pay to address climate change. But Beijing says it could contribute to "loss and damage" due to climate change on a voluntary basis.

Given their scale, cooperation between the U.S. and China is considered vital to international efforts to avert the worst impacts of climate change.

Yellen said financing for such initiatives should be coordinated efficiently and effectively, adding that Beijing's support for existing multilateral climate institutions like the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and the Climate Investment Funds, alongside the Washington and others, could boost their impact.

China is welcome to join the United States in contributing to a round of fund pledging for the GCF in September, a U.S. Treasury official said. For that fund replenishment, President Joe Biden has said the U.S. would provide a further $1 billion.

CLIMATE ENVOY

The GCF is a fund under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that helps developing countries with adaptation and mitigation practices to tackle climate change.

Last year, China briefly suspended talks with the United States on climate, security and other areas in response to a visit to Taiwan by U.S. House of Representatives then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Also speaking at the roundtable, U.S. Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns said he was looking forward to a visit by U.S. climate envoy John Kerry. Kerry has said China had invited him to visit soon.

China is the largest market after Europe for climate funds, surpassing the U.S. as funds in China have more than doubled since 2021 to $46.7 billion, according to research firm Morningstar.

But the World Bank said last year China needs up to $17 trillion in additional investment for green infrastructure and technology in the power and transport sectors to reach its target of net-zero carbon emissions by 2060, underscoring the need for private investment.

"It is also critical that we encourage economy-wide transitions toward net-zero, which needs to include the private sector," Yellen said, echoing that call, adding it was imperative to that climate-aligned investment be "interoperable" with both the U.S. and Chinese economic systems.

Yellen said she looked forward to hearing recommendations from working groups at the upcoming Group of 20 finance ministers meetings in India, including the Sustainable Finance Working Group, which the United States and China co-chair.

That group had in recent years developed a roadmap for sustainable finance, held workshops on carbon pricing and non-pricing policy levers, developed a transition finance framework, and made a range of recommendations on climate finance, she said.

"This is a good of example of what our bilateral cooperation can achieve  and we should build on it in multilateral forums," she said.

(Reporting by Andrea Shalal in Beijing; Additional writing by Ryan Woo; Editing by William Mallard)
Twitter headquarters is seen in San Francisco, California, United States on October 28, 2022 Tayfun Coskun / Anadolu Agency

Twitter previously hired a law firm to force Elon Musk to complete the buyout of the company.

The law firm, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, hit Twitter with a $90 million bill for its services.

Under Musk's management, Twitter is now accusing the firm of exploiting its client.

Twitter's parent company, X Corp., sued a law firm that was hired by Twitter's former management last year during Elon Musk's contentious $44-billion buyout of the social media company.

The lawsuit filed Friday accuses Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, an elite corporate law firm, of exploiting its client by charging Twitter $90 million in legal fees for "a few months" of its services and seeks to recoup the payment.

"Fully aware that nobody with an economic interest in Twitter's financial well-being was minding the store, Wachtell arranged to effectively line its pockets with funds from the company cash register while the keys were being handed over to the Musk Parties," the lawsuit claimed.

Wacthell, which specializes in mergers and acquisitions, was hired around last July to enforce Musk's $44-billion purchase of the company. At that time, Musk tried to walk away from the deal, raising objections to some of the data presented in Twitter's financial disclosures.

Musk would complete the buyout on October 27.

The lawsuit claims that Wachtell tacked on a $84.3-million "success fee" and a $16-million invoice for hourly services for helping the company close the deal with Musk.

According to a copy of an email attached to the court documents, former Twitter director and board member Martha Lane Fox appeared to express shock after the company's former general counsel Sean Edgett sent a copy of the fees.

"O My Freaking God," she wrote, in response to an email Edgett.

A copy of an email provided in X Corp.'s lawsuit against Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz. San Francisco County Superior Court

"Despite any initial shock, Twitter's lame-duck board members voted to approve Wachtell's excessive and unconscionable fee," the lawsuit argued.

Lane Fox did not respond to a request for comment sent outside of working hours.

According to the suit, $84 million was wired to the law firm minutes before the deal closed.

On Twitter, Musk accused Wachtell of specializing "in institutionalized corruption."

The legal fee is not the only bill Musk has challenged. Since he acquired the company, Musk has refused to pay expenses for some former employees, rent for the company's offices, and, previously, invoices for Google Cloud services.

A spokesperson for Wachtell did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent outside of working hours. Insider received Twitter's automated response when reached for comment.

Read the original article on Business Insider
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill will offer free tuition to some in-state students after the Supreme Court struck down affirmative action in admissions, the school announced Friday.

In-state students whose families make less than $80,000 per year will receive free tuition starting with the 2024 incoming class; the average price of tuition at UNC is about $9,000 per year for in-state students.

We want to make sure students know financial constraints should not stand in the way of their dreams, Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz said in a statement to students.

The Supreme Court said the universitys affirmative action process  the use of race as a factor in college admissions  violates the Equal Protections Clause of the 14th Amendment. The admissions process prioritized applicants from minority backgrounds.

Our responsibility to comply with the law does not mean we will abandon our fundamental values as a university, he added. We are and will remain passionately public, and we will ensure that every student who earns admission to Carolina can come here and thrive, Guskiewicz said.

Due to the ruling, universities will be restricted on asking perspective students about their race. However, applicants can choose to disclose their race and how that has impacted their lives, if they wish.

Harvard Universitys admissions program was also struck down in the pair of court decisions.

The student must be treated based on his or her experiences as an individualnot on the basis of race, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote. Many universities have for too long done just the opposite. And in doing so, they have concluded, wrongly, that the touchstone of an individuals identity is not challenges bested, skills built, or lessons learned but the color of their skin. Our constitutional history does not tolerate that choice.

The rulings were harshly criticized by the academic community and advocates for the Black community; the Congressional Black Caucus called the rulings a backlash to progress.

By delivering a decision on affirmative action so radical as to deny young people seeking an education equal opportunity in our education system, the Supreme Court has thrown into question its own legitimacy, the groups statement reads.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.


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YEREVAN, JULY 8, ARMENPRESS. Armenia's Minister of Foreign Affairs Ararat Mirzoyan met with the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Marija Pejcinovic Buric, within the framework of the Dubrovnik Forum. During the meeting, issues about existing challenges and cooperation were discussed, ARMENPRESS reports, Mirzoyan wrote on "Twitter".

"Issues regarding cooperation between Armenia and the Council of Europe and current challenges were discussed," Mirzoyan wrote.
INDIA-PAKISTAN

The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague has overruled India's objections to a proceeding initiated by Pakistan over water use in the Indus River basin, reopening a procedure that has been stalled for many years. The South Asian neighbors have been clashing over hydroelectric projects on the Indus River and its tributaries for decades, with Pakistan complaining that India's planned hydroelectric dams in upstream areas will reduce flows on the river that feeds 80 percent of its irrigated agriculture.

JAPAN

Memorial events for former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe were held throughout Japan today, exactly one year after his assassination at the hands of a gunman in the city of Nara. The faithful have been bringing flowers and offering prayers since morning at the site where he was killed, while a memorial ceremony was held at Tokyo's Zojoji Temple in the presence of his widow and Prime Minister Kishida. Meanwhile, Tetsuya Yamagami-the murderer who shot him over resentments about the politician's ties to the Unification Church-will not be tried until early 2024.

CHINA

An international research team led by Chinese scientists has revealed that climate changes have also occurred on Mars. This is evidenced by stratigraphic sequences from the area where the Chinese Zhurong Mars rover landed in May 2021. According to a release from the National Astronomical Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (NAOC), the research confirmed that wind processes recorded changes in the Martian environment with its rotation axis and glacial period, and will help understand the ancient climate history of Mars and provide a reference for the evolution of climate on Earth.

PHILIPPINES

Bishop of the Diocese of Kalookan Pablo Virgilio David, 64, has been re-elected for a second term as head of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP). He was chosen by the country's 80 bishops gathered for their plenary assembly in Kalibo, Aklan province. David will assume the role for a second and final term of two more years.

ISRAEL-IRAQ-IRAN

The Iraqi government has opened an investigation into the abduction of Israeli-Russian academic Elizabeth Tsurkov, which took place in March but was only made public in recent days by the Israeli government. Tsurkov disappeared after traveling to Iraq for research on behalf of Princeton University. "She is still alive and we hold Iraq responsible for her fate and well-being," said PM Netanyahu. According to the Israeli government, Tsurkov is reportedly being held by the pro-Iranian Shiite Kataib Hezbollah militia, which is part of the Hashed al-Shaabi Forces, former paramilitaries recently integrated into the Iraqi security forces.

RUSSIA

Strangers attacked Moscow lawyer Elena Ponomareva pouring green dye on her, the "color of shame" used in Chechnya against Novaja Gazeta journalist Elena Milasina. Ponomareva's eyesight was also damaged, and she said she was convinced that it was an act related to her professional work, in which she also defends people accused for pacifist actions.

ORTHODOX

The chairman of the Moscow Ecclesiastical Court, Protoierej Vladislav Tsypin, said the Russian Orthodox Church does not recognize its former priests, whether from Russia or other countries such as Lithuania, who have been reduced to the lay state and rehabilitated by the Patriarch of Constantinople. The reaction is particularly related to images of Russian priest Ivan Koval, expelled for his pacifist views, celebrating in a Constantinopolitan church.
by Santosh Digal

The Church worldwide celebrates Sea Sunday on July 9. Sr. Victoria Sanchez, of the Sisters of Jesus the Good Shepherd, tells how through faith and prayer the Stella Maris Center helps keep sailors and those who are stranded for months with a loved one working on merchant and fishing boats. Out of 1.6 million sailors in the world as many as 400,000 are Filipinos.

Manila (AsiaNews) - Those who live the sea for work "stay away from their loved ones for several months, in some cases even a year. It is important to encourage them to be faithful to each other, to support each other even at a distance and to anchor themselves to God through prayer," says Sr. Victoria G. Sanchez, "Shepherdess" of the Sisters of Jesus the Good Shepherd and staff member of the Stella Maris Manila Seafarers' Center in Manila.

Sr. Victoria has been working for 12 years at the center in the Philippine capital and is convinced that "through prayer we can make everyone feel united and close with those who live by sea. With those who stay ashore, we also carry on regular meetings and spiritual and charitable activities creating a true maritime community ashore as well."

His testimony takes on special significance on the occasion of 'Sea Sunday' which the Church celebrates this year on July 9. "Today the attention of every Christian community is directed to those through whom much of the goods we feed ourselves or make use of every day reach us," writes the prefect of the Dicastery for the Service of Integral Human Development, Cardinal Michael Czerny.

There are more than one million workers on ships throughout the world's seas carrying goods. "Sunday is the day of the Eucharist and the weekly Easter," Cardinal Czerny continued in his message for Sea Sunday, "and there are many who do not have access to it because they are forcibly distanced from their communities. For the whole Church, celebrating the Risen One means not forgetting anyone, not even those in the midst of the sea."

Some of the most difficult challenges sailors and fishermen face are loneliness from being away from home and their loved ones, but also pressure from family members to send money home, premature dismissals due to personal health problems, illness or physical injury, maritime piracy and limited shore leave.

'Sea Sunday' also underscores how the seas and oceans are dangerous places to work: in the past 10 years, 1,036 ships have been wrecked around the globe.

It is to reverse this course that every day Sister Victoria G. Sanchez and the staff of Stella Maris in Manila spiritually assist sea workers and their families, "At sea, life is very complicated by the distance of affection and narrow spaces."

"Many try to send remittances home, but they are delayed by distance. Or they are not even there because to make ends meet, some fishermen have no earnings for months. On the other hand, there are the wives of the sailors who are in fact parenting alone. For them we celebrate Holy Mass every day in two large dormitories of the organization where the most destitute families are housed."

"We are a synodal Church, in which we walk together, those who go to sea and those who stay ashore. We are all united by prayer," says Sister Victoria. "We must go forward together, sail together, leaving no one behind. Let no one think that they have nothing to offer to this communion with the sea and the Lord."

Despite all the difficulties, there are 1.6 million sailors worldwide. Among them about 400,000 are Filipinos, who send home billion in remittances each year.

Sr. Victoria's center also organizes an actual seminar for sailors, "in preparation for life aboard fishing and merchant vessels, making them aware of their rights to avoid abuse, illegal recruitment and human trafficking," the nun explains.

In Manila also, the Good Shepherd Sisters organize prayers in the hospital or at home together with family members for those who fall ill. "We always want to find new ways with which to be closer to those who live by the sea, in an ongoing exchange that makes their work less distant from the path and faith of all," Sister Victoria concludes.
by Alessandra Tamponi

Seventy years after the armistice that marked the separation Pyongyang is punishing the spread of Korean spoken in Seoul among the population of the Democratic People's Republic with harsh penalties. One way to limit the South's influence, but the popular culture of Hallyu is also increasingly present in the North and can play a key role among younger generations.

Milan (AsiaNews) - This month Korea commemorates the 70th anniversary of the armistice that marked its division in a climate that has seen the clash between Pyongyang and Seoul flare up again in recent years.

But beyond public speeches and missile tests there is a very special frontier through which it is possible to look at relations between the two Koreas: that represented by language.

During its eighth session, held between January 17 and 19, 2023, the 14th Supreme People's Assembly (SPA) passed the Pyongyang Cultural Language Protection Act.

The new legislation, which, as its name suggests, aims to preserve the North Korean version of Korean by announcing extremely harsh penalties for any citizens who are caught using or spreading terms belonging to the Seoul dialect, which the legislation calls the Puppet Language.

This is the most recent measure to address the spread of Southern culture in the country by prosecuting all those who speak, imitate, teach or spread linguistic elements belonging to South Korea, with penalties ranging from forced labor to execution, mentioned explicitly in the document in Article 6.

The issue of language belonging is a sensitive one for the North, which for decades has taken various paths to remove all forms of foreign influence from the country. Korean as a cultural component has been highly politicized.

In the 1960s Kim Il Sung recognized the language and its dissemination as an important weapon in advancing the education of the masses to a common ideology, consequently becoming the main vector for the creation of a Korean socialist society.

Over the decades of separation, the Korean spoken in the North and the Korean spoken in the South have evolved differently, though remaining the same language.

On one side is Seoul Korean, which has only partially removed foreign terms inherited from Japan during the colonial period and has slowly assimilated English-speaking terms. On the other is Pyongyang Korean, which has been purged of almost all foreign linguistic influences (often Chinese and Japanese).

The North sees preserving language purity as a way of preserving its ideological unity; it is not surprising, therefore, that from Kim Il Sung to Kim Jong Un measures to culturally isolate the North have been an important part of national policies.

The Pyongyang Cultural Language Protection Act itself is complementary to an earlier legislation passed in 2020 namely the Anti Reactionary Thought Law.

With the 2020 law, the government aimed to put in place solutions to limit the dissemination of materials illegally imported from abroad into North Korea. In 2022, the public execution of two teenagers, estimated to be between the ages of 16 and 17, was made public.

The two youths had been caught attempting to sell USB flash drives containing smuggled multimedia materials from South Korea and the West in their local market.

Limiting cultural contagion in the country altogether, however, is neither realistic nor possible. While in the West the phenomenon of Hallyu - the spread of Korean culture (Korean Wave) internationally - took hold significantly just over a decade ago, in North Korea the cultural contagion through films, music, k-dramas, books, and cosmetics illegally brought into the country and sold on the black market has lasted since the early 2000s and has been made easier by the digital revolution.

Today it is the Jangmadang Generation (those born in the 1990s) that is most influenced by it and has become the protagonist of the language spread, which is possible thanks to the smuggled materials that the government tries to curb.

For Seoul, the Korean Wave phenomenon has proven to be a significant source of soft power that has enabled the spread and popularization of its culture abroad, resulting in significant economic growth for the sectors involved, while also contributing to the study of Korean internationally.

In 2022, Korean was the seventh most studied language on the Duolingo app, ranking higher than Mandarin. But in the case of North Korea, the phenomenon may have other advantages.

The spread of Seoul culture and dialect to Pyongyang-especially among those generations who are now historically distant from the socialist revolution and who see life and the social system represented through foreign media as an attractive alternative to what they experience at home-could form the basis for fragmenting the North's ideological identity by making the nuclear advantage less relevant than it is today. The harsh repression even on such a ground as language is therefore not surprising.

The weight of Korean in the Hallyu, however, could resurrect the unifying role that language already played with the introduction of the writing system we know today. Hangul-designed in 1443 during Sejong's reign-was designed for the specific purpose of making it easier to learn written Korean, with the introduction of a phonetic alphabet instead of Chinese characters.

The goal even then was learning by the common people as well, simplifying communication and cultural understanding, as would be desired between Seoul and Pyongyang today.
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The Land Cruiser made Toyota a household name. From early FJs to the long-running 70 series and the J300 that's not coming to America, the Land Cruiser still is relevant in this sea of nondescript SUVs.

Toyota discontinued the J200 from the US market after the 2021 model year. Part of the reason why the full-size Land Cruiser had to be canned is poor sales. Paying almost $90k for a Toyota is rather chucklesome, and the Japanese automaker should've known better. The LX also cannibalized sales of the Land Cruiser due to extremely similar pricing and similar oily bits.As you're well aware, Toyota redesigned the Sequoia on the TNGA-F platform of the J300 . Said platform also underpins the LX, Tundra, GX, and Tacoma. Given these circumstances, there is no case to be made for the J300 in the United States. A smaller Land Cruiser, however, makes perfect sense. Last month, Toyota Motor North America confirmed the LC's return stateside. Following a recent design teaser, we're utmost certain the newcomer is smaller than the 300 series.Land Cruiser 250 is believed to be its moniker back home in Japan, whereas other markets know the smaller version as the Land Cruiser Prado. In the United States market, chances are Toyota won't even use a suffix.Masterfully rendered by pixel artist Halo oto, the Land Cruiser is extremely similar to the GX in many respects. The squarish lights are perfectly suited for this application, giving the Land Cruiser a distinctive look. Unashamedly rugged, the 250 series  or whatever the Prado will be called for this generation  also had its cabin rendered. It's hard to tell if any of those goodies will carry over to the real thing, but in the meantime, this is all we have on the 2025 model.The biggest question, however, is how the redesigned 4Runner will fit in with the Land Cruiser in the lineup. Toyota may differentiate said peas in a pod by means of pricing and go-anywhere capability, with the Land Cruiser being the more capable and pricier sibling.Currently priced at $40,155 (sans destination freight charge), the 4Runner will get the 2.4-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine for its next generation, with said lump carrying over from the 2024 Toyota Tacoma. The force-fed mill is available with a good ol' manual transmission in the mid-size pickup truck, whereas the hybrid version comes with a torque-converter automatic.As for the Land Cruiser, the 3.4-liter V6 advertised as having 3.5 liters may be standard, whereas the hybrid version of the 2.4er may be optional. The Tacoma doesn't feature the 3.4er, yet the GX has been confirmed with it. The 3.4-liter V6 hybrid of the Tundra and Sequoia clearly won't be offered in the LC and GX.Believed to slot in the $50k to $60k range, the 250 is the indirect successor of the FJ Cruiser in this part of the world. Coincidentally, the FJ Cruiser also featured Prado/4Runner/GX underpinnings.
If some years ago, "the bigger, the better" used to be the slogan for many camper trailer manufacturers, things have changed lately and we've seen a shift in popularity for more minimalistic options. Smaller, lighter, and easier to set up trailers are all the rage these days, as they are not only easier to tow and manhandle but also offer more campsite accessibility.

Photo: ARB

The newly revealed ARB Earth Camper is living proof that explorers can still use a lighter travel trailer as their adventure companion and not miss out on the excitement of the caravanning lifestyle. The all-new Earth Camper has been introduced as a pre-production model and is a high-quality, hard-shell, compact camper that features a pod-style design and is capable of going off the beaten path.Before going into the specifics of what this new contender in the caravanning realm has to offer, let's learn a few things about its maker. ARB is an Australia-based manufacturer and distributor of high-quality 44 accessories that has nearly five decades of expertise in the off-road and overland markets. They have a vast international presence, with offices in Europe, the US, and the Middle East, and are known to offer products that are made with quality, reliability, and practicality in mind, above all else.The Earth Camper is their first travel trailer , and given their extensive experience in the field, this foray into the camping segment seems like a natural progression for the brand. As it turns out, the company first started exploring the idea of producing a compact travel trailer back in 2016. Since then, ARB has been busy designing and testing the Earth Camper to get it ready for release. It's not yet available for purchase, but the company has provided all the necessary details for potential customers to know what to expect from it.The ARB Earth Camper is a luxury, feature-rich camper trailer that will enable outdoor enthusiasts to go further and stay longer, thanks to its off-grid capability. Versatility is another important characteristic of this camper, as it can easily go from an overnight crash pad to a comfortable living solution for extended stays. The cherry on top of the proverbial cake is its ability to handle difficult terrain and go just about anywhere.The company packed it full of features to create the ultimate outdoor experience , including various awnings and side curtains, a spacious sleeping and living space, a freestanding slide kitchen, various storage solutions, and more, all of which combine to turn the trailer into a veritable encampment. Since we don't want to take up too much of your time, we will only touch on the most outstanding features in this piece.The base the Earth Camper is built on is a massive, mandrel-bent and welded steel-tube chassis meant to provide improved rigidity and extraordinary flex-free support to the composite body panels. The exoskeleton-style setup goes all around and up over the camper's shell."Whilst significantly more challenging to manufacture, a round tube chassis is inherently stronger than a traditional rectangular chassis as there are no weak points from corners. This provides consistent strength along interior and exterior surfaces and offers superior resistance to flexing under load," mentions the manufacturer.The camper trailer is paired with a long-travel independent suspension and Old Man Emu shocks. As standard, it comes with electric brakes and rides on 16-inch alloy wheels wrapped in 32-inch Maxxis all-terrain tires. An ARK jockey wheel and deployable rear leveling stabilizers will keep the trailer level and steady when unhitched.For protection against impact damage, ARB equipped the camper with a rock guard shield and paint protection film at the front of the camper shell, as well as mud flaps and a large aluminum skid plate underneath.Though designed to be light, the trailer is still as tough and durable as they get. The body panels are made of repairable fiberglass reinforced polymer (FRP), with a well-insulated interior that also boasts ARB's dust suppression system. The 100% wood-free design ensures its longevity in all kinds of climates.The most notable feature in terms of design is the enormous clamshell back. This camper style has been very popular in Australia for years, but it only recently started to be adopted in North America as well.The rear door folds down at the push of a button to reveal a raised, hard floor. A door then gives you access to the sleeping quarters, which include a queen-size bed that is ready for use in a minute. If you want a full camp, a tent can be installed around the floor to create a sitting and dining space with a drawer and table that pull out from under the bed area.Apart from the slide-out drawer, internal storage options include bedside storage nooks, wall storage nets, and a bedhead organizer.Another impressive asset of the Earth Camper is the full kitchen setup. It slides out of the left side of the trailer and is equipped with a three-burner stove, a sink and tap, and a huge 96-liter fridge/freezer. The camper 's practicality on this side is enhanced by a big pull-out pantry with a countertop and a slide-out cutlery drawer. Moreover, the entire kitchen area is protected from the elements by a freestanding awning.Internal tanks provide 140 liters (36 gallons) of running water, with the pump powered by the onboard 100Ah lithium battery. An additional 20-liter jerry can is found in a storage nook. This means owners will have more available water than most full-size trailers and campers can provide. The stove and hot water systems, on the other hand, are powered by propane.A 120W solar panel is installed on the roof, along with a platform roof rack, but the company also offers an external Anderson plug for running a portable solar panel.Besides the extensive list of standard features on the Earth Camper, a series of quality upgrades are also available, such as awning walls, a diesel heater, and an optional toilet and shower enclosure tucked away inside an extendable tent.Given the high quality and functionality of ARB's Earth Camper , it's no surprise the company will retail it at a premium price. The robust and highly capable trailer will start at $74,500 AUD, including metro freight and pre-delivery. This translates to roughly $50,000 USD at current exchange rates. Expect an optioned-up version of the camper to retail for around $90,000 AUD ($60,000 USD).
One of the reasons for using Google Maps is its routing engine, as the application helps find faster (and, depending on your configuration, more eco-friendly) routes to the destination.

In other words, Google Maps is an excellent choice if you want to avoid traffic jams and get to an address faster, as it builds routes based on current conditions.As you drive to the destination, the navigation app looks for alternate routes, eventually providing you with new ways to reach your destination faster. The feature works as straightforwardly as possible, as the alternate routes are displayed right on the map, along with how much time you'd save by taking them.To be honest, I rarely use faster routes in Google Maps, simply because they don't provide a significantly faster ETA than the current route.However, after a recent update, some Google Maps for Android users noticed rather unusual behavior in the application. The alternate routes displayed by the app come with ridiculously faster times, sometimes much higher than the current ETA to the destination.It might sound awkward at first, but here's a real example. Let's assume you drive with Google Maps on your phone (I'm seeing reports that the same problem also occurs on Android Auto, but the number of people complaining about this is rather limited), and you're 10 minutes away from the destination. Google Maps finds a faster route and highlights it on the map accordingly. The faster time, however, indicates a ridiculous value. In some cases, it can go up to 50 minutes, so while you have just 10 minutes to arrive at your destination, Google Maps believes the new route would be nearly one hour faster.Reports on Google's forums reveal that this glitch has become more widespread lately, though not everybody on Android seems to be hitting it. Google Maps works correctly on my device, and the faster routes display on the map with the correct times.Some users claim Google Maps displays the awkward times for alternate route s on every occasion, while others explain that the numbers are wrong at random times. On the other hand, considering the unexpected behavior that shows up every now and then, it's hard to trust the suggested route, especially because it's impossible to tell if it's indeed faster.Google has yet to acknowledge the problem , so an investigation isn't underway. Unfortunately, users have not found a workaround yet, so the only way to find faster routes to a destination is to switch to another navigation app. Waze does the same thing beautifully, as it can provide you with faster routes based on current traffic conditions and reports submitted by other motorists. Waze is available on both Android and Android Auto.
It's impossible to know for sure, but scientists speculate the wheel dates all the way back to the 4th millennium before Christ. That's roughly 6,000 years from the moment in time we're at now. More than enough time, on any scale, for the design to be perfected beyond recognition.

15. Arcimoto Fun Utility Vehicle - the city trike everybody should get

Photo: Arcimoto

ICE

14. Motor Trike Suzuki Burgman 650  the insanely fun scooter trike

Photo: Motor Trike

13. Ural Geo  the sidecar bike inspired by nuclear icebreakers

Photo: Ural

12. Yamaha Niken GT  a trike so strange they call it a Leaning Multi-Wheel bike

Photo: Yamaha

11. Can-Am Spyder RT Sea-to-Sky  the ski jet-like beast of a reverse trike

10. Polaris Slingshot Roush Edition  the car-like trike motorcycle

Photo: Polaris

9. Harley-Davidson Servi-Car  the one collectors go nuts over

Photo: RM Sotheby's

8. Harley-Davidson Road Glide 3  the newest trike on the block

7. Harley-Davidson Tri Glide Ultra  the expensive veteran

6. Harley-Davidson Freewheeler  the cheapest Harley trike money can buy

5. Roadsmith Honda Gold Wing  kit conversion for Japanese touring motorcycles

Photo: Roadsmith

4. Roadsmith Indian Challenger  the only way to get a trike from Harley's main rival

Photo: Roadsmith

3. Boss Hoss Dragon  the V8-powered trike to shame a muscle car

Photo: Boss Hoss

2. Boss Hoss SS  the only truck trike in the world

Photo: Boss Hoss

1. Big Dog Bulldog  the trike alpha male

Photo: Big Dog

Are trikes legal?

From what age can you ride a trike?

What kind of license do you need to ride a trike?

Can you convert a motorcycle into a trike?

What are the disadvantages of a trike?

I have no idea what that first wheel was like, but I am willing to bet it was not at all different in shape and functionality than it is today. A round thingy meant to support a vehicle of some kind and move it easier over a surface. So, no, the basic wheel design has not evolved beyond recognition.What has evolved is the way we make the wheels, the materials we use, and the configuration they're fitted in based on what kind of vehicle they're meant to support.Generally speaking the modern era is dominated by four-wheeled pieces of machinery. They come as cars, trucks, SUVs, you name it. The logistics industry, the one using big trucks, goes for a lot more. And then we have motorcycles, which do just fine with just two wheels. No matter how you look at it though, we're always talking about an even number of wheels.In the world of vehicles, trikes occupy a very special place, for several reasons. The first would be that they're the only kind of transportation machines to use an odd number of wheels to go about their business.Then, there is basically just one way for four wheels to go on a car, one on each corner. On trikes, however, that odd number allows for the designs to be made with one wheel front and two wheels back, or the other way around.And, finally, a trike can be made either as a scaled-down car, or as an overgrown motorcycle. Today we're going to have a look at what the industry has to offer in the trike motorcycle segment.Before we dive in, though, we need to clarify a few things. Generally speaking, a trike is a type of vehicle with one wheel at the front and two wheels at the back. That's how Harley-Davidson makes them, for instance.But there is also the kind of trike with two wheels up front and one at the back, and Can-Am is the best example of that. Our list will include both kinds of machines, as long as the general design of the trike is meant to mimic, at least in part, that of a motorcycle.Most of the trikes and three-wheelers on our list are, I have to admit, prohibitively expensive. That's not to say most people can't afford them, but it does mean it's likely most of us would rather spend $30k on a car than on what ultimately amounts to a seasonal recreational machine.The Arcimoto Fun Utility Vehicle is an entirely different thing altogether, as at $19,900 it's something more people (and even delivery businesses) might clearly consider.Born from the minds of an Oregon-based crew, the Fun Utility Vehicle is an electric machine that looks more like a scooter topped off by a flimsy body. It's also potent enough to allow for everyday three-wheeled fun in the city and even beyond it: 75 mph (121 kph) top speed, 102 miles (164 km) range, and 77 bhp of dual electric motors power.What's cool about the contraption is that it's packed full of all sorts of convenience and comfort hardware, including heated seats and grips, Bluetooth speakers, and lockable storage, among others. Oh, and there's also a panoramic roof on the table, if you really want to enjoy some time out under the sky.Some might have a hard time comparing the Fun Utility Vehicle with the-powered and half-the-price Can-Am Ryker, for instance, but do keep in mind the Arcimoto is electric, and that means a lot less hassle trying to maintain it in running order.Over in Texas a group called Motor Trike has been at it converting two-wheelers into three-wheelers for decades now. Their portfolio is quite vast, and it includes modifications for bikes made by Harley, Honda, Indian, Kawasaki, Triumph, Victory, and Yamaha.We chose to feature in our list the Suzuki Burgman 650 trike not only because it's a scooter-based conversion, but also because it looks immensely fun to ride around.The 650 is part of the Burgman family that presently only comprises the 125 and 400, but those who have a 650 made after 2003 lying around can have it turned into a trike by these Texan guys. All that needs to be done is get the rear modified with the addition of a rear axle with a swingarm, two 14-inch alloy wheels, and a chain drive. All of that is added without affecting the original look and lines of the scooter.Not including the scooter itself, the conversion kit sets you back just $5,495, making the Burgman trike one of the most affordable options on the market. You should be warned, though, both bike and trike riders might look at you with funny faces as you're moving down the local roads.It may not be entirely accurate to call a sidecar motorcycle a trike, but that isn't stopping us from including the Ural Geo in our list, mostly because it's a machine like no other out there in the motorcycle world.Sidecars may have long fallen out of grace, but the Russian company somehow manages to keep the design in the news with the three bikes it makes: the Geo, Sportsman, and Weekender. Of them all the Geo is special because it was made in a limited run of just 20 units, all of which were quickly sold.The bike's design was inspired by nuclear-powered icebreakers, a kind of ship only Russia is making at the moment. Space stations, drones, and even James Bond are all said to have had a say in the coming to life of this thing.The Ural Geo is powered by a 749cc boxer engine that can send its power to two of three wheels upon request. It develops 41 hp and is controlled by a manual transmission complete with reverse gear.It's the sidecar of the thing that makes it special, a tiny box fitted to the right side of the bike. Not only does it allow for a passenger to ride shotgun on the bike, but it can also help the vehicle as a whole, because it carries the extra wheel the engine can send power to by means of a driveshaft.Of all the trikes and three-wheeled vehicles out there, the Yamaha Niken GT is perhaps the weirdest in design. That's because it doesn't look like it was made on purpose with three wheels, but a bike whose front wheel suffered a sudden case of mitosis and turned from one into two.That's right, the Niken GT has two wheels up front and one at the rear, a sort of reverse trike if you will. Aside from the two wheels being placed on the unnatural end of the motorcycle, they are also much closer together than in a conventional trike, and that makes it weirder still.Yamaha brought the Niken to the American market in 2019, just one year after it entered the public scene. Its official designation is not trike or three-wheeler, but Leaning Multi-Wheel (LMW) motorcycle.What that means is that both front wheels lean in unison, doubling the amount of available grip when road conditions are not that great, but also providing incredible cornering abilities.The Niken is powered by a 890cc engine and it's as capable as you'd expect from a true Japanese machine. And it's not expensive either, at least not as much as Harleys are: you can get one and call your own for around $17,000.Can-Am is probably the world's biggest maker of motorcycles that are not motorcycles in the truest sense. On the market since the 1930s, the company specialized over the years in making reverse trikes, three-wheelers with a proper pair of wheels up front, decently spaced apart.Two main models are in the company's portfolio at the moment, the Ryker and Spyder , and it's the latter ride, in its RT Sea-to-Sky configuration, that's of interest to us today. Not only because it is the top of the range, but also because this ski-jet-like-design contraption seems to be at the top of its game.Powered by a Rotax engine with a displacement more suitable for a European family car, 1,300cc, the Can-Am Spyder RT promises to offer total luxury and an open road experience like no other. And that's owed not in small part to the incredible amount of features the 3-wheel motorcycle: it has anything from LED headlights to all the gear it needs to tow a trailer behind it.Whereas the Can-Am Ryker is perhaps one of the cheapest trikes you can get your hands on, at $8,999, the Spyder RT Sea-to-Sky is more than three times more expensive, coming in at no less than $30,999.Strictly speaking from a design point of view, the Polaris Slingshot is more akin to a three-wheeled car than a trike motorcycle. That's because, unlike all other trikes out there, it does not carry the passenger behind the rider, but right next to him. It also has a steering wheel instead of a handlebar, and a very car-like front end. Yet Polaris officially refers to it as a three-wheeled motorcycle, so here it is making an entry in our list.As one of the most successful vehicles of its kind, the Slingshot is presently offered in no less than five variants, starting from the entry-level Slingshot S ($21,499) and ending with the Slingshot Roush Edition.Retailing from $37,349, the reverse trike offers a 203-hp engine to get it moving, and also tons of Roush appointments: seats, gauges, graphics, and branding throughout. Brembo hardware is on deck to ensure stopping needs, and the 305 mm rear tire is more than wide enough to keep the vehicle stable all the time.For those wishing to ride a trike as they would drive a two-seater car, the Polaris Slingshot Roush Edition is the perfect choice, despite its rather huge price tag  for $37k, you can get yourself a Dodge Charger GT, for instance.It might be a bit difficult tracking down who made the first trike motorcycle and where, but I bet none of you will mind if we give that honor, at least in this piece, to the Harley-Davidson Servi-Car.Officially a three-wheeled motorcycle, the Servi-Car came to be in 1932 as a tool for organizations of various kinds, from companies in need of moving their products to police departments in need of catching criminals.The Harley idea was so successful that it was kept in production until 1973, effectively becoming one of the longest-running Harleys in history. Contributing to that fact were the many ways in which the trunk could be adapted to the needs at hand.The Servi-Car is no longer in production, but from time to time it does come up in the news, thanks to incredible examples from the past popping up on the auction block somewhere, at times with an incredible story to tell.The last high-profile such vehicle we know of doing just that dates back to 1949, was used by the Oakland, California police department, and was sold by RM Sotheby's back in 2020 for $54,000. If you look hard enough though, it's likely youll find plenty of others for sale right now.Of the three trikes Harley makes, the Road Glide 3 is not available in Europe, but only on the American market. It's brand new in the offering, having been introduced at the beginning of 2023.As its name says, the trike is built around a mighty Road Glide motorcycle and uses the range's Milwaukee-Eight 114 engine. In this configuration, it is rated at 90 hp and 119 ft-lb of torque. Separating it from the Road Glide it's based on are a frame-mounted fairing, dual Daymaker LED headlamps, and a low-profile windscreen.One of the key aspects people look for in a trike, storage space, is aplenty on this one, as it offers a rear trunk with a capacity of two cubic feet (56 liters). Additionally, the size of the thing allowed for the installation of the bike maker's BOOM! Box GTS with a pair of 5.25-inch speakers mounted in the fairing.With the increased dimensions compared to a motorcycle and extra wheel fitted at the back comes a much bigger price tag than one would usually pay for a standard Road Glide bike. For the Road Glide 3, Harley's asking price is $32,999, more than 10k more expensive than the bike.After it had its way with the Servi-Car, Harley dropped any thoughts of coming to the three-wheeled motorcycle table for a very long time. In fact, almost four decades had to pass between the exit of the Servi-Car and the arrival of the Tri Glide Ultra.The trike was presented to the world for the first time in 2009, and it came as an offshoot of the impressive Electra Glide. Initially, the conversions from bike to trike were not performed over at Harley, but in the shops of partner Lehman Trikes.By all intents and purposes, at 14 years old the Tri Glide Ultra is the longest-running trike produced by an established bike maker (and most likely the longest-running one of all), and that's saying something.The machine is powered by a Milwaukee-Eight 114 engine, like all others in the Harley trike family, and comes with all the appointments one would expect from such a contraption, from storage space to infotainment.All that comes with a sticker price to match: at $36,499, the Tri Glide Ultra is the most expensive Harley trike on the market, but also one that would immediately get you noticed at any and all bike gatherings.Whereas the previous two trikes from Harley-Davidson go well above the $30,000 mark in their most basic of forms (and much more once you start adding stuff on), the Freewheeler starts just under that threshold, making it the most affordable of the bunch.The model came to be in 2014 as an expansion of a range that at the time only had the Tri Glide Ultra. It was a sign this segment of the industry was booming, and helped keep the American brand at the top of customer preferences.Today the Freewheeler offers pretty much the same things as the other two, starting from the Milwaukee-Eight 114 engine (complete, like it's the case with all other trikes of its kind, with reverse gear) and ending with the unmistakable Harley-Davidson styling.In fact, it's the visual appearance that makes the trike stand out the most, as it's more hot rod than both the other two, a much more aggressive interpretation of what it means to ride in an unconventional style.Harley is charging from $29,999 for the chance to experience the thrills, but as you already know by now, the more you make the trike your own, the more it will cost you.Because official trikes assembled in the factories of established bike makers are not that common, people oftentimes turn to conversion kits to their two-wheelers into three-wheelers. And one of the most respected producers of such kits is Roadsmith.The name dates back to the 1970s and has grown into becoming one of the most important on the market, providing conversions for motorcycles that don't usually come as trikes.Honda is one of the bike makers that don't currently offer a trike from the factory floor. Yet Roadsmith is turning Gold Wings and Valkyries into this type of machine like there's no tomorrow.The company offers solutions for Gold Wings produced by Honda from 1988 to the present day. For the most recent incarnation of the Japanese touring bike, such a kit will set you back at least $10,000 (for the basic kit that includes modifications to the chassis, body, tires and wheels, trunk, and trailer hitch).The conversion is made in such a way as to not ruin the factory look of the bike, and benefits from the use of fully independent suspension, alloy wheels, and heavy-duty joints, among others. A wide range of accessories is also on the table.Despite being so huge and perhaps the only direct and true competitor to Harley-Davidson, Indian does not offer and never intended to offer a trike to its customers. Fret not, as Roadsmith's got you covered.Just like it does with Honda, the specialist is offering trike conversion kits for several Indian models, including the Roadmaster, Challenger, and Pursuit. We'll focus on the Challenger in our list, as it's one of Indian's most popular models.The kit being offered is suitable for bikes produced from 2020, and will set you back at least $13,000, including main modifications, steering upgrades, and an electric reverse. This solution too was designed in such a way as to avoid ruining the beautiful lines of the adventure tourer.Work to be conducted to give the ride three wheels and all the capabilities of a trike include the relocation of the bike's tour pack and the fitting of a trunk. A swingarm and differential are also part of the package, but things like a performance swaybar, an air ride suspension, and parking brake are offered as extras.Bike included, a complete Indian trike should get you well over the $30,000 mark, which makes one about as expensive as what Harley has to offer.A great option for those in the market for a new trike is to turn to custom shops that make these things series-production style. And when it comes to such things, it doesn't get any better than Boss Hoss Known the world over for their passion for fitting huge displacement engines in their builds, the customizers offer at the time of writing no less than six distinct models, many of them engineered in such a way as to mechanically resemble actual cars.The Dragon is not part of that list, and it's perhaps the most custom bike-like trike out there. Built around a custom chassis that makes it look like a beefed-up Harley-Davidson V-Rod, it comes with a choice of two insanely powerful engines, more than capable of keeping muscle cars at bay: a 430-hp 383ci Stroker, or a 563-hp 454ci small block.You would think such insanity in a trike is prohibitively expensive, but you'd be wrong. Boss Hoss is only" asking $55,1245 for the Dragon, and considering how much less capable factory trikes priced just $20k below that are, it's probably an effort many trike lovers would make. Provided, of course, they can sustain the fuel consumption levels of the thing.If there are two things Americans love when it comes to machines, they are trucks and motorcycles. So what better way to please the crowds than to offer them a taste of both things in a single package, with a touch of trike extra cool?The guys over at Boss Hoss are responsible for what may very well be the only truck trike in the world. Shaped like a motorcycle at the front, with a wheel, fork, and handlebar, the so-called SS ends in two wheels at the rear and a trunk so large it will make touring bikes blush and full-blown pickup trucks jealous.And what's hiding in the frame is not to be easily discarded either: an LS 445 V8 engine we're used to seeing on custom cars and trucks, cranking out a staggering 445 hp and an equal amount of ft. lbs of torque.The Tennessee-based crew has a lot of faith in the SS, so the asking price is one to match its insanity: $64,535 in basic form - that means with stuff like an inverted fork for the front and air ride for the back, Brembo brakes, and an 8.5-gallon fuel tank that won't get you too far.Trikes are such a special breed of motorcycles that you have a better shot at finding the right one for you at custom shops than on the lots of established bike makers. Case in point, the Big Dog Bulldog Based in Kansas and founded in 1994, Big Dog presently sells three custom production models, the Bulldog, Mastiff, and K9. It's the former that's of interest to us today, as that one is a trike true and true.The machine is not based on some existing model, but is built from the ground up by the American shop. A custom frame holds inside it a 124ci S&S Super Sidewinder V-Twin engine linked to a 6-speed transmission that also has a reverse gear.Big Dog describes the Bulldog as the place where "3-wheels meets high-octane performance," and we all know such places come with prices to match. As the most expensive Big Dog machine currently available, the trike sells for no less than $46,995, effectively dwarfing everything that Harley-Davidson and some of the other competitors in this segment have to offer. Then again, we would expect nothing less from the alpha male of this entire pack of 15 best trike motorcycles you can get your hands on in 2023.So there you have it, our list of 15 best trikes available in 2023. Before you go though, look below for answers to some of your most important questions about this kind of motorcycle.Yes, for the most part. Both factory-made and kit-made trikes, no matter the configuration (two front wheels, two rear wheels, sidecar) are generally street-legal, and that's why we have so many shops selling them. There may be instances though when some custom trikes will not be allowed on public roads on account of the modifications made.If we're talking about pedal-powered trikes, then age is not an issue, you can ride one as soon as you can. Motorized, street-legal ones though do require a license, and that can only be had when you're of legal age in your country.Generally speaking, trikes no matter their type are considered motorcycles, so that's the kind of license you'll need to ride one.Yes, and it's a pretty straightforward process. We do recommend that you turn to a shop that specializes in such things to make sure you get quality work performed.The biggest disadvantage of trike motorcycles is that they are a lot more expensive than two-wheelers. Most of the time they are twice as expensive, whether we're talking about factory trikes or kit ones. Then you have to keep in mind trikes occupy a lot more space than a bike.On the bright side, you don't really need to be an ace at keeping your balance on a trike, as the extra wheel more than helps with that. Then again, if you are legally allowed to ride a trike then you already know how to balance yourself.
Electric vehicles have improved tremendously in the past year, and almost all offer more than 300 miles of range. Here are the ten electric cars with the longest range available in 2023 on the US market. I've also added five EVs arriving soon that will rearrange the charts.

ICE

EV

The top 10 longest-range EVs right now

1. Lucid Air Grand Touring

Photo: Lucid Motors

2. Tesla Model S

Photo: Tesla

3. Hyundai Ioniq 6

Photo: Hyundai

AWD

MPGe

4. GMC Hummer EV Pickup

Photo: GMC

kWh

5. Rivian R1S

Photo: Rivian

SUV

6. Fisker Ocean

Photo: Fisker

7. Mercedes-Benz EQS Sedan

8. Tesla Model X

Photo: Tesla

FSD

9. Tesla Model 3

Photo: Tesla

10. Tesla Model Y

Photo: Tesla

1. Jeep Recon

Photo: Jeep

2. Ram 1500 REV

Photo: Ram Trucks

3. Chevrolet Silverado EV

Photo: Chevrolet

4. GMC Sierra EV

Photo: GMC

5. Rivian R1T Max pack

Photo: Rivian

If you ask people why they don't want to buy an electric vehicle, range anxiety is guaranteed to be the most frequent answer. Everyone sees the limited range of electric cars, especially compared to theirequivalents, as the biggest issue hinderingadoption. Being stranded in the middle of nowhere with a dead battery is the last thing they want, and they see this as not only probable but guaranteed.Those who did drive an EV know that getting the battery empty with no charging possibilities is nearly impossible unless you are stubborn in ignoring the car's warnings). The navigation system plots the best route for you and suggests charging stops at stations along the way, so you don't need to worry about running on empty. The car gives you plenty of head-ups before the state of charge drops to the point you should consider charging.People also want to go as far as they can without charging because this is perceived as a time-wasting activity. Most who never drove an electric vehicle draw conclusions based on how they use gas cars, and stopping for half an hour or more at a gas station is seen as unacceptable. Still, most EV owners charge their cars at home overnight, so they wake up to a full battery every day. Going to a charging station is only needed on longer road trips, which are rare for most people.Also, modern electric vehicles can go way further than most people drive until the next stop. They also don't need more than half an hour to get from nearly empty to 80% state of charge, enough for another driving stint. The half an hour charging stop can be used for stretching, eating, or drinking a coffee because humans need to relax once in a while.I think many misconceptions about electric vehicles are owed to how flawed the Nissan Leaf was initially. Although the Japanese carmaker brags about being an EV pioneer, the Leaf was indeed a poor car, with short range and very long charging times, not to mention batteries that wore out in record time. Although present-day EVs are entirely different, these shortcomings are still on people's minds when considering an electric vehicle.Surveys showed that most people want electric vehicles with at least 300 miles (483 km) of range. Today, this is considered the bare minimum for a worry-free commute, although most drivers rarely go that far in a day. Carmakers listened and offered many models that can go over 300 miles without charging, with the best surpassing 500 miles (805 km). And new models launching later this year or in 2024 push this even further. Here are the electric vehicles with the longest range in the US.516 miles (830 km)$138,000 (~125,000 Euro) The Lucid Air Grand Touring was the first variant of the luxury performance sedan that put Tesla to shame with more than 500 miles (805 km) of range. The result made Elon Musk jealous because he immediately downplayed Lucid Air's performance, saying that Tesla could've done it long ago. They chose not to because the battery's added weight would've made the Model S worse.Time seems to prove Musk's theory because Lucid struggles to sell its Air production. At the same time, Tesla Model S is not setting any sales records either, reflecting the market's lost appetite for luxury sedans. What's remarkable is that Lucid also produces cheaper variants of the Air sedan, whose ranges still surpass the best Tesla has to offer. If $138,000 is too much for you, Air Touring will take you 425 miles (684 km) on a charge for $107,400, while Air Pure promises 410 miles (660 km) for $87,400.The Lucid Air is a solid electric vehicle with luxury features that surpass anything Tesla has in this department. Build quality is also impressive, putting Lucid next to the best in the industry, the German luxury carmakers. If you want the longest-range EV and can afford it, you cannot go wrong with the Lucid Air.405 miles (652 km)$88,490 (~80,000 Euro)The Model S was the first volume EV from Tesla, launched in 2012. Although it still looks pretty much the same as it did 10 years ago, the Tesla Model S has been thoroughly improved in all areas through subsequent updates. With the latest update at the beginning of 2023, the Model S got new technologies and subtle cosmetic changes while retaining the iconic looks of the original model. The longest-range variant is the entry-level Model S, so you don't need to spend more to travel more. You still get breathtaking performance with the Dual-Motor variant, with a 0-60 mph time of 3.1 seconds. The range tops at 405 miles (652 km) when equipped with 19-inch wheels, although upgrading to 20-inch wheels drops it to 375 miles (604 km).Even the Model S Plaid can go up to 396 miles (637 km) on a charge with 19-inch wheels, which is still more than the next in our rankings. It costs $108,490, but you get one of the fastest electric sedans on the market, reaching 200 mph (322 kph) and sprinting from zero to 60 mph in less than 2 seconds. This never gets old.Maximum EPA driving range: 361 miles (581 km)$45,500 (~41,500 Euro)Hyundai proved that you don't need to spend close to $100K for an electric vehicle to have a record range. The Ioniq 6 does that in its very affordable SE variant, which retails for $45,500. You need to be in the rear-wheel drive version to get that far because thehas a smaller range, at 316 miles (509 km). It's also more expensive, adding $3,500 to the price. The Ioniq 6 is Hyundai's second EV built on the E-GMP platform, benefitting from the fast-charging rates offered by its 800-volt architecture. Hyundai used all the tricks in the book to make the Ioniq 6 as efficient as possible, with an impressive 140result. This puts it right next to the Lucid Air Touring, which has a similar rating. The Ioniq 6 also boasts an impressive 0.22 drag coefficient, resulting from painstaking fine-tuning in the wind tunnel.Hyundai designed the Ioniq 6 as a direct Tesla Model 3 competitor, although the latter still has an edge in range and performance. People also say that it's even uglier than the Model 3, but that's just design, and different people might disagree. Anyway, if you want an affordable car with one of the best ranges on the market, Hyundai Ioniq 6 is a strong candidate.355 miles (571 km)$100,395 (~91,000 Euro)The GMC Hummer EV has been criticized for its weight, which surpasses 9,400 lbs. (4,260 kg). Usually, heavy-weight electric vehicles are not very efficient, but GM wanted to give it an impressive range by using a 24-module Ultium battery with 213-usable capacity. It weighs almost 3,000 pounds (1,360 kg), as much as an ICE compact sedan such as the Honda Civic.Not all GMC Hummer EV versions impress with their range, and the champion in this field is the recently announced 3X trim . Performance-wise, the 3X matches the Edition 1 model, with 1,000 horsepower developed by its three-motor configuration. It's also cheaper, at $100,395 versus $110,295, including destination charges.The range tops at 355 miles with the standard 22-inch wheels, an impressive achievement considering the size and weight of the Hummer EV. Opting for the Extreme Off-Road Package downgrades the estimate to 329 miles (529 km), similar to the Edition 1 model.352 miles (566 km)$84,000 (~76,000 Euro)The Rivian R1S Dual Motor with the Large battery pack was expected to get an EPA estimate of 340 miles. That put it below its brother R1T, which had an estimated range of 350 miles. Still, during the certification process, the R1S got a 352-mile rating , surpassing expectations. Although the R1T with a similar configuration should go even further, we currently have no official information regarding its range.The Rivian R1S Dual Motor in the winning configuration starts at $84,000, which is not a bad price for a luxurywith a kink for adventure. The 135-kWh battery pack seems small compared to the one of the GMC Hummer EV, but Rivian still manages to offer a similar range. This speaks about the higher efficiency and lower weight of the R1S/R1T duo, an impressive achievement for Rivian.The EV startup is also preparing a larger battery pack called the "Max pack." This will only be offered starting this fall on both R1 models, although only the R1S SUV variant is listed on Rivian's website. The price ($16,000) is almost triple compared to the Large pack ($6,000). That would push the maximum range above the 400-mile threshold for the R1T and an estimated 390 miles for the R1S, which is still impressive.350 miles (563 km)$68,999 (~63,000 Euro)Henrik Fisker is known for his bold statements that can only compare to GM's Mary Barra. Fisker founder is confident that the startup can flood the market with its Ocean SUVs, with 43,000 estimated to be delivered this year. Still, Fisker produced only 56 units in 2022 and delivered zero. Initially, the startup wanted to build 300 cars in the first quarter of 2023, but it decided against it "to avoid holding inventory."There are many alarm bells about Fisker, but the Ocean SUV seems like a nice product. Being built by Magna Steyr, it offers confidence that it's better assembled than many other cars on the market. Fisker lists a maximum 360-mile (579-km) range on its website. Still, in a release sent to the media, Fisker said it expects the Ocean Extreme to be EPA certified for 350 miles of range, and I ranked it accordingly.The Fisker Ocean Extreme is the top version of the compact SUV, so it's not very cheap. The price starts at $68,999, although it has a solar roof that can add up to 1,500 miles (2,415 km) of charging per year. The 550-horsepower of its Dual Motor drivetrain allows it to go from zero to 60 mph in 3.6 seconds.350 miles (563 km)$104,400 (~95,000 Euro)The Mercedes-Benz EQS Sedan was the third model launched under the EQ sub-brand after the EQC (2019) and EQV (2020). The German luxury carmaker learned a hard lesson from the EQC, which was not very well received, and pushed the EQS sedan as a true luxury EV. As the name suggests, this is the electric equivalent of the S Class and is equipped and priced as expected. Still, it's not built on an S-Class chassis, being developed from the ground up as an all-electric vehicle.Mercedes-Benz sells three variants of the EQS Sedan in the US, all powered by a 108-kWh battery pack. The rear-wheel-drive EQS 450+ is our champion, with an estimated EPA range of 350 miles. The all-wheel-drive version EQS 450 4Matic and the more powerful variant EQS 580 4Matic achieve 340 miles (547 km) on a charge, which is pretty interesting.These results show the impressive efficiency the EQS achieves thanks to one of the best drag coefficients for a production vehicle (Cd=0.2). That's slightly higher than the Lucid Air (Cd=0.197) but better than Tesla Model S (Cd=0.208). Also, the EQS has been certified for Level-3 autonomous driving in the US, so there's that.348 miles (560 km)$98,490 (~90,000 Euro)The Model X is probably the most iconic Tesla, thanks to its falcon-wing rear doors. The signature feature caused Tesla engineers many sleepless nights because they would not open or latch properly. After many software updates throughout 2016, Tesla solved the issue, and the Model X rose to fame.Like its brother Model S, the Model X is available in a standard All-Wheel Drive and a Plaid variant. The latter can go from 0 to 60 mph in 2.5 seconds, but we're more interested in the base version. It can still do 0-60 in a jiffy, or 3.8 seconds, but can also go the distance with a maximum range of 348 miles.The Tesla Model X offers room for seven people on three rows, although the rearmost two seats are only recommended for children and people you want to punish. The refreshed Model X variant features HW4 computer and sensor suite, as well as matrix LED headlights. However, there's no software support for either feature, which means noBeta for now.333 miles (536 km)$47,240 (~43,000 Euro)Tesla stopped selling the Model 3 Long Range AWD variant last year after a significant backlog accumulated. Elon Musk explained the situation by the excessive demand, although other factors may have been at play. The Long Range variant was reintroduced in the lineup this spring but with a downgraded range.From the previous 358 miles (576 km) that would've earned it the fourth place in our rankings, Tesla Model 3 now offers only 333 miles, barely making it to the 9th spot. This is not very far from the Model 3 Performance, which now gets even more compelling, selling for $6,000 more. It also offers a 315-mile range (507 km), making me question the Long Range moniker of the regular AWD variant. The Tesla Model 3 in inventory is heavily discounted, so it might be worth checking out. The Long Range variant gets a $3,000 discount, which is nothing to scoff at. Tesla is trying to sell as many Model 3s as possible before the refreshed model starts production later this year. Project Highland is rumored to have an improved range even for the RWD variant, so we're anxious to include it in this top when it becomes available.330 miles (531 km)$50,490 (~46,000 Euro)The fourth Tesla model is rounding up the Top 10 longest-range EVs, which speaks volumes about the lack of improvement in the past years. Tesla may not consider range important, having the best charging infrastructure at the fingertips. Still, the customers might appreciate the peace of mind of a longer-range electric vehicle. This means newer EVs offering more range might steal the Model Y's show.The Model Y is the last to arrive in Tesla's lineup, starting its career in 2020. Although it didn't receive a visible facelift, the Tesla Model Y is very different from three years ago. I'm not talking about the lack of radar and ultrasonic sensors, but the improved structure featuring megacasting and the structural battery pack.Although Tesla promised that the 4680 cells would improve range, the Model Y only uses these cells in the base AWD version , with 279 miles (449 km) of range. This reflects the lower battery capacity (67 kWh versus 75 kWh in the upper trims). On the other hand, the Long Range variant can go 330 miles on a charge when equipped with 19-inch wheels, enough to rank tenth.Carmakers announce new electric vehicles every month, although many are not expected to start deliveries soon. They also promise an impressive range, which many might consider wishful thinking. Sure, it's easy to throw in a bigger battery, but sometimes the battery cell supply isn't there to support that. We see it at GM, which reported disappointing Ultium sales in the second quarter. That's why I recommend you take these estimates with a grain of salt.500 miles (805 km)TBAStellantis announced the Jeep Recon in September 2022 as an electric alternative to the Wrangler off-roader. This may change in time, as the Wrangler will be offered with an electric powertrain later. The nameplate is too important for Stellantis to replace it with Recon in the EV era. Jeep Recon is expected to launch next year, and Stellantis promised it would have up to 500 miles of range. I seriously doubt that, considering we're talking about a boxy off-roader. The Recon shares the STLA Large automotive platform with the Wagoneer S, which only promises 400 miles of range. We'll see which one delivers next year if Stellantis manages to start producing them as promised.500 miles (805 km)TBAYou may have noticed that most upcoming long-range EVs are pickup trucks . This is not by chance, as pickups need much more energy when towing or advancing on rugged terrain. Towing a trailer is guaranteed to cut the range in half, and that's why an electric pickup needs more range than regular vehicles.The question is how you get a heavy pickup to have a class-leading range. The easiest way is to install the biggest battery you can produce. Stellantis claims that the upcoming Ram 1500 REV will lead the segment with 500 miles of range, a truly impressive feat. Still, this requires a massive 229-kWh battery. There'll also be a standard-range version with a 168-kWh battery pack and 350 miles of range, which is still better than most Tesla EVs.450 miles (724 km)$79,800 (72,700 Euro)The Chevrolet Silverado EV should soon start sales with the WT variants for fleet buyers. Chevrolet says that the longest-range version will be the top-of-the-line WT4, with a promised range of 450 miles. Thanks to its big battery, it will not be cheap, retailing at $79,800. The more affordable WT3 variant ($74,800) will offer 350 miles (563 km) of range.Sadly, it will take a while before the retail versions of the truck will start deliveries. Chevrolet said the first trucks would arrive this fall, although the first versions available would be out of reach for most buyers. At $106,995, the RST First Edition trim is almost as expensive as the GMC Hummer EV. Still, it should offer more range, similar to the WT variants 400 miles (644 km)TBAThe GMC Sierra EV is the rebadged version of the Chevrolet Silverado EV, so expect the same performance. The estimated EPA range is similar to what Chevrolet initially announced for the Silverado EV. Later, it updated the range to 450 miles, although no similar information was communicated for the GMC Sierra EV. The sales should start next year with the Denali Edition 1 trim, which is similar to the RST First Edition from Chevrolet.400 miles (644 km)$79,800 (73,000 Euro)Rivian expects to offer the R1S and R1T with the biggest battery pack starting this fall. The "Max pack" has a capacity of 180 kWh, which is 33% more than the Large pack with 135 kWh. It will not allow the Rivian R1 vehicles to travel 33% more because the added weight impacts efficiency. However, it should offer more than the 400-mile advertised range of the Rivian R1T . The price premium is steep, and I imagine this version will only appeal to those who absolutely need the extra range for heavy lifting.
SUV

Mind you, there are a few aftermarket upgrades available for the luxury SUV made by the British brand that operates under the BMW Group's roof, and the one pictured above has nothing to do with them. The reason is simple; this is a mere rendering that taps into Rolls-Royce Cullinan's 4x4 spirit.Brought forward by overlandprojects and signed by globalcartizen, it immediately stands out next to the stock Cullinans. It has larger headlamps, a new front bumper, fender flares, extended side skirts, and a roof rack with what should be a ladder at the rear to access the gear stored on the roof. The digital illustration also shows it with a winch, additional lights above the front windscreen, underbody protection, and fat tires wrapped around the wheels.Some might argue that it doesn't look like a Cullinan anymore due to the new lighting units up front, added rear windows, and a few other bits and bobs. In fact, the pixel manipulator refers to it as a wagon and not an, but it's clear that they used the high-rider as a starting point. We would've liked to see a more rugged take on the cabin, with sturdier materials that leave the luxury zone behind, but this is where they drew the line. And we've got to admit that we like the idea of an off-roading version of the Cullinan, with or without the new headlamps and added rear windows.Since money is obviously no object to anyone who can afford to spend north of $350,000 on a brand-new Cullinan, which is its estimated starting price in the United States, they could blow more cash on theirs and make it a bit more rugged. There are a few tuners that will gladly take on such a project, including Delta4x4.In fact, this company already presented a Cullinan with more hair on its chest over a year ago. That one had a bulbar with added lights, fender attachments, a snorkel, a roof rack, and fat rubber hugging the new wheels. They also played around with the suspension to give it more ground clearance, and they were asking 150,000 (equal to $163,100) in Europe for the entire upgrade kit back then. But does an overlanding Cullinan sound like a good idea to you, and would you do that to what is one of the most luxurious SUVs that money can buy today?
8 July 2023 08:30 (UTC+04:00)

Rena Murshud Read more

Narrow-mindedness is one of the serious factors that hinder development. Unfortunately, this kind of thinking belongs to Armenia, which has not been able to develop itself for centuries and has always germinated and blossomed among other nations. Yes, you didn't get it wrong at all...

Around the last quarter of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, the Armenians, whose homeland is unknown and living as a minority in many parts of the world in a fragmented form, for some reason fell into a momentary passion for building a homeland. Finally, in the early 20th century, the Armenians, who were brought to the Caucasus by the Russians, are truly becoming a scourge in the region.

It is known that at that time the Armenians tried to weaken the state by causing various provocations in the Ottoman lands based on the coordination of the Russians. This habit then spread to Russia itself and became its own scourge - in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Russia itself became the target of extremist Armenians.

According to the historical facts in modern times, although Russia is the real founder of the "masterpiece" called Armenia today, this blueprint left by it is acting against Russia itself. Armenia cannot stop such provocations not only against Russia, but also against Turkiye and its northern neighbour, Georgia. Using the means and media at their disposal, Armenia makes biased claims about both Turkiye and Georgia and tries to spread baseless ideas. For example, in an article published on one of the Armenian websites, it is mentioned that if communications are opened between Armenia and Turkiye, it may be against Armenia, that is, both the economy and the nationality of Armenia may be eliminated by assimilation. Of course, from the perspective of Armenian thinking, it is not surprising to spread such frivolous ideas without seeing the surroundings. However, the first thing that comes to mind is the economic development of a state. If Armenia was a little more intelligent than being professional in the direction of provocation, it would not have come to such an illogical conclusion. Of course, when it comes to Armenia, it is difficult to think otherwise. Currently, thoughts about development in Yerevan are flowing. I wonder what the Pashinyan government is thinking, which devotes itself to empty and meaningless territorial claims instead of restoring relations with neighbouring states? Is the forbidden fruit the sweetest?

In fact, it would be better to take a look at the expansionist principles of Armenia. How did the Armenians, who took root in the West under the guise of some French and other European names starting from the middle of the 20th century, not assimilated, but when it came to Turkiye, this fear shook them so much...?

It is very significant to note that today many French banks are controlled by Armenians. Also, most media portals in Russia are owned by Armenian nationals. These are Armenian separatists living abroad, spreading their trivial claims on all media sites in Russian and broadcasting them to neighbouring countries. This was more observed in the Second Karabakh War in 2020. People of Armenian origin had the control of all social networks, not just in the media sphere. For Armenians, it is called skills, while for others it is considered ignominy and provocative.

Besides, Armenia, which declared the recognition of the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan for many times and agreed to peace processes, and also sought to open a land border with Turkiye a few months ago, now wants to shun from this responsibility. However, they are not aware that this is the basis of the desire of many countries finding their fortune in the South Caucasus. Is Armenia involuntarily digging its own grave or will it give up its unreliable friends and follow the path of truth?! Alas, Armenia's unchanging political course always mirrors its historical background.

Without deviating from the main topic, let's move on to the claims put forward by the Armenians, if an investor from a foreign state comes to any state, then assimilation will occur in this country and ethnic, racial, religious and cultural antagonism will arise. So, according to them, the Armenian lobbyists, who control most of the French banks, are already considered to have occupied the country?!

If you take a closer look at the government of Armenia, you can often find different groups within the country. For example, the Armenian population is tired of the conflict and is in favour of peace. The "artsakh" case involves Armenian separatists living abroad. Some groups don't care about the economic well-being of their country, they just make empty claims. The provocations are unfounded and are committed on the sovereign territory of the neighbouring state of Azerbaijan.

The economic policy of Armenia is literally same as the 'policy of North Korea'. To put it more clearly, it's like don't meddle in my business, but I'll meddle in anyone's business anywhere. In more logical terms, Armenia wants to drown in its "swamp", adhering to a conservative approach.

In the history of all countries, we have seen that most countries governed by some conservative forces have ended in a fiasco. From this point of view, Armenia's way of leading policy and economy conservatively is quite tangible. And this means being in a position of leading the country towards complete collapse of it.

According to surveys and studies conducted in Armenia, not only the country's economy has weakened, but even the population has lost faith in the "supporting" countries. The Armenians, who are alone in the field, seek to involve in these conflicts the states that are silent. However, it looks like there are other hidden points under this "support" that we will probably notice over time.

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Rena Murshud is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @RenaTagiyeva

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8 July 2023 22:15 (UTC+04:00)

By Emin Sevdimaliyev, Day.az

Armenia has suffered another collapse. The application of Armenia on the issue of the functioning of the Lachin border checkpoint was rejected by the International Court of Justice.

From the very beginning, such a decision should not have been in doubt. After all, the issue of territorial integrity is one of the key issues for the functioning of the international community of countries. The main international document regulating the inviolability of borders is the Charter of the United Nations (UN). In particular, Article 2(4) of the UN Charter expressly prohibits Member States from using force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state.

"All Members of the United Nations shall render its fullest assistance in all actions taken by it in accordance with this Charter, and shall refrain from assisting any State against which the United Nations is taking preventive or enforcement action," states Article 2(4).

Also in this context, we can mention the final act of the Helsinki Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe in 1975, which approved the principles of respect for the territorial integrity of states, non-use of force and inviolability of borders.

Following these principles, the International Court of Justice rejected the arguments of Armenia, which initially were not logical. If you think about it, Yerevan initially built its arguments on the shaky ground of the terms of the Tripartite Statement, which it itself systematically violates many times.

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Also, the Armenian authorities ignore the fact that territorial integrity is not a subject of bargaining and negotiations, and cannot be changed by any signed international document.

It is important to note that the decision of the court in The Hague gave unambiguous support to the position of Azerbaijan. By rejecting Yerevan's petition, the International Court of Justice killed Armenia's last hope of finding at least some support for its illegal demands.

The logic of the Armenian political establishment raises serious doubts, since by deciding to support Yerevan's demand, the MC would have made several serious mistakes. First, taking a decision against Azerbaijan would violate Article 2(4) that we were talking about.

Also, it would be a grave breach of Article 2(7) of the Charter, which reads as follows: This Charter does not in any way give the United Nations the right to intervene in matters which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any State, and does not require Members United Nations to submit such cases for resolution under this Charter; however, this principle shall not affect the application of coercive measures under Chapter VII." It should be noted that Chapter VII is devoted to "Actions regarding the threat to the peace, violations of the peace and acts of aggression", which does not fit the situation, since Azerbaijan seeks to ensure a peaceful situation on its territory.

The third point is that the adoption of an anti-Azerbaijani decision would discredit the court and the UN charter, which, for obvious reasons, the body of the UN judicial system would not agree to.

Given these factors, the hopes of the Armenian side for a decision in its favor seemed very doubtful. In the end, it happened, and the court made the only right decision, pointing out to Armenia the dead end and illogicality of its thinking.

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8 July 2023 11:05 (UTC+04:00)

The world's leading producer of tobacco products Japan Tobacco International (JTI) and an Azerbaijani tobacco company Tabaterra signed an agreement on manufacturing JTIs global brands in Azerbaijan and exporting them to Georgia, Azernews reports.

As part of the strategic partnership, world-famous brands such as Sobranie, Winston, and Camel sold in Georgia belonging to the JTI company will now be produced by Tabaterra in Azerbaijan.

Director of Tabaterra CJSC Elman Javanshir, who noted that they are very pleased with the partnership with the JTI regarding the production and export of global brands, said that the mentioned export agreement will make a significant contribution to the economy of Azerbaijan, as well as to local production in the country.

"Thus, this agreement will provide our country with a foreign exchange flow of around $13m annually," he added.

"The export agreement we signed with Tabaterra JSC is of great importance for JTI company in terms of strengthening our position in the Georgian market. Confident with the experience and production capabilities of our business partner, Tabaterra, we will make our global brands, such as Sobranie, Winston, and Camel, available for consumers in Georgia in a shorter period of time by producing them in Azerbaijan. The export agreement we have signed will contribute to the increase of trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Georgia," said Sergey Buksa, General Director of JTI for Belarus and the Caucasus region.

Tabaterra JSC always takes a leading position among international factories that cooperate with JTI company on the basis of contract and licenses due to the quality parameters of the products it produces. This achievement is a testament to Tabaterra's continued commitment to high quality and manufacturing standards.

About the company:

"Tabaterra" JSC was registered as a resident of Sumgayit Chemical Industrial Park on November 17, 2017, and, in addition to its own products, produces various international tobacco products under the license of companies such as Japan Tobacco International, British American Tobacco, and Imperial Tobacco Group.

JTI is an international tobacco company operating in over 130 countries. The company is focused on manufacturing and marketing a wide range of tobacco products. The headquarters of the company is located in Geneva, Switzerland. JTI owns famous brands like Sobranie, Winston, Camel, LD, Logic, and Ploom.

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8 July 2023 16:30 (UTC+04:00)

More companies from the United Kingdom can be involved in the projects implemented in the liberated territories of Azerbaijan, Ambassador of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to Azerbaijan Fergus Auld said during the meeting held at the Azerbaijan Export and Investment Promotion Foundation (AZPROMO).

Head of the agency Yusif Abdullayev gave insight into the agency`s activities, export promotion mechanisms, including the "Made in Azerbaijan" brand and logistics subsidy in Azerbaijan.

Abdullayev noted the existence of huge potential for joint activity not only in trade and investment spheres but also in education, cyber security, agriculture, transport and logistics areas.

The sides stressed the role of the British Chamber of Commerce in Azerbaijan in terms of unleashing the economic potential.

Touching upon the strong political and economic relations between the two countries, Ambassador Fergus Auld said that some of the British companies are engaged in the ongoing projects in the liberated Azerbaijani territories and emphasized that he is ready to help attract more companies to the mentioned areas and increase the UKs non-oil investment portfolio in Azerbaijan.

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8 July 2023 16:55 (UTC+04:00)

Azerbaijan`s Deputy Foreign Minister Elnur Mammadov has met with Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Maldives, Ahmed Khaleel, who is on a visit to Azerbaijan to attend the Ministerial Meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement Coordinating Bureau.

The meeting saw discussions on enhancing bilateral relations between the countries, expanding cooperation in economy, trade, education, culture, energy, tourism and other areas.

The Deputy Foreign Minister provided detailed information about the current situation in the region in the post-conflict period, demining activities carried out in Azerbaijan's liberated lands, restoration and construction, as well as the Great Return program, smart city and green energy projects.

The sides also exchanged views on multilateral cooperation, regional and other issues of mutual interest.

As part of the meeting, they signed a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Maldives.

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8 July 2023 18:35 (UTC+04:00)

Gunay Efendiyeva, President of the International Foundation for Turkish Culture and Heritage, made the statement at the Ministerial Meeting of the Coordinating Bureau of Non-Aligned Movement held in Baku under the chairmanship of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Azernews reports.

Thanks to Azerbaijan's successful chairmanship in recent years, important contributions have been made to the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM). Under the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev of the Republic of Azerbaijan, major humanitarian missions have been carried out, and important steps have been taken to strengthen solidarity and achieve lasting peace.

Gunay Efendiyeva referred to the changes that have taken place over the past period and the consequences of the pandemic period and said: "This trial taught us to appreciate and value each other. We have witnessed a redefinition of our values".

The President of the Foundation noted that the Non-Aligned Movement has since its inception been a symbol of unity, independence, and non-alignment, and said that the movement brings together the voices of peoples trying to preserve their sovereignty and determine their direction, free from the influence of major power blocs. The voice of every person on earth is important.

G.Efendiyeva drew attention to the growing need to live together with tolerant values and to further expand intercultural dialogue in modern times. The President of the Foundation assessed the dialogue of cultures as communication between peoples, countries, and people. Among the main mission of the International Foundation for Turkish Culture and Heritage, which under his leadership studies and promotes the rich culture of Turkish people, an important place is occupied by bringing together different civilizations and acting as a cultural bridge between peoples.

"As we remain silent in the face of atrocities, the numbers are increasing. We must express our unity and determination in the face of this threat and challenge. To prevent such situations in the future, we must clearly demonstrate our just position and strengthen our solidarity," the president of the foundation addressed the event.

The President of the Foundation concluded by saying that the organization he leads can contribute to establishing closer relations between the member states of the Non-Aligned Movement, promoting mutual understanding and cultural dialogue. "By using this potential together, we can achieve common development and progress," said Gunay Efendiyeva.

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8 July 2023 10:00 (UTC+04:00)

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has organized a regional conference in Baku dedicated to the statelessness issue jointly with the State Migration Service of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Azernews reports.

The event was organized to reflect on achievements and challenges within the framework of the ten-year-long #IBelong Campaign which will end next year, as well as to establish a platform to share updates on the implementation of the pledges announced in the high-level segment on statelessness as part of UNHCR Executive Committee Meeting in October 2019.

The conference brought together UNHCR and Azerbaijani government officials, judges, representatives of civil society organizations, as well as officials from Georgia, the Republic of Moldova, the Republic of Turkiye, and the Republic of Kazakhstan. Chief of the State Migration Service of the Republic of Azerbaijan Vusal Huseynov, Country Representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Azerbaijan Bik Lum, and Human Rights Commissioner (Ombudsperson) of the Republic of Azerbaijan Sabina Aliyeva welcomed the participants and made speeches at the event.

During the event, various obstacles in access to fundamental rights and basic services due to lack of citizenship or documentation proving nationality were described and it was explained how the prevention and resolution of statelessness would benefit social cohesion and peaceful co-existence. The event was beneficial in terms of acknowledging and appreciating Azerbaijans best practices in the field of reduction and prevention of statelessness and getting familiar with the experiences and challenges faced by other countries in the region.

During the conference, a ten-minute video The Way to Citizenship, prepared by UNHCR Azerbaijan in collaboration with the State Migration Service, was presented. The video reflects the success stories of several former stateless men and women by demonstrating how their life positively changed after they obtained citizenship.

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8 July 2023 11:40 (UTC+04:00)

From today, the regime of visa-free travel from Azerbaijan to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is applied, Azernews reports, citing the Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

MFA noted that according to the agreement, 3 months - 90 days are allowed to live in the territory of two countries without a visa.

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8 July 2023 15:25 (UTC+04:00)

Training-methodical sessions were held at the Military Police Department of the Azerbaijan Defense Ministry (MoD), Azernews reports, citing MoD.

At the sessions involving the commanders of the military units subordinated to the Military Police Department, the memory of the National Leader of the Azerbaijani people Heydar Aliyev and Shehids (Martyrs), who sacrificed their lives for the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, was honored with observing a minute of silence. The National Anthem of the Republic of Azerbaijan was performed.

During the sessions, reports on the organization of patrolling at checkpoints, the protection of facilities, directing of the movement of military vehicles, the provision of safe movement of convoys by the military police units in the first half of the current year were heard, and the measures to be implemented in the next training period were discussed.

Defense Minister, Colonel General Zakir Hasanov's tasks regarding higher quality organization of commandant service activities of military police units particularly in the liberated territories and increase of vigilance during the next training period were made known.

In the end, the session participants were presented demonstrative classes on fire training.

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8 July 2023 19:40 (UTC+04:00)

Presenting the new signing of Arda Guler to the media, Real Madrid on Friday held an official welcoming ceremony for the 18-year-old Turkish superstar, Azernews reports, citing Yeni Safak.

At the event, Guler said he wants to become a Real Madrid legend. "First of all, thanks to my family and Madrid. I also want to be a legend at Real Madrid. Thank you for everything."

The Spanish powerhouse's President Florentino Perez heaped praise on Guler in his speech, saying Guler's skills and character had influenced the entire world.

"We can make history together," Perez added.

"Turkiye is also proud of you, Arda. Together, we will elevate your career. You'll find fans who will support you in every way possible at the Bernabeu Stadium. Together with your talents, we will add strength to our strength. We will find a way to win the Champions League again," he said.

Guler will wear the number 24 jersey at Real Madrid.

Fenerbahce said on the Turkish Public Disclosure Platform (KAP) that Real Madrid would pay a 20 million ($21.7 million) transfer fee for Guler.

"In addition to the transfer fee, a maximum bonus of 10 million ($10.8 million) will be paid to Fenerbahce by Real Madrid CF, depending on the performance of the player," the Turkish club added.

Also, if Guler moves from Real Madrid to another team, Fenerbahce will receive a 20% share from the next sale.

On Thursday, the Turkish international bid farewell to Fenerbahce on Instagram, saying: "It's time to say goodbye to Fenerbahce, where I had the best days of my life."

Guler produced six goals and claimed seven assists last season in 35 matches for Fenerbahce, which came second in the Turkish Super Lig standings.

The 18-year-old also helped Fenerbahce to win the 2022-23 Turkish Cup.

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8 July 2023 20:15 (UTC+04:00)

The implementation of the Free Trade Agreement between Georgia and China over the past five years was discussed on Friday by the Georgian Deputy Economy Minister Genadi Arveladze and Han Yong, the Department Head of WTO Affairs of the Chinese Commerce Ministry, in a joint commission meeting held in the Georgian capital Tbilisi, Azernews reports, citing Agenda.

The parties emphasised the achievements of bilateral trade and economic cooperation and positively assessed the progress made since the conclusion of the Free Trade Agreement in January 2018, with the Georgian side stressing that China had been Georgia's top trading partner during the previous three years.

Since the implementation of the Agreement, the exports to China have increased significantly, including several new export products such as orthopaedic and surgical equipment, dry fruits, spices, coffee and tea extracts, Arveladze noted.

The meeting also touched on the promotion of the export of wine and other alcoholic beverages from Georgia to China, the Ministry of Economy said.

The Deputy Minister also added that under the 2022 export figures, China, among Georgias largest foreign trade partners, was in first place with a 13 percent share of the country's total exports.

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Representatives from the city of McFarland are pressing the Kern County Board of Supervisors to reconsider the citys plan to turn the communi
Email Dan Walters of CalMatters at dan@calmatters.org. CalMatters is a nonpartisan, nonprofit journalism venture committed to explaining Californias policies and politics. For more columns by Walters, go to calmatters.org/commentary.
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Welcome to CrushCity

CrushCity is a destination in the mind of every angler. Its a place where the fish are big and the bite is hot. Its what every tournament angler lives for, and what every angler dreams of. CrushCity is a celebration of this special place where all anglers, regardless of who they are or where they live, dream of hook setting fish one after another.

Every time you get in your boat, take a cast from the dock or pier, or throw a bait from shore, you think of CrushCity, said Dan Quinn, RapalaVMCs Director of Field Promotions and R&D. All anglers want is to arrive at that special place  whether youre a seasoned tournament professional such as Jacob Wheeler or youre a 10-year-old crushing bass while casting from a kayak at the familys lake place.

When you tie on a CrushCity custom bait and make that cast, we want you to be thinking, I want to crush one! Quinn added.

Meet the CrushCity Gang

Every town or city has its cast of characters who make that place special. Its no different with CrushCity. With the introduction of CrushCity baits, you will have five new buddies already tested and proven by the top angler in the world.

Rapala came to me and asked, What are the five shapes of soft baits that you most need to win tournaments, said Rapala bass fishing pro Jacob Wheeler. And I said, Well, number one, you have to have a paddle-tail swimbait. Then, I said, a chatterbait/spinnerbait trailer, a craw, a ned rig/drop shot bait, and some sort of bug that you can use for flippin.

Through months of testing, including actual tournament settings, the Rapala R&D team, working closely with Wheeler and other Rapala pro members, perfected the first five baits in the CrushCity line.

CrushCity includes a cast of characters that will work side-by-side with todays tournament anglers to haul in the biggest, baddest bass. This cast includes:

The Bronco Bug crawfish softbait.

The Freeloader chatterbait/spinnerbait trailer.

The Ned BLT Ned rig jig worm bait.

The Cleanup Craw , a super tasty crawfish softbait.

The Mayor  And, to lead CrushCity, you need a bait that is dependable, adaptable and fearless  introducing The Mayor swimbait.

Every one of these new soft baits was created with an attitude and willingness to get out there and get crushed by monster bass.

Game-Changing Baits

The Original Floating Rapala, the Shad Rap, the X-Rap, the OG Seriesthe list goes on and on -- at Rapala, theres a tradition of creating game-changing fishing lures that have the power to transform fishing.

CrushCity softbaits have that potential.

While designed for largemouth bass, spotted bass, and smallmouth bass, CrushCity softbaits can be used effectively to crush all types of species  and not just bass! How about stripers and peacock bass? Or, how about taking the CrushCity gang along in the kayak or fishing for redfish, speckled trout, amberjack, bluefish or Spanish mackerel while surf fishing or fishing from your favorite pier?

And you can bet avid multi species anglers are going to love the action of baits like the Mayor or floatation and toughness of the Ned BLT where those baits are going to become key baits for walleye in the Midwest.

Like the Original Floating Rapala, which was originally created to catch pike and brown trout in Finland, and over the years, has caught dozens of species around the world  many world records -- CrushCity is wherever and whenever you want to fish it.

Pair CrushCity softbaits with VMC hooks and Sufix fishing line, and you will have an undeniably premium set up where quality matches quality with these brands.

When you come out with a Rapala soft plastic brand  theres a lot to live up to, said Wheeler. It takes time to get it perfect. It takes time to make something special. Its a lot of days on the water testing these baits. Figuring out what works, and what doesnt. We put the time in to perfect Crush City.


Every so often, one of our college leaders blurts out the truth about their feelings and beliefs. In their public pronouncements, they always try to appear reasonable, when they're actually intolerant and belligerent.That's exactly what happened at Bakersfield College (BC) in California.The story begins in 2021, when a group of faculty members at the school, disturbed at the inroads the DEI movement was making, formed the Renegade Institute for Liberty (RIL). Their purpose wasThat amounted to waving a red flag in front of the DEI bull, since diversity zealots have no use for any of those concepts.The conflict erupted last October at a meeting of the BC Equal Opportunity & Diversity Advisory Committee. History professor Matthew Garrett, who has tenure, voiced his opposition to aon the grounds that it had been poorly done and was a weak justification for the creation of a new diversity task force that would undercut the authority of the existing committee.An interesting detail is that members of RIL had succeeded in obtaining some of the seats on that committee by applying for them at midnight on the first day they came open. The DEI community at BC was furious, but the tactic was perfectly legitimate.Professor Garrett had previously incurred the wrath of the BC administration. In 2019, he criticized it for improperly allocating funds, naming several of the individuals involved. BC hit back at him with anand by alleging that he had engaged inThat led him to file a lawsuit over the school's retaliation against him, which is currently pending in federal court.At the October meeting, another BC professor, Paula Parks, argued in favor of the survey. She had brought three minority students to the meeting for support, leading another member of the committee to ask why they were there.During the meeting, Professor Garrett argued not only that the survey was scientifically flawed, but that there was no connection between its purported findings and the actions proposed by its backers. Nevertheless, the committee approved the creation of a new racial-climate task force. That should have been the end of the matter. It was not.On November 15, Parks published an op-ed in the local paper, in which she accused Garrett and other RIL members ofincluding his lawsuit against the school, bringing speakers to campus who disagreed with her viewsand making critical comments on Facebook and local radio. She also claimed that the students she had brought to the October meeting wereby the RIL members and recognizedShe concluded by calling for the removal of the Renegade Institute because of itsIn short, this was a typical rant by an intolerant leftist, playing the race card in an attempt to silence people who disagree with her views. And it worked.On November 21, Garrett received a notice offrom the school's president, Zav Dadabhoy. In a 19-page indictment, Dadabhoy threw everything but the kitchen sink at Garrett, charging him with expressingabout the diversity program, filing complaints against BC,and other vague offenses. The three students were also quoted as havingat the meeting, which Dadabhoy cited as evidence ofAh, yes. Another of those academic leaders who will readily bow to the will of angry leftists who want revenge against someone they dislike-someone they want to see removed fromcampus.The accusations against Garrett came up at the December 13 meeting of the board of trustees. Vice President John Corkins stated that the RIL group wasand should beHe later apologized for his comments, but his sentiments were perfectly clear-faculty members who oppose the social-justice ideology are undesirable and should be fired.The board subsequently recommended that Professor Garrett's employment be terminated. The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) then wrote to the president of the Kern Community College District, Romeo Agbalog, pointing out the numerous legal problems the school would face if it proceeded to fire Garrett.First and foremost, the First Amendment protects Garrett's statements that Parks and others found so distressing. Directly on point is Rodriguez v. Maricopa County Community College District, a 2010 Ninth Circuit case in which the court held that the First Amendment protectsMuch as people like Paula Parks and John Corkins might wish to silence critics like Matthew Garrett, they cannot legally do so.Furthermore, the vague and subjective standards the school used to justify its action against Garrett violate due process of law. As the FIRE letter states,College administrators cannot single out individuals for retaliation merely by accusing them of vague offenses such aswhich is what BC has done.FIRE's letter made no difference. Professor Garrett's employment was summarily terminated by BC.Cases like this one are lamentably common these days, and each time I read about one I have to wonder why school officials rush headlong into actions that may appease the leftist zealots on campus-no doubt Paula Parks was thrilled at having one of her enemies terminated-but will lead to expensive and losing legal proceedings.Why do cases like these keep cropping up? (Here is a new one that has happened since I started writing about the Garrett case.)The answer is that the officials who choose to side with the vociferous enemies of academic freedom stand to lose nothing personally by doing so. Even if a court finds that the professor was wronged and is entitled to damages and recovery of attorney's fees, those costs will fall upon the taxpayers (if it's a public institution) or come out of the school's general fund (if it's private), rather than upon the individuals responsible for causing the trouble.And why is that? It's because of the judicial concept calledUnder it, public officials can't be held personally responsible for their actions that violate the rights of others, unless the situation was so clear that they must have known that their actions would be held illegal.Qualified immunity might be sensible where officials (such as police) have to make instant judgments under trying circumstances, but it makes no sense in cases like this, where the officials have ample time to get expert legal advice before they act.When Garrett sues BC over his firing, I expect he'll go after the people who decided tohim. If he succeeds in making them pay, the case would send a clear message to similarly intolerant college officials around the country.
This post appears here courtesy of the Carolina Journal . The author of this post is CJ Staff Twenty-one state attorneys general have asked the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to accept a friend-of-the-court brief supporting N.C. State Treasurer Dale Folwell and the State Health Plan. Folwell and the health plan are defendants in a case involving transgender health care.Participating states include three of North Carolina's four neighbors.The entire group of 4th Circuit judges will hear arguments in September in a case challenging the N.C. State Health Plan's exclusion of coverage for treatments used by transgender patients. The Appeals Court will hear that case along with a similar lawsuit involving West Virginia's health plan.according to the brief filed Thursday by Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey.The 21 states, calledin legal jargon, oppose U.S. District Court rulings forcing both North Carolina and West Virginia to fund treatment requested by transgender patients.according to the brief.the brief continued.the 21 states argued.The 4th Circuit will hear the N.C. and West Virginia cases in fullhearings at some point between Sept. 19-22. Placing the cases before the full court is unusual. The 4th Circuit deals with most cases through three-judge panels.A three-judge panel had heard oral arguments in the N.C. case titled Kadel v. Folwell in January.according to a court order issued April 12.means that the court took the action voluntarily, without a request from either party in the case.Chief Judge Roger Gregory and Judges Albert Diaz and Steven Agee initially heard Kadel v. Folwell on Jan. 25. Gregory, who joined the Appeals Court as a recess appointment from President Bill Clinton, later secured renomination from President George W. Bush. Bush also nominated Agee, while President Barack Obama nominated Diaz.Folwell, who oversees the State Health Plan, is working with the plan's executive administrator to overturn a June 2022 trial court order. That order called on the plan to pay forfor transgender employees and their dependent children. Those services include hormone therapy and some surgeries. A 2019 lawsuit challenged the plan's policy denying coverage.The plan provides medical coverage for more than 750,000 teachers, state employees, retirees, lawmakers, and their dependents. It provides counseling for gender dysphoria and other diagnosed mental health conditions. Prior to the trial court ruling, it did not cover treatmentThe trial court ruling from U.S. District Judge Loretta Biggs prompted the State Health Plan to reinstate excluded coverage in July 2022. Coverage had been provided for a single year in 2017 before the plan adopted its challenged policy.Biggs ruled that the plan unlawfully discriminated against transgender people. She determined that the plan violated both the equal protection clause of the Constitution and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act on the basis of sex.Seventeen other states and Washington, D.C., filed a friend-of-the-court brief supporting the plaintiffs. Those states pay for the type of care involved in the N.C. dispute.Folwell said in a July news release.Folwell said.Folwell added.
By L.A. Williams

Christian Action League

July 5, 2023

Senate lawmakers intent on legalizing medical marijuana via Senate Bill 3 this session are holding a totally unrelated measure (House Bill 75) hostage until they get their way.

On June 28, the Senate voted 36-8 to amend House Bill 75, a popular proposal to expand the role of physician assistants, by making it go into effect if and when the medical marijuana bill becomes law. The amendment was floated by Sen. Bill Rabon (R-Brunswick), chair of the powerful Senate Rules Committee and a champion of the so-called Compassionate Care Act.

I understand that Sen. Rabon has a personal connection to the medical marijuana issue as a cancer survivor. However, I believe the process he now uses undermines the integrity of the legislative process and sets a dangerous precedent, said the Rev. Mark Creech, executive director of the Christian Action League. Any bill as significant as the legalization of medical marijuana should be thoroughly debated and considered purely on its own merits. Tying it to an unrelated bill creates an atmosphere of political gamesmanship. There is too much at stake for the people on both sides of this issue to be doing it this way.

Creech was not alone in decrying Rabons ploy. Rep. Mike Clampitt (R-Jackson) told the media that he was appalled by it.

Its been very divisive in the House, and has been a very contentious topic, Clampitt said of Senate Bill 3. And then for the Senate to minimize all of that, and to make a joke out of it, its very embarrassing to me for our General Assembly.

Approved by the Senate by a vote of 36-10 in March, SB3 would legalize pot for people with a range of debilitating or terminal illnesses and authorize 10 seed-to-sale suppliers across the state to pay licensing fees ($50,000 initially and $10,000 a year) among other costs for the privilege of selling the psychoactive drug. Rabon gave the House Health Subcommittee a personal endorsement of marijuana, which he said helped him survive the strong chemotherapy treatments that he endured during his battle with colon cancer.

The bill stalled in the House for lack of majority support in the GOP caucus.

Our rule is that a bill, to pass on the floor, must receive at least a majority of the members of the caucus on the House floor, and its just short of that right now, and thats why its not being taken up, House Speaker Tim Moore (R-Cleveland) told the media. He said theres not sufficient appetite for the bill and that he would not twist arms to get members to vote for it.

Creech said Sen. Rabons arm-twisting maneuver disrespects the legislative process and turns the question into a matter of leveraging power and not convincing the states Representatives that smoked marijuana is worthy of being treated as medicine.

The good Senator and many of his Senate colleagues should consider the broader implications of their actions. It is essential to prioritize the well-being of the citizens of North Carolina above personal priorities or political victories. By advancing legislation through fair and transparent means, we ultimately strengthen the publics trust in elected officials and demonstrate our commitment to serving the peoples best interests, Creech said. Whats being done now does not contribute to an informed and compassionate discussion on this vital issue.
A Co Down singer cant believe shell be sharing a stage with the likes of Sam Ryder and KT Tunstall next weekend.

Mia Morton, from Dromore, got the nod for this years Camp Dalfest in Glenarm after taking part in a workplace talent competition.

The 18-year-old didnt even win the M Factor final, organised by McDonalds, but after a talent-supporting charity saw a video of her performance, they helped pave the way for her to join the star-studded line-up on the opening night of the two-day festival on July 15.

And a trip to Nashville is next.

Its unbelievable whats happened, considering how it all began, said Mia, who works in McDonalds in Banbridge but will begin studying at the prestigious London College of Music later this year.

I signed up for the M Factor just for a laugh after seeing a flyer for the show and was the only employee to get through to the final from the Banbridge restaurant, she added.

In the end I didnt win but was happy with the way I sang, so I sent a video of my performance to Total Talent without really expecting a quick reply.

Next thing I knew, however, theyd contacted me and asked me to sing at Dalfest.

The opening night of Camp Dalfest  originally known as the Dalriada Festival of Music & Food  will see Blue and the Vamps take to the stage alongside Mia.

But it is only the start of the adventure for this young lady with a powerful voice who was once turned down for a place in her school choir. Next year she is off to Nashville to record some tracks under the guidance of veteran country star Leona Williams, ex-wife of the legendary Merle Haggard.

Mia said she is more excited than nervous to perform at Camp Dalfest, which usually attracts over 25,000 people to the grounds of Glenarm Castle.

There is nothing more frightening than singing in front of your work colleagues, so hopefully this festival will be much easier, she said.

A former pupil of Dromore High School, she adds that she is grateful to Total Talent  a charitable group which champions local aspiring artists  for offering her a place in Nashville next October.

She will be making the trip with mum Vanessa, whos a nurse and her 16-year-old brother Isaac, while home bird dad Troy, a self-employed mechanic, will hold the fort back home.

I dont think anyone realised I could sing, said Mia, who cites Adele, Olivia Rodrigo and Taylor Swift as her inspirations.

She explained: When I was six or seven, I auditioned for choir in primary school and I was the only person in the year who didnt get in. It was the same for the orchestra.

I was so frustrated that my mum signed me up for flute lessons and thats what really got me into music and singing.

A decade later, shes rubbing shoulders with some of the biggest names in the business and reaping the rewards for not giving up on her dream.
The case against a teenager accused of blackmailing children into sending explicit images which he then allegedly sold around the world has become so serious that it has been upgraded to a joint operation between the PSNI and the National Crime Agency.

The disclosure came as Max Hollingsbee made a second unsuccessful attempt to be released this week.

The 19-year-old, from Orient Circle, Lurgan but remanded in custody, is charged with blackmailing females, possessing and distributing indecent child images, sexual communication with a child and misuse of a communications network.

Offending initially related to dates in October 2022, however, having been released on bail for those matters, Hollingsbee allegedly continued offending until his arrest in April this year.

A detective constable told Craigavon Magistrates Court the defendant created fake social media profiles posing as young females and enticing children to send him indecent images of themselves.

He then sold the images around the world before blackmailing the buyers for money.

His methodology was described as aggressive and intimidating and once images had been sent, he would allegedly threaten victims with exposure if they did not cooperate with his demands for further explicit images.

Although banned from social media while on bail, police received information that he was continuing to engage online.

When arrested officers discovered he had created further fake profiles and was actively accessing teen chatrooms where images were exchanged.

He also conducted internet searches suggesting he has a great interest in young females, it was contended.

The detective said: We believe he is a risk to vulnerable adults and children. He allegedly sold images then blackmails the people he sold them to. This is a considerable, sizeable, well-established enterprise and a pattern of behaviour showing no sign of stopping.

He remained opposed to bail, telling the court the investigation is so extensive it has been upgraded to an operation and the NCA are now jointly involved.

There are a lot of victims and witnesses as far as America, the detective said.

"International requests have been sent for help with the social media companies to obtain more data. We still have devices to check and given the alleged offending we believed the defendant to be very manipulative and coercive and may interfere with witnesses if released.

A defence barrister argued Hollingsbee could be released on bail under the supervision of his parents as he has been remanded in custody for some time and now fully appreciates the seriousness of the situation he faces.

Hes very young and I have to concede there is evidence of additional offending while on bail, said the defence lawyer.

At that stage his parents were not alerted to the fact he was in difficulties. The alleged additional offending occurred in their home, in their ignorance that he was on bail.

A psychiatric report has now been obtained pointing to historical mental health issues and he succumbed to temptation during lockdown.

If Hollingsbee was admitted to bail with conditions and in the care of his parents, it was contended that they will ensure he does not have any internet access while in their home.

However, rejecting the application, District Judge Bernie Kelly said: The defendant has demonstrated he obviously doesnt accept the parameters of bail and he doesnt have to comply with them.

I know in advance hes not going to adhere to conditions so its a pointless exercise.

These are exceptionally serious allegations showing a high degree of manipulation.

Unfortunately, this type of behaviour can literally ruin the lives of those impacted by it.

Hollingsbee was remanded in custody to appear again by video-link next month.
Conor Paul Steele was based in the Arches Wellbeing and Treatment Centre in east Belfast. Credit: Google Maps.

A social worker has been suspended from the care register for two years for engaging in an inappropriate relationship with a vulnerable mother who had been a service user.
Orangemen and supporters take part in the annual Rossnowlagh procession, in Donegal. Pic by Press Eye.

Orangemen and supporters take part in the annual Rossnowlagh procession, in Donegal. Pic by Press Eye.

Orangemen and supporters take part in the annual Rossnowlagh procession, in Donegal. Pic by Press Eye.

Orangemen and supporters take part in the annual Rossnowlagh procession, in Donegal. Pic by Press Eye.

Orangemen and supporters take part in the annual Rossnowlagh procession, in Donegal. Pic by Press Eye.

Orangemen and supporters take part in the annual Rossnowlagh procession, in Donegal. Pic by Press Eye.

Orangemen and supporters take part in the annual Rossnowlagh procession, in Donegal. Pic by Press Eye.

Orangemen and supporters take part in the annual Rossnowlagh procession, in Donegal. Pic by Press Eye.

Dame Arlene Foster among Orangemen supporters at the annual Rossnowlagh procession, in Donegal. Pic by Press Eye.

Orangemen and supporters take part in the annual Rossnowlagh procession, in Donegal. Pic by Press Eye.

Thousands of people were out in force on Saturday as a sea of sashes descended on the coastal village of Rossnowlagh for the traditional Donegal Twelfth parade.

The rolling hills and sandy beach provided the most scenic of backdrops as members representing some 60 lodges and 50 bands from across Ireland took part in the march from St Johns Parish Church to the demonstration field.

They were applauded by spectators, including former DUP leader Dame Arlene Foster and DUP MLA Deborah Erskine who reclined in camping chairs along the route.

Dame Arlene Foster among Orangemen supporters at the annual Rossnowlagh procession, in Donegal. Pic by Press Eye.

Brethren young and old from lodges in Cavan, Leitrim and Monaghan were joined by members of Northern Irish lodges from as far afield as Fintona and Donaghadee for yesterdays procession. Grand Master of the Order Edward Stevenson took part in the parade.

The Rossnowlagh parade is the only Orange parade in the Republic of Ireland and the family event has been held there since 1978.

Orangemen and supporters take part in the annual Rossnowlagh procession, in Donegal. Pic by Press Eye.

Donegal County Grand Master David Mahon said the institution in the county was in good health.

The mood is always very good here and we get help from everybody, he told the BBC.

Everybody gets on well. We get loads of help from all the communities.

Weve a number of lodges with ten members and then some with 75 members. Wed a new band formed here called Doorin Flute Band which is over by Killybegs.

Theyll be out for the first time today.

Theyll have pride of place near the start of the parade.

Orangemen and supporters take part in the annual Rossnowlagh procession, in Donegal. Pic by Press Eye.

One man who left Northern Ireland for Canada in 1970s revealed he was delighted to be back for one of the highlights of the marching season.

I try to get back for the Twelfth in Northern Ireland and its lovely to get up to Donegal, said Joe Cully, who is from Belfasts Shankill Road.

The day was a stark contrast from the scenes witnessed last year in Belfast, described by the Order as abysmal and unacceptable, and which have prompted it to consider changing the route of the parade in the city.

Read more The Twelfth: BBC NI drops live coverage for second year in a row

It would see the total distance of the procession shortened by six miles, omitting the traditional gathering in The Field at Barnetts Demense altogether, according to a leaked internal Orange Order document.

The proposals have divided opinion among members and supporters of the organisation, some of who admitted anti-social behaviour and excessive drinking around the parade were a problem.

Orangemen and supporters take part in the annual Rossnowlagh procession, in Donegal. Pic by Press Eye.

Orangeman and former Belfast councillor Chris McGimpsey said: Its almost a tradition in with certain elements in our community to drink too much and cause all sorts of trouble.

However, Professor John Tonge of the University of Liverpool pointed out: A lot of the drinkers have nothing to do with the Orange Order - theyre out to celebrate the Twelfth.

Im not sure the Orange Order can do anything about that.

This years route through the city remains unchanged with thousands of Orangemen and women walking the whole 10-mile outward and return route.

Orangemen and supporters take part in the annual Rossnowlagh procession, in Donegal. Pic by Press Eye.

Other significant demonstrations include Co Armaghs gathering in Lurgan which will be the largest on the day with around 150 lodges gathering there.

In Co Antrim, parades will take place throughout the county in Ballycastle, Randalstown, Broughshane, Portglenone and Upper Ballinderry.

Read more The Twelfth 2023: Northern Ireland parade locations

Co Down there are our locations hosting this years Twelfth, namely Loughbrickland, Bangor, Comber and Kilkeel.

Ballinamallard will be hosting this years demonstration in Fermanagh while in Co Londonderry Magherafelt will be the anchor for the Twelfth celebrations with Coleraine hosting those near the north coast.

Co Tyrones celebrations will be held in Dungannon, Clogher and Dromore.
A resident who failed in a request for a meeting with Belfast City Council to discuss concerns about an Irish language sign being placed on their street was silenced, it has been claimed.

The matter was raised at the monthly meeting of the city council.

It heard claims that another resident feared their home could depreciate in value because of an Irish sign.

Unionist councillors spoke against a committee decision not to hear a submission from a resident of Downview Park West in North Belfast.

At the councils People and Communities Committee last month, elected representatives approved second street nameplates in Irish for nine streets.

These are Orchardville Avenue, Mayfield Square, Hillhead Avenue, St Meryl Park, Downview Park West, Chichester Avenue, Ballymurphy Drive, Margaretta Park and Airfield Heights. This was ratified at the full council this week.

In the Downview Park West survey 70 occupiers (almost 40%) were in favour of a second street nameplate, 36 occupiers (20%) were not in favour and 71 occupiers (40.11%) did not respond to the survey.

A council report states: One resident from Downview Park West who is not in favour of the dual language nameplate has written in to complain about the time and money being wasted on what they perceive to be trivial issues.

Another resident telephoned to raise a concern about their property depreciating in value should the signage be erected. A further resident from Downview Park West has written in and is strongly objecting to the dual language nameplate in a mixed area.

The resident feels that a dual language nameplate can be very divisive. The resident has also requested to address the decision makers at the committee.

The DUP proposed to defer a decision on the application from Downview Park West, which is in the Fortwilliam Area, pending a meeting with the resident  this was voted down by the committee.

During the full council meeting this week, DUP councillor Sarah Bunting told the chamber: While we recognise the application for Downview Park West met the threshold for the new policy on dual language signs, a resident from the street had requested to address the committee around concerns that they had. We believe ratepayers in this city should be given the opportunity to address committees on issues they are facing.

We often allow delegations to council, as we did this evening, and to other committees, and so I think it was wrong not to invite this resident in. Just because a resident has a different opinion on the addition of a second name plate, it doesnt mean they should be censored.

We see in the responses on all of these street signs that pass through that a number of residents have concerns regarding the divisive nature of signs, and the cost of signs, among other things. We dont have a proposal but we just want to note that if a resident asks to speak to committees on these issues, they should be heard.

TUV councillor Ron McDowell said: It says in the (report) the council retains a residual discretion around these things. I think to silence people, or to tell them we are too busy to listen to their opinion, especially on an emotive issue such as the Irish language in this city, sends the wrong message. For those who want to be proponents of the language it would serve them better not to say we dont have to listen to you.

Alliance councillor Micky Murray said: As chair of that committee, I always try to make sure it does not go on too long. I give everyone their chance to speak, and to ask as many questions as they want, without silencing anyone or holding them back.

But I would like officers to come back with some kind of report as to what we do in this instance. We cant have someone coming in for every single item, but I also dont want to put a timeframe for how long a committee goes on for.

Chief executive John Walsh said: I dont think there is a strict rule as such, as you will know if you have been around here for a while. Council meetings can go on, or certainly used to go, for quite a period of time.

But I am also happy to look around issues of whether you receive or dont receive deputations from persons with interest. If they have a right to make a representation in writing, then that would probably suffice, but I will look at it.

An application for an Irish name plate at Wynchurch Avenue in East Belfast has been deferred, for residents to be surveyed again by the council. The Rosetta area street application passed the 15% threshold of residents to erect the signs, with 20 occupiers (17.7%) in favour of the street being named Ascaill Wynchurch.

However 30 occupiers (26.5%) were also not in favour of the erection of a second street nameplate, four occupiers had no preference and 59 occupiers (52.2%) did not respond.

Last July councillors agreed a new policy on dual language street signs would finally be implemented  18 months after the policy was originally given the go-ahead in the chamber. Sinn Fein, Alliance, the SDLP, the Green Party, and the People Before Profit Party all support the new street sign policy, while the unionist parties are against it.

The new policy means at least one resident of any Belfast street, or a councillor, is all that is required to trigger a consultation on a second nameplate, with 15% in favour being sufficient to erect the sign. Non-responses will no longer be counted as against votes, and there will be an equality assessment for each application.

Until last July, the policy required 33.3% of the eligible electorate in any Belfast street to sign a petition to begin the process, and 66.6% to agree to the new dual language sign on the street.

In the six months since the policy changed, a backlog built up of over 600 applications for Irish street signs.
Two people have escaped injury after shots were fired at a house in Armagh.

A man and a woman were inside the property in the Callan Bridge Park area of of the city when it was targeted on Saturday morning.

The were both unharmed in the extremely reckless attack which happened just after 12.30am.

Detective Sergeant Wilson said it was reported that a number of shots were fired through a window at the rear of the home.

Damage was caused to the window and a surrounding PVC pane, he added.

A man and woman were inside the property at the time of the report  thankfully no injuries were reported.

This was an extremely reckless attack, which could have had serious consequences and our enquiries are underway to determine what happened and who was involved."

Police have appealed for anyone who witnessed anything suspicious in the area or who may have doorbell or mobile footage that could help their investigation to contact detectives on 101, quoting reference number 66 of 08/07/23.
Pete Hawkins completed his challenge to cycle through destinations across Britain with Ness in its name (Sue Hawkins)

A man has completed his challenge to ride through destinations across Britain with Ness in the name, dubbed The Great Ness Ride, to remember friends who lost their lives to motor neurone disease (MND).

Pete Hawkins, from Tideswell in the Peak District, rode for 13 days across England and Scotland in memory of Tony Hams and David Ellis, who lost their lives to MND within two years of diagnosis.

Mr Hawkins, 62, began his biggest ever cycle ride on June 24 in Durness, Scotland, before making his way to Alness, West Shinness, Loch Ness, the River Ness, Inverness, Boness, The Nesses, a field in the village of Haxby, near York, before finishing on Friday at Crossness Sewage Treatment Works, London.

The keen cyclist covered a total distance of 960 miles to raise money for the Motor Neurone Disease Association and raise public awareness of the disease.

Pete Hawkins cycling over the Pennines in northern England during The Great Ness Ride (Sue Hawkins/PA)

(MND) is still underfunded and it is not as much in the public eye as a lot of other diseases, he told the PA news agency.

He cited former Scotland rugby international Doddie Weir, who set up My Name5 Doddie Foundation and died from the disease in November 2022, and ex-rugby league star Rob Burrows, for raising more awareness of MND.

(MND) is not (a disease) I knew much about, but I think Doddie Weir and Rob Burrow have raised it up in the public profile, Mr Hawkins said.

After two of his friends lost their lives to MND within two years of their diagnosis and without family by their side due to lockdown restrictions, he thought he should do my little bit to honour their memory.

Pete Hawkins, pictured at The Kelpies in Falkirk, covered 960 miles in his cycling challenge across Britain (Sue Hawkins/PA)

Because I rode a national ride, it had to be a national charity, so I thought lets support the MND Association, he said.

Just try and raise a bit of awareness and a few pennies, just to do my little bit.

Throughout his ride, Mr Hawkins met people from the MND Association who he called heroes and said meeting them was the highest spot of the ride.

Ive met some lovely people from the MND Association theyre heroes, he said.

They do all the work on a day-by-day basis. Theyre just very inspiring people and doing what they can to raise funds and raise the awareness and the profile of the disease.

Pete Hawkins (left) with the Nottinghamshire branch of the MND Association in Newark (Sue Hawkins/PA)

I think the highest spot of the ride was meeting local Motor Neurone Disease Association folk on the way down.

Mr Hawkins said he was chuffed to bits after beating his fundraisiing target twice.

Id originally set the target at 3,000, broke that before I started the ride, set it to 5,000, broke that about five days ago, so now I have upped it to 7,500, he explained.

He encouraged people that fundraising for charity can be simple and that anybody can do it.

Weve lost two or three friends from motor neurone disease with Tony and David, and suddenly life can change so you just have to enjoy it, he said.

I think if theres any message that doesnt sound too trite, then just get out and do something.

To support Mr Hawkinss cause, visit the JustGiving page https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/the-great-ness-ride
There was heavy flooding in Mossley Hill, Liverpool, on Saturday (Peter Byrne/PA)

More heavy showers and thunderstorms will hit the UK on Sunday with a warning they could cause some disruption in Scotland and even flooding in Northern Ireland.

The warning comes after showers and storms swept much of the UK on Saturday, pushing northwards across the country despite earlier predictions that temperatures could reach as high as 33C in some places.

Wimbledon and the Ashes Test match at Headingley in Leeds were both disrupted by the weather.

Tennis fans take shelter from the rain at Wimbledon (John Walton/PA)

The Met Office warned that Scotland could see prolonged spells of heavy rain overnight into Sunday, and this could cause some localised disruption.

It is expected much of the rest of the country north of the border will remain dry overnight, however, with temperatures sitting between 17C and 19C across the east of England and between 14C and 15C in the west.

Greg Dewhurst, Met Office forecaster, said it would be a bright start for many on Sunday but heavy rain was still likely to return to the north-east and possibly the south-east of England too.

A man is caught in heavy rain in Speke, Liverpool, as showers and storms swept much of the UK on Saturday (Peter Byrne/PA)

But for many, through the day, its a case of sunny spells and scattered showers, he said.

Some of the showers will be heavy, particularly over parts of Northern Ireland.

A Met Office warning is now in place for Northern Ireland with heavy winds and hail forecast before the day is over, bringing with it the potential for localised flooding.

Heavy rain is forecast for Northern Ireland (Peter Byrne/PA)

Heavy showers are also expected to fall across Wales, the Midlands and south-west England on Sunday afternoon.

Temperatures are expected to stay a little lower compared to Saturday with highs of 25C and 26C in England.

Mr Dewhurst said: Those showers continue to rumble on through Sunday evening, some heavy bursts possible but they do ease by the end of the day.

And then, overnight, its generally dry for most with clear spells (and) just a scattering of showers, largely in the south and the west, just one or two across north-east Scotland as well.

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A bright start is then predicted for Monday for most parts of the UK with lots of sunny spells forecast but that is expected to be followed by spells of heavy rain in western parts.

Mr Dewhurst said: We will see a risk an increasing risk of some heavy rain through western parts of the UK, a little bit of uncertainty over where this main band of rain will end up by Monday afternoon.

Around it well see a mixture of sunny spells and heavy showers. Some of these will be thundery for Northern Ireland parts of Scotland, too.

The best of any sunnier breaks (will be) possible across eastern and south-east England and this is where we will see the highest temperatures, getting up to around 23C or 24C.
Police officers surrounded a group of people before the start of the Eritrea Festival in Giessen (dpa via AP)

German police have said at least 22 officers were injured and dozens of people were detained during unrest at an Eritrean cultural event in the western city of Giessen.

Police said bottles were thrown and smoke bombs were ignited as groups of Eritreans opposed to the African nations autocratic ruler tried to force their way to the venue.

About 1,000 officers, a water cannon and helicopters have been deployed in the city, which is about 30 miles north of Frankfurt.

Police spokesman Christopher Pfaff urged the public to avoid the centre of Giessen while the operation is ongoing.

Authorities had tried to ban the festival after similar unrest occurred there last year, but a court overturned the order.

The event was organised by a group considered close to the government of Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki.

Tens of thousands of people have fled Eritrea for Europe, many alleging they were mistreated by Mr Afwerkis government.
The United States has destroyed the last of its declared chemical weapons stockpile, a milestone in the history of warfare dating back to the First World War, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said,

Mr McConnell said in a statement that workers at Kentuckys Blue Grass Army Depot have eliminated the last of thousands of rockets filled with GB nerve agent that are the last of the United States declared chemical weapons and completed a decades-long campaign to eliminate a stockpile that, by the end of the Cold War, totalled more than 30,000 tons (27,216 metric tonnes).

The US faced a deadline of September 30 to eliminate its remaining chemical weapons under the international Chemical Weapons Convention, which took effect in 1997 and was joined by 193 countries.

The munitions destroyed in Kentucky are the last of 51,000 M55 rockets with GB nerve agent  a deadly toxin also known as sarin  that have been stored at the depot since the 1940s.

Workers at the Blue Grass Army Depot in Kentucky helped to destroy the last of the US chemical weapons (US Army/AP)

By destroying the munitions, the US is officially underscoring that these types of weapons are no longer acceptable in the battlefield and sending a message to the handful of countries that have not joined the agreement, military experts say.

Chemical weapons were first used in modern warfare in the First World War, where they were estimated have killed at least 100,000 people.

Despite their use being subsequently banned by the Geneva Convention, countries continued to stockpile the weapons until the treaty called for their destruction.

In June, workers at the Army Pueblo Chemical Depot in Colorado completed their mission of neutralising an entire cache of about 2,600 tons (2,359 tonnes) of mustard blister agent.

Kim Jackson, manager of the Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant, said: One thing that were really proud of is how were finishing the mission. Were finishing it for good for the United States of America.

The weapons disposal alleviates a concern that civic leaders in Colorado and Kentucky admit was always in the back of their minds.

Canisters of mustard gas, which are part of the United States chemical weapons stockpile, await destruction (David Zalubowski/AP)

Those (weapons) sitting out there were not a threat, Pueblo mayor Nick Gradisar said.

(But) you always wondered what might happen with them.

In the 1980s, the community around Kentuckys Blue Grass Army Depot voiced their opposition to the armys initial plan to incinerate the chemical weapons.

The community was able to halt the planned incineration plant, and then, with help from politicians, prompted the army to submit alternative methods to destroying the weapons.

Craig Williams, who became the leading voice of the community opposition and later a partner with political leadership and the military, said residents were concerned about potential toxic pollution from burning the deadly chemical agents.

Mr Williams said the military eliminated most of its existing stockpile by burning weapons at other, more remote sites, such as Johnston Atoll in the Pacific Ocean or at a chemical depot in the middle of the Utah desert, but the Kentucky site was adjacent to Richmond and only a few dozen miles away from Lexington, the states second-largest city.

We had a middle school of over 600 kids a mile away from the (planned) smokestack, Mr Williams said.

Detonators sit in rows for recycling (David Zalubowski/AP)

The Kentucky storage facility has housed mustard agent and the VX and sarin nerve agents, much of it inside rockets and other projectiles, since the 1940s.

The states disposal plant was completed in 2015 and began destroying weapons in 2019.

It uses a process called neutralisation to dilute the deadly agents so they can be safely disposed of.

The project, however, has been a boon for both communities and, facing the eventual loss of thousands of workers, they are pitching the pool of high-skilled labourers as a plus for companies looking to move to their regions.

Workers at the Pueblo site used heavy machinery to meticulously  and slowly  load aging weapons on to conveyor systems that fed into secure rooms where remote-controlled robots did the dirty and dangerous work of eliminating the toxic mustard agent, which was designed to blister the skin and cause inflammation of the eyes, nose, throat and lungs.

Robotic equipment removed the weapons fuses and bursters before the mustard agent was neutralised with hot water and mixed with a caustic solution to prevent the reaction from reversing.

The by-product was further broken down in large tanks swimming with microbes and the mortars and projectiles were decontaminated at temperatures of 538C and recycled as scrap metal.

A worker at the Blue Grass Chemical Agent Pilot Plant looks at a blast door inside the facility (Dylan Lovan/AP)

Problematic munitions that were leaky or overpacked were sent to an armoured, stainless steel detonation chamber to be destroyed at about 593C.

The Colorado and Kentucky sites were the last among several sites, including in Utah and the Johnston Atoll, where the nations chemical weapons had been stockpiled and destroyed.

Other locations included facilities in Alabama, Arkansas and Oregon.

Kingston Reif, an assistant US secretary of defence for threat reduction and arms control, said the destruction of the last US chemical weapon will close an important chapter in military history, but one that were very much looking forward to closing.

Officials say the elimination of the US stockpile is a major step forward for the Chemical Weapons Convention.

Only three countries  Egypt, North Korea and South Sudan  have not signed the treaty.

Control room supervisor Lance Pappas consults a video monitor inside the Umatilla Chemical Agent Disposal Facility (Jeff Barnard/AP)

A fourth, Israel, has signed but not ratified it.

Mr Reif noted that there remains concern that some parties to the convention, particularly Russia and Syria, possess undeclared chemical weapons stockpiles.

Biden on Friday urged Russia and Syria to fully comply with the treaty, and called on the remaining countries to join it.

Today  as we mark this significant milestone  we must also renew our commitment to forging a future free from chemical weapons, the president said.

Still, arms control advocates hope this final step by the US could nudge the remaining countries to join.

They also hope it could be used as a model for eliminating other types of weapons.

Paul F Walker, vice chairman of the Arms Control Association and co-ordinator of the Chemical Weapons Convention Coalition, said: It shows that countries can really ban a weapon of mass destruction. If they want to do it, it just takes the political will and it takes a good verification system.
Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich stands in a glass cage in a courtroom at the Moscow City Court in April (Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP)

The US has been in contact with Russian officials to press for the release of Wall Street Journal journalist Evan Gershkovich, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said.

It comes as Friday marked the 100th day of the journalist being detained by the Russian government.

Mr Sullivan said he also spoke with Mr Gershkovichs family representatives and Wall Street Journal officials on Friday about the status of the case and the administrations efforts to win his release.

The Kremlin earlier this week suggested it is open to a possible prisoner exchange that could involve Mr Gershkovich  but said such talks must be held out of the public eye.

I do not want to give false hope, Mr Sullivan told reporters.

Evan Gershkovich stands in a glass cage in a Moscow courtroom in June (Dmitry Serebryakov/AP)

What the Kremlin said earlier this week is correct. There have been discussions. But those discussions have not produced a clear pathway to a resolution and so I cannot stand here today and tell you that we have a clear answer to how we are going to get Evan home.

The US ambassador to Moscow, Lynne Tracy, was allowed to visit Mr Gershkovich on Monday for the first time since April.

Mr Gershkovich was arrested on spying charges in the city of Yekaterinburg while on a reporting trip.

He is being held at Moscows Lefortovo prison, notorious for its harsh conditions.

A Moscow court last week upheld a ruling to keep him in custody until August 30.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan (Patrick Semansky/AP)

Mr Gershkovich and his employer deny the allegations and the US government has declared him to be wrongfully detained.

His arrest rattled journalists in Russia.

Authorities there have not provided any evidence to support the charges.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre reiterated the US stance that Mr Gershkovichs detention was baseless.spy espionage charges for four years.

Our message to Evan and Paul is this: keep the faith. We wont stop until you are home, Ms Jean-Pierre said.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has marked the 500th day of war by hailing the countrys soldiers in a video from a Black Sea island that became a symbol of Ukraines resilience in the face of the Russian invasion.

Speaking from Snake Island, Mr Zelensky honoured the Ukrainian soldiers who fought there and all other defenders of the country, saying that reclaiming control of the island is a great proof that Ukraine will regain every bit of its territory.

Russian forces took control of the tiny stony island on February 24 2022, the day Moscow launched its invasion, in the apparent hope of using it as a staging ground for an assault on Odesa, Ukraines biggest port and the headquarters of its navy.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, the spiritual leader of the worlds Orthodox Christians, at the Patriarchal Church of St. George, on a visit to Istanbul, Turkey (AP)

I want to thank  from here, from this place of victory  each of our soldiers for these 500 days, Mr Zelensky said. Thank you to everyone who fights for Ukraine!

It was unclear when the video was filmed. Mr Zelensky was returning from Turkey on Saturday.

He announced that five commanders involved in the defence of the Azovstal steel plant, a gruelling months-long siege early in the war, were returning on the plane with him.

The sprawling steelworks was the last bastion of resistance as Russian forces took control of the port city of Mariupol. Its defenders became renowned among Ukrainians for holding out in wretched conditions in the plants tunnels and corridors.

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Azovstals more than 2,000 defenders left the steelworks in mid-May 2022 and were taken into Russian captivity. The five leaders, some of whom were part of the Azov national guard regiment that Russia denounces as neo-Nazi, were freed in a September prisoner swap and taken to Turkey.

Under the exchange, the leaders were to remain in Turkey until the end of the war under the Turkish presidents protection. There was no immediate official explanation from Ankara or Kyiv about why they were allowed to return to Ukraine.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: The return of the leaders of the Azovites from Turkey to Ukraine is nothing more than a direct violation of the terms of the existing agreements. Moreover, in this case, the terms were violated by both the Ukrainian side and the Turkish side.

(PA Graphics)

Snake Island took on legendary significance for Ukraines resistance to the Russian invasion, when Ukrainian troops there reportedly received a demand from a Russian warship to surrender or be bombed. The answer supposedly came back: Go (expletive) yourself.

Ukraine has celebrated the story with patriotic fervour, issuing a postage stamp in commemoration.

The islands Ukrainian defenders were captured by the Russians but later freed as part of a prisoner exchange.

After the island was taken, the Ukrainian military heavily bombarded the small Russian garrison there, forcing the Russians to pull back on June 30 2022.

The Russian retreat reduced the threat of a seaborne Russian attack on Odesa and helped pave the way for a deal to resume Ukrainian grain exports.

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Let the freedom that all our heroes of different times wanted for Ukraine and that must be won right now be a tribute to all those who gave their lives for Ukraine, Mr Zelensky said. We will definitely win!

Intense battles continued to rage on Saturday in the countrys east and south as Ukrainian forces pressed their attacks against multi-layered Russian defences in the initial stages of their counter-offensive.

Ukraines interior ministry said that a Russian rocket strike on the town of Lyman killed eight civilians and wounded 13 others early on Saturday.

Pavlo Kyrylenko, the governor of the eastern Donetsk region, posted images showing some of the dead, including a body lying under a bicycle and body parts on the pavement next to a damaged vehicle, saying that the Russian terrorists are continuing to strike civilians in Donetsk.

A private residence, a shop and a few cars were also damaged in the attack on the town, which sits just a few miles from the front line, where Russian troops have recently intensified fighting in the forests of Kreminna.

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The UK Ministry of Defence said in its latest intelligence update that the eastern town of Bakhmut that was captured by the Russians in May has seen some of the most intense fighting along the front during the last week.

It said that Ukrainian forces have made steady gains to both the north and south of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region, noting that Russian defenders are highly likely struggling with poor morale, a mix of disparate units and a limited ability to find and strike Ukrainian artillery.

The Russian military insisted that it has successfully fended off Ukrainian attacks in various sections of the front and inflicted heavy losses on the attackers.

The Russian Defence Ministry on Saturday released footage of Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu visiting firing ranges where volunteer soldiers are being trained.

Pitched battles along the front line are raging as Nato leaders are set to meet in Vilnius for a two-day summit next week to offer more help in modernising Ukraines armed forces, create a high-level forum for consultations and reaffirm that it will join their alliance one day.

Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, right, shakes hands with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky (Francisco Seco/AP)

Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed support early on Saturday for Ukraine joining Nato, saying it deserves to join the alliance. He made the comment at a joint news conference with Mr Zelensky, who visited Turkey as part of a European tour to rally support for Ukraines entry into the military alliance after the war with Russia comes to an end.

Ahead of the Nato summit, the US has announced that it will provide Ukraine with cluster munitions, a move that President Joe Biden described as a difficult decision.

Two-thirds of Nato members have banned the munitions which have a track record of causing many civilian casualties, but the US sees their delivery as a way to help bolster Ukraines offensive and push through Russian front lines.
Modern morals: My friend wants to bring her kids along to my birthday weekend but I dont want them there
Laauli Leuatea Schmidt (also known as Laauli Leuatea Polataivao Fosi), Samoas agriculture minister and cofounder of Samoas ruling FAST party, speaks at an event at party headquarters in Vaitele, Samoa, May 13, 2023.

Updated at 11:53 p.m. ET Time on 2023-07-10

At a slickly choreographed event in Hong Kong on April 26, the island nation of Samoa was introduced to a vision of its future: cryptocurrency and stock trading epicenter of the South Pacific.

Chinese officials and businessmen made speeches  their resumes beamed onto a giant screen at the luxury St. Regis hotel  as they celebrated the official launch of the Samoa Digital Asset Exchange, Samoa Stock Exchange and Oceania Blockchain Special Economic Zone.

A sprinkling of Westerners with finance industry backgrounds were introduced as advisers. Also revealed were a chief technology officer, chairmen, a chief operating officer and bright, generically abstract logos for each of the companies.

Mulipola Anarosa Ale Molioo, Samoas finance minister, spoke and posed for photos. The Samoan coat of arms, representing state authority and meant only for official use, was plastered and projected throughout the venue.

But little more than a month later, after photographs from the Chinese event circulated online and caused disbelief in Samoa, Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mataafa was on a damage-control footing.

The Samoan government had not given any endorsement or approval for the ventures, which were only proposals, said a statement from her office.

The cryptocurrency episode was not the only controversy over poor governance and lack of transparency that Fiame was battling.

Days later, she scuttled the first direct flights between China and Samoa after criticism of cabinet minister Laauli Leuatea Schmidts involvement in Samoa Royal Tours.

In conjunction with a Hong Kong travel company, it controlled tours in Samoa for the influx of Chinese visitors that began in late May. Samoa Royal Tours was registered as a company in Samoa in April and its shareholder was one of Laaulis daughters, Rosary Leilua.

BenarNews has found that Laauli, one of Samoas most powerful politicians, is also linked to the effort to make Samoa a South Pacific crypto-finance center and that the cryptocurrency and Chinese tourism ventures overlap in other ways. Chinese businessmen involved in the effort to bring more Chinese tourists to Samoa also hold key positions in the stock exchange and cryptocurrency ventures.

BenarNews and affiliated news organization Radio Free Asia reviewed Samoa Business Registry and other corporate records, information in Chinese-language media reports and financial databases and photos from the Hong Kong launch.

I believe I have no obligation to reply to your request, Laauli said in response to a list of his connections to the exchanges compiled by BenarNews. You can report whatever you wish for the issues you requested.

Samoa Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mataafa attends the 79th session of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific at the U.N. regional office in Bangkok, May 15, 2023. [Sakchai Lalit/AP]

Samoas economy is small and its financial system underdeveloped.

Cryptocurrency and stock exchange ventures could have reputational and financial risks for the country and might also run counter to the governments objective of making the financial system more accessible. Less than half of people have bank accounts and onerous requirements for collateral inhibit lending to businesses, according to the Asian Development Bank.

Home to about 200,000 people, Samoa also has a Chinese debt burden that is second only to Tonga among Pacific island nations when measured as a proportion of total national debt.

Fiame canceled a Chinese port project in 2021, to avoid becoming further indebted to Chinas government. Through aid, infrastructure and lending, Beijing has become a significant force in the Pacific region over the past several decades.

Calls for ministers resignation

Opposition politicians have called for the resignation of Laauli, who is the cofounder with Fiame of Samoas current ruling party and a high chief. A chiefly rank is a requirement to run for public office in Samoa.

Cryptocurrencies are virtual currencies such as Bitcoin that use encryption and dispersal over a computer network to purportedly avoid control by a central authority and to prevent counterfeiting.

Proponents say they will usurp fiat currency that is created by central banks but they have also become associated with crime, extreme asset-price volatility and exorbitant energy use for the electronic mining of new cryptocurrency.

Numerous cryptocurrency exchanges collapsed in a chain reaction last year brought about by hacking and liquidity crises. Blockchain is the distributed database for recording cryptocurrency transactions.

The companies held out in Hong Kong as Samoas financial future are registered in Samoa and appear to have been largely inactive until a series of changes to names, directors and shareholders between 2019 and 2022.

A village chiefs council that includes Laaulis village Sasina, and of which he is a leading member, became a shareholder in all three companies in the last quarter of 2022, Samoa Business Registry documents show. Laaulis constituency office, meanwhile, is the registered address for the companies.

The council  Alii ma Faipule Fagaee Sasina Letui in Samoan  became a shareholder in Oceania Blockchain Special Economic Zone in November 2022 when shares held by Laaulis daughter, Isadora Schmidt, were transferred to it, a shareholding document shows.

Isadora Schmidt is the contact person in the business registry documents for Samoa Digital Asset Exchange and Oceania Blockchain Special Economic Zone, as well as a director of the blockchain economic zone. She didnt respond to a request for comment.

Alii ma Faipule Fagaee Sasina Letui became a shareholder in the Samoa Stock Exchange and Samoa Digital Asset Exchange in December last year when shares held by Lussil Tuala, the wife of the CEO of Samoas Gambling Control Authority, were transferred to it.

Several Chinese people with addresses in Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Fujian and Auckland, New Zealand are among the shareholders and directors. It is unclear whether they are genuine owners or nominee shareholders.

Another shareholder in all three companies is China Yun Dat Investments. It is registered in the British Virgin Islands, which allows companies to keep ownership information secret.

CPP presence at blockchain launch

The Hong Kong launch for Oceania Blockchain Special Economic Zone and its sister companies had a veneer of official Chinese government backing.

The ceremony was attended by two Hong Kong Legislative Council members and two members of the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference, which plays a coordinating role in the ruling Chinese Communist Partys United Front work that includes covert foreign-influence campaigns.

Chen Gen, who was announced at the event as the joint chairman of Oceania Blockchain Special Economic Zone, is a senior figure in Chinese state-adjacent organizations such as overseas Chinese chambers of commerce and the Chinese Academy of Management Sciences.

Chen, according to a Chinese media report, accompanied Laauli on a 2018 tour of Henan province.

More recently, Chen in his capacity as executive chairman of the Hainan Overseas Chinese Chamber of Commerce and other roles, helped to facilitate the now scuttled direct flights from Hainan to Samoa and organized a delegation of businessmen for the first flight, Chinese media reports show.

An advertisement for Bitcoin cryptocurrency is displayed on a street in Hong Kong, Feb. 17, 2022. Bitcoin is an online currency that allows people to make one-to-one transactions, buy goods and services and exchange money across borders without involving banks, credit card issuers or other third parties. [Kin Cheung/AP Photo, File]

Aside from Laauli, other high-profile Samoans connected to the exchange ventures are Siaki Tuala, the chief executive of Samoas Gambling Control Authority, and Lussil Tuala.

They said their law firm had provided administration services for the companies. They had temporarily acted as nominee directors and shareholders, they said, while the founders of the enterprises finalized partners for their venture.

Lussil Tuala, in response to questions, said: Mr. Tuala and I had agreed to being listed as nominee directors only and as initial subscriber shareholders upon incorporation of companies when requested by these clients given their long standing relationship with Mr. Tuala as their former lawyer.

They said they had no financial interests in the blockchain economic zone and exchange companies. Siaka Tuala said the same situation applies to two other Samoa-registered companies they jointly owned with China Yun Dat Investments and one of the directors of Samoa Stock Exchange.

The cryptocurrency hub, for now, appears to have been relegated to no more than colorful logos and thwarted ambition.

Samoas government said it would work with international financial organizations to carry out a feasibility study to identify all the risks, including to the countrys reputation.

The intention of this study, it said, is to look at whether or not such an initiative will be beneficial for Samoa.

Mary Zhao, a researcher for Radio Free Asia, contributed to this report.
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St. Stanislaus Kostka School in Adams is next door to the St. Stanislaus Kostka Mission Church. The school had a water leak, which resulted in a large water bill, but it did not affect the church, which is contending with a mold problem.
Maynard Seider, an emeritus professor of sociology from Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, writes about the closure and its fallout in his 2019 book about the history of the working class in the Berkshires. He spoke with The Eagle about the history of the hospital closure and its impact on the region.
Lenox native James Brooke has traveled to about 100 countries reporting for The New York Times, Bloomberg and Voice of America. He reported from Russia for eight years and from Ukraine for six years.
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Burials in Racak after the 1999 massacre. [Source: news.bbc.co.uk]

Clinton administration claimed Serbian forces massacred civilians when deaths at Racak resulted from fighting between Serbian Army and terrorist Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), which Washington supported

A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.

Mark Twain

We are living in terrible times. The great hegemonthe United States of Americaand its false flags abound all around. Where do I start? Remember Bucha anyone? Let me tell you about the Racak massacre in Serbian Kosovo and Metohija in 1999, yet another brutal U.S.-NATO false flag that was used to justify military intervention and bombing.

The Serbs have been trying for more than two decades to present the truth about this 1999 false pretext for NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, which at the time consisted of Serbia and Montenegro.

The alleged massacre, which helped mobilize public opinion against the Serbs, occurred on the night and early morning hours of January 14 and 15, 1999, during a period of military conflict between the Serbian security forces and members of the so-called Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA).

If any CovertAction Magazine readers get the impression that the KLA resembles ISIS in some respects, your intuition is good.

Forty-five members of the KLA were killed in the so-called Racak massacre, though Serbia has been trying to defend the truth about it for more than 20 years.

Namely, Serbian institutions have been trying to communicate to the broader public that the claims about a massacre in Racak, allegedly committed upon civilians, were an outright lie and that it was, in fact, an armed conflict between Serbian security forces and KLA members.

Investigative Judge Danica Marinkovic, who has been working on the case for years, now claims with utmost credibility that William Walker, a veteran U.S. diplomat and head of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) who had covered up the murder of six U.S. nuns by death squads when he was ambassador to El Salvador, told the media his own distorted version of the course of events that night without ever waiting for the competent and unbiased authorities to investigate the whole affair.

Judge Danica Marinkovic [Source: telegraf.rs] William Walker [Source: wikipedia.org]

She points out that, later, the Hague Tribunal accepted the truth that there was no massacre in Racak. Judge Marinkovic has repeated many times that a huge amount of weapons and ammunition, such as grenade launchers and automatic guns, were found on the spot people were killed immediately after the conflict.

The spot of the alleged massacre was the same location as the KLA headquarters and the people killed were found with KLA military insignia on their uniforms.

Judge Marinkovic stated that the Serbian police received the intelligence information that the region was ridden with terrorists and some information about their actions prior to that event.

Serbian police had indeed been forced to deal with KLA terrorists in the region.

Judge Marinkovic reported that a number of the deaths occurred due to wounds inflicted by firearms shot from a distance. There was no evidence suggesting that the deaths occurred because they may have been bashed by dull objects or by maltreatment or physical torture, that is, the way Walker falsely claimed.

A reputable Finnish forensic expert, Dr. Helena Ranta, who worked on the case in real time, together with her team of experts, later confirmed that William Walker exerted a considerable amount of pressure on her while she was preparing her report. She also believed that he expected her to support his explanation of the events that night. With this admission from Dr. Ranta, the grim story may have been given the epilogue the Serbs were hoping for.

Dr. Helena Ranta [Source: nalstenaani.ri]

In a time of deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act  George Orwell

Judge Marinkovic has bravely repeated a number of times that William Walkers claim that an alleged massacre happened in Racak by Serbian forces, which supposedly constituted a war crime, was a blatant and unscrupulous lie and an arbitrary misconstruction.

The Racak incident has often been referred to as a massacre of innocent civilians.

However, it should be noted that it is not within the scope of the EU Forensic Team or any other person to draw any such inferences; neither is it within their competence to use the term massacre, having participated solely in examinations of the bodies. The arbitrary use of the term massacre cannot be based on medico-legal facts because it is a description of the circumstances surrounding the deaths of persons as determined after a thoroughly prepared analysis of all available evidence.

Family members grieve victim at Racak. Those who were killed appear to have been mostly soldiers. [Source: washingtonpost.com]

Judge Marinkovic has often emphasized that Walker did not wait for national authorities and competent independent bodies to investigate further and provide facts. Dr. Ranta, the Finnish forensic expert, being aware of the restrictions to her mandate, later refrained from describing the incident in Racak as a massacre.

She still stands by her statement from earlier in the investigation about the pressure Walker exerted. Another team of forensic experts, from Belarus, confirmed the same.

At the professional level, the expert team experienced no problems in collaborating with Yugoslav or Belarussian pathologists.

After the autopsies were completed in January, the Serbian and Belarussian pathologists decided to draw up common reports in order to summarize their findings. The Finnish team, however, refused to sign off for mysterious, and what appear to be political, reasons. (Finland recently set its goals to join NATO and has historically been fomenting anti-Russia, anti-Belarus sentimentsRussia supported the Serbs in the war.)

After a thorough investigation by the Serbian police, subsequently confirmed by Judge Marinkovics team, there were no children or women among the murder victims, most of the dead had several layers of clothes and military boots on, and they used guns. A paraffin test was used for gunshot residue analysis (GSR) by Judge Marinkovics team but the Finnish team refused to do so. The paraffin test was positive for 37 of the 40 persons killed.

Judge Marinkovic has stated that the deaths of all 40 people whose bodies were found in the nearby mosque, were caused by injuries inflicted by firearms shot from a distance and from a sedentary position by a person/people who shot at them, which is still applicable to this day, based on the evidence collected. The evidence goes to prove that there was no massacre in Racak and the people who died were neither civilians nor were they innocent local villagers of either Serbian or Albanian population, as the Pristina officials keep claiming.

Based on these blatant lies by William Walker and his OSCE team as background, this U.S.-NATO false-flag incident was used as a pretext to bomb Serbia and launch the NATO aggression on the then SRJJudge Marinkovic points out in the documentary DOSIJE KOSOVO.

An eminent French reporter with Le Figaro, Renaud Girard, who witnessed what was going on at the time in Racak, and Kosovo and Metohija in general, claims that the events in Racak were a skillful manipulation by KLA so as to provoke and set off an international military intervention against the Serbs.

Regrettably, they had wholehearted support by the then-director of the OSCE mission, the unscrupulous William Walker. When a day later he arrived in the village of Racak, he found the KLA members in military uniforms in the whole village and only the body of men lying stretched out on the ground one next to each other one by one.

Renaud Girard [Source: lefigaro.fr]

Perhaps the Serbian authorities may not have abided by the rules of warfare but that was certainly not a massacre on civilians in the village of Racak. Girard added that, in the village, one could see military trenches everywhere, and he was utterly confused at seeing them there.

He told himself the world must know the truth about this: I owe the truth to the world. I wrote an article the next day based on those facts. I wrote that William Walker may have rushed only too quickly to provide his conclusions. It was the breaking news at the time. Le Figaro published it the following morning and Le Monde the following afternoon, Girard remembers.

The Guardian also reported about Girards views. That article, he pointed out, caused an outrage in the general public.

Walker said that the article was horrible and that he would not allow me to interview him. An American friend told me, You, scumbag, you killed the story.

I say that what they love doing is the Hollywoodization of the media in which you show the bad guys killing the good guys and the West looking at all that whilst doing nothing. Captain Scott was there in Racak when that article was published. Giraud said of him:

His name was Scott. We had dinner together. We asked what happened? Why didnt you tell [New York Times journalist Nicholas] Kristoff what happened. Why were you waiting for Saturday for OVK [KLA] to arrive and tell the world that there had been a massacre? What happened?

Scott allegedly replied: That is rather difficult. We do know that there was nobody by that gully on Friday. [A KLA soldier] told us that he was passing through the villages on Saturday, Sunday and Monday and that the guys told him that sometimes somebody has to be sacrificed. If you have to fight for a higher goal, you have to sacrifice something.

The dead bodies were moved elsewhere, uniforms were taken off and persistent lies were spread by the world media.

The international committee headed by William Walker made sure that the world found out a different interpretation of what truly happened.

By moving around the dead bodies of Albanian Shqiptari (paramilitary) fighters, by taking off their uniforms and by persistently telling blatant lies to the world media, they have managed to make a police action against the terrorists look and sound like a massacre of innocent civilians. And that is the way history will remember it if Western sources are to be believed.

Allegedly, the Shqiptari are funding a book by Walker with 70,000 euros for him to falsify history.

Amazingly, Walker got himself a monument in Pristina in the pseudo state of Kosovo in 2017.

For what it is worth, Tony Blair, with a proven record of war crimes, was honored in the same way. For the record, Walkers actions on that night and the day after back in 1999 prompted a strong reaction from Yugoslav authorities, which declared Walker persona non grata and asked him to leave the country immediately.

All hell broke loose on Kosovo and Metohija when the OSCE mission arrived there headed by William Walker.

General Vladimir Lazarevic said in an interview for Politika that the Kosovo Verification Mission (KVK) was a huge international deception on a massive scale.

William Walker, left, head of the Kosovo Verification Mission, visits the OSCE office in Malisevo and inspects a firearms sign in January 1999. [Source: osce.org]

Neither Walker nor the verifiers (the officials who were working for the Verification Mission) even tried to hide their ill intent, which was to cause a conflict with the Serbian security forces in Kosovo at any cost, and then to expel the Serbs from Kosovo and Metohija, says General Lazarevic, Commander of the Pristina Corps of the Serbian Army and later of the Third (Niska) Corps of the Yugoslav Army.

General Vladimir Lazarevic [Source: wikipedia.org]

General Lazarevic added that OSCE had a goal to consolidate, re-orgranize and transform and then arm the terrorist KLA, completely demolished after the failed preparations and their efforts to start an uprising in October 1998. General Lazarevic said that there were constant rumors that the KLA, aided by the U.S., were being prepared for the warring Kosovo Spring (the equivalent to the Arab Spring).

In the period before January 1999 there were a high number of provocations by the Shqiptari terrorists and brutal attacks on the Serbian civilians in Kosovo. In the region of Nerodimlja in that period, there was the so-called 161st KLA brigade with its headquarters in Racak, led by notorious terrorist Shukri Buja. This paramilitary formation was notoriously in charge of liquidations, kidnapping and other monstrous crimes on the local Serbian population.

Shukri Buja [Source: korasev.info]

There were even efforts to repeat the monstrosities from Markale in 1994 in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the way that they planted explosives in Podujevo, Pristina and Mitrovica. Many civilians died due to that but the international community did not react in any way whatsoever.

Walker did not just sit doing nothing

Although none of these things had been successful prior to Racak, nobody in OSCE and KVK just sat doing nothing. Quite the opposite. They were concocting perfidious atrocities and then they cooked up a plan to orchestrate Racak, a false-flag operation with such an easily recognizable CIA signature behind it. The Racak incident was used as a pretext to launch a NATO attack and a brutal aggression on SR Yugoslavia which was all assisted by the CIA and the Pentagon.

Yet, pursuant to an unprecedented resolution by The Hague Tribunal prosecution this incident was used as the first point in the indictment in the legal proceedings against the President of Serbia Slobodan Milosevic, and then later against other Serbian politicians and military commanders, which also featured in the indictment for the alleged massacre in Racak.

Slobodan Milosevic [Source: icty.org]

General Lazarevic goes on to say that one of The Hague investigators, William Kelly, concluded by using NATO satellite images showing that there were seven murdered KLA terrorists in two locations and, upon the order of William Walker, about 40 murdered KLA terrorists were moved, dragged or possibly transported to the gully nearby that afternoon, whose clothes were then changed into the clothes of civilians.

It was William Walker who declared it a massacre on civilians by the Serbian police and the Serbian Army, but that grand deception was immediately seen through, above all by Judge Marinkovic and the Serbian investigative team in Pristina, which was the first one to arrive in Racak.

She later presented her evidence to The Hague Tribunal that no civilian was murdered on that occasion. When General Lazarevic heard of Walkers plans to have his book on Racak published, he stated that it would be more honest if Walker admitted he deceived the whole international community, even though he still feels no remorse for all the evil he has committed.

Sadly, the alleged Racak massacre false flagU.S.-NATO stylestuck the final nail in the coffin of Serbia at the time, before the NATO bombing unleashed two months afterwards.

Yet, thanks to indefatigable investigation and research and the testimonies of Judge Marinkovic and the Finnish forensic expert and her team, no Serbian individual was charged with a crime in The Hague on account of Racak, though the consequences of the NATO bombing has left an indelible mark of atrocities on Serbia and her nation for decades to come.

Fast forward to 2023, the Public Prosecution in Pristina has recently issued an arrest warrant for 18 Serbs who are allegedly guilty for what happened in Racak 1999. Albin Kurti, the pseudo PM of the pseudo, illegal state of Kosovo stated, in the temporary Pristina institutions at the commemorative meeting on the anniversary of that event, his baseless claims about Serbia: that those who deny genocide wish to repeat it. The world now is aware this was neither a massacre nor a genocide, and was not done against civilians.

But as much as they are trying to use and abuse the orchestrated indictments, and as much as they keep attacking the Serbs to desperately try to whitewash and arbitrarily revise the true nature of Serbian anti-terrorist military action in Racak 24 years ago, Serbia will not allow them to do any such thing, responded Serbian Minister Nikola Selakovic.

Sergey Lavrov, Russian Foreign Minister, recently compared Bucha and Racak. He added that, due to the American colonial mentality, they like to think that they can do anything. He recalled the bombing of Yugoslavia and added that Bucha, a U.S. false-flag operation in Ukraine 2022, was almost identical to that of Racak in 1999.

Nikola Selakovic [Source: wikipedia.org] Sergey Lavrov [Source: wikipedia.org]

The world has slowly come to realize that the whole false-flag case was fabricated by the United States and its extended hands of OSCE and NATO. It was used to get the then hesitant governments of the collective West to agree to the start of the NATO bombing. At that point the negotiations in Rambouillet came to a political halt at a critical moment because the Serbian government did not agree to the establishment of a military alliance protectorate over the whole country.

1999 Rambouillet conference. [Source: dw.com]

The hidden agenda behind the Racak massacre was to pressure other NATO countries into an illegal aggression against SR Yugoslavia, commenced without the approval of the UN Security Council. The whole scenario was pre-planned much earlier and the U.S. and NATO were just waiting for the right moment to unleash hell in their grand Drang nach Osten plan masterminded as far back as 1945 immediately after the end of World War II.
SAN DIEGO  People love their smartphones, but did you know they could be spying on you? A recent study by computer scientists from New York University and UC San Diego uncovered the hidden dangers of spyware apps. These apps are not only difficult to detect, but they can also leak your sensitive information without your knowledge. The team warns that its important to be aware of this issue and take steps to protect yourself and your privacy.

This is a real-life problem and we want to raise awareness for everyone, from victims to the research community, says Enze Alex Liu, the first author of the paper, in a university release.

Spyware apps are often marketed as tools to monitor children or employees, but they can also be used by abusers to secretly spy on their partners. These apps are designed to record everything that happens on a victims device, including text messages, emails, photos, and even phone calls. The abusers can then access this information remotely through a web portal. The use of spyware apps has been on the rise, with a significant increase in their usage in recent years.

To find out if your device has been infected with a spyware app, you can check your privacy dashboard and the list of all apps in your devices settings. However, these apps are specifically designed to remain hidden, making them difficult to detect.

The study focused on analyzing 14 leading spyware apps for Android phones. While Google does not allow the sale of these apps on its official app store, they can still be downloaded separately from the web. This is in contrast to iPhones, which do not allow such side-loading of apps, making spyware apps less prevalent on this platform.

So, how do spyware apps work?

These apps run secretly on a device, collecting a wide range of sensitive information such as location data, text messages, calls, and even audio and video recordings. Some apps can even stream live audio and video. All this data is then sent to the abuser through an online spyware portal.

The researchers discovered that spyware apps use various techniques to collect data without the users knowledge. For example, some apps utilize invisible browsers to stream live video from the devices camera to the spyware server. Other apps can record phone calls by activating the devices microphone or even the speaker function. Additionally, some apps take advantage of accessibility features designed for visually impaired users to record keystrokes and other sensitive information.

To make matters worse, these apps can hide themselves on the victims device. They can avoid appearing in the app launcher or masquerade as harmless icons like Wi-Fi or Internet Service. Some apps even accept commands through SMS messages, with a few of them executing these commands regardless of their source. In extreme cases, a command could be sent to remotely wipe the victims phone.

Data security is another major concern. Many spyware apps transmit the collected data through unencrypted channels, making it vulnerable to interception. Some apps store this data in publicly accessible URLs, allowing anyone with the link to access it. Furthermore, some apps retain sensitive data even after the user has deleted their account or stopped using the app.

How can you protect yourself from spyware?

The researchers recommend that Android devices enforce stricter requirements for app icons to prevent them from hiding. They also suggest the implementation of a dashboard for monitoring apps that start automatically. Additionally, they propose adding a visible indicator to the user when the microphone or camera is being used by an app.

Its important to note that the researchers have shared their findings with the affected app vendors, but they have not received any responses yet. To prevent misuse, they have chosen to make their work available only to individuals who can demonstrate a legitimate need for it.

The fight against spyware requires a collective effort from various stakeholders, including individuals, smartphone manufacturers, app stores, and law enforcement agencies. As individuals, we must stay vigilant and take steps to protect our privacy. Here are some key measures you can take to safeguard your device from spyware:

Stick to Official App Stores: Avoid downloading apps from unknown sources or third-party websites. Stick to trusted app stores like Google Play Store or Apple App Store, as they have strict security measures in place to minimize the risk of spyware-infected apps. Check App Permissions: Pay attention to the permissions requested by apps during installation. Be cautious if an app asks for unnecessary permissions that seem unrelated to its functionality. If an app requests access to your microphone, camera, or other sensitive data without a legitimate reason, it could be a red flag. Regularly Update Your Device: Keep your smartphones operating system and apps up to date. Developers release regular updates to address security vulnerabilities and enhance overall device security. By staying up to date, you ensure that your device has the latest security patches to fend off potential spyware threats. Install Antivirus Software: Consider installing reputable antivirus or anti-malware software on your smartphone. These applications can scan your device for any malicious software, including spyware, and provide real-time protection against potential threats. Be Mindful of App Reviews: Before installing an app, take a moment to read user reviews and ratings. Pay attention to any suspicious or negative reviews that mention privacy concerns or unusual behavior. This can help you make informed decisions about which apps to trust. Regularly Review App Permissions: Periodically review the permissions granted to installed apps on your device. Revoke unnecessary permissions from apps that do not require access to certain data or functions. Limiting app permissions can minimize the risk of unauthorized access to your personal information. Protect Your Device with Strong Passwords: Secure your device with a strong password, PIN, or biometric authentication. This adds an extra layer of protection, making it more difficult for unauthorized individuals to install spyware or gain access to your device. Educate Yourself and Spread Awareness: Stay informed about the latest spyware threats and share this information with friends and family. By raising awareness about the dangers of spyware, we can collectively work towards creating a safer digital environment.

Remember, your privacy is valuable, and taking proactive steps to protect it is essential in todays digital age. By following these guidelines and staying informed, you can reduce the risk of falling victim to spyware and ensure your personal information remains secure.
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The Tanaiste has expressed dismay at the poisoning of a white-tailed eagle in Co Antrim that he released in the Republic.

Micheal Martin released the bird on the Shannon Estuary last August as part of the Irish National Parks and Wildlife Services white-tailed Eagle reintroduction programme.

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It has been confirmed that the bird, along with a second white-tailed eagle of unknown origin, were poisoned.

Tanaiste Micheal Martin said he was saddened by the deaths of the birds (Brian Lawless/PA)

The alarm was raised when conservationists monitoring the bird released by Mr Martin, which was fitted with a satellite tag, became concerned when the tags data indicated it had stopped moving.

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The birds body was then traced, with a second untagged bird also lying dead close by in the Glenhead Road area of Ballymena on May 15th.

A post-mortem examination revealed both birds tested positive for the insecticide bendiocarb.

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The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) has launched an investigation, while the RSPB NI is offering a 5,000 (5,800) reward for information around the poisoning.

Tanaiste Micheal Martin said he is deeply saddened and shocked.

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I have closely followed the reintroduction programme for a number of years and to be involved in the release of the seven young eagles in 2022 was an experience that I will never forget, he said.

 5,000 reward for information leading to a conviction for illegally poisoned White-tailed Eagles 



Today the @PoliceServiceNI have confirmed that the two White-tailed Eagles recovered from the Glenwherry area last month were illegally poisoned.



RSPB Investigations 1/4 pic.twitter.com/h5TkfLlpxQ  RSPB NI (@RSPBNI) July 7, 2023 Advertisement

These are an iconic species, and the work of the NPWS in reintroducing them is something I, and the Government, am proud to support.

There have been great successes in the programme over recent years, so to learn of a poisoning like this is very disappointing.

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The tagged eagle had been brought as a chick in 2022 from Norway before his release in the Shannon Estuary area.

He spent a number of months on the Shannon Estuary before starting to travel around the country. He crossed into Northern Ireland from south Donegal on the May 1st.

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NPWS staff believe the second unknown eagle may have fledged from a nest in Munster in 2021.

NPWS director general Niall ODonnchu described the losses as a setback.

White-tailed eagles are beautiful and rare birds, and while we are in the midst of a successful reintroduction programme, these setbacks truly matter, he said.

The deliberate poisoning of birds of prey is a heinous crime against nature and an offence under the Wildlife Act. These birds have no means of detecting that they have been baited and the malice aforethought in these acts doesnt bear thinking about.

Joanne Sherwood, director RSPB NI, said the charity is offering a 5,000 reward for information that leads to a conviction of those who are responsible for the poisoning.

The PSNIs Rural and Wildlife Crime Superintendent Johnston McDowell said the illegal killing of the majestic birds is disgraceful.

The test results suggest that an individual not only has access to the insecticide bendiocarb but has placed this in to the outside environment illegally, so that wild birds have been able to consume it, he said.

Bendiocarb is present in the trade product Ficam D, a powder which is only permitted for indoor use to control crawling insects such as wasps and ants, so using this active ingredient in fields would be a breach of Biocidal Products Regulation (BPR).

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The illegal killing of these beautiful birds in a popular rural area is disgraceful, and for any individual to think that they can ignore the law and lay poisonous bait which has led to the killing of these birds, is unacceptable and will not be tolerated.

He said officers, with support from the National Wildlife Crime Unit, have been on the ground conducting house-to-house enquiries in the areas where the birds were seen before they were found dead.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland will continue to work with our partners to tackle this criminal activity, investigate any reports made to us and prosecute offenders, he said.

He urged anyone with information to come forward.

There must be people in the community who are aware of individuals committing these offences, and who can come forward and assist police with any information they have, he said.

If you notice any suspicious activity in rural areas, notice a dead or injured bird of prey, please call police on 101, or you can make a report via Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at http://crimestoppers-uk.org.

The RSPB can be contacted on their confidential Raptor Crime Hotline on 0300 999 0101 or online at crime@rspb.org.uk.
Israels United Nations ambassador has called on secretary-general Antonio Guterres to retract his condemnation of the countrys excessive use of force in the military operation that targeted a refugee camp in the West Bank.

But a UN spokesperson said on Friday the secretary-general stands by those views.

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Mr Guterres, angered by the impact of the Israeli airstrikes and attack on the Jenin refugee camp, said the operation left more than 100 civilians injured, uprooted thousands of residents, damaged schools and hospitals, and disrupted water and electricity networks.

He also criticised Israel for preventing the injured from getting medical care and humanitarian workers from reaching everyone in need.



Palestinians walk by a damaged house in the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank, (Nasser Nasser, AP)

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Israels two-day offensive, designed to crack down on Palestinian militants, destroyed the Jenin camps narrow roads and alleyways, forced thousands of people to flee their homes and killed 12 Palestinians. One Israeli soldier also was killed.

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Mr Guterres said: I strongly condemn all acts of violence against civilians, including acts of terror.

Asked whether this condemnation applied to Israel, he said: It applies to all use of excessive force, and obviously in this situation, there was an excessive force used by Israeli forces.

Israels UN Ambassador Gilad Erdan called the UN chiefs remarks shameful, far-fetched, and completely detached from reality.

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He said the Israeli military action in Jenin focused solely on combating the murderous Palestinian terror targeting innocent Israeli civilians.



Palestinians walk by a damaged house in the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank (Nasser Nasser, AP)

UN spokesperson Farhan Mr Haq said the secretary-general clearly condemns all of the violence that has been affecting the civilians in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, regardless of who is the perpetrator.

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The UN Security Council discussed Israels military operation in Jenin behind closed doors on Friday at the request of the United Arab Emirates and received a briefing from assistant secretary-general Khaled Khiari.

Mr Erdan sent a letter to the 15 council members and Mr Guterres before the council meeting saying that over the past year, 52 Israelis were killed by Palestinians, and many attacks were carried out from Jenin or from the area.

The international community and the Security Council must unconditionally condemn the latest Palestinian terror attacks and hold Palestinian leadership accountable, he said.

The Security Council took no action.

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US treasury secretary Janet Yellen has appealed to China for cooperation on climate change and other global challenges and not to let disagreements about trade and other matters derail relations.

In a meeting with her Chinese counterpart, Vice Premier He Lifeng, Ms Yellen defended US restrictions on technology exports that upset Beijing.

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She said the two governments should not let such disagreements disrupt thriving economic and financial relations.

We also face important global challenges, such as debt distress in emerging markets and developing countries and climate change, Ms Yellen said. We have a duty to both our own economies and to other countries to cooperate.



US treasury secretary Janet Yellen arrives for a climate finance round-table discussion at the US Embassy in Beijing (Mark Schiefelbein, AP)

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Ms Yellen is one of a series of US officials who are due to visit Beijing as part of efforts to revive relations that are at their lowest level in decades due to disputes over technology, security and Taiwan among other issues.

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Ms Yellen has received a warm welcome from leaders including Premier Li Qiang, the number two figure in the ruling Communist Party, though they gave no sign they will change policies that irk Washington and other governments.

Treasury officials said the goal of the trip was to encourage communication and no agreements on big disputes were expected. They said Ms Yellen was not scheduled to meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

Beijing broke off climate discussions with Washington last August in retaliation for a visit by then-speaker Nancy Pelosi of the House of Representatives to Taiwan, the self-ruled island democracy claimed by China as part of its territory.

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President Joe Bidens climate envoy John Kerry is due to become the next senior US official to visit China next week.

China and the United States are the worlds top emitters of climate-changing carbon.



Ms Yellen shakes hands with He Lifeng during a meeting at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing (Mark Schiefelbein/AP)

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Mr He, who is Mr Xis top economic adviser and the chief Chinese envoy to the United States on trade and financial issues, said the two governments should return to an agreement reached last November by Mr Biden and Mr Xi to improve relations.

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The two countries should act with a sense of responsibility for history, for the people and for the world, the vice premier said.

He added that the United States should adopt a rational and pragmatic attitude and work with China to stay committed to the common understandings set out by Mr Xi and Mr Biden.

China, which has lent billions of dollars to governments in Asia and Africa under Mr Xis Belt and Road Initiative to build ports and other infrastructure, signed on an agreement last month to reduce the debts of Zambia in southern Africa. Treasury officials earlier pointed to that as an area where cooperation produced results.

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Also on Saturday, Mr Yellen met the incoming governor of Chinas central bank, Pan Gongsheng, and people who work in Chinas climate-related finance industry.

Ms Yellen repeated her appeal for healthy economic cooperation, a reference to complaints that Beijing violates its free-trade commitments by subsidising and shielding its companies from competition.
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 three women sit around a wooden dining table laden with a banana cake and steaming cups of tea. The sun pours into the living room of Jann Harries Errowanbang home in the central west of NSW. Youd be mistaken for thinking this is a morning tea for three friends catching up, but anger not friendship brings the women together. Harries home is a few minutes drive from Cadia, home to one of Australias largest gold mines, operated by Newcrest and open for a decade. The project, 23 kilometres from Orange, hasnt been without controversy, including last month when the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) threatened to suspend the mines operating permit after it found its main vent was emitting an unacceptable level of dust. Harries lives just a few kilometres from the mine. On the morning we visit, she leaps up to check her phone every time it pings. Shes waiting for the results from a hair test to see if heavy metals are present in her body. And shes not alone. Other residents believe they have been contaminated by heavy metals such as copper and lead from the Cadia mine. One of the other women, Frances Retallack, pulls out a map of the region dotted with red and green pins. The pins represent the rainwater tanks around the district that she and neighbour Sally Green collected samples from over two months earlier this year. They werent the only community members who collected samples, which were then all sent to an independent laboratory for testing. Of the 68 samples, 15 were 10 times the safe lead level recommended by the Australian drinking water guidelines. Some in the community believe that dust from the mine hasnt been managed properly  allowed to drift across the region, land on peoples roofs and wash into their water tanks, drinking water and bodies. They claim there have been a range of symptoms: children have rashes, some residents say their nails have become rough, ridged and slightly deformed.

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As yet, there is no proven link between the mine and these afflictions. Concerned residents undertook blood and urine tests with local pathologists. They say their results show they have heavy metals above the recommended amounts in their bodies. For example, Retallacks husband has three times the upper limit of nickel, while Harries neighbours all have selenium above the maximum range. Ive been doing a table of everybodys results and I start to see patterns. When you get the [results] individually, you dont necessarily see that pattern, says Retallack, vice president of the Cadia Community Sustainability Network. The group formed two years ago and has hundreds of members in the district who aim to work with the mine to find a way to live and work together. One pattern Retallack says shes noticed is that those who spend more time outside have higher levels of chemicals  including selenium, copper, silver, aluminium and thorium  than those inside. Weve got a duty of care within our boundaries to not affect the neighbours. Why is the mine any different? Frances Retallack says. Credit: Brook Mitchell We should have looked in our water tanks and done blood tests years ago, Retallack says. The three women are angry. They say the mine had a duty of care to look after them, and it failed. None of us can go and spray weeds and let it drift on to the neighbours, Green says. If we put out fox baits, weve got to put a sign on the gate to alert the neighbours  Weve got a duty of care within our boundaries to not affect the neighbours. Why is the mine any different?

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The states independent environmental watchdog is also paying attention. In May, the NSW EPA announced it was investigating the Newcrest Cadia mine and issued it with a pollution prevention notice and a draft licence variation regarding the management of emissions of dust and other pollutants. Part of that investigation will require the company to finalise and release a report examining dust and its impact on the local community. Last month, the EPA threatened to suspend the mines licence when the agency found an unacceptable level of dust coming from the mine. At the time, Cadia general manager Mick Dewar said the company had taken immediate action to accelerate efforts to curtail known sources of dust from the underground operation. The EPA also placed several variations on the mines license, including a requirement for additional vent emission monitoring and reporting. On Friday, the EPA received the interim results from the first round of dust emissions monitoring from part of the mine, which found the operation changes made by Cadia had reduced the discharge of particles from its underground operations. The EPA has requested that Cadia undertake further testing. But the EPA is also testing Cadia residents rainwater tanks, and results will be available in coming weeks. Previous tests carried out in March by NSW Health found contaminants in the local communitys tap water including copper, lead, nickel and zinc were within the Australian drinking water guidelines and safe to drink. An honorary professor of environmental science and human health at Macquarie University, Mark Patrick Taylor, says while he understands the communitys concern, there is yet to be any cause and effect shown between possible pollution from the mine and whether it has contaminated peoples bodies.

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There is no definitive evidence ... [of] the link between the mine and what is in peoples homes  there is no definitive evidence yet, he says. Until we can match it up, we are swinging in the dark. But it is in the interests of the community, and it is the regulators duty, to establish if there is a connection between the potential source of harm and actual harm. Taylor believes baseline data should be collected before a mine is opened to allow for ongoing monitoring and evaluation. That way, if something adverse happens, there is the data to fall back on, he says. While mining operations can affect surrounding properties, Taylor says focus should be directed at evaluating how toxic that effect is and the impact of exposure. For example, he points to a project that has mapped global soil lead contamination and shows that many places in Sydney have more than double the recommended amount of lead but it poses little-to-no risk to residents health. We live in a contaminated and industrial environment, he says. EPA chief executive Tony Chappel says its vital to ensure projects are well designed and comply with the law. The problem at Cadia is that the mine has been very dramatically exceeding the clean air regulatory standard in terms of the dust coming out of the site. No mine is allowed to operate like that, he says. If one operator is not meeting the standard, it obviously puts doubt in peoples minds about the broader industry. A well-designed and regulated mine can be a tremendous source of good in a community and globally for the planet. While Chappel is sympathetic to Cadia residents health concerns, he says the top priority is ensuring the mine complies with its legal obligations. Most days, Retallack cries. Sometimes your stress bucket is so full it only takes the tiniest thing to completely overwhelm you, she says. We are like that all the time. The network members are determined to fight by campaigning for more regulatory investigations for as long as they can. But Harries faces a difficult decision.

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The mine intends to expand its operations to border her property and her neighbours have sold to Newcrest. We expect to work with the mines ... and we dont want to see them close. But we deserve to be able to have clean air and not be subjected to their heavy contamination. Chappel says there is room for improvement in the regulatory space, including better handling of advice, from the EPA to the planning system, and how that advice takes shape in the form of project conditions. A Newcrest spokesperson said it had heard of community members undertaking their own blood tests but had not been informed by NSW Health about these results. We continue to work with residents on their concerns raised in a transparent and factual manner, the spokesperson said. We do not compromise on peoples health and safety and remain firmly committed to meeting all our obligations in a way that is aligned with our values. Newcrest has also provided bottled drinking water to residents in the area who requested it. Earlier this week, Cadia mines general manager Mick Dewar told the ABC that the EPA had rightly pulled it into line over its lack of compliance. Theres too much dust coming from the [mine], he said. Our most recently installed vent rise was found to be emitting dust quite a way above acceptable compliance levels.

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Kgari will no longer be known as Fraser Island as a result of lobbying by its traditional owners. It doesnt achieve anything, it doesnt address Indigenous disadvantage, it doesnt address real problems, a One Nation spokesman said. On top of that the vast majority of Australians will continue to use the original [English] name  the community sentiment is against it. Professor Nicholas Evans, an Australian National University specialist in Indigenous languages, said place names touched a nerve because they were an assertion of power. Its a common problem across the world  different cultures wrestle for control of language, and the person who gets to choose the name is the boss, he said. In basic terms, any time a country conquers another country, they rename things. Then people try to wrestle control back again. An example is Ukraine, where the name of the capital was changed from Kiev, which is derived from the Russian language, to Kyiv, which is Ukrainian. Its a subtle difference, but its important because it says this is our country. While the linguistic power struggle can antagonise both sides of the debate, Evans said using Indigenous place names alongside European names played a practical role. It may seem like a small thing but its part of a bigger national project. Having names side by side on a sign is a simple but effective way of saying that there are different cultures here, different interpretations of history and we respect that, he said. My sense is that more and more people are making the shift towards curiosity, towards finding out more about Indigenous culture in their region.

Loading In all states and territories, governments have policies that encourage the use of Indigenous place names. NSW has had a bipartisan view supporting dual naming for two decades, and Victoria and NSW both strongly encourage the use of Indigenous names for new suburbs, bridges and capital works projects. The NSW Minister for Indigenous Affairs and Treaty, David Harris, said he believed the governments dual-naming policy had broad community support. As I see it, its about building more meaning, and being accepting of everything thats happened, rather than having a narrow view of history, Harris said. Weve got to acknowledge the good, bad and ugly. Were an interesting, multicultural place, and its a good thing when our place names reflect that. Then there is the tourism angle  the surveys show that 85 per cent of international tourists that come here want to engage with Indigenous culture, learn about songlines and stories. Merri-bek Mayor Mark Riley at Coburg Town Hall on the day the council changed its name. Credit: Justin McManus

A minority of name changes are driven by a view that an existing European name is inappropriate. Merri-bek Council in northern Melbourne received 6315 survey responses when it floated the idea of changing its name from Moreland  a name which commemorated a Jamaican slave estate. Only 6 per cent of those who responded wanted to keep the old name. There was similar strong support when Beowa National Park on the NSW South Coast changed its name from Ben Boyd National Park  a reference to a pastoralist who also practised slavery. Yet Ben Boyd Road in Sydneys Neutral Bay retained its name last year after a council survey found 54 per cent of respondents wanted it to stay as it was. The national park previously named in honour of Ben Boyd was completely renamed as a result of Boyds links to slavery. The passion people have about place names and connection to their country comes through in the submissions we receive every day, said Narelle Underwood, chair of the NSW Geographical Names Board, the 25th Surveyor-General of NSW and the first woman to hold the role. We always have to balance a range of views and test the arguments and then take it back to the public for consultation, so the process can take quite a while, she said.

Underwood said that in her experience, once the newness had worn off, people tended to appreciate the addition of a new name. I think the most famous one Australians can lean on is [changing] Ayers Rock to Uluru. Uluru has been accepted as the name of the geographical feature once better known as Ayers Rock. Credit: Global Headquarters The board is set to meet on Tuesday and one item on its agenda is the introduction of the local Indigenous name Gulumada for a large region of the Blue Mountains. That proposal arose from the detective work of sleuths at the Dyarubbin project, a collaborative research effort studying Indigenous history of the Hawkesbury River, north-west of Sydney. In 2017, historian Grace Karskens was scrolling through a microfiche at the State Library of NSW as part of her research for a book on the areas past and came across a previously unknown document written in 1829 by a Presbyterian minister named John McGarvie. It detailed 178 Indigenous names for culturally significant places in the district, compiled from interviews with traditional owners, bringing to light knowledge that had been thought lost for over a century.

Id been working on the book for years and this kind of research can be really boring, page after page, said Karskens, an emeritus professor at the University of NSW. Then bang! This amazing document. I thought I was dreaming. Loading The major research project, comprising a mix of Indigenous and non-Indigenous specialists, has been able to restore Indigenous names to dozens of sites along the Hawkesbury region. As a result, we now know that the area now known as Richmond township was once called Marrengorra, Windsor was Bulyayorang and Sackville was Dorumbolooa. Encouragingly for Karskens, some of the place names she and her colleagues dug up in their research have already flowed into local discourse. I was down at Wisemans Ferry and there was a poster up for a festival at Wulu-marrang, Karskens said, recognising the name from McGarvies list that referred to a low-lying area beside the curve of the river. Nobody had told them to use the Indigenous name, they just did it and people knew where it was and where to go. Its just happening naturally and I think thats wonderful.
In remarkable fashion, royal commissioner Catherine Holmes has combined humanity for the victims of robo-debt with unflinching scrutiny of what went wrong with the failed welfare repayment scheme. Her report, at nearly 1000 pages, compellingly sets out where blame lies and how accountability can be pursued, as well as how legal and administrative processes should be strengthened.

But we shouldnt miss the deeper structural problems in the Australian welfare state that this royal commission has brought to light. More profoundly, though, weve been presented with a rare opportunity to disrupt punitive, stigmatising attitudes towards the poor.

Robo-debt royal commissioner Catherine Holmes, SC, delivered her 990-page report to Governor-General David Hurley on Friday morning. Credit: AAP

The report stresses the need to take vulnerability seriously, design policies and processes with a primary emphasis on ... recipients, and involve advocacy groups and frontline staff meaningfully in programs.

I was trying my best to keep my house  the roof over our head, robo-debt victim Sandra Bevan is quoted as telling the commission. I was working so hard It was just a really horrible time. And it was just made worse by these constant accusations of me apparently doing the wrong thing when I went to such lengths to do the right thing.
The red handfish is one of three critically endangered handfish at the centre of a national conservation project established in 2018. The other two are the spotted handfish, thought to now number fewer than 3000, and Ziebells handfish, which hasnt been seen since 2007. Bessell says there are many reasons the three species  and handfish worldwide  are in trouble. Regarding the red handfish, primary threats include climate change, pollution and overgrazing of its habitat by the short-spined sea urchin, which has flourished thanks to the decline of its predator, the lobster. The red handfish also has some intrinsic challenges preventing it making new homes in new places.

Loading It can swim but lacks a swim bladder to aid the process, and prefers to use its hand-shaped pectoral fins to walk across the seafloor. As one might imagine, this can be slow-going, and Bessells research has shown the species really dont move very much, making it extremely susceptible to any changes in the small areas they inhabit. The furthest a fish has moved within my study was 100 metres, but that was in 540 days, he says. The smallest distance ... was 30 centimetres in 500 days. To make matters worse, red handfish dont spend their early stages drifting as larvae within the water column, like other species. Essentially, they stay where they hatch.

So, everything considered, whats the best way to ensure the visually spectacular and charismatic species doesnt vanish altogether? The current focus is on a helping human hand, something Bessell considers a moral obligation given human pressures have endangered it. There are fewer than 3000 spotted handfish. Credit: CSIRO For some time, researchers have carefully harvested clutches of wild red handfish eggs and reared them in captivity, before returning them to their homes in Frederick Henry Bay, in south-east Tasmania. Its hoped the process will increase the numbers so they survive long enough to reproduce.

Bessell recalls a nerve-racking mission a few years ago to release carefully reared handfish into the wild. The feeling of like, Wow this is actually conservation action. I felt privileged to be a part of that, he says. There were three groups of us and each had five or so fish to release. It was a meticulously planned mission to get the fish from where theyd been reared and onto a boat, out into the bay and then down to the floor for release by scuba teams. I remember tipping the bag up and thinking, Out you go, welcome to the real world.

Loading Four of them swam out really quite peacefully, but there was a fifth that didnt ... It was like a kid that didnt quite want to leave, but it did eventually. We sat there, watching these fish, for 10 minutes or so just to make sure they were OK. It was just really nice to see that. The feeling of privileged awe the researcher describes is familiar to biologist Rachelle Hawkins, who has been breeding seahorses for research, public and private aquariums for 25 years. The owner of Seahorse World, north of Launceston, has helped rear red handfish in captivity and treasures the achievement of handing 18 of them to researchers for release a few years ago.

She and the Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium recently received some new wild spotted handfish and will both attempt to breed them. Shes hoping for success, having also done this in 2017. Loading Back then there was no way to tell the gender of the fish they had, so it was a case of hope, wait and see. For years we were guessing what sexes we had in the tanks. But then the Melbourne Aquarium employed the use of ultrasound technology, Hawkins says. If you get them at the right time, you are able to see the eggs or sperm in there, through ultrasound. That was quite revolutionary, so then we could sex them and make sure we had a male and a female.

Now that technology is available, and we have another 10 and Melbourne has got another 10, were going to try again, starting from a better knowledge point. Hopefully well have some spotted handfish to release in the not-too-distant future. The national handfish recovery team is co-ordinating research for the three species in line with their recovery plans. The team includes experts from government, the CSIRO and the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies at the University of Tasmania. AAP
Storm surges and blizzards were forecast for Victorias alpine region on Saturday as a cold front crossed the state, bringing damaging winds and possibly the highest tide in almost a decade to the city.

The Bureau of Meteorology issued a severe weather warning on Friday as 100km/h winds were recorded in the higher parts of Victoria. The State Emergency Service received 292 requests for assistance across the 24 hours to 4.30pm Saturday.

The SES issued an advice message for storm surges on Saturday night for South Wharf and Southbank, on the southern edge of Melbournes CBD. The peak storm surge time for Port Phillip was expected to be about 7pm.

The alert said part of the popular Yarra River Promenade should be avoided because the severe weather was predicted to cause very high sea levels that could bring localised storm surges, which may affect nearby buildings and thoroughfares.
While the Fleurieu Peninsulas drop-dead gorgeous beaches and incredible wines scream summer, the South Australian regions secluded Inman Valley shines brightest when the temperature plummets. Home to luxury off-grid pod Esca at Nest and Nature, pour yourself an alfresco bath and soak beneath the stars, watch wallabies graze and enjoy a McLaren Vale red and toasted marshmallows around the firepit. Dont feel like lifting a finger? Take in sweeping valley vistas to the Southern Ocean at the flick of a switch from your king bed. Nectre wood fires, stone bathtubs, bespoke furniture and lighting and more on offer. See southaustralia.com

Heading to the country provides relaxation for the mind and the soul  in all types of weather. Here are 10 of the best regions around Australia to escape to in winter.

Explore the rugged wintry charm of the Bellarine Peninsula, take the ferry from Queenscliff to Sorrento, visit boutique breweries, dine at hatted restaurants and hop between cool climate vineyards. Not only does the Bellarine offer sensational surf breaks (at their best in winter), farm gates, distilleries and more theres no shortage of beautiful accommodation including the new Sagres Queenscliff  which pays homage to Portugals most south-western point  burrowed into the coastline of Nuns Beach. Constructed in 1991 by Lady Susannah and Sir Rupert Clarke, the contemporary five-bedroom house has had a complete makeover and is now filled with hand-picked furniture, art and textiles and offers direct beach access. See visitvictoria.com

Make the switch to off-peak Byron in northern NSW

Every man (and woman and child) and their dogs flock here in summer, but winter brings out a whole other side to Byron Bay. Embrace endless farmland vistas, uncrowded beaches and mild winter days that hover around 21 degrees. Underpinned by a strong sustainability ethos and positioned on a family farm on Arakwal country just 10 minutes from beaches, Carinya Byron Bay invites travellers to hunker down in one of six luxury villas complete with two bedrooms, full kitchen and private outdoor shower. Explore the hinterland towns of Bangalow and Newrybar, nab tickets to Splendour in the Grass (but hurry, its on between July 21 and 23 this year), do a gin tasting at Cape Byron Distillery and wake to cows grazing outside your window. See visitnsw.com

Have a wintry whale of a time along the whale highway

When the summer crowds clear out, the 98,000-hectare Great Lakes Marine Park, spread along NSWs Mid North Coast, delivers its own type of magic. Despite the dip in temperature, clear blue waters, practically empty beaches and surf breaks plus the Southern Hemispheres largest shifting sand dunes make winter one of the best times to explore Port Stephens. In winter, its a cinch to nab bookings at the regions waterfront cafes and restaurants which place you in the front row for the great whale migration. Dreamy holiday homes like Salt at Shoal Bay offer unrivalled vistas across the bay to Yacaaba and Tomaree headlands. See visitnsw.com
The US have been doing it for decades without serious incident  and this will give us the skills, knowledge and attitude to repatriate that to Australia. Nuclear Power School is often acknowledged as the most challenging training course in the US military. According to the navys website, students typically spend 40-45 hours per week in the classroom with an additional 10 to 35 hours per week of study outside of lecture hours. Australia is expected to announce it will buy up to five Virginia-class nuclear submarines from the US as a stopgap. Credit: In addition to meeting physical standards and security clearance requirements, enlisted applicants must be high school graduates who have scored in the top percentile in the militarys aptitude exam. Think of it as a university engineering degree crammed into six months, says Heydon. Filled with subjects such as maths, physics, and thermodynamics, theres an exam every week for 24 weeks, culminating in a major test at the end of the year to ensure you have what it takes to safely operate nuclear machinery.

And that, in itself, is no ordinary task. After all, nuclear-powered submarines such as the Virginia class models used by the US Navy can stay submerged for up to three months at a time  far longer than Australias fleet of diesel submarines, which need to frequently resurface to replenish oxygen and battery power. Known as the apex predators of the sea, they are also heavily armed  each boat can carry about 37 torpedo-sized weapons, including Tomahawk missiles  and can seek and destroy enemy ships, conduct land attacks, and carry out intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions. The Australians spent about 40-45 hours per week in the classroom with an additional 10 to 35 hours per week of study outside of lecture hours. So why did the group decide to embark on such a career path in the first place? Being a submariner is a little bit strange, in and of its own right, but the challenge of operating and leading teams in nuclear-powered propulsion is something that really appealed to me, said Klyne, a father of three originally from Brisbane.

Hall, another Brisbanite who used to be a signals and communications officer on HMAS Rankin and is the youngest of the group, said he saw an opportunity for personal growth. Loading And Heydon, a former marine engineering officer on HMAS Dechaineux, pointed to the research and technological advances for Australia. Theres lots of opportunity within this program: for engineers, for logisticians, for all rates and officers and branches  not just within the navy but within the public service and industry, said the former Toowoomba resident. Were the start; the tip of the spear. Unveiled in March by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, US President Joe Biden and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, AUKUS represents the biggest leap in Australias defence capability in history.

The sweeping plan will begin with more visits to Australian ports by US submarines this year and British vessels from 2026, before a fixed rotation of naval power in Perth from 2027. Over time, Australia will aim to build a new fleet of nuclear-powered submarines, entering service in the 2040s. Loading In the meantime, Australia will buy at least three Virginia-class submarines from the US, pending approval from the US Congress. However, questions remain about the lengthy time frame and eye-watering cost; the maze of US export control laws that must be reformed for America to share nuclear technology secrets with Australia; and whether enough people can be recruited to build and run the new subs. Another question is whether Canberra is now tied to the whims of Washington. Asked if Australia could develop its own nuclear training school to train officers, Vice Admiral Hammond replied: I think if were serious about developing a sovereign nuclear submarine capability, then in time, definitely all parts of the ecosystem should be built and operated by Australians, in Australia.
On a warm summer morning in Japan at the end of June, I journeyed on a serene three-hour car ride outside Tokyo to the Northeast town of Iwaki, Fukushima, with the French luxury brand Saint Laurent. The beautiful coastal community holds a significant meaning to Chinese artist Cai Guo-Qiangwhose work is commissioned by Creative Director Anthony Vaccarello to promote the Maisons creative ventures beyond fashionand has been his home in Japan for the last nine years with his wife, Hong Hong. It is also a town deeply devastated by the harrowing Tohuku Earthquake and Tsunami in 2011.

I arrived at Yotsukara Beach, Iwaki, to beautiful, clear blue skies, providing the perfect setting for Cais daytime fireworks displaya first for Japan. Titled When the Sky Blooms with Sakura, the project pays tribute to the lives lost that fateful day and serves as a reminder of the harm humans have inflicted upon nature.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Cai Guo-Qiang  (@caistudio)

For the uninitiated to Cais over 40-year-long career, his work is underscored by a fascination with the universe, extraterrestrials and the unseen world. In fact, on numerous occasions, he has explored the possibility of life in outer space in his work, specifically in his 1986 piece, Project for the Extraterrestrials, comprising a series of explosion events that aim to establish a connection with aliens.

"My early interest in the cosmic space was extended into the internal universe and life. Additional elements added to my arsenal include feng shui, Chinese medicine and herbal medicine."

Recognised for his pioneering usage of gunpowder in art and his grand outdoor explosion events, Cais works are influenced by his sensitive reflections on social issues and his surroundings. The globally acclaimed artist has worked and lived in New York since 1995 with various projects and exhibitions worldwide and has even held the role of Director of Visual and Special Effects for the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

Art in the sky

For approximately thirty minutes, against the backdrop of the sea, 40,000 choreographed fireworks were launched into the sky, creating a magnificent 400-metre-wide and 130-metre-high spectacle. Setting the scene for each explosion, Cai shares the stories of each act with his audience. The mighty Black Waves symbolises the pain of the past, whilst the chilling white wall of smoke, dubbed Memorial Monument, represents mourning for the devastation of the tsunami, pandemic and previous wars.

The mood was not all sombre and solemn, thoughin the latter part of the show, bright and joyful pink fireworks emerged like a cluster of sakura in the sky, conveying the artist and Iwakis hope and dreams for the future. The sakura blooms echoes the ongoing Project to Plant Ten Thousand Cherry Blossom Trees, initiated by the people of the town, which aims to transform the land contaminated by the disaster at the nuclear power plant into a pink sea of sakura that can be when viewed even from outer space in the years to come.

'When the Sky Blooms with Sakura' daytime fireworks display by Cai Guo-Qiang 1/5 'When the Sky Blooms with Sakura' daytime fireworks display by Cai Guo-Qiang 2/5 'When the Sky Blooms with Sakura' daytime fireworks display by Cai Guo-Qiang 3/5 'When the Sky Blooms with Sakura' daytime fireworks display by Cai Guo-Qiang 4/5 'When the Sky Blooms with Sakura' daytime fireworks display by Cai Guo-Qiang 5/5

Watch the beauty of the project here:

Ramble in the Cosmos

View this post on Instagram A post shared by  NACT (@thenationalartcentertokyo)

The daytime explosions project in Iwaki serves as a prelude to Cais exhibition in the National Art Center Tokyos Special Exhibition Gallery, co-presented by Saint Laurent, running now until the 21st of August 2023. Expect an immersive exhibition of Cais works, from his 1991 Primeval Fireball to some of his recent creations today, which include kinetic LED light installations titled Encounter with the Unknown. This series features lit-up objects such as UFOs, planets, wormholes and more, depicting his longstanding yearning and curiosity about the universe. Approximately 50 works will be on display, including pieces from Cais personal collection. Its one exhibition you wont want to miss if youre in Toyko in the next two months.

'Ramble in the CosmosFrom Primeval Fireball Onward' by Cai Guo-Qiang 1/6 'Ramble in the CosmosFrom Primeval Fireball Onward' by Cai Guo-Qiang 2/6 'Ramble in the CosmosFrom Primeval Fireball Onward' by Cai Guo-Qiang 3/6 'Ramble in the CosmosFrom Primeval Fireball Onward' by Cai Guo-Qiang 4/6 'Ramble in the CosmosFrom Primeval Fireball Onward' by Cai Guo-Qiang 5/6 'Ramble in the CosmosFrom Primeval Fireball Onward' by Cai Guo-Qiang 6/6

The National Art Center, Tokyo, is located at 7 Chome-22-2 Roppongi, Minato City. For more information on the exhibition, click here.

For more art and design stories, click here.
Powerhouse Animation has voluntarily recognized a bargaining unit of 129 artists and production workers at the Texas-based studio.

This marks the first time that animation workers will be represented by The Animation Guild in a right-to-work state. In a right-to-work state, no individual can be forced to pay dues or fees to a labor union as a condition of their employment. That means its up to each employee whether or not they decide to join a union, even though they would still be protected by any collective bargaining agreement negotiated by the union.

Powerhouses decision to recognize the bargaining unit also means that Texas becomes the second state outside of California to have TAG-represented animation workers.

Powerhouse Animation artists have worked on numerous popular animated series including Netflixs Castlevania and Masters of the Universe: Revelation. Powerhouse also operates a smaller studio in Los Angeles, which is already signed to a collective bargaining agreement with the Guild.

Now that the studio has recognized the workers bargaining unit, Powerhouse and TAG will begin negotiations on a first collective bargaining agreement.

In a release, TAG business representative Steve Kaplan said:

Representing the Powerhouse artistic and production staff further solidifies The Animation Guild as the Union setting the standard for workplace conditions in the animation industry. I also want to commend Powerhouse leadership in reaching a voluntary recognition agreement. I look forward to building on our established good relationship in Los Angeles to reach a first contract with the Austin studio.

Powerhouse CEO and chief creative officer Brad Graeber added:

As a studio founded by animators who wanted to improve the industry, Powerhouse has always tried to put our incredible team of artists first. We have strived to be a transparent and fair company that does our best to balance the work and life of artists in an industry that often abuses talent. When we learned that our staff wanted to organize, we worked with the union to recognize their organization in a way that was fair for our very unique studio in Texas.

Character artist and Powerhouse Organizing Committee member Suzanne Sharp said:
Chinese animated epic ChangAn will release wide in its native territory this weekend, and it could be in for a huge debut after impressing with $3.2 million in preview sales last weekend.

ChangAn is produced by Light Chaser Animation, a Beijing-based studio with an impressive reputation for making films that blend high-quality animation with traditional Chinese culture and mythology. Other films produced by the studio include White Snake, Green Snake and the New Gods films Nezha Reborn and Yang Jian.

Set during the Tang Dynasty (618-907), ChangAn is based on the interweaving life stories of the legendary poets Gao Shi and Li Bai, the latter being one of Chinas most famous poets ever. In the capital city of ChangAn, years after the An Lushan Rebellion, Tang general Gao Shi tells a chief eunuch in the military the sprawling story of his lifelong friendship with Li Bai.

One of Light Chasers most ambitious films to date, ChangAn clocks in at a 168-minutes, which makes it one of the longest Chinese animated features ever. According to director Zou Jing, production pushed Light Chasers crew to its limits to create the titular capital city where much of the story is told.

In an interview with China Pictorial, Zou Jing discussed the practical challenges faced in bringing their story to the screen.

The biggest challenge we faced was determining how to present the impressive prosperity of the Tang Dynasty. Before production began, our team studied historical materials, read extensively about Tang Dynasty culture and the poets lives, and researched the customs and rituals of that time. We invited experts from various fields to guide us to make sure the content was accurate and credible, and we also learned thoroughly about the poems in this film. Our team adopted an audio-visual language and performance design typical of animation, hoping to make the best of animation-based imagination and show poetic scenes with the greatest Eastern features.

ChangAn mixes history and myth, held together by the classic poetry of many of its real-life characters. According to Zou Jing, animation made that possible.

In this film, animation empowered us with a strong expressive means to present Chinese poetry culture in a more impressive way so that the audience could better resonate with the poetic mood and artistic concepts of the poets.

ChangAn is set up as the first in a series of New Culture films that Light Chaser plans to produce. Speaking with Global Times, Zou Jing explained, The New Culture series will be based on actual historical figures in China. This is the core of the series.
The Tennessee Board of Regents will convene a special called meeting to consider criteria for the next president of Cleveland State Community College, the first step in the presidential search process.

The board will meet virtually, via Microsoft Teams teleconferencing, at 1:30 p.m. CT/2:30 p.m. ET, Thursday, July 13. The meeting will be livestreamed and archived on the TBR website at https://www.tbr.edu/board/ july-13-2023-special-called- board-meeting .

Board materials, including the proposed criteria, will be posted on the same webpage. Anyone needing direct access to the Teams meeting, other than the livestream, may contact Board Secretary Mariah Perry at mariah.perry@tbr.edu or 615-366-3927 by 3 p.m. CT, July 12.

The next president will succeed Dr. Ty Stone. Dr. Ray Brooks, retired president of Piedmont Technical College in Greenwood, South Carolina, is serving as interim president.

After approval of the criteria, a search advisory committee will be appointed, with board members and representatives of the colleges faculty, staff, students and alumni and of the civic and business communities in the colleges Southeast Tennessee service area. The position will be posted for applications and nominations, along other information about the search process and the college, on the TBR executive search webpage at https://www.tbr.edu/hr/ executivesearches .

The committee will review candidates and recommend finalists, who will then participate in public forums on the campus. TBR Chancellor Flora W. Tydings will review input from the community after the forums and conduct final interviews to recommend a single finalist to the board for its consideration for the appointment.

Cleveland State Community College is a comprehensive two-year public community college, enrolling approximately 3,200 for-credit students and 1,500 noncredit students in a typical fall semester. It offers degrees in a wide variety of programs including Associate of Arts, Associate of Fine Arts, Associate of Science, and Associate of Applied Science degree options, as well as 30 different certificates. In addition to its 105-acre main campus in Cleveland, the college has offices and classrooms in Athens and Vonore and offers classes throughout the service area of Bradley, McMinn, Meigs, Monroe, and Polk Counties.
On July 27, in observance of the Korean Armistice Agreement in 1953, I will be flying to south Georgia to pick up Korean War Medal of Honor recipient Col. Ralph Puckett (USA, Ret.), now 97 years old. I will accompany Col. Puckett, a Baylor School graduate, to Chattanooga for a commemorative event at the Coolidge National Medal of Honor Heritage Center.





Today, I profile another Korean War Medal of Honor recipient who is featured in the Medal of Honor Heritage Center: Master Sergeant Ray Eugene Duke, who grew up near Chattanooga





MSGT Duke was born in 1923 in Whitwell, Tennessee, just a stones throw from Chattanooga.He joined the Army during World War II. In 1950, he was assigned to Company C, 21st Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division.





On June 25, 1950, 10 divisions of the North Korean Peoples Army (KPA) launched an attack into the Republic of Korea in the south. The North Koreans overwhelmed the Republic of Korea Army (ROK) and advanced south, preparing to conquer the entire nation. The United Nations ordered an intervention to prevent the conquest of South Korea. U.S. President Harry S. Truman sent ground forces to assist the ROK. The 24th Infantry Division was closest to Korea (stationed in Japan), and it was the first American division to respond. The 24ths first mission was to take the initial shock of the North Korean assault, then try to slow its advance until more U.S. divisions could arrive.





The 21st Infantry Regiment led the way.





On November 3, 1950, the Red Chinese so-called Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) entered the war. PLA attacks forced UN forces to retreat back across the Han River in January 1951. The 21st Regiment fought in the First United Nations Counteroffensive between February and March 1951, and the 24th Infantry Division participated in Operation Killer, pushing PLA forces north of the Han River. This operation was followed by Operation Ripper, which recaptured Seoul in March. In early April 1951, Operation Rugged and Operation Dauntless saw the division advance north of the 38th Parallel (DMZ) and reestablish itself along the previous line of defense.





In late April, the 21st Infantry regiment countered the Chinese Communist Forces Spring Offensive.





Upon being informed that several men in his platoon had been isolated by the enemy and were in the process of being overwhelmed, MSGT Duke led a small force in a daring assault that recaptured the area near Mugok from the enemy. In a follow-up attack by a large force of North Koreans, Duke was wounded by mortar fire. Disregarding his own serious injuries, he encouraged his men to hold their positions in spite of being subjected to extreme fire from the enemy. Wounded a second time, Duke received battlefield first aid and returned to his position. Duke repeatedly braved enemy fire to move amongst his men to instill confidence. During the action on April 26, he was wounded a third time in both legs, leaving him unable to walk. At that time, he urged his men to leave him and retreat to safety. As they left, all saw Ray pouring devastating fire into the North Korean line. With the position finally overrun, Ray Duke was captured. He died as a POW.





MSGT Duke distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry and outstanding courage above and beyond the call of duty in action against the enemy. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor on March 19, 1954, in a ceremony with his family.





MSGT Duke, your example of valor  an American Patriot defending Liberty for all  is eternal.





Chattanooga is the birthplace of the Medal of Honor. Visit our National Medal of Honor Heritage Center.





Mark Caldwell
The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday night granted Tennessees emergency motion for a stay of the preliminary injunction in L.W. v. Skrmetti - a lawsuit seeking to overturn the Tennessee Legislature's bill barring youth gender change medical procedures in the state.

Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti said, The case is far from over, but this is a big win. The Court of Appeals lifted the injunction, meaning the law can be fully enforced, and recognized that Tennessee is likely to win the constitutional argument and the case.

AG Skrmetti earlier filed a motion for an emergency stay with the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in response to the temporary partial injunction imposed by the district court in the case.

He noted that "With bipartisan support, the General Assembly and Governor Bill Lee enacted a law to protect children from the irreparable harms of medical procedures used to treat gender dysphoria. Just three days before the law was to go into effect, a federal district court in Tennessee mostly blocked the law.

Until the American medical establishment catches up with the rest of the world on this issue, we will continue to defend the General Assemblys authority to protect children from these irreversible harms.

His legal brief in the case said, Tennessee should not have to wait while hundreds, if not thousands, of children are set upon the path to sterilization. Nor should it take months of briefing to see how wrong the district courts decision is. Each day this injunction persists, Tennessees children, and thus Tennessee, will suffer irreparable harm. The Court should enter a stay.

Officials at Vanderbilt University Medical Center earlier announced that they were pausing "gender-affirming surgeries" for minors in order to review their practices.
The clerk at the Mapco, 7701 Lee Hwy., told police a man was yelling at and jumping in front of cars in the parking lot. Police spoke with the man and told him to stop and that he is not welcome at the Mapco for the rest of the day.



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A man on Talley Road who had called police about a disorder told them when they arrived that his wife was gone and that he no longer wished to make a report. Police checked around the house to make sure everything was okay and then vacated the premises.

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A woman on 2nd Avenue told police that at sometime, someone used her EBT card to charge $289. There is no suspect information available.

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A man told police that he was told two of his laundry carts (belonging to his business) were at the Motel 6, 5505 Brainerd Road. The man arrived at the motel and checked the laundry room, where his carts were discovered. Management said the carts were not ordered by them and returned them to the man.

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An employee of United Rental told police he went to the Riverfront parking, 190 Riverfront Pkwy., to retrieve a Polaris UTV someone had rented, to find it had been stolen. He tracked the UTV to an address on Old Ringgold Road. Police responded to the address on Old Ringgold Road, where the man had located the UTV. He told police a company in Rochester Hills, Mi. had rented the UTV for Riverbend and had notified United Rentals to retrieve the UTV. The man is not sure when the UTV was stolen, but said it was within the last 24-48 hours. No suspect information was available.

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A woman told police that while parked at Hamilton Place between noon-6 p.m., her 2019 Nissan Altima was damaged on the rear bumper. It is unknown how the damage occurred.

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A man told police he left his truck parked in a lot somewhere around 1400 Market St. and believes it might have been a Republic Parking lot. He left his vehicle parked there around 7 p.m. while he attended the Riverbend festival and he discovered damage on it when he got back to it around three or four hours later. The damage was on the front bumper. There have been no estimates for repairs yet.

* * *

A disorder was reported on Shallowford Road. Police found a woman in her vehicle while it was already hooked up to an ACE Company tow truck for repossession. It was reported that the woman did not get into her vehicle until after the tow truck had already hooked up to the vehicle. Police informed her that she must exit the vehicle and file a complaint with the company to which she is making payments on the vehicle, as well as ACE tow company. Police observed the Order of Repossession. The driver of the ACE tow truck left with the woman and is towing it to their lot on Rossville Boulevard.
Just about everyone knows the timeless nursery rhyme Mary Had A Little Lamb. However, do you know anything about the woman who wrote it?

It was Sarah Josepha Hale, a poet and advocate for womens education in the 19th century.

Sarah was born in Newport, New Hampshire, in October 1788; She was born to two parents who deeply valued education and ensured she was well-educated throughout her childhood, which wasnt very common during those times.

When she was in her early 20s, Sarah met lawyer David Hale, who, like her parents, was encouraging of her scholarly endeavors and having the opportunity to continue to educate herself. Sarah married David in 1813, and they had five children together.

When David sadly passed away nine years after they were married, Sarah published her first collection of poems to start making money to support her family. Sarah also wrote a novel titled Northwood; A Tale of New England in 1827, which established her career as a writer.

Her most famous book was Poems for Our Children, which was published in 1830 and contained the iconic nursery rhyme Mary Had A Little Lamb, a true story based on a young girl named Mary and her pet lamb. It became quite popular.

Sarah was offered a job as an editor for a magazine dedicated to women called Ladies Magazine and held the position until 1836. She mostly worked with material from American female contributors.

She then became an editor at Godeys Ladys Book, the leading womens literary and fashion magazine in America at the time. She worked there for an impressive 40 years.

Interestingly, Sarah is one of the historical figures most involved in making Thanksgiving a national holiday in America.

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Pennsylvania's Democrat gov. nixes school choice program despite campaign promise

Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro has vowed to line-item veto a school choice program despite previously expressing support for such initiatives during his gubernatorial campaign last year amid conflict in the state legislature over the budget.

The Pennsylvania House approved HB 611 Wednesday, a budget bill for the fiscal year 2023-24, following Shapiro's promise to veto a $100 million school voucher program approved by Republicans in the state Senate last week.

Shapiro issued a statement Wednesday, explaining he will strike the appropriation for the Pennsylvania Award for Student Success scholarship program from the budget bill via line-item veto because he was unwilling to hold up the entire state budget process due to partisan disagreements on the issue.

The PASS program would award a taxpayer-funded grant to eligible students enrolled in a failing public school to attend a private school.

Shapiro stated, however, that he and the state's legislative leaders will work on assessing educational programs in the future.

"This is just one of several initiatives important to me that have passed in one chamber but not the other  initiatives like statute of limitations reform, an increase in our minimum wage, commonsense gun safety legislation, and the Fairness Act," Shapiro stated. "It is incumbent upon leaders in both chambers to find ways to work together so that everyone's ideas are carefully considered and advanced through the legislative process and we can deliver for all Pennsylvanians."

"Our Commonwealth should not be plunged into a painful, protracted budget impasse while our communities wait for the help and resources this commonsense budget will deliver," he continued.

Several Pennsylvania Senate Republicans, including Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward, Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman and Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Scott Martin, accused the governors of betraying a good-faith agreement in a joint statement.

"The Senate Republican Caucus worked diligently to pass a bipartisan budget. We negotiated in good faith and were eager to stand with Governor Shapiro on one of his priority campaign commitments  supporting school choice opportunities," the lawmakers stated.

"It is a shame the governor does not have enough respect and standing within his own party to follow through with his promise. Strong leadership requires the ability to bring people together, but instead we are met with Governor Shapiro's failure to deliver his commitment to empower parents and give children access to educational opportunities."

The lawmakers contend that all children in the state should have the opportunity to receive a "quality education."

Last month, Pennsylvania affiliates of the National Education Association sent a joint letter to the governor denouncing tuition voucher plans. The letter argued that the state has "a moral and constitutional responsibility to fund its existing system of public education."

Around the same time, Shapiro appeared on Fox News, stating that he believes the way to ensure every "child of God" has a chance at success is to provide them with quality education. However, the governor also clarified that he would not take money away from public schools to achieve that outcome.

The school choice movement has gained steam in recent years as some conservative states have enacted universal school choice laws. School choice advocates say the movement is growing amid discontent from parents who are at odds with public school officials over transparency and teachings on things like race and sexuality.

In July, Arizona adopted the most robust school choice law in the United States, which ensures all K-12 students in the state are eligible for scholarship funds. Families participating in the program can receive over $6,500 per year per child for private school, homeschooling, micro schools, tutoring, or other educational services outside the public school system.

In March, Arkansas passed a bill that requires the state to adopt a universal school choice program by the 2025-2026 school year. Under the bill, students who have disabilities, are facing homeless, attended a failing school in the previous school year, or have parents who are active duty military are eligible to receive vouchers known as "Educational Freedom Accounts" for the 2023-2024 school year.

In 2021, West Virginia enacted a bill establishing the Hope Scholarship Program in which recipients can receive funding that is "equal to 100 percent of the prior year's statewide average net share aid allotted per pupil based on net enrollment adjusted for state purposes."

As a Democratic gubernatorial candidate, Shapiro made headlines last year when he expressed support for some school choice programs, backing the Lifeline Scholarship bill that would allow parents with children attending failing schools power to reallocate their children's state education dollars.

"I'm for fully funding public education. I'm for making sure we give parents the ability put their kids in the best situation for them to be able to succeed," the then-candidate said in September 2022.

"And I'm for making sure we add scholarships like Lifeline Scholarships to make sure that that's additive to their educations. That it gives them other opportunities ... to be able to help them achieve success."
Kirk Cameron demands investigation of American Library Association for religious discrimination

Kirk Cameron and his publisher, Brave Books, are calling on the federal government to investigate the American Library Association as the Christian author and actor claims the association advised libraries to find ways to block or sabotage his upcoming nationwide event in August.

Representing Cameron and Brave Books, the Texas-based First Liberty Institute sent a letter to the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services in Washington, D.C., asking the federal agency to "open an investigation into whether the American Library Association has violated federal law protecting religious liberty and failed to comply with the assurances of nondiscrimination required as a federal grant recipient."

The American Library Association (ALA), a nonpartisan, nonprofit membership organization that has been in existence since 1876, is the world's oldest and largest library association. The organization promotes libraries and library education internationally with over 49,727 members as of 2021.

Cameron told The Christian Post in an interview that ALA issued a series of advisories to multiple libraries across America for the purpose of exploring ways to "block" his nationwide "See You at the Library" event set to take place on Aug. 5.

He believes ALA made multiple attempts to prevent him and other Christian conservative book authors from hosting future faith-based story-hour events at libraries nationwide.

"First Liberty and I have launched an investigation with the federal government to hold the American Library Association accountable for their religious discrimination, willful violation of the constitution and the ALA's own internal rules to allegedly protect ALL people's access to public libraries. Accountability is coming," the author told CP in a statement.

The ALA offered The Christian Post clarification on it's position on library meeting room access after a recent "Libraries and the First Amendment" presentation by Deborah Caldwell-Stone, director of the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom.

In a statement, an ALA spokesperson said that the "Libraries and the First Amendment" presentation has been presented for nearly a decade "and discusses the public library's status as a limited public forum" and "is a resource that supports library professionals in providing meeting spaces that benefit and allow members of their communities to convene."

"Throughout the presentation, Caldwell-Stone references an interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights as it applies to meeting rooms," the spokesperson wrote in an email. "That guidance specifies that, 'Publicly funded libraries are not obligated to provide meeting room space to the public. If libraries choose to do so, such spaces are considered designated public forums, and legal precedent holds that libraries may not exclude any group based on the subject matter to be discussed or the ideas for which the group advocates.'"

"In addition, libraries that create policies regarding meeting room use, such as the possession of a library card to reserve a meeting room, must apply them to all persons and groups equally to ensure that spaces are equitably reserved for members of the community served by the library," the spokesperson added. "The Library Bill of Rights meeting room guidance further elaborates, 'Libraries do not advocate for or endorse the viewpoints expressed in meetings by meeting room users, just as they do not endorse the viewpoints of works in their collections.'"

The spokesperson stressed that the ALA has been "very clear that, just like all other policies, library policies regarding meeting rooms should not be prejudicial or discriminatory" and should follow what it considers "a reasonable content and viewpoint policy" that protects library users and staff from "harassment."

"[R]ather, they must be inclusive and follow a reasonable content and viewpoint policy that benefits all members, as well as 'user behavior policies that protect library users and staff from harassment, while maintaining their historic support for the freedom of speech,'" the spokesperson said. "Any statement or suggestion that ALA has advised otherwise is incorrect and intentionally misleading."

Cameron, known for his days on the 1980s sitcom "Growing Pains," is an outspoken Christian who has been holding library events nationwide in the last year to promote his children's books. His library events have received pushback from library staff and outside progressive groups.

He said that one of his goals in hosting public library events geared toward young audiences is to try "to encourage thousands of Americans to visit public libraries and read wholesome books to their children."

"The taxpayer-funded American Library Association is not only criticizing me, they are teaching libraries to break the law and conspiring to prevent thousands of families from visiting their own community reading rooms," Cameron said.

"Rather than being an example of genuine respect and non-discrimination, the ALA is the champ in excluding viewpoints it disagrees with and preventing families from using libraries to read to their children about faith, hope and love," Cameron continued. "ALA, why all the hate? I thought you wanted diversity of thought in the Public Square? What happened to equal opportunity for all?"

Cameron's book publishing company, Brave Books, stands with him amid the ongoing investigation.

In a statement sent to The Christian Post, the publishing company discussed why Cameron planned his upcoming nationwide story event for Aug. 5.

"We have been traveling from city to city, hosting Brave Books story hours. At these events, I meet parents and grandparents that are thankful for what we are doing, but many of them ask ... what can we do?" Brave Books wrote.

"Well ... we wanted to provide regular everyday citizens an opportunity to join the fight. Families across the country are locking arms with us for this national event we are calling 'See You at the Library.' Thousands are planning to gather at public libraries across the country on August 5 to host their own story hour," the publisher continued.

"The success of this event has led to a powerful organization called the American Library Association getting involved to try and stop citizens from joining this movement. It will not work. We will not stand by and watch a government-funded entity silence the voices of the people. Join us on August 5 and let's send a clear message to those in power trying to stop 'See You at the Library.'"
Parent wins back job after voicing objection to schools gender ideology lessons

A Christian parent governor at a local primary school in the United Kingdom has won back her position after being dismissed for voicing her concerns about the school's trans-affirming sex education policy as the High Court ruled in her favor and reinstated her to the governing body.

In a case that has significant implications for parents and school governors across the country, the Gateshead parent, known only as "Susan" to protect her children's identities, was removed from her position as a parent governor after she pointed out potential legal errors in the school's Relationships and Sex Education policy.

The Christian Institute, which represents the mother, said in a statement that the High Court reinstated her after a legal settlement was reached with the school.

"Susan conducted herself in a way that all parents would hope any good school governor would," said Ciaran Kelly, deputy director of The Christian Institute, a non-denominational charity dedicated to promoting Christian faith. "It's her job to robustly question and challenge the school, not simply rubber-stamp whatever documents are placed in front of her."

Susan first raised concerns in March 2021 about the draft RSE policy, which she believed could be unlawful. When her fellow governors did not address her concerns, she pursued the school's official complaints procedure. However, before this process had concluded, she was removed as a governor in June 2022, triggering a five-year ban on serving as a governor at any school in England.

The school's RSE policy, which Susan challenged, included lesson plans encouraging children to question their own gender identity and teaching them that "gender identity," "gender expression" and biological sex could be different, using the controversial "Genderbread Person" graphic. It also suggested that being a man or a woman was determined by personality, hobbies and clothes rather than biology.

"I was concerned at the devastation that might be done to children from teaching gender ideology," Susan said. "I'm absolutely delighted that I've been vindicated. It feels wonderful to be back and helping the school get the best outcomes for all the children there."

Despite the Governors' Code of Conduct stipulating that the power to remove a governor "should not be used simply to remove dissenting or challenging voices," an appeal panel upheld Susan's removal in September 2022. The Department for Education has yet to respond to Susan's escalated complaint, made in July of the previous year, the group said.

Susan's legal team, including human rights expert Paul Conrathe, argued that her removal violated her Article 10 right to freedom of expression. The governing body and appeal panel had acted unlawfully, they contend, and Susan should be permitted to resume her role as an elected governor.

The Gateshead primary school's governing body and the local authority have both accepted that the decision to remove Susan was unlawful. Despite this, the school's RSE policy remains in place pending a decision by the Department of Education, a response that is now almost a year overdue.

The Education Secretary Gillian Keegan, a member of the Conservative Party, recently urged schools to make all curriculum materials viewable by parents. In light of this, the Christian Institute is urging schools to make such materials available online to increase accessibility. A review of statutory guidance on RSE is also underway, prompted by concerns over the use of age-inappropriate materials in schools.

"If this decision had stood, it would have sent a terrible message to school governors," Kelly said. "Parents too would be justifiably fearful that those tasked with ensuring their children's education is lawful and appropriate may be more interested in not 'rocking the boat' than doing what is right."
Gods children are not for sale

Some people discount America as founded because of slavery. However, the founders created the framework by which it could be uprooted one day; and it was, at a cost of about 700,000 men who died in the Civil War.

Meanwhile, slavery was not unique to America, as the late Dr. Walter Williams of George Mason University once observed. In fact, what is unique were the considerable resources spent to uproot it in the Western world.

It is estimated that there are more human slaves today than there were back then, partly because of the increase in population.

Perhaps about 2 million of todays slaves are kidnapped children that are being sex-trafficked. Just in time for July Fourth comes a powerful new movie exposing this particular problem called Sound of Freedom. It stars Jim Caviezel, who played Jesus in The Passion of the Christ.

Caviezel says that by watching the movie, you are sending a statement that you are willing to fight this horrible practice of child-sex trafficking. Part of the goal of the film is to create awareness of the problem in the first place. He also said, Its got to stop. We have the power to do it.

I got to speak with Dr. Ted Baehr, the founder and publisher of Movieguide.org, which helps provide a biblical perspective on the movies, about this new movie.

Ted told me, Its a wonderful movie. Its a 4-star movie. ... These are great filmmakers. They did Bella, which is a beautiful film.

Sound of Freedom is based on the true life story of a U.S. Department of Homeland Security agent, Tim Ballard, who doggedly works to rescue children that are victims of sex trafficking. But after a while, in dangerous parts of Latin America, he is beyond the agencys jurisdiction. So he loses his job and his pension so that he might gain the freedom of these poor kids he is striving to rescue while also risking his life.

In particular, Ballard arrested an American pedophile and in the process rescued an 8-year-old boy from this miserable servitude. When Ballard found out the boy had an 11-year-old sister, he could not rest until he rescued her.

"But Homeland Security was not about to fund all that.  So the next thing that happens is he starts his own organization to go out and start dealing with some of these problems," Baehr notes. "It is an exciting and thrilling movie  It is a heavy topic. Its not for younger children. Ted adds it's not for viewers under 17.

Stanley Goldenberg of South Florida has a ministry that promotes faith-based movies. In a radio segment, Stan told me, These are little kids being used as sex slaves, sometimes multiple times a day. And then when theyre worn out, they sell their organs. This is a horrendous crime, and the thought of the filmmakers is to put this in front of people in a very well-done film. This is a top-notch film, incredible to watch in every way.

I saw Sound of Freedom at a premiere in Miami and highly recommend it  to age-appropriate audiences. The filmmakers and Tim Ballard himself appeared afterward. They said they want the movie to be like todays Uncle Toms Cabin, which pricked the conscience of the nation, helping to spark the war that ended American slavery.

Of course, Sound of Freedom deals with a most disgusting subject, but it does so in a tasteful way. Its like a crime drama that keeps you glued to your seat.

Heres the trailer for Sound of Freedom.

Historically, the Church of Jesus Christ has been at the forefront of setting prisoners free of rescuing those in danger. The least we could do is to support the efforts promoted in this movie  to work toward ending this terrible scourge of our time.

In a forward to the new book, Stealing Freedom, Alveda King, the niece of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., asseverates, As Christs ambassadors, we are called to be at the heart of every good movement of social and political concern.

William Wilberforce was the great Christian abolitionist who got slavery ended in the entire British Empire, which took him 50 years to accomplish. He once said, Let it not be said that I was silent when they needed me.

One of the lines in the movie is, Gods children are not for sale. Sound of Freedom aims to pressure authorities to more aggressively arrest and convict both the buyers and the sellers. And thus destroy this illegal market that ruins the lives of these poor children and the souls of the perpetrators.
'Exceptionally radical': UN report says anti-LGBT religious beliefs not protected human rights

A key advisor for the United Nations suggested in a recent report that "discriminatory positions of prejudice" are not protected by religious freedom rights, a report one advocacy group said could have "exceptionally radical" implications for Bible-believing Christians.

Costa Rican lawyer Victor Madrigal-Borloz, whose official title is "Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity" for the U.N., made the statement in a presentation to the U.N. Human Rights Council on June 21.

In his report to the council, Madrigal-Borloz blamed "religious communities" for "violence, discrimination and exclusion" toward gays, lesbians, bisexual and trans-identified people.

After receiving testimony from various LGBT-identified people over the last six years, Madrigal-Borloz said he frequently came across similar situations in which someone who wished to "pursue happiness by embracing their sexual orientation or gender identity" was deterred by the prospect that "the religion in which they were born would consider them as sinful, or evil; as inherently immoral, or not worthy of transcendence."

In one of the report's more targeted allegations, Madrigal-Borloz also referenced "dark corners where LGBT people are regarded as sinners," an obvious reference to the biblical teaching of various Christian denominations.

He also blamed such theology for aiding in the denial of the "right to equality" for LGBT-identified people.

"Laws enacted with the aim of mandating standards of conduct purportedly demanded by interpretations of religious dogma effectively deny [LGBT] and other gender diverse persons the right to equality and, often, equal recognition under the law," he wrote.

Madrigal-Borloz equated "hate speech" against LGBT-identified people with "positing [LGBT individuals] as a threat to the traditional family, and interpreting religious doctrines to exclude and promote violence and discrimination against homosexuality and gender nonconformity."

Religious freedoms, he added, are not adequate legal protection for anyone who uses their beliefs for not only violence but also "denial of the human rights of LGBT persons."

"Violent and discriminatory positions of prejudice are beyond the international legal protections of religious or other beliefs," he said.

Madrigal-Borloz is the same U.N. advisor who, in 2020, called for an international ban on so-called "conversion therapy," which is already banned in several U.S. states.

While the report does not establish any new U.N. policy or guidelines, the Office of Independent Expert  which works on a voluntary basis  acts as the "eyes and ears" of the body and presents recommendations based on its findings.

So what does all this mean for Christians and people of other faiths?

Arielle Del Turco, the director of the Center for Religious Liberty at the socially conservative advocacy organization Family Research Council and co-author of Heroic Faith: Hope Amid Global Persecution, called the report "staggering" and warned it could potentially lay the groundwork for more religious interference from the U.N.

While purporting to address violence against LGBT-identified groups, Del Turco said the report does not speak to violence but rather "the failure of religious groups to affirm LGBT identity or behavior."

"So by the U.N. independent expert making this report and supposedly trying to find a way for LGBT rights and religious freedom to coexist, we see even that at the very core of the report is a huge elevation for LGBT rights," she told The Christian Post.

"And so for [the U.N. advisor], that's a real problem, and he's trying to get religious groups on board for affirming these identities and behaviors."

Another troubling issue, Del Turco said, is that with this report, the U.N. appears to be acting as a theological or ideological authority for the religions of the world.

"Essentially, this U.N. expert is telling religious groups that we ourselves are interpreting our own religions incorrectly, and actually, our religions probably do affirm some of these LGBT behaviors, do affirm gender ideology," she said. "That is exceptionally radical."

Del Turco said much of what is at stake here is not merely religious freedom, but freedom of speech.

She pointed to one section of the U.N. report titled "hate speech and incitement," which includes a discussion on how religious communities discuss LGBT topics.

"For example, when Christian communities talk about sin, according to their reading of the Bible, that's a problem to these LGBT activists who are now running the United Nations," she said.

"I think this is just a recipe for more and more religious freedom violations around the world."
'Duck Dynasty' couple say Gods grace healed them after affair, abortion

Al and Lisa Robertson of the "Duck Dynasty" family discussed how God's grace healed them after Lisa had an extramarital affair and a past abortion.

During a July 2 interview with Cornerstone Chapel Pastor Gary Hamrick as part of a marriage conference at the Virginia megachurch, Lisa Robertson detailed how she has sought grace and forgiveness for her past after she had an abortion at 16, and later cheated on her husband.

You have to realize that this is a sinful situation. When I was having the affair, I knew it was wrong. I knew it was a sinful situation. But I never really saw myself in the situation until I was able to openly confess the things that I had been doing, Lisa said.

Whenever those sins came out of my mouth, and they went back ... all the way to whenever I was a little girl. Whenever those came out of my mouth, it was almost like I didn't even know who I was. I didn't even recognize myself."

Lisa, who married Al when she was 18, said that having an affair was never a decision she ever imagined herself making when they tied the knot.

Whenever you're standing before the preacher, this is not what your plan is. You're 18 years old and you're saying, 'One day, 15 years down the road, I'm going to have an affair. No, that's not how it is. Satan gets into the middle of your life and he puts his foothold there and you do things that you never could have imagined, she said.

Speaking to listeners who might be feeling guilt as a result of cheating on their spouses, Lisa advised, the most important thing that I want people to know is that Jesus Christ died for all of those sins.

He died for the person that committed murder like I did at 16 years old, having an abortion. He died for the person who slept around as a teenager, which was me. He died for the person who had an affair on their husband, and lied and cheated and stole, she said.

He died for all of those sins, everything that you can imagine. Christ took all of those sins to the cross with Him. And He did that so that we wouldn't have to pay the penalty. Because the penalty is death. And so, whenever He took that, He took the death; He took the penalty; He took the shame and the guilt, and He ridded us of it.

Lisa said after her affair, she found comfort in reading the Word of God because she read scriptures that helped her to focus on Gods capabilities to make her pure.

You can pray that prayer, 'God, please just purify my heart.' Whenever you get to that point, it's easier for you to accept those things and to accept God's forgiveness. But God's forgiveness is what you got to have first. Because you can never forgive yourself until you've got God's forgiveness, she added.

Lisa noted that although she received forgiveness from her husband and God, the forgiveness will never take away the continual regret she feels for what she did.

She said while feeling regret will never leave, shame should not remain with a person forever because of the mercy found in Jesus, adding, "the shame is at the cross."

"The regret youre always going to have. Because we do things to hurt people that we never wanted to do. Well, if I forget that, how much easier is that going to be for me to do it again? Lisa cautioned.

I continue to hold onto that regret because I want that regret to remind me of what I did. But also, I want God's mercy to remind me of where he brought me from."

While Lisa had to seek Gods forgiveness, as well as learn to forgive herself for her affair, she said her husband also had to grow to forgive her for cheating.

Al shared with listeners how he was able to forgive his wife and find healing from God. He also shared a few key ways to forgive in a godly manner.

I think that, first and foremost, is to really realize God's forgiveness. And then, how that relates to us. The Bible talks a lot about forgive others as God forgave you. And people have taken that as sort of a command, and it is. But beyond the command, I think what He's trying to relay to us is, Look, I've forgiven you of everything, he said.

He says, I'll forgive you and remember your sins no more. Meaning thats cleansed, thats washed away, thats forgotten. And so, when I began to look at forgiveness, whether its Lisa my wife, or some other person in my life, then what I'm saying is that that's when I'm the most like God is when I can extend that. And like Him, I want forgiveness to be something that then doesn't hurt us, that helps us going forward.

Many times in relationships, particularly in his own marriage, Al said, he found that when there's been an affair or something similar in a marriage relationship, the offense becomes something that's a source of pain in the future because it continues to be brought up.

When that happens, forgiveness either wasn't really extended or wasn't really accepted. Because when [forgiveness] happens, you can move forward. But when it doesn't happen, it's very difficult to move forward, Al explained.

I think that's why you see that sort of quid-pro-quo effect from God to us, us to one another, because that's what it does. It builds that in people. And so, we meet a lot of couples and they'll make a decision to stay together after an affair or something really difficult, he added.

Sometimes, forgiveness, it takes a while for true forgiveness to then be extended and accepted because it has to work both ways.
Evangelicals in Church of England warn bishops not to commend blessings for same-sex couples

Evangelicals in the Church of England are urging bishops not to commend blessings for same-sex couples.

They argue that it would be "unlawful, unconstitutional, and illegitimate" for the bishops to commend the blessings  called Prayers of Love and Faith, Church Times reports.

In a joint letter to the College of Bishops, they contend that responsibility for this should instead fall to the Synod under Canon B2, which requires a two-thirds majority to be reached in each of the Synod's three Houses.

The letter has been signed by 27 Evangelicals, including former vicar of HTB, Nicky Gumbel, and the leaders of the Prayer Book Society, New Wine, Forward in Faith, and the Catholic Group and Evangelical Group on the General Synod.

At its last meeting in February, Synod backed the Prayers of Love and Faith. Bishops have since been working to refine the prayers and draft new pastoral guidance for priests.

An update on the progress made so far will be delivered to the July meeting of Synod, taking place in York this weekend.

A paper released ahead of Synod states, "The House and College have considered the range of routes presented by the Group including Canon B5 commendation of the Prayers, B4 approval by the Convocations, Archbishops or Ordinary and B2 approval by General Synod.

"They are particularly weighing up the option of approval by the Archbishops (under Canon B4.2), as an approach that may provide more legal protection for those ministers who choose to use the Prayers.

"No final decision has been made by the House as to the route by which the prayers will be made available for use."

In their letter to bishops, the Evangelical leaders say that their "proposition of a better way forwards is still honoring the spirit of the vote at February's General Synod."

"It is not about rowing back from what was voted on," they said.

They assert that Canon B2 is the best route forward.

"Whether the prayers constitute a change in doctrine or a change in teaching (a distinction we are not yet convinced of), it is necessary to secure the agreement of Synod through the normal route for liturgical developments. This is Canon B2," the letter continues.

"Furthermore, it would be illegitimate and unconstitutional to do otherwise. To seek commendation under Canon B5 would be bypassing the Synod through placing the decision-making of a controversial and significant matter at a local level.

"To seek authorization under Canon B4.2 would be to bypass Synod through centralizing power in the hands of Archbishops Justin [Welby] and Stephen [Cottrell].

"After the emphasis on involving the views of many diverse voices in the LLF [Living in Love and Faith] process, it would be a matter of justified concern for any 'decision' to be undertaken in such an unconstitutional manner so as to involve just two people through Canon B4.2."

Originally published at Christian Today
UN accused of 'Palestinian hypocrisy' as resolution calls for ICJ opinion on Israel

Proponents of Israel condemned the United Nations General Assembly for approving a resolution accusing the country of illegally occupying Palestinian territories, a move the Israeli prime minister called a "despicable decision."

In a Saturday statement, the U.N. Independent International Commission of Inquiry welcomed a U.N. General Assembly vote asking the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to provide a legal opinion regarding the Israeli and Palestinian conflict.

The resolution, titled "Israeli practices and settlement activities affecting the rights of the Palestinian people and other Arabs of the occupied territories," accuses Israel of "discriminatory legislation and measures."

In addition, the document calls for the ICJ to offer an advisory opinion on Israel's "prolonged occupation, settlement and annexation of the Palestinian territory."

The ICJ is the top court in the U.N. handling disputes between countries. The resolution passed Friday in an 87-26 vote, with 53 abstentions. The United States, the United Kingdom and Germany were among the countries that voted against the resolution. France was among those that abstained.

Disputed territories are located in the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and Gaza Strip, which were captured by Israel in the Six-Day War of 1967. Israel has controlled those territories for over five decades although the international community has long debated sovereignty over those territories. The United Nations has opposed Israel's plans to annex the West Bank.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated, "The Jewish people are not occupiers in their own land nor occupiers in our eternal capital Jerusalem."

"[N]o U.N. resolution can distort that historical truth," Netanyahu stated, adding that Israel was not bound by the "despicable decision."

Netanyahu was reelected as Israel's prime minister this year after Yair Lapid conceded defeat. Netanyahu's right-wing Likud Party had formed a political alliance with two other political parties known as Jewish Power and Religious Zionism.

Israel's new Foreign Minister Eli Cohen criticized the U.N. resolution in a speech Monday, saying, "Palestinian hypocrisy was also manifested during the vote at the UN last Saturday."

"The Palestinians have rejected every single peace agreement offered to them. Palestinian attempts to harm Israel will cost them and will distance resolution of the conflict," Cohen said, according to Al-Monitor.

"The one who should really stand trial is the Palestinian leadership, which is the only place in the world that rewards those who murder Jews simply because they are Jews."

B'nai B'rith International, an organization dedicated to defending Israel and combating anti-Semitism, condemned the UNGA's request in a Monday statement. The organization accused the UNGA of passing more resolutions against Israel than any other of the 192 U.N. member states.

"This singling out of the Middle East's sole democracy, one continually forced to battle regional fanaticism and brutal terrorism, is deplorable," B'nai B'rith continued.

"Representing more than politicization of legal instruments, and the diverting of resources and focus from truly critical global priorities, it seeks to delegitimize, indeed criminalize, only the presence of Jews in their one ancestral homeland."

The organization questioned why the U.N. hasn't subjected the Palestinian Authority or other terrorist groups in the region, such as Hamas, to greater scrutiny.

As CP reported, the Palestinian Authority provides stipends to terrorists, and their families, who have attacked Israelis.

The Palestinian Authority claims the payments prevent terrorists' families from becoming destitute if their relative, who may have been the "breadwinner," is imprisoned.

However, the Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA), a defense and strategic advisory organization, reports that the Palestinian Authority provides payment for acts of terrorism, regardless if a terrorist is the breadwinner or employed.

According to U.N. Watch, a pro-Israel watchdog group, the General Assembly approved 15 resolutions against Israel last year, compared to 13 resolutions criticizing other countries. Russia was at the center of six resolutions for invading Ukraine, while North Korea, Afghanistan, Myanmar, Syria, Iran and the U.S. were hit with one resolution each.

Nabil Abu Rudeineh, the spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, praised the U.N. vote. In a statement published by Reuters, Abbas said that the "time has come for Israel to be a state subject to law and to be held accountable for its ongoing crimes against our people."

Basem Naim, an official with the military terror group Hamas, which controls Gaza, made a similar statement, claiming that it was "an important step toward confining and isolating the state of occupation (Israel)." In 2005, Hamas seized control of Gaza after Israel withdrew from the area.
Fear not those who kill the body but can't kill the soul

Persecution of those who believe in Christ is deepening all over the world while deadly threats to Christians are alarmingly increasing. Many of us are now afraid to be identified as Jesus' people for fear of being killed. In Nigeria, Christian communities are constantly attacked, and many have been killed for their faith in Christ.



This has created fear in us to the extent that the frontiers of the Gospel are now retreating. Many who were killed never knew that it was coming.

We need to be reminded that what we are experiencing today has been foretold by Christ: Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in Hell (Mathew 10:28).

We are supposed to have conquered the fear of death for the sake of Christ, but earthly fear often prevents us from achieving this goal.

Death is a necessary end, whether for the sake of Christ or due to ailment, accident or other causes. An understanding that Christians are now endangered species in some countries will cause us to have sober reflection and ponder if this persecution is restrictive or expansive. Every Christian should bear in mind that to die for Christ is gain.

Fear of persecution and martyrdom has been weaponized by the enemy to stop the advancement of the Gospel and to force us to compromise biblical standards. Shall we continue to fear because of the rage of the enemy, or should we summon the courage and boldly declare our faith and preach the Gospel no matter the dangers?

The probability that we will be either persecuted or killed for our faith is, sadly, very high these days. If we simply learn to accept that, we will be willing to give our lives for the sake of the Gospel even more freely.

Dying and suffering for the sake of Christ is a victory of the Spirit over the flesh. Christ was victorious because He was obedient unto death even when His flesh was weak. As Christ's followers, we can not do less because it is a privilege to reciprocate to Him what He did for us. The global war on Christians these days calls for sober reflection on our readiness to be martyred. This does not sound pleasant, but it is inevitable. Preparation and readiness to go through torture even unto death is non-negotiable.

Some Christians, out of ignorance, criticized those who were ready to be killed for the sake of Christ as being careless. Some of them were accused of being overzealous and fanatical. John Chau and Jim Elliot were seen as men without wisdom for risking their lives for Christ. Reverend Lawan Andimi was beheaded in Nigeria by Boko Haram for refusing to deny Christ.

In counties like Nigeria, Afghanistan and North Korea, Christians are persecuted and killed at an alarming rate. Even in countries where visible persecution of Christians is not recorded, Christians living there are presently experiencing intimidation on a daily basis.

Remember what I told you: A servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also (John 15:20).

Whether we anticipate it or not, it is likely that some of us will be killed simply because we are Christians. If we are willing and obedient unto death, we will get the reward which Christ promised us (Revelation 2:10). But only if we endure to the very end!
How Church Fathers debunked common patriarchal interpretations of the Bible

The Danvers Statement on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood asserts the husbands authority and that some governing and teaching roles within the church are restricted to men.

People who believe this, commonly claim to uphold the traditional teaching on gender roles in the Church. But do their interpretations of Bible passages actually convey what church fathers taught? Lets consider a few examples.

Danvers Statement #3 asserts: Adams headship in marriage was established by God before the Fall, and was not a result of sin. John Chrysostom, however, writing from AD 386407, affirms that Eve was not subjected as soon as she was made; nor, when He brought her to the man, did either she hear any such things from God, nor did the man say any such word to her: he said indeed that she was bone of his bone, and flesh of his flesh (Gen. ii, 23); but of rule or subjection, he nowhere made mention unto her (NFPF1 12:15051).

Similarly, gender hierarchists typically either give Junia (Romans 16:7) a sex change or deny she was an apostle, just outstanding in the eyesof the apostles. Chrysostom repudiates both. With one exception, Epiphanius, who is not credible since he also identifies Prisca as a man, every record of every church leader who commented on Junia during the first millennium of the church treats her as an outstanding woman apostle.

Likewise, gender hierarchists typically put Ephesians 5:22 in a separate paragraph from 5:21 even though they are in the same sentence in Greek. To make the sentence make sense, they add the verb submit even though the earliest manuscripts, P46 and Codex Vaticanus, do not include submit, nor do its citations by Clement of Alexandria (Stromata 4.8.64), Origen, and Theodore of Mopsuestia.



Jerome writes that in Greek manuscripts, verse 22 never repeats the verb submit from verse 21. Virtually all editions of theGreek New Testament omit submit: NA, UBS, Nestle, Westcott-Hort, Tasker, Souter, Alford, Tischendorf. The inclusion of submit in The Greek New Testament Produced at Tyndale House Cambridge is inconsistent with its aim to present the New Testament books in the earliest form in which they are well attested (p. vii).

The United Bible Societies text ranks the omission of submit as almost certain. Gender hierarchists conceal that Ephesians 5:22 depends on its verb submitting to one another in 5:21. Pauls longest passage about marriage, 1 Corinthians 7, especially 7:4, also explicitly teaches mutual submission.

Similarly, advocates of male headship say head in 1 Corinthians 11:3 means person with authority over. But Cyril of Alexandria, Theodore of Mopsuestia, Athanasius, Cosmas Indicopleustes, Eusebius, Photius, Chrysostom, Theodoret, Theophylact, Ambrosiaster, and Bishop Basil repudiate this interpretation. Cyril of Alexandria (who died in AD 444) in de recta fide ad Arcadiam et Marinam 1.1.5.5(2).63, like many others, explains that head means source: Luke [3:28, Adam from God] . . . explains the source of man, the Creator God. Thus we say that the head (kephale) of every man is Christ, for man was made through him and brought into existence. . . . And the head (kephale) of woman is the man, because she was taken out of his flesh and so indeed has him as her source. Similarly, the head (kephale) of Christ is God, because He is from Him according to nature: for the Word was begotten out of God the Father.

Gender hierarchists also explain 1 Timothy 2:12 as two prohibitions, but Origen explains it as a single prohibition: woman not becoming a ruler over man in speaking (JTS 10, 1909, 42).

Similarly, translations of 1 Timothy 2:15, such as the ESV state, she will be saved through childbearing. This verse, however, has no grammatically feminine subject. Anyone is more likely implied in light of this sentences if they [plural] abide in faith and love and holiness.

The Childbirth in this context most naturally refers to Christs birth and affirms Genesis 3:15s prediction of the incarnation. Theophylact identifies the childbirth (teknogonia) with the birth of God and Cramer refers to she shall be saved through the one born through her, the Christ.

Like other Church Fathers, Ignatius, circa AD 110, identifies the birth of Jesus as the childbirth (ho toketos) in Ephesians 19:1. It was commonplace among the church fathers to compare the fall through Eve to the coming of the Savior through Mary, including Justin Martyr (circa AD 153) Dialogue with Trypho 100, Tertullian (circa AD 160220) de carne, 41.17, and Irenaeus, Adversus haereses 3.22.4 (circa AD 175195).

Most gender hierarchists think that 1 Timothy 3:2s man of one woman requires that overseers be male. Church fathers, however, interpret this verse not as a requirement for all, but to exclude either polygamists, as John Chrysostom does, or those who are sexually unfaithful, as Bishop Theodore (died 428) does. Man of one woman does not require that all overseers be married men or that they all be men. Even Thomas Schreiner (JBMW Spring 2010, 35) and Doug Moo (TJ 2 NS 1981, 211), who are prominent advocates of male headship, acknowledge that man of one woman does not exclude women from the office of overseer.

Some gender hierarchists translate 1 Timothy 3:11, wives of deacons. But almost all ancient interpreters state that verse 11 identifies women in that church office. Canon 19 of The Council of Nicaea states of righteous deaconesses: Let these women receive the laying on of hands by the bishop of the Catholic church. John Chrysostoms Homily 11 on 1 Timothy 3 confirms this: He speaks of those having the office of deacon . . . women deacons. So do Theodoret 3.656, Theodore of Mopsuestia 2.128, the third-century Didascalia apostolorum 3.12, Oecumenius, and Grotius.

Most advocates of male headship say that men of one woman in 1 Timothy 3:12 cannot apply to women. John Chrysostoms Homily 11 on 1 Timothy 3, however, states regarding this idiom, Deacons must be men of one woman. This is appropriate to say regarding women deacons also.

These examples demonstrate that the common claim from gender-hierarchist interpreters that the church has always taught their interpretations of these passages  are simply false. In fact, some gender-hierarchist interpretations are completely novel with no support whatsoever from historic Christian interpretation.



For example, W. Klein (ATR 44, 1962, 8) was apparently the first to propose the dominant gender-hierarchist interpretation that 1 Corinthians 14:3435 prohibits only judging prophecies. By their interpretation, verse 34 permits all speech except judging prophesies. Consequently, verse 34 permits what verse 35 prohibits(!), namely asking questions out of a desire to learn.

We have seen that church fathers interpretations contradict gender hierarchists usual Bible translations and interpretations of these passages. Why does this matter? They understood Hellenistic Greek far better than anyone alive today.

Tragically, most church fathers teach womans inferiority, including Chrysostom (NPNF112:151.4), and so deny affirmation #1 of the Danvers Statement, that men and women are equal before God as persons. Thankfully, unlike gender hierarchists today, many church fathers honestly explained the true egalitarian messages of these texts, even though these egalitarian messages contradicted their culturally-entrenched androcentrism.

May their insightful fidelity to Scripture guide Bible translators and interpreters today.
The Guardian, July 4, 2023

The Taliban administration in Afghanistan has ordered beauty salons to close within a month, the morality ministry said, in the latest shrinking of access to public places for Afghan women.

The deadline for the closing of beauty parlours for women is one month, Mohammad Sadiq Akif, a spokesperson for the Ministry for the Prevention of Vice and Propagation of Virtue, said on Tuesday, referring to a ministry notice.

Foreign governments and UN officials have condemned growing restrictions on women since the Taliban returned to power in 2021 after defeating a US-backed government as foreign forces withdrew.

Last year, authorities closed most girls secondary schools, barred women from university and stopped many female Afghan aid staff from working. Many public places including bathhouses, gyms and parks have been closed to women.

Beauty salons sprang up in Kabul and other Afghan cities in the months after the Taliban were driven from power in late 2001, weeks after the September 11 attacks on the US.

Many remained open after the Taliban returned to power two years ago, providing some women with jobs and their customers with their services. The salons are usually female-only and have their windows covered so that customers cannot be seen from outside.

Sahar, a Kabul resident who visited a salon every few weeks to get her hair and nails done, said she felt that a final avenue for socialising safely outside had now been cut off.

Parks are not allowed for women so it was a good place for us to meet our friends  it was a good reason to see each other, to meet other women, other girls to talk about issues, she said, asking that her full name not be published for security reasons.

Now I dont know how to meet them, how to see them, how to talk to each other  I think it will be very impactful for us and women around Afghanistan, she said.

Western governments and international organisations have signalled that restrictions on women are hampering any possible progress to international recognition for the Taliban administration.

The administration says it respects womens rights in accordance with its interpretation of Islamic law and Afghan customs.
Were you purchased for God with Christs blood?

The fifth chapter in the Book of Revelation describes a scene in Heaven when the four living creatures and the 24 elders fell down before the Lamb  and they sang a new song:

You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God (Rev. 5:8-10).

Does that passage of Scripture refer to you? That is to say, do you belong to yourself, or were you purchased for God with Christs blood?

Even though the Bible states that Christ died for sins once for all (1 Peter 3:18), multitudes of people do not yet believe that Jesus shed his blood for their sins. And without faith, it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). What about you? What do you believe Jesus accomplished by dying on the cross and shedding his blood for sinners?

Those who belong to Christ realize they were purchased with his blood. It is by far the highest purchase price in the history of the world. Acts 20 records the Apostle Paul instructing the elders of the church in Ephesus: Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood (v. 28).

St. Peter writes, For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect (1 Peter 1:18-19).

Paul points to this purchase when instructing Christians to walk in purity and abstain from sexual relations outside of marriage: Flee from sexual immorality  You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your body (1 Corinthians 6:18-20).

Do you want to belong to God, or would you rather be your own lord and savior? Do you prefer to live and eventually die having done it your way, or do you want to do things Gods way?

Were you redeemed by the blood of the Lamb? You can believe it and receive it, or you can reject the Saviors sacrifice on the cross if you insist on ignoring God. But please be advised: Those who choose to continually ignore God always live to regret it.

If you are not a follower of Christ, you do not yet realize why it is so critical to be justified by the blood of Jesus. When you stand before him as your Judge one day, you will either be forgiven or unforgiven.

Paul wrote to believers: Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from Gods wrath through him! (Romans 5:9). You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men (1 Corinthians 7:23).

Are you saved or lost? Is it well with your soul, or are you outside of Gods family due to unbelief? Those who repent of their sins and believe the good news are instantly saved, redeemed, justified, born again and forgiven. And new believers instantly begin to follow Christ.

What about your immediate family? How many of them are followers of Christ, and how many of them remain trapped in unbelief? Do you pray often for their salvation?

One day Paul was addressing some leaders of the Jews from morning till evening. He explained and declared to them the kingdom of God and tried to convince them about Jesus from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets. Some were convinced by what he said, but others would not believe. They disagreed among themselves  (Acts 28:23-25).

This has always been the case. There are always some who agree with the message of the Gospel and believe it, and others who disagree with Gods plan of salvation and reject it. Sadly, many people do not see the relevance for themselves. They do not believe they were purchased with the Messiah's blood. And they do not believe they need the Savior's blood to wash away their sins.

What about you? Do you need to be forgiven and have your sins washed away by the blood of Jesus?

How many of Gods commandments have you broken in your lifetime? How many times have you sinned with your thoughts and your words? And how often has your behavior violated Gods perfect standard? How do you expect to have all of those sins forgiven? By your sincerity? Your church attendance? Your good works? None of those things can wash away a single sin.

Do you realize what will happen on Judgment Day if you enter Gods courtroom without the forgiveness of your sins? Is that divine appointment even on your radar? For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad (2 Corinthians 5:10).

Charles Spurgeon is known as the Prince of Preachers. He said, Morality may keep you out of jail, but it takes the blood of Jesus to keep you out of Hell.

Jesus proclaimed, Unless you repent, you too will all perish (Luke 13:3). Repentance is absolutely necessary in order to be saved. Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death (2 Corinthians 7:10). People with worldly sorrow are sorry they got caught. People with godly sorrow turn away from their sins and run into the arms of our merciful Savior.

See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done (2 Corinthians 7:11).

Does that describe your heart today? Are you alarmed over your sins and eager to have them washed away? Or are you content to sin and do things that are offensive to God? Are you concerned about your sins, or are you complacent about breaking Gods commandments?

Were you purchased for God with Christs blood, or do you reject Jesus and the price he paid for sinners on the cross? God loves you. Christ died for you. Jesus will gladly save you. The Holy Spirit is willing to convert you. Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your heart (Hebrews 3:7).
45 Years of Mercy Ships: a dream that transcends oceans and transforms lives

Forty-five years ago, Don and Deyon Stephens began to action a long-held dream. They wanted to convert a ship into a floating hospital, to bring safe, free surgical care to those who needed it most.

They left their home in the United States, setting out into unfamiliar waters on a journey that would transform countless lives. There were six of them: Don, Deyon, and their four children.

A small team of people who shared their vision began to grow around them and their dream started to become a reality with the purchase of an ocean-liner in Lausanne, Switzerland. Bought for its scrap value, Don and his team then converted the liner into a hospital ship, the Anastasis, over the next four years.

Today, four and a half decades later, Mercy Ships has worked in more than 55 countries, helped more than 1.2 million people see their lives changed and performed more than 110,000 life-changing surgeries.

In addition to surgical care, Mercy Ships creates lasting impact by training local medical professionals and strengthening in-country healthcare systems. The charity builds relationships with the national government and ministry of health, so that the specific needs of each country are met; working to strengthen the country's healthcare systems and drive policy change.

In 1996, Mercy Ships UK (a key member of the Mercy Ships global partnership) was founded, and the UK public's support has gone from strength to strength since.

Each year, more than 3,000 volunteers from over 60 countries serve on board the world's two largest civilian hospital ships, the Africa Mercy and the Global Mercy. Professionals such as surgeons, dentists, nurses, health trainers, cooks, and engineers dedicate their time and skills to accelerate access to safe surgical, obstetric, and anaesthetic care.

In the first half of 2023, more than 1,100 global volunteers served on board the brand-new Global Mercy in its first service in Senegal, including more than 50 from the UK. The first surgeries were performed by two consultants from Oxford in a ship made up of world citizens.

"What started as a vision or a dream with Deyon and me, now it belongs to hundreds, thousands of people," Don said.

The Early Years

Throughout the last 45 years, it hasn't been the numbers that have defined Mercy Ships. It's been the people who have served. Each individual with their own story to tell.

"I think some of the greatest people I've ever been privileged to meet are within Mercy Ships," Don said.

Three of those people are Faithful, Mary, and Esther Biney. Faithful and Mary, from Ghana, were Mercy Ships' first African crewmembers. They got married on the Anastasis, the very first Mercy Ship, in Greece. Then they welcomed their first child, Esther, on board.

Faithful recalls those as "challenging years." But time after time, they experienced the faithfulness of God as they raised their young family at sea.

"He will always provide," Faithful said.

As an adult, Esther returned to serve just as the Anastasis, her childhood home, was retired. A new era, with a much larger ship, was beginning.

"It was pretty exciting to have the ships docked side by side [in Dakar last May], and transition from the Anastasis to the Africa Mercy," Esther said. "That was something. That was incredible."

New Tools, New Reach

Today the Africa Mercy is still serving, and she's been joined by the Global Mercy, the first ever purpose-built Mercy Ship.

The newer, larger, higher-tech ship is one significant "tool" that will expand the hope and healing possible through Mercy Ships. But within her halls, many smaller tools represent countless acts of generosity, and unlimited potential.

"The equipment in our operating rooms, a lot of it is gift-in-kind donations," Don Stephens said. "Some of it we've purchased because of the generosity of our people."

Those people, both financial supporters and those Don calls "prayer partners," are the behind-the-scenes engine that keeps Mercy Ships going.

"People from around the world believe in Mercy Ships, and we have become their charity of choice," he said. "What a great honour."

Walking Blood Bank

During the Global Mercy's 2023 field service in Senegal, a surgery took place that exemplified all that Mercy Ships stands for.

"We had three nurses, three surgeons, two anesthesiologists, representing four different nations, just for one surgery," Don said.

Throughout the 18-hour surgery, the patient lost all of the blood in her body. Volunteer crewmembers donated their own blood in real time to replenish it.

"The patient now has more than seven units of blood from 15 different nations," Don said. "She's walking with the blood of the crew and even some of the doctors and people who were in the operating room."

That "walking blood bank," Don said, and the generosity of those who gave it, is a representation of the mission of Mercy Ships.

"I think that represents 45 years," he said.

As the organisation continues to grow, Don's greatest prayer is that its staff and crew will stay true to Mercy Ships' core values: to love God, love and serve others, be people of integrity, and strive for excellence in all they say and do.

Even though they started with a big dream, Don and Deyon didn't anticipate the extent of that dream's impact. However, as Don pointed out, the unimaginable is not all that surprising, given that God is "able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine."

"Did I imagine all of this in the beginning?" Don said. "No. I imagined that there would be ships, plural. But Mercy Ships has grown above my wildest dreams. ... And when we see what God is doing and will continue to do, my hope is that we will have a small but significant part in the kingdom growth in the continent of Africa."

Learn more about the impact of 45 years of Mercy Ships.
Pakistan's Christians 'living in fear' after Sweden Koran burning

Christians in Pakistan are appealing for prayers amid threats to their safety following a controversial protest against Islam in Sweden in which a Koran was set on fire.

A copy of Islam's holy book was set on fire by an Iraqi Christian immigrant outside a Stockholm mosque during the major Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, sparking global condemnation.

In Pakistan, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called for a day of protests on Friday to coincide with a debate in the country's parliament about Koran burning.

The Centre for Legal Aid, Assistance and Settlement (CLAAS), which provides legal and practical aid to persecuted Christians in Pakistan, said the protest was "regrettable" and that the Christian community is now facing increased threats to their churches and communities, despite having strongly spoken out against the Koran burning.

According to CLAAS, the banned extremist group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) has called for violent retribution against Pakistan's Christians, including attacks on churches and suicide bombings.

Its spokesperson Naseer Raisani is reported to have chillingly announced that "no church or a Christian will remain safe in Pakistan".

Nasir Saeed, Director of CLAAS-UK, said that Pakistan's Christians are "living in fear" after the stunt.

He is urging the Pakistani government to protect the country's Christian minority. He is also asking that the international community raise the safety of Christians with Pakistan's leaders as a matter of urgency.

"It is crucial that the Pakistani government takes immediate measures to ensure the safety and protection of the Christian community, their homes, and places of worship," he said.

Saeed said it was a common assumption that Pakistani Christians are linked with the West, making them vulnerable every time such incidents occur in Western countries.

He is appealing to the global Church to keep Pakistani Christians in their prayers.

"It is deeply unfortunate that 75 years after the formation of Pakistan, a country founded with the support of Christians, they are still considered outsiders and denied equal citizenship rights," he continued.

"This goes against the very principles espoused by the founder of Pakistan, Quaid i Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah."
Praying for our leaders

Last week, church leaders and politicians joined together in the ancient Westminster Hall for the Parliamentary Prayer Breakfast. From the outside, it could be seen as Westminster business as usual, a comfortable networking event for schmoozing in the heart of the establishment.

Yet I would argue that the breakfast is something radically countercultural  a space in the Houses of Parliament where we commit to praying for our leaders.

Throughout scripture, we are told to submit to authorities  to 'render to Caesar what is Caesar's', to 'submit ourselves for the Lord's sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor...or to governors'.

This doesn't absolve us from the requirement to speak out against injustice though. We are not called to be neutral over right and wrong.

But we are also given another command. To pray for those leaders. As Paul says in 1 Timothy 2: 1-2, 'I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people  for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.'

This is a command that some Christians might struggle with. 'Submit to and pray for politicians you say? Even the ones we don't agree with, or don't like?' Yes, absolutely. Remember that Paul wrote to Christians who were being persecuted by the same authorities for whom they were to lift petitions, prayers, and intercessions. At best, these authorities watched on, coolly detached, as mobs threatened to kill Christians. At worst, the authorities themselves took their families, their loved ones, their fellow worshippers and dear friends, torturing and killing them. Christians could expect to be humiliated and mistreated, thrown to wild animals in the Colosseum or burned as candles at Nero's dinner parties.

When we consider the context and culture of the time, suddenly, being asked to pray for those in authority looks a hard and daunting task. Maybe even an outrageous one.

And not only for the early church. Praying for political authorities is taken as a serious command by our persecuted brothers and sisters around the world today.

Wang Yi, a pastor in China, wrote this in a letter to his congregation not long before he was arrested in 2017: 'In 2004, I went to a large mountain on the border of Hubei and Chongqing to observe an underground house church there. At the 5 a.m. prayer meeting, elderly sisters who had rarely visited even the main town in their own county were in tears praying for China, for the leaders of China, and for Heilongjiang, Xinjiang, and Tibet. I was shocked. Prayer tied humble and difficult private life in a small mountain village to the well-being of a vast world.'

These elderly women in a remote rural house church, citizens with virtually no worldly influence on the governance of their nation, were simply exercising the only tool of political influence they had. What if we took this command to pray for our leaders nearly as seriously? As a friend said to me recently, 'if all you can do is pray, that's fine because even if you did have other options, it would still be the most powerful thing you could do'.

The problem is that praying for our leaders here in the UK can seem a little more, well, mundane. Does my local council really need me to pray for them to get the bins collected on time?

Maybe we should start with those leaders who we think deserve our prayers the least. Those who make us angry. Don't pray self righteous prayers, thanking God that you're not like them, but humbly lift them up to God. Ask that they may have compassion for the poor and the marginalised, for wisdom and not naivety, for more integrity and less spin, for humility and less boasting. Pray for their families, their home lives, that they might know Jesus. This isn't easy to do, but it's not meant to be.

The account of Jonah stands as a rebuke to me. Jonah was told to preach to the people of Nineveh, but he despised them and didn't think they deserved to be saved  so he ran away. Who is your Nineveh? Who is mine? Let's remember that we don't deserve to be saved either, nor do we deserve anyone to pray for us. Locate your Nineveh and pray for them today!

And let's thank God too for 180 MPs and Lords who were at the Prayer Breakfast last week to hear Amy Orr Ewing's amazing talk on forgiveness. Many of those politicians will not be Christians, so let's pray that the seed of God's word will have been planted firmly in their hearts and that He will bring it to fruition.

Tim Farron has been the Member of Parliament for Westmorland and Lonsdale since 2005, and served as the Leader of the Liberal Democrat Party from 2015 to 2017.Tim is also the host of Premier's 'A Mucky Business' podcast. His new book A Mucky Business: Why Christians should get involved in politics is published in November.
Will the Archbishops allow General Synod to speak?

As the summer session of the Church of England's General Synod opens in York, the mood is more than a little "niggly" according to the former Chair of the Prayer Book Society, Prudence Dailey.

In the first debate, on the Business Report, Jayne Ozanne, a lay member from Oxford Diocese, described the Church as "an unholy mess" and called for an "Emergency Debate on the Broken State of our Church."

She went on, "The record number of questions we have is a clear reflection of our concerns. We, Synod, know we are being managed! We are something to get around  to ignore, an inconvenient body that gets in the way of those who want to 'get on with things'."

Ozanne was not alone - those who spoke after her echoed her concerns.

Rev Robert Thompson, a member of clergy from London Diocese complained, "There is a complete lack of trust and Synod feels marginalised and their voices are not represented."

Helen King, another lay member from Oxford Diocese, spoke of the "agenda underneath the agenda" and raised concerns about the lack of transparency, accountability and trust.

Dailey described Synod as being "bypassed and managed"  pointing to the record number of 'presentations' that Synod was being asked to endure. Ironically, her suggestion that Synod use an obscure standing order to refuse to allow the presentations to take place was rejected by the Chair of the Business Committee on the basis that standing orders had been changed so Synod could no longer do that.

But it's not just the lay people and clergy who are concerned. Even the bishops are concerned that General Synod is being sidelined.

Twenty-one serving bishops have written to their episcopal colleagues calling on them to use General Synod's liturgical processes, rather than Archepiscopal fiat, to introduce the Prayers of Love and Faith which will allow same-sex couples to come to church to receive a blessing.

The bishops claim that "other routes risk not only damaging the unity of the Church of England but, in so doing, also damaging the integrity of the Church's episcopate".

After the debate, Ozanne said, "I am very concerned about the breakdown in trust in our governance structures and think we urgently need a space to be honest and open about this in order for us to be able to move forward. Without it, things will only get worse."

Ironically the only people who can authorise such a debate are the Archbishops of Canterbury and York. The ball is in their court.

Susie Leafe is director of Anglican Futures, which supports orthodox Anglicans in the UK.
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Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia, Manitoba, and Alberta invite candidates in this weeks provincial immigration results Edana Robitaille Aa Accessibility Font Style Serif

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Five of Canadas provinces have invited candidates to apply for provincial immigration.

Provincial immigration is not the same across Canada. For example, while most Canadian provinces and territories have Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs), Quebec does not have one due to a special agreement with the federal government that allows it to select all its economic immigrants.

PNPs help provinces to target economic immigration candidates who are seen as the most likely to benefit the provincial labour force by economically establishing and filling urgent job vacancies. PNPs typically have dedicated streams for healthcare, tech, and agricultural workers and entrepreneurs.

Discover if You Are Eligible for Canadian Immigration

The PNP has been highly successful in targeting economic immigrants. So much so that Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has recently adopted a similar approach to the Express Entry application management system. There are now six dedicated categories for in-demand occupations on a national scale. Between June 27 and July 7, IRCC held six Express Entry rounds of invitations, five of which were for occupations eligible under category-based selection.

Provincial immigration results June 30-July 7

Ontario

On July 6, Ontario invited 748 PNP candidates to apply for nomination through the Express Entry Human Capital Priorities stream of the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP). It was a draw targeting tech occupations and candidates required a CRS score that ranged between 479 and 485.

The number of candidates a province may nominate is allocated by IRCC. Ontario has the highest allocation of PNP nominations in Canada and can invite 16,500 candidates in 2023. This is nearly double the 9,500 allocated to the province in 2022.

Quebec

Quebec recently updated its provincial immigration results to show that on June 29 the Minister of Immigration, Francization and Integration invited 1,218 persons to apply for permanent selection.

Candidates required a level 7 oral proficiency (or higher) in French according to the Echelle quebecoise des niveaux de competence en francais des personnes immigrantes adultes or its equivalent;

They must also have an occupation with specific National Occupational Classification (NOC) codes. In this draw, the minimum score was different depending on the eligible NOC. For some, the score was 584 and for others, it was 592.

British Columbia

British Columbia held three draws on July 5 for 137 candidates in the Skilled Worker and International Graduate streams (including Express Entry) of the BC PNP.

The largest draw invited 97 candidates with a minimum Skills Immigration Registration System (SIRS) score of 90.

The remaining two draws were for 23 early childhood teachers and assistants and 17 candidates in healthcare occupations.

British Columbia typically invites candidates each Tuesday in similar draws.

Manitoba

Manitoba held a draw late on June 29 in which 587 Letters of Advice to Apply were issued to candidates in three streams over four draws.

Skilled Workers may have been eligible for one of two draws. The first was occupation-specific and invited 315 candidates with a minimum score of 613. The occupations considered were:

60030  Restaurant and food service managers

62020  Food service supervisors

65201  Food counter attendants, kitchen helpers and related support occupations

A further 184 letters of advice were issued to Skilled Workers from all occupations with a minimum score of 662.

The remaining two draws invited 62 candidates from the International Education stream and 26 Skilled Workers Overseas with a minimum score of 717.

Alberta

Alberta also recently posted draw results from June 29. The province had a small draw in which 12 candidates were invited from the Express Entry Dedicated Healthcare Pathway, Alberta Job Offer.

The lowest-scoring eligible candidate had a CRS score of 354. Alberta has invited 105 candidates through this stream since April this year.

Discover if You Are Eligible for Canadian Immigration
SHAKER HEIGHTS, Ohio -- The following is an update on the academic achievements of college students from the Sun Press coverage area cities of Shaker Heights, Beachwood, University Heights and Cleveland Heights.

-- Among the students who received degrees this spring from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio were, from Shaker Heights, Anna Herbst, Brett Hanson, Emerson Bannon, Finnegan Dale, Jimmy Sikorovsky, Keenan OToole, Leila Kral, Nick Lorenzo, Ryan Cummins, Tim Sullivan and Will Farrall.

From Beachwood, graduates included Ashley Shagrin and Peter Havre, while Cleveland Heights graduates were Carter Callender, Deckard Manne, Hailey Joy Ridenour, Marielle Grady and Tami Masuoka.

-- Phoebe Hatch, of Cleveland Heights and William Kieger, of Shaker Heights, graduated with bachelor of arts degrees May 21 from Hamilton College in Clinton, N.Y.

A sociology major, Hatch graduated with departmental honors in sociology and completed a thesis titled [Always] Kiss-and-Tell: A Study of the Gendered Perceptions and Uses of Gossip for Female-Identifying Students on College Campuses.

Kieger, a neuroscience major, completed a thesis titled MOXDl/TBHR: A Protein in Search of a Function - The Role of Glycosylation.

-- Named to the spring semester deans list at the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York were Shaker Heights residents Carmen Joachimsmeyer-Gordon, who is in the schools 3D digital design program; Alex Lee, who is in the computer science program; Ian Laforest, who is in the film and animation program; and Finn Cohen, who is in the psychology program.

Also, Tira Heiss, of Beachwood, who is in the RTI graphic design program.

-- Recent Ohio University alum, Trevor Brighton, of Shaker Heights, won a National Mark of Excellence Award from the Society of Professional Journalists for illustrations he created for a cover of OUs student newspaper, The Post. The story, titled Erasing Russia, covered the loss of Ohio Universitys Russian studies program.

I am truly honored to have received national recognition by the Society of Professional Journalists for my work with The Post, Brighton said,in a school release. Serving as art director of the paper was a pivotal experience during my time as a student. It means so much to have my work seen and appreciated, and even more so to have it represent Ohio University.

The Society of Professional Journalists is the nations most broad-based journalism organization.

Brighton received his bachelor of science degree in visual communication with a major in commercial photography and a specialization in social media.

I came up with the idea for the cover quickly after reading the story it was requested for, he said. I wanted to represent the erasure of Russian history in a conceptual, yet clear way, and the image of Russian leaders lined up with their eyes being wiped away was the first thing my mind went to. Generally, the work I do takes a lot more mental deliberation, but the vision was so vivid and striking, I immediately knew I had to bring it to life. I created two quick drafts, and then began the final. A time-lapse walkthrough of the process is posted on the Viscom TikTok.

National Mark of Excellence winners will be honored at SPJs conference in Las Vegas in September.

-- Emerson College, in Boston, awarded approximately 1,058 undergraduate degrees during its 143rd Commencement at Agganis Arena on May 14. Among those graduates were Ellen Brandon, of Cleveland Heights, who earned a BS in communication studies.

Brandon was also included on the spring semester deans list, as was Shaker Heights Russell Townshend, who is majoring in creative writing.

-- The more than 1,500 students who graduated this spring from Youngstown State University included, from University Heights, Stacy Kent and Clay Poynter, who both earned master of business administration degrees in business leadership.

Also, Beachwoods Samuel Gwatkin, who earned a bachelor of science degree in applied science in information technology.

-- At Bereas Baldwin Wallace University, those achieving deans list status for the spring semester included Eric Golovan, of Beachwood, an acting major, and fellow Beachwood resident Ed Madden, an accounting major.

From Shaker Heights were Christina Lindhout, who majors in applied business administration, and Elena McDonald, an English major.

Cleveland Heights High School graduate Kris Lyons majors in music theater.

-- Included among the 1,143 graduates this spring of Shenandoah University in Winchester, Va., was Shaker Heights Mary Sikorovsky, who earned a bachelor of fine arts degree in acting.

-- Jaia Naveh Ruffin, of University Heights, received on May 13 a bachelor of science degree in environmental engineering, with minors in sustainable solutions and environmental policy, from Clarkson University in Potsdam, N.Y.

-- Those named to the spring deans list at the John Carroll University College of Arts and Sciences were Beachwoods Alana Goldschmidt; Shaker Heights Adriane Lawes, Eric Schlenk and Charles Tuggey; University Heights Leah Harrigan, Jenna Kieley, Thomas Lindstrom, Veronique Nlandu, Luke Passinault and Jordyn Schultz; and Cleveland Heights Savannah Joseph, Joel Mathis, Emily Schuman, and Talia Weeks.

-- More than 5,300 undergraduate and graduate students accepted degrees during the Georgia Technical Institutes 264th Commencement exercises May 5 and 6, held at Bobby Dodd Stadium in Atlanta. Among that number was Huangqi Jiang, of Cleveland Heights.

-- Graduating with the 2023 class at the University of Arkansas-Little Rock, was University Heights Katherine Deegan, who earned a master of public service degree.

-- Baruch Rom, of University Heights, and Deborah Lax, of Beachwood, were among the graduates May 17 at Fairleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey. Lax earned an MS degree, and Rom, a bachelor of arts degree.

See more Sun Press news here.
BROOK PARK, Ohio -- A Brook Park man, 69, was given a court summons at about 12:30 p.m. June 21 after he trespassed on the property containing Dunkin, 15800 Snow Road.

The man had been banned from the property in September 2019, although it wasnt clear why.

Three weeks ago, on June 16, a 16-year-old Brook Park girl told police that a strange man -- later identified as the trespasser -- had started following her in his Ford F-150 pickup truck as she drove to Dunkin for a coffee.

The girl said the man parked in the Dunkin lot and walked inside the building. Then, when she left Dunkin, the man followed her to a bank at Brookgate Shopping Center on Smith Road. He parked his truck near her car.

The girl didnt notice whether the man continued to follow her when she drove home.

The girl reported what happened to her mother and grandmother, who called police. They said the man had parked his pickup truck on their street, where he also lives.

The girls mother and grandmother said the man fit the description of a suspicious male listed on a Neighborhood Watch Facebook page. That suspect had been reportedly paying unwanted attention to young girls in the area.

Police interviewed the man, who denied following anyone. He said he had driven to Brookgate to buy cigarettes, then went to McDonalds on Snow. He said he drove back to Brookgate before returning home.

On June 21, the owner of the Dunkin property went to the Brook Park police station and signed a criminal trespassing complaint against the man because the man had entered Dunkin June 16.

Two days later, Dunkins regional director of operations signed a statement saying she doesnt want the man in the restaurant ever again.

Read more from the News Sun.
BARBERTON, Ohio -- State Rep. Bob Young was charged with domestic violence, Barberton Municipal Court records show.

Young, whose address is listed as North Canton in his case file, also was charged with disrupting public service in the Friday incident. He was arrested by the Summit County Sheriffs Office, records say. He is currently serving his second term in the Ohio House of Representatives.

Cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer reached out to Young for comment and has asked the Summit County Sheriffs Office for a copy of the police report.

A docket entry on Youngs case says he did knowingly cause, or attempt to cause physical harm to victim, a family or household member...

Court records do not say where the incident took place, but the court serves Barberton, Norton, Copley, New Franklin, Coventry and Clinton and Green, Youngs hometown, according to the Ohio HOR website.

According to the House, Young married his Green High School sweetheart, Tina, and they have four school-age children. The family lives in Green.

Young was given a $5,000 bond by Barberton Municipal Court Judge Todd M. McKenney Saturday, records say, though it does not say if he is jailed or out on a personal bond.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A 69-year-old man is hospitalized and in critical condition after his vehicle and an Amtrak train were involved in a crash Saturday morning, according to Cleveland EMS and police said.

The crash happened Saturday morning on East 40th Street near Marginal Road, police said.

The Amtrak train, Train 48, was traveling from Chicago to New York just after 6 a.m. when a vehicle obstructing the track came into contact with the train, said W. Kyle Anderson, a spokesman for Amtrak.

None of the more than 300 people on board were injured, which included passengers and crew members, he said.

Cleveland EMS took the man in the vehicle to MetroHealth, police said.

cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer reached out to police for more information.

Amtrak is working with Cleveland police to investigate the incident, Anderson said.
KANSAS CITY, Missouri -- Taylor Swifts second show in Kansas City, Missouri is tonight, Saturday, July 8!

Swift will be at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium and there are still plenty of tickets to score for tonights concert on third-party vendor websites.

WHERE TO BUY TICKETS: Vivid Seats | StubHub | SeatGeek | TicketCity | MegaSeats

Here are the cheapest single tickets I found for tonights show:

Vivid Seats: $991

StubHub: $1,055

SeatGeek: $1,032

cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer reviewed one of Swifts Detroit shows when she visited Ford Field June 9 and June 10.

Swift starts the Latin America part of her tour Aug. 24 and it continues through Nov. 26. Tickets for Swifts first stop in Mexico City are available. Meanwhile, Swifts re-recorded Speak Now album is out!

Its here. Its yours, its mine, its ours. Its an album I wrote alone about the whims, fantasies, heartaches, dramas and tragedies I lived out as a young woman between 18 and 20. I remember making tracklist after tracklist, obsessing over the right way to tell the story. I had to be ruthless with my choices, and I left behind some songs I am still unfailingly proud of now. Therefore, you have 6 From The Vault tracks! I recorded this album when I was 32 (and still growing up, now) and the memories it brought back filled me with nostalgia and appreciation. For life, for you, for the fact that I get to reclaim my work. Thank you a million times, for the memories that break our fall, Swift tweeted Friday.

Kaylee Remington is the commerce reporter for cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer. Follow her for deals, trends and breaking news in the shopping and entertainment industries. Read her work here.
COLUMBUS, Ohio  Campaigns that want Ohio to vote on abortion rights and marijuana legalization this November submitted hundreds of thousands of signatures to the state Wednesday to qualify for the ballot.

Both groups turned in a number of voter signatures significantly greater than the minimum required by the state.

But its not that simple when it comes to answering the question: Will they qualify?

In the coming days, elections workers around the state will review the campaigns signatures to make sure the signers are registered to vote, and that the information they wrote on the campaigns petitions matched whats in their voter file.

Its common for this review to result in rejecting thousands, tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of signatures. Recently, some campaigns that ultimately qualified for the ballot saw half or more of their signatures rejected as invalid. Thats why groups backing ballot measures, as a rule of thumb, aim to turn in as much as double the number of signatures they need to qualify, although it doesnt always turn out to be necessary.

Spokespeople for both campaign say theyre confident they have enough signatures to qualify, although both declined to estimate how many signatures might be rejected. Both said their campaigns took internal steps to review their signatures that leave them confident.

Well see what we have when this comes back, said Jeff Rusnak, a Democratic strategist in Cleveland whos advising the abortion-rights campaign. But we anticipate having more than enough signatures.

Our expectation is that we have surpassed the minimum threshold, said Tom Haren, a Cleveland attorney whos a spokesperson for the marijuana measure.

Ohioans United for Reproductive Rights, the group backing a proposed amendment to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution, would fail if more than 41% of its signatures are rejected. The group submitted 709,786 signatures, compared to the 413,487 valid signatures they need, including a minimum number from 44 of Ohios 88 counties.

The Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, meanwhile, would fail if its signature rejection rate went above 44%. The group submitted 222,233, of which 124,046 must be valid, including a minimum number from 44 of Ohios 88 counties.

The marijuana campaign fell short of a signature requirement during an earlier step in its process. The group submitted 206,943 signatures last December, of which 74,000 were rejected by elections officials. But thats a roughly 43% rejection rate  if the campaign can repeat that, it will be fine.

The group was able to continue the process after it collected another roughly 13,000 signatures during a 10-day cure period.

County elections officials have until July 20 to do their signature verification, and then Secretary of State Frank LaRoses office has until July 25 to certify whether or not they met the minimum requirements.

If the campaigns fell short, either in the counties or overall, they would get the 10-day cure period to try to make up the difference.

In 2015, a campaign backing a different marijuana legalization effort turned in 695,273 signatures with their initial campaign petitions, compared to the roughly 305,000 signatures they were required to submit. Elections workers rejected 58% of the signatures, leaving the measure around 29,000 signatures short.

It ended up qualifying anyway, after making up the difference during the 10-day cure period, but lost in the polls.

In 2018, a campaign backing a criminal sentencing reform measure submitted 703,000 signatures, compared to the 305,000 they needed. Almost exactly half were rejected, but it still qualified, then later failed in the November election that year.

The fact that the abortion-rights campaign failed to get double of its needed signatures led some abortion opponents, including Ohio Right to Life President Mike Gonidakis, to suggest on social media that the measures may fall short.

But David Niven, a political scientist at the University of Cincinnati, said he expects the abortion-rights measure will qualify, while hes not so sure about the marijuana measure.

Signature rejection rates for ballot campaigns can range higher for a variety of reasons, Niven, who was a speechwriter for Democratic former Gov. Ted Strickland, said.

They include:

The sophistication of the campaign operation  whether they take measures to verify signatures before turning them in.

Whether they are using paid workers or volunteers. Volunteers are more passionate, are local and often provide a higher quality of work, while paid petitioners, who often come in from out of state, are just trying to fill a quota.

Whether the issue theyre pursuing is one that is likely to spur enough public interest that it will engage people when the petition is presented to them, or even attract voters who are looking to pro-actively fill it out. Weve seen some corporate-backed questions which seem like questions that are really pretty abstract or esoteric from peoples daily concerns, Niven said. Thats much less likely to draw sincere participation from signers.

Niven believes that given how important abortion rights are in the aftermath of the U.S. Supreme Courts overturning of Roe v. Wade in June 2022, that the signatures are more likely to be accurate.

Every aspect of gathering signatures on reproductive rights feeds into a higher success rate of these signatures, Niven said. The fact that the people youre approaching know about the issue and are either with you or against you, the fact that the people gathering the signatures care about the issue and dont want to see it founder, and the fact that they have enough organization that theyre vetting their own signatures, it seems they can nail this number down without worry.

As for the marijuana campaign, which hasnt said much about their tactics, Niven is more doubtful.

Given how many signatures didnt pan out in previous marijuana petitions, they really are cutting it close, Niven said.

Rusnak, thea Democratic political whos advising the abortion-rights campaign, said ballot campaigns have improved their tactics in recent years as technology has advanced.

Rusnak, whos worked on ballot campaigns since the 1990s, said the abortion-rights campaign has taken steps to ensure its signatures are accurate.

That includes, on the front end, checking to see if signers are indeed registered voters and inputting the signatures into a digital database to avoid duplicates.

On the back end, the campaign performed an internal review of campaign signatures for validity before submitting them to the state.

The abortion-rights amendment hired petition gathering firms as part of its push to collect signatures. That helped the campaign meet a compressed timetable, since it didnt begin to collect signatures until April, Rusnak said, while ballot campaigns typically begin the process a few months earlier.

I think this effort was focused, and was able because of the widespread support for volunteers, both [paid petitioners and volunteers] were able to get huge quantities of signatures and exceed our goals, Rusnak said. Thats why we have greater confidence here.

Haren, the spokesperson for the Coalition to regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, said his campaign also has taken internal steps to verify its signature collection, although he wasnt detailed in describing what those steps were.

Weve been internally validating, and our internal validation, Ive been told, is more conservative, so I expect well be on the ballot in November, Haren said.

Andrew Tobias covers state politics and government for cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer
Former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder, ringleader of the FirstEnergy/House Bill 6 bribery and racketeering scandal that federal prosecutors have called the largest public corruption case in state history, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last week.

In comparison with similar public corruption cases, that sentence was harsher, an analyss by cleveland.coms Jake Zuckerman found, after comparing Householders sentence with that of public figures in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Michigan, Illinois and elsewhere.

As our editorial board noted before the sentencing, when considering Householders rapacious and self-aggrandizing actions and the tens of millions in dark-money bribes used to taint elections, lawmaking and executive actions alike, it was important to send a signal that public corruption in Ohio, from the Statehouse on down, must stop. Now.

Yet we also noted that, for Householder, 64, a 20-year sentence (the maximum he faced under federal sentencing laws) could be a life sentence.

In handing down the maximum, U.S. District Judge Timothy S. Black blistered Householder from the bench as a bully with a lust for power whod assaulted democracy so he could gain the speakership, lard HB 6 with extra benefits for FirstEnergy and other utilities and then subvert a citizens repeal effort.

How many peoples lives could have been improved? with the $1.3 billion HB 6 earmarked for FirstEnergy and other utilities, Black said. And you handed it over to a bunch of suits with private jets.

Coincidentally, around the same time Householder was being sentenced, corrupt Cuyahoga County Commissioner Jimmy Dimora -- sentenced to 28 years in federal prison in 2012, later reduced to 23 years -- was released under the about-to-expire CARES Act for his fragile health. He was about seven years shy of completing his sentence.

So what does our Editorial Board Roundtable think? Was Householders sentence the right one, too harsh, or somewhere in between? And how likely is it to have a deterrent effect on other corrupt politicians?

Ted Diadiun, columnist:

Ive got no sympathy for Householder. None. Even with disheartening evidence to the contrary, Im still naive enough to hope that our public officials will use the power and money we entrust to them in a responsible and principled way. If the 20-year sentence he got turns out to be life, its exactly what he deserves for betraying that trust.

Thomas Suddes, editorial writer:

Considering that the General Assembly has passed no new ethics legislation in years, the former speakers conviction, let alone his sentencing, will be received with shrugs at the Statehouse. As for the sentence itself, it arguably is overly lengthy, given the nonviolent nature of the offense.

Eric Foster, columnist:

Its hard to argue that the sentence was excessive given the sheer breadth of impact of Householders conduct and his self-serving statements at sentencing. Still, it feels unfair when you consider that no FirstEnergy executives have been charged. Sadly, the public will close the book on this saga despite the system that spawned it, dark money politics, remaining unchanged.

Lisa Garvin, editorial board member:

I think many legislators view Householder as the sacrificial lamb, providing cover as they continue dark money politicking with impunity. Householders attorneys insist his conduct has been accepted as normal political activity for decades, which sounds like defiance, not remorse. Meanwhile, the stench of HB 6 still lingers.

Victor Ruiz, editorial board member:

Not only do I agree with the sentence, but also with Judge Blacks statement and sentiments. My only hope is that there is consistency amongst our judges and that our elected officials hold themselves accountable.

Mary Cay Doherty, editorial board member:

If punishments deterred criminals, crime would have been eradicated centuries ago. And most people, including Ohios politicians, are good, law-abiding citizens. While the sentence is harsh, Householder has only himself to blame for his fate. Ironically, however, activists who decry excessive prison time for nonviolent criminals have been deafeningly silent in response to Householders sentence.

Elizabeth Sullivan, opinion director:

The brazen, bullying nature of Larry Householders crimes, the pay-to-play, dark money culture they advanced and the skein of public corruption they fed, all while subverting the voters will and violating their trust, suggest Householder fully deserved the lengthy sentence he got.

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Business: Algonquin Power is a renewable energy and utility company that provides energy and water solutions and services in North America and internationally. The company operates through two segments  (i) the regulated services group, which provides a portfolio of rate-regulated water, electricity and gas utility services, and (ii) the renewable energy group, which generates and sells electrical energy produced by its portfolio of renewable power generation facilities.

Activist Commentary: Starboard is a very successful activist investor and has extensive experience helping companies focus on operational efficiency and margin improvement. Starboard has made 111 prior 13D filings and has an average return of 27.52% versus 12.10% for the S&P 500 over the same period. This is Starboard's first 13D filing in the utilities sector.

Algonquin Power is a utility company based in Canada with most of its assets in the United States. The regulated services segment accounts for 87% of the company's revenue and its business is comprised of the following: 60% electricity, 20% gas, and 20% water. Sixty-five percent of the electricity the company provides is generated by gas and 35% by renewables. The core utilities business is operated efficiently with a rate base growth rate of 8% versus 6% to 7% for peers. Despite this, Algonquin currently trades at 13 times to 14 times price-earnings with a 5% dividend yield, versus 17.5 times P/E and a 3.5% dividend yield for peers. Moreover, the water business is better than electric and gas, and Algonquin Power has more water exposure than peers, so it should trade at an even higher P/E ratio.

Arun Banskota was named Algonquin Power's CEO in 2020 and has prioritized strategic transactions over operations. Accordingly, the company announced an agreement in October 2021 to buy Kentucky Power for nearly $3 billion. In December 2022, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission denied approval of the transaction. In April 2023, the company terminated the agreement to acquire Kentucky Power. Amid these developments, Algonquin Power's stock fell from over $15 per share to roughly $6.52 per share as shareholders lost confidence in management. And for good reason: A large acquisition was the last thing the company needed. Investors were looking for a stable, predictable company with a strong balance sheet and a good dividend ratio  things you generally expect from utilities. Instead, the acquisition would have added to an already over-leveraged balance sheet, putting Algonquin Power in an even less stable financial position.

The activist campaign here is relatively simple: Sell the renewables business and focus on the core, stable regulated utility business. Selling the renewables business will not only provide the company with a large capital infusion to stabilize its balance sheet and secure its dividend, but it would also provide the type of investors who like utilities businesses with more certainty, predictability and stability. In other words, it would do the exact opposite of what the Kentucky Power acquisition would have done. While the renewables business only accounts for about $300 million in revenue and roughly $200 million in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, there is a lot more value in this business than may appear for several reasons. That includes the fact that Algonquin Power has several joint ventures in which income has not started coming in yet, plus there are significant tax benefits that are not included in EBITDA. Based on the per megawatt basis of comps, the renewables business could yield over $5 billion in a sale to one or more larger companies.

Moreover, this may be similar to pushing an open door. In May, the company announced that it retained JPMorgan to conduct a strategic review of the renewables business. So, unlike many activist campaigns, persuading management is no longer an obstacle: It now just depends on execution. We have no doubt that Starboard will be keeping a close eye on the company to see how it executes this strategic review. If the firm feels the company needs some guidance in the process, we expect Starboard to seek board representation, given its history. Finally, if this happens it will likely lead to a more operationally focused CEO as opposed to a strategic visionary.

There is also an Activist ESG (AESG) thesis here. Algonquin Power's energy generation is currently divided into natural gas and renewables. However, as equipment and facilities depreciate, they can no longer be included in the rate base, and the company cannot get paid on them. So, companies like Algonquin Power will close facilities and retire equipment and build new facilities and buy new equipment that can be added back into the rate base. The trend in the industry is toward more environmentally friendly assets. So, while the company presently is approximately 65% natural gas and 35% renewables, there is an opportunity to increase the percentage of renewables in the future.

Ken Squire is the founder and president of 13D Monitor, an institutional research service on shareholder activism, and he is the founder and portfolio manager of the 13D Activist Fund, a mutual fund that invests in a portfolio of activist 13D investments. Algonquin Power is a holding in the fund. Squire is also the creator of the AESG investment category, an activist investment style focused on improving ESG practices of portfolio companies.
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen speaks during a meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang (not shown) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on July 7, 2023.

The United States and China, the world's two biggest economies, must compete fairly and communicate closely to avoid misunderstandings, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in Beijing on Saturday.

Yellen, continuing her meetings with top Chinese officials, told Vice Premier He Lifeng that a 2022 record in bilateral U.S.-Chinese trade -- set despite recent tensions -- showed there is "ample room for our firms to engage in trade and investment."

But it was critical to keep talking about areas of common interest, as well as disagreements, she said in prepared remarks.

Meeting her at the Diaoyutai state guest house, where foreign dignitaries are often received in Beijing, He said he stood ready to work with Yellen.

"Amid a complicated global economic outlook, there is a pressing need for the two largest economies to closely communicate and exchange views on our responses to various challenges," she said.

Doing so could "help both sides more fully understand the global economic outlook and make better decisions to strengthen our economies," she said.

Despite talk of U.S.-China economic decoupling, recent data show a trade relationship that is fundamentally solid, with two-way trade hitting a record $690 billion last year.

Yellen repeated her mantra that Washington is not seeking a winner-take-all approach or economic advantage in its relations with China, but wanted to ensure a healthy competition with a "fair set of rules" that would benefit both countries over time.

The United States would continue to communicate directly its concerns about specific economic practices, and would take targeted actions to protect its national security, Yellen said.

She urged China not to allow any disagreements to "lead to misunderstandings, particularly those stemming from a lack of communication, which can unnecessarily worsen our bilateral economic and financial relationship."
This photograph taken on May 11, 2022 shows Shivaram, a villager walking through the cracked bottom of a dried-out pond on a hot summer day at Bandai village in Pali district. - Every day dozens of villagers, mostly women and children, wait with blue plastic jerry cans and metal pots for a special train bringing precious water to people suffering a heatwave in India's desert state of Rajasthan.

The United States and China, as the world's two largest economies, must work together to combat the "existential threat" of climate change, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told Chinese government officials and climate experts on Saturday.

During a visit to Beijing, Yellen said previous cooperation on climate change between the U.S. and China had made possible global breakthroughs such as the 2015 Paris Agreement, adding that both governments wanted to support emerging markets and developing countries as they strive to meet their climate goals.

"Continued U.S.-China cooperation on climate finance is critical," Yellen said in a prepared text. "As the world's two largest emitters of greenhouse gases and the largest investors in renewable energy, we have both a joint responsibility  and ability  to lead the way."

She said financing for such initiatives should be coordinated efficiently and effectively, adding that Beijing's support for existing multilateral climate institutions like the Green Climate Fund and the Climate Investment Funds, alongside the Washington and others, could boost their impact.

China is the largest market after Europe for climate funds, surpassing the U.S. as funds in China have more than doubled since 2021 to $46.7 billion, according to research firm Morningstar.

But the World Bank said last year China needs up to $17 trillion in additional investment for green infrastructure and technology in the power and transport sectors to reach its target of net-zero carbon emissions by 2060, underscoring the need for private investment.

"It is also critical that we encourage economy-wide transitions toward net-zero, which needs to include the private sector," Yellen said, echoing that call, adding it was imperative to that climate-aligned investment be "interoperable" with both the U.S. and Chinese economic systems.

Yellen said she looked forward to hearing recommendations from working groups at the upcoming Group of 20 finance ministers meetings in India, including the Sustainable Finance Working Group, which the United States and China co-chair.

That group had in recent years developed a roadmap for sustainable finance, held workshops on carbon pricing and non-pricing policy levers, developed a transition finance framework, and made a range of recommendations on climate finance, she said.

"This is a good of example of what our bilateral cooperation can achieve  and we should build on it in multilateral forums," she said.
Putin and Xi held two days of talks in March with warm words of friendship between China and Russia and joint criticism of the West, but no sign of a diplomatic breakthrough over Ukraine.

US President Joe Biden told Chinese President Xi Jinping following his meeting with Russia's Vladimir Putin to "be careful" because Beijing relies on Western investment, according to excerpts from an interview with CNN.

"I said: This is not a threat. This is an observation," Biden said.

"Since Russia went into Ukraine, 600 American corporations have pulled out of Russia. And you have told me that your economy depends on investment from Europe and the United States. And be careful. Be careful.

Putin and Xi held two days of talks in March with warm words of friendship between China and Russia and joint criticism of the West, but no sign of a diplomatic breakthrough over Ukraine.

The pair also participated in a virtual summit earlier this week.

There are heightened tensions and pessimism in the US-China relationship over national security issues, including Taiwan, Russia's war in Ukraine, growing U.S. export bans on advanced technologies and China's state-led industrial policies.

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen was continuing a visit to China on Saturday.

Asked what Xi's response was, Biden said: "He listened, and he didn't...argue. And if you notice, he has not gone full-bore in on Russia.

"So, I think there's a way we can work through this."
Saturday's protest was called by the family of Adama Traore, a Black Frenchman who died in police custody in circumstances similar to the killing of George Floyd in the United States.

Paris police banned a protest on Saturday against violence by the force, a week after France was rocked by riots sparked by the killing of a teenager in a suburb of the French capital.

The Paris police department said in a decision published on its website that it had banned the planned demonstration on the Place de la Republique over risks to public order, citing a "context of tensions.

French authorities and politicians including President Emmanuel Macron have denied institutional racism within the country's law enforcement agencies.

The police have come under scrutiny after the June 27 fatal shooting by a police officer of Nahel M at a traffic stop. The 17-year-old was driving a sports car without a licence.

Saturday's protest was called by the family of Adama Traore, a Black Frenchman who died in police custody in circumstances similar to the killing of George Floyd in the United States.

The demonstration against alleged police violence and racial discrimination was initially planned as a march in Beaumont-sur-Oise, another Paris suburb, where Traore died in 2016.

But this had already been banned by local authorities, citing an elevated risk to public order and security.

The ban was upheld by a court on Friday, prompting the call for a gathering in central Paris instead. Left-wing leaders, including the LFI parliamentary group chief Mathilde Panot, had said they would join the gathering.

It was not immediately clear whether the organisers would challenge the new ban by the Paris authorities.

Further demonstrations over Nahel's killing are planned in several major French cities over the weekend, including Marseille and Strasbourg.

A policeman who prosecutors said acknowledged firing a lethal shot at Nahel is under formal investigation for voluntary homicide, equivalent to being charged under Anglo-Saxon law.

His lawyer has said the officer had aimed at the driver's leg but was bumped when the car drove off, causing him to shoot towards his chest, and had not intended to kill the teenager.

Separately, the French foreign ministry on Saturday denied a UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) allegation of racial discrimination and excessive use of force by French law enforcement officials.

The UN body had said on Friday that France should make it a priority to address "the structural and systemic causes of racial discrimination, including in law enforcement.

"Any accusation of systemic racism or discrimination by law enforcement in France is unfounded", the foreign ministry said, echoing similar statements it has made previously.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 8)  Caloocan Bishop Pablo Virgilio David was reelected as the head of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) during its 126th plenary assembly in Kalibo, Aklan on Saturday.

RELATED: Caloocan bishop denies ever attacking Duterte

The 64-year-old David  who openly condemned the killings during the previous administration's war on drugs  will serve another two years for his second and last term.

David was one of the four bishops charged in 2019 with inciting to sedition, cyber libel, libel, harboring a criminal, and obstruction of justice.

The following year, they were cleared of sedition charges, which stemmed from a viral video that linked former President Rodrigo Duterte and his family to the illegal drug trade.

READ: CBCP head: Sedition case vs. bishops unbelievable

Bishop Mylo Hubert Vergara of Pasig was also reappointed as vice president of the CBCP.

David and Vergara, along with Manila Archbishop Jose Cardinal Advincula and theologian Estela Padilla, will be among the Filipino delegates to the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops set for Oct. 4 to 29 in Rome.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 8)  The Philippines and Italy are expected to hold discussions to strengthen defense ties, Italian Ambassador to the Philippines Marco Clemente said on Saturday following the arrival of Italian navy ship Francesco Morosini in Manila for a goodwill visit.

In a media briefing, the Italian envoy said both sides are working hard to finalize a memorandum on this.

There will be negotiations also to reach a more, let's say, more clear juridical context in the form of some agreements to improve the cooperation in the military industry context, Clemente said.

The Italian technology in this field is amazing We have a lot to offer, and I'm glad to say that the Philippines, they have a lot to ask, and they are very interested in our technology, he added.

The ambassador also affirmed Italy's position that a rules-based international order must prevail in disputed waters, as he expressed support for the 2016 landmark ruling by a tribunal in The Hague which upheld Manila's sovereign rights within its exclusive economic zone in the contested South China Sea.

Clemente said the legally binding arbitral award set clear the concept that international law should always rule, as far as the law of the sea is concerned.

I think that the mission of the Morosini is in line with this award, he added.

The Italian vessel made a port call in Manila as part of a five-month naval campaign in the Indo-Pacific region. The ambassador said the ship's tour is a clear signal that the region is important to Italy and that his country wants to play a role in ensuring stability in the area.

Italy is very much interested in the stability of the region, and this is a military aspect also that must be thrashed out during the meetings that will take place in the context of this visit, he said.

The Indo-Pacific region is crucial not only for obvious geostrategic reasons, but also let's not forget that through this area, the main bulk of the international trade goes through. So, stability in this region means also free trade and stability of the economic situation, which is in the interest of all countries, Clemente explained.
In this file photo, Mrs. Betty Higby, Denver Mint superintendent, holds the first Centennial medal to come off the mint's presses for Colorado Gov. Richard Lamm on Jan. 20, 1975, soon after the Democrat was inaugurated for his first term. The state medal was the only one issued in connection with the nation's Bicentennial in 1976.


In a surprise move, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday interacted with farmers in Haryana's Sonipat and joined them in planting paddy in the field. Congress Rajya Sabha MP Imran Pratapgarhi told IANS that Rahul Gandhi was on his way to Shimla when he suddenly decided to meet the farmers in Sonipat.



He stopped his vehicle, went to the farmlands, drove a tractor and also tried his hands in planting the rice paddy crop.



"Even after completing his Bharat Jodo Yatra, Rahul Gandhi continues to stay connected with the public," Pratapgarhi said.



According to party leaders, he also asked the farmers about the issues they are facing and about their earnings. However, Rahul Gandhi then returned to Delhi cancelling his Shimla trip due to bad weather, party sources said.



Congress General Secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala said that Rahul Gandhi visited the Madina village in Gohana area of Sonepat and interacted with farmers and assured them of his support.



In a tweet, Surjewala said, "Rahul Gandhi reached the fields with farmers this morning in Madina village of Gohana in Haryana. He planted paddy, and also talked to the farmers and labourers, inquired about their well-being, discussed agriculture, he drove a tractor, asked their problems and reiterated his resolution to fulfill the responsibility and his continuous support to them.



"This simplicity and public relation of Rahul ji is the biggest asset of all of us. Go ahead Rahul, the country is with you," the Rajya Sabha MP said.



Earlier also, the Congress leader surprised the people with his sudden visits among the public. In March, he visited the Bengali Market and Jama Masjid area in the national capital. Later, he went to Mukherjee Nagar area and interacted with UPSC aspirants.



Gandhi also went to Delhi University's PG men's hostel over lunch and then Haryana's Murthal and from there he took a truck ride till Ambala.



Recently, he had also visited a bike repairing shop in Karol Bagh area in Delhi and interacted with the bike mechanics.



During his recent visit to the US, Gandhi had also taken a truck ride from New York to Washington DC. While in Karnataka during the Assembly elections, he had interacted with the delivery partners and took a scooter ride with them.



Rahul Gandhi had completed his 4,000 km Bharat Jodo Yatra from Tamil Nadu's Kanyakumari to Jammu and Kashmir's Srinagar. After his yatra concluded on January 30, he has been interacting with people.






Believe it or not, there was a time when Jay Leno was a young, up-and-coming comic. Elder Statesman Jay probably has earned a decent amount of respect from military brass, but the younger version with the wide tie who occasionally filled in for Johnny Carson? Were guessing not so much. So when a general confronted Leno prior to an early 1980s appearance at a White House Correspondents Dinner, were guessing the military man scared the crap out of the comic.

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It was Lenos first go-round at one of these events and his assignment was to give Ronald Reagan a hard time, he told Kelly Clarkson. But the general, bedazzled with combat medals, had other ideas. That's the President of the United States, you understand? That is my commander-in-chief, the general barked, poking his chest for emphasis. You do not denigrate him. You do not make fun of him. He is the President of the United States. He is my commander. DO YOU UNDERSTAND?

A terrified Leno managed a yes, sir despite the fact that denigrating and making fun of the President was exactly what he had been flown to Washington to do. Oh man, Ive got to change my act here, thought Leno.

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Two minutes later, Leno was approached again, this time by Secretary of State George Schultz, cocktail in hand and already three sheets to the wind. Leno, come here, come here, Schultz said. You get out there and you nail Ronnie's ass to the wall!

Leno started to protest. But that general

Screw him, slurred Schultz, he works for me! And I'm telling you what to do. You make fun of that black thing on Reagan's head, you understand? (Were guessing that black thing on Reagans head referred to the stiff head of hair that always looked like it had been dyed with black shoe polish.)

I didnt know what to do now, Leno confessed to Clarkson.

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What did you do? she asked.

Oh, I nailed him to the wall.

How mean was Leno? His opening joke was directed at Reagans wife Nancy, who had recently received a humanitarian award. Leno hit her with Im glad you beat out that conniving Mother Teresa. The President laughed  hey, the poke was at Nancys expense, not his  and Leno knew that as long as Ronnie was chuckling, the general couldnt say a damn thing.
With all due respect to Saturday Night Live star James Austin Johnsons immaculate Donald Trump impression, theres no way the real Big Cheese knows how to correctly say Zendaya.

To anyone who hasnt seen Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, Johnson/Trumps recently posted tirade about the conspicuous absence of Shia LaBeoufs character Muff Williams from the blockbuster demands some background that includes massive spoilers  while in real life, LaBeoufs legal trouble and progressively souring public persona basically ensured that his entrance into the iconic franchise with the much-maligned 2008 film Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull would be followed by an unceremonious off-screen exit.

The Dial of Destiny writers decided that the best way to remove the presidentially beloved Mutt was  I shit you not  to kill off Indys son in the Vietnam War sometime between the events of the fourth and fifth film. Johnson/Trump, incredulous at this decision, ranted about LaBeouf, Indiana Jones, Transformers, the work of Steven Soderbergh, branded McDonalds soda cups and the state of the movie business for five minutes while wandering around an empty parking lot.
If someone asked you what humanitys best invention was, you might have some high-minded ideas about the wheel or photography or pizza rolls, but you could go way longer without all of those things than indoor plumbing. Youd be an emotional and physical mess without reliable access to the facilities and tools to wash your body, clean your teeth and send your waste on a little adventure.

That said, plenty of people throughout history have made do. Sure, life was a little different, but thats the price you pay for living in The Past.

5 Modesty Was Impossible Contrary to what lazy actors in historical theme parks might suggest, most people in most cultures for most of history bathed regularly. They just didnt have private little rooms to do it in. Of course, in Ancient Greece and Rome, public bathing was the standard, but it continued on and off right up through today as a cultural practice. Even after the rich retreated to their tubs, the less fortunate still had to get their wash on in the local swimming hole. Just you and everyone else in town, hanging out naked. Admittedly, you can get a lot of blackmail information and prevent some serious romantic mistakes this way, but that would go for you, too. The industrial age didnt kill the way-too-friendly bath, either, at least not immediately. Without an easier way to heat water, it had to be boiled on the stove in a process you bet your ass your mom was not gonna do multiple times, which meant everyone in the family taking turns in the same bath water in a tub in the kitchen. Sometimes, the tub was passed around in a soapy carousel between multiple families, which had to lead to a lot of HOA drama. If you think its annoying when a neighbor borrows your ladder and takes their sweet time returning it, imagine if they had your only means of defunking.

4 Underwear Was Really Important Keep in mind, we did say most of history. In colonial Europe, peeking its head out on the other side of the Black Death, the concept of cleanliness got all turned around. Bathing was frowned upon because it opened the pores, which was believed to be how disease got in. Instead, people relied on their underwear, another idea they got totally backwards. They looked at their skid marks and decided the underwear was keeping them clean by drawing the filth out of them like some kind of wearable poop leech. Advertisement Advertisement Underwears perceived role in cleanliness was so important that it took on all kinds of weird symbolic meaning. Were talking undies that cover a lot more than just the butt, so you wanted it peeking out from your sleeves and your collar so everyone could see how clean it was and hence how clean your soul was. Of course, not even Danny Tanners panties were spotless, so this meant vigilant laundry practices were required to maintain the illusion of the first incarnation of the exposed thong trend.

3 Dental Hygiene Was Metal As Hell When Ke$ha brushed her teeth with a bottle of Jack, she wasnt just being resourceful  she was keeping an ancient practice alive. Weve known alcohol is a great antiseptic since about five minutes after we discovered it, probably when we drunkenly spilled it onto an open battle wound, and your drinkin booze was, in fact, the same as your rubbin booze. As far back as Pliny the Elder, experts recommended wine and beer as mouthwash, though anyone whos ever fallen asleep after a bender without brushing their teeth can attest to its violent ineffectiveness. Advertisement Advertisement Likewise, weve always used something to clean our teeth, but it was vastly less pleasant than even the stiffest Dollar Store toothbrush, usually rough sticks and burnt herbs. By colonial America, though, we had reliable access to a much wider array of abrasive powders that would just so happen to be right at home in some heavy metal lyrics. Were talking crushed animal bones and gunpowder. By comparison, your dental hygiene routine is some real sissy shit. At least you can pretend to squeeze the life out of the toothpaste tube.

2 The Pessoi, Ancient Greeces Ultimate Fuck You Throughout human history, weve used all kinds of things to wipe our asses. Corn cobs, pine cones, a sponge on a stick, a random handful of leaves that we prayed werent poison ivy  pretty much whatever was around. In that respect, the pessoi  a shard of ceramics that had been sanded down and smoothed over  sounds downright soothing. Was it kind of weird to walk around with your own personal shit scraper? Maybe. But the pessoi served another purpose as well: adding insult to injury to those youd run out of town. Advertisement Advertisement See, a pessoi could be made from any old dropped bowl, but they were often made from ostraca, ceramic chips that Ancient Greeks wrote peoples names on to vote to expel them from the community. Its the origin of the word ostracize. If you voted particularly hard, you might keep your ostraca as a sentimental ass-wiper. Honestly, we should bring this back. Normalize carrying a roll of toilet paper with James Corden printed on it.
Chinese company New Shipping Line will provide five ice class vessels for transportation along the The Chinese business, New Shipping Line, will provide five ice-class vessels for transportation along the Northern Sea Route, with the ships travelling between China and Russia, weather permitting. The shipping period may also be extended until November, the company's representative Jing Ke told journalists on Friday.

The Northern Sea Route is the shortest maritime route between European Russia and the Far East on Russia's territorial waters, with a total length of 5,600km.

Photo Credit: SputnikInt




The high casualty rates in Russian combat units has led to increasing protests from wives and mothers of men conscripted or mobilized (persuaded or forced to join) into the army. The government quickly outlawed publication of casualty statistics. The ban applied to the conventional media as well as the growing number of news outlets on the Internet. The Internet is notoriously difficult to censor, especially when it comes to very emotional issues like husbands, sons and brothers going, willingly or unwillingly, into the military during war time. This is especially true during wars with very high casualty rates. Such was the case for Russians during the two World Wars. After 1945 Russia managed to avoid major wars for more than three decades. That changed when the Soviet Union leaders ignored warnings from the military and ordered an invasion of Afghanistan. That led to unprecedented public protests from the families of soldiers killed and later families of soldiers in Afghanistan. For the first time in Russian history, the military made an effort to return the bodies of soldiers killed in battle. Because the bodies were decaying, zinc-lined wooden coffins were used. Returning the bodies to their families did not reduce the protests and soon wives and mothers were openly conducting zinc coffin protests. The public protests contributed to the Russian withdrawal from Afghanistan and the collapse of the Soviet Union a few years later. Thirty years later its happening all over again. The government still has no way to halt the protests and the widespread availability of the Internet, especially on cell phones, makes the protests more visible and immediate these days. The government has discovered that such protests interfere with its recruiting efforts. The old lies and false promises no longer work. The military is still getting new troops, but not as many or as quickly as they want. The new recruits are more aware of poor preparation (training and equipment) and combat leadership that is common in Ukraine. All this led to severe morale problems.

The February 2022 invasion of Ukraine is revealing to the rest of the world problems the Russian military has suffered from for over a century. Its all about conscription and, since 1917, the Russian government not trusting their troops and Russians now going to extremes to avoid being conscripted. This widespread opposition to peacetime conscription was unique to Russia. Other European nations adopted conscription as early as the 1800s, but none had as much popular dislike of conscription and some very real reasons to avoid conscript service.

Even the United States, which rarely used peacetime conscription, had it during peacetime for about twenty-nine years between 1940-41, and 1946-73.

Americans tolerated conscription in wartime as long as all young men were subject to it. During the Civil War it was possible for families with money to pay a relatively large sum to keep their sons out of uniform. This led to violence in many areas. By 1940, when peacetime conscription was once more used, there were no problems with selectivity. The who should serve problem returned in the 1960s. This is often attributed to the unpopular Vietnam War (1965-72) but conscription was also unpopular during the earlier (1950-53) Korean War. Both wars were unpopular with most Americans because the United States was not threatened with attack, unlike the two World Wars. In Korea the government used reservists as much as possible and kept the war from escalating, so few conscripts were sent into battle. The 1960s was different because the large Baby Boom generation, of children born after World War II, were reaching 18 in large numbers throughout the decade and even without a war in Vietnam, there would have been growing popular support for eliminating conscription because there were far more young men available for conscription than the military needed. Even with the Vietnam War, by 1970 politicians had to heed demands for an end to peacetime conscription and that was done by 1973. Britain, alone among European nations, also had a tradition of avoiding peacetime conscription. Britain had conscription during World War I but dropped it in 1920. Conscription returned in World War II but despite the Cold War, Britain ended conscription in 1960.

When the Cold War ended unexpectedly in 1991 with the collapse of the Soviet Union, European voters began demanding an end to conscription. That happened throughout Europe during the 1990s, but was reversed after 2014 when a much-reduced Russian military again became a threat. This was a different threat because post-Soviet Russia had a military one fifth the size of the Cold War Soviet forces and most of the troops were very reluctant conscripts who only had to serve one year. Even that was worth a large bribe, if your family could afford it, to buy an exemption. One of the many causes of the Soviet Union collapsing was increasing public protests against Russian conscripts being killed in an unpopular eight-year war in Afghanistan. Some 15,000 Russian died in Afghanistan, most of them conscripts. There were unprecedented public protests by parents who had lost sons as well as parents who did not want their conscripted sons sent there.

In the 1990s there were more protests, this time by Russian voters in a democratic Russia that sent thousands of conscripts into the Caucasus to put down a Chechen uprising. Many conscripts were killed and Russian leaders finally remembered that they lowered their losses in Afghanistan by depending more on commandos and airborne troops, who were all volunteers. Some of those volunteers were conscripts who felt up to the challenge of being a spetsnaz commando or paratrooper, and the Afghans feared these troops. By 2014 Russian leaders realized that getting conscripts killed in combat outside of Russia was not worth the political trouble and formed all-volunteer combat units that were only about ten percent of the military, though that was but one of many problems that still existed in the Russian military.

Since the 1990s Russia has been trying, without much success, to address these many problems. For example, since 2019 the Russian Army has once more tried other approaches to create enough sergeants to match Western success with the NCO (non-commissioned officer) form of troop leadership. The 2019 effort was an experiment with the use of a senior sergeant (starshina or sergeant major) similar to those that have long existed in Western armies, and Russian forces until World War I. This was the latest post-1991 attempt to revive the authority and respect NCOs had in the Russian army until the early 1920s. In theory, Russia reintroduced NCO (sergeant) ranks in 2011 but that system was never accepted or able to sustain itself. The 2019 plan took place in only one of the five military districts. It involved selecting 370 soldiers who met high standards for special training and encouraged enough to become effective NCOs willing to make a career of being an NCO. This was supposed to provide enough competent NCOs who could select and train other young soldiers to be NCOs. The starshina effort was only partially successful because only troops in the elite spetsnaz and airborne units provided satisfactory career opportunities for veteran NCOs. The rest of the military was rather less appealing, or even accepting.

China took a different approach under similar circumstances. Initially, in the 1940s, the Chinese used the old Soviet (communist era) rank system but still kept some lower NCO ranks and a tradition of career NCOs. As a result, China never lost its old school tradition of sergeants. In 2009 China switched over to the Western system with nine enlisted soldier ranks. Six of those ranks were for NCOs with the top one being sergeant major. China has been successful with this system and Russia has not.

Until World War I the old czarist army had an impressive number of effective NCOs. In part, this was because the czarist era conscription took in young men, who were not volunteers, for twenty years. This enabled most young men to avoid military duty altogether. The ablest of the conscripts could become senior NCOs, and these sergeants were respected and received good (by Russian standards then) post-service benefits. During World War II Russia produced many effective NCOs because universal wartime conscription brought in a true cross-section of the adult male population (this was also true of the U.S. Army in WWII), near-universal combat experience among the Red Army, and lack of time to train outstanding troops as officers. But right after both World Wars Russia got rid of these experienced sergeants by offering officer ranks for those who wanted to stay in the military and thereby eliminated the experienced wartime NCOs.

After 1991 and the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia noted their post-World War II experience and the Chinese system. In 2011, after over a decade of false starts and failure, the Russian Army believed it had a workable plan to create an efficient NCO force. That first effort did not work, despite the fact that for most of the last century, the peacetime Russian Army has been a mess, and the main reason has been the lack of NCOs. Conscription has been a contributing factor, as too many troops were just there for two or three years, and left just as some were becoming useful and capable of being a career NCO. The 2011 plan tried to take advantage of this by offering selected conscripts a competitive (with civilian jobs) wage if they agreed to continued service, with the option of promotion to better paying NCOs rank. There were many volunteers, or "contract" ("kontrakti" in Russian) soldiers, and those deemed NCO material were sent to special NCO schools. Russian officers examined such methods in Western armies and adopted the Western techniques they believed would work in Russia.

The army generals also accepted the fact that Western NCOs come in many different flavors. Most of these NCOs are just technical specialists, while a smaller number are supervisors and leaders. Russia accepts that NCOs must be trained to be able to take over command if all the officers are killed or disabled. This actually happened during World War II, but that made Communist Party leaders nervous. They noted that during the communist revolution in 1917, many of the rebel leaders had been NCOs in the Czarist army. The communists also noted that this was not the first time this had happened. It had occurred several times in the last two centuries, most notably during the French revolution of the 1790s. For monarchists and despots of all flavors, NCOs were and are a flaw, not a feature, of an effective peacetime military. That decision was a long-term failure because the NCOs are essential for knowing what is going on with the troops (morale, skills, loyalty and so on) and are sensitive to any changes. Officers can rarely do that even though, on paper, Russian junior officers are supposed to take care of this. Trying to use lieutenants in place as older and more experienced sergeants missed the point that the key NCOs are the older ones, with a decade or more in service. These are the platoon sergeants and company first sergeants, as well as key members of headquarters staffs. After all, who do you think trains the new officers and enlisted soldiers joining these organizations? Same with teams of technical personnel. The most obvious example is the team of maintainers who look after aircraft and helicopters and are supervised by an NCO crew chief, who is the guy the pilot talks to before taking off and after returning.

After World War II, the ratio of officers to troops was expanded in the Russian military and professional NCOs practically disappeared. With that, morale plummeted and discipline disintegrated. The dismal effects of this policy were obvious whenever Russian troops came under fire, as in Hungary (1956), Czechoslovakia (1968) and Afghanistan in the 1980s. But the problems were ignored. Russian leaders continued to believe that "quantity had a quality all its own." It does, but with the rise of the machines, it no longer works with poorly trained and led armies. It definitely does not work when parents can vote and publicly protest abuse of conscripts or the continued use of conscription.

Since the 1980s Russia also had a declining birth rate to contend with, which meant there were fewer and fewer young men to recruit. The end of the Soviet police state made it easier to evade conscription, which most potential conscripts did and still do, but in even greater numbers. Russia can no longer rely on quantity or make up for a lack of quality. The 2011 Russian plan failed because not enough young men (or women) were interested in joining the army as anything but an officer.

Russia has tried to avoid going with an all-volunteer force, as most other European nations have done. Partly it was a lack of money and partly a reluctance to do away with the tradition of conscription. Because of the lack of NCOs, conscripts have had an awful time for decades, and this has become a source of popular and legendary discontent about military service. The Soviet government managed to suppress popular unrest over this. But even before the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991, fathers, and grandfathers, and especially their wives, were no longer quietly enduring this mess, and the abuse their sons were exposed to. The 2011 plan was to simultaneously eliminate the hazing of new recruits while flooding the army with competent NCOs. The latter was the real cure for the hazing, as NCOs spend a lot more time in the barracks, and with the troops. A competent NCO can sort out problems in the barracks. In the West, they do it all the time. It is one of their primary functions. Even with Russian conscription now one year for most soldiers, there is still the hazing of new conscripts by those who have been in a few months. Eliminating this debilitating hazing has proved much more difficult than anyone anticipated.

The 2011 reforms failed in part because Russian conscripts only serve 12 months, hardly enough time to turn young civilians into anything militarily useful. Most of the kontrakti were trained in the old army and easily slipped into the old bad habits like hazing and bullying younger troops, even fellow kontrakti. The new, trained, NCOs arrived slowly and found themselves in an uphill battle against "tradition." Many of these new NCOs reacted by not renewing their contracts and leaving. Change does not come easily in the Russian army. But if the Russians are ever to have a capable military, they have to create credible platoon and 1st Sergeants as well as Sergeants Major. An experiment in the Southern Military District was another new approach that worked better than earlier efforts, but was not successful enough to be considered a major sign of progress.

Russia was reminded of these problems after 2014 when they sent troops, in unmarked uniforms, into eastern Ukraine (Donbas). There the fighting continued and local forces, paid like kontrakti, were inadequate to the task and many were simply quitting and leaving Russian-controlled areas of Donbas. Russia thought they could send some conscripts into Donbas as support troops. Some of these men were killed and a few captured by Ukrainian forces. The Russian conscripts complained that they were deceived and not told they were going into a combat zone, although the unmarked uniforms were rather suspicious. Russia outlawed public discussion of military casualties but this did not stop the bad news from circulating via the Internet and social media. Currently Russia is arresting thousands of civilians protesting the war in Ukraine. The army initially did send units with conscripts into Ukraine to handle transportation and distribution of supply as well as for policing parts of the Ukraine that it believed would soon be free of Ukrainian resistance. This caused no end of trouble, embarrassing casualties and protests.

Since 2015 Ukraine has organized, trained and armed thousands of volunteers as local defense forces. Weapons were stockpiled for distribution to volunteers if the Russians invaded. The Russians came in 2022 and the local volunteers made Russian travel through many liberated areas dangerous. The volunteers shoot at any armed Russians, be they conscripts or kontrakti. In some cases, the Russian combat units were told to just bypass this unexpected resistance and let units full of armed and capable conscripts take care of it. Old traditions die hard in Russia.
The military government recently appointed a new Minister of Mines after the previous one resigned because recent cuts in electrical power caused popular unrest and complaints from Malis important gold mining companies that they could not maintain current production levels because there was less electricity available. The government then cut electricity supplies for the general population in order to keep the mines operating at full capacity. Mali currently produces over 50 tons of gold a year, which makes it the third largest gold producer in Africa. Not included is the small but growing quantity of gold extracted illegally by individuals and small groups. Growing poverty in Mali has caused more men to join this effort. The gold is used to buy essential good that were previously supplied by foreign aid.

Gold is also used to pay the Russian Wagner Group mercenaries that were hired by the Mali military government in 2021 to train Mali troops, especially in the use of weapons purchased from Russia. The supply of Russian weapons, and Wagner mercenaries was disrupted in February 2022 when Russia invaded Ukraine and heavy sanctions were imposed on Russia by NATO countries. African countries didnt care what Russia was doing in Ukraine but did care about their disrupted weapons supply line from Russia.

There are about a thousand Wagner personnel in Mali and the Mali military government has no problem paying the mercenaries or for weapons purchased from Russia. Mali is a major producer of gold and the Russians will take payment in gold. Russia maintains a huge gold stockpile (about 2,300 tons), the fifth largest in the world. The Russian gold is an emergency fund that is now being tapped to pay for military operations in Ukraine.

The military government in Mali hoped that hiring Russian Wagner Group mercenaries would enable Mali to maintain control of northern and central Mali. These two regions have been under growing attack by Islamic terror groups but the Russians made it worse. The Mali military government is running out of people to blame for the mess they got themselves into. The problems began when the military government ordered the independent French Barkhane counter-terrorism force out of Mali by the end of 2021. Since then, Mali threatened to force the 15,000 UN peacekeepers out of the country unless the UN agreed to give the Mali military government control over what the peacekeepers can do. The UN and AU nations supplying the peacekeepers refused. The government is particularly angry at the way the peacekeepers report on atrocities committed by Mali security forces as well as the Russian Wagner Group military contractors. Brutality and incompetence by the military is what triggered a 2011 rebellion in the north and it was France that restored government control in the north. Mali then held elections and restored democratic government. The new reform government quickly proved to be as corrupt as previous ones and there followed two more military governments. The current one staged a coup against the previous military government. That is another example of how dysfunctional Mali governments are.

The government forced the French and G5 peacekeepers out by the end of 2021. Mali wanted to keep the 13,500 UN peacekeepers that maintains government control over the rebellious north. These peacekeepers are supplied by AU (African Union) nations and some of the African nations supplying these peacekeepers are withdrawing that support. A few percent of the peacekeeping force consists of troops from NATO nations that supply specialized services, especially transport helicopters and other services. People in areas where the peacekeepers are stationed warn that the security situation will deteriorate once the peacekeepers depart because the military government has not got the ability to maintain local security. Thats going to hurt the economy and cause more residents to flee the country. This is how corruption often ruins the local economy. Then again, elected officials were often corrupt. The pattern is that too many corrupt elected officials leads to rebellion or, more likely, a coup by the military, who tend to be no more effective than the people they replaced.

There was growing opposition among UN members for maintaining the expensive peacekeeper force, which is the most dangerous the UN is currently involved with. The Mali peacekeeping operation costs about half a billion dollars a month and that is about the only foreign aid Mali gets now that the military government is in control. Most foreign aid was halted because the government was stealing so much of the aid. It is difficult to steal any of the money spent on peacekeepers but the government seems to be trying to do just that.

Once the UN voted to maintain the Mali peacekeeping force for another year, the military government began harassing the peacekeepers and threatening to expel all of them. The peacekeepers serve on contracts (with the UN) for varying periods usually between two and six months. The withdrawal of the peacekeepers began on July 1st and will be completed by the end of 2023.

While the military government feuds with the UN, the Islamic terror groups continue advancing south towards the capital, which is near the southern border and Guinea, which provides access to the sea. In the southwest is Burkina Faso, which also has a military government and growing problems with Islamic terrorists.

Without the French-led counterterrorism effort in Mali, the Islamic terrorists are expanding the territory they control while terrorizing civilians and killing soldiers and peacekeepers. The Islamic terrorists are also fighting each other. The larger Islamic terror group, an al Qaeda coalition called JNIM (Jamaah Nusrah al Islam wal Muslimin, or Group for the support of Islam and Moslems), is gaining control over more of Mali and even making more frequent attacks near the capital of Bamako down south.

In the north, ISGS (Islamic States in Greater Sahara) Islamic terrorists near the Niger border have taken advantage of the departure of French counterterrorism forces in 2021 by seizing and holding territory in Mali. This began with more attacks on the Niger border. The departing French and G5 counter-terrorism forces had kept the Islamic terrorists out of Mali. The Mali army and a small number of Russian (Wagner Group) military contractors have been unable, or unwilling, to carry on with that effort or prevent the Islamic terror groups from crossing the border and advancing into Mali. ISGS is one of the two ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant) groups in the region. When they showed up in 2018, ISGS operated mainly in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, especially the area where the three borders meet.

Since late 2022 ISGS have been working to take control of the border between Mali and Niger. Mali responded with soldiers and a handful of Wagner Group mercenaries but that was unsuccessful. After that Mali did nothing about the situation as its security forces and the UN peacekeepers were needed elsewhere. The Niger government was also unable to respond and sought to negotiate a deal with ISGS. Appearing in 2015 as an affiliate of ISIL and part of ISWAP (Islamic State West Africa Province) that changed in 2021 when ISGS declared itself separate from ISWAP and declared northern Mali and some areas in Niger and Burkina Faso its future caliphate. The ISIL affiliated Islamic terrorists are far more violent than the more numerous al Qaeda. This also means casualties for the 12,000 UN peacekeepers. ISGS violence involves attacks on Islamic terror groups that refuse to take orders from ISIL.

The tri-border (Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso) area has been a terrorist hotspot since 2018 because Islamic terror groups can just cross the border to escape any effective counterterrorism efforts. For that reason, this area has been called the Menaka Region. Previously this area was just part of the larger Gao Region, centered on one of the few cities in the north. The area being fought over is near where the borders of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso meet. Menaka has become ungovernable because so many Islamic terrorists and bandits now operate here. The French counterterrorism forces regularly searched for and attacked specific Islamic terrorist targets. The Mali government underestimated how important the French forces, with their airmobile troops, UAV surveillance and ground attack aircraft were in keeping the Islamic terrorists from establishing themselves inside Mali. The current Mali military government has no clear plan for dealing with this situation and are withdrawing their counterterrorism forces south, to protect the capital and the more prosperous and populous south.

The neighbors see the reliance on Wagner Group as the main cause for more Islamic terrorists operating in Mali and spreading to neighboring countries. This includes Algeria, which has been largely Islamic terrorism free for over a decade. Now Algeria is seeing a return of Islamic terrorist activity because of the growing number of active Islamic terrorists across the border in northern Mali. Despite this, Mali does not want the French back because that makes it easier for foreigners to document the growing corruption of the military government. These corruption reports lead to more countries imposing individual sanctions on officers running the military government and profiting from the corruption. So far the strategy of the Mali military officers running the government is to abandon northern, and portions of central Mali to the Islamic terror groups. Complaints from the neighbors are ignored even though that means less foreign aid for Mali. The source of all these problems is corruption and Mali is the most corrupt and ineptly governed nation in the region. Because of that the French and AU counter-terrorism forces expelled from Mali have regrouped in neighboring countries that want protection from the growing Islamic terrorist activity in Mali. In the midst of all this, ambitious Mali politicians continue to blame all the problems on African and non-African foreigners as well as neighboring countries that cooperate with these evil foreigners and their schemes to destroy Mali. Russia is seen as a friend of Mali because Russia is one of the few countries with a veto power in the UN. This is not the same as control of the UN but does allow Russia to disrupt some UN efforts to interfere in Mali, especially criticism of the military government or publicizing the corruption and brutality of the Mali generals.

Mali has become a dangerous place for foreign journalists and local journalists that criticize the government or the Russian presence. The Islamic terrorists continue advancing south towards the capital Bamako and the nearby gold mines. Bamako contains about twelve percent of the national population and an even larger proportion of the national GDP. For over a year there has been growing Islamic terrorist activity near Bamako. Most of this is attacks on police checkpoints or ambushing police or soldiers. Some of the attackers were later discovered to be locals who were recruited by Islamic terror groups and put to work. Most (95 percent) Malians are Moslem.

June 30, 2023: The UN approved the withdrawal of UN peacekeepers and other UN personnel from Mali. The departure will begin leaving in July and all will be gone by the end of 2023. The departure of the UN personnel will also mean less foreign aid because there is no one there to verify that the aid gets to those that need it. Unmonitored aid is often stolen.

June 29, 2023: The Russian government informed Mali that it would manage the Wagner Group forces in Mali directly. The former Wagner Group leader recently tried, and failed to overthrow the Russian government.

June 27, 2023: In the northeast (near Gao) Islamic terrorists attacked several rural villages, killing 13 civilians and wounding many more. Over a hundred villagers fled as the attackers looted their homes and took farm animals. In the past the Islamic terrorists would just show up and take what they needed. Now they are using violence, which causes the civilians to flee and often not come back. There is a growing refugee problem in the north because of these violent raids. Many of the refugee camps are across the border in Niger. The attacks take place in areas where there are no soldiers. There are not enough soldiers or peacekeepers in the north to protect everyone. This is the fault of the military government, which has expelled French counter-terrorism forces and UN peacekeepers. A decade ago, this kind of violence caused the government to lose control of the north, which became a lawless no-mans land controlled by Islamic terrorists. In the past, this caused the elected government to be replaced by a military one. With the military still in control, and unable to cope with the growing violence up there, Mali is losing control of the north.

June 18, 2023: A national vote on a new constitution to replace the military government was held and the 30 percent of voters who participated approved the proposal. The new constitution is supposed to make possible a return of elected government in 2024 with another round of elections. Details of the new constitution indicate that the military will still have a lot of power. The return of elections is mainly about reviving foreign aid, which largely stopped because of the military government and expulsion of peacekeepers. Mali replaced the peacekeepers with a smaller force of Russian Wagner Group mercenaries.

June 9, 2023: In the north (near Timbuktu) a peacekeeper patrol was attacked with a roadside bomb and gunfire. One peacekeeper was killed and eight wounded or injured. The attackers were believed to be Islamic terrorists, whose activities in the north are growing more frequent.
Here are two good rules, confirmed by history, to bear in mind.

It is very dangerous to assume that any sort of alliance or diplomacy can deter or control a country that does not think it is defeated, or thinks it has been wronged. And powerful states do not always keep promises to defend small, weak countries against aggression.

For example, for 75 years from 1870, Germany was the main threat to peace in Europe.

In that year, the Prussian cynic Bismarck provoked France into starting a war that it duly lost. I have no doubt that German aggression also began the 1914 war that ruined Europe for ever.

Europe did not 'sleepwalk' into it. Berlin marched into it and very nearly won. The crushing Versailles treaty of 1919 was supposed to put an end to this, but made it worse.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky may get a membership pledge in Vilnius this week. But he and his countrymen should not (as Poland did in 1939) assume that it means his paper allies will actually sacrifice Chicago for Kiev

People carry a giant Ukrainian flag to protest against the Russian invasion during a celebration of Lithuania's independence in Vilnius

Britain and France then promised to defend Poland, in spring 1939. But they did not mean it.

When Germany attacked Poland in September of that year, Britain did nothing except drop propaganda leaflets on the German countryside (the RAF could not find German cities in the dark).

France briefly sent some troops into a western corner of Germany, bumbled around for a few weeks and then pulled out again. Poland was horribly crushed.

Alas, it was not until Berlin was barbarically occupied by Stalin's Red Army and Germany's eastern regions were pillaged and ruined by Soviet power, that Germany learned not do this sort of thing again. Nowadays, it uses peaceful methods, mainly the EU, to dominate Europe and thank heaven for that. I state these brutal facts because it seems to me that we often forget them.

For this coming week, Nato will hold a summit in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius  a city where, in January 1991, I watched the last bloody flailing of Soviet power in an episode overshadowed at the time by the First Gulf War and now almost wholly forgotten.

It is still amazing to me, as I recall those violent, terrifying days, that Nato has got this far east, and we shall see how that works out in the long term. Power and fear really exist, and drive men's actions.

Zekensky speaking at a conference in Vilnius where this coming week Nato will hold a summit

Zelensky should recall just how anxious the Chairman of the US's Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley, has been that the war should not expand beyond Ukraine's borders

Both power and fear seethe in that part of Europe, as I have seen with my own eyes. They cannot be abolished by paper treaties. So what we have to grasp  as the Nato leadership considers admitting Ukraine later this week  is that Russia was never defeated by the West in war, and is still full of wounded pride over its largely forgotten and incredibly costly role in crushing Hitler.

Its state of mind reminds me a bit of Britain's in 1956 when, deluded that we were still a major power, we launched the disastrous Suez adventure.

As I have written here, that resulted in the US Navy seriously considering opening fire on our fleet, a humiliating retreat by us and our French allies, and the biggest single loss of power and prestige by this country in modern times.

Well, it is perhaps possible that the West might now inflict a crushing lasting military defeat on Russia, which could permanently alter that country's view of itself and make it as docile as modern Germany. But it might just as easily go wrong. Russia has nuclear weapons and might fall into the hands of ultra-nationalists who make Vladimir Putin look like the Liberal Democrats.

As for Nato, it is like Tinkerbell. It exists only if people believe in it. We are ceaselessly told of its noble and selfless Article 5, in which 'an armed attack [against one or more Nato members in Europe or North America] shall be considered an attack against them all'. Few read on to find just how weak that pledge really is.

The US Senate in 1949 would never have ratified an open-ended commitment to go to war. So it says that each signatory 'will assist the party or parties so attacked by taking forthwith, individually and in concert with the other parties, such action as it deems necessary, including the use of armed force'.

This is waffle. The member state remains free to choose whether to 'deem' force 'necessary', or to use force at all. Action not including force is clearly implied as a possible response.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky may get a membership pledge in Vilnius this week. But he and his countrymen should not (as Poland did in 1939) assume that it means his paper allies will actually sacrifice Chicago for Kiev.

He should recall just how anxious the Chairman of the US's Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley, has been that the war should not expand beyond Ukraine's borders. Nato membership will not change that, as Zelensky will find out.

Which brings us back to ask exactly what we are playing at in this high-explosive part of Europe. I no longer even try to ask anyone to consider or adopt my own view of the war. The task is hopeless in the current atmosphere of gung-ho passion. But surely it is beginning to be clear that a negotiated peace would be better than all this blood and ruin. Ukraine, by its courageous and tenacious defence, has actually secured rather a strong position in any talks.

I listened on the radio last week to a description of a young Ukrainian soldier being brought, terribly wounded, from the front line to a casualty clearing station. I considered all the men and women in his life who would be grieving for decades to come over what had happened to him. And I cursed all the vain and foolish people from all sides who followed the gory path to war, when they did not have to.

If we do not turn away from it soon, we may find we have brought war here too.

King can keep a light on for Scots

Actually, I rather wish that King Charles had been properly crowned in Edinburgh last week, in a profoundly Scottish ceremony, instead of just wistfully touching the Crown of Scotland.

I love the differences between the two countries: the different law, the different religion, literature and music, the distinct landscape and history. Such a declaration that Scotland is a separate country, yet mysteriously shares the same king, might help to bind us together in a grown-up friendship.

PICTURED: The Crown of Scotland borne by The Duke of Hamilton and Brandon is presented to King Charles III during the National Service of Thanksgiving and Dedication for King Charles III and Queen Camilla, and the presentation of the Honours of Scotland, at St Giles' Cathedral on July 5, 2023 in Edinburgh

As I've said before, if Scotland wants to leave us, then it is no business of ours to try to stop her. Who'd want to live in a union whose members were forced to stay? But I'd always leave the light on, in the hope that the Scots might one day return, of their own will. And a Scottish crown would be a good way of helping that happen.

The strange behaviour of banks, in closing some accounts for obscure and unclear reasons, is mainly alarming because we are heading so fast towards a cashless economy. How can anyone survive without a bank account? But if the banks cannot be talked out of this, then a simple measure will make it more bearable.

In sensible France, Article 642-3 of the penal code states that traders cannot refuse cash payments  as so many now do here. They can be fined more than 100 for doing so.

Parliament should enact such a law here, and quickly.
When charity worker Zoe Mason realised she wanted to make a real difference to children struggling with gender dysphoria  the feeling they had been born the wrong sex  there was only one organisation she wanted to join.

Mason had been impressed at how a small support group in Leeds set up in the mid-1990s for a handful of parents, had blossomed into a successful charity called Mermaids, the charity that hit the headlines this week after it failed in an attempt to strip gay-rights pressure group the LGB Alliance of its charitable status.

With funding from the Department of Education, Children In Need and the National Lottery, supplemented by private donations and income from training courses, Mermaids saw its income soar from 80,000 in 2016 to over 1.8 million by 2021.

The 30-year-old from London duly applied for a job with the organisation in 2019 and, to her delight, was taken on. Her hiring coincided with a boom in the number of people seeking the help of the Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS) run by the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust.

The London-based clinic saw more than 5,000 referrals in 2021/22, up from just 250 ten years earlier. Some of those were children and young people who, it now transpires, were directly referred by the controversial former CEO of Mermaids, Susie Green.

Mother-of-four Susie Green is pictured with Jackie

This first came to light in May, when it emerged that Green, a mother-of-four who has no known formal medical training, had been referring children to GIDS even when the children's own GPs had repeatedly refused to do so.

Green, it seems, had a direct line to Dr Polly Carmichael, director of the Tavistock clinic, which is to be closed and replaced by two regional hubs early next year after the independent Cass Review found it was not fit for purpose.

The review found that, in addition to offering hormone treatments to children with little knowledge of the long-term side-effects, the clinic was failing to keep proper records.

This was certainly true of its dealings with Green. When the allegations about her referrals first emerged, the clinic claimed that it did not have copies of emails or minutes of meetings with the Mermaids former chief, and it was only after the information regulator threatened court action that the Tavistock released more than 300 pages of them.

By then, Zoe Mason had been aware of Green's links to the Tavistock for some time. Despite enjoying her first few months working at Mermaids, she told the Mail that she  and several other members of the 30-plus staff  felt betrayed when rumours started that Susie was referring children to GIDS.

'Some staff were very angry because it made us look dishonest,' she says. 'It went against everything we were saying as a charity. We had volunteers on our phonelines saying, 'It's not for us to tell you what route to take' and there were words on the Mermaids website saying, "We don't get involved in medical pathways" and that's honestly what we all believed.'

Green's apparent eagerness to send children down a medical pathway stemmed, many believe, from her own personal experience. In a YouTube video from 2017  which has since been deleted  she reveals that the moment her toddler son could express himself he was gravitating towards 'things that were stereotypically female'. She was happy that his favourite outfits were a tutu and a Snow White costume, and concluded that he was 'very sensitive, quite effeminate and probably gay'.

However, the boy's father, Tim, did not approve of their young son's behaviour. It created tensions within the marriage and the couple went to counselling.

The result was that the little boy's 'girly toys' such as Polly Pocket and My Little Pony were put away and he was made aware they were 'not appropriate'. Heartbreakingly, in Green's words 'a suddenly confident, happy little boy became quiet, withdrawn, very clingy and tearful'.

But what happened next perhaps explains Green's dogmatic approach to trans issues in later life. She returned the toys to her son and, by the age of four, he had announced to his mother that 'God had made a mistake' and he was supposed to be a girl.

Aged seven, he was referred to the Tavistock clinic and diagnosed with gender dysphoria.

By the time he was 12, he was living as 'Jackie' and his warring parents had separated.

The Tavistock clinic is to be closed and replaced by two regional hubs early next year after the independent Cass Review found it was not fit for purpose.

Green flew him to America to be given puberty blockers by a U.S. doctor and, on his 16th birthday  by which time he had made several suicide attempts  the teenager was taken to Thailand for 'gender-affirming surgery'. (The country has since made the procedure illegal for under-18s.)

As Green explains in another video, this meant using 'the skin from the penis to create a vagina. And she [Jackie] hadn't developed through full puberty [due to blockers] so, not to put too fine a point on it, there wasn't much to work with'.

Speaking about the experience afterwards, Jackie said: 'My mum's gone through all of this with me and I know people judge her and think she's done the wrong thing. But I just couldn't wait for it to happen. She and my dad have been brilliant. When they came to terms with the situation they helped me so much. I owe them my life.'

While Green agrees that this drastic treatment saved her eldest child's life, the story has  understandably  opened her up to criticism.

Stephanie Davies-Arai of Transgender Trend, an organisation advocating for evidence-based care of gender dysphoric children, says: 'Susie Green's experience in her own family was upsetting but not that uncommon  dad can't accept an effeminate son, family falls apart  but her solution was an excessive reaction to family troubles, to say the least.

'Green may have started out thinking this was the best for her child, given the information she had at the time. But she continues to advise parents to adopt her approach, despite all we have known for years about the harms of child transition.'

Davies-Arai laments how, under Green, Mermaids went from a parents' support group giving sensible advice  such as that most children will grow out of their desire to be a different gender  to an aggressively political campaign for trans rights.

'In terms of beliefs around treating children with gender dysphoria, she has taken a helpful support group for parents and created a monster.'

Gay rights campaigners are also concerned that Mermaids under Green's leadership was complicit in a form of gay conversion therapy. Dennis Kavanagh, lawyer and director of the Gay Men's Network, points to a 2012 survey of Tavistock patients which found that 90 per cent were same-sex attracted.

He says: 'The concern is that Mermaids are medicalising homosexuality, taking vulnerable, different children and putting them on a path to sterility.'

When this allegation  along with others  was put to Green, she responded by posting a 2,000-word riposte on her blog. In it she insisted: 'Who you are attracted to is different from your sense of self . . . Many young people I have engaged with over the years are trans and gay or bisexual after transition.'

A former acquaintance of Green disagrees that the woman she first got to know in 2013 is actively trying to harm children.

'She was simply a mum trying to help other parents  mostly single mums  who felt their child was 'in the wrong body',' she says. 'I could see why parents were drawn to her. She was charismatic, a strong no-nonsense woman who offered support and advice to parents who had nowhere else to turn.'

While Green  a former IT worker  improved the finances and the profile of Mermaids, she was also running the charity when there were several alleged breaches of safeguarding.

One newspaper investigation reported Mermaids was sending out breast-flattening devices (known as binders) to girls against their parents' wishes.

It also discovered non-medically trained staff were allegedly advising that puberty blockers were completely reversible, when evidence suggests otherwise. As a result, Mermaids finds itself under investigation by the Charity Commission for 'red flags' in its dealings with children.

Nick Scott, 45, father of a teenager with gender dysphoria, was an active member of the Mermaids parents forum from 2020 to 2021 and saw two sides to the charismatic CEO. 'Susie was valued and trusted by Mermaids parents, to whom she offered caring encouragement, wanting them to know that things could get better for their families,' he says.

But she could be 'tone deaf' too. In 2018, ITV aired Butterflies, a drama starring Anna Friel as a mother of a boy who wants to become a girl. Susie Green worked closely with the producers to portray the story, inspired by her own experience, as authentically as possible, but her efforts didn't go down well among all the Mermaids parents, says Nick.

'Quite a few parents commented that Butterflies was sensational and not realistic, both in suggesting that kids faced intolerance in their own families more than they did and how quickly the children were medicalised.

'Overall, I thought she was that most dangerous thing, a person utterly certain of their own rightness,' he said.

This tendency to absolutism is something that Zoe Mason also observed. 'Susie is certain she knows what's best for young people and will fight for them even when there are other people who might disagree,' says Zoe, who ended up working with Green for 18 months.

Susie Green and her daughter Jackie on Lorraine Live in 2011

'But the thing with Susie was that, if you questioned her too much, you wouldn't be working for the charity six months later.'

Zoe recalls a time when one staff member mentioned that trans women competing against biological women in sport was a thorny issue. 'Susie wasn't angry or disgusted  she's not like that,' says Zoe. 'She likes to debate. But she made it very clear that what this staff member was saying was transphobic, creating a very intense and uncomfortable situation. That person left a few months later.'

On the topic of trans athletes, Green says she didn't have a disagreement with any staff member. Indeed, 'all Mermaids staff and volunteers were aligned on this matter'. Nor were any employee complaints of this nature raised with HR, she claims.

Last November, Green suddenly quit the charity after six years. The chair of trustees, Belinda Bell, said she was 'grateful' to the outgoing CEO and an interim replacement would be appointed. No further details were given but the new role was said to offer an 80,000 salary.

In February it was announced that Green had joined GenderGP, an online prescription service.

Still seemingly determined to help children access hormone treatment privately, Green said: 'I now have the privilege to be part of the medical care of transgender youth. This includes well-established clinical protocols for medical intervention that saves lives.'

These interventions include 'puberty blockers when puberty is underway  whatever age that may be', 'gender-affirming hormones when the young person is ready to start puberty  whatever age that may be' and 'gender-affirming surgery whenever the best time that is for the individual'.

Nick Scott says her new job is fitting. While at Mermaids, Susie Green promoted GenderGP as the experts in helping young people with gender dysphoria, he said.

She encouraged members to write to the General Medical Council in support of Dr Helen Webberley who runs the online clinic  despite Webberley's prosecution in 2018 for failing to register her services for transgender patients with a health regulator.

Nick says: 'The focus in Mermaids shifted over time away from GIDS and towards GenderGP and I believe that really the Mermaids parent forum was a glorified customer forum for GenderGP.'

Green told the Mail that when GenderGP founder Dr Helen Webberley was suspended pending a GMC investigation into her treatment of a particular patient  in which she was cleared of wrongdoing  she 'made the difficult decision' to remove the service from the Mermaids website.

Green has undoubtedly helped youngsters in need, and the opinion of her former acquaintance that 'Susie's heart was in the right place' will be echoed by many.

But Scott is less forgiving. 'In my opinion, Susie has done enormous damage to many families,' he says. 'I've always been uncomfortable with the endless focus on her own child and the language around the surgery. Her child has a right to privacy and a life away from all this, which I think we should all respect  Susie included, frankly.

'She created today's Mermaids and Mermaids has encouraged parents to 'go down the GenderGP route' as they put it, totally needlessly and without a good assessment of that young person's needs.' Scott says (and Green 'entirely disputes') that she created 'needless fear about the urgency' of treatment.

He adds: 'In a way I'm glad she's gone to GenderGP because she's shown her true colours.'

In a statement, Mermaids said: 'Mermaids primary focus is to support the mental and physical well-being of trans, non-binary and gender-diverse young people. Every young person is different, and we do not advise on any particular pathway, but support families to make the right decisions for them.

We have cooperated fully and transparently with the Charity Commission's statutory inquiry into our governance and management and reiterate the Commission's clarification that this is not in itself a finding of wrongdoing.'

Zoe Mason and Nick Scott's names have been changed to protect their identities.
We all have a place we secretly imagine living in another life. In my fantasy world, j'habite a Paris.

I speak French like the locals and my apartment has a charming balcony with the Eiffel Tower waving at me from a distance.

Here I eat croissants every morning (but, miraculously, never put on weight) accompanied by a very strong coffee.

And I drink red wine with my two-hour lunch every day. I simply love Paris and any whiff of a chance, I'm there.

There's nothing more thrilling than sitting on the Eurostar knowing that in no time you'll be pulling up at the Gare du Nord with a whole Parisian adventure stretching out in front of you.

PARFAIT FOR PLACE DES VOSGES: DRESS, VICTORIA BECKHAM, BAG, MERCI, AND SHOES, ANCIENT GREEK SANDALS

It's one of those cities that gets better the more you visit  always full of the unexpected and lashings of je ne sais quois.

Here are a few of my favourite spots. The fabulously eclectic store Merci on boulevard Beaumarchais always gets a visit.

It has three loft-style floors of fashion, a treasure trove of homeware, plus there's always a vintage Fiat 500 parked by the entrance  a magnet for Instagrammers.

Stock is constantly fine-tuned so every visit is a unique experience. I especially enjoy the preloved section on the bottom floor.

Merci is a terrific place to find a pair of vintage Levi's or take home a unique piece from exciting labels, both homegrown (Isabel Marant, Vanessa Bruno) and international (Doen, Bellerose and Pas de Calais).

Around the corner is another of my happy places  place des Vosges. This elegant square dates back to the 17th century and its park, with beautiful fountains, is the ideal spot to enjoy a picnic or chocolat chaud.

TOP, BAUKJEN, TROUSERS, AND ANOTHER TOMORROW, BELT, H&M, AND BAG, VINTAGE HERMES KELLY

Still at place des Vosges, stop at Cafe Carette for breakfast or lunch, pop into the Hotel Pavillon de la Reine for a glass of wine in its elegant courtyard or Serpent a Plume for a cocktail.

Afterwards browse the square's art galleries and perfume shops. You can even visit the maison of French novelist Victor Hugo, who wrote a large part of Les Miserables when he lived there.

Across town, at 35 avenue George V, I really like sustainable fashion brand Icicle. Housed in a building designed by renowned Belgian architect Bernard Dubois, the store is a feast for the eyes.

You can also get a great snap of the Arc de Triomphe and window shop or splurge in the surrounding designer stores.

THE LANDMARK BOOKSTORE DATING BACK TO 1801

And no trip to Paris is complete without a visit to one of its magical bookstores.

My favourite is Librairie Galignani, one of the oldest  it's been in business since 1801  and most chic.

Bag, around 412, elleme.com

Run by six generations of the Galignani family, it can be found at 224 rue de Rivoli, standing underneath the massive arcade, and has welcomed many famous visitors including the late fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld.

On my radar

Bold investment bags, such as the Baozi, statement outerwear, asymmetric dresses and dynamic suiting are cool French brand Elleme's hallmark.

I also love its comfy shoes. Check out its pieces at elleme.com or visit its Paris boutique at 64 boulevard Haussmann.

A rue reborn

To Parisians it is rue des Fosses Saint-Jacques, but to me, it is Emily in Paris square. The filming location of Netflix's hit series is worth a visit not just for its prettiness but great food, too.

Eat in Gabriel's restaurant, (an Italian in real life), pop next door to the boulangerie where Emily (played by Lily Collins) tasted her first croissant and imagine yourself living in her apartment, which is there, too. And, of course, laugh at all those silly tourists taking photos. Imagine!

To Parisians it is rue des Fosses Saint-Jacques, but to me, it is Emily in Paris square
LOBAMBA - We all know that every time there are national elections, people disappear, in this prayer service we will be praying for Gods intervention to stop unnecessary bloodshed.

These were the words of Arch Deacon Bhekibandla Magongo from the Council of Swaziland Churches. He was speaking yesterday when it was formally announced that His Majesty King Mswati III had given the go-ahead to the Joint Church Bodies in the country to have a National Prayer Day Service for the ongoing elections. The people of Eswatini will engage in prayer together for the smooth running of the 2023 National Elections.

This was announced by President of the League of African Churches, Bishop Samson Hlatjwako in the presence of Arch Deacon Magongo, President of the Conference of Churches and Bishop Robert Kasaro in a press briefing held at the National Church at Lobamba, yesterday afternoon.

Phase

Eswatini has already completed the first phase of the National Elections which is the Voters Registration and currently going taking place is the Voter Validation exercise. We have received a go-ahead from Their Majesties and today we are here to announce that there would be a National Prayer Day Service, where we would pray for the country which would be held on July 15, which falls on a Saturday. As you all know that we have a very important event in the country, which is the national elections, where we would building our new government, the 55th Double Celebration which is His Majesty the Kings Birthday and the National Independence Day. We, therefore, invite all members of the Christian body to attend this National Prayer Day Service without fail, said Bishop Hlatjwako.

Invited

Magongo has also invited all emaSwati to attend the National Prayer Service, where among the prayer points is that of asking God to prevent the bloodshed which usually happens every time during the national elections. We will be praying for Gods intervention in stopping the unnecessary bloodshed, where people are killed with the belief that those responsible would secure a seat in the coming Parliament. We will also be praying for peace and stability during the national elections, Arch Deacon Magongo pointed out.

The arch deacon also said the country would be praying for God to help emaSwati to elect people with a noble heart in the next coming Parliament.

It is worth noting that the National Day of Prayer is observed annually on the first Thursday in May in the United States of America (USA) but in Eswatini, prayer days are becoming a norm as, according to Theologians, Eswatini is the pulpit of God in Africa.

The Bible and the people of Eswatini

Dr J, S.M Matsebula once said; It is impossible to say that the Bible came here as the Umculu referred to by Somhlolo because instead of unity and peace, it brought a sword and division among the Swazi people. SOBHUZA I, popularly known as Somhlolo (Father of Mysteries), left the Swazi Nation a great legacy in the form of a prophecy that influenced greatly the basis of Swazi life and philosophy. It is related by Dr. J.S.M. Matsebula that: One night, shortly before his death, Sobhuza had a vision.

Dreamed

In the morning he called his councillors and told them he had dreamed that white skinned people with hair like the tails of cattle would arrive in his country, bringing with them two things: UMCULU and INDILINGA.When translated, these words respectively mean a scroll or book and a round piece of metal or money. The book was taken to represent the Bible, and Sobhuza advised his people to accept this but to try and avoid money.

He warned them that they must never harm these white people, for if they spilt a drop of the white mans blood their country would be destroyed and they would disappear as a nation.
It feels very French that one of Sophie Mechaly's cats should wander into the frame while she is speaking to me over Zoom from her office in Paris. 'Miaow,' it says, demanding attention, as cats are wont to do.

'Shoo!' says Mechaly, for her moggy, Gipsy, is standing in front of her camera, blocking our view. When you're the sort of cat who counts the late Karl Lagerfeld's cat as a friend, you're more entitled than most.

If Choupette, Lagerfeld's white burmese, is France's most famous feline (Instagram followers: 258k), Gipsy is a close second.

The persian chinchilla is both a mascot and an emblem for Paul & Joe, the quintessential French fashion brand launched by Mechaly over 25 years ago.

Gipsy's likeness appears in prints and as a logo for the make-up range. 'Gipsy is a symbol of the brand, and embodies its strength and originality,' Mechaly says, clearly accustomed to her pet hogging the limelight.

Sophie Mechaly on the Paul & Joe catwalk at London Fashion Week last September

Warm, upbeat and looking very French in her insouciant floral shirt, Mechaly, 56, who grew up on Paris's Left Bank, launched Paul & Joe (named after her sons) in 1995. Fashion ran in her blood: her parents owned a shirt-making company, Le Garage, in Rouen, where she worked for seven years, learning the tools of the trade.

But when her mother had to leave the company for health reasons, her father blocked Mechaly from climbing higher up the ranks and forced her to write a letter of resignation.

'I was 27, shocked, sad and desperate,' she says. 'Now, I am thankful. It led me to start my own business and be my own boss, which would never have happened if I'd worked with my dad.'

Mechaly's empire rapidly expanded into menswear, homeware, accessories and beauty, with stockists all over the world, yet Mechaly Snr never told his daughter he was proud of her.

'He never said it directly, because that wasn't his mentality. But I heard from other people that he was proud.'

WHEN WE WAKE UP WE DON'T JUST GRAB SOME CLOTHES, WE PLAN OUR OUTFIT

As well he should be. The British high street might now be awash with cool French fashion brands such as Sandro, Maje, Zadig & Voltaire, Claudie Pierlot and The Kooples, but in 1998 when Paul & Joe opened its first UK store in West London's Notting Hill, it was an outlier.

From day one, customers adored its elegant, slightly quirky definition of French style, with the shelves frequently stripped bare as women rushed to buy its shirts and tailoring.

High-profile fans include Gwyneth Paltrow, Julia Roberts and the Princess of Wales. Mechaly (who lives in Paris) is as succinct at defining the allure of French style as one would expect from a woman who has made it her business to bottle it.

She attributes it to the appeal of two particular icons: Jane Birkin and Catherine Deneuve. Each woman, she explains, is very different, and each a perfect example of the two main facets of French style.

Catherine Deneuve is seen arriving at Celine fashion show during Paris Fashion Week in 2019

'Jane is naturally beautiful and a bit shy,' she says. 'She will wear a white T-shirt, denim jeans, miniskirts, flat shoes and what would be considered a very normal look. Catherine is more sophisticated.

'She's always wearing Yves Saint Laurent  grand, chic, tailored, little black bag, very Belle de Jour. Catherine wears the looks from the fashion magazines. Jane is the girl next door. For British women, both are appealing.'

One of the main differences between French and British women, notes Mechaly, is the time it takes for them to get dressed.

'For French women, getting ready is a long process. When they wake up, they don't just grab some clothes, they plan it: 'I wear this with these shoes and this bag.' British women are more spontaneous.'

As a self-confessed Anglophile, Mechaly admires British women's sense of style. 'I love it. Money or no money, they look the way they want to look and they don't care. French women really do care.

British women  and men, too  just pull on their clothes and feel comfortable, even though it might not really match. They are naturally more confident.' She leans forward conspiratorially. 'We look like we are confident, but we are not.'

Let's say a British woman visiting Paris did want to blend in  what should she wear? 'Right now, in Paris, all the cool girls, they wear pants [trousers] and a man's shirt  it could be white or striped, but always with the sleeves rolled up. Flat shoes, beautiful pants, hand in the pocket and let's go.'

She attributes the current trend for 'quiet luxury', of which trousers and men's shirts are a part, as having sprung up in response to fashion being directionless. 'We are in an era where people don't know what they should wear, because there's not really one direction  there are many.

That's why tailoring has come back so strongly, and we're wearing a lot of pants and suits. When fashion goes through this sort of phase, the Parisian woman will revert to a basic uniform.

It's an easy way of looking good without taking risks.' Mechaly accepts that quiet luxury means wearing designer brands whose provenance is only known by others rich enough to be able to afford them but, she says, in France, the look is often achieved by wearing less expensive basics: 'You wear a Hanes T-shirt, with cheaper pants, or a vintage pair.'

Sophie called the late Queen a 'style icon' and said the colours she wore were cheerful and she was smiley

There is one item that French women rarely scrimp on  their handbag. 'The Chanel bag is the thing that will make the difference [to their outfit]. For me, Chanel is above all the other brands,' she says.

I tell her that I recently saw a documentary about Lagerfeld, Chanel's feted designer who died in 2019, and was struck by how chic his friends and former colleagues  women in their 60s, 70s and 80s  looked.

It made me wonder whether, while French and British women are fairly equal in the style stakes throughout midlife, it's in their later years that the French come into their own.

'I agree with you,' Mechaly says. 'Older ladies in Britain are more like grannies. But older women in France want to look like a cool lady who has lived her life  not a granny.

'At that age, they feel more confident. They want to look beautiful and desirable, not like a lady you keep in a cupboard making cakes and taking care of grandchildren.'

While older French women might revere Brigitte Bardot or Catherine Deneuve, she suggests older British women are influenced by the late Queen Elizabeth  although she's quick to add that the Queen was a style icon.

'Oh my god, she was. The colours she wore  fuchsia, green, yellow  so cheerful. And she was smiley. She was the boss of Great Britain.'

Like the Queen, Mechaly had her own annus horribilis a few years ago, losing her mum, going through two divorces and streamlining her business while scaling back her staff.

'I had to stop doing so much, because I was going to leave my body,' she explains. Her newest project is Boys Don't Cry, a boutique on Paris's Left Bank, run by her son, Adrien Albou.

She also has plans to open a Paul & Joe pop-up in London later this year. French or British, everyone is welcome, and she relishes the differences between the two tribes.

'It's very cool that we are all how we are. It would be so boring if everyone looked the same.' As if on cue, Gipsy pads on to her desk, miaowing in agreement.
It all starts with a trip to the bakery. Or rather, the boulangerie, because I'm in Paris, sweating profusely in the early morning sunshine as I try to order breakfast.

'Ummune croissant, s'il vous plait,' I whisper, accidentally misgendering a pastry as I jab awkwardly at the glass counter. I try to ignore the lady's tiny eye roll as she bundles up my croissant, instead scanning behind her for what I really desire: a coffee.

But how to ask for one? I should probably know, given that for the past ten years, I have had 'Proficient in French' listed under the skills section of my CV, and even got an A-grade in the language at A-level.

But right now, the French words for 'Do you have?' are as mysterious to my brain as they'd be in Swahili, so instead I play charades with an imaginary cup, hopefully asking, 'Le cafe?'

'Yes, we do have coffee,' answers the lady in English, now clearly finding this pantomime intolerable. I leave the boulangerie with a crispy, golden pastry and my coffee, but feeling dejected.

'Ummune croissant, s'il vous plait,' I whisper, accidentally misgendering a pastry as I jab awkwardly at the glass counter

This incident has confirmed one of my biggest fears: that I am in fact one of those useless British people who can't speak any language other than English, and arrogantly stomps around the world assuming everyone will understand me.

As a nation we are notoriously bad at foreign languages. A study carried out by the European Commission found that almost two thirds of EU citizens could speak at least one foreign language, but only 34 per cent of Brits can claim the same.

Rates are highest in Sweden, Latvia, Denmark and Lithuania, while in Luxembourg more than half of working-age adults can speak at least three languages. Three! In the UK, even one additional language is a stretch.

As a nine-year-old, I spent a few days in school in Munich  part of my parents' attempt to expand my horizons by packing me off to stay with German family friends.

I remember being shocked by the intense focus placed on learning English and learned more about English grammar in those lessons than I did in my own school.

I doubt any of those nine-year-olds has gone on to find themselves in a UK branch of Greggs, murdering the name of a local pastry.

My first port of call is the Institut Francais in Kensington, the hub of all things French in London. Feeling gung-ho, I sign up for a three-week intensive course  two hours of French taught via video call every morning.

Before starting, I must undergo a telephone test to see just how good (or bad) my French is. I'm out for dinner when the assessment takes place, so nip out to the restaurant terrace and spend a few excruciating moments stuttering down the phone as a lovely French lady asks me extremely basic questions about my life and hobbies.

A study carried out by the European Commission found that almost two thirds of EU citizens could speak at least one foreign language, but only 34 per cent of Brits can claim the same

It takes all of five minutes for her to place me on the A1 beginner course, which is both a relief and a damning indictment of my current skill level.

I'm jittery with nerves as my first class begins; it's not often you put yourself out there to try something completely new as an adult.

However, meeting the four pupils in my class puts me at ease, as it becomes obvious that we are all in the same bateau, proficiency-wise.

Our teacher Patricia is supportive and encouraging but unwilling to give us an easy ride.

I had worried that learning over video call would feel second rate, but in fact there is no opportunity for my attention to wander, plus it's much more convenient than travelling to South Kensington every day.

Learn to Parle like a Parisian With bitesized daily lessons and motivational challenges, Duolingo is the best language app I've tried  and you can download it from your app store for free.

Try reading kids' books in your chosen language before progressing to adult fiction. I found The Little Prince in French was a good level to start.

If you can't find a language school in your local area, consider an online course. While Institut Francais is excellent for French, many other languages can be accessed through Cactus (languagecoursesuk.co.uk).

Seek out podcasts in the language you're learning. I found Little Talk in Slow French just right. Advertisement

Having overcome my nerves, I'm keen to embrace this adult learning thing and decide telly is a great way to support my classes.

Cue a passionate affair with Netflix's Emily in Paris, where the characters often speak in French (albeit with subtitles). Next I try the original French-language version of cult hit series Call My Agent!, also on Netflix.

I discover apprendre.tv5monde.com, where you can watch endless videos to fine-tune your French ear, and re-download Duolingo for the fifth time (it's good but requires a level of self-discipline I often lack).

Through my French teacher, I find Paul Taylor, an English-born, Paris-dwelling comedian whose bilingual What The F*** France TV series has made him extremely popular in the country, which is surprising given that it makes fun of the cultural and linguistic eccentricities of the French.

One thing he often points out is how ridiculously complex the French language is, and I certainly agree, although I am making good progress in lessons, quickly picking up new grammar and long-forgotten vocabulary.

What surprises me the most is how much I enjoy the process of learning French. No,

I am not a secret linguistic genius; it's bloody hard and I frequently make mistakes. But it feels like unused parts of my brain are starting to switch on, long dormant synapses suddenly refiring.

Researchers have found that bilingual people have denser grey matter than their monolingual peers  in other words, it boosts your brain's reserves.

And as a busy working mother who feels constantly divided between the demands of office and home life, it feels glorious to take up a hobby that is just for me, an affirmation that I'm still my own person with interests and ambitions.

Months after that embarrassing trip to the boulangerie, and after progressing to a new A2 course at the Institut, I'm back in Paris, this time for the YOU magazine team's rendezvous in the city.

Before catching the Eurostar home, I challenge myself to visit a bakery and place an order, the ultimate test of how far I've come. After all my efforts, it's a relief when I enter and the words start to flow.

I Ieave with six different pastries, a quiche and an iced coffee I requested just to see if I could.

The best bit? As I pay at the end, the lady behind the till smiles warmly at me and declares in her mother tongue, 'Your French is very good.'
A doting husband has revealed why he and his wife have full access to each other's phones - and why he thinks everyone else should follow suit.

Giuliano Lenz, 34, from Zurich, Switzerland, has been married to Suki Dusanj, 44, since 2016. The couple share a three-year-old daughter. When they met at an event at the ExCel arena in London in 2014, Suki, from Rochester, Kent, was working as an executive for Sony Music in Mumbai, and they started out as a long distance couple.

Speaking exclusively to FEMAIL, The TV presenter, TikToker and aesthetics clinic owner argued he thinks all couples should allow each other access to their phones to build trust, and says it's a 'red flag' if your partner won't allow you to see his or her phone.

However, he warned couples should still exercise boundaries, and warned that, in the case of Andrew Buchan and Amy Nuttall, who are reportedly following this rule in their relationship, it may not be the best way forward.

Following revelations earlier this year that Andrew Buchan had left his wife for his co-star on BBC drama Better, Leila Farzad, Nuttall reportedly asked her husband for a divorce.

Giuliano Lenz and his wife, Suki Dusanj, have full access to each other's phones and believe it is essential to building trust in the relationship

However, in recent weeks it has emerged that Buchan and Farzad's relationship is over, and Buchan has moved back into the family home, with sources claiming Nuttall has laid down the law in the relationship.

The pair are said to be following the '777' rule, which involves sticking to a schedule of taking a holiday together every seven months, having a night away every seven weeks, and enjoying a 'date night' once a week.

Another reported condition on which Nuttall has taken back her husband is that they each have full access to each other's phones - but this measure has left many fans divided.

However, while lots of people argue couples should not have access to each other's phones, Giuliano thinks it's essential to maintaining trust in a relationship.

Giuliano, 34, and Suki, 44, met in London in 2014 and now live in Zurich. Giuliano told FEMAIL he believes the 'privilege' of having full access to his wife's phone means he doesn't feel tempted to snoop

Speaking about his marriage to Suki, the presenter and clinic owner said they never had an explicit conversation about accessing each other's phones, but that they were instantly at ease with doing so.

Giuliano revealed how the increased trust the couple developed in the early stages of their relationship is still present nearly a decade on - and it's the reason they have no problem with sharing their phone passwords with each other.

At the time they met, Giuliano was living in south Germany and Suki was working for Sony Records in Mumbai - and according to the father-of-one, they learnt to trust each other early on.

'[Suki] was around some of the biggest celebrities. If Chris Martin or Will Smith came to India, she was hanging out with them,' he recalled.

Giuliano added that, because they were long distance, they engaged in open communication which helped each person feel comfortable with the other, and ensured they never felt jealous.

After being married for seven years, the couple now use each other's phones all the time - and he argues that, by allowing each other full access, they are less likely to snoop on each other.

Actors David Buchan and Amy Nuttall recently reunited following his cheating scandal, with Nuttall reportedly demanding full access to her husband's phone and vice versa as a condition of taking him back

'I use my wife's phone regularly and she uses mine regularly as well,' he said.

'Its the privilege to know you can access it that means you don't check [their messages].'

He explained that he and Suki have nothing to hide, so have no issue with the other partner logging onto their phone whenever they need to.

For example, if he is driving and receives a text message, he will ask Suki to open his phone and read it - and then reply on his behalf.

Similarly, the couple have a sound system in their house, and if he wants to play music but cannot find his phone, he will log onto Suki's to put music on.

Giuliano believes it would be a breach of his wife's privacy if he snooped through her text or Instagram messages - but added he never feels tempted to do so, because she allows him the 'privilege' of knowing her phone password. He argues Suki also does not feel the need to snoop through his messages for the same reason.

The broadcaster claimed that, because he has a public profile, he often receives flirty messages on Instagram from women and men - but he always shows them to his wife to remain transparent.

Recently, Giuliano posted a video on his TikTok channel, @giulianolenz, about why he believes all couples should allow each other access to phones - and he received backlash for saying so.

However, he insisted his approach to building trust is the correct one.

'If you're dating someone who says, "you can't access my phone", there's no legitimate argument for that,' he said.

'Unless you work for the CIA or MI6, there is no legitimate argument.'

When asked about Amy Nuttall and Andrew Buchan's new reported relationship 'rules', Giuliano said: 'I personally believe once a cheater, always a cheater.'

While he thinks it's perfectly fine for the couple to have access to each other's phones, the broadcaster argued Nuttall and Buchan should be wary of how they use the privilege.

'In [Amy's] case, if she checks [Buchan] weekly on the phone, that becomes a problem,' he said.
What rooms?

Me rooms. Private spaces in which to get in touch with your emotions. They're a celebrity 'thing'.

Who has one?

Jockey Frankie Dettori has a 'sulking room'.

What's Frankie Dettori got to sulk about?

It seems to boil down to his wife watching Strictly in the sitting room.

Sounds like Frankie just needs to buy a second telly.

Yes, but he also needs a dedicated room in which to view it while processing his sense of exclusion.

Pictured: Jockey Frankie Dettori pictured in the weighing room on day one of the Royal Ascot last month

What does a sulking room look like?

Frankie's has floral maroon curtains, trophy cabinets and a hard floor in case he spills wine on it.

It's sad to think of Frankie drowning his sorrows alone.

He's not alone.

Who are his sulking buddies?

Ronnie Wood and Rod Stewart, according to a recent article in The Times.

Did he consider painting the walls in Farrow & Ball's Sulking Room Pink?

The interview omits to say nor does it reveal whether Frankie is aware of the etymology of the term 'sulking room'.

Go on

As noted by The Telegraph: 'The 'sulking room' is an anglicisation of the more familiar 'boudoir' (from the French bouder, to sulk).'

Who else has bought into this trend?

Drew Barrymore has a meditation room.

Has that got maroon curtains and trophy cabinets?

It's too small for cabinets and the decor is mostly life-affirming Post-it notes saying things like: 'SPIRITUAL SUPERHERO' and 'PERMISSION'.

Cara Delevingne has a 'vagina tunnel'  a pink fabric passageway in which, she says, she feels inspired

Permission to do what?

Sit in a cupboard and read Post-it notes, presumably.

I hope she's not burning candles in there.

A recent article in New York magazine did indeed show Drew in her cubbyhole surrounded by flaming candles.

She has been playing fast and loose with health and safety protocol.

That's the way Drew Barrymore rolls and TikTok users are keen to emulate her, with videos tagged 'meditation room ideas' having 7.7 billion views.

I might try meditating in the cupboard under the stairs if I can find space between the wellies and the random hoover attachments.

Why not try a 'meditation corner' (7.8 billion views on TikTok) instead? Popular corner accessories include salt lamps and house plants.

So I just sit in the corner meditating over a spider plant while the rest of the family watches the latest season of The Kardashians?

You could try asking them to leave you alone.

But then I'd have the whole room and it wouldn't be a corner any more. Have you got any other inspiration?

Loads but, be warned, most celebrity 'me rooms' aren't particularly easy to copy.

Try me

Bill Gates has a trampoline room, Lady Gaga has a bowling alley and Cara Delevingne has a 'vagina tunnel'  a pink fabric passageway in which, she says, she feels inspired.

What

Hang on, we're not done. On the subject of tunnels, Oprah Winfrey has a wine mine.

A wine what?

Mine.

Or, as the rest of the world calls it: 'a cellar'.

No, hers is a mine. It's decked out like a mining tunnel and includes an antique cart and the sounds of creaking wood and dripping water are specially piped in.

That's it!

What is?

I'm not going to have a meditation room; I'm going to have a wine mine instead.

You'll never be able to afford it.

I will because it's already been installed.

You're talking about that cupboard under the stairs again, aren't you?

Exactly. It'll be the work of minutes to stuff a few bottles of Yellow Tail between the wellies and the hoover attachments.

Plus, at your place, the sounds of creaking wood and dripping water will be completely authentic.
BUYER'S GUIDE TO PARIS

Choosing an area

Paris consists of 20 arrondissements (districts), all with their own characteristics and property prices. I suggest putting aside a weekend to explore each. Most of the famous landmarks, restaurants and shops are in the central arrondissements of Chatelet, Le Marais (where we bought an apartment) and the Latin Quarter. If you opt for an apartment in these areas, however, expect to pay considerably more than for real estate located in the 19th and 20th arrondissements, which are 15 minutes away from the centre by metro.

The prices

Paris is not cheap and prices vary depending on the district and size of property. For example, in the 3rd arrondissement the average property price is 13,000 per square metre. In the 4th arrondissement (Le Marais) the average cost is 14,000 per square metre, with the 6th and 7th arrondissements averaging between 14,000 and 15,000 per sq m. More affordable areas include the 19th and the 20th arrondissements in the east of the city, where prices average 9,000 per sq m.

Choose your type

You ideally want an apartment that retains a touch of 18th-century classicism. This style was encapsulated by Baron Haussmann, a French official chosen by Emperor Napoleon III to carry out an urban renewal programme of new boulevards, parks and public works. His trademarks include high ceilings, large windows and double doors that lead to those signature wrought-iron balconies.

What to aim for

When it comes to the Haussmann-style apartments, the second floor was traditionally reserved for nobility, so these apartments have higher ceilings and larger balconies.

Starting your search

Register with local estate agents: I was with barnes-international.com, danielfeau.com and emilegarcin.com. I also trawled listings sites such as properstar.co.uk, jamesedition. com and residences-immobilier.com. If you work full time in the UK, or have limited French, I also recommend using a property search agency. I used Emma Skoble at parispropertygroup.com

Taxes

The property tax system is different in France so take note of hidden costs before buying. Visit ptireturns.com for further information. Follow Geraldine's renovation journey on Instagram @mypariswithme

THE BOHO ONE

Price 870,000.

Property type A one-bedroom apartment on the fourth (and top floor) of a historic building dating back to 1870.

Size 63.7 sq m.

Layout The property includes a fitted and fully equipped kitchen, spacious bedroom located on the mezzanine, an office that could be repurposed as a second bedroom, a shower room and a balcony. A cellar is also included.

Location In the 18th arrondissement where the iconic film Amelie was shot and within walking distance of the Sacre-Coeur and Montmartre.

USP It's designed and furnished throughout by an architect, with unobstructed views of the sky and Insta-famous rooftops of Paris. Visit barnes-international.com

THE WORKING PROFESSIONAL ONE

The property includes a fitted and fully equipped kitchen, spacious bedroom located on the mezzanine, an office that could be repurposed as a second bedroom, a shower room and a balcony

Price 930,000.

Property type A spacious two-bedroom apartment located on the second floor of an old building overlooking a quiet courtyard.

Size 94.58 sq m.

Location In the tourist hotspot of Porte Saint-Denis in the 10th arrondissement, near the historic Parisian monument of the same name, as well as shops and metro links.

Layout The apartment consists of a large living room, south-facing balcony, two sizeable bedrooms (16 sq m each, including one overlooking the courtyard), kitchen, bathroom, separate toilet area and an office with a courtyard view. There is also the bonus of three-metre-high ceilings.

USP Porte Saint-Denis is also home to Stade de France, which is set to play a major role in the 2024 Olympics. Visit laforet.com

THE ARTSY ONE

A two-bedroom apartment located on the second floor of a modern condominium (built in 2005) with views over the canal

An airy west-facing living room with an open-plan and fully furnished kitchen, large bedroom with built-in storage, bathroom and a separate toilet

Price 910,000.

Property type A two-bedroom apartment located on the second floor of a modern condominium (built in 2005) with views over the canal.

Size 63 sq m.

Location In a quiet courtyard on the Canal Saint-Martin in the 10th arrondissement. The canal is one of the most picturesque waterways in Paris, commissioned by Napoleon I in 1802, and connects the water of Northeast Paris to the Seine. You are also next to the iconic Hotel du Nord, perfect for those cinema-worthy coffees.

Layout An airy west-facing living room with an open-plan and fully furnished kitchen, large bedroom with built-in storage, bathroom and a separate toilet. The property also has an impressive 7 sq m cellar with a parking space available.

USP To be among the ever-evolving hive of independent interiors and food shops, trendy bars and restaurants. Visit barnes-international.com

THE BOUGIE ONE

A mainly south-facing three-bedroom family apartment located on the third floor of an old building

Price 1,450,000.

Property type A mainly south-facing three-bedroom family apartment located on the third floor of an old building.

Size 115 sq m.

Location The bustling 4th arrondissement in Beaubourg (otherwise known as the heart of Paris) within walking distance of the Seine, Le Marais and the famous Forum Des Halles, Paris's huge underground shopping mall.

Layout A living/dining room, three bedrooms, a study, an open-plan and fully equipped kitchen, plus bathroom, shower room and a full-length balcony overlooking one of the most sought-after areas of the city.

USP A traditional Haussmann apartment, complete with wooden flooring, original architectural features, panelling and ornate fireplaces. Visit residences-immobilier.com

THE CHIC BUT MORE AFFORDABLE ONE

Price 495,000.

Property type A three-bedroom apartment on the fourth floor of a well-maintained condominium dating back to 1880.

Size 49 sq m.

Location On the edge of the picturesque Parc des ButtesChaumont in the 19th arrondissement, also known as the Paris equivalent of Hackney. Think trendy bars, restaurants and artisanal cafes aplenty. It's also home to a famous suspension bridge designed by Gustave Eiffel, who built the Tower.

Layout The apartment consists of a light-filled living room, dining room, fully equipped kitchen, bedroom with a dressing room, bathroom and a balcony. A cellar and exterior bike area is also included.

USP An upcoming area that has all the amenities of Paris (bars, restaurants, good schools) without the super-high price tag. Visit maisonsetappartements.fr
A thrift shopper has been left stunned after snagging a 'priceless' historical artifact for just $1.

Reddit user u/Body-Reasonable took to the discussion forum to share the treasure that they had unearthed at a store in Westchester County, New York.

They uploaded an image of a framed envelope and handwritten letter which was signed by none other than Sir Winston Churchill.

And other social media users rushed to the comment section in their droves to praise the purchase.

Reddit user u/Body-Reasonable took to the discussion forum to share the treasure that they had unearthed at a store in Westchester County, New York

They uploaded an image of a framed envelope and handwritten letter which was signed by none other than Winston Churchill

The image showed a small envelope addressed to Jackson College for Women in Massachusetts - which is now part of the Tufts University School of Arts and Sciences.

The paper was imprinted with a postmark that indicated it had been sent from London.

Beneath the envelope was a short hand-written letter which was embossed with a stamp from the House Of Commons in the UK.

It read: 'Thank you so much for your kind message. It gave me much pleasure.'

The note had then been signed and dated by Winston Churchill who was serving as the British Prime Minister at the time.

User Body-Reasonable uploaded the images alongside a caption that read: 'Finding this for a dollar gave me much pleasure.'

And dozens of other social media users were stunned that the savvy shopper had been able to bag the historical artifact for such a low price.

One wrote: 'I think you won. You found the ultimate thrift store haul.'

Churchill served as the British Prime Minister during World War II from 1940 to 1945 and then again from 1951 to 1955

And dozens of other social media users were stunned that the savvy shopper had been able to bag the historical artifact for such a low price

Another added: 'WOW! This is something that belongs in a museum or something!'

And a third said: 'That's amazing. $1! I wonder if the staff simply didn't read the letter.'

Churchill served as the British Prime Minister during World War II from 1940 to 1945 and then again from 1951 to 1955.

The politician, who was also a soldier educated at Sandhurst, a Boer war hero and the winner of Nobel prizes for writing and history, died after suffering a stroke in January 1965 aged 90.
Crown Princess Victoria looked radiant in traditional Swedish dress as she joined King Carl Gustaf and Queen Silvia to award the Islander of the Year prize.

The mother-of-two, 45, who is the daughter of the King and Queen, presented the annual award to Bitte Borjesson at Solliden on the island of Oland on Friday.

She and Queen Silvia were both in traditional dress, while King Carl Gustaf, 77, opted for a casual tan-coloured suit jacket and dark trousers.

Victoria donned a red and gold skirt, decorated with blue and white embroidery around edge, and paired with a royal blue waist coat and white blouse.

She also wore a traditional white headdress and an embroidered shrug around her shoulders, tying together the classic Swedish outfit for the occasion.

Crown Princess Victoria looked radiant in traditional Swedish dress as she joined King Carl Gustaf and Queen Silvia to award the Islander of the Year prize

The mother-of-two, 45, who is the daughter of the King and Queen, presented the annual award to Bitte Borjesson at Solliden on the island of Oland on Friday

Her mother Silvia, 79, was dressed similarly, though had more of her brunette locks showing through her headpiece.

Both royals carried bouquets of flowers throughout the ceremony.

Islander of the Year was awarded for the first time in 1980, to recognise a member of the public who has made an extraordinary contribution to their community in Oland.

The island and province is the second largest in Sweden, just off the southeast coast of the mainland.

This year, Ms Borjesson was handed the prize for her commitment and engagement with local associations. It was said that she 'has created the conditions for generations of youths on the island Oland to find a passion for sports'.

The Crown Princess herself was awarded the prize in 2018, and King Carl Gustaf was named Islander of the Year in 1996.

This latest outing comes days after Victoria unveiled the 'Lovers on the Rock' statue by Swedish artist and illustrator Stina Persson in Stockholm.

Victoria donned a red and gold skirt, decorated with blue and white embroidery around edge, and paired with a royal blue waist coat and white blouse

She also wore a traditional white headdress and an embroidered shrug around her shoulders, tying together the classic Swedish outfit for the occasion

King Carl Gustaf, 77, opted for a casual tan-coloured suit jacket and dark trousers

The renowned artist has also showcased her work in the US and Japan, and has worked with luxury retail brands like Louis Vuitton and Veuve Clicquot.

Victoria opted for a smart blue shirt dress with matching heels alongside her husband husband Prince Daniel for the event.

The mother-of-two dazzled in a Ralph Lauren 'eyelet' embroidered cotton dress in light blue. The dress, priced at 349, features a scalloped hem alongside a drawstring waist for an easily adjustable fit.

Her mother Silvia, 79, was dressed similarly, though had more of her brunette locks showing through her headpiece

Bitte Borjesson was handed the prize for her commitment and engagement with local associations. It was said that she 'has created the conditions for generations of youths on the island Oland to find a passion for sports'

Her brunette locks were tamed by a tightly pinned bun, while a few strands of her hair feel loosely on her forehead.

For an extra touch of glamour, she opted for a dazzling pair of leaf drop down earrings, gorgeously decorated with a hint of blue.

Three gold bracelets and a silver wristwatch were the final touches to the glamorous look.
The British Medical Association has been accused of hypocrisy for slashing the pay of its own staff while demanding a 35 per cent rise for its members.

The medical union wants taxpayers to fund higher salaries for doctors, who have brought the NHS to its knees with a series of devastating strikes.

But it has simultaneously cut the pay of it its own workers by around a fifth in real-terms since 2011 and has said it needs to consider its 'financial constraints' before agreeing to a rise.

More than 650,000 appointments and operations have been cancelled as a result of NHS industrial action since December, including strikes by nurses, physiotherapists and junior doctors.

Junior doctors and consultants are campaigning to restore their pay to 2008 levels, saying it is unfair to expect to them do the same job for less than before.

Doctors are campaigning to restore their pay to 2008 levels, saying it is unfair to expect them do the same job for less

But the BMA staff supporting their activities claim they are also being undervalued and their contribution has not been fairly compensated.

The BMA workforce is represented by the GMB union, which is seeking 'pay restoration' to 2011 levels, when its current pay system was put in place.

It says those on lower salaries have seen their income eroded by 18.4 per cent and those on higher salaries by 15 per cent.

A GMB flyer, seen by the Daily Mail, demands 'Fair Pay at the BMA'.

It adds: 'As the BMA workplace union, we are negotiating with the BMA on staff pay.

'We need BMA members to understand what we are fighting for.

'Just like doctors, the pay of BMA staff has eroded over recent years.

'Since 2011, when the current pay system was put in place, our pay has dropped by as much as 18 per cent.'

The GMB has submitted a pay claim on behalf of its members that asks for less than the rise being demanded for doctors - but it is yet to receive an offer.

Delegates at the BMA's annual conference in Liverpool earlier this week were told there had been 'protracted pay talks' between the two sides.

Sources suggest the BMA and GMB are likely to agree a deal next week.

The GMB flyer said: 'We're asking management for a pay rise that will counter current high inflation and start to restore our pay to its previous levels.

'BMA staff are the backbone of the union.

'This year we've been standing shoulder to shoulder with junior doctors on strike, supporting record membership with their personal cases, and doing everything we can to improve conditions for our members.

'We believe in what we do but we need to be fairly recognised for it too.

'The last thing we all want is a dispute within the BMA.

'Now is the time to stay united as we all seek fair pay.'

Rachel Podolak and Neeta Major, joint chief executive officers at the BMA, told the Mail: 'Our staff work incredibly hard, and we are exploring all avenues to ensure we can make the best possible offer to them within our financial constraints.

'We are in constructive and positive negotiations with the GMB and we hope to be able to announce a negotiated pay offer for 2023/24 in due course.'

Doctors were due to vote on a conference motion that called on the BMA to agree to 'pay restoration' for its own staff - but proceedings were brought to an end minutes before it could be debated.

The motion said: 'This meeting is very concerned to hear about the ongoing protracted pay talks between BMA management and staff represented by the GMB union.

'It therefore urges the BMA to resolve this as quickly as possible by providing staff with an adequate pay rise and working with the GMB representatives to agree a timeline for pay restoration for BMA staff over time.'

Tory MP Paul Bristow, who sits on the Commons health and social care committee, said: 'On the one hand they demand taxpayers and patients fork out for inflation busting increases of 35 per cent, but they cut pay for their own staff.

'This strike is all about politics.

'They need to stop the political posturing, drop their ludicrous demands and get a fair and reasonable deal for their members.

'Patients should come first, not pay packets.'

Junior doctors will strike for five days from 13 July, in the longest walkout in the history of the NHS. They will refuse to deliver any care, including in A&E and cancer wards.

Consultants will then strike on July 20 and 21, although they will provide 'Christmas Day cover', meaning they will deliver urgent and emergency care only.

Waiting lists in England stand at a record 7.4million and Rishi Sunak has made reducing this one of his five priorities.

However, BMA consultants have admitted to using these patients as 'leverage' and warned the Prime Minister it would be impossible to achieve his aim without settling their pay row.

The GMB declined to comment.
Robot doctors are no longer a futuristic concept seen only in sci-fi films. In fact, given the very latest developments in healthcare technology, it is likely that some real-life doctors will become obsolete within the coming decade.

Last month the Government announced that it was plugging 21million into sophisticated computer programs that can diagnose some of the UKs biggest killers  cancer and heart disease. Early pilot schemes have shown that this type of software  known as artificial intelligence (AI) and used in applications called bots or chatbots  can spot these diseases much quicker and with greater accuracy than experienced consultants.

But what about GPs? There is no doubt that the demand for family doctors is greater than ever before. At the end of last year, reports surfaced that some GPs had more than 90 appointments per day  more than three times the recommended safety limit.

Just under 1.5million patients are waiting at least a month for a GP appointment, according to the latest NHS figures.

And to cope with this, GPs are making increasing use of the digital tools at their disposal  whether it be telephone appointments, photographs of skin problems or video calls.

About a third of GP appointments now take place over the phone.

Dr Ellie Cannon, pictured, took part in an experiment where she and an AI chat bot were asked to answer several readers questions about their medical complaints

Last month the Government announced that it was plugging 21million into sophisticated computer programs that can diagnose some of the UKs biggest killers  cancer and heart disease

Doctors say face-to-face appointments will always be preferable.

Virtual appointments are effective and safe, but there can be physical signs of illness that GPs will only spot in person, like weight loss, says Dr Dean Eggitt, a Doncaster-based GP.

But the likelihood of in-person appointments once again becoming the default is low. Its a situation that begs the question: would computers do just as good a job?

The Mail on Sunday developed a fascinating experiment to put this to the test, pitching our GP columnist Dr Ellie Cannon against a popular AI chatbot launched last year, called ChatGPT.

In February, a study found its answers were sufficient to pass the exam that US doctors take to qualify. And in April, scientists from the University of California San Diego found it answered real-life patient questions to a better standard than a group of GPs. According to an independent panel of healthcare professionals, in 80 per cent of cases ChatGPTs answers were of better quality than those of the doctors.

Our study set out to replicate this experiment.

First, we chose five readers medical questions. We then asked Dr Ellie to answer them, before plugging them into ChatGPT.

Our trio of experts were Professor Dame Clare Gerada, president of the Royal College of General Practitioners, Dr Dean Eggitt, a GP who specialises in medical technology, and Dennis Reed, director of the older patient advocacy group Silver Voices.

We sent the experts the responses  and didnt tell them which came from the AI and which from Dr Ellie. They gave each answer a score out of 15, to give a total score out of 75. So who came out on top  the real doctor or the AI version?

Q I have a bad case of haemorrhoids. It doesnt cause pain and I occasionally use a cream my GP prescribed. But I worry they may cause complications for a problem I have with prolapse  I had a vaginal and bowel prolapse operation a year ago. Am I needlessly worrying?

Doctor Ellies answer

Haemorrhoids are swollen blood vessels in the back passage. They are not usually connected to a prolapse, but the same underlying condition can trigger both. A prolapse is where one or more of the pelvic organs moves down and bulges into the vagina.

One of the most common causes of both is constipation. This can lead to haemorrhoids because straining the muscles in that area can inflame the blood vessels.

Sufferers strain their stomach while on the toilet, which can put pressure on the repaired prolapse. It may be worth taking a laxative.

There is also a chance the swelling may not be haemorrhoids but another type of lump that would warrant an examination from a GP.

If there is bleeding from the back passage, go to the GP as this could be a sign of cancer.

So how does Dr Robot work out what could be wrong with you? The artificial intelligence program we used in this experiment was ChatGPT. The free online tool, created by US tech firm OpenAI, was launched in November 2022. Anyone can type a question into its interface  similar to Google  and answers are generated instantly. The information provided is pooled from millions of websites. But instead of directing users to a list of sites like Google does, the algorithm crunches all the relevant information into a conversational dialogue. Creators often update the software to improve accuracy. The latest version is so precise it can pass official medical and legal exams in the US  in fact, it outperformed 90 per cent of Americans in the legal test. But the program is not perfect. Tech commentators say that the tool often spurts out sentences that dont quite make sense or properly address the question. The tool cannot think for itself but puts words in an order that is likely to reflect a coherent sentence  similar to predictive text on a mobile phone. ChatGPT may sound intelligent and empathetic but its just regurgitating words its seen elsewhere, says Nigel Crook, a professor at Oxford Brookes University and author of Rise Of The Moral Machine about the ethics of AI. For this reason, experts say ChatGPT should not currently be used to diagnose patients. But given the speed at which AI is advancing, it could become a reality in the near future. As Dr Jennifer Lynch, a healthcare researcher at the University of Hertfordshire, says: The possibilities for how this technology could revolutionise the health system are endless. Advertisement

How did Doctor AI do?

CHATGPT correctly explained the definitions of haemorrhoids and pelvic prolapse. But it failed to address the patients concerns about whether or not they could be linked. When it came to treatment, it did not recommend anything specific, instead suggesting the patient talks to her doctor.

It failed to flag the small chance that the swellings could be a sign of something serious, such as cancer.

The experts werent pleased with the choice of words, either. Prof Gerada described the language used as complicated and difficult for patients to understand, while patient advocate Dennis Reed commented on its lack of empathy.

GP Dr Eggitt added: It seems as though the chatbot isnt addressing the question, but simply providing basic facts about the conditions mentioned in the question.

Scores: AI 6/15  Dr Ellie 13/15

Q I TAKE alendronic acid pills for osteoporosis but it seems to cause a change in my bowels. I felt normal for about a month but the problem has started again. Can you suggest what is causing this?

Doctor Ellies answer

Alendronic acid pills are given to prevent bone breakages in people with osteoporosis. While effective, they have a long list of side effects, including diarrhoea, indigestion and bloating. So it is entirely expected that a reader may experience a change in their bowels.

Speak to your GP about medication that can help combat these problems, which include laxatives to help with constipation or anti-diarrhoea drugs like loperamide.

Changes in bowel movements can be a sign of something more serious  including bowel cancer  so speak to your GP about tests that can rule out a more serious underlying condition.

How did Doctor AI do?

The experts agreed that the digital response was impressive. It offered the same information as Dr Ellie, with additional, useful advice.

Certain foods, such as some vegetables that are high in fibre, could also be the cause of bowel symptoms, as can not drinking enough water, the chatbot suggests.

Dr Eggitt said the phrasing was more straight to the point and less detailed than Dr Ellies, and easier for patients to understand.

There was one important mistake, however. ChatGPT advised against stopping the medication  warning that this could be harmful.

This isnt true, said Dr Gerada. There are very few medicines you cant stop taking immediately if they are causing problems.

Some patients decide this medicine isnt worth the benefits, and they shouldnt have to suffer with side effects unnecessarily.

Scores: AI 11/15  Dr Ellie 13/15

Q I develop angry red marks on my skin whenever I bump myself. My GP told me to send photographs. I did, and she told me it was natural skin thinning, which happens when you get older. I felt this was just an excuse to not fully examine me. What do you think?

Doctor Ellies answer

Red marks on the skin are common in older people. This is because the skin thins in later years, making it more vulnerable to damage. However, these types of marks might also be more likely if youre taking blood-thinning medication such as clopidogrel or warfarin, which increase the risk of bruising.

If your GP has seen the photos of the marks, checked your full medical records and has no concerns, you can be reassured that there is nothing to worry about.

How did Doctor AI do?

The AI took a different approach to this question.

It correctly pointed out that red marks are a common feature for older people due to skin thinning, but it went on to advise getting a second opinion from another healthcare professional. A second opinion, it said, can help ensure you receive the most accurate and comprehensive assessment.

This approach split our panel. Prof Gerada said the AI was wrongly dismissive of the GPs opinion. If youre unsure of an answer from a doctor, it is more appropriate to book another appointment and discuss your concerns, rather than immediately going elsewhere.

But Dr Eggitt and Dennis Reed disagreed. It is important for patients to know it is OK to get a second opinion, said Dr Eggitt. You have every right to see a different GP at your practice, or ask to be referred on to a specialist like a dermatologist.

Dennis Reed said the AI advice could help patients avoid defensive doctors, who are often unhappy about their judgment being questioned. Patients are too often reluctant to ask for a second opinion because they are embarrassed. So anything that empowers them to ask questions is good.

Scores: AI 11/15  Dr Ellie 12/15

Q Do you have advice for restless legs syndrome please? This is so painful, and I cannot sleep for more than a couple of hours a night.

Doctor Ellies answer

Restless legs syndrome is a distressing neurological disorder that causes an uncontrollable urge to move the legs. It is often accompanied by uncomfortable sensations in the lower body such as tingling and itching. Experts are unsure what causes it, but some suggest it is linked to iron deficiency.

Taking medications such as beta blockers and antidepressants can also increase your risk. Common triggers include caffeine, alcohol and a lack of exercise.

It would be a good idea to avoid these triggers and see if the symptoms improve, and ask your GP for a test for iron deficiency.

A word of warning: medication to treat the syndrome can have side effects such as dizziness and headaches. Some find taking a painkiller before bed is helpful.

How did Doctor AI do?

The programs description of the condition  and link to iron deficiency  was adequate, but the recommendations for treatment were not. Suggestions include ideas that youd likely find via a quick search on Google: warm baths and massages to relax the muscles.

Oddly, it also recommended addictive opioids to help with the discomfort. Doctors guidance from the National Institute For Health and Care Excellence (NICE) suggests considering these painkillers at a low dose only if all other treatments have failed.

All three experts were shocked to see them recommended without warnings of potential harms.

This is a concerning suggestion, said Dennis Reed. Doctors have worked hard to avoid giving patients these pills, and we dont want to end up in a situation where people are asking for them.

Dr Eggitt added that while the AIs answers were technically accurate, the suggestions for treatment were disappointing and vague.

Scores: AI 8/15  Dr Ellie 13/15

Q I take steroids to manage polymyalgia rheumatica but I find that they dont stop the pain completely. The pills I take to combat high blood pressure arent working due to the steroids. I dont want to suffer a heart attack. What do I do?

Doctor Ellies answer

'Polymylagia rheumatica is a condition that causes pain, stiffness and inflammation in the muscles around the shoulders, neck and hips. Steroids are a common treatment for it. However, they can sometimes raise blood pressure, which can have dangerous consequences.

Some types of blood pressure tablets work well alongside steroids  so speak to your GP about switching. Since your case is complex it would be worth getting a referral from your GP to a hypertension clinic  a centre designed to treat high blood pressure.

In some cases, specialists will use immunosuppressant medications such as methotrexate to control the disease.

It is also worth buying an at-home blood pressure monitor to keep a close eye on any changes.

Mail on Sunday asked the same questions to ChatGP

How did Doctor AI do?

For the first time, ChatGPTs reply was better. The experts commented on its empathy by acknowledging the challenge of managing multiple health conditions. It matched most of Dr Ellies suggestions but added extra advice. For instance, it noted that non-drug interventions such as eating less salt, exercising and avoiding tobacco and excessive alcohol can help bring down blood pressure. The panel also noted a flaw in Dr Ellies answer. A hypertension clinic may not be that helpful, said Prof Gerada. These clinics are few and far between.

Scores: AI 12/15  Dr Ellie 11/15

Overall, two of the three experts were complimentary about ChatGPT. I wasnt expecting the AI to perform so well, said Prof Gerada. It still has some way to go before it could match a GP, but I can imagine, in a couple of years time, that the NHS will start implementing this kind of technology for virtual consultations.

Dr Eggitt was still unconvinced. The job of a human GP is safe for now, he said. The AI made some crucial mistakes, which I think would disqualify it from safely handling patients. But the technology is very exciting and Im looking forward to seeing where it goes in the next few years.
A leading cancer research organisation which helped thousands of patients access life-saving new drugs has been forced to close after Cancer Research UK slashed its funding.

Last week it was announced that the National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) will disband  a devastating blow to future research and trials of vital new treatments to combat the disease.

The NCRI said the closure was due to a lack of funds but did not provide further details.

Now The Mail on Sunday can reveal that its primary source of funding was Cancer Research UK (CRUK), one of the UKs largest and most well-known charities.

Dame Tessa Jowell, pictured, made a memorable speech in the House of Lords in January 2018 wearing an experimental hat that was treating her brain tumour. During the speech she highlighted the need to fully support cancer research

The UK already has one of the worst cancer survival rates in Europe, and lags behind Australia, Canada and New Zealand

The charity pulled 80 per cent of its funding for NCRI in 2020, according to financial records. Insiders have revealed that, since then, the remainder has been withdrawn. CRUK funded roughly a third of projects run by the NCRI as well as providing office space  an agreement which insiders say has also been terminated.

The charity told The Mail on Sunday that the NCRI closure would not impact the number of patients who can access clinical trials in Britain  but cancer experts strongly disagree.

The UK already has one of the worst cancer survival rates in Europe, and lags behind Australia, Canada and New Zealand.

Meanwhile, the number of NHS patients recruited for drug studies has fallen by more than 40 per cent over the past six years.

The NCRI was founded in 2001, aiming to connect organisations that fund clinical research with scientists and patients, helping thousands more to access breakthrough drugs.

The focus was on forms of the disease  such as brain tumours and childhood cancers  which pharmaceutical companies did not invest in because they would not reap large commercial rewards. Its work included helping to set up trials into the treatment of glioblastoma, the aggressive form of brain cancer which killed former Labour MP Tessa Jowell, 70, in 2018.

The former Culture Secretary, who became Baroness Jowell in 2015, made a memorable final speech in the Lords in which she spoke passionately about the value of medical trials for brain cancer. She had previously announced that she was being treated with an experimental electronic skull cap, costing 240,000 a year.

The NCRI did not set up clinical trials itself but instead helped bring funders, researchers and patients together. Experts say it changed how the NHS handled cancer research. When the NCRI was set up, only two per cent of cancer patients accessed clinical trials, says Professor Lawrence Young, a cancer expert at the University of Warwick. That is now 20 per cent, and the NCRI played a massive role in that increase.

The number of NHS patients recruited for drug studies has fallen by more than 40 per cent over the past six years

Insiders say the NCRI has been struggling financially since the Covid pandemic, in large part due to decisions taken at CRUK. Following the charitys withdrawal of most of its funding in 2020, the NCRIs total income that year fell from 2.6 million to 1.5 million.

Alongside the funds from CRUK, the NCRI was kept going by donations from other, smaller cancer charities, including Blood Cancer UK, Brain Tumour Research and Breast Cancer Now.

One doctor, who worked closely with the NCRI but asked to remain anonymous, says: The NCRI is crucial for developing cancer research in the UK that can change how we treat the disease. Shutting it down without a replacement is irresponsible and will negatively impact cancer patients.

Cancer Research UK love to tell the public that their donations go towards helping patients live longer  but perhaps thats not always the case, and this is a clear example of that.

Other cancer charities expressed concern. Its sad that this long-standing collaboration between clinicians and those with lived experience will be winding down, says Sarah McDonald, deputy director of research at Blood Cancer UK.

The partnership has had success helping identify unmet needs for those with cancer, helping develop hundreds of trials, with thousands of people getting access to new, potentially life-saving treatments.

Clinical trials are the only way those living with cancer can access new treatment. This announcement doesnt mean that ongoing trials will be affected, but work will be needed to make sure this gap [created by the loss of the NCRI] is plugged.

CRUK said it was proud to have provided funding to the NCRI for many years. It said many functions the NCRI was set up to fulfil had been achieved, adding: It is important to clarify the NCRI was not a research centre, so is not directly responsible for funding research projects or clinical trials.

There are 1,000 cancer clinical trials recruiting in the UK. They are funded by a number of different bodies, including Cancer Research UK, other charities, Government and industry.

None of these trials are directly funded or sponsored by the NCRI and the decision to wind down will not limit patients ability to access clinical trials. Cancer Research UK remains committed to collaborating with charities, industry and government across the UK and globally to improve outcomes for cancer patients.
MBABANE  Yet another Local Government Elections candidate has taken the court route to seek a fresh start of the elections.

Sifiso Trevor Nhlengethwa of Nhlangano has followed in the footsteps of former Mbabane Mayor Zephaniah Nkambule and Lawyer Mxolisi Dlamini who lost to Maphevu Dlamini in the elections under the Municipal Council of Mbabane Ward 1 (Mahwalala) on June 24, 2023.

Nhlengethwa wants the High Court to set aside the Local Government Elections results of Nhlangano Town Council Ward 2. He also applied for an order that the elections under Ward 2 be started afresh. Nhlengethwas contention is that his name, Sifiso Trevor Nhlengethwa, was allegedly recorded as Ndumiso Treasure Nhlengethwa on the list of candidates.

In his application founding affidavit, Nhlengethwa told the court that he first registered as a voter, and upon inspection of the voters roll, his name appeared, but upon inspection of the candidates list, he discovered that his name was recorded as Ndumiso Treasure Nhlengethwa. He informed the court that he drew the attention of the Returning Officer, Sandile Mahlalela, to the anomaly.

Assured

He alleged that he was assured that the error would be rectified. Nhlengethwa also told the court that on the day of the elections, June 24, 2023, he received various calls from his supporters who complained that his name did not appear in the ballot papers. I must mention that some of my prospective voters did not know me personally but my agents had done a good job and I was expecting a good turnout. Further compounding the issue was the fact that one of my rivals, the third respondent (Ndumiso Khumalo the eventual winner) to be precise, was also named Ndumiso although he has a different surname.

Some of my prospective voters also mentioned that due to the confusion, they made random votes as they were not sure of the rightful candidate.

Even those who know me had difficultly as the name was different, so with pictures one is never sure. Upon realising the nature and extent of the plunder, I approached the second respondent (returning officer) and drew his attention to the error. Unfortunately he told me there was no way the elections could be stopped and my best option would be to take up the matter with the first respondent, Nhlengethwa alleged. The veracity of these allegations is still to be tested in court. The respondents, Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Prince Simelane, returning officer, the winner and attorney general have filed a notice of intention to oppose the application. Melusi Simelane of Piliso, Simelane and Partners are yet to file their reasons for opposing Nhlengethwas application.

Response

The applicant stated that he wrote to the principal secretary (PS), however, he allegedly did not get a response until June 30, 2023, when he was advised to approach the court. It is my humble submission from the foregoing that the results of Ward 2 for the elections were not free and fair as most of my prospective voters could not identify me in the ballot papers, resulting in me losing votes which could have changed the result.

Accordingly, it is my humble submission further that the above honourable court is entitled to nullify the results and order fresh elections to be held for the ward to reflect the correct outcome, Nhlengethwa pleaded with the court. The applicant said it would be prudent if the matter was finalised before the town council resumed serious business. On June 24, 2023, Nhlengethwa wrote to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development and raised the issue of alleged spoilt elections for Ward 2.

He stated in the letter that he was one of the candidates for the Local Government Elections under Nhlangano Town Council. I am writing to you about a challenge and confusion in the voting place which could be detrimental to my election. My name did not appear at all and yet I represent a lot of people in my ward and community, who popularly know me by my name.

Most of the people who want to vote for me are complaining that they cannot see my name, which can manipulate the votes that I can get.

I have spoken to the presiding officer, Mr. Mahlalela, about my concern. I know there is a process to follow in order to request a referral for evaluation and holding fresh elections for Ward 2. I would like to know how to do this. Can you please call me as soon as possible because I want to know what the stand is as I do not know the outcome of this mistake, either Sifiso Nhlengethwa would be voted out or Ndumiso Nhlengethwa would be voted out. (sic)

Celebrate

After the elections were concluded countrywide, Prince Simelane, when briefing members of the media, said the ministry would not celebrate just yet. The Ministry of Housing and Urban Development is responsible for, among other things, conducting Local Government Elections in the country.

Last Friday, the High Court declared the elections results under Ward 1 in Mbabane a nullity and disqualified the winner under Ward 1, Maphevu, from the elections held on June 24, 2023.

Maphevus disqualification was on the basis of acts of electoral malpractice, bribery and commission of offences under the Urban Government Act of 1969.

The court also ordered that the Local Government Elections under Ward 1 should start afresh. Alternatively, the court ordered that the Municipal Council of Mbabane should allocate one day to allow voters who did not vote, a chance to vote under Ward 1.

The court further ordered a recount of votes under Ward 1. The recount, which was ordered by Judge Sabelo Masuku, was carried out by the Municipal Council of Mbabane in its chambers on Thursday.

Maphevu still emerged with the most votes, ahead of Nkambule and Lawyer Mxolisi Dlamini. Judge Masuku had ordered that the recounting process should follow all the protocols in place for that stage of the elections.

Judge Masuku went on to order the municipality council to file a report of the votes recount, together with an affidavit for the work conducted, and serve it on the parties involved in the matter.

The orders issued by the court operate on an interim basis and the matter will be argued on July 14, 2023, when the respondents are expected to tell the court why it should not confirm them.

The judge said the report would assist the court in determining the relief sought by former Mbabane Mayor Nkambule and Lawyer Mxolisi.

Mxolisi and Nkambule, among other prayers, want the elections under Ward 1 to start afresh.

The court further interdicted the Municipal Council of Mbabane from swearing in Maphevu as a Ward 1 councillor and this order was issued in the interim, to operate with immediate effect pending finalisation of the application filed by Mxolisi and Nkambule.

Grant

Hasso Magagula of Dynasty Inc Attorneys, who represents the applicants, informed the court last Friday that if the court did not grant the interim orders he was seeking, his clients would suffer irreparable harm.

He argued that it was not known yet when the swearing in of the newly-elected individuals would take place. Magagula informed the court that any order that they would be granted after the swearing-in would be academic.

Acting PS in the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development Makhosi Simelane told the court that the Local Government Elections were conducted in the right and correct manner.

In his opposing affidavit, the acting PS admitted that the Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Prince Simelane, may have made a few utterances about the elections, but he denied that those utterances applied to Ward 1.

The minister, according to the acting PS, spoke of ballot papers arriving late in some wards and said this was not the case in Ward 1.

There were enough ballot papers, polling stations opened on time. There was no disarray of any nature with this particular ward.

Relevance

Therefore, the utterances made by the minister in question are of no relevance in the matter at present, he said.

Simelane told the court that granting the orders sought by the applicants (former Mayor Nkambule and Lawyer Mxolisi) would halt all operations in Ward1 (Mahwalala) and affect those of the city.

He denied that the Local Government Elections held on June 24, 2023 were invalid. He said the elections were conducted in accordance with the Urban Government (Elections) Regulations of 1969.

According to the acting PS, there is no council in office at the moment and most, if not all, operations in the ward in question require the signature of a councillor.

He also informed the court that the date of swearing in the winner under Ward 1, Maphevu, had not been announced yet.

The Returning Officer, Bhekithemba Matsebula, denied that there were any violations of the elections regulations.

Matsebula, in his answering affidavit, said nobody reported that a Mahindra and Ford motor vehicles were transporting unknown people to the polling station.

He told the court that he did not see any of the mentioned motor vehicles.

He submitted that Mxolisi and Nkambule should have reported this to him and the police who were in the vicinity.

Both matters are pending in court.
It is the UKs biggest cancer killer and the vast majority of its victims are elderly. The average age of death from lung cancer is between 85 and 89. Nearly half of all patients are diagnosed after they reach 75.

But despite being known as a disease of older people, the Governments much-lauded new lung cancer screening programme will exclude Britons over the age of 74.

The plan  to give high-risk former and current smokers a scan of their lungs  is undoubtedly a landmark step forward which will save 9,000 lives a year by detecting the disease early.

Half of cases are picked up when the disease is already incurable, having spread to other organs. If the NHS programme, launching in 2025, picks it up earlier  when it is more treatable  it will drive down the 35,300 deaths a year it causes.

But it has led to questions over how fully it can achieve this aim while excluding elderly patients.

Dame Esther Rantzen, pictured, smoked for a decade and was diagnosed last year with late-stage lung cancer aged 82

One senior doctor wrote on Twitter last week that he is perplexed that the upper age limit for lung screening is 74 when, in the US, it is 80.

One noteworthy critic is veteran broadcaster Dame Esther Rantzen, who was diagnosed with late-stage lung cancer last year, aged 82.

In a letter to The Times last month, the former presenter  who smoked for a decade  pointed out that the screening programme wouldnt have spotted her cancer and suggested the exclusion of older people was ageist.

I wonder why the over-75s are excluded? she wrote. Is it because giving us an extra five or ten years is not considered worth it? If so, I can attest that each day gets more precious with age. Is keeping older people alive too expensive for the NHS?

No one is arguing that older people should not be treated. Anyone with symptoms, regardless of age, should still have them checked and will receive whatever treatment is appropriate. But given that lung cancer is so rife in the elderly  among smokers and non-smokers  shouldnt we screen all over-74s?

It is certainly true that the risk of lung cancer increases with age, and smoking is by far the biggest risk factor. But about 15 per cent of patients have never smoked  and they, too, tend to be diagnosed in older age, leading to 6,000 deaths a year.

Those who have never smoked, however, will not be invited for screening whatever their age  partly because it is not cost-effective to do so.

Dame Esther Rantzen wrote this letter to The Times last month to raise the issue

Lung CT scans, which use low doses of radiation, are more expensive than other screening techniques for breast, cervical and bowel cancer. While thats not the only consideration, youd need to carry out a lot more of them on non-smokers to find just one lung cancer case.

Fewer than five people in every 100,000 non-smokers will get lung cancer  in smokers, its 16 times that.

As Naser Turabi, at Cancer Research UK, puts it: Youre fishing in a much larger pond than if you just screen smokers  ex or current smokers are, by far, at greatest risk.

But what about smokers older than 74? For any screening programme, experts argue that the aim is to provide the most amount of benefit and cause the least amount of harm. And the upper age limit for screening is generally seen as the point at which a person is likely to have one or more age-related conditions and be less able to withstand treatment that could come alongside a diagnosis.

Age is a proxy for other things, says Mr Turabi. People older than 74 who are at high risk of lung cancer due to smoking are, by definition, also likely to have other health problems  heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), emphysema and type 2 diabetes  and may be frail.

Those invited for screening will already be, in general, less healthy than the wider population.

Although everyone aged between 55 to 74 with a history of smoking on their GP medical record will be invited for an assessment, only those deemed at higher risk of lung cancer will end up being referred for a scan. These will generally be people who have smoked the most, for the longest time.

If you extend screening to people who are also older than 74, that increases the likelihood of them being frailer  when investigating a possible cancer becomes, in itself, more risky.

Professor Siow-Ming Lee, a lung cancer specialist at University College London, says: Older people are more at risk of complications from investigating the cancer and from treatment.

All screening programmes result in some harm for a small number of people. One in 3,000 people might die as a result of a biopsy  an invasive procedure which involves extracting a sample of tissue for testing  and about one in 50 people die within 90 days of surgery to treat or investigate lung cancer as a result of that surgery.

Those risks are for all ages, points out Professor Matthew Callister, a lung cancer expert in Leeds. The risks overall are low and for most people outweighed by the huge benefits of diagnosing lung cancer earlier, he says.

Lung CT scans, which use low doses of radiation, are more expensive than other screening techniques for breast, cervical and bowel cancer

But he adds they will likely be greater the older the patient is.

Some of those investigations may also turn out to be unnecessary.

In the US National Lung Screening Trial, 96 per cent of abnormal initial results from scans did not end up being cancer  so-called false positives  but all needed to be investigated, involving a risk of harm from further radiation exposure or biopsies. Around 25 per cent had unnecessary surgery to remove an abnormality which turned out not to be cancer.

In the UK pilot schemes for lung cancer screening, specialists have reduced this to just 3.6 per cent, the lowest in the world. But no one wants to perform unnecessary surgery, particularly on older people where the risks are even greater.

The American Geriatric Society estimates that screening 1,000 people over six years would avoid four lung cancer deaths. But the cost of this would be 36 people undergoing invasive procedures and eight people suffering complications.

The other problem, which is common to all screening programmes, is the risk of over-diagnosing  finding cancers that may not have caused any symptoms. This becomes more of a problem when you get into your mid-70s. Particularly if youve been a smoker, other health problems could cause death before the cancer does.

How other screening programmes could change All of the UKs three other NHS screening programmes  which check for breast, bowel and cervical cancers  have an age cut-off. Its calculated to target those who will most benefit and be harmed the least by treatment. The question of whether the age ranges should be extended is one that is continually reassessed. For breast cancer, women have a mammogram every three years between 50 and 70, but a trial is currently investigating whether including women aged from 47 to 73 could reduce deaths. With bowel cancer screening, everyone aged 60 to 74 in England who is registered with a GP is automatically sent an NHS home-testing kit every two years that checks for tiny amounts of blood in faeces. However, experts have already recommended lowering it to 50, in line with Scotland, while in Wales it is from 55. Women are currently screened for cervical cancer by testing for the sexually transmitted human papillomavirus (HPV). Those aged 25-49 are called for a smear every three years, and every five years after that until they are 64. There were calls for this to start at 20, but the evidence found that it doesnt reduce the number of diagnoses and that under-25s may get unnecessary treatment. Also, vaccines against HPV were rolled out in 2009 which have dramatically reduced the risk in younger women. Everyone remains entitled to regular breast, bowel and cervical screenings beyond the maximum age limit, but these must be requested from a GP or screening clinic. Advertisement

In younger people, its important we treat early-stage cancers picked up in screening as its likely we can extend their lives, says Mr Turabi. In older people, early cancer might never cause a problem. In general, they are more at risk of dying from something else.

The treatment may have been unnecessary and reduced your quality of life. Its not that we dont want to treat older people, but we do want to avoid causing harm by giving risky treatment.

Prof Callister says for lung cancer, screening picks up tumours on average four to six years earlier than they would have been caught otherwise.

The reality is that treating early only truly benefits someone if they would have lived past the point when their lung cancer would have grown enough to cause them harm, he says. This can take four to six years, so older people are more likely to die with lung cancer than from it, because they die from something else first. Thats why the upper age limit is set at 74. Its not that the NHS sees older people as not worth treating. Its just that the benefit compared to the harm of screening for this group may be different from younger populations.

People at any age with symptoms of cancer should still contact their GP as they will be investigated and treated, regardless of age.

In the US, where the upper age limit is 80, only people deemed healthy enough to have surgery, should it be needed, can be screened. This may be an option for the UKs National Screening Committee to consider. Studies have found that, by selecting the healthiest older patients, the benefits of screening may outweigh the risks.

One US study, which looked at whether screening would benefit 75- to 84-year-olds, found older people were just as likely to survive as younger adults aged 55-74 if their cancer was caught early, at a stage where it could be treated with minimally invasive surgery.

The researchers  lung cancer specialists  said: We feel patients 75 and older should not be discriminated against for screening based upon age alone.

Dame Esther agrees. She was diagnosed stage four, meaning the cancer has spread, and is on a new medication  proof that those in their 80s can still receive active treatment for the disease.

Professor David Baldwin, a lung cancer specialist in Nottingham who has been involved in the UK pilot screening trials, says: There are always going to be fit 90-year-olds with another ten years of a reasonably good quality of life left who may well benefit from screening and having a lung cancer treated.

Thats why the age bracket seems unfair. But they are generally an exception. Across a whole population, most people over 75 wont benefit and we may cause them more harm by investigating and treating them.

The National Screening Committee in the UK will be constantly reviewing the evidence. If it finds there may greater benefits  and reduced harms  for adults outside the current age range, it could change the parameters.

Prof Lee says that more research is needed. We need to work out if there are benefits, he says. And you need to think about quality of life, and if theyre fit enough for biopsy and surgery.

Developments which might feed into these discussions include evidence for lung cancer treatments in older adults.

Prof Lee published research last week which showed an immunotherapy drug, atezolizumab, improves life expectancy in older, frailer adults who cannot tolerate standard chemotherapy. Nearly a third of participants were over 80, and the drug doubled the number still alive after two years when compared with chemo.

There are also developments in artificial intelligence (AI) which are helping radiologists tell the difference between abnormalities on scans which are cancer and those which are not, which will drive down unnecessary investigations and treatments.

In the meantime, Mr Turabi says everyone should make sure their medical records held by their GP contain an accurate summary of their smoking history.

People do minimise it, he says. If you do, you may not be considered at risk and may not be invited to screening.

And, whatever your age, never ignore the symptoms of lung cancer: a persistent cough that doesnt go away after three weeks, coughing up blood, breathlessness, repeat chest infections and weight loss.
A third of migraine sufferers are treated badly at work.

The Migraine Trust charity survey shows one in five victims has faced disciplinary action after missing work with the painful headaches.

A third of the 1,000 sufferers polled said they have had to leave a job because of migraines.

Some six million Britons suffer, and Migraine Trust chief executive Rob Music said the survey findings show workplaces are not well-equipped to support them.

Its more important than ever to empower employees and employers with practical information on what migraine is and how to manage it at work, he said.

The Migraine Trust charity survey shows one in five victims has faced disciplinary action after missing work with the painful headaches.

Alert over sugar in kids' yoghurts

Small children are consuming worryingly high levels of sugar through supposedly healthy yogurts and fruit juices, health officials have warned.

The UKs Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition says that parents must ensure that milk or water are the main drinks given to children aged one to five.

The committees survey found that, on average, young children are getting 20 per cent of their sugar from food such as yogurts and artificially sweetened fruit juice drinks.

The scientists also concluded that around three-quarters of British children aged 18 months to four were eating unhealthy amounts of salt while fibre intake was below the suggested amount.

A committee spokesman urged parents not to add any salt to young childrens food.

The UKs Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition says that parents must ensure that milk or water are the main drinks given to children aged one to five

Three-quarters of Britons say they have suffered poor sleep because they use their phones too much.

A survey also found that four in five have had eye pain after using their mobile and three-quarters say they have endured neck ache.

But one in ten say they are addicted to smartphones, the poll of 1,000 people by UK eye and ear health firm Bayfields reveals.

Young people are revealed to be the worst affected by smartphone overuse.

Around 90 per cent of 18- to 34-year-olds confess that they sleep poorly as a result of using digital devices before going to bed.

Taking antibiotics regularly could have increased the risk of death from Covid-19.

Manchester University researchers who analysed data from 98,000 virus victims admitted to hospital in the pandemic found those who had frequently taken antibiotics in the previous three years were a third more likely to die of Covid complications.

One possible explanation is that people with underlying illnesses, which make them vulnerable to severe Covid, are also more likely to require antibiotics, perhaps due to weak immune systems.
My friend Helen recently managed to get out of paying a parking fine imposed by her local council. She felt it was unfair (it often is) and wrote a letter to explain why.

The response she received was less than helpful so she wrote again, and then again. Finally she took it to London Tribunals, which covers council parking fines in the capital, and she won. In fact, the adjudicator said he was impressed by how calm and friendly her side of the correspondence had been.

Helen's not the only one to overturn a parking fine at a tribunal. Just last year 35,000 complaints from drivers went to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal  the adjudicators for council parking fines in England and Wales  and two-thirds were awarded in favour of the drivers.

But it's still a drop in the ocean when you look at the number of parking tickets issued each year.

According to Churchill Motor Insurance, almost 20,000 parking fines were given out every day by UK councils last year and an estimated 30,000 fines were issued by private companies every day between April and June last year, up 50 per cent from the same period in 2021.

MISS MONEYSAVER shares her tips on how to challenge an unfair parking fine (file image)

It's understandable that many fines go unchallenged. It's a nuisance to do the paperwork involved. I am thinking of the time when my parking scratch card slipped and couldn't be seen on the dashboard. I should have taken that to a tribunal but I didn't because I was busy. I could kick myself now as I'm sure I could have made a good case if I had put the time into it.

And if you genuinely think your fine is unfair, it's worth challenging it, insists Barrie Segal, who set up the website Appealnow.com.

Barrie is a great believer in calling the bluff on council and private parking enforcers and insists that a large number of parking tickets are simply unfair.

'Both the private companies and councils work on the same basis,' he says. 'It's basically intimidation. They want you to think it's too much bother to take them on.'

For the price of a small charity donation, you might be able to get help from Barrie to fight your case. You can contact him at an email address he has set up for Mail readers: barriedailymailtickets@appealnow.com.

There's also some great advice on how to challenge a parking fine in his book Barrie Segal's Quick Guide To Fight Your Parking Ticket, 5.99 on Amazon (tinyurl.com/fightparkingtickets), or free if you have Kindle Unlimited.

The first step is always to contact the issuer of the parking fine with your counter-claim.

You can appeal against their decision for all sorts of reasons. It could be because of poorly worded or incorrect signs where you parked, (my friend Adam got Leeds Council to rescind his ticket using this method), or because you had a medical emergency so you had to park somewhere you shouldn't (this could be something as simple as needing to stop for the toilet, if you have a relevant condition).

Other valid reasons for getting out of a parking fine could be that you had broken down and were waiting for a mechanic, or you were tending to an emergency.

If you can prove any of the above  and you would need to have photographic and/or written evidence of your argument  you might be let off your parking fine, if not by the council or parking company then at appeal.

It's also worth knowing that since April 2015, motorists in England have been legally granted a ten-minute grace period at the end of any parking session in a designated council parking bay. So check what time a ticket is issued. If it was within the grace period, you don't have to pay.

Offering a similar grace period is currently only voluntary for private car park firms but a new code of practice is in the pipeline to make this mandatory in England, Wales, and Scotland.

Private parking firms are currently not allowed to charge you more than 100, but under the new rules, slated to come into force later this year, this will be capped at 50 outside London and 80 in the capital.

In privately owned carparks, tickets are not technically fines but charges under a contract you enter when you park. Unless you can contest this charge, it's often better to pay early so you get the half-price 'deal' rather than paying the full amount.

But you can appeal if you think the charge is unfair, either to POPLA, Parking On Private Land Appeals popla.co.uk or the IAS, Independent Appeals Service theias.org.

Just be aware of scam parking tickets that claim to be from private companies. Check online at Gov.uk to see if the company exists. It may even be worth taking the letter to Citizens Advice Bureau for them to check.

Got a question for Jasmine? Email her at AskJasmine@MoneyMagpie.com

Earn as you drive to pubs in a motorhome

Dreaming of the open road? Motorhome holiday website Brit Stops (britstops.com) is offering to pay someone to visit and sample hundreds of pubs across the country in a campervan to help design the UKs Ultimate Pub Trail.

In return, there is a daily stipend for the trip, and youll get to drive a fully decked-out motorhome, or receive extra cash if you already own your own one.

To qualify, you must be over 18, have a valid UK driving licence and be able to drive a motorhome. Send pictures of your road trips to britstops.com/pints.

Get 15 per cent off a handy new gadget called the FinaMill. Its a spice grinder with interchangeable pods that allow you to switch from pepper to salt to chilli, or whatever spices youre interested in. Use it in the kitchen, the BBQ or on the dinner table. The discount code is missmoneysaver and can be used on anything on website finamill.co.uk, except the BBQ bundle, before July 23.

Boxsaver.com is very good for savings on your supermarket shop. It sells big brand products at a lower price than in the supermarket. It also offers free delivery on orders above 25. Theres everything from favourite brands like Batchelors, Napolina, Heinz, John West and much more, and for an exclusive 15 per cent off, put in the code Magpie15 at the checkout.

Heinz is offering families the chance to enjoy free Dayz Out with vouchers. There are free tickets to theme parks, bowling, go-karting and thousands of other venues, with vouchers on promotional packs of Heinz Beanz, Hoops, Tomato Ketchup and other products. Each voucher allows one person to go in for free. See dayzout.heinz.co.uk for more. claim by October 31 and use by December 31.

Motorhome holiday website Brit Stops (britstops.com) is offering to pay someone to visit and sample hundreds of pubs (file image)

Short on space? Get a table-top BBQ

For those, like me, who only have a small outdoor space, you can still enjoy BBQ food with a table-top model, like the traditional clay-made Japanese grill by The Wasabi Company.

This retails for 98 but you can get 10 per cent off with the code DAILYMAIL at the checkout (thewasabicompany.co.uk)

Or you could go for one of those disposable grills which I love for a picnic on the beach or in the park (if Im in one that allows BBQs).

Some supermarkets still sell them and they go for around a fiver, or you can get one from Force4.co.uk for 3.95.

For a greener alternative, you can get an eco-friendly one where every element can be recycled from Souschef.co.uk for 8.99 (souschef.co.uk/ products/casusgrill-disposable-eco-bbq). Pricier but better for the environment.

For those with the space, BBQ specialists Landmann have an impressive range covering everything from basic grills to high-tech outdoor kitchens.

Better still, they have a big sale on currently, and you can get an extra 10 per cent off all products between now and July 16 using the code MAGPIE10 at landmann.co.uk/collections/ all-products.

You can even get a discount on skewers for your barbecued meat, fish or vegetables.

The Spice Kitchen is offering an exclusive 20 per cent discount on its bamboo and metal skewers (thewasabicompany.co.uk) when you use the code DAILYMAIL20 (valid until August 31).
Now British Gas lawyers want her to pay an 800 bill she doesn't owe

But she was inexplicably moved to a business account in February this year

I have been a residential British Gas customer since February 2021 when I moved into a converted pub.

I went through many hoops to get them to move me from a business to a residential tariff. I paid my bill by direct debit and all was well until February 2023 when I received an email saying that they were sorry I was leaving!

I contacted them by phone immediately to say I wasn't leaving and hadn't requested to move. But I was assured it was a mistake and that I was simply being moved from one part of British Gas to another and to ignore any letters.

However it got worse.

Cheers British Gas...: The company moved our reader from a residential to a business account because they had the wrong details for the meter

I emailed, phoned and used their chat facility online where everyone I spoke to told me it was an error and that I had actually been moved to British Gas business as I was a public house - despite the fact that I had been a residential customer for over two years without any problems.

Again I was told to ignore any requests for payment until this was settled.

But now I have received correspondence from a law firm acting on behalf of British Gas chasing me for payment and suggesting I enter into a payment plan to settle a debt of over 800 that I do not owe.

Even members of staff at British Gas don't know what to do. Please help me if you can. J.D via email

Helen Kirrane of This is Money replies: What a mess. I am sorry that you have had to bear the brunt of this confusing situation.

You told me the meter British Gas have registered against your name is located in the house next door, yet the meter registered with the National Grid is your own meter in your property.

Even after logging a complaint they were not able to deal with your situation, in fact it seemed to make it more muddled and you were given conflicting information as to what went wrong and how to fix it.

You said you were informed that an erroneous transfer on the British Gas business account would return the account to a residential account but that did not work.

You were then given complicated instructions as to what you needed to do to remain a customer of British Gas. But these were riddled with industry jargon and you said they were beyond your capabilities.

It sounds like a catalogue of errors and British Gas not having the story straight is to blame here, so why should you have to jump through hoops to fix it?

You told me it has been a great source of frustration that British Gas closed your account out of the blue and that it was causing you anxiety and stress that you don't need.

I asked British Gas if they would get their act together and sort this out for you once and for all.

I am pleased to say the company has agreed to refund your past gas payments.

They will also set up a new account for you. This is Money understands that British Gas will be cancelling the incorrect bill of 816.47.

While this is good news, I think British Gas should have should have investigated this better when you informed them of the issue in February of this year.

Instead you were given the runaround by various members of customer service who didn't seem to understand the situation.

A British Gas spokesman said: 'The wrong gas meter details were registered with us before Mrs D moved into the property.

'We're sorry for any frustration caused and accept that we should have fixed this earlier.

'We're reaching out to Mrs D to reassure her that we will refund her past gas payments and will set up a new account for her starting from February this year.'
My son is very happy in his new job but they do not offer a workplace pension. What options does he have?

SCROLL DOWN TO FIND OUT HOW TO ASK STEVE YOUR PENSION QUESTION

Pension rules: Son's new employer has no scheme so how can he sort this out

Steve Webb replies: It is possible that your son's employer is in breach of its legal duty to enrol eligible workers into a workplace pension, though there may be valid reasons why he has not so far been enrolled.

Let me run through how the system works and then explain what your son can do if he is indeed missing out.

The basic principle is that, by law, employers have to enrol 'eligible jobholders' into a workplace pension.

The precise legal requirements for auto enrolment are on the Pensions Regulator's website but in simple terms, the key points are:

- The duty is about employees, but not those who are self-employed;

- The duty to enrol people into a pension applies to employees who are aged between 22 and state pension age; those aged 18-21 and 66-74 do not have to be enrolled but can opt in; this means they can tell their employer they would like to be part of a workplace pension (with an employer contribution) and the employer has to make the necessary arrangements;

Did you miss out on a state pension lump sum if you were widowed? This is Money's columnist Steve Webb calls on elderly widows who might have missed out on a backpayment when their husbands died to get in contact. He wants to help people get money that is rightfully theirs, and find out if there is a systematic problem not picked up in the Government's massive correction exercise for elderly women who were underpaid. Find out if you could be affected, and how to contact Steve here. > Did you miss out on state pension if you were widowed in retirement?

- You only have to be enrolled if you earn 10,000 per year or more; if you earn between 6,240 and 10,000 you do not have to be enrolled but you do have the legal right to opt in;

- Broadly speaking, the employer does not have to enrol you the moment you walk through the front door (and I note your reference to your son's 'new' job), but the employer has to do so within roughly three months of you starting working for them.

If your son ticks all of these boxes but has not been enrolled into a pension, the first thing he should do is talk to his employer.

It is possible that there has been a genuine misunderstanding or that the employer is unaware of these legal duties.

Hopefully they will comply with their duties (including paying any missing contributions) once this has been drawn to their attention.

Note that in this case your son would be expected to backpay his own contributions too

Unfortunately, however, there are significant rates of non-compliance with these duties, primarily amongst the smallest firms.

In the six months to December 2022, the Pensions Regulator says it issued over 28,000 'compliance notices' requiring firms to comply with their automatic enrolment duties, as well as over 18,000 'fixed penalty notices' where firms had failed to comply.

If the employer is unwilling to comply, it may be necessary to alert the Pensions Regulator who can then take enforcement action.

I appreciate that this can be difficult but you can report employers who break auto enrolment rules anonymously.

Do let me know how your son gets on.
The husband of a paedophile teacher who vowed to stand by her after she was jailed for having sex with a 15-year-old pupil has dumped her - and has found a new love.

Sordid miss Kandice Barber, 36, groomed the underage schoolboy, taking him to a field to sleep with him after murmuring 'What do you want to do now?' in his ear.

Despite the seriousness of the crime, husband Daniel was seen as a rock by her side, accompanying her to court and even giving evidence for her during the trial.

After she was jailed for six years and two months in 2021, he posted an online tribute of a Superman t-shirt, a kissing emoji and a caption reading 'always'.

But MailOnline can reveal today their relationship is now over and Mr Barber is in a new romance with a woman named Charlotte Smith.

Kandice Barber's ex Daniel, left, beams with his new partner Charlotte Smith, on the right

Barber (pictured leaving Aylesbury Crown Court in Buckinghamshire with her husband Daniel) was found out after a topless pictures she had sent her victim was circulated around so much it ended up being passed to the head teacher of their school.

The mother of three, who had groomed the child by sending him sexualised messages and videos, threatened to 'bring him down' if he reported her

The pair have been dating for months and hoping to start a family together soon.

It brings to a conclusive end Mr Barber's relationship with Kandice, despite relatives insisting he would always be with her.

A source said: 'He has moved out of the family home where he lived with her.

'There's no sign of him there these days.'

MailOnline was unable to reach Mr Barber for comment last night about his new relationship.

Kandice was found out after a topless pictures she had sent her victim was circulated around so much it ended up being passed to the head teacher of their school.

Barber pictured with her husband Daniel before the court cases began

Kandice Barber (pictured with her husband Daniel), 35, who was jailed for having sex with a student is training to become an accountant in prison, according to her mother

She was found guilty of one count of causing or inciting a child under 16 to engage in sexual activity.

At another trial the year before, Barber was convicted of sending a topless picture of herself to the boy and a video in which she was pleasuring herself with a sex toy.

After the second trial at Aylesbury Crown Court, Recorder Bal Dhaliwal described Barber's grooming of the teenager as 'beyond despicable.'

But Mr Barber stayed true to her and refused to believe his wifes conviction for sending her victim a video of her surrounded by sex toys.

He said the video had never been produced so he believed his wifes denial - even though a jury had convicted her.

Mr Barber insisted to a jury at the time: "Our relationship is how it is today, it has never changed. We have always been good and we have always been strong.

"When my wife is on the phone, I am not one of those people who constantly looks at her to see who she is on the phone to. I have full faith in her."

He was asked about the video she had been convicted of sending.

Mr Barber said he was surprised to hear about it, adding: 'There is no video.

'There was no evidence of a video, so I cannot react to something I cannot see.'
The exec would drive two hours to an organic farm shop in the Cotswold's

A high-flying banker's obsession with avoiding germs and eating organic food amounts to a disability, an employment judge has ruled.

The London executive, who worked at Swiss bank UBS, was ruled to be disabled after claiming she was discriminated against at work.

In outlining her case, the finance exec, who was described as having a 'successful career,' claimed anxiety and a panic disorder saw her become fixated on her health.

This saw her obsess over the negative effects of germs, chemicals, non-organic foods and take 'extreme steps' to avoid them.

She was also too afraid to drink tap water, and only allowed her young son to have filtered or Highland Spring bottled water.

The executive, who worked at Swiss bank UBS, developed an 'extreme' obsession with eating organic food (File photo: UBS offices)

A judge at the London Central Employment Tribunal said this fixation should be considered a disability under the UK's Equality Act 2020.

The UBS banker would only let son drink filtered water or bottled water from Highland Spring (File photo: A bottle of Highland Spring sparkling water)

The City banker's fixation with health saw her drive for two hours to buy groceries from a specialist organic farm shop, Daylesford Organic Farm, in the Cotswold's on the weekends.

At work, the exec, referred to in the tribunal's judgement as Courtney, would only buy her food from specific shops, including Planet Organic, even if it meant walking extensive distances or traveling multiple stops on the tube.

After her son was born in 2017, the mother's health anxieties shifted focus towards her newborn baby as she aimed to protect him from germs and contaminated tap water.

Her anxieties saw the exec refuse to drink tap water, unless it was tested or filtered, and only let her son drink filtered or bottled water from Highland Spring.

She also bought a specialised shower filter system due to concerns about breathing in contaminated water from the shower stream.

Anxieties around contaminated air saw the executive buy a 1,000 air purifier, which she dragged 'up and down the stairs' each day.

The executive would walk extensive distances and travel multiple stops on the tube to go to health food shops including Planet Organic during her lunch breaks (File photo: A Planet Organic storefront in London)

Her anxiety around contamination saw her prevent her son's father and her child's nanny from preparing or heating up food for her son.

She would also began 'excessively' googling dangers to children and became concerned about chemicals in nappies, dummies, and children's car seats.

The banker said her anxiety around germs first started while she was at a schoolfriend's birthday party when she was seven or eight years old.

Her concern about bacteria in the birthday cake saw her fake a stomach ache to avoid having to eat it.

She later started eating organic food, underwent acupuncture, and attended a series of self help courses in her 20s before moving to Costa Rica aged 29.

Her time in the South American country saw her wake up at 5am to buy food from an organic market due to anxiety around healthy food.

Shortly following the birth of her son, the banker became concerned about electromagnetic waves and refused to have Wi-Fi in her house.

She later moved to a conservation area in order to avoid any mobile phone mast radiation.

Her concerns also led her to sleep on a sofa bed in the living room to avoid waves she detected in her bedroom.

An employment judge ruled the banker's fixation on health amounted to a disability while she worked at UBS.

The judge said the 'extreme measures' she took were her only means of keeping 'ruminating thoughts at bay'.

'Her "obsessional traits" clearly derived from that anxiety and were an attempt to fend off the panic,' the judge said.

The banker would drive for two hours to buy her groceries from a farm shop in the Cotswold's on the weekends (File photo: Daylesford Organic Farm Shop in the Cotswold's)

The judge noted the measures the executive took to protect her health 'were expensive, time-consuming, exhausting, and damaged her relationships'.

'Many of the effects were substantial in themselves, but can also be viewed cumulatively as substantial.'

'For all these reasons, I find that the claimants Generalised Anxiety Disorder and her Panic Disorder caused substantial adverse effects on her ability to carry out day-to-day activities,' the judge said.

UBS was approached by MailOnline for comment.

The employment case was first heard at London Central Employment Tribunal in August 2021 before a decision was published on 5 July 2023.
Several unanswered questions remain about the investigation into Hunter Biden and the 'sweetheart' plea deal he is set to receive for tax and gun crimes.

House Republicans are pushing to interrogate the officials behind the decision-making, while the prosecutor leading the probe has played coy with the details.

And a letter from US Attorney David Weiss raised questions about whether Attorney General Merrick Garland lied to Congress when he testified that Weiss 'has full authority' to charge Hunter Biden in 'other jurisdictions.'

An IRS whistleblower said Weiss was stymied by US attorneys in Washington DC and Central California from bringing charges against President Joe Biden's son - despite Garland's words.

Weiss, however, said he would have been given the authority even as questions remain if he ever asked for it.

But Weiss also rejected Republicans' demands for documents and records related to interactions between the DOJ and IRS on the Hunter Biden case.

Attorney General Merrick Garland is expected to testify before Congress about the Hunter Biden investigation

The Hunter Biden investigation has been a political weight on Biden's White House since the president took office.

Republicans, as part of their investigation into what they call the 'weaponization' of the Justice Department, are examining whether or not Weiss had the authority the attorney general claimed he had.

Hunter Biden, meanwhile, has entered a plea deal with Weiss and his team but many questions remain, including:

Did Weiss ask US Attorneys in the Central District of California and Washington DC to assume any Hunter case charges or to approve Weiss or members of his Delaware team to prosecute charges in that district?

Did Weiss intend to file charges in California or DC as the IRS whistleblower claimed?

Did Wiess request Special Attorney status from the Attorney General to help him in his Hunter Biden investigation?

Will the Justice Department release correspondence between Weiss and US Attorneys about the case?

Does Hunter's plea deal end the criminal investigations, or is there more to come?

Was Joe Biden involved in Hunter's business dealings?

When will Weiss and Garland testify before Congress?

Both Weiss, who was appointed as US Attorney in Delaware by Donald Trump, and Garland, Biden's pick to run the Justice Department, are expected to testify before Congress at some point - likely after the July 26th trial in Wilmington where Hunter will plead guilty to two misdemeanor offenses related to his filing of federal income taxes and avoid charges on his gun purchase.

Joan Meyer, a former federal prosecutor who is now a partner with the Thompson Hine law firm, told DailyMail.com that 'I dont know if we will ever find out what really happened but casts additional doubt in the eyes of the American Public about the way the DOJ does business. And DOJ cant afford more distrust.'

David Weiss, the Trump-appointed US attorney for Delaware, has hit back at claims that his investigation was managed out of DC by a Biden appointee

The White House said President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden support their son Hunter, the trio are seen above with Hunter's son Beau on the Fourth of July

Questions about the extent of Weiss' authority were raised after IRS agent Gary Shapely, a whistleblower, claimed that Weiss had tried to bring charges against Hunter Biden in Washington DC, but was blocked by DC's top federal prosecutor Matthew Graves, a Biden appointee.

Weiss disputed that.

'I have been granted ultimate authority in this case, including responsibility for deciding where, when and whether to file charges and for making decisions necessary to preserve the integrity of the prosecution,' wrote Weiss in his June 30th letter.

Weiss explained that as US attorney for Delaware, his charging authority is normally 'geographically limited' to that district -- but said that Garland had promised to grant him special attorney status to bring charges anywhere.

Federal law requires federal criminal proceedings are held in the district where the crimes were committed. Hunter Biden lived in Washington DC and California at the time of his tax crimes.

That means Weiss would need cooperation from the Central District of California and Washington DC to file charges there.

Shapley said Weiss was denied that permission. In an interview with Fox News in June, he described an October 7, 2022, meeting with top IRS and FBI officials about the Hunter case.

'I was there, and I witnessed this personally,' Shapley said, noting Weiss started by saying 'he's not the deciding person whether or not charges are filed or not.'

IRS whistleblower Gary Shapley claimed Trump-appointed US attorney David Weiss told him he was not in charge of deciding whether or not Hunter Biden faced federal charges - and that a Joe Biden-appointed attorney made the call

Shapley claimed the final decision was made by officials in Washington DC. He noted Weiss meet with the Matthew Graves, the US Attorney for the District of Columbia, who was appointed by President Joe Biden, in March 2022.

'After that occurred, he was no longer looking to charge,' Shapley said.

Shapley noted Weiss said he had requested special counsel authority and was denied.

'I even had him repeat that, because I knew how important that fact was, and I wanted to make sure I understood it,' he noted.

Shapley said he even documented the details of the meeting in an email and noted that email was in the hands of House investigators.

Republicans asked Weiss to clarify his authority, citing both Shapley's email and Garland saying Weiss had full authority.

Garland had said: 'As I said at the outset, Mr. Weiss was appointed by President Trump as the U.S. attorney in Delaware and assigned this matter during the previous administration.'

Garland said Weiss 'would be permitted to continue his investigation and to make a decision to prosecute any way in which he wanted to and in any district in which he wanted to. Mr. Weiss has since sent a letter to the House Judiciary confirming he had that authority.

'I don't know how it would be possible for anybody to block him from bringing a prosecution, given that he has this authority,' he said in June.

He claimed Weiss never asked to be appointed special prosecutor.

'Mr. Weiss had, in fact, more authority than a special counsel would have.'

'He was given complete authority to make all decisions on his own,' he noted.

'Some have chosen to attack the integrity of the Justice Department by claiming that we do not treat cases alike. This constitutes an attack on an institution that is essential to American democracy,' Garland said.

David Weiss' June 30 letter to House Republicans

Weiss indicated he had never asked California or DC for permission - but said he would have been granted it.

'If a venue for my case lies elsewhere, common Departmental practice is to contact the United States Attorney's Office for the district in question and determine whether it wants to partner on the case,' he wrote to House Republicans.

'If not, I may request Special Attorney status from the Attorney General,' he added, saying that he had assurances that he would be granted such status 'in the District of Columbia, the central District of California, or any other district where charges could be brought in this matter.'

The letter comes more than a week after Hunter Biden, 53, reached an agreement with the government to plead guilty to misdemeanor tax offenses.

The plea deal would also avert prosecution on a felony charge of illegally possessing a firearm as a drug user, as long as Hunter Biden adheres to conditions agreed to in court at the July 26th hearing.

Weiss announced the plea agreement along and noted he charged Hunter in connection with his purchase of a handgun in 2018 but said he would not prosecute the charge under a two-year pretrial diversion program.

President Joe Biden has said repeatedly he had nothing to do with Hunter's business dealings and the White House has emphasized they are staying out of any Justice Department investigations.

The White House said in a statement that the President and First Lady 'love their son and support him as he continues to rebuild his life. We will have no further comment.'

Hunter Biden will be in federal court on July 26th for his plea deal

The Hunter Biden investigation was initiated by the Trump Justice Department in 2018 and eventually handed to Weiss.

In his June 30th letter to House Republicans, Weiss also denied claims that the Justice Department had 'retaliated' against Shapley and another whistleblower who criticized his handling of the Hunter Biden probe in congressional testimony.

As well, Weiss rejected the Republicans' sweeping demands for documents and records related to interactions between the DOJ and IRS on the Hunter Biden case.

'I am required to protect confidential law enforcement information and deliberative communications related to the case. Thus, I will not provide specific information related to the Hunter Biden investigation at this time,' he wrote.

'At the appropriate time, I welcome the opportunity to discuss these topics with the Committee in more detail, and answer questions related to the whistleblowers' allegations consistent with the law and department policy,' he added.
A fugitive who was on the run for 40 years after he allegedly murdered a Florida woman managed to stay ahead of the law by crafting a 'loving, respectful life.'

Donald Santini, 65, was arrested last week in Southern California for strangling to death Cynthia 'Cindy' Ruth Wood, 33, in Bradenton, Florida in 1984.

He appeared on America's Most Wanted three times - in 1990, 2005 and 2013 - and remained on the list until cops received a tip-off in June when he applied for a passport.

He was remanded in custody without bail and called the 'definition of a flight risk' by a judge in Tampa on Thursday.

After his arrest, Santini wrote a letter to a local news station where he said: 'The reason I have been able to run so long is to live a loving respectful life.

'Things are not as they seem. I need a lawyer that doesn't try to push me through the system to keep me quiet. The problem is I have no money.'

Pillar of the community... and a fugitive on America's Most Wanted list: Santini and his wife pictured together in 2013

Santini was the last person seen with Wood, 33, before her body was discovered strangled and left in a canal. The arrest warrant said a medical examiner determined she had been strangled and Santini's fingerprints were found on her body

In the the nearly four decades before his arrest, Santini lived just outside of San Diego in the small town of Campo - which has a population of 3,000 - under the name Wellman Simmonds.

Records show that he married a woman in Nevada in March 1990, and the couple had a daughter shortly afterward.

In the wake of Santini's arrest, his daughter has made several posts online protesting his innocence.

In one, she said: 'My dad didn't do it.'

In another she posted alongside a video of him being perp walked into a police station, and wrote: 'I miss you papa. Stay strong.'

Santini - who told local residents he was 80 years old despite only being 65 - lived in a rural home where he'd installed surveillance cameras and barbed wire while serving as the president of the Lake Morena Views Mutual Water Company, according to a local news report.

He often appeared at public meetings and was considered a 'pillar of the community' by neighbors who said they were stunned by the news.

A colleague who witnessed his arrest said that Santini was 'very involved with his granddaughter in gymkhana (an equestrian sport).' She added that the child lives with him and his wife, and is enrolled in a local school.

In Santini's letter protesting his innocence while in jail awaiting extradition in San Diego, he claimed he was active in the local Rotary Club and owned a Thai restaurant.

Santini went on to write in the letter to ABC San Diego that he was abused as a child and that he would kill animals in his youth.

He apologized for his past mistakes but made no reference to Wood's murder.

Officials say Wood's murder wasn't Santini's first foray into violent crime.

Cynthia Wood met Santini as the suspect's girlfriend's children were attending the day care where the victim worked

Santini was caught in San Diego in early June, after evading arrest for 39 years

Santini pictured during his first court appearance in San Diego in June

Santini's daughter, who goes by Whitney, has maintained her father's innocence in a series of social media posts

In 2018, Santini was interviewed by ABC San Diego after the deaths of two people who lived in an apartment building that he managed

Santini has appeared multiple times on America's Most Wanted

In 1978, he was convicted on rape charges while serving in the US Army in Frankfurt, Germany. The suspect's birth announcement shows that he was born into a military family on Dyess Air Force Base in Abilene, Texas.

After his discharge from the service, Santini was arrested on aggravated robbery charges in his home state, he was accused of holding up a convenience store with a knife. Following a confession, he fled for the Sunshine State while out on bail.

He left behind another wife and and daughter in Texas, his estranged wife Marla Santini told WFLA this week.

Marla, who has since kept the last name Santini, told the station that one of her daughters saw the suspect on the news and recognized.

'I hadn't seen him in 40 years. I haven't heard nothing. I have not talked to anybody. Everybody, his family, no one's heard anything from him,' she told the station, adding that she thought he was dead.

After confirming his identity, Marla said that she set up a video call with her estranged husband. The pair are still legally married.

'He got on the first video. He says, 'I'm sorry, but I don't think I know you. Do I?' I went, 'Really? Really? I have your daughter.''

Marla described her interactions with Santini as 'pleasant.'

'He don't act like he's the same person,' she said.

Marla said that he told her he left her and his child because of 'demons' and that it was nothing personal.

Once in Florida, Santini began working as a janitor in a hotel under the name Charles Michael Stevens. During this time, he started a relationship with a woman named Pamela Kincaid, and eventually moved in with her and her two children.

Wood was the manager of a daycare center which Kincaid's children attended, and police allege that Santini had tried to date her.

The area where Cynthia Wood's body was found in 1984

Cynthia Wood's stepdaughter, Denise Kozer, was 20 years old when the murder occurred, she says her entire family have suffered the after effects of the awful crime

He's accused of killing her on June 6, 1984 after arranging to meet up with her with the promise of giving her information that could have helped her win a bitter custody battle over her three children.

Her body was found fully clothed in a watery grave in Riverview, just outside of Bradenton, about two days later. But the hunt for her killer went cold for 39 years.

At the time of her death, Wood was embroiled in a custody battle with her estranged husband, Barry Wood, whom she accused of being physically abusive during their marriage. Those charges were expunged after she was murdered.

In the intervening years both Barry Wood and the victim's son have died.

'She was sort of a hippy woman. She would have went to the ends of the Earth for all of us. Even though I wasn't hers by blood, but just growing up with and around her, we were a family,' Wood's stepdaughter Denise Kozer told ABC Tampa last month.

Kozer said she was 20 years old when her stepmother was murdered, and her siblings were three, five and 12. All have suffered various mental health and homelessness issues throughout their lives.

'My siblings really didn't get the full life with her, which angers me,' she added.

'If they need extra evidence, we're willing to let them exhume the body - whatever it takes to make sure that he doesn't go anywhere. I asked them not to let him out on bond. That was our one request we had,' Kozer said in an interview with the Tampa Bay Times following Santini's court appearance on July 6th.

'He has a wife and children in California, and I feel sorry for them because they probably didn't know, either. But they're all still alive. Our lives were devastated, changed forever,' Kozer also said.

The Bradenton Herald described the suspect in Wood's death as a 'tall, slender, blond man' who sported a blond moustache. The Herald's report mentions that the last witness to see Wood was her 14-year-old son, Thomas, who told police that he saw her getting in the suspect's brown Ford.

The newspaper's report goes on to say that the Texas Rangers were involved in the search for Santini as authorities believed the suspect headed for Kentucky before going to the Lone Star State.

After Wood was killed, Santini absconded, this time headed for California. At this stage, authorities estimate that Santini was using 13 different aliases, reports the Tampa Bay Times.

A Facebook post made by Santini's daughter shortly after his arrest

The Herald article lists Santini's other known aliases as Donald Chapman and John Trimble.

Santini was interviewed by KGTV in 2018 in relation to the deaths of the parents of seven children in San Diego. He's named as 'Wellman Simmons' in the story and referred to as the manager of the family's apartment building.

'It really was one of the most shocking things I've ever heard in my life,' neighbor Rick Fox said of Santini's arrest in an interview with ABC San Diego. Fox said that Santini was known to many as Wells.

'Anybody who would like to see an old case solved would be happy, and I'd be happy for the family of this lady who was strangled and killed, but it is totally shocking,' he added.

Another colleague, Karen Russell, told East County Magazine that she was there when US Marshals but the cuffs on the suspect.

'I was there when he got arrested. He has a wife and granddaughter. He was very involved with his granddaughter in gymkhana. His granddaughter lives with them and goes to school out here,' Russell told the website.

'It makes me very angry, because the community didn't deserve this. Too bad he landed here It's a distraction for the water company,' she added.

She also said that Santini would tell people that he was 80 years old even though he was only in his 60s.

Shortly after Wood's murder, a woman named Heidi Pareigis told NBC Tampa Bay that she and her husband husband rented out a room to Santini. At one point, she said that she heard him openly discuss the murder.

'He pointed out where he had done it, exactly how he had done it and such. He was just glowing about it, you know? When he talked about violence and crime, he got an actual happy feeling out of it.'

Santini was arrested after he attempted to apply for a passport in early June. The tip that led to his arrest came from the Florida/Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force.

He was held at San Diego Central Jail until being extradited back to Florida. 'This arrest allows us to reexamine evidence collected in 1984 using the technology of today, as the case is now considered open once again,' a spokesperson for Hillsborough Sheriff's Office told the Times.

Heidi Pareigis, shown here, rented a room to Santini around the time of the Cynthia Wood murder

Pareigis said that she heard Santini openly talk about the murder. 'When he talked about violence and crime, he got an actual happy feeling out of it,' she said

Santini alluded to the fact Wood's murder being a contract killing during an interview with prosecutors

Investigators at the scene of Wood's murder in 1984

While in jail awaiting extradition in San Diego, Santini sent a letter to ABC San Diego in which he apologized for his past mistakes but made no reference to Wood's murder

Documents stated that Santini should not be eligible for parole because of his 'past and present patterns of behavior.' His ability to evade police is cited in the complaint.

'I'm pleading with the district attorney and the sheriff's office; please do not give him any bond; he doesn't deserve anything. My stepmother didn't deserve what happened to her either,' Kozer told the ABC affiliate.

'You will pay for what you've done to our lives and so many lives. And I hope you get the death sentence,' she also said.

'[Santini has] committed two violent dangerous crimes, and has demonstrated the skill and wherewithal to deviously and adeptly evade justice by hiding his true identity and living under multiple fake names and identities for over 39 years,' prosecutors say in documents.

He was represented by a public defender named Daniel Miller in San Diego and is now represented by Hillsborough County public defender Jamie Kane.

'We don't know anything about the underlying facts that are alleged, he could have not committed this,' Miller told ABC San Diego. In his first appearance in court, Santini admitted that he was the man police were seeking.

He did not fight the extradition order but did say that he did not 'feel safe' going back to Florida. Santini made his fist appearance in court in Florida on his 65th birthday which was also the anniversary of Wood's murder.

In court, Kane said that there's no evidence that the suspect left Texas with an outstanding warrant.

'Where is the failure to appear warrant? Where is the circuit court case number? Where is the evidence that he was on pretrial release? Other than a simple statement of Mr. Santini, who is not a legal expert,' Kane said.
Popular food delivery apps are charging customers sneak fees of up to 24 percent of the cost of their order - almost doubling the price in some cases when tips are added. DoorDash, Grubhub and Uber Eats routinely add extra fees and taxes to food orders, but customers are left in the dark about what exactly the add-ons are for.

Inflated delivery app fees are another example of the US 'junk fee' economy - which makes it difficult for consumers to know exactly how much they will end up paying for a service. In February, the government pledged to crack down on hidden fees, which the White House estimates cost Americans around $65 billion every year.

To illustrate how much customers are being forced to fork out in fees for food delivery, DailyMail.com made the same order, costing $49.70, from a Joe & The Juice store in New York City on apps DoorDash, Grubhub and Uber Eats. Then we compared the costs associated with each - before and after a 20 percent driver tip.

Delivery app Seamless, which operates in over 600 cities in the US, is now owned by Grubhub, while DoorDash bought up competitor Caviar in 2020. Fewer choices mean customers may have little choice but to pay out extra add-ons on their deliveries.

And the fees could rise even higher for customers in New York City, according to Grubhub, DoorDash and Uber Eats, if they are forced to implement a proposed minimum wage of $17.96-an-hour for delivery drivers due to be brought in later this month. The trio of tech giants are suing the city over the proposition, which they claim would force them to raise consumer fees to offset costs.

DailyMail.com made the same order, costing $49.70, from a Joe & The Juice store in New York City on apps DoorDash, Grubhub and Uber Eats. Delivery app Seamless is now owned by Grubhub, while DoorDash bought up competitor Caviar in 2020, meaning consumers have fewer choices and are forced to take on add-on fees

DoorDash: $73.88 total

We placed an order of Joe & The Juice's popular 'Tunacado' sandwich and a turkey sandwich, which both cost $11.70, two juices costing $11.20 each, and a carrot cake for $3.90 - bringing the total cost to $49.70.

DoorDash, which operates in more than 7,000 cities across the US, Canada, Australia and Japan and scooped up competitor service Caviar in 2020, almost doubled the cost of the check - if the customer added a 20 percent tip.

Despite offering a promotion to cut the $0.49 delivery fee, the app still charged $11.87 in 'fees and tax'.

A breakdown of the 'fees and tax' section showed that $7.46 was a 15 percent service fee - with a minimum of $3 to 'help operate DoorDash', while the estimated tax was $4.41.

These add-ons accounted for a 24 percent increase in the original cost of the food - which would have peaked at 25 percent if the delivery fee had not been waived.

If the customer was then to add a 20 percent tip of the entire $49.70 order - which would be $12.31 - they would end up spending a grand total of $73.88, for two juices, two sandwiches and a piece of cake.

All in all, this is a huge 49 percent increase on the cost of the original food order.

DailyMail.com ordered a Tunacado sandwich, a turkey sandwich, two juices and a carrot cake. The total without fees, came to $49.70 on Doordash. But, the app still charged $11.87 in fees and taxes before a 20 percent tip was added

Uber Eats: $74 total (and the option to add 'speedy delivery' for an additional $2.99)

Uber Eats, meanwhile, added 24 percent in fees onto the $49.70 order and almost doubled it when taking a tip into account.

The taxi giant begun delivering food in the US in 2015, and now customers can order food through the app in more than 6,000 cities worldwide.

The app added a $0.49 delivery fee, and then lumped together 'taxes and other fees' into a $11.48 charge. These charges and so-called 'other fees' brought the new total to $61.67.

When we added gratuity on top, the total rose to $74 - a 49 percent increase on the price of the food itself.

Uber Eats also offers the option to choose 'priority' delivery to bring the waiting time down from a maximum of around 30 minutes to a maximum of 25 minutes for an additional set fee of $2.99.

Uber Eats, meanwhile, added 24 percent in fees onto the $49.70 order and almost doubled it when taking a tip into account

Grubhub: $71.59 total

On the same order, Grubhub split the fees into three sections - a $2.49 delivery fee, $4.86 in tax and a $2.61 'service fee'.

When we clicked on the 'service fee' to shed more light on the reason for the charge, the app said it was to 'help cover operating costs.'

Together, these fees came to $9.96 - adding 20 percent on top of the original order. If the customer added a 20 percent tip - totaling $11.93 - bringing the price to $71.59.

This would be a 44 percent increase on the original cost.

In 2013, New York City-founded app Seamless announced it was merging with Grubhub.

Although both apps still exist and customers can order food from the Seamless app in 600 cities across the US, the company is owned by the GrubHub brand. In 2017, Grubhub also acquired Eat24, Yelp's delivery platform.

Now, Grubhub has an overall reported customer base of over 30 million.

Grub Hub added $9.96 total in a delivery fee, tax and a 'service fee' - which the app says 'helps cover operating costs' but will never exceed $9. If a customer added a 20 percent tip, the total came to $71.59

How do the apps work out fees and how might they change?

Although the fees can often be frustrating and opaque for customers, the companies claim their fees were clearly outlined for participants in their marketplace.

A DoorDash spokesperson said: 'At DoorDash, our approach to fees is guided by foundational principles including fairness and transparency. There are no hidden fees, junk fees or surprises at checkout. Were upfront on pricing. You will always see what you will pay  including fees  before you ever checkout.'

Grubhub said it is committed to keeping our fees low while accounting for the costs associated with delivering orders, supporting restaurants and offering competitive compensation for delivery partners.

The service fee is based on various factors, it added, to help cover operating costs and is a percentage of the total food and beverage total, and 100 percent of the tip a diner gives goes directly to the driver.

An Uber Eats spokesperson said: 'We are committed to doing right by consumers, restaurant partners, and couriers, which is why we work to offer the most clear and straightforward pricing possible on all three sides of the Uber Eats marketplace.

'Fees help to cover services that make Uber Eats work for everyone, including courier earnings, credit card processing, background checks and safety programs, customer support, insurance costs, and more.'

Fees for customers could rise even higher in New York City in the coming months - and in other US cities if they follow suit - according to the apps.

Earlier this year, the city announced it is bringing in a minimum wage of $17.96 for delivery drivers from July 12 - increasing typical pay by almost $13 an hour - under the first law of its kind for the US.

But on July 6, DoorDash, Uber Eats and GrubHub sued the city in an attempt to block the new law.

The new law requires that the companies either pay workers around 50 cents for every minute they spend on a trip, or a minimum of $17.96 an hour for the time they spend active on each app - which works out at around 30 cents a minute. Both rates exclude tips.

At the moment, the more than 60,000 delivery drivers working in the Big Apple typically earn $7.09 an hour, according to the city, and are paid a rate per trip that is set by each app.

The trio of tech giants do not employ drivers - who are considered independent or gig workers.

The three firms, however, have pushed back, claiming the new per-minute rate on trips could end up being much higher than the minimum wage set for other industries and it could lead to multiple apps paying a worker for the same hours - as drivers are often active on more than one app at a time.

The apps say the new rules would trigger a raise in consumer fees in New York City to offset costs.

DoorDash has also been under fire this week after a customer was sworn at on her own porch by a driver for giving a 25 percent tip on a $20 Pizza Hut order.

Lacey Purciful, 38, was shocked and reported the ordeal after Corey, the worker, suggested someone living in a $500,000 home like herself should have been more generous

Disabled military veteran and mom-of-two Lacey Purciful, 38, told DailyMail.com that she had a head-on collision in March with an alleged drunk driver, and so relies on the service to feed her family.

A now-viral video shows worker Corey, who has now been fired by the company, suggesting someone living in a $500,000 home should have been more generous in a foul-mouthed interaction caught on her doorbell camera in Kempner, Texas.

Lacey said: 'I can't stand. I've started using DoorDash since my accident. I worked in the restaurant industry for years before joining the military, I'm a very good tipper.'
MBABANE  Renowned senior attorney Knox Mshumayeli Nxumalo has passed on.

Nxumalos death was confirmed by his daughter Winile, who said the family was saddened by the passing on of his father. She requested not to comment further as the family was still trying to deal with logistics. There is nothing further that I can say except to confirm the death for now. The family will meet and make proper announcements at the right time. We are still trying to come into terms with everything that has happened and we will issue all the necessary details when the time is right, she said. Sources close to the family revealed that Nxumalo died in the early hours of Saturday morning while in bed. The sources revealed that he violently coughed while they were sleeping at about 3.30am and that was when his wife discovered that he was not well.

Ambulance

She called one of the family members, who arrived immediately and an ambulance was called to ferry him to hospital, where he was certified dead and taken to Mbabane Burial in the morning. The source said though he was occasionally pensive on the night before, Nxumalo appeared very healthy and had spent time with his family watching television before going to bed. There is nothing that could have given us a sign that he was going to depart. He watched television and drank his favourite tea as usual. This was a shock and the family is devastated. I am sure his elder daughter will handle all comments, said the source.

The legal community through the Law Society of Swaziland (LSS) mourned the sudden death or the famous lawyer. Secretary of LSS Charity Simelane said though they had not received any formal confirmation from the family, they were shocked at the news. She said Nxumalo was a fountain of wisdom for the society of lawyers and his death would have rippling effects to the profession. We have not received anything official from the Nxumalo family yet, but by all accounts it seems to be true. We are, however, deeply saddened by the news of his passing and we send our deepest condolences to his family, friends and the entire legal profession.

Void

The law society has lost one of its members armed with rich experience in the legal field. His loss will leave a huge void within the legal fraternity and may his soul rest in peace. At this time we shall not say more as we would like to give the family time to deal with their loss, said Simelane.

Nxumalo was once a partner at Robison and Betrams law firm and he handled many high profile cases. He was one of the most experienced lawyers in the country. He was once appointed Acting Judge of the Supreme Court together with seven other senior attorneys. The newly-appointed acting judges included Law Lecturer at the University of Eswatini (UNESWA) Maxine Langwenya and Legal Advisor in the Ministry of Tinkhundla Administration and Development, John Sipho Magagula. Others were Mabandla Manzini, Zonke Magagula, Cyril Maphanga and Robert John Cloete.

Represented

Nxumalo served in numerous Boards and represented many high profile entities and individuals as their attorney. He was among the most remembered legal heads in the country and handled a number of controversial cases and family estates. He had accepted Christ as his Lord and Saviour at the time of his death and was serving in church. Nxumalos death comes after the assassination of another member of the legal fraternity, human rights lawyer Thulani Rudolph Maseko. Masekos death shook the nation and international community and was one of the greatest loses to be suffered by the profession. He was shot dead three times in the head and through the heart by an unknown assassin while watching a football match with his family in his house.
Australian girls as young as 13 are allegedly having their breasts surgically removed to make them look and feel more masculine as they undergo gender transition.

One 15-year-old who has gender dysphoria documented having a double mastectomy at an Australian plastic surgery clinic in a Reddit post.

Describing the experience as '10/10', the teen encouraged other adolescents who did not identify with the sex they were assigned at birth to undergo the same operation.

The teen wrote that an initial appointment with a surgeon in January lasted no more than 20 minutes and a follow up to take measurements took a similar length of time.

The teen then called a psychiatrist requesting a referral for 'chest masculinisation' - sometimes called top surgery - and was told he was unavailable for the next 11 months.

A teenager who recently underwent a double mastectomy was pictured smiling in a Facebook post. The 17-year's mother wrote: 'My baby's top surgery was today it went well... '

But when the teen told the psychiatrist they already had a surgery date booked he offered an appointment a couple of months later.

After just one consultation with the psychiatrist in May the psychiatrist allegedly wished the teen luck and wrote a referral for a double mastectomy.

The teen had spent two years saving up for the surgery, which took place on June 18, and their parents covered the rest of the $14,873 bill.

Another teenager who recently underwent a double mastectomy was pictured smiling in a Facebook post with his mother.

The 17-year's mum wrote: 'My baby's top surgery was today it went well... he was so excited. Still in recovery but surgeon said it all went well.'

Another mother replied that she had planned taking her 17-year-old to Thailand for the same procedure when he turned 18 but surgeons there would not perform the operation on anyone under 20.

Senior child and adolescent psychiatrist Dr Jillian Spencer said there were Australian psychiatrists and surgeons who were recommending and performing such operations.

Dr Spencer said young people requested approval letters from a psychiatrist and if they did not get what they wanted would post negative reviews on social media and go elsewhere.

'It is very concerning that there are a very small number of child psychiatrists in Australia whose clinical practice deviates markedly from that of their colleagues,' Dr Spencer said.

Girls as young as 13 are allegedly having their breasts surgically removed to make their chests more masculine as part of a teenage gender transition process. Stock image

'These child psychiatrists are providing approval letters to allow adolescents to undergo chest masculinising mastectomies after as little as only one appointment.

'The names and contact details of these child psychiatrists are shared by adolescents on social media to allow other adolescents to follow the same pathway to easily obtain the surgery.'

Dr Spencer said psychiatrists who wanted to undertake ongoing assessment of adolescents with gender dysphoria risked being publicly labelled transphobic.

She said automatically affirming children's beliefs about their gender identity and giving them referrals for life-changing surgery without thorough examination was a 'radical approach'.

'Adolescents often have unrealistic fantasies about the cosmetic outcome of surgery,' Dr Spencer said of children presenting with gender dysphoria.

'When a 15-year-old adolescent sits in front of them, no child psychiatrist has any way of determining if that adolescent's gender dysphoria will desist or persist over coming years.

'They struggle to understand the serious risks of surgery such as haemorrhage, infection and anaphylaxis to anaesthetic. They think these things could never happen to them.

'They also struggle to understand how debilitating persistent chest numbness, scarring and phantom nipple pain could be.'

Dr Spencer said adolescence was a time of development and many young people believed the way they felt now was how they would feel for the rest of their lives.

'Fifteen is too young to be making a decision that can have such profound long-term consequences,' she said.

'At 15, a young person has likely not experienced the full course of physical puberty and is unlikely to have completed all of these developmental tasks of adolescence which can assist in healing gender dysphoria.'

After seeing the 15-year-old girl's Reddit post women's rights advocate Leah Whiston made two phone calls to the clinic to confirm it was true.

Psychiatrist Dr Jillian Spencer (above) said there were psychiatrists and surgeons who were well known for recommending and performing mastectomies on teens with gender dysphoria

Both times she was told the clinic would perform top surgery on girls as young as 13 if they had a referral letter from a psychiatrist written in the past three months.

'I felt sick to my stomach,' Ms Whiston said. 'It is just evil. They must know it's wrong. They must be psychopaths to do this to young girls.'

Dr Spencer said there was overwhelming pressure on doctors to support childhood medical transition at the risk of professional sanction.

'I assure you this is not part of a culture war,' she told a women's rights forum in Sydney last week. 'This is a really serious child protection issue.'

Adjunct Associate Professor Karleen Gribble from Western Sydney University School of Midwifery was a researcher on the first study of a detransitioned woman who shared her pain at not being able to breastfeed her baby.

Professor Gribble said she had spoken to women who did not understand the complexity of breast structure when they had chest masculinisation mastectomies.

It had not been made clear to them that surgery would mean they would not be able to breastfeed.

'I have seen discussions amongst young people online suggesting that they believe these surgeries can be reversed and even in some cases that breast tissue will regrow if the come off testosterone,' Professor Gribble said.

Professor Karleen Gribble (above) said she had spoken to women who did not understand the complexity of breast structure when they had chest masculinisation mastectomies

'An 18-year-old detransitioner asked me if there is any way that she could breastfeed, even with the use of a breastfeeding supplementer.

'It was heart-rending to need to explain to her that given the type of surgery she had and what she described about her nipple grafts, that it was very unlikely.

'All I could offer her was empathy for her grief.'

Anna Kerr, a lawyer from Feminist Legal Clinic, was involved in the first case against a psychiatrist who approved the removal of a 21-year-old's breasts after just one appointment.

Jay Langadinos later regretted the procedure, no longer identifies as a man, and is suing the psychiatrist for professional negligence.

The Feminist Legal Clinic provided support and legal referrals for a number of detransitioners including Ms Langadinos.

Ms Kerr said protections for vulnerable young people from such medical treatments were inadequate and varied from state to state.

In a 2020 case known as Re: Imogen, the Family Court clarified medical practitioners cannot proceed with gender affirming treatment for a minor without the consent of both parents.

'Unfortunately, obtaining consent from vulnerable young people and their concerned parents is only too easy for those ostensibly wielding medical authority,' Ms Kerr said.

Lawyer Anna Kerr (above) was involved in the first detransitioner case against a psychiatrist who approved the removal of a 19-year-old's breasts after just one appointment

'Indeed, the recent introduction of gay conversion therapy bans, which have been inappropriately extended to cover 'gender identity', effectively mandate gender affirming treatments.

'However, any health practitioner acting in good conscience should be guided by their duty of care to patients and the foreseeable harm of life altering surgeries hastily undertaken in youth.'

Professor Gribble said the Australian Professional Association for Trans Health did not require adolescents to be given information about the prevention of future breastfeeding after top surgery.

'I have written to AusPATH asking them to include this in their guidelines,' she said.

Both Professor Gribble and Dr Spencer said there was no evidence of any long or even medium-term benefit of chest masculinisation surgery on minors.

Dr Spencer also noted there were no published guidelines on how to counsel and obtain consent for a double mastectomy in a 15-year-old for the purpose of chest masculinisation to relieve gender dysphoria.

She said previous versions of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health guidelines recommended such surgery not occur until the age of 16.

WPATH's latest standards of care document published in September 2022 removed all lower age limits for gender affirming interventions.

AusPATH and WPATH guidelines do not state the consent process for minors considering chest masculinising mastectomy should include a discussion of the impact of the surgery on breastfeeding.

AusPATH states on their website that it is well established that most trans people do not regret affirming their gender.

Access to medical gender affirmation can be life saving and improve quality of life for those who seek it, it said.
OceanGate boss Stockton Rush, the daredevil billionaire behind the doomed Titan submersible voyage, repeatedly ignored chilling warnings his vessel was a deathtrap that 'would kill someone'.

The self-styled 'innovator', who bragged about 'breaking rules' and idolised maverick Star Trek protagonist Captain Kirk, died alongside four others when his sub imploded on a trip to the Titanic wreck on June 18.

All five - which included three Britons, billionaire Hamish Harding, and father and son Shahzada and Suleman Dawood as well as Frenchman Paul-Henri Nargeoletwere - were killed instantly when the 'flawed' carbon fibre hull violently gave way under the immense pressure of the Atlantic Ocean.

It was a tragedy that colleagues and friends of the 'cavalier' CEO had been warning would happen for years, with some having begged Rush not to plough ahead.

Leaders in the field of deep-sea exploration even wrote to the father-of-two in 2018 - five years before the ill-fated voyage - warning the company's 'experimental' methods could end in a 'catastrophic' disaster.

But instead of heeding the warnings, Rush shrugged them off, even suggesting that to question the Titan's safety credentials was 'personally insulting' to him as he branded claims he was 'going to kill someone' as 'baseless'.

Hitting back, Rush went as far as saying he was 'tired of industry players who try to use a safety argument to stop innovation' as he appeared resentful of the 'obscenely safe' regulations he viewed as an obstacle to development and innovation.

Tragically, Rush's failure to listen proved fatal. Now MailOnline reveals all the red flags and warnings brushed aside by 61-year-old, who once dreamt of becoming the first man on Mars.

For years, a number of red flags over the safety of the Titan submersible had been raised - but were ignored by OceanGate boss Stockton Rush

Stockton Rush, the CEO of OceanGate, was one of the five men who died during Titan's ill-fated journey to the Titanic's wreckage. His maverick approach to innovation earned him comparisons with visionaries like Elon Musk but caused concern among peers in the industry

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police will examine 'the circumstances that led to the deaths' of the five crew on board the sub and decide 'whether or not a full investigation is warranted'

Experts warned sub could be a 'catastrophic' disaster

Top specialists in submersible vehicles wrote a letter warning the boss of OceanGate that his firm's approach could end in disaster five years before the fatal implosion of the Titan sub.

Worried industry leaders sent a letter to Rush urging him to take caution, warning him that 'the current 'experimental' approach' of the company could result in problems 'from minor to catastrophic.'

The damning verdict was sent by the Manned Underwater Vehicles committee of the Marine Technology Society (MTS), a 60-year-old trade group that aims to promote ocean technology and educate the public about it. More than three dozen experts signed it.

'Our apprehension is that the current experimental approach adopted by OceanGate could result in negative outcomes (from minor to catastrophic) that would have serious consequences for everyone in the industry,' read the letter.

Will Kohnen, chairman of the MTS, said he later discussed the letter with Rush and again raised his concerns.

'There was a frank conversation. It was an adult conversation. And we agreed to disagree,' Kohnen told Reuters in an interview regarding a call with Rush.

Kohnen said their issue was not any single design flaw, but that OceanGate chose not to pursue the industry's recognized certification process for the submersible's design, fabrication and testing.

The letter itself was sent after many submersible experts voiced concerns over the Titan during a three-day annual symposium, Kohnen said. He said he asked the MTS board to send the letter on behalf of the entire society, but the board declined.

The CEO of OceanGate 's Titan submersible (pictured) repeatedly shrugged off safety concerns over the doomed vessel, according to newly unearthed email exchanges

Titan's carbon fibre hull and its acrylic viewport were subject to several warnings and James Cameron singled them out as 'potential failure points' on the vessel

The Titan imploded during its trip down to the Titanic's wreckage, claiming the lives of five people. Pictured is a chunk of debris from the destroyed submersible being recovered

Stockton Rush's fury that he was 'putting lives at risk'

A furious Stockton Rush lashed out in an extraordinary email exchange after being warned he was putting lives at risk every time his Titan sub ventured into the deep.

The red flag was signalled by leading deep-sea exploration specialist Rob McCallum who urged Rush to stop using the sub until an independent body assessed it.

According to the emails, he told Rush he was 'mirroring that famous cry' of the Titanic's builders: 'She is unsinkable'.

Rush, a self-proclaimed innovator, knocked back the concerns and raged he was 'tired of industry players who try to use a safety argument to stop innovation'.

The email exchange reportedly only ended when Oceangate's lawyers threatened legal action.

In March 2018, McCallum wrote to Rush: 'I think you are potentially placing yourself and your clients in a dangerous dynamic.

Rob McCullum, a world-renowned expert on deep-sea submersibles, consulted for OceanGate when the company was founded but left amid concerns about Rush's methods

OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush (pictured) is said to have ignored warnings from leading deep sea exploration specialist Rob McCallum that he was potentially putting his clients at risk

The fitness of the Titan to go on deep sea missions was discussed in a fraught email exchange between Oceangate CEO Stockton Rush and maritime expert Rob McCallum , which only ended when Oceangate threatened legal action

'In your race to [the] Titanic you are mirroring that famous catch cry: 'She is unsinkable''.'

A frustrated Rush hit back, writing to Mr McCallum: 'We have heard the baseless cries of 'you are going to kill someone' way too often. I take this as a serious personal insult.'

In a BBC interview, Mr McCallum described how he repeatedly urged OceanGate to seek classification for the sub before it was used commercially.

'Until a sub is classed, tested and proven it should not be used for commercial deep dive operations,' he wrote in one email.

'I implore you to take every care in your testing and sea trials and to be very, very conservative. As much as I appreciate entrepreneurship and innovation, you are potentially putting an entire industry at risk.'

Rush responded some days later: 'I am well qualified to understand the risks and issues associated with subsea exploration in a new vehicle.'

Fatefully, Mr McCallum warned him: 'It will be sea trials that determine whether the vehicle can handle what you intend to do with it so again; take care and keep safe.'

'There is a lot more riding on this than Titan and the Titanic.'

Wealthy passengers are not given any special training prior to departure and do not require diving qualifications but do need 'basic agility' so that they can climb a 10ft ladder and be able to stand on a chair. Pictured is the OceanGate Expeditions submersible vessel named Titan

The 22ft carbon fibre and titanium submersible also did not have a GPS system and used Elon Musk's Starlink to communicate with its mothership, MV Polar Prince because it is so far out to sea. Pictured is an OceanGate tourist submersible

Whistleblower who raised fears over safety is sacked

OceanGate chiefs sacked a top director after he aired his concerns over the Titan sub's safety - five years before the vessel's fatal implosion.

David Lochridge, who was the Titan project's director of marine operations, was unceremoniously booted from the company after he demanded more rigorous safety checks on the sub - including 'testing to prove its integrity'.

He also wanted the company to carry out a scan of Titan's hull to 'detect potential flaws' rather than 'relying on acoustic monitoring'  which would only detect an issue 'milliseconds before an implosion'.

In a court document filed in 2018, lawyers for the company said Lochridge's employment was terminated because he 'could not accept' their research and plans, including safety protocols.

OceanGate also claimed Lochridge 'desired to be fired' and had shared confidential information with others and wiped a company hard drive. The company said he 'refused to accept the voracity of information' about safety from Titan's lead engineer.

Lochridge, a former Royal Navy marine engineer and ship's diver, had relocated from the UK to Washington to work on the development of the Titan  which was previously called Cyclops 2. He was hailed as an 'expert in the field of submarine operations and rescue' by OceanGate when he joined.

OceanGate bosses fired David Lochridge, who was Director of Marine operations for the Titan project, in 2018 after it disagreed with his demand for more rigorous safety checks on the submersible, including 'testing to prove its integrity'

The company initially planned to use it for a trip to the Titanic in 2018 but this was abandoned after it sustained damage to its electronics from lightning. Then, in 2019, the voyage was postponed again because of a problem with complying with Canadian maritime law limitations on foreign flag vessels. Then it suffered further problems in 2020 and had to be completely rebuilt. The tourist submersible is pictured above

Legal filings obtained by DaiyMail.com showed he slated the company's research and development process in 2018.

Lochridge also 'strongly encouraged that OceanGate utilize a classification agency, such as the American Bureau of Shipping, to inspect and certify the Titan'.

The naval veteran 'disagreed with OceanGate's position to dive the submersible without any non-destructive testing to prove its integrity, and to subject passengers to potential extreme danger in an experimental submersible.'

Rush had asked Lochridge to assess the safety risks because he was the 'best man for the job', according to the lawsuit.

But Lochridge was 'ignored' when trying to raise verbal concerns over the safety and quality control of Titan.

In his report he said: 'With Cyclops 2 (Titan) being handed off from Engineering to Operations in the coming weeks, now is the time to properly address items that may pose a safety risk to personnel.

'Verbal communication of the key items I have addressed in my attached document have been dismissed on several occasions, so I feel now I must make this report so there is an official record in place.'

OceanGate did not comment on the Lochridge lawsuit.

Shahzada Dawood, 48, (right) one of Pakistan's richest men, who along with his teenage son Sulaiman Dawood, 19, (left) died on the Titan

Billionaire Hamish Harding, 58, (left) was among the five people on board The OceanGate Titan. Also killed was French mariner Paul-Henri Nargeolet, 73, who was a Titanic expert

Rush bragged of 'breaking rules' building doomed sub

'You're remembered for the rules you break and you know, I've broken some rules'. This was, perhaps, one of the most prophetic comments made by Stockton Rush before he was killed on his doomed submersible.

The businessman gave the quote while being filmed giving Mexican actor Alan Estrada a tour of his 22ft vessel in summer 2021.

In the clip, which been viewed more than seven million times, Rush beams as he shows off the Titan's various control screens and interfaces before bragging about the vessel's design.

In a move that might, in hindsight, give an insight into the methodology that led to the fatal disaster, Rush tells the Mexican star about 'picking the rules that you break'.

'I'd like to be remembered as an innovator,' Rush says with a wry smile. 'I think it was General (Douglas) MacArthur who said: 'You're remembered for the rules you break.' And you know, I've broken some rules to make this.

OceanGate boss Stockton Rush (pictured in a video filmed by Mexican actor Alan Estrada before he travelled to the Titanic on the submersible) previously spoke about 'breaking rules' to build the missing Titan submersible, newly emerged footage has shown

Rush (pictured) was seen in a clip telling Mexican actor Estrada about the seven-inch thick acrylic window that is mounted on the front of the Titan to give those inside a view of the famous wreckage that lies 12,500 feet below the ocean surface

'I think I broke them with logic and good engineering behind me. The carbon fibre and titanium, there's a rule you don't do that  well I did,' the CEO says.

'There's picking the rules that you break that are the rules that will add value to others and add value to society, and that really to me is about innovation.'

He goes on to say he doesn't consider his work 'invention' but 'innovation'.

Then, in an interview with CBS News in the summer of 2022, Rush again boasted about being a risk-taker.

Insisting he didn't think diving in a submersible was 'very dangerous' at all, he added: 'I mean, if you just want to be safe, don't get out of bed. Don't get in your car. Don't do anything. At some point, you're going to take some risk, and it really is a risk-reward question.

'I think I can do this just as safely by breaking the rules.'

Warnings of ominous 'cracking' sounds were ignored

OceanGate Expeditions offered 'the once in a lifetime opportunity to be a specially trained crew member safely diving to the Titanic wreckage site'

As early as 2019, alarm bells were starting to ring over the structural integrity of the doomed Titan craft.

Karl Stanley, an American tourist and submersible expert, took a trip onboard the vessel with Rush in April of that year.

The duo dived down to 12,000ft in the Bahamas. But Mr Stanley claimed that throughout the decent, the hull made ominous cracking sounds throughout the decent.

Creaking in underwater craft like submarines when diving at depth isn't uncommon, nor an immediate indicator the vessel is at risk of an imminent implosion.

Indeed, when Mr Stanley took the trip down with Rush at the helm, the OceanGate boss had warned there would be some creaking noises.

It was only the day after the trip, when he had digested the experience, did Mr Stanley feel the noises were dangerous - which then prompted him to email to Rush and explain his fears.

He said the noise heard during their dive 'sounded like a flaw/defect in one area being acted on by the tremendous pressures and being crushed/damaged.'

He wrote, in an email obtained by The New York Times, that the loud, cracking sound signaled there was 'an area of the hull that is breaking down.'

And he urged Rush to take his time with the development of the sub, to ensure that it was safe.

Karl Stanley, a tourist submarine operator based in Honduras, has described taking an April 2019 trip on the Titan and being concerned by the creaking sound

Stanley spoke to CNN following the Titan tragedy and described the email he wrote to Stockton Rush

Fears Titan would be f***ed if Bluetooth controls failed

Rob McCallum, a veteran submersibles expert, voiced his concerns over the Titan's Bluetooth controls. But they were again, seemingly, ignored by Rush.

Mr McCallum, who started bringing tourists to the Titanic wreckage in the 2000s using Russian submarines, claimed he had been approached by OceanGate to join its team in 2015.

But after seeing how rudimentary the Titan was, he backed away before later joining other industry experts in raising their fears about OceanGate before last month's tragedy.

'He wanted me to run his Titanic operation for him,' McCallum told the New Yorker. 'At the time, I was the only person he knew who had run commercial expedition trips to Titanic. Rush's plan was to go a step further and build a vehicle specifically for this multi-passenger expedition.'

Mr McCallum visited OceanGate's Seattle-area workshop to look at the company's first craft, Cyclops I  a retrofitted research vessel that could descend no more than 1,500ft. Rush had hoped to use most of Cyclops I's design to inspire his would-be Titanic sub, the Titan.

Worried, given its seemingly crude design and lack of redundant safety features, Mr McCallum told the magazine that 'there were multiple points of failure', including that its control system used Bluetooth.

'Every sub in the world has hardwired controls for a reason  that if the signal drops out, you're not f****d.'

Stockton Rush shows the controller used to steer the Titan  which has been compared to something from an XBox or PS5

University interns designed critical electrical systems

In what could be seen as another potential red flag, Rush reportedly employed university students to design critical electronics in the Titan.

In an explosive report, it was claimed that students from Washington State University Everett were used to work on the submersible's electronics.

Mark Walsh, a former student with Washington State University's Institute of Electrical and Electronics, who worked on the doomed vessel. He was hired by OceanGate in 2017 after he graduated to lead the company's electrical engineering division.

In 2018, he enthusiastically told the college paper WSU Insider, that 'the whole electrical system - that was our design, we implemented it, and it works.'

He added: 'We are on the precipice of making history and all of our systems are going down to the Titanic. It is an awesome feeling!''

But, by 2019 Walsh was no longer with the company, according to his Linkedin profile.

OceanGate was also using interns from Everett Community College's Ocean Research College Academy, but that partnership ceased in 2019, according to the Everett Herald.

But in 2018, OceanGate's former director of marine operations and chief pilot David Lochridge said Titan was a 'lemon' and not safe to dive, according to The New Yorker.

Lochridge found 'several critical aspects to be defective or unproven' with the Titan. 'Until suitable corrective actions are in place and closed out, Cyclops 2 (Titan) should not be manned during any of the upcoming trials,' he reportedly wrote before being sacked after raising his concerns.

The OceanGate engineering team with 3 Cougs was featured in the WSU Insider on February 21, 2018. The article was titled: A New Generation of Titanic Exploration

OceanGate CEO and founder Stockton Rush (pictured left) sits alongside submersible pilot Randy Holt in the company's submersible, 'Antipodes,' traveling three miles off the coast of Fort Lauderdale, Florida June 28, 2013

A file photo of the Titan submersible before its doomed voyage to the Titanic wreck last month

Doomed Titan sub was stuck by lightning in Bahamas

The tragedy-bound Titan submersible was severely damaged after it was struck by lightning in 2018, the late OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush revealed in a resurfaced interview.

Rush explained his ill-fated sub suffered an indirect lightning strike in the Bahamas during a test dive in late April that year, in a hit that postponed the craft's maiden voyage.

'Fortunately, it was not a direct strike. A direct strike to the carbon fibre probably would have taken us totally out,' Rush told Matt Burdyny, the Vice President of Teledyne Marine in the 2020 interview.

In a May 2018 Instagram post on OceanGate's account the firm said: 'Deep sea testing began in late April near Marsh Harbour in the Bahamas.

'Upon arrival the sub's electronics sustained lightning damage that affected over 70% of its internal systems.'

The strike led to a postponement of a Titanic Survey Expedition, with Rush commenting at the time that while the delay was disappointing his firm was 'not willing to short cut the testing process due to a condensed timeline.'

Adding: 'We are 100% committed to safety and want to fully test the sub and validate all operational and emergency procedures before launching any expedition.'

According to the Titan's specifications, the submersible had the capacity to stay underwater for 96 hours

OceanGate dismissed independent inspection plea

OceanGate bosses had been urged to voluntarily apply for regulation and classification through an independent agency - but allegedly dismissed the plea.

The recommendation was made by David Lochridge, a director at the firm who was sacked in 2018 after raising safety concerns about the sub.

According to Mr Lochridge, he was given '10 minutes to immediately clear out his desk and exit the premises' after the meeting.

His claims were made in a countersuit against his former employer, who accused him of breach of contract, fraud, and revealing trade secrets. The case was settled out of court in November 2018.

Sub window not suitable for depth of Titanic wreckage

Concerns about the strength rating of the Titan's viewport were also ignored by Rush.

Again, these were raised by David Lochridge as part of his long list of safety concerns plaguing the vessel.

He had several meetings in 2018 'regarding the quality control and safety of the Titan, particularly OceanGate's refusal to conduct critical, non-destructive testing of the experimental design of the hull.'

During one meeting he discovered that the viewpoint was only built to a certified pressure of 1,300 meters  despite OceanGate intending to take passengers down to 4,000 meters.

Legal filings state: 'Lochridge learned that the viewport manufacturer would only certify to a depth of 1,300 meters due to the experimental design of the viewport supplied by OceanGate, which was out of the Pressure Vessels for Human Occupancy ('PVHO') standards.

'OceanGate refused to pay for the manufacturer to build a viewport that would meet the required depth of 4,000 meters.

The Titan suffered a deadly implosion last month that killed five people. The submersible is pictured above

Rush bragged about viewport amid flaw concerns

In an interview in 2021, Rush continued to brag about how he had been a rule-breaker when it came to sub design.

He explained in a YouTube video with Mexican actor Alan Estrada that Titan's viewing window would get 'squeezed' by the water pressure as it descends, and that it gives a 'warning' if its going to 'fail'.

Experts have said a structural failure is one of the possible issues that caused the Titan's deadly implosion near the Titanic.

The water pressure at the wreck site of the famous ocean liner is nearly 6,000 psi (pounds per square inch) - which means a weight equivalent to around two tons is exerted on any object at that depth.

Despite the risks of entering such an inhospitable environment, Rush appears very confident in his invention in the clip, that has emerged on TikTok.

'It's acrylic  plexiglass,' Rush tells Estrada after being asked what the window mounted at the front of the Titan vessel is made of.

'It is seven inches thick and weighs about 80lbs. And when we go to the Titanic, it will squeeze in about three-quarters of an inch and just deforms,' he explains.

'And acrylic is great because before it cracks or fails, it starts to crackle so you get a huge warning if it's going to fail.'

He later described 'breaking the rule' of sub design, adding: 'I think I broke them with logic and good engineering behind me. The carbon fibre and titanium, there's a rule you don't do that  well I did.'

Experts have previously claimed the carbon fibre and titanium design was not strong enough to withstand the immense pressures under at the bottom of the Atlantic.

OceanGate Expeditions started its dives to the Titanic in 2021 using its submersible named Titan, which is at the centre of a desperate search after going missing 12,500ft beneath the waves. Pictured is an interior view of the vessel

Titan branded a 'mutt' after getting stuck at 20ft

In perhaps an embarrassing early stumbling block, the initial sea trials of OceanGate's Titan submersible did not go to plan.

One such incident, testing out the Cyclops I - the forbearer of the doomed Titan - saw its crew getting stuck on board for hours as the vessel languished about 20ft under water.

Among the crew involved in the dive was David Lochridge - a Royal Navy veteran who was later sacked after voicing safety concerns - and Rob McCallum, a submersibles expert.

Speaking about the gaffe, Mr McCallum told The New Yorker: 'It was hilarious, because there were four very experienced operators in the sub, stuck at 20 or 25ft, and we had to sit there for a few hours while they worked it out.'

Describing the sub, Mr McCallum went on to say: 'This thing is a mutt.'

Worries Titan had a 'MacGyver jerry-rigged' feel to it

The doomed Titan was steered with a modified plastic PlayStation controller which was just one of many 'off-the-shelf' items on the ship.

The 42 wireless Logitech F710 pad  complete with thumbsticks and colourful buttons  can be found in most electronic stores.

Mr Rush admitted some of interior parts were bought 'off the shelf', such as the LED overhead lighting, while the cameras used were standard security cameras.

A friend of Titan victim Hamish Harding said he had signed up to join him on the ill-fated voyage  but pulled out after finding out about its 'computer game-style controller'. Chris Brown, 61, said he cancelled over concerns that the organisers were 'cutting too many corners'.

The submersible was steered using a modified plastic PlayStation controller (pictured)

CBS reporter David Pogue  who went on a dive in the Titan  said some of the ballasts used to control buoyancy were old rusty construction pipes that are sitting on shelves on the side.

He said the Titan got lost for five hours during his dive last summer, adding: 'There were certain things that looked like cut corners.' In a broadcast in November 2022, he put it to Mr Rush that the vessel had the feel of a 'MacGyver jerry-rigged' invention.

Mr Rush said that 'once you're certain that the submarine isn't going to collapse on everybody, everything else can fail. It doesn't matter.'

The vessel also lacked basic emergency features, including a location beacon.

Titan computer 'malfunctions' days before doomed trip

That was the claim made by Youtuber Jake Koehler after his trip in the same OceanGate submersible that later imploded, killing everyone inside.

Jake, also known as Dallmyd, took a short ride in the Titan vessel but was told he could not explore the Titanic shipwreck because of 'malfunctions'.

The self-proclaimed 'treasure hunter' was set to dive 13,000ft down to the seabed of the North Atlantic but communication problems and harsh weather meant it was cancelled last minute.

He only experienced the 3,000ft test dive, and said he felt like he dodged a bullet as the harsh reality that he could have died set in.

He said: 'It's crazy to think if the weather cleared up and the conditions were perfect, and Stockton looked up at me and said, ''Do you wanna go?'' I would've done it, and my fate could've been just like the five who had lost their lives on that same submarine.'

As he' prepared for the trip, disturbing trials revealed that the team started noticing issues just days before five people were killed on a dive to see the Titanic.

Jake Koehler, also known as Dallmyd, revealed that he had a close call with death after his trip in the same OceanGate submersive was axed just days before it imploded

The content creator shared a haunting video of his time onboard the craft which zoomed in on the infamous video game controller used to control the 22-foot submersive

During a routine engineering dive, it was flagged that one of the two computers controlling the sub 'was acting up a bit'.

The control problem, choppy seas and winds meant Jake's trip was cancelled.

After a few days of bad weather, engineers felt the controls were in good enough condition to do a 3,000-foot test dive with the passengers.

The crew of passengers laughed while the cramped ship nose-dived into the ocean, but it wasn't long before communication problems with the mother ship started.

'If the fog didn't roll in and cancel the dive, who knows, maybe we would've left that platform, and maybe we would've imploded,' Jake added.

Ex-Titan passengers branded trips a 'suicide mission'

Several former passengers have come forward to criticise the haphazard nature of the Titanic voyages.

German Arthur Loibl, 60, who went on the craft to visit the Titanic wreck two years ago, claimed he was 'incredibly lucky' to survive. He said the trip, which was repeatedly delayed due to battery problems, was a 'suicide mission'.

During the descent and ascent, he said a fluorescent glow stick was used instead of the lights to save energy.

Producer Mike Reiss said communication failures happened on each of the three dives he went on last year. He described the sub as 'a car that you drunkenly drove into the ocean' steered by a 'video game controller'.

Disturbingly, passengers were even asked to fill out a disclaimer in which they must knowledge that the Titan was an 'experimental vessel' that had 'not been approved or certified by any regulatory body'.

German Arthur Loibl, 60, (pictured) who went on the craft to visit the Titanic wreck two years ago, claimed he was 'incredibly lucky' to survive

Titan needed a rebuild after showing hull 'failure' signs

In 2020 the craft had to be completely rebuilt after tests showed signs of 'cyclic fatigue' that reduced the hull's depth rating to 3,000 meters, which was well short of what it required to get close to the Titanic.

The vessel, built of carbon fibre and titanium was originally designed to take five people to depths of 4,000 metres (13,123 feet).

After detecting problems at how deep it could go OceanGate also announced at the time that it was working with NASA to ensure that it was strong enough to survive the ocean's depths.

It's thought the problems were addressed before the Titan's fateful dive last month.

Doomed sub lost control at the bottom of the Atlantic

Before imploding last month, Titan had previously lost control leaving the mini sub spinning in circles at the bottom of the Atlantic - 300m from the Titanic's wreck.

Five passengers were 300 meters from the wreck of the Titanic during a mission last year when pilot Scott Griffith said 'we have a problem' - words no one wants to hear at around 12,500ft below sea level.

Footage from inside the submersible, filmed as part of a 2022 BBC documentary, shows an anguished crew listening to Griffith as he told them there was something wrong with the Titan's thrusters.

The technical fault meant that the submersible was spinning uncontrollably around in circles and unable to move forward and backwards. One passenger was seen with her head in her hands as the passengers endured an agonizing wait for help from the crew onboard the mothership.

In the documentary, which is only available to view outside the US, a concerned Griffith told the passengers: 'I don't know what's going on, I feel like... I don't know what's going on.

'There's something wrong with my thrusters. I'm thrusting and nothing is happening.'

Five passengers were 300 meters from the wreck of the Titanic during a mission last year when pilot Scott Griffith said 'we have a problem' - words no one wants to hear at around 12,500ft below sea level

Footage from inside the submersible, filmed as part of a 2022 BBC documentary , shows an anguished crew listening to Griffith as he told them there was something wrong with the Titan's thrusters

Griffith, concern etched into his face, is seen working frantically on a computer before asking the crew, who were looking out of the one porthole on the sub, whether he was spinning.

When Mexican passenger Reneta Rojas responds to the affirmative, Griffith says in a panicked voice: 'I am?'

Rojas responds: 'Yes, it looks like you're going north'.

Griffith appears to grimace and says 'Oh no, we we have a problem. When we are thrusting to move forward, one of the thrusters is going backwards right now.'

Rojas can be seen heavily breathing and putting her head in her hands before Griffith says: 'The only thing I can do right now is a 360.'

Ross Kemp backed out of Titan trip over safety fears

TV hardman-turned-documentary filmmaker Ross Kemp turned down a trip to see the Titanic on an OceanGate submersible after his TV firm decided the vessel was 'unsafe on every level'.

The British documentary-maker, 58, was keen to take part in the mission last year for a documentary marking the 110th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic.

After an expert production company carried out checks, they decided seeing the shipwreck on the seafloor of the North Atlantic would be too risky.

Kemp's agent, Professor Jonathan Shalit, said they pulled out of using the Titan submersible because it was unsafe 'on every level'.

He said he was relieved Kemp didn't board Titan and the company didn't suggest it was safe for him to go.

Ross Kemp 58, was keen to take part in the mission for a show last year

Titanic foundation feared Rush 'lied' about safety

Jessica Sanders, who heads RMS Titanic Inc, described Rush as 'cavalier' after he told potential passengers the Titan sub was 'way safer than flying in a helicopter or even scuba diving,' or even 'crossing the street.'

The organisation is investigating if it should have let Paul-Henri Nargeolet, 77, who spearheaded the foundation, on the Titan.

Rush and Nargeolet died alongside British billionaire adventurer Hamish Harding and Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman, 19, when the Titan imploded 12,500ft below the Atlantic Ocean on the way to the historic Titanic shipwreck.

Sanders said the foundation is now probing past records for OceanGate and questioning the truth of Rush's statements.

'We have now our own internal questions about the representations OceanGate made that we made the basis on giving PH the OK to go,' she said.

'We're going back and looking at that now ourselves internally, because there were representations not only made to us, but made to the court, that now we have to go back and verify because of these stories that are coming up that question them.'

PH Nargeolet, 71, was an expert on the Titanic's wreckage and worked with a company which has recovered thousands of artifacts from the site

Jessica Sanders (pictured) who heads up RMS Titanic Inc, is reviewing if the organization should have let Paul-Henri Nargeolet, who spearheaded the foundation, on the vessel at all

Fears Rush would kill people in 'quest to boost ego'

A former OceanGate staffer fired after airing concerns about the safety of the doomed Titan submarine emailed an associate saying he was worried the firm's CEO would get himself and others killed in a 'quest to boost his ego'.

David Lochridge, formerly OceanGate's director of marine operations who worked at the company between 2015 and 2018, was sacked after raising concerns about the safety of the Titan for much of its building process.

Those warnings were allegedly delivered from the factory floor during the latter half of 2017, but were constantly dismissed as part of a push to move on from the building to begin testing.

It's now emerged that Lochridge emailed project associate Rob McCallum - who also left OceanGate over safety concerns - shortly after he was fired in 2018, to say he was worried CEO Stockton Rush would end up dead on the submersible.

'I don't want to be seen as a Tattle tale but I'm so worried he kills himself and others in the quest to boost his ego,' Lochridge wrote about Rush, The New Yorker claims.

The intrepid engineer reportedly continued: 'I would consider myself pretty ballsy when it comes to doing things that are dangerous, but that sub is an accident waiting to happen.'

'There's no way on earth you could have paid me to dive the thing.'

David Lochridge, who was Director of Marine operations for the Titan project, was fired after meetings with OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, who is on board the missing submersible

Zip-ties were used to as quick fixes for sub problem

A former passenger on the Titan claimed that zip-ties were used to help fix the sub.

Arthur Loibl described his experience on the craft as a 'suicide mission'. The 60-year-old said he forked out about $110,000 for his trip

But speaking via the New York Post, Mr Loibl offered claimed his dive had to be delayed for five hours due to an electrical issue.

Not only that but right before the voyage, the bracket of the stabilisation tube  which balances the sub  tore and had to be 'reattached with zip ties,', he said.

Previously concerns had been raised about zip-ties being used to attach the submersible's iridium satellite beacon, which transmits the crafts position after surfacing, to the Titan.
READ MORE: Holidaymakers face chaos as strike to hit 1000s of European flights

Air traffic controller strikes and war in Ukraine may cause flight chaos in Europe

British holidaymakers may face a flight-mare this summer as air traffic control chaos across Europe is set to cause thousands of flights to be delayed and cancelled.

As people keen for a well-earned break pack their bags this summer, they could be left with ruined plans when trying to fly to key holiday hotspots on the continent.

European air traffic controllers have this week warned they will strike in a dispute over staffing levels, with unions claiming that bosses have not done enough to replace staff who retired during the pandemic.

And the war in Ukraine has also reduced available airspace for commercial flights in eastern Europe which could lead to reductions in air traffic capacity in the region, impacting those wishing to holiday in countries like Poland.

European air traffic management body Eurocontrol warned that many key areas are expected to be hit by high overloads, so air traffic flow and capacity management measures will need to be taken, causing delays and flight cancellations.

European cities most likely to face air disruption this summer

Where Europe will see 'high overloads' of air traffic this summer that may cause major delays and cancellations Rheims, France

Marseille, France

Karlsruhe, Germany

Athens, Greece

Macedonia, Greece

Budapest, Hungary Advertisement

Where Europe will see 'overloads' of air traffic this summer that will need air traffic management Brussels, Belgium

Zagreb, Croatia

Bremen, Germany

Casablanca, Morocco

Skopje, North Macedonia

Barcelona, Spain

Madrid, Spain

Seville, Spain

London, UK Advertisement

Eurocontrol said in a report that there will be more than 34,000 flights a day on Fridays in the eight-week period from July 10 to September 3 - with an average of around 33,000 per day, a nearly 10 per cent rise on last year.

READ MORE: Holidaymakers face a summer of chaos as air traffic control strike set to delay or cancel thousands of European flights Advertisement

They expect high overloads many major tourist hotspots in Europe including Rheims and Marseille in France, Athens and Budapest.

Overloads which will lead to lead to air traffic management measures are also expected in Brussels, Zagreb, Barcelona and London.

There will also be a capacity reduction in air traffic in Warsaw, Poland 'due to severe military activity caused by Ukrainian crisis', Eurocontrol's report says.

There will also be limitations on the number of air traffic control sectors in Nicosia, Cyprus, due to software updates.

And with air traffic controllers announcing they will strike over the summer, holiday chaos will only be compounded, with insiders suggesting up to three in ten flights could be delayed or cancelled over the summer.

Families hoping for a trip abroad must now wait to find out if their flights will be hit, with strike dates set to be revealed within days.

The walk-outs could lead to delays or cancellations of up to 12,600 flights a day across the continent, an industry source told The Times.

They warned: 'In a full-blown strike, 20 to 30 per cent of flights would be at least delayed. They are big numbers.'

A senior airline source told the newspaper the impact could be 'massive and extremely disruptive', adding there had not been a much contingency planning in the event of a full strike.

A first wave of strikes was set to be announced on Monday, according to the newspaper's sources.

Industry body Airlines UK has urged Eurocontrol to 'reach an agreement as soon as possible' with the unions, the BBC reports.

Airlines for Europe have also reportedly said the possible impact of strike action 'remains to be determined'.

Officials at the Eurocontrol believe action is now inevitable and will target the start of the main school holiday period in England and Europe.

Stewart Wingate, boss of Gatwick airport, said that strikes at European air traffic control were his biggest challenge this summer.

Eurocontrol handles more than 96,000 messages a day from pilots and airlines, all of which need to be checked and inconsistencies dealt with manually.

Every pilot flying in or over Europe has to submit a flight plan to Eurocontrol's operations centre. The centre validates the plan and makes sure multiple planes in the region do not have the same 'call-sign', a way to identify planes.

The organisation acts as the 'area network manager' so that flights are able to cross borders and go between air traffic control centres with ease. It is also responsible for landing and departure slots at several European airports.

Union Syndicale Bruxelles (USB), which represents EU civil servants, wrote a letter to managers demanding that 20 more controllers were hired immediately - citing a 25 per cent shortfall in staff of about 40 controllers.

The letter added that the union saw no other option than to progress with strike action. But an industry insider said last-minute talks were still going ahead in the weeks ahead with focuses on staffing levels.

Eurocontrol warned that they expect high overloads many major tourist hotspots in Europe including Rheims and Marseille in France, Athens and Budapest and issued similar warnings for cities including London (file photo of British Airways plane taking off from Heathrow)

Controllers at the European air traffic management body Eurocontrol reportedly said that they would take industrial action during peak periods in the summer after talks with bosses broke down over pay, staffing and rosters (stock photo of air traffic controllers at Munich Airport)

Air traffic control centres across Europe have found recruitment difficult since the pandemic, which led many workers to an early retirement.

Finding new staff for the stressful job, which makes you responsible for thousands of people's lives at once, has been a challenge.

USB have said that there will be a 'period of six months during which industrial action could take place'.

Travel expert Simon Calder has said that the union does not usually take militant industrial action - stating that the threats of strikes were a 'cry for help' due to poor staffing levels.

He believes the dispute could be resolved between employers and the union before any strikes take place.

This comes after director-general of Eurocontrol Raul Medina urged airports and air traffic control centres to increase recruitment and asked airlines to keep to their allotted schedules.

He added that airspace in Europe could experience 'high overloads' of traffic on most days this summer in many busy European areas such as Reims and Marseille in France, Athens in Greece and Budapest in Hungary.

Warnings of this nature have also been issued for London, Brussels, Nicosia, Warsaw and Zagreb for peak days such as Fridays and weekends in summer.

These overloads can lead to flight delays as planes may be forced to fly longer routes to avoid areas full of traffic.

And a Eurocontrol spokesman earlier said they were aware of the strike intentions but that as no date had yet been set it was 'premature to speculate on any potential impact'. They insisted that the body was 'making every effort to keep negotiations open'.

Consumer champions Which? warned that the strikes cold cause 'huge disruption' but that airlines should be prepared to refund and compensate customers if their journeys are affected.

Which? Director of Policy and Advocacy Rocio Concha said: 'Airlines are fully aware that these strikes have the potential to cause huge disruption to travellers, and so can have no reason not to be fully prepared to fulfil their legal obligations to their customers should cancellations and severe delays occur.

'This means offering travellers the opportunity to be refunded or rerouted at the earliest opportunity - even if that means buying passengers a seat on a flight operated by a rival carrier. They must also provide passengers with free refreshments or accommodation if appropriate to the length of the delay.

'Some airlines' track records on customer service has been woefully lacking, as we saw during the summer of travel chaos last year.'

He said regulators must take action against airlines that do not meet their legal obligations to customers, adding that the Prime Minister should should give the Civil Aviation Authority powers to 'hold airlines to account'.
Women have condemned a charity after it suggested the vagina could instead be referred to as 'the bonus hole' to avoid upsetting non-binary or trans men.

Female rights campaigners today rounded on the alternative glossary, branding it both 'misogynistic' and 'utterly dehumanising'.

It is featured on charitable organisation Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust on a page for health professionals who are treating patients who have the disease.

Today the trust insisted it was not suggesting the term should be used by all women - but added it was important to reach trans men and non-binary people.

But the 'bonus hole' term - which the cause says was developed with expert organisations who work with the LGBT community - was widely condemned.

The page also features a suggestion that the vagina might also be referred to as a 'front hole'

The charity at the centre of the controversy said it was doing everything to try and encourage everyone to attend screenings

The term is featured on page on cancer charity Jo's Trust website and is for health professionals

It is entitled 'Language to use when supporting trans men and/or non-binary people'.

Conservatives for Women founder Caroline Ffiske told MailOnline: 'The gender movement seems actively to want to encourage body disassociation and hatred, in other words to actively create more confused young people alienated from their own physicality and their own sex.

'What better way than to use this utterly dehumanising language about our own bodies?

'To my mind it is grooming: create the unease, the disassociation, the alienation, and then when you have done that, you step in with euphoric rhetoric about 'trans joy'.

'Fill the void you have created. Of course those doing this will not be around to pick up the pieces when young bodies are irreversibly damaged and young lives destroyed. Is there a mechanism whereby these charities promoting harm could be struck off?'

The glossary says it was created with the help of the LGBT Foundation.

Its adds that using the wrong terms if a person does not use them can lead to them feeling hurt or distressed.

Kellie-Jay Keen, the founder of Standing for Women, described parts of the glossary as 'an erasure of female language'.

She added: 'The whole thing is loathsome but bonus hole and front hole are so misogynist.

Caroline Ffiske, left, who founded Conservatives for Women, said the term was 'dehumanising;

Women's rights campaigner Kellie-Jay Keen said 'bonus hole' was a 'misogynistic loathsome term'

'If a woman is so triggered by the word vagina I should imagine she need serious psychiatric help rather than the world bend to her never ending list of irrational demands.

'You would think that charities focused on cervical cancer would have better things to do than erase female language. Still it's better than the Canadian cervical charity who devoted a whole section for men with cervical cancer.'

The trust moved today to head off the controversy and explain why it had published the guide.

It said it included it to try and help health professionals and reach potential cancer sufferers that may be concerned about attending screenings.

A spokesperson told MailOnline: 'We are aware that some of our online information is currently attracting significant attention. The information being shared is from a webpage written for health professionals to support trans men and / or non-binary patients with a cervix to attend cervical screening.

'The page includes a glossary of terms they may hear from their patients and was developed with expert organisations who work with the LGBT community.

'The page is not promoting the use of these phrases with all women, it is a list of phrases that nurses may hear some patients prefer.

'Our mission at Jo's is to prevent as many cervical cancers as possible, and a big part of that is increasing uptake of cervical screening.

'Women are our main audience at Jo's, however some trans men and / or non-binary people have cervixes and to reduce as many cervical cancers as possible it is important that we also provide information for this group and the health professionals who support them.'
A headmaster who was banned from teaching after carrying out a sex act in front of a pupil is to finally set to be stripped of the MBE he was awarded for services to the teaching profession - nearly five years after he was publicly exposed.

Jonathan Ullmer, 62, a one-time drama teacher was found to have engaged in historic sexual activity with a male pupil by a professional conduct panel.

But attempts to get his MBE taken away because of his disgrace took another four years despite an extensive campaign to have it removed - and the decision is still subject to approval by the King.

All the while, Ullmer has been using the MBE to impress potential employers. On his LinkedIn page where he touts for work, he writes: 'I have been awarded with an MBE recognising my contributions to education.'

Married Ullmer was struck off in 2019 for pleasuring himself in front of a pupil who he lured into bed.

Jonathan Ullmer (pictured) was struck off as a teacher in 2019 by a conduct panel after a former pupil revealed how he had pleasured himself in front of him and 'begged' him to touch his penis

Ullmer, 62, is set to be stripped of his MBE, which he is seen here receiving from Prince William

He groomed the teenager during his time at the Cecil Jones High School in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, where he worked from 1989 to 2002. He suggested the two of them discuss sex and go out for meals with alcohol and to the cinema to become closer, a teaching tribunal heard.

Ullmer even took the 'vulnerable boy' to his Kent flat where the pair shared a bed and the sick teacher started masturbating. He also 'begged' the schoolboy to touch his penis and massage him with lubricant.

He would reward the boy with special privileges such as giving him the keys to his office and allowing him to drive his car.

The experience left his victim emotionally scarred and he eventually came forward leading to the case that saw Ullmer struck off in 2019.

The allegations were made after the pupil, known in proceedings as Pupil A, secretly recorded a conversation with his former teacher.

Alan Meyrick, representing the Secretary of State for Education, said Ullmer should be banned from the profession indefinitely.

Mr Meyrick said: 'The factors that mean a no review period is proportionate are, the sexual misconduct found, the lack of either insight or remorse, and the long term and serious consequences on Pupil A.'

Jonathan Ullmer groomed his victim during his time at the Cecil Jones High School in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, where he worked from 1989 to 2002.

But when friends, acting on behalf of the victim and with his consent, attempted to get his honour rescinded they came up against what they describe as inertia from the Cabinet Office, the government office responsible for the honours system.

The friends were infuriated by the Government's slow response to attempts to take away honours - and were concerned Ullmer was using his MBE to tout for work.

They even lobbied Prince William, who had personally given him his gong.

A friend of the victim told MailOnline: 'The victim in this case is a close friend of mine. We went to school together and I know the devastating emotional impact Ullmer's abusive behaviour had on him.

'We thought it would be a simple matter to have his MBE removed but, unbelievably, the Honours Committee has taken four years before finally recommending it to happen.

'We finally learned that they have at last recommended this earlier this year. And we still have to wait for the King to approve it. This is despite the fact that he is continuing to use his MBE to tout for business to this day.'

He told us: 'I lobbied the Cabinet Office extensively, as well as writing directly to Gavin Williamson, the then Education Secretary, and the Duke of Cambridge who pinned the MBE to Ullmer's chest in 2014. But he still has the gong.

'Ullmer remains a danger to vulnerable young people, using his MBE as a badge that the establishment has endorsed him as trustworthy. I also believe him to be a cunning and dangerous man who has abused his authority for his own gratification.'

Ullmer's LinkedIn profile still touts his MBE, which he received for contributions to education

Ullmer mentions the award on his LinkedIn, but not his sexual behaviour.

It reads: 'Jonathan Ullmer operates as a senior leader, change influencer and ambassador of education and more on an international scale. During my career, I have enabled outstanding performance across a range of institutions and have established pioneering organisations overseas to achieve the same. I have been awarded with an MBE recognising my contributions to education.'

He also calls himself 'Jonathan Ullmer MBE' on his CV.

The friend of his victim added: 'I know the fact that Ullmer has still not been stripped of his MBE causes continued distress to his victim.'

A Government spokesperson said: 'Forfeiture action is confidential and we cannot comment on whether or not specific cases are being considered by the committee.'

Mr Ullmer was a headteacher in Kazakhstan when the allegations came to light in 2017, but left the school after agreeing a settlement.
A man has been charged with attempted murder of a two-year-old toddler after allegedly jumping in front of a train in Scotland while carrying the youngster on his shoulders.

Frederick Danquah, 26, made no plea in court to the charge, which relates to an incident that took place at Garrowhill Station in Glasgow last weekend.

Police were called to reports of two casualties on the tracks shortly before 7.30pm on July 2.

Danquah, of Coatbridge, South Lanarkshire, and the child were taken to hospital for treatment to injuries following the incident. The child was discharged from hospital earlier in the week.

Detectives charged Danquah with attempted murder after his release from hospital on Thursday. He has now been remanded in custody following his appearance at Glasgow Sheriff Court.

Frederick Danquah, 26, made no plea in court to the charge, which relates to an incident that took place at Garrowhill Station (pictured) in Glasgow last weekend

Frederick Danquah made no plea to the charge when he appeared at Glasgow Sheriff Court

Court papers state that Danquah placed the boy on his shoulders and went on to jump in front of a moving passenger train.

Allegations go on to claim that the train struck Danquah and the boy.

The impact is stated to have caused the pair to be projected under the train and onto the tracks.

The alleged assault is claimed to be to the toddler's severe injury, danger of life and attempted murder.

Following his appearance at Glasgow Sheriff Court Danquah was committed for further examination and remanded in custody.

He is due to appear in court again in the next eight days.
The world's oldest surviving McDonald's still has a look and retro feel of the 1950s and appears exactly as it did in 1953, complete with vintage decor when the branch of the fast food chain first opened.

The restaurant in Downey, California was the third McDonald's ever built and operated outside of the main franchise for decades.

Because it was run independently from main business, it has managed to retain its original design with the staff still wearing 1950s uniforms together with paper hats.

When it comes to the menu, the restaurant serves tasty burgers, cheeseburgers, fries and milkshakes based on the original recipe.

The location is also one of only a handful in the country that still offer a deep-fried apple pie as part of the menu.

The oldest surviving McDonald's in the world still maintains its original 1950s appearance and retro vibe, just as it did when it first opened its doors in 1953

Situated in Downey, California, the branch was only the third McDonald's ever established outside of the main franchise operating independently for decades

The signage outside the historic McDonald's restaurant in Downey, California

McDonald's retired the fried pies in 1992 before replacing them with a less-fatty baked alternative.

But aside for a few locations in Hawaii, the Downey location is the only one on the mainland US where a deep fried crispy version is still available.

The difference between this branch and the 38,000 other locations is apparent before diners even walk inside with the building wrapped in a striking red stripe.

The restaurant has been located on Lakewood Boulevard in Downey, some 12 miles from Los Angeles, for the past 70 years.

McDonald's had planned to demolish it and build a 'retro' one nearby but instead restored the current architecture following pressure from preservationists.

Before guests order from the retro-designed menu guests are greeted by McDonald's original mascot - Speedee, a cartoon chef with a burger for a head - suspended 60ft in the air

The restaurant still serves a menu of delicious burgers, cheeseburgers, fries, and milkshakes based on the original recipe as well as deep fried apple pie

The oldest McDonalds sits in Downey on the corner of Lakewood Blvd and Florence Avenue that not only serves hamburgers, fries and Cokes but also plays host to a small museum

The restaurant is one of only three to have the neon golden arches constructed

An illuminated 'Hamburgers' sign of the world's oldest continuously operating fast food restaurant McDonalds in the Downey neighborhood of Los Angeles

A neon sign for hamburgers at the oldest operating McDonald's in the world, built in 1953

The neon lights of the oldest operating McDonald's in the world is seen

Various branded cups from over the years is seen in a museum section of the restaurant

The interior of the restaurant has a taste of of the past about it

Thousands of customers wait patiently for the re-opening of the nation's oldest active McDonald's and one-of-a-kind newly constructed Museum and Gift store reopened in 1996

Because it was run independently from main business, it has managed to retain its original design with the s taff still wearing 1950s uniforms together with paper hats

A photograph of President John F. Kennedy at a McDonalds restaurant hangs on a wall at the world's oldest-operating McDonald's fast food restaurant

Before guests order from the retro-designed menu guests are greeted by McDonald's original mascot - Speedee, a cartoon chef with a burger for a head - suspended 60ft in the air.

'Speedee' was based on a chef who embodied the fast service diners could expect and still features on the Downey restaurant's drinks.

The mascot told customers that the mass-produced burgers would be produced and delivered quickly to customers with very little waiting time.

Such a concept propelled McDonald's to the forefront of the fast food revolution.

The fast food chain later replaced the character in 1967 with Ronald McDonald - a clown who inhabits the 'McDonaldland' fantasy world.

But at this location Speedee still overlooks the building's so-called 'Googie' architecture - a popular movement between the 1940s and mid-1960s that was inspired by the USA's growing obsession with cars and space travel.

A vintage poster for McDonald's French Fries

The location even serves up burgers and cheeseburgers using vintage wrapping

Shakes and sodas are served in retro packaging that would have been used in the 1950s

The location also plays host to small museum which celebrates McDonald's history

The restaurant has a museum next door, with an original menu showing a 15 cent burger

Two 'golden arches' either side of the restaurant's front service window are also a relic because they were only installed at the world's first three McDonald's.

The Downey location was only the second McDonald's to feature the distinctive design.

At night, the arches - a symbol of the brand the world over - glow with distinctive neon lighting.

The Downey location was owned by Roger Williams and Burdette Landon, who had purchased the rights directly from the McDonald brothers.

It meant the location was not obliged to continue to upgrade their location like other McDonald's franchises.

The location is also one of only a handful in the country that still offer a deep-fried apple pie as part of the menu

The museum also features a statue of mascot Ronald McDonald, who was introduced in 1963

The restaurant sign features a chef named 'Speedee' - inspired by the fast and efficient service

The eatery is the oldest operating McDonald's. It was the third McDonald's restaurant, and opened on August 18, 1953

Two 'golden arches' either side of the restaurant's front service window are a relic because they are of a kind only installed at the world's first three McDonald's

Following an earthquake in 1994, bosses at McDonald's look to close down the location permanently saying it would cost too much to modernize.

But the city refused to issue a demolition permit and the location was placed onto the National Register of Historic Places saving the site, ultimately reopening in 1996.

The location was originally a self-service drive-in with the only seating on offer located inside the museum located next door.

The museum displays memorabilia, a small-scale version of the restaurant complete with mannequins, and even old menus showing how the original burger cost only 15 cents.

The museum also displays original memorabilia, collectors' cups and newspaper clippings

The museum displays mannequins of McDonald's workers, alongside vintage memorabilia

The fast food joint featured in the 2016 film The Founder about long-time owner Ray Kroc

Michael Keaton starred in the film about the meteoric rise of the iconic fast food franchise

Brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald opened the first McDonald's restaurant in San Bernardino, California in 1940, selling hamburgers for just ten cents each. That location is no longer around.

Eight years after it was set up, the company introduced a 'Speedee Service System', which helped kick-start the fast food craze by pre-cooking food ahead of a customer order.

To help sell the idea, McDonald's created 'Speedee' - designed as a chef to reassure customers of the food's quality.

The first restaurants were run as franchises, allowing each to operate independently while benefiting from being part of a bigger brand.

It wasn't until 1955 that Czech-American businessman Ray Kroc opened the ninth McDonald's restaurant in Des Plaines, Illinois

Customers line up outside the first McDonald's hamburger stand which was opened in 1948 by brothers Dick and Maurice McDonald in San Bernadino, California

The first ever McDonald's store was opened by the McDonald's brothers, Dic and Mac, in San Bernadino, California in 1948

It wasn't until 1955 that Czech-American businessman Ray Kroc opened the ninth McDonald's restaurant in Des Plaines, Illinois.

The success of his business encouraged Kroc to partner with the McDonald brothers and relaunch the business as a global chain.

An aggressive expansion followed, with the McDonald brothers regularly arguing with Kroc over how the business should be run.

By 1961 the brothers finally grew tired of Kroc's global ambitions for the company, selling their shares to him for $2.7million and retiring from the fast food business altogether.
A cold front that originated in Western Australia will bring strong to damaging winds to south-east Australia this weekend.

The second of two systems to affect south-eastern states this week moved into South Australia late Friday.

The strong wind system is forecast to continue tracking east over the weekend, bringing potentially dangerous conditions to SA, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory.

Weatherzone meteorologist Ben Domensino explained the weather is being driven by a cold front moving from west to east and worsened by pressure systems.

'This front will be embedded in a tight pressure gradient between a deep low pressure system to the south of Australia and a large high pressure ridge across central Australia,' he said.

'The result of this dangerous synoptic pattern will be widespread strong to gale force winds across parts of SA, Vic, Tas, NSW and the ACT between Friday and Sunday.'

Strong to damaging winds are forecast to affect South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales and Tasmania on Saturday (pictured, wind forecast for Saturday)

West to southwesterly winds are expected to hit eastern states on Saturday as the front approaches.

'Damaging wind gusts are likely to occur ahead of, with and behind this cold front,' Mr Domensino explained.

Sydney is set to see a sunny day on Saturday but with possibly damaging winds.

Wind speed could reach 45km/h by midday while forecasts for the afternoon range between 35 to 50km/h.

Canberra will also see wind but with a very high chance of showers from late morning through to the late afternoon.

Wind speeds are forecast to reach between 30 and 45km/h during the day and 25 to 40km/h in the evening.

In NSW, severe weather warning for damaging winds has been issued for the Illawarra, Snowy Mountains and parts of Mid North Coast, South Coast, Central Tablelands, Southern Tablelands, ACT, Northern Tablelands, Hunter and South West Slopes.

Showers caused by a cold front are expected to hang over Melbourne, Canberra and Adelaide on Saturday

The Bureau of Meteorology warned severe winds would likely develop on Saturday and persist through to Sunday.

Adelaide and Melbourne are expected to see the windiest weather over the weekend.

Showers are forecast to hang over Adelaide through to Monday with westerly wind speed ranging from 30 to 45km/h, decreasing to 20 to 30km/h in the late afternoon.

The wind forecast for Sunday is similar but there is a chance of a thunderstorm in the hills and southern suburbs in the morning and afternoon.

A severe weather warning for damaging wind on Saturday was issued for the Mount Lofty Ranges, Kangaroo Island, Murraylands, Upper South East, Lower South East and parts of Flinders, Mid North, Riverland and North East Pastoral districts.

Melbourne is also set for a soggy weekend with showers on Saturday and Sunday.

Several marine gale and strong wind warnings have been issued in NSW, Victoria and SA

A chance of a thunderstorm coupled with expected damaging winds is forecast for Saturday with northwesterly wind speed possibly reaching 50km/h in the middle of the day before turning westerly 30 to 45km/h in the early afternoon.

A severe weather warning for damaging winds in Victoria on Saturday was issued for the Central, South West, West and South Gippsland, Wimmera and parts of East Gippsland, North Central, North East and Northern Country Forecast Districts.

Wind speed is expected to be slightly lower on Sunday with forecasts ranging from 25 to 40km/h.

Showers are forecast to hang around Hobart through to late next week.

The Tasmanian capital will also feel the effects of the cold front system with northwesterly winds reaching 40km/h on Saturday before dropping to between 25 and 35km/h in the afternoon.

Marine Wind Warnings Saturday Gale Warning NSW - Sydney Enclosed Waters, Hunter Coast, Sydney Coast, Illawarra Coast and Batemans Coast SA - Central Coast, South Central Coast, Investigator Strait, Upper South East Coast and Lower South East Coast VIC - Port Phillip, Gippsland Lakes, West Coast, Central Coast, Central Gippsland Coast and East Gippsland Coast Strong Wind Warning NSW - Macquarie Coast and Eden Coast SA - Adelaide Metropolitan Waters, Upper West Coast, Lower West Coast, Spencer Gulf and Gulf St Vincent VIC - Western Port Sunday Gale Warning NSW - Hunter Coast, Illawarra Coast and Eden Coast SA - Lower South East Coast VIC - West Coast, Central Coast, Central Gippsland Coast and East Gippsland Coast Strong Wind Warning NSW - Coffs Coast, Macquarie Coast, Sydney Coast and Batemans Coast SA - South Central Coast and Upper South East Coast VIC - Port Phillip, Western Port and Gippsland Lakes Advertisement

Brisbane residents will feel some of the system's wind but avoid the rain.

Sunny conditions in Brisbane are forecast to stay through to next week.

Light winds with speeds from 20 to 30km/h are forecast early Saturday afternoon.

The weather is looking gloomier out west in Perth with showers forecast through to next Friday.

Saturday's showers are expected to reach the city during the afternoon and evening.

It's the complete opposite news for Darwin with a sunshine-filled weekend ahead.

Temperatures in the Northern Territory capital are expected to reach 34C on Saturday with southeasterly winds becoming light in the evening.

Chair lifts could be closed in alpine ski resorts on Saturday due to strong winds travelling up to 100km/h

Over in the south-east alpine regions, Weatherzone meteorologist Anthony Sharwood warned ski resorts may not be celebrating the latest cold front wind.

'It's good news because the winds will be accompanied by heavy snowfalls. The period from Friday afternoon to Saturday afternoon looks like bringing the heaviest snowfalls of winter 2023 to date,' he said.

'The bad news is that winds will make it pretty unpleasant on the slopes as many lifts will likely be placed on wind-hold.'

He explained the chair lifts to the top of ski slopes cannot operate in high wind.

'It's a pretty safe bet that you're going to have closures once winds get up towards 70 or 80km/h at the exposed top stations of the higher lifts,' he said.

'Sustained winds speeds look likely to reach that range this weekend, especially on Saturday, while gusts could well exceed 100km/h.'
Parents have called out a North London schools scheme claiming that white pupils are being excluded from extra weekend literacy classes.

At one primary school in Haringey parents were reportedly told that schools will help fund the Saturday school places for children of African-Caribbean descent to help 'accelerate progress in reading and writing whilst also developing the children's knowledge of black history and culture'.

No offer, however, was reportedly made for those from other ethnic backgrounds to help further educational support despite parents arguing that white working-class boys had fallen behind their peers the most.

Schools across Haringey and Enfield borough are able to enroll their pupils for classes at the Nia Academy - established by the not-for-profit organisation Haringey Education Partnership (HEP).

It aims to help children between year four and year seven with their studies and hopes to 'provide students with an opportunity to learn about black history from a broader perspective than what is often offered in mainstream education'.

Parents have called out a North London schools scheme claiming that white pupils are being excluded from extra weekend literacy classes (file photo of primary school class)

One parent from Coldfall Primary School in Musewell Hill (pictured) said that children 'no matter the colour of their skin' should receive further help

Students will also be 'exposed to a range of Black fiction and non-fiction authors with a particular focus on the Black experience' to 'show representations of diverse cultures and communities'.

One parent with a child at Coldfall Primary School in Musewell Hill told the Telegraph after seeing the academy advertised by the school that all children 'no matter the colour of their skin' should receive further help.

She said: 'Why should black and black heritage children get extra support in reading and writing when it is obvious to anyone with access to the internet that it is white boys who are doing worst academically and are being left behind and this has been going on for many years?

'Here's an idea. Why not use these resources to help any child, no matter the colour of their skin, who needs help.'

In 2021, a report made by the Education Committee found that white working-class pupils had been let down, showing that those white British pupils eligible for free school meals persistently underperform when compared with peers in other ethnic groups.

Figures from the Department of Education showed that 18 per cent of white British pupils on free meals achieved a grade 5 in English and maths compared with 23 per cent for the average pupil on free meals.

Furthermore, only 16 per cent of white British pupils on the free meal scheme got places at university in 2019, compared with 59 per cent of black African pupils on free meals, 59 per cent of Bangladeshi pupils on free meals and 32 per cent of black Caribbean pupils on free meals.

A report made by the Education Committee found that white working-class pupils had been underperform when compared with peers in other ethnic groups (file photo of primary school pupils in classroom)

Odetta Brooks, director of Leaps and Bounds Educational Services which works with the Nia Academy, said that they run 'a number of programmes for all children who are underachieving'.

She added that the organisations 'recognises that different groups of children have different needs', giving the example that it is working on how to make LGBTQ students feel more visible.

Cllr Zena Brabazon, Haringey Council's Cabinet Member for Children, Schools & Families, told the paper: 'It has long been recognised in Haringey that there is historic and established attainment gap between black African/black Caribbean pupils and their white British peers.

'Our schools here in Haringey and the local authority are absolutely determined to collectively do something about those statistics. Our teaching staff go to great lengths to ensure that all children and young people, irrespective of their race or background, receive the very best education possible.'

She added: 'The council has a number of targeted programmes for our young people to help them improve their attainment including the Nia Academy. We are open to hearing feedback from our community and consider how we improve our projects and meet the needs of all our children and young people.'

The Coldfall Primary School, the Department for Education and HEP have been contacted for a statement.
The family of a Perth father of two, who has been missing since Tuesday, have made a desperate plea for his whereabouts, and described the disappearance as entirely out of character.

Adam Faria was last seen at a service station on Canning Highway in Perth's southern suburbs on the day he uncharacteristically failed to appear for work in the port suburb of Fremantle.

Mr Faria's sister, Chantelle, said the 34-year-old had two daughters who desperately need him.

Adam Faria was last seen at a service station on Canning Highway in Perth's southern suburbs on the day he uncharacteristically failed to appear for work in the port suburb of Fremantle

'Adam if you see this right now please just come home, your family and friends love you so much and there are so many people that care for you and love you,' she told 7 News.

'You have two little girls who really need you to come home so please just come home.

'Whatever your going through you don't need to do this alone. Please come home or just get into contact with one of us so we know your OK.'

Chantelle said her brother's disappearance was 'a thousand per cent out of the blue.'

Mr Faria's sister, Chantelle, said the 34-year-old had two daughters who desperately need him

The 34-year-old was due to travel to Singapore with his wife and children on Friday

'It's nothing like him at all, it's very out of character,' she said.

The 34-year-old was due to travel to Singapore with his wife and children on Friday.

Mr Faria's phone was recorded near the Serpentine and Jarrahdale region on Tuesday night, approximately an hour south of Perth.

He has been described as being approximately 182cm in height with a slim build, black hair and brown eyes.

WA Police said he could be travelling in a silver Toyota Corolla hatch and anyone with information is urged to contact them urgently.
MBABANE  The cat is out of the bag.

A Ministry of Health internal report has revealed how medical drugs are being stolen willy-nilly by employees for commercial (business) purposes at the Central Medical Stores (CMS) in Matsapha. This is the same alleged criminal activity that has resulted in a serious shortage of medical drugs and supplies in public hospitals around the country, prompting a public outcry. Two former employees of the CMS recounted during a probe instituted by the Health Ministry how they were able to steal medical drugs from the shelves without anybody noticing.

The Health Ministry commissioned a team of three members, Deputy Chief Nursing Officer (Chairperson), Human Resource Officer Celiwe Masilela (Secretary) and Assistant Director Pharmaceuticals Brenda Mhlanga to conduct a departmental preliminary investigation in terms of regulations 41 of Civil Service Commission (CSC) of 1963 and A944 of Government General Orders. This was after the National Commissioner (NatCom) of Police William Dlamini submitted a memorandum dated January 12, 2023 on the arrest of Statistical Clerk based at Mbabane Government Hospital (blood blank) Bongani Matsebula. The probe by the ministry was further motivated by a report from CMS management dated January 30, 2023 concerning allegations of misconduct by Matsebula.

Arrested

The clerk was arrested for being found in possession of government medical drugs from CMS during a police raid in his rented flat in Matsapha. Matsebula allegedly revealed during the police questioning that he was working with Sanele Shongwe and Meshack Mamba from CMS in the alleged theft of the drugs. The internal report revealed that Matsebula refused to be interviewed in the absence of his lawyer during the probe sessions as his case was still in court. His co-accused Shongwe, according to the report, was hired on contractual terms to support CMS as a storeman, funded by National Emergency Response Council on HIV and AIDS (NERCHA) in March 2019.

Shongwe told the probe team that he was not offered an opportunity for induction on resumption of duty, further alleging that he was not given a copy of his job description, but was informed of same (receive stock and dispatch stock) and that they were expected to rotate after every six months.

Shongwe further narrated that when given his offer letter, he was placed under COVID-19 department receiving stock and moved to dispatch.

Dispatching

It also emerged that during the COVID-19 period, he was working closely with pharmacy technicians who were engaged on temporary basis and upon expiry of their contracts, he was left alone picking and dispatching personal protective equipment (PPE) as it was previously done by the pharmacy technicians. Frequent visits of Bongani Matsebula to CMS to pick up blood bank stock (PPE) gave them an opportunity to establish a social relationship. This relationship started from the year 2020. In 2022 around October and November, Bongani Matsebula approached Sanele to request for assistance in his business to get some medicine from CMS. Sanele indicated he was not responsible for picking up essential medicine but there are other officers responsible for that. Bongani requested Sanele to identify someone they could work with as they were going to receive money when the deal is successful.

Sanele approached Meshack Mamba, who agreed to be part of the deal after learning that there was money involved. He reported back to work on the January 17, 2023. On his way home after work, he met his supervisor (Nkosingiphile) who advised him to take leave days which he declined.

He requested for an apology from the Principal Secretary (PS) for having his name involved in such deals as he was not aware that picking of those medicines was a criminal activity, reads the report in part.

Mcebo Langa, an officer from Sigodvweni Police Station, also confirmed during the probe that three officers were arrested being Matsebula, Shongwe and Mamba. The officer of the law further stated that Shongwe was now a State witness, hence he was released without appearing in court.

Theft

Langa asserted to the probe team that Matsebula confirmed to being the one who initiated the deal (theft of medical drugs).

The officer also admitted that their office had not requested for the memorandum of prosecution for Mamba, which he promised to follow up.

According to submissions by the suspended CMS Deputy Director Themba Motsa, he was alerted of Matsebulas arrest by Sigodvweni Police Station.

According to Motsas submission, Matsebula allegedly confessed at the police station that he got the medicines through officers from CMS by the name of Shongwe who was allegedly working with Mamba.

Meshack would pick the medicines from the shelves and Sanele Shongwe would then hide them in the national blood bank PPE order. Bongani Matsebula collected the order and delivered the items in his flat at (Eteteni) before delivery at blood bank (Mbabane), Motsa submitted.

During the interview, Motsa indicated that Shongwe had resigned with effect from the January 30, 2023, while Mamba was still at work. The deputy director, one of the 15 suspended CMS officers, also stated that newly-recruited officers were being inducted by CMS through the support of chemonics (MOH partner).

The report also revealed that suspended Senior Stores Officer Nkosingiphile Dlamini was hired on contract terms to support CMS and was called by Sigodvweni Police CID (Mr Kunene) to confirm if the medicines that were found in possession of Matsebula were from the medical stores. Dlamini was allegedly shown boxes of the medicines before he compiled the list of the medicines including batch numbers and expiry dates.

Submissions

According to submissions by another witness Gugu Maphalala, who is Chief Blood Bank Technologist, Matsebula was assigned for stock management for the laboratory, recruitment and collection sections and has no government driving authority. Tsabedze also told the probe team that Matsebula was not responsible for generating orders to CMS, further revealing that the list of medicines that were found in the possession of Matsebula were not part of items they order from CMS. Tsabedze alleged that Matsebula would voluntarily accompany the driver to CMS without permission from his supervisor.

Meanwhile, NERCHAs Human Resource Managers Nolwazi Mngometulu and Nonhlanhla Mavuso submitted that Shongwe had a current contract for a period of 36 months which commenced on October 1, 2021 and ends on September 30, 2024. The NERCHA officers however stated that they were not aware of Shongwes resignation and as such, there was no resignation letter found in his file. They informed the probe team that on resignation of an officer, one has to serve one month notice and it emerged that in Shongwes case, he allegedly did not serve the stated notice as stipulated in his contract under termination of contract of employment.

Senior Pharmacist Yoliswa Zwane submitted that the main roles of pharmacist are inventory management, quantification and forecasting.

She said when processing requisitions, the pharmacist assigns quantities, pharmacy technicians and warehouse assistants to do physical picking from the shelves, while the storeman checks and dispatches.

Deliveries

Zwane also stated that the logistics officer assigns drivers for deliveries to health facilities, pointing out that PPE orders were initially received using GRN and dispatched using the delivery notebook. She also revealed that excel spreadsheet was used to update PPE stock levels on a weekly basis and stated that during the annual stock take for 2022/2023, some of the PPE stock was captured into the electronic inventory system. Roundy Da-Silva, a driver from blood bank confirmed that he would sometimes go with Matsebula to CMS for picking up supplies. He alleged that Matsebula would sometimes open the boxes with supplies at CMS dispatch to inspect the contents before loading. He also submitted that received supplies were kept in the storeroom at the blood bank under the custody of Matsebula. Da-Silva said he assisted in the offloading of supplies in blood bank storeroom while Matsebula was responsible for packing.
An Irish radio host has unsuccessfully tried to sue the BBC after his colleague branded him a leprechaun after he posted a saying in Gaelic.

David Hedges claimed he had been subjected to racist abuse at BBC Radio Solent in Southampton after an assistant editor there commented the in his eyes 'racist' message on a social media post Hedges created three years ago.

He sued the BBC and said at the resulting employment tribunal that he had posted a picture of an Irish landscape, captioned with a saying in Gaelic.

Hedges' colleague reportedly asked him: 'Is that the call of a leprechaun?' - a mystical figure often pictured with a cocked hat, a leather apron and a crock of gold -, which upset the radio host.

However, Hodges only filed an official complaint after 18 months had passed, which was rejected.

He sued the BBC and said at the resulting employment tribunal that he had posted a picture of an Irish landscape, captioned with a saying in Gaelic. Hedges' colleague reportedly asked him: 'Is that the call of a leprechaun?' - a mystical figure often pictured with a cocked hat, a leather apron and a crock of gold -, which upset the radio host (stock image)

Afterwards he tried to sue the BBC for racial harassment, which a judge has now dismissed due to him waiting so long before filing an official complaint.

The judge at the tribunal, Holly Stout, said even without the late complaint the case was weak due to the colleague's comment being light-hearted.

The incident occurred in 2020 while Hedges was on leave and he allegedly found the comment particularly distressing due to his colleague's previous offensive comments, the Times reports.

It is said the BBC bosses didn't regard the leprechaun question as harassment because Hedges took it as a joke at first.

The judge said at the trial that the context and nature of the tweet seem to point toward's the BBC's defence that Hedges 'could not have reasonably have regarded the tweet as meeting the harassment treshold'.

While Hedges already resigned from his post at BBC Radio Solent last year, he only sued the BBC in January this year - despite employment law stating that claims must be brought within three months of an incident.

He was allowed to go forward because the tribunal accepted that he received the wrong advice from his lawyers regarding this time limit.
The health watchdog has launched a probe after a pharmaceutical company gave 'unlicensed' chemotherapy medicine to a cancer who then died.

Sciensus - which provides treatment to around 200,000 in the UK - admitted it had given an unlicensed version of prostate cancer medicine cabazitaxel to four patients.

One died and the three others were treated in hospital in April.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) offered its 'deepest sympathies' and vowed to take 'any necessary regulatory measures' to protect patients.



The Care Quality Commission and the General Pharmaceutical Council are aiding MHRA in its investigation.

Sciensus - which provides treatment to around 200,000 in the UK - admitted it had given an unlicensed version of prostate cancer medicine cabazitaxel to four patients (File image)

A spokesman for Sciensus said 'an isolated incident at our medicine manufacturing unit in April has affected four patients.'

'We are deeply saddened that one of the patients has since died and wish to offer our sincere condolences to the patient's family and friends.

'As soon as the incident was discovered, we immediately contacted the regulators, the patients and their doctors.

'We are currently conducting a thorough investigation into the incident and are working with the regulators.'
Turkish authorities confused him for other Daniel Burke who fought ISIS in Syria

He was forced to go home after arriving for family holiday with partner and kids

A British father who had arrived in Turkey for a family holiday was booted out of the country after being accused of terrorism - all because he shares a name with a former British Army soldier held on terror charges which were later dropped.

Armed military police led father-of-three Daniel Burke, 36, and his family into a room at Dalaman Airport to question him about 'links to Syria' - leaving his children scared and in tears.

Mr Burke, his partner, their 15-month-old daughter, his daughter, 14, and son, nine, both from a prior relationship, had flown to the south coast Turkish city of Fethiye from Newcastle for a sunny getaway.

The photocopy service supervisor from Bishop Auckland, County Durham, told The Mirror that officers 'were hammering me' about supposed links to Syria and asked when he had last been there.

He said they were carrying guns in holsters and were 'very heavy handed', upsetting his partner and children who were with him, leaving 'my eldest in tears'.

British father-of-three Daniel Burke (pictured) was kicked out of Turkey by armed police during a family holiday - all because he has the same name as ex-Army soldier who was accused of terror charges

On the front line: The other Daniel Burke, from Manchester, on patrol while battling ISIS in Syria

Authorities at the Turkish airport stamped 'cancel' on his passport and he was forced to fly back to England.

READ MORE: Ex-British Army soldier outraged by Manchester Arena bombing he went to Syria is free after eight months in prison Advertisement

When Mr Burke returned home, a friend of his daughter's had discovered that he must have been mistaken for another Daniel Burke, also aged 36 but from Manchester, who had been held on terror charges several years ago.

The ex-British Army soldier joined a Kurdish militia to fight against ISIS in Syria following the Manchester Arena bombing in 2017.

Mr Burke spent around eight months fighting against IS with the Kurdish YPG between late 2017 and June 2018 before returning to the UK.

He was investigated by counter-terrorism officers upon his return home but no further action was taken against him.

But former squaddie Mr Burke, from Wythenshawe, Manchester, was rearrested in December 2019 in Dover, Kent by West Midlands Police.

He was held in the UK for eight months on suspicion of 'preparing acts of terrorism' but the case was dropped in December 2020.

The Mr Burke who was kicked out of Turkey praised his namesake as a 'freedom fighter' and 'not a terrorist'.

Ex-British Army soldier Daniel Burke (pictured) joined a Kurdish militia to fight against ISIS in Syria following the Manchester Arena bombing in 2017

But he said that as he battled Turkish forces 'that's why my name was on their list' even though 'I don't look anything like him and he'll have a different date of birth'.

He told The Mirror that he does not know how many Daniel Burkes there are but he does not want anyone else with his name to experience the same as him.

Mr Burke told the paper that holiday firm Jet2 had not apologised to him.

Jet2 told The Mirror: 'We have no control over decisions made by Turkish immigration authorities. However, our teams did all they could to support and assist Mr Burke and his family. We have since reached out to Mr Burke directly to apologise and explain this.'
A man has been arrested for attempted murder in Japan after attacking his neighbour with a samurai sword during an argument.

Toshimi Ohata, 78, attacked his neighbour Kiyonobu Yokoyama, 74, with the ceremonial weapon after they had a disagreement over noise in the early hours of the morning in the Kohoku suburb of Yokohama.

Police arrived at the scene to find Mr Yokoyama bleeding from cuts to his upper body after receiving a call from a resident in the apartment block at around 2am on Tuesday.

When officers arrived, Mr Ohata had shut himself in his flat. He eventually left his flat after speaking with police for eight hours, and admitted that he had attacked his neighbour.

Mr Yokoyama was taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

Toshimi Ohata, 78, attacked his neighbour Kiyonobu Yokoyama, 74, with the ceremonial weapon (Stock Image)

Crime involving blades and guns in Japan is usually severely punished. However, the use of ceremonial swords is not usually prosecuted under the Swords and Firearms Possession Control Law.

It comes just months after the country's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was forced to take cover after a pipe-like object believed to be a smoke bomb was thrown at him during an outdoor speech.

That incident, in April, came after former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was shot dead on the campaign trail by a lone assailant with a homemade gun last year - an attack which stunned the nation.

The attack happened in the western city of Wakayama - only 60 miles from Nara, where Abe, 67, was assassinated on July 8, 2022.

The murder of Abe - Japan's most famous politician - stunned his country.

The shooting was a particular shock in Japan, where gun ownership is tightly restricted and political violence affecting top leaders has been rare in recent decades.

Part of the collective fury at his killing was because crime is so rare in Japan, where it's not uncommon to see cellphones and purses lying unattended in cafes.

The nature of the attack on Abe has led to an emergency review of the way Japan guards its officials, and a tightening of security at election campaigns or large-scale events
A Native American chief in Vermont has called out Ben & Jerry's for having its headquarters on indigenous land.

The ice cream company has been receiving backlash after they tweeted on July 4th calling for the United States to 'return indigenous land'.

Now, Don Stevens, chief of the Nulhegan Band of the Coosuk Abenaki Nation, has told the New York Post that the land the company built their HQ on is on Native land.

Stevens said: 'If you look at the [Abenaki] traditional way of being, we are place-based people. Before recognized tribes in the state, we were the ones who were in this place.'

Stevens also said he 'looks forward to any kind of correspondence with the brand to see how they can better benefit indigenous people.'

Don Stevens, chief of the Nulhegan Band of the Coosuk Abenaki Nation, pictured here, has said the company built their headquarters on Native land

Ben & Jerry's Headquarters in South Burlington which is built on former Native American land

Vermont had one been the home to Algonquian speaking tribes including the Cowasuck, Sokoki, that would later form the Abenaki Confederation

He continued: 'Humans have a responsibility to take care of resources in places because we have the ability to destroy.'

Maps detailing the tribes that occupied the Northeast of the U.S. show how the HQ of the company in South Burlington, Vermont, are in native territory.

The Abenaki are a confederacy of Native Americans that merged with other tribes in the 17th century to protect themselves.

Descendants of the Abenaki numbered around 8,000 individuals in the early 21st century , according to Britannica.

Ben & Jerry's was founded by longtime Bernie Sanders allies Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenwood.

Since founding the company in 1987, it has since been sold to British multinational Unilever, tweeted the message to its 494,000 followers.

Its 4th of July tweet said: 'This 4th of July, it's high time we recognize that the US exists on stolen Indigenous land and commit to returning it.'

The ice cream company also suggested that Mount Rushmore should be returned to its original owners.

The company has its headquarters in South Burlington which is to the east of Lake Champlain, in Native American territory

The company has come under fire since they tweeted on 4th of July asking for land to be returned to Native Americans

The ice cream brand, which has long courted progressive audiences, called for the United States to return 'stolen indigenous land'

One commenter compared the statement to Bud Light partnering with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney - which resulted in the beer giant losing more than $20 billion in market value.

The tweet then linked to a post on the company's website explaining why America should 'start with Mount Rushmore' and how they hope to support a movement that would dismantle 'white supremacy and systems of oppression.'

'Ah, the Fourth of July. Who doesn't love a good parade, some tasty barbecue, and a stirring fireworks display? The only problem with all that, though, is that it can distract from an essential truth about this nation's birth: The US was founded on stolen Indigenous land,' they wrote.

The tweet sparked immediate outrage on social media, with many disgusted customers using the #boycottbenandjerrys hashtag to slam the message as anti-American sentiment on a day meant to celebrate the United States.

Ben & Jerry's has, throughout its history, been a supporter of far left causes and partnered with various movements for social justice.

Yesterday, its co-founder Ben Cohen was arrested outside the Department of Justice for protesting the prosecution of Wikileaks publisher Julian Assange.

The 72-year-old businessman and left-wing activist was part of a group denouncing the charges against the WikiLeaks founder.

Cohen was held for around three hours and released shortly before 6pm on Thursday

He is seen being taken away in handcuffs for processing by DC police

Cohen told his 25,000 followers on Twitter on Wednesday that he expected to be arrested.

Assange has been imprisoned at Belmarsh Prison in London since April 2019 for leaking state secrets, and may soon be extradited to the U.S.

Cohen said that Assange's imprisonment was against freedom of speech.
Ted Cruz has said he does not believe Hunter Biden was responsible for the cocaine found on the White House grounds - instead claiming it was a senior White House official.

On Thursday, it was revealed the bag of powder was found near the White House's West Executive entrance, not the West Wing lobby, as previously stated.

That entrance - which is in the West Wing but on the floor below the lobby - is also a heavily trafficked area, a description White House officials have used as a way to explain their doubts the culprit will be found.

Joe Biden and his son Hunter, a recovering cocaine addict, were at Camp David when the discovery was made.

On Friday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre refused to say whether the Biden family had been officially ruled out, but would not give any details on the investigation. The Secret Service are carrying out DNA and fingerprint analysis to try and find out who brought it to the White House grounds.

Senator Ted Cruz on Friday said he did not believe that any of the Biden family were involved in bringing cocaine to the White House, but accused the administration of a cover up

Ted Cruz on Friday said he did not believe Hunter Biden was responsible for bringing cocaine into the White House. The Bidens were at Camp David at the time the cocaine was found. They are seen on July 4, having returned after their weekend away

'You know, there has been some irresponsible reporting about the family and so I've got to call that out here,' the press secretary said.

'And I have been very clear.' Cruz on Friday accused the White House of a 'cover up', which he said was 'astonishing'.

'You know, my guess is it probably isn't Hunter's,' said Cruz, speaking on Friday's episode of his podcast, Verdict.

'I don't know that, obviously. We know that Hunter has a drug problem. We know that he has used cocaine and use crack cocaine in the past.

'But I doubt Hunter Biden is going in the West Wing all that often and going in that entrance all that often.'

The Texas senator speculated that a 'senior Biden official' was responsible.

'I think it is in all likelihood someone who works in the Biden administration, some senior Biden official, which makes the cover-up all that the more astonishing,' he continued.

He said he was surprised that the Secret Service had not yet found who was responsible.

'That's insane,' he said. 'And the only reason they would put out a statement saying we will never know who it was, is the same reason why the DOJ and the FBI is engaged in a cover-up of Hunter Biden's acts of criminality, of Joe Biden's acts of criminality.

'Sadly, this administration is more than willing to politicize, look, it would be embarrassing if we discover that a senior White House aide is bringing cocaine into the west wing to do schedule-one, serious drugs in the White House.

'And so their answer instead is, of course, we're not going to prosecute it. We're not going to investigate it.

'And you know what, we'll just never know who did it.'

There have been three White House locales where the cocaine was said to be found, with NBC reporting Thursday that the discovery was made in cubbies at the West Executive Entrance

Hunter Biden (center) walks with his father President Joe Biden (left) toward Marine One at Fort McNair in Washington on Friday, as they depart for a weekend away at Camp David. Karine Jean-Pierre falsely said the Bidens were not at the White House last Friday

New details reveal the cocaine at the White House was found near the White House's West Executive entrance - above President Joe Biden walks with National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan across West Executive Avenue in October 2021 with the West Executive entrance to the White House visible behind them

Prior to Friday's briefing, Jean-Pierre had answered questions about the cocaine discovery by telling reporters to reach out to the Secret Service, who are conducting an investigation.

As of Friday afternoon prior to the briefing, a spokesman for the Secret Service told DailyMail.com that the probe remained 'open and active.'

When a question was posed to deputy press secretary Andrew Bates on board Air Force One Thursday, he brought up the Hatch Act.

Bates had been asked about former President Donald Trump claiming the drugs belonged to the president and his son Hunter, a recovering crack cocaine addict.

Jean-Pierre was asked Friday to explain Bates' decision to reference the Hatch Act, instead of answer the claims directly.

'He mentioned the Hatch Act because the question was posed to him using Donald Trump, and so he was trying to be very mindful,' she answered.

'And that's why he said the Hatch Act.'

She told the reporter to read the transcript carefully.

'So we're not avoiding the question, that is not true. We have answered this question, we have litigated this question the last two days, exhaustively,' she said.

Earlier in the briefing, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan was also asked about the cocaine - and whether there were any national security repercussions.

Sullivan revealed that the coke's proximity to the Situation Room wasn't a problem, because the space hasn't been in use.

'I would make a point about the Situation Room because I think there's been a lot questionable reporting on this.

'The Situation Room is not in use and has not been in use for months because it is currently under construction,' Sullivan said.

'We are using an alternative Situation Room in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, so the only people coming in and going out of the Sit Room in this period have been workers who are getting it ready to go,' he added.

He said that the project is 'on time and on schedule,' then adding, 'No, there was no issue with the Situation Room relative to this.'

Sullivan went further by noting that there are 'rigorous drug testing policies at the White House.'

'We have rigorous drug use policies at the White House. We take those extremely seriously,' he continued.

'If it involves someone from the White House the appropriate consequences will ensue.

'If it involves some visitor who came in and left it, then that's a different matter, that raises a different set of questions that are less relevant to my line of work.'
A Sydney man, who has been charged with 33 offences after allegedly beating his partner, has been found with a number of dead rabbits in his freezer.

NSW Police allege the Chester Hill man killed the rabbits 'after he became frustrated with the animals.'

Police began investigating the 21-year-old on Thursday over multiple alleged domestic violences allegations.

Police will allege the man punched, kicked, slapped, and threatened a 20-year-old woman known to him on multiple occasions.

NSW Police allege the Chester Hill man killed the rabbits 'after he became frustrated with the animals'. Credit: RSPCA NSW

Police also claim the man filmed an intimate act with the woman without her consent, before threatening to release the vision.

A raid of his Chester Hill home allegedly found a number of dead pet rabbits, including a carcass in the freezer, with the animals believed to have been killed by the man in anger.

Two still-living rabbits were also found and turned over to the RSPCA.

The man's lengthy list of alleged charges includes eight counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, three counts of torture, beat etc and cause death of animal, intentionally choking a person without consent, four counts of intentionally record intimate image without consent, as well as a driving charge and a drugs possession charge.

He was arrested at the Chester Hill unit and refused bail ahead of an appearance in Parramatta Local Court on Saturday.

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, help is available 24/7 by calling 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732).
A New Mexico salon that was shut down in 2018 after it was linked to two cases of HIV has been connected to a further three cases, according to state officials.

VIP Beauty Salon and Spa in Albuquerque offered 'vampire facials' and was closed after an investigation revealed unwrapped needles scattered in the salon and unlabeled syringes.

In June 2022, its owner Maria Ramos de Ruiz, 62, pleaded guilty to five felony counts of practicing medicine without a license and got three-and-a-half years in prison.

On Wednesday, five years on from its closure, the New Mexico Department of Health said it identified a new HIV case earlier this year, and after that a further two cases.

The owner of VIP Spa, Maria Ramos de Ruiz, 62, pleaded guilty in June 2022 to five felony counts of practicing medicine without a license and is serving a three-and-a-half-year sentence

VIP Beauty Salon and Spa in Albuquerque (pictured in April 2017) offered 'vampire facials' and was closed in 2018 after two cases of HIV were linked to it. This year, a further three cases among prior clients were identified

In response, it is now asking any members of the public to have visited the spa get tested, expanding the original testing it did in 2018, and hosting free walk-in tests for former clients of the salon.

'The state's Infectious Disease Bureau received a 2023 report regarding a newly diagnosed case of HIV whose only self-reported HIV risk exposure was a vampire facial received at VIP Spa,' read a statement from the department.

It is now recommending that anyone who received an 'injection-related service including a vampire facial or Botox injections at the VIP Spa' get HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C testing.

The vampire facial procedure was made popular by the likes of Kim Kardashian and involves the extraction of blood from elsewhere on the body and its injection into the face.

Blood is usually taken from the arm and separated into a platelet-rich plasma, which is then applied to facial skin which has been pricked with microneedles. It is meant to rejuvenate skin and remedy issues like wrinkles, sun damage or acne scars.

'It's very important that we spread the word and remind people who received any kind of injection-related to services provided at the VIP Spa to come in for free and confidential testing,' said Dr. Laura Parajon, deputy secretary for the state Department of Health.

The spa, at 809 Tijeras Avenue, closed in September 2018 after an inspection by the New Mexico Department of Health that month.

The New Mexico Department of Health, the New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department and deputy director of Boards and Commissions discovered unwrapped needles scattered about and unlabeled blood tubes.

Maria Ramos de Ruiz (pictured in 2021) was indicted on more than 20 felony counts after two clients claimed they contracted HIV from a 'vampire facial' at her salon

Kim Kardashian popularized the 'vampire facial' when she posted a selfie of her face covered in blood in 2013

Inspectors also found fake certificates for Botox and 'vampire facial' training hanging on the wall and a fake diploma from the University of Phoenix, The Albuquerque Journal reported.

Ramos de Ruiz's cosmetologist license had expired in 2013.

Inspectors uncovered numerous health code violations, including unwrapped needles, blood being dumped into the kitchen sink and unlabeled syringes beside food in the refrigerator, The Albuquerque Journal reported.

Ramos de Ruiz told inspectors that she did breast and buttocks sculpting, cellulite treatments and 'vampire facials'

She was ordered by the New Mexico Medical Board to stop her unlicensed practice of medicine in the state in December of 2018.

In February 2019, a second client was found to have contracted HIV from the 'vampire facial'.

The client allegedly got four of the facial treatments, including one at Ramos de Ruiz's home. Both clients - who have not been identified - were said to have contracted the same strain of the HIV virus.

A spokesperson for the New Mexico Department of Health confirmed to NBC News that as of July 5, 2023, there were a total of five HIV infections linked to the clinic.

Ramos de Ruiz is currently serving her sentence at Springer Correctional Center, according to inmate records.
Peter Dutton has ruled out asking for Scott Morrison's resignation after scathing findings into the failed robodebt scheme were handed down, bemoaning the 'politicisation' of the report.

The Liberal Party leader was greeted by a standing ovation as he addressed party faithful at the LNP State Conference in Brisbane at the weekend.

During his speech, Mr Dutton accused the sitting government of leading the country 'down the path of division' with the upcoming Voice to Parliament referendum.

'We need practical action,' he told thousands of supporters.

'We are proposing a path of unity, that is first achieved by the Prime Minister stepping back from what he sees as his moment in history.'

Opposition leader Peter Dutton has ruled out asking Scott Morrison to resign over the robodebt scandal

But the conference has been overshadowed by a bruising week for the party, after three former Liberal ministers and one sitting MP were slammed in the Royal Commission's findings on the robodebt scheme.

Commissioner Catherine Holmes SC, a former Chief Justice of the Queensland Supreme Court, found the former prime minister and MPs Stuart Robert, Alan Tudge, and Christian Porter were all responsible for some aspect of the botched $750m debt recovery program.

It was branded a 'crude and cruel mechanism' which made people feel like 'criminals'.

Commissioner Holmes found Mr Morrison had failed to meet his ministerial responsibilities in his capacity as social services minister at the time in revealing what robodebt actually entailed.

Commissioner Catherine Holmes SC found Mr Morrison (pictured) had failed to meet his ministerial responsibilities in his capacity as social services minister at the time

But Mr Dutton seemed to brush off suggestions Mr Morrison should go, instead cautioning Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Government Services Minister Bill Shorten against their 'glee' and politicisation of the findings.

He instead pointed to statements Mr Morrison and the other ministers had made at the time the findings were handed down.

'When the problems were brought to the attention of the government at the time, the program was stopped,' Mr Dutton told reporters.

'I'm sorry to those people adversely affected, I truly am.'

The unlawful scheme, which ran from 2015 to 2019 under the former Coalition government, was set up to recover alleged Centrelink debts using an automated system to match people's tax and Centrelink data.

Hundreds of thousands Australians were wrongly stung by the program.

Mr Dutton has accused the Labor party of 'politicising' the report into the failed robodebt scheme

On Saturday, Mr Dutton said Mr Shorten's attempts to politicise the findings had been pulled up in federal parliament, including 'inappropriate' statements he had made about the Royal Commission.

'He's really gone close to the line, if not off the line,' Mr Dutton said.

'He's seen political advantage in this situation, there's no doubt about that.'

Mr Dutton told reporters his party would be considering the 'serious' recommendations, including the way departments provided information to ministers.

He also took aim at the report's timing, the tome landing a week before a by-election in the Queensland seat of Fadden.

The Liberal Party are hoping to retain the crucial seat after Mr Robert's resignation.

'I think the people of Fadden are much smarter than that - they've seen the personal smears against (Liberal candidate) Cameron Caldwell, they've seen the political advantage in the timing of the release of this report,' Mr Dutton.

'They're not stupid, they can see that.'

A defiant Mr Morrison, who is holidaying overseas with his family, said in a statement on Friday he 'rejected the findings which are critical of my involvement in authorising the scheme and are adverse to me'.

'They are wrong, unsubstantiated and contradicted by clear documentary evidence presented to the Commission,' he said.
California's governor announced on Friday he will not be asking the state Supreme Court to block parole for Charles Manson follower Leslie Van Houten, paving the way for her release 'within weeks' after serving 53 years in prison for two murders.

In a brief statement, the governor's office said it was unlikely that the state's high court would consider an appeal of a lower court ruling that Van Houten should be released.

Newsom is disappointed, the statement said. 'More than 50 years after the Manson cult committed these brutal killings, the victims families still feel the impact.'

Newsom had initially rejected her bid for parole but an appeals court ruled in May that Van Houten was eligible to be considered for release.

Van Houten, now in her 70s, is serving a life sentence for helping Manson and other followers in the 1969 killings of Leno LaBianca, a grocer in Los Angeles, and his wife, Rosemary.

California Governor Gavin Newsom said Friday that he will not fight a state appeals court decision that Leslie Van Houten should be let out on parole

Van Houten (pictured in 2020) was the youngest member of the Manson Family cult which was responsible for the brutal murder of Martley's cousin Gary Hinman in July 1969

Van Houten could be freed in about two weeks after the parole board reviews her record and processes paperwork for her release from the California Institution for Women in Corona, her attorney Nancy Tetreault said.

She was recommended for parole five times since 2016 but Newsom and former Gov. Jerry Brown rejected all those recommendations.

However, a state appeals court ruled in May that Van Houten should be released, noting what it called her 'extraordinary rehabilitative efforts, insight, remorse, realistic parole plans, support from family and friends' and favorable behavior reports while in prison.

'The Governor is disappointed by the Court of Appeal's decision to release Ms. Van Houten but will not pursue further action as efforts to further appeal are unlikely to succeed,' Erin Mellon, spokesperson for the governor's office, said in a statement.

'The California Supreme Court accepts appeals in very few cases, and generally does not select cases based on this type of fact-specific determination,' the governor's office said.

Originally sentenced to death, Van Houten was resentenced to life imprisonment after California briefly jettisoned the death penalty.

She applied for a writ of habeas corpus in November 2022 and the Appeals Court for the Second District of California made a two to one decision to grant it in a ruling handed in May.

The habeas corpus law allows prisoners to challenge the grounds for their incarceration and often leads to release.

In Van Houten's case, judges said Newsom's decision to deny her parole was based on 'intuition' and did not take into account her unblemished prison record and efforts to rehabilitate herself.

Leslie Van Houten pictured in a Los Angeles lockup aged 22. She could be out of prison as soon as next week even if the decision to free her is contested

Manson cult members Susan Atkins, (left), Patricia Krenwinkel and Leslie Van Houten,(right), laugh after receiving the death sentence for their part in the Tate-LaBianca killings on the order of Charles Manson in 1971

From left, Susan Atkins, Patricia Krenwinkel and Leslie Van Houten walk to court to appear for their roles in the 1969 cult killings of seven people in Los Angeles

Susan Atkins, Patricia Krenwinkle, and Leslie van Houton are seen in August 1970

Leslie Van Houten, pictured being transported to jail in 1977, had been originally sentenced to death before being resentenced to life imprisonment after California briefly jettisoned the death penalty

California Governor Gavin Newsom on Friday announced he would give up trying to deny parole to one of Charles Manson's murderous 'family' of followers, clearing the way to let Leslie Van Houten out of prison after more than 50 years

Tetreault, Van Houten's lawyer, said her client was 'thrilled and overwhelmed.'

'She's just grateful that people are recognizing that she's not the same person that she was when she committed the murders,' she added.

After she's released, Van Houten will spend about a year in a halfway house, learning basic life skills such as how to go to the grocery and get a debit card, Tetreault said.

'She's been in prison for 53 years. ... She just needs to learn how to use an ATM machine, let alone a cell phone, let alone a computer,' her attorney said.

Van Houten was 19 when she and other cult members knifed grocers Rosemary and Leno LaBianca to death in August 1969 as part of Manson's deranged plan to incite a race war by terrifying Los Angeles with a killing spree.

She held Rosemary down as she was murdered before stabbing her in the stomach 16 times.

Van Houten then helped Patricia Krenwinkel, Tex Watson, and Clem Grogan to carve up Leno's body before smearing the couple's blood on the walls.

She is one of five surviving members of Manson's cult still in jail. Krenwinkel is currently locked up in Chino alongside Van Houten.

Meanwhile Davis is at the California Men's Colony in San Luis Obispo, Watson is at the RJ Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego, and Beausoleil at the California Medical Facility in Vacaville.

Cult leader Charles Manson was found responsible for seven of the murders. He died aged 83 in 2017

Charles Manson followers Bruce Davis, left, and Steve Grogan are pictured leaving court after a hearing in Los Angeles in 1970

Bobby Beausoleil, now 75, is one of five other surviving Manson killers serving time behind bars. he is pictured in mugshots in 1969 and 2019

From left to right: Voityck Frykowski, Sharon Tate, Stephen Parent, Jay Sebring, and Abigail Folger, were among the victims of the Manson Family

Van Houten later described holding Rosemary LaBianca down with a pillowcase over her head as others stabbed her, before herself stabbing the woman more than a dozen times.

'My family and I are heartbroken because we're once again reminded of all the years that we have not had my father and my stepmother with us,' Cory LaBianca, Leno LaBianca's daughter, told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Friday.

'My children and my grandchildren never got an opportunity to get to know either of them, which has been a huge void for my family,' said Cory La Bianca, who is 75.

The LaBianca murders happened the day after Manson followers killed actress Sharon Tate and four others. Van Houten did not participate in the Tate killings.

Manson died in prison in 2017 of natural causes at age 83 after nearly half a century behind bars.
Srinagar, July 8 (UNI) Former chief minister and Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP) Chairman Ghulam Nabi Azad on Saturday said that the implementation of uniform civil code

(UCC) in the country will not be as easy as removing Article 370.



He suggested the present government not to even think of taking such a step.



Uniform civil code is not as simple as removing Article 370. All religions are involved in it. Not only Muslims, but also Sikhs, Christians, Jain, Parsis and it is not good for any government to annoy so many people at one time, Azad told reporters in Srinagar. So I suggest this government not to even think of taking such action.



The former Congress leader Azad said the J & K government announcement to provide five marlas of land to landless was a good step.

But the land should be given only to the state subject of Jammu and Kashmir, he said.

Azad said people here have been waiting for the last six years for Assembly elections in J&K



He said only elected representatives can work for the people in a democracy.



There should be a democratic system and officers cannot run the government for more than six months here or in any other part of the country. It is important to have elected representatives.

We have been demanding elections be conducted as soon as possible," he added.





UNI MJR BM
Despite federal inquiries, nobody behind the company has been identified

Government officials are investigating a mysterious company that has bought around 55,000 acres of dry farmland around a USAF base in California.

Travis Air Force base, northeast of San Francisco, houses large transport aircraft used for refueling smaller planes and sending aid and munitions around the world.

Starting in 2018, a company called Flannery Associates LLC has spent around $800million buying swathes of land around the base, leaving local, state and federal officials flummoxed as to who they are and what they want with it.

An attorney representing Flannery told The Wall Street Journal the company is controlled by US citizens and that 97 percent of its capital comes from American investors - with the remaining investments coming from British and Irish citizens.

State officials are investigating a mysterious company that has bought around 55,000 acres of dry farmland around an Air Force base in California, northeast of San Francisco

Travis Air Force base (pictured) houses large transport aircraft used for refueling smaller planes and sending aid and munitions abroad

In a letter to Solano County, the majority of which is owned by Flannery, the company is described itself as being 'owned by a group of families looking to diversify their portfolio from equities into real assets, including agricultural land in the western United States,' according to county newspaper the Daily Republic.

But after eight months of investigation, the Air Force's 'Foreign Investment Risk Review Office' has failed to identify any one individual behind the Flannery, according to the Journal.

Meanwhile, the US Agriculture Department has made its own inquiries, also to no avail.

'Nobody can figure out who they are,' Ronald Kott, mayor of nearby Rio Vista, which is now largely surrounded by Flannery land, told The Journal. 'Whatever they're doing - this looks like a very long-term play.'

Over the years that Flannery, registered in Delaware, has been buying up land, it has given a variety of accounts and indications as to what it wants to do with it.

An attorney for Flannery, Richard Melnyk, said in an email to the county in 2019 that it was considering working with local farmers to farm 'new types of crops or orchards,' according to The Journal.

Mitch Mashburn, who works for the county, cast doubt on the viability of using the land for agricultural purposes.

An attorney for the mysterious Flannery Associated, registered in Delaware, said investors were 97 percent American, though those claims have not been verified

Many of the aircraft housed at the Travis Air Force base are large military transport aircraft such as C-5s and C-17s. Pictured is a Sgt. looking over the open aircraft ramp of a 62nd Airlift Wing C-17

'The majority of the land they're purchasing is dry farmland,' he told the newspaper. 'I don't see where that land can turn a profit to make it worth almost a billion dollars in investment.'

In a separate email also seen by the Journal, Melnyk said Flannery was considering leasing 'a substantial portion' of its land to olive growers, including some by the base.

According to online business records, an individual called Thomas Mather was listed as once being a director or officer for the company, though there is almost no other publicly available information on him.

He is also listed as the manager of another Delaware-registered company called Diversified Land LLC, with the same California address in Folsom.

And it's not just local officials that are confused.

'We don't know who Flannery is, and their extensive purchases do not make sense to anybody in the area,' Democratic Representative John Garamendi, who sits on the House Armed Services Committee's readiness panel, told the Wall Street Journal.

'The fact that they're buying land purposefully right up to the fence at Travis raises significant questions.'

The mystery around Flannery is reminiscent of the much smaller purchase last year of 300 acres of farmland in North Dakota just minutes from another Air Force base.

The land the Fufeng Group purchased is 20 minutes, approximately 16 miles, from the Grand Forks Air Force Base

The mystery around Travis is reminiscent of the much smaller purchase last year of 300 acres of farmland in North Dakota by a Chinese company

The China-based food producer, Fufeng Group, planned to build a corn-milling plant on its new land in Grand Forks, just 20 minutes from the Grand Forks Air Force Base, where some of the nation's most sensitive drone technology is housed.

The purchase raised suspicions from military officers, national security experts and lawmakers alike.

A 2019 report from the US Department of Agriculture showed China owned at least 192,000 acres of US agricultural land worth over $1.9billion.

Though Canada, for example, owns far more US agricultural land, a 2018 USDA report showed China's agricultural holdings in the US and other counties had increased tenfold since 2009.
Donald Trump has been accused of asking the Internal Revenue Service to investigate the FBI agents who were looking into allegations his campaign colluded with Russia.

Trump's former chief of staff John Kelly claimed the then-president in 2018 asked about launching a probe into the financial affairs of his adversaries.

Peter Strozk and Lisa Page, both FBI agents, were involved in the inquiry into possible collusion by his campaign with Russia.

Strozk and Page's texts were leaked by Trump-appointed Justice Department officials, showing they were having an affair and were privately critical of Trump.

Strzok and Page are now suing the Justice Department for violating their privacy and Kelly testified about Trump's request as part of the case.

Donald Trump's former chief of staff, John Kelly, testified that Trump asked about the I.R.S. investigating the FBI agents who were probing his campaign's possible collusion with Russia

Peter Strzok, the deputy assistant FBI director, had his text messages to his colleague and mistress Lisa Page leaked by the Trump administration. He is now suing the DoJ for invasion of privacy

Lisa Page, former FBI lawyer, is also suing the DoJ

'President Trump questioned whether investigations by the Internal Revenue Service or other federal agencies should be undertaken into Mr. Strzok and/or Ms. Page,' said Kelly.

'I do not know of President Trump ordering such an investigation.

'It appeared, however, that he wanted to see Mr Strzok and Ms Page investigated.'

It is illegal for a president to 'directly or indirectly' order an I.R.S. investigation or audit - a law brought in in the aftermath of Richard Nixon's president.

Kelly in November told The New York Times that Trump has asked the I.R.S. to look into James Comey, the then-FBI director, and Andrew McCabe, Comey's deputy.

It is unclear whether the I.R.S. ever investigated Strzok and Page.

Comey and McCabe were investigated, but Trump said he was unaware of the investigation, and an I.R.S. audit found they were randomly selected.

James Comey was FBI director when the investigation into potential collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia was launched

Andrew McCabe was Comey's deputy: both men were investigated by the I.R.S.

Kelly testified that Trump asked him to revoke the security clearances of Strzok and Page.

The former Marine general said he did not act on Trump's request. He also said he took extensive notes of his time as chief of staff.

'I did not make a note of every instance in which then President Trump made a comment about Mr Strzok and Ms Page,' said Kelly.

'President Trump generally disapproved of note-taking in meetings. He expressed concern that the notes might later be used against him.'
The top ten most expensive housing markets in American are all in California - with Palo Alto's average house price hitting a staggering $3million.

Thirty-five cities in the Golden State have an average home price of over $1million.

The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent economic boom led to skyrocketing prices, which were further exacerbated by rising mortgage rates.

But recent sales data compiled by SmartAsset suggests buyers are adapting to the higher rates, with home sales having surged by 12.2 percent in May. Compared with 2022, sales are up by 20 percent.

The nation's ten most expensive housing markets are in California

1. Palo Alto, CA

Top of the list came Palo Alto. Located in Santa Clara County, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area, the average home price is well above other housing markets at $3.16million.

The figure is 12.8 percent lower than in May 2022, when the average price was nearly half a million dollars more at $3.62 million.

However, rents in Palo Alto increased by 3.58 percent to $4,440 per month.

Palo Alto is renowned for being the home of Stanford University, one of the world's leading research universities.

The city is also recognized as a global center for technology and innovation. It is often referred to as the 'Birthplace of Silicon Valley' due to its role in fostering the growth of numerous technology companies.

Many prominent tech companies, such as Facebook, Google, and Hewlett-Packard, have their headquarters or a significant presence in Palo Alto.

Palo Alto consistently ranks among the top cities in the United States in terms of quality of life and overall livability - but getting a home here will be out of reach for many.

The average home price in Palo Alto outpaces other housing markets at $3.16 million. The figure is 12.8 percent lower than in May 2022, when the average price was nearly half a million dollars more at $3.62 million

2. Newport Beach, CA

Newport Beach is renowned for its stunning coastline, featuring several beautiful beaches.

Located in Orange County, home prices in this city of 85,000 average $2.95 million.

The city is known for its affluent neighborhoods and luxury real estate market boasting a wide range of waterfront homes, ocean-view properties, and exclusive gated communities.

Compared with Palo Alto, prices stayed have stayed relatively stable over the last year, dropping by 1.7 percent, or roughly $50,000.

During the same timeframe, monthly rents increased by 3.7 percent to $3,915.

The city is also famous for its picturesque harbor, which is one of the largest recreational boat harbors on the West Coast.

Located in Orange County, home prices in Newport Beach, a city of of 85,000 average $2.95 million

3. Sunnyvale, CA

Sunnyvale, located in Santa Clara County, California, sits in the heart of Silicon Valley.

Home to numerous tech companies, including Yahoo!, Juniper Networks, and LinkedIn, Sunnyvale homes have decreased in price by roughly 8.2 percent between May 2022 and May 2023, dropping from $2 million to $1.83 million.

With approximately 150,000 residents, city rents increased by 2.4 percent to a monthly average of $3,353.

Sunnyvale consistently ranks as one of the best places to live in the United States due to its high quality of life with excellent schools and low crime rate.

Sunnyvale is home to numerous tech companies, including Yahoo!, Juniper Networks, and LinkedIn, with house prices decreasing by roughly 8.2 percent between May 2022 and 2023 falling from $2 million to $1.83 million

4. Mountain View, CA

Mountain View, located in Santa Clara County, within the San Francisco Bay Area is a major part of Silicon Valley and serves as the headquarters for several influential tech companies, the most notable being Google, which has its main campus, known as the Googleplex, situated in the city.

Mountain View homes are almost $17,000 cheaper than those in Sunnyvale.

The average price in May 2023 was just under $1.82 million, after dropping by $232,000  just over 1 1 percent.

Meanwhile, rents increased by 1.56 percent to $3,613 per month.

Mountain View homes are on average just under $1.82 million, after dropping by $232,000  just over 1 1 percent. Meanwhile, rents increased by 1.56 percent to $3,613 per month

5. Redwood City, CA

Redwood City, located in San Mateo County, on the San Francisco Peninsula has roughly 82,000 residents.

House prices in the city average $1.68 million. Compared to 2022, prices dropped by 9% percent, while rent averages $3,558 per month.

Redwood City is also part of Silicon Valley with several prominent tech companies based there including Oracle, Electronic Arts, and Box.

House prices in Redwood City average $1.68 million. Compared to 2022, prices dropped by 9% percent, while rent averages $3,558 per month

6. Santa Barbara, CA

In Santa Barbara, located in Santa Barbara County, house prices decreased by 4.1 percent between 2022 and 2023.

Known for its stunning natural beauty, Spanish colonial architecture, and vibrant cultural scene, the average home here now costs $1.65 million, down from $1.72 million.

Rental properties increased 2.67 percent over the same time period, jumping to an average of $4,206 per month.

The city enjoys a mild Mediterranean climate with warm, dry summers and mild, wet winters.

Rental properties in Santa Barbara increased 2.67 percent over the same time period, jumping to an average of $4,206 per month

7. Santa Monica, CA

Located in Los Angeles County, Santa Monica is known for its iconic pier and beautiful beaches.

Home prices in dropped by 7 percent over the last year, while rents increased 3.5 percent.

The average home in the city costs $1.64 million. Those renting can expect to pay an average of $3,670 per month.

Santa Monica is known for its bike-friendly infrastructure. The city has dedicated bike lanes making it easy for residents and visitors to explore the city on two wheels.

Home prices in Santa Monica dropped by 7percent over the last year, while rents increased 3.5 percent. The average home in the city costs $1.64 million. Those renting can expect to pay an average of $3,670 per month

8. Pleasanton, CA

Pleasanton is located in Alameda County in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Homes cost $1.55 million on average as of May 2023, which is down 12 percent since last year.

The fall in prices is one of the biggest drops measured in the study.

Rents were less affected falling by less than 1 percent, averaging $3,155 per month.

Pleasanton is home to several major corporate headquarters, including Safeway, Ross Stores, and Workday.

Homes in Pleasanton cost $1.55 million on average as of May 2023, which is down 12 percent since last year

9. San Ramon, CA

San Ramon is located in Contra Costa County. Home prices in San Ramon dropped 10 percent since last year, bringing the average value down from $1.70 million to $1.53 million.

At the same time, monthly rental prices remain virtually the same and fell by an average of $21 to $3,388.

The city is known for its well-planned residential neighborhoods, ample green spaces, and a relaxed suburban lifestyle.

Nestled between the San Ramon Valley and the foothills of Mount Diablo, those living there often enjoy picturesque views and natural beauty.

The city is also home to the Bishop Ranch Business Park, one of the largest office parks in Northern California. The park houses numerous corporate headquarters, including Chevron, General Electric and AT&T.

Home prices in San Ramon dropped 10 percent since last year, bringing the average value down from $1.70 million to $1.53 million

10. Santa Clara, CA

Santa Clara is set in Santa Clara County, in the heart of Silicon Valley.

Heading into this summer, home values in Santa Clara averaged $1.51 million, which is an 8.5 percent drop over last year when the average was $1.65 million.

Average rent prices, on the other hand, increased 3.78 percent to $3,407 per month.

The city is a major part of Silicon Valley and home to numerous high-tech companies, including Intel, NVIDIA, Applied Materials, among others.

Santa Clara is also home to Levi's Stadium, a state-of-the-art multipurpose venue that serves as the home stadium for the NFL's San Francisco 49ers.

Heading into this summer, home values in Santa Clara averaged $1.51 million, which is an 8.5 percent drop over last year when the average was $1.65 million. Pictured, Bersano Lane in Los Gatos

Earlier this week it was suggested that house prices across the country will fall at a slower rate than expected this year, according to the Federal National Mortgage Association, or Fannie Mae.

The government-sponsored company revised its housing forecast for 2023 and 2024, predicting a more modest increase.

While in February it predicted that home prices would fall by 4.2 percent this year and another 2.3 percent in 2024, it now estimates that costs will only decline by 1.2 percent in 2023 and a further 2.2 percent the year after.

Doug Duncan, chief economist at Fannie Mae, said that high demand and an ongoing shortage of homes for sale means that prices will stay elevated for longer - outperforming earlier expectations.

'Demand for housing has exceeded expectations due to Baby Boomers aging in place and Gen-Xers locking in historically low rates, both of which have helped keep housing supply at historically low levels,' he said.

Properties in some cities selling for hundreds of thousands of dollars less than they were just a year ago

House prices will fall at a slower rate than expected this year, according to Fannie Mae

'Homebuilders continue to add to that supply, but years of meager homebuilding over the past business cycle means the imbalance will likely continue for some time.'

While Fannie Mae does not expect home prices to crash, if the new predictions come to fruition it would mean home prices would be down 3.4 percent from December 2022 to December 2024.

National home prices have remained resilient despite last year's mortgage rate shock - when the average 30-year fixed-rate deal soared to close to 7 percent.

As of June 29, the typical 30-year rate was 6.71 percent, according to Freddie Mac.

Fannie Mae predicts that the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate will drift down to 6.3 percent by the end of 2023, and to 5.6 percent by the end of 2024.

Inflated rates have resulted in a drop in home sales as buyers are turned off by the daunting market conditions - and homeowners locked into lower rates have stayed put.

It comes as a separate index showed house prices beginning to fall after more than a decade of soaring property values.

Year-on-year prices dropped 0.2 percent in April, compared with a 0.7 percent annual growth rate in the month before, according to home price tracker S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller National Home Price Index.

After a decade of soaring property values, the annual decline was the first recorded by the Index since April 2012.

In some parts of the country, prices are falling at a marked rate. Earlier this year Redfin revealed how pandemic hotspots and expensive coastal markets are seeing historic home-price declines.
The US has destroyed its final chemical weapon after a sarin nerve agent-filled rocket was safely disposed of on a Kentucky army base on Friday.

The Pentagon announced that the destruction of the weapon marked the end of a 30-year mission to eradicate the stockpile the US had.

In 1993, the US had agreed to the terms of the Chemical Weapons Convention, an international arms control treaty that was ratified in 1997.

On Friday, the final nerve agent filled M55 rocket was destroyed at the Blue Grass Army Depot, Kentucky.

The final munition was destroyed by a team led by Bechtel National, Inc and Parsons Corporation, using neutralization and explosive destruction technology.

The Pentagon announced that the destruction of the weapon marked the end of a thirty year mission to eradicate the stockpile the US had

In this image released by the U.S. Army, an operator guides a forklift driver to unload VX nerve agent M55 rockets on April 15, 2022, at the Blue Grass Army Depot

The final munition had been destroyed at the Blue Grass Army Depot in Kentucky yesterday

The M55 rocket had been developed in the 1950s and was designed to carry ten pounds of chemical agent.

In a statement, President Biden said: 'I am proud to announce that the United States has safely destroyed the final munition in that stockpilebringing us one step closer to a world free from the horrors of chemical weapons.

'I am grateful to the thousands of Americans who gave their time and talents to this noble and challenging mission for more than three decades.

'I continue to encourage the remaining nations to join the Chemical Weapons Convention so that the global ban on chemical weapons can reach its fullest potential.

'Russia and Syria should return to compliance with the Chemical Weapons Convention and admit their undeclared programs, which have been used to commit brazen atrocities and attacks.

'We will continue to stand with the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons to prevent the stockpiling, production, and use of chemical weapons around the world.

'And together with our partners, we will not stop until we can finally and forever rid the world of this scourge.'

The Pentagon said that the U.S. chemical weapons stockpile at one time comprised of more than 30,000 tons of chemical warfare agents.

Proper destruction of the weapons began in 1990 on Johnston Atoll in the Pacific before it was brought to the continental U.S.

The Pentagon said they had used sites in Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Maryland, Oregon and Utah before the final weapon was destroyed in Kentucky.

In a statement released by President Biden, he called on Russia and Syria to comply with the Chemical Weapons Convention

This photo from shows a safety vehicle passing a compound filled with 170-gallon containers of mustard and blister agent at the Deseret Chemical Depot in Tooele, Utah

Fortified igloos once used to store VX chemical agent on the ground of the former Newport Chemical Depot is shown near Newport, Indiana

Prior to the destruction of the final missile, teams in Colorado had also completed the destruction of more than 780,000 mustard agent-filled projectiles on June 22.

Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment Dr. William A. LaPlante said: 'We have a national security imperative and moral obligation to work toward eliminating the threat posed by weapons of mass destruction.

'This is the first time an international body has verified destruction of an entire category of declared weapons of mass destruction  reinforcing the United States' commitment to creating a world free of chemical weapons.'

Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth said: 'This is a momentous day for the U.S. chemical demilitarization program.

In this photo provided by the U.S. Army, workers at a plant in Richmond, Kentucky, begin the destruction of the first rocket from a stockpile of M55 rockets

A canister that had contained mustard gas is recycled at the U.S. Army Pueblo Chemical Depot Thursday, June 8, 2023

'After years of design, construction, testing and operations, these obsolete weapons have been safely eliminated.

'The Army is proud to have played a key role in making this demilitarization possible.'

The Chemical Weapons Convention was agreed in 1993 and came into effect in 1997, giving the US until the end of September this year to destroy all chemical weapons.

With the ebb of the Cold War the superpowers and other countries joined together to negotiate the Chemical Weapons Convention.

Currently four signatory countries are considered not in compliance on suspicion of having undeclared stockpiles: Myanmar, Iran, Russia and Syria.

The Pentagon had previously said it was closely monitoring reports of chemical weapons in Russia last year.
Two men shot in a brazen daylight attack at a hair salon in Sydney's inner west have links to organised crime, it has been revealed.

Emergency services were called to Adel's Salon on Marrickville Road in Marrickville about 1.50pm on Friday, after reports that a man in black calmly walked into the salon and opened fire.

The two men shot - 33-year-old man and a 20-year-old - are associated with the Bandidos bikie gang, police sources told the ABC.

The source said police are still investigating a motive for the shooting but it is believed to be a targeted attack.

The pair were there to get their hair cut and Daily Mail Australia has been told they were regular customers at Adels.

The 20-year-old remains in a serious condition, while the other man is in a stable condition, after both were rushed to Royal Prince Alfred Hospital.

Shocking footage from the scene shows one shirtless man lying on the floor while a police officer gives him first aid.

Another officer was also seen trying to calm down a second man in the salon.

Former NSW police officer Peter Moroney said the offenders tried to 'manhandle' one or two of the witnesses who were filming the shocking incident.

'A couple of the offenders dealt with one or two of the witnesses that were filming them yesterday and tried to manhandle them as well,' he told Nine's Today show on Saturday morning

'If you do see crimes like this unfold, whilst it is a temptation to gather evidence, look after yourself first instead of trying to get involved.'

The two men, aged 20 and 33, suffered gun shot wounds and were taken to hospital

Police sources said the victims have links to the Bandidos bikie gang and were known to them

A burnt-out car is seen after two men were shot in Marrickville on Friday afternoon

He said the the incident was particularly shocking as it happened in broad daylight along a busy suburban shopping strip and close to the suburb's police station.

NSW Police Superintendent Despa Fitzgerald said police believe a silver Kia Stinger found in flames on Park Road in nearby Sydenham was used as a 'getaway car'.

A Mitsubishi Triton was also reported on fire just minutes later on Hercules Street in Dulwich Hill.

Police are also trying to track down a white Toyota Camry, with registration plates DMM59H, that police believe one of the shooters may have gotten into after the incident.

Both victims are known to police but are not local to the area.

'It is very brazen and that's why we believe it was a targeted attack, it's not random and it's fortunate no other member of the public was involved in that incident,' Superintendent Fitzgerald said.

A blood-soaked towel was also found at the scene as a shirtless man was carried away in a stretcher.

A crime scene was established and examined by specialist forensic officers.
Democrats have reacted with anger to the White House's decision to send cluster munitions to Ukraine, with one California congresswoman accusing Joe Biden of stooping to the lows of Vladimir Putin.

The Biden administration announced on Friday they would send the artillery rounds to Ukraine, after six months of agonizing over the decision.

Cluster munitions are banned by over 120 countries worldwide, and the United States has not deployed them since 2009, in Yemen.

No cluster munitions of any kind have been exported since 2015, and they are no longer produced by American companies.

They are designed to detonate in the air and spread smaller bombs around a wide area - which experts say risk injuring civilians.

Unexploded cluster munitions deployed 50 years ago are still lying dormant in Vietnam and Laos according to the Cluster Munition Coalition, an activist group trying to get the weapons banned everywhere.

Barbara Lee, a congresswoman representing California, said she was outraged by Biden's decision, while Representatives Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Sara Jacobs of California on Friday introduced an amendment that would effectively block the transfer of these munitions.

Barbara Lee, representative for California, condemned the decision to send cluster munitions

'I am alarmed to hear @POTUS is considering sending cluster bombs to Ukraine,' tweeted Lee. 'Many people are unaware of these dangerous weapons.

'The Ukrainian people are engaged in a just struggle for their rights, freedom and humanity. The US and Ukraine don't need to stoop to Putin's level.'

Chrissy Houlahan, an Air Force veteran who now represents Pennsylvania, said she strongly disagreed with the decision.

'I challenge the notion that we should employ the same tactics Russia is using,' she said.

'And I challenge all of us to remember that this war will end, and the broken pieces of Ukraine will need to be rebuilt.

'History remembers not only who wins a war but also how a war is won.'

Jim McGovern, representing Massachusetts, said: 'I continue to strongly support helping Ukraine stand up to Russia's brutal war of aggression. But cluster munitions won't help.'

And Omar and Jacobs pointed out that it was against U.S. law to transfer munitions with a 'dud rate' of more than one percent.

Ilhan Omar of Minnesota is opposed to sending the cluster munitions

Sara Jacobs has joined Omar in filing an amendment seeking to block the transfer

The White House is planning on ignoring that, and sending munitions with up to 2.5 percent failure rates.

They filed an amendment seeking to block the delivery.

'Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no military assistance shall be furnished for cluster munitions, no defense export license for cluster munitions may be issued, and no cluster munitions or cluster munitions technology shall be sold or transferred,' reads the amendment.

President Joe Biden defended his decision on Friday, and said Ukraine was 'running out' of ammunition.

'It was a very difficult decision on my part,' he told CNN on Friday.

'And by the way, I discussed this with our allies, I discussed this with our friends up on the Hill,' he said.

'The Ukrainians are running out of ammunition.'

The US has decided to send controversial cluster munitions to Ukraine in aid of its counteroffensive against Russian forces

'The Ukrainians are running out of ammunition,' President Joe Biden said Friday, as he justified a U.S. turnaround in providing cluster munitions to Ukraine in its effort to turn back Russia's invasion

His comments aired after national security advisor Jake Sullivan described the transfer as a 'bridge' until the U.S. was able to crank up production of artillery shells to meet battlefield needs and replenish depleted U.S. supplies.

Biden described the transfer as a finite effort during a 'transition period,' rather than as a wholesale change in U.S. policy.

He was faced with trying to get around his administration's denunciation of Russia's use of the bombs on civilian areas amid its brutal war on Ukraine.

'This is a war relating to munitions. And they're running out of that ammunition, and we're low on it,' Biden said.

'And so, what I finally did, I took the recommendation of the Defense Department to  not permanently  but to allow for this transition period, while we get more 155 weapons (155mm caliber shells), these shells, for the Ukrainians,' Biden said.

He also spoke about the challenges facing the Ukrainians in their renewed offensive, now that Russian forces have dug into their positions as Ukraine seeks to reclaim territory.

'They're trying to get through those trenches and stop those tanks from rolling. But it was not an easy decision,' Biden told the network.

'We're not signatories to that agreement, but it took me a while to be convinced to do it.

'But the main thing is they either have the weapons to stop the Russians now  keep them from stopping the Ukrainian offensive through these areas  or they don't. And I think they needed them.'

The Ukrainian military has been slowly regaining territory and liberating some villages from Russian control, but not at the lightning pace of some of last year's offensives.

White House national security advisor Jake Sullivan took to the podium in the press briefing room Friday to defend the decision.

He said making the decision to send Kiev the bombs was 'not easy' but 'we will not leave Ukraine defenseless.'

'We recognize that cluster munitions create a risk to civilians which is why we have deferred decision as much as we could,' he said.

U.S. law bans the transfer of cluster munitions that have more than a one percent 'dud' rate - or fail to go off more than one percent of the time. Such bombs that don't go off immediately can create land mines and explode at a later date and harm civilians.

But Sullivan confirmed President Biden had signed a waiver allowing a transfer of such weapons with a higher dud rate - but said the rate would be 'not higher than 2.5 percent.'

This aerial picture taken on December 7, 2022 shows an expert of the prosecutor's office examining collected remnants of shells and missiles used by the Russian army to attack the second largest Ukrainian city of Kharkiv

'Russia has been using cluster munitions since the start of this work to attack Ukraine.

'Russia has been using cluster munitions with high dud or failure rates of between 30 and 40 percent,' Sullivan told reporters.

He said regions where the bombs would be used would already need to be cleared of mines once the war is over.

'Russia has already spread tens of millions of these bomblets across Ukrainian territory,' he went on.

'So we have to ask ourselves is: Is Ukraine's use of cluster munitions, on that same land, actually that much of an addition of civilian harm given that that area is going to have to be de mined regardless?'
A shooting at a high school house party in Texas left eight hospitalized on Friday night.

Of the eight people injured, three had major injuries, three had minor injuries and the condition of the remaining two was unknown, a fire department dispatcher told ABC7.

The shooting happened in the city's Upper Valley at around 9.45pm on the 4500 block Swan Drive, according to El Paso police.

A shooting at a high school house party in Texas left eight hospitalized on Friday night

The shooting happened in the city's Upper Valley at around 9.45pm on the 4500 block Swan Drive (pictured)

El Paso's Upper Valley neighborhood is around 10 miles north of the center of the city.

No arrests had been made on Friday night and a police spokesperson said an investigation was ongoing. Witnesses told ABC-7 it was a high school party.
A solo sailor has spent the night battling giant waves and severe winds in the Great Australian Bight after running into trouble hundreds of kilometres from help.

Xavier Doerr, 22, was forced to trigger an emergency beacon while attempting to complete a non-stop and unassisted circumnavigation of Australia.

His planned route would have broken two records, also making him the youngest sailor to circumnavigate Australia on the smallest boat.

Authorities established radio and visual contact with Mr Doerr by air after picking up an emergency beacon signal shortly before 5pm on Friday.

Two merchant vessels have been diverted to the 6.5-metre sailing yacht's location about 630 kilometres west of Kangaroo Island in South Australia, and 740km southeast of Esperance in Western Australia.

Solo sailor Xavier Doerr (above) is stranded at sea 630km west of Kangaroo Island in South Australia, and 740km southeast of Esperance in Western Australia

Winds gusting over 100 kilometres an hour and six-metre waves are expected to make rescue difficult even after the vessels make contact some time on Saturday.

Aerial footage showed Mr Doerr's stricken yacht being tossed around by large waves with its sails bundled on the deck.

Mr Doerr's shore manager, Lee Randall, said in a video on Saturday the sailor lost communication for 'an extended period of time yesterday afternoon'.

'At that point in time he had sustained some injuries and there was some water ingress into the boat, and he genuinely feared for his safety,' Mr Randall said.

'AMSA (Australian Maritime Safety Authority) have now made direct contact with Xavier from the plane, from a jet that was dispatched from Perth, and they are currently continuing to monitor him and will continue to do so until he reaches dry land.'

Two AMSA challenger class rescue aircraft remained overhead overnight and communicated with Mr Doerr via VHF radio.

An RAAF aircraft also arrived at the vessel's location on Saturday.

Mr Doerr's shore manager, Lee Randall, said the sailor 'sustained some injuries' before setting off his emergency beacon signal shortly before 5pm on Friday

AMSA issued an emergency broadcast and diverted a bulk carrier to the area, with the vessel expected to arrive about 11.30am (AEST).

Another bulk carrier is also making its way to the location.

The ship's masters will need to assess their ability to safely conduct a rescue in extremely rough weather conditions, according to AMSA.
Queensland police are seeking 'urgent' help from the public to locate a missing woman after an 'out of character' disappearance.

Kayla Preston-Yasserie, 20, was last seen by a friend on Wednesday, with family and police holding concerns for her welfare.

While she usually resided in Mackay, police believe she may have travelled to Townsville and could be located in the area.

Queensland police have urged the public to help locate missing 20-year-old Kayla Preston-Yassarie who was last seen on Wednesday

Police said Ms Preston-Yasserie may have travelled to Townsville

'Police are appealing for Kayla, or anyone with information regarding her whereabouts, to contact them,' a police spokesman said.

Residents of both towns have been asked to keep an eye out for Kayla, with her disappearance labelled 'out-of-character'.

She is described as being 160cm tall, with long dark hair, a slim build and medium complexion.

Anyone with information can contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
Two teenage boys questioned over an inner-city warehouse fire are expected to be charged with arson, police have confirmed.

An abandoned building in Southbank, Melbourne went up in flames on Thursday afternoon.

No one was inside or injured, however the Clarendon Street premises sustained extensive damage.

The next day, a 13-year-old from Little River and 15-year-old from Safety Beach were arrested at Southern Cross train station. They were released pending further inquiries.

Victoria Police have confirmed detectives were expected to charge the teens with arson as well as with a series of thefts, robberies and an attempted armed robbery in Melbourne's CBD in recent weeks.

Around 30 firefighters arrived soon after the alert was raised to tackle the blaze, which was sending plumes of 'suffocating' smoke spewing into the air.

It took crews about an hour to contain the blaze, which engulfed two small factories near Haig Street.

Residents of Albert Park, Docklands, Melbourne, Port Melbourne, South Melbourne, South Wharf and Southbank were warned to be on high alert.

'Smoke will be visible from nearby roads and communities,' authorities said in a statement.

'There is currently no threat to the community, but you should continue to stay informed and monitor conditions.

Two teenagers are expected to be charged with arson after an abandoned warehouse in Melbourne's Southbank went up in flames on Thursday (pictured)

detectives were expected to charge the pair with arson as well as with a series of thefts, robberies and an attempted armed robbery in Melbourne's CBD in recent weeks

The incident comes after boys aged 12 and 13 were questioned over large factory fire in the inner-Sydney Surry Hills in May.

No charges have been laid over that blaze, which engulfed a neighbouring building as well as the seven-storey former hat factory and caused more than a hundred local residents to be displaced.

It was initially feared several people may have perished in the Sydney fire, with the building known to regularly house rough sleepers.

Anyone with information about the Southbank blaze pis urged to call Crime Stoppers.
The young woman was murdered by her father in 2019

The officer was the last person to see Petrik Lekaj, 20

A police officer who was the last person to see a young woman alive before she was killed by her father has told a tribunal she feels responsible for her death.

Convicted drug trafficker Petrit Lekaj, now 51, strangled and stabbed Sabrina Lekaj, 20, eight times in her white Mercedes-Benz in Adelaide in 2019.

The South Australian policewoman, who had almost two decades of experience in the force, suffered a psychiatric injury after she was informed by colleagues Sabrina had been killed hours after she spent time with the young woman.

The officer had spent time with Sabrina in hospital while the young woman was being tested for alcohol and drugs after a minor crash.

In a judgement handed down this week, SA Employment Tribunal auxiliary deputy president Magistrate Jodie Carrel stated the officer's injury occurred as a direct result of Sabrina's murder.

The officer who was the last person to see 20-year-old Sabrina Lekaj (pictured) alive has told a tribunal she feels responsible for her death

The cop was investigating a minor car crash on July 21, 2019, where the driver was suspected to be driving under influence of drugs or alcohol.

Investigations led the officer to Sabrina's home where she resided with her parents and brother.

The cop spoke to Sabrina and her parents Petrit and Romina before taking the young woman to hospital for a blood test.

She stayed with Sabrina for close to four hours before calling her parents to take her home.

The officer returned to her station, lodged the blood samples, completed her shift and left.

Sabrina was taken home by her parents and in the early hours of July 22, was stabbed by her father in a fit of rage.

Lekaj strangled and stabbed Sabrina eight times in her Mercedes-Benz on their way to Hungry Jack's near the family home in Kidman Park.

A colleague investigating the murder rang the officer later that day and told her Sabrina had been 'brutally murdered'.

'(The officer) deposed that she lost it, was unable to stop crying and was very upset,' Ms Carrel ruled.

Petrit Lekaj (left) strangled and stabbed daughter Sabrina (right) in a fit of rage

The convicted drug trafficker strangled and stabbed his daughter Sabrina eight times in her white Mercedes-Benz in Adelaide in 2019

A detective investigating the murder went to the police station where the officer worked to check on her wellbeing and found her crying.

'He was shocked to see (the officer) so upset, because he had not seen that much emotion for her in relation to a case before,' Ms Carrel stated.

When the officer went home that day, she was unable to return to work for a year and was ultimately granted compensation until 2022, when she returned to work in a limited capacity.

The tribunal found the officer would never be able to return to active duty and the officer had applied for income compensation to foot the difference between her previous role and her new position.

The South Australian police officer had spent time with Sabrina (pictured) in hospital on July 21 2019, hours before the young woman was killed

SA Police and the Department of Treasury and Finance denied the application, with the officer appealing to the Tribunal.

Ms Carrel ultimately ruled that the causal connection between Sabrina's death and the psychiatric injury was close enough, finding that compensation was the appropriate course of action.

Petrit Lekaj was given a life sentence with the mandatory minimum 20-year non-parole period in 2020.
This is the shocking moment a paedophile drags a suitcase containing a 12-year-old girl into his flat after kidnapping her and telling her she would be his 'sex slave'.

The footage, captured in Luziania, Brazil, shows 42-year-old Daniel Moraes Bittar struggling to pull the suitcase behind him up two flights of stairs after he kidnapped the girl from outside her school on 28 June.

Bittar kidnapped the child with his 22-year-old girlfriend Gesielly Souza Vieira who bundled her into their car and held a chloroform-soaked cloth to her face as he threatened her with a knife.

Her legs were then cuffed and she was zipped up inside a suitcase, which was placed in the boot as they drove to a woodland area to dump her mobile phone.

But Bittar was arrested and later confessed to having 'paedophilic inclinations' when the alleged victim's schoolfriend rang police after witnessing the horrific kidnapping.

The footage, captured in Luziania, Brazil, shows 42-year-old Daniel Moraes Bittar struggling to pull the suitcase behind him up two flights of stairs

Bittar (pictured) was arrested and later confessed to having 'paedophilic inclinations' and said he had considered 'chemical castration'

The girl was found inside the flat covered in bruises and chemical burns with her feet cuffed to the bed, according to police.

Examinations conducted after she was rescued also confirmed she was sexually assaulted.

Detective Joao Guilherme Medeiros told media: 'The victim stated that Bittar touched her intimate parts and that she was forced to touch his genitals.

'The girl said he threatened her all the time and said she would be his sex slave. He also filmed the abuses committed against the student and sent them to his girlfriend. The victim told us that he mentioned Geisy's name on the phone.'

When the police first confronted Bittar, he denied everything and claimed the girl in his flat was a cousin, but later confessed and said he had considered 'chemical castration'.

During a search of Bittar's flat, electric shock devices, cameras, sex toys, and pornographic material were found.

Her legs were then cuffed and she was zipped up inside a suitcase, which was placed in the boot. Pictured: Bittar drags the suitcase from his car

A petrol canister was also found at the scene, leading the police to believe he may have planned to burn the girl's body after raping her.

The police say the couple had spent three days surveying the school in search of a victim ahead of the alleged crime.

Mr Medeiros told local media: 'We have footage of him putting the suitcase in the EcoSport since Monday 26th. The planning of the crime is very clear.

'In fact, he had in mind another girl, a 13-year-old, who has already been interviewed by our team.

'This potential victim was known to the co-defendant because she had lived near Daniel's girlfriend. This girl was their target.

'For some reason, on 28th June, they changed their minds and went to the school in in Luziania and initially observed children and teenagers, and then, on a nearby street, they approached the victim we found in captivity.'

A petrol canister was also found at the scene, leading the police to believe he may have planned to burn the girl's body after raping her

During a search of Bittar's (pictured) flat, electric shock devices, cameras, sex toys, and pornographic material were found

Bittar told officers it was his first crime, but the police say there are indications he may have committed other crimes with his girlfriend's help.

Vieira, meanwhile, is claiming she was coerced by Bittar, but the police do not believe her.

Bittar was sacked from his job as an IT technician at Banco de Brasilia on 29th June, after the case had come to light.

In addition to his job, he also volunteered at children's hospitals, and is the father of a girl.

Vieira, meanwhile, is a mother of two and presented herself on social media as a Christian.

Bittar had made several posts on social media condemning child abuse, including one reading: 'Paedophilia is a crime. Report it', according to police.

Bittar (pictured) told officers it was his first crime, but the police say there are indications he may have committed other crimes with his girlfriend's help

Mr Medeiros added: 'Paedophiles disguise themselves as good people to approach children. I'm saying they act pragmatically.

'We have come across several cases like this. That's why parents need to be very careful. But even those of us who are experienced are shocked by what happened.'

The couple face charges of aggravated unlawful restraint, sexual abuse of a minor, and torture. They face up to 30 years in prison.
Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky has visited the liberated Snake Island in the Black Sea to mark the 500th day of Vladimir Putin's war in the country.

The strategic rock outcrop came to prominence early in the war when Ukrainian defenders were threatened by a Russian warship who demanded their surrender.

The heroic defenders famously radioed the approaching Russian cruiser to 'Go f*** yourself'.

The Russians grabbed the island but later retreated in a humiliating setback for Putin which was styled bizarrely as a 'gesture of goodwill'.

The Russian vessel - the Moskva, flagship of the Black Sea Fleet - was later sunk in a Ukrainian missile strike, perhaps Putin's biggest single setback of the war.

The exact timing of Zelensky's visit to Snake - or Zmiiny - Island was not immediately disclosed

Zelensky was seen arriving in a risky security operation by boat - before issuing a 'We will definitely win' message to his people

Zelensky was seen arriving in a risky security operation by boat - before issuing a 'We will definitely win' message to his people.

'I wish you health, dear Ukrainians,' he said as the 500-day mark was reached.

'Today we are on Snake [Island], our Snake, which will never be held by occupants, because we are a land of the brave.

'Today we are honouring our Ukrainian heroes, all warriors who fought for this island and liberated it.

'And this small piece of land in the middle of our Black Sea is a great proof that Ukraine will return to itself every part of its territory.

'I want to thank you from this very place.

'Victories to each of our soldiers for these 500 days, our armed forces, our intelligence.'

He praised all the Ukrainian services for the defence of the country against Putin's invaders.

'We are moving forward Thank you to each and every one of you.'

While Zelensky regularly visits the front line, Putin seldom if ever goes near danger zones.

Volodymyr Zelensky lays flowers and candles during his visit to Snake Island (Zmiinyi Island), Odesa region

'Today we are on Snake [Island], our Snake, which will never be held by occupants, because we are a land of the brave,' Zelensky said

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky takes his address to Ukrainians at the Zmiinyi Island (Snake Island) in the Black Sea not far from Odesa

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky lays flowers to the Zmiinyi Island (Snake Island) defenders at the Zmiinyi Island in the Black Sea not far from Odesa

Volodymyr Zelensky has visited a Black Sea island whose defenders famously defied a Russian warship at the beginning of the invasion, as the conflict reaches its 500th day

Snake Island came to prominence early in the war when Ukrainian defenders were threatened by a Russian warship who demanded their surrender

Moskva, the ship which ordered the Snake Island troops to surrender, was since destroyed - sinking into the Black Sea after being hit by Ukrainian missiles

The Russians grabbed the island but later retreated in a humiliating setback for Putin which was styled bizarrely as a 'gesture of goodwill'

Snake Island was liberated on 7 July 2022 - an early sign of Ukraine's determination to grab back its territory

Russia seized control of the tiny island - which is strategically located in the Black Sea close to Ukraine - on the first day of the war after bombing the defenders. Ukraine later regained the land in humiliating fashion for the Russians

The Ukrainian president also posted a message on social media: 'Snake - free island of free Ukraine.'

'Grateful to everyone who fought here against the [Russian] occupiers. We honour the memory of the heroes who gave their lives in this battle - one of the most important during a full-scale war.

'Glory to each and every one who fights for security in our Black Sea. Honour!'

Snake Island was liberated on 7 July 2022 - an early sign of Ukraine's determination to grab back its territory.

At the time, guards chief Arut Papoian said: 'Snake island has always been Ukrainian and always will be. And no temporary occupation will change that.

'Our battalion was the first to visit Snake Island after liberation. It was risky, but now our flag is flying on the island. Soon all of Ukraine will be freed. We will win together.'

The exact timing of Zelensky's visit to Snake - or Zmiiny - Island was not immediately disclosed.

Russian hardline war analyst Sergei Mardan expressed outrage that Zelensky was able to visit the island without attack by Putin's forces. He also complained that Ukrainian military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov escorted the Kyiv president to Snake Island.

The hated Budanov has been reported dead or fatally wounded multiple times by Russian state TV - yet was clearly alive for this outing to the Black Sea island.

Budanov - widely admired in Ukraine and the West - is blamed for the assassination of hardline war critics in Russia.

'Zelensky arrived on Snake Island along with Budanov 'killed' a month ago,' snarled Mardan.

They were 'an ideal target for a missile attack' from Russian occupied Crimea some 60 miles away. 'But they didn't hit - again,' he added.

He questioned how Zelensky 'freely comes to the frontline zone, without fear for his life'.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky met with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I in Istanbul today

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy arrives at the Patriarchal Church of St. George in Istanbul earlier on Saturday

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, addresses a joint press conference with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky in Istanbul, Turkey, today

As Zelensky made the trip to Snake Island, his forces were making 'steady gains' in the besieged Bakhmut.

A UK Ministry of Defence intelligence update on Saturday morning said that following a 'lull during June 2023', Bakhmut over the last week has 'again been the site of some of the most intense fighting along the front'.

The statement added: 'Ukrainian forces have made steady gains to both the north and south of the Russian-held town. Russian defenders are highly likely struggling with poor morale, a mix of disparate units and a limited ability to find and strike Ukrainian artillery.

'The Russian leadership almost certainly see it as politically unacceptable to concede Bakhmut, which has a symbolic weight as one of the few Russian gains in the last 12 months. However, there are highly likely few additional reserves to commit to the sector.'
Fined $3,500 and banned from owning pets for five years

Emma now in foster care after seized from her owner

A dog owner has been fined $3,500 and banned from owning a pet for five years after letting her Maltese Shih-tzu suffer painful and severe matting for at least six months.

Francine Janell Parfitt, 43, faced Joondalup Magistrates Court on Friday, where she was found guilty of animal neglect charges.

The court heard RSCPA Western Australia inspectors first attended Parfitt's home at Butler, north-west Perth on January 25 after reports of animal abuse.

Inspectors found the 11-year-old Maltese Shih-tzu named Emma in a 'poor condition' with severley dreaded hair with prickles strewn throughout its coat.

The court heard that Parfitt failed to comply with instructions to get Emma groomed, despite being told by inspectors the matting was causing the dog pain.

RSPCA WA later returned to the home with a warrant and seized Emma due to suspected animal cruelty.

A dog owner has been found guilty of animal cruelty charges after RSPCA WA inspectors found 11-year-old Maltese Shih-tzu, Emma (pictured), with painful matting

Veterinarians at RSPCA WA's Animal Care Centre found Emma was suffering from a dental disease, leading to 10 tooth extractions.

They also found a grass seed embedded in her ear on top of her painful matting.

Today, Emma is much healthier and happier pooch as she continues to recover in foster care.

The RSPCA shared Emma's story in a plea to dog owners.

A matted coat can quickly become a welfare concern. It will pull on your dogs skin, restrict their movement, and can lead to terrible eye, ear, and skin infections,' RSPCA WA Inspector Manager Kylie Green said.

Regular grooming is a cost and time commitment that owners need to factor in before they take on breeds like poodles and Maltese-crosses.'

Emma (pictured recently) is now recovering and living happily in foster care

Emma the Maltese Shih-tzu was in a 'poor condition' with severely dreaded hair when she was seized from her owners by the RSPCA

If youre in a situation where you can no longer care for your pet, reach out to friends, family, or a rescue group as soon as possible.

'Its never OK to ignore your pets pain or discomfort.

Parfitt was sentenced under sections 19(1) and 19(3)(h) of the Animal Welfare Act 2002.

The court found Emma had suffered harm which could have been prevented had reasonable steps been taken.

Magistrate De Maio said during sentencing Emma had been 'neglected in the most cruel way', during sentencing.

Parfitt was also ordered to pay $720.80 in court costs to RSPCA WA on top of the $3,500 fine.
A chief constable has offered to pay out of his own pocket so that his officers can wear the Thin Blue Line badge after the symbol remembering fallen colleagues was banned by the Met Police at Pride.

Northamptonshire Chief Constable Nick Adderley - who lost two officers in a gun and grenade attack almost 11 years ago - said he would not allow a minority to 'twist the meaning' of the patch.

Officers policing London Pride earlier this month were ordered by Met commanders not to wear the emblem - which features a black-and-white Union flag with a thin horizontal blue line - as they claimed it has become 'linked to far-Right and anti-trans groups in the US'.

The move sparked fury from families of officers who have been killed in the line of duty and prompted Home Secretary Suella Braverman to demand answers from the Met over why the ban was implemented.

The badge is intended as 'a mark of remembrance and respect' for those who paid the ultimate price to maintain law and order, but a similar symbol, based on the American Stars and Stripes, has been linked to transphobic far-Right groups in the US.

Defending the badge on Twitter, Mr Adderley said: 'I have offered to pay for the patch, for my officers and staff, (my own money, not tax payers) if they wish to wear it as I am determined never to allow a minority to twist the meaning of this patch, which risks the memory of fallen officers being driven into an abyss hushed tones.'

Met Police officers were banned from wearing a badge (pictured in centre of officer's chest) commemorating colleagues killed in the line of duty at Pride

Northamptonshire Police Chief Constable Nick Adderley (pictured) - who lost two officers in the line of duty - has offered to pay out of his own pocket so his officers can wear the Thin Blue Line badge

Mr Adderley offered to pay for the patch for his staff to wear with 'pride as a mark of respect to fallen officers'

In a separate tweet, the chief constable said that he would encourage his officers to wear the patch 'with pride as a mark of respect to fallen officers'.

What is the Thin Blue Line badge? The Thin Blue Line badge is intended as 'a mark of remembrance and respect' for those who paid the ultimate price to maintain law and order. However a similar symbol, based on the American Stars and Stripes, has been linked to transphobic far-Right groups in the US. Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley defended the decision to ban officers from wearing the badge at Pride this month, but families of officers killed in the line of duty reacted angrily. Advertisement

Mr Adderley's impassioned defence of the badge likely comes from his own first-hand experience after two of his constables - Nicola Hughes, 23, and Fiona Bone, 32 - were killed in the line of duty by criminal Dale Cregan on September 18, 2012.

Fugitive Cregan lured unarmed Greater Manchester PCs Hughes and Bone to a property with a hoax 999 call and when they responded to the report of a burglary, he shot both women at least eight times before throwing a grenade at them.

Mr Adderley was a chief superintendent with Greater Manchester Police at the time.

Cregan, who was already on the run for the murders of David, 46, and Mark Short, 23, at the time of the killings, is serving a whole life sentence behind bars.

Despite backlash from families of fallen officers including murdered police constable Andrew Harper, Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley defended his decision as he labelled the badge 'contentious'.

Speaking to City Hall's Police and Crime Committee this week, Sir Mark said that in the US, the similar symbol 'has ended up being both a policing symbol and is being used by some hard-right groups'.

'That's why this is a tricky territory. This is contentious,' he said.

'I do understand that officers care deeply and they want to show how they care about their colleagues and that creates a bit of tension, and we're discussing it in the organisation,' Sir Mark added.

Families of fallen officers reacted angrily to the ban (Pictured: PC Andrew Harper who died in the line of duty in 2019)

Police officers Fiona Bone (left) and Nicola Hughes (right) were killed while on duty in 2012 by Dale Cregan. Their chief superintendent at the time was Mr Adderley

Dale Cregan (pictured) is serving a life sentence for the murders. He shot both women at least eight times before throwing a grenade at them

Officer were banned from wearing the black-and-white Union flag with a thin horizontal blue line if working at Pride celebrations in London (Pictured: Police at the London Pride March on July 1)

In an impassioned defence of the British badge, Debbie Adlam, the mother of Andrew Harper, told The Mail on Sunday that it was a symbol of her son's 'dedication to the force'.

'Since we lost Andrew we have considered the Thin Blue Line image to be a universal memorial to the loss of these officers,' she said.

In a murder that shocked the nation, PC Harper, 28, was dragged to his death by teenagers in a getaway car after a burglary in Berkshire in 2019.

His mother Debbie added: 'It concerns me that there are those who want to take [the badge] away. I hope that today is not the start of the end for the Thin Blue Line and all it means to us in the UK.'

Politicians, senior officers and campaigners also condemned the decision. One former officer, Henry Miller, said the Met had 'lost their minds over this'.

Mr Miller, who founded the free speech campaign group Fair Cop, added: 'Nobody in this country says that the Thin Blue Line is political. It's completely crazy. We have seen officers wearing all kinds of insignia associated with political causes, none of which they should do.

'But the one thing that police should be able to do is memorialise their own colleagues.'

PC Harper (pictured), 28, was dragged to his death by teenagers in a getaway car after a burglary in Berkshire in 2019. His mother Debbie said the badge was a symbol of her son's 'dedication to the force'

Despite backlash from families of fallen officers including murdered police constable Andrew Harper, Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley defended his decision as he labelled the badge 'contentious'

Despite the link to far-Right groups in the US, in Britain the badge (pictured) has been worn by officers since around 2015, and never been politicised

Former Home Secretary Priti Patel said: 'This is the result of vested interest groups imposing political correction and false narratives on our hard-working police officers.' She added that the badge was 'a mark of respect in policing of the sacrifices our police officers make for their service and the threats they face, day in, day out'.

Current Home Secretary Ms Braverman requested more information from the Met over why it banned officers from wearing the emblem - despite other forces allowing it.

A source close to Ms Braverman said: 'The Home Secretary has concerns at the reported reasoning for officers being unable to wear the Thin Blue Line badge in honour of colleagues who have lost their lives in the line of duty.

'She has asked for more information to understand what's happened.'

Despite the link to far-Right groups in the US, in Britain the badge has been worn by officers since around 2015, and never been politicised.
Nearly 700 migrants arrived in the UK yesterday - the highest daily total in more than seven months.

The total number who have illegally crossed the Channel in small boats this year has now passed 12,000, after a Border Force clipper brought 686 people from 13 boats to shore on Friday.

More arrivals were pictured in Dover this morning - the second consecutive day that Home Office officials were forced to spring into action, after six days without crossings at the start of the month.

Choppy conditions in the last week had put a temporary halt to the illegal crossings.

But a return to warmer weather and calmer seas has encouraged trafficking gangs to step up their operations in the last 48 hours.

A Border Force clipper packed with migrants arrived in Dover today as traffickers resume Channel crossings amid the fine summer weather

It is the second consecutive day that people have been brought to shore in the port town, after six days without crossings at the start of the month (pictured this morning)

Choppy conditions in the last week had put a temporary halt to the illegal crossings (people being brought ashore this morning)

Official Home Office figures now show that 12,120 migrants have landed in Dover since January 1, despite promises of a clampdown by Home Secretary Suella Braverman who has vowed to stop the boats.

This is still slightly lower than the equivalent point last year, when the cumulative total was just over 13,000.

Friday's figure of 686 people surpassed June 11's total of 549 as the highest for the year so far and is the biggest number recorded since 893 were brought in for processing on November 29.

READ MORE: Migrant crossings for the month of June hit highest since records began Advertisement

The figures also show that 3,824 arrived in the country last month - the highest total for June since records began five years ago.

In June last year, 3,140 migrants arrived in the UK having crossed the Channel. In 2021, 2,177 were detected, while there were 727 in 220 and 163 in 2019. And in June 2018, just four people made the crossing.

Despite the flurry of crossings throughout the month, the total for the first half of the year is still 10 per cent lower than this time last year, when the figure stood at 12,747.

The Government's flagship Rwanda policy was ruled unlawful in the Court of Appeal last week, forcing the PM Rishi Sunak to take the case to the Supreme Court.

Several ministers have threatened to pull Britain out of the European Convention of Human Rights, which was masterminded by Winston Churchill after World War Two to provide safe haven for people seeking asylum.

Even in Westminster, the government suffered 20 defeats in the House of Lords over their controversial policy. Among those voting against the proposals was the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Migrants arrived in Dover Port yesterday morning on board Border Fore vessel Defender

Nearly 700 migrants arrived in the UK yesterday (pictured) - the highest daily total in more than seven months

Friday's figure of 686 people (pictured yesterday morning) surpassed June 11's total of 549 as the highest for the year so far and is the biggest number recorded since 893 were brought in for processing on November 29

Alistair Carmichael, the Liberal Democrats' home affairs spokesman, said: 'It is clear that the Government's approach to tackling the small boats crisis in our channel is simply not working.

'Instead of spouting spiteful rhetoric, Suella Braverman and the Home Office she fails to run should tackle the huge asylum seeker backlog immediately.

'This Government has turned a blind eye to the crisis in the Channel. Their immoral and ineffective small boats Bill will make no difference whatsoever.

Commenting on the ongoing situation, 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 the boats, 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.'
Hakan Ayik, is understood to be hiding in Turkey

One of Australia's most wanted men who has evaded police for more than a decade is one step closer to being captured after his assets were frozen.

Fugitive Hakan Ayik remains on the run in Turkey but authorities are closing in.

Hundreds of bank accounts, homes, properties and companies that are owned by dual-Australian citizens have been obtained in Turkey.

Their owners, many of which who have ties to the underworld, have been told to prove how they were legally obtained.

Among the assets that have been frozen is the Kings Cross Hotel in Istanbul, which is part-owned by Ayik and a location he has been known to frequent.

One of Australia's most wanted criminals who has evaded Australian police for 13 years, Hakan Ayik (pictured), is one step closer to being captured

Ayik (pictured) is alleged to be one of the largest drug dealers in the world has managed to evade police for more than a decade

Ayik, who is estimated to have around $1 billion in assets, is one of the most wanted men in the world.

The 44-year-old is alleged to be one of the largest drug dealers in the world and is believed to have links to the Sinaloa cartel in Mexico.

In 2021, the drug kingpin unwittingly gave police direct access to the criminal underworld by encouraging his colleagues to use the encrypted AN0M messaging app.

The FBI AN0M sting landed hundreds in jail as a global drug syndicate was dismantled but Ayik managed to avoid capture, abandoning his glamorous Dutch wife Fleur Messelink, two young sons and his home to do so.

Ayik has also managed to evade being detained, despite the arrests of his close associates in the last 12 months, Mark Buddle and Duax Ngakuru.

In 2021 the drug kingpin unwittingly gave police direct access to the criminal underworld by encouraging his colleagues to use the encrypted AN0M messaging app, which led to the FBI arresting hundreds and resulting in Ayik to ditch his wife and children to avoid capture

Ayik has also managed to evade being detained despite the arrests of his close associates in the last 12 months, Mark Buddle (pictured) and Duax Ngakuru

The Saturday Telegraph reported until recent times criminals were paying corrupt Turkish authorities one per cent of their earnings to ensure their continued freedom.

The country has been a haven for major underworld figures, including Australians with bikie links, across the last decade.

After meeting with Turkish authorities last month, AFP Assistant Commissioner Nigel Ryan said detaining Ayik was the top priority.

'He's living the high life, he's fat and rich off the drug sales that are coming into Australia, killing our kids,' Asst Comm Ryan said.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted the AFP for comment.
This is the shocking moment a bolt of lightning struck down near a group of people as torrential flash flooding plummeted down in a Russian city.

The blinding flash left one woman with severe burns, officials said, during a sudden thunderstorm over Kolomna, 75 miles southeast of Moscow.

Footage showed people wading through a deluge of rainwater before an immediate bolt appeared to shoot down, visibly terrifying those in the vicinity and causing some to fall over in shock.

The bolt is said to have hit an electric scooter first before the woman was also struck after standing nearby. She was seen being carried through the floodwater with clear signs of blackening from the lightning.

The distraught woman was rushed to intensive care at a nearby hospital. She is in a stable condition.

The bolt of lightning struck down near a group of people as torrential flash flooding plummeted down in a Russian city

Footage showed people wading through a deluge of rain water before an immediate bolt appeared to shoot down, visibly terrifying those in the vicinity and causing some to fall over in shock

'A real apocalypse struck Kolomna - rain flooded the streets, trees broke off due to a strong wind, and lightning struck very close to people,' reported news outlet MSK1.

After the lightning bolt hit, the woman was reportedly unable to stand up on her own.

One of the men nearby helped her out of the water before she was taken for emergency medical treatment.

A source at Russia's Ministry of Emergency Situations said: 'According to the woman, the lightning strike hit a scooter, and she was passing by.

'She was taken to the district hospital with burns on her feet and legs.'

Alexander Grechischev, senior local official in Kolomna, said: 'Lightning struck the electric scooter she was sitting next to.

'The victim was taken to the hospital with burns to her legs.

'Now she is in the intensive care unit, her condition is satisfactory.'

The bolt is said to have hit an electric scooter, but the woman was burned after standing nearby.

The woman was seen being carried through the floodwater with clear signs of blackening from the lightning

Separate footage showed storm water flooding an apartment block in the city.

Across Kolomna, four suburbs were disconnected from electricity and four major roads were under water.

Another bolt of lighting also hit a tree near residential buildings, witnesses said.
Two young women who knocked a teenage boy unconscious, sexually molested him and stripped him naked are being hunted by detectives.

The 15-year-old suffered head injuries and wounds to his body during the sex ordeal at the hands of a woman with long blonde hair and another with bright red hair after they ambushed him in the woods.

He was walking along Cants Lane in an area of Burgess Hill, West Sussex, before he was assaulted by the two women, thought to be between 18 and 20 years old.

The pair removed all his clothes, and then walked off following the attack Soon after 6pm last Sunday.

Sussex Police are appealing for witnesses who may have seen anything suspicious and asked anyone who recognises the women's descriptions to come forward.

Two young women who knocked a teenage boy unconscious, sexually molested him and stripped him naked in the woods in an area of Burgess Hill, West Sussex, are being hunted by detectives

The 15-year-old was walking along Cants Lane in an area of Burgess Hill, West Sussex, before he was assaulted by the two women, thought to be between 18 and 20 years old.

A spokesman for Sussex Police said: 'Officers are appealing for a witnesses after a teenage boy reported being sexually assaulted by two women in Burgess Hill.

'The 15-year-old reported walking along Cants Lane shortly before 6.15pm on Sunday, then heading through a wooded area towards the World's End area.

'He was assaulted by two women, waking up on the floor having had his clothes removed, with injuries to his head and body.

'The assault was reported to police and the boy was given support by specialist officers.

'Both women are described as being around 18 to 20 years old. One had bright red, believed to be coloured, hair, was around 6ft 3ins tall and wearing glasses. She was wearing blue shorts and a black crop top, with pink Air Jordan trainers.

'The second had very long white blonde hair and was around 5ft 9ins tall, with a Merseyside accent.

'Anyone who recognises those descriptions, saw anything suspicious or has any relevant video footage is asked to contact police online or via 101.'
A young Australian attempting to sail around Australia solo has finally been rescued after a 24-hour emergency operation.

Sailing in a 6.5-metre long vessel, 22-year-old Xavier Doerr, was smashed by 110km/h winds during severe weather in the Great Australian Bight before he triggered his emergency beacon at about 5pm on Friday.

He was located by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) to be about 630km west of South Australia's Kangaroo Island and about 720km east of Esperance, southern West Australia.

The vessel was located by an aircraft for the Royal Australian Air Force on Saturday morning after two bulk carriers, the Theodore JR and HSL Mexico, were relocated to the area.

He was safely brought aboard the Theodore JR at about 6pm on Saturday after two prior attempts to save the Gold Coast man failed.

22-year-old Xavier Doerr (pictured), was attempting to circumnavigate Australia solo, unassisted and without stopping before his boat was damaged in intense weather

Mr Doerr's shore manager, Lee Randall said communication with the sailor had been lost for 'an extended period of time' on Friday afternoon.

'At that point in time he'd sustained some injuries and there was some water ingress into the boat and he genuinely feared for his safety,' Randall said earlier on Saturday.

Mr Randall announced the sailors safety shortly after he was rescued by a coordinated air and sea rescue effort.

'Gold Coast sailor Xavier Doerr has been rescued and is currently being medically assessed aboard an Indonesian freighter,' he said.

'It's been a hell of a 24 hours. As most people know by now there's been an air and sea rescue initiated down in South Australia.'

AMSA confirmed weather conditions in the area were 'severe with winds estimated at 100-110km per hour and seas reported to be 6m'.

The area had been issued a severe weather warning by the Bureau of Meteorology on Friday with wind gusts up to 125km forecast for Friday night and into early Saturday.

A young Australian has been saved on Saturday night after spending 24 hours at sea in the Great Australian Bight and two rescue attempts failed

Mr Doerr started his journey in the Gold Coast's Moreton Bay Marine Park on May 4, with hopes to complete 'Australia's toughest offshore challenge' while live streaming.

He was attempting to break the record for a solo, unassisted and nonstop circumnavigation around Australia before his ship was severely damaged off the coast of Perth on June 7.

His hull had been punctured and his sail had been torn to shreds, forcing him to dock in Fremantle for several weeks.

'I'm working as hard as I can to get back out on the water as soon as possible,' Mr Doerr told Seven at the time.

He left Fremantle dock on June 29 and set his sights to travel past South Australia and round Tasmania, bypassing the Tasman Strait, and up the east coast back to the Moreton Bay Marine Park.
A man has been charged with murdering a millionaire couple who were found dead with synthetic opioid fentanyl in their bodies.

Luke D'Wit, 33, has been charged with two counts of murder after Stephen and Carol Baxter, 61 and 64, were found dead in their home in Colchester, Essex, on April 9.

D'Wit was also charged with one count of possession of a Class A drug, and one count of theft. He will appear at Chelmsford Magistrates' Court on Saturday.

The Baxters were at first believed to have died from carbon monoxide poisoning after they were found dead in armchairs at their five-bedroom detached home.

But police who originally treated the deaths as non-suspicious arrested three people on Thursday on suspicion of their murder following a toxicology report.

Luke D'Wit, 33, has been charged with two counts of murder after Stephen (left) and Carol Baxter (right), 61 and 64, were found dead in their home in Colchester, Essex, on April 9

The Baxters were at first believed to have died from carbon monoxide poisoning after they were found dead in armchairs at their five bedroom detached home (pictured)

Neighbours of Mrs and Mrs Baxter who had lived for 13 years in a modern weather-boarded detached house in Victory Road, West Mersea, told of their shock today after police revealed the three people had been arrested.

Several local residents said they had been aware that Mrs Baxter had been ill, but they still saw her and her husband out and about.

One said today: 'I knew Carol had been unwell because I had not seen her for some time. When I spoke to her at the end of last year, she said she had been unwell and not going out much.

'She was a hard worker and was a nice and friendly person. I remember them saying that they were looking for somewhere else to live because they wanted to downsize.'

Another neighbour who asked not to be named said: 'People knew they were in poor health. But nobody around here thinks that they were murdered. It would cause amazement if that turned out to be the case.'

A third resident said: 'I used to see Carol walking her black Labrador up the road and she often had time for a chat. There was a drinks party outside to celebrate the end of lockdown and they seemed fine then with no hint of any health problems.

The couple, who were married in 2000, had two children together. Mrs Baxter, a former adult educator, had two more children from two previous marriage

'Maybe they took an overdose because they didn't want to live, but why would you do that when you have children? They had a little grandson as well.'

Mrs Baxter was managing director of a company called Cazsplash Ltd, selling bath mats designed to fit snugly around modern curved or corner showers, along with matching towels.

Her husband was a fellow director of the business which was launched 11-years-ago, according to Companies House records.

He was also global lead, operational risk and assurance, for multi-billion-pound transnational real estate firm Jones Lang LaSalle, which was founded in the UK but has its headquarters in Chicago.

The couple who married in 2000 had two children together. Mrs Baxter, a former adult educator, had two more children from two previous marriages.

They were known to be social members at West Mersea Yacht Club which flew its flag at half mast after their deaths.

The couple were found dead in their chairs on Easter Sunday by their daughter Ellie, 22, when she turned up to visit them with her one-year-old son Axel.

Ms Baxter described how she flung open bi-fold doors to let fresh air in as she suspected a carbon monoxide leak.

She said at the time: 'It was absolutely awful to see. I wouldn't wish that on anyone. But what I keep going back to is that they were sitting there together and were peaceful. There were no signs of a struggle or any pain.'

Miss Baxter added: 'They were very loving. Family always came first. They made sure that we always had what we needed and then some.'

Firefighters cordoned off the road outside the couple's home for several hours after their bodies were found, amid fears that there had been a gas leak.

Mrs Baxter was managing director of Cazsplash Ltd, a bathroom accessories firm which sells corner and curved shower mats

One nearby resident said she had been told to stay in her home for two hours, said: 'There was talk about their deaths being due to some sort of gas leak. But I remember it was a hot Easter Sunday afternoon when they would not be sitting in a room with closed windows and doors.'

An inquest opened held at Essex Coroner's Court this week heard how Mrs Baxter's provisional cause of death had been given as combined fentanyl and promethazine toxicity with terminal bronchopneumonia.

A provisional cause of death for Mr Baxter was given as 'cardiomegaly and alcoholic liver disease with fentanyl intoxication'.

Essex Area Coroner Sean Horstead told the hearing: 'On the basis of the information, I am satisfied that this requires a full inquest.

'At the request of the police, I will suspend the coronial investigation for four months.'

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid similar to morphine but up to 100 times more potent. It is a Class A drug which is used legitimately by doctors to treat patients with severe pain.

In the US, it was linked to about two-thirds of the 107,000 deaths caused by opioids in 2021.

Anyone with information can contact Essex Police by submitting information on a specially set up public portal.
A suspected UK-supplied Storm Shadow missile has destroyed a major Russian ammunition warehouse in occupied Ukraine as Kyiv's forces continue to push back against Moscow.

Footage showed the giant pulsating inferno raging in the eastern Luhansk region following the devastating missile strike.

The strike was in Sukhodilsk, close to Ukraine's international border with Russia - around 6 miles (around 10km) from the country.

Locals said a 'powerful explosion' preceded the blazing fireball, and speculated the strike was by precision Storm Shadow missiles which have a 155 mile range and are wreaking increasing havoc in Russian-occupied areas.

Russian occupation officials did not immediately comment on the strike.

Footage showed the giant pulsating inferno raging in the eastern Luhansk region following the devastating missile strike

The strike was in Sukhodilsk, close to Ukraine's international border with Russia - around 6 miles (around 10km) from the country

It comes as an unexploded Storm Shadow missile retrieved almost intact on the battlefield has been 'evacuated' to Moscow, said a former senior Russian official now seeking to collect trophies useful to the Kremlin so that Russia can learn their secrets.

'It is already in Moscow,' said Dmitry Rogozin, formerly Putin's deputy prime minister and head of the Russian Space Agency.

The missile was being dissected 'to the last screw', he said.

'Our specialists meticulously study all this and share knowledge and trophies with leading Russian defence enterprises and general designers in priority areas for the development of weapons and military equipment.'

Russia would utilise the 'modern weapons' both to create its own new rockets but also to design more effective defencive missiles to use against Storm Shadows, he said.

The Storm Shadow is an Anglo-French missile but it is only Britain that has supplied them to Ukraine.

Russia has admitted that the missiles have caused a major problem for their forces.

Last month, Yevgeny Balitsky, Moscow-appointed head of the occupied Zaporizhzhia region in Ukraine, said the weapons are causing 'trouble' and are even more problematic for the Kremlin's armies than the US-supplied HIMARS systems.

Locals said a 'powerful explosion' preceded the blazing fireball, and speculated the strike was by precision Storm Shadow missiles

The suspected UK-supplied Storm Shadow missile has destroyed a major Russian ammunition warehouse in occupied Ukraine

Dmitry Rogozin (left), formerly Putin's deputy prime minister and head of the Russian Space Agency, said the Russians had a Storm Shadow missile in Moscow

A graphic showing how the Storm Shadow Missiles work on the battlefield

The Storm Shadow missile (file photo) with a 155 mile range and precision accuracy has severely damaged Russian invaders in Ukraine in recent months

His words confirm the impression that the long-range Storm Shadow has been a game changer for the Ukrainians.

'They certainly give us trouble with their missiles, I must say, especially Storm Shadow,' said Balitsky.

'We've somehow learned how to shoot down [US-supplied] HIMARS.

'But the [British-supplied] Shadow ones are even harder. They arrive, and have a bigger radius. So it's a problem for us.

'In fact, our air defence is having a hard time with [Storm Shadow].

'It shoots them down, but there's only a 50 per cent chance of the missiles being shot down.'

He added: 'Out of four, three have recently reached us.

'Sometimes two make it. The missile is modern, although it is not the newest, but it is fast enough, it flies properly. I mean, at different speeds, at varying altitudes, changing modes, so it is not easy to shoot down.'

Britain announced the supply of Anglo-French-designed Storm Shadows to Ukraine on May 11, answering a long-time demand from Kyiv for long-range missiles to help defend their territory against Putin's invading armies.
Her family say she saw no warning signs

A mother-of-three who was allegedly murdered by her ex-husband noticed no warning signs and didn't see it coming, according to shattered family members.

Amira Moghnieh, 30, was allegedly killed by her estranged husband Ahmad Hodroj, 39, after he dropped off their kids at his sister's house.

The body of Ms Moghnieh was discovered at a home in Bexley in Sydney's south just before 6pm on Wednesday. Hodroj was arrested and charged with murder at the scene.

Photos and footage have emerged of the happy and fun-loving young mum living her best life before her death.

Her cousin Karim told Daily Mail Australia on Saturday that Ms Moghnieh had spoken to her sister hours earlier and that nothing seemed off.

'Her sister spoke to her the morning before the incident,' Karim said.

Mum of three Amira Moghnieh, who was allegedly murdered by her estranged husband had no worries and saw no warning signs of what was about to unfold according to her family

The body of Ms Moghnieh (pictured singing in the car before her death) was discovered at a home in Bexley, in Sydney's south just before 6pm last Wednesday

'They were laughing and having fun and everything was normal.

'She was not stressed or worried.

'She never saw this coming.'

He shared some of the last pictures and videos of Amira to Daily Mail Australia which show her smiling and laughing with her family.

Two recent videos show her singing in her car while in another she beaming from ear to ear as she plays in a park on the swings with her children.

In other recent pictures, she is seen feeding kangaroos, out on walks and posing for selfies with friends.

Ms Moghnieh had only just celebrated getting citizenship and an Australian passport in the days before she was allegedly murdered and already had plans to take her kids to her birthplace in Lebanon to see family.

Recent pictures of Amira shared with Daily Mail Australia show her smiling with her children

Ms Moghnieh had only just celebrated getting citizenship and an Australian passport in the days before she was allegedly murdered and already had plans to take her kids to her birthplace in Lebanon to see family (pictured: playing with her kids in a playground)

In other recent pictures, she is seen feeding kangaroos and out on walks

Daily Mail Australia understands Hodroj and Ms Moghnieh had been separated for a year when she arrived at his house last Wednesday evening to pick up her young children.

Her cousin Fadi said Hodroj had taken their three young children, aged between two and six, to his sister's house next door before Ms Moghnieh arrived.

It is understood he wanted to talk to Ms Moghnieh about their divorce settlement, which was due to be finalised later this month.

'He has three houses and she was going to get some of his assets,' Fadi said.

Ms Moghnieh's death has sparked an outpouring of grief from family.

'From the greed of this world, my sister is gone, gone,' her sister said.

'The mother of a sweet smile is gone, the sweetheart of my heart is gone.'

'May your soul rest in heaven, my love,' another wrote.

'You will always be remembered in our hearts forever.'

Her cousin Karim told Daily Mail Australia that Ms Moghnieh (pictured) had only just spoken to her sister that morning and nothing seemed off

The happy and fun-loving young mum was living her best life before it was cut short

Her estranged husband, Ahmad Hodroj, 39, was arrested and charged with murder at the scene on Wednesday

Daily Mail Australia understands Hodroj is employed by a company that works for Qantas. He is not a Qantas employee and has not been for some years.

A former colleague said he was 'very shocked' to hear the news.

'His wife used to bring him lunch to work. Sometimes he would share it. She was a good cook,' he said.

'His demeanour changed considerably since his separation.'

Police and forensics are seen at the scene of the alleged murder in Bexley

Ms Moghnieh had worked for the NDIS in Bankstown.

Hodroj appeared in Sutherland Local Court on Thursday where he did not apply for bail. He will appear in court again in August.

Investigations into her death are continuing.
A woke Yale University physician said doctors should be forced to wear body cameras to catch racist doctors as she claims to have seen a black teen die in the ER as colleagues 'chuckled' and said 'he's just another criminal.'

Dr. Amanda Calhoun, 28, suggested mandatory body cameras in a recent opinion article for The Boston Globe. Calhoun is described as an 'expert in the mental health effects of anti-Black racism' - despite the fact she is still a third-year resident doctor at Yale.

'I have witnessed countless racist behaviors toward Black patients, often coupled with conscious and cruel statements,' Calhoun, who is black, wrote in the piece. 'I have heard White nurses joke that young Black children will probably join gangs and doctors describe the natural hair of Black people as wild and unkempt.'

As for patient privacy, Calhoun wrote families 'could consent to the release of body camera footage if they want to bring forward complaints of racism.'

Yale officials have not said if they will implement body cameras - or even if they are entertaining the suggestion.

Dr. Amanda Calhoun is an 'expert in the mental health effects of anti-Black racism' - though she is still a resident at Yale

Dr. Calhoun wrote she has heard 'White nurses joke that young Black children will probably join gangs and doctors describe the natural hair of Black people as 'wild' and 'unkempt'

'If hospitals and medical institutions want to make good on those anti-racism statements made in 2020, prove it: Have health care professionals wear body cameras,' Dr. Calhoun wrote in the Globe.

'As a patient, I would feel far more comfortable if they did. And as a doctor, I will volunteer to wear one first.'

In the article, Dr. Calhoun wrote she has heard 'White nurses joke that young Black children will probably join gangs and doctors describe the natural hair of Black people as 'wild' and 'unkempt.'

'I have seen Black patients unnecessarily physically restrained,' she continued. 'I have stood in the emergency department as a Black teenager died from a gunshot wound while White staff chuckled, saying he was 'just another criminal.'

Calhoun also wrote about the poor treatment by 'white nurses' of her sister, who was suffering from an allergic reaction.

'Despite my moms insistence that my 9-year-old sister could be suffering from a deadly allergic reaction and seemed to be wheezing, White nurses refused to treat her with urgency, leaving them sitting in the waiting room, she wrote.

'Without even properly examining my sister, the nurses informed my mother she would have detected a nut allergy earlier in my sisters life if it was serious.'

Calhoun pointed out how body cameras can help in situations with the actions and behaviors of police in real time and that they can be accessed during police violence investigations.

Calhoun (pictured here with her husband at a protest) said doctors should be forced to wear body cameras to catch them being racist after she claims she saw her colleagues 'chuckling' as a black teen died in ER

'Monitoring the actions of individuals can result in self-checking behavior,' she wrote. 'If we want to see a reduction in poor health outcomes for Black patients, we must hold health care professionals accountable in real time.'

'Three years have passed since George Floyd was murdered by police, prompting the release of antiracism pledges across a myriad of national medical organizations,' she wrote.

'Yet Black Americans still are suffering from medical violence, which kills through delays in medical care, pain under treatment and misdiagnoses.'

Calhoun has spoke out before about being a black, woman doctor and claimed she has received death threats over what some perceive as controversial statements.

After giving a speech for a White Coats for Black Lives demonstration at the Yale School of Medicine, she implored her colleagues to understand that socioeconomic status does not protect Black lives from racism.

Calhoun, in a 2022 HuffPost column, declared: 'Before I was a doctor, I was a Black woman in America, and my white coat will not protect me.'

'Status does not protect my physician father from being followed by police in his neighborhood. Status did not protect my 8-year-old sister from experiencing a delay in medical care because white nurses did not believe my pharmacist mother when she said my sister was wheezing from anaphylactic shock. Status does not protect college-educated Black women, like me, from being more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications than white women who did not graduate from high school.'

Earlier this year, Calhoun wrote a piece for MedPageToday about how she, as a Black female physician, does not feel that Women's History Month includes her.

'Each year, as the month passes, I am reminded of the fact that, as a Black woman, I am very hesitant to join women's movements or initiatives without ample research into their background and reputation. Frankly, I don't trust them.'

She wrote about how she saw her white female colleagues 'publicly berating an extremely shy and incredibly knowledgeable Black female pharmacist.'

'A few other female physicians -- non-Black people of color with greater race privilege -- observed silently,' she added.

But the ironic part, she wrote, was that 'the same female doctors who belittled that female pharmacist are the first ones to talk about sexism and the need to uplift women, but they are also the first to exclude and belittle Black women, disregarding the "uplift all women" ideals they claim to have.'

'So, I am hesitant to join women's movements because, by default, they center white women, or women with greater race privilege, unless they are actively trying to disrupt that norm,' she concluded.
Rishi Sunak has said the UK 'discourages' the use of cluster bombs after the US last night announced the weapons would be sent to Kyiv to help with its counter-offensive against Russian forces.

Cluster munitions are prohibited by 123 countries, including the UK. They typically release large numbers of smaller bomblets that can kill indiscriminately over a wide area. Those that fail to explode pose a danger for decades.

Mr Sunak said the UK was signed up to the convention banning their use, and wanted to instead focus on supplying Kyiv with tanks and long-range weapons.

Joe Biden defended his 'difficult decision' to supply the besieged country with cluster bombs as 'the Ukrainians are running out of ammunition'.

Ukraine's Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov welcomed the US's decision to send the explosives to Kyiv, saying it would help to de-occupy the Ukrainian territory but vowed that the munitions would be not used in Russia.

The UK prime minister said earlier today that the UK 'discourages' the use of cluster bombs

Both Russia and Ukraine have used cluster bombs so far in the war. Kyiv says it will not use the controversial munitions in

The US has decided to send controversial cluster munitions to Ukraine in aid of its counteroffensive against Russian forces

The UK prime minister said earlier today: 'We will continue to do our part to support Ukraine against Russia's illegal and unprovoked invasion, but we've done that by providing heavy battle tanks and most recently long-range weapons, and hopefully all countries can continue to support Ukraine.

'Russia's act of barbarism is causing untold suffering to millions of people. It's right that we collectively stand up to it.'

The chair of the Commons Defence Committee Tobias Elwood also warned against the decision, urging the US to 'reconsider'.

'This is the wrong call and will alienate international good will,' he wrote on Twitter.

'Their use leaves deadly unexploded ordnance over the battlefield, killing & injuring civilians long after the war is over.'

The shells are controversial because they have a 'dud' rate of around 6 percent, meaning that at least four of each of the 72 submunitions each shell expels would remain unexploded.

However, the International Committee of the Red Cross estimates up to 40 percent of bomblets have failed to explode in some recent conflicts.

Dud 'bomblets' pose a significant threat of serious injury to soldiers and civilians, possibly for decades after their use in conflict.

Sixty percent of cluster bomb casualties are people injured while undertaking everyday activities, and one third of all recorded cluster munitions casualties are children, according to Reuters.

Mr Sunak said the UK was signed up to the convention banning their use, and wanted to instead focus on supplying Kyiv with tanks and long-range weapons

The shells are controversial because they have a 'dud' rate of around 6 percent , meaning that at least four of each of the 72 submunitions each shell expels would remain unexploded

Jake Sullivan, President Joe Biden's national security adviser, on Friday sought to make the case for providing the arms to Ukraine to reclaim territory seized since Russia invaded in February 2022.

'We recognize that cluster munitions create a risk of civilian harm from unexploded ordnance,' Sullivan told reporters.

'But there is also a massive risk of civilian harm if Russian troops and tanks roll over Ukrainian positions and take more Ukrainian territory and subjugate more Ukrainian civilians because Ukraine does not have enough artillery,' he said.

Ukraine's Reznikov said the munitions would help save the lives of Kyiv's soldiers, adding that their forces would keep a strict record of their use and exchange information with its partners.

'Our position is simple - we need to liberate our temporarily occupied territories and save the lives of our people,' Reznikov wrote on Twitter.

'Ukraine will use these munitions only for the de-occupation of our internationally recognized territories. These munitions will not be used on the officially recognized territory of Russia.'

Reznikov said the military would not use cluster munitions in urban areas and would use them only 'to break through the enemy defence lines.'

Russia, Ukraine, and the United States have not signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which bans the production, stockpiling, use, and transfer of the weapons.

Both Russia and Ukraine have used cluster bombs so far in the war.

Spain, also a signatory to the convention, said it opposed the decision.

'Spain, based on the firm commitment it has with Ukraine, also has a firm commitment that certain weapons and bombs cannot be delivered under any circumstances,' Spanish Defence Minister Margarita Robles told reporters at a Madrid rally on Saturday.
A mother whose leg was crushed by a faulty airport travelator has taken her first steps again after it was amputated.

The woman, 57, walked with the help of two physiotherapists and a frame at a hospital today after the horror injury at Don Mueang International Airport in Bangkok, Thailand, on June 29.

It comes as police demand the owners Airports of Thailand cooperate with an investigation into the incident after they refused to give officers CCTV of what happened.

The woman was walking along the travelator when her leg 'fell through a gap' and was dragged under, severing her muscles, tendon and bones, according to witnesses.

Paramedics amputated her leg at the airport and she was carried out on a stretcher as her limb was placed in a foam box an put in an ambulance.

The woman was walking along the travelator when her leg 'fell through a gap' and was dragged under, severing her muscles, tendon and bones

Her son Kittirat said she complains 'it's like being a child learning to walk again' and has vowed to sue the airport over the allegedly badly maintained travelator.

He added: 'My mum walked for 15 minutes and must practice every day. It's very encouraging.

'She's still as beautiful as ever despite everything that has happened. I hope that soon she'll be running faster than me.'

Airport bosses admitted the automatic walkway used by tens of thousands of people every day was to blame as three bolts holding the metal surface plate the woman was standing on suddenly gave way.

But Police Colonel Adirek Thongkaemkaew, chief of the city's Don Muang district police, said the airport's owners still had not handed over CCTV evidence of the incident.

Mr Thongkaemkaew added he would 'continue to repeat the requests for CCTV' as the force gathered witness statements.

Paramedics amputated her leg at the airport and she was carried out on a stretcher as her limb was placed in a foam box an put in an ambulance

Her son Kittirat said she complains 'it's like being a child learning to walk again' and has vowed to sue the airport

Don Mueang International Airport staff - which has a separate military terminal on the opposite side which is used by the country's King - closed all of 20 their automatic walkways after the incident.

The other airports around the country also began frantically checking their devices amid fears of similar accidents.

Karan Tanakuljirapat, director of the Don Mueang Airport, claimed the walkways were maintained regularly and they were scheduled to be replaced with newer models in 2025.

A Don Mueang Airport spokesman said: 'The director of Don Mueang Airport and management has visited the patient to follow up on the treatment and received information from the medical team at Bhumibol Hospital that she is currently in the process of receiving treatment from the medical team.

'Don Mueang Airport is deeply saddened by the incident and ready to fully accept the responsibility as well as take care of the medical expenses and compensation.'

Don Mueang International Airport (DMK) serving Bangkok opened in 1914 but was replaced as the country's main airport in 2014 by the new Suvarnabhumi International Airport (BKK) on the outskirts of the city.

Don Mueang International Airport staff closed all of 20 their automatic walkways after the incident

The airport's director Karan Tanakuljirapat claimed the walkways were maintained regularly and they were scheduled to be replaced

State-owned Airports of Thailand (AOT) runs the facility and the company is reportedly 'the most-valuable airport operator in the world' due to the country's popularity as a tourism destination and its rapidly growing domestic economy.

A similar incident happened in 2019 when a passenger's rubber Crocs were dragged into a travelator at the same airport. The victim said that if he did not take off his shoe in time, his foot would have been sliced off.

A number of other people came forward following the latest accident with similar complaints about the 'death trap travelators'.

Earlier this year an 11-year-old schoolboy suffered a broken jaw after he got his head trapped between a balcony and an escalator while riding the moving stairway at a metro station in Russia.

Video shows frantic efforts to free Misha after he got his head and hands stuck in between the escalator and an overhanging glass partition next to it.

Misha had been going up the escalator with his father when he rested his head on his hands on the moving rail, not seeing the danger from an unsafe design.

Video shows frantic efforts to free Misha after he got his head and hands stuck in between the escalator and an overhanging glass partition next to it

The 11-year-old was pulled under the overhanging structure and became trapped at the metro station in Okruzhnaya, a northern suburb in Moscow.

First his arms were pulled in, then his head became wedged as the rest of his body was pulled updated.

The boy's frantic father tried to pull him out, but failed, and passersby also sought to help.

The escalator kept moving making efforts more difficult to rescue the anguished child.

Eventually, reports said, the escalator was halted and emergency staff were able to free the boy and paramedics rushed the boy to hospital.

Misha suffered multiple fractures including a dislocation of the lower jaw, as well as head wounds and severe bruising.
The New York Times has printed a blistering op-ed by one of its star columnists slamming Joe Biden for disowning a granddaughter born to a stripper who his son Hunter had a fling with.

Maureen Dowd shared a letter written to Biden by her sister Peggy, a Republican voter who was previously so-charmed by the current-president that she voted for him.

But Dowd said Peggy had been appalled by Biden's refusal to acknowledge four year-old Navy Joan Roberts, whose mom Lunden got pregnant after a fling with Hunter. The president infamously said earlier this year that he has 'six grandchildren' - completely ignoring Arkansas-based Navy Joan, who is his seventh.

Dowd even suggested the president's behavior would result in the little girl being bullied at school, as 'she grows up, knowing that her father and paternal grandparents wanted nothing to do with her.'

'She will probably be able to see a video or two showing her half-sister Naomi getting married on the South Lawn and you watching the fireworks on the balcony with little Beau. And if she misses that, there will be plenty of schoolmates to remind her that she wasn't wanted. Kids can be mean that way.'

It comes after Hunter Biden's baby mama settled their bitter child support suit with the First Son, who promised to meet their out-of-wedlock daughter and play a role in her life, DailyMail.com exclusively revealed last week.

New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd slammed President Joe Biden for failing to acknowledge his seventh grandchild, Hunter's daughter Navy Joan he had with an Arkansas stripper Lunden Roberts

It comes after Hunter baby mama settled their bitter child support suit with the First Son promised to meet their out-of-wedlock daughter and play a role in her life

Dowd's piece focused on a letter her sister Peggy penned to the president, criticizing him for telling the nation that he only has six grandchildren - as the president has refused to admit or accept he has a seventh

Navy Joan's mother Lunden Roberts is seen on a recent photo she posted to her Instagram page

Years of legal wrangling ended abruptly when Lunden Roberts, 32, agreed to slash Hunter's $20,000 monthly payments and drop her petition to have Navy Joan's last name changed to Biden.

The pre-school age girl has never met Hunter and the Bidens have refused to count her as part of the family - with only six stockings representing the grandchildren being hung at the White House at Christmas.

Peggy wrote in the letter that even though Navy Joan has the 'Biden blood running through her veins,' and that DNA testing in 2019 established his paternity, the child was not getting getting the other perks of being a Biden.

Instead, 'all she is going to have as a reminder of this are some of Hunter's original paintings; sounds like a lousy trade-off, if you ask me,' she added.

Hunter has recently become a successful artist whose abstract works have been listed for up to $500,000 each - although his burgeoning career has been marred by allegations of nepotism.

Peggy's letter then aimed right at Biden's heart as it brought up the president's late one-year-old daughter, who he tragically lost in a car wreck in 1972.

'I know you still carry that pain with you every day because I have watched your face when you speak about her,' Peggy wrote. 'Please do not throw away your granddaughter.'

Earlier this week, House Republican Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik also blasted President Biden for failing to acknowledge his seventh grandchild.

Stefanik, who proudly proclaims herself as the 'newest mom' in Congress, told DailyMail.com the president should have acknowledged Navy Joan years ago.

The New York Times reported Friday that aides have been told that Bidens have six grandchildren - not seven - during strategy sessions

None of the Bidens have met four-year-old Navy Joan, including President Joe Biden, first lady Jill , Hunter and baby Beau Biden, who were photographed together at Tuesday's Fourth of July celebration

'Every American knows that Joe Biden should have done the right thing years ago and acknowledged ALL of his grandchildren,' said Stefanik, R-N.Y.

'It is cold, heartless, selfish, and cowardly that the President of the United States can't show love or compassion to his beautiful granddaughter. America sees this for what it is - an inexcusable disgrace.'

Sources told DailyMail.com the stunning reversal in the legal battle came after Hunter told Roberts in private talks that he wanted to end hostilities and 'build a relationship' with the adorable four-year-old.

The pact also paves the way for Navy Joan to eventually meet the rest of the Biden brood - including President Joe and First Lady Jill - for the first time.

Navy Joan gets none of the perks of having a president for a grandfather, nor the round-the-clock Secret Service protection enjoyed by the rest of the Biden brood

While financial details of the settlement remain under seal, court filings indicate that the fledgling artist Hunter, 53, will let his daughter pick out one of his paintings each month as a gift.

But the White House is still refusing to acknowledge the child as family.

During a Wednesday White House press briefing, Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre shut down a question on whether Biden would now acknowledge Navy Joan as his grandchild after the child support dispute settlement.

'I don't have anything to share from here,' Jean-Pierre said at the briefing as she moved on to the next question.

The New York Times reported Friday that aides have been told that Bidens have six grandchildren - not seven - during strategy sessions.

The blonde-haired little girl was conceived around December 2017 while Hunter was still in a relationship with his brother Beau's widow, Hallie.

'I had no recollection of our encounter,' Hunter wrote in his memoir about the matter. 'That's how little connection I had with anyone. I was a mess, but a mess I've taken responsibility for.'
Facebook tycoon Mark Zuckerberg has spent $43 million on private security over the past three years whilst simultaneously donating millions to causes that want to 'defund the police.'

Since 2020, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Zuckerberg's family-run foundation, has donated $3 million to PolicyLink, the organization behind DefundPolice.org, the New York Post reported.

DefundPolice.org aims to 'diminish the role of policing in communities and empower alternative visions for public safety.'

CZI, which Zuckerberg founded with his wife Priscilla Chan, has also reportedly donated more than $2.5 million to the anti-police group Solidaire, which has boasted about Oakland police losing $18 million in funding amid a surge in crime in the California city.

While Zuckerberg has funded anti-police efforts, his company has increased the amount of money it spends each year, now at $14 million, to make sure the Facebook founder is protected by a security force.

Facebook tycoon Mark Zuckerberg has spent $43 million on private security over the past three years

Zuckerberg is spotted arriving at California federal court in 2022 as he is accompanied by others

His family foundation has also donated $3million since 2020 to PolicyLink, the organization behind DefundPolice.org

Solidaire recently boasted of having played a part in stripping the Oakland Police Departments budget of $18 million.

Residents in Oakland in recent months suffered more than 100 robberies in a single week and 50 in a tumultuous 72-hour period in May, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

Oakland has seen a 22 percent increase in robberies over last year and an 18 percent increase in violent crime, from 211 incidents to 249, according to police data.

Many blame the rise in crime and homelessness in places like Oakland and San Francisco on lax law enforcement and generous assistance programs worth up to $687-per-month.

Meta - the Facebook parent company - has also increased its spending on Zuckerbergs security to $14 million in 2023, up from $10 million over the last several years, according to a company filing.

The company's CEO is permitted to use the money to pay for 'additional personnel, equipment, services, residential improvement' and other safety-related needs.

In 2021, Meta reportedly earmarked a total of $27 million for an 'overall security program' that ensured the safety of Zuckerberg, Chan and their three daughters.

Roughly $10 million of that was the 'annual pretax allowance,' while the rest reportedly covered Zuckerbergs safe, private air travel.

CZI, which Zuckerberg founded with his wife Priscilla Chan (pictured) has also reportedly donated more than $2.5 million to Solidaire

Zuckerberg (pictured competing in Brazilian jiu jitsu) is set to take on Elon Musk in a 'cage fight'

Zuckerberg has been seen becoming increasingly active, out running and mastering jiu-jitsu. The Facebook founder has been spotted out running with members of his large security detail.

He is set to face Twitter CEO Elon Musk in a 'cage fight' in Las Vegas or Rome in a bizarre Silicon Valley clash.

The arraignment has yet to be finalized, but the two tech moguls agreed to it while trading barbs on social media.

The pair are currently locked in a battle over Twitter's future, as Musk struggles to defend his tweaks to the social-media site and Zuckerberg launched his alternative, Threads.

Zuckerberg has said Threads will aim to be a 'friendly' alternative to Twitter, which has 'had the opportunity to do this but hasn't nailed it.'

Threads has seen 70million sign-ups since its launch on Thursday.

Musk's Twitter has undergone a series of changes since his $44billion purchase of the site in October. Musk has fired staff and changed policies for the site. His latest move, to limit the number of tweets people can see in a day, drew a sharp rebuke from its users.
Police are looking to identify a man in connection with the alleged rape of a teenage girl who was walking through woods with her friends.

The teenager was reportedly walking through Eastwood Playing Fields, in the Eastwood area of Rotherham, at around 9pm on Thursday when she was attacked.

South Yorkshire Police have released CCTV footage of a man they believe may be able to assist with their enquiries and have asked members of the public for their help in identifying him.

They have described him a white male, between 18 and 20 years old, approximately 5ft 8ins tall, of medium build, and with short brown hair in a back and sides haircut.

He is believed to have been wearing a plain grey hoody and blue jogging bottoms with stripes down the leg and white trainers.

Police are looking to identify a man (pictued) in connection with the alleged rape of a teenage girl who was walking through woods with her friends.

South Yorkshire Police said: 'Detectives in Rotherham are appealing for help to identify a man they wish to speak to in connection with the alleged rape of a teenage girl.

'Do you recognise the man in the image? Were you in the park at this time, or travelling through the nearby streets and may have seen him?

'If you can help, you can pass information to police via our online live chat, our online portal or by calling 101. Please quote incident number 1121 of 6 July when you get in touch.

'You can access our online portal here: www.southyorks.police.uk/contact-us/report-something/.

'Alternatively, if you prefer not to give your personal details, you can stay anonymous and pass on what you know by contacting the independent charity Crimestoppers.

'Call their UK Contact Centre on freephone 0800 555 111 or complete a simple and secure anonymous online form at Crimestoppers-uk.org.'
A California judge tossed the most serious sexual assault charges former Bravo TV star Dr. Grant Robicheaux and his model girlfriend, Cerissa Riley, faced as police accused them of drugging and raping up to 13 women.

The pair allegedly met their victims at the swanky celeb-haunt Nobu in Orange County, as well as other bars in the vicinity. The couple then lured the women back to their home in the Balboa Peninsula section of Newport Beach.

Both have maintained their innocence since being arrested in 2018, with their lawyers depicting them as swingers who like to party but who never engaged in non-consensual sex. Robicheaux, 42, was charged with assaulting five women, Riley, 36, with assaulting three.

Robicheaux, a hand doctor, was previously best known for his appearances on the reality show Online Dating Rituals of the American Male.

Orange County Superior Court Judge Michael Leversen ruled on Friday the accusers were 'incompetent' and referenced 'various differing statements through the years' when telling the couple that the case would not go to trial. The judge also said the victims refused to be medically examined after the encounters.

Dr. Grant Robicheaux, a hand doctor, was previously best known for his appearances on the reality show Online Dating Rituals of the American Male, while Cerissa Riley is a former model

The pair were accused of drugging women after meeting them at bars and luring them back to their home in Newport Beach, California, for the purposes of sexual assault

The accused, who attended court together, embraced each other when the decision was read out loud as Riley sobbed, reported the Orange County Register.

Both still face allegations of putting GHB in a woman's drink and the doctor still faces charges relating to the possession of assault weapons and cocaine.

Initially, there were 13 accusers, some of whom were to be called as witnesses by the prosecution in order to demonstrate a pattern of behavior.

On Friday, defense attorney Philip Cohen told the court that the accusations against Robicheaux were 'devastating.'

Cohen also said prosecutors 'have an obligation to not continue a criminal case if they have a reasonable doubt' and added that it was 'scary' that they were planning to pursue the charges.

The lawyer told the judge that one accuser took 20 months before making her allegation.

Cohen also provided data that showed one accuser who claimed she'd taken photos of bruises the day after meeting Robicheaux and his girlfriend, actually took the pictures a month later.

Deputy Attorney General Namita Patel maintained the accusers did not know each other and that their stories of assault mirrored each other.

'What chances are there that two women who dont know each other? And what is the motive (to lie)?' Patel said, reports My News LA.

Prior to Friday's decision, the court heard numerous investigators describe the allegations against the pair.

One of the alleged victims claimmed she met Riley and Robicheaux at Baja Sharkeez on Oct. 2, 2016, while out drinking with her roommate

Jane Doe 2 alleged she met the couple at Nobu Newport Beach on Easter Weekend 2017, after she connected with Robicheaux on a dating app

According to reports, Riley openly sobbed as the judge read out his decision that the sexual assault charges would not be brought to trial

Newport Beach police Detective Marie Gamble testified as the lead investigator for the accusations brought by the first woman, who was referred to in court by the pseudonym Jane Doe 1, reported the Orange County Register.

Gamble stated Jane Doe 1 met Riley and Robicheaux at Baja Sharkeez on Oct. 2, 2016, while out drinking with her roommate.

She said that they bought her and her roommate drinks but after a few sips, she 'blanked out.'

She awoke in a state of undress next to her topless roommate in Robicheauxs home, the court heard.

Unable to wake up her roommate, Jane Doe 1 got up and encountered Robicheaux in a bathroom.

When she asked him what was going on and how they had gotten to the home, she alleged Robicheaux grabbed her arms and told her: 'You wanted this, you wanted to come back here.'

According to the testimony, Robicheaux tried to kiss Jane Doe 1 and she tried to pull away, starting a struggle that led to him hitting her as she fell to the ground.

After Jane Doe 1 screamed, Riley walked up and told Robicheaux: 'It is going too far, it is not worth it.'

Jane Doe 1s screams were heard by neighbors, who called 911.

The accused, who attended court together everyday throughout the ordeal, embraced each other when the decision was read out

The couple was first charged with a string of sexual assaults in 2018

The second alleged victim in the case, Jane Doe 2, had her testimony presented by Orange County District Attorney Investigator Jennifer Kearns.

Jane Doe 2 alleged she met Robicheaux on a dating app while visiting a friend who lived in the area.

They arranged to meet at Nobu Newport Beach on Easter Weekend 2017, and she was surprised when Riley attended as well.

After a few cocktails, she agreed to go with Robicheaux and Riley to a bar.

The three of them had more drinks, and Jane Doe 2 took cocaine Riley offered her in the bathroom.

The next thing she remembered was walking up the stairs to Robicheauxs bedroom, the court heard.

She then recalled Robicheaux and Riley touching her and taking her shirt off after Robicheaux handed her a drink he had put a substance into.

The woman remembered crying hysterically while Riley attempted to console her.

She then locked herself in the bathroom where Riley pleaded with her to unlock the door, allegedly telling Jane Doe 2 that Robicheaux would hurt them if she didnt and adding, 'he makes me do this.'

The case against Riley and Robicheaux has been mired in controversy.

It was first brought by then-District Attorney Tony Rackauckas in 2018, but he was unseated by current-District Attorney Todd Spitzer.

Spitzer then controversially moved to dismiss the charges, publicly apologized to Robicheaux and Riley saying there was not sufficient evidence to bring the case.

The women's attorneys pushed back, arguing seven different women who had never met brought similar credible allegations against the pair.

A judge denied Spitzers request to dismiss the case, describing it as a 'back-room dismissal' of a case 'infected' by politics.

Two alleged victims pulled out of the case, stating they had been 'grossly mistreated' and 'dragged through the mud.'

A separate judge dismissed the charges relating to three other women at the request of the State Attorney Generals Office, leaving two remaining alleged victims.
Thames Water is racing to secure new backing in a bid to save the company as customers fear price hikes.

Britain's biggest water company, which serves 15 million customers, has been holding talks on fresh funding to secure its long-term future as it battles to survive amid its crippling 14 billion debt.

It has now emerged that investors including Canadian pension fund Omers and the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) have committed to providing new equity for Thames Water.

Insiders have told Sky News that more details about the major capital injection are expected to be announced to the stock market on Monday morning.

While it is not clear what the size of the initial equity-raise will be, one source told the outlet that it was unlikely to be more than the 1bn which Thames Water said it was working with shareholders to find last year.

It comes after it was revealed late last month that the Government was drawing up contingency plans for the potential collapse of Thames Water after its boss Sarah Bentley dramatically quit.

Thames Water is racing to secure new backing in a bid to save the company as customers fear price hikes

It was revealed late last month that the Government was drawing up contingency plans for the potential collapse of Thames Water after its boss Sarah Bentley (pictured) dramatically quit

The backing is non-binding which means shareholders could yet pull out - but it's believed to have been seen as a condition of PricewaterhouseCoopers, Thames Water's auditor, signing off the water company's accounts on a going concern basis.

READ MORE: Thames Water boss Sarah Bentley quits 1.6m a year job after bust up and giving up her bonus amid fury over sewage leaks Advertisement

A previous letter cited in the company last September said shareholders had 'further evidenced their support for [Thames Water] and its business plan through an Equity Support Letter'.

It added that 'shareholders have committed to hold investment committee meetings (for their respective institutions) as a path to obtaining approval (in the discretion of the investment committee) for funding their pro rata share of conditional commitments in respect of the further 1bn of additional equity which is assumed in TWUL's business plan.

'Whilst this is not a legal commitment to fundthe board believes it is reasonable to incorporate this additional 1bn of equity funding in its assessment.'

It's not yet clear whether the latest backing was materially different to the support given 10 months ago.

Earlier this week, the chief of the industry regulator Ofwat warned that water companies are planning further price rises for households.

Chief executive David Black also said that Thames Water customers will not have to cover the cost if the debt-ridden water company collapses.

He said suppliers want bills to rise to fund infrastructure investment despite the sector coming under increased scrutiny over financial uncertainty, dividend payouts and environmental failures.

Thames last year suffered its worst leakage rate in five years, with an estimated 630million litres of water a day escaping. Pictured is a flooded road in London on August 8

In 2022, Thames Water's leak rate was the worst for five years. Pictured is a Thames Water official delivering bottled water to residents in Northend after its supply was cut off

Ms Bentley's shock departure came exactly a week after Thames Water reportedly discharged sewage into Henley-on-Thames in Oxfordshire. Pictured is a dead fish in the river after the release

Mr Black defended the watchdog's performance in an interview on BBC Radio 4's Today programme on Wednesday.

Asked whether customers will have to pay if Thames fails to secure new funding, he said: 'No. The provisions are there to impose what's called a special administration, and so this is a form of an insolvency process but it's designed to protect the interest of customers, and services will be maintained.

'That's the backstop option of a special administrator being appointed but we are still a long way from that position.'

He said the company has 4.2 billion in cash and credit but is looking to secure further financing by early next year.

On Tuesday, the utility giant was fined 3.3 million over a 'reckless' incident in which 'millions of litres' of undiluted sewage was pumped into rivers near Gatwick Airport in 2017.

Insiders have told Sky News that more details about the potential capital injection are expected to be announced to the stock market on Monday morning

Thames last year suffered its worst leakage rate in five years, with an estimated 630million litres of water a day escaping from its ageing network of pipes.

Thames Water has often come under fire for its record on sewage and leaks. At the same time, executives have continued to be paid large bonuses and hundreds of millions of pounds have been dished out in dividends to shareholders.

Ms Bentley's dramatically resignation was a move observers said had worsened the 'perilous situation'.

Ms Bentley, who has run the company for three years, resigned with immediate effect and will be replaced on an interim basis by finance boss Alastair Cochran and Cathryn Ross, director of strategy and external affairs.

Bentley received 1.5m for her work in 2022-23, whilst Severn Trent boss Liv Garfield and Steven Mogford, former chief executive of United Utilities, both earned 3.2m for 2022.

Thames is now on the hunt for a permanent replacement.

While the firm did not give a reason for the abrupt resignation, sources told the Mail a row over company strategy may have precipitated her departure.

It comes as The Times reports that water companies could increase bills by as much as 40 per cent, adding to the burden on households who have already witnessed surges in their energy and food costs.

Extinction Rebellion protesters target Thames Water Little Marlow Sewage Treatment Works in Buckinghamshire in April

Mr Black admitted that suppliers are seeking further rises.

'We expect companies will request increases in bills at the next price review to fund larger investment programmes and those programmes will deliver improvements to the environment,' he said.

Thames Water, which serves almost a quarter of the UK's population, is owned by a consortium of pension funds and sovereign wealth funds.

Its largest shareholder is Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System which holds almost 32 per cent, while other shareholders include China Investment Corporation - the country's sovereign wealth fund - and the Universities Superannuation Scheme which is Britain's biggest private pension fund.

Abu Dhabi's Infinity Investments and Hermes, which manages BT's pension scheme, are also shareholders.

MailOnline has contacted Thames Water for comment.
A convicted felon in New York is just two weeks from he reporting to federal prison, and he's using the time to find a love connection on Tinder.

But don't worry, he is upfront and honest with his prospects that time is ticking to swipe right.

Dimitrios Lymberatos, 37, wants to 'meet and talk to people,' according to his Tinder profile bio. But he clearly states that he will be going to federal prison on July 24.

'I want to be honest - it's part of my recovery, part of who I am now,' Lymberatos told DailyMail.com. 'We always put our best pictures, our best selves on dating apps and social media. But for me, after all this, I wanted to be honest with who I am.'

His openness has excited and intrigued potential matches - who wonder what life with him could be like once he is released.

Lymberatos, a former pharmacist who lives in Flushing Queens, was convicted this year of healthcare fraud and money laundering. He was sentenced to three years in prison but his lawyers told him that with good behavior, he could be out in a year.

Queens pharmacist Dimitrios Lymberatos, 37, was convicted of healthcare fraud and money laundering. He was sentenced to three years in federal prison that is set to start on July 24

He is using his Tinder profile to meet people, but it upfront about his future status

Following his sentencing, Lymberatos created a Tinder profile to meet people.

'It's difficult for sure, but I'm not going to let it stop me from finding happiness,' he said. 'It's part of my story.'

As if dating in New York isn't tricky enough, try dating knowing you are getting ready to go to prison in a matter of weeks, Lymberatos said.

'I'm here to meet and talk to people. I am going to federal prison July 24 for 10 months. I'm being honest and not hiding anything. If you like to know me message me,' his dating profile reads.

Lymberatos told DailyMail.com he's gotten a slew of messages - mostly positive and many of which were from people curious about his situation what it would be like to date a convict.

'I think people's fantasies are driven by their ideologies of what they think is attractive. So someone in my situation, you don't really see.'

Lawyers for Lymberatos, a former Queens pharmacist, have told him that with good behavior, he could be out in a year. Pictured: Lymberatos' mugshot from when he was arrested in 2020

As if dating in New York City isn't tricky enough, try dating knowing you are getting ready to go to prison in a matter of weeks, Lymberatos said

Dimitrios, who also goes by Dem and by Demetri, modeled for Fendi before his conviction. He's pictured in Milan, Italy in July 2019 during Milan Men's fashion week wearing a red Fendi t-shirt, beige and brown Fendi jacket, black shorts, black Fendi sneakers and straw bag

Lymberatos, who owned a pharmacy in Queens, came under scrutiny after the US Drug Enforcement Agency, found discrepancies in his application. Pharmacies dispensing controlled substances must register with the DEA.

The New York Daily News reported that Lymberatos responded to the DEA probe by mailing a greeting card filled with cocaine to an investigators home.

He later pleaded guilty to five charges, including conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering and obstruction of justice.

Lymberatos has since been sentenced to three years behind bars at the Penitentiary in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania.

He said he takes full responsibility for his crimes, which he said he committed while under the influence and suffering a painkiller addiction. But is now clean and sober and looking to move on with his life.

In Lymberatos' recent search for love, there have been some matches who closed the doors before getting to know him, he said, which was expected. The dates he has gone on have also presented their own challenges.

Lymberatos wears an ankle monitor and has a 9:30 p.m. court-appointed curfew, so dates have to be scheduled during the day or in the early evening. The other option is for suitors to be comfortable enough with coming over to his Flushing, Queens, home. But he said he has no interest in flings or one night stands. But would be open for a pen pal to write to while he's incarcerated.

The first-generation Greek describes himself as sober and looking for a monogamous long-term partner, with interests such as 'self-care,' 'cooking' and 'working out.' He notes Justin Bieber's 2020 song 'Intentions' as his personal anthem.

Lymberatos has said his perfect man would be 'educated' and 'with a personality' and he can't stand Debbie Downers.

'Someone who's able to make fun of themselves,' his profile reads.

The first-generation Greek describes himself as sober and looking for a monogamous long-term partner, with interests such as 'self-care,' 'cooking' and 'working out'

Lymberatos, who published a self-help book, 'Greek Thinking,' in January 2021, is hoping to do something positive with his life when he is done serving his sentence

He told DailyMail.com he has no plans to date any of the inmates at the prison, but instead said he wants to use the time writing and continuing working on bettering himself

He told DailyMail.com he has no plans to date any of the inmates at the prison, but instead said he wants to use the time writing and continue working on bettering himself.

Lymberatos, who published a self-help book, 'Greek Thinking,' in January 2021, is hoping to do something positive with his life when he is done serving his sentence.

He has an interest in acting or being a motivational speaker.

'I am more than just a convicted felon,' he told the DailyMail. 'That person before is not who I am now. I want to continue to grow and shine a light on my story to do something positive with my life - and to hopefully help others.'
A middle-aged man stabbed to death in London today has become the latest victim of knife murders in the capital.

The victim, a man in his 40s, was found dead on a street in North Harrow, north-west London this morning, prompting an investigation by senior Scotland Yard detectives.

The man, who has not yet been positively identified, was pronounced dead at the scene in Pinner Road, despite the best efforts of emergency services which included the London Air Ambulance.

A murder investigation was promptly launched by the Metropolitan Police.

The force said inquiries are underway to inform the victim's next of kin and that

A middle-aged man stabbed to death on Pinner Road in North Harrow, London today has become the latest victim of knife murders in the capital (police pictured at the scene)

The Met Police have launched a murder investigation following the stabbing (forensic officers pictured at the scene)

The man, who has not yet been positively identified, was pronounced dead at the scene in Pinner Road, despite the best efforts of emergency services which included the London Air Ambulance

A spokesman for the force said today: 'A murder investigation has been launched following a stabbing in Harrow.

'Police were called at approximately 06:25hrs Saturday, 8 July to reports of a man stabbed in Pinner Road, North Harrow.

Officers, London Ambulance Service crews and London's Air Ambulance all attended the scene.

'Despite the best efforts of the emergency services, the man - believed aged in his 40s - was pronounced dead at the scene.

'Inquiries are ongoing to inform next of kin. A crime scene remains in place.

'There have so far been no arrests and inquiries into the circumstances are ongoing.

'Anyone with information is asked to call 101 or tweet @MetCC and quote CAD1721/8July. You can also contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.''
Two women who washed a knife killer's bloodstained clothes 'at 90 degrees' face years behind bars, as he has been jailed for life for murder.

Godfrey Madondo, 20, killed 19-year-old Jeremiah Sewell following a 'chance meeting' in Beckenham Place Park in south London on July 16 last year.

After the murder, Khelsi Johnson-Davies and Leah Simmonds together cleaned and threw away Madondo's bloodstained clothes, the court heard.

Johnson-Davies, 20, was found guilty of perverting the course of justice. Simmonds, 20, had admitted the charge.

Johnson-Davies was arrested at her Peckham home on July 19, and a grey balaclava with Madondo's DNA on it was seized. An examination of her phone led to 'incriminating' conversations with Simmonds in which she advised her to wash Madondo's bloodstained clothes at '90 degrees'.

Leah Simmonds (left), 20, and Khelsi Johnson-Davies (right), 20, who have been found guilty at the Old Bailey for perverting the course of justice

Godfrey Madondo, 20, who has been found guilty at the Old Bailey for stabbing Jeremiah Sewel twice in the neck for being from the wrong neighbourhood

Following Simmonds' arrest, communal bins near her home in Dulwich, south London, were searched and a bin bag containing Madondo's grey hoodie and jogging bottoms was recovered.

Judge Nigel Lickley KC adjourned sentencing the two women to a date to be fixed in August and granted Johnson-Davies conditional bail.

Prosecutor Alan Kent KC had told jurors the motive for the murder 'appears to be simply because the deceased came from Beckenham' and the defendant and his friends were from Peckham, in south London.

Mr Kent said: 'It was a chance meeting, in the early hours of the morning, in an otherwise deserted car park in the middle of a public park.'

A jury at the Old Bailey deliberated for five hours on Tuesday to find Madondo guilty of murder.

He was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 24 years at the Old Bailey on Friday.

A fourth defendant, Kadjo Kadio, 19, from Romford. Essex, was cleared of murder and an alternative offence of manslaughter.

During the trial, the court had heard how the victim had met up with a group which ended up in Beckenham Place Park at 4am.

They were inhaling laughing gas from balloons, playing music and swapping places in their cars, jurors heard.

At 4.25am, the defendants arrived in a black Astra and Madondo got out of the front passenger seat wearing a balaclava and approached the victim's car.

Someone heard the question: 'What ends you with?'

The victim replied: 'I'm a B boy.'

Jeremiah Sewell, 19, was killed by Madondo following a 'chance meeting' in Beckenham Place Park in south London on July 16 last yea

Within seconds, he was stabbed twice in the neck and also received a superficial cut to the shoulder.

Mr Sewell was driven to Lewisham Hospital where he died at 5.36am.

Madondo fled the scene but was arrested the next day and declined to answer questions in a police interview.

Detective Chief Inspector Chris Wood, from Scotland Yard, said after the conviction: 'Jeremiah's murder was an utterly senseless and barbaric act - the speed in which the situation escalated, and the fact that Jeremiah was sitting defenceless in the back of a car, offering no threat to Madondo, makes it all the more futile.

'From the outset, Madondo has not made any attempt to explain why he attacked Jeremiah, let alone accept responsibility for his actions.

'They have left Jeremiah's family wondering why their loved one was viciously attacked - when he could have provided answers; he has taken the coward's option and kept quiet.

'Madondo was supported by Johnson-Davis and Simmonds who attempted to dispose of evidence in a futile attempt to cover his murderous tracks.

'Nothing will undo the catastrophic consequences of that night, but I hope the conviction of these three people will at least give Jeremiah's family and friends some sense that justice has been served.'
A 12-year-old boy has gone missing in Leeds, and has not been seen since just after 10:30pm last night.

The schoolboy was reported missing from his home in the East End Park area, an inner city region of Leeds.

Samuel is described as being 5ft tall, with black hair which is shaved at the back and curly at the top.

Samuel, 12, was reported missing from his home in the East End Park area, inner city Leeds

Police are appealing for information to help trace the 12-year-old boy, who was last seen wearing a blue hoodie, black Adidas bottom and blue shoes.

The missing boy has a Slovakian accent and is known to frequent the Harehills area.

Anyone who has seen him or who has any information that could assist in locating him is asked to contact Leeds District CID via 101 quoting log 2080 of July 7 or by using the live-chat function online.
Former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn is back at it again with his questionable bhangra dance moves after a video of him celebrating a Pakistani wedding went viral online.

Mr Corbyn showed off his traditional folk dancing in North London last night while surrounded by excitable guests at a wedding party.

The 28-second clip, which was posted to Twitter today, shot the Islington North MP sporting a pastel blue waistcoat paired with white trousers and a white shirt.

As the 74-year-old struggled to keep up with the fast-paced drumming, the raving wedding party cheered him on from the sidelines as he stole the spotlight for a little boogie with the guests.

The large crowd clapped him on as he pulled out his best moves for the bride and groom.

Former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn is back at it again with his questionable bhangra dance moves

Mr Corbyn showed off his traditional folk dancing in North London last night while surrounded by excitable guests at a wedding party

He can be seen throwing his hands in the air as he desperately tries to coordinate his stomping feet to the beat before another wedding guest offers his hand in a bid to show him some other traditional dances.

Bhangra was created by British Punjabis in the 1960s being based on their music from their native Punjab, a region in the north of the Indian subcontinent divided between Pakistan and India.

Mr Corbyns wedding dance videos are starting to become an annual tradition - this time last year he also went viral online for busting out similar moves at the wedding of left-wing Labour MP Zarah Sultanas sister in Coventry.

He was cheered on by a large crowd of guests standing around him after being 'pulled over' for a dance by the groom Rizwan's cousin Tayab Naveed, 26.

After dancing Mr Corbyn paused to clap but only managed to twice before a shocked Mr Corbyn was lifted onto the shoulders of his dance partner and another wedding guest.

All three then punch the air in celebration as they are loudly cheered by the large crowd.

Joining the likes of Theresa May and Michael Gove, the MP is becoming known for his fun and wacky dances and people online are loving it.

Juliet Brown commented love it on the Twitter post while another agreed writing love that.

But others were a little more critical of his attempt at traditional folk dancing.

Jagtar Singh wrote: The man is an embarrassment while Dojj Singh added at last, someone who is a worse dancer than me.
Latvia's newly sworn-in president, Edgars Rinkevics, has become the European Union's first openly gay head of state.

Mr Rinkevics, who was sworn into office on Saturday, 'proudly' announced that he was gay on Twitter in 2014, making him one of Europe's few LGBQT+ heads of state.

The 49-year-old former foreign minister of Latvia was elected as president in late May as the candidate of his and Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins' New Unity party.

Gary marraige is still illegal in Latvia, although same-sex unions were recognised by the country's constitutional court last year.

Attitudes towards the LGBQT+ community remain conservative and less tolerant in the Baltic nations of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania - all former Soviet republics - than in western Europe.

According to the ILGA-Europe's 2023 Rainbow Map and Index, Latvia is ranked 37 out of 49 European Union countries.

Latvia's newly sworn-in president, Edgars Rinkevics, has become the European Union 's first openly gay head of state

Despite this, the Latvian capital of Riga saw the 'biggest pride march in Latvia so far' on the 3 June where 'more than five thousand people attended the pride march', according to Latvian broadcaster LSM

Kaspars Zalitis, one of the organizers of the Riga Pride 2023, told LSM: 'This was the most spectacular march Riga has had so far.

Dozens of companies, organizations, diplomats, and most importantly thousands of happy people who stand for human rights.

Riga Pride has shown itself to be one of the most unifying events in Riga. Latvia's community has become more open and inclusive, unfortunately, politicians are still unable to adopt the framework of the Civil Union Law or to ratify the Istanbul Convention.

Baltic Pride will return to Riga next year, bringing activists from the region to stand for the human rights of all people.'

Edgars Rinkevics, who had served as Latvia's top diplomat since 2011, took the oath of office in ceremonies at an extraordinary session of the Parliament, or Saeima, in Riga. He succeeds Egils Levits, who didn't seek reelection.

He is the seventh president of Latvia, a nation of 1.8 million that is a member of the European Union and NATO, since it regained its independence in 1991.

Latvia's presidency is largely a ceremonial post and the head of state acts mainly as an opinion leader and uniting figure in the country, where almost one-third of residents speak Russian as a first language.

Mr Rinkevics, who was sworn into office on Saturday, 'proudly' announced that he was gay on Twitter in 2014, making him one of Europe's few LGBQT+ heads of state

The Latvian capital of Riga saw the 'biggest pride march in Latvia so far' on the 3 June

'More than five thousand people' are thought to have attended Riga's pride march last month

The president represents Latvia abroad, acts as the supreme commander of the armed forces, signs bills into law, nominates the prime minister and has the right to dissolve Parliament, among other things.

Rinkevics gained popularity among Latvians during his 12 years as foreign minister - a post he held for longer than any of his predecessors.

In his inaugural speech on Saturday, Mr Rinkevics pledged that he would 'stand up for a modern and strong Latvia, for a legal and just Latvia, for the wellbeing of the people, for an inclusive and respectful society'.

He added: 'The rights of every person must be respected and protected in accordance with the highest human rights values and standards.'

Latvia's foreign and security policy would remain unchanged and the Baltic country 'will stand for a strong and effective NATO,' he said.

New Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics (pictured: left) and outgoing President Egils Levis attend the symbolic handover ceremony of the keys to Riga Castle on Saturday

'Russia's war and genocide in Ukraine have created a new, harsh reality,' Rinkevics said.

'We will continue to support the heroic Ukrainian people in their struggle for freedom until Ukraine's final victory. We will continue to fight against Russian imperialism and its evil world ideology.'

As he assumed the presidency on Saturday, the Latvian government said Prime Minister Karins would temporarily perform the tasks of the foreign minister along with his normal duties until a new appointment is made.

No names for a new foreign minister have yet been put forward for approval in the Parliament.
Disgraced former Met Police chief Cressida Dick has admitted she could have done more to improve the force's 'professional and moral health'.

Dame Cressida, 62, who presided over a toxic culture of racism and sexism that engulfed the Met, described the behaviour of some colleagues as 'unforgivable'.

In her disastrous five-year reign as Commissioner of Britain's biggest force, public confidence in the police was shaken to its core by a series of outrages that exposed a deep seam of misogyny among senior officers.

Her failure to get a grip on scandals led to her being forced out last April.

Now, in her first interview since then, she said: 'I fought racism and homophobia and sexism and misogyny within the service and elsewhere throughout my time.

Disgraced former Met Police chief Cressida Dick has admitted she could have done more to improve the force's 'professional and moral health'

The disgraced former police chief was speaking to Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby for his Radio 4 series The Archbishop Interviews

'It's a sadness that having fought and I think having done an enormous amount over many years to challenge and deal with those issues, that my commissionership came to an end because of cultural issues.

'It's a real sadness to me to see the pain and the suffering that colleagues and members of the public have reported over the years and it's a tremendous sadness to me to see some of the appalling examples of horrific behaviour  in my view unforgivable behaviour by colleagues.'

She was speaking to Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby for his Radio 4 series The Archbishop Interviews, to be broadcast today at 1.30pm.

She had a 'laser-like focus' on equality and inclusion but may have failed to 'set my stall out very clearly'.

She added: 'The irony is not lost on me that I'm a woman and gay. On reflection, I perhaps could have put more resources and people into the professional and moral health of the organisation.'

She revealed that she and senior officers felt 'anger, upset and shame' over colleagues' behaviour.

The Met came under increasing scrutiny following the kidnap and murder of Sarah Everard, 33, by serving police officer Wayne Couzens.

The Met came under increasing scrutiny following the kidnap and murder of Sarah Everard, 33, by serving police officer Wayne Couzens (pictured)

Dame Cressida was criticised for a heavy-handed police response to a peaceful vigil for Sarah and for minimising the problem by saying the force had an 'occasional bad 'un'.

Later, a report by the Independent Office for Police Conduct revealed shocking messages shared between officers about abusing and raping women, as well as the deaths of black babies and the Holocaust.

She said: 'I perhaps didn't get all my responses right how over people saw me and how I communicated.'
A toddler died in a freak accident when her mom set her down on the driveway in her car seat, then inadvertently struck it with her car tire, cops say.

Cyra Rose Thoeming, who was 13 months old, died outside her home in Cottonwood, 100 miles north of Phoenix, on Thursday afternoon.

Investigators say that the mother, Jafria Thornburg, was parking her car outside of the family home when she took Cyra out of the vehicle while still strapped to her car seat.

Thornburg did so in order to maneuver the car out of a tight space, cops say, and believed she had set the little girl down in a gravel-covered area that was safe.

Yavapai County sheriff's deputies say that tragedy struck when the canopy of the car seat got caught in front tire and the seat fell into the path of the car.

Thornburg frantically called 911 and little Cyra was rushed to Verde Valley Medical Center with critical injuries. She did not survive.

The Yavapai County Sheriff's Department's Criminal Investigations Bureau is still investigating the incident.

Little Cyra Rose Thoeming was born in May 2022, according to a GoFundMe page that has been set up in her memory

The child's mother, Jafria, accidentally ran over the child with her car, officials say

The incident occurred here, outside of the family's home in Cottonwood, Arizona, around 100 miles north of Phoenix

A GoFundMe page has been set up to help Cyra's family and pay for her funeral. At the time of writing, the page has raised nearly $10.000.

According to the blurb on the page, Cyra was born on May 16th, 2022 and passed away on July 6th in a terrible 'tragic automobile accident.'

'There isn't anyone who didn't smile their biggest after spending just a moment with her. It didn't matter how you felt, she would make your day better,' the description reads.

On Saturday morning, Cyra's father, Michael Thoeming, wrote a blog on the page.

Thoeming expressed his gratitude to those who have donated and then wrote heartbreakingly about his sorrow.

'She was a living miracle and reminded me, my spouse and all she came in contact with that the love of God and the goodness of heaven are often with us here on Earth in the form of a person,' he wrote.

Thoeming said that he and his would never stop 'carrying' their daughter in their hearts.

At the time of writing, the GoFundMe page has raised nearly $10.000

'Though I've lost you here on earth. I will follow the path that will lead me back to you one day,' her father Michael wrote on the crowdfunding page

'There are no words sending you all the love in the world during this tremendously difficult time,' a commenter wrote under Thoeming's post

'Though I've lost you here on earth. I will follow the path that will lead me back to you one day. I will always be your Father which is the greatest title I have ever held in this life. My every waking moment is dedicated to being the man that you made me. I love you Cyra Rose. Forever,' Thoeming wrote in a separate Facebook page on Friday.

'There are no words sending you all the love in the world during this tremendously difficult time,' a commenter wrote under Thoeming's post.

'Michael, I'm so sorry for your loss. We are praying and we are here for you guys,' another wrote.

Cyra's grandmother wrote on Facebook that the tot 'left an indelible impression on everyone who met her.'

Her uncle also paid a heartfelt tribute.

'My heart is in pieces, this little girl lit up the room every time I was around her and her family. My family and myself have lost a truly special piece of our peace.'
At least 21 children have been recruited by the intelligence services and the police since 2015 to help convict terrorists, drug dealers and gangsters, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.

Official Government reports reveal that the children were recruited for surveillance operations. It is understood that some were used as informants on family members suspected of extremism and others to gather information on county lines drug gangs.

Juvenile covert human intelligence sources  known as 'CHIS'  are aged under 18. There are no legal restrictions on how they can be used by agencies.

Official figures reveal MI5, MI6, GCHQ and police forces have all used CHIS as part of their intelligence-gathering operations between 2015 and 2021.

Charities and MPs have called for the practice to be banned. But security services say it is an essential source of information used only in exceptional circumstances.

Official figures reveal MI5, MI6, GCHQ and police forces have all used CHIS as part of their intelligence-gathering operations between 2015 and 2021

Karolina Rychlicka, from the children's rights group Just For Kids Law, said that it was 'deeply worrying' that children have been asked 'to participate in covert activity associated with serious criminals'.

But Colonel Phil Ingram, a former military intelligence officer, said the use of children was 'subject to very rigorous necessity and proportionality checks and oversight'.

The latest Investigatory Powers Commissioners Annual Report said that only one child spy was recruited last year and the person was over the age of 16.

Earlier reports showed that three child spies were recruited in 2020 and 17 juvenile CHIS authorisation had been issued between 2015 and 2018. No figures were available for 2019.

One report highlighted how a child spy was recruited to help the police penetrate a criminal drugs network.

It said: 'A juvenile was carrying out activity on behalf of a 'county line' drug supply group.

'The juvenile owed money to the group and approached the police wishing to supply information.'

Labour MP Stella Creasy, who has campaigned for tighter controls over the use of child spies, said: 'We were promised that using children undercover in operations was only ever meant to be in exceptional circumstances.

'Yet three years on from the legislation to do this the Home Office still hasn't even bothered to provide a formal code for police and security agencies about these circumstances to which they can be held accountable.'

A Home Office spokesman said: 'Undercover agents play a crucial role in protecting the public from serious crimes.

'Minors are only ever involved in exceptional circumstances and there are additional safeguards in place, including requiring authorisation at a higher level.'

Latest figures also reveal that in 2021 the intelligence services, police, Ministry of Defence, local authorities and the prison service bugged 1,017 homes, followed 6,847 people and hacked 3,630 phones.
A California man accused of killing three sex workers in Mexico had an unusual relationship with his mother and would often sleep in the same bed as her, officials say.

Bryant Rivera, 30, was arrested at his parents' home in Downey, California, on Thursday and is expected to be extradited to Mexico.

The Los Angeles County man has only been charged in connection to one murder, but faces three counts of femicide, according to Mexican officials, who shared some of the evidence they believe connects him to all three deaths.

The Attorney General of Baja Mexico, Ricardo Ivan Carpio Sanchez, described Rivera as a serial killer who murdered three sex workers between September 2021 and February 2022. Rivera's scheduled to appear Monday in federal court in LA.

The brutal slayings of the vulnerable women led Carpio Sanchez to describe Rivera as displaying 'violent and psychopathic behavior' comparable to notorious murderer Ted Bundy.

Bryant Rivera, 30, who is is accused of killing three sex workers in Tijuana, Mexico, was arrested Thursday at his parents' home in Downey, California, and is to be extradited to Mexico

Rivera's parents said they are in disbelief over their son's arrest with his father Candido Rivera telling NBC Los Angeles that they depend on him for help

They described their son as kind and caring. The Attorney General of Baja Mexico, Ricardo Ivan Carpio Sanchez revealed new details that Rivera often slept in the same bed of his mother

Rivera's parents said they are in disbelief over their son's arrest with his father, Candido Rivera, telling NBC Los Angeles that they depend on him.

'He takes us to our doctor's appointments, to the supermarket,' Rivera said of his son who he described his son as kind and caring.

If convicted, Rivera faces three 65-year sentences, one for each alleged victim, according to Carpio Sanchez.

But Rivera's father told NBC: 'I'm going to wait and see what the evidence shows.'

Rivera allegedly met the women at the Hong Kong Gentlemen's Club, a popular strip club in Tijuana, before brutally murdering them.

One of the victims, Angela Carolina Acosta Flores, 20, who worked at the bar for around five months as a dancer and sex worker, was killed in a room at Hotel Cascadas on January 24, 2022.

Angela Acosta Flores, 20, was working as an exotic dancer in the Tijuana club when she was murdered at a hotel above the premises in January 2022

Security footage is said to show Rivera heading to a hotel with a woman he's accused of killing

On the night of the murder, the victim texted her mother that she was accompanying a client to a room at Hotel Cascadas for 30 minutes.

Security cameras caught a man and Flores together before entering the room, according to the criminal complaint.

Three employees at the bar later described the man as having an acne-scarred face and a mole on the left side of his nose.

When she did not return, her boyfriend went to the bar to look for her and a colleague said she had seen Flores 'with a male client with a light brown complexion, an acne-scarred face,' who stood about 5-feet-5-inches tall and had brown hair, according to the document.

The woman added she knew the victim's client as 'Bryant Rivera,' and that he was a 'gringo,' a term used to describe Americans, the complaint states.

Flores' mother and boyfriend went to the reception for answers when they discovered that a woman had been found dead in room 404.

The next day Rivera returned to the US by foot, passing through the San Ysidro port of entry, border control records show.

Just three weeks later, Rivera allegedly murdered another dancer he met at the Hong Kong Gentlemen's Club, Carpio Sanchez said.

Elizabeth Martinez Cigarroa, 25, was found dead after going on a Valentine's Day date with an American, allegedly Rivera, who she reportedly met at Hong Kong Gentlemen's Club.

Her body was found on February 17, 2022 in the back of her abandoned truck with obvious signs of violence, Vice reported.

Elizabeth Martinez Cigarroa, 25, has been named as another of Rivera's alleged victims he's said to have met at the same premises

Another dancer, thought to have been a regular client of Rivera, was allegedly strangled and beaten to death by him on August 30, 2021, according to Zeta Tijuana.

Her body was found days later stuffed in a trash bin.

For more than a year, the victims' families grieved their loss while the suspect evaded custody.

But on July 6, 2023, US police arrested Rivera on suspicion of the murder of Angela Carolina Acosta Flores.

Rivera is filmed passing through border control. He is a California native, but will be tried over the killings in Mexico

'The United States understands that Mexico may add additional charges when it submits the formal request for extradition,' according to the June 29 complaint filed by the U.S. attorney's office.

A detention hearing will take place in Los Angeles next week where federal prosecutors will request the judge keeps Rivera behind bars during extradition proceedings.

Investigators have not ruled out the possibility of additional victims.

According to the Los Angeles Times, in 2021, Mexico saw 1,000 femicides, the murder of women or girls because they are female.
The victim of a 'spiteful' revenge porn attack carried out by a close friend of Phillip Schofield last night accused the TV presenter of an 'abuse of power' after he gave a court statement that may have helped the perpetrator to escape with a lenient sentence.

Schofield has railed against revenge porn on ITV's This Morning  describing it as a 'most distressing' crime and voicing his sympathy for victims.

But speaking exclusively to The Mail on Sunday, the victim branded Schofield a 'hypocrite' for providing a character reference for his friend Ben Perryman, which he said 'ruined a big part of my life'.

Perryman, 30, received a suspended 12-week jail term in 2018 after pleading guilty to posting a naked picture of the man, whom he was in a tumultuous relationship with for around six years, to 30,000 people on Twitter.

He also sent the image directly to the man's work colleagues and bosses, in what a judge described as a 'particularly spiteful' and 'targeted and focused act of revenge'.

Philip Schofield has been branded a 'hypocrite' for providing a character reference for his friend Ben Perryman (right), which may have helped Ben receive a lenient sentence for revenge porn in 2018

Perryman's victim, who has asked to remain anonymous  and who we have called James  said he believes Schofield's intervention helped Perryman dodge jail and secure a lenient sentence

Schofield, 61, who came out as gay in 2020, has repeatedly told The Mail on Sunday in recent weeks that when he wrote the character reference he did not know what it would be used for.

But a three-week investigation by The Mail on Sunday has prised open court documents that reveal he knew full well the reference was going to be used by his friend in court.

The judge who sentenced Perryman was reassured by Perryman's barrister that his referees knew he'd admitted the offence.

It means that Schofield appears to have once again lied to this newspaper about his relationships with young men.

Last night Schofield said he did 'not recall' being told his reference would be used in court.

Schofield was forced to step down from This Morning in May after he released a bombshell statement to the Daily Mail, admitting he lied to The Mail on Sunday about being in a relationship with a much younger man who worked with him as a runner on This Morning.

Schofield had hosted debates on This Morning with victims of high-profile revenge porn cases. In 2016, he interviewed three female victims, describing their ordeal as 'truly shocking' and saying they were 'victims of the most distressing crime'.

But less than two years later, in June 2018, he was one of three people who provided written references vouching for Perryman's good character ahead of his sentencing hearing at Liverpool Crown Court.

Last night Perryman's victim, who has asked to remain anonymous  and who we have called James  said he believes Schofield's intervention helped Perryman to dodge jail and secure a lenient sentence.

'I feel like Phillip Schofield robbed me of the justice that should have been served for a horrendous crime that someone committed,' he said.

'I was basically told that 'yeah this happened but it's not that serious, so this is the sentence that he'll get'.

'I had to live through that for a very long time, questioning myself that I overreacted to this.

'I'm angry at him [Schofield] because it just seems like an abuse of power, I guess  'I am a powerful celebrity, I can use my fame to get people off the hook'.'

James was so infuriated at Schofield's behaviour that he considered phoning This Morning to confront him live on air during another TV segment about revenge porn.

'I honestly wanted to phone up the This Morning helpline, hoping that I would get through to speak to him. I wanted to say, 'If you think so strongly about this, why did you give a character reference in my court case?'

Schofield hosted debates on This Morning with victims of high-profile revenge porn cases, including in 2016 when he interviewed three female victims, describing their ordeal as 'truly shocking' and saying they were 'victims of the most distressing crime'

'I would love to hear from him about why he thinks it's acceptable that he played so much of a part defending someone's actions  but then can go on and say 'this is a really bad subject'.'

James, then a university student, began seeing Perryman in 2012. Their early relationship had a 'whirlwind intensity', with Perryman moving into James's and his parents' home within months.

'Ben is one those who you spend an hour with and you are already drawn in,' said James. 'He is very charming when he wants to be.'

But cracks began to show after two years and the relationship became increasingly turbulent.

Did he lie to MOS (again) to cover tracks? Philip Schofield appears to have once again lied to The Mail on Sunday about his relationships with young men. This newspaper first approached his representatives more than a month ago and asked about a character reference he wrote that was used in court for his friend Ben Perryman who admitted a revenge porn offence. In a statement on June 16, Schofield claimed he did not know the reference was going to be used in a criminal trial. 'I was asked for a character reference. I had no idea what it was to be used for,' he said. The puzzling response raised questions about how the statement could have featured in Perryman's court hearing if Schofield had seemingly not given his explicit consent. Questioned further, Schofield's lawyer said: 'I cannot comment on how the reference was presented and/or by whom.' Determined to uncover the truth, The Mail on Sunday applied for a copy of the transcript of Perryman's 67-minute sentencing hearing at Liverpool Crown Court on June 13, 2018. The crucial document was sent to us on Friday night and  astonishingly  it revealed how the court was told that the three people who provided references for Perryman were aware of his crime. Defence barrister Phillip Astbury reassured Judge Denis Watson he had checked that the referees 'are aware of why they have written the reference and why he [Perryman] is here today'. He added: 'So those references all come in the knowledge, even if it is not expressly in the reference, of what he faces and what he has done, and yet they speak very highly of him.' The court separately confirmed in writing to this newspaper that Schofield was one of those who had provided a short statement. Asked yesterday if Schofield had lied, his lawyer said: 'He does not recall being asked if the reference that he provided could be used at the hearing.' The exchange comes less than two months after Schofield admitted to lying to the MoS about a relationship with a much younger man who worked with him on This Morning. Schofield further confessed that he lied to ITV, colleagues, friends and his agents at management company YMU. Advertisement

James said he became aware of a third person in the background of their relationship: Phillip Schofield.

Perryman had told his boyfriend he was friends with Schofield, who he called his 'godfather' or 'Uncle Phil', saying he'd met him through one of Schofield's daughters.

James said that initially Perryman, who was still living in Liverpool, would see the TV presenter in London around four times a year but the pair would regularly speak using Facetime or message each other via the Telegram app.

In about 2014 Perryman told James that Schofield had invited them both to watch the filming of an episode of ITV's All Star Mr and Mrs, which Schofield presented.

He instructed his boyfriend not to speak to his celebrity friend, James claimed. 'Ben told me I was not allowed to speak to Phil. We were in the back row, which was for friends and family, and I was sat on the very end of the row.

'Ben was next to me and Phillip Schofield reached over my lap to shake Ben's hand and then greeted everyone else, and completely ignored me.'

After this episode, Perryman had more contact with Schofield, James said. The TV presenter would call his friend on Facetime during This Morning adverts breaks or from holidays in his villa in Portugal, James claimed.

'Ben would say things like 'I've got to go to London ' but wouldn't tell me why and when he came back it would be 'oh yeah, I went for dinner with Phil'.'

James and Perryman's relationship finally imploded in December 2017 after James landed a new job in North-west England.

James claimed Perryman wrongly believed that James was cheating on him. During a shift shortly before Christmas, James sent Perryman a picture of him with a female work colleague in a bid to prove that he was not with another man.

This, he claimed, angered Perryman because he believed James was discussing details of their relationship with the woman.

James claimed he returned to the house in Liverpool that he shared with Perryman and Perryman's mother to discover that all his clothes and belongings had been dumped on the street outside.

Next morning he was inundated by messages from friends on social media telling him that Perryman had posted a picture on Twitter of him laying naked in a bath.

Perryman deleted it a few hours later but sent a less explicit version of the picture to James's work colleagues with a caption that read: 'Check out my ex-boyfriend's nude on Twitter.'

James said he was 'devastated' and 'suicidal', adding: 'I was heartbroken that he could do something like that but also broken as a person, as in how do I physically recover from this level of trauma that's happened? It just crushed my soul, my self-esteem.

'I've been in therapy to work through all my anger and anxiety issues. I thought that every person I met in the street had seen me naked. I thought that I would never be able to trust anybody again.'

James told police, Perryman was arrested and, in May 2018, pleaded guilty at Liverpool magistrates court to posting a private sexual photograph without consent.

James said the Crown Prosecution Service advised him not to attend Perryman's sentencing at Liverpool Crown Court, partly as 'it would be very hard for me'.

More than a year later he discovered that Perryman's defence team had submitted three character references to Judge Denis Watson ahead of the hearing.

The court confirmed to this newspaper that one of those references was submitted by Phillip Schofield.

Judge Watson said he was in 'no doubt' Perryman's offence 'crosses the custody threshold'.

But he highlighted his 'good character' and personal history, which included dealing with being on the autistic spectrum. He added: 'I have also read the character references from a variety of people in different fields who speak highly of you.'

Sentencing him to a 12-week suspended sentence he said: 'You are in fact lucky not to be serving a 12-week sentence straight away.'

Perryman was also given a four-year restraining order and an eight week curfew, during which he had to wear an electronic tag.

Revenge porn became an offence in 2015, with a maximum jail sentence of two years, and James believes the character references may have contributed to Perryman receiving a 'soft' sentence.

'Phil doesn't realise the impact that writing that statement had on me. It was a total disregard for my feelings, my well-being, everything  which is just a constant of Phil since the beginning of mine and Ben's relationship when Phil became involved in it.'

He added: 'It is almost like he doesn't want to think I exist, I'm not in his life. So, for him to write that statement was I guess nothing to him, just like when he met me at Mr and Mrs  it was nothing to just ignore me, like I didn't exist.'

His fury grew when he learnt that Schofield had addressed the issue of revenge porn on This Morning.

In 2016, a year before Perryman's crime, Schofield and co-host Holly Willoughby interviewed three women about revenge porn after a 36-year-old man stole pictures of them from social media and posted them on an X-rated website.

This March, Schofield and Holly interviewed reality TV's Georgia Harrison after her ex-partner Stephen Bear was jailed for 21 months for sharing a sex video of them on his OnlyFans website.

Voicing his sympathy at her ordeal, Schofield said: 'You waived your right to anonymity over this, but with a crime like this, there is no anonymity. You are named, you are visible. There is literally nothing you can do about it.'

Last night James said: 'He is such a hypocrite for highlighting the impact of revenge porn while at the same time providing a character reference for someone who was convicted of that crime.'

A spokesman for Schofield said: 'He does not recall being asked whether his reference would be used at the proceedings.'

Perryman insisted he didn't know he would face a charge of revenge porn when Schofield provided the reference.

'So we knew it was a court case but didn't know what it was for,' he said.

He added: 'Phil is one of the nicest humans I've ever met. He's a great family friend and would do anything for anyone. I called him my unofficial godfather because he's the best person to run to for advice on anything. I speak to him most days, that's what good friends do.'

Additional reporting: Jacinta Taylor, Peter Sheridan and Caroline Graham
Inspectors also said the women-only facility is a long drive from the South East

A private GP only visits twice a week and it does not have its own hair salon

Inspectors have declared a new migrant detention centre is 'inhumane'  because the wi-fi is slow and mobile signal unreliable.

Prison watchdog the Independent Monitoring Boards (IMB) also complained Derwentside removal centre, set in picturesque countryside in County Durham, does not have its own hair salon and a private GP visits only twice a week.

And it said the women-only facility is a long drive from the South East, a journey that may leave illegal migrants 'tired, disorientated or stressed'.

Inspectors have advised the Home Office to 'reconsider its suitability' despite admitting the accommodation is good. Staff at the centre outnumber migrants almost six to one. Last year, there were 97 workers looking after 17 migrants.

In its report, the IMB said: 'We consider that the location of Derwentside, plus the inadequate communications infrastructure, is unsuitable and leads to treatment of detained women that is in some respects inhumane.

PICTURESQUE SETTING: The Derwentside detention centre where last year 97 workers looked after just 17 migrants

READ MORE: Health chiefs advertise 12MILLION contract to give detained immigrants access to GP and dental treatment NHS officials are planning to spend up to 12million on providing primary care and dental for the detainees at Derwentside Immigration Removal Centre Advertisement

'Added to the difficulty with the physical location is the unreliable mobile phone reception.'

It advised detainees should be supplied with iPads to help them overcome translation issues and make friends. But it complained: 'A practical obstacle to this is that the wi-fi signal in the residential units is not adequate to support the functioning of these tablets.'

The IMB went on to say that 'once they arrive at Derwentside women are treated with respect and kindness by staff'. It added: 'The accommodation is in good condition and is kept clean and tidy.'

Another complaint was that a GP supplied by private healthcare company Spectrum visits only twice a week, but nursing staff are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It also complained that a salon and shop had not yet opened at the 84-capacity facility, which cost 18.7 million to build and opened in November 2021.

The centre is run by private firm Mitie on behalf of the Home Office at a cost of 100,000 a year for each detainee.

Tory MP Peter Bone said: 'It's laughable to suggest that we should ensure good mobile coverage for people who shouldn't even be here.

'In due course, facilities like this will be redundant when we start sending illegal migrants to Rwanda. But the suggestion we should shut them down for spurious reasons like this is just nonsense.'

A private GP only visits the centre twice a week and it does not have its own hair salon

Inspectors also said the women-only facility is a long drive from the South East

A Home Office source said: 'This is a modern, comfortable facility for housing individuals who should not be in this country and are awaiting deportation.

'The strength of the mobile signal and the quality of the internet are not high priorities.'

IMB chairman Jane Leech MBE said: 'Given the concerns we have highlighted about Derwentside's location, we are asking the Immigration Minister to reconsider its suitability as an immigration removal centre. We feel that long and frequent journeys, combined with difficulties in maintaining family contact, are damaging to the women concerned.'

Nearly 700 migrants crossed the Channel on Friday, the highest number so far this year.

Some 686 people made the journey, Home Office figures published yesterday revealed, passing this year's previous high of 549 recorded last month.
A devout Christian social worker has had a 25,000-a-year job offer withdrawn after his employer discovered he had once won a landmark legal case over his right to freedom of speech.

Felix Ngole was thrown off a social worker training course at Sheffield University following his Facebook post which quoted passages from the Bible about same-sex marriage.

But in a major victory for free speech, he was allowed to return to his training when the Court of Appeal ruled in 2019 that Mr Ngole would 'never discriminate against anyone' because of his personal views. His case was featured in The Mail on Sunday as part of our Fighting For Free Speech campaign.

But now the father-of-three faces further hardship as a result of his religious beliefs. He successfully applied for a job at Leeds-based Touchstone Support as a mental health support worker but the offer was rescinded weeks later when the organisation discovered his involvement in the previous case. The company, which is backed by LGBT lobby group Stonewall, claimed his 'strong views against homosexuality' did not align with its 'ethos and values'.

Felix Ngole was thrown off a social worker training course at Sheffield University following his Facebook post which quoted passages from the Bible about same-sex marriage

READ MORE: Devout Christian who was hounded out of Africa over his religion and then thrown out of a UK university for quoting the Bible wins free speech battle over his right to express views on gay marriage Advertisement

It argued Mr Ngole posed a 'significant risk' to its patients and reputation and it would only consider employing him if he gave assurances that he would 'embrace and promote LGBT rights'.

Mr Ngole told The Mail on Sunday how senior staff at Touchstone had 'interrogated' him over his Christian values in a second interview after accepting the role. 'It was an attack on my faith,' Mr Ngole said. 'While they fell short of calling me homophobic, they portrayed me as someone who doesn't like people from the LGBT community and was going to cause them harm. I was distraught. It's not who I am as a Christian. I would never discriminate against anyone  that's the opposite of what the Bible teaches. Sadly, they didn't give me that same respect in return. I can't pledge allegiance to the LGBT flag to be offered a job  and I don't believe, as a committed Christian, I should be made to do so.'

Mr Ngole, who claimed asylum in the UK from violent political persecution in Cameroon, was delighted to be offered the 'dream job' following an interview in May last year. But several weeks later, after receiving a start date and further details about the role, he received an email from Touchstone's deputy chief executive, Kathryn Hart. It said he was unsuitable for the position and they had 'unfortunately identified some significant areas for concern' which did not 'align with Touchstone Leeds' ethos and values'.

Mr Ngole, who claimed asylum in the UK from violent political persecution in Cameroon, was delighted to be offered the 'dream job' following an interview in May last year

Ms Hart later admitted staff had found articles about his previous case in a Google search. She added they would reconsider if Mr Ngole could 'provide assurances' that he would 'embrace and promote' Touchstone's values, including 'the promotion of homosexual rights'.

Mr Ngole replied, giving assurances that he would not discriminate against anyone. But he added: 'What I cannot do, and you cannot reasonably expect me to do without yourselves being discriminatory, is make my participation in the 'promotion of homosexual rights' a condition of my employment.'

He was invited to a meeting on July 11 with Ms Hart and Touchstone's operations director, Dave Pickard. 'They called it a discussion but it felt like I was being interrogated back in Cameroon,' he says. 'Every question had an LGBT slant. I was asked if I'd use people's correct pronouns and forge partnerships with LGBT support organisations. I kept saying it was no problem. I think they were concerned that employing me could risk their Stonewall ranking.'

A week later, Mr Ngole received an email withdrawing his job offer. Touchstone said his beliefs would be 'upsetting and offensive' to patients, and would 'exacerbate [their] anxiety and depression'.

He is now taking the organisation to an employment tribunal in a case that starts tomorrow. He is claiming under the Equality Act for discrimination, harassment and compensation for injury to feelings.

Andrea Williams, of the Christian Legal Centre, which is supporting Mr Ngole's case, said: 'Telling an employee they must 'embrace and promote' homosexuality as a condition of employment sets a dark and troubling precedent. If left unchallenged it would see Christians who manifest their beliefs barred from working in the NHS.'

Arfan Hanif, of Touchstone Support, said: 'It would be inappropriate to comment further because the allegations have not yet been tested in the legal proceedings.'
Paeodophile Jeffrey Epstein planned to hire Prince Andrew and Peter Mandelson to be his 'star advisers' for a new consultancy business, bombshell messages reveal.

After being released from an 18-month jail sentence for child prostitution offences, billionaire financier Epstein emailed his private banker Jes Staley to say he wanted to bring the Duke of York and the former Labour Cabinet Minister into his business plans.

He wrote: 'I need to decide how to gear up my advisory business. Grab a group from Goldman [Sachs, the investment bank]?.. Hire 5-10 stars? Larry? Peter? Andrew?'

It's understood Larry, Peter and Andrew refer to Larry Summers, former US Treasury Secretary at the White House; Lord Mandelson, referred to affectionately in the emails as 'Petie' by Epstein; and Prince Andrew.

It is not thought any of them took up the role with Epstein, who was found hanged in a New York prison cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on more sex trafficking charges.

Former Cabinet Minister Peter Mandelson (pictured: left) was photographed with Jefferey Epstein, who was celebrating his 54th birthday

Twenty-two pages of emails between Epstein and Mr Staley, many mentioning Andrew and Lord Mandelson, have been released as a result of a sex trafficking case filed against JP Morgan bank by the US Virgin Islands government.

The bank, where Epstein was a client, is being sued over claims it knowingly benefited from Epstein's sex trafficking operation.

In an email on June 14, 2010, Epstein tells Mr Staley, who went on to be chief executive of Barclays bank in the UK: 'Andrew just sat next to me at dinner.'

In a further email, in December 2010, Mr Staley emailed Epstein that it was 'sort of cool' to get a Christmas note from Andrew.

In June 2009, Epstein wrote to Mr Staley: 'Ask Andrew about the island, tell him about your boat plans.' This is believed to be a reference to Epstein's Caribbean home where girls were trafficked.

Andrew was pictured in Central Park in New York with Epstein in December 2010, shortly after he was released from prison.

Andrew said in a disastrous Newsnight interview that this was the last contact he had with Epstein.

Prince Andrew was pictured leaving sex offender Jeffrey Epstein's home to go for a stroll together through New York's Central Park in 2011

But the new emails appear to show he was still in touch with Epstein in February 2011. Andrew and Lord Mandelson knew Epstein through tycoon Robert Maxwell's daughter Ghislaine, who is serving 20 years in a US jail for helping Epstein to traffic girls.

Lord Mandelson's spokesman denied any professional or business relationship with Epstein. 'He had no knowledge of the email exchange,' the spokesman added.

Last year, Andrew paid a reported 12 million to settle a civil case brought by Virginia Roberts, 39, who claimed he sexually assaulted her when she was 17. He denies her claims. Andrew did not respond to a request for comment last night.
Portland, Oregon is currently dealing with both a homeless and drug epidemic

Kits are being handed out as part of the county's aim at 'harm reduction'

The controversial new program will begin distribution in July, officials said

Portland will soon begin handing out aluminum foil and straws to fentanyl smokers in the latest attempt at 'harm reduction' in the drug-ridden Oregon city.

Officials with the Multnomah County Health Department confirmed the controversial plan to local outlets saying they will also hand out glass pipes and snorting kits.

Health director Jessica Guernsey said they have seen a 'shift from injection drug use' and the new handouts will help to engage those who 'may not otherwise.'

'The new part of the program is that we're adding supplies for people who smoke drugs,' Guernsey said, citing that fentanyl is typically smoked by users now.

Portland is currently dealing with both a fentanyl and overall drug epidemic on top of a homeless crisis that has been slammed by residents as 'out of control.'

Portland will soon begin handing out aluminum foil and straws to fentanyl smokers in the latest attempt at 'harm reduction' in the Oregon city. Pictured: A drug user in Portland, Oregon

Portland is currently dealing with a homeless crisis which has been slammed by residents as 'out of control.' Pictured: A homeless encampment in Portland, Oregon

Health director Jessica Guernsey (pictured) said that they have seen a 'shift from injection drug use' and that the new handouts will help to engage those who 'may not otherwise'

Multnomah County spokesperson Sarah Dean said the rise in fentanyl users smoking the drug has reduced the need for injection services.

Visits to clinics for injection tools and syringes - which the city currently offers for free - have dropped by 60 percent since 2019 the spokesperson said.

'We've seen a shift from injection drug use to smoking drug use, so that we can engage people who may not otherwise engage in services,' Guernsey said.

Despite the county's health team swearing that their program has aided the city's ever-growing drug problem, residents and city leaders remain opposed.

'This misguided approach also results in greater risk to public safety for those who simply want to enjoy our city without walking through a cloud of toxic smoke,' said Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler.

'Our community would benefit more from the County using its funding to urgently increase treatment and sobering facilities rather than actively enabling this deadly epidemic,' the Democrat continued.

In June, the mayor of the drug-filled city proposed criminalizing public drug use, however, Wheeler later reneged on his statement after a bill criminalizing possession of fentanyl passed through the Oregon Legislature.

HB 2645 would make possession of more than a gram a Class A misdemeanor and punishable by a year-long jail term, a fine of up to $6,250, or both.

Visits to clinics for injection tools and syringes - which the city currently offers for free - have dropped by 60 percent since 2019 the spokesperson said

Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler (pictured) is violently opposed to the new kits including drug paraphernalia being handed out to fentanyl users in the city

Drug users congregate on a Portland, Oregon city street in broad daylight

In a statement following the passage of the bill, Wheeler called his proposal to criminalize drug use 'no longer necessary.'

'In consultation with local law enforcement and our City Attorney, we believe that HB 2645 addresses our primary concerns about the public health crisis unfolding on our streets, and it restores necessary law enforcement tools that were envisioned in my own ordinance,' Wheeler said in a statement.

'Therefore, it is no longer necessary to pass an ordinance at the local level and I will be withdrawing my proposed ordinance. The City will instead focus on effectively implementing HB 2645,' the Portland mayor continued.

In a statement to the Willamette Weekly regarding the proposal to hand out drug kits to fentanyl smokers, Wheeler said he could not disagree more strongly.

'I adamantly oppose distributing paraphernalia to encourage using a drug that is the leading cause of death for Americans under 50 and responsible for 190 fatal overdoses a day in the U.S.,' Wheeler told the local paper.

In response, Dean retorted that increasing access does not encourage illegal drug use but rather provides those who already partake with safer options.

'Building relationships with people actively using substances also gives our department more insight into emerging public health issues that impact this population,' she told KOIN.

'We are able to directly hear from our clients when there are concerning changes to the drug supply, increased wound issues, or other related issues that are of public health concern,' Dean continued.

Guernsey agreed saying that she knows 'some of these methods can be controversial,' but that she is focused on preventing overdose deaths.

'I follow the science, and the science tells us that programs like syringe exchange and harm reduction saves lives,' Guernsey said.

'I follow the science, and the science tells us that programs like syringe exchange and harm reduction saves lives,' Guernsey (pictured) said

Three quarters of respondents called homelessness in Portland 'an out-of-control disaster'

Three-quarters of voters in a recent poll called the city's homelessness 'an out-of-control disaster.' Pictured: Homeless tents line a street in Portland

Portland residents are more than fed up however as local and state politicians duke it out as recent polls show they want the issues resolved quickly.

In a poll by People for Portland, a conservative advocacy group, more than two-thirds of voters wanted to clear the streets by forcing drug addicts into rehab.

Three-quarters of voters called the city's homelessness 'an out-of-control disaster.'

Most respondents also supported Wheeler's plan to ban homeless daytime camping and people stringing up tents near schools and daycare centers.

In May, the Democrat proposed a daytime camping ban throughout the city and full-time bans around schools and other high-traffic areas.

Wheeler said at the time his eventual goal is to enact a total ban on unsanctioned encampments while setting up several major campsites the city would run.

The ban went into effect on June 30 but officials said it would not be enforced right away after homeless people said they had heard nothing from the city.
McNichol has now been allowed to retire from the force even though a investigation into his behavior is still underway

This is the shocking moment a Florida cop drags a pregnant black woman out of her car and slams her to the ground, which has left the city furious after he was allowed to retire.

Police had been called to the scene in Boca Raton in May by a witness who said partners Harry Hardy and Nerillia Laurent had been in a heated argument.

Body cam footage captured officer Matthew McNichol confront the couple, which includes him telling the two that Boca Raton was 'his city'.

After ordering Laurent out of the car McNichol grabs her by the arm and twists it behind her back and pulls her to the ground, all the while she screams 'I'm pregnant'.

As McNichol pins Laurent to the ground, her partner Hardy can be heard saying: 'She's six months pregnant, what is wrong with him?!' to another officer.

Despite Laurent protesting that she was pregnant at the time, McNichol hauled her from the vehicle

Officer Matthew McNichol, pictured here, had grabbed McNichol from her vehicle and forced her to the ground, while she was pregnant

BocaNewsNow.com first reported that officer McNichol had been allowed to retire from his department shortly after the incident in May of this year.

Boca Raton Human Resources confirmed McNichol submitted his notice of retirement on June 1, with his official last day being June 10.

In the video, McNichol can be seen approaching the vehicle and tells them: 'Why are we getting all kinds of phone calls?'

Henry replies that they are having a dispute, to which he replies: 'You're having a dispute in public in my city, the city of Boca Raton.'

The three then begin arguing after McNichol demands their IDs from them, to witch they refuse.

Henry tells McNichol: 'She doesn't have to give you her license', while Laurent can be heard saying: 'If you arrest me now and put me on the ground and I am pregnant, you are going to get charged.'

For the next two minutes, McNichol continues to tell the two they will be arrested for not cooperating.

Henry can be heard telling the former officer: 'Don't touch her, she is pregnant.' McNichol tells Laurent: 'I'm going to lock you up', to which she replies 'I don't care.'

After going back and forth with the two, McNichol makes a grab at Laurent, seen here in this picture

Laurent was then pinned to the ground as her and her children cried out over her arrest

The officer then grabs her by the rest as she and her children that are in the car scream out.

Henry attempts to run to his partners aid but is forced to back off after being threatened with a taser by the McNichol and his other officer.

Laurent continues to shout: 'I am pregnant', as McNichol continues to tell her numerous times that he 'doesn't care'.

While taking her to the back of his police vehicle, he tells her to 'stop with the dramatic'.

Footage then shows Henry shouting at the officers telling them: 'She's six months pregnant, what is wrong with him.'

Henry is then also placed under arrest by McNichol and continues to shout at him, saying: 'She's pregnant, six months pregnant. Aggressive for no reason.'

Henry attempts to run to his partners aid but is forced to back off after being threatened with a taser by the McNichol and his other officer.

After the footage was released Laurent, pictured on the right here, said she didn't want another family to be traumatized like they had been

The chief of Boca Raton Police said they had opened an investigation into the incident, but McNichol is now understood to have resigned

McNichol appears to goad McNichol, telling him he 'is going to jail'.

In a statement following the video being released, Police Chief Michele Miuccio: 'An internal affairs investigation has been initiated into the officer's conduct and it will be thoroughly investigated and appropriately addressed based on the outcome of that investigation.'

After the footage was released , Laurent told CBS12 News: 'I basically want him to never do this to another couple, another person. I don't want another child to be traumatized by him again.'

Boca Raton Police confirmed that Laurent was charged with resisting an officer and was issued a citation for not having a valid license.

She had also been arrested for an active warrant out of Palm Beach County for failure to appear.

Hardy was charged with battery on a law enforcement officer.
Sir Keir has made a great effort to rebrand Labour as being strong on defence

Labour was forced to declare its 'unshakeable' support for the Nato alliance

Sir Keir Starmer has been plunged into a defence row over calls by one of his frontbenchers for Britain's armed forces to be 're-tasked as a force for peace'.

On the eve of a visit to the UK by US President Joe Biden on Monday, Labour was forced to declare its 'unshakeable' support for the Nato alliance, which is holding a key summit in Lithuania this week.

Shadow Minister Fabian Hamilton had said that using 'our military forces not to fight wars and further conflicts but to save life' would 'pay back for our imperial past'.

He also branded Britain's Trident nuclear deterrent 'utterly useless'.

Shadow Minister Fabian Hamilton had said that using 'our military forces not to fight wars and further conflicts but to save life' would 'pay back for our imperial past'

The Mail on Sunday has unearthed a series of controversial remarks by Mr Hamilton since Sir Keir reappointed him in 2020 as Shadow Minister for Peace and Disarmament  a role originally given to him by Jeremy Corbyn in 2016.

They include telling a Greater Manchester Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament event: 'Let's use our military forces not to fight wars and further conflicts, but to save life.

'That would be the best way we could pay back for our imperial past and some of the bad things we've done.'

Sir Keir has made a concerted effort to rebrand Labour as being strong on defence and patriotic after the Left-wing leadership of Mr Corbyn.

And last night, a senior Labour MP called on Sir Keir to sack Mr Hamilton.

He said: 'Hamilton and his loony remarks are a relic of the mad Corbyn era.

Sir Keir has made a great effort to rebrand Labour as being strong on defence

'We are trying to rebuild trust with traditional Labour voters who rightly saw Corbyn as weak on defending the country and just plain unpatriotic.'

In an attempt to calm the row, Mr Hamilton said last night: 'Alongside my Labour colleagues, my support for Nato, our nuclear deterrent, the United Nations and our armed forces is unshakeable.'

Leeds North East MP Mr Hamilton, 68, has called for Britain to sign up to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, banning all use of the arms, though Nato allies have made clear the treaty is incompatible with Nato commitments.

In April 2021, he said getting rid of our nuclear weapons 'would make no difference whatsoever to anybody'. He has also said the UK's permanent place on the UN Security Council was a 'relic of the Second World War' and 'our imperial past' which was not sustainable. In a lecture in November 2020, he said: 'We could re-task our military, from fighting wars for our own self-importance or self-interest I'm suggesting we re-task our military as a force for good, a force for peace.'

In July 2021, Mr Hamilton conceded that the Armed Forces' job at home was 'to defend our country'.

But 'worldwide', he added, 'let's re-task our excellent military to save life, rather than take life'.

At the same Conflict and Global Britain event, he admitted 'you may say I'm living in cloud cuckoo land here, but unless you've got ideals, you'll never achieve anything'.

Last year, The Mail on Sunday revealed he had said he would be 'quite happy' if Russian hackers knocked out Britain's nuclear deterrent.

The comments, dating from 2019, led to Defence Secretary Ben Wallace branding him 'treasonous' for apparently siding with Vladimir Putin.
Her family reported her missing after she didn't return

Alle Green, 10, was last seen leaving her home in Glebe

A desperate search has been launched to find a young girl who left her home and didn't return - with police making an appeal for public assistance.

Alexandra (known as Alle) Zammit Green, 10, was last seen at her home in Glebe, in Sydney's inner-west, at about 10am on Saturday.

But when the young girl didn't make it back home by 9pm later that night, her concerned family reported her missing to Leichhardt Police.

Police have appealed to the public for assistance in their search for Alexandra Green (pictured), 10, who was reported missing by her family on Saturday

Alexandra is known to frequent the Broadway area (pictured) and was last seen wearing a brown short-sleeved shirt, black tracksuit pants, and blue and black-coloured sneakers

Police have commenced inquiries into Alexandra's whereabouts.

She is known to frequent the Broadway area.

Alexandra is described as being of Aboriginal/Torres Strait islander appearance and 140cm to 150cm tall, with a thin build, shoulder-length brown hair and green eyes.

She was last seen wearing a brown short-sleeved shirt, black tracksuit pants, and blue and black-coloured sneakers.

Anyone with information of her whereabouts is urged to contact Glebe Police Station or Crime Stoppers.
Up to 2,000 anti-LGBT protesters broke up a Pride festival in the Georgian capital Tbilisi on Saturday, clashing with police and setting fire to rainbow flags.

The festival had to be cancelled as attendees were evacuated to safety, but there were no reports of injuries.

Animosity toward sexual minorities is prevalent in the predominantly Orthodox Christian Georgia - and several previous LGBT events have previously been met with violent disruptions.

Organisers accused the authorities of actively colluding with the demonstrators to disrupt the festival, but a government minister said it was a difficult event to police as it was held in an open area, near a lake.

Deputy Interior Minister Alexander Darakhvelidze said: 'The protesters managed to find... ways to enter the area of the event, but we were able to evacuate the Pride participants and organisers.

'Nobody was harmed during the incident and police are now taking measures to stabilise the situation.'

Up to 2,000 anti-LGBT protesters broke up a Pride festival in the Georgian capital Tbilisi on Saturday, clashing with police and setting fire to rainbow flags

Anti-LGBTQ protesters who broke through the police cordon set alight LGBT symbols including Pride flags on a bonfire

Police detain a Georgian opponent of gay rights who was shouting homophobic slogans at the Pride festival in Tbilisi

Festival organizers called on people not to come to the lakeside park where the event was to be held.

Georgian news outlets estimated about 5,000 people marched toward the site. Many of them waved Georgian flags and carried religious icons.

The director of Tbilisi Pride confirmed to Reuters that all the event's participants had been bussed to safety but criticised the policing at the Pride, which she said had been held in private for a second year running to reduce the risk of violent protests.

Mariam Kvaratskhelia said far-right groups had publicly incited violence against LGBT activists in the days leading up to the Pride events and that the police and interior ministry had declined to investigate.

She said: 'I definitely think this [disruption] was a preplanned, coordinated action between the government and the radical groups... We think this operation was planned in order to sabotage the EU candidacy of Georgia.'

The police and government could not immediately be reached to comment on her accusations.

However, Georgia's President Salome Zourabichvili, a frequent critic of the government, echoed the criticism of the police, saying they had failed in their duty to uphold people's right to assemble safely.

She said the government 'must ensure that the Pride festival is held in safety'.

President Zourabichvili added: 'Freedom of speech and of assembly are fundamental rights and their violation is unacceptable.'

Critics have long accused the government of tacitly supporting homophobic and nationalist groups that traditionally support the ruling Georgian Dream party and have staged protests against pro-Western opposition parties.

In 2019, hundreds of far-right activists burned rainbow flags in Tbilisi to protest the screening of an Oscar-nominated gay-themed film.

In 2013, thousands of ultra-conservative supporters of the Orthodox church disrupted a Tbilisi rally to mark International Day Against Homophobia.

Activists had to board buses provided by police to escape the mob, which pursued them across the capital's main square, while hurling stones, breaking windows and threatening to kill the people hoping to celebrate Pride.

Festival organizers called on people not to come to the lakeside park where the event was to be held

A police officer detains a protester who invade the Pride festival in Tblisi

Police hold up riot shields trying to keep the anti-LGBT rights mob from getting to the festival

Georgian opponents of gay rights burn LGBT flags and symbols as they try to interfere with a Pride festival in Tbilisi

Georgia decriminalised homosexuality in 2000, with anti-discrimination laws adopted in 2006 and 2014.

Georgia aspires to join the European Union but its ruling Georgian Dream Party has faced increased criticism from rights groups and the EU over its perceived drift towards authoritarianism.

After violent street protests in March, it withdrew a Russian-style bill that would have required non-government organisations receiving more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register as 'agents of foreign influence'.

Georgia has passed laws against discrimination and hate crimes, but LGBT rights groups say there is a lack of adequate protection by law enforcement officials and homophobia remains widespread in the socially conservative South Caucasus nation.

Two years ago, several journalists were beaten during attacks on LGBT activists in Tbilisi. One of the journalists, cameraman Alexander Lashkarava, was later found dead at his home, sparking angry protests in the Georgian capital.
Nicholas Jepson in Phenomenal World:

At the start of her three-nation tour of Africa this January, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen spoke to the Associated Press in Senegal, bemoaning the piling, unsustainable debt that, she said, plagued many African countries. This was a problem, she argued, related to Chinese investments in Africa. Two days later Yellen was in Zambia, a country which, having defaulted on its external debt in 2020, was still trying to clinch a final deal with creditors more than two years later. In 2021 the G20 had agreed on the Common Framework, a vague set of guidelines meant to smooth such restructuring talks among low-income debtors and a variety of creditors, each with sometimes contradictory demands. If successful, Yellen stressed, such negotiations would unlock much needed disbursements from a $1.3 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan. The problem, according to Yellen, was that China had become a barrier to concluding the negotiations. Back in the US, World Bank President David Malpass told Bloomberg that China is asking lots of questions in the creditors committees, and that causes delays, that strings out the process. The following day, the Chinese Embassy in Lusaka released a statement defending Chinas role in the Zambian talks, chiding Yellen over US debt ceiling uncertainties and advising that the biggest contribution that the US can make to the debt issues outside the country is to act on responsible monetary policies, cope with its own debt problem, and stop sabotaging other sovereign countries active efforts to solve their debt issues. In this context, it is hardly surprising that ex-Zambian trade minister Dipak Patel has complained of his country becoming a pawn in a Common Framework Cold War.

Global sovereign debt crises are not a new phenomenon. They date as far back as the Panic of 1825, when a wave of defaults by newly independent Latin American states contributed to a financial crisis in London that came close to collapsing the Bank of England.

More here.
A Grade II listed property that was once George's Orwell's favourite pub is up for grabs for 1million.

The detached house in Wallington is close to the writer's former home in the same Hertfordshire village, where he lived in the 1930s.

It means that he had just a short saunter along a road to enjoy his local watering hole.

This Grade II listed property was once George's Orwell's favourite pub and is now a family home for sale for offers in excess of 1million

The house boasts plenty of original features including an inglenook fireplace and exposed wooden beams on the walls

The former public house is now a comfortable family home with four bedrooms and sits in three quarters of an acre of land.

It boasts plenty of original features including an inglenook fireplace and exposed wooden beams on the walls in the living room.

The property has a kitchen with a country cottage feel, which includes a quarry tiled floor and a log burner.

George Orwell's village inspiration Novelist George Orwell lived in Wallington The novelist George Orwell spent four years living in the Hertfordshire village of Wallington, between 1936 and 1940. As well as 1984, he is perhaps best known for writing Animal Farm. Orwell's time in the village is said to have been a source of inspiration when it was writing Animal Farm. The town in the novel is called 'Willingdon', a clear nod to the Hertfordshire village with a similar name. In addition, the novel's farm as well as the farm in real life are called 'Manor Farm'. Orwell and his first wife Eileen were married at the village's St Mary's Church in 1936. Advertisement

There is also a basement that was once the beer cellar when the property was a pub, and is now a comfortable office.

Upstairs, there are four bedrooms, with the main bedroom having its own en-suite bathroom and a dressing room with built-in wardrobes.

The former public house is now a comfortable family home with four bedrooms and sits in three quarters of an acre of land

Outside, there is a patio area for summer BBQs and a summer house that overlooks a lawn

Taking the plunge: The outdoor swimming pool is heated but is currently protected by a cover

Outside, there are large lawn as well as an outdoor swimming pool that is heated.

There is a patio area for summer BBQs and a summer house, as well as plenty of parking space for guests.

And there is a large barn at the entrance to the property, which provides a dark backdrop to a bright red old fashioned telephone box on the public pavement.

The property is in the Hertfordshire village of Wallington, which has a strong community spirit

The property has a kitchen with a country cottage feel, which includes a quarry tiled floor

This double bedroom has hard wood flooring and three window that flood the area with light

The property has plenty of outdoor space to entertain family and friends during the summer

There is also a barn at the entrance to the property, which offers additional storage space

The property is for sale for offers in excess of 1million and By Design estate agents is handling the sale.

It said: 'This is a home that offers great living space and a safe environment for your family to grow.

'Surrounded by beautiful North Hertfordshire countryside but close to great road and rail links and ideal for those commuting North and South.

'For those who enjoy walking, or perhaps own dogs, there is an abundance of scenic walks right on your doorstep.'

The sale of the historic period property is being handled by estate agents called By Design

This bedroom has built-in wardrobes along the length of an entire wall in the property

There is a basement that was once the beer cellar when the property was a pub, and is now a comfortable office

Wallington has a strong village community with regular social events in the village hall and an annual fete for all the family in the grounds of the historic church.

It is within 1.5 miles of a 'good' rated primary school and three miles from the esteemed Knights Templar School.

The average price of a property sold in Wallington during the past 12 months is 540,000.

It is significantly more than the 355,125 average sold price for the country as a whole, according to Zoopla.
While many of us feel lost without our smartphone in our hand, it turns out you're probably using your device wrong.

Experts have revealed the best way to tap your phone screen while gaming - and it's bad news if your go-to digit is your thumb.

Instead, experts say using your index fingers provides you with several advantages over relying solely on your thumb.

'The index finger offers superior precision and dexterity due to its larger range of motion and length - otherwise known as the index flex,' said Therese Sander, a Level Design Expert for Candy Crush Saga.

'This enhanced control enables you to execute complex manoeuvres, tap small targets more accurately and reduce the chance of accidental moves.'

Experts have revealed the best way to tap your phone screen while gaming - and it's bad news if your go-to digit is your thumb

READ MORE: model reveals what avid gamers could look like in 20 years' time Advertisement

A survey of 2,016 Britons by Candy Crush found that the thumb is the weapon of choice for the younger generation.

Eighty per cent of Gen Z gamers said they use their thumb, while 67 per cent of millennials say it's their predominant tapping digit.

In contrast, 73 per cent of 59-77-year-old opt to use their index finger.

According to Ms Sander, this older generation has got the right idea.

'While the thumb remains useful for certain tasks on mobile devices, we've noticed the index finger is the preference for some of our top players, including a number of Candy Crush All Stars finalists,' she explained.

'The index flex could be the way to go after all!'

A survey of 2,016 Britons by Candy Crush found that the thumb is the weapon of choice for the younger generation

According to The Hand and Wrist Institute, prolonged smartphone use can lead to a number of conditions, including repetetive stress injury, tendinitis or carpal tunnel syndrome.

'If you must use your phone for work, school, or enjoy some time throughout the day to browse the web, it's essential to try to prevent this pain from occurring in the first place,' it advises.

'The main point here is to decrease the amount of pressure on your hands and refrain from repetitive motions.'

To prevent pain from smartphone use, it suggests using your phone in shorter sessions, calling family instead of texting them, and switching hands when using your phone.

It's also wise to stretch your wrist and fingers throughout the day, it adds.
READ MORE: How swapping popular holiday spots for underrated alternatives can save you a lot of money

You might spy dolphins off the coast of the 'superb' sandy beach in Nairn, a resort town in the Highlands

Visit Scotland has hand-picked the best beaches for watching sunsets, family days out, picnicking and more

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Cornwall is often lauded as Britain's beach capital but Scotland, with its soft-white-sand beaches and clear blue seas, gives the county some stiff competition.

To aid those planning a beach break in Bonnie Scotland, the tourist board - Visit Scotland - has curated a list of 12 of the nation's top beaches, revealing which stretches of sand are best for watching beautiful sunsets, picnicking, wildlife spotting and more.

The round-up spans everywhere from Edinburgh to the Isle of Tiree, also known as the 'Hawaii of the North'. Get your beach towels at the ready...

TOP BEACHES TO WATCH A SUNSET

GRUINARD BAY - ROSS AND CROMARTY, WEST SCOTLAND

Visit Scotland says that visitors to Gruinard Bay will be treated to 'mesmerising sunsets'

'Nestled on the west coast of Scotland, Gruinard Bay is a hidden gem renowned for its mesmerising sunsets,' Visit Scotland says.

The bay is comprised of three sandy beaches, which offer 'unobstructed views of the horizon, allowing sunset-spotters to witness the gradual fading of daylight and the emergence of a celestial masterpiece'.

ST NINIAN'S ISLE - THE SHETLAND ISLANDS

Watch as St Ninian's Isle and its sandy tombolo get 'bathed in a warm golden light' during the sunset

St. Ninian's Isle is connected to Mainland - the biggest Shetland isle - via a tombolo, a narrow strip of sand that's described by Visit Scotland as a 'unique setting for sunset enthusiasts'.

It says: 'As the sun sets over the North Sea, the surrounding landscapes and the ancient chapel on the isle are bathed in a warm golden light.'

TENTSMUIR SANDS - FIFE

Keep an eye out for rare bird species on a visit to Tentsmuir Sands (pictured) in Fife

Panoramic views of the sunset over the North Sea await those who venture across the 'winding pathways that meander through the dunes' of Tentsmuir Sands in Fife.

The area is also a haven for wildlife, according to Visit Scotland, which suggests that visitors 'keep an eye out for rare bird species and other fascinating creatures that call this dune-filled landscape home'.

TOP BEACHES FOR A FAMILY DAY OUT

PORTOBELLO BEACH - EDINBURGH

Beginners can enjoy the wonders of wild swimming at Portobello Beach, which lies near Edinburgh's city centre

'With its waters granted designated bathing water status from SEPA (Scottish Environment Protection Agency), and its low tide, Portobello Beach is the perfect place for beginners to enjoy the wonders of wild swimming,' says Visit Scotland.

During a day spent on the two-mile (three-kilometre) stretch of sand, which lies a short drive from Edinburgh city centre, families can sunbathe, wander along the promenade and grab a dessert from the beachside ice cream shops.

MILARROCHY BAY - LOCH LOMOND, SOUTHERN SCOTLAND

Head to Milarrochy Bay on the shores of Loch Lomond for a refreshing swim. Image courtesy of Paul Saunders

This 'stunning' stretch of sand lies on the shores of Loch Lomond, near the town of Balmaha. Visit Scotland says that a refreshing swim in the loch is the perfect way to cool off after a day spent exploring the surrounding Munros.

Families can wander along the 'Loch Lomond Faerie Trail' before meeting alpacas, donkeys, sheep, highland cows and goats at the nearby Faerie Tale Farm.

Extend the day with a stay in one of the self-catering houses at Cameron Lodges, where little ones will receive an explorer kit, containing binoculars, an adventure vest and hat, as well as stationary to make a note of their discoveries, Visit Scotland reveals. The price per night starts from 154 per night.

NAIRN BEACH - NAIRN, THE HIGHLANDS

Nairn Beach offers a wide range of coastal walks and its coastline is home to a resident school of dolphins

Visit Scotland says this 'superb' sandy beach in the middle of Nairn, a resort town in the Scottish Highlands, is 'a fantastic attraction and popular with families'.

It continues: 'Its coastline is home to a resident school of dolphins and there is also a great range of coastal walks in either direction.'

Not only that, but local activity centre Bowhunter Archery teaches visitors the art of axe throwing and bushcraft - the latter of which involves using practical skills to survive in nature.

TOP BEACHES FOR WILDLIFE ENTHUSIASTS

BEACHES OF THE ISLE OF COLL - INNER HEBRIDES

You might encounter curious seals on the 'pristine' beaches of the Isle of Coll, Visit Scotland reveals

Visit Scotland declares the Isle of Coll in the Inner Hebrides a 'must-visit snorkelling destination', saying: 'With its pristine beaches and crystal-clear waters, this island offers an unparalleled opportunity to explore its underwater wonders.'

The tourist board continues: 'Discover thriving kelp forests, encounter curious seals, and witness the vibrant array of fish that call these waters home.'

Not only that, but these 'coastal waters also offer a unique opportunity to witness one of nature's gentle giants - the basking shark', Visit Scotland reveals. To spot the creatures in their natural habitat, sign up for a wildlife adventure trip with tour operator Basking Shark Scotland.

BEACHES OF THE ISLE OF ARRAN - WEST COAST OF SCOTLAND

The Scottish tourist board describes the beaches on the Isle of Arran as 'captivating'. Wildlife enthusiasts ought to stop by the 'Coast Discovery Centre' on the seafront in Lamlash Bay (pictured)

The Isle of Arran has 'captivating' beaches and Visit Scotland recommends that wildlife enthusiasts stop by the 'Coast Discovery Centre' on the seafront in Lamlash Bay, where they can learn about the island's marine biodiversity and conservation efforts.

What's more, the island's beaches offer a 'gateway to the past, inviting fossil hunting enthusiasts and shell collectors to embark on an extraordinary journey through time', Visit Scotland adds.

For a bargain break, check into the Lochranza Youth Hostel to the north of the isle, where beds are priced from just 14 per person per night.

LUNAN BAY - ANGUS

Admire the 'breath-taking coastal scenery' of Lunan Bay on the Angus coast before going bird-spotting at the nearby Montrose Basin

Visit Scotland describes Lunan Bay, set on the Angus coastline, as 'a hidden gem known for its pristine sandy beach and breath-taking coastal scenery'.

After lounging on the beach, it recommends paying a visit to the nearby Montrose Basin, the enclosed estuary of the South Esk River that's home to over 80,000 migratory birds including pink-footed geese, common terns and kingfishers.

TOP BEACHES FOR A PICTURESQUE PICNIC

PRINCE'S BEACH - ERISKAY, OUTER HEBRIDES

'Embark on a leisurely coastal walk' on a trip to Prince's Beach on Eriskay in the Outer Hebrides

Sandwiches and flasks of tea and coffee are essentials for a day out on Prince's Beach on the isle of Eriskay - because it's the perfect spot for a seaside picnic.

This pretty stretch of sand is said to be where Bonnie Prince Charlie, who led a lead a Jacobite rebellion against the British government in 1745, first set foot on Scottish soil, Visit Scotland reveals.

The tourist board adds that on a visit to the beach, day-trippers can 'embark on a leisurely coastal walk, tracing the rugged cliffs and taking in the dramatic coastal views that stretch as far as the eye can see'.

One enamoured Tripadvisor user, 'Anne H', wrote after her visit: 'What a beautiful beach. Weather was gorgeous when we were there - I thought I was at the Caribbean.'

User 'Mandykayo1' seconded that opinion, writing that 'you feel like you're in the Caribbean' on the beach thanks to its 'crystal clear waters and sand filled with gorgeous shells'. And user 'HebrideanWay' weighed in: 'White sand and turquoise sea - what more could you ask for?'

BALEPHUIL BAY - TIREE ISLAND, INNER HEBRIDES

Balephuil Bay on the Isle of Tiree offers white-shell beaches and turquoise waters. Image courtesy of Creative Commons

Another picturesque picnic destination is the mile-long (1.6km) Balephuil Bay, which lies on the southwest coast of the Isle of Tiree - a 'tranquil paradise' that's nicknamed the Hawaii of the North - in the Inner Hebrides archipelago.

Visit Scotland reveals: 'With white-shell beaches and turquoise waters, Balephuil Bay is the perfect place for a swim and a firm favourite for surfers, thanks to the warm waters brought in by the Gulf Stream.'

BEACH OF LOCHGOILHEAD - ARGYLL AND BUTE

The highlight of any visit to the village of Lochgoilhead (above) is said to be the area's lochside beach

Lochgoilhead is a village 'situated amidst the stunning scenery of mountains and forests' on the shores of Loch Goil in Argyll and Bute.

'The highlight of this destination is undoubtedly its pristine beach,' says Visit Scotland, adding: 'Visitors flock to Lochgoilhead to soak up the sun, bask in the serenity, and indulge in a plethora of exciting activities.'

After a day spent picnicking on the beach, drink in more views of the lake from your room at The Shore House Inn, with a night's stay priced from 140 per night.
A single mother-of-two was left stranded in Paris for four days after her flight home was cancelled by Ryanair.

Danielle Woolfenden, 31, flew out with her two children, eight and 11, on Friday June 2 for a weekend away in the French capital. But when she was forced to stay for an extra four days it ended up costing her around 3,000 more than she planned for.

She told MailOnline she was meant to return home on the Monday but was informed by RyanAir the day before that her flight had been cancelled.

Hers was one of hundreds of flights called off by the airline at the start of last month after French air traffic controllers staged a 36-hour walk out from June 5 to June 7.

Danielle was finally able to get a return flight on June 9 but only after spending everything in her bank account, including all her savings, which she now claims RyanAir are refusing to pay back.

Danielle Woolfenden (pictured), 31, was left stranded in Paris after her flight home was cancelled by RyanAir and used up all her savings until she could return home

Danielle flew out with her two children, eight and 11, (pictured all three of them together) on Friday June 2 for a weekend away in the French capital

She was meant to return home on Monday June 5 but was informed by RyanAir the day before that her flight had been cancelled

Danielle took her two sons, Blake and Teddy, on what started as a relaxing sight seeing trip to Paris at the start of June.

They visited a number of the city's famous landmarks including the Arc de Triumph and the Eiffel Tower while enjoying the warm weather.

But, their weekend getaway soon turned into a nightmare when just one day before they were due to fly back RyanAir sent Danielle an unexpected text message telling her she wouldn't be able to return home as planned.

She was informed by the airliner that her 7:30pm flight to Manchester the next day had been cancelled as a result of strike action by French air traffic control staff and that she would have to rearrange her journey to a later date.

Danielle, who had just started a new job as a relationship manager a few months earlier, immediately screenshotted the text and sent it to her boss, knowing that she would not be able to work for most of that week.

The mother-of-two had used up all of her annual leave and was left with no option but to take the additional days off without pay.

She then phoned her sister to tell her about the nightmare she was having. They both tried to contact the RyanAir customer service desk only to find out that it was closed on Sundays.

The next day Danielle and her kids were forced to check out of their hotel and she said they spent the next two hours sitting on the pavement outside desperately trying to figure out what to do next.

They visited a number of the city's famous landmarks including the Arc de Triumph and the Eiffel Tower while enjoying the warm weather

Danielle took her two sons, Blake and Teddy, (pictured) on what started as a relaxing sight seeing trip to Paris at the start of June

Danielle had just started a new job as a relationship manager a few months before she was stranded in the French capital

'I tried ringing first thing but it took hours to get through. We had to check out of our hotel with no where to go, backpacks on our back and not a clue what to do next,' she said. 'Stranded, in Paris, alone with two children.'

After spending two hours on the phone with RyanAir customer services, she was eventually told that the next available flight would be on the Friday.

Danielle was then faced with the daunting prospect of having to spend an extra four days in Paris, unsure if her finances would be able to get her and her kids through it.

'I finally got through to Ryanair and they told me to book a hotel and keep all receipts, which I did.

'The hotel alone was thousands of pounds, we were in Paris, everything is very expensive. I spent everything I had in my bank and all my savings to get us through the additional days.

'Some people might not have been able to pay that much money and may not be as lucky as myself.'

She added that she borrowed 1,000 from her mother to ensure she didn't run out of money and she was also made to pay an extra 70 to extend the period for her airport parking.

Danielle has now been offered a refund by RyanAir of 25 per person per day, which she says is still 'thousands short of how much it cost me'.

She said the airline has shown 'no compassion' and has ignored her accommodation costs and ignored costs for food and transport.

Danielle was then faced with the daunting prospect of having to spend an extra four days in Paris, unsure if her finances would be able to get her and her kids through it

She said she borrowed 1,000 from her mother to ensure she didn't run out of money and she was also made to pay an extra 70 to extend the period for her airport parking

The single mother was told by RyanAir at the time that she would be refunded 10 days after making a claim when she got back from Paris.

After speaking with the company's customer service again as soon as she returned home on June 9, she was told to send over all of her receipts from the additional days via email, which they would respond to in a couple of days.

However, Danielle said they didn't respond for another five days and after chasing them again, she didn't receive a response for a further two days.

'I tried to claim my money back via their online system however I was getting an error message. I was told to raise the claim via their email system on their website. I have sent all receipts and correspondence via that as instructed.

'They couldn't open the images of the receipts so I had to save them as PDFs, which I did and then put them in a zip file. Then they couldn't open that.

'Then they ignored me for 5 days and after I chased them up, I was ignored for a further 2 days. I called and they said they didn't receive my emails and that the only thing I could do was to start the process all over again.

'There is no complaints procedure over the phone and I have asked for the issue to be escalated, explaining the financial difficulty this may leave a single parent in.

'I have tried everything but nothing seems to happen. I was told they would refund me, it looks like that was a lie.'

Danielle said the whole ordeal has been very stressful for her and her two children, and they are now having to be 'very careful' with their finances.

She said it is a 'constant concern' and has impacted the amount of time she can spend with Blake and Teddy as well as her time at work as she is 'constantly on and off the phone' with RyanAir.

RyanAir said its customer service team is in contact with Danielle and are resolving the issue directly.
Picture this: The zoom meeting has just ended, it's your lunchbreak and you're off to catch some rays on a beach in Spain.

Sounds like a pipe dream, right?

Well maybe not, as it turns out millions are now being allowed to work remotely from outside of the UK.

Figures from accountancy firm RSM UK showed 33 per cent of businesses let their employees to log in from anywhere.

Supporters of the remote life argue it gives them a better work-life balance, allowing them to see family who may live abroad and escape Britain's cold winters.

But remote critics say working from home stifles productivity and stops workers from being able to really connect and create with colleagues.

Research has also found that working from home can prove worse for employees' mental health, as some feel like they never properly switch off from work due to their office also being their home, while others struggle with feeling isolated and miss the socialisation of an office environment.

But how do the people for whom the beach-office life is a reality feel about it?

From meetings on paddleboards and checking emails on safari to walking the cats at lunchtime, MailOnline spoke to the people checking out of the office...

The toy maker who lives in a van

Toy manufacturer Paolo Dyboski, 53, has been remote working since December 2020 and has logged in from France, Spain, Germany, the US and the UK.

She has even taken a meeting on a paddleboard!

The mother-of-three, who was born in Milan and grew up in Liguria, Genova, lives in a van with her home-schooled 14-year-old son.

'Its really positive for him because Ive got time when he needs it,' Ms Dyboski, who also chairs Welsh refugee charity Pobl i Bobl, told MailOnline.

'Its incredible. We have been into prehistoric caves, weve been exploring marine reserves. The kind of things that are biology or history hands on that he wouldnt get otherwise.'

Toy manufacturer Paolo Dyboski, who was born in Milan and grew up in Liguria, Genova, lives in a van with her home-schooled 14-year-old son

Ms Dyboski said the Covid pandemic allowed ways of working that hadn't been seen as acceptable before

Ms Dyboski, who also chairs Welsh refugee charity Pobl i Bobl, has even taken a meeting on a paddleboard

Ms Dyboski's team is based in North Wales and she believes that allowing employees to work remotely from abroad has been great for moral, as well as productivity.

'Its not that Im on holiday, they know that Im working and they know they can rely on my 24/7 to be there and play my part,' she said. 'It wouldnt work without great great teamwork.'

Ms Dyboski, who runs a non-toxic, cruelty free, vegan bubble company called Dr Zigs, said the Covid pandemic allowed ways of working that hadn't been seen as acceptable before.

'It changed everybodys mindsets, which helps. I think we gave each other a bit of slack as well.

She added that people became a bit more open minded, and the flexibility was now there if you needed to work remotely to care for someone, for your health both physical and mental or just to have a better work-life balance.

And during the Covid pandemic, she said 'so many people proved that they could go above and beyond with flexibility'.

Ms Dyboski's team is based in North Wales and she believes that allowing employees to work remotely from abroad has been great for moral, as well as productivity

During the Covid pandemic, she said 'so many people proved that they could go above and beyond with flexibility'

She said: 'When Im in work [at the toy factory] Im doing details, when Im out of work Im doing the overviews and strategic meetings.

'So Ive just been out in London with my middle daughter. My eldest is in Cardiff so when Im in the UK I will also work from there I was in London taking meetings a couple of days ago. It doesnt matter where I am, as long as I have my laptop.'

Ms Dybonski said it was powerful to see how workers went 'above and beyond' with flexibility during the pandemic, 'working their socks off' to get things done under the circumstances.

But with some companies going back to pre-pandemic requirements of office working, she added: 'Then to go back to something thats a bit of a paternalistic society that tells you that you have to be at your desk, its difficult.

'And people dont want to hear that. Feeling that trust, that respect, was good for everyone.'

The consultant who checks emails on safari in Kenya

Sonya Barlow can work from anywhere, including checking emails while on safari in Kenya.

The 30-year-old diversity and inclusion consultant works for three companies - all of which allow her to work remotely from wherever she chooses.

A big travel lover, Ms Barlow has seized this opportunity and constantly travels for work - having set up office in places including Mauritius, Estonia, Turkey and Nairobi.

And she stays in beautiful hotels kitted out with gyms and spas to make it all the sweeter.

She raved about the benefits of remote working in an interview with MailOnline, saying: 'Im in a better headspace, Im focused, Im more productive. Im able to turn or offload my apps. I can turn my social media off. I am able to get the work done.'

Sonya Barlow can work from anywhere, including checking emails while on safari and Kenya

The 30-year-old diversity and inclusion consultant works for three companies - all of which allow her to work remotely from wherever she chooses

And she stays in beautiful hotels kitted out with gyms and spas to make it all the sweeter

A big travel lover, Ms Barlow has seized this opportunity and constantly travels for work - having set up office in places including Mauritius, Estonia, Turkey and Nairobi

Ms Barlow, who is also a business author and radio presenter for BBC, was also diagnosed with ADHD last year.

She said she finds changing screens regularly and being in new environments can help 'increase my mental cognitive functions', adding that the freedom of being able to control her working hours a bit more has been invaluable.

'Because Im neurodivergent I can give my brain a rest, which is really important,' she said.

And the social aspect of remote working is something that attracts her to that way of life.

She said: 'The great thing about working abroad, not just in the UK, is that the sunshine lasts a little bit longer and so you are not worried about Oh I need to go the gym, or go for a walk and get my Vitamin D in the morning.

Ms Barlow, who is also a business author and radio presenter for BBC, was also diagnosed with ADHD last year

She said she finds changing screens regularly and being in new environments can help 'increase my mental cognitive functions'

Ms Barlow added that the freedom of being able to control her working hours a bit more has been invaluable

But Ms Barlow did point out that it's not all great, as remote working can pose challenges

'I can actually get the work done and then in the evening I can go and enjoy myself and be in a better headspace.'

But Ms Barlow did point out that it's not all great, as remote working can pose challenges.

'The negatives of not being in an office environment is that you dont get to collaborate with your team in the same way,' she said.

'Theres a lack of networking when youre not in the office. You dont really know whats happening day to day so you need to be constantly informed.'

Another negative she said was that you are constantly working with technology, so finding ways of offsetting that is key, and if your laptop or wifi crashes, you're in trouble.

The journalist who walks his cats in Lithuania

Josh Askew, 28, was travelling back and forth between London and Vilinius, Lithuania to visit his girlfriend who studies there.

But in January he decided to make the jump and move out there properly, thanks to remote working.

The Euronews journalist, from Brighton, now spends his lunchbreaks taking his two bengal cats on walks. He said the low cost of living has given him a much better quality of life.

'I can have quite a decent life here as the rent is very cheap and the cost of living is low,' he said. 'It's a much gentler pace.'

Euronews journalist Josh Askew, from Brighton, now spends his lunchbreaks taking his two bengal cats on walks

Askew was travelling back and forth between London and Vilinius, Lithuania to visit his girlfriend (pictured) who studies there, so moved out in January

Mr Askew added: 'I can take my two bengal cats out for a quick walk, maybe go to a cafe nearby.

'Life can be a bit more leisurely and it can definitely be a lot more flexible by the fact that youre working from home.

'Its easier to adapt to unforeseen events and circumstances.'

But he said home working does have its downsides, such as feeling alienated.

He said: 'Because I work remotely I havent even seen some of my colleagues face to face, what they look like.

'So it can be harder to make friends because you dont necessarily have a pool of people to draw upon.'

Mr Askew added: 'I can take my two bengal cats out (pictured) for a quick walk, maybe go to a cafe nearby'

'Life can be a bit more leisurely and it can definitely be a lot more flexible by the fact that youre working from home,' Mr Askew added.

Mr Askew also said that you can end up working longer hours when logging in remotely, as there's 'no real escape from it'.

'Its very easy to find yourself working overtime,' he said.

'Of course you gain more not having to commute but then you kind of lose that as youll do half an hour here and an hour there. It adds up.'

However, Mr Askew insisted that depsite its negatives, he is still a 'firm believer in remote working'.

'I dont think I could ever, ever go back,' he said.

The media head who escapes cold British winters

Miguel Lopez Cedeno, who is head of paid media at Absolute Digital Media, is allowed to work wherever he chooses in the world.

While he currently lives in the UK, the 36-year-old father-of-one has been lucky enough to work from both Greece and Spain.

He told MailOnline that the flexibility has been key, as his family live abroad and it means he can see them more.

'It provides the opportunity to spend time with part of my family who are currently residing in Europe,' Mr Lopez Cedeno said

'It also enables me to access other types of support, such as healthcare.

'Not to mention that the chance to escape the cold British winters!'

Miguel Lopez Cedeno, who is head of paid media at Absolute Digital Media, is allowed to work wherever he chooses in the world (pictured working in Greece)

Mr Lopez Cedeno, who became a father earlier this year, said that being closer to his friends and family has boosted his productivity.

He said: 'Being able to change my work environment from time to time also provides a reset and often encourages me to keep pushing forward.'

The lack of Vitamin D in the UK was a big driving force in his decision to remote work from abroad.

'I also enjoy having more exposure to the sun during the winter abroad compared to in the UK where daylight hours are more limited,' he added.

And in a digital age, Mr Lopez Cedeno feels technology is breaking down the boundaries of working abroad, helping people feeling more satisfied in their jobs.
Kevin Costner and Christine Baumgartner are set to host a gala at their $60million property located down the street from his primary residence

Despite their ongoing divorce battle, Kevin Costner and Christine Baumgartner are set to host a major fundraiser at their $60million oceanside property.

Maroon 5 will headline the upcoming Kick Ash Bash created by the non-profit One805 which was founded in the aftermath of the 2018 fires and Montecito mudslides. The star-studded gala in September will raise money for the first responders of Santa Barbara County.

Close friends of Baumgartner tell DailyMail.com that the mother-of-three plays an essential part in the close knit community and is involved in the planning.

'Christine is very much a behind-the-scenes person and has offered a tremendous amount of support to the upcoming fundraiser with Maroon 5 in September which will be held on their property,' friends told DailyMail.com.

The highly-anticipated gala will be held on Costner's 10.25-acre plot of land located down the street from his primary residence - a $145million compound which is now at the center of his divorce battle.

Kevin Costner and Christine Baumgartner are set to host a gala at their $60million property located down the street from his primary residence

Maroon 5 will headline the Kick Ash Bash created by the non-profit One805 for Santa Barbara County's first responders in September

The highly-anticipated gala will be held on Costner's 10.25-acre plot of land which he bought back in 2006

Costner bought the second property for $28.5million in 2006 after seeing a for sale sign while jogging

Both properties are located in the exclusive Padaro Lane community in Carpinteria.

Those who know Baumgartner agree that she should stay part of the community where she has invested years of time and energy.

'Christine has always been involved in the community, whether it's helping out at the schools or raising money for different charities, she's there doing what she can to help. She's an integral part of the community,' said her close friends.

'Kevin knows that finding a suitable place to rent in the Padaro Lane community is going to cost much more than what he was originally offering Christine,' said another friend.

According to the event poster, 'One805LIVE! concert is One805's flagship event, and will once again take place on the oceanside estate of Kevin and Christine Costner in Summerland.'

Costner bought the second property for $28.5million in 2006 after seeing a for sale sign while jogging.

He briefly put it on the market for $60million in 2017 before taking it off.

According to the event website, general admission is $150, VIP tables are $7,500 and $10,000 and cabanas are selling for $20,000.

The event will announce its full line-up closer to the date. The first Kick Ash Bash in 2018 was headlined by Katy Perry and raised nearly $2million for first responders and survivors of the fires and mudslides.

Costner's two properties are right down the road from each other in the exclusive Padaro Lane community in Carpinteria

The first Kick Ash Bash in 2018 was headlined by Katy Perry and raised nearly $2million for first responders and survivors of the fire and mudslides

Baumgartner has agreed to leave the $145million mansion on the condition that Costner, 68, agrees to pay any support and fees that a judge orders at an upcoming hearing, according to court filings.

In the documents, Baumgartner agrees to vacate the premises on August 31 of this year as long as Costner complies 'with whatever support and fee orders that the court makes on July 12,' the date of the next hearing in their divorce proceedings.

That arrangement would give her 50 days to find a new place to live and to move in, whereas the prenuptial agreement reportedly stated that she would leave the original home within 30 days of a divorce filing.

She wrote that she was hesitant to leave her home without having a plan and funding in place, if only for the sake of her children, whom she doesn't want to have to move multiple times.

Baumgartner claimed that 'Kevin wants me to rent [a] place without [a] financial plan in place. However, [I] have our three children to think about. It is contrary to their best interests to commit to rental that [I] may not be able to afford, particularly as that would ultimately lead to multiple relocations.

'My goal has been and continues to be maintaining as much stability for our children as possible, which includes having the proper resources and plan in place so that [I] can establish [a] stable home for them, rather than making temporary and inconsistent housing arrangements,' she continued.

Costner was not only the primary breadwinner, but the only person making money recently, and Baumgartner says in her filing that she has no income.

Baumgartner said she will leave Costner's home on August 31 as long as he complies 'with whatever support and fee orders that the court makes on July 12,' the date of their next hearing

Baumgartner was seen leaving Los Angeles via LAX airport on Thursday with two of their three kids, daughter Grace and son Hayes

The couple are seen with their three children - Cayden, 16, Hayes, 14, and Grace, 13 - in 2019

The Yellowstone star was on the hook to help his estranged wife relocate per their prenuptial agreement, but it was a relatively paltry sum for their lifestyle.

Costner would have paid her a reported $1 million to find a new home, but with California's elevated home prices  particularly if she tried to stay near Costner  she may have had difficulty finding something similar to the luxury she and her children are accustomed to.

Costner has deposited $1 million in Baumgartner's bank account to get her to move out of his mansion, and he said he had given her $200,000 earlier in their marriage in line with their prenuptial agreement

However, Baumgartner isn't touching the money, as she says doing so would rob her of her ability to contest their prenup's validity.

She has also said that the couple have had no problems on days where Costner was staying at the home, and she says the mansion's size and disconnected living spaces mean they can live together without interacting.

Costner's legal team previously said in court filings that 'Kevin has acted in good faith and has done everything in his power to make the transition as seamless as possible,' according to Insider.

He is being represented by the famous divorce attorney Laura Wasser, who reportedly served as an inspiration for Laura Dern's lawyer character in Noah Baumbach's critically acclaimed film Marriage Story, which earned Dern an Academy Award for best supporting actress.

It was previously reported that Baumgartner is seeking $248,000 per month in child support payments. She and Costner share three children: sons Cayden, 15; and Hayes, 14; along with their younger daughter Grace, 13.

However, Costner has said in other filings that he believes he should only pay around $38,000 per month.
An Australian TikTok star was shocked to discover that her European boyfriend was a pathological liar, who even faked his own mother's death.

Amy Dickinson, 30, went on the adventure of a lifetime when she travelled around Europe for a year.

She even found love while in Amsterdam, but she was devastated when her visa ran out and she would have to leave her Dutch boyfriend to return to Australia.

But, not long after she returned home to Brisbane, Amy discovered that their whole relationship had been a lie.

While she was under the impression that they would try to have a long-distance relationship, he ghosted her, and she later discovered that something much more sinister was going on.

An Australian TikTok star was shocked to discover that her European boyfriend was a pathological liar, who even faked his own mother's death

He had been lying to her about his whole life. His mother didn't recently die and was very much still alive, he didn't own a swanky apartment but lived with his family, and he didn't own a successful business.

Explaining how she found out that the man she once loved was a pathological liar, Amy said: 'I started following his sister on social media and I saw that she uploaded a photo of her mom on Mother's Day.

'I reached out to her and said "I'm so sorry. I know it would be your first Mother's Day without your mom. I am so sorry about everything that happened and I'm thinking of you.

Amy Dickinson (pictured) went on the adventure of a lifetime when she travelled around Europe for a year

'And she responded being like "What are you talking about? My mum hasn't passed away."'

Amy then hopped on the phone with the man's sister to find out about the extent of his lying, and they were both equally as shocked and distraught.

'It is a confronting thing to think that somebody that you thought you knew so well you don't know the first thing about their life,' Amy told the Daily Mail Australia.

'I had to assume everything was a lie and then work my way backward from that and work out what was the truth because that was easier than working out the lies because there were so many.

'It turned out that there were only a few tiny elements of truth and then everything else was untrue, and it was unexpected, to be honest.

'Like 12 days into knowing him his mom passed away very suddenly and I thought I wouldn't hear from him again, but it was completely the opposite.

'He came over the very next night, I gave him a present, I wrote him this poem and when he read the poem, he cried, and my friend and I both saw literal tears drop onto the ground.

'And our hearts just broke, we both started crying.'

She even found love while in Amsterdam, but she was devastated when her visa ran out and she would have to leave her Dutch boyfriend to return to Australia

But, not long after she returned home to Brisbane, Amy discovered that their whole relationship had been a lie

While the TikTok star, who creates funny videos under the username amzdicko on the app, wasn't scammed out of money, she believes that she was 'a test' and he will do this again to women in the future.

'It's total Tinder swindler vibes and I think he used me as like a test run,' she said.

'He knew that I was only in the city for another two months, and he was using me because he'd only have to keep up the facade for two months and then I'd be gone.

'But, he'd learn from that experience, and I believe that he'll choose another victim and his lies will become more sophisticated, they're con artists.'

Amy went on a date with the man after he initially slid into her DMs on Instagram.

She was drawn to his charm, and even posted about how quickly they fell for each other on her TikTok vlogs.

While they were only dating for a couple of months, Amy even hoped that he would move to Australia after her visa ran out.

'It's so funny to look back at my TikTok [videos] now because, after the first date, I was gushing about him and how nice it was meeting someone so interested in you,' she explained.

Amy's boyfriend had been lying to her about his whole life. His mother didn't recently die, he didn't own a swanky apartment but lived with his family, and he didn't own a successful business

'But yeah, it just didn't work out the way that I'd hoped, it turns out my beautiful Dutch man is not moving to Australia.'

While the comedian can somewhat make light of the situation when she discusses it online, Amy said there's no doubt that it may cause trust issues in her future relationships.

'I think it will be a challenge and I think it's probably something that will manifest in the future when I decide to get into a relationship,' she said.

'I'm not sure how this has affected me yet, I haven't experienced it. But, I'm prepared for a bit of trauma.'
Rorie Buckey did what many young women across Australia wish they could do and snapped up the nation's teen heartthrob Robert Irwin.

Niece to late Hollywood great Heath Ledger and an academic golden girl, it's easy to see why the wildlife warrior became so smitten with the blonde beauty, both 19.

As the lovebirds debuted their romance at the Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Sydney premiere on Monday, it became clear Rorie has everything going for her.

Rorie is the daughter of Heath's sister Kate, who owns a design and media productions company, and Nathan Buckey, a floor coverings store owner.

The student is currently studying a bachelor of science in physiotherapy at Perth's prestigious Curtin University.

Rorie Buckey, 19, (left) did what many young women across Australia wish they could do and snapped up the nation's teen heartthrob Robert Irwin, 19, (right). Pictured at the Mission Impossible premiere in Sydney this week

Currently, entry into the four-year degree requires students to have an ATAR of over 90.

This means Rorie would have scored higher than 90 per cent of her peers during the HSC in order to land a spot in her preferred degree - a very impressive feat.

Before university, Rorie and her twin sister Scarlett attended Penrhos College, an all-girls private school in Perth.

The sisters' late uncle Heath, who died of an accidental prescription overdose aged 28, was farewelled during a private funeral at Penrhos College back in 2008.

Niece to late Hollywood great Heath Ledger and an academic golden girl, it's easy to see why the wildlife warrior became so smitten with the blonde beauty, both 19

The twins flourished academically during their time at the prestigious school and in 2021, both Rorie and Scarlett received special awards from Western Australia's education board for distinction in the classroom.

Photos on Rorie's Facebook page also showed her to be an outgoing and social student with many friends.

Some images appeared to show Rorie and her sister dressed up to attend their Year 12 formal.

Given her impressive track record, it's no shock that Robert was spotted cuddling up to Rorie during a romantic beachside date in Queensland on November 18.

After grabbing burgers and fries from a local Grill'd restaurant, the pair eventually found a patch of grass and sat down, prompting Robert to throw his arms around the blonde and give her a big bear hug.

As the lovebirds debuted their romance at the Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Sydney premiere on Monday, it became clear Rorie has everything going for her

Robert and Rorie appear to be the perfect match as they have plenty in common.

Both grew up in the public eye after suffering the devastating loss of a family member.

Heath was at the top of his Hollywood career when he was found dead in January 2008 following an accidental prescription drug overdose.

Meanwhile, Robert's father Steve, known to the world as the 'Crocodile Hunter', died aged 44, on September 4, 2006, after being pierced in the chest by a stingray barb.

Rorie is currently studying a bachelor of science in physiotherapy at Perth's prestigious Curtin University and has a twin sister named Scarlett

Steve is survived by his wife Terri, daughter Bindi and son Robert - who was just three years old when his father passed away.

Rorie's father Nathan gave his daughter's relationship with Robert the 'seal of approval', but Terri, Robert's mother, is a little more on the fence.

Her caution isn't for naught. While Terri may approve of Rorie and her accomplishments, there have been reports Robert is already planning to pop the question.

According to New Idea magazine, protective mother Terri has concerns that her lovestruck son and his smitten girlfriend will rush down the aisle too early.

Robert and Rorie appear to be the perfect match as they have plenty in common. Both grew up in the public eye after suffering the devastating loss of a family member

'Terri feels like Robert is moving way too fast,' a source told the publication.

'Rorie's a sweetheart and it's easy to see why he is absolutely smitten, but Terri knows the stakes are high.'

The publication also claimed Robert is a 'romantic' who is hoping to emulate his mother's quick engagement to her late husband Steve after just eight months of dating in 1992.

Additionally, there is hope Rorie could be the one as Robert has often stayed mum about his love-life despite being linked to multiple women in the past.

Heath (pictured) was at the top of his Hollywood career when he was found dead in January 2008 following an accidental prescription drug overdose

Meanwhile, Robert's father Steve (pictured), known to the world as the 'Crocodile Hunter', died aged 44, on September 4, 2006, after being pierced in the chest by a stingray barb

In 2020, he reportedly went on a double date with a girl named Elisha Jackson, along with his sister Bindi and her husband Chandler Powell.

The year before, Robert was rumoured to be dating former Glee star Emmy Perry after they bonded over their passion for wildlife conservation.

However, that same year he was linked to US children's book author Ashleigh Scully, with sources claiming they were in 'constant contact'.

Nevertheless, Robert never confirmed any rumoured relationships until he stepped out with Rorie at the Mission: Impossible Sydney premiere on Monday.

But despite their big marriage plans, Robert and Rorie are currently in a long-distance relationship, with Robert based at Australia Zoo in Queensland while Rorie is in Perth.
Real Housewives of Melbourne star Janet Roach is getting ready to become a grandmother for the first time.

The reality TV star, 64, said she is 'so excited' to welcome her first grandchild next month.

Her youngest son Jake is expecting a baby girl with his partner Nicole in August.

Janet shared a gorgeous photograph of herself, her partner, Chemist Warehouse boss Sam Grace, and the parents-to-be on Instagram on Friday.

In the snap, Nicole showed off her baby bump in a stunning figure-hugging white dress.

Real Housewives of Melbourne star Janet Roach (pictured) is getting ready to become a grandmother for the first time.

Janet, Sam and Jake all placed their hand on her bump as they smiled for the camera.

The grandmother-to-be captioned the post: 'Sooo excited, I am going to welcome the birth of my first grandchild next month. Brings tears to my eyes, cannot wait.'

Friends and fans jumped to the comments to congratulate the family.

The reality TV star, 64, said she is 'so excited' to welcome her first grandchild next month. Her youngest son Jake, is expecting a baby girl with his partner Nicole in August

Janet's fellow RHOM star Jackie Gilles commented: 'Can't wait!'

While housewife Venus Behbahani-Clark wrote: 'I just love this photo Janet! Congratulations again to you all, the deepest phase of motherhood.'

And a fan said: 'My daughter had just had our first grandchild this week. Nothing like it'.

Janet's son Jake is welcoming his first child after he almost died in 2011.

The father-to-be was severely burned after he was accidentally doused in petrol and went up in flames while sitting around a campfire at a friend's 21st birthday party.

It has been widely reported that Jake suffered burns to 70 per cent of his body during the horrific accident.

It has been widely reported that Jake suffered burns to 70 per cent of his body during a horrific accident. Jake was accidentally doused in petrol and went up in flames while sitting around a campfire at a friend's 21st birthday party in April 2011

In 2015, Janet said around half a million dollars had been spent on treatments for Jake. Pictured before the accident

In 2015, Janet said around half a million dollars had been spent on treatments for Jake.

Following his recovery, Jake and Janet set up The Roach Foundation to help burns patients who are unable to afford the treatments he received.

'A very small percentage of people actually survive and we did lose him a couple of times,' Janet explained on The Morning Show in April 2022.

'He is quite pushy, Jake, and so we started the Roach Foundation and we treat people that are burns patients, we don't call them victims, and we do a lot of things, mainly on their aesthetics.'
Iris Law put on a leggy display in a peach mini dress on Friday as she attended day one of the Wireless Festival in London.

The model, 22, showcased her toned legs in the thigh-skimming knitted dress, which she teamed with brown knee-high boots and long grey socks.

Iris' dress featured a cropped overlay, with the stunner teaming her look with a bright pink handbag and simple silver jewellery.

The daughter of Jude Law and Sadie Frost swept her blonde locks back, pinned in place with a skeleton hand hair clip, while she kept her make-up to a minimal for the outing.

Iris appeared in good spirits as she sipped on a drink and chatted with pals at the annual rap and hip-hop music festival in Finsbury Park.

There she is: Iris Law put on a leggy display in a peach mini dress on Friday as she attended day one of the Wireless Festival in London

Leggy: The model, 22, showcased her toned legs in the thigh-skimming knitted dress, which she teamed with brown knee-high boots and long grey socks

Walk this way: The star showed off her toned pins in her dress

At one point, Iris was seen throwing her hands in the air as she cheered alongside her friends.

She was also seen spending time with a male companion as they strolled together at the event.

Iris' laidback look comes after she wowed in a plunging leather top at the Saint Laurent SS24 menswear collection presentation at Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin.

Iris turned heads in a plunging maroon vest which she tucked into a tan knee length skirt.

The blonde beauty cinched in her waist with a black belt and opted for a pair of sexy sheer tights with the number.

Iris elevated her frame in a pair of black pointed toe patent heels and styled her signature short blonde tresses tucked behind her ears.

During the evening, Iris was spotted talking to Anja Rubik who looked nothing short of sensational in a black halterneck dress.

The Polish model, 40, she opted for a pair of sheer tights and showed off her slim waist by adding a matching belt.

Style: Iris' dress featured a cropped overlay, with the stunner teaming her look with a bright pink handbag and simple silver jewellery

Cute: The daughter of Jude Law and Sadie Frost swept her blonde locks back, pinned in place with a skeleton hand hair clip, while she kept her make-up to a minimal for the outing.

Fun times: Iris appeared in good spirits as she sipped on a drink and chatted with pals at the annual rap and hip-hop music festival in Finsbury Park

Chuffed: At one point, Iris was seen throwing her hands in the air as she cheered alongside her friends

Duo: She was also seen spending time with a male companion as they strolled together at the event

Catch-up: The model caught up with pals at the music event

In conversation: Iris clutched her drink and crossed her arms while she was engaged in conversation

Stroll: She looked content as she strolled alongside her friend

Iris previously discussed growing up with famous parents in an new interview with ES magazine.

She said her parents, who divorced following six years of marriage, had given her normality in her childhood despite their A-list status.

Her actress and model mother Sadie divorced the Talented Mr Ripley star Jude in 2003, allegedly following a wife-swapping episode with designer Pearl Lowe and her husband, drummer Danny Goffey.

Iris said: 'My dad was really young. He'd had all his kids [with Frost] by 30. Mum, too. She also had a baby face.

'I can never tell [her age] in pictures, I'll say, "What, you had three kids by that age?" She looks 17.'
Jessica Winter in The New Yorker:

Cults thrive in isolation, and this poses a challenge for the urban cult leader. Jim Jones, of the Peoples Temple, exerted an unsettling degree of influence on San Francisco politics of the late nineteen-seventies but was eventually forced to flee to his doomed jungle outpost in Guyana. Charles Manson made halting inroads in the late-sixties Los Angeles music scene while his Family hunkered down on the fifty-five-acre Spahn Movie Ranch. Scientology has prominent real-estate holdings in major cities across the world, but its elite management unit, the Sea Org, was originally intended to operate in international waters, in order to evade government and media scrutiny.

At its peak, in the mid- to late seventies, the psychoanalytic association known as the Sullivanian Institute had as many as six hundred patient-members clustered in apartment buildings that the group bought or rented on the cheap on Manhattans Upper West Side. They also ran an experimental theatre troupe, called the Fourth Wall, on the Lower East Side. The Sullivanians adhered to the same principles and traditions as many of the ashrams and rural intentional communities of the era: polyamory, communal living, group parenting, socialist politics. But they came to their belief system through the gateway of psychoanalysis, the self-actualization tool of the urbane intellectual. And they enacted their beliefs on a crowded concrete island of nearly a million and a half people, often while holding down high-status jobs as physicians, attorneys, computer programmers, and academics. The institutes co-founder and reigning tyrant, Saul Newton, who sat atop the organization from the mid-nineteen-fifties until the mid-nineteen-eighties (he died in 1991), may have come closer than any of his far more notorious peers to establishing a truly metropolitan cultits members visible but its practices obscure.

More here.
Katie Williams has been sharing snippets of her seemingly perfect trip around America with her girlfriend Georgia Hull.

However, the Big Brother star opened up to her Instagram followers on Saturday, saying things went very down hill in South America.

Katie, 27, unfortunately got extremely sick after she was struck with a virus that has hit the coast of Colombia.

The sprinter shared a carousel of photos from her trip, including a snap that shows her conked out on a bed in a medical centre.

Katie said she wanted to post the photos to show that travelling doesn't always go to plan.

Katie Williams (pictured) has been sharing snippets of her seemingly perfect trip around America with her girlfriend Georgia Hull. Katie, 27, unfortunately got extremely sick after she was struck with a virus that has hit the coast of Colombia

She wrote: 'I'm not going to show you the highlight real > I'll show you the real life week.

'Most of it was spent in doors in our accommodation with a virus that has hit the coast of Colombia. I was extremely unwell.'

While Katie said she has had a very tough week, she is grateful for her girlfriend Georgia, who put their travel plans on hold to look after her.

The sprinter shared a carousel of photos from her trip, including a snap that shows her conked out on a bed in a medical centre

Listing other things she's grateful for, the athlete wrote: 'Our little jungle home, listening to the sounds of the of birds and wild life, being able to have a swim, the nutritious food on site, sleeping to the sound of rain, drinking fresh coconuts from the tree's, meeting other tourists from around the world and most importantly, my now healthy body and it's resilience.

'Health is truly our only currency.'

Speaking to Daily Mail Australia, Katie said she is now on the mend, and is excited to explore the beautiful country.

She added: 'I love Colombia, I don't want people to be scared of going in case they get sick. I had amazing medicine that got me back on track fast.'

Before travelling to South America, the happy couple enjoyed a trip to Los Angeles.

Last Tuesday, Katie shared a series of photos to her Instagram as she explored West Hollywood with makeup artist Georgia.

In one photo, the couple packed on the PDA as they shared a passionate kiss while relaxing by the pool.

Katie also shared a sweet selfie as they boarded the plane for their flight.

In a third image, Georgia wrapped her arms around Katie as they posed for a mirror selfie during a night out.

Big Brother's Katie Williams packed on the PDA as she shared a passionate kiss with girlfriend Georgia Hull during holiday in Los Angeles

'Best of West Hollywood,' she captioned the images.

Katie debuted her first same-sex relationship with girlfriend Georgia in August 2021.

The reality TV star told Daily Mail Australia at the time said she 'couldn't be more in love if she tried'.

'I couldn't be more in love if I tried. She's my best friend, my number one supporter and my partner in crime,' Katie said.

'We really do match each other's energy. We've had many personal ups and downs in lockdown and we've helped each other through it all. We've laughed, we cried, we've danced and embraced it all.'

The 27-year-old athlete shared a series of photos to her Instagram on Tuesday as she explored West Hollywood with Georgia

Speaking about makeup artist Georgia being her first ever girlfriend, Katie said they had developed 'an emotional bond like no other'.

'She is actually my first girlfriend. Before Georgia I had dated guys! It's so different; it's an emotional bond like no other,' she said.

'I'm really proud of how we've handled our relationship. I was trolled and questioned after Big Brother about my sexuality, and I stand strong in who I am, and who I love.'
Julia Fox turned heads wearing black nipple tassels and an edgy ensemble as she attended the premiere of her latest film project, Something You Said Last Night, in Toronto on Friday.

The Uncut Gems actress, 33  who recently opted for an assortment of facial piercings to star in a new beauty campaign  was an executive producer on the drama and joined cast members as well as the director on the red carpet.

The mother-of-one donned a black, cutout dress that contained fabric that reached upwards on the sides of her face. She also flashed her midriff through nude-colored, sheer fabric and thin black boning around her waist.

The skirt portion of the outfit was made of a sheer fabric and contained thigh-high slits on the sides for a sultry touch to the look.

On the upper part of the dress were smaller, circular cutouts around her cleavage, with Fox adding black, nipple tassels that contained beaded embellishments and a crucifix to symbolize a rosary.

Turning heads: Julia Fox, 33, turned heads wearing black nipple tassels and an edgy ensemble as she attended the premiere of her latest film project, Something You Said Last Night, in Toronto on Friday

One-of-a-kind: She donned a black, cutout dress that contained fabric that reached upwards on the sides of her face

Julia slipped into a pair of open-toed, black platform heels to coincide with the monochromatic color scheme.

Her long, reddish locks were parted in the middle, and effortlessly flowed down past her shoulders. The star opted to keep her accessories minimalistic, and added a pair of silver earrings as well as a dainty black ring on her left hand.

The actress was seen carrying a reddish-brown clutch bag in her hand that appeared to symbolize a Bible as she struck a few of her favorite poses on the glitzy red carpet.

Fox's makeup had a bold touch, and comprised of a layer of mascara to her lashes as well as a smoky, gray and black shadow around her eyes. She also added a light pink blush to her cheekbones for a radiant glow, as well as a metallic silver tint to her lips.

Julia is known for her unique sense of style, and explained to the Evening Standard earlier this year in January that when it comes to fashion, 'I'm just doing what I want to do.'

'That's the thing: sometimes I'll do something and it'll go viral, and it'll get picked up with outlets, and it's like, really? That was so not even planned,' she explained to the outlet.

Julia whisked herself away to Toronto to help promote the Canadian-Swiss trans drama titled, Something You Said Last Night, which was directed by Luis De Filippis.

Earlier on Friday, the star was seen stepping out in the bustling city ahead of the big premiere and paused for a slew of photos on a sunny sidewalk.

Big night: Julia, who executive produced the film, joined director Luis De Filippis, and cast members Joe Parro, Ramona Milano, Paige Evans, and Carmen Madonia

Film promotion: Earlier on Friday, the star was seen stepping out in the bustling city to help promote the project ahead of the big premiere

Monochromatic: The skirt portion of the outfit was made of a sheer fabric and contained thigh-high slits on the sides for a sultry touch to the look

Striking a pose: On the upper part of the dress were smaller, circular cutouts around her cleavage, with Fox adding black, nipple tassels that contained beaded embellishments and a crucifix to symbolize a rosary

Keeping busy: Julia is also prominent in the modeling industry, having just appeared in a BDSM-inspired beauty campaign for Isamaya Ffrench and strutted on the runway for Dsquared2 in Milan last month; seen in June in Milan

Fox took on the role of an executive producer for the project, which officially released commercially in Canada on Friday, July 7, per Variety. The movie previously premiered last year in September at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival.

The premise follows, 'A writer in her twenties accompanies her parents and younger sister on vacation,' according to an official IMDB synopsis. The cast includes Paige Evans, Carmen Madonia, Ramona Milano, and also Joe Parro, whom she joined on the red carpet a the premiere.

In a statement, Julia gushed, 'I am so honored to join Luis De Filippis and the team behind the remarkable film Something You Said Last Night,' according to Variety.

'The significance of authentic representation in this industry cannot be stressed enough, and regrettably, is often lacking. On a personal level, this film left an indelible impression on me, and a deep sense of connection. Everyone needs to see this beautiful work of art,' she continued.

The director and writer of the project, Luis, also expressed her excitement to have Julia take on the role. 'Having Julia Fox join our Something You Said Last Night team is a dream come true like no other.'

'She is an honorary doll who, like all dolls, has the iron tenacity to look those who say no in the face and smile. She is a DIY Italian girlie who knows her power and like Ren (played by Carmen Madonia), stands her ground in the face of it all.'

Big role: Fox took on the role of an executive producer for the project, which officially released commercially in Canada on Friday, July 7, per Variety; seen in June in Florence

Enjoying summer: Over the Fourth of July weekend, the model also had the chance to spend time with close pals and loved ones, including her son Valentino, two

Special memories: The mother of one also propped her little one over her shoulders to help him get a better view of the fireworks in celebration of the holiday

The star is also prominent in the modeling industry, having just appeared in a BDSM-inspired beauty campaign for the luxurious cosmetic brand Isamaya by British make-up artist, Isamaya Ffrench.

Fox also recently strutted on the runway for Dsquared2 in Milan last month.

Over the Fourth of July weekend, the model had the chance to spend time with close pals and loved ones, including her son Valentino, two, whom she shares with ex-husband, Peter Artemiev.

The beauty modeled a bluish-green bikini as well as a red-printed cap and shared the look to her Instagram. 'This is as patriotic as it's gonna get,' she penned in text that was added towards the bottom.

The mother of one also propped her little one over her shoulders to help him get a better view of the fireworks in celebration of the holiday.
Fiona Falkiner ensured all eyes were on her Thursday as she stepped out at the Poise Pledge and Pelvic Floor Support Hub launch in Sydney.

The model, 40, looked drop dead gorgeous in chic business attire as she spoke passionately about the lack of bladder leakage awareness in women.

She was all smiles as she slipped into a trendy mint green jacket which featured golden buttons and complemented her flawless complexion beautifully.

Fiona made the jacket a statement by pairing it with a white tank top and distressed white jeans before stepping into a pair of beige heeled boots.

Her golden locks were artfully swept over into a side part as they fell down to her shoulders.

Fiona Falkiner, 40, ensured all eyes were on her Thursday as she stepped out at the Poise Pledge and Pelvic Floor Support Hub launch. Pictured with fellow model and guest Gemma Pranita

As she happily signed the Poise Pledge, Fiona enhanced her natural beauty with a dewy makeup base and a lick of mascara.

She flaunted her gold accessories which included a small medallion at her neck, an emerald encrusted ring, and stacked bracelets.

The mum-of-two spoke freely at the event about her struggles with bladder leakage following the birth of her first child Hunter.

The plus-size model looked drop dead gorgeous in chic business attire as she spoke passionately about the lack of bladder leakage awareness in women

She was all smiles as she slipped into a trendy mint green jacket which featured golden buttons and complemented her flawless complexion beautifully

Fiona made the jacket a statement by pairing it with a white tank top and distressed white jeans before stepping into a pair of beige heeled boots

Her golden locks were artfully swept over into a side part as they fell down to her shoulders

She advocated for more women to stand up and talk about the issue after she spent so much time being too 'scared' to talk about the problem.

'I am one of the thousands of Australian women who would never speak about bladder leakage,' she said.

'Experiencing bladder leakage has made me feel ashamed and let down by my body.'

As she happily signed the Poise Pledge, Fiona enhanced her natural beauty with a dewy makeup base and a lick of mascara

She flaunted her gold accessories which included a small medallion at her neck, an emerald encrusted ring, and stacked bracelets

She continued: 'It's something I was too scared to talk to anyone about. But, that stops now.'

Fiona shot to fame in 2006 as a contestant on The Biggest Loser Australia, which she later went on to host in 2015 and 2017.

In 2019, she became engaged to her current wife Hayley.

They welcomed their son Hunter in 2021, and Spencer in August last year.

The mum-of-two spoke freely at the event about her struggles with bladder leakage following the birth of her first child Hunter

She advocated for more women to stand up and talk about the issue after she spent so much time being too 'scared' to talk about the problem

'I am one of the thousands of Australian women who would never speak about bladder leakage,' she said

Fiona shot to fame in 2006 as a contestant on The Biggest Loser Australia, which she later went on to host in 2015 and 2017
Sony Pictures has set a February 9, 2024 theatrical release date for Blake Lively's new film It Ends With Us, despite production being temporarily paused due to the ongoing WGA strike, according to Deadline.

Filming began in Hoboken, New Jersey on May 5, but by the next month the romantic flick stopped shooting and shut down the set for the unforeseeable future due in part to the presence of picket lines.

The Gossip Girl alum was last seen filming on June 9, while another Deadline report revealed that less than half the movie had been completed at the time of the stoppage.

Directed by Justin Baldoni from a screenplay by Christy Hall, the film's story is based on the 2016 novel of the same name by New York Times best-selling author Colleen Hoover.

It was Wayfarer Studios and its founder Baldoni, who also stars opposite of Lively, who delivered the news to the crew members that they had to shut down production, according to an email obtained by the publication.

Release date: Blake Lively 's upcoming film It Ends With Us got an official release date of February 9, 2024 from Sony Pictures , despite production getting temporarily shut down due to WGA picket lines; the actress is seen on the set in Hoboken, New Jersey on May 18, three weeks before pause

'Due to the ongoing WGA strike and the lost days we have experienced due to picketing, we must make the difficult decision to temporarily shut down production,' the announcement began.

That decision to shutter the production came just days after the film was first picketed in New Jersey on June 5.

The reason behind the stoppage was due to 'an inability to persuade the WGA that the co-financing status of Wayfarer Studios was enough to consider that the production was within WGA guidelines'.

Despite Sony Pictures being the distributer of the modestly budgeted film, there is good reason to believe the It Ends With Us production had been following those WGA guidelines by having Wayfarer Studios aboard as a co-financier.

Talks on the matter were said to be ongoing during the time production was shut down.

With the stoppage, at least 140 people were out of their jobs, many of whom were asking for the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) and the WGA to meet and reach a compromise.

So far there's no official word on whether some sort of agreement had been reached that would appease the Writer Guild Of America to stop picketed the production.

Dispute ongoing: Filming for It Ends With Us began in Hoboken, New Jersey on May 5, but within a month the romantic comedy stopped shooting for the unforeseeable future due in part to the presence of picket lines; this images shows a picket line in Los Angeles

At issue: The reason behind the stoppage was due to 'an inability to persuade the WGA that the co-financing status of Wayfarer Studios was enough to consider that the production was within WGA guidelines'' the actress is seen on the set of the film before the stoppage; Lively is seen filming with Brandon Sklenar in Hoboken, New Jersey back in May

Premise: It Ends With Us follows recent college graduate Lily (Lively), who moves to Boston for a new start and meets a handsome neurosurgeon named Ryle (Baldoni). As their romance unfolds, things get complicated when she runs into her first love, Atlas (Brandon Sklenar)

It Ends With Us follows a recent college graduate named Lily (Lively), who moves to Boston and decides to start her own business.

After kicking off her new start, Lily meets a handsome neurosurgeon named Ryle (Baldoni), and believes she may very well have found her soul mate, despite his aversion to committed relationships.

As their romance unfolds, things get complicated when she runs into the first love of her life, Atlas (Brandon Sklenar).

Atlas's reappearance sets off a sequence where she begins to question everything, ultimately putting her relationship with Ryle in jeopardy.

Movie adaptation: The romance film is an adaptation of a novel with the same name by the New York Times best-selling author Colleen Hoover

The cast also includes comedian Hasan Minhaj, who has been tapped to play the role of Ryle's best friend, and Jenny Slate.

When it was announced that Lively was cast in the film, the author of the novel gushed over the leading lady on Instagram.

'Blake Lively, y'all! Shes my dream Lily,' Hoover gushed in the tearful video, which was shot in front of the house where she was raised.

'And then when I first met Justin Baldoni, who is directing the film for It Ends With Us, I immediately wanted him to be Ryle,' she continued. 'I just thought that he had what it takes.'
FBOY Island was struck by a scandal after Nick Brown went on to be one of the winners of the show despite dumping his girlfriend just days before filming.

The self-confessed 'Nice Guy', 25, ended up with Molly O'Halloran in the explosive finale after confessing he hadn't been in a relationship for two years.

However, it appears he dumped childcare worker Ruby Sharan before going on to date and split $50,000 with Molly, 26, reported The Daily Telegraph on Friday.

According to the publication, he dated the Sydney-based 21-year-old for more than nine months before he brutally ended it just days before he started filming.

'I was casually seeing Ruby, she understood the situation. While I was seeing Ruby for a short period of time, it wasn't a relationship, it was just casual,' Nick insisted.

FBOY Island was struck by a scandal after Nick Brown, 25, went on to be one of the winners of the show despite dumping his girlfriend just days before filming. Pictured is host Abbie Chatfield

He added: 'I am still a 25-year-old male, and we got along well, that was cool but she knew from the start I didn't want a relationship.

'I was going to be going overseas eventually to pursue my rugby career and that is still on the cards now. And she knew that I was going for this. That was what it was.'

Nevertheless, Nick went on a swanky holiday to Hamilton Island in January with Ruby and her entire family.

The self-confessed 'Nice Guy' said he'd been single for two years, but it was revealed he dumped his girlfriend of nine months Ruby Sharan, 21, (right) just days before he began filming

He then spent time with her from February 3 to 5 at Broadbeach on the Gold Coast for his birthday, which friends say Ruby shelled out for.

'He was at Ruby's 21st, came on holidays with the family to Hamilton Island in January and never left each other's side,' they said.

'It was his birthday on Hamilton Island as well and Ruby took him to a dinner at some expensive restaurant and spent over $700 for it.'

Nick went on to be one of the winners of the show, ending up with Molly O'Halloran who he split the $50,000 prize money with

Nick began filming for the Binge series, hosted by Abbie Chatfield, in mid-February and Molly chose him over 'FBoy' Vernon Lyon who also broke up with his girlfriend to go on the show.

FBOY Island saw 24 men vying for the affections of three women, the catch being that half were 'Nice Guys' looking for love and the other 'FBoys' just after the money.

Molly technically made the correct choice picking Nick, who claimed to be a 'Nice Guy', and was able to split the prize money with him as they went on to date.

Ziara Rae Freeny and Sophie Blackley also found love with hunky 'Nice Guys' Izaya Leota and Joshy Allen.

Daily Mail Australia has reached out for comment in relation to this article.

Ziara Rae Freeny also found love with hunky Izaya Leota
Just one look at Arnold Schwarzenegger's Instagram page and it's easy to see that the longtime Hollywood leading man is a total animal lover.

The Terminator star has regularly posted photos and videos of his four-legged family members over the years, especially when he brings in a new addition, to social media.

And on Friday, the former California governor happily shared the spotlight with his pet pig Schnelly and two of his dogs, Schnitzel and Dutch, in a sweet photo shared to Instagram.

'Schnelly, Schnitzel, and Dutch demanded more time in the spotlight,' the actor, 75, joked in his caption.

In the photo, the proud pet owner is seen sitting down on his backyard patio while cradling Schnelly in his arms, all while his two canine friends lounge by his side.

Pack on parade: Arnold Schwarzenegger, 75, revealed some gave some members of her four-legged friends the spotlight on Friday as he showed off pet pig Schnelly and dogs Schnitzel and Dutch on Instagram

For their moment in the spotlight, their pack leader opted for a Western look in blue jeans and a black t-shirt with brown cowboy boots and a black cowboy hat.

Schwarzenegger's love for his animals is more than obvious on Instagram.

The star  who is a father of five  announced Schnelly's arrival this past April with a photo of the tiny pig sitting on his lap, alongside his Yorkshire Terrier named Cherry.

Dutch, who appears to be a Alaskan malamute or a malamute mix, was adopted into the family in July 2020.

The gorgeous black and white pooch is named after Schwarzenegger's character in his hit science-fiction action film Predator (1987).

Schnitzel, a Leonberger, a breed with German origins, came aboard in December 2021.

Staying in the canine family: Schwarzenegger also had a chocolate Labrador named Gustav in the late 2000s.

A chocolate Lab was featured in an Instagram post this past December, although it's not known if he's another new addition, considering he looks like a younger dog.

Fast friends: The father of five human children announced the arrival of Schnelly this past April with a photo of the tiny pig sitting on his lap, alongside his Yorkshire Terrier named Cherry

Pet adopter: The proud pet owner announced he had adopted Dutch, who appears to be a Alaskan malamute or a malamute mix, in July 2020

Arnold's farm: The actor also had a chocolate Labrador named Gustav in the late 2000s

Animal house: The Total Recall star has a miniature horse named Whiskey and a donkey named Lulu

Internet stars: Lulu, seen roaming in the house, and Whiskey have become stars in their own right with the release of videos that have since gone viral

All in the family: The animals can be seen eating and drinking with their pack leader in an assortment of videos posted on his social media platforms

Therapeutic: 'It's so wonderful when you have animals around you, and they play with you, and they do funny things, and they roam around the house,' the former California governor said in an interview with Fox 11 Los Angeles in 2020

Along with all his dogs and a pig, the Total Recall star has a miniature horse named Whiskey and a donkey named Lulu.

'It's so wonderful when you have animals around you, and they play with you, and they do funny things, and they roam around the house,' he shared in an interview with Fox 11 in Los Angeles during the COVID-19 lockdown in August 2020.

'I'm very fortunate that I can afford animals like that, or have the space for animals like that, or have the time now because of the coronavirus where I can stay home most of the time.'

Over the years, videos of his animals roaming around his house and backyard have garnered million of views, which in turn has created viral stars out of many of them, especially Lulu and Whiskey.

In fact, their faces have since been immortalized on shirts that Schwarzenegger sells to benefit his After-School All-Stars non-profit.

'It's so much fun to watch this, and see this energy. I think, in a way, it's also therapeutic,' he said of his pets.
She's never shied away from flaunting her eye-popping curves.

And Mutya Buena set pulses racing in another sexy look as she joined model Leomie Anderson at the Spotify x Ice Spice Afterparty at Cirque Le Soir in London on Friday.

The former Sugababes star, 38, showed off her ample cleavage in a plunging black bralet and a matching boiler suit as she posed for snaps at the event after Ice Spice took to the stage at the Wireless Festival.

Mutya showed off her huge bust in the plunging black bralet teamed with a matching bomber jacket and combat trousers.

She added some extra height to her look with pointed-toe heeled boots as she posed for snaps at Spotify's after party.

Wow! Mutya Buena (left) set pulses racing in a sexy bralet as she joined model Leomie Anderson (right) at the Spotify x Ice Spice Afterparty at Cirque Le Soir in London on Friday

Edgy! The former Sugababes star showed off her ample cleavage in a plunging black bralet and a matching boiler suit

Stunner! Meanwhile model Leomie showed off her famous figure in a graphic printed halterneck top

Meanwhile model Leomie showed off her famous figure in a graphic printed halterneck top and a thigh-skimming green mini skirt.

She teamed her fun outfit with bold brown faux fur boots and a gold chunky bag.

Also in attendance was Stefflon Don, who opted for her own eye-popping look in the form of a glitzy silver heart-shaped bustier.

Ms Banks also left little to the imagination in a sheer black mesh body stocking as she posed for snaps at the party.

The original Sugababes reunited at the end of last year, much to the delight of fans.

The trio originally formed in 1998, but went through numerous line-up changes over the years with all three original members eventually being replaced. Siobhan left in 2001 and was replaced by Heidi Range.

Mutya left in 2005 and was replaced by Amelle Berrabah and Keisha was replaced by Jade Ewan when she departed in 2009. The replacement members stopped making music in 2011.

Siobhan revealed in May she suffered from crippling anxiety, including stage fright, and later revealed she had been diagnosed with clinical depression.

Revealing! She teamed the top with a thigh-skimming green leather mini skirt for a night of partying in the capital

Glam! Her edgy zipped top was emblazoned with colourful comic book imagery

Here she is! She teamed her look with eye-catching brown faux fur boots and a gold quilted handbag

Daring: Also in attendance was Stefflon Don, who opted for her own eye-popping look in the form of a glitzy silver heart-shaped bustier

Glammed up! Her look was perfectly matched with bedazzled accessories at Spotify's party

Guest of honour! Ice Spice herself showed off her daring sense of style as she headed to her post-show party

Sizzling! She showed off her abs in a cropped bomber jacket and a matching midi skirt

That's revealing! Ms Banks also left little to the imagination in a sheer black mesh body stocking as she posed for snaps at the party

Daring: She proudly flaunted her curves in the revealing look as she posed for snaps

Cute! Love Island stars Dami Hope and Indiyah Pollock looked happier than ever as they posed for snaps together at the event

Daring! Indiyah showed off her incredible figure in a sparkly silver sequinned mini skirt

Ab-tastic! Joce Wave opted for an edgy pal pink denim co-ord with a plunging open jacket

With things more settled now, Siobhan also credited the 'more relaxed the dynamic is between the three of us', with helping her stage fright.

Since their reunion, the girls have performed at many big events including the TikTok Women's Six Nations finale between England and France in April.

The Sugababes previously claimed their career was 'sabotaged' by music industry people who did not have their best interests at heart.

Speaking to The Sun, the girl group admitted getting to where they are now has not been easy as they hit out at people they worked with who didn't want them to succeed.

Mutya, Keisha and Siobhan first reformed back in 2012 and went by the name MKS after they were blocked from using the Sugababes name due to trademark issues - despite being the original members of the band.

The trio also believe the same people who caused problems over the Sugababes name - which they now own the trademark to - also leaked an MKS album that is yet to be officially released.

'Someone leaked our music,' Keisha said, with Siobhan adding: 'Some people would say it was sabotage.'

Keisha went on: 'We had to go against people obstructing us. It wasn't fun and it wasn't fair. But we carried on. We stuck together, we pushed through and we just thought, "We created the name ourselves and it's part of us."

Cheeky! She showed off her fun look as she arrived for the party at Cirque Le Soir

Here they are! She and Lola Brooke enjoyed a fun night out together at the party

Pals: Hope Ikpoku Jnr and Micheal Ward were also among the stars in attendance

Looking good! Hitmaker MNEK was joined by KABBA for Ice Spice's post-show party

Stellar! Earlier in the evening, Ice Spice took to the stage for a sensational performance one the first day of the Wireless Festival

Looking good! The US rapper opted for a black crop top and a thigh-skimming skirt with a Burberry print

Having fun? Ice Spice wowed a crowd of thousands with her performance at Finsbury Park

Leggy: Leomie attended Wireless in a triangle orange bikini and tiny blue crochet shorts

Tucking into chicken: She appeared delighted as she picked up a Nandos backstage

'So we went with the name MKS because of the obstruction. It was unfair because when that happens and you don't get to explain it to the masses, it falls back on us and then the people who obstruct, they run off into the sunset.'

Keisha said the group felt misunderstood when they were known as MKS and credited their commitment to not giving up that got them the Sugababes name back.

Their resolve to stick together bucks years of rumours that the group - which underwent several line-up changes - was plagued by infighting.

Recalling the rumours, Mutya said the group were formed as teenagers and had a lot of 'bad influences' around them, adding that they don't have the time for fueds now they're adults.
Married At First Sight bride Olivia Frazer is packing her bags to begin a new life in Europe.

The 29-year-old, who was relentlessly trolled after her stint on the Channel Nine series last year, is ditching Australia forever for a fresh start in Scotland.

The reality star told her Instagram followers this week that she's planning to continue working as an OnlyFans model in the country and has no plans to return Down Under.

Olivia, who is currently holidaying with girlfriends in Scotland, wrote, 'I will head back to Australia to gather my belongings and organise Stella to come over here.'

She added, 'But Australia is just not home.'

Married At First Sight's Olivia Frazer (pictured) is moving to Scotland to start a new life

In another post, Olivia responded to a fan who remarked how happy the troubled MAFS bride looked during her holiday.

'Scotland's been my soul home for a long time now. It makes my heart so happy that people notice this,' she gushed.

Olivia previously spent four years living in the UK, but returned back to Australia to care for her late father who had terminal cancer at the time.

'I don't think there was ever really a discussion, it was just as a family unit it was what needed to be done,' she previously explained.

The reality star told her Instagram followers this week that she has no plans to return Down Under

'Scotland's been my soul home for a long time now. It makes my heart so happy that people notice this,' she gushed

Since appearing on Married At First Sight last year, Olivia has made plenty of trips back to the UK and Scotland.

These days, the former teaching student is making big bucks on OnlyFans.

In April, she told the Back To Reality podcast that she earned $30,000 in a single day on the adult platform.

Olivia explained she used an old image from a Honey Birdette lingerie campaign for her first post.

The 29-year-old has become one of the top celebrity creators on OnlyFans

'I made $30,000 in my first day without even posting anything, (just) an old blurry lingerie photo from 2016,' she boasted.

'I made about half a million between May and September, mind you I haven't been taxed yet,' she added.

Olivia went on to reveal that the most common kinky request she gets is for photos of her feet.

'I get so many requests for feet pics, and I don't have the heart to charge extra for feet pics, so I put them on the feed,' she said.

The beauty added that she also doesn't charge extra for private messages, but does ask for extra cash if her fans want to see her nude.

The former reality star has become one of Australia's leading OnlyFans performers since signing up for the platform last year.
Lauren Goodger has marked the one-year anniversary since she tragically lost her daughter Lorena during childbirth.

The former TOWIE star, 36, said she has been on 'autopilot' since the devastating passing of her second child.

Lorena was born on July 8 with two knots in her umbilical cord tied around her neck and despite ten doctors fighting to save her, she passed away shortly after her birth.

'I can't believe it's been a year. It feels like it happened a few months ago, it's only just sinking in now. It didn't sink in for ages and I don't think it fully has hit me at all,' Lauren told OK! Magazine.

The reality star said she is still suffering from trauma after a hellish 12 months.

Lauren's ex Charles Drury was charged with assaulting Lauren on the day of their daughter's Lorena's funeral.

One year on: Lauren Goodger, 36, marks one year anniversary of daughter's Lorena tragic death during childbirth as she says 'it's only just sinking in'

Devastating: Lauren tragically lost her daughter Lorena after she was born with two knots in her umbilical cord tied around her neck. She passed away shortly after her birth

She faced yet more tragedy when her ex-boyfriend Jake McLean died in a horror car accident in Turkey last July.

Referring to these series of events, Lauren explained: 'A lot went on around that time which blocked me from actually concentrating on the most important thing that happened. So going through certain things I went through at the time didn't allow my brain to section things off what was going on.'

Lauren is mum to daughter Larose, 23 months, and spoke about how much it upsets her that her firstborn is missing out on having a sister.

'It's hard for me, but it's really hard because of Larose. It would be so nice if she had that little sister to play with.'

But Lauren said she is open with Larose about Lorena and wants to make sure the toddler remembers her sister.

She keeps the baby's ashes on a shelf alongside her hair, handprint, footprint and pictures of Larose and Lorena together.

The television personality explained that sometimes Larose just stands there and says 'Baby, baby' and heartbreakingly has to tell her 'Lorena's not here'.

Lauren also revealed the hardest parts of the anniversary is thinking about the milestones Lorena would have hit by now.

Last August, Lauren got a tattoo of her daughter's name with a butterfly on her arm.

The piece includes some of Lorena's ashes meaning her daughter is always with her.

Struggle: The reality star shares daughter Larose, 23 months, with ex-boyfriend Charles Drury and confessed it's 'exhausting' co-parenting their daughter

Tribute: Lauren remembers her daughter with a sweet tattoo which contains Lorena's ashes

Ex: Last month, Charles was charged with assaulting Lauren on the day of their daughter Lorena's funeral and is set to go on trial (pictured with Larose)

The TOWIE star is as anxious to help other people who have suffered the agony of losing a baby and wants to help other women 'who can't get through it' and to keep Lorena's memory alive.

Lauren recently confessed that she hasn't given up on her dream of expanding her family and feels she is 'missing a man' in her life.

Talking to New Magazine, Lauren said: 'I'd like to be in a happy, loving relationship - I deserve that. I want another baby, I do I want to be in love, I want to be happy again.

'I'm missing that. I'm really missing a man in my life - I've always had a boyfriend - and because my family relationship is really up and down.'

Lauren also discussed the 'hard' reality of co-parenting with 26-year-old builder Charles, confessing: 'It's exhausting. The driving, meeting, the organisation is hard work, but I would never stop him seeing her and being at birthdays and special things like that. That's why I'm doing all the driving and organising.

'We're making it work for Larose as best as we can. I want him to see her as much as he can, because she needs both parents.'

Last month, Charles was charged with assaulting Lauren on the day of their daughter's funeral and is set to go on trial.

The builder has been charged with assault and engaging in 'coercive' and 'controlling' behaviour, according to the Metropolitan Police.

He will appear in court on 12 July.

If you have been affected by anything in this article, please contact the UK Child Bereavement line on 0800 02 888 40 or the The Lullaby Trust on 0808 8026868
Mission Impossible star Hayley Atwell has spoken out about the romance rumours between herself and co-star Tom Cruise.

The actress, 41, - who got engaged to her actor boyfriend Ned Wolfgang Kelly last month - stars with Tom, 60, in the seventh installment Dead Reckoning Part One.

During the time of filming rumours had swirled that they were in a relationship, but Hayley has firmly shut down speculation and said she saw the actor as an uncle and turned to him for advice.

'I would be like, "Ooh, theres some weird rumours, and it feels base, it feels a little dirty, it feels grubby, its not what Im about", she told The Independent.

'Why are things being assumed or projected onto me about my relationship with my work colleague and boss? It's upsetting.'

Putting the rumours to bed: Mission Impossible star Hayley Atwell, 41, has spoken out to shut down romance rumours with co-star Tom Cruise, 61, (pictured at the film premiere last week)

Like family: The 41-year-old said she saw Tom as more of an uncle figure (pictured in Italy at the Global premiere of the film in June)

Close: During the time of filming rumours had swirled that they were in a relationship but in the new interview Hayley shut down the claims (picture together in the film)

Hayley continued: 'When Ive talked to him about it, hed be like: "You know exactly who you are. You know what youre about. And that is the only thing that matters. It doesn't matter what people think of you, if you are in integrity with yourself, if you know what your value system is.'

The actress recently became engaged to songwriter and composer Ned Wolfgang Kelly earlier in April.

Ned announced the news on Instagram, revealing he popped the question during a romantic getaway in Venice.

He gushed: 'Lucky me. Arrived in Venice at 10am, around midday the love of my life and I got engaged in the kitchen of this strange apartment surrounded by ducks, with a bloke outside the window murdering "My Way" on the accordion.

'A perfect start to the rest of our lives together. I'd never had any interest in getting married... until I met this extraordinary woman. Happy as a clam.'

Hayley and Ned keep their relationship lowkey and have rarely been pictured together.

The London-based artist's Instagram bio reads that he 'doesn't eat animals' and that he has been 'alcohol & drug free for over a decade'.

Hayley was seen donning the sparkly diamond ring while at the Mission Impossible Premiere in Sydney earlier in July.

A vision in red: The star stunned in a gorgeous plunging neck line red dress as she wore her dark brunette locks swept over one shoulder at the premiere for Mission Impossible last week

Cute couple: Hayley is engaged to boyfriend Ned Wolfgang Kelly after a whirlwind romance - the low-key couple were first linked in July last year (pictured in in London in July 2022)

The star stunned in a gorgeous plunging neck line red dress as she wore her dark brunette locks swept over one shoulder.

Celebrating the premiere of the new blockbuster Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part I, Hayley gathered with all the cast on the red carpet.

Hayley plays the character of Grace, a pickpocket who soon ends up on a mission with Cruise's character Ethan Hunt after he meets her when she's spotted acting shifty at the airport.

The American actress also recently revealed what it's really like to work with the legendary Tom Cruise as she described him as having a softer side.

She said the Top Gun legend is nothing like the man fans know from his movies and told Yahoo Lifestyle on Tuesday that Tom was 'warm, generous and funny' and very family focused.

She added that Tom even treated Hayley's grand mother to a helicopter joy ride on Christmas eve, while the crew were while filming in London
Cyrell Paule has lashed out after she was accused of 'tormenting' her son with a 'cruel' prank.

The former Married At First Sight star posted a video to Instagram in which she applied a spider filter to the face of her three-year-old, Boston.

In the clip, the frightened youngster swats at his face in an attempt to get the animated bugs off as they run around over his cheeks and head.

Fans of the reality star took offense to the video, causing Cyrell to fire back with a number of furious statements on Instagram.

'Jeezzz... we live in a very sensitive world. Talk about a rough few days for me. Yesterday, I pranked my son using a spider filter,' she wrote.

Cyrell Paule lashed out on Saturday after she was accused of 'tormenting' her son Boston with a 'cruel' prank

'The filter shows a spider crawling all over your face. My son screamed. I p**sed myself laughing,' she continued.

'Then of course the "Karens" joined in. "This is so cruel, all for the sake of your amusement. You torment your son." Or "Poor child, you are cruel".'

She went on: 'Apparently a filter can be very "terrifying" and my son was clearly "petrified". If a filter is what my son needs to fear with the most with this world of ours... God help them cause they will have a lot more to be afraid of.

'There goes playing peek-a-boo with your child. And don't ever think about hiding in a corner and popping out at them.'

The former Married At First Sight star posted a video to Instagram in which she applied a spider filter to the face of her three-year-old, Boston, which caused her to receive backlash

Fans of the reality star took offense to the video, causing Cyrell to fire back with a number of furious statements on Instagram

Cyrell urged people to stop 'mummy shaming' her over the controversial prank

She finished: 'Ladies.... can we please stop mummy shaming. You know what's worse, is to be mother shamed by people who don't even have children themselves.'

Cyrell and her partner Eden Dally welcomed Boston, their first child together, in February 2020.

The couple met in March 2019 after Cyrell's 'marriage' to Nic Jovanovic on Married At First Sight ended when they decided they were better off as friends.

Eden rose to fame on the first season of Love Island Australia in 2018
Former Married At First Sight star Ryan Gallagher and Olympic swimmer Emily Seebohm are expecting their first child together.

Gallagher, who joined OnlyFans less than two months ago, announced the news on Saturday to his 215,000 Instagram followers.

Sharing a video of himself and fiancee Emily unveiling her baby bump, the reality star wrote, 'Baby Seebohm due September'.

Many of Gallagher's MAFS co-stars offered their congratulations in the comments, including Carly Bowyer, who gushed, 'Congrats! Exciting times ahead!!'

Sarah Roza wrote, 'Ohhhh this is amazing news!!! Congratulations to you and Emily.'

Former Married At First Sight star Ryan Gallagher and Olympic swimmer Emily Seebohm are expecting their first child together. Pictured together

The happy couple met while filming Channel 10's The Challenge Australia last year, while Emily was still in a relationship with another man.

They got engaged last December, just four months after meeting, but the pair didn't publicly announce it until March of this year.

'We just wanted to live in our own little bubble, we just wanted that for us and our families,' Emily told the Daily Telegraph of her reason to keep the romance a secret.

Ryan proposed to her next to a dam on his farm near Goulburn, NSW, with a trilogy diamond ring from Goulburn's Zantis Jewellers.

The couple plan on having a 'laid back' wedding in Emily's home state, Queensland, in 2024.

Sharing a video of himself and fiancee Emily unveiling her baby bump, the reality star wrote, 'Baby Seebohm due September'

The couple got engaged last December, just four months after meeting, but they didn't publicly announce it until March of this year

Ryan, whose MAFS relationship with Davina Rankin on season five made headlines after she kissed a fellow co-star, said he instantly knew that Emily was 'the one'.

'When you know you know,' Ryan told Woman's Day while speaking about the proposal.

'I did get nervous though. The box was making a bit of a bulge in my pocket. So either she knew I was proposing or she just though I was happy to see her!'

When the couple met on The Challenge, Emily was already in a relationship.

However, she said there were instant sparks between her and Ryan, so she called it off with her then-boyfriend.

The happy couple met while filming Channel 10's The Challenge Australia last year

Emily was still in a relationship with another man when she filmed The Challenge

'Obviously it wasn't a nice call to make, but I told him what was going on and that there was something there with Ryan and I didn't see the point in wasting any more time,' she said.

Meanwhile, Ryan recently joined OnlyFans, where he's been selling full frontal nude photos of himself to subscribers for $15 a month.

'Just a straight boy next door tradesman Aussie bloke with a big willy showing bloody everything!' his OnlyFans bio reads.

'See a side of me you havent seen on the telly!' he added.

Meanwhile, Ryan recently joined OnlyFans, where he's been selling full frontal nude photos of himself to subscribers for $15 a month to fund his family

The former tradie made $50,000 during his first on the site, but insists that the cash is going towards his family.

'This money is going to my family's future, I'll never own a Lamborghini. If I'm driving a nice car it's one I've built from a rusted s**t box!' he said.

'Anywho I'm the same old d**khead, just nude!'
Victoria and David Beckham celebrated their daughter Harper's 12th birthday in style on Friday as she enjoyed her very own Prada party.

The designer, 49, took to Instagram to share a gallery of snaps from her daughter's special day, as she dressed up in a lilac satin dress for lunch at the brand's swanky cafe in Harrods.

The snaps showed Harper posing alongside her mother in her pretty party dress - a bespoke mini-me frock from VB's own brand - which she teamed with chunky trainers and a sparkly version of Prada's 2,100 Re-edition 2000 satin mini bag, as well as a zodiac pendant necklace from Astrid & Miyu.

The pair then sat down for lunch with David and Harper's two younger brothers Romeo and Cruz Beckham.

A beaming Harper clearly enjoyed her birthday celebrations, ahead of her 12th birthday on July 10.

Happy Birthday! Victoria and David Beckham celebrated their daughter Harper's 12th birthday in style on Friday, as she enjoyed her very own Prada party

Delicious! Harper enjoyed a personalised cake as she and her family enjoyed lunch at the swanky Prada cafe

Cute: The designer took to Instagram to share a gallery of snaps from her daughter's special day, as she dressed up in a lilac satin dress at the brand's swanky cafe in Harrods

Just days ahead of her official birthday, Harper was also treated to a designer gift from her proud parents, posing with the Prada giftbag in one of Victoria's snaps.

Victoria captioned her post: 'Harper Seven is 12!!(almost)@Prada party for Harper Seven CHIC!! @davidbeckham @romeobeckham @cruzbeckham @harrods.'

It comes just days after Victoria and husband David enjoyed a lavish dinner out with their children to mark their 24th wedding anniversary.

The couple tied the knot back in 1999 and celebrated their 24th anniversary on Tuesday, marking the occasion with a lavish meal out in London.

They were joined by their kids - Romeo, 20, Cruz, 18, and Harper, 11 - for the night out, while their eldest son Brooklyn, 24, was absent as he lives in the US.

Victoria also took to Instagram to share a whole host of pictures from the outing, proving she and David are as loved-up as ever.

The fashion designer cut a glamorous figure in white wide-leg suit trousers and a matching blazer, which she teamed with a plunging black top.

Victoria also took to social media to reminisce about her two decades of marriage to her husband David.

Birthday girl! The snaps showed Harper posing alongside her mother in her mini-me dress (left), a spitting image of looks worn by Victoria in the past (right)

Family time! The pair then sat down for lunch with David and Harper's two younger brothers Romeo and Cruz Beckham

Fun: The family enjoyed an early celebration for Harper's birthday, which is on July 11

What did she get? Just days ahead of her official birthday, Harper was also treated to a designer gift from her proud parents, posing with the Prada giftbag in one of Victoria's snaps

Smitten: Earlier this week Victoria and David celebrated their 24th wedding anniversary, and shared a slew of snaps from their marriage

She shared a slew of throwbacks of the pair together and joked that she was still 'laughing with, not just at' her husband.

A sweet gallery of snaps showed the pair over the years holding hands and cuddling up while enjoying glasses of wine.

She captioned the images: 'Still holding hands and still laughing (with you not just at you) I love you so much @davidbeckham xx'.

Meanwhile, David penned a sweet tribute 'to the best wife, mummy and drinking partner' as he posted an old snap.

A much younger David could be seen beaming alongside the fashion designer, 49, while they cuddled two puppies.

'On this day 4.7.99  24 years and counting. To the best wife , mummy & drinking partner ( most of the time ) Happy Anniversary love u so much,' David wrote.

Victoria also took to her Stories to show how she'd been spoiled on the anniversary, showing off all the cards she'd received in front of a giant Hermes box containing a gift from David.

Their youngest child Harper also treated the pair to two gift bags as she praised them for being the 'best mummy and daddy ever'.
This Morning bosses are facing more chaos over its revamp after relations between its two presenters Alison Hammond and Dermot O'Leary have become increasingly strained.

The Mail on Sunday can reveal some executives on the under-fire ITV daytime programme are worried they may have to consider the duo hosting more episodes apart.

Ms Hammond, 48, and Mr O'Leary, 50, who host This Morning on Fridays and school holidays, were seen as being able to steady the ship following Phillip Schofield's departure in May.

Sources claim that Ms Hammond is no longer as close as she was to Holly Willoughby. The pair were being tipped to be the main presenting duo when the programme begins its new season in September.

One insider on the show said: 'Alison and Dermot got off to a tricky start, they had very different levels of experience and came from totally different places but they then did start to rub along quite nicely.

Relations between This Morning presenters Alison Hammond and Dermot O'Leary (pictured together) have become increasingly strained

The pair were seen as being able to steady the ship following Phillip Schofield's departure in May. Pictured: Schofield on June 20 in Cornwall - the first time he was seen in public since he left ITV

It can also be revealed that Ms Hammond is no longer as close as she was to Holly Willoughby (pictured together on This Morning, March 27)

'Recently though things have become strained and it is worrying the bosses, they fear that this couple they put together which they had hoped would carry the show through the tough times it is enduring may have to present apart a bit more.

READ MORE: Fern Britton shares an update on her friendship with This Morning co-host Phillip Schofield after the pair were dogged by feud claims Advertisement

'As for Holly and Alison, they were as thick as thieves. Alison even invited Holly to stay at her house recently, something which Holly then shared with the This Morning viewers, which surprised Alison.'

Mr O'Leary, a seasoned presenter with more than two decades of experience, has been anchoring the show with Ms Willoughby in recent weeks.

Ms Willoughby, 42, and Ms Hammond are also of concern to the chiefs. The two had grown close in recent months and Ms Willoughby had been hoping she would be able to have the former Big Brother host as her sidekick.

But this newspaper has been told that Ms Hammond views herself as a star in her own right after being poached to host the popular Channel 4 show The Great British Bake Off.

Meanwhile, bosses are said to be 'thrilled' with how popular Craig Doyle, 52, the former presenter of the BBC's Holiday programme, has become with female viewers after spending a little over a year as a stand-in host, mostly alongside Josie Gibson.

He has been paired with Ms Willoughby several times since Schofield left the programme and This Morning fans have been enjoying their chemistry hugely.

The Mail on Sunday has been told that Ms Hammond views herself as a star in her own right after being poached to host the popular Channel 4 show The Great British Bake Off

ITV bosses are said to be 'thrilled' with how popular Craig Doyle, 52, the former presenter of the BBC's Holiday programme, has become with female viewers after spending a little over a year as a stand-in host, mostly alongside Josie Gibson (pictured together on June 26)

The Mail on Sunday first told of tensions behind the scenes at This Morning in April which were likely to see the end of Schofield's 21-year reign as host. Pictured: Schofield continues to care for his sick mum in Cornwall as he is seen leaving her home in sunglasses on July 2

One source on This Morning said: 'Craig had been out in the wilderness for some time and recently he has made the most fantastic comeback.

'Holly loves him and so do the viewers. Watch this space.'

The Mail on Sunday first told of tensions behind the scenes at This Morning in April which were likely to see the end of Schofield's 21-year reign as host.

He was ousted from the show a month later and latterly revealed he had lied about having a relationship with a much younger This Morning runner and lying about it to this newspaper.

An ITV spokesperson said: 'Alison, Dermot and Holly are all valued members of the This Morning family and all enjoy working together on the show, as well as having friendships outside of the show.'
Ariana Madix and and Katie Maloney attended to some details at their soon-to-be-opened sandwich shop on Friday.

The Vanderpump Rules stars, who have been buying thrift store items for the decor, were spotted outside the Something About Her storefront in West Hollywood.

Ariana, 38, looked comfortable as she stepped out in a cream-colored sweatshirt with a green winged graphic and matching shorts.

The Dead End star also wore white sneakers and white ankle socks.

Her blonde locks were tied up in a loose top bun with a green scrunchie.

Legs: Ariana Madix, 38, and Katie Maloney, 36, arrived at their soon-to-be-opened sandwich shop Something About Her on Friday. Katie kept it casual in a faded black Harley Davidson T-shirt, showcasing her toned legs in black shorts and western boots

Ariana appeared to go makeup free and wore dark sunglasses.

Katie, 36, stuck with a relaxed look featuring a faded black Harley Davidson T-shirt, while showcasing her toned legs in black shorts and western boots.

The reality star combed her dark bobbed locks away from her face.

She seemed to be wearing light makeup with a natural red lip and accessorized with several earrings and a necklace.

Fans caught a glimpse of the interior in a video starring Ariana and Derek Hough announcing the model would be competing on the next season of Dancing with the Stars.

The pair have not announced when the store will be opening but they have been drumming up excitement about their venture.

While shooting the Vanderpump Rules season 10 reunion, the two entrepreneurs revealed they had already sold $200,000 of merchandise connected to the shop.

Products include sweatshirts, T-shirts and hats with prices ranging from $29.99 to $49.99.

The gal pals recently hammed it up in a video shot inside the store, lip-syncing to the voice of Nicole Kidman's AMC commercial.

Comfortable: Ariana, 38, was equally comfortable, stepping out in a cream sweatshirt with a green winged graphic and matching shorts. The Dead End star wore white sneakers and white ankle socks

Natural beauty: Ariana's blonde locks were tied up in a loose top bun with a green scrunchie, she appeared to be makeup free and wore dark sunglasses. Katie combed her dark bobbed locks away from her face and wore light makeup with a natural red lip

Excitement: The pair have not announced when the store will be opening but they have been drumming up excitement about their venture among their fans

Merch: While shooting the VR season 10 reunion, the two entrepreneurs revealed they had already sold $200,000 of merchandise connected to the shop

'We come to this place for magic,' they both mimicked while standing in the doorway.

The camera cut to Katie show mouthed 'we come to AMC theaters to laugh,' then quickly focuses on Ariana who dramatically mimes, 'to cry,'

The sendup ends with the two friends in an embrace on the words 'to care.'

The clip received has more than 85 thousand likes since it was uploaded.
Helen Skelton is moving on from her ex-husband Richie Myler by putting the marital home they once shared on the market.

The television presenter, 39, announced her split from England and Leeds Rhinos rugby league star Richie, 33, in April last year.

A source told the Mirror: 'Helen has moved on with her life and feels its time to start with a clean slate.

'Shes put the house they shared on the market and is looking for a new place she can move to with the kids in the coming months.'

Since his split from Helen, Richie has gone on to have a baby with new girlfriend Stephanie Thirkill, 32, the daughter of Leeds Rhinos president Andrew.

Moving out: Helen Skelton, 39, is moving on from her ex-husband Richie Myler, 33, by putting the marital home they once shared on the market

End of the road: The television presenter announced her split from England and Leeds Rhinos rugby league star Richie in April last year

Former Strictly Come Dancing star Helen and Richie married in 2013 and moved into their Yorkshire property together seven years later.

The ex couple poured cash into a various renovations on the property until they split last year.

Months later, Helen - who is mother to sons Ernie, eight, Louis, five, and 16-month-old daughter Elsie who she shares with Richie - appeared on Celebrity Yorkshire Auction House and said she'd 'sold a load of stuff' as she cleared her life out.

It comes after Helen enjoyed a break with her girlfriends, sharing photos of her island hopping trip on Tuesday as she celebrates her upcoming 40th birthday.

The Strictly star flaunted her tanned figure in a skimpy pink bikini as she enjoyed a spot of paddle boarding in the waters of Formentera.

The day before the group were on neighbouring island Ibiza as Helen shared another snap of herself, this time in a leopard print bikini as she headed to the beach.

'Girl time is a good time. So glad I had that chance meeting with someone on an away day from @onthebeachholidays a couple of years ago. Thank you @trsibizahotel for having me and some pals. Stunning hotel. Amazing staff. Top food. Brilliant drinks,' she captioned the snap.

She added the hashtags '#grateful #holiday #ibiza #girltime #prstay #onthebeach #trs #gifted #beach #baleares #balearics #sand #sea #hotels #island.'

Fun in the sun: It comes after Helen enjoyed a break with her girlfriends, sharing photos of her island hopping trip on social media

Holiday: The group visited the island of Ibiza as Helen shared a snap of herself in a leopard print bikini as she headed to the beach

Helen also reposted a photo from her pal as the group got glammed up for a night on the town.

The trip appeared to be an early 40th birthday celebration for Helen as her friend captioned the snaps 'Birthday Queen'. Helen's big day is on July 19.

Helen recently revealed her hilarious response to being asked whether she has a boyfriend, proudly sharing her choice of comeback in an interview with Grazia.

She complained that, during her time hosting Blue Peter between 2008 and 2013, her love life was always brought up by pals rather than her personal accomplishments.

Helen said: 'I was travelling all around the world, and seeing and doing incredible things. And whenever I came home and caught up with people, all they would ask is, "Have you got a boyfriend?" I was like, "No, but I've got a few world records!"'

Islands: The Strictly star flaunted her tanned figure in a skimpy pink bikini as she enjoyed a spot of paddle boarding in the waters of Formentera

Ready to party: Helen also reposted a photo from her pal as the group got glammed up for a night on the town

Celebrating: The trip appeared to be an early 40th birthday celebration for Helen as her friend captioned the snaps 'Birthday Queen'. Helen's big day is on July 19

In the same interview, she detailed why she doesn't need any sympathy in the wake of her split from Richie.

The TV personality was asked about her tricky time raising three children on her parents' farm after moving from Leeds to Cumbria following the separation.

Choosing not to discuss her split from Leeds Rhinos star Richie in any length, she simply said: 'My life's no different to millions of other people's lives.

'Lots of people have the same sorts of things to look after and sort out. I think life is fun, and short, and wonderful, and you just take each chapter as it comes along. There's no point overthinking stuff, you just get on with it.'
Dave Myers has told of the tearful moment he was able to get back on his motorbike again for the first time since his cancer diagnosis.

The Hairy Bikers star, 65, went public with his cancer diagnosis in May 2022 and has since told how he had to 'learn how to walk again' amid his health struggles.

Now, Dave has reached a huge milestone in his cancer battle and told how he has been able to get back in the saddle, according to The Mirror.

He recalled the emotional moment as he gave a health update, admitting he and his fellow Hairy Biker Si King were both left in tears when he was able to ride again.

He told the Yorkshire Post: 'It's been hard but I'm not the only one and I'm getting through it and I'm back at work.

Milestone: Dave Myers has told of the tearful moment he was able to get back on his motorbike again for the first time since his cancer diagnosis

'I've had to learn to walk again and ride my bike again, and to get on my bike again with Kingy in the sunshine brought tears to both our eyes.'

His best pal Si added: 'He's a proper scrapper and he's on good form. It's been an emotional rollercoaster for everybody who loves and cares about Dave.'

Dave has finally been able to get back on his motorbike after buying himself a brand new vehicle earlier this year as he shared his hopes of getting back in the saddle.

He purchased a new motorbike, a 4,699 RE Bullet Trials 500, back in February and was joined by Si, 56, to look at the vehicle.

Dave took to Instagram at the time to share a snap of himself and Si grinning as they stood in front of his new purchase in Arnolds Motorcycles in Burton.

Alongside the snap, Dave penned: 'Big step forward in getting back in the saddle.

'Si came with me to take a look at my new bike, a 500cc royal Enfield bullet trials bike. Very exciting, thank you Arnold's motorcycles of Burton. Love Dave.'

Elsewhere, Dave gave another update on his cancer battle last month, describing it as a 'work in progress'.

Purchase: Dave has finally been able to get back on his motorbike after buying himself a brand new vehicle earlier this year - a 4,699 RE Bullet Trials 500 (pictured with the bike and Si King)

Dave, who has not revealed what type of cancer he has, detailed having endured '30 lots' of chemotherapy over the past year.

Staying positive amid his journey, Dave added that he reckoned his cancer was 'going the right way' while sharing his gruelling schedule for treatment.

He told The Times: 'I'm doing all right. It's a work in progress. We've had some hard years but this one's been I've had 30 lots of chemo, spread over three weeks and then a week off. It's going the right way.'

Detailing what's ahead amid his cancer journey, he went on: 'So that's five sessions every other week and then I go film in Scotland for two weeks, then go back on chemo, but that'll be twice a month.'

Dave has previously told how at times he was too ill to walk and unable to ride his motorcycle due to being unsteady amid his health struggles.

'By God, the chemotherapy doesn't half age you quickly. Because your balance goes, so for someone with a motorbike that's a disaster and my walking has been affected quite a lot, really,' he told the How To Be 60 podcast.

'It's neuropathy in your feet, so it's hard to stand. So I've had to learn to walk again properly.

Health: The Hairy Bikers star, 65, went public with his cancer diagnosis in May 2022 and has since told how he had to 'learn how to walk again' amid his health struggles

Plans: Dave and Si are due film a BBC Two travel series, Hairy Bikers Go West, which will see the duo travel from Scotland to Devon across eight episodes

'It's a funny thing chemotherapy, it's one of life's great levellers. It doesn't matter if you're on the telly or on the dole, if you get that then you're in the s**t. And sometimes the chemo does make you depressed.

'It's a type of chemical depression, and that's really hard, because everyone is telling you to be positive, but when the chemistry in your body is not telling you that story, that's harsh.

'Hopefully there will be more positive chapters beyond this.'

Dave and Si are due film a BBC Two travel series, Hairy Bikers Go West, which will see the duo travel from Scotland to Devon across eight episodes.
Eva Longoria showcased her toned limbs as she enjoyed a family day in Spain.

The actress, 48, has been spending time with her husband, Jose Baston, 55, and their five-year-old son, Santiago, while vacationing at a luxury resort in Marbella.

On Saturday, the Flamin' Hot director and her crew headed to the mountains for a day of hiking.

The Desperate Housewives star kept cool, wearing a strapless black bra top and denim shorts, displaying her taut torso and shapely legs.

Eva appeared makeup free, and she styled her dark locks in a messy bun.

Family time: Eva Longoria enjoyed a family hike with her husband, Jose Baston, 55, and their five-year-old son, Santiago in the Sierra Marbella mountains Saturday in Spain

Cool: The Desperate Housewives star kept cool, wearing a strapless black bra top and denim shorts, displaying her taut torso and shapely legs

The Land of Women actress carried a black cross body bag

She stepped out in white sneakers.

The Unplugging star wrapped a black jacket around her waist after finding little use for it in the 83 degree temperatures.

Jose looked comfortable in a long-sleeve white T-shirt and teal shorts.

The film and television producer also wore a white billed cap and sneakers.

Young Santiago looked adorable in a sleeveless black T-shirt, matching shorts and sneakers.

The tyke carried an orange water bottle for the family.

While on their adventure, the family appeared to be looking for butterflies.

Natural: Eva appeared makeup free, and styled her dark locks in a messy bun. She stepped out in white sneakers

Jacket: The Unplugging star wrapped a black jacket around her waist after finding little use for it in the 83 degree temperatures

Comfortable: Jose looked comfortable in a long sleeve white T-shirt and teal shorts. The film and television producer wore a white billed cap and sneakers. Young Santiago looked adorable in a sleeveless black T-shirt, matching shorts and sneakers

Eva and Jose married in 2016. They had been introduced by a mutual friend a few year before, although sparks didn't fly on their first meeting

Stepmom: Jose has three children from his first marriage, Natalia and twins Mariana and Jose Antonio.

They also crossed some small streams and climbed some rocky paths.

The group explored a wooden shelter among a group of trees.

Some of the going got difficult for the kindergartener, and Eva lovingly carried him as they traversed the landscape of the Sierra Marbella.

Eva and Jose were married in 2016.

They had been introduced by a mutual friend a few year before, although sparks didn't fly on their first meeting.

'I was getting out of a bad relationship, and he was getting out of a relationship, so there wasn't a connection,' she told People in 2017.

'So, we had a pleasant conversation but there was no real connection.'

But things were different when they met again a few months later.

'It was like the cliche angels singing and there was a glow around him and it was immediate chemistry,' she said.

Jose has three children from his first marriage, Natalia and twins Mariana and Jose Antonio.

Santiago is the only child the couple shares together

Butterfly hunters: The family went on a butterfly hunting expedition. Santiago seemed to be giving directions while his mom took control of the net

Not heavy: Some of the going got difficult for the kindergartener, and Eva lovingly carried Santiago as they traversed the landscape of the Sierra Marbella

Success: Even as she enjoys family time, the proud director celebrated the success of her first feature film Flamin' Hot

Popular: The movie about the invention of the popular Flamin' Hot Cheetos is number five on the list of Top 10 most streamed movies

Too cute: Eva's son looked delighted as they honed in on a butterfly

Activist: Eva earned a master's degree in Chicano studies while maintaining a busy schedule as an actress and producer. She has become a leading advocate to the Latin community in the US

Even as she enjoys family time, the proud director celebrated the success of her first feature film Flamin' Hot.

The movie about the invention of the popular Flamin' Hot Cheetos is number five on the list of Top 10 most streamed movies.

Fans can catch the dramedy on Hulu and Disney+.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Eva credits her friend Kerry Washington with suggesting she make the jump from directing TV episodes to a feature film.

They two were pitching a film, 24/7 at the time, and decided Eva should direct it.

The movie was never made, but it gave the experienced director and producer the push she needed to find a project.

Flamin' Hot turned out to be the perfect recipe for her as a director and an activist who wanted to see more Latin representation on screen.

Eva earned a master's degree in Chicano studies while maintaining a busy schedule as an actress and producer. She has become a leading advocate to the Latin community in the US.

'That was the goal and the purpose of getting behind the camera, creating more opportunity for my community,' she explained.

Shelter: The group explored a wooden shelter among a group of trees

Directing: In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Eva credits her friend Kerry Washington with suggesting she make the jump from directing TV episodes to a feature film. Eva has directed more than a dozen television episodes

Perfect recipe: Flamin' Hot turned out to be the perfect recipe for her as a director and an activist who wanted to see more Latin representation on screen

Community: 'That was the goal and the purpose of getting behind the camera, creating more opportunity for my community,' she explained about her choice of Flamin' Hot for her feature film debut

New projects: As an actress, Eva has several projects to look forward to, including a film based on the beloved children's book Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Romantic drama: She has completed work on A Circus Story & A Love Song alongside Diane Kruger, Jason Patric and Demian Bichir

Ready for release: The movie was made several years ago, but is expected to be released in the US in December

Plot: The drama focuses on a man who leaves behind his life in a Mexican circus for the nightlife of New Orleans and is expected to be released in December

Long day: Eva packed up the car at the end of a long day

As an actress, Eva has several projects to look forward to, including a film based on the beloved children's book Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.

She has completed work on A Circus Story & A Love Song alongside Diane Kruger, Jason Patric and Demian Bichir.

The story focuses on a man who leaves behind his life in a Mexican circus for the nightlife of New Orleans.

The movie was made several years ago, but is expected to be released in the US in December.
Jonah Hill's ex-girlfriend Sarah Brady has taken to social media to brand the actor a 'misogynist' and 'narcissist.'

The surf instructor blasted the 39-year-old Superbad star by taking to Instagram to share messages allegedly sent by him that appear to reveal their past arguments.

The alleged texts from Hill display him outlining his parameters for a 'romantic partnership.' The two dated back in 2021 for about one year.

It comes less than one month after news broke that the filmmaker welcomed a baby with girlfriend Olivia Millar.

DailyMail.com has reached out to Hill's representative for comment.

Exposed? Jonah Hill's ex-girlfriend Sarah Brady has taken to social media to brand the actor a 'misogynist' and 'narcissist'; pictured in 2021

Tense: Taking to Instagram late on Friday night, the surfer blasted the 39-year-old Superbad star by sharing screenshots of their past arguments

The rollout of damning statements against the movie producer began with an Instagram Stories post Brady shared with the caption, 'F*** it.'

The screenshot showed two messages alleged to be from Jonah on December 2, 2021.

The lengthy initial text apparently from Jonah included a list of unacceptable behaviors from Sarah if they were to be together romantically.

The new dad allegedly mentioned things including 'surfing with men,' 'inappropriate friendships with men,' and 'posting pictures of yourself in a bathing suit' that were off limits for his then-girlfriend.

He additionally stated that if Sarah 'needed' to 'model,' 'post sexual pictures,' or maintain friendships with women who were part of her 'wild recent past' then he was 'not the right partner' for her.

In another post of his alleged messages, Brady claimed that Hill only wanted her to socialize with friends whom he had 'personally approved.'

The entertainer, whose documentary Stutz came out on Netflix last year, added, 'If these things bring you to a place of happiness I support it and there will be no hard feelings. These are my boundaries for romantic partnership.'

He then clarified, 'My boundaries with you based on the ways these actions have hurt our trust.'

Implicit: Brady used the caption of new Instagram post to air out her ex. She claimed he had requested that she take down the full-clothed photo

Heed: Sarah called her decision to release the private messages a 'warning to all girls'

Unleashing: Sarah posted a message thread with the caption 'you make me sick'

Sarah wrote online to her nearly 80,000 followers, 'See the misuse of the term "boundaries"?'

Brady spun her posts as a 'warning to all girls.'

'If your partner is talking to you like this, make an exit plan,' she captioned a screenshot that appeared to show Hill complaining about social media photos featuring her 'a** in a thong.'

'Call me if you need an ear,' she added.

After Brady appeared to have signaled that she had deleted some of the supposedly offending photos, the Wolf Of Wall Street star appeared to tell his then-girlfriend it was a 'good start' but that she didn't 'seem to get' his point.

'But its not my place to teach you. Ive made my boundaries clear,' he affirmed. 'You refuse to let go of some of them and youve made that clear and I hope it makes you happy.'

Brady maintained that her ex-boyfriend's critiques were made in an attempt to control her.

She explained that she agreed with his requests in an attempt to keep him from experiencing 'crippling anxiety.'

Insight: Sarah alleged that while dating Jonah, he had to 'personally approve' her friends

Former flames: The couple used to regularly coordinate their outfits

One wish: Sarah said she wants her ex to be held accountable

Getting personal: In part of her tirade against her ex, the athlete noted, 'I hope my ex has a daughter, maybe shell turn him into a real feminist.'

'It hurts so badly': Brady seemed to be addressing Hill when she wrote 'Gaslight much?' over one screenshot. In the text, he appeared to complain that he was 'so lovely' to her, which he didn't feel was being reciprocated

Interacting with her fans, Sarah admitted: 'Its been a year of healing & growth with the help of loved ones and doctors to get back to living my life without guilt, shame and self-judgment for things as small as surfing in a swimsuit rather than a more conservative wetsuit.'

She continued, 'And Im sure theres still much more healing from this abuse ahead of me.'

The former duo first went public with their romance in August 2021 after their connection was sparked when Jonah approached her online.

On Friday Sarah said she was 'sharing this publicly now because keeping it to myself was causing more damage to my mental health than sharing it could ever do.'

She also explained she used to take the 'blame' for Hill's actions when they would speak with their therapist.

In part of her tirade against her ex, the athlete noted, 'I hope my ex has a daughter, maybe shell turn him into a real feminist.

'Because the fact that he calls himself a feminist now is laughable.  If I could have one wish for him it would be that he is surrounded by feminist men who can hold him accountable to grow in the ways he has expressed he wants to.'

The law student went on to say, 'I think fame can put people in an echo chamber of viewpoints, which can enable emotionally abusive behavior.'

Odd standards: One snippet of conversation appeared to show Hill complaining that his then-girlfriend's 'therapist thinks I suck,' before he called himself 'literally ... the best boyfriend. On earth'

Ridiculous: In a screenshot of a conversation with another person, Brady claimed that a therapist had urged her to come up with a 'safe word'  'pineapple'  for 'when Jonah was yelling at me'

Shade: In other posts, she urged her followers to 'Boycott Stutz,' Hill's documentary about his relationship with his therapist. One included a screenshot of text saying it 'is never appropriate for a therapist to speak about themselves at length'

One snippet of conversation appeared to show Hill complaining that his then-girlfriend's 'therapist thinks I suck.'

Brady seemed to be addressing Hill when she wrote 'Gaslight much?' over one screenshot.

In the text, he appeared to complain that he was 'so lovely' to her, which he didn't feel was being reciprocated.

'I literally am the best boyfriend. On earth,' he added. She mocked the sentiment by sarcastically writing #1 Boyfriend over the screenshot and adding a photo of a smiling dog.

In other posts, she urged her followers to 'Boycott Stutz,' Hill's documentary about his relationship with his therapist. One included a screenshot of text saying it 'is never appropriate for a therapist to speak about themselves at length.'

She also clarified that just because a person is 'emotionally abusive,' it 'doesnt mean theyre a terrible person.'

'At the same time, it doesnt mean its OK,' she said.

In addition to screenshots of conversations allegedly between her and Hill, Brady also included screenshots that appeared to show her complaining about her ex with another person.

She also clarified that just because a person is 'emotionally abusive,' it 'doesnt mean theyre a terrible person,' adding, 'At the same time, it doesnt mean its OK'

On Friday Sarah said she was 'sharing this publicly now because keeping it to myself was causing more damage to my mental health than sharing it could ever do.'

Growing family: Hill welcomed his first child with his current girlfriend, Olivia Millar, this year

The other person said it must have made her 'feel crazy having a licensed professional tell You to Not talk to other men to keep your boyfriend from acting like a f***ing baby.'

Brady claimed that the therapist suggested she come up with a 'safe word for when Jonah was yelling at me,' which was 'pineapple.'

In June, it was revealed that Hill had welcomed his first child with his current girlfriend Olivia.

Details about the child, including the birth date, were not revealed, but his rep confirmed she gave birth in the spring of 2023.
Emily Blunt looked effortlessly chic as she joined her co-star Matt Damon for Oppenheimer's press junket in New York City on Friday.

The London-born actress, 40, who stars as J. Robert Oppenheimer's wife in the film, cut a trendy figure in a black polka dot midi dress featuring a stylish cut-out detail on the long sleeves.

The actress kept it comfortable for the event with a pair of white trainers and accessorised with a black vinyl tote handbag.

Emily oozed class as she styled her blonde bob neat with a side parting and flawless large waves channelling a vintage old Hollywood look.

The Devil Wears Prada star looked radiant as she rocked a pair of black shades shielding from the sun in the city.

Polka dots: Emily Blunt looked effortlessly chic at the Oppenheimer's press junket in New York City on Friday

Hollywood heartthrob: The actress was joined by co-star Matt Damon

Oozing chic: The London-born actress, 40, cut a trendy figure in a black midi dress featuring a stylish cut-out detail on the long sleeves

Meanwhile co-star Matt, who takes on the role of General Leslie Groves Jr, director of the Manhattan Project, rocked white trousers and a black polo T-shirt.

He completed the look with conventional white trainers and sported black aviator shades.

The Good Will Hunting sensation, 52, looked in good spirits as he was captured signing some autographs at the upcoming movie's event.

Acclaimed Christopher Nolan has claimed that early viewers of Oppenheimer have left the film 'devastated' and 'unable to speak'.

The upcoming historical thriller centres on the life of American theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, who was director of the Los Alamos Laboratory responsible for the creation of the first atomic bomb in the Manhattan Project.

With its anticipated release scheduled for July 21, the British-American director, 52, has now commented on how early viewers have received the film.

Speaking to Wired magazine, he explained: 'Some people leave the movie absolutely devastated. They can't speak.

'I mean, there's an element of fear that's there in the history and there in the underpinnings. But the love of the characters, the love of the relationships, is as strong as I've ever done.'

Accessorising: The Devil Wears Prada star looked radiant as she rocked a pair of black shades shielding from the sun in the city

Ensemble: Meanwhile co-star Matt rocked white trousers and a black polo T-shirt

Busy: The Good Will Hunting sensation, 52, looked in good spirits as he was captured signing some autographs at the upcoming movie's event

Gripping: The upcoming historical thriller focuses on the life of American theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy)

The film stars some of the most famous faces in Hollywood, including Peaky Blinders' Cillian Murphy, 46, as J. Robert Oppenheimer and Emily as his wife, biologist and botanist Katherine 'Kitty' Oppenheimer.

Little Women star Florence Pugh, 27, plays psychiatrist Jean Tatlock.

Nolan said: 'It is an intense experience because it's an intense story. I showed it to a filmmaker recently who said it's kind of a horror movie. I don't disagree.'

The director even admitted he was 'relieved to be finished' with the project due to the emotional toll it took.

'As I started to finish the film, I started to feel this colour that's not in my other films, just darkness. It's there. The film fights against that,' he said.

Familiar face: Emily plays the titular character's wife, biologist and botanist Katherine 'Kitty' Oppenheimer

New look: Florence Pugh plays psychiatrist Jean Tatlock

Cast: Matt portrays General Leslie Groves Jr, director of the Manhattan Project

Other famous faces include Robert Downey, Jr who plays Lewis Strauss, a founding commissioner of the US Atomic Energy Commission.

Benny Safdie plays theoretical physicist Edward Teller, Michael Angarano plays Robert Serber and Josh Hartnett plays pioneering American nuclear scientist Ernest Lawrence.

Oppenheimer also stars Rami Malek and reunites Nolan with eight-time Oscar nominated actor, writer and filmmaker Kenneth Branagh.

It comes after Cillian Murphy said he was 'desperate' to land lead role in Christopher Nolan's upcoming Oppenheimer after five films as a supporting actor.

'I have always said publicly and privately, to Chris, that if I'm available and you want me to be in a movie, I'm there,' he said in an interview with AP.

'I don't really care about the size of the part, but deep down, secretly, I was desperate to play a lead for him.'

Oppenheimer will hit cinemas on July 21.
The Repair Shop star Suzie Fletcher's revelation about how she was abused by her late husband during their 15 year marriage has shocked his family.

Relatives of Suzie's American husband James Allen Baker said they had no idea about the problems in the couple's marriage before she detailed them in her newly published book.

Suzie, the popular leather working expert on the BBC show which restores family heirlooms recounted in her memoir how he choked her and threatened to kill her.

She also recalled how he posted naked centerfolds in his man cave at their farmstead near Eaton, Colorado, and repeatedly left her feeling worthless, especially after drinking heavily.

But the family of her husband who died aged 52 from pancreatic cancer in 2013 told MailOnline that they were stunned to hear her claims of his 'coercive' behaviour.

Suzie Fletcher dropped a bombshell in her memoir when she revealed how she had endured a 15-year abusive, coercive marriage that left her feeling trapped

MailOnline has uncovered that the husband she called just Rob in her book was James Allen Baker

The oilfield worker from Eaton, Colorado, died of pancreatic cancer at just 52 ten years ago

Ramona Rae Baker, mother of Jamie Baker and mother in law to Suzie Fletcher, pictured at home in Evans, Colorado

Suzie, the star of the wildly popular The Repair Shop, recounted how her American husband choked her, threatened to kill her, posted pictures of naked models in his man cave and left her feeling worthless

Describing Suzie as 'a lot of fun', they said that they had never seen any abuse during the couple's marriage and believed they had been 'happy' together.

Suzie did not use her husband's real name in her book The Sun Over The Mountains: A Story Of Hope, Healing And Restoration, instead referring to him as Rob.

She described how his abusive behaviour emerged at the start of their marriage which followed a whirlwind romance soon after she arrived in America to work as a saddler.

Her husband's sister Marci, 66, who works at Walmart and lives in Thornton, Colorado, admitted that she knew Suzie had once been concerned about his drinking.

She said: 'I just know that he There was a time that he was drinking a lot.. And my dad went out there [to the farmhouse] and spoke to him.

'Suzie told him that she was going to leave if he didn't change. I didn't hear anything else after that. I just assumed that it was fine.'

Marci who admitted her brother could be 'a wild child' as a kid, insisted that she would have intervened if Suzie had told her of any problems with her brother who was known as Jamie.

She said: 'She never said anything to me but if she had told me that she was worried, I would have said, if he ever treats you badly, let me know. I will come and take care of him.

'I mean she had that [sort of support] from my whole family. She never said anything and if, if it did happen, I truly don't know. She never said anything about it.

'She never said that he had abused her or anything to me and if she had, I would have helped her.'

Marci told how Suzie had devotedly nursed her husband as he battled the cancer which killed him.

She said that both she and her sister Laura Grueber, 60, of Windsor, Colorado were also there regularly in Jamie's final year.

Marci said she continued to be on good terms with her widowed sister-in-law after her brother's death and they spoke regularly.

But Suzie then suddenly returned to England, cutting off all contact with her late husband's American family and taking his ashes with her.

Marci said: 'I kept in touch with her. She was here, she didn't leave immediately after he died. It was like a year, a year and a half maybe, that she left.

'I spoke to her all the time, like every week. I would keep in contact with her, I'd text her and see how she was doing or whatever.

'Went out and saw her a couple times and she never said anything. I would have thought that she would, you know, say, "hey, you know, this is what happened, da da da da".

The family of Jamie Baker told MailOnline that they were stunned to hear her claims of his coercive behaviour

Suzie did not use her husbands real name in her book The Sun Over The Mountains: A Story Of Hope, Healing And Restoration, instead referring to him as Rob. Pictured: Jamie as a boy

Juanita Guy, 71, aunt to Suzie's husband Jamie Baker pictured outsider her home in Evans, Colorado

'But she never, she never expressed any kind of fear of him. She never said anything was going on. She was very, very supportive of him while he was sick.'

Marci added: 'When she told me she was leaving, I said, "I hate to see you go, but you know, keep in touch".

'She gave me what I thought was her email address, but every time I tried to use it, I got no response. So, I just didn't know what happened to her. I just assumed she didn't want to have anything to do with any of us.'

Jamie's aunt Juanita Vigil, 71, said: 'I knew him from a little boy, probably about seven, eight years old. He was always as friendly as ever. Every time I'd I see him on the street or wherever he was, he, he opened his arms and gave his auntie a big kiss and whatnot.'

She added: 'He was just a beautiful man. Beautiful physically and personally - I never would've dreamt that anything bad was happening between him and Suzie.'

Juanita went on: 'Like I said, I never would dream anything [bad] was going on. Every time I saw him and Suzie together, I thought they were happy.

'I never saw that anything was wrong. The family never said that anything was going on between them either.'

Suzie described in her book which was published three weeks ago how she met her husband by chance in the street in Boulder, Colorado, where she was working.

She wrote: 'I was just three weeks into my new life in America when I first clapped eyes on Rob. He was well built and muscular, with long blonde hair and a moustache.

'I can still picture him now as he walked with this swagger towards me along Boulder's main street, wearing shorts, a cut-off white T-shirt, white trainers and reflective sunglasses.

'Blimey, he's nice, I thought as we walked past each other. A few paces later and I couldn't resist turning around to take another look. He had done the same. He smiled at me.'

Marci Baker, 66, seen at home in Thornton, Colorado. Marci is brother to Suzie's husband Jamie Baker

Gary Grueber, 65, married to Jamie Baker's sister Laura pictured outside his home in Windsor, Colorado

Rae (pictured), now 88, recalled her surprise at hearing how they had suddenly got married. She said: They came home one day and they said, Well, we got married. I said, oh, you did?

The ranch home shared by The Repair Show star Suzie Fletcher and Jamie Baker in Eaton, Colorado

Jamies aunt Juanita Vigil (pictured) said: I knew him from a little boy, probably about seven, eight years old. He was always as friendly as ever'

Jamie's sister Marci said she would have intervened had she known about his behaviour. Pictured: A family photo including Jamie

She recounted how they started dating and got married within three months on the spur of the moment in a hurried register office ceremony during her lunch hour.

The couple had started living together shortly before their marriage in the basement of the home of Jamie's parents Peter and Ramona 'Rae' Baker in LaSalle, Colorado.

Rae, now 88, recalled her surprise at hearing how they had suddenly got married.

She said: 'They came home one day and they said, "Well, we got married". I said, "oh, you did?" I said, "when did this happen?" She said, "oh, on lunch hour. We went, got married on a lunch hour". "Oh, I said, okay". So later on that month when I got everything arranged, I gave them a small reception. It wasn't very big, but it was something.'

The couple eventually set up home in a white-painted farmhouse located on a pretty country road ten miles outside the tiny Colorado town of Eaton.

There, Suzie says, they kept horses and dogs while she ran her own successful saddlery business.

In a moving passage in her book, Suzie described how her husband bragged to a visiting neighbour how he wanted to put up centrefold pictures of women in his garage which he said he wanted to turn into a 'man cave' where she wouldn't be welcome.

She stormed off feeling that he was trying to belittle her and slammed the door without realising he was following her.

Suzie wrote how she only realised her husband was behind her when the door scraped the skin off the top of his toes.

She said he then chased her into the hall with a look of 'pure fury in his face' and put his forearm under her throat, lifting her off the ground.

Suzie wrote: 'I honestly thought I was going to die. He was choking me and could easily have killed me. I don't know why but eventually he let go.'

Marci (pictured) told how Suzie had devotedly nursed her husband as he battled the cancer which killed him

Jamies brother-in-law Gary Grueber, 64, who works for a medical equipment supplier said he had been proud of Suzies TV fame after her return to the UK

General views of the rural farming town of Eaton, Colorado where Suzie Fletcher and Jamie Baker had a shared home

General views of the Windsor Baptist church, Windsor, CO where Jamie Bakers funeral service was held in 2013

Yearbook photos exclusively obtained by MailOnline show him as a blonde-haired teen during his years at Valley View High School in Gilcrest, Colorado

Leaving her with a bruised neck, she recalled how he told her: 'If you make me violent, it's your fault.'

Suzie added: 'I was in such a state that I just nodded. "And I'll tell you right now," he went on, "if I leave a mark on you, I'll make sure it's where nobody can see it."'

Suzie told in her book about how her husband's short temper got worse when he drank heavily.

She said: 'I remember returning to the farm on a Saturday  after he had struck me in the neck  when he'd been having beers all afternoon. It was like the devil had got into him as he watched me unload the truck. I knew I was in trouble. "I've worked out how to have you killed," he said in a slow and sadistic way. "And I will get away with it." He then went on to explain how. I won't go into the details, but I knew he was serious.'

But he said he later apologised for his bad behaviour, as he always did, saying: 'You know I love you. I love you more than anyone else loves you.'

Jamie was born in 1961  the second-youngest of Rae and Peter Baker's four children.

Yearbook photos exclusively obtained by MailOnline show him as a blonde-haired teen during his years at Valley View High School in Gilcrest, Colorado, where he was one of the stars of the wrestling team.

He and his siblings were all close until the oldest of the four, Chuck, was killed by a drunk driver at the age of 24 in 1980, leaving two infant sons Adam and Chad behind.

During his time at the school he was one of the stars of the wrestling team

He and his siblings were all close until the oldest of the four, Chuck, was killed by a drunk driver at the age of 24 in 1980, leaving two infant sons Adam and Chad behind

Rae said: 'I found out what happened while I was on a trip in Denver with my husband. It was Jamie who called.

'When he told Marci, Chuck was dead, she said "no, you're joking. Don't joke about this." But it wasn't a joke. Chuck was killed and then I had to find a way to tell his father.'

The family faced more tragedy when Jamie's father Peter died of cancer in 2006, sparking a row over his will which led to Rae and her son not speaking for years until their rift was healed shortly before his death.

Rae said that Jamie had become upset after his father left some of his tools to his grandson Adam, a mechanic.

She said: 'He got all his dad's carpenter tools because he wanted to build this thing for Suzie so she could have a shop to fix her saddles and bridles and all that stuff.

'I didn't know for the longest time that he was even sick. It must have been maybe two months before he died that I found out. And he'd already been really, really sick.'

She said Jamie would ride his motorbike down to see her regularly after that but only when he was well enough.

But she added: 'He couldn't come too often because he was in so much pain. That pancreatic cancer is so vicious. It is so vicious.'

Rae said she also tried to stay in touch with Suzie after Jamie's death, only to find the gates of the farmhouse locked every time she tried to visit.

She said: 'Since the funeral, I've never seen or heard from her. I hope we didn't make her feel unwelcome. I don't think we did.

General views of the rural farming town of Eaton, Colorado where Suzie Fletcher and Jamie Baker had a shared home

The ranch home shared by Suzie Fletcher and Jamie Baker, who died in 2013, in Eaton, Colorado

'I would go there and the gates would be locked or she wouldn't answer the door or her phone. Peter always got on with Suzie  they were always laughing and joking together.'

She went on: 'Jamie is at peace now. He's in a better place with his father and brother. I miss them all so much.

'I have a grave to visit for Chuck and his father is there too. We always said whichever one of us went first would lie with him. I go there to talk to all three of them.'

Rae also talked about not knowing what Suzie had done with her son's ashes after his cremation.

She said: 'I've always wondered what she did with Jamie's ashes, whether she threw them in the ocean. He loved England.'

Jamie's brother-in-law Gary Grueber, 64, who works for a medical equipment supplier said he had been proud of Suzie's TV fame after her return to the UK.

But he said he was shocked by the revelations in her book and had no idea that anything was wrong.

He said: 'She was popular here. She was fun. I loved spending time with her.' Gary added:

'She was a nationally known saddle maker. We used to watch her working or see some of her saddles as she was making them.

'We used to talk about going back to England and she was going show us around, but to know that she's living there now  that was kind of a shock.'

Suzie's spokesperson has been approached for comment.
India on Friday asked the United Kingdom to take strong action against alleged Khalistan supporters who threatened top Indian diplomats recently during talks here between National Security Advisor(NSA)Ajit Doval and his British counterpart Tim Barrow.

India raised the demand to either deport or legal prosecution in view of the threat issued by the Khalistani backers to take out a Kill India rally to the Indian High Commission in London on July 8. The tweets announcing the rally featured images of High Commissioner Vkiram Doraiswami and Indias consul general in Birmingham, Shashank Vikram.

In this backdrop, Doval urged his British counterpart to take strong public action such as deportation against extremist elements threatening officers of Indian High Commission in the UK, official sources said. Doval raised the issue during his wide-ranging talks with Barrow, who is currently on a visit to India.

The two NSAs held one-on-one talks followed by delegation level dialogue.

The Indian side raised the issue of the extremist elements in the UK threatening individual officers of the Indian High Commission and urged the UK government to take strong public action against these elements such as deportation or legal prosecution, said a source.

Both sides also agreed to work closely to counter terrorism and terror financing. The two NSAs also resolved to deepen mutually beneficial bilateral collaboration in critical and emerging technologies.

Pro-Khalistan groups have issued posters inciting violence against senior Indian diplomats in the UK as well as in the US, Canada and Australia. India has already asked all these countries to ensure safety and security of Indian diplomats and its missions.

On Thursday, UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said any direct attacks on the Indian High Commission in London are completely unacceptable. Cleverly also said We have made clear to @VDoraiswami and the Government of India that safety of staff at High Commission is paramount.

He was referring to Indias High Commissioner to London, Vikram Doraiswami.

British High commissioner to New Delhi, Alex Ellis, quoted Cleverlys tweet and posted: To amplify the importance which @FCDOGovUK attaches to the safety and security of friends and colleagues, and their premises, at @HCI_London.

The Khalistan supporters on March 19 had tried to vandalise the Indian High Commission in London and tried to grab the Indian tri-colour.

Several accounts on Twitter began posting about the rally this week, saying the rally was meant to challenge [the] #Indian hand in the killing of Khalistani separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a designated terrorist, in Canada last month.

This development came days after the Khalistani backers vandalised the Indian consulate in San Francisco and tried to set on fire the premises.

The alleged Khalistani supporters also issued threats to Indian diplomats in Canada and put out posters naming them and issuing threats. Similar threats were given to the Indian diplomats in Australia and the US.

The latest attack on the Indian mission in San Francisco came a little more than three months after Khalistani activists planted flags at the consulate, broke through barricades and used flagpoles to smash windows.

R
Days after the Indian consulate in San Francisco was vandalised by alleged Khalistani supporters, several US lawmakers and influential Indian-Americans have condemned the attempted arson at the consulate and called for expeditious action against those behind this criminal act.

They also slammed the violent rhetoric against India's Ambassador to the US Taranjit Singh Sandhu and said free speech does not mean a license to incite violence or vandalise property. A video by Khalistan supporters, dated July 2 and posted on Twitter, showed the act of arson at the Indian consulate in San Francisco.The video, with the words violence begets violence emblazoned over it, also showed news articles related to the death of Canada-based Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF) chief Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Nijjar, one of India's most-wanted terrorists who carried a cash reward of Rs 10 lakh on his head, was shot dead outside a gurdwara in Canada last month.

In a joint statement issued on Thursday, Congressmen Ro Khanna and Michael Waltz, co-chairs of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian-Americans, said violence against diplomatic facilities will not be tolerated. As the co-chairs of the India Caucus, we strongly condemn the attempted arson and vandalism at the Indian Consulate in San Francisco and the posters circulating on social media with violent rhetoric aimed at Indian diplomats, including Ambassador Sandhu, they said. We support the right to free speech and freedom of expression for every American but that is not a license to vandalise property or incite violence.

Violence against diplomatic facilities is a criminal offence and will not be tolerated. We urge the State Department to coordinate with law enforcement in their investigation of the damage at the Indian Consulate expeditiously and hold those involved accountable, they added. Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick said the attack on the Indian consulate is unacceptable. I firmly condemn the repeated hateful attacks on the Indian Consulate and look forward to those involved being held accountable with appropriate legal action, he said.

Till Thursday, no action was taken against those involved in the attack on the Indian consulate. A spokesperson of the National Security Council of the White House said the US takes the safety and security of diplomats very seriously. We take very seriously the safety and security of diplomats living in the United States and strongly condemn acts of vandalism or violence against diplomatic facilities or personnel, the spokesperson told.

Congressman Mike Lawler said the attempted arson at the Indian consulate was disturbing. I had the pleasure of welcoming Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi of India to Washington, D.C. Last month and look forward to a continued, strong partnership with the world's largest democracy, he said.

Condemning the attack in the strongest possible terms, Indian-American Congressman Shri Thanedar said, Violence and attempts to instil terror are unacceptable in a democracy. Congressman Rich McCormick said this attack is vile and unacceptable. Americans stand by our allies and our patriotic Indian-American community, he said in a tweet. Indian-American Congressman Ro Khanna slammed the posters against Indian diplomats in the US, including Sandhu, doing the rounds on social media. I know Ambassador Sandhu and respect him. When I bring up human rights issues, he always engages with civility, thoughtfulness & candor. This rhetoric puts diplomats in harm's way. It's dangerous and has no place in a democracy. Free speech does not mean a license to incite violence, Khanna said.

Last week's attack was the second time within months that the Indian Consulate in San Francisco was targeted by Khalistani supporters. On March 19, a group of pro-Khalistan protesters attacked and damaged the consulate.

Raising pro-Khalistan slogans, the protesters broke the makeshift security barriers raised by the city police and installed two so-called Khalistani flags inside the consulate premises. Two consulate personnel soon removed these flags. In a tweet, the South Asian Minorities Collective said, Known for their proximity to Pakistani intelligence service, the Khalistan cult has been trying to revive itself over the past few years in US, UK and Canada.

Sikh leader Jasdeep Singh described the attack on the Indian consulate as shameful and disgraceful, adding Whoever did it should be brought to the fullest extent of law. Targeting any consulate or any diplomat or anybody for that reason is not a good thing.

Although it has not been identified who the perpetrators were, the community is very, very upset because it is being linked to the Khalistani movement.

There is a line between freedom of speech and the right to protest and getting involved in criminal activities like this one. So, we strongly condemn this criminal act, he said. Responding to a question, Singh urged the Biden administration to make sure that consulates and diplomats of all countries, especially India, are protected and safe in the US.
A Delhi court has summoned BJP MP and outgoing WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh in the infamous case related to alleged sexual harassment of India top women wrestlers.

Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Harjeet Singh Jaspal, after carefully examining the charge sheet on Friday, directed Singh to appear before the court on July 18. The suspended assistant secretary of the Wrestling Federation of India, Vinod Tomar, has also been summoned by the court.

Upon perusal of the police report and the statements of the victims recorded under section 164 CrPC, it is evident that the allegations are specific and suggest offences under provisions of the IPC. The list of prosecution witnesses has been filed. After considering the submissions and reviewing the police report, along with its annexed documents, including the victims statements, testimonies of other witnesses, and other oral and documentary evidence, this court takes cognisance of the committed offences under sections of the IPC, Judge Jaspal said.

The judge asked the SHO of Connaught Place Police Station to serve the summons to both the accused. Considering that both Singh and Tomar reside in Delhi, the court set a short date for their appearance.

The police had filed the charge sheet against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, a six-time MP, on June 15 under sections 354, 354A, 354D, and 506 of the IPC, pertaining to assault, sexual harassment, stalking, and criminal intimidation.

Tomar, who held the position of assistant secretary, has been charged with offences under sections 109, 354, 354A, and 506 of the IPC, related to abetment and criminal intimidation.

Alongside the present case, another FIR was filed against Singh based on allegations made by a minor wrestler. This FIR was registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

The complaint was made by one of the seven female grapplers who accused Singh of sexual harassment. The allegations include instances of inappropriate touching, groping, stalking, and intimidation spanning over a decade, occurring at various times and locations.

In the case involving the minor, the court had sought responses from both the girl and the complainant regarding the final report filed by the Delhi Police.

The report requested the cancellation of the case against Singh for alleged sexual harassment. The Delhi Police submitted the report on June 15, stating a lack of corroborative evidence after conducting a thorough investigation.

A cancellation report is typically filed when the police are unable to find sufficient evidence to support the allegations. Notable wrestlers, including Olympic medallists Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik, as well as Asian Games champion Vinesh Phogat, have rallied behind the cause of the women wrestlers.
The Gujarat High Court on Friday dismissed Congress leader Rahul Gandhis plea for a stay on his conviction in a criminal defamation case related to his Modi surname remark. Justice Hemant Prachchhak, while dismissing the plea, said Rahul faces 10 criminal cases in various parts of India. The court upheld the lower courts decision to sentence Rahul to two years in jail for his remarks, deeming it just, proper, and legal.

In response to the verdict, the Congress party announced its intention to challenge the Gujarat High Courts decision in the Supreme Court. The party accused the Government of employing new tactics to stifle Rahuls voice due to its discomfort with his truth-telling.

The Congress expressed determination to continue fighting the battle both legally and politically, considering the ruling a travesty of justice.

Congress leader Randeep Surjewala criticised the courts decision, labeling it a travesty of justice. Instead of punishing bank fraudsters like Nirav Modi, Ami Modi, Neeshal Modi, Mehul Choksi and ilk, the messenger exposing the deceit and swindling of public money is being punished.

Speaking at a press conference, Congress spokesperson and Gandhis counsel Abhishek Singhvi asserted that the ultimate court is the court of the people, and they can witness the orchestrated campaign against one individual.

I will not reiterate the gymnastics that took place at the stage of trial, where the complainant got a one year stay on his own complaint, and then revived it after there was a change on the bench. And, it was that second magistrate, who proceeded to pass that order of conviction. Those are facts, and the facts speak for themselves, he said.

The more they have attempted to silence him (Rahul) through harassment by the ED and the CBI, the breach of privilege notices, the petty removal of SPG security to the disqualification from Parliament, the more he remains unmoved. And that is what exposes their fear, he said.

Singhvi said this Government is rattled because Rahul speaks with facts and figures on demonetisation, the Governments clean chit to China, and on the struggling economic situation.

It is consistent aggression that has compelled the Government to find newer and newer techniques to throttle his voice...We are seeing this cycle of oppression and suppression play out once again. We will fight it. Rahul Gandhi will fight it. And if the last nine years are anything to go by, they will always fail to silence his vigilant voice, Singhvi said.

Meanwhile, Rahuls sister and Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra shared a Hindi poem on Twitter, criticising the Governments attempts to suppress the truth. She accused the regime of resorting to various means, including price, punishment, discrimination, deceit, and hypocrisy, to divert attention from public concerns.

Party leader Navjot Singh Sidhu voiced strong criticism of the Gujarat High Courts verdict on Twitter, stating, The law sometimes sleeps but never dies... You hang the doves and acquit the vultures... When the whistleblower is annihilated and those he exposes are protected, democracy is doomed!

Ignoring Rahuls plea for reprieve, the court said there were no reasonable grounds to stay the conviction and pointed out that Rahul was facing multiple pending criminal cases.

After this complaint, another complaint was filed in a court in Pune by the grandson of Veer Savarkar for Rahuls defamatory utterance against Veer Savarkar at Cambridge. Another complaint against him was filed in the concerned court of Lucknow, it said. 

In this backdrop, refusal of stay on conviction would not in any way result in injustice to the applicant, the judge said.

The Impugned order passed by the appellate court is just, proper and legal, and does not call for any interference. However, it is hereby requested by the concerned learned district judge to decide the criminal appeal on its own merits and in accordance with law as expeditiously as possible. In view of the above, the present criminal revision application deserved to be dismissed and accordingly it is dismissed, the judge said.

While noting that there was no reasonable ground to stay the conviction at this stage, Justice Prachchhak also directed the district and sessions court of Surat to hear Rahuls appeal against the conviction as expeditiously as possible.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday called for a departure from the mentality of subservience and encouraged the nation to take pride in its rich traditions.

Speaking at the closing ceremony of Gita Press centenary celebrations, Modi described his trip to Gorakhpur as a shining example of his Governments commitment to combining development with heritage. The visit encompassed a tour of Gita Press and the inauguration of modern trains, emphasising the harmonious coexistence of progress and tradition.

During his address, Modi expressed his optimism that the centuries-old dream of a grand Ram temple in Ayodhya would soon become a reality.

He highlighted the significance of the redesigned Navy insignia, inspired by the flag of Chhatrapati Shivaji, a revered Maratha ruler. Articulating the need to shed the symbols of slavery lingering even after 75 years of Independence, Modi emphasised the importance of reclaiming Indias heritage and traditions.

It is time to overcome the mentality of slavery and be proud of our heritage, he said.

Pointing out that his Government awarded the Gandhi Peace Prize to the Gita press, Modi said Gita Press has 1,600 publications in 15 languages and it propagates the concept of Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat among people.

The office of Gita Press is no less than a temple for crores of people. There is Gita in its name, as well as in its work. The spiritual light that was ignited here in the form of Gita Press in 1923 is guiding humanity today. It is our good fortune that we all are witnessing the golden century of this humanitarian mission, Modi said.

The Prime Minister said an institution like Gita Press is not only associated with religion and work but also has a national character.

Gita Press connects India and strengthens Indias solidarity. It is such an institution which has always enriched social values and shown the path of duty to people, the Prime Minister said adding Gita Press is the worlds only printing press that is not just an organisation but a living faith.

Today, we are building world-class infrastructure and at the same time, we are witnessing the potential of pilgrimages like Kedarnath and Mahakal. After centuries, the dream of a grand Ram temple in Ayodhya is also going to be fulfilled, he add

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath commended the PM for elevating Indias global stature during his speech, acknowledging his exceptional leadership.

Modi further underscored the invaluable contributions of Gita Press, the worlds largest publisher of Hindu religious textbooks. He shared that Mahatma Gandhi had been associated with the organization and had urged Gita Press not to accept advertisements for Kalyan magazine-an advice that continues to be followed today.

Turning his attention to the immensely popular Vande Bharat trains, the PM acknowledged the overwhelming demand for their services. He revealed, Earlier, leaders used to write about getting trains to halt in their areas. Now, I receive letters from every corner of the country requesting the operation of Vande Bharat trains.

Modi went on to highlight the convenience and facilities that these trains have brought to the middle-class citizens.

The PM also flagged off the Gorakhpur-Lucknow and Jodhpur-Ahmedabad (Sabarmati) Vande Bharat Express trains. Additionally, he laid the foundation stone of the Rs 498-crore Gorakhpur railway station redevelopment project, further emphasizing the Governments commitment to modern infrastructure.

Modi also reflected on the broader vision of building world-class infrastructure while celebrating the spiritual potential of revered pilgrimage sites like Kedarnath and Mahakal. With the imminent realization of the grand Ram temple in Ayodhya, he emphasized that India is poised to fulfill its historical aspirations.
A seminar on Neonatology was organized at Rotary Hall, Ranchi under the aegis of Rotary Club on Friday. It was inaugurated by the chief speaker Dr. Rajesh Kumar, CEO of Rani Children Hospital Ranchi, renowned neonatologist, Jogesh Gambhir, ex-Rotary Governor and CEO of Raj Hospital Ranchi, Dr. Vinay Dhandhania, CEO of Devkamal Hospital and ex-president of the club, Dr. Anant Sinha, Honorary Secretary Lalit Tripathi jointly.

Keynote speaker Dr. Rajesh Kumar while discussing the challenges of Neonatology and its recent progress said that in case of premature delivery the child has many serious health problems. In which difficulty in breathing, considerable loss of weight, jaundice, abnormal body temperature, cardiac arrests are prominent. Such children require an intensive care unit. Earlier, the facilities in a city like Ranchi were very less to save such children after birth. Children had to be sent to cities like Kolkata, Mumbai. It was also very expensive. Then the percentage of survival of children was hardly around 50. But now world class facilities related to neonatology are available in many hospitals of Ranchi city. Because of this, about 80 per cent of such children are getting success today.

Dr. Kumar said that such cases are mostly found in the case of poor families, because the woman does not get all the necessary vaccines during pregnancy. They also lack proper nutrition. In the case of neonatology, most of the parents of such families used to back down due to their inability to get the children treated. Dr Kumar said that at present the state government is giving immediate assistance of Rs 5 lakh under the Chief Minister's Jan Arogya Yojana. To take advantage of the scheme, it is mandatory to have a ration card in the name of the parents and birth certificate of the child.

Jogesh Gambhir, CEO of Raj Hospital, said that such events update people with new technology, facilities and knowledge in the medical field. In the case of neonatology, now the possibilities of saving more and more children and giving them a normal life have increased.

Renowned doctor and president of the club, Dr. Vinay Dhandhaniya said that the facilities needed to reduce the mortality rate of newborns are being made available in the city. There is a need to work together to reduce the death rate.

Dr. Anant Sinha, CEO of Devkamal Hospital and former president of the club, said that by sharing new information in the medical field, we can further improve the cases of neonatology. Such panel discussions will continue to be organized on other medical topics as well. Colonel UR Raj did the vote of thanks.

The Gift of Life scheme has been launched by the club under the joint effort of Rotary Club Ranchi and Rotary Mid Town Ranchi. Under this, those children who have a hole in their heart, such children will be operated at the Amrita Institute Hospital in Kochi. The whole process will be free of cost. The office bearers of the club have appealed to the parents of such children to contact the club.
The leaders of both groups of lawyers allegedly involved in the firing incident at the Tis Hazari Court complex were arrested on Friday and remanded to three days in police custody.

Manish Sharma, the vice-president of the Delhi Bar Association, and Lalit Sharma, the brother of the associations secretary Atul Sharma, have been arrested, police said. Further raids are underway, the police added. Three advocates were arrested in connection with the firing incident and sent to four-day police custody by a local court on Thursday. Five shots were fired at the court complex in north Delhi following a confrontation between two groups of lawyers.

A purported video of the incident was circulated on social media, showing a man dressed as a lawyer firing what appeared to be a pistol, though police did not verify the authenticity of the clip. Deputy commissioner of police (DCP), north district, Sagar Singh Kalsi said the two men arrested on Friday have been identified as Manish Sharma and Lalit Sharma.Kalsi said Manish Sharma is the senior vice president of Delhi Bar Association (DBA) at Tis Hazari court complex while Lalit Sharma, is the brother of DBA secretary Atul Sharma.

The police said the two groups were allegedly involved in the firing incident that was reported on the court premises on Wednesday.
Demanding investigation of the Ankita Bhandari murder case by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) under a sitting judge of the High Court, the Uttarakhand Congress held a demonstration in front of the statue of MK Gandhi in Gandhi Park here on Friday. The protest was held under the leadership of the president of the women wing of the State Congress. Speaking on the occasion, the president of Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) Karan Mahara said that Ankita Bhandari case is a blot on the face of Uttarakhand and its pride. The culprits should be given such a punishment that it should set up an example for the criminals. He said that the manner in which the bulldozer was used to destroy a portion of the resort and evidence in the case shows that the criminals are being patronised under the BJP government. Speaking on the occasion, former chief minister Harish Rawat said that the family of Ankita Bhandari is in a state of shock. He said that the Congress party is trying to provide justice to the family but the government has adopted an apathetic attitude on the issue. He claimed that the police and administration are under the pressure of the government due to which they are hesitating to expose the name of the VIP in the case. The Mahila Congress State president Jyoti Rautela said that the evidence in the case was deliberately destroyed to save the culprits. She claimed that the Mahila Congress would continue to fight for justice for Ankita Bhandari.

Former minister Hira Singh Bisht, vice president (Organisation) Mathura Dutt Joshi, Manish Khanduri, Garmina Dasauni, Naveen Joshi, Jaswinder Gogi and others were present in the protest.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is investigating into the train tragedy at Bahanaga in Baleswar district on June 2, on Friday arrested three railway officials in connection with the mishap.

The arrested were identified as Senior Section Engineer Arun Kumar Mahanta, Section Engineer Muhammad Amir Khan and Technician Papu Kumar, sources said.

They were arrested under Sections 304 and 201 of IPC.

Following their arrest they were taken to the Capital Hospital from the CBI office here before their production in a CBI court.

The CBI had earlier raided and sealed the rented house of Khan at Soro in Baleswar district and grilled him in connection with the mishap. The agency had also questioned Bahanaga Bazar Station Master SP Mohanty.

The CBI took over the investigation from Government Railway Police (GRP) soon after the Railway Board sent a recommendation in this connection to the Central Government.

CBI sleuths went to the spot several times and sealed the Bahanaga Bazar railway station as part of their investigation. CBI officials also seized the mobile phones of some railway employees to collect detailed information on the call records, WhatsApp calls and social media chats of some railway employees.

Notably, as many as 294 passengers were killed and about 1,000 others injured in the mishap involving the Shalimar-Chennai Coromandel Express, a stationary goods train and the Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express near the Bahanaga Bazar railway station.
The Bharatiya Janata Party has accused the Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge of insulting Badrinath. The BJP levelled this allegation on the basis of a photograph showing Kharge simply touching the Prasad from Badrinath instead of receiving it properly when Pradesh Congress Committee president Karan Mahara presented it to him during a courtesy visit.

The BJP State media in-charge Manveer Singh Chauhan said that the photographs showing Mahara presenting Badrinath Prasad to Kharge are objectionable. The photograph shows the Congress national president sitting on his chair and simply touching the Prasad being presented by Mahara. This is an insult to 120 crore followers of Sanatan Dharma because it is common knowledge that the Prasad of the lord is received respectfully with both hands while standing up. It is unfortunate that the Congress national president in his arrogance disrespected Bhagwan Badri Vishal. It is more unfortunate that the Pradesh Congress Committee president is simply watching Sanatan culture being insulted, opined Chauhan.

Chauhan further said that this once again shows that the Congress leaders in Delhi and Uttarakhand do not accord importance to Hindu culture and traditions. The party leaders who are Hindu when convenient get photographed wearing the sacred thread to remain in conversation but at the same time do not leave an opportunity to insult the Sanatan culture. The Congress national president and PCC president should apologise publicly for insulting Sanatan culture, said the BJP State media in-charge.

Taking a dig at the leader of opposition in the Assembly, Yashpal Aryas meeting with Kharge, Chauhan said that the Congress national president not even getting up from his chair while meeting other Congress leaders shows the level of importance accorded to the States Congress leaders in Delhi.
Under the aegis of Bank of India, National Banking Group (NBG - MP & Chhattisgarh), Bhopal Zone organised a press conference on the arrival of Executive Director of the bank, Swaroop Dasgupta.

In the presence of NBG General Manager, Lokesh Krishna and Zonal Manager, Guru Prasad Gond.

The Executive Director gave information about the achievements of the bank in the last quarter, in which it was mainly told that the Mahila Samman Nidhi Yojana started by the Government of India was first started by the Bank of India.

Thereafter 'Customer Outreach Program' was started. In this program, loans worth Rs 20 crore were distributed to more than 100 beneficiaries under retail, SME and agriculture loans.

High officials of head office, NBG and Bhopal zone were present in the programme. After the program, a special customer meeting was organized in the circle premises in the evening.

Staff conference will be organized in Sehore district on July 8, 2023(Saturday) with the aim of encouraging all the staff doing excellent work. All the zonal heads of NBG (M.P. and Chhattisgarh) will be present in this conference along with their senior officers and staff. This program has been organized by the top management of the bank to establish direct communication with all its staff.
Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot has directed the Commissioner (Transport) to not put the newly inducted electric buses in operation from July 10 if their technical defects are not rectified by Sunday.

Gahlot, in his communication to Transport Commissioner Ashish Kundra, cited a media report that said one in three e-buses has been breaking down daily. It is a matter of huge concern that the buses which are not even one week old are continuously breaking down, the Transport Minister said.

The communication noted that Delhi has recently started the operation of 100 new electric buses under Tata Motors. The direction comes amid rising instances of breakdowns of the electric buses that were inducted into the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) fleet on June 30. It is directed that the operation of these electric buses is monitored closely.

Also, TATA should be directed to rectify defects in the buses within this week. The Transport department should ensure that in case the defect is not removed, no such buses shall be out-shedded from Monday, 10 July 2023, onwards, read the order. Following this directive, Transport Commissioner Kundra wrote to Girish Wagh, Managing Director of Tata Motors, highlighting that 200 electric buses, which have been inducted in the first lot under the Grand Challenge Programme by the Delhi Transport Corporation, have shown dismal operational outcomes.

In the first instance, the operating company had limited preparedness for installation of transformers in the Depots assigned to them, even as they were pressing the department for early induction of these buses.

Once the induction started, it was observed that there was a high incidence of break down, up to 30 per cent, on account of some technical/software pitches in these buses, the communication to Wagh said.

Tata Motors has a credible global reputation and it was with great hope and confidence that the Delhi Transport Corporation entrusted this ambitiously designed contract for 1,500 electric buses, it noted.

There is now a feeling of being let down. You will appreciate that public transport is the lifeline of any city. Performance of this nature especially in the capital city does not behove a company of the stature of Tata Motors, it further said.

Kundra also said the buses will be stopped to ply if the problem is not rectified by Sunday. ...We will be constrained to stop out shedding of these buses and impose applicable penalties as per the contract, it said.

Taking to Twitter, Gahlot said the government stands committed to provide safe, convenient and reliable public transport to the people of Delhi. I have directed transport commissioner that if technical defect of Electric Buses inducted last week is not rectified/removed by Tata Motors by Sunday 9.07.2023, then such buses will not be put in operation. Penalties as applicable will be imposed. We stand committed to provide safe, convenient and reliable public transport to Delhiites, he said. A Tata Motors spokesperson said initial glitches in these buses are being rectified by experts on a priority basis.

TML CV Mobility Solutions is currently operating 120 buses in Delhi and they have cumulatively covered over 1,00,000 km distance in just six days.

These zero-emission buses are equipped with advanced electronic control systems, which sometimes require optimisation under actual running conditions to deliver best results, he said.

The glitches reported in initial operations are being corrected on priority by an expert team of technicians and specialists stationed at the Mayapuri depot where we have set-up a state-of-the-art enabling ecosystem to charge, maintain and operate the fleet.

With more smart buses scheduled to be added weekly, this infrastructure is being replicated at other depots as well. By this weekend, we will ensure that all buses are available as per schedule for delivering enhanced performance and higher uptime, in line with our contractual obligations. We are committed to make public transportation in Delhi safe, convenient, comfortable and green, the spokesperson said.

Equipped with security features such as CCTV cameras and panic buttons, these buses were the first of the total 1,500 electric vehicles that will be inducted into the Transport departments fleet by the end of 2023, taking their total number to 1,800. While flagging off the electric buses in January, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had said 80 per cent of Delhis total fleet will be electric by the end of 2025.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Friday, said his Gorakhpur trip, which included a visit to Gita Press and the launch of modern trains, exemplified his governments policy of combining development with heritage.

The Gorakhpur visit this time is a unique example of Virasat bhi, Vikas bhi (heritage and development) policy, Modi said.

He said the dream of a grand Ram temple in Ayodhya was going to be fulfilled after centuries. He also referred to the redesigned Navy insignia based on a flag of Maratha ruler Chhatrapati Shivaji.

Addressing the closing ceremony of the centenary celebrations of Gita Press in Gorakhpur, the prime minister also said that it was time to give up the slavery mentality and take pride in the countrys traditions.

He hailed Gita Press as not just an institution but a living faith and said it was a spiritual sanctuary that held immense reverence for millions of devotees.

He emphasised the significance of Gita Press, stating that it holds immense importance for millions of people and is considered a sacred place akin to a temple.

The name itself carries the essence of Bhagavad Gita, which represents Lord Krishna and embodies compassion, action, knowledge, and scientific inquiry, the prime minister said.

Modi commended Gita Press for following Mahatma Gandhis suggestions and refraining from publishing advertisements in the Kalyan Patrika publication

The prime minister also drew attention to the staggering number of books published by Gita Press over the last 100 years, which he said, is bound to surprise anyone.

These books are made available at affordable prices and are conveniently delivered to peoples doorsteps. They provide spiritual and intellectual satisfaction, contributing to the development of dedicated citizens within society, Modi said.

Highlighting the national character of Gita Press, Prime Minister Modi emphasised its role in connecting and strengthening Indias unity.

With 20 branches across the country and stalls at railway stations nationwide, Gita Press has published about 1,600 titles in 15 different languages, serving as a unifying force and representing the spirit of Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat (One India, Great India).

The prime minister underscored the remarkable timing of Gita Press centenary coinciding with Indias 75th year of independence. He linked this alignment to the pre-independence era when various institutions were established to rejuvenate the country, culminating in Indias preparedness to break free from the shackles of colonialism.

Gita Press played a crucial role in this transformation, becoming a significant pillar of Indias struggle for independence, he said.

Prime Minister Modi also emphasised the profound impact of Bhagavad Gita, particularly during challenging times. He highlighted how Indias consciousness had been tarnished by centuries of foreign rule, resulting in the destruction of libraries and the suppression of indigenous knowledge.

Gita Press emerged as a beacon of hope by preserving sacred texts and making them accessible to the masses, reminding people of the timeless wisdom and strength found in the Bhagavad Gita. In times of crisis, the Gita has provided unwavering faith and protection for truth and religion, he said.

The prime minister highlighted the ongoing efforts to re-establish Indias heritage and ideas. He pointed out the removal of symbols of slavery, such as the naval flag, which was replaced with a flag bearing the mark of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. He also emphasised the revitalisation of Rajpath, transforming it from a reminder of slavery into a path of duty, as well as the establishment of tribal freedom fighter museums and the repatriation of stolen ancient idols.

During the event, the prime minister also mentioned the foundation stone laying ceremony for the Vande Bharat launch and the remodeling project of Gorakhpur railway station. He commended the Vande Bharat train for providing enhanced facilities to the middle class and flagged off its routes from Gorakhpur to Lucknow and Jodhpur to Ahmedabad.

Modi also visited the Leela Chitra temple within the premises of Gita Press. The temple, adorned with shlokas from the Shrimad Bhagwat Gita, and depicting various deities, and verses by Goswami Tulsidas, Sant Kabir, and Dadu, deeply moved the prime minister.

The event began with the auspicious recitation of Swastivachan and shlokas from Bhagavad Gita by seven Vedpathi children from the Gita Press-run Gurukul in Rishikul Brahmacharya Ashram Churu, Rajasthan.

A documentary chronicling Gita Press journey was also screened, further capturing the attention of Prime Minister Modi, Governor Anandiben Patel and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

In closing, Prime Minister Modi expressed his gratitude for the opportunity to release two special issues of Shiv Mahapuran and the Nepali translation of Shiva Mahapuran. He hailed the spiritual knowledge and energy of the sages as instrumental in building a new India and strengthening the welfare of the world.
Emphasising on an initiative to ensure zero tolerance to corruption, the Odisha Government on Friday took stringent action against nine more tainted officials in different departments.

While the authorities fired three corrupt officials from services, the pensions of six more officials were stopped permanently for inefficiency and corrupt practices, a release from the Chief Ministers Office (CMO) stated.

The Government dismissed former Assistant Agriculture Officer of Nabarangpur district Gokul Chandra Nayak for corruption and inefficiency after he was convicted in a Vigilance case.

Action was also taken against former Junior Engineer of RWSS, Sohela, Bargarh district, Upendra Bhanja Nayak by terminating him from service for failing to maintain honesty and dereliction in duty.

Former Auditor of Sundargarh District Local Fund Audit Department Sushil Kumar Meher, who was convicted in a corruption case, was sacked from his service.

Besides, the Government stopped the pension of former Executive Officer of RWSS Division-II Shivram Biswal, who has been accused in a graft case.

Similarly, the pensions and gratuities of former Karlamunda BDO in Kalahandi district GandaramKhamari, former Assistant Agriculture Officer of G Uadayagiri Krushna Chandra Gouda, former Soil Conservation Officer of Malkangiri district Dasarathi Tripathy, former Social Education Officer of Udala in Mayurbhanj district Anand Chandra Nayak and former DMSN Superintendent of Chandpur in Nayagarh district were stopped permanently after these officials were convicted in different corruption cases.

With this, total 197 officials have been given forced retirement so far preventing them to get pension benefits for their involvement in corrupt practices during their service periods.
The Haryana Cabinet on Friday approved No Litigation Policy-2023 for land acquired for Industrial Model Township in the revenue estate of villages Kasan, Kukrola and Sehrawan of Tehsil Manesar, District Gurugram.



During the meeting, presided over by chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar, the Council of Ministers were apprised that the Policy aims to fast-track development and make land owners partners in the development process while ensuring that the farmers get a fair return. The landowners who do not opt under the No Litigation Policy 2023 will be eligible for benefits under the Rehabilitation and Resettlement of Land Owners and Land Acquisition Oustees policy (R&R).



The State Government had notified land measuring approx. 1810 acres under Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act on January 10, 2011, for the purpose of development of Manesar industrial Model Township expansion in villages Kasan, Kukrola and Sehrawan of Tehsil Manesar, District Gurugram. After issuance of notification under Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act, the Supreme Court granted stay on acquisition proceedings. The stay granted by the Court was vacated on December 2, 2019, and thereafter the land was notified under Section 6 of the Land Acquisition Act on August 17, 2020 and subsequently award was announced on August 8, 2022.



There was discontent amongst landowners on the acquisitions initiated in 2011. Several meetings were conducted with the affected landowners on this issue, wherein it was highlighted that due to such delays, the compensation amounts determined based on the Collector rate at the time of notification dated January 10, 2011, were decided only post vacation of stay on August 16, 2022. The assurance was given by the Chief Minister on the floor of the Haryana Vidhan Sabha on August 9, 2022, that the Rehabilitation and Resettlement Policy 2010 would be revised for this acquisition proceeding to ensure appropriate rehabilitation of displaced landowners. In pursuance of the same, a specific policy has now been prepared for rehabilitating the landowners, whose land has been acquired.



The No Litigation Policy of 2023 allows entitlement of 1000 sqmtrs developed land/plots against one-acre land on prorata basis. The farmers/ land owners will have the right to opt for the scheme within a period of 6 months from its notification and launch of the portal. To assure instant benefit to the landowners, HSIIDC will issue Land Entitlement Certificate on the allotment share of land owners within a period of 3 months from the closure of the scheme.



The land owners or holders of the land entitlement certificates shall have the freedom to trade, buy or sell the Land Entitlement Certificates. This implies that land owner can monetize the Certificate in the open market or sell back to the HSIIDC.



This Certificate can be transferred or mortgaged with any bank or financial institution. Developed plots shall be offered by HSIIDC for allotment with possession to holders of land entitlement certificate, after the basic infrastructure facilities are made available in respect of the site to be allotted.
The house-warming and key distribution programme for 4.51 lakh beneficiaries of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Rural concluded on Friday.

The main programme, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, took place in Varanasi, with the participation of approximately 8,000 beneficiaries from Varanasi, Jaunpur, Ghazipur, Chandauli, Bhadohi, and Mirzapur districts.

Similar programmes were organised in other districts, development blocks, and gram panchayat headquarters across the state. At the district level, house keys were distributed in the presence of MPs, MLAs, MLCs and president of district panchayat, and other local representatives.

Development block headquarters also witnessed the distribution of house keys to beneficiaries, with participation from major area panchayat members and other representatives.

Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya said the programme was also held at gram panchayat level, where village heads, along with other villagers, attended the event alongside the beneficiaries.

Adequate arrangements were made to ensure that the prime ministers speech was heard and watched by the attendees at all levels. Following the PMs programme, the distribution of house keys was carried out by local representatives and senior officers in the respective districts and development blocks, the deputy CM said.

Since 2016-17, a total of 34.72 lakh houses have been built under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Rural in Uttar Pradesh. Out of the allocated houses, 29.68 lakh have been completed. Uttar Pradesh takes pride in being the first state in the country to achieve the housing target from the Housing Plus list. Furthermore, the state has consistently ranked first in the country in terms of housing construction percentage from 2016-17 to 2021-22.

The successful completion of the house-warming and key distribution programme signifies a significant milestone in the implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Rural in Uttar Pradesh. It brings the vision of providing affordable and quality housing to the rural population one step closer to reality, Maurya said.
First Jan Maal Lok Adalat launched in Jalandhar



Jalandhar: To provide on-the-spot redressal to the peoples complaints related to the state Revenue Department, Punjab Revenue Minister Bram Shanker Jimpa on Friday launched the first Jan Maal Lok Adalat from Jalandhar. Over 1500 people participated in the Lok Adalat and 816 mutations were decided on the spot, while 90 fresh complaints were received by the officials. The Minister directed the officials to ensure prompt resolutions to these complaints so that people could be benefited from the pro-people initiative. Jimpa said that the Sub-Division-wise counters are set up under this Lok Adalat where applicants can visit to seek disposal to their pending applications.



60 students awarded degrees at SD College Convocation



Chandigarh: Over 60 students were awarded degrees at the Goswami Ganesh Dutta Sanatan Dharma (GGDSD) College convocation on Friday. GGDSD College Society president Vaishali Sharma bestowed the degrees to the 2020-22 and 2021-23 batch of the PML SD Business School. Congratulating the students at a function, Sharma said that PML had signed MoUs with leading institutions like Chandigarh Management Association, ICT Academy, CII, PHD Chamber of Commerce, IIM Calcutta Innovation Park and others to ensure its students got the best industry exposure possible.



Issuing show-cause notice to protesting teachers is undemocratic: Bajwa



Chandigarh: Terming the show-cause notices issued to two teachers for lodging protests on social media draconian and undemocratic, the Leader of Opposition in Punjab Vidhan Sabha Partap Singh Bajwa on Friday said that the AAP-led Punjab Government was aggressively strangulating the voices of dissent to hush-up its lies and failures. In a scathing attack on Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, Bajwa said that he (Mann) often boasts about calling himself the son of a teacher, and still, he has no respect for the profession (teaching) of his father. The people of his fathers profession are mercilessly beaten by the police under him. How obnoxious it is to not let the victims of the government's high-handedness express their sufferings on social media platforms, he added.



Rs 3cr allocated for construction of Ambedkar Bhawan in Tarn Taran



Chandigarh: Punjab Government has allocated Rs three crore for the construction of Dr BR Ambedkar Bhawan in Tarn Taran. The amount has been released for the establishment of Baba Sahib Dr BR Ambedkar Bhawan in Tarn Taran district, and the necessary land has already been acquired for this purpose, said the state Social Justice, Empowerment, and Minorities Minister, Dr Baljit Kaur. The Minister emphasized that the Government's plan includes establishment of these Bhawans in each district, ensuring that the people belonging to Scheduled Castes, Backward Classes, and other impoverished sections have access to various facilities under one roof.



Punjab IPR Minister expresses grief over tragic death of DIPR driver in road accident



Chandigarh: Punjab Information and Public Relations Minister Chetan Singh Jauramajra on Friday expressed deep grief over the tragic demise of Prabhjot Singh, driver posted at the Office of District Public Relations Officer Ludhiana, in a road accident. Prabhjot Singh (41) was coming to the office when he was hit by a vehicle near Sahnewal while fixing his vehicle on the GT road at around 7 am. He was immediately rushed to the hospital, where doctors declared him brought dead. Prabhjot was a dedicated employee of the departmentI personally stand with the family in this hour of grief, he said.



German Ambassador calls on Punjab Speaker



Chandigarh: German Ambassador to India Phillip Ackermann on Friday called on Punjab Vidhan Sabha Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan. Both the leaders, during the meeting, emphasized on strengthening mutual cooperation between both the countries. Sandhwan stressed upon issues related to the Sikhs living in Germany, and asked for strengthening the cooperation between India and Germany in various fields. Both the countries can benefit from mutual exchange in various fields, he said. Sandhwan also asked Ackermann to start direct flights from Germany to Punjab besides encouraging German companies to invest in the state of Punjab.



Two drivers, pilfering 35 litres of diesel, caught by Pb Minister's Flying Squad



Chandigarh: Punjab Transport Minister Laljit Singh Bhullar on Friday informed that under the campaign launched to curb wrongdoings in the state public bus service, two drivers pilfering 35 litres of diesel have been caught in two separate cases. Minister's Flying Squad conducted checking on state buses at various locations in Haryana. Driver Rajpal Singh, of bus from PUNBUS Depot Rupnagar, was caught red-handed pilfering around 20 litres of diesel during the checking at Sirsa Bus Stand at 10:30 pm on Thursday night. Another bus driver, during checking in Bus Stand Hisar (Haryana), Lakhwinder Singh, was found to have pilfered about 15 litres of diesel. The Minister instructed the department officials to take appropriate disciplinary action against the drivers and conductors reported in these cases.



Newly appointed Hry Media Secretary Praveen Attrey assumes charge in IPR office



Chandigarh: The newly appointed Media Secretary Praveen Attrey on Friday assumed charge in the office of Information, Public Relations, Language and Culture Department, Haryana. On this occasion, Media Advisor to the Chief Minister Amit Arya was also present. Attrey said that he will fulfill the assigned responsibility given to him with utmost diligence. Talking to the media on this occasion, Arya said that the Chief Minister has completely changed the direction of Haryanas politics by transforming the system in the last eight and a half years.



Hry Youth Cong to hold statewide protests from July 10



Chandigarh: Haryana Youth Congress on Friday announced holding statewide protests, starting from July 10, over the demand to allow candidates who had cleared the common eligibility test (CET) of the Haryana Staff Selection Commission to appear in the main exam. Youth Congress State Chief Divyanshu Budhiraja said that workers and unemployed youth will stage protests outside district secretariats, starting from Sonipat. He further said, "Due to the government's incompetence, wrong policies, and stubbornness, the dream of unemployed youth to find jobs is being shattered because the CET exam has become a roadblock on the path to the future of unemployed youth". Budhiraja said the Youth Congress has prepared a strategy to raise a voice against the "government's stubbornness".
Jharkhand Pradesh Congress Committee (JPCC), on Friday, took out a solidarity resolution march from Congress Bhawan to Albert Ekka Chowk against the arrogant Modi Government of the Center on the issue of the Gujarat High Court rejecting the petition of Rahul Gandhi's membership of Parliament. Hundreds of Congress workers took part in the solidarity resolution march from Congress Bhavan amidst heavy rain carrying placards against the arrogant Government of the Center.



Addressing the Solidarity Resolution March, Congress Legislature Party leader cum Rural Development Minister Alamgir Alam said that the egoistic power is adopting all gimmicks such as price, discrimination and punishment to distract from the questions related to the interests of the people but truth cannot be defeated.



On the occasion the State Finance Minister, Dr Rameshwar Oraon said that neither the arrogance of power will not last long in front of the power of the people nor the veil of lies over the truth. Rahul Gandhi has lit the light of the questions related to the interests of the public in front of the arrogant power, he added.



Health Minister, Banna Gupta said that in spite of all the attacks and the tactics of the arrogant BJP Government, like a true patriot, Rahul did not hold back from raising questions related to the public. The duty of sharing the pain of the public is standing on the path, he added.



Agriculture Minister Badal said that truth will prevail, people's voice will win, the Country has now become aware of Modi dual policy on corruption.



On the occasion the State Congress Chief, Rajesh Thakur said that Rahul Gandhi always fought the battle of truth and will continue to fight in the future. Fugitives like Lalit Modi, Nirav Modi, Vijay Mallya, Jatin Mehta, Mehul Choksi reached abroad by taking public money under the supervision of Modi Government, BJP freed them, but Rahul Gandhi was put in the dock under a political conspiracy by using lies disqualify membership from the parliament, he added.



MLA Deepika Pandey Singh said that the Congress workers will neither be afraid of nor be afraid of this political conspiracy. We will fight both political and legal battles, she added.



On the occasion MLA Ramchandra Singh, Marketing Board Chairman, Ravindra Singh, Housing Board Chairman, Sanjay Lal Paswan, Youth Commission Chairman, Kumar Gaurav, General Secretary, Amulya Neeraj Khalkho, Rakesh Sinha, Vinay Sinha Deepu, Ajay Nath Shahdev, Gajendra Singh were present.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal postponed to July 14 a meeting of the National Capital Civil Services Authority (NCCSA) which was originally scheduled for Friday.

A communication from Chief Ministers Office to the NCCSA secretary and principal secretary (home) of the Delhi government said the chief minister would not be able to convene the meeting of Authority on July 7 due to some exigencies.

It said the chief minister has rescheduled the meeting on July 14 at his camp office. Officials said the agenda of the Friday meeting was capacity building of officers and some transfer/posting of DASS cadre grade one officials.

The AAP has challenged the ordinance in the Supreme Court that fixed July 10 as date of hearing of the matter. Top sources said that the minutes of the previous meeting are yet to be approved. After June 29 meeting Kejriwal had issued several crucial directives pertaining to pending transfer-posting proposals.

A total of eleven women officers had requested transfers on sympathetic grounds. Chief Minister supported these requests, stating that working women handle work at both the office and home, and therefore their requests must be considered favorably on sympathetic grounds.

Both the bureaucrats  the Chief Secretary and Principal Secretary (Home)  did not oppose the Chief Ministers stand during the meeting. However, while finalising the minutes of the meeting, the bureaucrats callously overturned all decisions of the Chief Minister, proceeding with their own agenda instead, it said.

The Delhi Government said NCCSA has been reduced to a farce with bureaucrats dictating their own will and overturning Chief Ministers decisions.
Punjab Polices Counter Intelligence Wing, in a joint operation with Central Agency and West Bengal Police, have solved the Batala firing incident case after arresting the main accused from Indo-Bhutan Border in Alipurduar district in West Bengal.

Sharing information, the state Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav on Friday said that the 21-year-old arrested accused has a criminal background and he was out on a bail in a murder case.

On June 24, Rajeev Mahajan, his brother Anil Gupta, and his son Manav Gupta had sustained bullet injuries after two assailants barged into their electronics shop at Lakkar Mandi in Batala; and opened fire at them.

DGP Yadav said that based on technical inputs and evidence, Punjab Counter Intelligence had located the accused person in Alipurduar district of West Bengal. Batala Police immediately dispatched a team for West Bengal, and also shared the pinpointed information with them, he said.

He said that the Punjab Police, in coordination with Central agency and West Bengal Police, have arrested the accused person from Indo-Bhutan Border. He also thanked DGP of West Bengal for extending all kind of cooperation.

The preliminary investigations revealed that the entire module was being handled from abroad and the arrested accused was receiving funds from foreign-based handlers to commit these kind of crimes, said the DGP, adding that investigation to establish a money trail is going on.

Batala SSP Ashwini Gotyal said that the Police are working on different leads and efforts are on to nab remaining accused persons in this case. Further investigations are on, she added.

An FIR, dated June 24, 2023, was registered under sections 452, 307 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and section 25 of the Arms Act at Police Station City Batala.
BJP State President and former Chief Minister Babulal Marandi today put Chief Minister Hemant Soren in the dock demanding CBI investigation in the death of Topchanchi officer in-charge Umesh Kachhap.

The death of OC Umesh Kachhap, a policeman from Nagri, Ranchi, who was found hanging in his chamber in Topchanchi, Dhanbad, rocked the political establishment in 2016. The incident occurred when Raghubar Das was the Chief Minister of State,

Deceased Umesh's family had demanded Rs 50 lakh, a petrol pump and job to kin, a CBI inquiry, status of martyr to the dead policeman, dismissal of policemen who allegedly harassed him and FIRs against them under SC, ST Atrocity Prevention Act, and full payment of Umesh's salary to the family till the rest of his service period.

The demand for CBI probe of Umersh Kachhap gained momentum after the daughter of deceased Vijeta Kachhap has filed a petition in the High Court to get the CBI to investigate the suicide case of Inspector Umesh Kachhap (48), the then in-charge of Dhanbad's Topchanchi police station. The petition was heard yesterday i.e. on 06 July. The High Court has sought an answer in the matter within 4 weeks. The High Court has questioned the state government as to why the CBI inquiry was not conducted in the matter.

Marandi said that tribal officer Umesh Kachhap had committed suicide at Topchanchi police station in Dhanbad. In a conversation with his wife before his death, Umesh Kachhap had told the senior officers how the senior officers are pressurizing an honest and straightforward officer like him to save the officers who were extorting money by filing a fake case against a driver.

In this tension, Umesh Kachhap gave his life. Then the CID and the forensic team had found the police officers guilty in the preliminary investigation. But when the government was formed claiming to protect tribal interests, the government closed the file on the death of the tribal officer.

He said that by advising to close the investigation, the government advocate tried to save an officer who had become a crime partner in this government in the CID investigation.

Marandi said to Chief Minister Hemant Soren, why don't you get the CBI probe into the death of the tribal inspector? Why are you not listening to the plea of CBI investigation of the daughter of the dead tribal inspector? Why and to save which culprit is this tribal girl, who has lost her father, being made to go through the courts?
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, on Friday, said that the country and the world witnessed Indias new development journey over the past nine years under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Addressing the closing ceremony of Gita Press centenary celebrations in Gorakhpur, the chief minister said, This is the new India, and the new India is moving forward by following the path shown by Prime Minister Modi and joining the resolve to make the country the biggest power in the world.

The chief minister described Modi as the architect of New India, a great son of Mother India and a leader who elevated Indias standing in the world.

The chief minister recited the verses of Gita for Prime Minister Modi and said, Whatever a great man does, that alone other men also do; whatever he sets up as the standard, that the world (people) follows.

The chief minister said that yoga was a very ancient system of India. Prime Minister Modi gave it global recognition for the first time. The United Nations designated June 21 as World Yoga Day on the prime ministers suggestion. Today, 180 countries around the world are practising yoga and expressing their gratitude towards India, he said.

The chief minister asserted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has improved Indias standing in international forums. He said the popularity of the prime minister across the globe, whether in Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Australia, Germany, Japan or the United States, boosted the sense of national pride in 140 crore people and motivated everyone to advance.

The chief minister pointed out that Kumbh-2019 has been recognised by UNESCO as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity. He said under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi, the work of honouring faith and restoring places of faith was being done today. Be it the grand Dham of Baba Vishwanath in Kashi, Kedarpuri in Kedarnath, Mahakal Lok of Ujjain, or the grand temple of Lord Shri Ram being built in Ayodhya, all were being finished one by one.

Stating that under the guidance of Prime Minister Modi, a new journey of faith and development has started in Uttar Pradesh and Gorakhpur as well, Yogi said, The fertiliser factory in Gorakhpur, which remained closed for 30 years, is running at 110 per cent capacity today.

The chief minister pointed out that people of eastern Uttar Pradesh, western Bihar, and Nepal can receive medical care at the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), which is a reality and not just a dream.

Yogi added that to control diseases like encephalitis, the ICMR (Indian Council for Medical Research) regional centre for research and investigation has been opened in Gorakhpur.

The chief minister said that Ramgarh Taal, which was once a haven for criminals, had a new identity as a magnificent lake.

Referring to the UDAN (Ude Deshka Aam Nagrik) scheme, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said that before 2017, there was one flight from Gorakhpur and today there were 14 flights. Today, Vande Bharat, the new train of New India between Gorakhpur and Lucknow, is also being inaugurated by Prime Minister Modi, he added.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said that the glorious journey of 100 years of Gita Press had been completed. No prime minister had ever arrived (at Gita Press), even after 75 years of independence. In addition to honouring Gita Press today by coming here, the jury constituted under the chairmanship of the prime minister also gave the Gandhi Peace Prize to Gita Press. This honour is not only for Gita Press but for every heritage of India, the chief minister said.
Punjab Government on Friday announced to take all possible steps to help the Punjabis stranded abroad to return home safely, besides taking strict action against the rogue travel agents.

Punjab Government has resolved to take strict action against the travel agents who are doing the illegal business and cheating the states youth, said the state NRI Affairs Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal, adding that a special meeting of the officials of NRI and the Police Departments has been called on July 11, in which the matter of taking strict action against rogue travel agents will be discussed.

The NRI Minister said that the list of rogue travel agents has already been prepared by the NRI Department. Punjab Government is committed to the welfare of the youth of the State and will not allow injustice to any youth. Punjab Government will provide all possible help to the young boys and girls of Punjab, who are trapped abroad due to the fraud of rogue travel agents, to return home, and they should contact the NRI department of Punjab, he added.

Dhaliwal warned the travel agents, who are doing fraudulent business in Punjab, saying that if they do not give up such practices, strict action will be taken against them.

With the NRI Ministers efforts, Punjabs daughter, trapped in Iraq, was brought back home safely recently. This girl had gone to Iraq from Amritsar for her future sake and to improve the financial condition of her family. She was trapped there by an agent of Gurdaspur who kept all her money and passport. On her return, the Minister had gone to Amritsar Airport to receive her.
Prime Minister Narendra Modis two-day visit to Purvanchal, which encompasses 27 Lok Sabha seats, marked the beginning of the Bharatiya Janata Partys extensive election preparations in Uttar Pradesh.

During his visit, Prime Minister Modi announced development projects worth billions of rupees for Gorakhpur and Kashi, cementing the partys focus on the region.

To bolster their electoral prospects, senior BJP leaders, including Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, various Union ministers, and BJP national president JP Nadda, will embark on election visits in different regions of the state starting from August, a senior BJP leader disclosed.

Purvanchal has been meticulously divided into 27 Lok Sabha constituencies, with Varanasi serving as the centre of the Kashi region and Gorakhpur as the centre of the Gorakhpur region. Currently, the BJP holds 12 out of the 14 Lok Sabha seats in the Kashi region and 10 out of the 13 Lok Sabha seats in the Gorakhpur region.

In the previous elections, the Bahujan Samaj Party managed to secure victories in Ambedkar Nagar, Ghazipur, Ghosi, Jaunpur, and Lalganj constituencies. However, the BJP secured the Azamgarh seat, a traditional stronghold of the Samajwadi Party, in the by-elections. Speculation is rife about the possibility of SP general secretary Shivpal Yadav contesting this seat in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

With the ambitious target of winning all 80 seats in UP in 2024, the BJP faces the challenge of breaking through the SP-BSP stronghold while retaining its existing 22 seats.

According to political analysts, Narendra Modi is fully focused on the upcoming elections, recognising the critical importance of securing a substantial victory in UP to secure his third term as the prime minister. His visit to Gorakhpur and Varanasi, key districts in Uttar Pradesh, aims to convey the message that the state holds paramount importance to him, covering a range of issues from nationalism to development.

As an MP representing Varanasi, Modi has prioritised the development of Purvanchal even as Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who represents Gorakhpur, is a prominent face of the BJPs Hindutva ideology. Over the past six years, both the Modi and Yogi governments have initiated significant projects, including the Purvanchal Expressway, Gorakhpur Link Expressway, and Ballia Link Expressway.

The construction of the grand Ram Temple in Ayodhya is progressing rapidly while the completion of the Kashi Vishwanath Dham Corridor is a testament to the governments commitment to development of the region.

Additionally, the region now boasts of an international airport in Kushinagar, and the Yogi government has taken decisive actions to combat criminal elements, leading to improved law and order in Purvanchal. Special incentives have also been implemented to promote investment and industrial development in the region.

Purvanchal is known for its diverse representation of various castes, including Kurmi, Maurya, Rajbhar, Nishad, Yadav, and others. In the previous Lok Sabha elections, most of these castes, with the exception of Yadav and Rajbhar, leaned towards the BJP. The region also comprises a significant number of Dalit voters from Kori, Pasi, Sonkar, Jatav, and Kol castes.

To further expand its support base, the BJP aims to reach out to the Pasmanda Muslim community and make inroads into the Muslim vote bank of the SP-BSP alliance.

Prime Minister Modis visit focuses on addressing the concerns and aspirations of the backward, Pasmanda, and Dalit communities.

Experts believe that gaining support from these communities, in addition to the traditional vote bank of Brahmins, Thakurs, Kayasthas, and Rajbhars, will contribute to the BJPs mission of winning all 80 seats in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in UP.

Modis visit to Gorakhpur and Varanasi conveys the message of development, nationalism, and security to Purvanchal. His participation in the closing ceremony of the Gorakhpur centenary celebrations at Geeta Press highlights the importance of nationalism, while various religious programmes in Varanasi further reinforce this message.

As PM Modi commences his election campaign in Purvanchal, the BJP aims to consolidate its position in the region by stressing on development, addressing community concerns, and projecting a vision of a prosperous and secure Uttar Pradesh.
Police have recovered a huge quantity of explosives from Tatijharia jungle under Tatijharia police station area of Hazaribag. It was kept in a black bag under a tree in the jungle.

Tatijharia police station in charge Anand Azad said that the police station received the information from the local resident of Ghughaliya village of the block that a black colour bag has been seen by the villagers.

On this information the officer in charge along with police force was rushed to the jungle and found a black bag under the tree of the jungle.

He further said that when the bag was opened they found explosives in the bag. In the bag one country made pistol, one cartridge of insas rifles, gelatine of 10 to 15 meters of six piece, huge quantity of wire and one bhujali.

In the bag police also found a photocopy of pan card of Sahil Ansari. Police have started an investigation into who is the owner of this bag. Police team has reached Ghughalia village. A villager named Hussani Miyan said that he has sent labour in the jungle for the work for the cultivation of the land.

The police team has brought all recovered items to the police station and registered a case. The officer in charge said that the investigation will be continued till the main accused is behind the bar.
Prime Minister Narendra on Friday said that previous governments came up with their welfare schemes sitting in air-conditioned rooms without seeing their impact on the ground.

Addressing an impressive public meeting at Wajidpur on Harhua-Sarnath Ring Road on Friday evening, the prime minister called the beneficiaries of welfare projects today examples of real secularism and social justice.

The prime minister said that today by hearing the names of labharthi (beneficiaries), the parties, who only worked for the welfare of their families and close associates and indulged in corruption during their regimes, were shivering with uneasiness because the present government had established a system which provided the benefits of various schemes in which there was no role of any middlemen.

The prime minister said that today the government was not only giving direct benefits to the people but was also taking their feedback directly as he did by asking the experiences of many beneficiaries of Awas Yojana, SVANidhi Yojana and Ayushman Bharat Yojana.

He said today projects worth over Rs 12,100 crore were launched and these projects would change the life of the holy city of Kashi further apart from strengthening the infrastructure and railways network.

In the past, the intentions of the governments were not clear and this is the reason why today the development works are progressing at an accelerated pace, he said.

He said that Rajdhani Express was introduced about 50 years ago but the trains were run on only 16 routes. Similarly, he said, the Shatabdi Express was started about 30-35 years ago but these trains were launched only on 19 routes but within the last four years, Vande Bharat Express trains were being run on 25 routes.

The prime minister said that since the construction of the grand Shri Kashi Vishwanath Corridor, the number of visitors had increased sharply and in just one year, more than seven crore devotees and tourists had visited Kashi, giving ample income opportunities to rickshaw-pullers, petty traders, boatmen and others.

He praised the local people for giving warm welcome to the guests of G-20 meetings and helping the Bharatiya Janata Party candidate win the Varanasi mayoral seat with a thumping margin.

Modi inaugurated or laid the foundation stone for 29 development projects worth Rs 12,100 crore.

He launched the Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Junction-Son Nagar railway line of the Dedicated Freight Corridor. Built at a cost of more than Rs 6,760 crore, the new line will facilitate faster and more efficient movement of goods.

Modi also dedicated to the nation three railway lines whose electrification or doubling has been completed at a cost of more than Rs 990 crore  the Ghazipur city-Aunrihar rail line, the Aunrihar-Jaunpur rail line and the Bhatni-Aunrihar rail line.

The four-laning of the Varanasi-Jaunpur section of NH-56, completed at a cost of more than Rs 2,750 crore, was unveiled as well.

Other projects inaugurated by the prime minister in Varanasi include the construction and renovation of 18 PWD roads, the International Girls Hostel building on the BHU campus, the Central Institute of Petrochemicals Engineering and Technology (CIPET)-Vocational Training Centre at Karsara village and residential buildings and amenities in the Sindhaura police station, PAC Bhullanpur and the Pindra fire station.

He also inaugurated a government residential school in Tarsada and the Economic Offences Research Organisation building. Modi laid the foundation stone of several projects.

During the event, he distributed loans under PM SVANidhi, gave keys to PMAY Rural houses and Ayushman Bharat cards to beneficiaries.

Modi further announced the Grih Pravesh of five lakh PMAY beneficiaries, the distribution of 1.25 lakh PM SVANidhi loans and the distribution of 2.88 crore Ayushman cards.

Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath were present during the programme.
Punjab Government on Friday announced to regularize the staff of Government Ayurvedic College, Patiala soon.

Though the National Commission for Indian System of Medicine (NCISM) had asked to shut the Ayurvedic College, the State Government has not only kept the College open but will also regularize its staff, said the state Medical Education and Research Minister Dr Balbir Singh on Friday.

Directing to ensure the promotion of the college staff as per merit and rules, Dr Balbir said that the State has decided to revive the institution which has been protecting the ancient treatment system of India, besides starting facilities of a pharmacy and hospital here.

Meanwhile, the Medical Education and Research Minister also visited the Government Medical College and Government Dental College to get feedback from the staff and students for further improvement of the functioning of these three prestigious medical institutions.

Dr Balbir said that all these Government Colleges of Patiala will be turned into the leading medical colleges of the country, for which the Punjab Government has chalked out a strategic plan. He also assured the faculty and students that the Punjab Government is soon going to advertise the vacancies at the Dental College.

Reforms are being brought into the health sector at a large scale to make the state Rangla Punjab, he said, while adding that the Punjab Government is striving hard to ensure state-of-the-art health facilities in the State.

Reviewing the construction plan for the new Trauma Centre to be built with the cost of Rs 150 crores after demolishing the old Gynae building, Dr Balbir said that it will be a boon for health facilities in Government Rajindra Hospital.

Earlier, Dr Balbir held a high-level meeting with senior officers to implement the plan to rank the Government Medical College among the leading Medical Colleges in the country.

The Cabinet Minister said that the promotions of faculty are also in progress at the four institutions. He said that making the entire system transparent and efficient is the top priority of the government.
The Uttarakhand government has set a target to attract investment of Rs 70,000 crore from its Global Investors Conclave-2023 proposed to be held in the month of December this year in the provisional State capital Dehradun. Chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has directed the officers to prepare the plan for organising the conclave and ensure that maximum employment opportunities are created in the State from the conclave. A decision in this regard was taken in the meeting of the State cabinet held on Friday. The meeting of the State cabinet was chaired by Dhami.

Informing about the decision, the secretary of Micro Small Medium Enterprises (MSME) Vinay Shankar Pandey said that a high power committee (HPC) headed by the chief secretary has been constituted for the conclave. He said that the department will hold road shows in the state and different parts of the country for the conclave. Two roadshows will also be organised in foreign destinations to promote the event. A grand curtain raiser of the event will be held in Delhi. Pandey added that the State government intends to ensure that projects worth Rs 25,000 to Rs 30,000 crore are grounded (ready to be installed) before the start of the conclave. He said that the CM has focussed on employment generation from the conclave and the government intends to create two to 2.5 lakh direct employment opportunities.

In an important decision, the plan to annul 265 appropriation acts which have become irrelevant was passed by the cabinet in its meeting. For this the government would bring Uttarakhand Appropriation Act (repeal) bill 2023 in the State assembly.

In another decision, the State cabinet approved a plan to develop a business hotel in the old office building of the tourism department in Patel Nagar of Dehradun. The hotel would be operated in Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode and it is expected that the State would earn revenue of Rs 247.06 crore in a period of 60 years. Similarly a plan to start aerosports activities at George Everest estate in Mussoorie was also approved by the cabinet. Informing about the decision of the cabinet in the school education department secretary Shailesh Bagauli said that 2,364 posts of class IV employees would be filled by outsourcing in the department. The cabinet also approved the proposal to extend the scheme of three cooking gas cylinders free of cost in a year to the Antyodaya card holder families to one more year. The proposal for adjustment of 31 employees of the savings department in the collector office of the district concerned was also approved by the cabinet on the day. Bagauli informed that to ensure better credit management and cash flow, the cabinet approved a plan to create 11 temporary posts in the debt and cash management cell in the budget, fiscal planning and resources directorate. The State government has also decided to set up an appellate tribunal for the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in Dehradun. The State would also undertake a natural agriculture corridor on the banks of Ganga river. The project aims to make the waters of the river free from pesticides and other pollutants. A plan to create a post of director general of agriculture and horticulture department was also approved by the cabinet on Friday. An officer of rank of additional secretary will be appointed to this post.

In another decision the cabinet approved the Uttarakhand land encroachment ( prevention) ordinance 2023. A decision to increase the user charges of all the service provider departments by five per cent every year was also taken in the meeting.
Resilience and fortitude have undoubtedly played vital roles in Pawar's political career, but alongside these traits, he has also demonstrated a level of flexibility that teeters on the line between treachery, cunning, and disloyalty, writes Navin Upadhyay

In his autobiography, 'Leading from the Front', Maratha strongman Sharad Pawar wrote, 'Crisis tests the mettle of leaders. It is during challenging times that true leadership emerges, guiding us towards solutions and offering hope to those in need.' These lofty words encapsulate Pawar's own political journey, as he now finds himself at the center of a political storm orchestrated by none other than his own nephew, Ajit Pawar, marking a full circle in his political career.

Back in 1978, a young and ambitious Sharad Pawar rebelled against his own party, the Congress, and his mentor, Vasantdada Patil, forming a coalition government with the Janata Party and the Peasants' and Workers' Party of India. This opportunistic move propelled him into his first tenure as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, setting a record as the state's youngest CM at the age of 38a record that has stood the test of time.

However, after forty-four years, the aging stalwart of Maharashtra politics faces a new challenge from within his own family. Ajit Pawar, his own nephew, has orchestrated treacherous political maneuvers that have left Sharad Pawar at a crossroads. Senior Pawar may audaciously claim that age is just a number and whether he is 82 or 92, he would remain as effective as ever, but the reality could present a different picture. Age and health concerns are not the only obstacles that could impede the Maratha strongman. The real challenge lies in finding experienced recruits capable of replacing influential figures like Ajit Pawar, Chaggan Bhujbal, Praful Patel, and Sunil Tatkare, among others, who formed the backbone of the NCP. These leaders wielded considerable influence in their respective regions and mobilized significant resources for the party. With central agencies keen to pounce on anyone aligning with Sharad Pawar, regaining supremacy in Maharashtra politics will be an uphill battle for the veteran leader.

Nevertheless, it would be imprudent to underestimate the political prowess and cunning of Sharad Pawar. Despite criticisms of his shady political maneuvering and questions surrounding his credibility, the octogenarian leader continues to command immense goodwill among the people. He possesses the ability to leverage this public sentiment to his advantage if he strategically plays his cards right. 'Two incidents stand as a testament to his mass appeal and ability to connect with the common people. One such incident occurred during a Lok Sabha by-election rally in Satara in October 2019, where heavy rainfall drenched the venue. Undeterred by the downpour, Pawar made a powerful statement by refusing to use an umbrella while addressing the crowd. This act of resilience and solidarity resonated deeply with the masses, garnering admiration and highlighting why he is revered as a leader of the people. The incident quickly gained traction on social media, becoming a turning point in the election campaign. The NCP candidate Shriniwas Patil won the poll by a huge margin. The viral video of Pawar braving the rain and delivering his speech for ten minutes undoubtedly played a role in altering the course of the election.

Another incident in September 2019 showcased Pawar's influence and power. When he announced his intention to walk to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) office in Mumbai to participate in a probe, the Maharashtra government and state police were alarmed, fearing a potential law and order situation. This was Sharad Pawars way of taking on the ED and its perpetual threats. The state government and the Mumbai police pleaded with Pawar to cancel his visit, and he complied. This episode further highlighted the clout and respect the veteran leader commands in Maharashtra.

These episodes serve as a testament to Pawar's ability to fight back and adapt to challenging circumstances. It would be premature to write his political obituary, especially when the last chapters on Ajit Pawar's rebellion and Eknath Shinde's dilemma are yet to be written.

Amidst every crisis, there lies an opportunity. Sharad Pawar may harbor hopes that the BJP-NCP-Shinde alliance will eventually encounter internal contradictions and clashes of interest. Ajit Pawar's ambitious claim to contest 90 out of the 280 assembly seats could potentially exert pressure on Eknath Shinde to settle for nothing less. Such a scenario could leave the BJP with a diminished seat share, reducing their current hold on 105 MLAs to a mere 100. The BJP will never accept such a scenario come what may. On the other hand, if Shinde and 15 other supporting MLAs were to face disqualification, Shinde's bargaining power would dwindle, allowing the BJP to assert dominance within the alliance.

This turn of events could potentially lead to a realignment in Maharashtra politics, as some disillusioned former Shiv Sena members, if not received warmly by Uddhav Thackeray, may seek refuge within the NCP. This resulting consolidation of the party and the ensuing chaos in the state's political landscape would present a golden opportunity for Sharad Pawar to rebuild his own base and reinforce his influence.

Resilience and fortitude have undoubtedly played vital roles in Pawar's political career, but alongside these traits, he has also demonstrated a level of flexibility that teeters on the line between treachery, cunning, and disloyalty. These qualities have been employed strategically to secure victories in his political battles. Pawar's ability to navigate complex situations and make calculated decisions has been instrumental in his long-standing successes., . It is within this complex tapestry of qualities that his leadership style and political acumen have emerged. These are some of the qualities that also shaped his childhood and formative years.

Born on December 12, 1940, in the town of Baramati in Maharashtra, Sharad Pawar was raised in a middle-class family. His parents, Govindrao Pawar, and Shardabai Pawar, instilled in him the values of hard work and perseverance from a young age. These core values would become the guiding principles of his political career.

Pawar's education began in local schools in Baramati, where he displayed exceptional academic prowess. Later, he pursued higher studies in Pune, attending Brihan Maharashtra College of Commerce. It was during his college years that Pawar's interest in politics took root, and he began to actively engage in student politics as a sophomore.

Sharad Pawar's journey into the realm of politics gained momentum during his time at Brihan Maharashtra College of Commerce. Known for his charisma, intellect, and persuasive oratory skills, he quickly became a prominent figure in student politics. Pawar championed the cause of students, addressing their concerns, and working towards improving their educational experience. His ability to connect with his peers and articulate their aspirations set him apart as a natural leader.

Inspired by the ideals of the Indian National Congress and the charismatic national leaders of the time, Sharad Pawar joined the party in the 1960s. Pawar's exceptional organizational skills propelled him into leadership positions, both within the student wing and the party itself.

During his early political years, Pawar found mentorship and guidance under the influential leader Vasantdada Patil, who recognized Pawar's potential and took him under his wing. This mentor-protege relationship played a significant role in shaping Pawar's political acumen, providing him with invaluable insights into governance, leadership, and the intricate dynamics of Maharashtra politics.

Sharad Pawar's rise to prominence within Congress and Maharashtra politics gained momentum in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Pawar's focus on rural development, and agricultural issues, and his empathetic approach endeared him to the masses, solidifying his position as a leader who championed the causes of the common people.

In 1978, Sharad Pawar embarked on a momentous journey that would solidify his reputation as a political maverick. Disillusioned with certain aspects of his own party, Pawar rebelled against the then Chief Minister Vasantdada Patil and formed a coalition government with the opposition partiesthe Janata Party and the Peasants' and Workers' Party of India. This bold move showcased Pawar's political astuteness and his ability to build alliances to achieve his vision of a better Maharashtra. At the age of 38, he became Maharashtra's youngest Chief Minister, setting a record that still stands to this day.

Pawar's tenure as Chief Minister witnessed several significant initiatives and reforms, including measures to improve rural infrastructure, agricultural development, and the empowerment of marginalized communities. His focus on inclusive governance and his ability to navigate the complex dynamics of coalition politics earned him both praise and criticism. Throughout his term, Pawar displayed resilience and determination in the face of various challenges, solidifying his position as a political force to be reckoned with.

Sharad Pawar's early years laid the foundation for his remarkable political journey, one marked by resilience, dedication, and a deep-rooted commitment to public service. From his humble beginnings in Baramati to his rise as a visionary leader in Maharashtra and Indian politics, Pawar has consistently demonstrated his ability to connect with people and articulate their aspirations.

Sharad Pawar's life is a testament to the unwavering spirit of a leader who has faced and conquered numerous challenges, emerging even stronger. His ability to navigate complex political landscapes has become the hallmark of his legacy. Through the highs and lows, he has exemplified resilience, courage, and an unyielding pursuit of power. Pawar's journey serves as a powerful reminder that true leadership is forged in the crucible of challenges.

In his book 'Leading from the Front,' Pawar skillfully captures the true essence of leadership, highlighting that it goes beyond mere positions of power. It involves embracing responsibility, fearlessly facing challenges, forging alliances, and tirelessly striving for the welfare of those we serve. As he endeavors to silence his critics and revive his party, Pawar will rely on these qualities and more. However, he faces daunting odds in his path forward.

(Navin Upadhyay is the Executive Editor of The Pioneer)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi departed Uttar Pradesh for Telangana early on Saturday after concluding a whirlwind visit during which he took part in several programmes and addressed public rallies in Gorakhpur and Varanasi.

The prime minister spent the night in Varanasi, his parliamentary constituency. Modi arrived in Uttar Pradesh on Friday after inaugurating and laying the foundation stones of eight projects worth around Rs 7,600 crore in Chhattisgarh.

Modi said in a tweet, "Leaving for Warangal (Telangana) to attend a programme where we will inaugurate or lay the foundation stone for development works worth over Rs 6,100 crore. These works cover different sectors ranging from highways to railways. They will benefit the people of Telangana."

From Telangana, the prime minister will travel to Rajasthan where he will address a rally in Naurangdesar in Bikaner district.

Modi will also lay the foundation stones and inaugurate projects worth more than Rs 2,500 crore during the programme, according to the state's BJP unit.

On Friday, addressing a public rally in Varanasi, Modi said the beneficiaries of welfare schemes today are examples of social justice and "real secularism", as he slammed the previous regimes for coming up with their schemes while "sitting in air-conditioned rooms".

The earlier schemes were meant for a select few and the past governments did not seek feedback from the ground, he had said.

"Ensuring self-respect for the poor is a Modi guarantee," the prime minister had added.

Varanasi was the second stop on Modi's trip to Uttar Pradesh.

In Gorakhpur, he addressed the closing ceremony of the centenary celebrations of Gita Press -- the world's largest publisher of Hindu religious textbooks. He also flagged off two new Vande Bharat trains at Gorakhpur station.

While at the Gorakhpur event, he talked about combining development with respect for the country's heritage, the focus was on welfare schemes in Varanasi. Development projects were unveiled at both places.

Varanasi's 29 new projects are worth Rs 12,100 crore.

Modi also held a "tiffin meeting" with BJP workers and leaders in Varanasi and encouraged them to ensure that the party wins the next year's general elections by a huge margin.

The "tiffin meeting" is part of the BJP's mega public outreach with an eye on the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Apart from Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, around 120 people, including BJP office-bearers, workers and public representatives, attended the meeting.

Sources said Modi asked the councillors to continuously work among the public. During the interaction, he also enquired about the well-being of the party workers, they said.

While the BJP leaders and workers brought their own tiffins to the meeting, the food for the prime minister was prepared in the kitchen of Bareka Guest House.
Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi on Saturday had a "purposeful meeting" with Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi, the state Raj Bhavan said.

Ravi's meeting with Shah comes in the backdrop of the "governor vs government" differences with the ruling DMK in the state, including over the continuance of arrested Tamil Nadu minister V Senthil Balaji in the state cabinet.

"Hon'ble Governor Ravi had a purposeful meeting with Hon'ble Union Home Minister Thiru. Amit Shah in Delhi," the Raj Bhavan tweeted, along with a picture of the two.

Ravi has crossed swords with the ruling DMK over a number of issues including the anti-NEET bill but the differences peaked with the arrest of Balaji last month by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a cash for jobs scam.

While opposing the continuance of Balaji in the MK Stalin-led cabinet, Ravi had dismissed him from the council of ministers last week in an unprecedented step, only to keep it in abeyance immediately.

The ruling DMK had insisted that Ravi had paused his action to dismiss Balaji on the advice of the Union Home Ministry.

Further, the DMK government has also been insisting Ravi for sanction to prosecute ex-AIADMK ministers for alleged corru
Israeli forces shelled a southern Lebanese border village on Thursday after several explosions were heard in a disputed area where the borders of Syria, Lebanon and Israel meet.

Tensions continue to flare in the border area over two tents erected by the militant group Hezbollah and Israels building of a wall around the Lebanese part of a village that Israeli troops captured during the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war.

A Lebanese military official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of not being cleared to provide information to journalists said one rocket was fired toward Israel from the border town of Kfar Chouba and that Israeli forces responded with two rocket attacks.

The Israeli Defence Forces first said no explosion took place in its territory and only on the Lebanese side of the border near Ghajar.

Minutes later, it said a Lebanese rocket landed in Israeli territory near the border and that Israeli forces had since shelled parts of Kfar Chouba.

It was unclear who fired the rocket from Lebanon. The Lebanese army did not immediately commented on the explosions.

The UN peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon, known as UNIFIL, said it could not verify that rocket fire caused the explosion but that the sounds were consistent with a possible launch.

UNIFIL sent peacekeepers to investigate what happened while the head of the mission speaks to both Lebanese and Israeli authorities to ease the situation.This incident comes at a sensitive time and in an area that has already experienced tensions earlier this week, UNIFIL said in a statement.

We urge everyone to exercise restraint and avoid any action that could cause further escalation. Minutes after the explosions, Iran-backed Hezbollah issued a statement about Israels wall in the village of Ghajar.

The village is split into Lebanese and Israeli sides along a border known as the blue line that was demarcated after Israels withdrawal from southern Lebanon in 2000.

It is not just a routine breach of what the occupation forces are accustomed to from time to time, the statement said. It did comment on the explosions. As part of the UN Security Council resolution that ended the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah, Israel is to withdraw from the northern part of Ghajar, which has not happened.

UN peacekeeping forces in Lebanon have called on Israel for years to end its building work in northern Ghajar and to withdraw its troops.

Lebanese soldiers in Mays al-Jabal, another border town, obstructed an Israeli bulldozer accompanied by Israeli soldiers on Wednesday that reached over the technical fence to remove plants and trees from the Lebanese side.

The tense standoff did not result in any clashes.

The situation also has been heated along Chebaa Farms and around Kfar Chouba. Israel captured those areas from Syria during the 1967 Mideast war, and they are part of Syrias Golan Heights that Israel annexed in 1981.

The Lebanese government says the area belongs to Lebanon.

In early June, Israel filed a complaint with the UN saying that Hezbollah had set up tents several dozen metres (yards) inside the disputed territory.

Israeli media have since reported that Hezbollah removed one of the two tents, but the group did not confirm the action.

Later that month, Israeli soldiers fired tear gas to disperse scores of Lebanese protesters who pelted the troops with stones along the border near the disputed territory. Hezbollah also shot down an Israeli drone last month.

The group in the past has claimed responsibility for downing Israeli drones, and Israels military has said its forces have shot down Hezbollah drones.

Israel considers Hezbollah its most serious immediate threat, estimating it has some 150,000 rockets and missiles aimed at Israel.
n Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the capitals of Bulgaria and the Czech Republic, discussing military aid and receiving assurances of support for Ukraines entry into NATO after its war with Russia is over.

Czech President Petr Pavel said on Thursday that it is in the interest of his country and Ukraine that soon as the war ends negotiations about NATO membership begin. Im convinced that Ukraine will be part of NATO, Zelenskyy said in Prague, adding that an ideal result of next weeks NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania would be an invitation for Ukraine to join the alliance.

Earlier Thursday, during a brief visit at the invitation of Bulgarias new pro-Western government sworn in a month ago, Zelenskyy also discussed European integration and bilateral energy cooperation. Talking to reporters after the meetings, he defended Ukraines right to fight Russian aggression and to seek help to do so.

Occupiers came to our land, killed, tortured, kidnapped Ukrainian children, separated them from their families and tried to teach them hatred, Zelenskyy said. This is happening at a time when we need to be united and build an international order based on rules, he added.

Bulgarian Prime Minister Nikolai Denkov emphasised the support of his country, an European Union and NATO member, for Ukraines territorial integrity. Bulgaria is consistent in its support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine because we are convinced that an independent and sovereign Ukraine is key for Euro-Atlantic security in the region, Denkov said after the talks.Russia should withdraw unconditionally within its internationally recognised borders and should bear its responsibility, he added.

Also on Thursday, Bulgarias Parliament approved a declaration of support for Ukraine to join the NATO military alliance once the war is over. According to the declaration, the fastest track to the restoration of peace in Ukraine, the Black Sea region and Europe is Russias full and immediate withdrawal beyond the internationally recognised borders of the affected sovereign states.The declaration, which was backed by a majority in Parliament, also called for continued military and technical support for Ukraine so it can defend itself.

The document was opposed by the Socialist party and a nationalist pro-Kremlin group.

Later in the day, Zelenskyy faced opposition to sending military supplies to Ukraine from Bulgarias largely ceremonial president, Rumen Radev.

I continue to maintain that this conflict has no military solution, and more and more weapons will not solve it, Radev said. He called for consistent efforts to de-escalate, for a ceasefire and a peaceful solution with the tools of diplomacy.

Although the presidential post in Bulgaria is mostly ceremonial, it provides a strong platform to influence public opinion. Large parts of the population share pro-Russian sympathies based on historical and cultural bonds between the two nations.

In Prague, Zelenskyy thanked Pavel for his countrys support. The Czech Republic has been a staunch supporter of Ukraine in its fight against the Russian aggression and the Czech President said its not going to change.

The Czech Republic gave Ukraine arms, including heavy weapons such as Soviet-era tanks, armoured vehicles, ammunition and others. The country has accepted a total of 500,000 refugees from Ukraine.

Zelenskyy was scheduled to discuss further military and humanitarian cooperation, defence and Ukraines post-war reconstruction in his meeting with Czech leaders.

Ahead of the NATO summit, the presidents of an informal group known as the Bucharest Nine, the nations in the easternmost parts of the NATO alliance, voiced their support in June for Ukraines eventual membership once conditions allow.

The nine countries are Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia.
Capital A Berhad (OTCMKTS:AIABF  Free Report) dropped 5.9% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $0.16 and last traded at $0.16. Approximately 2,000 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 14,500 shares. The stock had previously closed at $0.17.

Capital A Berhad Trading Down 5.9 %

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $0.17 and a 200 day moving average of $0.15.

About Capital A Berhad

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Capital A Berhad, an investment holding company, provides air transportation services in Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and internationally under the AirAsia brand. It also offers engineering, tour operating, aircraft leasing, shared and outsourcing, event ticketing, and consultancy services. The company provides facilitates business transactions for AirAsia Group with non-resident goods and service providers; and trades in multimedia content and equipment.

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Shares of Ganfeng Lithium Group Co., Ltd. (OTCMKTS:GNENF  Free Report) shot up 0.5% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $6.57 and last traded at $6.49. 12,618 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 39% from the average session volume of 9,071 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.46.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Ganfeng Lithium Group from an overweight rating to a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday, March 29th.

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Ganfeng Lithium Group Stock Up 0.5 %

The company has a fifty day moving average price of $6.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $7.18.

Ganfeng Lithium Group Company Profile

Ganfeng Lithium Group Co, Ltd. manufactures and sells lithium products in Mainland China, rest of Asia, the European Union, North America, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Lithium Metal and Compound, Lithium Battery, and Lithium Ore Resource and Others. The company has interests in the Mount Marion mine located in Australia; Cauchari-Olaroz project situated in Jujuy Province, Northwest Argentina; Mariana project located in Salta Province, Argentina; Sonora project situated in Mexico; Pilbara Pilgangoora lithium-tantalum project located in Western Australia; Ningdu Heyuan mine situated in Ningdu County, Ganzhou City, Jiangxi Province; Avalonia project located in Ireland; Qinghai Yiliping lithium salt lake project situated in the Qinghai Province; Goulamina spodumene ore project located in southern Mali, Africa; PPG lithium salt-lake project located in Salta Province, Argentina; and Songshugang tantalum-niobium mine project located in Jiangxi Province.

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GoDaddy Inc. (NYSE:GDDY  Free Report) CEO Amanpal Singh Bhutani sold 2,016 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.93, for a total value of $151,058.88. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 273,125 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,465,256.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Amanpal Singh Bhutani also recently made the following trade(s):

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On Friday, June 2nd, Amanpal Singh Bhutani sold 3,117 shares of GoDaddy stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.37, for a total value of $234,928.29.

GoDaddy Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of GoDaddy stock traded up $0.12 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $75.52. 713,889 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,148,514. GoDaddy Inc. has a 52-week low of $64.65 and a 52-week high of $85.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a fifty day moving average of $72.96 and a 200-day moving average of $75.42.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GoDaddy ( NYSE:GDDY Free Report ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 4th. The technology company reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($0.22). GoDaddy had a negative return on equity of 95.00% and a net margin of 8.03%. The business had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $1.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.41 EPS. The companys revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that GoDaddy Inc. will post 2.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

GDDY has been the topic of a number of research reports. B. Riley initiated coverage on GoDaddy in a report on Wednesday, June 28th. They issued a buy rating and a $102.00 price target on the stock. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on GoDaddy in a report on Tuesday, April 11th. They issued an outperform rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com initiated coverage on GoDaddy in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a buy rating on the stock. Barclays lowered their price target on GoDaddy from $100.00 to $98.00 in a report on Friday, May 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada began coverage on GoDaddy in a report on Monday, June 5th. They issued a sector perform rating and a $80.00 price target on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, GoDaddy presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $92.75.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in GDDY. Achmea Investment Management B.V. purchased a new position in shares of GoDaddy during the 1st quarter worth $31,000. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in shares of GoDaddy by 56.7% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 456 shares of the technology companys stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the period. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of GoDaddy by 119.4% in the 1st quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 509 shares of the technology companys stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 277 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of GoDaddy in the 1st quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Penserra Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of GoDaddy in the 4th quarter worth $62,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.73% of the companys stock.

GoDaddy Company Profile

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GoDaddy Inc engages in the design and development of cloud-based products in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments: Applications and Commerce and Core Platform. The Applications and Commerce segment provides applications products, including Websites + Marketing, a mobile-optimized online tool that enables customers to build websites and e-commerce enabled online stores; and Managed WordPress, a streamlined and optimized hosting platform that allows customers to build and manage a faster and more secure WordPress site and offered with WooCommerce to sell online; and marketing tools and services, such as GoDaddy Studio mobile application, search engine optimization, Meta and Google My Business listings, and email and social media marketing designed to help businesses acquire and engage customers and create content.

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Stock analysts at StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of International Tower Hill Mines (NYSE:THM  Free Report) in a report issued on Friday. The firm set a sell rating on the stock.

International Tower Hill Mines Stock Performance

International Tower Hill Mines Company Profile

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International Tower Hill Mines Ltd., a mineral exploration company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of mineral properties. It holds or has rights to acquire interests in the Livengood gold project covering an area of approximately 19,546 hectares located to the northwest of Fairbanks, Alaska.

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Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (NYSE:CCEP  Free Report) had its price objective boosted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $66.50 to $75.50 in a report released on Wednesday morning, FlyOnTheWall reports.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on CCEP. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola Europacific Partners from $73.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 27th. Societe Generale raised shares of Coca-Cola Europacific Partners from a sell rating to a hold rating and set a $61.15 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 26th. Credit Suisse Group boosted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola Europacific Partners to 65.00 ($70.65) in a research note on Wednesday, April 26th. Argus boosted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola Europacific Partners from $62.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Friday, May 26th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola Europacific Partners from $68.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $69.66.

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Coca-Cola Europacific Partners Price Performance

Coca-Cola Europacific Partners stock opened at $64.49 on Wednesday. Coca-Cola Europacific Partners has a 52 week low of $41.80 and a 52 week high of $66.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The firms 50-day simple moving average is $64.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $59.57.

Coca-Cola Europacific Partners Cuts Dividend

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

The business also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 12th were paid a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 11th.

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola Europacific Partners by 27.5% during the 1st quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 12,218 shares of the companys stock worth $595,000 after purchasing an additional 2,638 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola Europacific Partners by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 14,173 shares of the companys stock worth $690,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola Europacific Partners by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 14,447,992 shares of the companys stock worth $702,316,000 after purchasing an additional 685,745 shares during the period. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can purchased a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola Europacific Partners during the 1st quarter worth about $10,809,000. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola Europacific Partners by 13.9% during the 1st quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 4,954 shares of the companys stock valued at $241,000 after buying an additional 605 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 29.37% of the companys stock.

About Coca-Cola Europacific Partners

(Free Report)

Coca-Cola Europacific Partners PLC, together with its subsidiaries, produces, distributes, and sells a range of non-alcoholic ready to drink beverages. It offers flavours, mixers, and energy drinks; soft drinks, waters, enhanced water, and isotonic drinks; and ready-to-drink tea and coffee, juices, and other drinks.

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StockNews.com lowered shares of New Gold (NYSEAMERICAN:NGD  Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Tuesday morning.

New Gold Stock Performance

NYSEAMERICAN:NGD opened at $1.04 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 2.28. The stock has a market cap of $711.65 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 1.47. New Gold has a 52 week low of $0.61 and a 52 week high of $1.48. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $1.24.

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New Gold (NYSEAMERICAN:NGD  Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 26th. The basic materials company reported $0.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.01 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $201.60 million during the quarter. New Gold had a negative net margin of 14.38% and a negative return on equity of 1.87%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that New Gold will post 0.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On New Gold

New Gold Company Profile

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Hedges Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of New Gold by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Hedges Asset Management LLC now owns 457,500 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $448,000 after purchasing an additional 25,000 shares during the last quarter. HRT Financial LP bought a new position in New Gold in the 4th quarter worth approximately $606,000. Evergreen Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in New Gold by 37.7% in the 3rd quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 209,700 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $185,000 after buying an additional 57,432 shares during the period. Herr Investment Group LLC bought a new position in New Gold in the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,320,000. Finally, U S Global Investors Inc. bought a new position in New Gold in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,811,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 30.96% of the companys stock.

(Free Report)

New Gold Inc, an intermediate gold mining company, engages in the exploration, development, and operation of mineral properties. It primarily explores for gold, silver, and copper deposits. The company's principal operating properties include 100% interests in the Rainy River mine located in Ontario, Canada; New Afton mine situated in British Columbia, Canada; and the Cerro San Pedro mine in San Luis Potosi, Mexico.

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StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of TRX Gold (NYSE:TRX  Free Report) in a research report report published on Tuesday. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the stock.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on TRX. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a buy rating and issued a $1.10 price target on shares of TRX Gold in a research note on Monday, April 17th. TheStreet lowered shares of TRX Gold from a c- rating to a d+ rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 30th.

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TRX Gold Price Performance

TRX Gold stock opened at $0.43 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $0.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $0.42. TRX Gold has a 52-week low of $0.31 and a 52-week high of $0.60.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On TRX Gold

TRX Gold Company Profile

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in TRX Gold in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Virtu Financial LLC increased its stake in TRX Gold by 211.1% in the 4th quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 109,558 shares of the companys stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 74,338 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in TRX Gold by 19.7% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 179,454 shares of the companys stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 29,575 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in TRX Gold by 493.1% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 254,416 shares of the companys stock valued at $86,000 after buying an additional 211,523 shares during the period. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in TRX Gold by 12.8% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 297,190 shares of the companys stock valued at $99,000 after buying an additional 33,690 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 1.12% of the companys stock.

(Free Report)

TRX Gold Corporation engages in the exploration, development, and production of mineral property interests in the United Republic of Tanzania. The company primarily explores for gold deposits. It holds interests in the Buckreef gold project that comprises a single Special Mining License covering an area of 16.04 square kilometers and 12 Prospecting Licenses covering 98.19 square kilometers located in north-central Tanzania.

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StockNews.com lowered shares of WPP (NYSE:WPP  Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Tuesday.

WPP Trading Up 1.0 %

NYSE:WPP opened at $52.02 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. WPP has a 1-year low of $39.67 and a 1-year high of $64.07. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $54.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $56.72.

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Institutional Investors Weigh In On WPP

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Financial Management Professionals Inc. purchased a new stake in WPP in the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in WPP in the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. Belpointe Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in WPP in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in WPP by 187.0% in the 3rd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 617 shares of the business services providers stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 402 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of WPP during the 1st quarter worth about $37,000. 4.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About WPP

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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Advisor OS LLC decreased its holdings in The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV  Free Report) by 2.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,900 shares of the insurance providers stock after selling 224 shares during the period. Advisor OS LLCs holdings in Travelers Companies were worth $1,526,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Travelers Companies by 3.8% in the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,083 shares of the insurance providers stock valued at $700,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Travelers Companies by 2.8% during the first quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 172,746 shares of the insurance providers stock worth $29,610,000 after purchasing an additional 4,658 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of Travelers Companies by 8.8% during the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 162,861 shares of the insurance providers stock worth $27,916,000 after purchasing an additional 13,168 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Travelers Companies by 2.2% during the first quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 16,626 shares of the insurance providers stock worth $2,850,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the period. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its stake in shares of Travelers Companies by 5.2% during the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 302,741 shares of the insurance providers stock worth $51,351,000 after purchasing an additional 15,055 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.06% of the companys stock.

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Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Daniel S. Frey sold 37,316 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Friday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.08, for a total transaction of $6,682,549.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 11,703 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $2,095,773.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Daniel S. Frey sold 37,316 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Friday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.08, for a total transaction of $6,682,549.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 11,703 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $2,095,773.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael Frederick Klein sold 10,246 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.85, for a total value of $1,873,481.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,080 shares of the companys stock, valued at $2,574,528. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 59,134 shares of company stock worth $10,617,466. Insiders own 1.29% of the companys stock.

Travelers Companies Price Performance

Shares of TRV stock traded up $0.74 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $171.65. The companys stock had a trading volume of 1,258,064 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,099,688. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $149.65 and a fifty-two week high of $194.51. The company has a market capitalization of $39.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.63, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firms 50 day simple moving average is $176.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $179.55.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV  Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 19th. The insurance provider reported $4.11 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $3.64 by $0.47. Travelers Companies had a return on equity of 13.41% and a net margin of 7.41%. The company had revenue of $9.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $8.98 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.22 EPS. Travelers Companiess revenue was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 14.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Travelers Companies declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, April 19th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the insurance provider to purchase up to 12.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the companys management believes its stock is undervalued.

Travelers Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 9th were paid a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.33%. This is a boost from Travelers Companiess previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 8th. Travelers Companiess dividend payout ratio is presently 34.10%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on TRV. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Travelers Companies from $188.00 to $182.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Travelers Companies in a research report on Tuesday, June 20th. They set an equal weight rating and a $185.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Travelers Companies from $208.00 to $176.00 in a research report on Thursday. Citigroup increased their price target on Travelers Companies from $182.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, April 21st. Finally, Roth Capital reissued a buy rating on shares of Travelers Companies in a research report on Friday, April 21st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $194.31.

Travelers Companies Profile

(Free Report)

The Travelers Companies, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides a range of commercial and personal property, and casualty insurance products and services to businesses, government units, associations, and individuals in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Business Insurance, Bond & Specialty Insurance, and Personal Insurance.

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Want to see what other hedge funds are holding TRV? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV  Free Report).

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Shares of Tyler Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:TYL  Free Report) have received a consensus recommendation of Moderate Buy from the eleven brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $438.00.

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Tyler Technologies in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. They set a hold rating on the stock. Credit Suisse Group boosted their target price on shares of Tyler Technologies from $370.00 to $376.00 in a research note on Monday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Tyler Technologies in a research note on Wednesday, June 21st. They set an overweight rating and a $472.00 target price on the stock. Wolfe Research boosted their price target on shares of Tyler Technologies from $365.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Friday, April 28th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Tyler Technologies from $370.00 to $415.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Friday, April 28th.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Mary L. Landrieu sold 325 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $388.44, for a total value of $126,243.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,786 shares in the company, valued at $693,753.84. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Mary L. Landrieu sold 325 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $388.44, for a total value of $126,243.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,786 shares in the company, valued at $693,753.84. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman John S. Marr, Jr. sold 7,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $392.78, for a total transaction of $2,749,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 39,138 shares of the companys stock, valued at $15,372,623.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 33,230 shares of company stock worth $12,830,829. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the companys stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Tyler Technologies

Tyler Technologies Price Performance

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Meritage Group LP boosted its holdings in Tyler Technologies by 3.6% during the first quarter. Meritage Group LP now owns 752 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $267,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the period. Capital Analysts LLC boosted its holdings in Tyler Technologies by 1.0% during the first quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 2,995 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $1,062,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in Tyler Technologies by 0.6% during the first quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 4,905 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $1,740,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. Torray Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Tyler Technologies by 0.3% during the first quarter. Torray Investment Partners LLC now owns 10,243 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $3,633,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. Finally, Vantage Consulting Group Inc boosted its holdings in Tyler Technologies by 3.0% during the first quarter. Vantage Consulting Group Inc now owns 1,093 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $388,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. 90.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

NYSE TYL opened at $406.55 on Friday. The businesss fifty day moving average is $395.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $354.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89. Tyler Technologies has a 1 year low of $281.11 and a 1 year high of $425.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 111.08 and a beta of 0.83.

Tyler Technologies (NYSE:TYL  Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 26th. The technology company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.26 by ($0.01). Tyler Technologies had a net margin of 8.31% and a return on equity of 9.02%. The firm had revenue of $471.85 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $473.66 million. On average, research analysts forecast that Tyler Technologies will post 5.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Tyler Technologies

(Free Report

Tyler Technologies, Inc provides integrated information management solutions and services for the public sector. It operates in two segments, Enterprise Software, and Platform Technologies. The company offers financial management solutions, including modular fund accounting systems for government agencies or not-for-profit entities; utility billing systems for the billing and collection of metered and non-metered services; products to automate city and county functions, such as municipal courts, parking tickets, equipment and project costing, animal and business licenses, permits and inspections, code enforcement, citizen complaint tracking, ambulance billing, fleet maintenance, and cemetery records management; student information and transportation solutions for K-12 schools; and financial management systems.

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Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO  Free Report) by 10.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 673 shares of the companys stock after selling 77 shares during the quarter. Osborne Partners Capital Management LLCs holdings in AutoZone were worth $1,654,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Western Financial Corp CA lifted its position in AutoZone by 0.7% in the first quarter. Western Financial Corp CA now owns 580 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,426,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in AutoZone by 15.2% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 38 shares of the companys stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 5 shares during the period. AdvisorNet Financial Inc increased its position in AutoZone by 83.3% during the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 11 shares of the companys stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 5 shares during the period. Montag A & Associates Inc. boosted its position in shares of AutoZone by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 1,225 shares of the companys stock worth $3,021,000 after purchasing an additional 5 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avestar Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of AutoZone by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 385 shares of the companys stock worth $946,000 after purchasing an additional 5 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.36% of the companys stock.

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AutoZone Stock Down 0.8 %

AZO opened at $2,470.83 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.68. The firms 50 day moving average is $2,515.67 and its 200-day moving average is $2,490.41. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52-week low of $2,050.21 and a 52-week high of $2,750.00.

Insider Transactions at AutoZone

AutoZone ( NYSE:AZO Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 23rd. The company reported $34.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $30.84 by $3.28. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 62.38% and a net margin of 14.45%. The company had revenue of $4.09 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $29.03 EPS. AutoZones revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 130.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

In other news, VP Albert Saltiel sold 2,245 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2,500.00, for a total value of $5,612,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 535 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,337,500. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, VP Domingo Hurtado sold 90 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $2,376.49, for a total value of $213,884.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $653,534.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Albert Saltiel sold 2,245 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2,500.00, for a total transaction of $5,612,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 535 shares in the company, valued at $1,337,500. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 5,755 shares of company stock valued at $14,373,061. Insiders own 2.59% of the companys stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on AZO. Bank of America upgraded shares of AutoZone from an underperform rating to a neutral rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $2,120.00 to $2,465.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 1st. Raymond James lifted their price objective on AutoZone from $2,650.00 to $2,850.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, April 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on AutoZone from $2,850.00 to $3,000.00 in a research note on Monday, May 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on AutoZone from $2,899.00 to $2,840.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $2,750.00 to $2,975.00 in a research note on Friday, May 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AutoZone currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $2,716.00.

AutoZone Company Profile

(Free Report)

AutoZone, Inc retails and distributes automotive replacement parts and accessories. The company offers various products for cars, sport utility vehicles, vans, and light trucks, including new and remanufactured automotive hard parts, maintenance items, accessories, and non-automotive products. Its products include A/C compressors, batteries and accessories, bearings, belts and hoses, calipers, chassis, clutches, CV axles, engines, fuel pumps, fuses, ignition and lighting products, mufflers, radiators, starters and alternators, thermostats, and water pumps, as well as tire repairs.

Further Reading

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Bank Hapoalim BM raised its position in shares of ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW  Free Report) by 58.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,819 shares of the information technology services providers stock after purchasing an additional 3,259 shares during the period. Bank Hapoalim BMs holdings in ServiceNow were worth $4,098,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NOW. New Hampshire Trust boosted its holdings in ServiceNow by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. New Hampshire Trust now owns 599 shares of the information technology services providers stock worth $278,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the period. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in ServiceNow by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 1,666 shares of the information technology services providers stock worth $774,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the period. Mirova boosted its holdings in ServiceNow by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Mirova now owns 2,525 shares of the information technology services providers stock worth $980,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont boosted its holdings in ServiceNow by 16.7% in the 1st quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 175 shares of the information technology services providers stock worth $81,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Gryphon Financial Partners LLC boosted its holdings in ServiceNow by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,673 shares of the information technology services providers stock worth $650,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the period. 86.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on NOW. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of ServiceNow from $500.00 to $525.00 in a report on Thursday, April 27th. VNET Group restated a maintains rating on shares of ServiceNow in a research report on Thursday, April 27th. Needham & Company LLC initiated coverage on shares of ServiceNow in a research report on Wednesday, June 14th. They set a buy rating and a $660.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of ServiceNow from $500.00 to $515.00 in a research report on Monday, April 24th. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of ServiceNow in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. They set a buy rating for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $536.94.

Insider Activity at ServiceNow

ServiceNow Trading Down 0.5 %

In related news, Director Anita M. Sands sold 1,315 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.75, for a total transaction of $604,571.25. Following the transaction, the director now owns 14,443 shares in the company, valued at $6,640,169.25. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link . In other ServiceNow news, COO Chirantan Jitendra Desai sold 13,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $538.15, for a total value of $6,995,950.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 40,558 shares in the company, valued at $21,826,287.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website . Also, Director Anita M. Sands sold 1,315 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.75, for a total transaction of $604,571.25. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 14,443 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,640,169.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here . Insiders have sold 30,956 shares of company stock worth $15,649,028 over the last 90 days. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Shares of NOW stock traded down $2.85 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $552.98. The stock had a trading volume of 856,061 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,049,214. The stocks 50-day moving average price is $520.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $465.76. ServiceNow, Inc. has a 52-week low of $337.00 and a 52-week high of $576.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $112.66 billion, a PE ratio of 282.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.96 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW  Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 26th. The information technology services provider reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.37. ServiceNow had a net margin of 5.25% and a return on equity of 10.18%. The company had revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $2.09 billion. Equities analysts expect that ServiceNow, Inc. will post 3.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ServiceNow Profile

(Free Report)

ServiceNow, Inc provides enterprise cloud computing solutions that defines, structures, consolidates, manages, and automates services for enterprises worldwide. The company operates the Now platform for workflow automation, artificial intelligence, machine learning, robotic process automation, process mining, performance analytics, electronic service catalogs and portals, configuration management systems, data benchmarking, encryption, and collaboration and development tools.

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Bourne Lent Asset Management Inc. cut its stake in Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY  Free Report) by 0.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 211,053 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock after selling 600 shares during the period. Bristol-Myers Squibb comprises about 5.5% of Bourne Lent Asset Management Inc.s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Bourne Lent Asset Management Inc.s holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb were worth $14,628,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in BMY. Dakota Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb during the first quarter valued at about $332,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 111.5% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,052 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock valued at $150,000 after buying an additional 1,082 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 53.2% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 165,336 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock valued at $12,075,000 after buying an additional 57,444 shares during the last quarter. Ergoteles LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb during the first quarter valued at about $1,997,000. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 25.1% during the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 338,563 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock valued at $24,725,000 after buying an additional 68,018 shares during the last quarter. 74.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Rupert Vessey sold 50,385 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total transaction of $3,378,818.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 47,751 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,202,182.06. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.09% of the companys stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Bristol-Myers Squibb Price Performance

Several equities analysts recently commented on BMY shares. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Friday, April 21st. Daiwa Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in a research report on Wednesday, June 28th. They issued an outperform rating and a $70.00 price objective for the company. 51job reaffirmed a maintains rating on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in a research report on Friday, April 28th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from $66.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Monday, May 1st. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a strong-buy rating for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bristol-Myers Squibb presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $78.00.

Shares of NYSE BMY opened at $62.65 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $131.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.27, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.43. Bristol-Myers Squibb has a 12 month low of $62.63 and a 12 month high of $81.43. The firms 50 day simple moving average is $65.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $68.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.28.

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY  Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $11.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $11.50 billion. Bristol-Myers Squibb had a net margin of 15.95% and a return on equity of 51.75%. The businesss revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.96 EPS. Analysts expect that Bristol-Myers Squibb will post 8.07 EPS for the current year.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 6th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.64%. Bristol-Myers Squibbs payout ratio is 66.47%.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company Profile

(Free Report)

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company discovers, develops, licenses, manufactures, markets, distributes, and sells biopharmaceutical products worldwide. It offers products for hematology, oncology, cardiovascular, immunology, fibrotic, and neuroscience diseases. The company's products include Eliquis, an oral inhibitor for reduction in risk of stroke/systemic embolism in NVAF, and for the treatment of DVT/PE; Opdivo for anti-cancer indications; Pomalyst/Imnovid indicated for patients with multiple myeloma; Orencia for adult patients with active RA and psoriatic arthritis; and Sprycel for the treatment of Philadelphia chromosome-positive chronic myeloid leukemia.

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Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH  Free Report) and Shanghai Pharmaceuticals (OTCMKTS:SHPMF  Free Report) are both medical companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, valuation, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, risk and dividends.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

85.4% of Cardinal Health shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 6.8% of Shanghai Pharmaceuticals shares are held by institutional investors. 0.2% of Cardinal Health shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

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Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Cardinal Health and Shanghai Pharmaceuticals gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Cardinal Health $198.66 billion 0.12 -$933.00 million $1.74 54.02 Shanghai Pharmaceuticals N/A N/A N/A $0.93 2.08

Analyst Recommendations

Shanghai Pharmaceuticals has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Cardinal Health. Shanghai Pharmaceuticals is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Cardinal Health, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Cardinal Health and Shanghai Pharmaceuticals, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Cardinal Health 0 8 3 0 2.27 Shanghai Pharmaceuticals 0 0 1 0 3.00

Cardinal Health currently has a consensus price target of $88.79, indicating a potential downside of 5.55%. Given Cardinal Healths higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Cardinal Health is more favorable than Shanghai Pharmaceuticals.

Profitability

This table compares Cardinal Health and Shanghai Pharmaceuticals net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Cardinal Health 0.23% -81.55% 3.22% Shanghai Pharmaceuticals N/A N/A N/A

Dividends

Cardinal Health pays an annual dividend of $2.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.1%. Shanghai Pharmaceuticals pays an annual dividend of $0.26 per share and has a dividend yield of 13.6%. Cardinal Health pays out 114.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Shanghai Pharmaceuticals pays out 28.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Cardinal Health has raised its dividend for 38 consecutive years. Shanghai Pharmaceuticals is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Summary

Cardinal Health beats Shanghai Pharmaceuticals on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Cardinal Health

(Free Report)

Cardinal Health, Inc. operates as an integrated healthcare services and products company in the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia, and internationally. It provides customized solutions for hospitals, healthcare systems, pharmacies, ambulatory surgery centers, clinical laboratories, physician offices, and patients in the home. The company operates in two segments, Pharmaceutical and Medical. The Pharmaceutical segment distributes branded and generic pharmaceutical, specialty pharmaceutical, and over-the-counter healthcare and consumer products. The segment also provides services to pharmaceutical manufacturers and healthcare providers for specialty pharmaceutical products; operates nuclear pharmacies and radiopharmaceutical manufacturing facilities; repackages generic pharmaceuticals and over-the-counter healthcare products; and offers medication therapy management and patient outcomes services to hospitals, other healthcare providers, and payers, as well as provides pharmacy management services to hospitals. The Medical segment manufactures, sources, and distributes Cardinal Health branded medical, surgical, and laboratory products and devices that include exam and surgical gloves; needles, syringe, and sharps disposals; compressions; incontinences; nutritional delivery products; wound care products; single-use surgical drapes, gowns, and apparels; fluid suction and collection systems; urology products; operating room supply products; and electrode product lines. The segment also distributes a range of national brand products, including medical, surgical, and laboratory products; provides supply chain services and solutions to hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, clinical laboratories, and other healthcare providers; and assembles and sells sterile, and non-sterile procedure kits. The company was incorporated in 1979 and is headquartered in Dublin, Ohio.

About Shanghai Pharmaceuticals

(Free Report)

Shanghai Pharmaceuticals Holding Co., Ltd. researches, develops, manufactures, distributes, and retails pharmaceutical and healthcare products in China and internationally. It operates through four segments: Production, Distribution, Retail, and Others. The company offers chemicals and biochemicals, Chinese medicines, healthcare products, and medical devices in various therapeutic areas, including anti-tumor, heart and cerebral vessels, psychoneural, anti-infection, auto-immunity, digestive tract and metabolism, and respiratory system. It provides approximately 700 varieties of drugs. The company also engages in the provision of pharmaceutical distribution, warehousing, logistics, and other value-added pharmaceutical supply chain solutions and related services to pharmaceutical manufacturers and dispensers, such as hospitals, distributors, and retail pharmacies. In addition, it engages in the operation of a network of retail pharmacy stores, and online drug business. Shanghai Pharmaceuticals Holding Co., Ltd. was incorporated in 1994 and is headquartered in Shanghai, China.

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Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG  Free Report) CEO Brian R. Niccol sold 1,086 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $2,138.00, for a total transaction of $2,321,868.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 23,347 shares of the companys stock, valued at $49,915,886. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Stock Down 0.8 %

NYSE:CMG opened at $2,077.46 on Friday. The companys 50 day moving average price is $2,064.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $1,760.77. Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. has a 52 week low of $1,233.61 and a 52 week high of $2,147.52. The stock has a market cap of $57.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.19, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.31.

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Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG  Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 25th. The restaurant operator reported $10.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $8.89 by $1.61. Chipotle Mexican Grill had a net margin of 11.49% and a return on equity of 45.01%. The firm had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $2.34 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.70 earnings per share. The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 18.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. will post 43.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chipotle Mexican Grill

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Moody National Bank Trust Division boosted its holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 1.3% in the second quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 709 shares of the restaurant operators stock worth $1,517,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 3.6% in the second quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,805 shares of the restaurant operators stock worth $3,831,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd raised its position in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 2,200.0% in the second quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 276 shares of the restaurant operators stock worth $591,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares during the period. Modus Advisors LLC bought a new position in Chipotle Mexican Grill in the second quarter worth approximately $201,000. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Chipotle Mexican Grill in the first quarter worth approximately $10,948,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.91% of the companys stock.

Several analysts have issued reports on CMG shares. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $2,140.00 to $2,240.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 26th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $1,550.00 to $1,885.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $1,600.00 to $1,750.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 26th. Argus upped their price objective on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $2,200.00 to $2,400.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $2,000.00 to $2,200.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 26th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $2,066.93.

About Chipotle Mexican Grill

(Free Report)

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, owns and operates Chipotle Mexican Grill restaurants. It offers burritos, burrito bowls, quesadillas, tacos, and salads. The company was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Newport Beach, California.

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Diversified LLC lifted its position in iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF (BATS:USMV  Free Report) by 6.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 48,932 shares of the companys stock after purchasing an additional 3,176 shares during the quarter. iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF comprises approximately 1.3% of Diversified LLCs portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Diversified LLCs holdings in iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF were worth $3,559,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in USMV. Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings in shares of iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF by 7.8% in the first quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 8,253 shares of the companys stock worth $646,000 after purchasing an additional 594 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL grew its position in iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF by 1.7% in the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 95,612 shares of the companys stock worth $7,417,000 after acquiring an additional 1,612 shares in the last quarter. AJ Wealth Strategies LLC grew its position in iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF by 4.4% in the first quarter. AJ Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 1,348,690 shares of the companys stock worth $104,618,000 after acquiring an additional 57,434 shares in the last quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC grew its position in iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF by 27.0% in the first quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC now owns 88,779 shares of the companys stock worth $6,887,000 after acquiring an additional 18,853 shares in the last quarter. Finally, West Michigan Advisors LLC grew its position in iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF by 6.1% in the first quarter. West Michigan Advisors LLC now owns 12,575 shares of the companys stock worth $975,000 after acquiring an additional 719 shares in the last quarter.

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iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF Stock Performance

Shares of BATS:USMV opened at $73.29 on Friday. iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF has a 52-week low of $47.44 and a 52-week high of $55.45. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $72.99 and a 200 day moving average of $72.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.21 billion, a PE ratio of 20.17 and a beta of 0.75.

iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF Profile

The iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF (USMV) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the MSCI USA Minimum Volatility (USD) index. The fund tracks an index of US-listed firms selected and weighted to create a low-volatility portfolio subject to various constraints. USMV was launched on Oct 18, 2011 and is managed by BlackRock.

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Shares of Fortum Oyj (OTCMKTS:FOJCY  Free Report) have been given a consensus recommendation of Hold by the ten analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $16.63.

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup cut shares of Fortum Oyj from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research report on Monday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Fortum Oyj from an overweight rating to a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, June 1st.

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Fortum Oyj Price Performance

Shares of OTCMKTS FOJCY opened at $2.64 on Friday. Fortum Oyj has a 12 month low of $1.77 and a 12 month high of $3.47. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $2.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $2.96.

Fortum Oyj Cuts Dividend

Fortum Oyj Company Profile

The business also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 9th. Investors of record on Monday, April 17th were given a dividend of $0.0557 per share. This represents a yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 14th. Fortum Oyjs dividend payout ratio is currently 23.57%.

(Free Report

Fortum Oyj, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the generation and sale of electricity and heat in the Nordic countries, Germany, the United Kingdom, Russia, the Netherlands, Sweden, and internationally. The company's Generation segment generates power through nuclear, hydro, wind, and thermal resources; and provides power portfolio optimization, trading, and industrial intelligence, as well as nuclear services.

Further Reading

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Enel Generacion Chile (OTCMKTS:EOCCY  Free Report) and Vistra (NYSE:VST  Free Report) are both utilities companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations, risk, institutional ownership and dividends.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

92.0% of Vistra shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.4% of Vistra shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

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Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Enel Generacion Chile and Vistras gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Enel Generacion Chile $2.04 billion 1.26 $274.88 million N/A N/A Vistra $13.73 billion 0.73 -$1.23 billion ($0.78) -34.22

Analyst Ratings

Enel Generacion Chile has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Vistra.

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Enel Generacion Chile and Vistra, as reported by MarketBeat.

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Enel Generacion Chile 0 0 0 0 N/A Vistra 0 0 2 0 3.00

Vistra has a consensus target price of $33.00, indicating a potential upside of 23.62%. Given Vistras higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Vistra is more favorable than Enel Generacion Chile.

Risk & Volatility

Enel Generacion Chile has a beta of 1.07, indicating that its share price is 7% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Vistra has a beta of 0.98, indicating that its share price is 2% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Enel Generacion Chile pays an annual dividend of $1.75 per share and has a dividend yield of 18.6%. Vistra pays an annual dividend of $0.82 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. Vistra pays out -105.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Vistra has increased its dividend for 4 consecutive years.

Profitability

This table compares Enel Generacion Chile and Vistras net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Enel Generacion Chile -13.90% -37.57% -20.67% Vistra -1.62% 30.40% 2.93%

Summary

Vistra beats Enel Generacion Chile on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Enel Generacion Chile

(Free Report)

Enel GeneraciAn Chile S.A., an electric utility company, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity in Chile. The company generates electricity through hydro, thermal, and wind power sources. As of December 31, 2019, it had 6,114 megawatts of installed capacity with 28 generation facilities and a total of 110 generation units. The company also supplies its electricity to regulated electricity distribution companies; unregulated industrial firms primarily in the mining, pulp, and steel sectors; and the pool market. Further it provides engineering consulting services. The company was formerly known as Empresa Nacional de Electricidad S.A. and changed its name to Enel GeneraciAn Chile S.A. in November 2016. The company was founded in 1943 and is headquartered in Santiago, Chile. Enel GeneraciAn Chile S.A. is a subsidiary of Enel Chile S.A.

About Vistra

(Free Report)

Vistra Corp., together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated retail electricity and power generation company. The company operates through six segments: Retail, Texas, East, West, Sunset, and Asset Closure. It retails electricity and natural gas to residential, commercial, and industrial customers across 20 states in the United States and the District of Columbia. In addition, the company is involved in the electricity generation, wholesale energy purchases and sales, commodity risk management, fuel production, and fuel logistics management activities. It serves approximately 3.5 million customers with a generation capacity of approximately 37,000 megawatts with a portfolio of natural gas, nuclear, coal, solar, and battery energy storage facilities. The company was formerly known as Vistra Energy Corp. and changed its name to Vistra Corp. in July 2020. Vistra Corp. was founded in 1882 and is based in Irving, Texas.

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F & M Bank (OTCMKTS:FMBM  Free Report) and Prosperity Bancshares (NYSE:PB  Free Report) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, profitability, risk, valuation, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Dividends

F & M Bank pays an annual dividend of $1.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.0%. Prosperity Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $2.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.9%. F & M Bank pays out 52.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Prosperity Bancshares pays out 38.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Prosperity Bancshares has raised its dividend for 25 consecutive years.

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Profitability

This table compares F & M Bank and Prosperity Bancshares net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets F & M Bank 12.63% 9.74% 0.55% Prosperity Bancshares 39.87% 7.93% 1.40%

Analyst Recommendations

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score F & M Bank 0 0 0 0 N/A Prosperity Bancshares 1 2 5 0 2.50

This is a summary of recent ratings for F & M Bank and Prosperity Bancshares, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

Prosperity Bancshares has a consensus price target of $72.10, indicating a potential upside of 29.28%. Given Prosperity Bancshares higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Prosperity Bancshares is more favorable than F & M Bank.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

3.9% of F & M Bank shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 77.7% of Prosperity Bancshares shares are held by institutional investors. 8.6% of F & M Bank shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 4.2% of Prosperity Bancshares shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares F & M Bank and Prosperity Bancshares gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio F & M Bank $50.88 million 1.44 $8.32 million $1.97 10.66 Prosperity Bancshares $1.24 billion 4.24 $524.52 million $5.77 9.67

Prosperity Bancshares has higher revenue and earnings than F & M Bank. Prosperity Bancshares is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than F & M Bank, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk & Volatility

F & M Bank has a beta of 0.38, suggesting that its stock price is 62% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Prosperity Bancshares has a beta of 0.94, suggesting that its stock price is 6% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Prosperity Bancshares beats F & M Bank on 12 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About F & M Bank

(Free Report)

F & M Bank Corp. operates as the bank holding company for Farmers & Merchants Bank that provides commercial banking services in Virginia. The company offers commercial and individual demand and time deposit accounts, savings accounts, checking accounts, money market accounts, internet and mobile banking services, and drive-in banking services. It also provides construction loans, including residential, and land acquisition and development loans; commercial real estate loans; business loans; consumer loans, such as personal loans and lines of credit, automobile loans, deposit account loans, installment and demand loans, and home equity loans; residential mortgage loans; credit cards; dealer finance; farmland loans; multi-family loans; and commercial and industrial loans. In addition, the company offers brokerage services; and life, and commercial and personal insurance products. Further, it originates conventional and government sponsored mortgages; and title insurance and real estate settlement services. The company was founded in 1908 and is headquartered in Timberville, Virginia.

About Prosperity Bancshares

(Free Report)

Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. operates as bank holding company for the Prosperity Bank that provides financial products and services to businesses and consumers. It accepts various deposit products, such as demand, savings, money market, and time accounts, as well as and certificates of deposit. The company also offers 1-4 family residential mortgage, commercial real estate and multifamily residential, commercial and industrial, agricultural, and non-real estate agricultural loans, as well as construction, land development, and other land loans; consumer loans, including automobile, recreational vehicle, boat, home improvement, personal, and deposit account collateralized loans; and consumer durables and home equity loans, as well as loans for working capital, business expansion, and purchase of equipment and machinery. In addition, it provides internet banking, mobile banking, trust and wealth management, retail brokerage, mortgage services, and treasury management, as well as debit and credit cards. The company was founded in 1983 and is based in Houston, Texas.

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Invesco Income Growth Trust Plc (LON:IVI  Free Report) shares passed below its 50-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 50-day moving average of GBX 278 ($3.53) and traded as low as GBX 270 ($3.43). Invesco Income Growth Trust shares last traded at GBX 278 ($3.53), with a volume of 47,441 shares traded.

Invesco Income Growth Trust Trading Up 1.5 %

The business has a fifty day moving average of GBX 278 and a 200-day moving average of GBX 278. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.32, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.08. The company has a market capitalization of 162.22 million and a P/E ratio of -5.42.

About Invesco Income Growth Trust

(Free Report)

Invesco Income Growth Trust plc is a close-ended equity mutual fund launched and managed by Invesco Fund Managers Limited. It is co-managed by INVESCO Asset Management Limited. The fund invests in the public equity markets of the United Kingdom. It seeks to invest in stocks of companies operating across diversified sectors.

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TruWealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Invesco S&P 500 Quality ETF (NYSEARCA:SPHQ  Free Report) by 2.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 71,051 shares of the companys stock after purchasing an additional 1,734 shares during the quarter. TruWealth Advisors LLC owned about 0.07% of Invesco S&P 500 Quality ETF worth $3,362,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in SPHQ. JPMorgan Chase & Co. acquired a new position in shares of Invesco S&P 500 Quality ETF during the first quarter valued at approximately $150,000. Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in shares of Invesco S&P 500 Quality ETF by 5.3% during the first quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 44,610 shares of the companys stock valued at $2,226,000 after acquiring an additional 2,226 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Invesco S&P 500 Quality ETF by 12.7% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,421 shares of the companys stock valued at $271,000 after acquiring an additional 610 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. increased its stake in shares of Invesco S&P 500 Quality ETF by 23.7% during the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 3,463 shares of the companys stock valued at $173,000 after acquiring an additional 663 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in shares of Invesco S&P 500 Quality ETF by 44.5% during the first quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 8,505 shares of the companys stock valued at $432,000 after acquiring an additional 2,618 shares during the period.

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Invesco S&P 500 Quality ETF Price Performance

Shares of NYSEARCA SPHQ traded down $0.19 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $49.63. 455,826 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 667,227. The firm has a market cap of $4.96 billion, a PE ratio of 16.07 and a beta of 0.94. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $48.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.86. Invesco S&P 500 Quality ETF has a fifty-two week low of $39.18 and a fifty-two week high of $50.56.

Invesco S&P 500 Quality ETF Profile

The Invesco S&P 500 Quality ETF (SPHQ) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the S&P 500 Quality index. The fund tracks an index of US large-cap stocks selected by return on equity, changes in net operating assets and financial leverage. Stocks are weighted by these quality factors, scaled by market cap.

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Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD  Free Report) has earned an average recommendation of Hold from the eight research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $296.11.

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Guggenheim dropped their price target on Lithia Motors from $332.00 to $320.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 20th. Bank of America raised their price target on Lithia Motors from $350.00 to $430.00 in a research note on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on Lithia Motors in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a hold rating for the company.

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Insider Activity

In other news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 200 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Monday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.75, for a total transaction of $44,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,251 shares in the company, valued at $505,912.25. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider George N. Hines sold 1,490 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Monday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.55, for a total transaction of $327,129.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,142 shares in the company, valued at $1,128,926.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 200 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.75, for a total value of $44,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 2,251 shares of the companys stock, valued at $505,912.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,890 shares of company stock worth $421,726 over the last three months. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lithia Motors

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its holdings in Lithia Motors by 405.9% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 172 shares of the companys stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in Lithia Motors by 129.6% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 186 shares of the companys stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Lithia Motors by 93.5% in the 4th quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 180 shares of the companys stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in Lithia Motors in the 2nd quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, CWM LLC increased its holdings in Lithia Motors by 34.5% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 226 shares of the companys stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. 98.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

NYSE:LAD opened at $313.42 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $8.63 billion, a PE ratio of 7.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.44. Lithia Motors has a fifty-two week low of $180.00 and a fifty-two week high of $315.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 1.30. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $251.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $240.02.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD  Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 19th. The company reported $8.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $8.79 by ($0.35). The company had revenue of $6.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $7.28 billion. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 3.99% and a return on equity of 22.34%. The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $11.96 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Lithia Motors will post 33.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 12th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 11th. This is an increase from Lithia Motorss previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.64%. Lithia Motorss dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 4.90%.

Lithia Motors Company Profile

(Free Report

Lithia Motors, Inc operates as an automotive retailer. The company operates through Domestic, Import, and Luxury segments. It offers new and used vehicles; vehicle financing services; warranties, insurance contracts, and vehicle and theft protection services; and automotive repair and maintenance services, as well as sells body and parts for the new vehicles under the Driveway and GreenCars brand names.

Further Reading

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Mackenzie Financial Corp reduced its stake in shares of Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC  Free Report) (TSE:MFC) by 4.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 31,215,821 shares of the financial services providers stock after selling 1,349,029 shares during the period. Manulife Financial accounts for about 0.9% of Mackenzie Financial Corps investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Mackenzie Financial Corp owned 1.69% of Manulife Financial worth $572,767,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. increased its position in Manulife Financial by 10.1% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 878,359 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $18,753,000 after purchasing an additional 80,450 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. increased its position in Manulife Financial by 7.9% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 27,503 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $587,000 after purchasing an additional 2,013 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers acquired a new stake in Manulife Financial during the 1st quarter worth approximately $428,000. Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its position in Manulife Financial by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 43,078 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $920,000 after purchasing an additional 956 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in Manulife Financial by 32.7% during the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 14,560 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $311,000 after purchasing an additional 3,585 shares in the last quarter. 40.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Manulife Financial Price Performance

Shares of MFC opened at $18.54 on Friday. The businesss fifty day moving average price is $19.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $18.96. Manulife Financial Co. has a 12-month low of $14.92 and a 12-month high of $20.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.10 billion, a PE ratio of 8.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.10.

Manulife Financial Cuts Dividend

Manulife Financial ( NYSE:MFC Free Report ) (TSE:MFC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 10th. The financial services provider reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $9.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.68 billion. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Manulife Financial Co. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 24th were paid a $0.269 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.81%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 23rd. Manulife Financials payout ratio is 49.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a hold rating for the company.

About Manulife Financial

(Free Report)

Manulife Financial Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides financial products and services in Asia, Canada, the United States, and internationally. The company operates through Wealth and Asset Management Businesses; Insurance and Annuity Products; and Corporate and Other segments. The Wealth and Asset Management Businesses segment offers investment advice and solutions to retirement, retail, and institutional clients through multiple distribution channels, including agents and brokers affiliated with the company, independent securities brokerage firms and financial advisors pension plan consultants, and banks.

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Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI  Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday.

MSI has been the topic of a number of other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Motorola Solutions from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and increased their target price for the stock from $300.00 to $305.00 in a report on Thursday, March 16th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Motorola Solutions from $310.00 to $335.00 in a research report on Friday, May 5th. 1-800-FLOWERS.COM reissued a maintains rating on shares of Motorola Solutions in a research report on Friday, May 5th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Motorola Solutions from $303.00 to $329.00 in a research report on Friday, May 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $301.67.

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Motorola Solutions Price Performance

Motorola Solutions stock opened at $291.87 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $48.95 billion, a PE ratio of 36.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.93. Motorola Solutions has a 52-week low of $204.55 and a 52-week high of $299.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 24.15. The companys 50 day moving average is $286.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $274.55.

Insider Activity at Motorola Solutions

Motorola Solutions ( NYSE:MSI Free Report ) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 4th. The communications equipment provider reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $2.05 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $2.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.12 billion. Motorola Solutions had a net margin of 14.63% and a negative return on equity of 1,549.95%. The firms quarterly revenue was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.53 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Motorola Solutions will post 10.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

In related news, CEO Gregory Q. Brown sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $291.13, for a total value of $14,556,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 91,843 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $26,738,252.59. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, CEO Gregory Q. Brown sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $291.13, for a total transaction of $14,556,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 91,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,738,252.59. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Katherine A. Maher sold 1,933 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.01, for a total transaction of $558,656.33. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,611 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $465,595.11. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 101,933 shares of company stock valued at $29,642,156 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.50% of the companys stock.

Institutional Trading of Motorola Solutions

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MSI. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Motorola Solutions in the 4th quarter worth $470,994,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of Motorola Solutions by 32.4% in the 3rd quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,775,220 shares of the communications equipment providers stock worth $621,567,000 after acquiring an additional 678,694 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Motorola Solutions by 97.5% in the 1st quarter. FMR LLC now owns 991,295 shares of the communications equipment providers stock worth $283,639,000 after acquiring an additional 489,440 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Motorola Solutions by 15.3% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 3,506,737 shares of the communications equipment providers stock worth $903,721,000 after acquiring an additional 464,771 shares during the period. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its stake in shares of Motorola Solutions by 496.5% in the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 417,314 shares of the communications equipment providers stock worth $107,546,000 after acquiring an additional 347,351 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.93% of the companys stock.

About Motorola Solutions

(Free Report)

Motorola Solutions, Inc provides public safety and enterprise security solutions in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Products and Systems Integration, and Software and Services. The Products and Systems Integration segment offers a portfolio of infrastructure, devices, accessories, and video security devices and infrastructure, as well as the implementation and integration of systems, devices, software, and applications for government, public safety, and commercial customers who operate private communications networks and video security solutions, as well as manage a mobile workforce.

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Nektan PLC (LON:NKTN  Free Report) shares passed above its fifty day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a fifty day moving average of GBX 0.85 ($0.01) and traded as high as GBX 0.85 ($0.01). Nektan shares last traded at GBX 0.85 ($0.01), with a volume of 104 shares traded.

Nektan Price Performance

The firms fifty day simple moving average is GBX 0.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is GBX 0.85. The company has a market capitalization of 2.10 million and a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.13.

About Nektan

(Free Report)

Nektan plc, together with its subsidiaries, provides B2B gaming solutions and services in Gibraltar, the United Kingdom, the United States, India, and internationally. The company provides Evolve, a white label casino technology platform that manages the casino operator experience, including back-office operations.

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Peak Financial Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE Min Vol Factor ETF (BATS:EFAV  Free Report) by 1.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 111,424 shares of the companys stock after buying an additional 1,079 shares during the period. iShares MSCI EAFE Min Vol Factor ETF makes up about 2.8% of Peak Financial Management Inc.s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Peak Financial Management Inc. owned approximately 0.10% of iShares MSCI EAFE Min Vol Factor ETF worth $7,538,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rainey & Randall Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE Min Vol Factor ETF in the first quarter valued at about $208,000. James J. Burns & Company LLC raised its holdings in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE Min Vol Factor ETF by 29.9% in the first quarter. James J. Burns & Company LLC now owns 4,147 shares of the companys stock valued at $281,000 after purchasing an additional 955 shares during the last quarter. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. raised its holdings in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE Min Vol Factor ETF by 0.9% in the first quarter. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. now owns 20,089 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,359,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE Min Vol Factor ETF by 18.9% in the first quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,420 shares of the companys stock valued at $164,000 after purchasing an additional 385 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trust Co. of Virginia VA raised its holdings in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE Min Vol Factor ETF by 1.6% in the first quarter. Trust Co. of Virginia VA now owns 50,606 shares of the companys stock valued at $3,423,000 after purchasing an additional 803 shares during the last quarter.

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iShares MSCI EAFE Min Vol Factor ETF Price Performance

Shares of EFAV stock opened at $66.27 on Friday. iShares MSCI EAFE Min Vol Factor ETF has a one year low of $64.68 and a one year high of $76.51. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $68.52 and a 200-day moving average of $67.12. The company has a market cap of $7.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.01 and a beta of 0.60.

iShares MSCI EAFE Min Vol Factor ETF Company Profile

The iShares MSCI EAFE Min Vol Factor ETF (EFAV) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the MSCI EAFE Minimum Volatility (USD) index. The fund tracks an index of developed-market equities, ex-US and Canada, selected and weighted to create a low volatility portfolio subject to constraints including sector exposure.

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Private Wealth Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in iShares MSCI Mexico ETF (NYSEARCA:EWW  Free Report) by 6.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 58,700 shares of the exchange traded funds stock after selling 3,746 shares during the period. iShares MSCI Mexico ETF makes up 1.5% of Private Wealth Advisors LLCs investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Private Wealth Advisors LLCs holdings in iShares MSCI Mexico ETF were worth $3,494,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of EWW. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of iShares MSCI Mexico ETF during the 1st quarter valued at about $30,872,000. IFP Advisors Inc raised its holdings in shares of iShares MSCI Mexico ETF by 976.1% during the 1st quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 5,488 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $247,000 after buying an additional 4,978 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of iShares MSCI Mexico ETF during the 1st quarter valued at about $205,000. Belpointe Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of iShares MSCI Mexico ETF during the 4th quarter valued at about $89,000. Finally, CSM Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of iShares MSCI Mexico ETF by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. CSM Advisors LLC now owns 39,023 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $1,928,000 after buying an additional 1,047 shares in the last quarter.

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iShares MSCI Mexico ETF Price Performance

EWW opened at $62.61 on Friday. The stocks 50 day simple moving average is $61.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $58.60. iShares MSCI Mexico ETF has a 1 year low of $43.65 and a 1 year high of $64.40. The firm has a market cap of $1.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.73 and a beta of 1.00.

iShares MSCI Mexico ETF Profile

iShares MSCI Mexico Capped ETF (the Fund), formerly iShares MSCI Mexico Capped Investable Market Index Fund, is an exchange-traded fund (ETF). The Fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the MSCI Mexico IMI 25/50 Index (the Index). The Index consists of stocks traded primarily on the Mexican Stock Exchange.

Further Reading

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Sabine Royalty Trust (NYSE:SBR  Free Report) announced a monthly dividend on Friday, July 7th, Zacks reports. Investors of record on Monday, July 17th will be paid a dividend of 0.32 per share by the energy company on Monday, July 31st. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 14th.

Sabine Royalty Trust has increased its dividend by an average of 42.0% annually over the last three years.

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Sabine Royalty Trust Stock Performance

Shares of Sabine Royalty Trust stock opened at $64.97 on Friday. The businesss 50 day simple moving average is $68.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $75.42. Sabine Royalty Trust has a 52-week low of $56.91 and a 52-week high of $91.10. The firm has a market cap of $947.20 million, a PE ratio of 7.52 and a beta of 0.51.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Sabine Royalty Trust ( NYSE:SBR Free Report ) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 8th. The energy company reported $1.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $27.38 million for the quarter. Sabine Royalty Trust had a return on equity of 986.95% and a net margin of 97.32%.

Separately, StockNews.com started coverage on Sabine Royalty Trust in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. They set a hold rating on the stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC increased its holdings in shares of Sabine Royalty Trust by 421.1% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC now owns 11,729 shares of the energy companys stock worth $842,000 after acquiring an additional 9,478 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP acquired a new position in shares of Sabine Royalty Trust during the 1st quarter worth approximately $734,000. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Sabine Royalty Trust by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,601 shares of the energy companys stock worth $682,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its stake in Sabine Royalty Trust by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 7,315 shares of the energy companys stock valued at $625,000 after purchasing an additional 916 shares during the period. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. boosted its stake in Sabine Royalty Trust by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 9,080 shares of the energy companys stock valued at $524,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the period. 14.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Sabine Royalty Trust

(Free Report)

Sabine Royalty Trust holds royalty and mineral interests in various producing oil and gas properties in the United States. Its royalty and mineral interests include landowner's royalties, overriding royalty interests, minerals, production payments, and other similar non-participatory interest in certain producing and proved undeveloped oil and gas properties located in Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas.

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Shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG  Free Report) have earned a consensus rating of Hold from the seven brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $149.86.

Several equities analysts recently commented on THG shares. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a hold rating on the stock. TheStreet downgraded shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 9th. Bank of America downgraded shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from a buy rating to a neutral rating and decreased their price target for the company from $142.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and decreased their price target for the company from $155.00 to $153.00 in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group from $148.00 to $141.00 and set a market perform rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 18th.

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The Hanover Insurance Group Price Performance

Shares of THG opened at $113.08 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.04 billion, a PE ratio of -3,768.08, a PEG ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.68. The companys 50-day moving average is $115.23 and its 200-day moving average is $126.71. The Hanover Insurance Group has a fifty-two week low of $109.13 and a fifty-two week high of $148.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.37.

The Hanover Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The Hanover Insurance Group ( NYSE:THG Free Report ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 2nd. The insurance provider reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.47 billion. The Hanover Insurance Group had a negative net margin of 0.01% and a positive return on equity of 3.62%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.26 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that The Hanover Insurance Group will post 6.48 EPS for the current year.

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 16th were given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 15th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.87%. The Hanover Insurance Groups dividend payout ratio is presently -10,796.40%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On The Hanover Insurance Group

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in THG. Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 14.0% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 14,446 shares of the insurance providers stock worth $2,160,000 after purchasing an additional 1,772 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $209,000. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 3,679 shares of the insurance providers stock worth $550,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 5,221 shares of the insurance providers stock worth $780,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis Advisors L.P. lifted its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 13,423 shares of the insurance providers stock worth $2,007,000 after purchasing an additional 355 shares during the period. 85.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About The Hanover Insurance Group

(Free Report

The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides various property and casualty insurance products and services in the United States. The company operates through four segments: Core Commercial, Specialty, Personal Lines, and Other. The Commercial Lines segment offers commercial multiple peril, commercial automobile, workers' compensation, and other commercial lines coverage.

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Diversified LLC boosted its position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO  Free Report) by 5.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 26,017 shares of the utilities providers stock after acquiring an additional 1,265 shares during the quarter. Southern comprises about 0.6% of Diversified LLCs portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Diversified LLCs holdings in Southern were worth $1,810,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter valued at about $435,979,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter valued at about $369,131,000. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter valued at about $124,282,000. State Street Corp lifted its holdings 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. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 45.9% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,616,899 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $186,876,000 after buying an additional 823,439 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.25% of the companys stock.

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Southern Price Performance

NYSE:SO opened at $70.69 on Friday. The Southern Company has a 12 month low of $58.85 and a 12 month high of $80.57. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $71.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $69.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. The firm has a market cap of $77.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.91 and a beta of 0.50.

Southern Increases Dividend

Southern ( NYSE:SO Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 27th. The utilities provider reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $6.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.14 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 10.78% and a net margin of 11.53%. The businesss revenue was down 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.97 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 3.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 15th were given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 12th. This is a positive change from Southerns previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.96%. Southerns dividend payout ratio is 90.32%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Thomas A. Fanning sold 50,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.16, for a total value of $3,758,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 847,592 shares in the company, valued at $63,705,014.72. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.89, for a total value of $359,450.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 146,284 shares in the company, valued at $10,516,356.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Thomas A. Fanning sold 50,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.16, for a total value of $3,758,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 847,592 shares in the company, valued at $63,705,014.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 205,678 shares of company stock worth $14,888,271 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the companys stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Southern from $73.00 to $69.00 in a report on Thursday, June 8th. VNET Group reissued a maintains rating on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, April 28th. 1-800-FLOWERS.COM restated a maintains rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, April 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Southern from a buy rating to a conviction-buy rating in a research note on Monday, July 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Southern from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Southern has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $73.93.

Southern Profile

(Free Report)

The Southern Company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. It operates through three segments: Gas Distribution Operations, Gas Pipeline Investments, and Gas Marketing Services. The company also develops, constructs, acquires, owns, and manages power generation assets, including renewable energy projects and sells electricity in the wholesale market; and distributes natural gas in Illinois, Georgia, Virginia, and Tennessee, as well as provides gas marketing services, gas distribution operations, and gas pipeline investments operations.

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TruWealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in First Horizon Co. (NYSE:FHN  Free Report) by 5.1% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 19,022 shares of the financial services providers stock after acquiring an additional 916 shares during the quarter. TruWealth Advisors LLCs holdings in First Horizon were worth $338,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in First Horizon by 18.7% in the first quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 44,071 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $784,000 after purchasing an additional 6,933 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in First Horizon by 1.7% in the first quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 223,386 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $3,972,000 after purchasing an additional 3,789 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its stake in First Horizon by 1,042.7% in the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 290,344 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $5,162,000 after purchasing an additional 264,936 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its stake in First Horizon by 54.8% in the first quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 36,417 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $647,000 after purchasing an additional 12,897 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in shares of First Horizon by 39.5% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,696 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 1,047 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.79% of the companys stock.

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First Horizon Price Performance

NYSE FHN traded up $0.16 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $11.83. 8,915,133 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,039,629. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $11.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.07. First Horizon Co. has a 1 year low of $8.99 and a 1 year high of $24.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The company has a market cap of $6.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.91.

First Horizon Dividend Announcement

First Horizon ( NYSE:FHN Free Report ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.46 by ($0.01). First Horizon had a net margin of 24.76% and a return on equity of 13.53%. The firm had revenue of $863.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $871.36 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.38 EPS. The companys revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that First Horizon Co. will post 1.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 16th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 15th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.07%. First Horizons payout ratio is 37.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on First Horizon from $13.00 to $13.50 in a research report on Thursday, June 29th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded First Horizon from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 24th. SpectralCast reaffirmed a downgrade rating on shares of First Horizon in a report on Tuesday, June 13th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of First Horizon from $14.00 to $13.00 in a report on Thursday, June 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of First Horizon from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and set a $25.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, March 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $17.90.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Horizon

In related news, Director William H. Fenstermaker acquired 2,950 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $9.56 per share, for a total transaction of $28,202.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 246,312 shares in the company, valued at $2,354,742.72. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, Director William H. Fenstermaker acquired 2,950 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $9.56 per share, for a total transaction of $28,202.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 246,312 shares in the company, valued at $2,354,742.72. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director William H. Fenstermaker acquired 10,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $11.62 per share, for a total transaction of $116,200.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 256,312 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $2,978,345.44. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought 42,036 shares of company stock worth $436,725 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.55% of the companys stock.

First Horizon Profile

(Free Report)

First Horizon Corporation operates as the bank holding company for First Horizon Bank that provides various financial services. The company operates through three segments: Regional Banking, Specialty Banking, and Corporate. It offers general banking services for consumers, businesses, financial institutions, and governments.

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StockNews.com upgraded shares of VAALCO Energy (NYSE:EGY  Free Report) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Wednesday.

VAALCO Energy Stock Up 4.4 %

Shares of EGY opened at $3.89 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.21. VAALCO Energy has a one year low of $3.51 and a one year high of $6.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $414.80 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.94 and a beta of 1.45. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $3.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $4.32.

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VAALCO Energy (NYSE:EGY  Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 9th. The energy company reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.42). The company had revenue of $80.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $140.29 million. VAALCO Energy had a return on equity of 28.65% and a net margin of 11.80%. Equities research analysts forecast that VAALCO Energy will post 0.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

VAALCO Energy Increases Dividend

Insiders Place Their Bets

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 24th were paid a dividend of $0.063 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 23rd. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.49%. This is a positive change from VAALCO Energys previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. VAALCO Energys payout ratio is 44.64%.

In related news, CEO George W.M. Maxwell acquired 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 15th. The shares were bought at an average price of $3.70 per share, with a total value of $37,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 143,840 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $532,208. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 25,764 shares of company stock valued at $96,519. Insiders own 1.00% of the companys stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On VAALCO Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of EGY. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of VAALCO Energy by 2,032.4% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,121,516 shares of the energy companys stock worth $28,603,000 after purchasing an additional 3,928,232 shares during the period. First Sabrepoint Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of VAALCO Energy during the 4th quarter worth $7,524,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in shares of VAALCO Energy by 122.3% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,701,191 shares of the energy companys stock worth $12,317,000 after purchasing an additional 1,486,093 shares during the period. Foundry Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of VAALCO Energy by 192.3% during the 1st quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 1,675,787 shares of the energy companys stock worth $7,591,000 after purchasing an additional 1,102,447 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of VAALCO Energy by 82.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,881,995 shares of the energy companys stock worth $8,581,000 after purchasing an additional 850,673 shares during the period. 52.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About VAALCO Energy

(Free Report)

VAALCO Energy, Inc, an independent energy company, acquires, explores for, develops, and produces crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids. The company holds Etame production sharing contract related to the Etame Marin block located offshore in the Republic of Gabon in West Africa. It also owns interests in an undeveloped block offshore Equatorial Guinea, West Africa.

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A chart compiled by a parent to show the difference between the school price' and market price. (DC)

Hyderabad: A hike in the fee across several schools in the city has infuriated parents who demanded that the government must intervene and ensure they don't have to face trouble over payments every year. Some parents complained that the fee structure was altered without prior notice.

"There was no specific information from my children's school about the fee hike when I paid a part of the first term fee a week before the school reopened. So I was shocked when I visited the school and was asked to pay Rs 4,500 more," said Mahita Krishnamurthy, whose son and daughter study in a private school in Himayatnagar.

Another parent, N. Ravi Kumar, complained that the outgoing principal of a 'techno' school in Gaddiannaram had asked him to pay the academic year fee of Rs 35,000. After he left, the staff said he had to pay Rs 22,000 more! "The principal left and I don't know what to do as my child has already begun his academic year," he said.

The Hyderabad School Parents Association (HSPA) has decided to meet on Saturday at the Press Club in Somajiguda at 11 am to discuss the apathy of the government towards regulating the ever-increasing school fees of private schools'. "Not only do schools hike fees, they find different ways to empty our pockets, one of them being changing the school uniform so we'll be forced to buy new sets or from a particular vendor," said Venkat Sainath, an HSPA member.

Ramakanth Reddy, another parent, said that even small and mid-range high schools charge hefty amounts from parents for books, uniform and transport and library, among others and as caution deposit. "The schools have been doing this for several years now and it doesn't seem to stop. They find new reasons and tactics to loot us. Though they didn't hike the fee during the Covid-19 pandemic, they try charging extra for silly things," said another member of the HSPA.

A parent said that the school forced parents to purchase books only from the school, stating it was 'mandatory'. "I wasn't even given a receipt for the book set that cost close to Rs 2,000 for my daughter studying LKG (lower kindergarten)," he said. If he had bought the same books outside, he could have got it for Rs 1,230.

Several parents complained that the books sold are not those prescribed by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) or National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) which are less expensive and easy to find.

In 2017, the CBSE, in clear terms, warned schools to not force students to buy expensive textbooks produced by private publishers and said they should prefer those belonging to the NCERT or CBSE. In the advisory, it said that erring schools would be penalised if they indulged in commercial activities including selling books, uniforms, shoes and stationery items to students.

Citing rule 19.1 (ii) of the CBSE affiliation bye-laws, institutions such as societies, trusts and companies registered under Section 25 of the Companies Act-1956, parents said that schools are to run as a community service, and not as a business venture.

Parents hope that the government will regularise the 'astronomical fee' charged by private schools in Hyderabad and come up with a mechanism or a 'Fee Regulatory Bill' that is already implemented in several states to discourage schools that 'function as a business' and aim at profit alone.
NCP Chief Sharad Pawar during monsoon rains, in Nashik, Saturday. (Photo: PTI)

Mumbai: NCP founder Sharad Pawar on Saturday openly dared Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take action against those guilty of corruption in his party. The NCP founders demand comes 10 days after the Prime Minister raised the issue of corruption to the tune of Rs 70,000 crore by the NCP.

Amidst the political tussle with his nephew Ajit Pawar, Pawar set out on a Maharashtra tour on Saturday. The 82-year-old leader has also started contacting party workers in Assembly constituencies where sitting MLAs have joined the Ajit Pawar faction. The grassroots workers have been instructed that who wins is not important, but those who betrayed him must be defeated.

Almost a week after the revolt staged by the Ajit Pawar-led faction, the NCP founder left Mumbai in the morning for Nashik. The tagline for his first rally at Yeola, Nashik, the hometown of Chhagan Bhujbal, was in Marathi  "Ladhu aani Jinku" (fight and win). He received a grand welcome by farmers and party workers in Thane and Bhiwandi on his way to Nashik.

Referring to the Prime Ministers attack on the NCP, he said, "I want to say as a president of the party to you that since you (read the PM) raised multiple allegations, including corruption, against my party. I want to openly say that the Prime Minister is in power. If any one of us has indulged in corruption, you should use all the probe agencies in order to find out the misdeeds. If your probes reach the conclusion that there is a misdeed, you are free to award punishment to them. In such a situation, we will all also support you."

On Ajits remark on his retirement, the NCP chief said that nobody should unnecessarily raise the issue of his age; otherwise, it would cost them dearly. "One is free to criticise the policies and works of the party. But do not attack age and personal issues," he said.

Speaking with the media in Nashik earlier in the day, the NCP founder said that he does not consider anyone an enemy in politics.

When asked whether the Ajit Pawar-led faction or the BJP was his bigger competitor, Mr Pawar said, "I do not consider anyone as an enemy. There are differences in politics. There are differences of opinion. But it does not mean enmity."
South 24 Parganas: Workers injured following clashes between rival political groups during panchayat polls in West Bengal, in South 24 Parganas district, Saturday, July 8, 2023. (PTI Photo)

Kolkata/Berhampore: In what appeared to be one of the deadliest Panchayat Elections in West Bengal, at least 12 people were killed and several others were injured in widespread violence during a polling that saw a turnout of 66.28 per cent. The election was marred by allegations of massive rigging.

The presence of police and Central forces was minimal, allowing political thugs to turn several districts into war zones. These thugs freely resorted to firing guns and hurling bombs at their opponents in order to steal votes. In one instance in Mathabhanga, Coochbehar, a youth was seen running away with a stolen ballot box.

Instances of ballot box looting also occurred in Howrah and other districts in South Bengal. Surprisingly, the ruling party suffered the majority of casualties. Out of the 12 victims, seven were TMC workers (including a candidate), two belonged to the BJP and CPM each, and one was from the Congress.

The death toll is expected to rise. Murshidabad, which has been experiencing violence since the announcement of the rural polls, witnessed the highest number of murders. Among the five deceased in Murshidabad, three were from TMC, while the other two belonged to Congress and CPM.

In addition to the killings, two Congress workers were shot while attempting to resist booth capture. Concerned about the violence, Governor C.V. Ananda Bose rushed to the affected districts, and the Congress approached the Calcutta High Court to halt the ongoing polls.

Leader of the Opposition, Suvendu Adhikari, accused the governor of making a grave mistake by appointing Rajiv Sinha as the state election commissioner. Adhikari claimed that many people had been killed by TMC goons and called for intervention from the Central government under either Article 355 or 356. BJP workers also staged protests outside the state poll panel's office.

However, state minister Shashi Panja countered the Opposition's claims, stating that they were exaggerating the violence. Panja argued that the majority of the deceased were TMC workers, raising doubts about the TMC's involvement in instigating the violence. Panja questioned why the Central forces were not being held accountable for the deaths. Furthermore, Panja accused the governor of exacerbating the violence by selectively visiting victims from Opposition parties, while the majority of deaths were TMC workers. Panja questioned whether the court had tasked the governor with managing the election process.

Adhir Chowdhury, the state Congress chief and Berhampore MP, strongly criticised Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, asking how much more bloodshed and loss of life she needed. Chowdhury accused Banerjee of turning the elections into a violent bloodbath and a farce.

Governor C.V. Ananda Bose condemned the violence, stating that he had personally witnessed the dire situation. People had stopped his motorcade and informed him about the ongoing murders and the intimidation preventing them from reaching polling booths. The governor expressed deep concern, emphasising that this day was meant to be a sacred one for democracy and elections should be conducted through ballots, not bullets.
Cash-strapped Pakistan has provided the IMF with a financing plan for external payments, in which it has informed the global lender that it will arrange $8 billion for the purpose instead of $6 billion, according to a media report on Saturday.

The Pakistan government and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) reached a long-awaited staff-level agreement on June 29 to inject $3 billion Standby Arrangement (SBA) into the ailing economy after months-long negotiations that pushed the country to the brink of default.

The Executive Board of the IMF will meet on July 12 to review the SBA for Pakistan.

Also Read | India slams Pakistan for 'politically-motivated' and 'venomous' remarks in UNSC

According to sources in the finance ministry, the IMF had asked Pakistan for assurances of $6 billion for external payments, The Express Tribune newspaper reported.

However, the sources added that Pakistan had given the IMF assurances of $8 billion for external payments.

The sources said China would provide $3.5 billion to Pakistan of which Islamabad would keep $2 billion in deposits, while the commercial banks of Beijing would provide the country with $1.5 billion.

Also Read | IMF board to meet on July 12 to review Pakistan's loan agreement

Besides, Saudi Arabia and the UAE will provide $2 billion and $1 billion to Pakistan, respectively.

Pakistan will also receive $500 million from the World Bank in addition to the Asian Infrastructure Investment Banks $250 million.

The finance ministry officials said the $350 million pledged during the Geneva Conference would also come to Pakistan.

The government has set a target to raise a record-high debt-financing of Rs 11.10 trillion from domestic commercial and Shariah-compliant banks in the first three months of the current fiscal year.

The funds will primarily be used to pay off maturing old debt and partially finance the large fiscal deficit.

This marks the third consecutive month that the government has set record-high domestic borrowing targets, indicating its heavy reliance on debt to finance budgeted expenditures.

However, this approach raises concerns as the debt has reached unsustainable levels, both domestically and externally, and calls for restructuring.

To address the situation, the government needs to either reduce non-development expenditures, including cutting parliamentary budgets and curbing excessive spending or increase revenue collection.

The provisional revenue collection for the previous fiscal year stood at Rs 7.14 trillion, falling short of the set target of Rs 7.64 trillion.

After debt repayments, the largest expenditure for the government is the interest payment on the overall debt. This leaves little room for the government to carry out development projects and generate job opportunities.

According to the Bank of America Securities, Pakistan is facing an acute liquidity crisis in debt management, which directly undermines its overall financial stability.

The budget parameters for the fiscal year 2023-24 reveal that debt servicing costs alone exceed Rs 7.3 trillion ($ 25.6 billion), representing half of the total budget spending and around 80 per cent of the countrys expected tax revenues, according to the newspaper.
Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi on Saturday had a "purposeful meeting" with Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi, the state Raj Bhavan said.

Ravi's meeting with Shah comes in the backdrop of the "governor vs government" differences with the ruling DMK in the state, including over the continuance of arrested Tamil Nadu minister V Senthil Balaji in the state cabinet.

"Hon'ble Governor Ravi had a purposeful meeting with Hon'ble Union Home Minister Thiru. Amit Shah in Delhi," the Raj Bhavan tweeted, along with a picture of the two.

Ravi has crossed swords with the ruling DMK over a number of issues including the anti-NEET bill but the differences peaked with the arrest of Balaji last month by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a cash for jobs scam.

While opposing the continuance of Balaji in the MK Stalin-led cabinet, Ravi had dismissed him from the council of ministers last week in an unprecedented step, only to keep it in abeyance immediately.

The ruling DMK had insisted that Ravi had paused his action to dismiss Balaji on the advice of the Union Home Ministry.

Further, the DMK government has also been insisting Ravi for sanction to prosecute ex-AIADMK ministers for alleged corruption.
Bihar police has approached the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) seeking a ban on more than 100 gambling/gaming and loan lending apps that are allegedly engaged in money laundering and pose a threat to the financial security of the country.

The Economic Offences Unit (EOU) of Bihar police recently approached MeitY urging it to ban more than 100 such apps, Nayyar Hasnain Khan, Additional Director General (ADG) of EOU (Bihar police) told PTI on Saturday.

"The decision was taken after confirming that these apps attract Section 69 of the Information Technology (IT) Act as they contain materials which is prejudicial to the sovereignty and integrity of India. Several complaints had been received of extortion and harassment from people who had borrowed very small amounts through such loan lending apps," Khan said.

Section 69A of IT Act empowers the government to restrict access to any online content to protect the interest of sovereignty and integrity of the nation, security of the state, friendly relations with foreign states and public order.

Also Read | Bihar's Education Department bans entry of minister's aid amid spat

The EOU also received several FIRs registered against these apps and people associated with them in Arwal, Phulwari Sharif (Patna), Aurangabad and Jamui recently, the ADG said.

"It's a serious offence and such digital lending, gaming and gambling apps must be banned as they pose a threat to financial security of the country. We are keeping a strict vigil on the activities of online lending platforms. People should also remain alert about the activities of such apps. The EOU has been creating awareness among the masses about such apps and requests the public not to take any loans from unregistered or illegal loan apps available on the Internet and Playstore," he said.

Explaining the modus operandi, the ADG said, These loan apps on pretext of advancing loan also access or hack all information from the customers' phone. And that might be used by the accused company to perpetrate other financial crimes. Most of the time such apps harass the customer by charging not only a high rate of interest, but by failure to repay the same, harass them by sending obscene materials to their contact list."

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) has already issued an advisory stating that since betting and gambling are illegal in most parts of the country, advertisements of these betting platforms, as well as their surrogates, are also illegal under the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act 2019, Cable TV Network Regulation Act 1995 and the IT Rules, 2021.
Their cross-border love story hit a dead-end after they were arrested and put in jail, but India's Sachin Meena and Pakistan's Seema Haider are set for a new turn as they walked out of prison on a rain-soaked Saturday on getting bail.

They were granted bail on Friday by a court in Jewar. It also ordered that as long as the case continues, Seema will not change her residence and live with Sachin.

Seema was arrested on July 4 for illegally entering into India without a visa via Nepal with her four children, all aged below seven years, while Sachin was put behind bars for sheltering the illegal immigrants.

Read | Pakistani woman's affair with Indian man on PUBG ends in jail

After being released, Sachin, 22, and Seema, 30, reached his parents' house at Meena Thakuran colony in Greater Noida's Rabupura area at 10 am to live together along with her children.

"Sachin Meena and Seema Haider were released from jail around 8.30 am after all paperwork was completed. Seema's four children who were also staying with her also went with her," Arun Pratap Singh, the superintendent of the Luksar Jail where they were lodged, told PTI.

Seema, who hails from Sindh province in Pakistan and was settled in Karachi after her marriage in 2014, also offered prayers at a temple in Sachin's house.

"I will end my life instead of going back to Pakistan. He (Sachin) also cannot live without me," Seema told reporters when asked for her response in case the Indian government deports her.

Sachin, who works at a grocery store, said he wants to live with Seema and her children in Greater Noida only.

The duo said they would contact lawyers to find out a way to legalise her stay in India. Seema said she will accept Hinduism.

Sachin told reporters that they would soon take a dip in the holy Ganga together for her to embark on their new journey.

A civil court in Jewar had on Friday granted bail to the duo and ordered that as long as the case continues against them, Seema will not change her residence and live with Sachin, their advocate Hemant Krishna Parashar told PTI.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Greater Noida) Saad Miya Khan said the case is under trial and the police will file a charge sheet in the court soon.

On bail to the couple within three days, the police officer told PTI: "It's the honourable court's decision and I don't want to comment on it."

Seema and Sachin had got in touch in 2019 while playing online game PUBG and eventually grew closer to the extent that they decided to live together in India -- all unknown to her husband Ghulam Haider who was away in Saudi Arabia for work.

In a video message from Saudi Arabia, Seema's husband Ghulam Haider urged the Indian government to help him reunite with his wife. He said it was through the Indian media that he got to know that his wife and children are in Greater Noida.

However, Seema told reporters that she did not wish to go back to Ghulam Haider and claimed threat to her life if she returns to their native place in Pakistan, citing stringent local laws.

In March this year, Sachin and Seema met in Kathmandu in Nepal where they stayed together for seven days and got secretly married, according to police and advocate Parashar.

Later, she went back to Pakistan and Sachin returned to India. Back home, Seema, who claimed discord with her husband, sold a plot for Pakistani rupees 12 lakh, arranged for fight tickets and visa for Nepal for herself and her children, according to police.

In May she reached Nepal via Dubai and spent some time in the tourist city of Pokhara in the Himalayan nation. Then she took a bus for Delhi from Kathmandu and reached Greater Noida on May 13 with her children where Sachin had made arrangements for her to stay in a rented accommodation without disclosing her Pakistani identity, officials said.

More than one-and-a-half-month later, local police got a whiff of a Pakistani woman and her children's illegal presence in their area. Sachin, Seema and her children tried to evade police arrest and fled, but were caught in Ballabhgarh in Haryana. Police then questioned them and officially arrested them on July 4, the officials said.

They also arrested Sachin's father Netrapal Singh (50), accusing him of helping in sheltering illegal immigrants. Singh was also granted bail by the local court on Thursday, a day before it ordered the release of the couple.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday dedicated and laid the foundation stones of development projects worth more than Rs 24,300 crore in Rajasthan's Bikaner district.

Modi dedicated to people the six-lane greenfield expressway section of the Amritsar-Jamnagar Economic Corridor, the first phase of the Inter-State Transmission Line for the Green Energy Corridor, a Bikaner-to-Bhiwadi transmission line and a 30-bed Employees' State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) hospital.

Also Read: Congress means 'loot ki dukaan' and 'jhooth ka bazaar': PM Modi

He also laid the foundation stone for the redevelopment of the Bikaner railway station and the doubling of the 43-km-long Churu-Ratangarh section.

The Prime Minister pressed a remote button to inaugurate the projects at a programme in Norangdesar, Bikaner.

Speaking on the occasion, Modi said Rajasthan has got two modern six-lane expressways within a few months, while pointing out that he had dedicated to people the Delhi-Dausa-Lalsot section of the Delhi-Mumbai expressway in February.

He said the Amritsar-Jamnagar Economic Corridor will give new strength to the industry of western India and that the supply chain will be strengthened.

The Prime Minister said considering the high potential in the area of development, the BJP-led Centre is making record investment in Rajasthan.

"Rajasthan has been a centre of immense potential and possibilities. It has the power to speed up the race for development. That is why we are making record investment here and also making the connectivity infrastructure high-tech," he said.

Modi said enhanced connectivity will give a boost to tourism, which in turn will benefit youngsters, farmers and traders.

Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari and Union Minister of State for Law and Parliamentary Affairs Arjun Ram Meghwal, who is also the member of Parliament from Bikaner, were also present on the occasion.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday made an impromptu visit to Haryana's Sonipat district and interacted with people and spent time with farmers working on agricultural lands.

He also took part in paddy sowing, a senior party leader from the state said.

Gandhi reached Sonipat district's Madina village early on Saturday.

Also Read | Rahul meets Sharad Pawar, expresses resolve to fight BJP together

"It was an impromptu visit ... He interacted with the villagers and the farmers working in the fields. Rahulji also took part in paddy sowing and drove a tractor," Jagbeer Singh Malik, the Congress' MLA from Gohana in Sonipat, told PTI over phone.

Malik, who was present at the spot, said Gandhi was probably on his way to Himachal Pradesh from Delhi.

VIDEO l Congress leader Rahul Gandhi meets farmers, drives a tractor in the fields in Sonipat, Haryana, while on his way to Shimla earlier today. pic.twitter.com/FIaX6iyvSr  Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) July 8, 2023

In pictures tweeted from the Congress' official handle, Gandhi was seen in his familiar white t-shirt and trousers. He was also stepping onto the fields with the villagers.

On Friday, Gujarat High Court dismissed Gandhi's plea seeking a stay on his conviction in a criminal defamation case over his "Modi surname" remark.

Also Read | Congress to move Supreme Court against Gujarat HC order on Rahul Gandhi's conviction

Gandhi on May 23 travelled in a truck from Delhi to Chandigarh to listen to the problems faced by truck drivers.

He undertook the journey during the night and in visuals and videos, the former Congress chief, donning his trademark white t-shirt, was seen sitting inside a truck, travelling with a driver and speaking to drivers at a dhaba.
Bengals rural polls drew towards a bloody finish as 12 people died, bombs exploded and all parties leveled allegations of strong arm tactics against their rivals on Saturday. The election which is being seen by analysts as a litmus test for the 2024 parliamentary elections, also witnessed scenes of ballot boxes being stolen and burnt and of public anger against political workers. Among flashpoints were Murshidabad, Nadia and Cooch Behar districts besides pockets in South 24 Parganas such as Bhangar and in Purba Medinipurs Nandigram. Track the latest news updates on West Bengal panchayat polls only with DH!
Change is needed at the top of RTE, the Irish premier has said.

Leo Varadkar was speaking as the Irish national broadcaster remains at the centre of a storm following revelations last month that it under-reported the salary paid to star presenter Ryan Tubridy.

Kevin Bakhurst has been appointed as the new director-general of RTE and is expected to publicly outline his plans on Monday to restore trust in the organisation.

Speaking during a visit to Co Clare on Saturday, the Taoiseach said he is reassured by what he has said to Government.

I think we need to see change in RTE, without change, I dont think that trust can be restored, he said.

I understand that the new director-general Kevin Bakhurst is going to make some announcements on Monday in relation to changes to the organisation, the way the management is structured and also is going to deal with issues around conflicts of interest.

I am very reassured in what he has said to Government and its important that he be allowed to set out those plans on Monday and to talk to staff first and then to inform the wider nation about those changes and hes going to make them quickly.

Asked his views on reform of the TV license, Mr Varadkar said the current system needs to be overhauled.

Its a really old fashioned way of collecting revenue based on ownership of a TV, a device that many people just dont have anymore and almost all the money goes to RTE even though there are many other bodies involved in broadcasting outside public service broadcasting.

So I think reform of the TV licence is long overdue and I want that to happen during this Government.

I can see the political temptation to put it off for another government or another Dail, but I do not want to do that, and I want to make sure we have a new system up and running during the lifetime of this Government.

The furore around RTEs failure to disclose 345,000 euro of additional payments to Ryan Tubridy between 2017 and 2022 has since widened.

There have been further disclosures about the broadcasters internal financial, accounting and governance practices and its expenditure on corporate hospitality for advertising clients.

The Irish government has already announced two separate external reviews of RTE and also moved to send in a forensic auditor to examine the broadcasters accounts.

Meanwhile two parliamentary committees in Dublin are conducting their own examinations of the situation.
The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) has appealed to the public to keep their distance from vulnerable wildlife and to take great care when spending time with nature during the summer months.

Minister of State for Heritage and Electoral Reform Malcolm Noonan TD said: My simple appeal to the public is to let wildlife stay wild and keep a respectful distance from our wildlife. Most people are well-meaning and of course were delighted to see peoples interest in nature.

"However I really want to remind people not to lure birds out of nesting areas for a photo-op  its in nobodys interests to interfere with precious nesting sites and it can be very detrimental to birds breeding success. Its very disheartening for NPWS teams to see these birds being disturbed and it jeopardises the incredible work theyre doing to protect these birds, safeguarding their survival in Ireland.

The National Parks and Wildlife Service is also a partner of the Leave No Trace campaign and asks that the public familiarise themselves with the campaigns guidance on good practices to avoid damaging vegetation, water bodies, soil and wildlife.

Director General of the NPWS Niall O Donnchu added: We are delighted to welcome visitors to our national parks and nature reserves throughout the year. Many people dont realise that areas such as sand dunes, lakes and woodlands are homes for wildlife that were working hard to protect and that wild animals and birds should not be upset in their natural habitat.

"If you plan to visit areas of natural heritage this summer then please acquaint yourself with our advice available on good practice so you too can play your part in protecting nature. Wed also like to remind the public that anyone intending to film or photograph a protected wild animal must apply for a licence.

Further advice can be found from Leave No Trace here.

Apply for a licence to photograph or film a protected wild animal or bird here.
The draw for the 2023 Time Greyhound Nutrition Dundalk International has been made with three bitches and three dogs taking part in the one-off race worth 20,000, including two UK raiders.

The Pat Buckley trained Ballinabola Ed has unsurprisingly been made the 10/11 favourite with BoyleSports following his tremendous form of late. This son of Confident Rankin  Dolls Lady landed the 15,000 RPGTV Open 600 at Shelbourne Park earlier this year along with the 15,000 Race Of Champions at Tralee so his form has been great.

Raha Mofo has made the invitational line-up and was three lengths behind Ballinabola Ed in the Race Of Champions. She has been chalked up at 3/1 for trainer Murt Leahy. Kingdom Derby winner Ballymac Whispa has also made the race for trainer Liam Dowling with 8/1 on offer.

Pat Buckley is also represented by Bobsleigh Dream, the St Leger and Irish Cesarewitch winner. This versatile lady is 4/1 with English raiders Brookside Richie and Cochise completing a competitive contest with their chances rated at 8/1 and 20/1 respectively.

Team UK won the title back in 2018 with Droopys Verve but its the Irish who have had the upper hand ever since and it should be a fantastic night of racing, with the BoyleSports Derby Trial Stake on the supporting card on Wednesday 12th July.

Sarah Kinsella, spokesperson for BoyleSports said: Its fantastic to see two UK raiders coming over to take part in this race. Its 20,000 for just one race and with three bitches versus three dogs, greyhound fans are in for a real treat.

2023 Time Greyhound Nutrition Dundalk International, (place terms: 1/4 the first 2)

10/11 Ballinabola Ed, 3/1 Raha Mofo, 4/1 Bobsleigh Dream, 8/1 Ballymac Whispa, Brookside Richie, 20/1 Cochise
A SECONDARY school teacher who grew up on Cape Clear in West Cork, features in a brand-new series from RTE, called  Mealladh na Mara.

The series, from RTE Claracha Gaeilge, begins on Tuesday, July 11, at 7pm. The viewer is taken into the worlds of three very different people who have all felt lured by the sea since they were children. Series producer Birthe Tonseth said: With this series we really wanted to capture the force and wonder of the sea, and we were so lucky to work with some incredible people both on and off screen.

Telling their stories and setting them and Irelands breath-taking scenery to beautiful music was such a pleasure. It was an absolute joy to make this series.

In Mayo, we discover the world beneath the ocean with search and rescue diver Conall O Domhnaill, a retired teacher, who has been fascinated with the sea since his childhood. He grew up in Co Meath but spent most summers on the beaches in Donegal, where his father hailed from.

Conall has now been diving for over 40 years. As a recreational diver he has explored most of the Irish coastline, but it is still a magical experience for him. He is also a highly qualified and experienced search and rescue diver with the Grainne Uaile Subaqua Club in Mayo.

On Cape Clear in West Cork, we meet secondary school teacher, Niamh Ni Dhrisceoil who trained as a skipper, becoming one of Irelands first female ferry skippers. She has been living and working in Ballincollig on the outskirts of Cork city for the last few years, but she is drawn back to her home island almost every weekend and holiday. The sea has been a constant in her life from birth, when she was nicknamed the Lifeboat Baby but like all families that live and work along the coast, the ODriscolls have also lost loved ones to the sea.

We also meet one of Irelands most accomplished surfers, GP Dr Eoin McCarthy. He is one of Irelands most experienced surfers and has tackled some of the biggest waves in the world. Hes represented Ireland in international competitions and has surfed spectacular waves in places like Indonesia, Iceland, California, Barbados and the Azores. He knows personally how dangerous the sea can be. A few years ago, he was surfing in Sligo with friends, when he fell off a powerful wave and was lucky to escape with his life.

This landmark new series for RTE One invites viewers to immerse themselves in the beauty and power of the sea.
Heritage and history group Duchas Clonakilty Heritage recently organised a week-long programme of historical, non-political events to remember the 225th anniversary of aspects of the Battle of the Big Cross.

The battle on June 19, 1798, was the only engagement by United Irishmen against Crown Forces in the whole of Munster that year.

The commemorative events were chaired by Cionnaith O Suilleabhain, on behalf of a special sub-committee established at the organisations annual general meeting in February.

Johnny Phair and Stiofan O Connaill, jointly laid the wreath at the Big Cross Monument representing the local community and participants in the 1798 battle. They are pictured with Tiernan O Connaill, holding the tricolour and Traolach O Donnabhain, (1998 committee member) holding the Clonakilty bicentenary flag.

At each event, Mr O Suilleabhain quoted from the historical journal published in 1998 after the bicentenary events 25 years ago.

Descendants of participants of the battle were given pride of place at each event and minutes silences were observed in memory of the United Irishmen of 225 years ago and the ordinary people of subsequent generations who organised and participated in commemorations and erected memorials.

The events, which concluded on June 25, opened on the Monday prior with wreath-laying ceremonies.

Clonakilty Mayor Chris Hinchy laid a wreath at the Tadhg an Asna monument, Asna Square, Clonakilty.

This was followed by a wreath laid by Eileen ORegan, a descendant of O Donnabhain Dheal and the O Donnabhain Copeen brothers, all of whom lost their lives in the battle.

This wreath was placed at the plaque at the Old Town Hall, McCurtain Hill, where the corpses of some of the 100 United Irishmen who lost their lives on the day were dumped by authorities afterwards.

On the Tuesday, a wreath was laid at the site of Desmond the Blacksmiths forge in Ballymacowen, who forged pike heads for the 1798 battle.

Anne Cahalane and John Desmond jointly laid a wreath on Tuesday, June 20 in memory of their ancestor, Desmond the blacksmith, at the site of his forge at Ballymacowen, where he made pike heads for the 'Battle of the Big Cross' in 1798.

The wreath was laid jointly by Anne Cahalane and John Desmond, both descendants of the blacksmith.

Afterwards, a wreath was laid at Tadhg an Asnas homestead at Lackanalooha by Kevin Finn, the oldest surviving member present from the Darrara 1798 Bicentenary Committee.

A programme about the battle was also screened that evening at the Michael Collins Centre.

On Wednesday, June 21, there was a march led by piper Michael Heaney and around 25 pikemen from Phairs car park to the Big Cross monument.

There, Johnny Phair, representing the community, and Stiofan O Conaill, a descendant of the ODonovan Copeen brothers who died there in 1798, jointly laid the wreath.

Denny and Christy Santry, on Thursday, June 22, at the plaque unveiled by their father/uncles Jim, Connie and John at The Pike, where their ancestor, Jim Santry, a blacksmith, made pike heads for the battle and was also a participant himself on June 19, 1798.

Other events during the week included a wreath laid in memory of Jim Santry  a blacksmith who made pike heads in 1798  and an Oiche Cheoil at An Teach Beag where songs of 1798 were sung.

The conclusion on Sunday, June 25, saw more than 50 people gather at Ballintemple, near Ring village, where piper Michael Heaney led a march from the public road to Tadhg an Asnas grave in Ballintemple Cemetery about 250 metres through a laneway.

Timmy Anglin, whose mother Lena is an ODonovan Asna, carried the tricolour and his brother Tony laid the wreath on the grave.
A UKRAINIAN woman opened up about plans to escape her home in Lviv to seek refuge in Cork following the most devastating attack on civilian infrastructure witnessed by the city.

At least five people died in the explosion caused by a Russian rocket that struck an apartment building in Western Ukraines Lviv last Thursday.

Olesya Popova  who has links with Cork charity the Greater Chernobyl Cause which currently funds the charity hub she runs in Ukraine  was among those who heard the explosion.

Fiona Corcoran, head of the Greater Chernobyl Cause, said she has long admired Olesyas charity work which sees her distribute aid to victims of war.

Ms Popova admits that the latest incident has left her extremely shook and frightened.

After fleeing her former home in Kharkiv following a terrifying rocket attack more than a year ago, the charity worker has found herself again fearing for her familys safety.

Unfortunately, the traumatic effects of the incident proved too much for Olesyas now 17-year-old daughter Polina who consequently lost her speech for three days after.

The teenager was later sent to be cared for by an order of nuns in Poland. This meant that Olesya could continue her charity work without compromising her daughters safety.

After learning of the recent attack, which destroyed dozens of buildings including some that had their roofs blown off, Fiona Corcoran pleaded with Olesya to come and join her in Cork so she can continue her volunteering in a safe environment.

She has already organised accommodation for the family in Cork city and is funding their flight to Ireland through the charity.

The move will mean that Olesya and her husband can finally be reunited with their daughter and make plans for a brighter future.

Fiona has been liaising with the family for a long time and says her main concern now is for their safety.

Meanwhile, Olesya thanked the people of Cork for making her upcoming evacuation possible.

Under the circumstances, we cant continue as we are, Olesya said.

It is just too much for us. We cant possibly say what will happen next. This is why we have accepted Fionas invitation. If its possible it will be a miracle for us. We would like to thank everyone in Cork for their kindness.

Ms Popova fought back tears as she recalled the explosion.

Right now, its difficult to find the words to talk. The explosion was so loud. In minutes everything was destroyed.

She described how the unrest has impacted in her health.

Im not well because the war has been too long. This has been going on for more than one year. It was happening in the big cities, but we didnt think it would happen to us.

Olesya Popova  who has links with Cork charity the Greater Chernobyl Cause which currently funds the charity hub she runs in Ukraine  was among those who heard the explosion.

Polina had been due to travel home to her mother and father the day after the rocket attack.

She was going to come and visit us, but thats not possible now.

The horror served as a bitter reminder of the pain of Olesya and her familys previous trauma.

It was hell from Earth, she said. Polina couldnt speak because of the stress and we were so worried.

She extended her gratitude to Fiona and the people of Cork for never giving up on them.

We thank you for thinking of us and for the support, she said.

People can see this on television and YouTube, but we are living this situation. Its different when you are living it. Russian rockets are all around us. We are hearing about the number of deaths but we dont know how many people will lose their lives.

Fiona Corcoran reiterated her commitment to helping Olesya make it to Cork.

We are evacuating Olesya and her family and many more of those torn by this horrific war, Ms Corcoran said.

We are frightened that Lviv may become a major target under continuous attack.

Having fled from Kharkiv when it was under attack, she must now feel theres nowhere to hide and dread the next bombardment. I know she wants to continue to support her country but after fleeing from Kharkiv she must now feel theres nowhere to hide and dread the next bombardment.

She also condemned the attacks adding: This is another savage and brutal attack on our Ukrainian brothers and sisters.

More than 60 homes have been destroyed, six people have died with many injured, and the search is ongoing through the rubble for those who are missing.

Our charity partner, Olesya, and her family fled ravaged Kharkiv in February of 2022, relocating the charity headquarters to the western city. She did this so she would not have to leave her homeland.

Olesya wished to be on the ground with those affected by war against Ukraine.

We, the Greater Chernobyl Cause, have been very close partners for two decades and during war against Ukraine. We have financed urgent humanitarian aid including counselling services, medical programmes, food among other essentials.

To find out more about the Greater Chernobyl Cause or to donate visit greaterchernobylcause.ie
A MEMBER of An Garda Siochana was urged by a man to go down a laneway for a fight with him as he said: Lets go down there for slaps.

Sergeant Gearoid Davis said the incident occurred in Cork city centre and that the aggressor also said he would beat the head off the garda.

Michael Faulkner, of St Vincents hostel, Anglesea Terrace, Cork, pleaded guilty to charges of engaging in threatening behaviour and being so drunk that he was a danger to himself or others.

He has 85 previous convictions in this country but his solicitor, Frank Buttimer, said he had no convictions since 2015 and had been living in the UK.

He apologises and accepts he was drunk on the occasion that he challenged the guard, Mr Buttimer said.

The solicitor said Faulkner returned home to be with family in the past few months and he had been living at St. Vincents.

Judge Olann Kelleher fined him 300 for being drunk and a danger and imposed a two-month suspended jail term on him for being threatening and abusive.

Sergeant Gearoid Davis said the incident happened on June 4 at Oliver Plunkett Street, Cork.

At 9.45pm that night, Garda Paraic OConnor approached Michael Faulkner with the intention of speaking to him about another matter, said Sgt Davis.

But immediately after he was approached he pointed down an alley and said, Lets go down here for slaps and continued to say he would beat the head off the garda.

His behaviour was very erratic throughout the interaction with high and low emotional states.

He was arrested for being under the influence of an intoxicant, Sgt Davis said.
A 29-year-old man wearing no top as he appeared in a highly intoxicated condition in Cork city has been given five days in prison in default of payment of a 200 fine.

Aaron Babbington of 25 Churchfield Avenue, Churchfield, Cork, pleaded guilty at Cork District Court to the charge of being so intoxicated that he was a danger to himself or others.

Sergeant Gearoid Davis said the incident occurred after 6pm on June 13.

Mr Babbington was topless, unsteady on his feet and his speech was slurred. He was a danger to himself or others.

Sgt. Davis said the accused had previous convictions including 77 counts of being so drunk that he was a danger.

The accused appeared by video link from prison at Cork District Court and as Judge Olann Kelleher imposed the penalty, Babbington said, Thanks. Nice one.
A member of An Garda Siochana was verbally abused at Merchants Quay shopping centre in Cork by a woman who told him, You look like a junkie bastard.

That was the insulting comment made by 50-year-old Angela Maguire of Cappanole, Estuary Drive, Mahon, Cork.

Sergeant John Kelleher said the incident occurred on March 1 when it was reported to gardai that a drunken woman was causing a disturbance.

Judge Olann Kelleher noted that the accused was pleading guilty to being threatening and abusive and being drunk and a danger and that she had seven previous threatening convictions and eleven for being drunk and a danger.

The judge wondered if he had any choice but to impose a jail term.

Diarmuid Kelleher, solicitor, the woman was trying to get rid of pain and she took some whiskey.

It may have taken away the pain but it caused other problems  she started drunken stupid talk, Mr Kelleher said.

Judge Kelleher said,

I am going to give you one last chance.

He imposed a two-month suspended sentence on Maguire for her threatening and insulting comment to the garda and he fined her 200 for being drunk and a danger.

The defendant said to Judge Kelleher, I appreciate that. Thank you so much.
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.

The city of Parauapebas surrounded by Amazon rainforest, in Para state, Brazil on May 17, 2023. MAURO PIMENTEL / AFP via Getty Images

From January to June of this year  the first six months of Luiz Inacio Lula da Silvas presidential term  deforestation in Brazils Amazon has fallen 33.6 percent, new government satellite data shows, as The Associated Press reported.

Lulas stricter environmental rules led to 1,023 square miles of cleared rainforest during that time frame, compared with the same period in 2022 when 1,544 square miles were cleared under Jair Bolsonaro.

It was the lowest level of deforestation for the period in four years, reported Reuters.

The effort of reversing the curve of growth has been reached. That is a fact: we reversed the curve; deforestation isnt increasing, said Joao Paulo Capobianco, the environment ministrys executive secretary, during a presentation in Brasilia, as The Associated Press reported.

The deforestation rate for June  the beginning of the dry season, a time when it tends to go up  was down 41 percent.

During his campaign, Lula promised to stop the destruction of the rainforest that had become a hallmark of Bolsonaros presidency.

The peak period for forest clearing and fires in the Amazon is from July to October.

July tends to have an explosion in deforestation, Capobianco said, as reported by Reuters.

According to the Rainforest Trust, the Amazon rainforest produces about one-fifth of the planets oxygen. It also stores a good portion of the worlds carbon. But when forests are cleared, that carbon is released into the atmosphere, contributing to climate change.

Bottom line, we are prioritizing environmental law enforcement, Jair Schmitt, head of environmental protection at Brazils federal environmental agency Ibama, told The Associated Press.

Schmitt said there has been a personnel shortage, as many Ibama agents retired during Bolsonaros term and werent replaced in an effort to remove environmental officials.

Though Lula has made a commitment to bring the number of agents back up, it is currently the lowest in 24 years, with only 150 available for service.

In some cases, the owner of a specific piece of land that has been deforested can be identified by comparing land records with satellite data, and sanctions can be imposed, Schmitt said.

One type of deterrent is for cattle that have been raised illegally to be seized in embargoed areas.

Ibama head Rodrigo Agostinho said the agency imposed embargoes on 2,086 areas in the first half of 2023, a 111 percent jump from the average of the previous four years.

June of this year saw the most fires in the Amazon rainforest since 2007, an increase Schmitt attributed to deforestation and forest clearing in the last six months of 2022.

Its very positive, but we continue to have very high levels of deforestation, said Daniel Silva, an analyst at nonprofit WWF-Brasil, as Reuters reported.
A report by the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) stated that 60% of girls and 46% of boys from primary school age are not being given education of any level in Afghanistan. This was reported by Afganistan-based TOLO News and mentioned in a report by ANI.

As per UNICEF, USD 10 million has been offered by Japan towards "continuity of children's learning amidst a learning crisis in Afghanistan". This amount is set to benefit around 71,500 children.

The organisation stated how the fund will help them work on learning environments for 55,000 children in public hub schools. The fund will go towards rebuilding classrooms, installing handwashing facilities, toilets and more.

Japanese Ambassador to Afghanistan Takashi Okada and Taliban leader Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi met over a meeting where the former discussed Japan's efforts to help the people of Afghanistan.

The Embassy of Japan in Afghanistan tweeted, "Amb. Okada met with Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi and explained the int'l efforts to assist the people of AFG. He underlined the importance of better governance, including girls' education and employment for women, and of mutual confidence building between AFG and int'l community."

Girls education still a question

On the other hand, girl students are urging the Taliban to permit them to pursue their education. "Let the girls who are at home today and cannot go to school, return to their schools," according to TOLO News report.

Zainab Shirzad, another student, said, "Let's not take away the rights of reading and writing of females because they are girls or women. There is no right to deprive them of their education."

Recently, the campaign Education of Afghan Girls was launched to reopen schools and universities in the country for girls.
The 16th Karnataka assembly election results send out a clear signal for change as Karnataka voters have defeated the incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and given the Congress a clear-cut mandate, with 135 seats in the 224-member legislative assembly. This also provided a much-awaited and required rejuvenation to the Congress. The BJPs defeat in the only South Indian state where it had established a significant presence is a startling blow for a party that has worked hard to expand outside the Hindi heartland. The loss in Karnataka would hurt the BJPs image as a supposedly North Indian party that is out of touch with the political and cultural sensitivities of the southern states. It also gave the realisation to the BJP that the Modi factor cannot win in every state, and the Hindutva card is not particularly effective electorally in the southern part of India. In terms of the vote share, the Congress has secured the highest vote share and seats after 34 years. According to the psephologist Yogendra Yadav, this election is the largest triumph for any party in Karnataka since 1989, when the Congress won 178 seats with a vote share of 43.76% (Livemint 2023).

Due to multiple reasons, it is worth examining the ingredients of the Congresss successful recipe for winning the Karnataka assembly elections. The Congresss victory is a significant political event, as it marked the partys return to power in the state after a gap of several years. The result provided a new lease of life for the party and it helped to cement the Congresss position as a key player in the politics of southern India in general and Karnataka in particular. The victory boosts the spirit of Congress party workers on the ground, who are so used to losing that they sometimes give up before the combat even begins. It also allows the party to generate resources in a situation where the Congress controls only three additional states (Himachal Pradesh [HP], Rajasthan, and Chhattisgarh). It also enhances the Congresss profile within the greater national opposition and may persuade some other parties, who have been sceptical of the partys political judgment and ability, to consider working with them. It may help the Congress, which won only one Lok Sabha seat in Karnataka in 2019, to increase its score in 2024. Understanding the components of the Congresss electoral strategy in Karnataka might therefore throw a light on the partys overall approach to the future assembly and Lok Sabha elections. Examining the reasons that influenced the Congresss win in Karnataka can give useful insights into Indias larger political scene and shed light on the anticipated outcomes of future elections in the nation.
An important case concerning some of the most marginalised citizens of our country is due to be heard in the coming days. On 11 July, the Supreme Court of India is supposed to hear a bunch of petitions arguing for Dalit Muslims and Dalit Christians to qualify for Scheduled Caste (SC) status. This piece hopes to offer a compendium of the main debates concerning this issue. An intervention report has also been submitted by the author to aid the Supreme Court.

The Issue at Hand and Brief Context
In August 2022, the Tamil Nadu government, under the direction of the Madras High Court, drafted a glossary of terms to address the LGBTQIA+ community. The people of the community have welcomed this initiative. In connection to this, in June 2023, they came forward with a list of pleas to the state government to promote their lives by introducing specific changes in the system. Their pleas intend to recreate the binary space to be more accommodative and flexible so that the non-binary genders can experience an inclusive lifestyle.

The activists of the community placed horizontal reservation for LGBTQIA+ community in education and employment as the foremost plea to the Government of Tamil Nadu. They have disapproved of the prevailing reservation system that offers them opportunities based on their caste identity alone. It discloses that the community looks forward to reservations based on gender identity as well. They presume that such a reservation policy will fetch them more opportunities and help them to establish their gender identity pridefully amid the stereotypical narratives. Their second plea is to replace the term thirunangai with thirunar in the title of the welfare board run by the Tamil Nadu government. The term thirunangai denotes solely trans women and excludes trans men; therefore, the gender activists have pleaded with the government to consider replacing the term with thirunar, which covers both trans men and trans women. This plea intends to promote the Tamil Nadu transgender welfare board to be more inclusive. The third plea is to include trans men in the welfare schemes framed for thirunangaigal, so that trans men also receive its benefits. The gender activists problematised that the district social welfare department employees are unfamiliar with the trans mens identity; therefore, they are pushed towards not availing the governments welfare schemes.
India increased its oil imports from Russia during a period of rising energy prices by taking advantage of cheap prices. Just 0.2% of Indias total oil imports were from Russia, prior to the RussiaUkraine war. Presently, 10% of Indias total crude imports come from Russia. It is currently one of Indias top 10 crude oil suppliers. Since April 2023, India has increased its imports of Russian crude oil from all other sources by a factor of more than 50. The price of Russian Ural crude oil has decreased as certain international governments and firms have stopped relying on the nations energy exports as a result of the conflict with Ukraine. It can be said that Indian refiners took advantage of this situation and bought Russian crude oil at a discount of up to $30 per barrel. With over 7.3% of the market share for crude oil imports, the United States (US) in the recent past acted as a significant source of crude oil for India, accounting for nearly $13 billion in energy imports.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine in late February 2023, India has bought more Russian oil. Due to restrictions imposed on Iran, Russia supplies 25% of Indias energy. Due to sanctions, Russia is selling crude oil to India at a discount, and India plans to import 15 million barrels a year. India may pay a high price for its low crude oil prices. As major trading partners like the US and European Union can prohibit Indias import of certain products, it may affect its trade relations.
CHOTEAU, Mont. - A handful of towns in central Montana, including Choteau, Conrad, Cut Bank, Valier, and Browning have been dealing with garbage issues all week.

According to the Northern Montana Joint Refuse Disposal District, it all comes down to an insurance issue.

MACo Insurance dropped all their special districts about 8 months ago, and that included NMJRDD and the 3 counties they cover.

Since that time, NMJRDD have been trying to find someone to cover them.

"It's been really difficult to find. We've had just everybody saying, no, no, no, no. We don't know why. I've been in contact with all the city mayors trying to work it out so the city could still dump," said Rachel Kinamon, the financial operations manager for NMJRDD.

For the city of Choteau, mayor Chris Hindoien has been communicating with NMJRDD and posting updates for the local community on their Facebook page.

"We're trying to work through it and make the best of it," said Hindoien.

He says those who live outside the city limits have been impacted the most but right now they can take garbage to the landfill site northwest of Conrad.

For those in city limits, routes are still running as normal.

"I know it's an inconvenience and it's a short inconvenience, but we will get through it. As long as you're on the routes, your days will not change the Friday crews out, the Friday routes being picked up today. Come Monday, we'll be back at it," said Hindoien.

Around 3:45pm, NMJRDD said they worked everything out and their roll-off sites will be reopened on Tuesday, July 11 at 9:00 A.M. and the main landfill site will return to normal hours on Monday, July 10.
The first known advertisement by a slaveholder seeking return of an enslaved person in Kentucky was published in 1788, before statehood. (University of Kentucky Libraries)

LEXINGTON  Throughout the late spring of this year a group of nine University of Kentucky students did work that no one had ever done before.

They scrolled through digital copies of early Kentucky newspapers, looking for advertisements seeking the return of people who had fled slavery, to record and preserve them.

Ran away last spring, a man named Bartlett, began one of the ads found in the Kentucky Gazette in 1803. Uncommonly stout and broad across the shoulders, very dark complexion, his eyes sunk deep into his head, when spoken to generally puts on a smile but other times he has a thoughtful, ill look and possessing a great share of cunning acquiescence.

Once owned by Col. William Montgomery in Lincoln County, the ad said, he was sold to Henry Hall of Shelby County in 1801. The slaveholder trying to get him back lived in Natchez, Mississippi, and thought Bartlett might be trying to make his way to Kentucky to his former place of residence.

The reward for returning this stout, cunning man was $100, close to $3,000 today.

Although the description of Bartlett is exceptionally detailed and the amount offered for his return is unusually large, advertising for the return of human property in early Kentucky was very ordinary.

Each ad is probably the only record that exists for a whole persons life, said Caden Pearson, a history major, who recorded the ad for Bartlett.

In a matter of weeks the students found more than 700 ads that ranged from the vivid and specific like that for Bartlett to descriptions so generic it almost makes you wonder if they even cared if they got the same person back, Pearson said.

These ads, and thousands more that University of Kentucky research librarians and historians believe remain to be found in historic Kentucky newspapers will join the national digital archive Freedom on the Move.

Based at Cornell University, Freedom on the Moves goal is to create a database containing every runaway slave ad published in the United States from the Colonial Period until slavery was abolished in 1865 by the 13th Amendment.

Its heartbreaking but its also inspiring, said Vanessa Holden, the history professor at UK who formed the link with the national archive.

The descriptions often include scars from beatings, missing limbs, fingers and toes as well as evidence of sexual violence.

There are a lot of ads for young girls, 13, 14, Holden said. Theyre described as beautiful, their hair is described, their stature is described, theyre described as attractive. And then you look to see who the enslaver is and its a guy who is significantly older.

But, horrible as it all is, shes inspired by the fact that they left, even if they knew they would likely be recaptured.

Its really empowering to learn stories of resistance. Its really important to know that people fought back, Holden said.

Can you imagine, she said, in 1803 striking out alone as a runaway slave into the Kentucky wilderness? Were talking about people who are making these courageous leaps.

Holden, an associate professor of history and African American and Africana studies and director of the Central Kentucky Slave Initiative, joined UK in 2017.

That year she also became part of the group that was working to make the idea of a digital registry into the reality it has become. By lucky coincidence, she arrived in Kentucky just as the project was getting underway and at UK, which has the biggest collection of historic newspapers in the state.

Kentucky and Kentuckians are everywhere, in the ads, Holden said. Thanks very much to the slaving industry right here in Lexington, black Kentuckians are sold all over the American South, she said. One of many misapprehensions the archive destroys is that enslaved people were only running to freedom. As was the case for Bartlett, people looking for them often thought they might be heading back to Kentucky to be near family, Holden said.

Not all the ads are placed by slave owners, there are also many from jailers  a very loose term that could include an actual public official but in many cases also meant just any white person who had a place to tie up people, often called slave jails or holding pens.

Sometimes the people were being held while a slave trader accumulated enough people to make up a coffle to take South, sometimes it was a person who had run away and the ad hoc jailer was looking for a reward from the owner. If they werent claimed within a certain time the jailer could sell the person and keep the money.

Its really crass to talk about human life in that way but you have to think in terms of movable property. The way large animals are treated legally is very close to slave law, Holden explained. They do treat people like runaway horses, or runaway livestock.

But, as the ads illustrate clearly, the runaways were individuals with distinctive personalities and with families. Now the ads collected in a searchable database might help African American genealogists reconstruct those families that slavery tore apart.

The archive takes them so far beyond that 1870 wall, explained Reinette Jones, reference librarian and researcher in UK Special Collections who is co-creator of the Notable Kentucky African-Americans Database.

To reach back into a familys history, genealogists typically search census records for information about family groups, births, places of residence and the like. But before the 1870 census enslaved African Americans appeared only as property, perhaps with a first name or an age but often simply enumerated with other possessions. They didnt appear as individual humans with full names and family groups until the first census after emancipation, in 1870.

Jones said this archive opens up additional information that people who want to break through that wall can use. Linking it with other sources, you can go through and possibly piece together the genealogy.

Freedom on the Move launched in 2018 with ads that had been collected for other research projects, bringing them into one database. But by last year it was beginning to look for other institutions around the country that could add to the collection.

Jones was the person Holden reached out to as she sought a way to bring Kentucky and UK into the Freedom on the Move project. Soon, they assembled a meeting that included two others from UK Special Collections, Jennifer Bartlett, oral history librarian, and Kopana Terry, curator of the newspaper collection at UK.

They met in August last year and by the fall began planning to bring in students to find the ads. The students began work in mid-March. This summer the team is working with Cornell to sort out any glitches in uploading the Kentucky information into the national database and expects the first Kentucky ads will go online in late July or early August.

It is Jennifer Bartlett who sorted out how to make the technical aspects of the project work.

We wanted to make it as easy as possible (for the students) to go in and concentrate on the papers themselves, she said.

In early newspapers the ads can be hard to find because they might just be words in type without images or anything else to separate them from other items on the pages. Sometimes, too, Jones said, the ad may start off being about a missing horse and its only farther down that you see a human ran away with the horse.

Without getting deep into the technical aspects, because the ads are clipped in Photoshop, all the metadata associated with the ad  publication, date, page, column and how many slave ads are on the page  is automatically recorded along with a rough, searchable transcription. That means the ads can much more easily be searched for information that could add to the understanding of slavery in the United States  whether its by occupation (seamstress, groom, blacksmith, carpenter, etc.) or by former owners, or physical characteristics like scars or missing digits. The system is also designed to allow researchers to click through and see the entire page where an ad appears, providing context for that moment in time.

Using this system  which Bartlett hopes to be able to hand over to other institutions as they join the Freedom on the Move project - the students had clipped over 700 ads by the end of the semester, barely nine months after the team first started planning.

This team worked together better than any team Ive ever been on, Jones said.

All of this means that when the effort started there were both newspapers to search and the technical know-how to make the findings available to the world. For Kopana Terry that means anyone going forward will be able to see the humans in the story that was slavery in the United States. She believes a vast collection of thousands upon thousands of runaway slave ads will have far more impact than reading one or two.

Imagine how humanizing its going to be to look at all those ads in a single database and realize that those are people, those are people, she said. You really get an insight into who these people were.

The ads open a window on the people trying to break free, Holden agrees, but they also tell a story about the slaveholders and the society that tolerated, profited from slavery: Enslavers knew how much enslaved people didnt want to be slaves and that is pervasive. Resistance was pervasive, it was everywhere, all the time, and it was right there in the newspaper next to ads for corn and candles.

Beyond the researchers who will learn more about slavery in this country, the team believes Freedom on the Move represents a tremendous resource for younger people.

Its important for many of the students, especially in K through 12, to learn about slavery through resistance, Holden said.

Jones welcomed the idea that in the current political environment using runaway slave ads as a teaching tool might meet with pushback.

Let them push. This is part of the resistance, she said. Come on and push, help promote this project. I dare you to push.

This story was originally produced by the Kentucky Lantern which is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus, including the Daily Montanan, supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity.

The post Resistance was everywhere in Kentucky. Enslavers advertised it daily. appeared first on Daily Montanan.
Lee Ryan has allegedly been assaulted on an aeroplane.

Blue star Lee Ryan attacked on a plane

The 40-year-old pop star was travelling with his Blue bandmates Duncan James, Simon Webbe and Antony Costa on a flight to Istanbul when a fellow male passenger is said to have launched an attack and proceeded to push him down the stairs after the plane had landed, causing him to sustain a leg injury.

In a joint statement, the Blue members wrote on Instagram: While on a flight from Georgia to Istanbul, Turkey with Turkish Airlines today (Saturday 8 July 2023), Lee Ryan was physically assaulted by a male passenger. Lee and the rest of the band defended him from the attack, which continued after the plane had landed when the passenger pushed Lee down a flight of stairs causing an injury to his leg.

"Both parties were spoken to by the police in Turkey and to which Lee voluntarily gave a victim statement supported by the band."

The 'All Rise' hitmakers went on to clarify that Lee had been "free" to continue his journey after giving his statement and revealed that the alleged attack had come about because he had placed his feet up onto the seats, which is was deemed to be a "culturally insensitive" action but insisted that Lee had did not know he had caused upset and apologised.

Lee was not at any point arrested, detained or charged with any offence and after giving his statement, was free to continue his journey.

The assault occurred after Lee had put his feet on the seat which was considered culturally insensitive and for which Lee has apologised for any unknowing offence caused."

Turkish Airlines are yet to speak out on the incident.
Cary Grants daughter never saw a hint her Hollywood icon dad was secretly gay.

Cary Grants daughter never saw a hint her Hollywood icon dad was secretly gay

Beverly Hills, 90201 star Jennifer Grant, 57, has hit out after years of talk her big screen icon dad was in the closet, and in the wake of the 2016 documentary titled Women hes Undressed which detailed the rumours.

She told The Guardian ahead of the release of the upcoming ITV series Archie on her father, which she is producing, that he was not flirtatious with men.

Jennifer added: If youre around your parents a lot, you see them in ways that almost no one else does. And I never saw a hint of that.

I think I would have picked up on it  not that I wouldve cared.

But I have to speak the truth of the matter: dad was charming, and he had great friendships, but he wasnt flirtatious with men.

A friend of mine sent me a picture the other day of Gregory Peck, my father and Mervyn LeRoy and theyre good buddies. But I never got that hint.

Jennifer admitted she wondered if perhaps earlier in his life her dad had an (male) affair, adding: Ill never know, but if he did, fantastic. I hope he enjoyed it.

Jennifer  Carys only child  was born when the five-times married actor was 62 years old.

The actor, who died in 1986 from a stroke, had a public persona as a ladies man, but throughout his life was the subject of talk he was gay.

He was roommates with his actor friend Randolph Scott, which spurred on the rumours, especially after a picture of them frolicking shirtless at home in their bachelors paradise was printed in film fan magazines.

Jennifer said in her 2011 memoir Good Stuff: A Reminiscence of my Father, Cary Grant: Cant blame men for wanting him, and wouldnt be surprised if dad even mildly flirted back.

When the question arises, it generally speaks more about the person asking dad somewhat enjoyed being called gay. He said it made women want to prove the assertion wrong.

In 1980, comedian Chevy Chase, 79, was successfully sued by Cary for defamation after he said in a talk show appearance: Homo. What a gal!, and was forced to withdraw his comments.
New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins will soon travel to Brussels to witness his country sign a free trade agreement (FTA) with the European Union (EU). New Zealand will also sign the Horizon Europe Association Agreement, the EUs main research and innovation framework and funding platform.

I said trade would be a key focus for me this year and securing this deal will be a major boost for our economy, Chris Hipkins said about the FTA.

New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins will soon travel to Brussels to witness his country sign a free trade agreement with the EU. Annual exports to the EU will rise by up to $1.8 billion and add up to $1.4 billion to New Zealand's GDP per year once the FTA is fully implemented, he said. New Zealand will also sign the Horizon Europe Association Agreement.

This long-awaited deal will unlock access to the worlds third biggest market and deliver immediate tariff savings on New Zealand exports to the EU of around $100 million a year when it enters into force  more than any past New Zealand FTA, Hipkins was quoted as saying in an official release.

Modelling suggests exports to the European Union will increase by up to $1.8 billion per annum and add up to $1.4 billion to New Zealands GDP [gross domestic product] per year once fully implemented, he said.

The minister for trade and export growth Damien OConnor will join Hipkins in Brussels to sign the agreement. EU executive vice president and trade commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis will sign the FTA on behalf of the EU, alongside EU President Ursula von der Leyen.

Associating to Horizon Europe will provide new opportunities for New Zealand scientists to collaborate with European partners on research to address major global challenges such as climate change, energy and health, Hipkins said.

Thereafter, Hipkins will meet his Swedish counterpart Ulf Kristersson in Stockholm.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)
US imports of textiles and apparel have continued to decrease in value terms, falling by 22.61 per cent to $42.447 billion in the first five months of 2023, compared to $54.847 billion during the same period in 2022. China remains the largest supplier of textiles and clothing to the US, holding a 24.10 per cent market share, followed by Vietnam with a 14.55 per cent share.

In January-May 2023, the bulk of US textile imports consisted of apparel, amounting to $31.518 billion, down 22.92 per cent compared to $40.891 billion in January-May 2022. Non-apparel imports accounted for $10.929 billion, which fell by 21.69 per cent from $13.956 billion in the same period of the previous year, according to the latest Major Shippers Report released by the US department of commerce. Both segments experienced a decline in inbound shipments.

During the period from January to May 2023, US textile and apparel imports dropped by 22.61 per cent to $42.447 billion from $54.847 billion in the same 2022 period. China, holding a 24.10 per cent market share, remains the largest supplier. Man-made fibre and cotton products dominated the imports. This decrease contrasts the 2022 increase in imports.

Among the top ten apparel suppliers to the US, the import from none of the countries registered a rise. The imports from China and Cambodia declined by 30.44 per cent and 34.42 per cent, respectively. The imports from Pakistan dropped 31.98 per cent, Vietnam 28.07 per cent, Indonesia 27.57 per cent, Honduras 19.02 per cent, Bangladesh 19.16 per cent and India 20.80 per cent.

Among the top ten suppliers in the non-apparel category, only imports from Mexico experienced a year-on-year growth, rising by 8.63 per cent. Imports from China, on the other hand, declined by 28.32 per cent. Inbound shipments from other countries, such as Vietnam, Turkiye, Pakistan, and Canada also decreased. The imports from South Korea declined by 23.18 per cent and from India by 27.78 per cent.

During the period under review, US textile and apparel imports totalled $42.447 billion. Man-made fibre products accounted for $21.917 billion, while cotton products were valued at $17.751 billion. Wool products made up $1,285.289 million, and products from silk and vegetable fibres were worth $1,494.405 million.

In 2022, US imports of textiles and apparel continued to rise, reaching $132.201 billion, up from $113.938 billion in 2021. This increase followed a sharp decline in 2020 when the country's inbound shipments dropped to $89.596 billion, compared to imports of $111.033 billion in 2019.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KUL)
Road Town, British Virgin Islands--(Newsfile Corp. - July 8, 2023) - LBank Exchange, a global digital asset trading platform, will list Gold Utility Token (AGF) on July 10, 2023. For all users of LBank Exchange, the AGF/USDT trading pair will be officially available for trading at 6:00 UTC on July 10, 2023.

AGF Listing Banner



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Gold Utility Token (AGF) is a sharia-compliant utility token targeting the Halal economy and based on gold assets. Its native token, AGF, will be listed on LBank Exchange at 6:00 UTC on July 10, 2023, with the goal of expanding its global footprint and supporting the realization of its forward-thinking objectives.

Introducing Gold Utility Token

This token is a utility token targeting the market of 2 billion people in the halal economic zone, and it will be an Asian economic token that will be developed in cooperation with Conducted jointly with influential people in Indonesia.

AGF Token is also a project composed of DAO, and based on the advice of experts with deep knowledge of Halal, it also has a governance function that allows participating nodes to contribute to the ecosystem, which realizes Islamic digital finance.

The AGF Protocol operates a unique financial system that leverages collateral assets, particularly gold, to create and sustain a stable value for its Digital Gold Tokens (DGTs). The AGF Foundation acts as the custodian for these collateral assets, initially focused on gold deposits. However, the key decisions in this system lie in the hands of AGF holders. They exercise their voting rights to approve which assets should be accepted as collateral in the protocol. While the initial focus is on gold, the vision for the AGF Protocol is to eventually expand the collateral base to include any asset that AGF holders endorse. Furthermore, AGF holders are responsible for defining risk parameters for each accepted collateral type. These risk parameters differ based on the stability of the asset, with more lenient parameters for stable assets and stricter ones for riskier counterparts. These decisions and approvals are all carried out through the AGF Protocol's decentralized governance process, ensuring a democratic and transparent system.

About AGF Token

The AGF Token is the governance token of the AGF Protocol, allowing its holders to vote on changes to the AGF Protocol. If the system's debt exceeds its surplus, the supply of AGF tokens through auctions such as liquidations may increase in volume and recapitalize the system. This risk encourages AGF holders to band together, manage the AGF ecosystem responsibly, and avoid taking undue risk.

Based on ERC-20, AGF has a total supply of 5 billion (i.e. 5,000,000,000). It will be listed on LBank Exchange at 6:00 UTC on July 10, 2023, investors who are interested in AGF can easily buy and sell it on LBank Exchange by then. The listing of AGF token on LBank Exchange will help it further expand its business and draw more attention in the market.

Learn More about AGF Token:

Official Website: https://www.agf-halalgold.net/

Contract: https://etherscan.io/token/0xa792ff98afd4ccb8d33f2590d0bc9420a062e555

About LBank

LBank is one of the top crypto exchanges, established in 2015. It offers specialized financial derivatives, expert asset management services, and safe crypto trading to its users. The platform holds over 9 million users from more than 210 regions across the world. LBank is a cutting-edge growing platform that ensures the integrity of users' funds and aims to contribute to the global adoption of cryptocurrencies.

Start Trading Now: lbank.com

Community & Social Media:

l Telegram

l Twitter

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Contact Details:

LBK Blockchain Co. Limited

LBank Exchange

marketing@lbank.info

business@lbank.info

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/172748
Public Sector Retirement Educators (PSRE) is now offering web-based training courses for federal employees who want to maximize their retirement benefits.

Scottsdale, Arizona--(Newsfile Corp. - July 8, 2023) - PSRE's courses include a range of training modules covering FEGLI, FERS, CSRS, and TSP benefits. With the online retirement training program, employees can learn using any device, and a complimentary demo is available to provide access to one training module for a full 60 days.

More details are available at Federal Retirement Training





Federal Employee Benefits Training For Retirement Planning Announced By PSRE

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Federal employees seeking a more personalized and convenient approach to retirement training can now take advantage of the updated web-based retirement training courses. Offering comprehensive training on benefits, this option allows employees to learn at their own pace from any location.

PSRE recognizes the importance of retirement planning and offers expertassistance to help individuals prepare for their future and make informedfinancial decisions.

The web-based federal retirement training courses can be accessed via the organization's ADA-compliant e-learning platform or web-based federal retirement software. In addition to the demo, individuals get to choose from monthly and yearly plans that offer access to all training modules for a stipulated time frame.

Moreover, employees can tailor their learning experience to their unique retirement circumstances, gaining valuable insights into their benefits and options.

Based in Scottsdale, Arizona, PSRE offers traditional classroom training, custom e-learning tools, education events and seminars, and financial education materials. With a network of highly trained federal benefits consultants in the United States, the organization helps federal employees establish a solid framework for their retirement and live comfortably in their golden years. For more, visit Federal Retirement FAQs

A spokesperson for the company said, "Public Sector Retirement Educators are some of the most qualified benefits experts in the country. Our team of educators consists of former federal human resources professionals and trainers along with knowledgeable financial professionals with decades of collective experience understanding federal and postal employee needs."

Interested federal employees can find more information on the web-based retirement training courses by visiting PSR Educators

Contact Info:

Name: Betty Morales

Email: Info@psreducators.com

Organization: Public Sector Retirement Educators (PSRE)

Address: 10869 N Scottsdale Rd Suite 103, Scottsdale, Arizona 85254, United States

Website: https://www.PSReducators.com/

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/172490
After wowing audiences with action thriller Pathaan, Shah Rukh Khan is all set to please the fans with Atlees Jawan. The highly anticipated upcoming film project has generated immense buzz among the audience ever since its first announcement.

Now, there is some thrilling news about the movie that is bound to excite all SRK fans. In recent revelations, it has come to light that Shah Rukh Khan will be taking on a double role in Jawan.

As per a report by Zoom, as playing double role, Shah Rukh is all set to depict the characters of a fighter (father) and a jailer (son) in the film. This is accompanied by another interesting development that he will be showcasing six distinct looks throughout the Atlee-directed movie.

Since the initial release of the films poster, there has been a consistent wave of excitement surrounding every significant or minor update. And now, these stirring updates have come regarding Shah Rukh Khans character in the film.

Shah Rukh Khans Double Role in the movie

With the Badshaah of Bollywood taking on a double role in the movie, the distinctiveness of these characters has led to a requirement for diverse appearances. Additionally, there have been reports indicating that the jailer character is named Azad.

Shahrukh Khans dual role is expected to play a pivotal role in the films storyline. It offers the opportunity for compelling narrative arcs, unexpected plot twists, and emotional depth. As the fighter and jailer cross paths, their interactions are likely to spark intense drama. The clash and synergy between these two characters will undoubtedly contribute to the overall impact and intrigue of Jawan.

Anticipation and Excitement

Ever since the first poster of Jawan was released, the film has generated a tremendous amount of buzz and anticipation. Shah Rukh Khans double role revelation has added fuel to the already blazing excitement. Fans and cinephiles are eagerly awaiting this movie, hoping for a memorable cinematic experience.

With the anticipation surrounding the film reaching new heights, audiences anxiously wait for the unveiling of Shah Rukh Khans double delight on the big screen. The movie is all set to hit the theatres on 7 September.
Theres a saying when it comes to cancer  early detection saves lives.

Which is why many people around the world are trying their best to find new ways of detecting cancer.

While human beings cant smell cancer, some are suggesting that animals  from dogs to ants and even worms, may be able to.

Lets take a closer look:

According to Healthline, diseases like cancer produce volatile organic compounds (VOCs)  which can be detected in bodily fluids, skin, and breath.

Diseases can change the VOCs human beings emit, which results with those with cancer giving off a different odour, as per National Geographic.

Dogs

According to National Geographic, dogs can be taught to smell melanoma, breast and gastrointestinal cancers.

Cynthia Otto, with the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, told the outlet dogs could either be figuring out how the body is responding to the cancer cells.

Or it could be the cancer itself, we dont know for sure, Otto added.

Otto cited a 2022 ovarian cancer study in which different dogs responded to different fragments.

HealthNews.com cited another study as showing that dogs could be trained to identify ovarian cancer from blood samples  including in patients months after treatment.

One canine also managed to differentiate between the urine of cervical cancer patients from healthy individuals.

The website cited a 2021 study which showed that a trained dog could identify urine and breath samples for patients suffering from lung cancer.

The dog got 40 out of 41 samples correct.

The website Healthline quoted a 2008 study as showing that dogs could distinguish types and grades of ovarian tumours against healthy samples.

The canines were found to be extremely proficient in finding ovarian cancers in controlled experiments.

Still, the authors remained sceptical when it came to using dogs in clinical practice  nothing the myriad influences that could affect the outcome.

Ants

According to National Geographic, Formica fusca  also known as the silky ant  can identify breast cancer from urine samples.

The outlet quoted research published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B as showing that ants can differentiate between urine from mice with human breast cancer tumours versus healthy mice.

We were surprised by the rapidity of ants. In just ten minutes one ant can be trained, lead author Baptiste Piqueret told National Geographic.

Piqueret, a post-doctoral researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology in Germany, added that these ants are inexpensive to get and maintain. Honey and dead insects, and ants are happy.

Study co-author Patrizia dEttorre, an ethologist at the Universite Sorbonne Paris Nord, told the outlet, it isnt known yet what chemicals the ants are smelling.

Worms

According to National Geographic, the Caenorhabditis elegans has also displayed a proclivity to detect cancer.

A Japanese study showed the organisms found pancreatic cancer cells and an Italian study determined they recognised breast cancer cells.

In both cases, the worms, under certain conditions moved towards samples with the cancer cells and avoided the healthy ones.

As per the outlet, one Japanese biotech firm has even invited members of the public to send in their urine samples and get it tested by these worms.

With inputs from agencies
One of the first methods to obtain sensitive information is the utilisation of a romantic relationship or sex. The information may be exploited for monetary gain, political aims, and occasionally for extortion or blackmail of the subject.

In a recent incident, the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) arrested DRDO scientist Pradeep Kurulkar from Pune on suspicion of espionage.

According to DNA, the Pune police found that the 60-year-old scientist had engaged in voice and video calls, WhatsApp messages, and other forms of communication with Pakistani Intelligence Operative (PIO) agents while carrying out his official duties.

He was arrested on 3 May under the Official Secrets Act and is now in judicial custody.

Also read: From Mata Hari to Markus Wolf: A look at how honey traps are used in espionage

Who is Pradeep Kurulkar?

According to Livemint, Pradeep Kurulkar was appointed as the Director at the Systems Engineering Laboratory of the Research and Development Establishment (Engineers) (R&DE(E)), which is a part of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

Born in 1963, he began working for the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) at CVRDE, Avadi, in 1988 after earning a first-class honours Bachelor of Engineering (BE) in Electrical Engineering from COEP Pune in 1985.

Kurulkar has attended IIT Kanpur for advanced Power Electronics coursework with a concentration on Drives and Applications. He is an expert in creating mobile unmanned systems, advanced robotics, military engineering equipment, and missile launchers.

Cautionary Alert! 

DRDO scientist Pradeep Kurulkar leaked classified information on crucial defense systems like Brahmos, Agni 6, Surface-to-Air Missiles, Anti-Satellite Missiles, Rustom UAV, Mentor Missile, AK firearms, Astra missile, and defense drones to Pakistan. pic.twitter.com/IyTGLmT6ME  Oxomiya Jiyori  (@SouleFacts) July 8, 2023

As a principal designer and team leader, he played a crucial role in the development and design of various military engineering tools and systems, including hyperbaric chambers, high-pressure pneumatic systems, mobile power supplies, and missile launchers like AD, MRSAM, Nirbhay subsonic cruise missile system, Prahar, QRSAM, and XRSAM.

Also read: Sex and Spies: Has Pakistan army been using actors to honey trap politicians?

How he was honey-trapped?

The ATS revealed that it had discovered explosive conversations between the scientist and the Pakistani agent in its charge sheet, which was presented to a special court on 30 June.

Kurulkar, who was attracted to her, stored the classified and sensitive information of DRDO on his personal phone and then allegedly shared it with Zara, the chargesheet said.

The charge sheet, which was obtained by Hindustan Times, stated that Kurulkar shared this knowledge with the woman in order to establish intimate relations with her while he was the director at DRDO. It claimed that the purported Pakistani agent set up numerous fictitious accounts using various aliases in order to communicate with the Indian scientist.

These names were Zara Dasgupta and Juhi Arora, among others. The same agent also created accounts using these names and two other phone numbers on messaging services. Both numbers were prefixed with the London area code +44. The Pakistani agent exchanged three email addresses with Kurulkar, according to the charge sheet: 26sweetpanda@gmail.com, dreamgirl56@gmail.com, and common158@gmail.com. She supplied the passwords for these email addresses in an effort to gain his trust before demanding that he download two apps for his phone, which he did.

According to the report, the Pakistani spy tried to obtain sensitive and confidential information about, among other things, the Brahmos Launcher, Drone, UCV, Agni Missile Launcher, and Military Bridging System.

According to the ATS, the two were in touch from June 2022 to December 2022.

By using the app, there might be a chance of malware being inserted in the mobile phone of the accused, said the charge sheet. In fact, in the forensic analysis of Kurulars phone, DRDO experts found malware and reported this to ATS.

In February 2023, Pradeep Kurulkar blocked Zaras number just before the DRDO opened an internal investigation into his activities since they were deemed questionable. Soon after, he got a WhatsApp message asking Why you blocked my number? from another unknown Indian number.

The charging document stated that Pakistan-based Nayatel in Islamabad was where the recovery cellphone number associated with the operatives email address could be found, while Pakistan Telecommunication Limited owned the email addresss IP address.

Also read: Chinas new anti-espionage law comes into effect amid business worries

What information did he share?

Kurulkar chatted with her about various projects, including surface-to-air missiles (SAM), drones, Brahmos and Agni Missile Launchers and UCV, it said.

Kurulkar also talked about DRDOs ongoing work on the Bharat Quadcopter, Rustom, the medium-altitude long-endurance unmanned combat air vehicle that DRDO is developing, maybe in a bid to impress his female interlocutor. Kurulkar and the Pakistani operative would begin these serious conversations about defence matters with a fun Babe, according to the chats included in the indictment sheet.

According to Hindustan Times, the chargesheet claimed that Kurulkar, who is married to a doctor, enjoyed boasting about his accomplishments. He was questioned about if the Agni-6 launcher test had been successful by a female Pakistani operative in one of the discussions included in the 1,837-page charge sheet, to which he replied, The launcher is my design sweetheart It was quite successful. Between September 2022 and February 2023, Kurulkar and the suspected Pakistani operator had these conversations.

A further claim made by ATS was that Kurulkar became so comfortable with the Pakistani agent over time that he frequently shared details of his daily life with her. In one of these conversations, he explained how a leopard had wandered into the DRDO site in August of last year, according to the charge sheet. He even went so far as to reveal the CEO of a private company that supplies robotic technology to the Indian Army, along with his name and other personal information.

The discussions that were included in the charge sheet also showed how persistently the female Pakistani agent pursued Kurulkar. She once questioned him during one of their conversations: Any new parameters or any modification happens Ive heard that Agni-6 is also still under development; when will the test take place? The man is said to have replied, Karenge, thoda dheeraj rakho (Will do it, have some patience).

Despite knowing that an enemy nation can seek more information and specific information related to the CEOs working place and the nature of work and the equipment he manufactured for the Armed forces, Kurulkar shared the formation with the operative, the charge sheet said.

Kurulkar, who is currently incarcerated in Punes Yerwada jail, was taken into custody by the ATS on May 3 on suspicion of espionage and improper communication with a foreign operative. As part of its investigation, ATS has so far questioned 203 witnesses.

With inputs from PTI
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday accused the Congress of indulging in corruption and deceit, saying that the party is a loot ki dukaan and jhooth ka bazaar.

Addressing a rally, PM Modi said that it is clear Congress government in Rajasthan is on its way out. He also alleged the Ashok Gehlot government has carved a new identity for itself when it comes to corruption, crime and politics of appeasement.

In terms of crime against women, Rajasthan tops the list in rape cases. The situation is such that here the protectors are becoming the predators. The whole government here seems to be busy in saving rape and murder accused, Modi alleged.

The Congress government has done a lot of damage to Rajasthan in four years and its defeat in Rajasthan is so certain that its government has already entered a bye-bye mode, he said.

Coming down heavily on the Congress, he said if it remains in power, it makes the country hollow and when it goes out of power, it defames the country by abusing it. Their leaders go abroad and abuse India.

There is only one meaning of the Congress loot ki dukaan and jhooth ka bazaar, the prime minister said in an obvious jibe at Congress leader Rahul Gandhis frequent remarks about his party opening mohabbat ki dukaan in nafarat ka bazaar.

Public anger against the Rajasthan government has risen, and when this happens it takes no time to unseat those in power, Modi said.

He said Rajasthan, the countrys desert state where elections are due later this year, should have been at the top in the implementation of piped water project Jal Jeevan Mission, but today it is among the laggard states.

He also accused the state government of misleading people by announcing schemes and making promises as the election approaches.

In all these tall promises, there is nothing but loot ke irade anr jhooth ka pitara (intention of loot and bundle of lies), he said, adding the farmers of Rajasthan are the biggest victims of the Congress politics of lie and deceit.

There is an old saying which means the lamp flickers the brightest when it is about to extinguish. The Congress is also doing the same as it fears its defeat. It has come down to misleading the people of Rajasthan, Modi said.

With inputs from PTI
Amid isolated spells of heavy rainfall showering parts of India, a massive portion of a road along with the Jammu-Srinagar Highway caved in on Saturday, as per officials. A viral video is doing rounds on internet showing the road connecting two tunnels on the national highway was washed away after landslides. This destruction was triggered by heavy rains that happened in several parts of Jammu and Kashmir. Reportedly, due to this mishap, traffic movement is temporarily suspended in the Ramban district.

The multiple landslides caused by heavy rainfall overnight have resulted in the blockage of major roads in Jammu and Kashmir, including the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway, Mughal Road, and Srinagar-Sonamarg-Gumri (SSG) Road. Mughal Road, a substitute link connecting Poonch and Rajouri with the Shopian district of south Kashmir, also witnessed numerous landslides near Rata Chambh in Poonch district.

Watch the viral video here:

A traffic department official informed that the road clearance work is underway to repair and clear the road and the adjacent affected sections despite the incessant rains. They are on their toes to ensure early restoration of traffic. They also informed about the waterlogging of the railway tracks near Hillar.

J&K Police Alert

Meanwhile, Ramban Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Mohita Sharma said, Heavy rain along with landslide, mudslide and shooting stones in various stretches of Srinagar-Jammu National Highway at Ramban. NH closed the till clearance. Ask TCU before making travel plans.

NH-44, Mughal Road & SSG road r blocked due 2 landslides. People r advised not to travel till clearance, said J&K Traffic Police.

It is important to note that India Meteorological Department has forecast moderate to heavy rain with thundershowers across Jammu and Kashmir till Sunday under the influence of monsoon winds and western disturbances.

Red alert for Himachal

As extremely heavy rainfall spells in the districts of Chamba, Kullu, Kangra, Mandi, Una, Hamirpur and Bilaspur for 8 July and 9 July, the India Meteorological Department has issued the orange alert to red alert in Himachal. Meanwhile, isolated spells of very heavy rainfall are likely to pour in Shimla, Sirmaur, Lahaul, Solan, and Spiti.

Fresh rain spell in Delhi

Fresh rainfall drenched Delhi on Saturday. IMD predicted that commuters might face hardships as there were chances of more showers during the day.
The victim of the Madhya Pradesh urination incident, Dashmat Rawat, has urged the state to release his perpetrator Pravesh Shukla saying the latter has realised his mistake.

My demand to the government is that a mistake has been committed (by the accused). Now Pravesh Shukla should be released. Whatever has happened in the past, he has realised his mistake, Rawat, who belongs to the tribal community, told reporters.

When pointed out that he was making this demand despite the humiliating act of the accused, the victim said, Yes, I agreeHe is a Pandit of our village, we demand the government to release him.

Rawat also said that except for the construction of a road in the village, he has nothing more to demand from the government.

After a video of Shukla urinating on the tribal man went viral on social media, the police arrested him under the IPC and the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Actions were also been taken under the stringent National Security Act (NSA), against Shukla, who is currently lodged in jail. An alleged illegal portion of the house belonging to Shukla in Sidhi was also demolished.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Thursday met victim Dashrath Rawat, a tribal worker on whom Pravesh Shukla urinated in a drunken state.

Chouhan washed Rawats feet at CM House in Bhopal.

 I was pained to see that video. I apologise to you. People are like a God to me, Chouhan wrote on Twitter, posting picture with Rawat.

With inputs from agencies
Nine people were killed in election-related violence in West Bengal since midnight as voting was underway on Saturday for the three-tier panchayat polls in the state, officials said.

Among those killed were five TMC members, and one worker each of the BJP, CPI(M) and Congress, and the supporter of an Independent candidate, they said.

Besides violent clashes that injured several people, ballot boxes were destroyed in at least two polling booths, they added.

The polling began at 7 am in 73,887 seats in the rural areas of the state with 5.67 crore people deciding the fate of around 2.06 lakh candidates. Till 11 am, 22.6 per cent voter turnout was recorded.

Governor CV Ananda Bose visited different areas in North 24 Parganas district, and met people injured in the violence and interacted with voters.

BJP polling agent Madhab Biswas was allegedly killed in Falimari gram panchayat in Coochbehar district, they said.

The BJP alleged that when Biswas tried to enter the polling booth he was stopped by TMC supporters, and as the situation escalated, they killed him. The TMC denied the allegations.

The supporter of an Independent candidate died in Kadambagachi area in North 24 Paraganas district after he was beaten up, police said.

The deceased was identified as 41-year-old Abdullah Ali. He died while undergoing treatment at a local hospital in the morning, Superintendent of Police Bhaskar Mukherjee said.

Protesting against the killing, locals blocked the Taki Road in the early hours but they were removed by the police.

A TMC worker was killed in Murshidabad districts Kapasdanga area overnight in poll-related violence. The deceased was identified as Babar Ali, officials said.

Another TMC worker was killed in the districts Khargram area. He was identified as Sabiruddin Sk.

The TMC also alleged that its booth committee member in Tufanganj 2 panchayat samiti in Cooch Behar, Ganesh Sarkar, was killed in an attack by the BJP.

The brother of a TMC leader was killed in a clash with Congress supporters in Malda district, police said.

The incident happened in Jisharattola in Manikchak police station area. The deceased was identified as Malek Sheikh, they said.

The TMC also alleged that one of its workers was killed in Nadias Chapra.

A Congress worker was allegedly killed in Murshidabads Rejinagar police station area in election-related violence. He was identified as Yasmin Sk.

CPI(M) worker Rajibul Hoque was critically injured allegedly in an attack by TMC supporters in Purba Bardhaman districts Aushgram 2 block. He died in the morning while undergoing treatment at a hospital.

Incidents of destruction of ballot boxes and intimidation of voters were also reported from some areas.

In Cooch Behar districts Dinhata, ballot boxes were vandalised and ballot papers were set on fire at a booth in Baravita Govt Primary School. At another booth in the Barnachina area, locals torched a ballot box along with ballot papers, alleging that false voting was done.

Protests were also held in various areas, demanding the deployment of central forces.

In Nandigram, female voters gheraoed a police officer with bottles of poison in their hands, demanding that central force be deployed in the area.

Governor CV Ananda Bose toured various areas in North 24 Parganas, meeting people injured in the violence and listening to complaints.

People requested me to stop my motorcade on the way. There were a lot of tales to tell, they told me about murders happening around them, goons not allowing them to go to polling booths, and also about presiding officers not listening to them. These are stray cases but even one incident of bloodshed should cause concern to all of us, he told reporters.

This is the most sacred day for democracy. These are stray incidents but there should be a stop to it, he added.

The ruling TMC questioned where were the central forces that were brought in for the elections.

Shocking incidents are being reported since last night. BJP, CPI(M) and Congress had colluded, demanding central forces. Where are they deployed? TMC workers are being murdered. Where are the central forces? state minister Sashi Panja asked.

The TMC also alleged that at a border village in Cooch Behars Gitaldaha, BSF personnel attempted to create chaos and disrupt the poll process.

CPI(M) state secretary Md Salim shared a video of open ballot boxes lying in the field, tweeting, Vote is over! Condition of the ballots, ballot boxes in one of the booths. Btw this pic is from Diamond Harbour.

At least 600 companies of central forces have been deployed for the elections along with around 70,000 state police.

Sharing photos on Twitter, BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar that the State Election Commission (SEC) was reluctant to deploy the central forces that were sent to the state.

On the one hand, the SEC is reluctant to deploy the central forces. On the other hand, civil volunteers are deployed for the election duty. This clearly shows that state govt and SEC has hoodwinked the courts. Is SEC silently facilitating the booth capturing by TMC goons? he asked.

There are 63,229 gram panchayat seats and 9,730 panchayat samiti seats in 22 districts, while 928 zilla parishad seats in 20 districts as Darjeeling and Kalimpong have a two-tier system with Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) and Siliguri Sub-divisional Council at the top.

Long queues outside polling booths were seen as early as 6 am with people turning out early amid the intermittent rains.

The ruling TMC is contesting all the 928 seats in zilla parishads, 9,419 seats in panchayat samitis and 61,591 seats in gram panchayats. The BJP has fielded candidates in 897 zilla parishad seats, 7,032 panchayat samiti seats and 38,475 seats in gram panchayats.

The CPI(M) is fighting 747 zilla parishad seats, 6,752 panchayat samiti seats and 35,411 gram panchayat seats. The Congress is contesting 644 zilla parishad seats, 2,197 panchayat samiti seats and 11,774 gram panchayat seats.

The election assumes significance for political parties as it will serve as an opportunity for them to assess their organisational strengths and weaknesses ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, besides broadly outlining the mood of the state after two years of the TMC governments third consecutive term.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday laid the foundation stones of development projects worth more than Rs 24,300 crore in Rajasthans Bikaner district.

PM Modi dedicated to people the six-lane greenfield expressway section of the Amritsar-Jamnagar Economic Corridor, the first phase of the Inter-State Transmission Line for the Green Energy Corridor, a Bikaner-to-Bhiwadi transmission line and a 30-bed Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) hospital.

He also laid the foundation stone for the redevelopment of the Bikaner railway station and the doubling of the 43-km-long Churu-Ratangarh section.

VIDEO | PM Modi arrives in Bikaner, Rajasthan, to dedicate and lay foundation stone of development projects worth over Rs 24,300 crore. pic.twitter.com/lkveqnPUFD  Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) July 8, 2023

The prime minister pressed a remote button to inaugurate the projects at a programme in Norangdesar, Bikaner.

Speaking on the occasion, Modi said Rajasthan has got two modern six-lane expressways within a few months, while pointing out that he had dedicated to people the Delhi-Dausa-Lalsot section of the Delhi-Mumbai expressway in February.

He said the Amritsar-Jamnagar Economic Corridor will give new strength to the industry of western India and that the supply chain will be strengthened.

The prime minister said considering the high potential in the area of development, the BJP-led Centre is making record investment in Rajasthan.

Rajasthan has been a centre of immense potential and possibilities. It has the power to speed up the race for development. That is why we are making record investment here and also making the connectivity infrastructure high-tech, he said.

Modi said enhanced connectivity will give a boost to tourism, which in turn will benefit youngsters, farmers and traders.

Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari and Union Minister of State for Law and Parliamentary Affairs Arjun Ram Meghwal, who is also the member of Parliament from Bikaner, were also present on the occasion.

With inputs from PTI
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi made an impromptu visit to Haryanas Sonipat district on Saturday and interacted with people and spent time with farmers working agricultural lands.

This comes after the Gujarat High Court on Friday dismissed Gandhis plea seeking a stay on his conviction in a criminal defamation case over his Modi surname remark.

During his visit, Rahul also took part in paddy sowing, a senior party leader from the state said.

Gandhi reached Sonipat districts Madina village early on Saturday.

It was an impromptu visit  He interacted with the villagers and the farmers working in the fields. Rahulji also took part in paddy sowing and drove a tractor, Jagbeer Singh Malik, the Congress MLA from Gohana in Sonipat, told PTI over phone.

Malik, who was present at the spot, said Gandhi was probably on his way to Himachal Pradesh from Delhi.

In pictures tweeted from the Congress official handle, Gandhi was seen in his familiar white t-shirt and trousers. He was also stepping onto the fields with the villagers.

On May 23, Gandhi travelled in a truck from Delhi to Chandigarh to listen to the problems faced by truck drivers.

He undertook the journey during the night and in visuals and videos, the former Congress chief, donning his trademark white t-shirt, was seen sitting inside a truck, travelling with a driver and speaking to drivers at a dhaba.

(With inputs from PTI)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday offered prayers at the famous Goddess Bhadrakali temple here during his visit to this historic Telangana town to lay the foundation stone for several infrastructure development projects worth around Rs 6,100 crore and address a public meeting.

Modi, who was accompanied by Union Tourism Minister and newly-appointed Telangana BJP president G Kishan Reddy and other leaders, offered prayers at the temple.

Earlier in the day, the PM arrived in Hyderabad by a special aircraft and reached Warangal in a chopper.

Before leaving for Warangal, Modi tweeted: Leaving for Warangal to attend a programme where we will inaugurate or lay the foundation stone for development works worth over Rs 6100 crores. These works cover different sectors ranging from highways to railways. They will benefit the people of Telangana.

Alleging that the NDA government at the Centre has been anti-Telangana in the last 9 years, ruling BRS Working President K T Rama Rao had said his party would boycott Prime Minister Narendra Modis visit to the state on July 8.
At least 16 people have reportedly been killed in violence that erupted in West Bengal during voting for the three-tier panchayat polls in the state.

Meanwhile, Bengal State Election Commissioner (SEC) Rajiva Sinha on Saturday promised to look into complaints of vote tampering and to take a decision on possible re-polling after receiving reports from observers and returning officers.

Mr Sinha said the most number of complaints on incidents of violence during the days polling came from four districts, and they would all be taken into account while reviewing the poll process.

The SEC, who had to face a lot of flak from various political parties, said that a decision on re-polling would be taken on Sunday when observers and returning officers would scrutinise and review the polling process.

Cutting across ideological lines, all parties in West Bengal on Saturday condemned the killing of 11 people in various districts as voting for the panchayat elections is underway, while the opposition BJP called for Presidents Rule in the state.

The ruling Trinamool Congress, which lost six of its supporters to poll violence, accused the opposition of instigating violence and criticised the central forces for their failure to protect the voters.

State Congress president Adhir Chowdhury, on the other hand, alleged that TMC goons are having a free run and peoples mandate has been looted.

Meanwhile, voting was suspended at Indreshwar primary school in Dinhata of West Bengals Cooch Behar after water was thrown into the ballot box.

Diamond Harbour, Mamata Banerjees nephew and heir apparents LS seat, saw the maximum number of violations and violence. On several booths, ballots were stamped last night itself, with people realising this morning that their franchise had been stolen, polling officers forcing pic.twitter.com/eKbSlmwiC9  Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) July 8, 2023

In another incident, a ballot box at a polling booth in Baranachina of Dinhata in Cooch Behar district was set on fire allegedly by voters who were angry with bogus voting that was reportedly going on.

Another incident was reported from Balutola in Gopalpur Panchayat of Malda where a clash broke out between Congress and TMC workers and bombs were hurled.

Disturbing scenes from Diamond Harbor: Ballot papers scattered and neglected on the ground, while the ballot boxes witness the farce. The 2018 Panchayat election replay is happening, courtesy of Mamata Banerjee and the Election Commission. Democracy betrayed once again. pic.twitter.com/iXnVpx4PUN  BJP Bengal (@BJP4Bengal) July 8, 2023

State BJP workers on Saturday staged a protest outside the State Election Commission office in Kolkata amid incidents of violence during voting for the Panchayat election across West Bengal.

The polling booth at Baravita Primary School in Sitai of Coochbehar also was vandalised and ballot papers were set on fire. Several other incidents of ballot box and ballot paper looting and destruction were reported from numerous polling booths in the State.

However, the voter turnout was recorded at 22.60 per cent till 11 in the morning. Abdullah, the booth agent of an independent candidate was killed in Pirgachha of North 24 Parganas district following a protest by the villagers who demanded the arrest of the accused and alleged that the husband of TMC candidate Munna Bibi is behind the murder. Police personnel were deployed at the spot.

In the meantime, a 52-year-old TMC worker, Sateshuddin Sheikh was killed in Khargram of Murshidabad. However, the residents of Nandigram Block 1 of Purba Medinipur district said that they are boycotting the election until Central forces are deployed at booth numbers 67 and 68 in Mahammadpur No. 2 area.

A voter, Govind while speaking to ANI, said, There is no Central force here. Booth capturing keeps happening here by TMC. They do bogus voting even in the name of the deceased. We wont allow voting here unless Central forces come hereThe panchayat elections are underway for a single phase, with the counting of votes scheduled on July 11.

The polls are likely to see a fierce tussle for control of local administrations between the ruling TMC and the BJP and will be a litmus test for both parties ahead of next years Lok Sabha elections.

Around 5.67 crore voters are likely to exercise their franchise to choose representatives for nearly 928 seats across 22 zilla parishads, 9,730 panchayat Samiti, and 63,239-gram panchayats seats. The number of village panchayat election centres is 58,594. There are 63,239 seats at the Gram Panchayat level, 9730 at Panchayat Samiti and 928 at the Zila Parishad level.

In 2018, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) won uncontested, 34 per cent of the seats in panchayat elections, which also saw various instances of violence. Trinamool Congress has won many seats uncontestedly in the 2023 elections as well.

Following the violence, a war of words escalated between Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the ruling Trinamool Congress. In-charge of BJPs National Information and Technology Department Amit Malaviya posted a purported video which showed a man opening fire with a gun.

TMC goons openly brandish a gun and threaten an independent candidate in Barrackpore, North 24 Parganas. 9 people have died since morning and no one knows how many more will die through the day. SEC and Mamata Banerjee are responsible for this bloodshed. They didnt deploy CAPF, he said in a tweet.

BJP state chief Sukanta Majumdar alleged that TMC hooliganism crossed all limits and that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee along with the Chief Electoral Officer of the state were responsible for murders.

Bloodshed in West Bengal in Panchayat Election. TMC candidate killed an independent Muslim candidate in North 24, Parganas dist. TMC knows only the language of violence, murder and booth capturing. CM @MamataOfficial along with @CEOWestBengal is responsible for these murders, he said. Majumdar claimed that the workers of the TMC have looted the ballots from many polling booths in the state.

TMC hooliganism has crossed all the limits and is now stifling democracy by looting ballots openly in the West Bengal Panchayat elections, he said.

Majumdar further accused the West Bengal government and the state polling body of hoodwinking the courts order which directed the deployment of central forces in all the districts.

On the one hand, the SEC is reluctant to deploy the central forces. On the other hand, civil volunteers are deployed for election duty. This clearly shows that the state govt and SEC have hoodwinked the courts. Is SEC silently facilitating the booth capturing by TMC goons? he tweeted.

With inputs from ANI
A polling booth in West Bengals Coochbehar was vandalised and ballot papers were set on fire as voting for Panchayat elections in the state began at 7 am on Saturday.

#WATCH | Polling booth at Baravita Primary School in Sitai, Coochbehar vandalised and ballot papers set on fire. Details awaited. Voting for Panchayat elections in West Bengal began at 7 am today. pic.twitter.com/m8ws7rX5uG  ANI (@ANI) July 8, 2023

In major areas, polling began amid tight security as about 5.67 crore people living in the states rural areas are eligible to vote, officials said.

A total of 2.06 lakh candidates are in the fray for elections to 73,887 seats in the three-tier panchayat system in the state, they said.

The election assumes significance for political parties as it will serve as an opportunity for them to assess their organisational strengths and weaknesses ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, besides broadly outlining the mood of the state after two years of the TMC governments third consecutive term.

Sporadic incidents of violence were reported across the state after the election dates were announced on June 8, resulting in the deaths of over 15 people.

There are 63,229 gram panchayat seats and 9,730 panchayat samiti seats in 22 districts, while 928 zilla parishad seats in 20 districts as Darjeeling and Kalimpong have a two-tier system with Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) and Siliguri Sub-divisional Council at the top.

Long queues outside polling booths were seen as early as 6 am with people turning out early amid the intermittent rains.

The ruling TMC is contesting all the 928 seats in zilla parishads, 9,419 seats in panchayat samitis and 61,591 seats in gram panchayats. The BJP has fielded candidates in 897 zilla parishad seats, 7,032 panchayat samiti seats and 38,475 seats in gram panchayats.

The CPI(M) is fighting 747 zilla parishad seats, 6,752 panchayat samiti seats and 35,411 gram panchayat seats. The Congress is contesting 644 zilla parishad seats, 2,197 panchayat samiti seats and 11,774 gram panchayat seats.

At least 600 companies of central forces have been deployed for the elections along with around 70,000 state police.

In the last panchayat elections in 2018, TMC bagged around 34 per cent of the seats uncontested, and won 90 per cent of the rest, amid allegations of violence.

(With inputs from agencies)
Only when the shoe is on the other foot does it begin to pinch. Mixed metaphors notwithstanding, only if (or when) the west is faced with the same situation will it understand Indias concern. Had a Norwegian child been forcibly sent to a foster family in Indiaas happened to Sagarika Chakrabortys children in Oslothere would have been howls of protest by the West. Imagine if a Quebecois secessionist group put up posters all over India urging assassinations of Canadas envoys

Given the high security Western diplomats inevitably insist on when posted in non-Western nations, the lack of outrage there against Kill posters put up by Khalistanis, featuring the names and faces of Indias envoys to Canada and the UK, is astoundingly hypocritical. Open incitement to assassinate is being passed off as innocuous expressions of opinion. So Indian diplomats are in the crosshairs of not only secessionist organisations but also crazy, lone ranger assassins.

The latter even has a tragic precedent in Canada. In 1961, a Canadian citizen of Yugoslav origin walked into the Indian high commission in Ottawa and shot dead the deputy high commissioner, KS Pillai, apparently because he was angry about being denied a visa. He was found to be suffering from a mental illness but was tried and convicted for the crime. The current hit put out by the Khalistanis, however, could encourage all sorts of people to target Indian diplomats there.

The official Canadian response to Indias concerns about the Khalistan rally slated for 8 July in Toronto and Vancouver is also stunningly mealy-mouthed, and perhaps of a piece with its lax stance regarding Sikh separatist activities. Its Foreign Minister Melanie Joly has said, Canada takes its obligations under the Vienna Conventions regarding the safety of diplomats very seriously We know that the actions of a few do not speak for an entire community, or Canada.

But allowing a few to put targets on the backs of diplomats with impunity shows that Canada takes its international treaty obligations with a serious lack of application. More so as those Khalistani posters urging supporters to kill Indian diplomats bring back memories of the horrific 1984 kidnapping and murder of Ravindra Mhatre, posted at the Indian deputy high commission in Birmingham in UK by terrorist sympathisers of the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front.

The Canadian ministers response would be rightfully deemed inadequate by any country whose diplomats and private nationals have become the stated focus of malevolent intentions. Khalistani activists have a well-known goal of vivisecting only India, as its supposed stan does not include the area of west Punjab, now in Pakistan. That significant omission not only points to the separatists funders and instigators but also to their survival despite lack of traction in India.

Western leaders hide behind the freedom of expression principle whenever there are incidents targeting India, trying to turn an abomination into a virtue. They pretend to uphold democracy by giving space and publicity to forces that act against the sovereignty of other nations, usually those that are not part of their cosy Western cabal. And a relentlessly rising India is a special target. So, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus prevarication is also not unique or even rare.

Allowing Khalistan supporters in some Canadian cities to observe the anniversary of Operation Bluestar on 6 June with a parade on 4 June this year celebrating Indira Gandhis assassination is not only a disgraceful dereliction of duty by federal and local authorities but a deliberate attempt to hurt Indian sentiments. Such activities cannot further the Khalistani cause in any way, and thus are clearly meant only to drive wedges among the Indian diaspora in North America.

The sharp reaction from Indias External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar was apt as expected. Frankly, we are at a loss to understand other than the requirements of vote bank politics why anybody would do thisI think there is a larger underlying issue about the space which is given to separatists, to extremists, to people who advocate violence. I think it is not good for relationships, not good for Canada. But is Trudeau mature enough to understand Jaishankar?

Trudeaus evocation of diversity to explain Canadas studied inaction on anti-Indian machinations on its soil is old hat. Canada has used that argument for years to let the Khalistanis prosper there and bring over others with similar intentions to swell their ranks abroad since their secessionist line cuts no ice in Punjab itself. Canadian administrations have always failed miserably to ensure those who live in Canada only work for Canada, not machinate against India from there.

This has resulted in the formation of a corpus of Indian-origin Canadians who sustain the Khalistan chimera. And they pack enough of a political punch for votebank conscious politiciansof which Trudeau is no exceptionto turn a blind eye to their blatantly anti-India activities. The deliberate delay in the investigation of the blowing up of Air India flight 182 (better known as the Kanishka) in 1985 by Khalistani extremists was an eloquent reminder of Canadas inclinations.

Why should Canada allow anyone to plot and preach against another democratic country from its soil? Freedom of expression cannot mean the freedom to propagate secession elsewhere. Voters and political parties in 30-million-strong Punjab have rejected the Khalistan idea. Sikhs comprise just 2 per cent of Canadas 33 million population, or less than 8 lakh; and just a fraction of those are Khalistan supporters. Yet Canada is allowing itself to be swayed by their agenda.

Canada should remember what its reaction was in July 1967 when the visiting French president Charles de Gaulle declared Vive le Quebec libre! (Long live Free Quebec) in Montreal. He had to cut short his state visit and leave because the government and English-speaking Canadians were incensed by his support of Quebecs secession. The Quebecois have long wanted independence, but would India allow activists to machinate against Canada in India? Obviously not.

The then Canadian Prime Minister Lester Pearson had asserted at the time, The people of Canada are free. Every province in Canada is free. Canadians do not need to be liberated And the current PMs father, also former PM Pierre Trudeau (then justice minister) had asked how France would have felt if a Canadian PM had advocated Brittany for the Bretons. In fact, Trudeau Sr devoted much of his career to keeping Quebec peacefully in Canada.

Trudeau Jr, who has always taken politically expedient stances on Quebec, needs to wake up. Open support for Khalistanis by him and his Liberal Party colleagues, and the rise of other Sikh-Canadian political leaders with discernibly separatist leanings could prompt Quebec activists to demand what Trudeaus stand is for secession demands closer home, thereby undoing all the hard work his father put in. Pandering to Khalistani politics could be the undoing of Canada itself.

The author is a freelance writer. Views expressed are personal.

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It has almost become a trend for experts to give lessons to India on pluralism and democracy these days. In this weeks sermon, The Spectator magazine has been able to get Francis Fukuyama, a noted American political scientist to tell India how their Prime Minister Modi isnt treating the muslims fairly and has disenfranchised them. The attack by Fukuyama like all previous attacks by others of his tribe is baseless. The term disenfranchise is a loaded one which means Muslims in India dont have voting rights anymore. Anyone who lives in India would know how disconnected is Fukuyama from reality. But then facts are never supposed to interfere with what a Western intellectual wants to preach India about. Fukuyama is a professor whose reputation all these years has been built on rigorously done peer-reviewed research but when it comes to India, it is unfortunate that he chose to go by the propagandistic designs of Western media outlets instead of doing a reality check himself. This is a great fall for someone who commands a lot of academic power in institutions of global repute. But then Fukuyama isnt someone who has got things wrong for the first time.

All scholars of International Relations have a fascination with inventing grand theories about the ultimate fate of the international system. As a young student of International Relations, I was exposed to many. Two of the ones that have stuck are Francis Fukuyamas thesis End of History and Samuel P Huntingtons Clash of civilisations. For the uninitiated, Fukuyamas End of History was written just after the end of the cold war when USs ideological nemesis USSR had disintegrated and with that the arch rivalry between two ideological poles of Capitalism and Communism had also subsided. The victory of the capitalist ideology in the Cold War led Fukuyama to write a very famous book, The End of History and the Last Man which predicted that the ideological evolution of human beings is now over and Western style liberal democracy has emerged as the eventual winner. For Fukuyama, this victory was final and the only thing that was remaining to happen was the universalisation of this liberal democracy as the ultimate form of government world over. As per Fukuyamas predictions, the world was going to witness mushrooming of new liberal democracies with authoritarian states all set to transform into the cradle of democratic values in the next century. In response to Fukuyama, Huntington had penned a counter argument, first in the form of an essay and later in the form of a full-fledged book in 1996, The Clash of Civilisations. Huntington had argued that the post-Cold War future wont be sans conflict as predicted by Fukuyama but it will take the form of a tussle between cultures and not so much between countries. Civilisations for Huntington were the highest category of cultural identity and hence, the future according to him involved conflicts on civilisational lines. He singled out Islam in his thesis which he referred to as having bloody borders and a potential to undermine Western civilisation due to its fundamental tensions with any other form of value system except the one propagated by Islam.

If we look around today and test the formulations given by both Fukuyama and Huntington, then it is Huntington who wins by a broad margin. Whether we observe the recent events in far flung France or near home in Manipur, both have civilisational tensions written all over. In the case of France, his prediction about fundamentalism in Islam is right on point while in the case of Manipur, an ancient Hindu civilisation is reacting to the onslaught of Abrahamic intrusion of the past. Interestingly, Fukuyama had predicted that the authoritarian states in West Asia such as Iran and others will go the Turkey way to become a state which will acquire a liberal character despite their affiliation to Islam but ironically, Erdogans Turkey has actually put itself in a reverse gear to turn more Islamic instead. Clearly Fukuyamas thesis failed. Not only the world didnt turn out to be more liberal and democratic than before but with an authoritarian Chinas stupendous rise, the capacity of Western countries to do democracy promotion or incentivisation of liberal values by them is under a serious challenge today.

In a world where civilisational conflicts are rampant and are threatening the very law and order of the Western societies as evident in France and other countries, Fukuyama is clearly a loser to his own doctoral advisor, Huntington today. What also rubs salt further to his wound is the fact that communism didnt end with the fall of the USSR but has a new patron in the form of China. Interestingly, Fukuyama wasnt the only woolly-headed liberal who was invested in the transformation of authoritarian states. A whole section of the West had aided Chinas rise believing that its entry in the liberal world order through capitalism will also transform it into a democracy some day. When Fukuyama and many others like him are lost to make sense of their own glaring mistakes, here is a country thats rising consistently and that too with a reputation of being the largest democracy in the world. Indias rise has presented a credible hope to the actual liberal values and not only the Western conceptions of liberal international order. But people like Fukuyama are riding so high on their intellectual horses that they dont want to understand the ground realities. As for me, the transition from a young student of IR to a scholar and a teacher today has been a sobering one. Old heroes are falling and a search for new ones is on. But this time, the search for grand propositions wont end with Western knowledge systems. The era of Fukuyamas should get over. Indians must articulate their own grand visions. Isnt it?

The author is a PhD from the Department of International Relations, South Asian University. She writes on Indias foreign policy. Views expressed are personal.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi capped his June 2022 visit to the United States not only with a State Dinner but also with his second address before a Joint Session of Congress. Indians should be proud. Modi joins an elite club of foreign leadersEgyptian President Anwar Sadat, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, and South African President Nelson Mandelawho have twice received the honour. Only British Prime Minister Winston Churchill has spoken before the entire Congress more.

President Joe Biden was right when, standing beside the prime minister, he described the thoroughly bipartisan support that exists all across the United States for the friendship and partnership between India and the United States, and the bilateral partnership as among the most consequential in the world, that is stronger, closer, and more dynamic than any time in history. While some analysts and academics used Modis presence to criticise aspects of his administration or express concern about Indias democratic trajectory, such complaints were irrelevant to the bigger picture. Modis visit and the reception he received were less about Modi as a person and more about India itself. The cooperation and trust that today characterise US-India ties were unimaginable a quarter century ago. The partnership could grow exponentially over the next quarter century.

While there is no shortage of ambition to grow and tighten ties so long as they remain symbiotic and do not infringe on the sovereignty and national interest of either country, neither Washington nor New Delhi are investing in a key foundation of future ties. Ensuring that there is a nucleus among the next generation of Americans with the cultural and linguistic abilities to invest ably and operate effectively across the Indian subcontinent. English may be an official language of India, but it is not the only one. To reach the entire Indian market and communicate effectively requires mastering not only Hindi, but many regional languages as well.

Certainly, American provincialism is at fault. American schools have long given foreign language study short shrift. Only half of American middle (upper primary) schools actually teach a foreign language. Those that do most often offer only French and Spanish, or perhaps German. More affluent school districts and prestigious private schools might also offer Chinese.

A greater proportion of American high school students study language, but non-European offerings are limited. The Advanced Placement exam, an optional national exam to provide American high school students an opportunity to demonstrate mastery and earn college credit, offers seven language tests. Chinese and Japanese are the only non-European options.

The problem is not just language proficiency but also cultural fluency. Consider American students studying abroad. In academic year 2015/16, the last year for which data is available, just over 325,000 Americans studied abroad. Of the top ten destinations, the top five were all European countries. China was number six, and Japan 10. Only 4,181 American students studied in India, or a mere 1.3 percent of the total. During and after the COVID-19 pandemic, that number plummeted further. It also stands in stark contrast to Indias world-ranked universities like Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi, the Indian Institute of Science in Karnataka, or Jadavpur University in West Bengal.

The paltry Indian language and study abroad options in American schools contrast sharply with the previous growth of Japanese and Chinese offerings.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, many Americans studied Japanese believing Japans economic expansion would continue. Americans scrambled to learn Japanese assuming it would give them a leg up in international commerce. Japanese automobile manufacturers, for example, opened plants across the United States and needed American managers who could communicate both on the assembly line and to headquarters. Japans largely demographic-driven economic slowdown juxtaposed with Chinas economy going into overdrive as it capitalised on its demographic dividend.

While some of the prominence of Chinese language and culture in both secondary schools and universities across America was organic, either Chinese-American community demands or proxies for the Peoples Republic of China itself seeded much of it. The Chinese government sought to grease the wheels by funding various programs and seeding Confucius Institutes to promote (Communist) Chinese culture, and used its financial influence to try to shape a new generation of Americans to be less distrustful and more accommodating of Communist Chinas perspectives toward Tibet, Taiwan, and perhaps even Aksai Chin.

Indeed, studying Chinese seemed a good investment for Americans seeking to enter a more competitive, tighter job market given Chinas status as the worlds largest country and its economic engine. China however in the 2020s increasingly appears like Japan in the 1980s.

In April 2023, the United Nations announced that Indias population would likely surpass Chinas 1.4 billion people. The estimate made headlines around the globe, but many newspapers and websites missed a more important component of the UN calculations: Chinas population will continue to fall as Indias rises. By 2100, Chinas population could fall below 800 million, while Indias population is likely to be almost double that.

Both Americans and Indians appear enthusiastic at the potential for greater economic and trade ties. President Xi Jinpings bellicosity and erraticism have led bankers to abandon Hong Kong and Shanghai for Singapore. Western economies likewise look to transplant their supply chains from China to India. Apples recent success appears to be the first raindrop in the coming monsoon.

To reach that potential, however, it is time for both Indians and Americans to think strategically. Americans preparing for the second half of the 21st century should be studying Hindi instead of Mandarin and Bengali instead of Cantonese. American universities should reflect that more people speak Marathi or Telugu than Italian, a language for which Americans can earn Advanced Placement credit.

Indian universities should encourage Americans of all ethnicities to study abroad in Indian universities, and establish two-way secondary school exchange programs. Hindu and Indian lobby groups in the United States should agitate for high school Hindi programs and seek an Advanced Placement exam in the language. Prestigious American universities should have India and South Asia programs as robust and well-funded as China and East Asian departments. Any investment by philanthropists, foundations, or corporations in this linguistic and academic infrastructure will pay dividends for generations to come.

Bilateral ties have had enough rhetoric and declarations of intent. It is time to build the foundation for a rock solid future.

The author is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, DC. Views are personal.

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Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said that the Aam Aadmi Party is waiting for Congress to publically denounce Centres Ordinance on Delhis administrative services.

Congress had said at Patna opposition meeting that they will publicly denounce the (Centres) Ordinance (on control of services in Delhi) and that they will vote against the Ordinance in the Parliament session. So, we are waiting for that, Kejriwal told reporters on Saturday.

VIDEO | Congress had said at Patna opposition meeting that they will publicly denounce the (Centres) Ordinance (on control of services in Delhi) and they will vote against the Ordinance in the Parliament session. So, we are waiting for that, says Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal on pic.twitter.com/9W8jlSF8sL  Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) July 8, 2023

Last month, during the first meeting of the Opposition in Patna, the Aam Aadmi Party announced that it will not join any future Opposition unity parties until Congress publicly opposes the Centres ordinance to control administrative services in Delhi.

It further said that the grand old party needs to decide whether it backs the people of Delhi or the Modi government.

The party added that Congress, a national party that takes a stand on almost all issues, has yet to make its position on the Black Ordinance public and that the Congress Delhi and Punjab units have announced that the party should support the Modi government on this issue.

Notably, the Supreme Court said on Thursday that it will hear a petition filed by the Aam Aadmi Party challenging the constitutionality of the centre government ordinance to control administrative services in Delhi.

A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices P S Narasimha and Manoj Misra posted the matter for consideration after senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi mentioned the matter seeking an urgent hearing.

The apex court will hear the petition on 10 July.

In its plea, the AAP government has said it is an unconstitutional exercise of executive fiat that attempts to override the top court and the basic structure of the Constitution.

With inputs from agencies
Days after Maharashtra politics witnessed turmoil following the entry of Nationalist Congress Party rebel Ajit Pawar which has triggered insecurities in the Eknath Shinde camp, Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Aditya Thackeray claimed that Chief Minister Shinde has been asked to resign.

I have heard that CM (Eknath Shinde) has been asked to resign and there might be some change (in the government), Thackeray said.

#WATCH | Mumbai: I have heard that CM (Eknath Shinde) has been asked to resign and there might be some change (in the govt), says Uddhav Thackeray faction leader Aaditya Thackeray (07.07) pic.twitter.com/IBW7HNfmoB  ANI (@ANI) July 7, 2023

His comments came as the entry of Ajit Pawar into the Shiv Sena-BJP government has triggered apprehensions among the Shinde camp with many objecting to the newly-made alliance and worrying over Pawars elevation in ranks.

Shinde, however, has reiterated that there will be no changes in party ranks regardless of Pawars entry into the government.

He presided over a meeting on Wednesday and said that he was kept in the loop about the fast-paced developments in the NCP which culminated in Ajit Pawar taking oath as deputy CM along with eight other ministers on July 2 in a stunning turn of events.

Many Sena lawmakers reportedly pointed out that founder Balasaheb Thackeray would have never joined hands with the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).

To make things more uncomfortable for Eknath Shinde, Shiv Sena (UBT) has been slamming him with the rhetoric, tweeting an old video of Shinde where he criticised Chhagan Bhujbal. Now you are sitting on Chhagan Bhujbals lap. What will you say now? the caption read.

The BJP wants to weaken the MVA (alliance of NCP, Congress and Shiv Sena) with the trio of Shinde, Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar. We want to fight both Lok Sabha and Assembly polls in 2024 under this leadership. We think its a formidable force, a BJP leader said according to Indian Express.

With inputs from agencies
As reports of violence in West Bengal amid Panchayat polls continue to rule headlines, BJP on Saturday said that the state under Trinamool Congress has become a tragic example of violence in democracy.

BJP spokesperson and Rajya Sabha member Sudhanshu Trivedi said that as opposed to a state that used to be a centre of art, culture and science, West Bengal has now become known for crimes, anti-national activities and dangerous appeasement.

He alleged that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee-led government has been using criminals for violence during the elections by giving them protection.

Trivedi added that members of both BJP and Left-Congress have been killed under TMC.

Violence has been going on in Bengal for years. It is not only continuing but gradually rising, he said.

Comparing the situation in West Bengal with Bihar, the BJP spokesperson said, The situation in Bengal is a lot like in Bihar of the 1990s, Trivdei said, accusing the TMC of tainting the polls with blood. The state governments actions have been exposed through Constitutional means.

In a swipe at the State Election Commission, he said it had itself demanded security forces for carrying out elections but cannot decide what kind of forces there should be.

Nine people were killed in election-related violence in West Bengal since midnight as voting was underway on Saturday for the three-tier panchayat polls in the state, officials said.

Among those killed were five TMC members, and one worker each of the BJP, CPI(M) and Congress, and the supporter of an Independent candidate, they said.

Besides violent clashes that injured several people, ballot boxes were destroyed in at least two polling booths, they added.

As many as 5.67 crore voters are expected to exercise their right to franchise in the state today between 7 am to 5 pm. There are nearly 928 seats across 22 zilla parishads and 63,229 gram panchayats seats.

The elections will be held in a single phase with over 2,00,000 candidates contesting the polls. The crucial polls will prove as a litmus test for various parties for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

With inputs from agencies
With the high-voltage Panchayat polls currently underway in West Bengal, residents of Nandigram Block 1 of Purba Medinipur district have boycotted voting until Central Forces are deployed in the area.

Central Forces have not been deployed in this area. In their absence, Trinamool Congress party workers capture the polling booths and cast bogus votes even in the name of deceased people, a resident named Govind told ANI.

He added, This is why we have decided that we will not cast our vote until Central Forces are deployed.

As many as 5.67 crore voters are expected to exercise their right to franchise in the state today between 7 am to 5 pm. There are nearly 928 seats across 22 zilla parishads and 63,229 gram panchayats seats.

The elections will be held in a single phase with over 2,00,000 candidates contesting the polls. The crucial polls will prove as a litmus test for various parties for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

The state has witnessed widespread violence since the election date was announced last month and as a result, the death toll has mounted to 19.

Three key political parties  Trinamool Congress, Bharatiya Janata Party and the Indian Secular Front  are engaged in a fierce battle to take control of the local administration in West Bengal.
China has deployed an impressive fleet of 13 aircraft and six vessels in the airspace and waters surrounding Taiwan, coinciding with the high-profile visit of United States Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to Beijing.

Taiwans defence ministry said it was monitoring the situation and land-based missile systems were ready to respond.

With tensions running high, Taiwans Defence Ministry remains steadfast in its surveillance efforts from the air, sea, and land, preparing to retaliate with formidable land-based missile systems.

The latest breach of the de facto border in the Taiwan Strait has seen four Chinese aircraft, including SU-30 fighters and a BZK-005 reconnaissance plane, intruding into Taiwans southwestern air defence identification zone.

U.S. support for the self-governing island republic that split from mainland China amid civil war in 1949 remains a major irritant in relations with Beijing.

Shortly before Yellens arrival, Chinese President Xi Jinping visited the headquarters of the Peoples Liberation Armys Eastern Theater on Thursday. Its area of operations directly faces the island across the Taiwan Strait.

Addressing commanders at the Jiangsu province headquarters, Xi stressed efforts to  break new ground for theatre command development and war preparedness, state media reported.

He called for enhancing the planning of war and combat  and stepping up training under real combat conditions to raise the forces capabilities to fight and win, the reports said.

The PLA, the worlds largest standing armed force, serves as the military wing of the Communist Party and is overseen by a committee headed by Xi.

Beijing also objects vigorously to United States military support for Taiwan, and lashed out Wednesday at an upcoming $440 million sale of cannon shells and other equipment, accusing the U.S. of turning Taiwan into a powder keg.

Yellen is not expected to meet with Xi during her visit.

With inputs from agencies.
World Bank President Ajay Banga will travel to India next week to attend the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, according to the development lender.

This would be Bangas first trip to India after he took over as the World Bank president last month.

Gujarat is hosting four meetings of G20 in the first two weeks of July.

These meetings will provide an opportunity for business representatives to share their perspectives, insights and policy recommendations on various economic and business-related topics and will play a very significant role in shaping global economic agendas and policies, according to officials.
Slamming the recent attack on the Indian consulate in San Francisco, American lawmakers and several Indian-American community organisations have called for a thorough probe into the incident to bring the perpetrators to justice.

While the right to protest is ingrained in the US Constitution, no one has the right to engage in violence, they said in separate statements and tweets on Friday.

They also condemned the threats made to Indian diplomats including Indias Ambassador to the US Taranjit Singh Sandhu by Khalistani forces and called on the Biden administration to ensure the safety of foreign diplomats.

Pro-Khalistan supporters vandalised and set the Indian consulate in San Francisco on fire, drawing strong condemnation from the United States on Tuesday.

According to Diya TV, an American broadcast television network, the Khalistanis supporters released a video dated 2 July related to the act of violence.

The Khalistanis radicals set the Indian consulate on fire between 1:30 am and 2:30 am on Sunday. But it was quickly doused by the San Francisco fire department, the channel reported, adding, that the damage was limited and no staffers were harmed.

Meanwhile, Congressman Frank Pallone has ensured the safety of foreign diplomats on American soil.

I hope the administration will help provide safety and security moving forward, he said.

In a tweet, Congressman Gregory Meeks, Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said, The right to protest is ingrained in the US Constitution, but no one has the right to engage in violence, including against diplomatic facilities.

The Federation of Gujarati Association of USA joined the chorus and condemned the attacks on the Indian consulate.

Such unruly behaviour is unacceptable and we appeal to the US authorities that the perpetrators are brought to justice, the association said in a statement.

It added, We express our unwavering support to Shri Taranjit Singh Sandhu ji, the Ambassador of India to the USA, and his team at the Indian Consulate in San Francisco during this time.

Sikhs of America, a leading Sikh organisation in the US also strongly condemned the incident.

We express our unwavering support to the Indian Consulate in San Francisco. We ask the local and federal law enforcement agencies to bring the perpetrators behind this to justice, it said.

With inputs from PTI
In order to safeguard U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and other alliance leaders convening next week only 32 km (20 miles) from Lithuanias razor-wire-topped border barrier with Russian partner Belarus, NATO has transformed Vilnius into a fortress defended by cutting-edge weapons.

A total of 1,000 troops from sixteen NATO nations have been dispatched to protect the meeting on July 11 and 12, which will take place just 151 kilometres (94 miles) from Russia. Additionally, several are offering the Baltic States the advanced air defence equipment they lack.

It would be more than irresponsible to have our sky unprotected as Biden and leaders of 40 countries are arriving, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said.

The Baltic nations of Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia, which were formerly ruled by Moscow but are now members of NATO and the European Union, all spend more than 2% of their national GDP on defence, which is more than most other NATO partners do.

However, the regions approximate 6 million inhabitants is insufficient to support sizable military, buy its own fighter jets, or develop sophisticated air defence.

To intercept ballistic, cruise, and warplane missiles, Germany sent out 12 vehicles equipped with Patriot missile launchers.

Spain has introduced a NASAMS air defence system, France is sending Caesar self-propelled howitzers, Finland, Denmark, and France are putting military jet bases in Lithuania, and the UK and France are sending anti-drone capabilities.

Special operations personnel with helicopter support were dispatched by Germany and Poland. To counter any potential chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear attacks, others are deploying protective measures.

According to Nauseda, NATO must immediately establish long-term air defences in the Baltic states as part of the coalitions commitment to assure air safety during the leaders meeting.

We think about what happens after the summit ends, and we will work with allies to create a rotating force for a permanent air protection, he told reporters.

At villages next to the Belarus border, locals told Reuters they feel totally safe, despite the Russian allys offer to accommodate Russias private Wagner militia and its hosting of Russian nuclear weapons.

Do you think Wagner or Belarus could attack Lithuania, which is in NATO? They dont have the guts. NATO is NATO, and we feel ourselves safe because we are in NATO. Why would we fear those Belarussians?, said Edvard Rynkun, 67, in Kaniukai, a village 1 km (less than a mile) from Belarus.

If Lithuania was alone, I would feel differently, he added.

If not for the NATO membership, things here could already be same as in Ukraine, said Elena Tarasevic, 55, Rynkuns neighbour.

At Vilnius airport, eight German-operated Patriot missile launchers were seen standing with their nozzles pointed in the direction of Russias Kaliningrad. Two more pointed towards Belarus. All of the launchers were operational since Friday morning.

You know where you are situated geographically, and you know pretty well where the threat is coming from, said Lt Col Steffen Lieb, commander of the Patriot deployment.

Lithuania asked us for protection of the summit, and also NATO asked Germany for help. This is our answer, he added.

Lithuania has tripled the deployment of border guards at the Belarus and Russian borders for the summer, augmented by officers from Latvia and Poland. The two countries have also sent police to help patrol Vilnius.

We are preparing for various provocations, border guard chief Rustamas Liubajevas said. He added that he feared waves of migrants at the border, or border violations, or military vehicles appearing at the border without explanation.

Thousands of Middle Eastern migrants have crossed at the Belarus border in 2021, in an effort Lithuania and the European Union said was orchestrated by Minsk, a charge it denies. The numbers have since subsided.

The situation is really very tense, because of aggression of Russia against Ukraine. So the (border protection) was already on a very, very high level (before the summit), said Liubajevas.

Border checks on Lithuanias European Union borders with Poland and Latvia were reintroduced for the summit.

The mayor of Vilnius has suggested citizens go on holiday outside the city if they want to avoid disruption, as large parts of central Vilnius will be closed off for the summit.
The American military said that Russian fighter jets have harassed US drones over Syria for the third day in a row this week.

The US military said in a statement that Fridays encounter lasted for about two hours during which three MQ-9 drones were once again harassed by Russian fighter aircraft while flying over Syria.

Russian aircraft flew 18 unprofessional close passes that caused the MQ-9s to react to avoid unsafe situations, Lt. Gen. Alex Grynkewich, head of U.S. Air Forces Central Command, said in a statement.

Rear Adm. Oleg Gurinov, head of the Russian Reconciliation Center for Syria, said earlier this week that the Russian and Syrian militaries have started a six-day joint training that ends Monday.

Gurinov added in comments carried by Syrian state media earlier this week that Moscow is concerned about the flights of drones by the U.S.-led coalition over northern Syria, calling them systematic violations of protocols designed to avoid clashes between the two militaries.

Tensions between Russian and American forces are widespread in Syria, where both countries perform ground patrols and overflights. Syrias 12-year conflict has killed half a million people and injured over one million more.

The first friction occurred on Wednesday morning when Russian military aircraft engaged in unsafe and unprofessional behaviour as three U.S. MQ-9 drones were conducting a mission against the Islamic State group, the U.S. military said. On Thursday, the U.S. military said Russian fighter aircraft flew incredibly unsafe and unprofessionally against both French and U.S. aircraft over Syria.

The U.S. and France are part of an international coalition fighting IS that once controlled largest parts of Syria and Iraq where the extremists declared a caliphate. Despite IS defeat in Iraq in 2017 and in Syria less than two years later, the extremists still carry out deadly attack in both countries.

On Friday, a drone attack by the U.S.-led coalition killed a man in northern Syria who was riding a motorcycle. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, said the man was an IS militant.

Russia joined Syrias conflict in September 2015 and has since helped tip the balance of power in favour of Syrian President Bashar Assads forces. Russian warplanes still carry out attacks against the last major rebel stronghold in Syrias northwest.

On any given day there are at least 900 U.S. forces in Syria, along with an undisclosed number of contractors, who partner with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.

We continue to encourage Russia to return to the established norms of a professional Air Force so we can all return our focus to ensuring the enduring defeat of ISIS, Grynkewich said, using a term to refer to IS.

Gurinov, the Russian officer, warned that the increase of uncoordinated flights for the coalitions drones leads to escalation and Russia is not responsible for the safety of these flights.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar inaugurated a statue of Swami Vivekananda at Indias cultural centre in Tanzania, saying it stands in testimony to his timeless teachings which have transcended boundaries and underlined his message of faith in humanity.

Honoured to inaugurate the bust of Swami Vivekananda at the Swami Vivekananda Cultural Centre in Dar es Salaam, Jaishankar tweeted after inaugurating the bust.

Honoured to inaugurate the bust of Swami Vivekananda at the Swami Vivekananda Cultural Centre in Dar es Salaam. My remarks: pic.twitter.com/QXEzfgNRv6  Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) July 7, 2023

This bust must certainly stand in testimony to his timeless teachings, which have transcended boundaries and actually underlying his message of faith in humanity, the minister said while addressing an audience at the event.

Jaishankar also highlighted the importance of the Swami Vivekananda Cultural Centre, which has played a very significant role in promoting Indian culture and arts in Tanzania since its inception in 2010.

He said that his visit to the African nation conceptualises how India and Tanzania can have more to do with each other in this era of globalisation.

What globalisation really means is that we are into each others lives in a very, very seamless fashion, he said.

Describing the bust of Vivekananda, he said, It is very interesting when you see the statue which is in front of you, this is the pose that is most famous radiates confidence, self-assurance, a belief in our history and traditions in our culture.

This is somebody in the 19th century when India is still under colonial occupation, who is trying to make an Indian society believe in itself, he added.

Such a person actually is not just..motivating and inspiring through discussion and debate on our own traditions, but he is also at the same time engaging the world with a higher degree of self-confidence that he goes around the world discussing Indian religion, Indian faith, Indian beliefs, and is able to reconcile emerging nationalism in India with the message of internationalism, he continued.

With inputs from PTI
Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday announced an official visit by Vladimir Putin to the country in August where the former will push Russia to extend a Black Sea grain deal by at least three months.

The announcement came as Erdogan was addressing the media in a joint press conference with Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Here the two parties met to discuss the fate of an arrangement, brokered last year by Turkey and the United Nations, to allow for the safe export of grain from Ukrainian ports via the Black Sea despite the war.

The Turkish president said that the country is currently working out a way to extend the Black Sea grain deal beyond its expiration date of July 17. Among other things, a discussion on the grains deal will be the most important agenda of Erdogans meeting with Putin.

Our hope is that it will be extended at least once every three months, not every two months. We will make an effort in this regard and try to increase the duration of it to two years, he said at the news conference with Zelenskyy.

Apart from this, Zelenskyy was also able to bag crucial support from Turkey in its bid to join NATO after the country won a US pledge for cluster munitions that could inflict massive damage on Russian forces on the battlefield.

Both men said they had also discussed another key question for Erdogans talks with Putin  the question of prisoner exchanges, which Zelenskiy said had been the first thing on their agenda. I hope we will get a result from this soon, Erdogan said.

With inputs from agencies
Following his meeting with Vladimir Putin, US President Joe Biden warned Chinese President Xi Jinping to be careful since Beijing depends on western investment.

I said: This is not a threat. This is an observation, Biden said according to excerpts from an interview with CNN.

Since Russia went into Ukraine, 600 American corporations have pulled out of Russia. And you have told me that your economy depends on investment from Europe and the United States. And be careful. Be careful.

In March, Putin and Xi held two days of discussions during which they expressed their affinity and shared condemnation of the West. However, there was no indication of a diplomatic breakthrough with Ukraine.

Also this week, the two took part in a virtual summit.

The US-China relationship is experiencing increased stress and pessimism over national security problems, such as Taiwan, Russias conflict in Ukraine, the expansion of export restrictions by the United States on cutting-edge technologies, and Chinas state-led industrial policy.

On Saturday, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen continued her trip to China.

Asked what Xis response was, Biden said: He listened, and he didntargue. And if you notice, he has not gone full-bore in on Russia.

So, I think theres a way we can work through this.

(With inputs from agencies)
According to the conditions of a settlement that ended their uprising against Russias military leadership, mercenary warriors from Yevgeny Prigozhins Wagner organisation are getting ready to relocate to Belarus, a senior commander of the group was cited as saying.

Since the mutiny on June 2324, when Wagner fighters briefly overran a city in southern Russia and advanced on Moscow, it is unknown exactly where Prigozhin and his mercenaries are.

Prigozhin was supposed to transfer to Belarus as part of the agreement that put an end to the mutiny, and his troops, some of whom were ex-convicts released early to fight in Ukraine, were given the choice of moving with him to Belarus, joining Russias regular armed forces, or returning home.

Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko stated on Thursday that Prigozhin and thousands of his fighters were still in Russia, casting doubt on the deals execution.

On Saturday, a channel on the Telegram messaging app cited Anton Yelizarov, whose alias is Lotus, as claiming that the fighters were currently on holiday until early August on Prigozhins orders before travelling to Belarus.

We have to prepare bases, training grounds, coordinate with local governments and administrations, organise interaction with the law enforcement agencies of Belarus and establish logistics, he was quoted by the Yevgeny Prigozhin on Telegram channel as saying.

Reuters could not verify the authenticity of the interview.

Prigozhin himself has gone uncharacteristically quiet over the past two weeks. He has not posted on his previously preferred Telegram channel  Yevgeny Prigozhin Press Service  since June 26, when he defended his fighters mutinous actions.

An adviser to Belarus defence ministry said on Friday that nobody from the Wagner group had yet visited the disused military camp that Lukashenko had offered for the fighters use.

Yelizarov said there had been no attempt by Russias security forces to hit Wagner fighters since the mutiny.

Prigozhin, long fiercely critical of Russias defence ministry and General Staff chiefs over their handling of the war in Ukraine, said he launched his march of justice on Moscow to protest against corruption and incompetence among the top brass.

Asked about recent attacks on Prigozhin in the Russian state media, Yelizarov said they were an attempt by Russias military establishment to drive a wedge between the mercenary chief and his Wagner fighters.

The attempt would fail, he said, because Prigozhin himself had created and moulded the Wagner fighters when the state did not need us. Yelizarov compared Prigozhin and his men to the mythical King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table.

This week, Russian state TV broadcast footage purportedly shot during law enforcement raids on Prigozhins St Petersburg office and one of his palaces.

It said an investigation against Prigozhin was still under way despite the June 24 deal, under which criminal charges against him over the failed mutiny were dropped.

(With agency inputs)
The existential threat of climate change must be addressed by the worlds two greatest economies, the United States and China, said U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen addressing Chinese officials and climate scientists on Saturday.

The 2015 Paris Agreement was made possible thanks to US and Chinese cooperation on climate change, according to Yellen, who added that both governments wanted to support emerging markets and developing nations as they work to achieve their climate goals.

Continued U.S.-China cooperation on climate finance is critical, Yellen said in a prepared text at a climate roundtable in Beijing.

As the worlds two largest emitters of greenhouse gases and the largest investors in renewable energy, we have both a joint responsibility  and ability  to lead the way.

China, which the UN has designated as a developing nation, has long insisted that rich countries are obligated to assist poorer nations in financing efforts to combat climate change. Beijing, though, asserts that it might voluntarily contribute to loss and damage brought on by climate change.

Cooperation between the U.S. and China is regarded as essential to global efforts to mitigate the worst effects of climate change due to its enormity.

Yellen emphasised the necessity of effective and efficient financing for such initiatives, adding that Beijings support for already-existing multilateral climate institutions like the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and the Climate Investment Funds, along with that of Washington and others, could increase the impact of these institutions.

A US Treasury official stated that China is welcome to join the US in making a contribution to the September round of fund pledges for the GCF. According to President Joe Biden, the United States will provide an additional $1 billion to that fund replenishment.

The GCF is a UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) fund that provides assistance to developing nations with climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies.

As a result of Nancy Pelosi, the then-Speaker of the US House of Representatives, visiting Taiwan last year, China temporarily halted discussions with the US on issues such as security, climate change, and other topics.

Additionally addressing at the discussion, US Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns expressed excitement for US Climate Envoy John Kerrys arrival. According to Kerry, he has been invited to visit China soon.

According to a statement from the U.S. Treasury Department, Yellen also made a second appearance at the Summit for a New Global Financing Pact in Paris last month, where she was glad to join world leaders, including Premier Li Qiang.

Li had stated during the conference that China is prepared to collaborate with other nations to create a global partnership for clean energy cooperation based on the tenets of reciprocity and shared but differentiated responsibilities.

According to research firm Morningstar, China has overtaken the United States as the largest market for climate funds after Europe. Funds in China have increased by more than twofold since 2021 to $46.7 billion.

To achieve its goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2060, China, according to the World Bank, will need to invest up to $17 trillion more in green infrastructure and technologies in the power and transportation sectors. This highlights the importance of private investment.

It is also critical that we encourage economy-wide transitions toward net-zero, which needs to include the private sector, Yellen said.

Yellen said she looked forward to hearing recommendations from working groups at the upcoming Group of 20 finance ministers meetings in India, including the Sustainable Finance Working Group, which the United States and China co-chair.

This is a good of example of what our bilateral cooperation can achieve  and we should build on it in multilateral forums, she said.

(With agency inputs)
Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was able to bag crucial support from Turkey in its bid to join NATO after the country won a US pledge for cluster munitions that could inflict massive damage on Russian forces on the battlefield.

Washingtons decision to deliver the weapons which are banned in most parts of the world except Russia and Ukraine will effectively raise the stakes in the war which entered its 500th day on Saturday.

Zelenskyy has been travelling across the globe to garner support and secure weapons for his outmatched army, which has launched a long-awaited counteroffensive that is progressing less swiftly than Ukraines allies had hoped.

He called the latest US arms package timely, broad and much-needed, tweeting that it will provide new tools for the de-occupation of our land.

Erdogans NATO backing for Ukraines entry into the military alliance comes a day after Zelenskyy asked NATO leaders to take concrete steps to facilitate the countrys entry into the alliance as he received support during a visit to Prague from the Czech president, who backed Kyivs bid to join the alliance.

Emphasising the fact that NATO has still not given a clear-cut response on Kyivs inclusion with the war still going on strong, Zelenskyy said that his country deserves more than the general statement of more than 10 years standing that the door to NATO was merely open.

Ukraine hopes to get a clear indication from NATO at a July 11-12 summit in Vilnius if it can join the military alliance when the war ends.

While Ukraine seeks a quick entry to NATO in the wake of Russias offensive, the military alliance has been divided over how fast that step should be taken. Some member countries are wary of moves they fear could take the alliance closer to active war with Russia.

We are talking about a clear signal, some concrete things in the direction of an invitation, Zelenskyy told a news conference alongside his Czech counterpart, Petr Pavel. We need this motivation. We need honesty in our relations.

With inputs from agencies
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MONTREAL, July 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Imperial Mining Group Ltd. (Imperial or the Corporation) (TSX VENTURE: IPG) is pleased to announce that it closed today a non-brokered private placement (the Offering) consisting of 17,777,776 units (each, a Unit) at a price of $0.09 per Unit for total gross proceeds of $1,600,000. Each Unit is comprised of one (1) common share (each a Share) and one (1) Share purchase warrant, with each whole warrant entitling the holder to acquire one (1) additional Share of the Corporation at a price of $0.14 over a period of 24 months from the closing date.



The net proceeds received from the Offering will be used to advance the Corporations Crater Lake Scandium project including a potential new resource calculation, optimizing metallurgy and the process flow sheet, increase its presence in the US market as well as other corporate purposes.

In connection with this Offering, the Corporation paid to finders, which were all at arms length with the Corporation, finders fees for a total of $42,012.18 in cash and issued 466,802 warrants, with each warrant entitling the holder to acquire one (1) Share of the Corporation at a price of $0.14 over a period of 24 months from the closing date.

All securities issued pursuant to the Offering are subject to the applicable statutory hold period of four (4) months and one (1) day from the closing date. The Offering is subject to the final approval of the TSX Venture Exchange.

Two directors of the Corporation, namely Philippe Cloutier and Jeff Swinoga, each acquired, respectively, 100,000 and 111,111 Units in the Offering, and such transaction is considered to be a related party transaction as defined under Multilateral Instrument 61-101 (MI 61-101). The transaction is exempt from the formal valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements of MI 61-101 as the Corporation is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange and the fair market value of any Shares issued to or the consideration paid does not exceeded 25% of the Corporations market capitalization. Imperial did not file a material change report more than 21 days before the closing of the Offering, as the details of the aforementioned insiders participation had not been confirmed at that time. The board members of Imperial reviewed the state of the financial market and unanimously determined that the terms and conditions of the Offering, including the subscriptions of the related parties, were fair and equitable and represented the best strategic financing option available.

ABOUT IMPERIAL MINING GROUP LTD.

Imperial is a Canadian mineral exploration and development company focused on the advancement of its technology metals projects in Quebec. Imperial is publicly listed on the TSX Venture Exchange as IPG and on the OTCQB Exchange as IMPNF and is led by an experienced team of mineral exploration and development professionals with a strong track record of mineral deposit discovery in numerous metal commodities.

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.
MORAGA, Calif., July 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via IBN -- AtomBeam is proud to announce an exclusive webinar where CEO Charles Yeomans will share the Companys exciting results and insights from the recently concluded crowdfunding campaign on StartEngine. The campaign, which aimed to secure funding for AtomBeam's groundbreaking technology, raised over $3 million, surpassing all expectations.



The AtomBeam Campaign Overview webinar is scheduled for July 21, 2023, at 11:30 a.m. Pacific Time (U.S. and Canada). Attendees will have the chance to engage with Yeomans during a live Q&A session, enabling a direct conversation about AtomBeam's innovative solutions and their potential impact on the IoT landscape. A key part of the discussion will be AtomBeams new Neural Compaction product, an incredible new technology that reduces sensor images, such as LiDAR, by twice the current industry standard. AtomBeam will be signing a $1.2 million U.S. Department of the Air Force contract to develop Neural Compaction for military and commercial use.

The webinar offers a unique opportunity for investors, industry professionals and technology enthusiasts to gain a deeper understanding of AtomBeam's future direction and the impact of its transformative data compaction solutions. Attendees will have the chance to connect directly with Yeomans and gain valuable insights into AtomBeam's roadmap and upcoming initiatives, including a discussion regarding AtomBeams second $1.2 million contract with the U.S. Space Force, to apply Compaction software to various defense applications.

"We are excited to connect with our supporters and share the remarkable success of our recent crowdfunding campaign," said Charles Yeomans, CEO of AtomBeam. "This webinar is a fantastic opportunity for us to express our gratitude, offer transparency, and provide a glimpse into the future of AtomBeam's groundbreaking technology."

To secure your spot at this exclusive event, please visit: Webinar registration .

Join us for an engaging and informative session as we celebrate the success of AtomBeam's crowdfunding campaign and look forward to a future filled with transformative advancements in Compaction technology.

Company Contact:

Charles Yeomans

CEO

charles@atombeamtech.com

About AtomBeam

AtomBeam is a pioneering data compaction software company that is revolutionizing the way data is transmitted, stored, and secured in the IoT (Internet of Things) industry. With its innovative technology and commitment to efficiency, AtomBeam has garnered significant attention and support from investors. AtomBeams recent crowdfunding campaign on StartEngine raised over $3 million, showcasing confidence in the companys groundbreaking solutions. AtomBeam's mission is to reshape the IoT landscape by providing efficient and secure data compaction solutions that drive industry advancements and create a more connected world.

For more information visit: AtomBeamTech.com

Wire Service Contact:

IBN

Los Angeles, California

www.InvestorBrandNetwork.com

310.299.1717 Office

Editor@InvestorBrandNetwork.com
Privatizing to Save Money and Time

The Effects of Inefficient Outsourcing

Guidelines to a Successful Outsourcing Deal

Last summer, residents of Maywood, Calif., woke up one morning to find the government as they knew it gone. After years of corruption and mismanagement, the small, blue-collar city south of Los Angeles fired almost all of its employees, dismantled its police department and contracted with a neighboring city to take over most municipal tasks. On July 1, local officials announced that Maywood had become the countrys first city to be fully outsourced.It was an unprecedented move spurred by a loss of commercial liability insurance and Workers Compensation. As the city drowned in deficits and faced multiple lawsuits, city leaders saw outsourcing as a light at the end of a collapsing tunnel.But it was only a mirage.Bell, Calif., the city that Maywood officials had tapped to run its services, erupted with a pay and pension scandal, forcing several top Bell officials to resign. By September, Bell had scrapped its contract with Maywood, leaving the city to fend for itself and find new contractors for its outsourcing hopes.The search for financial salvation is sweeping the country as local governments grapple with waning sales and property tax revenues. The economic recession has strangled budgets, forcing layoffs and the disbanding of departments. Feeling pushed to the brink of bankruptcy, cities are trying to find effective ways to make do with less. Maywood, in its outsourcing attempt, may be the most extreme example, but in California and other states in the past decade, more public officials have turned to outside sources for help in providing services at a lower cost to the state.In theory, the idea of contracting public services to private companies to cut costs makes sense. If someone is willing to fix streets or put out fires for less money, that should be a plus for a governments bottom line. Many state and local governments have identified hundreds of millions of dollars in savings by hiring outside contractors -- or a neighboring citys services -- to handle tasks like trash collection, pothole repair, and water and wastewater treatment.But according to analysts, outsourcing is by no means a perfect solution. Some agencies dont have the metrics in place to prove in advance that outsourcing a service will save money. Problems from poorly conceived contracts can create cost increases that surpass the costs of in-house services, and if theres shoddy contract oversight, a government is vulnerable to corruption and profiteering. The privatization of public services can erode accountability and transparency, and drive governments deeper into debt. Governments at all levels are just desperate to balance their budgets, and theyre grasping at privatization as a panacea, says Susan Duerksen, director of communications for In the Public Interest, a project that examines privatization and contracting. But theres evidence that it often is a very bad deal with hidden costs and consequences when you turn over public service to a for-profit company.Various governments -- from small towns all the way up to federal agencies -- have been sending public services to the private sector since the 1980s. The trend stems from the common belief that private companies can help governments save or make money by doing jobs faster and cheaper, or managing a public asset more efficiently.This past March, for example, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie created the state Privatization Task Force to review privatization opportunities within state government and identify barriers. In its research, the task force not only identified estimated annual savings from privatization totaling more than $210 million, but also found several examples of successful efforts in other states. As former mayor of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell saved $275 million by privatizing 49 city services. Chicago has privatized more than 40 city services. Since 2005, it has generated more than $3 billion in upfront payments from private-sector leases of city assets. In 2005, West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin worked to transform the states Workers Compensation Commission into a private insurance carrier, BrickStreet Insurance. That has led Workers Compensation rates to decline about 30 percent statewide, translating to more than $150 million in annual employer savings.Sterile philosophical debates about public versus private are often detached from the day-to-day world of public management, the New Jersey Privatization Task Force reported. Over the last several decades, in governments at all levels throughout the world, the public sectors role has increasingly evolved from direct service provider to that of an indirect provider or broker of services; governments are relying far more on networks of public, private and nonprofit organizations to deliver services.The report took careful note of another key factor: The states most successful in privatization created a permanent, centralized entity to manage and oversee the operation, from project analysis and vendor selection to contracting and procurement. For governments that forgo due diligence, choose ill-equipped contractors and fail to monitor progress, however, outsourcing deals can turn into costly disasters.No industry has gone through greater outsourcing catastrophes in the past year than government IT. Last fall, Texas cut short its seven-year contract with IBM, an $863 million deal that called for IBM to provide data center and disaster recovery services for 27 state agencies. When an audit criticized the states Department of Information Resources for lax oversight, inadequate staffing and sloppy service, the partnership fell apart. In Virginia, the states 10-year, $2.3 billion IT contract with Northrop Grumman to run the states computers, servers, e-mail systems and help desk services also has been plagued by inadequate planning, cost overruns and poor service.Technology plays such a critical role in the storage and delivery of vital data that even minor delays and deficiencies can disrupt business operations, such as car registration renewals, and unemployment and medical care services. In August, a storage area network failure in Virginia knocked two dozen state agencies computer systems offline in another devastating blow to the states IT outsourcing contract. A week later, the state Department of Motor Vehicles still couldnt process drivers licenses at customer service centers because databases were down.The problem is that outsourcing deals are really about risk, says Adam Strichman, co-founder of Sanda Partners, an outsourcing consultancy. Youre taking the risk of the unknown and dumping that on your supplier, he says. Youre outsourcing a problem to a company that has limited control over the root cause of the problem. The only way for a public-private partnership to work, he suggests, is to drive transformation from within the agency. And thats the hard part. Red tape usually prevents governments from making significant modifications, and private companies lack the authority to enforce real changes. When such a public-private stalemate stunts a project, it helps to have an exit strategy.Those risks extend beyond the technology world. In 2009, in the wake of an audit of economic development agreements between Niagara Falls and two developers, New York state Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli discovered that the projects faltered because the city failed to monitor development contracts. One of the projects, a downtown retail mall, has been vacant since 2000; the second project, which began in 1997, yielded nothing more than a rudimentary building foundation.Before governments hire outside contractors, its important to examine the cost-effectiveness, says Nicole Hanks, deputy press secretary of the state comptrollers office. More times than not, its less expensive to use state workers instead of outside contractors.A good outsourcing deal starts with a thorough cost-benefit analysis to see if a third party can effectively deliver services better and more cheaply than public employees. Strichman says governments should hire an outsourcing consultant who can provide an independent assessment. But even with a consultant, conflicts of interest can tarnish a golden opportunity. After all, private companies may want to provide a service efficiently and well -- and often do -- but governments must ride herd on implementation of the contract. As Duerksen points out, a companys motivation is not the common good; its profit. If they can cut corners in any way, they often do.In that regard, the provider that offers the lowest bid might not be the best option. But with his experience in several large-scale government outsourcing deals, Strichman has seen first-hand that in a bidding war, the company that has a liberal interpretation for the lowest price wins, which inevitably leads to strife when high expectations meet underachievement. Anyone can bid any outsourcing deal 5 percent cheaper, but the problem is you dont know what they cut out, he says. When price reductions appear unrealistic, theres no magic. They are unrealistic.Even with the proper oversight channels, policies wont work if departments dont participate. In 2005, the Wisconsin Legislature passed a law that required a cost-benefit analysis be completed for any purchase of service more than $25,000. The law outlines analysis procedures and reporting requirements. Soon after, the Contract Sunshine Act was enacted, requiring all Wisconsin agencies to provide online information about state contracts in excess of $10,000.The laws were created to promote transparency and to ensure that agencies complete an effective cost-benefit analysis prior to procurements. But compliance has been low, says Janice Mueller, state auditor for the Wisconsin Legislative Audit Bureau. We were asked to look and see why state agencies are not consistently reporting, she says. Its really difficult to compel compliance.In other cases, outsourcing efforts may be stifled by union contracts or a lack of available services. Mayor Sharon McShurley in Muncie, Ind., wanted to outsource the citys fire protection services to save money. But the city ceased its cost analysis after realizing that no such private services existed in the area. It does tie our hands as administrators trying to figure out how to balance the budget and provide services with a reduction in revenue, she says. I like the idea of outsourcing. Competition drives prices down. We dont have the revenue that we used to have.
Ballot initiatives are an integral part of state and local policymaking. Through them, voters amend constitutions, approve or reject taxes, overturn laws and recall controversial politicians. But states dont always do a good job of informing the electorate what theyre voting on, according to a state-by-state review of official voter guides by Ballotpedia and the Lucy Burns Institute, the non-profit and nonpartisan group that runs the election database.The study rated 41 states that have had initiatives since 2009 based on how they met six criteria: including the ballot initiatives title, providing an explanation and analysis of the initiative, printing the exact text of the new law, presenting arguments for and against the initiative, offering the guide in multiple languages and including a fiscal note that attempts to estimate the laws budgetary impact.According to the study, only nine states (Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Maine, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah and Washington) were rated excellent or very good by meeting five or six of the metrics. More than half, 24, received a fair or poor rating, meaning they had three or fewer of those features.States miss the marks in a variety of ways. Less than half (18) included pro and con arguments for the initiative, while 23 did not. Even fewer (13) printed their voter guides in multiple languages; the studys authors noted that Texas and Nevada in particular, which rank third and fifth respectively in percentages of their populations that are Spanish speakers, do not provide voter guides in Spanish. And despite tight state budgets and a focus on deficit reduction, only 11 states offered a fiscal note that explained an initiatives likely impact on government finances. Two states, Michigan and New York, didnt publish the title of ballot initiatives in their guide.The study noted other room for improvement in how states approach voter guides. For example, mailing out voter guides can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, yet nine states still do not post them online. Illinois, which had the highest verified cost in mailing guides at $2 million, is one of them. Only six states publish information about ballot initiatives and political candidates in the same guide.Making ballot measure information readily availableand in multiple formatsleads to increased voter knowledge and, ultimately, citizen engagement, said Bailey Ludlam, associate editor at Ballotpedia and a lead researcher on the study. Hopefully this year, as states begin to release their 2012 voter guides, we'll see a greater effort on the part of state governments to make this information more widely available."Ballotpedia contacted the secretary of state's offices in the 41 states that had ballot initiatives in 2009, 2010 or 2011 to compile its report.The map below, courtesy of Ballotpedia, notes how well each state fared based on the studys assessment of their voter guide. For a full explanation of the studys methodology and findings, visit the Ballotpedia website
3rd Spotlight Awards Africa honours 17 Entrepreneurs

Graphic Business Business News Jul - 05 - 2023 , 14:05

17 entrepreneurs have been honoured at the third edition of Spotlight Awards Africa.

The scheme which seeks to celebrate and ward youth contributing their quota in their various fraternity in the entrepreneurial field was held on the theme: Youthful and Impactful.

At the event in Accra on July 1, the Managing Director of Adom Group of Companies, Rev. Joseph Opoku Adjei, who was the Guest of Honour asserted the need to do more for the youth in the country.

According to him, Spotlight Awards Africa has thrown more light on business start-ups to award them for creating job opportunities for the youth in the country.

These SMEs will need support to grow and expand their businesses to recruit more unemployed youth to earn a living, he affirmed.

He said there was the need to develop an educational system that would build creativity, critical thinking and problem-solving ability.

Challenges

The Project Executive of Spotlight Awards Africa, Mimi Owusu Appiah, who shared her challenges in organising a passion-driven scheme to award individuals in various categories in the 3rd edition, appealed to corporate bodies to support or partner the scheme to become lucrative for the awardees.
A return to Alexandria, Egypt

Dr Wale Okediran Opinion Jul - 08 - 2023 , 06:00

Since many travellers usually go about with a lot of money, they are usually prime targets for pickpockets.

This is most likely to happen in foreign countries where you may not be able to use your debit or credit card.

Having said this, it is still good to know that no African city is in the latest list of the 10 top most pickpocketed cities in the world.

Even though a very painful episode, my encounter 43 years ago with the Alexandrian youthful swindlers was a blessing in disguise.

Having written about the incident in the form of a travel story, I decided to publish it and therefore sent the story to Ms Amman Ogan, the then Editor of the Nigerian Guardian On Sunday.

I was completely swept off my feet when my story later appeared in a 1983 edition of The Guardian under the title; ASSAULT IN ALEXANDRIA.

That was my first published travel story and the beginning of a long career in travel story writing.

Since that balmy day in Alexandria, I had gone on to write more than 50 travel stories, many of which have now been published all over the world and in my two current collections of travel stories.

The return

Therefore, apart from being a holiday event, my return to Alexandria was also a celebration to mark a Literary Odyssey that commenced 43 years ago and has taken me to more than 40 countries with a large following of literary and academic enthusiasts.

Founded by Alexander the Great in the 4th century BC, Alexandria is a bustling city with a population of five million people.

The city still retains faint echoes of its former glories.

Having flourished as one of the greatest Graeco-Roman cities of its time, Alexandria remains one of the most important ports of the Mediterranean.

During the Hellenistic period, it was home to a lighthouse ranking among the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, as well as a storied library.

Today, the library is reincarnated in the disc-shaped, ultra-modern Bibliotheca Alexandrina.

The city also has Greco-Roman landmarks, old-world cafes and sandy beaches.

Its 15th-century seafront Qaitbay Citadel is now a museum.

Alexandria

The history of Alexandria dates back to the city's founding, by Alexander the Great, in 331 BC.

Yet, before that, there were some big port cities just east of Alexandria, at the western edge of what is now Abu Qir Bay.

The Canopic (westernmost) branch of the Nile Delta still existed at that time and was widely used for shipping.

After its foundation, Alexandria became the seat of the Ptolemaic Kingdom, and quickly grew to be one of the greatest cities of the Hellenistic world.

Only Rome which gained control of Egypt in 30 BC, eclipsed Alexandria in size and wealth.

The city fell to the Arabs in AD 641, and a new capital of Egypt, Fustat, was founded on the Nile.

After Alexandria's status as the country's capital ended, it fell into a long decline which by the late Ottoman period, had seen it reduced to little more than a small fishing village.

The French army under Napoleon captured the city in 1798 and the British soon captured it from the French, retaining Alexandria within their sphere of influence for 150 years.

The city grew in the early 19th century under the industrialisation programme of Mohammad Ali, the viceroy of Egypt.

The current city is the Republic of Egypt's leading port, a commercial, tourism and transportation centre and the heart of a major industrial area where refined petroleum, asphalt, cotton textiles, processed food, paper, plastics and styrofoam are produced.

On the day of my visit, the library, the beautiful disc-shaped, ultra-modern Bibliotheca Alexandrina was closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

I, therefore, missed the opportunity of viewing manuscripts and rare books from Egypt, the Arab world and the Mediterranean countries that are stored in the library.

Although the famous Light House, one of the seven wonders of the world, had been destroyed by an earthquake, I was able to visit The Citadel of Qaitbay a 15th-century defensive fortress located on the Mediterranean Sea coast.
12,074 NPOs registered as of June 2023 - Boosts local and international confidence in the sector

Vincent Amenuveve Jul - 08 - 2023 , 06:00

He country has deepened the registration of non-profit organisations (NPOs) in order to boost international and local confidence in the sector and insulate it from money laundering.

As of last month, the NPO Secretariat under the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection had registered 12,074 NPOs.

The number of NPOs that renewed their licences also increased from 829 in 2018 to 4,840 in 2022.

The increased number has been attributed to the introduction of the NPO policy and licensing regime to ward off any threat of the sector being used for illicit conduct.

The Head of NPO Secretariat, Dela Ashiabor, made this known on the sideline of a validation workshop on a Baseline Study on the impact of Ghana's Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Counter-Terrorism Financing (CTF) measures on NPOs in Accra last Thursday.

Organised by the Institute for Democratic Governance (IDEG) with support from the Global Centre on Cooperative Security, the workshop was aimed at examining the findings of the study to proffer constructive criticisms and to make recommendations to strengthen its findings.

Licensing

MrAshiabor indicated that there were no restrictions in the licensing processes because the exercise had been digitalised.

He said it was possible to obtain a provisional licence within a week after applying for it provided the applicant followed the right steps.

He said after the provisional licence was given, the applicant was also required to provide a police or criminal report which sometimes delayed the process of acquiring the licence.

Mr Ashiabor further explained that during renewal of licences, the secretariat would still check if the organisation applying for renewal was still within the financial system, and so it would be required to provide a tax certificate from the Ghana Revenue Authority.

Vulnerability

Mr Ashiabor observed that after an assessment was conducted by the secretariat, it found out that a lot of faith-based and humanitarian organisations are the ones that did not have a governance or financial structure and so they are the ones the criminals want to exploit.

He said in order to encourage NPOs to join the financial system legally, the secretariat had been assisting them to create their own accounts and establish their board of directors as part of the requirements for the registration process.

Overview

Giving an overview of the Baseline study and Research findings, a Development Consultant, Douglas Quartey, said the NPOs must strengthen their internal governance and financial management structures to conform to the country's AML/CTF laws.

He suggested that NPOs must carry out due diligence on funding sources as well as stakeholders expediting action to develop Anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financial guidelines for the NPO sector.

A Senior Research Fellow, IDEG , Kwesi Jonah, expressed the hope that the country would not get back to the era when, in 2020, it was blacklisted by the European Union for lapses in its AML /CTF regimes.

He said IDEG was implementing a project titled safeguarding NPOs in Ghana against financing from terrorists to help raise awareness of NPOs on AML/CTF risks facing the sector.

The project, he noted, was also to promote an interface between high level policy makers and NPOs against restrictive policy and legislative measures on the industry by the government.

He said the overall objective of the baseline study was to capture and document the implementation of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) recommendation eight by the government and its impact on NPOs.
Cal Bank simulation exercise causes pandemonium

Elizabeth Konadu-Boakye Jul - 08 - 2023 , 06:00

Staff and customers at the Derby Avenue Branch of CalBank caused chaos in the early hours of last Thursday, when the fire alarm went off, with smoke emanating from the banks offices.

The alarm did not only distract work activities of the bank, but also caused market women and passers-by to halt their activities and attend to what looked like a fire outbreak in the centre of the central business district of Accra.

Staff and customers of the bank quickly made their way out of the building, gathering at the assembly point with a quick head count ensuring that all that were in the building were safe.

The chaos heightened when a staff of the bank was pulled out of the building after being choked by the smoke from the fire.

incident

About 10 minutes into the incident, a fire tender and an ambulance arrived on the premises to quench the fire and ensure that affected individuals were properly taken care of.

Calm was restored when personnel from the Ghana National Fire Service announced that what had happened was a mock fire safety drill to test the preparedness of staff of the bank in a fire emergency.

A victim of the fire outbreak being rescued by personnel of the National Ambulance Service during the simulation.

The Head of Risk Management at CalBank, Saddick Arthur, said the exercise was a collaboration with the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) and part of the bank's annual activities and business continuity to test their system and check the preparedness of their staff.

"The exercise is part of our annual programme to safeguard the customers of the bank and ensure that in any unfortunate and unforeseen incident, the bank can respond appropriately," he said

He said the outcome of the exercise would be evaluated and the bank's staff training would be intensified where the need be.

Surprise

The Branch Manager of CalBank, Derby Avenue Branch, Alberta Taylor, said although the fire drill was unexpected and a surprise to them, it was an educative and reassuring moment for them.

"At least now our customers would know that anytime there is a fire emergency, the bank is prepared and the fire service would be quick to attend and moreover, their businesses are safe with us," she said.

She gave an assurance that staff of the bank would be given further fire safety training to be always prepared for such incidents.

The Security Coordinator of CalBank, Thomas Addai Nketsiah, called on all to be cautious and always prepared to deal with fire emergencies.

"We all know that fire is very distractive so each and every one of us should take precautionary measures against fire and always be prepared to deal with fire and protect lives and properties, he said.
Canada affirms trade relations with Ghana

Mary Mensah Jul - 08 - 2023 , 06:01

Ghana is the fourth largest trading partner of Canada in sub-Saharan Africa, but there remains tremendous capacity for substantial growth in trade and investment, the Canadian High Commissioner to Ghana, Martine Moreau, has stated.

Promising sectors for expansion, she said, included clean technologies, energy, mining, education, and professional services.

The Canadian High Commissioner to Ghana, who announced this in Accra last Wednesday, said the two countries shared a common vision for economic development.

Sustainable utilisation

At the celebration of the 156th Canada Day 2023 and the 66th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Ghana and Canada in Accra, the High Commissioner said the two countries were well positioned to strengthen their economic ties.

She said Canada Day held significant meaning as it commemorated the anniversary of the nations Confederation, whereby on July 1, 1867, the British North American colonies of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and the Province of Canada united to form the Dominion of Canada.

American colonies of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and the Province of Canada united to form the Dominion of Canada.

While our confederation is now 156 years old, we acknowledge that the people of our First Nations have inhabited what is now Canada for thousands of years.

Principles and Freedoms

This is a day, where, of course, we share many of these values, principles and freedoms with Ghanaians, and are rightly proud of our longstanding relationship, which continues to thrive upon a foundation of mutual respect, genuine friendship, common ideals, shared priorities, and multifaceted partnerships, Ms Moreau said.

The High Commissioner also announced that the Canadian government was initiating consultations in support of a comprehensive Canada-Africa Economic Strategy.

Canada recognises the enormous economic potential of Africa as last year, total merchandise trade between Canada and Africa surpassed $15 billion, representing an impressive increase of 56 per cent over pre-pandemic figures, she said.

Canada and Ghana are committed to gender equality, womens economic empowerment, and the meaningful participation of women and girls in all facets of society.

Indeed, the evidence is clear that this common endeavour is highly effective in catalysing economic growth and achieving sustainable development, she added.

The Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Hajia Lariba Zuweira Abudu, said Ghana and Canada shared an extraordinary history of bilateral relations that dated back to 1957, the year of Ghana's independence.

She noted that throughout the past six decades, the two countries had nurtured a deep and enduring partnership based on shared values, mutual respect, and a joint commitment to progress and development.

Ghana recognises Canada as a global leader in promoting peace, security, and sustainable development.

Canada's commitment to these principles resonates strongly with our own national aspirations.

We commend Canada's efforts to advance gender equality, climate action, and inclusive growth.

Our collaboration in these areas has had a profound impact on the lives of our people, and we remain committed to working hand in hand to achieve even greater results, she said.

Immense opportunities

Hajia Zuweira Abudu, looking ahead, said there are immense opportunities for Ghana and Canada to deepen our collaboration in various sectors.

We are eager to learn from Canada's expertise in areas such as renewable energy, technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship.

By leveraging our partnership, we can drive sustainable development, create jobs, and improve the well-being of our people.

As the Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, I recognise the significance of our collective efforts to safeguard the rights and well-being of our citizens, particularly the most vulnerable among us.

Ghana and Canada can deepen our collaboration and commitment to advancing gender equality, protecting children's rights, and ensuring the welfare of all our citizens, including persons with disabilities, she stressed.

Strengthening ties

In Ghana, we have been working diligently to strengthen our policies and institutions to promote gender equality and empower women, she said.

We are fostering an environment that enables women to thrive economically, socially, and politically.

The country acknowledges the immense potential of our women and the critical role they play in the development of our nation, hence the need to further engage in these areas.

Education is another key area where Ghana and Canada can further strengthen ties.

Canada has contributed meaningfully to our manpower development by making scholarships available for Ghanaians to study at Canadian tertiary institutions and by providing technical training opportunities that have enhanced the vocational capacity of Ghanaian workers.

We appreciate Canada's support in this regard, and seek to further expand educational exchanges between our institutions.

Collaboration in research and knowledge-sharing will undoubtedly enhance our capabilities and accelerate our progress.

Additionally, cultural diplomacy plays a crucial role in deepening mutual understanding and strengthening people-to-people connections.

Ghana's rich cultural heritage and vibrant arts scene offers a wealth of opportunities for cultural exchange and collaboration.

We are eager to engage with Canada in promoting cultural exchanges, showcasing our respective traditions, and fostering greater appreciation for our diverse heritage.

It is for this reason that we implore Canadian authorities to make special provision for our cultural troops and performers to travel to Canada and share the rich culture of Ghana with the people of Canada, the minister added.
Develop more wells for sustainable oil production - PIAC to GNPC

Samuel Doe Ablordeppey Jul - 08 - 2023 , 06:00

Samuel Doe Ablordeppey (SDA): What accounts for the dwindling oil production?

Alhaj Ahmad Suleman Anderson (AASA): Some of the reasons are technical.

Every well has a life span and some of these wells, after 10 years, would probably have peaked and after peaking, the natural thing is decline.

What it means is that if we continue to depend on the pre-existing wells then, we would not run fully and would have zero fuel to drill.

So the recommendation here is that we speed up the sustainable development for our exploration so that we can discover more wells.

This means we would drill more.

We are asking the GNPC to expedite action on the exploration of the Voltarian basin so that we can now reap more results.

Also, if it is possible to sign new contracts and invite more IOCs to come and ensure that activities at the Keta Basin are intensified.

The Tano deeper water and Oti all have potentials that we need to expedite action in these areas.

So, once we do that, we would reverse the decline and then hit more oil and rely on it for our development.

SDA: Are we getting the investors and is it possible to get?

AASA: The investors are there and are ready.

We need to open up the space more.

Unlike previous times when Ghana was considered to be risky, currently, we are de-risked and once we are de-risked, it means that the floor is more fertile for investors to come in, and I think investors are ready to come.

What we need to do is to open up the space wider and do the invitations.

There are some who are already here.

We have gone out to do road shows to invite more investors and we can intensify that effort and ensure that they are there and even those who are already here, we have recently terminated four agreements because of performance.

What it means is that if the regulatory regime is intensified, those who are already there doing the exploration would work harder than before and get us to where we ought to get to be.



SDA: You have been doing oil for the past 10 years.

Over time, what has come to the country now is about $8.9 billion.

Last year alone, we did about $1.4 billion.

Are you satisfied with the way weve utilised the resources that are coming from the oil fields?

AASA: Thankfully in Ghana, we have a regime that oversees the spending prospects.

And so largely, that has influenced our activities and we think that yes, Ghana has done better with the utilisation of our resources much more than any other country that earlier discovered oil.

However, there is still room for improvement.

We can do much better than we have done now.

For instance, we have a portion of the revenue that goes to the ABF to support our annual budget funding.

Now, sometimes there are challenges with releasing money to agencies who have been allocated funds to do certain projects.

But if we delay, what happens is that there is a cost overrun and a project that is supposed to cost GH1 million might at the end of the day cost GH2 million or more, and that is not an effective way of releasing revenue.

So we have to be mindful of the release of money and then, more importantly, to stop the thing from spreading.

For example, in one year about 5,000 projects were earmarked to be funded by the ABF.

That is not the best way.

We need to have what we call target projects and have a monumental project that can last for generation upon generation and can see that this is the benefit that is coming out for our yearly revenue.

For example, weve spent about GH30 million or so on terminal three.

That is profound.

If we can dedicate oil money to funding, for example, the Accra-Kumasi road; the dualisation of it and make sure that we do it in a year or two, that will be good.

We can target the Accra-Takoradi road, which has become a death trap for our road users.

And we can dedicate oil money to do that.

Rather than spending money on boreholes and CHPS compounds.

We are not saying that those are not important per se but there are other tax revenues we can use so that oil revenues are targeted at those monumental projects.

That is what we think will help and when we do that, we would say that we have utilised our oil revenues sustainably.

Other recommendations

The PIAC in its 2022 report urged the government to engage potential upstream producers on the viability of developing their gas fields for future gas utilisation.

Other than that the country would have to rely on Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) import and other regional sources to meet gas demand.

It wants the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission to be more responsible for defining the detailed methodology to be used for the gas processing fee, transmission tariff and distribution charges, specifying procedures for periodic price reviews, providing an indexation formula to protect the real value of the prices between major reviews and defining circumstances for exceptional reviews to take place.

Gas sub-sector

The committee established a need for an amendment in the petroleum legal framework to set gas apart from crude oil and create a distinctive gas fiscal regime.

The role of gas aggregator and signatory to gas sales agreements can be addressed as well through the amendment.

PIAC again wants the government to consider developing distribution pipelines, especially in Tema, Accra and Takoradi enclaves, to deliver gas to industrial gas users.

The committee is of the view that although the private sector through Private Public Partnership (PP) can be roped in to secure appropriate investment for key infrastructure, sustainable technology and procedures can be employed to reduce the carbon footprint to curtail the energy transition issues and attract foreign investors into the Ghanaian gas market.

We also need to intensify efforts towards the discovery of additional gas reserves.

There is a need for the country to speed up the sustainable development of its petroleum resources to reverse the decline in petroleum production, through the attraction of new investors, as well as early completion of ongoing projects.

In its recommendations, the committee urged the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) to intensify its efforts in the collection of surface rental arrears.

Pay to fund

The report makes a strong case for crude oil receipts from Jubilee Oil Holdings Limited to be paid into the Petroleum Holding Fund since it forms part of the countrys petroleum revenue.

Priority

In the disbursement of funds to the District Assemblies Common Fund, the Minister of Finance (MoF) should comply with the decision of the Supreme Court of Ghana, PIAC pointed out.

Having selected industrialisation as a priority area, PIAC wants the government to show more commitment by investing more in industrial development.

Towards that, MoF should comply with the relevant provisions of LI 2381 in determining the cap on the Ghana Stabilisation Fund.
I remain focused on building progressive nation  President Akufo-Addo

Donald Ato Dapatem & Yaa Kuffour Senyah Jul - 08 - 2023 , 06:00

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has given an assurance that though his administration has witnessed some rough times, he remains focused on implementing novel policies and programmes required to build a progressive and prosperous nation.

He said since becoming President, he had not had any experience that would make him change his long held views that providing Free Senior High School (Free SHS), undertaking One-district, One-factory, executing the Planting for Food and Jobs and digitalisation were the best policies to lead the country to progress.

President Akufo-Addo stated this at the First Special Congregation of the Valley View University in Oyibi in the Greater Accra Region yesterday.

The congregation conferred honours on the vising Zambian President, Hakainde Hichilema, former President John Agyekum Kufuor, a former First Lady, Mrs Nana Konadu Agyemang-Rawlings, and the Chief of Staff, Akosua Frema Osei-Opare, for their exemplary leadership roles.

Doctor of Humane Letters was conferred on President Hichilema, former President Kufuor and Mrs Agyemang-Rawlings, while Mrs Osei-Opare was decorated with a Doctor of Science.

The premier private chartered university presented President Akufo-Addo with a citation for his commitment to improving the lot of Ghanaians from education, health and economic wellbeing as well as providing opportunities for all.

Earlier, President Akufo-Addo received the Zambian President who is on a three-day state visit at the Jubilee House.

President Hichilema was accompanied by ministers of state and other government officials.

Not easy

President Akufo-Addo said he acknowledged that life had not been easy in recent times, however, one thing for which I am certain is that there are solid reasons to hope for a brighter tomorrow and I am confident that by the grace of Almighty God that brighter future will be evident soon.

Touching on his political journey, he explained that he had been in the eye of the public for most of his adult life, and spent many years campaigning to be elected President, adding that he first shot into the limelight in the 1970s during the campaign against the Acheampong regime.

The President said he joined the fight for the end to military rule and the restoration of constitutional democracy in Ghana.

He had by that time made up his mind what should be the best way to govern the country to ensure that it achieved the free, just, prosperous and a united country as envisaged by the forebears during the fight for the independence.

By the time I was elected President I had a clear understanding of the vision my government had to realise during my tenure of office.

There have been good times, and necessarily there have been some rough ones too along the way that would have cowed some into giving up, he recounted.

Citation

President Akufo-Addo said he was humbled by the citation and accepted the challenge that it imposed on him and the expectation of Ghanaians, adding that it was an indication that standing up and delivering on one's mandate in office had its rewards, including the generous words of commendation expressed in the citation.

Remarks

Former President Kufuor, on behalf of the awardees, expressed appreciation to the university for the honour of conferring on them honorary doctorate degrees.

He stated that it was an honour for citizens to believe in public service that ensured inclusiveness, equality of opportunity that reduced discrimination based on gender, religion, tribe or social standing.

The former President said accountability of office holders to the people should be upheld as a value for good governance and democracy.

Invest in education

For his part, the President of Zambia commended the efforts of the university in acknowledging leaders for their tremendous work to improve the lot of citizens in their respective sectors.

Mr Hichilema encouraged the institution to continue in its strides and urged that the leaders did not relent in their efforts to improve the educational sector.

The Zambian President advised that policy makers should actively allocate resources to the educational sector, stating that education is the best investment to equalise development and eradicate poverty in our societies.
Race Course traders lament poor roads

Kwadwo Baffoe Donkor Jul - 08 - 2023 , 06:00

Traders operating at the Race Course Market in Kumasi have expressed their displeasure over the deplorable state of the road network within the market which is preventing effective patronage of their goods and services.

The situation, according to the market women, has negatively affected their businesses and finances and several appeals to the authorities to fix the road have proved futile.

They have, therefore, renewed their appeal to the local authority and the government to come to their aid, as the current rain pattern is making plying the road to conduct business very difficult and unbearable.

The women also complained of the poor management of waste at the market, which they said, was affecting their health and business.

The traders raised these challenges last Wednesday, at a days sensitisation programme organised by the Network for Women's Rights in Ghana (NETRIGHT), in collaboration with Windows of Hope, a local non-governmental organisation, to educate them on their rights and responsibilities as women at the Race Course Market in Kumasi.

The programme was supported by Plan International Ghana as part of the Womens Voice and Leadership Project, with funding from Global Affairs Canada (GAC).

Market Queen

The Race Course Market Queen, Esther Agyei, also reiterated the concerns raised by her colleague traders and called on the city managers to do something about the roads at the market.

People already feel reluctant to come here to trade due to the distance and the road networks have not helped matters, she said.

The road network at the market

She explained that the traders were always at the mercy of the weather, adding, we are always suffering from the dust and when it rains too, the roads become impassable due to its muddy nature.

It was, therefore, their plea that some of these issues were resolved immediately to improve on the conditions at the market to attract customers and improve on business activities there.

Background

The Race Course Market was created as an alternative for traders who were displaced during the construction of the first phase of the Kejetia Redevelopment Project.

It was to serve as a temporary trading point for the affected traders while awaiting the completion of the market.

However, the traders have never liked the place as most of them moved to the shoulders of the road in the Central Business District to sell their wares.

They complained about the conditions at the market and the fact that it was far from the city centre, thus serving as a disincentive to customers to walk there to buy their goods.

Responding to some of the issues raised by the women, the Market Administrator for Bantama Sub-Metro, Nurudeen Mahama, appealed to the traders to exercise patience, as his office had already consulted the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA), pledging that soon the problem would be resolved.

The insanitary state of the market

He urged the women to report to his outfit any issue bordering on the development of the market, especially with the management of refuse, as it was their responsibility to make the market a conducive environment for them to smoothly conduct their trading activities.

Executive Director

The Ashanti Regional Focal Person for Netright, Elizabeth Aduboffour, who is also the Executive Director for Windows of Hope, also added her voice to the call and appeal by the market women on the authorities to fix the roads.

She asked the women not to feel reluctant in reporting and addressing issues that affected their rights and to ensure that their voices were heard.

Mrs Aduboffour explained that the programme was to arm them with sufficient knowledge on their rights and responsibilities and to increase public awareness of womens economic rights, in order to assist them to make informed choices and decisions.

The sensitisation programme targeted market traders, market queens, market managers as well as other women groups with interest in the protection of the rights and responsibilities of women.
Indian Oil Corporation and Praj Industries signed a term sheet to advance plans to strengthen biofuels production capacities in India. Various biofuels covered under this MoU include Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), ethanol, compressed bio-gas (CBG), biodiesel and bio-bitumen among others. Earlier in October 2021, both the companies had entered into an agreement to form a 50:50 Joint Venture to this end.

Shrikant Madhav Vaidya, Chairman, IndianOil, said that India being an agrarian economy, offers the advantage of sufficient availability of feedstock. The indigenous biofuels will be a game changer in helping India chart its decarbonization journey.

In pursuit of energy self-reliance by leveraging captive resources, the country has aggressive plans to reconfigure the transportation fuel mix with biofuels.

IndianOil & Praj have been collaborating to facilitate Indias energy transition in the past as well. The nations first advanced biofuels refinery at IndianOils Panipat complex is based on Prajs proprietary 2 G technology. This year in May, IndianOil and Praj partnered with AirAsia India and flew Indias first commercial passenger flight powered by a blend of indigenous Sustainable Aviation Fuel.

A diversified, integrated energy major, IndianOil has a presence in almost all the streams of oil, gas, petrochemicals, and alternative energy sources. Praj is Indias most accomplished industrial biotech company, known for its innovation, integration and delivery capabilities.
The Oppo Reno10 series, launched in China in May, has begun its international rollout with Malaysia. The lineup comprises three smartphones - Reno10, Reno10 Pro, and Reno10 Pro+.

The Oppo Reno10 Pro+ introduced in Malaysia is the same as the one available in China. It comes with the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 SoC, a 6.74" 120Hz AMOLED screen with a fingerprint scanner underneath, and a 4,700 mAh battery with 100W wired charging.

The Reno10 Pro+ features four cameras - 50MP primary (with OIS), 64MP periscope telephoto (with OIS), 8MP ultrawide, and 32MP selfie. It runs Android 13-based ColorOS 13.1 out of the box and has 12GB RAM and 256GB of storage onboard.



Chinese Oppo Reno10  Oppo Reno10 Pro  Oppo Reno10 Pro+

The Reno10 and Reno10 Pro launched in Malaysia differ from their Chinese counterparts in design and specs. For starters, the Chinese Reno10 and Reno10 Pro are powered by the Snapdragon 778G and Dimensity 8200 SoC, respectively, while the Malaysian Reno10 and Reno10 Pro have the Dimensity 7050 and Snapdragon 778G at the helm.

The Malaysian Reno10 and Reno10 Pro look similar and have similar dimensions. They are built around 6.7" 120Hz FullHD+ AMOLED screens with 10bit color depth and have 800 nits max brightness under sunlight (up to 950 nits for HDR10 and HDR10+ content). The displays also have in-display fingerprint scanners underneath for biometric authentication.



Malaysian Oppo Reno10

The Reno10 and Reno10 Pro's Malaysian variants are fueled by 5,000 mAh and 4,600 mAh batteries, respectively, with the Pro version having 80W wired charging and the vanilla model going up to 67W. On the other hand, the Chinese Reno10 and Reno10 Pro pack 4,600 mAh cells, with Reno10 having 80W charging support and the Reno10 Pro having 100W support.

That said, the cameras on the Malaysian Reno10 and Reno10 Pro remain the same as their Chinese counterparts. Both smartphones feature 32MP selfie shooters and sport triple camera systems on the rear. The Reno10's setup comprises 64MP primary, 32MP telephoto, and 8MP ultrawide units, while the Reno10 Pro's setup consists of 50MP primary (with OIS), 32MP telephoto, and 8MP ultrawide cameras.



Malaysian Oppo Reno10 Pro

The Oppo Reno10 and Reno10 Pro's Malaysian variants boot ColorOS 13.1 out of the box and have 256GB storage onboard. However, the vanilla model comes with 8GB RAM, and the Pro model with 12GB RAM.

The Oppo Reno10 is offered in Silver Grey and Ice Blue colors in Malaysia, and the Reno10 Pro and Reno10 Pro+ in Silver Grey and Glossy Purple shades.



Oppo Reno10 Pro+

The Oppo Reno10, Reno10 Pro, and Reno10 Pro+ are priced at RM1,799 ($385/350/INR31,825), RM2,199 ($470/430/INR38,900), and RM3,499 ($750/680/INR61,900), respectively in Malaysia. They are up for pre-orders in Malaysia through Oppo's official website till July 14, with sales beginning from July 15.

Source 1, Source 2, Source 3
News

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JIC: FEMA seeking to lease; DRC hours are changing

Erikka Llorente/PDN One of the Tier 3 shelters in Tamuning is pictured along with rules set in the background. Thomas Benavente/PDN The entrance to Guam Community College near PBS displays a banner of being a Disaster Recovery Center. Thomas Benavente/PDN Residents can check Building E at the Guam Community College to line up for assistance.

The government and other private organizations have all been utilizing different approaches to accommodate the community.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is looking for property management companies and owners who have furnished properties that are ready to be leased.

These properties can include vacation rentals, corporate apartments, second homes, single-family homes, cooperatives, condominiums, townhouses and other types of readily fabricated dwellings. Additionally, FEMA is also interested in evaluating apartments within multi-family structures that may require moderate repairs and can be restored within four months, including adding accessibility modifications, using federal funding. Property owners will not be charged for collaborating with FEMA.

FEMA may enter into a lease agreement with the property owner and pay rent based on the Fair Market Rent rates identified by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for Guam.

Property management companies will be responsible for:

Establishing a lease agreement with the property owner or apartment manager on behalf of FEMA in accordance with FEMA terms and conditions.

Handling all eviction proceedings.

Ensuring regular documented maintenance and oversight of leased units.

Covering all utilities and providing furnishings for the apartments or single-family homes that they provide.

Providing monthly status reports of all properties leased on behalf of FEMA, such as property damage, move-outs, vacant units and evictions within 72 hours.

For Multifamily Lease and Repair properties, the following requirements must be met:

The property must be previously used as a multifamily housing complex and contain two or more rental units.

The property should be repairable within four months.

Interested companies or owners are required to obtain a Unique Entity Identifier number from the System for Award Management. It may take up to 10-15 business days before the registration becomes active in the system.

FEMA will host an Industry Day event from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. on July 11 at the Guam Museum in Hagatna to help interested parties to register on SAM and to better understand FEMAs Direct Lease, Multifamily Lease and Repair programs. Online pre-registration is required for the in-person event. All registration requests must be completed by July 10. Due to limited capacity for in-person participation or webinar attendance, each company is allowed a maximum of two participants.

Follow-up questions must be submitted no later than 2 p.m., July 13. Questions can be submitted to either FEMA-DR-4715GU-DL@fema.dhs.gov or FEMA-DR-4715GU-MLR@fema.dhs.gov. Interested parties should monitor SAM for additional information or future solicitations. The Federal Service Desk can provide more support via live chat or by phone at 1-866-606-8220.

Questions and answers from the webinar may be posted to SAM at a later date. For SAM registration, interested parties should have their banking information, tax identification number, full company name and ownership details.

Other criteria and more detailed information can be found in the Requests For Information, which have been posted in SAM: Direct Lease RFI, Multifamily Lease and Repair RFI. Responses and comments to the RFIs are due at 5 p.m., July 23.

Hours to change at DRC

Disaster Recovery Centers in Guam will have new hours of operation starting July 9. Starting Sunday, the centers will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. from Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday. They are closed on Sundays.

At a Disaster Recovery Center, residents can learn more about FEMA and other federal disaster assistance programs, understand any letters they get from FEMA, get answers to their questions about the application or get referrals to agencies that may offer other assistance.

The DRC Locator will help you find the nearest center.

Guam residents whose homes were damaged by Typhoon Mawar can apply for FEMA assistance, get updates about applications, learn about the appeals process by visiting a DRC, going online to disasterassistance.gov, using the FEMA Mobile App or calling the FEMA Helpline at 800-621-3362. The Helpline is available around the clock daily a week at no cost for Guam residents. Help is available in many languages.

Disaster Recovery Centers are barrier-free and provide equal access to all visitors. If a resident uses American Sign Language or assistive technology or if they need accommodations to communicate, they are advised to notify FEMA staff at the center immediately.

Free tree removalThe AmeriCorps Chainsaw Debris Program is a free service that provides for the removal of trees on private residential property that pose an immediate threat to health and safety. The AmeriCorps Chainsaw Debris Project launched this week and will end on July 28, 2023.

The AmeriCorps Chainsaw Debris Program is an initiative designed to help Guam residents who have severely disaster-damaged trees on their property that pose an immediate threat to health and safety. Residents can contact their village mayors office in-person or by phone to complete an application.

AmeriCorps teams will focus on cutting hanging branches and limbs, disaster-damaged broken trees and uprooted trees that block access to the home or threaten life or property. Healthy trees, trees with minimal damage and those trees that were not severely damaged by Typhoon Mawar will not be considered for clearing as the program is for disaster-related debris.

Tree removals that would threaten AmeriCorps team safety will not be eligible and will be the responsibility of the property owner.

Not all severely disaster-damaged trees will be able to be removed based on the time and scope of work. Not everyone who applies will receive an assessment as the number of homes that can be completed by July 28 is limited and certain disaster survivors, which include veterans, senior citizens, individuals with disabilities or others with access or functional needs, are being prioritized.

In order for AmeriCorps to do their work, the property owner will have to sign a right of entry form with the mayors office at the time of application or with the AmeriCorps team if they visit the home to assess the property for possible tree removal. If a resident is eligible, they will be contacted by phone to schedule a time to clear your trees.

Renters can apply for this service, but the landlord or property owner will be required to complete a right of entry before work can be completed.

Not everyone who is assessed will be eligible. The purpose of the assessment is to make sure damaged trees fall within the scope of the program. AmeriCorps teams make final eligibility decisions based upon the results of their assessment.

All outstanding requests will remain in the Crisis Cleanup database until the applicant closes their case. It is possible that organizations other than AmeriCorps could provide help in the future. Residents may be contacted by other organizations offering free help at a later date.
During a time of disaster, responders are still working as essential personnel.

So, it may not come as a surprise to most people that the Guam Police Department is seeking just above 50 million dollars for their Fiscal Year 2024 budget proposal. Around 41 million dollars are being requested for personnel services alone.

The department continues to stay active with recruitment into their force as there are another 16 police officer trainees that are active in the 13th POT cycle. For the upcoming 14th cycle, there are 39 possible trainees that are pending either a drug test or a psychological evaluation with the Department of Administration before being hired.

Speaker Therese Terlaje addressed this gap as GPDs report for the 13th cycle indicated 19 people were being interviewed but were not selected. GPD Chief Stephen Ignacio clarified the 19 were disqualified through any of the four stages of the screening process, which includes the interview, the polygraph, the psych eval and the background investigation.

The small amount being trained is also due to the initial application and test process. Ignacio noted that from 2019 to July 2022, over a thousand applications for the GPD were received. DOA allowed 990 to move on and take the test. Of the 990, only 450 appeared to take the test, which only had 188 initial applicants pass.

I was surprised when I saw the numbers, stated Ignacio. Its disheartening.

Ignacio then noted that test takers must still prepare. He observed a police test guide in Bestseller that was apparently perfect to prepare for DOAs examination.

Terlaje also questioned the chief about the plan for FY24 on methamphetamine.

We have been very aggressive with our street level interdiction, stated Ignacio. A simple traffic stop has led to some of the bigger drug cases that we have seen. We continue to fight the meth problem. Just yesterday, we seized 23.5 grams from one traffic stop.

Sen. Joanne Brown inquired with the chief if they will ever create a better communication system as one particular constituent has not been able to get follow-ups on the cases that they filed.

Ignacio alluded to the recruitment that is ongoing as he hopes that once more are hired, others can be put into certain divisions or specializations to assist with consistent activity and communication.

Ignacio also noted that if residents want to speak to someone on the phone regarding a follow-up, they can ask for the precincts commander, deputy commander, operations sergeant or administrative sergeant.

They will have an answer for that person, stated the chief. I apologize to this constituent that they did not get the right response. Every commander is held accountable for what goes on in their precinct, and they should be able to answer any question from that constituent if they live within the commanders area of responsibility.

Sen. Joe San Agustin, chairperson of the committee on general government operations and appropriations, concluded with a proposal that due to officers leaving after a year or two to other agencies, such as the Customs and Border Protection, legislation may be introduced. The legislation will introduce a condition that if GPD hires an individual, they may have to stay for a certain amount of years before leaving the department.
Lt. Gov. Josh Tenorio delivers remarks before the signing of Bill 24-37 at Government House in Agana Heights on March 31, 2023. Tenorio will be heading to Colorado to participate in the 2023 Aerospace States Association Annual Meeting and Policy Summit.




Haiti - Insecurity : The MSF hospital in Tabarre attacked suspend its activities





On the night of July 6 to 7, around twenty armed men violently entered the Doctor Without Borders (MSF) hospital in Tabarre to forcibly take away a patient who had been shot and who was still in the operating room. MSF strongly condemns this incursion, which once again demonstrates the unprecedented level of violence currently raging in the Haitian capital, and is forced to suspend for the time being all of its traumatology and treatment of burns patients at Tabarre hospital.



A patient with gunshot wounds had arrived at the hospital on July 6, and was quickly admitted due to the severity of his injuries. While he was still in the operating room, two men arrived at the hospital, feigning a life-threatening emergency. When the hospital gate was opened, some twenty masked gunmen stormed into the hospital to seize the wounded patient, whom they then took with them.



"There is such contempt for human life among the conflicting parties, and such violence in Port-au-Prince, that even the vulnerable, sick and wounded are not spared," said Mahaman Bachard Iro, head of MSF's programs in Haiti. "How are we, the health workers, supposed to be able to continue providing care in this environment ? We must first understand what has happened and give our abused medical staff some respite, because these men threatened to kill them. To this end, we have decided to suspend our activities for the time being, in order to assess the conditions for a potential resumption."



A series of security incidents affecting MSF's medical teams call into question the organization's ability to continue to run medical programs in Port-au-Prince. The medical staff, who fight daily to save lives, are shocked by this violence and the contempt shown by these armed groups towards them. Elsewhere in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area, MSF had to temporarily close the Drouillard hospital in April 2022 https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-36325-haiti-insecurity-msf-temporarily-suspends-the-activities-of-its-cite-soleil-hospital-center.html , permanently closed the doors of its emergency center in Martissant in June 2021 https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34388-haiti-gang-war-medecins-sans-frontieres-puts-the-keys-under-the-door-in-martissant.html , and suspend its support for the Raoul Pierre Louis hospital in Carrefour in January 2023 for security reasons https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-38731-haiti-insecurity-following-the-execution-of-a-patient-msf-suspends-its-activities-at-the-raoul-pierre-louis-hospital.html



MSF once again calls on the various parties to the conflicts in Port-au-Prince to respect medical facilities so that they can continue to function. MSF remains determined to stand by the Haitian people, who are the primary victims of the serious deterioration in the country's security situation in recent years. Apart from the Tabarre hospital, MSF is continuing its other medical programs in Haiti.



See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-38934-haiti-insecurity-msf-activities-in-serious-difficulty.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-38731-haiti-insecurity-following-the-execution-of-a-patient-msf-suspends-its-activities-at-the-raoul-pierre-louis-hospital.html

https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-37434-icihaiti-msf-a-patient-extracted-from-a-hospital-and-coldly-executed-by-armed-individuals.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-38706-haiti-flash-high-tension-and-panic-in-port-au-prince.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-37275-haiti-flash-the-stray-bullets-make-more-and-more-innocent-victims.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-36325-haiti-insecurity-msf-temporarily-suspends-the-activities-of-its-cite-soleil-hospital-center.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34388-haiti-gang-war-medecins-sans-frontieres-puts-the-keys-under-the-door-in-martissant.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-33829-haiti-insecurity-a-member-of-the-msf-trauma-hospital-shot-dead.html



HL/ HaitiLibre


















DISH ON DINING: Indian Aroma Bistro spices up Main Street

Indian Aroma Bistro owner Mandeep Singh offers a lunch buffet and dinner menu seven days a week.

Hendersonvilles first and only Indian restaurant has offered diners a new taste experience since it opened in May at 502 N. Main St.

People are very happy to have an Indian restaurant in Hendersonville, said Mandeep Singh, who owns Indian Aroma Bistro. It was good, a very good response.

Singh described the bistro as a place where customers should expect traditional Indian fare with the option of hot or mild spices.

Its not crazy hot, she said.

The restaurants website describes its foundation as built on fresh, high-quality ingredients, traditional Indian cuisine, a cozy and warm ambiance and a friendly staff that makes customers feel that theyre part of the family.

Aroma puts a lot of emphasis on using the highest quality meats, seafood, vegetables and fruits, and creating tantalizing flavors using traditional family recipes, the owners say.

* * *

Singh was born in India and lived about half her life in England before moving to the North Carolina mountains. Her family is part of a partnership that owns the Mela Indian restaurant in Asheville.

Singh, who lives in Hendersonville, opened the bistro here with her husband, Sandeep, and brother-in-law, Vikramjit, after she grew tired of driving to Asheville every day to work in the restaurant there. The couple hired an Indian chef to run the kitchen but Singh noted that her husband, who trained as a French chef and worked in French restaurants in England, is available when needed.

Hes a back-up, she said with a grin. He can jump in.

The dinner menu includes appetizers, soups and salads along with chicken, lamb and seafood main courses. Some dishes are cooked in a clay oven. Vegetarian options are also available. Popular menu items include the mango shrimp appetizer, the Aroma Special Chicken and Lamb Curry. Specials include chicken or lamb cooked in onion, ginger, garlic and tomato sauce.

Its very nice  soft chicken, Indian spices, Singh said.

Singh suggested people new to Indian fare sample the buffet first to get an idea of what suits their taste before coming for dinner. The buffet costs $16 on weekdays and $18 on weekends. Dinner entrees include vegetarian options for $18 with lamb, chicken and seafood options between $20 and $24.

After navigating through the states ABC permitting process, Singh just opened a full bar this past weekend. Beer, wine and mixed drinks are available.

Regardless of whether customers sample the lunch buffet or choose an evening dinner, Singh hopes everyone enjoys what Indian Aroma has to offer.

We try our best to have an excellent experience, she said.

* * * * *

Indian Aroma Bistro is open for lunch 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. seven days a week. Dinner hours are 5-9 p.m. Sunday-Thursday and 5-9:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday. For more information visit indianaromabistro.com or call 828-393-5501.
Go beyond the everyday and indulge in luxury on a holiday to one of Australias most diverse and distinct destinations, New South Wales. There are private flights to food and wine tours, waterfront lunches, luxury farm stays, sky-high Champagne sips and much more to explore. Prepare to be thoroughly spoilt.

Experience authentic outback luxury at a unique, rural farm stay

Callubri Station, nestled in the heart of Outback NSW, is a fourth-generation, 28,000-acre merino sheep station championing Australian pioneering spirit and modern sophistication. The Sky Suites, one of two accommodation options at Callubri, boasts four king rooms and outdoor decks adorned with lounges and a 12-metre private mineral pool with swim jets that overlooks the rugged bush scenery of the station. Book in a stay and catch a glimpse of Australian farm life not often accessible to outsiders  the expansive land, insight into working stations and first-hand sheep shearing.

Take a scenic flight to the Hunter Valley for a wine and food tour

Take a scenic flight to the Hunter Valley for a wine and food tour

Board an intimate (everyone has a window seat) Australia By Air private aircraft and fly over some of Australias most sought after views on a trip to the countrys oldest wine region, the Hunter Valley. Start by soaring above the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the iconic Sydney Opera House, then over some of the citys most beautiful beaches and coastline. After taking in Sydneys best perspective, youll head north and land at Cessnock airport in the Hunter. From here youll travel in air-conditioned comfort to multiple wineries, enjoy behind-the-scenes tours, lunch at an award-winning restaurant, devour a private cheese and wine tasting and more. After a day of wining, dining and adventuring, jump aboard your plane and fly back to the city.

Fly to a luxurious lunch

Embark on another luxury flight, this one by Sydney Seaplanes, from Sydneys Rose Bay to a gourmet lunch at Cottage Point Inn. Nestled on the banks of the Hawkesbury River, this beautiful property at the heart of Sydneys Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park is renowned for its exceptional modern Australian offering.

Upon arrival, Cottage Point Inn staff will welcome you then take you through a leisurely five-course degustation accompanied by exceptional NSW wines and an incredible view of the river. Digest your lunch on a relaxing, scenic flight home while you gaze over the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House.

Sip Champagne in the sky above ancient mountains

For another spectacular birds-eye view experience, book a ride on the Beyond Skyway experience at Scenic World in the World Heritage-listed Blue Mountains. Aboard this 270-metre-high suspended cable car theres a daring opportunity to climb outside and on top of the carriage. Clipped into a safety harness and on the roof, youll get unimpeded, 360-degree views of the Blue Mountains Jamison Valley. On the return back to land, have a glass of champagne to celebrate an epic day.

Relax and unwind on the picturesque NSWSouthCoast

Overlooking the beachy town of Kiama is Greyleigh, a sprawling 200-acre property blending country and coast with orchards, wildlife and rolling hills all just 90 minutes drive from Sydney. Greyleighs luxury farmhouse-style accommodation sleeps up to 18 people and is a delightful blend of grand and quaint. The abode boasts decadent luxury amenities such as oversized rainfall shower heads, a woodfired pizza oven, premium Australian linen and Italian marble finishes alongside authentic Australian heritage touches. Every inch has been carefully curated to offer guests a unique sense of Australian extravagance.

For more details in Mumbai reach out to info@easterntravels.co.in,8097003014 and for Delhi reach out to info@travelwithmaurya.com9811596048

Disclaimer: This article has been produced on behalf of the brand by HT Brand Studio.
The Reserve Bank of India in its draft circular has asked card issuers not to enter into any arrangement or agreement with the card networks which restrain them from availing the services of card networks. RBI has asked card issuers to provide an option to their eligible customers to pick any one among the multiple card networks(SHUTTERSTOCK)

It has also asked the card issuers to provide an option to their eligible customers to pick any one among the multiple card networks. The central bank added that the option may be exercised by customers either at the time of issue or at any subsequent time.



Card issuers and card networks shall ensure to adhere to the above requirements in existing agreements at the time of amendment or renewal thereof, and fresh agreements executed from the date of this circular, the RBI draft circular added.



The rule is a challenge to the existing practice of an agreement between the card issuers and the networks, thus paving way for card network portability. Amit Gupta, managing director, SAG Infotech, explains this term.



According to him, Credit card network portability refers to the ability of consumers to transfer their credit card accounts from one network to another.

Gupta adds,"Just like we can switch our mobile service providers while keeping the same phone number, credit card network portability allows cardholders to maintain their existing credit card accounts, balances, and credit history while switching to a different payment network".



How does it help customers?



Amit Gupta added that it will empower customers to pick the card network that suits their needs, whether it is dependent on factors including rewards programmes, acceptance or customer service.



He added that it will enhance competition among credit card networks and will give customers more control over their financial choices. However, Gupta added that not all credit card issuers or networks may back portability and there might be specific terms and conditions with the transfer process.



Therefore, individuals considering credit card network portability should carefully research and evaluate their options before making any decisions, he added.

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Direct bank transfers under the Karnataka's government's Anna Bhagya scheme are set to begin on Monday evening, the state's Food and Civil Supplies minister K H Muniyappa said on Saturday. K H Muniyappa said CM Siddaramaiah is expected to launch the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) on Monday evening.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is expected to launch the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) on Monday evening, Muniyappa told news agency PTI. The Anna Bhagya scheme is one of the five main election guarantees made by the Congress party before its massive win in the May 10 assembly election in the southern state. The scheme pledges to provides additional 5 kg of free rice to every member of a Below Poverty Line (BPL) household.

READ | Karnataka: Siddaramaiah-led govt to give cash instead of rice under Anna Bhagya Scheme

The Siddaramaiah-led leadership in Karnataka decided last week to give cash to the beneficiaries of the scheme instead of rice after facing a shortage in supply. The Congress government is facing hiccups in the implementation of multiple schemes that were a part of their poll manifesto.

Cash at the rate of 34 per kilo will be credited to the beneficiaries' accounts. Muniyappa assured that the money would be transferred into the beneficiaries' account in 15 days.

READ | Anna Bhagya Scheme: BPL families to get money from July 10, says Siddaramaiah

"On July 10 at 5 pm, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar will start the drive. Money for the Anna Bhagya scheme would be directly deposited into the accounts of beneficiaries. In 15 days, every beneficiary will get the money," Muniyappa told the agency.

He also added that there are 1.29 crore BPL ration card holding families in the state, which make up for 4.41 crore beneficiaries. The state tried to acquire sufficient amounts of rice but the Centre did not give it, the minister further stated.
Rain did not let up in the coastal parts of Karnataka on Friday, and the India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicted more heavy showers in the region till at least Monday, according to fresh forecasts. The IMD in its daily bulletin said, Udupi, Manki, Uppinangadi, Kadra, Sulya, Puttur, Mani, Panambur, Mangaluru, and Virajpet received very heavy rainfall on Friday. A waterlogged area following heavy monsoon rains in Udupi district.(PTI)

READ | Karnataka: 45-year-old-man washed away in drain while crossing culvert

It forecasted that most places over coastal Karnataka and other interior parts may get rain over the next 48 hours. It issued a heavy rainfall warning over coastal regions, Chikkamagaluru, Kodagu, Belagavi, Dharwad and Shivamogga districts till Monday.

Winds are also likely to be strong, reaching 40-50 kmph at some places over the state. The IMD also warned fishermen not to venture into the sea in this regard.

READ | 2 dead in rain-related incidents in Karnataka, IMD issues alert

The IMD had earlier issued an orange alert over Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Uttara Kannada, Chikkamagaluru and Kodagu districts, and a yellow alert for Belagavi, Dharwad and Shivamogga districts.

Rains were deadly in some parts of the southern state, washing away a 45-year-old man, and killing another woman in a landslip incident in the last 48 hours. Three others were killed earlier this week in coastal Karnataka in similar rain-related incidents.

READ | Two more deaths bring toll in rain-related incidents to four in Karnataka this monsoon

In this light, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday directed officials to bring in immediate relief measures in these coastal districts and prevent such mishaps. Karnataka ministers have therefore scheduled visits to the accident-prone areas in Dakshina Kannada, Uttara Kannada and Udupi districts today, according to news agency ANI. Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda and Udupi in charge Minister Lakshmi Hebbalkar are expected to inspect the disaster affected regions in Uttara Kannada and Udupi.
Two robbery accused were injured in an exchange of fire with the police in Bhilowal village of Garhshankar sub division on Saturday. Both were arrested and admitted to the civil hospital here. Their third accomplice was also arrested from the incident spot. Those admitted to the hospital have been identified as Manraj Singh of Chabbewal and Navjot Singh of Jian village. The accused who is in police custody has been identified as Ravinder Singh of Jian. The police have reportedly recovered three weapons from their custody. The third accomplice was also arrested from the incident spot. (Representational Photo)

The officials refused to divulge details but sources revealed that a team comprising Crime Investigation Agency (CIA) staff and Garhshankar police had laid a trap to nab the gangsters but when encountered, they opened fire. The police personnel returned firing in which two miscreants received bullet injuries. Superintendent of police (detective) Sarabjit Bahia and Garhshankar deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Daljit Singh Khakh inspected the place of incidence. A forensic team was also deputed to collect the evidence.

Bahia said that around 16 rounds of fire were exchanged. He declined to give more details. Sources, however, revealed that the accused were involved in several cases of loot and extortion and worked as cohorts of USA-based criminal Balwinder Singh.

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Hong Kong: Rail project false accusations rebuked

The Government today rebuked the unfounded accusations regarding follow-up actions on incidents concerning the Shatin to Central Link projects construction quality made by a person who is not familiar with prosecution procedure.



In a statement, the Government pointed out that the person repeatedly disregarded facts and made sweeping attacks on the Commission of Inquiry to mislead the public.



To set the record straight, the Government reiterated that the investigations and prosecution work on the project are still ongoing.



It also emphasised that Police are still conducting relevant criminal investigations and the possibility of further prosecutions has not been ruled out.

The Government made it clear that it will take appropriate actions according to the project entrustment agreement with the MTR Corporation (MTRC).



It explained that separately, after consulting the Department of Justice (DoJ), the Buildings Department (BD) instigated prosecution action against the contractor of the construction works at the Hung Hom Stabling Sidings under the project for material deviation from the approved plans in accordance with the provision of the Buildings Ordinance.



The Government specified that the court had earlier handed down a judgment of conviction and the DoJ has already lodged an application to review the sentence with the Magistrates' Courts.



The BD will also refer the case to the Contractors' Disciplinary Board for instigating disciplinary proceedings.



The Government stressed that the commission was appointed by the Chief Executive in Council on July 10, 2018 under the Commissions of Inquiry Ordinance to inquire the projects construction quality incidents.



As for the remarks questioning the commissions work, the Government said the commission has already submitted a final report to the then Chief Executive on March 27, 2020.



It also established an Expert Adviser Team on August 15, 2018, for comprehensively reviewing the project management system of the MTRC as well as recommending the MTRC and relevant government departments additional managing and monitoring measures necessary in taking forward the project.



The Government noted that it and the MTRC had fully followed up and implemented all the recommendations proposed by the commission and the Expert Adviser Team, before the commissioning of the project.



It added that thorough and serious follow-up actions were taken in ensuring the construction quality, the stations operational safety and the pursuit of legal liability of the incidents.

This story has been published on: 2023-07-08. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
The accused of a triple murder case of three senior citizens of New Janakpuri area, wants his wife to be arrested fearing that she may be at the receiving end of public anger against him. After being arrested, the accused Robin alias Munna, made an appeal to the police to send his wife to jail along with him though she had no role in the murders. (Representational Photo)

After being arrested, the accused Robin alias Munna, made an appeal to the police to send his wife to jail along with him though she had no role in the murders.

The accused said that after the crime, he is worried about the fate of his wife, who could face the wrath of the society and taunts for the deeds of her husband. The accuseds wife used to sell incense sticks and flowers outside a shrine near their house to help her husband financially to run the family.

Commissioner of police (CP), Mandeep Singh Sidhu, during a press conference made an appeal to people for ensuring safety of Robins wife and not to harass her. He said that the locals had helped the police to solve the triple murder case, adding that he was hopeful that they would not harass the woman.

The CP added that the police have questioned the wife of the accused and probed her role in the crime. The police found that the woman was not a part of the triple murder. Moreover, she was not aware that her husband had murdered three neighbours. She came to know about the incident on Friday morning when local residents went inside the victims house after a milkman alerted them.

The police official said that the accused executed the most heinous crime and the police will appeal to the court for the capital punishment for him, but his wife is innocent.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Tarsem Singh Deogan Tarsem Singh Deogan is a senior reporter at Ludhiana. He has 16 years of experience in journalism. He has covered all beats and now focuses on crime reporting. ...view detail
Police arrested an advocate for allegedly assaulting and tearing the uniform of an assistant sub-inspector (ASI) in an inebriated state outside Night Food Street in Sector 14 in the wee hours of Saturday The accused was identified as Rahul Sindhu of Urban Estate Jind, Haryana. He practices at the Punjab and Haryana high court. (Getty Images)

The accused was identified as Rahul Sindhu of Urban Estate Jind, Haryana. He practices at the Punjab and Haryana high court.

The victim, ASI Joginder Singh, in his complaint to the police said he was on duty along with other cops near the Night Food Street around 3.30 am.

While walking towards to his official vehicle, he and his colleagues heard Sindhu hurling abuses in an inebriated state and rushing into his car. When they turned back, the accused came out of his vehicle and confronted the cops for staring at him.

Claiming to be an advocate, he started abusing us and threatened to teach us a lesson. When we tried to control him, he assaulted me and constable Sandeep. He also tore my uniform, following which we nabbed him and took him to the Sector 11 police station. The accused again tried to assault me at the police station. As a lady constable tried to intervene, he shoved her shoulder. The incident was captured in the CCTV camera inside the police station, the complainant stated.

The advocate has been booked under Sections 332 (voluntarily causing hurt to public servant) and 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty) of the Indian Penal Code.

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Border Security Force (BSF) troops gunned down a drone which had sneaked into the Indian territory from the Pakistan side near Rajoke village falling under the Bhikhiwind sub-division of Tarn Taran district. Border Security Force (BSF) troops gunned down a drone which had sneaked into the Indian territory from the Pakistan side near Rajoke village falling under the Bhikhiwind sub-division of Tarn Taran district

A BSF spokesperson said, On Friday at around 9:05 pm, the BSF personnel intercepted the movement of a suspected drone near Pallopati village. As per the laid down drill, BSF troops immediately reacted to intercept the drone.

Further, during a thorough search of the depth area on Saturday at about 11:25 am, BSF troops recovered a drone from the farming field adjacent to - Rajoke village. The recovered drone is a Quadcopter of model - DJI Matrice 350 RTK series, he said.

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Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama said that he is open for talks with China over the problems of Tibetans and the Chinese, officially or unofficially wanted to contact him. Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama said in Dharamshala during an interaction with the media that he is open for talks with China over the problems of Tibetans. (HT File)

I am always open to talk. Now China also realises that the spirit of Tibetan people is very strong. So, in order to deal with Tibetan problems they want to contact me. I am also ready, he said.

The Dalai Lama made the remarks while to speaking to reporters in Dharamshala before embarking on a visit to Delhi and Ladakh.

Responding to a question on whether he wishes to resume talks with China, he said, We are not seeking independence, we have decided since many years that we remain the part of Peoples Republic of China...Now China is changing. The Chinese, officially or unofficially want to contact me.

On July 6, Dalai Lama celebrated his 88th birthday and visited the Main Tibetan Temple courtyard in Dharamshala, adjacent to his residence. While addressing the gathering during the celebrations the Dalai Lama said that he has not been angry with anyone, not even those Chinese leaders who have adopted a harsh attitude towards Tibet, according to the official statement released on Dalai Lamas website.
While the heavy rain on Saturday had no impact on air and rail traffic in the tricity, the situation was much different on roads that were left inundated for hours, breaking down vehicles, stranding motorists and hitting residents weekend plans. Commuters stranded in a waterlogged railway underpass in Sector 19, Panchkula, on Saturday. (Sant Arora/HT)

Even though the Chandigarh municipal corporation (MC) had claimed that monsoon preparedness was in full swing, the incessant rain on Saturday turned roads into ponds, not only in the periphery but across the city.

Traffic jams were the order of the day, especially on the Sector 11/15 dividing road, Sector 27/28 light point, Colony Number 4 light point from Poultry Farm Chowk, Sector 7/26 light point, Sector 19/27/20/30 junction, Sector 29 ITI light point, Sector 20/21 dividing road, Sector 25/38 light point, Matka Chowk, Press light point, Makhan Majra road, Sector 20/34 roundabout, Gurdwara Chowk on Dakshin Marg, Madhya Marg near Sector 8, Sector 35/36 roundabout and Industrial Area, Phases 1 and 2. Locals and traffic police volunteers were seen attempting to unclog blocked road gullies.

Traffic police regularly alerted road users about waterlogged roads and traffic flow on their social media platforms.

At some hotels in Sector 35, rain water entered basements. Baljinder Singh, owner of Hotel Metro, said, The area has been dug up for laying storm water pipelines. The water from there entered into the basement of four to five properties here. Its common sense not to carry out digging in monsoon.

In Hallomajra, Manimajra, Burail, Dhanas, Daria and other villages, several areas remained flooded for as long as 12 hours.

The civic body is paying no heed towards developing the peripheries of the City Beautiful and every year, its the same story in monsoon, a resident, Vikas, said.

MC officials blamed the citys storm water drainage system that does not have enough capacity to handle high volume of rainfall. The drainage system has been designed to handle only 15 mm rain per hour in northern sectors and 20 mm per hour in the south. When it rains more than this, it takes the water around 30 minutes to clear out.

MC commissioner Anindita Mitra said civic body teams were working round-the-clock to mitigate waterlogging. A total of 18 teams have been deployed to oversee maintenance, whereas two 24x7 control centres have been set up at Sector 15 and Manimajra where residents can lodge waterlogging complaints at 0172-2540-200 and 0172-2738-082, respectively. Since the natural N-choe is completely filled due to high intensity of rain, the drainage of rainwater is taking time.

Traffic movement hit on Mohalis Airport Road

Similar scenes were seen in Mohali, as rainwater flooded several roads, slowing down traffic flow.

Vehicle movement on Airport Road, a major traffic lifeline, was majorly hit. Long traffic jams were also witnessed on the Zirakpur-Delhi highway, where commuters remained stuck for hours.

Though the Mohali MC had taken steps to prevent waterlogging, the same fell short as the residents were once again put to misery.

The worst-affected areas remained Phase 3B2, Phase 4, Phase 5, Phase 11, Kumbra-Balongi Road. Waterlogging was also reported from various colonies.

As many as 12 pumps have been pressed into service to clear storm water from city roads, said deputy commissioner Aashika Jain.

She added, A fire brigade each was stationed at the railway underpasses in Mubarakpur and Janitpur. Besides, the storm water was pumped out to keep the underpasses operational.

Jain said the vulnerable point of Ghaggar at Tiwana village, where it takes a sharp turn, was also being monitored closely to tackle any untoward situation.

She said the Bhankharpur gauge of Ghaggar had registered a flow of 4 feet that was far below the low flood mark of 7 feet.

Residents at receiving end in Panchkula too

Waterlogged roads exposed the tall claims of Panchkula MC of being adequately prepared for monsoon. Waterlogging was reported from the underpass in Sector 19, Tawa Chowk, Abhaypur, Industrial Area, Phase 2, Harmilap Nagar, Rajeev Colony, Indira Colony and Sector 20.

All road gullies were blocked, leading to waterlogging. Panchkula has an old drainage system that compounds the problem, said SK Nayar, president, Citizens Welfare Association.

MC has been spending crores, but has failed to provide solution to waterlogging, said Mohinder, president, Sector 19 RWA.

MC commissioner Sachin Gupta visited various inundated spots with officers of the engineering and sanitation wings. MCs rapid action task force remained on toes to tackle complaints of waterlogging. Complaints can be made at helpline number 9696-120-120.

Chief sanitary inspector Avinash Singla said, They received calls from Sectors 2, 16, 19 and 25, where the task force was pressed into action.

Trees collapse in Chandigarh, Mohali

Amid the heavy rain, a tree fell on two vehicles at Chandigarh Police Headquarters in Sector 9. Fire wing teams rushed to the spot and removed the branches. A tree was also uprooted in Sector 8, leading to a traffic jam.

A car parked outside a house in Sector 19-D also got damaged after a tree fell on it. Car owner Amit Kumar is the maternal uncle of Heerakshi, a Carmel Convent School student, who was killed in the tree collapse at the school exactly one year ago on July 8, 2022.

In Mohali, a tree collapsed in front of House Number 40 in Phase 7, damaging some vehicles and snapping power supply for sometime.

A part of a boundary wall along a field collapsed in Ekta Vihar Colony in Baltana. No one was hurt. In Kharar, an unsafe building on Landran Road was evacuated by the Mohali administration.

Stay away from Ghaggar: Panchkula DC to residents

Amid the heavy rains, the Panchkula administration has appealed to residents to stay away from Ghaggar river in anticipation of heavy flow from Himachal Pradesh. Violating directives of authorities and despite imposition of Section 144 CrPC, residents can still be seen fishing in the swollen Ghaggar river and children continue to look for coins without fear of being swept away.

The district administration has taken necessary precautions and remains on alert in anticipation of the increased water flow in the river. The administration will continue to monitor the situation and take necessary steps to mitigate any potential risks associated with the heavy water flow in the river, said deputy commissioner Priyanka Soni.

In the wake of increasing level of Sukhna Choe near Baltana, the in-charge of Baltana police post, Jasanpreet Singh, has also urged residents to be cautious while carrying out any activity near the stream.

Raahgiri programme cancelled

In view of the rainy weather, the Raahgiri event, which promotes community engagement and active lifestyles, which was planned in Panchkula on July 9 with the presence of Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar, has been cancelled.

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The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has warned contractors against dumping unscientific debris along the highways. The NHAI held a meeting with contractors, team leaders of supervising consultants, and project directors in Mandi, Shimla, Palampur, and Hamirpur to address the urgent issue of illegal dumping along highways and stress upon the importance of environmental conservation. (File photo)

The NHAI held a meeting with contractors, team leaders of supervising consultants, and project directors in Mandi, Shimla, Palampur, and Hamirpur to address the urgent issue of illegal dumping along highways and stress upon the importance of environmental conservation.

During the meeting, the NHAIs regional officer for Himachal Pradesh issued a stern warning to contractors, stating unequivocally that any form of illegal dumping would not be tolerated under any circumstances. Contractors found engaging in such activities would not only face penalties but also have their bill payments withheld until they submit a certificate confirming no illegal dumping has occurred.

To ensure swift action, the regional officer mandated that all materials dumped at unauthorised sites be removed within seven days. This directive aims to restore these areas to their original state promptly, thus preventing any environmental harm. Additionally, as a proactive measure to compensate for any environmental damage, all contractors have been instructed to undertake additional tree plantation initiatives and establish rainwater harvesting systems.

Recognising the need for comprehensive training, the meeting emphasised the importance of educating supervisors, truck drivers, and other staff members on environmental protection and preventing illegal dumping. In response to the contractors request, the NHAI will work with the state pollution control board to organise specialised training sessions, ensuring the effective implementation of environmentally conscious practices.

To maintain transparency and accountability, the project directors suggested an essential addition to the monthly progress report (MPR). They proposed a certificate provided by the contractor, confirming no illegal dumping or environmental damage, be submitted. This certificate would be duly verified by the team leader. This measure was deemed crucial in curbing unauthorised dumping. Consequently, the regional officer directed the implementation of this suggestion, making it mandatory for every MPR to include a column where the team leader and project manager of the contractor would sign a certificate affirming no illegal dumping has taken place and no environmental damage has been caused.

Addressing the participants, the regional officer appealed to all contractors, team leaders, and project directors to understand and embrace their collective responsibility in environmental protection. He emphasised the necessity of taking all necessary measures to safeguard the environment and stressed that dumping should only occur at approved sites. Furthermore, the regional officer urged the immediate reporting of any private individuals found dumping waste along the highways to the administration and the project director for appropriate action.

The NHAIs implementation of these stricter measures aims to combat the grave issue of illegal dumping and emphasises the significance of preserving natural resources for future generations. By placing the responsibility on contractors, the NHAI aims to foster a culture of environmental stewardship within the construction industry.

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The Panjab University (PU) syndicate approved the proposal to live stream senate proceedings during its meeting on Saturday. All the others agendas considered during the meet also got the governing bodys nod. The Panjab University syndicate also approved adoption of national higher education qualifications framework. (HT File Photo)

During zero hour of senate meeting on February 19, Gurmeet Singh had pointed out that in this time of digitalisation, CDs of senate proceedings are issued on payment and suggested that the meetings should be webcast.

The management will now set up a committee to work out modalities of live streaming the meetings. They will also deliberate on installing a screen outside the venue.

The senate, which is the varsitys apex governing body, comprises of 91 members. Out of these, 47 are elected from eight constituencies and the rest are nominated or ex-officio members.

The syndicate also approved the guidelines issued by the University Grants Commission (UGC) for pursuing two academic programmes simultaneously as per the National Education Policy (NEP). As per these guidelines, a student can pursue two full-time academic programmes in physical mode, provided that the timings for classes of the courses do not clash. Students however, are free to pursue one full-time programme and one open and distance learning, or two open and distance learning or online mode programmes simultaneously.

The multiple entry and exit points as envisioned under the NEP would be applicable to both courses.

The UGC (prevention, prohibition and redress of sexual harassment of women employees and students in higher education institutions) Regulations have also been approved for adoption in their totality. The varsity had been following provisions of the Prevention of Sexual Harassment (PoSH) Act.

The syndicate approved adoption of national higher education qualifications framework.

The Intellectual Property Right Policy (IPR) 2023 of the Centre for industry institute partnership programme was also approved during the meet. Under this, an IPR committee will be formed to streamline the patenting process and expenses up to 75,000/patent will be funded by PU.

The syndicate also gave a nod for withdrawal of common entrance test for ME and MTech courses in National Institute of Technical Teachers Training and Research, Sector 26.

Other agendas approved in the meeting include re-advertising posts of registrar-and dean college development council.

The proposals will now be taken up by the senate.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi met farmers and helped them transplant paddy during an impromptu stop at Sonepats Madina village, on the way to Shimla from Delhi on Saturday morning. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi transplanting paddy during an impromptu stop at Sonepats Madina village while on the way to Shimla from Delhi on Saturday morning. (HT Photo)

The former Congress MP also drove a tractor and interacted with the farmers even as it was drizzling.

Sanjay Kumar, a farmer from Madina village, which falls under Sonepats Baroda constituency, said he was surprised to see the cavalcade suddenly stop near his fields and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi emerging out of one of the vehicles.

Initially the labourers transplanting the paddy could not identify Rahul Gandhi. When he along with his staff came walked up to his in the fields, we were jubilant. We served him breakfast and asked us about our problems. He also drove a tractor, Sanjay added.

After hearing of Rahul Gandhis visit, Congresss Baroda MLA Induraj Narwal and Gohana MLA Jagbir Malik also reached the fields.

Gohana MLA Jagbir Malik said they were happy to see Rahul Gandhi in the fields.

He is a leader, who is trying to know the problems of workers, labourers, truck drivers, students, women and other sections of the society, he added.

Meanwhile, Haryana agriculture minister JP Dalal took a dig at Rahul Gandhi and tweeted, The Congresss prince could understand the real hardwork of farmers by doing one hour work with them hot noon with temperature hovering 45 degree celsius instead of shooting photos in good weather. If he had worked in 45 degree, he wont need to go Shimla instead he will feel the same under a tree (sic).
Sunil Kumar Jain, who ran the only chemist shop at Government Multi-Specialty Hospital (GMSH), Sector 16, for 29 years through multiple extensions and renewals, and at minimal rent as compared to market price, was arrested by the UT vigilance department on Friday. During investigation, vigilance discovered that Sunil Kumar Jain, who ran the only chemist shop at GMSH-16, obtained the lease for this shop through fraudulent means and by providing false affidavits (HT File Photo)

After approval from Chandigarh adviser-cum-chief vigilance officer Dharam Pal, Jain was booked under Sections 406 (breach of trust), 419 (cheating by personation), 420 (cheating) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code and Sections 13 (1) b and (2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act in May.

During investigation, vigilance discovered that Jain obtained the lease for this shop through fraudulent means and by providing false affidavits.

The shop was allotted to Jain on lease for only two years through an auction in 1993. Though the first lease ended in 1995, the hospital authorities never floated a fresh tender and continued to extend the lease every five years, with the latest extension occurring in 2019  for up to 2024.

In a curious turn of events, the document pertaining to the granted extension mysteriously vanished, which is also part of the vigilance probe, along with identifying officers who played a part in facilitating the chemist.

For approximately 12 years, the shopkeeper illicitly encroached upon government land belonging to the hospital by demolishing the partition wall.

On February 15, the administration reclaimed the occupied area and restored the public passage in its place. However, UTs attempts to vacate and freshly lease out the shop have remained unsuccessful with the chemist getting a stay from the Supreme Court in February.
UT Social Welfare Committee has decided to conduct a thorough investigation into the citys missing children and asked the administration for specific information in this respect. The social welfare committee was informed that as many as 51 children who went missing from Chandigarh remain untraceable. (iStock)

In a meeting under the chairmanship of former MP Satya Pal Jain on Saturday, the committee was told that out of all the children who went missing from Chandigarh till now, 51 are still missing with the rest having been traced.

The committee has requested that police provide detailed information about the 51 children and their families so that the members of the committee can meet with these families, learn more about the issue and determine the causes behind these disappearances.

To address issues faced by transgenders

Two representatives from the transgender community attended the meeting. As per the administration, the city is home to around 140 people from the transgender community. Officials said that the committee will hold a meeting with them to address their issues after gathering sufficient information.

UT health department informed the committee that shortage of manpower is significantly hampers its ability to operate OPDs at the dispensaries during the night.

Following up on the committees suggestion to establish another old age home in the city, the administration has identified 1.2 acres of land in Sector 34. The home is expected to provide accommodation for 100 persons. The architecture department has received a proposal in this regard.

The committee also decided that the location of Mazdoor Bhawan should be at Labour Chowk, Sector 44, where thousands of labourers congregate every day in quest of employment.

The committee praised the administration for notifying the public of the Shagun scheme, which will provide poor families daughters with Shagun payments of 31,000 at the time of marriage.

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Gurugram: Police on Friday arrested three members of jailed criminal Sube Gujjars gang for allegedly extorting money and threatening a toll operator to surrender his business. Gurugram, India-July 08, 2023: Varun Dahiya, ACP crime addresses a press conference after the arrest of three people allegedly from Sube Gurjar gang in a threatening case to grab the toll contract in Commissionerate Building in Gurugram, India, on Saturday, 08 July 2023. (Photo by Parveen Kumar/Hindustan Times)**To go with Leena Dhankar's story

As per investigators, the toll operator in Ghamroj registered a police complaint on Friday, stating that a group of suspects barged into his office on Thursday night and assaulted him. He said they threatened him to hand over the manpower work of the toll plaza.

Varun Dahiya, assistant commissioner of police (crime), said they received a complaint from a manpower contractor of a toll plaza. At least seven men armed with guns barged into the toll plaza. They threatened him to vacate the toll plaza by Friday morning and arrange for money. They further warned that their men would take over work at the plaza from the morning onwards, and if their demands were not met, he would be murdered, he said.

Police have recovered the SUV used in the crime and two double-barreled guns from the possession of the suspects.

A case under Section 148 ( rioting, being armed with a deadly weapon or with anything which, used as a weapon of offence), 149 (unlawful assembly), 386 (extortion by putting any person in fear of death or of grievous hurt to that person or to any other) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and relevant provisions of the Arms Act was registered against the suspects at Bhondsi police station on Friday.

ACP Dahiya said they formed teams and scanned CCTV footage based on which the suspects were identified. The Bhondsi police station and Sohna crime teams arrested the three gang members. They were identified as Vikram (31), a resident of Gurugram, Rakesh Kumar (41), who hails from Jhajjar, and Nikhil (21), from Jhajjar. During interrogation, they revealed that they carried out the attack on the instructions of gangster Sube Gujjar, he said.

The Haryana Police on May 1, 2021, arrested gangster Gujjar, from the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport. He was wanted in more than 100 criminal cases, including murder, attempt to murder and extortion in Gurugram, Delhi and Rewari. The police had declared a reward of 7.60 lakh for information leading to his arrest.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Leena Dhankhar Leena Dhankhar has worked with Hindustan Times for five years. She has covered crime, traffic and excise. She now reports on civic issues and grievances of residents. ...view detail
A wanted smuggler was shot dead and his associate, also wanted, was injured in a gunfight between the police in Rajasthans Barmer, officials said on Saturday. Wanted criminals Omprakash Jat and Koshlaram Jat (HT Photo/Sourced)

Police said that while Omprakash Jat was shot and died after receiving bullet injuries on his shoulder, his associate Koshlaram Jat suffered bullet injuries on his hand and is currently undergoing treatment at a hospital in Jodhpur.

The incident took place on Friday evening under Gida police station area in Barmer district, police said on Saturday.

Officials familiar with the development said that after receiving inputs of their hideouts in Barmer, Jodhpur and Barmer Police conducted a joint operation on Friday night and raided Chibi village. However, the criminals fled the spot where the police conducted a raid, and were chased near Chainpura village, following which the smugglers opened fire on the police team and in retaliatory action, police also fired at them in which both the smugglers were hit, said officials.

Police said both accused were immediately brought to the government hospital in Balotra, where doctors declared Omprakash dead while Koshlaram was referred to a hospital in Jodhpur. According to the police, Omprakash had a cash reward of Rs.25,000, and Koshlaram carries a cash reward of Rs.50,000.

Additional director general of police (ADG) (crime) Dinesh MN said, It was a joint operation of Jodhpur and Barmer police supervised by both the district SPs [superintendents of police] to nab the wanted smugglers. While trying to escape, both the accused opened fire on the police team. In a crossfire, one got killed and the other was injured.

The ADG said that both the accused are major players of Doda Post smuggling in the Jodhpur division. Doda-post is a drug made of poppy husk and is consumed widely in Rajasthan and Punjab.

Police said that deceased Omprakash had more than ten cases under various sections, including theft, Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) and Arms Act, at various police stations in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.

Similarly, around 25 cases under various sections, including theft, NDPS and Arms Act are registered against Koshlaram. In many cases, both accused have charges of assault and firing on police teams.

In the past few months, Rajasthan police have conducted mass raids, and recovered around 70 kg heroin and many trucks of doda post, said officials.

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West Bengal BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari on Saturday attacked the Mamata Banerjee government over the rising violence in the state amid panchayat polls. Adhikari termed the election as jungle raj and said that the state was in turmoil because of the CM. ...This is not an election...It's a jungle rajtoday this land is in turmoil because of Mamata Banerjee & his nephew with the connivance of West Bengal Police... Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Leader of Opposition in West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari(ANI File)

The BJP leader further urged the central government to take a decision regarding the safety of citizens in the state. He said, "Central government should take the decision...it's my demand, if President's rule is not there let Mamata Banerjee be the CM...we will remove her after contesting in elections but Article 355 should be implemented for safety of the citizens..."

READ | You failed people: Bengal guv skewers SEC for panchayat poll violence

Adhikari also went on to blame the governor for making the biggest mistake by appointing Rajiv Sinha as the State Election Commissioner. The leader said that over 15 people died and that they were killed by the TMC goons. "Centre should intervene with either Article 355 or 356 he said.

Meanwhile taking a strong pitch on the violence in Bengal, governor CV Ananda Bose said, My objective is to see that the situation in the state changes immediately. We cannot tolerate this anymore and we will not tolerate this anymore.

Every time there are elections in West Bengal, violence erupts. But there is no attempt to stop the violence because the party in power is doing it, he added.

READ | Life is more precious than a vote: Bengal poll violence victims

Many people have lost their lives as violence erupted between TMC and BJP workers in Bengal amid panchayat polls. In videos shared on social media people were seen pointing guns and attacking each other with sticks. BJP IT Cell head Amit Malviya on Saturday shared a video in which "TMC goons" were seen brandishing guns and threatening candidates in North 24 Parganas. Malviya captioned the video, TMC goons openly brandish gun and threaten an independent candidate in Barrackpore, North 24 Parganas 9 people have died since morning and no one knows how many more will die through the day. SEC and Mamata Banerjee are responsible for this bloodshed. They didnt deploy CAPF

In another video that did the rounds on the internet, a man was seen running with a ballot box.
West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose visited some of the violence-hit areas on Saturday even as reports of deaths poured in from across the state during the ongoing panchayat elections. West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose (Twitter/@ANI)

The crucial panchayat polls kicked off on Saturday at 7am and will go on till 5pm. The governor hit the streets in the morning to take stock of the law and order situation.

I have been in the field right from the morning. People requested me and stopped my motorcade on the way. They told me about the murders happening around them. They told me how goons are not allowing them to go to the polling booths. It is a matter of great concern for all of us. This is the most sacred day for democracy. The election must be through ballots and not bullets, Bose told reporters.

Bengal has been witnessing incidents of violence since panchayat poll dates were announced on June 8.

Also Read: West Bengal panchayat election: TMC says 3 workers murdered as toll rises to 23

The governor had said on Friday that he would be in the field even before the voting process begins and will return after it ends.

Since midnight, as many as 11 people have allegedly been killed across the eastern state, along with incidents of booth loot and fire at booth stations, as voting is underway.

On Saturday, Bose visited some violence-hit areas in North 24 Parganas and Nadia, where he met the family of an injured person. The governor also visited the injured man at the hospital and arranged for shifting the victim to a Kolkata-base hospital.

Bose was stopped near Basudebpur on his way to Nadia, where opposition parties supporters complained of rigging and violence.

As the voting began, amidst the violence, a booth was ransacked and set on fire at Dinhata in Cooch Behar district and a booth at Nimtita in Murshidabad was also looted late on Friday night, according to the officials familiar with the matter.

On Saturday, a polling booth at Baravita Primary School in Coochbehars Sitai was vandalised, and ballot papers were set on fire, said officials.

Lashing out at ruling-Trinamool Congress (TMC), the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) claimed that the TMC goons are openly firing and threatening people as well as opposition candidates.

BJP IT-cell head Amit Malviya shared a video on social media site and wrote, TMC goons openly brandish gun and threaten an independent candidate in Barrackpore, North 24 Parganas.

In another video, in which a man can be purportedly seen running with a ballot box, the BJP Bengal alleged, In a desperate bid for victory, risking their lives, they are seen running with the ballot box!

The state election commission and chief minister Mamata Banerjee is responsible for the bloodshed, Malviya wrote on Twitter.

9 people have died since morning and no one knows how many more will die through the day. SEC and Mamata Banerjee are responsible for this bloodshed, he further said.

The governor has been visiting violence-hit areas in South 24 Parganas, Cooch Behar and Murshidabad and also meeting family members of victims killed in the run-up to the polls.

In June, a peace room (helpline) was launched at the Raj Bhavan in Kolkata which has been flooded with phone calls. It has received around 1,500 calls since it was opened on June 19 On the polling day it received around 200 calls till the afternoon, according to officials.

Earlier on Thursday, the governor had pulled up the state election commissioner claiming that the latter has failed in his duties.

Top officials of the state poll panel have refused to comment. The votes will be counted on July 11. A total of 2.06 lakh candidates are in the fray for elections to 73,887 seats in the three-tier panchayat system in the state.
Uttar Pradesh governor Anandiben Patel on Saturday applauded higher education institutions for incorporating sports, yoga and other co-curricular activities into their curricula to foster the overall welfare and development of students. She also reiterated the importance of inculcating leadership skills in students through these activities. Noting that four Uttar Pradesh universities NAAC had A++ accreditation, she said it was but time for Indian institutions to focus on improving international rankings.

The governor was speaking at the inaugural of Shiksha Manthan-2023, a two-day programme hosted by Chhatrapati Shahu Ji Maharaj University, Kanpur, which is being attended by vice-chancellors (V-Cs) of 32 state universities in the country, among others.

Noting that four Uttar Pradesh universities NAAC had A++ accreditation, she said it was but time for Indian institutions to focus on improving international rankings.

The objective of Shiksha Manthan is to create awareness regarding accreditation by National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) and NAAC, QS World Ranking, and the effective implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP)-2020.

The event commenced with an address by Prof Pankaj L Jani, additional chief secretary, U.P. government, who emphasised on the importance of high-ranking universities that embrace inclusivity and strive for international recognition. Prof Jani highlighted the significance of providing quality education from primary schooling to higher education, emphasising the need for holistic development of students.

Rajesh Singh, the V-C of Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyay University, Gorakhphur, said, We will now have to look at international rankings so as to make global presence of our universities. We are in the process of filling vacant posts of teachers, which is key to better rankings.
A massive 6,000 kg iron bridge placed over a drain in Mumbai's Malad was stolen and four people have been arrested. The 90-foot long bridge, placed by utility company Adani Electricity to move huge power cables in western suburb's Malad (west), had been surreptitiously dismantled by four people, the Mumbai Police has said. The iron-bridge stolen from the site has been recovered, the official said.(Business today)

According to the police officials, the temporary iron bridge, used to cross over the drain, was moved to another place in the area after a permanent bridge was built a few months ago.

However, the theft was only discovered when the locals noticed that the bridge, valued at 2 lakh was missing on June 26, following which the power company filed a police complaint, PTI quoted a police official as saying.

The incident raised eyebrows as the bridge was located in a busy, well-lit area. During their probe, the police found that the bridge was last seen at its location on June 6.

As there are no CCTV cameras at the spot, the police scanned the footage of surveillance cameras installed in nearby areas and found a heavy vehicle moving towards the bridge with gas cutter machines on June 11, the official said.

"The vehicle had gas-cutting machines which were used to dismantle the bridge and steal iron weighing 6,000 kg," he said.

Of the four persons arrested for theft of the temporary structure, one belongs to the firm that had been given a contract to construct the bridge. The police arrested the staffer and three of his accomplices last week, the official added.

The iron bridge stolen from the site has been recovered, he added.

(With inputs from PTI)

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Days after Ajit Pawar led a coup in Maharashtra politics with eight other NCP MLAs and amid buzz of a cabinet rejig, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray on Friday claimed that Eknath Shindes chief ministerial post may be in jeopardy. His predictions on changes in the government comes as reports emerged of trouble brewing in the Shinde camp over fears of being sidelined by the BJP and Pawars elevation. Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader Aaditya Thackeray addresses a press conference, at Matoshree, in Mumbai. (ANI)

"I have heard that CM (Eknath Shinde) has been asked to resign and there might be some change (in the govt)," Aaditya said.

However, Shinde has denied a revolt in Shiv Sena over NCP leaders induction and asserted that there was no threat to his position.

Dismissing speculations of a new chief minister, BJP state president Chandrashekhar Bawankule said the Opposition was building confusion on purpose and that Shinde will remain CM. "We are not resignation givers but takers... all this (reports of discontent) is being done to malign Shinde," Shiv Sena leader Uday Samant added.

Cabinet expansion

A year after its formation, the Shinde-Fadnavis government is expected to go for a second cabinet expansion next week. Five to six leaders each from Shiv Sena and BJP are likely to be inducted in the cabinet, HT had earlier reported.

As a member of the faction that had separated from the Uddhav Thackeray-led Sena last year, Shinde held a meeting with Fadnavis for the second day in a row on Friday. On Thursday, a late-night meeting between the two was held to discuss power sharing amid reports of differences within the alliance.

NCP split

Ajit Pawar currently shares the deputy chief minister post with BJP's Devendra Fadnavis.

On Sunday, Ajit split the NCP as he joined the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance and took oath as the state's deputy chief minister for the fifth time. Later, Shiv Sena (UBT) factions Sanjay Raut announced that around 20 MLAs from Shinde's faction were in contact with his party since Ajits rebellion.

Aaditya attacks Shinde over monsoon mismanagement

On Friday, Aaditya stepped up his attack against Shinde by saying that Mumbai was facing water-logging from the first monsoon rains as nine municipal wards are without Assistant Commissioners (Ward Officers).

Adding that Mumbai's infrastructure had "completely collapsed", he accused the Shinde government of playing favourites, Aaditya wrote, Gaddars have chosen their favourite junior officials not from the AO cadre to run their corrupt will in the ward, under obligations. Mumbai is facing dual robbery under the khoke regime: loot of its money and reputation.

He further wrote that the citizens were bearing the brunt of an illegal CM indulging in a political circus to save his chair.

(With inputs from agencies)

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MUMBAI: The Bombay high court on Tuesday granted interim protection from arrest to Pushpak Bullions director Chandrakant Patel in a bank loan fraud case registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in November last year. HT Image

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had earlier probed Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackerays brother-in-law in connection with a case against the gold trading firm, which is accused of causing wrongful loss of 89.19 crore to Union Bank of India.

The agency had on November 25, 2022, registered the case against the firm, Patel and others based on a complaint lodged by a deputy general manager of the bank on December 3, 2018.

According to the agency, in 2011, the company had availed credit limits from the bank to the tune of 107 crore. Two years later, the limit was enhanced to 147 crore. In February 2016, the account was declared a Non-Performing Asset (NPA) and in July 2017, a forensic audit report was submitted to the bank based on which the account was declared fraud.

Patel had in March 2023 moved the HC for pre-arrest bail after his plea was rejected by the sessions court in February 2023.

Patels counsel pointed out that the bank had lodged the complaint on December 3, 2018. Two years later, on September 1, 2020, the anti-corruption wing of the CBI informed the bank that it had no mandate to investigate the allegations since no known or unknown bank official was named in the complaint.

The lawyer further pointed out that the agency asked the bank to file a fresh complaint by naming a known or unknown bank official/s and also called for fresh forensic audit by another auditor to spell out the modus operandi employed in the alleged fraud and the trail of fund diversion, and also spell out the role of directors. The lawyer added that the bank accordingly filed a fresh complaint in October 2020, but without a fresh forensic audit.

The single judge bench of justice Anuja Prabhudessai took note of the fact that that the alleged fraud came to light some time in 2016, the second complaint was lodged in October 2020 and the FIR was registered in November 2022  almost two years after the date of the complaint and granted interim protection to Patel in view of the delay in filing of the complaint and registration of the FIR.

In my considered view, this is a fit case to grant interim protection, justice Prabhudessai said, while ordering that Patel be released on furnishing bail bond of 30,000 and one or two sureties of the same amount.
MUMBAI: India-born US national Nooriya Haveliwala, who was convicted of drunken driving and mowing down a police officer and a biker in 2010, died in Saifee Hospital at Charni Road on Tuesday. The police claimed that Nooriya had partied with friends at a flat in the Malabar Hill area, then at a pub in Mumbai Central after which she went to a wine shop to pick up more beer cans and later crashed her car into the police nakabandi, when the Kalbadevi traffic division had arranged a special drive to nab drunken drivers. (HT Archives)

Haveliwala, 41, was living with her mother Alifya Yusuf Haveliwala, 88, in Colabas Alipur Trust Building. She had reportedly slipped into depression and was undergoing treatment. On January 30, 2010, at around 3.30am, Haveliwala, a beautician and a hairstylist, rammed her SUV into a police checkpoint at Marine Lines in south Mumbai, killing two. Her alcohol test turned out to be positive.

Nooriyas mother Alifya informed the Colaba police about her daughters death after which a diary entry was made by the officials. The LT Marg police will now inform the Bombay high court (HC) about her natural death on the next date of hearing. At HC, her appeal against conviction in the drunken driving case was pending.

Nooriya had softly wept in the witness box and pleaded with the judge to show mercy, given that she was the only child and had an elderly mother to look after. Her father died in May, 2010, according to police.

We have been told that she died on July 4 due to chronic liver disease with portal hypertension (natural). We have also shared the information with the LT Marg police station, where the case against Haveliwala was registered, said a police officer from Colaba station.

The police claimed that Nooriya had partied with friends at a flat in the Malabar Hill area, then at a pub in Mumbai Central after which she went to a wine shop to pick up more beer cans and later crashed her car into the police nakabandi, when the Kalbadevi traffic division had arranged a special drive to nab drunken drivers.

According to the prosecution case, the Honda CRV driven by Haveliwala arrived from Opera House around 12.10am and was proceeding towards Churchgate when it dashed at high speed against a stationary taxi and then against the jeep of the traffic police division.

Her car had run over  police sub-inspector Dinanath Shinde from the traffic division and motorcyclist Afzal Ibrahim. Shinde was checking the vehicle papers of the biker at the time.

Police constable Shailendra Jadhav was injured in the incident, but the NRI hairstylist escaped unhurt, as the airbag in the steering of her car inflated in time.

The LT Marg police had registered a case against her. Though the primary charge against her was of culpable homicide not amounting to murder (304(II), she was also booked under section 27(a) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, as her subsequent examination had revealed that she was under influence of alcohol and drugs as well at the time of the incident.

Haveliwala was arrested on January 30, 2010, and was released on bail around three months later, on April 4, 2010. She was rearrested after a special NDPS (Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act) court convicted her on November 1, 2012, for offences punishable under Sections 184, 185 of Motor Vehicles Act, section 304(II) (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 338, 337, 427 Indian Penal Code and Section 3(1) of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, 1984, and was sentenced to five years rigorous imprisonment and a fine of over 5 lakh. She was, however, acquitted of the charges levelled under the NDPS Act, 1985.

Haveliwala, who had returned from the US along with her parents a few months before the incident, had then carried the matter in appeal to the Bombay high court, where she challenged her conviction for culpable homicide not amounting to murder and the 5-year jail term handed down to her by the special NDPS court.

On March 8, 2013, a single-judge bench of the high court granted her bail during the pendency of her appeal, primarily in view of the fact that she was on bail during the trial and that she had a fairly good chance of succeeding in the appeal, at least for substantial reduction of the sentence. Haveliwalas appeal against conviction is still pending before the high court.

Her father Yusuf Died in May 2010, he had undergone brain surgery. He had served in the US Army, said a police officer. Haveliwala studied up to Class 12 in the US, where she lived with her parents, before graduating from a college in Kodaikanal after her parents moved to India.

She slipped into depression and the family was also in stress after the case. She and mother used to stay together, said a police officer from Colaba police station.
NAGPUR: For the first time since Ajit Pawar revolted against his uncle Sharad Pawars leadership to join hands with the Shiv Sena-BJP government in Maharashtra, the two deputies - Ajit and Devendra Fadnavis shared the stage with chief minister Eknath Shinde at an event on Saturday in Gadchiroli. Its a trishul of development now, says Fadnavis on Ajit Pawars big switch to Shinde-led govt

The same day, NCP patriarch Sharad Pawar launched a statewide tour from Nashik to shore up support amid a power struggle with his nephew.

Speaking of Ajits big switch to Eknath Shinde-led dispensation as deputy CM, Fadnavis said that Ajits joining is a trishul (trident) of development, which will remove poverty and backwardness from the state.

Since last year, CM Eknath Shinde and I have been working together. But with Ajit Pawar joining the government, it has now created a trishul of development, which will remove poverty and backwardness from the state, Fadnavis said.

This trishul is like Lord Shivas third eye which will reduce to ashes those who work against the common man, he added. Ajit Pawar last week took oath as deputy chief minister, while eight MLAs of his NCP were inducted as ministers into the Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government led by Shinde.

The event which was organised for Shasan Aaplya Dari (government at your doorstep) initiative, Shinde said that his government would reach out to each and every individual to bring welfare for them. He said that the government has taken up this programme so that the common people can benefit from the schemes.

Fadnavis added it was started with a vision of taking the government schemes to the doorstep of the common people.

Around 6.70 lakh beneficiaries out of 11 lakh population from remote areas of Gadchiroli have received benefits of various government schemes in the form of tractors, cycles, godowns, and caste certificates, among other things, he said.

Shinde said that his government is trying to free the tribal district (Gadchiroli) from the Maoist menace. Praising the Narendra Modi government in the Centre, Shinde said that financial assistance is being given from the centre for the welfare schemes of the state.

Earlier, the Maha Vikas Aghadi-led by Uddhav Thackeray did not take help from the centre for the development of the state due to ego tussles, Shinde alleged.

He claimed that a steel plant and iron ore mining in the district provided direct and indirect employment to 4,000 locals so far and would generate 20,000 more jobs in the coming days. Many big industrial houses are investing in Gadchiroli. The government is transforming Gadchiroli without disturbing its culture, tradition and forest resources, he added. There is a focus on womens empowerment, the CM said at the event where he along with Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar launched various projects too.

The Naxailte activities have reduced considerably in Gadchiroli and the state government is determined to make the district free of Naxalite violence, he said. The Maoists have been active in the region since 1980 and the district witnessed a spurt of violence during the period.

The induction of Pawar as deputy CM would speed up the development of Maharashtra, Shinde claimed. Pawar led a vertical split in the NCP on July 2 and joined the Shinde government along with eight MLAs, including the NCP stalwarts, Chhagan Bhujbal and Dilip Walse-Patil.

Fadnavis, who is also the Guardian minister of the district, said by taking everyone along and keeping the environment in mind, the government is going to develop Gadchiroli in such a way that there will be no backwardness and unemployment anywhere. Every youth in the district, be it tribals, OBCs or underprivileged, will get employment, Fadnavis said.

He said that the state has also identified 146 acres of land for an airport in Gadchiroli and a proposal for it has been sent to the Airports Authority of India for approval. The work of laying railway lines is also underway in Gadchiroli, he said, adding that it will be transformed into a progressive district from an aspirational district.

Speaking at the event, Pawar said the country was progressing rapidly under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The NCP leader said he and his MLAs had joined the Shinde government to support the vision of development and progress of PM Modi.
Mumbai: A week after the state cabinet in Mumbai approved the merger of three colleges of the Sir JJ School of Art to form a De Novo-deemed university, the government announced the proposed courses of the university. These courses will start at the institute in the next academic year after the official formation of the university. The Directorate of Arts submitted a proposal to the University Grants Commission on March 19, 2020, to develop the educational capacities of the institute for the benefit of the students. Accordingly, a letter of intent has been received, and this will be the first university of its kind in the state. (HT PHOTO)

The De Novo category is awarded to institutions devoted to innovations in teaching and research in unique and emerging areas of knowledge.

As per the government decision, all three institutes, which include the JJ School of Arts, the JJ School of Applied Arts, and the JJ School of Architecture, will be part of the university and would offer a unique curriculum at the proposed university.

The proposed university will get five new departments  the Department of Contemporary Art Practices, the Department of Metropolitan Architecture, the Department of Typography and Type Design, the Department of Communication and Experience Design and the Department of Art, Architecture, and Design Education. Besides all this, the government has sanctioned 50,30,90,866 as a recurring expense of the proposed university, which will be spent on the salaries of the teaching and non-teaching staff of the institute.

An official from the JJ Institute said, All these new changes will be applicable to the institute after getting approval from the University Grants Commission (UGC) for the status of the university. Presently, we are all preparing for the formation process.

The Directorate of Arts submitted a proposal to the University Grants Commission on March 19, 2020, to develop the educational capacities of the institute for the benefit of the students. Accordingly, a letter of intent has been received, and this will be the first university of its kind in the state.

To provide better education in the proposed university, the state government appointed a task force to form rules and regulations (GR) under the chairmanship of Nipun Vinayak, director state project, Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA). The task force recently submitted its report, and the government accepted it and published a GR about it.

As per the GR, the government allows the proposed university to form a company under section 8 of the Indian Company Regulation, 2013. This company will be known as the Sir JJ School of Art, Architecture and Design Foundation. The state government will hold 100 stakes in the company. After the formation of the company, ownership of all three colleges under the JJ Institute will be given to the company. As per the recommendation of the task force, the government granted permission for seven new postgraduate degree courses with a capacity of 50 students for each course, which include Contemporary Art Practices, Metropolitan Architecture, Communication and Experience Design, Typography, and Type Design. Two courses of 16 students each include Art Education, Architecture education, and one course of Design education, with an intake of 18 students per year.

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Nashik/Yeola: Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday warned the rebels, including his nephew and deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, against personal attack on him. It is true I have turned 82, but you still dont know me well. Do not go on my age, else it will cost you dearer, the Pawar senior said. NCP Chief Sharad Pawar with Amol Kolhe at Yeola to address his first rally, Nashik in Maharashtra, India, on Saturday. (Photo by Satish Bate/ Hindustan Times) (Hindustan Times)

The veteran leader kicked off his state tour at Yeola in Nashik, the assembly constituency of his three-decade old aide Chhagan Bhujbal.

Holding a rally at Yeola, more than 255-km away from Mumbai, Sharad Pawar said, You can criticise my policy and programmes but no personal attacks.

Sharad Pawar, a veteran of many battles who refused to join hands with the BJP and has chosen to take on the rebels after a vertical split in his 24-years old party, set out for a tour targeting the constituencies of prominent rebel MLAs, which began with bastion of Bhujbal, whom he had appointed as the first state president of NCP and deputy chief minister twice.

Also Read: No split in NCP, says Praful Patel; Sharad Pawar not to approach EC now

For the rally, Sharad Pawar left Mumbai in the morning and travelled to Nashik by road.

Apologising to the people for selecting Bhujbal as NCP candidate from Yeola, Sharad Pawar said, Normally, my judgement about people is not wrong but in this case, I erred. I seek your apology for the same. Now, I will rectify the mistake.

In his short speech at a packed APMC market in Yeola, the veteran leader dared Modi to use all his might and take stern action against those who were found involved in corruption from his party.

As the NCP president, I am telling this to you from a public platform, if you believe that someone from us is involved in corrupt activities, use all your powers, conduct a thorough investigation and if they are found involved, take stern action against them. We will support you, Pawar remarked.

Also Read: Its a trishul of development now, says Fadnavis on Ajit Pawars big switch to Shinde-led govt

He was responding to the statement made by the PM last week where he had accused the NCP of being involved in a 70,000 crore irrigation scam among others.

In the afternoon, while talking to mediapersons in Nashik city, he made it clear that the age was just another number to him. Na tired hun, na retired hun (neither tired, nor retired), Pawar said, stressing that he is not going to retire from active politics as of now.

He argued that age could not be a factor if one is healthy and fit to work. Morarji Desai was 84 when he was elected as prime minister, he pointed out.

Though Pawar senior denied choosing Nashik to start his tour because of Bhujbal, he slammed the latter for his rebellion and said this shows ones character. But I will not blame him. It was my fault that I failed to understand him, he said, taking a jibe at the former confidante.

Taking potshots at Praful Patel, who has accused Sharad Pawar of handing over NCP affairs to his daughter and MP Supriya Sule.

Patel was taken in the Union cabinet as civil aviation minister for two terms despite him losing Lok Sabha elections. He was also made Rajya Sabha member for two terms. The party chose Suryakanta Patil, Patel and Agatha Sangma as ministers in the Central government. Supriya was also an MP for three terms and there was no issue in selecting her as minister, the former union agriculture minister said.

Accusing the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for plotting to finish regional parties, the NCP leader said, It appears to be the BJPs attempt to finish regional parties. They are doing it at many places.

He insisted that the Opposition party is important for a democratic country just like the ruling party. We have to fight if BJP is trying to weaken the opposition, he added. He recalled that he has seen so many prime ministers right from Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru to Dr Manmohan Singh and none of them ever tried to choke their voices.

Sharad Pawars rally was attended by a few thousand people mainly from the agrarian community. According to his aides, the NCP patriarch wanted to make direct contact with the farmers who were in distress and thus purposely chose the location.

Sharad Pawar began his tour from his residence in south Mumbai at around 8.30 on Saturday morning. During the entire stretch he was welcomed by party leaders and workers at more than two dozen places including Thane, Bhiwandi, Padgha, Shahapur and Igatpuri. Opposition leader Jitendra Awhad and member of Parliament Amol Kolhe were accompanying him in his car while daughter and NCP working president Supriya Sule was travelling in her own vehicle.

Ajit, who was also considered his protege, rebelled against Pawars leadership by joining the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance government last Sunday. While the Ajit-led faction has staked claim on the party name and symbol, Pawar has declared that he would rebuild the party.

Pawar is likely to continue his tour for around two months, NCP insiders said. He will take a week long break after the Nashik visit due to heavy rains in the region and will then continue the tour.

Sule stressed that she would have become a minister in the central government but chose her ideology over ministership. Do you think I would have not got a position in the union cabinet if I too would have gone but for me ideology is more important. Ministries keep coming and going, she said while addressing the Yeola rally.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra BJP vice-president Madhav Bhandari said that Sharad Pawar was trying to hold them responsible for his own failure. It was him who failed to keep his family and party united. Those, who were with him for around 50 years, have left him, Bhandari said, adding that Sharad Pawar has been splitting various parties for all his life starting with Congress, later Shiv Sena (Chhagan Bhujbal) and also BJP (Dhananjay Munde).

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Mumbai: Amidst the political turmoil in Maharashtra, Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray is all set to begin his two-day tour of Vidarbha  considered a BJP stronghold  from Sunday to strengthen his party organisation before the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Uddhav asked all his MLAs, former MLAs and defeated candidates from the last election to start preparations for elections and work in all 48 constituencies of Lok Sabha. After the Vidarbha tour, he will visit Marathwada on July 13 and 14. (HT PHOTO)

According to sources, Uddhav will interact with office bearers of the party from five districts on this tour.

Uddhav will reach Nagpur on Sunday morning, and from there, he will head towards Yavatmal. In Yavatmal, the Sena (UBT) president is scheduled to visit and offer prayers at the Poharadevi temple, a deity of the prominent Banjara community in that region. This is also the area of defected MLA Sanjay Rathod. Later, Uddhav will visit Washim and Amaravati district on Sunday.

On Monday, Uddhav will hold a meeting of party leaders in Amaravati, Akola, and in the evening, he will address the gathering of party workers in Nagpur before returning to Mumbai.

Uddhav asked all his MLAs, former MLAs and defeated candidates from the last election to start preparations for elections and work in all 48 constituencies of Lok Sabha. After the Vidarbha tour, he will visit Marathwada on July 13 and 14.
LUCKNOW The Uttar Pradesh government is working on a new litigation policy that aims at time-bound completion of trials in cases filed under Pocso sections and those involving sex-related crimes against women. It will also focus on bringing absconding and jailed gangsters to justice and the cases pending in MP/MLA courts against lawmakers. People in the know of things say that the new policy would be notified very soon, replacing the present one which was brought by the Samajwadi Party (SP) government in 2012. Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court (HT Photo)

The draft of the Uttar Pradesh Litigation Policy, 2023, was discussed in a meeting chaired by the chief secretary Durga Shankar. The meeting was attended by senior officials of the law and the prosecution departments here on July 6, a senior official revealed.

The proposed policy, as discussed in the high-level meeting, lays down guidelines for using video conferences as a tool to hear the cases against the absconding mafias who are lodged in jails outside Uttar Pradesh and get them punished speedily by effective pleading against them from the prosecution.

It also aims at the completion of court trials of cases under the Protection of Children Against Sexual Offences (Pocso) as well as cases involving sexual crimes against women within one month of filing of the chargesheet in the court to get the maximum number of accused convicted by producing carefully-drafted chargesheets in courts.

The new policy is also expected to lay focus on a speedy trial of cases pending against lawmakers in the special MP/MLA courts in the state. Currently, 60 MLAs and MPs are facing trial in special courts.

As per a report sourced from the state government, as many as 71,193 Pocso cases were pending in various courts in the state at the beginning of 2013 and of them, 3,622 cases (5.08% involving 4,630 accused) were disposed of by courts till June 15.

However, the accused were punished only in 1,336 of the 3,622 cases disposed of till mid-June while in 2,283 cases, the accused (3016) were let off by courts, the conviction rate being merely 36.88%. Six of the accused in as many Pocso were awarded the death penalty and 168 accused in 135 such cases were awarded life imprisonment.

Similarly, a total of 1,31,161 cases pertaining to sexual crimes against women were pending in courts in January this year. Only 2,382 (5.087%) of those cases involving 4,119 accused could be disposed of in six months till June 15. The conviction was done only in 1,060 of the 2,382 such cases disposed of by courts, and in 1,207 cases, the accused (2,544) were freed by courts. Only in 44% of the cases, the accused (1,575) were convicted.

Top districts in pending Pocso cases

District No of pending POSCO cases

Lucknow 2,450

Agra 2,317

Gorakhpur 2,015

Ghaziabad 1,945

Aligarh 1,876

Top districts in cases of sexual crimes against women

District No of pending cases

Meerut 1,3413

Kanpur Dehat 5,455

Lucknow 4,499

Prayagraj 4,491

Moradabad 4,393

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In less than a year after they tied up to form a new government in Bihar, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Janata Dal-United, are locked in a heated exchange that shows no sign of a let-up despite the intervention of chief minister Nitish Kumar and RJD national president Lalu Prasad. Bihar CM Nitish Kumar in Rajgir on Saturday. (Santosh Kumar/HT)

The states education minister, RJD leader Chandrashekhar, hasnt been attending his office ever since his own department issued a communication three days ago, forbidding his personal secretary (PS) from entering its premises.

The PS, Kishnanand Yadav, had shot off a strongly-worded letter to departments additional chief secretary K K Pathak, who is said to enjoy the chief ministers trust, effectively issuing a gag order for department officials, citing alleged information leaks to the media.

On Friday, RJDs Sunil Kumar Singh, who is an MLC (member of legislative council), lashed out at chief minister Nitish Kumar, alleging that he was using bureaucrats to tame his partys leaders. When Nitish wants to control ministers from other parties, he deputes officers like KK Pathak, said the MLC, who is considered close to Lalu Prasad.

Singh, who is also the chairman of the BISCOMAUN, a multistate cooperative federation, also recalled how the CM had once used another IAS officer, C K Anil, to settle scores with him while he was working as the BISCOMAUN chairman during the NDA regime in Bihar.

Minister Ashok Choudhary, who is from CM Kumars JD-U, almost immediately responded in kind. We do not take a serious note of what Sunil Singh speaks. He is not the ultimate leader in RJD. Why should we react to his remarks? What Lalu Prasad speaks (on such issues), what Rabri Devi speaks, are more important, Choudhary shot back, when approached by reporters for a response.

Unfazed, Sunil Kumar Singh once again hit out at the chief minister on Saturday, saying he was losing control. The way things are moving, it seems that situation is not under the control of the chief minister. Development has not taken place in the manner it should have taken place. On the ground, nothing seems good, Singh told reporters.

For the record, the JD-U rubbished suggestions of a crack in the alliance, which would be completing a year in government in second week of August.

Addressing a press conference here, JDUs state president Umesh Singh Kushwaha said, These are all rumours fuelled by the BJP, which is in desperation after the momentum gained in the Opposition unity drive initiated by our leader.

He also mocked claims by BJP leaders and others that a number of JD-U legislators and parliamentarians were in touch with them and were willing to jump ship.

JD-U chief spokespersons and MLC Neeraj Kumar, who spoke to media persons separately, echoed similar views but expressed concern over the sulking education minister not going to his office.

However, JD-U privately admitted that tension has crept into the alliance after the CBI filed a charge sheet against deputy chief minister and RJD leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav in land for jobs case and particularly over the manner in which RJDs Sunil Singh was targeting the CM. Everybody knows his closeness with Lalus family... there must be some backing to his utterances, said a senior JD-U leader who didnt wish to be named.

RJD spokespersons werent immediately available for their response.

In Bihar, the ruling alliance comprises RJD, JD-U and Congress as constituents while Left parties support the government from outside.

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Northern districts of Bihar are likely to experience extremely heavy rain during the next 48 hours, according to a special weather bulletin issued by Patna Meteorological Centre on Saturday evening. It was a rainy Saturday in Patna. (Santosh Kumar/HT)

Majority of places in the state will receive widespread rain during the next three to four days, it said.

Weather scientist Ashish Kumar, who heads Patna Meteorological Centre, said, As per synoptic analysis, a monsoon trough is passing through Jaisalmer, Kota, Shivpuri and Balasore to Bay of Bengal. Soon the trough line is likely to move northwards and pass via Bihar. As a result, very heavy rain will occur in Bihar, especially in northern districts, from July 9 to 12.

Consequently, the state may experience a rise in water level of rivers, loss of lives and property due to thunderstorms, waterlogging in low lying areas etc. Residents are advised to take precautionary measures during inclement weather, he said.

Meanwhile, light to moderate rain occurred in the northwest and south-west parts of the state during the past 24 hours.

As per daily weather bulletin, Siswan in Siwan district received 54.2mm of rainfall, Amdabad in Katihar 42.8mm, Madhepura 42.4mm, Bhojpur 37.8mm, Arwal 35.2mm, Katihar 29.2mm, Saran 27mm and Patna 22.8mm.

The maximum average temperature in the state stood at 34C while the minimum temperature was 28C.

As per the five-day forecast, widespread rain is likely in northwest and northeast districts, fairly widespread rain in south-east districts and isolated rainfall in south-west districts.

The MeT office has also issued an orange warning for very heavy rain in Kishanganj, Araria, Madhepura, Purnia, Katihar, Supaul and East Champaran and West Champaran on July 9, 10 and 11. A yellow warning has been issued for lightning and thunderstorm activities across the state till July 11.

As per India Meteorological Department, the overall monsoon remained weak in Bihar so far.

The state has received 182 mm of rainfall from June 1 so far against the normal average of 252.2mm, which means 28% deficiency.

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Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has decided to keep his base in Mumbai. Pawar, who usually visited Pune and Baramati every weekend, refrained from it, after his rebellion from uncle Sharad Pawar. Ajit Pawar would usually visit Pune and Baramati every weekend. (HT FILE PHOTO)

Considering the current legal fight pertaining to Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Pawar preferred to stay in Mumbai this weekend, said officials.

Ajit Pawar was scheduled to attend an award ceremony event by NCP leader Appa Renuse on Saturday, however, he avoided visiting the city for the programme.

Pradeep Deshmukh who was appointed as working President of the city unit by Ajit Pawar said, Party workers are eagerly waiting for Ajit dadas visit to Pune as many of them want to felicitate him for his new responsibilities. He will soon visit the city and meet party workers.

A senior NCP leader who is a Sharad Pawar loyalist, requesting anonymity said, I have good relations with Ajit Pawar and have known him for the past two-three decades. Even when he was in a position in the state cabinet, he would ensure that he visited the home district. However, the situation is different now. After he rebelled, it would be mentally tough for him to visit Baramati.

A leader from Ajit Pawar faction said, Though Sharad Pawar said he would go to the public rather than having a legal battle, he has already started one. To counter the legal battle, it is best if Ajit dada remains in Pune for the next few days.

Though the Ajit Pawar remained in Mumbai, another minister from Pune district Dilip Walse-Patil visited the city on Saturday. He is visiting his assembly constituency on Sunday and meeting party workers at Manchar- Ambegaon.

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Pimpri-Chinchwad police on Saturday arrested former corporator and prime accused in the murder case of social activist Kishor Aware, said officials. Pimpri-Chinchwad police on Saturday arrested former corporator and prime accused in the murder case of social activist Kishor Aware. (HT PHOTO)

The accused has been identified as Chandrabhan Khalde, 63, a resident of Talegaon Dabhade. He was arrested from Sindhi Colony in Nashik two months after the murder incident.

On May 12, Aware was returning home when a group of men shot at him at Talegaon Dabhade municipal council in Pune district . After firing the bullets, they allegedly also beat him up and stabbed him several times. While he was undergoing treatment at a private hospital, he succumbed to his injuries.

Eight accused arrested in the case so far include Shyam Arun Nigadkar, 46, from Talegaon Dabhade; Pravin alis Raghunath Sambhaji Dhotre, 32, from Maval; Adesh Vitthal Dhotre, 28, from Nane village in Maval; Sandip alias Nanya Vitthal More, 39, from Akurdi; Shrinivas Vynkatswami Shidgal, 38, from Maval; Gaurav Chandrakant Khalade, 29, from Talegaon Dabhade; Manish Shivcharan Yadav, 21, from Maval and Chandrabhan Bhanudas Khalde 55, from Talegaon Dabhade.

Swapna Gore, DCP Pimpri-Chinchwad police, said, The accused kept his mobile switched off to hide his location from the police.

After technical analysis, it found that to evade arrest, Khalde was continuously changing locations from Khandala, Yavat, Hyderabad and Nashik.

Police got information that the accused is living in Sindhi Colony Nashik, after which a team from the crime branch initiated a search operation and arrested him from Nashik.

Police said, the accused is on record criminal and at least three FIRs are registered against him at Talegaon Dabhade police station under sections of 302, 504, 506, 147, 148, 149 of the Indian Penal Code.

Kakasaheb Dole, DCP Zone 2 and head of Special Investigation Team (SIT), incharge of Kishore Aware murder case said, We came to know about his detention by the crime branch. But still, he has not been handed over to us so we cannot say anything right now.

Earlier, police sources confirmed that during the investigation it was found that, six months ago there were arguments between Aware and accused Gauravs father Chandrabhan Khalde. To take revenge, Khalde hired people to kill Aware.

Accused Gaura is a civil engineer and worked along with his father in their construction business. According to police, in December last year, he fought with Aware over illegal tree-cutting in an old municipal council building. The matter escalated, and Aware slapped Gaurav.

Taking this as an insult Gaurav, decided to settle scores. During the investigation, it was also revealed that accused Nigadkar was close to Gaurav and hatched a plan to kill Aware. Nigadkar along with others started following Aware and did a reiki before killing him near the municipal council building.

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The Pune rural police have arrested two accused for the murder of Mehboob Pansare, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and former corporator from Jejuri, said police officials on Saturday. Jejuri police officials stated that the incident occurred on Friday evening at around 6:00 pm when Pansare was in Dhalewadi village where he had recently purchased agricultural land. (REPRESENTATIVE IMAGE)

Jejuri police officials stated that the incident occurred on Friday evening at around 6:00 pm when Pansare was in Dhalewadi village where he had recently purchased agricultural land.

The accused have been identified as Kiran Ganesh Pardeshi and her son Swami Ganesh Pardeshi, both were arrested a day after the incident. Other accused involved in this case have been identified as Ganesh Pralhad Pardeshi, and two others. According to police officials, the entire Pardeshi family is involved in the murder case.

Umesh Tawaskar, senior police inspector at Jejuri police station said, We suspect that the murder is the outcome of a land dispute between Pansare and Pardeshi family. As of now we have arrested two accused and search of others is underway.

According to police, Pansare visited the land on Friday. Taking advantage of this, the Pardeshi family attacked him with axes, koyta and other sharp weapons. Pansare was rushed to the hospital but succumbed to his injuries.

Pansare was very active in religious, social and political activities in the Jejuri. His wife was also a former corporator of the Jejuri municipal council and Pansare was very close to NCP leader and MP Supriya Sule.

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ICMR - National Institute of Occupational Health has invited applictaions for 54 vacancies of Technical Assistant, Technician-I, and Laboratory Attendant-I. The application process begins today, July 8 and the deadline for the submission of the application form is August 4. Interested candidates can apply online through the official website at niohrecruitment.org. ICMR NIOH recruitment 2023: Apply for 54 Technical Assistant, and other posts

ICMR NIOH recruitment 2023 application fee: The application fee is 300. Candidates who are SC/ST, PWD, women, or ex-servicemen are not required to pay an application fee.

ICMR NIOH recruitment 2023 vacancy details: This recruitment drive is being conducted to fill 54 vacancies of which 28 vacancies are for the post of Technical Assistant, 16 vacancies are for the post of Technician-I, and 10 vacancies are for the post of Laboratory Attendant-I.

ICMR NIOH recruitment 2023 selection process: The selection for the posts of Technical Assistant, Technician - 1, and Laboratory Attendant - 1 will be held through written tests only. The written test would have 100 marks and 100 objective/MCQ-type questions with one mark each for the right answer. 0.25 marks will be subtracted for each incorrect response. All written tests shall be conducted in Ahmedabad only.

ICMR NIOH recruitment 2023: Know how to apply

Visit the official website at www.niohrecruitment.org

Register and proceed with the application

Submit the application form

Upload all the required documents

Submit the forms and take print for future reference.
Actor Kajol left many upset on social media with her recent remark towards Indian political leaders. She said that the country has leaders without any educational background. Her words have attracted criticism from several people, and political figures as well. Also read: Kajol clarifies her 'visionless leaders' comment after backlash Kajol will be next seen in her upcoming web series The Trial: Pyaar Kanoon Dhokha. (ANI Photo)(Sunil Khandare)

Kajol's remark on political leaders

Kajol, in a recent interview, said that change in India is slow as the people are steeped in traditions and lack proper education. She also included political leaders in her statement. This happened during a promotional interview for her upcoming show The Trial.

Twitter reacts to Kajol's words

Reacting to her words, a user wrote on Twitter, This crop of nepotism Kajol herself is an illiterate school dropout. Her husband sells cancer and look at her overconfidence. Kajol herself is a school dropout after class 8th, added another one. Someone also said, They don't claim they are highly educated. They agree they had limited education. They don't have fake degrees. Kajol is always my favourite actor. Shes not educated enough however shes not running the country. Shes minding her own business and family shes not faking her education and telling lie promises to people of country like uneducated politicians are doing dont try to demolish her reputation, yet another one user came out in her support.

What did Kajol say?

It all began when Kajol told The Quint, "Change, especially in a country like India, is slow. It is very very slow. Because we are steeped in our traditions and steeped in our thought processes and, of course, it has to do with education.

You have political leaders who do not have an educational system background. I'm sorry but I'm going to go out and say that. I'm being ruled by leaders, so many of them, who do not have that viewpoint, which I think education does give you, at least the chance to look out for a different viewpoint," she added.

Kajol's clarification

The actor also issued a statement clarifying her remark. She tweeted, "I was merely making a point about education and its importance. My intention was not to demean any political leaders, we have some great leaders who are guiding the country on the right path.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR HT Entertainment Desk Dedicated professionals who write about cinema and television in all their vibrancy. Expect views, reviews and news. ...view detail
Adipurush dialogue writer Manoj Muntashir has rendered an unconditional apology after the film caused a huge controversy upon its release last month. In a new note shared on Twitter and Instagram, Manoj accepted that the film hurt people's sentiments. (Also read: Adipurush gave many wrong justifications and failed to connect, Ramayan worked even in OTT-era: Sunil Lahri) Manoj Muntashir wrote the dialogues for Adipurush.(Sanjeev Gupta)

"I accept peoples emotions have been hurt by Adipurush. With folded hands, I extend my unconditional apologies. May Prabhu Bajrang Bali keep us united and grant us strength to serve our sacred Sanatan and our great nation. #Adipurush," he wrote in his message.

People reacted to his message as well. Come on, better late than never. May Bajrang Bali give you power, wrote one. Sometimes it happens that even good people go astray. But your apologizing proves that even if you made a mistake for some reason, you are a true Sanatani. Hail Lord Rama. May Lord Ram bless you, wrote another.

Directed by Om Raut, Adipurush, which is an adaptation of the epic Ramayana, has drawn heavy criticism post-release. From critics to reviewers, many voiced misgivings over certain dialogues in the film. Among the dialogues over which the makers have drawn flak are marega bete, bua ka bagicha hain kya' and 'jalegi tere baap ki'.

In the face of online outrage and negative reviews, the makers of Adipurush also revamped the dialogues. However, the damage was already done. All India Cine Workers Association also wrote a letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Mumbai Police, demanding the registration of a case against the producer, director, and writer of the film.

A PIL has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking direction to revoke the certificate of the film for public exhibition. The film was opposed by the lawyers at a police station in New Agra and a complaint was lodged as well.

The film stars Prabhas as Raghava, Kriti as Janaki, Sunny Singh as Laxman, and Saif Ali Khan as Lankesh.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR HT Entertainment Desk Dedicated professionals who write about cinema and television in all their vibrancy. Expect views, reviews and news. ...view detail
Kevin Spacey, currently on trial in London for multiple sexual assault allegations, has been accused of insensitivity by one of his alleged victims. Actor Kevin Spacey arrives at Southwark Crown Court where he is accused of sexual offenses against four men while he worked at the Old Vic Theatre in London, Thursday July 6, 2023. (Lucy North/PA via AP)(AP)

The accuser claimed that Spacey's decision to come out as gay was a deliberate attempt to "disguise" the accusations of sexual misconduct.

The Oscar-winning actor publicly revealed his sexual orientation in 2017 after facing accusations of making sexual advances toward a 14-year-old boy at a party in 1986.

In his Twitter statement from 2017, Spacey, 63, stated, "I choose now to live as a gay man. I want to deal with this openly and honestly, and that starts with examining my own behavior."

He previously explained in a New York court that he had not come out earlier due to his father's affiliation with white supremacist and a neo-Nazi ideologies, as well as the very complicated family dynamic.

Criticism arose regarding the timing of Spacey's coming out, with his brother deeming it "an insult to the entire gay community." The trial at Southwark Crown Court in London commenced on June 28, with the American actor facing 12 charges related to offenses against four men, including sexual assault, indecent assault, and causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent between 2001 and 2013.

During the trial, a witness and alleged victim expressed incredulous that [Spacey] could be so insensitive, suggesting that his decision to come out as gay amid the allegations was an attempt to evade responsibility.

The witness recounted experiencing a barrage of sexual comments and being grabbed in an intimate area by Spacey, leaving him feeling belittled and worthless. The alleged assault, said to have occurred in the mid-2000s, was described as an enduring and degrading experience.

I have never had people speak to me that way, and I felt so degraded.

Prosecutor Christine Agnew KC characterized Spacey as a "sexual bully" who abused the power and influence granted by his reputation and fame.

ALSO READ| Court hears Kevin Spacey grabbed a man like a cobra in West End theatre amid 12 sexual offense

The American Beauty star claimed that some allegations were fabricated while others involved consensual encounters.

The actor pleaded not guilty in January to three counts of indecent assault, three counts of sexual assault, and one count of causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent. He also denied four other charges of sexual assault and one count of causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent.

The trial continues.
Is there anything Tom Cruise cannot do? The Hollywood heartthrob and action superstar has got his desi fans' full hearts after a video of him from a recent interview surfaced online. The video shows him speaking Hindi a little too perfectly. (Also read: Mission Impossible 7: BTS video shows how Tom Cruise and gang filmed that impossible train scene) Tom Cruise will be seen as Ethan Hunt in Mission Impossible Dead Reckoning Part One.(AFP)

Tom Cruise is currently on a press tour, giving interviews for Mission Impossible Dead Reckoning Part One, scheduled for release on July 12. The movie brings him back as the iconic Ethan Hunt, pulling off a few more daring stunts to save the world. During one interview, the actor had a great time speaking with the interviewer and she even got him to speak a little Hindi.

Aap Kaise Hain?

In a clip from Etalk, Tom is seen in a happy mood. The interviewer made Tom laugh while speaking about his French in the movie. Is there anything you cannot do? Is he going to speak in Hindi with me? she asked. Tom eagerly said, If you want me to speak in Hindi with you I will. Let's try it." She got him to say the cutest Namaste. Aap kaise hain (How are you). Tom, as expected, aced the pronunciation. He was then even more impressed that the interviewer could also speak Punjabi and Farsi and wanted to keep talking about her. Watch the clip here:

Hes so charming'

Fans of the actor thought he was too charming in the video. A fan wrote, He is so cute while speaking namaste aap kaise ho & Is there anything he can't do, wrote one. Namaste Tom Cruise Sir, wrote another. Is there anything #TomCruise can't do? He spoke Namaste! Aap Kaise Hain? in my mother tongue Hindi with an Indian accent, said another.

The Mission: Impossible series follows the globe-trotting adventures of Ethan Hunt, a secret agent of the Impossible Missions Force, or IMF, as he undertakes high-risk covert operations. Picture heart-racing action, sophisticated gadgets, and Toms Hunt executing death-defying stunts at every turn. The film also stars Hayley Atwell, Pom Klementiff, Simon Pegg, Vanessa Kirby and others. It releases on July 12.

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Amid an uproar over the Sidhi urination incident in Madhya Pradesh, a video has now surfaced showing a man being thrashed and forced to lick the soles of another person's feet in a moving vehicle in Gwalior. All India Majilis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Saturday taunted Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan over the incident and asked whether he would apologize to the victim, a Muslim, as he did in the Sidhi case or send him to the jail. AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi, (File Photo/Sakib Ali /Hindustan Times)

The viral video shows the victim, identified as Mohsin Khan, being slapped several times by another man, who also forces the former to say, "Golu Gurjar baap hai" in a moving vehicle. The accused can be seen forcing the victim to lick the soles of his feet and then slapping him repeatedly and verbally abusing him.

In another video clip, the accused is seen hitting the victim on his face with footwear several times.

A case similar to #Sidhi has also come to light in Gwalior. A Muslim youth was abducted and beaten up and his soles were also licked, Owaisi said in a tweet in Hindi.

@ChouhanShivraj Will you call the victim home and apologize to him or send him to jail? the AIMIM MP added.

Preliminary investigation shows that it was a case of revenge attack as the victim had allegedly attacked the accused last month and two persons have been arrested in the case, police said on Saturday.

A case has been registered against the accused under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code for abduction and beating following the complaint of the victim's family, Dabra Sub-Divisional Officer of Police (SDOP) Vivek Kumar Sharma said.

Gwalior's Superintendent of Police Rajesh Chandel said Mohsin Khan beat up Golu Gurjar, the accused in the current case, on May 21. Gurjar had lodged a complaint in Dabra police station.

On June 30, Golu Gurjar and his associates abducted Khan and thrashed him, he said.

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Washington: Ashley J Tellis, the Tata chair for strategic affairs at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, is among the foremost scholars on the India-America relationship. In the backdrop of Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modis state visit to Washington, HT interviewed Tellis, over email, about the current moment in Delhi-DC ties: Ashley J Tellis is the Tata chair for strategic affairs at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (Abhijit Bhatlekar/ Mint)

In the history of high level visits between India and United States (US), how would you assess PM Modis state visit to US and has the relationship hit an irreversible momentum?

What the significance of PM Modis recent visit will be is a question for history. Only time will tell whether its impact was significant and lasting. Transformational visits are generally few and far between  if by transformational we mean visits that meaningfully change the course of history. Richard Nixons 1972 visit to China set the benchmark on this count. In the post-Cold War period, I would say there was only such transformational encounter in US-India relations: PM Manmohan Singhs visit to Washington in 2005, with possibly Bill Clintons 2000 and George W. Bushs 2006 visits to India as debatable runners-up.

If we leave history aside for a moment, however, and just review PM Modis recent encounter with President (Joe) Biden on its own terms, I would say this event was a great success because both sides achieved what they had sought. Biden intended to display his personal goodwill toward the PM, which he did through the amount of time he set aside for intimate meetings. More generally, Washington wanted to underscore Indias importance to the US and, between the pomp and circumstance of the visit and the substantive achievements, this message came across loud and clear as well. Modi wanted to cement US support for Indias rise, mainly through technology and other forms of collaboration, which he got abundantly. I suspect he also valued his enthusiastic official welcome at the White House and on the Hill for its political benefits inside India, for what it says about Indias stature in the world, and for the signals it sends to China when Sino-Indian relations are still troubled.

If this is not an example of a win-win, few other things could be. But does this mean US-India relations have an irreversible momentum? For now, they do  and that will remain so as long as the underlying conditions that propel their deepening subsist.

When you started advocating a deeper India-US relationship, did you ever anticipate a day when America would be transferring jet engine technology and India would be buying sophisticated drones from the US? Could GE be the model going forward as an administration official indicated to HT?

I always wanted to see the bilateral relationship advance to this point and, in some ways, I regret that we have not moved further. Dont get me wrong. We have come far, fast, and in some dramatic ways. But we are still come distance away from the vision I laid out in my 2005 monograph, India as a New Global Power, and in other publications. There are three areas where I think we can and should make further progress. We have much work ahead in reconciling the differences we have in our worldviews both at an ideational level and in terms of their impact on specific international problems. We can do much better in terms of achieving genuine interoperability in defence, and we need bolder policy decisions, especially in India, to achieve a real symbiosis between our two economies. It is somewhat ironic that we have a deeper economic relationship with China, which is a competitor, than with India, which is a partner.

Can technology transfers function as the motor for forging such a symbiosis? I doubt it. The GE F414 engine coproduction decision is an important step forward  because the US government released more technology here to a non-ally than is customary  but even if this model were replicated widely, it would not suffice to build the kind of economic interdependency between our countries that is necessary to advance our interests.

There is a clear signal from the American state to American capital to invest in India. Whats driving this convergence of strategic and commercial interests, and what are the possibilities ahead?

I see the official US encouragement to US business to invest in India to be part of the strategy of diversifying away from China for broader grand strategic reasons. Given the economic transformations occurring in India now, this is a smart exhortation. Hopefully, American business will see India as an opportunity and make bold decisions accordingly. But it is important to recognise that the US government can only encourage this trend, not actualise it. Whether increased large-scale American investment in India is realised will depend on how American private companies view the prospects for profit-making. And that, in turn, will depend on their assessment of the economic environment in India. At the moment, I see US companies interested in India as a hedge against problems in China. It would be nice to see this interest transformed into a wholehearted embrace.

One of the striking notes in the relationship in recent years is the emphasis on the knowledge partnership. You came here from Bombay to study; 200,000 Indian students study here even now. Whats different now and whats driving this focus?

The deepening knowledge partnership is vital to both American and Indian success going forward  and it is linked to structural imperatives on both sides. India has a huge pool of human capital that is not always productively employed at home, and the US can benefit from both enlarging that pool and absorbing it into its own economy. That is part of the larger story of what makes America great and can help sustain its future innovativeness even as its own population changes in size and structure. For all its challenges, the US still remains the global technology leader and that provides opportunities for India to benefit from deeper connectivity with the American innovation system. Indian-Americans and Indian nationals already contribute magnificently to that system. Both sides recognise that improving the circulation of knowledge-creation across the two societies yields vital societal, economic, and equally importantly, strategic benefits. The complementary character of our two societies will make this search for strategic gains even more important over the next two decades.

You worked through the nuclear deal and saw the complex maze of export control regimes. With the launch of the strategic trade dialogue, the GE deal, and Indus-X, do you see a sincere, and an almost unprecedented willingness, in Washington to not let legislations and bureaucratic habits come in the way?

There is a willingness to rethink the character and the value of the extant constraints, but we are still at an early stage. The fastest way to stimulate change is not by pushing for portmanteau legislative or policy shifts to begin with. We went that route during the nuclear deal, and it proved exceedingly hard. In todays circumstances, it may be better to try another route; develop sensible joint ventures that push the boundaries of collaborative activity, which then open the doors for legislative or policy change. The initiative on critical and emerging technologies could become an example of this approach. The strategic trade dialogue comes at this from the opposite directionbut whether it will produce the desired results remains to be seen. What India must do better is not simply to ask for more privileges from the US but rather create opportunities that yield sufficient benefits for the US to induce it to consider meaningful policy change.

From Quad to I2U2, from Artemis Accord to Indo-Pacific Ocean Initiative, from the Mineral Security Partnership to MDB reform, India and the US appear to be talking to each other on issues that go way beyond just bilateral ties. What do you make of the drivers of this deeper integration institutionally?

This is a welcome development that will only gather steam if both countries remain in sync with respect to their interests and their values. At the moment, much of this collaboration is coloured by concerns about China and the fears about the manifestations and consequences of rising Chinese power. The test will be whether this cooperation can be sustained even outside of China as a catalyst.

During the visit, with Barack Obamas comments, the letter of 75 US legislators to Biden urging him to raise issues of democracy with Modi, and the response of Indian ministers to Obamas comments, there was a clear contradiction in the political beliefs of the base of the Democratic Party, and the base of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). But both governments havent allowed it to disrupt ties yet. How do you see this playing out and can it derail ties?

If the trends that Indias critics point to dont improve, the disputes over values have the potential to constrain the ongoing transformation of ties to the disadvantage of both countries. That they have not intruded perniciously thus far is owed, as you pointed out, to governmental efforts on both sides, but especially to the Biden administrations unwillingness to bludgeon India over human rights and religious freedoms. This aversion is rooted strongly in its estimation of Indias importance in the competition with China. But it would be a mistake to assume that the rivalry with China gives India full immunity. Already, the administration itself is divided on giving India a pass, and New Delhis critics on the Hill, in American civil society, and even in the diaspora are only growingand these include Republicans as well. So it is not simply of question of the BJP versus the Democratic Left. It is disconcerting to me that values, which strongly united the US and India even during the most difficult moments of the past, now seem to be an increasing source of controversy. At a time when Indias interests are best served by remaining an object of admiration within the US, the dismaying trends within India only threaten to make it a disturbing dilemma for Washington.

Your essay in Foreign Affairs, titled Americas bad bet on India, on what US should not expect from India created a stir. HT asked both NSA Jake Sullivan and US ambassador to India Eric Garcetti about the concern that India wouldnt line up behind US during a potential Taiwan crisis  Sullivan indicated that a relationship evolves and isnt a snapshot in time, and Garcetti spoke about how there is 99% between US amassing troops in India and India sending ships to the Taiwan straits. So two questions: one, how would you respond to the administrations clarification about its expectations? And two, if I can be a bit mischievous, given what appears to be an alignment of expectations at the top, do you think with the visit and the fundamentals being put in place, the US is making a good bet on India?

I do not actually disagree with either NSA Sullivan or Ambassador Garcettis arguments. I hope that the bilateral relationship evolves to the point where India would one day find it comfortable to participate in a US-led military coalition even outside of a United Nations Security Council mandate. And, of course, there is a world of things that both the US and India can and will do outside of the most extreme contingencies.

But being concerned about US national security, I cannot forget about the hardest problems, nor can I simply wish them away. What these remind us  and the current war in Ukraine is a good example  is that India defines its interests in ways that are not always identical to our own. This reality will become more problematic for the US as Indian power grows over time and it is unlikely to disappear no matter how close our partnership becomes. It is also worth remembering that Indias history, its self-image, its level of development, and eventually its own ambitions all set some objective limitations on how far the US-India relationship will evolve. Recognising these constraints is not an invitation to despair but a necessity to protect the partnership against frustration. This is a long-winded way of answering your mischievous question: Yes, the US bet on India is good  within limits.

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Former Union minister Ghulam Nabi Azad on Saturday cautioned the Narendra Modi-led central government over the implementation of a uniform civil code (UCC), saying it will annoy all minority communities at once. Azad asserted that implementing the UCC will not be easy as it was to revoke Article 370 since all religions are involved in it. Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP) chairman Ghulam Nabi Azad.(PTI)

"There is no question (of implementing it). It is not easy as it was to revoke Article 370. All religions are involved in it. Not only Muslims, but Christians and Sikhs also, tribals, Jains, Parsis, annoying all these people at once, will not be good for any government," the chairman of the Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP) said.

"So, I suggest this government to not even think about taking this step," he said.

UCC refers to a common set of laws that are applicable to all citizens of India across religions which will deal with marriage, divorce, inheritance and adoption among other matters.

The implementation of UCC has been on BJP's agenda for decades but got a renewed push after Prime Minister Modi made a strong pitch at a rally in Madhya Pradesh.

The Congress has downplayed the issue as a distraction by the BJP ahead of the crucial assembly elections and the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Even some of the BJP's allies have pushed back against the implementation of a UCC, with Meghalaya chief minister Conrad K. Sangma calling it against the idea of India.

The Nagaland government said a 12-member delegation led by chief minister Neiphiu Rio has received assurance from Union home minister Amit Shah that the Centre is considering the exemption of Christians and some pockets of tribal areas from the scope of the proposed contentious UCC.

(With PTI inputs)

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A Delhi court on Friday issued fresh summons to British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Wikimedia Foundation, and Internet Archives through the Department of Legal Affairs in a defamation suit filed by a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader seeking an injunction on the airing of the documentary series India: The Modi Question. India has banned the documentary on PM Narendra Modi (File Photo)

Additional district judge Ruchika Singla of the Rohini court observed that the defendants are foreign entities and therefore, the service of summons must be effected as per guidelines issued by Delhi high court.

As the defendants are foreign entities, the service must be effected as per the guidelines issued by the Honble high court....it is directed that the summons be issued afresh to the defendants on the filing of PF within seven days to be served through the Department of Legal Affairs, Ministry of Law & Justice, Govt. of India, as per rules, the court order stated.

A civil defamation suit was filed by BJP functionary Binay Kumar Singh seeking a permanent injunction order to disallow the three organizations, BBC, Wikimedia Foundation, and Internet Archives (defendants in the case), from publishing the banned BBC documentary series on the 2002 Gujarat riots, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the states chief minister.

The court had on May 26 reserved its order on the point of service of summon to BBC and other parties as per the Hague Convention. The court, after hearing the arguments, noted that the parties involved in the suit are subject to the Hague Convention as the relevant countries are all parties to the Hague Convention.

It is clear that as per the rules formulated under the Hague Convention and by the Government of India, the summons/notices in foreign countries can be effected only through the Department of Legal Affairs, Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India, which has admittedly not been done in the present case, the court further observed.

Noting that the summons had been not effected properly, justice Singla issued a fresh summons and listed the matter for further hearing on November 18.

The court had earlier on May 3 issued summons to BBC, Wikimedia Foundation and Internet Archive where it had been alleged that the three defendants are working together in order to tarnish the image of the country as well as distinguished organizations like RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh), and VHP (Vishwa Hindu Parishad).

Singh had through his suit sought a direction ordering them to tender an unconditional apology to him as well as the organisations for the defamatory content and has sought damages of Rs.10,00,000.

The Government of India had in January 2023 imposed a ban on the BBC documentary which had triggered agitations in India and abroad, with critics of the government and advocates of free speech protesting the governments ban, while others - including some members of the Indian diaspora - favour of the ban and protest against the BBC.

The ban also triggered outrage from students at various colleges and universities throughout the country and various protest screenings were also organised in colleges.
Tucked away in the borderlands of Karnataka and Maharashtra, Belagavi, known as the second capital of Karnataka, has played a crucial role in the states growth and development. However, Fridays state budget announcement by Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah, who also holds the finance ministry, in the legislative assembly has left the city residents disheartened, as it received no allocation. Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah presents the state Budget during the Budget Session of State Assembly at Vidhana Soudha, in Bengaluru on Friday. (ANI)

The spotlight shone on the capital Bengaluru, which received a staggering 45,000 crore under the banner of Brand Bengaluru.

Except for establishing a human body organ transplantation unit at a government-funded multi-speciality hospital in Belagavi, no fund was allocated to Belagavi in the budget.

Kannada Organisations Steering Committee convener, Ashok Chandaragi, who was disappointed with the budget, told HT that the Kannada organisations, in a memorandum submitted to the district administration soon after formation of new Congress government, demanded a new district administration complex on the deputy commissioner office campus, shifting of a few major ministries to Suvarna Vidhan Soudha, the legislative assembly building in the district, and funds to Kittur Development Authority, among others.

He said that former chief minister Basavaraj Bommai, who established the Kittur Development Authority, did not allocate funds, and Siddaramaiah is doing the same. Hundreds of crores of rupees were released to Kalyan Karnataka Development Authority in the same north Karnataka. To avoid traffic congestion, our organisation submitted a memorandum in 2005 when the late Dharam Singh was the chief minister. Though north Karnataka pays high taxes to the state, its been neglected by all the governments. Despite regular injustice, the legislators were least bothered about people who voted for them, Chandaragi added.

Belagavi, with a population of around 700,000 and a floating population of approximately 400,000, is an economic powerhouse. Its strategic location attracts visitors from neighbouring Maharashtra and Goa, making it a commercial centre.

According to Chandaragi, Siddaramaiah has not touched the long pending demand for the construction of the ring road and two flyovers. Ring road was planned outside the town to avoid plying heavy vehicles inside, while the flyovers to reduce the vehicular burden inside the city, he said.

Soon after assuming the office, Belagavi district in-charge minister Satish Jarkiholi, who also heads the public works department (PWD), ordered the drafting of the plans for the 10 kms long flyovers from the engineers of his department and tabled to the chief minister for the approval. However, the proposal was not met. He said that funds for constructing flyovers would be allocated in the supplementary budget, and if not, the funds allocated to the PWD department would be utilised for the project.

Belaumites need not be worried as even though the project was not taken in the main budget, it would be considered in the supplementary budget to be tabled on the last day of the ongoing budget session, else he would provide the funds from PWD, Jarkiholi said at a press conference on Saturday.

Uttara Karnataka Abhivrudhi Horata Samiti president Ashok Pujari criticised the current and the previous government, which never stood with north Karnataka. After being bestowed with privileges under Article 371 of the Constitution, the Kalyan Karnataka was enjoying a lot of benefits, and after former Union minister Mallikarjun Kharge was elected as the Congress president, Siddaramaiah government introduced a few projects to the Kalyan Karnataka. However, neither the ministers nor legislators from Kittur Karnataka [the region to which Belagavi belongs] have raised voices in previous and also in the current government, he said.

Pujari said that the government must shift at least a few ministries to Suvarna Vidhan Soudha in Belagavi and relocate the villages situated on the river banks to safer places, which maroon during every monsoon.

The shifting of about 25 villages situated on the banks of Krishna, Malaprabha, Ghataprabha, and Markandeya rivers in the district to safer places, is pending since 2006.

Against the alleged negligence towards North Karnataka, Belagavi in particular, the Kannada organisations and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) have planned to hold a protest next week.

Pujari, who is an office bearer of Congress, criticised his own party for neglecting the district in the budget. Keeping aside party lines, Congress and AAP and many Kannada organisation, Belagavi Chamber of Commerce and Industries will extend support to the protest scheduled on next Monday [July 10].
The voting day for Panchayat polls in West Bengal saw violence spiral in several districts despite heavy security deployment, with all parties levelling allegations against each other. At least 12 people lost their lives in separate incidents, of which eight were supporters of the ruling Trinamool Congress, according to a PTI report. Miscreants set Police vehicle on fire in Murshidabad, West Bengal.

In Murshidabad, miscreants torched a police vehicle in the evening after the voting got over.

A polling booth in Malda's Mahadipur area saw a miscreant running away with the ballot box while, in Dinhata, a ballot box was set on fire allegedly by voters who were angry over bogus voting. The polling was suspended at Indreshwar primary school in Dinhata after water was thrown into the ballot box.

In Mamata Banerjee's government, we are seeing youth running with a ballot box, and miscreants are roaming around with bombs in their hands. Violence is taking place at polling booths. Who is behind this violence? Who is responsible for this? Mamata govt and CM Mamta Banerjee should answer this, Union minister Prahlad Patel said.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) blamed State Election Commissioner Rajiva Sinha for poll-related deaths and shot off a letter to Union home minister Amit Shah demanding his "intervention" in restoring democracy in the state.

In the letter signed by BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar, it was claimed "15 political deaths occurred just on the day of poll," as booth capturing, rigging and fake voting were seen across all the districts."

Opposition parties in the state also alleged that even central forces were not properly deployed to prevent violence.

The ruling Trinamool Congress, however, accused the opposition of orchestrating violence and criticised the central forces for their failure to protect the voters.

Bengal has a history of violence during the three-tier panchayat polls. The 2003 panchayat polls gained notoriety for its death toll of 76, with more than 40 killed on the day of the elections. The 2013 rural polls, held under the supervision of central forces, recorded a casualty figure of 39. While the last panchayat poll held under the supervision of the state police recorded a death toll for the election process period of 30.

The results of this year's panchayat polls are scheduled to be announced on July 11.

(With PTI inputs)

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According to Supreme Decree No. 019-2023-SA , published in the Official Gazette El Peruano,
Launching the Bharatiya Janata Partys campaign in poll-bound Telangana on Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi alleged that the chief minister KCR-led government in the state was the most corrupt across the country and that its roots had spread to the national capital. Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Union ministers G Kishan Reddy and Nitin Gadkari in Warangal on Saturday. (PTI)

After laying the foundation stone for development projects worth 6,100 crore, the PM addressed a massive rally in the states Warangal. The state is expected to go to polls later this year.

Earlier, there used to be news on development-related agreements between two countries or two state governments. (Like) two states have made an agreement for development (purpose). Two states have made an agreement for water. Such news used to appear, he said.

But, this is for the first time when allegations of deal for corruption between two parties and two state governments are made, Modi said, in a veiled attack at the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi in Telangana and the Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi.

Also Read: Modi's dig at Rahul Gandhi's 'mohabbat ki dukaan' call: 'Congress only means...'

The reference was ostensibly to an investigation of alleged corruption in Delhis now-abandoned excise policy, which the Central Bureau of Investigation has said involved financial irregularities, including tweaked rules at the behest of some private companies, including those linked to KCR.

Those named in the case include AAP leader and former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia and BRS leader and Telangana CM K Chandrasekhar Raos daughter, K Kavitha. Both leaders and their parties have called the case a political ploy by the Modis Bharatiya Janata Party and the Union governments misuse of federal agencies.

Dynastic parties like the BRS are deeply involved in corruption, the PM said, also hitting out at the Congress.

Also Read: Kajol's leaders with no vision comment triggers row. Uddhav camp says

The foundation of all these dynastic parties has its roots in corruption. The entire country has witnessed the corruption and scams indulged in by the dynastic Congress party. Now, the whole of Telangana is seeing the level of corruption in the state by the BRS. Both BRS and the Congress are extremely dangerous for people of Telangana, Modi said.

Describing chief minister Raos government as the most corrupt, Modi said there is no such project in Telangana devoid of corruption allegation. Now the tentacles of their corruption have spread up to Delhi, he said.

The BRS government has done only four things  abusing Modi and the Central government all the time regularly, making one family the centre of power and establishing themselves as the owner of Telangana, to ruin Telanganas economic development and immersing Telangana in corruption, he alleged.

Hitting back, the BRS working president and state minister KT Rama Rao said the PM insulted the people of the state by setting up a 520 crore wagon factory while taking away a 20,000 crore locomotive factory to Gujarat.

Referring to PMs comments that there are thousands of teacher posts vacant in Telangana, KTR said it is like pot calling the kettle black as the Centre is not filling more than 16 lakh central government jobs and is permanently privatising jobs in public sector organisations.

Countering Modis talk of parivarvad (dynastic politics), KTR said for KCR, the entire state was like one family and the people of the state were his family members. Yes, ours is a Telangana family party, he said.

The Prime Minister accused KCR of cheating the youth by promising employment. The hopes of the unemployed youth were shattered following the exposure of recruitment scam in Telangana State Public Service Commission (TSPSC). Nearly three thousand posts are lying vacant in the universities of Telangana and another thousands of vacancies in the government schools and colleges. The KCR government betrayed the faith of the students, he said.

Pointing out that the sarpanches of gram panchayats were agitated over lack of development in the villages, Modi said the Centre was directly releasing funds to the gram panchayats. In the last nine years, the Centre has released more than 1 lakh crore to gram panchayats in Telangana, he said.

Similarly, the Centre had fulfilled its promise of giving minimum support price for the agriculture produce. We have given mega textile park to Telangana. What has the KCR government done? It has not provided basic infrastructure for the Adivasi hamlets, he said.

But, the PM said, the peoples aspiration in Telangana now is ab ki bar BJP Sarkar (BJP government this time).

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NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Janata Partys central leadership will steer the partys election campaign in Madhya Pradesh, where anti-incumbency against chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has emerged as a cause of concern, said people aware of the details. Polling to elect the 230-member Madhya Pradesh legislative assembly is scheduled for later this year, along with Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Telangana and Mizoram. (Representational image)

Besides deciding the poll planks and issues that will be central to the campaign, the central high command will also take a call on whether to project Chouhan as the face of the election, as is done in states with an incumbent chief minister, the people said, seeking anonymity.

Chouhan has been the chief minister in the state since 2005 and was ousted from power for 15 months when the party lost the 2018 assembly polls, only to return in 2020 when over a dozen Congress legislators, led by Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, joined the party.

Even though he is the partys most recognisable face in the state with a track record of having delivered welfare schemes, and popular among the women and the backward castes, the feedback from the ground suggests that people, particularly the young, prefer a change, a party functionary said.

Since the central leadership will take a call on whether Chouhan will be the face of the polls along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is the BJPs most bankable crowd puller and popular leader, the schedule for the chief ministers Jan Ashirwad Yatra (peoples blessings campaign) has not been drawn.

The PM is a force multiplier and incumbent CMs in their own way lend weight to the campaign through mass outreach programmes. Since there is a fatigue factor that has come to be associated with the CM, the party will find a way to use his strengths to the maximum, even as newer faces will also be pushed to the frontline, the functionary said.

The party will bank on Chouhan in areas where his popularity remains undented, such as in parts of Mahakaushal. In areas such as Bundelkhand, where anti-government sentiment is comparatively stronger, the party will bank on other leaders, the functionary said.

The party is also betting on his image as a grassroots politician who hits the ground running in a crisis to draw a comparison between him and Kamal Nath of the Congress. Kamal Nath is not seen as a foot soldier and that is where Chouhan scores over him, a second functionary said. Chouhan is also a good communicator and has an image of running a welfarist government.

The issue of leadership apart, the BJP is banking on the social welfare measures of the state and central governments; schemes tailored for women such as the Mukhya Mantri Ladli Behna Yojna that transfers 1,000 into the accounts of eligible women; and the increased budgetary allocation for schemes for scheduled castes and tribes that together make up for about 38% of the states population.

The party is hopeful that the increased allocation for backward classes, minorities, nomadic and semi-nomadic communities announced in the annual budget will help woo the communities that had drifted away in 2018, resulting in the BJP facing losses in SC and ST seats. It had won only 16 of the 47 seats reserved for STs and losing 25 of 82 seats reserved for SCs.

The appointment of Bhupendra Yadav, an OBC leader, as the election in-charge and Ashwani Vaishnaw as the co-in-charge is expected to help the party improve its outreach among the OBCs and the general category castes, the first leader said.

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New Delhi: At least 776 crore of the 2,161 crore collected in the Chhattisgarh liquor scam by Anwar Dhebar, the prime accused and brother of Raipur mayor Aijaz Dhebar, went to political executives and he decided to replicate the same corruption model in Jharkhand as well, but abruptly stopped when the Enforcement Directorate (ED) started looking into the irregularities. The agency said Anwar Dhebar has not disclosed names of the beneficiaries of the  776 crores. (HT Archives)

The agency made these revelations in its charge sheet filed on Tuesday in the Chhattisgarh liquor scam, naming Anwar Dhebar, Arunpati Tripathi, former managing director of Chhattisgarh State Marketing Corporation Limited (CSMCL), liquor businessman Trilok Singh Dhillon, hotelier Nitesh Purohit and an aide of Anwar Dhebar , Arvind Singh. The accused were arrested in May and June this year.

Revealing how the proceeds of crime, 2,161 crore, were utilised, ED charge sheet says the accused persons collected commissions/bribes in four different ways, defined as Part A (bribes collected from distillers per case of liquor procured from them by CSMCL), Part-B (sale of unaccounted country liquor off the books ) and Part-C (bribes taken from distillers to allow them to form a cartel and have fixed market share). A fourth method used to collect bribes was from FL-10A (foreign liquor) licence holders.

While 496 crore was collected in Part-A, 1173 crore was collected in Part-B, 280 in Part-C, and 211 from FL-10A holders.

The Part-A and Part-C commissions were entirely handled by Anwar Dhebar who transferred the entire collection to the political executives of the state (Chhattisgarh). Thus, an amount of (over) 776 crore in the form of Part-A and Part-C collection went to these political executives through Anwar Dhebar and Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Anil Tuteja, the ED charge sheet says. HT has accessed details of the charge sheet.

The agency said Anwar Dhebar has not disclosed names of the beneficiaries of the 776 crores. But many incriminating documents and records have been received from the Income Tax department and investigation to trace these proceeds of crime worth 776 crore is going on, it added.

The agency said that Anwar Dhebar moved 80-100 crore in cash to Delhi and Mumbai through hawala and paid large amounts of cash to the ruling party in the state for electioneering.

Commenting on Anwar Dhebars plans to replicate the same model in Jharkhand, the ED charge sheet reveals that following the grand success of his conspiracy in Chhattisgarh, he decided to implement the Chhattisgarh model of Part-A and Part-B (collection) in Jharkhand too and successfully ran it for three to four months till it was abruptly ended due to ED action.

The distillers, FL-10 (A) licensees , (and) manpower suppliers of Chhattisgarh in their respective statements have admitted to these facts and stated that they were coerced by Anwar Dhebar and his associates to work in Jharkhand also, EDs charge sheet claimed.

The anti-money laundering probe agency is already investigating this aspect in coordination with its Ranchi office and has sought details from the Jharkhand excise department.

Citing the statement of Naveen Kedia of Chhattisgarh Distillers Ltd, ED has said that Anwar Dhebar (a private person) was like an excise minister only.

It added that instead of stopping such malpractices, the excise department of Chhattisgarh was in fact actively encouraging the same.

ED has said that a large part of the proceeds of crime is still to be traced .

Investigations have revealed that large amounts were transferred to the UAE, the Netherlands etc through hawala operators and huge amount of benami assets have been created abroad, the agency said.

ED will work with foreign investigative agencies to soon identify and get hold of these fugitives, it added.
The Congress on Saturday countered Prime Minister Narendra Modi's frequent attacks on dynastic politics, challenging him to declare that the BJP will not forge alliance with any party it considers family-run. Pawan Khera, Congress's media and publicity cell chief, said the prime minister should stop talking about families and dynasties in politics, alleging the BJP is brimming with people from political families. Congress leader Pawan Khera.(PTI / File Photo)

Let the prime minister come out before the next Lok Sabha elections and announce that the BJP will not have any alliance with any party which, according to him, is a family-run party, Khera said at a press conference.

Let him have the courageshow the confidence. He has 303 seats (in Lok Sabha) today. What stops him from announcing that, as a policy, the BJP will not have an alliance with a family-run party? Let him set an example, he added.

At a government programme in Madhya Pradesh last week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Congress and other "family-centric" parties are giving "false" guarantees to people. He said dynastic parties work only for the welfare of their families and those facing graft charges and out on bail are together with those who are sentenced for scams, in an apparent swipe at the opposition parties' efforts to form an anti-BJP bloc ahead of the 2024 general elections.

"Beware of false (poll) guarantees being given by family-centric parties including Congress. Such people have brought schemes of guarantees though they don't have their own (political) guarantee, " the prime minister said.

Days after Modi's speech, the BJP-Shiv Sena government in Maharashtra inducted Ajit Pawar, nephew of Maratha strongman Sharad Pawar, into the cabinet as deputy chief minister.

Khera tweeted, We openly challenge the Prime Minister to declare today that the BJP will not forge an alliance with any party which Modiji considers to be family-oriented.

Isn't Ajit Pawar someone's nephew? Why is BJP forging an alliance with them?

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New Delhi: The education ministry has reminded all states and union territories that schools across the country should introduce millet-based dishes in their canteens. (Nitin Sharma)

Schools across the country should introduce millet-based dishes in their canteens and prepare a calendar of activities to boost awareness of the healthy coarse cereals during the ongoing International Year of Millets, the education ministry has reminded all states and union territories.

The ministry wrote to all states and union territories in April, requesting them to share a month wise calendar of activities to create awareness on millets, it said in a statement on July 5. However, the information is still pending, the ministry said.

Kindly instruct the concerned officials in your State/UT for taking suitable actions to adopt millet-based recipes in the canteens/mess of the schools/offices and promote their health and nutritious benefits as well as provide month wise calendar of activities to create awareness regarding use of Shree Anna for celebration of International Year of Millets to this Department at the earliest, the ministry said.

At Indias instance, the United Nations declared 2023 as International Year of Millets, and the country has since embarked on a mission to popularise the coarse grains that are both rich in micronutrients as well as hardy.

Despite repeated requests, some states have not yet informed the ministry about the activities and efforts they are putting in making the millet year a success, an official said, declining to be named. The ministry has again requested the states to submit the details, the official said.

The ministry also asked the states to follow a millet-based recipe book prepared by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India. The ministry had last year asked all states to include millets in the free midday meal menus served to students at government and government-aided schools up to class 8. It had also emphasized on increasing awareness about the use of millets among students and parents and the contribution of millets to food security and nutrition.

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Five minors have been detained on charges of gang raping a nine-year-old girl in Karnatakas Kalaburagi district, police said on Saturday. A case was lodged against the five accused under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012, on Thursday.

According to the police, the incident took place on July 5 when the girl was playing in front of her house and four of the accused lured her with chocolates and 10. The minors took her to the residence of the fifth accused and took turns to rape her. The girl returned home crying and informed her parents, who approached the Kalaburagi women police station, an officer familiar with the matter said, requesting anonymity.

Also Read: Jharkhand: 4 held for kidnapping, gang raping two minor girls in Garhwa

A case was subsequently lodged against the five accused under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012, on Thursday.

We have registered a case against the accused under sections 366A (custody of minor girl for sexual offence), 376 (g) (gang-rape), 506 ( threatening with life) of the Indian Penal Code, inspector P A Nadaf said.

All five accused, aged between 10 and 14, were detained on Thursday, and produced before a juvenile justice board in Kalaburagi that sent them to a correctional home for 14 days, the inspector said.

Further investigation in the matter is underway, he added.

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The global shipping industry has agreed on tougher climate targets at the United Nationss International Maritime Organisation (IMO) conference that concluded Friday in London. In the first scheduled revision of the IMOs greenhouse gas (GHG) strategy, member countries agreed to reach net-zero GHG emissions by or around 2050. International Maritime Organization conference on greenhouse strategy was held on Friday (Twitter/@IMOHQ)

The shipping industry, responsible for 1 billion tonnes of CO2 emissions annually or 3% of global greenhouse emissions, is targetting to reach net zero emissions by 2050 with intermediate milestones, said people familiar with the matter.

Maritime countries, including India have agreed on indicative checkpoints of reducing emissions by at least 20%, striving for 30%, by 2030 compared to 2008 levels and at least 70%, striving for 80%, by 2040, reaching net-zero around 2050 depending on national circumstances. IMO currently has 175 member states.

IMOs previous target was to reduce emissions by at least 50% by 2050, with no outright targets for 2030 and 2040. However, its new strategy is guided by various interventions such as reducing carbon intensity of ships through further improvement of the energy efficiency for new ships; reducing the carbon intensity of international shipping; using near-zero GHG emission technologies, and fuels; and reducing GHG emissions from international shipping to net zero around, i.e., close to, 2050, taking into account different national circumstances.

Observers noted that the issue of carbon levy on shipping to raise climate finance for developing countries which was being demanded by various environmental organisations was deferred during the negotiations.

According experts, the new goals are not aligned with the Paris Agreement goal of limiting global warming to well below 2C and pursuing efforts to limit it to 1.5C.

Harjeet Singh, head of global political strategy for Climate Action Network International, said that the strategy put forth by the UN International Maritime Organisation charts a course towards emission reduction. But unfortunately, falls short of expectations, adding that there is a clear disparity between its goals and those set by the Paris Agreements crucial 1.5C target, a divergence that we can ill afford.

He added, The meeting broached the critical issue of a shipping levy to finance capacity building, research, and assistance for developing nations grappling with climate change. Unfortunately, the decision has been deferred, pushing this crucial financial mechanism further down the road.

IMO adopted its new goals following four consecutive days, July 3 to 6 , that each, and in turn, set records for the highest global average air temperature recorded. On July 6, the global average air temperature was 17.23 C, a 1.02C above the 1979-2000 mean.

Climate scientists have raised concerns that global warming and the onset of El Nino will lead to accelerated warming and record-breaking temperatures globally this year.

The World Meteorological Organisation has said there is a high likelihood that the annual average global temperature between 2023 and 2027 will temporarily be more than 1.5C above pre-industrial levels for at least one year.

By our estimates, international shipping will exceed its 1.5C carbon budget by approximately 2032 under this agreement. Shipping can stay within a budget aligned with well below 2C if it can manage to hit the strategys 2030 and 2040 emissions reduction targets and achieve net-zero GHG emissions by 2050, said Bryan Comer, Marine Program Lead, International Council on Clean Transportation.

The Pacific Island countries, supported by Canada, the US, and the UK, fought hard for a 1.5C- aligned action till the last moment, but were opposed by China, Brazil, Argentina and others, according to observers at the IMO meeting between July 3 and 7.

A global carbon price on shipping, publicly supported by over 70 developing and developed countries, has been moved forward as an economic measure under the IMOs basket of measures.

According to a note by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development released last year, several decarbonisation solutions have emerged. These include energy technologies (like alternative fuels and improved energy efficiencies onboard ships), regulatory and financial measures (such as carbon pricing), and integrative solutions (like just-in-time arrivals).

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Drenched in rain, Sharad Pawar on Saturday addressed a rally in Nashik, his first stop in his state tour to redevelop the Nationalist Congress Party after its split by Ajit Pawar's mutiny. "I have come here to apologise. I erred in trusting some people. Won't repeat the mistake," Sharad Pawar said. In a jibe at nephew Ajit Pawar who called Sharad Pawar old, Pawar said people commenting on his age will have to pay heavily for it. Referring to PM Modi's recent speech in Bhopal in which he accused NCP leaders of corruption -- days before Ajit Pawar and his supporters joined the government-- Sharad Pawar said PM Modi should take action against the leaders whom he accused of corruption. "PM Modi has all the state machinery at his disposal," Sharad Pawar said. Read | 'Na tired hu, na retired': Sharad Pawar quotes Vajpayee to counter 'ageist' Ajit Supriya Sule shared a photo of Sharad Pawar drenched in rain as he reached Nashik.

Saturday's rally at Nashik amid incessant rain is an emotional outreach of the Sharad Pawar camp to the people as the battle of who the real NCP is intensified in the past one week. Ajit Pawar announced that he was chosen as the president of the NCP on June 30, two days before the oath as the deputy chief minister. Sharad Pawar refuted Ajit Pawar's claims and at the national executive meeting of the party in New Delhi he announced that all rebels will be disqualified from the party.

'If rebel leaders want to return'

"Nothing will be done from my end to escalate tensions.... if anyone wants to do a rethink, there is no problem...." But these leaders were no longer hatchlings, they had grown "powerful," he said, as quoted by PTI.

Number game between Sharad Pawar versus Ajit Pawar

Ajit Pawar claimed more MLAs on his side while Ajit Pawar camp's Praful Patel said there is no number game as there has been no split in the NCP at all. On a purported statement of Praful Patel that all actions of Sharad Pawar revolve around Supriya Sule  which Jayant Patil denied on Saturday  Sharad Pawar said Supriya Sule won the Lok Sabha election, while Praful Patel lost and even after his loss, he was sent to the Rajya Sabha.

'Don't raise the issue of my age'

In a message for one and all, Sharad Pawar urged not to raise the issue of his age as he said he would continue to lead the party. Earlier in the day, as he launched the mission to rebuild his party undertaking a state tour, Sharad Pawar said he is neither tired nor retired. Sharad Pawar's age, health as he is an oral cancer survivor came into discussion after Ajit Pawar openly attacked Sharad Pawar over his age and said it was time for him to retire from politics -- a comment that drew much flak from many senior politicians.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Poulomi Ghosh Poulomi Ghosh is a journalist with Hindustan Times, New Delhi. ...view detail
Amid the escalating political fervour in Maharashtra, the state continues to witness legislators switching allegiances ahead of the crucial Lok Sabha and assembly elections. In the latest development, Neelam Gorhe, an MLA of Shiv Sena (UBT), joined the rival faction led by chief minister Eknath Shinde on Friday. Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde with Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Maharashtra Legislative Council Deputy Chairperson Neelam Gorhe after she joined Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena during a press conference, in Mumbai.(PTI)

Neelam Gorhe was also appointed the 'neta' by Shinde. This designation is traditionally bestowed upon the senior-most leaders within the party, following the party president.

Read | Maha political crisis: Eknath Shinde assuages MLAs amid unease

I have decided to join the Shiv Sena for issues related to women and development of the country.

She said she was drawn to the party for its adherence to Hindutva and working for the cause of Marathi manoos".

Who is Neelam Gorhe?

Neelam Gorhe became the deputy chairperson of the legislative council in June 2019; thereafter she carried out the duties of the chairperson as the post was vacant after the end of the tenure of NCPs Ramraje Nimbalkar in July 2022. Gorhe has a background as a socialist and women's rights activist. She joined the Republican Party of India (RPI) in the early 1990s before switching to the Shiv Sena in 1998. Read | Drawn by Hindutva, womens rights, Neelam Gorhe switches to Shiv Sena She has been a loyal member of the Shiv Sena, serving as an MLC since 2002 and being re-nominated to the upper house three times. She held various positions within the party, including spokesperson and deputy leader. Gorhe, born in 1954, is a Mumbai University graduate with a professional degree in Ayurvedic medicine. After practising medicine for a decade, she shifted her focus to social and political work in 1987. In 1984, Gorhe established Stree Aadhar Kendra, an organization dedicated to creating a gender-neutral society and advocating for women's equal rights. The organization collaborates with government institutions and ministers to shape policies concerning women.

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When President Droupadi Murmu meets HCL Technologies chairperson Roshni Nadar, IndiGo co-founder Rakesh Gangwal, Piramal Group chairperson Ajay Piramal and eight other entrepreneurs over high tea at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Monday, it will be a unique occasion to acknowledge their contribution in Indias education sector by the highest constitutional office. President Droupadi Murmu will meet 11 entrepreneurs at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. (ANI)

All 11 invitees are successful entrepreneurs but the interaction is aimed to highlight their role as benefactors to their alma mater or in the field of education. All the guests are illustrious alumni and prominent benefactors, an official said, seeking anonymity.

Their meeting coincides with the Presidents annual meeting with vice-chancellors of central universities and heads of scientific educational institutions. The President of India, who is the Visitor of all such bodies, meets the heads of central universities and IITs and IISC, etc., to discuss how to improve the quality of education and related issues.

Also Read: Yeh to trailer hai, picture abhi baaki hai, says President Murmu in Bengaluru

The Visitors conference, starting Monday, will see discussions on the theme of Education for Sustainable Development: Building a better world.

Five different groups will brainstorm on sub-themes such as Contributions to the realization of NEP-2020; Internationalization efforts and G-20; Research contributions and recognitions; Diversity, equality, inclusivity and wellness; Plans and action items for Amrit Kaal. In the concluding session, outcome of deliberations will be presented before the President. President Droupadi Murmu will address the concluding session, said a Rashtrapati Bhavan communique.

This time, however, Murmu will meet a group of benefactors whose contributions are rarely recognized publicly. Support to the alma mater or in the field of education is extremely important in the context of India, the official said. The Presidents decision to meet such benefactors will encourage more people to contribute in the education sector.

The President will meet them over high tea and have an interaction over education and their contributions before the guests are given a detailed tour of the Rashtrapati Bhavan estate, officials said.

Among those who are invited are Rakesh Gangwal, co-Founder of Indigo Airlines, former CEO of Yum China Muktesh Pant, co-founder of Mindtree (now part of the LTI) Subroto Bagchi and Prashanth Prakash of Accel.

KPOINT Technologies chairman Shridhar Shukla, co-founder and CEO of Citius Technologies Rizwan Koita, founder and managing partner of IvyCap Ventures Advisors Vikram Gupta and TTK Prestiges chairman T T Jagannathan have also been invited.

Nemish Shah, co-founder of ENAM, board of governor of FLAME University, and Roshni Nadar, chairperson of HCL Technologies and trustee of Shiv Nadar University, and Ajay Piramal, chairman of the Piramal Group, will be present in the meeting.

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Within this framework, the diplomat indicated how Peru can contribute and share a history of concrete achievements in the eradication of illicit crops, the interdiction of drugs and their precursors, as well as comprehensive and sustainable alternative development.

Similarly, it seeks to respond effectively to their public health impacts.

Through specialized working groups, members will develop innovative solutions, drive national initiatives, and elevate the need to address synthetic drugs as a shared global priority.

These gatherings will provide critical platforms to share progress and achievements with a wider audience and facilitate the advancement of international drug policy.

The virtual meeting took place on Friday.

Canciller Gervasi participo en la Reunion Ministerial de Lanzamiento de la "Coalicion Global para enfrentar la amenaza de las drogas sinteticas", iniciativa impulsada por @SecBlinken y que marcara el inicio de un proceso de dialogo y trabajo en respuesta a este desafio comun. pic.twitter.com/jdDTwiPIJa
Three men and a 17-year-old boy were booked on Saturday in connection with the abduction and assault of a 19-year-old Muslim man, who was forced by one of the accused to lick his feet, in Madhya Pradeshs Gwalior district, police said. The minor accused was apprehended and two others arrested, Gwalior SP Rajesh Chandel said, adding that hunt to nab the fourth accused was underway.

The minor accused was apprehended and two others arrested, a senior police officer said, adding hunt to nab the fourth accused was underway.

The incident took place inside a moving vehicle last month, but came to notice after two purported videos of the incident went viral on social media on Friday, a senior police officer said.

A 17-year-old minor and three others  Sudeep Gurjar, Tejendra Gurjar and Amit Gurjar  abducted Mohsin Khan (19) to take revenge of a fight he had with their brother. Mohsin and one Karan Goswami had thrashed the minors brother on May 21, Gwalior superintendent of police (SP) Rajesh Chandel said.

A case was subsequently registered against Mohsin for causing physical hurt, the SP added.

Also Read: 'Apology or jail?: Owaisi asks CM Chouhan as man forced to lick feet in Gwalior

In the last week of June, the four accused called Goswami near Jiwaji University in Gwalior and asked him to call Mohsin. Later, they abducted both of them to Dabra in an SUV, Chandel said. On the way, the minor thrashed Mohsin with slippers and forced him to lick his feet. He also abused him on religious lines.

Two purported videos of the incident were widely circulated on social media on Friday, following which the police investigated the matter and identified the accused and victims, another office said.

Based on a complaint filed by Karan Goswami, a first information report (FIR) under sections 363 (punishment for kidnapping), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 294 (using obscene language) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) was registered against the four at the University police station on Saturday.

Further investigation in the matter is on, the officer added.

(with inputs from Mahesh Shivhare from Gwalior)

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Union minister Smriti Irani in a YouTube interview with Ranveer Allahabadia recollected an incident when her son collapsed and she was running between AIIMS and Parliament; and PM Modi called her and assured her all help she needed with the hospital or the work. "In Parliament, there was this controversy that she banned Christmas holidays after she asked for a good governance day essay on December 25. This was my first year as a politician in New Delhi. I ran to AIIMS. Next day I had answers to give in Parliament," Smriti Irani said. Smriti Irani took a journey down memory lane in her interview with YouTuber Ranveer Allahabadia.

"When your baby collapses, it's like your world comes crashing down. In the midst of this mayhem, the boss calls, 'kya hua?'. I was like my kid collapsed. Can you imagine having this conversation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi? He said look after your kid and tell me what you need. You need help with the hospital, with work, just tell me, he said. That's what makes him the person you want to die for, you want to go to war for such a person," Smriti Irani said adding that everyone claiming to have known PM Modi up and close are actually 'saying crap' and those who know him up ad close are never in the media.

'I refused a paan masala ad because...': Smriti Irani

"When I started out the project (Kyunki saas bhi kabhi bahu thi), I had zero money, not even 28,000-30,000 in the bank. I had borrowed money from a bank to buy a house. It does not sound flashy right now but it was around 27 lakh-28 lakh. I remember I could just scrape by to give the downpayment of the house. I remember somebody walking into my set one day offering me an ad for paan masala. That money was exactly 10 times the money that I owed the bank. I refused the ad. And people looked at me as though I have gone absolutely crazy. I knew there were families watching, youngsters watching. Can you imagine somebody who is making you feel a part of the family (Tulsi) suddenly start selling paan masala," Smriti Irani said.

'I consciously avoided Tulsi in politics'

Smriti Irani said she never wore Tulsi's costume and never used Tulsi's dialogue to seek votes. It was a conscious decision, Smriti Irani said.

Mamata Banerjee a Hindu and can head minority ministry...

On the controversy over heading the minority affairs ministry being a practising Hindu, Smriti Irani said, "When you are in a Constituional position, you can't say I will serve you only if you are from my community, caste, age bracket, gender. Mamata Banerjee being a Hindu was heading the minorities ministry in her state. It become a big issue when I am given that responsibility. My issue is if you are truly a secular state, then it does not matter who is sitting on the chair."

"When the Congress thought of the ministry for minorities, they had one religion in mind. But when PM Modi came to power his mantra was if you are poor irrespective of religion, you will get X,Y,Z. That is a much more cohesive and secular approach. Now that I have given this statement somebody will take is and splice it and say Smriti Irani announces that she does not like the ministry. That is a danger of having a free and fair conversation," Smriti Irani said.

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As 82-year-old Sharad Pawar on Saturday launched a mission to redevelop his 24-year-old Nationalist Congress Party following his nephew Ajit Pawar's secret mutiny with the help of the BJP, the senior Pawar quoted Vajpayee as he said he is neither tired nor retired. When Atal Bihari Vajpayee passed on the party's leadership to Advani, he said, "Na tired, na retired. Lekin ab Advaniji ke netritva mein vijay ki aur prasthan kijiye." Read | Who is Parth Pawar? What is Ajit Pawar's next move in Maharashtra political crisis? Sharad Pawar before starting a state tour to rebuild the Nationalist Congress Party said he is not tired.

Sharad Pawar remembered those lines by Vajpayee as his age and health condition have been much in discussion after Ajit Pawar pointed out that his uncle should now retire. "You portrayed me as a villain in front of everyone. I still have deep respect for him (Sharad Pawar)...But you tell me, IAS officers retire at 60...even in politics - BJP leaders retire at 75. You can see the example of LK Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi...That allows the new generation to rise," Ajit Pawar said. Read | Eknath Shinde asked to resign? Aaditya Thackeray's big claim amid NCP split

Sharad Pawar braved the criticism and reiterated that he remains effective; his age be 82 or 92. On Saturday, as he launched the mission to rebuild his party, he again said, "Do you know at what age Morarji Desai became the prime minister? I don't want to become the PM or a minister but only want to serve the people."

On July 2, Ajit Pawar took the oath as the deputy chief minister breaking away from the NCP and staked claim to the symbol of the party. As the uncle-nephew power struggle continued, Ajit Pawar declared himself as the president of the NCP. The political battle turned personal with Ajit Pawar asking Sharad Pawar to retire because of his old age. This drew criticism from several politicians including Supriya Sule, Lalu Prasad Yadav who said that there is no retirement age in politics.

'82 or 92': Here are the top quotes of Sharad Pawar after the NCP split

1. "Today's situation is not new to me. After the election in 1980, all MLAs except 6 out of 58 of the party I was leading left the party."

2. "I know how to start from scratch and will rebuild the party once again."

3. "I don't believe there has been any split in my family."

4. "Be it 82 or 92. I am still effective."

5. "Na tired hu na retired."

Sharad Pawar is a cancer survivor and on a past occasion he spoke about tobacco addiction and oral cancer. He had to undergo a surgery in which all his teeth were removed. As questions about his age and health are being raised following 63-year-old Ajit Pawar's attack, Sharad Pawar said he is fit and still the president of the party.

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Prime minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone and dedicated development projects worth over 24,300 crore including a six-lane Greenfield Expressway section of the Amritsar - Jamnagar Economic Corridor in Rajasthan's Bikaner on Saturday. Union minister Arjun Meghwal shared the images of the expressway on Twitter. (Twitter/ @arjunrammeghwal)

Read here: Modi's dig at Rahul Gandhi's 'mohabbat ki dukaan' call: 'Congress only means...'

While addressing the gathering, PM Modi said that Rajasthan got two modern expressways within a few months. "In a way, Rajasthan has scored a double century when it comes to National Highways. This Greenfield Expressway will strengthen the economic activities in entire western India," he said.

The corridor, built at a cost of around 11,125 crore, spans over 500 km in Rajasthan which runs from village Jakhdawali in Hanumangarh district to village Khetlawas in Jalore district.

Ahead of the inauguration, Union minister Arjun Ram Meghwal shared the images of the expressway on Twitter and had said that expressway connecting the four states of the country will usher in a new era of development in the lives of common people.

Route:

The Greenfield Expressway will connect Rajasthan with Haryana, Punjab, Gujarat and Jammu and Kashmir, while important commercial seaports like Jamnagar and Kandla will also become accessible from Bikaner and Rajasthan.

Read here: PM Modi calls KCR govt most corrupt, takes dig at BRS, AAP in Delhi excise policy scam

PM Modi also underlined that the distances between Bikaner and Amritsar, and Jodhpur will be reduced, along with the distance between Jodhpur and Gujarat which will largely benefit the farmers and businesses of the region.

This expressway will significantly reduce travel time and improve connectivity between major cities, and industrial corridors. The expressway will not only facilitate seamless transportation of goods but also enhance tourism and economic development along its route.

Travel time:

Once completed by December 2025, the expressway will decrease the distance between Amritsar and Jamnagar from 1,430 km to 1,256 km, reducing travel time from 26 hours to 13 hours.

PM Modi in Rajasthan:

Besides Amritsar-Jamnagar Economic Corridor, PM Modi dedicated to the nation phase-I of the Inter-State Transmission Line for Green Energy Corridor worth around 10,950 crore, Bikaner to Bhiwadi Transmission Line to be developed by Power Grid at a cost of around 1,340 crore, and a new 30-bedded Employees' State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) Hospital in Bikaner.

Read here: PM Modi launches infra projects worth 6,100 crore in poll-bound Telangana

He also laid the foundation stone for the redevelopment of the Bikaner Railway Station at a cost of around 450 crores and doubling of the 43 km long Churu  Ratangarh section railway line.
The Union education ministry has asked states and Union Territories to take suitable measures to introduce millet-based recipes in the canteens and messes of the schools and offices and prepare a month-wise calendar of activities to create awareness around the ongoing celebration of the International Year of Millets, according to an official communication. Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan (File Photo)

The ministry, in a communication dated July 5, said that it had written to all the states and UTs in April requesting them to share a month-wise calendar of activities to be carried out to create awareness regarding the use of millets or Shri anna. However, the information is still pending, the ministry said.

..Kindly instruct the concerned officials in your State/UT for taking suitable actions to adopt millets-based recipes in the canteens/mess of the schools/offices and promote their health and nutritious benefits as well as provide a month-wise calendar of activities to create awareness regarding the use of Shree Anna for the celebration of International Year of Millets to this Department at the earliest, the order states.

At Indias instance, the United Nations declared 2023 as the international year of millets, and India has since embarked on a mission to popularize the coarse grains that are both rich in micronutrients as well as hardy.

A senior ministry official, requesting anonymity, said that despite repeated requests, some states have not yet planned to inform the ministry about the activities and efforts they are putting into making celebrations around the International Year of celebration a success. The ministry has again requested the states to submit the details, the official said.

The ministry also asked to follow a millet-based recipe book  Shree Anna (Millets) Recipes  A Healthy Menu for Mess/Canteens prepared by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).

The book contains region-specific recipes from East, West, North and South and will act as a ready reckoner for providing menu options for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks for the canteens and messes of Offices/Jails/Colleges/Hospitals etc., it said.

The ministry had last year asked all the states to include millets in the mid-day meal menus served to students at government and government-aided schools up to class 8th.

Besides, it also emphasized increasing awareness about the use of millets among students and parents and the contribution of millets to food security and nutrition.
Congress leader Sachin Pilot made it clear on Saturday that he has buried the hatchet with Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on the advice of party president Mallikarjun Kharge, saying collective leadership was the "only way" forward going into the assembly polls. Congress leader Sachin Pilot.(PTI)

Read here: Will contest Rajasthan polls unitedly, no space for indiscipline, says Congress

In an exclusive interview with PTI just days after the crucial Rajasthan polls strategy meeting of the party, Pilot said Kharge advised him to "forgive and forget" and move forward. "It was as much an advice as a directive."

"Ashok Gehlot ji is older than me, he has more experience. He has heavy responsibilities on his shoulders. When I was the Rajasthan Congress president, I tried to take everyone along. I think that today he is the Chief Minister (Gehlot), so he is trying to take everyone along.

"If there is a little back and forth, then it is not a big issue because the party and the public are more important than any individual. I also understand this and he also understands it," the former Rajasthan deputy chief minister said.

Asked about Gehlot calling him names in the past and his criticism of the Gehlot government over inaction on issues such as corruption in the previous Vasundhara Raje government, Pilot said that in a meeting with him, Congress chief Kharge said that time that has gone by will not come back and one has to look at the future.

"He (Kharge) said forgive and forget and look forward and that is applicable to everybody. I believe in that, we now have to move forward and meet new challenges. This country needs the Congress to do well. We need to seek blessings of the people of Rajasthan and in order to do that we have to work unitedly and move forward in a way that is acceptable to the people and to the party workers," Pilot said.

"So who said what, at which time, there is no point talking about it as it does not mean anything. I have always refrained from using any word or language that I feel is unpleasant or is something that I would not want to hear about myself. In public life and politics, it is always good to maintain certain dignity of discourse," Pilot said.

"Next challenge for us is to win elections, neither individuals nor statements matter, those are bygones," he said.

Read here: Senior Congress leader roped in to mediate between Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot

His remarks come after Kharge, former party chief Rahul Gandhi, AICC in-charge for Rajasthan Sukhjinder Randhawa, Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee president Govind Dotasra, he and several MLAs and ministers from the state attended a polls strategy meeting at the AICC headquarters here. Gehlot, who is recovering from injuries to his toes, attended the meeting via video conferencing.

Following the meeting, the Congress on Thursday asserted it can win the Rajasthan assembly elections provided there is unity and warned of strict action against those not maintaining discipline and speaking outside the party forum. The party also indicated that it may not declare a chief ministerial face for the polls due later this year.

Asked about Congress general secretary in-charge organisation KC Venugopal's remarks that the party never announces the chief ministerial candidate, Pilot said, "I think what Mr Venugopal ji said is not incorrect. Every time we go to polls, it is not an individual that fights elections. So in 2018, I was the state party president and when we fought the elections unitedly we never said X, Y, Z will be the CM face. That is a decision that happens post elections."

Pilot asserted that the Congress government in Rajasthan is not about A B C, but is about the party, and the leadership of the party, national and state leadership, is a collective unit.

"Our performance and policies are not individualistic. They are based on the ideology of the Congress party, the cabinet is there, the CM is there, all of us are there...Victory and loss is not about an individual, it is about a team," he asserted.

"I don't want to add anything to what Mr Venugopal said but he is absolutely correct that the Congress party has traditionally never announced any names of individuals who would head the government because ultimately it is a parliamentary democracy where elected MLAs, leadership sit and make a decision as to who will lead the government," he said.

Pilot stressed that right now the challenge is to buck the anti-incumbency trend that has existed for about 25 years. "It is a cause of concern as to why we form the government and then we lose rather badly in the next polls," he said.

Pressed further on whether collective leadership was the way to go in Rajasthan, Pilot said, "It is the only way to go."

Read here: Congress turns to Rajasthan ex-minister to broker truce between Gehlot, Pilot

"I have said earlier, no one individual can actually say or claim that he or she can do the magic of winning elections. It is always a team effort. More than leaders, it is the workers, we have to enthuse the workers, they need to feel committed and involved, and as Rahul Gandhi has said that the party workers must feel involved in decision-making," he said.

Asked about his concern over anti-incumbency, Pilot said there is anti-incumbency in Rajasthan as there is in other places with every government having a certain amount of unaccomplished work.

"I believe the people understand the intention of our party and government. Every scheme the government has launched has been well received by the people. It is up to us to take those schemes to the grassroots," he said.

Pilot also batted for winnability being the sole criterion for choosing candidates for the polls and not which faction he or she belongs to.

He also called for younger leaders being encouraged and given a chance to prove their mettle at the hustings.

On what role he would play going forward, Pilot said he has always discharged his duties with utmost dedication in the past and any decision on it taken by the party high command would be acceptable to him.

He, however, added that his heart is in Rajasthan and he has never shied away from saying that.

Pilot also took a jibe at the BJP and alleged that it was grappling with infighting and confusion within its ranks.

"We are on our way to making history. It is quite possible that we will get more seats than we got last time," he said.

Gehlot and Pilot have been engaged in a power tussle since the Congress formed government in the state in 2018. In 2020, Pilot led a revolt against the Gehlot government after which he was removed from the posts of the party's state unit president and deputy chief minister.

Read here: Congress gears up for state polls, calls series of meets

Last year, an attempt by the high command to effect a leadership change in Rajasthan had failed after Gehlot loyalists dug their heels in and did not allow a legislature party meeting to take place.

Pilot had last month defied a warning from the party and went ahead with a day-long fast targeting Gehlot over his "inaction" on alleged corruption during the previous Raje government.
ROGER FEDERER won his fifth consecutive Wimbledon title on Sunday, beating nemesis Rafael Nadal in a five-set epic. HT This Day: July 9, 2007 -- Five, all to Federer

The top-ranked Swiss player was pushed to limit in a Grand Slam final for the first time, but he held on to win 7-6 (7), 4-6, 7-6(3), 2-6, 6-2 for his 11th major title. Federer is the first man to win five straight titles at the All England Club since Bjorn Borg did it from 1976-80. The Swede watched the match from the Royal Box with other past champions, and applauded as Federer fell to ground after an overhead smash on match point. Federer also stretched his grass-court winning streak to 53 and his Wimbledon winning streak to 34. He is now tied for third on the career list with 11 major titles. Borg and Rod Laver also have 11, trailing Pete Sampras 14 and Roy Emersons 12.

Federer beat Nadal for only the fifth time in 13 meetings. The Spaniard has defeated Federer in the past two French Open finals to spoil his bid to complete a career Grand Slam. Nadal was bidding to become the first man since Borg to win the French Open and the Wimbledon titles in the same year. Federer saved four break points early the fifth set, two at 1-1 and two at 2-2. The with Nadal serving at 3-2, Federer converted his second break point with a forehand winner after a 14-stroke rally that produced son of the best shots of the match.

It was Federers first break since the second game of the match. Nadal, who played two other five-set matches in a tournament plagued by rain, was on t court for the seventh straight day. After taking a 4-1 lead in the fourth set, the Spaniard called for a trainer to treat his rig knee. Although he returned with tape below the knee cap, didnt seem to slow him down. Federer finished the match with 24 aces, 65 winners and 34 unforced errors.

Nadal had 50 winners and 24 unforced errors. Nadal also used the Hawk Eye replay technology, which is making its debut at Wimbledon, to great effect throughout the match. One time, a call reversal in the fourth set infuriated Federer so much that he complained to the chair umpire after being broken for the fourth time. Its killing me today, Federer said after sitting down during the changeover.
Dulali Karjee and her son Chiranjit were looking forward to exercise their franchise, along with friends and neighbours, in Bhagni village in Cooch Behar on Saturday, but the day brought a lifetime of grief for the 64-year-old woman instead as her son was among the 18 people killed in widespread violence that marred the West Bengal panchayat elections. Police personnel baton charge after a clash between rival political groups during panchyat elections in Malda district of West Bengal on Saturday. (PTI)

We were going towards the polling booth when some men, who had their faces covered, started firing indiscriminately at people without any provocation. We ran towards a house for cover, but a bullet hit Chiranjit in the chest and he fell, Karjee said. While several people survived with injuries, my 29-year-old son wasnt so lucky. He died at the hospital.

At least 18 people were killed in West Bengal on Saturday as the polling for the three-tier panchayat elections witnessed violence and looting of ballots in eight districts, the opposition parties alleged.

Also Read: WB Guv CV Ananda Bose hits violence-hit areas on polling day

Chiranjit Karjee was a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) worker. Two more people  another BJP worker and a Trinamool Congress (TMC) supporter  were also killed in violence in Cooch Behar.

While both the ruling TMC and Opposition BJP distanced themselves from the incidents, locals alleged that people involved in violence were political workers.

The men who hurled bombs at us were BJP supporters, Saidul Mian, a resident of Hajarhat village in Cooch Behar, alleged. They looted three ballot boxes from our local polling booth.

Muhammed Hamid, a resident of Beltapara village, claimed: Some TMC supporters forcibly entered the booth in our area, hurled bombs and decamped with three ballot boxes.

Also Read: Bengal poll body under fire for its failing to control violence

The situation was worse in Murshidabad district.

Sariful Islam, a government staff on poll duty in Raninagar area, broke down while talking to media persons after miscreants attacked his booth inside a school building.

A mob appeared from nowhere after around 800 people had cast their votes. They rained bombs around the booth. My colleagues and I crawled under the wooden benches to hide. We dont know which party these people represent, Islam said.

The district witnessed five deaths on Saturday, the highest in the eastern state. At least 40 people sustained bullet and bomb injuries in Murshidabad on Saturday, police officers said, requesting anonymity.

The first victim of the polling-day violence was a TMC worker, Babar Ali (45), from Murshidabad. He was talking to fellow party workers near his house at Beldanga on Friday night when he was attacked by some armed miscreants, police said.

He was mercilessly bludgeoned. He died in hospital in the early hours of Saturday, a senior police officer said, declining to be named.

Ismail Sheikh, a resident of Dafarpur gram panchayat area said: A local TMC leader did not allow any voter to enter the booth. His henchmen hurled at least 25-30 bombs to terrorise us.

Ratan Das, a voter from Manindranagar gram panchayat area, said: I went to cast my vote around 9 am. When I reached the booth, I was told by the polling personnel that my vote had already been cast. Only TMC-backed goons could have done this.

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Comments about artificial intelligence taking away jobs in India are "zero, non-sense, bakwas", Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar said on Friday. Union Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology and Union Minister of State for Skill Development Rajeev Chandrasekhar addresses an event.(PTI)

The minister of state for electronics, information and technology said Artificial Intelligence (AI) today is task-focused and essentially makes tasks more efficient, mimicking human behaviour.

"I am sorry to be sounding cynical. In 1999, the whole of 1999, I heard how Y2K is going to wipe out the world. Then I hear AI will finish our jobs and there are obviously people who want to look at the worst case scenario of any innovation. AI will finish our jobs, zero, non-sense, bakwas," he said.

"Generative AI today is task-focused and essentially makes tasks more efficient, mimicking human behaviour...," he said.

Chandrasekhar was talking to reporters after unveiling the fully automated state-of-the-art electromagnetic interference and compatibility laboratories at the Society for Applied Microwave Electronics Engineering and Research (SAMEER) here.

He said the government was working with a data sets programme where government anonymised data would be made available to Indian artificial intelligence researchers and start-ups.

"These are data sets that would be offered on a curated basis and the design for those five works were set up by the Ministry," the minister said.

Two consultations were held and very soon the government would be announcing the entire architecture of the data sets programme, he added.

On the semiconductor industry in India, he said the government was engaged in building a semiconductor ecosystem which is expected to come up in three to five years.

Elaborating, he said 18 months ago there was none and today we have got almost 30 start-ups engaged in semiconductor design.

"You see in IIT Madras, which was supposed to be a PhD project, is receiving private capital funding asking it to grow...that is the difference in 18 months. It is not government money. It is private investors backing a company to do the next generation of computers from semiconductors design from Chennai," Chandrasekhar said.

He said India would soon have a semi-conductor research centre and the country would be a player in the global semiconductor value chain.

"We are going to end up doing in 10 years what China took 30 years to do and failed. China has spent USD 2 billion in the last 15 years in trying to create a semi-conductor industry, and what do they have today? In Hindi there is a phrase, zero battey sannata," the minister said.

"This (semiconductor design) is really transformative and what is this really why we are confident is because electronics as an industry did not exist pre-2014 and had been laid to waste because of imports. Today, we (India) are a trusted and significant player in electronics...," he said.

"In three-five years, we will have a fully competitive world-class semiconductor ecosystem in India," he added.
A man was shot dead by an unidentified assailant at a roadside eatery here, hours before a video in which the victim claimed to receive death threats went viral on social media, the police said on Friday. Ramesh Maurya (22) was having food at an eatery and was shot in the head from behind by a masked assailant.

The incident took place on Thursday night in the Khairabad area in Uttar Pradesh when Ramesh Maurya (22) was having food at the eatery and was shot in the head from behind by a masked assailant, they added.

On being informed, a police team reached the spot and admitted Maurya to a government hospital, where he later succumbed to his injuries, Circle Officer (City) Susheel Singh said.

Following the incident, the police collected evidence from the crime spot and recorded the statement of the family members. The CCTV footage of the area has been collected and an investigation is underway, Singh said.

On Friday, a video started doing rounds on social media in which Maurya said one Ayan and his associates should be held responsible if any untoward incident happened to him.

Maurya also urged Mahant Bajrang Muni Das, a prominent local Hindu priest, to ensure that in case he is murdered, strict action is taken against the accused, including Ayan, who threatened to shoot him dead a couple of days ago.

"The video appears to have been shot a few days ago. We are looking into the veracity of the video and the allegations made in it," the CO said.

Based on the video, an FIR has been registered against 13 persons, including the prime accused Ayan, he added.

Maurya, worked as a battery mechanic at a local shop, the police said, adding that his body has been sent for post-mortem.
" " A wildlife care specialist at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park holds a four-month-old echidna baby  or puggle. The puggle  the first-ever to hatch at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park  was estimated to have hatched on Feb. 14, 2020. Ken Bohn/San Diego Zoo Safari Park

1. They Dig for Their Food

These guys eat ants, grubs and termites, so digging for food is key. Areas with loose topsoil work well, although these animals can plow through hard-packed dirt as well. "Once an echidna detects its prey," says Schwartz, "it uses its long, sharp claws and short, sturdy limbs to dig into the soil and expose the invertebrates."

They also take advantage of a very strong sense of smell to locate their food underground or beneath wood or leaf litter, says Nicole Ellis, a pet expert and certified trainer with Rover.com. "It's believed that they use special cells in their nose that are sensitive to the electromagnetic signals of their preya sense usually associated with sharks," he says. "The unique sense is extremely advantageous when searching for colonies of insects."

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2. They Don't Have Teeth

Instead, they use their sticky, slender, long tongue to catch their food. "Hard pads at the base of the tongue and on the roof of its mouth grind food into a paste for swallowing," says Schwartz. Interestingly enough, he adds, the taxonomic family name for echidnas, Tachyglossidae, means "fast tongue."

3. They're Named After the Greek Mother of Monsters

In Greek mythology, Echidna was a half-woman, half-snake creature perceived to have qualities of both mammals and reptiles. She also was called the "mother of all monsters," because she birthed most of the mythical Greek creatures.

4. It's Hard to Tell Males and Females Apart

You can't simply determine an echidna's gender by looking at it, says Schwartz. "They have no gender-specific features, and their reproductive organs are internal," he explains. "Both male and females are born with spurs (which typically indicates a male), while females are meant to lose the spurs as they mature. Mating, of course, can establish a male from a female and DNA blood sampling can determine sex."

5. They Are Endothermic

That means they have the lowest body temperature of any mammal  around 89.6 Farenheit (32 degrees Celsius). "Their long-life spans  up to 50 years in managed settings  are due to their low body temperature and slow metabolism," says Schwartz. "Echidnas can enter an inactive state known as torpor, which is used by many animals to help them conserve energy. When in torpor, echidnas reduce their metabolic rate and lower their body temperature."

6. They Host the World's Largest Flea

The short-beaked echidna serves as a host to the echidna flea (bradiopsylla echidnae). It's thought to be the world's largest flea, reaching 0.5 inches (1.3 centimeters) in length.

7. Their Mating Ritual Is Odd

Echidna breeding season is during July and August (winter in Australia), according to Schwartz. Now this is where it gets a little strange. "Male echidnas often line up behind a female, nose to tail, forming long trains, up to 10 echidnas long," he says. "These trains are the first part of the strange echidna courtship and mark the beginning of the breeding season. When the female is finally ready to mate, the males dig a trench in the ground around her. The males compete for mating honors by pushing each other out of the trench. The last one remaining gets to mate with the female. Male echidnas may also mate with hibernating females."

8. Males Have a Four-headed Penis

"During sex, two of the heads shut down while the other two grow bigger to fit into the female's two-branched reproductive tract," says Schwartz. "Echidnas alternate which heads they use when mating with different partners to improve their chances of becoming a father."

9. Babies Are Called "Puggles"

An adult female echidna usually lays a single, leathery egg once a year, according to Schwartz. "She rolls the newly laid egg, about the size of a grape, into a deep pocket (or pouch) on her belly to keep it safe," he says. "Ten days later, the baby echidna, called a puggle, hatches. It weighs only about half as much as a miniature marshmallow! The puggle uses its tiny, see-through claws to grip the special hairs within the mother's pouch. The mother does not have nipples the way other mammals do. Instead, the little puggle laps up milk that the mother's body secretes from special glands in her pouch.

"Fortunately for the mother, the puggle does not yet have spines sticking out," adds Schwartz. "It remains in the pouch until its spines begin to break through its skin, at about 53 days. Then the mother puts the puggle into a burrow, where she returns to feed it every five to 10 days, until it is big enough to go out on its own at about seven months old."

10. Their Spines Are Actually Hair

The spines  made of keratin (or long, tough, hollow hair follicles)  are an echidna's main line of defense when predators strike. "If an alarmed echidna can't run away or hide, it curls into a prickly ball to protect itself or digs itself to safety," says Schwartz. In addition to being covered in spines, echidnas also are clad in shorter fur to keep them warm.

11. Males Also Have Spurs

"These are not venomous," says Schwartz. "Scientists have discovered that male echidnas use the spur on their hind leg to communicate with other echidnas, unlike the platypus, who use their leg spur as a weapon."

12. You Can Pick Up an Echidna, But Carefully!

While you should never pick up or disturb a wild animal, says Schwartz, echidnas can be picked up, when necessary. "It is recommended to wear thick leather gloves when handling an echidna, to protect your hands from their spines," he says.

Now That's Interesting The short-beaked echidna is common and well-protected in Australia, and it's even listed as a species of Least Concern on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. Due to overhunting and habitat loss, however, long-beaked echidnas have experienced declines of at least 80 percent since the 1960s, and all long-beaked echidnas are listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN.
At least 18 people died across eight districts of West Bengal on Saturday as the three-tier panchayat elections in 20 districts were marked by widespread violence, looting of ballot papers and rigging, people familiar with the developments said. Polling was peaceful only in Darjeeling and Kalimpong, the two hilly districts that have two-tier panchayats. Ballot papers at a polling booth in Cooch Behar were set on fire during polling on Saturday. (ANI)

Saturdays violence raised the death toll to 37, calling into question the role of the state election commission over its failure to ensure smooth conduct of polling. The poll body was initially opposed to the idea of deploying additional forces and was even pulled up by the Calcutta high court. In a state where violence at the booth level is deeply seeped in the political culture, the election watchdog ought to have been much more competent and serious about its responsibility.

In the last 2018 panchayat polls 23 people died across Bengal, with 12 of them losing their lives on the day of polling.

Also Read: Matter of great concern: Bengal governor on panchayat poll violence

The results are scheduled to be announced on July 11 but the Opposition, including the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the CPI(M) and the Congress, demanded a repoll at a large number of polling booths. The Congress moved the Calcutta high court seeking action against state election commissioner (SEC) Rajiva Sinha who was earlier pulled up by the court for not taking enough steps to stop pre-poll violence that claimed 19 lives between June 8 and July 7.

The TMC (Trinamool Congress) has killed democracy today. They have looted votes everywhere. The TMC has already won the panchayat election, state Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, who is the Lok Sabha parliamentarian from Berhampore, said.

In 2013, two years after the TMC came to power for the first time, 15 people died during a multi-phase panchayat election.

Also Read: War-like situation: BJP shares videos of goons brandishing gun, fleeing with ballot box in Bengal

Although the high court, while acting on a petition filed by BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari, ordered on June 15 that the SEC must deploy 822 companies of central armed police forces (CAPF) across all 22 districts, only 649 companies reached the state on time, state police officials said.

Voters and opposition parties alleged that the CAPF were not deployed in sensitive areas on Saturday.

A Punjab Police contingent reached Kolkata after the elections were over since trains were running late, a state police officer said on condition of anonymity.

Among those who died on Saturday, at least 11 were supporters of the ruling TMC, even as officials indicated that some of those casualties were a result of internecine battles between Trinamool workers while in several instances clashes were reported between TMC men and those from other parties. Cooch Behar district in north Bengal  where the BJP performed well in the 2019 Lok Sabha and the 2021 assembly polls  witnessed the deaths of two BJP workers and a TMC supporter.

In south Bengal, Malda district accounted for the deaths of two TMC supporters and an unidentified person. The adjoining Murshidabad district, which has the states highest Muslim population, saw the deaths of three TMC workers, a CPI(M) supporter and a voter.

Calling the election a farce, BJPs Adhikari said, Only imposition of Article 366 of the Constitution can protect peoples right to franchise in West Bengal.

TMC state general secretary Kunal Ghosh and minister Sashi Panja claimed that elections in 14 districts were peaceful, and the violence was restricted to areas around just 60 of the states 61,636 polling booths.

Violence took place in only 60 polling booth areas and the big incidents were restricted to only 8-9 booths. These were part of a conspiracy against Bengal and the TMC. Will TMC kill its own men? Those who want to impose Presidents rule in Bengal should immediately visit Manipur where hundreds have died in ethnic clashes since May but the Centre has done nothing, said Ghosh.

Rajiva Sinha did not make any statement on the deaths and the alleged rigging till Saturday evening. The state police, too, did not officially comment on the violence.

The spate of violence on Saturday showed that opposition workers tried to violently counter the TMC before the crucial Lok Sabha polls next year.

At least five people died and as many as 40 people sustained bullet and bomb injuries between late Friday night and Saturday afternoon in Murshidabad district. Most of the injured were rushed to Murshidabad Medical College and Hospital in Berhampore town.

The first victim of Saturdays violence in the state was TMC worker Babar Ali, 45, who died in the Beldanga area of Murshidabad. Police said he was talking to fellow party workers in front of his house on Friday night when he was attacked by some armed men. He died in hospital in the early hours of Saturday. The TMC alleged that the Congress was behind the incident, a charge the latter denied.

Parties circulated videos of violent incidents from polling day on social media and blamed each other for the clashes.

The polls were held for 63,229 gram panchayat seats, 9,730 panchayat samiti seats and 928 zilla parishad seats. The number of eligible voters was 56.7 million. More than 9.5% of the panchayat seats across all three tiers were won uncontested, mostly by the TMC, data released by the SEC after the withdrawal of nomination papers showed last month. This indicated a huge dip since 2018 when the ruling party drew flak for winning 90% seats, of which 34% were uncontested.
The role of the West Bengal state election commission came under fire on Saturday over its alleged failure to ensure a free and fair panchayat election after 18 people were killed on polling day amid allegations of booth capturing and rigging from across the state. Police personnel try to disperse people during a clash between rival political groups during panchyat elections at Nagaria village in Malda, West Bengal, on Saturday. (PTI)

The state police and the election overseer did not comment on the number of people who died till the time of filing of this report. Afte Saturdays violence, 37 people have been killed since the state poll panel announced the election dates on June 8, making it the bloodiest rural local body elections in the past decade.

These are crimes. There would be police complaints, investigations and arrests. Police will take action. We are getting frequent calls. We received around 1,200-1,300 complaints of violence in booths. It would neither be right to say that polls were peaceful nor it would right to say that there was large scale violence. We have to analyse the reports before coming to any conclusion, Rajiva Sinha, state election commissioner, told the media on Saturday morning.

The state election commission came under heavy criticism from the opposition and governor CV Ananda Bose over its failure to check violence and reluctance to deploy central paramilitary forces. On Saturday, political parties alleged the forces were not adequately deployed in sensitive areas to prevent violence.

The spectre of violence emerged soon after voting began at 7am. Clashes erupted across districts, with reports of ballot papers being burnt and vote rigging.

Violence started the day after the poll panel announced the dates of the election in June. These deaths occurred because of the failure of the chief minister, the state poll panel chief and the state police chief, said Md Salim, veteran Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader.

As the violence continued unabated, Congress leader Kaustav Bagchi sent a letter to the chief justice of the Calcutta high court TS Sivagnanam, seeking judicial intervention in the poll violence. He also lodged a complaint against Sinha at Titagarh police station.

I seek an immediate judicial intervention with regard to the present panchayat poll violence that is taking place at the behest of the ruling dispensation in connivance of the state election commission and the state administration, he wrote.

Leader of the opposition in the state assembly Suvendu Adhikari said that the BJP would move court on Tuesday and even locked the main gate of the SEC office in Kolkata on Saturday evening.

The state poll panel chief was recently pulled up by the Calcutta high court for failing to implement its orders regarding deployment of central forces.

We have no hesitation in our mind to hold that the order has not been complied with in letter and spirit. We fail to understand why the State Election Commission is still not taking an independent decision on the matter. If it is very difficult for the commissioner to take orders he can step down. Probably the Governor may appoint someone else, the court had said on June 21.

Earlier this week, Bose slammed the state election commissioner, accusing him of failing in his duties. I appointed you. You disappointed the people. My constitutional appointee, you have failed in your duty in my opinion. You have failed the people, he said.

SEC is least bothered about whats happening today. Presiding officers running away in fearChappa voting. This all happened in West Bengal today. This has shamed the state. This is happening under the guidance of the CM who has colluded with the SEC, tweeted Sukanta Majumdar, state Bharatiya Janata Party president.

West Bengal received 681 companies of central forces till Saturday. But opposition parties alleged that even these forces were not properly deployed to prevent violence.

Around 61,290 central force personnel were deployed in the state till Saturday to ensure free and fair polls. They were deployed at sensitive booths and polling stations. There were no reports of any violence in the areas where central troops were deployed, a Border Security Force officer said, declining to be named.

The state poll panel, after being pulled up and directed by the Calcutta high court, sought 822 companies of central forces.

There was, however, much dilly-dallying on the SECs part when the deployment plan of the forces was sought. Had they provided the deployment plan, the movement and deployment would have been faster, the officer said.

At Khargram in Murshidabad, BSF personnel fired two rounds in the air to prevent looting of ballot boxes in a booth.

The BJP alleged that central forces were not used to prevent violence. Majumdar sent a letter to Union home minister Amit Shah, seeking central intervention to restore democracy in the state.

Very few booths enjoyed central armed police forces, while maximum booths were covered by police personnel and even civic volunteers. The Calcutta high court order was violated. No clarification on deployment of central forces was published by the state election commission, he wrote in the letter.

The ruling Trinamool Congress party hit back, saying the border guarding agencies were trying to influence voters to vote for a particular party.

The opposition colluded and were clamouring for central forces. Where are the forces? Why did they fail to protect the citizens? They were being called as guardians of peace. They have faltered and failed to protect the rights of citizens, said state women and child development minister Shashi Panja.

The ruling party also said that out of the 62,000-odd polling stations, major violence took place in eight to nine booths. There were violent incidents, including minor clashes, in around 60 booths, according to Kunal Ghosh, TMC spokesperson.

In some booths, where there were only a single armed policeman, the presiding officers were heckled and ballots looted. Voting officials were terrified and some broke down in tears (according to villagers).
West Bengal, amid widespread violence and killings, braces for the crucial three-tier panchayat election on Saturday, which is seen as a litmus test for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Polling began at 7am and will conclude at 5pm. Polling staff leave for their respective polling stations after collecting polling equipment and material from a distribution centre on the eve of West Bengal panchayat election, in North 24 Parganas on Friday. (ANI Photo)

As of Saturday, the death toll in the run-up to the panchayat polls in West Bengal climbed to 22 after two more persons were allegedly killed in Murshidabad district early on Saturday.

Around 5.67 crore voters are expected to cast their votes to choose representatives for nearly 928 seats across 22 zilla parishads, 9,730 panchayat samities, and 63,229 gram panchayats seats.

Top 10 updates on the West Bengal panchayat election:

1. The West Bengal panchayat election is likely to witness a fierce battle for control of local administrations between the ruling Trinamool Congress, Indian Secular Front and the Bharatiya Janata Party.

2. Since the day the polls were announced on June 8, West Bengal has reported a number of violence in various parts of the state. In the latest incident, one person, identified as Abdullah Ali, in Kadambagachi of North 24 Parganas in Murshidabad district. One more person was killed in Murshidabad district's Beldanga.

3. A polling booth was ransacked and set on fire at Dihata in Cooch Behar. On Friday, the home of a BJP candidate was allegedly attacked by TMC workers in the Kalmati area of Bamanhat II Gram Panchayat of Dinhata. The injured are currently being treated at a private hospital in Coochbehar, news agency ANI reported.

3. An incident of allegedly hurling crude bombs at a Block Development Office (BDO) in Ahmadpur, Birbhum district, was reported on Friday.

4. On Thursday night, a man identified as Aurobindo Mondol was allegedly beaten to death in the Raninagar area in Murshidabad. Family members of the deceased said Mondol was a Congress worker and was suffering from heart ailments, they blamed the TMC for his death. He was punched and kicked. He lost consciousness and fell to the ground. He was declared dead when rushed to the hospital. The TMC was behind it, said Annapurna Mondol, a relative of the victim. TMC leaders, however, rejected the charges.

5. West Bengal governor CV Ananda Bose on Friday urged the people of rural Bengal to exercise their franchise in the panchayat elections without fail. On Saturday, Bose hit the streets since the voting started. He will visit polling booths in several areas of the districts. His first halt was at North 24 Parganas. The governor described Saturday's panchayat polls as a fight between ballots and bullets and said that he would monitor the situation throughout the state and take corrective measures.

6. The governor visited some of the violence-hit areas in Murshidabad district, including Nabagram and Khargram, on Friday where a TMC worker and a Congress worker were allegedly killed earlier, and met with the family members of workers.

7. Responding to the governor's remarks, senior TMC leader and MLA Madan Mitra said he should be ousted from his post and the state, adding that he was not even a voter of West Bengal. The Kamarhati TMC MLA questioned how a sitting governor could urge people to vote for the BJP.

8. On Friday, apprehending post-poll violence, the Calcutta high court ordered that central forces, which are currently deployed in the state, should remain there for at least ten days after the poll results.

9. The Union home ministry had sanctioned 822 companies of central forces and state armed police. The state election commission on Thursday informed the high court that even though the entire 822 companies may not reach the state before polling, efforts were being made to send in maximum forces.

10. On Friday, a search operation was underway ahead of the panchayat polls, after police received information that crude bombs and weapons have been stockpiled in the district. However, they added that nothing has been found yet.

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Voting for the West Bengal panchayat election 2023 began at 7am on Saturday amid tight security, but not before three more persons were killed in Murshidabad district, taking the toll to 23 since the poll dates were announced. West Bengal Governor CV Anand Bose visits the house of Congress worker late Fulchand Sheikh who was shot dead in Ratanpur village on June 9 in Murshidabad on Friday. (ANI)

Since June 8, West Bengal has reported a number of violence in various parts of the state. In the latest incident, one person, identified as Abdullah Ali, in Kadambagachi of North 24 Parganas in Murshidabad district. One more person was killed in Murshidabad district's Beldanga.

A polling booth at Baravita Primary School in Coochbehar's Sitai was vandalised and ballot papers were set on fire.

The ruling Trinamool Congress claimed that three of its party workers have been murdered in Rejinagar, Tufanganj and Khargram and two have been left wounded from gunshots in Domkol.

Shocking and tragic incidents send shockwaves through the voting community. Three of our party workers have been murdered in Rejinagar, Tufanganj and Khargram and two have been left wounded from gunshots in Domkol. The @BJP4Bengal, @CPIM_WESTBENGAL and @INCWestBengal have been clamouring for the deployment of Central Forces. So, where are the Central Forces when they are needed the most? This signals a colossal failure on their part to ensure the safety and security of the people, before the polls have even commenced! the TMC tweeted.

A 52-year-old TMC worker, identified as Sateshuddin Sheikh, was killed in Khargram of Murshidabad. His body has been brought to a hospital for postmortem.

Governor CV Ananda Bose hit the streets

Urging the people of rural Bengal to exercise their franchise in the panchayat elections without fail, On Saturday, governor CV Ananda Bose hit the streets since the voting started. He will visit polling booths in several areas of the districts. His first halt was at North 24 Parganas. The governor described Saturday's panchayat polls as a fight between ballots and bullets and said that he would monitor the situation throughout the state and take corrective measures.

A total of 2.06 lakh candidates are in the fray for elections to 73,887 seats in the three-tier panchayat system in the state.

The election assumes significance for political parties as it will serve as an opportunity for them to assess their organisational strengths and weaknesses ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, besides broadly outlining the mood of the state after two years of the TMC government's third consecutive term.

There are 63,229 gram panchayat seats and 9,730 panchayat samiti seats in 22 districts, while 928 zilla parishad seats in 20 districts as Darjeeling and Kalimpong have a two-tier system with Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) and Siliguri Sub-divisional Council at the top.

Long queues outside polling booths

Long queues outside polling booths were seen as early as 6am with people turning out early amid the intermittent rains.

The ruling TMC is contesting all the 928 seats in zilla parishads, 9,419 seats in panchayat samitis and 61,591 seats in gram panchayats. The BJP has fielded candidates in 897 zilla parishad seats, 7,032 panchayat samiti seats and 38,475 seats in gram panchayats.

The CPI(M) is fighting 747 zilla parishad seats, 6,752 panchayat samiti seats and 35,411 gram panchayat seats. The Congress is contesting 644 zilla parishad seats, 2,197 panchayat samiti seats and 11,774 gram panchayat seats.

As many as 600 central forces companies have been deployed for the elections along with around 70,000 state police.

(With inputs from agencies)

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While at least 11 people were reportedly killed and properties were damaged in election-related violence in West Bengal as voting was underway for the three-tier panchayat polls in the state, a war of words broke out between the ruling Trinamool Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party, with both blaming each other for the bloody Saturday. An elderly man is carried after he cast his vote for Panchayat elections at a polling station in Nadia district of West Bengal on Saturday,(PTI)

BJP polling agent Madhab Biswas was allegedly killed in Falimari gram panchayat in Coochbehar district. The BJP alleged that when Biswas tried to enter the polling booth he was stopped by TMC supporters, and as the situation escalated, they killed him. The TMC denied the allegations.

The supporter of an Independent candidate died in Kadambagachi area in North 24 Paraganas district after he was beaten up overnight, police said.

West Bengal minister Shashi Panja claimed that TMC workers have been murdered, and hit out at the central forces for "failing to protect the citizens".

Claiming "shocking" and "tragic" incidents have unfolded ahead of the Panchayat elections in West Bengal, the minister said, "The BJP, CPI(M) and Congress had colluded together and were clamouring for Central forces. Where is the deployment? Why have the central forces failed to protect the citizens?"

When violence strikes, it begs the question: where were the Central Forces? In a tragic incident in Chapra, Nadia, one of our party workers was hacked to death by @INCWestBengal goons, and in the resulting confrontation, other party members were subjected to vicious assaults with lethal weapons. What good is their presence if incidents of violence and bloodshed continue unabated? the TMC tweeted.

It alleged that a blatant act of violence was displayed in Hasnabad, North 24 Parganas, claiming that the unholy alliance of the Congress and the CPI(M) have openly attacked its party supporters.

Where are the parachuted Central forces now? Clearly, their deployment was only meant for 'special' and 'selected' cases to favour the unholy trinity in Bengal, it tweeted.

In another tweet, the TMC claimed that a BJP candidate poured water into the ballot box in Dinhata, Cooch Behar, while the central forces looked the other way.

Their demand for deployment of Central Forces now seems like a calculated move to enable their dirty tactics. This level of blatant sabotage is an insult to democracy, Mamata Banerjee-led party claimed.

It also said in Narayanpur-I Gram Panchayat of Nadia, CPI(M) hooligans opened fire on its candidate, Hasina Sultana's husband. They hurled crude, country-made bombs at our workers moments before the start of the elections. Despite the deployment of central forces, our worker from Salbari-II Gram Panchayat of Jalpaiguri was critically wounded by @BJP4Bengal goons, it tweeted.

The recent incidents of violence not only raise serious doubts about the competence and preparedness of the central forces but also expose the hollowness of the claims made by BJP, CPI(M) and Congress about their role in ensuring peaceful elections, it said.

Disgraceful to see BJP resorting to dirty tactics: Kunal Ghosh

TMC leader Kunal Ghosh said it was disgraceful to see the BJP resorting to dirty tactics by preventing people from exercising their right to vote in the Nandigram-I block.

They shamelessly play with people's constitutional rights while the central forces stand idly by as mere spectators. This is a blatant attack on democracy. Shame on BJP for undermining the very foundation of our electoral process! he tweeted.

Democracy is dead in West Bengal: BJP

The BJP, too, slammed the TMC for the violence.

BJP polling agent Madhav Biswas murdered at Coochbehars Falimari, West Bengal. Is this why CM @MamataOfficial was opposing the deployment of the central forces so that her goons have free run to murder opposition karyakartas? BJP state chief Sukanta Majumdar tweeted.

Bloodshed in West Bengal in Panchayat Election. TMC candidate killed an independent Muslim candidate in North 24, Parganas dist. TMC knows only language of violence, murder and booth capturing. CM @MamataOfficial along with @CEOWestBengal is responsible for these murders, he said in another tweet.

Claiming that democracy is dead in West Bengal, Majumdar said polling booth at Baravita Primary School in Sitai, Cooch Behar, was vandalised and ballot papers were set on fire.

BJP IT-cell head Amit Malviya shared a video and tweeted, Bombs hurled around polling stations in Bengals Murshidabad. WB police, it seems, has been told not to act. There is no semblance of free and fair poll SEC and WB Govt are in contempt of Courts directions. They havent deployed CAPF, despite force being stationed in Bengal

Bodies are dropping like pins in Bengal. The wave of political violence, unleashed in the run up to Panchayat polls, continues unabated. Mamata Banerjee, as Home Minister of WB, is squarely responsible for this. WB Govt, in collusion with SEC, have denied people right to vote, he added.

Malviya alleged that the West Bengal panchayat election has been reduced to a farce. The SEC and local police have intentionally mishandled the deployment of CAPF, he added. SEC was always reluctant to deploy CAPF. Despite Court orders, civic volunteers are being used, there are no CCTV cameras, no recordings Several thousand booths have inadequate security arrangement SEC is facilitating capture of booths by TMC goons, he tweeted.

Among those killed were five TMC members, and one worker each of the BJP, CPI(M) and Congress, and the supporter of an Independent candidate, news agency PTI reported.

Besides violent clashes that injured several people, ballot boxes were destroyed in at least two polling booths, they added.

The polling began at 7am in 73,887 seats in the rural areas of the state with 5.67 crore people deciding the fate of around 2.06 lakh candidates. Till 9 am, 10.26 per cent voter turnout was recorded.

Governor CV Ananda Bose visited different areas in North 24 Parganas district, and met people injured in the violence and interacted with voters.

(With inputs from agencies)

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When public anger rises, it takes no time to unseat those in power, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at a rally in poll-bound Rajasthan on Saturday. In an obvious jibe at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's pitch to open mohabbat ki dukaan (shop of love) in what he calls nafrat ka bazaar (market of hatred), the prime minister said the grand old party only means 'loot ki dukaan' (shop of loot) and jhooth ka bazaar (market of lies). Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a rally in Bikaner.

"Your enthusiasm shows that not only the mercury has risen in Rajasthan, but public anger has also risen against the Congress government. When public anger rises, it takes no time to unseat those in power," PM Modi said.

There is only one meaning of Congress. Congress means 'loot ki dukaan' and jhooth ka bazaar, he said.

The prime minister claimed that the Congress's defeat in Rajasthan is so certain that the government has already entered bye-bye mode.

Some ministers and MLAs are leaving their government accommodation and shifting into their own homes. Only Congress ministers can be so certain of their defeat, Modi said, in a dig at cabinet minister BD Kalla who recently shifted out of his government quarters to his own house in Jaipur.

Modi said Rajasthan should have been at the top in the implementation of the Jal Jeevan Mission, but today it is among the laggard states.

"In terms of crime against women, Rajasthan tops the list in rape cases. The situation is such that here the protectors are becoming the predators. The whole government here seems to be busy in saving rape and murder accused," Modi alleged.

Without taking any names, the top BJP leader said Congress leaders go abroad and abuse India.

Prime Minister Modi launched several development projects worth 24,000 crores in Rajasthan, including the newly developed 500-kilometre section of Amritsar-Jamnagar expressway in Rajasthan's Bikaner.

He said the central government send schemes to Rajasthan but the Congress government in Rajasthan stop them.

Congress has nothing to do with Rajasthan's problems and your problems. The Congress government is also troubled by the BJP's plan to provide benefits to every household. Congress has only done harm to the state in the past years, he said.

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Widespread violence during voting for the panchayat elections triggered a political blame game in West Bengal on Saturday with the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) accusing the Opposition of orchestrating violence, and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) calling for Presidents Rule in the state to end this death of democracy. Miscreants set a police vehicle on fire in Murshidabad district on Saturday. (ANI)

At least 18 people were killed on Saturday as violence broke out during voting for the crucial three-tier panchayat polls across 20 districts, taking the toll in rural election-related incidents to 37 since June 9.

The BJP blamed state election commissioner Rajiva Sinha for the deaths and shot off a letter to Union home minister Amit Shah demanding his intervention alleging democracy has been murdered in the state by the ruling party as the security forces played the role of an audience.

In the letter, signed by BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar, the party alleged that 15 political deaths occurred just on the day of poll, and accused TMC supporters of being proactive in snatching voter/Aadhaar cards of the common voters as several karyakartas faced false cases and others were hospitalised.

Union minister Anurag Thakur, too, took a swipe at the ruling TMC. The announcement of elections in West Bengal means the beginning of the murder of democracy. Fighting with people, firing, bombings, and arson have become a common thing... Under Mamata Banerjees government, ballot boxes are looted and democracy is crushed and killed, he told news agency ANI.

BJP national president JP Nadda promised action against the perpetrators. BJP will not let this death of democracy happen, and we will take this fight to a decisive level in a democratic way, he said.

Taking a swipe at CM Mamata Banerjee, state Congress president Adhir Chowdhury congratulated her for winning the polls. Congrats Didi... aapni jite gechen (you have won).

Ballot boxes were taken out at night, false votes were cast and those were put back in the boxes before being returned to the polling booths, he alleged.

The Communist Party of India (Maoist), meanwhile, blamed the TMC for the deaths. Its their politics of loot and killings that have led to such a situation, partys central committee member Sujan Chakraborty said.

The ruling Trinamool Congress, which claims to have lost eight of its supporters in the violence, dismissed the allegations and blamed the Opposition and the central forces.

A narrative is being spun by the opposition parties with the help of the Governor CV Ananda Bose and a section of the media that elections in West Bengal are always violent. There have been few instances of violence, but if you compare with previous elections, you will see that the incidents of violence and deaths have gone down drastically, TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said.

We condemn all incidents of violence. But the fact is that elections have been peaceful in 14 districts and violence was restricted to areas around only 60 of the states 61,636 polling booths, which the media and the opposition are not talking about, he said, and alleged that the BSF has tried to influence the voters in border areas.

State minister Bratya Basu, too, dismissed allegations of the state administration letting loose a reign of terror, claiming that the TMC has been at the receiving end of the violence perpetuated by the opposition.

(With agency inputs)
The tattoo industry is booming in India and people are rushing to their nearest tattoo parlours to get inked. In this dynamic landscape, where self-expression knows no bounds, tattoo enthusiasts and artists alike are pushing the boundaries of creativity and redefining traditional concepts. Many choose designs that resonate with them as a way to express their creativity and individuality. From exquisitely detailed minimalist designs that speak volumes in their simplicity, to mesmerizing watercolour ink creations that blur the line between body and canvas, these trends are captivating the imagination of both ink enthusiasts and seasoned artists. Prepare to be inspired as we unravel the diverse and mesmerizing tattoo trends. (Also read: Listicle: 10 tattoos and 10 beautiful, indelible stories they tell ) From mesmerizing minimalist designs to striking watercolor ink, a plethora of tattoo trends are currently making waves in the artistic realm. (Unsplash)

Five Top Tattoo Trends

Sunny Bhanushali, Founder and CEO of Aliens Tattoo shared with HT Lifestyle top tattoo trends that are making waves and leaving an indelible mark on the artistic landscape.

1. Religious Tattoos

A very large number of people opt to get tattoos that aptly reflect their spiritual beliefs. Realistic portraits of Lord Shiva, Buddha and small Trishul tattoos are some of the popular designs people opt to get. Some also get mantras tattooed along with the portraits, or opt for other religious symbols like the Om, mantras from religious texts or some other additional geometric designs that make the tattoo stand out from the rest. Having a religious tattoo is a beautiful way of reminding yourself that God is always with you.

2. Armband Tattoos

Another trend strongly dominating the industry is armband tattoos. They can feature various elements such as tribal patterns, floral motifs, geometric shapes, symbols, or even text. The placement of the armband tattoo can be anywhere along the arm, from the upper bicep to the forearm. Many people choose black armband tattoos because they are visible but can be hidden when necessary. They frequently have strong, black lines and geometric patterns. These patterns can be altered to symbolise many facets of the client's personality or beliefs.

3. Animal tattoos

A lot of people also opt to get tattoos of animals, be it pets or their spirit animals that hold special significance to the client. Pet tattoos can incorporate meaningful symbols associated with the animal or the bond between the owner and the pet. This may include paw prints, pet-related objects like collars or toys, or even specific symbols that hold personal significance. Some also opt to get bigger realistic portrait tattoos of majestic animals like lions, tigers, eagles, wolves etc. because the client can relate to them as their spiritual animal.

4. Calligraphy tattoos

Calligraphy tattoos showcase the beauty of artistic writing, where elegant and decorative scripts are used to create tattoos featuring words, phrases, or single characters. Calligraphy tattoos can be done in various lettering styles, such as classic scripts or Gothic, or more modern and creative variations. Each style has its own unique characteristics and aesthetic appeal. Sometimes they also incorporate symbols, characters, or pictorial elements that complement the lettering.

5. Mandala tattoos

Mandala tattoos are a popular type of body art that gets its inspiration from the detailed geometric patterns found in Buddhist and Hindu mandalas. Mandala tattoos come in different sizes and intricacies, from small and simple to large and detailed. The central point and symmetrical patterns are key components that make a mandala tattoo distinctive. Additionally, they can be placed anywhere on the body according to personal preference.

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According to the latest livestock census, Indias donkey population has fallen by over 62% in seven years, going from 3.2 lakh in 2012 to 1.2 lakh in 2019. PREMIUM The drop in numbers is getting little attention, partly because of the animals unfortunate image as an idiotic beast. (Animal Rahat)

Its an alarming decline that could lead to the animal being relegated to a vulnerable category, says Priya Pandey, a senior programme leader with Brooke India, the countrys chapter of the UK-based non-profit organisation that works for the welfare of horses, donkeys and mules.

Incidentally, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) defines a vulnerable species as one that possesses a very high risk of extinction as a result of rapid population declines of 30% to more than 50% over a period of 10 years (or three generations), and has a population size of fewer than 1,000 individuals, among other factors.

In the Indian livestock census, the cow, buffalo and goat populations are all rising at healthy rates. These are production animals, so they are often given preference in terms of infrastructure and policy support. Equines (horses, donkeys and mules) also contribute to the economy, but increased mechanisation has reduced their use, leading to their alienation, Pandey says.

The drop for donkeys looks even starker, the further back one goes. The population stood at 9.7 lakh in 1992. Thats a decline of over 87% by 2019.

So why this sad news for the ass? It turns out there are three factors at play: rapid mechanisation of donkey tasks; illegal trade in hide and meat; and a general disinterest towards this intelligent, curious and loyal animal, because of its unfortunate characterisation as an idiotic beast of burden, as Pandey puts it.

Brooke India works with over 91,000 equine owners across 11 states. In a report titled The Hidden Hide, released in February 2022, field research revealed that herds were thinning, particularly in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Andhra Pradesh.

Since the donkey is not listed as a food animal in India, slaughter is prohibited, but illegal trade flourishes because the hide and meat are believed to have medicinal properties, and fetch exorbitant rates in China. There, the hide is purportedly being processed to produce eijao, a gelatin-like substance believed to improve sex drive, keep the skin looking young, and prolong life, Pandey says.

Meanwhile, motorised vehicles are taking the donkeys place in its traditional jobs here at home. Trucks, tempos, two-wheelers and mules, which are considered stronger for load-bearing tasks, says Pandey. The animal has faded from construction sites and dhobi ghats in cities and towns, and is now primarily visible ferrying heavy burdens at brick kilns, transporting agricultural produce in villages (particularly in mountainous regions), and moving construction material and water over long distances in arid areas such as Rajasthan and Gujarat.

Here too, service providers who once brought an ass or cluster of asses over for a job are turning up with a small tractor or tempo instead.

The vehicles need less maintenance than an animal that can develop blisters or fall ill. Vehicles dont have to be fed and cared for round the clock, says Shashikar Bharadwaj, senior community development manager with the non-profit organisation Animal Rahat, which advocates for the welfare of working animals.

And because of the reputation of the gadha as stupid, stubborn, brutish, the falling numbers are not ringing alarm bells in India, or causing activists to gather to advocate for it. (This is a common phenomenon in conservation, globally. Species that are considered glamorous, powerful or evocative, such as the tiger, whale or elephant, respectively, typically command more funding and attention.)

Does it matter if the donkey numbers dwindle? Well, every species is key to an ecosystem. These are ecologically vital animals. Their free-range grazing helps boost biodiversity of vegetation, says Pandey.

From Leh to Ahmedabad and Tamil Nadu, small NGOs have set up sanctuaries where urban asses that can no longer work are rehoused. But this is not a tactic aimed at reversing the population decline.

Could the donkey make a comeback as livestock? In November, the Indian arm of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), along with the global non-profit organisation The Donkey Sanctuary UK, hosted a meet in Delhi, with researchers and scientists, to discuss the issue of the declining population. Solutions discussed included promoting donkey milk, and a possible cooperative model for donkey-milk producers.

The donkey needs to be included in the National Livestock Mission. That will draw policy-level resources towards them, such as funding and insurance, says Trilochan Mohapatra, former director general of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), who was part of the November meet. If such measures arent taken, the donkey population will keep declining.
Its been a case of stars in their eyes, ever since a chain of astrolabs opened in 135 government schools across four states (Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and West Bengal), last year. PREMIUM Each astrolab holds a telescope, a microscope and models of planets, cells and the human body. They are covered, inside and out, in vibrant scenes and skyscapes.

In December, 12-year-old Kashish Parveen from Bijnor in UP saw the moon, sun and Venus through a telescope for the first time. I had only seen these things on TV, she says. That we could see it so close, with our own eyes, made me really happy. Hari Raj, 15, a Class 8 student from Najibabad, UP, saw Jupiter, a planet he had only read about in his school textbook, with my own eyes. It looked just like it does in the pictures, he says. The labs are part of an initiative launched by aspiring astrophysicist Aryan Mishra, 23, who grew up in a hutment in the Kusumpur Pahari slum in Delhi. His father Birbal Mishra has worked a range of jobs (security guard, vegetable vendor, newspaper vendor). His mother Shashi Mishra is a homemaker.

The vibrant scenes and skyscapes are by alumni from Mumbais JJ School of Art, and have proved to be a crucial factor. When Hari Raj first entered, it was like stepping into space, he says.

Mishra was 11 years old when he first looked through a telescope, at an astronomy workshop, and saw the rings of Saturn. He was smitten.

Then, on trips to his familys village in Jaunpur, UP, his dreams of studying the skies acquired another layer. I come from a humble background, Mishra says. But I realised early on that kids studying just 60 km away were not getting half the experiences I was getting. That is what gave me the idea to start something like the astrolabs. In 2018, he began pursuing the dream and launched Spark Astronomy, wooing investors and investing money he earned by speaking about astronomy as a passion and hobby, at paid events. The company set up scores of small labs in rural schools, but then folded over investor trouble. He learnt from that experience and decided to try again. In 2022, while studying for a graduate degree in physics from Ashoka University (he graduated earlier this year and is now applying to universities abroad, for a Masters in astrophysics), Mishra launched Astroscape, this time collaborating directly with gram panchayats and district administrations who commission him to set up the labs. Each lab costs about 2.5 lakh to set up and requires about 450 sq ft of space on school premises. Though theyre referred to as astrolabs, and each one has its own 6-inch-aperture telescope, the spaces also house a range of other equipment and experimental models. There are models of the human body and the atomic structures of compounds; magnets; concave and convex lenses. Since power cuts are common, most of the equipment is chosen for its ability to run without electricity.

I come from a humble background. But I realised early on that kids studying just 60 km away were not getting half the experiences I was getting. That is what gave me the idea to start something like this, says Aryan Mishra.

For aspiring zoology professor Safina Parveen, 19, in Hazaribagh, Jharkhand, exploring the skies is fun, but what really intrigues her is the microscope. Before this lab, I had only read about what you can see under a microscope, she says. Now I get to see slides of plant cells and pollen. I can actually see minute details of their structures.

Mishra works with a team of two who help him set up the labs. He conducts training workshops for the teachers, on how to use the equipment. Alumni of the JJ School of Art in Mumbai help decorate the interiors. This turned out to be a crucial element. There is always a collective gasp as children walk in for the first time. When Hari Raj first entered, it was like stepping into space, he says. The walls are painted the colour of the night sky, strewn with stars and colourful (if exaggerated) astronomical features such as planets, spiral galaxies and nebulae. The astrolabs are for the village too. Teachers periodically hold a Khagol Ratri or Open-Sky Night, when anyone can look through the telescope. Each school is given a calendar of upcoming astronomical phenomena, so that these nights can be scheduled accordingly. I think the main purpose this lab serves is in explaining concepts and showing children how to learn by doing and observing, says Sujata Kerketta, principal of the girls high school in Hazaribagh where Safina Parveen studies. It has been useful in the three science subjects (physics, chemistry and biology), but most importantly, it is helpful in understanding the geography of space, the solar system and the universe. For Hari Raj, an aspiring mechanical engineer, it has opened up new worlds of possibility. I love science, he says. Before the lab, his teacher gave him access to some reference material kept in a cupboard at the school. Ive read Indumati Raos Learning Science - Part 1. I would read and try to remember things, Raj says. Once I stepped in here, everything I read felt a lot more real, and suddenly there was so much more to know.

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YEREVAN, JULY 8, ARMENPRESS. Artak Beglaryan, adviser to the Minister of State of Artsakh, referred to the July 6 decision of the UN International Court of Justice regarding Armenia's application over the installation of an Azerbaijani checkpoint in the Lachin Corridor.

"What does the July 6 decision of the UN International Court of Justice mean regarding Armenia's application over the installation of an Azerbaijani checkpoint in the Kashatagh (Lachin) corridor?

First, the Court confirmed its decision of February 22, 2023, by which it obliged Azerbaijan to take all measures to ensure uninterrupted movement of citizens, vehicles and cargo in both directions through the Lachin Corridor. This confirmation already means the position of the court that Azerbaijan has not fulfilled that decision and is obliged to fulfill it.

Second, the Court found that there is no need to supplement the judgment of February 22, 2023. In other words, it is assumed that the court did not prefer to delve into various political and technical issues. In any case, the details of this decision will be clear when the reasons for it are published in a few days.

Thirdly, it is obvious that this decision does not mean the legitimization of the illegal Azerbaijani checkpoint, but it can also have a contradictory interpretation, as it confirms the presence of obstructed traffic. The court did not address the means by which the Azerbaijani side obstracts the traffic (checkpoint, army, concrete barriers, activists-terrorists).

It remains for the international community (first of all, the UN Security Council) to take comprehensive and urgent measures for the proper implementation of the court's February 22 judgment, especially in the conditions of the complete suspension of humanitarian supplies from June 15, Beglaryan wrote on Twitter.


What does hunger feel like? How does a nation run out of food? PREMIUM A comic panel from the story 1607: The Rising, by Aratrika Choudhury.

A new graphic anthology, Famine Tales, uses exquisite art to trace famines that occurred in India and in Britain in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, through five stories and two sets of storytellers: traditional patachitra artists, and contemporary comic ones. The stories trace the struggles of an impoverished hunters wife, in a retelling of a 16th-century oral poetry narrative in Bengali. In Rebel Captain Pouch, we learn of the Midlands Rising of 1607, and a rebel leader who carried an enigmatic leather pouch said to contain enough material to defend all his troops against the kings forces. (When he was captured and sentenced to death, everyone learnt that all it had contained was a piece of mouldy cheese.)

A panel from the patachitra art that accompanies the Bengali poem by the late Dukhushyam Chitrakar, about the Great Bengal Famine of 1769-70.

A page from the story Drawing Disaster, on the economic landscape during the Great Bengal Famine, with art by Argha Manna and Debkumar Mitra.

There is a fictionalised retelling of the travels of the English merchant Peter Mundy, who witnessed suffering and death in Gujarat during the Deccan Famine of 1630-32.

Famine in Shakespeare-Land traces one of the worst food shortages in the history of Renaissance England. And there is a chapter on the Great Bengal Famine of 1770, a product of failed crops and a smallpox epidemic compounded by the policies and cruelty of the regions colonial British rulers, which claimed over 10 million lives across Bengal and Bihar over two years. We selected stories that would be representative of the long historical trajectory of famines, and would be representative of both sides, says co-editor Ayesha Mukherjee, a professor of English literature at the University of Exeter. A lot is said about famines in India, where the colonial administration had a big role to play in creating those crises, but what you hear less about is Britains own cultural history of famine and food shortage. Or the early history of famines in Mughal India, which are also not well known.

Mundy Sahibs Diary Fictionalized! features art by Sekhar Mukherjee.

The idea was to bring these stories, which are largely studied and discussed in academic circles, to a more general audience, Mukherjee says.

The 177-page book, published by Jadavpur University Press in January, is co-edited by Mukherjee; and Abhijit Gupta, a professor of English; Sujit Kumar Mandal, a professor of comparative literature, and Shrutakirti Dutta, a research associate, all three at Jadavpur University. The book features narrative poems by the late patachitra artist Dukhushyam, and art by Jahanara, Lutfa, Rabbani, Rahim, Rahman, Rehana and Ushaira (all of whom go by the last name Chitrakar), and comic artists Trinankur Banerjee, Aratrika Choudhury, Argha Manna, Debkumar Mitra, Sekhar Mukherjee and Sarbajit Sen.

Patachitra art from Famine in Shakespeare-Land.

Its an anthology because the tales are drawn from the online database Famine and Dearth in India and Britain, 1550-1800: Connected Cultural Histories of Food Security, a project led by Mukherjee and funded by the UKs Arts and Humanities Research Council. That database draws from contemporary chronicles, memoirs, poetry, plays, oral narratives, periodicals and pamphlets, as well as official correspondence from state archives, speeches and letters, gathered from across India, England and Bangladesh, in 10 languages.

History also came to life, in interesting ways, during the making of the book, as artists worked to create amid the pandemic. With art-supply shops in Kolkata closed or out of stocks, comic artist Sen made his own sepia-toned paint, used catechu extract from the khair or acacia tree.

In the fifth tale, comic artist Sarbajit Sen recreates the Bengali oral narrative of an impoverished hunters wife.

Interestingly, the people who had the least trouble sourcing materials during Covid were the scroll painters, because they were using natural colours, made using ingredients found in their backyards, Mukherjee says.

In the book, as in the traditional format, each patachitra scroll unfolds alongside the narrative. Overall, what readers will get a sense of is how certain political mistakes have been repeated over and over, Mukherjee says. The repetitions of the same crisis over time, despite industrial and scientific progress, makes these stories particularly resonant. Because food security is an ongoing, cyclical problem that requires constant alertness.

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Kareena Kapoor Khan is currently in vacation mode, enjoying quality time with her handsome husband, Saif Ali Khan, and adorable kids in Italy. Her holiday posts are making waves on social media, as the actress remains quite active and regularly shares glimpses of her outings. Being the ultimate diva, Kareena's Instagram diaries serve as a treasure trove of inspiration for fashion enthusiasts. Whether it's a red carpet ensemble or a chic holiday look, Bebo effortlessly slays any outfit to perfection, as evident in her recent posts. Her recent posts are a testament to that, as she dons a stylish white striped dress and poses with Saif, setting goals for all of us. Keep reading to learn more. (Also read: Another day, another slay by Kareena Kapoor in all-white cotton summer outfit and no makeup, will you steal this look? ) Bollywood's power couple Kareena Kapoor Khan and Saif Ali Khan on their stylish Italian getaway. (Instagram )

Kareena Kapoor Khan and Saif Ali Khan's Stunning Vacation Looks

After sharing delightful pictures of a family dinner and their time spent chilling at a restaurant, the actress created a frenzy among her fans with a Friday story upload. The pictures showcased the stylish couple's striking poses in casual yet chic outfits. With a perfect blend of comfort and style, they became a major source of summer fashion inspiration. Let's take a moment to appreciate their stunning looks.

For her look, Kareena opted for a midi dress from the shelves of the popular clothing brand H&M, priced at 1,4999. The dress boasts a short neck, half sleeves, black and white stripes throughout, and a stylish side slit. She accessorized her outfit with vibrant yellow loafers and a pair of black sunglasses. Kareena completed her casual look with minimal makeup and a sleek bun hairstyle. On the other hand, Saif looked dapper in a red shirt paired with beige shorts. He complemented his ensemble with white loafers, a watch, and sunglasses.

In another post, the duo is seen enjoying a relaxing time at a restaurant. Kareena chose to wear an oversized white and blue striped shirt, paired with a red bralette underneath. Her wavy hair was left open with a middle partition, and she completed her look with black sunglasses and a subtle pink lip colour, radiating effortless beauty. Saif, on the other hand, looked handsomely casual in a blue shirt and a grey cap.

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The researchers discovered a variety of contributing reasons after reviewing qualitative studies over the previous 20 years, including, a persisting stigma around periods; society's normalisation of menstruation discomfort; and a lack of medical knowledge concerning the issue. Endometriosis, which affects 10 per cent of women globally and 1.5 million women in the UK alone, is caused by endometrial (womb) tissue growing outside the womb. It's extremely painful, exhausting, interferes with daily life and can lead to infertility if untreated. Endometriosis is a chronic inflammatory disease of the pelvic organs of women, and is caused by abnormal growth.(Shutterstock)

The researchers found that women in the studies often weren't sure if their pain was unusual or severe enough to seek treatment. When they did, some found that their GP was doubtful, or even dismissive of their symptoms. GPs in two of the studies themselves admitted that they found it difficult to differentiate problematic pain from ordinary menstrual symptoms.

Dr Sophie Davenport, who led the research and is now working as a doctor in the NHS, says: "Society has traditionally normalised period pain, so we need to rethink what constitutes 'non-normal' periods. If symptoms are affecting daily life, where the woman is not going to work or school, or unable to carry on social life, that's a clear sign that medical intervention is needed".

Many GPs in the studies reviewed mentioned a lack of knowledge about endometriosis, with some saying they'd had scant training in medical school about it. Endometriosis symptoms can vary widely and overlap with other common conditions, so the signs can be difficult to spot.

Dr Davenport says: "Given the numbers of women affected, we think there should be additional, mandatory training about menstrual conditions during medical school. At present, as little as 4 weeks out of 5 years of medical training may be spent on gynaecology; and during that time, endometriosis may barely be mentioned. Given that 1.5 million women in the UK are affected, we think it's time to prioritise this."

Even if suspected, the definitive method of diagnosis has been by laparoscopy under general anaesthetic, so some practitioners have been reluctant to order such an invasive procedure. However recent ESHRE guidelines now recommend a two-step approach in which treatment is started more quickly, based on clinical suspicion and MRI/ultrasound imaging, rather than waiting for laparoscopic findings.

Supervising author Dr Dan Green, Senior Teaching Fellow at Aston University's College of Health and Life Sciences, adds: "It will be interesting to see if these new ESHRE guidelines affect the existing time to diagnosis, and can improve patients' experiences in future."

Emma Cox, CEO of Endometriosis UK, comments: "We hear many stories at Endometriosis UK evidencing the points this research highlights. The study underlines once more that those with suspected and diagnosed endometriosis are being consistently let down. I urge Government to use these findings to drive forward real action towards ensuring greater, faster and easier access to medical professionals with a specialist interest in endometriosis across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland."

She continues: "It's important that women experiencing chronic pelvic pain or other symptoms of endometriosis speak to their GP, and when they do they should expect to be listened to, believed and understood. We have heard many stories of such symptoms being shrugged off as 'normal', 'not serious' or 'just part of being a woman'. These attitudes are changing, but sadly we still have some way to go."

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Many dream of witnessing the Northern Lights and their dream might be fulfilled next week! The aurora borealis is expected to be visible in 17 US states on Thursday, July 13. Astronaut Thomas Pesquet took to Twitter to share the picture of aurora.(Twitter/@Thom_astro)

The states are as follows:

Alaska

Montana

North Dakota

South Dakota

Minnesota

Wisconsin

Michigan

Maine

Maryland

New York

New Hampshire

Washington

Vermont

Idaho

Massachusetts

Wyoming

Indiana.

Also Read | Two solar storms on collision course with Earth; to hit this evening

According to Recent forecasts from the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute, a surge in auroral activity has been predicted on Thursday night, July 13. This presents a rare opportunity to witness this enchanting light visual in several parts of the United States and Canada.

Provided the weather conditions remain favourable, the forecasts suggest that the northern lights could illuminate the night skies in the northern regions of 17 U.S. states.

Reports from the UAF institute state, Auroral activity will be high(+). Weather permitting, highly active auroral displays will be visible overhead from Inuvik, Yellowknife, Rankin and Iqaluit to Vancouver, Helena, Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Bay City, Toronto, Montpelier, and Charlottetown, and visible low on the horizon from Salem, Boise, Cheyenne, Lincoln, Indianapolis and Annapolis.

How and When to View Aurora Borealis

For the fortunate ones in the aforementioned regions, Space Weather Prediction Center has reported the ideal window for viewing the northern lights to be between 10 pm and 2 am local time. Moving away from the city lights is advisable to escape light pollution for a brighter and clearer view.

The brightness and visibility of the aurora are significantly dependent on the level of geomagnetic activity. As the anticipated date approaches, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) will be closely monitoring the activity. NOAA will release its own forecast to assist any potential viewers.

Previously, the last major light event in the US occurred in late April. During a geomagnetic storm, the aurora was visible in 30 US states. Next weeks aurora will provide another rare glimpse of the ethereal celestial phenomenon.

What is an Aurora Borealis

The northern lights are an awe-inspiring natural fantasy. Aurora is the name given to the glow or light produced when electrons from space flow down Earths magnetic field and collide with atoms and molecules of the upper atmosphere in a ring or oval centred on the magnetic pole of Earth, explains the NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center.

The Latin term aurora means dawn. There are two types of aurorasaurora borealis and aurora australis. Borealis is Latin for North, thus, aurora borealis are the northern lights. On the other hand, australis means South Latin. Therefore, aurora australis are the southern lights.

The phenomenon is a brilliant natural display of lights. The vibrant, captivating colours range from green, red, yellow, blue, and violet.

Also Read | Passenger witnesses northern lights from a plane. Watch
OpenAI's chatbot ChatGPT created a storm in the field of artificial intelligence when it was launched last year. The chatbot wrote essays, stories, film scrips and project reports, leaving many wondering if it could replace human professionals in the future. In its first two months, the OpenAI chatbot registered 100 million monthly users.(REUTERS)

However, it seems that the chatbot's popularity is going downhill. The number of users visiting the ChatGPT website and downloading the app declined for the first time since launch, Washington Post reported.

Traffic down by 9.7%

According to the report, ChatGPT's mobile and desktop traffic dropped by 9.7 per cent in June, says internet data firm Similarweb. The chatpot's iPhone app downloads have also dipped since peaking in early June according to Sensor Tower.



The craze for ChatGPT was such that some firms fired their copywriters and replaced them with the bot. However, the dip in usage indicates that the limitations are catching up and some of the hype around ChatGPT has been overblown.



Builder.ai's chief executive Sachin Dev Duggal told the website that it was an Oh My God its awesome' moment when it was launched. But when the people began to encounter wrong information popped up by the bot, they realised it was not as broadly useful.

In its first two months, the OpenAI chatbot registered 100 million monthly users, Swiss bank UBS' analysts said. The tech pundits had dubbed it as the fastest growing consumer app in the history.

The Microsoft and Google executives have dubbed AI as the next revolution in computing.

In the recent months, issues with chatbots like ChatGPT have been out in the open, relating to false information which is passed off as true. Some users flagged that ChatGPT's answers grew worse over the time.

Several companies banned the employees from using the chatbot at work due to concern that putting sensitive company data might lead to leaks.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Aryan Prakash Multimedia journalist with over nine years of experience in print, television and digital media. Books, politics and cinema are an inseparable part of life. ...view detail
A model of the iPhone 14 pro max could be Apples priciest phone yet, as it costs approximately 5 crore. Termed as Diamond Snowflake, the expensive variant has been designed by Caviar. Interestingly, a Lamborghini Huracan Evo is cheaper than this iPhone as the supercar is currently available in India for 3.7 crore. The exorbitant price of the exclusive device can be attributed to a centrepiece pendant made of platinum and white gold on the backplate. (Caviar)

Only three pieces of this limited edition phone - customised in collaboration with British jewellery brand Graff - are currently available. Prior to the Snowflake variant, the iPhone 14 Pro Max was Apple's most expensive phone, costing 1,27,999 in India.

Why is it so expensive?

The exorbitant price of the exclusive device can be attributed to a centrepiece pendant made of platinum and white gold on the backplate. The ornamental design worth 62 lakh is also studded with round and marquise-cut diamonds. The backplate, crafted with 18k white gold, displays an exquisite pattern of 570 diamonds.

The diamond encrusted iPhone can be bought from the official website of Caviar. Carrying a one-year warranty, the delivery is reportedly done by a "mailing service used by a lot of corporations for sending packages and correspondence abroad."

iPhone 14 and 15

Apple had launched the iPhone 14 in September last year. It is powered by the A15 Bionic chipset which is paired with 128 GB, 256 GB and 512 GB storage options. It is equipped with a 12MP primary sensor at the back paired with another 12MP ultra wide sensor.

Under its Back to Campus offer, Flipkart is offering the 128GB model at a discounted price of 68,999. It is 10,901 less than the original price of 79,900.

While Apple iPhone 15 launch is months away, reports emerged last week about iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus coming in a new green colour option, as per 9to5 Mac.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Ritu Maria Johny Multimedia journalist with Hindustan Times. Covers India, world, business and tech news with a keen eye for human-interest stories rooted in gender and culture. ...view detail
All six people aboard a small corporate jet died when the aircraft crashed and burned in a field near an airport outside Los Angeles early on Saturday, local and federal authorities said. An image of a plane crash.(HT File Photo)

The aircraft, a Cessna C550 business jet, was traveling from Las Vegas and crashed near French Valley Airport, about 85 miles (136.79 km) south of Los Angeles, at around 4:15 a.m. (0815 GMT), the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement.

Details of the passengers were not immediately available.

Radar data from flight tracking website FlightAware shows just one business jet traveling from Las Vegas to French Valley at the time. That plane circled once near the field before descending.

The sheriff's office in Riverside County, where the French Valley Airport is located, said officials responding to the crash located an aircraft fully engulfed in flames in a field and that six occupants were pronounced deceased at the scene.

The National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the crash, the FAA said.
Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko who had brokered the deal to end the Wagner mutiny said that the mercenaries who rebelled against Russian president Vladimir Putin very serious ones, are still in the camps they'd withdrawn to after Bakhmut. Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko.(Reuters)

As for Yevgeny Prigozhin, he's in St Petersburg. Or perhaps this morning he flew to Moscow. Or perhaps he's somewhere else. But he's not in Belarus, he told BBC talking about Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin who according to the agreement between the group and the Kremlin was supposed to move to Belarus, along with some of his fighters.

This comes as Moscow and Minsk have differed on their public statements about the Wagner mutiny.

I think that no-one came out of that situation a hero. Not Prigozhin, not Putin, not Lukashenko. There were no heroes. And the lesson from this? If we create armed groups like this, we need to keep an eye on them and pay serious attention to them, Alexander Lukashenko said.

What Alexander Lukashenko said on nuclear warheads in Belarus

Talking about nuclear warheads that Russia has said it is moving to Belarus, the leader said, God forbid I should ever have to take the decision to use them. But I won't hesitate to use them. Joe Biden could say the same thing, and Prime Minister Sunak. And my friend Xi Jinping and my Big Brother President Putin. In Ukraine a whole army is fighting with foreign weapons, isn't it. Nato weapons. Because they've run out of their own. So why can't I fight with someone else's weapons?"

Talked about human rights violations in Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko was asked about jailed opposition activist Maria Kolesnikova.

"I don't know anything about this. There is no article in our criminal code for political crimes. Prisoners cannot be political prisoners, if there's no article," he said.

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In a rare incident, British airline EasyJet left 19 passengers on the runway as the flight reportedly became 'too heavy' to take off. According to the report, the pilot cited the heavy aircraft, short runway and the weather conditions as three major constraints for the delay.(Reuters. )

According to a report by Manchester Evening News, the EasyJet flight from Spain's Lanzarote airport to Liverpool's John Lennon airport was supposed to take off at 9:45 pm (local time) on Wednesday, but was delayed because of the heavy weight.

According to the report, the pilot cited the heavy aircraft, short runway and the weather conditions as three major constraints for the delay of the flight.

"Thank you all for getting here today. Because there are so many of you it's a pretty heavy aircraft", the pilot was heard saying in the video.

"That heavy aircraft combined with a pretty short runway and with the current unfavorable conditions here in Lanzarote, means the aircraft is too heavy to take off," he added.

The pilot then suggested measures to lighten the aircraft where he asked about 20 passengers to voluntarily skip the flight with an incentive of 500 euros.

Now, you might be wondering what happens next and that's what I've come in here to say. If possible, I would like to ask up to 20 volunteers to choose not to fly to Liverpool tonight. If anyone wants to volunteer there will be an incentive. The current number we've been quoted by Easyjet is up to 500 per passenger who is willing to not fly tonight," the pilot said.

However, passengers were not impressed by the incentive on offer or the ill-preparedness of the airline. Eventually, 19 passengers agreed to stay back at the airport, the report added.

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Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama said that he is open for talks with China over the problems of Tibetans. The Chinese "officially or unofficially" wanted to contact him, he said while speaking to reporters in Dharamshala before his visit to Delhi and Ladakh. Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama.

"I am always open to talk. Now China also realises that the spirit of Tibetan people is very strong. So, in order to deal with Tibetan problems they want to contact me. I am also ready", he said.

Asked whether he wishes to resume talks with China, Dalai Lama said, "We are not seeking independence, we have decided since many years that we remain the part of People's Republic of China...Now China is changing. The Chinese, officially or unofficially want to contact me".

"I was born in Tibet and I bear this name Dalai Lama, but in addition to working for the cause of Tibet, I've been working for the welfare of all sentient beings. I've done whatever I could without losing hope or allowing my determination to flag," the Tibetan spiritual leader said.

"I'm angry with no one, not even those Chinese leaders who have adopted a harsh attitude towards Tibet. Indeed, China has historically been a Buddhist country as witnessed by the many temples and monasteries I saw when I visited that land," he continued.

Dalai Lama said knowledge of Tibetan culture and religion can benefit the world at large. I believe there is knowledge within Tibetan culture and religion that can benefit the world at large. However, I also respect all other religious traditions because they encourage their followers to cultivate love and compassion, he said, adding, "According to indications in my own dreams and other predictions, I expect to live to be more than 100 years old. I've served others until now and I'm determined to continue to do so. Please pray for my long life on that basis."

On July 6, Dalai Lama celebrated his 88th birthday and visited the Main Tibetan Temple courtyard in Dharamshala, close to his residence.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Mallika Soni When not reading, this ex-literature student can be found searching for an answer to the question, "What is the purpose of journalism in society?" ...view detail
YEREVAN, JULY 8, ARMENPRESS. More international efforts are needed to prevent ethnic cleansing by Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh, ARMENPRESS reports, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan said during the panel discussion held within the framework of the Dubrovnik Conference.

Mirzoyan emphasized that Armenia is conducting negotiations with Azerbaijan in good faith, but in the negotiation process and on the ground, it still faces threats and real use of force. "We have a blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh. We need more international efforts to prevent ethnic cleansing," said the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia.

Ararat Mirzoyan stressed that there is an issue of security and rights of the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh, which is everyone's issue. "The people of Nagorno-Karabakh are facing a real danger of ethnic cleansing. If the world order that we are talking about, that we dream about, is based on values, then humanity has a chance. Let me repeat once more: we are talking about human lives. Now we are talking about world unrest, violations of international law, but we have been talking about it since 2020, when Azerbaijan started an aggressive war in Nagorno-Karabakh, after which it invaded the sovereign territory of Armenia several times," said the Armenian FM.
In a recent appearance on a conservative podcast, U.S. Congressman Greg Steube made a bold statement, suggesting that President Joe Biden's actions could be considered treasonous. Steube, who represents Florida's 17th district, has a history of espousing hard-right views and has been vocal about his opposition to the current administration. However, his latest remark takes the criticism to a new level by invoking the serious charge of treason, which is punishable by death according to the U.S. Constitution. US Congressman Greg Steube made a bold statement, suggesting that President Joe Biden's actions could be considered treasonous.

A History of Controversial Statements

Congressman Steube has gained a reputation for his confrontational rhetoric and staunch support of the MAGA movement. He was one of the few House Republicans who voted against honoring the officers who defended the U.S. Capitol during the January 6th attack. He has also been a vocal critic of the so-called "deep state" in Washington and has actively contested the results of the 2020 presidential election.

Targeting President Biden

During his appearance on the Benny Johnson podcast, Steube expressed his strong disapproval of President Biden's actions, stating that they "one hundred percent rise to the level of treason." He went on to suggest that if a Republican were to win the presidency in 2024, they should pursue charges of treason against Biden, either through impeachment or at the ballot box.

Seriousness of the Charge

Treason is an incredibly serious offense, and no U.S. President has ever been charged with it. The charge of treason is rare in general, with only 40 cases prosecuted and 12 people convicted in U.S. history, according to the FBI. Treason is defined as levying war against the United States or providing aid and comfort to its enemies. Under the U.S. code, the punishment for treason can be death or imprisonment and fines.

Historical Precedents

One notable treason case in U.S. history involved Vice President Aaron Burr in 1807, although he was ultimately acquitted. The case of Tomoya Kawakita in 1952, who was convicted and sentenced to death for treason, serves as a reminder of the gravity of such charges. However, President John F. Kennedy later commuted Kawakita's sentence, leading to his exile in Japan.

Political Attacks on Biden

President Biden has faced numerous attacks from members of Congress, including efforts to impeach him led by Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene. However, Congressman Steube's assertion that Biden should face treason charges takes the criticism to a new level.

Also read | AI deep fakes of Donald Trump and Joe Biden 'face off' in disturbingly realistic live debate

While political disagreements and debates are an essential part of democracy, invoking the charge of treason carries significant weight and raises concerns about the state of political discourse in the country.
Mark Zuckerberg is in the spotlight as his compay has spent more than $40 million on his personal security over the past three years. This is in sharp contrast to his family-run foundation's monetary support(to the tune of millions of dollars) to groups which want to defund the police. Mark Zuckerberg(AP Photo/File)

According to a report by New York Post citing investigative reporter Lee Fang, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) has donated $3 million since 2020, to PolicyLink, the organisation behind DefundPolice.org.

DefundPolice.org boasts itself as "a one-stop-shop for organizers and advocates looking for tools, resources, and trainings to divest from policing and build safer communities".

The report highlights that CZI, which Zuckerberg founded with wife Priscilla Chan, has also given monetary aid to the tune of $2.5 million to "Solidaire" which aims to abolish the police.

ALSO READ| Prince William was horribly worried in lead-up to Harry-Meghan Oprah interview in 2021: Report

Notably, according to a company filing in February, Meta( Zuckerberg's company) hiked its spending on Zuckerberg's security to $14 million in 2023. It was an increase by $4 million as compared to $10 million over the last several years. The billionaire was allowed to use the money for various safety-realted needs.

The company highlighted that the hike on Zuckerberg's security was done given his position and importance to Meta. The company highlighted that Zuckerberg has requested to only receive $1 in annual salary and does not receive any bonus payments, equity awards or other incentive compensation.

The latest report connecting Zuckerberg's spendings on personal security and his support to "defund the police" groups is being seen as a mirror to his hypocrisy.

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Even as a temple in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) was desecrated with a poster targeting Indian diplomats in Canada placed in front of it, a group of Indo-Canadians have planned a rally at Indias Consulate in Toronto to counter that by pro-Khalistan elements on Saturday. A pro-Khalistan posters threatening Indian diplomats in Canada placed in front of the Bharat Mata Mandir in the Greater Toronto Area on Friday

While the controversial anti-India poster from the secessionist group Sikhs for Justice or SFJ has circulated online so far, this was the first instance of a physical version appearing. As in the case of the series of vandalisations of temples in recent months, a video of such a poster being placed in Brampton was amplified by what appeared to be pro-Khalistan elements and multiple Pakistan-based handles.

The poster outside the Bharat Mata Mandir in Brampton was placed in the early hours of Friday and discovered by temple volunteers in the morning and then removed, one of the temple officials confirmed to the Hindustan Times. It featured the images of Indias High Commissioner in Ottawa Sanjay Kumar Verma, Consul General in Toronto Apoorva Srivastava and Consul General in Vancouver Manish. Similar posters also appeared at various other locations in the GTA.

Meanwhile, as pro-Khalistan elements plan their so-called Khalistan Freedom Rally on July 8, to commence from Malton in the GTA to the Indian Consulate in Toronto, a group of Indo-Canadians are organisng a march to counter them. No organisation is putting together the march but it is taking shape organically.

Among those participating will be Toronto-based Virender Singh, who said, We are a group of concerned citizens of Indo-Canadian heritage. We believe that Canadian values do not align with the threats to Indian diplomats.

Another person likely to join is Arvind Mishra from Brampton, who said he was concerned over the extreme rise of hatred and the lack of action from Canadian authorities. What would they do if people held rallies under the banner of Al Qaeda or ISIS (Islamic State) with posters of Osama bin Laden or the ISIS chief? he asked.

The rally on Saturday is being held in the name of Harjit Singh Nijjar. SFJ has blamed India for his assassination on June 18. Nijjar was murdered in the parking lot of the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara Sahib in Surrey, British Columbia, which he headed. The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team or Investigation Team or IHIT, which is probing the killing has not ascribed any motive while it seeks the murderers.

Nijjar was alleged to be the head of the Khalistan Tiger Force by Indian law enforcement and faced several terror-related charges, while being the principal SFJ figure in the Metro Vancouver region. The National Investigation Agency or NIA had announced an award of 10 lakh for information leading to his capture. However, none of the charges against him were tested in Canadian courts and SFJ has maintained it does not use violence.

However, the posters online, and the one outside the temple in the GTA level the SFJ accusation against India, as their photographs came with the legend, Faces of Shaheed Nijjars Killers in Canada. It also used the phrase War Zone. The video posted on social media displays a circle around the High Commissioners face, with an arrow pointing at him, clearly marking him out as a target. It features pro-Khalistan slogans as well.

Given the palpable threat, India has sought strengthened security measures for its personnel and missions in the country. India has communicated its concerns over security to Canadian authorities including Global Affairs Canada, the countrys foreign ministry, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, which is tasked with diplomatic security, as well as local police detachment sin Ottawa, Toronto and Vancouver. An official said physical police presence had been enhanced at the locations.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Anirudh Bhattacharyya Anirudh Bhattacharya is a Toronto-based commentator on North American issues, and an author. He has also worked as a journalist in New Delhi and New York spanning print, television and digital media. He tweets as @anirudhb. ...view detail
Iran executed two men over an attack on a shrine that killed at least 13 people in October. The attack was claimed by the Islamic State. Iranian state media reported that the two were hanged at dawn in the southern city of Shiraz. Iran Executions: An Iranian flag flutters.(Reuters)

During the trial the men said that they had been in contact with the Islamic State in Afghanistan and helped organise the attack on the Shah Cheragh shrine in Shiraz.

What happened at the Shah Cheragh shrine?

An attacker entered the shrine after hiding an assault rifle in a bag and shot as worshippers tried to flee and hide in corridors. The gunman was identified as a citizen of Tajikistan. He later died in a hospital from injuries sustained during the attack.

What is Iran's record on executions this year?

Iran hanged at least 354 people in the first six months of 2023, a rights group said. The pace of executions was much higher than in 2022, Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) said accusing Iran of increasing the use of death penalty to cause panic and fear following the widespread protests which erupted last September over the custodial death of Mahsa Amini.

206 people were executed for drug-related charges, a 126 per cent rise compared to the same period last year, the group said.

The death penalty is used to create societal fear and prevent more protests. The majority of those killed are low-cost victims of the killing machine, drug defendants who are from the most marginalised communities, IHR director Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam said.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Mallika Soni When not reading, this ex-literature student can be found searching for an answer to the question, "What is the purpose of journalism in society?" ...view detail
Japanese political and business leaders on Saturday marked one year since the assassination of former leader Shinzo Abe, with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida pledging to tackle pressing political goals as a way of honoring Abes wishes. People offer prayers for Abe in Tokyo.(AP)

At a Buddhist temple Zojoji in Tokyo, Kishida and his governing Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers, as well as representatives from opposition parties and business leaders, attended a closed memorial service hosted by Abes widow Akie Abe and the family. Tables were set up at the temple for flower laying by the public later Saturday.

Abe was assassinated on July 8, 2022, during an election campaign speech.

The suspect, Tetsuya Yamagami, was arrested at the scene and was charged with murder and several other crimes, including violating the gun control law. A date for his trial hasn't been set.

Yamagami has told investigators that he killed Abe, one of Japans most influential and divisive politicians, because of the former prime ministers apparent links to a religious group that he hated. In statements and in social media postings attributed to him, Yamagami said he developed a grudge because his mother had made massive donations to the Unification Church that bankrupted his family and ruined his life.

READ | Hearing for Abe murder suspect cancelled over suspicious object: Report

At a separate memorial Saturday attended by governing party lawmakers and conservative academics, Kishida recalled Abe used to cheer him up when he was struggling to make difficult decisions.

Whenever I'm alone worrying if I was doing the right thing, I remember former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's words, saying that Kishida-san, now you have beome Prime Minister, you should just go straight on the path you believe in,' he said.

Teary Akie Abe said she could not stop crying since the morning thinking about the day a year ago. But my husband won't come back, so I'm trying to figure out how I can make my husband's death meaningful.

Abe, born into a prominent political family and Japans longest-serving prime minister, bolstered Japans military role and promoted the free and open Indo-Pacific vision now inherited by Kishida. Abe maintained influence even after stepped down as prime minister in 2020.

READ | Shinzo Abe state funeral: The legacy of Japan's longest-serving prime minister

An anti-China hawk, Abe was remembered by Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, who tweeted Saturday in Japanese that Abe had demonstrated his support for Taiwan and promoted deeper exchanges between the two sides. Tsai noted that Abe had advocated the idea of a Taiwan contingency is a contingency for Japan, as tensions have risen between the self-ruled island democracy and China, which claims it as its territory to be united by force if necessary.

In Nara, near the site of Abes assassination, dozens of people lined up from early Saturday to lay flowers.

The investigation has led to revelations of years of cozy ties between Abes governing Liberal Democratic Party and the Unification Church. Former Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi, Abe's grandfather, helped the church take root in Japan in the 1960s over shared interests in conservative and anti-communist causes.

Kishidas popularity has plunged over his handling of the church controversy and his insistence on holding a state funeral for Abe in September last year.
Japan recently received approval from the United Nations nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), to release over a million tons of treated radioactive water from the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. This approval has faced objections from local fishing communities and other countries such as China and South Korea, which share international waters, due to concerns about the potential impact. This satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Okuma, Fukushima prefecture, Japan on March 14, 2011 after the explosion following an earthquake and tsunami.(via AP)

The IAEA conducted a safety review and concluded that the discharge would have minimal effects on the environment, aligning with water releases from nuclear plants in other locations. The nuclear agency said that the safety review addressed technical questions and provided clarity on the science behind the planned discharge, ensuring that it would have negligible radiological impact on people and the environment.

But local Japanese fishing communities have voiced their objections to the plan, fearing that it would undermine over a decade of efforts to rebuild their industry. They anticipate a decline in consumer trust, leading to decreased demand and lower prices for their catch. Although Fukushima authorities have implemented stringent radiation testing measures, many consumers remain skeptical about the safety of fish and produce from the region.

When and how will this radioactive water be released?

The Japanese government has announced that the release of water will commence before the end of summer. The country's Nuclear Regulation Authority confirmed on Friday that the necessary equipment and facilities for the water discharge have successfully passed their inspections.

Prior to its release into the ocean, Japan has stated that the water will undergo filtration to eliminate the majority of radioactive substances, with the exception of tritium, a hydrogen isotope that is challenging to separate from water. The treated water will be diluted to levels well below what is internationally approved.

What is Tritium?

Tritium is considered to be relatively harmless because it does not emit enough energy to penetrate human skin. But when ingested  via seafood, for example  it can raise cancer risks, according to The Guardian report that quoted a Scientific American article said in 2014.

The IAEA says nuclear plants around the world use a similar process to dispose of wastewater containing low-level concentrations of tritium and other radionuclides.

Objection from China, South Korea

The IAEA's report has received strong criticism from Beijing, which believes that endorsing a plan with potential risks to marine life and human health is unacceptable, despite Japan and the IAEA assuring minimal environmental impact.

Due to safety concerns, China announced on Friday that it will enhance its scrutiny of food imports from Japan. The country's customs authority stated that it would impose a ban on food imports from 10 Japanese prefectures affected by the water release and enforce strict radiation tests on food from the remaining regions of Japan.

Demonstrators hold signs reading "No Dumping" and "No to the Sea, Yes in the Land" during a protest against Japan's plan to release treated wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear disaster site into the Pacific Ocean, in Seoul, South Korea, on Saturday.(Bloomberg)

In response to the planned water release, hundreds of people in South Korea's capital protested on Saturday, demanding Japan to abandon its intentions. Meanwhile, the head of the United Nations' nuclear agency held discussions with senior officials regarding public concerns over food safety.

Earlier on Friday, South Korea announced that Japan's proposal to discharge treated radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear plant meets global safety standards, and it respects the approval granted by the UN nuclear watchdog for the release. South Korea's approval comes after conducting its own evaluation and amid recent efforts to improve bilateral relations between the two Northeast Asian countries.

Fukushima meltdown

A massive earthquake with a magnitude of 9.0 occurred on March 11, 2011, leading to a destructive tsunami that damaged the power supply and cooling systems of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. As a result, reactors No. 1, 2, and 3 experienced meltdowns and released a significant amount of radiation. At the this nuclear plant, around 1.33 million cubic meters of water, including groundwater, rainwater, and water used for cooling, have accumulated.

(With inputs from agencies)

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Lingamgunta Nirmitha Rao Trainee Content Producer at Hindustan Times Digital Stream. India's regional languages attract me. ...view detail
President Joe Biden leaves on Sunday for Europe, where he will spend time in three nations tending to alliances that have been tested by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. President Joe Biden speaks in the White House in Washington.(AP)

After arriving at night in London, Biden will meet the next day with King Charles III for the first time since he was crowned. Next is the centerpiece of the trip, the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania. Alliance leaders will debate the war and revise plans for dealing with Russian aggression.

The final stop is in Helsinki, where Biden on Thursday is expected to celebrate the expanding alliance, with Finland as the newest member of NATO.

His national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, said the trip would showcase the president's leadership on the world stage.

Also Read: US defends cluster bombs decision for Ukraine amid civilian casualty concerns

A look at Biden's agenda and the issues he will face:

London

Biden arrives in London on Sunday night and is expected to have a full schedule of meetings Monday.

Theres always a lot to talk about with the U.K., said Max Bergmann, a former State Department official who leads the Europe Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Biden will hold talks with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at 10 Downing St. Sunak is facing an election by the end of next year. His Conservative Party is lagging badly behind the opposition in opinion polls.

Also Read: Russia seeks UN Security Council meeting on Nord Stream blasts

Despite Sunaks shaky political standing, he has fostered close ties with Biden and it will be their sixth meeting since Sunak took office last October.

Bergmann said Sunak's tenure has been a nice change of pace after there were some concerns about Boris Johnson, one of Sunaks predecessors, being a loose cannon.

Biden will visit the king at Windsor Castle, a royal residence outside London. Biden did not attend Charles' coronation  first lady Jill Biden went in his place  so this will be their first encounter since then.

They're expected to discuss climate change, an issue that has been a focus for both leaders, and how to finance initiatives to address the problem.

Vilnius

Biden will spend two days in the capital of Lithuania, which is hosting the annual NATO summit. He will participate in meetings with leaders and deliver a speech from Vilnius University.

The alliance has been reinvigorated by the war in Ukraine, and members have been pouring military hardware into the country to help repel Russia's invasion.

Biden on Friday defended what he said was a difficult decision to provide cluster munitions to Ukraine, a move his administration said was key to the fight and buttressed by Ukraines promise to use the controversial bombs carefully. Biden is likely to face questions from allies on why the U.S. would send a weapon into Ukraine that more than two-thirds of NATO members have banned because it has a track record for causing many civilian casualties.

For Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, the summit will send a clear message: NATO stands united, and Russias aggression will not pay.

But NATO has also struggled to bridge divides over important issues. Finland was welcomed into the alliance this year, but Sweden's membership has been held up by Turkey and Hungary.

There are also disagreements over how quickly to extend an invitation to Ukraine to join NATO.

Countries on NATO's eastern flank want to move quickly, viewing it as a way to deter Russian aggression. The U.S. and others advocate a more cautious approach.

One issue has already been settled, at least for the time being. Stoltenberg's term has been extended for a year because members could not agree on a new leader.

Sen. Thom Tillis, who will attend the summit, likened the alliance to a gathering of dozens of family members who bicker and clash but nonetheless remain united.

At the end of the day, you know youre family," said Tillis, R-N.C.

Tillis is leading a bipartisan delegation along with Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., who said NATO is more powerful than before.

"Its the strongest military alliance in our history, and I think it only has gotten stronger as a result of U.S. leadership, as the result of Stoltenbergs leadership and as the result of the threat from Vladimir Putin to all of the NATO allies and other countries in Europe and around the world and to the international order, she said.

Helsinki

After two nights in Vilnius, Biden visits Helsinki. The stop is a bit of a victory lap, but could also be a reminder of unfinished business.

The Nordic country in April became the 31st member of NATO, ending its history of nonalignment and demonstrating how Russia's invasion of Ukraine has backfired in Europe.

Finland was supposed to join alongside its neighbor Sweden, whose admission has stalled because of Turkey and Hungary. NATO requires unanimous consent of all its members to expand.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson visited the White House on Wednesday and met with Biden to keep up the pressure for membership. But there is little hope that the issue will be resolved in Vilnius.

The White House is billing Biden's visit to Helsinki as a U.S.-Nordic Leaders Summit.

It's a much different occasion from the last time a U.S. president visited Helsinki five years ago.

During that trip, Donald Trump held a news conference with Putin and brushed off concerns about Russian meddling in Trump's election victory.

Now Biden is heading to the city to demonstrate how his administration has held the line against Moscow and expanded Western defenses.
A former Donald Trump administration aide recalled an episode when officials were worried that the then-US president was not careful in his handling of classified information while talking to reporters, NBC News reported ciring a copy of Miles Taylor's book. Miles Taylor was a top aide to Homeland Security secretary Kirstjen Nielsen. He described an incident which showed that Donald Trump aides believed he needed to show more care toward state secrets and sensitive records. Former US president Donald Trump speaks to supporters during a campaign event.(AFP)

Miles Taylor described having heard about Donald Trumps interest in tapping the phones of White House aides to limit press leaks as he had been angry about them during his time in the office.

Read more: Donald Trump investigation is costing US taxpayers this huge amount per month

What is the incident Miles Taylor described in his book?

Miles Taylor described an incident which unfolded on October 18, 2018 when he was in a private meeting in the West Wing with John Bolton, then Donald Trumps national security adviser. Then-White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders came into John Boltons office and described an interview that Donald Trump had given in the Oval Office where he talked to reporters about Jamal Khashoggi, the journalist who was killed by Saudi assassins in Turkey.

Sarah Sanders told John Bolton that the president had picked up classified documents relating to intelligence on Jamal Khashoggis death and displayed them. John Bolton gasped at first, but breathed a sigh of relief when Sarah Sanders told him there had been no cameras in the room, the book claimed.

Still, We were all disturbed by the lapse in protocol and poor protection of classified information, Miles Taylor writes.

What has John Bolton said on the issue?

In an interview, John Bolton had said that when Donald Trump would get briefings, aides would show him graphics, and thats where the danger came of him grabbing something and keeping it.

Asking Donald Trump to return material hed been given wasn't so easy, John Bolton said, adding, Hes the president of the United States. Are you supposed to say, Mr. President, lets be clear. We dont trust you. Give us the document back. 

What are the charges against Donald Trump?

Donald Trump faces criminal charges for his handling of classified documents after he left office. In a redacted transcript of a 2021 conversation, Donald Trump even appeared to discuss a sensitive military document that he describes as a plan of attack against Iran.

I have a big pile of papers, Donald Trump is heard saying amid sounds of rustling papers. They presented me this. This is off the record. But they presented me this," he says.

Donald Trump has denied wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty in the case.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Mallika Soni When not reading, this ex-literature student can be found searching for an answer to the question, "What is the purpose of journalism in society?" ...view detail
A pair of colorful childrens scooters rest against the yellow tracks of a battle tank, parked in the shade of skyscrapers in the Vilnius business district. The area, usually busy with cars, cyclists and pedestrians, is closed to traffic and packed with heavy armored vehicles. Russian President Vladimir Putin.(via REUTERS)

Never in its history was Lithuania this safe," says Jonas Braukyla, an IT engineer, who brought his family to see the U.S.-made Abrams tanks, German Leopards and Marders and other military hardware brought out to project NATO power ahead of an alliance summit next week. They are even bringing Patriot missile defenses over here. Now we must help our brothers and sisters in Ukraine and I hope the summit will bring good news for them.

The two-day summit starting Tuesday with U.S. President Joe Biden and other NATO leaders will be the most high-profile international event that Lithuania has hosted since it joined the alliance in 2004, and some locals hope it will be of historic significance.

Also Read: US defends cluster bombs decision for Ukraine amid civilian casualty concerns

Others are less optimistic.

The Vilnius summit will be important, but not historic. I doubt that the decision on Ukraines future will be precise and affirmative, said Dalia Grybauskaite, Lithuania's former president.

Her skepticism reflects a widely held belief in the Baltic countries that the West, even after Russia launched the biggest war in Europe since World War II, has never truly understood the threat that Moscow poses to the continent.

Grybauskaite earned a reputation as the Baltic Iron Lady for her resolute leadership and bluntness, particularly regarding Russia. The European Unions budget commissioner for five years before serving as Lithuanias president from 2009 to 2019, she was one of few European leaders who warned of Russian interference in eastern Europe even before Moscow annexed Ukraines Crimean Peninsula in 2014.

Now, she says, many Western leaders are still grossly misled about the Kremlins real intentions and lack the political will to respond accordingly.

After the Crimea occupation, the reaction from the West was very slow, despite Russia demonstrating openly in broad daylight that it could occupy the territories of neighboring countries," Grybauskaite told The Associated Press in an interview this week.

We tried to explain to them what that means, but we were criticized, laughed at, and not believed. Today, most of them agree who was right but that is not important anymore. What is more concerning is that even now they hear us, but they dont listen.

She said many Europeans still fail to understand the chasm in values between Russia and the West. She dismissed as delusions" the idea that the two sides could find common ground through negotiations.

It's not just the war against Ukraine, its the quest against our entire civilization, said the 67-year-old, who last week received the Manfred Worner Medal, a prestigious German award for services toward peace and freedom in Europe. "If Ukraine does not achieve a definitive victory on the battlefield, the West will end up in limbo. The aggressive actions against it will last for decades to come."

Resentment toward Moscow runs deep in Lithuania and in its Baltic neighbors, Latvia and Estonia, all of which toiled under Soviet occupation for five decades. Unlike many Western countries, they remained skeptical of peaceful co-existence with Moscow after the Iron Curtain fell.

Lithuania, which borders Russian ally Belarus to the east and Russias Kaliningrad exclave to the west, is investing heavily in its military, with plans to spend 3% of GDP on defense in the near future  well above the NATO target. Its skies are patrolled by NATO jets and Germany has pledged to deploy around 4,000 troops in Lithuania permanently. But critics worry that wouldn't be enough to protect the country if the war spreads beyond Ukraine.

Vytautas Landsbergis, Lithuanias first leader after it regained independence in the early 1990s, has mocked suggestions that an agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin might be reached over Ukraine.

As long as there is Russia, there will never be such a thing as after the war. You should say it frankly: after Russia. Maybe then the world would have a chance, he told reporters this week.

That mindset makes some NATO partners uneasy. French President Emmanuel Macron earlier this year said the war in Ukraine must not turn into a campaign to crush the Russian Federation.

I want Russia to be defeated in Ukraine, and I want Ukraine to be able to defend itself. But Im certain that in the end this will not be resolved militarily," Macron told French media at the annual Munich Security Conference in February. I dont think, as some do, that Russia must be totally taken apart, attacked on its territory. ... That was never Frances position, and it never will be.

The small Baltic countries are among the top contributors of military aid to Ukraine on a per-capita basis. They're also among the staunchest advocates of inviting Ukraine to join NATO, another sensitive issue in the alliance. Offering Ukraine a roadmap toward NATO membership will be on the agenda in Vilnius, where streets and squares have been decorated with blue-and-yellow Ukrainian flags for the summit.

The accession process must start, because waiting for a post-war situation allows Putin to never ever finish this war," Grybauskaite said. "If we really care about the security of NATO territory, Ukraine inevitably needs to be part of it.
An 86-year-old New York City man was fatally shot and at least two others were seriously wounded by a man on a scooter who police say was shooting randomly at cars and pedestrians in Queens on Saturday. A person of interest was in custody, the New York Police Department said.(AP/Representative image)

A person of interest was in custody, the New York Police Department said.

The shootings began just before 11:30 a.m., when the 86-year-old was shot multiple times in the Richmond Hill area. He later died at a hospital.

About a mile away and less than 10 minutes later, a 63-year-old man was shot in the shoulder and taken to a nearby hospital, where police said he was listed in serious but stable condition.

Also Read: Frequent shootings put US mass killings on record pace

A few minutes later, the shooter fired at a 61-year-old man, hitting him in the torso. He was in critical condition at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center.

Police said there was another shooting nearby, but could not say if it was connected to the earlier shootings.

With a person in custody, a police spokesperson said there was no immediate threat to the public.

The spokesperson was unable to provide additional details, including any information about the man in custody nor his motives because investigators were still trying to piece together what prompted the shooting spree.
YEREVAN, JULY 8, ARMENPRESS. Armenian human rights defender Anahit Manasyan issued a statement regarding the condemnation of two Armenian servicemen captured from the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia by the armed forces of Azerbaijan. "Armenpress" presents the statement of the human rights defender of RA. "The court on grave crimes in Azerbaijan has convicted two Armenian servicemen who were ambushed and captured by the Azerbaijani armed forces in the sovereign territory of Armenia. They have been found guilty of allegedly violating various articles of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan and have been sentenced to 11 years and 6 months of imprisonment.

According to the information received from the parents and relatives of the two servicemen of the Armenian Armed Forces, Mr. Karen Ashot Ghazaryan (conscript) and Harutyun Yurik Hovakimyan (contract serviceman) were captured by the Azerbaijani armed forces on May 26, 2023, in the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia.

According to the information registered by the Human Rights Defender's Office, they were transferring nutrition and water supplies to the combat positions of the Armenian Armed Forces and were captured by the Azerbaijani side in the middle of the combat positions located between the Chakaten and Shikahogh villages of the Republic of Armenia.

The Human Rights Defender, Ms. Anahit Manasyan, emphasizes that the information registered by the Human Rights Defender's Office shows that the actions of the Azerbaijani authorities in capturing Armenian servicemen from the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia, then charging them with false charges and subjecting to an unfair trial constitute a gross violation of international law, international human rights law, and international humanitarian law. These actions are contrary to the Charter of the United Nations, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the requirements of international humanitarian law, including the Third Geneva Convention. The Human Rights Defender specifically highlights that Armenian servicemen illegally kept in Azerbaijan should have the status of Prisoners of War, and their detention, criminal prosecution, and proceedings are gross violations of international humanitarian law.

These servicemen were taken captive in the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia during an incessant armed conflict. International humanitarian law is warranted in such situations, regardless of the reasons or intensity of the confrontation.

Moreover, the policy of Armenophobia propagated by the Azerbaijani authorities further confirms the unlawfulness of the criminal proceedings. It is evident that the fundamental rights of the Armenian prisoners of war are endangered in these circumstances.

The Human Rights Defender highlights that the Armenian captives still held in Azerbaijan are exposed to a constant risk of torture, degrading and inhuman treatment, as evidenced by the information registered by the Human Rights Defender's Office.
Responding to a string of alarming shark bites and sightings near Long Island, state officials are deploying a new fleet of shark-monitoring drones along New York's coastlines. With five reported shark attacks in just two days, the state is stepping up its efforts to track these predators from above. The battery-powered drones, which will be deployed to beach communities in Long Island and New York City, aim to enhance the state's shark surveillance program and ensure the safety of beachgoers. A new shark-monitoring drone is seen as it prepares to monitor the waters for sharks at Jones Beach State Park.(Getty Images via AFP)

Enhanced Vigilance in the Skies and Waters

George Gorman, the state's park director in Long Island, emphasized the heightened vigilance in response to recent shark incidents. Drones equipped with monitoring capabilities will now join lifeguards on WaveRunners to enhance surveillance efforts. The drones will conduct three daily sweeps, covering the skies before the beach opens, midday, and before the beaches close.

Lifeguarding supervisor Cary Epstein operates a new shark-monitoring drone as he monitors the waters for sharks at Jones Beach State Park.(Getty Images via AFP)

Boosting Shark Monitoring Capacity

Governor Kathy Hochul announced the expansion of the state's shark surveillance program, thanks to the deployment of the new drone fleet. This initiative allows beach-side cities that previously lacked access to such technology to effectively monitor shark activity. The state will also provide funding to train personnel in operating the drones, ensuring optimal shark tracking capabilities.

Safety at the Forefront

Governor Hochul emphasized that the new drone investment aims to make local beaches safer for all beach-goers. By increasing shark monitoring capacity, communities across Long Island and New York City can proactively respond to potential threats and take necessary precautions. The drones' daily sweeps will contribute to early detection and enhance overall beach safety measures.

Recent Shark Incidents

The urgency to bolster shark surveillance measures stems from a series of recent shark incidents. On Thursday, a 10-foot shark sighting at Robert Moses State Park led officials to temporarily ban swimming. Earlier in the week, a teenage girl reported being attacked by a shark at the same beach, while a 15-year-old boy was bitten on the foot while surfing at Kismet Beach.

Two additional incidents occurred on July 4th, with a 47-year-old man and a 49-year-old man sustaining shark bites near Quogue Village Beach and Fire Island Pines Beach, respectively. Authorities also mentioned an additional shark attack during the same time.

Prioritizing Safety: From Sharks to Fish

While Robert Moses Beach was briefly closed on the Fourth of July due to a reported school of 50 sharks swimming nearby, officials later confirmed that the creatures were harmless fish. Such incidents highlight the importance of accurate monitoring and swift response to ensure the public's safety and prevent unnecessary beach closures.

Continued Efforts

This recent deployment of shark-monitoring drones builds upon last summer's initiative, where Long Island State Parks deployed six drones and trained 13 certified operators to monitor sharks. With a focus on proactive measures, the state aims to minimize the risks associated with shark encounters and ensure that visitors can safely enjoy New York's beautiful beaches.

Also read | Shark attacks continue in Long Island beaches as 2 more swimmers fall victim. Authorities enhance safety measures

As shark incidents and sightings increase along New York's coastlines, the deployment of shark-monitoring drones marks a proactive step in enhancing beach safety. By combining aerial surveillance with on-ground lifeguard efforts, the state aims to mitigate potential risks and provide beach-goers with peace of mind.

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Prince Harry's recent actions and revelations have reportedly strained his friendships, leaving his old friends feeling hurt and questioning his loyalty. The release of his memoir, "Spare," seems to have added fuel to the fire, as some of Harry's closest companions are said to be disgusted by the content and feel that he has not reciprocated their loyalty. Britain's Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex steps out of a car, outside the Rolls Building of the High Court in London,(REUTERS)

Betrayed Bonds and Hurt Feelings

Rebecca English, the royal editor for the Daily Mail, shed light on the brewing turmoil among Harry's friends. In her column, Palace Confidential, she revealed that many individuals within his inner circle are deeply hurt by the revelations made in his book. During their upbringing, Prince William and Prince Harry formed a tight-knit group of friends, fostering a sense of loyalty and camaraderie. However, the fallout from Harry's departure from the royal family and subsequent actions has left his friends feeling betrayed.

Unfulfilled Loyalty and Damaged Relationships

According to English, there is a prevailing sentiment among Harry's friends that their loyalty has not been reciprocated. Over the years, they have stood by his side, but now they question whether he has done the same for them. The sense of "omerta" or a code of silence that once existed between them appears to be eroding. Richard Eden, the Diary Editor for the Daily Mail, echoed these sentiments, stating that Harry has caused significant damage to these longstanding relationships.

The Wedding Snub: Best Friends Drifting Apart

The tension surrounding Prince Harry's friendships came to a head when he chose not to attend his best friend Jack Munn's wedding. Munn had played a pivotal role as Harry's "unofficial best man" during his wedding to Meghan Markle in 2018. Their friendship dates back to their time at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, and they were once inseparable. However, it is now uncertain if their bond remains as strong as it once was.

Fallout Continues

Prince Harry's strained relationships with his old friends highlight the challenges he faces in navigating his new life outside the royal family. As he continues to carve his own path, it seems that the loyalty he once enjoyed may no longer be guaranteed. The fallout from his memoir and his perceived lack of reciprocity has cast a shadow over his longstanding friendships, leaving him to contend with the consequences of his actions. Only time will tell if these bonds can be repaired or if they will remain permanently damaged.

Also read | Do Prince Harry and Meghan Markle not have anyone to defend them anymore? Royal expert comments
King Charles' temper was seen as cameras caught the monarch's apparent frustration over transportation during his Scottish coronation celebrations in Edinburgh. King Charles and his wife Camilla were joined by Prince William and Kate Middleton, the Prince and Princess of Wales, in Scotland where the monarch was presented with the Scottish crown jewels. The royals then attended a church ceremony at St Giles' Cathedral and then returned to the Palace of Holyroodhouse to watch a ceremonial flypast. Britain's King Charles III and Queen Camilla arrive at Lochcarron of Scotland.(Reuters)

When the royals arrived at the palace, King Charles appeared to display frustration after exiting his car as he appeared to gesture to his staff while waiting for his wife Camilla to make her way out of the state Bentley used for the procession.

Queen Camilla struggles to get out the car so King Charles orders someone to open the other door however, Camilla was nearly out the other door. Watch Prince William laugh at the drama, a Twitter user pointed out.

Prince William and Kate Middleton were then seen emerging from a Range Rover car. "As usual, Charles isn't having any of it," another user said while a third commented, LOL.... Prince William takes everything in stride and doesn't over react.... awesome personality.

King Charles' temper has been the focus of several videos in the first months of his reign. The monarch was criticized over a tense outburst that took place during his accession council at St James's Palace when he was seen gesturing for an aide to remove a pen tray as he tried to sign.

A second pen incident occurred days later when King Charles was making his first visit to Northern Ireland. Charles' pen leaked ink over his hands resulting in the outburst. Oh God, I hate this pen! Can't bear this bloody thing! [It's] what they do every stinking time, he was heard saying.

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Prince Harry has sent two recent signs to convey that he has cut off his life in the UK, a royal expert claimed. The Duke of Sussex has visited Britain only a few times after stepping down from his royal duties in 2020 and moving to the United States with his wife Meghan Markle. He missed important family events including his late grandfather Prince Philip's memorial service, King Charles' first Trooping the Colour parade and the Scottish coronation. Earlier this week, he recorded a separate message to his elder brother Prince William to mark the Diana Award, presented in their late mother's memory. Prince Harry: Britain's Prince William and Britain's Prince Harry are seen.(AP)

Royal correspondent Matt Wilkinson said all these instances have been very telling.As with the fact that William and Harry didnt appear together for the Diana Award, Harry not attending his best mans [wedding] is quite a symbol that hes just cut off his life back in the UK. Theyve got nowhere to live, so where would they be, the Premier Inn round the corner? They dont have a base here in the UK, and theyre worried about security," Matt Wilkinson said said.

The Duke of Sussex was seen with his two-year-old daughter Princess Lilibet attending a Fourth of July parade earlier this week. PageSix reported that Meghan Markle and the couple's eldest child Prince Archie, four, also attended the parade to mark US Independence day.

It came ahead of Prince Harry's father King Charles attending a coronation ceremony with other members of the royal family including Camilla in Scotland.

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Prince Harry will only be making trips to the UK to visit one type of court, according to a historian and royal biographer. Gareth Russell and Matt Wilkinson said that Prince Harry does not want to engage with the royal family so much so that he chose to not make a separate appearance from his brother Prince William at the recent Diana Awards. Prince Harry was also not seen at the wedding of one of his friends Jack Mann last weekend. Britain's Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex steps out of a car, outside the Rolls Building of the High Court in London.(Reuters)

Gareth Russell said, "[The Sussexes] dont seem to have much interest in returning at the minute, unless its for legal - not royal  court appearances!"

Matt Wilkinson explained, "As with the fact that William and Harry didnt appear together for the Diana Award, Harry not attending his best mans [wedding] is quite a symbol that hes just cut off his life back in the UK Theyve got nowhere to live so where would they be, the Premier Inn round the corner? They dont have a base here in the UK and theyre worried about security.

This year, Prince Harry has attended one major royal event, the coronation of his father King Charles and Camilla at Westminster Abbey on May 6. But he barely spent 36 hours in the UK heading straight to the airport as soon as the ceremony ended.

This comes as it was reported that Prince Harry will be taking a step away from the spotlight as his wife Meghan Markle signs a new deal with celebrity manager WME. The Duke of Sussex was last seen during a low-profile visit to an Independence Day parade in the US on July 4 with his daughter Princess Lilibet.

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Prince William is "intent" on fixing a fault in the royal family that was first identified by his late mother Princess Diana soon after she married into the family. As the Prince of Wales launched his Homewards project- a major five-year effort to end homelessness in the UK- he said that he is following in Princess Diana's footsteps. Prince William has worked on charities along with his wife Kate Middleton on charities that Diana was also involved with. Britain's Prince William during a visit to Loftus Road.(Reuters)

One royal expert said that this was the true "legacy" which Princess Diana left her sons- Prince William and Harry. Former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond told OK! Magazine, In almost everything he does and says, William is gently pushing the monarchy forward. I love the fact that he has made it something of his signature that he just drops in on places to say hello and see how various projects, charities and events are going.

He knows, and has publicly said, that it it is his job to keep the monarchy relevant in modern society. Diana told me she thought the monarchy was too distant and too inaccessible and that she wanted to change it. William is doing his best to achieve that, the expert claimed.

Prince William and Kate Middleton have also been relaxing strict royal protocols surrounding showing affection in public as the couple were seen during the Service of Thanksgiving at St Giles' Cathedral in Edinburgh giggling and whispering together.

A body language expert said that Kate Middleton oozed confidence while being seen with her husband.

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Volodymyr Zelensky visited a Black Sea island whose defenders defied a Russian warship at the beginning of the invasion as Moscow's invasion of Ukraine reached its 500th day. Russia-Ukraine War: Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky.(AFP)

"Today we are on Snake Island, which will never be conquered by the occupiers, like the whole of Ukraine, because we are the country of the brave," he said.

"I want to thank from here, from this place of victory, each of our soldiers for these 500 days," he added.

Russia captured Snake Island shortly after launching its invasion on February 24, 2022. Later, a radio exchange went viral in which Ukrainian soldiers were heard telling the crew of Russia's attacking warship demanding their surrender to "go fuck yourself".

The Ukrainian soldiers were taken prisoner but later exchanged for Russian captives. Kyiv recaptured the island in June last year.

The recording of this verbal exchange was shared widely and the island served as a theme for the Ukrainian resistance- appearing on placards during support rallies throughout the world.

The Russian ship involved- Moskva- sank in the Black Sea in April following what Moscow said was an explosion on board. Ukraine said it had hit the warship with missiles.

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As Russias invasion of Ukraine hit the 500-day mark, US president Joe Biden that a vote on Ukraine by NATO members would be premature. This comes as the US president is heading to Vilnius for the military alliances summit. US president Joe Biden speaks.(AP)

I dont think its ready for membership in NATO, Joe Biden told CNN, according to a partial transcript of the interview.

Although, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Ukraine deserves to have NATO membership, following talks with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky. The Ukrainian leader visited NATO countries, courting support ahead of the summit where members are expected to reaffirm that Ukraine will eventually join.

Without a doubt, Ukraine deserves to be in NATO, Erdogan said to which Zelensky responded that he was happy to hear that Turkey supports Ukraines bid to join.

Zelensky earlier said that he needs a clear signal that Ukraine will be in the alliance. Not that the door is open for us, which is not enough, but that Ukraine will be in it."

Joe Biden also reflected on US decision to provide Ukraine with cluster munitions for the first time. It was a difficult decision, he said but that he was ultimately convinced to send the controversial weapons as Kyiv needs ammunition in its counteroffensive against Russia. The White House announced that the president approved the transfer of cluster munitions to Ukraine.

It was a very difficult decision on my part. And by the way, I discussed this with our allies, I discussed this with our friends up on the Hill. The Ukrainians are running out of ammunition," Joe Biden said.

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The White House announced that it is sending cluster munitions to Ukraine amid Russia war as part of a new military aid package after months of debate within the Joe Biden administration about whether to provide Kyiv with the controversial weapons that have been banned by over 100 countries including key US allies. Russia-Ukraine War: The United States announced that it will provide cluster munitions to Ukraine for the first time.(AFP)

I'm not going to stand up here and say it is easy. It's a difficult decision. It's a decision we deferred. It's a decision that required a real hard look at the potential harm to civilians. And when we put all of that together, there was a unanimous recommendation from the national security team, and President Biden ultimately decided, in consultation with allies and partners and in consultation with members of Congress, to move forward on this strategy, US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said.

What Joe Biden said on US decision to send cluster munitions?

US president Joe Biden said that it was a "difficult decision," but he was ultimately convinced as Kyiv needed the ammunition to support its ongoing counteroffensive against Russia.

It was a very difficult decision on my part. And by the way, I discussed this with our allies, I discussed this with our friends up on the Hill. The Ukrainians are running out of ammunition, Joe Biden told CNN.

What are cluster munitions?

The cluster munitions are compatible with the 155 mm howitzers that the US is providing Ukraine. Joe Biden said that the cluster munitions were being used as a "transition period" until the US is capable to produce more 155 mm artillery.

This is a war relating to munitions. And they're running out of that ammunition, and we're low on it. And so, what I finally did, I took the recommendation of the Defence Department to - not permanently - but to allow for this transition period, while we get more 155 weapons, these shells, for the Ukrainians, Joe Biden said.

Cluster munitions- also called cluster bombs-are canisters that carry tens to hundreds of smaller bomblets or submunitions. The canisters can be dropped from aircraft, launched from missiles or fired from artillery.

Why are the cluster munitions banned?

Cluster munitions have been banned by more than 100 nations, including the UK, France, and Germany. As the bomblets fall over a wide area, they can endanger non-combatants. Somewhere between 10% to 40% of the munitions fail, International committee of the Red Cross noted, posing danger even years or decades later.

Cluster munitions remain one of the worlds most treacherous weapons. They kill and maim indiscriminately and cause widespread human suffering, Gilles Carbonnier, vice president of the International Committee of the Red Cross earlier said, adding, Any use of cluster munitions, anywhere, by anyone, must be condemned."

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Eight people were killed and 13 injured on Saturday in Lyman in eastern Ukraine after the town came under Russian rocket fire, Ukraine's interior ministry said. Smoke rises from a building in Bakhmut, the site of the heaviest battles with the Russian troops in the Donetsk region. (AP)

"So far we know about 8 dead... The number of injured has increased to 13 people," the ministry said on social media.

A residential building, an annexe to a printing house and three cars were set on fire in the attack, it said.

Pavlo Kyrylenko, governor of the Donetsk region where Lyman is located, said "at around 10:00 am, the Russians struck the town with multiple rocket launchers".

Lyman, a major rail hub, was initially captured by Russian forces but then re-taken by Ukraine's army in October.

Ukraine has reported Russian offensive operations in the area this week.

In the Russian-controlled town of Oleshky in southern Ukraine, an emergency services official was quoted by TASS news agency as saying two civilians were killed by Ukrainian fire overnight.

Ukrainian forces last month began a counteroffensive to take back Russian-controlled territory in the east and south of the country.

Facing powerful Russian defensive lines, they have only recaptured a few hundred square kilometres and around a dozen villages after more than a month.
Press Release

July 8, 2023 Pia shares the good news: life-saving medicines, maintenance drugs become VAT-exempt due to CREATE Senator Pia S. Cayetano brought a bit of good news to the public over the weekend: the exemption of several life-saving medicines and maintenance drugs from the 12 percent value-added tax (VAT) under the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises, or CREATE Law (Republic Act No. 11534). Cayetano shared the positive development with local government executives and members of the media during her visit to the city of San Fernando, Pampanga, on Friday, July 7. Under the CREATE Law, Section 109 of the National Internal Revenue Code (NIRC) was amended to exempt from VAT the sale or importation of prescription drugs and medicines for the following ailments: cancer, hypertension, high cholesterol, diabetes, mental illness, tuberculosis, and kidney disease. The VAT exemptions were recently affirmed by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) through its Revenue Memorandum Circular No. 72-2023 issued on June 20, 2023. "I am very happy kasi under the CREATE Law, isa sa pangunahing pakay nun is babaan ang tax ng mga korporasyon," shared the senator, who sponsored the landmark law that substantially lowered corporate income tax rates, and modernized the country's fiscal and tax incentives system. (I am very happy because under the CREATE Law, one of its primary objectives is to lower the income taxes paid by corporations.) "So yung mga mag-iinvest dito, whether it's a Filipino or foreign group, mas mababa na ang tax nila. So may incentive ang companies para mag-invest, right?" she added. (Companies that will invest in the Philippines, whether it's a Filipino or foreign group, will now pay lower income taxes. So there is an incentive to invest here, right?) "But minsan, hindi rin kaagad yan nararamdaman ng tao, dahil siguro, company ang unang nakikinabang. Pero syempre ang desire natin is yung company magbibigay din sa employees n'ya ng benefits," she continued. (People may not immediately feel it, because the benefits will go to the corporations first. But of course, our desire is for the companies to share the benefits of lower income taxes with their employees.) "But in that same law, mayroon tayong provision doon na tinanggal natin ang VAT sa mga gamot para sa madalas na sakit ng tao. And that one, directly yan na mararamdaman ng tao. Dahil kapag bumili ka ng gamot, gaya sa cancer, hypertension, high cholesterol, diabetes, mental illness, tuberculosis, and kidney disease...makikita mo doon na less VAT ang presyo, which is 12 percent. Less na yung babayaran," she explained. (But in the same law, we included a provision exempting from VAT medicines for the most common ailments. This one will be immediately felt by our people. Because when you buy the said medicines, like for cancer, hypertension, high cholesterol, diabetes, mental illness, tuberculosis, and kidney disease...you will pay less because these will be VAT exempt.) "So I am happy na makita na na-iimplement ang batas na inisponsor ko," remarked Cayetano, who defended the measure from 2019 through 2020 as chairperson of the Senate Ways and Means Committee in the 18th Congress. (I'm happy to see that the law I sponsored is being implemented.)
YEREVAN, JULY 7, ARMENPRESS/BTA. Interviewed by BTA, Bulgarian Mineral Water Chamber President Tsvetelina Lukarska said the Arab countries are interested in Bulgarian mineral water, health tourism, fruits, vegetables, meat and milk. Bulgaria has much to offer the Arab world and needs to attract strategic partners so as to re-enter markets it has lost, she said.

This country used to be very active in the Saudi market and will try to slowly regain lost ground, Lukarska added.

Asked why negotiations on Bulgarian mineral water exports fail to materialize into deals, she said talks always start very well and then stop. The argument that Bulgaria does not have enough mineral water is not justified: this country cannot meet the requirements of the whole of Saudi Arabia, yet it can export water which is now being wasted. At present, only 30% of Bulgarian mineral water is used.

Talking about Saudi Arabia's interest in Bulgarian mineral water, Lukarska said this sector has a vast potential in the bottling industry, healthcare, agriculture, the pharmaceutical industry and cosmetics.

Saudi businessmen want the quality of mineral water at the spring to be preserved in the right bottle. The same applies to the quality of milk, meat and vegetables. Arab businessmen have shown interest in building a dairy plant and in growing agricultural products in Bulgaria.

All Arab countries are interested in medical tourism for further treatment and hospital rehabilitation, Lukarska said.

Hydrogen technology is another area of interest.

It was Lukarska's idea to set up a Bulgarian-Saudi Business Chamber, which was established in Sofia on June 29. The Business Chamber will act as an intermediary for the entry of Bulgarian companies in the Saudi market, said Dimitar Abadjiev, Bulgaria's first ambassador to Saudi Arabia, who assumed office as President of the Chamber. The event was attended by Saudi, Qatari and Kuwaiti diplomats, representatives of various branch organizations and associations, Arab businessmen and Bulgarian entrepreneurs, who concurred that Lukarska is the soul of the Bulgarian-Saudi Business Chamber. She is convinced that Bulgaria needs such a staunch partner.

(This information is being published according to an agreement between Armenpress and BTA.)
Russia has requested a new meeting of the UN Security Council for July 11 to discuss last September's explosions on the Nord Stream gas pipelines, a senior Russian diplomat at the United Nations said on Saturday. Gas leak at Nord Stream 2 as seen from the Danish F-16 interceptor. (Reuters)

Russia has unsuccessfully demanded access to investigations by Sweden and other countries into the blasts, which severely damaged the pipelines connecting Russia and Germany under the Baltic Sea.

"We requested a new open meeting of the UN Security Council on the Nord Stream blasts for July 11," Dmitry Polyansky, Russia's deputy U.N. ambassador, said on the Telegram messaging platform.

He also said Russia would invite "a couple of interesting impartial speakers" to the meeting.

Russia failed in March to get the UN Security Council to ask for an independent inquiry.

Moscow has said the West was behind the blasts. Western governments have denied involvement, as has Ukraine, which is fighting Russian forces on its territory.

The pipeline blasts occurred in the exclusive economic zones of Sweden and Denmark. Sweden, Denmark and Germany have said that their own separate investigations were still active and Russia had been informed.
Hundreds of people marched in South Koreas capital on Saturday demanding Japan scrap its plans to release treated wastewater from the damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant, as the head of the U.N. nuclear agency met with senior officials to discuss public concerns over foods safety. Demonstrators gather at the gate of Foreign Ministry during a protest against Japan's plan to release treated wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear disaster site into the Pacific Ocean, in Seoul, South Korea, July 8. (Bloomberg)

The protests came a day after South Koreas government formally endorsed the safety of the Japanese plans, saying that the contamination levels of water pumped out from the plant would be within acceptable standards and wouldnt meaningfully affect South Korean seas as long as the plant's treatment systems work as designed.

The announcement aligned with the views of the International Atomic Energy Agency, which greenlit the Japanese discharge plans this week, saying the treated wastewater would meet international safety standards and pose negligible environmental and health impacts.

Braving blistering summer heat and closely watched by police, the protesters walked in long lines through a commercial district in downtown Seoul, holding signs reading We denounce the sea disposal of Fukushimas nuclear wastewater! and We oppose with our lives the sea discharge. The marches proceeded peacefully and there were no immediate reports of major clashes or injuries.

Other than discharging the water into the sea, there is an option to store the water on their land, and there are other options being suggested," said Han Sang-jin, spokesperson of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, whose members accounted for many of the marchers.

He said that allowing Japan to discharge the water "is like an international crime.

The protests provided a tense backdrop to a meeting between IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi and South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin, which was expected to include discussions over people's fear of food contamination. South Koreas Foreign Ministry didnt immediately release details of the talks.

Speaking to reporters in Tokyo Friday before his flight to South Korea, Grossi said he was aware of the unease in South Korea and was willing to communicate more actively with critics, including South Korean opposition politicians, to reduce concerns.

Hours later, he was greeted by dozens of angry protesters at an airport near Seoul. They denounced IAEAs support of the discharge plans, holding signs reading Dismantle IAEA! and Fukushima wastewater will definitely lead all humanity to disaster!

Grossi on Sunday was expected to meet with lawmakers from the opposition Democratic Party, which has harshly criticized the Japanese discharge plans and accused the conservative government of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol of putting the nations health at risk while desperately trying to improve relations with Tokyo.

The safety of Fukushimas wastewater has been a sensitive issue for years between the U.S. allies. South Korea and Japan have been working in recent months to repair relations long strained over wartime historical grievances to address shared concerns such as the North Korean nuclear threat and Chinas assertive foreign policy.

South Koreas assessment about the safety of the discharge plan was partially based on observations by a team of government scientists who were allowed to tour the Fukushima plant in May.
US president Joe Biden told his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping following his meeting with Russia's Vladimir Putin to "be careful" because Beijing relies on Western investment. "I said: This is not a threat. This is an observation," Joe Biden told CNN. US president Joe Biden.(Reuters)

Since Russia went into Ukraine, 600 American corporations have pulled out of Russia. And you have told me that your economy depends on investment from Europe and the United States. And be careful. Be careful, he said.

Asked what Xi Jinping's response was, Joe Biden said: He listened, and he didn't...argue. And if you notice, he has not gone full-bore in on Russia. So, I think there's a way we can work through this.

Read more: US destroys its last chemical weapons stockpile

Joe Biden's comments come amid heightened tensions and pessimism in the US-China relationship over national security issues, including Taiwan and Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

When did Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping meet?

Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping held two days of talks in March. The meeting saw warm words of friendship between China and Russia being shared while the countries jointly criticised the West without any sign of a diplomatic breakthrough over Ukraine war. The two leaders also participated in a virtual summit earlier this week.

What Joe Biden said on Ukraine?

Joe Biden told CNN that it was a difficult decision to provide Ukraine with cluster munitions for the first time, but that he was ultimately convinced to send the controversial weapons as Kyiv needs ammunition in its counteroffensive against Russia. The White House announced that the president approved the transfer of cluster munitions to Ukraine.

It was a very difficult decision on my part. And by the way, I discussed this with our allies, I discussed this with our friends up on the Hill. The Ukrainians are running out of ammunition," Joe Biden said.

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As the investigation into Hunter Biden's alleged tax and gun crimes progresses, numerous questions remain unanswered. House Republicans are pushing for clarity on the decision-making process, while the prosecutor leading the probe has been tight-lipped about the details. Recent revelations and a letter from US Attorney David Weiss have raised concerns about whether Attorney General Merrick Garland misled Congress regarding Weiss's authority to charge Hunter Biden in other jurisdictions. President Joe Biden's son Hunter Biden.(AP)

With Weiss and Garland expected to testify before Congress and Hunter Biden's upcoming plea deal, here are some key questions that linger:

Did Weiss seek permission from US Attorneys in California and Washington DC to file charges against Hunter Biden in those districts? Did Weiss intend to bring charges in California or DC, as claimed by the IRS whistleblower? Did Weiss request Special Attorney status from the Attorney General to assist in the Hunter Biden investigation? Will the Justice Department release correspondence between Weiss and US Attorneys regarding the case? Does Hunter's plea deal mark the end of the criminal investigations, or are there further developments to come? Was President Joe Biden involved in Hunter's business dealings? When will Weiss and Garland testify before Congress?

The Hunter Biden investigation has been a source of political contention since President Biden took office. Republicans are scrutinizing Weiss's authority, questioning whether he had the autonomy Garland claimed he had. While Hunter Biden has reached a plea deal with Weiss's team, many uncertainties persist.

Disputes over Weiss's Authority

IRS whistle-blower Gary Shapley alleged that Weiss attempted to bring charges against Hunter Biden in Washington DC but was obstructed by Matthew Graves, the top federal prosecutor in DC appointed by President Biden. Weiss, however, refuted this claim, stating that he had the ultimate authority to decide on charges and preserve the integrity of the prosecution.

He explained that his charging authority is generally limited to the Delaware district where he serves as US attorney but asserted that Garland had promised him special attorney status to bring charges in other districts. Weiss's ability to file charges in California and DC would require cooperation from the respective US Attorneys' offices.

Demands for Testimony and Documents

House Republicans have called for Weiss to clarify his authority, citing Shapley's email and Garland's statements. Weiss's letter to Republicans stated that he had not sought permission from California or DC, but he believed he would have been granted it if necessary.

However, Weiss declined Republicans' demands for documents and records related to interactions between the DOJ and IRS in the Hunter Biden case. He cited the need to protect confidential law enforcement information and deliberative communications. Weiss expressed his willingness to discuss the matter in more detail with the Committee at the appropriate time.

Upcoming Plea Deal and Testimony

Hunter Biden is scheduled to appear in federal court on July 26th for his plea deal. The agreement involves pleading guilty to misdemeanor tax offenses and avoiding charges related to illegally possessing a firearm as a drug user, provided he complies with the agreed-upon conditions.

Meanwhile, both Weiss and Garland are expected to testify before Congress, likely after the trial. These testimonies could shed more light on the investigation and address the lingering questions surrounding Hunter Biden's case.

Also read | Speculation soars as bookies point to Hunter Biden as White House cocaine culprit

The Hunter Biden investigation has been a contentious issue, raising concerns about the integrity of the Justice Department's handling of the case. With significant political implications, the outcomes of the investigation and the forthcoming testimonies may have far-reaching consequences.
An apartment building collapsed in northeastern Brazil leaving at least eight people dead, officials said. Five people are missing as rescue workers continued a frantic search for survivors in the rubble. The victims included two young children, including an 8-year-old and a 5-year-old. Brazil Building Collapse: The victims included two young children.

Read more: Donald Trump investigation is costing US taxpayers this huge amount per month

Civil defense officials said that four people were pulled out alive.

The residential building is located in Brazil's northeastern Pernambuco state, in the Janga neighborhood on the outskirts of Recife. Videos shared widely on social media showed the four-story apartment building reduced to rubble. Firefighters and rescue workers rushed around the building which collapsed on Friday morning around 6:35 a.m., when many residents were still sleeping.

The cause of the collapse was not known but the incident took place as the coastal city of Recife has been grappling with heavy rainfall in recent days.

Pernambuco governor Raquel Lyra warned that more rain is expected, recommending that locals make sure they can access safe structures, news agency Reuters reported.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Mallika Soni When not reading, this ex-literature student can be found searching for an answer to the question, "What is the purpose of journalism in society?" ...view detail
A community in Ohio has come together to demand the termination of a police officer who shot dead a Golden Retriever in front of the dog's family. The police officer said in the video that was captured on his own bodycam footage, "Get back; your dog charged me; get back." Ohio Dog shot(YouTube)

Officer Elliot Palmer was out patrolling the area when he noticed several dogs running around, and he confronted the owner, Tammie Kern, to have it taken care of. While Tammie's daughter was trying to get the four dogs together, one of the dogs, Dixie, got away and, in a playful manner, ran towards the officer.

The video shows the officer then puts his hand out to wave the dog away while Dixie calmly runs up to Palmer. It was then raised his gun and shoots the dog. The incident is shown, as per the footage on the bodycam, to have taken place in the street outside of Kern's Oberlin Avenue.

The helpless puppy tried to get away before her front legs gave out, and she ended up falling face-first. Dixie somehow managed to get herself across the ground by dragging the backs of her legs to the curb. She ended up dead, helpless on the sidewalk.

There were a lot of words of conflict that were exchanged between Kerns and the officer. "That dog was harmless!" Kerns screamed as the poor puppy lay dying on the sidewalk.

The officer is shown calling for backup in the video, as people are shown coming out of their houses and expecting a valid explanation of what had happened and why the dog was shot.

Ohio residents are furious over the incident have come out in large numbers to show solidarity and support for grieving family. A petition has also started to seeking justice and immediate removal of duty of Officer Elliot Palmer for the shooting death of a family's pet dog named Dixie.

Others took to social media to call Officer Palmer a "coward' and protest that his badge be revoked immediately. A MoveOn.org petition and the hashtag #JusticeForDixie have gone into full swing in order to give the movement the support it deserves.

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Police in United States' Quincy are looking for a suspect who dressed as a bunny and looted clothes from a laundromat on Thursday. CCTV footage from the Winners Wash Laundromat shows the burglar going through drawers and placing items in a rucksack. Screengrab of the video of burglary in Illinois.

Also Read| Frustrated thief does this when locked door spoils his robbery plan

Sharing the clip of the incident, the local police department launched an appeal to the public to help identify the furry felon, reported Metro.UK.

Quincy Police Department posted on social media: File this one under, You cant make this stuff up.

In the early morning hours of July 6, an individual dressed in a bunny suit broke into the Winners Wash Laundromat at 2338 Spring.

Officer Holtman is investigating this burglary and would like your help identifying this furry felon. If you know the individual in this video please call the Quincy Police Department at 217-228-4470, or Quincy Regional Crimestoppers at 217-228-4474, the post read.

We were all kind of speechless when we saw it, said Officer Holtman. Ive never seen a person in full costume like that (committing a crime).

Quincy is located along the Mississippi River on the Missouri border, located under 300 miles from Chicago.

In a similar case, a thief dressed in a Homer Simpson onesie raided a supermarket in 2014 in UK's Derbyshire.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre found herself in a tense exchange with a reporter who pressed her to clarify whether the cocaine found at the White House belonged to a Biden family member. Jean-Pierre deemed the question "incredibly irresponsible" and reiterated that the Biden family was not present during the incident. The episode highlights the sensitivity surrounding the matter and the White House's reluctance to directly address the issue. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre speaks during the daily briefing at the White House in Washington.(AP)

Questioning Responsibility: Witty retort or evading questions?

During a regular briefing, a reporter from The Post directly asked Jean-Pierre if the cocaine belonged to the Biden family, prompting a stern response from the press secretary.

Can you say once and for all whether or the not the cocaine belonged to the Biden family? The Post inquired

Jean-Pierre criticized what she perceived as irresponsible reporting and reiterated that the Biden family was not at the White House during the time of the discovery.

You know, there has been some irresponsible reporting about the family, the press secretary stated.

And I have been very clear, I was clear two days ago when talking about this over and over again as I was being asked the question, as you know, and media outlets reported this, the Biden family was not here, she added.

Watch press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre calling out 'The Post' reporter for tying cocaine found in White House to Biden family

When asked about the previous day's response by deputy press secretary Andrew Bates, who invoked the Hatch Act, Jean-Pierre defended his non-response. She claimed that Bates mentioned the Hatch Act because the question referenced Donald Trump, suggesting a cautious approach to avoid potential campaign-related implications.

So he was trying to be very mindful  and so thats why he said the Hatch Act. So I would, you know, have you read the transcript and read the transcript fully so you can see exactly what he was trying to say.

Factual Discrepancies

While Jean-Pierre asserted that the Biden family was not at the White House during the incident, reports indicate that they left for Camp David approximately 48 hours before the drugs were found. However, no direct evidence has linked the drugs to any member of the Biden family or White House staff.

Evasive Responses

The White House has yet to categorically deny any connection between the cocaine and the president's family or staff. Instead, reporters have been referred to the Secret Service for further information. Despite the lack of a clear denial, Jean-Pierre asserted that the question had been extensively addressed over the past few days.

Security and Construction Factors

National security adviser Jake Sullivan suggested that workers involved in construction at the White House may have been responsible for the presence of the cocaine. He also emphasized the rigorous drug testing policies in place at the White House, promising appropriate consequences if any involvement from within the White House is discovered.

Initial reports indicated that the cocaine was found in the White House library, but it was later clarified that the reference was related to a field test conducted by responding firefighters. The substance did not match any hazardous materials in their library.

Unanswered Questions

As the White House continues to avoid directly addressing the cocaine discovery, questions remain about its origin and the potential involvement of any visitors or staff members. The lack of a definitive response fuels speculation and raises concerns about transparency.

Also read | For Hunter & Joe Biden: Donald Trump takes dig at POTUS over cocaine incident in White House

Intrigue Surrounds Cocaine Incident

The tension between the press and the White House over the cocaine discovery adds a layer of intrigue to an already sensitive issue. With further investigation and potential revelations, the matter continues to capture attention and raise questions about accountability within the highest echelons of power.
Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin was reportedly exiled to Belarus after his mercenary group's brief mutiny against Russian president Vladimir Putin. Later reports suggested that the mercenary groups boss was seen in Russias St. Petersburg. But, an unnamed Pentagon official told The New York Times that Yevgeny Prigozhin was actually in Russia after his failed coup attempt. He may have employed a body double to make it appear as if he fled Russia, the official told NYT. Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin. (AP)

None of the Wagner troops were sent to Belarus, and most are still in eastern Ukraine, the official claimed. This comes as Belarus president Alexander Lukashenko told reporters that it was unclear if the Wagner fighters would come to Belarus after he previously offered them a desert military base in the country.

As for Prigozhin, he's in St Petersburg. He is not on the territory of Belarus," he said.

Responding to Alexander Lukashenko's remarks, the Kremlin said it was "not following" Prigozhin's movements.

"No, we do not follow his movements, we have neither the ability nor the desire to do so," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

So where is Yevgeny Prigozhin?

Yevgeny Prigozhin's whereabouts remain a mystery, BBC reported. Wagner chiefs private jet flew to Belarus in late June but returned to Russia the same evening, the report claimed adding that it found several flights between St Petersburg and Moscow, although it could not be confirmed if Prigozhin was on board.

Yevgeny Prigozhin launched a coup against Kremlin on June 24 after making several public statements against top Russian defence officials. The mercenary group took control of Rostov-on-Don but did not proceed further saying that they wanted to avoid shedding Russian blood.

Vladimir Putin accused Wagner group of treason but Lukashenko claimed to have intervened in the matter and negotiated a peace deal between the sides.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Mallika Soni When not reading, this ex-literature student can be found searching for an answer to the question, "What is the purpose of journalism in society?" ...view detail
The US has moved to give Ukraine cluster munitions as Kiev and Washington are running out of ordinary ammunition, US President Joe Biden said in an excerpt of an interview with CNN that was published on Friday.

July 8, 2023, 10:05 Cluster munitions given to Ukraine as its running out of ordinary ammunition  Biden

STEPANAKERT, JULY 8, ARTSAKHPRESS: "This is a war relating to munitions. And theyre running out of that ammunition, and were low on it," Biden said. "And so, what I finally did, I took the recommendation of the Defense Department to - not permanently - but to allow for this transition period, while we get more 155 weapons, these shells, for the Ukrainians," he said.

Biden said it was a "difficult decision."

The US president added that cluster munitions are needed to bolster the chances of the Ukrainian counteroffensive.

"The main thing is they either have the weapons to stop the Russians now - keep them from stopping the Ukrainian offensive through these areas - or they dont. And I think they needed them," he said.
NATO will have to negotiate a three-point plan during the summit in Vilnius that will take the Ukraine closer to the accession to the alliance, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said during a press conference Friday, Tass informs.

July 8, 2023, 11:43 NATO Summit in Vilnius to make three steps towards Ukraine  Stoltenberg

STEPANAKERT, JULY 8, ARTSAKHPRESS: "I expect Allied leaders will agree a package with three elements, to bring Ukraine closer to NATO," said Mr Stoltenberg. The package will include a multi-year program of assistance to ensure interoperability; upgraded political ties - with President Zelensky attending the inaugural meeting of a new NATO-Ukraine Council; and a reaffirmation that Ukraine will become a member of NATO," Stoltenberg said.

Answering a question what is the difference between 2008, when NATO said after the Bucharest summit that Kiev is entitled to join the alliance but stopped at that, and today, Stoltenberg said:

"One important difference is, of course, that Ukraine has come much closer to NATO, because NATO allies have worked closely with Ukraine for many years, especially since 2014. This has ensured a much higher level of cooperation and interoperability between Ukraine and NATO."

In April, 2008, NATO leaders refused to provide Ukraine and Georgia with membership action plans, but made a political statement that "Ukraine and Georgia will become NATO members over time, when they comply with all of the alliances criteria."

Stoltenberg called the Ukraine-NATO Council a "political platform," which will make it possible to hold "crisis consultations" and make decisions on deepening the political cooperation.

"The NATO-Ukraine Council will be a council which is formed by the 31 NATO allies - hopefully, soon, 32 allies [in case of Swedens accession - TASS] and Ukraine. And we will be together in the Council as equals. We will agree [on] what we call modalities on how often this Council will meet, but I expect that we will agree [on] modalities that that also ensure that individual members of the Council, and that includes also Ukraine, can call a meeting to have what we call crisis consultations," he said.

According to Stoltenberg, the Council will also make decisions after its meetings.

Answering to a question from a reporter as to which guarantees of security can the alliance provide to Ukraine during the summit in Vilnius, Stoltenberg noted that the best guarantee of security is the NATOs military aid, which must continue even after the conflict is over.
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FEMA Awards Over $72.5 M to State for COVID-19 Testing

BOSTON  The Federal Emergency Management Agency will be sending more than $72.5 million to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to reimburse the state for the cost of providing testing during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The $72,521,391 Public Assistance grant will reimburse the Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services for contracting with Color Health, Inc. to provide self-collected testing services, as well as shipping and self-ordering of over-the-counter (OTC) rapid COVID-19 tests.

Between December 2020 and June 2022, provider and state-operated congregate care settings and the Department of Corrections conducted weekly surveillance testing. A total of 2,563,326 tests were conducted.

"FEMA is pleased to be able to assist the Commonwealth of Massachusetts with these costs," said FEMA Region 1 Regional Administrator Lori Ehrlich. "Reimbursing state, county, and municipal governments  as well as eligible non-profits and tribal entities  for the costs incurred during the COVID-19 pandemic is an important part of our nation's ongoing recovery."

FEMA's Public Assistance program is an essential source of funding for states and communities recovering from a federally declared disaster or emergency.

So far, FEMA has provided more than $1.9 billion in Public Assistance grants to Massachusetts to reimburse the commonwealth for pandemic-related expenses.
State Accepts $147M in New Federal Broadband Funding

BOSTON  During an event at the White House, President Biden, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, and federal telecommunication leaders announced that Massachusetts will receive $147 million from the national Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program overseen by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). The program will use $42 billion in federal funds to expand high-speed internet nationwide, including in Massachusetts and the other 49 states, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, and other federal territories. Massachusetts Director of Federal Funds & Infrastructure Quentin Palfrey and Director of the Massachusetts Broadband Institute at MassTech Michael Baldino attended the White House event.

"We are grateful to President Biden, Secretary Raimondo, and our entire congressional delegation for their leadership on this critical work to expand digital equity across the country," said Governor Maura Healey. "With these funds, Massachusetts will build on ongoing work to ensure that our residents can access the affordable and reliable broadband service they need to work, learn, access healthcare resources, and connect with loved ones."

In Massachusetts, funding will be deployed through a five-year action plan and proposal that the Massachusetts Broadband Institute is developing through ongoing engagement with the Massachusetts Broadband and Digital Equity Working Group, the recent statewide Broadband & Digital Equity Summit on June 13, and the statewide Digital Equity survey that seeks input from Massachusetts residents about their barriers to internet access, affordability, and adoption. The plan and proposal are due to the federal government later this year.

"This new funding from the BEAD program will be a gamechanger for Massachusetts and the grant programs that will flow out of our statewide digital equity planning effort," said Quentin Palfrey, Massachusetts Director of Federal Funds & Infrastructure. "This funding will continue Massachusettss legacy of leveraging federal investment to build an economy around innovation and learning by ensuring residents statewide can adopt the 21st century digital tools that many of us take for granted."

"Expanding digital equity is essential to building a healthy economy that benefits all of our residents," said Economic Development Secretary Yvonne Hao. "We are grateful this funding will boost our ongoing state planning effort to close the digital divide and ensure people across Massachusetts can get online and participate fully in our states growing economy."
Elementary school pupil Mimi pulls the shed raffle winner at Northern Berkshire Habitat's Maple Street house project on Saturday. The winner lives in Hinsdale.

Northern Berkshire Habitat Shed Raffle Raises Thousands



The shed was built by McCann students and painted and decorated by Habitat volunteers. WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass.  A shed raffle has raised thousands of dollars for Northern Berkshire Habitat for Humanity.

Habitat construction volunteers took a break from their latest project on Maple Street on Saturday to draw the winning name in the shed raffle.

After a drum roll performed with screwdrivers and paint-stirring sticks, neighbor and elementary school student Mimi pulled out ticket stub number 125, bought by a Hinsdale resident. Sheds-N-Stuff in Cheshire will transport the shed to the winner's home.

"What a fun, successful effort," said Keith Davis, board president.

Close to two hundred people bought tickets, some purchasing a single chance and some 20, raising thousands of dollars for the local Habitat's mission to build safe, decent, and affordable housing for lower-income area residents.

In addition to homebuilding, NBHfH's Brush With Kindness program provides critical external repairs or construction, such as an access ramp, that will enable someone to stay in their home.

Shed materials were paid for by an anonymous donor, the structure was built by students in the McCann Technical School carpentry program, and it was painted and decorated by Habitat volunteers.

All of the money raised stays with the nonprofit.

"We bought the shed materials locally and local volunteers assembled them. A local person wins the shed, and the proceeds from the raffle will help build a house for a family in northern Berkshire County or fund a Brush With Kindness project," said volunteer Thomas Kirby, pausing in his efforts to remove a dent from a duct tube. "We are grateful for such generous community support."

Local media outlets publicized the raffle for free.

Northern Berkshire Habitat for Humanity serves the towns of Adams, Cheshire, Clarksburg, North Adams, and Williamstown as well as Stamford, Vt. Learn more here.
Dimitrios Kambouris - Getty Images

Florence Pugh has reestablished her status as a hairstyle chameleon, showcasing a brand new baby pink buzzcut in line with Valentino's Haute Couture Autumn Winter 2023 show in Chantilly, France.

The actress recently abandoned her blonde lengths after a string of intricate sculptural up-dos during award season, and a short-lived Scarface inspired bob, debuting a freshly buzzed head for this year's Met Gala red carpet in May.

While this playful pink take on the style is news to us, the look comes complete with a subtle root shadow and washed-out rose hue, implying the A Good Person star may have been secretly sporting the colour for some weeks. The jury is still out on how long this pretty-in-pink shade will last, however, but in the meantime, we have celebrity hairstylist Peter Lux to thank for its presence.

For the event, hosted at Chateau de Chantilly in France, the 27-year-old opted for sheer Valentino gown, milky blue in tone with a contrasting black bow at the back. The dress was reminiscent of the hot pink attire Pugh wore at the fashion house's couture show last summer in Rome, a similarly translucent garment that garnered equal attention.





Pascal Le Segretain - Getty Images

Jacopo Raule - Getty Images

Over on make-up, artist Alex Babsky created a monochromatic blush across Pugh's lips, cheeks and eyes; a feature-enhancing beauty look we can see being effortlessly replicable for summer and bridal season alike. The lipstick he used? Valentino Beauty's Liquirosso in the shade After Club, a unique cool toned peach shade suitable for all complexions.

Pugh is far from the first star to implement a playful pop of pink into her current beauty look. Greta Gerwig's upcoming Barbie film has seen Margot Robbie experiment with a joyful pink manicure; her two-tone tips designed by the South Korean nail artist, Ch. The AW23 catwalks also saw a revival of pastel pink lashes, with Gigi Hadid at the forefront of the Prada's whimsical runway look.

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iciHaiti - NOTICE : The Haitian march planned in Santo-Domingo is prohibited





The march convened by various organizations for members of the Haitian diaspora participate on Sunday, July 9, 2023 in Santo Domingo, in order to demand to the international community a solution to the humanitarian and security crisis in Haiti is prohibited



The Ministry of the Interior and the Police warned that the general law on migrations #285-04, prohibits foreigners from organizing activities likely to undermine social peace, the security of citizens or the public order in the Dominican Republic.



The organizers of the Haitian march have announced that they will suspend this activity in the Dominican Republic after the ban from the Ministry of the Interior and the Police.



S/ iciHaiti


















This month marks the 160th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg on July 1-3, 1863.

I received several requests for information recently. George McGraw wanted any information I might have on the 111th Infantry and their participation in the battle. And this week, Brian Latimer was looking for information on Willowbrook and Violet Martin Wilder. Three of the Martin daughters married into the military, and their husbands became generals at that! Emily married Brevet Gen. Emery Upton, Evelina married Gen. Andrew J. Alexander, and Violet married Gen. Wilber Wilder.

This set me on a new journey of discovery, including weekly visits this month to the Cayuga County Historian's Office to do research. In the files there on the 111th, I read the list of the men mortally wounded in the battle. Two were from Owasco, George Pickard and Henry Van Etten.

I knew about George Pickard and his service in the 111th at the Battle of Gettysburg. I have written previously in The Citizen about him. He died from a head wound in a hospital in Pennsylvania. I wrote about the plight of his wife, Jane Francisco Pickard, and found her application to obtain a widows pension of $8 a month very interesting. She was now alone to raise her two boys, ages 7 and 9 years old. In the Pickard file, I read the papers showing how her two sisters gave witness of their knowledge of her husband, giving further proof of their marriage and even acting as midwives at the birth of their two children. Also in the file, I read Gen. Clinton D. MacDougall, of Auburn, had testified that George received the head wound on the first day of the three-day battle.

The other Owasco soldier killed at Gettysburg was Henry Van Etten. I only found his name and locality, and must research him further.

While working on these records, James Stebbins came in to see me at the town hall. He is descended from Roderick White, who fought with the 8th Infantry in the Civil War. Roderick is buried in Fort Hill Cemetery and after our talk, I now have another stop on the walking tours I give there. I was so impressed with Rodericks story and the dedicated, loyal service he provided to the people of Cayuga County and Auburn.

Jim told me how Roderick was captured and sent to Libby Prison. He escaped, and was recaptured. They then sent him to Andersonville! Oh no! That horrible place. He somehow survived, and when he was released after the close of the war, Jim told me they had to put six layers of clothing on him to bulk him up when his picture was taken.

He became involved in local government and was able to obtain two cannons used in the Civil War and placed near City Hall grounds. When you see them, think of this soldier who survived being a prisoner in two squalid prisons in the Civil War.

The Cayuga County Historian's Office has a thick file on Roderick White. The file contains the letters sent to his family from 1861 to 1865. They are in neat cursive writing, and tell of his experiences during the war. Almost 50 letters are in the file. I cant wait to read them.

Other Owasco veterans serving in the Civil War are Thomas Bassett and Henry G. Wycoff of Company E of the 4th New York Heavy Artillery, J.S. Bouilett of Company K and David Reid and Peter Shellenberg of Company I.

At the dedication of the Gettysburg monument to the 111th Infantry, C.D. MacDougall said, "I would raise an arch commemorative of American valor across the chief avenue of our nations capital or at the entrance to the National Cemetery at Arlington. I would erect it to infuse the spirit of valor in the breasts of the youth of our land, to show to the nations of the earth, to whom we once called rebel,' we now call as friend and brother, believing he is as true to the old flag today as you who fought to protect it; and to demonstrate that every vindictive and uncharitable recollection of the unhappy strife is forever banished. I would rear as a notice to the world that we have a united country, and that they who insult that banner, with the increasing stars, do it at their peril.
Ragnarok Origin has rolled out the Crusader class in today's update. The new class offers a versatile playstyle, excelling in both tanking and damage dealing. Whether you prefer an offensive or defensive play style, taking the right skills, equipment, and gear is crucial for success. In this article, we'll provide expert recommendations to help you become a formidable Crusader in Ragnarok Origin.

1. Skill Recommendation

Skill allocation for the new class, Crusader, is crucial for maximizing their battle potential. Allocate a minimum of 40 points to essential skills like Riding, Cavalry Master, Heal, Shield Charge, and Spear Stab. Prioritize Shield Mastery, Faith, and Providence for offensive builds, while defensive builds should focus on Faith, Providence, and Auto Guard.

Shield Mastery enhances damage output, and Auto Guard enables blocking physical attacks. For defensive builds, consider taking Lv.10 Reflect Shield and Lv.4 Shield Thorn, or Lv.9 Reflect Shield 9 and Lv.5 Shield Thorn. Maximize Reflect Shield to Lv.10 for offensive builds and allocate remaining points as preferred. Personalize your approach by maximizing Faith and Shield of Light, distributing remaining points based on your playstyle.

These skill recommendations empower Crusaders to unlock their full potential and excel in offense, defense, or a personalized blend, in the dynamic world of adventure.

2. Stat Priority

When it comes to the stats for different playstyles, certain priorities should be considered. For the Shield build, it is recommended to prioritize Strength (STR) and Dexterity (DEX). Investing in these stats will enhance your damage output and increase your hit rate, allowing you to effectively wield your shield as a formidable offensive tool. By focusing on Strength and Dexterity, you can maximize the potential of your shield attacks and become a formidable force on the battlefield.

On the other hand, for those following the Grand Cross build, a different stat priority is suggested. Alongside Strength and Dexterity, it is important to also raise Intelligence (INT). By allocating points to Strength, Dexterity, and Intelligence, you can improve both your physical and magic damage capabilities. This stat distribution will allow you to unleash devastating strikes with your holy powers and leverage your magic prowess to overcome your enemies. With a balanced focus on Strength, Dexterity, and Intelligence, you can become a versatile and powerful force, capable of excelling in both physical and magic combat scenarios.

3. Equipment Recommendation

Equipment plays a crucial role in your performance. For a shield-focused playstyle, equip the Longhorn Spear to increase healing spell chance and pair it with the Cross Shield for heightened damage output, creating a balanced gameplay experience.

If you prefer the Grand Cross build, choose the Brionac. This weapon enhances holy and magic attacks, empowering you to unleash devastating strikes against adversaries. With the Brionac, you can fully harness your holy powers and wield formidable magic abilities.

Consider the Tyr set to amplify your physical attack power, enabling you to deal substantial damage in combat. Alternatively, choose the Goibne set to reduce element damage taken and boost your maximum HP. This choice increases survivability to combat.

4. Cogwheel Recommendation

To enhance your shield build, a crucial cogwheel recommendation is the Catapult Booster Device. It adds an ejection function to your shield attacks, allowing you to target multiple units simultaneously. Additionally, it reduces the cooldown of your taunt ability, enabling you to keep up your aggro more frequently and effectively. Incorporating the Catapult Booster Device into your gear setup will significantly enhance your shield-based combat capabilities.

5. Card Recommendation

Choose cards that enhance your desired playstyle and attributes. For shield build, consider cards that boost physical damage or increase hit rate. For the Grand Cross build, focus on cards that amplify magical damage or provide defensive bonuses.

6. Enchantment Recommendation

Tailor your enchantments based on your chosen genre and preferred stats. Look for enhancements that boost damage, critical rate, hit rate, or survivability.

By following these recommendations for skills, stats, equipment, cogwheel, cards, and enchantments, you'll be ready to embark on your journey as a powerful Crusader in Ragnarok Origin. Experiment, customize, and enjoy the exciting adventures that await you in Midgard.
In 1967, Syd Barrett of Pink Floyd was commissioned to compose a theme song for a musical and visual exploration called Games for May, to be staged at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, on Londons South Bank. The happening featured a complex light show, daffodils for the audience, and the first use of quadrophonic sound.

Your cup overflows with experience, gushed the Financial Times reviewer. Free games for May, Barrett sang to a host of golden hippies  although, in fact, only the daffodils were free: a ticket cost 21 shillings. It was a very important show, recalled the bands drummer, Nick Mason  the beginning of the concept that we ended up spending the next 20-odd years doing.

The audience loved Barretts song, so the bands managers persuaded him to rework it for the charts. To give it personality, he introduced a character, Emily. I was sleeping in the woods one night, after a gig wed played somewhere, when I saw this girl appear before me. That girl is Emily, he told NME in 1974. Other sources pin the identity on Emily Kennet, the psychedelic schoolgirl, a well-known 16-year-old reveller at the UFO club, where Pink Floyd were the house band. The newly titled See Emily Play was recorded at Sound Technique studios. It was the perfect soundtrack to the Summer of Love - instant psychedelic nostalgia, although it employed few special effects.
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Janet Yellen highlighted record bilateral trade between the US and China and also spoke about a fair set of rules during her four-day China visit.

The US Treasury secretarys visit is Washingtons latest attempt to repair ties as the two superpowers have faced challenges in their relationship and have frequently been at loggerheads with each other.

During her meetings with top Chinese officials on Saturday, Yellen, 76, told vice-premier He Lifeng that a 2022 record in bilateral US-Chinese trade showed there is ample room for our firms to engage in trade and investment. Recent trade data accessed by Reuters indicated that two-way trade between the two countries hit a record $690bn (537bn) last year.

Ms Yellen also suggested that the US and China need to communicate better.

Amid a complicated global economic outlook, there is a pressing need for the two largest economies to closely communicate and exchange views on our responses to various challenges, she said, adding that such an effort would help both sides more fully understand the global economic outlook and make better decisions to strengthen our economies.

During the meetings, Ms Yellen expressed the desire of Washington to ensure healthy competition with a fair set of rules that would benefit both China and the US over time.

Speaking to a group of female economists on Saturday, Ms Yellen said she was in Beijing at this critical time because, for all the disagreements between our nations, President Biden and I believe it is in the best interests of our peoples to put our relationship on a better track and to maintain open and honest lines of communication.

She continued: I strongly believe that the relationship between our two countries is rooted in the solid ties between the American and Chinese people. It is important that we keep nurturing and deepening these ties, especially as China reopens after three years of Covid lockdowns.

US ambassador to China Nicholas Burns, centre, listens as the Treasury secretary speaks at a climate finance roundtable discussion at the US embassy in Beijing on Saturday (AP)

Moving forward, Ms Yellen expressed that the US would continue to communicate directly its concerns about specific economic practices and would take targeted actions to protect its national security.

She urged China not to allow any disagreements to lead to misunderstandings, particularly those stemming from a lack of communication, which can unnecessarily worsen our bilateral economic and financial relationship.

While the US and China have mutual political, economic and security interests, there are also unresolved concerns, with differing views on matters such as the political status of Taiwan and territorial disputes in the South China Sea.

Ms Yellen also called for the worlds two largest economies to combat the existential threat of the climate crisis.

Continued US-China cooperation on climate finance is critical, Ms Yellen said in a prepared text at a climate roundtable in Beijing. As the worlds two largest emitters of greenhouse gases and the largest investors in renewable energy, we have both a joint responsibility and ability to lead the way.

Additional reporting by agencies
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Lewis Hamilton said his disappointing result in qualifying for the British Grand Prix must serve as a wake-up call for Mercedes.

Hamilton will start his home race in front of a 150,000 sell-out crowd at Silverstone only in seventh place, with team-mate George Russell one spot better off on the grid.

As Max Verstappen, perhaps predictably, raced to his fifth consecutive pole position, McLaren stung a surprise with Lando Norris and team-mate Oscar Piastri second and third respectively in their upgraded machines.

Informed of his position over the radio, Hamilton said: We are so slow.

McLarens resurgence means Hamilton is now even further away from the front  qualifying half-a-second off Verstappen  despite Mercedes bringing a new front wing to Silverstone.

It is not a blow, but it is just a wake-up call for us, said Hamilton. Others are overtaking us and we need to do more.

I will be optimistic and do my best to get on the podium, but realistically I am not sure we can. We have two Ferraris and two McLarens ahead of us so it is going to be a tough race.

It is always a great feeling to be at the British Grand Prix, but today it was disappointing that we could not deliver for the fans. Hopefully we can tomorrow.

Hamilton is the most successful driver at the British Grand Prix  winning seven of the last 10 races staged here.

But 580 days have now passed since Hamilton last took to the top step of the podium  a run of 32 races which extends back to the final round of the 2021 season.

Mercedes major upgrade arrived at Monaco in May, and Hamilton delivered successive podiums at the ensuing rounds in Spain and Canada to provide him with hope he might soon be back in winning contention.

But he finished only eighth in Austria a week ago, and he is facing a tall order to salvage a respectable result on Sunday.

McLaren have been well off the pace so far this year, but their new package  which Hamilton likened to Verstappens dominant Red Bull machine  has propelled them ahead of the Silver Arrows.

I am not surprised by McLaren because if you look at the car it makes sense, said Hamilton.

If you put it alongside a Red Bull, it looks very similar down the sides and it is working. They had the edge on us at the last race so I anticipate tomorrow will be the same.

McLaren have been on a bad run for so long so I am happy for them. We have another team up in the mix which is what we want to see in the sport.
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Two hundred people gathered in a club in a basement in Chinas financial capital, many dressed in red and black latex with corsets and fishnet stockings, to cheer competitors who sashayed and danced down a red carpet under the scrutiny of judges.

Events like these, known as balls, celebrate a subculture centred on the LGBT+ community that dates from mid-20th century dance halls in New Yorks Harlem, before being adopted by queer communities of colour in the 1980s.

I think the biggest difference in voguing is that you need to dance your own self, the deepest you want to express, says Sui Kawakubo, a member of the Kiki House of Kawakubo, one of the citys key voguing families, as they describe themselves.

Voguing is a dance style characterised by staccato hand motions and angular arm and body postures punctuated by brief pauses, much in the manner of a model posing for photographs.

I wouldnt say voguing has made me an extrovert, but it allows a new me to emerge, adds Kawakubo, a self-proclaimed introvert who uses a stage name chosen as a tribute to Japanese fashion designer Rei Kawakubo to protect his privacy.

With trophies awarded for categories such as Femme Queen Performance, Couple Realness, Face and Body, the events are part dance competition, part fashion show and part judged performance art.

Popularised in 1990 by a hit Madonna song and the documentary, Paris is Burning, the trend has drawn adherents in China too, with Shanghais first such event organised five years ago.

Fancy footwork: VJ Kawakubo dances at a voguing ball (Reuters)

VJ Kawakubo, 30, was one of the citys earliest adopters of voguing, being drawn to a dance class seven years ago to eventually become one of its best-known exponents, figuring in marketing for brands such as Calvin Klein and magazine spreads.

Although the performance aspect of voguing is important, he says, its ability to bring people together gave the scene deeper meaning.

If you are just dancing by yourself, there is no meaning in that, says VJ, who also asked to be identified only by his stage name. The most important thing for me is that its a comfortable environment.

The future for such activities looks increasingly uncertain in China, however, as authorities touting socialist values step up censorship of LGBT-related content.

Tutu

The ball subculture orginates from mid-20th century dance halls in New Yorks Harlem (Reuters)

MissGengDiva

I wouldnt say voguing has made me an extrovert, but it allows a new me to emerge (Reuters)

Volta

Green with envy: Volta strikes a pose (Reuters)

Sui Kawakubo

Sui Kawakubo: The biggest difference in voguing is that you need to dance your own self (Reuters)

Yida

Shanghais LGBT+ community is always under scrutiny (Reuters)

Difficult Environment

Even in Shanghai, Chinas most international city, the environment remains complex for the LGBT+ community, says VJ, who grew up in a small village in the eastern province of Zhejiang.

Its both more inclusive but still quite conservative, he said, as international influences jostle with Chinas traditional values.

In 2020, citing an increasingly difficult environment, Shanghai Pride halted its activities after having run successfully for a decade. In May, Beijings 15-year-old LGBTCenter also shuttered for undisclosed reasons.

The government sees strengthening the national power, the national rejuvenation, as the most important thing, says Hongwei Bao, a researcher in LGBT+ visual and performance culture at the University of Nottingham.

That disconnects from younger peoples desire to express themselves freely, to pursue their lifestyles, personalities, and individualities.

Such campaigns render the existence of voguing in Shanghai both more precarious and more vital in the community.

I really dont know about the future, VJ says. I still have hope that society can become more tolerant and more accepting.

People gather at a voguing ball in Shanghai (Reuters)

While showing off is certainly on the agenda, the events are often publicised only in a discreet way, with some last-minute switches of location to avoid authorities attention.

Loud music and cheers greet the competition portion of such events, when contestants line up by category to be winnowed by the judges before the final few battle for the winners trophy.

Regardless of experience, contestants were unfailingly greeted warmly by a crowd that seemed pleased and excited to find itself in a rare pocket of expressive freedom and fluidity.

The reason many people come here is not just to have fun, says a 27-year-old who goes by the stage name Tinora Kawakubo.

They might say they are escaping an environment that does not allow them to express themselves.

Photography by Aly Song

Reuters
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A video of a woman aboard an American Airlines flight has gone viral after capturing the moment the passenger appeared to accuse a fellow traveller of being not real.

In the video, which has been circulating, a woman could be seen walking down the aisle of a full flight while screaming at the fellow passengers about why she was getting off the plane.

Im telling you, Im getting the f*** off, and theres a reason why Im getting the f*** off, the woman could be heard yelling as she walked up the plane aisle. And everyone can either believe it or they can not believe it. I dont give two f***s.

But I am telling you right now, that motherf***er back there is not real.

The video then captured the moment that the majority of passengers, who remained seated throughout the encounter, turned to look toward the back of the plane where the woman was gesturing.

The woman then continued the profanity-filled tirade, adding: And you can sit on this plane and you can f***ing die with them or not. Im not going to.

As she turned around to continue exiting the plane, a fellow passenger could be heard loudly telling the woman: Bye!

The video was reportedly taken aboard an American Airlines flight departing Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, according to the DailyMail, which noted that the original poster of the video claimed the incident delayed the flight by three hours.

The TikTok user also claimed the woman somehow didnt get arrested and got back through security after the whole plane had to deplane.

The Independent has contacted American Airlines for comment.

The clip, which has since been viewed more than 10m times on TikTok, was captioned: AA [American Airlines], what yall doing about this?

In the comments under the viral video, the womans comments sparked both amusement and concern from viewers, with many speculating about what she was referring to.

I need to see who shes talking about, one person commented, along with a laughing face emoji, while another said: Lol, the way they all turned their heads and looked.

My question is how is everybody keeping a straight face? someone else asked.

Others compared the scenario to movies, with some suggesting the clip reminded them of the moment that Kristen Wiigs character in Bridesmaids began to see things while intoxicated aboard a plane.

Its giving Kristen Wiig, one person commented, while someone else said: Reenactment of Annie from Bridesmaids. Hope she came down safely.

Several others revealed that they would probably follow the woman off the plane, with one person explaining: Idk, she seems distressed Id believe her.

Others said they have watched enough Final Destination to also be concerned about the womans claim.

No because I would HAVE to get off the plane. Im not about to be Final Destinationed, one person wrote, while someone else said: Ive seen Final Destination enough to know Im getting off the plane.
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As the girl dinner trend has now gone viral on social media, its sparked controversy, with some people claiming that the portions of food in the meals are too small.

The concept behind girl dinner was first shared on TikTok in May by Olivia Maher. In her video, which has more than 1.2m views, she recalled how she noticed someone on the app describe their go-to dinner as bread and cheese.

I cannot find the TikTok right now but a girl just came on here and said how in mediaeval times peasants had to eat nothing but bread and cheese and how awful that was, and she was like, Thats my ideal meal, Maher said.

From there, she went on to showcase the meal that she was having, which consisted of bread, cheese, wine, grapes, and pickles. She went on to describe the foods, saying: This is my dinner, I call this girl dinner or mediaeval peasant dinner.

Since then, multiple people on TikTok have shared footage of their girl dinners, which include bread or cheese in some way. For example, TikTok user @avocadale used the #girldinner tag in a video of the strawberries, bread chips, guacamole, salami slice, and pickles that she was having for dinner. In the caption of the footage, which has more than 1m views, they described themselves as a die hard snacker.

Some TikTok users made their girl dinners a bit more elaborate. In one video posted by @alanalavv, she shared footage of multiple food plates that she thought would fit the trend.

For one plate, she had green olives, salami slices, pieces of cheese, and bread on it, while another plate included: prosciutto, cheese, peach slices, mini tomatoes, and olives. In the video, which has more that 2.3m views, she paired one of her girl dinners plates with a glass of rose.

While many people have hopped onto the viral trend, others have begun to question it. In a video posted by @siennabeluga, which has more than 800,000 views, she claimed that while she understands the appeal behind girl dinners, some people dont appear to be putting a lot of food on these plates.

Okay I am pro girl dinner, I understand girl dinner, I get it, girl dinner healing your soul, she wrote in the text over the footage. BUT some of these girl dinners look a little suspiciously low cal[orie] to me hmmmmm??

Meanwhile, a TikTok user named Lexies, who goes by the username @missfirment, also criticised the small portions of food showcased in the girl dinner trend videos. As she shared a clip of a can of tuna, some chips, spinach, and a few olives, she noted that this would not fill [her] up for more than half an hour.

As she shared more photos of meals from the girl dinner trend, she went on to claim these these were either appetisers or a plate of snacks. I cant believe that people are out here promoting this, she said.

Amid the controversy, nutritionist Katherine Kofoed went on to share a TikTok video about why she thought the girl dinner trend is so satisfying. She claimed that when people make their dinners, they rarely think about their senses of taste, which impacts the flavour and texture of food. However, according to Kofoed, people are thinking about the foods they crave, while also having sustainable meals, when making their girl dinners.

[The trend] is basically a smorgasbord of all of your favourite things, she said. Its also a really great way to satisfy all those needs and feel satiated and nourished after eating.

According to The National Institutes of Health the recommended daily calorie intake for a man with an active lifestyle is 2,400-2,600. Meanwhile, the recommended daily calorie intake for a woman with an active lifestyle is 2,000-2,200 The organisation also notes that how much food you eat for every meal can vary.

Last year, Dr Emily Manoogian, clinical researcher at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in California, also told BBC Future that eating two to three meals a day is the best, with the most calories being consumed in the morning or afternoon. If you eat most of your food earlier on, your body can use the energy you feed it throughout the day, rather than it being stored in your system as fat. she said.
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Ping! A notification lights up your phone screen. The green WhatsApp logo is a portent of novelty sashes and intricate dress codes to come: you have been added to a group named Clares Bride Tribe 2024. As you take a moment to sneakily assess which other assorted female friends of the bride will be joining you on this odyssey, the opening salvo of messages lands, laden with emoji. Hey lovely ladies! Cant wait for us to show Clare the best weekend ever before our Miss becomes a Mrs! her bridesmaid writes. Flamenco dancer. Champagne bottle. Diamond ring. Another flamenco dancer.

Your fate is sealed. Over the course of a three-day period some time next year (exact dates will be voted on via Doodle poll), youll be taking part in a packed itinerary designed to give the bride a good send-off. There will be masks of the grooms grinning visage, printed out on someones office LaserJet and made demonic by the glaring eye cut-outs. There will be alcohol in colours that dont occur naturally. But before all that, there will be months of chatter  and the occasional passive-aggressive remark  in the hen do WhatsApp group. Sound familiar?

When women hit a point in their late twenties, being thrown into a group chat consisting of a dozen or so girlies you may or may not have met tends to become an annual occurrence. Its an inevitability of female friendship  although it inspires mixed feelings. For every hen excitedly spamming the rest with memes and in-jokes, there will probably be one who is sending screenshots elsewhere, accompanied by a digital eye-roll (sometimes the same hen is doing both at once  we contain multitudes).

In a recent survey from wedding website Hitched.co.uk, 56 per cent of their users conceded that these groups are good for communicating plans in the run-up. But as the sites deputy editor Rima Barakeh puts it, when it comes to the social side of them  meaning bonding ahead of the main event  they were a little more divided A further 42 per cent of users said they like these groups for planning and getting to know one another, while just two per cent of respondents said they like to just chat.

We all have our war stories. Disputes over money are common (no wonder  recent research from Aviva estimated that the average UK hen party will cost attendees around 625 each). Ive recently experienced someone starting a group chat with all attendees for a whole weekend do with a basic cost of 500 (without travel, food, or drink), says Emma (Ive changed some hens names so theyre not banished from their respective WhatsApp groups forever). [It] makes it incredibly awkward for those of us saying we cant afford it by saying how theres plenty of time to save. The flipside to a situation like this is when one vigilante becomes the Martin Lewis of the group, trampling over the bridesmaids best-laid plans. Susannah* recalls how one woman phoned up an afternoon tea venue, then told the rest of the hens that they could get a lower price by opting out of champagne. I then had an influx of people opting for that and asking for their money back, only to then be billed by the venue for the original full set price, she says.

Some are yet to extricate themselves more than a decade after the celebrations. Im still in one as I dont want to upset the former bride, admits former hen Sarah*. But the hen do was 12 years ago and she still messages collectively [to say] Hey hens! Others have tales that are the stuff of recurrent anxiety dreams. When Amanda Elias, founder of clothing personalisation company Uncie, was added to a hen do chat on Facebook, the price of the celebrations kept going up and up. She sent a frank message to her mother-in-law to complain. Or so she thought. I text [her] saying something like, I dont want to spend that much money on stupid activities that Im not interested in doing with people I dont even know, she remembers. Only you guessed it, I text the group instead of her. The chief bridesmaid wasnt impressed. I just said Im sorry it came out that way, I would have said the same thing to you, just a little more politely. She was furious apparently, and really insulted.

The pre-hen WhatsApp chat might be a relatively recent phenomenon, but female ambivalence towards pre-wedding celebrations goes further back. Beth Montemurro is a professor of sociology, psychological and social sciences at Penn State University, Abington, and the author of Something Old, Something Bold: Bridal Showers and Bachelorette Parties. When she was working on the book in the 1990s and early 2000s, bachelorette parties (the American cousin of the hen do) were newer  they were not part of the established wedding routine, she explains, whereas the more formal, staid bridal shower was common.

That event tended to bear the brunt of womens annoyances. At that time, the women that I interviewed were dreading the bridal showers and looking forward to the bachelorette party, Montemurro explains. They talked about bridal showers as a ritual of obligation, as something that they felt was kind of boring and stilted and overly feminine. The bachelorette, meanwhile, was framed as an opportunity to do what men could do, or behave in a way that weve been discouraged from, or that hasnt been part of what people expect of women. But as time has gone on, Montemurro notes, bachelorettes and hen parties have become more institutionalised and therefore more expected If you grew up thinking that thats just what youre going to do [when your friends get married] then it doesnt feel innovative. Hence the hen becoming associated with regimented, organised fun. And nothing screams organised fun like a WhatsApp group laden with questionnaires.

I know hen do organisers get a lot of hate for the relentless messages, but my god, its a thankless task Rachel England

The intricate social ecosystem of the hen do WhatsApp isnt just a product of an age where were all instantly contactable  its also rooted in an increasingly more-is-more attitude to weddings and all the associated celebrations. The cost started to rise in the Seventies and Eighties, explains Helen Wood, professor of media and cultural studies at Lancaster University and co-editor of The Wedding Spectacle Across Contemporary Media and Culture; then it accelerated into the Nineties and the Noughties, when the idea that the more glamorous your wedding looks, the more successful you are as a person started to really take hold. A picture-perfect wedding, Wood says, became a symbol in neoliberal cultures of having achieved, worked [hard], done the right stuff.

This emphasis on the spectacle of the big day, she adds, has ironically intensified as marriage has become much less necessary for women in terms of financial dependency  the more and more [weddings become] unnecessary for women to survive, the more and more pressure on the wedding as a symbol of success.

And as nuptials become extravagant productions, so have the events that precede them  requiring painstaking organisation (read: more back and forth in the group chat). In the Nineties, in the early 2000s, it might have been a night out  in this era, it can be a weekend, Montemurro notes. And then Im sure there is also that feeling of frustration with the amount of time, especially if theres this elaborate conversation about it [in the group] beforehand. That makes sense, that there would be some frustration with that extra expense, the extra labour and the expectation that everybody should do it eagerly as well.

In the 2011 comedy movie Bridesmaids, pre-wedding activities devolve into drunken spectacles and defecating in the street (Universal Pictures)

That sense of expectation can weigh heavily. While we might begrudge the endless admin, we do all want the bride to have a good time. We might even feel guilty for any initial lack of enthusiasm. Perhaps thats why we find ourselves echoing the endlessly upbeat, hey gorgeous girlies! pleasantries. Wood also notes that when something becomes so ritualised, it makes it feel like a compulsion. What would it be to say, Im not going to take part in this ritual? Thats what plays into that tension  once youve ritualised something, then the pressure to be socially normal makes [challenging this] problematic. She adds that, in a society obsessed with quantifying relationships, being invited to the hen (and being inducted into the accompanying digital chat thread) becomes a measure of your friendship. We join in because we want to prove how much we value the bride, and how much we are valued by her.

Over the years, Ive become better at reminding my cynical self that even if that initial call-up to join the bride tribe might make me brace for impact, the intentions behind it are always good. The hen do WhatsApp says more about the over-inflated state of the modern wedding industry than it does about its individual participants. Behind every emoji-happy bridesmaid calling you a lovely lady, there is a very frazzled woman who just wants to be able to confirm 25 separate meal options with a bottomless brunch menu.

I know hen do organisers get a lot of hate for the relentless messages, but my god, its a thankless task, writer Rachel England says. Its exhausting and stressful because theres always at least one person in the group whos a complete pain in the ass and its up to you to smooth it all over among different factions of people who dont necessarily know each other. So when you get a Hey ladies! message and want to scream, just know theres a person on the other end whod much rather type Please god, just respond.

Next time you get that notification, remember her words. Though I certainly wont judge you if you immediately hit mute.
The New York State Police police issued nearly 13,000 tickets and arrested a little more than 190 people across New York state during a Fourth of July enforcement campaign on impaired driving.

From June 30 to July 5, state police issued a total of 12,991 tickets and arrested 193 people for driving-while-intoxicated charges during the crackdown, a news release from the state police said. Troopers investigated 949 crashes, including 158 personal injury crashes and five deaths.

The campaign, paid for by the Governors Traffic Safety Committee, included state police using sobriety checkpoints, holding additional DWI patrols and ticketing distracted drivers using handheld electronic devices. The news release noted speeding and aggressive driving was also targeted as a part of the initiative. Tickets given out include 4,671 for speeding, 1,030 for seatbelt violations, 322 for distracted driving and 162 tickets for people not following the state's "move over" law.

In the state police's Troop E region, which includes most of the Cayuga County area, 433 speeding tickets were passed out, along with 21 DWI arrests, 19 tickets for distracted driving, 109 tickets for child restraint/seat belt violations and 12 tickets related to the "move over" law.

State police within Troop D, which includes the areas of Elbridge and Skaneateles, issued 524 tickets for speeding, along with 23 DWI arrests, 39 distracted driving tickets, 165 tickets for child restraint/seat belt violations and nine "move over" law tickets.

The release added that over the course of last year's Independence Day enforcement campaign, from July 1 to July 5, 2022, state police issued 12,160 total tickets and arrested 197 people for driving-while-intoxicated charges.
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Joan Collins has revealed her thoughts about why Boris Johnson appeals to women and said she has no idea what they see in him.

The Dynasty star, 90, met the former prime minister while he was the editor of The Spectator, for which she wrote a regular diary column.

In a new interview, Collins was asked if she could articulate where Johnsons appeal lies when it comes to romancing women.

I have no idea, she told The Times. Its not what women see in him. Its what everybody sees. Hes very, very amusing and incredibly intelligent, with a terrible haircut.

However, asked whether the Conservative politician had ever managed to charm her, Collins replied: It takes a lot to charm me.

Collins previously described her working relationship with Johnson as quite happy and described him as very, very charismatic, very funny and very charming.

While attending the Kite Festival in Oxfordshire last month, she told journalist Decca Aitkenhead: So whatever you may think of him, thats my opinion.

Johnson has been married three times. His first wife was Allegra Mostyn-Owen, to whom he was married from 1987 to 1993. He was later married to Marina Wheeler from 1993 to 2020.

(PA)

He is currently married to Carrie Johnson, whom he wed in 2021. He has seven children, including Lara Lettice, 29, Milo Arthur, 27, Cassie Peaches, 25, and Theodore Apollo, 23, who he shares with Wheeler; Stephanie, 13, who was born while Johnson had an affair with Helen Mcintyre; and Wilfred, three, and Romy, two, with Carrie. Johnson and Carrie are now expecting their third child together, which would expand his brood to eight.

The politician has also had a string of affairs with other women, including former Spectator columnist Petronella Wyatt, with whom he began a relationship while he was married to Marina and still working as the editor of the publication.

Elsewhere in her interview, Collins opened up about her own multiple marriages. The Time of Our Lives star has been married five times, to Maxwell Reed (1952-1956), Anthony Newley (1963-1971), Ron Kass (1972-1983), Peter Holm, 1985-1987, and Percy Gibson, who she is currently married to.

Of Reed, who was 31 when he met the 17-year-old Collins at the time, the film star has previously alleged that he raped her after spiking her drink on their first date at his apartment in London. In the BBC documentary This Is Joan Collins, she said she married him out of shame.

Actress Joan Collins on the day of her wedding to husband actor Maxwell Reed (Getty Images)

She told The Times: I used to say to the girls at school, Im going to marry him one day. What an idiot. I had the brains of this glass of water But what the hell. I got rid of him. Reed died in 1974 at the age of 55 from cancer.

Collins also described Newley as a genius and fascinating, but flawed. He wasnt able to be a good father or a good husband and he was absolutely bonkers about women, she said.

Meanwhile, Kass left her with no money after their marriage came to an end. In her memoir, Collins described Holm as an obdurate dullard and calculating sociopath.

Reflecting on the men she had been with, Collins lamented: I must be stupid. I dont know. I mean, nobody appeared to be like that at the beginning. Peter Holm was charming and funny. He used to serenade me with his guitar.

Percy Gibson and Dame Joan Collins attend the launch of new book "Divining The Human: The Art Of Alexander Newley" at Ognisko Polskie - The Polish Hearth Club on June 08, 2023 (Getty Images)

Collins met Gibson, a theatre producer, while working on a play that he produced in the US in 2000. She previously described him as the most honourable man Ive ever met.

He is 32 years her junior and they married in February 2002. Asked why she had been historically romantically involved with younger men, Collins said: I dont know. Love has no limits.

Collins has three children, including Tara and Alexander Newley, 59 and 57 respectively, and Katyana Kass, 51.
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Kevin Costners ex-wife Christine Baumgartner has reportedly rejected the Yellowstone actors proposal of US$52k in monthly child support payments as inappropriate.

The former couple are in the midst of divorce proceedings, with Baumgartner, 49, reportedly seeking US$248k in monthly child support payments. She has also not vacated her and Costners beachfront home in California, which the 68-year-old actor alleged is in breach of their pre-nuptial agreement.

Previous reports said that Costner initially offered to pay US$38k and has now increased the offer. However, Baumgartner reportedly claimed that Costner spends US$240k a month on himself and the kids when theyre with him.

In new court documents seen by TMZ, the handbag designer said the new offer was well below the US$65K per month she claims Costner receives for renting out a guest house on his property.

She also claimed that it was not enough to maintain the lifestyle that their three teenage children are accustomed to, as they are used to living at the beach and in a gated neighbourhood. Costners attorney said the actor has been paying all of the childrens expenses since separating from Baumgartner and will continue to do so.

According to the report, Baumgartner stated that their lifestyle is maintained by a team of staff, such as assistants who clean the home and do the grocery shopping. She claimed that the higher sum she is seeking is also required for expenses such as utilities and bills.

She reportedly said she would move out of their home on 31 August as long as Costner provides further financial support as determined by the court. Costner has said that, under their pre-nuptial agreement, she was obligated to leave within 30 days of filing for divorce  which she filed for in early May.

But earlier this week, a judge ordered her to move out by 31 July. A source told People that Costner was relieved by the ruling, but Baumgartners attorneys have reportedly argued that she does not have enough time or funds to find a new home and have asked the judge to extend the date to 15 August.

Her lawyers wrote in a filing: Christine understands that at some point in the future, she and the children will have to move out of the family home. She cannot do so at this early stage of the case because she does not have sufficient funding to secure housing that will ensure the children can maintain similar standards of living in the parties respective homes.

Kevin Costner and Christine Baumgartner attends the Premiere Of 20th Century Fox's "The Art Of Racing In The Rain" at El Capitan Theatre on August 01, 2019 (Getty Images)

However, Costners legal team insisted that she can afford to move and said in a memorandum: She has at her disposal almost $1.5m in cash to find alternative housing. Multiple four-bedroom, four-bathroom lovely homes are presently available, located in close proximity to Kevins separate property residence Kevin made multiple offers to assist her in relocating.

Costner has reportedly gone to stay at his 160-acre ranch in Aspen, Colorado, because he no longer feels comfortable sharing a residence with Christine. He also claimed that her refusal to vacate the property has interfered with my work commitments.

Baumgartner is entitled to a settlement of US$1.4m under the conditions of their pre-nup, which Costner claimed he has already paid. In her divorce filing, she cited irreconcilable differences and listed their date of separation as 11 April.

The pair share three children together, including 16-year-old Cayden, 14-year-old Hayes, and 13-year-old Grace. They are both seeking joint custody of the children.

The Independent has contacted their representatives for comment.
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Matthew McConaughey and his wife Camila Alves have given their 15-year-old son Levi Alves McConaughey the gift of social media accounts for his birthday.

However, the couple admitted to feeling nervous about letting the teenager loose on Instagram and TikTok, and opened up about their concerns.

Levi celebrated his birthday on Friday (7 July) and made his debut by posting a video in which he introduced himself and shared several moments from his life in recent months. He plans to use his social media accounts to talk about his love for surfing, fashion and his family.

In a joint video, McConaughey and Alves wished Levi a happy birthday, but also spoke openly about their worries about letting their child join social media.

Happy birthday Levi Alves McCounaghey. Can you believe it? 15 years young, the Dallas Buyers Club star, 53, said.

Hey buddy, your mom is a little nervous today. One of the gifts were giving you, yes, we are allowing you today to join the social media universe.

Alves, 41, added: Weve been talking about this for a long time. Preparing for it, talking about it for three years now.

The parents, who have been married since 2012, said they were confident that Levi knows who he is.

McConaughey said: He knows where hes going. I think he can handle it. He has a great story to tell, to share. I want to let all of yall know youre getting a very cool and respectful young man, Levi McConaughey is coming at you, and I hope you can all do your best to treat him the same way.

Levi, enjoy the adventure, sharing your story and expressing yourself and exchanging with the people out there.

However, the actor had some sage advice for his teenage son. Let me tell you this, the older you do get, the more rules theyre gonna try to get you to follow. You just gotta keep livin man, L-I-V-I-N.

The Interstellar star previously opened up about fatherhood and told People that being a father was the only thing I ever wanted to be.

In a 2020 interview, he said: Its remained the pinnacle for me. Being a dad was always my only dream I cant think of anything being more important.

The year before, he told the publication that his children were his living legacy.

Ive got a large hand in shepherding my three children up until theyre 18 and out of the house, McConaughey said. Yeah, see if I hold on to my words in a few years. Thats the thing I think I do most honourably is having three autonomous, conscientious, confident children.

McConaughey and Alves share three children, including Levi. Their other children are 13-year-old daughter Vida and 10-year-old son Livingston.
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Each week the picture editors at The Independent sort through hundreds of thousands images sent into us by photography agencies from all around the world.

These are some of the most eye-catching and the most striking images from culture, news, politics, sport and lifestyle.

You can also keep up with the latest photography making headlines via our Instagram.

(AFP/Getty)

A man walks his dog by uprooted trees following a storm in Haarlem in the Netherlands.

(EPA)

A man walks his dog by uprooted trees following a storm in Haarlem in the Netherlands.

(ANP/AFP/Getty)

A man walks his dog by uprooted trees following a storm in Haarlem in the Netherlands.

(AFP/Getty)

A general view of people in Shanghai Hongqiao railway station.

(EPA)

Members of AnimaNaturalis and Peta stage a protest in Pamplona, Spain, against the mistreatment of animals during the Sanfermines fiesta.

(EPA)

A full moon sets behind the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey.

(AFP/Getty)

Devotees take part in the Sri Parthasarathy Swamy temple chariot festival in Chennai.

(AFP/Getty)

A spectator cheers from his buffet set up along the roadside in Saint-Sever, during the 4th stage of the Tour de France between Dax and Nogaro, in southwestern France.

(EPA)

Philippine Air Force aircraft in formation at Angeles city, Pampanga province.

(AFP/Getty)

Activists dance during a morning rave outside the International Maritime Organisation in London.

(PA)

A cigar smoked by Winston Churchill, which is expected to fetch 600-800, is pictured on his statue in Kent.

(Reuters)

Nathans Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest at Coney Island in New York City.

(AFP/Getty)

A child dressed as a deity waits for the beginning of a parade marking the Feast of Na Tcha in Macau.
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Nearly 700 migrants arrived in the UK after crossing the Channel in the highest number on a single day so far this year, new figures show.

Some 686 people were detected on Friday, according to Home Office figures published on Saturday, passing this years previous high of 549 recorded on Sunday June 11.

It means the number of crossings in 2023 now stands at a provisional total of 12,119, compared with around 13,000 at the same point last year.

The number who made the crossing in 2022 reached a record 45,755, prompting Rishi Sunak to make stopping the boats a key priority.

But in another blow to the Prime Ministers promise, 13 boats were detected crossing the Channel on Friday, with an average of around 53 people per vessel.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman has been battling to get her central policy of forcibly removing unauthorised arrivals to Rwanda off the ground after it was blocked by appeal judges.

The Government has lodged a bid to take its legal battle to the UKs most senior judges at the Supreme Court.

Shadow immigration minister Stephen Kinnock urged the Prime Minister to take serious action.

The Labour MP said: This is clearly not a Government with a grip.

The Tory asylum chaos is just getting worse and worse, and the country is paying the price for these damning failures.

Alistair Carmichael, the Liberal Democrats home affairs spokesman, said: It is clear that the Governments approach to tackling the small boats crisis in our channel is simply not working.

Instead of spouting spiteful rhetoric, Suella Braverman and the Home Office she fails to run should tackle the huge asylum seeker backlog immediately.

This Government has turned a blind eye to the crisis in the Channel. Their immoral and ineffective small boats Bill will make no difference whatsoever.
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A Just Stop Oil protester targeted the wedding of George Osborne and Thea Rogers and showered the newlyweds in orange confetti as they emerged from the church.

The former chancellor, 52, married his former aide at St Marys Church in the Somerset village of Bruton on Saturday.

As the pair left the church, a smartly-dressed woman showered them with orange confetti from a Union flag paper bag.

The grey-haired woman, in a floral dress and pale-coloured jacket, emptied the bag of confetti near the couple before she left after being spoken by security.

The couple looked puzzled, but did not appear to speak to the woman, who fled quickly when approached by journalists.

The newlyweds were showered in orange confetti (Getty Images)

The orange confetti appeared to be similar to that scattered by Just Stop Oil protesters at Wimbledon on Wednesday.

It was initially unclear if Just Stop Oil was behind the stunt, but the group later tweeted: "You look good in orange, George Osborne  congratulations to the newlyweds."

The group then shared a link to an article from 2013 in which Mr Osborne was quoted as saying he did not want the UK to be at the forefront of tackling climate change.

The tweet was condemned by former home secretary Priti Patel, who accused Just Stop Oil of being shameful, attention seeking, disrespectful low life.

The Independent has approached Just Stop Oil for comment.

Around 200 people, including well-known politicians and journalists, attended the wedding on Saturday afternoon.

Among the guests attending the service were former prime minister David Cameron and his wife Samantha, former chancellor Sajid Javid and Levelling-Up Secretary Michael Gove.

The wedding already made headlines after an anonymous email was sent earlier this week to many of the invited wedding guests as well as some journalists.

George Osborne and Thea Rogers married on Saturday (Getty Images)

Mr Osborne called in police over the malicious email, which is alleged to be part of a very serious campaign of ongoing harassment against the couple, carried out over a long period of time and alleged to include cyberbullying.

Ms Osborne and his now-wife are said to be really upset and distressed by the situation. The former Tory MP has launched a legal complaint against the person and has also asked police to investigate.

The Telegraph reported that the couple believe they know the identity of the author and that they have no connection to either Mr Osborne or Ms Rogers.

Mr Osborne and Ms Rogers announced their engagement in April 2021 and are parents to two young children, Arthur and Beau.

Ms Rogers, 40, spent several years as Mr Osbornes chief of staff, after serving as one of his special advisers.

Mr Osborne served as chancellor in David Camerons cabinet between 2010 and 2016.

He went on to become editor-in-chief of the Evening Standard before joining financial consultants Robey Warshaw in 2021.
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A great white shark fin spotted off the coast of a UK beach has terrified local children.

But it turns out the fin was fake, placed in the water by an anonymous prankster.

It had been crafted out of insulation foam, painted dark grey and had a wooden stick attached to weigh it down and keep it still. It was placed in the sea approximately 300 yards from the coast of Torquay.

The fake fin had been crafted out of insulation foam and painted dark grey (RobHughes/DevonSeaSafari/BNPS)

A teacher was the first to notice the fin as she led a group of children on a trip with Devon Sea Safari.

Rob Hughes, who was captaining the boat on the safari trip, inspected the fin with a pair of binoculars. Steering closer, he realised that it was a fake.

The culprit later admitted their prank in an anonymous post on Facebook, claiming that the fin was intended for a personal video,

Ive had fun and got the community talking. I just want to reassure everyone that you have nothing to fear in the sea. The recent shark was supposed to be for a personal video I didnt expect anyone to notice, the Facebook post read.

Mr Hughes said he wasnt fooled for long by the fin in a Facebook post from his Devon Sea Safari company.

He wrote: I wasnt fooled for long. Lack of movement and no tail fin made me investigate further.

Someone has gone to great lengths to create a hoax great white shark fin. I cant say Im very impressed.

He remarked that pranks like this can hurt the local economy during the summer months.

Juvenile great white sharks choose certain areas of the sea as "training grounds" where they can fine-tune their hunting skills (PA)

Pranks like this can have a very real effect on summer coastal business. Not to mention that it is basically deliberate marine littering.

Whatever the reasons behind this stunt, rest assured there has never been any evidence of great whites in South Devon.

The Shark Trust reports that there have been over 100 claimed sightings of great white sharks in the UK over the last 10 years, but none of these have been confirmed.

However, research published this week determined that great whites could soon begin to appear off the coast of the UK as they migrate north from the Mediterranean in search of seals.

Founder of Ocearch, Chris Fischer, noted that populations of great whites previously tracked by his organisation have tended to move north in search of food.

We believe they should be moving up past Brest [in Brittany] and Cornwall, he told The Times.

Great white sharks are the largest predatory fish on earth and typically found mostly in cool waters close to the coast. They are often sighted near South Africa, other parts of Africa, California and New Zealand.
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More than a third of foods labelled vegan have been found to contain animal products, leaving shoppers with allergies potentially facing tragic consequences.

Inspectors from Hampshire and Kent Scientific Services found that 39 per cent of dairy and meat alternative products contained egg or dairy.

They found 90 per cent of the products marked as vegan to be unsatisfactory as they failed their tests for traces of dairy or had inaccuracies in their labelling.

They included vegan alternatives for chocolate truffles, pizzas, burgers, muffins and wraps.

According to a recent poll by the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI), 76 per cent of 2,000 people believed products advertising themselves as vegan were free from animal products.

John Herriman, the chief executive of the CTSI, told The Guardian that the ambiguity from the lack of legal definition of vegan could be exploited by food businesses.

He said: Perhaps of greater concern is that this ambiguity can have disastrous and sometimes tragic consequences for those with allergies to animal-derived products, like milk and eggs.

We are aware that people have sadly lost their lives because of this and are therefore calling for more clarity on what can and cant legally be described as vegan and plant-based food.

Over a third of foods labelled vegan have been found to contain animal products (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

In 2017, Celia Marsh, 42, who had an acute dairy allergy, ate a super veg vegan wrap contaminated with milk from Pret a Mangers Bath store.

The yoghurt dressing in the wrap was later found to be contaminated with traces of milk protein stemming from a starch manufactured in a facility handling dairy products.

In 2022, Maria Voisin, senior coroner for Avon, made several recommendations in a report following an inquest into Mrs Marshs death, including improved reporting of anaphylaxis incidents and a robust system to ensure food labelling is current.

The report was sent to several organisations, including the Food Standards Agency, the UK Health Security Agency, the Department of Health and Social Care, the British Retail Consortium and the Food and Drink Federation.

A spokesperson for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said: Food labels must not be misleading to ensure consumers can have confidence in the food they are buying  which is why we require the presence of ingredients which may cause food allergies to be clearly highlighted on packaging.
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Frozen from fear as a customer stood naked in the doorway in front of her, the female food delivery driver felt afraid, powerless and alone.

The woman, who was too scared to be named, recalled how when she arrived at the customers house everything seemed normal: He saw me through the window, waved and I walked towards the door.

But things soon took a turn. When he opened the door, he was completely naked, she said.

The woman was left shaken by the encounter and said she felt especially vulnerable as a migrant living in the UK, so did not want to complain. I was very afraid because I felt powerless, she added. At the time I didnt have a visa so I felt my hands were tied.

Her experience is not an isolated one. A number of migrant women who work as delivery drivers in London told The Independent they regularly experience sexual harassment from customers and restaurant workers. And experts warn the nature of the gig economy, which includes freelance jobs such as delivery roles, often means lone working where women especially find themselves in vulnerable situations.

Fernanda Souza, who works for Deliveroo, Just Eat and UberEats in the capital, recalled an occasion when a man she was dropping off food to opened the door in his underwear.

I left the food on the doormat and he said I needed to come in and help feed him the food, the 32-year-old, who rides an electric bike while working, added. It was obvious he didnt need help. There were sexual connotations. I got really scared and I ran off and got on my bike.

But the advances and inappropriate behaviour dont stop with customers, she said. Ms Souza, who has lived in London for six years, says restaurant managers she encounters are ruder and more aggressive to the female delivery drivers.

When you ask when the food is ready, they are more angry with women and less patient, she added. I sense many times that people are flirting with me but I put on an angry and serious face. Becoming unfriendly is a strategy.

Ana Paula Oliviera, who works for Deliveroo, has had similar experiences. She said it is very common for male customers to make sexual advances when you drop off food.

Very often the guy is in his underwear or is shirtless and acts in a sexually provocative way, the 39-year-old, who is also from Brazil, said.

It is more common than people think. There was one time delivering a pack of alcoholic drinks when he offered me to come in and have drinks with him. They are in a situation where they hold the power as it is their house.

Ms Oliviera, who rides a motorbike for her deliveries, said customers can see a photo of the driver who is bringing their food so they are aware in advance that a woman is coming.

It is protection for the customer but not for the driver as they know it is a woman and they know when she is arriving, she said.

Ms Oliviera, who has lived in London for two years, said she has not faced sexual harassment from fellow delivery drivers but vented her frustrations about the abuse restaurant workers subject her to.

This is both for being a woman and being a migrant which they recognise by your accent and can be abusive towards you. It is very aggressive. It feels like a case of xenophobia  for being a migrant and for working in the country.

The two women took part in a recent photography exhibition titled Whos Behind Your Order? spearheaded by Kings College London, which documented the experiences of five Brazilian women who used their phones to capture images of their daily lives.

Those involved in the project told of the sexual harassment, abuse and dangerous working conditions they encountered, with anecdotes involving violence, burglary and sexual harassment.

For many women in the gig economy, going to work each day is not just physically demanding, but dangerous, Maritza Castillo Calle, vice president of the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain (IWGB), said.

Working alone in public-facing jobs with a lack of rights means female couriers and drivers are often forced into vulnerable situations with elevated risks of harassment and abuse. Platform apps' total indifference to these heightened risks leaves female workers with zero protections or support.

Ms Calle, whose trade union supports low-paid workers often in precarious jobs, notes that bigger firms also consistently side with customers when issues arise.

Ana Paula Oliviera said customers can see a photo of the driver who is bringing their food so they are aware that a woman is coming. (Ana Paula Oliviera)

Gig workers are often powerless to report serious issues such as sexual harassment, she added.

The erosion of health and safety in the name of profit must not be allowed to continue; proper safety measures, access to facilities, and sick pay and parental leave are needed now so that women can go to work without fear.

An earlier survey by UN Women found 97 per cent of young women in the UK said they had been sexually harassed, while 80 per cent reported experiencing sexual harassment in public spaces. Researchers polled more than 1,000 women aged between 18 to 24 and found the sexual harassment included being groped, followed and coerced into sexual activity.

Professor Cathy McIlwaine, of Kings College London, said she was unsurprised to hear of the sexual harassment and abuse faced by delivery drivers.

It is an unregulated sector. Many of these women do not have secure immigration status, they have no recourse to public funds, so they wont report harassment and indecent exposure, she added.

They experience violence and harassment from all angles  that is from customers and that is from restaurant workers and then the structural violence of an exploitative workforce where they dont have any rights.

Prof McIlwaine said that although the labour market constitutes a major site of gender-based abuses, financial agency and autonomy are really important for the women in terms of their independence and allowing them to leave perpetrators of direct forms of gender violence.

A Deliveroo spokesperson said all riders can raise any concerns if they feel unsafe and can stop an order immediately if they feel in danger.

We have also implemented additional safety measures such as an app called Flare that enables riders to report incidents quickly, warn other users, and send out alerts to emergency contacts. We will block customers for harassing riders and, if a crime has been committed, we always fully support the police investigation, the spokesperson added.

An Uber Eats spokesperson said: Any abuse or harassment directed at couriers is absolutely not tolerated. We have several safety features designed for couriers including an emergency assistance button and a dedicated safety support team available 24/7. We also work directly with the police if a crime is reported.

A spokesperson for Just Eat said abuse or harassment is absolutely not tolerated and couriers can raise safety concerns via the chat function on its app and with its support team. If a crime is reported, we fully support the police with any investigation," they added.
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A man has completed his challenge to ride through destinations across Britain with Ness in the name, dubbed The Great Ness Ride, to remember friends who lost their lives to motor neurone disease (MND).

Pete Hawkins, from Tideswell in the Peak District, rode for 13 days across England and Scotland in memory of Tony Hams and David Ellis, who lost their lives to MND within two years of diagnosis.

Mr Hawkins, 62, began his biggest ever cycle ride on June 24 in Durness, Scotland, before making his way to Alness, West Shinness, Loch Ness, the River Ness, Inverness, Boness, The Nesses, a field in the village of Haxby, near York, before finishing on Friday at Crossness Sewage Treatment Works, London.

The keen cyclist covered a total distance of 960 miles to raise money for the Motor Neurone Disease Association and raise public awareness of the disease.

(MND) is still underfunded and it is not as much in the public eye as a lot of other diseases, he told the PA news agency.

He cited former Scotland rugby international Doddie Weir, who set up My Name5 Doddie Foundation and died from the disease in November 2022, and ex-rugby league star Rob Burrows, for raising more awareness of MND.

(MND) is not (a disease) I knew much about, but I think Doddie Weir and Rob Burrow have raised it up in the public profile, Mr Hawkins said.

After two of his friends lost their lives to MND within two years of their diagnosis and without family by their side due to lockdown restrictions, he thought he should do my little bit to honour their memory.

Because I rode a national ride, it had to be a national charity, so I thought lets support the MND Association, he said.

Just try and raise a bit of awareness and a few pennies, just to do my little bit.

Throughout his ride, Mr Hawkins met people from the MND Association who he called heroes and said meeting them was the highest spot of the ride.

Ive met some lovely people from the MND Association theyre heroes, he said.

They do all the work on a day-by-day basis. Theyre just very inspiring people and doing what they can to raise funds and raise the awareness and the profile of the disease.

I think the highest spot of the ride was meeting local Motor Neurone Disease Association folk on the way down.

Mr Hawkins said he was chuffed to bits after beating his fundraisiing target twice.

Id originally set the target at 3,000, broke that before I started the ride, set it to 5,000, broke that about five days ago, so now I have upped it to 7,500, he explained.

He encouraged people that fundraising for charity can be simple and that anybody can do it.

Weve lost two or three friends from motor neurone disease with Tony and David, and suddenly life can change so you just have to enjoy it, he said.

I think if theres any message that doesnt sound too trite, then just get out and do something.

To support Mr Hawkinss cause, visit the JustGiving page https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/the-great-ness-ride
Triumph Motorcycles has received 10,000 bookings for the new Speed 400 and Scrambler 400 X motorcycles in India, within just 10 days of the models' global debut. The Triumph 400 twins were unveiled globally on June 27 in the UK, but India is the first market to get the bikes with the Speed 400 going on sale on July 5, 2023 . The Triumph Speed 400 has been launched at a mouth-watering price of 2.23 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi) with the inaugural price reserved for the first 10,000 customers.

Do note that the first 10,000 bookings have been for the Triumph Speed 400 and Scrambler 400 X combined, which means you still have a chance to book the former at the inaugural price. Once completed, the regular price tag of 2.33 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi) will be effective on the Triumph Speed 400. The company has also announced that it will ramp up production to meet the unprecedented demand.

Also Read : Triumph Motorcycles to expand to 100 dealerships in 80 cities by end of FY2024

Customers booking the Triumph Speed 400 will now have to shell out the regular price of  2.33 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi)

Talking about the response, Rakesh Sharma, Executive Director - Bajaj Auto Ltd, said, We are excited by the overwhelming response we have received following the launch. A pre-order of 10,000 bikes within such a short span is unprecedented and a testament to the unwavering faith that riders have placed in Bajaj Auto and Triumph Motorcycles. We are committed to our promise of manufacturing exceptional motorcycles that captivate riders with their performance, design, and technology."

Also check these Bikes Find more Bikes Triumph Speed 400 2.33 Lakhs* *Ex-showroom price Add to compare Check latest offers Explore your Vehicle Check vehicle details Check Insurance & PUCC due date Honda Hness Cb350  1.86 - 1.96 Lakhs* *Ex-showroom price Add to compare Check latest offers Royal Enfield Himalayan  1.87 - 2.94 Lakhs* *Ex-showroom price Add to compare Check latest offers Royal Enfield Classic 350  1.87 - 2.18 Lakhs* *Ex-showroom price Add to compare Check latest offers

Triumph has also announced that online bookings will ensure faster deliveries for customers. The Speed 400 can be booked online for 2,000. Once bikes start arriving at dealerships, the two-wheeler giant will invite customers from the booking list to make the payment. Deliveries will commence from the second half of July from Triumph dealerships across the country.

Watch: Triumph Speed 400 launched in India: The most affordable Triumph bikes

Earlier in the day, Triumph made another statement regarding the on-road price of the Speed 400. Recent rumours suggested an inflated on-road price by dealers with additional charges levied over and above the ex-showroom price. The company communicated that it will be announcing the on-road price soon in order to ensure transparency in the purchase process.

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Rishi Sunak has made clear Britain discourages the use of cluster munitions after Joe Biden agreed to send the bombs to Ukraine to aid the fight against Russia.

The Prime Minister on Saturday highlighted that the UK was one of 123 signatories of a convention banning their use after the US president made the difficult decision.

Mr Sunak, who will be meeting Mr Biden in London on Monday ahead of a Nato summit, said Britain was instead supporting Kyiv by providing tanks and long-range weapons.

Rishi Sunak did not express support for the US Presidents move (PA Wire)

Mr Biden has faced criticism for supplying the munitions that are banned by many allies in the defence alliance because of their track record of killing many civilians.

The president sought to justify the bombs as being necessary because the Ukrainians are running out of ammunition and they will be a temporary measure to stop Moscows tanks.

But Mr Sunak chose not to back the move during a by-election campaign stop to Selby, pointing to the UKs commitment to the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

Well, the UK is signatory to a convention which prohibits the production or use of cluster munitions and discourages their use, he told broadcasters.

We will continue to do our part to support Ukraine against Russias illegal and unprovoked invasion, but weve done that by providing heavy battle tanks and most recently long-range weapons, and hopefully all countries can continue to support Ukraine.

Russias act of barbarism is causing untold suffering to millions of people.

Its right that we collectively stand up to it and Ill be heading off to the Nato summit next week in Vilnius, where we will be discussing exactly this with our allies how we can strengthen our support for Ukraine.

The US has argued that Kyiv has provided assurances it will not use cluster bombs in urban areas but some Nato allies are bound to be uneasy over their transfer.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked the US for the timely, broad and much-needed defence aid package that will bring Ukraine closer to victory over the enemy, and democracy to victory over dictatorship.

The munitions are bound to feature in talks at the summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, on Tuesday, where talks on Ukraines membership bid to Nato will feature.

The weapons deploy a large number of bomblets across a wide area.

Unexploded bomblets can continue to pose a threat to civilians long after conflicts end.

Volodymyr Zelensky visits Snake Island on 500th day of Ukraine-Russia war (Volodymyr Zelensky)

The Convention on Cluster Munitions, which prohibits their use or stockpiling because of their indiscriminate effect on civilian populations.

The US, Ukraine and Russia are not signatories.

Both Moscow and Kyiv have used cluster munitions so far in the war.

Commons Defence Committee chairman Tobias Ellwood urged the US to reconsider.

The Tory MP tweeted: This is the wrong call and will alienate international good will.

Their use leaves deadly unexploded ordnance over the battlefield, killing & injuring civilians long after the war is over.

It comes as Mr Wallace had pushed to become the first Briton to lead the alliance since 2003, but lacked the necessary support  particularly from the US, the largest military power in Nato.

He told The Economist its not going to happen and there are a lot of unresolved issues in Nato.

At the regular Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Mr Sunak said Mr Wallace had been an outstanding candidate for the role.
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Immigration minister Robert Jenrick gave lessons to Rwandan government lawyers as part of a charity project supported by the countrys president Paul Kagame, The Independent can reveal.

Then a solicitor, he travelled to the country on a 2008 trip for Tory MPs and party members, including future home secretary Suella Braverman.

Mr Jenrick, who has been criticised for allegedly ordering staff to paint over cheerful paintings at a Kent asylum unit for children, was elected to parliament six years later and now has a leading role in implementing the Rwanda migration deal.

After it was ruled unlawful by the Court of Appeal last week, Mr Jenrick fiercely defended the policy, telling MPs it was categorically untrue that asylum seekers were at risk in the country.

The court heard that Rwandan police shot at least 12 refugees dead during a 2018 protest over food shortages, and that more recently authorities had turned away Afghan and Syrian asylum seekers.

The Court of Appeal judgment called Rwanda a one-party state which reacts unfavourably to dissent, but Mr Jenrick told parliament he had travelled there himself and added: It is a country that is safe and where we have a good working relationship.

As soon as we have the ability to do so through the courts, we will get those flights off to Rwanda.

His two-week visit in 2008 was part of Project Umubano, which was described on its website as the Conservative Partys social action project in Rwanda and Sierra Leone and ran from 2007 to 2017.

Other future and current MPs involved included Jeremy Hunt, Tobias Ellwood, Desmond Swayne, Rob Halfon, Damian Hinds, Mark Pawsey, Maggie Throup, Wendy Morton and Pauline Latham.

President Kagame is understood to have attended some events and told a local newspaper Project Umubano was meaningful and will help people back in the UK understand Rwanda better.

It was led by international development minister Andrew Mitchell, who told The Independent: Mr Jenrick used his legal skills to great effect as part of the Conservative Partys social action partnership, Project Umubano, working with lawyers in Rwanda.

The project focused on five areas, with the justice pillar seeing 12 lawyers and volunteers including Ms Braverman and Mr Jenrick run workshops in the Rwandan governments ministry of justice and at a university.

Rwandan president Paul Kagame with Conservative MP Andrew Mitchell during a celebration for the 10th anniversary of Project Umubano, in Kigali, in August 2017 (Paul Kagame/CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

An article written by Mr Mitchell at the time said they would cover the English legal system and international treaties.

Steve Smith MBE, chief executive of refugee charity Care4Calais, said that both the immigration minister and home secretarys previous trips to Rwanda raise serious questions about the governments decision to continue pursuing their brutal, immoral and expensive policy.

The Court of Appeal ruling was clear  Rwanda is not a safe country to remove refugees to, he added.

Yet Ms Braverman and Mr Jenrick continue to assert that it is, offering no evidence other than the Rwandan governments hollow assurances. People will rightly be wondering why they continue to pursue this policy, and why our government continues to squander millions of pounds of public money when it has been ruled unlawful.

Alistair Carmichael, the Liberal Democrats home affairs spokesperson, said: Ministers like Robert Jennrick should be ashamed to own this unworkable, ineffective and expensive policy. Whats worst is his boss Suella Braverman seems intent on taking the Home Office to the brink trying to follow through with it.

The Independent could not find any public record of Mr Jenrick discussing the trip, but Ms Braverman co-wrote an article under her maiden name Suella Fernandes in December 2008.

It said volunteer lawyers aimed to regenerate Rwandas legal system following the 1994 genocide, by working with the Kagame governments ministry of justice and a state-funded law school.

UK government's Rwanda asylum plan is unlawful, says Court of Appeal

The article suggested that Rwanda did not have a properly functioning legal system, and said there was an almost total absence of what we as UK lawyers often take for granted.

A source close to Mr Jenrick said: The immigration minister visited Rwanda on a volunteering trip as a private citizen before he became an MP, helping to train lawyers at a Rwandan university.

He would highly recommend other young people take opportunities to see the world and make a contribution whenever they can.

His role in Project Umubano is not believed to have fallen under any disclosure requirement under the ministerial code.

Ms Braverman was a barrister and Conservative Party election candidate at the time of her involvement, and went on to co-found and direct a charity delivering training to Rwandan government lawyers.

She did not formally disclose five years of work with the Africa Justice Foundation to the Home Office but prime minister Rishi Sunak refused to trigger an inquiry after The Independent revealed the link in May.

Ms Braverman resigned from her post as director weeks before being elected as an MP, by which time Rwandan media reported that 19 alumni were serving in government institutions including the Office of the President, the Office of the Prime Minister and ministry of justice.

A spokesperson for the home secretary previously said she had not disclosed her involvement in the Africa Justice Foundation because it was not necessary, and that she did not make any submissions to colleagues on the countrys suitability for an asylum deal.
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A Utah woman who allegedly sold the fentanyl that investigators believe was used to kill author Kouri Richins husband appeared in court this week, but for a separate case.

Carmen Marie Lauber, 51, has not been arrested or charged with any crimes related to the death of Eric Richins. Its unclear why she was in court. However, the Richins case was not referred to by name during Wednesdays hearing, KSL.com reported.

While omitting the name, Judge Jennifer Mabey alluded to the Richins case, saying, were at the mercy of a different case we dont have control over. Laubers next court hearing is scheduled for 16 August.

Richins died in March 2022 after a fentanyl overdose, according to an autopsy report. His wife has been accused of giving Richins a lethal dose of fentanyl, and has been charged with aggravated murder and three counts of drug possession with intent to distribute.

Summit County detectives discovered text exchanges between the two women from 1 March 2022 to 15 March 2022. Lauber is identified by her initials  CL  in the arrest warrant for Mrs Richins.

Ms Richins, according to the warrant, asked Lauber for some of the Michael Jackson stuff in February 2022, prompting Lauber to then contact a dealer and she procured 15-30 fentanyl pills. Days later, on Valentines Day, Richins became sick, and told a friend that he thought his wife was trying to poison him.

On 26 February, Ms Richins asked Lauber for more pills, and Lauber allegedly retrieved them. Days later, Eric Richins was found dead.

Lauber was convicted in 2021 in one case of drug possession with intent to distribute and drug possession, and in a second case of two more counts of drug possession with intent to distribute and drug possession.

On 27 March, Lauber was also arrested for a misdemeanour traffic offence and held in custody in the Wasatch County Jail, KSL.com reported.

In April, Summit County Sheriffs Office filed an affidavit, which was obtained by the publication, that states, The Summit County Sheriffs Office has been conducting an investigation regarding a death that occurred in March of 2022. During this investigation, information became available that Lauber had a significant illicit drug history and is likely still involved in the possession and distribution of illegal substances.

On 17 May, a judge released her from custody, with a few requirements: she wear a GPS ankle monitor, stay out of contact with Ms Richins, among others, and to stay within Wasatch County.
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Eight teens were wounded after gunfire broke out during a party in El Paso, Texas, according to police.

The shooting happened near the El Paso Country Club in the city's Upper Valley around 9:45pm on Friday night, according to KVIA-TV.

More than 100 teens were attending the house party, according to the El Paso Times. Individuals who had not been invited to the party reportedly arrived and an argument broke out between the group and the party-goers. Police believe a single individual began firing into the crowd of teens before fleeing the party.

Police said dozens of teens were fleeing the house when they arrived. Eight individuals were wounded were transported to a hospital for treatment.

The wounded teens were identified as Michelle Lopez, 18, Cristina Solis, 18, three 16-year-old boys, two 16-year-old girls and a 15-year-old girl. One of the 16-year-old girls is from Santa Teresa, New Mexico, while all the rest of the wounded are from El Paso.

The party was largely attended by high schoolers, according to KVIA.

None of the teens taken to the hospital were facing life threatening injuries.

Police told Fox News that some of the individuals at the party refused to be transported to the hospital for examination.

No arrests have been made thus far, but the El Paso Police Department's gang unit is reportedly investigating the incident, according to KVIA. Police are asking for the public's assistance identifying and locating the suspect in the shooting, and have asked anyone with information to call the department.

The incident is considered a mass shooting using the Gun Violence Archive's definition of mass shooting, which counts any attack with a firearm that injures at least four people, excluding the shooter, as a mass shooting.

Earlier that morning another mass shooter was on the minds of El Paso residents  white supremacist Patrick Crusius, who faced his sentencing hearing for a mass shooting he carried out at a city Walmart in 2019 that left 23 people dead.

Crusius was sentenced to 90 consecutive life sentences.
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Forty-seven years after she was found dead in Eastern Ontario, Canadian police have discovered the identity of the Nation River Lady using DNA technology.

The dead woman was Jewell Parchman Langford, a Tennessee spa owner who disappeared on a trip to Montreal, according to the Ontario Provincial Police.

In 1975, a female dead body was found in the Nation River near a highway bridge in Casselman, Ontario.

Jewell Parchman Langford (Ontario Provincial Police)

The corpse, which appeared to have been strangled, was found with its hands and ankles bound with mens neckties, with its face wrapped in a tea towel.

Police investigated the apparent killing for years without success, including building a 3D facial approximation of the woman in 2017.

Officers got a break in 2019, when the Centre of Forensic Sciences in Toronto helped create a new DNA profile of the woman, sending the information to a lab in California.

Next, the DNA Doe Project, an organisation that helps investigate cold cases, worked with police to match the DNA profile to a family tree using genealogy databases, and DNA samples from the victims nieces confirmed the match.

Police also located and arrested a suspect in the killing, Rodney Nichols, 81, of Hollywood, Florida.

At that time, her family in Tennessee had reported her missing, Detective Inspector Daniel Nadeau of the Ontario Provincial Police said on Wednesday, NBC News reports. While I cannot get into the specifics that will be entered at trial, I can tell you that the accused and the victim were known to each other.

Nichols, who was charged with murder last year, is subject to an extradition request to Canada.

Closure, I dont think that will come until hes tried in court, Denise Chung, one of Langfords nieces, told the broadcaster. But there is relief that at least we will have her back here with us and we know what happened.

Nichols hasnt appeared in court yet or entered a plea, according to the CBC.
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Six people are dead after a small plane crashed in a field near the French Valley area of Riverside County, California.

A Cessna C550 business jet crashed near the French Valley Airport in Murrieta around 4.15am, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

It was traveling to California from Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, according to aviation officials.

Police said the airplane was fully engulfed in flames when they reached the scene.

The Riverside County Sheriff's Office confirmed that all six occupants were pronounced dead at the scene of the crash, according to ABC7.

The passengers and pilot who died were all adults, Elliott Simpson, an aviation investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), said at a news briefing.

The privately-owned plane crashed 500ft from the runway of French Valley Airport in Riverside County, about 85 miles south of Los Angeles, after attempting an instrument landing as a marine layer weather phenomenon settled on the area, Mr Simpson said.

The crash sparked a small brushfire at the incident site, burning approximately an acre of land before members of CAL FIRE/the Riverside County Fire Department contained the flames.

Weather reports showed a dense fog was hanging in the region at the time of the accident.

An aerial video from local media showed burnt rubble in the shape of a small aircraft in a blackened part of a field across the road from the airfield.

This is the second fatal plane crash near the French Valley Airport in less than a week; on 4 July, another small plane crashed, killing the pilot.

Both crashes are under investigation by the NTSB and the FAA.

Mr Simpson said the NTSB will continue to investigate the crash, with more results expected within the next two weeks.

He did not release the names of those who died in the crash.

Additional reporting by agencies
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A private investigator who tried to track down Rudy Farias says she believes his mother Janie Santana may be suffering from Munchausen syndrome by proxy.

Brenda Paradise told The Independent that early on she felt many of Ms Santanas claims about her sons disappearance in 2015 didnt add up, and says his mother probably lied to rake in thousands of dollars in public donations.

Mr Farias was reported missing on 6 March 2015 after going to take his two dogs for a walk, sparking an eight-year missing person investigation.

After Mr Farias was found badly injured and reportedly non-verbal outside of a Houston church on 29 June, the Houston Police Department revealed that he had in fact returned to his mothers home the day after he went missing.

Houston police said Ms Santana had repeatedly lied to them about her sons disappearance, but they were declining to press charges at this time pending further investigation.

Ms Paradise began working on the case three days after Mr Farias was reported to have gone missing, and devoted hundreds of hours to finding him.

She said she wasnt surprised when he turned out to have been with his mother all along. But her jaw dropped when she heard police would not be pressing charges.

If somebody had held a little blonde girl hostage all those years, police would have been all over this case.

She believes Ms Santana violated several laws including filing a false police report, withholding information and obstructing an investigation.

Then there are the troubling allegations of sexual and physical abuse that Mr Farias allegedly told activist Quanell X about during a meeting at a Houston hotel on Wednesday.

Police said during a press conference this week that they have no evidence of sexual abuse.

Private investigator Brenda Paradise says the Rudy Farias missing person case is the strangest shes ever come across (Supplied)

Ms Paradise believes Mr Farias could be deemed to be a vulnerable adult, in which case a whole raft of other charges may be warranted.

Somebody has to do right by Rudy, she said.

Ms Paradise, who has been involved in hundreds of missing persons cases, said this was the absolute most bizarre case I have ever worked.

The experienced investigator took The Independent through her records on the case, which revealed disturbing and previously undisclosed details.

Was Janie Santana suffering from Munchausen syndrome by proxy?

Ms Paradise told The Independent that when she first got involved with the case, she became aware that Ms Santana had created a GoFundMe page claiming that her son had been diagnosed with cancer.

She said she didnt see any evidence that the diagnosis was genuine, and was unsure how much money the fundraiser attracted.

After Mr Farias case began attracting attention, the cancer fundraiser quietly went away. She said she mentioned the page to the Houston Police Department (HPD).

After Mr Farias was reported missing, Ms Santana set up a second fundraiser with the goal of making $75,000 to help find Rudy. She received just over $2,000 before the page was shut down this week.

Days after Mr Farias disappeared, Ms Paradise said she attended a community fundraiser organised to aid the search.

GoFundMe campaign for Rudy Farias (GoFundMe)

She told The Independent Ms Santana showed up two hours later, pocketed approximately $2,000, and then left within 20 minutes.

I dont know what shes trying to get money for but its been a money grab the whole way. Ms Paradise told The Independent.

This was backed by his aunt Pauline Sanchez-Rodriguez, who told reporters on Thursday that she believes her sister was manipulative and greedy.

According to a missing person poster circulated in 2015, Mr Farias was suffering from PTSD, depression and anxiety at the time he went missing. He also reportedly had asthma.

Ms Santana used to take the teenager for regular hospital checkups, insisting that doctors check and scan him for all manner of illnesses, Ms Paradise said.

Ms Paradise said she only knew of Mr Farias ever having one friend, a woman his mothers age who he met while gaming online.

The private investigator got to know the woman, who she is not naming, and said she became akin to a mother figure to him.

In conversations since Mr Farias disappearance, the woman insisted that he had never been seriously unwell, didnt have asthma, or cancer, as his mother had claimed.

Mr Farias told this female friend that he had been left traumatised by the death of his half brother Charles Uresti in a motorcycle accident in 2011.

Ms Paradise said Ms Santana had told him to go to the site of the accident, and he saw his brothers corpse at the scene.

In 2012, Ms Santana insisted on taking her son into hospital for brain scans, Ms Paradise said. During the visit Child Protective Services separated the pair and questioned Mr Farias.

Ms Paradise firmly believes Ms Santana may have been suffering from Munchausen syndrome by proxy, which the Cleveland Clinic defines as a mental illness in which a caregiver acts as if their dependant has a physical or mental illness when the person is not really sick.

Ms Paradise holds masters degrees in counselling, and is familiar with the symptoms of the rare disease.

She also revealed that Ms Santana had claimed to have found a suicide note written by Mr Farias.

Based on handwriting analysis, and what she now knows about the case, she believes Ms Santana wrote it after Mr Farias had gone missing.

The Independent has attempted to reach Ms Santana to ask her about the allegations.

The search

On 6 March 2015, Mr Farias reportedly left his home at around 6pm to take his two dogs for a walk near Tidwell and Park Drive in northwest Houston.

A few hours later one of the dogs returned home. The next morning, the second dog showed up, according to a missing person report.

The 17-year-old was reported missing by his mother on 7 March 2015.

A missing person flyer identified Rudy Farias as suffering from PTSD and depression

In the weeks after Mr Farias was reported missing, Ms Paradise organised a search of Mr Farias last known location with the local volunteer fire department using specially trained canines and cadaver dogs.

Ms Paradise said the search teams recovered a childs backpack, a wallet and an inhaler.

Ms Santana insisted that the wallet and backpack were her sons, even though both items clearly belonged to other children. They were turned over to Houston PD, she said.

According to Ms Paradise, Ms Santana continued to appeal for money on her Facebook pages to follow up tips.

Ms Santana operated several pages under her own name and aliases, and used photos of attractive younger women that appeared to have been taken from the internet.

On Facebook, Ms Santana solicited donations to go to California to check on an injured person who matched a description of her son and had showed up in hospital, the private investigator said.

Ms Santana also asked for money to pay a ransom to a suspected human trafficker in Tijuana, Mexico, who she falsely claimed had kidnapped Mr Farias.

She even went to a morgue to identify a deceased body, after getting a call from a medical examiner, Ms Paradise said.

She spoke to an aunt who confirmed she had gone to the morgue with Ms Santana.

Pauline Sanchez, an aunt of Rudy Farias, speaks to the media outside Houston Police headquarters (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via AP)

Ms Paradise said she encouraged Ms Santana to go on television to appeal directly for Mr Farias return, but she refused to show her face.

What mother doesnt want to put their face out there really?

Another perplexing detail came when Ms Paradise learned that his mother had given an incorrect date of birth for her son.

She had claimed he was 17 years old at the time of his disappearance, but a school ID apparently confirmed that he was in fact 18.

Ms Paradise told The Independent she became suspicious about the mother from the beginning of the case. When she started asking difficult questions that Ms Santana didnt like, she said they lost contact.
 Close Rudy Farias mother is not facing charges for eight-year lie, police say

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Rudy Farias mother once claimed that her son had been kidnapped by human traffickers while she was actually hiding him in her own home, according to a private investigator.

Brenda Paradise told The Independent she devoted hundreds of hours to finding Mr Farias but grew suspicious of his mother Janie Santana.

Ms Paradise said that Ms Santana repeatedly asked for money on her Facebook pages to help track her missing son down.

Once, she asked for money to pay a ransom to a suspected human trafficker in Tijuana, Mexico, who she falsely claimed had kidnapped Mr Farias. She even went to a morgue to identify a deceased body, Ms Paradise said.

Mr Farias made headlines last week when Ms Santana announced that the now-25-year-old had been found eight years after she reported him missing in 2015.

Houston police later confirmed that he was never missing and had been living at home with his mother the whole time.

Community activist Quanell X later claimed Mr Farias had alleged alarming abuse by his mother. After his claims were refuted by police, he doubled down in an interview with The Independent. Ms Santana has not been charged.
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Zimbabwe's main opposition party went to court Saturday to challenge a police decision to ban a political rally it wants to hold in the buildup to what will be highly scrutinized elections next month.

The opposition Citizens Coalition for Change party has been told it cannot hold the gathering in the town of Bindura north of the capital, Harare, on Sunday. The venue is unsuitable as it is a bushy area without serviceable roads, according to the police order.

The CCC says the ban is another example of how President Emmerson Mnangagwa's administration is suppressing and stifling opposition ahead of elections on Aug. 23.

The southern African nation has a history of violent and disputed elections, including five years ago when Mnangagwa won a close vote after replacing Robert Mugabe as president in a coup.

The High Court in Harare was hearing the CCC's challenge to the ban on its rally on Saturday. The opposition party would decide on the way forward after the court gave a ruling, said spokesperson Fadzayi Mahere.

The CCC and independent rights groups have accused Mnangagwa's government of tamping down the opposition by arresting their officials and supporters and banning their meetings in the runup to the vote, while ruling party supporters have also used violence to intimidate opposition supporters.

CCC leader Nelson Chamisa narrowly lost to Mnangagwa in the 2018 presidential election and had his claim of vote-rigging dismissed by the Constitutional Court.

The 80-year-old Mnangagwa promised a new era of democracy after the coup that overthrew long-ruling autocrat Mugabe, but critics say Mnangagwa is as repressive as his predecessor.

A tense political atmosphere, exacerbated by an economic crisis in the country, has led to fears of more violence around next month's elections.

The election will decide the presidency but also the composition of the 350-seat Parliament and nearly 2,000 local government positions.

A former ruling party stalwart who was exiled following the 2017 coup that brought Mnangagwa to power is also among the 11 candidates aiming to stand for president. Saviour Kasukuwere has promised to return to Zimbabwe to campaign but authorities say he faces arrest for alleged past crimes.

___

AP Africa news: https://apnews.com/hub/africa
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The US on Friday announced it had completed the more than three-decade process of destroying its chemical weapons stockpiles.

Todayas we mark this significant milestonewe must also renew our commitment to forging a future free from chemical weapons, Joe Biden said in a statement.

I continue to encourage the remaining nations to join the Chemical Weapons Convention so that the global ban on chemical weapons can reach its fullest potential, he added. Russia and Syria should return to compliance with the Chemical Weapons Convention and admit their undeclared programs, which have been used to commit brazen atrocities and attacks.

A worker at the Blue Grass Chemical Agent Pilot Plant looks at a blast door inside the facility in Richmond, Kentucky (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

The US and Soviet Union agreed in 1989 in principle to destroy their stores of the deadly weapons, condemned following their widespread use in wartime atrocities in conflicts like World War I.

Later, in 1997, the US Senate ratified the Chemical Weapons Convention.

The US chemical weapons stock included cluster bombs and land mines with verve agent, mustard gas artillery shells, and poison that could be sprayed via jet, according to the New York Times.

The effort to destroy the weapons was decades behind schedule and cost an estimated $42bn, according to the paper.

Chemical weapons are responsible for some of the most horrific episodes of human loss, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said in a statement, the AP reports. Though the use of these deadly agents will always be a stain on history, today our nation has finally fulfilled our promise to rid our arsenal of this evil.

The news of the destruction of the stockpile comes as the US offloaded some of its other controversial weapons to Ukraine.

The US will be sending cluster munitions to the country as part of a $800m aid package to help its beleagured armed forces fend off the Russia invastion.

More than 120 countries, including numerous US allies in Europe, have joined a convention banning the use of such rounds, because they can cause a high number of civilian casualties.
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 Close Trump shares threatening fan-made video

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Donald Trump will face trial for the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case on 20 May 2024, just six months before the presidential election. Judge Aileen Cannon gave the order on Friday morning.

Meanwhile, the former president has been busy bullying his rivals for the Republican presidential nomination, including Ron DeSantis, Chris Christie and Asa Hutchinson, on Truth Social as he braces for an imminent grand jury indictment over his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election and his role in inciting the Capitol riot of 6 January 2021.

Mr Trump announced on Tuesday that he had been sent a letter by special prosecutor Jack Smith informing him that he is the target of the investigation, citing three statutes under which he could be charged, including conspiracy to commit offence or to defraud the United States, deprivation of rights under colour of law and tampering with a witness, victim or informant.

That indictment, Mr Trumps third in four months, could be handed down any day now, The Independent learned.

Meanwhile, the latest attorney to join Mr Trumps legal team says he wants cameras in court when the former president is potentially put on trial over his alleged election interference.
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Six people were charged Friday in an alleged scheme to divert tens of thousands of dollars in public funds to New York City Mayor Eric Adams campaign months before his election.

The indictment announced by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg does not implicate Mr Adams or any other city employees. Rather, it describes a straw donor scheme orchestrated by individuals with business before the city who hoped to maximize their donations to the future mayor in exchange for political favors.

We allege a deliberate scheme to game the system in a blatant attempt to gain power, Mr Bragg said in a statement. The New York City Campaign Finance Board program is meant to support our democracy and amplify the voices of New York City voters. When the integrity of that program is corrupted, all New Yorkers suffer.

Prosecutors said the scheme was led by Dwayne Montgomery, a former NYPD inspector currently listed as the director of integrity for the Teamsters Local 237, which represents municipal workers.

According to the indictment, Mr Montgomery recruited friends and relatives to take advantage of the citys generous matching funds system, which provides an eight-to-one match for the first $250 donated by a city resident.

In addition to Mr Montgomery, the indictment names as defendants Shamsuddin Riza, Millicent Redick, Ronald Peek, Yahya Mushtaq, and Shahid Mushtaq.

According to prosecutors, between 2020 and 2021, those who made donations in their own name were reimbursed by Mr Montgomery, who provided more than $40,000 of his money. He worked with a string of co-defendants to help recruit donors, including Mr Riza, who indicated he was hoping to secure work from the city.

FYI ! This is the one I want , Safety , Drywall , and Security one project but we all can eat, Mr Riza wrote in a July 2021 email to Mr Montgomery, sending along the information for a construction project called Vital Brooklyn, prosecutors allege.

Mr Montgomery also worked alongside a campaign representative to organize a virtual fundraiser for Mr Adams in August, 2020, prosecutors contend. The representative is not named in the indictment.

None of the defendants could immediately be reached for comment.

Mr Adams' campaign released a statement denying any involvement in the alleged scheme.

There is no indication that the campaign or the mayor is involved in this case or under investigation, a spokesperson for Mr Adams campaign, Evan Thies, said in a statement. The campaign always held itself to the highest standards and we would never tolerate these actions.

The defendants each face charges of conspiracy, attempted grand larceny, and offering a false instrument.
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President Joe Biden leaves on Sunday for Europe, where he will spend four days in three nations tending to alliances that have been tested by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The first stop is London, where Biden will meet with King Charles III for the first time since his ascension to the throne. After that is the centerpiece of the trip, the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania. Alliance leaders will debate the war and revise plans for dealing with Russian aggression.

The final stop is in Helsinki, where Biden is expected to celebrate the expanding alliance, with Finland as the newest member of NATO.

His national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, said the trip would showcase the president's leadership on the world stage.

A look at Biden's agenda and the issues he will face:

London

Biden arrives in London on Sunday night is expected to have a full schedule of meetings Monday.

Theres always a lot to talk about with the U.K., said Max Bergmann, a former State Department official who leads the Europe Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Biden will hold talks with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at 10 Downing St. Sunak is facing an election by the end of next year. His Conservative Party is lagging badly behind the opposition in opinion polls.

Despite Sunaks shaky political standing, he has fostered close ties with Biden and it will be their sixth meeting since Sunak took office last October.

Bergmann said Sunak's tenure has been a nice change of pace after there were some concerns about Boris Johnson, one of Sunaks predecessors, being a loose cannon.

Biden will visit the king at Windsor Castle, a royal residence outside London. Biden did not attend Charles' coronation  first lady Jill Biden went in his place  so this will be their first encounter since then.

They're expected to discuss climate change, an issue that has been a focus for both leaders, and how to finance initiatives to address the problem.

Vilnius

Biden will spend two days in the capital of Lithuania, which is hosting the annual NATO summit. He will participate in meetings with leaders and deliver a speech from Vilnius University.

The alliance has been reinvigorated by the war in Ukraine, and members have been pouring military hardware into the country to help repel Russia's invasion.

Biden on Friday defended what he said was a difficult decision to provide cluster munitions to Ukraine, a move his administration said was key to the fight and buttressed by Ukraines promise to use the controversial bombs carefully. Biden is likely to face questions from allies on why the U.S. would send a weapon into Ukraine that more than two-thirds of NATO members have banned because it has a track record for causing many civilian casualties.

For Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, the summit will send a clear message: NATO stands united, and Russias aggression will not pay.

But NATO has also struggled to bridge divides over important issues. Finland was welcomed into the alliance this year, but Sweden's membership has been blocked by Turkey and Hungary.

There are also disagreements over how quickly to extend an invitation to Ukraine to join NATO.

Countries on NATO's eastern flank want to move quickly, viewing it as a way to deter Russian aggression. The U.S. and others advocate a more cautious approach.

One issue has already been settled, at least for the time being. Stoltenberg's term has been extended for a year because members could not agree on a new leader.

Sen. Thom Tillis, who will attend the summit, likened the alliance to a gathering of dozens of family members who bicker and clash but nonetheless remain united.

At the end of the day, you know youre family," said Tillis, R-N.C.

Tillis is leading a bipartisan delegation along with Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., who said NATO is more powerful than before.

"Its the strongest military alliance in our history, and I think it only has gotten stronger as a result of U.S. leadership, as the result of Stoltenbergs leadership and as the result of the threat from Vladimir Putin to all of the NATO allies and other countries in Europe and around the world and to the international order, she said.

Helsinki

After two nights in Vilnius, Biden visits Helsinki. The stop is a bit of a victory lap, but could also be a reminder of unfinished business.

The Nordic country in April became the 31st member of NATO, ending its history of nonalignment and demonstrating how Russia's invasion of Ukraine has backfired in Europe.

Finland was supposed to join alongside its neighbor Sweden, whose admission has stalled. NATO requires unanimous consent of all its members to expand, and the U.S. has been unable to overcome objections from Turkey and Hungary.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson visited the White House on Wednesday and met with Biden to keep up the pressure for membership. But there is little hope that the issue will be resolved in Vilnius.

The White House is billing Biden's visit to Helsinki as a U.S.-Nordic Leaders Summit.

It's a much different occasion from the last time a U.S. president visited Helsinki five years ago.

During that trip, Donald Trump held a news conference with Putin and brushed off concerns about Russian meddling in the Trump's election victory.

Now Biden is heading to the city to demonstrate how his administration has held the line against Moscow and expanded Western defenses.

___

Associated Press writer Lorne Cook in Brussels contributed to this report.
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A top Oklahoma education official prompted swift criticism on Thursday by falsely claiming the 1921 Tulsa race massacre wasnt about race.

Ryan Walters, who took office as superintendent of public instruction, mades the comments during a forum at the Norman Public Library on Thursday, after he was asked how accurately teaching about the infamous white supremacist massacre which killed as many as 300 Black people wouldnt violate a state ban on teaching critical race theory.

I would never tell a kid that because of your race, because of the color of your skin, or your gender or anything like that, you are less of a person or are inherently racist, Mr Walters said in response.

That doesnt mean you dont judge the actions of individuals. Oh, you can. Absolutely, historically, you should. This was right. This was wrong. They did this for this reason.

But to say it was inherent in that because of their skin is where I say that is critical race theory. Youre saying that race defines a person.

Ryan Walters (Oklahoma Department of Education)

Lets not tie it to the skin colour and say the skin colour determined it, he added.

The Tulsa race massacre is considered one of the worst acts of white supremacist terror in US history.

During the 1921 massacre, rumours about a young Black mans encounter with a white woman prompted a mob of white vigilantes, in some cases armed and deputised by Tulsa officials, to raze the thriving Greenwood district, a bustling centre of Black business in the city.

The violence killed as many as 300 Black people, injured more than 800, and left tens of thousands of people homeless, according to the Tulsa historical society.

After the massacre concluded, nearly all residents of Greenwood were arrested en masse, and could only be released on the application of a white person.

No one was ever prosecuted for the violence.

The state officials coments attracted swift criticism, including from survivors of the massacre.

We strongly condemn Oklahoma Superintendent Ryan Walters recent suggestion that the State of Oklahoma whitewash and outright bury key facts from state history surrounding the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921, an attorney for a group of Tulsa survivors suiding the city. Walters absurd, ridiculous, and ahistorical suggestion to brush aside the historical facts surrounding the cause of and motivations behind the Tulsa Race Massacrespecifically, the suggestion, lets not tie it to skin coloris antithetical to public and private education because any such teaching would be historically false. Walters may benefit from clickbait posturing for white supremacy, but the people of Oklahoma and our country at large know the truth.

A Tulsa school official said the Oklahoma leaders comment wouldnt impact how they taught about the massacre.

No matter what anyone says or does, Tulsa will continue teaching a full, honest, and complete history of our city, state, country, and world, Tulsa superintendent Deborah Gist wrote on Twitter.

Local leaders also took issue with Mr Walterss comments.

After 100 years we have an Oklahoma elected official still fighting the Tulsa Race Massacre, Oklahoma congressional candidate and former FBI agent Dennis Baker added on Twitter. MAGA State Superintendent Ryan Walters believes the Tulsa Race Massacre wasnt about race. The Klan hide behind a white robe  Walters proudly displays his red cap.

Many were incredulous that Mr Walters didnt see the role of race in the mob violence.

Im sure in his opinion, the Civil War and the Holocaust had nothing to do with race either, state representative Monroe Nichols tweeted. [Ryan Walters] is a notorious sympathizer of the darkest moments of history and all those who perpetuated them.

The Independent has contacted Mr Walters for comment.

The Tulsa controversy isnt the first time the education official has provoked controversy.

Last month, he called on Oklahoma schools to promote Christianity and display the Ten Commandments to encourage Western heritage.
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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed support early Saturday for Ukraine joining NATO, saying the war-torn country deserves to join the alliance.

Erdogan made the comment at a joint news conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who arrived in Turkey as part of a European tour to rally support for Ukraines entry into the military alliance after the war with Russia comes to an end.

NATO leaders meeting in Vilnius, Lithuania, next week are expected to reaffirm that Ukraine will join their alliance one day.

There is no doubt that Ukraine deserves NATO membership, Erdogan told reporters,

His support for Ukraine comes as Turkey has been holding off giving its final approval to Sweden joining NATO, saying Stockholm is not effectively cracking down on Kurdish militants and other groups that Ankara views as threats to its security.

Sweden, along with Finland, abandoned its decades-long neutrality and applied to join NATO following Russias invasion of Ukraine last year. Turkeys parliament ratified Finlands membership earlier this year, after Ankara voiced satisfaction with its efforts to address Turkeys security concerns.

Erdogan also said Turkey was working toward extending a Turkish- and U.N.-brokered grain deal that has paved the way for the shipment of more than 30 million tons of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea.

The deal, which helped temper rising global food prices, is set to expire July 17. Russia has been reluctant to extend the deal, citing obstacles to its own exports of food and fertilizer.

We are continuing our work on the grain corridor issue. We are working to see how long we can extend it after July 17, Erdogan said.

Zelenskyy accused Russia of obstructing the movement of ships.

Russia behaves as if it owns the entire Black Sea, as if it is the owner here, said Zelenskyy, making his first trip to Turkey since Russias invasion of Ukraine.

Erdogan said Russian President Vladimir Putin would visit Turkey in August, when he hoped to discuss renewal of the Black Sea grain deal as well as a possible prisoner swap.

Turkey has maintained close ties with both Ukraine and Russia, using its relations to both to act as a mediator.
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The Ukrainian military has begun deploying controversial cluster munition supplied by the United States in their counteroffensive against Russias Invasion, Washington has said.

White House national security spokesman John Kirby told reporters: We have gotten some initial feedback from the Ukrainians, and theyre using them quite effectively.

They are using them appropriately, they are using them effectively, Mr Kirby added.

Cluster bombs have been banned by more than 120 countries, with many allies and humanitarian groups also opposing the use of the bomb.

However, the use of cluster bombs does not violate international law when used on the battlefield, but any use in populated areas is considered a war crime.

Ukraine welcomed the Biden administrations decision to provide the weapon and said it needed weapons, more weapons, and more weapons, including cluster munitions if it is to defeat Russia.

Cluster bombs typically release large numbers of smaller bomblets that can kill at random, over a large area and those that fail to explode can be a danger for years to come.

Here is a look at what cluster munitions are, why they are so controversial and where they have been used.

What is a cluster munition?

A cluster munition is a bomb that opens in the air and releases smaller bomblets across a wide area. The bomblets are designed to take out tanks and equipment, as well as troops, hitting multiple targets at the same time.

The munitions are launched by the same artillery weapons that Western allies have already provided to Ukraine for the war  such as howitzers  and the type of cluster munition that the US is sending is based on a common 155 mm shell that is already widely in use across the battlefield.

A Ukrainian serviceman carry a 155mm shell into self-propelled howitzer "Bohdana" before firing towards Russian positions near Bakhmut, Ukraine, Friday, July 7, 2023 (AP)

Why are they so controversial?

In previous conflicts, cluster munitions have had a high dud rate, which meant that thousands of the smaller unexploded bomblets remained behind and killed and maimed people decades later. The US last used its cluster munitions in battle in Iraq in 2003, and decided not to continue using them as the conflict shifted to more urban environments with more dense civilian populations.

Brigadier General Pat Ryder  the Pentagon press secretary  said the US Defense Department has multiple variants of the munitions and the ones that we are considering providing would not include older variants with [unexploding] rates that are higher than 2.35 per cent.

A convention banning the use of cluster bombs has been joined by more than 120 countries, which agreed not to use, produce, transfer, or stockpile the weapons and to clear them after they've been used. The US, Russia and Ukraine haven't signed on.

Why provide them now?

For more than a year the US has dipped into its own stocks of traditional 155 howitzer munitions and sent more than two million rounds to Ukraine. Allies across the globe, including the UK, have provided hundreds of thousands more.

A 155 mm round can strike targets 15 to 20 miles (24 to 32 kilometres) away, making them a munition of choice for Ukrainian ground troops trying to hit enemy targets from a distance. Ukrainian forces are burning through thousands of rounds a day battling the Russians.

Yehor Cherniev, a member of the Ukrainian parliament, told reporters at a German Marshall Fund event in the US that Kyiv would likely need to fire 7,000 to 9,000 rounds daily during the intensified counteroffensive. Providing that many puts substantial pressure on US and allied stocks.

The cluster bomb can destroy more targets with fewer rounds, and since the US hasnt used them in conflict since Iraq, it has large amounts of them in storage it can access quickly, said Ryan Brobst, a research analyst for the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

A March 2023 letter from top House and Senate Republicans to the Biden administration said the US may have as many as three million cluster munitions available for use, and urged the White House to send the munitions to alleviate pressure on American war supplies.

Cluster munitions are more effective than unitary artillery shells because they inflict damage over a wider area, Mr Brobst said. This is important for Ukraine as they try to clear heavily fortified Russian positions.

Tapping into the US stores of cluster munitions could address Ukraines shell shortage and alleviate pressure on the 155 mm stockpiles in the US and elsewhere, Mr Brobst said.

Is using cluster bombs a war crime?

The use of cluster bombs itself does not violate international law, but using them against civilians can be a violation. As in any strike, determining a war crime requires looking at whether the target was legitimate and if precautions were taken to avoid civilian casualties.

The part of international law where this starts playing [a role], though, is indiscriminate attacks targeting civilians, Human Rights Watchs associate arms director Mark Hiznay said. So that's not necessarily related to the weapons, but the way the weapons are used.

Where have cluster bombs been used?

The bombs have been deployed in many recent conflicts.

The US initially considered cluster bombs an integral part of its arsenal during the invasion of Afghanistan that began in 2001, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW). The group estimated that the US-led coalition dropped more than 1,500 cluster bombs in Afghanistan during the first three years of the conflict.

The Defense Department had been due to stop use of any cluster munitions with a rate of unexploded ordnance greater than 1 per cent, by 2019. But the Trump administration rolled back that policy, allowing commanders to approve the use of such munitions.

Syrian government troops have often used cluster munitions  supplied by Russia  against opposition strongholds during that countrys civil war, frequently hitting civilian targets and infrastructure. And Israel used them in civilian areas in south Lebanon, including during the 1982 invasion.

During the month-long 2006 war with Hezbollah, HRW and the United Nations accused Israel of firing as many as four million cluster munitions into Lebanon. That left unexploded ordnance that threatens Lebanese civilians to this day.

The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen has been criticized for its use of cluster bombs in the war with the Iran-backed Houthi rebels that has ravaged the southern Arabian country.

In 2017, Yemen was the second deadliest country for cluster munitions after Syria, according to the UN. Children have been killed or maimed long after the munitions originally fell, making it difficult to know the true toll.

In the 1980s, the Russians made heavy use of cluster bombs during their 10-year invasion of Afghanistan. As a result of decades of war, the Afghan countryside remains one of the most heavily mined areas in the world.

Which countries have banned the cluster bomb?

The Convention on Cluster Munitions is an international treaty of more than 100 states which prohibits all use, production, transfer and stockpiling of cluster munitions.

The Convention was first adopted on 30 May 2008 in Dublin by 107 States and signed in Oslo on 3 December the same year, according to its official website.

It soon became binding international law when it entered into force on 1 August 2010 and so far, there have been a total of 123 States which have joined the Convention  111 States Parties and 12 Signatories.

Italy, Spain, Germany and the UK are among the NATO members who have expressed opposition to the use of cluster bombs.

The full of countries can be found here.

The Associated Press contributed to this report
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The Dutch government has collapsed after failing to reach a conclusion on controlling high immigration rates.

The four-party coalition government was unable to reach a consensus on talks about asylum policies that were led by prime minister Mark Rutte on Friday.

Mr Rutte held an emergency cabinet meeting where he said he would hand in his resignation to King Willem-Alexander on Saturday.

The decision was very difficult for us, Mr Rutte told reporters after announcing his cabinets resignation. The differences in views between the coalition partners were irreconcilable, he said.

All parties went to great lengths to find a solution, but the differences on migration are unfortunately impossible to bridge.

The four parties decided that they cannot reach an agreement on migration, said Tim Kuijsten, a spokesperson for the Christian Union party that was in coalition with Mr Ruttes conservative VVD party.

Therefore they decided to end this government.

Mr Ruttes party has in the past year been working towards reducing the flow of asylum seekers due to the issue of overcrowded migration centres in the Netherlands.

(AP)

Last year, hundreds of asylum seekers were forced to sleep outdoors in squalid conditions near an overcrowded reception centre as the number of people arriving in the Netherlands outstripped the available beds.

Just over 21,500 people from outside Europe sought asylum in the Netherlands in 2022, according to the countrys statistics office. Thousands more moved to the Netherlands to work and study.

The numbers have put a strain on housing that already was in short supply in the densely populated country.

The coalition tried for months to hash out a deal to reduce the flow of new migrants arriving in the country of nearly 18 million people.

The proposals on hand included creating two classes of asylum and reducing the number of family members allowed to join asylum seekers

The two asylum classes were a temporary one for people fleeing conflicts and a permanent one for people trying to escape persecution.

Mr Ruttes coalition government had been in power for a year and a half. He has been Netherlandss longest-serving prime minister and has been in office since 2010.

Until a new government is elected, the current ministers will continue their work as a caretaker cabinet.

Elections in the Netherlands will now reportedly take place in November this year.

Additional reporting by agencies
Nobody believed the Russians would really invade, says Yuriy Bova, mayor of the small Ukrainian town of Trostyanets, just 20 miles from the Russian border  but 24 February 2022 will forever be etched in his mind.

As Russian tanks trundled across the border in the early hours of the morning, there were no Ukrainian troops in Trostyanets  in Ukraines eastern Sumy region  and the residents of the town knew the enemy would arrive within hours.

Bova says they tried as best they could to slow down the Russian advance. Felling trees onto the roads through the rolling hills and forests surrounding Trostyanets, brought one column of invading vehicles to a halt for two days.
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Scientists have achieved a major breakthrough using a so-called miracle material to boost the efficiency of solar panels.

Two separate studies published on Thursday demonstrated how the material perovskite could push the power conversion efficiency rate of photovoltaic (PV) solar cells above 30 per cent  beyond the theoretical limit of 29 per cent for traditional silicon (PV) solar cells.

Overcoming this threshold provides confidence that high-performance, low-cost PVs can be brought to the market, wrote material science researchers Stefaan de Wolf and Erkan Aydin, who were not involved in the research, in an article published in the journal Science.

Perovskite has emerged in the past 15 years as a material capable of transforming an array of industries, from renewable energy, to ultra high-speed communications.

Materials science professor Zeev Valy Vardeny from the University of Utah described perovskite in 2017 as unbelievable, a miracle material, after it was able to radically improve the sunlight-to-energy efficiency of solar cells.

Perovskites properties allow it to harvest energy from a greater range of the light spectrum, but until recently it was too unstable to be used outside a laboratory.

By stacking a layer of perovskite on top of silicon into a tandem device, the researchers were able to significantly boost the efficiency of commercial PV technologies while retaining the industry standard configuration.

Tandem solar cells are the most straight-forward route toward decreasing the levelized cost of electricity, well beyond what is possible for single-junction solar cells, wrote Professor de Wolf and Aydin.

The teams from China and Japan who were behind the latest breakthrough claim the latest design will pave the way for the mass production of ultra-efficient solar panels.

Perovskite in tandem solar cells is able to optimise electricity generation from the Suns energy by capturing more of the spectrum (Screengrab/ YouTube/ Science Magazine)

The current efficiency record for this next-generation solar cell is 33.7 per cent, achieved by engineers at the KAUST Solar Center in Saudi Arabia earlier this year, having risen from under 4 per cent efficiency in 2009.

Last month, a startup in China announced that it planned to begin production of tandem solar cells, with the abundance of perovskite cutting costs to just one 20th of traditional solar cells, according to Professor Tan Hairen from Nanjing University.

The scientists behind the latest research believe their approach could ultimately achieve an efficiency rate well above 35 per cent, though more work needs to be done on making the tandem cells more durable in real-world conditions, as well as scaling them up to the size of traditional solar panels.

Arguably, the most critical factor lies in the annual degradation rate under actual outdoor conditions, which for perovskite-silicon tandems remains largely unknown, the Perspective noted.

To be commercially viable, this degradation should be on par with mainstream PV technologies, which is less than 1 per cent relative per year.

The research was detailed in two separate papers published in the journal Science.
Clouds of thick black smoke poured out of a building on an east London high street on Saturday (July 8), metres from a family-friendly festival.

The fire appears to have started above Iceland on Woodgrange Road, Forest Gate.

Footage captures the moment clouds of smoke began dwarfing houses while families and children attended the festival meters away.

Another clip, filmed from a car, shows the high street being shrouded in a cloud of dark smoke.

Local residents were urged to stay indoors after the huge fire broke out.
BEACON UU SUNDAY SERVICE: Nature as Healer, Annual Flagstaff Arboretum Service Jul 9  The Arboretum at Flagstaff, 4001 S. Woody Mountain Road, Flagstaff. (928) 779-4492. 10-11 a.m., ALL ARE WELCOME! You BELONG at Beacon. Spiritually open and intentionally inclusive since 1958. Gathering in the natural beauty of the Arboretum at Flagstaff, Mary Poore will remind us that, as animals, the world of nature is our home and we belong here. Nature is not only lovely to behold: It has the capacity to heal, comfort, and rebalance our lives. Local guitarist Craig Yarbrough will share his music during the service. There will be no Arboretum entry fee to attend the service. The service will be in the Ramada at the Arboretum. Please park in the Arboretum parking lot, then proceed through the Visitor Center. Once out of the Visitor Center, follow the path and turn left at the first junction, then turn right and proceed over the bridge to reach the Ramada. Mark James will be leading a medicinal plant walk after the service for those interested. Mary will provide coffee, cold water, and snacks. Sensible footwear and a hat are recommended. For those who cant make it to the Arboretum Service, there will be an ALTERNATE SUNDAY MORNING ACTIVITY AT BEACON on Sunday, July 9th, from 10 to 11 a.m.: LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT, STORY THEOLOGY EXPLORATION AND DISCUSSION facilitated by Linda Ochi. https://go.evvnt.com/1834181-0.

PEACE LUTHERAN CHURCH Jul 9  3430 N. Fourth St., 3430 N. Fourth St., Flagstaff. 928-526-9578. 10-11 a.m., We invite you to join the family of Peace Lutheran Church (LCMS) on Sunday at 10:00am for in person blended service (Combined Liturgical, hymnal based and Praise Worship) with Holy Communion. Pastor William Weiss Jr. (Pastor Bill) will be presiding. The service will be live streamed on our website (peacelutheranflagstaff.org) and on YouTube. Fellowship and refreshments are available before the worship service beginning 9:15am. https://go.evvnt.com/1831966-0.

LIVING CHRIST LUTHERAN CHURCH Jul 9  500 W. Riordan Road, 500 W. Riordan Road, Flagstaff. 928-526-8595. 10-11 a.m., Join Rev. Kurt Fangmeier for the Sixth Sunday after Pentecost! The mystery of Gods ways is sometimes hidden from the wise and intelligent. Jesus associates with those often excluded from the religious community. Like Paul, we struggle with our own selfish desires and seek Gods mercy and forgiveness. We gather to be refreshed by Christs invitation: Come to me, all you that are weary. Gathered around word, water, and meal, we find rest for our souls. We will learn more with our First Reading of Zechariah 9:9-12(The king will come in humility and peace), Psalm 145:8-14 (The Lord is gracious and full of compassion) and the Second Reading of Romans 7:15-25a (The struggle within the self) together with the Gospel Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30 (The yoke of discipleship). Amen. https://go.evvnt.com/1831327-0.

The Episcopal Church of the Epiphany Jul 9  The Episcopal Church of the Epiphany, 423 N. Beaver St., Flagstaff. 978-774-2911. 8 a.m.-8 p.m., Come join in prayer, fellowship, friendship, come and see! www.epiphanyaz.org, or 978-774-2911 for more info. https://go.evvnt.com/1834273-0.

Unity of Flagstaff Spiritual Center Jul 9  Unity of Flagstaff, 1800 S. Milton Road, Flagstaff. 10:30-11:30 a.m., Join Rev Penni and Music with Matt Devlin as we look at "Giving". Is it better to give? And are we just talking about money here? "If we see money as a symbol of abundance as opposed to a symbol of exchange, we are probably living life from the outside in," says Eric Butterworth. How does our Abundance express in our lives? Do our "Giving" habits reflect the abundance that we want to create? Let's connect and reflect together this Sunday at Unity Of Flagstaff: Tools not Rules. Go to unityofflagstaff.org for previous Sunday messages & all the events happening in our community. All Are Welcome! https://go.evvnt.com/1835119-0.

Flagstaff Federated Community Church Please join us for in person services Sundays at 10 a.m. We are located at 400 W Aspen Ave. on the corner of Aspen and Sitgreaves in Downtown Flagstaff. All are welcome to our services. For more information about Flagstaff Federated Community Church please call our office at 928-774-7383, Mon  Thurs 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Church of the Resurrection Sunday Church Services 740 W. University Heights Drive S., 740 W. University Heights Drive S., Flagstaff. 928-853-8522. 10-11:30 a.m., Church of the Resurrection Presbyterian Church in America (PCA): We invite you to join us for worship at 10 a.m. on Sundays at 740 W. University Heights Drive South. Please feel free to contact us for information on our mid-week gatherings and for more information on our church. You can find us at www.cor-pca.org and www.facebook.com/CORFlagstaff or we can be reached at corflagstaff@gmail.com and (928) 699-2715.

Leupp Nazarene Church The church, near mile post 13 or Navajo Route 15, has been holding services by teleconferences and doing drive-up meetings. For information, call pastor Farrell Begay at 928-853-5321. Teleconference number: 1-7170275-8940 with access code 3204224#. Services are 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. Sundays and 6:30 p.m. Wednesdays.

Christian Science Society of Flagstaff 619 W. Birch Ave. Bible Lesson services every Sunday 10-11am (Zoom option: https://zoom.us/j/369812794). Testimony Meetings every Wednesday: 5:30-6:30pm (Zoom option: https://zoom.us/j/971672834). Zoom password: CSS.
Tel Aviva stock market-listed Meitav Investment House has acquired full ownership of Lotus Investment Group, one of the first construction lenders active here after the financial crisis.

Lotus was an early post-crisis mover as a lender to builders when it was established by Israeli businessman David Grin and local management led by managing director Ian Lawlor 10 years ago, a time when banks had pulled back en masse from lending for housing construction after suffering catastrophic crash-era losses.

Meitav Investment House is a brokerage and asset manager and one the biggest pension managers in Israel. It is one of Israels biggest financial institutions with 59bn in total of assets under management for a million clients and it has around 1,000 staff.

The stock market-listed firm already had a controlling stake in Dublin-based Lotus Investment.

Lotus, which will continue to be headed up by co-founder Mr Lawlor, described the move as strengthening our commitment to lending to residential developers and property owners in Ireland.

Real GDP is expected to grow by 5.5pc in 2023 and is likely to be at a similar level in 2024. However, the gap between the supply and demand for housing has only continued to widen in recent years and we aim to play our part in providing a solution to the current crisis, he said.

The Dublin firm said it will now benefit from larger pools of capital backing up its lending activity.

Lotus set up here in 2013 as a non-bank lender to the development and construction sector at a time when banks were exiting the sector or unable to lend. Its core market is SME developers.

It has since lent 400m here over the years to finance a mix of land, construction and renovations. The firm said it has funded construction of almost 4,000 homes over the past decade, making it among the bigger non-bank lenders active in a sector dogged by lack of finances since 2008 in particular for smaller players and developers who had come out of the crash carrying debt.

Lotus said it has a strong lending pipeline and also has plans to raise additional private and/or public capital in the coming years.

Meitav originally acquired its controlling interest in Lotus in 2019. It has now acquired full ownership of the platform other than stock options held by management.
The surplus cash in Government coffers could go on a host of measures that are not only green but could also save us all a few quid

Now we know. According to government estimates, Ireland will have about 26bn in surplus cash over the next two years. Its mostly due to those vulgar multinationals and their filthy taxes.

So were left with the ultimate 26bn question: what on earth do we do with all this money? The Government is pondering a mixture of tax cuts and more spending. But what should the spending be on? Here are a few tech-adjacent suggestions that might honourably make the long list.

1. Solar panels on every house

For the foreseeable future, energy supply security is going to be an issue. Those who have already invested in solar panels for their home are not only saving themselves money in the long term, but are also doing the countrys electricity grid a favour, lessening the draw on centrally resourced power, most of which is still based on non-renewable fuels.

The Government could credibly consider a new national solar plan to more rapidly increase the number of solar panels around the country. It may take years and may not have 100pc take-up, but it would make a difference  not just to the environment, but to householders energy bills. It could cost anywhere between 2bn and 6bn. In answer to the argument over an equity gap between standalone house owners and apartment dwellers (who may not get the benefit), its fair to point out that apartments use considerably less heating energy (and thus have lower heating bills) than standalone houses.

2. A national rollout of electric car chargers

Want people to switch to electric and help the environment? Not with this threadbare charging network, they wont. The number of adequate public chargers  under 2,000  has barely changed in the last 18 months, despite EVs being the fastest growing segment in the car market. If you listen to the forecourt operators, its not just a question of money; its the nigh-impossible process of accessing the electricity grid. As a result, the private sector cant build enough public chargers. If the state thought of this issue more like the National Broadband Plan, it could trigger a whole-of-grid approach in how to supply adequate electricity for the country, including data centres.

3. More trains and public transport

In some ways, this is the neatest fit for our massive windfall. Ireland has always underinvested in public transport  other than buses  because its capital-intensive to build rail networks and there always seemed like a more urgent use for the money. That barrier is now gone  is it possible for us to ditch the psychological barrier to putting money into rail too? As much as anything, its an investment in workforce flexibility and regional development: no more need to live within 10km of work or face lengthy, draining commutes. There are several very worthy projects to consider, including more routes to and from regional locations and better options (such as light rail) to help our biggest cities cope with mushrooming populations  among the fastest-growing populaces in Europe.

4. Buy farming land for rewilding

This isnt strictly a tech-based proposal, but bear with me. Around 12 million of Irelands 21 million acres are farmland. If the state started a programme to buy up to one million of those farming acres for rewilding, it would significantly improve the countrys ecological credentials, as well as protecting and enhancing wildlife. The programme would buy the acreage at market rates, subject to location. That means it could cost between 5bn and 10bn, in the long run. It might take years to complete. But right now, there seems to be very little chance  or political will  to reverse Irelands status as one of the most hacked-down, barren natural landscapes in Europe.
Twitter has threatened legal action against Meta over its new, text-based app called Threads, according to a letter obtained by news website Semafor.

In a Wednesday letter addressed to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Alex Spiro, an attorney representing Twitter, accused Meta of unlawfully using Twitter's trade secrets and other intellectual property by hiring former Twitter employees to create a copycat app.

Since launching Threads Wednesday night, Meta's new app has collected tens of millions of sign-ups.

The app, which was created by the company's Instagram team, arrives at a time when many are looking for Twitter alternatives to escape Elon Musks raucous oversight of the platform since acquiring it last year for $44bn.

Meta spokesperson Andy Stone responded to the report of Spiro's letter on Threads Thursday afternoon, writing, no one on the Threads engineering team is a former Twitter employee  thats just not a thing.

In the letter, which Semafor first reported on Thursday, Spiro said that Twitter intends to strictly enforce its intellectual property rights  and noted the company's right to seek civil remedies or injunctive relief. He added that the letter marked a formal notice for Meta to preserve documents relevant for a potential dispute between the companies.

Twitter threatens Meta with legal action over its new Threads platform

The Associated Press reached out to Spiro and Twitter on Thursday for further information. Twitter responded to an email seeking comment with a poop emoji, its standard automated response to reporters.

Musk hasn't directly tweeted about the possibility of legal action, but he has replied to several snarky takes on the Threads launch. The Twitter owner responded to one tweet suggesting that Metas app was built largely through the use of the copy and paste function, with a laughing emoji.

Twitter CEO Linda Yaccarino has also not publicly commented on Wednesday's letter, but seemingly appeared to address Threads' launch in a Thursday tweet.

Were often imitated -- but the Twitter community can never be duplicated, Yaccarino wrote.

Still, some analysts say Meta's new app could be a significant headache for Twitter  pointing to the excitement surrounding Threads' launch and impressive download numbers so far.

Success for the app isn't guaranteed, of course. Industry watchers point to Metas track record of starting standalone apps that were later shut down, for example, and note that Threads is still in its early days  so time will tell.

Metas new app has also raised data privacy concerns. While Threads launched in more than 100 countries Wednesday, it is notably unavailable in the European Union, which has strict data privacy rules.
Her debut album might have stuttered on its initial release 40 years ago this month, but the superstar went on to create some of the worlds biggest hits

It was, by any measure, an inauspicious beginning. Forty years ago this month, Madonna released her self-titled debut album. It barely made a ripple, landing at the 190th spot on the Billboard 200 chart.

The footnotes of music history are littered with countless other acts whose debut albums crashed and burned. Some were later discovered to have been masterpieces, others just disappeared without trace.

Madonnas record label, Sire, was no doubt dismayed by its initial performance, but thanks to a careful selection of singles plus the sheer force of the artists personality, the album began a slow, steady ascent up the chart. More than a year later, it was sitting at number eight. Fans may have been late to the party, but a superstar had arrived.

Its been a long time since Madonna was truly part of the zeitgeist, and recent health woes have forced the postponement of her latest tour, but the 40th anniversary of that debut album offers a reminder of how great she once was.

Here are 10 of her finest songs, in chronological order, from a glittering recording career.

Madonna in New York in 1984. Photo by Michael Putland/Getty Images

Borderline (1984)

The dismal performance of Madonnas self-titled debut album abruptly changed when Borderline was belatedly released as its fifth single. It was, surely, the perfect choice of lead single  an irresistible dance-pop song about unrequited love. Its Madonna as the ingenue  something that would soon change. Borderline was written and produced by Reggie Lucas, who had cut his teeth as rhythm guitarist in Miles Davis crack band a decade before. It came second (to Princes When Doves Cry) in Rolling Stones list of the 100 best songs of 1984, which the magazine later described as pops greatest year.

Like A Virgin (1984)

Madonnas sixth single and the title track of her second album pushed her into the A-list. With a slick production from Nile Rodgers and a cheekily lascivious delivery from the lady herself, the song couldnt fail. It delivered the first of Madonnas 12 US number one singles. It was Sires second US chart-topper, following Ms Pop Muzik in 1979. Like a Virgin was penned by the songwriting duo Tom Kelly and Billy Steinberg. They were on a white-hot streak in the 1980s, delivering huge hits for Cyndi Lauper (True Colors), Whitney Houston (So Emotional) and the Bangles (Eternal Flame).

Material Girl (1984)

One of the defining songs of her career, Madonna appears to have a love-hate relationship with Material Girl. While admitting that it captured her unstinting ambition once she started to achieve fame, she has also complained that it became a tag the media applied all too readily, even after she had outgrown her mid-1980s persona. Irrespective of all that, the song is redolent of the uber-catchiness of the decades biggest hits and while its hardly a vintage vocal performance, Nile Rodgers production is fabulous.

Papa Dont Preach (1986)

If anyone questioned Madonnas stranglehold on the pop universe by the mid-1980s, the release of the ubiquitous True Blue album left them in no doubt. It spawned three US number ones, including this gem. All the sonic cues of the decade are present and correct, but Papa Dont Preach is enhanced by a string-laden intro and flecked with influences from traditional Cuban music. Societal issues  in this case, teen pregnancy  start to worm their way into Madonnas songs, but the pop smarts arent dimmed. The hugely popular video, incidentally, was directed by James Foley, who went on to make Glengarry Glen Ross and, less memorably, two of the Fifty Shades movies.

Like A Prayer (1989)

The point where Madonna reached her creative zenith is the subject of considerable debate, but its easy to see the Like A Prayer album as a career high. Not only was she the biggest star on the planet by then, but such was her power that she enjoyed complete artistic control. With her songwriting and production parters, Stephen Bray and Patrick Bray, she delivered a bona fide classic. The title track  inspired by those rare bedfellows, Catholicism and eroticism  is magnificently over the top. The video caused outrage: Pope John Paul II urged his flock to avoid Madonna. Sales figures suggests they did quite the opposite.

Video stills from Madonna's 10 best songs

Vogue (1990)

A new song for a new decade. Vogue is among the slickest of all Madonnas singles; its cool video perhaps the finest to ever accompany one of her songs. Its a masterwork from David Fincher, just before he became a Hollywood auteur. Contemporary influences loom large and several critics have praised the song for the way it employs a deep house groove. The biggest selling single of the year, it topped the chart in 30 countries. It was also subject to a lawsuit after using horn and string samples from the 1982 Salsoul Orchestra track Ooh I Love It (Love Break)  Madonna would win on appeal.

Justify My Love (1990)

Madonnas most popular album is a compilation. The Immaculate Collection shifted 30 million units, making it one of the best selling albums of all time. All the expected hits are included, but she was keen to give fans something completely new too. The single, Justify My Love, ensured that Madonna would be inescapable and irritate all the right people. Erotic, sensual and heavily inspired by Donna Summers breathy vocals on I Feel Love, the song is a masterclass in production from Lenny Kravitz, its co-writer. The suitably saucy video was banned by MTV, giving Madonna the idea of releasing the song as a video single.

Deeper and Deeper (1992)

The strikingly monikered Shep Pettibone was one of the seminal US club DJs of the 1980s whose remixing skills were in demand with everyone from Cyndi Lauper to George Michael. He worked wonders with Madonna, too, co-writing the aforementioned Vogue. But its Deeper and Deeper where his dance-pop and deep house contribution is particularly apparent. Its a wonderfully seductive song, featuring one of Madonnas standout vocals and quite at odds with the chilliness that characterises so much of the Erotica album.

Ray of Light (1998)

Madonna may have started the 1990s at the top of the heap, but as the decade wore on, she started to slip from the zeitgeist. In the year that she released Ray of Light, her comeback song from the album of the same name, a 16-year-old Britney Spears was setting the charts on fire. As reboots go, however, Ray of Light is spectacular. The album is her last truly excellent offering and the anthemic song is a techno and electronica delight, fashioned with considerable elan by William Orbit, one of the late 1990s busiest electro-pop composer-producers.

Hung Up (2005)

Much of Madonnas finest work has coincided with collaborators at the peak of their own creativity, whether it was Nile Rodgers in the 1980s or William Orbit in the 1990s. She enjoyed a fresh career renaissance 18 years ago with the help of a then 27-year-old English producer, Stuart Price. It was he who gave her the inspired idea to sample the instrumental intro to Abbas Gimme Gimme Gimme! (A Man After Midnight). The result is a retro disco-pop belter and her best song in years. The album it appears on, Confessions on a Dance Floor, is ripe for rediscovery. Price, meanwhile, has gone on to work with Dua Lipa and Jessie Ware.
Day of action next week over cuts to fees imposed in 2008

Darren Lalor and his colleagues protested at the Criminal Courts of Justice in May. Photo: Collins Courts

Some barristers who work under the Criminal Legal Aid scheme are due to withdraw their services next Friday as part of a second day of protest over case fees.

Amounts paid under the scheme were cut in 2008 following the financial crash and have not been restored, despite continuing calls from practitioners.

The A Celebration of Failure campaign will hold its second day of action since May, with barristers set to demonstrate at district courts nationwide and at the Criminal Courts of Justice (CCJ) in Dublin.

The Bar Council of Ireland has not indicated if it will take part in the protests, but a spokesperson confirmed the Criminal Legal Aid fees issue is being discussed internally.

The matter was discussed last night [Thursday] and there will be further discussions on Monday and Tuesday next week, the spokesperson said yesterday.

Concern over the fees issue has been growing amid an exodus from the criminal bar, to the extent that an unprecedented strike action, should fees not be restored, has been discussed by some within the profession.

Figures compiled by the Bar Council in 2021 showed two-thirds of barristers who start out practising criminal law end up leaving within six years.

Central to the issue is the fact that cuts in Criminal Legal Aid fees made in the wake of the 2008 economic crash have not been reversed.

This has left fees at around the same level as they were in 2002. In comparison, much more can be charged in the civil courts.

Under the current system, barristers operating in the district courts get 25.20 for a remand hearing, 50.40 for a plea in mitigation at a sentence hearing and 67.50 for a full trial hearing.

Dublin-based criminal law barrister Darren Lalor is part of the campaign, which highlights what he described as justice on the cheap.

The issue is particularly acute in Dublin District Court, where Mr Lalor mainly operates.

Mr Lalor, from Finglas, returned to education when he was 36 and became a barrister in 2015.

He does outside work to supplement his income, and were it not for his wifes salary, he would have to find a better-paid career, he told the Irish Independent.

Im 50 years of age. I went back to school very late and Im actually getting the worst pay ever today and Ive more qualifications than I ever had, he said. All I want is a proper days pay for a good days work.

A number of colleagues are saying theyll stop practising criminal law completely and take their name off the Criminal Legal Aid panel.

Others are saying they want to go on strike. Theres others who want to do protests and theres others who want to leave the profession altogether.

Speaking at the Bar Council of Irelands annual chairs dinner last month, Justice Minister Helen McEntee pledged to raise the issue with Public Expenditure Minister Paschal Donohoe as part of the budgetary process.

None of us want to see a situation where barristers feel the need to protest on the steps of the Criminal Courts of Justice, Ms McEntee said.

I see no good reason why those in the legal profession are left waiting for crisis-era reductions to be restored while public and civil servants have had their pay restored.

In May 2018, the then justice minister Charlie Flanagan told members of the Law Society it was timely that we would have an opportunity of dealing with these issues now as we enter into the summer months.

He added: I will be very much engaged with the estimate process with my colleague, the minister for public expenditure and finance, Pascal Donohoe.

I would be very keen to engage with the society in order to ensure we make progress in that regard.

In 2020, the European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice identified Ireland as having the lowest judicial systems budget as a percentage of GDP of the 48 states covered in its analysis.

Mr Lalor said there are other young barristers ready to replace him if he is forced to switch careers, but his experience would be lost.

As things stand, he feels the Government has turned its back on the criminal justice system.

Something has to be done, the system is broke, its justice on the cheap, victims of crime and wrongly accused persons deserve better than what is happening at the moment, he said.

Its been going on too long and its time to shout Stop and Ill be shouting Stop at the CCJ next Friday.

The campaigners will stage demonstrations at courthouses from 10am to 3pm next Friday.
Inside the Ardnacrusha hydroelectric plant, where the Shannon Taskforce report was launched

Offshore wind turbines in the Shannon Estuary could supply enough energy to power Germany, a report says.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar pictured with ministers Simon Coveney, Eamon Ryan and Norma Foley and Barry O'Sullivan, chair of the Shannon Taskforce, at the Ardnacrusha hydroelectric power station to launch the Shannon Taskforce Report

Developing one of the worlds largest renewable energy hubs on the Shannon Estuary has been presented as the single greatest opportunity for sustainable economic growth in Irelands history.

A study published this weekend by a group examining the economic development potential of the Shannon Estuary region claims a green energy hub harnessing an unlimited supply of Atlantic wind could bring 50,000 jobs to the area.

The Shannon Estuary Economic Taskforce report, launched by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Energy Minister Eamon Ryan, suggests developing the hub will provide a solution to issues associated with climate change and help with energy security and demand.

It has also been marked as capable of attracting further investment and new industries to the region.

One member of the taskforce has compared the plans to the Ardnacrusha power plant development at the foundation of the State, saying it is a unique opportunity to preserve and enhance Irelands future.

Chairman Barry OSullivan said Ireland could become the Norway or Saudi Arabia of wind.

It is better than any region of the world that has large amounts of oil or gas, because what they have will run out. What we have here is never going to run out, he said.

In Irelands territorial waters there is potential to generate more energy than Ireland will use.

"In the medium term, with technologies that are becoming available, we can get up to 10 times the amount of energy Ireland needs. Thats enough to power a country the size of Germany.

Technological advances meant the potential would grow in the coming years and power potentially sold and exported to Europe with appropriate infrastructure.

The proposals lay out how to bring the power onshore by 2032, recommending new government policies, enhancing port infrastructure and roads and outlining the role developers will play for power generation off the Clare and Kerry coasts.

Inside the Ardnacrusha hydroelectric plant, where the Shannon Taskforce report was launched

They centre on developing a floating offshore wind hub accessible from Foynes Port in Limerick. It would see turbine platforms built in Moneypoint before being floated to Foynes where 200-metre towers would be manufactured.

Delivering off-shore wind at scale is essential, the report states, because of the associated costs.

Floating offshore wind is more expensive but industry experts suggest the estuary is best suited to providing such scale in for Ireland due to water depths and space for storing turbines.

A National Floating Offshore Wind Development Agency is recommended to drive the plans.

It would build on the models of Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland to attract international technology investment and develop local innovation and entrepreneurship.

An estimated 100bn of private investment needs to be attracted, according to the report.

Approximately 2bn would be needed in the next 18 months for research, innovation and development funding from public, private and European sources.

It proposed state funds would come via the Department of Further Education, the Department of Environment and the Department of Enterprise. The taskforce claims the proposals would lead to the region becoming net carbon neutral by 2035.

About 10,000 jobs would be delivered over next 12 years according to plans outlined by the taskforce, rising to 50,000 by 2050 in spin-off jobs.
A former girlfriend of the man being held in a Spanish jail in connection with the murder of Dublin woman Kirsty Ward has claimed he tried to strangle her.
High-powered agent and Ryan Tubridy to be accompanied to hearings by their solicitors in unprecedented move

RTE hosts Claire Byrne and Joe Duffy have been given the green light by the broadcaster to cover their own agents highly anticipated Oireachtas committee showdown with politicians next week.

The publicly funded broadcaster, which is facing its third week of tumult and scandal, has said it will not be asking some of its top presenters to step aside for coverage next week.

This is despite Noel Kelly having negotiated their salaries, as well as the controversial secret deal for Ryan Tubridy.

It comes as Ciara Doherty, presenter of The Tonight Show on Virgin Media, has revealed exclusively to the Irish Independent that she is leaving NK Management, Mr Kellys agency.

Ms Doherty said she wanted viewers to be able to trust her to be fully impartial.

Mr Kelly has not spoken publicly since the scandal broke. Many media requests for comment, from both Mr Kelly and his clients, have been ignored.

Mr Kelly is due to appear before both the Oireachtas Media Committee and the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) next Tuesday, and will be questioned for a number of hours about his role in the payments controversy that has rocked the national broadcaster.

He will appear alongside Tubridy, who has issued statements but not spoken publicly since revelations about his undeclared pay came to light.

Mr Kellys client portfolio includes key figures in RTEs news and current affairs coverage.

RTE Radio 1 shows such as Today with Claire Byrne, Liveline and Drivetime feature Byrne, Duffy and Cormac O hEadhra, all NK Management signees.

Mr O hEadhra co-presents Drivetime with Sarah McInerney, who is signed to a different agency.

Claire, Joe and Cormac have already declared on a number of occasions their relationship with NK Management, a spokeswoman for RTE said. Yes, they will be covering the story.

The RTE spokeswoman said that Byrne, Duffy and O hEadhra are all scheduled to be on air next week, with the slight exception of Claire who is on leave on Friday.

This leave was booked some weeks ago, the spokeswoman said.

All of RTEs news and current affairs output has covered the ongoing controversy extensively, and has persistently sought to hold its own management to account.

Ms Byrne released details of her own salary on air, while both Duffy and O hEadhra have asked critical questions of RTEs management of the scandal.

Mr Kelly and Tubridys appearance before politicians next week is likely to dominate the news agenda. Beyond RTE, Mr Kellys clients also dominate commercial broadcasters.

He represents Pat Kenny and Ciara Kelly, who present programmes on Newstalk. He also represents Ivan Yates, who is currently filling in for Kenny.

Matt Cooper, the Today FM presenter, is also represented by Mr Kellys agency. And on Virgin Media One, Tonight Show presenter Ciara Doherty was also among Mr Kellys agency clients.

But Ms Doherty told the Irish Independent last night she has decided to leave the agency.

As a presenter on The Tonight Show on Virgin Media Television, its important that I am able to cover news stories and ask probing questions of our guests with total impartiality on behalf of viewers and I have always done this, she said.

It is also important that viewers believe and trust me to be fully impartial. With this in mind, I have decided to part company with NK management.

Legal representatives for both Mr Kelly and Tubridy last week wrote to both the PAC and Oireachtas Media Committee advising that they would be willing to answer questions about the payments scandal and that they wished to fully cooperate with the committees investigations.

Tubridy and Mr Kelly will be accompanied by their solicitors when they face questions from the Oireachtas Media Committee. One solicitor apiece will be seated behind their clients for the high-profile committee hearings.

The decision comes on foot of a request for such a facility from the firm of Hayes, with the clerk reminding committee members that they were coming in to answer questions of their own volition and could not be compelled.

On this basis it was agreed that the request for two lawyers to be present was not unreasonable.

Committee chair Niamh Smyth said it was an unprecedented step for her committee to have lawyers in the room where proceedings were being televised.

Both lawyers would be coming from the Hayes legal firm.

Meanwhile, members of the PAC will get a legal briefing from the Office of the Parliamentary Legal Adviser half an hour before they are due to meet with Tubridy and Mr Kelly.

The briefing is likely to involve Oireachtas lawyers warning PAC members to stay within the scope of the committees inquiries in questioning the men.

Oireachtas committees have increasingly been reminded of their legal obligations by in-house lawyers in the wake of the Supreme Court finding that the PAC acted unlawfully in its treatment of former Rehab chief Angela Kerins nearly a decade ago.

Over the last number of weeks Mr Kelly has become as much a household a name as the stars whose interests he represents. There is now renewed focus on the influence Mr Kelly may have had, due to the large number of high-profile broadcasters represented by him.
As I prepared to pay 726 for Taylor Swift tickets, it was my 12-year-old who told me it wasnt worth it
Greece holiday tragedy: Who would be the one to call a parent and tell them their son was gone?

Pupils of St Michaels College rally together in show of solace for friends Andrew ODonell and Max Wall, who they lost suddenly last weekend on island of Ios

Tragic schoolfriends Max Wall (left) and Andrew O'Donnell

Catherine Fegan Sat 8 Jul 2023 at 03:30
North Country HealthCare (NCHC) recognized its first class of residents from the NARBHA Institute Family and Community Medicine Residency in a ceremony on Saturday, June 24, alongside new and graduating members of its other education programs.

The family medicine program began in 2020, though planning for it had started 10 years earlier, and NCHC earned its accreditation in 2017.

The idea is to provide family medicine training in a region that has a shortage of both healthcare professionals and graduate training programs.

We want our residents to stay in northern Arizona, to work with underserved communities, to be prepared to serve the diverse populations that we have in the region and to choose this for their future. Thats our end goal, said Marica Martinic, education director at NCHC.

The number of practicing primary care physicians is currently 650 less than the states need, Martinic said -- a shortage that is expected to grow to 2,000 by 2030.

Flagstaff only has a handful of residencies for graduates of medical programs, with NCHCs four spots being the only family medicine residency option. Family medicine residencies are also limited across northern Arizona, with the only other programs being in Kingman and in internal medicine at Verde Valley Medical Center, according to Martinic. There are no programs in either Yavapai or Apache counties.

NCHCs program is trying to address the shortages by increasing the number of residencies in the same region where theyre needed. Residencies take years to complete, so residents are more likely to stay where they completed their training.

"People put down roots where they do a residency, so we need to have those residency slots in northern Arizona where we need the doctors," said Sarah Coles, who is the program director.

Class of 2023

That was apparent in the first class of graduates -- as each of the four plans to continue providing healthcare in Arizona.

Inaugural chief resident Tasha Harder will be staying at NCHC as core faculty, helping train the next class of residents as well as providing care. She had already spent several years working with NCHC before joining the residency, volunteering with its Girls on the Run program as an undergrad at Northern Arizona University and working with the organization as part of her training with A.T. Still University-SOMA.

Elizabeth Curtiss and Dan Shtutman both have plans to provide care in Phoenix -- Curtiss as a primary care physician with additional work in medical education and Shtutman as a family medicine hospitalist.

The final graduate, Alex Lam, will be completing his military commitment, practicing as a primary care provider at Luke Air Force Base.

We really want our graduates to be leaders and advocates in primary care who are truly there to serve their communities, and I think weve done that with our first graduating class, Coles said. Im excited to see that continue to happen and to grow, but we want our folks to go out there and to be the voice of primary care and to help build the foundation for our health system.

Family medicine training

In family medicine, doctors provide care for the entire lifespan, from birth to death. Residents in the field are trained in a variety of settings: emergency departments, assisted living facilities, even in peoples homes.

In the three years of their training, NCHCs residents worked with different community partners to learn how to provide care for different settings and needs, rotating to a new area of service each month. They also saw patients with NCHC, serving as their primary care provider for the entire term of their residency.

The main shift since the residency started, Coles said, has been adapting to make sure it meets the needs in the community. More on HIV care was added to the curriculum in response to the extent of the provider shortage in the region, she provided as an example.

Those kinds of things are things that you feel out as you go and you get feedback from the community, Coles said. 'It would be great if we had this, so we say, 'OK, lets do it, lets figure out how to make that happen.'

She added that family medicine residency training has become more collaborative with other areas where NCHC provides care, including pharmacy and behavioral health.

The program was also affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, as it started in July of 2020.

NCHC isnt a hospital, so it had not been treating COVID patients, though the pandemic meant changes to the program all the same -- more telehealth, for example, or switching out partnerships with organizations that needed to devote more attention to COVID response than training at the moment and have since resumed working with the residents.

Expanding education

Last weeks ceremony also welcomed a new class of residents and acknowledged several at NCHC who had worked to make the program a reality.

The new class of residents started their training in late June and early July, with the first month focusing on orientation. After that month, the residents will begin their rotations and the programs leaders will begin recruiting for next years class, as that process takes almost the entire year.

The organization is also in process of further expanding its education offerings.

As with the family medicine residency, the new and returning programs are meant to train professionals in an area where northern Arizona lacks care. NCHC is resuming a one-year dental residency partnership and is in the process of creating a new residency to train psychiatrists.

It welcomed a new class of two dental residents it is hosting in partnership with NYU Langone, after taking a yearslong pause from the program.

NCHC has also started developing a four-year psychiatry residency to help respond to Arizonas mental and behavioral healthcare shortages. The program recently received grant funding and the first class is expected to begin in 2026, after finding a permanent director, gaining accreditation and finding a funding source. Its planned as a partnership with places such as Northern Arizona Healthcare and The Guidance Center.

Across the region the whole goal is to address the health profession shortages that we have, Martinic said. Were hitting the main ones  primary care, dental and mental health care once we get the psychiatry program up and running -- but the need is much greater than we can address.

She said she hoped this program and other healthcare training opportunities would continue growing in northern Arizona. She referenced recent state legislation that would put $5 million toward establishing this kind of residency program.

If we could expand our slots and have more residents, that would help meet the need even more, she said. If we can teach other health centers and rural health clinics how to build their own residency programs so we can expand the number of slots that way, we would love to provide that kind of support and guidance.
The Taoiseach has refused to say if he believes the official home of Santa Claus will be destroyed under a proposed new law to be voted on in Europe next week.

It is one of the claims made in a social media campaign by the European Peoples Party (EPP), the political grouping to which Fine Gael belongs in the European Parliament.

The EPP is opposed to the Nature Restoration Law.

In its latest social media postings on Twitter, it says the law would turn the entire city of Rovaniemi into a forest.

Rovaniemi is the capital of Lapland, famed as the official home of Santa, the main centre for the tourism industry based on visits to Santa and an important base for tours to the Northern Lights.

The Nature Restoration law will wipe Santa Claus City off the map, says the tweet which has been reposted numerous times.

Another tweet claims a large area of the built-up suburbs of Helsinki, Finland, would be knocked down. It entails demolishing approximately six average-size suburbs, it says.

While there has been some suggestion the most recent claims were a joke designed as a publicity stunt, the European Commission has failed to see the funny side and has been trying to counter the disinformation with its own social media posts.

Fine Gael headquarters declined to say whether the party or Leo Varadkar believed the claims or backed the social media campaign.

A party spokesman said the questions were best put to Fine Gaels spokesperson in Europe who is also a press officer for the EPP. The spokesperson in Europe did not respond.

The Nature Restoration Law is an attempt to halt the dramatic decline in biodiversity and boost natures ability to fight climate change by absorbing and storing carbon in green spaces.

Many of the proposals in it will require substantial supports for farmers and fishers but rather than work through the likely difficult negotiations that would follow its passing, the EPP wants to throw out the entire proposal.

As the largest political grouping in Europe, the votes of its MEPs next Wednesday will play a crucial role in deciding its future.

Independent MEPs Mick Wallace and Clare Daly wrote to Mr Varadkar last May and on other occasions since, asking him to make a clear, public statement on the law but he has also failed to respond to those calls.
Past shows have included photo-realistic portraits of stars including Jack Charlton. The above work is by Gary Kirwan.

Past shows have included photo-realistic portraits of stars such as Katie Taylor. The above work is by Gary Kirwan.

Dublin teen Evan Hand (16) estimates there are at least 10,000 parts to his World War II replica

Rio Foley-Kelleher (13) has spent years perfecting his Lego city, and is overjoyed to finally show it off at his first-ever exhibit at Brick Shows Ireland in UCD this weekend

Theyre the miniature bricks that have been used to create entire worlds, and thousands of Lego enthusiasts will be in Dublin today to celebrate the classic toy.

Gary Kirwan, who runs Brick Shows Ireland with his wife Michelle, left Limerick early yesterday morning with a huge haul of displays.

Past shows have included photo-realistic portraits of stars from Katie Taylor to Jack Charlton, though he is eager to surprise attendees with new displays this weekend.

Young Irish Lego builders show off impressive displays at Brick Shows Ireland

At the venue in University College Dublin (UCD) yesterday, he was joined by some of his fellow master builders, Rio Foley-Kelleher (13) and Evan Hand (16).

Rio has spent years perfecting his Lego city, and is overjoyed to finally show it off at his first-ever exhibit this weekend.

I am so excited but a bit nervous as well, he admits. When he first applied, Rio was doubtful his creation would be accepted, but is so happy to be part of the show.

Transporting the huge model from his native Wicklow to Dublin was no easy task. 

Thousands of tiny, individual Lego pieces and mini-figures must survive the journey, and Dublin teen Evan estimates there are at least 10,000 parts to his World War II replica.

Its nerve-wracking, of course, because youre displaying something that youve spent so much time creating, he says. 

My passion is learning about history. It always has been, ever since my grandad would teach me when I was younger.

Hours have gone into perfecting his build depicting a French battle so that every uniform, weapon and figure is as authentic as possible.

Parents have no idea that their child might have something in their toy box potentially worth hundreds of euro, Mr Kirwan says. Some mini-figures are highly valuable as they are so collectible  parents may not even realise the value of one sitting in a toy box.

While some mini figures are easy to come by, others can sell for up to 1,000.

He says the boom is truly back for the best-selling toy, thanks to the Covid-19 lockdown when it became a crafty hobby.

It is a mindfulness activity, to be honest. It can do such great things for your mental health. When I was in my 20s and 30s, I started to work on sets that I wished for as a child, he says.

There are existing shows for adults, but we wanted to create one that revolved around children.

One moving message from a parent last week made the husband-and-wife duo happy beyond words.

Her son  who has autism  made this cool little vehicle at a recent show. Everything meant something, he said. I asked him could we put it on display, and afterwards, got this message thanking us and saying he told everyone he met afterwards that it was the best day of his life.

I cant even tell you how happy that made us. Its exactly what its about, giving kids a space away from computers and video games to inspire them and fire their imaginations.

It is just Lego but you can do such brilliant things. 

The couple bring the shows across the country, eager to bring the magic to children who can see it as both a toy and an art form.

This weekends show will see the addition of an autism-friendly sensory room.

Daily life can sometimes be overwhelming for children with autism when they are expected to fit into the world in a certain way. Lego fits into their world in any way they want it to, it conforms to them, Mr Kirwan says. It sounds corny, but it can be really magical. 

He recalls unpacking a 1.2m-long Death Star ship, only to find it had fallen apart on the way to the show.

Everyone gasped I just shrugged and walked away, he laughs, driving home an important message to the families who attend the shows. If something breaks, it breaks. I never want a child upset if things fall apart, everything can be put back together.
A 37-year-old man has told the judge he wanted out of this little boys prison, please and sent to a jail where he could get treatment.

Declan Grimes, Grange Drive, Muirhevnamor, Dundalk, was speaking via video link from Cloverhill Prison after he pleaded guilty at the district court to charges and a summons resulting from two separate incidents.

Solicitor Eleanor Kelly said her client wanted a sentence whereby he could be moved from Cloverhill to Mountjoy. He was currently on remand for an unrelated matter.

The defendant said he couldnt get medical treatment never mind drug treatment where he was.

Please give me a custodial sentence so I can get treatment, he added.

Evidence was given that on 25 June 2022 at Grange Drive he was found with 40-worth of cannabis.

On 18 February last, while gardai were seizing a vehicle in Aghameen Park in another matter, the defendant approached holding a bottle of whiskey.

He used abusive language and failed to comply with a direction to leave the area, saying he wanted to fight.

He was drinking out of the bottle in front of gardai.

There were 70 previous convictions, including approximately 40 for public order.

For failing to comply with the direction of a garda, Mr Grimes was sentenced to four months, and a concurrent three-month term was imposed for using or engaging in threatening, abusive or insulting behaviour or words.

A charge of being intoxicated in public was taken into consideration, while the possession of drugs summons was struck out after the facts were found proven.

Its a tough process, recovery from addiction. I hope you get treatment, Judge Susan Fay said to the defendant.
A New Ross primary school teacher was among 22 teachers to attend the EU on Wednesday, July 5, to participate in the Blue Star Programme, which teaches Irish primary school children all about the EU in a fun and interactive way.

Tanya Cooney, who teaches at Bunscoil Ris, was welcomed by EU Commissioner Mairead McGuinness to the European Commission in Brussels.

This was part of a study visit organised by the European Commission Representation in Ireland, in partnership with the European Parliament Liaison Office in Ireland, and the European Movement Ireland. The itinerary also included a day of seminars with officials in the European Commission, a meeting with Irish MEPs, and a visit to Irelands Permanent Representation to the EU.

The Blue Star Programme is an initiative of the Irish Government, supported by the European Commission and the European Parliament. It is managed by the European Movement Ireland.
Elle Edwards, who was shot dead during gun attack perpetrated by Connor Chapman. Photo: PA Wire

The murderer who killed Elle Edwards after firing indiscriminately at a crowded pub in Liverpool on Christmas Eve has been sentenced to life with a minimum term of 48 years.
Palestinian men with guns take part in the funeral of Hamza Maqbool (32) and Khayri Shaheen, (34) in the occupied West Bank city of Nablus yesterday. Earlier this week, 12 Palestinians and one Israeli soldier were killed during an Israeli army attack on the Jenin refugee camp. Photo: Nasser Nasser/AP
It's alleged that a meeting in December 2020 involving former US president Donald Trump and some of his advisers and supporters turned into a shouting match. Photo: AP

The team led by special counsel Jack Smith has indicated their ongoing attention on an eventful meeting that occurred in the Oval Office during the closing days of the Trump administration, a report said.
Image Credit: UNI

Kolkata/UNI: West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress on Saturday alleged that three of its workers were murdered and two left wounded from gunshots in Domkol during the polling for the three-tier Panchayat election.

"Shocking and tragic incidents send shockwaves through the voting community.Three of our party workers have been murdered in Rejinagar, Tufanganj and Khargram and two have been left wounded from gunshots in Domkol, " the party tweeted.

The party asked where the central forces deployed for the polling were during these incidents.

"The @BJP4Bengal, @CPIM_WESTBENGAL, and @INCWestBengal have been clamouring for the deployment of Central Forces. So, where are the Central Forces when they are needed the most? " the party asked.

Claiming that the incidents "signal a colossal failure" on the part of the central forces to ensure the safety and security of the people before the polls have even commenced, the party said the forces have proved to be "woefully inadequate in fulfilling their duty to protect citizens".

"In Nadia, @CPIM_WESTBENGAL miscreants shamelessly fired at an AITC candidate's husband in Narayanpur-1 Gram Panchayat, exposing the party's true colours." Crude bombs were also hurled at Hasina Sultana's husband and other AITC workers right before the polls began," the party further alleged.

"Despite being hailed as the guardians of peace by @BJP4India, @CPIM_WESTBENGAL, and @INCWestBengal prior to the elections, the Central Forces have proven to be woefully inadequate in fulfilling their duty to protect citizens. Why are they faltering and letting down the people they were supposed to safeguard?" it asked.

It is alleged that the BJP, CPI (M), and Congress are working hand in glove with each other to harass their party workers and spread violence.

"Meanwhile, our party workers at different places have been ATTACKED, WOUNDED, and KILLED. Our leader, @DrShashiPanja, points out how the so-called guardians of peace have faltered to protect the rights of the people. Under the close supervision of the Central Forces, the death toll keeps mounting! A devastating bomb attack claimed the life of our party worker in Manikchak, Malda," the party alleged.

"In Narayanpur-I Gram Panchayat of Nadia, @CPIM_WESTBENGAL hooligans opened fire on our candidate, Hasina Sultana's husband. They hurled crude, country-made bombs at our workers moments before the start of the elections. Despite the deployment of Central Forces, our worker from Salbari-II Gram Panchayat of Jalpaiguri was critically wounded by @BJP4Bengal goons," it claimed.

Alleging that the recent incidents of violence not only raise serious doubts about the competence and preparedness of the Central Forces but also expose the hollowness of the claims made by the BJP, CPI(M), and @INCWestBengal about their role in ensuring peaceful elections, " the party said, "One of our Panchayat candidates from Jhargram, Shyamali Sabar, was ASSAULTED and given DEATH THREATS by @CPIM_WESTBENGAL miscreants last night."

"The Central Forces FAILED to protect her from such hooligans." This not only proves their INCOMPETENCE but also EXPOSES the hollow claims by the @BJP4Bengal, @INCWestBengal, and the CPI(M) of maintaining peace during the elections," the party further claimed.
Image Credit: Screenshot grab from video

Kolkata: Violence rocked West Bengal during the single phase three-tier Panchayat polling as 12 people, who were owing allegiance to both the ruling Trinamool Congress and Opposition, lost their lives in different parts of the state on Saturday.

While seven Trinamool Congress activists, including a candidate, were killed, two each belonging to the BJP and CPI(M) and one Congress fell prey to the violent incidents.

The districts of Murshidabad, Malda and Cooch Behar bore the brunt of the violence, besides North and South 24 Parganas.

Besides violent clashes that injured scores of people, ballot boxes were destroyed in at least two polling booths.

Meanwhile, till 11 AM, only 22.6 per cent of votes were cast, the lowest of all time in the history of rural Bengal.

Governor C V Ananda Bose expressed grave concern at the prevailing law and order situation during the Panchayat polling in the state.

Bose, who took a round of several areas where polling is in process, expressed dissatisfaction at the law and order situation in the state.

Bose said, "Who will protect the protectors of democracy. The Election Commission is seen nowhere, yet the Commissioner is tight lipped."

The Governor said he was told that killings and violence were being reported from different parts of the state.

"Who is going to protect the ordinary people . The Election Commission is silent. I have asked him to reply me who is there to protect the people and the democracy, " Bose asserted.

The Trinamool Congress alleged it was a failure on the part of central forces tasked with security.

TMC spokesman Kunal Ghosh said the majority of the victims were their supporters.

He described the Governor as a "BJP agent" and alleged that Bose was campaigning even today on the streets.

Ghosh said, " Bose must be ready with bags and baggage after July 11, the day poll results will be announced."

In a series of tweets, AITC alleged, " Those who advocated for the principles of democracy are the ones responsible for its demise. Incumbent Pradhan of Bidyanandpur Gram Panchayat BRUTALLY ATTACKED by @INCWestBengal workers in Uttar Dinajpur. The Central Forces are NOWHERE TO BE FOUND. "

" In Baroj Gram Panchayat, Bhagabanpur-II Block, BJP MLA Rabindranath Maity was seen capturing the booths with the help of the CRPF. Our supporters are being TORTURED & ASSAULTED by the BJP Goons. Meanwhile, THE CRPF PLAYS THE ROLE OF A MUTE SPECTATOR, " the party tweeted.

" Is this why @BJP4Bengal DEMANDED the deployment of Central Forces? To assist them in INFLICTING VIOLENCE upon the people of Bengal? " it asked.

.@BJP4Bengal stoops to new lows in their assault on democracy!



They shamelessly opened fire outside a polling booth in Dinhata, Cooch Behar, preventing people from exercising their fundamental right to vote.



Such desperate tactics only expose their attempt to obstruct free and pic.twitter.com/trYccFxQNi  All India Trinamool Congress (@AITCofficial) July 8, 2023

" @BJP4India, @CPIM_WESTBENGAL and @INCWestBengal must be enjoying their front row seats in this theatre of death and mass destruction. The tragic deaths of two of our party workers in Basanti and Katwa highlight the incompetence of Central Forces who have been nothing but mute spectators. Is this how you celebrate democracy? " the party further asked.

" @BJP4Bengal stoops to new lows in their assault on democracy. They shamelessly opened fire outside a polling booth in Dinhata, Cooch Behar, preventing people from exercising their fundamental right to vote. Such desperate tactics only expose their attempt to obstruct free and fair elections, " it stated.

West Bengal Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari on Saturday alleged that the State Panchayat election is a "Carnival of DEMO'N'CRACY".

" West Bengal Panchayat Elections - Carnival of DEMO'N'CRACY. Mamata Banerjee's henchman & contract killer; State Election Commissioner Rajiv Sinha is executing her plans across the State, " tweeted Adhikari.

Adhikari also called for "Kalighat Chalo" and demanded imposition of Article 356 or 355 to safeguard democracy as the state was witness to an orgy of violence since the declaration of the Panchayat poll.

Normally, on polling day, one looks at voter turnout, percentage polling etc But when it comes to West Bengal, it is all about number of deaths, murders, bombs, booth capturing, burnt and stolen ballot boxes, gunshots, vandalised polling stations, rampant violence and worse pic.twitter.com/n2lXh0Ets3  Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) July 8, 2023

BJP leader Amit Malviya tweeted, "Bodies are dropping like pins in Bengal. The wave of political violence, unleashed in the run up to Panchayat polls, continues unabated. Mamata Banerjee, as Home Minister of WB, is squarely responsible for this. WB Govt, in collusion with SEC, have denied people right to vote."

(With UNI inputs)
Press Release

July 8, 2023 Tolentino speaks before New Era University graduates MANILA - Senator Francis 'TOL' N. Tolentino urged new graduates not to be daunted over possible obstacles they may face in the outside world. Tolentino made the remarks during the 48th Commencement Exercises of the New Era University on Friday at the Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan. "You will need to work your way to success, and the path will be replete with challenges and stumbling blocks. Do not be discouraged, however," Tolentino told New Era University's Class of 2023. "The world outside may be unpredictable and full of chaos, but it is this very same uncertainty and confusion that will fuel your drive to rise above, realize your full potential and be the best version of yourself," he added. Tolentino who recently finished his third Masters of Law degree at the Columbia Law School reminded each member of the Class of 2023 that in transitioning from a life of study to the real life outside, they will need to rely not only in the education they have acquired but also in their own courage and strength of character in the more challenging role of being a young professional. "The same is true with the beautiful story you have written for your life, a chapter of which you close today as you begin and hope to write more colorful ones in the days ahead. The characters in your story may change but you remain both the lead role in your narrative and its creative writer as well," the lawmaker stressed. According to Tolentino, this year's commencement rites should serve as an inspiration for everyone to rise above any challenges considering that it's the first face-to-face graduation ceremony after the nation was hampered by the COVID-19 pandemic during the last years.




Illustration: Liu Rui/GT

(Global Times) NATO is set to hold a summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, next week. As the host country, Lithuania appears both excited and impatient. A significant part of this sentiment is reflected in its provocation of China. At the same time, several other NATO members also appear to have coordinated in their approach to Taiwan island. These have all exposed the coming NATO summit's malicious intentions toward China. This cannot be ignored by the Chinese people, who must remain vigilant.

About a week before the summit, Lithuania, mimicking the US, announced its so-called Indo-Pacific Strategy. The most eye-catching part of this 16-page "strategy" is its statement on the Taiwan question, emphasizing "the development of economic relations with Taiwan is one of Lithuania's strategic priorities." It even shamelessly drew a "red line," claiming that the status quo in the Taiwan Straits "cannot be changed via the use of force or coercion."

This is another display of Lithuania's "tough talk" and arrogance, after the country and Taiwan island mutually established representative offices, which led to a sharp deterioration in Lithuania's relations with China. If there had been no one to back it up, Lithuania would not have been able to provoke China for this long, nor would it have been so brazen in doing so.

It is bizarre that a Baltic country with a population of less than 3 million, located in the direct radiation zone of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, has come up with an Indo-Pacific Strategy. Many of its wordings for the strategy are familiar, as if they have been directly taken from the US rhetoric toward China, only this time they are being voiced from Lithuania. What is even more jaw-dropping is that Lithuanian foreign minister claimed that "with the Strategy having been approved, Lithuania now finds itself among global leaders." Only someone completely lacking self-awareness could make such a statement. Lithuania is by no means a "global leader," but the incident has become one of the biggest international laughing stocks of the year.

Amid the era of great changes, Lithuania's radical foreign policy is somewhat representative. This Lithuanian government seems to have been gripped by an excessive fear toward Russia, lacking a sense of security, and behaving abnormally. The US and NATO, on the other hand, seem to be the piece of wood that a drowning Lithuania clings onto.

The more the Lithuanian government becomes psychologically dependent on the US and NATO, the stronger impulse it has to take the lead for the US and NATO to prove its own value. The US has repeatedly signaled its support for Lithuania on issues related to China, leading Lithuania all the way into the dark. However, Lithuania fails to realize that it has unwittingly handed over its destiny to others, and fear and unease are the essential sources of energy driving Washington's geopolitical chariot.

This year's NATO summit in Vilnius will have distinct differences from previous ones. The small anti-China clique that Washington has cultivated is staging a "public performance" ahead of the NATO summit, displaying radicalism, anxiety, aggression, and impulsive interference in Asia-Pacific affairs. These actions serve as a barometer for this NATO summit and foreshadow NATO's next moves. While intensifying pressure on Russia, NATO is clearly accelerating its expansion into the Asia-Pacific region. This Vilnius summit may well become a "watershed" moment.

Leaders of the four Asia-Pacific countries - Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand - that have been labeled as "partners across the globe" by NATO will attend the summit for the second consecutive year. According to Japanese media reports, NATO will elevate its partnership with these four countries to a higher level, giving a strong signal of NATO's expansion into the Asia-Pacific. Who else is unaware that this is aimed at China? The grand chess game played by NATO and the US is certainly not influenced by Lithuania, which is merely a pawn that has crossed the Rubicon, encouraged and pushed forward without considering retreat, and ultimately unable to turn back.

On the same day Lithuania announced its Indo-Pacific strategy, the UK and Poland signed the 2030 strategic partnership joint declaration, which also meddles in the Taiwan question. Various signs indicate that NATO member countries are further coordinating their positions on the Taiwan question, attempting to form an encircling pattern against China in international public opinion. We must closely observe what kind of consensus will emerge at the Vilnius summit regarding China-related issues and what specific plans will be drawn up. In this regard, we should not merely regard Lithuania as a clown or a joke. Its exaggerated and ugly words and actions are also a window through which the outside world observes NATO, allowing us to be prepared in advance.


Image Credit: Screenshot grab

Kolkata/IBNS: At least 14 people were killed and many others were injured in a widespread violence that dominated the three-tier panchayat elections in West Bengal, which is infamous for political clashes for decades, on Saturday.

In an almost repeat of the 2018 panchayat polls, bombs, guns and rigging were reported from various parts of the country's one of the biggest states a year ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Among 14 killed, the majority were from the ruling Trinamool Congress while others were from the Opposition, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Left and Congress resembling the 2018 polls where the incumbent had controversially won 34 percent of the total seats uncontested.

In some parts of the state, ballot boxes were on Saturday burnt, thrown into water or even locked, crippling the free flow of the election process. Electoral officers were assaulted in some polling booths.

Though the Supreme Court had affirmed the Calcutta High Court order of holding the elections with central forces, paramilitary personnel were rarely spotted in the polling booths on Saturday.

It is important to note, the central forces are deployed as per the direction of the state police, which is run by the TMC government.

A senior officer in charge of the central forces said, as reported by The Telegraph, not more than four jawans will be deployed in one place over concern for the security of the troops.

The bloodshed on the polling day was just a continuation of what had happened over the last one month since the elections were announced by State Election Commissioner Rajiva Sinha, a former West Bengal Chief Secretary who worked under Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

About 18 people were killed during the nomination process of the panchayat elections.

Bhangar, where the ruling TMC is at the loggerheads with new party Indian Secular Front, turned out to be the hotbed of violence and clashes.

TMC-Opposition blame game

Leader of Opposition and BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari said, "People won't get respite unless they vote against Mamata Banerjee and land her in jail. Presidential rule or at least Article 355 during elections is required in the state to conduct free elections."

The Left held a protest march in front of the SEC office, which the Opposition claims to be working at per the direction of the ruling party.

"SEC, Mamata Banerjee and police have indulged in violence by not deploying the Army. Not just the ones from Left, Congress or ISF who were killed but Mamata Banerjee is also responsible for the deaths of all who were from TMC," said CPI-M state secretary Md. Salim.

In a sarcastic comment, Congress MP and state president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said, "Voting had started last night. I congratulate Mamata Banerjee for winning. She will celebrate on July 11 (result day)."

West Bengal Minister and TMC leader Shashi Panja said, "The Opposition, be it Left or Congress or BJP or ISF, wanted to disrupt the peaceful elections. Irrespective of that, peaceful voting was held without any incident in 13-14 districts.

"The minor to major incidents have occurred in 60 out of 61,539 booths. The figure is extremely low but that too shouldn't have occurred."
Image Credit: Video grab

Bikaner: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday described the Congress as a "loot ki dukan, jhooth ka bazaar" (Congress party is a 'shop of loot' and a 'market of lies') as he slammed the grand old party during his public address in Bikaner, Rajasthan.

Modis speech comes ahead of the crucial Rajasthan Assembly elections as he visited the state seventh time in the past nine months.

PM Modi specifically targeted the Congress, which currently holds power in the desert state.

He highlighted the hardships faced by farmers under the Congress government and criticized the internal conflicts within the party.

PM Modi stated that the Congress government in Rajasthan has been detrimental to the state's welfare.

Modi said the farmers in Rajasthan have suffered the most under the Congress government.

He questioned the actions of the Congress since coming into power and highlighted the internal conflicts and infighting within the party.

PM Modi stated that for the past four years, the Congress party and the government have been engaged in internal disputes, causing disruptions and hindering progress.

He said the Congress party members are "pulling each other's legs" and the partys actions and policies have had negative consequences for Rajasthan.

                       - ! https://t.co/leQQSbHmZ3  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 8, 2023

The Congress hijacks the Central schemes and it has nothing to do with Rajasthan's problems and peoples problems.

He said the Congress is troubled by the BJP's plan to provide benefits to every household.

Modi said the temperature of the people has risen against the Congress government just like the temperature in the state, and when the temperature of the people rises, it can not only bring down the heat of those in power but also oust them.
wallpaper cave

Police have arrested a woman close to the house of international singer Taylor Swift in Rhode Island, media reports said.

According to reports, the incident happened on July 3.

Westerly Police Chief Paul Gingerella told CNN police were dispatched to the front of the home to investigate reports of a trespasser outside the gates.

The woman had been previously warned to stay away from the property, Gingerella said.

Police did not confirm the Westerly home belonged to Swift, but the company listed on property records has the same mailing address as Swifts management company in Nashville, the American news channel reported.

According to court records, the woman will be arraigned on July 14.

TMZ obtained photos showing the suspect being handcuffed outside the front gate to Taylor's home.

A source familiar with the situation tells TMZ that Taylor was staying at the house during the holiday weekend, though it's unclear if she was actually home at the time of the arrest.
An Indian delegation of poll observers arrive Tashkent

India is going to be part of Uzbekistans July 9 celebration of democracy. A 20-strong delegation from India made up of well-known public figures, senior diplomats, and experts are already in Uzbekistan to take part in the Presidential elections as observers.

On Thursday, the Central Election Commission of Uzbekistan held a meeting with representatives of the delegation from India.

A meeting at the Central Election Commission of Uzbekistan

The meeting was attended by Deputy Chairman of the Central Election Commission Bakhrom Kuchkarov, Commission member Gulnoza Rakhimova, Election Commissioner of India Pandey Anup Chandra, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of India to Uzbekistan Manish Prabhat.

Members of the Indian delegation were informed about the work being done to prepare for the elections and hold them. According to Uzbekistans Central Election Commission, Indian observers emphasized that high-level information on the elections was provided to voters, and the use of biometric identification devices was piloted in several polling stations.

Image Credit: IBNS

Besides India, the international community in general has shown great interest in the elections. Representatives of international organizations and states of Asia, Europe, America and Africa have also landed in Uzbekistan and would be observing the July 9 polls closely.

As observers of the election, Indian delegates, along with other international and foreign observers will visit polling stations and, based on their observations, will give appropriate conclusions and recommendations.

The pre-election campaign of presidential candidates took place from June 7 to July 7.

Election Commissioner of India Pandey Anup Chandra

Candidates from the People's Democratic Party Ulugbek Inoyatov, from the Liberal Democratic Party of Uzbekistan, the current President of the State Shavkat Mirziyoyev, from the Social Democratic Party of Uzbekistan Robakhon Makhmudova and from the Ecological Party of Uzbekistan Abdushukur Khamzaev are taking part in the elections.

Uzbekistan is seeing an early Presidential election.

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev explained the necessity of this decision and the reason for giving up the remaining three and a half years of the presidential term on his initiative.

He noted that after the adoption of the updated Basic Law, all the links of power are being reformed, the relations and balance between them are seriously changing, the renewed Constitution poses urgent, new political and socio-economic tasks to the President, parliament, government, ministers and khokims (regional governors), people expect significant and topical changes and reforms in all areas.

The head of the Central Asian state signed his decree on the appointment of advance polling of the President of Uzbekistan after the approval of the new version of the country's Constitution at a nationwide referendum on April 30.
Image: Pixabay

A Mexican man has allegedly eaten his wife's brain in tacos and even used her skull as an ashtray after killing her, media reports said.

The 32-year-old suspect, identified only as Alvaro, was seized at the couple's home in Puebla, on July 2, and is accused of murdering his wife - a mum of five - on June 29 while under the influence of a prohibited substance, reports The Mirror.

During the questioning, he allegedly informed officers that Santa Muerte (Our Lady of Holy Death) and the devil had ordered him to commit the crime.

Following the killing, Alvaro dubbed the "Cannibal of Puebla" allegedly dismembered victim Maria Montserrat Animas Montiel's body and placed her remains in plastic bags, the newspaper reported.

He allegedly threw some of them into a ravine behind the home and kept the rest inside the property.

According to sources close to the case, he confessed to eating part of his wife's brain in tacos and using part of her shattered skull as an ashtray, reports The Mirror.

He later believed to have called his stepdaughter to confess the crime.

Maria Montserrat married Alvaro a little less than a year ago.

Police are still investigating the case.
Image:  IOM/Marco Chimenton

New York: The UN deplored the horrendous civilian cost of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which reached the 500-day mark on Friday.

The war began on 24 February 2022, and the UNs Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) has confirmed that more than 9,000 civilians, including over 500 children, have been killed since then, though the real number could be much higher.

Today we mark another grim milestone in the war that continues to exact a horrific toll on Ukraines civilians, said Noel Calhoun, deputy head of the Mission.

Recent deadly attacks

The HRMMU reported that overall monthly casualties decreased earlier this year when compared to 2022, but the average number rose again in May and June, with the last two weeks among some of the deadliest since fighting began.

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Recent attacks include the missile strike on a busy shopping area in the eastern city of Kramatorsk on the evening of 27 June, which killed 13 people.

Among the victims was award-winning writer and human rights defender Viktoriia Amelina, who succumbed to her injuries earlier this week.

Just days after the attack, 10 civilians were killed in another missile strike in Lviv, located in western Ukraine.

Thousands of casualties

The information about civilian deaths is contained in the latest report on civilian casualties in Ukraine, published by the UN Human Rights Office, OHCHR, which covers the period from the start of the war through 30 June 2023.

Overall, 25,170 civilian casualties were recorded, with 9,177 killed and 15,993 injured.

Of this number, and whose sex was known, 61 per cent were men and 39 per cent were women. Boys comprised more than 57 per cent of casualties among children whose sex was known, and girls 42.8 per cent.

OHCHR also received information regarding 22 civilian casualties in Russian-occupied Crimea and the city of Sevastopol. They included five men and one woman who were killed, and 16 people who were injured  two children and 14 adults, whose sex is yet unknown.

Nuclear power plant update

Meanwhile, experts deployed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) at the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) in southern Ukraine have not observed any visible indications of mines or explosives there, Director-General Rafael Mariano Grossi said on Wednesday.

Europes largest nuclear plant has been in Russian hands since the early days of the war, and both sides have accused the other of shelling the facility.

The IAEA had previously indicated that it was aware of reports that mines and other explosives have been placed in and around the plant, which is located on the frontline of the conflict.

Following our requests, our experts have gained some additional access at the site. So far, they have not seen any mines or explosives, but they still need more access, including to the rooftops of reactor units 3 and 4 and parts of the turbine halls, Mr. Grossi said, expressing hope that access will be granted soon.

The experts have inspected parts of the plant in recent days and weeks, and continued to conduct regular walkdowns across the site.

On Wednesday, they were also able to check a wider section of the perimeter of the ZNPPs large cooling pond than previously, the IAEA said.
Image: US State Department/Public Domain

A group of independent UN-appointed human rights experts said on Friday they were appalled by the violent and clearly planned attack carried out on an award-winning Russian journalist and human rights lawyer while the pair were visiting Chechnya earlier in the week.

Yelena Milashina, who works for the independent investigative news service Novaya Gazeta, was travelling with Alexander Nemov when they were attacked on Monday morning on their way to covering the trial of Zarema Musaeva, the mother of exiled opposition activists who challenged the leader of the Chechen Republic, Ramzan Kadyrov.

The experts urged Russia to fully investigate the incident and bring the perpetrators to justice. According to news reports, Russian authorities have opened a criminal case into the attack.

Blatant disregard for safety

The UN Human Rights Council-appointed Special Rapporteurs described the brutal assault by a group of masked assailants as another example of the blatant disregard for the safety of journalists and human rights defenders in the Russian Federation.

The pair were assaulted and badly beaten shortly after arriving in the Russian Republic of Chechnya on Tuesday.

President Kadyrov stated on social media in January 2022 that the family of Ms. Musaeva was waiting for a place either in prison or in the ground.

Mr. Nemov is part of the team of lawyers defending her. Due to the attack, he was unable to attend court for the hearing.

Ms. Milashina is a journalist who has reported for years on Chechnya, investigating human rights abuses in the region, said the experts in a press release issued by the UN Human Rights Office, OHCHR.

Terrorist accusation

Because of death threats from the Chechen leader, she had to temporarily flee Russia in February 2022 after Mr. Kadyrov publicly called her a terrorist, saying we have always eliminated terrorists and their accomplices.

The experts pointed out that Ms. Milashinas investigative reporting followed in the footsteps of two other women journalists, Novaya Gazeta colleague Anna Politkovskaya and Chechen campaigner Natalia Estemirova, both murdered to silence their investigative work in Chechnya.

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According to reports, the assailants beat them with clubs and kicked them, took their phones, smashed their equipment, and destroyed documents. They repeatedly shouted: You were warned. Get out of here and do not write anything.

Dangers and risks

This incident highlights the dangers and risks faced by journalists and human rights defenders in their efforts to protect human rights and seek justice for victims in the Russian Federation, and particularly the Chechen Republic, the experts said.

Both of the victims were admitted to hospital in the capital city of Grozny with serious injuries. Ms. Milashina is suffering from a head injury and periodically lost consciousness in the hospital.

Fingers on both her hands were broken, her body was covered in bruises, and her head was shaved by the attackers and doused with brilliant green dye, which is a severe form of humiliation against women in the North Caucasus, OHCHR said.

Due to further concerns about their safety, they were transferred to a medical facility in the city of Beslan in the Russian Republic of North Ossetia.

We are relieved that Yelena Milashina and Alexander Nemov escaped alive from the attack and appreciate efforts to bring them to safety, the experts said. "However, we are gravely concerned about continuing threats to their lives and well-being.

Close watch on the case

We will be closely monitoring this case, which is another attempt to silence independent voices advocating for justice for the victims of human rights violations in Russia, they said.

They called on Russia to end the current climate of impunity and demonstrate its willingness to create an enabling and safe environment for all journalists and human rights defenders, free from intimidation and threats to their lives, in line with its international obligations and commitments.

Experts mandate

Independent human rights experts are all appointed under the Human Rights Councils Special Procedures.

They are mandated to monitor and report on specific thematic issues or country situations. They are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work.
Image: UN Photo/Evan Schneider

New York: The UN human rights office (OHCHR) has urged authorities in Honduras to reinforce the internal and external oversight of military operations in the country, following the extending of a national state of emergency.

OHCHR Spokesperson Marta Hurtado told journalists in Geneva that the Government had issued a 45-day extension on Wednesday.

The state of emergency, in force in 17 of the 18 departments in Honduras, enables the military police to support the national police in carrying out public security tasks. It also derogates the right of personal liberty, freedom of association, assembly, and movement, and allows security and armed forces to carry out arrests and searches without a warrant, she said.

Military operations

The Spokesperson said that on 21 June, the authorities announced that the command and control of the entire Honduran prison system was being transferred to the military police.

This decision came in the wake of a violent incident at the national womens prison in the town of Tamara, where 46 female inmates were killed when members of one gang attacked a part of the prison housing members of a rival gang, said Ms. Hurtado.

Rights violations

She also voiced concerns about human rights violations and adequate access to food, water, and the practice of subjecting inmates to sleep deprivation. Ms. Hurtado also reported ill treatment of inmates by the military police.

Initial monitoring by our Office, as well as information from civil society organizations and other sources with regard to military operations in prisons, indicates that inmates, in particular those allegedly associated with gangs, have been beaten and kicked by military police, she said.

Criminal justice challenges

She called on authorities to end the abuse, halt violence against inmates, and prevent further violations of human rights. She also called for accountability and prompt investigation of allegations of unnecessary or disproportionate use of force.

Efforts should immediately be redoubled to address long-standing criminal justice and prison challenges. These include the extensive use of incarceration, overcrowding, unsuitable living conditions, the lack of basic services, and inmates controlling some prisons, Ms. Hurtado said.

All efforts to address the prison challenge should be based on international human rights law and standards, including the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (known as the Nelson Mandela Rules), she said, empasizing that OHCHR in Honduras remains available to provide technical assistance.
A former Afghan interpreter, who immigrated with his family to America in 2021 to escape the Taliban, was shot dead in Washington recently, media reports said.

Police are currently searching for the suspects.

He was working as a ride-share driver in the USA.

"At approximately 12:08 am, First District officers responded to the listed location for the report of an unconscious person. Upon arrival, officers located an adult male shooting victim inside of a vehicle. DC Fire and Emergency Medical Services responded to the scene and transported the victim to an area hospital for treatment. After all life-saving efforts failed, the victim was pronounced dead," read a statement issued by the police.

Ahmad Yar, an interpreter who served alongside US Army Special Forces in Afghanistan for a decade before the Taliban takeover, had been working an extra rideshare shift when he was slain, according to a verified GoFundMe page, reports CNN.

Meanwhile, police said they are rewarding up to $25,000 to anyone that provides information which leads to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for each homicide committed in the District of Columbia.
Pixabay

A drone, which was carrying drugs worth millions of rupees, crashed in Lahore's Halloki area on Friday.

According to Kahna Station House Officer (SHO) Abdul Wahid, the incident took place in Rasoolpura village, reports Dawn News.

The drone, of size larger than usual, was carrying six kilogrammes of heroin when it crashed into the fields of a landlord identified as Rozdar, he told Dawn News.

Following the crash, several locals gathered around the drone.

Police also reached the spot following the crash.

SHO Wahid said the police had taken both the drone and the drugs  worth millions of rupees  into custody.

They have been handed over to the Anti-Narcotics Force for further investigation pertaining to where the drone was operated from and where it was headed, he told Dawn News.




Illustration: Liu Rui/GT

"Do you know how cocaine got into the White House?" One reporter asked US President Joe Biden on Wednesday. However, Biden just sat there and smiled without giving an answer.

A white powder discovered in a small zipped bag at the White House on Sunday was proven to be cocaine, according to US media outlets. The incident has sparked extensive discussions across the US, as various sides attempt to speculate about who the drug belongs to. However, an official noted that it was pretty difficult to identify the culprit, given that the bag was found in a heavily frequented area of the West Wing of the White House.

"Even if there were surveillance cameras, unless you were waving it around, it may not have been caught," said the official. "It's a bit of a thoroughfare. People walk by there all the time."

Some individuals justified the incident as merely "a failure of security, most likely by the US Secret Service." But is it really that simple? While cocaine was found at the presidential palace of the world's most powerful country, a location known for its high level of security and extensive protection measures, US officials are unable to identify the responsible party and attribute it to the limitations of White House surveillance cameras. Isn't it ridiculous to rely on such a feeble excuse to navigate through this situation? Imagine if a bomb instead of cocaine had been discovered at the White House, would these officials also let it go so easily?

Even though White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre claimed that they have confidence that "the Secret Service will get to the bottom of this," we should not anticipate any actual result from the promised investigation, as the White House, the home to US President and First Family, has long been no stranger to drugs.

In 2020, former US president Jimmy Carter revealed that his son James Earl "Chip" Carter had smoked pot with musician Willie Nelson on the White House roof in 1980. Rapper Snoop Dogg also admitted smoking marijuana in a White House bathroom in December 2013.

Moreover, several US leaders, privately or publicly, have acknowledged their drug history. Former presidents, such as Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama, admitted to smoking marijuana when they were younger. Obama went even further, revealing that he had used cocaine in the past, making him the only US president to confess to doing so.

The presence of drugs in the White House serves as a perfect example of the inability of the US, as a drug-infested nation, to manage illegal substances effectively. Apart from showing a sense of embarrassment, Biden's mysterious smile probably also proved how resignedly Biden is in the face of the drug epidemic in the country. With illegal substances infiltrating the White House and US presidents setting an example as drug users, one wonders if the US can ever truly eradicate its drug crisis.

Amid the intensified bipartisan tensions in the US, the White House cocaine has naturally stirred up a heated debate between the two parties in the US' public opinion sphere. Yet, rather than delving into the underlying causes, the focus of the discussion tends to shift toward blaming the opposing side. When it comes to drug-related issues, some US politicians are inclined to scapegoat other countries, diverting domestic attention away from their own country's shortcomings in drug control by creating an artificial "external threat."

Lu Xiang, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times that the US, particularly the Democratic administration, indulges the usage of several psychiatric medications. And when it found that drugs had caused tens of thousands of deaths directly every year, it started to blame other countries, demonstrating an extremely irresponsible attitude.

"The Republicans, on the other hand, are always attacking the Democrats for poor governance of the drug problem. But it's all about shouting out empty slogans, since they don't actually care about the issue either," Lu noted.

The Democratic and Republican parties have been locked in a pathological confrontation, which certainly does not help the US' drug control. There is a very interesting phenomenon in the country's bipartisan competition: The Republicans indulge guns and, thus, violence, while the Democrats call for looser drug regulation, which means they indulge drugs. Both parties support society's dark sides, which is hard to imagine for any normal society, added Lu.

Zhang Wenzong, Deputy Director of the Institute of American Studies at China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, said that the drug problem is, first and foremost, a US issue. "What the US needs to do urgently is to enhance its laws, law enforcement, policies at home and strive for cooperation from other countries, rather than threatening them."
American lawmakers have unequivocally condemned a recent incident of attempted arson at the Indian Consulate in San Francisco, labeling it a criminal act. The attack, carried out by Khalistan supporters, as displayed in a video posted on Twitter, has been vehemently criticized, with calls for swift justice against those responsible.

Congressmen Ro Khanna and Michael Waltz, co-chairs of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian-Americans, issued a joint statement denouncing the vandalism and incendiary attempts. They also expressed their disapproval of the incendiary rhetoric directed at Indias Ambassador to the US, Taranjit Singh Sandhu.

The alleged arson attempt occurred a few days after Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the Canada-based Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF) chief and one of Indias most-wanted terrorists, was killed outside a gurdwara in Canada.

The congressmens call for action was joined by Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick, who also emphasized the unacceptable nature of the attack on the Indian consulate. Congressman Rich McCormick, in a tweet, further underscored the American solidarity with their allies and the Indian-American community, deeming the attack as vile and intolerable.

The safety and security of diplomats living in the United States is a matter of grave concern, as conveyed by a spokesperson of the National Security Council of the White House. Indian-American Congressman Ro Khanna echoed this sentiment, emphasizing that the hate-filled rhetoric puts diplomats in harms way, thereby posing a serious risk to democracy.

Interestingly, this isnt the first instance where the Indian Consulate in San Francisco has faced such an attack. Pro-Khalistan protesters had previously damaged the consulate in March, breaking through makeshift security barriers and raising pro-Khalistan slogans.

The South Asian Minorities Collective, in a tweet, highlighted that the Khalistan movement, known for its alleged connections with the Pakistani intelligence service, has been trying to revive itself in recent years in the US, UK, and Canada.

In the wake of these disturbing incidents, Sikh leader Jasdeep Singh appealed for the perpetrators to face the full force of the law, emphasizing that such criminal activities have no place in a democracy. He also expressed his disappointment with the Khalistani movement being linked to these incidents, suggesting it casts a negative light on the Sikh community. Singh further called on the Biden administration to ensure the safety and protection of all foreign consulates and diplomats in the US, especially those from India.

As the investigations into the attack continue, the overarching sentiment among lawmakers and the public is clear: such acts of violence against diplomatic facilities and personnel are indefensible and must be dealt with swiftly and effectively. Despite the right to free speech and freedom of expression being fundamental in America, these rights should never be used as a pretext for violence, vandalism, or endangering lives.

(Image and Text: Khalsavox.com)
In yet another case of dog owners vs other residents, a video has gone viral on social media showing a woman getting into an argument with people who asked to muzzle her dog.

In the video from the lift of Logix Blossom County in Sector 137 in Noida, a woman can be seen standing with her pet dog.

Argument over muzzling dog

While the dog was leashed, a man and a woman can be heard asking the pet owner to put a muzzle on her dog.

SCREENGRAB

There is a mask around him, we are just asking you to put it on haven't you seen how many dog bites are taking place? a woman can be heard saying.

There is a pregnant lady around and what if the dog bit her, a man said, adding that there was an increase in cases of dog attacks.

This, however, did not go down well with the dog owner, who then said, People like you only run such videos dogs bite people like you only.

I am better than your wife

She continued refusing to muzzle and claimed that she wouldn't do it even if the couple stood there for 30 minutes.

When the man asks, What kind of a lady is she? the dog owner can be heard saying, I am better than your wife.

They abused me first

After the video of the confrontation went viral on social media, the pet owner, identified as Richa Srinet, posted a video on Twitter explaining her side of the story.

The woman claimed that she was upset after the couple verbally abused her and even said that "the dog is worth Rs 50 and the leash is worth Rs 200."

Asserting that the dogs are her children, the woman went on to claim that "Can we judge the worth of any living being?".

She also added that she was going through a lot of mental stress after the incident.

Should dogs be muzzled in public?

According to the guidelines set by the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) in 2015, pet owners are advised to leash their dogs, but RWAs and AOAs cannot insist on using muzzles. The rules also say that RWAs and societies cannot impose fines or penalties on pet owners and animal lovers.

PEXELS

Noida pet policy

Earlier this year, the Noida Authority's pet policy came into effect, under which all pets should be registered, and the registration should be renewed every year.

The policy also said it was the owner's responsibility to clean up after defecation by their pets. Not doing so will attract a fine of Rs 100 the first time, Rs 200 the second and Rs 500 for a third violation.

For more on news, sports and current affairs from around the world, please visit Indiatimes News.
Travelers arriving in Japan can now travel with less luggage through a new trial program. Japan Airlines (JAL) is offering passengers the option to rent clothes upon arrival, eliminating the need to check in a suitcase.

The "Any Wear, Anywhere" program allows passengers to borrow outfits based on size, season, and color preferences.

This initiative started on July 5th and will be available for at least 13 months.

Passengers can reserve clothes up to a month in advance and borrow them for two weeks as part of the initiative. According to the airline, the clothing available for rental consists of a mix of excess stock from brands and second-hand pieces.

The process involves delivering the rented clothes to the visitor's accommodation before arrival and collecting them at the end of their stay. The program is a collaboration with Japanese trading firm Sumitomo, and it aims to gather data on whether it helps reduce the overall weight of baggage being transported.

"With more and more people flying again after the COVID-19 pandemic and with the recent emphasis on sustainability, there is a growing movement around the world to promote sustainable tourism," said JAL.

"Travellers increasingly desire to make more sustainable choices regarding their travel destinations, accommodations, transportation, etc., but they still lack good options. For example, most travelers now enjoy eating at restaurants and staying at hotels at their destination, but they generally bring their clothing from home."

The Any Wear, Anywhere website highlights that reducing 10kg of weight in a passenger's baggage can lead to a decrease of 7.5kg in carbon dioxide emissions.

This reduction is equivalent to not using a hairdryer for 78 days, assuming an average usage of 10 minutes daily.

Unsplash

The prices for clothing rentals vary based on the number of items reserved and the style chosen. Currently, a men's casual summer selection comprising two pairs of shorts and three T-shirts costs 22.



For women interested in a smart-casual ensemble of three to four tops and two pairs of trousers for spring or autumn, the cost would be around 27.50.

For more trending stories, follow us on Telegram.


New Democracy received a vote of confidence on Saturday night in Parliament with an absolutely majority, based solely on the votes of its deputies, while most other parties voted against.
Operatives of the Bauchi State Police Command have arrested a 21-year-old woman, identified as Maimunatu Sulaiman, for stabbing her husband to death in the Kofar Dumi area of the state.

Acting Spokesperson of the Command, ASP Aminu Gimba Ahmed, who disclosed this in a statement on Friday, July 7, 2023, said the suspect stabbed her husband, Aliyu Mohammad in his chest with a knife after an altercation ensued between them.

The PPRO said the incident occurred at the couples home on Wednesday, July 5, 2023, adding that the suspect who sustained minor bruises on her stomach during the brawl, confessed to the crime.

READ ALSO: Fire Service Staff Murders 6-Year-Old Son For Bed-Wetting In Borno

Acted on information received on 5th July 2023 at about 2340hrs, the detectives attached to the Township Divisional Police headquarters, Bauchi have arrested one Maimunatu Sulaiman F Aged 21yrs old of Kofar Dumi area of Bauchi state for allegedly culpable homicide, the statement read.

While receiving the information from their end, the detectives led by the Divisional Police Officer immediately rushed to the crime scene at the address and took both the victim and the suspect to the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Teaching Hospital (ATBUTH), Bauchi for medical attention.

Consequently, reports obtained from medical doctors confirmed that the victim died as a result of an injury sustained on his chest, while the suspect sustained minor bruises on her stomach.

Preliminary investigation revealed that the suspect (Maimuna Suleiman) stabbed her husband Aliyu Mohammad m of the same address as a result of an altercation ensued between them on the 5th of July, 20223 at about 1800hrs in their matrimonial home.

During interrogation, the suspect confessed to having committed the crime.

Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Police CP Auwal Musa Mohammad, psc, has directed that the case be transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) for a discreet investigation to further unravel the circumstances that surround the death of the victim.

The suspect will be charged to court upon completion of the investigation, the PPRO added.
Meta owner, Mark Zuckerberg, has expressed delight at the success of his newest social application addition, Threads.

According to Zuckerberg, the Twitter-like app, which was launched only 48 hours ago, has attracted 70 million users worldwide.

Taking to the new application to share the good news with users, he said the number of people who have signed up thus far is not only impressive but has also exceeded Metas expectations.

70 million sign-ups on Threads as of this morning. Way beyond our expectations, he wrote.

The Meta boss also assured app users of ongoing improvements that will make the application user-friendly.

Information Nigeria reports that since its inception, it has seen widespread adoption from people all over the world.

READ ALSO: Twitter Threatens To Sue Meta Over Threads

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu recently announced his arrival on the app, joining other notable political figures and celebrities such as Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun, MrMacaroni, Woli Arole, Linda Ikeji, and a host of others.

The app, which allows Instagram users to create Threads accounts using their existing Instagram usernames, is now available in over 100 countries and allows users to share messages of up to 500 characters.

Recall that Twitter threatened to sue Meta just hours after the Instagram parent company launched Threads.

It was gathered that the allegations centre on trade secrets shared by ex-Twitter employees hired by Meta, but also hints that Meta may have been scraping Twitters data in violation of the terms of service.

Confirming reports of an impending lawsuit, Twitter owner, Elon Musk wrote on his social media page: Competition is fine, cheating is not.
The Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN) has directed Deposit Money Banks and Other Financial Institutions in the country to increase monitoring of transactions with businesses and persons in and from Cameroon, Croatia and Vietnam.

This was according to a circular referenced: FPR/AML/PUB/BOF/001/029, which was issued, on Thursday, by the Director, Financial Policy and Regulation, Mr Chibuzo Efobi.

According to CBN, Nigerian banks and other financial institutions need to watch transactions with those countries because they had been recently placed on a grey list by the Financial Action Task Force.

READ ALSO: CBN Orders Banks To Obtain Social Media Handles Of Customers

The Financial Action Task Force is an international body whose purpose is to develop and promote measures to combat money laundering, terrorist and proliferation financing.

Any country under increased monitoring is actively working with the FATF to address strategic deficiencies in its regime to counter money laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation financing.

The apex bank also said that the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea, Iran and Myanmar remain on the list of high-risk jurisdictions, which banks should closely monitor.

The Circular reads in part, The attention of banks and other Financial Institutions is drawn to the outcomes of Financial Action Task Force Plenary conducted from June 21-23, 3023 and subsequent addition of Cameroon, Croatia and Vietnam to the list of jurisdictions under Increased Monitoring.

Furthermore, Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea, Iran and Myanmar remain on the list of high-risk jurisdictions, subject to Call for Action.

Consequently, enhanced due diligence should be applied and in severe cases, counter-measures may need to be implemented to safeguard the international financial system.

Additionally, we would like to emphasise that the suspension of the Russian Federation from the FATF remains in effect.

FIs are to be vigilant to and be alert to possible emerging risks resulting from the circumvention of measures taken to protect the international financial system.

In light of these developments, FIs are directed to note all additions to jurisdictions under Increased Monitoring, as well as, high-risk jurisdictions subject to a Call-for-Action and take necessary measures to mitigate these risks effectively.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says financial consumers have the right to report their banks over unresolved failed transactions.

Elachi Samuel of the Consumer Protection Department disclosed this in Bauchi State during the apex banks fair to enlighten stakeholders and farmers on alternative payment channels to deepen financial inclusion.

On the rights and responsibilities of financial consumers, he said: It is within your right to receive transaction history on your mail to know how much you are being charged.

READ ALSO: CBN Sets N50,000 Daily Limit On Contactless Payments

This will allow you to know that youre not shortchanged or cheated. Financial consumers must know that they have the right to report their banks to the CBN over unresolved failed transactions.

If you report the problem to us, we will look at the issues and ensure that we do justice. Between May 20, 2013, and May 20, 2023, we were able to refund N115.45 billion of failed bank transactions. We received 35,453 complaints. We resolved 33,437.
To cushion the effects of the fuel subsidy removal in Taraba State, Governor Agbu Kefas, has declared free education in all state government primary and secondary schools, effective from next academic session.

Kefas disclosed this on Friday while on an assessment tour of primary and secondary schools in Wukari, his home town, Wukari Local Government Area.

According to the Governor, his administration would immediately embark on massive renovation of most of the schools to make them meet the demands of modern day education.

READ ALSO: Taraba Gov. Sacks 16 Local Govt Chairmen Days After Inauguration

Let me announce to you that by next academic session, the state government will take responsibility of the school fees and all of you will attend school free of charge.

We will continue to support you to have access to qualitative education for brighter future of our state, he said.

On his part, Zonal Director of Education, Daniel Nuhu, commended Kefas for making out time to personally assess the condition of public schools in the State.

Nuhu noted that the free education and renovation of primary and secondary schools would go a long way in turning around the fortunes of the less privileged in the State.

Recently, Kefas declared a state of emergency on primary and secondary education and slashed the school fees of Taraba University and that of College of Nursing and Midwifery Jalingo by 50 percent.
Richard Hovendick loved Beatrice and being involved in the community for the past 69 years.

Dick, as he was known, died at the age of 92 on July 4.

Born in Herman, Neb., he later served in the Army during the Korean War. He considered Beatrice his home.

He met and married the love of his life, Jackie Griffiths, at the University of Nebraska. They were married 63 years prior to her passing in 2018.

Dick managed farms and sold insurance after he and Jackie were married. Later, his father-in-law, asked him to consider becoming a funeral director.

His son, Steve Hovendick said his parents had just had their fourth child and his dad was working part-time in Kansas City.

He was going to school to become a funeral director and working part-time at a convenience store, he said.

Dick's son Rich Hovendick said his dad had just been honored for 60 years of service as a funeral director.

The funeral home has been in the family for 80 years, he said. There have been four generations with my maternal grandfather, dad, myself and now Sam.

Griffiths-Hovendick has locations in Beatrice, Wymore, Adams and DeWitt. His family said Dick was involved in each of those community events when he could.

Dicks life was marked by his dedication to his family. He is survived by his four sons, one daughter, and their spouses. He has ten grandchildren and twelve great grandchildren.

Steve said his dad missed his mom after her passing and continued to love her throughout his life.

He kept her portrait by the fireplace and said 'good morning sweety' and 'good night' every day, he said. It wasnt like he was depressed or cried and whined. It was a part of life and he missed her. It was with a respect.

Granddaughter Sam Thompson said he lit up when he saw his grandchildren and great grandchildren.

He may not have always remembered their name, but he would light up, she said.

Steve said he never talked with his dad on the phone until after his mom died.

She would just relay the information, but then after mom passed, if he would get lonely, he would just pick up the phone and call people," he recalled.

Steve noted that he felt like his dad shined as a parent when his children became young adults.

He really engaged with us when he could talk about business and character as an adult, he said.

Dick had been involved in the community and served on many boards, in his church, and service organizations. He had been an active member of the Rotary Club for 57 years.

Rotarian Jim Nelson said Dick was always welcoming and friendly.

When I moved to Beatrice in 1983 I was invited to Rotary, he said. Dick always made people feel welcome. He would ask about family and was encouraging. He was always at the meeting on Thursday and would always talk to the speaker after. He was a nice, friendly and caring man. Were going to miss him.

Steve noted that his dad often told the story of hospitals merging in Beatrice.

I dont remember this, but at the time the idea of merging the Lutheran Hospital and the Mennonite Hospital was pretty contentious, he said. Dad would say that the first meeting happened in his living room. He helped bring the community together.

Rich said that most of the members of each board were Lutheran or Mennonite respectfully, but Dick was Episcopalian and more neutral.

He was a mediator and an important part of the community, he said.

Rich said his dad had once commented on the number of awards he and his family had received.

We have all been recognized in the community, but commented that the award I had gotten from 4-H said more than any of the others, he said. Its about integrity, reputation and character. He would always tell us I gave you a name, its your job to live up to it.

Sam said that some people might think that is prideful.

It wasnt said in a prideful way, she said. It was setting an expectation of character. A high expectation and standard."

Growing up we went to a lot of church dinners and community events, Rich added. It always impressed me that he knew a lot of people and would stop and talk. He touched a lot of people. That continued throughout his life.

Sam noted that Dick may have built his business on relationship, but it became a ministry to him.

He was strong and professional, but he was never afraid to take someones hand and cry with them, she said. We do compassion in our business.

Rich said he had a good sense of humor and had a lot of one liners, and added his dad never said he retired.

He would say he was slowing down, but he was a funeral director as long as possible, he said. He would tell us if your body and mind allow you to work, then retirement is not something to consider.

Daughter-in-law Linda Hovendick said he hated it when he got sick and wasnt able to come in to work.

He said thats not the way he wanted it to end, she said. That was a big thing to him.

Steve noted that Dick continued to go to community events and work the room by talking to people.

Part of his legacy was that he never quit being a part of the community.

A Celebration of Life service will be held on Monday, July 10 at 1 p.m. at Christ Church Episcopal.
Some Muslim youths, Friday, took to the streets of Abuja, to show their anger over what they perceived as blasphemy in Sweden.

They gathered at the premises of the National Mosque and held a demonstration to condemn the alleged insult to their religion.

The protest began shortly before the Jummat prayers and intensified after the prayers when more youths joined the demonstration. They carried placards with messages such as Quran is our guide and We love Prophet Muhammad and sang songs of solidarity.

While barricading the road, preventing vehicles from passing through, they demanded that the Swedish government apologize and punish those responsible for the blasphemy.

Information Nigeria learnt that the action was triggered by an Iraqi immigrant who burnt Islams Holy Book outside a Stockholm (Sweden) Mosque during the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha.

The Iraqi man had said his action displayed his feelings about the Quran.

READ ALSO:

It however triggered widespread condemnation in the Islamic world.

Though the motive behind the Quran burning is unclear, some speculate that it may be related to the recent rise of anti-Muslim sentiment in Sweden and other European countries.

Sweden has seen several attacks on mosques and Muslim communities in recent years, including arson, vandalism, and bomb threats.

Some also suggest that the man may have been influenced by a Danish far-right group called Stram Kurs (Hard Line), which has staged several Quran burnings in Denmark and other countries.

Rasmus Paludan, the groups leader, was banned from entering Sweden in 2019 after he planned to burn a Quran wrapped in bacon near a mosque in Malmo.

The Quran burning has made Muslim leaders and organizations in Sweden and abroad call for swift justice and protection for the Muslim community.

They have also urged people to refrain from violence and provocation and to promote dialogue and tolerance.
Nollywood actress, Lolade Okusanya, has revealed that her mum approved of her playing an erotica role in Toyin Abrahams new movie, Ijakumo.

Okunsanya played the role of Sharon, an undercover stripper, in the crime thriller.

Featuring on TVCs programme, Your View, the thespian explained that she sent her mother and siblings strippers pictures and told them to expect her to play the same role in her upcoming movie.

She said her family was prepared as regards seeing her playing the role.

READ ALSO: Toyin Abraham Celebrates Birthday With New Movie

She said, I was not me. I was the character.

I was in that phase. I was not thinking of me. So, before this (playing the role), I had already Most important people in my life would be my family members, who I know would break me. So, while I was sending strippers videos to aunty Toyin Abraham, I was also sending them to my mum, my sister, my brother, and other important people in my life. I said, These are the kind of things you will see on Netflix, hope its fine? My mum said, Hmm.

But they had prepared their minds. They had prepared their own extended families minds. The people that mattered the most to me, were prepared. Social media can do its thing. But the people that mattered most to me were holding my hand.
Nigerian senator, Ben Murray-Bruce on has disclosed that he pre-ordered a flying car from California-based startup Alef Aeronautics which is reportedly worth over $300,000.

The former Bayelsa East Senator on Friday, tweeted this with a photo of the black car and a receipt showing the preorder notice.

Murray-Bruce, an advocate of electric cars, said he was thrilled to announce his pre-order, adding that flying cars are no longer sci-fi.

Murray-Bruce said he would be bringing it to Nigeria and hoped the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) would gladly receive it.

READ ALSO: Ukraine: Use Your Private Jets To Evacuate Nigerians Not Girlfriends  Ben Bruce Tells Politicians, Billionaires

I am thrilled to announce my preorder of Alef, @AlefAeronautics, the first FAA-approved flying electric car! A testament to our boundless futureflying cars arent just for sci-fi anymore. For years, Ive been an advocate for electric vehicles, and I was the first to own one in Nigeria.

Heres to the next leap in transportation. Africa, we rise! Excited to bring this revolution to Nigeria, and I hope the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), @NigeriaCAA, is ready, he wrote.

See post below:
Operatives of the Rivers State Police Command have killed six suspected kidnappers during a raid on their hideout at Obelle community in Emohua Local Government Area of the state.

The Commissioner of Police, Nwonyi Emeka, who disclosed this while addressing journalists in Port Harcourt on Friday, July 7, 2023, said operatives also arrested six suspected cultists and kidnappers, who have been terrorising the Emohua local government axis of the East-West Road.

The CP stated that operatives of Anti-cultism and Tactical Units stormed the hideout of a gang, led by one Uchechukwu Daniel and on sighting the Police, the hoodlums opened fire.

He further stated that the Police responded and in exchange of gunfire six of the hoodlums were fatally wounded, six arrested while others escaped with bullet wounds in different directions.

Sequel to the criminal activities along the East-West Road axis in Emohua, operatives attached to the anti-cultism unit in conjunction with a tactical team invaded a hideout of one Uchechukwu Daniel Okana, aka Horn man at Obele community in Emohua.

On sighting the operatives they opened fire on them. The rapid response from the anti-cultism unit in collaboration with other tactical teams neutralized and dislodged them as they scampered for safety. Six were neutralised while six were arrested. The six arrested suspects are helping the detectives in further investigation, he said.

READ ALSO: Lagos Recorded 111 Defilement Cases In 3 months  Police

In the same vein, the Police Commissioner said that on June 30, 2023, Police operatives on patrol along King Perekule Junction, GRA, Port Harcourt, intercepted and rescued a kidnap victim, who narrated how one of their friends was kidnapped and taken away.

The victim narrated that one of their friends was kidnapped and taken away by the hoodlums, who were operating in a carton colour Lexus RX 350 jeep.

After shooting at their vehicle tyre. Pieces of 7.2 empty shells and a techno phone belonging to the victim were also recovered.

The Police Commissioner stated that on Friday June 30, 2023, a cult related activity was taking place at Hospital Road, Bonny, but the cultists ran away on sighting the Police, while one pistol, a bag and techno phone were recovered.

CP Emeka revealed that on June 20, 2023, the Special Area Division at Rumudomaya community in Obio-Akpor local government area and local vigilance group raided criminal hideout in the community.

He stated that suspects both men and women aged between 15 to 28 years were arrested and different hard drugs recovered from them.

He further stated that at Slaughter, behind Rumuokoro Market, also in Obio-Akpor local government area, three Police Mobile Force (PMF) uniforms, Army cap, locally fabricated pistol, live cartridges were recovered when the combined team of Policemen and vigilante stormed the hideout.

The CP also revealed that operatives of Anti-cultism unit, Bori annex on July 5, 2023, while on patrol at Yokuru community in Khana local government area, arrested one Baridara Baridam, aka Ojukwu, who had been on wanted list of Police.

He said the suspect is a member of a three-man gang including one a.k.a Mali and Lekia terrorizing Ogoni axis of East-West road.

Emeka listed exhibits recovered from the suspect to include two AK47 riffles.

The police boss also said on July 6, 2023, acting on credible information, Police operatives trailed kidnappers to their hideout, victims were rescued unhurt at Ozuoha community in IKwerre local government area of the state, while one Mr. Buchi David was arrested.

He listed exhibits recovered to include one locally fabricated arms, cut to size guns, and six cartridges.

See photos below:
As the sit-at-home violence of the Indigenous People of Biafra escalates in the South-East, the Arewa Youths Consultative Forum (AYCF) has asked Governors of the affected States to take measures in protecting the lives and property of Northerners living in South-Eastern communities.

AYCFs President, Yerima Shettima, who disclosed this in a statement issued journalists in Kaduna, condemned the mindless, unrelenting violent disturbances caused by certain South-East interest groups in the form of the agitation for a separate state of Biafra.

Aware that the perpetrators of violence, relentlessly pursuing this agenda of destruction and collective mayhem, fervently hope it will engulf the entire country and bring about mass killings and suffering of innocent people, the AYCF is calling for guaranteed protection of the lives and properties of Northerners in the entire southeast.

We are worried that often the mindless violence and extremist terrorist actions perpetrated by IPOB and its followers in the South-East resort to the long-practiced tactics of attacks against northerners and against agents and symbols of the Federal Government of Nigeria.

READ ALSO: Sit-At-Home: Nnamani Reacts As Suspected IPOB Members Assault Pupils, Teachers In South-East

We are therefore compelled to demand from the South-East governors action to ensure an environment in which the Northerner is safe and secure wherever he chooses to live and work in the Southeast just as the North is ready to support other Nigerians to benefit from our tolerance and accommodation if they show appropriate respect for the context of their livelihoods.

It is in our culture to welcome and live with outsiders, and we must never be tired of reminding other Nigerians that the laws of the land demand that every Nigerian lives and earns his legitimate living in any part of Nigeria without discrimination or molestation, Shettima said.

According to him, the North is well aware that, unlike the previous set of governors of South-Eastern states, the current state administrations are demonstrating some level of commitment to resisting the IPOBs terrorist tactics.

We also commend the renewed gallantry of our troops under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to checkmate the maneuvers of all terror outfits in the country, he said.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will leave Abuja for Guinea-Bissau on Saturday, July 8, to attend the 63rd Ordinary Session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), taking place in Bissau, the capital of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau.

This was made known by the Special Adviser to the President on Special Duties, Communications, and Strategy, Dele Alake, in a statement made available to the public on Friday.

INFORMATION NIGERIA reports that the summit, which will takes place on Sunday, 9 July, is expected to address memoranda on pressing sub-regional issues.

According to Alake, President Tinubu will be accompanied by some members of the Presidential Policy Advisory Council and other top government officials.

READ MORE: Tinubu Returns To Nigeria After Paris, London Trips

He said the President is expected back in the country at the end of the meeting.

The Summit, which takes place on Sunday, July 9, is expected to address memoranda on pressing sub-regional issues including the Report of the 50th Ordinary Session of the Mediation and Security Council (MSC) covering security challenges faced by the member countries; Report of the 90th Ordinary Session of ECOWAS Council of Ministers on the financial situation of the body and the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA); as well as Report on the status of Transition in the Republics of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Guinea.

Other items slated for discussion include Memoranda on the ECOWAS Single Currency Programme and the Report on Obstacles to Free Movement of Goods on the Abidjan- Lagos corridor, the statement added.

This will be Tinubus second official outing outside the country since he was sworn in as the 16th President of Nigeria on May 29.

Tinubu first left the country as President on June 20 to Paris, France for a two-day New Global Financial Pact organised by French President Emmanuel Macron.
The Nigerian Army said on Friday that its troops of 223 Battalion, operating under Sector 1 of Joint Task Force, North West Operation Hadarin Daji, in a rescue operation conducted in the early hours, rescued 24 kidnap victims after a shootout with bandits.

The victims, including a child and others, regained their freedom after the fire-fight with notorious bandits at Kabugu Lamba; an abandoned village in Maru Local Government Area of Zamfara state, North West Nigeria.

According to the Director of Army Public Relations, Brig Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu said, The gallant troops led by the Commanding Officer of the Battalion, stalked and swooped on the bandits, annihilating 4 of them in a ferocious fire fight that ensued.

The victims, including a minor, 9 females and 14 males have been extricated and evacuated from the kidnappers hideout by the troops.

INOFRMATION NIGERIA reports that the rescue operation comes barely a week after the troops rescued 20 kidnap victims in Shinkafi LGA of Zamfara State, while on a routine patrol in the general area.

READ MORE: Zamfara Police Rescue Nine Kidnap Victims, 85 Still In Captivity

During preliminary investigation, the victims revealed that they had spent 21 to 53 days, individually, at the hands of their captors while other victims revealed that they were released from the camp of a notorious bandit kingpin, Bello Turji, due to pressure from the air bombardment and operations of ground troops.

The victims, who disclosed that they were fed two times a day with food cooked by the bandits wives, also revealed that there were over 20 bandit camps in the forest where they were kept.
Dionne Long spends time with her almost 2-year-old son Truth on Monday, July 3, 2023. Long took part in the Lullaby Project through Carnegie Hall, where mothers work with musicians and music educators to write original lullabies. Read more

The little concert was an intimate affair  just the performers, some family members, and friends in a classroom at Rowan Universitys Wilson Hall.

Marionne Bansing, elegant in a long red dress that was quite a change from the stay-at-home mom garb thats been her norm of late, took her place at the front of the room. But as her music began to play, Bansings hands fluttered up to her face.

Im nervous! she blurted out.

But a very important person was there that evening: her songs inspiration, 10-month-old daughter Keily. The first-time mother took a deep breath and began to sing:

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I loved you before I knew you.

Your little kicks told me you did, too

 Its the little moments with you.

You teach me how much I love you.

You teach me to be a better person, too 

There wasnt another sound in the room. Except for one: By the songs close, Keily was happily babbling along.

Little Moments is part of the Lullaby Project, an initiative of Carnegie Halls Weill Music Institute that invites mothers and other caregivers to create lullabies for their babies with the help of professional musicians and music educators.

The eight South Jersey families who recently completed Rowan School of Musics Lullaby Project are among the over 3,500 families globally who have participated in the initiative since its 2011 inception in New York City. Songs have been written in over 20 languages across the U.S., including Philadelphia, and around the world, including Canada, Australia, and some European, South American, and Asian countries. A few African countries are expected to join in, too. The musical styles range from classic lullaby to rock, Latin, spoken word, and everything in between. Mothers have written their lullabies from homeless shelters, prisons, hospitals, and other institutions, as well as their homes.

Hundreds of these lullabies are available on SoundCloud for anyone to hear. In addition, Hopes and Dreams: The Lullaby Project, an album of the songs, was recorded with professional artists including Fiona Apple, Lawrence Brownlee, Dianne Reeves, Roseanne Cash, Patti Lupone, Rhiannon Giddens, and more. Each year, Carnegie Hall holds a lullabies concert.

But the project isnt only about the music. Over the several weeks of the project, the mothers keep a journal. In the journal, and with the musician theyre working with, they may explore feelings about parenthood, their own childhood, their hopes for their child, as well as what they want their lullaby to sound like and what they want it to say. The goal is to use music to help support the parent-child bond, early childhood development, and maternal well-being.

The Philadelphia Lullaby Project started three years ago, first with World Cafe Live as the lead agency and now with music education nonprofit Musicopia, with other community agencies taking part. It is ongoing, and new participants are welcome.

The research firm WolfBrown has been studying the impact of the Philadelphia project as part of an NEA Research Lab, supported by the William Penn Foundation. The focus is on family engagement, music in early literacy, and the role of parents as first music teachers.

Among the soon-to-be-published Philadelphia findings are positive results for the mothers and, ultimately, their children, according to researcher Dennie Palmer Wolf. Women involved in the project feel more empowered, with more satisfaction in their role as caregivers, she has found. They also develop more understanding of their childrens behavior.

They come to see their children in much more complex ways, Wolf said.

Dionne Long, 37, of East Falls, remembers telling her mother a few weeks before she found out she was pregnant that she was kind of ambivalent about having children. That all changed when she learned she was having her son Truth.

I just really felt like it was a gift. I was humbled, said Long, a single mother and an accountant who participated in Phillys ongoing Lullaby Project.

Truth is nearly 2 now. He plays with his friends in day care while his mom is at work. Other than that, Im 100% focused on Truth. When Long was a child, she said, she was moved often from parent to parent to grandparent. Back then, she said, she wasnt sure where she belonged or who she could rely on. Those are things I dont want Truth to ever feel.

Her lullaby, Truth, My Love, is spoken word with a smooth jazz sound. She and Truth made it together. You can hear his laughter, and you can hear her love. Long likes that the words will last  something tangible for us to have in the future. There should Truth want or need to hear them:

I will always be there to not let you fall. When you face a fork in the road, I am always right behind you. Truth, I am grateful to have you as my son.

During the several weeks of the Rowan Lullaby Project, the mothers were invited to write a letter to their child, imagining them growing up, said Lynn Gumert, a music therapist and composer who directed the project and teaches at Rowan.

You do hear hopes and dreams, they said. There is definitely a role for the lullaby as youre looking forward to the future. Youre imagining a future for your child that may be better.

Madison Foltz, 25, has no lullabies leftover from her childhood. Instead, her memories are a cacophony of shouts, reprimands, and worse. When she met Robert Foltz, 49, the man who would become her husband, at work at Amazon, they discovered theyd had similar childhoods.

When the Salem County couple started their family, they decided they wanted it to be a kind, safe place for themselves and their children.

Their lullaby, Froggy Song, borrows from a tune on the cartoon Puffin Rock. They chose it because their son Raymond, 1  years old, already loved it. They fine-tuned the words for him. Its gentle and playful, like their little boy.

On their recording, Robert sings and Madison plays the guitar. She hadnt played in a while, so she was a bit self-conscious, but Robert encouraged her. Last month, the Foltzes had a second son, Lloyd. Theyd like to create a lullaby for him, too.

We make everything about the kids now, she said. When me and Rob were writing the song, it was a way of saying, I love you. Its a different language.

It may not have been Carnegie Hall, but the little classroom concert was momentous for Marionne Bansing, 33. The last time she sang in public was several years ago in her old church in the Philippines. She dressed Keily in a frilly red dress, the color of her own gown. Her husband Norly Cuyugan, 35, wore a red T-shirt.

Her life had not always been so intentional. She and Cuyugan were both visiting relatives in the United States during the pandemic when they were laid off from their jobs with Air Asia, a Malaysian airline similar to Frontier. They ended up staying here, with Cuyugans family helping them at first. They settled in Sewell.

In New Jersey, she and Cuyugan decided to get married. Then last August, Keily was born. And so was a great love.

The Lullaby Project gave her an opportunity to explore many feelings, including ones shed buried. I discovered a lot about myself, Bansing said. She said it is an honor to spend time with her daughter.

She learned she could do some things she would have never thought she could, like write a lullaby and sing it before a roomful of people with her little girl watching.

When Keily is grown up, I want to be able to tell her that I performed this for her, Bansing said. And I made this song for her.
Natalie Lukasik, 30, of East Falls, associate at Anthropologie's Marlton location, helps customers tag chairs they are planning to buy during the Anthropologie pop-up furniture sale at the Philadelphia Mills Mall. Read more

Nearly 200 people lined up just as the Philadelphia Mills Mall opened its doors at 9 a.m. Friday, snaking past clothing stores and an Auntie Annes stand for a shot at heavily discounted pink couches, vintagey end tables, and viral rose gold-framed mirrors.

That was the scene at Anthropologies pop-up furniture sale, which is occupying a vacant storefront at the Northeast Philly mall through July 23 and pushing discounts of what they say is up to 60% off.

The deals  coupled with an influencer marketing campaign spanning Instagram and TikTok  have created a fervent following around Anthropologies home decor that youd sooner associate with Taylor Swift concerts or streetwear drops. For those who drove hours for the pop-up, its about both the art of the deal and building community with people who would also skip work to browse furniture.

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On Friday, the 40,000-square-foot space was filled with color-coordinated rows of furniture and home accessories, freshly stocked after the pop-up initially sold out within 24 hours of opening on July 2. Employees handed out water bottles and granola bars to the Anthropologie acolytes waiting in line.

Among them was Trish Gentile, 63, who was first in line for the sale with her daughter. The duo drove nearly two hours from Long Island before waiting in the parking lot at 6:50 a.m., all in hopes of securing a set of planters, lamps, and tastefully upholstered chairs.

Our plan is to divide and conquer, said Gentile, while her daughter, who didnt want to be named, examined the pop-ups floor plan. Gentile would look for chairs, her daughter would snag the smaller items, and theyd rendezvous near the rugs before checkout.

Cameron Tucker, 32, of Fairmount, was also there with her mom after friends flooded her Instagram direct messages with the same video from @phlbucketlist, a Philadelphia lifestyle influencer with over 288,000 followers.

Tucker, who described her home aesthetic as anthro (short for Anthropologie) was on the hunt for an end table and chairs to fill her bedroom, but the real star of the show is the 6-foot-tall version of the Gleaming Primrose Mirror, which has gone viral thanks to its regency-style framing. Normally retailing for upward of $1,700, the piece is on sale for $500.

She probably doesnt even know what the mirror looks like, said Tucker about her mom, whom she considers to be her stylist and interior designer. I made her take off work because she has a bigger car.

Building a consumption community

The magic of Anthropologies pop-up sale lies in its ability to create a FOMO-inducing experience, said Barbara Kahn, a professor of marketing at the University of Pennsylvanias Wharton School of Business, where she researches consumer decision-making.

Kahn likened the following around Anthropologies Central Pennsylvania warehouse sales and pop-ups to the one that accompanied Supreme and Louis Vuittons footwear collaboration in 2017, which used limited-run product drops to create experiences that tie consumers identities to the brands.

 READ MORE: A look inside Anthropologie's home goods and furniture outlet in Pittsburgh

Some of what was happening there had to do with the line itself, said Kahn. People like the community of waiting in line, even if they dont end up with something.

Anthropologie heightened the fear of missing out with an expansive influencer marketing campaign previewing the sale.

We greatly value our relationships with our content creators and influencers in our social community, Anthropologie said in a statement. The company declined to answer questions about the cumulative reach of these videos or the number of creators they worked with.

Kahn said the influencer marketing campaigns true purpose is to create a consumption community, wherein people form friendships and personalities through the things they buy.

Their videos say to viewers, If you consider yourself a trendy Philadelphian, you need to be at this sale,  Kahn said.

Sarah Warden, 33, of the Italian Market neighborhood, found out about the sale from a TikTok by Cass Foley  aka @cassinthecity  that has been viewed more than 76,000 times. Warden could list past Anthropologie deals with warp speed: They offered 30% off during Black Friday last year; their annual winter sale is 40% off.

Ny Richardson, 29, who drove from Newark, N.J., with her best friend, knew she had to snag a mirror after hearing about the sale from lifestyle influencers.

Once stuff is on TikTok, I have to check it out, said Richardson.

The psychology of a good sale

Anna Aguillard, 28, commuted two hours from D.C. for a modest haul: two rugs, a bathroom cabinet, a small mirror, and a basket that she hasnt the faintest idea of what to fill it with.

In line to check out, Aguillard estimated that she had spent just under $1,000, but wasnt hung up on prices, since everything is supposed to be a good deal.

Thing is: How do you know if Anthropologies pop-up is actually chock full of bona fide discounts?

You dont, said Kahn, because the Philadelphia Mills pop-up operates a lot like a TJ Maxx. Shoppers have little idea about what theyre going to find, so theres no reference for whats a fair price.

Its like a personal challenge, said Kahn. You dont know if the item you want is there, just that youre getting a good deal.

For Shanee Griffith, 30, who bought a sectional for $2,000 on a whim after driving from Harlem to Philadelphia without a U-Haul, that idea rang true.

This felt like a treat, Griffith said before sinking into her new couch.
Keke Palmer attends The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the "In America: A Lexicon of Fashion" exhibition on Monday, Sept. 13, 2021, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP) Read more

If youve scoured the internet the past few days, youve likely seen the drama between Keke Palmer and her boyfriend Darius Jackson.

Jackson made headlines after he slammed the actress on Twitter for wearing a fitted outfit for an Usher concert in Las Vegas, where Palmer was seen being serenaded by the R&B star. Many Palmer fans claimed the comments were motivated by insecurity or jealousy. But a local TikToker has another theory.

On Thursday, Philly native Cierra Williams took to the video-sharing app, claiming Jacksons embarrassing antics are because of his ties to Philly.

That man is from Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, she said in the video, which has amassed nearly 500,000 views and over 90,000 likes.

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Its nothing we can do but send Ms. Palmer some love, light, and prosperity because if theres one thing a man from Philly is going to do, its be embarrassing. They cant help it. They dont got no impulse control.

(While news outlets have reported that Jackson is from Philadelphia, The Inquirer wasnt able to confirm that. His family does have close ties to the city and his social media is filled with displays of Phillies and Eagles fandom. The fitness instructor even has a tattoo of the Love sculpture!)Also worth noting: Jackson briefly deleted his instagram but has reinstated it, without pictures of Palmer, leaving their relationship status unclear.

The Inquirer spoke to Williams and asked if men from Philly (Jackson included) are really as bad as she claims. The conversation has been edited for brevity and clarity.

Whats your perspective on the drama between Palmer and her boyfriend Darius Jackson?

Its just a control thing. If shes the breadwinner and powerful one in the relationship, then hes probably thinking, Where does that leave me? I feel like thats something men struggle with a lot times. Instead of bringing it up with her, he decided to tell us on Twitter like it was our business. And that was his first mistake.

But why drag Philly men into this? What makes them embarrassing?

I feel like its twofold. On one hand, their brains only have capacity for sports, like Go Birds, the Eagles, the Phillies, and the Sixers. Thats one part of it, and the other part is a lot of times they dont have the space to be themselves. So, it just makes them very strange because they have a different persona than who they are.

Meek Mill is not a real person pic.twitter.com/UllzQiJ9fO  Ahmed/The Ears/IG: BigBizTheGod  (@big_business_) July 4, 2023

Who would you say is the perfect example of an embarrassing Philly man?

I feel like the main thing everyone needs to know is that Meek Mill took a picture with fries on his lap at the pool. I dont know what else we need to talk about. He also posted a video of him [on Instagram] about to throw up in a toilet, and put the caption, Too much liquor smh... with his hands crawling and grasping for life. Theres nothing else we need to discuss.

Why do you think people dragged Jacksons tweets?

[Palmer] has always had a real positive image. Shes never really been in drama, so it was really weird that he would try to tarnish her image that shes worked so hard to build. Shes been a child star and now an adult star, so trying to ruin that is insane.

Do you think Jackson tweeted that out to gain attention. Or, was he unsure how to address the situation?

It was that small percentage of the Philly in him that decided, Im not in a good mood, so you wont be in a good mood. I think that was really it. I dont think there was even that much of a thought process. I dont think hes that vindictive in that sense. I think he just woke up and wanted her to have a bad day because she was having fun with Usher.

What do Philly guys have to say about the theory that they are just embarrassing? One Philly-based male on Twitter put it best when retweeting Williams:

Thats right Go Birds.
WASHINGTON  As part of an effort to address a crisis of missing and slain Native Americans, the Department of Justice is focusing new resources on the Northwest, putting a dedicated prosecutor in Eastern Washington and a coordinator in Oregon.

U.S. Attorney Vanessa Waldref, the top federal prosecutor in the Eastern District of Washington, announced the program June 28. In an interview, she said her office was "thrilled" to be chosen as one of five districts in the nationwide program to prosecute cases of missing and murdered Indigenous people, or MMIP.

"I really wanted Eastern Washington to be a leader in addressing the MMIP crisis," Waldref said, adding that her team advocated for the new assistant U.S. attorney to join them because of their history of prosecuting homicides and strong relationship with tribal law enforcement agencies on the Yakama, Colville, Spokane and Kalispel reservations.

The Justice Department program, according to a news release, will permanently place one assistant U.S. attorney and one coordinator in each of five regions across the country. Waldref said she expected the Northwest coordinator to travel around the region from a base in Portland, while it wasn't yet decided whether the prosecutor would be based in Spokane or Yakima.

The problem of missing and murdered Indigenous people  particularly women and girls  is not new, but it has gained attention after years of activism in Native communities. A 2019 study of Indigenous people funded by the National Institute of Justice found that over 84% of women and nearly 82% of men had experienced violence in their lifetimes, while a 2008 study found that in some counties, Native women are murdered at a rate 10 times the national average.

Margo Hill, a professor at Eastern Washington University, said that when Native Americans are the victims of homicide, kidnapping and other crimes, solving those cases is often hampered by limited resources, complex jurisdictional issues and poor coordination between law enforcement agencies.

Hill, a citizen of the Spokane Tribe and former tribal court judge, said a more engaged Justice Department could help address those problems. That's especially important in felony cases committed on tribal land, she said, where federal prosecutors generally have jurisdiction.

"I think it's a great idea  we need help anywhere we can get it," Hill said. "We have tribal attorneys that advocate for families of murdered and missing Indigenous people, but to have allies in the federal system from Department of Justice, I think that's great."

According to the Washington State Patrol, as of July 3 there were 134 Native people reported missing in the state: 33 girls, 19 boys, 37 women and 45 men. Indigenous victims represent 5% of unsolved homicides in Washington, despite Native Americans making up less than 2% of Washington's population, according to the attorney general's office.

In making the case to host a dedicated prosecutor in the Eastern District of Washington, Waldref said, "We highlighted both our experience and also the severity of the problem  of homicides that we're seeing in our district, the Yakama Nation and the Colville Reservation  and our desire to do more to address those issues here."

Emily Washines, a historian and Yakama Nation member, said violence against Indigenous people has to be understood in the historical context of the United States making laws that barred tribes from defending their own citizens. She pointed to the 1855 rape and murder of Yakama women by gold prospectors, which began the Yakima War when Yakama men killed the prospectors, prompting the U.S. government to retaliate.

"Our first reported case was in 1855, and the U.S. government's response was a three-year war," Washines said. "They have never addressed that. They've never apologized for that."

Washines said she sees a parallel in the case of Maddesyn George, a Colville tribal member who was sentenced to six and a half years in prison for killing a man who she said had sexually assaulted her. A judge found her allegation against the man credible, but George pleaded guilty to manslaughter and a drug charge because the killing was not in self-defense.

Waldref, whose office prosecuted George, acknowledged the need to restore trust between Native communities and federal law enforcement.

"Being present on the reservations and building that trust relationship is so important," she said, "so that witnesses feel comfortable speaking with FBI investigators, speaking with our office, so that we have more viable cases that we can bring forward in federal court."

The Justice Department's announcement adds to progress tribes and their allies have made at the state level and in Congress in recent years.

In 2019 and 2020, the Washington State Patrol hired tribal liaisons for Western and Eastern Washington, respectively. In April, Gov. Jay Inslee signed a bill to create a special unit to investigate cases of missing or slain Native people.

Rep. Dan Newhouse, a Republican whose district includes the Yakama Nation and part of the Colville Reservation, introduced legislation Thursday that aims to bolster tribal law enforcement agencies, partly by giving tribal officers access to federal benefits. That bill's cosponsors include Reps. Derek Kilmer, D-Gig Harbor; Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Spokane; and Mike Simpson, R-Idaho Falls.

Jarred-Michael Erickson, chairman of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, said in a statement that the Parity for Tribal Law Enforcement Act would remove barriers to tribal officers enforcing federal laws on reservations and help retain staff, "which is critical for rural tribes that have large land bases and not enough officers to adequately patrol."
Peter Nero, 89, the legendary pianist, longtime player-conductor of the Philly Pops, and jazz maestro, died Thursday.

His daughter, Beverly Nero, said he died of natural causes at Home Care Assisted Living Facility in Eustis, Fla. Services will be private.

We are saddened today to hear of Peter Neros passing, the Philly Pops wrote in a statement. There are countless unforgettable moments which Peter brought to Philadelphia. The Philly Pops has always been inspired by his vision, his talent, and his artistry.

The former child prodigy, born Bernard Nierow on May 22, 1934, began his musical journey on the New York childrens talent-show circuit. Equipped with nimble fingers and a winning charm that endeared the crowds, he rose from smoky piano lounges to concert stages at the summit of his musical powers.

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The revered pianist, who worked with the likes of Frank Sinatra, Rod Stewart, Johnny Mathis and Mel Torme, carved his path by releasing acclaimed albums and taking up club dates and talk show appearances. That all led to his repute as a musical treasure and beloved showman who could program a two-hour concert that blended pop, classic and jazz genres.

I enjoy showing how the lines blur, Mr. Nero said in a 2007 interview with The Inquirer.

Mr. Nero knew no musical bounds, and as much as he delighted his listeners and patrons who basked in his artistic glory for decades at the Kimmel Center, he dared to explore the freedom of his artistry by simply playing the music he liked. It has to be a combination of things you put in their laps and things that are a challenge because if its not a challenge, theyre going to get bored, Mr. Nero told The Inquirer.

His recordings started in 1961, when the young musician signed with RCA to a 24-album deal over eight years, which in todays industry is a deal more likely found in a trash bin than sealed and signed in a manila folder.

Before landing his first deal, Mr. Nero studied at New Yorks High School of Music and Art, now the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, and studied part time at Juilliard on Saturdays. And while earning a bachelor of arts degree at Brooklyn College, he studied privately with esteemed piano pedagogues Abram Chasins and Chasins wife, Constance Keene.

Although Mr. Nero said his parents werent musically inclined, they splurged by buying him a $1,100 piano, quite pricey for the era. It was the only time they borrowed money, Mr. Nero said.

Mr. Nero played the childrens talent shows during the 1950s and eventually garnered the attention of Paul Whiteman, whom he toured with for several years.

After playing with his own trio at the Tropicana in Las Vegas, Mr. Nero returned to New York and was eventually hired by Jillys, a 52nd Street saloon that served as a hangout for Frank Sinatra, Jackie Gleason, and a troupe of musicians.

Under owner Jilly Rizzo, Mr. Nero developed his jazz chops, and the deal with RCA and his eventual move to Columbia Records sealed his fate as a long-standing musical titan. In the 1970s, the Summer of 42 single helped him land sales of $1 million.

Over the course of his career, Mr. Nero released upward of 70 albums and conducted the Philly Pops often with one hand while the other gilded over the piano keys.

Mr. Neros talents were acknowledged among his peers. Ray Charles marveled at Mr. Neros abilities in an interview with Keyboard Magazine: Art Tatum could play anything he wanted to. ... Of course, Oscar [Peterson] is my man. ... I probably feel closest to Hank Jones after Oscar. ... And Peter Nero plays his buns off!

Mr. Nero took his final stand as Philadelphia Pops director in 2013.

The crowd rose in a standing ovation before he graced the keyboard, and Mr. Nero gave his last directorial signal before closing out that concert in Verizon Hall.

The board, musicians, and administration of the No Name Pops are saddened to learn of the passing of our musical hero, Peter Nero, the group wrote in a statement, using the name that the group has been going by lately. We remember years of playing in front of Independence Hall, on the Steps of the Art Museum, the Academy of Music, and of course, Verizon Hall on the Kimmel Cultural Campus. Words cannot describe the joy he brought to Philadelphia and the world. The No Name Pops will do everything in our power to honor Peters Legacy as we move forward.

Mr. Nero was married and divorced three times. His first wife was childhood sweetheart Marcia Dunner, with whom he had two children, Jedd and Beverly. His second was Peggy Altman, a flight attendant from Alabama, and the third, former Philly Pops pianist Rebecca Edie.

Along with his daughter, Mr. Nero is survived by his son, Jedd; three grandchildren; and his brother, Alan.
House Speaker Joanna McClinton, a Democrat, helped champion a bill that passed the House on Friday banning discrimination based on hairstyles. Read more

Discrimination based on a persons hairstyle could be outlawed in Pennsylvania, in an effort to protect Black residents who wear their hair in natural or protective styles.

Currently, state law does not prevent discrimination based on hair type, texture or style in places of employment, schools or other public settings. Black people, and particularly Black women, have long faced discrimination for wearing their hair in styles such as Afros, braids, locs, twists, or knots.

Black Pennsylvanians are experiencing the indignities of having to justify their natural hair, said Rep. LaTasha Mayes (D., Allegheny), who sponsored the bill. There is a prevailing norm that to be professional, valuable, acceptable and respectable, your hair has to look a certain way  a Eurocentric standard.

The CROWN Act, which stands for Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair, would add hair type, texture, and style as a protected class in the states anti-discrimination law. It does not preclude any health, safety, or grooming standards in the workplace.

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The bill will now go to the Republican-controlled Senate, which must also pass it before it could go to Gov. Josh Shapiro for his signature. If the measure becomes law, Pennsylvania would join a growing number of states and cities that have moved to outlaw hair discrimination; at least 23 other states have passed their own versions of the CROWN Act.

The bill passed the House with wide bipartisan support, 181-21.

Speaker Joanna McClinton (D., Philadelphia) introduced the proposal in 2019 and 2021, but it did not get a vote under House Republican leadership. Democrats took control of the House earlier this year by a narrow majority.

Although I was told for four years that there were no Republican votes for it, I am thrilled that on today there were plenty of votes for it, McClinton told reporters Friday. Each of us represent people of color.

McClinton originally worked on the legislation with U.S. Rep. Summer Lee (D., Pa.), when she was still in the state House. Lee is now working on federal CROWN Act legislation.

I could not be more excited that the Pa. House has passed our bill to end hair discrimination and make respect for beautiful Black hair law in our commonwealth, Lee said in a statement. My Sister Rep turned Speaker McClinton and I introduced the Crown Act in the State House after a student in my district was told change your hair or go home.

In floor debate on the issue Thursday, at least one Republican member called the legislation frivolous as budget negotiations remain stalled.

For my colleagues who think this is unnecessary or frivolous, try being a Black person in Pennsylvania on any given day, Mayes said Friday, before the bills final passage.

Rep. Craig Williams (R., Delaware) asked his majority-white colleagues to imagine what their lives would be like as a Black person.

Stop for a moment before you cast this vote and try to see the world through a different lens, Williams said. You can be a good person and disagree, but you cant be a good person and call this frivolous.

Rep. Aaron Bernstine (R., Lawrence) spoke up because his family is in the process of adopting two biracial children.

This is something I would not have understood a year ago, Bernstine said. The truth is, we need to continue to be open-minded about these types of issues.

A spokesperson for the Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman (R., Indiana) could not immediately be reached for comment Friday about whether the Senate would consider the bill when members return from summer recess.

DaniRae Renno is an intern with the Pennsylvania Legislative Correspondents Association.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro delivers his first budget address to a joint session of the state legislature on March 7, 2023, at the state Capitol in Harrisburg. Read more

HARRISBURG  It was a dramatic week in Pennsylvanias state Capitol, with some elected leaders claiming theyve been backstabbed and others taking a victory lap.

The House and Senate are now out of session for the foreseeable future  likely for the rest of the summer. Budget talks are still not complete, and the state is now at an impasse until the states leadership works it out.

While Pennsylvanias top leaders point fingers about why a budget deal hasnt come together, we took a look at whats actually in the budget so far.

Here are some of the winners and losers who emerged this week as the state finalized its $45.5 billion spending plan.

Winner: Gov. Josh Shapiro

Gov. Josh Shapiro, in his first budget negotiation since taking office in January, secured a lot of his budget priorities: all $700 million in new education funding he asked for, a first-time $7.5 million investment in Pennsylvanias public defenders, universal free breakfast for public school students, $20 million for grants for historically disadvantaged business owners, and more.

These investments will make a real difference in our students lives and peoples lives all across Pennsylvania, Shapiro said during a press conference Thursday.

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These are major wins for a governors first budget. Getting parts of his $44 billion budget proposal into a Senate GOP-sponsored spending bill shows his negotiating strengths.

However, getting these funding streams into the budget by itself is not enough  as hes since found out. Senate Republicans can still hold up or entirely block these wins.

Senate Republicans worked in good faith with Gov. Shapiro for nearly two months making concessions and giving him all the goodies he wanted with his promise to work with his party and bring [a private school voucher program] across the finish line, said Kim Ward, the top Republican and president pro tempore of the state Senate (R., Westmoreland).

Shapiro said creating a state program for students to attend private schools using tax dollars is still a priority for him, even if it doesnt happen now.

Winner: House Democrats

The top three Democratic leaders successfully protected their chamber from taking a potentially damaging vote about school vouchers. Though some Philadelphia Democratic members are open to voucher programs because kids attend failing schools in their districts, a budget funding vouchers would have cost Democratic leaders political capital with allies such as the teachers unions.

House Majority Leader Matt Bradford (D., Montgomery) was able to convince Shapiro to line-item veto the school voucher program under a promise to hold hearings this summer about creating a voucher program or expanding funding to two tax credit scholarship programs.

Teachers unions and pro-public education groups gave an outpouring of thanks to House Democrats. Democratic members were gracious to their leadership, who just took control of the chamber with a one-seat majority earlier this year.

Winner: Crisis pregnancy centers

The funding stream that sends state dollars to antiabortion groups that provide pregnant people with alternatives to abortion and services for mothers, got a 30% budget increase, which amounts to approximately $2 million.

Democrats and reproductive rights advocates have been trying for years to remove any state funding to crisis pregnancy centers, which they say pressure families out of pursuing an abortion. Instead, these organizations got a significant funding bump.

Winner: Homeowners who need money for repairs

The state budget includes $50 million for a home repairs program championed by Sen. Nikil Saval (D., Philadelphia).

Saval spent last year organizing his supporters and selling his idea to his colleagues: Make grants available to residents to keep them in their homes. Otherwise, people may be living in unsafe conditions or are eventually forced to leave their homes with nowhere to go.

He secured $125 million last year for the Whole-Home Repairs program using federal COVID-19 relief dollars. The program will get another bump this year and could become an annual program in the future.

Loser: Gov. Josh Shapiro (again)

While Shapiro got what he wanted in the budget, it came at a steep cost. He upset the teachers unions and organized labor that supports them when he negotiated a private-school voucher program into the budget. He then betrayed Senate Republicans trust when he announced hed veto the very program he helped create.

Shapiro will need to repair relationships with his Republican colleagues, who now question whether they can trust him at all. (Shapiro, for his part, has said they never had a final budget deal. Pennsylvanias budget talks are in closed-door meetings, so its his word against theirs.)

Now the state will remain at a budget impasse, and the many hurt feelings will be for nothing.

But hell also need to mend his relationships with teachers unions, who backed his gubernatorial bid and were caught blindsided near the end of June when Shapiro took an active role in creating the school voucher program.

Shapiros national profile rose as he endorsed the vouchers  getting praise from the Wall Street Journals editorial board and appearing on Fox News. But as he turned his back on the issue, national conservative outlets turned theirs on him, with the Journals editorial board on Friday calling him a sellout.

Loser: Pennsylvania counties

The association representing Pennsylvanias 67 counties, which are often the front line for the states most vulnerable residents, begged for more aid to support social services.

The County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania said $250 million of combined mental health funds are necessary to avoid a systemic collapse of counties mental health services.

Theyve also asked for the state to raise its 911 surcharge on Pennsylvania residents monthly phone bill.

The monthly surcharge generates funds to support counties 911 systems. Currently, residents pay a $1.65 flat rate each month to support their countys system. Counties want to raise it to $2.30 per month so they can implement enhanced 911 systems.

None of these asks made it into the final spending bill. Lawmakers said theyd work on the issue in the fall.

Losers: Students at Pitt, Penn State, and Temple

Students at the University of Pittsburgh, Penn State, and Temple have their in-state tuition discount at risk.

The state House has now twice rejected sending $650 million in state funding to the three state-related schools. Both the House and Senate need to approve the funding with two-thirds of the chambers support. It fell just six votes short in the House on Thursday night.

House Republicans say they wont support sending the schools more state funds until they get greater oversight of their records, tuition increases, and more. So students could be on the hook for thousands more than they expected in the fall.

The House already separately approved Lincoln Universitys annual appropriation.
Pilates is hardly a new activity, having been invented by Joseph Pilates more than a century ago.

A combination of social media, celebrity endorsements and a pandemic has meant a rapid growth in the popularity of pilates.

So much so that in 2023 the pilates market is expected to reach $11.8 billion. In the last five years, the most popular programme on my online wellbeing

platform has been pilates and its a style of training that Im really enjoying sharing with people.

This week I will chat about pilates and hopefully convince you to give it a go. I will also share with you a recipe for delicious Berry Oat Crumble Bars.

What is pilates?

Pilates is a low-impact exercise that is designed to strengthen your muscles while improving posture, mobility and flexibility. Linking to the adaptability of pilates, you dont need a lot of equipment to complete a successful pilates session.

To complete your first pilates session, the only thing you really need is an exercise mat. Once you have this, you are ready to start incorporating pilates into your exercise routine. Then when you have experience with pilates, you can start to incorporate weights and resistance training into your sessions to make your pilates workouts slightly more challenging. You can use free weights, or ankle/wrist weights for a more intense arm/leg workout.

While pilates is generally regarded as a core workout, it does end up targeting the entire body, which is fantastic to get the whole body engaged and moving. There are, however, plenty of fantastic pilates movements and workouts available that just target specific areas of your body  arms, legs, glutes.

There are two main versions of pilates  mat-based pilates and reformer. Reformer pilates incorporates the classic movements of pilates into an intense workout that is done on top of a machine. The machine is made up of a moving board attached to a stationary footbar equipped with arm bands and different weights to add more or less resistance.

Pilates done on the reformer machine tends to be a more amplified version of the regular mat pilates as the machine challenges your balance, coordination and strength in slightly more ways.

There are lots of studios that offer reformer pilates classes, Id highly recommend signing up for a block of these classes and giving it a go.

What are some health benefits associated with pilates?

Not only are there external, physical benefits associated with pilates such as increased muscle tone and improved posture, there are also internal, physical benefits. Pilates can be a way to recover from an existing injury and great for helping to prevent injuries from occurring in the first place. Pilates is particularly good for easing lower back pain, this type of back pain is linked with poor core strength.

A majority of pilates movements targets the core which is essential in providing your body with a stable and sturdy foundation for it to move. Our core is very much so our centre.

If our core is out of alignment this has huge ramifications on our coordination and balance. It is very important for us to take care of our muscles as we get older to help us stay mobile and flexible.

These are all physical benefits that come with regular pilates use, but there are also mental benefits associated with pilates too! Pilates can help to reduce levels of anxiety as it is a gentle form of exercise.

This calmness translates into a calm mind as there is not the same type of high stress intensity with pilates as there is with other forms of exercise.

Wellness Tip: Are you making sure that half of your dinner plate is covered by veggies? This is a great way to gauge how much vegetables you are eating and helps to up your intake.

Fitness Tip: When you walk  make it brisk. This will give your heart and your lungs a better workout than walking at a normal pace.
I just love rummaging around in vintage and charity shops. You never know what youll come across.

I often find nothing at all but occasionally unearth a treasure of no particular interest to anyone else.

During a recent trawl through random books in a West Cork shop, I came across what for me is a little gem. A cookbook entitled Talking About Cakes with an Irish and Scottish Accent by Margaret Bates.

When I went to pay, the sweet lady at the till quipped Thought youd have enough baking cookbooks by now!!

From what I understand, Margaret Bates was vice principal of the Belfast College of Domestic Science in the 1960s and author of the Belfast Cookbook, Talking About Puddings and Talking About Cakes.

The latter is definitely one of my all-time favourite baking books, I owned a paperback copy in the 1970s which somehow, I managed to mislay.

It was chock-a-block with brilliant recipes. Every recipe was tested and retested, over and over again until Margaret was happy that she had perfected the very best version of each for her students and readers.

I bought this preloved, hardback copy, published in 1964, for the princely sum of 2  how about that for a bargain?

Every recipe calls for margarine but as you know, I dont do margarine, so Ive substituted butter for margarine in every recipe.

Despite my best efforts, a deep dive into Google yielded little information about Margaret, perhaps some readers may be able to share some further details?

Somehow, I understood that she also taught at Atholl Crescent in Edinburgh, but I havent been able to verify that.

The book looks really dated and old-fashioned, but dont jump to conclusions, so many of the recipes are unusual and contemporary, with delicious combinations of texture and flavour.

Margaret has no less than 10 riffs on good scone recipes including coconut scones, dates scones, ginger and walnuts scones, Montreal scones. There is a whole chapter on coffee cakes, another on favourite chocolate cakes, and yet another on ginger confections. The art of making a feather-light sponge and super tender Victoria and Genoese sponges.

There are cakes for the store cupboard and featherlight pastries and curiosities like conversation cakes  troublesome to make but delicious , Scots currant bun, continues, English, rout biscuits, with five variations, Pitcaithley bannock, rich slim cakes.

Keep an eye out for the little paperback, Talking about Cakes, you may be able to find a copy on eBay. If you love baking, its really worth seeking out.

All recipes are taken from Talking About Cakes  with an Irish and Scottish Accent by Margaret Bates

Margaret Bates' Strawberry Meringue Cake Strawberry meringue cake is equally at home on the tea table or as a luscious pudding for a special occasion. Servings 8 Preparation Time  30 mins Cooking Time  45 mins Total Time  1 hours 15 mins Course  Dessert Ingredients Cake:

50g butter

110g caster sugar

4 egg yolks

110g flour

a little vanilla extract

1 tsp baking powder

5 tbsp milk

Meringue:

4 egg whites

225g sugar

2 tbsp flaked almonds

Filling:

1 punnet strawberries

225ml cream

sugar if necessary Method Line the bottom of two 23cm cake tins with circles of greased paper. To make the cake: Cream the butter and the sugar together in a bowl and when light, beat in the egg yolks adding one at a time. Then add the flour, vanilla extract, baking powder alternately with the milk. Divide this mixture between the two tins and spread evenly. To make the meringue: In the bowl of a food mixer, add a pinch of salt to the egg whites and whisk until stiff. Gradually beat in the sugar. Divide between the two cake tins and swirl attractively. Sprinkle one cake with the flaked almonds. Bake in a moderate oven at 180C for approximately 45 minutes. When cold, sandwich generously with a mixture of fruit and whipped cream. The cake sprinkled with almonds should be uppermost.

Margaret Bates' Chocolate Log Cake A chocolatey, rich classic. Servings 6 Preparation Time  50 mins Cooking Time  10 mins Total Time  60 mins Course  Dessert Ingredients 2 eggs

pinch of salt

75 caster sugar

50g flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

2 tbsp milk

40g cocoa

a few drops of vanilla extract

Chocolate Butter Icing

110g butter

175g icing sugar

50g melted chocolate

a few drops of vanilla extract Method Separate the whites from the yolks. Add a pinch of salt to the egg whites and whisk until stiff. Then gradually beat in the sugar and yolks adding each alternately and beating well between each addition. Continue to beat until the mixture is light and thick. Sift the flour and baking powder onto the eggs and fold it in. Gently fold in the cocoa, milk and vanilla extract. Spread into a lined and greased Swiss-roll tin and bake in a hot oven 230C for approximately 8-10 minutes. Turn out onto a piece of baking paper lightly dusted with caster sugar and roll up without any filling. Leave for a few minutes then carefully unroll. To make the chocolate butter icing, melt the chocolate over a bowl of simmering water and allow to cool for 10-15 minutes. Cream the butter in a bowl. Add in the sieved icing sugar and beat until light and fluffy. When cool, fold in the melted chocolate and vanilla extract. Spread over the cake when quite cold and roll up once more. Dust off any surplus flour. Then cover the cake with the remainder of the icing, creating some peaks to simulate the bark. Trim the ends. If wished, a diagonal wedge may be cut from one end of the cake before it is iced. This piece can be placed at the side of the roll to gauge an even more realistic appearance.

Margaret Bates' Peanut Biscuits Especially for those who enjoy peanuts Servings 15 Preparation Time  30 mins Cooking Time  31 mins Total Time  1 hours 1 mins Course  Dessert Ingredients 110g butter

110g sugar

1 egg

150g peanuts

150g oat flakes

60g flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

a pinch of baking soda

a pinch of salt Method Cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl and gradually beat in the lightly whisked egg, the roughly chopped nuts and the dry ingredients. Put small spoonfuls of the mixture on a greased tray. Flatten with a fork, making a criss-cross mark and bake at 190C/gas mark 5 for approximately 20-30 minutes. Remove from the tray and cool on a wire rack.

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When Noelle McCarthy was a teenager in Cork, she won the Junior Champion prize at the local Speakers Club in the Metropole Hotel and was duly photographed for the then Cork Examiner. In her head, this northside girl from Hollymount, looked sophisticated and pretty. But the photograph in the paper shows a stumpy girl with a thatch of bushy hair and red cheeks. As McCarthy writes in her memoir, Grand, her younger self in that photo is wearing a smile that says please like me.

Cut to Auckland in New Zealand where the adult McCarthy is working as a broadcaster in a radio station and living a life of constant launches and boozy lunches, sometimes appearing in the press. She is in the grip of alcoholism. One night, she gets out of the lift in her apartment building on the wrong floor, having been drinking. She remembers a light flashing in her face. She tries to turn her key in a door and turns back when her name is called. It results in an unflattering photograph of McCarthy looking puffy-faced and vacant-eyed that ends up in the gossip pages of a newspaper.

McCarthy writes that typically, after a night out, her crumpled clothes would have cigarette burns, her hands would be shaking and she would smell of wine. History was repeating itself. The sub-heading of Grand is Becoming My Mothers Daughter.

McCarthys mother, Carol, was an alcoholic who died in her mid sixties. Carol, a qualified psychiatric nurse who worked in Our Ladys on the Lee Road before getting married and having a family, is as much the subject of this insightful and compelling memoir as the author. It is emotionally honest and beautifully written, evoking Corks quaint old pubs, such as The Chimes where McCarthy would be brought by her mother who was supposedly getting her messages. The messages, that evenings meal, were a bit of an afterthought for this woman who liked to spend a couple of hours drinking with her friends in the afternoon until her husband collected her outside the funeral home near North Gate Bridge.

Now aged 45, married with a six-year-old daughter and free of alcohol for 14 years, McCarthy was in Cork recently before joining her former professional rugby player husband, John Daniell in France where he used to play. The couple make long-form podcasts together, dealing with issues such as racism.

McCarthy says she is at a stage where she is ready to talk about her life. I think not writing the book would have taken more out of me than writing it. When I started writing, I made a decision that I was going to go where it took me, especially as it related to myself. I was going to be as honest as I could because those are the books that I love. If Im reading a first person memoir and I get the sense the writer is holding back, its frustrating.

She admits that her memoir is probably not easy for her wider family. (Her father and sister only suggested a few small changes in the manuscript when McCarthy showed it to them.)

But I think everyone who writes memoir probably comes up against that sense of things that were private for a long time being brought up again. It can be painful. But people were understanding of my need and desire to write the book.

Grand by Noelle McCarthy

Being dragged to the pub as a kid was not something McCarthy enjoyed. Carol had a knife-edge relationship with various barkeepers around Cork city. She could be troublesome; McCarthy admits to having been ashamed of her at times. But Carol had her demons. She had two children  one the result of rape  before she met her husband with whom she had four children. Of the children born to Carol as an unmarried mother, one of them, Jonathan, died as a baby. She named the other child Tara.

McCarthy says that while it sounds like a cliche, it was only when she became a mother that she thought of her own mothers loss when her illegitimate children were taken from her. Carol used to sometimes drunkenly call out those two childrens names, ranting and raving, no doubt with deeply embedded grief.

While McCarthy had a difficult relationship with her mother, they made peace in the last decade of Carols life.

On the train from Dublin to Cork having flown from New Zealand with her 10-week-old daughter, Eve, McCarthy wanted to show her baby to her mother. I was thinking about what my mother would have gone through. I could feel the visceral pain of that. That was the first time I really started thinking about myself as not the centre of the world.

McCarthy, the eldest of four, believes in the notion of inherited trauma. Its about legacy, isnt it? Its about what comes down through the generations and what gets passed on. Thats what inspired Grand. I think the death of a parent is a moment in your life when you have to deal with it. I was in my early forties when my mom got sick. It was brutal and scary but it also made me reflect on my life, my mothers life and all the lives that had gone through the generations. I had that sense of being part of a much wider history.

While McCarthy comes from a working class background, she attended the relatively posh St Angelas in Cork, thanks to something of a campaign that Carol waged to get her bright daughter enrolled there. McCarthy and her siblings went on to third level education.

McCarthys mother believed in education. Id call her a keen student of psychology without any formal language around that. She was always deeply perceptive about people. Id say she was frustrated. She was so smart. At one stage she had three kids under the age of five.

McCarthy studied history and English at UCC and signed up to do a Masters on Bram Stoker, looking at the popular 19th century Gothic tradition. But I was 22, working part time in Cafe Paradiso. I wanted to be in the world.

When New Zealander, Bridget Healy (who used to help run the vegetarian restaurant) was asked by McCarthy where she might move to, she suggested her native country. It was also suitably far away from Cork and McCarthys sometimes embarrassing mother.

McCarthy is currently the International Institute of Modern Letters Writer-in-Residence at Victoria University in New Zealand. She has come a long way since being the little girl brought against her will to the pub and later becoming in thrall to booze. It has been some journey.

Now, she is working on a book about Dracula. Its about that relationship I havent been able to shake off, being obsessed with the book. I first read Dracula when I was about 14 and I kept coming back to it. It was a formative time for me and it affected how I saw men and sex and power. Dracula was the key erotic figure in my life. Looking back at it now, as a 45-year-old mother, its terrible; hes a monster. Why I was I so obsessed? I think a lot of us are obsessed with scary things.
The name Mary Driscoll might not ring a bell but this woman, considered the lowest of the low in her society, was just 14 years old when she became one of the leaders of a strike among match-factory employees that helped improve working conditions for everyone.

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

And yes, isnt there something linguistically satisfying about hearing of a strike by matchwomen? They really did strike a light  using sisterhood and long hatpins!  to borrow some choice phrases from historian Louise Raws fascinating book on the stoppage by workers at the Bryant & May match factory in 1888.

The anniversary fell earlier this week, a reminder of that extraordinary day in July 135 years ago when 1,400 workers walked out of the East End factory in London to protest against the appalling working conditions and serious health risks posed by the use of phosphorous.

The poisonous fumes emitted from phosphorous during the production process caused phossy jaw, a form of bone cancer that affects the jaw, teeth, gum, and face. It can also lead to brain damage.

In June 1888, journalist Annie Besant wrote of the inhumane conditions at the match factory in her weekly newspaper The Link. She said workers were often still children  undersized because under-fed who were flung aside when spent because all Bryant & May cared about was that shareholders got their 23%.

Girls, she wrote, are used to carry boxes on their heads until the hair is rubbed off and the young heads are bald at fifteen years of age.

In an attempt to salvage its reputation, the company tried to force employees to sign a statement saying working conditions were adequate. When they refused, a number of women were fired to make a point. The employees, most of them female and many of them of Irish descent, had had enough.

Strike

Mary Driscoll was one of the strike leaders who encouraged fellow workers  including her sister Margaret (Mog) and her mother Elizabeth, from Cork  to down tools in protest. By July 6, the whole factory had stopped working.

The company offered to reinstate the fired workers, but by then the strikers demands had grown. They wanted better working conditions and an end to the fines that were imposed for talking, or going to the toilet without permission. George Bernard Shaw was among those who helped to set up a strike fund, but the workers also helped each other.

The writers of Toilers in London, a study of female labour in the city, were very impressed by that solidarity, saying the matchwomen stood together at all costs: I can pawn this for you, Ill lend you that, in every direction, girls might be seen plotting how they could help one another on until Bryant and May gave them back their pennies.

While some newspapers railed against it, the strike attracted huge public interest.

As Dr Louise Raw, author of Striking a Light: The Matchwomen and their Place in History, puts it: The strike had it all: an almost fairy-tale-like struggle between rich, powerful factory owners, and desperately poor workers with all the photogenic waif-likeness of Hans Christian Andersens martyred Little Match Girl, a staple of the Victorian nursery.

The strikers also earned the dubious accolade of being threatened by the serial killer Jack the Ripper, or someone claiming to be him.

Two weeks later, the employers gave in and granted the workers demands, although they did not stop using phosphorous until a decade later. The strike, however, had sparked  if youll forgive the pun  a nascent labour movement, encouraging dockers to strike the following year.

The [women] didnt stop there, writes Dr Raw, but recruited women from jam factories and confectionery works at meetings with tea and cake and Irish music. These were the mothers of the entire modern labour movement, and Labour Party.

These women might have been working long hours in awful conditions, but they had a cast-iron sense of their own identity. They were known for their spirit and their high-heeled boots, colourful hats, and long hatpins which, as one East End resident said, they did not hesitate to use to defend themselves.

Mary Driscoll

It is clear that Mary Driscoll had a very strong sense of herself too. Born to Irish parents (Patrick Driscoll from Kerry and Elizabeth, nee Cunningham from Skibbereen) on 14 January 1874, she was imbued with self-respect from the start. She made a point of standing up straight and insisted her children and grandchildren did the same.

Her granddaughter Joan Harris remembers her telling them, time and again: Always hold your head up. Remember youre as good as anyone. She certainly needed all the self-belief she could muster because life presented many challenges.

Today, as it happens, is her wedding anniversary. She married dock worker Thomas Foster on this day in 1894. Who knows what goes on inside a marriage, but relatives spoke of her husbands heavy drinking and his propensity towards violence.

Read More Clodagh Finn: Blitz diary of an Irish nurse on Thames ambulance boat

To support her family, Mary took in washing and went hop-picking during the summers. She had 11 children, but only five survived. She was pregnant when her husband died in a docks accident in 1916, and had to cope with the loss of her son, William, to Spanish Flu two years later.

Life, however, started to get a little bit easier around that time when she somehow gathered the capital  perhaps from compensation after her husbands death  to open up two small businesses: a cat food shop and a corn dealers shop on Parnham Street.

While she never learned to read or write, she was an astute businesswoman. Her granddaughter Joan Harris said: She could always tell you down to the last penny what was in the tills in either shop.

Mary Driscoll was also a woman who was proud of her Irish heritage. She was a nationalist and had portraits of Robert Emmet and Michael Collins in her house.

She was also a firm believer and, once during the London Blitz in 1940, she braved an intense air raid so that she could find a Catholic church to baptise her newborn grandchild. She found one too.

'Mothers of the labour movement'

Mary Driscoll and the other mothers of the labour movement will be celebrated next weekend at the Matchwomen's Festival in London. They were a very cool girl gang, says Louise Raw, director of the festival, historian, and author of the book that fleshed out the identities of these women for the first time.

They gave hope and inspiration to hundreds of thousands of desperately exploited workers and should, I believe, be acknowledged as the mothers of modern British trade unionism.

Closer to home, we are gearing up to celebrate the Mother Jones Festival in memory of Mary Harris, the formidable Cork-born labour activist whose famous catchcry was: Pray for the dead and fight like hell for the living.

She is now quite well-known  and rightly so  but there was another pioneering Cork woman who once worked with her who is almost forgotten.

Stay tuned.
There are some who must be delighted with the cover that the RTE scandal has provided.

With journalists, politicians, and the general public obsessively tuning in to every twist and turn in the unfolding saga over at the State broadcaster, others have been dropping what usually would be bombshells, but which have barely made a thud.

It can be easy to get caught up in the drama of a controversy and this week the pace of developments in RTE meant that those following had to put significant time into it just to keep abreast of the plot.

Keyboards were steaming as journalists raced to report on emerging details  from the release of a tranche of documents late on Tuesday night; to revelations around a 2m loss made on Toy Show the Musical; the thousands spent on flipflops and fancy meals out of the three barter accounts; the extended grilling RTE heads got at the Media Committee on Wednesday afternoon; and then of course Martys car.

But elsewhere, the world continues to turn.

During the same five and a half hours that the Media Committee sat on Wednesday afternoon, the highly contentious mother and baby homes redress scheme was discussed for the final time in the Dail before being sent to the President and a long-awaited bill to introduce safe access zones outside healthcare facilities that provide abortion services was also debated.

In the Seanad, important new offences around non-fatal strangulation and stalking were being examined while the Finance Committee was updated on continuing issues with the mica redress scheme.

And the Transport Committee was told of serious problems around the recruitment of bus drivers.

But the non-RTE news doesnt stop there.

Since the Tubridy payments story broke just over two weeks ago:

the Government has decided to break its own budgetary rules;

the justice minister has gained powers for a de facto mass surveillance system of the entire population;

the health minister has dropped a free GP care commitment;

our world has heated up to record temperatures;

a damming scoliosis report into waiting times for children was published;

revelations in the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board sparked an urgent financial review; and

there has been confirmation of further delays with the National Childrens Hospital.

All have gone relatively under the radar, or certainly have not been discussed at length, as the drip feed of information around RTEs barter accounts dominated the headlines and took up significant airtime.

It begs the question, what else has been shelved and what other issues are bubbling under the surface as RTE grabs all the attention?

Some 6.5bn is a fairly big wad of cash to hide  its the amount of extra money Finance Minister Michael McGrath and Public Expenditure Minister Paschal Donohoe have decided to splurge this autumn.

No one could accuse the two ministers of trying to bury their billions from the public.

But in comparison to the razzmatazz that usually surrounds the publication of the Summer Economic Statement (SEC), the Governments spending announcement this week simply went off with a press conference on Tuesday and little more scrutiny.

The details of 5.2bn in extra expenditure and an extra tax package worth 1.15bn made it onto the front page of Wednesdays Irish Examiner as a sidebar to RTEs lead story.

The SEC which each year sets out the broad parameters for the upcoming budget, set out a package that is 1bn greater than the trajectory set out in the Governments stability programme update (SPU), published in April.

It means that core spending will rise by about 6.4% in 2024, exceeding the Governments own 5% spending rule, which given out already overheating economy should have sparked serious concern.

Then it's back to RTE...

But the following day in the Dail it was again RTE which Sinn Feins finance spokesperson Pearse Doherty raised with the Taoiseach at Leaders Questions before being swiftly followed on the same subject by Holly Cairns and Richard Boyd Barrett.

One entity which did have something to say on the announcement was the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (Ifac) which took to Twitter to strongly criticise the Governments plan to breach its own spending rule claiming it is a clear case of procyclical fiscal policy.

The Governments revised plans exceed those set out three months ago as well as breaching the spending rule. This repeats a pattern and undermines the credibility of the Governments plans and the Spending Rule itself.

The spending watchdog also took aim at the Governments plan to take 2.25bn from corporate windfall taxes over the next three years on infrastructure projects, such as Garda stations and healthcare facilities that are shovel ready.

Ifac said that when this windfall capital investment should be accounted for properly as core spending as the approach taken by the Government is bad for transparency.

When one correctly accounts for the additional capital spending, the Government is planning to break the spending rule every year out to 2026.

One item that we know wont be included in Octobers budget is a further expansion of GP free care to children.

Health Minister Stephen Donnelly this week abandoned the Governments commitment to provide free GP care to all children under the age of 12.

Of course, Mr Donnelly didnt phrase it in that way, instead he announced that GP cards are to be extended to children aged six and seven as well as to adults under a certain income, before quietly adding that it would be last expansion of the scheme in the lifetime of this Government.

The roll out of GP visit cards to more than 500,000 people in the coming weeks, it has to be said, is a significant achievement for Mr Donnelly and will make a massive difference to families across the county.

But he also conceded that it is big ask of general practice, with surgeries already struggling to see patients and get any sort of relief themselves.

It perhaps explains why a further extension will not be on the cards in the next two budgets that this Government possibly has left.

They know its a big ask. Theres never been an expansion like this before. And so, this will be in the in this Government, this will be the last expansion in terms of GP cards, Mr Donnelly said.

The provision of free GP care to all children under 12 had been more than just a political promise; the measure has been legislated for, but the decision to abandon it barely made a blip when it was dropped on Tuesday afternoon.

A spokesperson later said that the Government is committed to the delivery of GP care for all children up to the age of 12 in phases, but those phases are likely to come too late for aged-out children.

What else has been quietly announced in the past fortnight?

In the Dail, the Taoiseach said the drip feed of information coming from RTE is doing untold damage.

He was referring to public trust in the organisation that has been eroded, but the impact could extend far wider than Montrose.

It can be easy to look back on historic scandals and ask how did no one stop it at the time?

Why did nobody spot what was going on? The RTE controversy goes some way to explain how eyes can easily be taken off the ball.
As the current school year came to an end, data published by Tusla confirmed what many had suspected  the pandemic severely impacted school attendance.

The scale of it is still staggering. Between illness, emergencies, and other factors, overall, 24.7m school days were lost between September 2019 and the summer of 2022.

There are many legitimate reasons behind these high rates of absences, of course. On the face of it, its not all that surprising when you think about the level of illness that circulated both during the worst days of the pandemic and during the months following the lifting of the last of the public health restrictions.

During those years, many students suffered bereavement or had urgent family matters crop up. Public health advice counselled keeping children at home when they had symptoms. Many would have also missed days if someone in their home tested positive, or if their family was taking extra precautions to protect high-risk family members.

Tusla's school attendance data shows a surge in absences in recent years, with a disproportionate increase in disadvantaged schools.

Many parents may have opted to keep their children out of school during major spikes of the virus. After a horrible few years, its also likely, and understandable, that many parents may have relaxed their own personal stances on school attendance, allowing an occasional duvet day or two.

But, even accounting for illness, students missed a whole lot of school across those three years. Aside from the covid learning and support scheme (Class)  a Department of Education scheme dedicated to addressing learning lost during the school closures of 2020 and 2021  there doesnt seem to be a dedicated plan or further strategy for addressing the educational attainment gap that has surely widened following these lost days.

With poor attendance seen as one of the first red flags to indicate the potential for early school leaving, Tusla must be notified by law if a child misses 20 days or more in a school year. This metric skyrocketed between September 2019 and the summer of 2022, across the board, but particularly for children in Deis Band 1 primary schools.

Disadvantage compounded While better-off families may have the necessary resources to make sure their children catch up on missed days, its not as easy for families who are already struggling. Amid the cost-of-living crisis, the effects on school attendance of covid may not be a parent's only priority, '[i]f you are worried about where your next meal is going to come from'. Stock picture: Danny Lawson/PA There is no substitute for being with your class, learning from your teacher, learning from your peers, one deputy principal of a Deis primary school in Cork told the Irish Examiner. Discovering things in the classroom, or from being out and about. Take a geography lesson; where you are out learning in the environment that you are talking about in the books. Discovering things like different trees, leaves, growing, planting; all those opportunities for learning were stunted during the pandemic. How does a child who is in a high-rise building  up three storeys with no grass area around them  how do they discover that at home? They have to come to school, they have to be able to access these things in school. "These are issues that are fundamental to us as educators but that have been stunted due to the pandemic. The blame falls to nobody but its an issue that needs to be addressed. The figures in the report line up with the experience in his school, and others. Anyone who has a home school liaison or is working with a school completion team, they are knocking on doors every single day. "In certain situations, they are knocking after school, trying to find out whats going on, giving up their own time to check if the children, first of all, are OK, and to try and find out how we can negate the problem; is there anything we can do? Its worrying. As educators all we want is for the children to come in and sit in front of us, to give us the chance to nurture them and give them the best possible start in life. However, its also been difficult to assess the full impact of the pandemic, the Deis deputy principal believes. Weve come right out into another serious social issue, he says. The cost of living has gone through the roof, so parents and children alike dont know whether they are coming or going because they are coming out of a pandemic and then being hit with all these price hikes. We in schools then are piling pressure on, trying to get them into school because we feel its the safest environment for them. "Its an environment where they will be nurtured and cared for, and where they will get a good education. But if you are worried about where your next meal is going to come from, or if you are worried about how you are going to pay for diesel to get in and out of work, suddenly these things become less and less important.

There was a profound interruption in the school life of children which we are still recovering from, according to Labours education spokesman Aodhan O Riordain.

I am most concerned about those who dont have other supports," he said.

"Theres a sort of well, lets move on attitude from the Department of Education that does not recognise the reality of school life. Those poor attendance patterns can be embedded at a very early stage, and we havent gotten around to beginning to assess how to address that.

The feeling of well, its over now, everybody is back in school and we are fine is nowhere near the lived reality of what teachers are experiencing.

He is currently working with principals from three schools in Dublin who are seeking a Deis+ programme for schools severly impacted by disadvantage.

The expansion of the Deis scheme in 2022, Mr O Riordain said, doesnt help the existing profoundly disadvantaged schools who are experiencing things that the average middle-class family could not get their brain around.

The covid learning and support scheme (CLASS) was actually a very positive move, according to Sinn Fein education spokeswoman Sorca Clarke.

However, it was reliant on the children actually getting to school, which is one of the biggest challenges, she said.

Schools have an important role to play in all this, they are absolutely critical, but on their own they are not the solution. If you look at the waiting lists for things like Camhs and psychology service are in the community, and you think of the assessments and therapies delayed, theres a wider issue at play.

The department should be looking at extending the home school liaison service outside of Deis schools so that where there is an identified need, there would be a specific home school liaison officer available to go and rebuild that relationship.

Sinn Fein education spokeswoman Sorca Clarke said the CLASS covid learning and support scheme was a positive move but 'it was reliant on the children actually getting to school, which is one of the biggest challenges'. File picture

For the deputy principal in Cork, a new focus on wellbeing as part of the primary school curriculum sparks hope.

I think, finally, people are starting to see the wellbeing of the children plays a huge impact on the attendance of children. I think with that becoming a new subject in primary schools, its really valuable and its going to be hugely important for us to address the attendance going forward.

The upcoming budget also would be a fantastic opportunity to address any "catch-up" programmes, he added.
A Detroit man is accused of preparing to deal fentanyl after allegedly being found in possession of a large amount of pills upon arriving in Bismarck.

Federal Bureau of Indian Affairs agents on Thursday were granted a search warrant for a person known as Ace. They would later identify him as Treyvon Greene, 22.

BIA agents reported that they tracked a cellphone associated with Greene, and it showed him heading toward Bismarck from a Detroit bus station. Authorities detained Greene when he arrived at around 7 p.m. Thursday. They seized his backpack and found inside two baggies with about 1,800 fentanyl pills, according to an affidavit.

BIA Agents believe the pills were going to the Standing Rock Indian Reservation. The total street value of the pills ranges from $27,000 to $127,000, depending on whether the pills would have been sold in Bismarck or on the reservation, according to the affidavit.

Law enforcement in North Dakota has worked to crack down on a pipeline of illegal drugs from Detroit to American Indian reservations in North Dakota. The U.S. Attorney's Office in recent years convicted 26 defendants in what was dubbed Operation Blue Prairie, which investigated a Detroit-based drug trafficking organization that targeted the Turtle Mountain, Spirit Lake and Fort Berthold reservations. The name Operation Blue Prairie referred to the color of illegal oxycodone pills sold for big profit in North Dakota.

Greene faces a felony charge of drug possession with intent to deliver. It carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. The attorney listed for him in court records did not immediately respond to a Tribune request for a comment.
Chinas Peoples Liberation Army has sent 13 aircraft and six vessels into airspace and waters around Taiwan.

Taiwans Defence Ministry said it is monitoring the situation, which coincides with US treasury secretary Janet Yellens visit to Beijing, with land-based missile systems prepared to respond.

It said four Chinese aircraft  two SU-30 fighters, one BZK-005 reconnaissance plane and one Y-8 anti-submarine warfare plane  crossed the median line in the Taiwan Strait which serves as a de-facto border between the sides and had entered Taiwans southwestern air defence identification zone.

China claims Taiwan as its own territory to be annexed by force if necessary and sends air and naval missions on virtually a daily basis.

US treasury secretary Janet Yellen arrives for a climate finance round-table discussion at the US Embassy in Beijing (Mark Schiefelbein, AP)

US support for the self-governing island republic which split from mainland China amid civil war in 1949 remains a major irritant in relations with Beijing.

Shortly before Ms Yellens arrival, Chinese President Xi Jinping visited the headquarters of the Peoples Liberation Armys Eastern Theatre. Its area of operations directly faces the island across the Taiwan Strait.

Addressing commanders at the Jiangsu province headquarters on Thursday, Mr Xi stressed efforts to  break new ground for theatre command development and war preparedness, state media reported.

He called for enhancing the planning of war and combat and stepping up training under real combat conditions to raise the forces capabilities to fight and win, the reports said.

Ms Yellen is not expected to meet with Mr Xi during her visit.
A court in the Libyan capital has sentenced three people to harsh prison terms on charges of people trafficking, in the first such ruling in a nation where migrants are routinely mistreated.

The Criminal Court of Tripoli convicted the three of human trafficking, detaining and torturing migrants, and extorting their families to pay ransom to release their relatives, according to a statement from the office of Libyas chief processor.
Switzerland will import more cheese than it exports this year for the first time, according to the head of the countrys dairy association.

The opening up of the Swiss milk market has put a squeeze on domestic producers in recent years, prompting some to give up, according to Boris Beuret.
Weapons trump welfare

Junta boss Min Aung Hlaing repeatedly instructed his regimes ministries to tighten their belts at a June 30 cabinet meeting on boosting the national economy, even though he has spent the largest proportion of national budget on military expenditures to retain his grip on power.

Min Aung Hlaing urged his ministers to reduce expenditure out of love for the motherland. Both the junta chief and his deputy, Soe Win, often preach economic abstinence at cabinet meetings.

It is not clear how the ministries have managed to reduce their expenditures so that money can be diverted to the juntas war on civilian and armed opponents. But the US-sanctioned former National League for Democracy (NLD) lawmaker Daw Thet Thet Khine, who serves as regimes social welfare minister, has cut the state pension by half from 120,000 kyats (around US$ 50) per year to 60,000 kyats.

Launched in 2017-18 under the NLD government, the pension scheme covers elderly citizens aged 85 and above.

Min Aung Hlaing is no doubt cheering Thet Thet Khine for the cut since it harms the initiative launched under the ousted civilian government while also freeing up extra military budget for the regime.

Regime spurned by SE Asian govt

The juntas foreign ministry summoned East Timors charge daffaires to Naypyitaw on Wednesday after the fellow Southeast Asian nation invited Myanmars civilian National Unity Government to the swearing-in of its new government on July 1.

U Chan Aye, permanent secretary of the juntas foreign ministry, told the Timorese diplomat that the NUG is a terrorist organization, and invitation to or communication with NUG representatives abets terrorism and encourages violence in the country, and infringes international agreements related to combating terrorism.

He called on the East Timor government to refrain from making any form of contact with such terrorist groups and their representatives.

Regime anger over the East Timor governments invitation came as no surprise.

On June 23, director-general Zaw Phyo Win, the son-in-law of former military dictator Than Shwe, signed the condolence book at the East Timor Embassy in Yangon following the demise of the Timorese prime ministers wife.

But when the new East Timor government was sworn in a week later, a Myanmar regime desperate for diplomatic recognition was spurned and the NUG invited instead. NUG foreign minister Daw Zin Mar Aung attended the swearing-in and met with the president of East Timor, who even accepted a portrait of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi from her.

Defending the indefensible

As the United Nations Human Rights Council convened in Geneva to discuss human rights violations by Myanmars military regime, junta-appointed foreign minister Than Swe gave a diplomatic briefing on recent national developments in Yangon on Thursday.

Military graduate Than Swe, who was Myanmars ambassador to the US under U Thein Seins quasi-civilian government, repeated what he said at Thai-sponsored informal talks held in June, defending the military regime, blaming the Peoples Defense Force, and insisting the Myanmar military does not use disproportionate force but strictly follows Vienna Convention rules of engagement.

However, his statement coincided with a junta warplane dropping bombs on a camp for internally displaced people in Kayah States Hpruso, its artillery strike in Sagaing Regions Wetlet Township that left seven civilians dead, and routine arson attacks on villages in the same regions Khin-U Township. Meantime, the regime also threatened to bomb an independent school in Kachin States Hpakant, accusing it of being run by the civilian National Unity Government.

Junta blames economic crisis on ousted govt

The National League for Democracys successes were a mirage and the economy is getting better under his rule, the junta boss claims.

Read more: Junta Blames Ousted Government for Myanmars Economic Crisis
Editors note: This article contains a graphic image. We are publishing the photo because it illustrates the severity of the injuries involved with the excessive force allegation.

A man beaten during an encounter with Bismarck police in March that led to an officer's firing is in custody on warrants related to two previous run-ins with law enforcement.

Keith Erlandson, a 63-year-old man whose family has said is homeless and has a history of mental health issues, faces felony charges in an Oct. 21, 2022, incident, and misdemeanor counts in a Feb. 5, 2023, incident.

South Central District Judge Bonnie Storbakken on Friday set bond at $7,000 but did not forfeit a previous bond of $4,000, leaving Erlandson with a balance of $3,000.

Erlandson's attorney, James Loraas, said that "There have been orders of evaluation that have not taken place," referencing court-ordered mental health evaluations in the two cases.

March 9 incident

Erlandson will not face criminal charges in a March 9 incident in which he allegedly displayed aggressive behavior toward officers who tried to detain him when he ignored their orders to stop after they responded to a report of a pedestrian in the roadway at 24th Street and East Main Avenue.

Erlandson was booked into Burleigh Morton Detention Center that night on suspicion of simple assault, preventing arrest, refusal to halt and drug possession. His booking photo showed him bloodied and bruised. The Police Department launched an excessive force allegation and in May fired Officer George Huff.

Burleigh County State's Attorney Julie Lawyer told the Tribune on Thursday that "our office declined to pursue any charges against Keith Erlandson." She did not respond to a request for details on the reasons for the decision.

The North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation looked into the March 9 incident and forwarded the results of its probe to Lawyer's office. She told the Tribune that "We requested BCI forward the investigation regarding George Huff to the Attorney Generals Office for review."

She did not elaborate. Attorney General Drew Wrigley's spokeswoman, Suzie Weigel, did not immediately respond to a Tribune request for comment. Court records as of Friday showed no criminal charges against Huff.

Christopher Redmann, Huff's attorney, said in March that Huff used "reasonable force" in the March 9 incident. Redmann said he would be taking the case to the city Civil Service Commission, which handles appeals on city employee disciplinary matters.

Redmann did not immediately respond to a Tribune request for comment this week. However, city spokesman Kalen Ost said the case is scheduled to be heard by the commission on Aug. 17.

Other incidents

Erlandson in the October incident is accused of resisting arrest after trespassing on West Arbor Avenue, and biting Officer Zachary Schell on the inside of his left thigh. Officers who searched Erlandson when he was booked into jail found meth in his possession, according to Schell's affidavit.

Erlandson in November pleaded not guilty to three felonies: simple assault on a peace officer, drug possession and preventing arrest, all of which carry a maximum punishment of five years in prison. He also pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor criminal trespass.

Erlandson in the February incident is accused of fleeing on foot from an officer trying to arrest him on a municipal court warrant for criminal trespass, and hiding behind a snowbank. Erlandson then resisted arrest, according to an affidavit filed by Officer Casey Uhler.

Erlandson faces misdemeanor counts for refusing to halt and preventing arrest. Together they carry a maximum punishment of about a year behind bars.

Court documents show Erlandson failed to appear for status conferences in both cases last month, and warrants were issued for his arrest.

Erlandson was arrested in Burnsville, Minnesota, on June 23, according to Dakota County Sheriff's Capt. Jeffery Leopold. Burnsville is a city just south of Minneapolis. It's unclear how Erlandson got there, and details of his arrest were not immediately available.

He waived extradition on June 26 and was transported to Burleigh Morton Detention Center, where he was booked Thursday morning, according to Burleigh County Sheriff's Maj. Jim Hulm.

Erlandson has an extensive criminal record in Burleigh and Morton counties and in Bismarck and Mandan municipal courts dating to 2011, court records show. He has convictions for drugs, trespassing, disorderly conduct, fleeing, preventing arrest and attempted assault on a peace officer. He spent about a year in jail in the attempted assault case, a total of about a year and seven months on several drug and alcohol convictions spanning four years, and about a month on the disorderly conduct conviction, according to court documents.
This Bismarck Police Department is seeking the public's help in locating a pickup truck that authorities say struck and injured a child on a bicycle.

The incident happened about 9 p.m. Wednesday at the intersection at South 12th Street and East Bismarck Expressway. The child was in a marked crosswalk, according to police. Authorities did not provide details on the child or the injuries.

The Dodge Dakota was last seen fleeing westbound on Expressway before officers arrived on scene. The vehicle had chrome bedrails and might have damage to the front driver-side corner, police said.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Traffic Officer Joseph Petersen at 701-223-1212. People also can submit a tip anonymously by downloading the Bismarck Police Department app, going to bit.ly/3Yw3ywC, or texting BISPD and the tip to 847411.
Can China Rise Peacefully? https://nationalinterest.org/commentary/can-china-rise-peacefully-10204 Grand Strategy By John J. Mearsheimer October 25, 2014 Topic: Security If the China continues growing rapidly, the US will once again face a potential peer competitor, and great-power politics will return in full force. (Editors Note: The following is the new concluding chapter of Dr. John J. Mearsheimers book The Tragedy of the Great Power Politics. A new, updated edition was released on April 7 and is available via Amazon.)

With the end of the Cold War in 1989 and the subsequent collapse of the Soviet Union two years later, the United States emerged as the most powerful state on the planet. Many commentators said we are living in a unipolar world for the first time in history, which is another way of saying America is the only great power in the international system. If that statement is true, it makes little sense to talk about great-power politics, since there is just one great power. But even if one believes, as I do, that China and Russia are great powers, they are still far weaker than the United States and in no position to challenge it in any meaningful way. Therefore, interactions among the great powers are not going to be nearly as prominent a feature of international politics as they were before 1989, when there were always two or more formidable great powers competing with each other. To highlight this point, contrast the postCold War world with the first ninety years of the twentieth century, when the United States was deeply committed to containing potential peer competitors such as Wilhelmine Germany, imperial Japan, Nazi Germany, and the Soviet Union. During that period, the United States fought two world wars and engaged with the Soviet Union in an intense security competition that spanned the globe. After 1989, however, American policymakers hardly had to worry about fighting against rival great powers, and thus the United States was free to wage wars against minor powers without having to worry much about the actions of the other great powers. Indeed, it has fought six wars since the Cold War ended: Iraq (1991), Bosnia (1995), Kosovo (1999), Afghanistan (2001present), Iraq again (200311), and Libya (2011). It has also been consumed with fighting terrorists across the globe since September 11, 2001. Not surprisingly, there has been little interest in great-power politics since the Soviet threat withered away. The rise of China appears to be changing this situation, however, because this development has the potential to fundamentally alter the architecture of the international system. If the Chinese economy continues growing at a brisk clip in the next few decades, the United States will once again face a potential peer competitor, and great-power politics will return in full force. It is still an open question as to whether Chinas economy will continue its spectacular rise or even continue growing at a more modest, but still impressive, rate. There are intelligent arguments on both sides of this debate, and it is hard to know who is right. But if those who are bullish on China are correct, it will almost certainly be the most important geopolitical development of the twenty-first century, for China will be transformed into an enormously powerful country. The attendant question that will concern every maker of foreign policy and student of international politics is a simple but profound one: can China rise peacefully? The aim of this chapter is to answer that question. To predict the future in Asia, one needs a theory of international politics that explains how rising great powers are likely to act and how the other states in the system will react to them. We must rely on theory because many aspects of the future are unknown; we have few facts about the future. Thomas Hobbes put the point well: The present only has a being in nature; things past have a being in the memory only, but things to come have no being at all. Thus, we must use theories to predict what is likely to transpire in world politics. Offensive realism offers important insights into Chinas rise. My argument in a nutshell is that if China continues to grow economically, it will attempt to dominate Asia the way the United States dominates the Western Hemisphere. The United States, however, will go to enormous lengths to prevent China from achieving regional hegemony. Most of Beijings neighbors, including India, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Russia, and Vietnam, will join with the United States to contain Chinese power. The result will be an intense security competition with considerable potential for war. In short, Chinas rise is unlikely to be tranquil. It is important to emphasize that my focus is not on how China will behave in the immediate future, but instead on how it will act in the longer term, when it will be far more powerful than it is today. The fact is that present-day China does not possess significant military power; its military forces are inferior to those of the United States. Beijing would be making a huge mistake to pick a fight with the U.S. military nowadays. Contemporary China, in other words, is constrained by the global balance of power, which is clearly stacked in Americas favor. Among other advantages, the United States has many consequential allies around the world, while China has virtually none. But we are not concerned with that situation here. Instead, the focus is on a future world in which the balance of power has shifted sharply against the United States, where China controls much more relative power than it does today, and where China is in roughly the same economic and military league as the United States. In essence, we are talking about a world in which China is much less constrained than it is today. The remainder of the chapter is organized as follows. The next section contains a brief review of the core elements of my theory, which are laid out in detail in Chapter 2. I then summarize my discussion of Americas drive for hegemony in the Western Hemisphere, which is considered at length in Chapter 7. It is clear from this story that the United States has acted according to the dictates of offensive realism for most of its history. The subsequent section focuses on how an increasingly powerful China is likely to behave. I maintain that it, too, will act according to my theory, which is another way of saying it will effectively emulate the United States. In the next section, I explain why the United States as well as Beijings neighbors are likely to form a balancing coalition to contain China. Then I consider the chances that a Sino-American war will break out, making the argument that it is more likely than a war between the superpowers was during the Cold War. In the penultimate section, I attempt to refute the two main counterarguments to my gloomy forecast. Finally, I argue in a brief conclusion that the best reason to think my prognosis may be wrong has to do with the limits of social science theory. OFFENSIVE REALISM IN BRIEF In its simplest form, my theory maintains that the basic structure of the international system forces states concerned about their security to compete with each other for power. The ultimate goal of every great power is to maximize its share of world power and eventually dominate the system. In practical terms, this means that the most powerful states seek to establish hegemony in their region of the world while also ensuring that no rival great power dominates another area. The theory begins with five assumptions about the world, which are all reasonable approximations of reality. First of all, states are the key actors in international politics, and no higher authority stands above them. There is no ultimate arbiter or leviathan in the system that states can turn to if they get into trouble and need help. This is called an anarchic system, as opposed to a hierarchic one. The next two assumptions deal with capabilities and intentions, respectively. All states have offensive military capabilities, although some have more than others, indeed sometimes many more than others. Capabilities are reasonably easy to measure because they are largely composed of material objects that can be seen, assessed, and counted. Intentions are a different matter. States can never be certain about the intentions of other states, because intentions are inside the heads of leaders and thus virtually impossible to see and difficult to measure. In particular, states can never know with complete confidence whether another state might have its gun sights on them for one reason or another. The problem of discerning states intentions is especially acute when one ponders their future intentions, since it is almost impossible to know who the leaders of any country will be five or more years from now, much less what they will think about foreign policy. The theory also assumes that states rank survival as their most important goal. This is not to say it is their only goal, for states invariably have numerous ambitions. However, when push comes to shove, survival trumps all other goals, basically because if a state does not survive, it cannot pursue those other goals. Survival means more than merely maintaining a states territorial integrity, although that goal is of fundamental importance; it also means preserving the autonomy of a states policymaking process. Finally, states are assumed to be rational actors, which is to say they are reasonably effective at designing strategies that maximize their chances of survival.

The Rise of China Will Not Be Peaceful at All

https://www.mearsheimer.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/The-Australian-November-18-2005.pdf?

The Australian, November 18, 2005

By John Mearsheimer

President Bush hopes the Asian giant will be a friendly one, but John

Mearsheimer is a pessimist

THE question at hand is simple and profound: will China rise peacefully?

My answer is no.

If China continues its impressive economic growth over the next few

decades, the US and China are likely to engage in an intense security

competition with considerable potential for war. Most of China's

neighbours, to include India, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Russia and

Vietnam, will join with the US to contain China's power.

To predict the future in Asia, one needs a theory that explains how rising

powers are likely to act and how other states will react to them.

My theory of international politics says that the mightiest states attempt

to establish hegemony in their own region while making sure that no rival

great power dominates another region. The ultimate goal of every great

power is to maximise its share of world power and eventually dominate

the system.

The international system has several defining characteristics. The main

actors are states that operate in anarchy which simply means that there is

no higher authority above them. All great powers have some offensive

military capability, which means that they can hurt each other. Finally, no

state can know the future intentions of other states with certainty. The

best way to survive in such a system is to be as powerful as possible,

relative to potential rivals. The mightier a state is, the less likely it is that

another state will attack it.

file:///nfs/harper/hc1/august/Desktop/The%20Rise%20of%20China%20Will%20Not%20Be%20Peaceful%20at%20All.htm (1 of 4)3/14/2006 6:25:03 AM

The Rise of China Will Not Be Peaceful at All

The great powers do not merely strive to be the strongest great power,

although that is a welcome outcome. Their ultimate aim is to be the

hegemon, the only great power in the system. But it is almost impossible

for any state to achieve global hegemony in the modern world, because it

is too hard to project and sustain power around the globe. Even the US is

a regional but not a global hegemon. The best that a state can hope for is

to dominate its own back yard.

States that gain regional hegemony have a further aim: to prevent other

geographical areas from being dominated by other great powers.

Regional hegemons, in other words, do not want peer competitors.

Instead, they want to keep other regions divided among several great

powers so that these states will compete with each other. In 1991, shortly

after the Cold War ended, the first Bush administration boldly stated that

the US was now the most powerful state in the world and planned to

remain so. That same message appeared in the famous National Security

Strategy issued by the second Bush administration in September 2002.

This document's stance on pre-emptive war generated harsh criticism,

but hardly a word of protest greeted the assertion that the US should

check rising powers and maintain its commanding position in the global

balance of power.

China -- whether it remains authoritarian or becomes democratic -- is

likely to try to dominate Asia the way the US dominates the Western

hemisphere.

Specifically, China will seek to maximise the power gap between itself and

its neighbours, especially Japan and Russia. China will want to make sure

that it is so powerful that no state in Asia has the wherewithal to threaten

it. It is unlikely that China will pursue military superiority so that it can go

on a rampage and conquer other Asian countries, although that is always

possible.

Instead, it is more likely that it will want to dictate the boundaries of

acceptable behaviour to neighbouring countries, much the way the US

makes it clear to other states in the Americas that it is the boss. Gaining

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The Rise of China Will Not Be Peaceful at All

regional hegemony, I might add, is probably the only way that China will

get Taiwan back.

An increasingly powerful China is also likely to try to push the US out of

Asia, much the way the US pushed the European great powers out of the

Western hemisphere. We should expect China to come up with its own

version of the Monroe Doctrine, as Japan did in the 1930s.

These policy goals make good strategic sense for China. Beijing should

want a militarily weak Japan and Russia as its neighbours, just as the US

prefers a militarily weak Canada and Mexico on its borders.

What state in its right mind would want other powerful states located in

its region? All Chinese surely remember what happened in the 20th

century when Japan was powerful and China was weak. In the anarchic

world of international politics, it is better to be Godzilla than Bambi.

Furthermore, why would a powerful China accept US military forces

operating in its back yard? American policy-makers, after all, go ballistic

when other great powers send military forces into the Western

hemisphere. Those foreign forces are invariably seen as a potential threat

to American security. The same logic should apply to China.

Why would China feel safe with US forces deployed on its doorstep?

Following the logic of the Monroe Doctrine, would not China's security be

better served by pushing the American military out of Asia?

Why should we expect the Chinese to act any differently than the US did?

Are they more principled than the Americans are? More ethical? Less

nationalistic? Less concerned about their survival? They are none of these

things, of course, which is why China is likely to imitate the US and

attempt to become a regional hegemon.

It is clear from the historical record how American policy-makers will

react if China attempts to dominate Asia. The US does not tolerate peer

competitors. As it demonstrated in the 20th century, it is determined to

remain the world's only regional hegemon. Therefore, the US can be

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The Rise of China Will Not Be Peaceful at All

expected to go to great lengths to contain China and ultimately weaken it

to the point where it is no longer capable of ruling the roost in Asia. In

essence, the US is likely to behave towards China much the way it

behaved towards the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

China's neighbours are certain to fear its rise as well, and they too will do

whatever they can to prevent it from achieving regional hegemony.

Indeed, there is already substantial evidence that countries such as India,

Japan, and Russia, as well as smaller powers such as Singapore, South

Korea and Vietnam, are worried about China's ascendancy and are looking

for ways to contain it. In the end, they will join an American-led balancing

coalition to check China's rise, much the way Britain, France, Germany,

Italy, Japan, and even China, joined forces with the US to contain the

Soviet Union during the Cold War.

Finally, given Taiwan's strategic importance for controlling the sea lanes

in East Asia, it is hard to imagine the US, as well as Japan, allowing China

to control that large island. In fact, Taiwan is likely to be an important

player in the anti-China balancing coalition, which is sure to infuriate

China and fuel the security competition between Beijing and Washington.

The picture I have painted of what is likely to happen if China continues

its rise is not a pretty one. I actually find it categorically depressing and

wish that I could tell a more optimistic story about the future.

But the fact is that international politics is a nasty and dangerous

business and no amount of goodwill can ameliorate the intense security

competition that sets in when an aspiring hegemon appears in Eurasia.

That is the tragedy of great power politics.

John Mearsheimer is professor of political science at the University of

Chicago and the author of The Tragedy of Great Power Politics (W.W.

Norton, 2001).
China slaps export curbs on chipmaking metals in tech war warning to U.S., Europe JUL 3 2023 Clement Tan@CLEMTAN



KEY POINTS Permission will be required for exports of some gallium and germanium compounds starting Aug.1, Chinas commerce ministry said in a statement late Monday.

This move is part of an intensifying global battle for technological supremacy a with China as the worlds largest source of both metals, according to a European Union study on critical raw materials this year.

Eurasia Group analysts said Chinas move has little impact to global supply and more a warning to U.S. and Europe of their retaliatory options.

China is restricting the exports of gallium and germanium, two metals key to the manufacturing of semiconductors, its commerce ministry said in a statement late on July 3, escalating a technological trade war over access to microchips with Europe and the United States. China is restricting the exports of two metals key to the manufacturing of semiconductors, its commerce ministry said late Monday , a warning to Europe and the United States in their escalating technological trade war over access to microchips.

These new regulations a imposed on grounds of national security a will require exporters to seek a license to ship some gallium and germanium compounds starting Aug. 1, Chinas commerce ministry said. Applications for these export licenses must identify importers and end users and stipulate how these metals will be used. This move is part of an intensifying global battle for technological supremacy a with China as the worlds largest source of both metals, according to a European Union study on critical raw materials this year. It also comes just as U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is preparing to visit China later this week. This move willA have a limited impact on global supply given the targeted scope, Eurasia Group analysts, Anna Ashton, Xiaomeng Lu and Scott Young wrote in a note. It is a shot across the bow intended to remind countries including the United States, Japan, and the Netherlands that China has retaliatory options and to thereby deter them from imposing further restrictions on Chinese access to high-end chips and tools, they added, pointing to the lack of outright bans for specific countries or end-users.

WATCH NOW VIDEO04:05 Semiconductor space looks extraordinarily volatile, says Citis Chris Danely

At a regular press conference in Beijing on Tuesday, Chinas Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Mao Ning reiterated the countrys export controls are in accordance with the law and are not targeted at any specific country. Shares of Chinese germanium producers soared on Tuesday in anticipation of rising prices for the raw materials, which may now face at least a short-term supply disruption. On Tuesday, Yunnan Lincang Xinyuan Germanium Industrial surged by the 10% limit, closing at its highest in about 15 months in Shenzhen. Yunnan Chihong Zinc & Germanium ended up 6.1% at its highest level since mid-May in Shanghai. Both outperformed the 0.2% gain for the CSI 300 index of Chinas largest A-share listings.

Limited short-term impact

South Koreas industry ministry and Taiwan foreign ministry officials said Tuesday Chinas curbs would have little short-term impact, Reuters reported. Reuters further reported the South Korean industry ministry official as saying a possible expansion of curbs to include other materials cannot be ruled out. Gallium is a soft silver metal used to produce compound semiconductor wafers for electronic circuits, semiconductors and light-emitting diodes, while germanium is used in the manufacturing of fiber optics to transfer data and information.

WATCH NOW VIDEO30:48 Chipmaking nations such as the U.S. are teaming up against China

The economies of scale in Chinas extensive and increasingly integrated mining and processing operations, along with state subsidies, have allowed it to export processed minerals at a cost that operators elsewhere cant match, perpetuating the countrys market dominance for many critical commodities, Eurasia Group analysts said. But past Chinese attempts to leverage that dominance by restrictingA exports have reduced global availability and raisedA global prices. Higher prices have in turn spurred foreign competition by making mining and processing ventures outside of China more cost-competitive, they added.

Festering feud

WATCH NOW VIDEO22:41 The global chip shortage will probably hit your everyday life
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Ann Arbor (Informed Comment)  The earth is getting especially hot this year, as record after record falls. Seth Borenstein at AP reports that three times this past week, the average temperature of the earth topped anything ever recorded. Thursdays average 62.9 F. (17.18 C.) broke the record yet again.

You dont break all those records without the accumulation of heat-trapping gases in the earths atmosphere, put there by humans burning gasoline in their cars and coal and fossil gas to heat their homes. Weve put so many greenhouse gases up there that they arent letting the heat of the suns rays dissipate back out to space the way they used to, so were stuck with that heat on earth.

This year, another consideration affects the temperatures, which is the El Nino phenomenon. Ordinarily, trade winds blow west from South America toward Asia, whipping up warm ocean waters and driving them toward Asia. But that causes colder waters to come to the surface over time. Im interested in all this as a historian, since the direction of trade winds is important to trade history. Ship captains in the age of sail used to have to know these things and depended on them in their voyages. Weak trade winds could leave you marooned for weeks at a time and be the difference between profit and loss, maybe even life and death.

Every once in a while, NOAA explains, the westerly trade winds weaken, so that the warm waters of the Pacifics surface flow instead back east toward the South American coasts. The Latin American fishermen who noticed this warm water arriving, typically in December, called it Baby Jesus, basically  el Nino de navidad. The flow of warm water toward Latin America pulls down the jet stream to a more southerly route. It can cause hot, dry weather in much of North America, though it increases heat and humidity down along the Gulf Coast.

So these two things are going on this year. We have an el Nino, which is making it hotter than usual in some places. But that el Nino is coming on top of a run-up of 1.1 C (about 2 F.) in the average surface temperature of the earth since the Industrial Revolution.

So we get a lot of broken records. Because it is an el Nino year, the broken records dont actually signal a tipping point or any dramatic departure from the climate scientists models, which work over decades, not over months. The broken temperature records arent meaningless though, since they wouldnt exist without that extra 2 F. of heating from CO2 and methane that humans have spewed into the atmosphere.

Although 63 F. doesnt sound sweltering, remember that this is the average surface temperature of the entire earth. It would be brought down by Antarctica and the North Pole, by the Himalayan mountains and the surface of frigid seas. For the average to be in the 60s F. it also has to be really, really hot in other places. And it is really, really hot in some places  Texas, Mexico, Beijing, parts of the Mediterranean, Nigeria  even Canada, of all places. Borenstein quotes Johan Rockstrom, director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany, who says that 63 F. is six degrees hotter than the average for the past 12,000 years.

And he quotes preeminent climate scientist at the University of Pennsylvania, Michael E. Mann, as suggesting that it is the warmest average temperature seen on earth for at least 120,000 years. That was when the great glacial period of 120,000 before present (BP) to 11,500 BP began. For the past 11,500 years weve been in a warmer inter-glacial period, the Holocene, which is why there arent three miles of ice over Manhattan and why the Great Lakes exist, which are filled with the water of retreating glaciers. Civilization emerged in the warmer but still cool Holocene. The average temperature during the Holocene was more like 57 F. During the glacial period, of course, it was much colder. So you have to get back behind the glacial period to find another time when the average temperature of the earth was this hot, some time in the past more distant than 120,000 BP.

Article continues after bonus IC video

MSNBC:Michael Mann: Intense wildfires a direct manifestation of the human-caused warming of the planet

Our species, modern homo sapiens, is only about 160,000 years old, so it is just possible that our kind has never experienced an earth as hot as it is now. Certainly, for most of the time we have been evolving, it has been much cooler than it is today. I would argue that you can tell that we did not evolve under superhot temperatures and high humidity, since we drop dead within six hours when it is 113 F with 50 percent humidity. At 122 F and 80 percent humidity we pretty much die on the spot. We cool down by sweating, but at such high humidity that cooling mechanism stops working and we get massive heat stroke. If those conditions, which are beginning to emerge on the Iranian coast of the Gulf in the depth of summer. had been routinely encountered early in our evolution, then natural selection would have chosen out people who could survive them and our tolerance would be higher.

We are for the first time entering an epoch in the worlds climate history where we will be irremediably maladapted to significant numbers of places. We can live in very cold places by building fires and appropriating warm fur from animals. In the old days Bedouins crossed Saudi Arabias Empty Quarter desert with camels and water bags. But at 122 F with 80 percent humidity there is no cultural practice that will keep us alive when we venture outside, except maybe space suits. There will be heat-death zones on the surface of the earth that humans will avoid, and these zones will grow up in places where people now live, so hundreds of millions of us over the next centuries will have to move house. If we can stop farting out billions of tons of carbon dioxide annually, the heat-death zones will be limited in scope, and most of the earth will still be habitable, even if uncomfortably warm.

If we get to zero carbon by 2050, we could get back down to 350 parts per million of CO2 in our atmosphere in a century and a half. The year 2200 sounds science fictiony and as though it is beyond our concern. But my maternal grandfather was born in 1889, and he told me things when I was young about his early education and the routine of memorization that I still remember. Those are memories from 125 years ago. The past seems much closer than the future, but it is an optical illusion. Many younger peoples great-grandchildren, if they are long-lived, will die only a few decades short of 2200. It is worthwhile making some sacrifices so that we dont leave our great-great-grandchildren a hellhole as an inheritance.
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( Tomdispatch.com )  An aged Native-American chieftain was visiting New York City for the first time in 1906. He was curious about the city and the city was curious about him. A magazine reporter asked the chief what most surprised him in his travels around town. Little children working, the visitor replied.

Child labor might have shocked that outsider, but it was all too commonplace then across urban, industrial America (and on farms where it had been customary for centuries). In more recent times, however, its become a far rarer sight. Law and custom, most of us assume, drove it to near extinction. And our reaction to seeing it reappear might resemble that chiefs  shock, disbelief.

But we better get used to it, since child labor is making a comeback with a vengeance. A striking number of lawmakers are undertaking concerted efforts to weaken or repeal statutes that have long prevented (or at least seriously inhibited) the possibility of exploiting children.

Take a breath and consider this: the number of kids at work in the U.S. increased by 37% between 2015 and 2022. During the last two years, 14 states have either introduced or enacted legislation rolling back regulations that governed the number of hours children can be employed, lowered the restrictions on dangerous work, and legalized subminimum wages for youths.

Iowa now allows those as young as 14 to work in industrial laundries. At age 16, they can take jobs in roofing, construction, excavation, and demolition and can operate power-driven machinery. Fourteen-year-olds can now even work night shifts and once they hit 15 can join assembly lines. All of this was, of course, prohibited not so long ago.

Legislators offer fatuous justifications for such incursions into long-settled practice. Working, they tell us, will get kids off their computers or video games or away from the TV. Or it will strip the government of the power to dictate what children can and cant do, leaving parents in control  a claim already transformed into fantasy by efforts to strip away protective legislation and permit 14-year-old kids to work without formal parental permission.

In 2014, the Cato Institute, a right-wing think tank, published A Case Against Child Labor Prohibitions, arguing that such laws stifled opportunity for poor  and especially Black  children. The Foundation for Government Accountability, a think tank funded by a range of wealthy conservative donors including the DeVos family, has spearheaded efforts to weaken child-labor laws, and Americans for Prosperity, the billionaire Koch brothers foundation, has joined in.

Nor are these assaults confined to red states like Iowa or the South. California, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, and New Hampshire, as well as Georgia and Ohio, have been targeted, too. Even New Jersey passed a law in the pandemic years temporarily raising the permissible work hours for 16- to 18-year-olds.

The blunt truth of the matter is that child labor pays and is fast becoming remarkably ubiquitous. Its an open secret that fast-food chains have employed underage kids for years and simply treat the occasional fines for doing so as part of the cost of doing business. Children as young as 10 have been toiling away in such pit stops in Kentucky and older ones working beyond the hourly limits prescribed by law. Roofers in Florida and Tennessee can now be as young as 12.

Recently, the Labor Department found more than 100 children between the ages of 13 and 17 working in meatpacking plants and slaughterhouses in Minnesota and Nebraska. And those were anything but fly-by-night operations. Companies like Tyson Foods and Packer Sanitation Services (owned by BlackRock, the worlds largest asset management firm) were also on the list.

At this point, virtually the entire economy is remarkably open to child labor. Garment factories and auto parts manufacturers (supplying Ford and General Motors) employ immigrant kids, some for 12-hour days. Many are compelled to drop out of school just to keep up. In a similar fashion, Hyundai and Kia supply chains depend on children working in Alabama.

As the New York Times reported last February, helping break the story of the new child labor market, underage kids, especially migrants, are working in cereal-packing plants and food-processing factories. In Vermont, illegals (because theyre too young to work) operate milking machines. Some children help make J. Crew shirts in Los Angeles, bake rolls for Walmart, or work producing Fruit of the Loom socks. Danger lurks. America is a notoriously unsafe place to work and the accident rate for child laborers is especially high, including a chilling inventory of shattered spines, amputations, poisonings, and disfiguring burns.

Journalist Hannah Dreier has called it a new economy of exploitation, especially when it comes to migrant children. A Grand Rapids, Michigan, schoolteacher, observing the same predicament, remarked: Youre taking children from another country and putting them almost in industrial servitude.

The Long Ago Now

Today, we may be as stunned by this deplorable spectacle as that chief was at the turn of the twentieth century. Our ancestors, however, would not have been. For them, child labor was taken for granted.

Hard work, moreover, had long been considered by those in the British upper classes who didnt have to do so as a spiritual tonic that would rein in the unruly impulses of the lower orders. An Elizabethan law of 1575 provided public money to employ children as a prophylactic against vagabonds and paupers.

By the eighteenth century, the philosopher John Locke, then a celebrated champion of liberty, was arguing that three-year-olds should be included in the labor force. Daniel Defoe, author of Robinson Crusoe, was happy that children after four or five years of age could every one earn their own bread. Later, Jeremy Bentham, the father of utilitarianism, would opt for four, since otherwise, society would suffer the loss of precious years in which nothing is done! Nothing for Industry! Nothing for improvement, moral or intellectual.

American founding father Alexander Hamiltons 1791 Report on Manufacturing noted that children who would otherwise be idle could instead become a source of cheap labor. And such claims that working at an early age warded off the social dangers of idleness and degeneracy remained a fixture of elite ideology well into the modern era. Indeed, it evidently remains so today.

When industrialization began in earnest during the first half of the nineteenth century, observers noted that work in the new factories (especially textile mills) was better done by little girls of 6-12 years old. By 1820, children accounted for 40% of the mill workers in three New England states. In that same year, children under 15 made up 23% of the manufacturing labor force and as much as 50% of the production of cotton textiles.

And such numbers would only soar after the Civil War. In fact, the children of ex-slaves were effectively re-enslaved through onerous apprenticeship arrangements. Meanwhile, in New York City and other urban centers, Italian padrones expedited the exploitation of immigrant kids while treating them brutally. Even the then-brahmin-minded, anti-immigrant New York Times took offense: The world has given up stealing men from the African coast, only to kidnap children from Italy.

Between 1890 and 1910, 18% of all children between the ages of 10 and 15, about two million young people, worked, often 12 hours a day, six days a week.

Their jobs covered the waterfront  all too literally as, under the supervision of padrones, thousands of children shucked oysters and picked shrimp. Kids were also street messengers and newsies. They worked in offices and factories, banks and brothels. They were breakers and trappers in poorly ventilated coal mines, particularly dangerous and unhealthy jobs. In 1900, out of 100,000 workers in textile mills in the South, 20,000 were under the age of 12.

City orphans were shipped off to labor in the glassworks of the Midwest. Thousands of children stayed home and helped their families turn out clothing for sweatshop manufacturers. Others packed flowers in ill-ventilated tenements. One seven-year-old explained that I like school better than home. I dont like home. There are too many flowers. And down on the farm, the situation was no less grim, as children as young as three worked hulling berries.

All in the Family

Clearly, well into the twentieth century, industrial capitalism depended on the exploitation of children who were cheaper to employ, less able to resist, and until the advent of more sophisticated technologies, well suited to deal with the relatively simple machinery then in place.

Moreover, the authority exercised by the boss was in keeping with that eras patriarchal assumptions, whether in the family or even in the largest of the overwhelmingly family-owned new industrial firms of that time like Andrew Carnegies steelworks. And such family capitalism gave birth to a perverse alliance of boss and underling that transformed children into miniature wage-laborers.

Meanwhile, working-class families were so severely exploited that they desperately needed the income of their children. As a result, in Philadelphia around the turn of the century, the labor of children accounted for between 28% and 33% of the household income of native-born, two-parent families. For Irish and German immigrants, the figures were 46% and 35% respectively. Not surprisingly, then, working-class parents often opposed proposals for child labor laws. As noted by Karl Marx, the worker was no longer able to support himself, so now he sells his wife and child. He becomes a slave dealer.

Nonetheless, resistance began to mount. The sociologist and muckraking photographer Lewis Hine scandalized the country with heart-rending pictures of kids slaving away in factories and down in the pits of mines. (He got into such places by pretending to be a Bible salesman.) Mother Jones, the militant defender of labor organizing, led a childrens crusade in 1903 on behalf of 46,000 striking textile workers in Philadelphia. Two hundred child-worker delegates showed up at President Teddy Roosevelts Oyster Bay, Long Island, residence to protest, but the president simply passed the buck, claiming child labor was a state matter, not a federal one.

Here and there, kids tried running away. In response, owners began surrounding their factories with barbed wire or made the children work at night when their fear of the dark might keep them from fleeing. Some of the 146 women who died in the infamous Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire of 1911 in Manhattans Greenwich Village  the owners of that garment factory had locked the doors, forcing the trapped workers to leap to their deaths from upper floor windows  were as young as 15. That tragedy only added to a growing furor over child labor.

A National Child Labor Committee was formed in 1904. For years, it lobbied states to outlaw, or at least rein in, the use of child labor. Victories, however, were often distinctly pyrrhic, as the laws enacted were invariably weak, included dozens of exemptions, and poorly enforced. Finally, in 1916, a federal law was passed that outlawed child labor everywhere. In 1918, however, the Supreme Court declared it unconstitutional.

In fact, only in the 1930s, after the Great Depression hit, did conditions begin improving. Given its economic devastation, you might assume that cheap child labor would have been at a premium. However, with jobs so scarce, adults  males especially  took precedence and began doing work once relegated to children. In those same years, industrial work began incorporating ever more complex machinery that proved too difficult for younger kids. Meanwhile, the age of compulsory schooling was steadily rising, limiting yet more the available pool of child laborers.

Most important of all, the tenor of the times changed. The insurgent labor movement of the 1930s loathed the very idea of child labor. Unionized plants and whole industries were no-go zones for capitalists looking to exploit children. And in 1938, with the support of organized labor, President Franklin Roosevelts New Deal administration finally passed the Fair Labor Standards Act which, at least in theory, put an end to child labor (although it exempted the agricultural sector in which such a workforce remained commonplace).

Moreover, Roosevelts New Deal transformed the national zeitgeist. A sense of economic egalitarianism, a newfound respect for the working class, and a bottomless suspicion of the corporate caste made child labor seem particularly repulsive. In addition, the New Deal ushered in a long era of prosperity, including rising standards of living for millions of working people who no longer needed the labor of their children to make ends meet.

Back to the Future

Its all the more astonishing then to discover that a plague, once thought banished, lives again. American capitalism is a global system, its networks extend virtually everywhere. Today, there are an estimated 152 million children at work worldwide. Not all of them, of course, are employed directly or even indirectly by U.S. firms. But they should certainly be a reminder of how deeply retrogressive capitalism has once again become both here at home and elsewhere across the planet.

Boasts about the power and wealth of the American economy are part of our belief system and elite rhetoric. However, life expectancy in the U.S., a basal measure of social retrogression, has been relentlessly declining for years. Health care is not only unaffordable for millions, but its quality has become second-rate at best if you dont belong to the top 1%. In a similar fashion, the countrys infrastructure has long been in decline, thanks to both its age and decades of neglect.

Think of the United States, then, as a developed country now in the throes of underdevelopment and, in that context, the return of child labor is deeply symptomatic. Even before the Great Recession that followed the financial implosion of 2008, standards of living had been falling, especially for millions of working people laid low by a decades-long tsunami of de-industrialization. That recession, which officially lasted until 2011, only further exacerbated the situation. It put added pressure on labor costs, while work became increasingly precarious, ever more stripped of benefits and ununionized. Given the circumstances, why not turn to yet another source of cheap labor  children?

The most vulnerable among them come from abroad, migrants from the Global South, escaping failing economies often traceable to American economic exploitation and domination. If this country is now experiencing a border crisis  and it is  its origins lie on this side of the border.

The Covid-19 pandemic of 2020-2022 created a brief labor shortage, which became a pretext for putting kids back to work (even if the return of child labor actually predated the disease). Consider such child workers in the twenty-first century as a distinct sign of social pathology. The United States may still bully parts of the world, while endlessly showing off its military might. At home, however, it is sick.

Copyright 2023 Steve Fraser

Tomdispatch.com
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By Anne Irfan, UCL | 

(The Conversation)  The Israeli armys recent attack on Jenin refugee camp resulted in 13 deaths (12 Palestinians, including four children, and one Israeli soldier killed by suspected friendly fire). An additional 143 Palestinians were injured, with 20 in critical condition, and up to 4,000 displaced.

While this mass displacement has received less media attention than other aspects of the Israeli operation, it is central to understanding the regions politics.

Forced migration has always been core to the dynamics of modern Palestine and Israel. Most Palestinians are refugees, and Israels occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip is organised around control of movement.

While often framed as a fight over religion and ideology, this is ultimately a struggle around demographics, displacement and mobility.

Why is Jenin a refugee camp?

Much of the social media rhetoric on Jenin this week has asked why there is a refugee camp in the West Bank. Its a question that reflects widespread historical ignorance both in Israel and across the west. In fact, there are 19 refugee camps in the West Bank, and eight in the Gaza Strip. More than 2 million Palestinians across the two territories are registered by the United Nations (UN) as refugees  and their original dispossession goes to the heart of the violence today.

When the state of Israel was established in 1948, it took over 78% of Palestine (much more than the 55% that the UN had originally allocated to the nascent Jewish state). Around three-quarters of the Palestinian population  750,000 people  became refugees, expelled directly by Zionist militias or fleeing to escape massacres and other violence.

These events are known by Palestinians as the Nakba (the catastrophe), and are commemorated annually by refugee communities across the Middle East.



UNRWA , Author provided



In the immediate aftermath of the Nakba, the refugees sought shelter in the neighbouring Arab states and the two areas of Palestine that did not become part of Israel: the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip. Camps were built to house those with nowhere else to go. Jenin was one such camp, predominantly sheltering refugees from Haifa and Nazareth.

At the end of 1948, the UN passed Resolution 194, calling for the refugees to be allowed to return to their homes at the earliest opportunity. Successive Israeli governments consistently opposed this, and with no resolution, the refugees have remained in exile and in limbo.

Fast forward to 2023 and Jenin has now sheltered more than three generations of refugees. It is home to more than 14,000 people, surviving on less than half a square kilometre of land. When up to 4,000 Palestinians were displaced from the camp this week, they became refugees twice over. This is not the first time this has happened  Israels previous attack on Jenin in 2002 also displaced 4,000 people, more than a quarter of the camps population at the time.

Why displacement matters

The displacement of Palestinians did not end in 1948 but has continued for 75 years. In 1967, the Israeli army occupied the two parts of Palestine not subsumed in 1948: the West Bank and the Gaza Strip (known thereafter as the Occupied Palestinian Territories or OPT). As a result, nearly 400,000 Palestinians became refugees, more than half for the second time. Jordan established six new refugee camps to house them.

The Israeli occupation places millions of civilians under martial law. Displacement and immobility are core features of the regime. The construction of illegal Israeli settlements often entails both, uprooting existing Palestinian communities and curtailing their freedom of movement by seizing land across the territory.

Article continues after bonus IC video

Al Jazeera English: 

Palestinians assess damage in Jenin after Israeli withdrawal | Al Jazeera Newsfeed

In addition to land grab, other Israeli measures that cause continual Palestinian displacement include forcible evictions, house demolitions, denial of residency rights, and discriminatory planning and zoning. This means that Palestinians must live with the constant threat of displacement hanging over them, and no protection of their civil rights as a population under occupation.

In all cases, Palestinians across the occupied territories struggle to negotiate their rights without the claims of citizenship. Recent high-profile cases of forcible displacement include Israeli eviction orders against Palestinians in the East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah to make room for Israeli settlers. In the southern West Bank, Palestinian communities in Masafer Yaffa are facing expulsion as Israel appropriates the land for military training.

Meanwhile, Palestinians in Gaza face displacement of a different kind. Although Israel withdrew its settlements from the Gaza Strip in 2005, Palestinians there have continued to lose their homes due to ongoing waves of violence. Some 72,000 were displaced during the 2021 air attack on Gaza, as 2,200 homes were destroyed and another 37,000 damaged.

As around 70% of the Gaza population are refugees, this figure is a stark reminder of the continual nature of Palestinian forced migration. Many Palestinians now speak of ongoing Nakba to reflect this reality.

All this is possible because the Palestinians statelessness deprives them of basic rights. While discussions about the peace process is often framed in terms of conflict resolution and security, for many Palestinians the real priority is ending their dispersal and displacement.

The attack on Jenin may have now ended, but there is no bigger resolution in sight  and no sign that the continual rounds of Palestinian displacement will end any time soon.

Anne Irfan, Lecturer, UCL

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Former Trump lawyer and NYC mayor Rudy Giuliani should be disbarred in D.C. because of his "reckless" involvement in efforts to interfere with the election that dethroned his master. That's the verdict of a legal committee there, which will now be considered by an appeals court.

The finding by the Ad Hoc Hearing Committee for the D.C. Board on Professional Responsibility follows lengthy hearings in December, in which Giuliani vehemently defended his decision to challenge the election results based on information that he said he had received at the time. "He claimed massive election fraud but had no evidence of it," the three-person committee determined. "By prosecuting that destructive case, Mr. Giuliani, a sworn officer of the court, forfeited his right to practice law. He should be disbarred."

He's already suspended there and hasn't practiced since 2002, so it changes nothing material. Giuliani is already suspended from practicing law in New York and, besides, will be spending the rest of his life as a full-time client of other lawyers.
Lee Sung Kyung was lauded by her "Dr. Romantic 3" co-star Byun Woo Min for her kindness during the filming of the medical K-drama.

In one of the most beloved SBS medical series, the 32-year-old actress plays Cardiothoracic surgeon Cha Eun Jae, while the senior actor, who has been with the series since season 1, reprises his role as anesthesiologist and restaurant owner Nam Do Il.

During his guest appearance in the SBS show "Strong Heart League," Byun Woo Min revealed a surprising yet touching story about working alongside Lee Sung Kyung.

Byun Woo Min Says 'Dr. Romamtic 3' Co-Star Lee Sung Kyung Made Him Cry

In his interview, the 58-year-old actor shared the challenges of filming scenes in the operating room.

As obtained by SBS Star, Byun Woo Min revealed that they use dummies to perform surgery, which is usually done in medical K-dramas.

"Actors are given another set of dummies to perform the exact same surgery for their shoots. When that's done, we must film once more so that cameras can capture close-ups of our hands," he said, adding that doing scenes in medical series is a long process.

According to the actor, it usually takes them hours to finish, adding, "It would take a minimum of 12 hours, even up to three days."

Due to this, cast members could feel body pain, especially during long hours of shooting.

However, he revealed an interesting story about Lee Sung Kyung.

The actress, who was also going through a similar painful experience as Byun Woo Min, was curious if she was also dealing with the same painful experience as him.

Lee Sung Kyung said that she could also feel pain in her shoulders.

The next day, the actress gifted Byun Woo Min with a thoughtful present and gave him a massager.

"She told me that I should try using it, as it would help with the pain. Ever since I received that massager from her, I've been using it every day. I just feel incredibly thankful for her gift, you know."

Moreover, the actor said that he got emotional after receiving a gift for Lee Sung Kyung and praising her for her genuine kindness.

"I suddenly burst into tears. I couldn't help it," he said, adding, "It was her kind and caring heart that made me teary-eyed."

Apart from Byun Woo Min, co-star Ahn Hyo Seop also received a thoughtful surprise from the actress.

Lee Sung Kyung Once Surprised Ahn Hyo Seop With a Hilarious Present

In 2021, she sent the 28-year-old actor a food and coffee truck for his then-upcoming historical K-drama, "Lovers of the Red Sky."

Lee Sung Kyung added a hilarious touch to the food truck along with a banner that says "Paul [Ahn Hyo Seop's English name], are you taking over sageuk now too? I'm proud of you. Seop Seobi, fighting!" together with a photo of them during the "Dr. Romantic 2" taping.

IN CASE YOU MISSED: Ahn Hyo Seop Reveals Not Getting Enough Sleep For THIS Reason

For more K-Drama, K-Movie, and celebrity news, keep your tabs open here at KDramaStars.

KDramaStars owns this article

Written by Geca Wills
Press Release

July 8, 2023 Tolentino sees 'Barbie' film violating PH fishers fishing rights MANILA - Senator Francis "TOL" N. Tolentino sees 'Barbie' film violating Filipino fisherfolks' rights in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) with a map showing the invalidated China's nine-dash line in one of the scenes in that movie. "Yung karapatan ng ating mga mangingisda, hindi po 'yun pelikula. Tunay na buhay po 'yun, 'yung araw-araw na pagkuha ng laman-dagat para sa kanilang pamilya at para sa paninda, hindi po kathang-isip 'yun. Reyalidad po 'yung halos mabundol na sila ng malalaking barko. 'Yan ang tunay na mapa," Tolentino, vice-chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations said during his weekly radio program on DZRH. (The rights of our fisherfolks, is not a movie. It is real life, the daily gathering of sea products for their families and for selling, is not imagination. It's a reality that they can be bumped by big ships. That's the real map.) Filipino fisherfolks had been harassed several times while fishing at the Ayungin Shoal the worst instance was when 22 Filipino fishermen were left at sea after their boat was rammed by a Chinese vessel on June 9, 2019. In the same prog, Tolentino asked guest Commodore Jay Tarriela, Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesperson for West Philippine Sea (WPS), on what he can say about the Chinese statement that Filipinos are making incursions in the territory of China. Tarriela maintained the Philippines' position that the WPS is within Philippine territory and China violates the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). The senator also agrees with US Senator Ted Cruz that this may be part of a propaganda campaign to subliminally convey to the world that China owns all territories within the nine-dash line. He said that the same had happened three times already and wondered why it is happening again while he pondered the earnings the Barbie film could get when shown in China. In the past days, Tolentino's position to ban the Barbie film in the Philippines had been picked up by several international news outfits because of the depiction of the invalidated nine-dash line of China in the South China Sea.
Vampire facials involve drawing the client's own blood and injecting it back into their facea celebrity-approved test of our willingness to do anything in pursuit of superficial youth. HIV transmission was first linked to an amateur New Mexico practitioner in 2018, and now another client of the same now-shuttered spa has tested positive.

The health department is urging former clients who had any type of injection-related service, including a vampire facial or Botox injections at the VIP Spa, to get tested for HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C. More than 100 former clients were tested in 2018 and 2019 as part of the initial investigation, but health officials said former VIP clients should be retested, even if they initially tested negative.

"It's very important that we spread the word and remind people who received any kind of injection-related to services provided at the VIP Spa to come in for free and confidential testing," Dr. Laura Parajon, deputy secretary for the health department, said.

As of Wednesday, the health department said it has identified additional HIV infections with "direct or indirect connection with services provided" at VIP Spa. The department has not said how many people tested positive for HIV and did not specify what qualifies as an indirect connection. CBS News has reached out to the health department for clarification.
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Neemrana Resort Fraud: Kolkatas famous builders Sanjay Pasari, Rajeev Pasari, Rajkishore Modis houses raided by police, All Absconding



khaskhabar.com : Sat, 08 July 2023 10:24 AM

Kolkata. Rajasthan Police on Friday raided the Kolkata locations of famous builders Sanjay Pasari, Rajeev Pasari, Rajkishore Modi, Sujata Modi and Siddharth Jaipuria who defrauded crores of rupees in the name of Neemrana Resort Project in Rajasthan. But, fearing arrest, the entire gang of thugs fled from their homes.





An FIR has been lodged against this gang of thugs for cheating and looting crores of rupees by issuing fake allotment letters on behalf of the victim investors in Shahjahanpur, Rajasthan. The victims of their fraud have been pleading with the police for justice for the last months . Investors say that due to their administrative and political reach in Kolkata and Rajasthan, all the informations are getting leaked. With this, they are getting information about every movement of the Rajasthan Police. But, investors believe that till when will they run away from the police.





According to sources, the Sanjay Pasari gang is hiding in such areas of Kolkata where their luxurious palaces are built in large areas.

Investors say that this gang is so clever that they have shown the offices of the companies which have taken loan of 400 crores in the same fake address, which presently are closed shops or factories. So that even if the police raids after the fraud, no clue would be found. These all properties are very poor ,either the lock will be found hanging or the old watchman.





According to the police, when the Rajasthan Police raided Sanjay Pasari's luxurious palace 5B, 5C, New Road Alipore, an army of guards was stationed there. On asking, he told that Sanjay Pasari has fled to London. But, these raids by the police have created panic in this vicious gang. It is learned that Sanjay Pasari, using his influence, has kept Raj kishore Modi, Sujata Modi and Siddharth's wife Smita hidden somewhere in Kolkata. But, the fear of Rajasthan Police is so much in these that these vicious people are using someone else's ID to avoid Rajasthan Police and are talking on WhatsApp mechanism , but Rajasthan Police has also broken the person whose mobile number being misused by these frauds , in any case the continuous cyber cracking is being done by police and they are likely to be arrested soon.





Raj Kishore Mosi and Pasaris watchman and servant driver say that these people are famous for cheating in entire Kolkata. They have also cheated the local people of lakhs of rupees.





Now, if for some reason these vicious accused do not come into the hands of the police, then the police is preparing to get all their properties attached after getting information under the Rajasthan prevailing Act/rules/policy .
The downtown Buffalo that Nancy Smith remembers from her childhood can best be described in one word: booming.

That description rarely applies today. Smith, a retiree who lives on the citys West Side, believes part of the answer is a grocery store.

Mayor Brown wants Common Council to reconsider denial of forgivable loan for Braymiller Market "We need a market in downtown Buffalo. The way I look at it as mayor is, if downtown falters, the entire city of Buffalo's tax base falters because the downtown tax base supports every single neighborhood in the city of Buffalo," Brown said.

They need one downtown, Smith said Thursday.

Mayor Byron Brown could not have said it better himself. In fact, he has been saying it, repeatedly and loudly, in the hopes of convincing Common Council members to change their minds and approve more than half a million dollars in funds to keep Braymiller Market on Ellicott Street afloat.

But based on interviews with some of the Councils more influential members, it appears the wishes of Smith and Brown and others may go ungranted.

Buffalo Common Council members nix 'forgivable' loan to downtown Braymiller Market Braymiller Market was denied more than $500,000 in federal pandemic-related money by the Buffalo Common Council on Tuesday. The nine Council members unanimously denied the request and several said it wouldn't be fair to subsidize one business over others.

At this point, my feelings are still the same as when I voted against it, Council President Darius Pridgen said. And unless something huge, unless Im informed of something that I did not know the last time I voted, my sentiments are still the same.

Brown has put a measure back on the Council agenda that would make Braymiller eligible for $562,000 in pandemic-related funds, and said he would meet with Council members individually to make a new case for a yes vote after the council voted against it last month.

The money was originally set as a grant, but was converted to a forgivable loan, which is forgivable only if Braymiller stays open for two years after receiving it. Pridgen is concerned that the loan money would not be recouped if Braymiller went out of business.

The grant paid out $1.2 million to small businesses before being shut down due to a lack of qualified applicants. Pridgen believes more could be done to find qualified applicants, and doesnt feel that one business should receive so much money when smaller awards could go a longer way for smaller businesses.

I am not doubting that it was difficult to find businesses to qualify, but I also dont believe its impossible, he said. When I have smaller businesses on the East Side that are suffering, and a $10,000 or $20,000 loan would help them stay open, and for that money to be spent for one business  thats my biggest problem.

Braymiller Market seeks grant funding after pandemic upends its downtown plan The market is seeking slightly more than $562,000 in grant funding through the city from a program designed to help Buffalo businesses affected by the pandemic.

The Common Council, technically, is not deciding whether to award Braymiller the $562,000 from the Community Development Block Grant CARES Act, but whether to change the eligibility terms to include businesses with more employees than originally required.

It would take significant news to change Council Member Rasheed N.C. Wyatts vote, too.

I dont think the mayor is going to give me a call. He knows where I stand, he said. It just seems the administration is bending over backwards for one business, and the other businesses in our community who desperately need help seemingly cant get it.

Wyatt said he can understand why Braymiller owner Stuart Green may feel hung out to dry after taking a risk on downtown in response to Browns search for a downtown grocer, but said it was the Brown administrations failure to do due diligence that has put Green in this situation.

His model hasnt worked for downtown. And hes not done a good enough job with the tenants and the customers that he has right built into his building, Wyatt said, referring to low-income housing units adjacent to the market.

Wyatt, who chairs the citys Finance Committee, said he has concerns about the stores long-term viability.

I dont know if its a smart thing for us to give almost $600,000 to one business when that business may not be in business at the end of the year, he said. From what weve seen, it hasnt been successful. So I think that says it all.

Braymiller, which has a robust wholesale segment that supplies to restaurants and nonprofits, has made changes to appeal to lower-income shoppers. It has brought in private label brands from its distributor, sells scoop ice cream, changed some prepared foods to qualify for SNAP and EBT and is coordinating free grocery delivery to buildings where a number of residents have mobility issues, among other changes. But it is not enough for Wyatt.

Ive been a business manager and a banker for a long, long time. Ive worked with a lot of businesses, and those businesses many times have to make adjustments if they want to succeed, Wyatt said. It doesnt seem like this gentleman has made enough of an adjustment to succeed, and hes looking for the bank, the city to bail him out.

The Brown administration has not provided any supporting documentation to show that Braymiller has made meaningful changes to its business model or is a sustainable business, Wyatt said.

Show me something. Show me that your sales have increased. Show me that the marketing plan youve put forth is working. Weve not gotten any of that information, he said. Only thing weve gotten is Can we get almost $600,000? As a banker, I go on facts, figures, information and data. And weve been not shown any of that thus far.

When the citys districts are reapportioned next year, Council Member Mitch Nowakowski will inherit portions of downtown, while representing portions of the East Side.

How do we say in good faith that we have food deserts, and we need to work hard to close the gap of food deserts, but then when were downtown, were like, Oops, we dont mean here, he said.

He agrees with Brown that a thriving, diverse downtown with mixed income is vital to the city and is crucial to building a critical mass of residents in the city. He also realizes that much of the stores higher-end items are out of lower-income residents reach, and that work must be done on the stores product mix.

If there are enough votes, Nowakowski said he would like to see the measure pass, but said the issue has been polarizing.

Braymiller Market pulls off surprise 'soft, soft' opening downtown "We gave no notice to anybody. We just want to work out a couple of kinks and some (technology) issues we had," owner Stuart Green said.

Youve got to work with what youve got. You cant just scrap it and go find a new vendor, he said. What am I going to do when I inherit a large portion of downtown next year? Hi, Dashs. Hi, Wegmans. Can you come down here and make this a go after this debacle?

Brown attended a cash mob at Braymiller Market on Thursday, designed to get shoppers into the store, where he acknowledged that his office needed to provide additional information to the City Council, while continuing to make the case for the loan.

To have a healthy downtown, you need a supermarket. To have a healthy city, you need a healthy downtown, Brown said. The resources that come from downtown help to provide services for our entire city.

Dozens of people packed into the market for the one-hour cash mob. Most waited in line to buy a few items or lunch, but a few customers filled shopping baskets and carts.

Joyce Atkinson, a lifelong downtown resident, said Braymiller is a welcome addition. It is the only grocery store she can get to without a car, and she hopes it stays open.

But while it is better than nothing, she says Braymiller isnt a perfect fit for the neighborhood. She still sometimes pays for a ride to Aldi or Tops because the market is too expensive and too small.

I do come here  more than I think I should, Atkinson said. You cant afford to come here a lot. But its like that because I guess theyre trying to stay open.

People who live outside of downtown seemed to have a more favorable view of the store. Kristin Kostowniak, a Southtowns resident who works downtown, said she goes to Braymiller once or twice a month to pick up something for dinner or take advantage of the fresh produce.
Kilkenny TD Malcolm Noonan has said he is appalled at the deaths of two white-tailed eagles, apparently due to poisoning.

Minister of State Noonan and Tanaiste Micheal Martin have expressed shock and disappointment at the poisoning of the young eagles in Northern Ireland.

The two eagles, re-introduced in recent years by the National Parks and Wildlife Service of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, were found dead on a hill farm in the Glenhead Road area of Ballymena. The cause of death was only confirmed in the last few days by the Police Service for Northern Ireland (PSNI).

One of the birds had been released by the then Taoiseach Micheal Martin in August 2022 on the Shannon Estuary as part the by NPWS white-tailed Eagle reintroduction programme.

After learning of the death of the eagles, Tanaiste Micheal Martin said: I am deeply saddened and shocked to learn of the death of the white-tailed eagles. I have closely followed the reintroduction programme for a number of years and to be involved in the release of the seven young eagles in 2022 was an experience that I will never forget.

These are an iconic species, and the work of the NPWS in reintroducing them is something I, and the Government, am proud to support. There have been great successes in the programme over recent years, so to learn of a poisoning like this is very disappointing.

Minister of State for Heritage and Electoral Reform Malcolm Noonan said: Like everyone who is captivated by the sight of these magnificent birds in our skies again, I am appalled at what appears to be a poisoning incident that has led to the death of two white- tailed eagles. It has been encouraging in recent years to see birds nesting and rearing young hatched eagles here for the first time in over 100 years.

"An incident like this sets back our ambition but we wont be deterred. Whatever misunderstanding that is out there needs to be challenged. Toxic substances such as carbofurans are banned and need to be handed over for safe disposal. NPWS will work with colleagues in Northern Ireland, An Garda Siochana and the PSNI to fully investigate this incident and hopefully secure a successful prosecution. Wildlife crime is wrong at any time but in a time of a biodiversity crisis it is socially abhorrent and I would urge anyone with information relating to this incident, to speak to the PSNI.

Director General of the NPWS Niall O Donnchu added:

I was very saddened to hear of the poisonings. White-tailed eagles are beautiful and rare birds, and while we are in the midst of a successful reintroduction programme, these setbacks truly matter.



The deliberate poisoning of birds of prey is a heinous crime against nature and an offence under the Wildlife Acts. These birds have no means of detecting that they have been baited and the malice of forethought in these acts doesnt bear thinking about.

One of the young white-tailed eagles, found dead had been brought in as a chick in 2022 from Norway under phase two of the white-tailed eagle re-introduction programme managed by NPWS. He was fitted with a satellite tag so his movements could be followed.

After being released, the young eagle spent a number of months on the Shannon Estuary before starting to travel around the country. He crossed into Northern Ireland from south Donegal on the 1st May 2023 and was found dead just two weeks later, alongside an untagged young eagle. The origin of the second dead eagle is unknown, but NPWS staff believe it most likely fledged from a nest in Munster in 2021.

Investigations by the PSNI recently revealed that both young eagles had died as a result of ingesting an insecticide called Bendiocarb. It is not known how the eagles ingested this substance, but it was possibly from eating carrion (a dead animal) or other bait laced with the insecticide.

According to the substance classification and labelling approved by the European Union, Bendiocarb is fatal if swallowed, is toxic in contact with skin and is toxic if inhaled. It is acutely toxic to many animals, particularly to birds, fish and some invertebrates such as bees and earthworms. Its use has been illegal in Scotland since 2005.

Despite their toxicity, Bendiocarb, Carbofuran and other poisons continue to be used to target wildlife. Earlier this year a white-tailed eagle was found poisoned by the illegal insecticide Carbofuran in Cavan.

White-tailed eagles are a protected species under the Wildlife Act. These birds were persecuted to extinction by the early 1900s but are making a successful comeback due the NPWS reintroduction programme started in 2007.

Although some landowners may have in the past commonly used poisons to deliberately control crows and foxes, especially around lambing time, NPWS would like to issue a reminder that use of poisonous substances for the control of foxes and crows is illegal and has been since 2010.

The potential for positive economic benefits from the re-introduction of the eagles has been demonstrated in Mountshannon, Clare, when the first breeding pair in Ireland in over a century nested within sight of the village in 2012, attracting thousands of visitors over the following years.

Sadly one the Mountshannon pair of eagles died of avian influenza in 2018. However there is good news from Mountshannon as the widowed male has paired up with a female released in 2020.

The pair hatched two chicks this spring and they are due to fly the nest later this month. Last week the two chicks were ringed and one was fitted with a satellite transmitter.

Since 2020, almost all chicks released by the white-tailed eagle project are satellite-tagged, which enables the project to follow their movements as they disperse and establish in new areas and, in cases like this, to determine the locations of any tagged birds which may be in trouble.
CHILDRENS

How to Stay Invisible by Maggie C. Rudd; Farrar, Straus Giroux, 240 pages ($17.99). Ages 10 to 14.

...

A 12-year-old boy abandoned by his parents struggles to survive on his own in the woods behind his middle school until a crisis reveals his situation to caring classmates and adults in this poignant novel from North Carolina author Maggie C. Rudd, author of picture books including Ill Hold Your Hand.

Raymond Hurley is accustomed to taking care of himself, as his undependable parents move from place to place, but he is shocked when, shortly after moving to Mill River, N.C., he returns from school one day to find himself locked out of the rental trailer and his parents gone with no note of explanation. Only a duffel bag of his meager belongings and his dog, Rosie, were left behind.

With a past bad experience living in a childrens home, Raymond decides to tell no one what is going on. Rudd offers vivid details of wilderness survival that will appeal to fans of Gary Paulsens Hatchet as Raymond struggles to appear presentable at school while grappling with hunger, freezing temperatures, injury and illness.

He finds a hollow tree to sleep in, washes himself and his clothes in a nearby stream, eats breakfast and lunch at school on weekdays and forages for food in the school dumpster or goes fishing at night and on weekends. With the help of a Boy Scout guide from the public library, he figures out how to make a trap with a heavy rock (injuring his hand in the process) and manages to kill a squirrel. A mysterious benefactor at school leaves him a tube of toothpaste, then a $5 bill. A sleeping bag offered as a prize at a school event is a godsend.

Raymond works hard to stay under the radar  invisible  never disclosing his situation even as he makes friends with two classmates and an old fisherman, who becomes the first to realize Raymond has been abandoned by his parents. Raymonds realization that there are people he can trust makes for a valuable lesson in Rudds engaging novel.

YOUNG ADULT At the Speed of Lies by Cindy L. Otis; Scholastic, 319 pages ($18.99) Ages 12 and up.

...

Cindy A. Otis, a former disinformation specialist for the CIA, examines the ways conspiracy theories can spread like wildfire on social media in this entertaining thriller set in the Finger Lakes town of Canandaigua.

High school student Quinn Calvet, who uses a wheelchair due to her rheumatoid arthritis, is hoping to win more followers to The Whine, an Instagram account that documents school track meets and other community events. She has been feeling abandoned by her best friend since Ximena got a boyfriend, but is thrilled when classmate Asher King offers technical design help for The Whine.

Meanwhile Quinns older sister Ava, a senior who had been laser-focused on college, gets caught up in a new Defend Kids group after the group reports a teenage girl and her little brother were kidnapped in nearby Rochester and police are doing nothing about it.

Quinn discovers that posting about Defend Kids dramatically boosts the followers on her account and even attracts paying sponsors. Defend Kids gains even more widespread support among townspeople after two of Quinns classmates are abducted and a search comes up empty.

As Defend Kids amps up its actions in threatening ways, Quinn grows increasingly uneasy about the groups political statements and the links to suspicious websites being posting in comments on her account. She begins to do her own research, doubting the wildly inflated numbers on child abductions the group is reporting. When she discovers a newspaper story debunking the Rochester kidnapping as a hoax, she finds herself in a moral quandary, since her Instagram account owes its success to Defend Kids, and so many classmates and townspeople, and even her own sister, are so heavily invested in the cause.

Otis deftly keeps the suspense going right up through the end, offering a rather horrifying look at how easily teens and seemingly intelligent adults can be duped into believing nonsense. A lengthy authors note about conspiracy theories includes the so-called Pizzagate incident, in which a gunman fired a rifle inside a Washington, D.C., pizzeria, falsely believing children were being trafficked there.

 Jean Westmoore
Scores of motorists ticketed under Buffalos now-defunct school zone speed camera program could get refunds as part of a class-action lawsuit now being heard in state Supreme Court.

Justice Henry Nowak recently ruled that people with a due date on their citation on or after Nov. 19, 2020, can be included in the lawsuit.

Attorney Kevin Stocker, who filed the legal petition in March 2021 on behalf of himself and 53 other ticketed drivers, asked that all tickets from the initial start of the program in March 2020 be included.

But Nowak agreed with the citys contention that Article 78 proceedings  lawsuits mainly used to challenge an action by government agencies or local governments  must be commenced within four months after the challenged action becomes final and binding. The Nov. 19, 2020, date is four months before Stocker filed his petition.

Were getting into discovery right now, and were trying to identify all the people that had to pay or had a plea date, Stocker said. So the court has said everybody from that date moving forward is in the class-action suit. So theyre entitled to be part of this litigation group, which I represent, and the goal is to get everybodys money back.

The city had asked Nowak to deny class certification, contending the unique factual circumstances of each ticket issued would predominate over the only common question in the case: whether tickets issued under the program were valid.

The peculiar facts and circumstances of each ticket will need to be considered and individual issues will predominate throughout the class, Assistant Corporation Counsel David M. Lee said in a written court submission ahead of Nowaks ruling.

The city launched the school safety zone program on March 11, 2020, using cameras installed by Sensys Gatso USA to catch motorists traveling in excess of 25 mph in the newly designated 15-mph school zones.

The program was put on pause as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, but was resumed in the fall of 2020, when most students in the city were attending school virtually. Speeding violations were issued into the spring of 2021, according to Nowaks ruling.

Stocker alleged the program violated New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law.

We litigated that the statute wasnt being followed correctly and we said it was unconstitutional, said Stocker. And when we filed the litigation, one, we said it created a dangerous condition because the safety regulations only allow you to drop the speed limit 10 miles. It doesnt allow you to drop it 15, which is what they did.

Nowak denied Stockers motion that the court declare the program unconstitutional. In March, the state appellate court in Rochester upheld Nowaks ruling.

Stockers lone remaining cause of action alleges Buffalos implementation of the program was arbitrary and capricious.

Among the issues:

The lack of notice for drivers entering the speed zones.

Speed zones operated at improper times or locations.

Cameras and other equipment malfunctioned.

Errors on the tickets issued and the inability of vehicle owners to appear to contest the alleged infractions.

In April 2021, University District Council Member Rasheed N.C. Wyatt sponsored a resolution to end the program, and it was approved by the Council in May 2021. The last speeding camera was turned off in July 2021.

In September 2021, a lawyer who was part of a campaign to jettison Buffalos school zone speed cameras program submitted an affidavit in Stockers class-action lawsuit after a judge dismissed two tickets that the city had issued to her client. The lawyer said the tickets were dismissed by the judge because the city admitted in court that it could not provide proof that the camera system that was used to generate the tickets was properly tested on the days that the monitors allegedly recorded her clients car speeding, as required by state Vehicle and Traffic Law. The lawyer also argued that a speed camera technicians signature was required to appear on the tickets to certify that they were valid.

Meanwhile, Stocker continues to press to get all of the tickets invalidated and refunds for the ticketed owners.

It would be my intent to try to publicly shame the city by saying every person whos eligible to vote should vote against the mayor and the Common Council until they refund everybodys money back because this was an illegal program. It was not designed for safety. It was designed to raise revenue on poor and hardworking people during Covid, he said.

What were doing is identifying how many people are covered in it and whether the city met the requisite requirements in running the program, which we all know they didnt, and we think the revenue is somewhere between the $2.1 million to $3 million range that they would look at having to refund. And at this early stage, its just a guess, Stocker added.

The fines were $50 for a first offense, $75 for a second offense and $100 for a third offense.
The Herald reports:

The Government is being accused of mind-boggling mismanagement because it has $531 million worth of rapid antigen tests (RATs) still in stock.  Te Whatu Ora has almost 60 million RATs around the country, with 30 per cent of them already expired or due to expire by the end of July. The total cost of all of these RATs, at almost $9 each on average, is $530 million.

$530 million is more than the cost of the proposed new medical school at Waikato University, which the Government says can't be afforded.

It is around one third of the cost of the new dunedin Hospital, which the Government is downgrading as it says it can't afford to spend more.

Such shocking waste.

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Shenandoah, IA (51601)

Today

Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. Low 59F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph..

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Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. Low 59F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph.
A 21-year-old West Seneca man was sentenced Thursday in Erie County Court to four years in prison followed by three years of post-release supervision for attacking a woman with a tree branch, according to the Erie County District Attorneys Office.

Prosecutors said Ryan J. Strunk attacked the victim as she was jogging on the New York State Developmental Disabilities Services Office campus on East and West Road in West Seneca on Sept. 11, 2021. Strunk hit the woman numerous times with a branch and chased her until she was able to escape into a campus security vehicle, which was occupied. She had the employee inside call 911.

Strunk then climbed off the vehicle after a West Seneca patrol officer arrived and displayed a Taser. Strunk then fought with the officer as he was being handcuffed. He also attempted to take the officers gun and bit his finger.

On Jan. 10, 2022, Strunk pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree assault.
Inspire Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS  Free Report) by 9.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,322 shares of the construction companys stock after buying an additional 1,248 shares during the quarter. Inspire Investing LLCs holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems were worth $1,206,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. New York State Teachers Retirement System acquired a new position in Advanced Drainage Systems during the 4th quarter worth $467,000. Trexquant Investment LP boosted its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 596.5% during the 3rd quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 37,563 shares of the construction companys stock worth $4,672,000 after acquiring an additional 32,170 shares during the period. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. boosted its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. now owns 9,547 shares of the construction companys stock worth $783,000 after acquiring an additional 923 shares during the period. Credit Suisse AG boosted its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 43.0% during the 4th quarter. Credit Suisse AG now owns 182,714 shares of the construction companys stock worth $14,977,000 after acquiring an additional 54,969 shares during the period. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 1,611.4% during the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 257,370 shares of the construction companys stock worth $21,097,000 after acquiring an additional 242,331 shares during the period. 82.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on WMS shares. Loop Capital boosted their price target on Advanced Drainage Systems from $115.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Monday, May 22nd. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $108.00 to $115.00 in a report on Friday, May 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $125.00 to $131.00 in a report on Friday, May 19th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Advanced Drainage Systems in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a hold rating for the company. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $113.00 to $119.00 in a report on Friday, May 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Advanced Drainage Systems currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $120.67.

Insider Transactions at Advanced Drainage Systems

Advanced Drainage Systems Stock Up 1.3 %

In other news, EVP Darin S. Harvey sold 7,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Monday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.65, for a total transaction of $718,550.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,171 shares of the companys stock, valued at $530,803.15. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website . In related news, insider Tim A. Makowski sold 3,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.25, for a total transaction of $327,750.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,647 shares of the companys stock, valued at $944,684.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link . Also, EVP Darin S. Harvey sold 7,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Monday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.65, for a total value of $718,550.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,171 shares in the company, valued at $530,803.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here . Insiders have sold 20,000 shares of company stock valued at $2,102,000 over the last three months. Company insiders own 3.79% of the companys stock.

Shares of Advanced Drainage Systems stock opened at $112.02 on Friday. The stocks fifty day moving average is $101.24 and its 200-day moving average is $91.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.87 billion, a PE ratio of 18.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 12-month low of $75.02 and a 12-month high of $153.36.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS  Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 18th. The construction company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.38. The company had revenue of $617.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $567.10 million. Advanced Drainage Systems had a return on equity of 52.49% and a net margin of 16.51%. Advanced Drainage Systemss revenue for the quarter was down 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.95 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 1st were given a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 31st. This is a positive change from Advanced Drainage Systemss previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. Advanced Drainage Systemss payout ratio is 9.23%.

About Advanced Drainage Systems

(Free Report)

Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc designs, manufactures, and markets thermoplastic corrugated pipes and related water management products, and drainage solutions for use in the construction and agriculture marketplaces in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and internationally. The company operates through Pipe, International, Infiltrator, and Allied Products & Other segments.

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Lennar (NYSE:LEN  Free Report) had its price target raised by Citigroup from $139.00 to $148.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning, FlyOnTheWall reports.

LEN has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Seaport Res Ptn restated a buy rating on shares of Lennar in a research report on Wednesday, June 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Lennar from $130.00 to $145.00 in a report on Friday, June 16th. Wedbush boosted their target price on shares of Lennar from $94.00 to $123.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 15th. Credit Suisse Group boosted their price target on shares of Lennar from $88.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, March 16th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Lennar from $127.00 to $150.00 in a report on Friday, June 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $123.20.

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Lennar Stock Performance

NYSE LEN opened at $120.20 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 7.08, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.46. The firms 50 day simple moving average is $115.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $105.68. Lennar has a 1 year low of $69.90 and a 1 year high of $127.08.

Lennar Dividend Announcement

Insider Transactions at Lennar

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 7th will be given a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 6th. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.25%. Lennars dividend payout ratio is currently 10.24%.

In other news, CFO Diane J. Bessette sold 10,790 shares of Lennar stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.46, for a total value of $1,310,553.40. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 270,556 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,861,731.76. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 9.53% of the companys stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lennar

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Lennar by 10.7% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 12,184 shares of the construction companys stock worth $989,000 after acquiring an additional 1,173 shares during the period. Cibc World Market Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Lennar by 6.8% in the first quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 9,499 shares of the construction companys stock worth $771,000 after acquiring an additional 602 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its holdings in Lennar by 172.1% during the first quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 14,925 shares of the construction companys stock valued at $1,256,000 after purchasing an additional 9,440 shares during the period. Prudential PLC bought a new stake in Lennar during the first quarter valued at about $1,711,000. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. bought a new stake in Lennar during the first quarter valued at about $200,000. 82.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Lennar

(Free Report)

Lennar Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a homebuilder primarily under the Lennar brand in the United States. It operates through Homebuilding East, Homebuilding Central, Homebuilding Texas, Homebuilding West, Financial Services, Multifamily, and Lennar Other segments. The company's homebuilding operations include the construction and sale of single-family attached and detached homes, as well as the purchase, development, and sale of residential land; and development, construction, and management of multifamily rental properties.

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When pet owners bring their pets to my veterinary practice, they need a solution to the animals condition  how to prevent the itch, reduce the pain, or stop a tumors growth. Preventing animal suffering is part of my oath as a veterinarian. Unfortunately, current therapies for common diseases like arthritis, asthma and cancer are primarily limited to treating symptoms rather than eliminating the ongoing condition.

With 5.2 million households in New York having pets, animal health and welfare directly affects humans. For example, owners of New Yorks 4.7 cats and 6.3 million dogs must remain vigilant in their efforts to manage parasites like fleas and ticks, which can cause discomfort and disease in animals and also spread to humans. Keeping parasites in check gets more challenging each season as climate change enables the geographic spread of pests and lengthens their breeding season.

But companion animals arent the only ones requiring health innovations. Advanced medicines and diagnostic tools can identify, prevent, cure, and even eradicate disease in food animals.

More than 8.7 million food animals in New York produce 17.5 billion pounds of food, like dairy products, poultry, eggs, and meat. Keeping these animals healthy is high stakes, having a direct impact on individuals, families, communities, the economy, and even the environment. Diseases like bovine tuberculosis and African swine fever can harm or kill livestock, which is bad for the animals and can compromise our food supply. New technologies are critical to help the poultry industry reduce the risk of Salmonella and Campylobacter, which are the bacteria often responsible for human foodborne diseases.

Importantly, healthy animals enable farmers to operate more efficiently, profitably, and sustainably. Animals that struggle with disease require more resources, and they may never produce as much as if they had never fallen ill. For example, a dairy cow that receives medication to prevent an infection by parasitic roundworms produces more milk, enabling the farmer to meet production needs with fewer animals.

Innovations in medicines, feed additives, diagnostics, and husbandry can decrease the impact of livestock on land, water, and air. According to a 2023 report by Oxford Analytica, reducing livestock disease by 10 percentage points globally is associated with an 800 million ton decrease in greenhouse gas emissions. In Brazil, a vaccination rate of 80% in cattle is associated with a 26% reduction in livestock land use. And its estimated that every percentage point reduction in global beef cattle loss due to disease could provide enough additional production to meet the consumption needs of 317 million people.

Congress is currently considering the reauthorization of the Animal Drug User Fee Act (ADUFA), which provides supplemental funding from industry to the FDAs Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) to facilitate the review and approval of innovative therapies that keep all animals healthy. The legislation, which must be reauthorized by Congress by Sept. 30, 2023, is designed to improve the drug process and incentivize the development of therapies to address the unmet medical needs in animals. With Congresss approval, this new agreement will provide a platform for industry and CVM to work together to ensure new and innovative therapies are available to pet owners, farmers, ranchers, and veterinarians.

A vote for a clean ADUFA supports animal health, which contributes positively to public health, the economy, and sustainability goals.
EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP  Free Report) and Omega Healthcare Investors (NYSE:OHI  Free Report) are both mid-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, profitability, risk, earnings and dividends.

Risk and Volatility

EastGroup Properties has a beta of 0.93, indicating that its stock price is 7% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Omega Healthcare Investors has a beta of 0.99, indicating that its stock price is 1% less volatile than the S&P 500.

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Profitability

This table compares EastGroup Properties and Omega Healthcare Investors net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets EastGroup Properties 32.86% 8.40% 4.20% Omega Healthcare Investors 32.26% 7.13% 2.90%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

Analyst Ratings

91.6% of EastGroup Properties shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 66.0% of Omega Healthcare Investors shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.5% of EastGroup Properties shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.2% of Omega Healthcare Investors shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for EastGroup Properties and Omega Healthcare Investors, as reported by MarketBeat.

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score EastGroup Properties 0 4 6 0 2.60 Omega Healthcare Investors 1 4 2 0 2.14

EastGroup Properties currently has a consensus target price of $175.30, suggesting a potential upside of 1.04%. Omega Healthcare Investors has a consensus target price of $30.56, suggesting a potential downside of 1.31%. Given EastGroup Properties stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe EastGroup Properties is more favorable than Omega Healthcare Investors.

Dividends

EastGroup Properties pays an annual dividend of $5.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.9%. Omega Healthcare Investors pays an annual dividend of $2.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 8.7%. EastGroup Properties pays out 129.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Omega Healthcare Investors pays out 233.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. EastGroup Properties has raised its dividend for 11 consecutive years.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares EastGroup Properties and Omega Healthcare Investors revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio EastGroup Properties $487.02 million 15.51 $186.18 million $3.87 44.83 Omega Healthcare Investors $878.24 million 8.26 $426.93 million $1.15 26.92

Omega Healthcare Investors has higher revenue and earnings than EastGroup Properties. Omega Healthcare Investors is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than EastGroup Properties, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

EastGroup Properties beats Omega Healthcare Investors on 13 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About EastGroup Properties

(Free Report)

EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE: EGP), a member of the S&P Mid-Cap 400 and Russell 1000 Indexes, is a self-administered equity real estate investment trust focused on the development, acquisition and operation of industrial properties in major Sunbelt markets throughout the United States with an emphasis in the states of Florida, Texas, Arizona, California and North Carolina. The Company's goal is to maximize shareholder value by being a leading provider in its markets of functional, flexible and quality business distribution space for location sensitive customers (primarily in the 20,000 to 100,000 square foot range). The Company's strategy for growth is based on ownership of premier distribution facilities generally clustered near major transportation features in supply-constrained submarkets. The Company's portfolio, including development projects and value-add acquisitions in lease-up and under construction, currently includes approximately 57.1 million square feet.

About Omega Healthcare Investors

(Free Report)

Omega is a REIT that invests in the long-term healthcare industry, primarily in skilled nursing and assisted living facilities. Its portfolio of assets is operated by a diverse group of healthcare companies, predominantly in a triple-net lease structure. The assets span all regions within the U.S., as well as in the U. K.

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Royal Bank of Canada lowered shares of Dunelm Group (OTCMKTS:DNLMY  Free Report) from a sector perform rating to an underperform rating in a report released on Tuesday morning, FlyOnTheWall reports.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on DNLMY. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Dunelm Group from an underperform rating to a hold rating in a research report on Sunday, March 19th. Berenberg Bank lifted their price objective on Dunelm Group from GBX 1,240 ($15.74) to GBX 1,330 ($16.88) in a research note on Wednesday, May 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Dunelm Group from GBX 1,150 ($14.60) to GBX 1,190 ($15.10) in a research note on Wednesday, June 28th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Dunelm Group in a research note on Friday, April 28th. They set a buy rating for the company.

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Dunelm Group Stock Performance

DNLMY stock opened at $13.04 on Tuesday. Dunelm Group has a twelve month low of $7.87 and a twelve month high of $14.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 1.06. The business has a fifty day moving average of $14.33 and a 200-day moving average of $13.55.

Dunelm Group Company Profile

Dunelm Group plc retails homewares in the United Kingdom. The company offers furniture and beds products, which include bedroom, living room, dining room, and other furniture, as well as bed and mattresses, and sofas and chairs; bedding products comprising bed linen, dorma, baby and kid's bedding, and duvets, pillows and protectors; curtains and rugs; and venetian, roller, roman, vertical, and made to measure blinds.

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The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (OTCMKTS:IDCBY  Free Report) from a buy rating to a sell rating in a report issued on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports.

Separately, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China from a neutral rating to an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, June 14th.

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Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Price Performance

OTCMKTS IDCBY opened at $9.19 on Tuesday. The firms fifty day simple moving average is $10.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $10.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China has a 12-month low of $8.48 and a 12-month high of $11.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $163.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.25.

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Cuts Dividend

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China ( OTCMKTS:IDCBY Free Report ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 28th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China had a net margin of 24.83% and a return on equity of 10.23%. The business had revenue of $30.53 billion for the quarter.

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.7104 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 6th. Industrial and Commercial Bank of Chinas dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.15%.

About Industrial and Commercial Bank of China

(Free Report)

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Limited, together with its subsidiaries, provides banking products and services in the People's Republic of China and internationally. It operates through Corporate Banking, Personal Banking, and Treasury Operations segments. The Corporate Banking segment offers financial products and services to corporations, government agencies, and financial institutions.

Further Reading

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Inspire Investing LLC raised its position in Life Storage, Inc. (NYSE:LSI  Free Report) by 5.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,357 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock after purchasing an additional 557 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLCs holdings in Life Storage were worth $1,489,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of LSI. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Life Storage by 116.1% in the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 8,125 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $1,141,000 after purchasing an additional 4,365 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Life Storage by 23.4% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 4,423 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $621,000 after buying an additional 840 shares during the period. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Life Storage by 30.1% in the first quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 2,834 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $398,000 after buying an additional 655 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Life Storage by 2.9% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 208,609 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $29,266,000 after buying an additional 5,831 shares during the period. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its holdings in shares of Life Storage by 2.5% in the first quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 348,298 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $48,911,000 after buying an additional 8,469 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.28% of the companys stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on LSI shares. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Life Storage from $120.00 to $122.00 in a report on Thursday, June 15th. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of Life Storage from $136.00 to $154.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, April 5th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Life Storage from $140.00 to $145.00 in a report on Friday, May 12th. Wolfe Research cut shares of Life Storage from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a report on Wednesday, April 12th. Finally, Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Life Storage from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Tuesday, April 4th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $128.63.

Insider Buying and Selling at Life Storage

Life Storage Stock Performance

In other Life Storage news, Director Arthur L. Havener, Jr. sold 2,625 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.76, for a total value of $335,370.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 14,901 shares in the company, valued at $1,903,751.76. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink . In other news, Director Arthur L. Havener, Jr. sold 2,625 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.76, for a total value of $335,370.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,901 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,903,751.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website . Also, CEO Joseph Saffire sold 5,036 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.03, for a total transaction of $659,867.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 83,780 shares in the company, valued at $10,977,693.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here . Insiders sold a total of 10,161 shares of company stock worth $1,320,037 over the last quarter. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Shares of LSI stock opened at $132.11 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $11.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.65 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.42 and a quick ratio of 0.42. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $131.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $122.97. Life Storage, Inc. has a one year low of $94.02 and a one year high of $146.66.

Life Storage Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 19th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 13th will be paid a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.73%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 12th. Life Storages dividend payout ratio is currently 111.37%.

Life Storage Profile

(Free Report)

Life Storage, Inc is a self-administered and self-managed equity REIT that is in the business of acquiring and managing self-storage facilities. Located in Buffalo, New York, the Company operates more than 1,200 storage facilities in 37 states and the District of Columbia. The Company serves both residential and commercial storage customers with storage units rented by month.

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Inspire Investing LLC decreased its position in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK  Free Report) by 0.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 14,394 shares of the specialty chemicals companys stock after selling 99 shares during the quarter. Inspire Investing LLCs holdings in Westlake were worth $1,669,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in Westlake by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 16,608 shares of the specialty chemicals companys stock worth $2,049,000 after purchasing an additional 503 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Westlake by 4.3% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 243,246 shares of the specialty chemicals companys stock worth $30,017,000 after buying an additional 10,077 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Westlake by 23.7% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 8,102 shares of the specialty chemicals companys stock valued at $1,000,000 after buying an additional 1,553 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its stake in shares of Westlake by 236.9% during the 1st quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 9,313 shares of the specialty chemicals companys stock valued at $1,149,000 after acquiring an additional 6,549 shares during the period. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Westlake in the 1st quarter worth approximately $118,000. 29.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Westlake Trading Up 3.5 %

Shares of NYSE WLK opened at $120.52 on Friday. Westlake Co. has a 1-year low of $81.29 and a 1-year high of $126.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 2.85 and a quick ratio of 1.99. The businesss 50 day moving average is $114.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $114.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.29 and a beta of 1.26.

Westlake Announces Dividend

Westlake ( NYSE:WLK Free Report ) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.05 by $1.00. The firm had revenue of $3.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.41 billion. Westlake had a return on equity of 18.19% and a net margin of 12.49%. The companys revenue for the quarter was down 17.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.83 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Westlake Co. will post 10.29 EPS for the current year.

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 8th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.357 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.43 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.18%. Westlakes dividend payout ratio is presently 9.83%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Westlake in a report on Tuesday, June 13th. They set a neutral rating and a $114.00 price target on the stock. KeyCorp cut their price target on Westlake from $107.00 to $106.00 in a research note on Friday, June 16th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Westlake in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a hold rating on the stock. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. cut Westlake from a hold rating to a sell rating and cut their target price for the stock from $112.00 to $108.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 9th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Westlake from $122.00 to $130.00 in a report on Monday, May 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Westlake currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $121.33.

About Westlake

(Free Report)

Westlake Corporation manufactures and markets performance and essential materials, and housing and infrastructure products in the United States, Canada, Germany, China, Italy, Taiwan, and internationally. The Performance and Essential Materials segment offers polyethylene, styrene monomer, ethylene co-products, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), vinyl chloride monomer, ethylene dichloride chlor-alkali, chlorinated derivative products, and epoxy resins.

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Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE  Free Report) had its price target increased by Piper Sandler from $125.00 to $135.00 in a report published on Wednesday, FlyOnTheWall reports.

ICE has been the subject of several other research reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $120.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 11th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a buy rating and set a $168.00 price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Thursday, April 6th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Wednesday, June 28th. They issued an equal weight rating and a $123.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $130.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Friday, May 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $122.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Friday, May 5th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $129.73.

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Intercontinental Exchange Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ICE opened at $112.30 on Wednesday. The firms 50 day moving average is $109.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $106.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.53, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.93. Intercontinental Exchange has a 52 week low of $88.60 and a 52 week high of $114.11.

Intercontinental Exchange Dividend Announcement

Intercontinental Exchange ( NYSE:ICE Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 4th. The financial services provider reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $1.90 billion. Intercontinental Exchange had a net margin of 14.97% and a return on equity of 12.98%. The businesss revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.43 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Intercontinental Exchange will post 5.48 earnings per share for the current year.

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 15th were issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 14th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.50%. Intercontinental Exchanges dividend payout ratio is currently 65.12%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Intercontinental Exchange news, CFO Warren Gardiner sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.52, for a total value of $55,260.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 16,025 shares in the company, valued at $1,771,083. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CFO Warren Gardiner sold 500 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Friday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.52, for a total value of $55,260.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 16,025 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,771,083. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jeffrey C. Sprecher sold 85,461 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.89, for a total transaction of $9,220,387.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,188,085 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $128,182,490.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 93,934 shares of company stock worth $10,139,046. Company insiders own 1.10% of the companys stock.

Institutional Trading of Intercontinental Exchange

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Intercontinental Exchange in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $579,605,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 45.5% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 17,114,267 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $1,755,753,000 after purchasing an additional 5,354,161 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 18.9% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 25,406,629 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $2,606,466,000 after purchasing an additional 4,044,744 shares during the last quarter. Veritas Asset Management LLP boosted its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 76.9% in the 1st quarter. Veritas Asset Management LLP now owns 7,450,402 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $777,002,000 after purchasing an additional 3,239,605 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Perpetual Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange in the 1st quarter valued at $205,296,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.28% of the companys stock.

About Intercontinental Exchange

(Free Report)

Intercontinental Exchange, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of market infrastructure, data services, and technology solutions for financial institutions, corporations, and government entities in the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Singapore, India, Abu Dhabi, Israel, and Canada.

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StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Core Laboratories (NYSE:CLB  Free Report) in a research note released on Wednesday. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the oil and gas companys stock.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on CLB. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Core Laboratories from $18.00 to $19.00 in a research report on Monday, May 1st. Bank of America lowered Core Laboratories from a neutral rating to an underperform rating and set a $21.50 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, April 18th. They noted that the move was a valuation call. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Core Laboratories from $24.00 to $25.00 in a research report on Friday, April 28th. Finally, Citigroup downgraded Core Laboratories from a neutral rating to a sell rating and decreased their price target for the company from $22.00 to $21.00 in a research note on Friday, June 30th.

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Core Laboratories Trading Up 11.8 %

NYSE CLB opened at $24.23 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $1.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.46, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 2.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 2.38 and a quick ratio of 1.68. The stocks 50-day moving average is $22.73 and its 200-day moving average is $22.76. Core Laboratories has a one year low of $13.19 and a one year high of $26.80.

Core Laboratories Dividend Announcement

Core Laboratories ( NYSE:CLB Free Report ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 26th. The oil and gas company reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.14 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $128.36 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $126.26 million. Core Laboratories had a return on equity of 15.23% and a net margin of 4.72%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Core Laboratories will post 0.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 8th were paid a $0.01 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 5th. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.17%. Core Laboratoriess dividend payout ratio is 8.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in shares of Core Laboratories by 328.1% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,858 shares of the oil and gas companys stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 1,424 shares during the period. UBS Group AG boosted its stake in shares of Core Laboratories by 171.6% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 3,200 shares of the oil and gas companys stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 2,022 shares during the period. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Core Laboratories during the 1st quarter worth approximately $49,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Core Laboratories by 213.1% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,805 shares of the oil and gas companys stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 1,909 shares during the period. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Core Laboratories by 184.9% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,934 shares of the oil and gas companys stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 1,904 shares during the period. 97.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Core Laboratories Company Profile

(Free Report)

Core Laboratories Inc provides reservoir description and production enhancement services and products to the oil and gas industry in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It operates through Reservoir Description and Production Enhancement segments. The Reservoir Description segment includes the characterization of petroleum reservoir rock, reservoir fluid, and gas samples to enhance production and improve recovery of oil and gas from its clients' reservoirs.

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News / Local

by Staff reporter

ZIMBABWE'S main opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) party this week declared fireworks in next month's landmark polls, warning it would upset President Emmerson Mnangagwa's ruling Zanu-PF party, as it prepared to launch its first manifesto tomorrow.Led by Nelson Chamisa, CCC, two months after its formation, sprang onto the political landscape, walloping Zanu-PF in 19 of 28 parliamentary by-elections held on May 26.The 45-year-old CCC president presents one of the biggest threats to Zanu-PF, which has been in power since independence in 1980.But Mnangagwa declared in Matabeleland South last week that under his watch, no opposition would prevail over Zanu-PF.Chamisa is under tremendous pressure to deliver victory for his largely youthful supporters, who want him to lead what they have dubbed "The New Zimbabwe".Change has been elusive for Zimbabwe, 24 years since the late trade unionist, Morgan Tsvangirai established the Movement for Democratic Change.The party, which has now been split into many offshoots, shifted the political landscape within the first decade of its formation, before disintegrating.CCC's deputy spokesperson Gift Ostallos Siziba said this week despite being confronted by many problems, which saw it failing to field candidates in more than 90 local authority wards, its supporters were determined to hand Chamisa victory.He blamed infiltration by Zanu-PF and state agents for the double submissions under CCC that emerged as candidates presented their papers to the nomination court last month."The regime (Zanu-PF) wanted to confuse all urban seats by signing bogus candidates," Siziba said. "They wanted to cause double candidates using a plethora of strategies including forming and registering another party called CCC."They also intended to buy people to contest as independent candidates. Come to the launch and see an organised, supported and loved CCC led by president Chamisa. We, unlike Zanu-PF, have a policy manifesto dubbed The New Zimbabwe, which shall be launched. Here, we focus on our economic turn-around programme, social agenda, debt restructuring programme, reconstruction, modernisation, and the transformation agenda." .Mnangagwa will tomorrow address his third provincial rally in Magunje, where Zanu-PF expects over 50 000 supporters to attend.In the past two weeks, he has addressed huge crowds at rallies in Manicaland and Matabeleland South.Experts said this week Chamisa was running against time to put his campaign trail in order, with serious questions raised around his poll strategy.In the wake of infiltration fears, Chamisa played his cards close to his chest, adopting the "Strategic Ambiguity" plan in the selection of candidates. But the strategy has been blamed for chaos at the Nomination Court two weeks ago, which forced frustrated candidates to contest as independents.However, CCC insiders also revealed factional tensions were running high."Disputes began after Chamisa imposed losing candidates in some constituencies. He also elbowed out experienced internal rivals such as Tendai Biti and Welshman Ncube," a source said.St Mary's double nominee Freddy Masarirevhu was accused of forging signatures."Masarirevhu belongs to the militant Biti/Job Sikhala faction that has been decimated by Chamisa, leaving Sikhala wallowing in prison, while Biti is now firmly in the wilderness," a source told the Zimbabwe Independent.In Bulawayo voters mounted 11 court challenges after the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission accepted CCC candidates' nomination papers after the deadline."The double fielding of candidates and the potential loss of more than 11 parliamentary seats in CCC's Bulawayo urban stronghold, portends a deafening loss for the party," another source said.Academic and political commentator Alexander Rusero said the CCC has had a false start."They must stomach the blame where they erred and pick themselves up," Rusero said. "Seeing Zanu-PF shadows everywhere even if they are not there is not helpful. The chaotic nature of the nomination court candidature filing process exhibits the extent to which power has largely been centralised to one individual, which cripples any strategic campaign."He also dismissed assertions that Chamisa was on a good footing as Mnangagwa was struggling with the failing economy."An ailing economy has never been a winning manifesto for any political party," he said. "Campaigning is what you can offer, hence the criticality of messaging and political communication. The strategy isn't there. Lack of strategy is being mistaken as strategic ambiguity, yet in its current form it is strategic confusion."Political analyst Vivid Gwede said: "These challenges have not dented CCC's grassroots appeal and organisation, which according to recent surveys could win the general election."Zanu-PF's poor performance has easily campaigned for the opposition. Apart from holding big rallies, which are important but not the only way to garner votes, the opposition has been on the ground with its community outreach programmes."Chamisa narrowly lost to Mnangagwa in 2018, polling 44,3% of the presidential vote, against the President's 50,8%.
News / Local

by Staff reporter

A DRUMBEAT of anger tore through Karoi this week, after the ruling Zanu-PF aborted a crucial rally slated for the town tomorrow, with residents saying this could have given President Emmerson Mnangagwa glimpses into the decay that permeates a community that sits at the heart of Zimbabwe's agriculture, some 200 kilometres north west of Harare.Following a week of haste preparations for the Star Rally meant to bolster support for Zanu-PF in Mashonaland West ahead of polls on August 23, residents were told on Tuesday that Mnangagwa would address supporters in Chinhoyi, instead.By yesterday, the ruling party had shifted venues again, directing its supporters to Magunje Growth Point, about 40 kilometres west of Karoi.But in Karoi, Mnangagwa would have met furious voters who say the town has been decimated by years of neglect. Farmers in the province were also unhappy that government had folded hands as tobacco contractors manipulated them. On Monday, Karoi was a hive of activity, with government and council workers cleaning Chikangwe Stadium, which was supposed to be the venue of the rally.They repaired Karoi's long neglected dusty roads, cut trees and reconnected electricity to the stadium. But in interviews with the Zimbabwe Independent before they were informed of the change of venue, residents said they were happy that the head of state was coming to see for himself the damage inflicted through decades of crises blamed on corruption and mismanagement.Authorities blame the deterioration on western sanctions, which came into force in 2000, with Zanu-PF saying the country lost over US$42 billion during the first decade.The damage is also evident throughout Mashonaland West's seven districts - Hurungwe, Kariba, Makonde, Zvimba, Chegutu, Sanyati and Kadoma. It is a destruction of towns inherited from the colonial regime in 1980.The Harare - Chirundu Highway, which passes through Karoi has been neglected," a local businessman told the Independent."It is now a death trap. We hoped that ED (Mnangagwa)'s teams would have passed through the potholed highway and felt what we are going through daily. Our road is in a poor state,'' the businessman added, pleading for anonymity for fear of reprisals.Rapheal Kabatamuswe, another Karoi resident, said he was shocked to see the local authority springing into action once news of the crucial rally filtered through.In less than two days, we have understood that our council have the capacity to spruce up the town," Kabatamuswe said."Our dusty roads were being attended to for the first time in many years. Chikangwe stadium has been lit for the first time, and water is running."They wanted to present a rosy picture to the President, yet this town has been neglected for many years," he noted.Since he ascended to power following a dramatic coup, which toppled the late long-time ruler, Robert Mugabe, Mnangagwa only drove past Karoi when he commissioned a stretch of new road at the Zambezi Escapement near Chirundu. But Zanu-PF national chairperson Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri visited the town to drum up support for the party just before last year's by-elections in March.The Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC), which was taking part in its first poll, walloped Zanu-PF in the Ward 4 election, giving a glimpse into shifting voting trends. It emerged this week that the decision to move the venue was not taken well by the residents. Mashonaland West where Karoi is situated has generally backed Zanu-PF, even as service delivery plummeted.Mugabe used to pay us visits during campaigns," another resident said."He addressed political gatherings at Mwami (in Hurungwe North), Zvipani (in Hurungwe West) and Magunje constituencies.''An emergency Zanu-PF provincial coordinating committee (PCC) meeting was convened on Wednesday morning at the Chinhoyi University of Technology (CUT) to refocus the preparations for the rally.Provincial chairperson Mary Mliswa-Chikoka instructed party's provincial administrator, Misheck Nyarubero to organise the meeting."In light of new developments regarding the Presidential Star rally, the provincial chairperson Mliswa-Chikoka is inviting all provincial coordinating committee members to a special PCC meeting on Wednesday, July 5, 2023, at the CUT gym hall at 0900 hours," Nyarubero wrote.The invitation was extended to outgoing and aspiring party candidates.Special invitation to all Members of Parliament (both sitting and elect), all district coordinating committee executive members, councillors (including councillors elect), Women/quota elect to this extraordinary provincial coordinating committee meeting,'' reads the notice gleaned by this publication.Mliswa-Chikoka said the venue switch was because of the high number of people that Zanu-PF is expecting, which Chikangwe stadium, with a capacity of 3 000, could not accommodate.We are expecting over 50 000 people and Chikangwe stadium can't accommodated that figure," she said."The star rally is massive and people are so excited and the excitement is contagious.''Yesterday, Mliswa Chikoka confirmed the latest venue change.
New Delhi, Jul 8 (PTI) Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena has approved a proposal for the extension of services of 962 nursing staff, presently working at hospitals and medical institutions on a contractual basis, officials said on Saturday.

The Health Department and the Delhi Subordinate Services Selection Board (DSSSB) have been directed to notify the vacant posts against which these contractual employees are hired and also conduct tests for regular appointments within a specific timeframe, the officials said.

Also Read | Uttar Pradesh Shocker: Two Men Harass Woman, Tell Her Husband "You Don't Deserve Her, Give Your Wife to Us; Booked.

The development comes after Saxena agreed with the proposal of the Department of Health and Family Welfare seeking an extension of services of contractual nursing employees for another one year with effect from July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024, the officials of Raj Niwas said.

The Health Department has to provide an Action Taken Report in this matter within three months for his perusal, the LG has said.

Also Read | Tamil Nadu Wants People Breeding Exotic Pets To Register With Chief Wild Life Warden.

In a similar move, the LG recently approved the extension of services of 777 contractual para-medical employees and 476 part-time vocational teachers in the Health and Family Welfare Department and the Education Department of GNCTD respectively, the officials added.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Kolkata, July 8: Several people were killed in election-related violence in West Bengal as voting was underway on Saturday for the three-tier panchayat polls in the state, officials said. The polling started at 7 am in 73,887 seats in the rural areas of the state with 5.67 crore people deciding the fate of around 2.06 lakh candidates, they said.

BJP polling agent Madhab Biswas was allegedly killed in Falimari gram panchayat in Coochbehar district, they said. The BJP alleged that when Biswas tried to enter the polling booth he was stopped by TMC supporters, and as the situation escalated, they killed him. The TMC denied the allegations. West Bengal Panchayat Elections 2023 Polling: Voting Begins for 73,000 Seats Amid Tight Security, Two Lakh Candidates in Fray (Watch Videos).

The supporter of an Independent candidate died in Kadambagachi area in North 24 Paraganas district after he was beaten up overnight, police said. The deceased was identified as 41-year-old Abdullah. He died while undergoing treatment at a local hospital in the morning, Superintendent of Police Bhaskar Mukherjee said.

Protesting against the killing, locals blocked the Taki Road in the early hours but they were removed by the police. A TMC worker was killed in Murshidabad district's Kapasdanga area overnight in poll-related violence. The deceased was identified as Babar Ali, officials said. The ruling TMC said that two of its workers were killed in Rejinagar and Khargram in Murshidabad district, and another person in Tufanganj in Coochbehar district. West Bengal Panchayat Elections 2023: Polling Booth Vandalised, Ballot Papers Set on Fire at Baravita Primary School in Coochbehar's Sitai (Watch Video).

"The polling started peacefully, but Congress, BJP and CPI(M) are attacking TMC workers since last night. Three of our workers have died in Rejinagar, Tufanganj and Khargram. And, two of our workers were injured in Domkal. Where are the central forces?" TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh asked. The brother of a TMC leader was killed in a clash with Congress supporters in Malda district, police said.

The incident happened in Jisharattola in Manikchak police station area. The deceased was identified as Malek Sheikh, they said. The TMC alleged that the husband of one of its candidates was shot at in Nadia district's Narayanpur area by CPI(M) supporters, a charge denied by the opposition party.

Allegations of attempts to loot ballot boxes and attack on voters were made by all the parties. Clashes were also reported from other parts of the state. CPI(M) state secretary Md Salim shared a video of open ballot boxes lying in the field, tweeting, "Vote is over! Condition of the ballots, ballot boxes in one of the booths. Btw this pic is from Diamond Harbour."

At least 600 companies of central forces have been deployed for the elections along with around 70,000 state police. Sharing a video on Twitter, BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar alleged that ballot boxes were set ablaze at a booth in Coochbehar district with poll officials having fled the scene.

Governor CV Ananda Bose visited parts of the North 24 Parganas district and interacted with the people. There are 63,229 gram panchayat seats and 9,730 panchayat samiti seats in 22 districts, while 928 zilla parishad seats in 20 districts as Darjeeling and Kalimpong have a two-tier system with Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) and Siliguri Sub-divisional Council at the top.

Long queues outside polling booths were seen as early as 6 am with people turning out early amid the intermittent rains. The ruling TMC is contesting all the 928 seats in zilla parishads, 9,419 seats in panchayat samitis and 61,591 seats in gram panchayats. The BJP has fielded candidates in 897 zilla parishad seats, 7,032 panchayat samiti seats and 38,475 seats in gram panchayats.

The CPI(M) is fighting 747 zilla parishad seats, 6,752 panchayat samiti seats and 35,411 gram panchayat seats. The Congress is contesting 644 zilla parishad seats, 2,197 panchayat samiti seats and 11,774 gram panchayat seats.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Cooch Behar, July 8: Amid incidents of violence during voting for the Panchayat election across West Bengal, workers of the state BJP on Saturday staged a protest outside the State Election Commission office in Kolkata. Meanwhile, voting was suspended at Indreshwar primary school in Dinhata of West Bengal's Cooch Behar after water was thrown into the ballot box here.

In another incident, a ballot box at a polling booth in Baranachina of Dinhata in Cooch Behar district was set on fire allegedly by voters who were angry with bogus voting that was reportedly going on here.

Another incident was reported from Balutola in Gopalpur Panchayat of Malda where a clash broke out between Congress and TMC workers and bombs were hurled. West Bengal Panchayat Elections 2023 Violence Video: Clashes Erupt Between Two Groups in Barrackpore on Day of Voting, Ballot Boxes Hurled Into Open Drain in Jhangra.

Clash Between Congress and TMC Workers in West Bengal

#WATCH | West Bengal panchayat election | Spot where a clash erupted between Congress and TMC workers and bombs were hurled. Visuals from Balutola in Gopalpur Panchayat of Malda. pic.twitter.com/Y9QNGAlB07  ANI (@ANI) July 8, 2023

The polling booth at Baravita Primary School in Sitai of Coochbehar also was vandalised and ballot papers were set on fire. Several other incidents of ballot box and ballot paper looting and destruction were reported from numerous polling booths in the State. However, the voter turnout was recorded at 22.60 per cent till 11 in the morning.

Abdullah, the booth agent of an independent candidate was killed in Pirgachha of North 24 Parganas district following a protest by the villagers who demanded the arrest of the accused and alleged that the husband of TMC candidate Munna Bibi is behind the murder. Police personnel were deployed at the spot.

In the meantime, a 52-year-old TMC worker, Sateshuddin Sheikh was killed in Khargram of Murshidabad. However, the residents of Nandigram Block 1 of Purba Medinipur district said that they are boycotting the election until Central forces are deployed at booth numbers 67 and 68 in Mahammadpur No. 2 area.

A voter, Govind while speaking to ANI, said, "There is no Central force here. Booth capturing keeps happening here by TMC. They do bogus voting even in the name of the deceased. We won't allow voting here unless Central forces come here..."

The panchayat elections are underway for a single phase, with the counting of votes scheduled on July 11. The polls are likely to see a fierce tussle for control of local administrations between the ruling TMC and the BJP and will be a litmus test for both parties ahead of next year's Lok Sabha elections.Around 5.67 crore voters are likely to exercise their franchise to choose representatives for nearly 928 seats across 22 zilla parishads, 9,730 panchayat Samiti, and 63,239-gram panchayats seats.

The number of village panchayat election centres is 58,594. There are 63,239 seats at the Gram Panchayat level, 9730 at Panchayat Samiti and 928 at the Zila Parishad level.In 2018, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) won uncontested, 34 per cent of the seats in panchayat elections, which also saw various instances of violence. Trinamool Congress has won many seats uncontestedly in the 2023 elections as well.

Following the violence, a war of words escalated between Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the ruling Trinamool Congress. In-charge of BJP's National Information and Technology Department Amit Malaviya posted a purported video which showed a man opening fire with a gun.

"TMC goons openly brandish a gun and threaten an independent candidate in Barrackpore, North 24 Parganas. 9 people have died since morning and no one knows how many more will die through the day. SEC and Mamata Banerjee are responsible for this bloodshed. They didn't deploy CAPF," he said in a tweet.

BJP state chief Sukanta Majumdar alleged that "TMC hooliganism crossed all limits" and that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee along with the Chief Electoral Officer of the state were "responsible" for murders. "Bloodshed in West Bengal in Panchayat Election. TMC candidate killed an independent Muslim candidate in North 24, Parganas dist. TMC knows only the language of violence, murder and booth capturing. CM @MamataOfficial along with @CEOWestBengal is responsible for these murders," he said. West Bengal Panchayat Elections 2023 Polling: Death Toll Rises to 31, 36.66% Voter Turnout Recorded Till 1:30 PM for Three-Tier Panchayat Polls.

Ballot Box Set on Fire

#WATCH | West Bengal panchayat election | Ballot box at a polling booth in Baranachina of Dinhata in Cooch Behar district was set on fire allegedly by voters who were angry with bogus voting that was reportedly going on here. pic.twitter.com/6C5aC00uac  ANI (@ANI) July 8, 2023

Majumdar claimed that the workers of the TMC have looted the ballots from many polling booths in the state. "TMC hooliganism has crossed all the limits and is now stifling democracy by looting ballots openly in the West Bengal Panchayat elections," he said.

Majumdar further accused the West Bengal government and the state polling body of "hoodwinking" the court's order which directed the deployment of central forces in all the districts.

"On the one hand, the SEC is reluctant to deploy the central forces. On the other hand, civil volunteers are deployed for election duty. This clearly shows that the state govt and SEC have hoodwinked the courts. Is SEC silently facilitating the booth capturing by TMC goons?" he tweeted.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Mexico City, Jul 8 (AP) An explosion and fire destroyed an offshore gas platform in the Gulf of Mexico early Friday, while two workers died, eight were injured and one was missing, officials said.

The state-owned oil company, Petroleos Mexicanos, said the disaster happened on the Nohoch gas transfer platform that it operates.

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It said the dead and missing workers were employed by a subcontractor and three of the injured were company employees and five worked for the subcontractor.

The company, known as Pemex, said none of the injuries were life-threatening.

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The company's statement said seven ships evacuated a total of 321 workers from the platform.

Photos distributed by the company showed several fire boats pumping streams of water onto the still-smoking platform.

Octavio Romero, director of Petroleos Mexicanos, said that the platform was totally destroyed, but that four other nearby, linked platforms did not catch fire.

There appeared to be little risk of an oil spill, though it was unclear whether the accident might force the company to increase flaring of gas, a process of burning excess gas that pumps large amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

Platforms like the one that burned receive gas from wells and pump it through pipelines to storage tanks or ships.

Because some wells produce gas associated with oil, either oil production would have to be shut down until somewhere else was found to send the gas, or the gas would have to be flared off.

Romero appeared to suggest the company would temporarily stop production at some wells, saying the accident was going to reduce production of crude oil by several thousand barrels per day.

That would be a bad situation for the company, and Romero said we need to rapidly return to production. (AP)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Washington DC, July 8: US President Joe Biden said that he doesn't think Ukraine is ready for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) membership and added that NATO is a process that takes some time to meet all qualifications, from democratization to a whole range of other issues.

"I don't think it (Ukraine) is ready for membership in NATO," the US President said in an interview with CNN's Fareed Zakaria when asked about Ukraine's NATO membership. Ukraine's President Hails the Country's Soldiers from a Black Sea Island to Mark 500 Days of War.

Biden said he doesn't think there is unanimity in NATO about whether or not to bring Ukraine into the NATO family in the middle of the war as that would mean the entire NATO is at war with Russia.

"I don't think there is unanimity in NATO about whether or not to bring Ukraine into the NATO family now, at this moment, in the middle of a war. If the war is going on, then we're all in the war. You know, we're at war with Russia, if that were the case. So I think we have to lay out a path for a rational path for Russia, for you and me, for Ukraine to be able to qualify to get into NATO," Biden said.

The US President said that when he met Putin two years ago, in Geneva, the Russian President said he wants commitments on no Ukraine and NATO.

"I said, we're not going to do that because it's an open door policy. We're not going to shut anybody out. NATO is a process that takes some time to meet all the qualifications and from democratization to a whole range of other issues," Biden said.

"So in the meantime, though, I've spoken with Zelenskyy at length about this. One of the things I indicated is the United States would be ready to provide while the process was going on. And it's going to take a while while that process is going on to provide security," he said.

"If there is an agreement, if there is a cease-fire, if there is a peace agreement, and so I think we can work it out. But I think it's premature to say to call for a vote, you know, in now because there are other qualifications to be reminded clearly in democratization and some of those issues," Biden added.

Meanwhile, the White House on Friday said Ukraine's entry into North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) will be discussed at the alliance's ensuing summit but it won't come out as a member. Biden is Heading to Europe. A King and a War Are on His Agenda.

Jake Sullivan, White House National Security Advisor, said that the summit to be held next week in Vilnius will highlight NATO's readiness to consider Ukraine's membership, which he termed a "milestone" in itself.

Sullivan said, "The NATO Summit will dive into the question of NATO's relationship with Ukraine, both the question of its pathway towards future membership and the question of an ongoing partnership that has existed for several years."

"Ukraine's pathway to NATO will be discussed at the summit, but Kyiv still has further steps that it needs to take before membership and Ukraine will not be joining NATO coming out of this summit," he added. Sullivan noted that Ukraine would have the chance to talk about the reforms that are still essential for Kyiv to match NATO standards.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Washington DC [US], July 8 (ANI): A former Afghan interpreter who immigrated with his family from Afghanistan to America in 2021 was shot and killed in Washington, DC on Monday, while on an extra shift as a Lyft driver, authorities said, CNN reported.

The police are now searching for the suspects.

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Nasrat Ahmad Yar, 31, was found with a gunshot wound in his vehicle by officers responding to reports of an unconscious person, police said in a news release. He was taken to a hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.

Yar, an interpreter who served alongside US Army Special Forces in Afghanistan for a decade before the Taliban takeover, had been working an extra rideshare shift when he was shot.

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A video released by the police shows four people running away from the scene shortly after he was shot. No suspects have been named.

Police are offering a reward of up to USD 25,000 for information leading to an arrest, the release said.

"Our hearts are with Mr Nasrat's loved ones as they confront this unspeakable tragedy," a Lyft spokesperson told CNN in a statement. "We have reached out to his family to offer our support and are in contact with law enforcement to assist with their investigation."

CNN has reached out to US Army Special Forces for comment.

As per CNN, Ahmad Yar brought his family to the US in 2021 after the Afghan government collapsed. He was the sole provider for his wife and four children, ages 15 months to 13 years, the crowdfunding page said.

Ahmad Yar wanted his children to live in a safe place that would allow his sons and daughters to receive an education, his cousin Mohammad Ahmadi told CNN. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Chandigarh (Punjab) [India], July 8 (ANI): India's economic growth and its "interesting market" has opened up business opportunities for German companies, according to German Ambassador to India Philipp Ackermann.

Ackermann who was on a two-day maiden visit from Thursday, said that India has had very solid growth for years now and is among the very few countries that has sustainable growth.

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In an exclusive interview with ANI, Ackermann said, "India is a very interesting market for us. It's a big market. It's a growing market. India has a very solid growth for years now. We are very impressed with this growth."

"It's one of the very few countries in the world that has sustainable growth. And therefore, German businesses increasingly an opportunity also for further investment in India. Now, Germany is, by far, the biggest trading partner in Europe, with India. But, I think in the years to come, we will see much more investment in German business here," the German envoy said.

Also Read | Oil Platform Fire in Gulf of Mexico: Two Dead, One Missing After Massive Blaze Erupts at Nohoch Alfa Offshore Platform at Bay of Campeche (Watch Video).

He said Germany is welcoming students from India and that a growing number of Indian students are arriving in the country. He said that at present there are 35,000 students in Germany and there are another 32,000 applications in the embassy.

"We have a growing number of students coming to Germany. We have now 35000. I have another 32000 applications on the table of the embassy. That's quite a lot actually, and we unfortunately, we need a little time to process applications. I know that some students might be a little frustrated that it doesn't go as quickly as they had expected, but I can tell you that In principle, Indian students are very, very welcome in Germany. German universities are very keen on having Indian students. They have very good reputation in Germany, and I just want, at that stage, maybe say, that one should be very careful before working together with agencies," Ackermann told ANI.

The German envoy advised students to do verification of their documents on their own. He said that 70 per cent of the Indian students arrive in Germany to pursue Masters programmes since they are taught in English.

Ackermann said that he can assure that Indians would find a job very quickly in Germany as once a student graduates in Germany, he or she has 12 months in the country to find a job

Speaking about his visit to Chandigarh, Ackermann said that the two days were filled with meetings and appointments.

"I'm concluding now a two-day visit to Chandigarh, two days full of meetings, full of appointments. The centre of the visit was, of course, the meeting with the two chief ministers from Punjab, Haryana and the two governors," Ackermann said.

On Thursday, Philipp Ackermann met Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and discussed many important issues. He tweeted, "Today Chandigarh met the German Ambassador to India @AmbAckermann at his residence and discussed many important issues... Talked about the investment being made by German companies in Punjab and also discussed important ideas about the education sector...especially the emphasis on imparting skills to the youth."

The German Ambassador said in Chandigarh, he spoke with the Chief Justice, visited the assembly and spoke with the two Speakers, the Haryana Speaker and the Punjab Speaker, the chief minister and then he visited the Indian School of Business. He concluded his trip with a visit to the Chandigarh Lalit Kala Akademi.

He called his visit to Chandigarh a "very packed and interesting visit." He noted that Germany has a long tradition with Haryana and Punjab and has a lot of business in the two states.

"It was a very, very packed, interesting visit. Chandigarh is a wonderful place. It's green. It's orderly. I think everybody loves Chandigarh anyway. And Germany has a long tradition with these two states, Haryana, and Punjab.

"We have a lot of business here. We have a lot of interesting modern business here. And we have a growing Punjabi community also in Germany. So there's a lot to discuss with the dignitaries here and the political deciders and the political layer of Punjab and Haryana. So, for me, it was a wonderful experience. It was a great two days actually," Ackermann said.

Speaking about Germany's business in Punjab and Haryana, Philipp Ackermann said that they try to invest here in renewables. He also spoke about the German company Verbio which has set up a plant in Punjab.

"We have what we do is actually we try to invest here in renewables, in trying to do more sustainability and in the development and one big company here from Germany, Verbio has a plant in Punjab not far from here where they transform stubble rice, paddy stubble, to compress biogas CBG in order to fuel cars and that's a good start. A company that does a great business, and they want to even set up shop more in this region. So, I think that's a good example on how, you know, sustainable, also the private sector of Germany is," Ackermann 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)
Dar es Salaam [Tanzania], July 8 (ANI): External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar called on the President of Tanzania Samia Hassan on Saturday and discussed ties in defence and security.

The External Affairs Minister also conveyed the personal greeting of President Droupadi Murmu to her.

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"Honoured to call on President Samia Hassan of Tanzania. Conveyed the personal greetings of President @rashtrapatibhvn and PM @narendramodi. Thank her for the warm sentiments expressed about our development activities," Jaishankar tweeted.

Apart from Defence, the two leaders also discussed maritime cooperation and capacity building.

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"Our water partnership and ICT collaboration have already made a strong impact. The IIT campus will take our ties to new heights. Also discussed ties in defense and security, maritime cooperation and capacity building. Appreciate Tanzania's positive view of India's G20 presidency and Global South initiatives," Jaishankar added.

Earlier today, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held a meeting with Chama Cha Mapinduzi's Vice Chairman Abdulrahman Kinana. He called it useful to share views on political cooperation while stressing on the need to strengthen exchanges between India and Tanzania.

Taking to his official Twitter handle, Jaishankar stated, "Delighted to meet again Abdulrahman Kinana, vice Chairman of @ccm_tanzania today shortly after his New Delhi visit. Useful to share views on our political cooperation and on the need to strengthen exchanges."

Jaishankar, who is on a four-day visit to Tanzania, on Friday, took part in the regional ambassadorial conference while also inaugurating the bust of Swami Vivekananda at the Swami Vivekananda Cultural Centre on Friday.

The regional Ambassadorial conference was attended by representatives from Angola, Burundi, Congo, Swaziland, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Mozambique, Malawi, Namibia, Rwanda, Tanzania, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Terming the conference, a "productive" one, Jaishankar said he took stock of India's relations with the above-mentioned African countries and "underlined India's commitment to strengthening its partnership with Africa and the Global South."

The EAM also inaugurated the bust of Swami Vivekananda at the Swami Vivekananda Cultural Centre in Dar es Salaam.

In his address, the External Affairs Minister said, "It's really a very momentous occasion today as we inaugurate a bust for one of the greatest spiritual leaders and philosophers of India, Swami Vivekananda."

"This bust certainly stands in testimony to his kindest teachings which have transcended boundaries and actually underline his message of faith in humanity," he added.

Earlier, Jaishankar attended the India-Tanzania business conclave, where he delivered an address highlighting the trade deal between the two countries. He also took a walk through Dar es Salaam's famous Temple Street and experienced the local flavours there. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa [Pakistan], July 8 (ANI): The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa meteorological department has said that the temperature has increased by two to four degree Celsius in the plains of the province and two to six degree Celsius in its northern areas, Pakistan-based Dawn reported.

Dawn is a Pakistani English-language newspaper.

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The meteorological department also revealed that massive tree felling led to an increase in the heat index, while cyclones in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea also had a bad impact on the weather.

Director of the meteorological department Ijaz Ahmad said: "If you compare 2023 with 1993, the heat index has increased by 2-4 degrees Celsius in our plains and 2-6 degree Celsius in northern areas."

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He said cyclones in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea had an impact on the entire country. "The moisture mostly comes from the Bay of Bengal, which causes rains. These cyclones suck the moisture. It's the same moisture that causes rain but when it disappears, you feel the heat," he said, as per Dawn.

The official said that the recent cyclone triggered a heatwave from June 20 and June 24 and that when the cyclone got over, the temperature went down.

As per the official, rains were caused by winds from the East Bay of Bengal and the South Arabian Sea after they mixed up with the westerly weather system mostly crossing into Pakistan from northern Afghanistan.

"The westerly system is still present in Afghanistan, so rains are expected from July 8 to 10," he said.

Ahmad said that clouds didn't develop between June 20 and 24 causing high temperatures for those days. "Since clouds weren't there, it didn't rain between June 20 and 24," he said.

The official said that the impact of climate change could be a decline in the water table because water evaporates at high temperatures.

He added that energy consumption increased in hot weather, especially in urban areas due to the heat generated by air conditioners. "When there is heat, the people in urban areas turn on air conditioners, which produce more heat," he said, according to Dawn.

Ahmad said that since a westerly system was still present in northern parts of Afghanistan, rainfall was expected in the province from today (July 8).

Experts believe that unplanned development activities and uncontrolled population are some of the major causes of the rising temperature in the province. (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], July 8 (ANI): Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will travel to Malaysia on an official visit from July 10-11 with a focus on further consolidating bilateral defence cooperation and Enhanced Strategic Partnership.

During his visit, Singh will hold bilateral talks with his Malaysian counterpart Dato' Seri Mohamad Hasan, the Ministry of Defence said in a press release. The two leaders will review defence cooperation between India and Malaysia and explore new initiatives to further strengthen the engagements.

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Rajnath Singh and Dato' Seri Mohamad Hasan will exchange views on regional and global issues of shared interest. Singh will also call on Malaysia's Prime Minister YB Dato' Seri Anwar bin Ibrahim.

The Ministry of Defence statement said, "India and Malaysia have a common interest in peace and prosperity of the entire region. The two democracies have a robust and multifaceted relationship which has expanded into several strategic areas, including defence and security."

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Both countries are committed to working under the vision of the enhanced strategic partnership established during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Malaysia in 2015, the Defence Ministry statement said.

Earlier this June, Minister of State (MoS) for External Affairs V Muraleedharan met with Malaysia's Human Resources Minister V Sivakumar and they agreed to sign a Memorandum of Understanding on opening all sectors to Indian workers in Malaysia.

Taking to Twitter, Muraleedharan stated, "Glad to meet Hon'ble Minister of Human Resources Malaysia H.E. @Sivatronoh in Kuala Lumpur Thanked the Minister & Malaysian government for opening all sectors to Indian workers at par with other foreign workers in Malaysia. Both agreed to expedite signing an MoU in this regard."

He also met a Member of the Malaysian House of Representatives M Kula Segaran. Following the meeting, Muraleedharan tweeted, "Pleased to meet YB @mkula, National Vice Chairman of Democratic Action Party and other senior members in Kuala Lumpur. Discussed ways to strengthen bilateral relations and people-to-people connect."

During his visit to Malaysia, Muraleedharan also interacted with the Indian diaspora in Kuala Lumpur." Delighted to interact with the vibrant Indian diaspora in Malaysia during the Pravasi Bharatiya Utsav, hosted by @hcikl. Commended the significant contributions of Indian diaspora to all walks of life in Malaysia & in nurturing India-Malaysia ties," he tweeted.

MoS V Muraleedharan also attended cultural performances organised as part of an event titled 'Pravasi Bharatiya Utsav'. During his visit, he met members of the Malaysian Armed Forces Sikh Veteran Association (MAFSVA) in Kuala Lumpur and appreciated their valour and courage.

Muraleedharan tweeted, "Pleased to have met with committee members of Malaysian Armed Forces Sikh Veterans Association (MAFSVA) in Kuala Lumpur. Appreciate their valour and courage."

During his visit, he also met and interacted with the office bearers of Netaji Welfare Foundation and Netaji Service Centre. The MoS commended their efforts in preserving the legacy of Netaji Subash Chandra Bose in Malaysia. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
News / National

by Staff reporter

Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) has accused police of "conniving" with its Zanu-PF opponents to ban 92 of its rallies in over a year and further throw spanners in the works of the opposition's 2023 election campaign.This comes after police in Bindura issued yet another prohibition order on the opposition party's 2023 campaign launch in the Mashonaland Central provincial capital citing a slew of reasons, among them, lack of toilets at the venue.The rally was set to be addressed by party leader Nelson Chamisa this Sunday.CCC, formed January last year, says to date, 92 of its gatherings have either been banned or disrupted.The party which poses the biggest threat to Zanu-PF's four-decades-long dominance on local politics says six of its political gatherings were banned this week alone.In a statement Saturday, CCC spokesperson Fadzayi Mahere said, "Zanu-PF and the police connived to unconstitutionally ban our national campaign mega-launch rally."We have approached the courts to challenge this illegality."However, the matter remains pending before the High Court making it impossible for our campaign launch which was penciled for 9 July 2023 to proceed."Mahere blamed the ban on what she claimed were attempts at sabotaging its main challenger to the August 23 poll.She added, "To date, Zanu-PF has abused state institutions and used political violence, unlawful arrests and intimidation to disrupt or ban over 92 CCC meetings or rallies since we were formed in January 2022."This week alone, six of our rallies were banned or unlawfully disrupted."They are unelectable, violent, corrupt and afraid of the will of the people."Meanwhile, in a statement Saturday, police also blamed CCC for causing the ban on its own rallies through poor planning.Police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi dismissed reports police were in the habit of arbitrarily banning opposition rallies.He cited the Bindura rally ban which he blamed on its conveners for allegedly bungling preparation.The rally was set for Chipadze stadium in the mining town."Above all, the police had engaged the Citizens Coalition for Change convener despite the fact that they had given the police insufficient notice to prepare for security arrangements in terms of the provisions of the Maintenance of Peace and Order Act (MOPA) Chapter 11:23," Nyathi said."The Zimbabwe Republic Police urges political parties and their representatives to be organised and avoid discrediting the police for their own internal failings to follow clear conditions stipulated under MOPA."There have been no reports of any Zanu-PF rally banned by police in a long time.
Istanbul, Jul 8: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed support early Saturday for Ukraine joining NATO, saying the war-torn country deserves to join the alliance.

Erdogan made the comment at a joint news conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who arrived in Turkey as part of a European tour to rally support for Ukraine's entry into the military alliance after the war with Russia comes to an end. Zelenskyy Visits Bulgaria, Czechia and Draws Support for Kyivs NATO Membership Bid.

NATO leaders meeting in Vilnius, Lithuania, next week are expected to reaffirm that Ukraine will join their alliance one day.

"There is no doubt that Ukraine deserves NATO membership," Erdogan told reporters,

His support for Ukraine comes as Turkey has been holding off giving its final approval to Sweden joining NATO, saying Stockholm is not effectively cracking down on Kurdish militants and other groups that Ankara views as threats to its security.

Sweden, along with Finland, abandoned its decades-long neutrality and applied to join NATO following Russia's invasion of Ukraine last year. Turkey's parliament ratified Finland's membership earlier this year, after Ankara voiced satisfaction with its efforts to address Turkey's security concerns.

Erdogan also said Turkey was working toward extending a Turkish and UN-brokered grain deal that has paved the way for the shipment of more than 30 million tons of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea. NATO Member Romania Aims to Open F-16 Pilot Training Facility for Allies, Partners, and Ukraine.

The deal, which helped temper rising global food prices, is set to expire July 17. Russia has been reluctant to extend the deal, citing obstacles to its own exports of food and fertilizer.

"We are continuing our work on the grain corridor issue. We are working to see how long we can extend it after July 17," Erdogan said.

Zelenskyy accused Russia of obstructing the movement of ships.

"Russia behaves as if it owns the entire Black Sea, as if it is the owner here," said Zelenskyy, making his first trip to Turkey since Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Erdogan said Russian President Vladimir Putin would visit Turkey in August, when he hoped to discuss renewal of the Black Sea grain deal as well as a possible prisoner swap. Zelenskyy Visits Bulgaria and Draws Support for Kyivs NATO Membership Bid.

Turkey has maintained close ties with both Ukraine and Russia, using its relations to both to act as a mediator.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
The makers of the highly anticipated film Project K, starring Amitabh Bachchan, Kamal Haasan, Prabhas and Deepika Padukone, on Saturday released the official limited edition exclusive-free merchandise of the film, ahead of its launch at the Comic-Con. The film's exclusive footage is scheduled to be unveiled in the presence of the film's cast at the renowned San Diego Comic-Con 2023. Project K at San Diego Comic-Con: Footage From Prabhas and Deepika Padukone's Film to Be Unveiled at the Event!

Adding to the excitement surrounding the film, fans are eager to learn more about the mysterious Project K. Responding to their curiosity, the film's lead star Big B took to his social media account and wrote, "What is #ProjectK? The world wants to know! Follow the link and come KLOSER"

Produced by C. Aswani Dutt's Vyjayanthi Movies and directed by acclaimed filmmaker Nag Ashwin, Project K is a bilingual film shot simultaneously in Hindi and Telugu across various locations. Project K: Its Official! Kamal Haasan Joins Cast of Nag Ashwins Film Starring Prabhas, Deepika Padukone, Amitabh Bachchan (Watch Video).

It also marks Deepikas debut in the Telugu film industry.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 08, 2023 09:22 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
A court had banned the rally to commemorate the 2016 death of Adama Traore in custody, citing the risk of continued unrest. Meanwhile, the Foreign Ministry rejected UN accusations of structural racism in France.More than 2,000 people gathered in central Paris for a memorial rally on Saturday despite a court ban.

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The march commemorates the 2016 death of Adama Traore, a Black man, in police custody.

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Marches took place throughout France to denounce police brutality and racial profiling, as tensions run high after days of rioting engulfed the country.

Around 5,900 took to the streets around the country, the Interior Ministry said.

France has been grappling with unrest sparked by the police killing of a 17-year-old of Algerian origin at a traffic stop on June 27.

Meanwhile, France's Foreign Ministry rejected accusations of structural racism made by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD).

Sister, lawmakers condemn ban

A court ruled that the chance of unrest was too high to allow Saturday's march in the French capital to go ahead.

On Twitter, Traore's older sister, Assa, criticized the decision.

"The government has decided to add fuel to the fire (and) not to respect the death of my little brother," she said.

She said she attended the rally on Saturday afternoon to tell "the whole world that our dead have the right to exist, even in death."

"They authorise marches by neo-Nazis but they don't allow us to march. France cannot give us moral lessons. Its police is racist and violent," she said.

Police said that a legal case had been opened against Assa Traore for organizing the event.

Among those present at the banned march were lawmaker Jean-Luc Melenchon, of the left-wing Unbowed party, and Sandrine Rousseau, of the EELV Green Party.

"Public liberties are losing ground little by little," Rousseau said.

"From prohibition to repression ... the leader is taking France to a regime we have already seen. Danger. Danger," Melenchon tweeted.

Foreign Ministry rejects UN racism allegations

The Foreign Ministry responded to accusations of structural racism in France's police force force made by CERD.

CERD issued a statement on Friday on the situation in France in which it denounced excessive force and racial profiling used by police.

"Any measures of ethnic profiling by the forces of law and order are prohibited in France as they violate the constitutional principle of equality," the ministry said.

Responding to reports that French police had wielded excessive force, the ministry said that the use of force by law enforcement is "subject to the principles of absolute necessity and proportionality and is strictly monitored and controlled."

sdi/lo (AFP, Reuters, dpa)

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 09, 2023 03:20 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
Shimla, July 8: The meteorological department office here issued a 'red' alert for seven districts of Himachal Pradesh, warning of extremely heavy rainfall on July 8 and 9. Under the influence of an active western disturbance, intense spells of extremely heavy rainfall are likely at isolated places in Chamba, Kangra, Kullu, Mandi, Una, Hamirpur and Bilaspur districts on July 8 and 9, it said in a statement.

A 'red' alert of extremely heavy rains implies the possibility of more than 204 mm of downpour in a day. An 'orange' warning of heavy to very heavy rainfall has also been issued for Shimla, Sirmaur, Solan and Lahaul and Spiti for July 8 and 9. The Met has predicted a wet spell in the state till July 13. Delhi Rains Forecast: Fresh Spell of Rain Drenches National Capital; Cloudy Sky With Moderate Rain Today, Predicts IMD (Watch Video).

The weather office also cautioned about the possibility of flash floods along water bodies in Kangra, Chamba, Shimla, Mandi, Kullu, Sirmaur, Solan and Una districts, and a disruption of water, power and communication facilities in the low and mid hills.

There could be occasional reduction in visibility due to heavy rainfall and people have been advised to avoid areas that face waterlogging problems. The river Beas and its tributaries were reported flowing above the danger mark. Jammu and Kashmir Rains Videos: Traffic Movement Temporarily Suspended After Road Washes Away Due to Heavy Rainfall on Jammu-Srinagar Highway, Viral Clips Surface.

As many as 91 roads are closed for vehicular traffic and 73 water supply schemes and 69 transformers were disrupted due to rains. So far, Himachal Pradesh has suffered a loss of Rs 352 crores during this monsoon season, as per the state emergency operation centre.
Srinagar, July 8: Former Union minister Ghulam Nabi Azad on Saturday cautioned the Centre over implementing a uniform civil code, saying it will affect all religions. Talking to reporters here, he also said that implementing UCC will not be "easy as it was to revoke Article 370".

"There is no question (of implementing it). It is not easy as it was to revoke Article 370. All religions are involved in it. Not only Muslims, but Christians and Sikhs also, tribals, Jains, Parsis, annoying all these people at once, will not be good for any government," the chairman of the Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP) said. Uniform Civil Code: Parliamentary Standing Committee To Hold Meeting To Discuss UCC Today.

"So, I suggest this government to not even think about taking this step," he said. UCC refers to a common set of laws that are applicable to all citizens of India that is not based on religion and dealing with marriage, divorce, inheritance and adoption among other matters.

The DPAP chairman welcomed the announcement of the land-for-landless policy by the Jammu and Kashmir administration, but demanded that land be given only to the poor residents of the Union Territory and not outsiders.

"Land should be given, but there is a condition. We welcome the announcement, but it should (be given) only to the poor residents of Jammu and Kashmir. That is important," he said.

The former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister, who formed the DPAP in September last year after ending his more than five-decade-long association with the Congress, also batted for early assembly elections in the Union Territory.

"We have been waiting for the last many years, when the assembly was dissolved in 2018. Since then, we have been waiting for the conduct of the elections. The people of J-K have been waiting for the restoration of the democratic setup in the state. When people will elect their representatives, they will become MLAs and form the government ," Azad said.

"Only elected representatives can work for the people in a democracy. Officers cannot run it for more than six months here or anywhere else in the country. It is important to have elected representatives. We have been continuously demanding this that elections be conducted as soon as possible," he added. Uniform Civil Code: Delhi National Sikh Conclave Forms 11-Member Team To Interact With Government On UCC.

On the developments in the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in Maharashtra, Azad said , "I have a high regard for (Sharad) Pawar, I wanted his party be strong. But, because of the internal situation, whatever has happened, we are not happy with that. However, it is their internal matter."

Earlier, AAP leader Nazir Itoo and his supporters joined the DPAP and was welcomed in the party by Azad. Itoo was also associated with the PDP earlier.
Kolkata, July 8: Two children were injured in a blast in West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district on Saturday which happened when they picked up a crude bomb from the roadside mistaking it to be a ball, officials said. The incident happened in Bhangor amid the polling for panchayat elections in the state, they said.

"The two children mistook the crude bomb for a ball, and as one of them touched it, it went off. Security forces were sent to the area to find if any more bombs were there," an official said. West Bengal Panchayat Elections 2023: Several People Killed in Election-Related Violence As Voting Underway for Three-Tier Panchayat Polls.

The two children, aged between 8 and 10, were admitted to a hospital, he said.

Locals protested in the area, alleging that the crude bombs were indiscriminately used overnight to intimidate voters and no police could be seen. West Bengal Panchayat Elections 2023 Polling: Voting Begins for 73,000 Seats Amid Tight Security, Two Lakh Candidates in Fray (Watch Videos).

State Election Commission (SEC) secretary Nilanjan Sandilya told PTI, "We have asked for details of the incident." The area, adjoining Kolkata, witnessed several incidents of violence in run-up to the polling day. Two persons were killed during the filing of nomination on June 15.
Speaking on the occasion, Modi said Rajasthan has got two modern six-lane expressways within a few months, while pointing out that he had dedicated to people the Delhi-Dausa-Lalsot section of the Delhi-Mumbai expressway in February.
San Francisco, July 8: Twitter has sued a law firm that represented the micro-blogging platform as Elon Musk tried to back out of his deal to buy the platform for $44 billion. Twitter's previous management hired the corporate law firm after Musk tried to terminate his agreement to acquire the company last year. Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, a top mergers and acquisitions firm, received a $90 million fee from Twitter, which according to the social network was "unjust enrichment", reports The New York Times.

Twitter now wants the fee to be returned. The lawsuit has been filed in San Francisco Superior Court by X Corp, Twitter's parent company. The lawsuit said Wachtell Lipton took "funds from the company cash register while the keys were being handed over" to Musk, who owns X Corp. Twitter Quietly Removes Login Requirement To View Tweets, Users Can Now Open Links in Browser Without Account.

According to documents submitted with the lawsuit, Twitter's board and executives approved the $90 million payment because the law firm had succeeded in making Musk abide by his agreement to buy the company. Twitter had disputed other fees related to Musk's purchase of the company. Twitter Down: Twitter Users Hit by Rate Limit Exceeded Error Globally Preventing Thousands From Posting Tweets.

"An advisory firm, Innisfree M&A, sued Twitter for $1.9 million in February over what it said were unpaid bills. Joele Frank, a public relations firm, sued Twitter in May, arguing that it wasnt paid about $830,498 for services rendered in the deal," the report said.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 08, 2023 09:34 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
Kathmandu, July 8: Nepal and India have agreed to complete the detailed project report (DPR) of the much-talked Pancheshwar Multipurpose Project within three months. The project is a major arm of the Mahakali Treaty signed in 1996 that is expected to produce 6,400 megawatts of energy. But due to differences between the two sides, a joint panel of experts failed to reach an agreement to complete the DPR.

An understanding was reached during a meeting of the governing council of the Pancheshwar Development Authority held in Pokhara on Thursday and in Kathmandu on Friday. Nepal Occupies Special Place in Indias Neighbourhood First Policy, Says Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra.

The meeting also decided to activate the expert group by extending the deadline to resolve the dispute within three months, according to the statement issued after the meeting.

This is the first move towards concluding the DPR after the prime ministers of both countries last month agreed to conclude the the report within three months during Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahals India visit from May 31 to June 3. Earlier, the term of this expert group was to end in March 2023.

Indias state-owned Water and Power Consultancy Services (WAPCOS) Ltd had submitted the DPR draft in 2016 after merging separate project reports prepared by both countries. PM Narendra Modi Highlights 'HIT' Formula for Indo-Nepal Relations, Says New Agreements Will Make Partnership 'Super Hit' in Future (Watch Video).

Four years after the third meeting of the team of experts held in Kathmandu in February 2019, the two sides have now agreed to hold a fourth meeting. During Dahals visit to India, it was agreed that officials of both governments would expedite bilateral discussions towards early finalisation of the DPR within three months.

Nepals Energy Secretary Dinesh Ghimire and Indias Water Resources Secretary Pankaj Kumar had led the talks from respected sides. Besides extending the deadline of the expert panel, the meeting also decided to appoint officials from respective sides.

It has been agreed that both the countries will invest in this project on the basis of water sharing. However, there is a dispute between the two countries on how to share the water benefits. It has not been decided who will invest in the project.

Nepal has been saying that India should invest heavily as Indias profit share in irrigation is large, based on the benefits of irrigation and electricity. However, India is in a position to invest without considering profit. Apart from generating electricity, the project will provide irrigation to 130,000 hectares of land in Nepal and 240,000 hectares in India in addition to other incidental benefits including flood protection.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 08, 2023 03:53 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
Marjorie Taylor Greene is considered one of the most far-right members of the Republican party, but the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus still kicked the infamous congresswoman out.

She rubbed members of the caucus the wrong way by siding with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, though this came after she had an argument with another member of the group.

The vote to oust her actually happened back on June 23, just before Congress went on recess late last month. The caucus reportedly did not announce the results to the public, saying that the group has a policy of not commenting on membership.

It is still unclear if Greene has already been removed from the caucus formally, though it might be revealed when the House returns from recess next week, a person with knowledge of the situation told the Washington Post.

However, the MAGA Republican remained defiant in a statement she released after it got out that she was booted from her group. She said in her statement, "In Congress, I serve Northwest Georgia first, and serve no group in Washington."

"My America First credentials, guided by my Christian faith, are forged in steel, seared in my character, and will never change," said the controversial congresswoman, who added that she will work with "anyone" who shares her priorities, including Speaker McCarthy who received little support from the Freedom Caucus.

Marjorie Taylor Greene Not Answering Calls From House Freedom Caucus Members

Members of the House Freedom Caucus are actually saying that they tried reaching out to Greene, but she would not return their calls. A board member from that group who asked to remain anonymous told Axios that Freedom Caucus Chair Scott Perry of Pennsylvania tried to reach out to her both before and after the vote to "discuss her colleagues' grievances with her behavior."

"She was unresponsive and resisted and refused efforts to meet with or talk with Chairman Perry, and so the vote was held without that conversation being held," said the Republican caucus board member.

READ NEXT: Paul Gosar Staffer Linked to Neo-Nazi Nick Fuentes

The House Republican added, "It's my understanding that after the vote took place by the general membership, that she also refused to meet with or talk with Chairman Perry - I suspect it was somewhat like someone refusing to be served legal documents."

With her ouster, Greene is now the first person to ever be removed from the group, with a lot of other Republicans from both sides of the Republican divide having voiced frustrations with her. While she was still with the House Freedom Caucus, she also did not get along well with the more moderate Republicans, especially critics of her ally, Donald Trump.

Lauren Boebert Feud Might Have Gotten Marjorie Taylor Greene Ousted From House Freedom Caucus

It is no secret that MTG is feuding with fellow MAGA Republican Lauren Boebert, with the two getting into a massive confrontation inside a Capitol restroom during the House Speakership vote. Greene also infamously calling the Colorado representative the "B word." The two recently had a confrontation on the House floor, and many are speculating that this may have led to her caucus ouster.

Greene is not backing down on her feud with her former friend, as the Twitter account for her "MTG Battleground" podcast tweeted, "Li'l b---h," which rumors state was exactly what she called Boebert in her argument.

According to the New York Daily News, the feud escalated when Boebert decided to try and impeach Joe Biden, which was opposed by Democrats and moderate Republicans overwhelmingly. However, Greene, who was planning to impeach Biden herself, was not happy with this and it led to her confronting Boebert on the House floor, leading to the now-infamous "B-word" name-calling.

READ MORE: Republicans Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lauren Boebert Got Into Heated Fight Inside Capitol Bathroom

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

WATCH: Greene's attempt to play both sides of GOP split blows up in her face - MSNBC
When it comes to community events in Columbus, the Bob Lauterbach Memorial Downtown Runaround is at the top.

It is a true community event. We get a lot of support from the community and you need a lot of support from the community to do this type of event, said Cari Franzen, senior program director at the Columbus YMCA and co-chair of this year's event.

The Columbus YMCA is the host of the 36th annual event slated for Saturday, July 22. There will be the 5-mile run starting at 8 a.m. and the 2.1-mile run starting at 8:05 a.m. The 29th Annual 1-mile Junior Runaround will take place 7 p.m. Friday, July 21.

The cost of the race is $35 and includes a T-shirt as well as pizza and refreshments afterward. Participants can expect door prizes from sponsoring businesses, and medals will be awarded to first-, second- and third-place finishers in the different age categories.

The Downtown Runaround started with its four founders: Rex Davies, John McClure, Ed Wagner and Bob Lauterbach. As previously reported, Davies and Wagner got the idea from road runs in other communities, and the four hashed out the details while at Valentinos restaurant.

The Downtown Runaround committee was in charge of the race for 35 years, and last year the YMCA worked alongside the committee to take over for the 36th annual event.

Lauterbach was a big part of the YMCA having been CEO from 1984 through 2008, and had begun talks with the organization about taking over the Downtown Runaround before he passed away in 2021. The Downtown Runaround Committee continued talks with the YMCA and last year members started learning the ins and outs of the race, said Jennifer Brownlow, wellness director at the YMCA and co-chair for the 2023 event.

This will be the second year the race has changed names to the Bob Lauterbach Memorial Downtown Runaround.

As in years past, the race will begin at Glurs Tavern, 2301 11th St. in Columbus, will make its way through downtown and will end back at Glurs.

Glurs Tavern is just a neat, historical place that we like to show off a little bit, Brownlow said. Its nice to have this event thats been starting and stopping there for so long.  A neat part of history for Columbus, Nebraska, so people from out of town get to see that.

A number of cities and states have been represented at this race throughout the years. For this years race, there are participants from Nebraska, Iowa, Wyoming and South Dakota, and about 18 different cities. Approximately 300 runners are registered as of June 30.

They put it on their calendar, mark it down when they know when the day is and plan a vacation around it, Franzen said.

Registration can be done at getmeregistered.com or the Columbusy.org and click on the banner. Registration deadline is July 18. Registration will not be available the day of the event.

The Alumni XC Runners competition is back again this year. For those who ran cross country and attended any of the three local high schools (Lakeview High School, Columbus High School or Scotus Central Catholic), the fastest runner of the 5-mile race (male and female) will each receive $50 Columbus Bucks.

This years Junior Runaround (for those 12 and younger) will be in a different location than in the past  Lake Esther (west of the YMCA). There is no entry fee for this race and prizes and refreshments will be available for all finishers. Optional T-shirts are available for $8.50, and the deadline for pre-registration and to order shirts is July 18.

Sponsoring businesses donate pizza, waters and other supplies. Franzen emphasized that they try to keep things as local as possible. For example, the T-shirts are created locally as well as the brochures. The idea is that they support businesses who support the event, the two said.

Its sponsored by the Y now, but it is truly a community event because we have a committee put together of volunteers from the community  and chairing different parts of the race. We have volunteers along the race course so we have a lot of different volunteers, Franzen said. Community event-wise there are a lot of different sponsors. A lot of businesses are sponsors.

Along with businesses, Franzen added, they have received support from the City of Columbus, Columbus Fire Department, Columbus Police Department and the Columbus City Streets Department. All collaborated for this event.

The support for this race has been greatly appreciated, just overwhelming, Brownlow said, adding that they have had businesses approach them asking how they can help. Those are things that are neat to see. That our race has just been a staple in the community for so long that people are coming to ask us, What can I do to help?

Last years event was a big success coming off of COVID, Franzen said. There were almost 656 total runners which included the kids run. The 2.1-mile race is more popular, added Brownlow, but they still see about 200 runners for the 5-mile race.

According to the brochure for the event, both are timed races. After one hour, times will not be recorded. These races are chipped timed. This means the race bib has a chip in it and when a runner passes over the finish line their time is recorded.

Its a fun race, a competitive race, a very social race to enjoy the Saturday morning of July 22, Brownlow said. Its one time that so many people in the community can come together and youre enjoying refreshments with your friends, youre enjoying a pizza with a neighbor  we have a shower that kids can just run through as far as enjoying their time there.

Franzen agreed.

Its an opportunity for anybody, any age to come out, Franzen added. Theres people who have strollers, theres some that walk the race that are doing it for social fun, theres others that are competitive and running the race and timing. Its for everyone.  Theres something for everyone there.

There is still time to sign up. Registration runs through July 18 and can be done online or a filled out brochure can be turned in at the Columbus YMCA.
Tragic events unfolded as a Columbus shootout between the local police and armed robbery suspects resulted in the death of one suspect, as reported by the Columbus Division of Police, according to FOX 19.

During the incident, an officer was shot and underwent surgery at Ohio Health Grant Medical Center.

The incident occurred in the late afternoon, around 4:45 PM, on eastbound Interstate 70, approximately a mile southwest of downtown Columbus.

The pursuit began when officers responded to reports of an armed robbery involving at least three suspects allegedly targeting a Porsche dealership and a bank.

The confrontation between the suspects and multiple officers escalated into a shootout on I-70 near Mound Street, killing one of the suspects and injuring one Columbus police officer.

The injured officer was swiftly transported to the hospital by their partner. He was initially in critical condition due to "massive blood loss," according to the police.

READ NEXT: Teen Robbery Suspect Kills Police Officer

911 Calls, Body Camera Footage Described What Happened Before the Highway Shootout

New details emerged as the Whitehall Division of Police released body camera footage and 911 calls, shedding light on the events leading up to the shootout between officers and armed suspects, per NBC 4.

While the police declined to disclose the names of the eight officers involved, citing a recently passed victims' rights bill, the recordings began to piece together the sequence of crimes.

According to the audio recording of a 911 call, one man reported the presence of a suspect inside a Porsche dealership's showroom on N. Hamilton Road, who was demanding keys to a car.

Simultaneously, another person in the dealership's parking lot contacted emergency services, informing them that the suspect had a gun and was attempting to steal keys from individuals.

The second caller then described the suspect running out of the dealership, entering a black Porsche Cayenne, and swiftly driving away while urging others in the background to let him escape.

The incident at the dealership involved only one suspect, who later traveled approximately 20 miles across the city, where other suspects robbed a Third Bank branch on Hilliard Rome Rd, reportedly taking around $90,000. However, the exact amount is yet to be confirmed by authorities.

Brief snippets of body camera footage captured officers attempting to block the stolen Porsche in the bank's drive-through.

While two officers stood outside their vehicles, armed and issuing commands, the suspects managed to maneuver the Porsche out and escaped as a third officer reversed their vehicle.

An officer at the scene informed others that the suspect had forcefully rammed their way out.

Second Suspect Arrested, Third Suspect Still At Large, Police Say

The Columbus Division of Police announced on Friday that they have apprehended a suspect in connection with the shootout, 10 TV reported. However, the identity of the arrested individual has not been disclosed, as they have not yet been formally charged.

During a press briefing Friday morning, Columbus Police Assistant Chief Greg Bodker stated that officers executed several arrest warrants, took multiple individuals into custody, conducted interviews, and expressed confidence that charges would ultimately be filed against someone.

In addition, the police clarified through social media that only one of the suspects involved in Thursday's incident has been identified and interviewed thus far.

Authorities are still searching for a third party who remains unidentified.

READ MORE: Teen Who Murdered Teacher Gets Life in Prison

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Bert Hoover

WATCH: Columbus police provide further details on shooting involving officer - From WNBS 10TV
Two Senate lawmakers are making a new run at legalizing marijuana in Pennsylvania.

Sens. Dan Laughlin, R-Erie, and Sharif Street, D-Philadelphia, introduced a bill Thursday that would allow those 21 and older to use recreational marijuana in the state.

The measure would include provisions for enforcement of DUI and pursuit of illegal markets, as well as deterrence efforts to keep marijuana out of the hands of children and ban any marketing toward children, according to Laughlin and Streets co-sponsorship memo.

It also would allow medical marijuana patients to grow their own cannabis plants and would expunge all non-violent marijuana convictions.

Recreational marijuana is legal in the District of Columbia and 23 states, including four that border Pennsylvania: New York, New Jersey, Delaware and most recently Maryland.

Gov. Josh Shapiro backs legalizing marijuana but support is mixed in the legislature, which has failed to approve legalization bills introduced since at least 2019.

Polls have found an increasing number of Pennsylvania residents support legalizing recreational marijuana.

A 2021 Franklin & Marshall College poll found 6 in 10 registered Pennsylvania voters supported allowing recreational marijuana use.

Laughlin and Street, in their co-sponsorship memo, said without marijuana legalization Pennsylvania will continue to lose out on hundreds of millions in tax revenue.

It is our duty to taxpayers to seize the initiative and legalize marijuana concurrently with bordering states, the memo said. Failure to do so risks permanently ceding hundreds of millions of dollars of new tax revenue as well as thousands of jobs at a time when taxpayers can least afford it.

Pennsylvanias Independent Fiscal Office in 2021 projected marijuana legalization would generate $400 million to $1 billion in new tax revenue.

Legislation that would relax Pennsylvanias 7-year-old Medical Marijuana Act and allow doctors to certify medical cannabis as a suitable treatment regardless of the patients medical condition was overwhelmingly approved by a Senate committee last month.
Press Release

July 8, 2023 Villar lauds PBBM signing of law freeing 600K farmers from debt Sen. Cynthia Villar has welcomed President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signing into law of a bill condoning loans of farmers and agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs). On Friday, the President signed Republic Act No.11953 or the New Agrarian Emancipation Act, which condones all principal and interests of loans of 610,054 ARBs arising from the award of agricultural lands under the government's Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program. "I thank President Marcos for prioritizing the needs of vulnerable populations in the agriculture sector. With this law, our farmers and their beneficiaries are being offered a fresh start, a way out in a cycle of debt and poverty," Villar, who was the principal sponsor of the measure. Villar added that condoning farmers' amortization "will provide them much-needed financial resources that shall help them develop their farms, increase their productivity, and advance an agriculture-driven economy to accelerate rural development and promote food security." The chairperson of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Food, and Agrarian Reform, said farmers and farmworkers are waiting for the enactment of this measure, which will make possible their dream of receiving their land titles. "Without land in their name, our farmers cannot access credit as they lack collateral to secure the same," Villar said. With the enactment into law, the P57.5 billion principal debt of 610,054 ARBs, tilling a total of 1,173,101.57 hectares of agrarian reform lands would be written off. The principal loan of P14.5 billion, including interests, penalties and surcharges of 263,622 ARBs, tilling 409,206.91 hectares of agrarian reform lands, whose names and other loan details were already submitted by the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) to Congress, shall be condoned outright. The inclusion of the remaining P43.057 billion loan would take effect upon submission by the LBP and the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) of details of the indebtedness to government of the 346,432 ARBs, tilling 763,894.66 hectares of agrarian reform lands. Also, under the bill, all cases related to the nonpayment of loans of ARBs with the DAR shall be dismissed motu proprio. They will be exempted from payment of estate tax. The law also mandates the inclusion of ARBs to the Department of Agriculture's Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture, and will be provided with all support services for farmers. "This law will help alleviate the plight of ARBs, who are farmers; for them to recover and overcome the fallout of the COVID-19 crisis, the devastating African swine fever, the ongoing avian influenza, the increasing cost of fertilizer, fuel, and other farm inputs, and climate change," Villar said. Villar, pinuri ang paglagda ni PBBM sa batas para palayain ang 600K magsasaka sa kanilang utang IKINAGALAK ni Sen. Cynthia Villar ang paglagda ni Pangulong Ferdinand Marcos Jr. sa bill upang mabura ang utang ng mga magsasaka at agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs). Nilagdaan ng Pangulo noong Biyernes ang Republic Act No. 11953 o ang 'New Agrarian Emancipation Act' na nagpapawalang bisa sa lahat principal at interes ng utang ng may 610,054 ARBs. Binigyan ang mga ito ng agricultural land sa ilalim ng Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program. "I thank President Marcos for prioritizing the needs of vulnerable populations in the agriculture sector. With this law, our farmers and their beneficiaries are being offered a fresh start, a way out in a cycle of debt and poverty," ani Villar, principal sponsor ng panukalang batas. Ipinahayag niya na ang pag-condone sa amortization "will provide them much-needed financial resources that shall help them develop their farms, increase their productivity, and advance an agriculture-driven economy to accelerate rural development and promote food security." Sinabi rin ng chairperson of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Food, and Agrarian Reform, na matagal nang hinintay ng mga magsasaka at farmworkers ang pagsasabatas ng bill para matupad ang pangarap na maging sa kanila ang lupang sinasaka. "Without land in their name, our farmers cannot access credit as they lack collateral to secure the same," giit ni Villar Sa ilalim ng batas, mawawala na ang P57.5 billion principal debt ng 610,054 ARBs na sumasaka sa 1,173,101.57 ektaryang agrarian reform lands. Wala na rin ang P14.5 billion principal loan, interes, multa at surcharges ng 263,622 ARBs na nagsasaka sa 409,206.91 ektaryang lupa. Hindi na rin sila pagbabayadin ng estate tax. Naisumite na rin ng Land Bank of the Philippines sa Kongreso ang mga pangalan at iba pang detalye ng utang. "The inclusion of the remaining P43.057 billion loan would take effect upon submission by the LBP and the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) of details of the indebtedness to government of the 346,432 ARBs, tilling 763,894.66 hectares of agrarian reform lands." Sa ilalim ng batas, mababalewala rin ang lahat ng kaso ng ARBs dahil sa hindi pagbabayad ng utang. Makakasama sila sa Department of Agriculture Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture para mabigyan ng lahat ng suporta. "This law will help alleviate the plight of ARBs, who are farmers; for them to recover and overcome the fallout of the COVID-19 crisis, the devastating African swine fever, the ongoing avian influenza, the increasing cost of fertilizer, fuel, and other farm inputs, and climate change," sabi pa ni Villar.
Housing, workforce and child care are three prevailing issues across the state of Nebraska, Nebraska Chamber of Commerce President Bryan Slone said. Everywhere he's been, people say those three things are their biggest concerns.

"One (issue), everywhere I go in the state, when I talk to business leaders is workforce, a lack of workforce and that's projected to continue for some time," Slone said. "The two issues behind that are housing and child care, how do we build to capacity affordable housing and child care?"

Columbus, Slone added, has a history of being able to support itself in these kinds of times where seemingly insurmountable social and economic issues are so widespread.

"What's fun about Columbus is the Columbus business community, for decades, has been excellent in terms of developing community, it's one of the communities in the state that's really growing," Slone said. "We also came to get their leadership views on how we can take ideas from here to other places in the state."

Slone went on to say that continued commitment to these solutions is essential, another thing he has observed in Columbus' business community.

"Will people in the community collaborate and team around big projects and two, can you find volunteer leaders who are willing to stick with big projects of three, five, 10 years?" Slone said. "Columbus has a long history of community leaders who really stick to these projects on a volunteer basis."

Dawson Brunswick, president of the Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce, said the group's discussion centered largely around those issues and how to tackle them locally. Housing, for example, he said, can be met with changes in budget and working with codes to ensure things are done as efficiently as possible.

"A lot of conversation focused on building codes, where we could do these things but be a little structured in some other things and save money on housing, we had a robust discussion on that," Brunswick said.

While the topics themselves aren't exactly new or different, Brunswick said, they are a valuable part of the discussion when it comes to Columbus perspectives on them. It's a chance for collaboration without having to go to all of the other communities.

"This is our opportunity to bring them to Columbus and show them the things our staff deal with every day and allow the state chamber to give a statewide perspective and tell us the things theyre learning from Wayne, Falls City, North Platte, Scottsbluff, Alliance," Brunswick said.

Brunswick added that, of all the communities the state representatives have visited, with them all having the same issues, are not beholden to the same solutions, though they will share if any of them get positive results from their efforts. In the meantime, the state chamber has to work through legislature and local chamber offices to get anything done in those areas.

"A lot of it was being creative and thinking outside of the box. No one is coming to save us, weve got to fend for ourselves and find the answers to the issues were facing," Brunswick said. "If we find something and knock it out of the park, well be willing to share it with our neighbor."

Slone concluded by saying that, in all the communities they've visited, he's noticed a change as of late; a change in the demographics of business owners and more specifically, business owners who want to be involved in the community.

"I've lived in Nebraska for a long time. I'm seeing more and more young people and entrepreneurs everywhere I go in the state. There is a vibe going on in small communities in our state attracting people back to them and I think it's the key to where we're headed," Slone said.
After two and a half years, Christopher Ferrante will face a jury to answer to charges that he sold the drugs that killed a three-time state champion wrestler from Pen Argyl Area High School.

Ferrante, 43, of Macungie, is accused of selling the drugs that killed Michael Mikey Racciato in 2020.

Defense attorney Gary Asteak said Thursday that multitudes of factors led to Racciatos death. He said prosecutors cant prove that anything that Ferrante may have given (Racciato) was the direct cause of death.

Racciato allegedly overdosed on Christmas Eve 2020 from drugs he purchased from Ferrante. Asteak said the overdose was from Xanax.

Racciato was taken to St. Lukes Hospital in Bethlehem Township by ambulance, left the hospital, and got picked by Ferrante, who supplied him with more drugs, police have said.

Racciato was found dead on Christmas in the parking lot of a Lower Nazareth Township hotel, police said. He was 26.

Ferrantes trial was delayed in 2022 when Northampton County First Deputy District Attorney Richard Pepper said he needed more time for a toxicology report. The report would confirm the presence and amount of fentanyl in the drug cocktail that allegedly killed Racciato, Pepper said at the time.

Northampton County Judge John Morganelli denied the request for more time and District Attorney Terence Houck appealed that decision to the state Superior Court. Ferrantes bail was reduced from $250,000 to $1 while the appeals court weighed its decision, allowing Ferrante to await trial outside of prison.

The Superior Court upheld Morganellis decision in April, which cleared the way for the trial to begin.

Houck didnt comment on the pending trial because he didnt want to taint the jury pool in the event a potential juror read the news story.

When the Superior Court upheld Morganellis decision in April, Houck said his office was prepared to proceed.

We are now ready to go, he said in April.

Asteak accused Houck of succumbing to political pressure to prosecute a weak case. Houcks opponent in the Democratic primary, Stephen Baratta, hammered Houck in campaign flyers, blaming his office for failing to prepare the Ferrante case in a timely fashion.

Baratta defeated Houck in the primary election, although Houck garnered enough write-in votes on the Republican side so that hell face Baratta as the Republican candidate in the fall election.

Ferrante faces seven charges, including drug deliver resulting in death. That charge alone carries a maximum 20-year prison sentence.

A spokesperson for the district attorneys office said the case should take about a week.

Racciato was a three-time PIAA Class 2A champion wrestler. He amassed a 186-8 record while at Pen Argyl and earned a scholarship to wrestle as a Pitt Panther.

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Niamh Eldridge Barry, a remarkable 24-year-old artist hailing from Rathmore, Nass, Co Kildare has overcome the challenges of Dyspraxia to showcase her remarkable artwork on a national level. Niamh is one of ten artists carefully selected from around the country as part of the Connecting Artists 2023 programme, which culminates in an exhibition of their art at the renowned Royal College of Surgeons Ireland (RCSI) in Dublin, taking place from Sunday 16th to Tuesday 18th of July.

Connecting Artists is a 10-week online programme designed by Miriam Spollen, the founder of Connections Arts Centre, a social enterprise dedicated to connecting the disability community through the Arts. Miriam created this online programme for visual artists nationwide with intellectual disabilities who wish to develop their creative practice.

Diagnosed with Dyspraxia at the age of eight, Niamh has had an interest in art since childhood. She entered an art competition for her primary school's fashion show, showcasing her talent by painting a beautiful rose with acrylic. Her artwork caught the attention of the 2005 Rose of Tralee winner, Aoibhinn Ni Shuilleabhain, who walked the runway with Niamh, holding her painting.

Since completing secondary school, she has attended various art classes. In 2018, Niamh enrolled at the Newbridge Youth Training Development Centre, where she learned pottery, experimented with various techniques, and crafted 3D sculptures. During the 2020/2021 lockdown, she completed an online children's illustration course with the London Art College and then joined The White Box Gallery, a small art school in Naas, during the summer of 2021. Her preferred subjects include landscapes and animals taking inspiration from her imagination and referencing places she has visited.

Niamh says: "The Connecting Artists 2023 community gave me the opportunity to connect with like-minded creatives. I liked collaborating, exploring new ideas, and learning from my mentor Aya and the other participants. This experience has increased my confidence. The Connecting Artists 2023 programme understands the unique needs of each participant and this understanding has been very important to me."

Miriam of Connections Arts Centre emphasises this programme provides an immersive, supportive, and interactive environment for artists with intellectual disabilities, empowering them to develop their creative practice and hone their natural talents. It provides a safe space for artists to explore their art and techniques and learn from each other. It also prepares them for exhibiting and selling their work.

Miriam says: "The programme would not be possible without our ten wonderful mentors who volunteered their time to support each artist, and the RCSI Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Unit, for providing a platform to highlight the exceptional talents of these ten artists.



We are thrilled for Niamh and all the participating artists of the 2023 programme and to see their fantastic artwork exhibiting at a national level. The response from the general public, both business and community has been brilliant. We are also delighted to know that the exhibit will be showcasing in Belfast and no doubt in more counties around the country during the year."

She adds, "Our aim is to continue the Connecting Artists programme for years to come and to support a new cohort of artists every year. We are always interested to explore partnership opportunities with organisations that share our vision of promoting inclusivity and empowering artists with intellectual disabilities. If there is interest in supporting our Connecting Artists programme and making a meaningful difference in the lives of these artists, we would be delighted to discuss potential sponsorships or funding opportunities."

Do not miss the chance to visit the exhibit and see Niamhs artwork. Artwork will be available to purchase throughout the event and online.

Entry is FREE, but booking is essential. Book your place now at the following link, https://www. connectionsartscentre.ie/ connecting-artists-programme-1

For more information visit, www. connectionsartscentre.ie
Students across Ireland can earn a university degree outside the Leaving Cert points system from September 2023.

That's according to the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Simon Harris TD, who today (July 7) confirmed details of the landmark change.

From September, students will be able to enroll in one of 23 degree courses across healthcare, enterprise, arts, and science in a further education institution, before progressing to a higher education institution to complete a fully-accredited degree.

It's hoped the change will provide pathways to learners outside the traditional CAO process.

Speaking today, Minister Harris said, "This is the single biggest transformation to education in decades. Today we launch 23 degree courses outside the points system. We know the points system has not worked for many of our young people.

"Today we can tell the next generation of students they can access degrees in nursing, business, engineering and media without ever having to worry about points.

"This is the start. We have much more to do but today, we change the system and ensure the learner is at the heart of all we do."

The minister continued: "My Department and I have made it a priority to change the unnecessarily stressful points race that the CAO system puts on our learners. I feel strongly that just because someone gets less points in their Leaving Cert than someone else, does not mean they should lose out on the opportunity to pursue their dream career.

"With the launch of these courses today, we are making a significant change to how our third level system works and, most importantly, we are creating a more inclusive society in which students will have the opportunity to reach their potential without relying solely on an outdated system."

Minister Harris thanked the National Tertiary Office, the Higher Education Authority and SOLAS "for their leadership in driving this change forward".

He also confirmed that the SUSI grant will still be available to applicants of these courses outside the points system.

Details on the 14 tertiary education awards across 23 different courses will be delivered on a new National Tertiary Office (NTO) online portal from today.

Featured courses include Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Popular Music Level 8 at Munster Technological University (upon completion of an access course at Cork College of FET), BSc (Hons) in General Nursing Level 8 at Atlantic TU (upon completion of an access course at an FET centre in Letterkenny, Sligo or Galway), and a Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Software Development Level 8 at MTU (upon completion of an access course at Cork College of FET).

Director of the National Tertiary Office, Dr Fiona Maloney, said, "These new and supported pathways through further and higher education help students achieve their career goals and offer several advantages including local availability of courses with guaranteed progression and the removal of geographical and financial barriers."

CEO of the Higher Education Authority, Dr Alan Wall, said it was "a pivotal day" for students seeking alternative routes to degree programmes.

He said, "It is a proud day for the HEA and SOLAS because from the outset we believed, through the combined efforts of our sectors that these pathways could and should exist for students."
The 30th anniversary of Carrigallen Primary Care Centre took place on Thursday, June 29 in the Centre.



Bernie Dolan, previous chair of Carrigallen Primary Care Centre spoke on behalf of Sheila Mollahan who is the current chair of the committee but could not attend on the day.



On behalf of Carrigallen Community Care I am delighted to welcome you all here today to celebrate with us on this the 30th anniversary of the Primary Care Centre.



Staff members of Carrigallen Primary Care Centre pictured at the 30th Anniversary celebrations of the opening on Thursday last, June 29. The centre was officially opened on June 24,1993. Back, from left - Michelle Brophy, Sandra Carpenter, Margaret Gormley, Kathleen McKenna, Sonja Wharmby, Maureen Hulme, Frances Donaghy and Miriam Doyle. Seated - Rosetta Keegan, Manager and Aine Gray



Today we especially remember all from our community who are in hospital, nursing homes or recovering at home, as well as our friends who are no longer with us.



The role of Community Care within our community has expanded greatly over the years from catering for 9 people on the very 1st day, 24th June 1993 to now catering for an average of 40 patrons per day.



The aspirations in Community Care are always to assist in the care and welfare of our older generation, people with disabilities, vulnerable adults and those living alone in our community.



The Community Care team endeavours to ensure that these people are supported in various different ways. Many worthwhile initiatives are generated and supported here from our Primary Care Centre in Carrigallen.



Our Day Care Centre operates 3 days per week. Monday, Tuesday and Thursday with meals, laundry and showering being the main services provided.



Meals on wheels are delivered on these days also. Aside from these services I know that Rosetta and her team provide a safe, friendly, welcoming and happy environment that is home from home for our patrons during their time spent here.



Social interaction occurs on both an organised and an informal basis. Planned activities include bingo, painting classes, birthday celebrations, visiting artists including local dancers and musicians as well as our Ukrainian friends, visits by clergy and Gardai to mention but a few.



However, in between all of these activities people catch up and share news. This creates a great buzz and generates enthusiasm and energy for all involved.



The provision of the fabulous services here is resourced through Leitrim Development Company and I would like to express our appreciation in particular for the support of Chris Gonley, Bernie Donohue, Anna McTiernan and all at Leitrim Development Company.



We are all aware of the security threats which exist in present times and accordingly there is an on-going need for the provision of security devices, fire alarms, panic buttons and outside lighting in the homes of the elderly. We acknowledge the continued vigilance of our local Garda Siochana presently Hugh and Sinead.



The co-location of the Primary Care Centre with our facilities enables all patrons to easily attend with Laura, District Health Nurse and Louise, Practice Nurse as well as Dr Jason Fallon and his team of resident and visiting medical professionals. They provide an excellent service.

We cant forget Dr Antoinette Gregan who is with us today and continues to be committed to our community. Thanks also to Michelle and Siobhan.



Florrie Bleakly and Joan McGirl, two of the longest serving users of Carrigallen Primary Care Centre, cut the cake to mark the 30 anniversary of the opening of the centre. Also pictured are Rosetta Keegan, Manager and Aine Gray

Our service caters for people of all religions and none. At this stage I would like to acknowledge the regular attendance by Father John McMahon and Reverend Canon Hazel Hicks. The patrons always appreciate their visits and the consolation that this gives.



I now wish to acknowledge the enormous contribution of the Primary Care Centre staff. They go over and above the call of duty, and the environment within which they provide their services is second to none. Rosetta continues to provide great leadership since she took over from Breege Grimes who had been here since the very 1st day.



We also acknowledge Aine, Margaret, Frances, Sandra, Michelle, Miriam, Sonia and Brian for the marvellous care they provide and all past members of staff. It would be remiss of me not to acknowledge the tremendous work carried out by those who delivered meals on wheels.



To mark the occasion of our 20th year celebration we arranged for the planting of an oak tree in the grounds of our centre. It is great to see it still thriving on our 30th anniversary ten years later.



Our facility and the service that it provides have come about due to the vision and hard work of the founding members of the Committee. The late Mon. John A. Young, Sr. Elizabeth, John Mulligan and Catherine Flynn were among a large group of people who instigated this project.



We thank them for their foresight and efforts. The service has continued and expanded thanks to the work of every officer and committee member both past and present from its inception.



You, the patrons, are the focus of what is done here. We thank you for your attendance, your good humour and all the positivity that you bring with you each day. We wish you all continued good health and hope that we can continue to provide you with a relevant and appropriate service and care.



Its great to see so many volunteers here today who have had a constant presence over many years and indeed decades. I wont mention names but you know yourselves who you are. Thank you.



Thank you all for joining us today and sharing in this wonderful occasion.
A young Mohill man had his bail revoked and was taken into custody after breaching his bail conditions.

Michael McDonagh (18) of Glebe St, Mohill, appeared before Judge Sandra Murphy at Carrick-on-Shannon District Court on Tuesday, June 27, charged with breaching his bail conditions after he was seen out and about in Mohill on several occasions after his 9pm curfew.

McDonagh was on bail in relation to charges of threatening, abusive or insulting behaviour at Main Street, Mohill on February 19, 2023 and at the Courthouse in Carrick-on-Shannon on May 23, 2023. Hes also charged with being drunk in public at the courthouse.

The court heard from Mr Martin Burke, defending, that McDonagh was released on bail from Castlerea Prison on May 27. Some of his bail conditions included obeying a 9pm-9am curfew, and signing on three times a week at Carrick-on-Shannon Garda Station, Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

Judge Murphy was told in court on Tuesday that Gardai saw McDonagh on various streets around Mohill on up to 15 occasions since then. He had also failed six times to sign on at Carrick-on-Shannon Garda Station. The court heard McDonagh is a suspect for other offences.

By way of mitigation, Mr Burke said that McDonagh couldnt sign on at the Garda station because he had been banned from the Local Link bus for vaping.

However, when Mr Burke asked his client in the witness box why he hadnt been signing on three times a week McDonagh replied that he wasnt bothered.

He then quickly added that he didnt hear the question right but still admitted that while he might have signed on a few times it was not as much as I should have. McDonagh also said he was able to travel on the Local Link bus anytime.

McDonagh said he wasnt always out and about in Mohill and sometimes the Gardai dont check whether hes at home or not.

Its up to the Gardai to check if Im there or not, he told Mr Burke and repeated this for Judge Murphy when she asked him to repeat this comment.

Do you realise if you dont keep your bail conditions youll go to jail? said Mr Burke. I do, replied McDonagh. When asked why he wasnt keeping his curfew, McDonagh said he didnt know.

You cant just lead us all on a merry dance here. Does your word have any merit at all? How can Judge Murphy be sure youre not going to be out causing trouble? asked Mr Burke. It doesnt mean Im causing trouble if Im not at the house, replied McDonagh.

Cross-examining, Sergeant Lisa Sewell told McDonagh he seemed to be of the opinion that the Gardai were there for a babysitting service. Youve no bother with Local Link. You just couldnt be bothered, she asked McDonagh. No, he replied.

Sgt Sewell told Judge Murphy that McDonaghs attitude spoke volumes. McDonagh then agreed with his solicitor that he would swear an oath on the bible to obey his curfew and sign on when required.

Judge Murphy however said McDonagh had done that already only a month earlier at his first bail hearing and only a month later he had breached his bail conditions.

Mr Burke then called on the accuseds father, also Michael McDonagh, to the witness stand. Mr McDonagh swore that his son would keep his curfew and vowed to bring him himself on the bus to Carrick to sign on. I dont want him to lose this money (500) because its my money, I have to pay it back, he told the court.

Its awfully unfortunate you had to put up the 500 bail, hes over 18 years, said the judge. That is now 690 of your familys money that he has gambled with, she added.

She said it was not Mr McDonaghs responsibility to accompany his son on the bus. This is a young man who has been given every chance in relation to his bail. Its not up to Mr McDonagh Snr or the Gardai to monitor his behaviour  theyre needed urgently for other matters, she said.

Mr Burke pointed out that the cost to the State will be greater if McDonagh was sent to Castlerea Prison.

Judge Murphy replied that the court had no option but to revoke bail.

She remanded McDonagh in custody to June 30 for hearing on the Public Order charges.
Washington's decision to supply Ukraine with cluster munitions is an "act of desperation" which displays "weakness", Russia's foreign ministry said on Saturday, July 8. "It is an act of desperation and shows weakness against the backdrop of the failure of the much-touted Ukrainian counteroffensive," ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement.

"The latest 'miracle weapon' which Washington and Kyiv are betting on, without thinking about the grave consequences, will have no effect on the special military operation," she said, using Russia's official term for its campaign in Ukraine. Zakharova said the decision showed the "aggressive anti-Russian course taken by the US, which is aimed at prolonging the conflict in Ukraine as much as possible". She also said Ukraine's promises to use the controversial ammunition responsibly "are not worth anything".

Russia itself uses cluster bombs in Ukraine but they are banned in many parts of the world.

Read more Article reserve a nos abonnes US defends decision to send controversial cluster munitions to Ukraine, despite impact on civilians

The United States announced Friday it will provide those munitions to Ukraine for the first time as Kyiv's forces face tough fighting in their counteroffensive against invading Russian troops.

The move drew sharp criticism from rights groups due to the danger unexploded bomblets which can go undetonated and potentially endanger civilians for years to come, but Washington said it has received assurances from Kyiv that it would minimize risk to civilians, including by not using the munitions in populated areas.

President Joe Biden told CNN that the decision to provide the munitions was "very difficult," but that Ukrainian forces were "running out of ammunition." "They either have the weapons to stop the Russians now  keep them from stopping the Ukrainian offensive through these areas  or they don't. And I think they needed them," he said.

Read more Article reserve a nos abonnes Ukraine's counteroffensive stalls against Russian forces

A new military aid package announced Friday includes "dual-purpose improved conventional munitions," the Pentagon said in a statement, referring to cluster bombs.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky rapidly expressed gratitude for the "much-needed" aid, tweeting that "the expansion of Ukraine's defense capabilities will provide new tools for the de-occupation of our land and bringing peace closer."
Mumbai  6th July, 2023 One Point One Solutions Ltd., a prominent leader in Business Process Management (BPM) services, is proud to announce the establishment of its wholly-owned U.S. subsidiary "ONE POINT ONE USA INC." The subsidiary will be headquartered in Delaware, in the state of Delaware. This subsidiary represents strategically positioned to capture opportunities and establish a strong presence in the American market. This move marks a significant milestone in our global expansion efforts and reinforces our commitment to serving clients in the United States.

As a progressive BPM company, we recognise the immense potential and vibrant market opportunities in the United States. This expansion allows us to better understand and cater to the unique needs of American clients while enhancing our ability to deliver exceptional and unparalleled customer experiences.

As a part of its go-to-market strategy, One Point One USA Inc team has appointed Mr. John F Kennedy  Vice President Sales and Matthew Rupe as Director Sales, two accomplished sales leaders to spearhead the growth strategy in the United States.

John.F. Kennedy possesses an impressive track record of over 20 years, specializes in executing complex multi-geographical BPO and contact centre transformation initiatives. His extensive international experience spans deals closed in diverse countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, Philippines, Brazil, India, Mexico, and Canada. Prior to this, he held an esteemed role with Hinduja Global Solutions as Vice PresidentBusiness Development.

Mathew Rupe brings an extensive sales background of over 20 years, having successfully negotiated deals with renowned industry-leading organizations. Notably, he held the position of Director of Sales at Datamark Inc., located in El Paso, Texas, where he showcased exceptional communication and leadership skills. His ability to foster high-performing teams that consistently deliver outstanding results has been the hallmark of his career.

These sales leads will work in close collaboration with our global team, leveraging our robust ecosystem, innovative Solutions and deep industry knowledge to deliver exceptional value to our U.S. clients

Akshay Chhabra, Managing Director, One Point One Solutions said, We are confident that our new subsidiary, coupled with the expertise and leadership of our sales leads, will enable us to serve our U.S. clients with unmatched dedication, innovation, and customer-centricity"

The establishment of One Point One USA Inc and the appointment of this eminent sales leaders signify our commitment to long-term growth and customer success in the United States. We look forward to forging strong partnerships, creating new opportunities in times to come.

We are in an advanced stage to close with a couple of clients and are expecting to sign them in the near future. The pace at which we are expanding in the USA would further pick the speed with these two veterans onboard. This also reiterates that the dedicated team always delivers better results for us in the USA."

One Point One Solutions is a leading player in Business Process Management (BPM). The company was incorporated in the year 2006. The company offers technology, accounting, skill-development and analytical solutions that help businesses build better capabilities and enable them to achieve seamless growth. The company serves a broad spectrum of industries like Telecom & Broadcasting, Retail and E-commerce, Consumer Durables & FMCG, Banking and Finance, Travel & Hospitality and Insurance. The company has 5 service centres located across Navi Mumbai, Gurgaon, Chennai, Bangalore and Indore with 5,500+ seats on per shift basis. The company offers services like customer care, lead generation, content management, voice analytics, accounts payable and receivable, SME Management, predictive analytics, Chat bots, IVR, voice analytics and E-mail management. Akshay Chhabra is the founder of 1Point1 Solutions Ltd., he focuses on technology-driven innovation to build efficiencies and surge ahead in the BPM space.

The company got listed in the year 2017. The company boasts of 40+ leading clientele spread across sectors. Some of the leading clientele are SBI Cards, SBI Life, Godrej Appliance, ICICI Bank, Kotak Bank, DMI Finance, Chola MS to name a few.

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.
With seven very specific stages of requirements, a list of needed skills and merit badges, timing limits and all the requirements of the many ranks before it, Eagle Scout certification isn't something that happens every day.

Sometimes, however, it happens several times in one day, such was the case on the weekend of July 1 and 2, when four Eagle Scouts joined countless others before them in achieving the highest rank in the Boy Scouts of America. Derick Bishop, Evan Line, Sam Meyer and Bryce Follette celebrated together that weekend as they made the last great leap into scouting.

"It feels pretty darn good, it was a lot of work and it paid off, it's a great thing to have on a resume or anything like hat and teaches me a lot of skills for life," Follette said.

Bishop's celebration was held at the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints on July 1, as that is where his scouting journey started. Bishop was originally part of Troop 406, based out of the church, with no intention to join Troop 212, the more widely-known Columbus area troop. Not too long ago, the church and the troop parted ways, resulting in the troop disbanding. This was close to Bishop's Eagle Scout certification, however, so he is officially the last Eagle Scout of Troop 406.

"I decided to go with 406. I joined in February, they were there until December so I was with 406 but also wanted to stay in Boy Scouts, earn my Eagle, go on all these adventures, so I decided to join another troop. For a year-ish, I was with 212 and 406," Bishop explained.

As a result, he was also the last Eagle Scout to receive an osage orange walking stick and bow from the troop, a tradition they had for Eagle Scouts.

"I didn't realize I was the last one until today, so I never really thought about it that way, it's a really cool opportunity, it's really cool to be in this position," Bishop said.

Bishop is happy to have reached the rank after all his hard work and at 15, no less. Now, he said, he wants to give himself some breathing room and start leading other scouts down the same paths he took.

"It's a breath of fresh air, like we have to do all these permits, Eagle merit badges, this time I can relax more," Bishop said. "Before I was relaxed too, now a little more. I don't have to push toward Eagle anymore, I can step back a bit and lead others, kind of breathe."

On July 2, Evan Line, Sam Meyer and Bryce Follette celebrated their achievement with a joint ceremony at St. Isidore's Catholic Church. Line, a 2023 Lakeview High School graduate, said something similar to Bishop in that it is a great relief and sense of achievement to finally achieve Eagle rank.

"I always wanted to do it, I feel peace. The hardest part would be continuing it over the years with all the different activities and interests in line," Line said. "The biggest difficulty would be the Eagle Scout project, getting other people together, talking to people and businesses and whatnot."

His Eagle Scout project, a renovation of Immanuel Lutheran's playground, was meaningful to him as a way to give back to the school he attended as a child. He added that he plans to continue being involved in scouting in some capacity in the future as well.

Sam Meyer, another 2023 graduate, said he also feels a great sense of satisfaction from being an Eagle Scout after all his hard work, a new chapter of sorts. That chapter, however was strongly influenced by scouting as earning his aviation merit badge helped him decide his path of attending the University of Nebraska-Omaha for aviation. He joins many family members among the boy scout ranks.

"My grandpa was real involved in scouting for a long time and my dad and uncles went for a long time too, so it's kind of a family thing," Meyer said.

Bryce Follette, the fourth Eagle Scout presented his rank that weekend, has been influenced in yet more ways as his mother and brothers are heavily involved in scouting and it helped him to advance his planned military career before he even sets foot in training. He will join the Army as a private, first-class due to his experience as an Eagle Scout. Having his mother along for the journey, Follette said, was a good experience.

"When I was younger it made everything easier having your mom there but after that she let me do my own thing," Follette said.

Being a boy scout, Follette said, was not the only thing that influenced his wanting to join the military, but it definitely enabled him to pursue it a little more seriously.

"A big part of that was one of my mom's clients was in the National Guard and I always looked up to him when I was younger but I feel like this fueled that little spark," Follette said.
Bollywood actor Bhumi Pednekar has been onboarded as the new face of MAC Cosmetics VIVA GLAM charitable initiative, which supports healthy futures and equal rights for all. With this launch, Pednekar joins previous ambassadors including Miley Cyrus, Elton John, Mary J. Blige, Rosalia and Ricky Martin. The Viva Glam Bhumi Pednekar lipstick thus launched is a limited-edition lipstick co-created by the actor and MAC Cosmetics.

All of the proceeds from sale of this lipstick will go to local organizations that support women and girls, HIV/AIDS relief efforts and the LGBTQIA+ community, the company said in a statement.

I am humbled, honoured, and excited to be MAC VIVA GLAMs first ever India Ambassador. I genuinely believe that it is each of our responsibility to support healthy futures and equal rights now, and for the future generations. I am thrilled to help spread awareness of this amazing initiative with my own VIVA GLAM Lipstick," Pednekar said in a statement.

Through the initiative, MAC Cosmetics India will expand their partnership with two VIVA GLAM grantees in the country in the coming year  Organization for Friends, Energies, and Resources (OFFER) and Committed Communities Development Trust (CCDT). As part of its relationship with OFFER, this lipstick will help support Anandaghar, a palliative care program for children living with HIV/AIDS in the outskirts of Kolkata that takes care of boarding, food, medical requirement, schooling and tuition fees as well as cocurricular activities for the effected children.

We are thrilled to have Bhumi as the face of our latest VIVA GLAM campaign. Bhumi perfectly embodies the essence of Indian beauty and the core values of MAC Cosmetics and together, this campaign will amplify the message of inclusivity and further drive positive change", Karen Thompson, brand manager, MAC Cosmetics India said in a statement.
Ministry of Railways on Saturday announced that it was delegating powers to the Zonal Railways to introduce discounted fare scheme in trains with AC chair cars.

"With a view to optimize utilization of accommodation in trains, Ministry of Railways has decided to delegate powers to Zonal Railways to introduce discounted fare scheme in trains with AC sitting accommodation, subject to terms and conditions," the government said in a press note. "The discount shall be implemented with immediate effect. However, no refund of fare shall be admissible for already booked passengers," it said.

However many netizens were not happy with the Railway's decision on refund rules which was issued by the Railway Ministry.

People took to social media to explain how Vande Bharat fares were much higher than in comparison to normal trains. One user wrote," 300km ka 3rd ac ka fare 500 rupee hai, aur wahi vande bharat me 1000 ho jata hai, Aap hi sochiye ek new express AC train bhi chalu kare to kitne jyada logo ko suvidha nil sakti hai," meaning that for covering a distance of 300kms in AC 3 tier , one needs to shell out 500 whereas in Vande Bharat the fare is 1,000.
Two vehicles were set ablaze by a mob in another episode of continued violence in Manipur. The violent incident was reported in retaliation to a fire ignited in Imphal East district, officials told PTI on Saturday.

A group of people burn two private vehicles at Mahabali Road near the historic Kangla Fort. The vehicles were burnt on the suspicion of their use for ferrying household goods to a particular ethnic community on Friday night, reported PTI. The incident was controlled on the spot after the police intervened and managed to disperse the mob. There was no casualty reported as the drivers of both vehicles managed to flee on time.

In another episode of violence late at night on Friday, the two sides continued firing at each other at Laikot near Yaingangpokpi in Imphal West district.

These incidents were reported after four people including a Manipur police commando were shot dead and several others were injured in separate places in Bishnupur district.

The policeman died in a gun battle with suspected militants at Moirang Turel Mapan in the evening. Three other people died in the wee hours in the villages of Kangvai, Songdo, and Awang Lekhai - all of them on the border of Bishnupur and Churachandpur districts.

As the tension in the region grew intense, Army and Assam Rifles personnel moved to Songdo on Friday night to tackle the situation, officials told PTI.

More than 100 people have died, 3,000 injured in Manipur's ethnic violence

Since the violent clashes broke between Manipur's Meitei and Kuki communities on May 3, more than 100 people have lost their lives and 3,000 people have been injured. The violent clashes broke after a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.

That's why around 40,000 central security personnel, besides the Manipur Police have been depoloyed to control the violence and revive normalcy in the state.

Notably, Meiteis make up around 53 per cent of Manipur's population and live mostly in the Imphal Valley. Other 40 per cent of the population reside in the hill districts.
Heavy rainfall lashed several parts of the country on Friday night. According to the latest data by the India Meteorological Department (IMD), in the south interior Karnataka, Kodagu district recorded (23 cm) of rainfall, in coastal Karnataka districts like Udupi recorded (18cm) of rainfall, Kannada (18 cm), and Uppinangadi (17 cm) of rainfall, respectively on 7 July.

In Tamil Nadu, an avalanche occurred in the Nilgiris region after 14 cm of rainfall was recorded yesterday. The other region's heavy rainfall recorded in the state are-Valparai in Coimbatore district (11 cm); Harrison Malayalam Ltd, and Worth Estate in Nilgiris region (10 cm). Kerala's Taliraparamba of Kannur district recorded 10 cm of rainfall, at Konkan and Goa, Ratnagiri district recorded 14 cm of rainfall, and Raigad 13 cm of rainfall. Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling reported 14 cm of rainfall yesterday. The IMD has issued yellow alerts in the Malappuram, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kannur, and Kasaragode districts of Kerala for the next 4-5 days. In Assam and Meghalaya, Lakhimpur district recorded 14 cm of rainfall and Cherrapunji in east Khasi Hills recorded 14 cm of rainfall. Mahabaleshwar of Satara district in Maharashtra recorded 11 cm of rainfall and Lonavala in Pune district recorded 7 cm of rainfall. Rajasthan's Rajsamand recorded 11 cm of rainfall on Friday, Madhya Pradesh's Jabalpur district recorded 10 cm of rainfall, Hamirpur and Solan in Himachal Pradesh Pradesh recorded 8 cm of rainfall, and Odisha's Malkangri district and Sundargarh districts recorded 9 cm of rainfall each on Friday.

IMD makes heavy rainfall prediction in north India:

On Saturday morning, the national capital Delhi residents experienced heavy rainfall, affirming further that the southwest monsoon was active in the city.

The MeT department has said heavy rainfall is likely to occur over North India in the next four to five days.

"Weather Warning for Jammu, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana, and West Uttar Pradesh are under a heavy rainfall alert from July 8 to 9. Be prepared for intense rain and take necessary precautions," the IMD stated.

Kerala Monsoon: 8 dead, over 7,800 shifted to relief camps

Eight people have lost their lives in the heavy rains unleashed by the Southwest Monsoon in Kerala. Moreover, 7,844 persons have been accommodated in 203 relief camps opened across the state so far this year. As many as 51 houses in the state have been fully damaged while 1,023 houses are partially damaged due to the intense rains and the resulting floods.

IMD weather forecast till 19 July:

-Light/moderate fairly widespread to widespread rainfall with isolated heavy rainfall is very likely to continue over the region during 1st half of the week & decrease thereafter in southern states.

-Light/moderate fairly widespread to widespread rainfall with isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall very likely to continue over Gujarat state during the week; and over Konkan & Goa and ghat areas of Madhya Maharashtra during 1st half of the week.

-Isolated very heavy rainfall is also very likely over Uttarakhand during the week.

-Light/moderate fairly widespread to widespread rainfall with isolated heavy rainfall is very likely over the region during 1st half of the week in central India.

-In northeast India, Fairly widespread to widespread light/moderate rainfall with isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall is very likely over Sub-Himalayan West Bengal & Sikkim, Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, and Manipur during the week.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was spotted at a farm in the interiors of Haryana on Saturday. The former party chief was seen driving a tractor, sowing paddy seeds, and doing conversations with farmers at the fields in Baroda and Madina. Sanjay Kumar, a farmer from Madina village told Hindustan Times, Livemint's sister publication that he was surprised to see the cavalcade suddenly stop near his fields and Gandhi emerging out of the vehicle. The farmer said it was incredible for everyone present at the field. " We could not identify Rahul Gandhi. When he along with his staff came into the fields, all of us were excited. He asked us about our problems. We served him breakfast". In May, the scion of Gandhi family was spotted in a truck. Rahul Gandhi was seated in the co-driver's seat from Delhi to Ambala. Gandhi was travelling to Shimla to spend some time with his mother. On the way, he met truck drivers at a dhaba in Sonipat, Haryana, and decided to hitch a ride to Ambala during which he spoke to them about their work and hardships.

Congress 'Maun Satyagraha' for Rahul Gandhi

Meanwhile, Congress general secretary KC Venugopal wrote to the state party presidents requesting them to organise a massive one-day 'Maun Satyagraha' (silent protest), in front of Mahatma Gandhi's statues, at all state headquarters on 12 July to express solidarity with Rahul Gandhi.

Yesterday, KC Venugopal wrote to all PCC presidents after the Gujarat High Court upheld the Sessions Court order denying a stay on the conviction of Rahul Gandhi in the defamation case over the 'Modi surname' remark.

"In the present circumstances, it is high time that we stand together and reiterate that Rahul Gandhi is not alone and millions of congressmen and crores of people irrespective of their political affiliations are with him in this fight for truth and justice," the letter read.

"Under the leadership of Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, in solidarity with our leader and in support of his fearless and uncompromising fight, all the PCCs are requested to organise a massive one-day Maun Satyagraha (Silent Protest) in front of Gandhi statues, in all State Headquarters from 10 AM to 5 PM, on Wednesday, on July 12, 2023, with maximum possible mobilisation and involvement of all the senior leaders, MPs, MLA/MLCs, and other elected representatives," it added.

The Gujarat High Court in May reserved its order on Rahul's plea seeking a stay on his conviction in the 2019 'Modi surname' defamation case. The court had refused to grant any interim relief to the Congress leader.

Rahul moved the Gujarat High Court on April 25 challenging the Surat sessions court order, which declined to stay his conviction in the criminal defamation case.

The Surat court had, on April 20, rejected Rahul's plea seeking a stay on his conviction by the lower court in the case.

The lower court convicted and sentenced the Congress leader to two years in jail on March 23 under sections 499 and 500 (defamation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) in connection with the defamation case filed by Purnesh Modi.
Tom Cruise rode a bike off a cliff, fought on a moving train, hung from a plane and now, the Hollywood superstar has proved he can speak in Hindi as well.

In an interview with Canadian news outlet ETalk, the 61-year-old actor was praised by the journalist for fluency in various languages in his movies, especially the "Mission: Impossible" franchise. "Is there anything you cannot do? Is he going to speak in Hindi with me?" asked the Indian-origin journalist. Cruise was more than willing to test his Hindi speaking skills as he said, "If you want me to speak in Hindi with you, I will. Let's try it." The journalist then asked The Last Samurai actor to say, "Namaste. Aap kaise hain?' (Namaste, How are you?)". Much to the fans' delight, Cruise aced the pronunciation in first attempt as he repeated the sentence with folded hands.

The clip from the interview, which was part of the promotional campaign for "Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One", has gone viral on social media.

Several Indian fans found Cruise's accent "cute".

"He is so cute while speaking namaste aap kaise ho & Is there anything he can't do," a user said on Twitter.

"Tom Cruise wins the hearts of all Indians with his Hindi. His humility is on another level. God Bless him," another user said.

"Wow.... He spoke Hindi very well," read a post.

Another fan wrote, "He said Namaste on his own, shows how aware he is of India and Indian fans."

"Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One", directed by Christopher McQuarrie, is the seventh instalment of Cruise's long-running spy franchise "Mission: Impossible".

The movie also features Hayley Atwell, Pom Klementieff, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Vanessa Kirby and Henry Czerny.

Presented by Paramount Pictures and Skydance, the film will be released in theatres in India on July 12.
West Bengal was marred by violence as rural polls ended on 8 July, leaving 12 people dead, ballot boxes vandalized and bombs thrown at rivals in several villages.

The series of events on Saturday reminded people of the 2003 panchayat polls when the death toll reached 76, and over 40 were killed on the day of the elections.

The state with a history of violence in panchayat polls registered 30 deaths since polls were announced in June, which closely followed the 2018 panchayat poll violence pattern a similar number of people were left dead.

The polling began at 7 am in 73,887 seats in the state's rural areas with 5.67 crore people deciding the fate of around 2.06 lakh candidates.

ALSO READ: Elections must be through ballots, not bullets': West Bengal Guv on poll violence

Here are the top developments we know so far:

1) 12 people, including eight from the ruling TMC and one worker each of the BJP, CPI(M), and Congress died since midnight in the crucial three-tier panchayat polls.

2) Polling witnessed ballot boxes being stolen and burnt and public anger being vented against political workers.

3) State Election Commissioner (SEC) Rajiv Sinha on Saturday promised to look into complaints of vote tampering and to take a decision on possible re-polling after receiving reports from observers and returning officers.

4) Most affected districts, hit by violence include, Murshidabad, Nadia, Cooch Behar, and South 24 Parganas.

5) Trinamool Congress, which lost eight of its supporters to poll violence, accused the opposition of orchestrating the violence.

6) CPI(M) accused the State Election Commission of enacting a farce in the name of holding panchayat elections and blamed the ruling party for the poll-related deaths.

7) Earlier, 30 people died since polls were announced last month.

With agency inputs.
Diamond Snowflake, designed by Caviar, could potentially be Apple's most expensive phone yet, with an estimated price of approximately 5 crore. It surpasses the cost of a Lamborghini Huracan Evo, which is currently available in India for 3.7 crore.

The Diamond Snowflake edition, a collaboration between Caviar and British jewellery brand Graff, is an extremely limited edition phone with only three pieces available. This exclusive variant surpasses the price of Apple's previous most expensive phone, the iPhone 14 Pro Max, which was priced at 1,27,999 in India.

Interestingly, the exorbitant price of the exclusive device is justified by the presence of a stunning centrepiece pendant made of platinum and white gold on the backplate. This intricate and ornamental design, valued at 62 lakh, is adorned with a combination of round and marquise-cut diamonds. The backplate itself is meticulously crafted with 18k white gold and showcases a breathtaking pattern embellished with a total of 570 diamonds.

The diamond-encrusted iPhone, available for purchase, can be acquired directly from the official website of Caviar. The device comes with a one-year warranty, and the delivery process is handled by a reliable mailing service commonly utilized by many corporations for shipping packages and international correspondence.

To recall, the iPhone 14 was launched by Apple in September of the previous year. It features the powerful A15 Bionic chipset and is available in storage options of 128 GB, 256 GB, and 512 GB. The device boasts a dual-camera setup at the back, consisting of a 12MP primary sensor and a 12MP ultra-wide sensor.

Flipkart is currently running a special offer called 'Back to Campus,' where they are selling the 128GB model of the iPhone 14 at a discounted price of 68,999. This offer provides a discount of 10,901 compared to the original price of 79,900.

While the launch of the iPhone 15 is still months away, recent reports from 9to5 Mac suggest that both the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus may be introduced in a new green color option.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, along with other Asian leaders, aims to bolster ties with NATO during an important summit in Lithuania in the coming week.

As reported by Bloomberg, there are disagreements within the alliance about the specific nature of this collaboration as they grapple with how to navigate their relationship with China.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno confirmed that Kishida intends to emphasize the importance of stronger relations between Japan and NATO, despite objections from Beijing regarding the alliance's activities in the region. Alongside Kishida, leaders from South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand will also be present at the summit in Vilnius.

According to Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno, the visit by Asian leaders to NATO will underscore the interconnectedness of security in the Indo-Pacific and Europe. Matsuno stated that the visit will confirm NATO's increased involvement in the region, highlighting the stronger engagement of the alliance.

NATO allies are currently engaged in discussions about a potential joint statement with the four Indo-Pacific countries. This statement aims to deepen cooperation and emphasize the interdependence of security in Europe and the Indo-Pacific region, as noted by a senior European diplomat.

However, within the alliance, there are differences in conceptual understanding regarding whether NATO's focus should remain limited to the area covered by the alliance's supreme commander, which spans from northern Europe to southern Europe and from the Atlantic coastline to eastern Turkey. Some members advocate for NATO to adopt a broader perspective on security matters that impact the alliance as a whole, Bloomberg reported mentioning an anonymous diplomat.

Following its recognition of Beijing as a challenge to the alliance, the 31-nation NATO bloc has aimed to strengthen ties with the United States' closest allies in the region.

However, plans to establish NATO's first office in Asia faced opposition from French President Emmanuel Macron in May, who warned against expanding NATO's scope, deeming it a significant mistake.

The ongoing support of Chinese President Xi Jinping for Vladimir Putin, even after 16 months since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, has influenced European strategies concerning Beijing.

NATO has condemned the partnership between China and Russia, viewing it as a violation of the rules-based international order, and has identified China as posing a "systemic challenge" to the alliance.

What happens in Asia matters for Europe and what happens in Europe matters for Asia," NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who recently visited Japan and Korea, said in June.

As the United States aims to establish multilateral mechanisms in the Indo-Pacific region, Beijing argues that such efforts are intended to contain its own growth. Within NATO, the alliance's most influential member has emphasized the significance of China's rise.

These endeavours seem to have gained traction. Earlier this year, Japanese Prime Minister Kishida visited Europe to enhance military ties, and subsequently, the Japanese Air Force participated in NATO's largest deployment exercise to date. Moreover, South Korea's defence exports, supported by the United States, witnessed a significant increase last year, driven by growing demand in regions like Eastern Europe.

Europe is gradually recognizing the need to assume a more significant role in the Indo-Pacific region, although the exact details and strategies are still under discussion. European members of NATO would have to take on more responsibility than is the case today," German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said in a recent interview with German broadcaster ZDF. I believe everyone is conscious of this."

According to US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, the upcoming NATO summit will feature dedicated sessions focused on strengthening partnerships with four countries in the Indo-Pacific region. During his visit to Tokyo, Sullivan also mentioned that NATO and Japan are expected to unveil the key aspects of a new collaboration, which may involve aligning defense equipment.

What we have to be careful about is that Japans strength as a country of course has limits," said Akihisa Nagashima, a former vice-defense minister and now current member of the lower house security committee. If Japan has to take part in all NATO operations, its own vicinity will be neglected."

After a turbulent year marked by incidents like an alleged spy balloon flying over the US, the strained relationship between Washington and Beijing is beginning to show indications of improvement. Despite the recent notable visits of senior US officials to Beijing, Asian leaders remain cautious and express concerns about the potential for an incident that could escalate into a conflict.

China has made allegations that the United States is seeking to establish an alliance resembling NATO in the Asian region, despite the US denying such claims.

The attitude of the majority of countries in the region is very clear. They oppose the emergence of military blocs," Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin told reporters in June. They dont welcome NATOs outreach in Asia."

Southeast Asian nations have generally pursued a non-aligned stance, avoiding taking sides between the United States and China, as well as Russia, which has longstanding diplomatic ties in the region. Additionally, some countries hold differing perspectives on NATO's approach to the situation in Ukraine.

In recent developments, Indonesia's Defense Minister, Prabowo Subianto, put forth a peace proposal that shares resemblances with a Chinese plan that has faced significant rejection in Europe. Meanwhile, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has expressed skepticism about the possibility of Ukraine regaining all the territory currently occupied by Russia, deeming it "impossible."

Bilahari Kausikan, Singapore's former permanent secretary for foreign affairs, suggests that NATO's involvement in Asia is expected to be constrained to specific countries, particularly those with strong alliances with the United States, as concerns regarding China continue to escalate.

The significance is much more political than military or strategic," he said of NATOs deepening ties in the region. These are significant, but we should not exaggerate their significance."
The Dalai Lama has expressed his willingness to engage in talks with China regarding the issues concerning Tibetans, stating that he is open to both official and unofficial dialogue with Chinese authorities.

"I am always open to talk. Now China also realises that the spirit of Tibetan people is very strong. So, in order to deal with Tibetan problems they want to contact me. I am also ready", ANI quoted the Dalai Lama as saying.

During a press interaction in Dharamshala before commencing his visit to Delhi and Ladakh, the Tibetan spiritual leader emphasised that he and his followers were not seeking independence but rather had long decided to remain a part of the People's Republic of China. The Dalai Lama acknowledged that China was undergoing changes and that there is a growing interest among Chinese officials, both formally and informally, to establish contact with him.

On the occasion of his 88th birthday, the Dalai Lama visited the Main Tibetan Temple courtyard in Dharamshala, where he reiterated his commitment to working for the welfare of all sentient beings, noting that he has devoted himself to the cause of Tibet without losing hope or determination.

"I'm angry with no one, not even those Chinese leaders who have adopted a harsh attitude towards Tibet. Indeed, China has historically been a Buddhist country as witnessed by the many temples and monasteries I saw when I visited that land," he added.

The Dalai Lama underscored the potential benefit of Tibetan culture and religion to the world, while simultaneously expressing respect for other religious traditions that encourage love and compassion among their followers. Furthermore, he shared his optimism for a long life, based on indications from his dreams and other predictions and requested prayers for his well-being.

Previously, in April, the Dalai Lama urged individuals to cultivate wisdom and compassion as he discussed the situation in Tibet during the Global Buddhist Summit 2023 in New Delhi. He stressed on the importance of a broader perspective in facing crises, as it provides courage and resilience to transform adversities into opportunities.

(With ANI inputs)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Sounak Mukhopadhyay Sounak Mukhopadhyay, who also goes by the name Sounak Mukherjee, has been producing digital news since 2012. He's worked for the International Business Times, The Inquisitr, and Moneycontrol in the past. He's also contributed to Free Press Journal and TheRichest with feature articles. He covers news for a wide range of subjects including business, finance, economy, politics and social media. Before working with digital news publications, he worked as a freelance content writer. Read more from this author
This past month was an awesome experience as we were surveying some of the last remaining prairie dog towns of significant size in North and South Dakota. These surveys were conducted at night and during the day and we observed various species of wildlife that are often difficult to see, especially all congregating in the same place.

We are fortunate to do these assessments through funding from the Bureau of Indian Affairs for black footed ferret and rare bat inventories. The Department of Biology at the University of Central Missouri is also providing funding for Seth Gutzmer, graduate student, who is conducting research on habitats for re-introduction improvements and characterization for the endangered black footed ferret.

Most ecologists agree that black-tailed prairie dogs provide a keystone role in the Great Plains, yet the species has declined dramatically over the past 150 years. Their presence and value are debated by a wide range of people. In Nebraska, only a few small and scattered complexes remain.

The black-tailed prairie dog, Cynomys ludovicianus, is a small to medium-sized burrowing rodent that lives in colonies called prairie dog towns. About five billion prairie dogs were thought to inhabit the Great Plains in the early 1900s. Estimates today indicate only a small fraction of that number.

Prairie dog towns are active year-round. During the day, they feed on grasses, forbs and other woody plants close to their mound for nutrition and to see predators much easier.

The vegetation we see in dog towns is generally consistent on the dog towns we work on, crested wheat, fringed sage, silver sage, Louisiana wormwood, woolly plantain and wolf or coralberry, among others. The grasses are kept short, and this complex offers higher amounts of nutrition in these well-kept towns. These habitat mosaics are attractive to a wide variety range of wildlife species.

Black-tailed prairie dogs on dog towns are closely associated with golden eagles, swift fox, coyotes, badgers, long-tailed weasels, red-tailed hawks, burrowing owls, small mammals, snakes, potentially bats and the endangered black-footed ferret. Numerous deer, antelope, and buffalo, if present, frequent towns in search of food and shelter. The prairie dog provides a food source for a wide variety of predators.

Historically, bison grazed on prairie dog towns, which now have been replaced with cattle and crop fields. Prairie dogs have been drastically reduced in some areas due to cultivation, urban sprawl and human development, poisoning, changing climates and invasive species into native plant communities.

The makeup of their vast, former colonies; and the way their towns transformed the surrounding terrain in the past, was impressive. Now humans have transformed the way these large expansive colonies have disappeared through agriculture and human expansion. To ensure the long-term viability of prairie dog populations, collaborative efforts, and resources to minimize the impacts of prairie dogs on private landowners will be a big step.

As we see impacts to world-wide ecosystems such as the Great Barrier Reef, Amazon rainforests, African savannahs, ocean litter islands in the Pacific, increases in water temperatures and water quality in general, human populations rising, and a net increase in the amount of pollution, the time has come for government and private sector collaboration for the best ideas possible.

Closer to home, with proper management, innovative thinking and funding, these unique icons of the prairie can be sustained at levels that ensure the natural heritage and biodiversity of the Great Plains for generations to come. We still have a chance (maybe limited) to save many of the plant and animal species that have drastically decreased throughout most of our baby boomer lifetime.
The coalition government led by Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte has collapsed due to irreconcilable disagreements on how to address migration issues.

With elections anticipated in November, Rutte confirmed that several days of crisis negotiations among the four parties involved failed to yield an agreement, AFP reported. The dispute arose from Rutte's proposal to tighten restrictions on the reunification of asylum seekers' families, aimed at reducing the number of migrants following a previous scandal involving overcrowded migration centers.

"It is no secret that the coalition partners have very different views on migration policy. And today we unfortunately have to conclude that those differences are irreconcilable. That is why I have offered the resignation of the entire cabinet to the King," tweeted Mark Rutte after talks broke down.

"This evening, we have unfortunately reached the conclusion that the differences are insurmountable. For this reason, I will shortly present my written resignation to the king in the name of the whole government."

Subsequently, the government officially confirmed that Mark Rutte had submitted his resignation and would meet with King Willem-Alexander on Saturday. This coalition government was Rutte's fourth since assuming office in 2010. However, it had only formed in January 2022 after an extensive 271-day negotiation period and was marked by significant internal divisions on various matters.

Mark Rutte, often referred to as "Teflon Mark" due to his skill in avoiding political disasters, mentioned that he had the energy to run for a fifth term as Prime Minister. However, he emphasized the need for reflection before making a decision on his future political endeavours.

The earliest that elections can be held is in mid-November, the Dutch election commission said.

Rutte stated that he would lead a caretaker government until the upcoming elections, during which his administration would concentrate on various tasks, including providing support for Ukraine. The unexpected collapse of the coalition led to acrimonious exchanges between the four parties involved, who had collectively been referred to as "Rutte IV" due to their alliance lasting a year and a half.

The opposition to Rutte's proposal primarily stemmed from the Christian Democratic party ChristenUnie, which draws significant support from the conservative Protestant region known as the "Bible Belt" in the central Netherlands, as well as the centre-left D66 party.

According to reports, Rutte insisted on implementing a monthly cap of 200 relatives of war refugees permitted to enter the Netherlands. This measure was part of Rutte's commitment to addressing migration issues following the scandal involving overcrowded migration centres in the previous summer, which resulted in the death of a baby and numerous individuals being left without proper shelter, forcing them to sleep outdoors.

"The family, that children grow up with their parents, is a core value for us," said deputy prime minister Carola Schouten of ChristenUnie, adding it was "a very difficult moment".

Finance Minister Sigrid Kaag of D66 said there was "unnecessary tension in the process" and that the collapse was "regrettable".

Wopke Hoekstra, the Foreign Minister from the centre-right Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), expressed deep disappointment and confusion over the government's collapse, considering it unnecessary and inexplicable to the citizens of the country.

As a result, the Netherlands is now poised for a highly contentious and divisive election campaign. The emerging BBB party, led by farmers who are against the government's environmental regulations supported by the European Union, aims to replicate its previous success in the senate elections earlier this year.

The leader of the BBB party, Caroline van der Plas, has declined the possibility of forming a coalition with Rutte's party. Furthermore, she did not rule out the potential of running for the position of Prime Minister if her party secures the most seats in the upcoming general election.

According to local media reports, Rutte adopted a firm stance on migration in order to counter a challenge from the right-wing faction of his own party, as the farmer party has been attempting to attract VVD voters.

Rutte has faced ongoing pressure regarding the migration issue due to the presence of far-right parties in the Netherlands, including the party led by anti-Islam figure Geert Wilders.

Mark Rutte's fourth coalition government took office in January 2022 following the longest-ever coalition negotiations in Dutch political history, AP reported. Given the polarized and fragmented political landscape, an election for the 150-seat lower house of the Dutch parliament is expected later this year. Rutte's Cabinet is likely to continue as a caretaker government until a new administration is formed.

In the provincial elections earlier this year, Rutte's party faced defeat as a populist pro-farmer party secured second place. This outcome may have served as an incentive for Rutte to make every effort to maintain the unity of his coalition until its term concludes in 2025.
According to the chargesheet filed by the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) of the Maharashtra police, DRDO scientist Pradeep Kurulkar was allegedly lured by a Pakistani Intelligence Operative using the alias 'Zara Dasgupta'.

The chargesheet states that Kurulkar engaged in conversations with 'Zara Dasgupta' regarding Indian missile systems and other classified defence projects. Kurulkar, who held the position of director at a DRDO lab in Pune, had the chargesheet filed against him in court last week.

On May 3, Pradeep Kurulkar was arrested under the Official Secrets Act and is currently in judicial custody. The chargesheet reveals that Kurulkar and 'Zara Dasgupta' maintained communication through WhatsApp, as well as through voice and video calls.

Pradeep Kurulkar has been appointed as the Director at the Systems Engineering Laboratory of the Research & Development Establishment (Engineers) [R&DE(E)], which is a part of the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO).

'Zara Dasgupta' allegedly posed as a software engineer residing in the UK and established contact with Kurulkar by sending explicit messages and videos.

During the investigation, her IP address was traced to Pakistan, the ATS said in the chargesheet.

The charge sheet noted that the Pakistani agent tried to get classified and sensitive information regarding the Brahmos Launcher, Drone, UCV, Agni Missile Launcher and Military Bridging System, among other things.

Kurulkar played a vital role in developing and designing several military engineering equipment and systems as a lead designer and team leader. These include hyperbaric chambers, high-pressure pneumatic systems, mobile power supplies, and missile launchers for various programs such as AD, MRSAM, Nirbhay subsonic cruise missile system, Prahar, QRSAM, and XRSAM.

"Kurulkar, who was attracted to her, stored the classified and sensitive information of DRDO on his personal phone and then allegedly shared it with Zara," the chargesheet said.

According to the ATS, Pradeep Kurulkar engaged in discussions with 'Zara Dasgupta' about multiple projects, such as surface-to-air missiles (SAM), drones, Brahmos and Agni Missile Launchers, and UCV (Unmanned Combat Vehicles). Their contact spanned from June 2022 to December 2022.

However, in February 2023, just before an internal investigation by DRDO was initiated due to his suspicious activities, Kurulkar blocked Zara's number.

Shortly after blocking 'Zara Dasgupta's' number, Kurulkar received a WhatsApp message from an unidentified Indian number, questioning why his number had been blocked. The chat records presented in the chargesheet indicated that Kurulkar shared both his personal and official schedules, as well as his locations, with 'Zara Dasgupta', despite being aware that such information was not to be shared with anyone.

(With inputs from PTI)
Remember the cross border story of camaraderie that brought a mother with her two kids from over terrains of Pakistan to the city of Noida in India, to meet a man she had met over on gaming app PUBG Mobile? Now her husband in Pakistan has thanked Indian media for helping him find his wife and has appealed to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to send his wife and children back to Pakistan!

The Pakistani woman, who reportedly entered India via Nepal, and her Indian partner, both of whom were arrested by the police in connection with her illegal stay in India, were on Friday granted bail by a court in Uttar Pradesh's Greater Noida.

Gulam Haider, the husband of Seema Haider, has now made a heartfelt plea to send his wife and children back to Pakistan. According to Business Today, Gulam resides in Saudi Arabia and has released a video appeal requesting the Narendra Modi government's intervention in the matter.

Gulam Haider thanked the Indian media for their unexpected support, which helped him locate his wife and children. He appealed for the safe return of his family to Pakistan, where they could be reunited.

Gulam alleged that his wife was lured and manipulated to come to India through PUBG.

Seema Ghulam Haider, around 30, and Sachin Meena, around 25, were arrested on July 4. While Seema was charged with illegally entering India, Sachin was booked for sheltering the illegal immigrant.

On July 4, both Sachin and Seema had confessed their love for each other in front of the media and police, urging the government to allow them to get married and stay together in India.

The duo had got in touch in 2019 while playing online game PUBG and eventually got closer to the extent that she decided to come to India to stay with him in Greater Noida.

Earlier, the court had ordered that the woman's four children, all aged below 7, would stay with the mother in the jail. The children had accompanied Seema when she illegally came to India in May this year.

Sachin's father Netrapal Singh (50) was also arrested in connection with the case and charged with sheltering an illegal immigrant.

The father was also granted bail on Thursday by the same court, police said.
During his visit to Tanzania, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar stated that India's bilateral trade with Tanzania in the previous year amounted to USD 6.4 billion.

Jaishankar further highlighted that India continues to be the primary market for Tanzanian exports. These statements were made by the minister during his speech at the India-Tanzania Business Conclave. Jaishankar extended his greetings to all the dignitaries on the occasion of Saba Saba Day, a significant day that commemorates the establishment of the Tanzanian political party, TANU, in 1954. While addressing the gathering, EAM said, We have a very sound political understanding between us. We've seen regular high-level visits, including that of Prime Minister Modi a few years ago and we have, of course, very broad, very deep people-to-people contacts regarding economic ties." He stressed that India is Tanzania's best trading partner and that the two countries are committed to taking this forward. Also Read: India's 'economic diplomacy' bolsters lending in Africa, countering China's influence Despite the global disruption and the Covid-19 challenges, India-Tanzania bilateral trade has actually seen very strong growth, said Jaishankar, adding, "The Indian figures actually put our bilateral trade last year at USD 6.4 billion, i.e. is in 2020, 2022 and 2023." "This is not only a very substantial bilateral trade, but it's also actually a bilateral trade which is getting increasingly balanced. And what is most important is that India remains the biggest destination for Tanzanian exports," the External Affairs Minister said. Further, in his address to the conclave, he said that strong growth in both countries opens up more possibilities.

"When it comes to the Indian business interest in Tanzania, obviously the way to promote that is through frequent exchanges of delegations of individual business of companies. And I was very happy to learn that in 2022, eight big exhibitions in different sectors took place here," he said.

He said there were more than 700 Indian businessmen who came to Tanzania and helped promote bilateral trade and investment, adding that Indian investments in Tanzania were growing in a wide range of domains.

"As regards investment, we have seen investments in hospitals, in pharma, in animal vaccines, in education, in mining and agro-processing. And I do want to say we are committed to taking it forward and perhaps a time will come when we will see an Indian industrial park in Tanzania," said Jaishankar.

He noted India as "the fifth largest economy in the world," was also investing in building African capabilities and the IIT Madras campus in Zanzibar testified to its intent in this regard.

"We should not forget the importance of human resources and capacities. And the significance of what we are doing by establishing an Indian Institute of Technology campus in Zanzibar is exactly what we are today," the EAM said.

In his concluding remarks, Jaishankar expressed his confidence that the India-Tanzania business conclave would strengthen the business ties between the two nations even further.

During his time in Tanzania, the External Affairs Minister took a stroll through Temple Street in Dar es Salaam, renowned for its local flavours. He remarked that this "Little India" in the Tanzanian capital signifies both the historical ties and the contemporary connection between the two countries.

Additionally, Jaishankar visited the India-Tanzania Centre of Excellence in ICT at the Dar es Salaam Institute of Technology. He also paid homage to Indian soldiers at the Commonwealth War Memorial in Dar es Salaam.
Indian diplomats and diplomatic premises in Canada, the US, and the UK are bracing for the 'Kill India' protest rallies organised by Sikh separatists for the 'Khalistan' cause and raise funds in the name of killed terrorist Hardeep Singh Niijar. The Indian diplomats have been given full protection by law enforcement agencies. In the latest posters in Toronto, several Sikh radicals have come up calling the Indian diplomatic premises in Canada war zones.

Yesterday, US lawmakers and several Indian-American community organisations denounced the recent attack on the Indian consulate in San Francisco and called for a thorough probe into the incident.

A video by Khalistan supporters, dated July 2 and posted on Twitter, showed the act of arson at the Indian consulate in San Francisco.

The video, with the words "violence begets violence" emblazoned over it, also showed news articles related to the death of Canada-based Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF) chief Nijjar.

Nijjar, one of India's most-wanted terrorists who carried a cash reward of 10 lakh on his head, was shot dead outside a gurdwara in Canada last month.

The Federation of Gujarati Association of USA also strongly condemned the attack. The Federation of Tamil Sangam of North America expressed its unwavering support to the Indian Consulate in San Francisco. Besides, Sikhs of America, a leading Sikh organisation in the US also strongly condemned the incident.

"We express our unwavering support to the Indian Consulate in San Francisco. We ask the local and federal law enforcement agencies to bring the perpetrators behind this to justice," it said.

In a message to countries such as the US, Canada, Australia and the UK where pro-Khalistan groups have issued posters with threats against senior Indian diplomats, India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Thursday that space should not be given to those advocating violence or legitimising terrorism in the name of freedom of expression.

Earlier this month, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that Canada has always taken "serious action" against terrorism and it will continue to do so as he asserted that it is "wrong" to believe his government is soft on Khalistan supporters and terrorists in the country.

His remarks came days after India summoned the Canadian envoy in New Delhi and issued a demarche over the increasing activities by pro-Khalistani elements in Canada. His remarks also came two days ahead of a proposed pro-Khalistan rally outside the Indian High Commission in Ottawa on 8 July.

Meanwhile, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has asked India's partner countries such as Canada, the UK, and the US not to give space to "extremist Khalistani ideology" as it is "not good" for relations. This week, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi also said that 'Freedom of Expression' is being 'misused' by extremists in Canada to legitimise terrorism".
Russia presented a proposal to the United Nations Security Council , proposing a six-month extension of the approval for aid shipments to northwestern Syria from Turkey.

This move reignited a longstanding dispute with the United States and other countries that advocate for a 12-month renewal.

As reported by Reuters, authorization from the council is required because the Syrian government has not given its consent to the UN operation, which has been providing essential assistance such as food, medicine, and shelter to millions of individuals in areas of Syria controlled by the opposition since 2014.

The existing six-month authorization for the aid operation in northwestern Syria is set to expire on Monday. Russia, a key ally of Syria, has consistently raised concerns about the necessity of the operation, claiming that it violates Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Russia argues that humanitarian assistance should be delivered to the region from within Syria itself. Prior to this, the Security Council had been engaged in discussions over a proposed text, formulated by Switzerland and Brazil, which would enable the UN operation to continue using the Bab al-Hawa crossing for a duration of 12 months. However, Russia introduced its own competing text on Friday, advocating for a six-month extension instead.

The United States is pushing for a 12-month extension of the UN operation and seeking approval to use three crossings in northwestern Syria. On Monday, the Security Council is scheduled to vote on both the draft proposed by Switzerland and Brazil, as well as the Russian draft.

For a resolution to be adopted, it must receive a minimum of nine affirmative votes without being vetoed by Russia, China, the United States, France, or Britain.

The Security Council initially authorized aid deliveries in 2014 into opposition-held areas of Syria from Iraq, Jordan and two points in Turkey. But Russia and China have whittled that down to just one Turkish border point.

Earlier last week, UN aid chief Martin Griffiths told the Security Council, "A 12-month authorization enables us and our partners to deliver better humanitarian outcomes in the months ahead. It is as simple as that."

Additionally, it was stated that the United Nations' appeal for $5.4 billion in aid for Syria in 2023 is the largest globally, but currently, it is funded at less than 12%. The civil war in Syria was sparked by a crackdown on pro-democracy protesters by President Bashar al-Assad in 2011.

The conflict has resulted in millions of people fleeing the country as refugees, while millions more have been internally displaced. Throughout the conflict, Russia has supported Assad, while the United States has backed the opposition forces.
In the midst of a power struggle with his nephew Ajit Pawar, who defied his leadership and joined the Shiv Sena-BJP government in Maharashtra, veteran leader Sharad Pawar of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) is set to commence his statewide tour from Nashik today to consolidate his support base.

Amid an internal conflict within the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) involving Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar, Sharad Pawar organized a significant gathering on Thursday. Ajit Pawar denounced the meeting as "unlawful" and asserted that nobody possessed the authority to convene such assemblies. Here are the top 10 developments in Maharashtra political crisis.

1. At the age of 82, Sharad Pawar is embarking on what he terms his mission to rejuvenate the party from its grassroots level. He will kick off his tour by visiting Nashik, Pune, Solapur, and various areas in the Vidarbha region. These regions include the constituencies of rebel MLAs such as Chagan Bhujbal and Dhananjay Mundem, among others. Pawar aims to rebuild and strengthen the party in these locations during his tour.

2. Fadnavis emphasized that his party does not actively orchestrate divisions within other political parties. However, he stated that they do not prevent or obstruct individuals who express their desire to join their party or alliance. "The BJP does not break other parties, but there will be no opposition to those who believe in Modi's leadership and want to come along, " Fadnavis said.

3. Aaditya Thackeray, a leader of Shiv Sena (UBT), has made the claim that Eknath Shinde, the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, has been requested to resign. "I have heard that Eknath Shinde has been asked to resign and there might be some change in the government," he told media.

4. Following Ajit Pawar's entry into the ruling coalition in Maharashtra, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis stated on the previous evening that there are plans for a cabinet expansion in the near future.

5. In Maharashtra Legislative Council's Business Advisory Committee, BJP MLC Pravin Darekar proposed to take back the no-confidence motion against Gorhe, brought during the previous session of the Council, for the post of deputy chairperson of the Legislative Council. Speaking at the official meeting here, Gorhe said, "Shiv Sena is heading in the right direction under the able leadership of Eknath Shinde."

6. Earlier dismissing speculations of the state getting a new chief minister in the coming days, BJP state president Chandrashekhar Bawankule said the Opposition parties were deliberating creating confusion, adding that Shinde will remain CM. "All our senior leaders, including Devendra Fadnavis, have already said Eknath Shinde will remain chief minister. He is doing a good job for the state. The Opposition parties are creating confusion," Bawankule said.

7. NCP leader Praful Patel said the party had not broken up, and Ajit Pawar was unanimously appointed as party president by its legislature and organizational wings on June 30. Addressing a press conference here, Patel said they had submitted a petition to the Election Commission of India (ECI) with affidavits of more than 40 MLAs, informing it about Ajit Pawar's appointment and staking claim over the "party name and symbol".

8. NCP spokesperson Clyde Crasto, who belongs to the Sharad Pawar camp, said if the structure of the party organisation was flawed, his appointment as working president and that of Ajit Pawar as national president too was invalid.

9. Ajit Pawar has asserted that his faction is the legitimate Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and has taken possession of the party's name and symbol from the Election Commission. Presently, he seems to have garnered support from 32 MLAs, whereas Sharad Pawar retains the support of 14 MLAs.

10. In order for his claim to be considered by the Election Commission, Sharad Pawar needs to secure the support of 36 MLAs, which constitutes a two-thirds majority of the party's total of 53 legislators.
Elon Musk's X Corp, the entity that owns Twitter, has filed a lawsuit against the prestigious law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz . The lawsuit aims to recover a significant portion of the $90 million fee that the law firm received for successfully preventing Musk from abandoning his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter.

The complaint was lodged on Wednesday in the California Superior Court located in San Francisco.

Musk has accused Wachtell of taking advantage of the situation by accepting substantial "success" fees from departing Twitter executives, just days before the completion of the buyout on October 27, 2022. These executives were allegedly grateful that Musk would be compelled to proceed with the acquisition.

Despite Wachtell billing less than one-third of the $90 million fee for their work on the Delaware lawsuit over a few months, Musk, the world's wealthiest individual who oversees Tesla Inc and SpaceX, deemed the payout as "unconscionable."

"Wachtell arranged to effectively line its pockets with funds from the company cash register while the keys were being handed over" to Musk, the complaint said.

Musk is seeking to recover the "excessive" fees that were charged by Wachtell under an agreement signed on the day of the buyout's completion. This agreement involved one of Wachtell's partners and Twitter's chief legal officer, Vijaya Gadde.

The complaint also included a statement from former Twitter director Martha Lane Fox, who, upon discovering the amount that the lawyers would be paid, emailed the company's general counsel, Sean Edgett, exclaiming, "O My Freaking God."

Wachtell has not yet provided a response to the requests for comment. It's worth noting that Vijaya Gadde, Martha Lane Fox, and Sean Edgett are not directly involved in the lawsuit.

Since Musk's acquisition of Twitter, the social media platform has faced numerous lawsuits or legal threats. Among these legal actions are lawsuits filed by landlords, vendors, and consultants who claim that Musk has failed to pay them for their services.

Additionally, there has been a reported threat of litigation from Twitter against Mark Zuckerberg's Meta Platforms concerning the latter's new Threads app.

Wachtell has previous experience dealing with lawsuits from billionaires regarding buyouts, as demonstrated by their years-long litigation with Carl Icahn over his hostile takeover of CVR Energy in 2012.

In 2018, a judge dismissed a malpractice claim brought by Icahn. The claim arose from Icahn being obligated to pay higher fees to the banks that assisted in defending CVR against the takeover, despite the merger ultimately being unsuccessful.

The case, identified as X Corp v Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, is currently being heard in the California Superior Court, specifically in the County of San Francisco. The case number is CGC-23-607461.

(With inputs from Reuters)
Nebraskas tech leaders are mounting an effort to grow their workforce  an effort they say could pad the wallets of potential employees and the state itself.

Around 50,000 Nebraskans  roughly 5% of the states total workforce  are already employed in technology occupations, according to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Bureau of Business Research. These tech workers earn 60% more than the average Nebraskan while working in organizations that span industries.

So attracting more Nebraskans to work in tech, especially those from groups currently underrepresented in high-paying jobs, presents a significant opportunity to economically impact the state, tech leaders say.

A strong tech workforce and employer network are crucial to the growth and prosperity of any state, and Nebraska is no exception, said Nebraska Tech Collaborative executive director Shonna Dorsey.

Growing Nebraskas tech workforce is the primary goal of a new project launched by the NTC and the University of Nebraska at Omahas Center for Public Affairs. NTC recently formed a data advisory group, composed of research and data experts, to create a new dashboard that they say will serve as a source of reliable and timely data on the technology workforce in Nebraska.

Working together, we will leverage reliable data sources to support the decision-making needs of stakeholders throughout the state, with a focus on advancing high-impact initiatives that increase diversity and retention of highly skilled candidates, Dorsey said. We know that our collaborative efforts will be instrumental in building a robust tech workforce that meets the needs of today and tomorrow.

Josie Schafer, director of UNOs Center for Public Affairs Research, said that current data on Nebraskas tech workforce lacks crucial demographic information as well as information about how workers are entering the tech pipeline. In order to grow the tech sector, Schafer said, we need to learn more about those working in it.

Schafer said the low number of Nebraskans working in tech translates to a big growth opportunity, which would in turn advance both innovation and consumption power in the state.

Even in geographic areas with higher rates of participation in the tech workforce, like Massachusetts, expanding the demographics of folks entering the pipeline is a primary way to grow the workforce, Schafer said.

The Nebraska Tech Workforce Dashboard will be publicly available and free for anyone to access. The data feeding the dashboard will be compiled from a variety of self-reported sources, including the U.S. Census Bureau, and will focus specifically on occupation and. industry. For the purposes of this dashboard, occupation is defined as the job you work in and industry is what your business actually does.

The dashboard will present a general picture of who is in the tech workforce now in order to think about how to start programs and policies to attract those not currently engaged, Schafer said. The unique set of data will enable stakeholders and policymakers to decide how and where they can make the most impact.

For example, women are underrepresented in high-wage jobs, including tech, but overrepresented in getting bachelor's degrees, Schafer said. Thats because women are choosing majors that dont lead to these high-paying jobs. Perhaps college is too late to be making that choice, said Schafer, who thinks Nebraska needs to be supporting high-wage opportunities in STEM well before higher education.

When Im doing the research, Im learning so much, Schafer said. When I create a dashboard, I actually recreate that experience for you because as youre interacting with it youre gaining insights. Maybe insights that I didnt see or didnt occur to me right away. You get to recreate that learning process.

Schafer added that when people learn from and engage with information in a format like a dashboard they are more likely to develop an understanding that spurs them to take action.

So thats how we move forward.

Currently Schafer is working with the data advisory committee to collect feedback and help make the data more user friendly. The group also seeks to understand how Nebraska compares to other geographic areas in order to identify trends and learning opportunities. Also to establish benchmarks to measure progress against.

Different data sources have different pros and cons, Schafer said, so the group will blend a mix of sources to help tell the full story.

Job openings are one way to analyze how the workforce is changing. Schafer said she is currently in discussions with LinkedIn to explore how the platforms data could be used to validate some of the insights provided by the dashboard.

The dashboard should be available sometime this fall, perhaps as early as September.

The group is seeking feedback throughout the process and after the dashboard launches to make it usable for all. They are currently interested in collecting use cases, data sources and ideas from the community to inform their work. You can submit feedback at https://airtable.com/shrZuKiraiG6xS2pm.

And you can see a replay of the NTC webinar announcing the project at https://youtu.be/3WuWVS09fwM.
Local News

By Long Island Published: July 08 2023

Stranded teens rescued from choppy waters in intense search operation.

A distress call was made to emergency services shortly after 5 p.m. on Thursday, July 5, when a 23-foot boat experienced engine failure approximately three miles north of Cutchogue, according to a report from the Southold Town Police.

The boat's 18-year-old operator urgently informed dispatchers that two teenagers, a 16-year-old boy and a 16-year-old girl, had jumped into the water without wearing life jackets. The situation quickly escalated as the strong current and gusty winds in the area pushed the young swimmers further away from the disabled vessel.

In response to the emergency, over a dozen marine units from the local police and fire departments, including the Cutchogue Fire Department, Suffolk County Police Department, and a US Coast Guard helicopter, were deployed to search for the stranded teens. Recognizing the urgency of the situation, 911 dispatchers instructed the boat's operator to shoot flares in the direction where the teenagers were last spotted.

After an intense search effort, rescuers finally located the girl more than three miles east of the boat. The young boy was found shortly thereafter, approximately 200 yards away from her and a staggering four miles from shore.

The Cutchogue Fire Department reported that both swimmers were found in a state of extreme exhaustion. Despite their condition, they declined medical treatment from the attending medics. The relieved teenagers were soon reunited with their parents, who expressed immense gratitude for their children's safe return.
Food, Wine, & Dining, Local News

By Long Island Published: July 16 2023

Trader Joes has submitted an application with all the associated fees to the Brookhaven Town Planning Department to build a grocery store in Miller Place.

Trader Joes has submitted an application with all the associated fees to the Brookhaven Town Planning Department to build a grocery store in Miller Place. According to Brookhaven Town Councilwoman Jane Bonner, if all goes well, the company plans to build on a lot just west of Walgreens on the south side of Route 25A.

This has been a long time coming for Bonner who has been attempting to entice the retailer here for a while.

Ive been trying for years to get Trader Joes to come to the area, she said when confirming the news.

The vacant King Kullen shopping center up the road to the west in Mount Sinai was one location considered but Trader Joes prefers smaller stores with less square footage.

When the Walgreens was originally built, the developer was required to put in a traffic light anticipating future development, according to Bonner. That development was sidelined when the economics of retail changed with the massive rise of online shopping and then the pandemic.

The Trader Joes application was submitted about a month ago but dont expect a quick process. The company has to go through not only Town but State and County level agency reviews before they can put a shovel in the ground. Bonner expects it will take a year and a half before the store opens.

According to Breslin Realty, who has the listing for the property, the development site is around 2.5 acres and the land is for lease. Breslin did not respond to a request to comment.

Trader Joes corporation  who are notoriously tight-lipped about new locations  did not confirm the Miller Place store application was in process.

No plans are available for review as of yet.
Crime

By Chris Boyle Published: July 07 2023

Tayquan Mayo-Dunmore was Allegedly Intoxicated and Driving Without a License.

Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney today announced the indictment of Tayquan Mayo-Dunmore, 30, of Bellport, who is accused of driving and crashing his all-terrain vehicle (ATV) while intoxicated, causing serious physical injuries to his passenger.

This defendant allegedly operated an ATV while intoxicated, with a suspended license, and caused serious injuries to his passenger, said District Attorney Tierney. ATVs can be dangerous if not operated safely and on proper terrain, and they absolutely do not belong on our roadways in Suffolk County.

According to the investigation, on June 10, 2023, at approximately 8:00 p.m., Mayo-Dunmore was allegedly intoxicated and driving a Kawasaki ATV on Bellport Avenue in Bellport. Mayo-Dunmore allegedly crashed the ATV causing it to flip over, and his passenger to be thrown off it. The passenger hit her head and suffered severe head trauma requiring her to be airlifted to Stony Brook University Hospital where she was placed in an induced coma. Law enforcement later determined that Mayo-Dunmores New York State drivers license was also suspended at the time he was operating the ATV.

On July 7, 2023, Mayo-Dunmore was arraigned on the indictment before Supreme Court Justice, the Honorable Richard Ambro, for:

Three counts of Vehicular Assault in the First Degree, Class D felonies;

Aggravated Driving While Intoxicated, a Class E felony;

Driving While Intoxicated, a Class E felony; and

Two counts of Aggravated Unlicensed Operation of a Motor Vehicle in the First Degree, Class E felonies.

Justice Ambro ordered Mayo-Dunmore be held on $25,000 cash, $50,000 bond, or $250,000 partially secured bond during the pendency of the case. Mayo-Dunmore is due back in court on August 9, 2023, and is being represented by Steve Wilutis, Esq.

This case is being prosecuted by Acting Deputy Bureau Chief Laura Newcombe of the Vehicular Crime Bureau, with investigative assistance from Detective David Leath of the Suffolk County Police Departments Fifth Squad.
South Korean Regulator Will Force Staff to Declare Crypto  Will Other Countries Follow Suit?

Source: CJ Nattanai/Adobe

The top South Korean financial regulator will force its employees to declare their crypto holdings in the aftermath of the Coin Gate scandal.

Lawmakers in the nation have come under fire for suspected insider trading, with one MP accused of selling his tokens in advance of the rollout of a new piece of crypto regulation.

It has since emerged the MP was serving on a crypto-related parliamentary subcommittee at the time.

The fallout of Coin Gate has seen MPs, regulators, and other public officials all call for one another to disclose their crypto holdings.

And this, Yonhap reported, has now spread to the staff of the Financial Services Commission (FSC), the nations top financial regulator.

The FSC is one of the main government agencies charged with regulating the nations crypto industry, and has the ability to conduct spot-checks on domestic crypto exchanges.

The commission this week updated its Code of Conduct for employees, with the new code barring staff working with virtual assets from investing in virtual currency using undisclosed information learned while performing their duties.

And the new code requires any staff who own tokens to report this to the Financial Services Commission.

The block on crypto trading will apply to public officials currently performing duties related to virtual assets and employees who have performed such duties in the prior six months.

Employees will be required to file a new form named Report on the Possession of Virtual Assets.

This form requires any crypto-holding staff to inform the FSC of the type of virtual assets held, the date of acquisition, and the quantity of tokens held.

Trading volumes on Upbit, South Koreas market-leading crypto exchange, over the past three months. (Source: CoinGecko.com)

The FSC will need legislative changes to put its new code into action, but is hopeful it can fast-track this process.

An FSC official was quoted as saying:

We plan to complete the legislative process in the second half of this year.

S Korean Regulator Wants Government Workers to Declare Crypto  Will Others Follow Suit?

But South Korea and Japan are widely thought to be at the cutting edge of crypto regulation, a fact that could suggest other nations could well follow their leads.

Some countries in other regions have already rolled out legislation that requires certain public officials to file crypto declarations.

Early adopters on this front include Ukraine, where laws were introduced to force sitting MPs to declare all assets, including crypto holdings.

Such declarations have previously led to outrage about the size of the crypto caches held by many Ukrainian MPs, with some asking where lawmakers acquired such vast token holdings.
New rules stipulate that the use of mobile phones will be restricted for all students and employees  Photo credit: dpa

Students and teachers at a high school in Mersch will have to leave their mobile phones at home after management banned them from being used on school premesis on Friday.

It comes after a study commissioned by the school showed using mobile phones had a negative impact on students education, the school said.

The new rules stipulate that the use of mobile phones will be restricted for all students and employees, while students up to the fourth grade will not be allowed to use tablets and laptops either.

The school management said they imposed the restrictions while acknowledging that computers and AI offer "undeniably significant opportunities".

However, to use these systems "intelligently and effectively, one needs general knowledge which a computer does not provide when it is used excessively and too quickly," the school added.
Home developers gathered at the Lamudi Property Fair 2023 in Quezon City to provide the best deals, discounts and promos to interested property buyers to help them find their dream homes.

From left: IKEA Philippines marketing and PR manager Patrick Marcelo, Lamudi Philippines associate director for brand marketing Carlo Rosales and Bank of the Philippine Islands product marketing division head Mark Launcel Panizales open the Lamudi Property Fair 2023.

The Lamudi Property Fair 2023, co-presented by IKEA and Bank of the Philippine Islands, opened its doors to the public on July 7, 2023 at the TriNoma Activity Center in Quezon City. It is a three-day real estate festival taking place from July 7 to July 9 at Ayala Malls TriNoma and the first on-ground event since 2019.

We have different kinds of properties available at our event until Sunday, so I encourage you all to really explore these properties, search to your hearts content, ask the right questions, look for discounts, and find the property which best suits your lifestyle and budget, said Lamudi Philippines country head Anurag Verma.

IKEA Philippines marketing and PR manager Patrick Marcelo shared IKEAs vision of helping Filipinos through its home furnishings during the event.

At IKEA, our main goal is to create a better everyday life for Filipinos through our well-designed and affordable home furnishings. Were glad to be part of the Lamudi Property Fair to help Filipinos achieve their goals of having their dream homes, Marcelo said.

Bank of the Philippine Islands product marketing division head Mark Launcel Panizales welcomed property seekers to the opening of the fair.

BPI would like to thank Lamudi, IKEA and all participating developers present here today to make the dream of every Filipino of owning a home a reality, he said.

He said property seekers could avail of BPIs various home loan packages at the banking institutions booth exhibit at the Lamudi Property Fair.

BPI is proud to offer a housing loan package payable up to 30 years that attendees can avail at the Lamudi Property Fair 2023, he said.

Lamudi Philippines associate director for brand marketing Carlo Rosales joined IKEA and BPI for the official ribbon cutting and program opening.

The property festival will also feature insightful talks and exhibitions focused on property investment as well as games and activities for attendees throughout the three-day fair.

Government agencies like the Land Registration Authority and the Pag-IBIG Fund will discuss their services and educate the public.

Among the developers that showcase their projects and developments during the Lamudi Property Fair are Federal Land, Aboitiz Land, Filinvest Alabang, RLC Residences, Avida Land, Amaia Land, BellaVita, Solar Resources, Buena Mano, Community Creators, Golden Home Realty and Development Corp., Primeworld Land Holdings, Aseana Residential Holdings, Metrostar Realty and Development, Taft Properties, Picar Development, DMCI Homes and P.A. Properties-Hankyu Hanshin.

Brokerage firm PropertyPRO will also present their available properties during the event.

Real estate platform Lamudi said it is committed to bridging the gap between developers and property sellers.

We are launching Lamudi Connect, a super app for [real estate] agents which is gonna help bridge the gap between developers and real estate professionals, Verma said.

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President Marcos wants military to catch up, be back on track in 2 yrs amid security threats

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. wants the Armed Forces of the Philippines to modernize faster and catch up with the rest of the world following the setback caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kung ano yung schedule natin, medyo naatras lang nang kaunti because of the pandemic. But now, we are proceeding back to our established schedule, the President told reporters during the graduation rites of the Philippine Army Officer Candidate Course Gaigmat Class 58-2023 in Taguig City.

Hopefully, we will catch up and, in a year, maybe two, we will already be back to where we were supposed to be at that time before the pandemic, he said.

The AFP modernization program involves the acquisition of modern vessels, aircraft and equipment to enable the military to address external threats such as the West Philippine Sea territorial conflict.

In 2016, the UN Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, based on a case filed by the Philippines, dismissed Chinas nine-dash line claim covering the entire South China Sea, including the West Philippine Sea. It was a major legal victory for the Philippines, but China has refused to acknowledge the ruling.

President Marcos said he met with commanders of the AFP to discuss the need for the military to address the present challenges the country is facing.

The President said the meetings would help the government in the procurement plans for the AFP, adding that training the members of the security forces is one of the most important things.

The AFP revised its military acquisition plan with its ongoing modernization program, with Horizon 3 starting this year. It would be the final phase of the modernization thrust which will include the acquisition of equipment geared for external defense.

On Thursday, no less than US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin III reiterated its support for the Philippines under the Mutual Defense Treaty. Austin expressed serious concern over Chinas coercive and risky behavior after Chinese vessels reportedly harassed Philippine boats in the Ayungin Shoal on June 30, 2023, according to the Pentagon.

Austin conveyed his concern during a call to Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro on Thursday, based on a readout provided by Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder.

The Philippine Coast Guard reported on Wednesday that two Chinese coast guard vessels took what it described as dangerous maneuvers that could have caused a collision with PCG ships assisting the resupply mission of the Armed Forces of the Philippines near Ayungin Shoal.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said the maneuvers of their vessels during the June 30 incident were professional and restrained.

Austin during his conversation with Teodoro, highlighted the United States ironclad alliance commitment with the Philippines and reiterated that the Mutual Defense Treaty extends to Philippine public vessels, aircraft, and armed forces  to include those of its Coast Guard  in the Pacific, including anywhere in the South China Sea, according to the readout.

It said Austin and Teodoro reaffirmed their commitment to upholding the rules-based order and supporting the livelihoods of local Philippine communities in the South China Sea consistent with the Arbitral Tribunal Ruling in 2016.

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Pam Eichelberger drove away from Project SHARE Friday with approximately 410 pounds of blueberries she ordered through the Carlisle Kiwanis Clubs annual blueberry fundraiser loaded into her Ford Escape.

The New Cumberland resident kept one 10-pound box to share with her granddaughters and freeze for smoothies and bread. She delivered the rest to coworkers and Facebook friends who purchased them through her, just as she has for the past several years.

The annual blueberry sale has served as one of the Carlisle Kiwanis Clubs major fundraisers for what Club Secretary Barrie Ann George estimated to be about 15 years, typically raising between $15,000 and $20,000 for the organization.

Every dime that is raised by our clubs stays local, she said. It is so important to us [that] all of the money that is donated locally stays locally and it all goes to benefit the childrens programs that we host here in Carlisle.

These include Carlisle 4 Kids, an annual backpack and school supplies distribution, community grants for local nonprofits, and gifts for the top 5% of Boiling Springs and Carlisle high school graduates. The Carlisle Kiwanis Club is also conducting its 100-year anniversary project to replace Fort LeTort at LeTort Park, and George said a portion of the clubs contribution to the project came from blueberry sales.

She said the fundraiser took root in Carlisle before she joined the organization, when Kiwanis members saw clubs in other communities conducting the sale and decided to do the same.

Actually it has exploded across our area and for many, many other Kiwanis clubs, said George, who also serves as Pennsylvania Kiwanis Division 13s lieutenant governor. I oversee other clubs within the state and I see blueberry sales in Chambersburg, Shippensburg, Hanover [and] Dillsburg. ... Its become a Kiwanis thing and it really all started here in Carlisle.

Carlisle Kiwanis Clubs blueberry fundraiser has been aided by Eichelbergers long-time support.

The company I worked for did some printing for Kiwanis and we would purchase blueberries through Barrie Ann, Eichelberger said. Then when I left that company, I just decided to throw it out on Facebook and see how many I could sell.

She said shes been buying the berries for herself for about 10 years and began selling them approximately five years ago. Eichelberger estimated that she sold about 20 10-pound boxes her first year and said shes sold 41 boxes this year.

George said the sale usually runs from the beginning of May through the end of June. The blueberries come from Whalen Farms in New Jersey, which grows blueberries and cranberries for Ocean Spray.

We select the time of year when we get our blueberries because different blueberry strains are done at different times a year and the ones we get are literally the biggest, juiciest, sweetest blueberries, she said. Theyre called Big Blues.

In addition to blueberries, the Carlisle Kiwanis Club has also organized a cranberry sale around the holiday season on and off in the past. This fundraiser typically brings in between $3,000 and $4,000 for the organization, George said.

Other than cranberries really the only way our local club raises money is the blueberry sale. ... We always think the beauty of Kiwanis is were not doing a million different fundraisers, she said. We focus all our efforts on this one major fundraiser, and our goal is 2,000 boxes.

Initially, George believed 10-pounds was a lot of blueberries but she said they go quickly and shes now a proud member of a three-box family.

We have people who go together with a couple of friends or neighbors and divide them up but at the same time we have people who buy multiple boxes, she said. They freeze really well. People use them in smoothies and baking and things like that.

Eichelberger believes the fundraiser is a win-win, allowing her to enjoy delicious berries and support Kiwaniss mission at the same time.

I have never had anyone disappointed in them, she said. Theyre just amazing.
Spinellis, a small family-owned restaurant in East Boston, is known for its speedy deliveries. Since a large portion of its customer base is located in the northern end of Charleston, it takes no longer than five minutes for delivery drivers to deliver food through the Sumner Tunnel.

But, now that the tunnel is shut down for two months, drivers have been forced to go through the Ted Williams Tunnel, an alternative route, where ride times can be up to 10 times longer due to traffic.

Consumers want quick, fast service and they want reliable service, Celeste Ribeiro Hewitt, the restaurants Operations Specialist said. They dont really necessarily care whose fault it is, right? Theyre not going to go to the D.O.T. and complain about the delivery. Theyre just going to find a provider thats closer to them, or thats not dealing with these impacts  and thats unfortunate.

For years, the Sumner Tunnel served as a pipeline that channeled a steady stream of customers to the small businesses of East Boston. But now that the tunnel is temporarily closed, businesses like Spinellis might have to struggle to attract customers.

Its like a chain reaction, said Miguel Vargas, executive director of East Boston Main Streets, an organization dedicated to supporting local businesses in East Boston.

Although there are a plethora of alternative routes to get through East Boston now, the traffic has left small businesses in East Boston with fewer customer service options.

Between MassDOT [and] the city of Boston, there is a lot of just sufficient areas that are accommodating people, but still for businesses, its a negative impact, Vargas said.

And with longer delivery times, restaurants like Spinellis have had to increase their number of delivery drivers and vehicles, adding to their business expenses. But even with an increased fleet, theres still the looming threat of reaching full capacity. If that were to happen, the restaurant may not be in a position to carry out any deliveries.

It can get tight, it can get scary, Hewitt said, referring to the heavy customer demand. We dont want that to happen. We dont want to be concerned for our customers. We dont want to be concerned for our staff. We dont want to deal with that.

For Freddie Noviello, the manager of Meridian Food Market, even though the traffic on the Ted Williams Tunnel, was light Wednesday morning, he still arrived half an hour late to his wholesale department on the other side of East Boston.

Its a commute he expects to be an everyday struggle for the next two months.

Noviello, who travels back and forth between his retail and wholesale departments, said at this rate he may have to hire another driver to spilt the commutes with him. But, putting another person on the payroll could cost him up to $500 a week.

Everything is just going to cost more money for something like this that I think should have been fixed when it started to deteriorate rather than wait until things are bad and then all of a sudden you try to fix something thats already broken, Noviello said.

Read More: MBTA Blue Line to be free in July and August with Sumner Tunnel closure

Although officials state that the Sumner Tunnel will reopen on Aug. 31, Noviello doesnt have much faith that the state will reach its deadline.

Nothing in Massachusetts ever finishes on time, he said. Theres always a delay and especially in the construction field, theres always delays and beyond that. So thats my fear. I hope it does finish when they say its going to finish. But I just dont Im not an optimist on it.

Even after the Sumner Tunnel reopens, Vargas believes it will take at least six months for businesses to recover financially from the impact of the tunnels shutdown.

Currently, the executive director is meeting with East Boston business leaders to explore strategies for attracting more customers over the next two months. Vargas suggests one idea: encourage restaurants to apply for outdoor patios as a way to attract more customers.

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the city developed the Outdoor Dining Pilot Program to support businesses experiencing an economic downturn due to lockdown. However, this year the process for restaurants to apply is much more complex, leading to fewer approvals.

Despite all the challenges, Vargas still has hope for the East Boston business community. He saw how people came back to support small businesses after the COVID-19 pandemic, so hes confident that with a little time, things will get better again.

People will come back, little by little, he said.
Danny Ainge may no longer be a member of the Celtics organization but hes still wreaking havoc on some Boston rivals this offseason. According to a report from Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com, the Jazz signed 76ers big man Paul Reed to a three-year, $3 million offer sheet on Saturday as Summer League kicked off in Las Vegas.

The 76ers will have until Sunday night to decide to match the offer for Reed, who is a restricted free agent. However, the unique part of the Jazz offer sheet is the type of pressure it puts on the 76ers with a pair of provisions within the deal.

The first year of Reeds contract is guaranteed however the following two seasons only become guaranteed if Reeds team advanced in the Conference Semifinals. Thats far from a sure thing for the Jazz but the 76ers are obviously expected to advance past the first round with their title aspirations, which would lock in big money for a backup center over the long term for Philadelphia. Reed would also have a no-trade clause for a year if the 76ers match the deal.

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The Jazz and Ainge are trying to put the Sixers in a very challenging position when it comes to future luxury tax penalties. The Sixers are currently in a holding pattern when it comes to dealing with the trade request of James Harden. If the 76ers were to match the offer for Reed, they would become a luxury tax and pay $14 million in additional tax penalties on top of Reeds salary for next season.

That may be a tough price for a team that hasnt paid the luxury tax in years. The flip side is the team would have no high-level center backups signed if they let Reed go, with only a couple of minimum players in Montrezl Harrell and Mo Bamba signed behind Joel Embiid.

Either path will be a challenging one for the Sixers GM Daryl Morey to take but its evident that Ainge and the Jazz wanted to make life tough for Philadelphia with this type of deal.
Edward John Stathis was always interested in creating art, even as a child, but after enrolling in the Navy at 17 years old, he wasnt given the opportunity to do it. Decades later, his friend and fellow veteran suggested he start painting again, months before his friend died by suicide.

I think he knew and he just wanted to leave me with that one bit of advice, to not give up on painting and I havent stopped ever since. I never will because he was right. So for me, its a therapeutic thing, Stathis said recently.

Stathis artwork, titled The COVID Years, will be showcased at the new Warriors Art Room space in Easthamptons Keystone Building. The center will hold a Coffee and Conversation event for the public to meet Stathis and view his artwork on Saturday, July 8 at 11 a.m. His artwork will also be available for purchase.

What is the Warriors Art Room?

The nonprofit arts center  whose mission is to provide veterans, active duty service members and their families with an open studio art space to create any artwork they want in a safe and therapeutic environment  has been open for seven years, but has only been a part of the Easthampton community since opening its doors in June. It initially started in the basement of a church.

Warriors Art Room will be open Monday to Thursday 5 to 8 p.m. and Friday 9 to 12 p.m.

Since its formation, the center has worked with more than a 1,000 veterans, according to co-founder and Marine Corps veteran Steve Jones.

While the influx of regular users for the center has been a slow start, 100 people attended the centers open house and Jones believes there will soon be at least 15 to 20 regulars using the space per day.

Theyre going to want to throw me out here, Stathis said, referring to how often he will be using the Warriors Art Room.

The center provides free arts supplies and workshops such as painting, glass blowing, knife making, quilt making and pottery. It provides some people a display space to show and legitimize their art, which can also provide the artist with extra income from any sales.

The center also holds workshops and events outside of the building, working with other organizations such as Project New Hope and within the community to share its mission, including participating at a veterans game night.

How art can help mental health

For Jones, creating the center with his wife, Brenda Jones, who serves as a nurse in the Air Force, was necessary for making space and community for veterans and active duty service members who often struggle with their mental health.

Youve done everything with these people, and then you get out and that tight bond that youve had is gone and youre at the mercy of the world. And this is just an opportunity to bring people back together with shared experience. And sometimes we come and we dont even create any art, we just talk because we have that camaraderie again, said Steve Jones, who recently became Easthamptons director of veteran services.

According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, while the number of veteran suicides has decreased, in 2020, there were still 6,146 veteran suicide deaths.

Jones said creating artwork is a way of giving veterans a different kind of mission to complete.

Jones met Stathis in 2011 at a Holyoke Community College art class  the same class Stathis met his friend and fellow mentor and veteran Bill Wieliczka.

While many of the individuals who work at the Warriors Art Room arent formally trained in art, the art classes the two took together not only taught them about the foundations of art but also how to paint something that represents and uses ones emotions and feelings that may not be able to be expressed with words.

During the classes, Jones said he created one piece that for all intents and purposes, cured his PTSD and made him realize the importance of artwork, leading him to create the Warrior Arts Room in 2016.

The art piece that Steve Jones, co-founder of the Warrior's Art Room, created.

Jones said the Warriors Art Room moved in part to Easthampton because he knew he wanted to create an art gallery which he could name after a man he served with, Sergeant James G. Wheeler, who died by suicide.

Theyre forgotten once you stop talking about them and mentioning their name. So if their name is always on someones lips, then theyre never truly forgotten or gone, Jones said, referring to veterans who die by suicide.

Read more: Controversial Easthampton city council ordinance on crisis pregnancy centers passes

Stathis, who said he has suffered from suicidal thoughts, said he still doesnt feel ready to be in the spotlight for his debut as an artist, having only shown friends and family his artwork, but knows it is an important next step.

The four letter word help is probably the hardest word for any veterans because they dont want to come across as needy or wanting help. Even if theyre going through a hard time, they tend to keep it inside. So thats why this is so important and thats why its important for me to do this, Stathis said, referring to the art exhibit.

The exhibit  which was curated by the co-founders daughter, ShyAnne Jones, who is a second lieutenant in the army  displays artwork without any descriptions to have viewers interpret the paintings on their own. The public will instead be able to speak with Stathis about what they see.

The paintings take the viewer on a journey, from Stathis dark paintings created during lockdown to more recent paintings such as one of a seascape in bright pastels and blues.

I am now looking at a much brighter future, Stathis said.
One motorcyclist was killed and another critically injured after police said a drunken driver crashed into the pair as they rode their bikes in the southbound lanes of Route 24 in Taunton early Saturday morning.

The Massachusetts State Police said in a release that Tyler Moniz, 30, of Fall River, was killed at about 2:30 a.m. when his bike was struck by a Lexus sedan and ejected into the trees beside the road. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The second rider, a 39-year-old Fall River man, was transported to Rhode Island Hospital with what police said are life-threatening injuries.
We dont like it when questions about voting come down to dollar figures. Integrity in our elections, as well as broad civic engagement, are priceless.

But it was reasonable, just as a point of interest, for Chicopees city clerk to point out recently that the expense of early voting and vote-by-mail options, in two elections, worked out to $121 for each vote cast.

Is that too much? We all want our local governments to operate efficiently and prudently, but this isnt about installing energy-saving lightbulbs.

Still, if it had cost $1,121 for each such ballot to be cast through these alternative methods, would that be a smart use of resources, when people can still turn out in person on Election Day?

Local elected officials are grappling with these questions. Chicopee, like communities around the state, is studying whether to retain the use of vote-by-mail and early in-person voting, both of which were ordered by the state of Massachusetts during the pandemic.

That was indeed a mandate  a funded one, with the state reimbursing added costs.

Today, communities are losing that financial help on the cost of extended voting options. Governing boards are right to talk over best practices on voting, provided that more than costs are considered.

Recent experience has taught us that people like the convenience of voting by mail, using it more in recent years than early in-person voting, according to the secretary of states office. That second option came into play in 2016, before the pandemic. In 2020, the state required cities and towns to offer early in-person voting.

Now, the rules are loosened. Voters need to be aware thats the case  and not assume that the way they voted last year or the year before remains an option.

City and town clerks hold a weighty duty to do all they can to ensure voting access.

We like the stance taken by Springfield City Clerk Gladys Oyola-Lopez, who told Jeanette DeForge, a reporter for The Republican, that she supports continuing the vote-by-mail option in her city. If we are able to offer voters additional ways of voting, we should, she said. Citizens have taken to voting by mail and we are trying to expand the number of people who are voting.

Like many other communities, Springfield also expects to offer early in-person voting for municipal elections this year, though it could be scaled back, as the state allows. The city will hold both a preliminary election in September  to narrow fields for mayor and City Council  and a general election in November.

We think Oyola-Lopezs wish to preserve the vote-by-mail option is sound. If a community can bear the costs, everyone gains by making the act of voting as convenient as possible for all.
I hope everyone had an excellent Fourth of July! It was a great week to beat the heat and enjoy the many festivities taking place around Western Mass.

Monday, our Agawam office hours were rescheduled, and we are working on coordinating a date in the near future that myself or a member of my team will be able to host office hours at the Agawam Council on Aging. Stay tuned!

Tuesday I was able to attend both the Hampton Ponds and the Wyben Fourth of July parades. Thank you to everyone who came out to celebrate and march with us! If you have not attended Wyben or the Hampton Ponds parades, I encourage you to attend next year. It is an amazing way to spend the Fourth, and great to see the amazing musicians, classic cars, and of course all the people that line the route to celebrate.
A federal environment official compared investing federal money to clean up contaminated industrial sites to exchanging a $1 bill for a $10 bill at a press conference in Massachusetts Friday.

Environmental Protection Agency New England Regional Administrator David Cash even lived up to his name and exchanged an audience members $1 bill for a $10 bill from his own wallet.

Cash was in Worcester Friday to announce the EPA is awarding more than $13.7 million in grants to 16 organizations and communities throughout the state to help in their efforts to clean up contaminated property known as brownfield sites.

Read more: WRTA appoints Connecticut transit official as new administrator

A brownfield is property that may be challenging to redevelop because its polluted or there are hazardous substances that are typically expensive to get rid of, often scaring away potential developers.

The money includes $8.7 million in competitive EPA Brownfields funding that will go to 14 communities and $5 million in non-competitive funding for two Revolving Loan Fund grant programs.

Organizations that hope to clean up brownfield sites can apply for the funds either as loans or subgrants, according to the EPA. The city of Worcester received $2.7 million and the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission received $2.35 million for their existing programs.

The EPA was able to dole out so much money due to the passage of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, for which Congressman James McGovern and Sen. Elizabeth Warren worked to pass. The two were in Worcester to celebrate the funding announcement on Friday, along with Worcester Mayor Joseph Petty, City Manager Eric Batista and MassDEP Commissioner Bonnie Heiple.

Communities across the commonwealth and the country have been contaminated, polluted and abandoned, Warren told the crowd. Brownfield sites are often the result of choices that put corporate profits over people while our government looked the other way. Justice has to be at the forefront of our response to climate change and that is why Congressman McGovern and the rest of our colleagues and I fought hard to pass the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

The site of Saint-Gobain manufacturing on New Bond Street in Worcester. The site is being redeveloped to remediate contamination done to the site over decades of manufacturing.

Since the beginning of the EPAs brownfields program, Massachusetts has been awarded $152 million in funding, according to Cash, which has spurred more than $1.5 billion in public and private cleanup redevelopment investment and helped create 7,300 jobs in assessment, cleanup and construction.

Looking at the numbers, Cash said it was a 10-to-1 return on investment, before demonstrating it with his own money in the audience.

Its obvious when we invest federal money in these kind of situations we get dollars and dollars back, and its not just dollars of course, its building community, Cash said.

Saint-Gobain site in Worcester receives $2 million

The press conference took place at 1 New Bond St. in Worcester, the site of Saint-Gobain, a manufacturing company and one of the sites that will benefit from the funding. A limited liability corporation established by Worcester Business Development Corporation received a $2 million brownfield cleanup grant to help cleanup the site.

Saint-Gobain donated 51 acres of its property to Worcester Business Development Corporation in November 2022, according to WBDC Executive Vice President Roberta Brien, because they knew it would cost $50 million to remediate the property and WBDC would never recover that in a land sale.

The 400 Block Property is currently contaminated with metals, inorganic materials, PCBs and volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds, according to the EPA.

Other funding sources for the cleanup include Saint-Gobain itself, $1 million from WBDC and $8 million in other grant funding WBDC has been able to secure since acquiring the property in November, according to Brien.

WBDC is hoping the rest of the funding will come from a MassWorks Grant that they have in from the state and from land sales, Brien said.

Read more: Mental health crisis response pilot program launched in Worcester

Brien highlighted the partnership it has with Saint-Gobain and the support of the city and the Worcester Chamber of Commerce for getting the project off the ground.

The cleanup will involve demolishing the buildings in order to access the contaminated ground underneath.

Once the contamination is cleaned up, WBDC will either sell the land or partner with someone to redevelop it, according to Brien. Their goal is to find someone to take over the property who will create 1,000 jobs.

WBDC is also looking at the possibility of finding a green technology manufacturer to purchase the site, whether it be solar panels or wind turbines, Brien said.

We just really want to think holistically about how could this serve the community, but also how could this (contribute to) climate resiliency, Brien said.

Batista said the grant will help position the property for more sustainable and productive use and is a wonderful example of how grants like it can catalyze economic growth and development.

The project has the potential to leverage hundreds of millions of dollars of private investment and generate upward of 1,000 new jobs Batista said.

Who else received grants?

Other organizations that received grants include Westmass Area Development Corporation, which received $740,000 to help clean up part of the 52-acre Ludlow Mills Complex.

The following received $500,000 each to perform brownfield assessments and develop cleanup plans:

Montachusett Regional Planning Commission

City of Springfield

Pioneer Valley Planning Commission

Franklin Regional Council of Governments

Old Colony Planning Council

City of Chelsea

Town of Adams

City of Methuen

The city of Lynn and towns of Franklin and Ware each received $500,000 brownfield cleanup grants to assist with remediating sites.
The Worcester Police Department provided more details on Saturday regarding a 13-hour standoff that took place the day before, when a 24-year-old man barricaded himself in his house, shooting and injuring two family members and shooting at officers with an unlicensed handgun.

Police first converged on 51 Colby Ave. Friday at 8:38 a.m., police said Friday.

Officers approached the residence and saw the male outside, Worcester police spokesperson Lt. Sean Murtha said Saturday morning. It looked like he had a gun in his hand. (Officers) told him to get on the ground, which he did, then he got up and fired at officers. He took cover and ran back inside the house.

Along with police on the ground, a helicopter circled over Colby Avenue. Ryan Mancini, MassLive.

Abdul Adam, who lives on Trinity Avenue in Worcester, identified the suspect as Caleb Boateng, his friend. Speaking with MassLive on Friday, Adam said he never knew Boateng as having any issues and was never a problem.

I never thought one day he would be like that, said Adam. Hes a cool guy ... Everybody loved him.

Police confirmed no one else was in the house, called in the SWAT team, the Worcester Police Hostage Negotiation Team, the mental health clinicians and set up a perimeter around the residents. Some neighbors were evacuated, and other neighbors were told to stay inside. Communication with the Boateng was a very long, drawn-out situation, about 13 hours from beginning to end, Murtha said.

Throughout the day, at least 30 sounds of loud banging noises were heard from the home, most of which, Murtha said, were not gunshots. Police could not confirm if tear gas.

Boateng did not answer his phone and shot at police on multiple occasions before he was struck in the shoulder by gunfire, Murtha continued. He stepped out the backdoor and was taken into custody with a K9 Beebs, a Belgian Malinois whos worked with the department since 2017.

Boateng was taken to a nearby hospital and is expected to survive. At least two ambulances were seen leaving the scene down Trinity Avenue between 9:30 and 10 p.m., MassLive reported Friday

By 9:30 p.m., the standoff was over.

Worcester police closed off Colby Avenue all the way up until it transitions into Trinity Avenue, which was closed off to traffic on Lincoln Street.

The two injured individuals, an unidentified male and female, were also taken to a nearby hospital with non-life-threatening injuries and are expected to survive, Murtha said Saturday. Officials have not released any information regarding the two people shot other than they were a male and a female and they were related to Boateng.

No charges have been announced yet, though Murtha said there would be several charges. Charges with shooting at a police officer could include assault with a dangerous weapon and attempted murder, Murtha added. Boateng is expected to be arraigned on Monday.

Colby Avenue was closed off all the way up to where it transitions into Simmons Avenue and Trinity Avenue, with which the latter was closed off to cars turning right or left from Lincoln Street. Green Hill Avenue, which connects Colby to Marsh Avenue, was also closed off to any cars also coming from Lincoln Street.

As of Saturday, the portion of Colby Avenue that stretches from its intersection with Mount Holyoke Avenue and the other side of 51 Colby Ave. remained closed off with caution tape.

The mental health clinician was part of the police departments crisis co-response pilot program, Murtha said. Boateng did not speak with negotiators, who he said tried to make contact all night before he was arrested.

Read more: Hostage negotiators on scene in Worcester after police say man shot two family members

During the Friday press conference, Murtha said the man was not well-known to police.

Adam said he saw Boateng in an Instagram Live video posted Friday in his home while he was barricaded, saying, Whyd they block the whole street off for that ... Im losing my mind. Adam shared a recording of the Instagram Live with MassLive. At one point, 28 people were watching the live video, which is no longer on Instagram.

Murtha said he heard the video was made before the shooting happened, and police saw the video but could not confirm if it was Boateng.

Adam said hes known Boateng for five years and they went to Worcester Technical High School together.

Its like crazy tragic you know? said Adam. I dont want them to kill him.

Adam added that Boateng makes rap music on Instagram.

Residents and their friends and family members waited outside in the summer heat for hours, wondering when they would be able to go home or return to their loved ones.

Neighbors told MassLive on Friday that they saw the suspects father and possibly uncle drive to the standoff site. Murtha said police were in touch with family members while negotiations took place.

A man perched on the hood of his car at the corner of Marsh and Green Hill avenues smoked a cigarette while he waited to get back to his friends house on Mount Holyoke Avenue. As some residents were allowed to leave in their cars and trucks, he called out to them warning that if they leave, they would not be allowed back in while the standoff was happening.

Jacqui Higgins-Dailey, from Phoenix and originally from Massachusetts, was traveling back to her friends house on Colby Avenue when officers told her she couldnt access the street from Trinity. Her friend told her she could see a police drone overhead and officers ordered a woman who exited her home to stay put.

Higgins-Dailey went back to stay overnight with family in Billerica. On Saturday, she returned to her friends home before noon, not long after Murtha spoke with reporters. She said her friend was not notified that the standoff was over the night before. Her friend told her she saw tear gas fired at the home and, at other times, police called out for Caleb to get out.

A police cruiser sits at the intersection of Marsh Avenue and Green Hill Avenue, as the street is closed off as a man barricades himself in a house. Ryan Mancini, MassLive.

Higgins-Dailey also said she also saw an Auburn police vehicle drive in with what appeared to be a robot that approached the home. Auburn police were not able to confirm this when asked by MassLive on Saturday.
Bonne nouvelle pour les services postaux de Maurice avec la signature prochaine dun protocole daccord entre la Mauritius Post Ltd et lEmirates Post Group Company dans le domaine de TIC, les divers services et le commerce en ligne.

Cabinet has agreed to the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Mauritius Post Ltd and the Emirates Post Group Company in the field of Information and Communication Technologies, Postal Services and E-Commerce. The Memorandum of Understanding aims at fostering cooperation in, inter alia, the following areas:

(a) formulation of policies, legal and regulatory frameworks of common interest;

(b) cooperation for capacity building and transfer of knowledge and expertise in fields of common areas;

(c) collaboration with regard to philatelic partners;

(d) development of a platform to encourage e-commerce and online purchase; and

(e) joint organisation of workshops, seminars, conferences, study tours and training sessions, joint working groups in the fields of postal services and ICT.
The five counties of the Parkland convicted felony offenders in circuit court in the last two months. Iron, Madison, St. Francois, Ste. Genevieve, and Washington counties convicted seven offenders with a combined 13 felonies.

James Edward Bone III, 24, of Cadet, pled guilty to two separate felonies on May 15 in Washington County. Bone was convicted of possession of controlled substances, which is a class D felony, and delivery of a controlled substance, which is a class C felony. As part of the plea agreement, Bone received five years of supervised probation and must pay court costs.

On June 5 in Ste. Genevieve County, Robyn Michael Michalsen, 42, pled guilty to domestic assault and resisting arrest. The domestic assault resulted in a felony conviction; the resisting arrest conviction is a misdemeanor. Michalesen received a seven-year suspended execution of sentence to be served as five years of supervised probation for the felony and credit for time served (four days) for the misdemeanor.

Madison County Circuit Court accepted a plea agreement on June 1 from Larry Ray Green Jr., 35, of Marble Hill, for felony Burglary. Green is already incarcerated at the Eastern Reception Diagnostic Correctional Center (ERDCC) in Bonne Terre for convictions of tampering with a motor vehicle and possession of a controlled substance. Those earlier convictions stem from charges out of Bollinger County.

Jackie William Banks, 50, was a multi-county offender. In Iron County, Banks was convicted of the class C felony of delivery of a controlled substance on May 3 and was sentenced to 10 years. On June 6, Banks was convicted of felony manufacturing of a controlled substance and felony possession of a controlled substance in St. Francois County. All three convictions will run concurrently.

St. Francois Countys docket was a bit lengthier, with three more offenders convicted. Reggie Lee McCarver Jr., 41, of Park Hills, was convicted of felony stealing and felony possession of burglary tools on June 6. McCarver received a six-year sentence for stealing and a four-year sentence for possession. The sentences are to run concurrently with an existing 10-year sentence. A criminal history of McCarver on Missouri Case Net shows numerous convictions for a wide variety of offenses.

David Joseph Allen, 29, of Fredericktown, pled guilty to two counts of felony possession of a controlled substance and one count of felony unlawful use of a weapon on June 16. On each felony count, Allen will serve five years of concurrently running supervised probation.

Keith Echols, 34, an inmate of the Missouri Department of Corrections (DOC), was convicted of violence to an employee of the DOC on June 20. Echols pled guilty to charges that stemmed from an incident in the Farmington Correctional Facility in 2021 and received a 10-year suspended execution of sentence, to be served through five years of supervised probation.
Fianna Fail Senator in Mayo, Lisa Chambers, has welcomed confirmation from her party colleague and Minister for Housing, Darragh O'Brien, TD, that 28 new social homes in Lios na Circe, Saleen in Castlebar has been approved in principle.

Welcoming this news, Senator Chambers said: As a party, and at the heart of Fianna Fail is the belief and aspiration that everybody should have access to good-quality homes, located in the right places, to purchase or rent at an affordable price. The Housing for All Plan puts us on the pathway to delivering that objective and to meeting the housing needs of all our people.

The plan is working and I was delighted to receive confirmation from Minister Darragh O'Brien that 28 new social homes have been approved in principle for Castlebar. I understand that six of the homes will be specifically adapted for wheelchair users and will be managed by the Irish Wheelchair Association and the Approved Housing Body. This further demonstrates that Fianna Fail in Government is committed to improving the lives of people with a disability and ensuring that adequate housing options are available in every part of the country. I look forward to seeing this project progress over the months ahead.
Washington County Memorial Hospital was recently surprised with a generous donation of $380,000 from the trust of the late Monica Koch of Cadet. This unexpected gift will greatly benefit the hospital and the community it serves, according to a hospital spokesperson.

The hospital staff and administration are thrilled and grateful for this contribution, which will help fund important medical equipment and facility upgrades, reads a news release from the hospital. Monica Koch's philanthropic gesture highlights what was most important to her during her lifetime, the health and wellbeing of her community.

Monica Rita Koch was born in a log cabin on January 23, 1923, to the late Anthony (Tony) and Irene Koch of Happy Hollow (Cadet), Missouri. One of 16 children, Koch was raised on a family farm. She attended St. Joachim Catholic School through 8th grade and then boarded at Ursuline Academy for girls in Arcadia for high school. She was graduated from St. John's Hospital School of Nursing in St. Louis in 1945 and earned her bachelor's degree from St. Louis University in public health nursing in 1947.

Upon graduation, she immersed herself in public health nursing in the boot heel of Missouri. In 1961 she received her M.S.N from Catholic University of America with a focus on mental health for public health nursing.

She subsequently spent three years as a supervising public health nurse in Maryland, just outside of Washington D.C. She was then recruited to work as director of public health nursing for San Mateo County in California where she worked until her retirement. Monica moved back to Missouri in 2015, living at the Sarah Community in Bridgeton.

The Koch family celebrated her 100th birthday with nieces and nephews this past year. The Sarah Community had a second 100th 'birthday party for her with her residential friends. Monica was old enough to make the "Smucker's jar" and she received a birthday card from President Joe and wife Jill Biden.

Monica passed away on February 8, 2023. She leaves behind a sister and 50 nieces and nephews, many of whom live in the St. Louis and Potosi area.

Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around. -Leo Buscaglia

Washington County Memorial Hospital is humbled to receive such a generous gift and commits to spend the money to support Monicas legacy of providing high quality healthcare and community service to all in need, reads the press release issued from Washington County Memorial Hospital.
Theres a new turn in the case of Albemarle Countys most notorious lynching, the 1898 murder of John Henry James, a Black man yanked from a train, hanged and shot. Next week, 125 years after his near-simultaneous death and indictment for sexually assaulting a White woman, James will likely gain a cleared criminal record.

It certainly doesnt undo the injustice, but it is a kind of belated recognition by the judicial system that a wrong was committed, University of Virginia scholar Jalane Schmidt told The Daily Progress.

Schmidt plans to be in Albemarle County Circuit Court this week to present the historical evidence to Judge Cheryl Higgins, who has agreed to hear a motion by Commonwealths Attorney Jim Hingeley to strike the indictment against James, which was filed despite his death.

It was invalid on its face, said Schmidt. You cant indict a corpse.

Schmidt said she abhors the fact that James was indicted after the grand jury reportedly learned of the lynching.

It shows the animus of the system, said Schmidt. If they were going to indict anyone, it should have been the people who murdered him.

An associate professor of religion, Schmidt was a key player in the resistance to the fatal Unite the Right rally, which brought hundreds of White nationalists and two days of rioting to Charlottesville in 2017. She now directs UVas Memory Project, an ongoing examination of the troubling history of racism in Virginia.

The life of James ended on July 12, 1898. One day earlier, a young horsewoman named Julia Hottop was riding back to Pen Park, her familys 407-acre estate just outside Charlottesville, to find the farm gate inexplicably secured by a wrapped wire. Hottop dismounted her steed to open the gate when she was allegedly ambushed and sexually assaulted.

It is said that the young lady resisted the fellow to the extent of scratching his neck so violently as to leave particles of flesh under her fingernails, and so effective was the resistance that he failed of accomplishing his foul purpose, according to an account in The Daily Progress at the time.

The woman supposedly fainted at least three times that morning and claimed unconsciousness during the height of the attack. Between swoons, she allegedly claimed her assailant was a thin-moustached, dark-skinned Black man whose toes poked through his shoes.

About noon, wrote The Daily Progress, a negro named John Henry James was arrested in Dudleys barroom as answering somewhat the description.

The Daily Progress described James as a tramp, but a local woman described him in a letter as an ice-cream vendor.

While Charlottesville newspaper accounts later alleged that Hottop positively identified James as her attacker, a Staunton newspaper claimed the opposite.

Despite such contradictions, White antipathy for the suspect intensified, and James was whisked away for his safety to Staunton. The next day, however, James was placed on the 10:20 a.m. train headed back to Charlottesville. Three miles west of the city, at the edge of what is now Farmington Country Club, there was a stop on the line called Woods Crossing. There, roughly 150 angry White men pulled James from the trains smoking car.

Gentlemen, we want this negro, the mob is reported to have said.

The mob allegedly bound the hands of the Charlottesville police chief and shoved a pistol in the face of the Albemarle County sheriff, who made a futile plea for the rule of law.

But he was powerless in the hands of so many, according to The Daily Progress.

A rope was thrown around the neck of James who, again depending on the newspaper, either accepted or rejected blame.

Before God, I am innocent, The Daily Progress quoted him.

After hanging James from a locust tree, some of the lynchers shot the dead or dying man, whose body remained hanging for as many as four hours.

I found thirty bullet holes in the body, a mortician told a subsequent coroners inquest.

While the newspapers treated the lynching as regrettable, several scribes were quick to report that the prosecutor, Micajah Woods, considered the rape case airtight. Todays Albemarle County commonwealths attorney disagrees.

The Commonwealth believes this was a false accusation, Hingeley writes in his motion.

Along with several other prosecutors, Hingeley traveled in April to Americas leading lynching museum, the Equal Justice Initiative, in Montgomery, Alabama.

The museums Community Remembrance Project has already made several strides to recognize what happened in Albemarle. In 2018, the project accepted soil from the lynching site. The following year, the project helped erect a plaque at Court Square telling what happened to James  including details of a vain effort by Blacks to stop the lynching and about the successful effort by Whites to pluck gruesome souvenirs from the body.

Despite the presence of the Charlottesville police chief and Albemarle sheriff, no one was ever charged or held accountable for the murder of John Henry James, concludes that plaque.

Schmidt bristles at the conclusion of the coroners report, which laid blame on unknown parties.

There were 150 people there all unmasked, said Schmidt. In a town this size, you cant say unknown parties.

The Richmond Planet, a Black newspaper, warned at the time: The lynching of John Henry James will be far more damaging to the community than it will be to the alleged criminal.

The Albemarle County supervisors appear to agree. Last month, they declared July 12, 2023, John Henry James Day, to recognize our shared community history and as a demonstration of our commitment that this tragedy will be neither forgotten nor repeated.

Hingeley came away from his April meeting in Montgomery with the idea of undoing the indictment in a public hearing. Slated for 4:00 p.m. Wednesday, the hearing comes precisely 125 years after James killing.

The perpetrators of this racial terror lynching acted with impunity because they knew that the Albemarle County authorities would not hold them accountable, Hingeley wrote in his motion.

Schmidt will read from the historical records, including the contradictory allegations, the context of local racism and the apparent disinterest in prosecuting Jamess killers.

Most of what will happen will be her testimony, said Hingeley, noting that the Wednesday afternoon hearing is open to the public.

In Virginia, although theyre typically called prosecutors, Hingeley notes that the foremost task for a commonwealths attorney is justice, something that will be furthered, he said, by his motion.

I feel honored, he said, to have an opportunity to participate in the Community Remembrance Project in this way.

As for the accuser, Julia Hottop would make headlines again. In the latter years of the new centurys first decade, she reportedly drew acclaim for walking from Atlanta to Chicago.

In 1911, however, at the age of 33, she reportedly called police near her home in Washington, D.C., to allege that a crowd of men would gather to prevent her from painting whenever she would try to pursue her artistry.

Her talk became so erratic that she was finally taken to the office of Sanitary Officer Linn, and a charge of insanity preferred against her, according to an 1911 article in the Washington Times.
Bernard Andes Hess and Camille Robinson Hess are likely one of the first, if not the very first, Wahoo couples to be married at the chapel on the Grounds of the University of Virginia. Now, 93 years since their marriage, the chapel is nearing completion of a yearslong restoration process to restore it to the way it was when the Hess tied the knot in 1930.

The chapel has been closed since Jan. 2 for the extensive rehabilitation that the university has said will take six months to complete.

Experts in historic paint and finish restoration, have been working to clean, strip, restore and refinish historic surfaces in the chapel, including wainscotting, chair rails and baseboards, doors, elements of the wood ceiling, brick arches and columns, university spokeswoman Bethanie Glover told The Daily Progress.

While that work is ongoing, the Hess son, Bernard Andes Hess Jr., has been reflecting on his parents married life that began in the chapel 93 years ago.

Hess Jr. described his Prussian mother as a free spirit who traveled the world and was an active fighter for womens suffrage.

In 1918, she enrolled at Westhampton College in Richmond. However, during her sophomore year, the college was temporarily closed to serve as a hospital for soldiers returning from World War I.

So, roughly 50 years before UVa would admit its first fully co-ed class, she defied gender norms and attended summer school at UVa. Eventually, she completed her degrees in French and English at Westhampton and went on to become one of the first women ever to earn a masters degree from UVa in 1924.

The university had only started awarding masters degrees to women in 1920.

She was very proud that she had a masters degree, and I didnt realize that very few women in this country had masters degrees at that point, Hess Jr. said.

Bernard Hess was also a fighter, overcoming his fathers death at age 11 and working hard at his studies, eventually earning a chemical engineering degree from UVa in 1922.

Though they both attended the school at the same time, Bernard Hess and his future wife did not meet at UVa. It was only later when both were teaching in Selma, North Carolina, did the two cross paths.

They didnt meet at UVa. My father was in Selma because he couldnt get a job during the post-war depression so he got hired to teach. Chance would have it that he met my mother in a boarding house where they both rented a room, Hess Jr. said. Eventually my mother moved to teach in Rutherford, New Jersey, and my father decided to move near there and courted her for some years.

The couple were smitten but would not marry for another five years after meeting.

They didnt get married till 1930 because, as I said, she was a free spirit, Hess Jr. said. She wanted, and did, travel the world before and even after getting married. For a while, she was in France to teach English to students in Paris. After a week or two, she and her fellow American teachers said this is not what we want to do, so they traveled the Continent.

It is lucky that the senior Hess even made it to the end of his freshman year, much less his wedding day in 1930. The Spanish flu wreaked havoc on men attending UVa from 1918 to 1920.

In 1918, my fathers freshman year at UVa, there was the Spanish flu, Hess Jr. said. He was quarantined in a room with 29 of his classmates after the flu decimated college-age students. Of those 29 people in the room, my father was the only one that came out of that room alive.

Bernard Hess lucky streak continued throughout his lengthy marriage until he died at the age of 100.

He rose through the ranks working for DuPont Chemicals for 45 years and became the manager of the largest chemical plant in the United States. While many of his colleagues suffered from the lead and carcinogenic chemicals they were exposed to on a daily basis, he never got cancer.

When he did show signs of dementia, he was treated and, according to his family, cured.

My father said if the train doors had not been locked, he would have jumped off the train on the way to get treatment. Thats how demented he was. But he got there and the doctor cured him, came back and it was fine, Hess Jr. said. Also, most of his colleagues at DuPont who were exposed to carcinogenic chemicals got bladder cancer 30 years later and died from it. He never got it.

Since the final bricks were laid in the 1890s, the chapel at UVa has become a go-to destination for a variety of ceremonies including weddings, funerals and student organization events.

The Hess wed before the chapel saw its first comprehensive renovations in the 1950s. And since their marriage, time has taken its toll on the nearly 150-year-old structure.

UVa has joined forces with the John Canning Company in 2021 for a $2.6 million renovation project funded by deferred maintenance fund, the Division of Student Affairs and private donors. The goal: fix exterior water damage and revive the interiors original splendor.

Exterior upkeep wrapped up in 2021, and in January, the chapel closed its doors to embark on a rejuvenating transformation within.

A recent conservation study performed in 2020 found that the original wood and masonry finishes were much brighter and the original plaster walls were a green color that complemented the stained-glass windows, Glover said.

UVa, unlike other 19th-century schools, was founded without a religious affiliation because of Thomas Jeffersons firm belief in the separation of church and state. However, during a religious awakening throughout the late 1800s, the absence of a chapel drew attention and sparked outrage. Faculty wives took the lead, raising funds and designing a gothic-style chapel that stands in stark contrast to the Classical style of Jeffersons neighboring Academical Village.

Even though the style Jefferson would have hated because he saw Gothic as outdated, the windows and architecture of the building are breathtaking, Richard Guy Wilson, an architectural history professor at UVa, told The Daily Progress. It is one of those buildings that is a spot of contemplation for students and the community alike.

Many hope that the new life breathed into the chapel will help to ensure that many more families, like the Hesses, will keep making memories within its halls when it reopens this August.

My parents would be delighted to know that the chapel is being renovated back to the way it was when they got married, Hess Jr. said. While it will be antique, the chapel has played a role in so many families lives, and it brings me joy to know that many more will get to have that experience going forward.
The Saudi Falcons Aerobatic Team has arrived in Britain to participate in the RIAT 2023 exhibition, one of the largest airshows in the world, Azernews reports, citing Al Arabiya.

The Kingdoms Royal Saudi Air Force will perform a thrilling air display with its Airbus 330 MRTT, BAE Systems Hawk and Lockheed C-130H Hercules, starting from July 14 to 16.

RIAT, The Royal International Air Tattoo, is a huge military airshow including hundreds of modern military aircrafts from around the world that perform captivating air displays.

The show will be held at the Royal Airforce Fairford (RAF) station in Gloucestershire, UK, as is the tradition since 1985, according to RIAT. The station, used quite infrequently for deployments, is an ideal venue for the show.

Each year consists of a unique theme highlighting important aspects of aviation. The theme for this years airshow is SKYTANKER23, which is aimed to emphasize the vital role of air-to-air refuelling in modern military flying.

We aim to display the history of air-to-air refuelling from humble beginnings in 1923, evolving through the last century, to the modern aircraft which we see in service around the world today, RIAT said on their website.

The airshow on July 14 will be four hours long while on the weekend, there will be shows with over seven hours of action-packed flying displays.




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Starting in October, hundreds of airmen and Guardians will no longer qualify for a monetary bonus meant to encourage service members to take on the toughest and most difficult jobs, but the service is declining to make public which jobs will see the cuts.

Last month, the Department of the Air Force announced that a newly formed board reviewed Special Duty Assignment Pay and reduced the number of jobs that qualify for the bonus from 103 to 70 for the upcoming fiscal 2024. But after repeated queries from Military.com, the department has refused to publicly identify which career fields are no longer eligible for the money.

The only way to view the revised list of jobs that qualify is to have a login for the Air Force's myForce Support Squadron, or myFSS, a web portal accessible only to service members. That means everyone else, including military families, press outlets and government watchdogs, can't see where the cuts will be.

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Special Duty Assignment Pay, which can range anywhere from $75 to $450 a month, is meant for those "who serve in duties which are extremely difficult," according to Air Force budget documents. Many service members chose to take on those jobs because of that extra money while formulating family budgets around the higher pay.

The Department of the Air Force's choice not to publicly disclose what jobs are being cut from Special Duty Assignment Pay is concerning to government watchdogs like Jason Paladino, a researcher at the nonprofit Project on Government Oversight.

"The Air Force public affairs office is once again showing a reflexive secrecy, withholding unclassified information from the public without justification," Paladino said. "U.S. taxpayers have a right to know how much they are paying members of the military."

The Department of the Air Force did not respond when asked why the list was not being released publicly, telling Military.com only that it "released the FY24 Special Duty Assignment Pay through command channels, reaching those who are directly impacted, and can be found on myFSS."

The June 23 press release from the Department of the Air Force said the new board "focused on identifying personnel in extremely demanding positions with unusually challenging responsibilities based on a defendable scoring methodology, and decisions were made agnostic of budgetary funding."

The press release does disclose that 70 jobs were approved to receive Special Duty Assignment Pay and that, of those, "four were initial requests that were certified for the first time, 48 were recertified at their current rate, 11 increased rate and seven decreased rate to maintain parity with specialties of similar duties, responsibilities and training."

But there's no mention of what specific jobs are seeing increases, decreases or losing the bonus altogether.

Last year, hundreds of airmen were scheduled to see cuts to their fiscal 2023 Special Duty Assignment Pay, according to budget documents.

Just weeks before the cuts were scheduled to take place, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall made a speech in September 2022 at the Air & Space Forces Association's annual conference, where he announced the cuts would be reversed.

The Space Force also completed its own service-specific Special Duty Assignment Pay board, utilizing the same criteria as the Air Force. The service determined that 14 jobs were reapproved for the bonus, two were newly approved and three were cut, according to the news release.

Those serving in a field that will be removed from the bonus list won't lose all the pay at once; they will still receive Special Duty Assignment Pay at "a rate of one-half their original SDAP through Sept. 30, 2024," according to the release.

Jobs where the Special Duty Assignment Pay is being reduced will be "given 90 days before the reduced rate will become effective," the release added. Those in jobs receiving an increase in Special Duty Assignment Pay will see it in place starting Oct. 1.

In fiscal 2024 budget documents released this year, the Air Force detailed a $92.2 million ask for Special Duty Assignment Pay. In the prior year's budget, it asked for an estimated $96.2 million for the financial incentive.

Under last year's budget request, the Air Force said the bonus would be for an estimated 33,500 airmen. Under the fiscal 2024 ask, it would be for around 29,800 airmen, according to the service's documents.

The June 23 press release announcing the Special Duty Assignment board's findings said "the board was unaware of the budgeted SDAP funds until after each request was considered if SDAP was warranted."

-- Thomas Novelly can be reached at thomas.novelly@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @TomNovelly.

Related: Air Force Budgets Less for Bonus Pay for its Toughest Jobs in 2024
An Army Reserve officer was charged Thursday, facing allegations he defrauded Gold Star families by losing $3.4 million while making $1.4 million in commissions.

Federal authorities on Friday said that Caz Craffy, who they described as currently a major in the Army Reserve, misappropriated money between 2018 and 2022 that he was supposed to be investing for families of dead soldiers. Instead of assisting them, he allegedly made them put their money into investment accounts he privately managed outside official duties for the Army. In one case, he allegedly misappropriated $50,000 from a minor whose parent died on active duty.

On top of using investment portfolios he controlled himself, authorities say Craffy made high-risk investments far beyond what was agreed upon with the families, and did not properly diversify those huge investments, opening up those families to enormous losses.

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"Stealing from Gold Star families whose loved ones made the ultimate sacrifice in service to our nation is a shameful crime," U.S. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said in a statement. "As alleged in the indictment, the defendant in this case used his position as an Army financial counselor to defraud Gold Star families, steal their money, and enrich himself. Predatory conduct that targets the families of fallen American service members will be met with the full force of the Justice Department."

Soldiers are often signed up for Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance, or SGLI. That program, through the Department of Veterans Affairs, pays out $500,000 to families of service members who die on or off duty. The military services often provide families with financial counselors to help them manage the money.

The Washington Post was first to detail the scheme in February. Craffy did not immediately respond to Military.com's request for comment.

Craffy had been in the Army Reserve since at least 2003, according to the charges. A LinkedIn profile using his name outlines an extensive background in finance, including a bachelor's degree in finance from St. John's University, and a master's in finance from Rutgers Business School. The charges say that Craffy has worked with at least five wealth management companies.

The Securities and Exchange Commission charged Craffy with six counts of wire fraud and one count each of securities fraud, making false statements in a loan application, committing acts furthering a personal financial interest, and making false statements to a federal agency. He faces up to 20 years in prison.

"Rather than help Gold Star families best use their survivor benefits, we allege that Mr. Craffy manipulated them to profit from their grief," Gurbir Grewal, director of the SEC's Enforcement Division, said in a statement. "We owe an incredible debt of gratitude to these families who have sacrificed so much in service to our country. I am grateful to the SEC staff for holding Mr. Craffy accountable for his shameless conduct and delivering some measure of justice to these incredible families."

-- Steve Beynon can be reached at Steve.Beynon@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @StevenBeynon

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Two U.S. Air Force drones flying over Syria have had unsafe encounters with Russian jets in the past week, an increasing pace of incidents that experts say may be a reflection of Russia's growing military weakness in the face of extended fighting in Ukraine.

The incidents drew the condemnation of both the Air Force as well as the Pentagon, which released dramatic video of both encounters, while U.S. military officials have vowed to continue flying drones in the region.

Experts who have studied the incidents say that, while Russia has a long history of using these tactics to advance its policy goals, the spike in recent dangerous encounters suggests there's a rising concern among its military about being perceived as weak and ineffectual as the war in Ukraine drags on and a recent mutiny from a top commander raises questions about the country's future.

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On Wednesday, the Air Force announced that three of its MQ-9 Reaper drones were harassed by three Russian fighter jets that "dropped multiple parachute flares in front of the drones, forcing our aircraft to conduct evasive maneuvers."

"Additionally, one Russian pilot positioned their aircraft in front of an MQ-9 and engaged [the] afterburner," the service said in a statement.

Then, Thursday evening, the Air Force said that the Russian pilots harassed another set of MQ-9 drones by again dropping flares and flying dangerously close to the aircraft.

Pentagon spokesman Gen. Patrick Ryder stressed at a briefing with reporters Thursday that the two incidents will not stop the mission the drones were all engaged in -- the U.S. military's continued efforts against ISIS.

He also pushed back on the assertion that the U.S. should have done more to avoid the incident.

"We have rules in place -- well-established processes and procedures -- and have very successfully deconflicted with the Russians over many years when it comes to safe operations in that region," Ryder said. "To suggest that somehow this is our fault is ridiculous."

What stands out to experts is the growing pattern of Russian action.

"It's not simply one Russian pilot stepping up line; it's a broader policy that Russia has in order to push us in sensitive areas to signal their displeasure with the American foreign policy," Dr. Raphael Cohen told Military.com in a phone interview Friday.

Cohen, who is the director of the Strategy & Doctrine Program of Project Air Force at Rand Corp., noted that the Russians have been harassing U.S. forces in Syria "for a while now" and the history of such harassment goes back to the Cold War.

"There were unwritten rules of the road that you can mess with each other, but only to some bounds," he explained, before adding that, "as long as you stayed within those bounds, you can be pretty sure that things would stay even keel."

But the recent campaign is showing signs of escalation.

In March, Russian harassment of a U.S. drone led to its downing after an Su-27 aircraft clipped the drone's propeller. That incident prompted Lt. Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, the 9th Air Force (Air Forces Central) commander, to note that "over the course of my career, I have not seen this kind of disregard for agreed-upon protocols and deconfliction rules."

"It's not the kind of behavior I'd expect out of a professional air force," he added.

Russia awarded its pilots medals over the incident. Meanwhile, in mid-June the Air Force said that it was deploying F-22 Raptors to the Middle East in response to the downed drone and several other incidents.

Historically, these provocative incidents seem to have been intended as a message. A 2020 study published by Rand that analyzed many of the previous interactions found that "much of the assertive, dangerous, or unsafe Russian activity appears directed at shaping patterns of ongoing U.S. or allied behavior."

The researchers noted that these provocations were "by definition responsive, not proactive" and that the Kremlin appeared "to be using coercive signals to send targeted compellent messages regarding activities that it finds problematic."

However, Ian Williams, a research fellow for the Center for Strategic & International Studies, says the more recent spike in incidents is tied to current events and the growing understanding that Russia's military is far weaker than previously known.

"We're seeing them being a little more aggressive and greater risk-taking right now because they are trying to offset this perception that they're kind of this paper tiger," Williams said in a phone interview Friday.

To Williams, the choice of Syria also seems deliberate.

"This is related to  trying to prop themselves up and show that they're not shrinking away from these other areas that they see as part of their sphere of influence."

Inside the Pentagon, however, the response will continue to be more transparency and visibility of these incidents.

"We will continue to highlight when the Russians engage in reckless, unprofessional behavior in the skies," Dr. Colin Kahl, the Pentagon's policy boss, said at a press conference Friday.

"We will highlight for the world so that, when and if an incident happens, people will know who's at fault here, and we hope to dissuade the Russians from continuing this pattern of behavior," he added.

-- Thomas Novelly contributed to this report.

-- Konstantin Toropin can be reached at konstantin.toropin@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @ktoropin.

Related: Air Force F-22s Head to Middle East Amid Spike in Russian 'Unprofessional Behavior'
TOKYO (AP)  Japanese political and business leaders on Saturday marked one year since the assassination of former leader Shinzo Abe, with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida pledging to tackle pressing political goals as a way of honoring Abes wishes.

At a Buddhist temple Zojoji in Tokyo, Kishida and his governing Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers, as well as representatives from opposition parties and business leaders, attended a closed memorial service hosted by Abes widow Akie Abe and the family. Tables were set up at the temple for flower laying by the public later Saturday.

Abe was assassinated on July 8, 2022, during an election campaign speech.

The suspect, Tetsuya Yamagami, was arrested at the scene and was charged with murder and several other crimes, including violating the gun control law. A date for his trial hasn't been set.

Yamagami has told investigators that he killed Abe, one of Japans most influential and divisive politicians, because of the former prime ministers apparent links to a religious group that he hated. In statements and in social media postings attributed to him, Yamagami said he developed a grudge because his mother had made massive donations to the Unification Church that bankrupted his family and ruined his life.

At a separate memorial Saturday attended by governing party lawmakers and conservative academics, Kishida recalled Abe used to cheer him up when he was struggling to make difficult decisions.

Whenever I'm alone worrying if I was doing the right thing, I remember former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's words, saying that Kishida-san, now you have beome Prime Minister, you should just go straight on the path you believe in,' he said.

Teary Akie Abe said she could not stop crying since the morning thinking about the day a year ago. But my husband won't come back, so I'm trying to figure out how I can make my husband's death meaningful.

Abe, born into a prominent political family and Japans longest-serving prime minister, bolstered Japans military role and promoted the free and open Indo-Pacific vision now inherited by Kishida. Abe maintained influence even after stepped down as prime minister in 2020.

An anti-China hawk, Abe was remembered by Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, who tweeted Saturday in Japanese that Abe had demonstrated his support for Taiwan and promoted deeper exchanges between the two sides. Tsai noted that Abe had advocated the idea of a Taiwan contingency is a contingency for Japan, as tensions have risen between the self-ruled island democracy and China, which claims it as its territory to be united by force if necessary.

In Nara, near the site of Abes assassination, dozens of people lined up from early Saturday to lay flowers.

The investigation has led to revelations of years of cozy ties between Abes governing Liberal Democratic Party and the Unification Church. Former Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi, Abe's grandfather, helped the church take root in Japan in the 1960s over shared interests in conservative and anti-communist causes.

Kishidas popularity has plunged over his handling of the church controversy and his insistence on holding a state funeral for Abe in September last year.

___

Associated Press video journalist Haruka Nuga contributed to this report.
KYIV, Ukraine (AP)  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy marked the 500th day of the war Saturday by hailing the country's soldiers in a video from a Black Sea island that became the symbol of Ukraines resilience in the face of the Russian invasion.

Speaking from Snake Island, Zelenskyy honored the Ukrainian soldiers who fought for the island and all other defenders of the country, saying that reclaiming control of the island is a great proof that Ukraine will regain every bit of its territory.

I want to thank  from here, from this place of victory  each of our soldiers for these 500 days, Zelenskyy said. Thank you to everyone who fights for Ukraine!

Russian forces took control of the tiny stone island on Feb. 24, 2022, the day Moscow launched its invasion, in the apparent hope of using it as a staging ground for an assault on Odesa, Ukraines biggest port and the headquarters of its navy.

The island took on legendary significance for Ukraines resistance to the Russian invasion, when Ukrainian troops there reportedly received a demand from a Russian warship to surrender or be bombed. The answer supposedly came back, Go (expletive) yourself.

Ukraine has celebrated the story with patriotic fervor, issuing a postage stamp in commemoration.

The islands Ukrainian defenders were captured by the Russians but later freed as part of a prisoner exchange. After the island was taken, the Ukrainian military heavily bombarded the small Russian garrison there, forcing the Russians to pull back on June 30, 2022. The Russian retreat reduced the threat of a seaborne Russian attack on Odesa and helped pave the way for a deal to resume Ukrainian grain exports.

Let the freedom that all our heroes of different times wanted for Ukraine and that must be won right now be a tribute to all those who gave their lives for Ukraine, Zelenskyy said. We will definitely win!

Intense battles continued to rage Saturday in the country's east and south as Ukrainian forces pressed their attacks against multi-layered Russian defenses in the initial stages of their counteroffensive.

Pavlo Kyrylenko, the governor of the eastern Donetsk region, said that a Russian rocket strike on the city of Lyman killed six civilians and wounded another five early Saturday.

The U.K. Ministry of Defense said in its latest intelligence update that the eastern town of Bakhmut that was captured by the Russians in May has seen some of the most intense fighting along the front during the last week.

It said that Ukrainian forces have made steady gains to both the north and south of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region, noting that Russian defenders are highly likely struggling with poor morale, a mix of disparate units and a limited ability to find and strike Ukrainian artillery.

The Russian military has insisted that it has successfully fended off Ukrainian attacks in various sections of the front and inflicted heavy losses on the attackers.

The Russian Defense Ministry on Saturday released footage of Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu visited firing ranges where volunteer soldiers are being trained.

Pitched battles along the front line are raging as NATO leaders are set to meet in Vilnius for a two-day summit next week to offer more help in modernizing Ukraines armed forces, create a new high-level forum for consultations and reaffirm that it will join their alliance one day.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed support early Saturday for Ukraine joining NATO, saying it deserves to join the alliance. He made the comment at a joint news conference with Zelenskyy, who visited Turkey as part of a European tour to rally support for Ukraines entry into the military alliance after the war with Russia comes to an end.

Ahead of the NATO summit, the U.S. has announced that it will provide Ukraine with cluster munitions, a move that President Joe Biden described as a difficult decision. Two-thirds of NATO members have banned the munitions which have a track record of causing many civilian casualties, but the U.S. sees their delivery as a way to help bolster Ukraine's offensive and push through Russian front lines.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov hailed the U.S. move, saying that the delivery of cluster munitions will help the country de-occupy its territories while saving the lives of the Ukrainian soldiers.

Reznikov vowed that Ukraine will use the munitions only for the de-occupation of its territory and will not fire them at Russia's proper territory. Reznikov also noted that the Ukrainian military will not use cluster munitions in urban areas to avoid hurting civilians, adding that they will be put to action in the field to break through the enemy defense lines with minimum risk for the lives of our soldiers.
The Reds announced that outfielder Henry Ramos has been designated for assignment, and that righty Tony Santillan has been optioned to Triple-A Louisville. Both moves clear space on the 26-man and 40-man rosters for right-hander Michael Mariot, as the Reds have selected Mariots contract from Triple-A.

Ramos spent seven weeks on the injured list due to a hip strain, and has hit .242/.356/.306 over 73 plate appearances for Cincinnati and a scorching .318/.404/.568 in 152 PA at the Triple-A level. The Reds increasingly crowded roster made it hard for Ramos to find consistent playing time, and so the team has opted to perhaps move on, or just to try and sneak Ramos through DFA waivers. The 31-year-olds big Triple-A numbers might attract the attention of another team interested in a waiver claim, or Ramos could control his future more directly by rejecting an outright assignment if he did clear waivers. Because Ramos has been outrighted before in his career, he has the ability to turn down any future outright assignments and become a free agent.

Ramos was a fifth-round pick for the Red Sox back in the 2010 draft, and his long stay in the minors finally resulted in 18 MLB games with the Diamondbacks in 2021. Before signing a minor league deal with the Reds last winter, Ramos career includes stints with the Red Sox, Dodgers, Giants, Diamondbacks, and a brief stint in the KBO League in 2022.

Mariot knows a few things about the career of a journeyman player, as the 34-year-old is set to make his first appearance in the majors since 2016. The righty posted a 5.98 ERA over 49 2/3 innings with the Royals and Phillies from 2014-16, and subsequently bounced around the minors to several different organizations (including a previous stint with Cincinnati in 2021). This long path back to the Show also included stops in independent baseball, the Mexican League, and in the Chinese Professional Baseball League.

Beginning the season with the Cleburne Railroaders of the independent American Association of Professional Baseball, Mariot signed a minor league contract with the Reds last month and made a quick impression at Triple-A. Over four starts and 24 1/3 inning in Louisville, Mariot had a 2.59 ERA and a tiny 4.2% walk rate with only one home run allowed, though his 14.6% strikeout rate is far below average. It remains to be seen what Mariots role might be in Cincinnati, but with the Reds hurting for rotation depth, Mariot might get at least a spot start or perhaps some long relief work.
HOWELL, MI - At 6 weeks old, wild-born fox kit Dory was struck by a car.

Her nose was broken and she suffered neurological damage. Dory loves human interaction and affection, which is very unusual for a wild-born fox kit and indicative of her brain damage. She was also born with one leg shorter than the other, and for these reasons, she cannot be released into the wild.

She was originally in the care of the Felix Fox Foundation before being taken in by her forever home at the Foxes Journey Sanctuary in Howell.

Dorys story is just one of the many of the foxes at Foxes Journey Sanctuary, a nonprofit founded by Jennifer Patton and Daniel Oswald.

Foxes Journey Sanctuary started when Patton adopted a fox named Axel when he was five weeks old. Axel was born on a fur farm and was rejected by his mother, which ultimately saved his life. Patton adopted him from the organization SAVEAFOX and remained involved in the fox community, volunteering and working remotely to answer adoption applications.

Through her work with SAVEAFOX, Patton recognized the need for another sanctuary.

Patton and Oswald, who are friends, co-founded Foxes Journey Sanctuary. Patton works on the day-to-day sanctuary operations, providing care for the foxes, running the social media pages and operating the physical sanctuary. Oswald works behind the scenes on website design, shirt designs and all of the technical aspects of the sanctuary.

This is all a labor of love, Patton said.

Most of the sanctuarys foxes come from owner surrenders, which are the result of backyard fox breeders in states like Ohio, Tennessee, Illinois, Indiana and Michigan. These breeders do not breed ethically, dont check that buyers live in a state where fox ownership is legal and do not inform their buyers of education on fox ownership, Patton said.

Seventeen of the sanctuarys 50 foxes have come directly from fur farms. The fur farm industry is still alive and booming, Patton said, with products exported primarily to consumers outside the United States.

Fur farms have a negative impact on the foxes, and fox mothers have overgroomed their kits due to overstimulation and stress. That has resulted in kits with tails groomed off and other wounds, Patton said, adding the impact of being surrendered also has a negative impact on the animals.

(Foxes) are sensitive beings and can be greatly affected when surrendered, Patton said. We always do our best, and like I said, sometimes it takes weeks, months or years to bond with us. But we never stop trying because, through trust building, we are able to establish meaningful relationships with the foxes.

The foxes at Foxes Journey Sanctuary now spend their days running, playing and eating chicken, melon and apples, remaining at the sanctuary for the rest of their natural lives.

The sanctuary also is involved in the Howell community and hosts a reading with foxes program for children. This year, Foxes Journey Sanctuary will be at the Ann Arbor Art Fair.

We will be attending the Ann Arbor Art Fair this year as a vendor, Patton said. Its very exciting because this is our first year and we cant wait to share the foxes lives and stories with the public.

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ANN ARBOR, MI - What do Stevie Wonder, B.B. King, Jerry Garcia and Kurt Cobain all have in common?

They all have contributed to major moments in the history of Ann Arbors rich music scene.

From counterculture capital to folk music hotspot, Ann Arbor has been visited by musical acts of all genres and generations at various stages of their careers. Here are five concerts that have shaped the towns music history.

The Grateful Dead at West Park, 1967

The Grateful Deads first appearance in Ann Arbor kicked off a major dispute over the use of the West Park bandshell that later led to a riot that lasted several days in the summer of 1969.

The band was on their first international tour, and stopped in Ann Arbor on Aug. 13, 1967. The Ann Arbor News reported that it had rained earlier in the day, and the band asked for blankets to stand on so they wouldnt be shocked by their electrical equipment. An audience member allegedly threw an American flag onstage, which the band then stood on during their concert.

The Ann Arbor News also reported that Shelden Sproul, the superintendent of Ann Arbors Parks and Recreation Department at the time, demanded that the concerts at West Park stop until the events were explained. They eventually allowed the bandshell to be used again, but only with approval from the city.

Parks and Recreation superintendent Shelden Sproull responds to the flag incident at the Grateful Dead concerts.

In a 2022 interview with MLive, local poet John Sinclair shared that he believed this was the start of the city cracking down on loud concerts in West Park. As a manager for the local proto-punk band MC5, Sinclair often helped with organizing concerts at the bandshell. He pushed for the concerts to continue in 1968, even though the city refused to grant them permits.

After several more disputes with the city over noise complaints and disorderly conduct in West Park, the city finally threatened to ban electronic instruments in city parks and use police force to shut down any unauthorized concerts. The News reported that tensions boiled over after the topic was discussed at a City Council meeting in 1969, leading to riots downtown over the next several days.

The bandshell would eventually close in 2021 due to a crumbling foundation.

Ann Arbor Blues Festival, 1969

The original Ann Arbor Blues Festival is a landmark event in music history as the first festival dedicated to electric blues in North America.

The 1969 event was organized by a group of students from the University of Michigan, who got funding from the University and the Canterbury House. It was held in the Fuller Road Flats, which is today located near Huron High School.

Several other performers at the 1969 Blues Festival, including Willie Mae, T-Bone Walker and Son House.Doug Fulton

The original lineup was filled with famous blues artists such as Muddy Waters, Howlin Wolf, Otis Rush, Magic Sam, Freddy King and Junior Wells. Rounding out the event was a performance by B.B. King, who had just recorded his Grammy Award winning album Completely Well.

Norman Gibson of The Ann Arbor News covered the event, writing that there was a great variety of blues, near-blues and true-blues in the program, but the barrel-chested man who has been proclaimed as the king of the blues had more diversity and facets than all the other blues performers put together.

B.B. King performs at the 1969 Blues Festival.Doug Fulton

In later years, the festival would be renamed to the Ann Arbor Blues and Jazz festival, adding a wider variety of musicians to the lineup, including musicians like Ray Charles, Miles Davis and Bonnie Raitt.

First Ann Arbor Folk Festival, 1976

The Ann Arbor Folk Festival began thanks to one person: legendary musician John Prine. In 1976, local music venue The Ark was struggling to keep its doors open.

Program director Dave Siglin asked Prine to play, along with several other folk musicians, in a benefit concert for the venue. Prine agreed, and even played without being paid.

John Prine performs during the 1989 Ann Arbor Folk Festival. Prine headlined the festival four times over a period of four decades.Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org

That years lineup also included David Bromberg, Leon Redbone and Diana Markowitz. The festival brought in $8,000 for the venue, about $42,000 today.

Throughout the following years, the festival has featured musicians including Chet Atkins, Arlo Guthrie, Rufus Wainwright, Kris Kristofferson, Emmylou Harris, Ani DiFranco, Brandi Carlile and Kacey Musgraves. Prine would return to play in the festival three more times before his death in 2020.

John Sinclair Freedom Rally, 1971

During what would become one of Ann Arbors most famous events, the Free John Now rally featured some of the biggest names in music at the time.

Two years after local marijuana activist John Sinclair was arrested and sentenced to 10 years in prison for the possession of two joints, a rally protesting the severity of marijuana laws was held in the University of Michigans Crisler Center, then known as Crisler Arena.

About 15,000 people attended the rally, which included speeches and chants led by poet Alan Ginsberg, and live music from artists including Stevie Wonder, Bob Seger, John Lennon and his wife Yoko Ono.

Coverage of the John Sinclair Freedom Rally.

Wonder played the songs For Once in My Life, Heaven Help Us All and Somebodys Watching You. He also gave a short speech on the inequality of the American prison system.

Lennon and Ono performed several songs, one of which Lennon had written for the rally. The song, titled John Sinclair, would appear on his 1972 album Sometime In New York City.

The rally was a success, as Sinclair was released three days later. Ann Arbor would go on to adopt much more lenient marijuana laws that year, dropping the penalty to just five dollars. This also led to the first Hash Bash, the annual event held on the University of Michigans Diag to spread activism about marijuana regulation.

Nirvana at the Blind Pig, 1990

In 1990, just before the release of their album Nevermind that would bring grunge to the mainstream and make them superstars, Nirvana made a stop in Ann Arbor at the Blind Pig.

Days earlier, the band had visited a studio in Madison, Wisconsin to record several of the tracks for their second album. Their set was mostly filled with songs from their debut album Bleach, although they played a few not-yet unreleased ones, including Breed, which later appeared on Nevermind. A recording of the set resurfaced in 2012, which you can watch here.

1990 wasnt the first time Nirvana had been to the Blind Pig, however. The band first visited the venue in 1989 when they opened for The Flaming Lips. The shows earned the Blind Pig a level of fame, as in an MTV interview several years later, Nirvana would claim that it was their favorite venue to play at.

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ANN ARBOR, MI -- BTB Burrito has been serving burritos at late-night hours in Ann Arbor for nearly two decades.

The eatery opened on State Street in 2004 when University of Michigan student Adam Lowenstein and Justin Herrick decided to bring a late-night burrito spot to the area. Since 2020, the business has operated out of Lowensteins other business, Good Time Charleys.

Lowenstein said he wasnt sure what BTBs future was going to be when its lease on State Street ended. But, despite some worries, he said its been doing well and now has its own area to serve customers, as well as outdoor seating.

Things change and you have to adapt, and we feel like this is a good pivot that weve done with BTB to keep it alive, Lowenstein said.

When we moved and we were just going to go virtual, I felt like that was going to be the nail in the coffin but actually sales have maintained steadily for pickup and delivery. Its shown that the recognition of the brand and support is still really strong and people really have a great connection with BTB.

While BTBs locations may have changed, its menu hasnt. Lowenstein said customers can still find many popular dishes including its No.1 selling chicken burrito.

Another fan favorite is BTBs fire and ice burritos, which can either be made with steak or chicken. These burritos feature Mexican rice, black beans, pico de gallo, Monterey Jack cheese and double hot sauce and double sour cream.

The San Diego Burrito, which features grilled steak, fresh pico de gallo, guacamole, Monterey Jack cheese and waffle fries is another top seller.

The restaurant also serves other dishes besides burritos, including burrito bowls, chimichangas, nachos, salads, quesadillas and even soft serve ice cream. Customers can order ice cream, milkshakes and sundaes from 3 to 11 p.m. during the week.

As BTB Burrito continues to leave its mark on Ann Arbor, Lowenstein said he is glad he chose the city for his business.

Since day one weve just had so much support, he said. I feel like one of Ann Arbors strong suits is that they really search out the independent places and weve always kind of held that spot with people and I love that about this town.

BTB Burrito, 1140 S.University Ave., is open 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday, 11:30 a.m. to 1 a.m. Tuesday through Wednesday, 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 a.m. Thursday through Friday, 3 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. Saturday and 5 to 11 p.m. Sunday. Find it online, on social media or by phone at 734-668-8411.

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ANN ARBOR, MI - University of Michigan police say a man sexually assaulted someone on campus Friday, July 7.

The suspect was banging on a locked door around 10 p.m. and gained unauthorized access from someone in the Ford Motor Company Robotics Building, the University of Michigan Division of Public Safety & Security said in a crime alert.

Once inside the building, the man followed the victim into a room and sexually assaulted her.

A suspect description was not immediately available.

This incident follows a sexual assault that was reported near University of Michigans campus last weekend. A woman told police an unknown man attacked her on S. Forest Avenue near Oakland Avenue.

Last month, university police also arrested a man accused of two indecent exposure incidents and one sexual assault.

The University of Michigan Division of Public Safety & Security encourage the campus community to avoid providing building access to anyone unknown, report suspicious behavior and walk with a friend or co-worker when possible.

Sexual assault is any sexual activity that occurs in the absence of consent. The responsibility lies with the perpetrator, not the survivor  no one deserves, asks for, or provokes sexual assault, officials said.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact the U-M Division of Public Safety and Security at 734-763-1131 or email UM-DPSS-Tips@umich.edu.

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FLINT, MI  Flint police on Friday released the name of the woman shot and killed on Chatham Drive early Sunday morning.

Monecia Hunter, 27, was killed in the early morning hours of July 2, police confirmed.
HOLLAND, MI - Police say a home invasion suspect sexually assaulted a 78-year-old woman early Saturday, July 8.

The Holland Department of Public Safety responded around 4:30 a.m. to the house on E. 8th Street near Cambridge Avenue in the Holland Heights neighborhood, according to a news release.

The victim told police she was sleeping but woke up to find a male suspect who had broken into into her home.

Police say the suspect sexually assaulted the woman and left the scene.

The victim was treated at Holland Hospital and later released.

The only description of the suspect available is a male with a raspy voice.

Anyone who has information about this incident is asked to contact the Holland Department of Public Safety at 616-355-1150 or policetips@cityofholland.com. Anonymous tips can be made through Silent Observer by calling 1-877-887-4536, texting OCMTIP and your message to 274637 or going online at www.mosotips.com.

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SOUTH HAVEN, MI -- Community members in Southwest Michigan are saying farewell to a beloved bridge on Sunday, July 9.

Friends of the Kal-Haven Trail is hosting a public gathering at the Nichols Covered Bridge at noon on Sunday to bid farewell before the local landmark is torn down. The gathering is at the South Haven trailhead off Wells Street, west of U.S. 31/Blue Star Memorial Highway.

The ceremony will be followed by a walk or bike ride down to the bridge for personal reflection.

The bridge is also known as the Black River Bridge, because it spans the Black River, just east of I-196. The pedestrian bridge is being demolished as part of a larger $5 million plan to resurface part of the trail from South Haven to Bloomingdale, which starts Monday, July 10, per the South Haven Tribune. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources received the funds through a 2022 state infrastructure bill.

The bridges coming demolition has been met with sadness by many in the community who see it as a loss of a piece of local history, said Jeff Green, chair of Friends of the Kal-Haven Trail, in a press release.

The covered bridge graced the cover of he 2022 Pure Michigan fall travel guide and has been an icon in Southwest Michigan for almost 30 years.

Friends of the Kal-Haven Trail has been working with the DNR to replace the bridge cover with a new one with longer lasting materials once the bridges frame is replaced.

Its pilings have been sitting in the river for all these years and are no longer able to handle weight of any significant load, Green said in the release. So far our efforts have not met with success - but theres always hope.

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OTTAWA COUNTY, MI - There is a new business rafting through West Michigan waters offering fan-favorite ice cream flavors to boaters and tourists across the region.

Megan Ward and Isaiah Kinney opened Ice Cream Afloat the weekend of June 14 on Lake Macatawa, 1863 Ottawa Beach Rd. in Holland, to a whirlwind of support from the boating community and surrounding residents.

The unique new business is open on weekends for boaters and the surrounding community to flag them down for a quick sweet treat while having a nice day out on the water or in the nearby parks. While customers arent permitted inside the boat, all are encouraged to stop by on either side whenever anchored, Megan Ward said.

If you see our menu boards up, we are open, Ward said. You can pull up to our boat on either side. If we are traveling and you are anchored in a no-wake zone, flag us down and we will come to you. If we are traveling through a wake zone and you want ice cream, signal to us and we will meet you in the nearest no-wake area so we may safely serve you.

Ward co-owns the ice cream boat business with her husband, Isaiah Kinney.

The idea behind the business was something Ward said she couldnt get out of her head after a friend told her about a similar business a few years ago. At the time, she was working as an art teacher in Fairmont, West Virginia.

The idea stuck with me, Ward told MLive/The Grand Rapids Press. I just thought, What a great job. How could you be mad going to work every day if your job was to sell ice cream on a boat and make people happy? I just loved it.

And so the husband-and-wife duo took the plunge and sold their home in West Virginia last year, moving to their new home in Grand Rapids shortly after.

It proved to be a good decision, Ward said. The duo has already seen positive feedback after their second weekend in operation July 21-23 along Spring Lake.

I feel like both communities that weve gotten to see so far have been really receptive and supportive, she said. Everyone has been very excited to see us once they realize were basically an ice cream truck on the water. Weve received a lot of love, for sure.

Plans for the unique business are to offer the novelty service to boaters and the surrounding communities of Spring Lake, Muskegon Lake and Lake Macatawa.

Ice cream lovers across West Michigan can flock to Ice Cream Afloat to grab an array of sweet treats, including Blue Bunny, Good Humors King Cones, Klondike Ice Cream Bars, Magnum Ice Cream Bars, Strawberry Shortcake Bars, and much more. Prices range from $4-$6 per treat.

The boat will be out and about every weekend for boaters, local residents and tourists eager for a refreshing bite to eat. Patrons looking for the boat can find the most up-to-date locations on Ice Cream Afloats Facebook page. Hours vary from noon - 7 p.m.

In the near future, Ward said she hopes to be out during the holidays and some additional weekdays, as well as adding another boat or two next summer.

We really are just providing a novel service to the boating community, Ward said. I am happy to be out and watch everyone be excited to see us. Were really trying to spread ice cream and joy and give people a really unique experience.

Ice Cream Afloat operates on the weekends, from around noon - 7 p.m. For payment, cash, card and Apple pay are accepted.

Visit the business Facebook page for docking locations and times.

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MUSKEGON COUNTY, MI - The Busy Bee Cafe has only been open since May but already has people in the small town of Montague flocking to the venue for a sweet or savory bite to eat and a unique beverage.

The popular cafe, located at 8641 Water St., Cottage 3 in the Montague Artisan Market Village, has already been selling out of its baked goods and treats.

Owner Miranda Combs, who is originally from Alaska, moved to the lakeshore with her family in 2017 after she and her husband needed a scenery change. Falling in love with what Michigan had to offer, Combs said she packed up her life and started anew.

When she moved to Michigan, she got a job at The Weathervane Inn, a lakefront hotel just steps from downtown Montague.

Combs said her interest in cooking started in the kitchen with her mom as a kid, who she says was a baker herself at the time.

I used to go in and help her out all the time, Combs told MLive/Muskegon Chronicle. Wed be in there at 3 or 4 in the morning making pies, cinnamon rolls, bread and all kinds of stuff. It was some of the best times in my childhood, so we always talked about doing that together as adults.

Combs said her mom passed away in 2020. This, she says, is what kickstarted her mentality of, Life is short; if you want to do it, do it.

She said she didnt know what she was doing, that the only true business experience she had at the time was working as a barista and her job at the hotel. But she persevered, saved money and turned to management for business advice.

Then, in December 2022, Combs said she came across a Facebook post from the Montague Artisan Market Village asking for food vendor applicants.

I met up with the market manager, signed a lease and just started planning and planning, Combs said. And the rest was history. We finally opened and its been absolutely amazing. I initially projected 150 customers a week, and I blew that out of the water.

The customers have spoken. One of the best sellers along the lakeshore is Busy Bee Cafes bacon, avocado and tomato panini ($6.50) made with Combs homemade avocado spread.

The best-selling drink to wash all that goodness down is The Honeycomb for $6.45. Its made with sweet honey and vanilla mixed together in steamed milk and espresso with a hint of lavender.

Other popular options on the menu include the Lotus Plant Energy drinks, which she says are selling out due to their low sugar content and high caffeine per serving. The drinks range between $5 and $6.50, according to the website.

Those are selling like crazy because people are used to the Red Bull-infused drinks, Combs said. You can even order the flavorless kind if you wanted to just get a lemonade or something without changing the flavor of it. You can definitely change it up a bit more.

Currently, customers can choose from two staple panini options on the menu, as well as an additional special item that rotates weekly. Combs said her next special might be a take on a Cuban panini.

People always ask me what is in the paninis and its a recipe that I make thats really simple and just goes together really well, she said. The different types of sauce and bread are made by me.

Combs said what sets her apart from other area cafes and coffee shops is the quality ingredients that are put into each creation, as well as the intimate, 10 ft. by 20 ft. cottage and quaint outdoor seating in the village.

Busy Bee Cafe is located at 8641 Water St. Cottage #3 in Montague. The cafe specializes in baked goods, unique beverages like the popular lavender lemonade, savory paninis, and much more. (Photo provided to MLive by Miranda Combs)

Combs is proud of her specialty drinks.

I use different types of syrups than what most places around here use, so my syrups actually taste the way theyre supposed to taste, she said. The lavender that I put in my Honeycomb latte actually tastes like lavender, its not overly sweet. And I think people around here appreciate that versus going to some of the big chain coffee places that use a lot of syrups high in sugar.

The next step for Busy Bee Cafe is staying open at Cottage 3 through mid-November. At the rate the business is growing, she said she hopes to open a brick-and-mortar in the future.

I am crossing my fingers and hope to be in a brick-and-mortar in the Montague area, she added. We love it out here. I wouldnt want to do business anywhere else.

The hours of operation for the Busy Bee Cafe 7 a.m. - 7 p.m. on Tuesday, 7 a.m. - 5 p.m. on Wednesday, 7 a.m. - 5 p.m. on Thursday, 7 a.m. - 9 p.m. on Friday, 7 a.m. - 5 p.m. on Saturday, and 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. on Sunday. People can place a pickup order at busy-bee-cafe.square.site. Visit the cafes Facebook page for additional information here, including how to contact Combs.

Would you like MLive to consider featuring your favorite restaurant in Michigans Best Local Eats? Send the details, including business name, address and best menu item, to Skyla Jewell-Hammie at sjewell-hammie@mlive.com.

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MUSKEGON, MI  Muskegon Public Schools placed an elementary school worker on paid administrative leave following accusations that the employee slapped a 3-year-old child and restrained the girl in a swing during a playground incident in late May.

The staff member, a paraprofessional at Marquette Elementary School, has remained on administrative leave since the morning of May 24, while the district continues to investigate the incident, Superintendent Matthew Cortez told MLive/Muskegon Chronicle on Friday, July 7.

Cortez would not name the paraprofessional, or provide any other details about the incident, because he said the districts investigation is still ongoing.

Muskegon mother Kariya Payne said her 3-year-old daughter, Emory Carpenter, was assaulted by a paraprofessional at Marquette Elementary School during a playground incident that happened on May 22, she told MLive.

Payne was told by school officials that her daughter had been playing with a sprinkler with other children during recess, when the paraprofessional tried to stop the 3-year-old and grabbed her, hitting her across the face with an open hand, her mother said.

The paraprofessional then took the girl and buckled her in a swing with restraints, locking the child in place for 5-10 minutes until she calmed down, Payne said.

Another staff member witnessed the incident but didnt intervene, Payne was told by school officials. The witness later reported the incident to school administrators, Payne said. There are no security cameras on the playground.

Cortez said school building leaders were notified about the incident on the afternoon of May 23. The following morning, the paraprofessional was placed on paid administrative leave.

Payne said she was heartbroken and distraught when she found out what happened to her child at school.

I couldnt believe that somewhere I send my child to school  a school that she actually loves and enjoys  thinking that she would be safe in someone elses care... and this incident happened to her, Payne said. Now, its just scarred me. I wanted to put her in daycare this summer, and I ended up not even doing it because I was just so scared of what what others would do when your child is not in your care.

Cortez said the district does not tolerate violent behavior in any way, shape or form.

Parents trust us with their most precious thing in the world, which is their children, Cortez told MLive. When we talk about our youngest and most valuable learners, that is something that we take sincere pride in.

But Payne said the district took more than two weeks to tell Emory Carpenters parents about the incident. No staff members mentioned what happened to the childs family, even when they dropped her off and picked her up every day from school, she said.

When asked why it took so long, she was told by school officials that it took time to identify which child was involved in the incident. Payne said her daughter is the only Black girl in her classroom.

Payne was not contacted by anyone from the school until Friday, June 2, when Marquette Assistant Principal Luis Gomez reportedly called Payne from his personal cell phone and left a message asking her to call him back. Payne said she didnt answer the call or check the message because it was a number she didnt recognize.

Payne didnt find out about the incident until a week later, when Child Protective Services (CPS) called her on June 9 to notify her that her daughter had been involved in an incident.

CPS would not confirm to MLive whether it was investigating the incident. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services said it does not comment on CPS cases or investigations.

Muskegon Police Capt. Tim Bahorski said the police department was notified of the alleged assault on June 2 by CPS, and that the police department is conducting its own investigation.

The district held a meeting to discuss the incident with the family on June 14, Payne said. The meeting included Cortez, Gomez, Marquette Principal Mary Scott, Special Education Director Christine Robertson, and the districts human resources director, Sheila Brown.

The 3-year-olds great aunt, Tasha Bibbs-Oakes, who is a former Muskegon Public Schools board member, said she isnt letting the district sweep this incident under the rug. She said district officials dropped the ball several times during the handling of the incident, and that school leaders must be held accountable.

Bibbs-Oakes said she has filed a complaint with the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People), and also spoke about the incident to the Muskegon Board of Education during public comment at its June 20 meeting.

I want to make sure that the city of Muskegon understands how Muskegon Public Schools responded to this assault, she told MLive.

If there are other parents that do not know how to handle things like this, I want them to know that you can hold the school accountable. Because Emory has a village, and her village is going to support her and hold the school staff members accountable to what they did not do regarding this incident.

Want more Muskegon-area news? Bookmark the local Muskegon news page or sign up for the free 3@3 Muskegon daily newsletter.

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KENTWOOD, MI - Two people were injured Friday, July 7 after gunshots were fired during a fight in Kentwood.

The Kentwood Police Department responded around 8:55 p.m. to the 4700 block of S. Breton Court on a reported shooting, according to a news release.

Officers found a 30-year-old woman had been shot in the hand after gunshots were fired through a closed door of a residence, police said. A 28-year-old man was also injured during a fight before the shooting.

Both victims suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

Police identified the suspects and later arrested two men.

Officials say the shooting does not appear to be a random incident.

Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to contact the Kentwood Police Department Detective Bureau at 616-656-6604 or Silent Observer at 616-774-2345 or SilentObserver.org.

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Michigan will receive nearly $15 million in federal grant money to improve the electric grid and reduce the impacts of extreme weather.

The U.S. Department of Energy announced more than $207 million in grants nationwide, including $14.9 million for Michigans Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE). The money is earmarked for last-mile energy delivery for low-income residents and efforts to lessen the risk of severe weather damaging the power grid.

Michigan will spend the grant money over the next two years to increase the number of skilled workers who can do the grid improvement work, as well as support non-wired alternative projects.

State officials said the two-year allocation is part of a larger, five-year federal grant that will in the end total $37.4 million for Michigan. The state will contribute $5.6 million to match the federal grant dollars.

EGLE will use the money for grants to electric utilities and other eligible groups, in collaboration with the Michigan Public Service Commission, said Hugh McDiarmid Jr., EGLE spokesperson.

This funding opportunity will allow Michigan to focus on improving electric reliability and resilience due to aging infrastructure and the real and costly impacts of the climate crisis, McDiarmid said.

Related: Michigans utilities struggle to keep the power on as climate change intensifies

Work can be expected to include relocating power lines, replacing old overhead conductors and underground cables, vegetation and tree trimming, burying electrical equipment for critical facilities, hardening of power lines, and alternative projects such as battery storage and micro-grids.

U.S. Sens. Gary Peters and Debbie Stabenow, both Democrats from Michigan, said this federal funding is critical to bolster the electrical grids ability to withstand increasingly strong storms. They agreed this funding will help prevent Michiganders from losing power so frequently.

Michigan knows firsthand how more frequent extreme weather events  a direct result of the climate crisis  are taking a toll on our states electrical grid. This funding is another critical infrastructure investment coming to our state that will help ensure that Michigan households can count on having power, no matter the forecast, Stabenow said.

U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said the federal agency intended the money to strengthen Americas workforce and prepare the nation for a more resilient, clean energy future.

These grants will help modernize the electric grid to reduce impacts of extreme weather and natural disasters while enhancing power sector reliability, Granholm said in a statement.

The grants come from the federal grid resilience program for state and tribal governments. In the next five years, the federal program is expected to distribute $2.3 billion to states, territories, and federally recognized tribes.

This round of grants went to nine states and three tribes. California received the largest grant at $67.5 million to advance clean energy, followed by Texas at $60.6 million to reduce grid disruptions, and Oregon with $19.9 million to improve grid resilience for disadvantaged communities and nine tribes.

Other states to receive grants include Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Minnesota, and Rhode Island. Tribes to receive grants include Metlakatla Indian Communitys Annette Island Reserve and The Native Village of Eagle, both in Alaska, plus the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe of North & South Dakota.

These federal grid resilience grants are funded through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

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Its typical for surgery patients to be told not to eat or drink anything for a period prior to operation in order to prevent vomiting and subsequent health complications during their procedure.

However, that period may not be long enough to ensure the stomach is empty if an individual is taking certain medications for diabetes and/or weight loss that slow gastric emptying. Thats according to a recent advisory issued by the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA).

In recent weeks, the ASA came out with new guidance that suggests withholding use of medications like Wegovy and Ozempic prior to surgery to reduce the risk of complications associated with anesthesia.

Because of the delayed gastric emptying, were finding more and more people are arriving for surgery with basically full stomachs, and thats the one thing we dont want when were doing an elective operation, said Jodie Emerson, president elect of the Michigan Association of Nurse Anesthetists and a practicing nurse anesthetist in Alma.

Wegovy and Ozempic are brand names for a drug called semaglutide that helps control blood sugar levels in adults with diabetes. They and other glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists like Trulicity can delay stomach emptying, decrease hunger and reduce how much people eat.

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Emerson said the problem comes if a patient doesnt disclose to their nurse and/or surgeon that theyre taking one of these drugs. Without that knowledge, they may begin anesthesia before the stomach has been cleared, which can increase the risk of regurgitation and aspiration of food into the airways and lungs before or during surgery.

If food from the stomach comes back up the esophagus and into the back of your throat, it can make its way into your lungs and potentially lead to pneumonia.

ASA President Dr. Michael Champeau said the association has received anecdotal reports that the delay in stomach emptying could be associated with this increased risk. More research is needed on how these drugs interact with anesthesia.

These complications can be serious, so we are providing guidance on when GLP-1 agonists should be stopped in advance of an elective procedure, Champeau said.

Patients who take a GLP-1 agonist daily should not take their dose the day of their procedure or surgery. Those who take it weekly should not take their dose the week prior to the procedure.

You should also talk to your doctor to see if another medication is recommended leading up to surgery to help control your condition.

The ASA said patients should consider delaying their procedure if they experience gastrointestinal symptoms the day of their surgery, such as severe nausea/vomiting/retching, abdominal bloating or abdominal pain.

If they are on these medications, their care team can take an ultrasound to see the contents of their stomach before surgery and take precautions.

Were putting more of a big push on making the public aware that they need to disclose medications theyre taking, as well as supplements theyre taking, Emerson said. Honesty is the best policy.

Semaglutide which was first developed to help control blood sugar levels in adults with diabetes. However, it proved beneficial for weight loss in non-diabetics as well.

Wegovy gained U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval in June 2021. Within a year, success stories of weight loss from users of the weekly shots sparked an increase in popularity.

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DETROIT -- Riley Greene is back in the lineup for the first time since May 30.

Greene, who was reinstated from the injured list on Saturday, will be in the starting lineup as the designated hitter when the Detroit Tigers play the Toronto Blue Jays at 1:10 p.m. at Comerica Park.

The full lineup is below. Catcher Jake Rogers; designated hitter Miguel Cabrera; infielder Andy Ibanez; and outfielder Akil Baddoo will be available off the bench.

On the mound, right-hander Matt Manning (2-1, 4.84 ERA) will face Jays righty Kevin Gausman (7-4, 3.04).

In his last start, Manning allowed four runs in five innings in the Tigers 14-9 victory at Colorado on July 2.

Gausman will be making his 50th start since joining the Jays on a five-year, $110 million contract prior to the 2022 season.

How to Watch the Toronto Blue Jays vs. Detroit Tigers: Channel, Stream
Yesterday was a picturesque day, with temperatures in the 70s and 80s. This was coupled with mostly sunny skies that accompanied us throughout the day. Today will be quite the opposite, with prolonged showers today.

This broken line of showers arrived just after midnight, and will slowly march their way through the Lower Peninsula.

Radar loop for today

Isolated showers will follow this line, primarily staying near the Michigan/Indiana border. The Upper Peninsula will also receive spotty showers throughout the day, with most of the coverage occurring near Wisconsin.

This is not expected to be total washout, with most rain totals amounting to less than an inch.

Precipitation map

The Flint area looks to be an exception, with up to an inch of rain possible.

The end result of this rain will be temperatures that stay in the 70s for much of Michigan, while the Lake Superior shoreline struggles to reach the 60s.

Temperatures for today

Traverse City looks to be the best bet for temperatures in the 80s.

These showers will help keep our current drought under control. Even with the rounds of storms from the past two weeks, we still have not overcome the dry conditions from May and June. You can view our current drought conditions here.
Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen, a flagbearer aspirant of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has confidently asserted that he is the only candidate capable of breaking the 8.

He said he is the right person with the political clout to secure victory for the party in the Greater Accra, Central, Western and Volta Regions.

These regions have traditionally become a challenge for the NPP.

In particular, the Volta Region has been a stronghold for the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) the NPP is trying to breakthrough.

However, the NPP recently made significant progress by winning a parliamentary seat in the Hohoe constituency, thanks to the efforts of the sitting Member of Parliament, Peter Amewu, who is a staunch supporter of Alan's bid for the flagbearer slot.

Recognizing the significance of these regions in the upcoming 2024 elections, Alan Kyerematen emphasized that his high ratings put him ahead of all the aspirants including Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, his 'archrival.'

During his campaign tour of the Greater Accra region, he met with party delegates and engaged in cluster meetings with various constituencies, including Prampram, Ada and Sege.

Addressing party delegates from Madina, Adentan and Shai Osudoku constituencies at the University for Professional Studies in Accra, Mr Alan stated, "I am the only one that can win Greater Accra, Central, Western, and Volta Regions for the NPP as the people of these regions are rooting for me to become the flagbearer of the NPP in 2024."

He further emphasized the need for the NPP to break the eight-year political cycle in Ghana and urged delegates to consider the wider interests of party members when selecting a flagbearer who could effectively become the next president of the country.

He called on the delegates to vote for a candidate who genuinely cared about the welfare of party members.

As I said, delegates must not only look at their personal benefit but the wider interest of members who put them there, he said.

Supporting his candidacy, Minister for Railway Development, John Peter Amewu, who hails from the Volta Region, expressed confidence in Alan's ability to secure victory for the NPP.

He noted that Alan's clean record while in office had shielded him from attacks by opponents.

He stated, We are presenting to you a candidate that would make our work very easyI am from the Volta Region, and I am saying the love for Alan in the region is huge and he is the one that can break the dominance of the NDC in the region.

The NPP is currently preparing for its National Delegates Conference, scheduled for November 4, 2023.

Prior to this, a special conference will be held to reduce the number of presidential aspirants to five.
Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), James Klutse Avedzi, has issued a two-week ultimatum to the management of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) to provide information regarding their contract with auditing firm Safaritech.

This ultimatum follows allegations made by Sam George, the Ningo-Prampram MP and committee member, that Safaritech had been delisted and that its listed office address is a barber shop, raising concerns about the legitimacy and credibility of the company.

The Commissioner-General of GRA, Rev. Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah, failed to address the questions posed by Sam George, prompting Chairman Avedzi to set the two-week deadline for the GRA to furnish the committee with details of the contract.

This contract has recently become a subject of dispute between the telecommunications giant MTN and the GRA regarding tax quotations.

During a committee session, Chairman Avedzi urged the Commissioner-General to provide information on the relationship between GRA and Safaritech Ghana Limited.

He also indicated that if necessary, the Commissioner-General may be called to provide further explanations.

Mr. Commissioner General, you can provide the relationship you have with Safaritech Ghana Limited to the Chair through the Committee. If there is a need for us to call you for further explanation we will do so.

-Citi Newsroom
Plans to discharge treated water from the Fukushima nuclear plant have cleared their last regulatory hurdle in Japan, as China said it would ban some food imports over the decision.

Friday's move by Tokyo to release the treated water into the sea over several decades comes as South Korea endorsed the plan, saying it met or exceeded international standards.

Some 1.33 million cubic metres of groundwater, rainwater and water used for cooling uranium rods have accumulated at the Fukushima nuclear plant, where several reactors went into meltdown after the 2011 tsunami overwhelmed cooling systems.

Storage space is running out, but plans by Japan and plant operator TEPCO to release the water into the sea have run into local and regional opposition.

Earlier this week, the UN nuclear watchdog said the discharge would have "negligible" effects on the environment and was in line with water releases from nuclear plants elsewhere.

Japan's government says the water release would begin by the end of summer, and on Friday the country's Nuclear Regulation Authority said the equipment and facilities to discharge the water had passed their checks.

China moves to ban Japanese imports from affected areas

The Japanese government has spent months trying to win over public opinion at home and abroad, with everything from study tours of the plant to livestreamed experiments keeping marine life in the treated water.

But none of those efforts nor the International Atomic Energy Agency's endorsement, have won over Beijing, which has accused Japan of treating the Pacific like a "sewer".

On Friday, China's customs authority said it would ban food imports from 10 Japanese prefectures over the release, and require stringent radiation tests on food from the rest of the country.

In a statement, the authority said, "China Customs will maintain a high level of vigilance," without specifying the list of Japanese prefectures affected by the ban.

Japan's foreign ministry is reportedly "studying" possible measures in response.

South Korea approves discharge plan

For its part, South Korea said Friday that its review of the Fukushima plan found it in line with international standards.

The study, which focused on whether the discharge would affect South Korean waters, found it would have "negligible consequences."

It would take up to 10 years for the treated water to circulate back into the seas around the Korean peninsula, according to the report.

The discharged water is treated to remove almost all radioactive elements apart from tritium, which is commonly found in nuclear plant wastewater pumped into the sea.

The water will be diluted with seawater before release, and then further diluted as it circulates in the ocean.

Protests and hunger strikes

However, there have been protests and even panic-buying of salt based on fears that the Fukushima water will pollute the ocean and its salt.

Some opposition lawmakers have even gone on hunger strike in protest.

However, at Seoul's sprawling Noryangjin Fish Market, many vendors said the opposition was bad for business.

This comes as IAEA head Rafael Grossi  who has been in Tokyo and Fukushima this week  is in Seoul this Friday.

Grossi underlined: "My responsibility as head of the IAEA is to show up, to have a direct conversation with all those involved and to try to answer in the best, most honest possible way, the questions that may arise."
Delegates of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in Tema East, West, and Central Constituencies have rooted for Mr Alan John Kwadwo Kyerematen, an Aspiring Flagbearer of the party.

After interacting with the former Trades and Industry Minister, the Industrial City delegates affirmed their commitment to support his candidature to transform Ghana's economy.

Mr. Kyeremanten, who served as Ghana's Ambassador to the United States, during the interaction, which was attended by hundreds of delegates from the three constituencies, stressed the economic transformation agenda, which hinged on job creation, revamping industries, and other modern forms of governance.

The former Minister of Trade, Industry, Private Sector Development (PSD), and Presidential Special Initiatives (PSI) in former President John Kufuors NPP government noted that Ghanaians were waiting for the NPP delegates to overwhelmingly endorse him as the Presidential Candidate for Election 2024.

Mr. Kyerematen, who also served as a trade advisor at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where he coordinated the African Trade Policy Centre (ATPC), urged the NPP delegates not to disappoint the teeming Ghanaians, who are looking up to them by voting massively for him during the NPP Presidential Primaries.

Mr. Kyerematen is described as a longtime General in the NPP Presidential race who made an attempt at the leadership of the party in 2007, capturing 32.3 percent of votes cast.

He was the first runner-up to Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, who gained 47.96 percent of the votes cast and made other attempts at the partys leadership in 2010 and 2014 but placed second to Akufo-Addo, who won the primaries.

Mr. Kyerematen was born on October 3, 1955, in Patasse, Kumasi, to Alexander Atta Yaw Kyerematen, a social anthropologist, and Victoria Kyerematen (nee Welsing), from Elmina and Ejisu.

He was named after Alan John Knight, an archbishop of the Church of England who was the headmaster of the all-boys Anglican boarding school Adisadel College on Cape Coast in the 1930s.

Mr. Kyerematen completed his secondary school at Adisadel College after beginning at Asokore Mampong Secondary School, now Kumasi Academy.

Following that, he attended Achimota School for sixth form before enrolling at the University of Ghana, Legon, for a Bachelors degree in Economics.

Mr Kyerematen, also has a law degree, an LLB from the Ghana Law School at the same university, where he qualified as a barrister-at-Law and was admitted to the Ghanaian bar.

He is also a Hubert Humphrey Fellow at the School of Management at the University of Minnesota in the United States.

He was a senior corporate executive with a Unilever International subsidiary in Ghana and served as a principal consultant and head of Public Systems Management with the Management Development and Productivity Institute (MDPI) for several years.

Mr. Kyerematen was selected as the first regional director of Enterprise Africa, an Africa-wide flagship initiative for the development and promotion of small and medium-sized firms, by the UNDP in 1998.

He built enterprise support institutions and projects in 13 Sub-Saharan African nations, including Botswana, Benin, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, and Uganda, under that framework.

Mr. Kyerematen was also in charge of designing and overseeing Ghanas EMPRETEC Programme, a premier business development programme supported by the United Nations and Barclays Bank.

He oversaw the transformation of EMPRETEC from a UN initiative to an autonomous foundation, and as its founding CEO, he built the foundation into a world-class institution renowned as a successful model and best practise institution for African enterprise development.

Mr. Kyerematen has been an NPP stalwart and major strategist from the partys foundation in 1992.

He is a founding member of the party and has served on the NPPs highest decision-making committees, which have influenced the Partys strategic orientation in both opposition and government.

He was a member of the NPP National Executive Committee from 1992 to 2001, as well as the NPPs Economic Management Team and Finance Committee.

He is also a founding member of the Young Executive Forum (YEF), the Partys youth advocacy and lobbying group. He represented the essence and spirit of the new generation of party leaders as Chairman of YEF from 1992 to 2001.

Mr. Kyerematen has been a member of the National Executive Committee for over a decade, serving under the Chairmanships of B. J. DaRocha, Peter Ala Adjetey, Samuel Odoi-Sykes, and Haruna Esseku.

He was appointed to the NPP/CPP Great Alliance Negotiating Team because of his commitment to strategy development inside the Party.

On January 11, 2023, Mr. Kyerematen announced his desire to run for the NPPs flagbearership and resigned from his position as Minister of Trade and Industry.

GNA
Senegalese President Macky Sall has said the country would have "stopped functioning" if he had declared his decision not to seek a controversial third term sooner, in an interview published on Friday.

Sall also hinted at a possible future bid for a United Nations position, in the interview with the French newspaper Le Monde.

"I couldn't say earlier that I wouldn't be standing for re-election, otherwise the country would have stopped functioning," the president said, blaming recent political tensions on his main opponent Ousmane Sonko without directly naming him.

"The only reason I could have stood again is if the country had faced a serious threat to its stability, but that threat never came," he added.

Sonko, Sall's fiercest opponent, was sentenced last month to two years in prison for morally corrupting a young woman, a conviction that renders him ineligible for the February 2024 presidential election.

The ruling led to the most serious unrest Senegal has seen in years, leaving at least 16 dead.

Sall claimed the left-wing French political party La France Insoumise had supported the violence, condemning what he described as "unacceptable interference".

Sall, who is coming to the end of his second mandate, on Monday announced he would not seek a third term, following months of ambiguity and speculation about his intentions.

Sonko has been blocked by security forces in his home in the capital Dakar since May 28, several days before the court ruling.

Asked whether the politician had not yet been arrested out of fear of further violence, Sall said he was "not afraid of anything".

"I'm running a country, I'm not focusing on a debate about individuals. If someone has to be arrested, he has to be arrested," he said.

At an investment forum near Dakar on Thursday, Sall promised to remain in Senegal after his presidency.

Many of the country's former presidents moved to France after leaving power.

But in the interview Friday, he said he was interested in "serving Africa and the world".

Asked whether he would be tempted by a diplomatic position with the G20 or the United Nations, Sall noted that the current UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, finishes his mandate in 2026.

"Let's wait until 2025," he said.
Mr Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, the Speaker of Parliament, says the House will have extended sitting next week.

He explained the extension was to resource the Members of Parliament (MPs) to particularly take key decisions of the House and the new Standing Orders being worked on.

Mr Bagbin said this when he commented on the Business Statement for the sixth week ending Friday, July 14, 2023, on the floor of the House.

Presenting the Business Statement to the House, Mr Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin, the Vice Chairman of the Business Committee of Parliament, recommended that the House commenced sitting each day at 1000 hours and to have extended sittings that would ensure that business scheduled for the sixth week, particularly the Bill (s) programmed, were considered by the House and same passed expeditiously.

Mr Speaker, it is hoped that this recommendation, if adopted, will also facilitate the consideration of other parliamentary business that would require the attention of the House, he said.

Remarking on the House's expected day of recess, Mr Bagbin noted that the House would adjourn sine-die before August 9, 2023, after the Mid-Year Budget was read by August 3.

We are to rise early to attend to other parliamentary matters that require our expertise, Mr Bagbin said.

Meanwhile, nine Ministers are expected to appear before the House in the ensuing week, to respond to 45 questions of which all would be Oral.

Mr Afenyo-Markin, who is also the Deputy Majority Leader, said the Ministers included the Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, Gender, Children and Social Protection, Local Government, Decentralisation and Rural Development, Transport, Trade and Industry, Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation and Roads and Highways.

Mr Afenyo-Markin, also the MP for Effutu, further reiterated earlier calls and urged Committees with referrals, particularly on public Bills, to expedite work on them for the consideration of the House.

Mr Speaker, this call by the Business Committee is borne out of the fact that the House has barely seven weeks left to consider these important Bills and other parliamentary business that may require the attention of the House, he said.

Mr Afenyo-Markin urged the Committees with pending Bills, including the Grains Development Authority Bill, 2022; Ghana Industrial Property Office Bill, 2023; ill, 2022; Ghana Industrial Property Office Bill, 2023; Rent Bill, 2023; Budget Bill, 2023, Criminal Offences (Amendment Bill, 2023 and National Petroleum Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2023 to expedite their work.

GNA
Some 31 health workers in the Atebubu-Amantin municipality have received the Covid-19 Presidential Awards at a ceremony in Atebubu.

Welcoming recipients to the event, the Atebubu-Amantin Municipal Chief Executive Hon. Edward Owusu expressed his gratitude to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for the recognition of the sacrifices of the health staff during the period and thanked them for their selflessness.

The Bono East regional director of health Dr. Fred Adomako Boateng traced the trajectory of Covid-19 in the region since the first case was reported at Yeji on May 28, 2020 adding that the pandemic had varied implications for the country.

He said the decision to award recipients is a well thought out one since it will motivate others to always put in their best.

The Bono East Regional Coordinating Director Mr. George Padmore Mensah who deputized for the Regional Minister said 424 health workers were nominated for the awards in the region.

Quoting the former United Kingdom Prime Minister Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill, Mr. Padmore Mensah said the greatest asset of any nation is the health of its people and thanked the awardees for their dedication to duty.

Mr. Victor Adjomah who spoke on behalf of his colleague recipients thanked the President for the recognition.

Present were the Atebubu-Amantin municipal Director of Health Mrs. Emelia Dela Kpodo and the Bono East regional Information Officer Mr. Paul Desmond Tutu.
One man was shot dead in Kenya on Friday, a hospital official said, following anti-government protests over a cost-of-living crisis and a raft of controversial tax hikes.

Police earlier fired tear gas on opposition leader Raila Odinga's convoy after he addressed a rally in the capital Nairobi, AFP correspondents said, taking similar action to break up protests in the cities of Kisumu and Mombasa as rights groups condemned "arbitrary arrests".

"One person died of gunshot wounds", said Alex Ochieng, administrator at Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching & Referral Hospital in Kisumu, an opposition stronghold on Lake Victoria in western Kenya.

"We have two other people with gunshot wounds and four who were hit by blunt objects," he told reporters, adding that the fatality was a man.

An AFP correspondent also witnessed police making several arrests in Nairobi, with security tightened for the latest round of protests called by Odinga this year against the policies of President William Ruto's government.

At the rally, Odinga announced plans to collect 10 million signatures in a bid to remove his arch-rival from office.

Odinga's Azimio alliance had called for the protests over the impact of new taxes. By Luis Tato (AFP)

The 78-year-old lost the closely fought August 2022 election to Ruto and has repeatedly denounced the poll as "stolen".

"Kenyans elected leaders to parliament and they have betrayed them," he said to cheers. "Ruto himself who took over power illegally has betrayed Kenyans."

Odinga's Azimio alliance had called for the protests over the impact of the new taxes on Kenyans already suffering economic hardship and soaring prices for basic necessities.

Last week, Ruto signed into law a finance bill which is expected to generate more than $2.1 billion for the government's depleted coffers and help repair the heavily indebted economy.

The Finance Act provides for new taxes or increases on a range of basic goods such as fuel and food and mobile money transfers, as well as a controversial levy on all tax-paying Kenyans to fund a housing scheme.

'Excessive force'

Previous protests have sometimes descended into violence and looting, with two people killed in separate clashes between police and demonstrators in March.

Previous protests have sometimes descended into violence. By Luis Tato (AFP)

Amnesty International's Kenya chapter said Friday that it had "received reports of arbitrary arrests of protesters in Nairobi and Western Kenya and selective excessive force" deployed by police.

A coalition of rights organisations, including the Kenya Human Rights Commission, said their representatives saw "protesters being dragged on the ground while others were being carried to the police vehicles to be transported to police stations".

"We have witnessed the police, yet again, lobbing tear gas to otherwise peaceful protesters, arbitrarily arresting peaceful protesters and brutally handling them," campaigners said, condemning "the excessive and arbitrary use of force by police".

Odinga's Azimio alliance said they would hold another rally in Nairobi on Wednesday, calling for "nationwide demonstrations".

Critics accuse Ruto of rowing back on promises made during his election campaign, when he declared himself the champion of impoverished Kenyans and pledged to improve their economic fortunes.

But the 56-year-old rags-to-riches businessman has defended the taxes, saying they will help create jobs and reduce public borrowing.

Court challenge

The high court in Nairobi last Friday suspended implementation of the legislation after a senator filed a case challenging its constitutional legality.

Odinga lost the closely fought August 2022 election to Ruto. By Luis Tato (AFP)

Despite the ruling, Kenya's energy regulator later that day announced a hike in pump prices to take account of the doubling of VAT to 16 percent as stipulated in the law.

In Nairobi's central business district, where main government buildings are located, police were patrolling on foot, in vehicles and on horseback, while several roads in the capital were closed.

"I hope this demo will make a difference," Alex Dwisa, a 24-year-old manual worker, told AFP.

"The cost of living is too high, I don't have 10k (10,000 Kenyan shillings/$70) to send my two kids to school."

The protests have been dubbed "Saba Saba" (Seven Seven) as they are taking place on the seventh day of the seventh month, symbolising the day in 1990 that the opposition rose up to demand the return of multi-party democracy.
Granting the African Union a permanent seat at the G20 group of wealthy nations would undo an "injustice", Senegalese President Macky Sall said on Friday.

South Africa is the continent's sole permanent member of the club that brings together the European Union and 19 other advanced economies and represents more than 80 percent of the world's GDP.

"Africa together is eighth in the world in terms of gross domestic product," Sall told an economic forum in the southern French town of Aix-en-Provence by video link.

Admitting the continent as the African Union within the G20 would heal an "injustice", he added.

Sall noted "progress" on the issue as all G20 members agreed that Africa should obtain a permanent seat, which the Senegalese leader hoped to see implemented at the group's next summit in India later this year.

European Central Bank chief Christine Lagarde told the forum that Africa should have more weight within Washington-based global financial institutions, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF) which she used to head.

Sall also called for special drawing rights, a type of international reserve asset, to be further reallocated from rich countries in favour of poorer states as they try to develop and deal with the consequences of climate change.
An Accra High Court has acquitted and discharged Mr Daniel Opare Asiedu, a lawyer, who was jailed by an Accra Circuit Court on October 26, 2022, in an adoption case.

The Court, presided over by Mrs Justice Mary Ekue Yanzuh, also acquitted Madam Elizabeth Arthur Adjei, aka Maa Lizzy, Proprietress of God Kids Orphanage, who was also jailed by the same court.

A statement copied to the GNA by Mr. Abraham Arthur, Counsel for the two, said the High Court discharged them on June 2, 2023.

On August 28, 2018, the appellants, Mr Asiedu and Madam Adjei were put before an Accra Circuit Court on the charge of conspiracy to commit crime to wit defrauding by false pretences.

Mr Asiedu was additionally charged with abetment of crime to wit defrauding by false pretences.

After a full trial, the court sentenced Madam Adjei (the first appellant) to 36 months imprisonment and a fine of GHC6,000 or in default serve 18 months.

The court sentenced Asiedu (the second appellant) to 36 months imprisonment and a fine of GHC12,000.

The two appellants who were dissatisfied with the conviction and sentences, filed an appeal on November 22, 2022.

The High Court after a thoroughl examination of the appeal records, acquitted and discharged the appellants.

The High Court found as a fact that the charges levelled against the appellants by the prosecution were completely different from the evidence adduced at the trial, the learned Judge at page 27 of her judgement stated.

Indeed the evidence led by the prosecution at the trial had nothing to do with the charges preferred against the accused persons, the statement said.

It said the High Court again found that the trial judge erred when she based her judgement on facts totally unrelated to the charges against the appellants.

According to the statement, the High Court also found out that the charges levelled against the appellants had no basis.

Additionally, the statement said the High Court also held that the prosecution failed to adduce enough evidence to support the conviction and sentence, and that the appellants ought not to have been convicted.

The statement said: The learned High Court Judge confirmed that the appellants were innocent of the charges against them at the Circuit Court and, therefore, their conviction and sentences were made in error.

The High Court, therefore, set aside the circuit courts conviction and sentences of the appellant, the statement added.

A statement issued by the Gender Ministry in November 2022, alleged that the appellants succeeded in collecting money from a couple with the promise of transporting them and their one and half-year-old son to Canada for a job opportunity.

The statement said the complainants were asked to pay GHC5,000 to procure passport and other travel documents, out of which GHC4,000 was paid.

Madam Adjei, the statement alleged, later informed the complainants that, all the documents were ready but one person (the wife) could not travel because she had become pregnant and could only travel after delivery.

The statement said the complainant( the man) could also travel after three days because there was a problem with the passport, which must be worked on but his son could travel because there was nothing wrong with his document and that the white man to take them to Canada would go ahead with the boy.

It said after months of persistence, the complainant was given a document suggesting his child had been adopted.

Hence, he reported the case to Devtraco Police Station and the two were arrested and prosecuted by the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit of the Ghana Police with support from the Human Trafficking Secretariat (HTS) of the Gender Ministry.

GNA
The Valley View University (VVU), Ghana's first private and chartered University, has honoured five distinguished African personalities for their immense contribution to society's development.

They are President Hakainde Hichilema of Zambia, who received an honorary doctorate degree, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, who was given a citation, and former President John Agyekum Kufuor, who also received an honorary doctorate degree.

The rest are Nana Konadu Agyemang-Rawlings, a former First Lady, who was awarded with an honorary doctorate degree, and Mrs. Akosua Frema Osei-Opare, Ghana's Chief of Staff.

The awardees were recognised for their exemplary leadership, and for playing varied roles in their respective endeavours to enhance the cause of humanity.

Professor William Koomson, the VVU Vice-Chancellor, said the University and society in general were grateful to the personalities for their selflessness, commitment to duty and for embarking on numerous life-changing programmes.

These include good governance, health, education and infrastructural growth, women and children's development, mentorship and democratic development.

In decorating the Zambian President, Prof. Koomson said: You have become a beacon of hope for the Zambian people.

Your bold steps in combating corruption is remarkable, the Vice-Chancellor noted and lauded the President for working for the betterment of his people.

For President Nana Akufo-Addo, a citation presented to him acknowledged his resolve to promote democracy and good governance.

He was also commended for injecting massive resources to transform Ghana's educational sector, especially the implementation of the 'Free Senior High School (SHS)' Programme.

The Programme, since its implementation in 2017, has benefited about 1.6 million students.

Former President Kufuor was also honoured for upholding democratic principles during his tenure, and his fight for the cause of peace, unity and Africa's progress.

The other awardees, Nana Konadu Agyemang-Rawlings and Mrs. Osei-Opare, were both recognised for their contribution to youth, women and children's development.

With the exception of President Nana Akufo-Addo, who received a citation, the other awardees were robed academically to signify their new status and the honour done them.

In response, the Zambian President, Hichilema, said he was grateful to the VVU for recognising him as he sought to improve the living conditions of his people.

African universities, he said, should continually work assiduously in meeting their mandate  addressing the needs of the society in every field of human endeavour.

President Nana Akufo-Addo said he was deeply humbled by the citation given him, adding that it would serve as a motivation to spur him on for more positive actions for the benefit of the society.

Former President Kufuor urged the VVU not to lose focus, but remain glued to its avowed educational principles and core values of excellence, integrity and service.

GNA
Police talk to Greta Thunberg as they move climate activists from the organization Ta Tillbaka Framtiden, who are blocking the entrance to Oljehamnen in Malmo, Sweden, 19 June 2023. Photo: Johan Nilsson / TT News Agency / REUTERS

STOCKHOLM, 5 July 2023 (Reuters)  Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg has been charged with disobeying a police order to leave a climate protest in the southern city of Malmo on 19 June 2023, according to daily Sydsvenskan.

On the day of the incident, Thunberg wrote in an Instagram post that protesters had blocked the road for oil trucks in Malmo harbour.

The climate crisis is already a matter of life and death for countless people. We chose to not be bystanders, and instead physically stop the fossil fuel infrastructure. We are reclaiming the future, she had said.

If convicted for disobeying a police order, Thunberg can be handed a fine or up to six months in prison.

You have the freedom to demonstrate, but you must not demonstrate in such a way that it causes disturbances for others, prosecutor Charlotte Ottosen said, according to Sydsvenskan.

The Swedish central prosecutors press office could not immediately confirm the report when contacted by Reuters for comment. Thunbergs representatives could not be reached.

Greta Thunberg charged with disobeying police order at climate protest
08.07.2023 LISTEN

An Accra Circuit Court has remanded into police custody Solomon Boye Borquaye, aka Nii Aboabo, the Chief of Aboabo Oyibi, over alleged fraudulent sale of land at Oyibi in Accra.

Borquaye was remanded after he was arrested on a bench warrant.

The prosecution, led by Chief Inspector Richard Amoah, informed the court that the accused had been evasive, and that it took the Police intelligence Unit to track him down.

The case investigator also informed the court that he had personally sent text messages to the accused and called him and his surety to appear before the court, but all to no avail.

The investigator said the accused person had allegedly resisted arrest and that he was only arrested after he drove into another vehicle.

When the court presided over by Mr Isaac Addo asked the accused person where he had been, he said he was also a contractor and that he had been travelling outside the region.

Borquaye told the court that his surety who was expected to inform him about the matter had also been traveling.

He pleaded not guilty to the charge of fraudulent transaction and expected to reappear on July 24.

The prosecution's case is that the complainant is a businessman resident in Kumasi.

It said in the year 2021, the complainant needed a parcel of land to buy, and was introduced to the accused as the head and lawful representative of Borkwei Mayewani family of Aboabo-Oyibi by a friend.

On July 15, 2021, the prosecution said the complainant met the accused and he indicated that he could sell two plots of land to him at Oyibi at the cost of GHC45,000 and issued documents covering the land and took the money.

It said when the complainant went to develop the land, one James Folagin, who was also claiming ownership of the land appeared and challenged him.

It said the complainant reported the matter to the Police and the accused person was arrested.

The accused person admitted selling the land to the complainant.

The prosecutions said a search conducted on the land at the lands Commission indicated that the land is affected by Land Certificate number TC2406 issued to Okitipa Ogya Agona Family.

Investigations established that, at the time of granting the land to the complainant, the accused person had no title to the land.

GNA
9 Traditional Healers in the Gambia have graduated from 6 months of training in Naturopathy and Holistic Medicine from the Nyarkotey University College of Holistic Medicine & Technology, Ashaiman, Ghana. The Nyarkotey College is Ghanas first recognized college by the Traditional Medicine Practice Council(TMPC) of the Ministry of Health.

The College is also registered with the Commission for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (CTVET). The college under CTVET developed Ghanas first National Occupational Standards programs in Naturopathy and Holistic Medicine at the Higher National Diploma and Bachelors level.

The college also offers certificates and Diploma programs in Naturopathy and Holistic Medicine. The College is also an educational member of the World Naturopathic Federation (WNF), Canada.

The Nine Traditional healers who graduated from the 6 months program in Naturopathy were members of the National Traditional Healers Association of The Gambia (TRAHASS).

The graduation was part of the activities that heralded the 1st National Conference on Traditional and Alternative Medicine organized by the healers that took place at the Gambia College, Brikama.

The training was a result of a scholarship package worth 10,000 dollars provided by the president of the college, Prof. Raphael Nyarkotey Obu, who has been in the country to pursue his legal education at the Gambia Law School.

Prof. Nyarkotey admonishes modern Naturopaths to strive to adhere to the standard in the practice of natural medicine. He also advised not to be at loggerheads with mainstream practitioners as medicine is not competition and integration is key in the modern era. He also them to collaborate with mainstream practitioners and refer cases beyond their control to save their patients. He further admonished them to practice within their scope of practice to avert cases of medical negligence in their profession.

On their part, the president, Mr. Saliue Puye, of the traditional healers thank Professor Nyarkotey for such an upliftment and recognition of their practice. He also notes that not many people would do what Professor Nyarkotey has done for the traditional healers since he arrived in the country to pursue his legal education, but he has done more to help them get huge recognition in their trade in the Gambia and the global front.

On behalf of the healers, Mr. Puye asserts that the coming of Professor Nyarkotey to the Gambia was the light to raise awareness and introduce them to modern naturopathy. They have not heard about naturopathy and thus he was the first person to bring naturopathy to the Gambia, and they have not regretted studying naturopathy.

About Naturopathy

According to Prof. Nyarkotey, Naturopathy or Naturopathic Medicine is a system of healthcare with a deep history of traditional philosophies and practices, medically trained practitioners, and a breadth of natural treatment options to serve patients.

Touching on its history, he said, Naturopathy has been part of Germany for centuries. Many of the principles and philosophies of naturopathy originated in Germany and Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries. The original naturopaths  before the 1900s  from around the world, were trained by European doctors using hydrotherapy, herbal medicine, and other traditional forms of healing.

Currently, European countries consider their practice of naturopathy as a system of healthcare that has evolved by incorporating the traditional medicine of each country with the naturopathic principles, theories, modalities, and traditions that have been codified in North America. Traditional forms of naturopathic teaching and practice are still common in Europe.

He further said, North America is considered the home of modern naturopathy, or naturopathic medicine. Most North American schools are government-accredited and all regions within North America are working toward regulation or licensure (with 50% of Canadian provinces and 38% of all states/regions in the USA regulated). There are strong national and regional naturopathic associations, ongoing naturopathic research, and specialized groups and journals to support the practice of naturopathic medicine. North America is credited with codifying the naturopathic principles and for contributing some of the established theories and practices that are now used worldwide.

Throughout its history, naturopathy / naturopathic medicine is introduced into a country when a naturopath / naturopathic doctor that has been trained in North America or Europe moves and takes their skills with them.

There is a synthesis of European or North American training with the traditional systems of medicine in their country. For example, naturopathy was introduced to India after a medical doctor was trained by naturopaths in Europe; also those in South East Asia were originally trained in the USA.

He also said that he had an encounter with Naturopathy and Holistic Medicine when he met a renowned Naturopathic and Holistic Doctor in Cyprus. Today, he is a strong advocate of Naturopathy in Ghana and Africa. This made the Indian Medical Association, Junior Doctors Network, Odisha, to confer on him the pioneer of modern Naturopathy in Ghana.

On his part, he is infusing the European practice with the African context, thus, the name African Naturopathy in the modern era.

Prof. Nyarkotey also explained that Naturopathic Doctors study biomedical courses and Natural therapies in their accredited schools. Two facets of professionals exist in the profession; Naturopaths-those who studies close to 2,500 hours and Naturopathic Doctors-those who study over 4,500 credit hours and write the professional qualifying examination and are also licensed in the country to practice. In the case of Ghana, he said, qualified Naturopathic Practitioners are also inducted into the healthcare system by the Traditional Medicine Practice Council, of the Ministry of Health.

He further urges them to strive to attain the highest standard at the degree level to be Naturopathic Doctors. He congratulates them as history makers in the profession of Naturopathy in the Gambia.
The West African Gas Pipeline Company (WAPCo) has rebutted claims by Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo) that a technical issue with WAGP's facilities contributed to power outages in parts of the country last night.

In a press statement on Saturday, July 8, WAPCo said, "We did not have any technical issues and our facilities were, and still are, fully available to deliver gas."

WAPCo transports natural gas from Nigeria and Ghana to power plants in the region.

But the company says it depends on suppliers like the Ghana National Gas Company to provide gas that it then transports in its pipelines.

"When the agreed volume of gas is made available, WAPCo dutifully transports it to the shipper's customers. The challenge yesterday was that the Ghana National Gas Company's plant at Atuabo went down and therefore there was no gas available for WAPCo to transport," said Isaac Adjei Doku, General Manager of WAPCo.

Mr Doku added in the statement, "WAPCo wishes to set the record straight that we did not have any technical issues and our facilities were, and still are, fully available to deliver gas."

WAPCo however noted that the real cause of the power outage was a fault at the Ghana National Gas Company plant, not a problem with WAPCo's own facilities.

Read a full copy of the statement below:
Former President John Agyekum Kufuor has advised office holders to always demonstrate transparency and accountability in the discharge of their duties.

This, he noted, was the hallmark of good leadership.

Quality public service that ensured inclusiveness and eschewed discrimination in all forms, was vital to transform the society for the better, the Former President added.

Quality public service in a democracy such as ours should acknowledge the individual citizen, from whom all power emanates, as the real sovereign authority of the land.

Former President Kufuor was speaking on the theme: Maintaining Excellence, Integrity and Service in an Era of Global Instability and Permissiveness, at a special honorary awards' ceremony at the Valley View University (VVU), in the Greater Accra Region.

The programme saw the University, Ghana's first private and chartered university, conferring four honorary doctorate degrees on some distinguished African personalities at the ceremony.

It also presented a citation to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

Those who received the honorary doctorate degrees are President Hakainde Hichilema of Zambia, former President Kufuor, Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings, former First Lady, and Mrs. Akosua Frema Osei-Opare, Ghana's Chief of Staff.

The awardees were recognised for their selfless dedication to the cause of humanity and society, having distinguished themselves in their respective fields of endeavour.

They have also been instrumental in championing the society's progress, particularly, in the area of education, health, peace-building, youth, women and children's development, good governance, democracy and mentorship.

All the awardees share the distinction of public service with leadership,.

We all also staunchly believe in human dignity, former President Kufuor noted, while delivering his speech after he was decorated with an academic robe.

He reminded African leaders that working to address development challenges in the society and aspirations of the people, was invaluable for good governance.

He advised: The theme should guide us to maintain excellence, integrity and service in an era of global instability and permissiveness.

The key to ourselves is to begin to act rightly under all circumstances. Firstly, we have to do right by the laws of the land. Then, we must also be guided to being aware of and appreciation of our nations' position in the global context.

And, finally, we must uphold the centrality of humanity in all our worthy endeavours wherever we find ourselves. Living by this tenet would not be a mean task to do, but surely, you will have fulfilled your conscience.

GNA
4Thought Financial Group Inc. lowered its holdings in iShares MSCI Japan ETF (NYSEARCA:EWJ  Free Report) by 25.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 513 shares of the exchange traded funds stock after selling 172 shares during the period. 4Thought Financial Group Inc.s holdings in iShares MSCI Japan ETF were worth $30,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of iShares MSCI Japan ETF by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC now owns 459,992 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $26,997,000 after purchasing an additional 20,429 shares during the last quarter. Ahrens Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of iShares MSCI Japan ETF during the 1st quarter valued at about $131,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of iShares MSCI Japan ETF during the 1st quarter valued at about $355,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise increased its position in shares of iShares MSCI Japan ETF by 5.4% during the 1st quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 6,929 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $407,000 after purchasing an additional 354 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Carnegie Capital Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of iShares MSCI Japan ETF during the 1st quarter valued at about $2,714,000.

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iShares MSCI Japan ETF Stock Performance

EWJ traded up $0.87 on Friday, hitting $61.64. 6,669,978 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,894,423. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $61.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.44. iShares MSCI Japan ETF has a 12 month low of $47.64 and a 12 month high of $64.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.63 billion, a PE ratio of 12.76 and a beta of 0.68.

About iShares MSCI Japan ETF

iShares MSCI Japan ETF (the fund), formerly Ishares Msci Japan Index Fund, is an exchange-traded fund. The Fund seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of publicly traded securities in the Japanese market, as measured by the MSCI Japan Index (the Index).

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Advisor OS LLC trimmed its stake in shares of iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF (NYSEARCA:AGG  Free Report) by 81.6% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 10,510 shares of the companys stock after selling 46,507 shares during the period. Advisor OS LLCs holdings in iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF were worth $1,047,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF by 145.5% in the 1st quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 6,590 shares of the companys stock worth $705,000 after buying an additional 3,906 shares in the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF by 36.2% in the 1st quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 52,003 shares of the companys stock worth $5,570,000 after buying an additional 13,829 shares in the last quarter. Worth Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF in the 1st quarter worth $44,000. Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF in the 1st quarter worth $241,000. Finally, West Michigan Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. West Michigan Advisors LLC now owns 14,640 shares of the companys stock worth $1,568,000 after buying an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. 80.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF Stock Performance

Shares of NYSEARCA:AGG traded up $0.02 on Friday, reaching $96.53. The companys stock had a trading volume of 8,311,015 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,823,585. iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF has a 52-week low of $93.20 and a 52-week high of $104.39. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $98.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $98.70.

iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF Company Profile

IShares are index funds that are bought and sold like common stocks on national securities exchanges as well as certain foreign exchanges. iShares are attractive because of their relatively low cost, tax efficiency and trading flexibility. Investors can purchase and sell shares through any brokerage firm, financial advisor, or online broker, and hold the funds in any type of brokerage account.

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Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AGG? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF (NYSEARCA:AGG  Free Report).

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AIREA plc (LON:AIEA  Free Report)s stock price traded up 3.3% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as GBX 31.50 ($0.40) and last traded at GBX 31.50 ($0.40). 57,500 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 131% from the average session volume of 24,841 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 30.50 ($0.39).

AIREA Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of 13.03 million, a P/E ratio of 1,050.00 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 3.29, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.79. The company has a 50-day moving average of GBX 34.30 and a 200-day moving average of GBX 34.90.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Mederic Payne bought 78,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of GBX 37 ($0.47) per share, with a total value of 28,860 ($36,629.01). 28.71% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About AIREA

AIREA plc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the designing and manufacture of floor coverings in the United Kingdom and internationally. The company offers carpet tiles and planks for architects, specifiers and contractors in the education, leisure, commercial, healthcare, and public sectors under the Burmatex brand name.

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Investment analysts at StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Argo Group International (NYSE:ARGO  Free Report) in a report released on Thursday. The brokerage set a hold rating on the stock.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on ARGO. TheStreet upgraded shares of Argo Group International from a d+ rating to a c- rating in a research report on Friday, May 26th. Compass Point lowered shares of Argo Group International from a buy rating to a neutral rating and set a $30.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Monday, March 13th.

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Argo Group International Stock Up 0.1 %

Argo Group International stock opened at $29.65 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $29.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.04 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.75 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.63. Argo Group International has a one year low of $19.00 and a one year high of $35.54.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Argo Group International

Argo Group International ( NYSE:ARGO Free Report ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.31) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.80 by ($1.11). The firm had revenue of $419.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $461.90 million. Argo Group International had a positive return on equity of 0.06% and a negative net margin of 9.98%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Argo Group International will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its position in shares of Argo Group International by 334.7% during the 1st quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 926 shares of the companys stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 713 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Argo Group International by 50.0% during the 1st quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,680 shares of the companys stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 560 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Argo Group International by 148.0% during the 1st quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,793 shares of the companys stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 1,070 shares in the last quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc bought a new position in shares of Argo Group International during the 3rd quarter valued at about $59,000. Finally, Citigroup Inc. lifted its stake in Argo Group International by 34.5% during the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 3,976 shares of the companys stock valued at $116,000 after buying an additional 1,019 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.92% of the companys stock.

About Argo Group International

(Free Report)

Argo Group International Holdings, Ltd. underwrites specialty insurance and reinsurance products in the property and casualty markets. The company operates in two segments, U.S. Operations and International Operations. It offers primary and excess specialty casualty, general liability, commercial multi-peril, and workers compensation, as well as product, environmental, and auto liability insurance products; management liability, transaction liability, and errors and omissions liability insurance; primary and excess property, inland marine, and auto physical damage insurance; and surety, animal mortality, and ocean marine insurance products.

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Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE  Free Report) by 8.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 468,669 shares of the conglomerates stock after buying an additional 37,874 shares during the quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.s holdings in General Electric were worth $44,805,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of GE. Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in shares of General Electric by 10.0% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 305,384 shares of the conglomerates stock valued at $27,925,000 after buying an additional 27,682 shares during the last quarter. Prudential PLC acquired a new position in shares of General Electric during the first quarter valued at about $1,518,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of General Electric by 2.9% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 11,748 shares of the conglomerates stock valued at $1,075,000 after acquiring an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Electric during the first quarter valued at about $388,000. Finally, West Family Investments Inc. acquired a new position in shares of General Electric during the first quarter valued at about $230,000. 74.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Buying and Selling at General Electric

In other news, major shareholder General Electric Pension Trust acquired 35,160 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Friday, June 30th. The shares were bought at an average price of $995.44 per share, for a total transaction of $34,999,670.40. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 175,160 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $174,361,270.40. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, major shareholder General Electric Pension Trust bought 35,160 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Friday, June 30th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $995.44 per share, with a total value of $34,999,670.40. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 175,160 shares of the companys stock, valued at $174,361,270.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Thomas S. Timko sold 7,254 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Monday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.82, for a total value of $731,348.28. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,953 shares of the companys stock, valued at $2,112,481.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 239,419 shares of company stock worth $24,144,151. Corporate insiders own 0.67% of the companys stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

General Electric Trading Up 0.9 %

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on GE shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of General Electric from $90.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Friday, March 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of General Electric from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday, April 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of General Electric from $97.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, April 12th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of General Electric from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $120.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 20th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of General Electric from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Tuesday, March 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $106.69.

Shares of NYSE:GE opened at $108.30 on Friday. General Electric has a 1 year low of $46.60 and a 1 year high of $110.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $117.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.59 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The businesss 50 day moving average price is $104.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $92.63.

General Electric (NYSE:GE  Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 25th. The conglomerate reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.14. General Electric had a return on equity of 9.45% and a net margin of 11.85%. The firm had revenue of $14.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.24 EPS. The businesss revenue was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that General Electric will post 2.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 11th will be issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 10th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.30%. General Electrics payout ratio is currently 4.17%.

About General Electric

(Free Report)

General Electric Company operates as a high-tech industrial company in Europe, China, Asia, the Americas, the Middle East, and Africa. It offers gas and steam turbines, full balance of plant, upgrade, and service solutions, as well as data-leveraging software for power generation, industrial, government, and other customers.

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Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC raised its position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO  Free Report) by 4.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 669 shares of the companys stock after buying an additional 27 shares during the period. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLCs holdings in AutoZone were worth $1,644,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AZO. AdvisorNet Financial Inc boosted its holdings in AutoZone by 83.3% in the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 11 shares of the companys stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 5 shares during the last quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in AutoZone in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Legacy Bridge LLC acquired a new stake in AutoZone in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in AutoZone by 600.0% in the 1st quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 14 shares of the companys stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MUFG Americas Holdings Corp boosted its holdings in AutoZone by 166.7% in the 3rd quarter. MUFG Americas Holdings Corp now owns 16 shares of the companys stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. 98.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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AutoZone Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE AZO opened at $2,470.83 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $44.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.50, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.68. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52-week low of $2,050.21 and a 52-week high of $2,750.00. The businesss 50 day moving average is $2,515.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $2,490.41.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AutoZone ( NYSE:AZO Free Report ) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 23rd. The company reported $34.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $30.84 by $3.28. The company had revenue of $4.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.12 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 62.38% and a net margin of 14.45%. The firms quarterly revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $29.03 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 130.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. DA Davidson lowered their target price on AutoZone from $2,425.00 to $2,340.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 24th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on AutoZone from $2,878.00 to $2,886.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on AutoZone from $2,899.00 to $2,840.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 23rd. Citigroup lowered their target price on AutoZone from $3,125.00 to $3,020.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 30th. Finally, Wedbush boosted their target price on AutoZone from $2,600.00 to $2,750.00 in a report on Monday, May 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AutoZone has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $2,716.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AutoZone news, VP Albert Saltiel sold 2,245 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Friday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2,500.00, for a total value of $5,612,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 535 shares in the company, valued at $1,337,500. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other AutoZone news, VP Albert Saltiel sold 2,245 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Friday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2,500.00, for a total value of $5,612,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 535 shares in the company, valued at $1,337,500. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Dennis W. Leriche sold 1,420 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2,573.04, for a total transaction of $3,653,716.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 379 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $975,182.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,755 shares of company stock worth $14,373,061 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 2.59% of the companys stock.

About AutoZone

(Free Report)

AutoZone, Inc retails and distributes automotive replacement parts and accessories. The company offers various products for cars, sport utility vehicles, vans, and light trucks, including new and remanufactured automotive hard parts, maintenance items, accessories, and non-automotive products. Its products include A/C compressors, batteries and accessories, bearings, belts and hoses, calipers, chassis, clutches, CV axles, engines, fuel pumps, fuses, ignition and lighting products, mufflers, radiators, starters and alternators, thermostats, and water pumps, as well as tire repairs.

Further Reading

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A researcher stands in a glacier cave on Svalbard, Norway. Photo: Gabrielle Kleber

By Catherine Martin-Jones

6 July 2023

(University of Cambridge)  As the Arctic warms, shrinking glaciers are exposing bubbling groundwater springs which could provide an underestimated source of the potent greenhouse gas methane, finds new research published today in Nature Geoscience.

The study, led by researchers from the University of Cambridge and the University Centre in Svalbard, Norway, identified large stocks of methane gas leaking from groundwater springs unveiled by melting glaciers.

The research suggests that these methane emissions will likely increase as Arctic glaciers retreat and more springs are exposed. This, and other methane emissions from melting ice and frozen ground in the Arctic, could exacerbate global warming.

These springs are a considerable, and potentially growing, source of methane emissions  one that has been missing from our estimations of the global methane budget until now, said Gabrielle Kleber, lead author of the research who is from Cambridges Department of Earth Sciences.

Methane concentrations (nM) are denoted by coloured shading on the maps and are interpolated from the sampling points (grey dots) using Data-Interpolating Variational Analysis. Note the different concentration scale on each map. Concentrations are displayed for subsea-ice surface waters adjacent to three marine-terminating glaciers (glaciers are light grey; land is dark grey). a, Fridtjovbreen (TriassicMiddle Jurassic). b, Paulabreen (Early Cretaceous). c, Tunabreen (Carboniferous and Permian). Water depths are less than 60 m. Land and glacier shapefiles were digitalized manually by tracing Sentinel-2 satellite images. Figure created with Ocean Data View (https://odv.awi.de). Graphic: Kleber, et al., 2023 / Nature Geoscience



Scientists are concerned that additional methane emissions released by the Arctic thaw could ramp up human-induced global warming. The springs the researchers studied hadnt previously been recognized as a potential source of methane emissions.

Kleber spent nearly three years monitoring the water chemistry of more than a hundred springs across Svalbard, where air temperatures are rising two times faster than the average for the Arctic. She likens Svalbard to the canary in the coal mine of global warming, Since it is warming faster than the rest of the Arctic, we can get a preview of the potential methane release that could happen at a larger scale across this region.

Professor Andrew Hodson, study co-author from the University Centre in Svalbard said, Living in Svalbard exposes you to the front line of Arctic climate change. I cant think of anything more stark than the sight of methane outgassing in the immediate forefield of a retreating glacier.

Previously, research has centred on methane release from thawing permafrost (frozen ground). While the focus is often on permafrost, this new finding tells us that there are other pathways for methane emissions which could be even more significant in the global methane budget, said study co-author Professor Alexandra Turchyn, also from Cambridges Department of Earth Sciences.

Hodson added, Until this work was conducted, we didnt understand the source and pathways of this gas because we were reading about studies from completely different parts of the Arctic where glaciers are absent.

The methane-delivering springs they identified are fed by a plumbing system hidden beneath most glaciers, which taps into large groundwater reserves within the underlying sediments and surrounding bedrock. Once the glaciers melt and retreat, springs appear where this groundwater network punches through to the surface.

The researchers found that methane emissions from glacial groundwater springs across Svalbard could exceed 2,000 tonnes over the course of a year  which equates to roughly 10% of the methane emissions resulting from Norways annual oil and gas energy industry.

This source of methane will likely become more significant as more springs are exposed, said Kleber, If global warming continues unchecked then methane release from glacial groundwater springs will probably become more extensive.

a, Map of sampled proglacial groundwater springs (green circles) and springs identified by satellite images but not sampled (pink circles). The outlined area designates the full study region (6,268 km2). (The retreat of glacial termini since 1936 can be viewed in ref. 14 to contextualize the magnitude of glacial retreat and the increasing size of the sampled forefields.) b, Methane concentrations (nM) of sampled proglacial groundwater springs displayed by bubble size over a geological map of central Svalbard. Black lines on the map designate the locations of geological faults. The red line indicates the location of the AA cross section depicted in c. c, Cross section displaying the geological layers of the study region. Graphic: Kleber, et al., 2023 / Nature Geoscience

Glacial groundwater springs arent always easy to recognize, so Kleber trained her eye to pick them out from satellite images. Zooming in on the areas of land exposed by the retreat of 78 glaciers across Svalbard, Kleber looked for tell-tale blue trickles of ice where groundwater had leaked to the surface and frozen. She then travelled to each of these sites by snowmobile to take samples of the groundwater at locations where the ice had blistered due to pressurized water and gas buildup.

When Kleber and the team profiled the chemistry of the water feeding these springs, they found that all bar one of the sites studied were highly concentrated with dissolved methane  meaning that, when the spring water reaches the surface, there is plenty of excess methane that can escape to the atmosphere.

The researchers also identified localised hotspots of methane emissions, which were closely related to the type of rock from which the groundwater emerges. Certain rocks like shale and coal contain natural gases, including methane, produced by the breakdown of organic matter when the rocks formed. This methane can move upwards through fractures in the rock and into the groundwater.

In Svalbard, we are beginning to understand the complex and cascading feedbacks triggered by glacier melt  it seems likely that there are more outcomes like this which we have yet to uncover, said Kleber.

The amount of methane leaking from the springs we measured will likely be dwarfed by the total volume of trapped gas lying below these glaciers, waiting to escape, said Hodson, That means we urgently need to establish the risk of a sudden increase in methane leakage because glaciers will only continue to retreat while we struggle to curb climate change.

Shrinking Arctic glaciers are unearthing a new source of methane

Groundwater springs formed during glacial retreat are a large source of methane in the high Arctic

ABSTRACT: Permafrost and glaciers in the high Arctic form an impermeable cryospheric cap that traps a large reservoir of subsurface methane, preventing it from reaching the atmosphere. Cryospheric vulnerability to climate warming is making releases of this methane possible. On Svalbard, where air temperatures are rising more than two times faster than the average for the Arctic, glaciers are retreating and leaving behind exposed forefields that enable rapid methane escape. Here we document how methane-rich groundwater springs have formed in recently revealed forefields of 78 land-terminating glaciers across central Svalbard, bringing deep-seated methane gas to the surface. Waters collected from these springs during FebruaryMay of 2021 and 2022 are supersaturated with methane up to 600,000 times greater than atmospheric equilibration. Spatial sampling reveals a geological dependency on the extent of methane supersaturation, with isotopic evidence of a thermogenic source. We estimate annual methane emissions from proglacial groundwaters to be up to 2.31 kt across the Svalbard archipelago. Further investigations into marine-terminating glaciers indicate future methane emission sources as these glaciers transition into fully land-based systems. Our findings reveal that climate-driven glacial retreat facilitates widespread release of methane, a positive feedback loop that is probably prevalent across other regions of the rapidly warming Arctic.

Groundwater springs formed during glacial retreat are a large source of methane in the high Arctic
Berger Financial Group Inc trimmed its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO  Free Report) by 34.0% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 35,470 shares of the oil and gas companys stock after selling 18,256 shares during the period. Berger Financial Group Incs holdings in Valero Energy were worth $4,952,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP purchased a new position in Valero Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Live Oak Investment Partners purchased a new stake in Valero Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Prostatis Group LLC purchased a new stake in Valero Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Independence Bank of Kentucky boosted its position in Valero Energy by 150.0% during the 4th quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 250 shares of the oil and gas companys stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Finally, Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. purchased a new stake in Valero Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. 78.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Valero Energy Stock Up 1.2 %

NYSE:VLO opened at $114.84 on Friday. The firms 50-day moving average price is $112.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $124.90. Valero Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $96.93 and a 1-year high of $150.39. The company has a market capitalization of $41.52 billion, a PE ratio of 3.26, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

Valero Energy ( NYSE:VLO Free Report ) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 27th. The oil and gas company reported $8.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.24 by $1.03. Valero Energy had a net margin of 7.86% and a return on equity of 55.32%. The firm had revenue of $36.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $37.88 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.31 earnings per share. The businesss revenue was down 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Valero Energy Co. will post 22.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 23rd were paid a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 22nd. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.55%. Valero Energys dividend payout ratio is currently 11.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays reduced their price target on Valero Energy from $166.00 to $139.00 in a report on Sunday, May 7th. Tudor Pickering downgraded Valero Energy from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Monday, April 17th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Valero Energy from $159.00 to $151.00 in a research note on Friday, April 28th. Mizuho dropped their price target on Valero Energy from $174.00 to $152.00 in a research note on Friday, May 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $126.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Friday, June 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $152.00.

About Valero Energy

(Free Report)

Valero Energy Corporation manufactures, markets, and sells transportation fuels and petrochemical products in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Latin America, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Refining, Renewable Diesel, and Ethanol. The company produces California Reformulated Gasoline Blendstock for Oxygenate Blending and Conventional Blendstock for Oxygenate Blending gasolines, CARB diesel, diesel, jet fuel, and asphalt; aromatics; and sulfur crude oils.

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JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Braskem (NYSE:BAK  Free Report) from an overweight rating to a neutral rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has $11.00 price target on the stock, down from their prior price target of $11.50.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on BAK. Citigroup downgraded Braskem from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, June 23rd. Scotiabank upgraded Braskem from a sector perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $16.75 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, May 8th. HSBC upgraded Braskem from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 14th. Finally, UBS Group downgraded Braskem from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $13.88.

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Braskem Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BAK opened at $11.12 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.97. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $10.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $8.92. The company has a market cap of $5.02 billion, a PE ratio of -5.62 and a beta of 1.77. Braskem has a 12-month low of $6.26 and a 12-month high of $14.76.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Braskem

Braskem ( NYSE:BAK Free Report ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 9th. The company reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.43) by $0.52. The business had revenue of $3.74 billion during the quarter. Braskem had a negative return on equity of 56.42% and a negative net margin of 4.53%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Braskem will post -0.2 EPS for the current year.

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. lifted its position in shares of Braskem by 156.6% during the 1st quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 1,740 shares of the companys stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 1,062 shares during the last quarter. Shilanski & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Braskem during the 4th quarter valued at $488,000. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Braskem by 85.9% during the 4th quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,298 shares of the companys stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 1,986 shares during the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise lifted its position in shares of Braskem by 100.0% during the 1st quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 6,400 shares of the companys stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 3,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG acquired a new stake in shares of Braskem during the 1st quarter valued at $63,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 0.03% of the companys stock.

Braskem Company Profile

(Free Report)

Braskem SA, together with its subsidiaries, produces and sells thermoplastic resins. The company operates through three segments: Brazil, United States and Europe, and Mexico. The Brazil segment produces and sells olefins, including ethylene, polymer and chemical grade propylene, butadiene, and butene-1; benzene, toluene, and xylenes products; fuels, such as automotive gasoline, liquefied petroleum gas, ethyl tertiary-butyl ether, and methyl tertiary-butyl ether; intermediates, such as cumene; aliphatics, aromatics, and hydrogenated solvents; and specialties comprising isoprene, dicyclopentadiene, piperylene, nonene, tetramer, polyisobutylene, and hydrocarbon resins.

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AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB  Free Report) and Four Corners Property Trust (NYSE:FCPT  Free Report) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, institutional ownership, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Profitability

This table compares AvalonBay Communities and Four Corners Property Trusts net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

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Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets AvalonBay Communities 38.49% 9.17% 5.07% Four Corners Property Trust 43.12% 9.11% 4.64%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

87.9% of AvalonBay Communities shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 96.5% of Four Corners Property Trust shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.4% of AvalonBay Communities shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.1% of Four Corners Property Trust shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

Risk & Volatility

AvalonBay Communities pays an annual dividend of $6.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. Four Corners Property Trust pays an annual dividend of $1.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.4%. AvalonBay Communities pays out 90.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Four Corners Property Trust pays out 114.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. AvalonBay Communities has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years and Four Corners Property Trust has increased its dividend for 6 consecutive years. Four Corners Property Trust is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

AvalonBay Communities has a beta of 0.93, meaning that its share price is 7% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Four Corners Property Trust has a beta of 0.91, meaning that its share price is 9% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for AvalonBay Communities and Four Corners Property Trust, as provided by MarketBeat.

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score AvalonBay Communities 1 10 6 0 2.29 Four Corners Property Trust 0 2 2 0 2.50

AvalonBay Communities presently has a consensus target price of $203.00, suggesting a potential upside of 6.24%. Four Corners Property Trust has a consensus target price of $28.80, suggesting a potential upside of 13.65%. Given Four Corners Property Trusts stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Four Corners Property Trust is more favorable than AvalonBay Communities.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares AvalonBay Communities and Four Corners Property Trusts revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio AvalonBay Communities $2.59 billion 10.46 $1.14 billion $7.29 26.21 Four Corners Property Trust $223.19 million 9.88 $97.77 million $1.19 21.29

AvalonBay Communities has higher revenue and earnings than Four Corners Property Trust. Four Corners Property Trust is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than AvalonBay Communities, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

AvalonBay Communities beats Four Corners Property Trust on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About AvalonBay Communities

(Free Report)

As of December 31, 2022, the Company owned or held a direct or indirect ownership interest in 294 apartment communities containing 88,475 apartment homes in 12 states and the District of Columbia, of which 18 communities were under development and one community was under redevelopment. The Company is an equity REIT in the business of developing, redeveloping, acquiring and managing apartment communities in leading metropolitan areas in New England, the New York/New Jersey Metro area, the Mid-Atlantic, the Pacific Northwest, and Northern and Southern California, as well as in the Company's expansion markets of Raleigh-Durham and Charlotte, North Carolina, Southeast Florida, Dallas and Austin, Texas, and Denver, Colorado.

About Four Corners Property Trust

(Free Report)

FCPT, headquartered in Mill Valley, CA, is a real estate investment trust primarily engaged in the ownership, acquisition and leasing of restaurant and retail properties. The Company seeks to grow its portfolio by acquiring additional real estate to lease, on a net basis, for use in the restaurant and retail industries.

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International Consolidated Companies (OTCMKTS:INCC  Free Report) and First Advantage (NYSE:FA  Free Report) are both industrials companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, dividends, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares International Consolidated Companies and First Advantages gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

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Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio International Consolidated Companies N/A N/A N/A ($0.05) 0.00 First Advantage $810.02 million 2.70 $64.60 million $0.34 44.03

First Advantage has higher revenue and earnings than International Consolidated Companies. International Consolidated Companies is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than First Advantage, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

Analyst Ratings

22.7% of International Consolidated Companies shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 94.8% of First Advantage shares are held by institutional investors. 4.8% of International Consolidated Companies shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 4.7% of First Advantage shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for International Consolidated Companies and First Advantage, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score International Consolidated Companies 0 0 0 0 N/A First Advantage 0 6 0 0 2.00

First Advantage has a consensus price target of $14.40, indicating a potential downside of 3.81%. Given First Advantages higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe First Advantage is more favorable than International Consolidated Companies.

Profitability

This table compares International Consolidated Companies and First Advantages net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets International Consolidated Companies N/A N/A N/A First Advantage 6.73% 13.00% 7.81%

Summary

First Advantage beats International Consolidated Companies on 8 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About International Consolidated Companies

(Free Report)

International Consolidated Companies, Inc. develops and markets CBD products for the pet and animal markets. The company was formerly known as Sign Media Systems, Inc. and changed its name to International Consolidated Companies, Inc. in September 2007. The company was incorporated in 2002 and is based in Sarasota, Florida.

About First Advantage

(Free Report)

First Advantage Corporation provides technology solutions for screening, verifications, safety, and compliance related to human capital worldwide. It offers pre-onboarding products and solutions, such as criminal background checks, drug/health screening, extended workforce screening, FBI channeling, identity checks and biometric fraud mitigation tools, education/work history verification, driver records and compliance, healthcare credentials, executive screening, and other screening products. The company also provides post-onboarding solutions, including criminal records monitoring, healthcare sanctions, motor vehicle records, social media screening, and global sanctions and licenses; and other products comprising fleet/vehicle compliance, hiring tax credits and incentives, resident/tenant screening, and investigative research. Its products and solutions are used by personnel in recruiting, human resources, risk, compliance, vendor management, safety, and/or security in global enterprises, mid-sized, and small companies. The company was formerly known as Fastball Intermediate, Inc. and changed its name to First Advantage Corporation in March 2021. First Advantage Corporation was founded in 2002 and is based in Atlanta, Georgia.

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CP ALL Public (OTCMKTS:CPPCY  Free Report) is one of 63 public companies in the Grocery Stores industry, but how does it contrast to its competitors? We will compare CP ALL Public to similar companies based on the strength of its risk, dividends, earnings, valuation, analyst recommendations, profitability and institutional ownership.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares CP ALL Public and its competitors top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

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Gross Revenue Net Income Price/Earnings Ratio CP ALL Public N/A N/A 1.59 CP ALL Public Competitors $26.13 billion $572.31 million 194.38

CP ALL Publics competitors have higher revenue and earnings than CP ALL Public. CP ALL Public is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its competitors, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Profitability

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets CP ALL Public N/A N/A N/A CP ALL Public Competitors 2.01% 15.36% 4.99%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

This table compares CP ALL Public and its competitors net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

45.3% of shares of all Grocery Stores companies are held by institutional investors. 22.8% of shares of all Grocery Stores companies are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

CP ALL Public pays an annual dividend of $7.25 per share and has a dividend yield of 42.0%. CP ALL Public pays out 66.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, Grocery Stores companies pay a dividend yield of 4.1% and pay out 62.4% of their earnings in the form of a dividend.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for CP ALL Public and its competitors, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score CP ALL Public 0 0 1 0 3.00 CP ALL Public Competitors 1121 2754 3012 114 2.30

As a group, Grocery Stores companies have a potential upside of 100.93%. Given CP ALL Publics competitors higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe CP ALL Public has less favorable growth aspects than its competitors.

Summary

CP ALL Public competitors beat CP ALL Public on 10 of the 13 factors compared.

About CP ALL Public

(Free Report)

CP ALL Public Company Limited, together with its subsidiaries, operates and franchises convenience stores under the 7-Eleven name to other retailers primarily in Thailand. It operates through three segments: Wholesale Business, Retail Business, and Management of Rental Spaces in Shopping Centers. The Wholesale Business segment engages in import, export, and distribution of frozen and chilled food with delivery services and focuses on selling consumer products, including fresh food, dry food, and consumer products under Makro brand. Its Retail Business segment is involved in domestic supply chain, distribution system, logistics network, and brand equity businesses. This segment also sells its products under various domestic, international, and small and medium enterprises brands. The company's Management of Rental Spaces in Shopping Centers segment manages buildings and retail spaces in shopping malls. In addition, the company is involved in sale and maintenance of retail equipment; cash and carry, catalog, and e-commerce businesses; marketing and advertising activities; provision of information technology and research and development services, as well as engaged in bill payment collection, life insurance, and non-life insurance broker business. Further, the company offers educational institution, training, business seminar services, as well as healthcare and medical specialist's consultation services. The company was formerly known as C.P. Seven Eleven Public Company Limited. CP ALL Public Company Limited was founded in 1988 and is headquartered in Bangkok, Thailand.

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Davide Campari-Milano (OTCMKTS:DVDCF  Free Report) had its price target upped by Credit Suisse Group to 13.00 ($14.13) in a research report report published on Wednesday morning, FlyOnTheWall reports.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on the company. Barclays raised their target price on Davide Campari-Milano to 10.70 ($11.63) in a report on Wednesday, April 12th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Davide Campari-Milano to 13.00 ($14.13) in a report on Tuesday, April 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $12.29.

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Davide Campari-Milano Price Performance

OTCMKTS DVDCF opened at $13.59 on Wednesday. Davide Campari-Milano has a 1-year low of $8.55 and a 1-year high of $14.03. The firms fifty day simple moving average is $13.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $12.05.

About Davide Campari-Milano

Davide Campari-Milano N.V., together with its subsidiaries, markets and distributes alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages in the Americas, the Middle East, Africa, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific. It offers a range of spirits categories, including aperitif, vodka, liqueurs, bitters, whisky, tequila, rum, gin, and cognac, as well as champagne and non-alcoholic aperitif under various brands, such as Aperol, Campari, SKYY, Wild Turkey, Grand Marnier, Appleton Estate, Wray & Nephew Overproof, and other brands.

Further Reading

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Diversified LLC boosted its position in iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF (BATS:EFG  Free Report) by 41.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,747 shares of the companys stock after purchasing an additional 2,287 shares during the period. Diversified LLCs holdings in iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF were worth $726,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF by 11.9% during the 1st quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,254 shares of the companys stock valued at $217,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp raised its holdings in iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF by 34.0% during the 1st quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 10,468 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,007,000 after acquiring an additional 2,657 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,076 shares of the companys stock valued at $392,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares during the period. Laurel Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF by 81.0% during the 1st quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 5,319 shares of the companys stock valued at $512,000 after acquiring an additional 2,381 shares during the period. Finally, Interchange Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF during the 1st quarter valued at $266,000.

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iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF Price Performance

Shares of EFG stock opened at $92.66 on Friday. The companys fifty day simple moving average is $95.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $92.01. iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF has a 1 year low of $67.58 and a 1 year high of $85.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.69 and a beta of 0.89.

iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF Company Profile

iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF (the Fund), formerly iShares MSCI EAFE Growth Index Fund, is an exchange-traded fund (ETF). The Fund seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the MSCI EAFE Growth Index (the Index). The Index is a subset of the MSCI EAFE Index and constituents of the Index include securities from Europe, Australasia (Australia and Asia), and the Far East.

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Shares of Eloro Resources Ltd. (CVE:ELO  Free Report) rose 5.4% on Friday . The stock traded as high as C$3.55 and last traded at C$3.50. Approximately 144,360 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 36% from the average daily volume of 106,080 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$3.32.

Eloro Resources Stock Up 5.4 %

The company has a 50 day moving average price of C$3.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of C$3.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 2.82 and a quick ratio of 3.75. The stock has a market cap of C$260.58 million, a PE ratio of -18.42 and a beta of 1.46.

About Eloro Resources

(Free Report)

Eloro Resources Ltd. engages in the exploration and development of mineral properties. It explores for gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, tin, bismuth, indium, and other base metal properties. The company holds 99% interest in the Iska Iska project, a polymetallic property consisting of one mineral concession covering an area of approximately 900 hectares located in Potosi Department, southern Bolivia; and 82% interest in the La Victoria Gold/Silver project that consists of 16 concessions covering an area of 8,933 hectares located in the North-Central Mineral Belt of Peru.

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Everett Harris & Co. CA reduced its position in shares of Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF (NYSEARCA:VWO  Free Report) by 0.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 49,338 shares of the exchange traded funds stock after selling 429 shares during the quarter. Everett Harris & Co. CAs holdings in Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF were worth $1,993,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its stake in Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF by 311.0% during the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 637 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 482 shares in the last quarter. Endurance Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF by 303.2% during the 4th quarter. Endurance Wealth Management Inc. now owns 633 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 476 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Group LLC bought a new stake in Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA increased its stake in Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF by 110.1% during the 4th quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 689 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 361 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boyd Watterson Asset Management LLC OH bought a new stake in Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000.

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Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF Stock Performance

Shares of VWO stock traded up $0.48 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $40.58. The company had a trading volume of 6,731,663 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,558,006. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $40.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $40.45. Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF has a one year low of $34.88 and a one year high of $43.22. The firm has a market cap of $72.23 billion, a PE ratio of 10.00 and a beta of 0.69.

Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF Company Profile

The Fund seeks to track the performance of the FTSE Emerging Markets All Cap China A Inclusion Index, that measures the return of stocks issued by companies located in emerging market countries.

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Financial Sense Advisors Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of iShares MSCI USA Momentum Factor ETF (BATS:MTUM  Free Report) by 76.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,750 shares of the companys stock after selling 5,549 shares during the quarter. Financial Sense Advisors Inc.s holdings in iShares MSCI USA Momentum Factor ETF were worth $243,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of MTUM. Syntal Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of iShares MSCI USA Momentum Factor ETF by 23.6% during the 1st quarter. Syntal Capital Partners LLC now owns 31,899 shares of the companys stock worth $5,367,000 after acquiring an additional 6,090 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of iShares MSCI USA Momentum Factor ETF by 63.5% during the 1st quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,192 shares of the companys stock worth $201,000 after acquiring an additional 463 shares in the last quarter. Eudaimonia Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of iShares MSCI USA Momentum Factor ETF during the 1st quarter worth approximately $689,000. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of iShares MSCI USA Momentum Factor ETF during the 1st quarter worth approximately $329,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC grew its stake in shares of iShares MSCI USA Momentum Factor ETF by 1,202.4% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC now owns 534 shares of the companys stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 493 shares in the last quarter.

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iShares MSCI USA Momentum Factor ETF Price Performance

Shares of MTUM traded down $0.55 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $141.36. 463,501 shares of the companys stock were exchanged. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $140.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $141.32. The company has a market cap of $9.67 billion, a PE ratio of 19.35 and a beta of 0.91. iShares MSCI USA Momentum Factor ETF has a 52 week low of $81.37 and a 52 week high of $113.60.

About iShares MSCI USA Momentum Factor ETF

The iShares MSCI USA Momentum Factor ETF (MTUM) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the MSCI USA Momentum SR Variant index. The fund tracks an index of large- and mid-cap US equities, selected and weighted based on price appreciation over 6- and 12-month periods and low volatility over the past 3 years.

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StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Greenhill & Co., Inc. (NYSE:GHL  Free Report) in a research report report published on Tuesday morning. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the financial services providers stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced 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. JMP Securities cut shares of Greenhill & Co., Inc. from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a report on Tuesday, May 23rd. TheStreet cut shares of Greenhill & Co., Inc. from a c rating to a d+ rating in a report on Wednesday, May 31st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Greenhill & Co., Inc. from an underperform rating to a market perform rating in a report on Monday, May 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $11.38.

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Greenhill & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:GHL opened at $14.67 on Tuesday. Greenhill & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $5.64 and a 52 week high of $14.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.09, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 1.90. The company has a market capitalization of $268.77 million, a PE ratio of -21.57 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $12.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $11.08.

Greenhill & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

Greenhill & Co., Inc. ( NYSE:GHL Free Report ) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 3rd. The financial services provider reported ($1.27) EPS for the quarter. Greenhill & Co., Inc. had a negative net margin of 3.02% and a negative return on equity of 13.14%. The firm had revenue of $49.68 million during the quarter.

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 7th were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.73%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 6th. Greenhill & Co., Inc.s payout ratio is -58.82%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Greenhill & Co., Inc. by 334.7% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 452,252 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $4,170,000 after buying an additional 348,214 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Greenhill & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,954,000. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in Greenhill & Co., Inc. by 494.2% in the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 179,939 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $1,069,000 after purchasing an additional 149,656 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Greenhill & Co., Inc. by 17.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 719,587 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $4,275,000 after purchasing an additional 107,540 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC raised its stake in Greenhill & Co., Inc. by 406.9% in the 2nd quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 120,876 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $1,114,000 after purchasing an additional 97,028 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.50% of the companys stock.

About Greenhill & Co., Inc.

(Free Report)

Greenhill & Co, Inc, an independent investment bank, provides financial and strategic advisory services to corporations, partnerships, institutional investors, and governments worldwide. The company offers advisory services related to mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, restructurings, financings, private capital raising, and other similar transactions.

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Hansteen Holdings plc (LON:HSTN  Free Report)s stock price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of GBX 116.20 ($1.47) and traded as high as GBX 116.20 ($1.47). Hansteen shares last traded at GBX 116.20 ($1.47), with a volume of 5,099,403 shares changing hands.

Hansteen Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of GBX 116.20 and a 200-day moving average price of GBX 116.20. The firm has a market capitalization of 498.20 million and a PE ratio of 10.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 53.41, a quick ratio of 2.37 and a current ratio of 2.83.

About Hansteen

(Free Report)

Hansteen Holdings PLC is a company which was incorporated in the United Kingdom and registered in England and Wales on 27 October 2005. The Company is required to comply with the provisions of the Companies Act 2006. The address of the registered office is 1st Floor, Pegasus House, 37-43 Sackville Street, London W1S 3DL.

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HSBC Holdings plc (LON:HSBA  Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of Moderate Buy from the eleven analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eight have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is GBX 726.69 ($9.22).

HSBA has been the topic of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada set a GBX 775 ($9.84) price objective on HSBC in a report on Monday, April 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on HSBC from GBX 880 ($11.17) to GBX 1,000 ($12.69) and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, May 3rd. Berenberg Bank restated a buy rating and set a GBX 270 ($3.43) price objective on shares of HSBC in a report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a top pick rating on shares of HSBC in a report on Monday, June 26th. Finally, UBS Group set a GBX 700 ($8.88) target price on HSBC in a report on Tuesday, March 14th.

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Insider Buying and Selling at HSBC

In related news, insider Georges Elhedery acquired 31,962 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Monday, May 15th. The shares were bought at an average cost of GBX 600 ($7.62) per share, with a total value of 191,772 ($243,396.37). 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

HSBC Stock Down 0.1 %

HSBC Cuts Dividend

HSBA stock opened at GBX 609.90 ($7.74) on Friday. HSBC has a 52-week low of GBX 434.70 ($5.52) and a 52-week high of GBX 653.80 ($8.30). The stocks fifty day simple moving average is GBX 607 and its 200-day simple moving average is GBX 587.79. The stock has a market capitalization of 120.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 685.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.58.

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 11th were given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 11th. HSBCs dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 3,820.22%.

HSBC Company Profile

(Free Report

HSBC Holdings plc provides banking and financial services worldwide. The company operates through Wealth and Personal Banking, Commercial Banking, and Global Banking and Markets segments. The Wealth and Personal Banking segment offers retail banking and wealth products, including current and savings accounts, mortgages and personal loans, credit and debit cards, and local and international payment services; and wealth management services comprising insurance and investment products, global asset management services, investment management, and private wealth solutions.

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International Land Alliance (OTCMKTS:ILAL  Free Report) announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The company reported ($0.04) EPS for the quarter, reports. The company had revenue of ($0.05) million for the quarter.

International Land Alliance Price Performance

OTCMKTS:ILAL remained flat at $0.10 during trading hours on Friday. The companys 50 day moving average is $0.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $0.11. International Land Alliance has a one year low of $0.06 and a one year high of $0.45.

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International Land Alliance Company Profile

(Free Report)

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International Land Alliance, Inc operates as a residential land development company with target properties located primarily in the Baja California, Northern region of Mexico, and Southern California. Its principal activities include purchasing properties; obtaining zoning and other entitlements required to subdivide the properties into residential and commercial building plots; securing financing for the purchase of the plots; improving the properties' infrastructure and amenities; and selling the plots to homebuyers, retirees, investors, and commercial developers.

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International Land Alliance (OTCMKTS:ILAL  Free Report) issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The company reported ($0.04) earnings per share for the quarter, reports. The firm had revenue of ($0.05) million during the quarter.

International Land Alliance Price Performance

Shares of OTCMKTS:ILAL remained flat at $0.10 during midday trading on Friday. International Land Alliance has a fifty-two week low of $0.06 and a fifty-two week high of $0.45. The company has a 50-day moving average of $0.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $0.11.

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International Land Alliance Company Profile

(Free Report)

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International Land Alliance, Inc operates as a residential land development company with target properties located primarily in the Baja California, Northern region of Mexico, and Southern California. Its principal activities include purchasing properties; obtaining zoning and other entitlements required to subdivide the properties into residential and commercial building plots; securing financing for the purchase of the plots; improving the properties' infrastructure and amenities; and selling the plots to homebuyers, retirees, investors, and commercial developers.

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Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT  Free Report) by 22.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 17,092 shares of the healthcare product makers stock after acquiring an additional 3,112 shares during the period. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLCs holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,731,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp grew its holdings 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 worth $7,173,676,000 after acquiring an additional 351,136 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 14.3% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 38,966,499 shares of the healthcare product makers stock worth $4,278,132,000 after acquiring an additional 4,886,954 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 30,598,624 shares of the healthcare product makers stock worth $3,352,840,000 after acquiring an additional 537,808 shares during the period. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 104,649.4% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 30,247,436 shares of the healthcare product makers stock worth $3,320,866,000 after acquiring an additional 30,218,560 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,893,715,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.08% of the companys stock.

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Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE:ABT opened at $106.36 on Friday. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $93.25 and a one year high of $115.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $184.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.80 and a beta of 0.68. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $106.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $106.32.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

Abbott Laboratories ( NYSE:ABT Free Report ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 19th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.05. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 22.36% and a net margin of 13.98%. The business had revenue of $9.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.73 EPS. Abbott Laboratoriess revenue for the quarter was down 18.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.39 EPS for the current year.

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 14th will be paid a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 13th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.92%. Abbott Laboratoriess payout ratio is presently 62.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 8,226 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.56, for a total transaction of $909,466.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 70,427 shares in the company, valued at $7,786,409.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Daniel J. Starks sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.02, for a total value of $5,551,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,825,316 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $757,746,582.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 8,226 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.56, for a total transaction of $909,466.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 70,427 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $7,786,409.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ABT. Wolfe Research dropped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $107.00 to $103.00 and set an underperform rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 20th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $136.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 5th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 19th. Finally, BTIG Research upped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Monday, April 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $121.26.

Abbott Laboratories Profile

(Free Report)

Abbott Laboratories, together with its subsidiaries, discovers, develops, manufactures, and sells health care products worldwide. It operates in four segments: Established Pharmaceutical Products, Diagnostic Products, Nutritional Products, and Medical Devices. The Established Pharmaceutical Products segment provides generic pharmaceuticals for the treatment of pancreatic exocrine insufficiency, irritable bowel syndrome or biliary spasm, intrahepatic cholestasis or depressive symptoms, gynecological disorder, hormone replacement therapy, dyslipidemia, hypertension, hypothyroidism, Meniere's disease and vestibular vertigo, pain, fever, inflammation, and migraine, as well as provides anti-infective clarithromycin, influenza vaccine, and products to regulate physiological rhythm of the colon.

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Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in iShares MSCI EAFE ETF (NYSEARCA:EFA  Free Report) by 2.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 24,121 shares of the exchange traded funds stock after selling 617 shares during the period. Osborne Partners Capital Management LLCs holdings in iShares MSCI EAFE ETF were worth $1,725,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. TCG Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in iShares MSCI EAFE ETF by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. TCG Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,925 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $352,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the period. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in iShares MSCI EAFE ETF by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,047 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $725,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Coastline Trust Co grew its holdings in iShares MSCI EAFE ETF by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Coastline Trust Co now owns 40,219 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $2,640,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. ESL Trust Services LLC grew its holdings in iShares MSCI EAFE ETF by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. ESL Trust Services LLC now owns 11,339 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $744,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baldwin Brothers LLC MA grew its holdings in iShares MSCI EAFE ETF by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA now owns 2,105 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $138,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. 78.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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iShares MSCI EAFE ETF Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSEARCA EFA opened at $70.90 on Friday. iShares MSCI EAFE ETF has a fifty-two week low of $54.61 and a fifty-two week high of $74.05. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $72.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $70.93.

iShares MSCI EAFE ETF Company Profile

iShares MSCI EAFE ETF, formerly iShares MSCI EAFE Index Fund (the Fund), is an exchange-traded fund. The Funds investment objective is to seek investment results that correspond to the price and yield performance of its underlying index, MSCI EAFE Index (the Index). The Index has been developed by MSCI Inc as an equity benchmark for its international stock performance.

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Peak Financial Management Inc. trimmed its position in shares of iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF (BATS:IEFA  Free Report) by 0.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 82,300 shares of the companys stock after selling 644 shares during the period. iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF comprises about 2.0% of Peak Financial Management Inc.s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Peak Financial Management Inc.s holdings in iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF were worth $5,502,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF by 114,199.2% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 954,128,634 shares of the companys stock valued at $58,812,489,000 after acquiring an additional 953,293,870 shares during the last quarter. Cowa LLC raised its holdings in iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF by 7,482.8% during the first quarter. Cowa LLC now owns 7,950,414 shares of the companys stock worth $6,200,000 after purchasing an additional 7,845,566 shares in the last quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. lifted its position in shares of iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF by 1,053.2% during the 1st quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 3,754,552 shares of the companys stock worth $250,992,000 after buying an additional 3,428,965 shares during the last quarter. Betterment LLC boosted its holdings in shares of iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF by 33.6% in the 4th quarter. Betterment LLC now owns 12,301,643 shares of the companys stock valued at $758,273,000 after buying an additional 3,092,198 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in shares of iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF by 67.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 7,268,435 shares of the companys stock valued at $448,971,000 after buying an additional 2,924,692 shares during the last quarter.

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iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF Price Performance

Shares of BATS:IEFA opened at $66.22 on Friday. iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF has a 12 month low of $56.55 and a 12 month high of $70.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $95.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.29 and a beta of 0.87. The companys fifty day moving average price is $67.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $66.36.

iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF Company Profile

The iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF (IEFA) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the MSCI EAFE IMI index, a market-cap-weighted index of developed-market stocks in Europe, Australasia and the Far East, and excludes North America IEFA was launched on Oct 18, 2012 and is managed by BlackRock.

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Peak Financial Management Inc. lessened its stake in Boston Scientific Co. (NYSE:BSX  Free Report) by 4.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,952 shares of the medical equipment providers stock after selling 225 shares during the period. Peak Financial Management Inc.s holdings in Boston Scientific were worth $248,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its stake in shares of Boston Scientific by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 109,897 shares of the medical equipment providers stock valued at $5,085,000 after buying an additional 414 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital lifted its stake in shares of Boston Scientific by 14.5% during the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 9,898 shares of the medical equipment providers stock valued at $459,000 after buying an additional 1,250 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its stake in shares of Boston Scientific by 14.3% during the 4th quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 145,406 shares of the medical equipment providers stock valued at $6,728,000 after buying an additional 18,216 shares in the last quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Boston Scientific by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 10,205 shares of the medical equipment providers stock valued at $472,000 after buying an additional 904 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Boston Scientific by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 136,437 shares of the medical equipment providers stock valued at $6,313,000 after buying an additional 4,188 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.20% of the companys stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on BSX. TheStreet upgraded shares of Boston Scientific from a c+ rating to a b rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 30th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Boston Scientific from $53.00 to $56.00 in a report on Thursday, April 27th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Boston Scientific from $53.00 to $56.00 in a report on Thursday, April 27th. Raymond James upped their price target 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Boston Scientific from $45.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Buy and a consensus target price of $56.44.

Boston Scientific Trading Down 1.1 %

NYSE:BSX opened at $52.29 on Friday. Boston Scientific Co. has a 52 week low of $36.15 and a 52 week high of $54.74. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $52.71 and a 200 day moving average of $49.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 88.63, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.80.

Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX  Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 26th. The medical equipment provider reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $3.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $3.16 billion. Boston Scientific had a net margin of 6.91% and a return on equity of 14.57%. The businesss quarterly revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.39 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Boston Scientific Co. will post 1.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Boston Scientific news, EVP Arthur C. Butcher sold 6,697 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.80, for a total value of $360,298.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 17,453 shares of the companys stock, valued at $938,971.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, EVP Arthur C. Butcher sold 6,697 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.80, for a total value of $360,298.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 17,453 shares in the company, valued at $938,971.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Wendy Carruthers sold 11,671 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.96, for a total transaction of $606,425.16. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 83,373 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,332,061.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 176,779 shares of company stock valued at $9,360,777. Insiders own 0.71% of the companys stock.

About Boston Scientific

(Free Report)

Boston Scientific Corporation develops, manufactures, and markets medical devices for use in various interventional medical specialties worldwide. It operates through MedSurg and Cardiovascular segments. The company offers devices to diagnose and treat gastrointestinal and pulmonary conditions; devices to treat various urological and pelvic conditions; implantable cardioverter and implantable cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillators; pacemakers and implantable cardiac resynchronization therapy pacemakers; and remote patient management systems.

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Redwood Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of iShares MSCI Indonesia ETF (NYSEARCA:EIDO  Free Report) by 8.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,996 shares of the companys stock after purchasing an additional 820 shares during the quarter. Redwood Investments LLCs holdings in iShares MSCI Indonesia ETF were worth $235,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CoreCap Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in iShares MSCI Indonesia ETF during the 4th quarter valued at about $51,000. Barclays PLC purchased a new stake in iShares MSCI Indonesia ETF during the 4th quarter valued at about $83,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. purchased a new stake in iShares MSCI Indonesia ETF during the 1st quarter valued at about $129,000. Citadel Advisors LLC grew its position in iShares MSCI Indonesia ETF by 8.7% during the 2nd quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 11,280 shares of the companys stock valued at $252,000 after purchasing an additional 899 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co purchased a new stake in iShares MSCI Indonesia ETF during the 4th quarter valued at about $336,000.

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iShares MSCI Indonesia ETF Stock Performance

Shares of EIDO stock opened at $22.92 on Friday. iShares MSCI Indonesia ETF has a one year low of $21.22 and a one year high of $24.88. The companys 50-day moving average is $23.53 and its 200 day moving average is $23.17. The company has a market capitalization of $473.30 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.64 and a beta of 0.80.

iShares MSCI Indonesia ETF Profile

The iShares MSCI Indonesia ETF (EIDO) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the MSCI Indonesia IMI 25-50 index, a market-cap-weighted index of large-, mid and small-cap Indonesian companies. EIDO was launched on May 5, 2010 and is managed by BlackRock.

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Eight years ago, Damon Crunk started building campers in a single-car garage. Now, his trailers can be found across America.

Were just a family-run business, Crunk, owner of Vintage Trailer Works, said. Weve grown a little bit each year, and now we sell these things everywhere.

Located at 935 Tate Drive in Dothan, Vintage Trailer Works offers a wide range of custom-built teardrop trailers and retro campers. Customers can choose from five models, including the XTR Off-Road, X-Sport ST, XTC, XL, and Blackhawk, and all the models, except for the Blackhawk, have several design packages to choose from.

Crunk said the XTR Off-Road is the most common camper the company builds.

It is what were most known for, Crunk said. Id say about 90% of our customers have an XTR.

The XTR has four design options. The Basecamp is the cheapest and equipped with amenities such as roof racks, lights, outlets, cabinets, and a queen-size mattress. Commander, the most expensive XTR, features an awning, a shower tent surrounding the passenger side, a kitchen, a removable side table, and slide-under storage bins.

Depending on the model, the price ranges from $6,995 to $27,995.

In the market, a decent off-road trailer will go for about $15,000, Crunk said. But most of them are in the $45,000 range. I think ours are more economical because of the location were in, and although the campers are expensive, we try not to rip anybody off.

The process of building a trailer involves cutting steel, welding it, painting it, cutting wood, and connecting the wood to the frame. Crunk said it takes about two weeks to assemble the trailer from start to finish.

Since starting the business in 2015, some trailers Crunk has built have survived tornadoes and car accidents with minimal damage. He believes durability makes his trailers stand out compared to others on the market.

We make sure the frame is a strong base, and the materials that go into it are high quality, Crunk said. One got t-boned out in the desert in Moab, Utah, and it knocked the body off the trailer. The customer picked up the body, strapped it on the trailer, and continued driving. You couldnt do something like that with one of those campers they build in Indiana because 90% of them wouldve disintegrated on impact.

Once trailers are complete, they are shipped from the companys base in Dothan and delivered to a local dealer who sells them to customers. Right now, the company has nine authorized dealers and 14 sales representatives across America.

Crunk said the trailers are normally used by people who want to camp on top of a mountain as opposed to those who may want to camp on a local campground.

Most of these go out west of the Mississippi, Crunk said. Theres a lot more land where people can explore and camp away from everybody. Theyre not really made for campgrounds; theyre made for people who want to go camping on a mountain or in the middle of a desert.

Crunk has been in the trailer business for over 35 years. He started Vintage Trailer Works eight years ago to build old-school campers with modern amenities.

I came up with this idea in 2010 and started doing all of the paperwork for the business in 2015, Crunk said. Originally, we were just going to build retro campers with new amenities, so thats where the name Vintage Trailer Works came from. Then I got my wife a Jeep, and we began looking into some of the teardrop style off-road campers.

In the beginning, Crunk built eight campers in a single-car garage at his house. As the business grew, Crunk eventually found a 7,500-square-foot building on Headland Avenue in Dothan and worked out of that facility from 2017 until last year before moving to a warehouse on Tate Drive.

Currently, Crunk employs his son, wife, nephews, and 10 other shop workers. He hopes to bring in more employees and dealers as the company continues to grow.

Were ready for growth, Crunk said. I want to have 25 people working in the shop, and were always looking for dealers. This fall, we also plan to open a showroom so people can come in, look at trailers, and purchase parts. We have great things planned, and Im looking forward to the future.
Ridgewood Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Newmont Co. (NYSE:NEM  Free Report) by 16.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,792 shares of the basic materials companys stock after purchasing an additional 2,189 shares during the period. Ridgewood Investments LLCs holdings in Newmont were worth $774,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of NEM. Compass Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Newmont in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Newmont in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Delta Asset Management LLC TN purchased a new stake in shares of Newmont in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Romano Brothers AND Company purchased a new stake in shares of Newmont in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA grew its holdings in shares of Newmont by 104.6% in the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 759 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 388 shares in the last quarter. 77.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NEM has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Newmont in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a hold rating for the company. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Newmont from $70.00 to $60.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 4th. Raymond James dropped their price objective on shares of Newmont from $58.00 to $57.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 16th. National Bank Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Newmont from C$91.00 to C$94.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 2nd. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of Newmont from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $62.00 to $61.00 in a report on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $60.46.

Insiders Place Their Bets

Newmont Stock Performance

In other news, CEO Thomas Ronald Palmer sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.76, for a total value of $525,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 300,039 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,329,862.64. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website . In other Newmont news, COO Robert D. Atkinson sold 3,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.76, for a total transaction of $143,280.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 81,751 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $3,904,427.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website . Also, CEO Thomas Ronald Palmer sold 11,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.76, for a total transaction of $525,360.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 300,039 shares in the company, valued at $14,329,862.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here . In the last quarter, insiders sold 36,000 shares of company stock worth $1,589,230. 0.07% of the stock is owned by insiders.

NEM stock traded up $0.70 on Friday, hitting $42.24. The companys stock had a trading volume of 6,738,454 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,910,949. The stock has a market cap of $33.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -64.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a current ratio of 2.38, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Newmont Co. has a 1 year low of $37.45 and a 1 year high of $60.40. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $43.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $46.83.

Newmont (NYSE:NEM  Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 27th. The basic materials company reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.70 billion. Newmont had a negative net margin of 4.55% and a positive return on equity of 6.05%. Newmonts quarterly revenue was down 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.69 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Newmont Co. will post 2.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Newmont Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 1st were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 31st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.79%. Newmonts payout ratio is currently -242.42%.

About Newmont

(Free Report)

Newmont Corporation engages in the production and exploration of gold. It also explores for copper, silver, zinc, and lead. The company has operations and/or assets in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Peru, Suriname, Argentina, Chile, Australia, and Ghana. As of December 31, 2022, it had proven and probable gold reserves of 96.1 million ounces and land position of 61,500 square kilometers.

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Sampo Oyj (OTCMKTS:SAXPF  Free Report) shares traded up 1.2% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $44.08 and last traded at $44.08. 2,153 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 11% from the average session volume of 1,944 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.55.

Sampo Oyj Stock Up 1.2 %

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $47.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $48.92.

About Sampo Oyj

(Free Report)

Sampo Oyj, through its subsidiaries, provides life and non-life insurance products and services in Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and the Baltic countries. It operates through If, Topdanmark, Hastings, Mandatum, and Holding segments. The company offers household, homeowner, motor, accident, travel, boat, forest, livestock, property, casualty, liability, car, van, bike, and cargo insurance.

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Shandong Weigao Group Medical Polymer Company Limited (OTCMKTS:SHWGF  Free Report)s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $1.73 and last traded at $1.73, with a volume of 0 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1.73.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, The Goldman Sachs Group raised Shandong Weigao Group Medical Polymer from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research note on Monday, May 22nd.

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Shandong Weigao Group Medical Polymer Price Performance

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $1.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1.68.

Shandong Weigao Group Medical Polymer Company Profile

Shandong Weigao Group Medical Polymer Company Limited engages in the research and development, production, wholesale, and sale of medical devices in the People's Republic of China. It operates through Medical Device Products, Orthopaedic Products, Interventional Products, Pharma Packaging Products, Blood Management Products, and Others segments.

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Solitude Financial Services lowered its stake in Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (NYSE:BUD  Free Report) by 3.9% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 10,660 shares of the consumer goods makers stock after selling 435 shares during the period. Solitude Financial Services holdings in Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV were worth $711,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV by 8.7% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 98,375 shares of the consumer goods makers stock valued at $5,909,000 after acquiring an additional 7,887 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV by 8.2% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 26,865 shares of the consumer goods makers stock worth $1,614,000 after buying an additional 2,028 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV by 13.2% during the 1st quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 57,729 shares of the consumer goods makers stock worth $3,468,000 after buying an additional 6,742 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings in shares of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV by 14.1% during the 1st quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 35,077 shares of the consumer goods makers stock worth $2,154,000 after buying an additional 4,342 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BlackRock Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV by 11.8% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 356,048 shares of the consumer goods makers stock worth $21,384,000 after buying an additional 37,476 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 5.53% of the companys stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on BUD shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Thursday, June 22nd. StockNews.com downgraded Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV from $80.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 8th. Finally, HSBC lowered Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $65.00.

Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV stock traded up $0.17 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $55.50. 1,999,350 shares of the companys stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,119,241. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $58.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $60.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The company has a market cap of $96.41 billion, a PE ratio of 14.92, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.25. Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV has a twelve month low of $44.51 and a twelve month high of $67.09.

Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (NYSE:BUD  Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 4th. The consumer goods maker reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $14.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.05 billion. Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV had a return on equity of 15.38% and a net margin of 12.78%. The companys revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.67 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV will post 3.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared an annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 4th were paid a $0.611 dividend. This represents a yield of 0.95%. This is an increase from Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NVs previous annual dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 3rd. Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NVs dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.40%.

Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV Profile

(Free Report)

Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV produces, distributes, markets, and sells beer and beverages. It offers a portfolio of approximately 500 beer brands, which primarily include Budweiser, Corona, and Stella Artois; Beck's, Hoegaarden, Leffe, and Michelob Ultra; and Aguila, Antarctica, Bud Light, Brahma, Cass, Castle, Castle Lite, Cristal, Harbin, Jupiler, Modelo Especial, Quilmes, Victoria, Sedrin, and Skol brands.

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The Boston Beer Company, Inc. (NYSE:SAM  Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of Reduce from the fourteen analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $307.75.

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on SAM. Wedbush restated a neutral rating and issued a $325.00 target price on shares of Boston Beer in a research note on Friday, April 21st. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Boston Beer from $340.00 to $330.00 in a research note on Friday, April 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Boston Beer from $291.00 to $297.00 in a research note on Friday, April 28th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Boston Beer from $270.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Friday, April 28th. Finally, Roth Capital upgraded shares of Boston Beer from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 30th.

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Boston Beer Stock Up 2.1 %

Boston Beer stock opened at $312.29 on Monday. Boston Beer has a 52-week low of $300.68 and a 52-week high of $422.75. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $320.92 and a 200-day moving average of $331.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 64.26 and a beta of 1.03.

Insider Transactions at Boston Beer

Boston Beer ( NYSE:SAM Free Report ) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 27th. The company reported ($0.73) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.32) by ($0.41). The firm had revenue of $410.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $412.47 million. Boston Beer had a net margin of 2.82% and a return on equity of 7.58%. Boston Beers revenue for the quarter was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.16) earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Boston Beer will post 7.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

In other news, insider John C. Geist sold 10,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $341.35, for a total value of $3,413,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,573 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,902,343.55. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, insider John C. Geist sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $341.35, for a total value of $3,413,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 5,573 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,902,343.55. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David A. Burwick sold 1,644 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.38, for a total transaction of $536,568.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 47,910 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,636,865.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 23.30% of the companys stock.

Institutional Trading of Boston Beer

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of SAM. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Boston Beer by 1,280.7% in the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 163,214 shares of the companys stock worth $53,782,000 after acquiring an additional 151,393 shares during the period. Southeastern Asset Management Inc. TN acquired a new position in Boston Beer during the 1st quarter valued at about $35,680,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P acquired a new position in Boston Beer during the 1st quarter valued at about $38,859,000. Millennium Management LLC acquired a new position in Boston Beer during the 2nd quarter valued at about $18,690,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Boston Beer by 119.6% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 92,524 shares of the companys stock valued at $35,943,000 after buying an additional 50,384 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.46% of the companys stock.

Boston Beer Company Profile

(Free Report

The Boston Beer Company, Inc engages in the production and sale of alcohol beverages primarily in the United States. The company's flagship beer is Samuel Adams Boston Lager. It offers various beers, hard ciders, flavored malt beverages, and hard seltzers under the Samuel Adams, Twisted Tea, Truly Hard Seltzer, Angry Orchard, Dogfish Head, Angel City, Coney Island, and Havana Lager brand names.

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Shares of The Scottish Investment Trust PLC (LON:SCIN  Free Report) passed below its fifty day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a fifty day moving average of GBX 895 ($11.36) and traded as low as GBX 882.07 ($11.20). The Scottish Investment Trust shares last traded at GBX 895 ($11.36), with a volume of 35,892 shares trading hands.

The Scottish Investment Trust Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.72, a current ratio of 10.35 and a quick ratio of 10.04. The firm has a market cap of 592.25 million and a price-to-earnings ratio of 1,570.18. The stocks fifty day moving average price is GBX 895 and its 200-day moving average price is GBX 895.

The Scottish Investment Trust Company Profile

(Free Report)

The Scottish Investment Trust PLC is a publicly owned investment manager. The firm manages separate client-focused equity portfolios. It invests in public equity markets across the globe. It employs a fundamental analysis with a bottom-up stock picking approach. The Scottish Investment Trust PLC was founded in 1887 and is based in Edinburgh, United Kingdom.

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Montecito Bank & Trust decreased its position in Trane Technologies plc (NYSE:TT  Free Report) by 7.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 6,668 shares of the companys stock after selling 565 shares during the period. Montecito Bank & Trusts holdings in Trane Technologies were worth $1,227,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Trane Technologies during the first quarter valued at $178,000. Blair William & Co. IL boosted its stake in shares of Trane Technologies by 3.0% during the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 16,727 shares of the companys stock valued at $2,554,000 after acquiring an additional 495 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Trane Technologies during the first quarter worth about $219,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Trane Technologies by 0.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,133,851 shares of the companys stock worth $2,769,040,000 after buying an additional 77,924 shares during the period. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its position in Trane Technologies by 3.8% during the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 956,177 shares of the companys stock worth $146,008,000 after buying an additional 34,591 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.23% of the companys stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Trane Technologies from $200.00 to $192.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on Trane Technologies from $184.00 to $183.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 12th. 92 Resources restated a maintains rating on shares of Trane Technologies in a report on Thursday, May 4th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Trane Technologies from $176.00 to $163.00 and set an underweight rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer began coverage on Trane Technologies in a research note on Monday, March 27th. They issued a market perform rating on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $182.58.

Trane Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE TT traded down $0.62 during trading on Friday, reaching $189.19. The stock had a trading volume of 769,323 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,069,116. Trane Technologies plc has a one year low of $125.26 and a one year high of $196.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.26. The stock has a market cap of $43.14 billion, a PE ratio of 24.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.03. The firms 50 day moving average price is $179.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $179.13.

Trane Technologies (NYSE:TT  Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 3rd. The company reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.08. Trane Technologies had a return on equity of 30.11% and a net margin of 11.06%. The business had revenue of $3.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.12 EPS. The businesss quarterly revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Trane Technologies plc will post 8.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Trane Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 29th. Investors of record on Friday, September 1st will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 31st. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.59%. Trane Technologiess dividend payout ratio is currently 38.86%.

About Trane Technologies

(Free Report)

Trane Technologies plc, together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, sells, and services of solutions for heating, ventilation, air conditioning, custom, and custom and transport refrigeration in Ireland and internationally. It offers air conditioners, exchangers, and handlers; airside and terminal devices; air sourced heat pumps, auxiliary power units; chillers; coils and condensers; gensets; dehumidifiers; ductless; furnaces; home automation products; humidifiers; indoor air quality assessments and related products; large and light commercial unitary products; refrigerant reclamation products; thermostats/controls; transport heater products; variable refrigerant flow products; and water source heat pumps.

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tru Independence LLC lowered its stake in shares of The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA  Free Report) by 4.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 35,555 shares of the aircraft producers stock after selling 1,567 shares during the quarter. Boeing makes up approximately 2.4% of tru Independence LLCs holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. tru Independence LLCs holdings in Boeing were worth $7,553,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BA. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Boeing by 8.0% in 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 during the last quarter. Aureus Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Boeing in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,690,000. First Heartland Consultants Inc. raised 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 valued at $1,542,000 after acquiring an additional 459 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co raised its position in shares of Boeing by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co now owns 3,297 shares of the aircraft producers stock valued at $399,000 after acquiring an additional 306 shares during the period. Finally, Trust Co. of Vermont raised its position in shares of Boeing by 7.6% in the 1st quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 3,844 shares of the aircraft producers stock valued at $817,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 60.22% of the companys stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Northcoast Research downgraded shares of Boeing from a buy rating to a neutral rating and set a $180.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, April 4th. Credit Suisse Group increased their price target on shares of Boeing from $200.00 to $220.00 in a research report on Monday, April 10th. SpectralCast restated a reiterates rating on shares of Boeing in a report on Wednesday, June 21st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Boeing from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Monday, June 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Boeing from $261.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, April 12th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $221.60.

Boeing Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of BA traded down $0.52 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $212.10. The stock had a trading volume of 4,893,550 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,877,438. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $208.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $206.80. The Boeing Company has a one year low of $120.99 and a one year high of $223.91. The firm has a market cap of $127.60 billion, a PE ratio of -30.66 and a beta of 1.41.

Boeing (NYSE:BA  Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 the consensus estimate of $17.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($2.75) earnings per share. Boeings revenue for the quarter was up 28.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Boeing Company will post -1.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Howard E. Mckenzie sold 412 shares of Boeing stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.36, for a total transaction of $84,196.32. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 17,181 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $3,511,109.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.15% of the companys stock.

About Boeing

(Free Report)

The Boeing Company, together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, manufactures, sells, services, and supports commercial jetliners, military aircraft, satellites, missile defense, human space flight and launch systems, and services worldwide. The company operates through four segments: Commercial Airplanes; Defense, Space & Security; Global Services; and Boeing Capital.

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Seed Wealth Management Inc. cut its stake in VanEck Emerging Markets High Yield Bond ETF (NYSEARCA:HYEM  Free Report) by 4.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 77,660 shares of the companys stock after selling 4,000 shares during the period. VanEck Emerging Markets High Yield Bond ETF comprises approximately 1.6% of Seed Wealth Management Inc.s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Seed Wealth Management Inc. owned approximately 0.33% of VanEck Emerging Markets High Yield Bond ETF worth $1,430,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of HYEM. Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in VanEck Emerging Markets High Yield Bond ETF by 12.5% in the first quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 11,946 shares of the companys stock valued at $241,000 after acquiring an additional 1,324 shares during the last quarter. Flow Traders U.S. LLC purchased a new stake in VanEck Emerging Markets High Yield Bond ETF in the first quarter valued at $471,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in VanEck Emerging Markets High Yield Bond ETF in the first quarter valued at $1,520,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in VanEck Emerging Markets High Yield Bond ETF by 8.8% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 80,384 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,620,000 after acquiring an additional 6,469 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in VanEck Emerging Markets High Yield Bond ETF by 1.1% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 6,375,670 shares of the companys stock valued at $128,534,000 after acquiring an additional 66,787 shares during the last quarter.

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VanEck Emerging Markets High Yield Bond ETF Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSEARCA:HYEM opened at $17.98 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $17.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $18.31. VanEck Emerging Markets High Yield Bond ETF has a one year low of $16.17 and a one year high of $19.11.

VanEck Emerging Markets High Yield Bond ETF Profile

The VanEck Emerging Markets High Yield Bond ETF (HYEM) is an exchange-traded fund that mostly invests in high yield fixed income. The fund tracks an index that measures the performance of sub-investment-grade corporate debt from emerging markets. HYEM was launched on May 9, 2012 and is managed by VanEck.

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Shares of WestRock (NYSE:WRK  Free Report) have received a consensus rating of Hold from the eight ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $34.00.

Several equities research analysts recently commented on WRK shares. Bank of America upgraded shares of WestRock from a neutral rating to a buy rating and upped their price target for the company from $38.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 20th. Citigroup upgraded shares of WestRock from a neutral rating to a buy rating and reduced their price target for the company from $34.00 to $32.00 in a research report on Monday, March 20th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of WestRock in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a hold rating for the company. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of WestRock from $42.00 to $37.00 in a research report on Friday, June 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of WestRock from $34.00 to $32.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 15th.

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WestRock Stock Up 1.9 %

WRK stock opened at $29.00 on Friday. WestRock has a 12 month low of $26.84 and a 12 month high of $43.37. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $28.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $31.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

WestRock Announces Dividend

WestRock ( NYSE:WRK Free Report ) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 4th. The basic materials company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.26. WestRock had a negative net margin of 5.86% and a positive return on equity of 9.98%. The business had revenue of $5.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.17 earnings per share. The businesss quarterly revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that WestRock will post 2.46 EPS for the current year.

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 11th were paid a $0.275 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 10th. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.79%. WestRocks payout ratio is presently -22.63%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ancora Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in WestRock in the 1st quarter worth $29,000. Gyon Technologies Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of WestRock during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of WestRock during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of WestRock by 203.8% during the 1st quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,118 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 750 shares during the period. Finally, Cornerstone Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of WestRock by 75.0% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Management Inc. now owns 1,050 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the period. 84.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About WestRock

(Free Report

WestRock Company, together with its subsidiaries, provides fiber-based paper and packaging solutions in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. It operates in four segments, Corrugated Packaging, Consumer Packaging, Global Paper, and Distribution. The Corrugated Packaging segment produces containerboards, corrugated sheets, corrugated packaging, and preprinted linerboards to consumer and industrial products manufacturers, and corrugated box manufacturers.

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Kenneth Glasgow of Dothan was sentenced to 30 months in prison in a Montgomery federal court Thursday after pleading guilty in February to numerous crimes, including skimming funds from two nonprofits he founded.

Glasgows sentence addresses charges of drug conspiracy, tax evasion, and mail fraud.

According to court documents, Glasgow, founder of the non-profit The Ordinary Peoples Society, an organization that provides support for individuals and families affected by drug addiction, mass incarceration, homelessness, poverty, unemployment, and hunger, was accused of stealing over $400,000 from TOPS and Prodigal Child Project in 2018.

Glasgow used the money for his own benefit and was required to report the funds as income on his tax return. However, he refused to file a tax return for that year, and in an attempt to hide this activity, he provided false information to his tax preparer, according to the U.S. Attorneys office.

This caused the preparer to complete forms for Glasgows nonprofit organizations that vastly understated the income of the organizations and omitted the financial benefits he received from them.

Prosecutors allege that from 2016 to 2019, Glasgow withdrew over $1.3 million from TOPS and PCP, and never reported that money on his own tax return or the nonprofits IRS form.

Glasgow also told Social Security officials that he couldnt work and struggled to feed and care for himself despite claiming he worked 110 hours a week for the organizations without pay.

Glasgows sentence included a charge for conspiring with a codefendant to distribute cocaine. His codefendant, Willie Frank Peterson, 50, of Dothan, pleaded guilty for his involvement in March of this year. According to Petersons plea agreement, Glasgow agreed to purchase cocaine from him in 2018 and 2019.

In 2018, Glasgow was charged with capital murder in the shooting death of Breunia Jennings, 23, of Dothan, after he and a friend, Jamie Townes, were looking for Townes stolen car. When the pair spotted Jennings driving the vehicle, Townes fired multiple shots at Jennings, killing her.

While Townes was indicted on the capital murder charges, a grand jury refused to indict Glasgow due to insufficient evidence.

Glasgow founded TOPS after spending time in jail on drug charges in the 1980s. He has worked to have voting rights restored for convicted felons.

Glasgow must serve three years of supervised release after prison and pay the IRS more than $376,000 in restitution. He is the half-brother of civil rights advocate Al Sharpton.
Shares of Wolters Kluwer (OTCMKTS:WTKWY  Free Report) crossed above its 50 day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 50 day moving average of $122.28 and traded as high as $124.88. Wolters Kluwer shares last traded at $124.49, with a volume of 41,839 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, BNP Paribas raised Wolters Kluwer from a neutral rating to an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, June 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Wolters Kluwer currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $110.00.

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Wolters Kluwer Trading Down 3.4 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $122.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $118.38.

About Wolters Kluwer

Wolters Kluwer N.V. provides professional information, software solutions, and services in the Netherlands, rest of Europe, the United States, Canada, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. The company operates through four segments: Health; Tax & Accounting; Governance, Risk & Compliance; and Legal & Regulatory.

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An Indian court rejected PepsiCo Inc's appeal against an order that revoked a patent for a potato variety grown exclusively for the New York-based company's popular Lay's potato chips. The Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights (PPVFR) Authority in 2021 revoked intellectual protection granted to PepsiCo's FC5 potato variety, saying that India's rules do not allow a patent on seed varieties. The authority removed PepsiCo's patent cover after Kavitha Kuruganti, a farmers' rights activist, argued that the company cannot claim a patent over a seed variety. PepsiCo petitioned the Delhi High Court against the revocation of the patent cover. In its order dated July 5, Delhi High Court judge Navin Chawla dismissed PepsiCo's appeal against the authority's decision. "We are aware of the order  and are in the process of reviewing the same," a PepsiCo India spokesperson said in a statement. The U.S. snacks and drinks maker, which set up its first potato chip plant in India in 1989, supplies the FC5 seed variety to a group of farmers who in turn sell their produce to the company at a fixed price. PepsiCo has maintained that it exclusively developed the FC5 variety and registered the trait in 2016. The FC5 variety has a lower moisture content required to make snacks such as potato chips. In a statement, Kuruganti said: "It is good that the judgement of Justice Navin Chawla upheld the revocation order . . ." In 2019, PepsiCo sued some Indian farmers for cultivating the FC5 potato variety, accusing growers of infringing its patent. The company also sought more than 10 million rupees ($121,050) each for alleged patent infringement. Within months, PepsiCo withdrew lawsuits against farmers. In its order, the Delhi High Court did not uphold accusations of any public interest violation by PepsiCo. PepsiCo is the second large U.S. company to face patent infringement issues in India. After a long-standing intellectual property dispute, seed maker Monsanto, now owned by German drugmaker Bayer AG, withdrew from some businesses in India.

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Weak demand resulting out of recession fears in the US and the recent wage hikes are expected to pressure first-quarter earnings of Indian information technology companies, analysts tracking the IT sector have observed.



In their first quarter preview for the sector, brokerages noted that the orders from the banking and financial services sector, which contributes nearly 30 percent to the IT companies' earnings, are yet to rebound. In addition to the prevaling scenario, declining consumer spending and weak demand from the North American region have only made things tougher for tech companies.



Like was the trend during the March quarter, analysts again see Tier 2 IT companies faring better than Tier 1 players.



Tier-1 vs Tier-2



According to Motilal Oswal, Tier-2 IT companies are expected to outperform their bigger peers by registering a 2.8 percent quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) revenue growth compared to Tier-1 companies, which are expected grow merely by 0.2 percent.



Among Tier-2 IT companies, L&T Technology Services (LTTS) is expected to register an impressive growth of 12.2 percent QoQ on account of its recent acquisition of Smart World and Communications (SWC), its sister business from L&T. Apart from LTTS, Persistent Systems and Coforge are expected to grow by 3.3 percent and 3.2 percent QoQ .



Among the Tier-1 majors, revenue figures for Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) are expected to be flat due to weak discretionary spending and wage hikes.



Most analysts also see Tech Mahindra and Wipro seeing a decline in revenues. Kotak Institutional Equities sees a sharp QoQ decline in Tech Mahindra revenues to 1.8 percent owing to a sluggish deal pipeline for its communications vertical, while Wipro IT is expected to slide to 1.9 percent.



In terms of the PAT (profit after taxes) too, the bottomline figures for Tier-1 IT majors are expected to decline by 2.3 percent QoQ contrary to the expectations for Tier-2 which is expected to see an aggregate rise of 6.8 percent QoQ, Motilal Oswal noted.



Margin pressure



A weak topline and wage hikes are expected to hurt the profit margins of IT companies. Foreign broking firm Jefferies in its preview for the sector observed, Barring LTI Mindtree (LTIM), all companies should witness flat to declining margins in Q1FY24. Coforge, TCS and Tech Mahindra will see highest margin contraction on account of wage hikes, it further noted.



According to Motilal Oswal, while services and consultancy giant TCS is expected to see a 140 basis points margin decline QoQ, LTIM on the other hand is expected to expand its margin by 30 basis points.



Also read Morgan Stanley downgrades Cyient, sees higher risk for Tech M, TCS, Mphasis



Bias for Tier-1



Although Tier-2 IT companies are expected to fare better, many brokerages prefer to place their bets on Tier-1 companies. Analysts point out that although the revenue numbers may disappoint, profit margins of these companies are expected to be better than those of Tier-2 companies.



EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) or operating profit for Tier-1 IT is expected to improve from 17.3 percent in Q4FY23 to 17.5 percent in Q1FY24. On the other hand, the Tier-2 IT margins are expected to slide to 14.9 percent in Q1FY24 as against 15.3 percent in Q1FY23.



Kotak Institutional Equities has placed Infosys and HCL Technologies (HCL Tech) at the top among its preferences. The domestic brokerage firm expects HCL Tech to retain its revenue growth guidance of 6-8 percent and 18-19 percent EBIT margin guidance for FY2024.



Motilal Oswal has recommended TCS as its top pick, considering a strong order book and expects the company to benefit in the long term. Analysts expect TCS to register strong TCV (total contract value) numbers, backed by the recent BSNL 5G deal win worth $1.83 billion and UK NEST deal worth $1 billion.



Long-drawn recovery



The market is divided on how soon the IT sector will recover. While analysts at BNP Paribas think it could be as soon as the second half of this fiscal, Motilal Oswal expects the recovery to be more gradual and to be complete only in FY25.



Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by experts on Moneycontrol are their own and not those of the website or its management. Moneycontrol advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen criticised Chinese treatment of US companies and new export controls on metals used in semiconductors during a visit on Friday to Beijing to try to revive strained relations.



Talking with a group of businesspeople, Yellen defended US controls on technology exports that irk Beijing, saying they are necessary for national security.



She rejected suggestions Washington is trying to decouple, or separate the US economy from Chinas.



"The US seeks healthy economic competition with China, Yellen said, according to a transcript released by her department.



"I am communicating the concerns that Ive heard from the US business community including Chinas use of non-market tools like expanded subsidies for its state-owned enterprises and domestic firms, and barriers to market access for foreign firms," Yellen said.



US-Chinese relations are at their lowest level in decades due to disputes over technology, security, Beijings military expansion and other irritants.



On Friday, Yellen met with the outgoing governor of Chinas central bank, Yi Gang, and former Vice Premier Liu He, previously her counterpart in finance talks, according to the Treasury.



She was due to meet later with Chinas No 2 leader, Premier Li Qiang.



Treasury officials said earlier Yellen wouldnt meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. They said no breakthroughs on major disputes were expected.



The Chinese finance ministry called Yellens visit a concrete measure toward carrying out an agreement by Xi and President Joe Biden during a meeting in November to improve relations.



It gave no indication of possible initiatives or compromises.



There will be no winners in trade wars or decoupling and broken chains, the ministry said in a statement.



We hope the United States will take concrete actions to create a favorable environment for the healthy development of economic and trade relations.



US and other foreign companies are uneasy about their status in China following raids on consulting firms, the expansion of a national security law and calls by Chinese leader Xi Jinping and other officials for greater self-sufficiency.



"Ive been particularly troubled by punitive actions that have been taken against US firms in recent months," Yellen said.



Chinas government has been frustrated by US curbs on access to advanced processor chips on security grounds. That threatens to delay or derail the ruling Communist Partys efforts to develop telecoms, artificial intelligence and other technologies.



Xi accused Washington in March of trying to hamper Chinas development. Beijing has been slow to retaliate, possibly to avoid disrupting its own tech industries. But this week, the government announced unspecified controls on exports of gallium and germanium, metals used in making semiconductors and solar panels.



That announcement jolted South Korea and other countries that import from China. Businesspeople have warned the worlds two biggest economies might split into separate markets with incompatible products as Beijing and Washington tighten trade controls and tell companies to reduce reliance on each other.



They say that will hurt economic growth and innovation. I have made clear that the United States does not seek a wholesale separation of our economies, Yellen said.



A decoupling of the worlds two largest economies would be destabilising for the global economy, and it would be virtually impossible to undertake. Yellen defended US export curbs and rejected Chinese accusations that Washington uses them for economic advantage.



I also made clear that actions we take to protect our national security are designed to be narrowly targeted and that they are premised on straightforward national security considerations and not undertaken to gain economic advantage over China," Yellen said.



Yellen follows Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who met Xi last month in the highest-level US visit to Beijing in five years. The two agreed to stabilize relations but failed to agree on improving communications between their militaries.



Treasury officials told reporters earlier in Washington the secretary wanted to focus on stabilising the global economy and challenging Chinese support of Russia during its invasion of Ukraine.



The latest flare up came after President Joe Biden referred to Xi as a dictator. The Chinese government protested, but Biden said his blunt statements are just not something Im going to change very much.



Ties became especially testy after a Chinese surveillance balloon flew over the United States in February and was subsequently shot down.



Bidens climate envoy, John Kerry, is scheduled to become the next US official to visit China, next week, a State Department official confirmed Thursday.



China and the United States are the worlds No 1 and No 2 emitters of climate-changing carbon, making whatever steps they take critical. The trip will be Kerrys first to China since it broke off climate discussions with the US in August in retaliation for then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosis travel to Taiwan.
Suzlon Energy Ltd on Friday said its board has approved a proposal to raise up to Rs 2,000 crore. The company will explore various financial routes to raise the amount, a BSE filing showed. The board approved "issuance of such number of fully paid-up equity shares and/or convertible bonds and / or non-convertible debt instruments and / or any other instruments and / or combination of instruments with or without detachable warrants with a right exercisable by the warrant holders to convert or subscribe to the equity shares or otherwise...in one or more tranches, denominated...for an aggregate consideration not exceeding Rs 2,000 crore," Suzlon Energy said in the exchange filing. The company will seek shareholders' approval through a postal ballot, it said.

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The long-awaited southwest monsoon finally arrived in Bihar in June, bringing much-needed relief from the heat. However, it also brought intense thunderstorms. On July 4 and 5 alone, there were at least 24 deaths across the state from lightning strikes. We heard that some boys from the area died recently when the hut they were taking shelter in caught fire during a heavy downpour. People are scared. Many rush home now or take cover during a lightning storm, says Gulshan Kumar, a driver based in Buxar.



Lightning incidents and resultant deaths have become more frequent in Bihar in recent years. More than 1,000 people have been killed in the state in the last three years - 459 in 2020, 280 in 2021 and 375 in 2022 - as per the state disaster management department. But it isnt the only state to be impacted.



India, collectively, saw a jump in thunderstorms and lightning strikes in 2022. While thunderstorms increased more than five times to 240, lightning strikes rose more than 111 times, the Ministry of Earth Sciences said in a report to the Parliament. Lightning, floods and heavy rains also accounted for 78 percent of the deaths due to such events, their data showed.



Killer storm



It isnt a one off. Thunderstorms and lightning have emerged as major weather hazard in the country in recent years. Lightning deaths have more than doubled between 1967 and 2021, as per the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). It kills, on an average, about 2,500 people annually in India, according to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA). Those in rural areas or working outdoors are most at risk.



One major reason for an increase in the frequency of lightning strikes is climate change. In India, lightning is common in the rainy season. However, global warming is raising temperatures. Extreme heat can draw more moisture into the atmosphere and create rapid updraft  two key factors that are critical for charged particles, which lead to lightning. It is making lightning strikes more frequent and deadlier, says Abhay Singh, an independent meteorologist.



Studies show that 57 percent of lightning fatalities occur in the monsoon season (June-September), followed by 31 percent in summer or pre-monsoon (March-May).



Earlier this year, at the National Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction Conference, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), stated that the frequency of lightning is highest in the northeastern states and in West Bengal, Sikkim, Jharkhand, Odisha, and Bihar. However, the number of deaths from lightning strikes is higher in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Chhattisgarh. It is common for lightning strikes to occur at night and in the early hours in hilly areas. But in the plains, they occur during the day when people are outdoors, says Singh.



And it could get worse. A 2015 study in the journal Science suggested that a minimum 12 percent increase in lightning activity can be expected for every 1 degree Celsius rise in surface air temperature. But as per a 2022 study by climate change expert Dr Murari Lal, at the RSMI, a similar rise in surface temperature in India will result in a 20-40 percent rise in average lightning flash density.



Know more



Despite accounting for 35 percent of all deaths due to natural hazards, lightning strikes do not get the same amount of attention as landslides, earthquakes and even floods from policymakers. In fact, though lightning is the deadliest natural hazard in India, it's not even classified as a natural disaster. Earlier this year, a few states demanded that this be rectified.



Lightning deaths are preventable with early warning and awareness. India has made some headway there. It is among only five countries globally to have an early warning system for lightning. Forecasts are available from five days up to three hours before the weather event.



Last-mile awareness at the district level, however, is lacking. For example, many people are not aware that if you hear thunder within 30 seconds of seeing lightning, it is an indicator that lightning is near and they should take cover. Also, even today, the most common cause for death by lightning remains standing under a tree, says Singh.



Indias vulnerability to global warming and climate change means erratic monsoon, intense heat waves and more lightning strikes can be expected in the future. Awareness and adaptation, however, can ensure that the impact is limited.



What to do during a lightning storm



 Spend 30 minutes indoors after the last clap of thunder.



 Avoid water bodies.



 Avoid objects that conduct electricity such as barbed wire fences or power lines.



 Avoid rooftops, mountain cliffs, rocky peaks, bridges, etc. Take shelter inside a home, offices, or hard-top vehicles with the windows rolled up.



 Do not take shelter under trees, particularly under an isolated tree, as it conducts electricity.



 Stay away from concrete walls or wet flooring. Lightning can travel through metal wires or even bars when they are damp or moist.



 Avoid using electronics. Avoid touching them while they are attached to the power supply during lightning storms.



 Get into the lightning crouch, if shelter is not available. Put your head between your knees in a rooster pose (getting low to the ground can reduce the chances of being struck).
IPS officer C Vijayakumar died by suicide on Friday, July 7. He shot himself with his service revolver, according to several news reports. Vijayakumar, a 2009 batch IPS officer, had taken over as Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of police (Coimbatore Circle) in January this year. On Friday morning, he reportedly went for a walk to his camp office in Race Course, Coimbatore. Once he reached office, Vijayakumar asked his personal security officer to hand over his service revolver. He shot himself dead around 6.50 am. Other cops who were on duty heard the gunshot and informed senior police officers who reached the spot soon afterwards. His body was sent to Coimbatore Medical College for post-mortem and further investigation is on. A preliminary inquiry revealed severe depression as the reason behind the IPS officers death by suicide, according to The New Indian Express. Vijayakumar had reportedly told colleagues that he had not been able to sleep properly for the last few weeks. Vijayakumar had succeeded MS Muthusamy as DIG Coimbatore on January 6, 2023. His last posting was as deputy commissioner of police, Anna Nagar, in Chennai. If you or someone you know is experiencing suicidal thoughts, please reach out immediately to a suicide prevention helpline. You can find some phone numbers and contact information here: iCall Psychosocial Helpline - 022-25521111 (Monday to Saturday, 8 AM to 10 PM) Aasra - 91-9820466726 (24 hour helpline) Mitram Foundation - +91 80 2572 2573 or +91-90197 08133 from 10 am to 4 pm on all days. Samaritans Mumbai - +91 84229 84528 / +91 84229 84529 / +91 84229 84530 (5 pm to 8 pm, all days)

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Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Saturday signed an agreement with the Speaker Gombojavyn Zandanshatar of the Great Khural of Mongolia to further strengthen cooperation between the parliaments of the two countries.



"I am hopeful that this visit will not only strengthen the existing bond between India and Mongolia but will also open new chapters of friendship between our two Parliaments and people," Birla said wrapping up his three-day visit to Mongolia.



The Mongolian Speaker also gifted Birla a horse as a ceremonial gift, in keeping with a tradition for dignitaries that dates back many years.



Horses have been revered in Mongolia for centuries. The country's breed is shorter than most found in India but appreciated for their strength and resilience in the cold weather.



Birla named the horse Vikrant.



"I could see unlimited goodwill for India. Will deeply cherish the friendship of the Parliament & people of Mongolia," Birla said on Twitter.



The Lok Sabha Speaker also conferred the Indian Council for Cultural Research's Buddhist Award for the year 2022 to Khamba Nomun Khan for promoting Buddhism and spiritual ties between India and Mongolia.



Birla signed a Memorandum of Understanding with his counterpart Zandanshatar to further strengthen and expand cooperation between the parliaments of the two countries.



Birla, who is leading an Indian Parliamentary Delegation on a three-day visit to Mongolia, paid respects at the Gandan Tegchenling Monastery, the main centre of Buddhism in Mongolia and a repository of valuable Buddhist heritage.



The monastery offers religious and contemporary education to both monks and lay students within its various traditional colleges.



Expressing his happiness on learning that many Mongolian monks from Gandan Monastery were students at the Drepung Gomang Monastery in India, Birla emphasized that this was a testimony of the strong cultural ties between the two countries.



Birla visited the Pethub Monastery. He also witnessed a mini Nadaam festival centred around three traditional games: horse racing, wrestling and archery.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Saturday address a rally in Naurangdesar in Rajasthan's Bikaner district, the BJP said. Union Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, Leader of Opposition in Rajasthan assembly Rajendra Rathore and Deputy Leader of Opposition Satish Poonia held a review meeting and inspected the venue of the rally on Friday. According to a party statement, PM Modi will lay the foundation stone and inaugurate projects worth more than Rs 2,500 crore during the programme. He will also address a public meeting. Meghwal said a large number of people from Bikaner and surrounding areas will attend the rally.

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The decision to allow Taiwan to open a new office in Mumbai this week  its third in India after Delhi and Chennai  signifies not only the possibility of closer economic ties between the two sides, but also an evolution of the Indian position on the Taiwan issue.



The opening of the Mumbai office comes in the wake of leading Taiwanese companies' desire to relocate their manufacturing to India from China.



Taiwans Deputy Minister for National Development, Kao Shien-Quey, has said that there is a huge scope for collaboration between New Delhi and Taipei in areas of emerging and critical technologies, including semiconductors and electronics.



Last month, addressing the joint session of the US parliament during his state visit to the US, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had warned that dark clouds of coercion and confrontation were casting their shadow over the Indo-Pacific, a region whose stability has become a key concern of the Indo-American partnership.



We share a vision of a free, open, and inclusive Indo-Pacific, connected by a secure sea, defined by international law, free from domination, and anchored in ASEAN centrality, Modi had said.



Though no country in particular was named by Modi, it was clear that his concerns were regarding China.



In recent months, aggressive Chinese policy in the Indo-Pacific, especially its threat to take Taiwan  which it claims is a breakaway province of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC)  by force if necessary, has rattled countries in the region.



Additionally, India is also locked in a military stand-off with China along the Line of Actual Control (LAC)  the unofficial boundary between the two countries  since May 2020, to thwart Beijings unilateral attempt to alter the status quo that existed there.



The current bonhomie between India and Taiwan comes against this backdrop.



Reports quoting senior policy makers in the Taiwan government said that some of the countrys leading tech firms are looking to relocate their manufacturing base to India in a bid to curb exposure to the Chinese market and to fortify their global supply chains.



Officially, India follows a one-China policy which recognises the PRC as the legitimate government and Taiwan as part of China. This prevents Taiwan from opening an embassy in India, which would have given it the status of an independent country. It operates in the country through the Taiwan Economic and Cultural Centre (TECC).



But Chinas aggressive behaviour has led many countries to re-assess their one-China and Taiwan policy.



Indias position on the issue has also evolved. Though it has not yet discarded its one-China policy, it has refused to mention it in official statements in recent years.



The hardening position of China on Jammu and Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh, and its refusal to regard them as Indian territory, has also led India to maintain ambiguity on Taiwan.



As the US and China have been engaged in a tussle for dominance in the Indo-Pacific and Taiwan, Indias policy on the issue has gained salience.



The bilateral trade between India and Taiwan currently stands at around US$ 9 billion. But Taiwans Foreign Minister, Jaushieh Joseph Wu, has said that Taiwan has an enormous appetite to expand ties with India.



Taiwan is a champion chip-maker and India is keen on having a manufacturing facility of the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation (TSMC), the world's largest semiconductor firm, in the country.



Our trade relations have been picking up steam, the Taiwanese foreign minister has said, and added that Taiwanese investors are hungry for India and their cooperation in semiconductors has the blessings of the top leadership of the two countries.



In order to establish itself as a global electronics manufacturing hub, India has announced $10 billion in incentives to attract microchip manufacturers.



Under the plan, India will extend up to 50 percent financial support to semiconductor producers setting up shop in the country.



Taiwan, which set up its TECC in Chennai in 2012, said nearly 60 percent of all Taiwanese business investing and opening factories in India have chosen to set up operations in southern India.



Chennai and its surrounding areas have benefited from the investment made by Taiwanese manufacturing industries, said a statement issued by Taiwan.



Taiwan-based Foxconn, which is Apples largest supplier, has set up an iPhone manufacturing facility in Tamil Nadu and it is now setting up another such facility in Karnataka, where production is expected to start by next April.



The establishment of the TECC in Mumbai is expected to have a similar effect in western India, the statement said.



Under Taiwans New Southbound Policy, the TECC expects to promote exchange and cooperation in science and technology, education, and culture between Taiwan and western India from its new office in Mumbai.
More than a week after the United States Supreme Court rejected affirmative action in college admissions, institutes of higher education in the Wiregrass community addressed questions about what the decision could mean for their admission process.

Many universities thus far have voiced that they will still find a way to admit more Black and Hispanic students despite the ruling on affirmative action. Colleges in the Wiregrass region were no different in evaluating their admission process as a result from the SCOTUS ruling.

SCOTUS overturned admission plans at Harvard and the University of North Carolina, ruling that race-conscious admission policies violate the Constitution.

Affirmative action originally stemmed from the Civil Rights movements of the 1960s. It weighs ethnicity, race and background in admission decisions to serve as an effective remedy to address historic and contemporary discrimination.

When asked how this will impact colleges in the Wiregrass, heres how colleges in the Wiregrass responded:

Enterprise/Wallace Community College

The community colleges in the Wiregrass area such as Enterprise State Community College, and Wallace Community College with locations in Dothan and Eufaula, fall under the Alabama Community College system, which issued this statement:

The Supreme Courts ruling on affirmative action will have no impact on student admissions at Alabamas 24 community and technical colleges. Our colleges are open admission, which gives us the opportunity to educate and train every Alabamian who chooses our colleges as part of their educational path, the Alabama Community College System stated.

Troy University

At Troy University, officials expect no difference in their admission process. They said the decision has no impact on Troy University.

At Troy, we draw from a large and diverse pool of potential applicants from traditional age groups through adult learners largely from an area of the country that is, itself, racially and economically diverse. Our admissions policies at Troy have been consistently open and fair to all applicants, and there are no limits on numbers of students admitted.

We believe in providing a level playing field for all students, foreign and domestic, traditional age or adult, regardless of race or ethnicity. Troy University has long embraced a philosophy of inclusiveness and diversity, and our focus has been and will continue to be on students and their success, Troy University said in its statement on the decision.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed support early Saturday for Ukraine joining NATO, saying the war-torn country deserves to join the alliance.



Erdogan made the comment at a joint news conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who arrived in Turkey as part of a European tour to rally support for Ukraine's entry into the military alliance after the war with Russia comes to an end.



NATO leaders meeting in Vilnius, Lithuania, next week are expected to reaffirm that Ukraine will join their alliance one day.



"There is no doubt that Ukraine deserves NATO membership," Erdogan told reporters.



His support for Ukraine comes as Turkey has been holding off giving its final approval to Sweden joining NATO, saying Stockholm is not effectively cracking down on Kurdish militants and other groups that Ankara views as threats to its security.



Sweden, along with Finland, abandoned its decades-long neutrality and applied to join NATO following Russia's invasion of Ukraine last year. Turkey's parliament ratified Finland's membership earlier this year, after Ankara voiced satisfaction with its efforts to address Turkey's security concerns.



Erdogan also said Turkey was working toward extending a Turkish- and U.N.-brokered grain deal that has paved the way for the shipment of more than 30 million tons of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea.



The deal, which helped temper rising global food prices, is set to expire July 17. Russia has been reluctant to extend the deal, citing obstacles to its own exports of food and fertilizer.



"We are continuing our work on the grain corridor issue. We are working to see how long we can extend it after July 17," Erdogan said.



Zelenskyy accused Russia of obstructing the movement of ships.



"Russia behaves as if it owns the entire Black Sea, as if it is the owner here," said Zelenskyy, making his first trip to Turkey since Russia's invasion of Ukraine.



Erdogan said Russian President Vladimir Putin would visit Turkey in August, when he hoped to discuss renewal of the Black Sea grain deal as well as a possible prisoner swap.



Turkey has maintained close ties with both Ukraine and Russia, using its relations to both to act as a mediator.
To a lot of people in India, rum translates to Old Monk. But over the last two-odd years, a bunch of small-batch rums have appeared on the shelves. On World Rum Day, we get you acquainted with the best of the lot.



Mesma Barrel-Aged Rum



If you are in Goa anytime soon, do yourself a favour and pick up a bottle of Mesma. The rum is the latest offering from Stilldistilling Spirits, which also makes Maka Zai rum. Mesma, though, is different because it is barrel-aged  in ex-bourbon casks  for about five years. Mesma makes for a lovely, aromatic sipping rum and could work really well, in, say, a Dark Daiquiri. It is crisp, just the right amount of light, and has a lovely mouthfeel. The limited-edition release is only available in Goa.



Rs 3,600



Plantation Rum



You never really go wrong with a Plantation Rum. Owned by French brand Maison Ferrand, the rum was launched in India last year by Goa-based Third Eye Distillery. On offer is Plantation 3 Stars, a white rum that is blended from aged and unaged rums from Barbados, Trinidad and Jamaica, and the Plantation Original Dark, which is made of rums that are aged and blended in the Caribbean and then double aged in France.



Rs 3,400/Rs 3,500, in Mumbai



Camikara Rum



In April this year, Camikara Rum became the first Indian rum to bag a gold at the International Wine and Spirits Competition. The limited-edition rum, which shone in the 11- to 15-year category, is Indias first pure cane juice rum, and the IWSC judges had many nice things to say about it. The rhum agricol-ish Camikara is produced by Piccadily Distilleries, which also produces Indri whisky, and has been matured for 12 years in American oak casks. If youve never gone down the rhum agricole route, Camikara is as good a place as any to start.



Rs 5,800, in Haryana



Segredo Aldeia



Aman Thadanis Segredo Aldeia was among the early craft rum launches along with Stilldistillings Maka Zai. Thadani runs the Goa-based, family-run Fullarton Distillery which also makes Woodburns whisky and Pumori Gin. The rum, named after a mythical village in Portuguese Goa, is available in white and a coffee-forward, sweetish cafe variant.



Rs 2,800/Rs 3050, in Mumbai



Pitbull Rum



Former alco-bev industry professionals Kalpesh Parekh and Karishma Chandy always thought that there was a gap in the market for a rum that was more premium than Old Monk but still pretty much affordable. Pitbull is their attempt to fill that gap. The rum is made in Aurangabad with sugarcane molasses and blended with barrel aged spirits. It has no added sugar.



Rs 800, Mumbai and Pune.



Rock Paper Rum



Lalit Kalanis family has been in the business of distilling rum for ages  they once supplied rum to the Armed Forces. With Rock Paper, Kalani is dipping his toes into the small-batch space. Rock Paper rum is available in two variants: a triple-distilled golden Indian Spiced Rum and a woody, sweet Coastal White Rum.



Rs 1,500/Rs 1350



Short Story White Rum



Third Eye Distillerys Short Story rum is part of their new portfolio of white spirits, and an attempt to create benchmarks for the region. The rum is made by blending molasses rum with three different rums from the Caribbean  a high ester Jamaican rum and cask-aged Dominican and Trinidadian rums.



Rs 1,950.
Eleven people were killed in election-related violence in West Bengal since midnight as voting was underway for the three-tier panchayat polls in the state today, officials said.



Among those killed were six TMC members, and one worker each of the BJP, CPI(M), Congress and ISF, and another person whose political identity could not be known, they said.



Besides violent clashes that injured several people, ballot boxes were destroyed in several parts of the state, they added.



The polling began at 7 am in 73,887 seats in the rural areas of the state with 5.67 crore people deciding the fate of around 2.06 lakh candidates.



Till 1 pm, 36.66 per cent voter turnout was recorded, officials said.



Governor CV Ananda Bose visited different areas in North 24 Parganas district, and met people injured in the violence.



BJP polling agent Madhab Biswas was allegedly killed in Falimari gram panchayat in Coochbehar district, they said. The BJP alleged that when Biswas tried to enter the polling booth in the morning he was stopped by TMC supporters, and as the situation escalated, they killed him. TMC has denied the allegations.



The supporter of an Independent candidate was injured in Kadambagachi area in North 24 Paraganas district.



Superintendent of Police Bhaskar Mukherjee had earlier told reporters that 41-year-old Abdullah Ali died, but later the superintendent of Barasat Hospital said that he was critically injured and on ventilator support but not dead.



A TMC worker was killed in Murshidabad districts Kapasdanga area in an overnight violence. The deceased has been identified as Babar Ali, officials said. Another TMC worker was killed in the districts Khargram area. He has been identified as Sabiruddin Sk.



The TMC also alleged that its booth committee member in Tufanganj 2 panchayat samiti in Cooch Behar, Ganesh Sarkar, was killed in an attack by the BJP.



The brother of a TMC leader was killed in a clash with Congress supporters in Malda district, police said. The incident happened in Jisharattola in Manikchak police station area. The deceased has been identified as Malek Sheikh, they said.



The TMC also alleged that one of its workers was killed in Nadias Chapra. An ISF worker was killed in a clash with TMC in the districts Haringhata area. The victim has been identified as 48-year-old Saidul Seikh, police said.



Nadias TMC president Debasish Ganguli claimed that the incident happened when ISF supporters were hurling crude bombs at TMC workers. "One of the bombs slipped from their hands and exploded," he claimed. However, Seikhs family alleged that he was killed in an attack by TMC supporters.



A 38-year-old man was killed in South 24 Parganas districts Basanti. The incident happened in the Fulmalancha area, and the deceased was identified as Anisur, police said.



A Congress worker was allegedly killed in Murshidabads Rejinagar police station area in election-related violence. He was identified as Yasmin Sk.



CPI(M) worker Rajibul Hoque was critically injured allegedly in an attack by TMC supporters in Purba Bardhaman districts Aushgram 2 block. He died in the morning while undergoing treatment at a hospital.



The TMC alleged that one of its workers was killed outside a polling booth in the districts Katawa area by CPI(M) supporters. The deceased was identified as Goutam Roy.



Incidents of destruction of ballot boxes and intimidation of voters were also reported from some areas. In Cooch Behar districts Dinhata, ballot boxes were vandalised and ballot papers were set on fire at a booth in Baravita Govt Primary School.



At another booth in the Barnachina area, locals torched a ballot box along with ballot papers, alleging that false voting was done.



Protests were also held in various areas, demanding the deployment of central forces. In Nandigram, female voters gheraoed a police officer with bottles of poison in their hands, demanding that central force be deployed in the area.



Governor CV Ananda Bose toured various areas in North 24 Parganas, meeting people injured in the violence and listening to complaints.



"People requested me to stop my motorcade on the way. There were a lot of tales to tell, they told me about murders happening around them, goons not allowing them to go to polling booths, and also about presiding officers not listening to them. These are stray cases but even one incident of bloodshed should cause concern to all of us," he told reporters.



"This is the most sacred day for democracy. These are stray incidents but there should be a stop to it, he added.



The ruling TMC questioned where were the central forces that were brought in for the elections.



"Shocking incidents are being reported since last night. BJP, CPI(M) and Congress had colluded, demanding central forces. Where are they deployed? TMC workers are being murdered. Where are the central forces?," state minister Sashi Panja asked.



The TMC also alleged that at a border village in Cooch Behars Gitaldaha, BSF personnel attempted to create chaos and disrupt the poll process. CPI(M) state secretary Md Salim shared a video of open ballot boxes lying in the field, tweeting, "Vote is over! Condition of the ballots, ballot boxes in one of the booths. Btw this pic is from Diamond Harbour."



At least 600 companies of central forces have been deployed for the elections along with around 70,000 state police. Sharing photos on Twitter, BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar that the State Election Commission (SEC) was reluctant to deploy the central forces that were sent to the state.



"On the one hand, the SEC is reluctant to deploy the central forces. On the other hand, civil volunteers are deployed for the election duty. This clearly shows that state govt and SEC has hoodwinked the courts. Is SEC silently facilitating the booth capturing by TMC goons?," he asked.



There are 63,229 gram panchayat seats and 9,730 panchayat samiti seats in 22 districts, while 928 zilla parishad seats in 20 districts as Darjeeling and Kalimpong have a two-tier system with Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) and Siliguri Sub-divisional Council at the top.



The ruling TMC is contesting all the 928 seats in zilla parishads, 9,419 seats in panchayat samitis and 61,591 seats in gram panchayats. The BJP has fielded candidates in 897 zilla parishad seats, 7,032 panchayat samiti seats and 38,475 seats in gram panchayats.



The CPI(M) is fighting 747 zilla parishad seats, 6,752 panchayat samiti seats and 35,411 gram panchayat seats. The Congress is contesting 644 zilla parishad seats, 2,197 panchayat samiti seats and 11,774 gram panchayat seats.



The election assumes significance for political parties as it will serve as an opportunity for them to assess their organisational strengths and weaknesses ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, besides broadly outlining the mood of the state after two years of the TMC governments third consecutive term.
The BJP today attacked the TMC government in West Bengal, alleging that the state under its rule has become a tragic example of violence in democracy.



Hitting out at the TMC over violence during the panchayat elections, BJP spokesperson and Rajya Sabha member Sudhanshu Trivedi told reporters that the state used to be a centre of art, culture and science.



Now, it is known for "crimes, anti-national activities and dangerous appeasement".



He alleged that the Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee-led government has been using criminals for violence during the elections by giving them protection.



"Members of the BJP and the Left-Congress combine have been killed and such a situation has emerged that different factions of the TMC are attacking each other," Trivedi alleged.



"Violence has been going on in Bengal for years. It is not only continuing but gradually rising," he said.



Taking a swipe at the BJPs critics, Trivedi said "they cannot see these murders in their opposition to the party and Prime Minister Narendra Modi."



"The situation in Bengal is a lot like in Bihar of the 1990s," Trivedi said, accusing the TMC of tainting the polls with blood.



"The state governments actions have been exposed through Constitutional means," Trivedi further added.



The BJP leader also praised the judicial intervention in the polls, saying things could have been worse but for these measures, including the deployment of central forces.



In a swipe at the State Election Commission, he said, "it had itself demanded security forces for carrying out elections but cannot decide what kind of forces there should be. While opposition parties in the state such as the BJP have pitched for the extensive use of central forces, accusing the state police of supporting the ruling party, the TMC has often labelled similar allegations against the central forces."



Around 5.67 crore voters are likely to exercise their franchise to choose representatives for nearly 928 seats across 22 zilla parishads, 9,730 panchayat samities and 63,229 gram panchayats.
The victim of the urination incident in Sidhi district of Madhya Pradesh has urged the state government to release the accused involved in the act, saying that the latter has realised his mistake.



Police on July 5 arrested Pravesh Shukla, accused of urinating on the victim, Dashmat Rawat, who belongs to a tribal community.



A video of the incident went viral on social media platforms on July 4, following which the police registered a case against the accused and arrested him. Besides facing relevant charges under the IPC and the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, action has also been initiated under the stringent National Security Act (NSA), against Shukla, who is currently lodged in a jail.



An alleged illegal portion of the house belonging to Shukla in Sidhi was also demolished.



"My demand to the government is that a mistake has been committed (by the accused). Now Pravesh Shukla should be released. Whatever has happened in the past, he has realised his mistake," Rawat told reporters on July 7 when asked about the action against the accused.



When pointed out that he was making this demand this despite the humiliating act of the accused, the victim said, "Yes, I agreeHe is a Pandit of our village, we demand from the government to release him."



Rawat also said that except the construction of a road in the village, he has nothing more to demand from the government. The urination episode has triggered a political controversy in Madhya Pradesh, where Assembly polls are due by the year-end, with the Congress alleging that the accused was linked to a local BJP legislator and the saffron party denying its connection with him in any way.



Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on July 6 washed the feet of the victim at the CM's residence in Bhopal and also apologised to him over the humiliating incident. But the opposition party dubbed Chouhans move as mere drama.



The state government also sanctioned financial assistance of Rs 5 lakh to the victim and provided an additional sum of Rs 1.5 lakh for the construction of his house. A Brahmin organisation on July 7 opposed the demolition of a part of the house of Shukla, saying his act was deplorable but his family members cannot be punished for his behaviour.
Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi today had a "purposeful meeting" with Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi, the state Raj Bhavan said. Ravis meeting with Shah comes in the backdrop of the "governor vs government" differences with the ruling DMK in the state, including over the continuance of arrested Tamil Nadu minister V Senthil Balaji in the state cabinet. "Honble Governor Ravi had a purposeful meeting with Honble Union Home Minister Thiru. Amit Shah in Delhi," the Raj Bhavan tweeted, along with a picture of the two. Ravi has crossed swords with the ruling DMK over a number of issues including the anti-NEET bill but the differences peaked with the arrest of Balaji last month by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a cash for jobs scam. While opposing the continuance of Balaji in the MK Stalin-led cabinet, Ravi had dismissed him from the council of ministers last week in an unprecedented step, only to keep it in abeyance immediately. The ruling DMK had insisted that Ravi had paused his action to dismiss Balaji on the advice of the Union Home Ministry. Further, the DMK government has also been insisting Ravi for sanction to prosecute ex-AIADMK ministers for alleged corruption.

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British low-cost airline Easyjet reportedly removed 19 passengers off a plane because it was too heavy to take off. Over a dozen passengers flying back to Britain from Lanzarote, Spain, were forced off the flight on Wednesday, the Daily mail reported.



The flight was delayed due to bad weather and excess weight  taking off nearly two hours after its scheduled departure time of 9.45 pm.



In footage that has been widely circulated online, the pilot of the flight can be heard telling passengers about the delay. Thank you all for getting here today. Because there are so many of you it's a pretty heavy aircraft, the pilot announced. That heavy aircraft combined with a pretty short runway and with the current unfavourable conditions here in Lanzarote, means the aircraft is too heavy to take off. I've been sat with my senior first officer and we're very experienced with this and have done this before.



With safety as our number one priority, there is no way, with the current wind conditions, that we could get this aircraft airborne. There are a number of factors - it's very hot, the wind isn't fantastic, the direction isn't great, the pilot continued.



Now, you might be wondering what happens next and that's what I've come in here to say. I have spoken with our operations team and the one way to solve a problem with a heavy aircraft is to make it slightly lighter.



If possible, I would like to ask up to 20 volunteers to choose not to fly to Liverpool tonight. If anyone wants to volunteer there will be an incentive. The current number we've been quoted by Easyjet is up to 500 per passenger who is willing to not fly tonight, the pilot concluded.



Many passengers were not impressed by the incentive on offer or the ill-preparedness of the airline. Grumblings of I want to go home, could be heard in the video.



Eventually, the crew did manage to find 19 passengers who were willing to take a later flight out of Spain.
A Canadian farmer has landed in hot water for sending a thumbs-up emoji to a potential buyer of his produce. Chris Achter, a farmer in Saskatchewan, Canada, sent the thumbs-up emoji to acknowledge the receipt of a contract he was sent via text message. However, a judge has ruled that the emoji amounted to a contractual agreement and a digital signature. The judge levied a hefty fine on Achter for failure to fulfil the contract, BBC reported. The Canadian farmer must now pay C$82,000 (Rs 50 lakh approximately) to grain buyer Kent Mickleborough, who sent him the contract to purchase 86 tonnes of flax in 2021. Mickleborough said he spoke to Achter over the phone about purchasing the grain. After the phone call, he sent the farmer a draft of a contract, writing "please confirm flax contract". Achter responded with a thumbs-up emoji but failed to deliver the order by the specified date. The farmer said his emoji simply confirmed that I received the flax contract. It was not a confirmation that I agreed with the terms. However, Mickleborough claims the two had a long business association and he took the thumbs-up emoji to mean a confirmation from Achters side. Justice Timothy Keene sided with Mickleborough and levied a fine on Achter for failure to fulfil the contract. "This court readily acknowledges that a thumbs-up emoji is a non-traditional means to 'sign' a document," Justice Keene wrote. "But nevertheless under these circumstances this was a valid way to convey the two purposes of a 'signature'", he said.

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Taste Atlas, a Croatia-based experiential travel online guide, has released a list of eateries that are not just places to grab a meal but destinations in their own right, comparable to the worlds most famous museums, galleries and monuments. Bypassing any of these culinary landmarks would mean missing out on a quintessential aspect of the citys vibrant history, tradition, and local flavour, stated the introduction to the list by Taste Atlas. The list includes small, family-run eateries from around the world to Michelin-starred restaurants. And guess what? Seven Indian restaurants have made it to the list of the 150 most legendary restaurants in the world. While the iconic biryani place Paragon from Kozhikode, Kerala, figures in the list at No. 11, Lucknows Tunday Kababi is at No. 12. Peter Cat (Kolkata), Amrik Sukhdev Dhaba (Murthal), Mavalli Tiffin Rooms (Bengaluru), Karims (Delhi) and Ram Ashraya, Mumbai, are at No. 17, 23, 39, 87 and 112, respectively.















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Lets take a closer look at the restaurants that made it to the list.



Paragon, Kozhikode, Kerala







Though this iconic restaurant has been synonymous with biryani they didnt start with the rice dish. Paragon started off as a bakery in Kozhikode in 1939 and was best known for their plum cakes. Although biryani tops their menu as the most sought after dish, they are also known for their fish curry, parotta and tea. Paragon sells around 700-1,000 kg of biryani on festival days such as Onam, Vishu or Eid. The biryani which is a combination of Thalassery and Malabar biryanis is made using freshly ground spices bought locally from the Valyangadi market. What sets this biryani apart is the dum-cooking using charred coconut shells. This imparts the biryani a delicious smokey flavour.



Tunday Kababi, Lucknow







The story of this more than a century old kebab joint in Lucknows Chowk is both captivating and endearing. One of the nawabs of Lucknow, a die-hard fan of kebabs, had trouble enjoying his favourite kababs owing to health and teeth problems. He decided to organise a contest where the softest and juiciest kabab-maker will be offered royal patronage. The winner of the contest was Haji Murad Ali, who supposedly had only one hand. Tunde is an Urdu word meaning without an arm. The kebabs here are made using a closely guarded family recipe that uses an astonishing 160 different spices. In 2016 the outlet added vegetarian items such as vegetarian galawati kababs, begum ki pasand daal, paneer dishes and a vegetarian biryani to its menu. But the one thing that remains unchanged on the menu is their luscious, melt in the mouth galawati kebabs and Kakori kebabs.



Peter Cat, Park Street, Kolkata







Established in 1975, the iconic Kolkata eatery is known for its blend of Indian and continental cuisines. The restaurants signature dish is the chelo kebab. Traditionally, kababs are served with naan, but Nitin Kothari, the owner of Peter Cat, served rice instead of naan to suit Kolkatas palate. And since he enjoyed a good fried egg, he put it on top and mixed it all up with a good amount of butter. The combination of mutton and chicken kababs, rice, eggs, and butter proved to be a hit. There is a vegetarian option as well which is equally enticing.



Amrik Sukhdev Dhaba, Murthal, Haryana







This major landmark on the GT Road was founded by Sardar Prakash Singh in 1956 mainly to cater to the needs of truck drivers. The delicious meal of dal, roti, subzi and rice was served on charpais initially. The hot, fluffy parathas (11 types of tandoori parathas, seven types of tawa parathas) with homemade butter and chai still rule the menu along with newer additions such as dahi kabab, fiery soya chaps and aloo puri. Soft, piping hot gulab jamun and moong dal halwa is a best way to end you meal in winters while the summer heat calls for hand-churned kulfi.



Mavali Tiffin Rooms, Bengaluru







This legendary south Indian eatery has had Bengaluru eating out of its hands since 1924. MTR started as Brahmin Coffee Club serving coffee and idlis on Lalbagh Fort Road in Bengaluru in 1924. Later in 1951 it was renamed as Mavali Tiffin Rooms after the locality where it was situated in. Go in the wee hours of the morning and gorge on steamy, soft rava idli, piping hot masala dosas blanketing a hearty potato palya, fluffy pooris with potato gravy and chutney. Finish it off with a fruity kesari bath with pineapples and cloves. The unlimited lunch thalis are also worth checking out. Whatever you do, dont miss the filter coffee. Its everything!



Karims, Delhi







This 109 year old restaurant near Jama Masjid in Old Delhi is the place to visit when you want to taste history. It started with just two dishes  aloo gosht (mutton with potatoes) and dal served with rumali roti in 1913. Founder Haji Karimuddin named it Karim, after one of the 99 names of God in Islam. It means the bountiful and generous one. Today its highly sought after for its kebabs, tandoori bhara, mutton korma, mutton stew, chicken Mughlai and chicken Jahangiri. The hero dish is still the shockingly tender seekh kebab cooked on coal. Vegetarians are enticed with palak paneer, dal makhana and shahi paneer.



Ram Ashraya, Matunga East, Mumbai







Ram Ashraya has been serving up idlis and filter coffee to hungry customers as early as 5.00 am for decades. Founded by Shyambabu Shetty almost 81 years ago, Ram Ashraya serves as a reminder of the many immigrants who came to Mumbai and shaped it into the city it is today. Idli sambar, upma and dosa rule the roost as also the bisi bele bath, a flavourful combination of rice, lentils and vegetables, and puliyogare, a tangy tamarind rice preparation. This is a no-frills place where the daily specials are chalked on a blackboard. But the food is hugely affordable and delicious.



Other culinary giants from the world



The global icons on the list include Figlmuller, a venerable Viennese institution that has earned its reputation by specialising in a single dish  the Schnitzel Wiener Art  for over a century. Then there is Katz's Delicatessen of New York famed for its iconic pastrami on rye sandwich since 1888. Multiple James Beard awardee Peter Luger Steak House of Brooklyn is also on the list for its perfectly aged and charred steak. The list also includes Pizzeria Starita a Materdei of Naples, Italy for its Montanara pizza. The dough is deep-fried before being topped with smoked mozzarella and homemade sauce. Then, its finished in the oven for a creamy and crispy effect thats unlike pizza anywhere else. The pizzeria also featured in a Sophia Loren film in the 1950s.







Meat lovers' favourite Carnivore restaurant of Nairobi features at No. 142. Its known for serving various meats roasted on a traditional Maasai sword over a charcoal pit.







Expect everything from chicken and pork to ostrich and crocodile.
Laxman Lucky Bisht, 34, former commando of the National Security Guard, a spy and an agent for RAW (Research and Analysis Wing) has had a life no less interesting than a film script.



Grandson and son of Army men, Bisht joined the Special Forces at age 16. When he was in his early 20s, he was accused of twin murders of Uttarakhand's biggest gangsters and was subsequently jailed in 2011. In March 2018, he got a clean chit owing to lack of evidence. He joined the Special Forces once again, but he quit in a year to try his hand at writing for the Hindi film industry.



This week, renowned crime writer and ex-journalist S Hussain Zaidis biography on him, R.A.W. Hitman: The Real Story of Agent Lima, published by Simon & Schuster, was released. In an exclusive conversation, Bisht speaks to Moneycontrol. Edited excerpts:

'I hope my biography motivates readers to serve our country with unwavering determination.'





You had served as the personal security officer for now Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he was the Gujarat chief minister. Tell us about that time.



Sir (Modi) had a one-hour event in Ahmedabad for which I was entrusted the responsibility of his security. I was with him right from his doorstep, and was supposed to drop him back there after the event. However, he had something urgent work and I had to leave along with him. That one-hour event became a 17-day programme of touring all over the country and I just had one single outfit! When I had first met him, I was working for the secret services and Sir couldnt believe when I said I was 21 years old. I am from Gangolihat, Pithoragarh district, Uttarakhand, and we pahadis always look young. Sir was happy to know that my father and grandfather were both in the Army. My grandfather was martyred during the 1971 War. PM Modi never forgets the people he meets.



What does working as the security of a VIP entail?



Civilians think standing with or behind a VIP is easy but actually being responsible for a persons security is tough. When you are with a politician/chief minister, you must realise they are connected to the public. They want to be close to them, and public ko naraaz nahi kar sakte (cannot dishearten the public). So, as security officers, we are told that we cannot offend or push them away. But the persons security we oversee has to be protected from the large, and mostly unruly, crowd. Sometimes, it becomes extremely tough to manage.



What has been the experience of working beyond the Line of Control (LOC) as a spy in another country?



When you are in your own country you know that your government is with you and, if needed, youll have the Army, Air Force, and back-up within minutes. But once you are on the other side as a spy, or special agent, you are all alone and, even if they wanted, your country cannot help you there. If caught, it's only death and your own government refuses to accept you as theirs. And we agents are aware that jinn logon ke liye aap jaan dene jaa rahe ho, woh kabhi yaad nahi karenge (those for whom you are sacrificing your life, they won't remember you).



What has being a RAW or special agent taught you?



The most important thing that I have learnt is that you are safe only when you are alone. As long as no one knows anything about you, your way of working, your secrets, you are safe. A person is jeopardised only when exposed. But then, when you are all alone, you are also on your own and theres no one to help you. Quick decision-making skills is extremely essential for survival.



S Hussain Zaidi's book on you is biographical, tell us about it.



It has two parallel narratives  one is my story and the other is of secret service agent Lima. It is said that Lima killed 159 people. In 2011, two big gangsters involved in international arms dealing and connected to the state government were murdered. Incidentally, I was LK Advanis security officer at that time and had gone home for 15 days. The local police said that Lima had killed the two gangsters and that Nainitals Lucky Bisht and Lima were the same person. I was jailed and in the next four years, I was moved to 11 different prisons across the country and four judges changed, too. This book will let you know if Lima and Lucky were the same person, whether Lucky really murdered two men? I hope my biography motivates readers to serve our country with unwavering determination.



Was your personal life affected because of your career?



When I was sent to prison, my girlfriend was shocked and left me. She read somewhere Lucky is a gangster, a terrorist. I was 22 then. Id never told her that I worked for the secret service, because I couldnt have, so she only knew me as a call-centre employee.



What is the most important lesson youve learnt in life?



It does not matter whether you are brave or not. What matter is aap life mein kis hadh tak haar nahi mante (till what extent you won't give up).
The implementation of the Free Trade Agreement between Georgia and China over the past five years was discussed on Friday by the Georgian Deputy Economy Minister Genadi Arveladze and Han Yong, the Department Head of WTO Affairs of the Chinese Commerce Ministry, in a joint commission meeting held in the Georgian capital Tbilisi, Azernews reports, citing Agenda.

The parties emphasised the achievements of bilateral trade and economic cooperation and positively assessed the progress made since the conclusion of the Free Trade Agreement in January 2018, with the Georgian side stressing that China had been Georgia's top trading partner during the previous three years.

Since the implementation of the Agreement, the exports to China have increased significantly, including several new export products such as orthopaedic and surgical equipment, dry fruits, spices, coffee and tea extracts, Arveladze noted.

The meeting also touched on the promotion of the export of wine and other alcoholic beverages from Georgia to China, the Ministry of Economy said.

The Deputy Minister also added that under the 2022 export figures, China, among Georgias largest foreign trade partners, was in first place with a 13 percent share of the country's total exports.
Infosys founder NR Narayana Murthy revealed his ideological transformation from a "strong leftist" during his student years to a staunch advocate of entrepreneurship. Speaking at the Moneycontrol Startup Conclave 2023, Murthy shared his journey, highlighting the profound impact of his experiences in France and his belief in the power of job creation, wealth generation, and responsible governance.



When Murthy left to work in France, he recalled engaging in conversations with individuals representing diverse economic and political perspectives, and that after this his convictions underwent a significant transformation.



Murthy recounted, "On Saturdays, I went to Sorbonne (University) and had lots of conversations with capitalists, socialists, and communists, and I finally came to the conclusion that the only way society can indeed remove poverty is through the power of entrepreneurship, the power of creating jobs, the power of translating ideas into jobs, the power of translating ideas into wealth for some people, investors, and power of enhancing taxes paid to the government.



Watch:



#MCStartupConclave | I was a strong leftist when I was student, went to France to work: @Infosys_nmurthy

Live updateshttps://t.co/CDWwmIEdp7@chandrarsrikant @peakxvpartners @IDFCFIRSTBank @AWSCloudIndia @MiraeAsset_IN @mstock_in @SpanCom_in pic.twitter.com/ecyORpUGuT



 Moneycontrol (@moneycontrolcom) July 7, 2023

Inspired, Murthy conducted an experiment when he returned to India.



And that was primarily the reason when I came back I wanted to conduct an experiment. My first experiment, you were not even born, that was a failure  Softronics, and the second one (Infosys) has done reasonably well, he acknowledged, addressing his son Rohan Murty, amid audience laughter.



Watch: Narayana Murthy on how he recruited his first Infosys colleagues based on 3 things



He also divulged into his first failed entrepreneurial attempt saying that there was no market at that time for computers. There were very few computers in India, he said and revealed that after that he focused on exports to countries where the market was big when he founded Infosys.
The Land of Happiness, Kingdom Above the Clouds, Land of the Thunder Dragon, known by various monikers, Bhutan is increasingly featuring on the itinerary of peripatetic Indians seeking immersive cultural experiences.







For good reason, too. From blankets of lush green coniferous trees covering misty mountains to exquisite monasteries perched at vertiginous heights, blue skies speckled with plump white clouds and ancient towns seeped in old-world charm, the country brims with Insta-worthiness.







Located a mere one hour, 50 minutes by plane from New Delhi, Bhutan doesnt require a visa for travel either; a travel permit will do. The country has also whittled down its earlier hefty Sustainable Development Fee (SDF) of $200 per day for tourists staying more than four nights. Heres a list of exciting things to do in the country that places a premium on happiness:



Praycation







Take a spiritual sojourn to ornate and peaceful shrines that pepper Bhutan like confetti.







From the gold-patinated domes of the Taktsang Monastery (Tigers Nest) in Paro Valley to the Tango Monastery in Thimphu ensconced within a meditation cave, theres plenty to explore.







Nip up to the enchanting 17th century Punakha Dzong (fortress) that houses sacred Buddhist relics. Located at the confluence of the Pho Chhu (father) and Mo Chhu (mother) rivers in the PunakhaWangdue valley, its mesmerising architecture and mauve flowers-laden jacaranda trees will take your breath away.







Head to the 3,000 m high Dochu La Pass from where (weather permitting), you can view the snow-swathed Himalayas while strolling amid its 108 memorial chortens (Buddhist shrines) and fluttering prayer flags.







Spike your adrenaline



If kayaking and rafting are what float your boat, the scenic Pho Chhu and Mo Chhu rivers in Punakha offer fun-filled aquatic adventures. Wildlife on your mind? Bhutan is dotted with national parks briming with exotic Himalayan flora and fauna. At the Takin Reserve near Thimpu say hello to Bhutans majestic national animal Takin (gnu goat). Hiking enthusiasts can sign up for the exciting Trans Bhutan Trail, a walking path that dates back to the 16th century when it connected Bhutans dzongs and served as a pilgrim route.



Foodcation







Bhutans burgeoning culinary scene showcases a fascinating blend of Indian, Chinese and Tibetan influences. The result is a unique flavour profile thats bound to tickle the most persnickety of palates. Stop by at Le Meridien, Thimpu, for a delicious Bhutanese thali of buckwheat noodles, buckwheat pancakes, red rice, jatsha maru (minced chicken in a garlicky-cheesy gravy): saag ngo ngo (stirfried greens) and more. The national dish ema datshi (chillies infused in a fondue-like melted cheese gravy) is strangely habit-forming. Scoop it up with crusty bread or eat it as a soup. In between courses, the chef will patiently explain each dish should you have queries. Wash it all down with dau, Bhutanese buttermilk and end your meal with raisin-studded sweet yellow rice. Bliss!



For more gourmet fare, head to Bhutan Spirit Sanctuary, a stunning resort nestling amidst the pine-studded slopes of the Neyphu Valley. Here chefs leverage sustainably farmed in-house produce to craft stellar dishes hewing to the Bhutanese practice of respecting the environment. Grab a seat at their restaurant overlooking the 15th century Eutok Samdrupcholing Monastery and work your way through a beautiful four-course authentic Bhutanese meal. Theres aag ngo ngo (stirfried greens); Jatsha Maru (minced chicken cooked in garlic, tomato and ginger broth); shamu datshi (shitake mushrooms sauteed in local cheeses and butter) and gangda ngo ngo (egg fried in cheese and butter). Oh yeah, theres also Azzey (Bhutanese salsa), Henchay Jaju (chopped spinach soup) and Hogay salad. Sign up for a cooking class at the resort to learn how to craft popular Bhutanese dishes.



Bulls Eye







Archery or dha as its called in Dzongkha (Bhutanese language), is the countrys national sport. And the proud Bhutanese maintain a formidable Olympic archery team as well. At the Simply Bhutan interactive living museum in Thimpu aspects of traditional Bhutanese life including its customs, cuisine and traditions are showcased. Request the friendly staff to initiate you into the nitty-gritty of using a bow and arrow. If you perform well (or dont), they will break into an entertaining victory dance clad in their traditional dress (gho) (a knee-length robe tied at the waist by a kera, or belt). Join in the fun and romp to infectious Bhutanese beats.



You can also take a professional archery lesson at Bhutan Spirit Sanctuary (part of their all-inclusive package) where a practice session is set up amidst apple orchards complete with bows, a quiver full of arrows and a target set about 20ft away.



Spa-ctacular



From rejuvenating hot stone baths to restorative rubdowns, Bhutan offers plenty to health seekers. Treatments incorporate organic native botanicals and herbs We collect over 100 herbs from the forests for our treatments including Veronica, Blue Poppy, Ballerica, etc., informs Thinley Dorji, traditional medicine expert at Bhutan Spirit Sanctuary.



Ancient Bhutanese treatments, adds Dorji, are aimed at holistic healing. River stones from river banks are gathered for relaxing hot stone baths. When placed in water, the hot stones crack and steam, releasing health-giving key minerals. The bath also includes a local herb artemisia which helps open the airways, reduces inflammation and fobs off cough and cold. The bath has been a part of Bhutanese culture for generations with families soaking in the bath after a hard days work or after trekking or hiking.



Como Uma, Paro, a Himalayan retreat takes wellness to a whole new level with its signature COMO Shambhala massage. Meaning peace in Sanskrit, Shambhala alludes to the pursuit of balance combining modern science with ancient practices to align mind, body and spirit. The massage uses blended botanical ingredients to allow the body to rejuvenate and rebalance. The spa room  overlooking Paro river  and redolent of delicious smells like geranium, lavender, peppermint and eucalyptus is deeply relaxing. For one hour, the therapist will work her magic on your back, shoulders, arms, legs, and neck with dexterous hands well practiced in relieving stress and tension. Using gentle rhythmic movements, she will calm your mind and body while you sleepily wonder if you can take her back home with you!
Russian forces launched a deadly strike in eastern Ukraine on Saturday as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy marked the 500th day of the war with a show of defiance, sharing a video of himself visiting a Black Sea island that has become a potent symbol of his countrys resistance to the invasion.



In the kind of attack that has become painfully familiar, at least seven civilians were killed and 13 others were injured when Russian forces shelled the city center of Lyman in the eastern Donetsk region around 10 a.m., Ukraines Interior Ministry said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app.



At the scene, bloodstains, shattered glass and an overturned motorcycle marked the site of the strike.



The midmorning assault was a grim reminder of the toll taken on Ukraine by 500 days of war. Zelenskyy paid tribute Saturday to all those who have lost their lives, using the backdrop of Snake Island to underscore Ukrainian resolve.



At the start of the war in February 2022, an audio recording captured Ukrainian border guards on the island, 20 miles off the coast of Odesa. Defying an order by a Russian warship to surrender, the guards responded with a memorable burst of profanity that became a rallying cry immortalized on stamps and on billboards around the country.



In the video posted Saturday, Zelenskyy honored the heroes who fought for Snake Island, calling the battle that ultimately forced Russian troops to withdraw last June one of the most important since the full-scale invasion.



Although this is a small piece of land in the middle of our Black Sea, it is a great proof that Ukraine will regain every bit of its territory, Zelenskyy said in the video, which showed him clambering off a boat and across a rocky landscape to lay blue and yellow flowers at a memorial.



It was not immediately clear when the video was filmed: The Ukrainian leader was in Turkey on Saturday, a trip described as an effort to drum up support for his countrys bid to join NATO.



But in keeping with the theme of defiance, he left Istanbul on Saturday with something of immense personal and symbolic value to many Ukrainians. Zelenskyy said on Twitter that five commanders from the countrys Azov Battalion, who defended the port city of Mariupol during an 80-day Russian siege, would be returning with him.



The fighters fierce resistance from inside a sprawling steel plant made them national celebrities but also a valuable prize for the Kremlin when they surrendered to Russian forces in May. They were later sent to Turkey in a prisoner swap negotiated by Ankara. Zelenskyy had repeatedly pledged to secure their release along with all Ukrainian prisoners of war.



We are returning home from Turkey and bringing our heroes home, he wrote on Twitter Saturday, sharing a video that showed him embracing the five men, who were later shown a phone with the footage from Snake Island.



The move was a symbolic climax to a week of diplomatic meetings that ended in Turkey, part of a tour of NATO countries before the alliances summit next week.



The war has reshaped Ukraines relationship with the world, adding momentum to its bid to join NATO and turning Zelenskyy into a diplomatic juggernaut. He has used the global attention to help Ukraine push for billions in military aid to fend off Russian invaders, and his country, armed with Western-supplied weapons, is in the early stages of an intensely scrutinized campaign to take back occupied territory.



Kyiv views membership in NATO as the ultimate guarantee of its security; its application in September to join the alliance was made against the backdrop of Russias full-scale invasion.



While Zelenskyy has acknowledged that Ukraine wont be joining NATO anytime soon, given that such a move would force the mutual-defense alliance into direct military conflict with Russia, he has repeatedly urged its members to set out a timetable for accession. In recent months, he has expressed hope that next weeks summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, could provide clarity.



With days to go before the meeting, Zelenskyy set out on a diplomatic offensive to press his case. He traveled to Bulgaria and the Czech Republic on Thursday and then Slovakia and Turkey on Friday, where he met with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.



In a televised news conference early Saturday in Istanbul after his meeting with Zelenskyy, Erdogan said that Ukraine deserves NATO membership with no doubt.



But President Joe Biden, who is scheduled to attend the summit during a trip to Europe next week, told CNN in an interview set to be broadcast Sunday that Ukraines acceptance into NATO would most likely have to wait until after the war.



I dont think there is unanimity in NATO about whether or not to bring Ukraine into the NATO family now, at this moment, in the middle of a war, Biden said, according to an excerpt published by CNN.



At the same time, Biden defended what he called the very difficult decision to provide Ukraine with cluster munitions, which are outlawed by many of Americas closest allies and which have been known to cause grievous injuries months or even years after fighting ends. Both Russia and Ukraine have used the weapons during the war.



Officials in Kyiv welcomed the move, with Ukraines defense minister, Oleksii Reznikov, saying the weapons would significantly help and would only be used in the fields against Russias military, not in urban areas. It is important to note, he wrote on Twitter, that Russian forces have been indiscriminately using cluster munitions from Day 1 of the invasion.



That point appeared to resonate with many in Ukraine, where Kharkiv was trending on Twitter as people pointed to Russias use of cluster munitions there earlier in the war.



Underscoring the continued threat, Ukraines prosecutor general said that cluster munitions, a weapon shunned by many nations, were used in the Lyman attack on Saturday. Physical evidence reviewed by a New York Times journalist at the scene of the strike  which the authorities initially said had killed eight but later revised down to seven  appeared consistent with the Ukrainian assessment that cluster munitions had been used.



While some allies have objected to the U.S. decision to give Kyiv cluster munitions, Biden said depriving Ukraine of the weapons would amount to leaving it defenseless against Russia. He said it was a temporary move to tide Ukraine over until the production of conventional artillery rounds could be ramped up.



The Ukrainians are running out of ammunition,Biden said in an interview with CNN.



Ukrainian forces are about a month into their counteroffensive, a slow and bloody attack aimed at driving Russian forces from the countrys south and east. Though bolstered by training and sophisticated new weapons from Western allies, Kyivs forces have notched only small gains, and the fierce fighting has cost Ukraine an undisclosed number of casualties, along with some of its newest tanks and armored vehicles.



While the counteroffensive rages, Russian forces have continued to fire missiles and launch drones on Ukrainian towns and villages behind the front lines.



On the eve of the 500th day, the United Nations said that it had confirmed the deaths of more than 9,000 civilians  including more than 500 children  since the full-scale invasion, calling it a grim milestone in a war that continues to exact a horrific toll. It warned that the true number of dead was likely to be much higher.



That toll climbed again on Saturday in Lyman, where not long after the strike trash collectors and the few civilians remaining in the city went about their day, seemingly accustomed to the episodes of violence that sometimes travel to their homes from the front line 10 miles away.



Anzhela, an employee at a local shop who declined to give her full name for security reasons, said she was in the shop when the strike hit.



The walls saved us, so thank God, we are fine, she said, adding: But outside, a man was wounded next to the shop. The man had just came out, and then what happened next we dont know.



Just hours after the victims had been taken away, a second barrage of rockets hit the city center. The number of casualties, if any, was not immediately clear.



This article originally appeared in The New York Times.



By Cassandra Vinograd, Thomas Gibbons-Neff and Natalia Yermak
Cash-strapped Pakistan has provided the International Monetary Fund (IMF) with a financing plan for external payments, in which it has informed the global lender that it will arrange $8 billion for the purpose instead of $6 billion, according to a media report released on July 8.



The Pakistan government and the IMF reached a long-awaited staff-level agreement on June 29 to inject $3 billion Standby Arrangement (SBA) into the ailing economy after months-long negotiations that pushed the country to the brink of default.



The Executive Board of the IMF will meet on July 12 to review the SBA for Pakistan.



According to sources in the finance ministry, the IMF had asked Pakistan for assurances of $6 billion for external payments, The Express Tribune newspaper reported.



However, the sources added that Pakistan had given the IMF assurances of $8 billion for external payments.



The sources said China would provide $3.5 billion to Pakistan, of which Islamabad would keep $2 billion in deposits, while the commercial banks of Beijing would provide the country with $1.5 billion.



Besides, Saudi Arabia and the UAE will provide $2 billion and $1 billion to Pakistan, respectively.



Pakistan will also receive $500 million from the World Bank in addition to the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank's $250 million.



The finance ministry officials said the $350 million pledged during the Geneva Conference would also come to Pakistan.



The government has set a target to raise a record-high debt-financing of Rs 11.10 trillion from domestic commercial and Shariah-compliant banks in the first three months of the current fiscal.



The funds will primarily be used to pay off maturing old debt and partially finance the large fiscal deficit.



This marks the third consecutive month that the government has set record-high domestic borrowing targets, indicating its heavy reliance on debt to finance budgeted expenditures.



However, this approach raises concerns as the debt has reached unsustainable levels, both domestically and externally, and calls for restructuring.



To address the situation, the government needs to either reduce non-development expenditures, including cutting parliamentary budgets and curbing excessive spending or increase revenue collection.



The provisional revenue collection for the previous fiscal stood at Rs 7.14 trillion, falling short of the set target of Rs7.64 trillion. After debt repayments, the largest expenditure for the government is the interest payment on the overall debt. This leaves little room for the government to carry out development projects and generate job opportunities.



According to the Bank of America Securities, Pakistan is facing an acute liquidity crisis in debt management, which directly undermines its overall financial stability. The budget parameters for the fiscal year 2023-24 reveal that debt servicing costs alone exceed Rs 7.3 trillion ($25.6 billion), representing half of the total budget spending and around 80 percent of the country's expected tax revenues, according to the newspaper.
When I ran for governor, I promised to do two things  two things that I would focus my efforts on. One, grow opportunities for Montanans and create a climate where our small businesses can grow and create good-paying Montana jobs, and two, protect our Montana way of life.

Weve made great progress. Thanks to hardworking Montanans weve created nearly 39,000 jobs since 2021 and set records for business creation two years in a row. Ive said it before, and Ill say it again: Montana is open for business.

According to a recent University of Montana BBER report, hard rock metal mining in Montana creates over 18,000 jobs, provides nearly $1.4 billion in annual income for Montana households, contributes more than $7.3 billion to our economy, and adds almost $428 million in state tax revenues.

As important as mining is to our economy, its equally important to our way of life. Theres a reason that our state motto is Oro y Plata. Mining supports our communities with good-paying jobs and responsibly develops Montanas abundant natural resources. If it werent for mining, families wouldnt be able to keep the lights on or heat their homes, and businesses in a wide range of critical industries, like construction, manufacturing, automotive, and technology, to name a few, would be left without materials needed to operate.

Mining is just as much a part of our future as it is our past, and as the federal government and other states pick winners and losers in the industry, we wont. With our pro-jobs, pro-business policies, were encouraging job creators to invest in our state, help more Montanans prosper in good-paying jobs, and ultimately, unleash the full force of private sector innovation and job creation. Were also cutting red tape and creating a stable regulatory environment to support long-term investment, job creation, and growth.

As you know well, Montanas mining industry is full of cutting-edge, job-creating businesses that show whats possible when there arent sideboards placed on innovation, or red tape tying it up. Their work is proof that we can responsibly develop our abundant natural resources while simultaneously protecting our environment.

I trust and believe in our innovative spirit and ingenuity. Its part of what defines America, and its on full display in Montanas mining industry. The results of that innovation are clear: a healthier environment, a stronger economy, more good-paying Montana jobs, and more innovation.

As I often say, better is always possible. Working together, well continue to advance pro-business, pro-jobs policies and open the doors to greater opportunity so more Montanans can achieve the American dream. Thank you for your partnership in building a stronger Montana. 
The entrance to Guam Behavioral Health and Wellness Center in Tamuning is shown March 21, 2023. A psychiatric technician and a former program coordinator at Behavioral Health are challenging adverse actions taken against them by the agency through appeals at the Civil Service Commission.
The broken feet are all that remains of the Chief Kepuha statue, as seen Sunday, July 2, 2023, in Hagatna.
"I think (in 2030) China will become the world leader in AI," said an expert at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, adding that we have all the ingredients to become the world's leader in this field.

"I would not count China out of anything," said Thoughtworks' CTO Emerita.

Click here to watch the video
Guam Power Authority General Manager John Benavente at a Business Recovery Summit organized by the Guam Chamber of Commerce on July 7, 2023.
A sign for the Department of Corrections can be seen just outside its gates on June 6, 2023, in Mangilao.
Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son (R) meets with outgoing Ambassador Giorgio Aliberti, head of the EU Delegation to Vietnam, in Hanoi on July 6. (Photo: VNA)

Congratulating Aliberti on fulfilling his term from 2019 to 2023 in Vietnam, Minister Son highly valued the EU and its member countries donation of vaccine and medical supplies amid the COVID-19 pandemic.



Vietnam attaches great importance to and wishes to enhance relations with the EU, one of its most important partners, he affirmed.



The official also spoke highly of the EUs role in promoting the establishment of the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) between Vietnam and international partners. He called on the bloc to continue helping Vietnam implement cooperation in this regard while accelerating the ratification of the EU - Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) by the remaining member countries parliaments to help make new breakthroughs in bilateral economic ties.



At the meeting, both host and guest noted with satisfaction that the Vietnam - EU relations have been growing strongly in such areas as politics - diplomacy, defence - security, science - technology, cyber-security, education - training, and climate change response. They agreed to maintain mutual visits and meetings at all levels, especially high levels.



The enforcement of the EU - Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) since August 2020 has helped turn the EU into the fifth largest trading partner and investor of Vietnam. Bilateral trade has increased continually, reaching 62.2 billion USD in 2022, up 14.2% from the previous year. The EU is currently the biggest supplier of official development assistance (ODA) for the country, according to the officials.

For his part, Aliberti thanked the Foreign Ministry, other ministries, sectors, and localities of Vietnam for supporting activities of the EU Delegation and himself during his term.



Echoing his hosts view on bilateral relations, he thanked Vietnams donation of medical supplies to EU countries in the early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic and also spoke highly of the countrys culture of solidarity with and support for the international community amid trying times.



The meeting between Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son and outgoing Ambassador Giorgio Aliberti, head of the EU Delegation to Vietnam, in Hanoi on July 6. (Photo: VNA)

Perceiving that the Southeast Asian nation is a regional pioneer in green and energy transition, the ambassador affirmed that the EU will step up implementing the policies on cooperation with the region, and the JETP that the EU acts as the coordinator between Vietnam and partner countries.



The EU treasures the development of relations with Vietnam on the basis of political trust, intensive and extensive economic connections, and huge cooperation potential, particularly in new development fields and trends of the world like energy and green transition, to help reach the Sustainable Development Goals, he noted.



He held that Vietnam has made great efforts to secure the EVFTA, a stepping stone for bilateral cooperation, and that the EU has also recommended its member countries ratify the EVIPA early to foster multi-faceted ties.



The diplomat also suggested both sides soon build a plan to mobilise resources for the JETP implementation in order to create conditions for expanding partnerships in investment, business, and sustainable development.



He pledged that in his new positions, he will keep contributing to the enhancement of the Vietnam - EU comprehensive partnership and cooperation./.
Police say 22 officers have been injured during unrest at Eritrean festival in Germany

Police say 22 officers have been injured during unrest at Eritrean festival in Germany View Photo

BERLIN (AP)  German police said at least 22 officers were injured and dozens of people were detained Saturday during unrest at an Eritrean cultural event in the western city of Giessen.

Police said bottles were thrown and smoke bombs were ignited as groups of Eritreans opposed to the African nations autocratic ruler tried to force their way to the venue.

About 1,000 officers, a water cannon and helicopters are deployed in the city, which is about 50 kilometers (30 miles) north of Frankfurt. Police spokesman Christopher Pfaff urged the public to avoid the center of Giessen while the operation is ongoing.

Authorities had tried to ban the festival after similar unrest occurred there last year, but a court overturned the order.

The event was organized by a group considered close to the government of Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki.

Tens of thousands of people have fled Eritrea for Europe, many alleging they were mistreated by Afwerkis government.
Deputy Foreign Minister Do Hung Viet (Photo: VNA)

Entitled Non-Aligned Movement: united and steadfast in confronting emerging challenges", the event drew the participation of more than 80 representatives of NAM member countries, regional and international organisations which are observers of the movement.



The conference focused on exchanging and approving the final document of NAM ministers on important regional and international issues, as well as the preparation for the 19th NAM Summit to be held in Kampala, Uganda in January 2024.



In his remarks at the meeting, the Vietnamese official affirmed the historical role of NAM in the cause of national liberation and in ending colonialism in the context of the Cold War.



Now as the world is divided by geopolitical competition, division and confrontation, it is necessary for NAM to uphold its fundamental values and principles, and resolutely fight against manifestations of power politics, forms of unilateral coercion against its member countries and stay united to solve global challenges, Viet went on.



He pointed out that small and medium countries, like NAM member countries, need to be autonomous in diplomatic, political and economic strategies and policies.



"Vietnam persists in the foreign policy of independence and self-reliance to maximise national interests," the deputy FM noted.



On this occasion, Viet updated participants on the situation in the East Sea and called on NAM member countries to support the position of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on this issue.



On the sidelines of the event, he held bilateral meetings with heads of delegations from Cuba, Ethiopia, Maldives, Yemen and Nepal. He also met with his counterpart from Azerbaijan to promote measures to boost bilateral cooperation, consultation and mutual support at the United Nations and other multilateral forums./.
Airstrike in Sudanese city kills at least 22, officials say, amid fighting between rival generals View Photo

CAIRO (AP)  An airstrike in a Sudanese city on Saturday killed at least 22 people, health authorities said, in one of the deadliest air attacks yet in the three months of fighting between the countrys rival generals.

The assault took place in the Dar es Salaam neighborhood in Omdurman, the neighboring city of the capital, Khartoum, according to a brief statement by the health ministry. The attack wounded an unspecified number of people, it said.

The ministry posted video footage that showed dead bodies on the ground with sheets covering them and people trying to pull the dead from the rubble. Others attempted to help the wounded. People could be heard crying.

The attack was one of the deadliest in the fighting in urban areas of the capital and elsewhere in Sudan. The conflict pits the military against a powerful paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces. Last month, an airstrike killed at least 17 people including 5 children in Khartoum.

The RSF blamed the military for Saturdays attack and other strikes on residential areas in Omdurman, where fighting has raged between the warring factions, according to residents. The military has reportedly attempted to cut off a crucial supply line for the paramilitary force there.

A spokesman for the military was not immediately available for comment Saturday.

Two Omdurman residents said it was difficult to determine which side was responsible for the attack. They said the militarys aircraft have repeatedly targeted RSF troops in the area and the paramilitary force has used drones and anti-aircraft weapons against the military.

At the time of the attack early Saturday, the military was hitting the RSF, which took peoples houses as shields, and the RSF fired anti-aircraft rounds at the attacking warplanes, said Abdel-Rahman, one of the residents who asked to use only his first name out of concern for his safety.

The area is like a hell  fighting around the clock and people are not able to leave, he said.

The conflict broke out in mid-April, capping months of increasing tensions between the military, chaired by Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces, commanded by Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo. The fighting came 18 months after the two generals led a military coup in October 2021 that toppled a Western-backed civilian transitional government.

Health Minister Haitham Mohammed Ibrahim said in televised comments last month that the clashes have killed over 3,000 people and wounded over 6,000 others. More than 2.9 million people have fled their homes to safer areas inside Sudan or crossed into neighboring countries, according to U.N. figures.

Its a place of great terror, Martin Griffiths, the United Nations humanitarian chief, said of Sudan on Friday. He decried the appalling crimes taking place across the country and the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people.

The conflict has plunged the African country into chaos and turned Khartoum and other urban areas into battlefields. Members of the paramilitary force have occupied peoples houses and other civilian properties since the onset of the conflict, according to residents and activists. There were also reports of widespread destruction and looting across Khartoum and Omdurman.

Sexual violence, including the rape of women and girls, has been reported in Khartoum and the western Darfur region, which have seen some of the worst fighting in the conflict. Almost all reported cases of sexual attacks were blamed on the RSF, which hasnt responded to repeated requests for comment.

On Wednesday, top U.N. officials including Volker Turk, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, called for a prompt, thorough, impartial and independent investigation into the increasing reports of sexual violence against women and girls.

The Sudanese Unit for Combating Violence against Women, a government organization that tracks sex attacks against women, said it documented 88 cases of rape related to the ongoing conflict, including 42 in Khartoum and 46 in Darfur.

The unit, however, said the figure likely represented only 2% of the truce number of cases, which means there were a possible 4,400 cases of sexual violence since the fighting began on April 15, according to the Save the Children charity.

Sexual violence continues to be used as a tool to terrorize women and children in Sudan, said Arif Noor, director of Save the Children in Sudan. Children as young as 12 are being targeted for their gender, for their ethnicity, for their vulnerability.

By SAMY MAGDY

Associated Press
Keeping up pressure, China sends warships and fighter jets near Taiwan during Yellens Beijing visit

Keeping up pressure, China sends warships and fighter jets near Taiwan during Yellens Beijing visit View Photo

BEIJING (AP)  Chinas Peoples Liberation Army sent 13 aircraft and 6 vessels into airspace and waters around Taiwan over the past 24 hours as of early Saturday, overlapping with United States Treasury Secretary Janet Yellens visit to Beijing aimed at mending strained relations.

Taiwans Defense Ministry said it is monitoring the situation from the air and sea, and land-based missile systems were prepared to respond. It said four Chinese aircraft  two SU-30 fighters, one BZK-005 reconnaissance plane and one Y-8 anti-submarine warfare plane  crossed the median line in the Taiwan Strait that serves as a de-facto border between the sides, and had entered Taiwans southwestern air defense identification zone.

China claims Taiwan as its own territory to be annexed by force if necessary and sends air and naval missions on virtually a daily basis in an attempt to wear down the islands defense capabilities and intimidate its 23 million people, who thus far seem largely unfazed by such moves.

U.S. support for the self-governing island republic that split from mainland China amid civil war in 1949 remains a major irritant in relations with Beijing.

Shortly before Yellens arrival, Chinese President Xi Jinping visited the headquarters of the Peoples Liberation Armys Eastern Theater on Thursday. Its area of operations directly faces the island across the Taiwan Strait.

Addressing commanders at the Jiangsu province headquarters, Xi stressed efforts to  break new ground for theater command development and war preparedness, state media reported.

He called for enhancing the planning of war and combat  and stepping up training under real combat conditions to raise the forces capabilities to fight and win, the reports said.

The PLA, the worlds largest standing armed force, serves as the military wing of the Communist Party and is overseen by a committee headed by Xi.

Beijing also objects vigorously to United States military support for Taiwan, and lashed out Wednesday at an upcoming $440 million sale of cannon shells and other equipment, accusing the U.S. of turning Taiwan into a powder keg.

Yellen is not expected to meet with Xi during her visit.
Turkeys Erdogan hosts Zelenskyy, says Ukraine deserves membership in NATO View Photo

ISTANBUL (AP)  Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed support early Saturday for Ukraine joining NATO, saying the war-torn country deserves to join the alliance.

Erdogan made the comment at a joint news conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who arrived in Turkey as part of a European tour to rally support for Ukraines entry into the military alliance after the war with Russia comes to an end.

NATO leaders meeting in Vilnius, Lithuania, next week are expected to reaffirm that Ukraine will join their alliance one day.

There is no doubt that Ukraine deserves NATO membership, Erdogan told reporters,

His support for Ukraine comes as Turkey has been holding off giving its final approval to Sweden joining NATO, saying Stockholm is not effectively cracking down on Kurdish militants and other groups that Ankara views as threats to its security.

Sweden, along with Finland, abandoned its decades-long neutrality and applied to join NATO following Russias invasion of Ukraine last year. Turkeys parliament ratified Finlands membership earlier this year, after Ankara voiced satisfaction with its efforts to address Turkeys security concerns.

Erdogan also said Turkey was working toward extending a Turkish- and U.N.-brokered grain deal that has paved the way for the shipment of more than 30 million tons of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea.

The deal, which helped temper rising global food prices, is set to expire July 17. Russia has been reluctant to extend the deal, citing obstacles to its own exports of food and fertilizer.

We are continuing our work on the grain corridor issue. We are working to see how long we can extend it after July 17, Erdogan said.

Zelenskyy accused Russia of obstructing the movement of ships.

Russia behaves as if it owns the entire Black Sea, as if it is the owner here, said Zelenskyy, making his first trip to Turkey since Russias invasion of Ukraine.

Erdogan said Russian President Vladimir Putin would visit Turkey in August, when he hoped to discuss renewal of the Black Sea grain deal as well as a possible prisoner swap.

Turkey has maintained close ties with both Ukraine and Russia, using its relations to both to act as a mediator.
NATO summit host Lithuania is a small country with a loud voice, especially when it comes to Russia

NATO summit host Lithuania is a small country with a loud voice, especially when it comes to Russia View Photo

VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP)  A pair of colorful childrens scooters rest against the yellow tracks of a battle tank, parked in the shade of skyscrapers in the Vilnius business district. The area, usually busy with cars, cyclists and pedestrians, is closed to traffic and packed with heavy armored vehicles.

Never in its history was Lithuania this safe, says Jonas Braukyla, an IT engineer, who brought his family to see the U.S.-made Abrams tanks, German Leopards and Marders and other military hardware brought out to project NATO power ahead of an alliance summit next week. They are even bringing Patriot missile defenses over here. Now we must help our brothers and sisters in Ukraine and I hope the summit will bring good news for them.

The two-day summit starting Tuesday with U.S. President Joe Biden and other NATO leaders will be the most high-profile international event that Lithuania has hosted since it joined the alliance in 2004, and some locals hope it will be of historic significance.

Others are less optimistic.

The Vilnius summit will be important, but not historic. I doubt that the decision on Ukraines future will be precise and affirmative, said Dalia Grybauskaite, Lithuanias former president.

Her skepticism reflects a widely held belief in the Baltic countries that the West, even after Russia launched the biggest war in Europe since World War II, has never truly understood the threat that Moscow poses to the continent.

Grybauskaite earned a reputation as the Baltic Iron Lady for her resolute leadership and bluntness, particularly regarding Russia. The European Unions budget commissioner for five years before serving as Lithuanias president from 2009 to 2019, she was one of few European leaders who warned of Russian interference in eastern Europe even before Moscow annexed Ukraines Crimean Peninsula in 2014.

Now, she says, many Western leaders are still grossly misled about the Kremlins real intentions and lack the political will to respond accordingly.

After the Crimea occupation, the reaction from the West was very slow, despite Russia demonstrating openly in broad daylight that it could occupy the territories of neighboring countries, Grybauskaite told The Associated Press in an interview this week.

We tried to explain to them what that means, but we were criticized, laughed at, and not believed. Today, most of them agree who was right but that is not important anymore. What is more concerning is that even now they hear us, but they dont listen.

She said many Europeans still fail to understand the chasm in values between Russia and the West. She dismissed as delusions the idea that the two sides could find common ground through negotiations.

Its not just the war against Ukraine, its the quest against our entire civilization, said the 67-year-old, who last week received the Manfred Worner Medal, a prestigious German award for services toward peace and freedom in Europe. If Ukraine does not achieve a definitive victory on the battlefield, the West will end up in limbo. The aggressive actions against it will last for decades to come.

Resentment toward Moscow runs deep in Lithuania and in its Baltic neighbors, Latvia and Estonia, all of which toiled under Soviet occupation for five decades. Unlike many Western countries, they remained skeptical of peaceful co-existence with Moscow after the Iron Curtain fell.

Lithuania, which borders Russian ally Belarus to the east and Russias Kaliningrad exclave to the west, is investing heavily in its military, with plans to spend 3% of GDP on defense in the near future  well above the NATO target. Its skies are patrolled by NATO jets and Germany has pledged to deploy around 4,000 troops in Lithuania permanently. But critics worry that wouldnt be enough to protect the country if the war spreads beyond Ukraine.

Vytautas Landsbergis, Lithuanias first leader after it regained independence in the early 1990s, has mocked suggestions that an agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin might be reached over Ukraine.

As long as there is Russia, there will never be such a thing as after the war. You should say it frankly: after Russia. Maybe then the world would have a chance, he told reporters this week.

That mindset makes some NATO partners uneasy. French President Emmanuel Macron earlier this year said the war in Ukraine must not turn into a campaign to crush the Russian Federation.

I want Russia to be defeated in Ukraine, and I want Ukraine to be able to defend itself. But Im certain that in the end this will not be resolved militarily, Macron told French media at the annual Munich Security Conference in February. I dont think, as some do, that Russia must be totally taken apart, attacked on its territory.  That was never Frances position, and it never will be.

The small Baltic countries are among the top contributors of military aid to Ukraine on a per-capita basis. Theyre also among the staunchest advocates of inviting Ukraine to join NATO, another sensitive issue in the alliance. Offering Ukraine a roadmap toward NATO membership will be on the agenda in Vilnius, where streets and squares have been decorated with blue-and-yellow Ukrainian flags for the summit.

The accession process must start, because waiting for a post-war situation allows Putin to never ever finish this war, Grybauskaite said. If we really care about the security of NATO territory, Ukraine inevitably needs to be part of it.

___

Associated Press writer Lorne Cook in Brussels contributed to this report.

By LIUDAS DAPKUS

Associated Press
Biden is heading to Europe. A king and a war are on his agenda

Biden is heading to Europe. A king and a war are on his agenda View Photo

WASHINGTON (AP)  President Joe Biden leaves on Sunday for Europe, where he will spend time in three nations tending to alliances that have been tested by Russias invasion of Ukraine.

After arriving at night in London, Biden will meet the next day with King Charles III for the first time since he was crowned. Next is the centerpiece of the trip, the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania. Alliance leaders will debate the war and revise plans for dealing with Russian aggression.

The final stop is in Helsinki, where Biden on Thursday is expected to celebrate the expanding alliance, with Finland as the newest member of NATO.

His national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, said the trip would showcase the presidents leadership on the world stage.

A look at Bidens agenda and the issues he will face:

London

Biden arrives in London on Sunday night and is expected to have a full schedule of meetings Monday.

Theres always a lot to talk about with the U.K., said Max Bergmann, a former State Department official who leads the Europe Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Biden will hold talks with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at 10 Downing St. Sunak is facing an election by the end of next year. His Conservative Party is lagging badly behind the opposition in opinion polls.

Despite Sunaks shaky political standing, he has fostered close ties with Biden and it will be their sixth meeting since Sunak took office last October.

Bergmann said Sunaks tenure has been a nice change of pace after there were some concerns about Boris Johnson, one of Sunaks predecessors, being a loose cannon.

Biden will visit the king at Windsor Castle, a royal residence outside London. Biden did not attend Charles coronation  first lady Jill Biden went in his place  so this will be their first encounter since then.

Theyre expected to discuss climate change, an issue that has been a focus for both leaders, and how to finance initiatives to address the problem.

Vilnius

Biden will spend two days in the capital of Lithuania, which is hosting the annual NATO summit. He will participate in meetings with leaders and deliver a speech from Vilnius University.

The alliance has been reinvigorated by the war in Ukraine, and members have been pouring military hardware into the country to help repel Russias invasion.

Biden on Friday defended what he said was a difficult decision to provide cluster munitions to Ukraine, a move his administration said was key to the fight and buttressed by Ukraines promise to use the controversial bombs carefully. Biden is likely to face questions from allies on why the U.S. would send a weapon into Ukraine that more than two-thirds of NATO members have banned because it has a track record for causing many civilian casualties.

For Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, the summit will send a clear message: NATO stands united, and Russias aggression will not pay.

But NATO has also struggled to bridge divides over important issues. Finland was welcomed into the alliance this year, but Swedens membership has been held up by Turkey and Hungary.

There are also disagreements over how quickly to extend an invitation to Ukraine to join NATO.

Countries on NATOs eastern flank want to move quickly, viewing it as a way to deter Russian aggression. The U.S. and others advocate a more cautious approach.

One issue has already been settled, at least for the time being. Stoltenbergs term has been extended for a year because members could not agree on a new leader.

Sen. Thom Tillis, who will attend the summit, likened the alliance to a gathering of dozens of family members who bicker and clash but nonetheless remain united.

At the end of the day, you know youre family, said Tillis, R-N.C.

Tillis is leading a bipartisan delegation along with Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., who said NATO is more powerful than before.

Its the strongest military alliance in our history, and I think it only has gotten stronger as a result of U.S. leadership, as the result of Stoltenbergs leadership and as the result of the threat from Vladimir Putin to all of the NATO allies and other countries in Europe and around the world and to the international order, she said.

Helsinki

After two nights in Vilnius, Biden visits Helsinki. The stop is a bit of a victory lap, but could also be a reminder of unfinished business.

The Nordic country in April became the 31st member of NATO, ending its history of nonalignment and demonstrating how Russias invasion of Ukraine has backfired in Europe.

Finland was supposed to join alongside its neighbor Sweden, whose admission has stalled because of Turkey and Hungary. NATO requires unanimous consent of all its members to expand.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson visited the White House on Wednesday and met with Biden to keep up the pressure for membership. But there is little hope that the issue will be resolved in Vilnius.

The White House is billing Bidens visit to Helsinki as a U.S.-Nordic Leaders Summit.

Its a much different occasion from the last time a U.S. president visited Helsinki five years ago.

During that trip, Donald Trump held a news conference with Putin and brushed off concerns about Russian meddling in Trumps election victory.

Now Biden is heading to the city to demonstrate how his administration has held the line against Moscow and expanded Western defenses.

___

Associated Press writer Lorne Cook in Brussels contributed to this report.

By CHRIS MEGERIAN and SEUNG MIN KIM

Associated Press
Sonora, CAThe community is rallying behind John Stevens, who was recently diagnosed with liver cancer and has been informed by the specialists at UCSF that he will need a transplant soon. In a heartfelt appeal, friends and neighbors are coming together to support John and learn how they can potentially offer him a second chance at life.

An event has been organized to provide information and raise awareness about liver donation, where community members can discover how they might be able to help John in his time of need. The gathering will take place at The Sonora Brewing Company, located at 28 S. Washington Street in Sonora, on Tuesday, July 11th from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm.

Organizers urge attendees to RSVP for the event by calling 209-532-1631. The event aims to increase awareness about Living Donor organ transplant programs and potentially identify a suitable donor for John, either directly or through the donor swap/pairing initiative. Attendees can expect informative sessions on donor programs, engaging talks from experts, complimentary hors doeuvres, and special pricing on their excellent selection of beer and non-alcoholic beverages.

Liver transplants are life-saving procedures that have significantly impacted the lives of many individuals. According to the United Network for Organ Sharing, a non-profit organization that manages the nations organ transplant system, liver transplantation is among the most common transplant surgeries in the United States.
The UN refuses to retract its condemnation of Israel over the Jenin military operation

The UN refuses to retract its condemnation of Israel over the Jenin military operation View Photo

UNITED NATIONS (AP)  Israels United Nations ambassador called on Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to retract his condemnation of the country for its excessive use of force in its largest military operation in two decades targeting a refugee camp in the West Bank.

U.N. deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq said the secretary-general conveyed his views on Thursday and he stands by those views.

Guterres, angered by the impact of the Israeli airstrikes and attack on the Jenin refugee camp, said the operation left over 100 civilians injured, uprooted thousands of residents, damaged schools and hospitals, and disrupted water and electricity networks. He also criticized Israel for preventing the injured from getting medical care and humanitarian workers from reaching everyone in need.

Israels two-day offensive meant to crack down on Palestinian militants destroyed the Jenin camps narrow roads and alleyways, forced thousands of people to flee their homes and killed 12 Palestinians. One Israeli soldier also was killed.

I strongly condemn all acts of violence against civilians, including acts of terror, Guterres told reporters.

Asked whether this condemnation applied to Israel, he replied: It applies to all use of excessive force, and obviously in this situation, there was an excessive force used by Israeli forces.

Israels U.N. Ambassador Gilad Erdan called the U.N. chiefs remarks shameful, far-fetched, and completely detached from reality. He said the Israeli military action in Jenin focused solely on combating the murderous Palestinian terror targeting innocent Israeli civilians.

Haq, the U.N. spokesperson, said Guterres clearly condemns all of the violence that has been affecting the civilians in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, regardless of who is the perpetrator.

The U.N. Security Council discussed Israels military operation in Jenin behind closed doors Friday at the request of the United Arab Emirates and received a briefing from Assistant Secretary-General Khaled Khiari.

Erdan sent a letter to the 15 council members and Guterres before the council meeting saying that over the past year, 52 Israelis were killed by Palestinians, and many attacks were carried out from Jenin or from the area.

The international community and the Security Council must unconditionally condemn the latest Palestinian terror attacks and hold Palestinian leadership accountable, he said.

The Security Council took no action.

By EDITH M. LEDERER

Associated Press
Iowa GOP schedules Jan. 15 for leadoff presidential caucuses. Its on Martin Luther King Jr. Day View Photo

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP)  Iowa Republicans announced Saturday that the partys presidential nominating caucuses will be held Jan. 15, on the federal holiday honoring Martin Luther King Jr., putting the first votes of the 2024 election a little more than six months away as the GOP tries to reclaim the White House.

White House candidates have campaigned in Iowa since last winter, but there has been some uncertainty about the date for the caucuses that have by tradition kicked off the Republican selection process for a nominee. Whats changed is the Democratic National Committees election calendar, dropping Iowa as its first contest.

The Iowa Republican Partys state central committee voted unanimously for the third Monday in January  a date that is earlier by several weeks than the past three caucuses, though not as early as 2008, when they were held just three days into the new year.

Iowa Republican Party Chairman Jeff Kaufmann, during a call with reporters later, reported that the vote was unanimous and that he never sensed that there was anyone even thinking about voting no to the proposed date.

As Republicans, we can, I, we see this as honoring the legacy of Martin Luther King in terms of having a caucus here, Kaufmann said, noting also that committee members hadnt considered the possibility of the contest falling on the federal holiday before arriving at the date.

An Iowa Republican Party spokesman said late Monday the possibility that the caucus date could fall on MLK Day had been discussed previously by the committee.

Caucuses, unlike primary elections, are contests planned, financed and carried out by the parties, not state election officials. The Iowa announcement Saturday allows New Hampshire, which has not inked a primary election date but has circled Jan. 23 as its preference, to protect its first-in-the-nation status, which is codified in state law that requires the contest be held at least seven days ahead of any other primary.

The decision could have implications for both parties. Iowa Democrats had been waiting for the GOP to set a date as they try to adjust to new DNC rules on their primary order.

Democrats have proposed holding a caucus on the same day as the Republicans contest and allowing participants to vote for president via mail-in ballot. But Iowa Democrats have said they may not immediately release the results.

That could allow the state party to still hold the first-in-the-nation caucus without defying a new election-year calendar endorsed by President Joe Biden and approved by the DNC that calls for South Carolina to replace Iowa in the leadoff spot and kick off primary voting on Feb. 3.

Last month, South Carolina Republicans adopted Feb. 24 as the date for the traditional first Southern primary, leaving plenty of time for Nevada to schedule its Republican caucuses without crowding New Hampshire.

We remain committed to maintaining Iowas cherished first-in-the-nation caucuses, and look forward to holding a historic caucus in the coming months and defeating Joe Biden come November 2024, Kaufmann said.

By THOMAS BEAUMONT

Associated Press
MERIDEN  Since 2002, Hartford HealthCares Hispanic Womens Cancer Support Group has assisted women in treatment and those who have completed it. Members of the bilingual support group can share their experiences as cancer survivors and support other members as they navigate life after a cancer diagnosis.

We hope that theyre able to reduce emotional trauma by sharing their experiences, said Tina Rodriguez, outreach educator at the Hartford HealthCare Cancer Institute at MidState Medical Center in Meriden, and group facilitator of the Hispanic Womens Cancer Support Group. No two cancers are alike, so everyones experience is different. We try to let them know that theyre not alone.

The group gathers every second Thursday of the month at the MidState campus, 435 Lewis Ave. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the group also has a virtual option for members who cant attend in-person meetings.

We never even dreamt of a virtual platform, said Caitlin McPhelimy, program director for cancer support services. And when COVID came and said no more in person, we had to pivot really fast, and in pivoting so quickly, I got pulled in. I was able to connect with Tina, and now that we can do a hybrid version where she can add people in person if there are any barriers to virtual, plus its offered across the state, so its accessible through our different locations.

Rodriguez said the members become almost family and often feel comfortable calling one another outside the meetings. The group celebrates each others victories, encourages one another and asks and answers questions, providing a welcoming and reassuring environment for cancer patients.

Its a safe haven for them because they dont always feel like they can tell their family members, Rodriguez said. So because theyre in this seven with other women that are survivors, they feel safe and theyre able to share. We want to instill that theres hope and cancer doesnt mean youre dying.

Rodriguez didnt start facilitating the group until 2011, when she started working at the hospital as an outreach worker for the Connecticut Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program, which offers breast cancer mammograms for women nationwide.

Rodriguez took on her role after the former group facilitator had to step back due to her husband being diagnosed with cancer. Rodriguezs sister, who died of breast cancer in 2006, was a former group member, which she wasnt aware of until she became the groups facilitator.

I was hesitant in the beginning because the only thing I knew about cancer was that my sister was a survivor, Rodriguez said. I feel blessed that I was asked to step in because cancer has touched my family through my sisters breast cancer, and later on, lung cancer with my father and other family members.

As the groups facilitator, Rodriguez provides resources through the hospital and helps group members, like Joselyn Maldonado, 48, navigate through their cancer diagnosis.

Maldonado was diagnosed with stage 3B breast cancer in 2018 while living in New Jersey. She is a mother of three and worked two jobs  one at the airport and the other part time in an oncology office. The same person who diagnosed Maldonado was her boss at the time at the oncology office.

My kids told me you are a Wonder Woman because, before cancer, I was super healthy, Maldonado said. I never got any illness or any cold  It was like today Im good, and tomorrow, my life changed.

In April 2019, Maldonado moved to Meriden due to having a problem with her insurance. After finishing her chemotherapy, her oncologist referred her to a surgeon for a lateral mastectomy. After meeting with her surgeon, they noticed Maldonado was feeling emotions of depression, and that the surgery would only be more change she would have to deal with on her own. As a result, the surgeon referred her to a social worker at the hospital, who then referred her to Hartford HealthCares Hispanic Womens Cancer Support Group.

While I was in recovery from this surgery, I started to attend the meetings, Maldonado said. And in that time, it was very good because you can express your feelings about the process. You can help another person, too, who probably needs to hear you. Because one thing that helped me in the process was my attitude, which was positive. It helped me a lot to share my experience with another person.

Club no one wanted to join

Maldonado said Rodriguez helped her a lot during her recovery from her surgery. She was an angel for me for my life. During that time, she helped me with everything. Tina stayed with me for all the time during my three-week recovery in a hotel, she said. Currently, Maldonado is in remission but still experiences side effects from the chemotherapy.

Support groups are incredibly helpful at bringing people together who are part of a club that really no one wanted to join, McPhelimy said. So when I think of it as support groups, its one of those extras beyond counseling or the medical where people can come together, and they can, in a very safe and understanding environment, talk to others who know exactly what theyre going through this similar challenges, people who can empathize with very unique and stressful situations.

McPhelimy said groups like Hartford HealthCares Hispanic Womens Cancer Support Group are a great way to find a sense of cultural community and minimize disparities in health care.

Tina has the ability to host a group that can offer bilingual communication so that there are no communication breakdowns and you can be completely authentic and understand the cultural differentiations and be able to just relate to each other without any significantly lowered barriers to rapport building and coming together, she said.

She added that Rodriguez is leading the charge of bringing people together in a unique way for a group that often gets the short end of the stick because of language or cultural barriers, and that the hospital is lucky to have her.

McPhelimy said support groups are an alternative to traditional therapy because no insurance or referrals are needed.

Its purely, if youre interested, you get to come and sign up, she said.
A delegation from the State Audit Office of Vietnam held a working session with Auditor-General's Office of Singapore on July 7 (Photo: VNA)

At a meeting with AGO leaders, Vinh highly appreciated the collaboration between the two countries' audit agencies over the past time. He affirmed that the SAV wishes to continue experience exchange and further promote cooperation with AGO, especially in the application of information technology and digitisation in the field of auditing.



On behalf of the AGO, Deputy Auditor General of Singapore Rina Chua expressed her hope that the two sides could open up new opportunities to further strengthen cooperation between the two audit agencies in the coming times.



At the session, they discussed the organisational model, functions, tasks and areas of operation of the two audit agencies, the process and experience of digital transformation, and the application of information technology in auditing activities./.
Illustrative photo (Source: thanhnien.vn)

The article cited a report by Google Destination Insights which assessed that Vietnam was the 7th most searched destination from March to June this year, and the only country in Southeast Asia in the top 20.



Bobby Nguyen, Chairman of Rustic Hospitality Group, a tour agency, said that the boost is coming mainly from Chinese, Indian and Korean tourists. "China has reopened the outbound market to Vietnam and the Indian market has grown since 2022," he was quoted by the article.



Nguyen added that the use of social media and the influence of large travel groups have also helped promote Vietnam's international popularity.



The author also pointed to the Vietnamese Governments new visa policy for international visitors arriving in the country, tripling visa waivers from 15 to 45 days for selected countries. The changes will come into force on August 15.

A coastal road in Ninh Thuan province (Photo: thanhnien.vn)

Gary Bowerman, a tourism analyst based in Kuala Lumpur, said the visa changes will boost the tourism sector. "It's picking up, and over the next six months, you will see travelers to Vietnam increase. I think it's going to be very strong, and you'll see growth particularly now the Chinese market is back," he said.



One of Vietnam's selling points is that it's a lesser-known destination, and it offers both tourism and business opportunities, said Bowerman./.
IN 1979, late Zimbabwe Assemblies of God-Africa (Zaoga) founder Archbishop Ezekiel Guti and wife Eunor tied the knot in a special mrrige that was to stand the test of time and become an exemplary symbol of true l0ve and commitment.

What made their l0ve story unique was that the couple walked down the aisle on their first dte and a day after lobola payment.

Until he was introduced to the young Eunor, the late man of cloth Baba Guti had almost relegated the idea of mrrige on the margins of his mind especially after the death of his first wife.

He had to stay in bachelorhood for 15 years but with Zaoga growing so phenomenally to about 80 churches in 1979, elders thought it wise and respectable that the man of God found a helper.

This had to take prayers and fasting as the church elders sought Gods guidance on Archbishops mritl destiny.

I was ready to die single as I had lived for 15 years without a wife. It was not easy as my mind was so much engrossed in Gods work. But when someone explained to me at the bible school what scriptures say about mrrige, my perception of marriage changed, late Archbishop Guti told The Sunday Mail in 2019.

He reminisced about his early days as a preacher when he would visit Harare Hospital where a bevy of young nurses would admire him but he never paid attention.

This is how the late preacher became disciplined.

The girls would say mudhara wemagirazi uyo (that bespectacled man) but I understood my calling. I barely paid attention to any of that save for preaching the gospel, he narrated with a chuckle.

A young beautiful Eunor was also part of the single girls at Harare Hospital although she was a church youth leader.

As years went by, the Zaoga church elders made a decision which was to give birth to one of the formidable and admirable mrriges in the Christian community.

It was time for the Archbishop to settle down again.

They (elders) had meetings for three days praying about the issue and several names came up but failed to qualify. I then said there was a rich white lady in America who I could mrry. The church elders requested for more time to search for a suitable lady, said the late Archbishop back then.

As the search went on, one of the elders suggested that Eunor would be an ideal partner for the Archbishop given her dedication and commitment to the church.

She had at the time moved from Harare Hospital to Morgenstar in Masvingo.

Everyone (elders) nodded in agreement (that Eunor was the ideal partner) and it was arranged that an elderly woman  Mrs Nkomo  be sent to Eunor.

I knew she l0ved me as a Pastor but never imagined we could be mrried one day.

As the talks were going on, Ezekiel and Eunor were not allowed to meet before mrrige. Amai Guti interjected and revealed an interesting ordeal of how God spoke to her about her mrital destiny.

It was a Monday morning back then in 1979 during a prayer session while she was off duty.

I had dedicated my life to serving the Lord and vowed that Jesus was my husbnd and the engagement ring was the Holy Spirit.

As I was praying, I spoke in tongues and heard a voice saying; are you willing to do my will? I quickly replied, yes, as I thought the will was that I shouldnt mrry.

The voice continued asking me if I wanted to get mrried and I said yes again thinking it was my vow to Jesus.

The following day while she was at work she received a phone call during tea-break.

Narrating her l0ve story with a beaming smile Amai Guti said it was that phone call that changed her life forever.

It was Mrs Nkomo, the church emissary who had been sent to sweet-talk young Eunor to mrry the Archbishop.

Baba is back and he has been allowed to mrry. You are the chosen one, Amai Guti narrated how the message was relayed to her by Mrs Nkomo.

I dropped the phone and cried. I went into a trance speaking in tongues.

The Holy Spirit reminded me of His words the previous day. He said this is it, said Amai Guti.

She did not know how to break the news to anyone and went to her room.

Archbishop Guti was her Pastor and never imagined she could be his wife.

I pretended to be fine as I met my roommates but deep down I was in sh0ck. For days, I could not eat properly until that lady (Mrs Nkomo) came to explain.

I said, if it is Gods will, let it be done. It was not easy.

Lobola negotiations started after a month and everything went on smoothly.

The couple never wasted time as they got mrried on their first date.

They were blessed with seven children, two of which are now late, 22 grandchildren. They also have great grandchildren from Archbishops first mrriage.

They also revealed how they ran churches in 144 countries.

Archbishop Guti said, We are a God fearing couple; God and His will come first before our self-interests.

The church belongs to God. We should be guided by the Word which is why we are still together.

We do not pursue money. The love of money is the major reason why we have problems in some churches.

Baba Guti passed away on Wednesday aged 100.

His death was announced by his ZAOGA church which he founded in 1960.

It is with heavy hearts and deep sorrow that we announce the promotion to great glory of our dearly beloved spiritual father, visionary and iconic leader Archbishop Ezekiel Handinawangu Guti. He peacefully departed from this world today, Wednesday, July 5, 2023, ZAOGA national chairman Apostle Joseph Guti announced in a video posted on the churchs social media pages.

He has transitioned to be with his Lord and master whom he faithfully and sacrificially served for over eight decades.

Guti celebrated his centenary birthday on May 5 last month, with President Emmerson Mnangagwa in attendance.

His ZAOGA church, also known as the Forward in Faith Ministries International, remains one of the biggest in Zimbabwe with branches around the world.

In 2012, he established the Ezekiel Guti University in Bindura, reportedly at a cost of US$100 million. He and his wife, Eunor, were the joint chancellors.

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From the dais, Vice Mayor Jim Shulmans decisions have shaped the city for five years. After serving as a district councilmember and a councilmember at-large, he moved up to the chambers top job when then-Vice Mayor David Briley replaced Mayor Megan Barry when she resigned in spring 2018.

Shulman discusses controversial committee assignments, the gray areas of procedural discretion and his Red Bull consumption during late-night meetings while speaking with the Scene as he seeks reelection. His sole challenger in the Aug. 3 election is term-limited Metro Councilmember Angie Henderson, a chamber colleague who spoke to the Scenes Nicole Williams in March. Early voting begins July 14.

What does the vice mayor do in this city?

Most people associate the vice mayor with running the city council meetings. That's a primary responsibility, but there's a lot of other things that the vice mayor does, most of which people don't necessarily see. Besides getting ready for council meetings and trying to make sure that the agenda is squared away, I also try to understand what's on the agenda, because, you know, there are procedural questions about how the rules impact the agenda, those types of things. There is a lot of time and effort put into understanding how the meeting is gonna flow.

Q&A: Vice Mayoral Candidate Angie Henderson District 34's term-limited Metro councilmember looks to unseat Vice Mayor Shulman

Is there an example recently or a significant moment in your first term when you were making a decision that really came down to your knowledge of procedure? Maybe you and Council Director Margaret Darby figuring something out?

The two closest examples were the special meeting to put Rep. [Justin] Jones back in as the interim successor to the legislature. That required five or six days worth of understanding first the law, and then how the rules applied and how the rules might not apply if they were suspended. And then what that meant procedurally. We had to have two special meetings and we had to make a call to the House clerk's office  both with the help of Ms. Darby. It was all done within a period of four or five days where you were trying to answer questions from a rules perspective, from a legal perspective and from a procedural perspective on something that we really had never done before.

Another good example would be the Titans stadium. We knew that there were going to be procedural objections. We knew there were lots of different concerns floating around, particularly in terms of the timing of when the bill was coming, and we can't take up debt obligations during a time when the operations budget was coming. That took a number of days just to kind of think through different things that might happen. It was obviously up to the council to vote on these things, but we just wanted to be in a position to make sure we understood what motions might be and what might be the objections so that we would actually know procedurally what was the correct way to process things.

You didn't have to call a special meeting to get the Titans stadium deal passed  you could have let it run its course and waited till after budget negotiations. In that situation, you had the urgency of getting something done quickly from the mayors perspective, versus lots of objections from council about not rushing something so big. What are you considering in those moments?

The vice mayor is simply trying to get these things in a position where they can be voted on, then it's up to the council to make the decisions whether they like the idea or not. On the Titans issue, it goes back months to discussions with [Councilmember At-Large] Bob Mendes about having a special committee group to spend the time to lay out the issues and to have community meetings. It was a fairly complicated deal  you were having to look at the existing obligations and then what was being proposed. You had to kind of understand what was going on with the East Bank. You had to understand what was going on with the existing stadium. There was about a nine-month period of time where this was all laid out, so that people could actually get a better understanding of what it was. I thought that when it came time to vote, people felt like they had had opportunities to look at all those things. Eventually the budget committee, under [District 14 Councilmember] Kevin Rhoten's leadership, was the ultimate group that had to take authority over the final documents, review those and then make a determination.

Most of this, from a vice mayor standpoint, is just trying to keep the council in a position where people are allowed to vote on things and they make the determinations. You're trying to follow the rules, follow the procedures, follow the process, and get the matter before the council so that they can decide. I am trying to, in the best possible way, to make sure that the process works so that the council can ultimately make a decision. A lot of people think that I work in the mayor's office. I don't work for the mayor, I work for the people of Nashville. The vice mayor's ultimate responsibility is to lead the council in the sense of leading them to a meeting so that they can take whatever actions they want to take.

Shulman Steps Away From Safe Haven Pending Workplace Review Nonprofit conducts review of employee concerns while Shulman works from home

Are you able to say right now whether you'll call a special meeting on the proposed racetrack renovation at The Fairgrounds Nashville, which seems to be headed for a bit of a procedural hiccup toward the end of the session?

I mean, I dont know. I know some of the things that are headed to some type of vote, like the proposed amendment on the capital improvements budget. That's a procedural thing that I saw coming and studied about what would have to happen. As vice mayor, I think part of my responsibility is to make sure that I know procedurally whats gonna come and what it means.

But specifically, are you considering calling a special meeting to pass the speedway deal like you did for the Titans stadium?

Well, theres three ways to call a special meeting. The council itself can call one. I can call one. Or the mayor can call one. The only reason that I would consider calling a special meeting is if it's very clear that the council wants to take action and they want another meeting to do it. Otherwise, I think you let it play out. Part of my responsibility is to get an idea of what the council wants. You're taking your cues from the body, but there's some give and take. You're trying to understand what the body wants to do and to keep them in the constraints of the rules and the process. You're trying to allow open debate but you're also trying to contain it so that it flows within the procedures.

Another way that the body functions is in committees. It's another big responsibility of the vice mayor to help construct those committees and their leadership. How do you decide who to appoint to what committees, and who to appoint to lead committees?

I've served as a district councilmember and a councilmember at-large. When I was a district councilmember, chairmanships shifted pretty much every year. There was a rhythm. If you were chair of the Public Works Committee, you would move on, and somebody else would be chair the next year. The reason is, you try to give as many people on the council a chance to serve as a chair. You give people opportunities based on what theyre interested in.

Do councilmembers indicate their committee preferences to you?

At the beginning, you try to find out what they're interested in. Then you try to do the best you can to match them up with their interests. It's probably fair to say that most people understand that the budget committee is the most relevant committee in terms of dealing with resources and allocating those resources, so many, many people want to be on the budget committee. Well, I can't put everybody on there. You're trying to figure out what are the best places to put everybody within limitations. You try to match up expertise and you try to give everybody an opportunity to be in some type of chair role. Chairs then pick their own vice chairs.

David Briley, when he was vice mayor, chose committee assignments for two years. That's fine. I chose not to do it that way because I wanted to give more opportunities for people to serve. It's a balance.

How do you decide when to move someone off a committee? For example, District 29 Councilmember Delishia Porterfield was selected as vice chair of Budget and Finance, then you moved her off the committee next year, when many people were expecting that she would succeed [District 2 Councilmember] Kyonzte Toombs as chair.

For some reason, there seems to be some thought that if you're the vice chair, you then move up to chair. That's never been the way it was taught to me. One of the powers of the vice mayor is to pick the chairs. Just because you're vice chair doesn't mean that you're going to be the chair the next year. Some people think thats automatic. That's not how that works.

A central message of your campaign was about open the lines of communication between the public and council. How has that gone in your first term? I know there was a tense public comment on the budget in 2020 and a couple times since. How do you balance allowing input from the public while also, in your words, maintaining the procedural integrity and practical constraints of running a meeting?

I learned a significant amount over the last four years. We talk a lot about divisiveness, and that's another reason why the vice mayor has to take the time to kind of understand what's on the agenda and be prepared for what can happen. At council, people sometimes yell from the back and things like that. You have to be somewhat more flexible, but the whole goal of the meeting is for the council to be able to conduct its business.

We try to open up the lines of communication as much as we can, whether it's through our public comment periods, being able to talk to the chairs of the committees beforehand to let them know they're interested in saying something or special committees at the beginning of this term where we invited constituents to be a part of some of the issues that were going on. Now we've got this law that we're gonna allow public comment on everything. We want to hear from folks, and we look at our emails. If people are willing to take the time to drive down here, to park, to find a way into the chamber, and they want to take two minutes to stand up in front of us, which some people are not real comfortable doing, we need to take the time to make sure that we hear them. We're always trying to figure out better ways to hear from folks.

Or different energy drinks that can allow us to extend grace early into the morning.

The last meeting came in with two Red Bulls. That's an indication that I think it's gonna be a long night. On the budget hearing, I was gonna bring in four, just to see if I could get a laugh from some of the councilmembers. Seriously, something that I think needs to be looked at is that the council is part-time. Most people have spent the day at another job and trying to deal with any constituent matters that come up. They show up, they go to committees, then we start at 6:30 p.m. By 10 p.m. or 11 p.m., people get tired. At some point, you dont want very important decisions being made really late in the evening, sometimes as late as 2 a.m. Most people are asleep, so we're making decisions when people are not watching us on television or at the meeting.

Lastly, your major challenge comes from Angie Henderson, a councilmember you've worked with who sits in the chamber youve presided over for four years. Whats different about you as a candidate?

We want people to run for office. Shes obviously interested, and so, you know, I'm glad she's running. I've been a district councilmember for eight years, and I've served at-large for three years. Now I've served as vice mayor for five years. I have a lot of experience, I know the rules, I know the process, I know the procedures. I also have over 30 years of experience working in and around the state legislature  many, many years ago under then-Speaker of the House Jimmy Naifeh. I know processes and I know government, and I have many, many years of experience running large entities and finding ways to make things work. I know the city very, very well. Id love to come back as vice mayor. Im running this time for the same reason I ran in the first time for district councilmember: to find ways to make a difference for the people of Nashville.

Seeking Council: A Look at Some of the Most Competitive Metro Council Races
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has started talks with Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the head of state said on Friday evening via Telegram.

In particular, they discussed security in the Black Sea region and Europe in general. According to Zelenskyy, the topics of the Peace Formula and the future summit in Vilnius were also touched upon.

"Security  both in our Black Sea region and Europe in general Protection of our countries, our people and our interests. Attention to the summit in Vilnius, which is being prepared," Zelenskyy said.

He expressed special gratitude to Erdogan "for the support of Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty. Peace Formula."

Zelenskyy announced that one of the topics of their conversation would be the development of the Black Sea Initiative.

"We will separately discuss the protection and development of the Black Sea Grain Initiative and further efforts for food security. The world must be protected from any kind of terror," he said.
By PTI

MUMBAI: Diamond mining giant De Beers has signed a 10-year sales pact and a 25-year new lease agreement with Botswana that will have natural rough supply coming through the pipeline for the next 30 years.

In the sales agreement, De Beers increased the shares of Botswana to 50 per cent. It was 30 per cent at the beginning which later increased to 40 per cent.

"Last week, at the end of June, we agreed in principle a 10-year sales agreement and a 25-year new lease agreement for the assets commencing 2029, with the Botswana government," De Beers Executive Vice President Paul Rowley told PTI.

The new mining licence and new lease agreement with Desbwana for 25 years secures natural rough supply coming through the pipeline for the next 30 years, he added.

Debswana is a mining company, which is an equal partnership between the Republic of Botswana (GRB) and the De Beers Group of companies.

On the sale agreement, Rowley said, "From 25-30 per cent in the first year of signing, we went for about 40 per cent and then we moved to 50 per cent for 10 years with Debswana production.

" The company is also exploring other sites in Botswana and in countries like Angola, Canada and South Africa for mining opportunities, he said.

"We are looking both in Botswana, South Africa and Angola, Canada. Most recently we have reentered into Angola, which I think is pretty much recognised as one of the diamond-producing countries and for diamond exploration at this moment," he added.

MUMBAI: Diamond mining giant De Beers has signed a 10-year sales pact and a 25-year new lease agreement with Botswana that will have natural rough supply coming through the pipeline for the next 30 years. In the sales agreement, De Beers increased the shares of Botswana to 50 per cent. It was 30 per cent at the beginning which later increased to 40 per cent. "Last week, at the end of June, we agreed in principle a 10-year sales agreement and a 25-year new lease agreement for the assets commencing 2029, with the Botswana government," De Beers Executive Vice President Paul Rowley told PTI.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); The new mining licence and new lease agreement with Desbwana for 25 years secures natural rough supply coming through the pipeline for the next 30 years, he added. Debswana is a mining company, which is an equal partnership between the Republic of Botswana (GRB) and the De Beers Group of companies. On the sale agreement, Rowley said, "From 25-30 per cent in the first year of signing, we went for about 40 per cent and then we moved to 50 per cent for 10 years with Debswana production. " The company is also exploring other sites in Botswana and in countries like Angola, Canada and South Africa for mining opportunities, he said. "We are looking both in Botswana, South Africa and Angola, Canada. Most recently we have reentered into Angola, which I think is pretty much recognised as one of the diamond-producing countries and for diamond exploration at this moment," he added.
Ujwal Jalali By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: In a latest crackdown by the Delhi Police, as many as 9 fake agents were arrested in the past one month in seven different cases for their alleged involvment in immigration fraud. We are committed to take stringent action against agents involved in immigration fraud and to protect people from being duped by fake immigration agencies. Over nine agents in 7 different cases have been arrested in June, DCP (IGI-Airport) Devesh Kr Mahla said.

The arrested accused were identified as Vipan Kaushal alias Karan Sharma, Gurbant Singh, Shahnawaz alias Majju, Rashpal Dhall, Sudhir Kumar Patel, Suryaveer Singh, Sukhjinder Singh, Gurbant Singh and Karamjit Singh Arora alias Deep Arora.

The accused Vipan Kaushal alias Karan Sharma and Gurbant Singh, who were arrested on June 1, worked together out of an office in Sector-37C, Chandigarh and used to provide fake visas. During the interrogation, he disclosed that he used to find labour job aspirants from interior villages of Uttar Pradesh and send them to Kuwait for menial jobs. In Kuwait, the employer would take away their passports and make them work in inhuman conditions.

Having no other recourse, these persons would go to Yemen and would come back to India with an emergency certificate not knowing that travelling to Yemen is banned by India. Similarily, for 45-year-old Rashpal Dhall, the accused had asked the passengers to check-in with their original passports but once inside the airort, he used to take their passports and asked them to board another flight of Canada and charged `37.5 lakh per person. The arrested accused Sudhir Kumar Patel was his accomplice.

NEW DELHI: In a latest crackdown by the Delhi Police, as many as 9 fake agents were arrested in the past one month in seven different cases for their alleged involvment in immigration fraud. We are committed to take stringent action against agents involved in immigration fraud and to protect people from being duped by fake immigration agencies. Over nine agents in 7 different cases have been arrested in June, DCP (IGI-Airport) Devesh Kr Mahla said. The arrested accused were identified as Vipan Kaushal alias Karan Sharma, Gurbant Singh, Shahnawaz alias Majju, Rashpal Dhall, Sudhir Kumar Patel, Suryaveer Singh, Sukhjinder Singh, Gurbant Singh and Karamjit Singh Arora alias Deep Arora. The accused Vipan Kaushal alias Karan Sharma and Gurbant Singh, who were arrested on June 1, worked together out of an office in Sector-37C, Chandigarh and used to provide fake visas. During the interrogation, he disclosed that he used to find labour job aspirants from interior villages of Uttar Pradesh and send them to Kuwait for menial jobs. In Kuwait, the employer would take away their passports and make them work in inhuman conditions. googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Having no other recourse, these persons would go to Yemen and would come back to India with an emergency certificate not knowing that travelling to Yemen is banned by India. Similarily, for 45-year-old Rashpal Dhall, the accused had asked the passengers to check-in with their original passports but once inside the airort, he used to take their passports and asked them to board another flight of Canada and charged `37.5 lakh per person. The arrested accused Sudhir Kumar Patel was his accomplice.
By PTI

KOLKATA: As part of his assurance to monitor the situation in West Bengal where panchayat polls are being held, Governor Dr CV Ananda Bose on Saturday visited the residence of a person who was injured in a bomb attack in North 24 Parganas' Barasat-I subdivision.

After speaking to his family members at Pirgachha, Bose went to the hospital in Barasat where the person is being treated and talked to doctors, an official said.

"The Governor then arranged for the shifting of the person to city-based RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. He also took stock of the situation and enquired about polling," he told PTI.

Bose, who was supposed to travel to Nadia district, was stopped near Basudebpur on Kalyani Expressway by supporters of the BJP and CPI(M) who complained about "vote looting" and urged him to take action.

ALSO READ | Bengal poll violence: State under TMC known for crimes, anti-national activities, says BJP

Bose tried calling officials of the state election commission (SEC) and police but could not because of mobile connectivity issues, the official said.

"He later stopped at a rest house at Kamarhati from where he called officials to take stock of the situation," the official said.

After returning to Raj Bhavan, Bose said he is likely to go out again and pay surprise visits to different panchayat areas.

ALSO READ | Bengal poll violence: Congress leader seeks urgent hearing of HC to declare polls null and void

On Friday, Bose had urged the people of rural Bengal to exercise their franchise in the panchayat elections without fail and said he would be on the streets along with his team during polling.

He described the rural polls as a "fight between ballots and bullets" and said that he would monitor the situation throughout the state and take corrective measures.

Talking about his role on polling day, Bose said he would ensure that the interests of the public are protected and that Constitution is followed by everyone.

KOLKATA: As part of his assurance to monitor the situation in West Bengal where panchayat polls are being held, Governor Dr CV Ananda Bose on Saturday visited the residence of a person who was injured in a bomb attack in North 24 Parganas' Barasat-I subdivision. After speaking to his family members at Pirgachha, Bose went to the hospital in Barasat where the person is being treated and talked to doctors, an official said. "The Governor then arranged for the shifting of the person to city-based RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. He also took stock of the situation and enquired about polling," he told PTI.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Bose, who was supposed to travel to Nadia district, was stopped near Basudebpur on Kalyani Expressway by supporters of the BJP and CPI(M) who complained about "vote looting" and urged him to take action. ALSO READ | Bengal poll violence: State under TMC known for crimes, anti-national activities, says BJP Bose tried calling officials of the state election commission (SEC) and police but could not because of mobile connectivity issues, the official said. "He later stopped at a rest house at Kamarhati from where he called officials to take stock of the situation," the official said. After returning to Raj Bhavan, Bose said he is likely to go out again and pay surprise visits to different panchayat areas. ALSO READ | Bengal poll violence: Congress leader seeks urgent hearing of HC to declare polls null and void On Friday, Bose had urged the people of rural Bengal to exercise their franchise in the panchayat elections without fail and said he would be on the streets along with his team during polling. He described the rural polls as a "fight between ballots and bullets" and said that he would monitor the situation throughout the state and take corrective measures. Talking about his role on polling day, Bose said he would ensure that the interests of the public are protected and that Constitution is followed by everyone.
By PTI

NEW DELHI: The BJP on Saturday attacked the TMC government in West Bengal, alleging that the state under its rule has become a tragic example of violence in democracy.

Hitting out at the TMC over violence during the panchayat elections, BJP spokesperson and Rajya Sabha member Sudhanshu Trivedi told reporters that the state used to be a centre of art, culture and science.

Now, it is known for "crimes, anti-national activities and dangerous appeasement".

He alleged that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee-led government has been using criminals for violence during the elections by giving them protection.

Members of the BJP and the Left-Congress combine have been killed and such a situation has emerged that different factions of the TMC are attacking each other, Trivedi alleged.

"Violence has been going on in Bengal for years. It is not only continuing but gradually rising," he said.

Taking a swipe at the BJP's critics, Trivedi said they cannot see these murders in their opposition to the party and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"The situation in Bengal is a lot like in Bihar of the 1990s, Trivdei said, accusing the TMC of tainting the polls with blood. The state government's actions have been exposed through Constitutional means," he said.

The BJP leader also praised the judicial intervention in the polls, saying things could have been worse but for these measures, including the deployment of central forces.

In a swipe at the State Election Commission, he said it had itself demanded security forces for carrying out elections but cannot decide what kind of forces there should be.

ALSO READ | Bengal poll violence: Congress leader seeks urgent hearing of HC to declare polls null and void

While opposition parties in the state such as the BJP have pitched for the extensive use of central forces, accusing the state police of supporting the ruling party, the TMC has often labelled similar allegations against the central forces.

Around 5.67 crore voters are likely to exercise their franchise to choose representatives for nearly 928 seats across 22 zilla parishads, 9,730 panchayat samities and 63,229 gram panchayats.

ALSO READ:

NEW DELHI: The BJP on Saturday attacked the TMC government in West Bengal, alleging that the state under its rule has become a tragic example of violence in democracy. Hitting out at the TMC over violence during the panchayat elections, BJP spokesperson and Rajya Sabha member Sudhanshu Trivedi told reporters that the state used to be a centre of art, culture and science. Now, it is known for "crimes, anti-national activities and dangerous appeasement".googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); He alleged that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee-led government has been using criminals for violence during the elections by giving them protection. Members of the BJP and the Left-Congress combine have been killed and such a situation has emerged that different factions of the TMC are attacking each other, Trivedi alleged. "Violence has been going on in Bengal for years. It is not only continuing but gradually rising," he said. Taking a swipe at the BJP's critics, Trivedi said they cannot see these murders in their opposition to the party and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "The situation in Bengal is a lot like in Bihar of the 1990s, Trivdei said, accusing the TMC of tainting the polls with blood. The state government's actions have been exposed through Constitutional means," he said. The BJP leader also praised the judicial intervention in the polls, saying things could have been worse but for these measures, including the deployment of central forces. In a swipe at the State Election Commission, he said it had itself demanded security forces for carrying out elections but cannot decide what kind of forces there should be. ALSO READ | Bengal poll violence: Congress leader seeks urgent hearing of HC to declare polls null and void While opposition parties in the state such as the BJP have pitched for the extensive use of central forces, accusing the state police of supporting the ruling party, the TMC has often labelled similar allegations against the central forces. Around 5.67 crore voters are likely to exercise their franchise to choose representatives for nearly 928 seats across 22 zilla parishads, 9,730 panchayat samities and 63,229 gram panchayats. ALSO READ: Bengal poll violence claims life of 17-year-old student, death toll reaches 15 in 26 days CPI(M) asks workers to deposit blank ballots in seats without Left/Cong candidates in Bengal polls Three more bodies found as Bengal fears further bloodshed during Saturday's rural polls 'All waters in holy Ganges can't wash away blood on your hands': Bengal Guv slams state poll chief
By PTI

HYDERABAD: Hitting back at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his remarks on the BRS Government, Telangana Minister KT Rama Rao on Saturday said the PM has insulted the people of the state by setting up a Rs 520 crore wagon factory while "taking away" a Rs 20,000 crore rupees locomotive factory to Gujarat.

Referring to PM's comments that there are thousands of teacher posts vacant in Telangana, KTR said it is like "pot calling the kettle black" as the centre is not filling more than 16 lakh central government jobs and is permanently privatising jobs in public sector organisations.

"Before speaking about the vacancies in state universities, the PM should fill all the vacancies in the central universities across the country. The prime Minister should respond to the issue of the Governor not clearing the legislation brought out by our government on the filling of jobs in universities," the minister said.

KTR said Modi did not say a single word about the Bayyaram steel factory which was mentioned in the AP Bifurcation Act aiming to provide employment to 15,000 locals.

He further alleged that it has become a habit of Modi to come to Telangana and lash out at the BRS government here, speak lies, and give a lecture before leaving with "empty hands."

KTR said that the PM, who spoke about the Telangana government school education system, should remember that the BRS regime is spending Rs 1.25 lakh on each student annually to impart quality education which nowhere in the country is done.

KTR said people of Telangana are observing the negligence and discrimination shown towards Telangana and warned that BJP will be taught a lesson at the right time.

HYDERABAD: Hitting back at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his remarks on the BRS Government, Telangana Minister KT Rama Rao on Saturday said the PM has insulted the people of the state by setting up a Rs 520 crore wagon factory while "taking away" a Rs 20,000 crore rupees locomotive factory to Gujarat. Referring to PM's comments that there are thousands of teacher posts vacant in Telangana, KTR said it is like "pot calling the kettle black" as the centre is not filling more than 16 lakh central government jobs and is permanently privatising jobs in public sector organisations. "Before speaking about the vacancies in state universities, the PM should fill all the vacancies in the central universities across the country. The prime Minister should respond to the issue of the Governor not clearing the legislation brought out by our government on the filling of jobs in universities," the minister said.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); KTR said Modi did not say a single word about the Bayyaram steel factory which was mentioned in the AP Bifurcation Act aiming to provide employment to 15,000 locals. He further alleged that it has become a habit of Modi to come to Telangana and lash out at the BRS government here, speak lies, and give a lecture before leaving with "empty hands." KTR said that the PM, who spoke about the Telangana government school education system, should remember that the BRS regime is spending Rs 1.25 lakh on each student annually to impart quality education which nowhere in the country is done. KTR said people of Telangana are observing the negligence and discrimination shown towards Telangana and warned that BJP will be taught a lesson at the right time.
By Online Desk

A Delhi court on Friday issued a fresh summons to British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in connection with a defamation suit filed by a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader seeking an injunction on the airing of the documentary series India: The Modi Question.

The summons was also issued to Wikimedia Foundation, and Internet Archives through the Department of Legal Affairs.

Additional district judge Ruchika Singla of the Rohini court observed that the defendants are foreign entities and therefore, the service of summons must be effected as per guidelines issued by Delhi high court.

As the defendants are foreign entities, the service must be effected as per the guidelines issued by the Honble high court....it is directed that the summons be issued afresh to the defendants on the filing of PF within seven days to be served through the Department of Legal Affairs, Ministry of Law & Justice, Govt. of India, as per rules, the court order said.

The court had earlier issued a summons in May. However, an objection was taken that since the defendants are foreign entities based in USA and UK, the service could be effected only as per the procedure prescribed.

While issuing fresh summons, the court said that mere filing of vakalatnama by the lawyers shall not do away with the mandatory requirment of the service of summons on the defendant entities under the prescribed procedure, Live Law reported.

Hence, by virtue of the same, it is clear that as per the rules formulated under the Hague Convention and by the Government of India, the summons/ notices in foreign countries can be effected only through the Department of Legal Affairs, Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India, which admittedly not been done in the present case, the court said.

The complainant in the case is Binay Kumar Singh, a BJP functionary who pleaded for a ban in the broadcast of the documentary. Singh had through his suit sought a direction ordering them to tender an unconditional apology to him as well as the organisations for the defamatory content and has sought damages of Rs.10,00,000.

The Centre had in January 2023 imposed a ban on the documentary which deals with the communal politics of BJP particularly the 2022 post-Godhra riots in Gujarat. The ban triggered protests and special screenings of the documentary in locations including college campuses by critics of the government and opposition parties.

A Delhi court on Friday issued a fresh summons to British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in connection with a defamation suit filed by a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader seeking an injunction on the airing of the documentary series India: The Modi Question. The summons was also issued to Wikimedia Foundation, and Internet Archives through the Department of Legal Affairs. Additional district judge Ruchika Singla of the Rohini court observed that the defendants are foreign entities and therefore, the service of summons must be effected as per guidelines issued by Delhi high court.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); As the defendants are foreign entities, the service must be effected as per the guidelines issued by the Honble high court....it is directed that the summons be issued afresh to the defendants on the filing of PF within seven days to be served through the Department of Legal Affairs, Ministry of Law & Justice, Govt. of India, as per rules, the court order said. The court had earlier issued a summons in May. However, an objection was taken that since the defendants are foreign entities based in USA and UK, the service could be effected only as per the procedure prescribed. While issuing fresh summons, the court said that mere filing of vakalatnama by the lawyers shall not do away with the mandatory requirment of the service of summons on the defendant entities under the prescribed procedure, Live Law reported. Hence, by virtue of the same, it is clear that as per the rules formulated under the Hague Convention and by the Government of India, the summons/ notices in foreign countries can be effected only through the Department of Legal Affairs, Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India, which admittedly not been done in the present case, the court said. The complainant in the case is Binay Kumar Singh, a BJP functionary who pleaded for a ban in the broadcast of the documentary. Singh had through his suit sought a direction ordering them to tender an unconditional apology to him as well as the organisations for the defamatory content and has sought damages of Rs.10,00,000. The Centre had in January 2023 imposed a ban on the documentary which deals with the communal politics of BJP particularly the 2022 post-Godhra riots in Gujarat. The ban triggered protests and special screenings of the documentary in locations including college campuses by critics of the government and opposition parties.
Yeshi Seli By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: A day ahead of the planned rally by Khalistani supporters across countries, including the UK, Britains National Security Advisor (NSA) Tim Barrow held a bilateral meeting with his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval.

India has raised the issue of the extremist elements in the UK threatening individual officers of the Indian High Commission and urged the UK government to take strong action against these elements such as deportation or legal prosecution, said a source aware of the meetings development.

India and the UK also agreed to enhance cooperation to address violent extremism and radicalism. They reiterated that there can be no justification for violent extremism and radicalization in a democracy.

It may be recalled that Khalistani supporters had brought down the Indian flag at the Indian High Commission on March 20 this year. Britain has assured India of all support to rein in these extremist elements. Khalistani supporters have called for a rally on July 8 and in the posters talking about the rally they have added pictures of Indian diplomats threatening to harm them.

The meeting between the NSAs comes after the mysterious death of Avtar Singh Kanda, UK chief of Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) on June 15 in Birmingham. Kanda had spearheaded the vandalism of the Indian High Commission in London and brought down the Indian flag.

Khanda is said to have been an expert in bomb-making. He was admitted to Sandwell Hospital Birmingham and was on life support after being diagnosed with cancer. However, there are conflicting reports on the exact cause of his death and there isnt any official confirmation of the same.

Khanda was born in Moga, Punjab and was the son of Kulwant Singh Khurana- who was from KLF too and was gunned down by security forces in 1991. His mother too is said to have been related to KLF terrorist Gurjant Singh Budhsingwala.

Meanwhile, both the NSA's agreed to work closely on counter-terrorism. Both the sides agreed to work closely on counter-terrorism, counter-terror financing, use of the internet for terrorism purposes, illicit drug trafficking and counter-radicalisation, a source said.

Barrow is in India on the invitation of Doval for the India-UK Strategic Dialogue. He is accompanied by a delegation of senior UK government officials. The two had productive and wide-ranging discussions on furthering the UK-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and also covered global security issues, according to the British High Commission.

Both Barrow and Doval have met at regular intervals and have been regularly engaged in discussing bilateral, regional and global issues. The current visit has given them the opportunity to continue their high-level dialogue, which will include a review of the multi-faceted cooperation between the two countries as well as explore futuristic areas for technology collaboration.

Both sides have agreed to accord maximum priority to further enhance the security linkages.it was also agreed to deepen collaboration in critical and emerging technologies. Barrow is likely to meet other dignitaries during his ongoing visit.

NEW DELHI: A day ahead of the planned rally by Khalistani supporters across countries, including the UK, Britains National Security Advisor (NSA) Tim Barrow held a bilateral meeting with his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval. India has raised the issue of the extremist elements in the UK threatening individual officers of the Indian High Commission and urged the UK government to take strong action against these elements such as deportation or legal prosecution, said a source aware of the meetings development. India and the UK also agreed to enhance cooperation to address violent extremism and radicalism. They reiterated that there can be no justification for violent extremism and radicalization in a democracy. It may be recalled that Khalistani supporters had brought down the Indian flag at the Indian High Commission on March 20 this year. Britain has assured India of all support to rein in these extremist elements. Khalistani supporters have called for a rally on July 8 and in the posters talking about the rally they have added pictures of Indian diplomats threatening to harm them.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); The meeting between the NSAs comes after the mysterious death of Avtar Singh Kanda, UK chief of Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) on June 15 in Birmingham. Kanda had spearheaded the vandalism of the Indian High Commission in London and brought down the Indian flag. Khanda is said to have been an expert in bomb-making. He was admitted to Sandwell Hospital Birmingham and was on life support after being diagnosed with cancer. However, there are conflicting reports on the exact cause of his death and there isnt any official confirmation of the same. Khanda was born in Moga, Punjab and was the son of Kulwant Singh Khurana- who was from KLF too and was gunned down by security forces in 1991. His mother too is said to have been related to KLF terrorist Gurjant Singh Budhsingwala. Meanwhile, both the NSA's agreed to work closely on counter-terrorism. Both the sides agreed to work closely on counter-terrorism, counter-terror financing, use of the internet for terrorism purposes, illicit drug trafficking and counter-radicalisation, a source said. Barrow is in India on the invitation of Doval for the India-UK Strategic Dialogue. He is accompanied by a delegation of senior UK government officials. The two had productive and wide-ranging discussions on furthering the UK-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and also covered global security issues, according to the British High Commission. Both Barrow and Doval have met at regular intervals and have been regularly engaged in discussing bilateral, regional and global issues. The current visit has given them the opportunity to continue their high-level dialogue, which will include a review of the multi-faceted cooperation between the two countries as well as explore futuristic areas for technology collaboration. Both sides have agreed to accord maximum priority to further enhance the security linkages.it was also agreed to deepen collaboration in critical and emerging technologies. Barrow is likely to meet other dignitaries during his ongoing visit.
The United States will send Ukraine a new arms aid package worth about $800 million, which will include 155mm cluster rounds, Pentagon Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl said at a press briefing at the Pentagon on Friday.

It is noted that the ammunition that will be delivered to Ukraine will include only those where the percentage of unexploded ordnance is less than 2.35%.

According to a document released by the Pentagon press service, the aid package also contains 32 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles; 32 Stryker armored personnel carriers; additional ammunition for the Patriot and HIMARS air defense systems; AIM-7 missiles for air defense; Stinger anti-aircraft systems; Javelin anti-armor systems; 31 155-mm howitzers; 105mm and 155mm artillery rounds, including DPICM; tube-launched missiles; Penguin27 unmanned aerial systems; tactical lifting vehicles; 10 tactical vehicles for towing and transporting equipment, as well as explosive ordnance, mine-clearing equipment, spare parts, small arms and 28 million rounds of ammunition for them.

Minister of Defense of Ukraine Oleksiy Reznikov welcomed the transfer of weapons and noted that in the course of self-defense, Ukraine will strictly comply with all signed and ratified international humanitarian conventions.

Reznikov identified five key principles that the country will adhere to.

"We have clearly communicated to all our partners, including the US. I have personally informed our US partners about these five principles in writing a long time ago," he said on Twitter.

They say that these munitions will be used only for the de-occupation of the internationally recognized territories of Ukraine and will not be used on the officially recognized territory of Russia.

In addition, it is indicated that cluster munitions will not be used in urban areas in order to avoid risks to the civilian population.

"Cluster munitions will be used only in the fields where there is a concentration of russian military. They will be used to break through the enemy defence lines with minimum risk for the lives of our soldiers," Reznikov said.

The minister pointed to keeping a strict record of the use of these weapons and local zones of their use.

He also said Ukraine will report to partners on the use of cluster munitions and their effectiveness, in order to ensure an appropriate standard of transparent reporting and control.

"Based on these records, after the de-occupation of our territories and our victory these territories will be prioritised for the purposes of de-mining. This will enable us to eradicate the risk from the unexploded elements of cluster munitions. The Minister of Defence of Ukraine is by law acting as the Head of the national de-mining agency. In this capacity I will ensure the implementation of the relevant legal framework for the de-mining process after our victory," he said.
By Express News Service

KOLKATA: Fears of a bloodbath and large-scale violence turned out to be true on the day of the three-tier panchayat elections in West Bengal as the electoral exercise to decide who will dominate the state's rural political landscape for the next five years claimed the lives of 12 people including a TMC candidate for a gram panchayat seat and a BJP polling agent.

During the course of the elections in 73,887 seats involving 2.06 lakh candidates, several activists of political parties received injuries when bullets were fired, bombs were hurled and attacks were carried out by rivals with sticks and sharp weapons.

Though the State Election Commission (SEC) did not give any official figures on the death toll on the day of the rural polls, reports from the districts revealed seven of the victims were identified as workers of the ruling Trinamool Congress who faced strong resistance from the opposition both in north and south Bengal districts. Two BJP supporters, two CPI(M) activists and a Congress supporter were also killed in the violence on Saturday.

With Bengal witnessing clashes between political parties ever since the announcement of the date for the rural polls, the death toll in the violence before and on the day of the election has gone up to 31 in the past one month.

BJPs state president Sukanta Majumdar was contacted by the office of the Union Home Minister Amit Shah. I was asked about the violence during the panchayat elections. I will submit a written report, said Majumdar.

ALSO READ | Bengal Governor takes stock of panchayat polls, meets bomb-attack victim

Polling remained suspended in 1,043 booths out of 61,636 as ballot papers and ballot boxes were snatched and either thrown into nearby ponds or set ablaze.

When the opposition alleged that the central force was not utilised properly by the state poll panel, Chief Election Commissioner (SEC) Rajiva Sinha said the poll body requisitioned 837 companies of the Central Armed Paramilitary Force (CAPF) but only 649 were available on the day of the election. The rest were on their way to the state, he added, without disclosing the total number of deaths on Saturday.

The BSF, which is part of the central team, sent a letter to the SEC stating that though they had sought information on the sensitive booths, nothing was shared.

"If the proper list of sensitive areas had been provided, then the deployment of central forces would had been easier," a BSF official said.

West Bengal governor CV Ananda Bose visited a number areas in North 24 Parganas on Saturday. "This is the most sacred day for democracy. Election must be through ballots and not bullets. It should cause concern to all of us," he said, urging people to come out and exercise their franchise.

TMC minister Shashi Panja said incidents took place at around 60 booths. Elections were held peacefully in 13-14 districts out of 22. Many were in favour of the deployment of CAPF but the central force personnel were seen influencing voters to exercise their franchise in favour of a particular political party, she alleged.



At many places, ballot papers were either snatched or destroyed allegedly by the ruling TMC activists, polling booths were vandalised and presiding officers were manhandled and intimidated in the absence of central force personnel though the Calcutta High Court had ordered deployment of CAPF in all booths in equal ratio with their state counterparts. A ballot box was seen set ablaze in Cooch Behars Dinhata and a youth was spotted fleeing with a ballot box in his arms at Mathabhanga in the same district. The presiding officer in a booth in Birbhums Mayureshwar was seen crying after the polling station was vandalised and ballots were looted.

In Raninagar, Murshidabad, policemen were seen aiming guns while dispersing TMC supporters assembled in front of a booth.

At many booths, casting of votes were over within two hours in the morning and opposition parties alleged the TMCs men enjoyed a free hand to cast false votes and forced the presiding officers to seal the ballot box.

Referring to the deaths of two BJP workers, the saffron camps state president tweeted, Is this why CM @MamataOfficial was opposing the deployment of the Central forces so that her goons have free run to murder opposition karyakartas?

District wise deaths:

Murshidabad: 4 (2 TMC, 1 CP(M), 1 Congress)

Cooch Behar: 2 (BJP)

North Dinajpur: 1 (TMC)

Malda: 1 (TMC)

Nadia: 1 (TMC)

East Burdwan: 2 (1 CPI(M), 1 TMC)

South 24 Parganas: 1 (TMC)

KOLKATA: Fears of a bloodbath and large-scale violence turned out to be true on the day of the three-tier panchayat elections in West Bengal as the electoral exercise to decide who will dominate the state's rural political landscape for the next five years claimed the lives of 12 people including a TMC candidate for a gram panchayat seat and a BJP polling agent. During the course of the elections in 73,887 seats involving 2.06 lakh candidates, several activists of political parties received injuries when bullets were fired, bombs were hurled and attacks were carried out by rivals with sticks and sharp weapons. Though the State Election Commission (SEC) did not give any official figures on the death toll on the day of the rural polls, reports from the districts revealed seven of the victims were identified as workers of the ruling Trinamool Congress who faced strong resistance from the opposition both in north and south Bengal districts. Two BJP supporters, two CPI(M) activists and a Congress supporter were also killed in the violence on Saturday.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); With Bengal witnessing clashes between political parties ever since the announcement of the date for the rural polls, the death toll in the violence before and on the day of the election has gone up to 31 in the past one month. BJPs state president Sukanta Majumdar was contacted by the office of the Union Home Minister Amit Shah. I was asked about the violence during the panchayat elections. I will submit a written report, said Majumdar. ALSO READ | Bengal Governor takes stock of panchayat polls, meets bomb-attack victim Polling remained suspended in 1,043 booths out of 61,636 as ballot papers and ballot boxes were snatched and either thrown into nearby ponds or set ablaze. When the opposition alleged that the central force was not utilised properly by the state poll panel, Chief Election Commissioner (SEC) Rajiva Sinha said the poll body requisitioned 837 companies of the Central Armed Paramilitary Force (CAPF) but only 649 were available on the day of the election. The rest were on their way to the state, he added, without disclosing the total number of deaths on Saturday. The BSF, which is part of the central team, sent a letter to the SEC stating that though they had sought information on the sensitive booths, nothing was shared. "If the proper list of sensitive areas had been provided, then the deployment of central forces would had been easier," a BSF official said. West Bengal governor CV Ananda Bose visited a number areas in North 24 Parganas on Saturday. "This is the most sacred day for democracy. Election must be through ballots and not bullets. It should cause concern to all of us," he said, urging people to come out and exercise their franchise. TMC minister Shashi Panja said incidents took place at around 60 booths. Elections were held peacefully in 13-14 districts out of 22. Many were in favour of the deployment of CAPF but the central force personnel were seen influencing voters to exercise their franchise in favour of a particular political party, she alleged. At many places, ballot papers were either snatched or destroyed allegedly by the ruling TMC activists, polling booths were vandalised and presiding officers were manhandled and intimidated in the absence of central force personnel though the Calcutta High Court had ordered deployment of CAPF in all booths in equal ratio with their state counterparts. A ballot box was seen set ablaze in Cooch Behars Dinhata and a youth was spotted fleeing with a ballot box in his arms at Mathabhanga in the same district. The presiding officer in a booth in Birbhums Mayureshwar was seen crying after the polling station was vandalised and ballots were looted. In Raninagar, Murshidabad, policemen were seen aiming guns while dispersing TMC supporters assembled in front of a booth. At many booths, casting of votes were over within two hours in the morning and opposition parties alleged the TMCs men enjoyed a free hand to cast false votes and forced the presiding officers to seal the ballot box. Referring to the deaths of two BJP workers, the saffron camps state president tweeted, Is this why CM @MamataOfficial was opposing the deployment of the Central forces so that her goons have free run to murder opposition karyakartas? District wise deaths: Murshidabad: 4 (2 TMC, 1 CP(M), 1 Congress) Cooch Behar: 2 (BJP) North Dinajpur: 1 (TMC) Malda: 1 (TMC) Nadia: 1 (TMC) East Burdwan: 2 (1 CPI(M), 1 TMC) South 24 Parganas: 1 (TMC)
By PTI

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has granted protection from arrest to Abhishek Jha, the husband of suspended Jharkhand cadre IAS officer Pooja Singhal, in a money laundering case arising out of the alleged MNREGA scam in the state.

The court's decision came after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) said he may be given the relief to look after the medical needs of his daughter.

Singhal, a 2000-batch IAS officer, is the main accused in the alleged scam involving embezzlement of public funds of Rs 18.07 crore when she was the deputy commissioner of Khunti district.

A bench of justices S K Kaul and Sudhanshu Dhulia noted that Singhal, who was earlier released in view of her daughter's medical needs, is already in custody.

"Since the petitioner's husband was available to look after the medical needs of the child, this court, for the time being, asked the wife to surrender and she has surrendered," the bench said.

"ASG (additional solicitor general appearing for the ED) fairly submits that in view of the custody of the wife, in order to look after the medical needs of the daughter who requires medical attention, the petitioner (Jha) may be protected against arrest, more so, as he is also running a speciality hospital. We take the aforesaid statement on record and dispose of the petition," the bench said in its order passed on July 5.

The top court passed the order while hearing Jha's plea challenging the May 18 order of the Jharkhand High Court denying him anticipatory bail in the case.

"Needless to say that the petitioner (Jha) will be appearing before the court where the complaint has been filed," the bench said, while disposing of the plea.

On June 23, his plea had come up for hearing before a vacation bench of the apex court which had refused to grant him anticipatory bail and posted the matter for hearing on July 5.

On May 18, the high court had dismissed his anticipatory bail plea and asked him to surrender before the court in four weeks.

"As held by the Supreme Court, in offences under PMLA rigors of Section 45, will apply. Considering the magnitude of crime involving proceeds of crime to the tune of crores with evidence of it being carefully layered and laundered through investments, materials on record, risk of flight and for the plea taken on behalf of the ED, I do not find this a case fit for grant of anticipatory bail," Justice Gautam Kumar Chaudhary of the high court had said while rejecting his bail application.

According to the prosecution, Jha's fortunes soared after his marriage to Singhal, and ill-gotten cash, allegedly the proceeds of crime generated by the officer through corrupt practices, began flowing into his bank accounts.

Jha has claimed the money was his legitimate income from his job in Australia.

The high court had noted in its order that Jha got married to Singhal in June 2011.

The high-profile IAS officer was posted as the deputy commissioner of Khunti district from February 16, 2009, to July 19, 2010.

"Large-scale embezzlement of public funds was detected and 16 FIRs were lodged detailed in para 1.6 of the prosecution complaint in the district of Khunti where Pooja Singhal was the deputy commissioner at the relevant time.

The total amount alleged to have been embezzled as per the 16 FIRs were to the tune of Rs 18.06 crore.

In all the 16 FIRs, charge sheets were filed against Ram Binod Prasad Sinha, RK Jain and others," the HC order said.

It said the investigation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) unearthed proceeds of crime in various layers of money laundering, and properties worth Rs 4.28 crore, including the interest on these properties were attached.

The order referred to the search and seizure operations at nearly 30 premises linked to Singhal and her associates in Ranchi, Chandigarh, Kolkata, Faridabad, Gurugram and Muzaffarpur during which cash totalling Rs 19.76 crore was seized, besides incriminating documents and digital devices.

The high court recorded the main case against Singhal related to the period when she was the deputy commissioner of Khunti during which she allegedly connived with the engineers of the special division and the district board, and embezzled Rs 18.06 crore.

Referring to the allegations against Jha, the court cited Singhal's chartered accountant Suman Kumar, who claimed he was making investments on behalf of his wife.

Singhal has been accused of setting up Pulse Sanjeevani Hospital in Ranchi with her husband to launder her ill-gotten wealth.

Jha has claimed in his statement made under section 50 of PMLA that the source of infusion of money in Pulse Sanjeevani Healthcare Pvt Ltd was his savings from the job in Australia and gifts that he received during his wedding ceremonies.

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has granted protection from arrest to Abhishek Jha, the husband of suspended Jharkhand cadre IAS officer Pooja Singhal, in a money laundering case arising out of the alleged MNREGA scam in the state. The court's decision came after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) said he may be given the relief to look after the medical needs of his daughter. Singhal, a 2000-batch IAS officer, is the main accused in the alleged scam involving embezzlement of public funds of Rs 18.07 crore when she was the deputy commissioner of Khunti district.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); A bench of justices S K Kaul and Sudhanshu Dhulia noted that Singhal, who was earlier released in view of her daughter's medical needs, is already in custody. "Since the petitioner's husband was available to look after the medical needs of the child, this court, for the time being, asked the wife to surrender and she has surrendered," the bench said. "ASG (additional solicitor general appearing for the ED) fairly submits that in view of the custody of the wife, in order to look after the medical needs of the daughter who requires medical attention, the petitioner (Jha) may be protected against arrest, more so, as he is also running a speciality hospital. We take the aforesaid statement on record and dispose of the petition," the bench said in its order passed on July 5. The top court passed the order while hearing Jha's plea challenging the May 18 order of the Jharkhand High Court denying him anticipatory bail in the case. "Needless to say that the petitioner (Jha) will be appearing before the court where the complaint has been filed," the bench said, while disposing of the plea. On June 23, his plea had come up for hearing before a vacation bench of the apex court which had refused to grant him anticipatory bail and posted the matter for hearing on July 5. On May 18, the high court had dismissed his anticipatory bail plea and asked him to surrender before the court in four weeks. "As held by the Supreme Court, in offences under PMLA rigors of Section 45, will apply. Considering the magnitude of crime involving proceeds of crime to the tune of crores with evidence of it being carefully layered and laundered through investments, materials on record, risk of flight and for the plea taken on behalf of the ED, I do not find this a case fit for grant of anticipatory bail," Justice Gautam Kumar Chaudhary of the high court had said while rejecting his bail application. According to the prosecution, Jha's fortunes soared after his marriage to Singhal, and ill-gotten cash, allegedly the proceeds of crime generated by the officer through corrupt practices, began flowing into his bank accounts. Jha has claimed the money was his legitimate income from his job in Australia. The high court had noted in its order that Jha got married to Singhal in June 2011. The high-profile IAS officer was posted as the deputy commissioner of Khunti district from February 16, 2009, to July 19, 2010. "Large-scale embezzlement of public funds was detected and 16 FIRs were lodged detailed in para 1.6 of the prosecution complaint in the district of Khunti where Pooja Singhal was the deputy commissioner at the relevant time. The total amount alleged to have been embezzled as per the 16 FIRs were to the tune of Rs 18.06 crore. In all the 16 FIRs, charge sheets were filed against Ram Binod Prasad Sinha, RK Jain and others," the HC order said. It said the investigation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) unearthed proceeds of crime in various layers of money laundering, and properties worth Rs 4.28 crore, including the interest on these properties were attached. The order referred to the search and seizure operations at nearly 30 premises linked to Singhal and her associates in Ranchi, Chandigarh, Kolkata, Faridabad, Gurugram and Muzaffarpur during which cash totalling Rs 19.76 crore was seized, besides incriminating documents and digital devices. The high court recorded the main case against Singhal related to the period when she was the deputy commissioner of Khunti during which she allegedly connived with the engineers of the special division and the district board, and embezzled Rs 18.06 crore. Referring to the allegations against Jha, the court cited Singhal's chartered accountant Suman Kumar, who claimed he was making investments on behalf of his wife. Singhal has been accused of setting up Pulse Sanjeevani Hospital in Ranchi with her husband to launder her ill-gotten wealth. Jha has claimed in his statement made under section 50 of PMLA that the source of infusion of money in Pulse Sanjeevani Healthcare Pvt Ltd was his savings from the job in Australia and gifts that he received during his wedding ceremonies.
Jitendra Choubey By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: Southern peninsular India and the United Kingdom appear to be on the same page as far as climate change is concerned. Both witnessed their hottest June in recorded history. Data compiled by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts revealed that June this year was globally the hottest on record.

Traditionally, the Agni Natchathiram period in Tamil Nadu was its hottest. Also called dog days, the period this year was from May 4 to May 29. Looks like climate change has pushed the dog days by a month.

In fact, June was south peninsular Indias hottest and driest month since 1901. The peninsula, a gateway to the Southwest monsoon, received record deficient rainfall in the month and had temperatures above normal.

Besides, the June rainfall over the homogeneous region of the southern peninsular India was 88.6 mmthe lowest since 1901. The previous lowest was 90.7 mm in 1976. Rainfall deficiency at 45% was unprecedented for the whole peninsular region, while the deficit was 10% countrywide (See table).

Except for Tamil Nadu, June rainfall in all southern states were in the Deficient (-59% to -20%) to the Large Deficient (-99% to -60%) category. Kerala, where the Southwest monsoon enters the mainland, had a deficit of 60%.

Other sub-divisions of the south peninsula like coastal Karnataka, Southern and Northern Karnataka, Rayalseema, Telangana, coastal Andhra Pradesh, too, had deficient precipitation.

However, Tamil Nadu received 6% excess rainfall due to some cyclonic circulations over the state, not due to monsoon winds.

Moreover, more than half of India is staring at drought-like conditions as the rainfall deficit stood at 10% at the end of June. Out of Indias 36 meteorological sub-divisions, 19 received deficient rainfall in June.

Experts see it as a fallout of El Ninothe warming of the Pacific Oceanwhich is getting stronger, and the emergence of the Biparjoy Cyclone coinciding with the onset of monsoon.

This years monsoon onset was weak or below normal due to El Nino, said Mahesh Palawat of Skymet, a private agency providing weather-related solutions. Though the monsoon onset was on June 8, it hadnt activated till June 17. Also, the timing of the cyclone and the onset of monsoon were similar, which took away the monsoons moisture, he added.

Dr Akshay Deoras, research scientist at the National Centre for Atmospheric Science and Department of Meteorology, University of Reading, UK, explained that the lack of low-pressure system activity over the Bay of Bengal and other unfavourable large-scale weather conditions kept the southern peninsular region hot and dry.

Experts see no scope for improvement in rainfall this monsoon. There is a high probability (around 90%) that El Nino conditions will continue until this December. Not only the southwest monsoon, even the Northeast winter rainfall, especially over Tamil Nadu, may get impacted.

NEW DELHI: Southern peninsular India and the United Kingdom appear to be on the same page as far as climate change is concerned. Both witnessed their hottest June in recorded history. Data compiled by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts revealed that June this year was globally the hottest on record. Traditionally, the Agni Natchathiram period in Tamil Nadu was its hottest. Also called dog days, the period this year was from May 4 to May 29. Looks like climate change has pushed the dog days by a month. In fact, June was south peninsular Indias hottest and driest month since 1901. The peninsula, a gateway to the Southwest monsoon, received record deficient rainfall in the month and had temperatures above normal.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Besides, the June rainfall over the homogeneous region of the southern peninsular India was 88.6 mmthe lowest since 1901. The previous lowest was 90.7 mm in 1976. Rainfall deficiency at 45% was unprecedented for the whole peninsular region, while the deficit was 10% countrywide (See table). Except for Tamil Nadu, June rainfall in all southern states were in the Deficient (-59% to -20%) to the Large Deficient (-99% to -60%) category. Kerala, where the Southwest monsoon enters the mainland, had a deficit of 60%. Other sub-divisions of the south peninsula like coastal Karnataka, Southern and Northern Karnataka, Rayalseema, Telangana, coastal Andhra Pradesh, too, had deficient precipitation. However, Tamil Nadu received 6% excess rainfall due to some cyclonic circulations over the state, not due to monsoon winds. Moreover, more than half of India is staring at drought-like conditions as the rainfall deficit stood at 10% at the end of June. Out of Indias 36 meteorological sub-divisions, 19 received deficient rainfall in June. Experts see it as a fallout of El Ninothe warming of the Pacific Oceanwhich is getting stronger, and the emergence of the Biparjoy Cyclone coinciding with the onset of monsoon. This years monsoon onset was weak or below normal due to El Nino, said Mahesh Palawat of Skymet, a private agency providing weather-related solutions. Though the monsoon onset was on June 8, it hadnt activated till June 17. Also, the timing of the cyclone and the onset of monsoon were similar, which took away the monsoons moisture, he added. Dr Akshay Deoras, research scientist at the National Centre for Atmospheric Science and Department of Meteorology, University of Reading, UK, explained that the lack of low-pressure system activity over the Bay of Bengal and other unfavourable large-scale weather conditions kept the southern peninsular region hot and dry. Experts see no scope for improvement in rainfall this monsoon. There is a high probability (around 90%) that El Nino conditions will continue until this December. Not only the southwest monsoon, even the Northeast winter rainfall, especially over Tamil Nadu, may get impacted.
By Online Desk

CHENNAI: Meat vendors of Uttar Pradeshs Muzaffarnagar had to shut their stalls so as to not hurt the religious sentiments of Hindus during the Kanwar Yatra pilgrimage ritual. It is also understood that the district administration has covered the shops with black clothes.

As many as 114 Muslims were initially called for peace talks and then subsequently detained under Section 151 (prevention of commission of cognisable offences) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) at local police stations newsclick.in reported.

We were detained and sent to jail for a day. When we asked the police officer for which crime we were being sent to jail, he said our track record was bad. We were sent to jail for a day based on mere suspicion that we might commit any crime which would disturb the peace of the city, a Muslim youth said to the news website.

While officials said the decision has been taken to "maintain peace between communities," meat sellers called it an "attack on their livelihood," according to the Indian Express.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had said, "Respecting the belief of devotees, meat should not be allowed to be sold in the open on the Kanwar route. The route should remain clean and sanitised. There should be provision for streetlights. Since the weather is hot, arrangements for drinking water should also be made," in a meeting with the states officials.

Kanwar Yatra started on July 4, 2023, and it will conclude on July 15, 2023

CHENNAI: Meat vendors of Uttar Pradeshs Muzaffarnagar had to shut their stalls so as to not hurt the religious sentiments of Hindus during the Kanwar Yatra pilgrimage ritual. It is also understood that the district administration has covered the shops with black clothes. As many as 114 Muslims were initially called for peace talks and then subsequently detained under Section 151 (prevention of commission of cognisable offences) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) at local police stations newsclick.in reported. We were detained and sent to jail for a day. When we asked the police officer for which crime we were being sent to jail, he said our track record was bad. We were sent to jail for a day based on mere suspicion that we might commit any crime which would disturb the peace of the city, a Muslim youth said to the news website.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); While officials said the decision has been taken to "maintain peace between communities," meat sellers called it an "attack on their livelihood," according to the Indian Express. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had said, "Respecting the belief of devotees, meat should not be allowed to be sold in the open on the Kanwar route. The route should remain clean and sanitised. There should be provision for streetlights. Since the weather is hot, arrangements for drinking water should also be made," in a meeting with the states officials. Kanwar Yatra started on July 4, 2023, and it will conclude on July 15, 2023
Amit Mukherjee By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: The government has issued directives to 9 states and 2 union territories with maritime borders to secure their coastal frontiers with a new set of guidelines to curb smuggling and anti-national activities.

According to sources, the Ministry of Home Affairs is awaiting responses and status updates, on the directive issued in March this year, from most of the states which have not only been asked to enforce stringent compliance at the ports under their control but have also been asked to increase surveillance and tighten security along their respective coastlines to curb instances on drug and arms smuggling and other illegal activities. A similar notification was last issued in 2016.

The move also assumes significance amidst the Indian Ports Bill 2022, a draft of which was released by the government in mid-2022 for suggestions, pending in the pipeline.

The Bill moves to repeal the archaic 110-year-old Act, that dates back to 1908 relating to ports, to prevent and contain pollution at ports, ensure compliance with the countrys obligation under the maritime treaties and strengthen surveillance and security.

But the draft bill which also seeks to empower and establish State Maritime Boards for effective administration, control and management of non-major ports in India has already received opposition on grounds that it would dilute states control over the non-major posts, currently under them. Soon after it was made public it received considerable opposition from some states including Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

The latest action comes in the wake of high instances of seizures of narcotics and drugs being reported by enforcement agencies from within the country. While the drugs are used to fund the narco-terror networks illegal arms could possibly be reaching through this route to outfits engaged in anti-national and disruptive activities.

With a coastline of around 7,517 km, India has 13 major and 205 notified minor and intermediate ports through which 70 % of its trade business happens. Though we have about 205 notified ports, there are more than 300 locations along the coastline from where fishing activities happen, an official in the MHA said.

With 2.5 lakh boats venturing out into the seas every day with an average of 10 people per boat, it has become very important to keep a strict vigil, especially in the wake of intel inputs on possible smuggling and large quantum of seizure of drugs and arms, which point to the fact that there are gaps along the coastline through which narcotics and illegal stuff is getting pushed into Indian soil.

The suspicion of MHA is backed by evidence of abandoned packets of narcotics along coastlines and seizures of huge amounts of drugs from maritime vessels in the recent past.

There are instances of mother vessels carrying narcotics consignment often anchored at high seas in the international waters and there are high possibility of exchanges happening between crew of boats venturing out in the name of fishing and returning with those illegal stuff, says an official of the MHA.

In May this year in a special operation with the Indian Navy, the Narcotics Control Bureau recovered 2,525 kg of methamphetamine worth  25,000 crores in a boat along the coast of Kerala. The consignment originated from the Chabahar port in Iran but the source of the drugs was Pakistan.

Although through Operation Samudragupta, launched in February 2022, more than 4,000 kg of drugs have been seized so far, an MHA official said, "It is quite possible some consignment must have been pushed into the country through maritime borders.



NEW DELHI: The government has issued directives to 9 states and 2 union territories with maritime borders to secure their coastal frontiers with a new set of guidelines to curb smuggling and anti-national activities. According to sources, the Ministry of Home Affairs is awaiting responses and status updates, on the directive issued in March this year, from most of the states which have not only been asked to enforce stringent compliance at the ports under their control but have also been asked to increase surveillance and tighten security along their respective coastlines to curb instances on drug and arms smuggling and other illegal activities. A similar notification was last issued in 2016. The move also assumes significance amidst the Indian Ports Bill 2022, a draft of which was released by the government in mid-2022 for suggestions, pending in the pipeline.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); The Bill moves to repeal the archaic 110-year-old Act, that dates back to 1908 relating to ports, to prevent and contain pollution at ports, ensure compliance with the countrys obligation under the maritime treaties and strengthen surveillance and security. But the draft bill which also seeks to empower and establish State Maritime Boards for effective administration, control and management of non-major ports in India has already received opposition on grounds that it would dilute states control over the non-major posts, currently under them. Soon after it was made public it received considerable opposition from some states including Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The latest action comes in the wake of high instances of seizures of narcotics and drugs being reported by enforcement agencies from within the country. While the drugs are used to fund the narco-terror networks illegal arms could possibly be reaching through this route to outfits engaged in anti-national and disruptive activities. With a coastline of around 7,517 km, India has 13 major and 205 notified minor and intermediate ports through which 70 % of its trade business happens. Though we have about 205 notified ports, there are more than 300 locations along the coastline from where fishing activities happen, an official in the MHA said. With 2.5 lakh boats venturing out into the seas every day with an average of 10 people per boat, it has become very important to keep a strict vigil, especially in the wake of intel inputs on possible smuggling and large quantum of seizure of drugs and arms, which point to the fact that there are gaps along the coastline through which narcotics and illegal stuff is getting pushed into Indian soil. The suspicion of MHA is backed by evidence of abandoned packets of narcotics along coastlines and seizures of huge amounts of drugs from maritime vessels in the recent past. There are instances of mother vessels carrying narcotics consignment often anchored at high seas in the international waters and there are high possibility of exchanges happening between crew of boats venturing out in the name of fishing and returning with those illegal stuff, says an official of the MHA. In May this year in a special operation with the Indian Navy, the Narcotics Control Bureau recovered 2,525 kg of methamphetamine worth  25,000 crores in a boat along the coast of Kerala. The consignment originated from the Chabahar port in Iran but the source of the drugs was Pakistan. Although through Operation Samudragupta, launched in February 2022, more than 4,000 kg of drugs have been seized so far, an MHA official said, "It is quite possible some consignment must have been pushed into the country through maritime borders.
Sudhir Suryawanshi By

Express News Service

MUMBAI: Sharad Pawar gets going.

The 83-year-old NCP founder on Saturday set out to rebuild the party, which suffered a huge blow on July 2 when his nephew Ajit Pawar along with eight of his loyalists, including senior Pawar's close aides, joined the BJP-led NDA government in Maharashtra, from Nasik.

Ajit Pawar was rewarded with the post of Deputy Chief Minister. His loyalists were inducted as Ministers in the cabinet.

Sharad Pawar addressed a public rally in Yeola in Nasik, the constituency of Chhagan Bhujbal.

Chhagan Bhujbal is an Ajit Pawar loyalist and presently a minister in the NDA government in Maharashtra.

I am neither retired nor tired I will continue to work for the people. In the present cabinet, the age of the ministers is between 60 to 70 years. Morarji Desai became prime minister of India at the age of 85. Age is not an issue, it is energy and health which counts. Age cannot be a barrier in the work if the person is fit and fine, Sharad Pawar affirmed in response to his nephew's jibe that the 83-year-old uncle should quit and take rest at home.

Cautioning against ageism, Sharad Pawar said if people continue with such insults, the people will give them a fitting reply.

The senior Pawar apologized to the people of Yeola in Nasik district for fielding the wrong candidates (including Bhujbal) in the constituency during the last polls.

Moreover, the sitting Lok Sabha MP Udayan Raje Bhosale deserted NCP and joined the BJP after winning from the constituency in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. But in the bypoll, Raje was defeated by the NCP candidate.

En route to Nasik, Sharad Pawar was accorded a rousing reception by his supporters and the rains. Pawar got wet in the rain but it didn't dampen his spirit.

Pawar said that he has come to meet the people of Yeola. He said he has not come to anyone in particular but to put forth his views on the current political situation in India.

Sharad Pawar said that the Nasik district has a history and legacy that always stood with secular and progressive ideology despite many odds.

When Yashwantrao Chavan was called in Delhi and inducted as defence minister in Pandit Nehrus cabinet, Chavan got elected unopposed from Nasik. This is a different land. Therefore, I also decided to start rebuilding the party from Nasik. When I left Congress in the 1980s and formed my own party, Nasik people elected all our candidates in state assembly elections, Sharad Pawar recalled.

The rebel NCP minister Chhagan Bhujbal lost in Mumbai, but they wanted him in the state assembly. That time, I only chose the Yeola constituency for him and later he got elected and this constituency stood with him for the last 20 years. Yeola stood with our ideology. But our people left us. I accept my error of judgment and extend the apology publically. In upcoming elections, this error will be surely corrected by fielding the right candidates, Sharad Pawar said.

Sharad Pawar also clarified that he had talked with BJP several times, but that does not mean they were joining hands with the BJP. He said in a democracy, they do have dialogues with all parties that do not mean they are going with these people. Earlier Ajit Pawar revealed that NCP planned to form a government with BJP but at the eleventh hour, Sharad Pawar backtracked.

MUMBAI: Sharad Pawar gets going. The 83-year-old NCP founder on Saturday set out to rebuild the party, which suffered a huge blow on July 2 when his nephew Ajit Pawar along with eight of his loyalists, including senior Pawar's close aides, joined the BJP-led NDA government in Maharashtra, from Nasik. Ajit Pawar was rewarded with the post of Deputy Chief Minister. His loyalists were inducted as Ministers in the cabinet.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Sharad Pawar addressed a public rally in Yeola in Nasik, the constituency of Chhagan Bhujbal. Chhagan Bhujbal is an Ajit Pawar loyalist and presently a minister in the NDA government in Maharashtra. I am neither retired nor tired I will continue to work for the people. In the present cabinet, the age of the ministers is between 60 to 70 years. Morarji Desai became prime minister of India at the age of 85. Age is not an issue, it is energy and health which counts. Age cannot be a barrier in the work if the person is fit and fine, Sharad Pawar affirmed in response to his nephew's jibe that the 83-year-old uncle should quit and take rest at home. Cautioning against ageism, Sharad Pawar said if people continue with such insults, the people will give them a fitting reply. The senior Pawar apologized to the people of Yeola in Nasik district for fielding the wrong candidates (including Bhujbal) in the constituency during the last polls. Moreover, the sitting Lok Sabha MP Udayan Raje Bhosale deserted NCP and joined the BJP after winning from the constituency in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. But in the bypoll, Raje was defeated by the NCP candidate. En route to Nasik, Sharad Pawar was accorded a rousing reception by his supporters and the rains. Pawar got wet in the rain but it didn't dampen his spirit. Pawar said that he has come to meet the people of Yeola. He said he has not come to anyone in particular but to put forth his views on the current political situation in India. Sharad Pawar said that the Nasik district has a history and legacy that always stood with secular and progressive ideology despite many odds. When Yashwantrao Chavan was called in Delhi and inducted as defence minister in Pandit Nehrus cabinet, Chavan got elected unopposed from Nasik. This is a different land. Therefore, I also decided to start rebuilding the party from Nasik. When I left Congress in the 1980s and formed my own party, Nasik people elected all our candidates in state assembly elections, Sharad Pawar recalled. The rebel NCP minister Chhagan Bhujbal lost in Mumbai, but they wanted him in the state assembly. That time, I only chose the Yeola constituency for him and later he got elected and this constituency stood with him for the last 20 years. Yeola stood with our ideology. But our people left us. I accept my error of judgment and extend the apology publically. In upcoming elections, this error will be surely corrected by fielding the right candidates, Sharad Pawar said. Sharad Pawar also clarified that he had talked with BJP several times, but that does not mean they were joining hands with the BJP. He said in a democracy, they do have dialogues with all parties that do not mean they are going with these people. Earlier Ajit Pawar revealed that NCP planned to form a government with BJP but at the eleventh hour, Sharad Pawar backtracked.
By PTI

MUMBAI: Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar on Saturday said notices have been issued to 40 MLAs of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and 14 of the Uddhav Thackeray faction, seeking their replies on disqualification petitions against them.

The development comes a day after Narwekar said he has received a copy of the Shiv Sena's constitution from the Election Commission of India, and hearing on the disqualification petitions against 16 Shiv Sena MLAs, including CM Shinde will start soon.

"Notice seeking replies on disqualification issued to 40 MLA of Eknath Shinde-Shiv Sena faction, 14 of Uddhav Thackeray faction," Narwekar told PTI.

Earlier this week, the Shiv Sena (UBT) approached the Supreme Court seeking a direction to the Assembly Speaker to hear the disqualification petitions expeditiously.

MLA Sunil Prabhu had, in his capacity as chief whip of the undivided Shiv Sena, had filed the disqualification petitions against Shinde and other 15 MLAs last year after they rebelled and joined hands with the BJP to form a new government in June 2022.

On May 11, the top court ruled that Eknath Shinde will continue to be the chief minister of Maharashtra.

It cannot reinstate the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition government headed by Uddhav Thackeray as the Sena leader chose to resign without facing a floor test in the wake of Shinde's rebellion, the court said.

MUMBAI: Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar on Saturday said notices have been issued to 40 MLAs of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and 14 of the Uddhav Thackeray faction, seeking their replies on disqualification petitions against them. The development comes a day after Narwekar said he has received a copy of the Shiv Sena's constitution from the Election Commission of India, and hearing on the disqualification petitions against 16 Shiv Sena MLAs, including CM Shinde will start soon. "Notice seeking replies on disqualification issued to 40 MLA of Eknath Shinde-Shiv Sena faction, 14 of Uddhav Thackeray faction," Narwekar told PTI.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Earlier this week, the Shiv Sena (UBT) approached the Supreme Court seeking a direction to the Assembly Speaker to hear the disqualification petitions expeditiously. MLA Sunil Prabhu had, in his capacity as chief whip of the undivided Shiv Sena, had filed the disqualification petitions against Shinde and other 15 MLAs last year after they rebelled and joined hands with the BJP to form a new government in June 2022. On May 11, the top court ruled that Eknath Shinde will continue to be the chief minister of Maharashtra. It cannot reinstate the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition government headed by Uddhav Thackeray as the Sena leader chose to resign without facing a floor test in the wake of Shinde's rebellion, the court said.
By Express News Service

KOLKATA: At least 12 people were killed in election-related violence in West Bengal as voting was underway on Saturday for the three-tier panchayat polls in the state, officials said.

During the course of elections in 73,887 seats involving 2.06 lakh candidates, several activists of political parties received injuries when bullets were fired, bombs were hurled and attacked by rivals with sticks and sharp weapons.

Though the State Election Commission (SEC) did not give any official figure of death toll on the day of the rural polls, reports from districts revealed seven of the victims were identified as workers of the ruling Trinamool Congress who faced strong resistance from oppositions both in north and south Bengal districts. Two BJP supporters, two CPI(M) activists and a Congress supporter were also killed in the violence on Saturday.

As Bengal has been witnessing clashes between political parties since the day the date for the rural polls was announced, the death toll in the violence before and on the day of the election has gone up to 31 in past one month.

Anticipation of large-scale violence has turned out to be a fact on the day of three-tier panchayat elections as a BJP polling agent was shot dead at Falimari in Cooch Behar and four other workers of other political parties were allegedly killed hours shortly before and after the electoral exercise started across West Bengal.

The BJP alleged that when Biswas tried to enter the polling booth he was stopped by TMC supporters, and as the situation escalated, they killed him.

The TMC denied the allegations.

The supporter of an Independent candidate died in Kadambagachi area in North 24 Paraganas district after he was beaten up overnight, police said.

The deceased was identified as 41-year-old Abdullah.

He died while undergoing treatment at a local hospital in the morning, Superintendent of Police Bhaskar Mukherjee said.

Protesting against the killing, locals blocked the Taki Road in the early hours but they were removed by the police.

A TMC worker was killed in Murshidabad district's Kapasdanga area overnight in poll-related violence.

The deceased was identified as Babar Ali, officials said.

The ruling TMC said that two of its workers were killed in Rejinagar and Khargram in Murshidabad district, and another person in Tufanganj in Coochbehar district.

"The polling started peacefully, but Congress, BJP and CPI(M) are attacking TMC workers since last night. Three of our workers have died in Rejinagar, Tufanganj and Khargram. And, two of our workers were injured in Domkal. Where are the central forces?" TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh asked.

The brother of a TMC leader was killed in a clash with Congress supporters in Malda district, police said.

The incident happened in Jisharattola in Manikchak police station area.

The deceased was identified as Malek Sheikh, they said.

#WATCH | West Bengal #PanchayatElection | Abdullah, the booth agent of an independent candidate killed in Pirgachha of North 24 Parganas district. Villagers stage a protest and demand the arrest of the accused and allege that the husband of TMC candidate Munna Bibi is behind the pic.twitter.com/XHu1Rcpv6j  ANI (@ANI) July 8, 2023

Allegations of attempts to loot ballot boxes and attack voters were made by all the parties. Clashes were also reported from other parts of the state.

At many places, ballot papers were either snatched or destroyed allegedly by the ruling TMC activists, polling booths were vandalised and presiding officers were manhandled and threatened.

Despite Calcutta High Court's order to deploy Central Armed Paramilitary Force (CAPF) in all booths in equal ratio with their state counterparts many booths didn't have enough security.

Ballot box was seen set ablaze in Cooch Behars Dinhata and in Raninagar, policemen aimed guns to disperse TMC supporters assembled in front of a booth.

CPI(M) state secretary Md Salim shared a video of open ballot boxes lying in the field, tweeting, "Vote is over! Condition of the ballots, ballot boxes in one of the booths. Btw this pic is from Diamond Harbour."

At least 600 companies of central forces have been deployed for the elections along with around 70,000 state police.

Sharing a video on Twitter, BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar alleged that ballot boxes were set ablaze at a booth in Coochbehar district with poll officials having fled the scene.

TMC hooliganism has crossed all the limits and is now stifling democracy by looting Ballots openly in the West Bengal Panchayat elections.



This is a video from booth No . 44 & 45 of the Kholakhali, Nurpur Panchayat. @ECISVEEP @MamataOfficial @narendramodi pic.twitter.com/N6q4CQ1m88  Dr. Sukanta Majumdar (@DrSukantaBJP) July 8, 2023

At many booths, the casting of votes was over within two hours in the morning and opposition parties alleged the TMCs men enjoyed a free hand to cast false votes and forced the presiding officers to seal the ballot box.

Referring to the death of Madhab Biswas, who was shot in his head in Cooch Behar, BJPs state president Sukanta Majumdar tweeted, Is this why CM @MamataOfficial was opposing the deployment of the Central forces so that her goons have free run to murder opposition karyakartas?

BJPs state president Sukanta Majumdar was contacted by the office of the Union Home minister, Amit Shah. I was asked about the violence during panchayat elections. I will submit a written report, said Majumdar.

TMC minister Shashi Panja said incident took place at around 60 booths. Elections were held peacefully in 13-14 districts out of 22. Many were in favour of the deployment of CAPF but the central force personnel were seen influencing voters to exercise their franchise in favour of a particular political party, she alleged.

West Bengal governor C.V. Ananda Bose visited a number areas in North 24 Parganas on Saturday. "This is the most sacred day for democracy. Election must be through ballots and not bullets. It should cause concern to all of us," he said, urging people to come out and exercise their franchise, he said.

The polling started at 7 am in 73,887 seats in the rural areas of the state with 5.67 crore people deciding the fate of around 2.06 lakh candidates, they said.

Till 3 pm, 50.52 per cent voter turnout was recorded, officials said.

There are 63,229 gram panchayat seats and 9,730 panchayat samiti seats in 22 districts, while 928 zilla parishad seats in 20 districts as Darjeeling and Kalimpong have a two-tier system with Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) and Siliguri Sub-divisional Council at the top.

Long queues outside polling booths were seen as early as 6 am with people turning out early amid the intermittent rains.

The ruling TMC is contesting all the 928 seats in zilla parishads, 9,419 seats in panchayat samitis and 61,591 seats in gram panchayats.

The BJP has fielded candidates in 897 zilla parishad seats, 7,032 panchayat samiti seats and 38,475 seats in gram panchayats.

The CPI(M) is fighting 747 zilla parishad seats, 6,752 panchayat samiti seats and 35,411 gram panchayat seats.

The Congress is contesting 644 zilla parishad seats, 2,197 panchayat samiti seats and 11,774 gram panchayat seats.

ALSO READ:

(With inputs from PTI)

KOLKATA: At least 12 people were killed in election-related violence in West Bengal as voting was underway on Saturday for the three-tier panchayat polls in the state, officials said. During the course of elections in 73,887 seats involving 2.06 lakh candidates, several activists of political parties received injuries when bullets were fired, bombs were hurled and attacked by rivals with sticks and sharp weapons. Though the State Election Commission (SEC) did not give any official figure of death toll on the day of the rural polls, reports from districts revealed seven of the victims were identified as workers of the ruling Trinamool Congress who faced strong resistance from oppositions both in north and south Bengal districts. Two BJP supporters, two CPI(M) activists and a Congress supporter were also killed in the violence on Saturday.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); As Bengal has been witnessing clashes between political parties since the day the date for the rural polls was announced, the death toll in the violence before and on the day of the election has gone up to 31 in past one month. Anticipation of large-scale violence has turned out to be a fact on the day of three-tier panchayat elections as a BJP polling agent was shot dead at Falimari in Cooch Behar and four other workers of other political parties were allegedly killed hours shortly before and after the electoral exercise started across West Bengal. The BJP alleged that when Biswas tried to enter the polling booth he was stopped by TMC supporters, and as the situation escalated, they killed him. The TMC denied the allegations. The supporter of an Independent candidate died in Kadambagachi area in North 24 Paraganas district after he was beaten up overnight, police said. The deceased was identified as 41-year-old Abdullah. He died while undergoing treatment at a local hospital in the morning, Superintendent of Police Bhaskar Mukherjee said. Protesting against the killing, locals blocked the Taki Road in the early hours but they were removed by the police. A TMC worker was killed in Murshidabad district's Kapasdanga area overnight in poll-related violence. The deceased was identified as Babar Ali, officials said. The ruling TMC said that two of its workers were killed in Rejinagar and Khargram in Murshidabad district, and another person in Tufanganj in Coochbehar district. "The polling started peacefully, but Congress, BJP and CPI(M) are attacking TMC workers since last night. Three of our workers have died in Rejinagar, Tufanganj and Khargram. And, two of our workers were injured in Domkal. Where are the central forces?" TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh asked. The brother of a TMC leader was killed in a clash with Congress supporters in Malda district, police said. The incident happened in Jisharattola in Manikchak police station area. The deceased was identified as Malek Sheikh, they said. #WATCH | West Bengal #PanchayatElection | Abdullah, the booth agent of an independent candidate killed in Pirgachha of North 24 Parganas district. Villagers stage a protest and demand the arrest of the accused and allege that the husband of TMC candidate Munna Bibi is behind the pic.twitter.com/XHu1Rcpv6j  ANI (@ANI) July 8, 2023 Allegations of attempts to loot ballot boxes and attack voters were made by all the parties. Clashes were also reported from other parts of the state. At many places, ballot papers were either snatched or destroyed allegedly by the ruling TMC activists, polling booths were vandalised and presiding officers were manhandled and threatened. Despite Calcutta High Court's order to deploy Central Armed Paramilitary Force (CAPF) in all booths in equal ratio with their state counterparts many booths didn't have enough security. Ballot box was seen set ablaze in Cooch Behars Dinhata and in Raninagar, policemen aimed guns to disperse TMC supporters assembled in front of a booth. CPI(M) state secretary Md Salim shared a video of open ballot boxes lying in the field, tweeting, "Vote is over! Condition of the ballots, ballot boxes in one of the booths. Btw this pic is from Diamond Harbour." At least 600 companies of central forces have been deployed for the elections along with around 70,000 state police. Sharing a video on Twitter, BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar alleged that ballot boxes were set ablaze at a booth in Coochbehar district with poll officials having fled the scene. TMC hooliganism has crossed all the limits and is now stifling democracy by looting Ballots openly in the West Bengal Panchayat elections. This is a video from booth No . 44 & 45 of the Kholakhali, Nurpur Panchayat. @ECISVEEP @MamataOfficial @narendramodi pic.twitter.com/N6q4CQ1m88  Dr. Sukanta Majumdar (@DrSukantaBJP) July 8, 2023 At many booths, the casting of votes was over within two hours in the morning and opposition parties alleged the TMCs men enjoyed a free hand to cast false votes and forced the presiding officers to seal the ballot box. Referring to the death of Madhab Biswas, who was shot in his head in Cooch Behar, BJPs state president Sukanta Majumdar tweeted, Is this why CM @MamataOfficial was opposing the deployment of the Central forces so that her goons have free run to murder opposition karyakartas? BJPs state president Sukanta Majumdar was contacted by the office of the Union Home minister, Amit Shah. I was asked about the violence during panchayat elections. I will submit a written report, said Majumdar. TMC minister Shashi Panja said incident took place at around 60 booths. Elections were held peacefully in 13-14 districts out of 22. Many were in favour of the deployment of CAPF but the central force personnel were seen influencing voters to exercise their franchise in favour of a particular political party, she alleged. West Bengal governor C.V. Ananda Bose visited a number areas in North 24 Parganas on Saturday. "This is the most sacred day for democracy. Election must be through ballots and not bullets. It should cause concern to all of us," he said, urging people to come out and exercise their franchise, he said. The polling started at 7 am in 73,887 seats in the rural areas of the state with 5.67 crore people deciding the fate of around 2.06 lakh candidates, they said. Till 3 pm, 50.52 per cent voter turnout was recorded, officials said. There are 63,229 gram panchayat seats and 9,730 panchayat samiti seats in 22 districts, while 928 zilla parishad seats in 20 districts as Darjeeling and Kalimpong have a two-tier system with Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) and Siliguri Sub-divisional Council at the top. Long queues outside polling booths were seen as early as 6 am with people turning out early amid the intermittent rains. The ruling TMC is contesting all the 928 seats in zilla parishads, 9,419 seats in panchayat samitis and 61,591 seats in gram panchayats. The BJP has fielded candidates in 897 zilla parishad seats, 7,032 panchayat samiti seats and 38,475 seats in gram panchayats. The CPI(M) is fighting 747 zilla parishad seats, 6,752 panchayat samiti seats and 35,411 gram panchayat seats. The Congress is contesting 644 zilla parishad seats, 2,197 panchayat samiti seats and 11,774 gram panchayat seats. ALSO READ: Bengal poll violence claims life of 17-year-old student, death toll reaches 15 in 26 days CPI(M) asks workers to deposit blank ballots in seats without Left/Cong candidates in Bengal polls Three more bodies found as Bengal fears further bloodshed during Saturday's rural polls 'All waters in holy Ganges can't wash away blood on your hands': Bengal Guv slams state poll chief (With inputs from PTI)
Namita Bajpai By

Express News Service

LUCKNOW: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday sounded the poll bugle for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls from his home constituency Varanasi, accusing the previous non-BJP ruling parties in UP of having a myopic approach to policymaking while promising to safeguard the self-esteem of the poor. The PM laid the foundation stones for 29 development projects in Varanasi worth Rs 12,148 crore.

Earlier in the day in Gorakhpur, the PM called the Gita Press a jeevant astha (vivid faith) while addressing a gathering at the concluding ceremony of the centenary celebration of the publication house as the chief guest.

Countering the Congresss criticism of conferring the Gandhi Peace Prize on the 100-year-old publishing house dealing in Sanatan religious content, PM Modi said Mahatma Gandhi was emotionally attached to Gita Press for which he himself wrote and had even advised it to remain free of advertisements.

It (the Gita Press) has Gita in its name and it is engaged in the work on Gita (Shrimad Bhagwat Gita). Where there is Gita, there is Krishna and where there is Krishna, there is Karuna (compassion) and Karma (deeds), said the PM.

Describing Gita Press as a spiritual light guiding the humanity, Modi said crores of religious texts published by the press were empowering thousands of people around the globe spiritually. In Varanasi, assuring the deprived of safeguarding their pride and honour, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that he, the son of a poor mother would never tolerate the disrespect and insult of the poor.

Modi guarantees protection and self-esteem of the poor, said the PM while questioning the non-BJP parties commitment to development. Previous governments made policies while sitting in the comfort of air-conditioned rooms without trying to understand the hardships of the poor.

So, when those, who were running the corrupt governments prior to 2014, hear about the labharthhis (beneficiaries), they get irritated. Earlier, only a chosen few received the benefit of welfare schemes, said the prime minister.

In nine years, we have reached out to the deprived and downtrodden, the person on the last rung of the social ladder, understood their issues, took their feedback and then framed policies to benefit them. We didnt work for one family, or one generation, but for the future generations, said the PM.

Speaking about the right and honest intent to work for people, the PM cited the example of how Rajdhani Express, launched 50 years ago, could be extended to just 16 routes across the nation and Shatabdi to 19 during the last 30-35 years. But Vande Bharat Express trains already have 25 routes in just four years of its existence and further expansion was on the anvil, said the PM.

When the Prime Minister arrived in Varanasi from Gorakhpur, he inaugurated the Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Junction-Son Nagar railway line of the Dedicated Freight Corridor. The new line, which cost more than Rs 6,760 crore to build, would allow for faster and more efficient transit of commodities. He also set the groundwork for or launched a number of additional projects in Varanasi and the surrounding areas.

Gandhi was emotionally attached to Gita Press

After Countering the Congresss criticism of conferring the Gandhi Peace Prize on the 100-year-old publishing house dealing in Sanatan religious content, PM Modi said Mahatma Gandhi was emotionally attached to Gita Press for which he himself wrote and had even advised it to remain free of advertisements. In Varanasi, assuring the deprived of safeguarding their pride and honour, PM Narendra Modi said that he, the son of a poor mother would never tolerate the disrespect and insult of the poor



LUCKNOW: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday sounded the poll bugle for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls from his home constituency Varanasi, accusing the previous non-BJP ruling parties in UP of having a myopic approach to policymaking while promising to safeguard the self-esteem of the poor. The PM laid the foundation stones for 29 development projects in Varanasi worth Rs 12,148 crore. Earlier in the day in Gorakhpur, the PM called the Gita Press a jeevant astha (vivid faith) while addressing a gathering at the concluding ceremony of the centenary celebration of the publication house as the chief guest. Countering the Congresss criticism of conferring the Gandhi Peace Prize on the 100-year-old publishing house dealing in Sanatan religious content, PM Modi said Mahatma Gandhi was emotionally attached to Gita Press for which he himself wrote and had even advised it to remain free of advertisements.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); It (the Gita Press) has Gita in its name and it is engaged in the work on Gita (Shrimad Bhagwat Gita). Where there is Gita, there is Krishna and where there is Krishna, there is Karuna (compassion) and Karma (deeds), said the PM. Describing Gita Press as a spiritual light guiding the humanity, Modi said crores of religious texts published by the press were empowering thousands of people around the globe spiritually. In Varanasi, assuring the deprived of safeguarding their pride and honour, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that he, the son of a poor mother would never tolerate the disrespect and insult of the poor. Modi guarantees protection and self-esteem of the poor, said the PM while questioning the non-BJP parties commitment to development. Previous governments made policies while sitting in the comfort of air-conditioned rooms without trying to understand the hardships of the poor. So, when those, who were running the corrupt governments prior to 2014, hear about the labharthhis (beneficiaries), they get irritated. Earlier, only a chosen few received the benefit of welfare schemes, said the prime minister. In nine years, we have reached out to the deprived and downtrodden, the person on the last rung of the social ladder, understood their issues, took their feedback and then framed policies to benefit them. We didnt work for one family, or one generation, but for the future generations, said the PM. Speaking about the right and honest intent to work for people, the PM cited the example of how Rajdhani Express, launched 50 years ago, could be extended to just 16 routes across the nation and Shatabdi to 19 during the last 30-35 years. But Vande Bharat Express trains already have 25 routes in just four years of its existence and further expansion was on the anvil, said the PM. When the Prime Minister arrived in Varanasi from Gorakhpur, he inaugurated the Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Junction-Son Nagar railway line of the Dedicated Freight Corridor. The new line, which cost more than Rs 6,760 crore to build, would allow for faster and more efficient transit of commodities. He also set the groundwork for or launched a number of additional projects in Varanasi and the surrounding areas. Gandhi was emotionally attached to Gita Press After Countering the Congresss criticism of conferring the Gandhi Peace Prize on the 100-year-old publishing house dealing in Sanatan religious content, PM Modi said Mahatma Gandhi was emotionally attached to Gita Press for which he himself wrote and had even advised it to remain free of advertisements. In Varanasi, assuring the deprived of safeguarding their pride and honour, PM Narendra Modi said that he, the son of a poor mother would never tolerate the disrespect and insult of the poor
Express News Service

CHANDIGARH: The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) (mini parliament of Sikhs) has registered strong opposition to the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) describing that it is suppression on minorities and was no longer relevant besides unnecessary in the country.

Sources said that in the executive committee meeting of the SGPC today it has been decided that there is no need for UCC in the country, while the constitution recognizes the principle of unity in diversity.

Speaking after the executive committee of the SGPC, its President Harjinder Singh Dhami said that there is an apprehension among the minorities in the country regarding the Uniform Civil Code that this code will hurt their identity, originality, and principles. On the issue of UCC, the SGPC has constituted a sub-committee of Sikh intellectuals, historians, scholars, and lawyers, which at the preliminary stage considered the UCC as suppression for the existence of minorities, their religious rites, traditions, and culture. This sub-committee includes SGPC general secretary Gurcharan Singh Grewal, senior Sikh lawyer Puran Singh Hundal, SGPC members Bhagwant Singh Sialka, Paramjit Kaur Landran, and Kiranjot Kaur, Prof Kashmir Singh, Dr Inderjit Singh Gogoani, Dr Paramveer Singh, and Dr Chamkaur Singh. He said that as per the opinion of this sub-committee, the SGPC has expressed strong opposition against the UCC.

He said that any challenge to bani bana (Gurbani and traditional Sikh attire), bol baale (words or thoughts which are sublime or supreme as well as high and true), principles, traditions, values, lifestyle, culture, independent existence and distinct entity of Sikhs can never be accepted and the Sikh Maryada (code of conduct) cannot be tested by the worldly law. Therefore, the Sikh community opposes the UCC. He also said that the 21st Law Commission had also rejected the UCC terming it as neither desirable nor feasible.

Already the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) has opposed the proposed implementation of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in the country saying it would have an adverse impact on minorities and tribal communities. Senior SAD leader Dr Daljit Singh Cheema had said the party had opposed the UCC for the country and would submit its reservations on the issue to the 22nd Law Commission as well as in Parliament.

About the other decisions at the executive committee meeting, Dhami said that the case against Congress leader Jagdish Tytler, accused of murdering three sikhs at Pulbangash Gurdwara Sahib in Delhi in 1984, will be pursued by the SGPC. He said that the CBI has filed a chargesheet in the court against Tytler and the fees of the lawyers fighting this case will be paid by the SGPC. He said that after the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) backed down on this matter, now the SGPC has decided to pursue this case.

He said that the EC has also approved setting up a project to digitize the old handwritten holy saroops (scriptures) at Gurdwara Goindwal Sahib. He said that old handwritten holy saroops of Sri Guru Granth Sahib arriving for the last rites at Goindwal Sahib will be identified and digitized under this project. This decision has been taken from the perspective of preserving the old valuable Sikh heritage.

CHANDIGARH: The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) (mini parliament of Sikhs) has registered strong opposition to the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) describing that it is suppression on minorities and was no longer relevant besides unnecessary in the country. Sources said that in the executive committee meeting of the SGPC today it has been decided that there is no need for UCC in the country, while the constitution recognizes the principle of unity in diversity. Speaking after the executive committee of the SGPC, its President Harjinder Singh Dhami said that there is an apprehension among the minorities in the country regarding the Uniform Civil Code that this code will hurt their identity, originality, and principles. On the issue of UCC, the SGPC has constituted a sub-committee of Sikh intellectuals, historians, scholars, and lawyers, which at the preliminary stage considered the UCC as suppression for the existence of minorities, their religious rites, traditions, and culture. This sub-committee includes SGPC general secretary Gurcharan Singh Grewal, senior Sikh lawyer Puran Singh Hundal, SGPC members Bhagwant Singh Sialka, Paramjit Kaur Landran, and Kiranjot Kaur, Prof Kashmir Singh, Dr Inderjit Singh Gogoani, Dr Paramveer Singh, and Dr Chamkaur Singh. He said that as per the opinion of this sub-committee, the SGPC has expressed strong opposition against the UCC.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); He said that any challenge to bani bana (Gurbani and traditional Sikh attire), bol baale (words or thoughts which are sublime or supreme as well as high and true), principles, traditions, values, lifestyle, culture, independent existence and distinct entity of Sikhs can never be accepted and the Sikh Maryada (code of conduct) cannot be tested by the worldly law. Therefore, the Sikh community opposes the UCC. He also said that the 21st Law Commission had also rejected the UCC terming it as neither desirable nor feasible. Already the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) has opposed the proposed implementation of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in the country saying it would have an adverse impact on minorities and tribal communities. Senior SAD leader Dr Daljit Singh Cheema had said the party had opposed the UCC for the country and would submit its reservations on the issue to the 22nd Law Commission as well as in Parliament. About the other decisions at the executive committee meeting, Dhami said that the case against Congress leader Jagdish Tytler, accused of murdering three sikhs at Pulbangash Gurdwara Sahib in Delhi in 1984, will be pursued by the SGPC. He said that the CBI has filed a chargesheet in the court against Tytler and the fees of the lawyers fighting this case will be paid by the SGPC. He said that after the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) backed down on this matter, now the SGPC has decided to pursue this case. He said that the EC has also approved setting up a project to digitize the old handwritten holy saroops (scriptures) at Gurdwara Goindwal Sahib. He said that old handwritten holy saroops of Sri Guru Granth Sahib arriving for the last rites at Goindwal Sahib will be identified and digitized under this project. This decision has been taken from the perspective of preserving the old valuable Sikh heritage.
On Saturday morning, Russian occupiers fired from the MLRS Lyman of Donetsk region, as a result, at least six people were killed, five were injured, according to Head of the regional military administration Pavlo Kyrylenko.

"At about 10:00, the Russians attacked the city with a MLRS  they hit the private sector. A house and a store were damaged. The police are working on the spot. Paramedics provide the necessary medical assistance," Kyrylenko said on his Telegram channel.
By PTI

BHOPAL: The Madhya Pradesh Congress on Saturday held a protest against what it claimed was a steady rise in the number of crimes against Dalits and tribals under the Bharatiya Janata Party government in the state.

However, the plan by the protesting Madhya Pradesh Congress Scheduled Tribe Cell (MPCTC) to march to the New Market area here and set afire an effigy of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan was foiled by police.

The protest comes amid national outrage after a video showing a man, identified as Pravesh Shukla, urinating on a tribal youth in Sidhi went viral on Tuesday.

MP Assembly polls are likely to be held at the end of the year.

"We were stopped near the Red Cross hospital crossing on Link Road by police who had put barricades to prevent us from marching to New Market.

However, we staged a sit-in and set afire Chouhan's effigy there itself," MPCTC chief Pradeep Ahiwar told PTI over the phone. While Ahirwar claimed 40 Congress workers were detained and later set free, Habibganj Assistant Commissioner of Police Virendra Mishra said they foiled an attempt to burn an effigy of the CM and dispersed the protesters.

"Crimes and atrocities against Dalits and tribals have shot up under the Chouhan government. The urination incident in Sidhi is a horrific example of it," Ahirwar alleged.

Ahirwar said seven persons recently assaulted two Dalits, blackened their faces and garlanded them with shoes in Varkhadi village in Shivpuri district, while on Friday the Lokayukta police booked three IAS officers for irregularities in the sale of land belonging to tribals.

The Congress will continue to protest till excesses against Dalits and tribals stop, he asserted.

BHOPAL: The Madhya Pradesh Congress on Saturday held a protest against what it claimed was a steady rise in the number of crimes against Dalits and tribals under the Bharatiya Janata Party government in the state. However, the plan by the protesting Madhya Pradesh Congress Scheduled Tribe Cell (MPCTC) to march to the New Market area here and set afire an effigy of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan was foiled by police. The protest comes amid national outrage after a video showing a man, identified as Pravesh Shukla, urinating on a tribal youth in Sidhi went viral on Tuesday.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); MP Assembly polls are likely to be held at the end of the year. "We were stopped near the Red Cross hospital crossing on Link Road by police who had put barricades to prevent us from marching to New Market. However, we staged a sit-in and set afire Chouhan's effigy there itself," MPCTC chief Pradeep Ahiwar told PTI over the phone. While Ahirwar claimed 40 Congress workers were detained and later set free, Habibganj Assistant Commissioner of Police Virendra Mishra said they foiled an attempt to burn an effigy of the CM and dispersed the protesters. "Crimes and atrocities against Dalits and tribals have shot up under the Chouhan government. The urination incident in Sidhi is a horrific example of it," Ahirwar alleged. Ahirwar said seven persons recently assaulted two Dalits, blackened their faces and garlanded them with shoes in Varkhadi village in Shivpuri district, while on Friday the Lokayukta police booked three IAS officers for irregularities in the sale of land belonging to tribals. The Congress will continue to protest till excesses against Dalits and tribals stop, he asserted.
Express News Service

Allotment of land for homeless sparks row

The decision to allot 5 marlas of land to homeless people has sparked a row with the political parties asking the administration to come clean on who is homeless and how it is counting the number of homeless in the Union Territory. Former J&K Chief Minister and National Conference vice-president Omar Abdullah said the authorities should state who are the homeless. How is the government counting the number of homeless? Does it include those who have come to J&K a week before or have they fixed any cut-off date? Those who came to J&K after 2019 should not be included in the list, the NC leader said.

Import duty cut for US apples worries farmers

With the Centre reducing import duty on American apples to India by 20%, the fruit growers in Kashmir are worried and apprehend that it will hurt the domestic apple industry and they will have to incur heavy losses. According to Kashmir Valley Fruit Growers-cum-Dealers Union president Bashir Ahmed Basheer, a reduction in import duty on American apples from 70% to 50% is a matter of concern for the growers of Kashmir and other parts of the country. Now, American apples will become cheaper than the ones grown in the country and in turn, will hurt Kashmiri growers.

City-based helpline desk for tourists opened

In order to facilitate and ensure hassle-free journeys for tourists and yatries during their stay in the Valley, the Directorate of Tourism Kashmir has set up a dedicated helpline desk at the Tourist Reception Centre, Srinagar. The helpline numbers are 8899941010 and 8899931010. Tourists can email their grievances to helpline.kashmirtourism@gmail.com. The aim of setting up a helpline desk is to redress the grievances of tourists regarding any service instantly and reach out to them in case of any difficulty or emergency. The move to set up a helpline desk is seen as an effort by the government to ensure a smooth stay for tourists in the Valley.

Fayaz wani

Our correspondent in Jammu and Kashmir

fayazwani123@gmail.com

Allotment of land for homeless sparks row The decision to allot 5 marlas of land to homeless people has sparked a row with the political parties asking the administration to come clean on who is homeless and how it is counting the number of homeless in the Union Territory. Former J&K Chief Minister and National Conference vice-president Omar Abdullah said the authorities should state who are the homeless. How is the government counting the number of homeless? Does it include those who have come to J&K a week before or have they fixed any cut-off date? Those who came to J&K after 2019 should not be included in the list, the NC leader said. Import duty cut for US apples worries farmers With the Centre reducing import duty on American apples to India by 20%, the fruit growers in Kashmir are worried and apprehend that it will hurt the domestic apple industry and they will have to incur heavy losses. According to Kashmir Valley Fruit Growers-cum-Dealers Union president Bashir Ahmed Basheer, a reduction in import duty on American apples from 70% to 50% is a matter of concern for the growers of Kashmir and other parts of the country. Now, American apples will become cheaper than the ones grown in the country and in turn, will hurt Kashmiri growers. City-based helpline desk for tourists opened In order to facilitate and ensure hassle-free journeys for tourists and yatries during their stay in the Valley, the Directorate of Tourism Kashmir has set up a dedicated helpline desk at the Tourist Reception Centre, Srinagar. The helpline numbers are 8899941010 and 8899931010. Tourists can email their grievances to helpline.kashmirtourism@gmail.com. The aim of setting up a helpline desk is to redress the grievances of tourists regarding any service instantly and reach out to them in case of any difficulty or emergency. The move to set up a helpline desk is seen as an effort by the government to ensure a smooth stay for tourists in the Valley.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Fayaz wani Our correspondent in Jammu and Kashmir fayazwani123@gmail.com
Jitendra Choubey By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: New research has reduced the uncertainty of climate change impact linked to the stratospherea dry region of the atmosphere containing the ozone layers that absorb ultraviolet rays and protect the Earth. The study was recently published in the journal Nature Geoscience.

It has always been a challenge to quantify the presence of water vapour, a potent greenhouse gas, in the stratosphere. Excess water vapour potentially influences ozone depletion, especially in the polar regions.

The stratosphere, above the troposphere, is an extremely dry region of the atmosphere that is 10-50 km above the Earths surface. Here temperature inversion takes placethe lower layer of the stratosphere is colder and as one moves upwards, the layers get hotter.

Due to the low temperatures in the region of the atmosphere, the air gets freeze-dried and very little water enters the stratosphere. In fact, the primary source of stratospheric water vapour is the oxidation of methane, which is transported from the troposphere.

So, the rising temperature due to climate change and increasing methane concentration are both expected to inject more water vapour into the stratosphere. Different studies project an extreme scenario25% increase in water vapour concentration per degree of warming in the stratosphere that could delay the ozone layers recovery.

But the new research, 'Response of stratospheric water vapour to warming constrained by satellite observations', led by the University of East Anglia (UEA), questioned the extreme scenario.

The research narrows down this extreme range of likely future stratospheric water vapour amounts and finds it does not delay the recovery of the ozone layer as was earlier projected.

The new approach projects a 50% reduction in the impact of water vapour as compared to earlier estimates. The research predicted future climate change by examining water vapour amounts in the stratospheric layer.

It means that stratospheric water changes are very unlikely to exceed half the value of the largest changes seen amongst the climate model runs, said Manoj Joshi, Professor of Climate Dynamics at UEA and a co-author of the paper.

The study led by Prof Peer Nowack, now at the Institute of Theoretical Informatics at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany, has developed a new statistical learning approach.

This approach combines information from satellite observations with state-of-the-art climate model data to narrow the range of likely future stratospheric water vapour amounts.

Water vapour affects ozone chemistry

Water vapour, a greenhouse gas in the stratosphere is likely to increase with global warming but not at the rate earlier models had projected. Prof Manoj Joshi, Professor of Climate Dynamics, School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, UK, also co-author of a new research paper, tells Jitendra Choubey that the new research brought more certainty to the presence of water vapour in the stratosphere, adding it not likely to delay the recovery of depleting ozone layers.

What is the stratospheres role in the Earths atmosphere? What effect does global warming have on it?

A: The stratosphere lies 10-50 km above the Earths surface. Its home to the ozone layer that shields surface life from harmful ultraviolet radiation. It is also a region of the atmosphere that is very dry: stratospheric water vapour concentrations are measured in a few parts per million volume (ppmv), rather than the 2,000-20,000 ppmv at the Earths surface. Although man-made increases in CO2 are warming the surface and lowermost atmosphere, CO2 actually cools the stratosphereand is also predicted to change the strength of its circulation and winds slightly.

How do you define the level of uncertainty? Can the level of uncertainty quantify in terms of numbers, and how does this research reduce it? What is the next step?

A: The observational constraint in Nowack et al implies that Stratospheric Water Vapour (SWV) is likely to increase with global warming at a rate of 0.31  0.39 ppmv or per degree warming at surface (for a 90% confidence interval). However, it also allows us to say that those climate model projections with very large increases in SWV, which could, for example, substantially delay ozone recovery, are unlikely.

Is global warming a major source of water vapour to the stratosphere? The low concentration of water vapour in the stratosphere is mainly controlled by how air enters the stratosphere. As air ascends in the tropics into the stratosphere, it is freeze-dried as it passes through the region around the tropopause, 16 km above tropical Earth surface, where temperatures are about -80C. Global warming is projected to heat the tropopause region somewhat.

NEW DELHI: New research has reduced the uncertainty of climate change impact linked to the stratospherea dry region of the atmosphere containing the ozone layers that absorb ultraviolet rays and protect the Earth. The study was recently published in the journal Nature Geoscience. It has always been a challenge to quantify the presence of water vapour, a potent greenhouse gas, in the stratosphere. Excess water vapour potentially influences ozone depletion, especially in the polar regions. The stratosphere, above the troposphere, is an extremely dry region of the atmosphere that is 10-50 km above the Earths surface. Here temperature inversion takes placethe lower layer of the stratosphere is colder and as one moves upwards, the layers get hotter.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Due to the low temperatures in the region of the atmosphere, the air gets freeze-dried and very little water enters the stratosphere. In fact, the primary source of stratospheric water vapour is the oxidation of methane, which is transported from the troposphere. So, the rising temperature due to climate change and increasing methane concentration are both expected to inject more water vapour into the stratosphere. Different studies project an extreme scenario25% increase in water vapour concentration per degree of warming in the stratosphere that could delay the ozone layers recovery. But the new research, 'Response of stratospheric water vapour to warming constrained by satellite observations', led by the University of East Anglia (UEA), questioned the extreme scenario. The research narrows down this extreme range of likely future stratospheric water vapour amounts and finds it does not delay the recovery of the ozone layer as was earlier projected. The new approach projects a 50% reduction in the impact of water vapour as compared to earlier estimates. The research predicted future climate change by examining water vapour amounts in the stratospheric layer. It means that stratospheric water changes are very unlikely to exceed half the value of the largest changes seen amongst the climate model runs, said Manoj Joshi, Professor of Climate Dynamics at UEA and a co-author of the paper. The study led by Prof Peer Nowack, now at the Institute of Theoretical Informatics at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany, has developed a new statistical learning approach. This approach combines information from satellite observations with state-of-the-art climate model data to narrow the range of likely future stratospheric water vapour amounts. Water vapour affects ozone chemistry Water vapour, a greenhouse gas in the stratosphere is likely to increase with global warming but not at the rate earlier models had projected. Prof Manoj Joshi, Professor of Climate Dynamics, School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, UK, also co-author of a new research paper, tells Jitendra Choubey that the new research brought more certainty to the presence of water vapour in the stratosphere, adding it not likely to delay the recovery of depleting ozone layers. What is the stratospheres role in the Earths atmosphere? What effect does global warming have on it? A: The stratosphere lies 10-50 km above the Earths surface. Its home to the ozone layer that shields surface life from harmful ultraviolet radiation. It is also a region of the atmosphere that is very dry: stratospheric water vapour concentrations are measured in a few parts per million volume (ppmv), rather than the 2,000-20,000 ppmv at the Earths surface. Although man-made increases in CO2 are warming the surface and lowermost atmosphere, CO2 actually cools the stratosphereand is also predicted to change the strength of its circulation and winds slightly. How do you define the level of uncertainty? Can the level of uncertainty quantify in terms of numbers, and how does this research reduce it? What is the next step? A: The observational constraint in Nowack et al implies that Stratospheric Water Vapour (SWV) is likely to increase with global warming at a rate of 0.31  0.39 ppmv or per degree warming at surface (for a 90% confidence interval). However, it also allows us to say that those climate model projections with very large increases in SWV, which could, for example, substantially delay ozone recovery, are unlikely. Is global warming a major source of water vapour to the stratosphere? The low concentration of water vapour in the stratosphere is mainly controlled by how air enters the stratosphere. As air ascends in the tropics into the stratosphere, it is freeze-dried as it passes through the region around the tropopause, 16 km above tropical Earth surface, where temperatures are about -80C. Global warming is projected to heat the tropopause region somewhat.
Shruti Kakkar By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday affirmed the Madhya Pradesh High Courts order rejecting a plea challenging Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindias nomination to the Rajya Sabha from Madhya Pradesh in a biennial election.

The plea by one Govind Singh had challenged Scindias nomination for allegedly concealing information about the criminal cases pending against him in the papers. It was listed before the bench of justices Hrishikesh Roy and Pankaj Mithal.

The Madhya Pradesh High Court HC on March 17, 2023, refused to direct state police to register an FIR against Scindia for allegedly concealing information regarding the cases pending against him. Petitioner Singh had averred that the minister had not disclosed particulars or information regarding the registration of FIR for him and others in 2018.

A bench of Justice Dipak Kumar said, It is true that by order dated 26.09.2018, while deciding the application filed under Section 156(3) of CrPC, a direction was given by learned special judge (MP and MLA), Bhopal, MP for registration of FIR, which does not amount to taking cognizance. In terms of Chapter XII of CrPC, simply a direction for registration of FIR does not amount to taking cognizance under Section 190 and/or Section 200 of CrPC. In this situation, mere registration of FIR does not come within the category of pending criminal case.

The bench also said, Besides this, as per the provisions of Act of 1951, it is not mandatory or necessary that a candidate, who is contesting the election in question, should disclose registration of FIR. At the time of submission of the nomination form, respondent No.1 had neither any knowledge about the registration of FIR nor any notice under Section 41-A of CrPC has been issued to him. Since he has no knowledge about registration of FIR, there is no occasion for him to disclose the same. The bench asked the petitioner to approach the police for the registration of an FIR instead of seeking directions from the HC.

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday affirmed the Madhya Pradesh High Courts order rejecting a plea challenging Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindias nomination to the Rajya Sabha from Madhya Pradesh in a biennial election. The plea by one Govind Singh had challenged Scindias nomination for allegedly concealing information about the criminal cases pending against him in the papers. It was listed before the bench of justices Hrishikesh Roy and Pankaj Mithal. The Madhya Pradesh High Court HC on March 17, 2023, refused to direct state police to register an FIR against Scindia for allegedly concealing information regarding the cases pending against him. Petitioner Singh had averred that the minister had not disclosed particulars or information regarding the registration of FIR for him and others in 2018.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); A bench of Justice Dipak Kumar said, It is true that by order dated 26.09.2018, while deciding the application filed under Section 156(3) of CrPC, a direction was given by learned special judge (MP and MLA), Bhopal, MP for registration of FIR, which does not amount to taking cognizance. In terms of Chapter XII of CrPC, simply a direction for registration of FIR does not amount to taking cognizance under Section 190 and/or Section 200 of CrPC. In this situation, mere registration of FIR does not come within the category of pending criminal case. The bench also said, Besides this, as per the provisions of Act of 1951, it is not mandatory or necessary that a candidate, who is contesting the election in question, should disclose registration of FIR. At the time of submission of the nomination form, respondent No.1 had neither any knowledge about the registration of FIR nor any notice under Section 41-A of CrPC has been issued to him. Since he has no knowledge about registration of FIR, there is no occasion for him to disclose the same. The bench asked the petitioner to approach the police for the registration of an FIR instead of seeking directions from the HC.
By PTI

BHOPAL: The victim of the urination incident in Sidhi district of Madhya Pradesh has urged the state government to release the accused involved in the act, saying that the latter has realised his mistake.

Police on Wednesday arrested Pravesh Shukla, accused of urinating on the victim, Dashmat Rawat, who belongs to a tribal community.

A video of the incident went viral on social media platforms on Tuesday, following which the police registered a case against the accused and arrested him.

Besides facing relevant charges under the IPC and the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, action has also been initiated under the stringent National Security Act (NSA), against Shukla, who is currently lodged in jail.

An alleged illegal portion of the house belonging to Shukla in Sidhi was also demolished.

"My demand to the government is that a mistake has been committed (by the accused). Now Pravesh Shukla should be released. Whatever has happened in the past, he has realised his mistake," Rawat told reporters on Friday when asked about the action against the accused.

When pointed out that he was making this demand despite the humiliating act of the accused, the victim said, "Yes, I agree. He is a Pandit of our village, we demand the government to release him."

Rawat also said that except for the construction of a road in the village, he has nothing more to demand from the government.

The urination episode has triggered a political controversy in Madhya Pradesh, where Assembly polls are due by the year-end, with the Congress alleging that the accused was linked to a local Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator and the saffron party denying its connection with him in any way.

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Thursday washed the feet of the victim at the CM's residence in Bhopal and also apologised to him over the humiliating incident. But the opposition party dubbed Chouhan's move as mere drama.

The state government also sanctioned financial assistance of Rs 5 lakh to the victim and provided an additional sum of Rs 1.5 lakh for the construction of his house.

A Brahmin organisation on Friday opposed the demolition of a part of the house of Shukla, saying his act was deplorable but his family members cannot be punished for his behaviour.

BHOPAL: The victim of the urination incident in Sidhi district of Madhya Pradesh has urged the state government to release the accused involved in the act, saying that the latter has realised his mistake. Police on Wednesday arrested Pravesh Shukla, accused of urinating on the victim, Dashmat Rawat, who belongs to a tribal community. A video of the incident went viral on social media platforms on Tuesday, following which the police registered a case against the accused and arrested him.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Besides facing relevant charges under the IPC and the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, action has also been initiated under the stringent National Security Act (NSA), against Shukla, who is currently lodged in jail. An alleged illegal portion of the house belonging to Shukla in Sidhi was also demolished. "My demand to the government is that a mistake has been committed (by the accused). Now Pravesh Shukla should be released. Whatever has happened in the past, he has realised his mistake," Rawat told reporters on Friday when asked about the action against the accused. When pointed out that he was making this demand despite the humiliating act of the accused, the victim said, "Yes, I agree. He is a Pandit of our village, we demand the government to release him." Rawat also said that except for the construction of a road in the village, he has nothing more to demand from the government. The urination episode has triggered a political controversy in Madhya Pradesh, where Assembly polls are due by the year-end, with the Congress alleging that the accused was linked to a local Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator and the saffron party denying its connection with him in any way. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Thursday washed the feet of the victim at the CM's residence in Bhopal and also apologised to him over the humiliating incident. But the opposition party dubbed Chouhan's move as mere drama. The state government also sanctioned financial assistance of Rs 5 lakh to the victim and provided an additional sum of Rs 1.5 lakh for the construction of his house. A Brahmin organisation on Friday opposed the demolition of a part of the house of Shukla, saying his act was deplorable but his family members cannot be punished for his behaviour.
Narendra Sethi By

Express News Service

DEHRADUN: Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Friday said that a special session of the assembly can be called to discuss the uniform civil code (UCC) after receiving the draft on the same.

Speaking to mediapersons, the CM said, The government is awaiting the final copy of the UCC draft for Uttarakhand which has been finalised by an expert panel.

The committee in the last one year visited different parts of the state and received 2.30 lakh suggestions through dialogue and correspondence with stakeholders, various sections of the society, religious organisations and intellectuals.

When asked whether the ongoing exercise on UCC at the level of the National Law Commission will delay its implementation in Uttarakhand, the Chief Minister said, As soon as we get the draft expert panel report, we will move towards implementing it.

Article 44 of the Constitution provides that state governments can enact a Uniform Civil Code, he said, adding that the people of the state gave us a mandate on UCC in the 2022 general election and gave us a chance to come to power for the second time due to which we were able to move forward in the direction of UCC.

On the question of excluding tribal customs from the UCC, Dhami said, The expert committee has worked on all these aspects, it went to tribal areas and took suggestions from the people there and included them in the draft according to public sentiment.

After getting the report, it will also be assessed, the Chief Minister said, adding that the government will not hurry, will not delay its implementation. Describing the state governments move as a hasty move, Congress state spokesperson Garima Dasauni termed the entire exercise of the state government as futile. Why is the state government bent on wasting precious time and money of the people of the state when the matter is being raised in the upcoming session of the Lok Sabha on July 20?

DEHRADUN: Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Friday said that a special session of the assembly can be called to discuss the uniform civil code (UCC) after receiving the draft on the same. Speaking to mediapersons, the CM said, The government is awaiting the final copy of the UCC draft for Uttarakhand which has been finalised by an expert panel. The committee in the last one year visited different parts of the state and received 2.30 lakh suggestions through dialogue and correspondence with stakeholders, various sections of the society, religious organisations and intellectuals. When asked whether the ongoing exercise on UCC at the level of the National Law Commission will delay its implementation in Uttarakhand, the Chief Minister said, As soon as we get the draft expert panel report, we will move towards implementing it.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Article 44 of the Constitution provides that state governments can enact a Uniform Civil Code, he said, adding that the people of the state gave us a mandate on UCC in the 2022 general election and gave us a chance to come to power for the second time due to which we were able to move forward in the direction of UCC. On the question of excluding tribal customs from the UCC, Dhami said, The expert committee has worked on all these aspects, it went to tribal areas and took suggestions from the people there and included them in the draft according to public sentiment. After getting the report, it will also be assessed, the Chief Minister said, adding that the government will not hurry, will not delay its implementation. Describing the state governments move as a hasty move, Congress state spokesperson Garima Dasauni termed the entire exercise of the state government as futile. Why is the state government bent on wasting precious time and money of the people of the state when the matter is being raised in the upcoming session of the Lok Sabha on July 20?
Sneha Belcin By

Online Desk

The BJP led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi remains resolute in enforcing Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in the country. Lately, there is a palpable urgency from the part of the Centre to enforce UCC. Making a strong pitch for uniform civil law, Modi recently said that the country cannot be run on two laws and that Uniform Civil Code (UCC) was part of the Constitution.

"Will a family function if there are two different sets of rules for people? Then how will a country run? Our Constitution too guarantees equal rights to all people," he said.

Earlier, the 22nd Law Commission invited the views of the public and recognised religious organisations on the UCC within 30 days, thereby re-igniting debate on the controversial move of the Centre.

UCC is a specific set of laws through which the Indian government can ensure that all of its citizens have the same rules when it comes to marriage, divorce and inheritance. Laws pertaining to such matters are based on religion now.

There has been an uproar in social media networks about the threat UCC poses to the pluralism of the country. The New Indian Express Online talked to Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi MLA Sinthanai Selvan to glean his views on the controversial code.

On Uniform Civil Code (UCC)

All laws in India are common to everyone - be it criminal procedure law, criminal law, labour laws or education rights laws. Then there is everyday life. Say, someone leaves their house, goes to a bus stand, petrol bunk or hotel. Petrol is the same price for everyone. Food is the same price for everyone. They will be taught the same thing at schools

Beyond these laws there are cultural orders. Some might wash themselves up outside their home, some might not. Some wear lungis. Some don't. Some drink tea and some coffee. All these personal choices constitute culture. This culture predominantly has religion in its background. And there are laws in place to protect this diversity. Only when we allow such laws will we protect the pluralism of India. The motive behind Uniform Civil Code is to not allow such laws and gradually undermine the diversity and pluralism of India.

On UCC and "one common culture"

I go to the Legislative Assembly and I see every other MLA wearing white. But I do not wear white. I wear colourful attire. Why should it be considered inauspicious when my women counterparts wear white? White is considered a symbol of dignity for men and inauspicious for women. This reveals that there is no such thing as common.

Back home, people call a temple public. They say pothu kovil (public temple). As a Dalit, I am barred from entering the temple. I can't fetch water from a public pond. This shows that dominant forces claim their practices to be common or uniform.

A recent example is the new parliament building, which Modi claims belongs to all. But in fact, what he has established is a Hindutva symbol. For the saffron brigade, Hindutva is a common identity. This Uniform Civil Code will undermine minorities, Dalits, and Adivasis. They will be considered "uncivilized."

This is done because they are proud of their culture, and they benefit when the country is on fire.

The UCC will benefit those who do politics to bolster caste supremacy and uphold casteism.

On Religion and Reforms

I will start the discussion with Christianity, which is considered to be a radical religion. Roman Catholics do not allow priesthood for women. We cannot let a woman kill herself on her husbands pyre. We can debate about triple talaq and polygyny in Islam. Do we need reforms in religions? Definitely, yes. In every religion.

But those changes must happen internally, by the cultural group, naturally. A Hindutva force will never bring reforms. If a Hindutva government tries to do that, it is to establish Brahminism. It wont be Uniform Civil Code. it will be the "Brahmin Civil Code."

Whom will it then benefit?

Definitely, the Savarnas. Take education policies for example. They tend to spin the narrative with words such as merit. We have never celebrated the craft of a kuravars basket weaving and the science of it. But, Carnatic music is celebrated. It can be celebrated but we have to remember that we have neglected many communities.

This idea of commonality and uniformity will ensure cultural elements of privileged castes gain importance. This will again lead to the inferiority complex of the oppressed. All these differences, the fights because of the Uniform Civil Code, will greatly benefit BJP. The whole of India will erupt like Manipur.

On Bahujan parties who have welcomed UCC

Some parties have welcomed the Uniform Civil Code. These parties can be divided into a group that doesn't understand the "Sanatana fascism" that propels UCC and the other group that understands the violence behind it, yet refuse to oppose UCC.

The BJP led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi remains resolute in enforcing Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in the country. Lately, there is a palpable urgency from the part of the Centre to enforce UCC. Making a strong pitch for uniform civil law, Modi recently said that the country cannot be run on two laws and that Uniform Civil Code (UCC) was part of the Constitution. "Will a family function if there are two different sets of rules for people? Then how will a country run? Our Constitution too guarantees equal rights to all people," he said. Earlier, the 22nd Law Commission invited the views of the public and recognised religious organisations on the UCC within 30 days, thereby re-igniting debate on the controversial move of the Centre.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); UCC is a specific set of laws through which the Indian government can ensure that all of its citizens have the same rules when it comes to marriage, divorce and inheritance. Laws pertaining to such matters are based on religion now. There has been an uproar in social media networks about the threat UCC poses to the pluralism of the country. The New Indian Express Online talked to Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi MLA Sinthanai Selvan to glean his views on the controversial code. On Uniform Civil Code (UCC) All laws in India are common to everyone - be it criminal procedure law, criminal law, labour laws or education rights laws. Then there is everyday life. Say, someone leaves their house, goes to a bus stand, petrol bunk or hotel. Petrol is the same price for everyone. Food is the same price for everyone. They will be taught the same thing at schools Beyond these laws there are cultural orders. Some might wash themselves up outside their home, some might not. Some wear lungis. Some don't. Some drink tea and some coffee. All these personal choices constitute culture. This culture predominantly has religion in its background. And there are laws in place to protect this diversity. Only when we allow such laws will we protect the pluralism of India. The motive behind Uniform Civil Code is to not allow such laws and gradually undermine the diversity and pluralism of India. On UCC and "one common culture" I go to the Legislative Assembly and I see every other MLA wearing white. But I do not wear white. I wear colourful attire. Why should it be considered inauspicious when my women counterparts wear white? White is considered a symbol of dignity for men and inauspicious for women. This reveals that there is no such thing as common. Back home, people call a temple public. They say pothu kovil (public temple). As a Dalit, I am barred from entering the temple. I can't fetch water from a public pond. This shows that dominant forces claim their practices to be common or uniform. A recent example is the new parliament building, which Modi claims belongs to all. But in fact, what he has established is a Hindutva symbol. For the saffron brigade, Hindutva is a common identity. This Uniform Civil Code will undermine minorities, Dalits, and Adivasis. They will be considered "uncivilized." This is done because they are proud of their culture, and they benefit when the country is on fire. The UCC will benefit those who do politics to bolster caste supremacy and uphold casteism. On Religion and Reforms I will start the discussion with Christianity, which is considered to be a radical religion. Roman Catholics do not allow priesthood for women. We cannot let a woman kill herself on her husbands pyre. We can debate about triple talaq and polygyny in Islam. Do we need reforms in religions? Definitely, yes. In every religion. But those changes must happen internally, by the cultural group, naturally. A Hindutva force will never bring reforms. If a Hindutva government tries to do that, it is to establish Brahminism. It wont be Uniform Civil Code. it will be the "Brahmin Civil Code." Whom will it then benefit? Definitely, the Savarnas. Take education policies for example. They tend to spin the narrative with words such as merit. We have never celebrated the craft of a kuravars basket weaving and the science of it. But, Carnatic music is celebrated. It can be celebrated but we have to remember that we have neglected many communities. This idea of commonality and uniformity will ensure cultural elements of privileged castes gain importance. This will again lead to the inferiority complex of the oppressed. All these differences, the fights because of the Uniform Civil Code, will greatly benefit BJP. The whole of India will erupt like Manipur. On Bahujan parties who have welcomed UCC Some parties have welcomed the Uniform Civil Code. These parties can be divided into a group that doesn't understand the "Sanatana fascism" that propels UCC and the other group that understands the violence behind it, yet refuse to oppose UCC.
By PTI

IMPHAL: A mob torched two vehicles in Imphal West district while an exchange of fire was reported in Imphal East district, as violence continued in Manipur, officials said on Saturday.

A group of people burnt two private vehicles at Mahabali Road near the historic Kangla fort as they suspected those four-wheelers were being used for ferrying household goods to a particular ethnic community on Friday night, they said.

The police intervened and the mob dispersed. Drivers of both vehicles managed to flee and there was no casualty.

There was an intermittent exchange of fire at Laikot near Yaingangpokpi in Imphal West district between two communities late Friday night.

The incidents occurred after four people including a Manipur police commando were shot dead and several others injured in separate places in Bishnupur district.

The policeman was killed in a gun battle with suspected militants at Moirang Turel Mapan in the evening, while three others lost their lives in the wee hours in villages of Kangvai, Songdo and Awang Lekhai - all of them on the border of Bishnupur and Churachandpur districts.

Army and Assam Rifles personnel moved to Songdo on Friday night to tackle the situation, officials said.

More than 100 people have lost their lives and over 3,000 injured since ethnic violence broke out in the state on May 3, when a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.

Around 40,000 central security personnel, besides the Manipur Police, have been deployed to control the violence and bring back normalcy in the state.

Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipur's population and live mostly in the Imphal Valley.

Tribal Nagas and Kukis constitute another 40 per cent of the population and reside in the hill districts.

ALSO READ:

IMPHAL: A mob torched two vehicles in Imphal West district while an exchange of fire was reported in Imphal East district, as violence continued in Manipur, officials said on Saturday. A group of people burnt two private vehicles at Mahabali Road near the historic Kangla fort as they suspected those four-wheelers were being used for ferrying household goods to a particular ethnic community on Friday night, they said. The police intervened and the mob dispersed. Drivers of both vehicles managed to flee and there was no casualty.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); There was an intermittent exchange of fire at Laikot near Yaingangpokpi in Imphal West district between two communities late Friday night. The incidents occurred after four people including a Manipur police commando were shot dead and several others injured in separate places in Bishnupur district. The policeman was killed in a gun battle with suspected militants at Moirang Turel Mapan in the evening, while three others lost their lives in the wee hours in villages of Kangvai, Songdo and Awang Lekhai - all of them on the border of Bishnupur and Churachandpur districts. Army and Assam Rifles personnel moved to Songdo on Friday night to tackle the situation, officials said. More than 100 people have lost their lives and over 3,000 injured since ethnic violence broke out in the state on May 3, when a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status. Around 40,000 central security personnel, besides the Manipur Police, have been deployed to control the violence and bring back normalcy in the state. Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipur's population and live mostly in the Imphal Valley. Tribal Nagas and Kukis constitute another 40 per cent of the population and reside in the hill districts. ALSO READ: Four killed in fresh violence in Manipur 'If it is Manipur today, it will be Kerala tomorrow,' says Catholic Bishop on violence in northeastern state Manipur violence: Escaped Covid, got beheaded back home OPINION | Games politicians play on Manipur battlefield
By Express News Service

VISAKHAPATNAM: The City Task Force officials along with the Kancharapalem police busted yet another racket after they seized 850 Pentazocine Lactate injections, which are commonly used as psychotropic substances, from a medical shop and arrested five people in connection with it, in the city of Friday.

Speaking to reporters, Vizag City Commissioner of Police CM Trivikram Varma said that it was found that Geddam Kalyan Kumar, owner of the medical shop, was selling the pentazocine injections after procuring them online at Burma Colony for the last one month.

He used to purchase the injections from a person named Harish, who is a dealer of a renowned online shopping app from Gujarat. It was also found that the accused used to procure one injection for about 11 and would sell at a premium price of 250, the top cop elaborated. He further went on to say that the accused had procured 1,000 sedative injections, of which, 150 were already sold.

The police arrested Chinnagodava Prasad (27), Peddapudi Ram Prasad (26), Vasupalli Bala Appala Swamy (36) and Pallivella Santosh Kumar (26) from the house of Kalyan. The commissioner said that when the police raided the shop, it was found that all four accused were both users as well as suppliers. The police seized 850 ampules (85 boxes each containing 810 ampules) and 6 mobiles from them. It may be noted that over 4,000 injections were seized earlier.

Pentazocine injection is used as a pain killer at the time of surgical operations and it can only be sold by hospitals or medical shops, which have the licensed of narcotics. The usage of the drug is administered by a surgeon and the usage should be recorded in a register.

VISAKHAPATNAM: The City Task Force officials along with the Kancharapalem police busted yet another racket after they seized 850 Pentazocine Lactate injections, which are commonly used as psychotropic substances, from a medical shop and arrested five people in connection with it, in the city of Friday. Speaking to reporters, Vizag City Commissioner of Police CM Trivikram Varma said that it was found that Geddam Kalyan Kumar, owner of the medical shop, was selling the pentazocine injections after procuring them online at Burma Colony for the last one month. He used to purchase the injections from a person named Harish, who is a dealer of a renowned online shopping app from Gujarat. It was also found that the accused used to procure one injection for about 11 and would sell at a premium price of 250, the top cop elaborated. He further went on to say that the accused had procured 1,000 sedative injections, of which, 150 were already sold.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); The police arrested Chinnagodava Prasad (27), Peddapudi Ram Prasad (26), Vasupalli Bala Appala Swamy (36) and Pallivella Santosh Kumar (26) from the house of Kalyan. The commissioner said that when the police raided the shop, it was found that all four accused were both users as well as suppliers. The police seized 850 ampules (85 boxes each containing 810 ampules) and 6 mobiles from them. It may be noted that over 4,000 injections were seized earlier. Pentazocine injection is used as a pain killer at the time of surgical operations and it can only be sold by hospitals or medical shops, which have the licensed of narcotics. The usage of the drug is administered by a surgeon and the usage should be recorded in a register.
Sudarsan Maharana By

Express News Service

BHUBANESWAR: Indias saltwater crocodile conservation programme, one of the success stories in the last 48 years, is staring at new challenges. From local extinction in Kerala and Tamil Nadu to proposals in the past to delist the salties in the Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, it has reached a point where discussion on scientific management is crying out for attention.

The rising conflict in Odishas Bhitarkanika National Park is the newest addition to the conservation management debate. A growing density of reptiles and the ever-increasing anthropogenic pressure has resulted in at least 10 fatalities in crocodile attacks in the past year.

The crocodile conservation programme through captive breeding started in India around 1974-75 after indiscriminate killing and habitat loss pushed the population of estuarine crocodiles to the brink of extinction. The government-run programme was launched in Odisha in collaboration with UNDP and Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) in 1975.

This coupled with other measures, including notification of Bhitarkanika as a wildlife sanctuary, contributed significantly to the revival of the population in the next two decades. As the number increasedfrom just around 96 in 1974 to over 1,000 in 1995the Forest Department had to stop the breeding programme.

The protection measures put in place, however, continued to supplement the growth of the estuarine crocodiles. With a head count of 1,793, Bhitarkanika is now home to nearly 70% of Indias saltwater crocodile population. However, what has presented a problem is the density of the saltwater crocodileit has already surpassed the density of five to six crocodiles per square km of water.

This has started throwing fresh challenges primarily due to equally growing human activities and increasing dependency of people on Bramhani and Kharasrota rivers as well as local nullahs and water-bodies in and around Bhitarkanika national park, a vibrant mangrove eco-system of India.

Inadequate household piped water connection in the fringe villages as well as the natural dependence on the river as part of socio-cultural behaviour has only led to escalating conflicts as spillover population of crocodiles show up near human habitations.

The Odisha Forest Department, in response, unfurled a spate of public awareness programmes to arrest the conflict in the river-dependent villages.

However, experts feel the current situation in Bhitarkanika underlines the need for appropriate intervention to encourage human-crocodile coexistence in a sustainable manner. Shesdev Patro and Sunil Kumar Padhi, two researchers from Berhampur University in Odisha, in their study titled Saltwater crocodile and human conflict around Bhitarkanika National Park, India: A rising concern for determining conservation limits, underlined the need to re-think the strategy.

The scenario has risen to an alarming stage where we have to rethink the conservation strategy of the species and develop a suitable management plan for the coexistence of these reptiles and the inhabitants in their surroundings, the paper said.

The study authors say the conservation and management strategy of estuarine crocodiles should include the determination of the carrying capacity of the sanctuary, minimising exploitation of natural resources, relocation of excess population to other feasible sites and local awareness among others.

A woman fetches water from a river infested with crocodiles. Rise in crocodile count at Odishas Bhitarkanika National Park has led to a surge of human-wildlife conflict | Debadatta Mallick

Herpetologist and scientist from the Zoological Survey of India Pratyush Mohapatra feels the strategies need to be localised and case-specific when it comes to measures required to prevent conflict.

He says it is extremely important to raise awareness about the behaviour of these reptiles and plans to avoid man-crocodile conflict but underlines the need for creating rapid response teams to relocate crocodiles.

Mapping the density and spillover population regions is a must besides putting in place rapid response teams by the Forest department. These teams must respond within two to three hours and be equipped with infrastructure, Mohapatra says.

Experts point out that timely intervention is extremely important which otherwise may affect conservation as it happened in southern Indian states where the presence of saltwater crocodile species has dwindled.

BHUBANESWAR: Indias saltwater crocodile conservation programme, one of the success stories in the last 48 years, is staring at new challenges. From local extinction in Kerala and Tamil Nadu to proposals in the past to delist the salties in the Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, it has reached a point where discussion on scientific management is crying out for attention. The rising conflict in Odishas Bhitarkanika National Park is the newest addition to the conservation management debate. A growing density of reptiles and the ever-increasing anthropogenic pressure has resulted in at least 10 fatalities in crocodile attacks in the past year. The crocodile conservation programme through captive breeding started in India around 1974-75 after indiscriminate killing and habitat loss pushed the population of estuarine crocodiles to the brink of extinction. The government-run programme was launched in Odisha in collaboration with UNDP and Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) in 1975. googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); This coupled with other measures, including notification of Bhitarkanika as a wildlife sanctuary, contributed significantly to the revival of the population in the next two decades. As the number increasedfrom just around 96 in 1974 to over 1,000 in 1995the Forest Department had to stop the breeding programme. The protection measures put in place, however, continued to supplement the growth of the estuarine crocodiles. With a head count of 1,793, Bhitarkanika is now home to nearly 70% of Indias saltwater crocodile population. However, what has presented a problem is the density of the saltwater crocodileit has already surpassed the density of five to six crocodiles per square km of water. This has started throwing fresh challenges primarily due to equally growing human activities and increasing dependency of people on Bramhani and Kharasrota rivers as well as local nullahs and water-bodies in and around Bhitarkanika national park, a vibrant mangrove eco-system of India. Inadequate household piped water connection in the fringe villages as well as the natural dependence on the river as part of socio-cultural behaviour has only led to escalating conflicts as spillover population of crocodiles show up near human habitations. The Odisha Forest Department, in response, unfurled a spate of public awareness programmes to arrest the conflict in the river-dependent villages. However, experts feel the current situation in Bhitarkanika underlines the need for appropriate intervention to encourage human-crocodile coexistence in a sustainable manner. Shesdev Patro and Sunil Kumar Padhi, two researchers from Berhampur University in Odisha, in their study titled Saltwater crocodile and human conflict around Bhitarkanika National Park, India: A rising concern for determining conservation limits, underlined the need to re-think the strategy. The scenario has risen to an alarming stage where we have to rethink the conservation strategy of the species and develop a suitable management plan for the coexistence of these reptiles and the inhabitants in their surroundings, the paper said. The study authors say the conservation and management strategy of estuarine crocodiles should include the determination of the carrying capacity of the sanctuary, minimising exploitation of natural resources, relocation of excess population to other feasible sites and local awareness among others. A woman fetches water from a river infested with crocodiles. Rise in crocodile count at Odishas Bhitarkanika National Park has led to a surge of human-wildlife conflict | Debadatta Mallick Herpetologist and scientist from the Zoological Survey of India Pratyush Mohapatra feels the strategies need to be localised and case-specific when it comes to measures required to prevent conflict. He says it is extremely important to raise awareness about the behaviour of these reptiles and plans to avoid man-crocodile conflict but underlines the need for creating rapid response teams to relocate crocodiles. Mapping the density and spillover population regions is a must besides putting in place rapid response teams by the Forest department. These teams must respond within two to three hours and be equipped with infrastructure, Mohapatra says. Experts point out that timely intervention is extremely important which otherwise may affect conservation as it happened in southern Indian states where the presence of saltwater crocodile species has dwindled.
The water quality of the Black Sea is within the norm based on the analysis of samples obtained last week across the western Georgian coastline, the countrys National Environmental Agency said on Friday after the meeting of the subregional group in Bulgaria, Azernews reports, citing Agenda.

At the meeting, held with the support of the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Bulgarian and Georgian specialists discussed the ongoing water quality research activities and their results.

The body said amounts of biogenic components, heavy metals and total oil hydrocarbons in the samples were within normal range in both the Bulgarian and Georgian Black Sea waters.

The Agency noted the meeting on Benchmark Assessment for Black Sea anchovy aimed to preserve the stocks of biological resources in the Black Sea and promote sustainable fisheries.




President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked U.S. President Joseph Biden and the American people for providing Ukraine with a new weapons package, which includes cluster munitions.

"A timely, broad and much-needed defense aid package from the United States. We are grateful to the American people and President Joseph Biden for decisive steps that bring Ukraine closer to victory over the enemy, and democracy to victory over dictatorship. The expansion of Ukraine's defense capabilities will provide new tools for the de-occupation of our land and bringing peace closer," he said on Twitter late Friday.

As reported, on Friday, Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl at a press briefing at the Pentagon announced that a new arms aid package worth about $800 million, which will include 155-mm cluster shells, has been sent to Ukraine.
By Express News Service

HYDERABAD: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday laid foundation stones for several infrastructure development projects worth around Rs 6,100 crore here during his Telangana visit.

PM Modi after laying the foundation stone for the Kazipet Railway Manufacturing (Wagon Periodic Overhauling) Unit commented that it will become yet another success story if the 'Make in India' initiative.

He laid the foundation-stone for construction of the railways manufacturing unit, four-lane Karimnagar-Warangal National Highway 563 and four-lane Greenfield Highway from Mancherial to Warangal, at a programme held in Arts and Science College Grounds in Hanamkonda.

Addressing the public meeting, he said that the country has been witnessing a 'golden period' in this phase of the 21st Century and that every second needed to be fully utilised, without being left behind in grabbing any opportunity.

"With new goals we need to find new pathways. We have been working on increasing both speed and scale. We have formed a maze of connectivity and infrastructural development through highways, expressways, economic corridors and industrial corridors," he said.

Disclosing that 2,500 km long roads are being laid under the 'Bharat Mala Pariyojana,' he said that among the 12 national highways being constructed under the project, some of them will pass through Telangana as well.

Among those are Hyderabad-Indore, Hyderabad-Panaji and Surat Chennai economic corridors, and Hyderabad-Visakhapatnam inter-corridor, he said.

Speaking at launch of development initiatives in Warangal. The projects will significantly benefit the people of Telangana. https://t.co/NEWqkmH4uC  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 8, 2023

He said that the Mancherial-Warangal national highway will not only reduce the distance considerably but will also address the traffic congestion problem through its multi-model connectivity vision and that the Nagpur-Vijayawada national highway will establish a modern connectivity between Telangana, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh.

"With this connectivity industries, tourism and heritage centres in this area will develop, agri-based jobs will be created and the granite industry in Karimnagar will prosper," he observed, adding that the farmers, youth and professionals will largely benefit from these efforts.

Talking about the Production-linked Incentive Scheme (PLI) in the Make in India campaign, he said that 50 projects under it were running in Telangana alone.

"The people of Telangana have largely contributed to boosting India's capacity and making it the 5th largest economy in the world. When the entire world is showing interest in investing in our country, there will be many opportunities created in Telangana," he pointed out.

Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari, Union Tourism Minister and newly-appointed president of BJP in Telangana G Kishan Reddy, BJP MP Bandi Sanjay Kumar and other leaders were present on the occasion.

Speaking on the occasion, Gadkari said Modi has given the highest priority to infrastructure development in the country. He further said Rs 1.10 lakh crore worth of infrastructure projects so far either completed or ongoing or started in Telangana.

"I am confident that by the end of 2024, Telangana will have projects worth Rs 2 lakh crore in the state," the Union Minister said.

The projects for which the foundation stone was laid include a railway wagon manufacturing unit to be developed at a cost of over Rs 500 crore. The modern manufacturing unit will have enhanced wagon manufacturing capacity.

It will help in employment generation and development of ancillary units in nearby areas, an official release said.

Earlier, Modi offered prayers at the famous Goddess Bhadrakali temple in historic Warangal, the capital of Kakatiya kingdom.

Modi, who was accompanied by Union Tourism Minister and newly-appointed Telangana BJP president G Kishan Reddy and other leaders, offered prayers at the temple.

Earlier in the day, the PM arrived in Hyderabad by a special aircraft and reached Warangal in a chopper.

ALSO READ | PM Modi departs UP after whirlwind trip; Telangana, Rajasthan visits on agenda for July 8

Before leaving for Warangal Modi tweeted: "Leaving for Warangal to attend a programme where we will inaugurate or lay the foundation stone for development works worth over Rs.6100 crores. These works cover different sectors ranging from highways to railways. They will benefit the people of Telangana."

Alleging that the NDA government at the Centre has been "anti-Telangana" in the last 9 years, ruling BRS Working President K T Rama Rao had said his party would "boycott" Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the state on July 8.

(With inputs from PTI)

HYDERABAD: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday laid foundation stones for several infrastructure development projects worth around Rs 6,100 crore here during his Telangana visit. PM Modi after laying the foundation stone for the Kazipet Railway Manufacturing (Wagon Periodic Overhauling) Unit commented that it will become yet another success story if the 'Make in India' initiative. He laid the foundation-stone for construction of the railways manufacturing unit, four-lane Karimnagar-Warangal National Highway 563 and four-lane Greenfield Highway from Mancherial to Warangal, at a programme held in Arts and Science College Grounds in Hanamkonda.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Addressing the public meeting, he said that the country has been witnessing a 'golden period' in this phase of the 21st Century and that every second needed to be fully utilised, without being left behind in grabbing any opportunity. "With new goals we need to find new pathways. We have been working on increasing both speed and scale. We have formed a maze of connectivity and infrastructural development through highways, expressways, economic corridors and industrial corridors," he said. Disclosing that 2,500 km long roads are being laid under the 'Bharat Mala Pariyojana,' he said that among the 12 national highways being constructed under the project, some of them will pass through Telangana as well. Among those are Hyderabad-Indore, Hyderabad-Panaji and Surat Chennai economic corridors, and Hyderabad-Visakhapatnam inter-corridor, he said. Speaking at launch of development initiatives in Warangal. The projects will significantly benefit the people of Telangana. https://t.co/NEWqkmH4uC  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 8, 2023 He said that the Mancherial-Warangal national highway will not only reduce the distance considerably but will also address the traffic congestion problem through its multi-model connectivity vision and that the Nagpur-Vijayawada national highway will establish a modern connectivity between Telangana, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh. "With this connectivity industries, tourism and heritage centres in this area will develop, agri-based jobs will be created and the granite industry in Karimnagar will prosper," he observed, adding that the farmers, youth and professionals will largely benefit from these efforts. Talking about the Production-linked Incentive Scheme (PLI) in the Make in India campaign, he said that 50 projects under it were running in Telangana alone. "The people of Telangana have largely contributed to boosting India's capacity and making it the 5th largest economy in the world. When the entire world is showing interest in investing in our country, there will be many opportunities created in Telangana," he pointed out. Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari, Union Tourism Minister and newly-appointed president of BJP in Telangana G Kishan Reddy, BJP MP Bandi Sanjay Kumar and other leaders were present on the occasion. Speaking on the occasion, Gadkari said Modi has given the highest priority to infrastructure development in the country. He further said Rs 1.10 lakh crore worth of infrastructure projects so far either completed or ongoing or started in Telangana. "I am confident that by the end of 2024, Telangana will have projects worth Rs 2 lakh crore in the state," the Union Minister said. The projects for which the foundation stone was laid include a railway wagon manufacturing unit to be developed at a cost of over Rs 500 crore. The modern manufacturing unit will have enhanced wagon manufacturing capacity. It will help in employment generation and development of ancillary units in nearby areas, an official release said. Earlier, Modi offered prayers at the famous Goddess Bhadrakali temple in historic Warangal, the capital of Kakatiya kingdom. Modi, who was accompanied by Union Tourism Minister and newly-appointed Telangana BJP president G Kishan Reddy and other leaders, offered prayers at the temple. Earlier in the day, the PM arrived in Hyderabad by a special aircraft and reached Warangal in a chopper. ALSO READ | PM Modi departs UP after whirlwind trip; Telangana, Rajasthan visits on agenda for July 8 Before leaving for Warangal Modi tweeted: "Leaving for Warangal to attend a programme where we will inaugurate or lay the foundation stone for development works worth over Rs.6100 crores. These works cover different sectors ranging from highways to railways. They will benefit the people of Telangana." Alleging that the NDA government at the Centre has been "anti-Telangana" in the last 9 years, ruling BRS Working President K T Rama Rao had said his party would "boycott" Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the state on July 8. (With inputs from PTI)
Renuka Kalpana By

Express News Service

With global temperatures rising, countries in South and Southeast Asia are being forced to take mitigation measures, including in the agricultural and fishing sectors. Each passing year adds to the evidence that rising temperatures, shifting precipitation patterns and extreme weather events are profoundly impacting these two sectors.

If we were to classify the stages of climate change on a scale from zero to five, the world has already surpassed stage 3.5," says Divya Nawale, an Indian climate change activist involved in climate policy initiatives for the United Nations under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

According to the Paris Climate Accords, the objective is to limit global temperature rise to below 2C, with an aspirational target of 1.5C.

But, says Divya, We have already exceeded 1.2C. Taking into account the current rate of emissions, it is plausible that we could bridge the remaining 0.3C within the next decade.

Agriculture is integral to the socioeconomic fabric of Southeast Asian countries, ensuring food security, promoting rural development, driving economic growth and contributing to environmental sustainability. Additionally, farming is also critical for the region's sustainable development amid challenges like climate change and population growth. For instance, in Malaysia, agriculture accounts for 12% of the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP), largely driven by palm oil production, making it the world's second-largest producer and exporter after Indonesia. In Laos, agriculture represented 16.07% of the GDP in 2021 and is expected to grow at a rate of 2.5%, reaching 17.2% by 2023. Vietnam, particularly the vulnerable Mekong Delta, faces the brunt of climate change.

The Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) underscores the need to address the far-reaching consequences of climate change on agriculture. The AR6 highlights the vulnerabilities of global food systems and emphasises the pressing need for adaptation and mitigation strategies to safeguard food production and ensure global food security in the face of a climate crisis.

The Impact Media Fellowship 2023, organised by the Singapore International Foundation (SIF), brings together six journalists from diverse backgrounds to delve into the impact of climate change within their respective countries. Through extensive interviews with experts, interactions with farmers and conversations with fishermen, these journalists, namely Renuka Kalpana from India, Luqman Hakim from Malaysia, Valy Phommachak from Laos, Yogi Eka Sahputra from Indonesia and Fakhruradzi Ismail from Singapore, aim to comprehend the impact of the climate crisis on their respective nations.

Rising temperatures and agricultural challenges

India and Laos, two countries with large agricultural communities and influence, are experiencing the adverse impacts of climate change. A recent study conducted by the University of Hyderabad (UoH), the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras and the India Meteorological Department (IMD) reveals that heatwaves have become more frequent in India, while winters have become milder. This trend has serious implications for the country's agricultural productivity, especially in states like Haryana and Punjab, which are known for their grain production.

Sandeep Khanda, a farmer from Khanda village in Haryana, has witnessed the shifting seasons firsthand. Typically, winters extend until April, allowing farmers to harvest their crops and celebrate Baisakhi, the harvest festival which usually falls in mid-April. However, this year, an early onset of summer in February, accompanied by extreme rainfall in April, disrupted the harvest and caused financial losses for farmers like Sandeep.

Similarly, in Laos, agricultural activities and deforestation contribute significantly to global warming. The practice of slash-and-burn agriculture, which involves clearing vegetation and shifting to new forestlands, has led to deforestation, loss of biodiversity, soil erosion and water contamination. Farmers, who often practise this method on their lands, face blame for these environmental consequences. However, larger corporations and firms that support and promote these practices also bear responsibility, underline experts. In Laos, the reliance on agricultural activities exacerbates global warming and its associated environmental challenges.

ALSO READ | Toxic Mash: Air, Water, Food and Climate Change

Meanwhile in Malaysia, rising temperatures impact palm oil production, causing reduced fruit production and financial losses for palm oil operators like Jasman Juraimi.

"When it gets too hot, there are no fruits for us to pick which causes the price to drop. Our profits can even decrease to about 40%. The suitable condition for these trees is a temperature that feels damp. It cannot be too hot because then, we won't be able to fertilise the trees, he mentions.

Fertiliser dependency and environmental concerns

The issue of fertilisers is not restricted to any one country in south-east Asia. As the visible effects of climate change have become more pronounced in recent years, farmers like Sandeep Khanda have witnessed a decline in soil fertility. In response, farmers have resorted to using more toxic fertilisers to boost production and mitigate losses. Unfortunately, this has had negative consequences for both farmers and agricultural labourers, Khanda said.

Additionally, in Malaysia, the use of fertilisers on palm trees containing nitrogen compounds aggravates the effects of the already hot climate. While nitrogen is essential for plant growth and protein formation, excessive nitrogen can harm plants. Palm oil operator Jasman acknowledges the challenges faced by plants in very dry soils, as fertilisers may not be readily accessible to them. Fertilisers are not accessible to plants in very dry soils. But without fertiliser, they produce fewer fruits which are difficult for us, said Jasman. To combat these challenges, he employs nature-based solutions such as planting ferns to provide shade and natural mitigation on his plantation.

Despite their geographical distance, the experiences of farmers in India and Malaysia reflect a common struggle in adapting to the changing climate and maintaining agricultural productivity. The reliance on fertilisers, both toxic and nitrogen-based, underscores the need for sustainable and climate-resilient farming practices in both countries.

Unpredictable weather patterns

Moreover, the impact of climate change connects the experiences of farmers and fishermen in different regions, highlighting the challenges they face due to changing weather patterns and extreme events. Climate change has led to erratic weather patterns, making it challenging for Indonesian fishermen to catch fish negatively impacting their livelihoods. As per the experiences of fishermen, Coastal seas and small islands also continue to experience the threat of climate disasters.

In Indonesia, fishermen and coastal communities, such as those in the Riau Islands, are experiencing the impact of climate change firsthand. Erratic weather patterns make fishing unpredictable and reduce catch sizes, affecting the livelihoods of fishermen like Abu Hurairah. After going out to the sea for years, many like Abu had developed an instinct for predicting weather patterns. However, the situation has changed completely in recent times. "We could anticipate when it was going to rain. Our predictions about storms used to be accurate most of the time," Abu says, adding that the unpredictable weather has reduced the amount of catch in each trip.

He has become increasingly concerned about the risks since he also supports his family. "The north-wind season used to last until March, but now the time is uncertain," Abu says. Although a weather forecasting application is available, it does not fully help fishermen, he adds.

The changing climate also brings the risk of floods, which can cause significant losses for palm oil farmers in Malaysia. Floods not only destroy saplings and damage grown trees but also disrupt the production cycle, requiring at least two years for the trees to recover and resume fruit production. "Of course, the saplings will be destroyed when they are flooded and the grown trees will be damaged. This hurts our operational cost," Jasman, the palm oil operator, said.



In India, Lakshmibai Jangu Atram, a member of the Kolam tribal community from Sonapur village in Maharashtra, had high hopes for resin production this year. However, sudden stormy rainfall in late December washed away her expectations, damaging not only the resin production but also the pigeon pea crops cultivated by her neighbour Sitabai Sudam Atram. This trend of decreasing agricultural production has been observed by tribal communities over the past six years, exacerbating the already limited yields from dryland farms.

The consequences of climate change on agriculture and fishing are evident in these regions. Farmers and fishermen bear the brunt of unpredictable weather, decreased productivity, increased production expenses and reduced profits. Addressing climate change impacts and supporting these communities will require not only improved infrastructure and forecasting systems but also sustainable farming practices and adaptation measures to build resilience in the face of changing climatic conditions, assert experts.

Policy measures to address climate challenges

Farmers and fishermen, as keen observers of their surroundings, have devised certain solutions to counter the increasing challenges, but in the face of climate change, these efforts seem inadequate. In India, farmers have traditionally relied on homemade fertilisers, but these are no longer effective due to climate change. The government needs to intervene by providing planning tools and funding to scale up sustainable agricultural practices that can withstand the changing climate, experts emphasise.

ALSO READ | Climate change and the anthropocene extinction

Moh Abdi Suhufan, the national coordinator of Destructive Fishing Watch (DFW) Indonesia, points out the importance of local governments taking action to protect small fishermen from the effects of climate change. This includes providing them with data and information on the specific vulnerabilities they will face and conducting comprehensive awareness campaigns to help them anticipate and adapt to these changes, he adds.

Additionally, regional climate change adaptation and mitigation plans should incorporate targeted actions that address the environmental, social, and economic concerns of fishermen, experts opine, adding that at the central level, there should be a consolidation of planning and budgets from various sources to prioritise and synergistically support vulnerable areas and the livelihoods of fishermen.

DFW's analysis in Kolono Bay, South Konawe, and Southeast Sulawesi reveals that climate change has led to coastal erosion, posing a threat to the settlements of fishermen. Similar reports have emerged from Kendari City, where rising seawater levels have started to infiltrate fishermen's houses along the coast. These examples highlight the urgent need for proactive measures to protect coastal communities and ensure their resilience in the face of climate change.

Greenhouse agriculture in Vietnam offers a viable solution to combat climate change. By implementing green agriculture practices, which involve the efficient utilisation of resources and the application of advanced technologies, Vietnam aims to increase agricultural productivity while minimising input usage and greenhouse gas emissions. According to Dao The Anh, deputy director of the Vietnam Academy of Agricultural Sciences, green agriculture optimises resource allocation to produce higher-quality food with fewer inputs.

The awareness of climate change's impact on farming has also grown among farmers like Khuat Huu Duong from Xuan Nha commune in Son La province. Previously unaware of the environmental consequences of burning fields, fertilisation and herbicide use, Duong now understands the importance of proper fertilisation techniques and preserving vegetation.

Farmers in provinces like Hai Duong adapt their practices to cope with intense heat, planting crops at night or in the early morning. By adjusting transplanting schedules, maintaining the deep water supply and handling seedlings carefully, farmers can mitigate the adverse effects of hot weather on their crops. Through greenhouse agriculture, Vietnam demonstrates its commitment to sustainable practices that protect the environment, improve farmers' livelihoods, and contribute to climate change mitigation.

Singapore has introduced an innovative solution to enhance its food security through the cultivation of climate-resistant Temasek rice. In a pilot project, the resilient rice variety was harvested at a vertical high-tech farm in a residential area. Although currently reserved for research and development at the Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory, the successful cultivation demonstrates the potential for growing crops in urban farm settings.

The countrys minister for social and family development, Masagos Zulkifli, emphasises the importance of community involvement, with Tampines residents actively contributing food waste for composting to support vegetable growth at the facility. While these initiatives are commendable, Singapore recognises the need for further advancements.

The nation's heavy dependence on food imports necessitates a shift towards more sustainable practices and localised production. By raising awareness, implementing eco-friendly approaches, and incentivizing local food production and distribution, Singapore aims to bolster its food system's resilience and secure its future food security.

In conclusion, the development and implementation of national adaptation plans in south-east Asian countries are crucial steps towards addressing the challenges posed by climate change. These plans encompass a range of strategies, including sustainable agriculture, resilient infrastructure, ecosystem conservation and community engagement.

By prioritising adaptation measures and integrating climate resilience into policies and programs, south-east Asian nations can better protect their populations, economies and ecosystems from the impacts of climate change. Collaborative efforts, knowledge sharing and international support are essential in ensuring the success of these adaptation plans and building a more resilient future for the region.

With global temperatures rising, countries in South and Southeast Asia are being forced to take mitigation measures, including in the agricultural and fishing sectors. Each passing year adds to the evidence that rising temperatures, shifting precipitation patterns and extreme weather events are profoundly impacting these two sectors. If we were to classify the stages of climate change on a scale from zero to five, the world has already surpassed stage 3.5," says Divya Nawale, an Indian climate change activist involved in climate policy initiatives for the United Nations under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). According to the Paris Climate Accords, the objective is to limit global temperature rise to below 2C, with an aspirational target of 1.5C.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); But, says Divya, We have already exceeded 1.2C. Taking into account the current rate of emissions, it is plausible that we could bridge the remaining 0.3C within the next decade. Agriculture is integral to the socioeconomic fabric of Southeast Asian countries, ensuring food security, promoting rural development, driving economic growth and contributing to environmental sustainability. Additionally, farming is also critical for the region's sustainable development amid challenges like climate change and population growth. For instance, in Malaysia, agriculture accounts for 12% of the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP), largely driven by palm oil production, making it the world's second-largest producer and exporter after Indonesia. In Laos, agriculture represented 16.07% of the GDP in 2021 and is expected to grow at a rate of 2.5%, reaching 17.2% by 2023. Vietnam, particularly the vulnerable Mekong Delta, faces the brunt of climate change. The Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) underscores the need to address the far-reaching consequences of climate change on agriculture. The AR6 highlights the vulnerabilities of global food systems and emphasises the pressing need for adaptation and mitigation strategies to safeguard food production and ensure global food security in the face of a climate crisis. The Impact Media Fellowship 2023, organised by the Singapore International Foundation (SIF), brings together six journalists from diverse backgrounds to delve into the impact of climate change within their respective countries. Through extensive interviews with experts, interactions with farmers and conversations with fishermen, these journalists, namely Renuka Kalpana from India, Luqman Hakim from Malaysia, Valy Phommachak from Laos, Yogi Eka Sahputra from Indonesia and Fakhruradzi Ismail from Singapore, aim to comprehend the impact of the climate crisis on their respective nations. Rising temperatures and agricultural challenges India and Laos, two countries with large agricultural communities and influence, are experiencing the adverse impacts of climate change. A recent study conducted by the University of Hyderabad (UoH), the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras and the India Meteorological Department (IMD) reveals that heatwaves have become more frequent in India, while winters have become milder. This trend has serious implications for the country's agricultural productivity, especially in states like Haryana and Punjab, which are known for their grain production. Sandeep Khanda, a farmer from Khanda village in Haryana, has witnessed the shifting seasons firsthand. Typically, winters extend until April, allowing farmers to harvest their crops and celebrate Baisakhi, the harvest festival which usually falls in mid-April. However, this year, an early onset of summer in February, accompanied by extreme rainfall in April, disrupted the harvest and caused financial losses for farmers like Sandeep. Similarly, in Laos, agricultural activities and deforestation contribute significantly to global warming. The practice of slash-and-burn agriculture, which involves clearing vegetation and shifting to new forestlands, has led to deforestation, loss of biodiversity, soil erosion and water contamination. Farmers, who often practise this method on their lands, face blame for these environmental consequences. However, larger corporations and firms that support and promote these practices also bear responsibility, underline experts. In Laos, the reliance on agricultural activities exacerbates global warming and its associated environmental challenges. ALSO READ | Toxic Mash: Air, Water, Food and Climate Change Meanwhile in Malaysia, rising temperatures impact palm oil production, causing reduced fruit production and financial losses for palm oil operators like Jasman Juraimi. "When it gets too hot, there are no fruits for us to pick which causes the price to drop. Our profits can even decrease to about 40%. The suitable condition for these trees is a temperature that feels damp. It cannot be too hot because then, we won't be able to fertilise the trees, he mentions. Fertiliser dependency and environmental concerns The issue of fertilisers is not restricted to any one country in south-east Asia. As the visible effects of climate change have become more pronounced in recent years, farmers like Sandeep Khanda have witnessed a decline in soil fertility. In response, farmers have resorted to using more toxic fertilisers to boost production and mitigate losses. Unfortunately, this has had negative consequences for both farmers and agricultural labourers, Khanda said. Additionally, in Malaysia, the use of fertilisers on palm trees containing nitrogen compounds aggravates the effects of the already hot climate. While nitrogen is essential for plant growth and protein formation, excessive nitrogen can harm plants. Palm oil operator Jasman acknowledges the challenges faced by plants in very dry soils, as fertilisers may not be readily accessible to them. Fertilisers are not accessible to plants in very dry soils. But without fertiliser, they produce fewer fruits which are difficult for us, said Jasman. To combat these challenges, he employs nature-based solutions such as planting ferns to provide shade and natural mitigation on his plantation. Despite their geographical distance, the experiences of farmers in India and Malaysia reflect a common struggle in adapting to the changing climate and maintaining agricultural productivity. The reliance on fertilisers, both toxic and nitrogen-based, underscores the need for sustainable and climate-resilient farming practices in both countries. Unpredictable weather patterns Moreover, the impact of climate change connects the experiences of farmers and fishermen in different regions, highlighting the challenges they face due to changing weather patterns and extreme events. Climate change has led to erratic weather patterns, making it challenging for Indonesian fishermen to catch fish negatively impacting their livelihoods. As per the experiences of fishermen, Coastal seas and small islands also continue to experience the threat of climate disasters. In Indonesia, fishermen and coastal communities, such as those in the Riau Islands, are experiencing the impact of climate change firsthand. Erratic weather patterns make fishing unpredictable and reduce catch sizes, affecting the livelihoods of fishermen like Abu Hurairah. After going out to the sea for years, many like Abu had developed an instinct for predicting weather patterns. However, the situation has changed completely in recent times. "We could anticipate when it was going to rain. Our predictions about storms used to be accurate most of the time," Abu says, adding that the unpredictable weather has reduced the amount of catch in each trip. He has become increasingly concerned about the risks since he also supports his family. "The north-wind season used to last until March, but now the time is uncertain," Abu says. Although a weather forecasting application is available, it does not fully help fishermen, he adds. The changing climate also brings the risk of floods, which can cause significant losses for palm oil farmers in Malaysia. Floods not only destroy saplings and damage grown trees but also disrupt the production cycle, requiring at least two years for the trees to recover and resume fruit production. "Of course, the saplings will be destroyed when they are flooded and the grown trees will be damaged. This hurts our operational cost," Jasman, the palm oil operator, said. In India, Lakshmibai Jangu Atram, a member of the Kolam tribal community from Sonapur village in Maharashtra, had high hopes for resin production this year. However, sudden stormy rainfall in late December washed away her expectations, damaging not only the resin production but also the pigeon pea crops cultivated by her neighbour Sitabai Sudam Atram. This trend of decreasing agricultural production has been observed by tribal communities over the past six years, exacerbating the already limited yields from dryland farms. The consequences of climate change on agriculture and fishing are evident in these regions. Farmers and fishermen bear the brunt of unpredictable weather, decreased productivity, increased production expenses and reduced profits. Addressing climate change impacts and supporting these communities will require not only improved infrastructure and forecasting systems but also sustainable farming practices and adaptation measures to build resilience in the face of changing climatic conditions, assert experts. Policy measures to address climate challenges Farmers and fishermen, as keen observers of their surroundings, have devised certain solutions to counter the increasing challenges, but in the face of climate change, these efforts seem inadequate. In India, farmers have traditionally relied on homemade fertilisers, but these are no longer effective due to climate change. The government needs to intervene by providing planning tools and funding to scale up sustainable agricultural practices that can withstand the changing climate, experts emphasise. ALSO READ | Climate change and the anthropocene extinction Moh Abdi Suhufan, the national coordinator of Destructive Fishing Watch (DFW) Indonesia, points out the importance of local governments taking action to protect small fishermen from the effects of climate change. This includes providing them with data and information on the specific vulnerabilities they will face and conducting comprehensive awareness campaigns to help them anticipate and adapt to these changes, he adds. Additionally, regional climate change adaptation and mitigation plans should incorporate targeted actions that address the environmental, social, and economic concerns of fishermen, experts opine, adding that at the central level, there should be a consolidation of planning and budgets from various sources to prioritise and synergistically support vulnerable areas and the livelihoods of fishermen. DFW's analysis in Kolono Bay, South Konawe, and Southeast Sulawesi reveals that climate change has led to coastal erosion, posing a threat to the settlements of fishermen. Similar reports have emerged from Kendari City, where rising seawater levels have started to infiltrate fishermen's houses along the coast. These examples highlight the urgent need for proactive measures to protect coastal communities and ensure their resilience in the face of climate change. Greenhouse agriculture in Vietnam offers a viable solution to combat climate change. By implementing green agriculture practices, which involve the efficient utilisation of resources and the application of advanced technologies, Vietnam aims to increase agricultural productivity while minimising input usage and greenhouse gas emissions. According to Dao The Anh, deputy director of the Vietnam Academy of Agricultural Sciences, green agriculture optimises resource allocation to produce higher-quality food with fewer inputs. The awareness of climate change's impact on farming has also grown among farmers like Khuat Huu Duong from Xuan Nha commune in Son La province. Previously unaware of the environmental consequences of burning fields, fertilisation and herbicide use, Duong now understands the importance of proper fertilisation techniques and preserving vegetation. Farmers in provinces like Hai Duong adapt their practices to cope with intense heat, planting crops at night or in the early morning. By adjusting transplanting schedules, maintaining the deep water supply and handling seedlings carefully, farmers can mitigate the adverse effects of hot weather on their crops. Through greenhouse agriculture, Vietnam demonstrates its commitment to sustainable practices that protect the environment, improve farmers' livelihoods, and contribute to climate change mitigation. Singapore has introduced an innovative solution to enhance its food security through the cultivation of climate-resistant Temasek rice. In a pilot project, the resilient rice variety was harvested at a vertical high-tech farm in a residential area. Although currently reserved for research and development at the Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory, the successful cultivation demonstrates the potential for growing crops in urban farm settings. The countrys minister for social and family development, Masagos Zulkifli, emphasises the importance of community involvement, with Tampines residents actively contributing food waste for composting to support vegetable growth at the facility. While these initiatives are commendable, Singapore recognises the need for further advancements. The nation's heavy dependence on food imports necessitates a shift towards more sustainable practices and localised production. By raising awareness, implementing eco-friendly approaches, and incentivizing local food production and distribution, Singapore aims to bolster its food system's resilience and secure its future food security. In conclusion, the development and implementation of national adaptation plans in south-east Asian countries are crucial steps towards addressing the challenges posed by climate change. These plans encompass a range of strategies, including sustainable agriculture, resilient infrastructure, ecosystem conservation and community engagement. By prioritising adaptation measures and integrating climate resilience into policies and programs, south-east Asian nations can better protect their populations, economies and ecosystems from the impacts of climate change. Collaborative efforts, knowledge sharing and international support are essential in ensuring the success of these adaptation plans and building a more resilient future for the region.
UAE President congratulates President-Elect of Paraguay

Abu Dhabi, July 7: UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Friday made a phone call to Santiago Pena, President-Elect of the Republic of Paraguay, to congratulate him on his recent election win.

UAE President congratulates President-Elect of Paraguay

Sheikh Mohamed wished Pena every success in leading Paraguay and its people to ongoing progress and development, and expressed his hope that the two leaders will work together to further strengthen ties between the UAE and Paraguay for the benefit of both countries.The President-Elect of Paraguay thanked UAE President for his congratulations and conveyed his shared interest in developing bilateral relations to accelerate both nations' development ambitions. (ANI/WAM)ANI07 July 2023

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Udyog Bharat introduces Professional Digital Marketing Courses for Career Growth

SRV Media, New Delhi, July 7: Udyog Bharat, a leading provider of educational and professional development programs, is thrilled to announce the launch of its comprehensive Digital Marketing courses.

Udyog Bharat introduces Professional Digital Marketing Courses for Career Growth

Designed to meet the growing demand for skilled digital marketers in today's technology-driven business landscape, these courses provide individuals with the essential knowledge and practical skills necessary to excel in the field of digital marketing.With the rapid growth of online platforms and the increasing reliance on digital channels for marketing and communication, businesses across all industries are seeking professionals who can effectively navigate the digital landscape and drive targeted results. Recognizing this need, Udyog Bharat has developed a series of specialized courses that encompass the latest industry trends and best practices.The Digital Marketing courses offered by Udyog Bharat cover a wide range of topics, including search engine optimization (SEO), pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, social media marketing, content marketing, email marketing, web analytics, and more. Taught by experienced industry experts, these courses combine theoretical concepts with hands-on practical exercises, enabling participants to gain valuable real-world experience."Digital marketing has become an integral part of every business strategy, and there is a high demand for professionals who possess the right skill set," said Sudhin Mandanna, CEO of Udyog Bharat. "At Udyog Bharat, we are committed to equipping individuals with the knowledge and practical skills required to succeed in the digital marketing landscape. Our courses are designed to provide a comprehensive understanding of digital marketing strategies and techniques, empowering participants to excel in their careers."Udyog Bharat's Digital Marketing courses cater to individuals from diverse backgrounds, including marketing professionals, business owners, entrepreneurs, and recent graduates seeking to enhance their skill set. The courses are offered in flexible formats, including in-person classes and online learning modules, allowing participants to choose the mode that best suits their schedule and preferences.Upon successful completion of the Digital Marketing courses, participants will receive a globally recognized certification from Udyog Bharat, highlighting their proficiency in the field. This certification serves as a testament to their expertise and enhances their employability prospects in the digital marketing industry.Enrolment for Udyog Bharat's Digital Marketing courses is now open, and interested individuals are encouraged to visit the official website at for more information and to secure their spot in the upcoming batches.Udyog Bharat is a leading provider of educational and professional development programs, committed to equipping individuals with the knowledge and skills required to thrive in today's competitive business environment. With a wide range of courses and expert instructors, Udyog Bharat strives to deliver high-quality education and training solutions that empower individuals to achieve their career goals.(Disclaimer The above press release has been provided by SRV Media. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same)ANI07 July 2023

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Renowned artist Vasudevan Namboothiri passes away in Malappuram

Thiruvananthapuram, July 7: Renowned artist Karuvattu Mana Vasudevan Namboothiri popularly known as artist Namboothiri passed away on Friday morning. He was 98.

Renowned artist Vasudevan Namboothiri passes away in Malappuram

He was undergoing treatment for age-related ailments in a private hospital in Malappuram district.Artist Namboothiri served in various newspapers and worked as an art director in a few films. He portrayed several important characters in Malayalam cinema.Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Legislative Assembly speaker A.N. Shamseer, and Union Minister for State V Muraleedharan expressed their condolences on his death.Congress MP Shashi Tharoor also mourned the demise of the legendary artist. "Mourning the passing of legendary Kerala artist Namboothiri at the age of 97. After a lifetime of drawing in black and white (his illustrations were famed across the state), at age 82 he took up colour and dazzled the world with works of vivid exuberance. A special talent. #OmShanti," Tharoor tweeted.ANI07 July 2023

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US Treasury Secretary expresses concern over Chinas new export controls

Beijing, July 7: US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Thursday expressed concern over China's newly unveiled export controls on two strategic raw materials critical to the global chipmaking industry, CNN reported.

US Treasury Secretary expresses concern over China's new export controls

She made the remarks while speaking to a group of executives in China on the first day of her trip to the country.The matter pertains to the curbs imposed by Beijing on overseas sales of gallium and germanium, elements essential to making semiconductors.On Monday, China imposed curbs on overseas sales of gallium and germanium, elements essential to making semiconductorsBeijing's move has become a growing source of friction between the world's top two economies. The move was widely seen as a response to the Biden administration's ban on advanced chip sales to China, which was announced in October last year, CNN reported."I am...concerned about new export controls recently announced by China on two critical minerals used in technologies like semiconductors," CNN quoted Yellen as saying at a meeting of American business people in Beijing."We are still evaluating the impact of these actions, but they remind us of the importance of building resilient and diversified supply chains," she added.Earlier in the day, Yellen met Liu He, a former vice premier and previously her Chinese counterpart. She also met Yi Gang, governor of China's central bank.Yellen's trip follows US President Joe Biden's directive after his meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jiping last November to deepen communication between the US and China on a range of issues, including on the global macroeconomy and financial developments, the Treasury Department said in a statement on Sunday.Along with other US officials, Yellen has long signalled the Biden administration's desire to deepen communication and lower the temperature between the world's top two economies, CNN reported.In April, Yellen in a testimony to the Congress stressed the importance of maintaining ties with China and said that "decoupling would be a big mistake,".Raising further concerns over the alleged human rights abuses in China and questionable trade policies, Yellen said that these issues must be "addressed."In June, she told a group of top American CEOs that it is critical for the US to work with China on specific and urgent global challenges, CNN reported.ANI07 July 2023

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NSA Ajit Doval, UK counterpart Tim Barrow agree to enhance cooperation to address violent extremism, radicalism

New Delhi, July 7: National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and his UK counterpart Tim Barrow on Friday agreed to enhance India-UK cooperation to address violent extremism and radicalism. The two sides agreed that there can be no justification for violent extremism and radicalization in a democracy.

NSA Ajit Doval, UK counterpart Tim Barrow agree to enhance cooperation to address violent extremism, radicalism

The two National Security Advisors (NSA) on Friday met for restricted discussions on regional and global issues of mutual interest. This was followed by delegation-level talks where both countries reaffirmed their close strategic partnership and agreed to accord maximum priority to further enhance security linkages, as per sources.The Indian side raised the issue of the extremist elements in the UK threatening individual officers of the Indian High Commission and urged the UK Government to take strong public action against these elements such as deportation or legal prosecution.Both sides agreed to work closely on counter-terrorism, counter-terror financing, use of the internet for terrorism purposes, illicit drug trafficking and counter-radicalisation.The two sides agreed to deepen mutually beneficial collaboration in critical and emerging technologies.Tim Barrow is on an official visit to India for the India-UK Strategic Dialogue on the invitation of NSA Ajit Doval. He is accompanied by a delegation of senior UK government officials.The two NSAs have engaged regularly in extensive discussions on a broad bilateral, regional and global agenda. The current visit will give them the opportunity to continue their high-level dialogue, which will include a review of the multi-faceted cooperation between the two countries as well as explore futuristic areas for technology collaboration, as per sources.Tim Barrow will during the visit also meet other dignitaries of the Government of India.ANI07 July 2023

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Zelenskyy thanks all the military for 500 days of fighting against Russian aggression

Today, on the 500th day of the full-scale invasion of Russia into the territory of Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked Ukrainian defenders for their fight against the occupiers.

The president recorded a video address on Zmiinyi Island, calling it the place of victory and honoring the memory of Ukrainian soldiers who fought for the island and liberated it.

"And although this is a small piece of land, in the middle of our Black Sea, this is a great proof that Ukraine will regain every part of its territory," Zelenskyy said.

"I want to thank from here, from this place of victory, to each of our soldiers for these 500 days: our armed forces, our intelligence, our National Guard, our border guards, the Security Service of Ukraine, the National Police, our signalmen, our people. I thank everyone, who fights for Ukraine," the president said.
Marg ERP Partners with National Skill Development Corporation to Empower 2000 Students Across India

PNN, New Delhi, July 7: Marg ERP, a leading provider of ERP solutions, is proud to announce its partnership with the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) to facilitate skill programs, offer internships, and develop courses tailored to industry needs.

Marg ERP Partners with National Skill Development Corporation to Empower 2000 Students Across India

This collaboration signifies a significant milestone for Marg ERP, opening doors to expand its reach and impact in the field of skill development.Under the Skill Embedded/Work Integrated Initiative, Marg ERP and NSDC have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on July 4th, 2023 with D Y Patil International University, Akurdi, Pune. This strategic partnership with D Y Patil International University as our University Partner will play a crucial role in bridging the gap between industry and academia. Together, we will develop futuristic course modules that incorporate Digital and Capstone Projects, ensuring that students are equipped with the latest skills and knowledge demanded by the industry.Through this collaboration, Marg ERP and NSDC aim to empower 2000 students across 750 cities in India by providing them with the necessary skills and opportunities to succeed in the 21st Century job market. Marg ERP will share its knowledge and expertise with students at renowned universities, imparting practical skills and training in ERP to equip individuals with the necessary tools to succeed in today's rapidly evolving business landscape.The partnership with NSDC will contribute to the development of skilled professionals in ERP, driving innovation and growth in various industries. Marg ERP's presence in top universities will shape the curriculum and ensure that students receive comprehensive and industry-relevant training in ERP."We are delighted to partner with Marg ERP," stated NSDC. "Their expertise and experience in ERP solutions make them an ideal collaborator to enhance skill development in this critical area. Together, we can create a skilled workforce that meets the demands of the evolving business environment."Marg ERP extends its heartfelt appreciation to everyone who has been part of this journey and contributed to the success of this collaboration. It is through the dedication and hard work of each team member that Marg ERP has achieved this significant milestone.As Marg ERP embarks on this new chapter, the company remains committed to driving innovation, empowering individuals, and creating a positive impact on the industry. This partnership with NSDC sets the stage for an exciting future in ERP education and skill development.Commenting on this, , Marg ERP Limited, said, "This MOU with NSDC is a dream come true for Marg ERP". We have always been committed to enhancing skill development, and this partnership will allow us to make a substantial difference on a larger scale. We are excited 'about the opportunities it presents and the positive impact it will have on the future of ERP education.of Marg ERP Limited, rightly acknowledges the remarkable progress Marg ERP has made through this partnership. By bridging the gap between academia and industry, this collaboration holds immense promise for skill development, technological innovation, and overall growth in the field of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP).of Marg ERP Limited, expresses his enthusiasm about the recent partnership between Marg ERP and the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC). This collaboration marks a significant milestone for Marg ERP, as it paves the way for the company to expand its reach and make a greater impact in the field of skill development.National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) is a not-for-profit public limited company incorporated on July 31, 2008, under Section 25 of the Companies Act, 1956 (corresponding to Section 8 of the Companies Act, 2013). NSDC was set up by the Ministry of Finance as Public Private Partnership (PPP) model.NSDC acts as a catalyst for skill development by providing funding to enterprises, companies, and organizations that provide skill training. It also develops appropriate models to enhance, support, and coordinate private sector initiatives.Marg ERP; a CMMI Level 3 and ISO Certified Company is a leader in inventory and accounting software with Digital Collection in India. The company has over one lakh active users and has captured 60 percent (structured and unstructured market) of the Pharma and FMCG industry.Marg ERP works with exclusive channel partners who further provide our software products and solutions to customers and has a presence in 28+ countries around the globe in 27+ Trade Segments with 1200+ Partners.Marg has always believed in adding value and sustainability to the ever-changing business environment and is a key player in serving both the SMEs and MSMEs.Media Relations and PR Person Vijay Malhotra - Marketing Head, Marg ERP Limited(Disclaimer The above press release has been provided by PNN. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same)ANI07 July 2023

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India sees slower pace of new investment projects

New Delhi, July 7: The moderation in the pace of new investments suggests that the capex cycle is not yet on a durable, self-sustaining path, foreign brokerage, Nomura said in a report.

India sees slower pace of new investment projects

Quarterly fluctuations aside, the size of new investment projects announced remains low by historical standards, it said.The latest data from the Centre for Monitoring the Indian Economy showed a slowdown in the pace of new investment projects announced in Q2 2023 to Rs 6 trillion from Rs 12.2 trillion in Q1, but up from Rs 5.8 trillion a year ago.On a 4-quarter rolling sum basis, new investments stood at 11.2 per cent of GDP in Q2, lower than the 11.4 per cent in Q1, but up from 9.6 per cent a year ago.On a 4-quarter sum basis, the pace of manufacturing investments has moderated to 4.2 per cent of GDP in Q2, from 4.9 per cent in Q1 and a peak of 6.3 per cent in Q4 2022, led by a moderation in the machinery, metals and chemical sectors, the report said.Infrastructure investments announced remain strong, and have risen to 6.4 per cent of GDP in Q2 from 5.8 per cent in Q1 and 4 per cent in Q4 2022, driven primarily by transport services, the report said.IANS08 July 2023

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IAF flying contingent departs for France to participate in Bastille Day celebrations

New Delhi, July 7: An Indian Air Force (IAF) flying contingent on Friday departed for France to participate in the Bastille Day Flypast celebrations.

IAF flying contingent departs for France to participate in Bastille Day celebrations

The IAF contingent includes four Rafale fighters, two C-17 Globemasters and 72 IAF personnel, as per a release issued by the Ministry of Defence.The flypast and marching by the IAF air warriors on Bastille Day follow a long association that the two nations share, especially in the field of air power.Many Indians like Welinkar, Shivdev Singh, HC Dewan and Jumbo Majumdar fought over the skies of France during the two World Wars.Some, like Jumbo Majumdar, were also decorated for their gallant action, over the Falaise Gap, during the terminal phase of World War II, as per the official release.The IAF has also operated multiple French aircraft starting with the Ouragan. This was followed by fighter aircraft like Breguet Alize, Mystere IVA, SEPECAT Jaguar, Mirage 2000 and now, the Rafale.Helicopters like the Alouette-III and Lama continue to render yeoman services to India, especially in the remote Himalayan areas. The IAF's marching contingent is commanded by Squadron Leader Sindhu Reddy, who is an accomplished helicopter pilot. She has also extensively flown the Alouette-III helicopter in her service, as per the official release.The professional ties between the two Air Forces have also been strengthened during flying exercises like Ex Desert Knight, Garuda and Orion. The IAF's Rafale aircraft, flying wings to wings with the FASF, is reflective of this strategic friendship spanning decades that continues to mature, both, on ground, as well as in air.Meanwhile, the tri-services contingent of the Indian Armed Forces marching alongside their French counterparts left for France on Thursday.The parade will witness a 269-member tri-services contingent of the Indian Armed Forces marching alongside their French counterparts, the Ministry of Defence said.The Fete Nationale Francaise is celebrated on July 15 or the National Day in France. It is also known as Bastille Day as this day is the anniversary of the Storming of the Bastille in 1789 during the French Revolution. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been invited as the Guest of Honour at the Bastille Day Parade in France.The Ministry further stated that the association of the Indian and the French Armies dates back to World War 1. Over 1.3 million Indian soldiers participated in the war and almost 74,000 of them fought in the muddy trenches to never return again, while another 67,000 were wounded. Indian troops valiantly fought on French soil also.ANI08 July 2023

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Uttarakhand makes encroachment on govt land a non-bailable offence

Dehradun, July 7: Uttarakhand Cabinet on Friday approved an ordinance making encroachment on government land a cognizable and non-bailable offence in the state.

Uttarakhand makes encroachment on govt land a non-bailable offence

Several other decisions were also taken in the State Cabinet meeting held at the Secretariat attended by Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami.During the meeting, a total of 33 subjects have been approved including the much-awaited Doon's Aadat Bazar market shifting policy which also the approval from the cabinet.CM Dhami also has given instructions to send proposals to the Center for the release of funds by fulfilling the utilization certificates and other requirements of centrally funded schemes.ANI08 July 2023

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42 Abu Dhabi celebrates 42 Networks international recognition

Abu Dhabi, July 7: 42 Abu Dhabi, the first GCC campus of the internationally renowned 42 Network of coding schools, celebrated the 42 Network's international recognition as the 6th Most Innovative University in the World's Universities with Real Impact (WURI) Global Top 100 Most Innovative Universities ranking.

42 Abu Dhabi celebrates 42 Network's international recognition

The 42 Network also ranked number one in the Ethical Value Category of the WURI Top 50.With this recognition, the 42 Network joins other esteemed institutions in the WURI rankings, including Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Stanford University. The World's Universities with Real Impact (WURI) evaluates the university's real contributions to society, highlighting creative and innovative approaches to universities' research and educational programmes.Marcos Muller Habig, Acting CEO of 42 Abu Dhabi, said, "This is an incredible achievement for the 42 Network, and we at 42 Abu Dhabi are honoured to be part of this milestone. This high ranking is a testament to the success of the network's revolutionary learning model which has equipped thousands of students around the world with essential digital skills.""As part of the 42 network, we at 42 Abu Dhabi are committed to continuing to innovate, grow, and create a learning environment that fosters creativity, innovation, and excellence. To do this, we look forward to working together with all our stakeholders towards our shared vision of creating a brighter future for our students and consolidating the UAE's leading and global position as a hub for coding and the digital economy," he added.42 Abu Dhabi, the UAE capital's innovative and disruptive coding school that provides a unique peer-to-peer, gamified learning methodology, was established in partnership with the Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge (ADEK) under the Ghadan 21 accelerator programme. (ANI/WAM)ANI08 July 2023

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Instagram Threads hits 30 mn users, Twitter CEO says we are often imitated

New Delhi, July 6: Alarmed at a steep rise in Instagram Threads' popularity that reached 30 million users within no time, Twitter CEO Linda Yaccarino on Thursday appealed to the Twitter community to stay together.

Instagram Threads hits 30 mn users, Twitter CEO says 'we are often imitated'

She said that on Twitter, everyone's voice matters.Whether you're here to watch history unfold, discover real-time information all over the world, share your opinions, or learn about others -- on Twitter you can be real, Yaccarino posted.You built the Twitter community. And that's irreplaceable. This is your public square, she added.Meanwhile, Meta's Twitter rival Threads amassed more than 3 crore users in a span of just 12 hours., according to the company's Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg.Yaccarino said that we are often imitated but the Twitter community can never be duplicated.A frustrated Twitter user replied to her I think we're about to find out it's actually pretty replaceable. You guys treated users too poorly.Zero per cent surprising they got to 30 million users in 12 hours. People have been searching for a life raft for months, posted Greg Kamstra.Zuckerberg said keeping the platform friendly will ultimately be the key to its success.IANS08 July 2023

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Google releases fix for 3 actively exploited bugs for Android

San Francisco, July 6: Google has released the monthly security updates for the Android operating system, which come with fixes for 46 vulnerabilities, along with the fix for three actively exploited bugs.A .

Google releases fix for 3 actively exploited bugs for Android

There are indications that the following may be under limited, targeted exploitation -- CVE-2023-26083, CVE-2021-29256, and CVE-2023-2136, reads Android Security Bulletin.According to BleepingComputer, CVE-2023-26083 is a medium-severity memory leak flaw in the Arm Mali GPU driver for Bifrost, Avalon, and Valhall chips that was exploited in a December 2022 exploit chain that delivered spyware to Samsung devices.CVE-2021-29256 is a critical unprivileged information disclosure and root privilege escalation vulnerability that affects specific versions of the Bifrost and Midgard Arm Mali GPU kernel drivers.The third vulnerability, CVE-2023-2136, is a critical-severity one with a score of 9.6 out of 10 as it is an integer overflow bug in Skia, Google's open-source multi-platform 2D graphics library that is also used in Chrome, where it was fixed in April, the report said.Moreover, the report mentioned that CVE-2023-21250, a critical vulnerability in Android's System component that affects Android versions 11, 12, and 13, is the most serious of the security issues that Google fixed this month.The Android security update for this month covers Android versions 11, 12, and 13, but depending on the scope of the addressed vulnerabilities, they may affect older OS versions that are no longer supported.IANS08 July 2023

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Indias trade with Japan is below potential, needs strengthening: FICCI chief Subhrakant Panda

New Delhi, July 7: FICCI's president Subhrakant Panda on Friday said that the trade volumes between India and Japan are currently lower than their actual potential and called for greater collaboration between the two partner countries in diverse sectors.

India's trade with Japan is below potential, needs strengthening: FICCI chief Subhrakant Panda

"The bilateral trade (between the two countries) last year was about 21.5 billion dollars, and I think there is much more potential there," said the FICCI president in interaction with ANI.He asserted that there is a lot that is happening between the two countries but believes the potential is even higher."Japan is synonymous with technology and quality while India is seen as the next engine of global growth with a large, unified domestic market."Japan is the 5th largest investor in India and has been a strong contributor to the economic growth of various Indian States. It is one of the most important development partners for India and has also been a great friend to India.Panda said that Japan is the fifth largest FDI investor in India with equity flows of close to USD 40 billion.Panda noted that the India-Japan relationship is one of the most meaningful relationships. "It's a strategic partnership, and one which has been elevated to that level with high-level visits with annual summits and a warm personal friendship between the leaders on both sides, which has taken it to new heights," said the FICCI chief.He said that the two countries can work together in the fields of critical minerals and tourism."Collaboration on various pillars such as trade, supply chains, and clean economy holds a lot of potential. In a world fraught with instability due to geopolitical developments, bilateral ties between India and Japan stand out for their genuine warmth and solidity. The partnership between the two countries is not just mutually beneficial but will help the world at large," he added.Yoshihide Suga, Former Prime Minister of Japan yesterday addressed the 'FICCI Forum of Parliamentarians Interaction with Former PM of Japan and Delegation of 'Ganesha' Group of MPs from Japan'.Yesterday, he also met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.The former Japanese PM is on a visit to India with a delegation of over 100 members comprising government officials, Keidanren (Japan Business Federation), and members of Parliaments.Talking about the robust GST collection number and Indian stock markets at new highs, Panda said that tax collections indicate the economy is on a very firm footing."What is publicly known is that of course, India is the world's fifth largest economy and growing at a rapid pace and will become the third largest before the end of this decade. But we really present a unique bouquet with a young population with demographic dividend, fast-growing economy and digital revolution, which is empowering and connecting people.""Due to a lot of focus on plugging leakages as well as other measures, there is clearly an upward rise in GST collections which indicates the strength of the economy and what was once considered to be the base of about Rs 1.4 lakh crore per month, it is now on a regular basis topping Rs 1.5 lakh crore (monthly) with of course the peak being Rs 1.87 lakh crores."Panda stated that robust GST collection represents the strength and resilience of the economy."ANI08 July 2023

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Tripuras Finance Min Pranajit Singha Roy presents budget of Rs 27,654 crore, a 9.87 per cent increase over previous year

Agartala (Tripura), July 6: Tripura Finance Minister Pranajit Singha Roy on Friday presented the annual budget of Rs 27,654.40 crore for the financial year 2023-24.

Tripura's Finance Min Pranajit Singha Roy presents budget of Rs 27,654 crore, a 9.87 per cent increase over previous year

The proposed budget allocation amounts to Rs 27,654.40 crore, marking a 9.87 per cent increase from the revised estimate of the previous fiscal year, 2022-23 and carries a deficit of Rs 611.3 crores.Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha in his reaction termed the budget as 'inclusive' and said the budget highlights the State Government's goal of building "Unnata Tripura, Shrestha Tripura" and fulfilling the aspirations of the common people.The Finance minister in his Budget speech said, "This Budget is a blueprint for things to come in future and transform Tripura into a developed state. I hope that this budget will play a very important role for over welfare of the people of the state and for implementation of the same, I expect cooperation from all sections of people....".He presented the budget amid chaos and protest from opposition members over the issue of a legislator watching obscene photos in the House during the last Session. During the protest in the well, some of the MLAs from the opposition party- Tipra Motha, CPM and Congress displayed misconduct.Speaker Biswa Bandhu Sen suspended five opposition MLAs for the day for disrupting proceedings of the opening day of the budget session.Later, all the opposition members of Tipra Motha Party (TMP), CPM and the Congress -- staged a walkout protesting the Speaker's decision while demanding disciplinary action against BJP MLA Jadab Lal Debnath, who was allegedly caught on camera watching an obscene video of his mobile phone while the Tripura Assembly session was going on in March.The ruckus commenced as soon as the house assembled and Finance Minister Pranajit Singha Roy started presenting the annual budget for 2023-24 financial year. The chaos started after the Speaker rejected an adjournment motion moved by Opposition Leader Animesh Debbarma to discuss Jadavlal Nath issue.All the members of the TMP, CPI-M and the Congress-led by their leaders went to the well of the house and started shouting demanding action against Debnath and the noisy scene continued for over 40 minutes disrupting House proceedings.Finally, Chief Minister Manik Saha named five MLAs and proposed their suspension for the day. The Speaker immediately announced the suspension of Sudip Roy Barman (Cong), Nayan Sarkar (CPM) and Brishaketu Debbarma, Nandita Reang and Ranjit Debbarma, all TMP legislators- and asked the watch and ward staff to remove them from the house.During the chaos, the three TMP legislators as part of their protests had climbed up on the table of the house, in which assembly staff were recording the proceedings of the house.As the uproarious scene continued, the Speaker told the opposition MLAs that he would reconsider his decision of suspension of five MLAs, and then the agitated legislators returned to their seats and then walked out of the house.Later, in the second half, the Speaker as proposed by the Chief Minister withdrew his decision.ANI08 July 2023

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Ashes 3rd Test: Khawaja, Labuschagne begin Australias counterattack to gain 55-run lead (Day 2, Tea)

Leeds, July 7: Usman Khawaja and Marnus Labuschagne made steady progress, extending their team's lead On Day 2 of the third Test of the Ashes 2023 series at the Headingley Stadium. Despite an early setback caused by Stuart Broad, the Australian batsmen remained resilient and focused on building their advantage.

Ashes 3rd Test: Khawaja, Labuschagne begin Australia's counterattack to gain 55-run lead (Day 2, Tea)

At the end of the second session, Australia managed to put up a score of 29/1 in 12 overs with Khawaja and Labuschagne unbeaten at the crease with scores of 20(34)* and 7(33)* respectively.Australia looked to begin the second innings with positive intent as Khawaja and David Warner looked to gather runs at a brisk pace. However, Broad came up to dismiss Warner (1) for the 17th time and put England in control.But, Labushagne and Khawaja restricted the damage by holding on to their wickets and keeping the scoreboard ticking. Australia managed to take a lead of 55 runs after suffering a massacre earlier in the innings.Ben Stokes and Mark Wood began the second session in pure 'Bazball' style with Wood smashing two fours and one maximum on the first three balls of Mitchell Starc's over.However, he failed to keep up the momentum as Pat Cummins claimed his wicket to bring an end to his T20-style knock of 24(8). Stuart Broad stepped in and Stokes began his onslaught on the Australia bowlers.Starc once again was on the receiving end with Stokes smashing him for three boundaries in a row. Cummins once again stepped in to restrict the damage by sending Broad back to the pavilion.Stokes passed the 50 run-mark and continued to score boundaries for fun with just a wicket in hand. As he closed on to score his second consecutive Test century, Todd Murphy took matters into his own hand and claimed the wicket of the dangerous skipper for a score of 80(108). This wicket marked the end of England's innings for a score of 237.Earlier in the first session, England lost wickets quickly, which made the situation worse for them. Australian bowlers gave no chance for a comeback to England's batters. In the 19.2 over, Pat Cummins took the wicket of Joe Root. A slight edge carried the ball into the safe hand of David Warner who was at first slip.In the 24.3 over, Mitchell Starc got the wicket of Jonny Bairstow. He poor shot by Bairstow led the ball into the hands of Steve Smith who took a brilliant catch at second slip. Jonny Bairstow made 12 runs off 37 balls while hitting two boundaries. In the 39.4 over, Pat Cummins struck again this time he took the wicket of Moeen Ali. A top-edge led the ball high into the air only to fall into the hands of Steve Smith.Moeen Ali scored 21 runs off 46 balls while hitting two boundaries. In the 42.1 over, Mitchell Starc took the wicket of Chris Woakes. He swing his bat but the ball knicked the edge and went into the gloves of wicketkeeper Alex Carey. Chris Woakes made 10 runs off 10 balls and hit one maximum.Brief Score Australia 263 and 29/1 (Usman Khawaja 20(34)*, Marnus Labuschagne 7(33)*; Stuart Broad 1/9) vs England 142/7 (Ben Stokes 80(108), Mark Wood 24(8) and Pat Cummins 6/91).ANI08 July 2023

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Nobody has right to impose something on our peoples in Black Sea region  Zelenskyy after meeting with Erdogan

Ukraine and Turkey have the same vision that no one has the right to impose on our states and peoples anything in the Black Sea region that does not meet the interests of our states and peoples.

This was stated at a press conference in Istanbul on the night from Friday to Saturday after a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

"I am grateful to Turkey for its continued support for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine," he said. According to Zelenskyy, "we discussed separately the situation in our Crimea, which Russia still illegally controls and uses as a springboard for threats and dangers."

"In any case, we will restore our legitimate control over Crimea and return security to the peninsula and justice to all people in Crimea. In particular, the Crimean Tatar people, who are now, unfortunately, once again subjected to severe repression and pressure from Russia," the president said.

Speaking about the Black Sea Grain Initiative, he said "recently, Russia, unfortunately, has been blocking the movement of ships with food along the corridors in the Black Sea as much as possible. Russia behaves as if it owns the entire Black Sea, as if it is the owner here."

According to Zelenskyy, they discussed "various common projects of Ukraine and Turkey, which we can really implement together to strengthen our states and provide more security and more jobs and more growth."

"This concerns cooperation in the military-industrial complex, in the development of technology, the production of drones, and other strategic industries," he said.

Zelenskyy said the Turkish president "did a lot to help free our people from Russian captivity. I want to thank you separately for this."
NSA Ajit Doval, British counterpart Tim Barrow discuss safety of Indian High Commission and its diplomats in UK

New Delhi, July 7: National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval, on Friday discussed the issue of the safety of the Indian High Commission and Indian diplomats in the UK with his UK counterpart Tim Barrow, according to sources.

NSA Ajit Doval, British counterpart Tim Barrow discuss safety of Indian High Commission and its diplomats in UK

"The issue of the safety of the Indian High Commission and Indian diplomats in the UK was discussed with the British NSA. The British side assured adequate safety and security of the High Commission and the Indian diplomats in the UK," said a source familiar with the matter.Earlier, UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly on Thursday said that any direct attacks on the Indian High Commission in London are completely unacceptable."Any direct attacks on the Indian High Commission in London are completely unacceptable. We have made clear to @VDoraiswami and the Government of India that the safety of staff at the High Commission is paramount," tweeted Cleverly.However, how the UK authorities handle the Khalistani protestors when they demonstrate tomorrow in front of the Indian High Commission in London will be the true test of the British assurances.Tim Barrow, National Security Advisor of the UK is on an official visit to India for the India-UK Strategic Dialogue at the invitation of NSA Ajit Doval.He is accompanied by a delegation of senior UK government officials.The two NSAs agreed to enhance India-UK cooperation to address violent extremism and radicalism. The two sides agreed that there can be no justification for violent extremism and radicalization in a democracy.The two National Security Advisors (NSA) on Friday met for restricted discussions on regional and global issues of mutual interest. This was followed by delegation-level talks where both countries reaffirmed their close strategic partnership and agreed to accord maximum priority to further enhance security linkages, as per sources.Both sides agreed to work closely on counter-terrorism, counter-terror financing, use of the internet for terrorism purposes, illicit drug trafficking and counter-radicalisation.The two sides agreed to deepen mutually beneficial collaboration in critical and emerging technologies.The two NSAs have engaged regularly in extensive discussions on a broad bilateral, regional and global agenda. The current visit will give them the opportunity to continue their high-level dialogue, which will include a review of the multi-faceted cooperation between the two countries as well as explore futuristic areas for technology collaboration, as per sources.Tim Barrow will also meet other dignitaries of the Government of India during his visit to India.ANI08 July 2023

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Dutch PM Rutte resigns, calls cabinet fall irreconcilable

The Hague [Netherlands], July 8: After days of bickering and the collapse of the ruling coalition, after the partners failed to agree on a stricter asylum policy, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte submitted his resignation on Friday night, reported Nu.nl.

Dutch PM Rutte resigns, calls cabinet fall irreconcilable

The decision of the Netherlands' longest-serving premier means that the country is ready to see a general election later this year for the 150-seat lower house of Parliament.The outgoing PM offered his resignation and of all ministers and state secretaries to King Willem-Alexander. He will meet the king on Saturday and explain the reasons that prompted the move, reported Nu.nl, a Dutch online newspaper.Rutte, while addressing a press conference at The Hague, said, "It is no secret that the coalition partners have very different views on migration policy. And today, unfortunately, we have to draw the conclusion that those differences are irreconcilable. That is why I will immediately...offer the resignation of the entire Cabinet to the king in writing."On why this issue, in particular, will lead to new elections, he said, "Asylum policy is an important subject if you ask people. In addition to the war in Ukraine, it is an important subject. We think it is important to steer it in the right direction."Rutte's coalition government, the fourth he has led, assumed office in January 2022 after the largest coalition negotiants in Dutch political history.Rutte remains at the head of the outgoing cabinet. He, therefore, becomes the outgoing prime minister, Nu.nl reported.ANI08 July 2023

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Birthday Special: A look at Neetu Kapoors finest performances

Mumbai July 7: Starting her career as a child artiste, she transitioned into playing lead roles and became a popular actress known for her cheerful and relatable persona. While she was often seen in girl-next-door roles, Neetu Singh also showcased her acting range when given the opportunity to play more substantial characters beyond just being the cute arm candy. On her 64th birthday today, let's have a look at her finest performances.

Birthday Special: A look at Neetu Kapoor's finest performances

Khel Khel Mein'Khel Khel Mein' features Neetu Kapoor alongside her husband, the late Rishi Kapoor, showcasing the onscreen chemistry between the real-life couple. The story revolves around a group of college students entangled in a mysterious murder case. The film combines elements of romance, suspense, and comedy, making it an entertaining watch. The songs like "Ek Main Aur Ek Tu" and "Khullam Khulla Pyaar Karenge" became hits of that era.Kabhi Kabhie'Kabhi Kabhie' is a romantic drama directed by Yash Chopra. The film explores the complexities of relationships and celebrates love in all its forms, both young and old. Neetu Kapoor plays the character of Pooja Khanna, a young woman torn between her love for Amit Malhotra (played by Shashi Kapoor) and her arranged marriage to Vijay Khanna (played by Rishi Kapoor). The title track, "Kabhi Kabhie Mere Dil Mein," became immensely popular and continues to be cherished by audiences.Amar Akbar Anthony'Amar Akbar Anthony' features Neetu Kapoor alongside Amitabh Bachchan and Vinod Khanna. It revolves around the story of three brothers who are separated in childhood and reunited in adulthood. Neetu Kapoor's performance as the lovable and vivacious character, along with the film's catchy songs, makes it a must-watch.Kaala Patthar'Kaala Patthar' is a multi-starrer drama directed by Yash Chopra. The film revolves around the lives of workers in a coal mining town and explores themes of redemption, sacrifice, and human resilience. In the movie, Neetu Kapoor portrays the character of Channo, a bangle seller who brings a touch of cheerfulness and colour to the lives of the people in the mining town. Her character sells dreams and bangles, offering a temporary escape from the harsh realities of their lives. Neetu Kapoor's portrayal of Channo is vibrant and engaging, and she stands out in her own right among the ensemble cast.Jug Jug Jeeyo'Jug Jug Jeeyo ' is directed by Habib Faisal and features Neetu Kapoor, Anil Kapoor, Varun Dhawan, and Kiara Advani in the lead roles. An emotional story about divorce and relationship fragility. Neetu Kapoor plays Geeta, a married woman who realises her marriage is in jeopardy and handles the situation with sensitivity and poise.ANI08 July 2023

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Rain lashes parts of Capital, heavy showers likely over North India in next 4-5 days

New Delhi, July 8: Rain lashed parts of the national capital in the early hours of Saturday, affirming further that the southwest monsoon was active in the national capital.

Rain lashes parts of Capital, heavy showers likely over North India in next 4-5 days

In its daily weather earlier on Friday, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said heavy rainfall is likely to occur over North India in the next four to five days."Heavy rains in North India for the next four to five days. The effect of active monsoon will be seen in other states," the IMD said in a statement.The agency urged people up north to take necessary precautions against heavy rainfall."Weather Warning for Jammu, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana and West Uttar Pradesh are under a heavy rainfall alert from July 8 to 9. Be prepared for intense rain and take necessary precautions," the IMD stated.It also issued a yellow alert for certain districts in Kerala.Meanwhile, overnight rainfall in Kottayam left various residential areas of the city waterlogged."A yellow alert has been issued in the Malappuram, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kannur, and Kasaragode districts of Kerala," the IMD said.ANI08 July 2023

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Israel Innovation Authority announces new initiatives to foster technological advancement

Tel Aviv, July 7: The Israel Innovation Authority (IIA) announced Wednesday the launch of a new program with an investment of 40 Million Shekels (USD 11 million). The program includes initiatives in three different verticals - delivery technology (with an emphasis on last-mile solutions), Health - using to Bio-Convergence technologies and technology solutions for schools and campus security.

Israel Innovation Authority announces new initiatives to foster technological advancement

IIA said the initiatives aim to foster synergy among different companies and technologies within the framework of a globally unique regulatory sandbox, enabling companies to operate in an adapted and supportive regulatory framework."The program is designed to propel the Israeli technological leadership in the selected sectors," said Dror Bin, CEO of the Israel Innovation Authority. "We are focusing on areas that we believe have tremendous growth potential, and in which Israeli technology companies have a relative advantage as well as the possibility of leading innovative products' development that will change the world."IIA collaborate with various regulatory entities, including the Ministry of Transport and Road Safety, the Ministry of Health, and the Israeli Police. The objective is to establish regulatory sandboxes and to develop an adaptable and enabling regulatory environment. Through this collaboration, the Israel Innovation Authority aims to assist in the creation of comprehensive technological ecosystems in Israel, increase the number of investors specializing in these fields, and provide a significant competitive advantage to the participating companies in order to accelerate their breakthrough into global markets.The three initiatives, said IIA, will enable Israeli technology companies to validate, operate and demonstrate disruptive technologies within a unique and globally innovative sandbox, with the aim of promoting the Israeli technological ecosystem. (ANI/TPS)ANI08 July 2023

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Israel police helps clean up Arab village

Tel Aviv, July 7: Municipal police inspectors and officers led by the Ministry of National Security continue to ensure the sense of security of the residents of Deir al-Asad, an Arab village in the Galilee. In the meantime, the ministry said that as part of an initiative of the city police officers and inspectors in cooperation with council officials and other volunteers, a comprehensive cleanup was recently conducted in Deir al-Asad with the aim of cleaning up construction waste in the entire village.

Israel police helps clean up Arab village

The inspectors and volunteers noted "this activity increased the sense of belonging among the unit, deepened familiarity with the area and contributed greatly to increasing confidence in the new unit. The policemen and the inspectors alike have engraved on their flag the issue of personal example."The Ministry of National Security through urban policing operates an enforcement system that combines policing forces and urban supervision whose goal is to deter, prevent and enforce crimes in coordination with the local authorities and the Israel Police.In order to provide a quick response to incidents and strengthen the sense of personal security of the residents, the urban policing units assist the police in preventing and dealing with bullying phenomena In traffic, violence and vandalism in the public space, prevention and treatment of quality of life incidents, licensing and construction offences and execution of municipal court orders, treatment of offences in the area of alcohol and assistance in securing urban events. All this with the aim of creating a protected and quality living environment that contributes to personal security in the urban space. (ANI/TPS)ANI08 July 2023

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Tanzania, India are important trade partners: EAM Jaishankar in Dar es Salaam

Zanzibar [Tanzania], July 8: While co-chairing the 10th India-Tanzania Joint Commission Meeting in Dar es Salaam on Saturday, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar called the two nations important trade partners and added that bilateral relations have always been strong since independence.

Tanzania, India are important trade partners: EAM Jaishankar in Dar es Salaam

Jaishankar said both India and Tanzania share a very robust economic engagement, by growing development cooperation, and by excellent cooperation in the multilateral forum. He said that the ties between the two countries are characterized by high-level visits.During his opening remarks at the 10th India-Tanzania Joint Commission Meeting in Dar es Salaam today, the External Affairs Minister said, "As you noted, Minister, we are very important trade partners. For us, Tanzania is the fourth-largest trade partner in Africa. It is the biggest development partner in the continent, and I am truly pleased that the current momentum is now developing into a growing ambit of cooperation, and I would like to reaffirm India's commitment to strengthen and deepen our relations with Tanzania."During the joint commission meeting, emerging areas of interest were discussed and the two sides exchanged views on international issues."I would particularly like to mention our water partnership because we are immensely proud of the fact that in the last few years, that initiative has helped to transform the lives of millions of Tanzanians, and on this occasion, we will be taking forward a new flagship initiative, which is the first-ever global campus of the globally renowned Indian Institute of Technology, and I had the honour to witness the signature of the agreement to that effect when I was in Zanzibar," Jaishankar said.Further, Jaishankar also mentioned India's ongoing G20 Presidency and added that New Delhi is pursuing its chairmanship through a process of close consultations with partners from Global South.He said, "As many of you are aware, India has assumed the G20 presidency since December 2022. Our theme is One Earth, One Family, One Future, and that theme is very much reflected in my visit to Tanzania as well. We are pursuing our G20 presidency through a process of close consultations with our partners of the Global South, and I would like to recognize that Tanzania was one of the countries which actively participated in the Voice of the Global South Summit, which was organized by us in January 2023. We look forward to Tanzania's continued support, not just in our G20 presidency, but in other international initiatives."Jaishankar underlined how, despite the challenges of COVID, the bilateral trade between India and Tanzania reached new heights. He thanked the Tanzanian Government for creating a positive, enabling environment for India's business communities to expand their activities."Coming to our bilateral engagements, we have noted our increasing political cooperation as well as the broadening trade basket, despite the challenges of COVID and disruptions caused by conflicts in other parts of the world We have seen our bilateral trade cross to new levels. Our figures, in fact, show that it is now in excess of USD 6.4 billion. Our investments in Tanzania are also increasing, and I had the opportunity to participate in a business conference, and that was certainly helpful," Jaishankar said."I think, in focusing greater attention on investment opportunities in Tanzania, where Indian business was concerned. I would like to thank the Tanzanian Government for creating a positive, enabling environment for our business communities to expand their activities. India is today among the fastest-growing large economies in the world. Tanzania is certainly among the fastest-growing economies in Africa, and this rapid growth on both ends will surely create more opportunities for our businesses," he added.Jaishankar, who is currently on a four-day visit to Tanzania.Earlier on Friday, he took part in the regional ambassadorial conference while also inaugurating the bust of Swami Vivekananda at the Swami Vivekananda Cultural Centre.The regional Ambassadorial conference was attended by representatives from Angola, Burundi, Congo, Swaziland, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Mozambique, Malawi, Namibia, Rwanda, Tanzania, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.ANI09 July 2023

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Ukraine is not ready for NATO membership now, must go through 'rational path' for this  Biden

U.S. President Joe Biden does not think that Ukraine is ready for NATO membership now, but is ready to "blaze a rational path" so that Ukraine can apply for membership in the Alliance.

"I don't think it's ready for membership in NATO... I don't think there is unanimity in NATO about whether or not to bring Ukraine into the NATO family now, at this moment, in the middle of a war," he said in an interview with CNN published in Saturday.

"So, I think we have to lay out a rational path for Ukraine to be able to qualify to get into NATO," Biden said.

According to him, "NATO is a process that takes some time to meet all the qualifications, from democratization to a whole range of other issues. I talked about this in detail with Zelenskyy."

"The United States will be ready to provide, while the process is underway, to provide security, like the security that we provide for Israel, weapons, the capacity to defend itself," Biden also said.

According to the President of the United States, "it is premature to call for a vote now because there are otherqualifications that need to be met, including democratization and some of the other issues."
Champaign, IL (61820)

Today

Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. Low 59F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. Low 59F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph.
New study shows that birth-control pills negatively impact women's stress response.

Women have used birth-control pills since the 1960s, but researchers still do not know everything about the body's complex reaction to the small, hormone-laden pill.

Researchers from Aarhus University and the United States have studied the stress response of 131 young women when having a blood sample taken. Some of the women were on birth control pills, while others were not. The researchers specifically measured the levels of the stress hormone ACTH in the women's blood.

The study showed that 15 minutes of social activity after having a blood sample taken lowers stress hormone levels in women who are not on the birth-control pill. In contrast, women who are on birth control pills do not experience any reduction of their ACTH levels.

To avoid causing any additional stress to the test subjects, a small intravenous catheter was inserted in connection with the first blood sample. The researchers could then draw blood after the social activity without having to prick the women with a needle again.

Women played board games and sang songs together

The test subjects had an average age of 20.5 years. After having a blood sample taken, they could then participate in one of six different group activities such as playing board games, getting to know each other in a group session, singing songs together or attending a church service.

"Being with other people is one of the most effective ways of reducing stress. Our results are really important because they indicate that people who use birth control pills do not experience the same reduced stress hormone levels in connection with social activity as people who do not use the pill," says Michael Winterdahl. He is a visiting scholar at the Translational Neuropsychiatry Unit at the Department of Clinical Medicine and is the last author of the article.

Several competing hypotheses

The study differs from previous studies that have primarily focused on the stress hormone cortisol in extreme circumstances. In this study, the researchers measured the stress hormone ACTH, which changes significantly faster than cortisol. This makes it possible to observe and analyze rapid changes in a person's stress response.

It has long been known that birth-control pills affect the stress response in women. However, looking at the stress hormone ACTH in connection with a social activity is a new approach.

By studying ACTH levels, we take another step towards understanding how the brain regulates stress as ACTH acts as a neurotransmitter from the brain to the adrenal cortex, which produces cortisol. When we analyse ACTH levels, we can gain insight into the quick-response mechanism that controls the body's reaction to stress." Michael Winterdahl, Last Author

Birth-control pills are known for being able to affect the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. As the name indicates, the stress signal travels from the hypothalamus in the brain through the pituitary gland, that releases ACTH, to the adrenal glands, that release cortisol.

The researchers still need a final explanation for why birth-control pill users do not experience the same reduction of stress hormone levels in connection with social activities as people who are not on the pill.

"There are several competing hypotheses that try to explain the lower cortisol levels in people who use birth control pills. Our research has pushed us closer to an explanation that centers on the brain and the ACTH dynamics. The biochemistry is complex, but we are working based on the assumption that birth-control pills can suppress the body's own production of progesterone," says Michael Winterdahl.

Progesterone is broken down into the hormone allopregnanolone, which is involved in a wide range of calming effects and can have an influence on the stress response.

Differences between phases

The study involved women who used birth control pills and women who didn't. The women were at different phases of their menstrual cycle.

The study revealed that the stress response in women who do not take birth-control pills depends on where they are in their monthly cycle. The stress-reducing group activities had no effect on the ACTH levels of the women who were in the proliferative phase of their cycle  just after their period has ended and the body begins producing hormones to get ovulation started.

"Progesterone levels are very low during the proliferative phase of a natural cycle. This leads to a minimal conversion of progesterone into the hormone allopregnanolone. Since allopregnanolone is important for activating the receptors that regulate the stress response, we don't see a reduction in ACTH levels in women with a natural cycle who have just had their period," says Michael Winterdahl.

He points out that women are also generally more physically active during the proliferative phase, and that could be seen as an adaption in which the stress response and behavior change in step with the cycle. In women who use birth control pills, the stress response is 'disconnected', meaning it can not be adapted to a given situation.

Research still cannot explain exactly how this affects women. Additional research is therefore necessary to clarify the complex mechanisms involved in the correlation between hormone levels and the stress response.

"It's also relevant to point out that birth control pills aren't just contraceptives. There are different generations of the pill, each with its own chemical structure due to the hormones used, which means the pills have different side-effect profiles. It's therefore crucial that our experiments are reproduced with a larger and more diverse group of test subjects," says Michael Winterdahl.

The research results - more information

The study is a cross-sectional study and data was collected in California as part of a major study entitled "Endogenous Oxytocin Release Eliminates In-Group Bias in Monetary Transfers With Perspective-Taking". The test subjects were primarily young and predominantly white individuals, which limits the generalisability of the study to other age groups and ethnicities.

The study was conducted in collaboration with Professor Paul J. Zak, Claremont Graduate University, California, United States.

The original study was funded by the John Templeton Foundation. Aarhus University Research Foundation provided funding for the Danish study.

Read the scientific article: Adrenocorticotropic hormone secretion in response to anticipatory stress and venepuncture: The role of menstrual phase and oral contraceptive use - ScienceDirect
A portable device used to detect blood oxygen levels revolutionized the medical field 50 years ago and is now receiving essential updates

Efforts to improve the accuracy of pulse oximetry readings for diverse groups of patients and in multiple settings are underway. Joel Moss, M.D., Ph.D., a senior investigator in NHLBI's Laboratory of Translational Research, and Bennett Yang, a postbaccalaureate fellow in Dr. Moss's lab, describe this process and the future of pulse oximetry research.

Q: Why are portable pulse oximeters important?

Bennett Yang: The cells that make up the human body depend on oxygen for survival. Within minutes of oxygen desaturation, tissue starts to die. So, the importance of monitoring a patient's blood oxygen levels, especially if they are low, such as during surgery or if a person has COVID-19 or pneumonia, cannot be understated. The pulse oximeter, or pulse ox, was created to rapidly and noninvasively estimate a patient's blood oxygen saturation so that patients and physicians can monitor and adjust for an individual's oxygen needs.

The portability of the pulse ox, such as those that can clip on fingertips, has made it more accessible and valuable, both within the hospital and at home. The pulse ox works by emitting red and near infrared light from one surface of the finger to a detector on the other side. Oxygenated and deoxygenated blood absorb these lights differently, which allows the pulse ox to calculate oxygen saturation based on these ratios.

Q: What limitations have researchers found with pulse oximeters?

Yang: The pulse ox has revolutionized medicine, but, like any device, it has limitations. For example, pulse ox accuracy tends to decrease as oxygen saturation levels drop, which could lead to inaccurate readings. This, unfortunately, is when oxygen detection is critical.

Additionally, the pulse ox does not perform well if a patient has poor blood flow in their fingertips or if they are wearing nail polish. Blood loss, constricted blood vessels, and conditions, ranging from heart failure to Raynaud's disease, a rare condition that disrupts blood flow, can all contribute to decreased accuracy.

Physical motion can also disturb pulse ox readings. This is called motion artifact. This is especially a problem for patients who have normal oxygen saturation levels at rest but desaturate when they start to move or during daily activities.

Finally, and critically important, the pulse ox tends to overestimate oxygen saturation in patients with darker skin tones. The reason lies in melanin, which is the skin pigment. Melanin's job is primarily to block ultraviolet light to protect tissues from underlying damage. And it does this well. But, it also absorbs across a range of wavelengths, including red and near infrared, which are the lights emitted from the pulse oximeter. It tends to do this with differing intensities. The overall effect of this is that it skews measurements upwards in patients with darker skin tones.

Q: What did the COVID-19 pandemic reveal about health disparities related to inaccurate pulse oximetry readings?

Yang: The pitfalls of the pulse ox are not new ideas to the clinic, but the pandemic has raised more concerns about the device's accuracy. Data from the last three years has made it painfully clear that communities of color as well as socioeconomically disadvantaged populations have disproportionately suffered from COVID. This includes more frequent oxygen desaturation.

Remember, the pulse oximeter tends to overestimate true saturation for these patients. So, not only would these patients require medical intervention more often, but recent research has shown they have also been victim to systemic delays in receiving interventions because the pulse ox is essentially telling physicians that these patients are doing better than they actually are. Hence, health disparities are compounded by the pulse ox's inaccuracies.

Q: How are researchers studying ways to update this technology?

Yang: Updating the pulse ox will help physicians make the best choices for their patients. Thankfully, several projects are underway. One includes a new green-light pulse ox, which is being studied by researchers in Texas.

Their device is based on the principle that the difference in absorbance between oxygenated and deoxygenated blood is largest in the green-light range. Also, green light does not penetrate through the finger as well as red and near infrared light. The pulse ox instead measures reflection off of the skin rather than being transmitted through it. A benefit is that the light does not have to pass through two layers of skin and two layers of melanin, which also helps avoid any deeper sources of tissue error.

The researchers also calibrated their device using a skin pigment color scale. Therefore, the pulse ox could adjust for the skin color of each patient being monitored.

Q: How is NHLBI's small business innovation research program supporting translational aspects of this research?

Dr. Moss: The NHLBI small business and innovation research (SBIR) program was established to fund businesses developing devices and technologies that align with NHLBI goals. Specifically, our SBIR topic 114 is part of an effort to support a company in developing a wireless, user-friendly, pulse ox that can interface with mobile devices.

The idea is that patients who need to continuously monitor their oxygen saturation, such as patients with lung disease, should be able to do so during daily activities and with technology that can automatically record their data. The SBIR explicitly mentions the need to recruit a diverse population for clinical study, which will strengthen the pulse ox's accuracy.

We hope to have two companies compete for a phase 1 award, perhaps with clinical testing, within the next 3-4 years. A developed prototype from one company would advance to a phase 2 clinical trial leading to FDA approval.

Again, the objective is to have a wireless pulse oximeter that measures oxygen levels during exercise, regardless of skin color, and interfaces with mobile devices.
Plants have the unique ability to regenerate entirely from a somatic cell, i.e., an ordinary cell that does not typically participate in reproduction. This process involves the de novo (or new) formation of a shoot apical meristem (SAM) that gives rise to lateral organs, which are key for the plant's reconstruction. At the cellular level, SAM formation is tightly regulated by either positive or negative regulators (genes/protein molecules) that may induce or restrict shoot regeneration, respectively. But which molecules are involved? Are there other regulatory layers that are yet to be uncovered?

To seek answers to the above questions, a research group led by Nara Institute of Science and Technology (NAIST), Japan studied the process in Arabidopsis, a plant commonly used in genetic research. Their research-;which was published in Science Advances-;identified and characterized a key negative regulator of shoot regeneration. They demonstrated how the WUSCHEL-RELATED HOMEOBOX 13 (WOX13) gene and its protein can promote the non-meristematic (non-dividing) function of callus cells by acting as a transcriptional (RNA-level) repressor, thereby impacting regeneration efficiency.

"The search for strategies to enhance shoot regeneration efficiency in plants has been a long one. But progress has been hindered because the related regulatory mechanisms have been unclear. Our study fills this gap by defining a new cell-fate specification pathway," explains Momoko Ikeuchi, the principal investigator of this study.

Previous studies from her team had already established the role of WOX13 in tissue repair and organ adhesion after grafting. Hence, they first tested the potential role of this gene in the control of shoot regeneration in a wox13 Arabidopsis mutant (plant with dysfunctional WOX13) using a two-step tissue culture system. Phenotypic and imaging analysis revealed that shoot regeneration was accelerated (3 days faster) in plants lacking WOX13, and slower when WOX13 expression was induced. Moreover, in normal plants, WOX13 showed locally reduced expression levels in SAM. These findings suggest that WOX13 can negatively regulate shoot regeneration.

To validate their findings, the researchers compared the wox13 mutants and wild-type (normal) plants using RNA-sequencing at multiple time points. The absence of WOX13 did not considerably alter Arabidopsis gene expression under callus-inducing conditions. However, shoot-inducing conditions significantly enhanced the alterations induced by the wox13 mutation, leading to an upregulation of shoot meristem regulator genes. Interestingly, these genes were suppressed within 24 hours of WOX13 overexpression in mutant plants. Overall, they found that WOX13 inhibits a subset of shoot meristem regulators while directly activating cell wall modifier genes involved in cell expansion and cellular differentiation. Subsequent Quartz-Seq2-based single cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) confirmed the key role of WOX13 in specifying the fate of pluripotent callus cells.

This study highlights that unlike other known negative regulators of shoot regeneration, which only prevent the shift from callus toward SAM, WOX13 inhibits SAM specification by promoting the acquisition of alternative fates. It achieves this inhibition through a mutually repressive regulatory circuit with the regulator WUS, promoting the non-meristematic cell fate by transcriptionally inhibiting WUS and other SAM regulators and inducing cell wall modifiers. In this way, WOX13 acts as a major regulator of regeneration efficiency. "Our findings show that knocking out WOX13 can promote the acquisition of shoot fate and enhance shoot regulation efficiency. This means that WOX13 knockout can serve as a tool in agriculture and horticulture and boost the tissue culture-mediated de novo shoot regeneration of crops," concludes Ikeuchi.
Cancer cells-to-be accumulate a series of specific genetic changes in a predictable and sequential way years before they are identifiable as pre-malignancies, researchers at Stanford Medicine have found. Many of these changes affect pathways that control cell division, structure and internal messaging -; leaving the cells poised to go bad long before any visible signs or symptoms occur.

The study is the first to exhaustively observe the natural evolution of the earliest stages of human cancers, starting with cells that have a single cancer-priming mutation and culminating with a panel of descendants harboring a galaxy of genetic abnormalities.

Identifying the first steps associated with future cancer development could not only facilitate earlier-than-ever diagnosis -; when a deadly outcome is but a twinkle in a rogue cell's eye -; but may also highlight novel interventions that could stop the disease in its tracks, the researchers say.

Ideally, we would find ways to intercept this progression before the cells become truly cancerous. Can we identify a minimal constellation of genetic alterations that imply the cell will progress? And, if so, can we intervene? The striking reproducibility in the genetic changes we observed from multiple donors suggests it's possible." Christina Curtis, PhD, professor of medicine, of genetics and of biomedical data science

Curtis is the senior author of the research, which was published on May 31 in Nature. The lead authors of the study are former postdoctoral scholar Kasper Karlsson, PhD, and visiting graduate student Moritz Przybilla.

Cells of nefarious beginnings

The research builds on previous work in Curtis's laboratory indicating that some colon cancer cells are seemingly born to be bad -; they acquire the ability to metastasize long before the disease is detectable.

"Our studies of established tumors showed us that early genomic alterations seem to dictate what happens later, and that many of these changes seem to happen before tumor formation," Curtis said. "We wanted to know what happens at the very earliest stages. How does a cancer cell evolve, and is this evolutionary path repeatable? If we start with a given set of conditions, will we get the same result in every case?"

The researchers studied tiny, three-dimensional clumps of human stomach cells called gastric organoids. The cells were obtained from patients undergoing gastric bypass surgery to treat obesity. At the beginning of the study, the researchers nudged the cells toward cancers by disabling the production of a key cancer-associated protein called p53 that regulates when and how often a cell divides. Mutations in p53 are known to be an early event in many human cancers, and they trigger the accumulation of additional genetic changes including mutations and copy number alterations -; in which repetitive regions of the genome are lost or gained during cell division.

Then they waited.

Every two weeks, for two years, Karlsson cataloged the genetic changes occurring in the dividing cells. When Karlsson and Przybilla analyzed the data they found that, although changes occurred randomly, those that conferred greater fitness gave their host cells an evolutionary advantage over other cells in the organoid. As the cells continued to divide and the cycle of mutation and competition repeated over many iterations, the researchers saw some common themes.

Predictable pathways

"There are reproducible patterns," Curtis said. "Certain regions of the genome are consistently lost very early after the initial inactivation of p53. This was repeatedly seen in cells from independent experiments with the same donor and across donors. This indicates that these changes are cell-intrinsic, that they are hardwired into tumor evolution. At the same time, these cells and organoids appear mostly normal under the microscope. They have not yet progressed to a cancer."

The researchers found that these early changes usually occur in biological pathways that control when and how often a cell divides, that interfere with a cell's intricate internal signaling network coordinating the thousands of steps necessary to keep it running smoothly, or that control cell structure and polarity -; its ability to know what is "up" and "down" and to situate itself with respect to neighboring cells to form a functioning tissue.

The researchers saw similar patterns occur again and again in cells from different donors. Like water flowing downhill into dry creek beds, the cells traced tried-and-true paths, gaining momentum with each new genetic change. Several of these changes mirror mutations previously observed in stomach cancer and in Barrett's esophagus, a pre-cancerous condition arising from cells that line the colon and stomach.

"These changes occur in a stereotyped manner that suggest constraints in the system," Curtis said. "There's a degree of predictability at the genomic level and even more so at the transcriptomic level -; in the biological pathways that are affected -; that gives insights into how these cancers arise."

Curtis and her colleagues plan to repeat the study in different cell types and initiating events other than p53 mutation.

"We're trying to understand exactly what malignant transformation is," Curtis said. "What does it mean to catch these cells in the act, about to topple over the edge? We'd like to repeat this study with other tissue types and initiating mutations so we can understand the early genetic events that occur in different organs. And we'd like to study the interplay between the host and the environment. Do inflammatory factors play a role in promoting progression? We know that it matters that the cells in these organoids are communicating with each other, and that is important to understanding progression and treatment response."

Researchers from Karolinska Institutet, the University College London and the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub also contributed to the study.

The research was supported by the National Institutes of Health (grants DP1-CA238296 and U01-CA217851) and the Swedish Research Council.
Viruses in man-made environments cause public health concerns, but they are generally less studied than bacteria. A recent study led by environmental scientists from City University of Hong Kong (CityU) provided the first evidence of frequent interactions between viruses and bacteria in man-made environments. It found that viruses can potentially help host bacteria adapt and survive in nutrient-depleted man-made environments through a unique gene insertion.

By understanding these virusbacteria interactions and identifying the possible spread of antibiotic resistance genes, the research team hopes its latest findings can help derive effective control strategies to minimize human exposure to harmful microorganisms.

Virushost interactions are central to the ecology and evolution of microbial communities in diverse ecosystems. However, the immune mechanisms of infection and the virushost interactions that occur in man-made environments, including buildings, public space, transportation and infrastructure, have been poorly understood.

"As more and more of the global population are living in urban areas, the importance of hygiene in man-made environments is growing, particularly indoor ones, as occupants inside are constantly exposed to diverse microorganisms, which have public health implications. However, most previous studies of man-made environments overlooked viruses," said Professor Patrick Lee Kwan-Hon in the School of Energy and Environment (SEE) at CityU, who led the study.

"Therefore, in our study, we comprehensively investigated viruses in man-made environments, and we identified many novel molecular mechanisms in which viruses and bacteria interact with each other. These findings are important not only for basic microbial science, but also the management of man-made environments to protect residents' health," added Professor Lee.

In the study, researchers collected 738 samples from different types of man-made environments, including public facilities and residences, in Hong Kong. They collected the samples mainly from the surfaces of handrails, bollards, floors, poles, doorknobs and skin of residents. Then they used the metagenomic sequencing technique for analysis.

The analysis resulted in many interesting discoveries. First, the data showed that viruses are integral members of microbial communities in man-made environments. Among them, bacteriophages, a kind of virus that infects and replicates within bacteria, are all over various surfaces in man-made environments. The team also identified many viruses that are distinct from those in other ecosystems.

Second, the team found evidence of viruses inserting genes that control a specific step in a metabolic pathway and even the entire metabolic pathway into bacteria hosts. This suggests that viruses could help bacteria adapt and coevolve to survive in nutrient-depleted man-made environments.

The study also found diverse and novel immune systems against viruses in bacteria, and small proteins in viruses that can evade bacteria immune systems. These results suggest that viruses and bacteria hosts frequently interact with each other in man-made environments and that they each have mechanisms to defend against each other.

They also detected antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in viruses on human skin and frequently touched indoor surfaces. These ARG-carrying viruses might infect bacterial hosts, and ARGs might be horizontally transferred between bacterial species. Therefore, the role played by viruses in man-made environments in the development of antibiotic resistance in bacteria is crucial and warrants further investigation.

Our study shows that the diversity, composition, metabolic functions and lifestyle of viruses vary, depending on the conditions of each man-made environment. Therefore, it is important to develop customized control strategies to minimize human exposure to harmful microorganisms and to better protect residents' health. Our findings can contribute to this goal by enhancing the fundamental understanding of complex virusbacteria interactions in man-made environments." Professor Patrick Lee Kwan-Hon, School of Energy and Environment (SEE) at CityU

The findings were published in the scientific journal Nature Communications under the title "Highly host-linked viromes in the built environment possess habitat-dependent diversity and functions for potential virus-host coevolution".

The first author is Miss Du Shicong, PhD student in SEE, and the corresponding author is Professor Lee. Other team members include Professor Alvin Lai Chi-Keung, Professor Chan Chak-Keung and Dr Tong Xinzhao, from SEE, and Professor Christopher E. Mason, from Weill Cornell Medicine.

The research is supported by the Research Grants Council's Research Impact Fund and the General Research Fund in Hong Kong.
The frequency of flights between Chennai and Sri Lankas Jaffna will be increased from four times a week to daily services from July 16, a move that will also amplify trade and commerce, Union Minister of Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya Scindia said. Scindia made the announcement in a pre-recorded video message on the second day of the 67th annual convention of the Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) being hosted in Colombo.

Over 500 tourism, aviation and travel experts, and tour operators have gathered in Colombo for the Indian Travel Congress. He said the convention, taking place in the island nation, highlighted the old cultural ties between India and Sri Lanka.

I believe that our partnership with Sri Lanka gives us a rare opportunity to undertake several reforms to address short-term challenges of the sector" and become an important power of influence in the global aviation ecosystem, Scindia said. The first air service agreement between the two countries was signed in 1968, which allowed Indian carriers to operate aircraft from any point in India to any point in Sri Lanka, which enhanced the connectivity to the Global South," he said.

Currently, 16 flights are operational from different sectors of India to Colombo, the minister added. Today, through this platform, I am happy to announce that based on increased demand and potential of this route, to amplify trade and commerce, we will increase this frequency from four times a week to daily flights, effective from July 16," Scindia said.

Cargo movement has also been smoothed, and with the assistance from both governments, we are operating a direct flight from Chennai to Jaffna," he added. In December 2022, India and Sri Lanka resumed flight services between Chennai and Jaffna, three years after the island nation discontinued the services due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The airport in Palaly was named the Jaffna International Airport as Sri Lankas third international airport in October 2019 and had its first flight from Chennai. The tourism sector is the main source of foreign exchange earnings for cash-strapped Sri Lanka. However, the onset of the pandemic in 2020 severely crippled the tourism sector and was one of the major reasons for Sri Lankas economic travails. Asserting that discussions will help identify key milestones that need to be achieved over the next decade for the aviation sectors of both nations, Scindia urged all stakeholders to come together to take the industry to newer heights of success and growth".

Top industry experts from aviation companies, associations, and hospitality and tour operating firms participated in various panel discussions on day two of the event, followed by business-to-business sessions. Scindia underlined that Buddhism remains one of the strongest pillars connecting the two nations and civilisations", and remarked that in recent years, the bilateral relationship has been marked by growing trade and investment, cooperation in the fields of development, education, culture, tourism and aviation, as well as broader issues of international interest.

Our Prime Minister Narendra Modis first foreign visit as a PM, after swearing in (to the post) for the second time, was to Sri Lanka. And, he was also the first foreign leader to visit Sri Lanka after the very unfortunate Easter bombings," Scindia said, referring to the 2019 Easter bombings in Sri Lanka, which killed 270 people, including 11 Indians. Thus, India and Sri Lanka have built upon a legacy of intellectual, cultural, religious and linguistic connections. We have stood by each other, shoulder-to-shoulder, in times of happiness but, more importantly, in times of crises," Scindia said, adding that he was pleased to learn that this convention is exploring new and futuristic avenues of travel to transcend borders and transform lives".

Scindia, in his message, said, Prior to 2014, Indias aviation sector was on the runway, in the last nine years, it has finally taken off," and asserted that A stable and competitive aviation sector is on the anvil." He added that it was a great time to infuse a new thinking in the sector, given that the Indian civil aviation industry is undergoing unprecedented transformation."

In the last nine years, India has both advanced and expanded, doubling the number of airports from 74 in 2014 to 148 today, from March-June 2023, the average international daily flights from India increased from 1,002 to 1,042 up nearly 4 per cent," Scindia said. And, similarly, international passengers for the same period have increased by 5.3 per cent, with approximately 1.8 lakh passengers boarding international flights from India on a daily basis," he noted.

As we evolve, we are also transforming towards a better quality service, better infrastructure, greater last-mile connectivity, and thus more cross-border tourism," Scindia said. We have already started making our mark in the next inflexion point of the industry through three key enablers," Scindia said, pointing at the operations of a large number of routes, the use of helicopters for last-mile connectivity, and the focus on new technology. He added that drone technology is being used to deliver medicines and pesticides in India.

We have activated a helicopter accelerator cell to resolve helicopter issues and operationalised Helisewa, an online portal being used by all operators for taking landing permission to helipads. And, circulated Helidisha, a guidance material on helicopter operations for state administrations, which is being distributed in more than 700 districts," the minister said. He also said that facial recognition technology, called Digiyatra, is currently operational at seven airports in India, and we are planning to operationalise another seven in the coming few months".
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a meeting with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, during which they discussed the implementation of the Peace Formula and the return of Ukrainian children illegally deported to Russia.

"A meeting with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. We discussed the implementation of the Peace Formula and the return of children deported by the occupiers and whom we should return home to their relatives in Ukraine," Zelenskyy said on his Telegram channel on Saturday.

According to the presidential press service, during the meeting, Zelenskyy informed Bartholomew about the situation at the front and about the recent crimes of the occupiers against peaceful Ukrainians.

The president thanked the Patriarch for his unwavering support and prayers for peace, for condemning aggression and crimes, comprehensive assistance to Ukrainian men and women who suffered due to the war.

"I want to thank His All Holiness. Today is an important day  our struggle has been going on for 500 days  since the full-scale invasion. We have the support of His All Holiness, prayers for our soldiers, for the nation, for our people, for life in Ukraine," the presidential press service said, citing Zelenskyy.

In turn, the patriarch noted the importance of achieving peace in Ukraine.

"The Ecumenical Patriarchate as the Mother Church of all Orthodox in Ukraine is always on their side. (...) I want to wish for the return of all the POWs and all the children who are now far from their homes," Patriarch Bartholomew said.
IndiGo has recently expanded its international network by adding Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, to its list of destinations. This move makes IndiGo the only airline in India to offer direct flight services to Baku, Tbilisi, Jakarta, and Nairobi, as part of its ambitious international expansion plan.

With the addition of Baku, IndiGo now serves 30 international destinations and a total of 108 destinations worldwide. The airline is set to launch direct flights between Delhi and Baku starting on August 11, 2023.

IndiGo Delhi-Baku Flight Timings

The Delhi-Baku direct flight, numbered 6E 1803, will operate on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays, departing Delhi at 20:20 and arriving in Baku at 23:50. The return flight, numbered 6E 1804, will fly on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, departing Baku at 01:40 and reaching Delhi at 07:10.

In addition to Baku, IndiGo will commence three-times-weekly services between Delhi and Tbilisi from August 8. Additionally, the airline will launch direct daily services between Mumbai and Jakarta from August 7, becoming the first carrier to offer this route. These additions are part of IndiGos ambitious plan to reach a total of 32 international destinations this year. The airline also has plans to launch flights to Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and relaunch flights to Hong Kong.

Vinay Malhotra, head of global sales at IndiGo said, This strategic introduction addresses the growing travel demand from India to Azerbaijan, while also promoting cultural exchanges and fostering stronger bilateral ties. With these flights, tourists will get to experience not only its medieval walled old city but also the contemporary landmarks.

H.E. Ashraf Shikhaliyev, Ambassador of Azerbaijan to India, also shared his enthusiasm about the new flight route, stating, We are happy to welcome the commencement of direct flights from Delhi to Baku by IndiGo. This enhanced air connectivity will further strengthen the ties between Azerbaijan and India.

He further highlighted that the direct flights from Delhi to Baku by IndiGo will not only unlock boundless opportunities for cultural exploration and foster tourism growth but also invite Indian travelers to experience the enchanting beauty and hospitality of Azerbaijan - the mysterious Land of Fire.

The Delhi-Baku flights will not only provide convenient travel options but also facilitate vibrant cultural exchanges and foster enhanced people-to-people interactions. It will also serve as a gateway to a plethora of enriching experiences. As the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, Baku offers a captivating blend of old-world charm and modern marvels.
A recent social media post originating from a purported Triumph dealership has ignited a wave of speculation about the on-road price of the newly launched Speed 400 motorcycle. The new bike has been developed jointly by Bajaj Auto and the British motorcycle brand Triumph.

The tweet, which has since been taken down by the user, alleged that the on-road price of the bike stands at an astounding Rs 3,38,598. This figure significantly surpasses the ex-showroom price of Rs 2.33 lakh and has raised eyebrows among potential customers across the country.

While the authenticity of the viral post remains unverified, it is reported to have originated from a Triumph dealership in Bengaluru. The cost breakdown mentioned in the post includes charges such as road tax, registration and RTO fees, RSA, and insurance, as well as a delivery charge of Rs 17,000 and an Intro Kit cost of Rs 8,500. These details have led some to question whether dealerships are deliberately inflating the on-road price of the Triumph Speed 400.

In response to the mounting concerns, Bajaj-Triumph has issued an official statement which reads, At Bajaj Auto Ltd., we are committed to our customers and follow the highest standards of transparency, including pricing. We would urge all our customers and media to ignore the rumours doing rounds across various public and social media platforms related to the on-road pricing of the new Triumph Speed 400. The company has not released any on-road price guidelines and the same would be in line with its other products and industry norms. This will be issued by 10th July."

Nevertheless, it is important to note that on-road prices are subject to change between different states, as each state imposes its own set of fees and charges. Those who opt to collect their motorcycles directly from the dealership will not incur any delivery charges. However, customers who request home delivery may be subject to an appropriate delivery charge.

Speed 400 has been launched at ex-showroom price, Delhi at INR 2.23 lacs for the first 10,000 customers post which it will move to its regular price at INR 2.33 lacs ex-showroom. State-specific ex-showroom and on-road pricing will be released closer to delivery, added the official statement from Bajaj-Triumph.

In addition to the Speed 400, Bajaj Auto and Triumph jointly launched the Scrambler 400 X on July 5 in India. The Speed 400 is expected to hit the market by the end of this month, while the pricing for the Scrambler 400 X is yet to be announced, with its launch anticipated in October later this year.
Some brands in the country have become so successful and popular that everyone knows them and, at some point, has even used them. However, little may be known about the persons behind them. One such brand is Parle Agros Frooti. A woman who significantly contributed to the success of the company is Nadia Chauhan. Heres how Nadia Chauhan took Frooti and Apply Fizzs owner Parle Agro from a Rs 300-crore brand to an Rs 8,000-crore brand:

Frootis consumers today range from patients drinking at hospitals to those enjoying family functions. Frooti alone has about 48 per cent share in the total sales of Parle Agro.

Born into a business family of Chauhans in California and brought up in Mumbai, Nadia Chauhan studied commerce at H R College.

She joined her fathers group Parle Agro at a very young age, at 17 years, in 2003. Founded in 1929 by Nadias great-grandfather Mohanlal Chauhan, the company started manufacturing beverages in 1959.

When Chauhan joined Parle Agro in 2003, the company had almost a complete dependence on Frooti, which accounted for nearly 95 per cent of the companys total sales. She decided to reduce the companys dependency on one product and diversify into other areas. As part of this, she launched the iconic package water brand Baileys, which has now become a Rs 1,000-crore business.

With the new strategies, Agro Parles sales surged from Rs 300 crore earlier to a whopping Rs 8,000 crore now. The company increased its turnover in the past years, as a result of distribution and key tie-ups with dhabas and long-distance bus operators.

Appy Fizz

The breakthrough move came in 2005 when Nadia Chauhan launched her brainchild Appy Fizz, one of the firsts in the apple juice category when India was unfamiliar with Apple juice. The product became a hit with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 36 per cent and a market share of 99 per cent. Appy Fizzs business is currently about Rs 2,000 crore.

Brand Promotion

Parle Agro roped in Bollywood actors Alia Bhatt and Ram Charan to promote Frooti through advertisements with funky clothes.

Nadia currently serves as the chief marketing officer and joint managing director of FMCG company Parle Agro.

(The story has been updated with few changes)
Anil Agarwal-led Volcan Investments has decided to rejig semiconductor business segment by bringing it under subsidiary Twin Star Technologies Limited, the group firm Vedanta said on Friday. Under the new structure, Twin Star Technologies (TSTL), which is a sister concern of Vedanta Ltd, will become its subsidiary and Vedantas semiconductor and display business will be brought under TSTL.

The acquisition will be effected by way of a share transfer at face value of Twin Star Technologies Limiteds (TSTL) Semiconductor and Display SPVs. TSTL is a wholly owned subsidiary of Volcan Investments Limited, the ultimate holding company of Vedanta Limited," Vedanta said in a statement.

With this restructuring, Vedanta Limited announced the addition of semiconductors and display glass manufacturing ventures to its diversified portfolio.

Vedanta is committed to making India self-reliant in electronics. This is the beginning of the creation of a Silicon Valley in India, a cutting-edge and world-class electronics ecosystem. My dream is for every Indian youth to have an affordable smartphone, laptop and an electric vehicle," Vedanta Chairman Anil Agarwal said.

Vedanta said that semiconductor and display glass manufacturing represents a large growth opportunity for India.

It said that the semiconductor market stood at USD 24 billion in 2022 and is estimated to reach USD 80 billion by 2026.

The display panel market is estimated to be worth USD 7 billion and is expected to grow to USD 15 billion by 2025. Currently, India imports 100 per cent of these requirements, the statement said.

We believe that semiconductors and display fab are at the core of any electronics ecosystem. This will also spawn the creation of multiple ancillary industries and opportunities in both downstream and upstream, creating jobs and will be a GDP multiplier," Vedantas semiconductor and display business global MD Akasrh Hebbar said.

The company said that made-in-India semiconductors and display glass will facilitate affordable electronics  smartphones, laptops, televisions, and electric vehicles for all Indians.

The company had earlier announced that the plant will be set up with an investment of around Rs 1.5 lakh crore and start making revenue by 2027.

I believe that India can become the next semiconductor hub for the world. It has all the ingredients for success," Vedantas Semiconductor Business CEO David Reed said.

Vedanta has its presence in the LCD glass substrate business through its subsidiary Avanstrate Inc.

This is Indias time to become only the 5th country in the world to manufacture display glass. The impact on consumers in terms of affordability of devices will be huge," Display Business CEO Y J Chen said.
The Central Board of Secondary Education will release the admit cards for students sitting for supplementary examination from July 17. Candidates can access them from the official website, cbse.gov.in. Applicants appearing for the supplementary board examination will be required to collect their admit cards from their respective schools. Following the past trends, the respective schools will be handing over the admit cards to students, days before the commencement of the CBSE supplementary examination. While collecting the CBSE admit card from school, students must carry a valid ID proof along with them.

The official notification from the CBSE read, It is informed that the CBSE admit card will be release from July 17, 2023. All the students who have applied for the supplementary examinations 2023 can obtain or download the admit cards as per instructions." The school administration staff may request that appearing students acknowledge receipt of the CBSE admission card by signing it.

CBSE Class 10th, 12th Supplementary Exam Admit Cards: How to download

Step 1- Visit the official website, cbse.gov.in.

Step 2- On the homepage, click on the link for school login.

Step 3- A new window will open which will ask for login credentials.

Step 4- Select class for the CBSE Supplementary 2023 examination. Enter the roll number of the student as well.

Step 5- This way the CBSE Supplementary exam admit card 2023 can be downloaded.

Students are required to double-check all the information on their admit card as they receive it. Name, roll number, and the subject code are among the information. Candidates are required to notify the institution right away in the event of any errors. On the day of the exam, students must bring their admission card to the examination room and keep it safe. Without a CBSE admit card, candidates will not be permitted to write or attend the exam.

CBSE released the datasheet for classes 10 and 12 supplementary examinations on June 1. The class 10 supplementary exam will start on July 17 and end on July 22 while the class 12 supplementary examination will be conducted on July 17. According to the timetable, the supplementary exam for both classes 10 and 12 will start at 10:30 am and will end at 1:30 pm.
State Common Entrance Test Cell, Maharashtra has extended MAH MBA/MMS 2023 Counselling registration deadline till July 14, 2023. Candidates who cleared the entrance test can register themselves for the counselling process on the official website of MAHACET  mba2023.mahacet.org.in.

Earlier the last date to apply was till July 7, 2023 and the online document verification process was supposed to conclude on July 8 but the deadline has been extended till 5 pm of July 14 and 5 pm of July 15, respectively. Applications confirmed by Scrutiny Center after July 15, 2023 shall be considered only for Non-CAP Seats.

MAH MBA/ MMS Counselling 2023: How to Register

Step 1: Visit the official website mba2023.mahacet.org.in

Step 2: Click on the new registration tab given on the homepage

Step 3: Fill in your details such as name, email id, mobile number and more

Step 4: Once registered, login using your application id and password

Step 5: Fill the application and upload the necessary documents

Step 6: Save, submit, and pay the fees

Step 7: Download the application form for future reference

The application fees is Rs 1000 for general category candidates for Maharashtra state, Rs 800 for reserve category candidates including SC, ST, VJ/DT- NT(A), NT(B), NT(C), NT(D), OBC, SBC, EWS and PwD and Rs 5000 for NRI, OCI, PIO, FN candidates. The fees is non-refundable and have to be paid only through online mode.

Candidates who have registered for MAH-MBA/MMS-CET 2023 are not required to pay any fees for registration for admission. However other candidates who have obtained a score that is valid for admission in the academic year 2023-23 in CAT, CMAT, XAT, ATMA, MAT, and GMAT and have not registered for MAH-MBA/MMS-CET 2023 are required to pay fees as given below only by credit card/ debit card/ net banking/ UPI, etc. through the online mode.

Candidates who qualified for the MAH CET entrance test can register to participate in the Centralized Admission Process (CAP). CAP will be conducted in multiple rounds, and the provisional merit of candidates will be released on the CAP website
Karnataka government led by Congress CM Siddaramaiah has prepared a new budget for the state. With various poll promises and other initiatives , CM also replaces National Education Policy 2020 with states own education system named Marusinchana. Speaking in the legislative assembly, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah reiterated that states education scheme will align with social, cultural, local, and economic milieu of the state. To achieve the successful implementation of Marusinchana, Karnataka Budget 2023 has sanctioned Rs 80 crore.

During his speech, the CM also said that NEP is incompatible with the federal system and has several anomalies that undermine the Constitution and democracy. The newly introduced education system, Marusinchana, will include 33 lakh students and the government is planning to include one and half students who have not progressed in matriculation educations. The Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah further said that a uniform education system would not suit for a nation like India with diverse languages, cultures and diverse religions.

Apart from this, Karnataka Budget 2023 also sanctioned money for construction of toilets in 5,775 schools and 150 colleges. To renovate old buildings of both schools and colleges, the Congress led government has sanctioned Rs 100 crore. For 2023-2024, Rs 153 crore is granted to maintain the condition of some 47 thousand schools and 1231 PU Colleges. To boost infrastructural facilities at schools and colleges the government has planned to sanction Rs 25 crore. To rule out any fake marksheets, the Karnataka government has made it mandatory for the students to register themselves on the  Academic Bank Of Credit.

Last week, Karnatakas Higher Education Minister MC Sudhakar also confirmed that state would junk NEP 2020 and state education policy will be implemented in phases. Further Karnatakas Public Work Minister Satish Jarkiholi also mentioned that state would not implement Bhartiya Janta Partys ambitious education project.

Meanwhile, the Karnataka Higher Education Council has permitted students in undergraduate and postgraduate courses to write their exams in both Kannada and English mediums. The decision was taken at the councils 23rd general meeting on December 14. The meeting was presided over by the states higher education minister CN Ashwathnarayan.
In a recent development, medical colleges in Telangana established after 2014 will now have to reserve 100 per cent of their MBBS seats for students from the state under the competent authority quota. As per the new regulation, a total of 1,820 MBBS seats will be made available annually for aspiring students from Telangana. The state government issued an order on July 3 amending the Telangana State Medical Colleges Admission Rules, aligning it with the AP Reorganisation Act and Article 371D.

Previously, a total of 85 percent of the seats were specifically reserved for local students and the remaining 15 percent were left unreserved. Among the 20 medical colleges existing prior to the establishment of Telangana, a total of 2,850 seats were available, out of which 1,895 seats were allocated under the Competent Authority quota. Among these seats, 280 seats were not specifically reserved for any particular category. Consequently, students from both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh had equal chances to compete for these seats. This arrangement often disadvantaged Telangana students, leading to their exclusion in many cases.

In an effort to tackle this concern, the State government has revised the rules by restricting the unreserved quota exclusively to the 20 medical colleges that were operational in 2014.

Consequently, Telangana students will now have exclusive access to 520 additional medical seats. Telangana students were already benefiting from the existing local reservation policy, which reserved 85 (1,300) of the B category MBBS seats. Furthermore, it is noteworthy that the All India quota of 15 percent seats in the new medical colleges remains unchanged, enabling students from across the country to secure admissions based on merit.

On Tuesday, Health Minister T Harish Rao tweeted that it was a proud moment for the state. He mentioned, Proud to share that 43 percent of MBBS seats newly added in government medical colleges in India are from Telangana. 900 of the 2118 MBBS seats increased in government medical colleges in India for 2023-24 belongs to Telangana.

Proud to share that 43% of MBBS seats newly added in government medical colleges in India are from #Telangana. 900 of the 2118 MBBS seats increased in government medical colleges in India for 2023-24 belongs to Telangana This is the testament to Honble CM KCRs vision of  Harish Rao Thanneeru (@BRSHarish) July 4, 2023

He concluded on to saying that these numbers will further go up once the remaining medical colleges get approval. As part of his commitment to improving healthcare services, Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao has initiated the establishment of government medical colleges in each district of Telangana. This endeavor aims to offer high-quality healthcare services and medical education opportunities to local students.
NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal on Friday found himself the subject of a conundrum in the Bombay High Court when an older petition he filed against the Eknath Shinde-BJP government in Maharashtra came up for hearing before the Chief Justices bench. Bhujbal followed NCP leader Ajit Pawar into the government last Sunday and is now a minister in the dispensation he sued.

Addressing the elephant in the room, Bombay High Court Chief Justice Nitin Jamdar asked Bhujbals lawyer to confer with his client on the fate of the petition, which accused the Eknath Shinde government of blocking developmental funds promised in the budget passed by the previous Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition.

Have your asked your client whether you want to proceed with or withdraw the petition, asked Justice Jamdar.

Bhujbals lawyer Sambhaji Tope sought an adjournment and said the petition would be withdrawn since his client is now a minister in the government and he wont face the problem.

The petition had stemmed from senior NCP leader Bhujbals allegation that funds for development work in his constituency Yevla in Nashik were not being disbursed since the Shiv Sena-BJP government came to power ousting the Uddhav Thackeray-led Sena-Congress-NCP following in June 2022.

A few days after Shinde took oath, NCP leaders Ajit Pawar, Chhagan Bhujbal and Dilip Walse Patil met the Maharashtra CM, asking him to review his decision and disburse the funds for developmental works. But when funds were reportedly not released, several legislators from the NCP, Congress and Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) approached the courts.

On the basis of an earlier order in Rajesh Tope case, around 23 MLAs had filed a petition at Bombay and Aurangabad Bench of the High Court because funds were not being disbursed to them. These funds were allocated in the budget passed by the MVA (Maha Vikas Aghadi) government, but when the new government came to power, they stopped funds allocated as per the budget, said Bhujbals lawyer Tope.

We are waiting until July 17 when applications from Aurangabad will be transferred here, following which we might withdraw the plea because Bhujbal sahab is now a minister and he wont face the problem. The court has asked me to take instructions from my client, but because I couldnt reach out to him, I sought an adjournment, added Tope.

Bhujbals case was the second instance this week of political developments leading to awkward moments in court.

On Thursday, a division bench of Justices Nitin Sambre and RN Laddha heard a plea filed by Hasan Mushrif, now a minister in the Ajit Pawar faction, for quashing an FIR against him in Kolhapur on charges of cheating. The public prosecutor in the case, JP Yagnik, sought an adjournment to take new instructions, citing change in circumstances.

Amused, the court asked the lawyer in lighter vein whether he was appearing for the accused or the State.

The NCP, founded by Sharad Pawar in 1999, witnessed a split on July 2 with Ajit Pawar, claiming support of over 40 MLAs and joining the Shiv Sena-BJP coalition government in Maharashtra. Nine NCP MLAs, including Bhujbal, were sworn-in as ministers in the Maharashtra government at a surprise cabinet expansion on Sunday.
A conductor of Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC), who had allegedly tried to sexually molest a woman passenger on a moving bus, was taken into custody on Saturday, police said.

The accused was identified as Justine, a native of Neyyattinkara near Thiruvananthapuram.

According to police, the man had misbehaved with the woman after offering her a seat adjacent to him in the Malappuram-bound bus which began its journey from the state capital.

He convinced the woman, who took a ticket to Ernakulam, that the seat she occupied was already reserved and asked her to sit on the conductors seat until any other one became vacant.

After some time, the accused also came and sat adjacent to her on the same seat and allegedly misbehaved with her during the journey.

Based on the complaint of the woman, Aluva police took the conductor into the custody when the bus reached Ernakulam district.

His arrest would be recorded soon, Aluva police added.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is returning to Ukraine from Turkey, with Azov commanders previously interned in Turkey after the end of the fighting in Mariupol.

"We are returning home from Turkiye and bringing our heroes home. Ukrainian soldiers Denys Prokopenko, Svyatoslav Palamar, Serhiy Volynsky, Oleh Khomenko, Denys Shleha. They will finally be with their relatives. Glory to Ukraine," he said on his Telegram channel.

He also posted a video of all five boarding Zelenskyy's plane.

On September 22, 2022, Zelenskyy said Ukraine managed to return five of its military commanders in exchange for 55 of those who fought against the Ukrainian state and those who betrayed Ukraine.

"In addition to 200 warriors, we returned five more combat commanders. We fought for them the most. And the most difficult. They were threatened by the worst. Five superheroes  in exchange for them, we gave away 55 of those who deserve neither pity, nor sympathy, nor tears those who fought against Ukraine and those who betrayed Ukraine, those who we definitely do not need," Zelenskyy said in a video address. According to him, Ukraine has agreed with Turkey regarding this exchange.

"I talked about this with President Erdogan: that our five commanders, who are being released from captivity, will be in complete safety, in comfortable conditions and under the personal protection of the President of Turkey, at least until the end of the war, but we will provide their families with the opportunity to see them," he said.

As Kyrylo Budanov, head of the Main Intelligence Agency of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, said at the time, they would be in Turkey "for a certain period of time."
Three alleged sharpshooters of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, who were wanted in an extortion case, were apprehended in West Delhis Rohini area, police said on Saturday.

The accused have been identified as Udit Sadh (31), a resident of Krishna Nagar, Anish Kumar alias Mintu (42), a resident of Nangloi, and Mohit Gupta (27), from Nihal Vihar, they said.

On June 23, a merchant based in Old Delhis Lajpat Rai Market received an extortion call where the accused threatened him in the name of Lawrence Bishnoi and demanded Rs 20 lakh as protection money, a senior police officer said.

They used to call the complainant from an area near Tihar Jail, so it was presumed by the police and the complainant that the alleged caller was based in the prison, police said.

During the investigation, it was revealed that three criminals of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang were involved in the extortion case, they said.

On July 3, police got a tip-off that the accused persons would come near gate number-3 of Japanese Park, Rohini, they said.

A trap was laid and they were nabbed around 10.20 pm, Special Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) HGS Dhaliwal said.

Two single-shot pistols and four live cartridges were recovered from their possession, police said.

Sadh used to run a shop in Lajpat Rai Market and knew several wholesale dealers in the area, they said.

He started cheating people and went to jail in 2015. In the jail, he met with co-accused Anish and also the members of the Bishnoi gang, they said.

Thereafter, the accused persons hatched a conspiracy to threaten the merchants in the name of Lawrence Bishnoi, as they knew that they would get the extortion money easily in his name, police added.
India has the longest-written Constitution in the world. But about 14 per cent of Indias population  the Indian Muslims  is governed under the so-called personal laws or Sharia laws. Sharia is protected and perpetuated in India legally and constitutionally. No other democratic country across the world imposes Sharia through its courts or any other legal structures. India is an outlier in the sense that the country continues to protect uncodified and undefined Sharia practices.

Apart from the dubious origins of the law that protects Sharia in India, the legal grounds on which the Sharia law is protected are thin and flimsy. Any other law on the statute books would have been challenged in courts and eventually quashed for being vague, arbitrary, and unreasonable. Its one thing for the families to lead their personal lives through Sharia but its completely a different ball game for the courts to protect and guard such practises.

Here are five reasons why India should not grant any protection to the Sharia law in the country:

1. Shariat Application Act, 1937, is vague, arbitrary, and unreasonable: The entire fulcrum of the existence of the Muslim personal law in India is the Shariat Application Act, 1937. The pre-Independence Act cannot survive the constitutional judicial test of democratic India. The entire Act, on various counts, is vague, arbitrary and unreasonable.

The Act is declaratory in nature, which means it simply makes a declaration that Sharia law shall apply to Muslims. It does not define its objective, scope or welfare measure that it intends to implement. The Act is a wall that has been placed between the community law and the Constitution without any reasonable basis. Its a pre-Independence Act but the fact that it has survived in independent India is a legal conundrum.

2. No exhaustive definition of what Sharia is: The Shariat Application Act, 1937, lays down that the various aspects of lives of Muslims pertaining to marriage, divorce, inheritance, adoption, and others shall be governed by Sharia. The barely four-page-long, pre-Independence Act stands on thin legal grounds. The core term of the Act  Sharia  is undefined. Neither does the Act lay down any sources that must be relied upon when the word is interpreted.

The word Sharia law has been left open-ended. The term is at the mercy of the religious clergy to be used broadly or narrowly. This has also allowed distortion, misinformation, and propagation of evil practices under the cloak of religion. Though Sharia forms the core concept of the 1937 Act, its sources, origin, scope and why it must be protected remain unspecified. The Act at the outset is vague. Its prone to misuse and abuse. Vagueness and arbitrariness are the key grounds under which various laws passed by the country have been set aside.

3. Creation of class of Muslims, no clear objective, and without reasonable nexus: The Shariat Application Act is for the protection of Muslim personal law in India. While the existence of such an Act could be well understood in the pre-Independence era, under the British rule, its survival in the statute books today raises several questions.

When any special class is created and identified in a statute, it must be identified for a social objective. For example, notified Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes have been identified and given certain protections and privileges owing to their historical social and economic disempowerment. Similarly, if the Muslims as a class have been identified under this Act, then there must be a welfare aim for the state to justify such classification. The protection and imposition of Muslim personal law on all Muslims does not stand the legal test. The legal test under which the creation of a special class and grant of special rights or privileges ought to be directly proportional to the welfare measure sought to be implemented is not satisfied by the Shariat Application Act.

4. Protection to Sharia violates equality of religion before law: All religions ought to be treated alike and the State shall not have preference for one religion over another. The special protection to any one religious code or practice is clearly violative of equality of all religions before law. It is true that the state can make special provisions for the protection of minorities, but those provisions are for the welfare of communities. Shariat Application Act, 1937, is not a welfare legislation. It merely makes a declaration that Muslims shall be governed by Sharia. The Act grants a special immunity to Sharia practices without any welfarist objective.

5. Law cannot sanction discrimination: Diversity is an overstretched term. It is often used to protect archaic, discriminatory practises against women. So, it is unfortunate when courts grant legal sanctity to the marriage of a 15-year-old Muslim girl child because the Sharia law allows it. Such anomaly is allowed in the face of the provisions of the various laws framed for protection of children from sexual abuse.

Muslim law was the earliest proponent to grant property rights to women  much before English law or the Hindu law but the regressive turn that Islamic law has taken in the last 300 years cannot be ignored. An Act or statue, however old, cannot give legal sanction to medieval practices. It cannot be used as a tool to perpetuate discrimination.
A 46-year-old man has been arrested from the Salem Tabri locality here for allegedly killing three of a family with a hammer over being pestered to have a child, police said on Saturday.

The Ludhiana Police said the accused Robin alias Munna was a neighbour of the family and the incident took place on Thursday.

Commissioner of Police (CP) Mandeep Singh Sidhu told reporters here that the victims were a woman, her husband and her mother-in-law. The incident came to light on Friday morning.

Munna, an e-rickshaw driver, was annoyed as Surinder Kaur used to pester him about having a child and seeking treatment. He was offended as Kaur used to raise the issue in front of his wife, the officer said.

On Thursday morning, in a fit of rage, Munna attacked Kaur (aged around 70), her husband Chaman Lal (75) and her mother-in-law (aged around 90) with a hammer and bludgeoned them to death, Sidhu said.

Police said after his arrest, Munna did not show any sign of remorse. He also pleaded that his wife be arrested, as after him there was nobody to look after her, they said.

Munna has confessed to having committed the crime, the CP said.

To make the crime look like an accident, police said, Munna opened the valve of a cooking gas cylinder and lit an incense stick so that the room catches fire and all evidence is destroyed.

Police have seized a bag containing a camera and a mobile-phone belonging to one of the victims from Munna. The weapon used in the crime has also been seized, they said.

The hammer when examined under UV light had blood stains on it, police said.

The incident came to light on Friday morning when a milkman alerted neighbours about the victims house being locked from inside and no one responding, they said. The milkman told police that no one had opened the door of the house on Thursday too.

Neighbours climbed the front wall and entered the house to find all the three members of the family dead, police said.

Kaur and Lals four sons are working abroad, police said.
In 2018, a hilarious 12-minute film that spoke of a boy meeting a girl, falling in love, marrying, and having a childall in the span of clearing a heavy traffic jam in Bengaluruhad the city in splits. Despite the countless memes on the internet and attempts to decongest Bengaluru and assigning a senior police officer who famously helped to reduce the traffic congestion in major junctions, the city still continues to remain clogged.

The bustling city of Bengaluru, known for its thriving IT industry, has long grappled with severe traffic congestion. To alleviate this perennial issue, the newly formed Congress government in Karnataka has an ambitious plan to find an underground solution for its overground traffic problems. Deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar has been holding meetings with stakeholders and Bengaluru Metropolitan Region Development Authority (BMRDA) to work out a feasible plan that entails the construction of 50 kilometres of tunnels. The initial allocation of the budget is estimated at Rs 22,000 crore for the initial phase.

Deep dive

While the initial estimates for this ambitious project are a staggering Rs 50,000 crore, the envisioned network which is expected to span a total of 99 kilometres aims to enhance connectivity and mitigate traffic bottlenecks in Bengaluru. This comprises three major corridors that crisscross the IT city by connecting the North-South Corridor between Yelahanka and Silk Board Junction, and two East-West Corridors linking KR Puram and Goraguntepalya, Varthur Kodi, and Jnanabharathi. Three more connecting corridors are also proposed for the rest of the city.

Shivakumar believes that the construction of tunnel roads in Bengaluru is viewed as a promising solution to the citys notorious traffic gridlocks. However, caution is necessary, as feasibility and cost considerations must be carefully evaluated before proceeding with implementation.

The estimated cost of tunnelling stands at around Rs 450 crore per kilometre.

The state government intends to conduct a comprehensive feasibility study for building tunnel roads in congested areas of the city centre, to connect the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) with the IT corridors.

Past efforts

The proposal to build tunnels across Bengaluru is not a new one.

In 2017 in the first tenure of the Siddarmaiah-led Congress government, a preliminary report prepared by a Bulgarian company laid the foundation for the creation of a tunnel road in Bengaluru. This proposed project, spanning a length of 83 kilometres, was estimated to cost a staggering Rs 25,000 crore and planned to build three corridors across the IT city a North-South Corridor of around 16 km from Central Silk Board to Hebbal running through the Central Business district, another East-West Corridor from KR Puram to Goraguntepalya, and Jnana Bharathi to Varthur Kodi. These would also be connected through smaller connecting corridors. Despite planning and initial groundwork, the project failed to take off.

The same Congress government had two years earlier announced in 2015 its plans to decongest Bengalurus traffic via a tunnel ring road across the city. This proposed corridor aimed to enhance connectivity and alleviate traffic congestion. It included connecting Tumakuru Road with Doddaballapur Road, Ballari Road, Sarjapur Road, and finally converging with Hosur Road. After having a comprehensive feasibility report rendered for the project, it was noted that the project was not unviable.

The Yediyurappa-led BJP government also had a proposal in 2011 where the then Bengaluru development minister R Ashoka proposed a tunnel road. This proposal did not take off as the area that was proposed for the project had already been earmarked for the same stretch of land for an underground metro rail system.

If you go further back in 2007, the Karnataka government led by HD Kumaraswamy had also made an ambitious proposal of constructing a tunnel road that ran alongside the Vidhana Soudha and under the Raj Bhavan: that is from Minsk Square to Sankey Road. This proposal remained in cold storage.

Vision group

Trying to revive his mentor, SM Krishnas initiative called Bangalore Agenda Task Force (BATF), aimed at beautifying, developing, and decongesting Bengaluru, DK Shivakumar held a meeting with a vision group. This would involve prominent figures and stakeholders like Nandan Nilekani and Narayana Murthy among others. This vision group would also involve Bengaluru legislators and parliamentarians to help frame policies.

In the coming days, we plan to invite various stakeholders and entrepreneurs to form a Vision Bengaluru team, serving as an advisory group, he told the media.

Shivakumar also held a round of discussions with officials from AECOM, an international agency specialising in infrastructure design, to explore a range of solutions to decongest Bengaluru. Discussions encompassed not only the construction of tunnel roads but also the prospects of surface roads, elevated roads, and the concept of double-decker tunnel roads.

Missing link

According to officials working closely on this project, the fundamental idea behind the tunnel roads is to seamlessly link the inner roads of Bengaluru with the outer ring roads, thus facilitating smoother and more efficient movement for commuters while simultaneously alleviating congestion.

The government plans to adopt a public-private partnership (PPP) model, partially funding the project through the hybrid annuity model. There is also a proposal to implement toll collections on the tunnels which will help in the recovery of investments.

According to sources, should this plan come to fruition, Bengaluru would be home to one of the most extensive networks of tunnel roads in this part of the world.
Mrunal Thakur is currently basking in the love that the popularity of her latest work, Lust Stories 2 has bought among her fans. The actor recently wore a semi-formal outfit at an occasion in Dubai. The clothing line Arokas racks were where Mrunal Thakur chose her attire for the Dubai event. Mrunal Thakur wore a denim co-ord outfit, which costs $13,400 and includes an indigo wrap crop top and trousers. Her outfit was completed by Mrunal Thakur wearing a $16,000 indigo denim blazer from the same brand.

Check out Mrunals latest post here-

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Mrunal Thakur (@mrunalthakur)

Mrunal Thakur uploaded a series of pictures to her Instagram account with the note, I dont want to say Du-bye. Ill back to Dubai soon. As Mrunal Thakur took over the streets of Dubai wearing only jeans, she posed for the camera.

Mrunal Thakur recently spurned western clothing in favour of a pink salwar suit for her most recent photo shoot. Mrunal Thakur jusr spoiled her extended family of more than 9.3 million Instagram fans with some entrancing images of herself wearing a pink salwar suit with embellishments.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Mrunal Thakur (@mrunalthakur)

Sometimes you just gotta pink outside the box," Mrunal Thakur captioned her post.

Mrunal Thakur was dressed in a pastel pink embroidered kurta ensemble that also had matching trousers and a dupatta with sequin embroidery. Mrunal Thakur added gentle beach waves and left long locks hanging loose. She wore modest makeup but had striking kohl eyes. Mrunal Thakur poses gorgeously for the camera while displaying her exquisite clothing. Mrunal Thakur accessorised her ensemble with pearl earrings to keep it simple yet royal.

We may infer from Mrunals fashion diaries that the pretty woman can pull off any style, whether it be western or ethnic. Do you concur?
Celebrate World Rum Day with aplomb and some delicious rum cocktails. Indulge in the rich flavors and tropical vibes that this beloved spirit brings. Sip on classic concoctions like Mojitos and Pina Coladas, or explore innovative creations such as Dark and Stormy or Mai Tai. Rum Day Cocktails are the perfect way to raise a glass and toast to the delightful world of rum. Here are 3 recipes for you to cheer on!

Viva El Ron

Cuba Libre

Ingredients:

50 ml (1.7 oz) Viva El Ron

120 ml (4 oz) cola

15 ml (0.5 oz) freshly squeezed lime juice

Ice cubes

Lime wedge, for garnish

Method:

Fill a highball glass with ice cubes. This type of glass is tall and narrow, typically holding around 300-400 ml (10-13 oz) of liquid.

Measure and pour 50 ml (1.7 oz) of Viva El Ron into the glass.

Squeeze the juice of half a lime to obtain approximately 15 ml (0.5 oz) of lime juice. Make sure to remove any seeds or pulp.

Add the freshly squeezed lime juice to the glass with the rum.

Slowly pour 120 ml (4 oz) of cola into the glass. The cola can be any brand or type you like.

Gently stir the ingredients together using a cocktail stirrer or a long spoon. Be careful not to disturb the carbonation too much.

Garnish the glass with a lime wedge by sliding it onto the rim. This adds a decorative touch to the cocktail.

Your Cuba Libre is now ready to be enjoyed! Serve it immediately and savor the refreshing combination of rum, cola, and lime.

Ashanti Spiced Rum

Ashanti Old Fashioned

Ingredients:

60 ml Ashanti Spiced Rum

5 ml simple syrup

2 dashes Spice Route Bitters

Orange peel (for garnish)

Method:

Take an Old Fashioned glass and add the orange peel and simple syrup.

Using a muddler or the back of a spoon, gently muddle the orange peel to release its oils and combine it with the simple syrup. This will help infuse the flavors into the drink.

Pour in the Ashanti Spiced Rum. Ashanti is a brand of spiced rum known for its unique flavor profile.

Add the two dashes of Spice Route Bitters. These bitters will contribute additional aromatic and flavor elements to the cocktail.

Fill the glass with ice cubes. The ice will help chill the drink and dilute it slightly.

Stir the mixture gently using a bar spoon. This will combine the ingredients and cool down the drink.

Once the cocktail is properly chilled and mixed, its time to garnish. Take a fresh orange peel and twist it over the glass to release its oils. This will give a lovely aroma to the drink.

Finally, drop the twisted orange peel into the glass as a garnish.

Your Ashanti Old Fashioned is now ready to be enjoyed!

Bush Rum Mango

Mango Mojito

Ingredients:

60 ml Bush Rum Mango

30 ml fresh lime juice

20 ml simple syrup

6-8 fresh mint leaves

Soda water

Lime wedges and mint sprigs (for garnish)

Method:

Take a tall glass and add the fresh mint leaves, lime juice, and simple syrup.

Using a muddler or the back of a spoon, gently muddle the mint leaves to release their oils and combine them with the lime juice and simple syrup. This will help infuse the flavors into the drink.

Fill the glass with ice cubes. The ice will help chill the cocktail and keep it refreshing.

Pour in the Bush Rum Mango, which is a rum infused with the tropical flavor of mango. It will add a delicious fruity twist to the Mojito.

Stir the mixture gently to combine the ingredients.

Top the glass with soda water. The soda water will add a bubbly and fizzy element to the drink while lightening the flavors.

Give the Mojito a final gentle stir to mix in the soda water.

Garnish the cocktail with lime wedges and a few fresh mint sprigs. The lime wedges will add a pop of citrus flavor, while the mint sprigs will provide an aromatic touch.

Your Bush Rum Mango Mojito is now ready to be enjoyed! Sip and savor the tropical flavors of this delightful rum-based cocktail. Cheers!
In a well-known and oft-repeated anecdote, Sudha Murthy recounts being the first girl student in her Engineering college. There were 600 students there, and she was the only girl amongst them. It was so unusual for women to aspire to engineering back then, that her college didnt even have a girls toilet. That was in the 1960s.

Since then, weve focused on uplifting the girl child, on educating her, on making her a part of the workforce, and on making her financially independent. But, as Mark Ballas book, Toilet Warrior will tell you, if you dont give her a safe and clean toilet, she will drop out.

Imagine if your workplace told you that they took gender equality seriously, and that they were working hard to fix glass ceilings for women and pay gap issues and they had no toilets for women. Would you take them seriously? No. It would look like lip service - all talk, without the walk.

And yet, we let these same workplaces off the hook on diversity, when they have no toilets for people who are transgender, intersex or non-binary. We believe that these corporations, colleges, shopping malls, movie theatres, restaurants, etc are allies when they display pride colours, but fail to notice that should transgender, non-binary and intersex people come to work/play/learn in these spaces, theyd have nowhere to go to the toilet.

Isnt that just lip service towards the LGBTQ+ community at a societal level? And a very big collective blind spot?

Fortunately, the solution isnt one that needs a serious infrastructure overhaul. Often, all we need are a few updates to existing facilities to convert them into gender neutral toilets. These facilities are designed without gendered signage and eliminate the need for individuals to conform to a specific gender identity. Inclusive toilets may offer additional amenities such as accessibility features, baby changing facilities, dispensers for sanitary products, and other specific requirements depending on the context. They are alternatively referred to as all-gender, gender-neutral, or unisex toilets, emphasising their commitment to inclusivity and dismantling the barriers created by traditional gender divisions.

Why are inclusive toilets important for gender equality?

Inclusive toilets are important for gender equality for several reasons:

We know now that gender is a spectrum. The traditional gender segregated toilet recognises and validates only male and female genders, thereby othering everyone else.

Inclusive toilets respect the diversity of gender identities and expressions, and discriminate against no one. An inclusive toilet is for everyone. They promote equality and dignity for all people, regardless of their gender identity or expression, by providing them with safe and adequate toilets.

They reduce the risk of discrimination, harassment, and violence that transgender, intersex and nonbinary people often face when using gender-segregated toilets.

They foster inclusive societies that value diversity and respect human rights, by creating spaces that welcome and accommodate everyone.

How do inclusive toilets contribute to social progress?

Inclusive toilets contribute to social progress by creating positive impacts on various aspects of society, such as:

Education

The findings of a 2021 survey conducted across India by the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, Boston Consulting Group, and Pride Circle serve as a poignant reminder of the challenges the LGBTQ+ community endures. Shockingly, 64% of LGBTQ+ students have experienced discrimination or ridicule, with 92% enduring mocking, 59% enduring bullying, and 26% facing social exclusion. Perhaps most troubling is the fact that 36% of these students choose to keep their true selves hidden, afraid to reveal their identities due to the lack of LGBTQ+ friendliness on campus.

Just like the provision of clean and safe toilets improves attendance for girl students, the same is true for transgender and nonbinary students, who may otherwise avoid going to school or using the toilet due to fear of bullying or violence. Inclusive toilets can also create a more supportive and respectful learning environment for all students, by fostering awareness and acceptance of gender diversity.

Health

Many transgender and/or non-binary people prefer to hold it, rather than subject themselves to the indignity of going to a toilet where they arent welcome. Physically, this can lead to the development of urinary tract infections, kidney problems, and other related health issues. Moreover, many of them also resort to restricting their food and water intake. This can, and does, lead to dehydration, especially in our weather. According to a study, among the transgender and/or nonbinary youth who experienced bathroom discrimination, 85% reported depressive mood and 60% seriously considered suicide. These experiences are echoed by transgender and non-binary people everywhere, including India. Inclusive toilets lead to better physical and mental health for all users.

Economy

According to the World Bank, poor toilet sanitation costs the global economy $260 billion per year in lost productivity. To put this in context for the LGBTQ+ community, according to the 2011 Census, there are 4.88 lakh transgender individuals in India, of which 55,000 are children. Each of these people has much to contribute to our nation, to their families and to themselves. But they cant do so when we create barriers to them meeting their most basic needs. When the LGBTQ+ community has access to gender-inclusive toilets, it enables them to participate more actively in the workforce.

What are some examples of inclusive toilets around the world?

Inclusive toilets are becoming more common around the world, as more governments, organisations, businesses, and individuals recognise their benefits and adopt them in various settings. Some examples of inclusive toilets are:

In England and Wales, transgender people have been legally entitled to use gender-segregated toilets that align with their gender identity since the introduction of the Equality Act (2010). However, many public venues have also implemented gender-neutral toilets to provide more options and accessibility for their customers and staff. For instance, some universities, museums, libraries, theatres and pubs have converted some or all of their existing toilets into unisex facilities.

In Canada, several provinces and municipalities have passed laws or policies that require public buildings to provide at least one gender-neutral toilet. For example, Vancouver passed a bylaw in 2018 that mandates all new and renovated city-owned buildings to have at least one universal washroom. Similarly, Ontario passed a law in 2015 that requires all newly built or extensively renovated public buildings to have at least one barrier-free washroom.

In China, the first unisex and gender-neutral toilets were constructed sometime before 2013. Since then many districts have accepted the concept. Some cities have experimented with gender-neutral toilets as a way to address the issue of long queues for womens toilets. For example, Beijing launched a pilot project in 2016 that converted some public toilets into unisex facilities with individual stalls. The project received positive feedback from users who appreciated the convenience and privacy of the new design.

In Nepal, Bageshwori Park was the first public space to have two unisex toilets. The MP used the Parliamentarian Development Fund to establish bathrooms for a growing trend in Nepal to offer accommodations for transgender people. Several organisations and alliances within Nepal continue to support separate toilets for transgender students within the public and private school systems.

How is India adopting inclusive toilets?

In India, while inclusive toilets may not be widespread, there are inspiring examples of educational institutions taking proactive steps. One notable case is the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay, where gender-neutral toilets were installed on campus as early as 2017. This initiative was championed by Saathi, an LGBTQ+ student support group at IIT Bombay, showcasing the power of student-led advocacy in fostering inclusivity.

Another institution leading the way is the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) Mumbai, which also introduced gender-neutral toilets on its campus in 2017. The effort was spearheaded by Queer Collective, an LGBTQ+ student group at TISS Mumbai, emphasising the importance of student-driven initiatives in creating safe and inclusive spaces for all.

Today, several Indian universities are recognising the need for gender-neutral toilets. Institutions such as IIT Delhi have taken the initiative to inaugurate gender-neutral washrooms on their campuses. In fact, IIT Delhi now boasts 14 such facilities. Additionally, Tezpur University in Assam and the National Academy of Legal Studies and Research (NALSAR) in Andhra Pradesh have also embraced gender-neutral washrooms, recognising the importance of providing an inclusive environment for all students. NALSAR goes a step further by adopting a gender-neutral trans policy and the recognition of a gender-neutral title, Mx," on students certificates, paving the way for other institutions to follow.

More recently, the Supreme Court set another precedent by establishing nine gender-neutral bathrooms within the august corridors of the Court itself.

Both the government and corporate India have taken up the mantle of change, including the leading brand in the lavatory care segment, Harpic. With a genuine understanding and an open-hearted approach, Harpic has made significant strides in ensuring its products cater to the diverse fabric of society, including the LGBTQ+ community. Recognising the transformative power of education in shaping attitudes, Harpic has launched inspiring campaigns that shed light on the various gender identities that exist. These impactful initiatives serve to awaken and nurture society, fostering an environment of acceptance.

One noteworthy collaboration between Harpic and News18, known as Mission Swachhta aur Paani, goes beyond the concept of cleanliness alone. It is a movement that acknowledges the profound importance of toilets, viewing them not just as functional spaces, but as symbols of safety and inclusivity for marginalised individuals. This exceptional mission is founded on the belief that clean and inclusive toilets are essential for building a society that unconditionally embraces and empowers everyone. With unwavering dedication, Harpic and News18 actively include and advocate for the LGBTQ+ community, spreading the message that every individual deserves access to safe and accepting spaces where their dignity is respected, and their presence is warmly embraced.

Conclusion

Inclusive toilets are more than just facilities for bodily functions. They are equalisers of opportunity. When an office has a gender neutral toilet, it becomes a workplace that welcomes everyone. Ditto colleges, museums, public parks, and everywhere else.

Gender neutral toilets are symbols of social change and progress, reflecting and shaping the values and norms of our societies. By providing safe and adequate toilets for everyone, regardless of their gender identity or expression, inclusive toilets can contribute to advancing gender equality and fostering inclusive societies. Inclusive toilets are not only a matter of convenience, but also a matter of human rights and dignity.

Join us here, to learn how you can do your part in this national conversation.
Three new Tamil movies hit the theaters on the first Friday of July 2023, offering audiences a variety of genres to choose from. The movies are directed by three distinguished directors of the industry and are expected to fare good, both critically and commercially.

Lets have a brief look at the list of Tamil Movies that released on Friday, July 7:

Bumper

Bumper, a Tamil comedy film directed by M. Selvakumar and produced by S. Thiagaraja and T. Anandajothi, features Vetri as the lead protagonist and marks the debut of Shivani Narayanan as the female lead. The film revolves around the Keralla Lottery and the prize money. With music composed by Govind Vasantha, Bumper has received a U/A certificate and there are reports suggesting that it may also have an OTT release in the future.

Infinity

Infinity, an action-packed crime drama directed by Sai Karthik and produced by V. Manikandan, U. Prabhu, K. Arputharajan, and D. Balabaskaran, features Natarajan, Vidya Pradeep, and Subramaniam in pivotal roles. Balasubramaniam G has composed the music for the film. The story revolves around a CBI officer investigating a series of murders in Chennai, promising an intriguing suspense-filled narrative in a dynamic setting.

Kaadapura Kalaikuzhu

Raja Guruswamys directorial debut, Kaadapura Kalaikuzhu is a film set in the picturesque village of KaraKatta and centered around its art, has garnered attention. The movie features Muneeskanth and Kali Venkat in the lead roles. Raja Guruswamy has not only directed the film but also penned its captivating story.
Actor Ranbir Kapoor was spotted at Mumbai Airport on Thursday as he made his way to London to surprise his mother, Neetu Kapoor, for her birthday. He requested the paparazzi to wait a day before posting his photos and videos to keep the surprise intact. Neetu, who is currently in London, turns 65 on July 8.

The veteran actress posted a photo on Instagram capturing her son Ranbir Kapoor, daughter Riddhima Kapoor Sahani, son-in-law Bharat Sahni, and granddaughter Samara. In the caption, she wrote that she dearly missed her loves - daughter-in-law Alia Bhatt and granddaughter Raha. In the picture, Neetu can be seen in a stylish, red pantsuit, while Ranbir can be seen looking handsome in a grey suit paired with a white t-shirt. Check out the picture here:

Taking to the caption, Neetu wrote, Beautiful cherished day  missed @aliaabhatt #raha ( my loves ) @riddhimakapoorsahniofficial @brat.man @samarasahnii

Alia Bhatt wasted no time in showing her affection. She showered the post with heart emojis and left a comment saying, Love you." Currently caught up with the promotions of Karan Johars upcoming film Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani,"in which she shares the screen with Ranveer Singh, Alia remains busy in Mumbai.

Alia, too, took to Instagram to post a birthday note for her mother-in-law. Happy birthday, queen," she wrote.

Meanwhile, Alia Bhatts highly anticipated Hollywood debut film Heart Of Stone is all set to release on August 11. The actress will be seen sharing screen space with Gal Gadot for the same. The makers had already unveiled the trailer at Netflixs Tudum event in Brazil and the buzz around the same is slowly building up as we inch forward towards the release date.

On the other hand, days after superstar Shah Rukh Khan dropped the teaser of Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani, Karan Johar has released the trailer of the film and it looks promising. The film is slated to release on July 28, 2023.
Back in the day, when Shahid Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor were dating, a picture of them kissing had gone viral and it made headlines across the country over their passionate lip-lock. The year was 2004 and back then it became a huge deal even in the absence of social. While the actor had denied in the past that it wasnt him in the leaked clipping. However, years after that incident, Shahid Kapoor has reacted to it in a different way.

In an interview with Mid-Day, the Bloody Daddy actor explained, I was destroyed at that time. I was just a 24-year-old kid and I felt my privacy had been invaded and I could do nothing to protect it. I was a mess, I was like, yeh kya ho gaya and what is going on and of course it affects you a lot. At that age especially, because you dont even know exactly your own feelings and then you are figuring out, how to be with a girl and you are dating you know all that is going on and you are actors in different places and all that is happening and in the middle this happens"

He further recalled, I think know you are aware that it is 100% going to happen. At that time, we were caught off guard by it So, it is like a informed devil as opposed to an uninformed devil scenario. You at least know, yeh toh hone wala hai. Also ab toh meri shaadi ho gayi hai, bachche ho gaye hain. Nobody is interested in those things about me. They have other 24-year-olds to focus on."

The actor went on to marry Mira Rajput. Shahid Kapoor and Mira Rajput got married in July 2015. The wedding being an intimate affair was only attended by close family members and friends. As part of their celebrations, the duo had hosted two ceremonies which consisted of pheras and an Anand Karaj organised at Miras home in Delhi followed by two receptions, one in Delhi and another one in Mumbai for Shahids friends and colleagues from the film industry. The couple then went on to become proud parents of son Zain and daughter Misha.

On the work front, Shahid Kapoor was recently seen in Raj & DKs thriller series Farzi alongside Vijay Sethupathi, Raashii Khanna, Bhuvan Arora, Regina Cassandra and Zakir Husain. He followed it up with another engaging thriller titled Bloody Daddy. The actor also has a film lined up with Kriti Sanon.
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BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 7. The leaders of religious denominations in Azerbaijan have issued a joint statement condemning the burning of the Quran in Sweden, Trend reports.

The statement says:

"In the name of the One Creator!

We, the leaders of the Muslim, Orthodox, Jewish, Catholic and Albanian-Udi confessions operating in Azerbaijan, strongly condemn the burning of the holy book of Muslims, the Quran, in the presence of policemen standing near the mosque on June 28 in the capital of Sweden, Stockholm, in which, along with the Prophet Muhammad, the prophets Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Holy Mary. We consider this disgusting incident an Islamophobic provocation and an act of savage vandalism."

Unprecedented showcases of Islamophobia, such as insulting cartoons of the Islamic prophet, and the explicit support of these actions by the head of state, began with France positioning itself as the cradle of democracy.

France, committed to the ideas of colonialism, and today, remaining true to its Islamophobic character, supports aggressive separatism in Azerbaijan, creates obstacles to achieving peace in the region. The actions of a number of unscrupulous persons inspired by the vile example of France - the head of the ultra-right party Stram Kurs ("Hard Line") in Stockholm with the permission and under the auspices of Swedish government agencies, as well as acts of insulting Islam, its prophet, the Holy Koran, committed against all Muslims under the slogans of democracy and freedom of expression in the Netherlands were clearly a call to hatred and were condemned by believers as a moral crime against the beliefs and dignity of people.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the ministerial meeting of the Coordinating Bureau of the Non-Aligned Movement, held on July 5 this year in Baku, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said the following: "One of the countries that still is pursuing the neo-colonialism is France.<...> Nearly 1.5 million Algerians were killed during genocidal French rule. Sculls of Algerian freedom fighters still are kept in Paris museum as war trophies. This is cynical and disgusting. We demand President Emmanuel Macron of France to hand over to Algeria the remains of its heroes".

We support these thoughts, as well as the decisions and resolutions adopted by the Non-Aligned Movement. At the same time, we welcome the joint document "On Human Brotherhood for World Peace and for Living Together", signed on February 4, 2019 by His Holiness Pope Francis and the Supreme Imam of Al-Azhar, Sheikh Muhammad Ahmad Al-Tayeb, and highly appreciate UN Security Council Resolution No. 2686 of June 14, in which Deep concern was expressed about cases of discrimination, intolerance and extremism caused, in particular, by Islamophobia".
Tom Cruise is currently gearing up for the release of his much-awaited Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One. During one of the recent promotional interviews for the film, the Hollywood star left everyone completely impressed as she spoke in Hindi fluently.

In a video from the interview that has now surfaced on social media, an interviewer is seen praising Tom Cruise. Is there anything you cannot do? she adding that he is also speaking French in Dead Reckoning. While I am hearing speak French, I am like, Oh my gosh, is he going to speak in Hindi with me when I see him? the interviewer adds. To this, Tom Cruise leaves everyone stunned as he says, If you want me to speak in Hindi with you, I will. Lets try. You give me.. He then greets all saying namastey and adds, aap kaise hain?"

Tom Cruises Hindi speaking skills have left netizens in complete awe. Reacting to the video, one of the users called him Too cute". Another fan wrote, Love this, hes so down to earth ." That laugh is classic. Always was, always will be, a third comment read.

Tom Cruise speaking Hindi+classic TC laugh and being totally charming as always #TomCruise #MissionImpossible pic.twitter.com/bIqbF4YVE0 Tom Cruise News (@TCNews62) July 6, 2023

Meanwhile, talking about Mission Impossible 7, Tom Cruise is back as Ethan Hunt. This time, he and his IMF team ae on their most dangerous mission yet: to track down a terrifying new weapon that threatens all of humanity before it falls into the wrong hands. With control of the future and the fate of the world at stake, and dark forces from Ethans past closing in, a deadly race around the globe begins. Confronted by a mysterious, all-powerful enemy, Ethan is forced to consider that nothing can matter more than his mission  not even the lives of those he cares about most.

Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One will hit theatres on July 12.
Actor Yash, known for his exceptional performance in the blockbuster KGF films, has captivated audiences worldwide with his on-screen presence. On Saturday, he interacted with his dedicated fan base in Malaysia during a special event held in Kuala Lumpur. In a video, Yash can be seen delivering a famous dialogue from KGF.

The occasion is the launch of Malik Streams Corporations second MS Gold shop in Kuala Lumpur. The founder and CEO of Malik Streams Corporation, Datuk Abdul Malik Dasthigeer, expressed his excitement about Yashs presence at the inauguration, noting that the esteemed actor, whose real name is Naveen Kumar Gowda, will undoubtedly elevate the event.

While Yashs visit to Malaysia brings joy to his fans, there is also buzz surrounding his upcoming projects. It is speculated that he will make a cameo appearance in Prabhas highly anticipated film, Salaar. Directed by Prashanth Neel, the film has sparked rumors of a potential crossover between the KGF universe and Salaar, adding to the excitement among fans.

In Salaar, Yashs iconic character, Rocky, from the KGF films will share the screen with Prabhas, creating an unprecedented on-screen collaboration. Produced by the Hombale Films, the same production house behind the KGF franchise, Salaar has already generated immense anticipation, with fans eagerly awaiting its trailer release. As Yash continues to make his mark in the industry, details about his next project remain undisclosed.
Violent protests have become a common sight across France and are unlikely to cease in the near future. The horror will return in another form and another place. The protestors that turned violent asked for justice and not to be tranquillized. Since 2017, the French police have been heavily militarised in the name of serving the public but it has made the secular republic a republic of fear, at least for the people of colour concerned. The 17-year black African teenager, Nehal M, was from the town of Nanterre to the west of Paris. The only child of a single mother was a rugby enthusiast and had no criminal past  it truly mirrors the George Floyd moment that created havoc across the US and its treatment of citizens of colour.

But the turn of events of violent protests caught by mob culture looting eateries to Yamaha bikes and to the dismay, even burning libraries, caught attention across the world. Irrespective of emotive logic, this was another assault on the meaning of logical expression of protests and helping any immediate possibility of such repetitions. At times, protests often fail logic and its central concern is if protesters have been dehumanised in a so-called civilised world. France is definitely at a crossroads, its colonial past is haunting its present policies and failing to integrate its citizens who were migrants and once sufferers of French colonialism. Protests have been a profound feature of the French Republic and most of the social movements and nature of protests across the world draw its logic and expression from 1968 new social movements.

The very core idea of protest is to bring the state to its senses that people matter, whether they are under authoritarian regimes or democracies. The cultural production of grievances signifies the collective meaning of protests and France has been the hallmark of such protest culture; the only difference is the mob culture that has brought certain anarchy to its streets and fails to justify the value attached to protests. It rather deepens the structural problem and further trivializes the question of racism, dehumanisation and lack of political will for integration.

In recent history, France has seen myriads of such events. The headscarves issues, the Charlie Hebdo moment and its aftermath, the usual sights of lone wolves knife attacks, and the killing of teachers on alleged charges of hurting religious sentiments have previously challenged the French government and its aggressive secular narratives. In 2005, a series of events brought the French state to call for a national emergency and in recent events, whether the Yellow Vests movement or nationwide strikes by unions and other concerned institutions on passing pension bills through extra-constitutional mechanisms. Different protests have different reasons and despite being harrowingly violent at times, the coverage of black people and their Arab identity invite a communal tone calling it a Muslim Phenomenon. Such absurdities wont comfort the truth that France has serious problems of social, economic and political integration.

The arming of French police in 2017 defied the logic of protection of people on the street, rather it has given the police complete impunity against its own crime, more so when it comes to dehumanising black French citizens. In 2022, such events occurred on many occasions but the French police were never cautioned and no authentic justice was served. Police have been allowed to feed themselves with this act of violence on their own people in the name of secularisation and securitisation. If crimes dont meet justice, then response wont stop until you become a republic of fear.

The chaos is much deeper in France and the racism question has been a structural challenge. Despite the violent responses on the streets that cant be justified in the name of any cause, this wont stop. Anarchy is unacceptable in a civilised society but the state also cant remain in Hobbesian logic over the monopoly of violence. For some form or reason, it will catch another suburb sooner or later. And that is exactly the burning streets across France and the responses post Nehal events that have been sending messages.

Emmanuel Macrons second term is full of miscalculations, its policies under a no-majority government have invited major challenges back home but it has been giving more attention to foreign policies than to domestic challenges. Macrons logic of first implementing the policy and then creating consensus has brought more chaos inside France. With rising populism in France, the recent proclaims of police unions of giving the protest a civil war situation would further trivialize the matter and might deepen the existing structural problems of integrations.

Half-baked narratives such as giving it a religious, racial and cultural angle wont provide any solution to burning streets in France nor the policymakers if still they believe the logic of surveillance can cover the schism in the society. The UN has raised alarm and cautioned the French government and so have the political opponents of Macron who might be ready to use the hate industry to further feed its populism politics but such regressive thinking wont help the French Republic and its secular logic. On the contrary, the violence on the streets will further damage the needy applicants who wish to come to France for their future.

This is a flux and a dead end and in the long run, only people will suffer more. Macrons logic of inexcusable and unjustifiable over violent protests can only help his party and the republic if he addresses the structural problems with consensus across political ideologies. There is an economic cost to anarchy which would damage the state, society and citizens. The Olympic games are going to be held next year in France and this would be the test of whether the government can prevent such episodic turmoil which is costing its image and capability.

Aggressive secularism and failures of social integrations under the infrastructure of colonial logic will bleed France more than any war outside. Nelson Mandela once wrote Let there be justice for all. Let there be peace for all and that could help Macron and the French Republic to address those grievances that, at times, fall into anarchy on the street.

The author is a former Assistant Professor at Nelson Mandela Centre for Peace and Conflict Resolution, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi and a PhD in International Studies from JNU, New Delhi. He can be reached at mailpremmishra@gmail.com. Views expressed are personal.
A journey of thousand miles begins with a single step is a famous Chinese proverb. And China has practised it religiously.

It has doubled its territory in less than 50 years through the incursion of neighbouring countries. China is causing trouble for all its neighbours each passing day. India is facing the heat in Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh every now and then. Nepal is being squeezed and bumped with economic might. The South China Sea is the cause of trouble for Japan, Korea and Vietnam, with other Pacific Rim countries. Pakistan has already gifted Gilgit and Baltistan to China. The other neighbours  Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Magnolia and Afghanistan  are also on Chinese radar for border expansion through incursions.

China is equipped not only with biological weaponry like Covid viruses but a bigger worry is its autocratic regime. Absolute power with no democracy is deadlier than anything under the Sun, that this very world has seen with Stalin, Mao & Hitler, not too long ago. Its time to tame the dragon before it blows the entire world with its never-ending quest for supremacy and expansion spree. President Xi Jinping is the new Hitler and will remain at the helm of affairs until death.

Post-World War II, the entire world aligned into NATO and Warsaw treaties  the US and its friendly nations and the mighty USSR and its allies. The Cold War has created so many never-ending crises in the world but at the same time, it has opened new horizons of technology. The Cold War was fought on many levels e.g., weaponry, artillery, space science and of course, the most important thing that has changed our lives permanently  the internet. The Cold War was a covert operation between the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti (KGB). The might of the USSR was such that espionage became difficult, and to enter its territory came the invention of the internet inside the Pentagon  the US defence strategy base. But the traces of the Cold War are still alive in Afghanistan, the Middle East, Vietnam etc.

This Cold War ended with the complete disintegration of the USSR. How was this achieved by the US and its allies? Remember the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)? This was the first weapon deployed by the US to harm the USSR. This was done by encouraging Saudi Arabia to increase its exploration capacities manifold.

The second weapon that the US deployed was that of sub-nationalism or ethnic nationalism that existed among satellite states of the USSR. These states were Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Chechnya, Ukraine, Belarus, and nine more. The US encouraged the rise of ethnic nationalism in these USSR states and encouraged their people to become independent. This was done through Glasnost and Perestroika. The strategy worked.

The US is a federation of 50 states but its not easy to separate them because they have a common language, culture, and ethnicity (almost all are immigrants from Europe, Asia, Africa etc) so have no ethnic element which can bring them or break them out. Countries like India are less prone to fall to it despite efforts from China in Northeast and Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh UTs. India shares the same ethnicity thousands of years back in history. Cultural nationalism has brought the country together even after centuries of oppression by invaders, philosophies, and religious aggression.

Now let us look at China

China was a relatively small country of 4.5 million sq km till 1911, called Mainland China, and today stands at 9.597 million sq km. The rest of the area is the result of incursion and invasion of the neighbouring countries. Manchuria in the Northeast, Inner Mongolia or South Mongolia in the North, Tibet in the South, East Turkestan in the West and Yunnan in the far Southeast. The mode of invasion was agrarian incursion in those days. Millions of farmers (of the Chinese Han tribe) were forcibly settled into Manchuria and South Mongolia to increase the Mandarin-speaking people in those countries in the first decade of the 19th century. Today, the native Mongols or Manchurians are a minority. Mainland China is only 50 percent of the total area in Chinese control as on date.

The Qing dynasty of Manchuria ruled Mainland China for over three centuries (1644-1912) before China took control of it in 1912 and is still in control of it. Manchuria has a different language, culture and ethnicity.

People of East Turkistan (now Xinjiang) are ethnically connected to Turkey and Kazakh people. China took over its territory in 1882. The Uyghur Muslims are fighting today for their independence from the Chinese autocracy. Uyghur ethnic Muslims are the talk of the moment in terms of human rights issues.

South Mongolia or Inner Mongolia was an integral part of the mighty Mongol Khanate of Genghis Khan. He and his successors ruled all over Mainland China for centuries. After the fall of the Khanate, China took over it in 1911. The ethnicity and cultural attachment and belongingness of the people of Inner Mongolia is with Mongolia, not China.

Tibet (known as Trivishtap in ancient Vedic scriptures) was once part of Indian kingdoms. Tibet was the centre of Bodh practitioners of the Indian subcontinent for thousands of years and shared cultural and emotional bonding along with ethnicity. China invaded it in 1951. Tibet government-in-exile has its capital at Dharmshala in Himachal Pradesh and H H Dalai Lama took refuge in India.

Yunnan is down South of present-day China and was invaded in the year 1274. It still has more than 25 ethnic languages spoken and they relate to Burmese culture.

These are the area-wise details of the five major countries currently under Chinese occupation except Hong Kong, Macau and Taipei-

East-Turkestan/Xinjiang 1.664 million sq km Tibet/Xizang 1.228 million sq km Manchuria 1.192 million sq km South Mongolia/Inner Mongolia 1.183 million sq km Yunnan .4 million sq km

Mainland China is only about 50 percent of the total area governed by the PRC.

Course of Action

Looking into the present-day aggression of China in Eurasia and the Far East, its time for the rest of the world to act in tandem to tame this dragon before it becomes more monstrous and formidable. Chinas biggest weakness is its autocracy. People are being deprived of their basic rights like freedom of speech, the right to pray and practice their faith, the right to protest against the government, etc, the list is long. The Tiananmen Square student agitation and massacre of thousands of students is evidence of this autocratic and ruthless regime. People are fed up with the curbs on their basic rights. Its time for the ethnic nationalism movement to usher in to end this 100-year-long oppression of more than 1.5 billion people.

Chinas Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) is fighting at both internal and external fronts. The Uyghur Muslim unrest in Xingjian (former East Turkestan) can easily escalate with the help of Turkey, Saudi Arabia and other Islamic countries. East Turkestan being a former part of the Turkish Ottoman empire under Ertugrul and subsequent Islamic regimes can be disintegrated with the collective efforts of these countries with the help of Russia and the US.

The Tibetan government-in-exile operates from India and the world needs to recognise it. Former US President Donald Trump passed a resolution regarding the status of Tibet during his stint. India can play a pivotal role in the religious connection with Buddha and Kailash Mansarovar. The freedom of Tibet has seen many violent protests and incidents of self-immolation by Tibetan youth for freedom from China. India needs to work on it and settle the border issues with China once and for all as the present-day leadership has the guts and peoples mandate to do it.

Japan ruled Manchuria briefly in the early 20th century. Manchuria has a separate culture, language and ethnicity from Chinese Mandarin. Manchuria can ask for freedom from Chinese occupation with the help of Japan and Korea. It will be strategically strong positioning for the rest of the world as a huge cost line comes under Manchuria.

Inner Mongolia or South Mongolia, the names themselves are reasons for them to be with Mongolia. Russia and Japan can play a big role with the help of Mongolia to move out of the Peoples Republic of China.

The world is witnessing growing cultural and ethnic nationalism from all parts. People rejected the leftist theory of communism. The worlds biggest democracies have elected pro-nationalist leaders. Narendra Modi in India, Putin in Russia, Trump in the US, Shinzo Abe in Japan, Boris Johnson in England, and Netanyahu in Israel have won the elections on the issues of nationalism and preserving ethnic values. These world leaders can sync in collective energies and expertise to come along and break China into six parts to make this planet happy and liveable again.

Gopal Goswami is a researcher & Columnist, tweets @igopalgoswami. Views expressed are personal.
Congress party is a shop of loot and a market of lies," Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in Bikaner on Saturday, launching a scathing attack against the Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot-led government. The visit, which marks PM Modis seventh trip to Rajasthan in the past nine months, comes with only a few months remaining until the Rajasthan Assembly elections and ahead of the crucial Lok Sabha polls scheduled for next year.

Addressing a gathering on the occasion of inaugurating projects worth over Rs 24,300 crore in Bikaner, PM Modi said, Today, central government is putting all its efforts to strengthen development works. I hope, we will all take Rajasthan forward with our efforts."

The Prime Minister said his government has taken all possible steps for Rajasthans development in last nine years." Listing the achievements, he said: We started vibrant village scheme and declared villages on border as countrys first village that led to development and tourism in these regions."

Targeting the Congress government in the state, he said it takes no time to usurp power in a state where public anger is on the rise. Public anger against Cong govt in Rajasthan has risen, when public anger rises, it takes no time to unseat those in power," he warned.

The Congress government in Rajasthan has harmed the state in last four years, he said. People in Congress know about their defeat thats why they have started vacating their government bungalows," he said.

Doubling up his attack against the Opposition party, he said there is only one meaning of Congress  it means loot ki dukaan and jhooth ka bazaar"."

Attacking the state government over its poor law and order situation, he said, Rajasthan tops the list in rape cases. Situation here is such that protectors are becoming predators," he added.

He also said that being a desert state, Rajasthan should have been at top in Jal Jeevan Mission, however, lamented that it is included in list of laggard states."

Defeat of Congress in Rajasthan is so certain that its government has already entered bye-bye mode'", he charged.

Referring to the REET recruitment paper leak case, the Prime Minister said ever since Congress came to power in Rajasthan, state has got the identity of corruption, crime and appeasement. System has become so fearless here that theres a separate industry of paper-leak."

He also referred to the infighting between Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and party leader Sachin Pilot and said that states that have elected stable, double-engine governments" a reference to BJP-ruled government in state and Centre, are progressing rapidly. But, ever since Congress came to power in Rajasthan, theres infighting in entire party," he said.

PM Modi Launches Projects in Bikaner

Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated and laid the foundation stones for development projects worth over Rs 24,300 crore in Bikaner district, Rajasthan. Among the projects, he inaugurated a six-lane greenfield expressway section of the Amritsar-Jamnagar Economic Corridor, the initial phase of the Inter-State Transmission Line for Green Energy Corridor, a Bikaner-to-Bhiwadi transmission line, and a 30-bed Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) hospital.

He also laid the foundation stones for the redevelopment of the Bikaner railway station and the doubling of the 43-km-long Churu-Ratangarh section. The prime minister remotely inaugurated the projects during a program held in Norangdesar, Bikaner.

Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari and Union Minister of State for Law and Parliament Affairs Arjun Ram Meghwal, who is also the Member of Parliament from Bikaner, were present at the event.

(With inputs from PTI)
NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday dismissed estranged nephew Ajit Pawars suggestion that he should retire from active politics and cited former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayees words stating: Na tired hu, na retired hu" (I am neither tired nor retired).

The NCP founder also referenced the age of veteran Prime Minister Morarji Desai in his response to Ajits remark suggesting that his uncle should retire at the age of 83. Do you know at what age Morarji Desai became the prime minister? I dont want to become the PM or a minister but only want to serve the people," Pawar was quoted as saying to a Marathi digital news channel Mumbai Tak.

He asserted, Na tired hu, na retired hu." (I am neither tired nor retired) and said he can still work. Who are they to tell me to retire? I can still work," he said.

To another query on the succession war in the family after Ajit Pawars remarks that he was sidelined as he wasnt somebodys (Sharad Pawars) son, the veteran politician said, I dont want to say much on this topic. I dont like discussing family issues outside the family."

Pawar highlighted that Ajit Pawar was appointed as a minister and even served as the deputy chief minister. However, no ministerial position was offered to his daughter, Supriya Sule, despite the possibility. Whenever NCP got a ministerial berth at the Centre, it was given to others but not to Supriya despite her being a member of Parliament," Pawar said.

Ajit Pawar and Sharad Pawar had earlier this week traded barbs after the new Maharashtra deputy chief minister asked in his speech when was Sharad Pawar, who is 82 years old, going to stop."

Sule raised strong objections to the remarks and stated One can criticise me or any other person, but I will not tolerate that against my father.he is more than a father for the party workers," she said.

We as daughters are far better than the sons who ask their father to sit at home," she added.

One week after Ajit Pawar and eight other NCP MLAs joined the Eknath Shinde-led ministry in Maharashtra, Sharad Pawar is commencing his statewide tour by organizing a rally in Yeola, located in Nashik district. Yeola is the constituency of rebel party leader and minister Chhagan Bhujbal. Pawars decision to start his party rebuilding efforts in Yeola, a small town situated 250 km north of Mumbai, is interpreted as the veteran leaders endeavor to rejuvenate the party.

(With inputs from PTI)
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday made an impromptu stop at Madina village in Haryana's Sonipat district interacted with people and spent time with farmers working agricultural lands. He also took part in paddy sowing, drove a tractor, and ate food brought by women labourers working in the fields, party leaders from the state said. Gandhi reached the village amid a light drizzle at 6.40 am and spent nearly two-and-a-half hours there, they said.

"It was an impromptu visit  He interacted with the villagers and the farmers working in the fields. Rahulji also took part in paddy sowing and drove a tractor," Jagbeer Singh Malik, the Congress MLA from Gohana in Sonipat, told PTI over the phone.

We did not have prior information about his visit. But we have in the past also seen him making such unscheduled stops to know first-hand the concerns and problems of a cross-section of society  be it truck drivers, women, students and other sections, the legislator said.

Malik reached the spot with party MLA Induraj Narwal. Gandhi made the stop on his way to Himachal Pradesh from Delhi.

In pictures tweeted by the Congress official handle, Gandhi was seen in his familiar white t-shirt and trousers. Rolling up his trousers and with his shoes in hand, Gandhi walked on the muddy tracks and the irrigated fields with the villagers.

Narwal, the MLA from Baroda in Sonipat, said Gandhi spent time with the villagers and the farmers and listened to their concerns.

He also ate the food brought by the women labourers, another party leader said.

Many villagers told reporters that they were taken by surprise when Gandhis cavalcade stopped near the fields.

Senior Congress leaders Randeep Singh Surjewala and Deepender Singh Hooda also posted pictures of Gandhis visit to the village on their respective Twitter handles.

Surjewala said Gandhi enquired about the well-being of the farmers, discussed agriculture and listened to their concerns.

In a tweet in Hindi, Hooda said, Rahulji stayed with the farmers and labourers in the field for two hours. He also drove a tractor, sowed paddy, and ate with the farmers. On Friday, Gujarat High Court dismissed Gandhis plea seeking a stay on his conviction in a criminal defamation case over his Modi surname remark.

Gandhi on May 23 travelled in a truck from Delhi to Chandigarh to listen to the problems faced by the truck drivers.

He undertook the journey during the night and in visuals and videos, the former Congress chief, donning his trademark white t-shirt, was seen sitting inside a truck, travelling with a driver and speaking to drivers at a dhaba.
The rural polls in Bengal concluded on a violent note, with the death toll climbing to over 11 amid multiple bomb explosions and accusations of strong-arm tactics among political parties on Saturday. While the BJP party has demanded re-polling, the TMC has asserted confidence in emerging victorious in a majority of the seats when the votes are counted on July 11.

Among the deaths, eight victims belonged to the ruling TMC party, while one worker each from the BJP, CPI(M), Congress and ISF died since midnight during the pivotal three-tier panchayat polls.

West Bengals State Election Commissioner Rajiva Sinha has pledged to address complaints of vote tampering and consider the option of re-polling based on reports from observers and returning officers.

Sinha acknowledged that the majority of violence-related complaints were concentrated in four districts, including North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas and Murshidabad district which will be taken into account during the review process. Around 1,300 complaints, including incidents of miscreants fleeing with ballot boxes, were reported from Barasat alone, he said.

Here are the top highlights of the West Bengal Panchayat Elections:

The polling began at 7 am in 73,887 seats in the rural areas of the state with 5.67 crore people deciding the fate of around 2.06 lakh candidates. Till 5 pm, 66.28 per cent voter turnout was recorded, officials said.

The casualties during the Bengal rural polls included Madhab Biswas, BJPs polling agent, who was allegedly killed in Falimari gram panchayat in Coochbehar district. According to the BJP, Biswas was stopped by TMC supporters when he tried to enter the polling booth in the morning, leading to a situation that escalated and resulted in his killing. However, the TMC denied these allegations.

In another incident, an Independent candidates supporter was injured in the Kadambagachi area of North 24 Paraganas district. Initially reported as deceased, it was later clarified that the individual, Abdullah Ali, was critically injured and on ventilator support.

In Goalpokhar, Uttar Dinajpur, a clash between TMC and Congress workers resulted in the death of the husband of the TMC Panchayat head, Shanshah. A TMC worker named Babar Ali was killed in overnight violence in Murshidabad districts Kapasdanga area. Another TMC worker, Sabiruddin Sk, was killed in the Khargram area of the same district. The TMC also claimed that Ganesh Sarkar, their booth committee member in Tufanganj 2 panchayat samiti in Cooch Behar, was killed in an attack by the BJP.

In a clash with Congress supporters, the brother of a TMC leader was killed in Malda districts Jisharattola. Another TMC worker lost his life in Nadias Chapra.

ISF worker, Saidul Seikh, was killed in a clash with the TMC in Haringhata. Conflicting narratives arose as TMC President Debasish Ganguli claimed that the incident occurred when ISF supporters accidentally set off a crude bomb, while Seikhs family alleged that he was attacked by TMC supporters.

Another fatality occurred in South 24 Parganas districts Basanti, where a 38-year-old man named Anisur was killed. Additionally, a Congress worker named Yasmin Sk was allegedly killed in election-related violence in Murshidabads Rejinagar police station area. A vehicle was also set on fire by miscreants in Murshidabad.

In Purba Bardhaman districts Aushgram 2 block, CPI(M) worker Rajibul Hoque was critically injured in an alleged attack by TMC supporters and later died while receiving treatment at a hospital. The TMC accused CPI(M) supporters of killing one of their workers outside a polling booth in the Katawa area of the district. The deceased in this case was identified as Goutam Roy.

Congress leader Kaustav Bagchi said that he had submitted a representation to the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court, requesting an urgent hearing regarding a prayer to declaration the ongoing panchayat elections in West Bengal as null and void due to widespread violence and killings.

There were also reports of ballot box destruction and voter intimidation in certain areas. In Dinhata, Cooch Behar district, ballot boxes were vandalised, and ballot papers were set on fire at a booth located in Baravita Govt Primary School. Additionally, in the Barnachina area, locals allegedly burned a ballot box along with the ballot papers, claiming that false voting had taken place. CPI(M) state secretary Md Salim shared a video of open ballot boxes lying in the field, tweeting, Vote is over! Condition of the ballots, ballot boxes in one of the booths. Btw this pic is from Diamond Harbour."

West Bengal Pradesh Congress president Adhir Chowdhury congratulated" Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee for winning the violent elections. Congrats Didi, you have won the panchayat elections," he said. Aapni jite gechen (you have won)," he said, adding sarcastically that Banerjees injured leg will be fine on the counting day on July 11 and she will come out of her home and thank people for making her victorious in the polls. If the polls were not held, then perhaps there wouldnt have been so many deaths," he said. What happened on Saturday was state-sponsored terrorism," Chowdhury alleged, adding that the BJP will take advantage of the situation as it had done after the 2018 panchayat polls. Nobody will be spared by the Trinamool goons. The ruling party has got the opportunity to renew the license to carry out loot for the next five years," he added.

Union Minister Anurag Thakur also slammed ruling TMC government and said the declaration of panchayat polls in West Bengal is akin to the start of murder of democracy. Beating up people, bomb blasts, and setting things afire become common occurrences," he said. He also targeted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and said Rahul Gandhi is silent because he wants to enter into an alliance with Mamata Banerjee. But she says she will not allow them to enter Bengal. Will Rahul Gandhi speak anything against the murder of democracy in West Bengal."

Union Home Minister Amit Shah took cognizance of the poll violence and sought details from BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar.

While at least 600 companies of central forces have been deployed for the elections along with around 70,000 state police, state BJP chief Majumdar said that the State Election Commission (SEC) was reluctant to deploy the central forces that were sent to the state. He wrote a letter to Shah seeking restoration of democracy and said, On the one hand, the SEC is reluctant to deploy the central forces. On the other hand, civil volunteers are deployed for election duty. This clearly shows that state govt and SEC has hoodwinked the courts. Is SEC silently facilitating the booth capturing by TMC goons?" he asked.

BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari told CNN-News18: The situation is horrible. The central forces were not properly used, the state election commission and the ruling TMC government are trying to mislead people. He has also demanded Presidents Rule or implementation of Article 355 in the state, a charge the TMC termed as BJP accepting defeat" and reflecting frustration in the saffron camp."

TMC defended itself against the violence with Minister Bratya Basu claiming that it is the Trinamool Congress which has been at the receiving end of the violence perpetuated by the opposition". Will TMC want to kill TMC? he asked at a press conference. Of the 22 districts that went to rural polls, no incident of violence was reported in 16. Of the nearly 61,000 booths, incidents were reported in only 60. So, one can ascertain the ratio of violence in comparison with the areas where polls were held peacefully. It is lesser than one per cent," another minister, Shashi Panja, said.

TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh claimed, A narrative is being spun by the opposition parties with the help of the Governor (C V Ananda Bose) and a section of the media that elections in West Bengal are always violent. There have been few instances of violence, but if you compare with previous elections, you will see that the incidents of violence and deaths have gone down drastically."

Bengal State Election Commissioner (SEC) Rajiva Sinha has promised to address complaints of vote tampering and consider the possibility of re-polling after receiving reports from observers and returning officers. Sinha acknowledged that the highest number of violence-related complaints came from four districts, which will be taken into account during the review process. The decision regarding re-polling will be made on Sunday after careful scrutiny by observers and returning officers.

Sinha received numerous reports of violence and clashes, particularly from North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas, and Murshidabad districts. Around 1,300 complaints were received from Barasat alone, including incidents of miscreants fleeing with ballot boxes. A detailed scrutiny will be conducted, and re-polling will take place at booths with the highest reported violence or disrupted polling. Observers and returning officers will thoroughly examine the polling process to determine the necessity of re-polling in specific locations, he stated.

Across the 22 districts in West Bengal, there are a total of 63,229 gram panchayat seats and 9,730 panchayat samiti seats. There are 928 zilla parishad seats in 20 districts, excluding Darjeeling and Kalimpong, which have a two-tier system consisting of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) and Siliguri Sub-divisional Council at the top.

The ruling TMC contested in all 928 seats in zilla parishads, 9,419 seats in panchayat samitis and 61,591 seats in gram panchayats. The BJP fielded candidates for 897 zilla parishad seats, 7,032 panchayat samiti seats and 38,475 seats in gram panchayats. The CPI(M) contested in 747 zilla parishad seats, 6,752 panchayat samiti seats and 35,411 gram panchayat seats.

The Congress contested the election with candidates for 644 zilla parishad seats, 2,197 panchayat samiti seats, and 11,774 gram panchayat seats.

This election holds great significance for political parties as it allows them to assess their organizational strengths and weaknesses, providing insight into the states overall sentiment after the TMC governments third consecutive term, as well as serving as a preliminary indication for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

(With inputs from PTI)
The Ajit Pawar faction has now declared that there is no split in the party and termed the recent Maharashtra mess an internal conflict.

Addressing a press conference in Mumbai in the presence of Ajit Pawar, Sunit Tatkare, Chhagan Bhujbal and other NCP leaders, senior leader Praful Patel said: On June 30, 2023, an important meeting was held at Devgiri (government residence of Ajit Pawar). It was attended by many leaders, including several MLAs and MLCs of NCP who appointed Ajit Pawar the leader of the party. Being leader of the NCP, Ajit Pawar appointed me as working president. Later, I sent a letter to the Maharashtra Speaker, informing him that Ajit Pawar has been appointed as leader of legislative party and Anil Patil will be the chief whip.

Stopping short of giving the exact number and names of MLAs who are supporting Ajit Pawar, Patel said Sharad Pawars nephew had the support of over 40 MLAs.

We have submitted the required affidavits to the Election Commission in Delhi and sent a petition, mentioning that the name and symbol of the party should be given to us as majority of the party members are supporting Ajit Pawar, said Patel, adding: Let me tell you, there is no split in our party.

The Ajit Pawar faction is of the opinion that the working committee meeting chaired by Sharad Pawar in Delhi on Wednesday was not the official meeting of the party. Hence, the decisions taken in that meeting are not valid. Patel also questioned the right of Sharad Pawar loyalist Jayant Patil to serve a disqualification notice to Ajit Pawar and other rebel NCP leaders, including him, when the appointment of the state chief itself had been on an ad hoc basis without due elections as per the NCPs constitution.

Patel termed the NCPs internal structure as flawed and raised questions over the validity of the working committee itself. He said the committee had no power since most of the office-bearers had been appointed, and not elected.

However, when asked by News18 if an election procedure was followed while appointing Ajit Pawar as party president and others as officer-bearers on June 30, Patel failed to give a satisfactory answer. We followed the required legal procedures and have submitted the documents to ECI, let them take the final call.

It seems the Ajit Pawar faction has done its homework, learning from the Shiv Sena vs Shiv Sena case. In the press conference, Patel tried hard to explain how the developments could not be termed a split in the party and were just signs of an internal conflict. This would mean the anti-defection law and 10th schedule of the Constitution would not apply to the breakaway faction and there is no question of these leaders merging their bloc into another political party.

However, according to Sharad Pawar faction leader Jitendra Awhad, except nine MLAs of NCP who have joined the Shinde-Fadnavis government, others are still with the party patriarch.

If you are claiming that the meeting was held on June 30, you must inform who was there. Also, why is there no public display of those supporting you? asked Awhad. Raising questions over the appointment of Ajit Pawar as the NCP president, he said: How can the appointment be made without informing the national election committee? Patels appointment in the party was by Sharad Pawar. Then how can you make any appointment without informing him?
Barbies live-action movie is set to hit the theatres on July 21. Right now, the team is super busy with promotional events. And, Margot Robbie, who will play the titular protagonist, is giving us fashion goals one look at a time. Now, it seems that there is another iconic Barbie in town. It is none other than Bollywoods icon Rekha. You can thank the Indian fashion e-commerce platform Myntra for it. They have put the power of Artificial Intelligence to use and re-imagined the Silsila actress as the fashion doll that is a pop culture sensation. Thats right, we can now witness a world where Barbie collides with a Bollywood icon.

We are talking about Rekha dressed in a hot pink dress and in several other fits that almost look too real to be generated with AI. Some snaps also included the actress with blonde hair which is the signature of the fashion doll. Lets just say, she is pulling it off with ease. In case you try to remember, these attires are already being featured in the upcoming live-action movie. Along with the snaps, the e-commerce platform captioned the post, We asked AI to reimagine Rekha as Barbie. Check out the captivating shots here:

we asked AI to reimagine rekha as barbie  pic.twitter.com/DyMpbro9jd Myntra (@myntra) July 5, 2023

Meanwhile, the Warner Bros studio has shared an interesting update on the upcoming Barbie movie. After Vietnam banned the country nationwide due to the inclusion of the so-called nine-dash line, the studio has come up with an explanation themselves. According to them, the map in the live-action movie of the South China Sea is a child-like drawing. It is not intended to have any significance attached to it. This all unfolded when the government in Vietnam banned the movie for showing Chinas unilaterally claimed territory in the South China Sea. To Warner Bros, the map was totally harmless. The map in Barbie Land is a whimsical, child-like crayon drawing, the studio said in a statement. The doodles depict Barbies make-believe journey from Barbie Land to the real world. It was not intended to make any type of statement.

Barbie also stars Ryan Gosling as Ken.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 8. Over the past three decades, Azerbaijan and Albania have developed friendly interstate relations that have transformed into a partnership based on shared perspectives on various global issues. Currently, both countries are actively striving to enhance trade and cooperation across multiple domains to reach new heights.

The visit of President of Albania Bajram Begaj to Azerbaijan has definitely set another milestone in mutual cooperation between the two countries, fostering mutual cooperation and demonstrating commitment to resolving issues of global matter. While on a visit, President Begaj has once again confirmed the willingness of Albania to establish its diplomatic representation in Azerbaijan. This crucial step will become one of the catalysators of further exploration of new opportunities for trade and investment.

Through mutual goodwill and cooperation, the two countries have effectively transformed promises and commitments into tangible actions. As President Ilham Aliyev reiterated yesterday, while giving a joint press statement with his Albanian counterpart, Azerbaijani investors are ready to seriously consider investment projects in Albania in various spheres.

Undoubtedly, energy cooperation continues to be the foundation of this fruitful partnership between the two countries. Azerbaijans role as a reliable gas supplier to Europe is increasing year after year. The Southern Gas Corridor project is of particular importance in this regard. The cornerstone of the SGC is the Shah Deniz gas field located in the Caspian Sea off the coast of Azerbaijan.

The final leg of the project is the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), which begins at the Turkish-Greek border, crosses Greece and Albania, and reaches its endpoint in Italy.

Currently, Azerbaijan is in the process of negotiations with Albania to build a local gas distribution system. As President Ilham Aliyev mentioned yesterday, by the end of the year, the feasibility study for this project will be ready.

And after that, I hope we will start immediately the investment that will be purely Azerbaijani investments in Albania to build a gas distribution network. And also we discussed how we can extend our infrastructure from Albania to the neighboring countries, President Ilham Aliyev said.

Albania, in turn, plans to establish a connection between the Vlora TPP and TAP gas pipeline, and the LNG terminal. This initiative aims to enhance both the energy security of Albania and the broader region. Thus, if the project proves to be successful, some 200 million cubic meters of gas will be transported to Albania via TAP from 2026.

Providing a direct link between the Caspian region and European markets, contributing to the continent's energy mix and reducing dependence on a single supplier, TAP has become an engine that support Europes energy supplies diversification strategy.

As President of Albania pointed out while delivering his press statement, TAP is already a consolidated success story.

Albanias benefits from the TAP have been numerous from both economic point of view but also in terms of strengthening the Albanian strategic weight as a gateway and the regional hub for the energy. The Ionian Adriatic Gas Pipeline will contribute even more to Albanians role as a gas distributor in the region, President Begaj said.

President Ilham Aliyev's forward-thinking and all-encompassing policy has fostered a strengthened level of cooperation between Azerbaijan and its European counterparts. Today, it is hard to imagine the European energy system without supplies from Azerbaijan. And with the support of not just Albania and many other countries, but also the EU as a whole, Azerbaijan continues to build its capacities, while attracting more and more partners. Azerbaijan is emerging as a pivotal component in the evolving global architecture. However, this achievement is not merely a stroke of luck, rather, it is the result of unwavering conviction and persistent efforts undertaken over many years.
At 31 years old, Nasrat Ahmad Yar had spent most of his adult life working with the U.S. military in Afghanistan before escaping to America in search of a better life for his wife and four children.

He found work as a ride-share driver and even managed to send money back to Afghanistan to help family and friends. He liked to play volleyball with friends in the Washington suburb where many Afghans who fled their country now live. At 6 feet 5 inches, he had a powerful serve.

On Monday night, worried about making rent, he went out driving and was shot and killed in Washington. No suspects have been arrested, but surveillance video captured the sound of a single gunshot and four boys or young men were seen running away. Police have offered a $25,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.

He was so generous. He was so nice. He was always trying to help the people, said Rahim Amini, a fellow Afghan immigrant and longtime friend. He said Ahmad Yar always reminded him, Dont forget the people left behind.

Jeramie Malone, an American who came to know Ahmed Yar through her volunteer work with a veteran-founded organization bringing former Afghan interpreters to safety, also was struck by his generosity.

He always wanted to be giving more than he was receiving and he was just really extremely kind. In America, Malone said, all he wanted was a chance.

Amini said Ahmad Yar had worked for the U.S. military for about a decade as an interpreter and doing other jobs, seeing it as a way to help pave the way for the next generation in Afghanistan to have a better life.

While the U.S. has had a Special Immigrant Visa program for Afghans who worked closely with the U.S. government to come to America since 2009, Amini said his friend didnt want to apply right away, preferring to stay in Afghanistan, where he felt needed.

He remembered Ahmad Yar saying: I have guys here I need to support.  When I feel that they dont need my support then I can go to America.

Then, in August 2021, the U.S. pulled out of Afghanistan and the Taliban took over.

Mohammad Ahmadi, Ahmad Yars cousin, was already in America after also working for the U.S. military. The two talked on the phone about how to get Ahmad Yar and his family out of Afghanistan. Ahmadi said his cousin could see the Taliban soldiers walking through the streets of Kabul and was worried they would discover hed been an interpreter for the U.S. military.

He said, I dont want to get killed in front of my wife and kids, Ahmadi said. When he wasnt able to get out of the crowded Kabul airport, Ahmad Yar went to northern Afghanistan in hopes of getting into Uzbekistan. When that didnt work, he and his family went to the northwestern city of Mazar-e-Sharif, where he and his family were able to get on a flight to the United Arab Emirates and then eventually travel to America.

Even when laying low in Mazar-e-Sharif, Nasrat would go out of his way to assist other Afghans who also had come to escape the Taliban  greeting them on arrival to the strange city, bringing their families to stay with his, and feeding them, while all waited for flights out, Malone said.

Nasrat was very different, because even though he was needing help, he was always helping me, she said.

While waiting at the interim transit camp in the United Arab Emirates, he asked for writing supplies for the children so he could teach them English before they arrived in the U.S., Malone said. It was really important for him for his kids to get an education and for them to  have opportunities they never would have had in Afghanistan."

His eldest child, a girl, is now 13, and the others are boys, ages 11, 8 and just 15 months old.

The family went first to Pennsylvania, but Amini said his friend was robbed there and decided to move to Alexandria, in northern Virginia just outside Washington. Amini said Ahmad Yar told him hed fled to the U.S. to be safe and unfortunately Im not safe here.

In northern Virginia, they both ended up being ride-share drivers and lived about two miles (three kilometers) from each other. Like many in the Afghan diaspora there, they chatted throughout the day in a WhatsApp group text. And they played in a weekly volleyball game. Ahmad Yar was really good and no one could block his serve, Amini said.

Amini said they spoke Monday evening and the next thing he knew he was woken up by another Afghan friend whod somehow heard that Ahmad Yar had been killed.

In disbelief, Amini began frantically calling his friend. But it was the police who finally answered the phone: The police officer said: Im sorry. Unfortunately hes not alive anymore."

Ahmad Yar will be laid to rest on Saturday. His wife is still in shock, said Ahmad Yars cousin, Ahmadi. But she said she and her husband had the same goal in coming to America  to provide a future for their children.

She told Ahmadi: I have the same goal for them. They can go to school. They can go to college and become educated and good people for the society.
World Bank President Ajay Banga will travel to India next week, his first visit to the country after taking over the helm of the global lender, to attend the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting in Ahmedabad. Indian-American Banga, 63, took over as the President of the World Bank in June, making him the first person of colour to head either of the two global financial institutions, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. The Executive Directors of the World Bank selected Banga as the 14th President of the World Bank in May for a five-year term after being nominated by US President Joe Biden for the post. This would be Bangas first trip to India after he took over as the World Bank president.

India is currently holding the presidency of the G20, an intergovernmental forum of the worlds major developed and developing economies. Gujarat is hosting four meetings of G20 in the first two weeks of July.

These meetings will provide an opportunity for business representatives to share their perspectives, insights and policy recommendations on various economic and business-related topics and will play a very significant role in shaping global economic agendas and policies, according to officials. The G20 comprises Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the UK, the US, and the European Union (EU).

Collectively, the G20 accounts for 85 per cent of the global GDP, 75 per cent of international trade, and two-thirds of the world population, making it the premier forum for international economic cooperation.
President Joe Biden announced Friday that the United States has fully destroyed its decades-old stockpiles of chemical weapons, a milestone hailed as completing the elimination around the world of all known stores of the agents of mass death.

Today, I am proud to announce that the United States has safely destroyed the final munition in that stockpile  bringing us one step closer to a world free from the horrors of chemical weapons," Biden said.

The United States was the last of the signatories of the Chemical Weapons Convention, which came into effect in 1997, to complete the task of destroying their declared" stockpiles, though some states are believed to maintain secret reserves of chemical weapons.

The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons called the milestone a historic success" of disarmament, more than one century after the uncontrolled use of chemical gases during World War I produced mass deaths and maiming of troops.

The US announcement meant that all the worlds declared chemical weapons stockpiles were verified as irreversibly destroyed," the OPCW said.

I congratulate all States Parties, and the United States of America in this instance, on this major achievement for the international community," said OPCW Director-General Fernando Arias.

Biden said it was the first time an entire category of declared weapons of mass destruction" has been verified as destroyed.

- Lethal mustard gas, sarin, VX -

The announcement came after the Blue Grass Army Depot, a US Army facility in Kentucky, recently completed its four-year job of eliminating some 500 tonnes of lethal chemical agents, the last batch held by the US military.

The US had held for decades stores of artillery projectiles and rockets that contained mustard gases, VX and sarin nerve agents, and blister agents.

Such weapons were condemned widely after their use with horrendous results in World War I.

They were not used significantly in World War II, but many countries retained and further developed them in the years afterward.

The most prominent use since the 1970s was Iraqs nerve gas attacks on Iran during their war in the 1980s.

More recently, the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad used chemical weapons on opponents during the countrys civil war, according to the OPCW and other bodies.

- Doubly dangerous work -

The Chemical Weapons Convention, agreed in 1993 and coming into effect in 1997, gave the United States until September 30 this year to destroy all of its chemical agents and munitions.

Other signatories to the pact had already eliminated their holdings  altogether some 72,000 tonnes since the treaty came into effect, according to the OPCW.

According to the US Arms Control Association, in 1990 the United States held nearly 28,600 tonnes of chemical weapons, the worlds second largest store after Russia.

With the ebb of the Cold War the superpowers and other countries joined together to negotiate the Chemical Weapons Convention.

Eliminating the stockpiles, doubly dangerous because it means neutralizing not only the chemical agents but also the munitions they are contained in, was a slow process.

Russia completed destroying its declared stockpiles in 2017.

By April 2022, the US had less than 600 tonnes left to destroy.

Biden called for continued vigilance to ensure all chemical weapons around the world are destroyed and for the four countries that havent signed or ratified the treaty  Egypt, Israel, North Korea and South Sudan  to do so.

Currently four signatory countries are considered not in compliance on suspicion of having undeclared stockpiles: Myanmar, Iran, Russia and Syria.

Russia and Syria should return to compliance with the Chemical Weapons Convention and admit their undeclared programs, which have been used to commit brazen atrocities and attacks," Biden said.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed support early Saturday for Ukraine joining NATO, saying the war-torn country deserves to join the alliance. Erdogan made the comment at a joint news conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who arrived in Turkey as part of a European tour to rally support for Ukraines entry into the military alliance.

NATO leaders meeting in Vilnius, Lithuania, next week are expected to reaffirm that Ukraine will join their alliance one day. There is no doubt that Ukraine deserves NATO membership, Erdogan told reporters,

His support for Ukraine comes as Turkey has been holding off giving its final approval to Sweden joining NATO, saying Stockholm is not effectively cracking down on Kurdish militants and other groups that Ankara views as threats to its security.

Sweden, along with Finland, abandoned its decades-long neutrality and applied to join NATO following Russias invasion of Ukraine last year. Turkeys parliament ratified Finlands membership earlier this year, after Ankara voiced satisfaction with its efforts to address Turkeys security concerns.

Erdogan also said Turkey was working toward extending a Turkish- and U.N.-brokered grain deal that has paved the way for the shipment of more than 30 million tons of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea.

The deal, which helped temper rising global food prices, is set to expire July 17. Russia has been reluctant to extend the deal, citing obstacles to its own exports of food and fertilizer.

We are continuing our work on the grain corridor issue. We are working to see how long we can extend it after July 17, Erdogan said.

Zelenskyy accused Russia of obstructing the movement of ships.

Russia behaves as if it owns the entire Black Sea, as if it is the owner here, said Zelenskyy, making his first trip to Turkey since Russias invasion of Ukraine.

Erdogan said Russian President Vladimir Putin would visit Turkey in August, when he hoped to discuss renewal of the Black Sea grain deal as well as a possible prisoner swap.

Turkey has maintained close ties with both Ukraine and Russia, using its relations to both to act as a mediator.
A raid by Russian security forces has revealed pictures and videos from Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhins lavish mansion and office in St Petersburg. The images broadcast by Russian media showed police entering Prigozhins residence, a vast and luxurious mansion with a helicopter parked in the grounds.

The forces discovered a wardrobe full of wigs, gold bars and a stuffed alligator among other bizarre things from his residence after the Wagner chiefs failed coup attempt last month, according to a report by pro-Kremlin media outlet Izvestia.

Stacks of wigs, gold bars, a large hammer with the inscription "For important conversations" and a stuffed crocodileSuch items were found in Yevgeny Prigozhin's villa. Photos of the search were published by the Russian portals Fontanka and Izvestia pic.twitter.com/34rjBpYBAt Belsat in English (@Belsat_Eng) July 6, 2023

Prigozhin launched a mutiny against Russias military leadership on June 23 and sent an armed column towards Moscow in the biggest challenge to President Vladimir Putins leadership. Prigozhin later called off his men, and agreed to go into exile in neighboring Belarus.

The videos of the raid, reportedly from June 25, also show assault weapons, ammunition, wads of rubles and dollars, gold ingots and a photograph allegedly showing the severed heads of the Wagner leaders enemies at the mansion.

The lavish mansion also had a lengthy indoor swimming pool with a bathing area, slides and a jacuzzi while the rooms were lit up with glass chandeliers.

Izvestia released footage of Russian security forces entering Prigozhin's residence and offices on the outskirts of St. Petersburg on June 24.Coords: 60.001485,30.162491 pic.twitter.com/kLNkR9nKv0  Status-6 (@Archer83Able) July 5, 2023

Yevgeny Prigozhins wardrobe had a collection of wigs of colours ranging from grey to a mousy brown while photos showing the Wagner chief using them for disguise. The photographs, taken from Prigozhins personal albums, appear to have been taken during trips to various African and Middle Eastern countries where Wagner had presence in recent years.

It was also claimed that cash worth 600 million roubles ($6.4 million) had been found in the Wagner chiefs properties. Several passports in Prigozhins name but with photos of different people were also discovered from his residence.

Dmitry Kiselev, one of the main faces of the Russian propaganda machine, has claimed Wagner had received more than 858 billion rubles ($9.7 billion) in state funds.

Cannot believe I am spreading Russian news but Prigozhin has not denied it. According to "Izvestia" the home of Yevheni #Prigozhin was raised and private sanctuary, medical facilities, room for weapons, loads of cash and wigs (yes, wigs) were detected. pic.twitter.com/2RVIZyEXJm Jaanika Merilo (@jaanikamerilo) July 5, 2023

In a stunning admission earlier this week, President Vladimir Putin said for the first time that Russian authorities fully" financed the paramilitary outfit.

Between May 2022 and May 2023, Wagner received more than 86 billion rubles from the Russian state, Putin said. Private mercenary groups are banned under Russian law.

The Wall Street Journal had earlier reported that agents from the Federal Security Services have raided the headquarters of the Wagner Group in St Petersburg to find evidence against Prigozhin.

Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko has claimed that Wagner chief Prigozhin is still in Russia and none of the mercenary groups fighters have set up in Belarus.

As far as Prigozhin is concerned, he is in Saint Petersburg He is not in Belarus," Alexander Lukashenko said on Thursday.
Eight people were killed and 13 injured on Saturday in Lyman in eastern Ukraine after the town came under Russian rocket fire, Ukraines interior ministry said.

So far we know about 8 dead The number of injured has increased to 13 people," the ministry said on social media.

The strikes hit around 10:00 am (0700 GMT) at two intersections that were busy with pedestrians, witnesses told AFP.

A residential building, an annex to a printing house and three cars were set on fire in the attack, the ministry said.

AFP journalists arriving on the scene in the afternoon saw three charred vehicles in front of an automobile supply store.

Traces of blood were visible at both intersections.

There were explosions everywhere, I didnt know where to hide," Nadya Bereinaya, 69, told AFP. Today is Saturday, so there was a lot of people."

Pavlo Kyrylenko, governor of the Donetsk region where Lyman is located, said at around 10:00 am, the Russians struck the town with multiple rocket launchers".

Lyman, a major rail hub, was initially captured by Russian forces but then re-taken by Ukraines army in October.

Ukraine has reported Russian offensive operations in the area this week.

In the Russian-controlled town of Oleshky in southern Ukraine, an emergency services official was quoted by TASS news agency as saying two civilians were killed by Ukrainian fire overnight.

Ukrainian forces last month began a counteroffensive to take back Russian-controlled territory in the east and south of the country.

Facing powerful Russian defensive lines, they have only recaptured a few hundred square kilometres and around a dozen villages after more than a month.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 8. Azerbaijan and the UAE have officially established a visa-free arrangement, Trend reports.

The decision will permit citizens from both countries to enjoy a 90-day visa-free stay, effective immediately, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan informed.

On May 19, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev approved amendments to the law in connection with the establishing of visa-free regime between the two countries.

As Ambassador of the UAE to Azerbaijan Mohammed Al Blooshi pointed out during his meeting with Chairman of the Management Board of the Azerbaijan Association of Travel Agencies, it is necessary to further expand ties between tourism organizations of Azerbaijan and the UAE.

Currently, Azerbaijan Airlines, Flydubai and Air Arabia airlines organize flights to UAE's Dubai and Sharjah several times during the day.
Zephyrhills, located inland from Tampa, Florida, is famous for its water. In fact, it calls itself the "City of Pure Water." But thanks to a population explosion13,000 residents in 2010 ballooned to 20,000 in 2022there are growing concerns that the city's water allowance just isn't enough, reports the Washington Post . The city is allowed a max of 3.3 million gallons a day, and it has come uncomfortably close to hitting that this year, averaging 2.9 million gallons a day, reports WFLA . Exceeding the max would result in a sizable fine. So the Zephyrhills council in June approved a yearlong moratorium on new construction. As councilman Ken Burgess told the Post, Zephyrhills just needs "to pump the brakes and get the developers to slow down."

City Manager Billy Poe told the Tampa Bay Times that when factoring in the projects already in development, the city realized "we were going to be short of water." It has applied to up its allowance to 4 million gallons. WFLA notes Zephyrhills-branded water bottled by BlueTriton represents 14.5% of the city's daily allotment, and the Post explains that water hails from springs "and not Zephyrhills' water supply, which is drawn from wells in agricultural fields outside city limits."

There's an environmental aspect to it all, with the Post explaining when too much water is pumped from wells, saltwater intrusion can occur and sinkholes can develop. The state is looking at different ways to obtain water, like desalination plants and treated wastewater. As one water official puts it, "Florida's a peninsula. ... We're going to run out of cheap water, but we will never run out of water." (Read more Tampa stories.)
Mark Rutte, the Netherlands' longest-serving prime minister, announced his resignation, and that of his Cabinet members, on Friday. His ruling coalition was undone by its inability to reach agreement on how to limit the number of immigrants seeking asylum in the country, the New York Times reports. "It is no secret that the coalition partners have very different views on migration policy," he said in The Hague. "And today, unfortunately, we have to draw the conclusion that those differences are irreconcilable." Rutte said he'd put the resignations to the king in writing immediately. Elections probably will be held in November.

Government ministers have been debating proposals for months, per Politico. Negotiations broke down this week when two parties rejected a plan by Rutte's party to make it more difficult for refugee families to reunite. imposing a two-year waiting period on them. When the number of people seeking asylum last year exceeded the number of available beds, hundreds of immigrants were left to camp outside in squalor. Aid agencies had to step in. Asylum applications rose by one-third last year, topping 46,000; they're projected to reach at least 70,000 this year, per the Guardian.

"Everybody wants to find a good, effective solution that also does justice to the fact that this is about human lives," the finance minister said before the negotiations started. After the talks collapsed, Ruttewho has held his post since 2010 through four coalitionssaid, "All parties went to great lengths to find a solution, but the differences on migration are unfortunately impossible to bridge." Members of the Farmer-Citizen Movement, which now holds the most seats in the upper house of parliament, said they will not serve in any future government lead by Rutte, per the BBC. (Read more Netherlands stories.)
The Biden administration is on the defense after announcing it will send controversial cluster bombs to Ukraine to help in that nation's counteroffensive against Russia. On Friday, President Biden conceded to Fareed Zakaria on CNN that it was a "very difficult decision" to approve the transfer of cluster munitions, and that "it took me a while to be convinced to do it." The commander in chief noted that he conferred with both "our friends up on the Hill" and ally nations, but that ultimately, what swayed him was realizing that "the Ukrainians are running out of ammunition."

National security adviser Jake Sullivan concurred with Biden on the careful deliberations over the cluster bombs, noting that the White House spent "quite some time" mulling the move before making its decision, per the Washington Post. Biden told Zakaria that, on the recommendation of the Pentagon, the cluster bombs were only a "temporary" fix to help Ukraine during a "transition period" while the US produces more of the 155mm artillery it has been sending to Ukraine. The BBC notes cluster bombs, which can take out multiple military targets at once, are controversial partly due to their "dud" rate, referring to bombs that don't immediately detonate and remain on the groundposing a danger to civilians, potentially for years.

Sullivan said that the cluster bombs being sent to Ukraine have been tested to make sure the dud rate isn't above 2.35%, and that Ukraine has assured the US "they intend to use these munitions in a way to minimize the exposure of civilians," per the Post. Still, most NATO member nations (the US isn't among them) have signed an international convention barring production, use, or transfer of cluster munitions. "No to cluster bombs and yes to the legitimate defense of Ukraine," Margarita Robles, Spain's defense minister, said Friday, per the BBC. Even the US has a ban on using cluster bombs with a dud rate of more than 1% ratea ban Biden bypassed Friday by invoking the Foreign Assistance Act.

Per Politico, even top Democratic lawmakers in the US are voicing their opposition to the Biden administration's move, including Rep. Betty McCollum of Missouri, the ranking member of the House's defense appropriations subcommittee, called the decision an "unnecessary and ... terrible mistake." "These weapons should be eliminated from our stockpiles, not dumped in Ukraine," she said in a statement. Meanwhile, three GOP lawmakersRep. Michael McCaul, who heads up the House Foreign Affairs Committee; Sen. Roger Wicker, ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee; and Sen. James Risch, ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committeecalled Biden's decision "long overdue," noting the cluster bombs "will help fill a key gap for Ukraine's military," per the Post. (Read more Russia-Ukraine war stories.)
German police said at least 22 officers were injured and dozens of people were detained Saturday during unrest at an Eritrean cultural event in the western city of Giessen. Police said bottles were thrown and smoke bombs were ignited as groups of Eritreans opposed to the African nation's autocratic ruler tried to force their way into the venue. About 1,000 officers, a water cannon, and helicopters are deployed in the city, which is about 30 miles north of Frankfurt, the AP reports. Police spokesman Christopher Pfaff urged the public to avoid the center of Giessen while the operation is ongoing.
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Patrick Crusius, 21, poses for a booking photo Aug. 4, 2019, in El Paso, Texas. Crusius is charged with capital murder in the shooting deaths of 22 people at an El Paso Walmart.
Guerir Labouihi training complex, Morocco U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Stephen DISCO Parsons conducts communications check with C-130 and C-17 aircraft back at Aviano Air Force Base, Italy on June 21, 2022. The aircrafts will conduct a Joint Forcible Entry with paratroopers from 2nd Battalion (Airborne), 503rd Infantry Regiment The Rock, 173rd Airborne Infantry Brigade Combat Team. (Courtesy photo)
BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 8. Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan Jeyhun Bayramov was awarded the rank of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Trend reports.

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has signed the corresponding order.

Bayramov was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan in 2020. He previously served as Minister of Education (2018-2020).

Meanwhile, following presidential order, a diplomatic rank of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary has also been assigned to Deputy Foreign Ministers Elnur Mammadov and Fariz Rzayev.
Then-private Allen Mattox, holds his wife, Paige Mattox, during an observance for parents, families and staff members who have suffered the loss of a child during infancy or pregnancy to gather in a social setting for support, education and release of balloons in remembrance of their children in October 2016. Soldiers who have lost their children on or before June 25, 2022, may qualify for up to 14 consecutive days of non-chargeable bereavement leave if they meet certain conditions. Soldiers who suffered a miscarriage or stillbirth are not eligible. (Photo by Marcy Sanchez)
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The National Investment Agency and the Kyrgyz-American Association for the Development of Logistics Services signed a Memorandum of Cooperation, Azernews reports, citing 24.kg news agency.

Under the agreements, a study tour to India and the United States to study the activities of the back offices will be organized. The memorandum was also signed to work on creation of Central Asian logistics outsourcing hub, consolidation of dispatching companies to develop outsourcing environment and create new jobs.

It is planned to exchange experience with Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, train Kyrgyzstanis, and improve the skills of current dispatchers. This will create a competitive talent pool to enter the U.S. market. It is also planned to open training courses and new jobs in the regions, attract experts from the United States, hold consultations for new outsourcing companies and open back offices of American companies in the Kyrgyz Republic.

As a result, the National Investment Agency together with the Kyrgyz-American Association for the Development of Logistics Services plans to create 5,000 jobs by 2028, the statement says.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 8. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has welcomed the adoption of the Baku Declaration, following the ministerial meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), Trend reports.

IOC President Thomas Bach expressed his gratitude to NAM for the support.

"The IOC sincerely welcomes the support of the 120 NAM member states. We are greatly inspired by this strong commitment to the unifying mission of the Olympic Games. I thank President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev for his initiative in adopting this important resolution," emphasized Bach.

The unanimously adopted Declaration highlights that the participation of athletes from all 206 National Olympic Committees in the Olympic and Paralympic Games "Paris 2024" will serve as a powerful symbol of human unity.

Baku Declaration was adopted at the ministerial meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement's Coordinating Bureau held in Baku on July 5-6.

In the declaration, NAM member states emphasized the importance of respecting territorial integrity, sovereignty, political independence, and the inviolability of international borders. Members of the movement reaffirmed the need to adhere to the principles of non-interference in internal affairs, refraining from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of states, in accordance with the UN Charter.

Member states also pledged to uphold and promote these principles of international law and continue to resist any attempts aimed at partially or completely violating national unity or territorial integrity of states.

Azerbaijan chairs the movement that unites 120 out of 193 UN member states.

Azerbaijan has been chairing NAM since 2019. Despite the fact that the period of the country's chairmanship in the organization fell at the height of the pandemic, Baku successfully fulfilled its presidential mission and received the right to lead the movement for one more year.
TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune  www.newsofbahrain.com

Cebarco Bahrain, a Grade AA contractor (certified by the Bahrain Ministry of Work, Municipalities Affairs & Urban Planning), has been awarded a contract by the Bahrain International Circuit to undertake the expansion of the first floor of the Bell Factory.

The contract, valued at an impressive BD960,000.000, was granted after a competitive bidding process overseen by the Tender Board. Among the bids received, Cebarco proposed a quote of BD 960,000.000, while Iacovou Brothers (Constructions) Limited submitted a bid of BD 1,191,322.000 for the project.

Bell Helmets International, a leading manufacturer of cutting-edge head protection specifically designed for professional and amateur drivers, operates from a state-of-the-art facility spanning 60,000 square meters adjacent to the Bahrain International Circuit (BIC).

In a previous statement, Racing Force Group, in collaboration with Bahrain International Circuit, announced plans to expand the factory in Bahrain to meet the growing demand for racing helmet products.

The project involves the construction of a second floor, increasing the total surface area from 7,000 to 12,000 square meters. The Racing Force Group plant in Sakhir serves as the production and research & development centre for the Bell Racing brand.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 8. The delegation led by the Minister of Defense of the Republic of Kyrgyzstan, Lieutenant General Baktybek Bekbolotov continues its visit to Azerbaijan, Trend reports referring to Azerbaijan's Ministry of Defense.

The delegation visited the Military Institute named after Heydar Aliyev.

The Monument of the National Leader Heydar Aliyev and the Memorial Complex in memory of the Shehids (Martyrs) of the Patriotic War were visited, flowers were laid and their memory was honored.

The visitors signed the "Book of Remembrance" at the headquarters of the military institute.

Rector of the Military Institute named after Heydar Aliyev, Major General Fizuli Salahov informed the guests about the reforms carried out in the field of military education in the Azerbaijan Army and the actions implemented in this field.

A briefing on the history and activities of the institute was presented.

The guests got acquainted with the Heydar Aliyev Ideological Center on the territory of the military institute.

Then the meeting was held with Kyrgyz cadets studying at the military institute. The guests got acquainted with the conditions created for the personnel and the educational process.

Afterwards, the Kyrgyz delegation attended one of the commando military units of the Ministry of Defense. There, the guests were informed about the military unit and a video was shown.

Kyrgyz representatives got acquainted with the conditions created for commandos in the military unit. Weapons and combat equipment which are in armament of the military unit were presented.

In the end, the guests watched the exemplary classes of the commandos.
A federal high court in Kano has issued an interim order restraining the Kano Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission (PCACC) and the police from arresting Abdullahi Ganduje, the former governor of the state.

Other parties restrained from taking action against Ganduje are the inspector-general of police (IGP), Kano commissioner of police, the Department of State Services (DSS), Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), the attorney-general of the federation, and the attorney-general of Kano.

On Thursday, the PCACC announced that it had invited Ganduje for questioning next week.

In 2018, Daily Nigerian, an online newspaper, published a video of Ganduje allegedly receiving bundles of dollars from contractors, which he stuffed into his babanriga, a traditional outfit.

The newspaper said the former governor requested $5 million as a bribe from the contractors who recorded the video.

In the interim order issued on Friday, A.M Liman, the judge, said the directive would remain in effect pending the hearing and determination of the substantive motion.

Hemba, a counsel to Ganduje, had filed the suit.

The order reads: Restraining the respondents, whether by themselves or acting through their officers, men, operatives, agents, or any persons or group of persons howsoever described, from harassing, intimidating, detaining the applicant or his children, or any member of his family, or any appointee who served under the administration of the applicant, pending the hearing and determination of the substantive originating motion.

An order restraining the respondents, whether by themselves or acting through their officers, men, operatives, agents, privies, or any persons or group of persons howsoever described, from harassing, arresting, inviting, or detaining the applicant or his children, or any member of his family, or any appointee who served under his administration, or forcefully taking over properties of his children or any member of his family, or any appointee who served under his administration, pending the hearing and determination of the substantive originating motion.

TheCable reported on Friday that the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kano had asked Ganduje to ignore the invitation of the state anti-corruption commission.




Chelsea legend, Didier Drogba has urged Romelu Lukaku to call him after the striker was handed a lifeline by manager Mauricio Pochettino.





Pochettino was officially unveiled on Friday and he stated that he expects Lukaku to report for pre-season if he is still at the club.





Lukaku spent the last season on loan at Inter Milan and the Belgian has made clear his desire to return to the Serie A giants on a permanent basis





The 30-year-old has no intention of moving to Saudi Arabia where several Pro League clubs have registered an interest.





But Pochettino hinted Lukaku still has a chance to prove his worth and offered an olive branch on Friday by insisting he expects to see the former Manchester United attacker back at Chelseas Cobham training base next week.





However, Lukaku is currently on holiday and posted an update on Instagram under which Drogba wrote on Friday, Hey boy, Romelu Lukaku please call me!
BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 8. Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan Jeyhun Bayramov has received Ambassador of Tajikistan to Azerbaijan Rustam Soli, Trend reports.

As Ambassador Soli is concluding his diplomatic activity in Baku, Bayramov noted that the existing historical and cultural ties between Azerbaijan and Tajikistan have deep roots, they are connected by close mutually beneficial cooperation and interaction based on centuries-old traditions.

Confidence was expressed in the further development of relations between Azerbaijan and Tajikistan in all areas, and that these relations will continue to be strengthened within the interests of the two friendly peoples.

Ambassador Soli expressed his gratitude for the support given to him throughout his diplomatic career.

Minister Bayramov wished ambassador Rustam Soli success in his future activities.
Innoson Vehicles has withdrawn the scholarship awarded to Joy Mmesoma Ejikeme after the Anambra committee of inquiry revealed that her Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) result was forged.

The panel released its findings on Friday, stating that Mmesoma admitted that she manipulated her scores.

In a statement issued on Saturday, Cornel Osigwe, head of corporate communications, Innoson Vehicles, said the company made the difficult decision to withdraw the scholarship in response to the confirmed findings.

In recent days, we have been involved in the process of investigating allegations surrounding the 2023 UTME examination results of one of our scholarship recipients, Miss Joy Mmesoma Ejikeme. It was reported initially that Miss Joy scored exceptionally high on the exam, a feat that led to her being awarded a scholarship by our company, the company said.

However, subsequent reports of discrepancies in her UTME score led us to seek clarification from the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and to allow her to voice her stance, we engaged in direct dialogue with Miss Joy.

Further to this, a committee set up by the Anambra State Governor, Dr. Charles Chukwuma Soludo, carried out a thorough independent investigation into this matter.

The findings from this rigorous investigation have now confirmed that Miss Joy Mmesoma Ejikeme did manipulate her UTME results. This conclusion is deeply disappointing and stands in direct contravention of the values we hold dear at Innoson Vehicles, particularly those that underscore our scholarship program.

In line with these principles and in response to the confirmed findings, we have made the difficult decision to withdraw the scholarship awarded to Miss Joy Mmesoma Ejikeme. This action is a testament to our unyielding commitment to honesty, integrity, and merit-based recognition.

We acknowledge that this development is regrettable, and it has undoubtedly caused dismay among those who stood by Miss Joy including her school principal and other well-meaning supporters. However, it is crucial to maintain the integrity of our scholarship program and the values it represents.

Innoson Vehicles said it remains steadfast in its mission to support deserving students and invest in the countrys education sector.

The company had earlier said it would withdraw the scholarship if Mmesoma is found to have manipulated her result  but if we observe she is innocent of the accusation, then the scholarship stands, whether she is the best or not.
The Enugu police command says its operatives have dislodged a group of hoodlums enforcing the sit-at-home order in the state.

Daniel Ndukwe, police spokesperson, in a statement on Friday, said the hoodlums were intercepted while they were trying to snatch an ENTRACO branded minivan.

Ndukwe said the operatives engaged the hoodlums in a gun duel but they escaped with varying degrees of fatal gunshot wounds.

He said a manhunt was launched and four lifeless bodies of the hoodlums were discovered in a forest behind a filling station.

A combined team of tactical Police Operatives of the Command have further discovered and recovered the lifeless bodies of four of the male hoodlums, in a forest behind G. Ede Filling Station/7-Up, at Awkunanaw, Enugu, where they escaped into, he said.

A thorough search conducted on the vehicle led to the recovery of one (1) AK-47 rifle with a magazine loaded with nineteen (19) live ammunition of 7.62 calibres, two (2) bottles of petrol bomb and other incriminating exhibits.

The spokesperson said the commissioner of police reassured that the force will not relent in its efforts to maintain maximum security in the state.

He also asked for the continued support of residents.
Ronke Oshodi Oke, the Nollywood actress, says she regretted campaigning for the All Progressives Congress (APC) after what she saw during the EndSARS protest.

In October 2020, Nigerian youths protested against the now-disbanded special anti-robbery squad (SARS), a unit of the Nigeria Police Force.

The protesters demanded an end to police brutality. They also seized the opportunity to demand better governance from the political class.

In a recent interview with Chude Jideonwo, Ronke described herself as a lover of APC.

She said she campaigned for APC but was disappointed in the actions of Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the Lagos state governor, during the protest.

The 48-year-old filmmaker said the governor was saying three different things and claiming nobody died.

I love APC. Im a fan of APC, body and soul. I felt APC is going to take Nigeria to the next level, she said.

So even while we were campaigning for them, I didnt collect much. I wasnt looking at the money, I was looking at what is going to happen later.

All what they have been doing, I was thinking eight years cannot fix Nigeria. We all know that. But when the EndSARS protest came up, I was so down.

I was really really down because our governor was saying three different things at the same time. They said they didnt kill anybody.

But if one person died, fifty people have died with that one person. The people that person is feeding, are their parents, and siblings.

Before they get themselves and get back on their feet might take five years. It is a thing of the mind. Secondly, there were so many injuries.

I saw some guys that could not use their legs, some people had bullets in their bodies. So many injuries. I will not say I was mad but I was really down. I regretted working for them for that reason alone.

Born Ibironke Ojo-Anthony, the actress began her acting career with a drama group called Star Parade.

In 2000, she came into the limelight after she was featured in a movie titled Oshodi Oke, from which she got her stage name.
Femi Fani-Kayode, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has compared the activities of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) to those of terrorists.

He made the comparison on Friday while reacting to the ongoing one-week sit-at-home being enforced by Simon Ekpas faction of the IPOB group, saying the secessionists are not better than Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) insurgents.

Sharing the video of some students and teachers that were brutalised by the sit-at-home enforcers on Wednesday, FFK accused supporters of the Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, known as Obidients, of carrying out the heinous attack.

He wrote: Behold the works of the armed wing of the Obidient movement, all in the name of Biafra. Enugu was relatively peaceful whilst Gburugburu was there, but now we are witnessing this savage barbarity against children.

I am at a loss for words. This is pure evil. Are these Biafran/Obidient footsoldiers any better than Boko Haram and ISWAP? Such wickedness is rarely seen, and I wholeheartedly condemn it. Something must be done!

The Ekpa faction of the secessionist group had declared a one-week sit-at-home in the entire Southeast to protest the continuous incarceration of the IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu.
Reno Omokri, a socio-political activist, has criticised the Anambra State Government over its silence as a faction of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, and Eastern Security Network, ESN, enforce sit-at-home in Onitsha area of the state.

ESN reportedly shut down markets while enforcing the sit-at-home order in Onitsha area of Anambra State on Friday.

The area was thrown into pandemonium as gunshots were heard while people scampered for safety.

But, the state government has been silent over the incident.

Reacting, Omokri wondered why the state government did not set up a high powered delegation like it did over the controversy surrounding JAMB candidate, Mmesoma Ejikeme.

Tweeting, Omokri wrote: Today there were gunshots in Onitsha, the commercial capital of Anambra State.

IPOB/ESN shut down markets in enforcement of a Friday sit-at-home to protest the continued incarceration of Nnamdi Kanu, the detained leader of IPOB. Gunshots rented the air, forcing parents to rush to schools to evacuate their children.

But the Anambra State Government has not reacted. No statement. No statewide broadcast. No update to calm the citizens.

Yet, this is a state that felt a pressing need to set up a high powered committee to investigate Mmesoma Ejikemes JAMB result and give regular updates on that issue to the media.

Who in his right mind chases a rat when his house is on fire?
An Anambra committee tasked with investigating the controversy surrounding Joy Mmesoma says the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) candidate admitted to faking her results.

In May, Mmesoma, a student of Anglican Girls Secondary School in Nnewi, Anambra state, gained popularity after she was purported to have scored 362 in the 2023 UTME.

Although the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) did not announce her as the overall best candidate, Mmesoma was widely celebrated.

Innocent Chukwuma, the automobile businessman, awarded the candidate a scholarship worth N3 million.

JAMB would later declare, contrary to Mmesomas claims, that the student scored 249, not 362.

The exam body said she faked the results to mislead the public, so a panel was tasked with probing the matter.

A report on the Anambra-constituted panels investigation has now concluded that Mmesoma indeed faked the results.

The panel of inquiry said Mmesoma is expected to tender a written apology to JAMB, the Anglican Girls Secondary, and the Anambra state government.

The results paraded by Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma with an aggregate score of 362 are fake as buttressed by significant variations in the registration number, date of birth, centre name, and other infractions, the panels report reads.

Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma admitted that she manipulated the fake results herself, using herself using her phone.

The Principal Anglican Girls Secondary School, Mrs. Edu Uche, and the education secretary, Diocese of Nnewi (Anglican Communion) expressed dismay at the conduct of Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma.

Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma should undergo psychological counselling and therapy.

We hope that this unearthing of the truth as we have discovered will go a long way in correcting the sentiments, misconceptions, and deceptions that have been in the public domain.




Bayo Onanuga, a former media aide to President Bola Tinubu has criticized those who supported 19-year-old candidate of the Joint Admission and Matriculation Examination, JAMB, Mmesoma Ejikeme.





He noted that they should have considered JAMBs version before supporting Mmesoma.





Mmesoma had claimed to have scored 362 to emerge the highest candidate in the 2023 UTME, but JAMB her claim.





Investigation, however, showed that the 19-year-old forged the result she paraded for days.





The back and forth between JAMB and Mmesoma generated much controversy, a situation that made the Anambra State government to constitute an investigation panel.





Reacting, Onanuga tweeted: The truth about Ejikeme Mmesomas forgery of her UTME scores is now out, thanks to a committee set up by Anambra Government.





The teenage girl confessed she committed the forgery by herself. Shame to all those ethnic jingoists who rushed to her support without consideration for JAMBs version of the story.




Kwara State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has dismissed rumoured plan to suspend the former Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki by the State Working Committee, SWC, of the party.





A communique issued after the SWC meeting in Ilorin, the state capital, urged party members and supporters to be calm and discountenance the rumoured suspension of the former two term governor of the state.





We urge our party members and supporters to be calm and discountenance the purported rumoured suspension of our leader, Senator Abubakar Bukola Saraki, by the State Working Committee members as mischievously circulated by some people aimed at causing disharmony in the party, the communique signed by the state party Chairman, Babatunde Mohammed and the state Secretary, Abdulrazaq Lawal said.





It explained that the enlarged meeting called on June 1, 2023, to review the outcome of the 2023 general elections, was misconstrued or misrepresented by some disgruntled elements.
Oil prices rose marginally on Friday amid supply concerns in the global oil market.

Brent crude rose by 1.7 percent to reach $77 a barrel  the first time since May 24.

The US West Texas Intermediate crude, meanwhile, gained two percent to hit $73 a barrel.

Earlier in the week, Saudi Arabia and Russia announced fresh production cuts.

While Saudi Arabia said it would extend its voluntary output cut of one million barrels per day (bpd) until August, Russia pledged to reduce production by 500,000 bpd.

The output reduction is in addition to prior cuts.

In October 2022, the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, known as OPEC+, agreed to slash oil output by 2 million barrels per day (bpd).

On the back of the agreement, Saudi Arabia and some members of the OPEC+, in April 2023, announced voluntary cuts amounting to 1.66 million bpd.

At the last meeting of the oil cartel in June, Saudi Arabia made another voluntary cut of one million bpd.

OPEC+ alliance aims to achieve balance in global oil markets and avoid an accumulation in inventories.

Nigeria, Africas largest oil producer, voluntarily cut its production by 84,000 bpd, thus projected to export 1.742 million bpd.

In the first three months of 2023, the country produced 1.25mbpd, 1.3mbpd, and 1.26mbpd respectively.

Between April and May, oil output increased from 1.245 million bpd to 1.427 million bpd.
On Friday, Patrice Talon, president of the Republic of Benin, paid a courtesy visit to President Bola Tinubu at the Aso villa.

Here are some photos of Talons visit:












BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 8. Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov has expressed gratitude to President Ilham Aliyev for conferring granting him the diplomatic rank of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Trend reports.

The awarding of me and my colleagues with high ranks by President Ilham Aliyev is evidence of the high appreciation of the activities of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. We are grateful to President Ilham Aliyev for this attention and trust," the minister wrote on his Twitter page.

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has signed a decree on conferring diplomatic ranks on employees of the diplomatic service of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

According to the order, the diplomatic rank of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary is also assigned to Deputy Foreign Ministers of Azerbaijan Elnur Mammadov and Fariz Rzayev.
The police command in Lagos says oil thieves vandalised a Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited pipeline in a bid to steal petrol.

Benjamin Hundeyin, Lagos police spokesperson, said the incident took place in the Idimu area of the state.

Hundeyin shared the update via his Twitter page on Saturday.

The police spokesperson said the oil thieves fled the scene following the arrival of police officers.

He said Idowu Owohunwa, Lagos commissioner of police, visited the site where the oil thieves gained access to the pipeline in the early hours of the day.





ONGOING: CP Idowu Owohunwa at a site in Idimu where oil thieves at about 2am today gained access to an NNPC pipe, filling their tanker with PMS. The oil thieves absconded, abandoning their truck and tools, upon sighting police officers who responded swiftly upon being notified. pic.twitter.com/UUS0VP8VwJ  SP Benjamin Hundeyin (@BenHundeyin) July 8, 2023





CP Idowu Owohunwa at a site in Idimu where oil thieves at about 2am today gained access to an NNPC pipe, filling their tanker with PMS, Hundeyin tweeted.

The oil thieves absconded, abandoning their truck and tools, upon sighting police officers who responded swiftly upon being notified.

Pipeline vandalism and oil theft are common occurrences in the country, particularly in the Niger Delta region.

In 2022, Mele Kyari, group chief executive officer (GCEO) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, said Nigeria loses $1.9 billion monthly to crude oil theft.

In February 2023, the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) said its troops destroyed 40 illegal refining sites in the Niger Delta.

Troops of the Nigerian Army, on June 27, raided a camp where suspected militants and crude oil thieves carry out their activities in Bayelsa state.

Asari Dokubo, a Niger Delta activist, recently alleged that the military  particularly the army and navy  are aware of the identity of oil thieves in the region.

He claimed that military personnel often intimidate officers of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) who are supposed to protect the oil pipelines.

Reacting to the claim, the Nigerian Navy dared the activist to produce evidence to back his allegation.
A New Jersey food truck has opened its first physical location.

No Forks Given  which gained popularity rolling around Jersey City as a food truck  unveiled a brick-and-mortar spot in the same town last month at 115 Brunswick St.

The truck was a great start-up business, owner Wyatt Harte told NJ Advance Media. I have no regrets opening, it but the inconsistencies of the truck  meaning the weather or the truck itself breaking down  became stressful. I wanted more consistency and to be able to produce more out of the storefront. I wanted to expand my menu and be open more hours for the public.

The new eatery offers comfort food with a worldly twist, Harte said.

No Forks Givens menu features a variety of unique chicken sandwiches, cheesesteaks, grilled cheese sandwiches, loaded curly fries and more.

Some of the eaterys highlighted menu items include Korean and Peruvian fried chicken sandwiches, a Korean BBQ cheesesteak, Mexican cheesesteak, carnitas and cheese fries.

No Forks Givens menu features a variety of unique chicken sandwiches, cheesesteaks, grilled cheese sandwiches, loaded curly fries and more.

Ive worked in a lot of different kitchens and traveled a lot when I was younger so I was able to experience different cuisines and cultures and I wanted to bring that into my menu, Harte said.

No Forks Given debuted as a food truck in 2017, operating mostly in downtown Jersey City.

I would love to grow throughout the state of New Jersey and maybe possibly New York, Harte said. The goal is to be as busy as we can so we have to expand.

No Forks Given is open 11:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday.

The mostly takeout restaurant has limited indoor and outdoor seating.

No Forks Given opened its first brick-and-mortar spot after operating as a food truck since 2017. The eatery is located at 115 Brunswick St. in Jersey City. (Photo Courtesy, No Forks Given)

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The cargo ship burning at Port Newark since Wednesday night, which killed two firefighters, continues to list to the starboard, or right side, due to water built up from firefighting efforts. Officials say theyre closely monitoring it for risk of capsize or collapse.

Marine firefighting specialists continued their suppression efforts on Saturday, working from both the pier and a boat on the water.

The vessel is stable with a slight list to the starboard side from firefighting activities, the Coast Guard said at 3 p.m. Saturday. The vessel will continue to list between one and two degrees to starboard as a way to accelerate the dewatering process.

The Coast Guard said the cargo ship is holding together despite having taken on water during the fire.

There have been no reports of impacts to the integrity of the ship, the Coast Guard said. Marine fire fighting and salvage specialists are actively conducting fire suppression and will continue to monitor the ships integrity as fire fighting efforts persist.

Gov. Phil Murphy said Friday that the ship, the Grande Costa DAvorio, was listing, or tilting, three degrees toward the dock, and that a shift to five to six degrees is the danger zone. The governor made his remarks at an unrelated event in Long Branch on Friday.

The governor said both the Coast Guard and a private marine firefighting company are poking holes through the hull to let trapped water out.

The salvage team working on the ship is actively working to get the steel vessel back to an even keel, said Gordon Lorenson, project manager with salvage provider Donjon Marine Co. Inc., during a press conference in Elizabeth on Friday. He said the vessel was stable at that time.

There are structural issues always caused by fire within a steel vessel, so we are monitoring that at all times and making sure that we dont put any people in the vessel, Lorenson said.

Were also working on de-watering the vessel, getting rid of the water that is being put on the vessel via the fire pumps and taking some of the list out of the vessel so that it becomes more stable, he said.

Saving the Grande Costa DAvorio is a delicate balancing act of pouring water on to the fire while pumping enough water out to keep the ship from capsizing, experts say.

Jim Stabile, a cargo ship captain who runs the maritime safety consultancy OceanRiver LLC, said a ship normally drains excess water through its bilge system. But the drains leading to the bilge are often clogged, he said.

The drains are often plugged, so the water stays high, he said. And so, they punch holes in the side to drain the water out.

Stabile said a 3% list is serious but manageable if salvage teams can get the water out fast enough. Too much water in that ship and shes going to roll over, he said. And that can happen pretty quickly.

Gallagher Marine Systems, the incident management team listed on Italian ship owner Grimaldis vessel response plan, will continue to monitor the status of the vessel and plan to mitigate further listing as necessary, President Tom Wiker said at a press conference in Elizabeth on Friday.

While officials said they expect the fire to continue burning for days, significantly less smoke was coming from the ship as the day progressed on Saturday. However, at least one fire boat was still on scene pumping water into the ships steer.

By 2 p.m., no water was being sprayed at the ship and no evident smoke. On Friday, smoke from the blaze could be smelled as far away as the Meadowlands to the north.

No cause has been given for the fatal ship fire, which broke out on the Grande Costa DAvorio at about 9:30 p.m Wednesday.

Newark firefighters Augusto Angie Acabou, 45, and Wayne Bear Brooks Jr., 49, died after they became trapped aboard the 692-foot long ship. Funerals for both men will be held next week at the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark.

Firefighters from Elizabeth and Jersey City were also on scene, and five other firefighters were injured in the effort.

The ship was carrying 1,200 vehicles when it caught fire, the ship operator said. The Grande Costa Davorio is known as a RORO vessel (for roll-on-roll off), designed to carry wheeled cargo such as cars, motorcycles, trucks, and buses. Like a ferry, vehicles are driven under their own power up ramps within the ship, which is configured like a giant parking deck, and then secured to the decks for transport.

RORO vessels pose their own set of unique problems for firefighters, Stabile said. Once they are driven aboard, the cars are usually parked very close together, he said.

Theres no more than 12 inches bumper to bumper, Stabile said, which hampers movement. Firefighters have to haul hoses up and down narrow ladders between decks, and the vehicles often explode, he said.

Its an unfamiliar environment and they dont do a lot of training on ships, Stabile said.

Grimaldi Deep Sea, the operator of the ship, said a loading operation was underway when the fire started on Deck 10. Firefighters from Newark, Elizabeth and numerous other municipalities fought the fire.

Once the fire is completely extinguished, federal agencies will work with state and local investigators and the owners of the vessel to identify the root cause of the fire and the subsequent fatalities to prevent similar incidents from ever happening again, according to Capt. Zeita Merchant, captain of the Port of New York and New Jersey and commander of Coast Guard sector New York.

MORE: See infrared video of Port Newark cargo ship fire that killed 2 firefighters

NJ Advance Media Reporter Rich Cowen contributed to this report.

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Jackie Roman may be reached at jroman@njadvancemedia.com.
Theres an angry swarm of bees in Journal Square, but its not from a nearby beekeeper.

Instead, a swarm converged onto a neighborhood Jollibee Thursday, where workers are sharpening their stingers to get their colleagues jobs back after alleging they were fired for seeking better wages and benefits.

Jollibee, a popular Filipino fast-food chain, was alleged to have illegally fired nine workers from its Journal Square location in February after they began organizing, according to the workers new Justice for Jollibee Workers campaign.

We are here today to expose the wrongdoings of this company, for everybody to hear our voices, and to alert everybody to look out for industries like this, said Patricia Bui, a former worker.

The workers were seeking to present a signed letter with demands such as increased wages from $14 to $17 an hour and double holiday time, said the campaign. But it alleges that management learned about their plans and fired the workers in response.

The campaign filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board and held a rally outside of the Jollibee location Thursday. A Facebook livestream showed the group reading their demands to management inside the establishment before being escorted out by police.

The group is also seeking to have the former workers compensated for their lost wages and have the company issue a public apology.

It is disheartening to witness the abuse of power and the suppression of those who dare to stand up for what is right, said Keyser Garganera, another former worker. Yet, I refuse to remain silent, for silence only perpetuates the cycle of injustice.

A manager at the Journal Square Jollibee declined to comment on the allegations when reached over the phone. Jollibee and their parent company, Jollibee Foods Corporation, did not respond for comment.

The protests come at a time where workers across numerous companies such as Starbucks, Amazon, Apple and more are organizing and forming unions to seek for better wages and benefits.

A campaign spokesperson said that there are no unionization plans at Jollibee at the moment and that its focused on its current goals, but added that it would be supportive of unionizing and that the campaign is a wider movement to get other Jollibee workers organized.

Ward C Councilman Rich Boggiano, who represents Journal Square, said that the workers should compromise and work it out.

I dont know what they do, I dont know much about the store, he said. But if they really feel that theyre working hard and theyre not being paid, then continue. But if not, compromise and split the difference.

A Jersey City spokeswoman did not respond for comment on the allegations.
Two women previously convicted of locking an 8-year-old boy in a room in a Brick Township home day and night with no access to a bathroom, no lights and no furniture over several months were sentenced Friday, authorities said.

Donna Jung, 57, of Lehigh Acres, Florida, was sentenced to seven years in state prison and Helecia Morris, 41, of Brick Township, was handed an 8-year state prison term, according to a statement from the Ocean County Prosecutors Office. They were found guilty in March of endangering the welfare of a child after a week-long jury trial.

Police and child protection officials were called to their home on Jan. 9, 2016 for a wellness check on the 8-year-old boy, the office. Jung and Morris lived at the house with three children. The 8-year-old is the biological son of Morris.

The locked room where they found the boy reeked of urine and was described by investigators as abhorrent conditions, authorities said.

He was not allowed to use the bathroom in the residence and was excluded from socializing with the rest of the family, the prosecutors office said in a statement. The room contained no bed, no furniture, no lights and no toys.

The abuse and neglect occurred between April 2015 and January 2016, officials said.

The boy and the two other children were removed from the home and placed in foster care, prosecutors said. Jung and Morris were charged with child endangerment two days later.

Both were taken into custody after the jury verdict and were held at the Ocean County Jail pending their sentencing, authorities said.

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Can Americans still have a sensible and friendly political discussion across the partisan divide? The answer is yes, and we prove it every week. Julie Roginsky, a Democrat, and Mike DuHaime, a Republican serving as a senior advisor to Chris Christies presidential campaign, are consultants who have worked on opposite teams for their entire careers yet have remained friends throughout. Here, they discuss the weeks events with editorial page editor Tom Moran.

Q. Lets start with the Supreme Courts rejection of affirmative action programs at Harvard and University of North Carolina. Unlike the abortion ruling, this one has solid public support. Do you expect any political fallout?

Mike: There is no better predictor of financial security in America than a four-year college degree. We should be doing all we can to get kids into college, especially first-generation college students, as it will change the course of their familys trajectory forever. Part of the promise of America is the opportunity for each individual to achieve success standing solely on their own merit, regardless of race, gender or class. But we cannot pretend that race has not been a factor in denying some those opportunities in Americas past.

NEW: Following SCOTUSs decision on affirmative action UNC-Chapel Hill says it will offer free tuition to incoming undergrads whose families make less than $80,000. @UNC #ncpol @SpecNews1RDU pic.twitter.com/h8hW59k3ZQ  Reuben Jones (@ReubenJones1) July 7, 2023

Mike: Part of the greatness of the American experiment is that we are constantly working to get it right, even if it never fully is. The intent of affirmative action is a good one, though in practice it led to resentment and improper judgment of many students. Going forward, I am hopeful most universities will take all socioeconomic factors into consideration, even though race wont be one. Most Republicans support school choice and charter schools in the K-12 years because we recognize those in many financially disadvantaged school districts are not getting the education they deserve. Why would we pretend that disparity doesnt exist when it comes to transcripts and test scores in preparing higher education?

Julie: The court is throwing long standing precedent out the window on issue after issue. A majority of nine unelected justices who were placed on the court by presidents who did not win the popular vote are imposing their views on the nation in ways that many believe exceed their brief. Thanks to abortion, voting rights, civil rights and affirmative action, Democrats may now consider the balance of the court when casting their vote for president or senate.

Affirmative Action died this week. Maybe this moment is necessary. | Opinion https://t.co/L7imG4PZGG  njdotcom (@njdotcom) July 2, 2023

Q. The court also rejected President Bidens $400 billion plan to forgive students loans, saying he would need Congressional approval first. Is that a sensible restraint on presidential power? Why didnt Biden seek Congressional approval when Democrats had control of Congress?

Mike: Yes, it is a sensible restraint on executive power. The power of the budget rests with the legislature, not the president. If he wants to forgive college loans, he must convince Congress. But he wont, because most voters dont want these loans forgiven. The market will have to speak, and there will be a correction in higher ed. Students (hopefully with the guidance of their parents or others) cannot take out exorbitant loans for mediocre private colleges. Unless you are going to an elite private university (Ivy League, Stanford, UChicago, etc.), you are much better off, financially, going to a state university or state college for your 4-year degree. And if taking out loans for advanced degrees, they should be ones that lead to jobs with automatic earning power, like becoming an attorney, a doctor, a nurse practitioner, etc.)

Julie: Biden was never going to overcome a Republican filibuster on this, so asking for congressional approval would have been a waste of time. But if Generation Z and millennial voters need a reminder of who refused to give them relief from spiraling college debt, they need only to look at conservative justices and the people who got them to the court.

Q. One more on the Supreme Court: It ruled that a web designer with religious objections to gay marriage could refuse to serve gay customers based on the First Amendments protections of free speech. What if my religion tells me to deny service based on race? Would that be protected, too, under the logic of this ruling?

Mike: I disagree with this ruling. While the facts of this case are very narrow based on First Amendment rights, the interpretation will give some license to discriminate against LGBTQ individuals. Centuries ago, slaveholders cited the bible to protect slavery. Freedom of religion protects your rights; it doesnt allow you to discriminate against others. Somewhere along the line, many of my fellow Christians seem to have forgotten that Jesuss golden rule is to love your neighbor as yourself, to do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Instead, too many use religion as a reason to judge, to hate, to exclude, to divide, to discriminate. Im no preacher, but I think they missed Jesuss point.

Julie: Mike is absolutely right. This ruling will go down as one of the worst decisions in the history of the Supreme Court. It hinged on freedom of expression  namely, the right of a website designer not to create art for same-sex weddings. Does this mean that chefs in public restaurants cannot make art in the form of food for people with whom they disagree? What if a restaurant chooses not to serve Brett Kavanaugh because its chef does not want to create a meal to feed Catholics? What if another restaurant chooses not to serve Clarence and Ginni Thomas because its chef does not support interracial marriage? There is a reason protected classes exist under the law: to protect them from those who would discriminate against them based on widespread historic practice.

This from @jbouie is the point so many end-of-the-Supreme-Court-term recaps are missing: In just about every big case, even the alleged "liberal wins," the conservatives wrap with some version of "this isn't over, just so you know, we're still in charge" https://t.co/By8DGYVVNt pic.twitter.com/kXZ9b0frY3  Jay Willis (@jaywillis) July 8, 2023

Q. The case against Sean Caddle, the Democratic operative who admitted hiring a hit man to kill a friend and former employee, ended with a fizzle when most people expected a bang. He was sentenced to 24 years in prison but did not provide testimony against any major player in New Jersey politics, as many expected after he was allowed to remain in home confinement during the investigation. I dont get it. Why was a murderer treated with such leniency?

Mike: Twenty-four years in jail doesnt sound so lenient to me. I know many people involved in Hudson County politics, and none of them has ever tried to have me killed (that I know of).

Julie: We may not know the end of the Caddle saga yet. Regardless, I agree with Mike that nearly 30 years in prison is not a cakewalk for anyone, especially for a 45-year-old man who will spend what is nearly the rest of his life behind bars.

Q. In Ukraine, the counter-offensive is off to a slow and frustrating start, raising fears that political support among Republicans in Congress could erode further. Is this Ukraines last chance? Might Vladimir Putin be right to gamble that Russia can outlast the international coalition supporting Ukraine?

Mike: Russias only shot in US politics is Donald Trump, and maybe Ron DeSantis since he seems to not have any direction of his own, just mimicking Trump and Tucker Carlson, his policy shepherds. The rest of the GOP presidential field and most Republicans in Congress, especially and importantly in the US Senate, get that we must stop Putins aggression here in Ukraine.

Julie: If people like Marjorie Taylor Greene continue to puppeteer Speaker Kevin McCarthy, I am concerned about the appetite of House Republicans to continue appropriating money for Ukraine. On the other hand, this war will not end because of anything Ukraine does on the battlefield. Russia has never lost a war of attrition because it excels at Pyrrhic victories, no matter the cost. It will end because Putins days in power are numbered.

Q. Finally, the budget mess: The Legislature approved a $54 billion state budget that was slapped together behind closed doors at the last minute, with many members saying they didnt have a chance to read it before voting. Peter Chen at New Jersey Policy Perspective suggests that we set a new deadline for the Legislature to present its budget by mid-June, so we all have time to scrutinize it. Sensible? Unlikely?

Mike: The state Constitution says June 30, matching the state fiscal year, so no, it is not sensible to change it. The real shame is not the rushed timing, but the explosion of spending under Gov. Murphy and the Democrats in Trenton. The budget is up 50% in just six years under Murphy. The budget only went up 18% in 8 years under Gov. Christie. Thats the difference between a Republican governor keeping the Democrats in the Legislature in check, and Democrats running everything.

Julie: Come on, Mike. Amending the state Constitution is practically an annual hobby in Trenton. Lets be real about how the budget is currently negotiated: The Speaker, the Senate President, a few members of their leadership team and key staffers get into the room with the governor and several of his key staffers and carve out a deal. Sometimes, the deal is cut quickly. Most often, they bluster and threaten each other until the bitter end. When that happens, no one has time to read anything because they are hard up against a constitutionally mandated deadline and everyone has plans to head down the shore for the Fourth of July. If you think this is a good way to run the Navy, we can keep the process, but it does not serve anyone well, including the vast majority of legislators who twiddle their thumbs in their caucus rooms while leadership negotiates behind closed doors.

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Florida is the #2 state in the country that receives the most Social Security benefits.



Florida is #2 in terms of the highest number of people enrolled in Medicare.



Social Security and Medicare are socialist programs: government-run systems that cut out private management.  ZiggyDaddy (@Ziggy_Daddy) June 28, 2023

A note to readers: Mike and Julie are deeply engaged in politics and commercial advocacy in New Jersey, so both have connections to many players discussed in this column. DuHaime, the founder of MAD Global, has worked for Rudy Giuliani, John McCain, and President George W. Bush, and Gov. Christie. Roginsky, a principal of Comprehensive Communications Group, has served as senior advisor to campaigns of Cory Booker, Frank Lautenberg, and Phil Murphy. We will disclose specific connections only when readers might otherwise be misled.
Warren White, an Elizabeth firefighter injured in the container ship fire that killed two fellow firefighters at Port Newark, walked out of a hospital Friday evening to a warm welcome from well wishers.

The blaze aboard the the Italian cargo vessel Grande Costa DAvorio, which began Wednesday night, killed Newark firefighters Augusto Angie Acabou, 45, and Wayne Bear Brooks Jr., 49.

Five other firefighters were injured in the effort to quell the blaze, including White.

On Friday evening, family, friends and fellow firefighters gathered at Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston to greet White as he exited the hospital, breaking into applause when he appeared at the doors. White then hugged some of those gathered.

The Elizabeth firefighters union posted footage of the event, which can be seen here.

From what I can remember, everyone was running around, was trying to just get it done ... Made a first step, next thing I knew I was on my way out in the ambulance, White told CBS News in New York. Not an easy job, but we do the best we can.

On Saturday, he told NJ Advance Media, I just want to be able to take it easy and rest until I can get back on the line. He referred further questions to Elizabeth city officials.

Whites union, Elizabeth Firefighters FMBA Local 9, said in a social media post: Thank you to all the Doctors and Nurses who continue to treat and care for all NJ Firefighters who need to be treated for job related burns and injuries. Also, many thanks to our brothers and sisters from neighboring departments who greeted Firefighter White as he heads home to continue to recover.

The Elizabeth Fire Department continues to mourn the loss of the 2 Newark Firefighters who were killed while bravely battling the Port of Newark early Thursday morning, the union said. Our hearts go out to our brothers and sisters from Newark Fire Department and the families of the Firefighters Wayne Brooks and Auggie Acabou.

The fire was still burning Saturday afternoon, however far less smoke was seen from the 692-foot vessel, which was carrying about 1,000 cars and other cargo.

Acabou and Brooks will be laid to rest next week after services at the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark.

Two Newark firefighters were killed battling a fire aboard the cargo ship Grande Costa DAvorio in Port Newark last night. A New York City fireboat continues to pour water on the blaze on Thursday July 6, 2023, in Newark, N.J.Andrew Mills | NJ Advance Media

Reporter Kevin Shea contributed to this report. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Camille Furst may be reached at cfurst@njadvancemedia.com.
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Watertown, NY (13601)

Today

Showers and thunderstorms likely. Low around 65F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Locally heavy rainfall possible..

Tonight

Showers and thunderstorms likely. Low around 65F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Locally heavy rainfall possible.
The city of Baku bore witness to a gripping exploration of the dynamic symbiosis between the Indian and Azerbaijani film industries recently. The event, titled 'Bollywood Meets Baku: A Talk on India - Azerbaijan Film Cooperation,' was organized by the Embassy of India. Under the limelight was Mr. Emin Guliyev, a seasoned line producer celebrated for his extensive international repertoire, sharing his in-depth insights on this engaging topic.

The special event witnessed the presence of a distinguished ensemble of guests. H.E. Vice Minister Mr. Sanjay Verma, Ambassador Mr. Sridharan Madhusudhanan, Mr Matin Mirza from the Azerbaijan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, actor and TV host Mr. Shahriyar Abhilov, Mr. Elman Mammadov from the Azerbaijan Tourism Board, and Mr. Dadash Mammadov of the Art Council Azerbaijan were among the esteemed attendees. Also in attendance were Mr. Jai Dalwani, the President of the Indian Association Azerbaijan, the Association's Vice President, Ms Binu Jacob and other distinguished guests from India, Azerbaijan and other countries.

The event was initiated with a warm welcome by Ambassador Mr. Sridharan Madhusudhanan, followed by Vice Minister H.E. Mr. Sanjay Verma sharing his insights on the transformative power of films, their role in Indian society and their global influence.

As the talk on 'Bollywood meets Baku' unfolded, Mr. Guliyev's riveting presentation took centre stage, interlaced with visually engaging video clips that navigated the confluence of Indian and Azerbaijani cinema. Mr Guliyev mentioned the Indian film industry's significant influence on various business sectors around the world. He highlighted the growing interest from Indian filmmakers to shoot projects in Azerbaijan, driven by several factors. The cinematic collaboration between India and Azerbaijan has evolved over time, reflecting a strengthening of cultural ties. This interest is further spurred by the cultural similarities between the two nations. He said that Azerbaijan offers unique advantages as a filming destination, attracting international filmmakers. There are also ongoing strategies to promote Indian film projects in Azerbaijan, with plans for future collaboration and exchanges.

This enriching event went beyond the surface, dissecting the evolution of India-Azerbaijan cinematic cooperation, identifying shared cultural narratives, assessing Azerbaijan's unique allure for international filmmakers, and contemplating strategies for fostering Indian film projects in Azerbaijan.

The 'Bollywood Meets Baku' gathering wasn't merely a talk, it marked the genesis of a deeper understanding and potential collaboration between the Indian and Azerbaijani film industries. As both nations embark on efforts to enhance cultural exchange, the prospects for future cinematic alliances are significant. The event concluded on a warm note, with Indian refreshments being served, encapsulating the event's spirit of cultural exchange and fellowship.
Director William Kaufman didnt live in New Orleans when he set Sinners and Saints, his breakthrough 2010 action film, here.

He had written the screenplay before Hurricane Katrina and had to update his story when he began filming after the storm. The spray-painted home search markings on abandoned or damaged houses add to the movies sense of uncharted danger and lawlessness, from both cops and gangsters. Johnny Strong (Black Hawk Down, The Fast and the Furious) plays a cop who discovers that a grisly murder is part of a ruthless gangs mysterious operations. As a Marine who served in Afghanistan, hes prepared to take on the heavily armed crime ring. Guns blaze as they chase each other down back streets and flood-ravaged neighborhoods.

I had such a huge affinity for the city, Kaufman says. I wanted to show off places we dont typically see. Normally when you do a film in New Orleans, everyone wants you to go to the French Quarter, and theres a Mardi Gras scene and Voodoo.

Kaufman moved his family to New Orleans several years ago, and he shot his second film set in the city, The Channel, in 2021. It opens Friday, July 14, at theaters and on streaming platforms.

Kaufman set The Channel in the neighborhood where he lives, and he goes unrecognized despite the success of his films, he says.

The opportunity to work in the city and work from home is kind of a dream for me, he says.

In The Channel, brothers Jamie and Mic Sheridan lead a group of former Marines on a bank heist, but the authorities close in fast. Though theyve spent their lives in the Irish Channel, the brothers need to escape first the city and then the country as the FBI gets involved and brings in its big guns. Old tensions between the brothers resurface as the stakes for them and their loved ones are raised.

Kaufmans first experiences working on a film came in Thailand where he went to high school. He grew up in Japan, Thailand and elsewhere as his fathers career took the family across the globe. Parts of Robin Williams Good Morning Vietnam were shot in Thailand, and Kaufman got on set as a production assistant and was an extra in some scenes.

They were looking for guys they could pass off as American soldiers, so we all got our heads shaved and worked on the movie, he says.

Kaufman later went to film school in Texas, and as opportunities arose, he worked his way up and pursued action films. His directorial debut was 2005s The Prodigy, about a low-level underworld enforcer who is thrust into deadly work by an assassin.

Saints and Sinners is his second film, and it cemented his reputation for creating gritty gun battles and fight scenes. He wants that action to look as real as possible, and he often enlists experts with such experience, including people with military training and even commando-type backgrounds.

I have huge respect for what I call the real deal, he says. I lean heavily on guys who are the real deal as advisors. It means a lot to me and the actors to get it as right as we possibly can.

But he draws tension not just with pyrotechnics but with dramatic stories.

The difference is the sensibility of how violence is handled, he says. I think in a lot of Hollywood films, violence is super cool and sexy. Its guys jumping over a car in slow motion with two guns in their hands. To me violence is an ugly, scary thing. If its going to be portrayed, I would prefer to portray it that way. Its not as exciting as it is something that draws viewers in with the tension and anxiety around it. Action scenes only matter once youre invested in the characters, otherwise its a stunt show. For me, its trying to lean into as much character study stuff as I can get into the action vehicle.

Musical 'Newsies' runs July 13-23 at Rivertown Theaters From newspaper war to newsboy strike to Disney movie to Broadway musical.

But theres no shortage of action and gunfire in his work, as confrontations often drive the story at a brisk pace. After Sinners and Saints, he has done more small budget films, as well as movies for major studios including Sony and 21st Century Fox. The Hit List starred Cuba Gooding Jr. as an assassin. Gooding reprised the role for One in the Chamber, with the addition of Swedish actor and martial arts star, Dolph Lundgren. Kaufman directed Marine 4, in WWEs war movie franchise, and Jarhead 3, a series about Marines, set in the Middle East.

While The Channel hits theaters on streaming platforms this week, another film, Shrapnel opens July 28. Shrapnel follows an ex-Marine who finds himself battling a Mexican cartel after his daughter goes missing.

In coming weeks, Kaufman will begin shooting his next film in New Orleans. Osiris has a sci-fi concept, and much of it will be shot on stages on the West Bank.

I can go for a walk and its the Channel tour, he says. We go all over the place. It looks beautiful on camera.
Troy Sawyer wanted to do something different with his listening parties. Musicians getting friends and family together for a preview of a new album, single or music video is a tried-and-true way to build up hype  and gauge reactions  ahead of the release date. But the New Orleans-born trumpeter and educator thought he could do a little more for his debut album, which will be out Aug. 4.

My business partner came up with the concept of doing listening parties at different spots around the city that would complement my story, Sawyer says. So in late 2022 and early 2023, Sawyer turned the listening party into something of a mini tour, helping place Sawyer and his music in the New Orleans locations that shaped him.

I could tell my story, how Im connected with that spot and where Im at. Like, Damn, Im here because of X,Y and Z, he later adds. And I could put people onto spots that they may have never been before.

Sawyer grew up in Uptown and comes from a line of musicians  his great-grandfather, Louis D. James, played with Buddy Bolden and Sawyer is cousins with Leon Bridges. He picked up the trumpet at 9, and over the years has shared stages with Wynton Marsalis, Lalah Hathaway and Harry Connick Jr. Sawyer also has worked as a music educator in New Orleans schools for more than a decade.

At each spot on his in-town tour, Sawyer would debut two songs from his upcoming Rock Your Soul, and tell the audience about the inspiration behind the music  a blend of funk, soul and jazz with Latin influences  and how their location impacted him. He would also talk about Girls Play Trumpets Too, his nonprofit working to encourage and teach girls ages 8-19 to play trumpet. The program kicked off last fall with weekly classes and hosted its debut class performance in May at Cafe Istanbul.

Sawyer started at Bar Tonique on North Rampart Street, which was formerly King Boldens Jazz Club in the mid-2000s. It was where Sawyer stepped out as a bandleader in 2006 with his trio, taking over a weekly gig originally held down by trumpeter James Andrews.

Another nights listening party was at The Vintage, formerly a coffee shop where Sawyer would study while attending Xavier University. He then took the tour to Bennachin on Royal Street, a restaurant owned by the mother of a Xavier classmate. Sawyer is good friends with poet Chuck Perkins and toured with his Voices of the Big Easy project, so a party at Perkins Cafe Istanbul took place around Christmas time.

The albums last two songs were played at BJs Lounge in the Bywater, home to bluesman Little Freddie King, who is featured on the record. To cap it off, Sawyer took the full album to the Catahoula Hotels rooftop and asked for feedback from his friends gathered around.

New Orleanians can now get a preview of Sawyers new record when he and his eight-member band, the Elementz, play Tuesday, July 11, at the Ellis Marsalis Center for Music (EMCM) in Musicians Village. The music starts at 6:30 p.m. and tickets are $15 general admission, $5 for students and $45 for VIP seating.

While not part of Sawyers place-based listening tour, the bands EMCM show could still fit the mission: Sawyer was one of the youngest homeowners in Musicians Village when he bought into the 9th Ward development, and he recorded most of his upcoming album at EMCM.

"Living in Musicians Village, I always say this is a community house, Sawyer says. I feel like God blessed me with a house because I stay true to my purpose in life, which is to heal the world and inspire people in a positive way with my music.

Find more info at ellismarsaliscenter.org. And look for Sawyer and Girls Play Trumpets Too at this years Satchmo Summerfest in August.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 8. Azerbaijan and Tajikistan have discussed the prospects for improving cooperation in mutual investments, Trend reports.

"During the meeting with Minister of Economic Development and Trade of Tajikistan, Zavki Zavkizoda, we exchanged views on the prospects for the development of economic relations between our countries, expanding cooperation and promoting mutual investments," Azerbaijani Economy Minister Mikail Jabbarov wrote on his Twitter page.

According to the State Customs Committee, the trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Tajikistan from January through May 2023 amounted to $1.349 million.
Prosecutors said Sauer admitted targeting men who appeared to be intoxicated, lost or in need of assistance over a two-year period beginning in 2019.

Spiked their drinks

"Then, in offering to help, he drugged the men. In some cases, he put narcotics in their drinks while at bars or, after they passed out from drinking alcohol, ... used an eyedropper to feed them the sleep-inducing substances," the District Attorney's Office said.

After driving his victims to his house, he photographed or videotaped the unconscious men, and molested some, while pleasuring himself. "The following morning, he gave them rides to their hotels or other locations," the District Attorney's Office said.

"Many of the victims were visiting New Orleans from out of state, were separated from friends or simply lost when Sauer approached them and offered help," the District Attorney's Office said.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 8. The State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) and the CISCO Systems Inc, commonly known as Cisco, an American-based multinational digital communications technology corporation, have reached an agreement on cooperation in the fields of digital transformation, networking solutions, and software for the implementation of new technologies, SOCAR told Trend.

According to the company, the collaboration entails the implementation of projects in the areas of technological infrastructure, secure digital transformation, sustainable IT systems, and the creation of a comfortable user experience.

"In SOCAR's corporate strategy, digitizing value chain activities and improving operational efficiency through the application of cutting-edge technologies and innovative solutions are identified as priority areas. In this regard, cooperation with CISCO Systems Inc, one of the global leaders in technology and innovation, will contribute to achieving SOCAR's long-term strategic goals and provide a favorable foundation for expanding prospects in the field of digital transformation and creating the workplace of the future," said the company.

Previously, discussions were held between Azerbaijan and CISCO on the application of the company's technologies to the use of water resources in Azerbaijan. Prospects for cooperation in the fields of education and cybersecurity were also addressed.
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Three new exhibits just opened at the Lubeznik Center for the Arts, including the blockbuster Vivian Maier exhibition.

"Vivian Maier: In Color," "Under the Same Sun" and "to render the infinite" opened at 101 W. 2nd St. between downtown Michigan City and the lakefront.

"Maier was more than a nanny photographer. She toed the line between a French immigrant and a local, a suburban nanny and a city dweller and a subject and an object who was only posthumously celebrated with international acclaim," the Lubeznik Center for the Arts said in a press release. "A discerning amateur photographer, Maier took thousands of pictures throughout her life, refining her craft through her explorations around Chicago, her home base from 1956 on. She gained in-depth perspective of the diverse city and its people. She took everyday moments and transformed them into something extraordinary. Maiers photographs encourage viewers to look beyond the ordinary. She approached her subjects with an unwavering confidence that portrayed them in a similar light, revealing their parallels, intersections and tensions."

The work is on loan from the Chicago History Museum. Her work also has been displayed around the world, including in New York City, Los Angeles, Paris, London and Madrid.

"Maier died in 2009 before her lifes work was shared with the world. She left behind hundreds of prints, 100,000 negatives and about a thousand rolls of undeveloped film, which were discovered when a collector purchased the contents of her storage lockers," the Lubeznik Center said in a press release. "There is no proof she ever made a concerted effort to show her workgifting us the mystery of an elusive woman behind the camera."

"Under the Same Sun" features the photography of Natasha Moustache. Her work documents the domestic.

"Moustache is a contemporary, Chicago-based photographic installation artist whose work reflects their experience as a first-generation, Seychellois-American and explores Black Diasporic relations within colonized spaces. In Under the Same Sun, Moustache visualizes the interconnectedness and transnationality of the Black Diaspora through a familial album of portraiture, domestic interiors and cherished possessions of three women," the Lubeznik Center for the Arts said in a press release. "Moustaches lens is intimate and compassionate. In familiarizing these three women across socio-economics, generations and geographies, Moustache highlights the unmistakable signifiers of Black Diasporic life. Success is defined uniquely by each woman, yet the challenges and resiliency required of living in spaces that were not meant for women of color connect them."

Chicago Humanities Festival commissioned "to render the infinite. Visual artist zakkiyyah najeebah dumas oneal and composer Ayana Contreras created the film.

"oneals film is mined from the Chicago Film Archives along with her own footage, and she uses video assemblage to detail a view of Chicago. The film begins with footage of Lake Michigan and of Chicago author, Lorraine Hansberry. Hansberry is most known for being the first Black woman to have a play performed on Broadway, A Raisin in the Sun," the Lubeznik Center for the Arts said in a press release. "Although Hansberry is most known for this work, o'neal weaves in imagery and gestures that allude to Hansberry's lesbian identity, mirroring oneal's own identity as it relates to the ways Black women and queer people are deeply embedded within the social landscape of Chicago."

For more information, visit LubeznikCenter.org or call 219.874.4900.
Lowell Animal Hospital has built a new, larger building next to its current one.

It plans to move into the expanded space later this month. The animal hospital at 17645 Morse St. in Lowell is doubling its size with a new 7,000-square-foot veterinary clinic.

Just north of the current location on the same property, the new building features eight exam rooms, two surgery suites, a dental suite, an ultrasound machine and a digital X-ray. It will tentatively open on the third week of July on July 19 if all goes according to plan.

"It's right next door," said Becky Palm, a registered veterinary technician and veterinary manager. "We'll have a lot more space. We'll be able to see more patients. They'll be able to wait in more enjoyable private areas. It should lessen wait times and maybe increase volume but clients should have a more pleasant wait where they're not just in one big room."

Lowell Animal Clinic opened in 2017 and took off, which the owners attributed to being the only clinic in the area to offer walk-in veterinary service. It ran out of room and sought more space to facilitate more veterinary care.

"People are drawn by being able to walk in instead of schedule an appointment to see their own vet," she said. "We're newer, nice and tidy. We offer the same quality of care. We offer excellent patient care above all."

It provides services like spaying, neutering, wellness exams, vaccines, soft tissue surgeries, dental work and ultrasounds to dogs and cats. It also has a feral cat program.

The clinic offers endoscopy and laparoscopic surgeries usually only provided at universities and specialized hospitals. It draws patients from Crown Point, Rensselaer, Roselawn, DeMotte, Gary, Highland, Merrillville, Munster and Grant Pak in Illinois.

The expansion will allow it to do more surgeries, including dental surgeries. It will be able to see eight patients at a time instead of just three.

"We'll have more room to offer our services," she said. "We focus on quality of care."

In the future, Lowell Animal Hospital is considering expanding services, adding offerings like orthopedics and more specialized advanced dentistry.

"We're at the tail end of construction," she said. "They're finishing up."

For more information, call 219-300-2148, visit lowellanimalhospital.com or find the business on Facebook or Instagram.
VALPARAISO  A Valparaiso man who pleaded guilty last month to voluntary manslaughter for strangling his roommate was sentenced to 20 years in prison Friday by Porter County Circuit Judge Mary DeBoer.

Michael Bachar, 45, was initially charged with murder and strangulation of his roommate George Batey, 60, in May 2021. The charges were reduced after his attorney struck a plea deal with prosecutors June 7, court records state.

Five years of Bachar's sentence will be suspended to formal probation with fees.

Bachar strangled Batey in their shared residence in the 700 block of Center Street. Batey later died of asphyxiation. His death was ruled a homicide.

Bachar said Batey punched him and he defended himself by grabbing Batey by the throat "while telling (Batey) to stop and apologize," according to charging documents.

Bachar said Batey "had some sort of Satan in him" and Batey "wasn't going to stop until he (Bachar) made him stop."

Bachar reportedly told police he did not really care if Batey died and knew it was a possibility, but that it was not his intention, charges state.

While Bachar was in the Porter County Jail, he tore up three of four padded cells and was transferred to a mental health facility elsewhere in Indiana for an evaluation to determine his competency and "understand the nature of the proceedings and assist in his defense," defense attorney Mark Chargualaf said.

Former Porter County Sheriff Dave Reynolds previously said Porter County, like many other counties, does not have the proper resources at its jail to hold and treat someone with severe mental health issues, he said.

The padded cells at the county jail are designed for short-term stays and require round-the-clock supervision. Bachar was held in a padded cell for 35 of his 44 days with the county, which is not right, Reynolds said.

According to court documents, Bachar will receive treatment for mental health while incarcerated as a condition of probation.
Chesterton PD groundbreaking From left to right: Clerk-Treasurer Courtney Udvare, Mike Hoopingarner of American Structurepoint, Town Council Members Jennifer Fisher, R-5th

CHESTERTON  After 18 months of negotiations, town officials commenced the construction of a new police station Thursday on Broadway Avenue and Eighth Street.

The new station will be significantly larger than the current station, which is about half a century old. Once erected, the new building will have two stories with separate locker rooms and restrooms for male and female officers, a separate training room, a larger lobby, three unisex restrooms on the ground floor and three interview rooms, Chesterton Public Affairs Liaison Kevin Nevers said.

Town Attorney Chuck Lukmann spoke at the event and expressed his gratitude to all who helped make the dream a reality. He praised Councilwoman Sharon Darnell, D-4th, who was the first to raise the idea of a new police station during a council meeting in January 2022. Darnell said a new facility was necessary to provide adequate space for the growing department, which has 27 full-time officers, and facilitate use of complex technology by the department.

The station will cost approximately $5 million. Approximately $2.5 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds were allocated for the build, Nevers said. The remaining $2.5 million comes from a general obligation bond, which is backed by credit and future taxing power rather than a direct revenue stream. The Urschel family, who own the Chesterton-based global manufacturing company Urschel Laboratories, subsidized any shortfall.

My father was really excited about the opportunity because in moving to Chesterton the opportunities we had to grow were pretty remarkable, Chairman Rick Urschel said of his father, CEO Rick Urschel. But also helping this community to grow is something were excited about as well. So when this opportunity presented itself, we knew we would have to jump on the chance with whatever we could immediately.

Police Chief Tim Richardson said the new station is the foundation of an entire town, and will help the department maintain the traditionally safe town and strengthen their relationship with the community.

It will allow us to implement pivotal technology into our operations, Richardson said. This new structure will open the door to continued expansion of our law enforcement partnerships, not only in this county and state but also with our federal law enforcement partners. These partnerships not only expand our reach, they allow for highly technical law enforcement support during times of crisis.

Construction is set to be completed in about 15 months or less, Nevers said. Larson-Danielson Construction Company will serve as the general contractor and American StructurePoint as the design engineer.
CHICAGO  For decades in the late 19th century, U.S. Steel's South Works was the largest steel mill in the world.

Tucked between U.S. 41 and Lake Michigan, the mill ended up operating for more than a century, drawing in many immigrant workers and cracking out tons of steel for cars, railroads and the skyscrapers that rose up in the Loop.

Steelworkers Park a monument to industrial history Field Museum Chicago Region program Director Mark Bouman (left) and Calumet Heritage Partnership board Chairman Gary Johnson lead a tour at St

Thousands of workers made steel along the shore of Lake Michigan and the banks of the Calumet River on Chicago's Southeast Side.

But South Works and the Southeast Side's other mills suffered amid a glut of foreign imports in the 1970s and never truly recovered.

Hobbled by steel dumping and stuck with aging machinery, they downsized and cut back over the years. Steelmakers invested elsewhere, like the larger and newer integrated mills just across the state line in Northwest Indiana, as the industry consolidated. Fewer and fewer ore boats docked with payloads of the iron ore that once kept the blast furnaces burning and bread on the table for many steelworker families.

The South Works mill that was once 20,000 workers strong shuttered in 1992. Wisconsin Steel, Republic Steel and Iroquois Steel are long gone.

"The decade of the 1980s was really bad. Something like 25,000 jobs were lost in Chicago in steel manufacturing alone," Field Museum Chicago Region program Director Mark Bouman said. "That's not to say anything about the related industry. All the sites have gone through questions of what happens next. There's still questions about the future uses of all of these sites."

Only the massive ore walls of South Works remain, looming like ancient ruins over an flat expanse of grass and prairie plants along the lakefront.

Chicago has been looking to redevelop much of the site for years, even extending DuSable Lake Shore Drive to make it more accessible. Developers and politicians have pitched ideas like a city-within-a-city, a prefabricated-home factory, a marina, a casino and an outdoor concert venue for what's believed to be the largest vacant site in city limits and one of the largest waterfront sites in the country.

None ever got off the ground, as evidenced by the long-standing faded sign with the empty promise that a Mariano's was coming soon.

It's hosted Shakespeare in the Park and a Dave Matthews Band concert  the group did to make amends with the city after dumping waste from its tour bus onto unsuspecting tour boats below on the Chicago River.

"There's been a lot of dissension over whether it should be upscale living with beautiful views of downtown Chicago or industry to create jobs for the neighborhood," said Gary Johnson, chairman of the Calumet Heritage Partnership board. "There's been questions of luxury housing versus affordable housing. Not to mention, it's an enormous site. It's more than 300 acres. It's a massive site and it's been difficult to come to any kind of consensus."

Part of the sprawling former steel mill grounds is a 16.5-acre lakefront park.

Steelworkers Park, near the mouth of the Calumet River at East 87th Street in South Chicago, is a place were people come to stroll in relative seclusion in a prairie-like setting, fish in the river flowing into one of the Great Lakes or scale a climbing wall on the side of the ore walls. It's also a tribute to the generations of steelworkers who tailed there.

"It was called South Works because North Works was long the North Branch of the Chicago River in downtown Chicago," Bouman said. "There were four integrated steel mills in Chicago. The trend in the steel industry since it started here in 1875 was to move east. Ultimately, it moved out of Chicago for the most part. When it started here in 1882, it was part of the movement of heavy industry into the Calumet Region."

Trees, wildflowers and native flora now blossom on what was a landfill made of molten slag. It had to be capped to make it a park.

"They dredged the Illinois River down by Peoria and brought the mud up here to amend the soil," Bouman said. "About half this park is fill in Lake Michigan. You can imagine what the fill is. It's slag and whatever else."

Visitors are greeted by the "Tribute to the Past" sculpture by a self-taught artist and former steelworker who lived in the neighborhood.

"He said at a conference at South Shore Arts that art is the new steel," Bouman said.

The Calumet Heritage Partnership that's leading the charge to make the bistate Calumet Region into a National Heritage Area hopes the site of the former steel mill can blossom into a gateway for visitors.

Steelworkers Park a monument to industrial history Calumet Heritage Partnership board Chairman Gary Johnson leads a tour at Steelworkers Park.

"One of the questions is how do we help people find these places on a regular basis and how does art become the new steel as an economic generator?" he said. "We need a thousand flowers blooming all across the Region, and I think that's the character of it. We all know what our favorite places are. Coordinating it and selling it are a big piece."

Steelworkers Park displays blast-furnace bells from the long-bygone Acme Steel, a memento of how the Southeast Side used to be steel country.

South Works once had 11 blast furnaces, eight electric furnaces and 12 rolling mills.

"You put iron ore, coke and limestone is a blast furnace, get it hot and have a reaction  a reducing reaction  that takes the oxygen away from basically the iron ore. You take the oxygen away and you're left with iron in the blast furnace, which is operating in a very low oxygen environment," Johnson said.

"Think about why you don't do charcoal grilling inside. It's because charcoal creates carbon dioxide in a very low oxygen environment. It's kind of the same thing inside the blast furnace."

The blast furnace burned around the clock and had to be fed so it could operate continuously. The two bells and tube on display at the park allowed steelworkers to pour raw materials into the raging hot furnace to keep it burning.

The historic ironmaking equipment, donated by the Calumet Heritage Partnership to the Chicago Park District, is positioned precisely on the site to draw the eye across Lake Michigan to Blast Furnace No. 9 at Cleveland-Cliffs Indiana Harbor Works in East Chicago, on a manmade peninsula that juts into the lake.

"These need to be here because we're looking at the largest-capacity blast furnace in the Western Hemisphere," Bouman said.

The steel industry chugs along in Northwest Indiana, but it had to innovate and no longer employees tens of thousands of workers at each mill.

"Northwest Indiana is producing more steel than ever before," Johnson said. "But they're making more and more steel with fewer and fewer people. It's difficult to find an industry that's been so technologically changed."

Plans also call for displaying a steel sculpture a steelmaker made along the 1-mile bike trail at Steelworkers Park. The partnership donated it to the Park District, which is working to restore it before it's displayed.

"It will be right across the way from the actual coke plant, so you'll be able to see the story of it," Bouman said.

The park and surrounding neighborhood is rife with industrial and labor history, including the Memorial Day Massacre outside Republic Steel, Johnson said. Workers on the Southeast Side long had to struggle for fair hours, decent pay and safe working conditions.

"Surrounding neighborhoods have names like Slag Valley and Irondale, which tells you what was happening here," Bouman said. "The lakefront site here is owned by the Park District. The rest of the 300 acres is still subject to the next energy, whatever it's going to be."
As children get older, the patterns change, but drowning remains a major risk. And the most important messages for older children involve swimming lessons with water safety competence as an essential life skill to be taught to all children; there are notable disparities in access to swimming lessons, and drowning rates are higher in minority populations. Adult supervision and never swimming alone are still essential, as well as Coast-Guard-approved life jackets, even for strong swimmers. Anyone involved in activities on water where there is a current (tubing on a river, for example) should be wearing one of those life vests.

So few people are aware that drowning is a big-kid problem too, said Ms. Gage, who is a member of Families United to Prevent Drowning, which makes many family stories available. When an older person drowns, its typically in open water, and typically theres a lot of victim blaming. People look for an explanation that involves reckless behavior, she said, or intoxication. In fact, she said, parents need to understand the importance of continuing to model safe behavior as their children get older. Wear life vests, just as you dont get into a car without a seatbelt, she said. Just because your child knows how to swim does not mean your child is drown-proof.

The risk of drowning increases greatly among teenagers, especially boys, and remains elevated into adulthood, and may be tied to risk-taking behaviors. Ms. Gage said that the only laws that regulate life vests are connected to boating  so people tend to assume that theres no need for life vests in other open water activities. And older children have also been affected by the circumstances of the Covid year, she said, with boat sales having increased and, again, with parents profoundly stressed and sometimes less able to supervise.

Ms. Hughes said that many parents who have been willing to take extreme precautions all year to avoid any chance of their children being exposed to Covid might not realize that statistically, drowning kills more young children  in 2019, 864 children 18 and under in the United States died by drowning, compared to about 300 pediatric deaths from Covid over the course of the pandemic.

Ms. Hughes said she worries that parents encourage children to believe that water is fun. And she said it is not enough to simply warn them about the risks. Since I spoke with her two years ago, she has become a strong believer in the value of swimming lessons for young children.
At the same time, Chinas imports of foreign goods have stumbled as Chinese consumers become even more cautious spenders and as the Chinese government subsidizes local companies to produce substitutes for imported products. The Shanghai stock market has dropped almost 17 percent so far this year.

The main task of Chinas ruling elite at the party congress, a gathering that happens once every five years and typically lasts a week, will be to confirm the lineup of Chinas leaders. But a keynote opening speech by Mr. Xi will also provide important clues for what the future holds for businesses in China and around the world.

Mr. Xis speech will be full of Communist Party ideological jargon and probably very long  his speech at the start of the last party congress, in 2017, lasted more than three hours. But buried in that jargon are likely to be some important messages. Heres what finance leaders and corporate executives around the world want to know.

Domestic Ideology: Common Prosperity

One of Mr. Xis favorite economic policy initiatives in recent months has a simple, innocuous-sounding name: common prosperity. The big question lies in what it means.

Common prosperity, a longtime goal of the Communist Party, has been defined by Mr. Xi as reining in private capital and narrowing Chinas huge disparities in wealth. Regulators and tax investigators cracked down last year on tech giants and wealthy celebrities. Beijing demanded that tycoons give back to society. And Mr. Xi has strongly discouraged speculation in housing, pushing instead for government subsidies for the construction of more rental apartments.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 8. Iran exported more than 190,000 tons of non-oil products worth over $117 million to Azerbaijan, during the first three months of the current Iranian year (March 21 through June 21, 2023), Trend reports.

As indicated in the statistics of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA), Iran's export of non-oil products to Azerbaijan for the reporting period decreased by 27.3 percent in value, while increasing by 4.4 percent in volume compared to the period in the last year.

So, Iran exported 182,000 tons of non-oil products worth $161 million to Azerbaijan in the same period last Iranian year.

Within 3 months, Iran mainly exported agricultural and food products, industrial products, petrochemical and chemical products to Azerbaijan.

In the 3rd month of the current Iranian year alone (May 22 through June 21, 2023), Iran's non-oil exports to Azerbaijan stood at 64,600 tons worth $46.5 million.

Overall, Iran exported 35.5 million tons of non-oil products worth $12.5 billion within the first three months of the current Iranian year.

This is a decrease of 8.84 percent in value, while an increase of 24.4 percent in volume compared to the same period last year.

---

Follow the author on Twitter:@BaghishovElnur
The Biden administration called on China on Saturday to do more to help developing countries combat climate change, urging the worlds largest emitter of greenhouse gases to back international climate finance funds that it has so far declined to support.

Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen delivered the message during her second day of meetings in Beijing, where she is seeking to cultivate areas of cooperation between the United States and China. While China has expressed support for programs to help poor countries cope with the effects of climate change, it has been selective in choosing which funds to support, arguing that it is also a developing nation.

Ms. Yellen said that China and the United States share a common interest on climate change and could make a more significant impact if the nations worked together.

I believe that if China were to support existing multilateral climate institutions like the Green Climate Fund and the Climate Investment Funds alongside us and other donor governments, we could have a greater impact than we do today, Ms. Yellen said at a meeting with a group of Chinese and international sustainable finance experts on Saturday morning.
A former U.S. Army financial counselor used his position to bilk two dozen dead service members families out of life insurance and other benefits by steering them to investments on which he was secretly reaping hefty commissions, federal prosecutors said on Friday.

The former counselor, Caz Craffy, was charged with wire and securities fraud and other crimes for what prosecutors said was a scheme that cost the Gold Star families  immediate relatives of service members who died while serving  $3.4 million in investment losses and $1.4 million in commissions collected by Mr. Craffy.

Stealing from Gold Star families whose loved ones made the ultimate sacrifice in service to our nation is a shameful crime, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said in a statement.

In addition to the criminal charges, Mr. Craffy faces a civil complaint filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
President Biden defended his decision on Friday to provide Ukraine with cluster munitions, which are outlawed by many of Americas closest allies, saying it was a difficult decision but the Ukrainians are running out of ammunition in the fight against Russian forces.

For months, Mr. Biden had wrestled with the decision to supply the weapons, which scatter tiny, deadly bomblets across the battlefield. They have been known to cause grievous injuries months or even years after the fighting ends, often among children who pick up duds that did not explode when initially dropped.

Ultimately, the president determined that depriving Ukraine of the weapons would amount to leaving it defenseless against Russia. He said it was a temporary move to hold Ukraine over until the production of conventional artillery rounds could be ramped up.

It was a very difficult decision on my part  and by the way, I discussed this with our allies, I discussed this with our friends up on the Hill, Mr. Biden said in an interview with CNN. The Ukrainians are running out of ammunition.
Mr. Ramaswamy has argued that such goals are a distraction from earning a profit, and that social objectives should be left to elected officials.

Tricia McLaughlin, a senior adviser to Mr. Ramaswamy, said that he did not manage his own stock portfolio. The first time Vivek learned of these positions was when he saw this financial disclosure report, Ms. McLaughlin said on Friday. Viveks stock portfolio is independently managed by a third party. The filer has authority to make trades and invest in stocks without his expressed consent or knowledge.

Mr. Ramaswamy, a long-shot candidate who has said that he would go further than the Republican front-runner, former President Donald J. Trump, on conservative issues, has been unusually transparent about his wealth, earlier releasing 20 years of his tax returns.

But until he filed his financial disclosure with election officials, there were few details. The filing reported that Mr. Ramaswamy owned up to a $25 million investment in Rumble, the video platform that styles itself a refuge for right-wing commentators shunned elsewhere. He owns up to $300,000 in cryptocurrency, primarily Bitcoin, and an investment worth up to $100,000 in a cryptocurrency app named MoonPay. He also has interests in three private planes.

Mr. Ramaswamy, 37, is a Cincinnati native who holds degrees from Harvard and Yale. He founded Roivant Sciences in 2014, a company that develops and markets drugs, and that is the primary source of his wealth. Though he stepped down as chairman in February when he announced his candidacy, earlier reporting showed that he remained one of the largest shareholders. On the federal disclosure, the value of his Roivant holdings is listed as over $50 million, which is the largest category used on the form.
President Biden, who is scheduled to attend the summit during a trip to Europe next week, said in a CNN interview set to be broadcast on Sunday that Ukraines acceptance into NATO would most likely have to wait until after the war.

I dont think there is unanimity in NATO about whether or not to bring Ukraine into the NATO family now, at this moment, in the middle of a war, Mr. Biden said, according to an excerpt published by CNN.

Because of the alliances bedrock commitment to mutual defense, he said, if Ukraine were admitted to NATO now, the allies would be pulled into the war. If the war is going on, then were all in war, he said. Were at war with Russia, if that were the case.

Mr. Zelensky was also in Istanbul to talk about the Black Sea grain deal, which is once again facing an uncertain future. Mr. Erdogan said that President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia was expected to visit Turkey in August and that he was working to try to extend the grain deal for longer intervals.

Our hope is that it will be extended at least once every three months, not every two months, he said. We will make an effort in this regard and try to increase the duration of it.
The United States confirmed on Friday that it was in talks with Russia about a potential prisoner swap for the Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, but cautioned that the discussions had not yet produced a clear pathway to a resolution.

The Kremlin spokesman Dmitri S. Peskov said this week that the two countries were in contact about the possibility of a swap. President Bidens national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, confirmed the Kremlins remarks on Friday, but he said that he did not want to give false hope.

There have been discussions, but those discussions have not produced a clear pathway to a resolution, Mr. Sullivan told reporters, adding that the U.S. did not have a clear answer on how it would secure Mr. Gershkovichs release.
Peter Nero, the concert pianist who soared to popularity in the 1960s with a swinging hybrid of classics and jazz and kept the beat for nearly six decades with albums, club and television dates, and segues into conducting pops orchestras, died on Thursday in Eustis, Fla. He was 89.

His daughter, Beverly Nero, said he died at the At Home Care Assisted Living Facility, where he had lived in recent months.

It was not quite accurate to say, as a New York newspaper, The World-Telegram and Sun, did in 1962, that Mr. Nero played classical music with his left hand and pop-jazz with his right. But that was only a paraphrase of his own primer for audiences.

We shall play Tea for Two, he would say. Since our arrangement is complex, wed like to explain what well be doing. My right hand will be playing Tea for Two, while my left hand will play Tchaikovskys Fifth. My left foot will be fiercely tapping out the traditional rhythm to the Tahitian fertility dance. My right foot will not be doing too much. It will just be excited.
Teodora Pirciu didnt order the wine she wanted at dinner, even though she was on vacation to enjoy herself. Instead, she had water. As she chewed her food, thoughts of her bank account gnawed at her mind. Ms. Pirciu knew she would insist on paying the check for her son and her new boyfriend. She just didnt know if her credit card would be declined.

At the time, nearly a decade ago, Ms. Pirciu was a 27-year-old single mother, barely covering the necessities with her job in politics and sporadic gig work as a D.J. She had already rushed in to pay for the hotel before her long-distance boyfriend  a high earner who had no idea she was struggling financially  could do so. He had paid for his flight and everything else, until that last dinner.

If her boyfriend had paid for the entire trip, I would have felt inferior, Ms. Pirciu said. For a very long time, I had this mentality issue, and I felt like I wasnt worthy because, you know, I cant afford this tiny thing  a long weekend.

For many reasons, it can be too easy to get swept up in a vacation plan that only later  once youre already on the beach trying to relax  do you realize you cant afford. But with a few strategies, during the planning and while on the trip, you can avoid stretching yourself financially.
Desmond Shum was one of Chinas most well-connected businessmen. He and his former wife, Duan Weihong, used their relationships with top government officials to build a multibillion-dollar property development company during a golden age for entrepreneurs starting in the mid-1990s.

Now, tensions with the West dominate discussion, with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen sharply criticizing Chinas treatment of American companies on a trip to Beijing this week.

Mr. Shum left China in 2015 as Xi Jinping, the countrys leader, asserted greater state control over the country and its businesses. Duan, also known as Whitney, disappeared two years later. (It is believed that Communist Party officials detained her after a high-ranking political ally was held on suspicion of corruption.)

Mr. Shum told the story of their rise and fall  and the murky reality of doing business in China  in his 2021 memoir. Many details cannot be independently verified but his role at the intersection of business and politics is certain. He now lives in Britain with the couples son (neither of them has seen Duan since she vanished) and says it is unsafe for him to travel to China.
In May, Micron Technologies, the Idaho chipmaker, suffered a serious blow as part of the U.S.-China technology war. The Chinese government barred companies that handle crucial information from buying Microns chips, saying the company had failed a cybersecurity review.

Micron said the change could destroy roughly an eighth of its global revenue. Yet in June, the chipmaker announced that it would increase its investments in China  adding $600 million to expand a chip packaging facility in the Chinese city of Xian.

This investment project demonstrates Microns unwavering commitment to its China business and team, an announcement posted on the companys Chinese social media account said.

Global semiconductor companies are finding themselves in an extremely tricky position as they try to straddle a growing rift between the United States and China. The semiconductor industry has become ground zero for the technology rivalry between Washington and Beijing, with new restrictions and punitive measures imposed by both sides.
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It is the kind of historical artifact that would be easy to miss: an old and fragile little book unearthed in the archives of the Derbyshire Record Office, in the East Midlands of England. The book, a commercial ledger from 1822, holds the names of enslavers who ran cotton plantations on islands along the coast of Florida, Georgia and South Carolina.

And on one of the browning pages, in elegant, handwritten script, someone has inked the name of the company buying that cotton: Shuttleworth, Taylor & Co.

Cassandra Gooptar, a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Hull, knew that firm and had been hunting for any trace of it for five months. The Taylor in question was none other than John Edward Taylor, founder of The Manchester Guardian, now known simply as The Guardian, the most prominent progressive newspaper in Britain for more than two centuries.

In that moment, what I realized is that we can now connect the founder of The Guardian to the enslaved people of the Sea Islands, Dr. Gooptar said in a recent call from Trinidad, where she grew up. It proved that he was importing cotton, picked by slaves, for profits.
The National Institutes of Health recently published a call for research proposals to examine drowning prevention, writing that little is known about what intervention strategies work. The C.D.C. said it planned to do an in-depth analysis of childhood drownings in several states to better understand the contributing factors.

But epidemiologists point to an array of factors that could make it increasingly difficult to close the gap, including shrinking recreation department budgets, a national lifeguard shortage and an era of distraction on pool decks, as parents juggle child supervision with laptops and cellphones when they work from home.

In the longer term, the figures are likely to be exacerbated by climate change, said Deborah Girasek, a drownings researcher at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. More children are likely to drown in hurricane floodwater in Florida, fall through thin ice in Wisconsin or climb into restricted reservoirs in Yosemite for a reprieve from the increasing heat. (Research shows that drownings rise with every degree on a thermometer.)

Though overall drowning deaths have decreased by one-third since 1990, they have risen by 16.8 percent in 2020 alone, according to the C.D.C. There are still over 4,000 of them in the United States annually, and about a quarter of the deaths are of children. An analysis by the C.D.C. shows that Black children between ages 5 and 9 are 2.6 times more likely to drown in swimming pools than white children, and those between ages 10 and 14 are 3.6 times more likely to drown. Disparities are also present in most age groups for Asian and Pacific Islander, Hispanic, and Native American and Alaska Native children.
Times Insider explains who we are and what we do and delivers behind-the-scenes insights into how our journalism comes together.

In the North Atlantic, a tropical cyclone is called a hurricane. In the Western Pacific, its a typhoon.

I learned this as I prepared to travel to the U.S. territory of Guam in May. Typhoon Mawar had just torn through the island, stripping the bark off trees, flooding the main power station and leaving many without electricity for nearly a month.

I was there to photograph life on Guam for a New York Times Magazine article written by Sarah A. Topol. The article explores how the United States military is building up its forces on Guam and in other Pacific territories as tensions with China rise. Guams strategic location in the Pacific Ocean  its closer to the Philippines than it is to Hawaii  has resulted in centuries of exploitation, colonization and militarization, something I only began to truly understand during my visit.

I wanted to capture the military buildup on Guam and how the operations were affecting the lives of the people there.
A gunman killed one person and wounded three others on Saturday as he drove a scooter across Brooklyn and Queens, randomly firing at groups of people and at stores in a chaotic two-hour stretch before the police arrested him, the New York Police Department said.

The 25-year-old gunman, whose name was not released by the authorities, began his rampage around 11 a.m. in Brooklyn where he shot a 21-year-old man in the left shoulder from behind, prompting officers to respond to the scene near the corner of Ashford Street and Arlington Avenue, Joseph Kenny, an assistant chief at the detective bureau, said at a news conference.

Seventeen minutes later, a report came of another shooting, this time in Queens, which mirrored the one in Brooklyn, Chief Kenny said: a man on a scooter firing a gun.

At the second attack, the gunman fatally shot an 87-year-old man near a nail salon on Jamaica Avenue near the Richmond Hill section of Queens, the police said.
Im terrible at packing. Laughably terrible. Concerningly so. On a recent trip to Las Vegas with my boyfriend (Im gay) and both our mothers (again, we are extremely gay) to see Adele (you get the idea), we both packed so much that youd be forgiven for thinking we were moving there. I doubt Adele packed more, even though she semirelocated there for several months.

My boyfriend is, somehow, even worse than I am. His philosophy when it comes to luggage is progressive: Leave no shirts behind, lest they feel excluded from our vacation. He doesnt want anyone at a hotel to see him in the same outfit twice.

With our traveling circus of luggage, we are hangers-on to an old way of life. Long gone are the days when you wouldnt think twice about checking a bag and waltzing onto a plane empty-handed, knowing it was someone elses problem. Today, there is intense pressure to pack light and travel exclusively with carry-on, leading to boarding processes so stressful they can feel like the wildebeest stampede from The Lion King. Weve been forced to become our own baggage handlers  and we often have to pay for the privilege.

What other industry could get away with that?

None of us fully trust the airlines to get our bags to our destination. One 2013 survey found just 19 percent of passengers traveled exclusively carry-on; by last year, a separate survey had found that this carry-on-only group had climbed to 41 percent of travelers.
WASHINGTON  Even my Republican sister is not immune to Joe Bidens gregarious Irish charm.

She met him at media holiday parties over the years and was so impressed that she got seduced to the other side for a time, voting for the Obama-Biden ticket in 2008 and writing in Bidens name for president in 2012. She sent out a Christmas card one year with a picture of herself cheek to cheek with Biden  and some of her Republican friends stopped speaking to her.

So I was surprised recently when I discovered my sister writing a letter to President Biden, a plea that she had started in the middle of the night, after mulling over the matter for quite a while.

I watched as you told the nation that you had six grandchildren and you loved each one of them, she wrote. I believe that. What I cannot believe and what I find unconscionable is that you refuse to admit or accept the fact that there is a beautiful little 4-year-old girl living in Arkansas by the name of Navy Joan who is your seventh grandchild.

Peggy wrote about Hunters high-priced lawyers going down to Arkansas to make sure Navy could not use the Biden name and to slash child support payments.
Before Brown, schoolchildren were told where they could and could not go to school based on the color of their skin, the chief justice wrote in Parents Involved. Similarly, in Students for Fair Admissions, Roberts writes that in Brown, the court had finally determined that The time for making distinctions based on race had passed.

The issue here is that Brown v. Board of Education was not about states making distinctions based on race. The question before the court was whether state governments could use racial classifications to separate Black Americans from white Americans in order to deny rights to the former and extend privileges to the latter. The question, in other words, was whether racism was a legitimate state interest.

Brown did not raise the issue of whether states could use race-conscious classifications to integrate schools, wrote the legal scholar Joel K. Goldstein in a 2008 analysis and critique of Robertss opinion in Parents Involved. With one pertinent exception, the briefs and oral arguments focused entirely on the way in which the government then used racial classifications  to segregate and demean blacks.

I want to highlight Chief Justice Robertss avoidance of racism as a prime example of racecraft, the term coined by the historians Karen and Barbara Fields to describe the transmutation of a set of actions (racism) into a set of qualities or characteristics (race).

Racecraft, the Fieldses write in Racecraft: The Soul of Inequality in America, transforms racism, something an aggressor does, into race, something the target is, in a sleight of hand that is easy to miss. They offer a useful and pertinent example:

Consider the statement Black Southerners were segregated because of their skin color a perfectly natural sentence to the ears of most Americans, who tend to overlook its weird causality. But in that sentence, segregation disappears as the doing of segregationists, and then, in a puff of smoke  paff  reappears as a trait of only one part of the segregated whole.

This, you might say, is the Roberts two-step. He takes racism, a system of subjugation and social control, and removes the racists. Whats left is the mark of racism, that is, race. A landmark case about the legitimacy of race hierarchy  Brown v. Board of Education  becomes, in Robertss hands, a case about the use of race in school placement.
The community land trust model was largely used in rural communities until the 1980s, when Cincinnati became the first city to have a land trust operate in an urban neighborhood. In 1984, Senator Sanders, who was then the mayor of Burlington, created one to help address his citys housing crisis.

The primary model in New York creates rental units.

In 2020, the East Harlem El Barrio community land trust bought four apartment buildings that had fallen into disrepair from the city for one dollar each. The renovation of the buildings 38 units into tenant-run, permanently affordable housing units cost around $13 million, which was funded through loans from a nonprofit affordable housing lender and the citys Housing and Preservation department.

The land trust owns the land the buildings sit on, and just under half of the units will be reserved for families earning 35 percent of the area median income (which is $38,000 per year for a family of three) with four other units set aside for those transitioning out of the citys shelter system. The units will cost anywhere between $770 per month and $2,600 per month for a two-bedroom, and the units are all rent-stabilized. While the four buildings are a boon for the land trust and the neighborhood it serves, Athena Bernkopf, the project director for East Harlem, likened it to building a boat while being in the water.

Around the country, activists have also used community land trusts in nontraditional ways. In the Leimert Park neighborhood in Los Angeles, local business owners were being pushed out as larger companies moved in, so Akil West, a community organizer, created the Black Owned and Operated Community Land Trust, focused on purchasing a commercial building on Degnan Boulevard, a main thoroughfare. Mr. West said commercial units in the building will rent to businesses at a guaranteed 10 to 20 percent below market rate.

Steve King, the executive director of the Oakland Community Land Trust, said California has seen its number of land trusts double in the last few years. Most of them, he said, were started by people of color in urban neighborhoods experiencing declines in population and homeownership. Nearly 45 percent of Black households own their homes, compared with more than 74 percent of white households.
Across the nation, the overwhelming majority of real estate agents are women  and they are vulnerable to abuse in an industry that offers few protections, demands that they meet clients alone in empty homes and encourages them to use their appearance to help bring in buyers. Reports of harassment and occasionally physical violence, including rape and even murder, highlight the risks they face.

The National Association of Realtors reports that 66 percent of their members are women. Many were attracted to the field for the same reasons as Ms. Ghodsi: flexible schedules, a workplace thats almost entirely remote and a licensing process that can be completed in as little as a few weeks.

But the industry is also structured so that 90 percent of agents are not actually employees of the agencies they work with. They are independent contractors, which means they are not protected under Title VII  the federal law that prohibits discrimination and sexual harassment in the workplace.

It also means that many real estate agencies that rely on these agents for the vast majority of their income do not feel obligated  or even inclined  to offer them any kind of institutional protection or training. For most of the women out there, it is up to them to come up with safety strategies like sharing their location with a family member or friend, insisting on references before meeting a client  or even carrying a firearm for protection.

And so, nearly six years after the #MeToo movement ignited a global reckoning about sexual harassment and assault, hundreds of thousands of women across the country are working in an industry that resists new measures to protect the women in its ranks.
The insect in the small specimen collection of Lund University in Sweden looked out of place.

OK, this is a prank, Vinicius Ferreira, an insect taxonomist and evolutionary biologist, said to himself. Its a joke.

The beetle  only one-tenth of an inch and found in 1991 in Oaxaca, Mexico, among leaf litter of a pine and oak forest floor at an elevation of more than 9,500 feet by the naturalist Richard Baranowski  was most definitely a male. But it was missing one of the animals defining characteristics: the tough forewing casing known to scientists as the elytra.

After careful analysis, Dr. Ferreira described the insect this month in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society as a previously unknown but extraordinary elytra-less species of beetle: Xenomorphon baranowskii.

Boom. We found this really weird animal. The alien beetle, Dr. Ferreira said, selecting a name that honored Dr. Baranwoski and also called to mind the Alien of his favorite sci-fi movie franchise.
Close watchers of The Watcher, the popular Netflix series about a couple who move to the New Jersey suburbs, only to be stalked in their dream home, may have caught the reference.

It comes when one of the main characters, played by Bobby Cannavale, stumbles upon a creepy man in his kitchen who describes himself as a building inspector. After Mr. Cannavales character remarks that people are fleeing New York City, the man replies: Its the fourth turning.

The puzzlement on Mr. Cannavales face invites an explanation.

According to fourth turning proponents, American history goes through recurring cycles. Each one, which lasts about 80 to 100 years, consists of four generation-long seasons, or turnings. The winter season is a time of upheaval and reconstruction  a fourth turning.

The theory first appeared in The Fourth Turning, a work of pop political science that has had a cult following more or less since it was published in 1997. In the last few years of political turmoil, the book and its ideas have bubbled into the mainstream.
I hugged my father goodbye in Dublin and boarded a plane for New York. My best friend from college was with me. We had student work visas and a vague plan to make enough money to spend the summer in California. We had visions of swimming in the Pacific and walking across the Golden Gate Bridge.

After a visit with my cousin in Manhattan, we flew out to San Francisco. It was gray and cold. The hostel on Market Street was more than a little depressing, so we ended up staying with two girls from Ireland in a tiny room on the top floor of a house in Berkeley.

The four of us slept on the carpet and shared a bathroom with a bunch of students. After several sleepless nights, I found a thin foam mattress in a thrift shop and carried it upstairs.

We fell in love with vibrant Berkeley and spent as much time as we could in its music stores, bookstores and cafes. It was 1998, but the earthy scent of Nag Champa lingered in the air, just as it must have in the hippie days.
Even so, she said she believed the courts ruling was wrong.

Why would you shut the entire thing down? she asked. You should try to find a way to make yourself happy and make other people happy at the same time, so its a win-win situation, rather than a win-lose.

In the majority opinion, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. wrote that colleges could consider mentions of race in the essays students submit with their applications if they could be tied to, for instance, overcoming discrimination through personal qualities like courage and determination. But many Asian American students had doubts about that prescription.

Students already feel pressure to write about hardship, said Rushil Umaretiya, who will go to the University of North Carolina in the fall. He wrote in his essay about how the women in his Indian immigrant family were the breadwinners and intellectuals, and how his grandmother rose through the white male-dominated ranks at the Roy Rogers restaurant chain to become a regional manager.

Even before the decision, he had seen anxious classmates at his selective high school, Thomas Jefferson High School, in Alexandria, Va., making up stories about facing racial injustice.

I think college admissions has really dipped into this fad of trauma dumping, he said.
With the Supreme Court decision banning race-conscious affirmative action, the college admissions process is about to change for everyone. Hundreds of colleges have stopped requiring standardized tests, essays are likely to be much more important, and admissions decisions could become much more subjective.

We asked readers to send us their questions about college admissions, and answered a few of them below.

Ive won prizes in an extracurricular activity. Does that help?

How much do extracurriculars count in an application? For example, Im a writer who has entered a handful of contests and self-published some stories. How far do I need to take that to get into a Top 20, or my dream school, Columbia?  Jackson Urrutia-Andrews, Folsom, Calif.

Thats a hard question to answer without a clearer picture of your entire application.

But we ran your question by Terry Mady-Grove, a college admissions consultant based in Port Washington, N.Y. She said it was highly unlikely that one extracurricular activity alone would propel you into a Top 20 college.
When the torrential rain stopped on Friday afternoon, Laura Lowry could see the steam rising off the wet pavement. She was on her front porch in the Fifth Ward neighborhood of Houston, desperate for relief from the relentless humidity and 91-degree heat. The air-conditioner in her house worked, but she and her husband, reliant on disability checks, couldnt afford to run it.

The lack of cool air wasnt simply a matter of discomfort for Ms. Lowry, 73. It was dangerous. Just a few weeks ago, there had been a terrifying moment when she was so taxed by the heat after waiting outside a food pantry that she had slumped into her porch chair as soon as she got home. I couldnt make it inside, she said. I felt like I was passing out.

Another wave of dangerous heat sweeping across the South and into the West has posed particular perils for older people, who are among the most vulnerable to such extreme conditions.
James F. Dobbins, an American diplomat whose career took him to Haiti, Afghanistan and many points in between, and who was both respected as a peace negotiator and widely regarded as the worlds leading authority on nation building, died on Monday in Washington. He was 81.

His sons, Christian and Colin Dobbins, said he died in a hospital from complications of Parkinsons disease.

Until the 1990s, Mr. Dobbins was best known for his behind-the-scenes role in some of the Cold Wars most delicate trans-Atlantic issues, including trade negotiations and the movement of nuclear weapons around the chessboard of Western Europe.

His trajectory changed In 1993, when he was asked to oversee the U.S. withdrawal from Somalia. Though he had no previous experience in the field, or in Africa, he was later assigned to oversee all of the peacekeeping-related issues at the State Department, including the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide.
Why It Matters: Republicans Reaffirm While Democrats Reorder

Republican presidential hopefuls have been campaigning aggressively in the state, which is seen as crucial to many candidates, including former President Donald J. Trump, Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, former Vice President Mike Pence and Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina, all of whom are courting the states more rural and evangelical voters in an effort to gain early momentum in the race.

The selected day is also the date that a judge has set for a defamation trial against Mr. Trump filed by E. Jean Carroll. Ms. Carroll (who also has filed a separate defamation suit) won a civil case against Mr. Trump in May.

Iowas status as the first presidential contest was seemingly upended last year, when Democrats reordered their nominating calendar to prioritize states with more racial diversity and move away from the caucus system.

With Mr. Bidens approval, the D.N.C. in February voted in favor of a new calendar that propelled South Carolina  the state that saved his candidacy in 2020  to the first primary spot on Feb. 3, 2024, from the fourth position it held in 2020. Democrats in New Hampshire and Nevada would then hold their contests three days later.

Republicans did not follow suit, keeping Iowa in first position, meaning the Midwestern state remains a key battleground for Republicans as the large field of contenders try to dislodge Mr. Trump from his position as the front-runner for the partys nomination.

Background: Iowa Isnt Always Right, but Its Still Important

The date chosen by the state party is weeks earlier than it was for the past several caucuses: In 2020 the contest was held on Feb. 3, and in 2016 it fell on Feb. 1. The last time the state held its caucuses in January was in 2012, when they occurred just three days into the new year.

Iowa has not selected the partys eventual nominee, excluding incumbent presidents, since 2000, when George W. Bush won the caucuses and then the general election.

Still, many Republican candidates, and voters nationwide, see the now-firmly-red state as crucial to gaining early momentum and national attention. In a year when Mr. Trump maintains a considerable lead in the primary polls, performing well with a constituency well-accustomed to being courted by politicians is seen by many candidates in the 2024 race as vital to any chance at success.

Whats Next: The Date Has Changed, but Not Much Else

Republican presidential hopefuls will continue to court Iowans in the six remaining months before the caucuses, as front-runners and long-shot candidates alike have ramped up their appearances in the state.

Mr. Trump held a rally in Iowa on Friday, where he made farming issues central to his pitch for why voters should select him, a clear nod to the states agriculture-based economy. And Mr. DeSantiss wife, Casey, visited Iowa on Thursday for an event held alongside the states Republican governor, Kim Reynolds.

Several candidates will appear in the state next week for the Family Leadership Summit in Des Moines, advertised as the Midwests biggest gathering of Christians seeking cultural transformation. The event will feature appearances from candidates including Mr. Scott and Mr. Pence, as well as an interview with Mr. DeSantis and the former Fox News host Tucker Carlson.
It is budgeted at upward of 5 billion Canadian dollars, of which about 600 million dollars have been spent. But the project has avoided the political acrimony that has bedeviled another historic Canadian government building: 24 Sussex Drive, the currently abandoned official residence for the prime minister. No recent prime ministers have wanted to commit to spending the tens of millions of dollars it would take to make the stone house habitable again, fearing a political backlash from looking as if they were spending money on themselves.

Both the House of Commons and the Senate turned out the lights and moved their chambers and committee rooms to temporary locations in 2019. Rob Wright is the assistant deputy minister at the Department of Public Works and Government Services and in charge of Canadas renovation project. He told me that despite the pandemic, a public service strike and a construction workers strike, hes confident that the work will be finished as planned by 2031 and within budget. Earlier this year, the federal auditor general largely concurred.

Two factors have made the rehabilitation unusually complex. The first was the decision that all of the heritage elements of the building, like the House and Senate chambers, the prime ministers office and the Hall of Honour, should look exactly as they originally were, only cleaner and without later add-ons like broadcasting cables. The other factor complicating the rehabilitation, which was mentioned by the auditor general but not Mr. Wright, was Parliamentarians dithering over what they wanted, thus delaying some key design and engineering decisions.
Dr. Samer al-Sheikh stared numbly at the photograph of himself on his phone. The doctor pictured at the operating table was now almost unrecognizable to him.

I lost everything, he said.

After fleeing the Iraq war at age 16, Dr. al-Sheikh built a life in Ukraine as a trauma surgeon, gaining admiration for his work at the City Clinical Hospital in Kharkiv even as the Russian shells began falling.

But now, the pings of job rejection emails, not racing heart monitors, mark his time. After leaving Ukraine in March 2022, he is a refugee again, this time in Britain, struggling to make a new start with his family and unable to find a medical post commensurate with his skills.

When you have to lose twice, not every person can cope with that. But I didnt want my family to see what I saw in Iraq, said Dr. al-Sheikh, 33, who had a temporary job unloading trucks at a London supermarket but is now unemployed again.
Russian forces launched a deadly strike in eastern Ukraine on Saturday as President Volodymyr Zelensky marked the 500th day of the war with a show of defiance, sharing a video of himself visiting a Black Sea island that has become a potent symbol of his countrys resistance to the invasion.

In the kind of attack that has become painfully familiar, at least seven civilians were killed and 13 others were injured when Russian forces shelled the city center of Lyman in the eastern Donetsk region at around 10 a.m., Ukrainian officials said.

Russian forces used cluster munitions in the attack, according to Ukraines prosecutor general. The attack came just a day after President Biden said the United States would supply the weapon to Kyiv to battle Moscows entrenched forces despite qualms from American allies.

At the scene of the strike were bloodstains, shattered glass and an overturned motorcycle.

The midmorning assault was a grim reminder of the toll taken on Ukraine by 500 days of war. Mr. Zelensky paid tribute on Saturday to all those who have lost their lives, using the backdrop of Snake Island to underscore Ukrainian resolve.
The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) has issued the Implementing Regulations for the Law of Payments and Payment Services to support the objective of enhancing the soundness and efficiency of the payment systems infrastructure in Saudi Arabia.

The relevant regulatory and supervisory frameworks will enable it to protect and stabilise the financial sector, said SAMA in its statement.

The central bank had earlier published the draft implementing regulations, asking stakeholders and the public to provide views and comments. Relevant views and comments were considered for appropriateness in the final version in alignment with the Law objectives.

The Implementing Regulations for the Law of Payments and Payment Services came into effect from the date of the issuance and will supersede the Payment Service Provider Regulations.

These regulations will also enhance compatibility with similar international principles and standards, including the Principles for Financial Market Infrastructures (PFMI), said the statement.

In the context of Saudi Vision 2030 concerning financial inclusion, the implementing regulations should help create an attractive environment for investment, stimulate innovation and competition, and encourage the introduction of payment products and services that follow the latest international trends and meet clients needs, it added.-TradeArabia News Service
BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 8. Germany is counting on an increase in gas supplies from Azerbaijan, Executive Director of the German-Azerbaijani Chamber of Commerce (AHK Azerbaijan) Tobias Baumann told Trend.

According to him, cooperation between the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) and Uniper has great prospects in this matter.

"Uniper is one of the largest gas suppliers to our country, and cooperation with SOCAR is very valuable in terms of gas transportation from Azerbaijan via the Southern Gas Corridor to Germany. We should consider the need to increase gas supplies from Azerbaijan to Germany, as this is what we will need in the future," Baumann said.

"The document signed between Azerbaijan and the European Commission provides for doubling gas supplies from the Caspian region to Europe by 2027, and I think Germany will receive a good share of these supplies provided by Uniper," he added.

Azerbaijan and the European Commission signed a Memorandum on strategic partnership in the field of energy in July 2022, on the basis of which it is planned to double the supply of Azerbaijani gas to the EU market by 2027.

Meanwhile, Azerbaijan started gas supplies to Europe via the Southern Gas Corridor on December 31, 2020. In 2023, the country plans to export 12 billion cubic meters of gas to Europe.
BUCHA, Ukraine  There is a line of tidy houses on Vokzalna Street, where crumbling homes once lined a roadway littered with burned-out Russian tanks. There are neat sidewalks and fresh pavement with blue and yellow bunting hanging overhead. And there are backhoes and bulldozers plowing across a construction site where a new home goods store will replace a previous one that was burned to the ground.

They are remaking Bucha, the suburb of Kyiv, the capital, that became synonymous with Russian atrocities in the earliest days of the invasion of Ukraine, where civilians were tortured, raped or executed, their bodies left to rot in the streets.

More than a year after Ukrainian forces wrested back Bucha from Russian troops, the town has drawn international investment that has physically transformed it, and it has become a stopping point for delegations of foreign leaders who come through almost weekly.

And yet behind the veneer of revitalization, the pain that suffused Bucha during its month of horror under Russian occupation still lingers.
A political crisis erupted in the Netherlands on Friday night, with the prime minister offering the resignation of his government to the king, meaning there will be new elections in the fall. Heres what you need to know.

Why did the Dutch government collapse?

Unable to persuade the more centrist members of his four-party governing coalition to back more restrictive migration policies, the conservative prime minister of the Netherlands, Mark Rutte, offered his resignation to King Willem-Alexander in writing on Friday night and spoke to the king in person about it on Saturday in The Hague.

The collapse underscores the potency of immigration as an arbiter of Europes politics, and how stopping far-right parties from capitalizing on it is a growing problem for mainstream politicians.

Mr. Ruttes four-party coalition included his own party, the center-right Peoples Party for Freedom and Democracy, as well as the centrist pro-European D66 and two centrist Christian parties: CDA and Christian Union.
IRELAND'S former Taoiseach, Brian Cowen, opens up about his health, politics and his future in an exclusive interview with Midlands 103 this week.

Once an active member of Irish politics, he suffered a stroke in 2019 which required a 12 month stay in the hospital. The politician reassured interviewer Will Faulkner that he is now 'doing great'.

Praising hospital staff, medics, speech therapists, and physios at St Vincents Hospital and Royal Hospital Donnybrook, the former Minister for Finance said that soon his conversation came back.

Before his rehabilitation he said, "I would be held up in conversation, but thankfully that has dissipated."

Mastering his speech again, the Clara native now walks with the aid of a cane. Admitting his physical side is slower to recover, he said that paralysis on the right side has not left him.

Most recovery starts after six to nine months, he reiterates, and is based on "constant repetition" to ensure progress. "I'm not totally 100% but were getting there".

Having discussed sport, hobbies, and keeping his mental health well, the former Fianna Fail politician says if he had the opportunity to repeat his career, he would venture into politics all over again. Still politically active, he says "Im interested in what goes on in my country, who runs my country, who gets support to do the job that needs to be done."

Regarding social media and both its positives and negatives, he adds, "theres always a view on [politics] and its fair enough," but he also thinks, "its almost hip to be negative," and finds social media an easy way of expressing personal opinions on a public platform.

While no longer active in Dail Eireann, the former Laois-Offaly politician discussed the housing crisis at length, saying he often seriously thinks to himself, "what can I do about it?" Currently on the board of Midlands Simon community, Mr Cowan and the other members work with Sophia Housing Association, and he says being proactive with the issues is the only way to make progress.

For those seeking accommodation and dealing with the growing costs which go hand in hand, he adds that it is "hard" to meet payments in the current economic crisis. Speaking with Mr Faulkner, he says that housing capacity is a problem at the moment, but believes that to address the issue and help to solve the problem requires "making a contribution."

"We know what the problems are, you've got to work with others to help solve the problem".

Looking to the future, Mr Cowan vows to keep undertaking projects in a voluntary capacity. With a family occasion on the horizon, his eldest daughter's wedding, he says, "I hope to discharge the paternal functions well on that day," noting that bringing his physical health up enough to walk her down the aisle is his main goal this year.
TULLAMORE pharmacist John O'Donovan will close his shop in the Church Road shopping centre next month and consolidate the limited availability of qualified staff to the Arden Road branch.

The chemist in the Church Road centre (known locally as the Dunnes Stores shopping centre) was opened by Mr O'Donovan 34 years ago.

He subsequently established a CarePlus pharmacy in a new building on the Arden Road. In an advertisement published in this week's Tribune O'Donovan's CarePlus Pharmacy says: We are moving! After 34 years of serving the community at our Church Road Branch we will close on Friday August 4. You'll find us at our Arden Road Branch (right opposite the Hospital) where we're open 7 days a week, including late night till 9pm Monday to Friday! We look forward to welcoming you there!

Community pharmacists have come under increasing pressure in recent years and have indicated they will be forced to reduce their opening hours.

The issue was highlighted recently by Deputy Carol Nolan, the Independent TD for Laois-Offaly, who has engaged with the Irish Pharmacy Union (IPU).

The IPU said since the introduction of FEMPI (Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest) by the Government in 2009, community pharmacy is the only healthcare sector which has had no pay restoration.

Deputy Nolan said: In the last number of weeks I have been contacted by a significant number of community pharmacists from within Laois-Offaly but also from rural pharmacists in a number of other counties.

She called on Health Minister Stephen Donnelly to take immediate steps to restore pay and prescribing rates which have been frozen for the last number of years.
Talks on the terms of reference for an inquiry into the Defence Forces continue amid calls by stakeholders to expand its scope.

Tanaiste Micheal Martin is due to outline his recommendations on the form of the inquiry to Cabinet colleagues next week.

He has said the investigation should take the form of a tribunal of inquiry with public hearings rather than a behind-closed-doors commission of inquiry.

However, a support group for former and current female Defence Force members who allege they were abused in the military have said it would be a pointless exercise without widening the terms of reference.

Women of Honour and other stakeholders have been provided with draft terms of reference drawn up by the Tanaiste in consultation with the Attorney General.

The group met with Mr Martin, who is also Minister for Defence, on Thursday.

It said it was agreed that engagement on terms of reference for a full public tribunal of inquiry will continue.

The group said the Tanaiste will not be including terms of reference when he brings the inquiry to Cabinet unless they have been approved by us.

Currently no such approval is in place but discussions are ongoing, it said.

It is understood that negotiations will likely be required to continue through the summer with a view to the terms of reference being submitted to Government in September, if agreement is reached.

We welcome this and appreciate the compromise made by the Tanaiste from his position earlier in the week.

Asked about the matter, a Department of Defence spokeswoman said: The Tanaiste has reflected very carefully on the views expressed by a wide range of interested parties who contributed their observations on the draft terms of reference.

He has discussed at length with the Attorney General the range of comments and observations received.

The Tanaiste had a very constructive meeting with the Women of Honour Group on Thursday last and discussions on the terms of reference are continuing.
'Rural Roadmap to 2030' is the title of a public meeting which will discuss all issues affecting Edenderry and Offaly in the coming years.

The meeting, which is being organised by Fine Gael councillors Noel Cribbin and Liam Quinn, will be attended by the Minister for Rural and Community Affairs, Heather Humphreys.

All are welcome to the meeting in which will discuss national and local affairs.

The meeting takes place in the Oakwood Inn (Byrne's) on Monday, July 17 from 7pm to 9pm.

The main reason for calling this public meeting is that for years the population of Edenderry was 4,000 plus but in latter years that has exploded to 8,000 plus with many relocating from other parts of Ireland and countries around the world, outlined Cllr Cribbin.

He added: Many families are here for years now with their kids born, reared and educated in Edenderry. However for some reason many have not engaged in clubs, organisation and in using their votes in local and general elections.

Cllr Cribbin estimated that only 50 per cent of the new residents used their votes in recent elections.
5 Terror Suspects Held In Bengaluru With firearms, Raw Materials Used In Explosives

Karnataka Anna Bhagya Scheme 2023: When will Beneficiaries get the Cash transferred Into The Account?

Bengaluru

oi-Madhuri Adnal

Karnataka Food and Civil Supplies Minister K H Muniyappa on Saturday said Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will launch the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) under the Anna Bhagya scheme on Monday evening.

The minister also said that in 15 days the entire money would be transferred into the account of the beneficiaries.

"On July 10 at 5 pm, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar will start the drive," Muniyappa told reporters in Devanahalli on the city outskirts.

Money for the Anna Bhagya scheme would be directly deposited into the accounts of beneficiaries.

In 15 days, every beneficiary will get the money, the minister explained.

According to him, there are 1.29 crore (BPL) ration card holding families comprising 4.41 crore beneficiaries in the state. Offering 10 kg rice under the Anna Bhagya scheme was one of the five pre-poll promises of the Congress government.

Haven't You Registered For Gruha Jyothi Scheme Yet? 1 Cr People Already Enrolled

Of the 10 kg rice, five kg was given by the Centre to the BPL families but the Congress wanted to give an additional five kg.

However, due to the non-availability of rice, the state government decided to pay money to each beneficiary every month at the rate of Rs 34 per kg up to five kg.

Muniyappa said the state tried to get the rice but the Centre did not give.

Karnataka also approached Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and other states but the rates were high. Accordingly, the state decided to pay money in place of rice till the rice is available, the minister said.

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Story first published: Saturday, July 8, 2023, 19:23 [IST]
BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 8. The transportation of crude oil from Azerbaijan to meet the needs of the Dangara Free Economic Zone (FEZ) oil refinery in Tajikistan was discussed, Trend reports.

The matter was discussed during a meeting between Tajikistan's Minister of Economic Development and Trade Zavki Zavkizoda and Azerbaijan's Prime Minister Ali Asadov.

The parties focused on strengthening trade and economic cooperation, establishing joint industrial enterprises, including within Tajikistan's free economic zones.

Additionally, they discussed attracting capital for the reconstruction of the Tajik Aluminum Company (TALCO) plant, exporting aluminum, cryolite, and aluminum fluoride from Tajikistan to Azerbaijan, importing alumina from Azerbaijan to Tajikistan, agricultural processing, providing discounts on railway freight transportation, tourism development, exploration of Tajikistan's deposits, and increasing bilateral trade.

According to the State Customs Committee, Azerbaijan's trade turnover with Tajikistan amounted to $1.349 million in January-May 2023.
Amid Power Tussle With Nephew, Sharad Pawar Launches Statewide Tour

India

oi-Deepika S

Amid a power tussle with his nephew Ajit Pawar who has revolted against his leadership and made a bid to take over the party, Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar launched statewide tour from Nashik on Saturday.

The NCP chief will be holding his first rally in Yeola in Nashik district which is the assembly constituency of NCP heavyweight Chhagan Bhujbal, who ditched him for Ajit.

Pawar will visit Nashik, Pune, Solapur and some parts of the Vidarbha region constituencies of Chagan Bhujbal, Dhananjay Mundem and other rebel MLAs.

NCP leader Ajit Pawar on Sunday led a vertical split in the party to become the deputy chief minister of Maharashtra, shocking his uncle Sharad Pawar, who founded the party 24 years ago.

Eight NCP leaders were also sworn in as ministers in the Eknath Shinde-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government.

Sharad Pawar Questions EC Why It Didn't Inform Him About Nephew Staking Claim For Party Symbol

Undeterred by his nephew Ajit Pawar's rebellion, the octogenarian NCP chief, a past master in tiding political crises has vowed to rebuild the party.

The 82-year-old leader said Ajit Pawar's exit might be surprising for many, but not to him as he faced a similar situation in 1980 when all leaders of the party he was leading left and he resurrected the party.

"This is not a new thing. The party I was leading in 1980 had 58 MLAs, later all left and only 6 MLAs left, but I strengthened the numbers and those who left me lost in their constituencies," the NCP chief said.
Elections Must Be Through Ballots, Not Bullets: Bengal Governor On Panchayat Polls

India

oi-Deepika S

Amid widespread violence in Bengal on polling day, West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose on Saturday said that elections must be held "through ballots, not bullets.

At least nine people were killed in election-related violence as polling for the West Bengal panchayat elections began on Saturday.

"I have been in the field right from the morning...People requested me and stopped my motorcade on the way. They told me about the murders happening around them, told me about the goons not allowing them to go to the polling booths...It should cause concern to all of us. This is the most sacred day for democracy...The election must be through ballots and not bullets," Governor Bose told reporters.

All parties cutting across ideological lines condemned the killing of nine people in various parts of the state as voting for the panchayat elections is underway.

The opposition BJP and CPI(M) alleged that the State Election Commission (SEC) did not deploy the central forces as per the orders of the Calcutta High Court. The ruling TMC, which lost five of its supporters to poll violence, questioned the absence of central forces that have been brought in for the elections. "Shocking incidents are being reported since last night. BJP, CPI(M) and Congress had colluded, demanding central forces. Where are they deployed? TMC workers are being murdered. Where are the central forces?" state minister Sashi Panja asked.

West Bengal Panchayat Election 2023: 9 Killed In Clashes, Bombing In Malda

"There is rampant usage of arms and the ruling Trinamool Congress is behind all these incidents. They had planned it well in advance to create disturbances on the polling day and loot votes. But I am happy to see that in some places, people have put up resistance," senior CPI(M) leader Dr Sujan Chakraborty claimed. "I am quite surprised to see that the deployment of the central forces was not done as per the Calcutta High Court order. There seems to be some kind of understanding... It is a complete violation of the Court order," Chakraborty told PTI.

BJP leader Rahul Sinha claimed that the SEC is working as per the direction of the state's Trinamool Congress government and it has failed to discharge its duties totally. "This is evident from the way they are conducting the polling today. At several booths, there are no central forces, while the state police are also absent in a few. I have got photographs as well as videos where CCTVs were not connected to wires even. This actually helped the miscreants carry out violence," he said.

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Story first published: Saturday, July 8, 2023, 13:34 [IST]
He Realised His Mistake: Urination Case Victim Wants Accused Man Released

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

The victim of the urination incident in Sidhi district of Madhya Pradesh has urged the state government to release the accused involved in the act, saying that the latter has realised his mistake.

Police on Wednesday arrested Pravesh Shukla, accused of urinating on the victim, Dashmat Rawat, who belongs to a tribal community. A video of the incident went viral on social media platforms on Tuesday, following which the police registered a case against the accused and arrested him.

Besides facing relevant charges under the IPC and the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, action has also been initiated under the stringent National Security Act (NSA), against Shukla, who is currently lodged in a jail. An alleged illegal portion of the house belonging to Shukla in Sidhi was also demolished.

"My demand to the government is that a mistake has been committed (by the accused)...Now Pravesh Shukla should be released. Whatever has happened in the past, he has realised his mistake," Rawat told reporters on Friday when asked about the action against the accused.

When pointed out that he was making this demand this despite the humiliating act of the accused, the victim said, "Yes, I agree...He is a Pandit of our village, we demand from the government to release him." Rawat also said that except the construction of a road in the village, he has nothing more to demand from the government.

MP Urination Incident: CM Chouhan Washes Feet Of Tribal

The urination episode has triggered a political controversy in Madhya Pradesh, where Assembly polls are due by the year-end, with the Congress alleging that the accused was linked to a local Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator and the saffron party denying its connection with him in any way.

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Thursday washed the feet of the victim at the CM's residence in Bhopal and also apologised to him over the humiliating incident. But the opposition party dubbed Chouhan's move as mere drama.

The state government also sanctioned financial assistance of Rs 5 lakh to the victim and provided an additional sum of Rs 1.5 lakh for the construction of his house.

A Brahmin organisation on Friday opposed the demolition of a part of the house of Shukla, saying his act was deplorable but his family members cannot be punished for his behaviour.

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Story first published: Saturday, July 8, 2023, 16:30 [IST]
9 found dead in well in Telangana were murdered by a man to cover up another killing

Jain Monk Kamakumara Nandi Maharaj Allegedly Murdered

India

pti-PTI

A Jain monk who went missing two days ago from his ashram in a village in the district was allegedly murdered, police said on Saturday.

Two people have been detained in connection with the case. Acharya Sri Kamakumara Nandi Maharaj was staying at Nandi Parvata Jain Basadi for the past 15 years, they said.

"On July 6, manager of the Basadi Bheemappa Ugare lodged a complaint about the missing Jain Muni. We started investigation and detained two people in connection with the case. Our search is on for the body," the officer told PTI.

Shahbad Dairy Murder Case: Delhi Court Takes Cognizance, Hearing on July 20

Inquiry revealed that the Muni used to lend money, he said. The suspects are said to have borrowed money from him, the officer said."Prima facie it appears that the monk was murdered for money related matter," he said.
21-Year-Old Woman Jumps Into Waterfalls After Her Parents Scolded Her Over Excessive Mobile Use

Madhya Pradesh Man Brutally Thrashed, Forced To Lick Feet In Moving Car

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

Amid an uproar over the Sidhi urination incident in Madhya Pradesh, a video has now surfaced showing a man licking the soles of another person's feet after being forced to do so in a moving vehicle in Gwalior, following which two persons have been arrested, police said.

The video has gone viral on social media.

The victim and the accused are residents of Dabra town in Gwalior district, an official said.

The viral video shows the victim being slapped several times by another man, who also forces the former to say "Golu Gurjar baap hai" (Golu Gurjar is father) in a moving vehicle.

The victim is then seen licking the soles of the feet of the man after the latter forces him to do so. The accused is also seen thrashing the victim on his face repeatedly and verbally abusing him.

In another video clip, the accused is seen hitting the victim on his face with a footwear several times.

Speaking about the incident, state Home Minister Narottam Mishra said two persons have been arrested in connection with this incident.

Verbal Spat Over Dog Muzzle Goes Viral, Noida Dog Owner Speaks Out Against Abuse

Dabra Sub Divisional Officer of Police (SDOP) Vivek Kumar Sharma said, "A video went viral on social media on Friday evening that shows a man being thrashed in a vehicle. The video clip is being sent for a forensic examination." A case has been registered against the accused under relevant provisions of Indian Penal Code for abduction and beating following the complaint of the victim's family, Mr Sharma said.

Earlier this week, a video showed a man urinating on a tribal youth in Sidhi district of the state, which triggered huge outrage. The accused, Pravesh Shukla was arrested after the video of the incident surfaced on social media on Tuesday.

On June 30, two Dalit men were allegedly beaten up by members of a minority community on the suspicion that they molested and filmed some girls at Varkhadi village in Shivpuri district.

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Story first published: Saturday, July 8, 2023, 21:33 [IST]
What Happened With Daughters Can Never Be Forgiven: PM Modi On Manipur Parade Incident

If PM Modi Is Angry About Manipur, He Must Dismiss The CM: Mallikarjun Kharge

PM Modi Launches Projects Worth Rs 6,100 Crore In Telangana

India

oi-Deepika S

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday laid the foundation stone for several development projects worth around Rs 6,100 crore in Telangana.

PM Modi's third visit to the poll-bound state comes amid a marked attempt to bolster the party's image in regions beyond Hyderabad, where it performed well in the last municipal polls, particularly after the BJP's recent debacle in Karnataka.

Addressing the gathering, PM Modi said "the strength of the people of Telangana has always increased the strength of India...Today when India has become the 5th largest economy in the world, the people of Telangana have a huge role in this...there is a lot of excitement for doing investments in India, across the world...when the whole world is coming to India to invest, Telangana has many opportunities."

"Today's new India is young India, its full of energy...we have a golden period in the 21st century's third decade, we have to make full use of it and ensure that no corner of the country is behind in terms of development," PM Modi said.

The Prime Minister will also lay the foundation stone of the railway wagon manufacturing unit, Kazipet to be developed at a cost of over Rs 500 crore.

The modern manufacturing unit will have enhanced wagon manufacturing capacity. It will help in local employment generation and development of ancillary units in nearby areas, an official release had earlier said.

PM Modi Flags off 2 Vande Bharat Express Trains

Recently appointed state BJP president and Union Minister G Kishan Reddy, along with senior party figures, travelled to Warangal on Friday to prepare for PM Modi's visit. This change in leadership saw Mr Reddy replace Bandi Sanjay, reflecting the party's broader strategic recalibration in the state.
Ram Mandir May Open for Devotees on Jan 24 Next Year

Rajasthan Temple Introduces Dress Code For Devotees: Ripped Jeans, Mini-Skirts Banned

India

oi-Deepika S

In an unprecedented move, a renowned temple in Rajasthan has introduced a dress code for devotees and asked them to refrain from wearing ripped jeans, shorts, frocks, night suits and mini-skirts.

Jharkhand Mahadev Temple committee put up a banner at the entrances of the temples urging devotees to be mindful of how they dress when visiting shrines.

"It is a good decision. It will promote our Sanatan culture. It should be implemented in other temples as well," says a devotee, as quoted by the news agency ANI.

Rajasthan | Jharkhand Mahadev Temple in Jaipur district has introduced a dress code for devotees, asking them to refrain from wearing ripped jeans, shorts, frocks, night suits and mini-skirts



"It is a good decision. It will promote our Sanatan culture. It should be implemented pic.twitter.com/7bwNRx8gBA  ANI MP/CG/Rajasthan (@ANI_MP_CG_RJ) July 8, 2023

President, Jharkhand Mahadev Temple, Jayprakash Somani said the directions have been passed after many devotees complained that visiting the temple in torn jeans and mini-skirts was against the Indian culture.

Dress Code in Bihar Education Department : Jeans, T-shirts Banned

The management said both men and women visiting the temple should put on "decent clothes".

On Thursday, Jammu and Kashmir's 'Bawe Wali Mata' temple management also introduced a dress code, urging visitors to dress "decently" cover their heads, and refrain from wearing shorts, mini-skirts, ripped jeans, and capri pants on the premises.

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Story first published: Saturday, July 8, 2023, 11:42 [IST]
TN Guv Has 'Purposeful Meeting' With Union Home Minister In Delhi

India

pti-PTI

Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi on Saturday had a "purposeful meeting" with Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi, the state Raj Bhavan said.

Ravi's meeting with Shah comes in the backdrop of the "governor vs government" differences with the ruling DMK in the state, including over the continuance of arrested Tamil Nadu minister V Senthil Balaji in the state cabinet.

"Hon'ble Governor Ravi had a purposeful meeting with Hon'ble Union Home Minister Thiru. Amit Shah in Delhi," the Raj Bhavan tweeted, along with a picture of the two. Ravi has crossed swords with the ruling DMK over a number of issues including the anti-NEET bill but the differences peaked with the arrest of Balaji last month by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a cash for jobs scam.

Hon'ble Governor Ravi had a purposeful meeting with Hon'ble Union Home Minister Thiru. Amit Shah in Delhi. pic.twitter.com/jyp3CKK3TP  RAJ BHAVAN, TAMIL NADU (@rajbhavan_tn) July 8, 2023

Gujarat Rains: Shah Speaks To CM Patel; Assures Help

While opposing the continuance of Balaji in the MK Stalin-led cabinet, Ravi had dismissed him from the council of ministers last week in an unprecedented step, only to keep it in abeyance immediately. The ruling DMK had insisted that Ravi had paused his action to dismiss Balaji on the advice of the Union Home Ministry. Further, the DMK government has also been insisting Ravi for sanction to prosecute ex-AIADMK ministers for alleged corruption.
Violence rocks West Bengal's Panchayat Polls, 12 Dead Amidst Allegations of Strong-Arm Tactics

India

oi-PTI

Violence rocked Bengal's rural polls as voting ended on Saturday leaving 12 people dead, ballot boxes vandalized and bombs thrown at rivals in a number of villages.

Saturday's events were in keeping with the state's history of violent rural elections including the 2003 panchayat polls which gained notoriety for its death toll of 76 during the course of the poll process, with more than 40 killed on the day of the elections.

With 30 dead since polls were announced earlier last month, this year's bloodied election also closely followed the 2018 panchayat poll violence pattern when a similar number of people were left dead.

Twelve people, including eight from the ruling TMC and one worker each of the BJP, CPI(M) and Congress died since midnight in the crucial three-tier panchayat polls, officials said.

The election which is being seen by analysts as a semi-final for the 2024 parliamentary elections, also witnessed scenes of ballot boxes being stolen and burnt and of public anger being vented against political workers.

Watch: BJP Shares Videos Of Goons Brandishing Gun In Bengal

The polling began at 7 am in 73,887 seats in the rural areas of the state with 5.67 crore people deciding the fate of around 2.06 lakh candidates. Till 5 pm, 66.28 per cent voter turnout was recorded, officials said.

State Election Commissioner (SEC) Rajiva Sinha on Saturday promised to look into complaints of vote tampering and to take a decision on possible re-polling in some booths after receiving reports from observers and returning officers.

Sinha said the most number of complaints on incidents of violence during the day's polling came from four districts, and they would all be taken into account while reviewing the poll process.

The SEC, who had to face a lot of flak from various political parties, said that a decision on re-polling would be taken on Sunday when observers and returning officers would scrutinise and review the polling process.

''I have been getting information (of violence and clashes) since last night. Calls were directly made to me as well as to the Control room phone numbers on these incidents.

''The maximum number of such incidents on Saturday were reported from three to four districts like North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas and Murshidabad district,'' Sinha told PTI.

The SEC however placed the figure of those dead due to election-related violence at 3 since Saturday morning. Among flashpoints identified by the political parties were Murshidabad, Nadia and Cooch Behar districts besides pockets in South 24 Parganas such as Bhangar and in Purba Medinipur's Nandigram.

Even after the voting officially ended in the evening, there were reports of stray violence from Murshidabad with vehicles being burnt by supporters of various parties.

All parties in West Bengal levelled allegations against each other for the violence, even as the BJP called for President's Rule to be imposed in the state.

The right-wing party, which blamed the State ElectionCommission for poll-related deaths, shot off a letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah demanding his ''intervention'' in restoring democracy in the state alleging democracy has been ''murdered in the state by the ruling party as the security forces played the role of an audience.'' The ruling Trinamool Congress, which lost eight of its supporters to poll violence, however, accused the opposition of orchestrating violence and criticised the central forces for their failure to protect voters.

TMC's senior minister Sashi Panja claimed "Shocking incidents are being reported since last night. BJP, CPI(M) and Congress have colluded. She also raised questions on the role of the central forces." The Border Security Force, however, dismissed the allegations as baseless.

''Of the 22 districts that went to rural polls, no incident of violence was reported in 16. Of the nearly 61,000 booths, incidents were reported in only 60. So, one can ascertain the ratio of violence in comparison with the areas where polls were held peacefully. It is less than one per cent,'' Panja said.

She fished out data to push her party's claims that out of the total deaths that took place both on the day of polling and throughout the entire election process, ''nearly 60 per cent casualties were from the TMC''.

Leader of the opposition in the state assembly, Suvendu Adhikari of the BJP, demanded that President's Rule be imposed in the state and threatened to lead a march to Kalighat where chief minister Mamata Banerjee lives against the violence in the panchayat polls.

''A free and fair election under the state administration is a mirage. It is only possible only if elections are held under President's Rule or Article 355,'' he said.

In a statement, TMC however claimed that if the party was behind the violence, ''why would our own workers be targeted and killed? ''.

West Bengal Pradesh Congress president Adhir Chowdhury in a left handed compliment, ''congratulated'' Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee for winning the just-concluded violent rural polls.

''Congrats Didi, you have won the panchayat elections,'' he said. '''Aapni jite gechen' (you have won),'' he said, adding sarcastically that Banerjee's injured leg will be fine on the counting day on July 11 and she will come out of her home and thank people for making her victorious in the polls.

The CPI(M) accused the State Election Commission of enacting a farce in the name of holding panchayat elections and blamed the ruling party for the poll-related deaths.

Governor CV Ananda Bose visited different areas in North 24 Parganas district, and met people injured in the violence.

''People requested me to stop my motorcade on the way. There were a lot of tales to tell, they told me about murders, goons not allowing them to go to polling booths ...

''These are stray cases but even one incident of bloodshed should cause concern to all of us,'' he told reporters.

Among those killed was BJP's polling agent Madhab Biswas who was allegedly killed by ruling party workers in Falimari gram panchayat in Cooch Behar district, officials said.

The TMC on the other hand also alleged that its booth committee member in Tufanganj 2 panchayat samiti in Cooch Behar, Ganesh Sarkar, was killed in an attack by the BJP.

Uttar Dinajpur's Goalpokhar witnessed a clash between TMC and Congress workers where the husband of the TMC Panchayat head Shanshah was killed, officials said.

A TMC worker identified as Babar Ali was also killed in Murshidabad district's Kapasdanga area in overnight violence.

Another TMC worker was killed in the district's Khargram area. He was identified as Sabiruddin Sk.

Malek Sheikh, brother of a TMC leader was also killed in a clash with Congress supporters in Malda district's Jisharattola, police said.

The TMC also alleged that one of its workers was killed in Nadia's Chapra.

Nadia's TMC president Debasish Ganguli however claimed that the incident happened when ISF supporters were hurling crude bombs at TMC workers. ''One of the bombs slipped from their hands and exploded,'' he claimed.

A 38-year-old man Anisur was killed in South 24 Parganas district's Basanti.

A Congress worker Yasmin Sk., was allegedly killed in Murshidabad's Rejinagar police station area in election-related violence.

CPI(M) worker Rajibul Hoque died in the morning while undergoing treatment at a hospital after injuries in a clash which occurred earlier in the week.

The TMC alleged that one of its workers Goutam Roy was killed outside a polling booth in the district's Katawa area by CPI(M) supporters. Police said another Trinamool Congress worker, Amjad Hossain was killed on Saturday during a clash between members of two parties at Kalyandaha under Chapra block in Nadia district of West Bengal. In the clash, which took place on Saturday afternoon, at least 11 others, mostly TMC supporters, were also injured, they said.

Incidents of destruction of ballot boxes and intimidation of voters were also reported in some areas.

In Cooch Behar district's Dinhata, ballot boxes were vandalised and ballot papers were set on fire at a booth in Baravita Govt Primary School. At another booth in the Barnachina area, locals torched a ballot box along with ballot papers, alleging that false voting was done.

Protests were also held in various areas, demanding the deployment of central forces.

In Nandigram, female voters gheraoed a police officer with bottles of poison in their hands, demanding that central force be deployed in the area.

CPI(M) state secretary Md Salim shared a video of open ballot boxes lying in the field, tweeting, ''Vote is over! Condition of the ballots, ballot boxes in one of the booths. By the way this picture is from Diamond Harbour.'' At least 600 companies of central forces have been deployed for the elections along with around 70,000 state police.

There are 63,229-gram panchayat seats and 9,730 panchayat samiti seats in 22 districts, while 928 zilla parishad seats in 20 districts as Darjeeling and Kalimpong have a two-tier system with Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) and Siliguri Sub-divisional Council at the top.

The ruling TMC contested all the 928 seats in zilla parishads, 9,419 seats in panchayat samitis and 61,591 seats in gram panchayats. The BJP fielded candidates in 897 zilla parishad seats, 7,032 panchayat samiti seats and 38,475 seats in gram panchayats.

The CPI(M) is fighting 747 zilla parishad seats, 6,752 panchayat samiti seats and 35,411 gram panchayat seats. The Congress contested 644 zilla parishad seats, 2,197 panchayat samiti seats and 11,774 gram panchayat seats.

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Story first published: Saturday, July 8, 2023, 23:57 [IST]
West Bengal Panchayat Election 2023: 11 Killed In Clashes, Bombing In Malda

India

oi-Deepika S

At least eleven people were killed in election-related violence in West Bengal as voting gets underway on Saturday for the three-tier panchayat polls in the state, which serves as a litmus test for the 2024 parliamentary elections and could reshape the state's political landscape.

Among those killed were six Trinamool members, and one worker each of the BJP, Left, Congress and ISF, and another person whose political identity could not be known, officials told news agency PTI.

Allegations of attempts to loot ballot boxes and attack on voters were made by the ruling TMC and the BJP. Clashes were also reported from other parts of the state.

BJP polling agent Madhab Biswas was allegedly killed in Falimari gram panchayat in Coochbehar district, they said. The BJP alleged that when Biswas tried to enter the polling booth he was stopped by TMC supporters, and as the situation escalated, they killed him. The TMC denied the allegations.

The supporter of an Independent candidate died in Kadambagachi area in North 24 Paraganas district after he was beaten up overnight, police said.

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West Bengal Panchayat Elections: 9 dead in large scale violence as voting continues | Oneindia News

The deceased was identified as 41-year-old Abdullah. He died while undergoing treatment at a local hospital in the morning, Superintendent of Police Bhaskar Mukherjee said. Protesting against the killing, locals blocked the Taki Road in the early hours but they were removed by the police.

"Under the close supervision of Central Forces, the death toll keeps mounting! A devastating bomb attack claimed the life of our party worker in Manikchak, Malda. In Narayanpur-I Gram Panchayat of Nadia, @CPIM_WESTBENGAL hooligans opened fire on our candidate, Hasina Sultana's husband. They hurled crude, country-made bombs at our workers moments before the start of the elections," TMC said in a tweet.

Under the close supervision of Central Forces, the death toll keeps mounting! A devastating bomb attack claimed the life of our party worker in Manikchak, Malda.



In Narayanpur-I Gram Panchayat of Nadia, @CPIM_WESTBENGAL hooligans opened fire on our candidate, Hasina Sultana's  All India Trinamool Congress (@AITCofficial) July 8, 2023

"Shocking and tragic incidents have unfolded the night before which has just started this morning in the Panchayat elections in West Bengal. The BJP, CPI(M) and Congress had colluded together and were clamouring for Central forces. Where is the deployment? Why have the central forces failed to protect the citizens? TMC workers have been murdered, two have been shot at. Those who were asking for deployment, saying that these central forces are the guardians of peace - the guardians have failed, faltered to protect the rights of citizens," West Bengal minister Shashi Panja told ANI.

West Bengal Panchayat Election 2023: Polling Underway Amid Tight Security

Sporadic incidents of violence were reported across the state after the election dates were announced on June 8, resulting in the deaths of over 18 people.

Governor hit to streets

Urging the people of rural Bengal to exercise their franchise in the panchayat elections without fail, West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose hit the streets since the voting started. He will visit polling booths in several areas of the districts. His first halt was at North 24 Parganas.

Polling began at 7 am on Saturday amid tight security for the West Bengal panchayat elections, in which about 5.67 crore people living in the state's rural areas are eligible to vote. A total of 2.06 lakh candidates are in the fray for elections to 73,887 seats in the three-tier panchayat system in the state.

The West Bengal Panchayat polls are an opportunity for political parties to assess their organisational strengths and weaknesses ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, besides broadly outlining the mood of the state after two years of the TMC government's third consecutive term.
ASTANA, Kazakhstan, July 8. Kazakhstan's Institute of Nuclear Physics under the Ministry of Energy and Swiss Ostro Minerals company signed agreements on investing in what the institute was working on, Trend reports.

The documents were signed during the meeting held between the country's Energy Minister Almassadam Satkaliyev and President of the Ostro Minerals company Maurice Samuel Ostro.

At the meeting, Ostro Minerals expressed interest in the products of the Institute of Nuclear Physics. In particular, the company was interested in industrial and medical radioactive isotopes (radiopharmaceuticals) produced by the institute.

Meanwhile, the Institute of Nuclear Physics produces radiopharmaceuticals for the diagnosis and treatment of oncological diseases, as well as industrial radioisotopes. The institute accounts for 90 percent of all radiopharmaceuticals produced in Kazakhstan and supplied to medical institutions across the country.

Previously, the Ministry of Energy of Kazakhstan held several negotiations to attract investment in the Institute of Nuclear Physics for expanding the range of industrial and medical radioisotopes produced by the institute and increasing exports to European countries.

In 2022, the institute successfully made its first product delivery to Germany.
Musk Threatens to Sue Meta for Unlawful Appropriation of Twitter's Trade Secrets

International

oi-Madhuri Adnal

The battle between Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg has escalated after Musk accused Meta of hiring former Twitter employees to create a rival app called Threads. In just over 24 hours since its release, the animosity between these tech industry titans has escalated. Musk, infuriated by Zuckerberg's hiring of former Twitter employees that he had let go, is now preparing to take legal action against Meta.

In an unexpected twist, Elon Musk's legal representative has accused Meta of recruiting ex-Twitter employees who were laid off after Musk's acquisition of the platform. This accusation comes shortly after the launch of Threads, Meta's text-based app. Musk's attorney, Alex Spiro, has sent a cease-and-desist letter to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, alleging that the company has hired numerous former Twitter employees to develop a "copycat" application.

The letter further claims that some of these employees may still possess Twitter's trade secrets and confidential information, implying that they could have retained access to Twitter documents and electronic devices inappropriately. Twitter has expressed serious concerns about Meta's alleged "unlawful appropriation" of its trade secrets and intellectual property.

While there are reports of ex-Twitter employees joining Meta, Meta's communications director, Andy Stone, clarified that none of them are currently involved in the development of Threads. However, a previous report from Business Insider stated that a few ex-Twitter employees had indeed joined Meta.

When Elon Musk assumed control of Twitter, he had to lay off approximately 80% of the workforce, resulting in a significant loss of jobs. The employee count dropped from 7,800 to less than 600 engineers. Musk acknowledged that it was a difficult and painful decision to let go of so many employees.

Running Twitter Is Hard: Jack Dorsey Reacts As Elon Musk Limits Tweet Reading

Under Musk's leadership, Twitter has undergone several controversial changes, including fewer content moderation rules and the introduction of a paid verification process. The turbulent situation at Twitter reportedly provided an opportunity for Meta employees to create a rival app, according to The New York Times.

Mark Zuckerberg stated that Threads, Meta's new app, received around 30 million sign-ups within the first 24 hours of its official launch. Musk's attorney's allegations have added an unexpected twist to the already fierce competition among major tech companies in the social media landscape.

As this legal battle unfolds, the accusations and counterclaims between Meta and Musk's camp could potentially shape the future trajectory of Threads and further intensify the ongoing rivalry between these industry giants.

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Story first published: Saturday, July 8, 2023, 17:34 [IST]
More missile attacks reported in Syria; neutralised them, says army

The world is polarised again: India rejects anti-chemical weapons draft at OPCW

When the ISIS almost dumped chemical weapons in India to target Delhi, Mumbai

US destroys remaining chemical weapons stockpile

International

dwnews-DW News

The United States has eliminated the last of its declared chemical weapons stockpile, the government announced on Friday.

"Today, I am proud to announce that the United States has safely destroyed the final munition in that stockpile  bringing us one step closer to a world free from the horrors of chemical weapons," US President Joe Biden said in a statement.

The last remaining rockets filled with the GB nerve agent (sarin) were destroyed by workers at the Blue Grass Army Depot in Kentucky last month, as were munitions containing mustard gas at the Pueblo Chemical Depot in Colorado.

"Though the use of these deadly agents will always be a stain on history, today our nation has finally fulfilled our promise to rid our arsenal of this evil," McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky, said earlier.

Chemical weapons around the world

The US had a deadline of September 30 to eliminate its remaining chemical weapons under the Convention on the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.

The move comes 26 years after the treaty was implemented. There were 193 signatories to the 1997 agreement, with abiding countries promising to never use chemical weapons and to destroy all chemical weapons stockpiles.

North Korea, Israel, Egypt and South Sudan are some of the countries which have not signed on to the agreement.

The treaty is monitored by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), which is based in the Hague.

By destroying the munitions, the US sends a message that chemical weapons are no longer acceptable in the battlefield.

"It shows that countries can really ban a weapon of mass destruction," said Paul F. Walker, vice chairman of the Arms Control Association and coordinator of the Chemical Weapons Convention Coalition.

"If they want to do it, it just takes the political will and it takes a good verification system."

Source: DW
World Bank President Ajay Banga Set To Visit India To Attend G20 meeting

International

pti-PTI

World Bank President Ajay Banga will travel to India next week, his first visit to the country after taking over the helm of the global lender, to attend the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting in Ahmedabad.

Indian-American Banga, 63, took over as the President of the World Bank in June, making him the first person of colour to head either of the two global financial institutions, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

The Executive Directors of the World Bank selected Banga as the 14th President of the World Bank in May for a five-year term after being nominated by US President Joe Biden for the post. This would be Banga's first trip to India after he took over as the World Bank president.

India is currently holding the presidency of the G20, an intergovernmental forum of the world's major developed and developing economies. Gujarat is hosting four meetings of G20 in the first two weeks of July. These meetings will provide an opportunity for business representatives to share their perspectives, insights and policy recommendations on various economic and business-related topics and will play a very significant role in shaping global economic agendas and policies, according to officials.

Indian American Ajay Banga Takes Over As World Bank President

The G20 comprises Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the UK, the US, and the European Union (EU). Collectively, the G20 accounts for 85 per cent of the global GDP, 75 per cent of international trade, and two-thirds of the world population, making it the premier forum for international economic cooperation.
Ilha da Queimada Grande, more commonly referred to as "Snake Island", is an island off the coast of Brazil in the Atlantic Ocean. The island became famous for its abundant amount of snakes, hence the name "Snake Island". It is administered as part of the municipality of Itanhaem in the State of Sao Paulo. The island is small in size, only 43 hectares, and has a temperate climate. The island's terrain varies considerably, ranging from bare rock to rainforest.
The mother of Evan Gershkovich, the US reporter detained on espionage charges in Russia, has said nothing gives her hope that her son will be freed.
Newsy 08 Jul 2023

ViewCluster ammunitions are controversial, and the decision by the White House to send them to Ukraine is turning..
The Ukrainian leader made a risky trip to the small island on the 500th day of Russia's full-scale invasion. Turkey's Erdogan, meanwhile, said Ukraine "deserves" NATO membership. DW has the latest.
Rinkevics is the first openly gay president in the EU. In his swearing-in speech, the new president pledged to uphold his country's support for Ukraine against Russia.
Like landmines, widely banned cluster munitions often pose a deadly threat years after being deployed. Now the United States will send cluster bombs to Ukraine to support the country's counteroffensive against Russia.
Washington is supplying the weapons to Kyiv, but they are outlawed in more than 100 countries.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 8. Kazakhstan's KazTransOil national company transited 37,900 tons of Russian oil to Uzbekistan in the second quarter of this year, KazTransOil told Trend.

This transit operation marks a significant increase compared to the first quarter when only 10,700 tons of Russian oil were transited through the territory of Kazakhstan. The transportation of oil aligns with the delivery schedule approved by the Ministry of Energy of Kazakhstan.

As noted by the company, transit of Russian oil to Uzbekistan through KazTransOil's system of main oil pipelines commenced in 2017. In that year, the volume of transit reached 67,900 thousand tons, followed by 36,600 tons in 2018. However, from 2019 to 2022, there was no transit of Russian oil through the Republic of Kazakhstan to the Republic of Uzbekistan.

Meanwhile, in the first quarter of 2023, KazTransOil JSC witnessed a significant surge in the volume of oil transported through its main pipeline system. The total amount reached 10.3 million tons, marking an impressive growth of 591,000 tons compared to the corresponding period in the previous year.
Eurasia Review 11 Jul 2023

Sometimes one wishes Winston Churchill had left behind an evergreen quote in regard of Russian diplomacy as well, similar to his..
Oneindia 17 Jul 2023

President Putin claims Russia has a stockpile of cluster bombs, while Ukraine receives support from the United States with the same..
Joe Biden's 360 Degree Turn on "Cluster Bombs"

With depleted U.S. Arms Stockpiles, A Bonapartist President Overrides Congress

With the much-touted and ballyhooed "Ukraine Counter Offensive," petering out into a military whimper in the face of a dug-in, formidable Russian offensive, and a dwindling stockpile of munitions among Ukraine's NATO and western allies, the United States is now escalating the war by agreeing to send "cluster bombs" to the battlefield. The president's move to override a congressional ban on such munitions because of their devastating effects on civilians is his latest Bonapartist pivot on U.S. foreign policy.

Biden, who promised to bring back a saner U.S. domestic and foreign policy in comparison to the jingoistic and bombastic Donald Trump years, has become the best modern example of Bonapartism - the modus operandi of a political leader mouthing the right popular catch phrases, making the most progressive pledges and promoting a sharp contrast between himself as a progressive, people-centered and caring leader while doing the exact opposite. Cluster bombs will have a massive risk on civilians in the war on both sides.

Saying that "we will not leave the Ukraine defenseless" the United States has justified its position on the controversial munitions - banned by 120 nations around the world - on a now worn-out default position. The United States has sold, supplied and given the Ukraine billions of dollars in arms and ammunition since the start of the war, not to mention the correspondingly huge amounts from NATO countries. All of this has not tipped or even tilted the war in Ukraine's favor. But let us now look at the methods that allow an Imperial President (aka a U.S. monarch albeit in modern, 21st century clothes) to literally thumb his nose at the country's main legislative body with impunity and without consequences, simply by signing a piece of paper called "a waiver."

To begin with, the United States, the President does not have the inherent power to unilaterally override or disregard established laws to achieve a political outcome. The U.S. Constitution, at least on paper, establishes a system of checks and balances to ensure that no single branch of government holds excessive power. However, there are certain actions or mechanisms through which the President can influence or shape the implementation or interpretation of laws. When it comes to the export of munitions, the primary legal framework that allows the U.S. President to override congressional restrictions is the Arms Export Control Act (AECA) of 1976.

The AECA grants the President certain powers related to the export of defense articles, services, and technologies to foreign countries. Under the AECA, the President can authorize exceptions to congressional restrictions or licensing requirements for the export of munitions, subject to specific conditions. These exceptions include:

National Security Waiver: The President can waive specific statutory restrictions on the grounds of national security if it is determined to be in the interest of the United States. This waiver authority is typically invoked to maintain diplomatic relations, support allies, or respond to emerging security threats. This is by far the most commonly use rationale for the kinds of actions taken in respect of cluster bombs decision. That is because the definition of "U.S National Security interests" are broad, nebulus and shift to accommodate any and all military and other misadventures abroad.

Congressional Notification: The AECA requires the President to notify Congress of proposed arms sales or exports, providing an opportunity for Congress to review and potentially block such transactions. This has never been an enforceable process - it has been sporadic at best - since the Congress has literally abnegated its oversight authority when it comes to war deferring these actions/decisions to the Imperial President, no matter which political party is in office. If Congress does not pass a joint resolution disapproving the proposed sale within a specified time period, the President can proceed with the transaction without any consequences.

International Treaties and Agreements: If the United States has entered into international treaties or agreements that override certain provisions of domestic law, the President can rely on these agreements to authorize the export of munitions, as long as they have been ratified by the Senate.

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Duluth, Minnesota (OpEdNews) July 8, 2023: Slavery has been described as our American original sin. The Civil War was fought to bring slavery to an end. Slavery did end. However, it was replaced in the South by Jim Crow laws and practices of racial segregation. But the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against school segregation in its 1954 unanimous ruling in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas - the lawsuit brought by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Subsequently, the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968; Ph.D. in theology, Boston University, 1955) spearheaded the black civil rights movement of the 1950s and the 1960s that effectively brought Jim Crow laws and practices to an end. Nevertheless, white racism persists to this day in the United States - perhaps most notably in Trump's white supporters.

For an informed discussion of Trump's white Evangelical supporters, see Marcia Pally's 2022 book White Evangelicals and Right-Wing Populism: How Did We Get Here? (Routledge; scheduled to come out in a paperback edition soon).

Now, by a 6-to-3 vote, the U.S. Supreme Court has recently ruled unconstitutional the way in which Harvard University and the University of North Carolina have recently practiced affirmative action in their admissions policies. As a result, those two institutions of higher education will now have to alter their admissions practices to conform with the 6-to-3 ruling - and so will numerous other American colleges and universities.

Now, Dr. King's preaching and practice of nonviolent protest, starting with the 1955-1956 bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama, won him national recognition and acclaim. As a result, Time magazine designated him "Man of the Year" in its first issue in January 1964. Subsequently in 1964, Dr. King received the Nobel Peace Prize. Later, however, he fell out of favor with white liberals when he started speaking out against the Vietnam War.

For further reading about King's philosophy of nonviolence, see the selection of readings under the subheading "Religious Nonviolence" in the 700-page book A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches of Martin Luther King, Jr., edited by James M. Washington of Union Theological Seminary in New York City (HarperCollins, 1986, pp. 5-72).

The white theologian Gary Dorrien of Union Theological Seminary in New York City has described Dr. King's life and work in detail in his 600-page book Breaking White Supremacy: Martin Luther King Jr. and the Black Social Gospel (Yale University Press, 2018), which I reviewed recently in my OEN article "Gary Dorrien on Martin Luther King, Jr.":

Click Here

The prolific Dorrien has supplied the backstory of the black social gospel before King in his path-breaking 2015 book The New Abolition: W. E. B. Du Bois and the Black Social Gospel (Yale University Press).

I also discussed Dr. King in my recent OEN article "John J. Ansbro on Martin Luther King, Jr.":

Click Here

In the spirit of 2 + 2 = 4, I would now like to draw together certain points I make in each of those two OEN articles to show here how those points are connected.

In my OEN article "Gary Dorrien on Martin Luther King, Jr." (dated July 3, 2023), I say, among other things, "I was inspired by King to devote ten years of my life to teaching writing (1969-1979) to about one thousand black inner-city youth, and about one thousand white youth, in the context of open admissions in the City of St. Louis and in New York City -- and I was inspired by [the American Jesuit Walter J.] Ong's work to see black inner-city youth in the City of St. Louis and in New York City as coming from a residually oral cultural background."

I also say, King's personalist orientation involves what the American Jesuit scholar Walter J. Ong (1912-2003; Ph.D. in English, Harvard University, 1955) refers to as belief "in" (a person), as distinct from belief "that" (a propositional statement is true), in his 1958 seminal essay "Voice as Summons for Belief: Literature, Faith, and the Divided Self" in the now-defunct Jesuit-sponsored journal Thought: A Review of Idea and Culture (Fordham University), volume 33, serial number 128 (Spring 1958): pp. 43-61.

"Ong reprinted his 1958 seminal essay in his 1962 book The Barbarian Within: And Other Fugitive Essays and Studies (Macmillan, pp. 49-67); it is also reprinted in An Ong Reader: Challenges for Further Inquiry, edited by Thomas J. Farrell and Paul A. Soukup (Hampton Press, 2002, pp. 259-275)."

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Mexican drug cartels 2008.

(Image by Wikipedia (commons.wikimedia.org), Author: US CONGRESS, COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS) Details Source DMCA



"A violent drug cartel is suspected of leaving a severed human leg found hanging from a pedestrian bridge Wednesday in Toluca, just west of Mexico City," CBS News reports. "[T]he trunk of the body was left on the street below, near the city's center, along with handwritten signs signed by the Familia Michoacana cartel."

Familia Michoacana, which apparently specializes in the production and distribution of methamphetamine, "has become known for carrying out ruthless, bloody ambushes of police in Mexico State and local residents in Guerrero" to protect its lucrative business.

Meanwhile, over the last several months, opportunistic US politicians have used increasing US drug overdose numbers linked to increasing use of fentanyl as an excuse to get an "invade Mexico to fight the cartels" bandwagon rolling.

Given the history of stupid US foreign policy ideas, it seems like it should be incredibly hard to come up with one that out-stupids the wars in Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq combined, but with not so much as a "hold my beer" warning, these idiots seem to have managed it.

If any of those past fiascoes could be said to have had any saving graces at all, the main one was that they were conducted far, far away, versus enemies who lacked much ability to bring the war home to America.

Mexico, as you're no doubt aware, shares a 2,000-mile border with the US. Millions of people cross that border every year, with or without permission from or even detection by the US government. And the major cartels, as part of their drug distribution operations, already maintain a permanent presence in the US.

Any "war on the cartels" would be fought at least partly on US soil, and it would be fought by the kind of people who don't quail from things like leaving severed human legs hanging from bridges to send their messages. Do we really want more of that kind of thing here? I have to ask, because sending US troops barging into Mexico is how we get things like that here.

The US government has been fighting -- and losing -- a "war on drugs" for most of a century now.

That war created the cartels.

That war empowers the cartels.

Expanding that war would unleash the cartels' most vicious behaviors on US soil, while reducing unsafe drug consumption little if at all.

Legalizing drugs, on the other hand, would devastate the cartels' profit and loss statements, put production and distribution of substances Americans obviously want into the hands of reputable/peaceable businesses, and reduce overdose deaths and other negative side effects of drug use by bringing standardized dosage and quality to American consumers.

Whose side are the "invade Mexico" demagogues on? Not yours.
In the previous article in this series, I made an inaccurate and overly broad claim that:

Should the (Condorcet) pairwise, votes be derived from a ranked list, that defect infects the derived Condorcet ballot so that it also favors the most widely known candidates.

The defect in deriving the pairwise preferences needed for Condorcet scoring lies in the treatment of candidates who are left unspecified on a ranked-choice ballot. The unstated qualification was that the pairwise votes for the Condorcet contest would first be filled in with a default position in the list at the very bottom. However, even with that assumption, preferences between the unlisted candidates would remain undetermined whenever more than a single is left off of the ranked list. But there remains the alternative of interpreting the ranked ballot literally and simply allow many pairs to remain unspecified when appropriate.

An example shows the significance of insisting every pair to be resolved with a preference indicated for candidate and that is the widely familiar example of an election has two very similar candidates and there is a third with less support. This is the example that serves to illustrate the spoiler effect for plurality voting. Specifically, 60% of the voters prefer either of the similar candidates and only 40% prefer the remaining candidate. But in a plurality election, the two similar candidates split the 60% to get 30% each and so lose to the third candidate with 40% of the votes. This example shows why plurality voting is considered an inadequate system for voting whenever there are more than two candidates. With only two candidates plurality voting works as well as any other voting system and it is simpler than most alternatives.

But let us now consider the same election scenario, but using Condorcet scoring. For this illustration, let us assume there are 1000 voters with 600 of them preferring candidate A or B about equally and another 400 clearly preferring candidate C. The election of C using plurality voting is what characterizes the spoiler problem for plurality voting, but we will see that C is also elected in a realistic application Condorcet scoring.

How voters feel about the candidates is described in the upper left chart below, and the pairwise interpretations of those preferences as votes appear in the upper right box. From that upper right box it is an easy matter to compute the Condorcet scores (lower left box) and the balanced Condorcet scores (lower right box). Circled in red are the winners for each of these two voting systems and you can see that in two of the three cases, C is the winner, illustrating the spoiler effect with Condorcet voting.



Spoiler for Condorcet

(Image by Paul Cohen) Details DMCA



The case illustrated by the first row of each table assumes that all voters provide a preference between each pair of candidates. As difficult this is to imagine this actually happening with 1000 voters, there is the possibility of eliminating the other ballots as being spoiled. This might entail throwing out the vast majority of ballots, however, and it probably would not be well received by voters.

The second and third rows illustrate the more realistic situations. In those two rows, Voting box (upper right) shows how the vote would be when voters have the option of skipping over pairs of candidates when they judge no preference between them. The middle row does make the unlikely assumption that none of the voters who prefer A and B have any preference between the two. But personal or family relationships may lead to a preference and the third row illustrates that possibility.

The Condorcet winner, as shown in the last two rows, is no more satisfactory than would expect with plurality voting; both rows illustrate the spoiler effect. Balanced Condorcet results do not exhibit this defect, however.

This should not be understood as a recommendation that balanced Condorcet voting should be adopted for our elections. Balanced approval voting (BAV) seems a much better option for actual elections, if only on the basis of its greater simplicity. As a bonus, BAV promises to encourage more political parties to be established as viable competitors; this is of critical importance because as noted before, when voters are provided only two options, no alternative voting system could improve significantly over plurality voting.

These observations raise the question of what criteria would be best for choosing among different voting methods. My impression is that most people first consider their personal impact; how they would feel about voting if using a particular voting system. They might ponder how difficult it would be to decide how to vote and how confusing the actual voting would be. Given some time to reflect, some might also consider to how easily and thoroughly it would allow one to accurately and fully express one's opinion. Only much later, on deep consideration, might voters consider how accurately these expressions would in fact be interpreted and whether democracy would be enhanced or weakened. None of these are particularly easy questions but a shortcut would be to at least avoid systems that, like plurality voting, ranked-choice voting or Condorcet voting which we can demonstrate as instrumental in clearly faulty elections.

An approach for comparing different voting systems should begin with comparing the ballots and to consider what information is gathered. It is sometimes possible to predict from using one ballot design, A, what the voting would be for a different design, B, and we might conclude when this is possible that design A provides more information than design B. From this standpoint we might say that a ranked voting ballot is more expressive than than the Condorcet ballot. The more expressive ballot in this regard should be expected to make voting more difficult, in return for providing more insight into voter opinion.

But such conclusions should be tempered by a consideration of how accurately the voting using design B are predicted from the corresponding design A ballot. It is also very important whether the extra information gathered with design B is used effectively by the voting system and in the end, how accurately all of that reflects actual voter opinion. These are important but difficult questions that only grow more difficult with increasing complexity of voting systems. It seems best to keep things simple by adopting approaches which collect accurate information from voters in a clear, simple and effective manner. The goal should be to accurately gather voters' sentiments and take those sentiments accurately into account; this requires voters to be asked questions they can easily answer truthfully.

Approval voting (AV) and balanced approval voting (BAV) can be compared in the manner described above since from a BAV ballot you can readily predict how a voter would fill out an AV ballot from that voters BAV ballot (by just ignoring all of the votes of opposition). But would this be an accurate prediction? Not likely it seems because many AV voters, lacking a way to cast explicit votes in opposition will (untruthfully) vote to support additional candidates because they hope to ensure the defeat of some particularly despised candidate; voters often have strong feelings of opposition to particular candidates. Such an untruthful vote does not actually reflect a favorable voter sentiment about that candidates, though it is likely that would be how the vote would be interpreted. Voters, lacking a better way to express opposition, resort to a deception and in turn that corrupts the information that is gathered through the ballots. Consequently, from the ballots alone, it becomes impossible to deduce the true preferences of the voters.

BAV adopts the view that voters may find several candidates suitable for office and other candidates unacceptable; and it also allows for the possibility that a voter may be undecided or uninformed about yet other candidates. BAV seeks to determine into which of these three categories a voter would place each candidate and it chooses as the winner the candidate who would disappoint the fewest voters while pleasing as many as possible. It is hard to think of why a voter would lie about such simple questions. AV does take much the same approach as BAV, but (unfortunately) with the added assumption that opposition is best ignored; votes other than for approval are simply ignored in tallying an AV election (a qualification here is that Latvia uses BAV and it does take into account these other votes, but only for the purpose of avoiding negative tallies).

In even greater contrast, plurality voting seems to take a very ridged view of voter opinion, assuming in effect that voters are completely committed to one and only one candidate. The plurality ballot simply asks each voter which candidate that is, but that is a difficult question when the underlying assumption is false for a particular voter. Ranked voting relaxes this a bit by assuming that each and every voter surely has a first choice but if that fails then also a second choice and so on but even that weaker assumption is unlikely to be the case for all voters. Neither these systems nor Condorcet voting contemplate the possibility of a voter being open to compromise, willing to be quite satisfied with electing any of several of the candidates. Aside from BAV, none of these systems bother to allow such a voter to describe which candidates the voter finds unacceptable; instead these systems insist that the voter invent preferences that really are not true.

Aside from AV and BAV, these systems require voters to express, in one way or another, preferences between different candidates. These voting systems make no effort to distinguish whether a voter finds a particular candidates acceptable, perhaps assuming this never happens. Suppose a voter indicates favoring candidate A over candidate B; it is possible that the voter feels A is acceptable and B unacceptable, but it is just as possible that the voter finds both A and B acceptable or both unacceptable. This leaves these systems in a poor position for determining which candidate is felt to be most widely acceptable by the voters. The elected candidate could even be one that a majority of voters find to be unacceptable.
Kampf gegen die Russen immer schwerer!

Top German officials expressed concern regarding Western escalations in Ukraine and signaled Berlin will push back against the most provocative proposals.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Germany was reluctant to send longer-range weapons to Ukraine as the arms may be used to attack Russian territory. London has provided Kiev with Storm Shadow air-launched cruise missiles which have a range of more than 155 miles. According to recent reporting, the White House is closing in on a decision to send Army Tactical Missile Systems, also known as ATACMS, to Ukraine. These rockets can be fired roughly 200 miles.

Last month, Russia's military leadership, represented by Defense Minister Shoigu warned the West that Ukraine using long-range weapons to attack the Crimean Peninsula could lead to a direct war between Moscow and NATO.

"The use of these missiles outside the zone of our special military operation would mean that the United States and Britain would be fully dragged into the conflict and would entail immediate strikes on decision-making centers in Ukraine," he said.

Berlin is now receiving requests from Kiev to provide Taurus KEPD 350 missiles, an air-launched missile with a range of over 300 miles. Scholz said Germany is considering the request. Germany has been the subject of intense pressure throughout the war due to Berlin's reluctance, at times, to provide Kiev with all requested aid. However, in several instances, Berlin has caved to Kiev's demands. In one example, Germany resisted sending its Leopard 2 main battle tanks to Ukraine. After Poland, the UK and the US pledged to send advanced tanks, Germany sent Ukraine dozens of its Leopard 2 main battle tanks.

Unfortunately, some of the German tanks have already been destroyed on the battlefield and Kiev is asking Berlin for replacements. Meanwhile, the American Abrams tanks have not yet arrived in Ukraine.

Berlin is additionally pushing back on plans to give Ukrainian official timeline for membership in NATO at a summit in Vilnius next week. In an interview published in Rzeczpospolita on Monday, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said the alliance will be unable to determine the conditions for Kiev to join the alliance until after the conclusion of the war with Russia.

"In my recent meetings with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, we were once again in agreement that the Alliance must never become a party to a conflict," He continued, "Therefore, we will not be able to answer the question of Ukraine's accession to NATO as long as the war continues in Ukraine."

Ultimately, Europe has no reason to fight for Ukraine. Most people's sympathies naturally lie with Ukrainians. However, war should be an existential necessity rather than a charitable impulse. Given the destruction created by this war for Ukraine and the world, as well as the risk of catastrophic escalation, it is in the interests of Ukraine, the United States, and the world to avoid a prolonged conflict and stop the bloodshed.
"A Washington, D.C.-based bar discipline committee," Politico reports, recommends that former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani be disbarred for his efforts to steal the 2020 presidential election on Donald Trump's behalf. "By prosecuting that destructive case," the committee's report states, "Mr. Giuliani, a sworn officer of the Court, forfeited his right to practice law."

Meanwhile, another attorney associated with Trump's attempts to overturn the election results, L. Lin Wood, surrendered his Georgia law license and went into retirement rather than face similar proceedings from that state's bar association.

While Giuliani and Wood seem to have quite a bit to answer for, and might rightly face court-ordered sanctions for wasting judges' time with vexatious, malicious, and frivolous litigation, the whole idea of a "license to practice law" is both evil and, historically, un-American.

There's nothing wrong with "bar associations" as such. Practitioners of many arts, crafts, and occupations join professional organizations, which range in function from membership clubs to mutual aid societies to training and continuing education providers.

But occupational licensing, and especially government-conferred monopolies on such licensing to those professional organizations, deprive individuals of both the right to practice their chosen trades and the right to choose whichever practitioners of those trades meet their needs.

Is it unthinkable for someone who's not a bar-association-licensed lawyer to represent someone else in court? Not at all. In fact, New Hampshire's circuit court rules explicitly provide for "Non-attorney Representatives."

The US Constitution guarantees those accused of crimes the right to "the assistance of Counsel" for their defense. It says nothing to the effect that said "Counsel" must be a member of a particular club, or have sought, prior to the case, the government's permission to "practice law."

Based on their records, I wouldn't likely choose Giuliani or Wood to represent me in court if my neck was on the line. But it's my neck, and I should be free to hire the person I deem best qualified to save that neck, no matter what the bar association has to say on the matter.

Similarly, knowing my own limitations, I wouldn't consider hanging out my shingle as a "lawyer" and offering my services to represent others before a court in matters civil or criminal. But if I was silly enough to do that, and if you were silly enough to take me up on it, the decision should be up to us, not to an association neither of us either belong or have agreed to accept the supervision of. Again, it would be your neck and my reputation -- not theirs -- on the line.

The theory of law as such is that we're responsible for our actions. Why should we be robbed of our agency when it comes to defending those actions?

As you may have gathered, I am not an attorney and this column is not intended to constitute legal advice. I'm not sure I legally HAVE to say that, but given the legal profession's stranglehold on such things, better safe than sorry, right?
Ever since the first caveman fashioned a spear of hardened wood, or thought of a wheel and said, "Hmmm," man has been driven to invent for an improved or safer existence.

Humans have traveled a long way since their earliest ancestors but two inherent characteristics remain, fear and greed. Fear of his neighbor and lust for his possessions. And of course neighbors can now be miles away for man's reach is vastly extended... and so are his wars in far-off places.



We might have been expecting it for some time but the military robot is truly here. So the pilot can remain in a ground 'cockpit' and control his fighter jet just as he did sitting in it before. Pilots are expensive to train and their experience even costlier to acquire. So your top gun is safely ensconced on terra firma while his plane wreaks havoc in the sky.

Robotic pilots also have numerous advantages over humans for they can tolerate g-forces that would crush a human's ribs and kill him. Against human pilots he can be a fiend of the sky, a devil incarnate although his quick assessment of targets in dog fights may as yet not be perfected. So, time will tell.

On the ground, military robots are already here, being used to ferry supplies to frontline troops in realistic exercises. Moreover, numerous ground robots are being used by different countries including Israel and Iran, and China's military has deployed them to police its borders with India.



Proponents point out the advantages: They don't get tired, don't seek shelter under trees when it rains, don't chat with friends, don't get bored on guard duty, with a documented deterioration in attention to detail after a half-hour or so. Moreover, unlike a natural reaction to danger for humans, robots have no fear.

It may sound far-fetched but researchers are working on robots that could be energy independent simply by foraging for plant matter, without being too fussy about what they eat or affected by illness-inducing bacteria.

While not at present used for killing autonomously, there is the possibility of developing ethical robots programmed to follow the 'laws of war' and its ancillary 'rules of engagement'. More importantly, devoid of emotion, a robot is not going to get so angry at the death of a friend, for example, that it charges out of a safe foxhole towards the enemy and gets killed.

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A 32-year-old Bend woman awaiting trial on stolen vehicle and other charges in Clackamas and Washington counties died early Friday while in the custody of Washington County Jail, the Washington County Sheriffs Office said.

A deputy with the jails Medical Observation Unit found Meagan Ashley Bruce unresponsive in her bed around 2:20 a.m., sheriffs officials said in a news release on Friday.

Deputies tried to save her life, assisted later by paramedics, who declared Bruce dead at the scene, according to the sheriffs office.

The Washington County Major Crimes Team is investigating Bruces death. The cause of death will be determined by the Oregon State Medical Examiners Office, sheriffs officials said.

Bruce faced charges of third-degree theft after allegedly stealing merchandise from a Nordstrom Rack in Clackamas County in April 2022, according to court records.

In December, Bruce was indicted by a grand jury in Washington County on charges of possessing a stolen vehicle and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle. She allegedly stole a Subaru in September, according to court records.

On Tuesday, Bruce was arrested and accused of felony forgery. She also was accused of stealing from a Fred Meyer store in Washington County, according to court records.

Bruce entered the custody of the Washington County Jail shortly after midnight Wednesday, on the charges and outstanding warrant in Clackamas County, according to sheriffs office spokesperson Detective Anel Ceric.

At a court hearing the day before she died, Bruce was recommended for release into the custody of an associate, court records state.

I am requesting to be the responsible third party for Meagan Ashley Bruce because I believe that if she is staying with me, then I can help her to work on getting her life back on track, the associate wrote to the court. He added: Meagan has so much potential and I want her to reach that potential.

Last June, Sheriff Pat Garrett called for an independent investigation into the deaths of three people who died in the custody of the Washington County Jail within a few months of each other. Ceric told The Oregonian/OregonLive on Friday that a review of 2022 jail deaths by a third party has not yet started, because the Major Crimes Teams review just finished earlier this year.

 Nick Gibson; ngibson@oregonian.com; 971-393-8259; @newsynicholas

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A 45-year-old man cut off his ankle monitor while on parole for a murder conviction in Nebraska and fled to Oregon, where he stole others identities and used them to apply for drivers licenses and to try to buy guns.

U.S. District Judge Karin J. Immergut on Friday sentenced Johnny Lee Allen, 45, to four years and three months in federal prison.

Allen pleaded guilty to aggravated identity theft and making a false statement during the purchase of a firearm.

Allen had been convicted of second-degree murder and the use of a deadly weapon in Douglas County, Nebraska, in 1999. He was released 20 years later to a re-entry center and then to his home in late April 2019, where he cut off his ankle monitoring device and left the state, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Rachel Sowray.

Four months later, he used a stolen identity to obtain a Wyoming identification card. In late August 2019, he showed up at a DMV office in Gresham and applied for and obtained an Oregon identification card using the same stolen identity. Two months later, he used the same fraudulent identity card from Wyoming to get an Oregon drivers license at a DMV office in Lincoln City, according to Sowray.

He tried but failed to buy two guns using a fraudulent ID because the person whose identity he lifted had a domestic violence conviction on his record, according to court documents.

In one case, Allen used fraudulent ID to try to buy a semi-automatic rifle, but he canceled the transaction when the background check was delayed, according to Sowray.

Allen also stole his brothers identity to apply for a drivers license at the Oregon DMV office in St. Helens, presenting a birth certificate. But he gave the DMV the same address that he had on the first fraudulent drivers license he obtained in Oregon and his photo was flagged for potential fraud in the DMV database, according to Sowray. He was arrested in December 2022.

His sentence was jointly recommended by Sowray and Allens lawyer, Oregon Federal Public Defender Fidel Cassino-DuCloux.

-- Maxine Bernstein

Email mbernstein@oregonian.com; 503-221-8212

Follow on Twitter @maxoregonian

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Friday afternoon, members of the U.S. Marshals Service arrested a Portland man in the July 2 stabbing of Colin Michael Smith that happened outside of The High Dive bar in the Buckman neighborhood.

Rahnique U. Jackson, 24, was arrested and booked into the Multnomah County Detention Center on allegations of second-degree murder and unlawful use of a weapon.

Smith, 32, was a server at Ox restaurant. He was stabbed to death outside of The High Dive bar in 1400 block Southeast 12th Avenue by a man who was targeting an LGBTQ+ person in Smiths group of friends, according to Smiths ex-girlfriend Paulina Solis.

Solis, who was not at the bar, said Smiths group had been having trouble with a bar patron who had inappropriately touched a member of their group. When the man started taking aim at a friend of Smiths who is LGBTQ+, Smith began to defend the friend, Solis said. The man then stabbed Smith several times.

He was a protector, Solis said. He died being the person that we all knew him to be.

 The Oregonian/OregonLive
A Portland man has been arrested after police say he shot at his neighbor while paramedics were on the scene in the Glenfair neighborhood Friday morning.

Robert Quincy Montgomery Jr., 38, was arrested on allegations of second-degree attempted murder, first-degree attempted assault, unlawful use of a weapon, unlawful possession of a firearm and felon in possession of a firearm after a shooting.

At about 6:15 a.m., a man later identified as Montgomery called 911 requesting medical help. Paramedics from AMR responded and briefly talked to the man before he went back inside his apartment in the 300 block of Southeast 157th Avenue.

According to a news release from Portland police, paramedics said that a neighbor came outside to get into his car and the man allegedly came back out and started shooting at the neighbor at 6:27 a.m. The paramedics took cover and requested emergency police response while the neighbor was able to drive away safely.

Officers from Portland police, the Multnomah County Sheriffs Office and Gresham police responded, and Montgomery surrendered immediately and was arrested. A judge issued a search warrant for the apartment where officers found three guns, a large amount of fentanyl and other contraband.

Police ask anyone with information about this case to email crimetips@police.portlandoregon.gov attn:ECST and reference case number 23-178164.

 The Oregonian/OregonLive
Federal regulators want most patients to see a health care provider in person before receiving prescriptions for potentially addictive medicines through telehealth  something that hasnt been required in more than three years.

During the COVID-19 public health emergency, the Drug Enforcement Administration allowed doctors and other health care providers to prescribe controlled medicine during telehealth appointments without examining the patient in person. The emergency declaration ended May 13, and in February, the agency proposed new rules that would require providers to see patients at least once in person before prescribing many of those drugs during telehealth visits.

Controlled medications include many stimulants, sedatives, opioid painkillers, and anabolic steroids.

Regulators said they decided to extend the current regulations  which dont require an in-person appointment  until Nov. 11 after receiving more than 38,000 comments on the proposed changes, a record amount of feedback. They also said patients who receive controlled medications from prescribers theyve never met in person will have until Nov. 11, 2024, to come into compliance with the agencys future rules.

The public comments discuss the potential effects on a variety of patients, including people being treated for mental health disorders, opioid addiction, or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Thousands of commenters also mentioned possible impacts on rural patients.

Opponents wrote that health care providers, not a law enforcement agency, should decide which patients need in-person appointments. They said the rules would make it difficult for some patients to receive care.

Other commenters called for exemptions for specific medications and conditions.

Supporters wrote that the proposal would balance the goals of increasing access to health care and helping prevent medication misuse.

Zola Coogan, 85, lives in Washington, Maine, a town of about 1,600 residents northeast of Portland. Coogan has volunteered with hospice patients and said its important for very sick and terminally ill people in rural areas to have access to opioids to ease their pain. But she said it can be hard to see a doctor in person if they lack transportation or are too debilitated to travel.

Coogan said she supports the DEAs proposed rules because of a provision that could help patients who cant travel to meet their telehealth prescriber. Instead, they could visit a local health care provider, who then could write a special referral to the telehealth prescriber. But she said accessing controlled medications would still be difficult for some rural residents.

It could end up being a very sticky wicket for some patients to access care, she said. Its not going to be easy, but it sounds like its doable.

Some health care providers may hesitate to offer those referrals, said Stefan Kertesz, a physician and professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham whose expertise includes addiction treatment. Kertesz said the proposed referral process is confusing and would require burdensome record-keeping.

Ateev Mehrotra, a physician and Harvard professor who has studied telehealth in rural areas, said different controlled drugs come with different risks. But overall, he finds the proposed rules too restrictive. Hes worried people who started receiving telehealth prescriptions during the pandemic would be cut off from medicine that helps them.

Mehrotra said he hasnt seen clear evidence that every patient needs an in-person appointment before receiving controlled medicine through telehealth. He said its also not clear whether providers are less likely to write inappropriate prescriptions after in-person appointments than after telehealth ones.

Mehrotra described the proposed rules as a situation where theres not a clear benefit, but there are substantial harms for at least some patients, including many in rural areas.

Beverly Jordan, a family practice doctor in Alabama and a member of the state medical board, supports the proposed rule, as well as a new Alabama law that requires annual in-person appointments for patients who receive controlled medications. Jordan prescribes such medications, including to rural patients who travel to her clinic in the small city of Enterprise.

I think that once-a-year hurdle is probably not too big for anybody to be able to overcome, and is really a good part of patient safety, Jordan said.

Jordan said its important for health care practitioners to physically examine patients to see if the exam matches how the patients describe their symptoms and whether they need any other kind of treatment.

Jordan said that, at the beginning of the pandemic, she couldnt even view most telehealth patients on her computer. Three-fourths of her appointments were over the phone, because many rural patients have poor internet service that doesnt support online video.

The proposed federal rules also have a special allowance for buprenorphine, which is used to treat opioid use disorder, and for most categories of non-narcotic controlled substances, such as testosterone, ketamine, and Xanax.

Providers could prescribe 30 days worth of these medications after telehealth appointments before requiring patients to have an in-person appointment to extend the prescription. Tribal health care practitioners would be exempt from the proposed regulations, as would Department of Veterans Affairs providers in emergency situations.

Many people who work in health care were surprised by the proposed rules, Kertesz said. He said they expected the DEA to let prescribers apply for special permission to provide controlled medicine without in-person appointments. Congress ordered the agency to create such a program in 2008, but it has not done so.

Agency officials said they considered creating a version of that program for rural patients but decided against it.

Denise Holiman disagrees with the proposed regulations. Holiman, who lives on a farm outside Centralia, Missouri, used to experience postmenopausal symptoms, including forgetfulness and insomnia. The 50-year-old now feels back to normal after being prescribed estrogen and testosterone by a Florida-based telehealth provider. Holiman said she doesnt think she should have to go see her telehealth provider in person to maintain her prescriptions.

I would have to get on a plane to go to Florida. Im not going to do that, she said. If the government forces me to do that, thats wrong.

Holiman said her primary care doctor doesnt prescribe injectable hormones and that she shouldnt have to find another in-person prescriber to make a referral to her Florida provider.

Holiman is one of thousands of patients who shared their opinions with the DEA. The agency also received comments from advocacy, health care, and professional groups, such as the American Medical Association.

The physicians organization said the in-person rule should be eliminated for most categories of controlled medication. Even telehealth prescriptions for drugs with a higher risk of misuse, such as Adderall and oxycodone, should be exempt when medically necessary, the group said.

Some states already have laws that are stricter than the DEAs proposed rules. Amelia Burgess said Alabamas annual exam requirement, which went into effect last summer, burdened some patients. The Minnesota doctor works at Bicycle Health, a telehealth company that prescribes buprenorphine.

Burgess said hundreds of the companys patients in Alabama couldnt switch to in-state prescribers because many werent taking new patients, were too far away, or were more expensive than the telehealth service. So Burgess and her co-workers flew to Alabama and set up a clinic at a hotel in Birmingham. About 250 patients showed up, with some rural patients driving from five hours away.

Critics of the federal proposal are lobbying for exemptions for medications that can be difficult to obtain due to a lack of specialists in rural areas.

Many of the public comments focus on the importance of telehealth-based buprenorphine treatment in rural areas, including in jails and prisons.

Rural areas also have shortages of mental health providers who can prescribe controlled substances for anxiety, depression, and ADHD. Patients across the country who use opioids for chronic pain have trouble finding prescribers.

It also can be difficult to find rural providers who prescribe testosterone, a controlled drug often taken by transgender men and people with various medical conditions, such as menopause. Controlled medications are also used to treat seizures, sleep disorders, and other conditions.

___

(KFF Health News, formerly known as Kaiser Health News (KHN), is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs of KFF  the independent source for health policy research, polling and journalism.)

2023 KFF Health News. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Newports controversial Mayor Dean Sawyer has provoked a new round of outrage after a news report Friday disclosed racist, violent and hateful memes he had posted for years to a private Facebook group for current and former police officers.

City Councilor CM Hall called on Sawyer to step down and critics are organizing a public protest at Newport City Hall on Saturday, circulating a flyer declaring: We deserve better!
Oregon has expanded free health insurance that mirrors Medicaid to all residents who qualify, regardless of their immigration status.

The move took effect July 1. It marks an expansion of a Medicaid-type program for immigrants last year for residents who dont qualify for the Oregon Health Plan because of their immigration status. The program, Healthier Oregon, covered those 19-24 and 55 and older who met low-income and other qualifications and was funded by a $100 million allocation by the Legislature in 2021.

How to apply

The expansion this month to all immigrants who qualify follows a two-year allocation of $460 million for the program in the recently ended legislative session. The Oregon Health Authority said that 40,000 immigrants who had received state-funded emergency health coverage were switched to the program on July 1.

An authority spokeswoman, Amy Bacher, said the agency estimates that 55,000 people will be covered through the program.

When it comes to health, were all connected, Dave Baden, interim director of Oregon Health Authority, said in a statement. Expanded health coverage through the full implementation of Healthier Oregon will keep more people and families healthy, which will reduce health costs and risks for every community.

Baden said the expansion sets a new standard for other states. It comes amid a debate this spring in some states, including Connecticut, Minnesota and Nevada, about expanding Medicaid to undocumented immigrants, Politico reported. Similar efforts in New York and Maryland failed, however, with Democrats balking about the price tag.

Medicaid is funded largely through the federal government, which pays about two-thirds, with the rest provided by the state. Healthier Oregon receives some federal funding for emergency and pregnancy-related services but the state pays for most of the benefits.

We dont get any help from the federal government because the folks who are on it dont have papers, Rep. Rob Nosse, D-Portland, told the Capital Chronicle.

Nosse was among the Democrats in the Legislature who backed the expansion of Healthier Oregon. Its part of the states goal to ensure all Oregonians have health care coverage.

During the pandemic, nearly 1.5 million Oregonians, or one in three residents, were on Medicaid, which offers free dental, mental and physical health care. That expansion ended in April. The state is now going through a redetermination process and informing those who no longer qualify that they will lose coverage in 60 days.

State officials have informed about 25,000 people they will lose coverage, according to a statement released by the Oregon Health Authority and the Department of Human Services on June 20. It estimated in that release that seven in 10 people will retain their benefits under the Oregon Health Plan, the states version of Medicaid.

To qualify for the program, most residents can earn up to 138% of the federal poverty level, or about $20,000 a year for an individual or about $41,500 for a family of four.

Oregon also has opened up benefits to those earning up to 200% of the federal poverty level to reduce the so-called churn population who fall off and on Medicaid, depending on their income. That means that individuals earning up to about $29,000 a year or a family of four earning up to $60,000 a year will receive the free coverage. The state estimated that would add about 25,000 more people to the Medicaid program.
Ready to Love returns for Season 8 when Episode 1 premieres tonight at 9/8c on Friday, July 7 with a live broadcast on OWN. Dallas, Texas will be the setting for the eighth season where 18 singles start off attending a mansion mixer, but two will go home at the end of the night. Find out who stays and who goes by tuning in for free with Philo (free trial), or watch it on demand shortly after it airs.

 Dont have cable? You can watch the Ready to Love Season 8 premiere live for FREE with Philo (free trial) or with Fubo (free trial).

The unscripted dating series from a male perspective returns to TV screens tonight, highlighting their observations and experiences while they search for lasting, authentic and true love. Hosted by Thomas Nephew Tommy Miles, Ready to Love features successful black men and women in their 30s and 40s while they go through the steps of courtship. These men and women are looking for the ultimate everlasting love, and the show provides them with a unique opportunity to decide who stays and who goes each week.

HOW TO WATCH

What: Ready to Love Season 8 (Episode 1)

When: Friday, July 7 at 9 p.m. PT/ET (new episodes drop every Friday at 9 p.m.)

TV Channel: OWN

How to watch live stream, or on demand: You can watch the show live for FREE with Philo (free trial) or with Fubo (free trial). If you have run out of free trials, you can also watch it on DirecTV Stream (free trial).

Channel finder for OWN in you area, more ways to watch: Verizon Fios, AT&T U-verse, Comcast / Xfinity, Spectrum/Charter, Optimum/Altice, Cox, DIRECTV, Dish.

More information on how to stream live TV, sports events and movies on the cheap:

 What is Philo? The cheapest live TV streaming service: Cost, what it includes

 How to watch DAZN on your TV: What is it, what does it cost and include? Boxing fights, MMA and more

 How to watch ESPN+ on TV: What is it, what does it cost and include?
If youre going to stop by the East Portland Summer Arts Festival this weekend, in addition to the music, you can enjoy Portlands typically mild summertime weather.

Saturday is starting off cloudy and will gradually clear during the day with a high temperature of around 81 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.

Eastern Oregon is a different story, with some of the area under a red flag warning with the forecast calling for abundant lighting and an increase in wildfire danger.

We have issued a Red Flag Warning on Saturday for abundant lightning for the Ochoco-John Day Highlands and Southern Blue Mountains of Oregon. Storms could produce plentiful lightning leading to new fire initiations, as well as gusty outflow winds. #ORwx #firewx pic.twitter.com/XOcL8QoGxA  NWS Pendleton (@NWSPendleton) July 7, 2023

Back in the Portland area, the mild weather continues Sunday with mostly sunny skies and a high temperature of about 83 degrees.

The rest of the five-day forecast looks similar with mostly sunny and sunny skies with high temperatures in the upper 70s to lower 80s through Wednesday.

 The Oregonian/OregonLive
ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan, July 8. Turkmenistan's Turkmenenergo State Electric Power Corporation plans to build solar power plants with a capacity of more than 6 MW in remote settlements of the country, Trend reports.

This was announced by the head of the Turkmenenergo renewable energy sources service Dovlet Allayarov at the international conference "Energy Prospects, New Technologies for the Development of Hydrocarbon Deposits".

According to him, at the moment, Turkmen specialists are actively studying international experience in the field of renewable energy sources and are conducting their own developments in this direction.

Furthermore, Allayarov noted that the construction of solar power plants should contribute to the development of "green" technologies in the country, environmental protection, and rational use of natural resources.

Meanwhile, Turkmenistan has tremendous potential for harnessing solar energy. With more than 300 sunny days annually and with the average annual intensity of solar radiation ranging between 700800 watts per square meter, the total technical potential of solar energy amounts to 655 GW.
Port-Louis, Mauritius (PANA)  Mauritius and Gambia will sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in the field of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) shortly, the Mauritian Government Information Service (GIS) said on Saturday
Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - The UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) on Saturday welcomed the decision announced by the Presidential Council to establish a High Financial Oversight Committee to address fundamental issues of transparency in the spending of public funds and fair distribution of resources
Bamako, Mali (PANA) - The World Bank has approved $157 million in International Development Association( IDA) financing to support Mali in improving the reliability and efficiency of the electricity system
Photo: (Photo : Michael M. Santiago / Getty Images)

New York City has witnessed a significant decrease in shootings during the first half of 2023, marking a positive trend in the city's efforts to combat gun violence.

The decline of 25% in shootings compared to the same period last year reflects the ongoing commitment to address crime concerns and ensure the safety of residents. This encouraging development aligns with similar decreases observed across the United States.

According to data released by the New York City Police Department, the city experienced a remarkable drop in shootings, showcasing a downward trend after a surge in violent crime during the pandemic.

The substantial reduction in shootings not only allays widespread fears about crime but also highlights the effectiveness of anti-gun violence initiatives implemented by city officials.

New York City's Positive Streak in Crime Reduction

Edward Caban, the acting police commissioner, revealed that the decline in shootings has persisted for 13 consecutive weeks, providing confidence that the positive streak will continue throughout the summer.

According to CBS, with the beginning of summer historically associated with increased violence, this sustained decrease in shootings showcases the city's commitment to prioritize the fight against gun violence.

Caban emphasized, "It is no coincidence. From the beginning of this administration, we made the fight against gun violence our top priority."

This statement underscores the dedication of Mayor Eric Adams and his administration to reverse the trend of rising violence and prioritize public safety.

Overall Crime Statistics

In the first half of 2023, New York City has witnessed a notable reduction in gun violence, with nearly 200 fewer shooting incidents compared to the corresponding period in 2022.

According to ABC, this decline comes in contrast to the recent surge of mass shootings across the country during the holiday weekend, where 20 fatalities and 126 injuries were reported.

The decrease in shootings aligns with the increased efforts of law enforcement, resulting in a historic number of gun-related arrests and seizures of firearms.

Moreover, overall crime rates experienced a slight drop last month, including declines in homicides, rapes, robberies, burglaries, and hate crimes, which decreased by 18% compared to the same month the previous year.

Read Also: North Carolina Governor Stands Against Anti-LGBTQ Legislation, Vetoes Trio of Bills

Evaluating the Anti-Gun Violence Initiative

According to The New York Times, Mayor Eric Adams, who assumed office in 2022, has been proactive in his approach to tackling gun violence and reversing the upward trend.

As part of his strategy, Adams appointed a dedicated "gun violence czar" and expanded programs like Saturday Night Lights, which provide activities for children between the ages of 11 and 18.

Additionally, a focus on job creation has aimed to address underlying factors contributing to crime.

While these anti-gun violence initiatives have yielded positive results, they have not been immune to criticism.

Last year, the New York City Police Department introduced an enforcement initiative targeting quality-of-life crimes, leading to concerns about a return to "broken windows" policing.

Critics argue that such enforcement disproportionately impacts marginalized communities and results in harassment.

A court-appointed monitor recently found that despite assurances from Mayor Adams about new policies and training, anti-crime units were still engaging in excessive stopping, frisking, and searching of individuals.

The report also highlighted a substantial increase of 600% in police vehicle pursuits during the first three months of the year.

As various initiatives and collaborations between law enforcement, social service organizations, and community stakeholders continue, the aim is to create a safer and more secure environment for all New Yorkers.

Related Article: Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds Calls for Special Session To Push for Stricter Abortion Laws
Photo: (Photo : Lidye on Unsplash)

In China, a country renowned for its rich culinary traditions of hot noodles, steaming rice, and flavorful soups, an unexpected food trend has recently gained popularity on social media platforms across the nation.

Under the hashtag #bairenfan, which translates to White People Meals, Chinese netizens have been sharing images of what many would consider bland and unappetizing foods. According to CNN, these pictures depict simple dishes like raw carrots wrapped in cheese, dressing-free salads, and two-ingredient sandwiches, which are typically associated with Western lunch options.

From Mockery to Support: The Evolution of the #bairenfan Trend

The trend gained momentum in May, with users posting photos and videos of these minimalist meals on Chinese social media platforms. Although some posts with the hashtag date back to last October, it was in the last month that #bairenfan became one of the hottest phrases on various platforms and local media.

Interestingly, the trend evoked a range of reactions. Initially, most Chinese posts were filled with mockery and disbelief. Users on Xiaohongshu, a popular Chinese social media site, sarcastically commented on the simplicity of these meals while expressing concern about their nutritional value.

As the trend spread globally, English-speaking Twitter users also joined in, sharing their own experiences with #whitepeoplemeals. Many found the hashtag hilariously accurate, recounting instances of witnessing colleagues or friends enjoying similar minimalistic meals.

Surprisingly, the trend garnered support from another group within China, resulting in a new hashtag, #Bairenfanyeshifan or #whitepeoplemealsmatter. Some individuals saw these meals as a means to lose weight, while others suggested that they reflect the lifestyle and challenges of modern society.

Cross-cultural differences played a significant role in the emergence of this trend. According to The Guardian, British Chinese chef Andrew Wong highlighted the evolving nature of perceptions given China's recent exposure to Western cultural influences. Wong emphasized the need to understand the reasons behind certain foods and cultural practices.

Read Also: Global Rice Shortage: Food Security at Risk as Production Drops in China, Pakistan

Decolonizing Foodways: #Whitepeoplemeals and the Rejection of Norms

While some Chinese netizens expressed confusion about these uncooked, cold meals, it is important to note that they are primarily consumed at lunchtime. Megan Elias, a food historian and gastronomy director at Boston University, explained that the tradition of quick and easy lunches has a long history in industrialized nations. Sandwiches, for example, became popular due to their convenience and ability to accommodate a variety of flavors in a limited amount of time.

Although many individuals still prefer warm and flavorful meals, the trend challenges the stereotype of "white people meals" and provides an opportunity to decolonize traditional American foodways. The trend encourages a more nuanced understanding of diverse culinary practices and aims to decenter whiteness.

Both Chef Wong and Chef Edward Voon, a Malaysia-born chef based in Hong Kong, emphasized the importance of diversity and cultural appreciation in the culinary world. They caution against making generalizations based on race or culture and believe that food, like language, should be understood within its cultural context.

Ultimately, the #WhitePeopleMeals trend serves as a reminder that people have different food preferences and cultural backgrounds. It encourages open-mindedness and offers an opportunity to challenge stereotypes while celebrating the diversity of culinary traditions around the world.

Related Article: Does Eating Fried Food Have Negative Effects on Children's Health?
Photo: (Photo : Linh Nguyen on Unsplash)

In a remarkable display of compassion and determination, a 10-year-old boy named Izmir Kassam from Calgary embarked on a challenging mission to raise funds for earthquake relief. Inspired by his love for running and a deep desire to help those affected by the devastating earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, Izmir ran a total of 100 kilometers over the course of several months. His incredible effort has raised more than $18,000 for the Humanitarian Coalition, providing much-needed support for the affected regions.

Izmir Kassam's Inspiring Journey: Ten 10-Kilometer Runs for a Worthy Cause

According to CBC Kids, Izmir's journey began on February 6, which also marked his 10th birthday. Coincidentally, it was the same day that a powerful 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck Turkey and Syria, causing widespread destruction and claiming numerous lives. Disturbed by the news, Izmir was determined to make a difference. Together with his father, he devised a plan to run 10 kilometers ten times, symbolizing his age, and transform his passion for running into a fundraising initiative for earthquake victims.

From February to June, Izmir diligently pursued his goal, completing each 10-kilometer run with unwavering dedication. On June 10, he concluded his final leg, having accomplished a remarkable feat for a young boy. Through his perseverance and commitment, Izmir has managed to surpass his initial fundraising target, with over $18,000 raised for the Humanitarian Coalition's emergency response campaign in Turkey and Syria.

When asked about his motivation, Izmir revealed that he felt a special connection to the affected regions as he was named after a city in Turkey. Witnessing the tragic aftermath of the earthquake on the news served as a catalyst for his desire to help. Despite the physical challenges he faced during his runs, Izmir drew strength from the knowledge that his efforts were making a significant impact on the lives of those in need.

The Humanitarian Coalition commended Izmir for his outstanding efforts. Richard Morgan, the executive director of the organization, expressed his admiration, stating, "Izmir has given us a wonderful example of the difference that one person can make to help others in their time of need."

Read Also: Teenagers in Texas Dress as Superheroes to Spread Joy While Gathering Donations

Calgary Community Rallies Behind Izmir's Fundraising Efforts for Earthquake Relief

For his final run, Izmir received tremendous support from his schoolmates and the local Turkish community. With the help of his father and volunteers from the Canadian Turkish Cultural and Islamic Centre in Calgary, an event was organized to celebrate his accomplishment. Sponsors were secured, enabling the creation of matching T-shirts for Izmir's supporters. Approximately 30 people, including classmates, teachers, and members of the Turkish community, gathered to cheer him on and even ran alongside him for part of the route.

Kim Forgay, Izmir's teacher, spoke highly of his determination and the support he received from the school community. She emphasized the excitement and pride felt by his classmates throughout the fundraising journey. Izmir expressed his gratitude for the overwhelming support, noting that it brought him immense joy to see so many people rallying behind his cause.

Izmir's selfless act of running 100 kilometers to raise funds for earthquake relief serves as a shining example of the positive impact that even one individual can have on a community in need. His determination, compassion, and unwavering spirit have touched the hearts of many and provided hope for those still recovering from the earthquake's aftermath. As the affected regions continue their journey towards healing and rebuilding, Izmir's contribution stands as a testament to the power of empathy and the potential within each of us to make a difference in the world.

Related Article: Father Walks Barefoot for 1,200 Miles to Raise Funds for Daughter's Gene Therapy
Photo: (Photo : Fusion Medical Animation on Unsplash)

As the 'arcturus' coronavirus strain continues to dominate the landscape of COVID-19 variants in the United States, the emergence of several other omicron subvariants is raising concerns. While 'arcturus' remains the most prominent variant, recent estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicate that other subvariants, such as XBB.1.16 and XBB.1.5, are steadily increasing in prevalence. Additionally, omicron subvariants EG.5 and XBB.2.3 have also made notable inroads, prompting global monitoring by the World Health Organization (WHO). This article delves into the impact and implications of these emerging subvariants on the ongoing fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Rise of XBB.1.16 and XBB.1.5 Subvariant

According to CDC estimates, XBB.1.16, commonly referred to as 'arcturus', accounted for over 17% of new COVID-19 infections in the past two weeks. Although this represents a slight increase from the previous period, during which the prevalence was revised down to 16%, the dominance of this variant remains noteworthy. However, not far behind is XBB.1.5, which is projected to be the target of the upcoming fall COVID-19 vaccines. Recent data indicates that XBB.1.5 accounted for 16% of new infections in recent weeks, reinforcing its significance in the ongoing spread of the virus.

EG.5 and XBB.2.3: While 'arcturus' and XBB.1.5 command attention, other omicron subvariants are steadily gaining ground in the United States. Two notable subvariants, EG.5 and XBB.2.3, have become responsible for 13% of new infections over the past two weeks. The global impact of XBB.2.3 has garnered the attention of the World Health Organization, as several countries report an increase in COVID-19 cases attributed to this subvariant. Although the rise in cases has been accompanied by a lower rate of hospitalizations and deaths, WHO emphasizes the importance of vigilance and continued monitoring of these variants.

Read Also: Pfizer's New COVID-19 Booster Targets Omicron Variant, Offers Extra Protection for Kids

Global Concerns and Population Immunity

The World Health Organization acknowledges the observed heterogeneity in the dynamics of variant circulation as well as the relatively lower rates of morbidity and mortality associated with the emerging subvariants. They attribute these factors partly to the population immunity resulting from vaccination and prior SARS-CoV-2 infections. Despite the rise of these subvariants, the United States has witnessed a decline in coronavirus-related deaths and hospitalizations. This decline can be attributed to the high levels of protection against the virus, with nearly 97% of Americans estimated to have some level of immunity by the end of 2022, according to CDC data.

In the global landscape, however, the situation remains concerning. The World Health Organization warns that some countries have experienced recent spikes in cases driven by the emergence of variants of interest and variants under monitoring. Despite an increase in hospitalizations and fatalities that has coincided with the increase in cases, the overall impact is likely less severe than it was during earlier waves because of population immunity. According to US News, the interplay between variant circulation dynamics and immunity highlights the need for ongoing surveillance and adaptive strategies.

While the 'arcturus' variant remains dominant, the emergence of various omicron subvariants, including XBB.1.16, XBB.1.5, EG.5, and XBB.2.3, pose challenges to the ongoing battle against COVID-19. These subvariants, particularly XBB.2.3, have raised global concerns as countries witness a surge in cases. Nonetheless, the positive impact of population immunity resulting from vaccination and prior infections cannot be overlooked. As efforts continue to combat the virus, it is imperative to monitor and adapt strategies to address the evolving landscape of COVID-19 variants, ensuring the safety and well-being of communities worldwide. With the collective efforts of global health organizations, governments, and individuals, we can navigate these challenges and overcome the hurdles presented by the emerging omicron subvariants, ultimately bringing an end to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Related Article: New COVID-19 Nasal Spray to Protect Against All Variants Starts Human Trials
Photo: (Photo : Scott Olson / Getty Images)

Monogram Food Solutions LLC, a national food manufacturer operating a factory in Minnesota, is facing penalties after violating child labor laws by employing teenage workers.

The U.S. Department of Labor discovered that two underage individuals, aged 16 and 17, were operating hazardous meat processing equipment at the company's Chandler factory, resulting in a fine of $30,276.

The incident came to light during a federal investigation prompted by leads obtained from a previous child labor case involving over 100 minors working in slaughterhouses across the Midwest.

Monogram Food Solutions now finds itself in the spotlight for endangering the welfare of young employees.

Monogram Food Solutions Violating Child Labor Laws

According to NBC News, the federal investigation into Monogram Food Solutions was initiated based on information obtained during a previous case involving child labor violations.

It was discovered that false identification was used by the minors to secure employment.

This alarming finding led the Labor Department to expand its investigation, resulting in the discovery of hazardous working conditions at Monogram's Chandler factory.

The 16 to 18-year-olds are permitted to work in various jobs outside the home, certain occupations deemed hazardous by the Labor Department, such as meat processing, coal mining, and roofing, are strictly off-limits.

Monogram Food Solutions violated these regulations by allowing underage workers to operate dangerous meat processing equipment.

Jessica Looman, the Labor Department's principal deputy wage and hour administrator, emphasized that the company should have never permitted children to handle such hazardous machinery.

Consequently, Monogram Food Solutions has faced penalties and must take steps to prevent further child labor violations.

Read Also: FDA Grants Full Approval to Leqembi: Breakthrough Alzheimer's Drug for Medicare Coverage

Monogram's Response and Consequences

According to Just Food, Monogram Food Solutions has expressed its commitment to compliance with child labor laws and its disapproval of ineligible underage labor.

The company's spokesperson, Liz McKee, revealed that the two teens employed at the Chandler factory had used falsified identification during the hiring process.

Monogram has taken immediate action by terminating the underage workers and implementing significant changes to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future.

As part of the agreement with the Labor Department, Monogram Food Solutions has agreed to hire a third-party consultant to monitor compliance with child labor laws, conduct a nationwide audit of its facilities within 90 days, and establish a toll-free number for employees seeking guidance for reporting violations.

Furthermore, as per Meat Poultry, Monogram Food Solutions emphasized its firm stance against employing underage workers and expressed complete cooperation throughout the investigation.

According to the details outlined in the consent decree and the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), Monogram will hire a compliance specialist to ensure the prevention of any future violations at the Chandler plant for a duration of three years, as well as at their other facility for a period of two years.

The "hot goods provision" was invoked by the Labor Department as a part of the Monogram consent decree and judgment.

This provision halted the shipment of any goods produced at the Chandler factory during the period when the underage workers were employed.

Monogram complied with the directive by withholding shipments until late April, after which the restriction was lifted upon payment of the fine and the execution of the consent order and judgment.

In light of the increasing instances of child labor violations nationwide since 2018, the Labor Department has intensified its enforcement initiatives.

Earlier this year, the department warned that it could cease the shipment of goods produced with child labor. The use of the "hot goods provision" serves as a powerful tool in curbing these unlawful practices.

Related Article: Robert De Niro's Family Mourns the Loss of 19-Year-Old Grandson to Fentanyl Poisoning
Having just read two new books on the subject  Vengeance Is Mine: The Mountain Meadows Massacre and Its Aftermath, by Richard E. Turley Jr. and Barbara Jones Brown, and Convicting the Mormons: The Mountain Meadows Massacre in American Culture, by Janiece Johnson  I published an article in Meridian Magazine today, Friday, that appears under the title of Searching Out the Truth about the Mountain Meadows Massacre. You are welcome to read it. There is no charge and its unlikely that youll be damaged by the experience in any really permanent way.

Moreover, four new articles went up today on the website of the Interpreter Foundation:

Moses as Midwife: What the Exodus Birth Story Teaches about Motherhood and Christ, written by Becky Holderness Tilton

Abstract: This work explores an alternative interpretation of the Exodus narrative as a metaphor for childbirth. Gleaning from Old Testament and Judaic sources, we find rich female birth and salvific imagery in the saga of the migration of the children of Israel and the Passover itself. This perspective of sacred childbirth, when coupled with traditional Christian interpretations of the first Passover, ultimately paints an enhanced picture of the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

Interpreting Interpreter: Birthing Israel, written by Kyler Rasmussen

This post is a summary of the article Moses as Midwife: What the Exodus Birth Story Teaches about Motherhood and Christ by Becky Holderness Tilton in Volume 57 of Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship. An introduction to the Interpreting Interpreter series is available at https://interpreterfoundation.org/interpreting-interpreter-on-abstracting-thought/. The Takeaway: Tilton explores the Exodus narrative as a metaphor for the birth of Israel and that metaphors implications for our view of spiritual rebirth through Christ.

Verbal Punctuation in the Book of Mormon II  nevertheless, written by John Gee

Abstract: One example of verbal punctuation that has a very clear pattern of usage in the Book of Mormon is the term nevertheless. It is used to draw a marked contrast between what the previous text would lead one to expect and what follows it. It is not clear what the ancient antecedent to the term might be and the English term and usage might be an artefact of the translation process. The frequency and usage of nevertheless in the Book of Mormon contrasts with the way that Joseph Smiths writings use it.

Interpreting Interpreter: Nevertheless, written by Kyler Rasmussen

This post is a summary of the article Verbal Punctuation in the Book of Mormon II  Nevertheless by John Gee in Volume 57 of Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship. An introduction to the Interpreting Interpreter series is available at https://interpreterfoundation.org/interpreting-interpreter-on-abstracting-thought/. The Takeaway: Gee notes that the word nevertheless is used consistently in the Book of Mormon to mark a contrast between two phrases. That usage does not match Joseph Smiths use of the term in either type or frequency.

This is really, really welcome and encouraging news: The number of Latter-day Saint missionaries is rising rapidly: Scholar says religiosity in recent generations of Latter-day Saints is up compared to baby boomers May the trend continue! Weve gone through a relatively bleak period, but things may be looking up again.

Sound of Freedom outperforms Indiana Jones and The Flash on 4th of July: Anti-sex trafficking film, Sound of Freedom, impresses at the box office

Human-trafficking film Sound of Freedom trashed by liberal outlets as QAnon-adjacent: Website Jezebel claimed, At last, QAnons camp appeal gets the cinematic exploration it demands'

My wife and I saw Sound of Freedom on Tuesday, the Fourth of July. There isnt a trace of QAnonism in it, so far as I could tell. (I have no sympathy whatever for QAnon. Quite the contrary, in fact.) My only complaint, to be perfectly candid, is about the films pacing. I thought it somewhat slow, especially in its first half, and overly long. It could have been edited down a bit. That said, I hope that as many people as possible will go to see it. Efforts like this need to be supported, and the cause to which the film seeks to call attention is enormously important: Gods Children Are Not for Sale.

And, by the way, Tim Ballard  who is portrayed in the film by Jim Caviezel (who starred in such films as The Passion of the Christ and in The Count of Monte Cristo)  is a Latter-day Saint, and, although the film doesnt mention his religious affiliation (it actually shows him drinking coffee and tee and, on one occasion, smoking a cigarette to create rapport with a captured pedophile) and wasnt produced by members of the Church, Angel Studios, which is distributing Sound of Freedom, is based in Provo, Utah.

Finally, here are a few short but gratifyingly horrific articles retrieved, for your indignation, from the Christopher Hitchens Memorial How Religion Poisons Everything File:

Posted from Ucluelet, British Columbia
Justin Gaston and Justene Alpert, who star together in the new PureFlix film Gods Country Song, recently opened up about their transformative experiences on set and its inspiring themes of redemption, self-discovery, and the power of faith.

Reflecting on the memorable moments from the set, Gaston noted the remarkable camaraderie among the cast and crew, describing it as a true team effort.

It was clearly like a team when we stepped on site, Gaston said. Everyone was so kind and willing to help each other. We found joy and humor in everything we did.

As the film revolves around a young man trying to make a mark in the country music industry, the film appropriately held its premiere in Franklin, Tennessee. Gaston and Alpert commended the musical compositions by Andy and Melissa Sheridan, highlighting their skillful job in crafting the films songs. Alpert noted, The music is phenomenal. They co-wrote the songs with some other people, but I think they really did a great job. Everyone should be really proud.

When asked about the significance of the films title, Gods Country Song, Gaston explained, God is the author of all creation and is in everything and, and, at least for me,I try to infuse him in every song. This is Noash going on this journey, and dealing with life and trauma and addiction and joy and highs and lows and like, and realizing whats important in life and What is what is the song that God is writing over Noahs life? For me, thats sort of what it means

Alpert elaborated on her characters role in the film, emphasizing the importance of love, guidance, and approaching life with grace. Its a beautiful reminder of how to lead in your life, giving grace, never losing hope, having faith, and approaching everything through love, she said. Leanne serves as a gentle guide for Noah, epitomizing the values that all individuals should strive to embody.

In the film, while trying to carve out a place in the industry, Noah also is thrown headfirst into being a father while struggling with a very estranged one with his own. This common struggle of trying to do better than the previous generation is explored through his character.

I think strong fathers are just so, so important were losing that by the day, Gaston said. This movie is a great reminder, because you see it from so many different aspects. You see it generally generationally from Noah and his father, to Him sort of adopting JJ and finding out how hes going to be a father to him. You can sort of see the generational effects that a father can have the decisions that a father makes, how they affect his son and his sons and daughters and thoughts. I think the family unit is just so important. And I think this movie does a good job of showing that.

Gods Country Song, directed by Johnny Remo (A Letter to Dad, Like a Country Song) and starring Justin Gaston, Justene Alpert, Coffey Anderson, and Muriel Hemingway, is now playing on PureFlix.
Test your knowledge with our horological crossword

We all love a good crossword in the WorldTempus office so we thought we would try our luck at creating our own. We hope you have as much fun doing it as we did creating it. If you struggle with some of the clues, you will find many of the answers in this past weeks stories, as we used them for inspiration. Happy word hunting!
Youth Bridge Foundation, a continental-oriented NGO committed to youth Inclusive and responsive development agenda is rolling out a series of development-based advocacy programmes across Africa to discuss the youth factor intertwined with democracy elections and peace.



The first forum will take place in Ghana, the headquarters of the organization on Tuesday July 11, 2023 at the Kofi Annan International Peace-Keeping Training Centre at 10am.



A statement issued by Youth Bridge Foundation ahead of the event called on development partners to partner the NGO replicate the event in selected African countries.



It said the resurgence of coups on the continent poses a serious challenge to the realization of the African Union Agenda 2063 as well as the peace, security, democracy, and prosperity envisioned in its Aspirations.



It also reflects a concerning reversal of substantial progress made in democratic government across the continent over the last few decades. At the same time, it has coincided with the emergence of grave and unprecedented threats to territorial integrity and national cohesion in an increasing number of AU member states in the form of insecurity fueled by extremist militant groups in the Sahel, Lake Chad Basin, and the Horn of Africa. The statement added.

In the Ghanaian context. YBF said, Ghana is still vulnerable owing to the threat posed by insurgents from Burkina Faso, Benin, Cote divoire and Togo.



The NGO noted the growing incidence of on-campus conflicts in tertiary institutions and said it cannot be underestimated adding that the Citizens Forum is in tandem with the African Union's goal for a continent whose growth is people-driven and contingent on the potential of African citizens, particularly women and youth.

A renowned Governance and Human Rights Expert from Zimbabwe, Dr. Musavengana Chibwana will discuss why it is crucial for young people in Africa to be active in the electoral processes for the continents progress and stability and the power of the youth to shape their destiny.



He will also engage participants on why many young individuals are disenchanted with the political system and navigate them to proffer solutions.



Youth Bridge Foundation is organizing the forum under the technical guidance of AU-ECOSOCC with support from the Kofi Annan International Peace Keeping Training Centre and HYDRA Cyber Security.

The overall outcome of the forum is a Policy Paper on Youth Responsible Participation in Democracy, Elections and Promotion of Peace in Ghana and Africa.

Source: Peacefmonline com









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In 2008 when local people leased about 3,715 acres of their land to a multinational company for 50 years, each landowner signed an agreement to be paid $5 per acre a year.



The lack of knowledge on land acquisition processes and the legal framework governing lands in Ghana is causing some communities to lose their lands, income and source of livelihoods to multinationals and property developers.



This is contained in the findings of a study launched in Accra by Caritas Ghana in conjunction with the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA) on four rural communities, where lands were allocated mainly by families.



The study found that it was only the Subinso community in the Eastern region where 67 per cent of members had knowledge about statutory agencies, existing legal frameworks and processes for the acquisition of land in Ghana.



In Tanchara in the Upper East Region, 73 per cent of the people have no knowledge about the statutory agencies, existing legal frameworks and processes governing the acquisition of land. While 65 per cent community members of Babator (Savannah region), and 67 per cent community members of Breweniase (Oti region) said that they had no knowledge about the transfers of the lands, which they often leased for decades.



Sharing the ordeal of farmers and other landowners from Breweniase with the Ghana News Agency, Mr Johannes Kofibi, a community member, said: Weve dug our own graves and signed our death warrants.



He said in 2008, they leased about 3,715 acres of land to a multinational company for 50 years, which offered each landowner $5 per acre a year.



Mr Kofibi said the situation (losing lands to multinationals) sometimes pushed some young ladies to migrate to city centres, including Accra, where they allegedly engaged in prostitution, while the young men resort to menial jobs and at times, social vices for survival.



A landowner from Babator also told the GNA that they started experiencing disputes in 2014 after leasing 5,000 acres of land for 50 years to a company, led by chiefs in the community, without understanding the contract.



Dr Patrick Tandoh-Offin, a Rural Development expert and Lead for the study, reiterated the issues of land grabbing and forceful acquisition of large parcels of land by some transnational corporations, individuals, and the State.



The situation, he said, made it difficult particularly for the youth and women in Subinso, Tanchara, Babator and Breweniase to have access to lands needed for farming and other economic activities.



He said coupled with that was the expensive nature of land documentation, which was discouraging poor landowners from registering their lands.



In all the communities, landowners often relied on chiefs and community-level intermediaries to have access to land and landed properties.



That resulted in disputes among landowners and local stakeholders or traditional authorities, with issues of double sale of lands and ownership.



Tandoh-Offin recommended that the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), Lands Commission, the media and other stakeholders intensified education and sensitisation efforts on the protocols and legal procedures for land acquisition.



He also called for a unified computerised system for land management with a verifiable data repository for land purchase fed into an information system that would be verified and certified by a third party.



Mr Hope Boye Agbah, a Land Adminstration Officer at the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, said in collaboration with the Lands Commission, his outfit had come up with guidelines on large scale acquisition of lands.



He explained that because people had little or no knowledge about the acquisition of such lands, it displaced community members and robbed them of their livelihoods prior.



Were in the process of disseminating information about the passage of the new Land Act 2020 (Act 1036), which would help resolve such land acquisition issues, he said.



In her remarks, Regina Ignatia Aflah, Chairperson of Caritas Ghana, said the report demonstrated the collective power of faith and non-faith actors in working together to address the issues of land rights, acquisition and food sovereignty.



We believe this report is a valuable addition to existing body of knowledge, and will help strengthen CSOs dialogue and actions to strive for equitable land access and food sovereignty, she said.

Source: GNA









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RivExcel Health, a leading international medical tourism facilitator, is pleased to announce a strategic partnership with Neuro Spinal Hospital or NSH a renowned healthcare institution with advanced services in comprehensive oncology, orthopedics, neurology, neurosurgery, and spinal surgery. This collaboration aims to expand and enhance the medical tourism services provided by RivExcel Health, further solidifying their commitment to offering high-quality medical solutions to patients from Africa seeking treatment in Dubai.



As part of this partnership, RivExcel Health has independently vetted and selected NSH based on their exceptional reputation, expertise, and commitment to patient care. Neuro Spinal Hospital, known for its state-of-the-art facilities and highly skilled medical professionals, aligns perfectly with RivExcel Health's mission to connect patients with reputable healthcare providers in Dubai.



"Our partnership with Neuro Spinal Hospital marks a significant milestone for RivExcel Health," said Tonye Princewill, CEO of RivExcel Health. "Neuro Spinal Hospital's specialization in oncology, orthopedics, neurosurgery, spinal surgery and rehabilitation perfectly complements our existing network of healthcare providers. We are confident that this collaboration will greatly benefit our patients by providing them with access to world-class medical expertise and cutting-edge treatment options."



Through this partnership, RivExcel Health will offer patients seeking the latest treatment options, a seamless and comprehensive experience. In addition to connecting patients with Neuro Spinal Hospital's highly skilled specialists, RivExcel Health will provide personalized assistance with travel



arrangements, visa applications, language interpretation services, accommodation, and overall patient comfort. This holistic approach ensures that patients can focus on their health and well- being while receiving top-quality medical care in Dubai.



RivExcel Health and Neuro Spinal Hospital are dedicated to upholding the highest standards of patient safety, quality of care, and ethical practices. By combining their expertise and resources, both organizations aim to provide patients with unmatched medical solutions and an unparalleled experience throughout their medical journey.



About RivExcel Health



RivExcel Health is an international medical tourism facilitator that connects patients from Africa with reputable healthcare providers across the globe. With a commitment to exceptional patient care, RivExcel Health offers a wide range of medical solutions and personalized services, ensuring a seamless and stress-free experience for patients seeking treatment in Dubai. The website www.rivexcelhealth.com is simple and easy to navigate. A perfect gateway to all your medical needs.

Source: Peacefmonline









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 Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, has called for closer collaboration between commercial banks and the Bank of Ghana (BoG) to change the face of the banking industry.



That, he said, was crucial in the countrys determination to accelerate the pace of finding lasting solution to the current economic challenges.



The Asantehene gave the advice when the new Managing Director of Prudential Bank Ghana Limited, Bernard Appiah Gyebi, paid a courtesy call on him at the Manhyia Palace in Kumasi.



He urged the new Managing Director to build on the solid foundation laid by his predecessors who worked so hard to nurture the bank.



He also advised him to bring further innovation into the banks operations, particularly, considering the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme, which had affected the financial sector.



The Asantehene commended the bank for its continuous support of businesses and the economy in general.



Purpose



The purpose of the visit was to formally introduce himself to the King as the new MD of the Bank.



He underscored the need for the MD to embark on a deposit mobilisation drive to enable the bank to support businesses, especially Small and Medium-Size Enterprises.



Mr Gyebi, who was delighted to meet the Asanehene, expressed his profound gratitude to Asanteman for supporting the business of the bank in the Ashanti Region.



King



He thanked the King for the valuable advice he had been giving to the management of the bank since its inception and informed Otumfuo that the success of the bank could not have been possible without the prayers, support and patronage of Asanteman.



Mr Gyebi also relayed the banks appreciation to the Asantehene for being a valued customer of the bank.



He assured the Asantehene that the banks performance would soar during his tenure as the MD and he would always count on him for his rich advice.

Source: graphic.com.gh









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Charles Owusu has condemned the LGBTQ+ community for trying to impose their practices on Ghanaians.



The former Head of Monitoring Unit at Forestry Commission has expressed disgust at those insisting that the LGBTQ+ community should be allowed to freely and publicly engage in their homosexual acts without any legislation criminalizing their activities.



Speaking on Peace FM's 'Kokrokoo' show, Charles Owusu applauded the Members of Parliament for adopting the anti-gay bill which is yet to be passed into law to check the LGBTQ+ community and their related activities.



All 275 Members of Parliament, on Wednesday, July 5, accepted the Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill, 2022 which is to provide for proper human sexual rights and Ghanaian family values and ban lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (LGBTQ+) and related activities.



When this bill comes into effect, any person caught in homosexual act will face criminal charges and may end up in jail.



Charles Owusu was happy that the MPs have agreed to pass this bill stressing homosexuality is demonic.



" . . When in this world can a minority group say we should make a law for the minority group to dominate the majority? I've never heard that thing before. So, it is a demonic thing!"



He stressed that no member of the LGBTQ+ community should be subjected to physical harm or any form of torture, however, Ghana won't allow them to practice their demonic acts.



"We won't beat them but we must prevent any person from saying he is a homosexual or lesbian or a tree . . . what sort of madness is this?"



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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The facts are beginning to emerge from Alan Kyerematen's cluster delegates-durbar meetings, which currently, has taken over political conversations throughout the country.



Day two of his tour of Greater Accra to sell his message of hope and prosperity with NPP delegates saw him stop over at the Atomic Park in the Kwabenya where he met with delegates of the Dome-Kwabenya and Ayawaso West Wuogon constituencies. It was here that leading members of the NPP gave Alan's political history in the NPP and why, it was time for him to lead the elephant party to the 2024 elections.



Significantly, it was NPP stalwarts, some founding members, who set the records straight about the deep-seated commitment of the former Trade and Minister to the cause of the NPP.



Seasoned lawyer, Ayikoi Otoo, who served as Attorney-Generalbame Minister for Justice under President Agyekum Kufuor, and recently as High Commissioner under sitting President Nana Addo, was first to tell delegates the important role Alan played in the formation of the NPP.



Ayikoi Otoo reminded NPP delegates that Mr Kyerematen was a founding member of the NPP and President of the Young Executives Forum which was the major source of funding for the new party during its fledgling early days.



As a conservative party that rewards loyalty, longevity and commitment, the eminent jurist was telling NPP delegates that such quality was very paramount in the selection of the party's presidential candidate.



Both Presidents Kufuor and Akufo Addo, benefitted from such conservative oreintation of the NPP. That orderliness, made the choices of Kufuor and Akufo Addo very succinct and clear for NPP delegates when the two were contesting for the NPP presidential nomination.



Indeed, after losing the national election in 1996, the NPP kept faith with Kufuor by voting for him again in 1998 to become the presidential candidate in the 2000 general elections which he won to become President of the nation.



After losing the 2008 and 2012 national elections, the NPP still retained Akufo Addo by voting for him to lead the NPP as its presidential candidate in the 2016 elections which he overwhelmingly won.



The Kufuor, Akufo Addo stories did not occur by default. They were part of the conservative disposition of the NPP, which has evolved from a convention that the party rewards

long serving officials.



It is from this mindset that the tag 'Aduro No So', to wit, the time has come for you, was birthed and used to galvanize then candidate Nana Addo to victory in 2016.



In the case of the current sitting President, Aduro No So, metamorized into 'Ye Nim Nana firi Tete', loosely translated, we have known Nana from a long distance.



It is believed it was on the basis of this stated narrative that Ayikoi Otoo took his time to give the historical antecedent of Alan to the formation of the NPP.



The former Mayor of KMA, Mrs Patricia Appeagyei also underscored the inclusive nature of Alan's campaign.



In her view, every delegate of NPP Ayawaso West Wougon, where Hon Kyerematen recipes, is a manager of the his campaign to help him win to bring honour to the constituency.

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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An Africa-first money remittance platform based in the United Kingdom, OA Pay, has announced Ghanaian music icon, TiC, as their brand ambassador.



OA Pay, a registered trademark of One Africa Technologies Ltd, prides itself as an authentic home-grown remittance platform regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK.



The collaboration will enable the Ghanaian music powerhouse become the face of the business, spearheading campaigns, execute informative initiatives and other activities of OA Pay.



TiC expressed his excitement on the collaboration and conveys that he is delighted to be a part of OA Pay's growth journey, taking into account the achievement and the impact he has made through his music career in Ghana, Nigeria, UK, US and other parts of the world.



TiC added that this opportunity provides a platform for him to facilitate connections between Ghanaians residing both at home and abroad with a service that is developed by Africans and for Africans.



OA Pay simply understands and resonates with the African settings and narrative.



Getting access to an efficient remittance platform has become crucial in this digital age, therefore the need for a fast, convenient, reliable and easy approach to how people can send and receive money with the best rates in the market, TiC stated.



He encouraged families in Ghana, Nigeria, UK and US to use the app and further urged them to get involved because it is reliable.



Using the platform comes with some bonuses among others which benefits the users, besides the seamless service from OA Pay, he said.



He also disclosed using the platform multiple times in the UK and attested that the platform has been built to address the gap in money remittance services and foster financial inclusivity.



TiC stressed the platform's features and vision makes him thrilled to partner and represent OA Pay.



Mrs. Tracey Abiola, the CEO of OA Pay, also shared her excitement in having TiC partner with his extensive and genuine experiences in Africa.



The CEO mentioned TiC's brand as highly regarded and respected in Ghana and internationally and his acceptance of their offer demonstrates the valuable contribution he brings to the table.



OA Pay is a money remittance platform with absolutely no hidden fees or commissions, offering the highest transfer rates and with transfers communicated via real-time alerts without any middlemen and the best of all, you can use the app while on holiday in Africa for payment of your goods and services.



The company also actively participates in supporting social causes and welfare of the local communities in the continent.



Visit https://pay.oneafrica.io/home for more information.

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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By JAMIE STENGLE, The Associated Press

DALLAS (AP)  Two men were arrested Friday in a shooting that killed three people and injured eight others as a crowd of hundreds gathered in a Texas neighborhood on the eve of the Fourth of July, police said.

Christopher Redic Jr., 20, and Brandon Williams, 19, were taken into custody on murder charges related to the shooting late July 3 in the Fort Worth neighborhood of Como, Fort Worth police Chief Neil Noakes said.

This combo of images provided by the Fort Worth, Texas, Police Department show Christopher Redic Jr., 20, and Brandon Williams, 19. (Fort Worth Police Department via AP)AP

Noakes said investigators believe the shooting was gang-related and followed some kind of fight. I dont know specifically whom they were shooting at, Noakes said. Theres a potential that altercation is what initiated the violence to occur.

He said there could be additional arrests. Police had previously said several men fired indiscriminately into the crowd.

The shooting erupted about two hours after the end of the Independence Day celebration called ComoFest in the historically Black neighborhood. The celebration had been held in a park several blocks away from the area where the shots were fired.

Police have said the shooting on Horne Street was separate from and unrelated to ComoFest.

The three people killed were Paul Willis, 18, Cynthia Santos, 22, and Gabriella Navarrete, 18, according to the Tarrant County medical examiners office.

It was unclear whether Redic or Williams had attorneys to represent them.

Following the inaugural ComoFest celebration in 2021, eight people were shot and wounded near a car wash in the area.

Noakes said police have been discussing with the community how the gathering needs to look going forward.

That after-party, if you will, thats not going to look the same, he said.

Ka'Desha Weatherly sits July 4 in the spot where her son, Paul Timothy Willis, 18, was killed in a shooting during a celebration the previous evening in Fort Worth, Texas. (Amanda McCoy /Star-Telegram via AP, file)AP

The neighborhood has held an annual Fourth of July parade for more than 70 years. The parade went on Tuesday morning, with people gathering along the street where the shooting had occurred the night before.

A rash of shootings in the U.S. over the Fourth of July weekend has spiked fear in communities across the nation.

In Baltimore, 30 people were shot, two fatally, at a block party. In Philadelphia, a heavily armed gunman in a bulletproof vest opened fire on the citys streets, killing five people and wounding two boys. At least three people were killed and 10 wounded at an annual July Fourth bash in Louisiana. A 7-year-old was shot dead in Tampa after two groups gathered along a causeway for Independence Day started to fight.

More:

14-year-old killed, 6 hurt in shooting at Maryland block party

9 hurt, including children, in post-July 4th shooting in D.C.
A 33-year-old woman died in a Berks County home on Friday morning, according to the Berks County District Attorneys Office.

The Fleetwood Police Department was dispatched to a domestic situation on Middletown Road in Richmond Township near Fleetwood.

READ MORE: Harrisburg Police see increase in scams that include impersonation of officers

Upon arrival, officers located the woman who was unresponsive inside the residence, and life saving measures were initiated by responding officers and EMS personnel but failed, according to the District Attorneys Office. The coroner pronounced the woman dead.

An investigation was initiated by the Berks County District Attorney detectives. Harrison Adu Boakye, 46, was taken into custody and charged with aggravated assault. Arraignment is pending. The investigation is ongoing, and an autopsy is scheduled.
Vaguely gothic architecture may not be so alien to parts of New England, but a few familiar buildings in East Corinth, Vermont, stand out to indicate filming is underway for the sequel to a beloved 80s movie.

On-set images of the Beetlejuice sequel, referred to as Beetlejuice 2, have appeared on Facebook while the films production is underway. Residents and passersby have shared photos on a public group on the social media platform simply called Beetlejuice 2 (uh oh, the name has been said three times!).

Photos shared on Facebook show various buildings recognized from the first movie. Driving through town on June 30, group member Chris Gunnell shot images of the house owned by Adam and Barbara Maitland, portrayed by actors Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis in both films, draped in black cloth. The setting is intended to be the fictional town of Wind River, Connecticut.

Elsewhere in East Corinth, Gunnell and other users spotted the covered red bridge that plays an integral role in the first film.

35-year-old spoiler alert: The Maitlands crash through the side of the bridge and plunge to their deaths, but return as ghosts haunting their own home when its sold to the Deetz family.

The infamous red bridge from the first film is back in "Beetlejuice 2." In the first film, it led to the deaths of lead characters Adam and Barbara Maitland, played by Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis. Courtesy of Chris Gunnell.

VTDigger reported on the films production on June 4 but had difficulty talking to residents aware of the production. One Massachusetts man who worked on set was interviewed and said he had signed a nondisclosure agreement, while local employees and officials spoke of being sworn to secrecy.

Its called Operation Blue Hawaii or something like that, Memorial Library Director Jennifer Spanier said of the productions covert dealings to VTDigger. Its a code name.

East Corinth is once again used as the Connecticut setting where "Beetlejuice 2" takes place. Director Tim Burton and Warner Bros. shot the first film in East Corinth in 1987. Courtesy of Chris Gunnell.

Little is known about this sequels story. The first film focused on the dead couple trying to preserve their home after it was sold to the Deetz family. In doing so, they hire a bio-exorcist named Beetlejuice, played by Michael Keaton, to scare the family out, but he has his own plans when he sees the Deetzes daughter, Lydia, played by Wynona Ryder.

Director Tim Burton is returning to direct, and returning cast members include Baldwin, Davis, Ryder and Catherine OHara. Justin Theroux, Monica Belluci, Willem Defoe and Jenna Ortega of Wednesday fill out the cast, according to Collider.

Of course, Michael Keaton is set to return as the films titular character in his fifth collaboration with Burton. They have worked together on Batman, Batman Returns and Dumbo. Keaton returned as the Dark Knight for the first time in more than 30 years in Junes The Flash.

Beetlejuice 2 will be released by Warner Bros. Discovery and is expected to premiere in September 2024.

More: We went hunting ghosts in a lonely central Pa. farmhouse. See what we found
Police in Kenya opened fire on protesters in clashes that left at least 12 people wounded Wednesday as the opposition organized demonstrations calling for the government of President William Ruto to lower the cost of living.
The sand-filled saga continues.

Despite approving emergency fixtures to a badly eroded beach in North Wildwood, state officials said in a notice of violation Thursday the city overstepped when it violated coastal zone management laws on June 5 ... by illegally reshaping dunes after a high tide event.

Local officials in the Jersey Shore town disagreed with the states notice.

The remnants of Hurricane Ian wiped away 80 feet of sand dunes on the beach in North Wildwood last October. In mid-May, half a miles worth of sand on the 2-1/4 mile beach was gone, and about 10 blocks worth of shoreline has disappeared so far.

North Wildwood Mayor Patrick Rosenello, a Republican, said this year an $800,000 steel bulkhead on the beach near 15th Avenue was needed due to intense erosion.

Besides safeguarding residents and homes in North Wildwood  where about 5,000 people live Rosenello said the work was critical for the busy summer, when as many as 40,000 people visit.

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) rejected the citys emergency request to build the bulkhead, citing no immediate threat to loss of life nor severe property loss.

But in May, the state gave the OK for the city to use $100,000 from its budget to restore and reinforce various public access points at the North Wildwood beach and grade sand on the beach to improve dunes with steep drop-offs which could pose a risk to visitors. That even as a $33 million lawsuit between the NJDEP and North Wildwood continues.

A letter Thursday from NJDEP Commissioner Shawn LaTourette says after Memorial Day weekend the city conducted illegal work.

On the morning of June 5, the city began re-shaping oceanfront dunes between 12th and 16th Avenues after a high tide event without DEP review or approval, LaTourette said. Later that evening, with the regulated activities well underway, the city filed with DEP a deficient after-the-fact emergency authorization request.

State officials said on June 8, North Wildwood confirmed it completed the pending emergency beach fixtures without state approval.

LaTourette said he was perplexed by the citys actions which again break state law, violate a court order, and contradict our many productive personal discussions over the last six months.

Past reportedly unauthorized work done by the city has aggravated beach erosion in some sections of the North Wildwood shore, according to the state. The citys June work, the NJDEP said, needlessly disturbed the dunes protective capacity by further decreasing the height and volume of the dunes.

North Wildwood officials said town engineers have not reached that same conclusion.

Rosenello said Thursday afternoon that the city planned to review the letter.

The work on June 5 was the exact same work that we had done the weekend before. Our legal team and environmental consultant believe that the work we did was fully within the permits that we had in hand at the time, Rosenello told NJ Advance Media in a statement. Despite this, NJDEP issued another notice of violation.

This will be added to the long list of legal issues between the city, and the NJDEP, and will ultimately be decided upon by a judge, he added.

The NJDEP commissioner said he was especially surprised of the steps taken by the city after a cordial call about shore protection strategies between the state and city on June 1.

As is plainly evident from our ongoing engagement, the Department of Environmental Protection is deeply committed to building resilience and reducing erosion of Atlantic coast beaches. You know that DEP is actively advancing over $16 million in state-funded shore protection projects that benefit the city, LaTourette wrote to Rosenello in Thursdays letter.

Failure to comply with specific steps, the city opens itself up to aggressive enforcement action which could carry significant penalties, the NJDEP said Thursday.

North Wildwood Mayor Patrick Rosenello stands near a city-installed bulkhead in North Wildwood, NJ on Monday, May 8, 2023. Jim Lowney | For NJ Advance Media

Recently outlined by NJ Advance media in The disappearing beach, more than $2.6 billion has been spent dumping over 200 million cubic yards of sand onto Jersey Shore beaches. Thats enough sand to fill the Empire State Building 146 times. Some towns  like Avalon and Stone Harbor  are seeing the benefits now of federal sand replenishment via the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. But for now, North Wildwood is on its own  forced to wait with three other towns for a nourishment project more than a year away.

Rosenello, the mayor in North Wildwood, said he did not know when the next court date regarding the ongoing lawsuit was scheduled.

North Wildwood has needed to replenish beaches periodically for decades. It is among the Jersey Shore cities especially prone to beach erosion, according to Steven Hafner, the project manager for Stockton Universitys Coastal Research Centers North Wildwood shoreline studies.

North Wildwood is in a very unenviable position, Hafner said in an interview in early May. One it has extreme exposure because it sticks out from the shoreline ... they have very strong exposure to the northeast storms ... and then they have these very strong southerly winds.

The city has previously relied on sand from Hereford Inlet  where state and federal agencies have traditionally dredged sand from  to replenish beaches but that location fell within an area subject to the Coastal Barrier Resources Act starting in 2016. The law does not allow federal tax money to be spent on development in designated flood-prone areas.

Sand also cant be brought in from sister city Wildwood because erosion has made paths for massive non-street legal vehicles  built to truck in sand via the beach  un-passable, the mayor said.

Efforts to obtain financial help for beach defenses in North Wildwood via the state budget recently faltered, Rosenello said. Thus, the city posted signs at beach access points asking beachgoers to voice their concerns with state officials.

But NJDEP officials on Thursday called some of the recent work done by the city destructive and illegal conduct in the name of tourism and, supposedly, public safety.

This is wrongheaded and it must stop, LaTourette said in the letter.

Construction on a shore protection project set to benefit North Wildwood is expected to start by the spring of 2025, state officials said.

In Thursdays letter, the NJDEP said the city must do the following:

By July 14, submit a draft mitigation plan  as required under the May 2023 emergency authorization and to restore or replace the dunes disturbed during the unauthorized work on June 5 through 7. The May 2023 emergency authorization required submission of the mitigation plan by June 16, but the city has not done so, the state said. By September 30, complete the required mitigation in accordance with a DEP-approved combined mitigation plan to ensure the dunes are enhanced prior to the winter noreaster season.

Steven Rodas may be reached at srodas@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @stevenrodasnj.
By Jeremy Childs, Los Angeles Times (TNS)

Gov. Gavin Newsom will not challenge a California appellate courts decision to allow parole for Leslie Van Houten, moving the former follower of Charles Manson closer to release following more than 50 years behind bars.

The governor is disappointed by the Court of Appeals decision to release Ms. Van Houten, but will not pursue further action as efforts to further appeal are unlikely to succeed, Newsoms communications director, Erin Mellon, said in a statement Friday.

Leslie Van Houten in 2017. (Stan Lim/Los Angeles Daily News via AP, Pool, File)AP

This March 29, 1971, file photo shows Manson follower Leslie Van Houten in a Los Angeles lockup. (AP Photo, File)AP

Van Houten, 73, is serving a life sentence for helping Manson and members of the cult leaders family kill Los Angeles grocer Leno LaBianca and his wife, Rosemary, in August 1969.

Van Houten was 19 at the time of the LaBianca murders, for which she was convicted along with Manson and Susan Atkins, Charles Tex Watson and Patricia Krenwinkel.

The May decision by the 2nd District Court of Appeal marked the first time a court had overruled a governors denial of parole to a Manson follower.

Manson and his followers were sentenced to death in 1971, but the sentences were commuted to life in prison after capital punishment was ruled unconstitutional in 1972.

Since then, Van Houten has been recommended for parole several times and has had more than two dozen parole hearings. Each recommendation was denied by Newsom or his predecessor, then Gov. Jerry Brown.

Newsom, who denied Van Houtens last parole recommendation, in 2022, had a 10-day window to contest the appellate courts decision, which would have required filing a petition to the California Supreme Court.

More than 50 years after the Manson cult committed these brutal offenses, the victims families still feel the impact, as do all Californians, Mellon said.

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By STEVE LeBLANC, The Associated Press

BOSTON (AP)  On Feb. 14, 1904, someone curious about the emerging possibilities of a key force of nature checked out James Clerk Maxwells An Elementary Treatise on Electricity from the New Bedford Free Public Library.

It would take 119 years and the sharp eyes of a librarian in West Virginia before the scientific text finally found its way back to the Massachusetts library.

The discovery occurred when Stewart Plein, the curator of rare books at West Virginia University Libraries, was sorting through a donation of books.

Plein found the treatise and noticed it had been part of the collection at the New Bedford library and, critically, had not been stamped Withdrawn, indicating that while extremely overdue, the book had not been discarded.

Plein contacted Jodi Goodman, the special collections librarian in New Bedford, to alert her to the find.

This came back in extremely good condition, New Bedford Public Library Director Olivia Melo said Friday. Someone obviously kept this on a nice bookshelf because it was in such good shape and probably got passed down in the family.

New Bedford Public Library Director Olivia Melo takes a look at the 100-year overdue book on Friday, July 7, 2023. (Peter Pereira/The Standard-Times via AP)AP

The treatise was published in 1881, two years after Maxwells death in 1879, although the cranberry-colored copy now back at the New Bedford library is not considered a rare edition of the work, Melo said.

The library occasionally receives books as much as 10 or 15 years overdue, but nothing anywhere close to a century, she said.

The treatise was published at a time when the world was still growing to understand the possibilities of electricity. In 1880, Thomas Edison received a historic patent embodying the principles of his incandescent lamp.

When the book was last in New Bedford, the nation was preparing for its second modern World Series, incumbent Republican President Theodore Roosevelt was on track to win another term, Wilbur and Orville Wright had conducted their first airplane flight just a year before, and New York City was celebrating its first subway line.

The discovery and return of the book is a testament to the durability of the printed word, especially in a time of computerization and instant access to unfathomable amounts of information, Melo said.

The value of the printed book is its not digital, its not going to disappear. Just holding it, you get the sense of someone having this book 120 years ago and reading it, and here it is in my hands, she said. It is still going to be here a hundred years from now. The printed book is always going to be valuable.

The New Bedford library has a 5-cent-per-day late fee. At that rate, someone returning a book overdue by 119 years would face a hefty fee of more than $2,100. The good news is the librarys late fee limit maxes out at $2.

Another lesson of the find, according to Melo? Its never too late to return a library book.

More:

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Dedication of new McCormick Riverfront Library celebrates community, history and learning
A recently arrested central Pa. man attacked capitol police officers with a flagpole on Jan. 6, 2021, according to a report by the Department of Justice.

Terry Allen, 64, of Centre County, faces charges of assaulting, resisting or impeding officers and disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds. Both charges are felonies.

Allen joined a crowd of rioters that breached the western perimeter of the United States Capitol Building grounds with a black and red flag on a five foot-long wooden flagpole at around 12:58 p.m., the Justice Department said.
WILLIAMSPORT  A Centre County man has been accused of assaulting officers during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol in Washington while the Electoral College was in session.

Terry Allen of Spring Mills was ordered Friday by U.S. Middle District Magistrate Judge William I. Arbuckle to be transported to Washington where he is to appear before a judge on July 23.

Allen is accused of attacking officers with a flag stick and throwing what appears to be a metal pole at them, all of which was captured on video.
The National Weather Service has issued a flood watch for several parts of central Pennsylvania Sunday afternoon.

Excessive rainfall could cause flash flooding at creeks and streams, and in areas with poor drainage, according to the National Weather Service.

The flood watch covers Adams, Columbia, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Juniata, Lancaster, Lebanon, Montour, Northern Lycoming, Northumberland, Perry, Schuylkill, Snyder, Southern Lycoming, Sullivan, Tioga, Union and York counties, the National Weather Service said.

The watch will be in effect from noon to 10 p.m. on Sunday.

Residents should monitor forecasts and be prepared to take action in the event of flash flooding in their area.

This story was corrected to note that the area is under a watch, which is less urgent than a warning.

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State Police have levied a second set of charges against a Schuylkill County man they say indecently assaulted clients at his body waxing salon.

Leonard Serrani, 61, of Auburn, faces three more counts of aggravated indecent assault, felonies, and eleven counts of indecent assault, misdemeanors.

State Police said they received numerous complaints about sexual assault from Serranis clients at ProSkin Brazilian & Body Waxing Salon at 1628 Long Run Road.
Community development block grant projects were reviewed, a cooperation agreement between the county and the Housing Authority of Cumberland County was approved, and Area Agency on Aging and Mental Health/Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities contracts were signed during the June 26 meeting of the Perry County commissioners.

Tyler Dombroski, director of community development with SEDA-COG, discussed proposals for the CDBG program. To date, the county has received four proposals for the program, with one eligible for funding. The other three projects still require income surveys, to be completed by July 5, to determine fundability.

The project that is confirmed to be eligible and fundable is Newport Boroughs curb and sidewalk rehabilitation along Route 849. The borough has received a $520,000 Regional Transportation Plan Implementation Program grant, of which the borough must match 20 percent, a total of $130,000. The borough is seeking CDBG funding to cover the matching fund requirement of the RTP grant.

Two of the three projects awaiting income surveys are in New Buffalo Borough. One proposal is for $66,100 to replace playground equipment with newer, safer and more accessible equipment. The other New Buffalo proposal is for $182,100 to purchase a dual auger system for the sewer plant, which will help remove solid debris from the collection system before pipes get clogged. According to Dombroski, the borough has had issues with material flushed down toilets which shouldnt go into the sewer, subsequently causing clogs in pipes and pumps.

The remaining project proposal is from Oliver Twp. Municipal Authority, which is seeking $94,600 for a rehabilitation of the Wagner Sheck Drive pump station. The pump station serves 17 residential single-family homes along Sheck Drive and needs a full rehabilitation, including a wet well cleaning and replacement of pipes, pumps and support structures.

By July 5 we should be able to tell one way or another if these projects are going to qualify, Dombroski said. If they are, then after July 5 and the commissioners meeting following that, well have it outlined so the county can decide on what they want to do.

Commissioners discussed approving a cooperation agreement between the county and the Housing and Redevelopment Authorities of Cumberland County. Mary Kuna, executive director for HRACC Cumberland County, explained that the authority administers section 8 and the housing choice voucher program for Cumberland and Perry counties. Between the two counties, 1,331 vouchers are allocated, with roughly 160 of those being in Perry County. Perry County currently has a waiting list of 776 families or individuals requesting a housing voucher.

We pull vouchers as landlords become available and able to take them, Kuna said. Were offering landlord incentives, (we are) trying to get more landlords to accept the voucher program. We do meet with a group of landlords here in Perry  it is a lot of outreach. The number seems daunting when you see 776, but most of those households, when we pull them, were waiting on responses. Sometimes people apply all over the map and just sort of see which place pulls them first. It doesnt necessarily mean (theyre only) waiting here. The goal is to provide you each monthly report so that youll have that at your meeting.

Commissioners approved the cooperation agreement.

Commissioners also approved contracts for the Area Agency on Aging and MH/IDD. MH/IDD contracts for fiscal year 2022/2023 for a total of $143,158 were approved with four providers receiving more than the previous year. Joanne Peters, MS, OTR/L, who provides occupational therapy, saw an increase of $1,586. Focus Behavioral Health Inc, which provides in-home and community habilitation, received a new contract for $4,277. Riverside Associates, PC, which provides behavioral support, saw an increase of $5,000. York County Transportation Authority DBA Rabbit Transit, which provides transportation, saw an increase of $34,531.

For fiscal year 2023/2024, most of the MH/IDD contracts faced cuts. The approved contracts totaled $715,470. Behavior by Design LLC, which provides special instruction, had their contract renewed for the same amount, $2,000. Jill Bricker, M-ED, CIMI, who also provides special instruction, saw her contract decrease $4,759 from $122,363 to $117,604. Central Pennsylvania Therapy Connections LLC, which provides language interpretation services and occupational and speech therapies, saw a decrease of $4,231 from $49,285 to $45,054. Communication Beginnings LLC, which provides speech therapy, saw a decrease of $11,346 from $16,349 to $5,000.

Connections Early Intervention and Supports, which provides occupational, physical and speech therapies alongside special instruction, will receive $16,506 less than last year. Nicole Custer, OTR/L, who provides occupational therapy, will receive $1,059 less than last year. Feeding Little Bellies LLC, which provides nutrition support, will receive $36 more than last year. International Service Center, which provides language interpretation services, will receive $2,500 less than last year. Pediatric Therapy Specialists of South-Central Pennsylvania LLC, which provides occupational, physical and speech therapies alongside special instruction, saw a cut of $7,227. Joanne Peters, OTR/L, who provides occupational therapy, received a renewal of her contract at the same rate as last year. Kimberly Snowden, MS, CCC-SLP, who provides speech therapy, saw her contract cut by $965. Jennifer Snyder, MPT, who provides physical therapy, will receive $1,114 less than last year. Sovia Therapy LLC, which provides occupational, physical and speech therapies alongside special instruction, will receive $2,736 more than last year. Barbara Weber, MS, CCC-SLP, BCBA, who provides speech therapy, will receive $1,814 less than last year. Maranatha-Carlisle, through a pass-through of HealthChoices funding for the Social Determinants of Health program, received a contract for $81,000.

Commissioners approved a memorandum of understand between Cumberland/Perry MH/IDD and Dauphin County for the development of a regional crisis program.

Dauphin County and Cumberland and Perry submitted a proposal to develop a regional crisis walk-in center which will help us to align with the federal crisis standards, said Annie Strite, mental health director with Cumberland/Perry MH/IDD. SAMHSA, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, with the federal government, about a year ago put out best practice guidelines for crisis intervention. We submitted a proposal to help us move our regional system closer to aligning with federal standards. We submitted a $13 million grant (proposal) in November; it was awarded in December. We knew we had the resources coming, and weve spent the last few months trying to work on how these dollars would be managed. We worked with the Cumberland County solicitor, the Dauphin County solicitor, and then the Perry County solicitor. Bill Bunt also reviewed the document just a few weeks ago, and its already been signed by the Dauphin County solicitor and the Cumberland County commissioners.

One of the things were struggling with across the nation is people with psychiatric illness showing up at emergency rooms and then not being able to find an inpatient bed, Strite continued. They are literally staying in the emergency room for days. Thats been a national issue over the last few years. The walk-in center is basically, in my mind, like urgent care. The person goes in, they can spend up to 23 hours, they can receive treatment while theyre there, including substance-use treatment or psychiatric treatment. Therell be clinicians there to work with the person, and then the expectation is that the person will either be sent to an inpatient unit or released with appropriate support.

Commissioners approved two employee status changes. Shawn Keebaugh, a full-time correctional officer at the county prison, resigned June 20. Charles Snavely will transfer to part-time dispatcher in the 911 center effective July 21 at an hourly rate of $18.89.
Bicyclists representing the National 9/11 Memorial Trail arrived at Buffalo Brew Coffee and Bittings Restaurant in Newport around 9:30 a.m. on June 26. Frank Campbell received the riders with words of welcome. The riders were traveling that morning from Mifflintown en route to New York along the Pittsburgh-to-Harrisburg Main Line Canal Greenway.

The September 11 National Memorial Trail is a 1,300-mile multi-use route that links the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and the Flight 93 Memorial.

At approximately 11 a.m., county Commissioner Brian Allen and members of the Friends of Clarks Ferry Tavern greeted the party in Duncannon. The tavern is an official stop on the National 9/11 Memorial Trail.

Its so appropriate that the 9/11 trail passes Clarks Ferry, Allen said. The Appalachian Trail goes through here, but you have to think what this tavern represented. Maybe you came from old Europe and you were an indentured servant to get to the United States. Finally, one day, your servitude was up, so you had to go west to find ground. This tavern was the first stop of freedom. You got across that Susquehanna River and the whole world was open to you.

But we all know that freedom wasnt free and thats what you folks represent. Those who would take that from us, tried it on 9/11. But, I look at you folks as a beacon of light to constantly remind folks of that terrible day in Manhattan, in Washington and Pennsylvania, that freedom isnt free and we have to fight for it. You folks are a great voice for that, and I want to thank you personally.

INN TOWN  Local elected officials and members of the Friends of Clarks Ferry Tavern are with bicyclists representing the National 9/11 Memorial Trail beside Duncannons Clarks Ferry Tavern on June 26. From left to right, standing: Bruce White, Katharyn Poplin, Sue Landis, Alan Fitton, Dean Mondelblatt, Vicki White, Glenn Goldenberg, Morgan Jenkins, Glenn Holliman, and Jean Maguire. Seated from left to right is: Perry County commissioner Brian Allen, Harriet Magee, Duncannon Mayor Rick Knepp and Fred Zelt. (Paul E. Wyatt photo)

Everybody here knows exactly where they were that day, said Bruce White, who led the bikers. But our grandkids dont know. So, our challenge is what you can do when you explain Clarks Ferry Tavern, and it gives us chills and we feel the emotion that went through America settling this way; we need to pass that on.

As far as 9/11 goes, to the grandchildren and the great-grandchildren, we want them to feel the emotion we feel when we think about that. The trail does that. Thats the concept of the trail, to connect not only the three crash sites and the history at each site, the stories you hear at each site and the memorials were absolutely fantastic.

It also connects the communities in between. And I cant tell you how many times Ive had chills going through Johnstown and Duncannon, Mifflinburg and Holidaysburg and learning the story about the canals and the train, how back in the day they got through these battles. Its a daily history lesson.

As the riders set off to Harrisburg, they passed through the center of Duncannon along Market Street. They visited the famous Doyle Hotel where Appalachian Trail hikers have bedded down and rested their feet for generations. There, restrooms were open and refreshments available. A group photo was taken, which the Doyle will frame and post, thus giving the National 9/11 Memorial Trail continued visibility. The bikers arrival in Duncannon merges the National 9/11 Memorial with the famed Appalachian Trail.

White stated that the group is building toward their ride in 2026, which will be the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, attacks, as well as the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. White hopes to have 250 riders to honor the occasion.

Clarks Ferry Tavern recently received two $500,000 grants, one from the Commonwealth, and one matching grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission. The funds will be used to revitalize the tavern, transforming it into a welcome and interpretive center serving travelers as it did centuries ago. Currently the tavern hosts events on its green.

For more information on Clarks Ferry Tavern, visit clarksferrytavern.org. For more information on the September 11th National Memorial Trail, visit 911trail.org.
Facebook's Meta logo sign is seen at the company headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif. on Oct. 28, 2021. Some of Bell Media's news brands are urging their social media followers to download their apps as Meta and Google move away from linking to Canadian news sites. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP/Tony Avelar
Nine Egyptians have been arrested on suspicion of being people smugglers after a migrant boat disaster off the coast of Greece claimed at least 78 lives, a port source told AFP Thursday.

Among the detainees is the captain of the overloaded and dilapidated vessel, the source said.

The source said the fishing boat left Egypt empty before taking on the migrants at the Libyan port city of Tobruk and heading towards Italy.

Greek news agency ANA reported that the Egyptians were arrested in the Peloponnese port of Kalamata on suspicion of illegal trafficking of human beings. Kalamata is where survivors of the disaster are being cared for.

The International Organization for Migration has said it fears hundreds of more people drowned in one of the worst tragedies in the Mediterranean for a decade.

Government spokesman Ilias Siakantaris on Wednesday said there were unconfirmed reports that up to 750 people had been on the boat.

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Yannick Bandaogo (left) appears in court before Justice Geoffrey Gaul in New Westminster, B.C., on Monday, May 29, 2023 in this artist's sketch. The man who committed a deadly mass stabbing at a library in North Vancouver, B.C., two years ago, has apologized to each of his victims by name at his sentencing hearing. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jane Wolsak
A Surrey RCMP vehicle in Surrey, B.C., on Friday, April 28, 2023. The B.C. RCMP says a former probationary constable at the force's Surrey detachment has been charged with multiple offences after a months-long anti-corruption investigation.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
A senior team from Saudi General Authority for Foreign Trade chaired a high-level meeting that will lay the foundations for the fourth round of free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations with the GCC countries and the United Kingdom that will be held this month in London, reported SPA.

The GAFT board meeting was held under the chairmanship of Saudi Minister of Commerce Dr Majid bin Abdullah Al-Qasabi to study the preparation for the fourth round of FTA talks negotiations between the GCC and UK which will be held from July 17 to 28.

The round will be held in two sessions; remote and in-person meetings in the British capital.

During the meeting, the Deputy Governor of the Commission for International Organizations and Agreements Farid bin Saeed Al Asali, reviewed the progress of the negotiations and discussed the terms of the agreement with the heads of the negotiating technical teams in addition to discussing topics related to commodities, rules of origin, investment, and services, electronic commerce, and general texts and provisions.

The Saudi negotiating team works to supervise and follow up on the progress of trade negotiations to ensure their compatibility with the kingdom's commercial goals and policies, said the SPA report.

It will also hold discusions with the teams of both GCC and UK and put forth kingdom's negotiating positions and also co-ordinate with countries with similar orientations in international trade.
More than 2,000 pilgrims have suffered heat stress during the hajj pilgrimage, Saudi officials said Thursday, after temperatures soared to 48 degrees Celsius (118 degrees Fahrenheit) during the annual rites.

Over 1.8 million people performed the days-long hajj, mostly held outdoors at the height of the Saudi desert summer. Many elderly were among the worshippers after a Covid-era maximum age limit was scrapped.

Saudi officials said about 1,700 heat stress cases were recorded on Thursday alone -- as huge numbers of pilgrims remain at the holy sites, a day after the main rituals finished -- added to the 287 reported earlier.

"The number of heat stress cases since the beginning of this day has reached 1,721," the Saudi health ministry said, urging people to stay out of the sun and drink plenty of water.

Officials did not provide a death toll but at least 30 people died during the pilgrimage, according to numbers announced by various countries which did not list causes of death.

Iran's oldest pilgrim this year, aged 114, died of a heart attack, the semi-official Fars news agency said, reporting 10 Iranian deaths.

Eight Algerians and four Moroccans died, officials said, while an Egyptian media outlet said eight pilgrims from the country had passed away.

Hundreds of people were treated for heart problems, including one 78-year-old Filipino man who had successful open-heart surgery in Mecca, the health ministry said.

The real figure for heat stress -- which includes heatstroke, exhaustion, cramps and rashes -- is probably far higher, as many sufferers were not admitted to hospitals or clinics.

People struggling in the heat was a common sight, especially after the day-long outdoor prayers at Mount Arafat where overheating phones shut down and shade was hard to find.

The kingdom dispatched thousands of paramedics and set up field hospitals to help contain the risks. It was the biggest hajj since 2.5 million visitors came in pre-Covid 2019.

The Gulf climate is so harsh that in 2021, the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warned parts of it could become uninhabitable by the end of the century due to global warming.

Maximum summer temperatures of 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit) could become an annual occurrence by the end of the century, experts say.

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Day 1 of Event #78: $1,500 Bounty Pot-Limit Omaha concluded at the 2023 World Series of Poker at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas with only 14 levels of play completed instead of the 15 levels that were scheduled. The start time was pushed back by two hours to accommodate the record-setting field in the 2023 WSOP Main Event.

The 1,214 entrants generated a prize pool of $1,620,690 with a first-place prize of $171,742 not including any won bounties. Each player entered the fray with a $500 Bounty on their head and the action was plentiful as a result. When the day was done there were just 140 remaining after a full evening of battle.

Top Ten Chip Counts

Rank Player Country Chip Count Big Blinds 1 Casey Wassell United States 694,000 139 2 Satar Al-Sadoun United States 671,000 134 3 Jon Rodack United States 621,000 124 4 David Hu Netherlands 556,000 111 5 Jonathan Borenstein United States 510,000 102 6 James Palmer United States 501,000 100 7 Dylan Smith United States 489,000 98 8 Thomas Skaggs United States 481,000 96 9 Robert Mason United States 459,000 92 10 Antonio Gonzalez United States 437,000 87

Casey Wassel (694,000), Satar Al-Sadoun (671,000), Jon Rodack (621,000) were around the top of the leaderboard when Day 1 ended but plenty of notables found a bag at the end of the day. Daniel Negreanu (271,000) was among the survivors after he was eliminated from the WSOP Main Event earlier in the day. Plenty of other professionals including Nacho Barbero (240,000) and Jeff Madsen (252,000) also found bags returning to Day 2.

Other notables who bagged for Day 2 include David "ODB" Baker (361,000), Noah Schwartz (265,000), Kevin MacPhee (220,000), and Dash Dudley (122,000).

Shaun Deeb made a quick cameo in the field, as he still had a seat in the Main Event seat and was just making a quick attempt at running up a stack.

Erik Seidel & Daniel Negreanu

As the bubble approached, eyes were more on the $171,742 grand prize than the value of the bounties, causing the pace of play to slow. Players to fall before the money included controversial player Martin Kabrhel who was an early chip leader but fell shortly after exchanging some words with Negreanu.

Ultimately the bubble burst in the final level of the day and the 183 players remaining were guaranteed to take home $1,501.

Those still in contention will be back in action for Day 2 at 2:00 p.m. local time in the purple section of the Paris ballroom; levels will be 60-minutes from there on out. There will be a 15-minute break every two levels and the dinner is scheduled at the end of level 20, per the late start of Day 1.

The PokerNews live reporting team will be here to grab all of the updates and any exciting highlights throughout the day.
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During the White House press briefing a reporter asked of the cocaine found at the White House belonged to the Biden family and White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre wasnt having it.

Video:

Reporter: Can you just say once and for all whether or not the cocaine belonged to the Biden family? KJP: They were not here on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday so to ask that question is incredibly irresponsible.. pic.twitter.com/lZJ4mOfZRY  Acyn (@Acyn) July 7, 2023

Transcript as provided to PoliticusUSA by the White House:

Q Hi. Im wondering if you have any comments about recent crime in D.C. Its raising rates. Weve lost an SIV applicant from Afghanistan in the most recent killings. Really tragic. Wondering what the White House has to say about that.



And then, secondly, sorry to bring up cocaine again. But there was a question yesterday during press gaggle with Andrew Bates that was  I guess  he said that it had  he didnt  he was avoiding it because of the Hatch Act.



Im just asking again: Can you just say once and for all whether or not the cocaine belonged to the Biden family?



MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, a couple of things there. He mentioned the Hatch Act because the question was posed to him in the Donald 



Q Yes.



MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  using Donald Trump. And so, he was trying to be very mindful.



Q Yeah. I didnt do that, so 



MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Okay, I hear you. But youre asking me a question, so Im answering it for you. And so, thats why he said the Hatch Act. So I would  you know, have you read the transcript and read the transcript fully so you can see exactly what he was trying to say. So, thats number one.



So were not avoiding the question; that is not true. Weve answered this question, litigated this question for the last two days exhaustively.



You know, there has been some irresponsible reporting about the family, and  and so I got to call that out here. And I have been very clear. I was clear two days ago when talking about this over and over again, as I was being asked a question.



As you know  and the media outlets reported this  the Biden family was not here. They were not here. They were at Camp David. They were not here Friday. They were not here Saturday. They were not here Sunday. They were not even here Monday.

They came back on Tuesday. So to ask that question is actually incredibly irresponsible. And  and Ill just leave it there.

It was an irresponsible question. The fact that the Bidens were not at the White House was reported in the original stories on Sunday. There is no reason to ask the question unless the intention is to feed a false narrative by using the White House press briefing as a platform.

Republicans are desperate for a Biden scandal. Tim Scott already tried to blame the found cocaine on President Biden.

Reporters were laughing as it was repeatedly asked about during the White House briefing.

This is not going the way that Republicans thought it might.

The person probably sweating bullets right now isnt a member of the Biden family, but whoever brought a baggie of cocaine into the White House.

Karine Jean-Pierre wasnt taking nonsense questions on this, and anyone who asks such a reckless question deserves to be called out.
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A disciplinary committee has recommended that Rudy Giuliani be disbarred in Washington, D.C. for spreading lies about election fraud.

CNN reported:

He claimed massive election fraud but had no evidence of it, the committee wrote. By prosecuting that destructive case, Mr. Giuliani, a sworn officer of the Court, forfeited his right to practice law. He should be disbarred.

.

Mr. Giuliani has not acknowledged or accepted responsibility for his misconduct. To the contrary, he has declared his indignation over being subjected to the disciplinary process, the committee wrote in its report. We are convinced that a sanction must be enhanced to ensure that it adequately deters both Respondent (Giuliani) and other attorneys from acting similarly in the future.

Giulianis case still needs to be considered by the Board on Professional Responsibility and the D.C. Court of Appeals.

The recommendation is another step in what is likely to be the end of the line for Rudy Giuliani as a licensed attorney. Fellow Trump 2020 election attorney Lin Wood chose to retire to avoid disbarment in his case.

Losing his law license will likely be the least of Rudy Giulianis problems. Trumps former lawyer could be facing criminal charges in both Georgia and federally for his role in attempting to overturn the 2020 election. Being disbarred is just the beginning. Rudy Giuliani could go from being Americas Mayor to Americas felon.
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Former President Donald Trump tried to pull another one of his fake people buy people stuff stunts, but when he went to a Dairy Queen in Iowa, the former president didnt know what a Blizzard was.

Video:

President @realDonaldTrump ordering Blizzards at local Iowa Dairy Queen! pic.twitter.com/rrxbUDSvCm  Margo Martin (@margommartin) July 7, 2023

Trump said, Anybody wants a Blizzard. What the hell is a Blizzard, and take care of the people, ok. And well do the Blizzard thing.

Donald Trump pulled this same stunt as recently as right after his arraignment for felonies in the classified docs case. Trump went to a bakery and promised to treat everyone but then left before anyone could place an order.

Not knowing what a Blizzard is does not exactly scream man of the people who shares your values and understands your life.

Trump is the uncle who came to your birthday party as a kid, was confused by the ice cream cake, tells everybody that he brought you a great gift that he left in his car, leaves while you are blowing out the candles, and gives you nothing.

Donald Trump is a mess. Watching him campaign in his current state is almost said. Even sadder is the fact that he is running away with the Republican presidential nomination.

Democrats should have some fun with this. George H.W. Bush was knocked during the 1992 campaign for being amazed by a grocery store barcode scanner. However, history shows that Bush 41 might have gotten a bad rap.

Given Donald Trumps eating habits, one would assume that there isnt a type of fast food with which he isnt intimately familiar.

Trump is trying his regular billionaire shtick, but that ship has sailed, and now he is the guy who is yelling at a DQ in Iowa.
A North Augusta man is facing sexual exploitation charges stemming from a cyber tip.

Casey Royce Watts, 30, was arrested and charged July 6 by the office of South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson with five counts of third-degree sexual exploitation of a minor, according to a media release from the attorney generals office.

Watts was arrested by the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force investigators along with the Aiken County Sheriff's Office. They were assisted by the investigators with the Attorney General's Office, Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Secret Service, Aiken Department of Public Safety and Edgefield County Sheriff's Office.

On April 3, police received a tip from the S.C. Attorney Generals Office in reference to child sexual abuse materials, according to an incident report from Aiken County Sheriffs Office.

Investigators were led to Watts after receiving a cyber tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and stated Watts possessed files of child sexual abuse material.

The felony offense is punishable up to 10 years in prison for each count and the case will be prosecuted by the Attorney General's Office.
Aiken, SC (29801)

Today

Variable clouds with scattered showers and thunderstorms, mainly late. Low 72F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 40%..

Tonight

Variable clouds with scattered showers and thunderstorms, mainly late. Low 72F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 40%.
Its no secret that newspapers have had a rough go of it in recent years.

Many have experienced cutbacks in personnel, and many have reduced the number of days they produce a printed newspaper. The Aiken Standard falls into that latter category as we made the decision to print Tuesday through Saturday earlier this year. (Let me point out that we have e-editions on Sunday and Monday that replicate the printed product, and we have a robust online presence.)

But not all is lost, and just last weekend our parent company was in the spotlight for continuing to produce quality journalism despite all of the challenges that newspapers face.

The CBS News Sunday Morning show sent veteran journalist Ted Koppel to South Carolina to talk to Evening Post Publishings Pierre Manigault, chairman of the board of directors, about the Uncovered initiative that began in 2021. That series, if youre not familiar with it, has put a spotlight on corruption and government misconduct around the state.

Its not unusual that The Post and Courier continues to do investigative journalism. The newspaper won the Pulitzer Prize in 2015, and it has won many other awards for its top-notch journalism.

What is unusual is that The Post and Courier included many weekly and small daily papers from around South Carolina in its efforts. Im proud to say that the Aiken Standard and The Post and Courier North Augusta/The Star also have produced some work in the Uncovered series, which now includes 19 partners from all over the state.

Manigault told Koppel that the newspapers business model has shifted, and it is returning to the roots of journalism.

Thats content and information people cant get anywhere else, he said.

Our community is fortunate to have a newspaper. Many places around South Carolina, and the United States in general, dont. Those areas are considered news deserts because the residents dont have anyone covering the news or holding government officials accountable. Koppel estimated that 70 million Americans live in a news desert.

Glenn Smith, the watchdog editor, and Tony Bartelme, senior projects reporter, were interviewed for the segment. Those guys are great at what they do and were fortunate to have them as a resource in our company.

But to me, the real stars of the show were Barbara Ball and Travis Jenkins. Ball is publisher of The Voice of Blythewood, and Jenkins is the editor of the Chester News & Reporter.

We kind of pride ourselves on doing more deep-dig, heavy-lift investigative pieces that a lot of papers our size arent able to do anymore, Jenkins said.

As you would expect, they do a little bit of everything. Balls family is heavily involved in all aspects of the Blythewood weekly, and Jenkins is the chief cook and bottle washer at the Chester paper. Both are dedicated to their profession, and their love for journalism was clear.

A lot of people think if we werent here they might not know what was going on, Ball said.

P.J. Browning, president and publisher of The Post and Courier, said she was pleased to see the Uncovered series highlighted by CBS.

"We have the same struggles as other newspapers as we reinvent our business model in a digital world, she said in an article that previewed the segment. What sets us apart is the unwavering support of our owner and the importance of local journalism in the communities we serve."

Closer to home, weve been saying the Truth is our Standard and Facts arent free. Those phrases are part of the marketing campaign we used as we launched our Public Service and Investigative Fund.

Weve had many people contribute to the fund, and we appreciate the support. Paying for Freedom of Information Act requests, not to mention the time and resources of our newsroom team, can add up. To learn more or make a tax-deductible donation, visit aikenstandard.com/pledge.

In our Uncovered work, weve done stories from Wagener to North Augusta and points in between. We look forward to continuing this work, and shining a light where it is needed.

Thanks for reading.
The United Arab Emirates pledged Thursday to give $15 million to help rebuild the Jenin refugee camp after the most intense Israeli military operation in the occupied West Bank in nearly two decades.

The funding promise comes after the two-day offensive destroyed the camps narrow roads and alleyways. The operation sent thousands of people fleeing their homes. Twelve Palestinians and one Israeli soldier were killed in the fighting.

The UAE's state-run WAM news agency reported that the money would be granted to UNRWA, the U.N. agency that assists Palestinian refugees, to rebuild damaged homes and businesses and for the agency's services. UNRWA has struggled recently to raise the funding it needs to keep its day-to-day operations helping millions of people across the Middle East.

Israel's fierce incursion this week saw bulldozers tearing through streets to clear a path for the hundreds of soldiers deployed. Israel withdrew its troops on Wednesday, revealing a scene of destruction.

Roads in the densely populated area of some 24,000 people were chewed up, with piles of broken asphalt, stones and rocks lying on the sides. Cars, some overturned on the sides of roads, were smashed and scorched.

UNRWA said some of its own facilities, including the windows and walls of a health center and the road leading up its school, sustained damage.

At a donor conference last month, UNRWA fundraising fell short of the $300 million it said was necessary to continue assisting Palestinians, with countries pledging just $107 million. The shortfall came even after the United Nations chief said UNRWA is on the verge of financial collapse.

Israel launched the invasion in the camp on Monday carrying out airstrikes and sending in hundreds of troops in an operation that was reminiscent of the bloody period two decades ago known as the second intifada, or Palestinian uprising against Israel's open-ended occupation.

Some of the scenes from Jenin, including massive army bulldozers tearing through camp alleys, were eerily similar to those from a major Israeli incursion in 2002, which lasted for eight days and became known as the battle of Jenin.

The operations, two decades apart, have only dragged both sides into new cycles of violence with many seeing the actions of Palestinian gunmen as an inevitable result of 56 years of occupation and the absence of any political process with Israel.

They also point to increased West Bank settlement construction and violence by extremist settlers.

The large-scale raid comes amid a more than yearlong spike in Israeli violence against Palestinians in the Occupied Territories.

At least 185 Palestinians have been killed this year, according to an AFP tally compiled from official sources. On the other side at least 25 Israelis were killed.

Israel captured the West Bank, along with east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians seek those territories for a future independent state.

*This story was edited by Ahram Online

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The future of the old Aiken County Hospital is in the hands of Tracey Turner, who was born and raised in this area, is a 1992 graduate of Midland Valley High School and has a keen interest in preservation and renovation.

Im very into restoring old buildings, said Turner, who has entered into an agreement with Aiken County to purchase the former medical facility for $950,000.

He has until March 31 of next year to finalize the deal.

Im hoping to close sooner than that, said Turner recently over lunch at Whats Cookin Downtown. Im trying to move pretty fast.

Built prior to World War II and located at 828 Richland Ave. West in Aiken, the old hospital is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Turner believes the 66,072-square-foot brick structure, which also served as Aiken County governments headquarters for a while, will be the ideal location for luxury condominiums.

The windows will be a lot larger and some of the condos probably will have access to balconies, but the brick exterior still will be there, Turner said of the transformation he has in mind.

A concierge at the door and a rooftop deck, Turner added, also are included in his vision for the old hospital.

Hes done some research that indicates such residences would appeal to people in their 50s and 60s who want to downsize.

Their kids have graduated from college and theyre no longer around, so theyre selling their houses, said Turner, who is the CEO of Washington, D.C.-based Turner Development

Also part of Turners plan is the construction of townhomes on the perimeter of the old hospitals 9.44-acre site. There also will be green space, a parking area near Morgan Street and a swimming pool behind the old hospital.

What well try to do is preserve the historic look of the property while giving it a more urban feel, Turner said.

He would like to have a conceptual design completed by the end of the summer.

Turner said he already has talked to Aiken City Manager Stuart Bedenbaugh and City Council member Lessie Price about what he would like to do with the old hospital.

Also in the near future, he wants to have an open forum so that people in the old hospitals neighborhood and others can express their thoughts.

Well have a true back-and-forth dialogue about what they want to see, said Turner, whose goal is to resolve any controversies early in the process of redeveloping the property.

Turner, 49, is a U.S. Navy veteran who has a degree in computer science from Southern University and A&M College in Louisiana.

I worked for IBM for more than 10 years, he said. I started in Charlotte, North Carolina, and then I moved to D.C.

In the nations capital, Turner got involved in refurbishing homes, beginning with one where he wanted to live.

I bought a house that needed rehab, and I eventually started doing it myself, he said. That led to buying another house in the neighborhood and then another house. In a five-year span, I ended up buying like 11 houses and renovating them. I rented them out and sold some.

Eventually, during an inspection process in one of the homes, a general contractor said, Hey you should get a license and do this on your own, so I did, Turner continued. I left IBM and started Turner Development. I won a few contracts with the District of Columbia Housing Authority and the electric company Pepco.

Locally, Turner is spearheading the development of the Weeping Willows subdivision between North Augusta and Clearwater.

In 2021, Turner Development purchased roughly 175 acres for the project for $1.222 million.

Work on the first phase of Weeping Willows has begun, and Turner said the subdivision would be, when completed, a mixture of apartments, townhomes, single-family homes and a town center that will include restaurants, a grocery store, a brewery and event space.

Before Turner signed the contract to buy the old hospital, he said he had been thinking seriously about how it could be repurposed for two or three years.

Since 2018, Aiken County has failed to finalize other agreements to sell the old hospital with The Marian Group, WTC Investments LLC and Aiken Lofts Manager LLC.

The most recent one, a $2.094-million deal with Aiken Lofts Manager, was supposed to close Dec. 31, 2022.

After that didnt happen, there was a 30-day cure period during which Aiken Lofts Manager had another opportunity to complete the transaction, but it failed to do so.

Turner said he visited the old hospital with two engineers early this year and because of the buildings good bones, they were impressed with its potential.

We were a little worried about mold and asbestos, Turner added, but at the time, we didnt see any of that.

In February, following the collapse of the deal with Aiken Lofts Manager, Aiken County posted a request for bids on its website, but no offers were received by the March 28 deadline.

Turner submitted a proposal afterward to purchase the old hospital for $1 million.

Accompanied by six engineers from LaBella Associates, Turner walked through the old hospital again in June.

Someone had stripped it of all the copper and when they were looking for the copper, they exposed asbestos, Turner said. After the fire two years ago, the electric company moved the meter out, so there wasnt any power there.

Water in the basement was another problem.

In addition, old furniture, paper and old HVAC stuff needed to be removed, said Turner, who estimated he would have to spend more than $300,000 before his engineers could get a good idea of what was feasible for renovation purposes.

Turner asked County Council if he could reduce his offer by $100,000.

The panels response wasnt the one he was hoping for, but Turner wasnt too disappointed.

They didnt agree to the full ask, but what they did do is extend the closing date to March 31 of next year, Turner said. My original offer was that I would buy it by the end of this year.

Eventually, Turner will be seeking other investors to join him in the venture.

I want to have a solid plan first, he said. If the concept is viable, which I think it will be, there wont be any issues with finding investors or obtaining other funding.
Lost at sea for months on a disabled catamaran, with no way to cook and no source of fresh water but the rain, Australian Timothy Shaddock said he expected to die. But there was a lot he liked about the experience, he said, like swims in the sea, the company of his dog Bella, and the sight of the moon over the water. In a press conference as he came ashore Tuesday, Shaddock dwelled on his love of the sea, and declined to describe the many, many, many bad days he experienced before being rescued by a tuna fishing boat. He said he and Bella lived on raw fish and rainwater, and worked maintaining the boat almost all the time he wasn't sleeping. Read moreAdrift for months, Australian and his dog lived on raw fish until Mexican fishermen rescued them
Moncks Corner, SC (29461)

Today

Partly to mostly cloudy skies with scattered thunderstorms during the evening. Gusty winds and small hail are possible. Low 73F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%..

Tonight

Partly to mostly cloudy skies with scattered thunderstorms during the evening. Gusty winds and small hail are possible. Low 73F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%.
Charleston, SC (29403)

Today

Variably cloudy with scattered thunderstorms. Gusty winds and small hail are possible. Low 76F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 50%..

Tonight

Variably cloudy with scattered thunderstorms. Gusty winds and small hail are possible. Low 76F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 50%.
LEXINGTON  A search is underway for a man who allegedly impersonated a police officer at a Columbia-area gas station.

The Lexington Police Department claims that Brian Lee Carlson unlawfully presented himself as a police officer at a Lexington gas station on June 7.

Lexington Police Chief Terrence Green announced on July 6 that the department is seeking any information leading to their finding 38-year-old Carlson.

Lexington Police spokesman Cameron Mortenson said officers met with four witnesses at Murphy USA at 500 West Main Street in Lexington several hours after the incident.

The witnesses told Lexington Police that around 11 p.m. June 7 they saw a man openly carrying both a holstered handgun and a shiny object that looked like a badge on his belt next to the gun. Police identified the man as Carlson.

The witnesses alleged that the man approached them in the parking lot and accused one of them of stealing a beer. They also said that because they believed the man to be a police officer, they complied with his questioning and complied as he searched their vehicle with one hand on his holstered weapon.

When the man found no stolen beer, he told the witnesses they could leave, they said.

Detectives have a warrant for Carlson for impersonating a police officer, officials said.

Green also asked that those with information contact Detective Mariah Tomaino at 803-358-7271 or by email at mtomaino@lexsc.com.

Click here for more news from Columbia, S.C.
COLUMBIA  On the same day that waitress Naomi Harris helped deliver a letter of demands to the management at Waffle House on Garners Ferry Road, she called the police, saying belligerent customers had poured salt and sugar into to-go cups and threw them across the restaurant's counter.

It wasn't the first time Harris dealt with violent or unruly customers in her less than two months at the 24/7 diner chain, she said. It's one of the things that pushed Harris and her coworkers to go on strike the morning of July 8, a week after publicly serving their petition to organize and a list of demands to Waffle House management.

The employees are on strike over what they say are multiple issues related to safety, pay and staffing shortages.

"We are working for scraps and pennies," Harris said. "We can barely buy the basic necessities that we need to live off of, we can barely take care of ourselves."

Around 10 a.m. July 8, five employees, surrounded by around two dozen other labor organizers, began a three-day strike of the Waffle House where they work, located at 7428 Garners Ferry Road, according to two striking employees.

Shae Parker was one of the workers striking on the bright, clear morning in the Waffle House parking lot. An on-and-off employee of Waffle House since 2001, Parker said she decided to join her colleagues' strike after hearing them read their list of demands on July 1.

"I hope Waffle House will listen and make the changes necessary to be made," Parker said, "because lives are on the line for the little bit of money that we make."

Among the demands listed in their petition are fair and consistent scheduling, sufficient security for each shift, higher pay and repairing of equipment, which workers told The Post and Courier included a malfunctioning air-conditioning system.

The strike is supported by the Union of Southern Service Workers (USSW), a group that describes itself as "by and for low-wage workers across the service industry."
COLUMBIA  On the same day that waitress Naomi Harris helped deliver a letter of demands to the management at Waffle House on Garners Ferry Road, she called the police, saying belligerent customers had poured salt and sugar into to-go cups and threw them across the restaurant's counter.

It wasn't the first time Harris dealt with violent or unruly customers in her less than two months at the 24/7 diner chain, she said. It's one of the things that pushed Harris and her coworkers to go on strike the morning of July 8, a week after publicly serving their petition to organize and a list of demands to Waffle House management.

The employees are on strike over what they say are multiple issues related to safety, pay and staffing shortages.

"We are working for scraps and pennies," Harris said. "We can barely buy the basic necessities that we need to live off of, we can barely take care of ourselves."

Around 10 a.m. July 8, five employees, surrounded by around two dozen other labor organizers, began a three-day strike of the Waffle House where they work, located at 7428 Garners Ferry Road, according to two striking employees.

Shae Parker was one of the workers striking on the bright, clear morning in the Waffle House parking lot. An on-and-off employee of Waffle House since 2001, Parker said she decided to join her colleagues' strike after hearing them read their list of demands on July 1.

"I hope Waffle House will listen and make the changes necessary to be made," Parker said, "because lives are on the line for the little bit of money that we make."

Among the demands listed in their petition are fair and consistent scheduling, sufficient security for each shift, higher pay and repairing of equipment, which workers told The Post and Courier included a malfunctioning air-conditioning system.

The strike is supported by the Union of Southern Service Workers (USSW), a group that describes itself as "by and for low-wage workers across the service industry."

Workers told The Post and Courier that they've dealt with issues like unruly and violent customers, understaffing, unwanted charges taken out of their paychecks and working conditions that one employee blamed for landing her in the emergency room.

'Very unsafe for workers'

Summer Schoolmeester-Cochran often worked late-night shifts when she first started at the Garners Ferry Road location in February. Most of the time, she was the only waitress on the typical 10-hour shift, meaning she ate and used the bathroom if there was time  and there often wasn't, she said.

The workers' petition cites understaffing as a key concern: "For the safety of customers and staff, we need adequate staff to run the restaurant during first, second and third shifts. At this time, it is difficult to impossible to take breaks because there is not enough staff present."

In mid-March, 21-year-old Schoolmeester-Cochran had a kidney infection, which she blames on long shifts during which she couldn't make time to use the restroom or eat. Experiencing "excruciating pain," she landed in the emergency room, she said.

"That was one of my worst experiences," Schoolmeester-Cochran said. "Honestly, I've never had any reason to go the ER. I've never really been a sick child or anything. I've always been pretty healthy."

She missed several days of work and lost what she estimated to be anywhere from $80 to $120 in pay during the shifts she missed, she said.

Harris said another coworker became sick to the point of throwing up in kitchen conditions that workers believe are too hot, which they blame on a faulty air conditioner.

It wouldn't be the first time the diner has had issues with repairs. Health department inspections from June and August 2022 reported problems with rusted shelving, broken equipment like dishwashers and damaged floor tiles.

"The heat (is) very unsafe for workers ... for the customers and the workers," Harris said.

Physical safety is on the list of workers' demands  they've asked for security at the diner. The restaurant is only staffed with security guards during weekend night shifts, employees said. They want to see security at each shift, after they said multiple violent incidents have occurred when security isn't there.

"I've been threatened to be pulled across the counter over a wrong order," Schoolmeester-Cochran said. "I've had a guy who came in very belligerent a few months ago, and I declined to serve him. ... He flashed a knife at me." She often relies on her cooks to act as impromptu security in those situations, she said.

A month before staff served management with their petition, a customer with a gun threatened Harris and other staff over an order of hashbrowns, she said.

"I was like, 'Dang, I'm finna die over some hashbrowns,'" Harris said. "That's all that I could think about: 'I'm about to die over hashbrowns.'"

Other Waffle House locations across South Carolina have faced issues with safety. A Waffle House in Kershaw was robbed in March. In January 2022, a Columbia Waffle House employee was robbed at gunpoint. The July 1 phone call Harris made to police related to the unruly customers was confirmed by the Columbia Police Department.

'I can't even afford to buy myself groceries'

Aside from what workers called unsafe conditions, employees said their weekly pay is not enough to make ends meet, a common plight of minimum-wage workers across the country.

"All my money goes straight to rent and bills ... I can't even afford to buy myself groceries," Schoolmeester-Cochran said.

She often gets help from her parents when it comes to groceries and food, she told The Post and Courier. She has applied for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, often called food stamps, three times and has been denied.

The waitresses said they make the federal minimum wage for tipped workers, which is $2.13 per hour. The intention is that the bulk of their income will primarily come from tips. Schoolmeester-Cochran estimated she works anywhere from 21 to 35 hours each week and, with tips, brings in a salary ranging from $70 some weeks to $170 others. When she's not working at Waffle House, she holds down a second job as an assistant property manager for a storage facility.

"If you work 40 hours a week, you (should) make a wage where you don't have to still live in poverty or still live on governmental assistance," state Rep. Annie McDaniel, D-Fairfield, told The Post and Courier. "That just should not be in this great state of South Carolina."

McDaniel spoke in support of the workers when they publicly delivered their petition July 1 and appeared on a TikTok video they posted in support of their efforts.

The workers are also concerned about deductions from their pay that they believe are unfair. Employers are allowed to deduct charges for goods and services from employee paychecks, including for meals or lodging, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

But workers say Waffle House doesn't let them opt out of being charged for meals during their shifts. It's a policy that the Garners Ferry workers want changed.

The Waffle House corporate employee handbook's meal credit policy, provided to The Post and Courier by an organizer with USSW, states: "Meals are made available to non-exempt hourly restaurant Associates as a condition of employment and the Company will automatically take a meal credit against wages otherwise due a non-exempt restaurant Associate, and the Associate's wages will be reduced by the amount of the meal credit taken, based on the hours worked by the Associate per day in accordance with meal credit guidelines set by the Company."

Workers at the Garner's Ferry Waffle House said in practice at their store this translates to a little over $3 per shift coming out of each paycheck for a mandatory meal. And if the workers either don't have time to eat during their shifts or choose not to eat a meal that day, it still comes out, they said.

"They're gonna take out that money from my check for that meal deduction, whether I eat or not," Harris said. "You can't opt out of it."

The employees' petition calls for to the company to end "the mandatory meal deductions from our wages."

For cooks like 46-year-old Jess Gantt, who has worked for the company for 24 years, hourly pay sits a little higher. Gantt said she makes $16 an hour, but doesnt believe thats enough for the time she has worked for the company.

Thats a whole lot of bacon, eggs and waffles, Gantt said July 8 as the strike got underway. Ive lost track of how many meals Ive cooked.

Waffle House declined to comment on specific issues brought up by the employees. In a statement to The Post and Courier, the company said: "Waffle House is proud of its long record of effectively addressing any concerns our Associates report to us. We intend to do that directly with our Associates."

'Keep fighting by any means necessary'

In the parking lot during the July 8 strike, a 67-year-old onlooker smoked a cigarette as he told a Post and Courier reporter that the workers on strike were ungrateful.

I think its ridiculous, they could make more money in tips  and they want to stand out here and strike, said George Kimbriel, a Waffle House regular. They dont look at the big picture for the company.

But other bystanders spoke out in support. One older gentleman told workers to Stand your ground.

The staff at Waffle House has joined other service workers across the state and country who organized in response to low pay, harsh working conditions and staff shortages.

In June 2022, baristas made Columbia's Millwood Avenue Starbucks the third to unionize in South Carolina, part of a national wave of unionizations for the coffee giant.

And in January, employees at a Dollar General in Irmo went on strike citing issues with staffing shortages, safety and pay, which was also supported by the USSW.

The group takes a different approach from traditional labor organizing, which typically focuses on establishing formal unions. Instead, the USSW aims to cut out the oftentimes lengthy unionization process by supporting worker organization through other means, like striking and handing out demand letters.

"Nobody's scared, we're ready  there's power in numbers," Harris said. "We are going to keep fighting by any means necessary."
When Keosha Garrett's younger sister, Shanavia Garrett, was rushed to the hospital in July 2021, she opted to stay home instead of going with her.

Garrett said she figured Shanavia would be home by the end of the day. That was the normal routine for when Shanavia would go into crisis.

Many patients with sickle cell disease, like Shanavia, frequent emergency rooms for help managing pain in the midst of a sickle cell crisis.

"But this time she didn't come home," Garrett told The Post and Courier.

Sickle cell disease is an inherited red blood cell disorder in which there are not enough healthy red blood cells to carry oxygen throughout the body. People affected by the disease need blood with specific antigens to help their red blood cell count.

Many sickle cell patients endure periodic pain episodes called pain crises. These episodes can last for days at a time or just a few hours. But the most severe cases require hospitalization and many require monthly blood transfusions to stave off frequent pain crises and other complications.

Shanavia died within 12 hours of arriving at The Medical University of South Carolina. She was 21 years old.

The disease is estimated to affect nearly 100,000 people in the U.S., the majority of whom are African American, but an exact number isn't available.

In South Carolina, it's estimated to affect nearly 4,000 people.

Many people with sickle cell disease need frequent blood transfusions to help stave off severe pain and other complications from the disease. So blood donations for this community are extremely important, especially since people with sickle cell can't take blood from every donor.

They need special donors with matching antigens or proteins on the surface of each red blood cell.

If the antigens in their blood and the donated blood don't match, their immune system could attack the new blood and cause more serious health problems.

Shanavia knew this.

"She was always taking care of people with the disease when she was well," Garrett said.

Shanavia fundraised for sickle cell patients in the hospital and organized blood drives to help those in search of a match.

Now Garrett is picking up the torch. She founded Shanavia's Dream Sickle Cell Clinic in 2022. The organization focuses on pain management, transportation, child care and providing other resources patients may need if not offered elsewhere.

Recently, the organization held its second annual blood drive in McClellanville, their family's hometown, to celebrate Shanavia's birthday on June 10.

Last year the annual drive had 30 donors. All of them were Black. Garrett said this year only 25 donors gave blood and all but two were Black.

Studies show that one in three Black blood donors are a match for people with sickle cell disease.

And last year 80 percent of the donors that came out to Garrett's blood drive were considered special donors, meaning their blood was ideal for patients with sickle cell.

"It makes them want to donate more because even if they're not directly affected by sickle cell, they have family that are affected, like a sister, " Garrett said.

Yet the number of Black blood donors is slim compared to other ethnicities.

According to officials from the American Red Cross of South Carolina, Black blood donors made up 4 percent of the organization's national blood donor base before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Now Black donors only make up 3.5 percent of the Red Cross donor base, said Mandy McMahon, regional communications manager for the organization.

Dr. Christina Abrams, pediatric sickle cell director at MUSC, said while the national blood shortage seems to be improving, she is still struggling to find blood donor matches for sickle cell patients.

"When you're trying to give someone blood you want it to be as close a match as possible," Abrams said.

It's especially important for patients who will need multiple blood transfusions over the course of their lifetime. If their blood isn't matched down to the minor antigens, over time they can develop antibodies that can cause other health problems.

This is the case for Rubin Beaufort III. He has sickle cell anemia, the most severe form of the disease, and has to do full blood exchanges every four weeks. Each month Beaufort gets 8 to 10 fresh units of blood.

Beaufort and his Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity brothers started hosting blood drives in South Carolina a few years ago.

He said most of the donors at the events are Black, and they try to host the drives in predominantly Black neighborhoods to spread awareness of the disease and the need for more Black donors.

"I don't think people understand that you can have a car accident or something can happen to you, and if you don't have a match you may be in trouble," Beaufort said.

The American Red Cross is hosting a blood drive at the Port City HBCU Reunion Weekend event in North Charleston on July 29 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The event will be held at the Arabian Temple.

For more information on sickle cell disease visit www.cdc.gov and www.redcrossblood.org to find a donation site near you.

EDITORS NOTE: Dr. Christina Abrams is the pediatric sickle cell director at The Medical University of South Carolina.
Israeli forces killed two Palestinians in a flashpoint city in the occupied West Bank Friday, days after Israel concluded a major two-day offensive claiming to crack down on militants.

The persistent violence raised questions about the effectiveness and the stated goals of the brutal raid earlier this week in the Jenin refugee camp, which saw Israel launch airstrikes on militant targets, deploy hundreds of troops and cause widespread damage to roads, homes, and businesses. As a result of the raid, 12 Palestinians and one Israeli soldier were killed.

The Israeli domestic security agency Shin Bet said Friday the two men, who it claimed were behind a shooting attack this week on a police vehicle, were killed by Israeli forces in the heart of the city of Nablus, the West Bank's commercial capital.

The Palestinian Health Ministry said two men were killed by Israeli fire, identifying them as Khayri Mohammed Sari Shaheen, 34, and Hamza Moayed Mohammed Maqbool, 32. Two militant groups, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, claimed the men as members.

In the aftermath of the shootout, bullet casings littered the blood-stained ground. Palestinians carried the bodies of the men killed into the hospital, chanting God is great! as guns fired into the air.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant praised Friday's operation and said Israel would continue to act to root out militants.

There will be no loop that isn't closed and there won't be a terrorist who doesn't pay the heaviest price, he said.

Israel has been staging raids in the West Bank for 16 months. The northern West Bank, which includes Nablus and Jenin and where the Palestinian Authority has less of a foothold, has been a major friction point during that period.

Over 150 Palestinians have been killed this year in the West Bank, and attacks targeting Israeli forces and settlers have killed at least 27 people, including a shooting last month that killed four settlers.

Israel says most of the Palestinians killed have been militants. But stone-throwing youths protesting the incursions and illegal settlements as well as people not involved in the confrontations have also been killed.

Israel captured the West Bank, east Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians seek those territories for their hoped-for independent state.

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CONWAY, SC - More than 2,400 undergraduate students at Coastal Carolina University were named to the Dean's List for the Spring 2023 semester. Students who make the Dean's List have achieved a grade point average of 3.5 or higher (3.25 for freshmen) for the semester. Those earning this honor Read moreMore than 2,400 students make Spring 2023 Dean's List at CCU
Kingstree, SC (29556)

Today

Partly cloudy with isolated thunderstorms possible. Low near 70F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%..

Tonight

Partly cloudy with isolated thunderstorms possible. Low near 70F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%.
MONCKS CORNER  A kangaroo was one of many animals found in a trailer in the parking lot of a Tractor Supply store.

Moncks Corner police got a call from concerned citizens July 2 about the kangaroo and more than 40 other animals left unattended in a metal trailer, said Capt. Michael Crumley with the Berkeley County Sheriff's Office, which also responded and is investigating.

By the time police and the Berkeley County animal control officers arrived, some citizens had already gotten a few of the animals out of the trailer. Crumley said people were bringing the animals into their own cars, hoping to cool them down with their air-conditioning.

Justin Culley, the owner of the trailer, had parked in the Tractor Supply parking lot after suffering a tire blowout. Culley had left the trailer to get the tire repaired, but by the time he came back, there were people taking his animals out of the trailer, according to Crumley.

Culley, who runs Culley Farms  described as a mobile petting zoo  was issued a citation for inhumane treatment and care of animals. After the animal control officers had taken a look at the farm as well, Crumley said Culley was also issued a summons and has been given a court date for the conditions the animals were in, both in the trailer and at his residence.

Culley voluntarily released the animals to be taken into temporary custody at H.O.P.E. Acres Rescue. The nonprofit currently has in custody: the kangaroo, one alpaca, four chickens, eight ducks, two rabbits, seven pigs, 17 goats, one sheep, one mule, two mini horses, one donkey and one horse.

President Tracey Sawyer said the animals are all doing much better now that the volunteers have given them food, water and shelter. The rescue tripled the number of animals it had after taking in these 46 animals. Sawyer said this is the largest effort theyve been involved in.

Two of the goats are pregnant, Sawyer said, and shes working on getting a veterinarian out to the rescue to check on their condition.

H.O.P.E. Acres Rescue, based in Bonneau, primarily takes in horses and donkeys, but Sawyer said she and the other volunteers were more than happy to take in these animals. She added they jumped on the opportunity, especially since Berkeley Animal Center had recently issued a moratorium amid overcrowding.

It was certainly an instance that none of us wanted to turn a blind eye to, Sawyer said. When we got the call on Sunday ... its never a question of whether we were going to help or not.

She added the community has been helpful in providing resources but wanted to let citizens know that because these 46 animals are involved in the investigation, they cannot be fostered or adopted.

Crumley said the animal control officers have given Culley up to two weeks to bring up the living standards at his farm, saying the department's animal control officers were concerned about the quality of drinking water and shelter in terms of providing shade.

He added that if Culley follows what the officers said and makes the living conditions of his residence better for the animals, itll be taken into consideration at the hearing on whether the animals should be returned to him.

Itll be up to a magistrate judge to decide the disposition of the animals, Crumley said. But if hes fully in compliance with everything, our recommendation would be to return those animals once those living conditions are suitable.

Crumley said the investigation is ongoing. One thing he said theyre looking into is the legality of owning a non-native animal  like the kangaroo.

Culley did not respond to requests for comment by the time of publication, but issued a statement on July 5 on the Culley Farms Facebook page.

"Anyone who knows us and sees us regularly knows the care, compassion and effort we put into our animals," Culley wrote. "We devote all of our time and efforts into providing the best environment we possibly can...We would never knowingly gamble with their lives or jeopardize their well being."

Several people are coming to Culley's defense, commenting their support underneath his statement and reaffirming what he wrote.

H.O.P.E. Acres Rescue is accepting donations in order to best take care of the animals at hopeacresrescue.org.
A New York man wanted on rape and kidnapping charges and suspected in a murder who was captured in Berkeley County following a multiday manhunt in May is on the loose again.

Police in Jamestown, N.Y., reported early July 7 that Michael Burham had escaped from the jail in Warren County, Pa. He had last been seen at 11:20 p.m., police reported on Facebook. They warned residents in that area along the New York-Pennsylvania border to lock their doors and remain vigilant.

State, local and federal authorities caught Burham, 37, on May 24 in the Huger area. He was extradited to New York after his capture.

During the early morning hours of May 11, police in Jamestown, N.Y., responded to the fatal shooting of Kayla Hodgkin. She had reported to authorities in early April that Burham had raped her, according to court documents filed in a New York federal court.

An arrest warrant for Burham was issued April 27 on charges of rape and false imprisonment, and Jamestown police were searching for Burham when the murder occurred.

Jamestown is a small town near Lake Erie and just over the New York-Pennsylvania border.

Burham is accused of kidnapping an elderly couple at gunpoint at their Sheffield, Pa., house on May 20 and stealing their car, taking them with him. The three arrived the following day in North Charleston, where the couple flagged down a police officer along Rivers Avenue after Burham had let them go.

For the next three days, police departments across the tri-county area as well as agents with the State Law Enforcement Division and the FBI searched for Burham in the Lowcountry.

The search largely focused on the area around Huger and near Awendaw in Charleston County, which borders the Francis Marion National Forest.

A federal magistrate judge on May 25 ordered Burham be returned to New York to face prosecution. He also was charged with kidnapping by Pennsylvania authorities. He was being held in jail there on $1 million bond, GoErie.com reported. Burham used bedsheets to make a rope and climbed down from the jail roof, the outlet reported.
Months before the Alex Murdaugh double-murder trial started in tiny Hampton County, the defense and prosecution jointly asked S.C. Circuit Judge Clifton Newman to gag all all the parties and severely limit which pre-trial motions the public could see.

The judge appropriately declined, citing the S.C. Constitutions imperative that our courts be open and noting that the state Supreme Court has ruled that judges can restrict public access to court proceedings only as an absolute last resort to protect the defendants fair trial rights.

Flash forward to last month, in the much larger Florence County and the much-less-notorious murder case against Frederick Hopkins.

You might not know who were talking about, and thats a small part of our point. Mr. Hopkins is the disbarred lawyer who is charged with ambushing Florence police officers in 2018 when they arrived at his home at an agreed-upon time to serve a search warrant on his son. Two officers were killed, five injured, and the state is appropriately seeking the death penalty.

Perhaps you remember it now, but that doesnt change this point: The defendant is much less well-known, the case is being followed much less closely, and Florence County has a much larger population  read, jury pool  than Hampton County.

Yet WPDE-TV reports that the judge in the Hopkins case kicked the public out of a pre-trial hearing after Mr. Hopkins attorney argued that holding a public hearing about whether to allow some evidence or witness statements at his trial would expose potential jurors to information a judge excludes. Moreover, Circuit Judge Eugene C. Griffith Jr. had already done what Judge Newman properly refused to do, sealing the records in the case with minimal exceptions.

As Judge Newman noted in his order last year, judges do have an obligation to protect a defendants right to a fair trial, but they cant just willy-nilly close the courtroom, no matter how compelling the argument from people who want to close our courtrooms. Both the S.C. Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court have been quite clear about this.

Before kicking out the public, the S.C. court explained in a 2006 decision that has become boilerplate legal guidance for judges, the judge must make specific findings  that (1) there is a substantial probability that the defendants right to a fair trial will be prejudiced by publicity, (2) there is a substantial probability that closure would prevent that prejudice, and (3) reasonable alternatives to closure could not adequately protect the defendants rights.

The bar is set so high because the stakes are so high: It is only by keeping our courts open to the public that we can have faith that they are protecting the interests of both the general public and defendants. And that faith is the foundation on which our criminal justice system operates.

In Hearst-Argyle Television v. Williams, the unanimous S.C. Supreme Court took the extraordinary step of ruling that a judge had improperly closed a courtroom even though the trial was over and the question was therefore moot. Its worth noting, too, that the judge in that case heard testimony from media attorneys in opposition to closing the courtroom and even made specific findings  but the high court said his conclusions were wrong. We take this opportunity, the court wrote, to reiterate that jury voir dire (questioning potential jurors to detect prejudice) is the preferred and generally accepted tool that protects a defendant from the prejudicial effects of pre-trial publicity.

WPDE Pee Dee bureau chief Tonya Brown tells us Judge Griffith didnt make any such findings during the seven or eight minutes before she was ordered to leave the courtroom on June 29. If he made them after he kicked out the public  which would be inappropriate  he needs to put them in writing, so they can be challenged in court.

Whether anyone challenges his order or not, the judge should read the Hearst-Argyle decision  or any of a number of other state and federal court decisions about the constitutional imperative to keep our courtrooms open to the public. For that matter, so should any other judges who arent clear on how extraordinarily high the bar is for doing otherwise.

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FLORENCE  Amid internal turmoil, the Housing Authority of Florence has offered a contract to Alphonso Bradley to be its new executive director.

He will face an uphill battle to rehabilitate the troubled organization.

Bradleys hiring comes as the Housing Authority deals with months of controversy, fends off multiple lawsuits and tries to address issues with the apartments it oversees, including black mold at Creekside Village that has forced residents to live out of motels since the beginning of the year.

Multiple board members said the Housing Authority is in dire straits and in desperate need of someone to right the ship. They hope Bradley  a Florence County Council member with a background in construction and education  is the right person for the job.

The agency is not doing well at this time, Commissioner Linda Barr-Williams said. The employees are going through it. They have no direction, nobody to tell them what to do, how to do, when to do. They have a question, they dont have anybody. And I think weve done our due diligence, and for the best interests of the Housing Authority of Florence, we need to move forward.

A delayed start

In an interview, Bradley said he's still excited about taking the position despite the mounting challenges and the arduous hiring process he has undergone.

"I still think it's an outstanding opportunity to make a big difference. There's a lot of things that I think can be done that can improve the agency, and I'm looking forward to doing it," Bradley said. "I just gotta get out there, because we've been waiting for over a month now."

It is the second time the board has voted to offer a contract to Bradley.

The first time around he was scheduled to begin June 1. But Bradleys start was postponed as the board addressed questions about whether the Department of Housing and Urban Development needed to approve the choice and if there would be a conflict of interest between Bradley's positions on the County Council and with the Housing Authority.

In a contentious meeting July 6, members of the board agreed 3 to 1 to approve Bradleys appointment without feedback from HUD. Thomas Porter  the lone vote against the move  rebuked the hiring, saying it circumvents rules established by a federal agency.

Separately, HUD officials told The Post and Courier they have no role in hiring or firing executive directors.

Regardless, board members  who shouted over each other as they debated  said hiring an executive director could wait no longer.

Conflict of interest?

Bradleys hiring has been the subject of some concern.

In an interview after the meeting, board member Jerrod Moultrie said members of the public had asked about potential conflicts of interest.

Bradley has been a member of the Florence County Council for 17 years, and his sister, Lethonia Peaches Barnes, sits on the Florence City Council. The City Council appoints the Housing Authority's Board of Commissioners.

Board members brushed off concerns of any potential conflict, saying that they consulted with legal and ethical experts and found no problems.

Bradley said he talked with the county attorney and an attorney from the South Carolina Association of Counties, who cleared the potential hiring. The county does not fund or control the Housing Authority.

City Manager Randy Osterman said the city spoke with its attorney and an attorney from HUD and determined that there would be no legal conflict of interest on its side either.

To avoid any appearance of impropriety, Barnes would need to recuse herself from votes to appoint Housing Authority board members, which she told The Post and Courier she would do.

While the Board didn't attach any stipulations to the motion offering Bradley a contract, soon after the meeting Bradley received a call from the Authority's attorney, Jose Coker.

Bradley said Coker asked him if he would resign his County Council position to become the executive director.

Bradley said Coker told him the Authority already had told HUD he would step down from the Council.

Bradley, however, has no interest in resigning, and he thought the request was strange, especially since he had been told HUD leaves the hiring process up to local authorities and multiple lawyers had said there was no conflict.

When Bradley asked Coker who had initiated the request, Coker refused to tell him.

Coker was unavailable for comment.

Barnes, who described Bradley's credentials as impeccable, said the interaction was indicative of larger problems at the Housing Authority.

"Something is not right," she said.

Housing Authority struggles

The uncertainty around Bradley's hiring is just one of many controversies the Authority has struggled with in the past several months. The agency manages housing in Florence, Chesterfield, Marlboro and Dillon counties.

It has been almost a year since the City Council launched an investigation into the organization, citing information received from Moultrie.

In March, the Board placed then-Executive Director Clamentine Elmore on leave during an internal investigation. Weeks later, she was fired.

In his motion to remove her, Moultrie said she had breached her contract and engaged in activity that posed a serious threat to the Housing Authority.

Elmore subsequently filed a lawsuit against the Board, accusing it of breach of contract and singling out Moultrie for defamation.

Another former employee, Keisha Waters, also filed a lawsuit against the Board of Commissioners in May, claiming she was the subject of discrimination and retaliation. Shes filed a handful of complaints with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in the past decade.

The Housing Authority has rejected her claims in court.

At the end of May, the Housing Authority announced a wide-ranging investigation into all of its employees, according to reports at the time.

The Board of Commissioners themselves have come under scrutiny, as well.

In April, the Florence City Council removed board member Linda Becote after she was accused of using her position to receive special treatment in her authority-managed home.

Becote denied the accusations in a public hearing before a City Council meeting.

She has appealed the City Council's decision in state court, and the city has moved to dismiss the case, arguing that the court has no jurisdiction on the issue.

Meanwhile, nearly 50 people continue to live out of hotels while the Housing Authority addresses black mold in one of its properties.

The problem was discovered in Creekside Village Apartments in December 2022. Reporting at the time found that around a third of the apartments were contaminated.

At the authoritys June meeting, officials couldnt provide a timeline for when remediation would occur or residents could move back in.

Developing a strategic plan

Despite these problems, Bradley still believes he can help put the agency back on the right path.

Bradley said his wide-ranging background, from weatherizing houses to teaching industrial arts, is well-suited to the duties required of the Authority's executive director. His experience managing large teams will also be an asset.

Bradley described a 90-day plan that he will implement as soon as he officially assumes the position.

He will meet with employees, read through existing policies and try to understand where the organization is and how it got there. Then he will begin creating a strategic plan.

Building a new culture and providing a steady hand will help the organization move past the period of turmoil and suspicion it is in, he said.

"It's a little work to do," Bradley said of the challenges the Authority faces. "But I've always felt like I'm a pretty good team builder and problem solver. I think you get a leader in there, and you give everybody some direction, then everybody can rally around the proper leadership."

Bradley is set take the executive director position no later than July 13.
FLORENCE  Pee Dee students are receiving nearly $35,000 in scholarships to put toward higher education.

The Eastern Carolina Community Foundation awarded scholarships to 20 students from schools across the region. Money from 11 scholarship funds was presented to students across Chesterfield, Darlington, Dillon, Florence, Marion, Marlboro and Williamsburg counties.

Its all about elevating the Pee Dee region, Eastern Carolina Community Foundation Executive Director Belle Zeigler said. It starts with looking at our youth and how we can support them in their educational goals.

The Eastern Carolina Community Foundation builds collections of endowments from a variety of donors. The scholarship funds come from individual donors who control the name and some of the criteria.

All of the Foundations scholarships are provided by individual or business donors.

The Foundation has offered scholarship services since it began in 2006. Donors who want to establish a fund can do so through the Foundation. The Foundation manages awards and applicants.

Marketing the scholarships so students know theyre available is one of the foundations main focuses.

High school guidance counselors are a big part of making the scholarships known, Zeigler said. The Foundation has connections to high schools and school districts in its seven service counties.

The guidance counselors know whats available and we say push this to your students, Zeigler said. Then its up to the kids.

Some of the scholarships boast narrow and specific requirements. They can be limited to certain high schools and school districts based on how the donor wants funds to be distributed.

Around three scholarship funds didnt see any applicants, Zeigler said, but the foundation and donors plan to broaden them for the next cycle.

Meredith Hoover received a scholarship designated for those graduating from the Kings Academy in Florence. Shell use money from the Chrissy Conner Memorial Scholarship Fund to attend the University of South Carolina.

I am honored and completely humbled to be able to receive this award, she said.

Several of the scholarship funds have their own external review boards that go through applications sent to the foundation. The foundations Grants Committee goes through final applications and ultimately decides who will receive a scholarship, Zeigler said.

Scholarships are presented at each individual high schools awards ceremony with a foundation representative usually in attendance. However, some of the recipients arent in high school anymore.

A few of the scholarships controlled by the foundation can be used for multi year funding. Two college students received additional funding from the Jenny Cockfield Johnson Scholarship. Joshua Coleman at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University is receiving a third year of funding while Lurdes Corea is receiving a second year of funding.

The foundations ultimate goal is to increase access to higher education through these scholarships, Zeigler said. Most of the scholarships allow applications from those seeking vocational or technical training and two year degrees.

We know its not just about four year institutions anymore, she said. Its very much about philanthropy as it relates to access to higher education and the affordability of it.

Scholarships are offered annually through the Eastern Carolina Community Foundation. Applications open for the new scholarship cycle in early January 2024 and close March 31.
GREENWOOD  Tiffany Jenae Carroll is serving 15 years in a South Carolina prison for killing her abuser.

Now, her advocates are seeking a long-shot pardon, saying the sentence does not fit the situation and that she needs to be home with her five children so they can all heal.

The pardon request for Carroll, 36, comes nine months after she was denied her first opportunity at parole. She's eligible for consideration again in September.

Her advocates say that's too long to wait.

"She should never have been sentenced to jail," her aunt, Brenda McCullough, told reporters June 29 at the Greenwood County Courthouse. "What she did was for survival for herself and her children.

McCullough added "the Jenae we know would've never harmed a flea."

On that horrific day in September 2017, McCullough said, "she was not herself. She was not the Jenae we know, and we want her home. She should be with her family."

McCullough addressed reporters after Carroll's oldest child, 16-year-old Nykeria Price, became too overcome with emotion.

"We just need her," Price told The Post and Courier afterward in a whispered voice.

'Trying to leave'

Carroll pleaded guilty but mentally ill to manslaughter in December 2019 for fatally stabbing 27-year-old William Jamal Johnson, a childhood friend she'd started dating in 2015. She was warned he was violent but didn't know the details, she later told a psychologist.

She was pregnant within four months, and he pledged to "do better" to be a happy family. But the violence only escalated. Law enforcement officers responded to their home eight times between May 2016, a month before their son was born, and Johnson's death. He usually fled before police arrived and returned loving and apologetic. And she wanted to believe he'd change. It was a cycle of violence typical for battered women, according to a 2019 report by her psychologist.

"Tiffany was caught in a difficult trap of ever-increasing violence," Dr. Lois Veronen of Rock Hill wrote a month before Carroll's sentencing, diagnosing her with post-traumatic stress disorder and major depressive disorder linked to severe domestic violence.

"The violent and degrading acts perpetrated by Jamal produced cognitive, affective and behavioral changes in Tiffany that have come to be known as the 'Battered Woman Syndrome,'" which clouded her problem-solving ability that day, Veronen concluded.

Exactly what happened in the moments before officers arrived at their house the last time is unclear. Prosecutors argued it was not a case of self-defense.

Carroll said she'd decided to end the relationship for good when Johnson blocked her from leaving. His sister sent the children outside. Accounts vary after that. Not disputed is that Carroll eventually got a knife from the kitchen, cut him on the arm and ankle and stabbed him in the chest. After realizing what she'd done, she tried to help him by applying pressure to his wounds. He died at the local hospital.

She remains uncertain about what transpired, she told the parole board during her hearing last September.

Asked why she did it, Carroll said, "I was trying to protect myself. I was trying to leave and when he leaped out at me and hit me again, I just kinda blanked out," she said. "I really don't remember what happened.

"I've been having a hard time forgiving myself and what happened with the whole situation," she continued, recounting a question by the judge who sentenced her. "The judge asked me why didn't I leave him or why did I stay, but it was hard leaving someone you love, and I had a lot of faith in him, and I just wanted to see him get better."

Normally people convicted of manslaughter must serve at least a third of their sentence before coming up for parole. But then-Circuit Court Judge Letitia Verdin permitted Carroll, as a victim of domestic violence, to be eligible after serving 25 percent.

Carroll was allowed to spend Christmas Day 2019 with her children and turned herself in the next day, shortly before the pandemic and COVID prison protocols ended all visitation. In-person visitation was allowed again in December 2021. But she hasn't seen her children since.

"They cry every night, especially her son," her younger sister Danielle Carroll said. She has three of her sister's five children. The other two live with their father.

Parole denied

It's unknown how much (or little) the parole board considered about Tiffany Carroll's diagnosis or the many letters sent by her supporters back home or her clear record at Camille Graham Correctional, the state prison for women in Columbia.

According to her inmate report, Carroll's had no discipline issues. She's received several work certificates, including the completion of a basic safety course, and earned work credits as a custodian and in landscaping.

Asked whether she'd gone through an anger management program, Carroll told the board yes. In addition, she said, she's seeing two sexual trauma counselors, participating in a group called Overcoming Shame and taking parenting classes. If she's paroled, she told them, she also wants to get counseling for her children.

The board selected three reasons for its denial: The seriousness of the offense, the violence involved and the use of a deadly weapon. No further explanation was given, and there was no public discussion among board members at the hearing itself.

The entire hearing  a virtual meeting between Carroll, her attorney and the board from three separate locations  lasted less than 13 minutes, according to an audio-only recording provided July 5 to The Post and Courier through a public records request.

The first two minutes were spent telling Carroll's supporters who'd wanted to speak  a sister, aunt, former teacher and pastor  they couldn't participate and had to leave her attorney's room. After questioning ended and Carroll and her attorney were cut from the virtual feed, there's more than a full minute of silence before acting board Chairman Henry Eldridge called for any discussion. Someone said, "I'm changing my vote," and then Eldridge declared a unanimous denial.

Under COVID-created protocols for virtual parole hearings, inmates' supporters can't testify but victims and their families can.

In Carroll's hearing, no one spoke in opposition to her parole. It's unclear if anyone submitted written testimony in opposition. The Post and Courier was told that would require a separate public records request and potential charge for staff to research it.

The newspaper did reach Johnson's mother, but she declined to comment and made clear no one else needed to be contacted to speak for her family.

What's next?

According to the state Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services, Carroll is not eligible for a pardon.

Under state law, inmates can be considered for a pardon when evidence shows "the most extraordinary circumstances," which her supporters contend exists. But the law says such consideration must occur "before a parole eligibility date."

The agency says that means Carroll isn't eligible. And even if she was, a pardon application process takes seven to nine months. She's up for parole again in two.

State Rep. John McCravy, who only recently learned of Carroll's case, said he's filing the pardon application anyway. He's submitting a three-ring binder package that includes letters of support.

"If ever there's one that needs to be expedited, this is it," he told The Post and Courier on July 6. "I'm sure they can expedite it. We'll find out."

The Greenwood Republican also said he will propose legislation updating a 28-year-old state law on what it calls "battered spouse syndrome." Beyond not specifying whether it applies to nonmarital relationships, the law allows testimony about abuse at trial but doesn't prescribe how a finding of the syndrome should be handled legally, said McCravy, an attorney.

In a state that historically ranks among the worst in the nation for women killed by men, the law needs to better recognize the syndrome as a defense, he said.

In 2021, 57 South Carolinians were killed by their partner. Less than a third of those couples were married. Additionally, nearly 30,000 assault charges were filed against a partner, according to the latest crime data compiled by the State Law Enforcement Division.

The state's poor response to combatting violent domestic abuse was highlighted in The Post and Courier's 2015 Pulitzer Prize-winning series "Till death do us part."

Victim advocates note the annual reported charges reflect only a partial toll of domestic violence in the state. Carroll's case is an example of why. She never prosecuted when officers arrived at her home due to fear, McCravy said, calling that consistent with her diagnosis.

Danielle Carroll said her sister pleaded guilty before it ever got to trial because she was told she risked a 30-year prison sentence if she didn't.

"She was scared," the younger sister said. "She doesn't deserve to be there."

At her next parole hearing, supporters can testify. Protocols leftover from COVID are changing Aug. 8, when supporters will be able to come to a location set aside on Department of Corrections property in Columbia to speak virtually to the parole board, according to the prison agency.

McCravy said he'll be among the supporters, if Tiffany Carroll's not already released by pardon.

"It is important for us to have awareness of this, not just for her but for other women who suffer from battered women syndrome and need some understanding of what this is and how it can affect women who've been abused," he said.
BOILING SPRINGS  Spartanburg County sheriffs deputies and an Inman police officer shot and killed a man they said threatened to shoot himself and others in a home with multiple juveniles.

The man, Somchan Dan Somsanith, 42, had taken a juvenile hostage inside a residence in the early morning on July 7, Lt. Kevin Bobo with the Spartanburg County Sheriffs Office said in a news release.

The man did not listen to numerous commands to drop the weapon while holding the hostage, Bobo said, leading deputies to shoot him. He was pronounced dead on the scene at 4:35 a.m., said Jonathan Lawson, chief investigator for the Spartanburg County Coroner's Office.

The sheriff's office did not indicate if the man died, only that the coroner's office was on the scene and the hostage rescued.

Bobo said any other details of the shooting had to be provided by the State Law Enforcement Division, which is investigating the incident at SCSO's request.

SLED spokesperson Renee Wunderlich declined to answer questions about the shooting, though she confirmed the agency is investigating the incident. In a July 8 news release, Wunderlich said an officer with the Inman Police Department, which was called to assist the sheriff's office, had also fired their weapon.

It is unknown if mental health crisis clinicians were present.

Around 3:20 a.m. on July 7, deputies arrived and established a perimeter at the residence on Coldstream Drive in the Boiling Springs area, Bobo said.

The sheriffs office initially received a call from the mans young daughter, who said her father had a rifle and a shotgun and was threatening to shoot himself and someone else in the residence, Bobo said. Another man in the residence confirmed the girls statement to deputies and said there were multiple juveniles present.

Deputies called out to the man to surrender, but he did not. The other man and all but one of the juveniles escaped through a window.

Then, the man started to move in and out of the residence while armed with the rifle. Bobo said the man took one of the juveniles hostage and alternated between pointing the gun at the deputies, the hostage and himself.

Bobo said no deputies were injured and did not clarify if anyone else involved was injured.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed support early Saturday for Ukraine joining NATO, saying the war-torn country deserves to join the alliance.

Erdogan made the comment at a joint news conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who arrived in Turkey as part of a European tour to rally support for Ukraines entry into the military alliance after the war with Russia comes to an end.

NATO leaders meeting in Vilnius, Lithuania, next week are expected to reaffirm that Ukraine will join their alliance one day.

There is no doubt that Ukraine deserves NATO membership, Erdogan told reporters,

His support for Ukraine comes as Turkey has been holding off giving its final approval to Sweden joining NATO, saying Stockholm is not effectively cracking down on Kurdish militants and other groups that Ankara views as threats to its security.

Sweden, along with Finland, abandoned its decades-long neutrality and applied to join NATO following Russias invasion of Ukraine last year. Turkeys parliament ratified Finlands membership earlier this year, after Ankara voiced satisfaction with its efforts to address Turkeys security concerns.

Erdogan also said Turkey was working toward extending a Turkish- and U.N.-brokered grain deal that has paved the way for the shipment of more than 30 million tons of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea.

The deal, which helped temper rising global food prices, is set to expire July 17. Russia has been reluctant to extend the deal, citing obstacles to its own exports of food and fertilizer.

We are continuing our work on the grain corridor issue. We are working to see how long we can extend it after July 17, Erdogan said.

Zelenskyy accused Russia of obstructing the movement of ships.

Russia behaves as if it owns the entire Black Sea, as if it is the owner here, said Zelenskyy, making his first trip to Turkey since Russias invasion of Ukraine.

Erdogan said Russian President Vladimir Putin would visit Turkey in August, when he hoped to discuss renewal of the Black Sea grain deal as well as a possible prisoner swap.

Turkey has maintained close ties with both Ukraine and Russia, using its relations to both to act as a mediator.

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Tucker Carlson joined comedian and political podcaster Russell Brand on the Friday edition of his podcast, Stay Free. Their discussion focused on the truth behind the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot.

Carlson told Brand that he had interviewed former U.S. Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund in April. He planned to air the segment on his Fox show, he said, but was abruptly fired before he could do so. (Sund, you may recall, resigned his position two days after the riot.) Although Carlson didnt say the Sund interview was the reason for his firing, we well remember the uproar after his infamous March expose of previously unseen footage from Jan. 6.

According to Carlson, Sund told him that crowd was filled with federal agents. This is a remarkable admission, if true. Many on the Left from Biden administration officials to members of the highly partisan and duplicitous House January 6 Committee have called the idea that federal agents infiltrated the crowd at the Capitol building that day a right-wing conspiracy theory.

Carlson said, I interviewed the Chief of the Capitol Police, Steven Sund, in an interview that was never aired on Fox by the way, I was fired before it could air. Im gonna interview him again.

He explained, I mean this was not some right-wing activist  he was the Chief of the Capitol Police on January 6. [Sund told Carlson] Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, that crowd was filled with federal agents.

As time passed, it became more and more obvious that the core claims they made about January 6 were lies.

Tucker Carlson BLOWS The Doors Off January 6th LIES. Reveals Fox News REFUSED To Air His J6 Interview Of Capitol Chief Of Police PROVING "The US Capitol Was FILLED With Federal Agents" Tucker Describes Fox Execs Attacking him For J6 Report: "F**k You! Narrative Collapse. Wow pic.twitter.com/30UijETvNq  Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) July 7, 2023

Carlsons widely watched expose showed viewers a very different perspective from the one that had been force-fed to the American people by the Committee.

In the expose, for example, he highlighted the role played by protester Ray Epps, who appeared to be a ringleader during the riot. Carlson and others have questioned his possible links to the FBI and have asked why he was never prosecuted.

We do know that Epps encouraged the crowd to go into the Capitol. For some reason, Epps has never been indicted for that. Under public pressure the Jan. 6 committee finally interviewed Ray Epps. Epps told the committee that he never entered the Capitol and therefore, never committed a crime.

At one point, Epps is seen (at the 26:20 mark) shouting, We need to go into the Capitol.

His text messages show that at 2:12 p.m. on Jan. 6, he boasted to his nephew that he had orchestrated the protest at the Capitol. He admitted he helped get people there. Yet, curiously, congressional Democrats consider Ray Epps an ally, not an insurrectionist.

Carlson said that Epps lied in his sworn testimony to the Jan. 6 committee.

Epps testified that when he sent the text messages to his nephew, he had already left the Capitol grounds to return to his hotel room. That is not true. The surveillance footage we found showed that in fact, Ray Epps remained at the Capitol for at least another half hour. We do know that he lied to investigators. The Jan. 6 Committee likely knew this too. Democrats had access to the same tapes, yet they defended Ray Epps. No honest investigation would do that.

Carlson also weighed in on electronic voting machines. He said: Any country that has electronic voting machines is by definition at risk of having its elections stolen. No country that cared about democracy will have electronic voting machines.

Brand asked Carlson about Trump. He replied:

Where am I on Trump now? I love Trump personally.  I think looking back on this, ten years from now, assuming were still around, I think were going to see Trumps emergence as the most significant thing to happen in American politics in 100 years, because he reoriented the Republican Party against the wishes of Republican leaders. 

Im looking forward to seeing Carlsons interview with Sund and hoping that we see and hear more from him soon. I miss his voice.

The Washington Examiner reported that Carlson will be interviewing 2024 Republican presidential candidates on Friday, July 14, at the FAMiLY Leadership Summit in Des Moines, Iowa.
This last week, the press has been full of alarmist headlines: Tuesday was the hottest day ever! No, Wednesday was the hottest day ever! Of course, you have to 1) define ever, and 2) believe that we have any idea what the average temperature is, over the whole Earth, on a particular daylet alone a particular day 1,000 years ago.

At Watts Up With That?, Paul Homewood comments:

The idea that we know the global temperature today is absurd in itself. But the idea that we actually know what it was on a given day 100 years ago, or 1000 years ago, never mind thousands of years ago is sheer fraud. And the claim that it is hotter now than 5000 years ago is a total lie  there is abundant evidence that it was much warmer then.

Then there is this:

It hasnt been this warm since at least 125,000 years ago, which was the previous interglacial, Paulo Ceppi, a climate scientist at Londons Grantham Institute, told the Washington Post.

Wait, what? I didnt know they had SUVs 125,000 years ago. What made it warm then? Youre not supposed to ask.

So how do alarmists try to impress us with how warm it is?

And as always with all of these silly scare stories, they cherry pick some high temperatures in the Arctic, knowing that the public will find them alarming because they assume the Arctic is always freezing normally. For instance, One point in far northern Canada was hotter than Miami. The link takes us to Kuujjuaq. [Graphic omitted.] And the daily temperature from KNMI shows that temperatures over 90F, 32C, are not uncommon there. The new record of 93F replaces the old record of 92F set in 1999, which is hardly cause for panic!

Then theres Siberia: In Siberia, the temperature in Altai hit 94F. But again we learn that temperatures often exceed 90F there; the record of 96F was set in 2000:

More at the link. The moral is, dont believe anything the global warming alarmists say.

STEVE addsSteve Milloy has an excellent column on this issue coming out tomorrow in the Wall Street Journal:
PR-Inside.com: 2023-07-08 04:10:23

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Governor Gavin Newsom Delivers Port of Hueneme Transformational Funding AwardPORT HUENEME, CA / ACCESSWIRE / July 7, 2023 / Governor Gavin Newson delivers a historic $80,000,000 to the Port of Hueneme for projects that generate social and economic equity while providing substantial revenue streams to help transform the Port to a zero-emission hub. California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA) served as the lead agency for the allocation of $1.5 billion in Port & Freight Infrastructure Program (PFIP) funds approved in the Governor's 2023-2024 budget on June 30, 2023. CalSTA Secretary Toks Omishakin announced the allocations of this funding to Southern California seaports at a press event hosted at the Port of Long Beach on July 6, 2023.The Secretary remarked, "It is a historic and momentous day for transportation in California, for ports in California, and, more importantly, for the people of California. We worked with local partners, we worked with port leaders, we worked with federal officials to come up with a game plan. That game plan included short-term and long-term solutions." The Secretary then shared the exciting news that an unprecedented $79.8 million will be awarded to the Port of Hueneme for its strategic PACED (Port Action, Climate, and Environment Development) project. The project's multiple components contribute significant benefits to the Port and our surrounding communities while sustaining supply chain fluidity, flexibility, and resilience, while ensuring continued operational excellence, sustaining, and creating new employment opportunities, improving air and water quality, mitigating the impacts of climate change and promoting transportation equity and environmental progress."As a result of this extraordinary funding, we will be in a better position to create more job opportunities for local residents to support vital Port operations and the deployment of clean technologies." said Jess Herrera, President of the Oxnard Harbor Commission.More specifically, the project removes dilapidated obsolete buildings, installs zero emission plug in units for containers, and builds fuel cell technology infrastructure. Further, the project brings efficiency and safety improvements with deepening of berths that will also allow for renourishment of local beaches with clean dredged sediment. Of utmost importance, the funding supports shoreside power and emission control systems that make vessels zero emission while in port and also provides for port-wide crane electrification and the procurement of zero emission cargo handling equipment.Components awarded also protect our ocean with the ability to procure an electric sweeper to prevent debris from going into the Port's stormwater systems. It helps develop new off-loading infrastructure to support the local squid fishery with partners from Ventura Harbor. Game changing for our local workforce and trades, the project brings millions in construction work under the Port's project labor agreement and brings enhanced port led workforce development and training efforts."Our residents are going to get cleaner air, our workers are going to find better jobs, all of the organizations that have been fighting for better quality of life, the trades have been fighting for good, high-paying union jobs are winners with this," Assemblymember Steve Bennett. "All of the stakeholders in Ventura County are extremely grateful to the wisdom of a governor who came up with the concept of this major investment." (Left to Right) Kome Ajise, Executive Director of SCAG; Kristin Decas, CEO & Port Director; Celina Zacarias, Vice President, Oxnard Harbor District; Jess Herrera; President, Oxnard Harbor District; Toks Omishakin, CalSTA Secretary; Mary Anne Rooney, Commissioner, Oxnard Harbor District; Assemblymember Steve Bennett, and Martin Erickson, Executive Director, Ventura County Transportation Commission.Kristin Decas, CEO & Port Director, Port of Hueneme"This a first for the Port of Hueneme. This is milestone funding for us," stated Kristin Decas, CEO & Port Director at the June 6 press event. "This significant funding afforded to us today, continues a tradition of community enrichment, that with the vision of Richard Bard, the founder of the Port in 1937. This investment will deliver us the means to do good for all segments of the community by strengthening the supply chain and the efficient movement of goods to our citizens, creating good paying green jobs, and prospering a zero-emission economy." The Port of Hueneme's Operations Department celebrates this momentous grant investment.(Left to right) Garrett Raborg, Letitia Austin, Austin Yang, Vice President Celina Zacarias, President Jess Herrera, Commissioner Mary Anne Rooney, Kristin Decas, Martin Erickson, and Dona Lacayo celebrate the state's PFIP grant announcement.As a result of the PFIP funding, Ventura County will be infused with close to $95 million in major state investments for the Port's PACED Project and the Ventura County Transportation Commission's Rice Avenue & Fifth Street Grade Separation Project."This historic investment in our public seaports will help goods move faster across the global supply chain, propelling California's economic engine forward by creating thousands of new jobs and keeping our state competitive in a challenging economic environment," said Martha Miller, executive director of the California Association of Port Authorities. "I applaud Governor Newsom and Secretary Omishakin for their tireless efforts to help our state's supply chain thrive." Watch more here: https://www.portofhueneme.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/720p_Match_Framerate.mp4 About the Port of Hueneme The Port of Hueneme is one of the most productive and efficient commercial trade gateways for niche cargo on the West Coast. Five locally elected Port Commissioners govern the Port. The Port consistently ranks among the top ten U.S. ports for automobiles and fresh produce. Port operations support the community by bringing $2.2 billion in economic activity and creating 20,032 trade-related jobs. Trade through the Port of Hueneme generates more than $173.2 million in direct and related state and local taxes, which fund vital community services. In 2017, the Port of Hueneme became the first port in California to become Green Marine certified and was voted the Greenest Port in the U.S. at the Green Shipping Summit. www.portofh.org PRESS CONTACT:Letitia AustinPublic & Government Relations Managerlaustin@ portofh.org (805) 271-2205SOURCE: Port of Hueneme
Kto szuka: DANISH CROWN GBS SP Z O O Stanowisko: Sales / Purchase Trainee Lokalizacja: Warszawa mazowieckie

Opis stanowiska podany przez pracodawce:

Do you want to join one of the largest trading companies within the food industry?





Are you enterprising and ready to learn? And do you at the same time want to start your career in an international company? Then we have a great opportunity for you! In the two-year ESS-FOOD International Trainee-Programme (EFIT) you will become part of an ambitious, informal, and result-oriented culture with global career opportunities.





We are now looking for a sales/purchase trainee to join us in Warsaw, Poland currently having five people working in our office.

A modern trainee programme





We have had trainees in ESS-FOOD for more than 20 years and therefore we decided that it was time to come up with our take on how a modern trainee programme should look. We have the knowledge from the industry, we have trainees that have been with us for decades and all abilities to create the best possible programme for young and ambitious candidates.





We have therefore introduced EFIT  with a track focused on sales and purchasing that will give you all relevant competencies to make you successful in the trading industry. You will quickly get responsibility for a market that will help increase the business success within that specific area.





Wymagania stawiane pracownikowi:

Lots of responsibility, development, and international perspectives





The EFIT-Programme offers a steep learning curve  with huge possibility for responsibility and development. During the programme, you will attend regular training sessions, seminars and workshops just as you will become part of Danish Crowns trainee network that gathers all the trainees of the Group to networking days with focus on business understanding, team building and personal development. With your fellow trainees you will improve your abilities within above areas not to mention communication, negotiation, logistics, and business acumen.





Our highest priority is your development and that you get all the necessary support and guidance throughout the two years. We aim to develop the best possible trainees in the industry  and are fully aware that it requires our full attention.





We have offices in several parts of the world including Barcelona, Shanghai, Dubai, New Jersey, and Buenos Aires. Our stakeholders are likewise located all over the world  meaning you will gain all possible perspectives and insights from the international trading industry.





We are able to offer you visits to international customers and/or suppliers just as some of you will get the opportunity to be relocated for a short period of time to one of our offices abroad during your second trainee year.





Firma oferuje:

Heres what you can also look forward too

You can expect an exciting everyday life in a dynamic and global environment surrounded by skilled colleagues with a strong team spirit

After finalising your traineeship, we offer good opportunities for permanent employment

What do you bring to the table?

You have passed an admission-granting education, e.g. bachelors degree (or are about to finish your degree)

Relevant work experience from leisure work is appreciated

You have excellent Polish and English skills and if you speak a 3rd language it will be an advantage

It is also important that you:

Are business oriented and have an international and enthusiastic mindset

Have a "can do" attitude and drive towards results

Are a team-player ready to work closely with colleagues all over the world

Have excellent stakeholder management skills and understand that by working together and utilizing core strengths across departments and teams, we can strengthen the way we meet customer and supplier needs - now and in the future

Our ESS-FOOD International Trainee Programme will begin September 1st, 2023.





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Femi Otedola, the chairman of Geregu Power, has yielded the top spot on the ownership ladder of FBN Holdings to Barbican Capital Limited, an affiliate of Oba Otudekos Honeywell Flour Mill, a regulatory filing showed on Saturday.

Barbican Capital accumulated shares of about 4.8 billion units in the parent company of Nigerias oldest lender FirstBank translating to a 13.3 per cent holding in the corporation, according to the document seen by PREMIUM TIMES.

That is more than twice the portion held by Mr Otedola, who in late 2021 had acquired a 7.6 per cent interest in the financial services group via off-market deals.

He displaced FirstBanks Chair Tunde-Hassan Odukale to take the lead position but now holds a 5.6 per cent stake, having sold 834 million shares last June after the valuation of the stock soared.

Mr Otudeko, who chaired the groups board until a shake-up ended his tenure in April 2021, controls Honeywell Flour Mill, where he owns a 75 per cent stake through Siloam Global Services Limited, according to the companys 2022 earnings report.

Trading in the shares of FBN Holdings has been brisk this week, with almost 5 billion units traded, 95 per cent of that transacted on Thursday alone.

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The buy pressure and the current currency revamp in Africas largest economy have catapulted the stocks valuation to its peak level ever, with its market capitalisation now at N728.7 billion, making Nigerias fourth-biggest lender by market value.

Only Zenith Bank, Guaranty Trust Holding Company and Stanbic IBTC Holdings Company exceed the group valuation.

In late April, Mr Otedola gave up the scramble for the top ownership of Nigerias biggest listed conglomerate Transnational Corporation of Nigeria to billionaire investor, Tony Elumelu, after clinging briefly to the second spot on the ownership hierarchy.

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Following the indictment of the 19-year-old candidate in the 2023 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), Mmesoma Ejikeme, by the committee set up by Governor Charles Soludo of Anambra State, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has advised Nigerians to trust its efforts towards redefining the conduct of public examinations in the country.

JAMBs Head of Public Affairs and Protocol, Fabian Benjamin, who spoke in a telephone interview with PREMIUM TIMES on Saturday morning, said the distrust in the nations public institutions by many Nigerians had contributed significantly to the countrys poor image on the global stage.

The investigative committee report, submitted to Mr Soludo on Friday and has since gone viral on social media, confirmed the forgery allegation against the 19-year-old student.

Apart from recommending that Miss Mmesoma tenders a public apology to JAMB, the committee also recommends psychological counselling and therapy for the indicted candidate.

Since the matter became public knowledge last week, many Nigerians, including former Ministers of Education, and Aviation, Oby Ezekwesili and Osita Chidoka, respectively, have made statements.

Many other commentators introduced ethnic and political colourations into the discussion, accusing JAMB of attempting to frustrate the candidate.

But when the examination body released the list of the top 10 candidates in the examination, another indigene of Anambra State, Umeh Ikechinyere, who scored 360 as against Miss Mmesomas 362 claim, was presented as the highest scorer.

JAMB reacts

Meanwhile, speaking on Saturday, the JAMB spokesperson, Mr Benjamin, said the verdict by the probe panel is a vindication of the examination body.

He said: Nigerians must learn to trust their public institutions. Nigerians will want to believe that nothing good will ever come out of this nation. It is not true. There are many things that we do that other countries abroad also copy from us.

It is so unfortunate that even people who have served in high office would also want to reduce themselves to this kind of emotional behaviour. We must learn to build this nation and not pull it down.

Mr Benjamin also assured Nigerians that the integrity of JAMB is sacrosanct and that the management is working hard to protect it.

He advised candidates not to give in to societal pressure to cheat, insisting that JAMB is determined to nip in the bud all forms of malpractice in its examinations.

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Israeli occupation forces killed three Palestinians, in new West Bank violence on Friday, days after Israel concluded a major two-day attack on Jenin.

The persistent violence raised questions about the effectiveness of the raid earlier this week in the Jenin refugee camp, which saw Israel launch airstrikes, deploy hundreds of troops and cause widespread damage to roads, homes and businesses. Twelve Palestinians were killed in the Israeli operation.

In the nearby city of Nablus, the West Bank's commercial capital and a flashpoint city, two Palestinians were killed in a gunbattle with Israeli forces. Israel's Shin Bet security agency said the men were behind a shooting attack this week on a police vehicle.

On Friday, Palestinian health officials said a man was fatally shot in the chest by Israeli occupation forces during a demonstration in Umm Safa, a town in the central West Bank.

The ministry identified the two dead in Nablus as Khayri Mohammed Sari Shaheen, 34, and Hamza Moayed Mohammed Maqbool, 32. Two Palestinian resistance groups, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, claimed them as members.

In the aftermath of the shootout, bullet casings littered the blood-stained ground.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant praised Friday's operation and said Israel would continue to act to root out militants.

Friday's deaths are part of a year-long spiral of Israeli violence that shows no signs of abating, despite the fierce Israeli operation this week in the Jenin refugee camp. A shooting on Thursday by a Hamas member near an Israeli West Bank settlement killed an Israeli soldier.

Monday's raid in the Jenin refugee camp bore the hallmarks of the second Palestinian uprising, a period of intense resistance in the early 2000s that killed thousands. But the current round of fighting remains different from that one, mainly because it is more limited in scope, with Israeli military operations focused on several strongholds of Palestinian groups.

Israel has been staging raids in the occupied West Bank for 16 months, expanding its activities in early 2022. The northern West Bank, which includes Nablus and Jenin and where the Palestinian Authority has less of a foothold, has been a major friction point.

At least 190 Palestinians, and 26 Israelis, have been killed this year, according to an AFP tally compiled from official sources from both sides.

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Governor Agbu Kefas of Taraba State on Friday stated that education in the state from primary to secondary school level is free.

According to Mr Kefas, this is among the palliatives to help cushion the effect of the removal of subsidy on petrol.

During his inauguration on 29 May, President Bola Tinubu announced the removal of subsidy on petrol. The removal immediately led to an increase in the pump price of petrol which subsequently caused an increase in goods and services in the country.

Mr Kefas made the declaration in Wukari local government while on the assessment tour of primary and secondary schools in the southern part of the state.

Mr Kefas declaration came two days after he slashed the tuition fee of the Taraba State University (TSU) Jalingo and College of Nursing and Midwifery Jalingo by 50 per cent.

Though the Universal Basic Education Act 2004 provides for compulsory, free universal basic education for all children of primary school and junior secondary school ages, PREMIUM TIMES gathered that primary and junior secondary school pupils in Taraba pay between N1500 to N2000 per term.

The Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Yusuf Sanda, told PREMIUM TIMES the governor discovered that pupils in the state were still paying fees during a tour of schools despite the declaration of free basic education by the federal government.

According to him, starting from the next academic session, primary and secondary education in Taraba will be free.

Let me announce to you that by the next academic session, the state government will take responsibility for the school fees and all of you will attend school free of charge, he said

He said the measure was part of efforts of his administration to ensure that Taraba indigenes acquired education, to enable them to realise their potential and to also cushion the effect of the recent fuel subsidy removal.

We will continue to support you to have access to qualitative education for a brighter future for our state, he added.

Mr Kefas also noted that his administration would renovate dilapidated schools to make them meet the demands of modern-day education.

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He said the people of the state would enjoy the dividends of democracy as he will invest more in infrastructural and educational development.

Daniel Nuhu, a zonal director of education, lauded Mr Kefas for making out time to personally assess the condition of public schools in the state.

Mr Nuhu noted that the free education and renovation of primary and secondary schools would go a long way in turning around the fortunes of the less privileged in the state by granting them equal access to quality education.

Last month Mr Kefas declared a state of emergency on primary and secondary education.

He said with the declaration, his administration would turn around the sector within his first 100 days in office.

He said the state of primary and secondary education in the state is pathetic and unacceptable. He said extraordinary measures would be implemented within a defined time frame to achieve the desired result.

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The eight-member panel set up by Governor Charles Soludo of Anambra State to investigate the controversies surrounding the results claimed by a candidate in the 2023 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), Mmesoma Ejikeme, has submitted its report.

Headed by Nkemdili Nnonyelu, a professor, the committee confirmed Miss Mmesoma forged the score of 362 as earlier claimed by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board.

According to the report, a copy of which was obtained by PREMIUM TIMES, the candidate confirmed she single-handedly forged the result before approaching a cyber cafe for printing.

Christian Aburime, the chief press secretary to Governor Charles Soludo, confirmed the authenticity of the report to this newspaper.

The committees report is reproduced below.

7th July, 2023

Prof. C.C Soludo,

Governor, Anambra State.

Mr. Governor, REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON EJIKEME JOY MMESOMAS JAMB SCORE CONTROVERSY

Recall Mr. Governor that with the recent release of scores of candidates who applied for admission by the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), and subsequent announcement of Nkechiyere Umeh as the candidate with the highest score of 360, Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma, a 19 year old student of Anglican Girls Secondary School, Uruagu Nnewi, from Enugu State, protested to the State Government that she scored 362 and ought to have been so recognised. This has elicited interests and generated serious controversy and misgivings among the general public that the State Government in its wisdom decided to constitute a Committee of Inquiry to look into the underlisted terms of reference;

Review Ejikeme Joy Mmesomas JAMB Results and associated documents Conduct interviews with relevant parties, including Elikeme Joy Mmesoma, JAMB Officials and any other individual(s) involved in the process. Provide recommendations based on the findings of the investigation.

The Committee invited Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma, the Principal of Anglican Girls Secondary School, and officials of JAMB for interactive session with the Committee. JAMB officials led by Dr. Fabian Benjamin, the Head Public Affairs presented the detailed processes and procedures involved in JAMB admissions, the policy changes that have occurred in the release of UTME scores since 2021 and what specifically transpired between the candidate Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma with registration number: 20230639047FF in her quest to obtain her JAMB score.

JAMB revealed the different times that Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma made several requests to JAMB portal asking for her results at different hours, and each of these times (four in number), she received in her phone, same results from JAMB indicating candidates UTME Results to wit: Eng: 64, Phy:54, Bio: 74, Che: 57 with a total aggregate score of 249. JAMB disclosed that the candidate was well informed of her correct score from JAMB. Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma had sent a request to JAMB with a different registration number showing a UTME result of aggregate score of 362, with Eng: 98, Phy: 89, Bio: 94, and Che: 81. The results she sent differed substantially from the standard JAMB format where she got an appropriate rebuttal stating her real score of 249.

Besides, a number of red-flags was also highlighted by JAMB officials showing a different date of birth, different Registration Number, Notification of results template that has been discarded since 2021, amongst others. It was also evident that even the centre name Nkemefuna Foundation (Thomas Chidoka Centre for Human Development as it was known before now) used for the examination was also manipulated where the candidate used the old name of the centre (Thomas Chidoka Centre for Human Development) in her own manipulated result sheet.

In Ejikeme Joy Mmesomas submission, she owned up in the presence of her principal, and the Education Secretary that the narration by the JAMB officials was a true and correct description of what transpired. She also admitted to have given a manipulated result by herself unaided, using same phone Airtel Number.

According to her, she proceeded to the cybercafe (Prisca Global Computers, Uruagu, Nnewi) where she printed the results she had manipulated.

The Committee tried to find out the motive behind her action, but Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma said NOTHING. In their own submissions, the Principal Anglican Girls Secondary school, Uruagu Nnewi, and the Education Secretary-Diocese of Nnewi (Anglican Communion) expressed shock at what transpired where in their presence, Mmesoma admitted to have manipulated her UTME results, deceiving the school, her immediate family and the State Government.

COMMITTEES FINDINGS

The results released by the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) with respect to the UTME score of Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma is 249

2 The results paraded by Epheme Joy Mmesoma with aggregate score of 362 is fake as buttressed by the very significant and instructive variations In the registration number, date of birth centre name and other Infractions to Mmesoma admitted that she manipulated the fake results herself, using her phone.

The Principal of Anglican Girls Secondary School, Mrs. Edu Uche and the Education Secretary, Diocese of Nnewi (Anglican Communion) expressed dismay at the conduct of Ejikeme Mmesoma

RECOMMENDATIONS

1. That Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma tenders an unreserved written apology to the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (AMB), the School (Anglican Girls Secondary School, Uruagu Nnew) and the Anambra State Government. This should be done immediately.

2. Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma should undergo a psychological counselling and therapy

3. All prospective candidates for JAMB Admission should adhere strictly to guidelines, processes and procedures of the examination body.

The Committee of Inquiry commends Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) for their diligent handling of the matter and the information supplied about the interface with the candidate (see attached). We hope that this unearthing of the truth as we have discovered will go a long way in correcting the sentiments, misconceptions and deceptions that have been in the public domain.

CONCLUSION

Finally, we thank Mr. Governor for setting up this Committee, and, for the confidence reposed in the committee.

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A former Minister of Education in Nigeria, Oby Ezekwesili, has spoken on the findings of a panel which investigated alleged forgery of Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) test scores by Ejikeme Mmesoma, a candidate in the examination.

Background

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), on Sunday, accused the candidate of manipulating her UTME results and inflating the scores from 249 to 362. But the candidate insisted that the 362 was the score she received both on the JAMB website and in the SMS sent to her by the board.

The examination body subsequently announced it would withdraw the candidates original UTME result and barred her from taking the test for the next three years.

But Miss Mmesoma, the candidate, in a viral video on Monday, insisted that the controversial score of 362 claimed by her was printed from the JAMB website and the examination bodys accusation had left her traumatised.

Like several other Nigerians, Mrs Ezekwesili, called for an independent investigation into the controversy.

Consequently, the Anambra State Government, last week, set up a panel of inquiry into the controversy.

Headed by Nkemdili Nnonyelu, a professor, the eight-member panel, on Friday, confirmed that Miss Mmesoma forged the score of 362 as earlier claimed by the JAMB.

According to the eight-page report, a copy of which was obtained by PREMIUM TIMES, the candidate confirmed she single-handedly forged the result before approaching a cyber cafe for printing.

Ezekwesili reacts

Reacting, Mrs Ezekwesili said she had read the report of the panel and that she was satisfied with their findings.

I am satisfied with the process and findings of their investigation which gave Mmesoma fair hearing to enable the committee to gather all facts, the former minister wrote on her verified Twitter handle on Saturday, shortly after the report went public.

Mrs Ezekwesili, who attached a screenshot of the report in the Twitter post, stressed that it was necessary to have such independent evidence that the result paraded by Miss Mmesoma was not only fake but also personally forged by her.

Mmesomas action has consequences. I therefore support the sanctions imposed by JAMB (on Mmesoma) as a deterrent to all who participate in the systemic exam malpractices within our educational system, she said.

Continuing, the former minister stated, I also recommend sustained counselling for Mmesoma by the family, school and church to support her as she reflects on this tragic episode and makes a decision to embrace values and rewards of effort while eschewing dishonest gain for the rest of her life.

Mr Ezekwesili expressed hope that other students and parents and, indeed, all Nigerians will learn from this incident and renew collective commitment to uphold exam integrity in Nigeria as a cornerstone of the countrys values and reward system for children and youths.

I wish to thank JAMB for their good and encourage the registrar and his team to continue with their critical service to our country and people as we all join them to sustain raising of awareness on exam integrity, she said.

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The Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) said the burning of the Holy Quran in Stockholm, Sweden was a provocative and blasphemous act that affirms the high level of islamophobia among some people worldwide.

In a statement by Salisu Shehu, the deputy secretary-general of the council, said the act was evidence of the impunity of some islamophobes hatred for Muslims

Mr Salihu said the person who desecrated the Holy Quran was insensitive to the feelings of billions of Muslims worldwide.

He expressed surprise that such an act would be allowed to be undertaken in a country celebrated as the most peaceful in the world.

Actions and utterances credited to these Islamophobes smack of gross insensitivity, and disrespect for the feelings and sensibilities of nearly two billion Muslims in the World. This is one too many attacks on Mosques in Sweden, especially recalling that of 2015 and another in December 2022, following which a damaged copy of the Quran was left chained up and hanging outside the entrance of the Mosque.

It is ironical that a blasphemous act of the current magnitude would be allowed in a country often celebrated as one of the most peaceful in the entire Europe.

The Council is particularly shocked that the supposedly intelligent and civilised Swedish Police would fail to restrain, thereby tacitly granting permission for an individual to carry out such an obvious offensive and provocative act of burning a Holy Book. This seemingly without regard to the consequences or its potential to result in or snowball into a religious crisis not only in Sweden or Europe but also across the world. This begs the question of a determination of the insensitivity or culpability of the Swedish Police in this matter, Mr Salihu said.

Mr Salihu accused Sweden and other countries of allowing and supporting the desecration of Islamic religious symbols without minding the consequences of such actions.

He said such countries have damaged their reputations as civilised nations while Muslims would see their proclamation of human rights and democracy as a facade.

By all measures, European countries that permit or tacitly support sacrilegious acts against Islamic symbols of faith and veneration have fallen short of justice, fairness, honour and decorum. They have caused irredeemable damage to their image as civilised and humane nations. In the eyes of the Muslim World, their proclamation of democracy, human rights, freedom of religion and similar grandstanding postures are nothing but a facade, he said.

While Mr Salihu said NSCIA believes no Holy Book should be desecrated, the Council called on the Swedish authorities to urgently investigate and bring the culprits to book.

The Council calls on the Swedish Authorities to as a matter of urgency, investigate the matter, make the report public, and ensure that justice is not only done but seen to be done. Meanwhile, the Council enjoins the Ummah across the world to remain calm and continue to be peaceful and law-abiding in the face of this provocation, Mr Salihu said.

Back story

On Wednesday, the 28 of June, which was the first day of Eid El Adha celebrations, an Iraqi man living in Sweden, Salwan Momika, burnt the Holy Quran.

Mr Momika was said to have been given permission by Swedish authorities in accordance with free speech in the country.

Several countries, including Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United States, Iran, and Morocco among others, have condemned the act and called for an investigation.

This would not be the first time Quran was burnt in the country. Last January, an activist, Rasmus Paludan, burnt a copy of the Holy Book.

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A former minister of State for Labour and Productivity, Festus Keyamo, has asked Ejikeme Mmesoma to apologise to Nigerians and the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) for forging her Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) test scores.

Mr Keyamo stated this via his verified Twitter handle on Saturday.

Background

JAMB had, on Sunday, accused Miss Mmesoma of manipulating her UTME results and inflating the scores from 249 to 362. But the candidate insisted that the 362 was the score she received both on the JAMB website and in the SMS sent to her by the board.

The examination body subsequently announced it would withdraw the candidates original UTME result and barred her from taking the test for the next three years.

But Miss Mmesoma, the candidate, in a viral video on Monday, insisted that the controversial score of 362 claimed by her was printed from the JAMB website, and the examination bodys accusation had left her traumatised.

Several Nigerians called for an independent investigation into the controversy.

Consequently, the Anambra State Government, last week, set up a panel of inquiry into the controversy.

Headed by Nkemdili Nnonyelu, a professor, the eight-member panel, on Friday, confirmed Miss Mmesoma forged the score of 362 as earlier claimed by the JAMB.

According to the eight-page report, a copy obtained by PREMIUM TIMES, the candidate confirmed she single-handedly forged the result before approaching a cyber cafe for printing.

Keyamo reacts

Reacting, Mr Keyamo said he deliberately waited for the end of the investigation before commenting on the matter.

He said Miss Mmesomas parents should encourage her to tender a public apology to JAMB, her family and Nigerians and subsequently be allowed to get admission based on her actual score of 249.

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Anyone still pushing other narratives over this issue is not helping her and her family, he said.

The former minister said, judging by her actual score of 249, Miss Mmesoma is a brilliant girl, stressing that the country should not destroy her for her juvenile mistakes.

What she (Mmesoma) needs is counselling, correction and guidance. She obviously did not know the weight and gravity of what she was doing.

As teenagers, most of us made juvenile mistakes that never came to light, he stated, adding that the matter should end at this point.

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The managements of the American University of Nigeria, and PREMIUM TIMES have pledged to strengthen the relationship between the two organisations towards advancing excellence in academic research and national development.

The universitys Vice-Chancellor, Dewayne Frazier, and the newspapers Editor-in-Chief, Musikilu Mojeed, pledged this during the formers visit to PREMIUM TIMES headquarters in Abuja.

Existing partnership

Earlier in 2021, the two organisations commenced a partnership which birthed the AUN-PREMIUM TIMES Data Hub- an initiative aimed at simplifying into readable articles and analyses, the research conducted by AUN academics for public consumption in the civic space.

However, the partnership, aimed at having the university provide academic and theoretical solutions to societys problems, has recently experienced downtime.

We were really excited about it. We started very well, and the reception was great, Mr Mojeed said.

You have a lot of brilliant faculties that understand a lot of the issues, and we were disappointed that after a while, we were not getting the contents.

He, however, said the downtime had not affected the existing relationship.

Strengthening partnership

In his response, Mr Frazier said the downtime experienced was partly due to the leadership transition between him and his predecessor, Margee Ensign.

He said: We will make a newfound commitment to work with the media at a different level than we have in the previous years.

I will make sure to reward them (academics) for engaging in this. Making them experts will make more students, especially parents, who would say, I want you to study under someone like this guy.

Mr Mojeed noted that the data-driven writings by the academics would help provide knowledge-based analysis in the civic space.

He said the newspapers mission of strengthening democracy and providing informed commentaries on issues aligns with the universitys.

We believe that they will be providing a huge service not just to Nigeria but to the world because people will have a better understanding of issues, he said.

Mr Mojeed, who doubles as the President of the International Press Institute Nigeria, said the newspaper has a rich history of collaboration and that the company will encourage the existing relationship.

Your mission and ours seem to align substantially, he added.

About AUN-PREMIUM TIMES Data Hub

The AUN-PREMIUM TIMES Data hub, a brainchild of the partnership, is a unique collaboration between higher education and the media to inject more data-driven analysis into the Nigerian civic space.

The hub provides a platform enabling academics to interrogate reliable data and use them to provide insightful analyses that help the authorities and citizens make accurate and informed decisions.

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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The new Italian law violates the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which makes it obligatory for a ship captain to render immediate assistance to people in distress. Also, the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (OLAS), imposes on countries a legal obligation to provide assistance to those in distress, including, if necessary, carrying out multiple rescue operations. This is also part of the European Union law  REGULATION, EU, No 656/2014)  which binds Italy.

Italy, the beautiful south-central European country that juts into the Mediterranean Sea and embraces the Alps, giving mountainous hugs to Switzerland and France, is one of the earliest human civilisations. It is so civilised that its animals are protected in the countrys constitution and have fundamental rights such as the right of a dog to be walked out in the streets, at least thrice weekly. Animals kept for farming purposes have the right to food, water, satisfactory environmental conditions and the right to free movement.

If animals can be so well regarded, how much more humans? However, that is the basic issue. While the Italian state treats its citizens with dignity, it has laws on migrants headed for its shores that states clearly that their lives are not only worth less than that of a dog or rabbit, but that they do not even have a right to life.

In its Piantedosi Act, passed on 24 February, if a charity vessel carrying persons rescued at sea comes across a vessel in distress, a shipwreck or persons drowning in the turbulent waters, it must not rescue them. Rather, such a ship must first sail to a designated port, no matter how far, discharge its passengers, do the necessary paper work, before seeking to return to the disaster scene. The new Italian sea law criminalises multiple sea rescues. The captain or owner of any vessel which breaches the new law is liable to a fine of between 10,000 and 50,000 ($53,355), while the vessel can be impounded for up to two months or even confiscated.

Pathetically, the Italian government claims the new law is to protect immigrants. Its Deputy Interior Minister, Nicola Molteni, told the countrys upper Senate that if immigration is not controlled, it creates exploitation, forced labour, illegal labour.

The new law is a fine-tuning of the Italian governments 2022 policy of blocking humanitarian ships from accessing its ports, because it is not the duty of Italy to take in people rescued from the seas.

In implementing the new law and ensuring drowning people are not quickly rescued  if they are rescued at all  the Italian government designates faraway ports for rescue vessels. This not only increases the operational costs of the vessels, but also reduces the time for possible new rescue. Although Italy claims its coast guard rescues vessels in distress, but the complaint is that it is only when a distressed vessel reaches the Italian search-and-rescue zone on its own, before the coast guards begin to respond. Even at that, it is not an immediate response, as the vessel may be left on its own to tug on to an Italian port before rescue is carried out. Until then, the distressed vessel and its occupants are on their own.

The Italian government is already putting its new anti-human law into practice. A German rescue ship, Sea-Eye 4, was heading to the port of Ortona, in the central region of Abruzzo, after rescuing 17 persons in the Libyan search-and-rescue zone, when it received a distress call. It was from a boat carrying over 400 people. It decided to turn back to render rescue assistance. On 2 June, the Italian government found the ship guilty of violating the new law, and clamped a 20-day detention on it.

The Italian governments action against the rescue of vessels in the name of stemming migration, is not logical. This is because, statistically, the overwhelming number of those migrating to Italy do not go come across the Mediterranean Sea, they come from Eastern Europe. For instance, in 2020, 16% of the migrants came from Romania, 7.6% from Albania, 7.1% from Morocco, while Ukrainians accounted for 4%, and China for 3.7%. This means that of the 38.4% bulk of migrants, only 7.1% came from Africa and the Middle East.

In 2022, 90% of the 105,000 migrants who arrived in Italy did not come through the vessels; they were migrants mainly from Eastern Europe. Only 10% came over the seas.

So, the new Italian law is primarily designed to make the rescue of human lives in the seas very difficult, expensive and criminal.

The Italian government is already putting its new anti-human law into practice. A German rescue ship, Sea-Eye 4, was heading to the port of Ortona, in the central region of Abruzzo, after rescuing 17 persons in the Libyan search-and-rescue zone, when it received a distress call. It was from a boat carrying over 400 people. It decided to turn back to render rescue assistance. On 2 June, the Italian government found the ship guilty of violating the new law, and clamped a 20-day detention on it.

A similar sanction was imposed on a sister rescue vessel, Mare*Go. The 104-year-old, four-metre-long pleasure craft, with 36 rescued persons on board, was directed by the Italian authorities to head to the port of Trapani, on the west coast of Sicily, to dock. But the vessel warned that it could not cover that distance. So it was sanctioned. The Mare*Go in a reaction said: This current new law is another tool to let more people on the move drown at sea.

In human history and practice, when a distress Mayday call, which indicates that that a vessel is in grave danger and needs immediate assistance, goes out, all vessels and humans within the area rush to its rescue as it may be sinking or there is fire on board. It is this sense of oneness and value for human life that the Italian government is trying to obliterate.

The Italian government also accused the Geo Barents vessel, owned by the Doctors Without Borders  MSF, of withholding some information after it rescued 48 migrants and ferried them to the Adriatic port of Ancona. For this alleged criminal act, Geo Barents was blocked for 20 days and MSF fined 10,000.

The Italian authorities had apparently been on the lookout for the MSF vessel, which had on Tuesday, 24 January rescued 61 persons. However, as it headed for the La Spezia port, as instructed by the Italian authorities, it received a distress call and turned back. Then, it received a third distress call from another vessel, thus engaging in three rescue operations and saving 237 persons, including 73 unaccompanied minors, UAMs. It is such spectacular rescues that the new law wants to stop. The Italian state would rather that lives perish at sea than be rescued.

In human history and practice, when a distress Mayday call, which indicates that that a vessel is in grave danger and needs immediate assistance, goes out, all vessels and humans within the area rush to its rescue as it may be sinking or there is fire on board. It is this sense of oneness and value for human life that the Italian government is trying to obliterate.

The new Italian law violates the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which makes it obligatory for a ship captain to render immediate assistance to people in distress. Also, the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (OLAS), imposes on countries a legal obligation to provide assistance to those in distress, including, if necessary, carrying out multiple rescue operations. This is also part of the European Union law  REGULATION, EU, No 656/2014)  which binds Italy. But who can call Italy to order? It is not listening to the UN, EU, international organisations or the Vatican.

Italy prefers to be lawless and treat human life with the type of levity it does not treat even its animals.

Owei Lakemfa, a former secretary general of African workers, is a human rights activist, journalist and author.

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Katsina State government has concluded arrangements to engage about 2,400 youths to assist in providing security in some local governments hit by insecurity.

In a statement signed by the senior special assistant to the state governor on media, Malam Miqdad, on Saturday, the government said it has already started planning how to go about the recruitment of the youths in eight local governments.

The local governments are Kankara, Faskari, Sabuwa, Dandume, Batsari, Safana, Danmusa and Jibia. He said 300 youths will be recruited from eight of the local governments.

On Friday, July 7, 2023, the Deputy Governor, Alhaji Faruk Lawal-Jobe, launched the distribution of forms to the LG chairmen whose LGAs have been battling with insecurity.

The forms will be subsequently distributed to able-bodied youths who are willing and ready to take part in the protection of the lives and properties of their community members.

He said the development was one of the key campaign promises of the governor, adding that the youths would be trained by security personnel.

Katsina, like most states in Nigerias North-west region, is grappling with serious insecurity.

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Gangs of terrorists have laid siege on rural communities killing and kidnapping residents at will. These attacks have led to one of the worst humanitarian crises in the country with people displaced and others killed in the decade-long conflict.

Efforts by the government and security agencies have fallen short of arresting the situation and the approach of recruiting youth to provide security is similar to what was done in Borno State where a youth vigilante group called Civilian JTF has been instrumental in rolling back the threat posed by Islamist group Boko Haram.

(NAN)

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The police in Enugu State, south-east Nigeria, said they have killed four gunmen who were enforcing a controversial one week sit-at-home order declared by a faction of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

The police spokesperson in Enugu State, Daniel Ndukwe, disclosed this in a statement on Friday night.

One week sit-at-home

PREMIUM TIMES earlier reported that Simon Ekpa, the leader of Autopilot, a faction of the IPOB, had in a statement on 14 June, announced that there would be one week sit-at-home in the South-east.

Mr Ekpa, a self-acclaimed prime-minister of Biafra Republic Government in Exile, said the sit-at-home would hold from 3 to 5 July and continue from Friday 7 to 10 July.

He would later announce that Sunday 9 July had been exempted from the sit-at-home days, to allow residents of the region  which has a high population of Christians  to worship their God.

But Emma Powerful, the spokesperson of the IPOB faction led by Mr Kanu, later told PREMIUM TIMES that the sit-at-home order did not emanate from the group, but was declared by criminals seeking to frustrate the release of Mr Kanu.

Since 3 July, there had been reports of shootings by gunmen enforcing the civil action across the five states in the region.

How the gunmen were killed

Mr Ndukwe, a deputy superintendent of police, said police operatives serving in Awkunanaw Divisional Headquarters in the state had, on Friday morning, dislodged the gunmen when the operatives intercepted them attempting to snatch a minivan vehicle from a driver along Agbani Road, Enugu South Council Area.

The police spokesperson said the operatives foiled the attempt by engaging the hoodlums in a shootout, forcing them to abandon the vehicle and narrowly escaped with varying degrees of fatal gunshot wounds, due to superior firepower of the operatives.

He said the operatives subsequently recovered the vehicle, which had blood stains on its seats and other parts of the vehicle, adding that some arms and ammunition were also recovered from the attackers during the operation.

Mr Ndukwe said the operatives would later discover and recover bodies of four of the male hoodlums, in a forest behind G. Ede Filling Station/Seven-Up, at Awkunanaw, Enugu, where they escaped into.

Awkunawan is a community in Enugu South Local Government Area of the state.

The police spokesperson said the discovery of the bodies followed an intense manhunt operation launched by a combined team of security agencies.

One AK-47 rifle with a magazine loaded with 19 live ammunition of 7.62 calibres and two bottles of petrol bomb were among the items recovered from the hoodlums during the operations, according to the police.

The Commissioner of Police in the state, Ahmed Ammani, has reassured residents of Enugu State that the police and other security agencies in the state will not relent in their efforts to secure their lives and property, Mr Ndukwe said.

Mr Ammani asked the residents to go about their lawful businesses without fear as security measures had been put in place to guarantee their safety.

The police commissioner appealed for their continued support to the police and other security agencies in fighting crimes in the state.

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The Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing Company has withdrawn a scholarship awarded to Ejikeme Mmesoma, after an investigation revealed that she forged her 2023 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) test scores.

The spokesperson of the Innoson, Cornel Osigwe, disclosed this in a statement on Saturday.

Background

Miss Mmesoma, a student of the Anglican Girls Secondary School in Nnewi, Anambra State, had claimed to be the top scorer in the 2023 UTME with 362.

The feat fetched her accolades from Nigerians on social media including the Anambra State Government.

Innocent Chukwuma, the founder of Innoson company, would later award the candidate a N3 million scholarship.

But JAMB accused the candidate of manipulating her UTME results and inflating the scores from 249 to 362. The candidate, however, insisted that the 362 was the score she received both on the JAMB website and in the SMS sent to her by the board.

The examination body subsequently announced it would withdraw the candidates original UTME result and barred her from taking the test for the next three year.

But Miss Mmesoma, the candidate, in a viral video on Monday, insisted that the controversial score of 362 claimed by her was printed from the JAMB website and the examination bodys accusation had left her traumatised.

Several Nigerians called for an independent investigation into the controversy.

Consequently, the Anambra State Government, last week, set up a panel of inquiry into the controversy.

Headed Nkemdili Nnonyelu, a professor, the eight-member panel, on Friday, confirmed Miss Mmesoma forged the score of 362 as earlier claimed by the JAMB.

According to the eight-page report, a copy of which was obtained by PREMIUM TIMES, the candidate confirmed she single-handedly forged the result before approaching a cyber cafe for printing.

Withdrawal of scholarship

The spokesperson for Innoson Motors, Mr Osigwe said, given that the company had awarded Miss Mmesoma the scholarship in recognition of her supposed stellar performance, the finding that she manipulated her UTME results was deeply disappointing.

He said the manipulation of results by the candidate stands in direct contravention of the values of the company.

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In line with these principles and in response to the confirmed findings, we have made the difficult decision to withdraw the scholarship awarded to Miss Joy Mmesoma Ejikeme, he said.

This action is a testament to our unyielding commitment to honesty, integrity, and merit-based recognition.

Mr Osigwe said, although the withdrawal of the scholarship was regrettable and could cause dismay to those who stood by Miss Mmesoma including her school principal, it was crucial to maintain the integrity of the companys scholarship programme and its values.

We believe in rewarding exceptional students who display, not just academic prowess but also embody the values of honesty, transparency, and respect for the processes that govern our educational system, he said.

The spokesperson appreciated JAMB, Nigerians and the members of the panel set up by Governor Charles Soludo of Anambra State for their support during the period of controversy.

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Rivals in politically divided Libya have agreed to form a committee on sharing oil revenues, a move welcomed Saturday by the UN, after the Libyan National Army (LNA) in the east sought a "fair" split.

LNA, who backs the country's eastern administration, had last Monday called for a committee to address the issue. LNA threatened military action unless oil proceeds were divided fairly by the end of August.

Libya sits on Africa's biggest oil reserves, but the wedge between the eastern government and the United Nations-backed administration in Tripoli has hampered Libya's efforts to sharply ramp up output in response to a surge in European demand for non-Russian oil and gas.

The "Financial High Committee" has now been formed, Libya's Presidential Council, the North African country's highest executive body, said in a decree published Friday by local media.

UNSMIL, the UN Support Mission in Libya, said in a statement that it "welcomes the decision announced by the Presidential Council to establish a High Financial Oversight Committee to address fundamental issues of transparency in the spending of public funds and fair distribution of resources."

UNSMIL noted "the political consensus" reflected in membership of the Committee, which will include nominees from the eastern-based House of Representatives, its Tripoli-based rival the High Council of State, the UN-backed Tripoli government, and LNA.

Libya's National Oil Corporation and central bank, which manage oil revenues and are both based in Tripoli, will also have representatives on the body to be headed by Mohamed al-Manfi, who leads the Presidential Council.

That body was formed in February 2021 as part of a UN-sponsored political process. It consists of three members, each representing one of Libya's three regions.

UNSMIL said the financial oversight committee's "inclusive approach" will also help enable "a level-playing field for all candidates in the elections".

Ballots in Libya had been due in December 2021 but disputes including who should stand in the polls meant they were never organised.

The UN has been working to ease the sticking points, in the hopes that elections could take place this year.

Crude oil is the main revenue source for Libya, which has been torn by more than a decade of stop-start conflict, involving foreign powers and a myriad of militias, since a NATO-backed revolt toppled strongman Moamer Kadhafi in 2011.

LNA have in the past blockaded the country's oilfields, which in May produced around 1.2 million barrels per day, according to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

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NEW YORK, July 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The automotive radiator fan market size is forecast to increase by USD 221.83 million from 2022 to 2027. The market is estimated to progress at a CAGR of 6.69%, according to a recent market study by Technavio. The growth of the market will be driven by the increasing demand for fuel-efficient vehicles, the production shift of automotive radiator fans to low-cost countries, and the growth in high-performance vehicles. Charts & data tables about market and segment sizes for a historic period of five (2017-2021) years have been covered in this report. Download The Sample Report

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The automotive e-compressor market size is expected to increase by USD 7.45 billion from 2021 to 2026, at a CAGR of 25.65%. Furthermore, this report extensively covers automotive e-compressor market segmentation by application (passenger cars and commercial vehicles) and geography (APAC, North America, Europe, South America, and the Middle East and Africa). The increasing adoption of automotive electric HVAC compressors is one of the key drivers supporting the automotive e-compressor market growth.

The automotive premium tires market size is expected to increase to USD 33.72 billion from 2021 to 2026, and the market's growth momentum will accelerate at a CAGR of 10.58%. Furthermore, this report extensively covers automotive premium tires market segmentation by end-user (replacement and OEM) and geography (North America, APAC, Europe, Middle East and Africa, and South America). One of the key factors driving growth in the automotive premium tires market is the increasing penetration of TPMS in truck tires.

Automotive Radiator Fan Market Scope Report Coverage Details Base year 2022 Historic period 2017-2021 Forecast period 2023-2027 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of 6.69% Market growth 2023-2027 USD 221.83 million Market structure Fragmented YoY growth 2022-2023 (%) 6.23 Regional analysis APAC, Europe, North America, South America, and Middle East and Africa Performing market contribution APAC at 34% Key countries US, China, Japan, Germany, and France Competitive landscape Leading Vendors, Market Positioning of Vendors, Competitive Strategies, and Industry Risks Key companies profiled Air International Thermal Systems, AMETEK Inc., Bergstrom Inc., BorgWarner Inc., DENSO Corp., Flexxaire Inc., HELLA GmbH and Co. KGaA, Horton Holding Inc., Johnson Electric Holdings Ltd., MAHLE GmbH, Marelli Holdings Co. Ltd., Multi Wing America Inc., Nidec Corp., NRF BV, Robert Bosch GmbH, SPAL Automotive Srl, Sunonwealth Electric Machine Industry Co. Ltd., Toshiba Corp., Valeo SA, and Delta Electronics 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.

Table of Contents

1 Executive Summary

1.1 Market overview

Exhibit 01: Executive Summary  Chart on Market Overview



Exhibit 02: Executive Summary  Data Table on Market Overview



Exhibit 03: Executive Summary  Chart on Global Market Characteristics



Exhibit 04: Executive Summary  Chart on Market by Geography



Exhibit 05: Executive Summary  Chart on Market Segmentation by Type



Exhibit 06: Executive Summary  Chart on Market Segmentation by Application



Exhibit 07: Executive Summary  Chart on Incremental Growth



Exhibit 08: Executive Summary  Data Table on Incremental Growth



Exhibit 09: Executive Summary  Chart on Vendor Market Positioning

2 Market Landscape

2.1 Market ecosystem

Exhibit 10: Parent market



Exhibit 11: Market Characteristics

3 Market Sizing

3.1 Market definition

Exhibit 12: Offerings of vendors included in the market definition

3.2 Market segment analysis

Exhibit 13: Market segments

3.3 Market size 2022

3.4 Market outlook: Forecast for 2022-2027

Exhibit 14: Chart on Global - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 15: Data Table on Global - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 16: Chart on Global Market: Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 17: Data Table on Global Market: Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

4 Historic Market Size

4.1 Global automotive radiator fan market 2017 - 2021

Exhibit 18: Historic Market Size  Data Table on global automotive radiator fan market 2017 - 2021 ($ million)

4.2 Type Segment Analysis 2017 - 2021

Exhibit 19: Historic Market Size  Type Segment 2017 - 2021 ($ million)

4.3 Application Segment Analysis 2017 - 2021

Exhibit 20: Historic Market Size  Application Segment 2017 - 2021 ($ million)

4.4 Geography Segment Analysis 2017 - 2021

Exhibit 21: Historic Market Size  Geography Segment 2017 - 2021 ($ million)

4.5 Country Segment Analysis 2017 - 2021

Exhibit 22: Historic Market Size  Country Segment 2017 - 2021 ($ million)

5 Five Forces Analysis

5.1 Five forces summary

Exhibit 23: Five forces analysis - Comparison between 2022 and 2027

5.2 Bargaining power of buyers

Exhibit 24: Chart on Bargaining power of buyers  Impact of key factors 2022 and 2027

5.3 Bargaining power of suppliers

Exhibit 25: Bargaining power of suppliers  Impact of key factors in 2022 and 2027

5.4 Threat of new entrants

Exhibit 26: Threat of new entrants  Impact of key factors in 2022 and 2027

5.5 Threat of substitutes

Exhibit 27: Threat of substitutes  Impact of key factors in 2022 and 2027

5.6 Threat of rivalry

Exhibit 28: Threat of rivalry  Impact of key factors in 2022 and 2027

5.7 Market condition

Exhibit 29: Chart on Market condition - Five forces 2022 and 2027

6 Market Segmentation by Type

6.1 Market segments

Exhibit 30: Chart on Type - Market share 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 31: Data Table on Type - Market share 2022-2027 (%)

6.2 Comparison by Type

Exhibit 32: Chart on Comparison by Type



Exhibit 33: Data Table on Comparison by Type

6.3 Ring type - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

Exhibit 34: Chart on Ring type - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 35: Data Table on Ring type - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 36: Chart on Ring type - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 37: Data Table on Ring type - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

6.4 Box type - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

Exhibit 38: Chart on Box type - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 39: Data Table on Box type - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 40: Chart on Box type - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 41: Data Table on Box type - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

6.5 Market opportunity by Type

Exhibit 42: Market opportunity by Type ($ million)



Exhibit 43: Data Table on Market opportunity by Type ($ million)

7 Market Segmentation by Application

7.1 Market segments

Exhibit 44: Chart on Application - Market share 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 45: Data Table on Application - Market share 2022-2027 (%)

7.2 Comparison by Application

Exhibit 46: Chart on Comparison by Application



Exhibit 47: Data Table on Comparison by Application

7.3 Passenger cars - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

Exhibit 48: Chart on Passenger cars - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 49: Data Table on Passenger cars - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 50: Chart on Passenger cars - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 51: Data Table on Passenger cars - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

7.4 LCVs - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

Exhibit 52: Chart on LCVs - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 53: Data Table on LCVs - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 54: Chart on LCVs - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 55: Data Table on LCVs - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

7.5 M and HCVs - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

and HCVs - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 56: Chart on M and HCVs - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 57: Data Table on M and HCVs - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 58: Chart on M and HCVs - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 59: Data Table on M and HCVs - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

7.6 Market opportunity by Application

Exhibit 60: Market opportunity by Application ($ million)



Exhibit 61: Data Table on Market opportunity by Application ($ million)

8 Customer Landscape

8.1 Customer landscape overview

Exhibit 62: Analysis of price sensitivity, lifecycle, customer purchase basket, adoption rates, and purchase criteria

9 Geographic Landscape

9.1 Geographic segmentation

Exhibit 63: Chart on Market share by geography 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 64: Data Table on Market share by geography 2022-2027 (%)

9.2 Geographic comparison

Exhibit 65: Chart on Geographic comparison



Exhibit 66: Data Table on Geographic comparison

9.3 APAC - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

Exhibit 67: Chart on APAC - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 68: Data Table on APAC - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 69: Chart on APAC - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 70: Data Table on APAC - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.4 Europe - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 71: Chart on Europe - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 72: Data Table on Europe - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 73: Chart on Europe - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

Exhibit 74: Data Table on Europe - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.5 North America - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 75: Chart on North America - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 76: Data Table on North America - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 77: Chart on North America - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

Exhibit 78: Data Table on North America - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.6 South America - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 79: Chart on South America - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 80: Data Table on South America - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 81: Chart on South America - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

Exhibit 82: Data Table on South America - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.7 Middle East and Africa - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

and - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 83: Chart on Middle East and Africa - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

and - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 84: Data Table on Middle East and Africa - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

and - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 85: Chart on Middle East and Africa - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

and - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

Exhibit 86: Data Table on Middle East and Africa - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.8 China - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 87: Chart on China - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 88: Data Table on China - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 89: Chart on China - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

Exhibit 90: Data Table on China - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.9 US - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

Exhibit 91: Chart on US - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 92: Data Table on US - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 93: Chart on US - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 94: Data Table on US - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.10 Germany - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 95: Chart on Germany - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 96: Data Table on Germany - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 97: Chart on Germany - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

Exhibit 98: Data Table on Germany - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.11 Japan - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 99: Chart on Japan - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 100: Data Table on Japan - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 101: Chart on Japan - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

Exhibit 102: Data Table on Japan - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.12 France - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 103: Chart on France - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 104: Data Table on France - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 105: Chart on France - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

Exhibit 106: Data Table on France - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.13 Market opportunity by geography

Exhibit 107: Market opportunity by geography ($ million)



Exhibit 108: Data Tables on Market opportunity by geography ($ million)

10 Drivers, Challenges, and Trends

10.1 Market drivers

10.2 Market challenges

10.3 Impact of drivers and challenges

Exhibit 109: Impact of drivers and challenges in 2022 and 2027

10.4 Market trends

11 Vendor Landscape

11.1 Overview

11.2 Vendor landscape

Exhibit 110: Overview on Criticality of inputs and Factors of differentiation

11.3 Landscape disruption

Exhibit 111: Overview on factors of disruption

11.4 Industry risks

Exhibit 112: Impact of key risks on business

12 Vendor Analysis

12.1 Vendors covered

Exhibit 113: Vendors covered

12.2 Market positioning of vendors

Exhibit 114: Matrix on vendor position and classification

12.3 Air International Thermal Systems

Exhibit 115: Air International Thermal Systems - Overview



Exhibit 116: Air International Thermal Systems - Product / Service



Exhibit 117: Air International Thermal Systems - Key offerings

12.4 AMETEK Inc.

Exhibit 118: AMETEK Inc. - Overview



Exhibit 119: AMETEK Inc. - Business segments



Exhibit 120: AMETEK Inc. - Key offerings



Exhibit 121: AMETEK Inc. - Segment focus

12.5 Bergstrom Inc.

Exhibit 122: Bergstrom Inc. - Overview



Exhibit 123: Bergstrom Inc. - Product / Service



Exhibit 124: Bergstrom Inc. - Key offerings

12.6 BorgWarner Inc.

Exhibit 125: BorgWarner Inc. - Overview



Exhibit 126: BorgWarner Inc. - Business segments



Exhibit 127: BorgWarner Inc. - Key news



Exhibit 128: BorgWarner Inc. - Key offerings



Exhibit 129: BorgWarner Inc. - Segment focus

12.7 Delta Electronics Inc.

Exhibit 130: Delta Electronics Inc. - Overview



Exhibit 131: Delta Electronics Inc. - Business segments



Exhibit 132: Delta Electronics Inc. - Key offerings



Exhibit 133: Delta Electronics Inc. - Segment focus

12.8 DENSO Corp.

Exhibit 134: DENSO Corp. - Overview



Exhibit 135: DENSO Corp. - Business segments



Exhibit 136: DENSO Corp. - Key news



Exhibit 137: DENSO Corp. - Key offerings



Exhibit 138: DENSO Corp. - Segment focus

12.9 Flexxaire Inc.

Exhibit 139: Flexxaire Inc. - Overview



Exhibit 140: Flexxaire Inc. - Product / Service



Exhibit 141: Flexxaire Inc. - Key offerings

12.10 HELLA GmbH and Co. KGaA

Exhibit 142: HELLA GmbH and Co. KGaA - Overview



Exhibit 143: HELLA GmbH and Co. KGaA - Business segments



Exhibit 144: HELLA GmbH and Co. KGaA - Key news



Exhibit 145: HELLA GmbH and Co. KGaA - Key offerings



Exhibit 146: HELLA GmbH and Co. KGaA - Segment focus

12.11 Horton Holding Inc.

Exhibit 147: Horton Holding Inc. - Overview



Exhibit 148: Horton Holding Inc. - Product / Service



Exhibit 149: Horton Holding Inc. - Key offerings

12.12 Johnson Electric Holdings Ltd.

Exhibit 150: Johnson Electric Holdings Ltd. - Overview



Exhibit 151: Johnson Electric Holdings Ltd. - Business segments



Exhibit 152: Johnson Electric Holdings Ltd. - Key offerings



Exhibit 153: Johnson Electric Holdings Ltd. - Segment focus

12.13 MAHLE GmbH

Exhibit 154: MAHLE GmbH - Overview



Exhibit 155: MAHLE GmbH - Business segments



Exhibit 156: MAHLE GmbH - Key news



Exhibit 157: MAHLE GmbH - Key offerings



Exhibit 158: MAHLE GmbH - Segment focus

12.14 Marelli Holdings Co. Ltd.

Exhibit 159: Marelli Holdings Co. Ltd. - Overview



Exhibit 160: Marelli Holdings Co. Ltd. - Product / Service



Exhibit 161: Marelli Holdings Co. Ltd. - Key news



Exhibit 162: Marelli Holdings Co. Ltd. - Key offerings

12.15 Robert Bosch GmbH

Exhibit 163: Robert Bosch GmbH - Overview



Exhibit 164: Robert Bosch GmbH - Business segments



Exhibit 165: Robert Bosch GmbH - Key news



Exhibit 166: Robert Bosch GmbH - Key offerings



Exhibit 167: Robert Bosch GmbH - Segment focus

12.16 SPAL Automotive Srl

Exhibit 168: SPAL Automotive Srl - Overview



Exhibit 169: SPAL Automotive Srl - Product / Service



Exhibit 170: SPAL Automotive Srl - Key offerings

12.17 Valeo SA

Exhibit 171: Valeo SA - Overview



Exhibit 172: Valeo SA - Business segments



Exhibit 173: Valeo SA - Key news



Exhibit 174: Valeo SA - Key offerings



Exhibit 175: Valeo SA - Segment focus

13 Appendix

13.1 Scope of the report

13.2 Inclusions and exclusions checklist

Exhibit 176: Inclusions checklist



Exhibit 177: Exclusions checklist

13.3 Currency conversion rates for US$

Exhibit 178: Currency conversion rates for US$

13.4 Research methodology

Exhibit 179: Research methodology



Exhibit 180: Validation techniques employed for market sizing



Exhibit 181: Information sources

13.5 List of abbreviations

Exhibit 182: List of abbreviations

About Us

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Email: [email protected]

Website: www.technavio.com/

SOURCE Technavio
TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, July 8, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- After a week featuring more than 460 well-known political and public figures, big business representatives and experts from 60 countries and 5 international organizations (among them, 19 ministers and high-ranking state figures, heads of 203 organizations, companies and associations, rectors, presidents and directors of more than 70 prestigious foreign universities and research centers) the theme of Uzbekistan as a "Eurasian Tiger" has taken shape.

Kong Wai Mun, Executive Director of Singapore International Cooperation Organization, said:

"Innovation and technology have proved to be a key driver for sustainable economic growth. Markets are gearing up for even more embrace of new technologies like AI. I'm glad to see that they are being embraced in Uzbekistan as a key lever toward even faster growth. In Singapore we are called a roaring lion, and I think you can even rise up above."

Uzbekistan's Minister of Energy Jurabek Mirzamahmudov highlighted what he called an "irreversible" reform process:

"We are closely working with foreign countries to the members of the World Trade Organization in order to accelerate the process of joining. It's utmost priority for us. That's why we're making reforms regarding land leasing for foreign investors, some exclusive tax and customs duty exemptions. Every day the government is working to create some new initiatives. We work 24/7 to create more comfortable atmosphere for or environment for business and foreign investors in Uzbekistan."

Pinar Yashar, World Bank Senior Economist for the Europe and Central Asia Regions added to the optimistic outlook, saying,

"There have been significant reforms over the last six seven years: exchange rate liberalisation, financial sector reforms and new tax code tax reforms, modernization of agriculture, and fiscal consolidation. The competition law was recently approved and I'm sure that it will contribute to the competition environment in the country so significantly. So as the World Bank, we are supporting. We have supported the ambitious reform agenda of the government."

In a dialogue with Uzbekistan's Minister for Employment and Poverty Reduction, Behzod Musaev, international political strategist George Ajjan observed, "We've heard throughout the week that Uzbekistan is poised to be the new Eurasian Tiger, much like Korea of 30 years ago. And I'm optimistic that if the pace of reforms continues, you will indeed achieve this."

In closing out the conference, Chairman of the World Society for the Study, Preservation and Popularization of the Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan, Firdavs Abdulkhalikov, stated, "We are pleased to receive such encouragement and recognition from our international partners on Uzbekistan's progress and reforms. We look forward to the implementation of the joint projects that were discussed during the week. Most of all, we are proud to have created a platform for regular dialogue and discussion to move Uzbekistan forward."

The week's program, a joint endeavor of the Center for Sustainable Development of Uzbekistan and the World Society for the Study, Preservation and Popularization of the Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan, featured more than 50 conferences, roundtable discussions and practical dialogues organized by research and analytical centers, business community, ministries and agencies together with more than 300 foreign partners.

SOURCE Center for Sustainable Development, Tashkent, Uzbekistan
BOGOTA, Colombia, July 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Ecopetrol S.A. (BVC: ECOPETROL; NYSE: EC, "Ecopetrol" or the "Company") informs the market that, as part of its comprehensive debt management, it will redeem (make whole) the remaining amount of its international notes maturing in September 2023, which were issued in 2013. The outstanding principal amount of the notes is USD 821.5 million with a coupon rate of 5.875% (CUSIP: 279158 AC3 / ISIN: US279158AC30).

The bonds will be redeemed on August 7, 2023 (the "Redemption Date"), at an approximate redemption price of USD 1,000.18 per USD 1,000 principal amount outstanding, plus accrued and unpaid interest.

The prepayment aligns with the objectives of the financial plan and reaffirms Ecopetrol S.A.'s commitment to its refinancing strategy and investment plan for 2023.

For further information, please refer to the press release at the following link:

https://files.ecopetrol.com.co/web/eng/notice-redemption-june2023.pdf

Ecopetrol is the largest company in Colombia and one of the main integrated energy companies in the American continent, with more than 18,000 employees. In Colombia, it is responsible for more than 60% of the hydrocarbon production of most transportation, logistics, and hydrocarbon refining systems, and it holds leading positions in the petrochemicals and gas distribution segments. With the acquisition of 51.4% of ISA's shares, the company participates in energy transmission, the management of real-time systems (XM), and the Barranquilla - Cartagena coastal highway concession. At the international level, Ecopetrol has a stake in strategic basins in the American continent, with Drilling and Exploration operations in the United States (Permian basin and the Gulf of Mexico), Brazil, and Mexico, and, through ISA and its subsidiaries, Ecopetrol holds leading positions in the power transmission business in Brazil, Chile, Peru, and Bolivia, road concessions in Chile, and the telecommunications sector. This press release contains business prospect statements, operating and financial result estimates, and statements related to Ecopetrol's growth prospects. These are all projections and, as such, they are based solely on the expectations of the managers regarding the future of the company and their continued access to capital to finance the company's business plan. The realization of said estimates in the future depends on the behavior of market conditions, regulations, competition, and the performance of the Colombian economy and the industry, among other factors, and are consequently subject to change without prior notice.

This release contains statements that may be considered forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All forward-looking statements, whether made in this release or in future filings or press releases, or orally, address matters that involve risks and uncertainties, including in respect of the Company's prospects for growth and its ongoing access to capital to fund the Company's business plan, among others. Consequently, changes in the following factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from those included in the forward-looking statements: market prices of oil & gas, our exploration, and production activities, market conditions, applicable regulations, the exchange rate, the Company's competitiveness and the performance of Colombia's economy and industry, to mention a few. We do not intend and do not assume any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

For more information, please contact:

Head of Capital Markets (a)

Diego Nicolas Lopez Reina

Email: [email protected]

Head of Corporate Communications

Juan Guillermo Londono

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Ecopetrol S.A.
DUBLIN, July 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Supply Chain Management: Global Markets" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The global supply chain management market is expected to reach $49 Billion by 2028 from 29.4 billion in 2023 at a CAGR of 10.7%.

The report provides an overview of the SCM market and analyzes market trends. Using 2022 as the base year, the report provides estimated market data for the forecast period 2023 through 2028. Revenue forecasts for this period are segmented based on component, deployment, enterprise size, industry, and geography.

The report also includes a section on the major players in the market. Further, it explains the major drivers, competitive intelligence, mergers & acquisition (M&A) deals, venture capital fundings, emerging technologies, and current trends of the SCM market. The report concludes with a focus on the vendor landscape and includes profiles of the major players operating in the global market.

Companies Mentioned

American Software Inc. (Logility Inc.)

Blue Yonder Inc.

Coupa Software Inc.

Descartes Systems Group Inc.

E2Open Parent Holdings Inc.

Epicor Software Corp.

Gainsystems Inc.

Infor Inc.

Jaggaer

Kinaxis Inc.

Korber AG

Manhattan Associates Inc.

Oracle Corp.

Sap Se

Wisetech Global

Report Includes

41 data tables and 36 additional tables

An overview of the global markets for supply chain management (SCM) and related technologies

Analyses of the global market trends, with historic market revenue data for 2022, estimates for 2023, forecasts for 2026 and 2027, and projections of compound annual growth rates (CAGRs) through 2028

Estimation of the actual market size and revenue forecast for global SCM market in USD million values, and corresponding market share analysis based on component, deployment, enterprise size, end-use industry, and region

Discussion of the key underlying trends (both current and emerging) related to SCM technology market, value chain analysis, regulatory environment, use cases, and the impact of industry-specific and region-specific macroeconomic variables on the progress of this market

A relevant patent analysis on the global supply chain management technologies, applications and solutions and review of recent key granted patents

Insight into the recent industry structure, competitive aspects of each product segment, increasing investment on R&D activities, market development strategies, and company value share analysis

Identification of the major stakeholders and analysis of the competitive landscape based on recent developments and segmental revenues

Today, trade is global and supply chains have expanded significantly to accommodate this global trade network. Supply chains have evolved into a complex ecosystem of suppliers, logistical service providers and purchasers.

The management of this ecosystem and the effective transportation of items and data from the point of production to the point of consumption are made possible by SCM software and systems. SCM includes all aspects of organizing, executing and managing the flow of products and services in order to effectively meet customer needs.

SCM covers the transportation and storage of initial supplies, inventories for work-in-progress, and finished goods from the point of production to customer delivery.



The pandemic significantly impacted the present supply chain in a number of ways. For instance, numerous plants in affordable manufacturing areas in Southeast Asian nations such as Indonesia, Vietnam and Malaysia shut down or reduced production, severely hurting the bottom line of multinational corporations. Problems might arise for everyone if there is an interruption at any point in the supply chain. The consequences of a weak supply network should be considered while analyzing the importance of supply chain management.

For instance, a factory might not have the resources necessary to produce a product that is in great demand due to a shortage of raw materials. That product's consumers may be impacted by sudden price increases if it becomes scarce.



There is a growing number of start-ups that are entering into the SCM industry. The companies are working on different technologies such as predictive maintenance, warehouse automation, AI, and blockchain. Quality assurance and vehicle inspection processes in the auto industry are rigid because they require manual labor.

The cost of production goes up, and the likelihood of human error goes up. Therefore, startups and other SCM businesses are providing AI-based optimization solutions that can spot flaws throughout a vehicle's lifespan. It's also challenging, if not impossible, to track down the origins of vehicle components. Startups are incorporating blockchain technology into the automotive manufacturing industry's supply chain to address this issue.

Key Topics Covered:

Chapter 1 Introduction

Chapter 2 Executive Summary and Highlights

Chapter 3 Market and Technology Overview

Scm History

Scm Overview

Porters Five Forces Analysis of Scm

Competitive Rivalry

Patent Analysis

Patents by Title, Code, Status, and Abstract

Impact of Covid-19 on Scm

Future of Scm

Chapter 4 Market Dynamics

Market Drivers

Market Opportunities

Market Challenges

Chapter 5 Market Breakdown by Business Segment

Overview

Software

Transportation Management Systems

Planning and Analytics

Warehouse and Inventory Management Systems

Procurement and Sourcing

Manufacturing Execution Systems

Services

Professional Services

Managed Services

Chapter 6 Market Breakdown by Deployment

Overview

Cloud

On-Premises

Chapter 7 Market Breakdown by Enterprise Size

Overview

Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)

Large Enterprises

Chapter 8 Market Breakdown by Industry

Overview

Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG)

Retail and E-Commerce

Healthcare

Industrial Manufacturing

Automotive

Transportation and Logistics

Wholesale Distribution

Others

Chapter 9 Market Breakdown by Region

Chapter 10 Emerging Technologies and Developments

Overview

IoT

Ai

Augmented Data Intelligence

Warehouse Automation

Robotics

Last-Mile Delivery

Blockchain

Chapter 11 M&A and Venture Funding Outlook

M&A Analysis

Venture Capital (Vc) Fundings in Scm

Chapter 12 Competitive Intelligence

Strategic Analysis

Recent Key Developments

Addressing White Space Opportunity in Scm Market

Chapter 13 Company Profiles

Chapter 14 Appendix: Acronyms

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/vjfa1y

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MACAO, July 8, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The 2023 World Cities Branding Conference opened at the MGM Cotai in Macao, China, on July 3. Government officials, industry experts and guest speakers across the world exchanged views on city branding, cultural exchanges, tourism and sustainable urban development. The conference was founded to support Chinese cities to build their branding and find new growth momentum in the cultural and tourism sector. The event also unveiled the 2023 Great Wall Award - Culture & Tourism Branding Award, with the trending BBQ of Zibo City in Shandong Province winning the gold medal, among 50 outstanding cases of the year.

World Cities Branding Conference opens in Chinas Macao

The first World Cities Branding Conference is initiated and organized by the Organizing Committee of the World Cities Branding Conference, and co-hosted by the World Tourism Economy Research Center. Phoenix New Media organized the event. MGM is also the chief partner and the official venue provider. And HONDA INSPIRE is the goodwill partner.

The conference is supported by the Macao Government Tourism Office and Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute. China Advertising Association and Communication University of China School of Advertisement, along with many other research institutes, join hands in developing this world-level international forum focusing on branding for cultural and tourism industries.

Lei Wai Nong, Representative of the Chief Executive of the Macao Special Administrative Region and the Secretary for Economy and Finance of the Macao SAR government; Pansy Ho, Chairman of the Global Tourism Economy Research Centre and Group Executive Chairman and Managing Director of Shun Tak Holdings Limited; Yang Hao, Deputy Director of the Economic Department of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Macao SAR.; Vincent U U Sang, President of Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute; Sun Yusheng, Executive Director and Editor-in-Chief of Phoenix Media Investment (Holdings) Limited and Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer of Phoenix New Media Limited; Zhang Guohua, President of China Advertising Association and Vice President of International Advertising Association; and Ding Junjie, Professor of Communication University of China and Director of the National Institute of Advertising, attended and spoke at the conference. Kenneth Feng, President, Strategic and CFO of MGM, also joined the event.

H.E. Mr. Arthayudh Srisamoot, Ambassador of Thailand to China; H.E. Mr. Alain Wong, Ambassador of Mauritius to China; H.E. Mr.John Busuttil, Ambassador of Malta to China; Patrick Nijs, Former Ambassador of Belgium to China; and Souad Zaidi, General Secretary of the Moroccan Association of mayors and Former Member of Moroccan Parliament; Robert Govers, Founding Chairman of the Internationa Place Branding Association (IPBA); John D Chacko, Global VP of International Advertising Association and Chairman of IAA World Congress 2024 also attended and spoke at the event.

Wu Hongbo, Former Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations and Honorary President of China International Public Relations Association; Hae-Guk HWANG, Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific at the World Tourism Organization, and Shan Jixiang, Chairman of the China Cultural Relics Academy and Former Director of the Palace Museum, also gave video speeches at the opening ceremony.

During the two-day conference, experts from across the world spoke at the event and shared their insights, including Denis Bax, Chief of the Communication, Cities and Events (CCE) Unit and Secretary of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network; David Aaker, "Father of Modern Branding", the Vice-Chair of Prophet Consulting Firm; Zhang Hui, Member of the "14th Five-Year Plan" National Development Planning Expert Committee of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and Deputy Director of the Expert Committee of World Tourism Cities Federation; Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, Director of Macao Government Tourism Office; Ouyang Changlin, Director of the Live Streaming Committee of CTAA and The former president of Hunan Broadcasting System; Robert Govers, Founding Chairman of the Internationa Place Branding Association (IPBA); Ray Ng, Executive Chairman of The Industry and Commerce Association of Macau; Ji Xiaodong, President of the China Chamber of Tourism (CCT); Prof. Wu Bihu from Peking University; and Yang Jie, Vice Chairman of Beijing ByteDance Charity Foundation.

Lei Wai Nong, Representative of the Chief Executive of the Macao Special Administrative Region and the Secretary for Economy and Finance of the Macao SAR government, said the founding of the World Cities Branding Conference is important, as this platform is key for cities across the world to exchange ideas, empower global engagement and promote people-to-people exchanges, to explore new opportunities. He added that the traditionally strong-branded cities need to speed up on urban renewal, working together with emerging cities, and share development opportunities.

Pansy Ho, the Chairman of the Global Tourism Economy Research Centre and Group Executive Chairman and Managing Director of Shun Tak Holdings Limited, expressed her aspirations during her speech. She emphasized the importance of Chinese cultural and tourism brands showcasing their exceptional qualities on a global platform, with the ultimate goal of becoming internationally recognized brands. Furthermore, she shared valuable insights regarding the Global Tourism Economy Forum, a global forum that she initiated in Macao, which has served as a pivotal platform for the global cultural and tourism industry to gain a deeper understanding of the authentic China over the past decade.

Sun Yusheng, Executive Director and Editor-in-Chief of Phoenix Media Investment (Holdings) Limited and Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer of Phoenix New Media Limited said as China undergoes urbanization, Chinese cities shall figure out their very own characteristics and charisma. Sun said he hoped Phoenix Satellite TV and Phoenix New Media can play their unique roles in helping cities shape their branding.

At the conference, two academic reports were launched, including the China Area Branding Value Report, presented by Prof. Ding Junjie of Communication University of China, also Director of the National Institute of Advertising, and the 2023 World Cities Branding Index Report, jointly presented by Zhang Tingting, Executive Chairman of the World Cities Branding Conference, also the Director of the Tourism Communication Research Center of the Advertising School at the communication university of China, and Scott Chen, Managing Director of Brand Finance China. The index covers 7 pillars including commercial and trade, livability, cultural heritage, people's values, sustainability & transportation accessibility, governance, and education & science.

Industry experts, government officials also joined a series of high-level round-table dialogues featuring a variety of topics, including "Promoting mutual cultural learning through city branding", "Building the soft power of sustainable development of world cities with brands", "Innovate Macao's cultural and tourism brand by content creation", "World-level tourism cities branding development and communication", "Youth design and city development", "Opportunities and challenges for high-quality development of China's county culture and tourism", "Building Lushan as a world-class tourism destination", "City creativity and international communication", etc.

Among these forums, government officials from Zhangjiakou City of Hebei Province, and Lushan City of Jiangxi Province, Tahe County of Heilongjiang Province, and Argara of Morocco shared their insights and experiences about on how to build good city branding at a panel discussion moderated by Xu Yue, co-initiator of the World Cities Branding Conference and Director of Culture and Tourism Communication at Phoenix New Media.

On July 4, a forum themed "MGM Dialogue: Rediscover the Value of Macao" focused on the branding development of Macao and the city's culture and tourism industry development, with experts from across sectors sharing their opinions. Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, Director of Macao Government Tourism Office, said it is important to explore effective marketing and communication campaigns to allow more tourists and general public from across the world to learn and understand the wonderfulness and uniqueness of Macao, a world-renowned tourism destination.

Phoenix New Media also launched a brand new IP "Let the World Fall in Love with Chinese Cities". The initiative will work with over 100 Chinese cities to better showcase their culture and tourism branding and offerings to the world, on the platforms of the Phoenix media and social platforms.

The event also unveiled the gold, silver and bronze awards for the Annual Good Culture and Tourism Award, a special selection of the renowned Great Wall Award. This was the first ranking of top 50 outstanding cases by the conference, covering 5 areas of best cases for branding communication and campaigns.

SOURCE PRNA MEDIA DEVELOPMENT
BEIJING, July 8, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- During a friendly competition called "A Digital Day Tour of Beijing" on June 17, young participants from several countries vied to unlock their missions in Beijing via some of China's most popular mobile apps, including hailing rides, learning about the ancient sage Confucius (551-479 B.C.), hopping on a shared bike, and posting pictures of their accomplished tasks on Weixin, China's domestic version of the WeChat super app. Those most adroit at using the apps won the "race."

Young people from 14 countries joined in the 2023 Future Close-Up Program from June 15 to 20

They immersed themselves in China-style digital life and successfully completed the tasks on their checklists. But three days earlier, when they had just arrived in Shenzhen, a major tech hub in south China's Guangdong Province, most of them had never heard of, let alone used, these Chinese apps.

"They" refer to 16 young people from 14 countries, including China, the United States, the United Kingdom, Spain, Brazil, South Africa and Pakistan, who joined in the 2023 Future Close-Up Program for a six-day journey, from June 15 to 20, taking them around Shenzhen and Beijing to gain an in-depth understanding of China's achievements in developing its digital economy.

Participants, comprised of entrepreneurs, scholars and reporters, first spent two days in Shenzhen and then four days in Beijing, including a one-day closing forum. The program was hosted by China International Communications Group (CICG) and Chinese Internet tech giant Tencent, and coordinated by the CICG Center for Americas.

App life

"Chinese applications and economies are always evolving to offer residents a better, more convenient life," said Jose Carlos Feliciano Nishikawa, a Peruvian participant and Deputy Director of the Center for China and Asia-Pacific Studies at his home country's Pacific University.

In 2009, when he first came to China, he created a QQ account, an instant messaging software service and web portal. Later, he used Renren, a Chinese social networking service similar to Facebook and Weibo, China's Twitter equivalent.

In 2013, he installed Weixin on his smartphone. "Every time I come to China, Weixin has new features," Nishikawa said at the 2023 Future Close-Up Forum in Beijing on June 20. In his eyes, the continuous upgrading of the app mirrors the ever-swifter progress of China's digitalization process.

At present, Weixin has become a multifunctional mobile application involving instant messaging, social media and mobile payment. Most people living in China use the app, together with other digital tools such as instant food delivery service apps, and Didi Chuxing (China's Uber equivalent), to meet their daily needs.

"China is a country where with just a smartphone in your hand, you can do everything," Zhang Weiwei, Director of the China Institute at Shanghai's Fudan University, told the forum. As a result, "Most people here haven't had a physical wallet on them for five or six years," he added.

Patrick Jack Robertson from Britain, CEO of Smart Air, a Beijing-based social enterprise tackling air pollution, echoed Zhang's remarks. Ten years ago, when the Brit first set foot on Chinese soil, he still needed to use cash and had to stand in line at the train station for an hour just to get a ticket. Today, he buys a digital ticket online and takes his passport to check in at the station.

"What impressed me most is how convenient technology is to use here in China," Luis Filipe de Souza Porto, a young 2023 Future Close-Up participant and a researcher of international relations at the Federal University of ABC in Brazil, told Beijing Review.

Digital economy

The closing forum of the program released a report on China and the world's digital economy titled Global Youth Wisdom: Digital Economy Makes the World a Better Place. The report was based on in-depth interviews with about 100 Gen Zs from different countries on their lifestyles and digital preferences.

China has the world's second largest digital economy in terms of value, the report read. In 2021, the combined value of the digital economy in 47 major countries accounted for 45 percent of their GDP, while last year, China's digital economy accounted for 41 percent of the country's GDP.

Ninety-five percent of surveyed Gen Zs said they engaged in digital activities every day and were fully aware of the enormous impact the digital economy has on people's lives. Gen Zs "have a clear and dialectical understanding of the digital economy," according to the report. They have a deep sense of the positive impact of the digital economy on personal life, global economic development and social progress, believe that the digital economy makes the world better, and are fully confident in the future development of the digital economy, the document further read.

Zhang Jun, General Manager of Tencent's Marketing and Public Relations Department, said at the forum that through the Future Close-Up Program, Chinese and foreign youth came to realize they actually have a lot in common: their expectations for digital technology by large are high, and they brim with curiosity as well as a desire to uncover and understand the future.

Connecting

The participants, many of whom are social media influencers, shared their stories and experiences during the tour. Take Rida Hameed, a reporter for Pakistan's K21 News, for example. Hameed shared a short video about her journey on Instagram which gained some 10,000 likes in a matter of minutes.

Long international flights and a packed schedule didn't dampen participants' enthusiasm. "I would like to learn more about the Chinese business landscape, meet like-minded businesspeople, explore ways to work with Chinese organizations and discover market trends in China," Latvian Arthur Gopak, CEO and co-founder of AlphaGamma, a business portal for young professionals, told Beijing Review.

Igor Alexander Bello Tasic, founder and CEO of Meta Ventures, told Beijing Review that his company is a metaverse and technology research and development consulting firm based in Spain. During the tour, he said that this marked his very first visit to China, something he'd been looking forward to for years, and he joined the tour to gain a better grasp of how other young participants envision the future and how they might be able to work together to turn that vision into reality.

"As an entrepreneur, I hope to establish valuable business connections and understand China's digital economy so that I can strive to promote the same in my country," Jibran Ali Khan, CEO of JAK Education and Innovation Consultancy and Media Brick in Pakistan, told Beijing Review soon after his arrival in Shenzhen. Ali Khan, too, was a first-time China traveler and could hardly contain his excitement.

The trip did not disappoint. During their two-day stay in Shenzhen, they visited companies such as Tencent, Honor, a leading global provider of smart devices, and Ping An, one of China's largest integrated financial groups. They had extensive in-person interactions with these companies' employees to learn more about their latest tech endeavors. At the closing forum in Beijing, the program's participants got the chance to talk with experts and other high-caliber young professionals to forge more new and interesting connections.

"Because of COVID-19, we lost the communication channels with overseas talents and high-caliber professionals and we must now reconnect to hear each other's opinions," Zhu Yuting, a participant of the program and an assistant professor of marketing at the National University of Singapore, told Beijing Review.

Li Yafang, President of the CICG Center for Americas, said in her speech at the forum that during this journey exploring China's thriving tech industry, all young attendees had experienced and witnessed the development of China's society, economy, technology and culture, while, at the same time, forging new bonds with people from different countries. "Every Chinese person you meet is a witness and participant in the development of contemporary China; their stories are a microcosm of the country's development story in the new era," she said.

Li said that as an "experienced youth," she very much enjoys communication and interaction with young people, as well as looks forward to Chinese and foreign youths providing fresh perspectives on China and injecting new energy into the promotion of exchanges between China and other countries around the globe.

Participants shared their understanding about the country during their journey into its digital domain.

With the digital technologies, we are able to navigate both Beijing's past and present, Tasic said after wrapping up the "digital day tour" of the capital city on June 17.

As China's digital development is rapidly advancing, it's important to assess how the use of artificial intelligence, the metaverse, virtual reality, etc. will affect people's lives in the future. China is standing at the forefront of all these aspects and the lessons from China can be useful for emerging markets, Nishikawa said.

"As a Chinese citizen, I am proud of the developments in China's digital economy over the past decade. I do feel that my life is becoming easier and easier thanks to technology," Zhu said.

The 2023 Future Close-Up Program was only "the first step in a long journey," Zhang Jun said. He believed that, in the future, we will all team up to build more bridges and platforms for communication, mutual trust and learning, and create more opportunities for everyone to communicate with each other.

Comments to [email protected]

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BeijingReview/status/1670726545982488577

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BJReview/videos/795733335512281/

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SOURCE Beijing Review
Egypts President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi congratulated Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on the victory of his New Democracy party in the Parliamentary elections in June, according to the Egyptian Presidency.

In the telephone call on Saturday, President El-Sisi also discussed with PM Mitsotakis the latest developments in the Middle East and the global impacts of the economic, food and energy crises.

El-Sisi expressed to Mitsotakis Egypt's appreciation for the strong cooperation with Greece on the bilateral level and within the framework of the trilateral cooperation mechanism with Cyprus.

For his part, PM Mitsotakis expressed to El-Sisi his country's mutual keenness to enhance cooperation with Egypt across various domains and to continue intensive consultations on matters of common interest.

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Noida, July 8 : A court in Uttar Pradesh's Greater Noida has granted bail to the Pakistani woman, who fell in love with an Indian man and was illegally staying in India, and her partner.

The woman, identified as Seema Haider, her partner Sachin Meena and his father Netrapal Meena were arrested recently. Seema was booked for illegally entering India, while Sachin and Netrapal were booked for sheltering the illegal immigrant.

The couple got in touch in 2019 through the online game PUBG and eventually got closer.

According to Advocate Hemant Krishna Parashar, the couple first met in Nepal in March and they tied the knot at Pashupatinath Temple in Kathmandu.

As Seema was not willing to return to Pakistan, she boarded a bus to India and reached here on May 13. Since then, the couple was residing together at a rented house in Ambedkar Nagar, Rabupura.

After police came to know about this, they reached their residence but by then, the couple had escaped.

A police team later nabbed the couple and Sachin's father from Ballabhgarh in Haryana.

Parashar cited Seema's four children, who were allowed to stay with her in jail, and their security concerns during the bail plea hearing. After this, the court granted bail to both of them. Besides, Sachin's father was also granted bail by the court.

Police recovered three fake Aadhaar cards from Seema and Sachin.
Houston, July 8 : The gunman who killed 23 people at an El Paso Walmart in Texas in 2019 was sentenced to 90 consecutive life terms by a federal judge on Friday.

Prosecutors had recommended Patrick Crusius, a 24-year-old white 'supremacist' targeting Latinos, receive consecutive life sentences for each of the 90 federal charges, including hate crimes and firearms offences, to which he pleaded guilty, Xinhua news agency reported.

The shooter had initially pleaded not guilty to the federal charges but changed his plea in February after prosecutors indicated they would not seek the death penalty.

On August 3, 2019, Crusius shot 23 people dead and injured dozens more at a Walmart store in El Paso, a major border city in western Texas.

US District Judge David Guaderrama handed down the sentences after a three-day emotion-filled hearing in downtown El Paso.

The gunman's defence team told the judge that their client was suffering from a mental disorder called schizoaffective, but prosecutors dismissed that was an explanation for his actions, the El Paso Times reported.

"What happened was a cold, calculated scheme targeting immigrants and Hispanics," federal prosecutor Ian Martinez Hanna said, noting mental illness was not an excuse.

"A shooting spree that spared no one. It was not a crime of passion. It was not an accident. It was a calculated act that he planned," said Hanna.

Crusius also faces a potential death penalty in a separate state case, in which he has pleaded not guilty to capital murder, according to the report. The state trial is expected to be held sometime in 2024 or 2025.
United Nations, July 8 : UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for the continuation of the agreements that allow food and fertilizer exports from Russia and Ukraine.

The secretary-general noted the indispensable role food and fertilizer exports from Russia and Ukraine continue to play in support of global food security, Xinhua news agency reported.

He reiterated the importance of full and continued implementation of the agreements signed in Istanbul in July 2022 to help ensure that these products can reach global markets smoothly, efficiently and at scale, said Farhan Haq, deputy spokesperson for Guterres, in a statement.

"These agreements are an all-too-rare demonstration of what the world can do when it puts its mind to the great challenges of our time. Together, the agreements are contributing to sustained reductions in global food prices, which are now more than 23 per cent below the record highs reached in March last year," said the statement.

The secretary-general and his team remain fully committed to building on the progress already made and are in constant contact with a wide range of stakeholders in this regard. The secretary-general called on all concerned to prioritize global food security, it said.

Russia and Ukraine signed separately with Turkey and the United Nations the Black Sea Grain Initiative in Istanbul in July 2022, which allows the export of Ukrainian grain and other agricultural products from Black Sea ports.

As a parallel agreement, Russia and the United Nations signed a memorandum of understanding on the facilitation of Russian food and fertilizer exports. However, little progress has been made on this part of the deal, prompting dissatisfaction from Russia.

The Black Sea Grain Initiative, initially in effect for 120 days, was extended in mid-November 2022 for another 120 days till March 18, 2023. At that point, Russia only agreed to extend the deal for 60 days. On May 17, Russia agreed to extend the deal for another 60 days.
Istanbul, July 8 : Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has met with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky in the Turkish city of Istanbul, the Turkish presidency said.

This is Zelensky's first visit to Turkey since the war broke out between his country and Russia in February 2022, but he has often spoken on the phone with Erdogan, whose country has been pushing for peace talks between Russia and Ukraine.

The two presidents met on Friday night at the Vahdettin Palace on the Asian side of the city, Xinhua news agency reported.

"Finishing a busy day in Turkey," Zelensky tweeted, followed by another tweet of an image of the two leaders shaking hands. "Coordination of positions on the peace formula, the NATO summit, security guarantees, and the grain initiative" were discussed, he said.

The talks between the two leaders were expected to focus on the ongoing conflict and a deal that allows Ukraine to export grain and other agricultural products from its Black Sea ports. The deal brokered by Turkey and the United Nations will expire on July 17 unless Russia agrees to its renewal.

Reconstruction of Ukraine and defence contracts between Turkish and Ukrainian companies also figured high in his talks with Erdogan, Zelensky said.

The visit also comes ahead of a NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, next week, where Western leaders within the military alliance will meet on a range of topics, including Ukraine's membership bids.
Washington, July 8 : US President Joe Biden has announced that the country has completed the destruction of its last chemical weapons stockpile.

"For more than 30 years, the United States has worked tirelessly to eliminate our chemical weapons stockpile. Today, I am proud to announce that the United States has safely destroyed the final munition in that stockpile - bringing us one step closer to a world free from the horrors of chemical weapons," he said in a statement on Friday.

"Successive administrations have determined that these weapons should never again be developed or deployed, and this accomplishment not only makes good on our long-standing commitment under the Chemical Weapons Convention, it marks the first time an international body has verified destruction of an entire category of declared weapons of mass destruction," he added.

The US President also expressed gratitude towards the thousands of Americans who gave their time and talents to "this noble and challenging mission" for more than three decades.

"I continue to encourage the remaining nations to join the Chemical Weapons Convention so that the global ban on chemical weapons can reach its fullest potential," Biden said, adding that Russia and Syria should return to compliance with the Chemical Weapons Convention and "admit their undeclared programmes, which have been used to commit brazen atrocities and attacks".
Washington, July 8 : Students in Washington D.C. will now have a chance to learn about the Sikh community with the District of Columbia State Board of Education voting in favour of new social studies standards that will include Sikhi, or the Sikh faith, in the school curriculum.

With this development, Washington D.C. will now join 17 states in the US to incorporate accurate information about Sikhs into their social studies standards for public schools.

The new standards will give approximately 49,800 students in the state the opportunity to learn about the Sikh community, a Sikh Coalition release stated.

Welcoming the announcement, Harman Singh, Sikh Coalition Education Director said: "Inclusive and accurate standards are an important first step to combat bigotry and to reduce bullying, and they benefit all students by increasing baseline cultural competency and decreasing ignorance".

In April this year, the Virginia State Board of Education voted in favour of new History and Social Science Standards of Learning, which includes Sikhism.

"These new standards will provide students in our nation's capitol with an opportunity to learn about Sikhi and the experiences of Sikh Americans in their classrooms," said Daljit Singh Sawhney, a prominent member of the Sikh community.

"Inclusive standards are integral to ensuring that Sikhs are seen and heard," Sawhney said.

These efforts mean that more than 25 million students from coast to coast have the opportunity to experience a more inclusive and holistic education, a Sikh Coalition statement said.

Sikhism is the fifth largest religion in the world and the community has contributed to American society for over 125 years in the fields of civil rights, politics, agriculture, engineering, and medicine.

--IANS

mi/ksk
Srinagar, July 8 : Due to heavy rain in the Pahalgam and Baltal routes, authorities temporarily suspended the Amaranth Yatra on Saturday, with no pilgrims allowed to move from Jammu to the Kashmir Valley.

"Heavy rain continues along both Pahalgam and Baltal routes to the holy cave. Keeping in mind the safety of the pilgrims, the Yatra has been suspended till weather improves," officials said.

"Meanwhile, no Yatri vehicle was allowed to move from the Bhagwati Nagar Yatri Niwas in Jammu towards the valley today. Rain also continues along the Jammu-Srinagar national highway which has been blocked due to landslide in the Cafeteria Morh area of Ramban district.

"All the Yatris are safe at the two base camps and at different transit points along the route," the officials added.

Due to bad weather, the Yatra remained suspended on Friday as well.

So far, over 87,000 pilgrims have performed the Amarnath Yatra which started on July 1 and will end after 62 days on August 31 coinciding with the Shravan Purnima festival.

There was light snowfall on Saturday morning near the cave shrine situated 3,888 metres above the sea-level.
New Delhi, July 8 : In a surprise move, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday interacted with farmers in Haryana's Sonepat and joined them in planting rice paddies in the fields .

Congress Rajya Sabha MP Imran Pratapgarhi told IANS that Rahul Gandhi was on his way to Shimla when he suddenly decided to meet the farmers at Sonepat. He stopped his vehicle, went to the farmlands, drove a tractor and also tried his hands in planting the rice paddy crops.

"Even after completing his Bharat Jodo Yatra, Rahul Gandhi continues to stay connected with the public," Pratapgarhi said.

According to party leaders, he also asked the farmers about the issues they are facing and about their earnings.

Earlier also, the Congress leader surprised the people with his sudden visits among the public. In March, he visited the Bengali Market and Jama Masjid area in the national capital. Later, he went to Mukherjee Nagar area and interacted with UPSC aspirants.

Gandhi also went to Delhi University's PG men's hostel over lunch and then Haryana's Murthal and from there he took a truck ride till Ambala.

Recently, he had also visited the Nike market in Karol Bagh area in Delhi and interacted with the bike mechanics.

During his recent visit to the US, Gandhi had also taken a truck ride from New York to Washington DC.

While in Karnataka during the Assembly elections, he had interacted with the delivery partners and took a scooter ride with them.

Rahul Gandhi had completed his 4,000 km Bharat Jodo Yatra from Tamil Nadu's Kanyakumari to Jammu and Kashmir's Srinagar.

After his yatra concluded on January 30, he has been interacting with people.
Belagavi : , July 8 (IANS) A Jain pontiff who went missing in Karnataka earlier this week has been murdered as two accused persons, currently in police custody, confessed to killing him in Belagavi district, sources said on Saturday.

According to the police sources, Acharya Shree 108th Kamakimara Nandi Maharaja from Chikkodi went missing on Thursday from the Jain Basadi at Nandi Parvat in Horekodi.

A seach operation is currently underway to recover the body.

After the pontiff was reported to be missing, the management told the police that property documents related to the Jain Basadi were also unaccounted for.

The inmates of the ashram last saw him at about 10 p.m. on July 5.

The pontiff had been residing at the Jain Basadi for the last15 years.

The missing case was lodged with Chikkodi police station by Bheemappa Ugare, the President of Acharya Kamakumaranandi Charitable Trust.

The police had taken the two accused persons into custody in this connection.

During the course of investigation, they confessed to killing the pontiff but gave contradictory statements regarding the disposal of the body.

The accused told the police that they threw thebody into an abandoned well in Katakabavi village.

But when searched, the body was not found.

The accused later claimed of disposing the body into a river.
Brussels, July 8 : NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the upcoming summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, will bring Ukraine closer to the military alliance.

"I expect that our leaders will once again confirm that Ukraine will become a member of NATO and agree on how to bring Ukraine closer to achieving its goal," Stoltenberg said at a press conference here late Friday.

He said that the NATO aims to adopt three regional defence plans at the summit from July 11-12, reports Xinhua news agency.

He said the military bloc would strengthen its deterrence in the Atlantic and European Arctic in the north, in the Baltic region and Central Europe in the center, and in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea in the south.

To execute these plans, NATO would put 300,000 troops on high readiness, including substantial air and naval combat power, Stoltenberg said.

The NATO chief added that he expected the endorsement of a new "Defence Production Action Plan to aggregate demand, boost capacity and increase interoperability",

At the summit, NATO allies are expected to set a more ambitious defense investment pledge to invest a minimum of 2 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) annually on defence.

The summit will also be attended by the leaders of Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea and the European Union.

This will be Finland's first summit as a NATO member, Stoltenberg noted, adding that the bloc "looks forward to Sweden joining as soon as possible".
The number of people killed in protests in Kenya rose to two on Saturday, a hospital official told AFP, after opposition leader Raila Odinga urged Kenyans to take to the streets against tax hikes.

Police on Friday fired tear gas in the capital Nairobi, targeting Odinga's convoy, and took similar steps against demonstrations in the cities of Mombasa and Kisumu.

"We had another death at the casualty now bringing the number of deaths to two as a result of demonstrations yesterday," said George Rae, CEO of Jaramogi Oginga Odinga hospital in Kisumu, an opposition stronghold on Lake Victoria.

On Saturday, police used tear gas on civil society representatives, including former chief justice Willy Mutunga, who were demanding the release of dozens of people taken into custody during the protests, campaigners said.

"It is not justified at all for police to hurl tear gas at us when we have come peacefully to seek the release of innocent activists detained in the cells since yesterday", said advocate Lempaa Suyianka.

"Some of them were even injured and they require medical attention," he told reporters.

The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights on Saturday called for "a thorough investigation into all reported incidents of police brutality", adding to the chorus of condemnation from rights groups including Amnesty International against "arbitrary arrests".

"The acts of police brutality, including the use of excessive force resulting in injuries and the arrest and detention of peaceful demonstrators, are clear violations of... constitutional provisions," the commission said in a statement.

Odinga's spokesman Dennis Onyango told AFP on Saturday his Azimio alliance plans to hold "at least one (protest) every week" against the policies of President William Ruto's government, with the next one expected on Wednesday.

10 million signatures



Odinga on Friday said he intended to collect 10 million signatures in a bid to remove his arch-rival from office.

The 78-year-old lost the August 2022 election to Ruto and has repeatedly denounced the poll as "stolen".

Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua dismissed Odinga's petition campaign, saying: "There is no provision in our constitution giving a leeway to remove a sitting president through signatures."

"The provision is that you vie in an election and win", he said Saturday.

Last week, Ruto signed into law a finance bill expected to generate more than $2.1 billion for the government's depleted coffers and help repair the heavily-indebted economy.

The Finance Act provides for new taxes or increases on basic goods such as fuel and food and mobile money transfers, as well as a controversial levy on all tax-payers to fund a housing scheme.

The government says the taxes will help create jobs and reduce public borrowing.

The Nairobi high court last month suspended implementation of the legislation after a senator filed a case challenging its constitutional legality.

But Kenya's energy regulator nevertheless announced a hike in pump prices after the doubling of VAT to 16 percent as stipulated in the law.

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Istanbul, July 8 : At a joint press conference with his visiting Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for extending the Black Sea Grain Initiative which will expire on July 17.

"We are making efforts to extend the duration of the Black Sea grain deal," Erdogan at the press conference on Friday night.

The Turkish leader noted that almost 33 million tonnes of grain have been delivered to those in need under the deal.

The UN and Turkey had brokered the Black Sea Grain Initiative with Russia and Ukraine to provide a humanitarian maritime corridor for ships with food and fertilizer exports from the Ukrainian Black Sea ports in July 2022 amid the ongoing war.

As the agreement expires on July 17, Erdogan said, "we are working on how long we can extend this period after July 17," adding that poor African countries in particular are in desperate need of grain shipments from Ukraine.

Erdogan noted that Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to visit Turkey next month and that he will discuss this issue with the latter face-to-face.

"We have made the most intensive efforts to bring the war between Russia and Ukraine to an end through negotiations on the basis of international law," said the Turkish president.

On his part, Zelensky said the Black Sea should be an area of safety and not of "so-called frozen conflicts".

"It is very important that we start working with our partners to ensure that the existence of the grain corridor and, therefore, the lives of other people, as Mr. President (Erdogan) said, on other continents (including Africa and Asia), do not depend on the mood in which the President of the Russian Federation wakes up," Zelensky added.

Ahead of the joint press conference, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov had said: "Of course, we will follow the results of these negotiations very closely. We maintain our constructive, partnership relations with Ankara and value these relations, and we feel reciprocity from the Turkish side.

"It will be interesting for us to know what will be discussed between Mr. Erdogan and Mr. Zelensky. It is important."

Peskov went on to complement the Turkish President for acting as an intermediary between Moscow and Kiev, saying Putin and Erdogan communicate regularly.
Istanbul, July 8 : Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has reaffirmed that his country would not green-light Sweden's accession to NATO unless the Nordic nation adopted a firm stance against "terror groups".

"How can a state that doesn't distance itself from terror organizations contribute to NATO?" Xinhua news agency quoted Erdogan as saying at the graduation ceremony of the National Defense University in Istanbul on Friday.

He said his government expected Sweden to abide by its promise of taking into account Turkey's security concerns.

The President further said that he would bring that to allies' attention at the NATO summit held in Vilnius, Lithuania next week.

Erdogan noted that Turkey backed NATO's open-door policy and was ready to welcome any state committed to the alliance's fundamental principles.

Sweden and Finland applied to join NATO last year but faced objections from Turkey on the grounds that the two countries harbor members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party and the Gulen movement.

Turkey eventually lifted its objection to Finland earlier this year after the Nordic country took "concrete steps" against such groups, and the country went on to become NATO's 31st member in April.

But Ankara maintains its veto of Sweden.

The military alliance will hold a summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, on July 11-12, at which NATO wants to finalise Sweden's admission process.
Hong Kong, July 8 : China has slapped hefty penalties on the country's two digital payments giants, Tencent and Alibaba, as part of its regulatory crackdown that began a couple of years ago.

Tencent, along with its payments subsidiary Tenpay, has been fined approximately 2.99 billion yuan ($410 million) by the People's Bank of China.

Tencent said it has received a notice from the People's Bank of China regarding its decision to impose a fine in the amount of approximately 2.99 billion yuan "on Tenpay for its past regulatory breaches in relation to the provision of payment services in the mainland of China".

"The company believes the financial regulators will focus on normalised regulation going forward, implementing financial policies and measures to promote the healthy development of the platform economy, and supporting and encouraging platform companies to continue their efforts in financial inclusion," it said in a statement.

Tencent said that as Tenpay has completed its self-inspection and corresponding rectification work, and the operational compliance capability of its payment business has been enhanced, "the company considers that the Decision does not have any material adverse impact on the operations and financial position of the Group as a whole".

China's central bank also announced to slap a 7.123 billion yuan (around $1 billion) fine on Ant Group, the fintech affiliate of Alibaba.

Ant Group was fined "for a range of illegal activities, including those concerning corporate governance, consumer protection, banking and insurance, payments and settlement, anti-money laundering practices and fund sales," reports TechCrunch.

In March, reports surfaced that Chinese tech giant Alibaba was planning to split the company into six business units, and each unit will explore fundraising or IPOs (initial public offerings).

During the past couple of years, Alibaba has faced slowing economic growth at home and tougher regulation from Beijing, which caused its share price to fall by billions.

"The move is designed to unlock shareholder value and foster market competitiveness," Alibaba was quoted as saying.

Alibaba founder Jack Ma, who has rarely been seen in public in the past years, resurfaced a couple of times this year. He has kept a low profile since criticising China's financial regulators in 2020.

In late 2020, China called off Ant's initial public offering, which would have become the largest IPO in history.
Kolkata, July 8 : West Bengal Governor C.V. Ananda Bose on Saturday condemned the widespread violence amid the ongoing panchayat elections in the state, saying the incidents were a blot on the democratic set-up.

As voting began early Saturday morning, the Governor has visited different violence-hit areas.

Addressing mediapersons in Kadambagachi, North 24 Parganas district, the Governor said: aSince the morning, i have been notifies of several incidents of clashes and violence. There has been a gun battle and bloodbath. I will provide more updates at a later stage. Whatever is happening is a blot on the democratic setup, where common people are unable to exercise their franchise without fear.

"But I still urge the people to come out and exercise their rights."

Since voting began, seven people have died so far.

Of the fatalities, two each were reported from Murshidabad and East Burdwan; and one each from Nadia, Cooch Behar and Malda.

The overall death toll since the polling date was announced on June 8, has increased to 26 as of Saturday.
Patna, July 8 : Bihar Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar has barred the Vice-Chancellors of five universities from taking policy-making decisions.

A notification in this regard was issued from the Raj Bhawan on Friday.

Being the supreme authority of all universities, the Governor has asked Patna university, Jay Prakash university Chapra, Bhupendra Narayan Mandal university Madhepura, Lalit Narayan Mithila university Darbhanga and Kameshwar Singh Darbhanga Sanskrit university Darbhanga to refrain from taking any policy decisions.

With this, the V-Cs of these universities have been directed to avoid doing transfers and posting on their own. They have also been asked to not initiate fresh projects without the approval of the Raj Bhawan.

Besides, no decision on financial aspects including fee and other charges university generally take from students can now be taken by them.
London, July 8 : The UK's Royal Mail has awarded over 2.3 million pounds (approx Rs 24 crore) in compensation to a British-Indian former employee who was bullied and intimidated for blowing the whistle on potential fraud relating to bonuses.

Kam Jhuti, a media specialist, was harassed by her boss Mike Widmer after she raised concerns that a colleague had secured their bonus illegitimately, The Telegraph reported.

In a lengthy court battle lasting nearly eight years, the Supreme Court ruled in 2019 that Jhuti was unfairly dismissed, and was left suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and severe depression.

A tribunal in 2022 had concluded that the postal service had been "high-handed, malicious, insulting and oppressive" in how it had conducted the case.

The court heard that Jhuti, born to Indian parents in the UK, started work at the Royal Mail's MarketReach unit based in London in September 2013.

When she suspected a team member breaching the company's bonus policy, Jhuti raised the issue with Widmer who began an extended bullying campaign against her.

The colleague was breaching company policy, obtaining a bonus for herself and indirectly securing Widmer's, according to media reports.

Jhuti was invited to accept three months' pay and subsequently a year's salary to leave Royal Mail.

She told the tribunal that after leaving Royal Mail in 2014, she suffered from post-traumatic stress and severe depression and has not been able to return to work because of her mental health.

In 2015, Jhuti took Royal Mail to an initial employment tribunal, and the lengthy legal battle culminated with the Supreme Court ruling in her favour.

A business expert in Tailor-Made Incentives or bonuses confirmed that Jhuti's allegations were correct.

Of the 2,365,614.13 pounds -- the highest ever payout by the Royal Mail -- Jhuti will only receive 250,000 pounds straight away at the moment, as the postal service plans to appeal the tribunal's findings, The Telegraph said.

A spokesperson for the Royal Mail had said that the company has "zero-tolerance approach to bullying, harassment or discrimination of any kind. We value the work and commitment of all individuals who work in our business".

--IANS

mi/ksk
Jaipur, July 8 : Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's scheduled visit to Bikaner on Saturday , Congress' 'Jawab Do Modi Ji' hoardings installed across the city has caught people's attention.

On the hoardings, the Congress has asked questions such as "Why didn't you declare ERCP a national project, when will you return the NPS fund of the Rajasthani employees, why didn't you declare Lampi the pandemic and why did you halt the loan waiver of farmers from nationalised banks".

Rajasthan Congress spokesperson Swarnim Chaturvedi said, "This move aims to highlight people's concerns, and various discriminatory steps taken by the Centre against the state."
Los Angeles, July 8 : 'Star Wars' actor John Boyega has shared an update on Jamie Foxx's health condition after the actor was rushed to hospital.

The legendary actor was rushed to hospital in April this year after his daughter Corinne Foxx, 29, claimed he suffered from a "medical complication", reports Mirror.co.uk. Following his health issues, it is believed that Jamie, 55, spent time in a rehabilitation clinic after the incident which occurred while he was working on a new movie.

Sources close to the actor say he is "still not himself" but is said to be being treated by the best team to assist his recovery. Now, his friend and co-star John Boyega, 31, has offered an update just weeks after saying he hadn't heard from his close pal since the incident.

"He's all good," he told ET Canada when asked if he had spoken to his friend, before going on to say: "So we're just going to wait for him to reappear when he wants to."

As per Mirror.co.uk, last month, John explained that Jamie had "finally picked up the phone", before explaining that those around him were "giving him privacy" to recuperate in peace.

"I gave him the well wishes directly," he told People magazine: "(I) gave him all the well wishes, so I'm just gonna be waiting until he comes back out here. So take your time, Jamie. We love you, bro."

John starred alongside Jamie in the upcoming production, 'They Cloned Tyrone' which is scheduled to be released on the streaming platform on July 21 with the pair appearing alongside Teyonah Parris.
Ahmedabad, July 8 : In an effort to increase efficiency in handling traffic e-challans, the Gujarat High Court has designated 20 new Virtual Traffic Courts across the state.

Acting Chief Justice Ashish J. Desai issued the directives in a circular.

The move comes after a proposal was sent to the Gujarat government suggesting the creation of these courts, which will be situated in various regions across the state.

The government has now authorised 20 Courts of Judicial Magistrate First Class, expanding the existing single court in Ahmedabad.

The orders were given on Friday and the implementation process will begin now.

These courts will handle e-challans remotely, utilising the Supreme Court of India's eCommittee's resources to ensure optimal judicial productivity, according to the circular.

The high court's IT Cell will distribute the e-challans to the 20 Virtual Traffic Courts daily.

The courts will then adjudicate the fines or penalties from their respective locations.

In cases where a traffic violator decides to contest an e-challan, the case will automatically be transferred to the jurisdictional court where the violation occurred.

This initiative, marking a step towards providing quicker and more accessible justice by breaking geographical barriers, follows the successful launch of a Virtual Traffic Court in Ahmedabad in May.

The court has efficiently handled e-challans for Gujarat, and with the steady increase of e-challan implementation across the state, the workload is anticipated to rise.

Upon success, the model could potentially be expanded to other case types.
Chennai, July 8 : The gunman of Deputy Inspector General of Police, C. Vijayakumar, who shot himself dead, on Saturday said that the DIG was suffering from depression.

Appearing before a team of police probing the case, Ravichandran stated after a morning walk on Friday, the DIG reached the camp office at 6.45 am.

After some time, he asked for the gunman's service revolver and went inside his room.

On hearing a gunshot, the gunman along with other policemen on duty at his residence, rushed inside only to find the DIG in a pool of blood. They rushed him to a hospital where the doctors declared him dead on arrival, Ravichandran said.

Vijayakumar was under medication since January 2023 after he had joined as DIG in Coimbatore range, the gunman said.

It may be noted that the 2009 IPS officer was a straight and honest officer with brilliant service records.

He was one of the field members of the Tamil Nadu police who had arrested the notorious Bawaria gang from Uttar Pradesh nabbing them from their den.

Two of the gang members were shot dead and the rest were taken into custody by the police team in which Vijayakumar was part of.
Images of Wagner mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, found during a raid on his home, are likely genuine, despite appearing distorted due to being pictures of a digital screen, according to an analysis by The Guardian.

Russian media, including popular state TV channel Russia 1, have shown video of searches of Prigozhins St. Petersburg offices and an opulent mansion he purportedly owned, complete with helipad and indoor swimming pool. They also showed a van with boxes of cash, as well as gold bars, wigs and weapons in the estate.

Some photos leaked by Russian security, allegedly taken from Prigozhin's own collection, show him in various disguises including wigs. They include photos of the Wagner boss dressed in fatigues and a fake beard in front of flags of the Libyan national army, photos of him in a keffiyeh and brown beard and wig, and one of him in fatigues at what looks like a military airbase.

While the images  which circulated on social media earlier this week  were reportedly leaked to humiliate the mercenary leader, there has been speculation that they may have been doctored, The Guardian reported.

A preliminary assessment, by the British daily, however, indicates that the images were photographs of a digital device or screen such as a smartphone, due to the visible rainbow pixellation.

Pro-Kremlin online newspaper Izvestia posted a series of videos and photos from inside the mansion an photos were widely shared on social media including by the advisor to the minister of internal affairs of Ukraine

Photos from allegedly Prigozhin's personal archive appeared online. pic.twitter.com/6YvVvRJvRT  Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) July 6, 2023

"In the photos, the level of granular details such as the wrinkles on Prigozhins forehead and frown lines, appear to be consistent across all the photos, with additional detailing of a pimple in one," the paper explained in its Friday edition.

It is unclear whether Prigozhin will move to Belarus, Moscow's closest ally, under a deal with the Kremlin to end Wagners mutiny which took place on 24 June. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said Thursday that Prigozhin is in Russia and his troops so far have remained at their home camps, raising new questions about the deal that ended the extraordinary challenge to President Vladimir Putins rule.

On 27 June, Russian authorities they have closed a criminal investigation into the armed rebellion led by Wagner chief, with no charges against him or any of the other participants.

The Federal Security Service, or FSB, said its investigation found that those involved in the mutiny ceased activities directed at committing the crime.

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Ahmedabad, July 8 : A young woman's departure for the US was marred by allegations of mistreatment from an immigration officer at Ahmedabad Airport, leading to her father issuing a public plea for action.

The woman, a 22-year-old student bound for Duke University, was reportedly accused of possessing fake degrees by the immigration official, despite having obtained a valid US visa.

The father, Vipul Shah, an advocate from Bhavnagar, voiced his complaint on social media, tagging Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah in his Twitter post.

He alleged that the immigration officer not only questioned the authenticity of his daughter's degrees from Narsee Monjee Institute in Mumbai but also made inappropriate comments and unnecessarily harassed her.

Demanding a thorough investigation of the incident through CCTV footage and strict action against the officer, Shah stated, "Early on Friday morning, she left for the US via Kuwait on a Kuwait Airways flight number KU 346 from Ahmedabad. She reached the Ahmedabad airport on time for her 3 a.m. flight, but was confronted with this upsetting situation."
Calgary, Canada : Indian badminton players PV Sindhu and Lakshya Sen sailed into the semifinals of Canada Open 2023 BWF Super 500 event after registering contrasting wins in their respective women's and men's singles quarterfinals, here.

Sindhu, a two-time Olympic medallist and a former world champion, defeated China's world No. 45 Gao Fang Jie 21-13, 21-7 in the quarterfinals and entered her third semifinal of the year on Friday night.

The ace Indian shuttler made it to the final of the Spain Masters BWF Super 500 tournament in April but is yet to win a title this year. Sindhu will be up against her rival and reigning world champion Akane Yamaguchi of Japan in the semifinals.

World No. 15 Sindhu leads world No. 1 Yamaguchi 14-10 in head-to-head but was defeated by the Japanese shuttler in the first round of the Singapore Open last month.

On the other hand, world No. 19 Lakshya Sen registered a 21-8, 17-21, 21-10 win over Belgium's world No. 62 Julien Carraggi to make his second semifinal of 2023.

Sen, the reigning men's singles Commonwealth Games champion, will face world No.11 Kenta Nishimoto of Japan for a place in the final. Lakshya and Kenta have faced each other twice and have won one match each.

The 21-year-old Sen has played in 12 tournaments this year but is yet to play in the final.

--IANS

ak/cs
Mumbai, July 8 : 'Love Sex Aur Dhokha 2', the sequel to the highly experimental 2010 Hindi film 'Love Sex Aur Dhokha', has booked its release date for February 16, 2024.

The makers also recently released the thought-provoking poster of the film. It shows the audience and the stark reality of a digitally obsessed society, capturing a couple engaged in both intimate connection and technological detachment simultaneously.

Building upon the legacy of the first film, 'LSD 2' pushes the boundaries and promises to be even more explicit, ensuring an edgier and deeply immersive experience for the audience. Like its predecessor, 'LSD 2' too has been directed by Dibakar Banerjee.

'LSD', which released in 2010 and starred Rajkummar Rao, Nushrratt Bharuccha and Amit Sial, and was entirely using digital formats with different cameras, including a handycam, an amateur film camera, a security camera, an underwater camera and spy cameras.

Over the years, the film has gained a cult status and has often been praised for telling compelling interlinked stories without using conventional filmmaking techniques.

'Love Sex Aur Dhokha 2' is presented by Balaji Telefilms Limited and Cult Movies. The film is produced by Ektaa R Kapoor and Shobha Kapoor and is directed by Dibakar Banerjee.
London, July 8 : Despite pushing World No. 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas to the brink in the second round of Wimbledon, Andy Murray is taking no consolation from five-set defeat, saying that he was very disappointed and it will take a little while to get over the loss.

Tsitsipas came out firing and clawed past two-time champion Murray 7-6(3), 6-7(2), 4-6, 7-6(3), 6-4 in a gripping match to reach the third round at Wimbledon for the third time in four hours and 41 minutes on Friday.

"I'm obviously very disappointed just now. You never know how many opportunities you're going to get to play here. The defeats may feel a bit tougher. But to be honest, every year that Wimbledon's not gone how I would like, it's been hard," Murray said in his post-match press conference.

The 36-year-old Murray arrived at the All England Club boasting results from this season that showed he could compete against the worldas best. At the Australian Open, Murray saved a match point to upset then-World No. 14 Matteo Berrettini in a dramatic five-setter.

Last month, Murray won back-to-back ATP Challenger Tour titles on grass in Surbiton and Nottingham. The Scot then returned to the Top 40 of the ATP Rankings for the first time since 2018.

Murray was aiming to reach the third round at Wimbledon for just the second time since 2017, but relinquished his chances at defeating the fifth seed Tsitsipas. The Greek struck 90 winners to take a 2-1 lead in their Lexus ATP Head to Head series.

To Murray, it was not a surprise he was so competitive with one of the tournamentas top seeds.

"I certainly could have beaten him today or yesterday. I obviously earlier in the year had a great win against Berrettinia It's clearly based on how the match went. There's only a few points in it today, it's not just about winning the odd match against them. To have a run at these tournaments, you need multiple wins in a row. Iave obviously not done that," Murray was quoted as saying by the ATP Tour.

The 46-time tour-level titlist Murray was leading Tsitsipas two-sets-to-one Thursday when play was suspended for the day at 10:38 p.m. The decision was made to stop the match given that a conclusion before the 11 p.m. curfew was very unlikely. The three-time major champion does not think stopping the match and resuming play on Friday altered the outcome.

"It seemed like a reasonable time to stop. You never know what would have happened, the same result could have happened. We knew that we were only going to be able to play until 11. You're kind of playing [against] time," he said.

"I didn't necessarily think it was appropriate to keep going because it was highly unlikely we would finish the match unless someone was to win the set. It was unlikely someone was going to win that set in 20 minutes or 19 minutes, whatever we had left to play. We knew the situation going into the match. That's how it was," he added.

Murray has enjoyed several magical moments at Wimbledon, where he boasts a 61-13 record and was crowned champion in 2013 and 2016. The Glasgow-native also won the gold medal at SW19 at the London 2012 Summer Olympics. The former World No. 1 is disappointed he was unable to thrill the home crowd with a five-set victory Friday evening.

"Obviously it's brilliant to play in great atmospheres. It makes playing the matches more enjoyable and creates certainly better memories. Ultimately this was an opportunity for me. I had a good chance of having a proper run for the first time in a long time at a slam. I didn't take it. Regardless of the atmosphere and those things, it's still very, very disappointing to be sitting here right now," Murray said.

"I don't plan to stop right now, but this one will take a little while to get over. Hopefully (I will) find the motivation again to keep training, keep pushing, try and keep getting better. Motivation is obviously a big thing. Continuing having early losses in tournaments like this doesn't necessarily help with that," he added.
Washington, July 8 : The Republican Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy is under tremendous pressure between former President Donald Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis as the two will spar off in Iowa setting the temperature high within the party before the primaries kickoff.

McCarthy is unrelenting and a truce could be short lived as the Speaker's allies understand why he is not offering an formal endorsement toTrump, media reports said.

The pressure on McCarthy to choose sides will only keep growing throughout the summer as the former President locks down support across the House Republicans, says Politico, a leading media outlet.

By delaying a decision, media reports have claimed that McCarthy is only risking Trump's ire by not officially endorsing his third White House bid.

But political observers say the Speaker is fulfilling a vital mission, that is of sparing theHouse Republicans over a 'civil war' in 2024 as Trump and DeSantis up the ante with harsh words against each other.

Even as McCarthy's supporters have endorsed Trump, many Republican members are keeping away.

Political observers say that this camp of 'stay away from Trump' fear embracing him could spell their electoral doom next fall -- as well as allies of the former President's rivals, from DeSantis to Doug Burgum.

Even as McCarthy risks alienating Trump by staying on the sidelines, the California Republican is shielding his members who are right now very vulnerable.

"The pressure on the speaker to choose sides will only grow throughout the summer, though, as Trump locks down support across the House Republican and questions intensify about why McCarthy isn't fully embracing the man who helped deliver him the speakership," the Politico said in an analysis of trends.

Probably McCarthy will choose sides at the near end of the primary, Republican Dan Meuser said, suggesting the Speaker is subtly clearing a path for his members to rally behind the former president by the end of the primary.

"Hey, you're with DeSantis right now. That's OK. We get that. You're with Mike Pence, Tim Scott. But in the end, we've got to come together with who's going to be our winning candidate," Meuser was quoted as saying by media reports.

Several Republican lawmakers feel a McCarthy endorsement so early before the primaries kickin could result in a potential disunity and infighting across different factions within the party.

McCarthy will find it difficult in the coming months to thread the needle. The speaker, it might be recalled, backtracked last weekafter questioning whether Trump was the strongest candidate for the party to run in 2024.

For the Senate Minority leader Mitch McConnell, the Kentucky Republican, things are quite different.

McConnell and Trump have a history of serious differences and he was never expected to back the latter and he's been more focused on winning back the Senate.

McConnell has taken painful paths to yank himself off Trump, though that distance from the former president is too cold for comfort and untenable.

On the contrary, McCarthy's relationship with Trump has often affected his standing with his more conservative members.

Politico claimed that McConnell is facing a much more favorable electoral 2024 map than McCarthy, who's in a tossup battle to hold onto the House.

McCarthy has a razor edge majority of five members, margin in the house quite tenuous for the party.

More than a dozen Republican-held battleground seats are in the deep blue, high-turnout states of New York and California.

If one looks at the Joe Biden friendly turf nationwide, only 18 House Republicans sitting in that green have made an endorsement in the 2024 primary.

New York Republican George Santos backed Trump in May, on the eve of his being indicted on a string of federal charges considered a death knell for his re-election.

Conservatives among the party feel that McCarthy and his leadership team are highly focused on their conference's work before next November, against their fate with voters.

It's not just McCarthy staying out of the primary. His two deputies, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise and Majority Whip Tom Emmer, have also not endorsed Trump.
Patna, July 8 : Four youths were arrested in Patna on Saturday for making a prank PCR call about one of them getting abducted, police said.

According to the police, the four accused who were drunk, were arrested from the state capital's Panchsheel locality in the early hours of Saturday morning.

One of the accused called the emergency112 PCR number and informed the operator that he was being kidnapped by unidentified persons.An alert was immediately sounded in two police stations of Digha and Danapur and a team of DIAL 112 also initiated a search in the localities. aWe zeroed in the phone locationand reached a house in Panchsheel Nagar under Danapur police station. The accused were found in a drunken stage. Accordingly, they were arrested," said Samrat Dipak, SHO of Danapur police station. The accused were identified as Chotu Kumar, Aashish Kumar, Ajay Kumar Shukla and Ravindra Rai. They have been booked under the Liquor Prohibition Act and other IPC sections in Danapur police station.
Kathmandu, July 8 : Nepal and India have agreed to complete the detailed project report (DPR) of the much-talked Pancheshwar Multipurpose Project within three months.

The project is a major arm of the Mahakali Treaty signed in 1996 that is expected to produce 6,400 megawatts of energy.

But due to differences between the two sides, a joint panel of experts failed to reach an agreement to complete the DPR.

An understanding was reached during a meeting of the governing council of the Pancheshwar Development Authority held in Pokhara on Thursday and in Kathmandu on Friday.

The meeting also decided to activate the expert group by extending the deadline to resolve the dispute within three months, according to the statement issued after the meeting.

This is the first move towards concluding the DPR after the prime ministers of both countries last month agreed to conclude the the report within three months during Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahalas India visit from May 31 to June 3.

Earlier, the term of this expert group was to end in March 2023.

Indiaas state-owned Water and Power Consultancy Services (WAPCOS) Ltd had submitted the DPR draft in 2016 after merging separate project reports prepared by both countries.

Four years after the third meeting of the team of experts held in Kathmandu in February 2019, the two sides have now agreed to hold a fourth meeting.

During Dahalas visit to India, it was agreed that officials of both governments would expedite bilateral discussions towards early finalisation of the DPR within three months.

Nepalas Energy Secretary Dinesh Ghimire and Indiaas Water Resources Secretary Pankaj Kumar had led the talks from respected sides.

Besides extending the deadline of the expert panel, the meeting also decided to appoint officials from respective sides.

It has been agreed that both the countries will invest in this project on the basis of water sharing.

However, there is a dispute between the two countries on how to share the water benefits. It has not been decided who will invest in the project.

Nepal has been saying that India should invest heavily as Indiaas profit share in irrigation is large, based on the benefits of irrigation and electricity.

However, India is in a position to invest without considering profit.

Apart from generating electricity, the project will provide irrigation to 130,000 hectares of land in Nepal and 240,000 hectares in India in addition to other incidental benefits including flood protection.
Mumbai, July 8 : Bollywood superstar Salman Khan, who currently hosts the reality show 'Bigg Boss OTT 2', has shared that he has a high patience level, and contrary to the popular belief of him being a hot-headed star, it takes a lot for him to get angry. He shared that disrespect, violence and abuse by contestants on the show irks him.

The actor, who is awaiting his next release 'Tiger 3', is often seen exhibiting his fiery side on 'Weekend Ka Vaar' special episodes of the show over aforementioned reasons.

As the host of Bigg Boss OTT Season 2, Salman Khan brings his no-nonsense approach to the show, not shying away from addressing issues and conflicts head-on. During the Weekend Ka Vaar episodes, he fearlessly calls out contestants for their actions, holding them accountable for their behaviour inside the house.

Talking about this, Salman shared: "Contrary to popular belief it takes a lot to get me riled up! I cannot handle disrespect, whether it is disrespect for the show, the organisers, or even other contestants. Lado jhagdo (you may fight), but stay in your limit. Disrespect, violence, abuse a" that I will NOT tolerate and make sure the contestant is schooled."

'Bigg Boss OTT 2' is available to stream on JioCinema.
New Delhi, July 8 : The life-saving cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or CPR procedure must not be confined to doctors, nurses and paramedics, but should be imparted to one and all, suggest cardiologists.

CPR is a life-saving procedure used when a person's heart has stopped beating or their breathing has stopped in an emergency.

Amid rising incidence of death due to sudden cardiac arrest (SCA), especially in the young population, a recent study showed that the survival rate currently stands at 1.05 per cent in India, which is dependent on the availability of emergency medical services, prompt bystander CPR, and access to defibrillation.

However, just 2 per cent of the general population in India are aware of how to perform CPR -- far lower than the international average of 30 per cent, according to the Cardiological Society of India

If CPR is administered within 3 minutes of cardiac arrest, it increases the odds of survival, Dr Arun Kumar Gupta, Associate Director -Interventional cardiology, Max Hospital, Gurugram, told IANS.

"CPR should not be confined to doctors, nurses and paramedics, but in fact should be imparted to one and all. CPR techniques should be taught to school kids, policemen, firemen, social workers, gym guides and the list is endless," Dr. Khusrav Bajan, Consultant - Physician & Intensivist, Department of Medicine and Critical Care, P. D. Hinduja Hospital & MRC, Mahim, told IANS.

When should CPR be typically performed?

"CPR is performed when a person is in cardiac arrest in which the heart stops pumping blood to vital organs like the brain," Dr. Bajan said

"Cardiac arrest can be identified when the victim suddenly loses complete consciousness and stops breathing. One must be aware that every minute lost can damage the brain by 10 per cent," he said.

Dr. Bajan also shared that cardiac arrest can be identified by tapping on both shoulders and checking for unresponsiveness and also looking for absent breathing; as well as checking for the pulse of the person.

He said once cardiac arrest is confirmed, one must call for help. An ambulance from a nearby hospital or a common access code such as 108.

How to perform CPR?

CPR has two components, that is chest compression and mouth to mouth breathing, which will help in maintaining circulation to vital organs like the brain and kidney.

"If there is one rescuer at the time of cardiac arrest, then you should only perform chest compression at a speed of 100 compressions per minute. And if there are two rescuers, then one should perform chest compression and the other should perform mouth-to-mouth breathing, with a ratio of 15:2, which means, 15 compressions and two breathing," Dr Gupta explained.

"The CPR performer should now give chest compression on the middle of the breastbone at a rate of at least 100/a min and a depth of 2 to 2.4 inches," Dr. Bajan told IANS.

The doctors called for more aggressive awareness programmes by both public and private sectors involved in healthcare for increasing the understanding of CPR in the Indian population.

"CPR knowledge in the general public has a huge importance since it has the power to save lives in critical situations. Cardiac arrest can happen abruptly and without prior notice.The prompt use of CPR in such circumstances may be the difference between life and death. With this one can save more than 70 per cent of a patient's life, who has sudden cardiac arrest," Dr Gupta told IANS.

IANS

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New Delhi, July 8 : Vitamin D, also known as the sunshine vitamin, is not only good for your bones, but also for your heart, said health experts, even as they called for more research to be done on its effects among the Indian population.

A study, appearing in the European Heart Journal, found evidence that vitamin D deficiency can increase blood pressure and the risk of cardiovascular disease. Researchers from the University of South Australia Cancer Research Institute stated that it is worthwhile to check vitamin D levels when assessing a person's cardiovascular risk.

"Vitamin D influences the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone pathway, which regulates blood pressure. Adequate vitamin D levels may help in the maintenance of healthy blood pressure," Dr. Dixit Garg, consultant - cardiology, Manipal Hospital, Gurugram, told IANS.

Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that exists in two main forms: D-2 and D-3. As an essential micronutrient and one that is primarily derived from sunlight and certain foods, vitamin D is important for the development of bones and teeth and also the regular functioning of the immune system.

A recent study, published by The BMJ, showed that the risk of major cardiovascular events such as heart attacks was 9 per cent lower among people aged over 60 taking vitamin D supplements.

The rate of heart attack was 19 per cent lower and the rate of coronary revascularisation was 11 per cent lower in the vitamin D group, but there was no difference in the rate of stroke between the two groups.

"Vitamin D receptors are present throughout the cardiovascular system which are able to convert vitamin D to its active form, which inhibits inflammation and also affects blood vessels," Dr. Tushar Tayal, Lead Consultant, Department of Internal Medicine, CK Birla Hospital, Gurugram, told IANS.

"For this reason, it was assumed that vitamin D deficiency may have been linked to heart disease but research did not show any significant difference in the incidence of heart attack in individuals taking vitamin D supplement as compared to those not taking it," he explained.

Another recent study from the University of Eastern Finland showed that elderly men and women who took vitamin D supplements for five years had a reduced risk of atrial fibrillation or irregular heart rhythm.

Vitamin D is essential for the proper metabolic functioning of the body. People who live in areas that have less sunlight, like places where the weather is mostly rainy or cloudy, are more likely to have a low vitamin D level.

"In India, we have a lot of exposure to the sun. So, vitamin D levels in Indians are not that low. Although we don't have the standards for the Indian population yet. So, we follow the levels defined by Americans and Europeans, and don't know whether it is right among the Indian population," top cardiologist Dr Naresh Trehan, Chairman and Managing Director, Medanta Hospital, told IANS.

While people who are exposed enough to the sun will have enough vitamin D, with the modern lifestyle, a lot of people are not getting enough exposure because we are always inside in air-conditioned spaces. In that case, people may need supplements, he noted.

Dr Garg explained that besides heart and bones, vitamin D also plays a major role in diabetes.

"Vitamin D is necessary for optimal glucose metabolism and insulin sensitivity. Diabetes is a major risk factor for atherosclerosis, and a lack of vitamin D may contribute to insulin resistance and impaired glucose management.

Appropriate vitamin D levels have also been linked to a lower risk of certain diseases such as cancer and autoimmune disorders.

"Low Vitamin D level is not good for metabolic cycles and enzymes of the body. That's why supplements are good. It also contributes in building of bones and general metabolism. So, it is an important ingredient of our metabolic system," Dr Trehan said.

While vitamin D supplements generally do not have any adverse effects on the heart, "but if you overdose and take 10 times the quantity, then you will have toxic effects," he noted.
The United Nations condemned the civilian cost inflicted by Russias war in Ukraine as the fighting passed the 500-day mark with no end to the conflict in sight.

More than 9,000 civilians, including 500 children, have been killed since Russias February 24, 2022 invasion, the UNs Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) said in a statement on Friday, though UN repre-sentatives have previously said the real count is likely to be much higher.

Today we mark another grim milestone in the war that continues to exact a horrific toll on Ukraines civilians, Noel Calhoun, the deputy head of HRMMU, said in the statement marking the 500th day since the invasion.

While this year the casualty numbers have been lower on average than in 2022, the figure began to climb again in May and June, the monitors noted.

On June 27, 13 civilians, including four children, were killed in a missile strike on Kramatorsk in eastern Ukraine.

And far from the front line in the western city of Lviv, at least five people were killed and another 37 were wound-ed during a bombing early Thursday that the mayor called the biggest attack on civilian infrastructure since the invasion began.

UNESCO said that attack was also the first to take place in an area protected by the World Heritage Convention and had damaged a historic building.

Russia regularly bombards Ukraine with air attacks, including indiscriminate artillery and missile fire that have been especially deadly. The strikes have also targeted infrastructure and supply lines, depriving civilians of power and water.

The cities of Bucha and Mariupol became bywords for Russian atrocities last year, after reports and images of mas-sacres there shocked the world and prompted allegations of war crimes and even genocide.

In the once-sleepy commuter town Bucha, AFP journalists witnessed a single street filled with corpse after corpse in civilian clothes in April.

Satellite images later showed that several bodies had been lying in the street since mid-March, when the town was under Russian control, while Ukrainian authorities said that hundreds of people had been killed in Bucha by Mos-cows retreating forces.

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New Delhi, July 8 : A 28-year-old woman was stabbed to death by her husband in Delhi's KNK Marg, an official said on Saturday.

Police said that they have arrested the accused identified as Akbar.

According to police, on Friday a police control room call was received regarding the stabbing of a woman in the area of KNK Marg police station.

"The injured woman was admitted in BSA hospital where she was declared brought dead by the doctor," said a senior police official.

Subsequently, a case under section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code was registered, and during the initial probe, it was revealed that the woman was stabbed by her husband.

--IANS

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Mumbai, June 8 : An 85-year-old man was killed in a fire that broke out in a seven-storeyed residential building in Santacruz east on Saturday, the BMC Disaster Control said.

The blaze was reported at around 1.45 p.m. in a closed flat on the third floor of the Pride of Kalina society in Sundar Nagar area.

The conflagration was confined to electrical wiring, fittings and installations besides the wooden furniture which emanated thick, dark fumes.

As the Mumbai Fire Brigade rushed to the spot, the people of the neighborhood had opened the flat with a spare key.

They cut off the power supply, threw buckets of water, deployed fire extinguishers and managed to douse the flames soon afterwards.

The victim, Nagin Lakhi reportedly trapped inside the burning house, was rushed to the civic hospital but declared dead on admission.

The cause of the blaze is being probed and further details are awaited.
New Delhi, July 8 : Congress on Saturday dubbed party leader Rahul Gandhi's interaction with farmers and planting paddy crop with them in Haryana's Sonepat "sensitivity" of the party.

The remarks from the Congress leaders came after Gandhi while en route to Shimla, stopped in Haryana's Madina village near Gohana area this morning.

He then interacted with the farmers, planted the rice paddy crops, drove a tractor and also had food with them in the farm fields.

Confirming the same, party's Rajya Sabha MP Imran Pratapgarhi told IANS that even after completing his Bharat Jodo Yatra, Gandhi continues to stay connected with the public.

In a tweet, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said, "Our pride, the farmers of India. To unite the people, you have to take everyone along. Today, Rahul Gandhi interacted with our farmers and toiling farm laborers in Sonepat, Haryana. This shows the sensitivity of the Congress party."

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh also took to Twitter and said, "One of the key underlying themes of the Bharat Jodo Yatra was the welfare of farmers and their families. This continues to occupy Rahul Gandhias attention who spent much time with them this morning near Gohana in Sonipat district of Haryana."

Congress General Secretary (Organisation) K.C. Venugopal also said, "Farmers - the backbone of our country. Rahul Gandhi ji lends a hand to those that feed us. A dedicated leader, connected to the farms and fields of his beloved country. Rahul jias bond with the farmers, labourers and downtrodden of India makes him a special leader."

According to party leaders, the former Lok Sabha MP also asked the farmers about the issues they are facing and about their earnings.

However, Rahul Gandhi then returned to Delhi cancelling his Shimla trip due to bad weather, party sources said.

Congress General Secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala said that Rahul Gandhi visited the Madina village in Gohana area of Sonepat and interacted with farmers and assured them of his support.

In a tweet, Surjewala said, "Rahul Gandhi reached the fields with farmers this morning in Madina village of Gohana in Haryana. He planted paddy, and also talked to the farmers and labourers, inquired about their well-being, discussed agriculture, he drove a tractor, asked their problems and reiterated his resolution to fulfill the responsibility and his continuous support to them.

"This simplicity and public relation of Rahul ji is the biggest asset of all of us. Go ahead Rahul, the country is with you," the Rajya Sabha MP said.

The development comes a day after the Gujarat High Court on Friday dismissed Rahul Gandhi's plea seeking a stay on his conviction in the 'Modi surname' defamation case.

On earlier occasions also, the Congress leader has surprised the people with his sudden visits among the public. In March this year, he visited the Bengali Market and Jama Masjid area in the national capital. Later, he went to Mukherjee Nagar area and interacted with UPSC aspirants.

Gandhi also went to Delhi University's PG men's hostel and met the students over lunch and then Haryana's Murthal and from there he took a truck ride till Ambala.

Recently, he had also visited a bike repairing shop in Karol Bagh area in Delhi and mingled with the bike mechanics.

During his recent visit to the US, Gandhi had taken a truck ride from New York to Washington DC. While in Karnataka during the Assembly elections, he had interacted with the delivery partners and enjoyed a scooter ride with them.

Rahul Gandhi had completed his 4,000 km Bharat Jodo Yatra from Tamil Nadu's Kanyakumari to Jammu and Kashmir's Srinagar between September 7 last year till January 30 this year.

After his yatra concluded on January 30, he has been meeting people.
Bhubaneswar, July 8 : In one of the rarest and newest type of cyber fraud, the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Odisha Police detected a case of huge cyber financial fraud in which more than Rs 14 crore has been siphoned off by manipulating QR codes of a Fintech company, an official said.

In connection with this case, the EOW has arrested the accused Karan Kumar Singh, a resident of Noida's Sector-19, Uttar Pradesh, on July 6 under different sections of the IPC and IT Act.

The accused was produced before the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Gautam Buddha Nagar, Uttar Pradesh, on July 7 and was brought to Bhubaneswar on the strength of three days' transit remand for producing him before the designated court at Cuttack, an EOW official said.

The arrest was made against a case registered on the basis of a complaint filed by Sanjib Kumar Parida, Chief Technology Officer of aIServeU Technology Pvt. Ltd., a Bhubaneswar-based Fintech company.

Parida alleged that their company had entered into technology integration agreements with the directors of Noida-based company, Payone Digital Services Pvt. Ltd. during April-May-2023 for providing digital payment services for facilitation of the finotech service, and accordingly IServeU had extended its UPI API to the company for the commercial utilisation.

On June 19, 2023, the complainantas company came to know on reconciliation that there is a significant difference in the cash balance in their nodal bank account maintained with the FINO Bank.

On verification of the UPI logs, it came to light that Karan Singh and Lallu Singh, both directors of Payone Digital, have manipulated the QR codes generated by IServeU and embezzled the extra credit of Rs14.33 crore of the complainantas company

The accused have also fraudulently diverted the extra amount to more than 125 different bank accounts from the payout wallet of which, the User ID and password were shared to Payone Digital by the complainant company IServeU, the official added.

The EOW also suspected that many more people are also involved in this complex and highly technical fraud case.

As no such type of cases has been noticed before, EOW would be taking the help of experts in this case to thoroughly investigate the matter and also come up with advisory so that people can be alerted, he said.
Kutch, July 8 : The Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) on Saturday dismantled Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) spying network and arrested an individual for working with Pakistan.

ATS said that they have arrested an individual identified as Nilesh Walia who was manipulated through a honeytrap and used as an agent to gather and share sensitive information with Pakistan.

ATS said that Nilesh was tricked by a false online profile named Aditi, which was manipulated by a Pakistani handler. Nilesh shared crucial information about the Border Security Force (BSF) and in return received payments for the leaked data, including an initial sum of Rs 25,000.

ATS said that insights into the operation surfaced after the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) examined Nileshas cell phone.

ATS said that further investigations are going-on in the case.
Ahmedabad, July 8 : As part of India's G20 Presidency, Ahmedabad is hosting Urban20 -- a gathering of Mayors from G20 cities worldwide.

With 89 Mayors in attendance, the spotlight is on Ontario, Canada, with its Mayor Berry Vrbanovic of Kitchener, Mayor Lucas Cleveland of Cobourg, and Deputy Mayor Harkirat Singh of Brampton.

Alongside the mayors is Vikram Khurana, Chairman of the Toronto Business Development Centre (TBDC), which oversees Ontario's special immigration project - Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program - Entrepreneur Success Initiative (OINP-ESI).

OINP-ESI expedites the immigration process for 100 eligible entrepreneurs, assisting them in setting up or purchasing businesses in Ontario.

Khurana said: "Most immigrant entrepreneurs in Canada are either from Punjab or Gujarat. Now, we want to help these aspiring entrepreneurs to build their businesses in Ontario without any problems or middlemen."

"Under this initiative, Indian investors with a net worth of C$400,000 who wish to invest C$200,000 or more in their Ontario-based business are particularly invited. TBDC offers cost-free guidance to Indian entrepreneurs regarding the Initiative's requirements and the application process." he said.

He said that we serve as a pathway for experienced international entrepreneurs to start a new business or acquire an existing one in Ontario.

"The program facilitates temporary residency in Ontario, with the potential for permanent residency after 20 months, given the program's requirements are met."

TBDC, launched in 1990 by the City of Toronto and the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade, is Ontario's incubator for businesses seeking innovation, growth, and economic immigration expertise.
Mumbai, July 8 : Varanasi witnessed a fan frenzy as the famous actor-couple Gurmeet Choudhary and Debina Bonnerjee arrived in the city for the Mundan ceremony of their younger daughter Divisha.

The star couple is greatly admired for their family reels on social media, making the two a fan favourite.

Honouring their family roots, the two embrace their traditions with the visit to Varanise holding a special place in their hearts as Debina's grandmother was born in the holy city which led to Mundan ceremony becoming a particularly memorable event for Gurmeet, Debina, and their loved ones. The ritual symbolised their commitment towards honouring their heritage and staying connected to their roots.

Furthermore, Gurmeet and Debina went ahead to fully explore the beauties of Varanasi in order to have an authentic experience of the great city. The two placed themselves on a cycle rickshaw and participated in various tourist activities while savouring every morsel of the many delicious and famous delicacies of the city.

What followed was fan frenzy when they were spotted by various fans. Taking to Instagram Debina posted a story saying: "In no time too many of you all found us and we all made a traffic jam."

Expressing his love for Varanasi, Gurmeet said: "It is such a great experience to be in Varanasi. I am thankful that I get to be here with my family and share this very special moment in a city that is so close to our hearts and family. The love we received from fans here is overwhelming. I canat wait to be back already."

The Mundan ceremony was performed at the Dashashwamedh Ghat in the company of their family and friends. Since their oldest daughter Lianna was unable to join the trip, Gurmeet and Debina carried her hair to leave in the Ganges.

Gurmeet and Debina continue to adventure in the great city and have shared many glimpses of their family time there which has been liked by many fans.
New Delhi, July 8 : Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Saturday that they have received an invitation for the opposition meeting scheduled to be held on July 17-18 in Bengaluru. However, they are still waiting for the Congress party to clarify their stance on the Central government ordinance.

The second meeting of the opposition parties will take place on July 17-18 in Bengaluru, two days ahead of the Parliament's Monsoon session, which begins on July 20.

"Congress party had made it clear that they would publicly announce their stance on the Central Government ordinance fifteen days prior to the Monsoon Session. The Congress had stated that they would vote against the ordinance. We are waiting for them," said Kejriwal.

Congress General Secretary (Organisation) K.C. Venugopal had said: "After a hugely successful all-opposition meeting in Patna, we will be holding the next meeting in Bengaluru on July 17 and 18, 2023. We are steadfast in our unwavering resolve to defeat the fascist and undemocratic forces and present a bold vision to take the country forward."

IANS

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Mumbai, July 8 : The Maharashtra Legislature has issued notices to the legislators of the ruling ally Shiv Sena and Opposition Shiv Sena (UBT) on the pending issue of the disqualification of 16 MLAs, including Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, official sources said here on Saturday.

The Shiv Sena, which is ruling with the Bharatiya Janata Party and since recently the breakaway Nationalist Congress Party, has the backing of around 41 MLAs, while Shiv Sena (UBT) led by ex-CM Uddhav Thackeray has the backing of some 14 MLAs.

An official said that "the process to issue the notices" has begun from Saturday but did not specify the number of MLAs of the two Senas who are being served the same.

The concerned MLAs have to submit their replies to the Speaker Rahul Narwekar within a week's time, and the hearings in the matter will start shortly, he added.

The keenly-watched disqualification proceedings are likely to be decided by the Speaker around early-August, nearly three months after the Supreme Court verdict in the 'Sena versus Sena' matter.

Besides CM Shinde, among those facing the axe of disqualification include -- ministers Tanaji Sawant, Sandeepan Bhumre and Abdul Sattar, and legislators Bharat Gogawale, Sanjay Shirsat, Yamini Jadhav, Prakash Surve, Mahesh Shinde, Lata Sonawane, Balaji Kinikar, Ramesh Bornale, Sanjay Raimulkar, Chimanrao Patil, and Balaji Kalankar.

Sena (UBT) leader Sunil Prabhu had last week filed a fresh plea in the Supreme Court seeking directions to the Speaker Narwekar to give his verdict in the matter within two weeks.

The Sena (UBT) has claimed that despite a party whip, these MLAs failed to attend the meeting convened by the then CM Thackeray, which amounts to anti-party activity and attracted disqualification as per the rules.

Besides, Prabhu pointed out that despite three reminders to the Legislature Secretariat, no steps were taken in the matter.

It may be recalled that in June 2022, the state witnessed a political quake when Shinde along with 40 Shiv Sena and 10 other independents walked out of the Thackeray government.

After a series of political developments culminating in Thackerayas resignation on June 29, Shinde took over as the new CM on June 30 last year with the support of the BJP.
Bengaluru, July 8 : Sri Ram Sena has objected to the decision of the ruling Congress government's provision to facilitate online registration of marriages in Karnataka.

Sri Ram Sena founder Pramod Muthalik said on Saturday that the number of 'love jihad' cases will rise following the Karnataka governmentas decision.

Speaking to the media, Muthalik urged the Congress government not to allow the online registration of marriages.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has made the announcement in this regard during the presentation of the state Budget on Friday.

The Sri Ram Sena Chief said that online registration of marriages is conducive for 'love jihad' cases.

"The Hindu girls will fall prey in more numbers to 'love jihad' due to this provision of the state government. The proposal for online registration of marriages must be withdrawn and the previous system must be continued," Muthalik added.

"There is a possibility that few Muslim and Christian youth without the consent of their parents can register their marriages with Hindu girls online. If those marriages get legal sanction without coming to the knowledge of their parents, it will encourage 'love jihad'," he said.

There was a provision in the offline registration of marriages for objections if there were any issues. However, there is no provision for objections in the online registration of marriages and there are more chances of cheating," Muthalik added.

"The process of visiting the Registrar's office directly and getting the marriage registered is the proper method. The online marriage registration system should not be implemented at any cost," he urged the state government.

--IANS

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Marriott International has announced the appointment of Stephane Buchholzer as the new Executive Assistant Manager (EAM) of Culinary and F&B at Destination Mina Seyahi.



Stephane will oversee three hotels within the complex, Westin Mina Seyahi Beach Resort and Marina, Le Meridien Mina Seyahi Beach Resort and Water Park, and the recently opened W Dubai - Mina Seyahi, which sits within Marriott Internationals luxury portfolio



Stephane Buchholzer brings a wealth of experience and expertise to his new role. With over 25 years of culinary experience in some of the world's top restaurants and hotels, Buchholzer has earned a reputation for his innovative approach to food and his commitment to excellence with hotels winning multiple awards under his leadership.



Returning to the Mina Seyahi complex after having worked as Culinary Director in 2010, his role now as EAM Culinary and F&B, Buchholzer reports directly to Tolga S Lacin, Area General Manager, and is responsible for the overall F&B strategy, driving innovation across the 18 F&B venues, leading his culinary team, and positioning the complex as an award winning destination for food and beverage.



Stephane made the return move from Doha to the UAE in late 2022 to take up his position having previously worked in New York City, Austria, France and Azerbaijan and aims to build on the stronghold position Destination Mina Seyahi already has, through pushing culinary boundaries with new concept restaurants and a key focus on customer recognition.



"I am thrilled to be re-joining the Mina Seyahi complex," said Stephane Buchholzer. "I am excited to lead the culinary team and operations to bring my passion for food to our guests. My goal is to create unique and memorable dining experiences that showcase the best of local and international cuisine."



Area General Manager Tolga S Lacin said: "We are delighted to welcome Stephane back to Mina Seyahi. His extensive experience and passion for culinary excellence make him the ideal person to lead our food and beverage offering towards culinary brilliance. We look forward to seeing the exciting new concepts he will bring to our guests."  TradeArabia News Service
The Kremlin on Saturday slammed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's decision to repatriate several Ukrainian commanders who should have remained in Turkey until the end of the conflict under a deal.

The Ukrainian presidency confirmed that it had secured the return of members of the crack Azov regiment, which is despised in Russia, after "negotiations with the Turkish side".

They were greeted at Istanbul airport by Zelensky, who was on a visit to Turkey.

"The return of Azov commanders from Turkey to Ukraine is nothing but a direct violation of the terms of existing agreements," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies.

He said both Ukraine and Turkey had violated the terms of the agreement, under which the men were supposed to remain in Turkey until the end of the conflict.

Peskov said the return was linked to the "failure of the counter-offensive" launched by Ukraine, and Ankara's desire to show its "solidarity" ahead of a July 11-12 NATO summit in Vilnius.

"Preparations for the NATO summit are underway and of course there has been a lot of pressure on Turkey," he said.

Part of the Azov regiment of the Ukrainian army, formed on the basis of the ultranationalist battalion of the same name, was captured by Russian forces after the fall of Mariupol in May 2022.

Celebrated as heroes in Ukraine for their stiff resistance within the Azovstal factory during the siege of Mariupol, Azov's fighters are reviled in Russia for their links with Ukrainian ultranationalists.

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Thiruvananthapuram, July 8 : Mar Joseph Pamplany the Metropolitan Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Tellicherry in Kerala on Saturday expressed reservation about remarks of CPI-M state secretary M.V.Govindan.

"His statement was needless and unwarranted. The remark that he made about nuns was painful. I cannot understand why he had to say it. What he said about nuns was not true at all. It was illogical also," said Pamplany.

Govindan who had paid a visit to the UK last month, on his return he told a meeting that the cost of a small church in England is Rs.6.5 crores which is being purchased by Sikhs and some as worship centers of Sree Narayana Guru.

On nuns, he said it has now become a profession as they are on a protest demanding better wages.

Catholics in Kerala constitute more than 50 per cent of Christians which account for around 17 per cent of the 3.30 crore state population.
New Delhi, July 8 : As the Opposition parties target the BJP-led central government for misusing the probe agencies against its political opponents, the Congress too has been on the radar of the ED.

At the centre of the party's Enforcement Directorate (ED) troubles is the National Herald case against its ex-presidents -- Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi who are being probed for alleged money laundering, centred around the defunct party newspaper.

Besides the National Herald newspaper case, Rahul Gandhi is also facing many criminal cases in several courts of the country.

He was convicted by a Surat court for his 2019 'Modi surname' remark on March 23 this year and was sentenced to two years in jail, following which he was disqualified as a MP a day later. He also had to vacate his official bungalow in the national capital.

On Friday, the Gujarat High Court dismissed Rahul Gandhi's plea seeking a stay on his conviction in the 'Modi surname' defamation case.

In its order it also mentioned that there are 10 criminal cases pending against him and even after the present case, some more cases have been filed against the leader. One such case has been filed by the grandson of Veer Savarkar, said the High Court while announcing the order.

Meanwhile, the Enforcement Directorate has filed a case of money laundering against the Congress leaders for alleged money laundering two years ago after a trial court in Delhi took cognizance of an Income Tax Department probe based on a complaint filed by former BJP MP Subramanian Swamy in 2013.

Following the registration of the case, the ED last year for the first time questioned Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, who are the majority shareholders in Young Indian Private Limited (YIL).

In June last year, the ED questioned Rahul Gandhi for over 54 hours spread across five days and his mother and former party chief Sonia Gandhi for over 13 hours in three days in July last year in connection with the case.

However, even a year after questioning the members of the Gandhi family, the ED is still probing the case and asking for several sets of documents from the Congress leaders.

After completing their questioning, the ED also questioned Congress leaders D.K. Shivakumar, his brother and party MP D.K. Suresh and several others on several occasions. Even party treasurer Pawan Bansal was questioned by the ED in April last year.

On August 3 last year, the ED had partially sealed the office of the YIL on the ground floor. However, a day later the seal was removed after Mallikarjun Kharge appeared before the agency for questioning during the Monsoon Session of Parliament.

The ED removed the seal from the office of YIL in the presence of Kharge.

Kharge is also the principal officer of YIL while the Herald House is also the registered office of AJL and YIL.

The National Herald was started by former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru and was published by the Associated Journal Limited (AJL). In 2010, AJL was taken over by a newly-floated company called YIL with Rahul Gandhi as one of its directors and Gandhi family loyalists Suman Dubey and technocrat Sam Pitroda as directors.

Swamy claimed that Young Indian Limited "took over" the assets of the defunct print media outlet in a "malicious" manner to gain profit and assets worth over Rs 2,000 crores. The BJP leader also alleged that YIL had paid Rs 50 lakh to obtain the rights to recover Rs 90.25 crore which AJL owed the Congress party.

In 2014, the ED initiated a probe to see if there was any money laundering involved in the case. It is pertinent to note that in 2020, the ED had attached one of the prime properties in Mumbai's Bandra under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The property, with a market value of hundreds of crores of rupees, was illegally allotted to AJL.

All seven accused in the case -- veteran Congress leader Motilal Vora, AICC general secretary Oscar Fernandes, Suman Dubey, Sam Pitroda, YI and the Gandhis -- have denied the accusations against them.

Till date, the Congress has been accusing the BJP of misusing the central agencies and indulging in vendetta politics against the Congress leaders.

The Congress has also been targeting the government over the issue and has been accusing it of trying to suppress the voice of its political opponents.
Nashik, July 8 : Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) President Sharad Pawar on Saturday said that he is neither tired nor retired.

"I am neither tired nor retired, but am full of fire," the 83-year old NCP President said.

Earlier, Ajit Pawar pointed out that his uncle should now retire.

You portrayed me as a villain in front of everyone. I still have deep respect for him (Sharad Pawar)...But you tell me, IAS officers retire at 60...even in politics - BJP leaders retire at 75. You can see the example of LK Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi...That allows the new generation to rise," Ajit Pawar said

Taking a swipe at his nephew Ajit Pawar - who led a revolt in the NCP last week and became the new Deputy Chief Minister  Pawar harked to a famous poem penned by the late Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, with his own little contribution.

Replying to media queries on how Sharad Pawar's 64-year-old nephew wanted him to go into retirement and "live for 100 years", Pawar laughed and recited the Vajpayee verse.

Pawar said that the present cabinet consists of people in the age group of 60-70, but if a person's health is good, then age cannot hinder anyone from doing good work or contributing to the society.

"When I was the Chief Minister in 1978, there was a person before my eyes His name was Morarji Desai. He was 84 when he became the PM," said Sharad Pawar, referring to his first stint as Maharashtra CM at the age of 37, the youngest to occupy the post -- the record still stands.

Preparing to address his first major rally in Yeola in Nashik - after the NCP split on July 2  Sharad Pawar said that the district enjoys a special place in the history of India's Independence and a historic session of the Indian National Congress was held here in September 1950 presided over by P. D. Tandon.

The district has given many great leaders to the country and the late Y. B. Chavan, who became the first CM of Maharashtra (May 1, 1960) had entered the Lok Sabha from Nashik, and later became the Deputy PM of India.

"Chavan was the social-political role model of the youth of our times When the Chinese crisis hit the country, the then PM Jawaharlal Nehru called him to Delhi and made him the Defence Minister (in Nov. 1962)," said Sharad Pawar.

Just as the people of Nashik gave Chavan immense support then, the NCP supremo said that he has launched his current political tour from the same district today.

Incidentally, Yeola is the stronghold of Chhagan Bhujbal, Sharad Pawar's one-time close confidante who has quit to join the Ajit Pawar-led NCP group.

Sharad Pawar recalled how, after Bhujbal's rout in the Mazagaon, Mumbai assembly seat twice in 1995 and 1999. Then with Shiv Sena, he was among the earliest MLAs of the party to be elected twice from Mazagaon in 1985 and 1990.

"After his defeat, he was keen to be elected to the Legislative Assembly. So after discussing with the party and people of Nashik, we suggested he should contest from a safe seat, Yeola, and he emerged victorious," said Sharad Pawar.

He explained how seeing the expressions on the faces of thousands of people en route from Mumbai to Nashik this morning invigorated him and made him feel more confident in the current crisis gripping his party.
Jaipur, July 8 : Opposition leaders across the country are alleging that they are being targeted by the Enforcement Directorate and the Central Bureau of Investigation.

Joining this chorus is Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot whose brotheras place in Jodhpur was amongst those raided by the CBI last year.

The agency conducted searches at multiple places across Rajasthan, Gujarat and West Bengal and Gehlotas brother Agrasen was one amongst them. Sources said that Agrasen, a businessman, was booked for alleged corruption along with others, including some government officials. He is already facing a money laundering probe by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with a case of alleged diversion of fertiliser during 2007-09.

These CBI raids are separate from the one being probed by the ED.

Earlier, amid a political crisis in Rajasthan in July 2020, when former deputy CM Sachin Pilot had revolted against Gehlot and the BJP was allegedly trying to cash in on the situation, the ED had raided Agrasenas premises in the fertiliser diversion case.

On July 22, 2020, the ED conducted raids at 13 places in Rajasthan, West Bengal, Gujarat and Delhi in connection with the case. The premises included those associated with Agrasen Gehlot and his company Anupam Krishi.

Officials said that the alleged scam concerns Muriate of Potash (MoP), which is imported by Indian Potash Limited (IPL) and distributed to farmers through companies at subsidised rates. The IPL is concerned with import, promotion and marketing of potash in the entire country, which is provided at subsidised rates to farmers

Between 2007 and 2009, Agrasen Gehlot, who was an authorised dealer for IPL, bought MoP at subsidised rates and sold it to a few companies, which in turn exported it to Malaysia and Singapore in the guise of industrial salt, instead of distributing it to farmers.

MoP is in the list of items which are banned for export. The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence had unearthed the scam in 2012-13.

ED sources said Gehlot and his company were eventually imposed a penalty of Rs 60 crore in connection with the case. It was alleged that around 35,000 metric tonnes of MoP worth about Rs 130 crore was diverted.

The central agency decided to register a case of money laundering after the customs department filed a charge sheet in the case, the day when the Income Tax Department raided three Rajasthan based business groups said to be close to the CM. The raids were carried out in the middle of a political slugfest between Gehlot and Pilot.

Last year, when the CBI conducted raids at Agrasenas place, Ashok Gehlot hit out at the Central government over this raid, and said this will not panic him but will ultimately harm the BJP only.

Gehlot termed the raid as an act of revenge by the Centre for his recent activism in Delhi.

Before this CBI raid at Agrasen Gehlot's residence in Jodhpur in connection with a corruption case, the Enforcement Directorate too had raided his place in 2020.

aIf I am active in Delhi or have participated in this movement for Rahul Gandhi, then why take revenge on my brother? When there was a political crisis here in our government in 2020, at that time also the ED had raided my brother's place," Ashok Gehlot had said while speaking to the media at that time after returning from the national capital.

He said, "It's not fair. We are not going to panic because of this. No member of my family is involved in politics. It is beyond comprehension that first they conducted an ED raid, and now a raid by the CBI. Even the people of the country have no taste for this. The loss will only be of the BJP and of the Central government. The more they harass the people of the country, the more adverse impact they will suffer," he said

He added, "On June 13, time was sought, on 15 the case was registered, and on June 17 there were raids. What is this approach, it is beyond comprehension?" Gehlot was in Delhi for several days to participate in the Congress' protest against the questioning of Rahul Gandhi by the ED in a money laundering case and hence he termed the raid as part of vendetta politics.

Meanwhile, as the assembly elections approach, speculation is rife that more ED/CBI raids will be reported in Rajasthan.

In Rajasthan, this trend has already started and as polls approach, such raids will gain momentum, said state minister Pratap Khachriyawas.
Los Angeles, July 8 : The protests from Writers Guild of America (WGA) has taken Hollywood by storm leading to the delay and even cancellation of various projects. Now marking its 67th day, the WGA protests have gained support from the cast and crew of popular comedy-drama show 'Ugly Betty'.

According to Deadline, the 'Ugly Betty' stars Ana Ortiz and Chris Gorham along with writers Brian Tannen, Gabrielle Stanton, Sheila Lawrence, Chris Black, Henry Myers, Cameron Litvack and Tracy Poust gathered at Paramount Studios in support of the WGA strikers.

Speaking to Deadline, Sheila Lawrence, who also co-wrote titles such as 'Gilmore Girls' and 'Desperate Housewives', said: "I worry about the future of writing as a profession if things donat change."

She continued: "It's been amazing to be out here and to feel so much support from everyone all these days. Cars are still honking every day. So Iam hopeful this will come to a good conclusion."

Regarding the future of 'Ugly Betty', Lawrence said: "We'd love to have more Ugly Betty. No promises, I think there are rights issues but we all would love it."

Fellow 'Ugly Betty' star Anna Ortiz encouraged the WGA protesters and said: "Hey fans, speak out! Let everybody know that you want a reboot of 'Ugly Betty' because there have been talks. Let's go."

Cast and crew of other popular American shows have also come out in support of WGA which include 'George Lopez Show' and 'Bones'.
Los Angeles, July 8 : Ever since the announcement of 'Oppenheimer', Christopher Nolan has made it clear that he has zero interest in using CGI for the biopic, instead using practical effects for everything. With that in mind, 'Oppenheimer' will have absolutely no CGI.

The director is known for his penchant for realism and complex stories, but for his latest film, 'The Dark Knight' creator has insisted on keeping things as real as possible. Speaking with Collider, Nolan said that his latest film not only has a focus on practicality, but it contains "zero" CGI shots.

However, this is nothing new as Nolan has preferred to rely as little as he can on VFX on almost all his ventures be it 'The Dark Knight' trilogy, 'Interstellar' or 'Tenet'.

Instead Nolan has always preferred using things such as camera work, real small-scale explosions and miniature sets to avoid having his work feel wholly unrealistic, employing VFX only when necessary and that too for enhancing the visual aesthetic of certain scenes.

But recreating a nuclear explosion, its immense radiation, the intricacies of the explosion along with other aspects such as the aesthetics of a black hole is no mean feat, but Nolan and his team managed to pull it off without any CGI.

Based on the life of nuclear physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer who is widely regarded as the 'Father of the nuclear bomb', the film adapts the Pulitzer Prize-winning book American Prometheus by Kai Bird and the late Martin J. Sherwin.

With a particular focus on the Trinity Test and the Manhattan Project which led to creation of the atom bomb, the movie also showcases the race against time of the Americans to finish building their bomb before Nazi Germany can complete theirs.

'Oppenheimer' stars Cillian Murphy, Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Robert Downey Jr., Florence Pugh Jack Quaid, Benny Safdie, Rami Malek, Dane DeHaan, Josh Hartnett, Matthew Modine, Kenneth Branagh, David Krumholtz, Michael Angarano, and Alden Ehrenreich and will hit theatres on July 21, 2023.
New Delhi, July 8 : The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a plea challenging the election of Union Minister for Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya M. Scindia to the Rajya Sabha from Madhya Pradesh in 2020.

A bench of Justices Hrishikesh Roy and Pankaj Mithal dismissed the special leave petition moved by Congress leader Govind Singh against order of the Madhya Pradesh High Court framing the preliminary issue in the election petition filed against Scindia.

Singh has challenged the candidature of Scindia as a returned candidate of BJP from Madhya Pradesh in the biennial election to Rajya Sabha held on June 19, 2020, on the ground that while submitting the nomination paper along with an affidavit, the BJP leader did not disclose particulars or information regarding registration of FIR lodged against him and others in Bhopal.

It was contended that Scindia had suppressed the facts by not disclosing the FIR in his nomination form which amounts to fraud and corrupt practice and his election be declared as null and void. The Representation of the People Act, 1951 makes it mandatory for the contesting candidate to disclose all correct details in the nomination form supported by an affidavit.

The plea filed before the apex court argued that despite various other issues suggested by Singh, the high court had only framed a preliminary issue in the election petition as to whether mere registration of an FIR constitutes a "pending criminal case" liable to be disclosed in the nomination papers of a prospective candidate under the Representation of the People Act, 1951.

On the other hand, Scindia had contended before the high court that there was no criminal case pending against him and mere registration of FIR does not fall within the purview of a pending criminal case.

In September 2018, an FIR for offences punishable under Sections 465, 468, 469, 471, 472, 474 and 120-B of IPC was lodged against Scindia and others at Shyamla Hills police station in Bhopal on the direction of a Special Judge.

On Friday, the top court refused to issue notice to Scindia and dismissed the appeal filed by Singh against the order passed by the Gwalior bench of the high court on March 17.

Scindia, through Karanjawala & Co., has lodged a acaveata before the Supreme Court in the matter.
Mumbai, July 8 : Actor Vipin Sharma, who was recently seen in the streaming film 'Tiku Weds Sheru' and has essayed the role of Ehsan Qureshi in Anurag Kashyap's magnum opus 'Gangs of Wasseypur', has shared that an actor would never know that a film would become a big hit during the course of filming.

'Gangs of Wasseypur' is one of the biggest films of Hindi parallel cinema and has over the years gained a cult status owing to its storytelling, the way in which it was shot in a shoestring budget and of course the music which stands the test of time.

Talking to IANS, Vipin said: "As a film artiste you can never tell if a film will turn out to be a cult classic. It's like cooking a delicacy, you know about the dish being made but until it's made you will never be able to tell how the flavour notes, the texture and the aroma would turn out to be. The same thing happened with 'Gangs of Wasseypur'."

He went on to share that "one thing" that he really liked about working on 'Gangs of Wasseypur' - the bonding that developed between the members of the cast and crew.

He told IANS: "Anurag had asked all the actors to do a workshop for 10 days. The bonding that happened in those 10 days between all of us, greatly helped the film and reflected in our performances. It was not a big budget film, we had very small vanity vans, we were not living in 5 star hotels, the locations had their own issues but I would still do it again because it is an important film in my filmography and it gave me so much as an actor, it was a very fulfilling experience."
Kanpur, July 8 : The All India Chess Federation (AICF) successfully conducted a pre-Annual General Meeting (AGM) meeting here on Saturday, bringing together representatives from 33 state affiliations across the country to deliberate on the development of chess in India and address the obstacles faced by them.

Chaired by AICF President Sanjay Kapoor, the primary objective of the meeting was to facilitate an open discussion on the key issues and challenges confronting the state associations.

This collaborative platform provided an opportunity for representatives to share their valuable insights and experiences, enabling a comprehensive understanding of the diverse hurdles faced at the regional level, the AICF informed in a release on Saturday.

During the discussions, attention was focused on devising effective strategies to bolster the development of chess nationwide. The participants actively highlighted the unique challenges encountered by their respective state associations, encompassing areas such as infrastructure, funding, player development, and organizational support. These deliberations laid the foundation for the formulation of targeted solutions that would address the specific needs of each state affiliation, the release said.

In line with AICF's commitment to progress and excellence, the meeting concluded with a pledge to implement precise measures to tackle the identified challenges head-on. The AICF, in collaboration with the state affiliations, will work tirelessly to devise and execute comprehensive action plans that foster the growth of chess across the nation. By addressing these obstacles collectively, AICF aims to create a more robust and inclusive chess ecosystem, ultimately propelling Indian chess to greater heights on the global stage.

The All India Chess Federation is set to hold its Annual General Body Meeting on Sunday in Kanpur. This highly anticipated event will bring together chess enthusiasts, officials, and members from across the country to discuss important matters, make decisions, and shape the future of chess in India.
New Delhi, July 8 : The Congress on Saturday hit back at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for terming the K. Chandrashekar Rao-led BRS government in Telangana as the most corrupt state government in the country, stating that the BJP and the Bharath Rashtra Samithi (BRS) are in fact together as the saffron brigade has formed governments with Conrad Sangma's party in Meghalaya and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in Maharashtra after dubbing them as corrupt.

Earlier on Saturday, while addressing a public meeting in Telanagana's Warangal, Modi had urged the people of the southern state to be careful about the BRS and Congress.

Hitting back at the BJP, Congress General Secretay Jairam Ramesh said in a tweet, "The Prime Minsiter has called the BRS the most corrupt government in India. So naturally the BJP and BRS are together. Remember earlier this year (Union) Home Minister (Amit Shah) had called the Meghalaya government of Conrad Sangma the most corrupt government. Thereafter BJP tied up with Sangma."

"I had written a letter to CBI on March 21, 2023 requesting it to question the Home Minister on the very serious charges he had made. There is yet to be any movement on it. And of course there was a time when the PM had termed the NCP as a Naturally Corrupt Party," Ramesh said, attaching the copy of the letter he wrote to then CBI Director Subodh Jaiswal.

His remarks came after the Prime Minister sounded BJP's poll bugle in poll-bound Telangana by giving a call to the people of the state to be careful about the BRS and Congress.

"The two political parties (BRS and Congress) are threats to the people. The people of Telangana must be careful and be aware," Modi said.

Modi added that political parties which practice dynasty politics will have the foundation of corruption. The whole country has seen how the Congress is mired in corruption, he said.

"The KCR government is the most corrupt government. The links of corruption of this government have reached New Delhi," the Prime Minister said.

"So far, we have seen agreements signed between states and countries on development. This is the first time we are hearing the news of two political parties and governments coming together to practice corruption," Modi added while slamming the BRS and Congress.
In a rare condemnation of Israel, the U.N. chief on Thursday denounced the country's excessive use of force in its largest military operation in two decades targeting a Palestinian refugee camp in the occupied West Bank.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, clearly angered by the impact of the Israeli attack on the Jenin refugee camp, said the operation had left over 100 civilians injured, forced thousands to flee, damaged schools and hospitals and disrupted water and electricity networks.

Israels two-day major raid destroyed the Jenin camps narrow roads and alleyways, killed 12 Palestinians and forced thousands of people to flee their homes. One Israeli soldier also was killed.

Guterres also criticized Israel for preventing the injured from getting medical care and humanitarian workers from reaching everyone in need.

The U.N. chief again called on Israel to abide by its obligations under international law," and to exercise restraint and use only proportional force.

The use of airstrikes is inconsistent with the conduct of law enforcement operations, he stressed.

Guterres reminded Israel that as the occupying power, it has a responsibility to ensure that the civilian population is protected against all acts of violence.

The secretary-general's condemnation followed a statement by three U.N. independent human rights experts on Wednesday saying that the Israeli airstrikes and ground actions amount to egregious violations of international law and standards on the use of force and may constitute a war crime.

The experts on human rights in the Palestinian territory, on the rights of the internally displaced, and on violence against women and girls called for Israel to be held accountable for its illegal occupation and violent acts to perpetuate it.

The Israeli army claimed to have inflicted heavy damage on militant groups in the operation at the camp which ended Wednesday.

Ahead of the Israeli withdrawal, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to carry out similar operations if needed.

This comes after more than a year of Israeli-Palestinian violence. The Jenin camp and an adjacent town of the same name have been a flashpoint since the violence began escalating in the spring 2022.

Guterres said he understands Israels legitimate concerns with its security. But escalation is not the answer, he said, "it simply bolsters radicalization and leads to a deepening cycle of violence and bloodshed.

Restoring the hope of the Palestinian people in a meaningful political process, leading to a two-state solution and the end of the occupation, is an essential contribution by Israel to its own security, the secretary-general stressed.

Israel demands retraction



Israels United Nations ambassador called on Guterres to retract his condemnation of the country, but the UN refused.

U.N. deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq said Friday the secretary-general conveyed his views and he stands by those views.

Israels U.N. Ambassador Gilad Erdan called the U.N. chiefs remarks shameful, far-fetched, and completely detached from reality. He said the Israeli military action in Jenin focused solely on combating the murderous Palestinian terror.

Haq, the U.N. spokesperson, said Guterres clearly condemns all of the violence that has been affecting the civilians in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, regardless of who is the perpetrator.

The U.N. Security Council discussed Israels military operation in Jenin behind closed doors Friday at the request of the United Arab Emirates and received a briefing from Assistant Secretary-General Khaled Khiari.

At least 190 Palestinians, and 26 Israelis, have been killed this year, according to an AFP tally compiled from official sources from both sides.

Yet, the Security Council took no action.

Israel captured the West Bank, east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians seek those territories for their hoped-for independent state, a goal supported by the United Nations and the international community.

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London, July 8 : Legendary progressive rock band Pink Floyd's lead guitarist and guitar icon David Gilmour and his band held a highly acclaimed performance in the Pompeii ruins in 2017 which was a part of his 'Live at Pompeii' live album.

To mark six years of that concert, Pink Floyd took to social media to celebrate it.

Posting pictures of Gilmour's 'Live at Pompeii' album, Pink Floyd captioned: "It has been six years since David Gilmour and his band played two magical nights straight in Pompeii, in the historic ruins. A recording of the shows in the ancient amphitheatre, 'Live at Pompeii' was released. Were any of you fortunate enough to have attended either night?"

The album was a massive success and contained several Pink Floyd classics such as 'High Hopes', 'Time', 'Great Gig in the Sky', 'Money', 'Comfortably Numb' and 'Shine On You Crazy Diamond'.

It also included some of the lesser known Pink Floyd tracks such as 'Sorrow' and several of Gilmour's own solo tracks such as 'Rattle That Lock' and 'Faces of Stone'.

An integral part of Pink Floyd, David Gilmour is considered a guitar legend and is renowned for his more artsy, slow, psychedelic and melodic playing style, which a lot of musicians refer to as 'feel'. Gilmour's playing style has inspired countless rock and metal guitarists.

Pink Floyd were noted for their artistic, psychedelic and mellow sound and are considered one of the pioneers of progressive rock alongside bands such as King Crimson, Rush, Genesis and Hawkwind. One of the best selling artists of all time, Pink Floyd have sold more than 250 million records worldwide.
Mumbai, July 8 : Actor Hollywood star Tom Cruise, who is awaiting the release of his upcoming theatrical film 'Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One', has left his Hindi-speaking fans surprised with his fluent display of the language.

As a part of the promotions of his upcoming film, the actor attempted to speak Hindi during the course of an interview with ETalk channel and was praised by the Indian-origin journalist for acing the pronunciation in the first attempt.

"Is there anything you cannot do? Is he going to speak in Hindi with me?" asked the journalist.

Cruise was more than willing to test his Hindi speaking skills as he said, "If you want me to speak in Hindi with you, I will. Let's try it."

The journalist then asked 'The Last Samurai' actor to say, "Namaste. Aap kaise hain?' (Namaste, How are you?)."

Tom followed it up brilliantly leaving the fans lavish praise on him.

Several Indian fans found Cruise's accent "cute".

"He is so cute while speaking 'namaste aap kaise ho' & Is there anything he can't do," a user said on Twitter.

"Tom Cruise wins the hearts of all Indians with his Hindi. His humility is on another level. God Bless him," another user said.

"Wow.... He spoke Hindi very well," read a post.

Another fan wrote, "He said Namaste on his own, shows how aware he is of India and Indian fans."
Mumbai, July 8 : Actress Kangana Ranaut on Saturday showered praises on Padma Bhushan and National award winning thespian, Sharmila Tagore for her performance in the streaming family drama 'Gulmohar', and termed her craft as 'elegant' like the 'warmth of winter sun'.

In an Instagram story, Kangana shared a smiling picture of Sharmila and penned, "On a different note, I recently saw a lovely film 'Gulmohar', (I) was beyond delighted to see veteran super star Sharmilaji back on screen... her screen presence, voice modulation, nuances in her performance was like the warmth of winter sun... so beautiful and elegant."

The Bollywood diva known for her role in 'Gangster', further expressed her desire to see one of the Hindi cinema's finest actresses, Waheeda Rehman in a full fledged role.

"Now hoping to see Waheeda ji in a full fledged role soon... come on everyone let's manifest this," read Kangana's post. She also posted a throwback picture of the veteran actress with a background song by Lata Mangeshkar 'Piya Tose Naina Laage Re'.

'Gulmohar' is directed by Rahul V Chittella, and stars Sharmila Tagore, Manoj Bajpayee, Simran, Suraj Sharma, Amol Palekar, and Kaveri Seth, amongst others. It revolves around the multi-generation Batra family who are all set to move out of their 34-year-old family home - Gulmohar - and how this shift in their lives is a re-discovery of the bonds that have held them together as a family with personal secrets and insecurities.

On the work front, Kangana has 'Emergency' and 'Tejas' in her kitty.

---IANS

sp/aa/dan
Islamabad, July 8 : The Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM)-led government has approved a major economic policy to attract foreign inflows, media reports said.

The federal cabinet approved the Pakistan Investment Policy 2023 through the circulation of a summary, which aims to bring $20-25 billion in investment, the sources said, Geo News reported.

The people familiar with the matter said the policy was readied after consultations with the World Bank, International Finance Corporation, and provincial and federal institutions.

In the new policy, the minimum equity rate for foreign investment has been abolished, the sources said. Foreign investors will be allowed to invest in all sectors except six, the sources said, without specifying which ones.

Under the new policy, foreign investors will be allowed to remit the entire profit abroad in their own country's currency, they said.

"Foreign investors will be given special protection," the sources added, Geo News reported.

The development comes days after Minister of State for Petroleum Musadik Malik said that Saudi Arabia and the UAE were taking a keen interest in Pakistan's information technology, agriculture and mining sectors.

The kingdom planned to fix $24 billion in funds for investment purposes, while the UAE allocated $22 billion funds for exploring opportunities in three sectors of Pakistan, the state minister stated in an interview with a private television channel, Geo News reported.

Pakistan has been looking for ways to shore up its reserves as it goes through one of its most severe economic crises. The intensity lessened after the government signed a deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) last week.
New Delhi, July 8 : Chief Election Commissioner of India Anup Chandra Pandey is leading a team of three-member delegation to Uzbekistan to observe and conduct of early Presidential Elections to be held on Sunday, the poll panel said on Saturday.

The Election Commission of India in a statement said: "On the invitation of the Central Election Commission of Uzbekistan, Pandey is leading a three-member delegation to Uzbekistan to observe the conduct of early Presidential elections to be held tomorrow."

It said that four candidates including the incumbent President are in the election fray.

"This election is being held under the framework of new constitution which was adopted in Uzbekistan after the recent Referendum held in April this year, and is being keenly watched by the international community," the poll panel said.

It said that earlier, Pandey and the Chairman, CEC of Uzbekistan held a meeting on electoral cooperation on July 6.

Pandey spoke about the recent conduct of elections in India and various avenues for further strengthening electoral ties between the two countries through signing of MoU on electoral cooperation, training and capacity building programs which ECI would be happy to organize for Uzbekistan election officials, the Commission said.

It also said that delegates from Uzbekistan have been avidly participating in ECI's International Election Visitors Programmes (IEVP) organized during elections and officials from Uzbekistan have been attending training programs at ECI under the ITEC program.

The poll panel pointed out that under the Uzbekistan laws, the President is elected for a seven-year term from a single nationwide constituency.

"The election administration follows a three-tier structure comprising the Central Election Commission, 14 District Election Commissions and 10,760 Precinct Election Commissions," it said.

It also said that Uzbekistan has an electorate of about 20 million. Each polling station caters to a maximum of 3000 voters.

Over 22 million eligible voters are registered to vote in the elections. With over 10,000 polling stations in the country and 55 abroad opened for the citizens of Uzbekistan residing in foreign countries, the exercise is set to become a landmark in that country's history.

The Indian delegation, led by Election Commissioner Pandey and comprising Deputy Election Commissioners Hirdesh Kumar and RK Gupta also visited the 7th and 14th District Election Commissions to obtain an overview of the electoral administration, procedures and initiatives of the CEC of Uzbekistan.

Pandey during his visit is also slated to interact with the representatives of Non-Resident Indian community based in Tashkent on Indian Elections.
Bhopal, July 8 : A minor boy died and three other persons were reported injured in a gun fight over a land dispute in Madhya Pradesh's Morena district on Saturday.

Heavy police personnel have been deployed at the village where the incident occurred.

As per the information, two neighbours had a long dispute over a portion of land in Morena, and a fresh exchange of words from both side led to be an ugly fight on Saturday. At first, people from both side hit on each other with sticks, but later they indulged in gunfight.

In the exchange of bullet guns, a 15-year-old boy reportedly died on spot, whole three others got injured. The gunfight ended after local police reached the spot and controlled the situation. Those got injured were rushed to a nearby hospital by the local police.

Additional SP Morea Rai Singh Narwaria told the Press that the neighbours had a long dispute over a portion of land in the village. He said the firing took place early on Saturday.

"A minor boy died on spot due to bullet injury while three are admitted at hospital. A case has been registered against eight persons, and a search operation to nab the accused was underway," Morena SP said.
Imphal, July 8 : The Manipur High Court has directed the state government to lift the ban on providing internet through Internet Lease Line (ILL) across the state after ensuring that all the stakeholders have complied with the safeguards given by the Expert Committee, constituted earlier, court sources said on Saturday.

As sporadic incidents of violence continued in Manipur, the state government on July 5 extended the suspension of internet services for the 13th time till July 10, to curb the spread of rumours and videos, photos, and messages, which might deteriorate the law and order situation.

A division bench of Justices Ahanthem Bimol Singh and A. Guneshwar Sharma in its order on Friday directed the state government to lift the ban on providing internet through ILL across the state to facilitate limited access to internet services for the public, and to consider Fibre to Home connections (FTH) on a case to case basis, provided the safeguards put on record by the Expert Committee are complied with.

Some of the safeguards stipulated by the Expert Committee for internet access to be restored include limiting the speed to 10MBPS, securing undertakings from intended users that they will not indulge anything illegal, and subjecting the users to "physical monitoring by the concerned authority/officials."

The The High Court directions came after a Public Interest Litigation filed earlier seeking restoration of internet services in Manipur, where internet suspension continued after the outbreak of the ethnic violence between the non-tribal Meitei and tribal Kuki communities since May 3.

After hearing the service providers of Vodafone, Idea, Jio, BSNL and Airtel, state government, members of the Expert Committee, as well as the Commissioner (Home) and the Director (Information Technology), Manipur, the court in its order said that internet service can be provided by all the service providers operating in Manipur to a limited number of specially identified and whitelisted mobile numbers if such mobile numbers are identified and furnished by the Home Department of Manipur government.

"It has also been stated by all the officials of the service providers that providing of internet service will be exclusively limited to those specially identified or whitelisted mobile numbers and that there is absolutely no chance or possibility of any leakage.

"In other words, except for the person who is using the identified/ whitelisted mobile number, no other person can utilize or avail the internet service provided to the said mobile number," the HC order said.

The Manipur Human Rights Commission (MHRC) headed by Justice Utpalendu Bikash Saha (Retd) earlier asked the state government to consider restoration of internet services which had been suspended since the ethnic violence broke out on May 3.

Since the ethnic violence broke out in Manipur on May 3. People have been facing scarcity of various essentials, transport fuel, cooking gas and life-saving drugs, disruption in banking and online facilities affecting normal life, the Internet suspension for 67 days across the mountainous state further added to the misery of the people.
Mumbai, July 8 : The makers of the highly anticipated film 'Project K,' starring Amitabh Bachchan, Kamal Haasan, Prabhas and Deepika Padukone, on Saturday released the official limited edition exclusive-free merchandise of the film, ahead of its launch at the Comic-Con.

The film's exclusive footage is scheduled to be unveiled in the presence of the film's cast at the renowned San Diego Comic-Con 2023.

Adding to the excitement surrounding the film, fans are eager to learn more about the mysterious 'Project K'.

Responding to their curiosity, the film's lead star Big B took to his social media account and wrote, "What is #ProjectK? The world wants to know! Follow the link and come KLOSERa"

Produced by C. Aswani Dutt's Vyjayanthi Movies and directed by acclaimed filmmaker Nag Ashwin, 'Project K' is a bilingual film shot simultaneously in Hindi and Telugu across various locations.

It also marks Deepikaas debut in the Telugu film industry.
Bengaluru, July 8 : Karnataka Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Saturday condemned the propaganda and wrong information about its jailed minister Manish Sisodia.

Addressing a press conference held at the Aam Aadmi Party's media office, State Working President BT Naganna said on Saturday: "It is a shame that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Enforcement Directorate (ED) has framed former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia in a false case, who has brought about an education revolution in the state of Delhi which can put rest of the country and the world to shame."

He further stated that it is a sign of BJP's desperation that they are trying to slander in the media across the country as if Rs 54 crores worth of property which was seized on Friday belongs only to Manish Sisodia.

"It is the intention of the central government to level this type of political allegation to beat the top leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party, which already holds power in two states and has representatives in many states including Goa, Punjab, and Uttar Pradesh. The Aam Aadmi Party will never be swayed by machinations," he warned.

""Manish Sisodia had earlier bought a house in Ghaziabad for Rs 5 lakh on Feb 5, 2005 when he was a journalist. On July 27, 2018 he bought a flat in Delhi for Rs 65 lakhs in the name of his wife. He has only Rs 11,49,738 in his Bank of Baroda account. But allegations against Manish Sisodia were made in 2021. This proves that this false case has nothing to do with the two properties he has bought. As a former journalist, two times Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi, managing 18 accounts, can he not have made such a small amount of property for his residence?" asked Naganna.

"Rs 54 crore assets confiscated by the Enforcement Directorate are properties related to Chariot Media Products Pvt Ltd, BrindCo Sales Pvt Ltd, Gautham Malhotra, Nova Garments," Naganna showed proof with the document.

He appealed to the national media and local media to understand and broadcast it correctly and not to spread slander about Manish Sisodia.

""BJP is using the latest amended law of the Enforcement Directorate only to punish Aam Aadmi Party leaders and to set up their governments in different states in an illegal way. They have no big intention to uproot corruption in the country," said Jagdish V. Sadam, state media in-charge, who participated in the press conference.
Bengaluru, July 8 : Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday said that the government will work towards developing consciousness and rationality among the students.

He said that if the teachers are not secular and rational, it is not possible to develop knowledge among the students.

He was responding to questions at the Prabuddha Karnataka Janamana Conference held by Janamana Foundation and Samata Adyayana Kendra at Devaraja Arasu Bhavan.

He said that peace, law and order, and a business friendly environment is necessary to attract global investors.

GDP increases as employment is created through investments. Therefore, a peaceful society without caste-religion conflict is needed, he said.

The energy and spirit of our youth should not be misused. Our government has formulated a policy where the youth is not misused for riots in the name of caste and religion. Hence, we have decided to provide Yuva Nidhi for 24 months and skill training to the unemployed youth, he said.

As promised in the manifesto, we will fill up the vacant posts phase by phase in the state government. Until then, we intend to bring reservation in outsourced appointments as well, he said.

He said that a meeting with industrialists was held to discuss the kind of skills that are required in students. Accordingly, education should be designed for students to meet the market demand.

While answering a question, the CM assured to take action for permanent solution to the problems of Sharavati victims.

The last government was practicing moral policing. As soon as we came to power, we drew the line against moral policing. Atrocities on Dalits, minorities and backward people will not stop until an equal society is built. Thus our government is trying to create a peaceful state, he said.

We will set up a selection committee for the recruitments in the academies and boards. He said this committee will screen the candidates and prevent fanatics and divisive minds from entering these establishments.

The CM, replying to a girl's question, said that a suitable decision will be taken about menstrual leave for women employees and students.

"Women were also deprived of education like the shudras for centuries. Exploitation and violence on women will be reduced if they prosper socially and economically. A survey will be conducted on government land encroachment. The provision of providing land to the landless will be reviewed," he said.
A grenade attack and gun battle in Iran's southeast near Pakistan left four assailants and two Iranian policemen dead on Saturday, local media said.

It was the latest violence in Sistan-Baluchistan province, where unrest has involved drug smuggling gangs, rebels from the Baluchi minority and Sunni extremist groups.

There was no immediate indication of who carried out the attack.

"Four unidentified armed individuals attacked and entered police station Number 16 of Zahedan", the provincial capital, according to state broadcaster IRIB. It quoted the province's deputy head of security Alireza Marhamati.

The attackers used grenades to blast open the gates of the police station, and an exchange of fire occurred, said Marhamati.

Two policemen were killed in the ensuing clash, according to Tasnim news agency, which quoted Sistan-Baluchistan Police Chief Doustali Jalilian.

All four "terrorists" involved in the attack were killed, according to Iran's official news agency IRNA, quoting a branch of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps which commands southeast Iran.

Sistan-Baluchistan is one of Iran's poorest provinces. It is home to the Baluchi minority who adhere to Sunni Islam rather than the Shia branch predominant in Iran.

In May, five Iranian border guards were killed during clashes with an armed group in Saravan, southeast of Zahedan, in one of the province's deadliest attacks in months.

State media reported at the time that the attack was carried out by "a terrorist group that was seeking to infiltrate the country" but whose members "fled the scene after suffering injuries".

Zahedan was also the scene of protests that flared in September, with dozens of deaths, over the alleged rape of a teenage girl by a police officer.

In late May, IRNA quoted a police official, Qassem Rezaee, as saying "Taliban forces" had shot at an Iranian police station in Sistan-Baluchistan, a drought-parched region which also borders Afghanistan. The two countries have been arguing over water rights.

Iranian police did not give details of casualties in that incident but local news agency Mehr reported one Iranian border guard had been killed. Afghanistan's ruling Taliban said one person was killed on each side.

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Los Angeles, July 8 : American heavy metal legends Motley Crue have wrapped up the European part of their world tour in Glasgow where they participated with the English hard rock legends Def Leppard.

Wrapping up their European tour, Motley Crue took to Instagram and captioned: "Rainy night in Glasgow!! And that's a wrap for the European leg of THE WORLD TOUR! A massive Thank You to the thousands of you who came out to these 22 shows all across Europe  it's been an epic run!"

Thanking Def Leppard, they further added: "Huge shout out to our friends Def Leppard for sharing this journey with us. Looking forward to some US summer shows next before we head over to Japan and Australia this Fall! Crueheads for life. Thank you!"

Motley Crue have been touring Europe for a while now, and have travelled across the continent performing shows in Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland, Germany and the UK, among other European nations.

One of the best selling bands of all time, Motley Crue has sold more than 100 million records worldwide and were all the rage in the '80s. Pioneers of the glam metal scene, the band is famous for their crazy rock-star life for which they were scorned but also earned a lot of notoriety.

The band was among the first in the metal scene to blend pop elements into heavy music while donning an androgynous look which was later adopted by several other bands in LA such as Dokken and Quiet Riot.

Writing some of the most iconic songs of 1980's, the band is known for global hits such as 'Girls, Girls, Girls', 'Looks That Kill' and 'Dr. Feelgood'.
Kolkata, July 8 : Inspector General of Border Security Force (BSF), S.C. Budakoti, who is the central nodal officer for the panchayat polls in West Bengal, blamed the State Election Commission (SEC) for 'ineffective' utilisation of central armed forces during polling on Saturday.

Budakoti wrote to State Election Commissioner Rajiva Sinha, accusing the Commission of 'non-cooperation' in force deployment, which, according to him, is a clear violation of the Calcutta High Court's order on this count.

In the letter, BSF IG alleged that despite repeated reminders, the entire list of sensitive booths was not made available to him by the Commission even after the polling process started on Saturday morning.

That is why central forces personnel could not be deployed everywhere, he alleged.

Budakoti also accused the Commission of providing inadequate logistics support for swift movement and effective deployment of forces.

It is learnt that in his reply, Sinha has expressed surprise over the allegations levelled by the BSF IG, claiming that the Commission had updated Budakoti through letters and WhatsApp messages, the records of which have been preserved.

Political observers feel that such blame games prove that the high courtas order on forces deployment for ensuring free and fair polling was not honoured at the ground level.
New Delhi, July 8 : The Delhi government said on Saturday that the BJP calling the 400 'specialists' -- whose services were terminated by the L-G, as "AAP's volunteers" was nothing but frustration.

"These allegations are not only laughable but also reflect the deep frustration of the BJP. The BJP has labelled these individuals, who are contractual employees of the Delhi government, as Aam Aadmi Party workers based on their social media posts or likes. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal commands a 54 per cent vote share in Delhi, so it is natural that he is highly appreciated both online and on the ground," the government said in a statement.

The government emphasised that appreciating their governance model should not be considered a crime.

It further stated that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) does not want anyone who expresses appreciation for Kejriwal's work on social media, to work in the Delhi government.

"If the same criteria were applied to the Central government, more than half of the Central government employees would have to be suspended for 'liking or tweeting' BJP posts," it said.

The Delhi government further clarified that all the 400 people whom the L-G sought to terminate were appointed after complying with the specific rules and conditions of the relevant departments.

"No violations of any rules have taken place. Autonomous bodies such as the Delhi Jal Board or DTC have their own rules and regulations that empower their boards to appoint officers after due process, which has also been followed in those appointments. The L-G does not possess any authority to interfere with or terminate these appointments. However, if anyone has any objections, they are free to approach the court. In fact, the Delhi government plans to challenge this unconstitutional order issued by the L-G in court," it said.

The statement further said that "the Delhi government found it laughable that in its rush to levy these baseless allegations, the BJP released the names of several individuals who had no connection with the Delhi government or the AAP".

"For instance, Nisha Singh, who worked as an advisor in the Deputy Chief Minister's office for a nominal salary of one rupee until 2019, is no longer associated with the government. Similarly, Priyadarshini Singh, whom the BJP claims is an AAP worker from Haryana, has no affiliation with the Delhi government. However, there is a professional with a similar name associated with the Delhi government who is a graduate of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, and who left a high-paying job in an MNC to work for the Delhi government and serve the people of Delhi. All of this only goes to show the BJP's frustration with the growing popularity of the Kejriwal government," it said.
Panaji, July 8 : Goa police on Saturday arrested two accused in connection with the prostitution trade in the costal state.

The Calangute police said that accused were arrested for forcing victim girls in prostitution trade.

Police has identified as Md. Shakeel Ahmed from Hyderabad and Manjiy Singh, who travelled to Goa with victims.

Police said that the main accused has been staying in Goa since last one and half year with his wife and five-year-old son.

"He had procured girls through his friend named Bhutta from Punjab," police said.

Earlier on July 6, police had rescued four victim girls from Vagator in North Goa, who were pushed into prostitution trade.

Police are further investigating the case.
New Delhi, July 8 : The Consortium of National Law Universities has informed the Delhi High Court that preparations for the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) for the academic year 2024 are well underway.

The Consortium assured the bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad that it would be capable of devising a thorough roadmap for the eventual inclusion of additional languages in the CLAT examination.

Currently, CLAT is conducted exclusively in English, and the exam for the upcoming 2024 academic year is scheduled to take place in December.

The Consortium has said that its advisory board, in collaboration with the governing body and executive committee, will actively address the substantive and procedural challenges and formulate a comprehensive plan to broaden the scope of the CLAT examination.

The Consortium also said that the advisory board has scheduled a meeting in August to specifically discuss the feasibility of conducting the examination in regional languages and this discussion will take place in light of the ongoing report being prepared by the expert committee of Vice-Chancellors.

However, after hearing the case, the bench instructed the Consortium's expert committee to address the matter and make a decision during its next meeting while scheduling the next hearing on September 1.

According to the plea, the CLAT examination fails to provide equal opportunities to students whose educational backgrounds are rooted in regional languages.

The plea contends that the current practice of conducting the CLAT (UG) examination exclusively in English is arbitrary, discriminatory, and violates Articles 14 and 29(2) of the Constitution of India.

The petitioner also relies on a recent survey conducted by IDIA Trust, which indicates that more than 95 per cent of the surveyed students come from schools where English is the medium of instruction at both the secondary and higher secondary levels.

Furthermore, the petitioner argues that the new Education Policy of 2020 and the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 advocate for the use of mother tongue as the medium of instruction in schools and higher education institutions
Imphal, July 8 : Armed miscreants on Saturday gunned down a police personnel and injured four others in Manipur's Bishnupur district, in two separate incidents, an official said.

An official said that armed miscreants fired bullets in Phougakchao Awang Leikai village, injuring two police personnel and one civilian.

One of the police personnel later succumbed to his injuries.

A search operation was launched immediately and the miscreants were repelled.

In another incident, a villager was shot at in Phubala when the farmers were working in their paddy fields.

The Border Security Force personnel deployed in the area retaliated, and the armed miscreants fled from there.

One Waris Khan, 18, was also injured when armed miscreants threw a mortar at Kwakta Ward No 8 in Bishnupur district.

The official said that 33 more illegal bunkers, set up by the miscreants and militants were destroyed in Kangpokpi and Bishnupur districts by a combined team of Manipur Police and Central security forces in the last 24 hours.

With this, 83 illegal bunkers have been bulldozed by the security forces in the past two days.
Patna, July 9 : Patna Police on Saturday arrested 2 persons, including a student preparing for the CA examination, on charges of robbery.

The arrested individuals have been identified as Rajan Kumar, a native of Supaul who has been preparing for the CA examination in Patna, and Sanjay Kumar, a native of Barriya in Muzaffarpur.

"The accused used to do robberies in the night. There were three persons including Rajan and Sanjay who robbed a Rapido (bike taxi) driver on June 12 and snatched his scooty, Rs 3,000 in cash and mobile phone in the area under Gopalpur," said ASP Kamya Mishra.

"The police acted swiftly and managed to nab two of them. The third accused is at large. We have identified him as well. He will be put behind bars soon," Mishra said.
Imphal, July 8 : In view of over two-month long ethnic violence in Manipur, banks would provide relief measures by way of rescheduling the existing loans. Accordingly, banks have been instructed to extend the moratorium period up to 12 months, officials said here on Saturday.

Manipur Institutional Finance Department Director Anna Arambam said that a Special State Level Bankersa Committee (SLBC) meeting recently decided that banks would provide relief measures by way of rescheduling of existing loans and sanctioning of fresh loans as per the emerging requirements of all loan borrowers in agricultural, MSME and other retail loans.

He said that banks have been instructed to extend the moratorium period up to 12 months from the date of implementation of the rehabilitation, restructuring measures and for retail loans under P-segment (Personal/Pension/Vehicle/Housing loans etc), EMI repayment may be deferred by 12 months.

Those borrowers, whose repayment capacity has been severely affected due to disruption of economic activities and loss/damage of economic assets, including agriculture and allied activities may contact the concerned banks for availing the moratorium and other rehabilitation and restructuring measures, the official said.

The Manipur government has recently issued a notification saying that relief measures may be taken up under RBI's (Relief Measures by Banks in Areas Affected by Natural Calamities) Directions, 2018.

Arambam said that opening of bank branches was also reviewed by Chief Secretary Vineet Joshi.

Out of a total of 241 bank branches in Manipur, 218 have been opened as on July 6.

Efforts are being made to reopen the remaining 23 branches at the earliest.

Out of 396 ATMs, 320 are functioning. Banks were requested to make all-out efforts to ensure that the remaining 70 ATMs are also made functional.

The government has conveyed its readiness to extend all possible assistance to the banks, the official said.
Colombo, July 9 : India has assured Sri Lanka that it will play a constructive role as a Co-Chair of the Creditors Committee along with Japan and the Paris Club.

The assurance came from Indian Deputy High Commissioner in Colombo Vinod K. Jacob. He also said that India was the first creditor nation in January this year to convey the financing assurances needed to kick-start the IMF process.

Following Sri Lanka's request for debt treatment, in May, 17 countries formally formed an official creditor committee which is co-chaired by India, Japan and France.

"India's financial and humanitarian support worth $4 billion is far in excess of the total anticipated Extended Fund Facility of the IMF," the Deputy High Commissioner said while participating at the inauguration of the Construction, Power and Energy Expo 2023 in Colombo in which nearly 50 Indian companies participated.

During his speech, the Deputy High Commissioner said that the past three years have demonstrated the close links between the people of India and Sri Lanka. "In line with the 'Neighborhood First' policy of the Government of India, the Indian High Commission has steadfastly supported the economic and social ministries of Sri Lanka as they navigated the challenges of the Covid pandemic, the economic crisis and the political upheavals during this period," he said.

The "successful" visit of External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar to Sri Lanka in January this year opened up avenues for further cooperation through investment in infrastructure, manufacturing and promoting connectivity. India was Sri Lanka's largest trading partner in 2022.

Sri Lanka's exports to India have also grown. Use of Rupees for trade settlement is further helping Sri Lanka's economy. These are concrete steps to help Sri Lanka's economic recovery and growth, Deputy High Commissioner stated.

"I am glad to note that India was once again the largest source of tourists for Sri Lanka last year with over 100,000 tourists and is continuing to top the chart so to say this year as well. Around one in every five to six tourists in Sri Lanka is an Indian," he said.

He further said that the resumption of Chennai-Jaffna flights is yet another step in bringing the people of the two countries closer while ferry services between the two countries would bolster this further. Connectivity is a force multiplier in this context.

"Recent developments in India-Sri Lanka ties have strengthened our friendship and all-round cooperation. At the same time, the two countries also remain vigilant to address common challenges, especially in the maritime security domain," Deputy High Commissioner noted.

Referring to the ongoing financial crisis the South Indian island nation going through, Mr. Jacob said that the business circles and the Government of India have resolved to strongly stand by Sri Lanka at the current juncture.
Voters across Uzbekistan are preparing to exercise their democratic rights by heading to the polls Sunday in the early presidential elections, called by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev following the adoption of the new constitution through a referendum in May.

The candidate nomination process concluded in early June, resulting in the announcement of four candidates including the incumbent president Mirziyoyev, who was first elected in 2016, representing the Liberal Democratic Party,

The constitutional changes allow Mirziyoyev, 65, who was already re-elected in 2021, to serve two more terms.

The three hopefuls standing against him on Sunday are Ulugbek Inoyatov from the People's Democratic Party, Robakhon Makhmudova representing the Justice Social Democratic Party (the sole female candidate) and Abdushukur Khamzaev from the Ecological Party.

Each candidate has outlined their unique priorities and programmes. President Mirziyoyev aims to achieve sustainable economic growth, double the GDP and exports' volume, ensure clean drinking water, improve internet speed and reform the labor migration system.

Ulugbek Inoyatov, the former minister of education, focuses on social justice and has proposed the imposition of taxes on luxury items.

Robakhon Makhmudova, the current deputy chairman of the Supreme Court, promises to support entrepreneurs, while Abdushukur Khamzaev of the Ecological Party emphasizes environmental protection.

Some 19.8 million people are eligible to vote out of a total population of 36 million.

International organizations and foreign countries will observe the elections, including a delegation from Egypt consisting of Ambassador Ezzat Saad El-Sayed, Mohamed Youssef from the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs, Ahmed Taher from the Egyptian Businessmen Association, and Adel Abdel Rahman El-Assoumi, the president of the Arab Parliament.

Uzbekistan, a former Soviet republic, is Central Asia's most populous country, rich in natural gas and with a strategic location bordering Afghanistan.

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The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), made up of 18 independent experts, flagged concerns on racial profiling and the excessive use of force by law enforcement".

The experts also condemned "looting and destruction of private and public property as well as reports of mass arrests and detention of protesters".

The UN committee said it welcomed the opening of an inquiry into the circumstances that led to the killing of Nahel, whose death sparked an eruption of violence in France.

"France should promptly ensure that the investigation into the circumstances that led to the death of Nahel M. is thorough and impartial... prosecute the alleged perpetrators and, if convicted, to sanction them" accordingly, it said.

It also called for France to "adopt legislation that defines and prohibits racial profiling".

It reiterated its recommendation that the authorities address as a priority "structural and systemic causes of racial discrimination including in law enforcement".

Its intervention came as a French administrative court ruled against organisers of a march in memory of Nahel organised by the Adama Traore foundation who had sought to challenge a ban on their rally planned for Saturday.

Traore, who was black, died in police custody in 2016 sparking several nights of rioting.

"The judges found that, although the violence has decreased in recent days, its extremely recent nature does not allow us to presume that any risk of disturbing public order has disappeared," the court said in a statement.

The UN committee  which monitors the application of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination  flagged concerns around the Nahel case under its early warning and urgent action procedure.

It said it was deeply concerned by "the continuing practice of racial profiling combined with the excessive use of force by law enforcement officials, in particular the police, against members of minority groups, particularly people of African and Arab descent."

"The situation frequently results in disproportionately recurrent killings with near impunity."

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LaToya Watkins recalls an afternoon in 2015 when she found herself struggling with a short story shed been working on. Shed already decided that a character named Quinten would be based on a honey-eyed young stranger shed noticed at a train station whod seemed troubled. She had also partially fleshed out a portrait of Quintens mother, Momma. However, she wasnt satisfied with the storys direction. So she donned one of her grandmothers caftans and a head scarfattire she imagined Momma would wearand set off for a Walmart in an upscale Dallas suburb near her house. Her idea was to be her fictional characterto see the world through Mommas weary eyes.

While she was wearing her Momma costume in the checkout line, the cashier dismissively informed her that the food stamp machine was broken. I absorbed Mommas indignation and shame, she says.

Later, Watkins ventured to a water park with her nieces, where she endured stares and murmurs that communicated you dont belong. She began to feel the line between her and Momma blur. When she returned to her desk, it was with a deeper understanding of the woman from whose point of view she was writing.

Holler, Childborn of this creative processis Watkinss first story collection, out from Tiny Reparations Books on August 29. In the title story we meet the life-worn, Thunderbird-swilling Momma of 15-year-old Quinten, who, until now, has viewed her son as the most beautiful boy in the world. Momma is a damaged woman doing the best she can to literally keep the lights on.

One night her son arrives home, wild-eyed and bearing scratches and welts, and she learns hes been accused of raping the 13-year-old daughter of the owner of the junkyard/hog pen where Quinten works. For Momma, this is a particularly nightmarish scenario. She became pregnant with Quinten after a Sunday school teacher raped her, and shes kept this secret from him.

Watkins, 46, published her debut novel, Perish (also with Tiny Reparations), last October. The book draws on her own experience as a pregnant teenager and the struggle to come to terms with motherhood. With Holler, Child, she cements her reputation as Texass answer to William Faulkner. (She was boldly touted as such by Texas Monthly before Perish published.)

Watkins notes that, while shes read and admires Faulkner, she doesnt see a straight line between them. I think Im more influenced by how Black Texans and their stories are framed in local and national news media, and how that clashes with their actual histories, she says via Zoom from her home in Dallas.

None of the 11 exquisitely crafted, emotionally complex stories in Holler, Child are for the faint of heart. Violence, loss, racism, poverty, and death are ever-present. But so are love and redemption.

Texas, where Watkins was born, raised, and taught English at the University of Texas at Dallas, is central to Watkinss oeuvre. She has traversed the state as an observer and chronicler of its peoples, cultures, and religions. Shes fascinated by its many contradictions. The legacy of slavery and Jim Crow is omnipresent in her work and informs the intergenerational trauma at the heart of her characters struggles.

Texas is where my ancestors were enslaved and set free and New Jim Crowed and set free. And where my people are buried under my feet. Im fascinated by how people survive Texas generation after generation, especially while being Black or of color. And how we still manage to love her.

Watkinss father died when she was eight, at which point Watkins moved to Dallas with her mother and her two sisters. Watkinss mother remarried a few years later, and the new couple formed a blended family with five children. Her stepfather was a janitor who took on side jobs. Her mother worked in a warehouse and at a daycare. They lived paycheck to paycheck, though Watkins says her relatives were always coming to live with us because we were the family that had. 

During Watkinss senior year of high school, she got pregnant. She wanted to terminate the pregnancy, but on the way to the abortion clinic she had car trouble. When she got home, she confessed all to her mother, who convinced her to have the baby.

Eight months after Watkins daughter Kiara was born, Kiara contracted pediatric myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart, and died. In her grief, Watkins turned to God, believing that somehow, he could resurrect my child.

She and the babys father were no longer together, but they reunited and got married, and by age 20, Watkins was pregnant again, fervently believing the child she was then carrying was the one shed lost. Soon after her son was born, she was pregnant again, with twin girls. But the grief remained, and she realized they werent herthat Id just been trying to replace her. I had behaved like a child who wants a thing because its been taken away. Her marriage ended, and Watkins became a single mother.

Throughout her life, Watkins had closely listened to the tales her family told. Shed written poetry and journaled. As a newly single mom, she enrolled at University of Texas at Dallas, majoring in literary studies. (At the time, Watkins says, her children werent quite school age and she was living in a multigenerational home, so the kids stayed with family when she was attending classes.) After earning her degree, she briefly considered law school, but instead joined the MA program at UT Dallas. Eventually she also earned her PhD there.

Between being undergrad and going to grad school, Watkins worked for an academic publishing company, researching and writing about the journeys established writers went on to write and publish their books. Some of the authors were writers shed read in college. She thought, So this is the journey writers go on! Something clicked, she says, and each evening after work, she began writing to the sound of my children in the background.

Much of what worked its way into the stories she composed during that period came from discussions shed had with her relatives and friends about relationships and what was happening in the world. The results, Watkins felt, werent very good, because I didnt know anything about being a writer. But she came to realize that books didnt just pop up in peoples minds and appear on the page. Authors had to put actual time, work, and effort into their craft.

In grad school she workshopped stories, read widely, and received both criticism and encouragement from her writing professor. She also began submitting stories to literary journals. I got very intimate with rejection, Watkins says. But a story shed written, The Mother, appeared in a 2014 issue of Ruminate magazine and was awarded the Pushcart Prize. By the time she graduated, she had a literary agent.

The Mother, which opens Holler, Child, is emblematic of all the unforgettable stories in Watkinss collection. It centers on a son whose mother raises him in the belief that he was, like Jesus, immaculately conceived and is therefore the son of God. When he later forms a cult and leads his followers to tragedy, his mother questions her decision to hide her pastshe was a prostitute and doesnt know who his father isfrom him. The inspiration for the story, according to Watkins, was the fate of David Koresh and the Branch Davidian cult.

Texas is certainly Watkinss muse. When she speaks of the state, its with all the passion most writers reserve for their favorite characters. Texass contradictions are endlessly fascinating to her, as they are to fellow Texans Attica Locke and Bryan Washington. Many people can live in this place their entire lives and never know that slavery didnt reach some of the most western parts of the state, but that racism and segregation there was just as thick and lasted longer, she says. But for all the horrible Texas is, shes also home to me. Its taken me most of my life to see her that way.

Leigh Haber ran Oprahs Book Club for the past 10 years. She now owns and operates her own editorial and consulting business.

Corrections: This piece initially misspelled the name of Watkins's daughter, and mistook some details regarding Watkins's connections with UT Dallas.
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As authors, we are always looking for ways to be closer and more connected to our stories and characters. With my nonfiction work, I would surround myself with photographs, ephemera, and artifacts related to the books. That didnt always feel as easy when I was diving into a fiction projectuntil I started getting a little creative with how I utilized props in my fiction writing.

Over the years Ive found that bringing pieces of my characters into my writing spaceusing physical objects, artist renderings, and dioramashas helped me to better know my characters and the books that I am writing. Just as many artists will use visual props to figure out how to accurately sketch or paint something, the same approach can be useful for writers.

My writing space might look a little bit like a toy store, but I have found this creative process effective and inspiring, especially when I find myself feeling stuck or uncertain about who my characters are or how they might proceed in a certain situation. By utilizing toys and models as stand-ins for different characters in books that I am writing, I find I can better understand the plot of a novel, my characters motivations, and the different situations they find themselves in.

Utilizing props in writing

Physical objects have a unique way of sparking inspiration for many writers. When I regularly taught writing workshops at colleges and for community writing groups, I would often bring a bag of different interesting objects, spread them on the table, and let people in the course pick one thing that sparked their interest to use as a writing prompt.

Spending time holding, touching, and examining a random object can help you get more descriptive with your writing and break through writers block. You can start with just describing the object, or putting it into your characters home, or making it something your character encounters. Ive found this kind of object-based writing can help you find your way back to the story. Obviously, this might not work for every kind of fictional project, but, for many writers, it can be useful to find or create physical artifacts that would be of your characters world. Consider cooking or purchasing the foods your character might eat or finding accessories, housewares, or other artifacts that one of your characters might have. If you in your characters shoes (sometimes literally), you might find that you understand them better and will have an easier time writing a challenging scene, or even finishing your novel.

Meeting your characters

If youre working on a novel but feeling stuck, it can be helpful to find ways to really see your characters. Obviously, if youre writing about someone fictional, you cant go snap a picture of your character, but there are ways to get pictures to stand in for your characters. For the self-published author on a budget, you can google stock photography and find pictures of people who look similar to your characters. (Just remember that these are copyrighted images you can only use for your personal writing prompts and inspiration.)

You can also commission artists to create original work depicting your characters. To find artists, ask author friends if they have referrals, talk to artists in your local area, or hire independent artists from Fiverr, where you can look at portfolios from all over the world. Splurging on custom art can be a great way to reward yourself for big writing milestones such as finishing a first draft or full revision. As a self-published author, the design decisions will all be your responsibility. Commissioning custom art for your book as you are writing can also be a good way to try out different visual artists you might want to hire to make the cover when the book is finished.

Building models

Beyond using objects that characters might have or interact with, Ive found that it can be helpful to take my creative use of props to the next level and start finding or creating models for locations in books. I first got the idea to start using toys to create dioramas to help with my writing after my first novel was released in 2012. That year as a gift a reader built and mailed me a miniature diorama of the main character and the house where much of the novel was set. This was an incredible gift; I found it inspiring to see my characters coming to life.

After this I found myself starting to create reenactments of my next novels as I was writing, and Ive done this for every novel Ive written since. I keep my writing props/toys set up near my desk so I can look at them and keep my characters present in my mind as I write.

Currently, in a corner of my office, I have a dollhouse containing small plastic dolls to represent each of the characters in my forthcoming novel. Sometimes when Im feeling stuck, I can move them from room to room of their dollhouse, imagining the scene that I am working on coming to life in front of me as I puzzle through my writing process. With my most recent young adult novel, Jillian at the Junior Showcase, I ended up with an 18-inch doll I used as a stand-in for the novels main character in my office.

Not ready to fill your writing space with toys? Thats okay! Even if you dont want to invest in a lot of toys and props, you can still create tangible models of your stories. One way to do this is to create a shoebox diorama just like you might have done for a book report project back in elementary school, except this one will be of your novel in the process. For something that takes up even less space, you can use paper dolls, including DIY ones made from art you commission, stock photos, or clip art that looks like your characters. Then, take a file folder and decorate the inside to match the setting of your work in progress. You could also do this digitally, but I find that having something physically tangible can help to jump-start creativity.

Tapping into creative play

Physically getting into the world of your charactersby eating the food they like, listening to the music they might like, holding objects they have, or creating small replicas of their homes or worldscan be an immersive way to get into the minds of your characters and understand them better. In a similar way to taking a research trip to travel to the location where your novel is set, you can do this on a smaller and more intimate level by bringing aspects of your characters into your home or daily life.

You might feel a little silly finding or purchasing toys or props to have in your writing space, but remember how much fun you had playing when you were a kid! No matter how old you are, its always okay to play.

In some ways writing fiction is a way that we can tap into that same play space we used to naturally slip into as kids. As writers, we are creating characters and worlds in our midst and bringing them to life on the page. Dont worry about what other people think. If having physical manifestations of those characters at your desk or in your home helps you to write better stories, go for it!

Sassafras Lowrey writes fiction and nonfiction and was the recipient of the 2013 Lambda Literary Award for emerging LGBTQ writers.
A samurai in 17th-century Japan escorts an orphan to his Korean countrymen; a Korean couple in contemporary London, children of North Korean defectors, spend their lives operating a small shop; a young Russian man in 1881 is sent to report on a Korean settlement in a remote outpost of Russia, where a domestic violence incident results in a murder; a soldier makes a solitary life at his familys abandoned farm in the Korean countryside after the Korean War: these are just some of the settings and characters in Paul Yoons haunting third short story collection, The Hive and the Honey (S&S/Rucci, Oct.).

Seven perfectly crafted stories make up the collection, which explores Yoons themes of displacement, identity, shared history, alienation, and the lasting effects of war. The stories transport the reader over centuries and across continents, but they always quietly present the human condition and the need for connection.

The Hive and the Honey opens with Bosun, the story of a South Korean immigrant who unwittingly ends up in prison. Yoon writes, During his twelve years in New York City, Bosun, who went by Bo, got into some bad business with an import-export company in Queens. It turned out the company was dealing in stolen goods and Bo, who drove a truck for them, was eventually caught one winter on the bridge between Manhattan and New Jersey.... Perhaps, in his disorientation and fear, he thought of surviving a jump and swimming down the Hudson. In any case, a policeman tackled him before he could make it to the edge.

And later: Bo thought he would eventually miss Queens or perhaps even South Korea, where he had spent the first eighteen years of his life, but as the months went on, they were like the faces he tried to recall: far away, as though the places hed once lived had been homes to someone else.

In Valley of the Moon, a stranger appears looking for his uncle, with whom the hermetic protagonist Tongsu had a violent confrontation a long time ago. In mesmerizing prose, Yoon writes, Although Tongsu never saw the stranger again, and no one else came asking about a missing person, the strangeness of the encounter and the unsettledness of it hummed inside his chest for the remaining years of his life. It was at first like a fly that was trapped around his heart, something he learned to ignore, only for it to turn later on, as he grew older, into a claw.

And in the title story, Yoon describes a murder: In the moment I understood what was happening and saw that his body was covered in a dark wetness, I heard more footsteps behind me, more doors openingthe sound I had heard was of a door banging openand the man stopped shuddering and went completely motionless. There was a collective gasp. The night air cold enough at the start of spring for our breaths to appear in the moonlight.

Yoon tells me that his grandfather escaped North Korea, his family was scattered, and there were continual family stories, but, The stories were always mysterious, there was a lack of information. The Korean War defined a generationKorea has a vast history of movement and displacement. I wondered where my ancestors were. Where was my family tree? Some went to Japan, to Russia, to a fishing boat in the Canary Islands. I was always hearing stories of displacement. So many of my family I never met, and Im haunted by this. I try to imagine displacement because of war or economic reasons.

During the pandemic, Yoon says, we were all scattered. I was separated from friends and to cope I imagined a kind of map. We were all in different places, but we were all part of one world. That got me thinking about the family tree, thinking of that as a map as well. This was the seed of the collection: the movement of a country and its people.

Diving into research, Yoon tells me, he was careful not to go into the fictional space with it, to put the blindfold on. He emailed scholars: an Edo historian at Harvard, a Russian Far East Asia expert.

I comment that his stories are quiet, but then sucker punch you with their power, and he says that contrast interests him. Can something be still yet also loud and violent?

Bill Clegg at the Clegg Agency met Yoon a few months after he graduated from college. A friend of Cleggs, a professor at Wesleyan, told him about a student whose writing was haunting and wise. I was blown away by the stories he sent, Clegg recalls, and signed him in 2002.

Yoons debut collection, Once the Shore, received incredible reviews and ended up on more than a few best-of-the-year roundups, Clegg tells me. Yoons first novel, Snow Hunters, went out to several publishers in 2012, but, Clegg says, Marysue and her colleagues at S&S had an immediate and convincing response and it was clear Paul had found the right house and the right editor.

Marysue Rucci, now with her own imprint at S&S, remembers seeing that first novel. I went crazy for it, she says. I had never bought a book from Bill before. Snow Hunter was so literary, so beautiful. I love Pauls novels, but he is a true master of the short story and he keeps getting better.

Of The Hive and the Honey she says, The tonality of the stories is the same, but theres no sameness. The characters, the subjects are so vivid. Pauls obsession with belonging, immigration, home, that hes expressed throughout his career, has been honed to an unbelievable state of beauty. Rucci signed the contract for North American rights for the new collection and an untitled, unwritten novel in April 2022.

Rucci says that when she first met Yoon, she was surprised by his ebullience. His writing is austere, but he is so full of love with such generosity of spirit, she adds.

As a diehard fan who finally got to meet him this year, I couldnt agree more.
Morrow Lands Okorafor In a seven-figure deal, William Morrows Julia Elliott bought North American rights to Nnedi Okorafors novel The Africanfuturist. Okorafor is a bestselling science fiction/fantasy author and winner of the Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy awards, and her 2010 novel Who Fears Death is currently in series development at HBO. She was represented by Angeline Rodriguez and Eric Simonoff at William Morris Endeavor. The Africanfuturist, which Morrow compared to Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, is about a disabled Nigerian American woman who writes a science fiction novel that brings her success at a steep personal cost. The publisher added that the work is a multi-threaded meta drama examining the relationship between a story and its teller, the labyrinth of African diasporic identity, family, and what makes us human. The Africanfuturist is scheduled for winter 2025.

Greenwoods Afterlife Haunts Berkley

Berkleys Jen Monroe took North American rights at auction to Kirsty Greenwoods The Love of My Afterlife. The rom-com was sold in a two-book, seven-figure agreement by Hannah Todd at the Madeleine Milburn Literary Agency. The publisher said the novel was pitched as Emily Henry meets The Good Place and follows a woman who, having recently died, meets the man she thinks is the love of her life in the afterlifes waiting room. Then she learns she can score a second chance at lifeand loveif she can find her Mr. Right back on Earth and get him to kiss her within 10 days. Greenwood is British and has never been published in the U.S.; she self-published her previous book, Big Sexy Love, in the U.K. The Love of My Afterlife, which has been sold in 14 other territories to date, is slated for summer 2024.

Kisers Memoir Wanted by Sourcebooks

Debut author Stephanie Kiser sold world English rights to Wanted: Toddlers Personal Assistant to Anna Michels at Sourcebooks Poisoned Pen Press imprint. The deal was brokered by Jen Nadol at the Unter Agency, and the memoir is set to be released in summer 2024. The publisher said Wanted was pitched as The Nanny Diaries meets Educated and is about the seven years the author spent working as a nanny for the New York City elite while she tried to pay off her student loans. Kiser recounts her own childhood as one of four children born to teenaged parents and provides social commentary on motherhood and the role of women, white and inherited privilege, blue vs. red politics, reproductive rights, healthcare, student loans, and what success really means in our society.

Crown Hires Heinrichss Boss

Crowns Matt Inman bought North American rights to The Boss of You by Jay Heinrichs. Brian DeFiore at DeFiore & Company sold the book, which, Crown said, shows readers how to use centuries-honored techniques of language and persuasion to motivate themselves to make wanted changes in their lives. The Boss of You does not yet have a firm pub date. Heinrichs is the author of, among other titles, the 2007 bestseller Thank You for Arguing: What Aristotle, Lincoln, and Homer Simpson Can Teach Us About the Art of Persuasion.

Union Square Digs into Kim Chi

Kim Chi, a Korean American drag queen and former contestant on RuPauls Drag Race, sold world rights to Kim Chi Eats to Union Square & Co. Amanda Englander and Juliana Nador preempted the cookbook for six figures from David Purse at Inked Entertainment. The publisher said the title, scheduled for spring 2025, was pitched as Somebody Feed Phil meets Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. Kim Chi Eats is full of culinary stories from the authors life traveling the world as an internationally renowned drag queen and obsessed foodie, alongside recipes of their favorite dishes theyve loved along the way.

This article has been updated for clarity and with further information.
This week, we discuss what might happen if China attacked Taiwan; America's gun violence problem; whether Wagner Group fighters will stay on after Prigozhins failed mutiny; addressing the opioid crisis; the benefits of providing legal counsel to defendants at bail hearings; managing Arctic fisheries.

Photo by Wang Yu Ching/Office of the President, Taiwan/CC BY 2.0 Could Taiwan Fend Off a Chinese Attack? It's essential for U.S. decisionmakers to understand Taiwan's ability to sustain a defense against a potential invasion by Beijing. A new RAND report examines this topic, assessing key factors that affect a country's ability to resist a large-scale military attack. The authors find that, without a robust U.S. military intervention, China's enormous advantage in military resources would likely allow it to eventually subjugate the island. That's why U.S. officials should continue to help Taiwan strengthen its military and counter Chinese information operations and economic coercion. Importantly, the report also notes that the speed, clarity, and credibility of any pledged U.S. military support could be a critical factor in sustaining Taiwan's ability to resist a Chinese incursion. More Insights on Taiwan In a RAND paper published this week, Timothy Bonds looks at the vulnerabilities of Taiwan's information networks. He proposes actions to help build the islands digital resilience in the event of an attack by China.

Small, light, inexpensive drones may be key to frustrating China's attempts to invade Taiwan, say RAND's Andrew Hoehn and Thom Shanker, director of the Project for Media and National Security at George Washington University.

RAND's Jeffrey Hornung writes about the role Japan could play in a Taiwan conflictand draws lessons from the Ukraine war to help defense planners better prepare for such a contingency.

Image by Chara Williams/RAND Corporation Addressing Gun Violence in America The long Fourth of July weekend saw several deadly mass shootings across the United States. Meanwhile, residents of Highland Park, Illinois, mourned those who were killed one year ago when a gunman opened fire during an Independence Day parade. These tragedies are yet another reminder of America's unacceptably high rates of gun violence. Since 2018, the RAND Gun Policy in America initiative has analyzed scientific evidence to support the development of fair and effective gun policiesand help save lives.

Photo by Stringer/Reuters 'Finances, Freedom, and Fear' Motivate Wagner Fighters to Stay Its been two weeks since Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhins aborted march of justice against Moscow. What will become of the tens of thousands of fighters he leads? RAND's Molly Dunigan expects that few will quit. Most Wagner mercenaries joined up for a paycheck or for a ticket out of jail. Thus, they will likely remain loyal to Prigozhinor his successornot because they want to but because they have few better options.

Design by Dori Walker/RAND Corporation from images by bagotaj, Chainarong Prasertthai, JakeOlimb, A Digit, 4x6, and Hakan Gider/Getty Images America's Opioid Crisis: Adopting an Ecosystem Approach More than 109,000 Americans died of a drug overdose in the 12 months ending in January 2023. Research often zooms in on specific aspects of the opioid crisis, such as the police response or the lack of treatment options. But a recent RAND study zoomed out, approaching it as an ecosystem where all parts of the crisis are interconnected. Viewing the problem in this way reveals barriers that may not be apparent otherwise. It also highlights the need for innovative solutions that can reduce the harms associated with opioid use.

Photo by Gorodenkoff/Adobe Stock The Impact of Defense Counsel at Bail Hearings Roughly half of U.S. counties do not provide defense counsel at bail hearings. But according to a recent RAND study, providing counsel can decrease the use of monetary bail and pretrial detention. These findings are especially significant because pretrial detention is associated with worse outcomes for defendantsand societyincluding longer jail stays and higher chances of conviction in the short term, as well as lower employment and higher rates of rearrest over the long term.
More than 1,000 people defied a ban and on Saturday gathered in central Paris for a memorial rally, with dozens of marches planned throughout France to denounce police brutality and racial profiling.

Seven years after the death of Adama Traore, his sister had planned to lead a commemorative march north of Paris in Persan and Beaumont-sur-Oise.

But with tensions running high following the riots that were sparked by the June 27 police killing of 17-year-old Nahel M. of Algerian origin at a traffic stop near Paris, a court ruled the chance of public disturbance was too high to allow the march to proceed.

In a video posted on Twitter, Assa Traore, Adama's older sister, denounced the decision.

"The government has decided to add fuel to the fire" and "not to respect the death of my little brother", she said.

She instead attended a rally on Saturday afternoon in central Paris's Place de la Republique to tell "the whole world that our dead have the right to exist, even in death".

"We are marching for the youth to denounce police violence. They want to hide our deaths," she said at the rally.

"They authorise marches by neo-Nazis but they don't allow us to march. France cannot give us moral lessons. Its police is racist and violent," she said.

The Paris rally had also been banned on the ground that it could disrupt public order, but more than 1,000 people attended nonetheless, including several lawmakers.

"Public liberties are losing ground little by little," said Sandrine Rousseau, a lawmaker from the EELV Green party.

Jean-Luc Melenchon, the outspoken head of the radical leftist France Unbowed party, castigated the government on Twitter.

"From prohibition to repression... the leader is taking France to a regime we have already seen. Danger. Danger," he tweeted, referring to the World War II regime of Vichy leader Philippe Petain who collaborated with the Nazis.

Around 30 similar demonstrations against police violence were scheduled across France this weekend. Marches were held Saturday in the western city of Saint-Nazaire and Strasbourg in the east.

Grief and anger

Several trade unions, political parties and associations had called on supporters to join the march for Traore as France reels from allegations of institutionalised racism in its police ranks following Nahel M's shooting.

Traore, who was 24 years old, died shortly after his arrest in 2016, sparking several nights of unrest that played out similarly to the week-long rioting that erupted across the country in the wake of the point-blank shooting of Nahel.

The teenager's death on June 27 rekindled long-standing accusations of systemic racism among security forces, and a UN committee urged France to ban racial profiling.

The foreign ministry on Saturday disputed what it called "excessive" and "unfounded" remarks by the panel.

The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) -- 18 independent experts -- on Friday asked France to pass legislation defining and banning racial profiling and questioned "excessive use of force by law enforcement".

"Any ethnic profiling by law enforcement is banned in France," the ministry responded, adding that "the struggle against excesses in racial profiling has intensified".

Far-right parties have linked the most intense and widespread riots France has seen since 2005 to mass migration, and have demanded curbs on new arrivals.

Campaign groups say Saturday's "citizens marches" will be an opportunity for people to express their "grief and anger" at discriminatory police policies, especially in working-class neighbourhoods.

More than 3,700 people have been taken into police custody in connection with the protests since Nahel's death, including at least 1,160 minors, according to official figures.

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Farida Fahmy, the renowned Egyptian dancer and founding member of the iconic Reda Troupe, spoke to Ahram Online on her 83rd birthday about her rich legacy in a group that has had a powerful impact on the country's cultural life and challenged prevailing stereotypes.

Egypt has been marked by millenia of dance history, with first depictions found on the walls of Pharaonic temples. As history progressed, this art form took many colors. However, by the mid-20th century, Egyptian dance was usually identified with belly dancing and night clubs. It was into this reality that Farida Fahmy was born in 1940.

She married Ali Reda (1924-1993), who founded the iconic troupe together with his brother, the choreographer and Olympic gymnast Mahmoud Reda (1930-2020). The latter became Fahmys long life dancing partner.

As a founding member of the Reda Troupe, Fahmys passion made her one of the first female artists to challenge the narrow perception of Egyptian dance at the time, returning it to its folkloric roots.

Her legacy spans across the continents with dance schools carrying her name and implementing Farida Fahmys choreography in Brazil, USA, France, Mexico, Japan and Korea, among other countries. Her presence is also translated through her official website where we can find articles on Egyptian dancing and the Reda Troupe in a total of 12 languages.

Fahmy appeared in a number of films: The Man of My Dreams (1957), Stranger (1958), Women's Enchanter (1958), Ismail Yassin in the Military Police (1958), Djamilah (1960), Mid-year Vacation (1962), Love in the Karnak (1965), The Paper Thief (1970) and Masters and Slaves (1978)

In her extensively researched book titled Daughter of Egypt: Farida Fahmy and the Reda Troupe, and published in Dance Research Journal, the American writer Marjorie A. Franken focuses on Egypts artistic renaissance that followed the British occupation. Focusing on Farida Fahmy, Franken places her on the same level in dancing as Oum Kalthoum  the Star of the East  was in singing.

Fahmy turned 83 on 29 June, celebrating it away from the spotlight, but nonetheless enjoying well wishes from friends and pupils scattered around the world.

On her birthday, I met Farida Fahmy to talk about her rich life and sparkling career. I gifted her the front page of Al-Ahram Newspaper from the day she was born in 1940, triggering many memories from this remarkable artist.

Ahram Online: What was the main value that you carried with you throughout your career?

Farida Fahmy: I built my entire life and success on the concept of perfection that I learnt from my father, Hassan Fahmy [also a renowned university professor]. Leisure time is the enemy of success. In Reda Troupe we aimed for a profound impact and not the financial gains. Both families, Fahmy and Reda, had a strong educational backbone and we lived life of good standard. Perhaps I am the only dancer in Egypt who would not start her story with I danced so as not to die from hunger. We loved dancing and knew it as the oldest emotional and motional expression reflecting mans history, civilization and the peoples character.

Scientific thinking, commitment and high self-esteem are the best qualities that I inherited from my father and of course love is the most beautiful thing life gave to me.

AO: So your father left a profound impact on your character?

FF: He had an unforgettable impact on anyone who had known him. If it were not for him, we could not have founded the Reda Company. He was the planner and the first financial and emotional supporter of this endeavor.

My father was the production department head in the Faculty of Engineering and obtained his PhD from England. He wrote a book on Arabizing engineering terms. In the beginning, people used to speak about me as Dr. Hassan Fahmys daughter but my father used to say: I am now proud that I am the father of Farida Fahmy, Egypts first dancer.

AO: How did the Reda Troupe start?

FF: We spent a long time in preparation; studying and collecting adages and popular songs and recording the distinctive dances of every governorate, each oasis and even remote areas in Egypt. I visited the peasants homes and recorded their popular songs, including those performed at weddings and other events. They were our inspiration.

AO: In your youth, did you ever try to imitate famous foreign dancers?

FF: Absolutely not. I did not feel that I could express my character through ballet, for instance. The Western ballet form uses movements that are anti-gravity, elevating the movement to the highest possible point. Every civilization has its own style in expressing itself. In the East, we dance in a way that is aligned with the Earths gravity. The secret of our success is that we were true to our societys distinctive character, history and style. We were true and genuine Egyptian creators not imitators nor pretenders.

AO: Since you did not need to rely on the companys profits to live, do you think the fact that you had this financial stability away from Reda Troupe, contributed to its success?

FF: Not at all. None of us were rich; on the contrary, a few members of the company needed a stable income, such as composer Ali Ismail, who was called the Reda Troupes Beethoven. He was indeed a genius.

But it was never about the money. All of us put love, art and beautiful work as our top priority.

AO: The troupe never let the audience down. Everyone remained professional and committed even in times when this was difficult for some members, correct?

FF: Indeed. There was an instance when just hours before our trip to one of the African countries, we had to take four vaccines including anti-malaria tablets. This led to some of the company members literally collapsing before going on stage. However most of the company members including myself braced up and performed until the end.

Another instance took place during the War of Attrition (1967-1970). The Egyptian Armed Forces Morale Affairs Department invited the Reda Troupe to entertain the soldiers on the front in a remote area. The weather was very hot. The soldiers painted the stage with wax which, due to the blazing sun, became slippery. In order not to slip I danced barefoot. My feet were burnt and having completed my performance, I had to be taken to hospital.

Nobody knew about this during the performance. When Mahmoud Reda asked me, Why did you continue to dance? I replied, Because this is not the audiences fault! Today, when I look at the pictures and see the smiles on the soldiers faces, I feel gratified.

AO: Tell us about your husband in the company.

FF: I will tell you a nice situation to illustrate my relationship with Ali. We were hosted in a television programme and the female presenter asked him: Is Farida Fahmy as good at cooking as she is at dancing? In spite of the fact that I love cooking and I cook well, Ali chose to be a bit mischievous and said vehemently: Farida is an excellent cook, she used to cook keshk [an Egyptian dish] you would throw out the window. The presenter laughed; I did not comment. Next day, Ali was verbally attacked by women on the street, for criticizing me publicly. He commented to me on that laughing: Today, Ive discovered how much you are loved. You are the only dancer in Egypt who is loved by women more than men!

Ali was the love of my life, my friend, mentor and the dynamo of the company. He was the one who introduced us to President Gamal Abdel-Nasser. The latters encouragement and appreciation for the troupe helped it reach this great fame. We traveled all over the world, becoming ambassadors of Egypt. During the Afro-Asian Organization Summit in Egypt held in the late 1950s under Abdel-Nasser, I danced in front of 55 monarchs and presidents.

AO: How do you see Ali Redas legacy today?

FF: I am a bit anguished, to be honest. After all those honors and awards inside and outside Egypt, from President Abdel-Nasser until President El-Sisi, Ali Reda is not sufficiently remembered. He was a very important director who created hundreds of shows and made a few films. This is not remembered by many festivals, including the Cairo International Film Festival.

His 1965 film Love in the Karnak [a fictionalized story of the Reda Troupe] is now being restored by Saudi Arabia. It is apparent that Saudi Arabia is honouring and celebrating Egyptian artists. Earlier this year, Riyadh celebrated Egyptian composers Mohamed El-Mougy and Hani Shenouda. That made me happy.

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West Bengal's rural polls drew towards a bloody finish as 12 people died, bombs exploded and all parties leveled allegations of strong arm tactics against their rivals on Saturday.

IMAGE: A polling booth at Baravita primary school has been allegedly vandalised and ballot papers set on fire in Cooch Behar during the voting for the single-phase panchayat polls in West Bengal. Photograph: ANI Photo

Twelve people, including eight from the ruling Trinamool Congress and one worker each of the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Communist Party of India-Marxist, the Congress and the Indian Secular Front died since midnight in the crucial three-tier panchayat polls, officials said.

The election which is being seen by analysts as a litmus test for the 2024 parliamentary elections, also witnessed scenes of ballot boxes being stolen and burnt and of public anger against political workers.

Among flashpoints were Murshidabad, Nadia and Cooch Behar districts besides pockets in South 24 Parganas such as Bhangar and in Purba Medinipur's Nandigram.

The polling began at 7 am in 73,887 seats in the rural areas of the state with 5.67 crore people deciding the fate of around 2.06 lakh candidates. Till 3 pm, 50.52 per cent voter turnout was recorded, officials said.

Political parties made accusations and counter-accusations as the day lengthened. TMC's senior minister Sashi Panja said, "Shocking incidents are being reported since last night. BJP, CPI-M and Congress have colluded. She also raised questions on the role of the central forces.

Leader of the opposition in the state assembly, Suvendu Adhikari of the BJP, demanded that President's Rule be imposed in the state and threatened to lead a march to Kalighat where chief minister Mamata Banerjee lives against the violence in the panchayat polls.

"A free and fair election under the state administration is a mirage. It is only possible only if elections are held under President's Rule or Article 355," he said.

IMAGE: A polling booth at a primary school vandalised in Cooch Behar. Photograph: ANI Photo

In a statement, TMC however claimed that if the party was behind the violence, "why would their own workers be targeted and killed? The Opposition has conceded defeat and is now attempting to shape the narrative around how violence affected the election".

It also alleged that there are more than 60,000 booths across West Bengal, however only 60-odd booths have witnessed disruption during the polling process.

Meanwhile, Congress leader Kaustav Bagchi made a representation to the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court seeking an urgent hearing of a prayer seeking that Saturday's panchayat elections in West Bengal be declared null and void on account of violence and killings.

Governor CV Ananda Bose visited different areas in North 24 Parganas district, and met people injured in the violence.

"People requested me to stop my motorcade on the way. There were a lot of tales to tell, they told me about murders happening around them, goons not allowing them to go to polling booths, and also about presiding officers not listening to them. These are stray cases but even one incident of bloodshed should cause concern to all of us," he told reporters.

"This is the most sacred day for democracy. These are stray incidents but there should be a stop to it," he added.

Among those killed was BJP's polling agent Madhab Biswas who was allegedly killed in Falimari gram panchayat in Coochbehar district, they said.

The BJP alleged that when Biswas tried to enter the polling booth in the morning he was stopped by TMC supporters, and as the situation escalated, they killed him. The TMC denied the allegations.

An Independent candidate's supporter was injured in the Kadambagachi area in North 24 Paraganas district. Superintendent of Police Bhaskar Mukherjee had earlier told reporters that 41-year-old Abdullah Ali died, but later the superintendent of Barasat Hospital said that he was critically injured and on ventilator support but not dead.

Uttar Dinajpur's Goalpokhar witnessed a clash between TMC and Congress workers where the husband of the TMC Panchayat head Shanshah was killed, officials said.

IMAGE: A security personnel stands guard at a polling booth in North 24 Parganas. Photograph: ANI Photo

A TMC worker was also killed in Murshidabad district's Kapasdanga area in overnight violence. The deceased was identified as Babar Ali, officials said.

Another TMC worker was killed in the district's Khargram area. He was identified as Sabiruddin Sk.

The TMC also alleged that its booth committee member in Tufanganj 2 panchayat samiti in Cooch Behar, Ganesh Sarkar, was killed in an attack by the BJP.

The brother of a TMC leader was killed in a clash with Congress supporters in Malda district, police said.

The incident happened in Jisharattola in Manikchak police station area. The deceased was identified as Malek Sheikh, they said.

The TMC also alleged that one of its workers was killed in Nadia's Chapra.

An ISF worker was killed in a clash with TMC in the district's Haringhata area. The victim was identified as 48-year-old Saidul Seikh, police said.

Nadia's TMC president Debasish Ganguli claimed that the incident happened when ISF supporters were hurling crude bombs at TMC workers. "One of the bombs slipped from their hands and exploded," he claimed.

However, Seikh's family alleged that he was killed in an attack by TMC supporters.

A 38-year-old man was killed in South 24 Parganas district's Basanti. The incident happened in the Fulmalancha area, and the deceased was identified as Anisur, police said.

A Congress worker was allegedly killed in Murshidabad's Rejinagar police station area in election-related violence. He was identified as Yasmin Sk.

CPI(M) worker Rajibul Hoque was critically injured allegedly in an attack by TMC supporters in Purba Bardhaman district's Aushgram 2 block. He died in the morning while undergoing treatment at a hospital.

The TMC alleged that one of its workers was killed outside a polling booth in the district's Katawa area by CPI(M) supporters. The deceased was identified as Goutam Roy.

Incidents of destruction of ballot boxes and intimidation of voters were also reported from some areas.

In Cooch Behar district's Dinhata, ballot boxes were vandalised and ballot papers were set on fire at a booth in Baravita Govt Primary School. At another booth in the Barnachina area, locals torched a ballot box along with ballot papers, alleging that false voting was done.

Protests were also held in various areas, demanding the deployment of central forces.

IMAGE: Voters stand in queues as they wait to cast their vote outside of a polling booth during the West Bengal Panchayat Elections at Bhangar in South 24 Parganas. Photograph: ANI Photo

In Nandigram, female voters gheraoed a police officer with bottles of poison in their hands, demanding that central force be deployed in the area.

CPI-M state secretary Md Salim shared a video of open ballot boxes lying in the field, tweeting, "Vote is over! Condition of the ballots, ballot boxes in one of the booths. Btw this pic is from Diamond Harbour."

At least 600 companies of central forces have been deployed for the elections along with around 70,000 state police.

Sharing photos on Twitter, BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar that the State Election Commission (SEC) was reluctant to deploy the central forces that were sent to the state.

"On the one hand, the SEC is reluctant to deploy the central forces. On the other hand, civil volunteers are deployed for election duty. This clearly shows that state govt and SEC has hoodwinked the courts. Is SEC silently facilitating the booth capturing by TMC goons?" he asked.

There are 63,229-gram panchayat seats and 9,730 panchayat samiti seats in 22 districts, while 928 zilla parishad seats in 20 districts as Darjeeling and Kalimpong have a two-tier system with Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) and Siliguri Sub-divisional Council at the top.

The ruling TMC is contesting all the 928 seats in zilla parishads, 9,419 seats in panchayat samitis and 61,591 seats in gram panchayats.

The BJP has fielded candidates in 897 zilla parishad seats, 7,032 panchayat samiti seats and 38,475 seats in gram panchayats.

The CPI-M is fighting 747 zilla parishad seats, 6,752 panchayat samiti seats and 35,411 gram panchayat seats. The Congress is contesting 644 zilla parishad seats, 2,197 panchayat samiti seats and 11,774 gram panchayat seats.

The election assumes significance for political parties as it will serve as an opportunity for them to assess their organisational strengths and weaknesses ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, besides broadly outlining the mood of the state after two years of the TMC government's third consecutive term.
The Congress will hold a day-long "maun satyagraha" (silent protest) in front of Mahatma Gandhi statues in all state headquarters on July 12 to express solidarity with Rahul Gandhi who it claimed has been "erroneously" convicted in a defamation case and disqualified from the Lok Sabha.

IMAGE: Congress supporters protest against the Gujarat high court verdict on the defamation case against Rahul Gandhi, in Thane, Maharashtra, July 7, 2023. Photograph: ANI Photo

Congress general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal wrote to all state unit chiefs of the party and key functionaries about the protest after the Gujarat high court dismissed Gandhi's plea seeking a stay on his conviction in a criminal defamation case over his "Modi surname" remark.

"The entire world has seen how Rahul Gandhi has consistently been questioning and exposing the relationship between Modi and Adani on various platforms. His courageous pursuit has forced the Prime Minister and the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) to resort to crooked measures leading to his conviction and disqualification from the membership of Lok Sabha," Venugopal said in his communication.

In spite of all these hardships, Gandhi has been consistent in his fight against the "misuse of power" by Modi, and in fighting for the truth and raising the issues concerning the people of the country, he said.

Venugopal said not just the Congress but the entire nation has "condemned this erroneous conviction and disqualification, and resolved to stand by Rahul in this noble fight".

"In the present circumstances, it is high time that we stand together and reiterate that Gandhi is not alone and that scores of Congress persons and crores of people irrespective of their political affiliations are with him in this fight for truth and justice," he said.

"Under the leadership of Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, in solidarity with our leader and in support of his fearless and uncompromising fight, all the PCCs are requested to organise a massive one-day maun satyagraha (silent protest) in front of (Mahatma) Gandhi statues in all state headquarters from 10 am to 5 pm, on Wednesday, on July 12, 2023, with maximum possible mobilisation and involvement of all the senior leaders, MPs, MLAs/MLCs, other elected representatives and supporters," he said.

While dismissing the Congress leader's plea, Justice Hemant Prachchhak noted that Gandhi was already facing 10 criminal cases across India, adding that the lower court was "just, proper and legal" in handing over a two-year jail term to Gandhi for his remarks.

A metropolitan magistrate's court in Surat on March 23 had sentenced Gandhi to two years in jail after convicting him under Indian Penal Code Sections 499 and 500 (criminal defamation) in a 2019 case filed by BJP Gujarat MLA Purnesh Modi.
Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar on Saturday said notices have been issued to 40 MLAs of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and 14 of the Uddhav Thackeray faction, seeking their replies on disqualification petitions against them.

IMAGE: Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and other state MLAS offer prayers at Kamakhya temple in Guwahati in November 2022. Photograph: PTI Photo

These legislators have been given seven days to file their reply, he said.

The notices have been issued against a total of 54 MLAs, including Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Shiv Sena-UBT leader Aaditya Thackeray. But notice was not issued against Shiv Sena-UBT MLA Rutuja Latke who was elected after the Shiv Sena split last year.

The development comes a day after Narwekar said that he has received a copy of the Shiv Sena's constitution from the Election Commission of India, and that hearing on the disqualification petitions against 16 Shiv Sena MLAs, including CM Shinde would start soon.

"Notice seeking replies on disqualification issued to 40 MLA of Eknath Shinde-Shiv Sena faction, 14 of Uddhav Thackeray faction," Narwekar told PTI.

Shiv Sena MLA and spokesperson Sanjay Shirsat said he has not received any notice so far from the state legislature. He said the Shiv Sena led by Shinde had also filed disqualification petitions against 14 MLAs of the Uddhav camp including Aaditya Thackeray.

Earlier this week, the Shiv Sena-UBT approached the Supreme Court seeking a direction to the Assembly Speaker to hear the disqualification petitions expeditiously.

Attacking Narwekar, Shiv Sena-UBT leader Arvind Sawant said, "The speaker did not do anything (on the disqualification pleas) in the last two months, which is why we approached the Supreme Court which prompted him to issue notices and seek reply in seven days.

Sawant said the Supreme Court in its judgement in May has accepted that Sunil Prabhu was the whip during the Sena rebellion.

MLA Sunil Prabhu had, in his capacity as chief whip of the undivided Shiv Sena, had filed the disqualification petitions against Shinde and other 15 MLAs last year after they rebelled and joined hands with the BJP to form a new government in June 2022.

On May 11, the top court ruled that Eknath Shinde will continue to be the chief minister of Maharashtra. It cannot reinstate the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition government headed by Uddhav Thackeray as the Sena leader chose to resign without facing a floor test in the wake of Shinde's rebellion, the court said.
Having deployed a large number of tanks and armoured vehicles in the world's highest river valleys, Indian Army formations carried out drills in Eastern Ladakh to cross the Indus River.

IMAGE: : Indian Army formations including the T-90 and T-72 tanks and BMP infantry combat vehicles carry out drills in eastern Ladakh. Photograph: ANI Photo

The special drills carried out by Indian Army's tank formations including the T-90 and T-72 tanks and BMP infantry combat vehicles to cross the mighty Indus river which flows from the Tibetan territory controlled by the Chinese Army through the entire Ladakh sector before entering Pakistan.

Army officials said that such drills are carried out to prepare for contingencies where they have to take action against the adversaries if they try to capture Indian areas by using the routes of valleys in this area.

The Indian Army is one of the very few armies in the world that operates tanks at high altitudes up to 16,000 feet, and in large numbers.

WATCH: Indian Army tanks, combat vehicles carry out drills

After the Chinese forces started showing aggression in the eastern Ladakh sector by diverting its training exercise troops, the Indian Army brought in a large number of tanks and armoured combat vehicles in the eastern Ladakh sector that has large open valleys which are very conducive for tank battles.

Earlier, the Indian Army used to carry out such drills in a big way in the Punjab sector along the Pakistan front as it was believed that only plains and deserts would see tank battles but the mindset changed later.

The brigades and other formations with tanks started getting inducted into the force in Eastern Ladakh in 2013-14 onwards but the numbers increased manifold after the Galwan Valley clash incident in 2020.

The Indian Air Force's C-17 and Ilyushin-76 transport aircraft brought in tanks and BMPs from deserts and plains in large numbers after that incident.

The armoured strength in the area has been strengthened by the Army to an extent where they can tackle any misadventure by the adversary.
A mob of 150-200 people set ablaze two vehicles near the Kangla Fort here and also tried to snatch weapons from the police, forcing the security forces to fire at the crowd, sources said on Saturday. However, there were no reports of any casualties.

IMAGE: Ethnic violence broke out from May 3 in Manipur after a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe status. Photograph: ANI

Two columns of security personnel -- one each of the Army and the Assam Rifles -- moved to the general area of the Songdo village on Friday night to enforce the cessation of violence. The induction of additional Border Security Force troops was met with interference in the Bishnupur market area, the sources said.

A mob of 150-200 people set on fire two vehicles at Mahabali Road near the Kangla Fort on Friday night, they said.

The mob also tried to snatch weapons from the police, forcing them to fire at the crowd. No casualty was reported so far, the sources said.

Later, Army troops were called in and the mob was dispersed by late night.

Another mob of 100-200 people, meanwhile, gathered for likely violence during the night at the palace compound here. The crowd was dispersed by troops from the Army and the Rapid Action Force by 12.30 am, the sources said.

According to the sources, there were reports of intermittent gunfire exchange near Yaingangpokpi in the Imphal East district till midnight. The situation is being closely monitored.

Four people, including a Manipur Police commando and a teenager, were killed in the ethnic clashes between two communities in the Kangvai area of Bishnupur district on the intervening night of Thursday and Friday.

The areas where people from the two communities live in close proximity witnessed gun fights during the night despite a buffer zone created by security forces to prevent escalation, they said.

More than 120 people have lost their lives and over 3,000 injured since ethnic violence broke out on May 3 when a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe status.

Around 40,000 central security personnel, besides the Manipur Police, have been deployed to control the violence and bring back normality in the state.
Accusing the Congress of indulging in corruption and deceit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday dubbed the party as a 'loot ki dukaan' and 'jhooth ka bazaar" and said it is clear from people's "anger" in Rajasthan the Ashok Gehlot government is on its way out.

IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses a rally at the laying foundation stone of development projects in Bikaner. Photograph: ANI Photo

Addressing a public rally at Norangdesar in Rajasthan's Bikaner, the prime minister alleged the Congress government has carved a new identity for itself when it comes to corruption, crime and politics of appeasement.

"In terms of crime against women, Rajasthan tops the list in rape cases. The situation is such that here the protectors are becoming the predators. The whole government here seems to be busy in saving rape and murder accused," Modi alleged.

Coming down heavily on the Congress, he said if it remains in power, it makes the country hollow and when it goes out of power, it defames the country by abusing it.

Their leaders go abroad and abuse India, while BJP workers sacrifice everything for the sake of the nation, Modi said.

The Congress government has done a lot of damage to Rajasthan in four years and its defeat in Rajasthan "is so certain that its government has already entered a 'bye-bye mode'," he said.

"I have come to know that some ministers and legislators have already vacated their government bungalows and shifted to their homes. Only Congress leaders can be so confident of their defeat," he said.

Public anger against the Rajasthan government has risen, and when this happens it takes no time to unseat those in power, Modi said.

"There is only one meaning of the Congress... 'loot ki dukaan' and 'jhooth ka bazaar'," the prime minister said in an obvious jibe at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's frequent remarks about his party opening 'mohabbat ki dukaan' in 'nafarat ka bazaar'.

He said Rajasthan, the country's desert state where elections are due later this year, should have been at the top in the implementation of piped water project Jal Jeevan Mission, but today it is among the laggard states.

He also accused the state government of "misleading" people by announcing schemes and making promises as the election approaches.

"In all these tall promises, there is nothing but 'loot ke irade anr jhooth ka pitara' (intention of loot and bundle of lies)," he said, adding the farmers of Rajasthan are the biggest victims of the Congress' "politics of lie and deceit".

"There is an old saying that a lamp flickers the brightest when it is about to extinguish. The Congress is also doing the same as it fears its defeat. It has come down to misleading the people of Rajasthan," Modi said.

He said while the Rajasthan Congress is mired in internal feuds, the chief minister is busy trying to save his son's future, "not worried about the future of the sons and daughters of Rajasthan. Many ministers and legislators are bitter towards him".

Without naming Rahul Gandhi, Modi said that ahead of the 2018 elections, he had promised to waive farmers' loan within 10 days of coming to power, and asked people if it is has been done.

Hatred towards farmers is the nature and reality of Congress, he alleged, adding the party has a problem with the army and soldiers too.

Congress leaders asked for evidence on surgical strike, and on air strike, they said that nothing like that had happened, Modi charged.

On the internal tussle between Gehlot and his former deputy Sachin Pilot, the PM said without naming them that since the Congress government came to power in the state everyone is pulling each other's legs.

"There is open bargaining to make their factions strong. The fight is not limited to factions only, all ministers are also fighting among themselves... The government is engaged in this tussle," Modi said.

"There can be no hope of development under these people," he said.

"Today, I want to tell these people bluntly enough of this 'Noora Kushti (fixed fight)'. Now, the public will decide in the arena of democracy... now Rajasthan needs a stable government, a double-engine government, Rajasthan needs 'Vikasvaad', not 'Parivarvaad'," he said.

He pointed to incidents of communal tension and also took a swipe over paper leak cases.

"A new industry of paper leak has opened in the state," he said.

Union Minister of State for Law and Parliamentary Affairs Arjun Ram Meghwal said that due to the investment-friendly policies of the Modi government, Bikaner has become a hub of solar energy.

Bikaner will become a ceramic hub in the days to come, he said.

Union ministers Nitin Gadkari, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, former chief minister Vasundhara Raje, BJP state president CP Joshi, Leader of Opposition Rajendra Rathore, deputy leader of opposition Satish Poonia and other party leaders were present at the rally.
The victim of the urination incident in Sidhi district of Madhya Pradesh has urged the state government to release the accused involved in the act, saying that the latter has realised his mistake.

IMAGE: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan washes the feet of Dashmat Rawat, victim of the Sidhi urination incident, in Bhopal, July 6, 2023. Photograph: ANI Photo

The police on Wednesday arrested Pravesh Shukla, accused of urinating on the victim, Dashmat Rawat, who belongs to a tribal community.

A video of the incident went viral on social media platforms on Tuesday, following which the police registered a case against the accused and arrested him.

Besides facing relevant charges under the IPC and the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, action has also been initiated under the stringent National Security Act, against Shukla, who is currently lodged in a jail.

An alleged illegal portion of the house belonging to Shukla in Sidhi was also demolished.

"My demand to the government is that a mistake has been committed (by the accused). Now Pravesh Shukla should be released. Whatever has happened in the past, he has realised his mistake," Rawat told reporters on Friday when asked about the action against the accused.

When pointed out that he was making this demand this despite the humiliating act of the accused, the victim said, "Yes, I agree...He is a Pandit of our village, we demand the government to release him."

Rawat also said that except the construction of a road in the village, he has nothing more to demand from the government.

The urination episode has triggered a political controversy in Madhya Pradesh, where Assembly polls are due by the year-end, with the Congress alleging that the accused was linked to a local Bharatiya Janata Party legislator and the saffron party denying its connection with him in any way.

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Thursday washed the feet of the victim at the CM's residence in Bhopal and also apologised to him over the humiliating incident. But the opposition party dubbed Chouhan's move as mere drama.

The state government also sanctioned financial assistance of Rs 5 lakh to the victim and provided an additional sum of Rs 1.5 lakh for the construction of his house.

A Brahmin organisation on Friday opposed the demolition of a part of the house of Shukla, saying his act was deplorable but his family members cannot be punished for his behaviour.
Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar has scoffed at estranged nephew Ajit Pawar's suggestion that he should retire from active politics, saying he will continue working as party workers want him to keep going.

IMAGE: Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar addresses the media in New Delhi. Photograph: Jitender Gupta/ANI Photo

Do you know at what age Morarji Desai became the prime minister? I don't want to become the PM or a minister but only want to serve the people, Pawar said when asked about Ajit's remark that at 83 years, it was time for his uncle to retire.

Asserting that he was not old yet, Pawar echoed former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's words, saying, "Na tired hu, na retired hu." (I am neither tired nor retired).

"Who are they to tell me to retire? I can still work," Pawar said in an interview to Mumbai Tak, a Marathi digital news channel.

To another query on the succession war in the family after Ajit Pawar's remarks that he was sidelined as he wasn't somebody's (Sharad Pawar's) son, the veteran politician said, I don't want to say much on this topic. I don't like discussing family issues outside the family.

Pawar said Ajit was made minister and also deputy chief minister but no ministerial position was given to his daughter Supriya Sule even though it was possible.

Whenever NCP got a ministerial berth at the Centre, it was given to others but not to Supriya despite her being a member of Parliament, he added.

A week after Ajit and eight other NCP MLAs joined the Eknath Shinde-led ministry in Maharashtra, Sharad Pawar is kickstarting his statewide tour by holding a rally on Saturday at Yeola in Nashik district, the constituency of rebel party leader and minister Chhagan Bhujbal.

Pawar's choice of Yeola, a small town located 250 km north of Mumbai, to begin his party rebuilding exercise is seen as the octogenarian leader's attempt to rebuild the party.
Hyundai and affiliate Kia's combined market share in China fell to a dismal 2.7 percent in 2021 with only 530,000 cars sold in the world's largest market. Hyundai had soared to the No. 2 spot in 2009 but had fallen to 12th place last year, while Japanese rival Toyota rose to third place after Volkswagen and GM.

Toyota's share of China's market doubled from 4.5 percent in 2016 to 8.4 percent last year. Over the same period, Honda's share rose from 5.4 percent to 7.8 percent. The Japanese automakers achieved that feat despite fervent anti-Japanese sentiment in China. Their sales were hit when Tokyo intensified a diplomatic spat with Beijing over the Senkaku or Diaoyu Islands, but compared to China's unofficial boycott of Korean products over the deployment of a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense battery here in 2017, Japan seems to be less vulnerable to such bullying.

 Price Advantage

Japanese carmakers have several advantages over their Korean rivals, not least price. Hyundai's compact Elantra sedan (Avante in Korea) does not even rank among the top 10 models in the segment in China because its price tag is W18.4 million to W25 million, which is almost the same as Toyota's Corolla sedan (US$1=W1,198). Hyundai's Tucson compact SUV costs W35 million to W42.3 million in China, which is similar to Toyota's Wildlander (or RAV 4) at W32.2 million to W42.5 million.

Cho Chul at the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade said, "Chinese consumers consider German and Japanese cars high-quality, so with very little price difference, they are opting for cars with a more premium image."

In the second-hand market, the price of a three-year-old Hyundai Sonata depreciates 50 percent compared to a new one, while a comparable Toyota Camry retains 78 percent of its value and a Honda Accord 75 percent.

"There's a widespread perception in China that Hyundai starts offering its models on discount six months after release," an insider said. The Chinese market for low to mid-priced cars, which used to be dominated by Hyundai and Kia, is now controlled by local brands, and China's No. 1 automaker Geely sells its compact sedan for W13.1 million to W16.7 million, which is more than W5 million less than the Elantra.

 Excessive Expansion

When it was popular in China, Hyundai expanded aggressively, which resulted in bloated production capacity and weakened competitiveness.

Hyundai opened its first factory in China in 2002 and built a second one in 2008 and a third one four years later, becoming capable of rolling out 300,000 to 450,000 cars a year. The output volume rose to 1.8 million in 2014 when combined with Kia. They should have stopped there, but instead they built two more factories to sell more cars in China's inner regions. That resulted in annual output capacity rising to 2.7 million cars in 2018, but Hyundais sales peaked at 1.79 million in 2016.

Output capacity has now fallen to 2.2 million cars after it sold some factories recently, but the excess production issue remains.

Around 120 parts suppliers who also set up factories in China helped Hyundai boost output quickly in the early days, but their price competitiveness waned and Hyundai now pays more than Toyota or Honda for parts.

Park Seung-chan at Yongin University said, "Hyundai belatedly boosted parts supplies from Chinese suppliers, but they sold parts at 30-percent higher prices than they give them to Chinese automakers. That's why Hyundai was unable to make cars cheaper than local players."

And Jeon Byeong-seo, an expert for the Chinese market, said, "Hyundai cars were popular when China's per-capita GDP was US$5,000 to 6,000, but it failed to come up with a new strategy when per-capita GDP surpassed $10,000."


Uzra Zeya, a senior US diplomat in charge of democracy and human rights, will embark on a visit to India and Bangladesh beginning on Saturday to engage with civil society organisations on freedom of expression and inclusion of women and girls and vulnerable groups including religious and ethnic minorities.

IMAGE: Senior US diplomat in charge of democracy and human rights Uzra Zeya. Photograph: ANI Photo

In India, the Indian-American diplomat will also meet with senior government officials to discuss the deepening US-India partnership, the state department said in a release on Friday.

Under secretary for civilian security, democracy and human rights and US special coordinator for Tibetan issues Uzra Zeya will travel to India and Bangladesh from July 8 to 14.

In both countries, Under Secretary Zeya will engage with civil society organisations on freedom of expression and association, and inclusion of women and girls, persons with disabilities, and vulnerable groups, including marginalised religious and ethnic minorities.

"In India, she will meet with senior government officials to discuss the deepening and enduring US-India partnership, including advancing shared solutions to global challenges, democracy, regional stability and cooperation on humanitarian relief," the release said.

In Bangladesh, she will meet with senior officials to discuss shared humanitarian concerns, including the Rohingya refugee crisis, labour issues, human rights and free and fair elections, it said.

Taking to Twitter, Zeya said, "Traveling to India and Bangladesh next week to advance shared solutions to global challenges; contribute to a more free, open, secure & prosperous Indo-Pacific; and bolster humanitarian support for refugees & host communities throughout the region."

Sworn in as the under secretary for civilian security, democracy, and human rights by Secretary of State Antony Blinken on July 14, 2021, Zeya leads global diplomatic efforts to strengthen democracy, advance universal human rights, support refugees and humanitarian relief, promote rule of law and counter-narcotics cooperation, fight corruption and intolerance, prevent armed conflict and eliminate human trafficking.

On December 20, 2021, Blinken announced that she will concurrently serve as the US special coordinator for Tibetan issues.

She leads US efforts to support human rights, meet the humanitarian needs of the Tibetan people and preserve their unique cultural, religious, and linguistic identity.
Expressing his gratitude to "trustworthy friend" India for saving Sri Lanka and preventing a "bloodbath" during its unprecedented economic crisis last year, Parliament Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena has said that not a single nation has extended that kind of assistance to Colombo as done by New Delhi.

IMAGE: Protestors shout slogans against Sri Lanka's President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and demand that the Rajapaksa family step down from government positions at a protest at Independence Square in Colombo, April 4, 2022. Photograph: Dinuka Liyanawatte/Reuters

Sri Lanka was hit by a catastrophic financial crisis in 2022, the worst since its independence from Britain in 1948, due to a severe paucity of foreign exchange reserves.

As the country struggled, locked in the throes of the crisis, India extended multi-pronged assistance of about USD 4 billion to it last year, through multiple credit lines and currency support, in line with India's Neighbourhood First' policy.

In his address at the gala dinner reception hosted for delegates of the Indian Travel Congress in Colombo on Friday, Abeywardena said India "saved us" during the financial crisis, otherwise, there would have been "another bloodbath for all of us".

At the evening reception, he thanked India for the help extended to the cash-strapped nation and recalled the civilisational ties and similarities between the two countries and their cultures.

"Sri Lanka and India are very, very closely interconnected countries, culturally, nationally, and policy-wise, and above all, India has been a very close associate and trustworthy friend of Sri Lanka," Abeywardena said, adding that when "we were in trouble", India always helped out.

"And, even this time, today, I heard that India is willing to extend our restructuring of loans for 12 years. Never expected, and never in history, not a single country has extended that kind of assistance," he said.

He recalled the helping hand lent by India during the period of trouble last year that devastated the Sri Lankan economy, pushing it into a debt crisis.

"I must tell you, during the trouble that we had last year, you (India) saved us, India saved us otherwise, there would have been another bloodbath for all of us. So, that is how India came to help us," Abeywardena said.

He made the remarks in the presence of the Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Gopal Baglay, Sri Lanka's Tourism and Lands Minister Harin Fernando, and other senior officials of the Sri Lankan government.

"Your ambassador here, (is a) very close friend of ours. We love and respect him," the Speaker said, referring to Baglay.

Later, in an interaction with PTI on the sidelines of the reception, Abeywardena said, "India has always come to aid of Sri Lanka" in times of crises, and laid emphasis on the financial assistance given by New Delhi last year when the island nation was mired in the economic turmoil.

"That helped us survive for six months in the midst of the crisis," he said

"We thank India for the kind gesture, and I also say, thank you, honourable Prime Minister of India (Narendra Modi)," he told PTI.

Noting the similarity between the Indian surname Singh and the Sri Lankan surname Singhe, Abeywardena said, "It shows we are genetically connected to India".

"That way, India is not a new country to us. It's part of the ethos of our country, part of our life, part of our heart," he said, adding, "We are here to receive you, respect you, join with you."

"Together, we (Sri Lanka) can join with you (India), without any difficulty or hesitation, with great trust," the Speaker said.

In his address, Tourism and Lands Minister Fernando pitched Sri Lanka -- Pearl of the Indian Ocean -- as a unique destination for India and the rest of the world, saying, "One island nation offers so many different tourist experiences, without travelling far from one location to another."

Meanwhile, several sessions were held on Saturday as part of the three-day 67th Convention of the TAAI (Travel Agents Association of India) which began here on July 6.

The four-day convention of the TAAI which was established in 1951, is being held with the support of the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) and the Sri Lankan Association of Inbound Tour Operators (SLAITO).
The tributes to Father Stan by his associates and his co-accused (which were read out) provided a clue to why his death continues to touch so many.

Jyoti Punwani reports.

"We don't want this to be forgotten or forgiven." -- senior advocate Mihir Desai.

"Do not forget, do not forgive." This theme ran through the Zoom meeting organised by the National Campaign to Defend Democracy, a coalition of human rights groups, on the second anniversary of Father Stan Swamy's death.

The 84-year-old Jesuit priest, arrested in October 2020 from his home in Ranchi, died 10 months later on July 5, 2021 in a Mumbai hospital as an undertrial prisoner, charged under the anti-terrorist legislation UAPA in the Elgar Parishad-Bhima Koregaon case. His 15 co-accused, of whom 11 are still behind bars, continue to await trial.

The Elgar Parishad case holds 15 Leftist intellectuals responsible for the violence that took place on January 1, 2018, when thousands of Dalits making their way to Bhima Koregaon, were attacked by saffron flag-wielding mobs. The violence led to clashes between Dalits and Marathas in which one Maratha youth was killed.

The accused are charged with having instigated the violence through speeches made a day earlier at the Elgar Parishad, a massive rally held in Pune. They are accused of having organised the Parishad through the Kabir Kala Manch, described in the chargesheet as a 'frontal organisation' of the Maoists.

Father Stan Swamy, like 11 of his co-accused, did not attend the rally.

***

The Zoom meeting was at an odd time: 9 pm-11 pm, yet in an indicator of the intensity of feelings that Father Stan Swamy's death continues to invoke, the maximum limit of 500 participants was reached very soon. The rest followed the meeting on Facebook.

The tributes to Father Stan by his associates and his co-accused (which were read out) provided a clue to why his death continues to touch so many. As Father Joe Xavier described him, what came through was a picture of a man who embodied Christ's message of love, compassion and service as well as the values of the Adivasis he had chosen to live with: dignity and simplicity.

Co-accused Professor Anand Teltumde's note recalled how even in jail, what concerned Father Stan most was the condition of others. He had suggested to the authorities that those who served food to prisoners be provided trolleys for the heavy metal containers they had to carry.

In his write-up, Vernon Gonsalves, also a co-accused, who completes five years of incarceration in August, recalled how the Jesuit priest would sing every day for fellow accused poet Varavara Rao, whose health saw a steep deterioration after the NIA took over the case in February 2020 and the accused were shifted from Pune to the Taloja central jail.

Another quality mentioned was Father Stan's optimism. Despite the petty cruelties of the jail authorities, who may never live down denying a sipper to the Parkinson's patient who could not hold a glass, the 83 year old remained in high spirits, for he knew he was innocent and had faith in the judiciary.

"But when his bail applications kept getting rejected, his hope in the judiciary started faltering. According to Father Xavier, that was the beginning of his descent into ill health."

Like Varavara Rao, Professor Hany Babu and later Vernon Gonsalves, Father Stan's health too was neglected in jail. Taloja jail had no allopathic doctor. The long journeys to JJ hospital in South Mumbai left the frail octogenarian a wreck, he told Father Xavier.

"The way they treated him amounted to criminal negligence, but who was punished for this?" asked Jenny Rowena, Professor Hany Babu's wife.

A magisterial inquiry is being held into the circumstances leading to Father Stan's death, in response to a petition filed in the Bombay high court, informed senior advocate Mihir Desai.

"It took 10 months for Father Stan's spirit to break," said Sagar, Vernon Gonsalves's son. "It is up to us to demand accountability for the death of a man who spent his life fighting for justice for others. We also must make sure that another Father Stan does not emerge from those still behind bars, who are in a precarious condition."

IMAGE: Father Stan Swamy with locals in Ranchi. Photograph: Kind courtesy Gladson DungDung

***

Family members of the other accused spoke of the toll the long incarceration has taken on them. Pranali Parab, sister of Kabir Kala Manch member Ramesh Gaichor, revealed that the frequent police visits had led to her mother suffering a mild heart attack. She recounted that a policeman had recently called her father asking where his son was. 'Ramesh is in jail,' her father had replied, adding: 'If he has done anything wrong, kill him, and give me poison too. I can't take this any more.'

Three members of the Kabir Kala Manch are accused in the case; all three have been in jail since October 2020. Said their colleague Rupali Jadhav: "These were three pillars of our organisation. Like others in the Kabir Kala Manch, when they were very young, they sacrificed the chance of a career and chose instead to voice the feelings of the people through their songs and performances."

"It is their art that the government is scared of; even in the chargesheet, their songs have been mentioned. We must not let their entire youth waste in jail. They must come out and be the voice of the people again."

Another poignant voice was that of Hemlata, wife of Varavara Rao, the first accused to get bail, albeit on medical grounds, in February 2021. The conditions of his bail necessitate the 82 year old staying in Mumbai; his appeals to let him go to his hometown Hyderabad for a cataract operation have been rejected.

The Raos have changed house five times since his release on bail, either for financial reasons or because of pressure from landlords, wrote Hemlata in a letter read out by Farah Naqvi, who conducted the meeting. 'His bail has become jail for me. I want to go home to Hyderabad. I'm 73. It's exhausting to live away from home and without my daughter,' said the letter.

For Professor Shoma Sen, life in jail was all about waiting: 'Waiting for bail, waiting for court dates, waiting for mulaaqaats, waiting for newspapers...,' she wrote in a letter read out by her husband Tushar Kanti Bhattacharya.

'Everything I left behind has frozen before my eyes like a vivid present. By the time I come out, the world will be a different place. We read that AI (artificial intelligence) has reached the world; but inside jail, we still use pen and paper to write, we need postal stamps. We live in a stone age, without knives or scissors. The country is gearing up for elections; there's war in Ukraine, climate change is an immediate threat, but here, we only keep waiting,' wrote Shoma Sen.

IMAGE: Social activists hold placards during a silent protest in solidarity with 83-year-old Father Stan Swamy, who was arrested by the NIA for his alleged involvement in Bhima Koregaon violence. Photograph: Shailendra Bhojak/PTI Photo

***

However, the meeting also had signs of hope. While essays and poems by the accused were read out, the most vivid illustration that their spirit remained unbowed was a video of advocate Surendra Gadling singing co-accused Kabir Kala Manch member Sagar Gorkhe's ghazal: 'When I sing again, your cage will turn to water.' Gadling was at the time out on bail for his mother's death anniversary.

A special guest at the end of the meeting was retired Justice B G Kolse Patil, one of the two organisers of the Elgar Parishad. (The other was retd Justice P B Sawant, who passed away in 2021.)

The retired judge spoke about a time when he could call then prime minister Manmohan Singh 'an American agent' on national television without being prosecuted; when bail, not jail was the rule.

"We are used to those times," said the 82 year old, who turned emotional when talking about the PUCL. "We are alive because of the work being done by PUCL," he said.
The number of teenagers who attempted suicide doubled over the four years before the coronavirus pandemic.

Medical researchers analyzed data from the National Emergency Department Information System (NEDIS) and found that the number of 14 to 19-year-olds who were rushed to emergency rooms after attempting suicide surged 2.1 times from 1,894 in 2016 to 3,892 in 2019.

The figure out of 100,000 teenagers increased 35.6 percent a year from 57.5 in 2016 to 135.5 in 2019.


U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen held "candid and constructive" talks Friday with China's Prime Minister Li Qiang in Beijing.

A Treasury Department statement said Yellen "discussed the administration's desire to seek healthy economic competition with China that benefits both economies, including American workers and businesses."

She also emphasized close communication on "global macroeconomic and financial issues and working together on global challenges, including debt distress in low-income and emerging economies and climate finance."

China's foreign ministry released a statement saying the prime minister noted that U.S. and Chinese economic interests are closely intertwined, and that China's development is an opportunity rather than a challenge to the United States. Beijing said that Yellen stated during the talks the U.S. "does not seek 'decoupling and disconnection' and has no intention of hindering China's modernization process."

The foreign ministry said, "China and the United States should strengthen coordination and cooperation, join hands to tackle global challenges and promote common development."

While both sides described Yellen's visit in positive terms, no new plans for more high-level meetings were announced. "China's going to continue to be around and be a major player on the world stage," White House press secretary Karin Jean Pierre said Friday, adding that an intense competition requires intense diplomacy.

"So it is important to have an intense competition requires intense diplomacy," she said. "That's what you see Secretary Yellen do, that's what you saw Secretary [of State Antony] Blinken do. These are the type of conversations that the president has had with President Xi in meetings that he's had with him as well," she said.
Metals-to-oil conglomerate Vedanta Ltd said on Friday that it would take over from its holding company the ownership of a joint venture with Taiwan's Foxconn that was set up to make semiconductors.

Vedanta also said it would also take over a display glass manufacturing venture from Volcan Investments, Vedanta's holding company.

Volcan and Foxconn signed a pact last year to invest $19.5 billion to set up semiconductor and display production plants in the state of Gujarat in west India to tap into the country's plans to become an electronics major.

However, the project was proceeding slowly as talks to rope in European chipmaker STMicroelectronics as a partner got deadlocked, Reuters reported last month.

Moreover, Vedanta's disclosures last year related to the deal made it seem like it was running the project. It later clarified that Volcan Investments would take the helm.

Still, SEBI, after an investigating, penalised Vedanta last week, saying it had broken regulations by initially making it appear it had partnered with Foxconn.
Yash enjoys a huge fan base across India owing to his pan-India film KGF, helmed by Prashanth Neel. The actor, who is yet to announce his next film, assured fans that he is working on his new project. The actor attended an event in Malaysia where for the first time, he teased the fans with an update about his next film.

3 things you need to know

Yash made his debut in 2007 with the film Jambada Hudugi.

He emerged as a pan India star with the KGF franchise..

He will reportedly work with a National Award-Winning director in his next film.

Yash breaks silence on new film

During a media interaction in Malaysia, Yash revealed that he is working on his next film, which will be a "good kick-ass film". Without revealing much about the film, he said that it wouldn't be something massive but would be a "good film and good product". The actor asked his fans to be patient.

More on Yash 19

Before heading to Malaysia, the actor visited his hometown Nanjangudu, where he interacted with the media and revealed that he has been working hard for a long time on something which will make his fans very happy. "It will happen very soon. As I've said already, it is my responsibility to make them happy and I will try and fulfill it," the actor said in a viral video.

(A picture of Yash from the film KGF | Image: Twitter)

Reports have been doing the rounds that for his next, Yash will be collaborating with a National Award-winning director Geethu Mohandas. However, neither Yash nor Geethu Mohandas have confirmed the rumours.

Is Yash part of Nitish Tiwari's Ramayan?

Rumours were doing the rounds that Yash had rejected the offer. However, a source close to the project revealed that the rumours are 'absolutely baseless'. "The reports of Yash not doing Ramayana are absolutely baseless. Please wait for one of the biggest casting coups to be announced when the Ramayana team officially does it", the source said.
On July 3, the Rabupura Police took into custody a Pakistani citizen Seema Haider who entered India illegally along with her four children reportedly to elope with her lover Sachin. Now days after the incident, Seema's husband Ghulam Haider has released a video in which he has requested the Indian Government to make sure that his four children are returned to him in Pakistan. Ghulam Haider also expressed shock over the entire incident where his wife reportedly left him to move to India along with her four childen in order to be with Noida resident Sachin.

Ghulam, who works in the business of tiles in Saudi Arabia, claimed that he came to know about the entire incident when he saw the clips of his children in the Indian media.

"I am shocked and troubled over the entire incident. I request the Modi government with folded hands to return my children, my three daughters. I have worked very hard to feed my children and it pains me to see them in a situation like this," said Ghulam Haider.



Interestingly, the statement of Ghulam Haider comes at a time when Seema, Sachin, and his father Netrapal who had been arrested, have been granted bail.



Seema, a mother of four children got in touch with Sachin, a resident of Greater Noida, through PUBG, way back in 2019. A strong relationship developed between them subsequently from their conversations through several social media platforms.



With Ghulam working in Saudi Arabia, it was in 2023 when Seema finally took a call of meeting Sachin. From Saudi Arabia, Seema went to Nepal through Sharjah and spent over a week with Sachin in Kathmandu. Later using the same route, she came to India via bus from Nepal and began staying with Sachin from May 13. She, Sachin and Sachin's father Netrapal, however, were arrested and charged under Sections 120-B ( criminal conspiracy), 34 ( common intentions) of the Indian Penal Code along with Sections 3/4/5 of the Passport Act.
In a joint operation, the Telangana Narcotics Bureau (T-NAB), Hyderabad Narcotics Enforcement Wing (H-NEW) and the city police apprehended three international drug traffickers and a local peddler. The team seized 100 grams of cocaine, 300 grams of MDMA, and other substances worth Rs 1 crore.

Revealing the modus operandi, Hyderabad city police said that in the year 2011, the accused Agbowo Maxwell Nnabuisi alias Kweku Essuman Kwame came to Mumbai on a medical visa and later moved to Bangalore.

The accused started a drug peddling business in Mumbai. Later, due to the fear of the police, he moved to Bangalore. The accused created a fake profile in the name of Kweku Essuman Kwame along with a fake Nigerian passport and a fake visa. The accused started peddling drugs with his friend Mazee.

After a few months, he moved to Achyutha Nagar in Bengaluru to target students. The accused used virtual phone numbers to avoid police arrest. Investigations revealed that he also opened a bank account in the name of Evelyn Yerenkyiwaa a Nigerian national in a nationalized bank.

Accused offered others to assist them on commission basis

The accused Maxwell and his friend Mazee came into contact with other people and offered to assist them on a commission basis. Maxwell used to provide the account details to the customers and after receiving payments, he used to drop the package at a secluded spot and share the location and picture of the package.

Speaking to Republic TV, CV Anand Hyderabad City Police Commissioner said, NCB has figures of 11.5 crore people being affected by narcotics. There are three Golden Crescent countries -- Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iran from where smuggling is done by drones across the border like in Punjab from Pakistan and other bordering states. After which these drugs go to countries like Africa, Jonesburg, Gana, and Nigeria. The actual person doing the trade hires a person who carries these drugs on their body or in their luggage and tries to push them through Airports or Sea ports. He also added that the investigation is being continued to identify the drug consumers who are purchasing the drug
On July 6, the French Ministry of Defense's Operations Directorate took to Twitter to announce an encounter between two French Rafale fighter jets and a Russian Su-35 near the Syria-Iraq border. The French pilots, engaged in a protection mission, reported a non-professional interaction from the Su-35, prompting them to maneuver and mitigate the risk of an accident before resuming their patrol activities.

The tweet by the French Ministry of Defense was reposted by the official Twitter account of the US Air Forces Central (AFCENT), expressing concerns over the repeated instances of Russian fighter aircraft flying in an "unsafe and unprofessional" manner towards both French and US aircraft operating in Syrian airspace. AFCENT reaffirmed its unwavering support for the French allies' rightful conduct of security missions in the region.

#Chammal | Le 06/07, 2 Rafale  en mission de protection a la frontiere irako-syrienne ont reagi a une interaction non-professionnelle de la part dun SU-35 .



Les pilotes  ont manuvre afin de maitriser le risque daccident avant de poursuivre leur patrouille. pic.twitter.com/jJPvKMutUl  Armee francaise - Operations militaires (@EtatMajorFR) July 6, 2023

Tensions brewing between US-led coalition and Russian forces

The encounter between the French Rafales and the Russian Su-35 occurred within a day of the US releasing footage showing Russian Su-35 planes "harassing" American MQ-9 Reaper drones involved in an operation against ISIS in Syria. The conduct displayed by Russian pilots over Syria bears similarities to previous incidents, including the loss of a US MQ-9 Reaper drone in the Black Sea in March.

Image: AP (A Russian Su-35 fighter flies near US Reaper drone)

Despite the establishment of formal deconfliction arrangements between the US and Russian militaries in Syria in 2019, Russian forces have faced repeated accusations of violating the terms of these agreements. The US Central Command (US CENTCOM) has reported a notable surge in incidents involving Russian forces in recent weeks. Notably, there have been 26 documented incidents between Russian fighter aircraft and US-led coalition forces in Syria from March 1 to April 19.

Meanwhile, Russian military officials have responded to accusations by stating that drones belonging to the US-led international coalition in Syria are committing ongoing violations of deconfliction protocols. The ongoing tensions and accusations reflect the complex dynamics and differing perspectives between the two sides regarding the actions and intentions of their respective regional military forces.
President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko has urged Belarusians to "calm down" as doubts still persist over the Wagner Group in the country. After the aborted armed rebellion of the Wagner Group led by its chief Yevgeny Prigozhin against the Kremlin, it was reported that the leader along with armed mercenaries had taken refuge in Belarus following a deal brokered by Belarusian President Lukashenko.

Belarusians confused as rumours circulate

The presumed arrival of Wagner Group mercenaries following their mutiny in Russia has given rise to confusion and uncertainties among citizens of Belarus. Rumours continue to circulate about whether camps to house Wagner troops are under construction.

Lukashenko had also claimed that the Wagner Group's chief Yevgeny Prigozhin has left Belarus and is back in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Lukashenko bans some media outlets

The Belarusian President Lukashenko had earlier banned several Ukrainian media outlets for allegedly discrediting him. Recently, he has also signed a law permitting Belarus to ban media from so called unfriendly countries. With not many sources left for fair news, the citizens are forced to depend only on the official government sources and often fall prey to rumours.

Satellite images suggest construction of camps for Wagner mercenaries

On June 27, Lukashenko had claimed that the Wagner Group chief Prigozhin arrived in Belarus. On June 30, in his speech three days before Belarus Independence Day, Lukashenko said the issue of Wagner transfers to Belarus has been inflated, referring specifically to the fact that Wagner has heavily recruited Russian convicts.

Meanwhile, satellite imagery released by Planet Labs from June 30 showed hundreds of what appear to be field tents, as well as indications of construction work, in an abandoned military garrison near the village of Tsel in the central Mahiliou region of Belarus. The Belarusian monitoring group Belarusian Hajun suggested that the camp, comprising nearly 300 tents, could fit over 8,900 people.

On June 30, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) suggested that the Wagner Group will operate out of three large field camps in Belarus, including the abandoned military garrison in the Mahiliou region.

However the Wagner Group's moves in Belarus still remain undecided, leaving the citizens confused.
Chinese automaker and the worlds largest electric vehicle (EV) maker, BYD plans to invest US$620 million in an industrial complex in Brazil. The complex in the north eastern Bahia state of Brazil is expected to begin operations in the second half of 2024. The complex will be built on a land previously occupied by a Ford plant in the Camacari industrial estate. Ford shut down the factory in 2021.

The BYD complex will consist of three plants

The Brazilian project, comprising of three plants will manufacture chassis for buses and electric trucks, assemble EVs, and will also produce lithium iron phosphate, a key material for EV batteries. The second plant, which will assemble EVs, will have an annual capacity of 150,000 units, the company said in a statement.

BYDs Executive Vice President and Head of Americas operations, Stella Li said that the plants are expected to create 5,000 local jobs and will reinforce BYDs aggressive expansion in South America.

Worlds largest EV manufacturer, ahead of Tesla

In 2022, BYD dethroned Tesla as the worlds largest electric vehicle builder. It capitalised on the increasing penchant of Chinese drivers and vehicle owners for environment friendly vehicles. With the Brazil investment, BYD is accelerating its globalisation drive after setting a sales record in mainland China last month.

BYD delivered 2,53,046 cars in June 2023, a 5.3% increase over the 2,39,092 cars delivered in May. The Shenzhen based carmaker is backed by Warren Buffetts Berkshire Hathaway.

BYD's global push

BYD has been aggressively tapping overseas markets by exporting Chinese-made vehicles to countries such as India and Australia. In March 2023, BYD started construction of a plant in Thailand, its first in Southeast Asia. The factory will have an annual capacity of 150,000 EVs when it is completed next year.

In May 2023, South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported that BYD signed a preliminary agreement with the Indonesian government to produce electric cars in the country. It is also building an assembly plant in Uzbekistan.
The Republican chairmen of three key House committees are joining forces to probe the Justice Departments handling of charges against Hunter Biden after making sweeping claims about misconduct at the agency.

Leaders of the House Judiciary, Oversight and Accountability, and Ways and Means committees opened a joint investigation into the federal case into President Joe Biden's youngest son days after it was announced last month that he will plead guilty to the misdemeanor tax offenses as part of an agreement with the Justice Department.

Reps. Jim Jordan of Ohio, James Comer of Kentucky and Jason Smith of Missouri have since issued a series of requests for voluntary testimony from senior officials at the Justice Department, FBI and Internal Revenue Service as they investigate what they claim is improper interference. Republicans have also requested a special counsel review of supposed retaliation against the whistleblowers who came forward with the claims.

The congressional inquiry was launched after the House Ways and Means Committee, led by Smith, voted last month to publicly disclose hundreds of pages of testimony from the IRS employees who worked on the Hunter Biden case.

The transcripts of Greg Shapley and an unidentified agent detail what they called a pattern of slow-walking investigative steps and delaying enforcement actions in the months before the 2020 election won by Joe Biden.

The Justice Department has denied the whistleblower claims and said repeatedly that U.S. Attorney David Weiss in Delaware, the federal prosecutor who led the investigation, had full authority of the case.

Heres what to know about the emerging investigation.

INVESTIGATING IRS WHISTLEBLOWER CLAIMS

In April, the first IRS whistleblower, Shapley, came forward when his attorney reached out to GOP Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa to say that his client had information about a failure to mitigate clear conflicts of interest in the ultimate disposition of what was then an ongoing criminal investigation related to Hunter Biden.

Smith, chair of the Ways and Means Committee, who has jurisdiction over the IRS, brought in Shapley in late May for an hourslong interview, where he described several roadblocks that he and several other IRS agents on the case encountered when trying to interview individuals relevant to the investigation or issue search warrants.

The whistleblowers insist their testimony reflects a pattern of inference and preferential treatment in the Hunter Biden case and not just disagreement with their superiors about what investigative steps to take. Justice Department policy has long warned prosecutors to take care in charging cases with potential political overtones around the time of an election, to avoid any possible influence on the outcome.

The most disputed claim from the whistleblowers is that Weiss  first appointed by former President Donald Trump and kept on by the Biden administration  asked the Justice Department in March 2022 to be provided special counsel status in order to bring the tax cases against Hunter Biden in jurisdictions outside Delaware, including Washington, D.C., and California, but was denied.

A second IRS whistleblower, who asked the committee to keep his identity secret, described his persistent frustrations with the way the Hunter Biden case was handled, dating back to the Trump administration under Attorney General William Barr. He said he started the investigation into Hunter Biden in 2015 and delved deeply into his personal life and finances.

INVESTIGATING CLAIMS OF RETALIATION

Both men have testified that they faced retaliation at the IRS after coming forward with concerns about the handling of the Hunter Biden case. Shapley, who was a career supervisory agent, told the committee that Weiss helped block his job promotion after the tax agency employee reached out to congressional investigators about the Biden case.

The second unidentified whistleblower said he was taken off the Hunter Biden investigation around the same time as Shapley, who was his supervisor. Though he was informed of the decision by officials at the IRS, the second whistleblower believes his removal was actually ordered by officials in the Justice Department. Neither of the men provided lawmakers evidence that was the case, instead citing what they had witnessed internally as they pushed for various investigative steps.

The three Republican chairmen, along with Sens. Grassley and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, sent a letter to the Justice Department asking for an immediate review of the retaliation claims.

The importance of protecting whistleblowers from unlawful retaliation and informing whistleblowers about their rights under the law cannot be understated. After all, it is the law, the lawmakers wrote.

JUSTICE DEPARTMENT PUSHBACK

The Justice Department has denied the allegations from the whistleblowers, saying that Weiss has had full authority over this matter, including responsibility for deciding where, when, and whether to file charges as he deems appropriate. He needs no further approval to do so.

Attorney General Merrick Garland also rebuffed the idea that Weiss, a veteran prosecutor, asked to be designated as a special counsel.

The only person who has the authority to make someone a special counsel, or refuse to make them a special counsel, is the attorney general, Garland told reporters last month. He added, Mr. Weiss never made that request.

In a June 30 letter, Weiss also further denied the claims by telling House Republicans that the Justice Department did not retaliate against Shapley. He also said he was assured by the department that if he sought to bring charges against Hunter Biden in a venue other than Delaware, he would be granted special status to do so. Generally, U.S. attorneys are limited to their own jurisdictions when bringing criminal charges.

NEXT STEPS

The three Republican chairmen have provided a deadline of Thursday for the department to begin scheduling nearly a dozen individuals for transcribed interviews. They have said that if the deadline is not met, they will resort to issuing congressional subpoenas to force cooperation.

Weiss said in his recent letter that he would be willing to discuss such topics with congressional officials, but reiterated that he cannot divulge information about the Hunter Biden case because it is an active criminal investigation.

Garland has said publicly that he would not stop Weiss from testifying before Congress. I would support Mr. Weiss explaining or testifying on these matters when he deems it appropriate, the attorney general said.
The Dutch government collapsed Friday after failing to reach a deal on restricting immigration, which will trigger new elections in the fall.

The crisis was triggered by a push by Prime Minister Mark Rutte's conservative VVD party to limit the flow of asylum-seekers to the Netherlands, which two of his four-party government coalition refused to support.

"It's no secret that the coalition partners have differing opinions about immigration policy. Today we unfortunately have to conclude that those differences have become insurmountable. Therefore, I will tender the resignation of the entire Cabinet to the king," Rutte said in a televised news conference.

Tensions came to a head this week when Rutte demanded support for a proposal to limit entrance of children of war refugees who are already in the Netherlands and to make families wait at least two years before they can be united. This latest proposal went too far for the small Christian Union and liberal D66, causing a stalemate.

Rutte's coalition will stay on as a caretaker government until a new administration is formed after new elections, a process which in the fractured Dutch political landscape usually takes months.

News agency ANP, citing the national elections committee, said elections would not be held before mid-November.

A caretaker government cannot decide on new policies, but Rutte said it would not affect the country's support for Ukraine.
President Joe Biden leaves on Sunday for Europe, where he will spend time in three nations tending to alliances that have been tested by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

After arriving at night in London, Biden will meet the next day with King Charles III for the first time since he was crowned. Next is the centerpiece of the trip, the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania. Alliance leaders will debate the war and revise plans for dealing with Russian aggression.

The final stop is in Helsinki, where Biden on Thursday is expected to celebrate the expanding alliance, with Finland as the newest member of NATO.

His national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, said the trip would showcase the president's leadership on the world stage.

A look at Biden's agenda and the issues he will face:

London

Biden arrives in London on Sunday night and is expected to have a full schedule of meetings Monday.

Theres always a lot to talk about with the U.K., said Max Bergmann, a former State Department official who leads the Europe Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Biden will hold talks with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at 10 Downing St. Sunak is facing an election by the end of next year. His Conservative Party is lagging badly behind the opposition in opinion polls.

Despite Sunaks shaky political standing, he has fostered close ties with Biden and it will be their sixth meeting since Sunak took office last October.

Bergmann said Sunak's tenure has been a nice change of pace after there were some concerns about Boris Johnson, one of Sunaks predecessors, being a loose cannon.

Biden will visit the king at Windsor Castle, a royal residence outside London. Biden did not attend Charles' coronation  first lady Jill Biden went in his place  so this will be their first encounter since then.

They're expected to discuss climate change, an issue that has been a focus for both leaders, and how to finance initiatives to address the problem.

Vilnius

Biden will spend two days in the capital of Lithuania, which is hosting the annual NATO summit. He will participate in meetings with leaders and deliver a speech from Vilnius University.

The alliance has been reinvigorated by the war in Ukraine, and members have been pouring military hardware into the country to help repel Russia's invasion.

Biden on Friday defended what he said was a difficult decision to provide cluster munitions to Ukraine, a move his administration said was key to the fight and buttressed by Ukraines promise to use the controversial bombs carefully. Biden is likely to face questions from allies on why the U.S. would send a weapon into Ukraine that more than two-thirds of NATO members have banned because it has a track record for causing many civilian casualties.

For Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, the summit will send a clear message: NATO stands united, and Russias aggression will not pay.

But NATO has also struggled to bridge divides over important issues. Finland was welcomed into the alliance this year, but Sweden's membership has been blocked by Turkey and Hungary.

There are also disagreements over how quickly to extend an invitation to Ukraine to join NATO.

Countries on NATO's eastern flank want to move quickly, viewing it as a way to deter Russian aggression. The U.S. and others advocate a more cautious approach.

One issue has already been settled, at least for the time being. Stoltenberg's term has been extended for a year because members could not agree on a new leader.

Sen. Thom Tillis, who will attend the summit, likened the alliance to a gathering of dozens of family members who bicker and clash but nonetheless remain united.

At the end of the day, you know youre family," said Tillis, R-N.C.

Tillis is leading a bipartisan delegation along with Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., who said NATO is more powerful than before.

"Its the strongest military alliance in our history, and I think it only has gotten stronger as a result of U.S. leadership, as the result of Stoltenbergs leadership and as the result of the threat from Vladimir Putin to all of the NATO allies and other countries in Europe and around the world and to the international order, she said.

Helsinki

After two nights in Vilnius, Biden visits Helsinki. The stop is a bit of a victory lap, but could also be a reminder of unfinished business.

The Nordic country in April became the 31st member of NATO, ending its history of nonalignment and demonstrating how Russia's invasion of Ukraine has backfired in Europe.

Finland was supposed to join alongside its neighbor Sweden, whose admission has stalled. NATO requires unanimous consent of all its members to expand, and the U.S. has been unable to overcome objections from Turkey and Hungary.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson visited the White House on Wednesday and met with Biden to keep up the pressure for membership. But there is little hope that the issue will be resolved in Vilnius.

The White House is billing Biden's visit to Helsinki as a U.S.-Nordic Leaders Summit.

It's a much different occasion from the last time a U.S. president visited Helsinki five years ago.

During that trip, Donald Trump held a news conference with Putin and brushed off concerns about Russian meddling in the Trump's election victory.

Now Biden is heading to the city to demonstrate how his administration has held the line against Moscow and expanded Western defenses.
It wasnt the Communist Party that lifted the Vietnamese out of poverty; the people did it themselves. The countrys free-market revolution was the result of bottom-up pressure from the masses who broke the command-economy so much that the communist government had to accept a private sphere of business. Their pilfering from state-run companies and trading on the black market, and their ability to own more and more surplus produce after the state took its share, meant the government simply couldnt handle the collectivized economy that had left Vietnam one of the worlds poorest countries in the 1980s.

When the communist government gave an inch, the people demanded more. The idea that economic success stems from a strategic shift in Party thinking [in 1986]... is actually a myth, the economist Adam Fforde wrote. Success instead drew upon systematic violations of Party ideology dating from the late 1970s, if not earlier.

The partys economic reform package of 1986 (doi moi, or renovation) is common knowledge. Less so the promises of political renovation. Nguyen Van Linh, the incoming party general secretary that year, told writers and journalists that they should stick to the truth. One of those who took Linh at his word was Bao Ninh, a young novelist and war veteran from the North. So much blood, so many lives were sacrificed for what? he wrote in his 1990 book, The Sorrow of War. The poet and translator Duong Tuong called Baos work the first truthful book about the war. Truthful because it neither glorified victory against the Americans (In war, no one wins or loses. There is only destruction), nor regarded Communist Party leaders as the only heroes. Bao argued most Vietnamese were fighting for national peace, nor for Marxism. Naturally, the book was banned.

Vietnam's Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh (R) gestures to U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris in the Government office in Hanoi on August 25, 2021. Credit: Manan Vatsyayana / Pool / AFP

The point is that even in a one-party, communist state, ordinary people can exert power. Today, the government still severely represses its citizens. There is no free media. There are no genuine elections. But the Communist Party is genuinely worried about the thoughts of the common man. Those domestic pressures are difficult to assess and frequently in debates on policy, such as about Vietnam hedging between the United States and China, its far easier to focus on externalities.

The position at one extreme of that foreign policy debate, for instance, argues the Vietnamese government is denied any agency whatsoever because of material conditions: China is Vietnams main trading partner and principal aggressor; the United States is Vietnams main export partner and security guarantor. So by more closely aligning with either, Vietnam risks war or economic ruin. The other extreme says the Communist Party has a good deal of agency, and what shapes foreign policy is a shared ideology that makes it friendly with China, factional struggles within the party, and the whims of certain government officials.

But consider a speech given in 2021 by Nguyen Phu Trong, now three-term Communist Party general secretary. Any nation has to deal with two basic issues, internal and external, he stated. These two issues have an organic, dialectical relationship[they] support each other like two wings of a bird, create positions and forces for each other, connect and intertwine more and more closely with each other. Foreign policy today, he added, is a continuation of domestic policy. He said a little later: Foreign affairs must always best serve the domestic cause. That domestic cause for Trong is the survival and virality of the Communist Party.

Domestic concerns dictate

The other importance of The Sorrow of War was as an early sign nationalism was tumbling out of the hands of the Communist Party, which had staked its legitimacy on having led victory over the French, then Americans and then Chinese. But it was starting to lose its grip in the early 1990s when it struck peace with Beijing. Further anger flowed from the public as Chinese capital began flowing into Vietnam. In 2006, national hero General Vo Nguyen Giap (the Red Napoleon) accused the regime of selling off Vietnamese land for exploitation by Chinese bauxite speculators. Years-long protests turned the nationalist tables on the Party by accusing it of caving in to the Chinese at the very time the latter were expanding their territorial claims against Vietnam in the South China Sea, wrote the historian Christopher Goscha. That process has only expanded over time. One could say that the Communist Party is now scared of nationalism.

Chinese academics seem especially taken with the idea that all nationalist protests in Vietnam are directed by the Communist Party. That is rarely the case. The party follows events; it seldom leads them. Netizen anger drove the recent cases of the Hollywood film "Barbie" being banned in Vietnam over a crude map that some said showed China's territorial claims in the South China Sea, and threats to boycott concerts by the South Korean K-Pop band BlackPink. During the Vanguard Bank standoff in 2019, when the Chinese military was once again harassing Vietnamese vessels in the South China Sea, officials in Hanoi reportedly discussed whether to allow some limited protests. But, warned some other officials, demonstrations must be tightly controlled. If not, the protests might be taken over by individuals and groups in Vietnam, specifically democratization advocates, wrote Ben Kerkvliet in Speaking Out in Vietnam, a study of political activism.

That remains a concern. If the party takes a strong stance against China, that risks setting off nationwide nationalist protests that the party cannot control and which might quickly be whipped up into anti-communist agitation. Between June 9 and 11, 2018, more than 100,000 protesters demonstrated across Vietnam, arguably the largest nationwide protest seen in decades, as the National Assembly debated a bill to create three special economic zones (SEZs) along Vietnams coastline. The investment minister said publicly that there is no word that mentions China in the SEZ plan. But this did little to dispel opinions that Beijing would be the main beneficiary of the deal. Although mainly peaceful, violence was seen in Binh Thuan province where demonstrators burnt down a government building. By November 2018, five months after the events, more than 120 protesters had been imprisoned. But given the scale of public opprobrium the National Assembly postponed discussing the SEZ law, whilst the government said it would withdraw the bill for further study before silently dropping it altogether (another sign of people power).

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris (C) meets with civil society change makers who work on LGBT, transgender, disability rights and climate change, at the U.S. Chief of Mission's residence in Hanoi, Vietnam, Aug. 26, 2021. Credit: Evelyn Hockstein / Pool / AFP

A solid mass of the public would support a complete cutting of ties with China. So might many elites. Each year, the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute asks Southeast Asian elites the question: If ASEAN were forced to align itself with either the United States or China, which should it? In the latest iteration, some 77.9 percent of Vietnamese respondents opted for the U.S., the highest in the region after those from the Philippines, a U.S. treaty ally. On the other hand, another segment of society, especially ideologues within the party, still think that the United States is plotting peaceful evolution in Vietnam, a term for regime change.

If Hanoi becomes dependent on Washington, they say, it will be compelled to democratize. As such, the Communist Party benefits from Beijings push to counter the Western agenda on human rights. After Trongs visit to Beijing in November, a joint statement noted that both sides agreed to promote cooperation in the fight against peaceful evolution, and color revolution. For the first time, BBC reported, they also agreed to promote dialogue and international cooperation regarding human rights without seeking to politicize it. (Incidentally, Vietnams three-year term on the UN Human Rights Council began this year.)

According to one academic, quoting Vietnamese bureaucrats: Alignment with the U.S. will result in the collapse of the communist regime; alignment with China will lead to territorial loss. But thats not so much dialectical as a tautology. In the event of any major territorial loss or even acceptance from Hanoi of Beijings claims in the South China Sea, that would likely mean the collapse of the communist regime, as well. Its far from obvious about regime change and America, however. Nonetheless, the Communist Party sees its own power at home threatened by what the two superpowers represent. The perception of Vietnamese communists is that domestic concerns dictate a balanced foreign policy. Its not all about trade and the South China Sea.

David Hutt is a research fellow at the Central European Institute of Asian Studies (CEIAS) and the Southeast Asia Columnist at the Diplomat. As a journalist, he has covered Southeast Asian politics since 2014. The views expressed here are his own and do not reflect the position of RFA.
A fourth day of Russian missile strikes on Ukrainian Black Sea port installations on July 21 set grain storage facilities in the Odesa region on fire and destroyed a huge amount of food stored for export, causing damage and injuries, regional officials and the military said, as fighting continued along the whole eastern front.

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 counteroffensive, Western military aid, global reaction, and the plight of civilians. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war in Ukraine, click here.

Regional Governor Oleh Kiper said that Russia launched Kalibr-type cruise missiles from vessels in the Black Sea, destroying a grain terminal and wounding two people.

Unfortunately, a grain terminal of one of the agricultural enterprises of the Odesa region was hit. The enemy destroyed 100 tons of peas and 20 tons of barley. Two people were wounded in the explosion," Kiper said.

Kiper said that, at first, two missiles hit the granary, causing a fire, then a third missile struck while firefighters were trying to extinguish the flames.

"Another missile hit the same enterprise, damaging agricultural and rescue equipment. A fire on an area of more than 200 square meters was quickly extinguished," Kiper said.

Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yuriy Ihnat said that up to four P-800 Onyx cruise missiles hit infrastructure targets south of the city of Odesa.

"Unfortunately, our means of detection and destruction are not enough to cover the entire territory of Ukraine and destroy incoming missiles and drones," Ihnat said.

In Moscow, the Russian Defense Ministry said its navy carried out a live fire "exercise" in the northwest Black Sea on July 21, just days after the Kremlin said that cargo ships en route to Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea would be regarded as potential military targets.

The Black Sea Fleet "carried out live firing of anti-ship cruise missiles at the target ship in the combat training range in the northwestern part of the Black Sea," the ministry said in a statement on Telegram.

On July 20, Russian missiles struck the Odesa and Mykolayiv regions, killing two people, wounding another 20, including five children, and causing extensive damage to port installations and stored grain.

The strikes also hit residential areas in the center of Odesa and Mykolayiv, setting large areas on fire.

The Ukrainian Energy Ministry said that grain terminals and port infrastructure in the ports of Odesa and Chornomorsk were targeted. In Chornomorsk, 60,000 tons of grain were destroyed over the past several days, the ministry said.

Russia's Defense Ministry has said the series of strikes on southern Ukraine targeted facilities where it claimed Ukraine was building seaborne drones of the type that Moscow says damaged a bridge in the annexed region of Crimea.

But Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the Russian strikes had "deliberately" targeted sites in the Odesa region that are used to export grain after Russia refused to extend the grain deal.

Zelenskiy met on July 21 with military commanders to discuss the situation at the front and about the grain initiative.

Work continues to protect ports and the infrastructure of the grain initiative, he said, adding he had instructed the commanders to prepare an action plan for the continuation of the grain corridor and to work out the next diplomatic steps.

In New York the UN's political affairs chief told the Security Council on July 21 that Russia's attacks on Ukrainian Black Sea ports risk "having far-reaching impacts on global food security, in particular, in developing countries."

Rosemary DiCarlo also said threats about the potential targeting of civilian vessels in Black Sea waters -- made by both Russia and Ukraine -- are unacceptable.

"Any risk of conflict spillover as a result of a military incident in the Black Sea -- whether intentional or by accident -- must be avoided at all costs, as this could result in potentially catastrophic consequences to us all," she said.

The Black Sea escalation comes as Kyiv reports a new attempt by Russia to return to the offensive in the northeast.

"The enemy continues to focus its main efforts on Kupyansk [in the Kharkiv region], Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiyivka and Maryinka [in the Donetsk region], where 32 close combat battles were fought over the past day," the General Staff of Ukraine's military said on July 21.

Ukrainian defenders in Kupyansk repelled attacks by Russian troops southwest of Masyutivka, the military added.

Germany meanwhile announced that it has handed over the first 10 Leopard 1A5 tanks to Ukraine. In a message, the German Defense Ministry said the new package of military aid also included 20 MG3 machine guns for tanks and armored vehicles, 1,035 155-millimeter shells and smoke ammunition, among other items.

On July 20, the United States said U.S.-supplied cluster munitions are being deployed in the field. White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the munitions are having an impact on Russian defensive formations and maneuvering.

"We have gotten some initial feedback from the Ukrainians, and they're using them quite effectively," Kirby said at a news briefing.

In its daily intelligence update, Britain's Defense Ministry said that up to 20,000 Russian convicts recruited by the Wagner mercenary group were killed in fighting in Bakhmut over the past several months.

Russian forces spearheaded by Wagner mercenaries captured Bakhmut in May, following months of intense and bloody fighting.



British intelligence said that, while it was a rare recent Russian military success, the battle for Bakhmut was also "one of the bloodiest episodes in modern military history."

It estimated that at its peak, Wagner had some 40,000 convicts under contract early this year.

It said that the last convicts recruited under the so-called Project K program are likely to be released over the next several days, but it estimated that many will probably stay on as contract fighters.

With reporting by AP and Reuters
Armenia Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian says a fresh war with Azerbaijan remains a high probability in the absence of a peace treaty between the two countries.

"So long as a peace treaty has not been signed and such a treaty has not been ratified by the parliaments of the two countries, of course, a [new] war [with Azerbaijan] is very likely," Pashinian said in an interview with AFP published on July 21.

Baku and Yerevan have fought two wars over Nagorno-Karabakh, a predominantly Armenian-populated mountainous enclave that is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan. The most recent war lasted six weeks in late 2020 and left 7,000 soldiers dead on both sides.

As a result of the war, Azerbaijan regained control over a part of Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding districts. The war ended with a Russian-brokered cease-fire under which Moscow deployed about 2,000 troops to serve as peacekeepers.

Armenia and Azerbaijan in recent weeks have engaged in rounds of diplomacy aimed at reaching a lasting peace deal but there have been sporadic border clashes, and the talks have not yet yielded a breakthrough.

Tensions have remained high over the situation on the Lachin Corridor, the only road linking Armenia with Nagorno-Karabakh.

Azerbaijan earlier this month suspended traffic through a checkpoint on the corridor pending an investigation after it said "various types of contraband" had been discovered in Red Cross vehicles coming from Armenia.

The suspension of traffic heightened concerns over a humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh. Both Armenia and separatist authorities in the enclave have said that Azerbaijan has blockaded the territory since December, resulting in shortages of food, medicines, and energy.

Pashinian sharply criticized the blockade in the interview with AFP, saying it amounted to "an ongoing process of genocide" for ethnic Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, meanwhile, said Azerbaijan is making serious efforts to remove land mines, more than 1 million of which are buried in the territories of Azerbaijan, while also criticizing a map provided by Armenia that covers approximately 400,000 mines.

Speaking on July 21 at the Shusha Global Media Forum, Aliyev also said that after the end of the war, land mines killed or seriously injured more than 300 people. He said that Armenia's "nonpresentation" of the maps showing where the land mines are "is a continuation of Armenia's terror against us."

Armenia has not responded to Aliyev's comments.

Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said in a separate interview published on July 21 that Armenia and Azerbaijan cannot resolve their relations without taking into account the security factor and the rights of the Armenian population in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Mirzoyan stressed in an interview with the Austrian daily DerStandard that the main issue for Armenia is the security of people and their fundamental rights.

The humanitarian situation in Nagorno-Karabakh is difficult and close to a humanitarian catastrophe, he said.

"We need immediate humanitarian intervention to save 120,000 people from starvation. Then we will be able to continue negotiations with everyone who is interested in establishing a lasting peace in the region," Mirzoyan said.

"It's important to avoid another dangerous cycle of hostility, he said. Enough blood has already been shed in the South Caucasus. Mutual recognition of territorial integrity will be of key importance."

As for the issue of security and rights of the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh, he said Armenia believes that the best mechanism would be a dialogue with international participation.
The return of the so-called morality police to the streets of major Iranian cities has brought back fear and stress for women who choose to ignore the requirement that they wear the hair-covering hijab. But it has also been met with resistance by men and women alike, while lawmakers have questioned the effectiveness of the hard-line approach to enforcing compliance.

Iranians who spoke to RFE/RL's Radio Farda said the presence of the morality police -- officially known as "guidance patrols" that usually include male officers and women wearing black chadors -- is not as visible as it was before the patrols were scaled back after nationwide protests first broke out against the hijab law last autumn.

I really don't know where they want to get with this method, but in my opinion, if they want to continue this way, confrontations will start again."

"Before, when we went on the street, they had a stationary vehicle, or a vehicle that was moving on the street," Leila Mirghaffari, a women's rights activist who lives in Tehran, told Radio Farda on July 17, a day after the return of the morality police was announced. "They haven't yet dared to encroach like before. But they are present, mostly in main squares."



Mirghaffari described the decision to redeploy the morality police, coming after the monthslong protests had largely wound down, as a distraction aimed at creating "fear and terror" among the population.



"It creates mental and emotional problems for us. It's stressful, and it occupies our thoughts and those of our families," Mirghaffari said. "When we want to leave home and come out to the street, at any moment we may travel a route where morality police patrol and are stationed to arrest people."



Nevertheless, Mirghaffari and others suggested, the patrols are largely ineffective and have even given new life to resistance against the authorities' efforts to enforce the countrys strict Islamic dress code.



Some Tehran residents who spoke to Radio Farda said that many women simply put on a hijab when they spot the morality police before quickly removing them once out of sight. And in some cases where women have been harassed or threatened by morality police, fellow citizens -- male and female alike -- have pushed back.



Almost immediately after the authorities announced on July 16 that the morality police patrols would resume, residents of the northern city of Rasht took to the streets to protest an attempt to arrest three women for allegedly violating the hijab requirement.

The situation reportedly escalated into clashes between demonstrators and police, who used tear gas to disperse protesters, some of whom were chanting against Iran's clerical establishment.



"I really don't know where they want to get with this method, but in my opinion, if they want to continue this way, confrontations will start again," said a male Tehran resident who requested anonymity while answering questions on WhatsApp.

"Personally, if I see them taking a girl into a van, I will step forward and shout so as not to let them take them. That's how things are, and I think most people now are like me. They don't want the Mahsa incident to happen again and for another innocent girl to be killed."



The death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in September, soon after she was arrested for allegedly violating the hijab law, sparked the nationwide protests that lasted months and prompted a crackdown that led to the deaths of more than 500 people. Amini's death became the cause celebre for thousands of women and men who took to the streets to show their opposition to the hijab law.

Amid the protests, there were reports that the authorities had disbanded the morality police, although other reports indicated that they never really went away in some cities. But the issue also prompted the clerical establishment, which views the hijab as key to its interpretation of Islam, to introduce revisions to the country's Chastity and Hijab Law that would introduce stiffer penalties for noncompliance, including up to three years in prison for repeat offenders.



While the hijab has been compulsory in public for women and girls over the age of 9 since 1981, shortly after the 1979 Islamic Revolution ushered in the clerical establishment, the requirement is often flouted, particularly in urban areas.



The Chastity and Hijab bill, which is awaiting parliamentary approval, has been fodder for intense debate -- with some lawmakers saying it does not go far enough to make women comply with the hijab requirement and others questioning the effectiveness of forcing women to comply.



Following the announcement that the morality police patrols would resume in many Iranian cities, lawmaker Vali Esmaili, who heads the parliament's social commission, said that the body would unlikely be involved in the effort.



He also said that before resuming the patrols, "we should first look at the state of society to see if such actions have been effective in the past 43 years."



The Chastity and Hijab bill also proposes penalties, including the confiscation of automobiles, against drivers or passengers of vehicles in which women are not in compliance with the hijab requirement.



"When I'm driving, I have to wear a hijab," a woman who resides in Tehran told Radio Farda following the redeployment of the morality police, explaining that she has had her vehicle impounded four times for failing to wear the hijab. "But when I get out and move away from the car, I take off my head scarf. Many times, I just put it in my bag. Sometimes, when I see that the conditions are bad, I keep it around my neck, but I am still without a hijab in the street."



The woman said that she has not personally seen any morality police since they returned to the streets of Tehran. But she has heard eyewitness accounts of the presence of marked morality police vehicles in the northern city of Shahriar, in Tehran Province, where she said most women wear head scarves and those who do not could be seen without a hijab not far from the morality police.

WATCH: Masses of demonstrators are turning out throughout Iran, where some are shouting down police enforcement of strict religious dress codes for women.



"There are the odd ones out who are without a hijab, and they were 100 or 200 meters away from the morality police," she recalled being told of the current situation.



She said that even before the morality police returned to the streets, her experience in dealing with them showed that they were reluctant to enforce the hijab requirement.



"It's pretty clear that they're tired of this matter, but it seems like they have orders from above," she said.



That is far from the norm, according to the activist Mirghaffari, who painted a dark picture of the morality police, whose involvement in human rights violations has led to Western sanctions.

"The morality police are truly violent. They are really repressive. They have no humanity," said Mirghaffari, who added that she has been arrested by the force several times. "The morality police are really trained for savagery and for causing distress to the point that someone like Mahsa Amini could be killed. And they have no fear at all."



Others who spoke to Radio Farda were incredulous that the authorities would reintroduce the morality police amid public frustration over Iran's dire economic situation.



"The issue is not the hijab. The real issue is the terrifying inflation and high prices," said the man who answered questions by WhatsApp. "But they are only fixated on the hijab. They are playing with everyone's nerves, whether man or woman, whether with a hijab or without, they are bothering everyone."



The renewed protests, which included women carrying placards bearing the "We won't go back!" slogan that became popular during anti-hijab demonstrations, suggests that efforts to force women into compliance will be met with continued resistance.



"Look, our girls are fighting and know that there is no way back for us and we are not going back, and our answer to them wanting to forcibly put a hijab on us is, 'No!'" said Mirghaffari. "This is a big step we have taken to reach our other desires and we will never go back."

Written by Michael Scollon based on reporting by Mehdi Tahbaz and other Radio Farda correspondents.
It was terrifying -- I had no idea it was the police, said Aleksandra Kochanova, recalling how officers of Russias Federal Security Service (FSB) rushed into the apartment she shared with her fiance, activist and social-studies teacher Nikita Tushkanov, in December 2022. I thought some bandits were breaking in.

Kochanova, 25, recalled the agents telling her, You are going to learn how to write letters.

They could feel their power, she said. At first, I thought they would interrogate us and let us go. But the investigator said he was filing two charges against Nikita, and I shouldnt bother waiting for him. Thats when I understood my life had changed.

In May, Tushkanov, who lived in the Komi Republic capital of Syktyvkar, was sentenced to 5 1/2 years in prison. He was convicted of justifying terrorism through his social media posts about the October 2022 explosion that damaged the bridge between Russia and the occupied Ukrainian region of Crimea.

He is just one of many dozens of Russians who have been caught up in President Vladimir Putins historic crackdown on dissent that intensified in the months before Russias massive invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and has been accelerating steadily since then.

This year, the prison terms dissenters face have been greatly increased, with an unprecedented number of treason cases being opened.

But persecution and prison are not just life-changing events for dissenters alone: Their relatives and loved ones find themselves unwittingly drawn into a cat-and-mouse game with the authorities as they try to provide support and defense.

Nikita told me right away  Dont you dare cry in front of them, Kochanova told RFE/RLs North.Realities. But I already knew that I couldnt debase myself. For the first few days, whenever I stopped doing things, I would immediately collapse and begin to cry. I would give myself 10 minutes to cry and then I would work on my plan. Everything was new to me.

'I Told Her I'd Never Abandon Her'

Almaz Gatin, 43, is the husband of Lilia Chanysheva, a former coordinator for imprisoned opposition politician Aleksei Navalny in the central Russian region of Bashkortostan. Chanysheva was arrested in November 2021 as part of a sweeping crackdown against Navalny supporters and charged with organizing an extremist group. In June, she was sentenced to 7 1/2 years in prison.

The first time I saw my wife put in handcuffs and taken away was very painful, Gatin recalled. She said to me, No matter what happens, I will never forget you.

I hugged her and kissed her and told her I would never abandon her and would keep fighting for her, he added.

Gatin said the first thing he did after his wife was taken away was to clean up their apartment, which had been ransacked during the search. He said at that time he felt such enormous pain that he collapsed.

Now that pain is concentrated into the struggle to defend her, he said.

After Chanysheva was arrested, she was taken from Bashkortostans capital, Ufa, to Moscow. Gatin followed her there but was told she had been sent to pretrial detention (SIZO) in the city of Kolomna, about 120 kilometers to the southeast.

I went there and knocked on every door, but they told me she wasnt there, Gatin said. I went back to Moscow and found her in SIZO-6. I showed my documents and proved that I was her husband. And they let me send her my first parcel.

In a letter, Chanysheva later told her husband how much that first package meant to her.

She understood that I had not abandoned her, that I had found her, and that I was standing by her, he said.

Gatin moved to Moscow, found an apartment, and began working full time to support his wife. He compares himself to the 11 wives, sisters, and fiancees of the 19th-century Russian revolutionaries the Decembrists, who have been lauded in Russian culture for voluntarily following their loved ones into Siberian exile and devoted their lives to supporting them.

I am the husband of a Novembrist -- she was arrested in November, he said. I went to Moscow and lived there. The lawyers were doing their work, and I had to solve all the everyday problems she encountered in jail -- food, vitamins, everything she needed to endure.

Each morning, he said, he would get up and write her a letter. Between the time he sent a letter and the time he got a response, a week or 10 days would pass. Next, he would get in line at the prison to submit a parcel for her.

You need to get food in there at least once a week -- twice is better, he said, adding that he would then work remotely for a few hours for his employer in Bashkortostan.

Then Id buy Lilia groceries or search for her medicines, he recalled. Id call her parents and my mother. Our parents are elderly, and they need support as well.

Many of his friends got scared when Chanysheva was arrested, Gatin said. He found a new community among the relatives of other detainees and the activists who tried to help them.

Over the nearly 18 months that she was held in Moscow, Gatin was not allowed to see his wife once. After she was sent back to Bashkortostan for trial, he was finally allowed to see her -- on March 18. After that, he was allowed to see her once a month until she was convicted in June, speaking to her via a telephone through glass for strictly one hour.

When I saw her the first time, it was very painful, he said. She had become very thin and was sick. I listened to her for a whole hour without interrupting.

'I Couldn't Just Sit Down And Cry'

In May 2021, opposition politician Andrei Pivovarov was arrested at the St. Petersburg airport as he was trying to leave the country. Pivovarov had been a top official of Open Russia, a pro-democracy nongovernmental organization set up by exiled former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky, which had recently been tarred by the Russian government as an undesirable organization. In June 2022, Pivovarov was sentenced to four years in prison.

We were making plans, his fiancee, Tatyana Usmanova, told RFE/RL. But they were completely destroyed on May 31.

The first few days after Pivovarovs arrest were the hardest, Usmanova insists.

Even the day he was sentenced or other sad days cant compare, she said. I understood then that I couldnt just sit down and cry.

For the first week after the arrest, Usmanova gave interviews without a break.

Pivovarov was held and tried in the southern Russian city of Krasnodar, so Usmanova moved there to support him. She had to come to grips with the seemingly arbitrary rules enforced by his jailors.

You could send him black tea, but not green tea, she recalled. You could send him green apples, but not red ones. And none of this was written down anywhere. On one hand, it is just nonsense. But on the other, it is exhausting. And all this was happening not in my home city but in unfamiliar Krasnodar.

She said that now she is frequently approached by people who find themselves in this situation.

I immediately put off whatever I am doing and tell them in as much detail as I can how to survive those first days, she told RFE/RL.

Supporting Pivovarov quickly became the only thing in her life.

I couldnt just abandon the one I love in such a horrific situation, she said. I was the only one who could help him. And his parents are elderly -- I couldnt just abandon them in the midst of this nightmare.

The ordeal has taken a toll on Usmanovas health.

I am seeing a psychiatrist and sometimes take antidepressants, she said. For two years I have been basically living his life. My life is built around his. I need him back here with me.

'Our Strength Is Our Love'

On the 200th day after Chanyshevas arrest Gatin experienced a breakdown, he said, chastising himself for letting his wife end up in such a situation.

But after a few days, I felt a huge internal strength, he recalled. The crisis just passed.

Nonetheless, he said, he never felt fear or despair.

I have felt only one thing, he said. Unlimited love. In her letters, she writes that she endures all this only because God brought us together. Our strength is our love.

Kochanova, the fiancee of imprisoned teacher Nikita Tushkanov, said almost the same thing.

His letters help me a lot, she said. Our love supports me and him. He writes that he thought I would be his weakness, that they could use me to pressure him, But in the end it turned out that only our love enables us to survive all this.

Written by RFE/RLs Robert Coalson based on reporting by RFE/RLs North.Realities.
Mental illness is on the rise among Korean children and teenagers as pressures on them continue to grow.

The number of children and teenagers who were treated for depression surged 18.9 percent from 2019 to 39,870 in 2021, according to the National Health Insurance Service. The number of children and teens getting treated for anxiety disorders also surged from 16,797 in 2019 to 23,593 in 2021.

At the same time spending on private crammers soared to a record W26 trillion last year (US$1=W1,305).

Bae Seung-min at Gachon University's Gil Medical Center said, "Children are pressured to go to a good university compounded by fears of a tough job market unless they outperform everyone else. The popularity of medical schools shows just how high the standard of success has become that children are forced to accept at an early age."

Jung Chan-ho, who runs a clinic in Gangnam, said, "Parents spend a lot of money on their children and want their money's worth, which puts intolerable emotional pressure on kids."
At least eight civilians were killed in Russian artillery shelling in the eastern Ukrainian town of Lyman, local officials said on July 8, as the conflict entered its 500th day.

Five others were wounded in the shelling that hit a residential area at around 10 a.m. local time, Donetsk regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said on Telegram.

"A house and a shop were damaged. Police are working on the site," Kyrylenko added.

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 counteroffensive, Western military aid, global reaction, and the plight of civilians. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war in Ukraine, click here.

The Ukrainian military said in its daily military update that it had repelled assault attempts by Russian forces near Lyman, a key railway junction in the Donetsk region.

Russian forces also targeted the Ukrainian city of Kryviy Rih in an overnight drone attack, wounding at least one person and damaging several buildings and vehicles, local officials said early on July 8.

A 26-year-old man was hospitalized with moderate injuries, Oleksandr Vilkul, the head of the city's Defense Council, wrote on Telegram.

The destruction [caused by the attack] is significant, Vilkul said, adding that the strikes caused a fire that was promptly extinguished by rescuers.

Drones hit an agricultural enterprise, destroying one of its buildings and badly damaging another one, Vilkul said. Seven trucks were also damaged in the attack, the official said.

Vilkul said that the situation was under control in Kryviy Rih, one of the largest cities of the southeastern Dnipropetrovsk Province.

All important infrastructure, public transport, and social and medical institutions are operating normally, Vilkul said.

The latest Russian strikes come as Ukraine seeks to push ahead with its counteroffensive against Russia's invasion.

The United States is expected to provide its next military aid package to Ukraine, including cluster munitions, U.S. national-security adviser Jake Sullivan said on July 7 ahead of the Pentagon's formal announcement.

"We recognize that cluster munitions create a risk of civilian harm from unexploded ordnance," Sullivan said. "This is why we've deferred the decision for as long as we could."

U.S. President Joe Biden said in an interview with CNN that the decision was difficult, but he believes Kyiv needs the weapons to prevent Russian forces from halting the Ukrainian counteroffensive.

WATCH: When Ukrainian troops liberated the village of Neskuchne in the Donetsk region, they found the area covered in land mines left by retreating Russian forces. Heavily entrenched enemy positions have been slowing Ukraine's ongoing counteroffensive.

The new military aid package provides Ukraine with "additional artillery systems and ammunition, including highly effective and reliable dual-purpose improved conventional munitions," the Pentagon said in a statement, referring to cluster munitions.

The package, valued at $800 million, is the 42nd provided to Ukraine drawing from U.S. stockpiles, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said. It includes additional precision aerial munitions, munitions for multiple-launch rocket systems, 155-millimeter howitzers, other ammunition, and more armored Bradley and Stryker vehicles.

Cluster munitions are bombs that open in the air and release scores of smaller bomblets, many of which do not explode, putting civilians at risk even long after wars end.

The planned delivery of cluster munitions does not come without controversy, as many close U.S. allies said they oppose the transfer of such weapons.

"We do not support the use of cluster munitions and are committed to putting an end to the effects cluster munitions have on civilians  particularly children," Canadas government said.

Germany, Britain, the United Nations, and others also expressed opposition to Washingtons plan.

The production, stockpiling, and use of cluster bombs were banned in 2008 under the Convention On Cluster Munitions, although the United States, Russia, and Ukraine have not signed on to the convention.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said on July 8 that the bombs would only be used to help Kyivs forces de-occupy Ukrainian territory and that they would not be used inside Russia.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called for greater global efforts to honor the international treaty banning cluster munitions and condemned Russia for "repeatedly" using such munitions in its war against Ukraine.

Ukraine says it needs cluster munitions to fire against dug-in Russian positions. It has promised to use the munitions carefully, Sullivan said, adding that the United States will send a version of the munition that has a reduced dud rate, meaning fewer of the bomblets fail to explode.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy thanked Biden and the American people for the "timely, broad and much-needed defense aid package," which he said would bring Ukraine closer to victory over the enemy and democracy closer to victory over dictatorship.

A video clip released on July 8, showed Zelenskiy visiting a Black Sea island whose defenders famously defied a Russian warship at the beginning of the war.

"Today we are on Snake Island, which will never be conquered by the occupiers, like the whole of Ukraine, because we are the country of the brave," Zelenskiy said in the undated clip, in which he was shown arriving on the island by boat and leaving flowers at a memorial.

"I want to thank from here, from this place of victory, each of our soldiers for these 500 days," Zelenskiy said.

Snake Island was captured by the Russian forces shortly after Moscow launched its brutal invasion on February 24, 2022, but ended up withdrawing from the area months later in late June 2022.

Zelenskiy traveled to Turkey on July 7 for talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the end of a four-nation tour ahead of next week's NATO summit in Vilnius. He said security guarantees and a Ukrainian grain export deal with Russia that Turkey helped broker last year were on the agenda.

Speaking at a joint press conference with Zelenskiy in Istanbul, Erdogan said that Kyiv deserved to join NATO but also urged it to enter peace talks with Moscow.

Erdogan also said Russian President Vladimir Putin will pay his first visit to Turkey since the Kremlin launched its invasion of Ukraine 500 days ago. He will discuss prisoner swaps with the Russian ruler next month, he said.

Zelenskiy has been touring the last two days to drum up support for his country's bid for an invitation to join NATO ahead of the military alliance's summit next week.

With reporting by AP, AFP, Hurriyet, and Reuters
KYIV -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on July 8 said he has brought home from Turkey five commanders taken prisoner by Russia during the brutal struggle in the city of Mariupol early in the war that culminated with a long, bloody holdout at the Azovstal steel plant.

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 counteroffensive, Western military aid, global reaction, and the plight of civilians. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war in Ukraine, click here.

The Kremlin angrily responded to Zelenskiys action, saying they were not informed of the commanders release and claiming the move violated an agreement with Ankara that they were to remain in Turkey until the end of the war.

In September 2022, Ukraine announced the release of 215 of its soldiers in exchange for dozens of Russian prisoners and a pro-Moscow politician.

As part of the deal and in cooperation with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Ukrainian president said the five commanders would remain in Turkey "in total security and in comfortable conditions" until the end of the war.

Upon his return to Kyiv with the men, Zelenskiy did not immediately explain why they were allowed to leave Turkey at this time.

We are returning home from Turkiye and bringing our heroes home, Zelenskiy wrote on Telegram.

Ukrainian soldiers Denys Prokopenko, Svyatoslav Palamar, Serhiy Volynsky, Oleh Khomenko, Denys Shleha. They will finally be with their relatives. Glory to Ukraine!

Mariupol city and its Azovstal steel plant were the scene of a long siege that ended in May 2022 and left Mariupol in ruins before 2,500 Ukrainian defenders finally surrendered.

Following Zelenskiy's announcement, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted by the RIA news agency as saying the return of the commanders was "nothing more than a direct violation of the terms of the existing agreements" by the Ukrainian and Turkish governments.

Peskov said under the terms of the prisoner swap, the commanders were to remain in Turkey until the end of the conflict. He added that Moscow had not been told of their release.

Turkish leaders did not immediately comment.

Separately, in his final hours in Turkey, Zelenskiy met with the Istanbul-based spiritual leader of the world's Orthodox Christians and discussed the implementation of Ukraines formula for peace and the return of children deported by Russia, Ukraines presidential office said.

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew has openly criticized Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Following the invasion, Bartholomew said Russia's Orthodox Church shared responsibility with the Kremlin for the conflict in Ukraine.

"The Ecumenical Patriarchate, as the Mother Church of all Orthodox in Ukraine, is always on their side," Bartholomew told Zelenskiy.

"I want to wish that all captives and all children who are now far from their homes return," he added.

On July 7, Zelenskiy met with Erdogan, who told him that Ukraine deserved to join NATO but also urged it to enter peace talks with Moscow.

"There is no doubt that Ukraine deserves membership of NATO," Erdogan told a joint news conference in Istanbul. But he added that "both sides should go back to peace talks."

He also said Russian President Vladimir Putin next month will pay his first visit to Turkey since the Kremlin launched its invasion of Ukraine 500 days ago. He will discuss prisoner swaps with the Russian ruler, he said.


Isabel Allendes office is a building filled with books.

For more than two decades, the Chilean author  born 80 years ago in Lima, Peru  has used a beautiful wooden Victorian house in the seaside town of Sausalito, north of San Francisco, as her center of operations. In several closets, there are stacks of the first editions of her novels, published in dozens of languages. The garage is also filled with hundreds of copies of the works that she has published over her 40-year career.

In the middle of this space, under the gable roof, there are dozens of folders covered with plastic. They protect the correspondence that Isabel Allende maintained for decades with her mother, Francisca Llona.

Allende works surrounded by her family. Her son, Nicolas, runs the office. Her daughter-in-law, Lori Barra, leads her foundation. The author writes her books at a rate of one every 18 months, on a huge iMac. Next to the computer is a photo of her daughter, Paula, who died at the age of 28  the same image that appears on the cover of the first edition of one of her best-selling books, Paula, written in the aftermath of her daughters death. Behind the desk, on a white bookcase, are photos of parents, children and grandchildren, interspersed with images of Isabel Allende alongside figures such as Antonio Banderas, Barack Obama and Chilean President Gabriel Boric, among others.

The writer has just published The Wind Knows My Name, a novel that begins in Austria, during Kristallnacht (Night of the Broken Glass) in November of 1938. It then examines the massacre of nearly a thousand Salvadoran peasants perpetrated by the military regime in the 1980s, until the story finally reaches the United States under Donald Trump, where the disintegration of families was daily policy along the border. Allende became interested in this topic after her philanthropic organization came across the case of a Central American minor who arrived in the US.

The basement of the Sausalito house is now filled with first editions of the new novel. But Allende plays down the empire of letters that she has at home. Just one fire and all of this goes away in the blink of an eye. There would be nothing left, she notes. This legacy is a very masculine thing, she adds, with a touch of humor.

Question: How is life as you approach 81?

Answer: Fantastic. It has never been better. Theres a feeling of freedom. Im done with the children, the grandchildren and my parents, so I dont have major responsibilities beyond the dogs. And my husband.

Q. And regarding your work? Have you become interested in new topics? Have you abandoned others?

A. The themes and emotions are repeated in different books. I have written historical novels, memoir, nonfiction. There are certain topics that Im passionate about: love, death, human relationships, loyalty, justice and power with impunity, which is one of the things that terrifies me the most.

The writer Isabel Allende. Lori Barra

Q. Youve dedicated your latest novel to immigration. Its quite political at times...

A. Its impossible to ignore the economic, social and political factors that determine the lives of the protagonists. In this case, without a doubt, the family separation policy was what determined the topic. When I found out about this policy, it hit me very hard, because through my foundation, we saw many such cases. One was of a little blind girl. It affected me terribly. She came [to the United States] with her four-year-old brother. They separated them from their mother, then they separated the children. It took eight months to reunite them. They then appeared before a judge: he deported them all to Mexico and they disappeared. We never heard from her again. [The story] stayed in my head, in my heart.

I began to think about how many times the same thing has happened before over the course of humanity. Of course, I remembered the kindertransport (the rescue of Jewish children from Nazi-controlled Europe to the UK after the Night of Broken Glass, shortly before World War II) and I made an arc between what happened then and now, where theres also a racist factor.

Q. Why dont you call Donald Trump by his name in the book?

A. Because the policy began before Trump and continued after him. It became official in the time of Trump. Also, I prefer not to name him because I dont like him so much...

Q. Does the Germany of 1938 seem comparable to Trumps America?

A. I dont compare the Holocaust with any other situation. It was a systematic genocide of an entire people. Theres also another genocide in this book, that of El Mozote, when [El Salvadors army] entered [the village] and killed everyone as an example, because they were Indigenous. There are so many things it was easy to relate.

Why the title of the book? Because children are given a number at the [US-Mexico] border, so they dont get lost in the system. Also, because some are so small that they dont know their names, or they speak Mayan or another language [other than Spanish]. The Jews were given numbers and, here, the children are also given numbers. Theres an echo in this.

Q. The book was born from the character of Anita.

A. I learned from the trauma of children at the border. One of the things is that they shut up and dont speak. Others stop eating. Others make up an imaginary friend and only talk to him, or an imaginary animal. Some create an imaginary world where they meet their mom, dad, or grandmother

Q. Why were you interested in the El Mozote massacre?

A. I had to justify why people leave [Central America]. Today, they ask: how is it possible that [the migrants] come, if they know that [the Border Patrol] can separate them from their children? They come because they are desperate. No one leaves their country and leaves everything they are familiar with  their language, what they know  to venture elsewhere, unless they are truly desperate. People leave because of extreme violence, or extreme poverty.

Leticias character is based on a friend. Every morning, we have a cappuccino and walk the dog. She comes from El Salvador. She lives in a mobile home, 20 minutes from my house.

Q. Speaking of El Salvador, what do you think of President Nayib Bukele?

A. The 1980s were horrendous with the military dictatorship. Then came democracy, where the gangs and drug traffickers took over the country. Now, we have Bukele  an authoritarian government that has about 60,000 people in prison. And there is security. My friend has just returned from El Salvador and she told me that this is the first time that she can take a taxi without thinking that shes going to be kidnapped. She dares to go out at night for the first time in decades. She says that people are very happy. Im very afraid that people will exchange security for democracy. That can also happen in Chile at any time.

Q. Why?

A. In Chile, theres a whole campaign to terrorize people. Its true that theres more insecurity than before but compared to any other country, Chile isnt particularly insecure. Its a stable country, [with] many opportunities. There was no problem with immigrants until crime began. [Now], it turns out that several Venezuelans have been caught, so they get blamed. In Chile, people are longing for a Bukele. I say: be careful. That was Pinochet. There was security in those days. But the insecurity and terror came from the state  not from criminals who walk the street.

Q. Do you find that the same racism that we reproach the United States for also exists in Latin American countries?

A. I insist and I say it clearly: in Chile, we are very racist. There, we call it classism but class is determined by color. The same goes for countries such as Brazil. Are you going to tell me that class isnt determined by race there? Clearly it is! In Colombia, too. Who runs the country? Those of European descent.

The writer Isabel Allende. Lori Barra

Q. Exile has been one of your great literary themes. You write that, with this phenomenon, the past is erased.

A. That happened to me in Venezuela. I believed that I was someone in Chile because I had a television program, because I did theater I published in magazines with great success and people knew me. [But then] I arrived in Venezuela and all that was erased. It didnt help me. When I came to the United States, it was different, because I was already a writer and had three books published. I also came here because I fell in love with an American, not [because I was] following the American dream.

Q. You say that, thanks to the pandemic, you no longer feel obliged to go to book fairs or signings.

A. Before, it was so difficult to say no. Now, suddenly, it has been super easy. Firstly, because of age: nobody expects that an 80 or 81-year-old is going to trot around like a circus dog. I also learned that its not really necessary. The last book tour I did was in Europe  I went with my daughter-in-law, because were always together. We did 23 cities in 30 days by plane. We came back so sick in February of 2020 that I think I brought COVID into this country, truly.

Q. But dont you lose contact with your readers?

A. If you look at my computer in the morning, you will see hundreds of messages. People  apart from telling me what they think about a book or something Ive said  consult me as if I were some kind of oracle. A 25-year-old girl writes to me and tells me that she has a boyfriend who hits her. Not always, but it happens. And I tell her to get out of that relationship at once, because these things never end there, they escalate until they kill you. A week later, I receive a letter from the boyfriend! He tells me how dare I give his girlfriend advice, without having listened to the other side of the story. All kinds of things reach me people who have lost a child, people who are looking for work or asking for money.

Q. Is it weird to become a strangers confidant?

A. I write about human relationships and emotions. These things are universal.

People connect with that not so much with the story. There are books that I think are better, much better than others, where the story seems very powerful to me and yet, people connect with a minor character. People tell me: You changed my life. I tell them that I didnt change anything. I put into words what was already in you  what was in your mind and in your heart. Also, people who disagree with me dont read my books. Im preaching to the choir.

Q. Your son Nicolas says that he always answers the first email that someone sends him.

A. Always the first. Very rarely do I continue a correspondence, because there are thousands of messages. I answer the first email because I visualize it as someone who has reached out a hand.

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UKRAINIAN refugees will be guests of honour of a theatre company next week as they bring their latest show to the stage.

Wales Community Theatre Players latest show, Showstoppers, makes its bow at Dinningtons Lyric Theatre next Thursday to Saturday, (July 13 to 15).

Refugees living in the area will enjoy a free ticket to the show, after the amateur performance group secured grant funding.

Trustee Joseph Bairstow said: For several years we have welcomed local children in need and young careers to our annual panto who might not otherwise get the chance to experience live theatre.

Now were delighted to welcome Ukrainians to Showstoppers, a fantastic night out of song and dance, in the hope it

can offer some relief in the most difficult of times and bring the community together.

Showstoppers: A Night at the Musicals is a rafter-raising collection of well-known show tunes, featuring songs from hit musicals like Anything Goes, Matilda, Six and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and familiar faces of WCTP - which has been running since 1940 - alongside newcomers.

Joseph added: Working together with Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council and thanks to a grant from Magic Little Grants, through the partnership between Localgiving and Postcode Neighbourhood Trust, we have been able to offer this

amazing experience to Ukrainian refugees and their hosts.

We cant wait to entertain them and get our audience smiling with joy.

Tickets for Showstoppers: A Night at the Musicals are available from walesctp.com or on 0114 383 0383.








Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillos plan seemed simple  persuade Rolando Alvarez to leave the country. They tried leveraging contacts at the Vatican who were negotiating the release of the Roman Catholic priest who has been a longtime critic of the Sandinista regime and the Bishop of Matagalpa (central Nicaragua) since 2011. But the secretive and tense negotiations in early July were anything but simple. The plan to put Alvarez on a flight to Rome collapsed in under 30 hours in the face of his steadfast determination to remain in Nicaragua. Sentenced to 26 years in prison in February, the bishop unwaveringly asserts his innocence. He staunchly refuses to leave his homeland, contending that he has committed no crime.

This marks the presidential couples second attempt at getting rid of the bishop. In February, when 222 political prisoners were deported to the United States, Alvarez refused to board the plane into exile. His refusal foiled the regimes attempt to quell a political backlash for imprisoning dissidents in deplorable conditions since June 2021, and fueled the ongoing outcry, both nationally and internationally, demanding his release and that of approximately 30 other political prisoners languishing in Managua.

When the first attempt to get rid of Alvarez failed, igniting the fury of Ortega and Murillo, the Bishop of Matagalpa was promptly sentenced to 26 years in prison for the political offense of betrayal of the homeland. Alvarez was placed under house arrest in August 2022, but was promptly transferred to a penitentiary after the trumped-up conviction. On the day of his sentencing, Ortega called Alvarez a terrorist, madman and deranged. Religious persecution in Nicaragua targeting Catholics quickly intensified.

The political analysts we interviewed say persecution of the Catholic Church ramped up dramatically. Holy Week processions were banned, nuns were deported, priests were arrested, churches were taxed and Catholic schools were closed. Sympathetic NGOs and media outlets were shut down. Bank accounts of Catholic dioceses and parishes were frozen to pressure the Vatican into removing the inconvenient bishop. But Alvarezs plight has produced a wave of moral support for the church amid this oppression. According to a CID Gallup survey commissioned by Confidencial, a staggering 79% of Nicaraguans reject Alvarezs conviction.

Bishop Rolando Alvarez preaches in 2021. Carlos Herrera

Secret negotiations

The Ortega-Murillo family finds itself severely isolated on the international stage because of their oppressive, totalitarian regime, and they have actively undermined bridge-building efforts. In March, the regime suspended diplomatic relations with the Vatican after Pope Francis likened the Sandinista government to a Hitlerian dictatorship. This effectively ended the Holy Sees capacity to advocate for the release of its bishop. Bishop Carlos Herrera, the President of the Nicaraguan Episcopal Conference (CEN) continues to push for dialogue with the government to secure Alvarezs freedom, but his efforts have also been fruitless. During a visit to Rome in late June, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva inserted himself in the stalemate and announced that he would negotiate Alvarezs release.

The negotiations were shrouded in secrecy until diplomatic sources revealed on July 4 that Alvarez had been transferred out of La Modelo prison. Reports emerged of ongoing negotiations between the Nicaraguan government, the Vatican and the National Council of Bishops aimed at securing the bishops release. In the meantime, speculation regarding his whereabouts intensified.

EL PAIS interviewed several diplomats and clergymen who said the negotiations were tough and tense. A delegate from the Vaticans Secretariat of State participated in a video conference with the Sandinista government and the Nicaraguan bishops, but Alvarez reportedly persisted in rejecting the terms of his exile.

The negotiations crumbled as Alvarez adamantly held his ground, refusing to leave Nicaragua and insisting on the unconditional release of all priests who had been convicted by the Ortega-Murillo regime, including himself. Additionally, he pressed for the dioceses, parishes, and priests bank accounts to be unfrozen. The presidential couple dismissed every demand.

Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes, in his usual timid manner, attempted to downplay the failed negotiations. He provided statements to select media outlets dismissing the reports of Alvarezs release as pure speculation. The cardinal said Alvarez remains incarcerated in La Modelo prison and criticized all the media coverage. Brenes also made it clear that he has had no contact with Alvarez, his brother in faith who remains a political prisoner.

Alvarez firmly maintained that he would depart Nicaragua solely upon receiving explicit directives from Pope Francis. However, it has not been confirmed whether the Pontiff issued any specific order in this regard. Francis hasnt told him to leave his country and travel to Rome, neither before nor during this negotiation, said our diplomatic source. As a result, the bishop maintained his unwavering intent to stay in Nicaragua, exhausting all avenues of negotiation. Alvarez was returned to La Modelo prison on July 5 where he has been held in isolation since February.
Hyundai will launch their new mini-SUV called Exter on 10th July 2023  It will take on Tata Punch

The Hyundai EXTER is a feature-packed SUV set to be launched in India on July 10th, 2023. Ahead of launch, the first units have started to arrive at the dealer yard. With its impressive array of advanced technologies and safety features, the EXTER aims to redefine the driving experience in its segment.

In terms of design, the EXTER impresses with its H-Signature LED DRLs, projector headlamps, sporty skid plate, and diamond-cut alloys. The parametric front grille, side sill cladding and blacked-out wheel arches enhance its aggressive stance. The parametric design, C-pillar garnish, floating roof design, and sporty bridge-type roof rails add a touch of style to the EXTERs exterior.

New Hyundai Exter arrives at dealer yard

The EXTER boasts a 20.32 cm (8) HD touchscreen and a 10.67 cm (4.2) colour TFT Multi-Information Display (MID), providing a seamless and interactive infotainment experience. With a wide range of (over 60) connected features powered by Hyundai Bluelink, the EXTER is the most connected SUV in its class. It supports embedded voice commands for uninterrupted response and convenience. Additionally, the infotainment system can receive over-the-air (OTA) updates, ensuring that the software and maps are always up to date.

One of the standout features of the EXTER is the H2C Voice Commands for home-to-car commands in English and Hindi. The infotainment UI supports 10 regional and 2 international languages, catering to a diverse range of users. To enhance the driving experience, the EXTER offers seven ambient sounds of nature, creating a relaxed and calming atmosphere.

Comfort and convenience are prioritized in the EXTER, with its superior cabin space, optimized seat height, and floor level for easy ingress and egress. Upholstery adorned with the EXTER branding, adds a touch of exclusivity.

Hyundai EXTER: A Feature-Packed Mini-SUV Ready to Take on the Tata Punch

Safety is paramount in the EXTER, as it comes equipped with six airbags in all variants/trims. An inclusive range of safety features are offered as an option on entry-level trims. The safety suite ensures enhanced stability and control in challenging driving conditions.

The EXTER offers multiple powertrain options, including a 1.2-liter Kappa petrol engine paired with a 5-speed manual transmission or Smart Auto AMT. It also provides a bi-fuel option with a 1.2-liter Kappa petrol engine and CNG, paired with a 5-speed MT.

With its advanced features, safety innovations, and stylish design, the Hyundai EXTER aims to set a new standard in the SUV segment. Whether its the connected features, comfortable cabin, or cutting-edge safety technologies, the EXTER offers a comprehensive package that caters to the needs of modern drivers.
Rumion will be the next car launch from Toyota in India  It is based on Maruti Ertiga

Toyota, one of the worlds leading automotive manufacturers, is all set to expand its presence in the Indian market with the launch of the much-anticipated Rumion MPV. With a host of exciting features and a reputation for reliability, the Rumion aims to redefine the MPV segment in India.

As Toyota continues to cater to the evolving needs of Indian consumers, this upcoming launch promises to deliver a compelling blend of comfort, practicality, and advanced technology. Lets delve deeper into what we can expect from the Toyota Rumion MPV when it hits Indian shores in September.

Toyota Rumion MPV for India  Maruti Ertiga rival

Upcoming Toyota Rumion will be based on the Maruti Ertiga. This will be yet another car to be shared between the two brands. In India, the two brands already share  Baleno / Glanza, Grand Vitara / Hyryder, Innova HyCross / Invicto. Next in line will be Ertiga / Rumion. Toyota already sells Rumion MPV in South Africa. It does not get much design changes or feature updates, and is more or less similar to the Maruti Ertiga we have on sale in India. Same could be expected of the Toyota Rumion when it goes on sale in India.

Maruti will be manufacturing the Rumion MPV at their plant. It will get a new grille in the front, with the Toyota logo. Headlight design remains the same and so does the alloys. The cabin will be the same as the Maruti Ertiga. Toyota Rumion MPV offers generous legroom and headroom for all three rows, ensuring a pleasant journey even on long drives. With flexible seating configurations and a range of storage compartments, the Rumion excels in adaptability, catering to the diverse needs of modern families and their varying cargo requirements.

Advanced Technology and Safety Features:

Toyota has always been at the forefront of incorporating advanced technology and safety features in its vehicles, and the Rumion is no exception. The MPV is expected to come equipped with a comprehensive infotainment system, featuring a touchscreen display, smartphone integration, and connectivity options. Additionally, advanced safety features like multiple airbags, ABS with EBD, traction control, and parking sensors are likely to be included, ensuring a secure and enjoyable driving experience.

Efficient Performance and Reliability:

Toyota vehicles are known for their efficient performance and reliability, and the Rumion is expected to continue this legacy. While specific engine details for the Indian market are yet to be disclosed, the MPV is likely to offer a choice of petrol and CNG powertrains. It will be powered by the same 1.5 liter petrol NA engine from the Maruti Ertiga, that returns 104 PS and 138 Nm. The Rumion will prioritize fuel efficiency without compromising on power, allowing families to embark on long journeys with peace of mind.

Competitive Pricing and After-sales Service:

Toyota has always aimed to offer competitive pricing for its vehicles, and the Rumion is expected to be no different. By providing an attractive price point, Toyota aims to make the Rumion an appealing option in the MPV segment. Furthermore, Toyotas strong after-sales service network and a reputation for reliability ensure that customers will receive excellent support throughout their ownership experience.

The launch of the Toyota Rumion MPV in India is highly anticipated and promises to raise the bar in the segment. With its striking design, spacious interiors, advanced features, and Toyotas renowned reliability, the Rumion has the potential to capture the attention of Indian buyers seeking a comfortable and practical MPV. As September approaches, the excitement builds, and consumers eagerly await the opportunity to experience Toyotas latest offering firsthand. With its arrival, the Toyota Rumion is poised to make a significant impact in the Indian MPV market. Expect prices to be in the range of Rs 9 lakh to 13 lakh, ex-sh.

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A crowd of sub-Saharan African migrants push and shove to board a train at the station in Sfax, Tunisia, on Wednesday. HOUSSEM ZOUARI (AFP)

Bottled-up pressure in Sfax (located 270 kilometers [about 168 miles] south of Tunisias capital), the epicenter of irregular migration in the central Mediterranean, erupted with tinges of discrimination against thousands of sub-Saharan Africans. The Tunisian authorities expelled dozens of West African migrants from the port city to a desert area on the border with Libya following a wave of violence in which a Tunisian national was stabbed to death on Monday, local human rights NGOs reported on Wednesday night. Many of the more than 10,000 sub-Saharan Africans waiting in Sfax to board a boat for the Italian coast have regrouped at the railway station to try to escape a city taken over by security forces amid a climate of increasing harassment of black Africans.

The NGO Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights (FTDES) and two dozen other organizations that closely follow migration issues have reported that a hundred migrants and refugees from Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Mali, Chad and Guinea-Conakry, including women and minors, were expelled from the city to Ben Gardane, a desert area bordering Libya, on Wednesday. The displaced, whom the police rounded up at the Sfax fairgrounds, have complained of mistreatment, theft of their money and destruction of their cell phones. Another 50 sub-Saharan Africans had already been transferred to the same area over the weekend.

The funeral of a Tunisian who was stabbed to death by a sub-Saharan African man on Tuesday in Sfax. HOUSSEM ZOUARI (AFP)

Hundreds of the coastal citys residents have organized to guard their neighborhoods and demand the immediate departure of irregular migrants in protest of the death of a 41-year-old Tunisian who was stabbed in a clash with sub-Saharan Africans, France Presse reports. Neighborhood patrols have set up barricades and burned tires to close access to their districts. Social media has also been awash with images of police raids to expel migrants from their homes amid applause from neighbors (the authenticity of these photos could not be independently verified). Other recordings show sub-Saharan Africans lying on the ground, surrounded by people armed with sticks, and there are reports that dozens of wounded black Africans have been admitted to the hospital.

Tension between the inhabitants of Sfax and sub-Saharan African migrants had previously surfaced last May, when a Beninese man died in hospital after being stabbed by seven Tunisians. Himma Hamad, the director of immigration at the Sfax branch of the Tunisian League for Human Rights, told EL PAIS that she had received dozens of complaints about assaults on sub-Saharan African migrants following a xenophobic speech Tunisian President Kais Said gave last February; he now governs by decree after having dissolved Parliament two years ago. Said described the presence of tens of thousands of sub-Saharan Africansthere are between 20,000 and 40,000, according to sourcesamong the countrys 11 million inhabitants as hordes that pose a demographic threat to Tunisias Arab identity.

On Tuesday, the president once again insisted that Tunisia will not accept those who do not respect the law in its territory " and that the full weight of justice will also be brought to bear on those who host illegal migrants in their homes, rent to them or offer them work. The Tunisian League for Human Rights points out that in addition to experiencing social harassment and labor exploitation, sub-Saharan Africans salaries are two-thirds less than what Tunisians earn, and in Sfax they live under the constant threat of being evicted from their homes.

President Said also warned that Tunisia refuses to become a country of transit to Europe or of resettlement of citizens from some African countries. Last month, the European Union offered the country a contribution of more than 1 billion ($1,096,695,000) in aid to stem the flow of small boats from Tunisian shores to Italy. President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte traveled to the Tunisian capital, promising to help the country tackle the reforms demanded by the International Monetary Fund in exchange for a financial rescue plan that entails high social and employment costs.

Sub-Saharan African migrants rest in Sfax, Tunisia, on Wednesday amid the wave of racial tension. IMED HADDAD (AFP)

Faced with the massive arrival of migrants in makeshift boats from Tunisia to the Italian coast, especially to the island of Lampedusa, the EU has offered a package of 105 million ($115,152,975)triple the annual funding of the last two yearsfor border control programs, searches and the return of irregular migrants. The General Union of Tunisian Workers (UGTT), the countrys largest union, has blamed the Tunisian president for aggravating the migration situation by agreeing to become the gendarme of the Mediterranean, and by systematically intercepting irregular migrant boats to drive them to the port of Sfax.

In the first four months of 2023, nearly 19,000 migrant interceptions were recorded on the route to Italy; they represented 82% of the ones in 2022. Amid the blockade on the Moroccan, Algerian and Libyan coasts, Tunisia is now the main escape valve for African migratory pressure across the Mediterranean to Europe. The 100 kilometers (about 62 miles) of coastline between Sfax and Mahdia (in the north) account for almost 75% of the boat departures from Tunisia. Located less than 200 kilometers (about 124 miles) from Sfaxhalf a days sail with a small outboard motorthe Italian island of Lampedusa is the gateway to Europe for the thousands of sub-Saharan Africans arriving off the coast of Tunisia.

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Audiologist David Illich holds a large model of the human ear in his Escondido office. He has spent the past 12 years helping low-income people with hearing loss get free hearing aids.

In August 2005, Hurricane Katrina devastated Mississippis Gulf Coast, where David Illich grew up and much of his family still lives. In the weeks and months after the catastrophic storm, the Escondido audiologist was overwhelmed by the generosity shown to his relatives and other storm victims by his patients, his friends and even strangers.

Thats when he came up with a way to thank some of this communitys neediest residents by giving them the gift of sound. With sponsorship from Palomar Health, he launched Hear for the Holidays, an annual essay contest that has since awarded state-of-the-art hearing aids to a dozen recipients, as well as less-expensive devices for more than 60 other people.

And this week, Illich and his wife, Kathleen, are in southern Mexico, helping to fit more than 1,500 poor children and adults with free hearing aids from the national organization So the World May Hear.

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Illich said being in the room when people begin to hear again, sometimes after many years of near-silence, is an experience that never gets old.

Theres nothing more beautiful in life than giving people back the ability to communicate, he said. When people lose their hearing they have no concept of what they lost. Its amazing when we can give back that love.

Illich, a past president of the California Audiology Association, said more than 325 million people worldwide have significant hearing loss and no access to help. In the U.S., the problem could soon reach crisis proportions as every day roughly 10,000 Americans turn 65.

And its not just older adults facing problems. One of the nations fastest-growing age groups with hearing damage is age 19 and under, because of teens heavy use of deep-insert ear bud headphones.

Although hearing aids can offer tremendous help to most users, theyre not covered by many insurance plans and their cost (up to $7,000 a pair) is out of reach for many.

Lots of these people are single moms who are working two or three jobs and who have set their own needs aside to care for others, Illich said. These are people who fall between the cracks. They make too much to qualify for Medicaid but too little to afford hearing aids.

Among those helped by Illichs Hear for the Holidays program is 2007 winner Devra Willett of Poway, 62, who was secretly entered in the contest by her sister and a coworker.

The longtime bartender and restaurant waitress was in danger of losing both jobs because she couldnt hear customers orders or when they called after her with a request. Because her hearing loss had been gradual, Willett said she didnt realize how it had affected her confidence, her relationship with her children and her comfort in public and group conversations.

The first day I put on my hearing aids, I thought the birds would fly right through the window and the plane overhead would crash. Oh my gosh I didnt realize how long Id gone without these sounds, she said. People dont realize how lonely you can become when you cant hear. I think if I had to choose between losing my sight or my hearing, it would be a toss-up, because when you cant hear you are so alone.

Illich, 60, grew up in Biloxi, Miss., and attended the University of Southern Mississippi, where he ended up taking classes in speech and hearing sciences on a whim. While looking for a science elective, one of his male classmates encouraged Illich to check out that department because it had the prettiest female students.

Although Illich didnt find his soulmate there, he did fall in love with the science of audiology and went on to earn his masters and doctorate in the field. He started his practice, Professional Hearing Associates, in Escondido in 1984 and is now chief of audiology for Palomar Health and Pomerado Hospital, as well as a contractor at Tri-City Medical Center.

Many of his patients are adults in their 40s to 60s, though he sometimes sees young people as well as the very old. He said people routinely put off getting their hearing checked and they will often make excuses for why they no longer talk on the phone, go to church or engage in family discussions.

Some have purchased inexpensive hearing aids and were so unhappy with the results they simply assume theres no hope. But the right fit and equipment can work miracles, he said.

Ive sat here in my chair and cried when I see it happen, he said. I had a couple in here in their 90s who were still very much in love but no longer talked because they couldnt hear each other. When they got their hearing aids, they were sitting here chatting up a storm like schoolkids again.

Each year, Illich receives about 15 to 25 essay applications for the Hear for the Holidays contest. A committee made up of himself and other audiologists, senior services workers, patients and emergency workers make the final selection for the prize, a set of Starkey Muse i2400 hearing aids. A handful of runners-up each year also received lower-priced and refurbished sets.

This years winner is Lorna Nanasca of Poway. She was secretly entered in the contest by her 32-year-old son, Rommel, who has spinal muscular atrophy and she is his full-time caregiver. Because she couldnt hear him when he called, Rommel would often have to call her cellphone or use a portable doorbell device to summon her from the next room. Lorna received her new hearing aids three weeks ago and said she cant believe the change.

Oh my god it changed a lot! I can hear everything, even the tick-tock of the clock on the wall. Its amazing and a luxury I could never have afforded myself, she said.

Another charitable effort that Illich supports is So the World May Hear, a charity started by Starkey founder Bill Austin in 1999. Starkey collects used and broken hearing aids from all over the country and refurbishes them for reuse in third-world countries. Over the past 17 years, it has sent teams of audiologists into the field to serve 775,000 people in more than 100 countries.

Because Illich and his wife  a second grade teacher at Reidy Creek Elementary  were raising two children, they werent able to go on these mission trips in the past, but they supported them with donations. Also, Illich collected used hearing aids for the cause, including 87 devices last May at Palomar Health. But with their kids now grown, the Illiches have embarked on their first mission trip this week in Mexico, with visits planned in Chiapas and the Yucatan.

They return on Friday and Illich said they plan to do many more such trips in the future, including a visit to Haiti next October where theyll fit hearing aids on children at two orphanages.

Willett, the 2014 winner, said shes not surprised that her audiologist is giving so much of his time and expertise to the charitable organizations.

He is the sweetest man and he gives it from his heart, she said. Its his passion to help people.

pam.kragen@sduniontribune.com
Attorneys for a South Texas woman convicted three decades ago of killing her boyfriend in California were at a loss Friday to explain her indictment this week on a capital murder charge after her 6-year-old stepson drowned during a beach outing.

Court records indicate a Nueces County grand jury indicted Laura Lee Day, 47, of Corpus Christi Thursday on three charges: capital murder, injury to a child with intent to cause serious bodily injury and child endangerment.

I was taken by surprise by it, Gabi Canales, one of Days attorneys, said Friday. We intend to defend the charges.

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Day could face execution or life in prison if convicted in the Oct. 5 death of Taylor Syring. She was held in the Nueces County jail Friday.

Asked if he thought Days 1982 second-degree murder conviction in California would have played a role in the indictment, Canales co-counsel, Les Cassidy, said, I dont believe that figures into this case at all. Canales and Cassidy declined to comment further on Days case, but said they expected her to be arraigned next week.

The Nueces County district attorney did not return a call for comment.

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Division of Juvenile Justice confirmed Friday that Laura Lee Feist, sharing the same birthdate with Laura Lee Day, was convicted in Orange County in 1982 of second-degree murder and sent to the juvenile detention system until she was 25.

The Los Angeles Times reported at the time that the then-17-year-old girl fatally shot her 21-year-old boyfriend in Laguna Beach after he told her he wanted to end the relationship. She then turned the gun on herself. She survived and was tried as an adult.

Court records in Maryland also show that Day, then using the married name Laura Lee Marsden, was convicted in 1993 of one count of bigamy for marrying a man while still married to another. Her six-month sentence was suspended.

In 1996, Laura Lee Bush was convicted in Maryland of insurance fraud after setting her car on fire and reporting it stolen to collect the insurance, according to court records. Bush was Days mothers name, according to the Los Angeles Times account of her murder case, and the birthdate on the case matches Days.

Corpus Christi police say Day brought her unconscious 6-year-old stepson to the emergency room on the evening of Oct. 5. Attempts to revive the boy were unsuccessful.

Day told police she watched Taylor play in the water and allowed him to take his life jacket off while he was in the shallow water. She said at some point he disappeared under the water and surfaced face down.

Police arrested Day three days later on a child endangerment charge.

Neither of Taylors parents responded to calls from The Associated Press Friday.
A woman in front of a screen, which shows the evolution of the Sao Paulo Stock Exchange, on Thursday, July 6, 2023 AMANDA PEROBELLI (REUTERS)

Around the world, paying taxes is usually a thankless task, a nuisance. But, for Brazilian workers, the process is an actual hell.

The tax system in the South American giant is baroque  extremely complex, full of exceptions and exemptions. Quite incredibly, its one of the few in the world that, since the 1990s, exempts the dividends that companies distribute to their shareholders from being taxed.

Brazils tax system, more than anything, is profoundly unfair. The tax burden is based much more on the consumption of food or services  which are required by both the rich and the poor  than on income or wealth. Taxes punish the most vulnerable; instead of alleviating brutal inequality, they exacerbate it.

After three decades of debate, the Chamber of Deputies  the lower house of the National Congress  comfortably approved a tax reform late Thursday night. 382 deputies voted in favor, 118 against, while three abstained. Now, the legislation moves on to the Senate for approval.

The projects ambitions are low. It seeks to unify the five consumption taxes and adopt a VAT  a value-added tax. Actually, two VATs, as Brazil tends to have an aversion to simplicity. All magnitudes are gigantic in this country of 203 million inhabitants (according to the last census), 27 states (as many as there are countries in the EU) and 5,000 municipalities. Accordingly, the figures related to any fiscal matter are dizzying. For example, in no country in the world does a company need to dedicate so many hours to the tax bureaucracy: on average, 2,960 hours are required by a company that has a revenue of $8 million that is, 123 days of the year, according to a study by Deloitte. Among wage earners, its not uncommon to simply entrust income statements to accountants, who promise to take advantage of even the smallest loopholes. Jefferson Nascimento  coordinator of social and economic justice for Oxfam  warns that the complexity of the system masks the inequality it generates.

The speed of the tax reform negotiations in recent days has been spectacular. Members of the Congress have dedicated eternal debates to this subject in recent years  debates that, time and time again, have come to nothing, due to the power of lobby groups. Lobbyists managed to neutralize the previous attempt at reform during Jair Bolsonaros administration (2018-2022). This week, however, the Chamber of Deputies suspended every part of the parliamentary agenda that didnt have to do with taxes, to ensure that the project was voted on as soon as possible after a first reading.

While parliamentarians, governors and mayors are having discussions (calculators in hand), the media has tried to explain the intricacies and novelties of the tax system with simple examples. According to an editorial in the Brazilian newspaper O Globo, the countrys tax system is the most opaque, complex and expensive in the world.

On top of this, the system is regressive. At the start of the legislative session, Nascimento  from Oxfam, one of the NGOs fighting for taxes to be an instrument of the redistribution of wealth  explained that in Brazil, more than half of the tax [revenue] comes from taxes on consumption  a percentage much higher than the OECD (the group of the most developed countries) average. This means that the poor end up paying more than the rich because, at the other extreme, income and wealth are taxed little.

The Brazilian income tax is progressive, with a maximum rate of 27.5% paid by any employee who earns a salary starting at $950 a month (3.5 times the minimum wage), up to the highest-paid banker in the country. But it wasnt always like this  at the end of the 1980s, the top marginal rate was 45%. For this reason, Brazil also has its version of Warren Buffet, who complains that he pays less taxes than his secretary. Hes the founder and CEO of a thriving business  Petz  a chain of stores with everything any pet lover could dream of. I, as the CEO of my company, pay [a lower tax rate] than any one of our cashiers. Its a shame, Sergio Zimerman lamented, during an interview a few months ago. If people knew how much they pay [in taxes] on each product, there would be a riot. Its not easy to know, because understanding the ins and outs of the system practically requires a graduate degree in taxation. For the Brazilian businessman  whose company is listed on the stock market  its absurd for someone to defend [the idea] that dividends shouldnt be taxed.

This exemption  introduced in Brazil in 1995  is almost unique in the world. Only two tiny European countries  which have nowhere near the brutal inequality of the richest country in Latin America  dont tax the profits distributed by companies, according to the US-based Tax Foundation. That is, precisely, explains the Oxfam expert, the main source of income for the mega-rich. The 0.2% of Brazilians with the highest income receive 70% of [their earnings] through dividends, he says.

Tax exemptions are common in Brazil. The pressure from corporate lobby groups is enormous and the congresspeople are easy to convince  every year, all sorts of waivers are incorporated. This hits many different products and services, including one of the most popular deserts on the planet: ice cream. It turns out that, in its classic version, you pay 5% tax on the sale price in Brazil. But, with a slight change in composition  and when its baptized as a milk drink  fiscal magic occurs, with zero taxes being imposed. McDonalds knows this well. For instance, instead of vanilla ice cream, a treat called Casquinha Baunilha triumphs a super-crunchy cone with a vanilla milk drink.

The deductions are countless. And the menu of tax exemptions is rich and varied. A long list is drawn up by the Association of Tax Inspectors under the National Treasury of Brazil, presented as money that the state refuses to collect. The chapter dealing with corporate profits and dividends alone resulted in a whopping $15 billion in deductions in 2022. The Brazilian government could easily collect this amount if it had implemented a tax on large fortunes, which was once part of the constitution.

Some of the most privileged companies benefit from the deductions established by the tax inspectors, when it comes to settling accounts with the Treasury. The Vale mining company  one of the most valuable Brazilian firms  benefited from exemptions worth $3.8 billion in 2022, partly due to its donations to the cultural sector. This is one of the most surprising examples, but the cunning is endless.

Some of the key data related to the reform  such as the exact percentage of the new VATs  will be discussed later. At the moment, the plan is to set the VATs at around 20-25%. While these details are being ironed out in a constitutional amendment (which will need to be added to one of the most extensive constitutions in the world), even if the reform goes ahead, it will still require a complementary law to be passed. And, of course, there will be a transition period that  according to the proposal  could go past this decade.

Although the redistribution of wealth was one of the key promises made by Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva during his presidential campaign, nobody is expecting drastic or revolutionary changes. Rather, the executive branch sees the creation of the VATs  as well as the formation of a regulatory body that distributes the proceeds between the states and municipalities  as being key to beginning the process of simplifying the baroque tax system. Minister of Finance Fernando Haddad  who belongs to Lulas center-left Workers Party  hasnt repeated what he vowed in April, that companies that dont pay taxes and have benefits are going to start contributing.

This past Wednesday, Haddad took on a more diplomatic and ambiguous tone at a press conference: No one is thinking in the very short-term, [about] profits or losses. Were thinking that Brazil will grow with this reform  more investment will come because there will be more legal certainty and it will bring greater peace of mind to public administrators, so that they have the necessary resources to honor social commitments. Everyone wins.

In the meantime, a good part of the tax revenue will continue to come from everyday products, such as the national dish, rice and feijao (beans). With the reform, Brazilians living in shanty towns will no longer have to pay taxes on basic necessities and neither will their fellow citizens who live in mansions with pools.

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Opinion articles written in the style of their author. These texts are to be based on verified facts and must be respectful towards people, even though their actions may be criticized. All opinion articles written by individuals from outside the staff of EL PAIS shall feature, along with the authors name (regardless of their greater or lesser renown), a footer stating their office, academic title, political affiliation (if any) and main occupation, or the occupation related to the topic being assessed

A reaction from the conservative Church to Pope Francis decision to appoint Victor Manuel Fernandez, Archbishop of La Plata, heir of the old Inquisition, responsible for overseeing the purity of doctrine, as head of the Congregation of the Faith, was to be expected.

Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Muller, who had been appointed by the late Benedict XVI, the conservative German theologian Joseph Ratzinger, has just given an interview to Michael Hayenes, of Life Site News, in which he harshly criticizes the new appointment of the Argentinean Fernandez.

Although at times with the felicitous language of ecclesiastics, the former head of Ratzingers Holy Office, has been hard on Pope Francis, whom he has accused of having opened the Church to progressive doctrines. According to the German cardinal, only a fool can speak of a springtime in the Church.

In the interview, the theologian goes so far as to be subtly critical of the revolutionary ideas of Pope Francis whom, subliminally, he accuses of being vain. The Church of the Triune God, the German theologian affirms, does not need a new foundation or modernization, as if she had become a dilapidated house and as if weak men could surpass the divine master builder. Cardinal Muller reminds us, with his eyes fixed on Francis, that the Pope and bishops cannot demand obedience for their private opinions,. And even less, he stresses, confuse faith with power games, a consequence of self-esteem or the search for glory.

According to Muller, the doctrine of the Church is the expression of the word of God and we men cannot complete, correct or modernize it. The cardinal, however, wanted to remind that he is not an enemy of the Pope, although he underlines that there is a ghost over the Sacred Palaces: schisms.

The former Prefect of the Congregation of the Faith, removed from office by Pope Francis, speaks of the possibility that a schism could occur within the important Church of Germany, because of Pope Francis openness to gay marriage, something that, according to Muller, is against the word of God.

Already last January, Cardinal Muller, accused Pope Francis of forgetting the conservatives and went so far as to state that blessing homosexuals, is against God. The German cardinal insists that Pope Francis theological overtures can lead to power games a consequence of self-esteem or glory-seeking, a subliminal way of accusing him of vanity.

According to the cardinal, the Argentinean Fernandez has insisted from the very beginning on the dangers of what he calls modernizing the faith, and adds: We men cannot complete, correct or modernize the word of God, a serious and lurid accusation against Pope Francis.

One of the points of divergence between the German cardinal and the Pope is the possibility of the Church allowing divorced people who love each other to remarry in the Church. According to Muller, the sacrament of marriage is indissoluble by divine will. No one can change it. And it must be between a man and a woman. And he explains that the only possibility for the divorced is to return to the legitimate spouse or to desist from relationships that are not valid. To put it in the local language: if they have been divorced, let them get back together or put up with it.

The curious thing is that Cardinal Mulller should not forget that the only sacrament in which the officiants are the spouses is that of marriage, of which the priest is simply a witness.

In the early Christian communities, those who wished to be united in marriage simply advised the rest of the community that they were henceforth going to form a family. What consecrated them was the desire to share a life of love.

This is what Pope Francis intends when he refers to primitive Christianity, which gradually became dogmatized and became entrenched in theological discussions that Jesus criticized the Pharisees and the law-loving priests who loved the letter rather than the spirit of the law.

Cardinal Muller does not seem to forgive Pope Francis, whom he does not consider a theologian, for having relieved him of his office. Even less so for having placed at the head of the dogmatic tribunal of the Church an Argentine friend of his, Fernandez, who shares with him his ideas on the subject of the Church and sexuality.

Francis is also criticized for the resurgence of the importance that women had had in primitive and original Christianity. In fact, Francis calls everything a new springtime for the Church. A madness, underlines the cardinal on whom the late Pope Ratzinger, his friend and friend, was inspired.

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Researchers have known that a lack of quality sleep can increase a person's risk of diabetes. What has remained a mystery, however, is why.

Now, new findings from a team of sleep scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, are closer to an answer. The researchers have uncovered a potential mechanism in humans that explains how and why deep-sleep brain waves at night are able to regulate the body's sensitivity to insulin, which in turn improves blood sugar control the next day.

"These synchronized brain waves act like a finger that flicks the first domino to start an associated chain reaction from the brain, down to the heart, and then out to alter the body's regulation of blood sugar," said Matthew Walker, a UC Berkeley professor of neuroscience and psychology and senior author of the new study. "In particular, the combination of two brain waves, called sleep spindles and slow waves, predict an increase in the body's sensitivity to the hormone called insulin, which consequentially and beneficially lowers blood glucose levels."

The researchers say this is an exciting advance because sleep is a modifiable lifestyle factor that could now be used as part of a therapeutic and painless adjunct treatment for those with high blood sugar or Type 2 diabetes.

Scientists also noted an additional benefit besides the potential new mechanistic pathway.

"Beyond revealing a new mechanism, our results also show that these deep-sleep brain waves could be used as a sensitive marker of someone's next-day blood sugar levels, more so than traditional sleep metrics," said Vyoma D. Shah, a researcher at Walker's Center for Human Sleep Science and co-author of the study. "Adding to the therapeutic relevance of this new discovery, the findings also suggest a novel, non-invasive tool -- deep-sleep brain waves -- for mapping and predicting someone's blood sugar control."

The team's findings were published today in the journal Cell Reports Medicine.

For years, researchers have studied how the coupling of non-rapid eye movement sleep spindles and deep, slow brain waves corresponded to an entirely different function -- that of learning and memory. Indeed, the same team of UC Berkeley researchers previously found that deep-sleep brain waves improved the ability of the hippocampus -- the part of the brain associated with learning -- to retain information.

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But this new research builds on a 2021 rodent study and reveals a novel and previously unrecognized role for these combined brain waves in humans when it comes to the critical bodily function of blood sugar management.

The UC Berkeley researchers first examined sleep data in a group of 600 individuals. They found that this particular coupled set of deep-sleep brain waves predicted next-day glucose control, even after controlling for other factors such as age, gender and the duration and quality of sleep.

"This particular coupling of deep-sleep brain waves was more predictive of glucose than an individual's sleep duration or sleep efficiency," said Raphael Vallat, a UC Berkeley postdoctoral fellow and co-author of the study. "That indicates there is something uniquely special about the electrophysiological quality and coordinated ballet of these brain oscillations during deep sleep."

Next, the team then set out to explore the descending pathway that might explain the connection between these deep-sleep brain waves sending a signal down into the body, ultimately predicting the regulation of blood glucose.

The findings from the team reveal an unfolding set of steps that could help explain how and why these deep-sleep brain waves are related to superior blood sugar control. First, they found that stronger and more frequent coupling of the deep-sleep brain waves predicted a switch in the body's nervous system state into the more quiescent and calming branch, called the parasympathetic nervous system. They measured that change in the body and the shift to this low-stress state using heart rate variability as a proxy.

Next, the team turned its attention to the final step of blood sugar balance.

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The researchers further discovered that this deep sleep switch to the calming branch of the nervous system further predicted an increased sensitivity of the body to the glucose-regulating hormone called insulin, which instructs cells to absorb glucose from the bloodstream, preventing a deleterious blood sugar spike.

That's particularly important for people trying to back away from hyperglycemia and Type 2 diabetes.

"In the electrical static of sleep at night, there is a series of connected associations, such that deep-sleep brain waves telegraph a recalibration and calming of your nervous system the following day," Walker said. "This rather marvelous associated soothing effect on your nervous system is then associated with a reboot of your body's sensitivity to insulin, resulting in a more effective control of blood sugar the next day."

The researchers subsequently replicated the same effects by examining a separate group of 1,900 participants.

"Once we replicated the findings in a different cohort, I think we actually started to feel more confident in the results ourselves," Walker said. "But I'll wait for others to replicate it before I truly start believing, such is my British skepticism."

The scientists said the research is particularly exciting given the potential clinical significance years down the line. Diabetes treatments already on the market can sometimes be difficult for patients to adhere to. The same is true of the recommended lifestyle changes, including different eating habits and regular exercise.

Sleep, however, is a largely painless experience for most people.

And while sleep is not going to be the single magic bullet, the prospect of new technologies that can safely alter brain waves during deep sleep that this new research has uncovered may help people better manage their blood sugar. That, the research team said, is reason for hope.
KYODO NEWS - Jul 7, 2023 - 23:20 | World, All

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told China's Premier Li Qiang on Friday in the Chinese capital that Washington seeks "healthy competition" with Beijing, not a "winner-take-all" approach, according to U.S. media reports.

Yellen, on her first trip to the Asian powerhouse as Treasury chief, also reportedly said the United States will, in certain circumstances, need to "pursue targeted actions to protect its national security."

Yellen's four-day China visit through Sunday is intended to help improve ties that have become strained amid an intensifying rivalry between the world's two largest economies.

Li said it is a "right choice" and "necessary" to boost bilateral cooperation, according to China Central Television.

The Chinese premier used a metaphorical expression, suggesting that just as people should look up instead of down at their feet after a rainy day to possibly see rainbows. "The same may be true of Sino-U.S. relations," he said.

While raising concerns, Yellen stressed the importance of the two countries closely communicating on global macroeconomic and financial issues and working together on global challenges, including debt distress in low-income and emerging economies and climate finance, the Treasury Department said.

Earlier in the day, she met with representatives of over 10 American businesses operating in China and recognized the importance of trade and investment with China, given the deep integration between the two economies, the Treasury Department said.

She raised concerns such as barriers to market access and punitive actions that have been taken in China against U.S. firms in recent months.

Upon her arrival in Beijing on Thursday, Yellen tweeted that her China visit "presents an opportunity to communicate and avoid miscommunication or misunderstanding."

Her sojourn in China follows a trip to Beijing last month by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, during which the two countries agreed to stabilize their complex relationship.

China's Finance Ministry said Friday that Yellen's visit is aimed at implementing a consensus reached between the two countries' leaders last November in Indonesia to "strengthen communication and exchanges in the financial field."

The ministry said there will be no winners from trade wars or moves to decouple from each other.

"We hope the United States will take practical actions to create a favorable environment for the healthy development of bilateral economic and trade relations and the realization of mutual benefit and win-win results," it added.

During her stay, Yellen is likely to hold talks with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, who is in charge of economic and financial affairs.
KYODO NEWS - Jul 8, 2023 - 11:32 | All, Japan

Prosecutors are preparing to argue for the conviction of a former death-row inmate at an upcoming retrial for a 1966 quadruple murder in central Japan, a source familiar with the matter said Saturday.

The move comes despite the prosecutors' decision not to appeal a high court order in March that granted a retrial to Iwao Hakamata, laying the ground for his exoneration. Hakamata, 87, spent nearly half a century behind bars before new evidence led to his release in 2014.

The prosecutors plan to convey their position on Monday to the Shizuoka District Court, where the case will be tried again, likely triggering a backlash from Hakamata's lawyers who have called for a swift conclusion of the trial and his acquittal.

It is the fifth time in postwar Japan that a decision for a retrial has been finalized for a case in which the death penalty had been given. The four previous cases all resulted in acquittals in the 1980s.

In March this year, the Tokyo High Court, which was ordered by the Supreme Court in 2020 to re-examine its 2018 decision not to reopen the case, reversed course and ordered the retrial, citing the unreliability of the main evidence used.

The high court said there was a strong possibility that five pieces of blood-stained clothing that Hakamata allegedly wore during the incident had been planted by investigators in the tank of miso soybean paste in which they were found.

According to the source, the prosecutors re-examined the key evidence following the high court decision and plan to dispute the assertion that it was planted.

Hakamata was a live-in employee at a miso maker when he was arrested in 1966 for allegedly killing the firm's senior managing director, his wife and two of their children. They were found fatally stabbed at their house in Shizuoka, which had been burned down.

The former professional boxer confessed to the killings during intense interrogation but pleaded not guilty at trial.

His mental condition deteriorated during his long incarceration, especially after 1980, when his death sentence was finalized by the Supreme Court.

Related coverage:

1966 Japan murder case to reopen as prosecutors give up appeal
KYODO NEWS - Jul 8, 2023 - 09:11 | All, World, Japan

Russia's consumer protection agency said Friday it will tighten supervision of imports of Japanese fish and other marine products amid concern over the planned release into the sea of treated radioactive water from the disaster-hit Fukushima nuclear power plant.

The announcement came after the International Atomic Energy Agency recently concluded that Japan's plan to discharge the water around this summer is "consistent" with international safety standards and would have "a negligible radiological impact on people and the environment."

The Russian agency, however, has issued instructions to ramp up sanitary and quarantine controls "to prevent water bio-resources and food produced of them in Japan, including fish, fish products, seafood, etc., with a higher concentration of radionuclides from flowing into the territory," according to the Interfax news agency.

Currently, the importation of food products from Japan is permitted if they are accompanied by a declaration by Japanese authorities that concentrations of radioactive substances are lower than applicable laws. A certificate of radioactive cesium content must be attached to the declaration, according to the news agency.

Russia and China have expressed concern over the potential environmental impact of the discharge of the water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex located on the Pacific coast, which suffered reactor core meltdowns following the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami disaster.

Massive amounts of radioactive water have been generated in the process of cooling melted reactor fuel at the complex.

The water is treated at a processing facility to remove most of the contaminants, except tritium, and stored in tanks on the premises. But the tanks are nearing capacity, leading to concern that the continuing buildup of water could hamper the decommissioning of the plant's reactors unless it is dumped in the sea.

Related coverage:

Japan strides for Fukushima water release as regulator OKs facilities

IAEA assures safety of water release from Fukushima disaster site
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KYODO NEWS - Jul 8, 2023 - 21:55 | World, All

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen called Saturday for close communication between the world's two largest economies amid their intensifying rivalry as she met with China's Vice Premier He Lifeng in Beijing, the Treasury Department said.

"Amid a complicated global economic outlook, there is a pressing need for the two largest economies to closely communicate and exchange views on our responses to various challenges," Yellen told He, who is in charge of economic and financial affairs.

"This communication can help both sides more fully understand the global economic outlook and make better decisions to strengthen our economies," she added. He expressed his wish to communicate with Yellen on issues such as macroeconomic policies, economy and trade, according to a Hong Kong media report.

The Treasury chief is in China, with her trip through Sunday intended to help improve Sino-U.S. ties that have become strained over a host of issues, including tit-for-tat export control measures on items related to semiconductors.

Last October, the U.S. administration of President Joe Biden announced sweeping export curbs on certain advanced computing chips and related items in an effort to hobble Beijing's bid to develop advanced technologies for military purposes.

In a possible retaliation, China unveiled shortly before Yellen's trip that it will tighten export controls of gallium and germanium -- rare earth metals crucial for chip production -- from Aug. 1.

In her talks with He, Yellen noted that the United States and China had record bilateral trade in 2022 despite recent tensions, which suggests "ample room for our firms to engage in trade and investment."

Repeating her message conveyed to Chinese Premier Li Qiang the previous day, Yellen said in the meeting with He that the two countries should not allow any disagreement to lead to misunderstandings that can unnecessarily worsen their bilateral economic and financial relationship.

On Friday, Li told Yellen that politicizing economic cooperation or overstretching the concept of security on such cooperation "does no good for the economic development of the two countries and the whole world," according to China's official Xinhua News Agency.

Prior to meeting with He, Yellen attended a roundtable on climate change with financial institution representatives and hosted a lunch with Chinese female economists and entrepreneurs, the Treasury Department said.

"Continued U.S.-China cooperation on climate finance is critical," she said, referring to the world's two largest emitters of heat-trapping greenhouse gases.

Related coverage:

Yellen tells China's Li U.S. seeks "healthy competition"

U.S. voices strong opposition to China's metal export control plans

China to curb exports of raw materials used for chip production
KYODO NEWS - Jul 8, 2023 - 23:01 | All, World, Japan

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1 year on, Abe assassination leaves behind crucial issues in Japan

TOKYO - Saturday marked one year since former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was assassinated, with several controversial issues unresolved, including ties between lawmakers and the Unification Church, and the rules for holding a state funeral.

A memorial service was held at Zojoji, a Buddhist temple in Tokyo, to mourn Japan's longest-serving premier, who was fatally shot at the age of 67 while giving an election campaign speech, with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Abe's widow among the attendees.

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Prosecutors to seek conviction at retrial of 1966 Japan murder

TOKYO - Prosecutors are preparing to argue for the conviction of a former death-row inmate at an upcoming retrial for a 1966 quadruple murder in central Japan, a source familiar with the matter said Saturday.

The move comes despite the prosecutors' decision not to appeal a high court order in March that granted a retrial to Iwao Hakamata, laying the ground for his exoneration. Hakamata, 87, spent nearly half a century behind bars before new evidence led to his release in 2014.

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Up to 500 Russian, Belarusian athletes to be allowed at Asian Games

BANGKOK - The Olympic Council of Asia on Saturday approved the participation of up to 500 Russian and Belarusian athletes without national symbols at this year's Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.

The move is aimed at helping those athletes qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine. They will compete only in individual events and will not be eligible for medals at the Sept. 23 to Oct. 8 games.

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Yellen calls for communication in talks with China Vice Premier He

BEIJING - U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen called Saturday for close communication between the world's two largest economies amid their intensifying rivalry as she met with China's Vice Premier He Lifeng in Beijing, the Treasury Department said.

"Amid a complicated global economic outlook, there is a pressing need for the two largest economies to closely communicate and exchange views on our responses to various challenges," Yellen told He, who is in charge of economic and financial affairs.

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Heavy rainfall hits western Japan, 370,000 urged to evacuate

MATSUE, Japan - Heavy rains lashed Shimane Prefecture and other western Japan areas on Saturday, with local authorities urging some 370,000 residents in two cities to evacuate their homes.

In the city of Izumo, there have been at least 15 landslides, and 20 locations were impacted by overflowing rivers. With roads cut off, four areas in the city were isolated though lifelines remained intact, according to prefectural and city governments.

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U.S. to provide widely banned cluster munitions to Ukraine

WASHINGTON - The United States said Friday it will provide cluster munitions to Ukraine for the first time as part of an $800 million military aid package to help the country in its counteroffensive against Russia, although the weapons are widely prohibited in the international community.

White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan stressed at a press conference that the United States recognizes the provision of cluster munitions as requested by Ukraine could endanger civilians, but said they are needed at this point of the war.

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4 complain of illness after steam eruption near Hokkaido's Niseko

SAPPORO - Four people have so far complained of illness in a town near Hokkaido's Niseko mountain resort after steam erupted during drilling for a geothermal energy development project, Mitsui Oil Exploration Co. said Saturday.

A high level of arsenic has been detected from water collected near the site in Rankoshi. Mitsui Oil, which is in charge of the project, said it is looking into what caused the illness, although it refrained from giving any details of the symptoms for privacy reasons.

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FEATURE: Young woman completes 1st major "Hiroshima Panels" restoration work

SAITAMA, Japan - A young researcher recently completed restoration work on one of "The Hiroshima Panels," a famous series of paintings by the late Nobel Peace Prize-nominated Iri and Toshi Maruki depicting the tragedy of war and the suffering caused by the use of nuclear weapons in World War II.

Haruka Saito, a 33-year-old researcher of cultural property preservation and part-time lecturer at the Aichi University of the Arts, completed an 18-month-long project to repair the first work in the series, which comprises two 1.8-meter-high, 3.6-meter-wide folding panels, to pass down to future generations.

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Biden says destruction of U.S. chemical weapons completed

WASHINGTON - The United States has completely destroyed its remaining stockpile of chemical weapons, accomplishing its long-standing commitment under an international disarmament treaty, President Joe Biden said Friday.

"Today, I am proud to announce that the United States has safely destroyed the final munition in that stockpile -- bringing us one step closer to a world free from the horrors of chemical weapons," Biden said in a statement.

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Russia to tighten oversight of seafood over Fukushima water release

TOKYO - Russia's consumer protection agency said Friday it will tighten supervision of imports of Japanese fish and other marine products amid concern over the planned release into the sea of treated radioactive water from the disaster-hit Fukushima nuclear power plant.

The announcement came after the International Atomic Energy Agency recently concluded that Japan's plan to discharge the water around this summer is "consistent" with international safety standards and would have "a negligible radiological impact on people and the environment."

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27% of Japan nursing homes face bankruptcy due to price hikes: survey

TOKYO - Some 27 percent of nursing homes and related service facilities in Japan may go bankrupt or shut down operations in a few years if soaring prices and utility costs continue to put pressure on them, according to a survey by nursing care groups.

"Nursing care facilities are not able to pass along cost increases to consumers in the same way as other companies, and this has a significant impact on their business," said an official of Minkaikyo, an association of nursing care providers.

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Video: Hula debutantes at Hawaii-themed park in Japan
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  If youre planning on seeing a movie this weekend at Atrium Cinemas, you can enjoy a beer or a glass of wine before the show and order another to take to your seat. After a complete overhaul that transformed the theaters lobby, the Eltingville movie theater unveiled a new feature earlier this month: A posh lounge and bar area, equipped with several ice cold beverages on tap.

We started planning this as soon as that new legislation was passed. I think its a great addition to our theater, said Gregg Scarola, owner of the Atrium, speaking of a January 2022 ruling in which the New York State Liquor Authority (SLA) unanimously voted to allow the sale of beer, wine and hard cider at movie theater concession stands throughout NYC.

We were never able to this before, Scarola continued. A lot of other theaters got around it by putting in food service and adding a kitchen. That ruling was a game-changer for neighborhood theaters like us.

Called the Atrium Lounge, the shiny red-and-black watering hole is located across from the concession stands, right near the theaters entrance in a space that formerly housed a childrens party room and a handful of arcade games. Decorated with pendulum light fixtures that complement the theaters recent redesign, and about a dozen bar stools, Scarola said the area is meant to serve as a gathering spot for his patrons.

This is for a date night or where a group of friends can get together before or after a movie to discuss the show, Scarola said. One of the benefits is that youre now able to take your drink into the theater with you, which I think will be a big sell for a lot of our moviegoers.

Beer, wine and hard cider are currently on the menu, but there are no cocktail-style drinks or hard alcohol.

We might bring that in the future, well see, Scarola said. We developed this as a convenience, its not a space to pour shots and get drunk. The Atrium is a neighborhood theater  Staten Islands only local theater. And we want to keep it like that.

And Scarola said the new space opened just in time for some major summer movie happenings.

We have Mission Impossible coming out this week, and then Barbie and Oppenheimer later this month, Scarola said. Its an exciting couple of weeks.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  John Pena Jr., the reputed Staten Island leader of the Gorilla Stone Mafia gang, is expected to appear in Brooklyn federal court Tuesday for a case involving two murders on Staten Island, with a trial potentially slated for late July.

Here is a look into Penas current cases and past history with gun violence.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  A burglary defendant from Staten Island who was stricken with cancer died in the jail ward of Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan, officials said.

His death, reportedly the fifth detainee to die in Correction Department custody this year, has reignited claims from his attorneys that his previous conviction and sentence were extreme given the mans terminal illness.

Ricky Howell, 60, pleaded guilty last June to a May 2021 arrest where he was accused of stealing a set of tools from a commercial garage in Tompkinsville.

That case wouldve been reduced to a misdemeanor had Howell stayed out of trouble, but a pair of alleged burglaries over the following two months in Queens fractured the deal.

Howell had been given several opportunities to plead guilty to lesser charges and to be released on the condition that he seek medical treatment, but he missed multiple court appearances before being re-arrested for the burglaries in Queens, court records show.

A Staten Island judge and a Queens judge both denied a defense attorneys requests to lower Howells bail due to the multiple missed court appearances and probation violations.

Howell was sent to Rikers Island in September and transferred to the jail ward of Bellevue in early February, where he was receiving long-term medical care.

Notifications have been made to the federal monitor, the state Attorney General, DOI, the Board of Correction (BOC), the State Commission of Correction (SCOC).

DEFENSE: COMPASSIONATE RELEASE

Howells defense attorney, Kelvin Richards, argued in December that a compassionate release was appropriate, considering the grim medical diagnosis his client faced.

Mr. Howell is terminally ill; he has Stage 4 cancer, said Richards, a member of the Legal Aid Society on Staten Island, at the time. I dont want to minimize what he did, and were still under the grace of the court ... but being locked up in a cage while going through terminal cancer; I dont think thats in the interest of justice.

After Howells death on Thursday, the Legal Aid Society criticized Staten Island prosecutors and judges for having Howell jailed instead of housed in a medical facility.

While we are heartened that Mr. Howell had a devoted care team at Bellevue Hospital who treated him with dignity and respect, the judges and prosecutors on Staten Island who vigorously fought to keep him jailed despite knowing full well his medical condition and imminent death, and that he posed no threat to public safety, is truly disgraceful, callous and devoid of any human decency, the societys statement said.

The Richmond County District Attorneys Offices insistence of a prison sentence is equally disturbing, despite numerous letters documenting Mr. Howells deteriorative state from his doctors and other medical professionals, the statement went on to say.

District Attorney Michael E. McMahon, however, stated that his office did consent to the defendants release, multiple times, but the defendant did not abide by the terms.

We empathize with the family of Ricky Howell as they grieve his passing due to illness. The death of any New Yorker is a tragedy, however, the facts and history of Mr. Howells journey through the criminal justice system clearly show our offices repeated efforts, and Mr. Howells repeated failures, to lead a law-abiding life and to receive medical treatment outside Department of Corrections custody, McMahon said.

On two separate occasions, our office consented to Mr. Howells release from custody, and on both occasions, he failed to abide by every term of his release, and is alleged to have committed two additional burglaries in Queens. It is outrageous that the Legal Aid Society would so grossly mischaracterize the facts in this case and also blatantly fail to acknowledge that three different Supreme Court Justices in two different counties reached the same conclusion: that Mr. Howells actions and failures to abide by court orders and the terms of his plea agreement necessitated that he be placed back into custody.

While we are fully committed to treating each defendant with individual attention and dignity, we also have a duty to protect public safety and to uphold the rule of law, and that balance was struck appropriately in this case, McMahon said.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  Steven Molinaro, the grandson of former Borough President James Molinaro, has pleaded guilty to federal charges related to a shooting in Fort Wadsworth which left a 22-year-old woman with a gunshot wound to the chest.

On Friday morning in Brooklyn federal court, Molinaro pleaded guilty to being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition and obstruction of justice, a source told the Advance/SILive.com.

Emergency crews on April 27, 2022, responded to the defendants home on Lyman Avenue, where they found the woman with a single gunshot wound to the chest. She was lying in a pool of her own blood in the homes master bedroom.

Seized from the property were 80 pounds of marijuana in vacuum sealed bags, $160,000 in cash, a money counter and a scale with drug residue on it, authorities said.

Prosecutors said Steven Molinaro shot the woman on the date in question, then, in an effort to mislead law enforcement, called 911 and falsely reported that she accidentally shot herself. At the scene, they allege, he again lied to law enforcement, claiming she was shot by another individual.

The female victim is described as being in an on-again, off-again relationship with the defendant.

A photo of Steven Molinaro used in a federal detention letter. (Court records)

The 34-year-old faces an estimated sentence of 11 to 14 years in prison, according to a source. The maximum sentence he faces is 30 years collectively  10 years for the gun charge and 20 years for obstruction of justice.

Defense lawyers for Steven Molinaro could not be immediately reached for comment.

The defendant remains free on bond after he made bail in December in this case. Molinaros release was secured by three suretors  his grandfather, mother, and aunt  and includes $2.4 million in equity from three of his grandfathers properties. James Molinaro had indicated previously in court filings that he would be willing to help his grandson post bail and was prepared to stake his own financial well-being on his compliance.

The conditions of the defendants release included home detention with one of the relatives who helped secure the bond, and electronic monitoring. Additionally, neither he, his attorneys nor his family were to make contact with the alleged victim or a second individual named as a co-conspirator in the case.

Steven Molinaro is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 18.



RELATED COVERAGE: The Steven Molinaro case

>> Source: Steven Molinaro, grandson of former Staten Island BP, reportedly robbed at gunpoint in home

>> Steven Molinaro released on $5M bond; new details revealed in S.I. shooting incident

>> Former Staten Island Borough President James Molinaro willing to stake financial well-being to bail out grandson

>> Steven Molinaro rearrested, faces federal drug and weapons charges following ex-girlfriends shooting
KYODO NEWS - Jul 8, 2023 - 21:20 | All, Japan

Saturday marked one year since former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was assassinated, with several controversial issues unresolved, including ties between lawmakers and the Unification Church, and the rules for holding a state funeral.

A memorial service was held at Zojoji, a Buddhist temple in Tokyo, to mourn Japan's longest-serving premier, who was fatally shot at the age of 67 while giving an election campaign speech, with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Abe's widow among the attendees.

At a gathering following the memorial, Kishida said he would "put all efforts into resolving national issues and continue to sow the seeds of the future," referring to unaccomplished Abe goals, including revising Japan's pacifist Constitution to spell out the legal status of the Self-Defense Forces.

"We will powerfully usher in the next era," Kishida said, highlighting important issues such as the repatriation of Japanese abductees from North Korea and finding effective measures to ensure stable imperial succession.

Near the site where Abe was gunned down in Nara, western Japan, dozens of people lined up in the morning to lay flowers.

"The public has been divided over how to evaluate Mr. Abe, but resorting to violence is unacceptable," said Yui Sugiyama, a 35-year-old company employee who resides in Nara.

"I cannot believe that he passed away," a 35-year-old woman said, while Hayato Sugiyama, a 58-year-old company executive from Shizuoka, said, "I want the case to be investigated thoroughly."

At the site, local police arrested a man for holding up an object resembling a gun and causing a disturbance. The suspect, who had pipes bundled together with black adhesive tapes, is refusing to answer police questions, they said.

Abe was targeted due to his perceived links to the church, founded in South Korea in 1954 by a staunch anti-communist. The assailant, Tetsuya Yamagami, said his mother's substantial donations to the religious corporation ruined his family's finances.

The Unification Church was established in Japan in 1968 with the support of former Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi, the grandfather of Abe, who led the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.

In the wake of revelations about connections between many lawmakers of the LDP, now headed by Kishida, and the Unification Church, often labeled as a cult, the approval ratings for his Cabinet plunged to the lowest levels since its launch in October 2021.

While some ministers were effectively sacked after reports of their dubious links with the Unification Church, Japan's parliament enacted a law prohibiting organizations from maliciously soliciting donations five months after Abe was killed.

The legislation aims to prevent new victims of controversial religious groups, but lawyers supporting people who have suffered financial ruin after huge donations to the Unification Church have lambasted the hastily crafted law.

Saying the legislation has a large number of deficiencies, the lawyers have pointed out that it is unlikely to help most victims of the religious organization, known for its "spiritual sales," in which people are pressured into purchasing items at exorbitant prices.

Although the new legislation bans groups from "confusing" people through tactics such as "stoking fear," one of the lawyers has argued that some believers "willingly" offer massive donations to them.

The Kishida administration, meanwhile, began investigating the Unification Church in November 2022, paving the way for asking a court to consider depriving the organization of its status as a religious corporation with tax benefits.

If the probe confirms that the Unification Church has violated laws and damaged public welfare, the government can request a court to order its "dissolution." But the group will still be able to operate even if its status as a religious corporation is removed.

In addition to the Unification Church, which apparently tried to exert influence in the political arena for its own interests, Kishida's decision to hold a state funeral for Abe in September 2022 without parliamentary deliberations sparked criticism of his government.

Abe was well known for his conservative and hawkish security views, while Kishida is one of the more liberal-leaning politicians in the LDP. Kishida may have swiftly decided to host Abe's state funeral to garner support from conservative lawmakers, pundits said.

The state-sponsored ceremony for Abe was only the second for a former prime minister in the postwar period, following one for Shigeru Yoshida, who signed the San Francisco Peace Treaty in 1951, allowing Japan to regain its sovereignty.

But conducting a state funeral for a former premier in Japan has no legal basis, while the Kishida administration allocated around 1.2 billion yen ($8.4 million) of taxpayers' money for the Abe event, triggering a strong public backlash.

Earlier this month, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said the government has been progressing in compiling records related to the state funeral for Abe.

Kishida's government is expected to finish collecting the records by the end of August, but it would not touch on the pros or cons of the state funeral itself, sources close to the matter said.

Born into a prominent political family, Abe worked as a secretary for his father before being elected to the House of Representatives in 1993. He was prime minister for one year from 2006 and staged a comeback as Japan's top political leader in 2012.

Even after leaving office for health reasons in 2020, Abe maintained influence by taking up the leadership of the biggest faction within the LDP, prodding critics to bash him for attempting to become a kingmaker.

Abe built his profile abroad by emphasizing foreign policy while forging a rapport with world leaders, including former U.S. President Donald Trump. At home, however, opinion on his legacy has been divided based on allegations he abused his power for personal gain.

Abe died on July 8 last year after being shot at close range with a handmade gun while giving a campaign speech two days ahead of the House of Councillors election. Yamagami was arrested on the spot.

As gun ownership is strictly controlled in Japan, which prides itself on being a safe society, the fatal shooting sent shockwaves in and outside the country.
NEW YORK, N.Y. -- A CVS worker in Manhattan allegedly stabbed to death a man who tried to shoplift from the store, according to police and multiple media posts.

The incident occurred in a CVS Pharmacy location near Times Square, at 1619 Broadway, at around 12:30 a.m. Thursday, the New York Daily News reported.

The worker, identified as Scotty Enoe, 46, allegedly stabbed a 50-year-old man in the torso, police said in the report. The man was pronounced dead at Bellevue Hospital Center, police said.

The 50-year-old man attempted to steal goods and got into an argument with Enoe near the door of the CVS location, according to the report.

The would-be shoplifter punched Enoe and the employee pulled out a knife and stabbed him, a police source told the news outlet.

Enoe was arrested and charged with murder and criminal possession of a weapon after the stabbing, police said.

A CVS spokesperson said they are cooperating with police with the investigation into the incident.

It was a homeless guy; he had a big problem with the security guard and with the CVS, street vendor Modo Gui told the New York Daily News.

They fought and he stabbed him,' Gui said. Boom. Stabbed him dead. Its crazy.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  And just like that, McDonalds whipped out a new item this week in New York City  the Quarter Pounder with Cheese loaded with more cheese, crispy bacon and sliced, pickled jalapenos. Between that tidbit, various new policies and a freshly remodeled West Brighton location, theres a lot to unpack here.

New and improved dining room (Staten Island Advance/Pamela Silvestri)

Lets start with the new policies  sad commentaries on the trust level of the customers at this particular McDonalds. If the walls had ears! Somebody abuses the place  ahem  during the hours of local school dismissal. Hence, no in-person ordering is permitted from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., even in the summer.

The lobby is closed from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. (Staten Island Advance/Pamela Silvestri)

The paper signs further speak to us. They imply, You all suck. Apparently, to the management, the patrons are all a bunch of condiment hoarders. So now, you will pay for packets  30 cents each before tax, Cheap-o! (Spoiler alert: One does not get ketchup at this restaurant except upon request. )Take that and your special fee for cups of ice. You have been warned, people, so dont be taking it out on the staff.

Advising the customer of new charges. (Staten Island Advance/Pamela Silvestri)

HOW WAS THE FOOD?

Anyway, our drive-thru sojourn happened this Friday with Danny Mills, proprietor of Ruddy & Dean Steakhouse in St. George.

Danny and I agree: Compared to the flavorless meat on a Big Mac, the QPCs patty delivered a bigger bang on the palate. Thats no surprise, as the Quarter Pounder is a premier specimen produced by the McDonalds Corporation  fresh, never frozen and carefully monitored in its cross-country journey from wherever might be its birthplace.

This is what the product should look like. (Courtesy of McDonald's)

Now this so-called novel QPC product operates on the premise of giving us a little more heat with its jalapeno kick. And with a hearty blob of molten cheddar sauce, its supposed to impart a creamy, otherworldly mouthfeel to an already existing single slice of cheese.

Ketchup on cheese on cheese  hmm. Not my QPC! (Staten Island Advance/Pamela Silvestri)

And it does do all that  when the order is correct. On a same-day second visit to the Forest Avenue drive-thru, the sandwich  packed in a handsome San Diego Padres-style, 70s throwback box  was devoid of said jalapenos. Instead, it came with pickles.

Pickles....peppers...potato, po-tahto.

It additionally came with sliced raw onions and, heaven help us, ketchup  blasphemy to the gods of processed cheese sauce.

A perfect bun. (Staten Island Advance/Pamela Silvestri)

Despite the foibles, on a scale of one to 10, I do give this tricked-out QPC a very generous 9. It checks off all the boxes for why one would buy fast food to begin with  convenience, hangry-ness, indulgence, etc. And I guess you can build upon near-QPC perfection.

Pamela Silvestri is Advance Food Editor. She can be reached at silvestri@siadvance.com.
A device used to steal credit card information has been found at a second Central New York Walmart.

The device was secretly placed in a checkout and not found for four days.

On Friday, Auburn police announced that the credit card skimming device was found at the Walmart at 297 Grant Ave. in Auburn.

Another card-skimming device was found at a Walmart at 818 County Route 3 in the town of Granby near Fulton, State Police announced Thursday. A cashier found that device, troopers said.

The devices were installed on July 2 and discovered on July 5, the two agencies reported.

Auburn police are seeking the publics assistance to try to identify three people who are suspected of installing the devices at several Walmart stores in the region, police said. Advance/SILive.com sister site Syracuse.com reached out to Auburn police to identify what other stores the skimmers were found.

The suspects are believed to have a gray or light blue minivan, police said.

Customers who shopped at either location are encouraged to check their credit card and bank statements to watch for fraudulent charges.

Troopers do not know whether any customers had their information stolen, said Trooper Jack Keller, a State Police spokesperson.

Some skimming devices have Bluetooth capabilities that allow criminals to steal information remotely, while others need to be retrieved to collect the data.

Keller said troopers are not certain whether the device they recovered is Bluetooth compatible.

It is unusual for a skimming device to be installed in such a public place. Typically, criminals target ATMs or registers in areas with less light or fewer people around, Keller said.

Auburn Police are seeking the public's help to identify three people suspected of installing credit card skimming devices at Walmart locations in the region. (Provided by Auburn Police)

Skimming occurs when devices illegally installed on ATMs, point-of-sale (POS) terminals, or fuel pumps capture data or record cardholders PINs, Keller said.

Criminals use the data to create fake debit or credit cards and steal from victims accounts. It is estimated that skimming costs financial institutions and consumers more than $1 billion each year.

The State Police ask anyone with fraudulent charges to contact the Fulton barracks at 315-598-2112. Troopers are working with Walmart to determine how many shoppers may have used the affected register.

Auburn police are asking that anyone with information on the suspects or skimming devices contact APD at (315)255-4703 or (315)253-3231. All callers can remain anonymous, police said.

Walmart issued a statement Thursday night in reference to the device found in the store outside Fulton:

We have controls in place designed to give customers a safe experience and have measures designed to help guard against these types of crimes. We are continuously enhancing and reviewing our protocol to better serve and protect customers, and will continue to work with the police and refer any additional questions to them.

A Walmart spokesperson has not responded to questions from Syracuse.com seeking more information about the device or what Walmart will do if customers have fraudulent charges.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The Office of Workforce Development and Innovation at the College of Staten Island (CSI), Willowbrook, recently announced it has received a $750,000 award from The New York Community Trust as part of a new Workforce Recovery Hub program, which aims to provide scholarships to 200 students enrolled in its health care, technology, social services and sustainable energy programs.

Our partnership with The New York Community Trust will provide access to a wide variety of in-demand workforce training programs through scholarships, helping Staten Islanders advance into good jobs that will also positively impact our community, said Robert Wallace, vice president for economic development and community partnerships at CSI.

Eligible students, with a focus on Richmond County residents, will receive training preparation for certification credentials through agencies like the National Healthcare Association, the American Society of Clinical Pathology the PMI Institute and Amazon. Students selected to take part will receive student support, employment aid and retention services for six months after completion.

Our goal was to make it easy for people to get workforce training as the City recovers from the loss of over one million jobs during COVID, said Roderick Jenkins, program director for Promising Futures at The New York Community Trust. Were honored to give jobseekers the chance to acquire the skills in growing fields that offer good, livable wages. This is one way to help the City recover from the pandemic-induced recession.

Those who meet the criteria of the CSI Foundations Workforce Development Initiative Agreement will have 25% of their tuition covered by the college. The CSI Foundation bolsters Workforce Developments programming by supporting student scholarships, educationrelated program expenditures, stipends and program development.

The Office of Workforce Development and Innovation offers certificate programs and professional development courses designed to target skill gaps in rapidly growing industries. The course offerings provided range in topic and are aimed at accommodating working professionals. Over the last 15 years, industry experts have provided workforce and academic preparation to 106,000 students across New York City.

For more information on the program, click here.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Throughout the years, Staten Island has seen a continuous increase in wildlife and is no stranger to the overpopulation of turkeys and deer. However, in recent months, animals foreign to Staten Island have appeared on beaches and in residents backyards.

Kenny Bazemore, of Mariners Harbor, submitted a video of a family of foxes near Richmond Terrace. Bazemore says he saw another fox in the exact location around the same time last year.

As you can see in the video, they were just doing their own thing,' Bazemore said. They were just playing in the grass, and you know, it was just a very exciting moment for me.

He moved from Brooklyn two years ago and says he has seen more wildlife since coming to Staten Island. You dont see much of that at all in Brooklyn,' he said.

Seals have been spotted in Fort Wadsworth waters, and even whales have been seen off Staten Islands shores.

The uptick in wildlife sightings is positive news, said Amber Krauss, a field technician with the city Parks Wildlife Unit. Staten Island is host to a rich diversity of wildlife,' Krauss said. Healthy wildlife can be used as an indicator of a healthy ecosystem.

That may not be the case globally.

Despite indications of a healthy ecosystem on Staten Island, the 2022 Living Planet Report said there was a 69% decrease in monitored wildlife around the globe since 1970.

For marine life specifically, the waters around New York City have improved in recent years, according to Paul Sieswerda, executive director of Gotham Whale, a city whale research and advocacy organization. Cleaner water brings more fish inshore, attracting its predators, like whales and seals. Sieswerda started Gotham Whale in 2009. When he first started documenting whale sightings in the early 2000s, numbers were in the single digits, he said. Now, there are a couple of hundred sightings a season.

Specifically to marine life, the waters around New York City have improved in recent years, according to Paul Sieswerda, executive director of Gotham Whale. (Courtesy of Gotham Whale)

The increase in wildlife population is generally good news, but with that, says Sieswerda, comes human and wildlife conflict.

Were having problems with whales being hit by boats,' he said. Were seeing the results with propeller scars. There have been more fatalities. Whales are (washing ashore) as dead animals on the beach.

There has been an influx of dead whales washing up on the New Jersey and New York shores within the past year, according to news reports. According to New Jersey News 12, dozens of whale deaths all have the same thing in common: blunt force trauma caused by ship strikes.

These deaths have sparked tension between environmental groups and wind farm companies.

According to New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, New York is leading offshore wind development in the effort to build a greener economy. There are five active offshore wind projects taking place in New York, which requires the support from manufacturing sites, including on Staten Island. Proponents say these projects, once completed, will be strong enough to power over two million homes, bring in an estimated $12.1 billion economic impact, and create nearly 7,000 jobs.

However, environmental groups, including Gotham Whale, have expressed concerns regarding how this might affect the marine environment.

Jim Scarcella, president of Natural Resources Protective Association (NRPA), suspects the technology used for offshore wind farm mapping could interfere with whale sonar  how whales navigate and communicate  which can cause brain injuries to animals that rely on noise-making tactics for survival.

The technology used, Scarcella said, can disorient animals, causing them to seek shelter under large objects, such as tanker ships. Therefore, the place theyre seeking shelter could further injure them with the propeller, Scarcella said.

Its a little bit of a dark secret,' he said. I like the idea of the wind turbines and I know we need alternate sources instead of fossil fuels, but we might be rushing into it too fast...Im a little worried that no one is inside the mind of a marine animal.

Despite concerns and calls for a pause on offshore wind activity, scientists say there are no known connections. A spokesperson from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) recently told National Geographic that there is no connection between offshore wind farms, their surveys and whale mortality.

Land-based windmills turn in the wind in Atlantic City, N.J., on April 28, 2022. Despite controversy, scientists say that there is no connection between offshore wind farms and whale mortality. (Associated Press/Wayne Parry) AP

Orsted is one offshore wind development company, currently constructing its South Fork Wind project on Long Island. According to Tory Mazzola, a company spokesman, Orsted uses an array of protection measures, such as noise reduction technologies, underwater acoustic monitoring, and tools, such as Whale Alert, to increase awareness of protected species in the area.

The offshore wind industry is subject to the most stringent level of protections for marine mammals and protected species, Mazzola said. Every aspect of our surveys, construction, and operations are reviewed by multiple agencies and are subject to protective conditions, including vessel speeds, time of year restrictions for construction activities, and mandatory observers.

The survey technology used by the offshore wind industry has been used by industries, such as telecom, for many years, according to Mazzola. Orsted has not experienced any whale strikes while conducting offshore surveys or construction in the U.S.

Measures by environmental organizations to further enhance protections for the North Atlantic right whale during offshore wind farm activity are being applied to safeguard marine wildlife. Some of those organizations include the South Fork Wind, National Wildlife Federation, Natural Resources Defense Council and Conservation Law Foundations agreement.

If wind farm mapping isnt the cause of whale deaths, the reasons for the increase of their mortality rate still cant be overlooked.

In a time of wildlife increases, climate change and alternate energy, we need to better understand whats going on, especially when it affects marine animals, Sieswerda said. Suggestions for mitigating the problems can be discussed and fought out, and the solutions are yet to be determined.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Feeling lucky?

The New York Lottery has various $30 scratch-off games with top-prizes of up to $10 million.

While more expensive than your average scratch-off, these games offer the largest payouts available anywhere in the state.

As of Friday, there are seven tickets across five different $30 scratch-off games with guaranteed top prizes of $10 million.

Here are the $30 scratch-off games with top-prize tickets of $10 million still in circulation as of Friday, July 7, according to New York Lottery data:

$10,000,000 Black Titanium

Top prizes remaining: 1

Odds of winning top prize: 1 in 3,598,330

$10,000,000 Bonus

Top prizes remaining: 1

Odds of winning top prize: 1 in 3,609,120

$10,000,000 Deluxe

Top prizes remaining: 1

Odds of winning top prize: 1 in 3,521,600

200X

Top prizes remaining: 1

Odds of winning top prize: 1 in 3,501,640

X Series: 200X

Top prizes remaining: 3

Odds of winning top prize: 1 in 4,319,110

MORE INFORMATION

For more information about the New York Lotterys scratch-off games visit https://nylottery.ny.gov/scratch-off-games.

The New York Lottery continues to be touted as North Americas largest and most profitable lottery, contributing $3.6 billion during fiscal year 2021-2022 to support education in New York State.

New York Lottery revenue is distributed to local school districts by the same statutory formula used to distribute other state aid to education. It takes into account both a school districts size and its income level; larger, lower-income school districts receive proportionately larger shares of lottery school funding.

MORE NY LOTTERY COVERAGE:

NY Lottery: 23 chances to turn $2 into $25,000 on these scratch-off games

NY Lottery: Want to win $1M or more? Play these $10, $20, $30 scratch-off games

NY Lottery: These $3 scratch-off games in circulation have top prizes of $60,000

NY Lottery: Staten Island store sells $1,000 a week for life winning ticket

NY Lottery: 1 ticket with a guaranteed $2.5M payout left for this $5 scratch-off game
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KYODO NEWS - Jul 8, 2023 - 09:38 | All, World

The United States has completely destroyed its remaining stockpile of chemical weapons, accomplishing its long-standing commitment under an international disarmament treaty, President Joe Biden said Friday.

"Today, I am proud to announce that the United States has safely destroyed the final munition in that stockpile -- bringing us one step closer to a world free from the horrors of chemical weapons," Biden said in a statement.

Biden said the United States, which is a party to the 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention, will renew its commitment to achieve that goal, noting that it is the first time an international organization has verified destruction of an entire category of declared weapons of mass destruction.

While praising the completion of the process that took more than 30 years, he urged Russia and Syria to return to compliance with the treaty and admit undeclared programs, accusing them of carrying out "brazen atrocities and attacks."

The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons said it had verified the destruction of the last chemical munition of the United States at a facility in Kentucky.

"It is a critical step toward achieving its mission to permanently eliminate all chemical weapons," said Fernando Arias, director general of The Hague-based implementing body for the treaty, with 193 member states.

The last of the United States' declared chemical weapons at the facility were rockets filled with GB nerve agent, also known as sarin, according to The Associated Press.

The news agency said the rockets were from the 1940s and the country's stockpile of chemicals was more than 30,000 tons at the end of the Cold War.
Staff at a Sydney council are in revolt after they were ordered back to their workplace five days a week, as employers warn staff who stay away from the office are putting their jobs at risk as the economy worsens.

Randwick City Council wants staff to return to the office every day by September 11, ending hybrid work arrangements introduced during the pandemic.

A council spokeswoman said requiring staff to physically attend the workplace would lead to more opportunities for collaboration, incidental on-the-job learning, coaching and development and better customer service.

Randwick City Council wants staff to return to the office every day by September. Credit: Flavio Brancaleone

However, the move has prompted strong opposition from the councils workforce, who say it will impact morale and wellbeing, lead to staff departures and is biased against women.
There are few travel experiences more ignominious than arriving at the departure gate to find your carry-on, which you slavishly packed  in part to avoid the hefty checked-baggage fees on some airlines  is overweight.

But Lise Carlaw has become a professional flyweight  in travel, not boxing, terms  packing for her five-week trip to Europe with her husband and two sons with only cabin bags. Total weight: 24.8 kilograms.

Lise Carlaw, in three different outfits drawn from her carry-on baggage challenge. Credit: Instagram

When this masthead speaks to Brisbane-based Carlaw, who co-hosts The Lise and Sarah Show with Sarah Wills, she is in the French Alps, where the weather has turned a little nippy. No matter, she says, the rules allowed them to pick up some additional layers at a local sports store. You could say were cheating, but I was very clear at the start of this the [carry-on] was critical at the start of the trip: we were on planes, trains and moving every few days, she says.

Carlaw, who spent a month packing for her trip  a process which included creating a Europe room in their house  says travelling light means the family has focused on experiences over stuff. We still havent shopped or bought souvenirs, she says. It would just be a punish for everyone involved, me included, if were traipsing through boutiques  thats not what this trip was about.
NSW Health is urging parents to be aware of vaping among young people and encourages having early conversations to help discourage it, a spokesperson for the health department said in a statement. They added that NSW Health was increasingly concerned by harmful health effects associated with vapes, particularly for young people. If parents or carers are concerned someone has been poisoned by liquid nicotine, call the Poisons Information Centre on 13 11 26 immediately. If they have collapsed or are not breathing, immediately call triple zero for an ambulance, it said. Paul Dillon, director of Drug and Alcohol Research and Training Australia (DARTA), realised how easily teenagers could buy vapes on Snapchat while running one of his school education workshops in Sydney. I had a couple of girls who came up to me a while ago who said, Do you want to see how easy it is to buy vapes? Dillon recalled.

It literally only took minutes for someone to meet them at the local train station and sell them 50 vapes. Now you dont even need to go somewhere to get them, they will drop them to you. Loading Dillon stressed teenage vaping was by no means clustered in a certain geographic area, or socio-economic strata. Its everywhere, he said. The NSW Health spokesperson noted vapes for sale in the state may contain other dangerous chemicals, including those found in weedkiller and nail polish remover. A 2019 ANU analysis of e-cigarettes for sale in Australia found, of the 243 unique chemicals found in products, 38 were listed poisons and three exceeded cut-off levels for the poisons standard.

Some vapes tested in the study contained acetone and formaldehyde. Professor Brian Oliver, a research leader at the Woolcock Institute of Medical Research who focuses on respiratory health, said flavoured vapes contained a whole cocktail of chemicals, the specifics of which constantly change as manufacturers promote new tastes and products. Its the new version of Russian roulette, but the players dont know they are playing, Oliver said. You can find the same sort of toxic chemicals in a cigarette as you do in an e-cigarette, but the difference is cigarettes are regulated. Oliver said overseas disposable vape manufacturers often sought out chemicals used for flavouring food without considering whether the chemical is safe when heated and vapourised.

There are thousands of different flavours of vapes; nobody has tested all of them, he warned. In May, federal Health Minister Mark Butler announced a raft of regulatory changes for the sale of e-cigarettes intended to crack down on the widespread black market which has allowed nicotine vapes to be easily illegally purchased. The changes, funded in the 2023-24 budget, promise an end to the importation of non-prescription vapes, a ban on disposable vapes and will mandate pharmaceutical-like packaging, restricting coloured and flavoured products, which anti-vaping advocates say promote vaping to young people. Anita Dessaix, director of cancer prevention and advocacy at the Cancer Council, said the recent spate of adverse reactions indicated that governments needed to implement the proposed changes as soon as possible. Im very, very saddened to hear about this, but, unfortunately, I am not surprised, she said of the incidents.
Fay Wolfe gazes out over the guard rail at Lake Eppalock with an awful sense of foreboding.

Water sits at the edge of the spillway that is supposed to control the excess flow when the dam is full. Wolfe now lives with the fear that water will once again gush over the edge.

It gives me chills just looking at it, she says.

Rochester resident Fay Wolfe at Lake Eppalock. Credit: Joe Armao

In October last year, water cascaded over the spillway crest at Lake Eppalock near Bendigo and poured into the Campaspe River, which burst its banks downstream and flooded the small north Victorian town of Rochester.
A press conference given by a senior officer of the Australian Federal Police will be examined by a jury this week as part of a multimillion-dollar defamation battle launched by two people accused of childcare fraud.

Ola Ouda and her partner Amgad Shehada were accused by the AFP of rorting government subsidies with phantom children at their childcare business in November 2020, however the charges were later dropped.

Ola Ouda is suing the AFP for defamation. Credit: Facebook

The pair were arrested when 150 AFP officers raided properties across Melbourne and Sydney as part of a probe involving several different government departments and thousands of documents.

In the days after the raid, commander Todd Hunter held a press conference to announce the dismantling of an alleged criminal network that had defrauded millions worth of childcare subsidies which was spent on luxury goods and investments.
The royal commission found that Campbell kept the true nature of the income-averaging scheme secret when advising cabinet because she knew then-social services minister Morrison wanted to pursue the program. Loading It also found Campbell deliberately instructed her own legal team to discontinue a request for legal advice on the scheme and that she shelved a damning $1 million audit by PwC into the welfare crackdown just as it was about to finish because she feared its contents would be damaging. Multiple senior members of the Albanese government and the public service, who were not authorised to speak publicly, said they believed Campbell would have to resign from her role with Defence or would eventually be forced out. Attempts to contact Campbell on Saturday were unsuccessful. She has not publicly stated if she disputes any of the findings.

The Albanese government technically demoted Campbell last year from the secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to a senior role within Defence advising on the AUKUS agreement. Government Services Minister Bill Shorten says he understands the anger in the community. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen If she stayed in the secretary position, the government would have been able to move her on under the Public Service Act because the heads of departments stay in their positions at the discretion of the government. Because she is now at a deputy secretary level, she can only be removed by the secretary of the department after a drawn-out process using a new central inquiry mechanism which will determine breaches of the public service code of conduct. In a sealed section of the report, Holmes recommended referring individuals for potential criminal or civil action over the illegal welfare crackdown. Holmes recommended the section not be tabled in parliament so as not to prejudice the conduct of any future civil action or criminal prosecution. She did not reveal who was referred for further investigation to various agencies, which include the new National Anti-Corruption Commission, the Australian Federal Police and the Law Society of the ACT.

Morrison and other former ministers who gave evidence before the royal commission can charge taxpayers for their legal fees if they challenge any findings against them. Loading Shorten said he understood why taxpayers would be angry that they are continuing to pay for the legal bill of former ministers, but that the one thing that robo-debt has taught us is an absence of good process or a mob mentality doesnt fix anything. In her report, Holmes found Morrison had allowed cabinet to be misled over the legality of the scheme and gave untrue evidence to the commission. Morrison, who took the initial proposal to cabinet as social services minister in 2015, issued a lengthy defence of his actions on Friday, saying: I reject completely each of the findings which are critical of my involvement in authorising the scheme and are adverse to me.

Albanese said on Saturday afternoon it was not up to him as prime minister to determine what action should be taken against his predecessor. But I do note as well that Scott Morrison has also shown no contrition whatsoever for the impact that his actions as minister have had, Albanese said. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says Scott Morrison has not shown contrition over the welfare crackdown. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen, Nick Moir And I do note very serious findings of the royal commissioner about his evidence before the royal commission. Albanese defended the royal commissioners decision to not make public the section of the report which makes referrals to other agencies for potential civil and criminal action, and confirmed he had not seen the sealed section.

There hasnt been political interference in this. Thats the point, Albanese said. Loading The royal commissioner made the decision that that needed to stay in a concealed report so as to not prejudice the action that could take place. She didnt provide that report to myself as prime minister. The head of my department [Glyn Davis] does have that report. I would have thought that it is appropriate that in a report that is about proper processes being discarded, that proper processes occur here.

Liberal leader Peter Dutton, who was a cabinet minister at the time of the schemes inception, said the royal commissions recommendations were a very serious issue which the opposition would consider. Loading But Dutton said some of his colleagues had issued public statements disputing the commissions findings and thats entirely their right to do so. So that will have a natural justice phase to go through, so I dont intend to comment in relation to those issues, he said on Saturday morning. I just caution the glee of the prime minister and Bill Shorten at the moment.
Trade Minister Don Farrell is making a dash to Brussels in a bid to break a deadlock over a free trade deal with the European Union.

Farrell will arrive in Brussels on Monday morning for two days of talks as he tries to get the Europeans to budge on a deal that would give Australian exporters EU market access for agricultural products including beef, sugar, dairy and sheep meat.

Trade Minister Don Farrell with the European Commissioner for Trade Valdis Dombrovskis in Brussels last month. Credit: Twitter

Australia has been trying to negotiate a deal with the EU since 2018 to send products into a high-income market of 450 million consumers and a GDP of $24 trillion.

Farrell, who is holidaying with his wife, will break his leave to return to the negotiating table in Brussels.
Despite having policies for everything from human rights to environmental, social, and corporate governance, it has emerged that PwC clean forgot to have a policy for not treating the taxpayer like a mug.

Nobody begrudges corporations their detailed do-the-right-thing policies. But if they cant prevent fundamental misbehaviour, its worth asking what theyre for. Because they do have a downside: since the possession of these policies became a requirement in Commonwealth government tenders, they have created a hurdle to small- and medium-sized enterprises hoping to bid for government work. And that makes it hard for government agencies to shake their dependence on the big four.

Credit: Matt Davidson

Its not enough to be able to deliver the work the government agency needs. Small businesses sometimes just give up when the barriers to entry are too high.

At the request of Finance and Public Service Minister Katy Gallagher, the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman has launched an inquiry into the impact that Commonwealth procurement requirements have on small- and medium-sized enterprises. A month after it was announced, the PwC scandal broke and people started wondering why departments seem locked in to giving taxpayer money to large consultancies.
KYODO NEWS - Jul 8, 2023 - 08:00 | All, Japan

A year after the assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Saturday, the man accused of the shooting has been spending the majority of his time reading history and philosophy books while awaiting the scheduling for his trial, according to his lawyers.

While Tetsuya Yamagami seemed to be on edge immediately after the incident, the defendant has since relaxed and also reads newspapers every day at the Osaka Detention House, the lawyers said.

"He seems to be randomly reading about things he's interested in," one of the lawyers said.

Abe, Japan's longest-serving premier, died on July 8 last year after being shot at close range with a handmade gun while giving a campaign speech in Nara Prefecture two days ahead of the House of Councillors election. Yamagami was arrested on the spot.

The 42-year-old told investigators that he had held a grudge against the Unification Church, a South Korea-based religious group known for its mass weddings and aggressive donation solicitations, after his mother's substantial financial donations caused their family to fall apart.

He targeted Abe in the belief the former prime minister had links to the group, investigative sources have said.

Yamagami has declined visitation from his mother, according to sources familiar with the matter.

He has also received letters, both sympathetic and condemning, from across the country since he was detained, the sources said. He has expressed gratitude for the supportive messages.

In January, after around six months of psychiatric evaluation by prosecutors, Yamagami was indicted for murder and violating the firearms control law.

The first pretrial proceedings at the Nara District Court on June 12, which Yamagami was scheduled to attend, were canceled after a suspicious box was delivered to the court the same day. The cardboard box was later found to have contained petitions seeking leniency for him, said the sources.

He is considering calling off his attendance at the pretrial session where court officials, prosecutors and lawyers are likely to narrow down issues, review evidence and set the trial schedule, the sources said.

While the first day of his trial is expected to come next year, the defense team said they believe it may not even happen in the first half of 2024 due to the overwhelming amount of evidence and that it is also "undecided" what he will argue in the trial.
Billionaire sex toy magnate Peter Tseng has been busy reshuffling his property portfolio as he quietly offloads three investments over the bridge.

But the sales, totalling more than $4.9 million so far, are small change for a man with a high-end taste for vino with a $60 million wine cellar and previous property sales that have netted millions.

Billionair sex toy magnate and wine collector Peter Tseng has been busy selling off some of his investment properties this year. Credit:

He listed three properties, two units in McMahons Point and a Chatswood house, but only two have sold so far.

A two-bedder on Blues Point Road, McMahons Point sold last Saturday post-auction above its $1 million to $1.1 million guide to a local owner-occupier. The home was sold through Craig Litchfield of McMahons Point Real Estate who declined to comment. Tseng picked it up for $830,000 in 2014 through the K Sun investment vehicle, of which he is a director, records show.
An Earlwood house sold for $2,275,000 at a tightly contested auction on Saturday that drew house hunters from across the city.

A dozen buyers from across the inner west, eastern suburbs and north shore descended on 57 Main Street, a three-bedroom house on the market for the first time in more than 30 years.

But it was a local family who walked away with the keys, after making a last-minute bid for the property that shocked the crowd of more than 70 people.

Despite the strong buyer interest, the bidding was slow to start when auctioneer Clarence White, of Menck White Auctioneers called for an opening offer on the home, which had a price guide of $1.8 million.
Sail the west coast of Australia in style and comfort

Board the intimate, 114-passenger expedition ship Silver Explorer for a 17-day cruise between Fremantle and Darwin departing August 26, 2023, and youll see some of our nations most rugged corners without surrendering considerable luxury, fine dining and a wallow in wellness in the ships spa. Among the trip highlights are Shark Bay, Ningaloo Reef and the rusty Dampier Archipelago. From Wyndham, you can take a scenic flight over the Bungle Bungles. Youll also visit Ashmore Reef, one of Australia most far-flung corners, notable for its astonishing range of fish and bird species. See silversea.com

Chart a course through Vietnam and Cambodia

The Mekong River at sunset.

You wont be cold on a 15-day Magnificent Mekong river cruise that sails at the hottest time of year  perfect for those whose idea of a break means shorts, thongs and cold beer. This Viking cruise between Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi has three departures in August and four in September, 2023, and visits bustling river-port towns such as Sa Dec and Cai Be in Vietnam, as well as Cambodian capital Phnom Penh and the superb temples of Angkor Wat. It finishes with a side trip to Hanoi and Halong Bay. See vikingrivercruises.com.au
KYODO NEWS - Jul 8, 2023 - 08:14 | All, World

The United States said Friday it will provide cluster munitions to Ukraine for the first time as part of an $800 million military aid package to help the country in its counteroffensive against Russia, although the weapons are widely prohibited in the international community.

White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan stressed at a press conference that the United States recognizes the provision of cluster munitions as requested by Ukraine could endanger civilians, but said they are needed at this point of the war.

"The bottom line is this -- we recognize that cluster munitions create a risk of civilian harm from unexploded ordnance. This is why we deferred the decision for as long as we could," Sullivan said, noting that Russia has been relying on the munitions since the start of its invasion of Ukraine.

"But there is also a massive risk of civilian harm if Russian troops and tanks roll over Ukrainian positions and take more Ukrainian territory and subjugate more Ukrainian civilians because Ukraine does not have enough artillery," he said.

The weapons release numerous smaller bomblets to kill people indiscriminately, which can also leave unexploded ordnance leading to unintended civilian deaths many years later.

They are banned by more than 100 countries under the Convention on Cluster Munitions, but the United States, Russia and Ukraine are not parties to the convention.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy promptly welcomed the U.S. announcement, saying Washington has taken "decisive steps" that bring his country closer to victory over Russia.

"The expansion of Ukraine's defense capabilities will provide new tools for the de-occupation of our land," he said in a Twitter post.

Human rights groups have opposed the use of the controversial bombs, and U.N. organizations and some countries such as Germany have already expressed concern over the U.S. move.

The Cluster Munition Coalition, a global coalition of nongovernmental organizations seeking to end the suffering caused by the weapons, said in a statement it was "appalled" by the decision of U.S. President Joe Biden's administration.

The coalition urged the United States, Ukraine and Russia to join the 2008 convention, which bans all use, production, transfer and stockpiling of cluster munitions, as soon as possible "to guarantee protection of civilians and respect for international humanitarian law."

In an interview with CNN, Biden said that "it was a very difficult decision" to make but he eventually accepted the Defense Department's recommendation as Ukraine is running out of ammunition.

Biden noted the munitions will only be sent to Ukraine during a "transition period" until U.S. production of artillery rounds is increased significantly. The president also said that before making the final decision, he discussed the matter with U.S. allies, without naming any specific country.

Sullivan also described the provision as "a bridge of supplies" and disclosed the United States has received written assurances from Ukraine that it will do its best to use them very carefully and minimize any risk to civilians.

Sullivan added that the munitions the United States will transfer to Ukraine have a "dud" or failure rate no higher than 2.5 percent, whereas the rate for those used by Russia is between 30 and 40 percent.

According to the Pentagon, the military aid package also includes additional munitions for Patriot air defense systems, 32 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles and 32 Stryker armored personnel carriers.
A bride-to-be celebrating her hen weekend was among revellers to arrive at the second day of the Trnsmt music festival in Glasgow.

Vanessa Newbury, from Inverurie, arrived at the Glasgow Green festival on Friday for her hen weekend, joined by friends Claire Knox and Morag Smith.

Ms Newbury, soon to be Mrs Walker, will get married on September 23 this year.

When asked why she decided to come to Trnsmt for her hen weekend, she said: Vibes, good vibes!

I gave the girls a list of what I would like to do and I said I would like to go to Trnsmt.

It was vibes, I thoughtWhy not?

Thunderstorms are forecast for Saturday as temperatures rise and the Met Office issued a warning.

A yellow weather warning has been put in place for the majority of the UK between 9am and midnight on Saturday.

As of 11am on Saturday, the Met Office forecast raises the chance of thunderstorms between 5pm and 7pm and again at 10pm  around the time headliner Sam Fender will be set to take the stage.

The first night of the festival was brought to close by Britpop legends Pulp and on Saturday, Sam Fender will take to the stage after Kasabian, Maisie Peters and Mimi Webb.

Also arriving for day two of the festival were 16-year-old Athena Olivia Sharpe Pantos and 18-year old Brook Morrison from Fife.

Miss Pantos said: Were going to have an absolutely amazing time.

Later on Saturday, festival-goers braved the heavy rain forecast as well as high levels of humidity.

Singer Mimi Webb played the main stage on Saturday as the rain began.

She said: I think we can all agree that the Scottish crowd is the best crowd.
For the Okinawa Islands of Japan,



the long night of war has gone.

But residents here are still calling for lasting peace and demilitarization.

Why?

(An AIGC product)
A barbaric killer has been jailed for life for fatally stabbing a teenager in the neck as he sat in a car in south London.

Jeremiah Sewell, 19, was ambushed by Godfrey Tanishe Madondo as he listened to music with friends in the back of a car in Beckenham Place Park, Lewisham, in the early hours of July 16 last year.

A witness heard someone ask Jeremiah where he was from. As he answered he was knifed twice in the neck.

Central Criminal Court heard that Madondo, 20, quickly fled the scene in a speeding getaway car.

Jeremiahs friends rushed him to nearby Lewisham Hospital but, despite the efforts of medical staff he died a short time later.

Jeremiah Sewell was listening to music with pals when he was ambushed / Met Police

CCTV analysis provided detectives with movements of the car that Madondo had been travelling in; prior to the murder the occupants were seen entering a shop in Peckham and Madondo could be made out in footage.

Madondo was arrested the day after the murder, but refused to answer any questions about the attack of Jeremiah.

DCI Chris Wood, from the Mets Specialist Crime Command, led the investigation and said: Jeremiahs murder was an utterly senseless and barbaric act  the speed in which the situation escalated, and the fact that Jeremiah was sitting defenceless in the back of a car, offering no threat to Madondo, makes it all the more futile.

From the outset Madondo has not made any attempt to explain why he attacked Jeremiah, let alone accept responsibility for his actions. They have left Jeremiahs family wondering why their loved one was viciously attacked  when he could have provided answers; he has taken the cowards option and kept quiet.

Nothing will undo the catastrophic consequences of that night, but I hope the conviction of these three people will at least give Jeremiahs family and friends some sense that justice has been served.

Even though he fled the scene, detectives acted swiftly to track down and secure evidence against Godfrey Tanishe Madondo, 20, of Colegrove Road, Southwark, who was found guilty at the Central Criminal Court on Monday, 3 July, of the murder of 19-year-old Jeremiah Sewell.

He was sentenced on Friday, 7 July to life imprisonment  to serve a minimum of 24 years.
A boy has been rushed to hospital after being mauled by a dog in east London.

Police rushed to the scene in Ackroyd Drive where the boy suffered multiple bite injuries at a playground in Ackroyd Drive, Poplar at 3.20pm on Saturday.

The boys distraught mother accompanied the tot to hospital where his injuries were designated non-life-threatening.

The dogs owner, reportedly warned of bringing the pets into the estates shared playground, was also bitten but refused hospital treatment.

Three dogs were seized by police after the attack.

Labour Cllr Mohammad Chowdhury told the Standard: The child was playing in the park within the estate.

Dogs are not allowed in the park. Residents tell me that the owner has already been told the owner not to bring the dog in to the park.

He added: The boy has been taken to hospital by ambulance and is accompanied by the mother. She was really shocked.

Horrifying footage shot from a high-rise flat nearby picks up the victims high-pitched screams as he tries to get the dogs off him.

Police are later seen struggling to put a large dog in the back of a van.

A Met spokesman said: Police were called at about 15:20hrs on Saturday, 8 July to reports of a child attacked by a dog in a recreation ground near to Ackroyd Drive,E3.

Officers and the London Ambulance Service attended.

At the scene a 4-year-old boy was found with bite injuries. He was taken to hospital as a precaution and his injuries have been assessed as not life-threatening.

Three dogs were seized by officers and will be assessed.

The owner of the dogs was also treated at the scene for a bite injury but declined to go to hospital.

No arrests and enquiries continue.
A sexual predator has been jailed after admitting to a number of sexual offences committed over 20 years ago.

Lawrence Guy Brew, 65, of St James Close, New Malden was sentenced to eight years imprisonment following a hearing at Kingston Crown Court on Wednesday.

Previously, Brew had pleaded guilty at the same court to two counts of indecent assault on a male under 13; seven counts of indecent assault on a male under 16; and three counts of possession of indecent images of children.

Brew was also issued with a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and will be required to sign the Sex Offenders Register on his release.

Detective Constable Lisa Main who led the investigation said: Lawrence Guy Brew is a predatory and manipulative individual who used his friendship with the victims family to carry out a sustained catalogue of sexual abuse.

I would like to praise the strength shown by this man in coming forward and reliving that abuse  his courage, that of his family and others who have supported the investigation, has enabled police to put together a compelling case that left Brew with no choice but to admit his guilt. I hope that Brews conviction and sentencing gives them some sense of justice.

If you have been a victim of a sexual offence and have not reported it to police then I would urge you to do so. You will be listened to and provided with specialist support from both the police and other agencies.

Police were tipped off after a man contacted the Met in December 2018 to report a series of sexual abuse he suffered as a child.

The abuse took place between 1998-2003 and Brew had known the victims family.

On arrest, Brew denied all the allegations, but the investigation later found hundreds of indecent images of children found on devices seized by officers. He subsequently pleaded guilty.
T housands of people march through central London demanding equal rights for Transgender people in the biggest ever Trans Pride 2023.

Activists and supporters took over Piccadilly and Trafalgar Square carrying signs for the worldwide Trans Pride celebration on Saturday.

The festival route was extended to allow more to join and express solidarity with Trans people who have been affected by transphobic murders and restrictive laws worldwide.

Heartstopper actor Yasmine Finney, wearing a sheer lace slip dress, danced at the base of Nelsons Column holding a trans Pride flag and leading a chorus of Trans rights are human rights!

London Trans Pride+ 2023 1 / 10 London Trans Pride+ 2023 London Trans Pride 2023 REUTERS Trans Pride+ 2023 London Trans Pride+ 2023 REUTERS London Trans Pride+ 2023 Getty Images London Trans Pride+ 2023 REUTERS London Trans Pride+ 2023 REUTERS London Trans Pride+ 2023 Getty Images London Trans Pride+ 2023 Getty Images London Trans Pride+ 2023 REUTERS

The future Dr Who star also told crowds: Its Trans Pride everybody!

What time is it? she said as others chanted Trans Pride! back to her in unison.

Trans media group What The Trans! tweeted: Thousands of trans people taking over Piccadilly is probably the best I can do to convey how this is the biggest trans pride Ive ever seen.

Others brandished signs reading Give me Oestragon you cowards! as others mourned the loss of trans lives taken such as Brianna Ghey, 16, who was stabbed to death in Warrington in February.

Two teenagers  both aged 15  were charged with murder and are due to stand trial in July.

The march culminated in Hyde Park Corner with powerful speeches from writer and performance artist Travis Alabanza, model Munroe Bergdorf and people from Transgender Action Block and Trans Workers Solidarity Network.

Its been a difficult year for trans and non-binary people, with transphobic harassment increasing and anti-trans bills introduced worldwide.

London Trans+ Pride organisers described the incident as a brutal and horrific attack that has left the community reeling in a statement on Facebook only days after Gheys death.

In addition, the Government this year blocked Scotlands gender recognition reform bill. The Scottish government will make its case against the decision in a three-day hearing from September 19-21.

Elsewhere, far-right protests have taken place against drag queen performances in London.

A Kickstarter fund to support this years Trans+ Pride event is close to raising its 15,000 target. This means the march is likely to be the largest expression of trans solidarity yet.
M ozammel Moz Hossain KC is one of two people running to be the Conservative party candidate in the London mayoral election in 2024.

If chosen by party members over his competitor, Susan Hall, Mr Hossain will go up against Labour mayor Sadiq Khan, who is running for an historic third term in office.

Whats Moz Hossains story?

Born in the village of Barisal, Bangladesh, Mr Hossain says he grew up in a wooden hut, with a mud floor and tin roof. He did not own a pair of shoes until he was 16.

At the age of 21, he moved to the UK and studied law in Liverpool for four years, before coming to London in 1999.

Ten years later, Mr Hossain became a British citizen, which he said was one of his proudest moments.

Another decade later, in 2019, he became the first Bangladeshi-born criminal barrister ever to be appointed a Queens Counsel.

Mr Hossain practises at 187 Chambers, the website of which says he has been involved in some of the most complex and high-profile cases in the country.

What are his policies?

As a criminal barrister, Mr Hossain has focused much of his policy offering on crime - though he has also emphasised his plan to scrap Mr Khans London-wide Ulez expansion, which is due to come into force on August 29 this year.

If elected, he has said he would cut the head off gangs to tackle knife crime and phone robberies. He has said he will establish a Targeted Termination Team within the Met Police, with the sole purpose of hunting and arresting gang leaders.

He has also pledged to increase intelligence-based stop and search, as well as boosting police visibility in London, placing CCTV at every bus stop and ensuring every street in the capital is brightly lit at night.

On Ulez, he said he will switch off the enforcement cameras in outer London on day one of his mayoralty. He argues that expanding the Ulez - which imposes a 12.50 daily charge on non-compliant vehicles - to cover the whole of Greater London is immeasurably cruel during a cost of living crisis.

Mr Hossain has also talked about making homes more affordable and improving transport connectivity.

Could he defeat Sadiq Khan?

According to James Johnson, a former Downing Street pollster who worked under Theresa May, the Tories best bet [in the 2024 mayoral election] is the outside choice.

Mr Johnson describes Mr Hossain as the ultimate outsider, given his backstory, and says that members need to gamble to win Londons mayoralty.

Polling by Mr Johnsons JL Partners firm showed that Mr Hossains background  when presented blindly alongside that of Daniel Korski (who has since withdrawn from the race) and Ms Hall  was the top choice at 41 per cent, compared with 21 per cent and 18 per cent for the other two.

Ms Halls supporters point out however that Mr Hossain has never held elected office before, and is untested in that respect.

His campaign has also been hit by scandal, as members of his campaign team can be seen in the recently-published partygate video, filmed in December 2020 while London was under Tier 2 Covid restrictions, which banned indoor socialising. If Mr Hossain is selected as the Conservative candidate, the video is likely to be used against him by Mr Khan.
A protester has attempted to disrupt the wedding of former chancellor George Osborne to his long-term partner by throwing orange confetti at them as they left the church following the service.

The woman ambushed Mr Osborne, 52, and his new bride Thea Rogers, 40, outside the 14th Century St Marys Church in the Somerset village of Bruton and quickly fled smiling after being approached by security.

Environmental campaign group Just Stop Oil, renowned for its disruptive stunts, retweeted a video of the incident, saying: You look good in orange George Osborne  congratulations to the newlyweds.

The tweet was condemned by former home secretary Priti Patel, who accused Just Stop Oil of being shameful, attention seeking, disrespectful low life.

Around 200 people, including a string of well-known politicians and journalists, attended the wedding amid a mystery over an email apparently sent to guests.

Among the guests attending were former prime minister David Cameron and his wife Samantha, former chancellor Sajid Javid and Levelling-Up Secretary Michael Gove.

Also present were Lord Hague and his wife Ffion, former health secretary Matt Hancock, ex-governor of the Bank of England Mark Carney, as well as Labour heavyweight Ed Balls and his wife Yvette Cooper, the shadow home secretary.

As well as politicians there were a host of well-known journalists.

They included Today Programme host Nick Robinson, former Newsnight presenter Emily Maitlis, ex-BBC correspondent Jon Sopel, former Sky News political editor Adam Boulton with his wife Anji Hunter, an adviser in Downing Street under Sir Tony Blair, and Mariella Frostrup.

Mr Osborne was not seen arriving at the church ahead of the service, but Ms Rogers walked through the churchyard to claps from well-wishers.

The service, which lasted nearly an hour, included music from Beethovens Ode To Joy and Hubert Parrys Jerusalem.

After the smiling couple, who have two children together and own property in Bruton, emerged from the church as the bells rang, to pose for photographs.

Suddenly a smartly dressed woman walked up to the newlyweds and showered them with orange confetti from a Union flag paper bag.

Mr Osborne looked behind him as she approached the couple before throwing the confetti over the groom.

The grey-haired woman, in a floral dress and pale coloured jacket, emptied the bag of confetti near the couple before she left after being spoken to by two men.

They looked puzzled, but did not appear to speak to the woman, who fled quickly when approached by journalists.

The orange confetti appeared to be similar to that scattered by Just Stop Oil protesters at Wimbledon on Wednesday.

As guests left the church, they lined up outside to cheer and throw confetti at the newly married couple as they walked down the path to their wedding car.

The couples wedding comes amid a riddle over an email sent earlier this week to many of the invited wedding guests as well as some journalists.

After quitting the House of Commons, Mr Osborne became editor of the Evening Standard newspaper.

The town of Bruton has been dubbed the Notting Hill of the West due to the number of celebrities living there.
G eorge Osborne and his new wife Thea Rogers were covered in orange confetti by a woman as they emerged from their wedding ceremony on Saturday.

Around 200 people, including a string of well-known politicians and journalists, had attended the wedding of the former chancellor of the Exchequer, 52, and his former aide, 40-year-old Thea Rogers at the 14th Century St Marys Church in the Somerset village of Bruton.

In a tongue in cheek comment, Just Stop Oil tweeted: You look good in orange @George_Osborne  congratulations to the newlyweds.

On Sunday, James Skeet, a spokesperson for Just Stop Oil told LBC that the group was not behind the stunt.

Just Stop Oil did not disrupt George Osbournes wedding, Mr Skeet said. Theres a video of a woman throwing orange confetti at a wedding, but shes not one of ours, Im afraid.

After the smiling couple, who have two children together, emerged from the church as the bells rang, a smartly dressed woman showered them with orange confetti from a Union flag paper bag.

Mr Osborne looked behind him as she approached the couple before throwing the confetti over the groom.

The grey-haired woman, in a floral dress and pale coloured jacket, emptied the bag of confetti near the couple before she left after being spoken to by two men.

PA

The couple looked puzzled, but did not appear to speak to the woman, who fled when approached by and journalists.

The activists tweet was condemned by former home secretary Priti Patel, who accused Just Stop Oil of being shameful, attention seeking, disrespectful low life.

Among the guests attending the service were former prime minister David Cameron and his wife Samantha, former chancellor Sajid Javid and Levelling-Up Secretary Michael Gove.

: Former UK prime minister David Cameron and his wife Samantha Cameron arrive / Getty Images

Also present were Lord Hague and his wife Ffion, former health secretary Matt Hancock, ex-governor of the Bank of England Mark Carney, and Labour heavyweight Ed Balls with his wife Yvette Cooper, the shadow home secretary.

As well as politicians there were a host of well-known journalists.

They included Today Programme host Nick Robinson, former Newsnight presenter Emily Maitlis, ex-BBC correspondent Jon Sopel, former Sky News political editor Adam Boulton with his wife Anji Hunter, an adviser in Downing Street under Sir Tony Blair, and Mariella Frostrup.

Mr Osborne was not seen arriving at the church ahead of the service, but Ms Rogers walked through the churchyard to claps from well-wishers.

The service, which lasted nearly an hour, included music from Beethovens Ode To Joy and Hubert Parrys Jerusalem.

After quitting the House of Commons, Mr Osborne became editor of the Evening Standard newspaper.

The town of Bruton has been dubbed the Notting Hill of the West due to the number of celebrities living there.
A n Irish flag and a poster of Taoiseach Leo Varadkar were placed on top of a loyalist bonfire in Co Tyrone.

The pyre in Moygashel previously garnered attention online after a boat was placed on it.

By Saturday evening, a banner reading Good Friday Agreement? That ship has sailed had been added to the side of the boat, and a mock copy of the 1998 accord with the words null and void printed over it.

The bonfire, titled No Irish Sea Border Bonfire, was lit around 11pm following a parade and an address by loyalist activist Jamie Bryson.

It also features a banner reading Moygashel says No to Irish Sea border, referring to the unionist and loyalist communities opposition to post-Brexit trading arrangements.

Most of the bonfires to mark Northern Irelands traditional July 12 celebrations will be lit on July 11.

There has been controversy in previous years, with politicians election posters and Irish flags placed on the pyres.

Earlier on Saturday, the only annual Orange parade in the Republic of Ireland took place.

Orange lodges from counties Donegal, Monaghan and Cavan  along with guests from Northern Ireland  took part in the seaside procession in Rossnowlagh.

Meanwhile Sunday will see the annual Drumcree parade leave Carleton Street Orange Hall in Portadown, Co Armagh, to a church service at Drumcree Parish Church.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the parade being prevented from completing its traditional return route along Garvaghy Road.

The Parades Commission again this year refused permission for the return leg of the parade.

The stand-off at Drumcree hit the headlines in the 1990s with nationalist residents of the Garvaghy Road resolutely opposed to the parade passing through the area.

It led to violent clashes for several summers and political tensions necessitating a major security operation.

Most of the bonfires are set to be lit on July 11, on the eve of the marking of the victory of the Protestant King William over the Catholic King James II in the Battle of the Boyne in 1690.

That victory secured a Protestant line of succession for the British crown.

Most of the hundreds of bonfires constructed in loyalist neighbourhoods across Northern Ireland pass off without incident, but several continue to be the source of controversy.

In previous years, there have been complaints from nationalist and cross-community politicians about their images being placed on the fires.

It is the busiest date for the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service which usually deals with hundreds of calls related to the towering pyres.
F iona Phillips says people have told her that sharing her diagnosis of Alzheimers and the experience of the disease within her family has made them feel less alone.

The broadcaster, 62, said she has received incredible kindness from members of the public since revealing her diagnosis earlier this week in the Daily Mirror.

People have been so kind to me, she told the newspaper.

Because I was worried about sharing the news (that) I have this awful disease. I was anxious people would be staring or whispering about me or would just write me off as a batty old woman.

But there has been incredible kindness.

Phillips also recently shared that doctors had told her that though the condition was not hereditary, she is predisposed to it due to her family history  her parents, grandparents and uncle have all had the illness.

Her mother Amy was first affected by Alzheimers in her 50s and died in 2006, aged 74, while her father got it before his wife died.

The former GMTV presenter told the Mirror: So many people have told me about how Alzheimers has hit their families, as it has attacked mine, and somehow it just makes them feel a little bit less alone.

Phillips husband, This Morning editor Martin Frizell, previously said he has absolutely ramped up his efforts to take care of her since she was diagnosed.

Phillips was recently scammed by a phone fraudster who siphoned thousands of pounds out of her bank account which, although refunded, showed her increased vulnerability.

So many people have told me about how Alzheimers has hit their families, as it has attacked mine, and somehow it just makes them feel a little bit less alone.

Frizell told the paper: I didnt ever have to worry about Fiona before, and now I do. What is she doing all day while Im at work? What is she doing in the evening if Im out? What has she eaten?

Since her diagnosis Phillips has become involved in clinical trials which it is hoped will revolutionise treatments for people with Alzheimers.

She now receives three daily drug injections as part of the trials at University College Hospital in London, saying she is very positive about them.

I want to try to make things better for people in the future. I now have to talk about it openly, she said.

I have been reluctant as I think people look at you in a different way if they think you have Alzheimers.

Attitudes change. People used to refer to cancer as The Big C in hushed tones but that has gone  maybe it can be the same for Alzheimers.

Since sharing her diagnosis, Phillips has received messages of support from fans, politicians and other famous faces including Holly Willoughby, Piers Morgan, Kate Garroway, Lorraine Kelly and Susanna Reid.

Phillips anchored GMTV for more than a decade and competed on BBCs Strictly Come Dancing in 2005.

In the UK, Alzheimers disease is the most common cause of dementia, which is the name for a group of symptoms associated with an ongoing decline of brain function, according to the NHS website.

Phillips has been a long campaigner for Alzheimers awareness and in 2012 took part in a Department of Health and Social Care campaign to encourage families to have a difficult conversation with their loved ones about the condition and seek help.

Her 2009 Channel 4 documentary Dispatches: Mum, Dad, Alzheimers And Me also gave an insight into her acting as a carer for her family.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg speaks at a press conference to preview the NATO Summit in Vilnius, at the NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, July 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Zheng Huansong)

BRUSSELS, July 7 (Xinhua) -- The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) aims to adopt three regional defense plans at its upcoming summit in Vilnius, Lithuanian, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said at a press conference here on Friday.

He said the military bloc would strengthen its deterrence in the Atlantic and European Arctic in the north, in the Baltic region and Central Europe in the center, and in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea in the south.

To execute these plans, NATO would put 300,000 troops on high readiness, including substantial air and naval combat power, Stoltenberg said, adding that he expected the endorsement of a new "Defense Production Action Plan to aggregate demand, boost capacity and increase interoperability."

Stoltenberg also said that he expected the allies to agree on a package to bring Ukraine closer to NATO.

At the summit, NATO allies are expected to set a more ambitious defense investment pledge to invest a minimum of 2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) annually on defense.

The summit, scheduled for next Tuesday and Wednesday, will also be attended by the leaders of Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea and the European Union. This will be Finland's first summit as a NATO ally, Stoltenberg noted, adding that the bloc "looks forward to Sweden joining as soon as possible."

Against the backdrop of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, the demonstration of military power by NATO is dangerous, Hrvoje Klasic, professor of history at the University of Zagreb, told Xinhua recently. 

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg speaks at a press conference to preview the NATO Summit in Vilnius, at the NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, July 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Zheng Huansong)
The police officers from the organized crime fighting structures, together with the Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT)

prosecutors, carried out, between June 23 and July 6, 47 operative actions, to dismantle criminal groups specialized in human trafficking, computer crime, drug trafficking and illicit consumption and money laundering, the Romanian General Police Inspectorate (IGPR) informs on Saturday, Agerpres.

During this, 203 home searches were carried out and 6 arrests were made in flagrante delicto, and investigative activities were carried out to prove the criminal activity of 140 people, states a press release sent by the IGPR.

73 detention orders and 43 preventive arrest warrants were issued. Also, 19 people were subject to judicial review.

Furthermore, approximately 12 kilograms of cannabis, 30 grams of cocaine, 4 kilograms of other psychoactive substances, as well as 192 tablets were seized.

As a result of the activities, 2 crops, 27 plants, 20 grinders, 31 precision scales, 4 non-lethal weapons, 3 cars, 125 mobile phones, 5 laptops, 55 SIM cards, 29 pieces of storage media, 514,576 lei, 26,095 euros and 3,467 dollars.

Officers from the Service for Interventions and Special Actions, policemen from the county inspectorates, as well as gendarmes participated in the actions alongside the policemen from the structures to fight organized crime.
The Secretary of State for Global Affairs and Diplomatic Strategies, Traian Hristea, had a virtual meeting on Friday, July 7, with the ambassador-at-large of the Republic of Colombia, Assad Jose Jater Pena, for the presentation of copies of credentials as a non-resident ambassador, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE) informs.

On this occasion, the Romanian official reconfirmed his interest in deepening the political-diplomatic dialogue, as well as in boosting bilateral economic and sectoral cooperation, according to a press release published on Saturday by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

According to the same source, ambassador-at-large Assad Jose Jater Pena conveyed the willingness of the Republic of Colombia to develop bilateral relations and welcomed Romania's decision to appoint a new ambassador to Bogota.

The two interlocutors recognized the importance of continuing the consultations on the line of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, as well as the inter-parliamentary dialogue, at the level of the Friendship Groups.

At the end of the meeting, Secretary of State Traian Hristea wished Ambassador Assad Jose Jater Pena success in fulfilling his mandate and assured him of the full support of the Romanian authorities, according to the statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.AGERPRES
The General Inspectorate of the Border Police (IGPR) informs that on Friday, July 7, 148,300 people entered Romania through the border points, of which 16,144 were Ukrainian citizens.

According to a press release sent to AGERPRES on Saturday, approximately 288,500 people, Romanian and foreign citizens, with more than 72,300 means of transport, completed the control formalities at the border points throughout the country, both inbound and outbound.

Starting with February 10, 2022 (pre-conflict period), 4,914,763 Ukrainian citizens entered Romania.

In the areas of competence, the crossing points and the "green border", the police found 48 illegal acts (26 crimes and 22 misdemeanors) committed by both Romanian and foreign citizens, and the value of fines amounts to approximately 25,600 RON.

Goods were seized for confiscation in the amount of approximately 453,100 RON.

On Friday, 13 foreign citizens who did not meet the conditions stipulated by the law were not allowed to enter the country, as well as the exit of 21 Romanian citizens for various legal reasons.
The Minister of Culture, Raluca Turcan, announced on Saturday that he is going to sign an order regarding the classification of the former communist prison in Pitesti as a historical monument.

"Regarding the Pitessti Memorial, there is already a request for registration in the UNESCO heritage list from the Institute for the Research of the Crimes of Communism. This request provides for the registration of this historical objective, along with four other prisons, Ramnic, Sighet, Jilava and Aiud, in the heritage list historical. Before starting this procedure, which is a long one, because it involves going through several stages, in the coming days I will sign the order for the classification of the Pitesti Memorial, which means ensuring protection from a patrimonial perspective on the part of the Ministry of Culture", declared Raluca Turcan on Saturday, in Pitesti, during a press conference.

The Pitesti Prison Memorial and the Association of Former Political Prisoners from Romania (AFDPR) requested, on October 20, 2022, the urgent classification of the former communist penitentiary as a historical monument. The founder of the Pitesti Prison Memorial, Maria Axinte, drew attention to the risk of a building body being demolished to make way for a real estate project, recalling at the same time that the steps to classify it as a historical monument began several years ago, but the procedure it has been going on for a long time already.

The Pitesti Prison Memorial had previously launched a petition to save the former penitentiary, "so that future generations do not forget what communism meant".

The Pitesti Prison Memorial is a private museum located inside the former penitentiary from Pitesti, where the so-called re-education through torture of the opponents of the communist regime was experienced.

The Minister of Justice, Alina Gorghiu, together with the Minister of Culture, Raluca Turcan, is visiting Arges county on Saturday
BEIRUT, July 7 (Xinhua) -- The high demand demonstrated at the ongoing jewelry and fashion expo in Lebanon boosts confidence in the sales prospects of the country's designer fashion in the summer season.

Over 35 Lebanese fashion and jewelry designers participated in the Jewels of Beirut Expo 2023, underway from July 5th to 8th in the Lebanese capital.

Victor Azar, manager at Azar, a famous jewelry store in Beirut, said he had received great demand for his products from overseas tourists and Lebanese expatriates since the expo kicked off.

"We saw good numbers of tourists from Gulf countries and Lebanese expats from Europe and the United States buying with budgets of 1,000 U.S. dollars and above," Azar told Xinhua.

Azar said he is happy to see the "great buzz" in Lebanon this summer fueled by exhibitions and a great many international arrivals.

"We place big hopes on tourists and expats this summer," he added.

Rolando Bonja, a local jewelry designer and co-owner of Christian Bonja, told Xinhua the turnout at the exhibition is higher than expected, with most demands coming from Syrians, Kuwaitis, and Qataris who on average spend between 1,000 and 7,000 U.S. dollars per piece per person.

"I was surprised by the demand for our products," said Bonja, who came all the way from Dubai to attend the exhibition.

"People are tired from the several crises that hit Lebanon over the past years and want to feel alive again," he said.

Since October 2019, Lebanon has been witnessing the worst financial and economic crisis in its history, leading to the loss of billions of dollars in bank deposits and plunging over 80 percent of the population into poverty.

The crisis was further exacerbated by the outbreak of COVID-19 and the Beirut port explosions on Aug. 4, 2020, which killed over 200 people, injured thousands of others, and destroyed a big part of the city. 
STAR, Idaho  Once he and his wife, Jennifer, moved to a Boise suburb last year, Tim Kohl could finally express himself.

Kohl did what the couple never dared at their previous house outside of Los Angeles  the newly retired Los Angeles police officer flew a U.S. flag and a Thin Blue Line banner representing law enforcement outside his house.

"We were scared to put it up," Jennifer Kohl acknowledged. But the Kohls knew they had moved to the right place when neighbors complimented him on the display.

Leah Dean is on the opposite end of the political spectrum, but she knows how the Kohls feel. In Texas, Dean was scared to fly an abortion rights banner outside her house. Around the time the Kohls were house-hunting in Idaho, she and her partner found a place in Denver, where their LGBTQ+ pride flag flies above the banner in front of their house that proclaims "Abortion access is a community responsibility."

"One thing we have really found is a place to feel comfortable being ourselves," Dean said.

Americans are segregating by their politics at a rapid clip, helping fuel the greatest divide between the states in modern history.

The split has sent states careening to the political left or right, adopting diametrically opposed laws on some of the hottest issues of the day. In Idaho, abortion is illegal once a heartbeat can be detected in a fetus  around six weeks  and it's a crime to help a minor travel out of state to obtain one. In Colorado, state law prevents any restrictions on abortion. In Idaho, minors aren't allowed gender affirming care, while Colorado allows youths to come from other states to access the procedures.

Federalism  allowing each state to chart its own course within boundaries set by Congress and the Constitution  is at the core of the U.S. system. It lets the states, in the words of former Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis, be "laboratories of democracy."

Now, some wonder whether that's driving Americans apart.

"Does that work as well in a time when we are so politically divided, or does it just become an accelerant for people who want to re-segregate?" asked Rob Witwer, a former Republican Colorado state lawmaker.

The states' swings aren't simply due to transplants, of course. The increasing clustering of Americans into like-minded enclaves  dubbed "The Big Sort"  has many causes. Harvard professor Ryan Enos estimates that, at least before the pandemic, only 15% of the homogeneity was due to people moving. Other causes include political parties polarizing on hot-button issues that split neatly on demographic lines, such as guns and abortion, and voters adopting their neighbors' partisanship.

"A lot of this is driven by other sorting that is going on," Enos said.

When Americans move, politics is not typically the explicit reason. But the lifestyle choices they make place them in communities dominated by their preferred party.

"Democrats want to live in places with artistic culture and craft breweries, and Republicans want to move to places where they can have a big yard," said Ryan Strickler, a political scientist at Colorado State University-Pueblo.

But something may have changed as the country has become even more polarized. Businesses catering to conservatives fleeing blue states have sprouted, such as Blue Line Moving, which markets to families moving from blue states to Florida. In Texas, a "rainbow underground railroad" run by a Dallas realtor helps LGBTQ+ families flee the state's increased restrictions targeting that population.

The switch might have been flipped during the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, which created a class of mobile workers no longer bound to the states where their companies were based. Those who are now mobile are predominantly white-collar workers and retirees, the two most politically engaged parts of the national population.

Mike McCarter, who has spearheaded a quixotic campaign to have conservative eastern Oregon become part of Idaho, said most people didn't pay much attention to state government until the pandemic.

"Then it was like 'Oh, they can shut down any church and they can shut down my kids' school?'" McCarter said. "If state level government has that much power, you'd better be sure it reflects your values, and not someone else's values that are forced on you."

The coronavirus pandemic helped push Aaron and Carrie Friesen to Idaho. They realized they could take their marketing firm remote from its base near Hilton Head, South Carolina. They'd always planned to return to the West, but California, where Aaron, now 39, was born and raised, and Washington state, Carrie's native state, were both immediately disqualified because of their progressive politics.

The Friesens and their three children settled on Boise. They loved the big skies, the mountains rearing up behind the town, the plethora of outdoor activities.

And they liked Idaho's pandemic policies. When the Friesens visited, almost no one was wearing masks, which they took as a good sign  they were happy to mask up when sick, but found constant masking pointless.

"With the temperature of politics nowadays, if people choose to move somewhere, they are going to choose to move to a place with like-minded people," Aaron Friesen said.

That's apparently been happening in Idaho, said Mathew Hay, who oversees a regular survey of new arrivals for Boise State University. Historically, transplants mirrored the conservative population's leanings, with about 45% describing themselves as "conservative," and the rest evenly split between liberal and moderate.

But something changed last year  the share of newcomers saying they came to Idaho for the politics jumped to 9%, compared to 5% for long timers. The percentage describing themselves as "very conservative" also rose.

In Colorado, the reverse may be happening.

Bret Weinstein, owner of a real estate firm in Denver, said politics has become the top issue for people buying a home.

"It's brought up in our initial conversations," Weinstein said. "Three years ago, we didn't have those conversations, ever."
Jen Dykeman knew she needed a work-life change. Shed spent 20 years in marketing, and the thrill was gone. Id lost the spark of caring whether another piece of plastic imported from China made it to the shelf in some retail store. It felt I wasnt helping people and contributing to the world in the way that I wanted to, she says.

She didnt dive into the change process headfirst, however. I took the slowest possible route over many years. I did a lot of soul searching, took career tests, focused on what was important to me, and after all of that hard work, I landed on art therapy, she says.

Making the switch  Although shed earned her undergraduate degree in art history at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville, she needed to complete a year of studio art classes to enter the art therapy counseling program.

It's funny because I ended up in the exact same classroom where Id studied 20 years earlier. It was really wild, almost surreal, and I spent one glorious year there, she says. She went on to earn a dual degree in art therapy and counseling. Shed also enhanced her own art processes shed begun as a young preteen.

An artists life  Ive been making collages since I was in middle school, in the 1970s and 80s, she says. I just kept moving back to it throughout my life. Ive done the same with my yoga practice, which goes back to my sophomore in high school.

Yoga and art still go hand in hand in Dykemans life. Yoga is another aspect to help people learn some skills to help them self-regulate and live a more fulfilled life, she says. She completed her yoga teacher training at the same time she finished her art therapy and counseling degree.

She now teaches yoga a few days a week at Island Life Yoga & Nutrition in Soulard, which happens to be located across from her home.

Weathering storms  Dykemans twin training in mind, spirit and therapeutic artwork converged during the tough years of the pandemic and political unrest worldwide.

When the pandemic hit, there was a lot of grief for myself and probably everybody else in the world. I went back to making art even more usual because its an outlet for soothing, processing and moving through difficult things. It also really helps from a neurological standpoint. Through art, people can access the emotional parts of themselves and process of the worries in life.

Introspection, random chance and intuition  Dykeman is open to inspiration and discovery in whatever ways that come to her. Ten years ago, a dream launched her into a series of four artworks about Ophelia. Shes completed three of the pieces. She painted "Ophelia of the Air" first. Now theres one of fire, another of water. At some point Ill make Ophelia of the earth, she says. The paintings were definitely a self-exploration. I didnt come to the work with a plan.

A chance encounter led Dykeman to sell five small collages that would later appear on television on "Two and a Half Men" and "The Big Bang Theory." My husband, Andy, and I were having a 50th wedding anniversary party for his parents. I didn't know this person who was invited, but she was an Emmy award-winning set designer. Andy talked to her, showed her our art, and she asked to buy my pieces, Dykeman says. She later enjoyed seeing her art on the sets, through a random and unplanned sale.

The third hand  Dykeman plans to continue to wear three hats  working artist, art therapist and licensed professional counselor.

Her personal artwork could even be viewed as teaching by example. I describe my style as intuitive, a bit moody and emotional, tinged with dark edges but also filled with light, joy and color. Its organic with a bit of surrealism, existentialism and Eastern philosophies focused on themes of life, death, and regeneration, she says.

We're often told art therapists are the third hand that helps people process feelings and emotions, she says. I want to continue that process through art. I am also available for people who want to process in more verbal ways. Its great to capitalize on all of these skills.

Art of Life

Artist  Jen Dykeman

Age  54

Family  Dykeman, lives with her husban,d Andy, who is also an artist and a chiropractor. Their dog, sweet Sofi, a Pomerian/cocker spaniel mix, is a self-trained therapy dog who goes to work at Andys office each day and gets to work comforting folks.

Home  Soulard

What she makes  Dykeman is an artist who paints, makes collages, assemblages and mixed-media works. She also creates unique sculptures, ceramics and artist books. She works as an art therapist and grief counselor at Evelyns House, a BJC hospice.

Where to buy  Dykeman sells through her Facebook and Instagram pages as well as at art shows. Her website, Art of Life, is currently under construction and will also be a place people can by her work. Her art is on display at Jacoby Arts Center in Alton through May 26. She is also exhibiting work at Paper Cuts, a show at Ellipsis Gallery, 3340 Manchester Road from noon to 4 p.m. May 20. She is also currently exhibiting at Boxx Gallery in Tieton, Washington.

How much  Her original pieces are priced from $95 to $500. She also accepts commissions.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is warning consumers not to use off-brand versions of the popular weight-loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy because they might not contain the same ingredients as the prescription products and may not be safe or effective.

Agency officials have received reports of problems after patients used versions of semaglutide, the active ingredient in the brand-name medications, which have been compounded, or mixed in pharmacies. Officials didn't say what the problems were.

The trouble is that those versions, often sold online, contain a version of semaglutide that is used in lab research and has not been approved for use in people.

Compounded drugs are not FDA-approved, and the agency does not verify the safety or effectiveness of compounded drugs, the notice said.

Sales of semaglutide products have soared in the past few years after the drug was shown to spur fast and significant weight loss. The drugs manufactured by Novo Nordisk include brands Ozempic and Rybelsus, used to treat diabetes, and Wegovy, approved to treat obesity.

Demand for the medications has outstripped supply. As of May, Ozempic and Wegovy remain on the FDAs list of drug shortages. When drugs are in short supply, compounding pharmacies are permitted to produce versions of those medications.

Consumers should only use drugs containing semaglutide with a prescription from a licensed health care provider and obtained from a state-licensed pharmacy or other facilities registered with the FDA, the agency said.

What drug ads disclose to consumers  and what they don't What drug ads disclose to consumersand what they don't Benefits, risks, and side effects Approved use of a drug Who shouldn't take it and when you shouldn't take it Generic name of drug What they don't have to tell you
ST. LOUIS  City aldermen are joining a fight the civilian jail oversight board and criminal justice advocates have been waging to increase transparency about violence at the city justice center  while the citys top public safety official continues to defend the corrections commissioner.

Detention Facilities Oversight Board members say they havent been allowed to get inside the jail, access complaints about the jail or investigate misconduct by officers. Board members say theyre worried that severe overcrowding, inhumane conditions and reports of violence in the jail are growing.

Charles Coyle, the citys director of public safety, responded on June 30 to the board members calling for the resignation of the person Mayor Tishaura O. Jones appointed to run the jail, Jennifer Clemons-Abdullah.

I will not be asking for her resignation, stated Coyle. In the letter he placed the blame on the board and on former commissioner, Matthew Brummund, who resigned in May from his job running the citys new Division of Civilian Oversight, which houses both police and jail civilian oversight boards.

No one likes oversight, no one likes to be audited. I get that. No one likes the referees. But I wasnt expecting opposition internally from the city counselor and my own public safety director. I wasnt expecting that, said Brummund in an interview this week.

The city counselors office and the corrections commissioner do not think civilian oversight is a good idea, and they are actively resisting it. They dont want to appear that way, but thats exactly what it is, Brummund said. Thats why I left.

Coyle, Clemons-Abdullah and other Jones appointees continue to deny the boards claims of obstruction. Last year, Jones pushed the creation of the new oversight agency, saying it would increase transparency and relationships between law enforcement and the community.

Jones and Clemons-Abdullah did not respond to requests for comment.

There was a roadmap for success and good intentions to accomplish this mission, said Coyle in the letter to the board.

The last board meeting to be posted on the citys website and YouTube channel was from February, and Clemons-Abdullah has only met with the board one time in the past year and a half.

Brummund said civilian oversight boards are still a needed solution to the issues faced in corrections and law enforcement.

These are perfect vehicles for it. Hopefully they will work, I still believe in them, he said. It just wasnt working with me there.

His successor, Brummund said, should be well-versed in legalese.

Trying to hide something

Aldermen voiced their concerns about the lack of transparency during a public safety committee meeting in June. The committee passed the ordinance that created the civilian jail and police boards. It requires them to develop rules and procedures, and complete an orientation including topics like the states sunshine laws and treatment of detainees, before they can operate.

Brummund says the jail board met those requirements and posted its rules on the city website. However, he said board members and even staff investigators for the board, which consist of former law enforcement officers, still have problems accessing the jail.

Coyle, in his June 30 letter, told the board there are 11 trainings they now needed to complete, citing an interpretation of the ordinance by the City Counselor Sheena Hamilton.

Alderman Rasheen Aldridge, a former state legislator and public safety committee vice chair, raised questions about that during the June 30 public safety committee meeting, saying he did not need trainings to tour federal corrections facilities.

To me that only reads that theyre trying to hide something  and Im not scared to say that and I want to go on record and say that is a problem, said Aldridge.

The civilian jail boards vice chair, civil rights activist Darryl Gray, made a plea about safety and overcrowding at the jail. The jail population has recently increased, according to the most recently available city data.

Gray told the aldermen that a city employee showed him a video of 11 or 12 inmates who had for days been in a cell designed to safely hold four people. The citys Department of Corrections is also facing a federal lawsuit about macing inmates without cause, water deprivation and other constitutional violations.

If we treat people long enough like caged animals, what do you think theyre going to become? Gray said.
A woman from Bowling Green, Missouri, was fatally injured Tuesday in a head-on crash with an ambulance in Ralls County, police said.

The Missouri Highway Patrol identified the woman as 43-year-old Terri L. Rucker.

Police said Rucker was driving north in the southbound lanes of Highway 61 at New London about 9:45 p.m. Tuesday. Her car, a 2010 Dodge Journey, hit an oncoming ambulance head-on.

Rucker, who was wearing a seat belt, died at the scene, the patrol said. Two people with the ambulance crew suffered serious injuries.

The ambulance had just dropped off a patient and was not running a call at the time of the crash so its lights and sirens were not activated, a patrol spokesman said.
HAZELWOOD  After 40 years in their home on Elm Grove Court here, Rick and Jean Guinn want out.

Rains have backed up their sewer at least four times. Hurricane Ike flooded their basement in 2008. After last summers flash flooding filled it again, with twice as much water, they volunteered for a government buyout, which would demolish their home and pay them to move.

This last one just did us in, Jean Guinn said. Were done.

But, a year later, theyre stuck in limbo: They dont feel like they can sell their house. They dont have somewhere else to live. They dont know when the buyout will come. And every rain brings fears of Coldwater Creek rising behind them.

Its a constant source of worry, she said. When will it be done? When can we leave? Will they offer enough?

Last summer, after record-shattering rainfall flooded hundreds of homes across the St. Louis area, local officials turned to a key long-term strategy to help homeowners, and stop a cycle of repetitive flooding: They wanted to buy out hundreds of flood-prone homes and demolish them, turning them back into green space, forever. Now that list stands at just 52.

And even those who made the cut are left waiting as applications move through local, state and federal government bureaucracy, before checks are written and shovels hit the ground.

Nine local governments  St. Louis, St. Louis County, Hazelwood, Florissant, Maryland Heights, Ladue, Webster Groves, University City, De Soto  applied for federal funding to buy properties in pockets of the region hard hit by last Julys floods, according to state records released to the Post-Dispatch.

But red tape slows everything down.

Local governments apply for buyout funding on behalf of residents, after assessing damages, prioritizing the most at-risk properties and asking owners if they want a buyout, which are typically priced at the value of the home before the flood.

The Missouri State Emergency Management Agency pares down the wish lists based on several criteria, including the history of flooding in each area, the damage to each home, and how effective each buyout would be in saving taxpayer dollars.

State and local officials then get necessary documentation from qualifying property owners and submit formal applications to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which again reviews the applications for eligibility.

And the funding is limited: FEMA caps all hazard mitigation grants after any one disaster at 20% of the FEMA payout for that specific flood. And FEMA typically only pays for 75% of the projects; state and local governments have to find the rest.

In Webster Groves, officials decided to prioritize six homes that had suffered substantial flood damages. The full list of 12 would have cost the city more than $900,000, it said. Unfortunately, this is not financially feasible, the city said in a letter to residents, and difficult decisions had to be made.

In Hazelwood, officials are requiring buyout applicants to put in 10% of the sales price. Each property owner bears some responsibility for acquiring the property, so a contribution towards the mitigation is a reasonable way to help protect tax dollars, City Manager Matt Zimmerman said in an email.

In University City, officials had initially talked of buying out most of more than 300 homes condemned in the wake of last Julys flash flooding, a cost estimated at $40 million. But the state said there was no way the city would get that kind of funding, so officials pared down their list to two dozen.

Buyouts are often frustrating for officials and homeowners alike, said Jon Remo, professor at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale who researches river management and flood mitigation.

I wish I could say its a clear and transparent process, but its not, Remo said. Not that anybody is necessarily doing anything wrong, but when you have all these levels of local government, its just hard to follow.

I just want to know when

Last fall, the nine local governments  not including St. Clair County, which has asked Illinois to consider buyouts there, too  were eyeing more than 150 addresses, including homes and apartments, for buyouts, at a cost of about $26 million.

But after a monthslong review, the Missouri State Emergency Management Agency said it planned to send applications for 52, worth a total of about $13.5 million, on to federal authorities by Aug. 8. Another 16 properties were waitlisted, should more funding be available than anticipated.

FEMA did not provide a timeline for when it expects to authorize buyout funding and did not respond to a request for comment. But federal and state officials warn cities and homeowners that the process is complex and takes time.

The buyouts now being considered, which range from Coldwater Creek in north St. Louis County to Joachim Creek in Jefferson County and from Deer Creek in Ladue to the River Des Peres in Lemay, would still be one of the largest in the region in three decades.

In University City, Kathleen Behrmann, 71, moved into her home on Wilson Avenue in 2015, looking for somewhere to age in place. She knew it was in the flood plain, but was told at the time that the Metropolitan Sewer District had done work there to reduce flooding. The home was affordable. She liked the yard and the neighborhood. She bought flood insurance.

And she had just finished renovating the kitchen when last Julys flood hit. University City condemned her home.

She spent more than five months living with her daughter, used FEMA emergency funding to make repairs, and moved back in January.

Still, she said she cant go through that again. Shes counting on a buyout.

I just want to know when, Behrmann said. But no one can tell me that.

In Ladue, Greg Orfs home on Foxboro Road has flooded at least three times since he moved there in 2003: Hurricane Ike in 2008, flash flooding in 2020, and again last July.

He moved back in January, after spending months cleaning the house out and making repairs.

We lost anything you could think of, said Orf, 73. It was a wipeout.

Thunderstorms now make Orf nervous. The next flood is a certainty, he said.

Hes on the buyout list, so far. But hes not certain hed take one.

I cant afford living in Ladue if I leave, said Orf, who sells pest control products designed for industrial and commercial properties. Id have to consider where Im going to go.

In Lemay, Pat Hunt said hes grateful federal and county officials are considering his familys home of 20 years, on Idaho Avenue across from the River Des Peres.

The Hunts moved in in 2003 and were hit by flash flooding in early 2016 after storms dumped about 10 inches of rain on the region and pooled about a foot of water in their basement, Hunt said. Three years later, in 2019, they were flooded by about four feet of water. In July, nearly six feet of water and sewage filled the basement, he said.

I never knew refrigerators and stoves could float, but they do, Hunt said. It was pretty devastating.

It just feels hopeless

The Hunts dont want to leave. But the next flood is just matter of time, Hunt said.

He said he has no choice but to wait for a buyout.

Back on Elm Grove Court in Hazelwood, the Guinns feel like theyre stuck, too. Who, they ask, would buy a house that floods?

So, late last month, they took buyout paperwork up to the city, said Jean Guinn, 65. Theyve attended meetings and stayed in contact with city officials about the process, which they were told could take two to three years.

But they worry about how much the government will offer.

The Guinns, both retired, had never planned or saved for a move.

And they dont know if they can afford to chip in the 10%  about $13,000 for the Guinns  that Hazelwood is requiring.

They said its an unfair cost to people whose homes were flooded.

And, like almost everyone in their shoes, they worry about the next flood.

We dont know what to do, Rick Guinn, 64, said. For us long-timers on this court, the ones who are left, it just feels hopeless. There is nowhere to go that we can afford with this money.

Were just in limbo.

Bryce Gray of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report.

Editor's note: This report has been updated to correct the number of properties Webster Groves seeks to buy.

Photos: St. Louis area massively floods, then refloods, within two days in July 2022 Flooding paralyzes St. Charles Flash flooding forces residents out of houses in St. Louis I-70 floods at Mid Rivers Mall Flooding paralyzes St. Charles County Flash flooding swamps home in O'Fallon, Mo Flooding paralyzes St. Charles County Record overnight rainfall floods University Commons Apartments in University City Record overnight rainfall causes flash flooding in University City Residents devastated by flood, face uncertain future East St. Louis homes flooded with water East St. Louis homes flooded with water Businesses cleanup, regroup in Old Towne St. Peters Flooding on Thursday on Goodfellow Boulevard Flooding St. Louis Flooding Afternoon showers added to area flooding woes Afternoon showers added to area flooding woes More flooding on Thursday Glass Factory Flooding University City residents continue to clean up from flash fooding University City residents continue to clean up from flash fooding University City residents continue to clean up from flash fooding Double whammy in Ellendale as neighborhood floods twice in a week Double whammy in Ellendale as neighborhood floods twice in a week Rescued by boats on Tuesday, apartment residents told to leave or risk losing their belongings by week's end Rescued by boats on Tuesday, apartment residents told to leave or risk losing their belongings by week's end flood relief line Double whammy in Ellendale as neighborhood floods twice in a week Rescued by boats on Tuesday, apartment residents told to leave or risk losing their belongings by week's end Double whammy in Ellendale as neighborhood floods twice in a week Businesses cleanup, regroup in Old Towne St. Peters Historic Old St. Ferdinand Shrine flooded again Historic Old St. Ferdinand Shrine flooded again Flooding paralyzes St. Peters
Shirley Bloxom cant forget the pride-swallowing shame she felt asking friends and church members for financial help.

After surgery left her husband partially paralyzed, he needed to use disposable underwear at least three times a day, said Bloxom, 72. Living on a fixed income, the couple couldnt afford them.

Bloxoms husband is among the estimated 2.5 million older Floridians who use incontinence products, like pads and adult diapers, daily. But with over a tenth of the Sunshine States seniors living in poverty, many struggle to pay for the supplies they need.

This year, Florida joined a growing number of states that are banning sales taxes on diapers to make them more affordable for older adults and families with young children. Florida is one of the United States top three destination states for retirees, with about 21% of its residents age 65 or older.

So it affects more people in Florida than it does in other places, said state Sen. Jay Trumbull, a Republican.

Fifteen other states, including California, Louisiana, and Minnesota, as well as the District of Columbia, have permanently eliminated the diaper tax, according to the National Diaper Bank Network. Five others do not have sales taxes in general.

Exemptions can vary widely. Some states ban taxes on diapers but no other incontinence products; others exempt taxes only on diapers purchased with a doctors prescription. Floridas effort is particularly comprehensive  eliminating sales taxes on both baby diapers and adult incontinence supplies.

Eliminating taxes on the products could save an adult who uses four or five diapers a day about $18 a month, according to a clinic analysis.

Though diapers, including for babies, are essential for many, they are not covered by food stamps. Nor are incontinence products for older adults typically covered by Medicare.

The cost can easily add up on a fixed income.

The Bloxoms receive $2,500 a month through Social Security. With medical copays, groceries, and mortgage payments, the money dries up quickly, Shirley Bloxom said.

Bloxom, who lives in Tallahassee, said she knows too many friends who have sat in unchanged incontinence products, stretching their luck and resources thin because money was tight.

This stuff does not come cheap, she said. I can understand why some people let their loved ones sit there in that kind of condition. Because they dont have the money.

Karla Munoz, a manager of aging services for Floridas Hillsborough County, said the regions older adults can spend about $100 a month on incontinence products. About half of the low-income seniors served by the county rely on these supplies, she said.

Lacking clean diapers can have a social cost. Seniors may avoid activities with grandchildren or friends, putting them at risk of isolation, which is linked to poorer health outcomes.

Sometimes, theyll have a tendency to use them a little bit longer, and that poses health risks, Munoz said. They could develop bedsores, and now youre talking about hospitalizations.

Eliminating sales taxes has long been considered a way to make essential items more affordable. Many states, including Florida, have removed taxes on period products, for example.

For the past year, the Sunshine State has had a temporary pause on taxing diapers for infants, through a relief package Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed last May. But the one-year ban did not apply to products for older adults.

I just didnt think it was fair to ignore one over the other  especially knowing many seniors are on a fixed income, said state Rep. Anna Eskamani, a Democrat, who has proposed bills in the past three legislative sessions that would ban taxes on all incontinence products. Every penny does count.

This years tax bill, which sailed through the Florida Legislature owing to a bipartisan push, made the diaper tax ban permanent  and extended it to senior incontinence products.

The relief package provides a sales tax exemption for diapers, incontinence undergarments, pads, and liners. DeSantis signed it into law on May 25.

The Sunshine State joined Iowa, Virginia, and North Dakota in permanently banning sales taxes on diapers this year.

The Bloxoms were eventually connected to Elder Care Services, a local nonprofit that provides support to low-income seniors in northeastern Florida. Because of the program, they no longer pay for diapers.

It has been a lifesaver, Shirley Bloxom said.

Healthiest states for seniors Which states are the most and least healthy for senior populations? #50. Mississippi #49. Louisiana #48. Kentucky #47. West Virginia #46. Oklahoma #45. Alabama #44. Arkansas #43. Nevada #42. Missouri #41. New Mexico #40. Georgia #39. Tennessee #38. Texas #37. Ohio #36. South Carolina #35. Indiana #34. North Carolina #33. Illinois #32. New York #31. Michigan #30. Pennsylvania #29. New Jersey #28. Florida #27. Kansas #26. California #25. Wyoming #24. Alaska #23. Arizona #22. North Dakota #21. Iowa #20. Montana #19. Delaware #18. Rhode Island #17. South Dakota #16. Virginia #15. Idaho #14. Wisconsin #13. Maine #12. Oregon #11. Nebraska #10. Massachusetts #9. Maryland #8. Washington #7. Hawaii #6. New Hampshire #5. Colorado #4. Connecticut #3. Minnesota #2. Vermont #1. Utah
Last week the Supreme Court handed down a bunch of decisions leaving the already hyperpolarized electorate raw heading into our countrys birthday. One of those decisions was ending affirmative action for college admissions. The court held that race-conscious admissions programs at Harvard and the University of North Carolina violate the Constitutions guarantee of equal protection and that colleges and universities can no longer take race into consideration as a specific basis for granting admission.

Im not a lawyer nor a Constitutional scholar and therefore I cannot speak to the legal merits of the ruling, but I can address it from a societal point of view. Of course, affirmative action is about racial discrimination, but it can also be viewed through the lens of fairness and opportunity. That is why I agree with the six conservative justices in their decision. The thing about affirmative action and racial based college admissions processes is that you lose the individual students stories.

Joined by Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito Jr., Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the student must be treated based on his or her experiences as an individual  not on the basis of race. Many universities have for too long done just the opposite. And in doing so, they have concluded, wrongly, that the touchstone of an individuals identity is not challenges bested, skills built, or lessons learned but the color of their skin. Our constitutional history does not tolerate that choice.

Roberts added that nothing prohibits universities from considering an applicants discussion of how race affected the applicants life, so long as that discussion is concretely tied to a quality of character or unique ability that the particular applicant can contribute to the university.

He suggests that students should share their stories as a way to let college know who they are. It is the biography of a student that can wield much more information on their diversity than the color of their skin alone.

It is my story that forms the basis for my passionate agreement with the chiefs above point. Sharing it here helps explain my position and the position of many hardworking students:

I grew up in a diverse, low- to lower-middle-class community. My Depression-era father had to drop out of school in the eighth grade in order to work to help his family. I attended my local public school. Both of my alcoholic parents worked full time. As early as first grade I fed myself breakfast, made my lunch, and walked by myself on the nearly one-mile trip to school.

My high school served over 1,600 students. There was one college counselor for the entire student body. I dont remember receiving any college counseling services from that individual. What I do remember is sitting in the office and looking at giant books that listed every college and university in the country. I completed the applications alone. I scheduled my SAT and drove myself there.

I was delighted to receive a few large envelopes in the mail a few months later. I headed off to the University of North Carolina at Greensboro with very little other than some clothes, bedding, and a couple towels. I worked two jobs on campus and my mother worked three jobs in order to pay for my schooling. Four years later I graduated with a Bachelors of Science in Nursing. My brother and I were the first in our family history to graduate from college.

I have no idea whether affirmative action played any role in my acceptance or rejection by any of the universities to which I applied. While I am a white person, I share my journey as an example as someone who was not at all privileged at the time I applied to college.

A majority of the American public agrees with the conservative justices when it comes to affirmative action during the college admissions process. According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll completed in February, 62% of Americans say race and ethnicity should not be considered at all in college admissions, including a majority of minority poll respondents.

Several states, including Florida and Michigan, have already prohibited race-based admissions for universities. In 2020, heavily Democratic California voters rejected affirmative action at the ballot box.

Since the ruling, colleges and universities have pushed back, complaining that ending affirmative action will make their student bodies less diverse. Granted, this will cause schools to change their processes, but it gives them the freedom to learn about students in other ways. Santa J. Ono, the current president of the University of Michigan, said, We know firsthand from our own data how a ban on affirmative action can really affect the diversity especially of your undergraduate populations. Its a lot of work. It takes a lot of resource and time, but with time it is possible.

The ending of affirmative action will give colleges and universities the opportunity to take a nuanced look at students with the understanding that diversity can be more than just race.

Lynn Schmidt is a Post-Dispatch columnist and Editorial Board member lynnschmidtrn@outlook.com On Twitter: @lynnschmidtrn
A federal judges order last week effectively barring the federal government from coordinating with social media companies to counter big lies online pits two important imperatives against one another: confronting widespread disinformation, and protecting freedom of speech.

The order, in a case with roots in Missouri, comes down almost entirely on the side of the latter, to the point that, if it stands, it could create a scenario in which the government might be unable to even call out dangerous disinformation for fear of being accused of censoring free speech.

Thats the wrong balance  but a balance is needed. This is a much more complicated issue than either side of the debate seems ready to admit.

The order, issued Tuesday in a federal lawsuit brought by Missouri and Louisiana, restricts the Biden administration from communicating with social media platforms about a vast range of topics, and from urging, encouraging, pressuring, or inducing in any manner the removal, deletion, suppression, or reduction of content containing protected free speech.

When people claim in online forums that, for example, vaccines and masking dont work, or that the 2020 presidential election was stolen, they are on one hand expressing personal, constitutionally protected opinions. But they are also spreading false and dangerous misinformation.

Yet the core allegation of the suit  that the government is effectively using its relationship with social media companies to engage in the kind of speech suppression by proxy that it couldnt legally engage in directly  is difficult to completely dismiss.

Missouri signed on as one of the original lead plaintiffs under then-Attorney General Eric Schmitt (now the states junior senator), whose relentless campaign of pandemic-era lawsuits against Missouri schools over their masking policies was a divisive and dangerous distraction at a time when schools needed to be able to focus on getting through the crisis.

Among other plaintiffs is Jim Hoft, founder of the St. Louis-based far-right site Gateway Pundit, which traffics in toxic conspiracy theories about the 2020 election and vaccines that are so out-there they would be funny if not for their reach.

The plaintiffs appear to have an ideological ally in U.S. District Judge Terry A. Doughty of Louisiana, who handed down last weeks ruling. A Donald Trump appointee, Doughty has shown in the past a willingness to entertain some of the most mischievous nonsense of the culture wars, including the thoroughly debunked claim that COVID vaccines dont work.

Some of the more histrionic portions of Doughtys opinion in the current case read like something overheard at a Trump rally. If the allegations made by Plaintiffs are true, he writes, the present case arguably involves the most massive attack against free speech in United States history.

Its clearly not that. For one thing, the social media platforms themselves arent beholden to the White House for their ability to operate. That ability is written into Section 230 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. It gives internet platforms immunity from legal liability for what their users write. Its a unique shield that traditional media (such as this newspaper) doesnt have.

The long-accepted tradeoff for that freedom is that the platforms are expected to self-police in good faith for dangerous content on their sites. Contrary to what so many conservatives seem to believe, they have every legal right to do that as private entities not governed by the First Amendment. For a presidential administration to merely point out that a platform is harboring material that its own stated policies prohibit doesnt at first glance sound like censorship.

But the form of that relationship, as laid out in Doughtys ruling, contains some details that should worry anyone who views governmental intrusion into the realm of free speech as generally a greater danger than whatever danger its trying to confront.

This wasnt merely a matter of the administration occasionally calling a platforms attention to something problematic on its sites that it might have missed. The case has highlighted the fact that Twitter (prior to Elon Musks purchase of it last year) gave the White House a special portal to quickly flag problematic posts for the company.

From a government-intrusion standpoint, thats a problem, even if most of what the government was flagging was genuine and dangerous public-health misinformation.

More of a problem still is that Twitter in some instances removed posts after administration complaints about things that werent dangerous, but merely embarrassing to the White House. These include a parody account by Hunter Bidens daughter and a doctored video of Jill Biden that made it look like shed been profane toward a group of students.

And therein lies the problem with even well-intentioned governmental involvement in monitoring free speech: By its nature, government wont limit its own power to legitimate criterion. Ironically enough, no one has demonstrated that principle more vividly than lead plaintiff Schmitt while he was Missouris attorney general.

None of this is to say the current order will, or should, stand on appeal as written. Legal scholars have been savage in their assessment of it, and even a laymans reading of the ruling can recognize it is largely a culture-war manifesto dressed up as a legal opinion.

But the underlying question  whether and how the federal government should engage with social media companies to confront disinformation  is one that needs to be addressed regardless of the ultimate outcome of this case. Traditional liberals, true libertarians and, yes, this newspaper have long warned of the danger of government regulation of speech. That danger doesnt evaporate just because the regulation is indirect and the speech in question is toxic.
THE HAGUE, July 7 (Xinhua) -- Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Friday night announced the break-up of his government after a failure to reach an agreement on migration policy between the four coalition parties.

"It is no secret that the coalition partners have very different views on migration policy. And today we unfortunately have to conclude that those differences are irreconcilable," said Rutte at a press conference in The Hague following a meeting with his ministers.

"This decision is difficult for all of us and for me personally too. It is regrettable that it did not work out," he added.

The four parties all believe that measures need to be taken on migration issues, but they still have disputes about the strictness of the approach.

The most thorny issue is family reunification. Rutte's People's Party for Freedom and Democracy and the Christian Democratic Appeal insisted that a restriction on family reunification is a way to reduce the migration flow, but the Democrats 66 and Christian Union drew a red line on this.

The government later said in a statement that Rutte has filed an application for the resignation of all ministers and state secretaries to King Willem-Alexander.

"The king has considered the application for dismissal and has requested the Prime Minister, Ministers and State Secretaries to continue to do whatever they deem necessary in the interests of the Kingdom," it said.

The king will meet with Rutte on Saturday for an explanation of the cabinet's application for resignation, it added.

The collapse of the current government means new elections have to be planned, probably in November 2023, according to local media reports.

The fourth government of Rutte was inaugurated on Jan. 10 last year. 
As a ninth grade student, I am deeply concerned about the lack of financial literacy education in high schools and its consequences for young individuals like me. The absence of comprehensive financial education in both public and private school systems is alarming.

Financial literacy is a crucial skill for todays teens enabling us to manage our money, make wise financial decisions, and avoid taking on unnecessary debt. Failure to get healthy financial management skills can have a great negative effect on our future. The absence of financial literacy leaves us ill-equipped to make wise financial choices.This lack of knowledge often leads to impulsive spending habits and misguided investments.

Unfortunately, both public and private school systems have failed to educate us in this regard. Financial literacy is rarely given priority in the curriculum. Many teachers lack the training to teach this subject effectively, continuing the cycle of inadequate financial education.

Financial literacy must be included in our curriculum. If done correctly, we students will be equipped with the knowledge we need to successfully navigate our personal finances.

Schools need to acknowledge the pressing nature of this issue. This can be done by creating courses on financial literacy, hosting conferences with financial advisors, and overall promotion of education and awareness. By doing so, these institutions empower us, high school students to make sound financial decisions and secure a brighter economic future for the next generation.

Praveen Vissa  Creve Coeur
I booked two round-trip tickets through Travelocity from Chicago to Ixtapa, Mexico, almost two years ago and paid in full by credit card. The airlines changed our itinerary many times, and Travelocity asked me to call to confirm the changes, which I did on all occasions. I called two days before the trip to reconfirm our flights.

We arrived at the airport to check in at Mexicana for the first leg of our flight to Mexico City. The remainder of our flight was on Aeromexico. When we checked in, the Mexicana agent told us we needed paper tickets. We had to purchase two one-way tickets from Chicago to Mexico City for $948.

I immediately called Travelocity after our return and followed their instructions for getting a refund. When I received no response, I started to email them. It's been more than a year, and there's still no resolution.

Colleen Farmer, Crystal Lake, Ill.

Your ticket should have been valid. When it wasn't, Travelocity should have booked you on another flight without forcing you to pay anything extra. If you had phoned Travelocity from the airport instead of paying for the ticket and then waiting for a resolution after you returned from vacation, the company might have been able to save you $948.

Come to think of it, you could have probably fixed this problem before arriving at the airport. How? By checking with Travel-ocity and your airline 24 hours before your departure. You called two days before your flight, but most airlines don't allow you to check in and get a seat assignment until a day before the flight. That's probably when you would have caught this error.

Travelocity should have offered you a prompt refund on the one-way tickets. It probably was waiting for a refund from Mexicana and planned to pass the money along to you. Those refunds can take months  even years.
About a month ago, I took advantage of a Travelocity e-mail fare alert for a flight from Minneapolis to Costa Rica. The deal seemed too good to be true: $230 roundtrip on US Airways. I booked the flight for my September honeymoon and then went to a website and bid on our accommodations, which I also booked.

A few days ago, US Airways notified me that it had dropped a connecting flight to Costa Rica, and that our only option was a full refund. I checked the ticket prices to Costa Rica and found that they had tripled. I felt like I was a victim of a bait-and-switch. I called US Airways, which offered to fly us to Costa Rica a day after we were supposed to leave. But it would involve an overnight stay in Charlotte, which the airline was unwilling to pay for.

Doug Miller, Shorewood, Minn.

Did US Airways and its online travel agent, Travelocity, engage in a bait-and-switch? I can see how you would think so. But flight schedules change constantly. Basically, you have the right to a refund or to a flight of the airline's choosing  nothing more.

I always recommend that engaged couples work with a qualified travel agent who specializes in honeymoons, because you don't want anything to go wrong on this vacation. This is no time to cut corners.

But let's take the honeymoon out of the equation. Between US Airways, with its "customer commitment" and Travelocity, with its "guarantee," I just think this could have been handled better.

A brief, politely written appeal to US Airways would have been my first choice to get this resolved. Phoning the airline probably wasn't the most effective way to fix this. I'm surprised Travelocity just passed along the airline's decision without trying to do more, but in the end I think this was a case for US Airways to resolve.

I contacted the airline on your behalf, and it offered you a $75 voucher to cover your hotel bill during your layover in Charlotte.
If you've ever asked what the fuss over frequent-flier programs is about, then you know that the answer can be complicated.

Airlines love them because they're worth billions of dollars in business. They also mean the world to many passengers, because at a time when airline amenities are evaporating faster than jet fuel spilled on a hot tarmac, perks such as upgrades and preferential treatment are just about the only things that make air travel tolerable.

So when two major airlines recently decided to upgrade their loyalty programs, they caught this skeptic's attention.

Delta Air Lines has eliminated the expirations on its frequent-flier miles. And Southwest Airlines has completely revamped its legendary Rapid Rewards, adopting many of the features of competing incentive programs.

The response from customers offers fresh insights into the volatile relationship between air travelers and airlines, but it also presents us with new opportunities to fly smarter.

"The reaction to Delta's move is best characterized as polite applause," says Tim Winship, publisher of Frequentflier.com, who described the non-expiring miles as only a "modest plus" for elite-level frequent fliers and a boon to infrequent customers, who were most at risk of losing their miles.

Reaction to Southwest's new program, on the other hand, has been "decidedly mixed," he says, and has engendered both winners and losers. The old Rapid Rewards program offered flight credit based on every one-way flight as opposed to the length of the flight or the price of the ticket, and unused credits expired after 24 months. The losers under the new scheme  frequent customers who fly on shorter routes and pay less for their tickets  are incensed that they will be earning fewer free trips in the future.

David Kazarian, a frequent Southwest customer based in St. Petersburg, Fla., has a laundry list of grievances about Southwest's new program, including new limits on mileage redemption, changes to the way mileage is earned and accompanying service reductions. "I thank them for making me realize that there are other airlines out there on which I can travel," he says. "It won't be long before we'll be paying for bags and change fees on Southwest. After all, they've forgotten the reason they became great."

Nicole Madril, who works for an insurance company in Lawrence, Kan., sounds more upbeat about the Southwest changes. She likes the way the airline communicated its plans to customers and is happy that the airline has eliminated blackout dates for redeeming mileage credits. She's also pleased that her old credits were transferred to the new program.

"I think Southwest should be commended for honoring their guests' old credits in the new program," she says, "because I for one would be pretty upset if I'd earned all these points and they just went away."

I asked Southwest's senior director of marketing, Ryan Green, who oversees Rapid Rewards, about the issues. He acknowledged some glitches in implementing the new program but said that overhauling the rewards system would make it fairer, more competitive and more profitable.

He bristled at charges that Southwest was becoming just like every other carrier, pointing out several key features that distinguish the airline's program. Among them: no blackout dates, no fees to redeem points for tickets or change reservations and no arbitrary threshold for redeeming seats.

You might think that Delta's decision to eliminate mileage expirations would be less controversial. But that's not entirely true. Frequent fliers like Amanda Schuier, who works for a trucking company in Omaha, Neb., shrug off the improvement, because she wasn't worried about her miles expiring. (Under the old system, miles didn't disappear as long as you kept flying.) But she does think that it will be good for her parents, who only fly four or five times a year. "I see the benefits to Delta," she says. "They're creating more loyalty."

Why did Delta change its program, particularly when airlines are known to have billions of unredeemed miles in the wild? I asked Mike Henny, the general manager of Delta's SkyMiles Medallion program. He said that it came down to one thing: The benefits of allowing miles to expire no longer outweighed the inconvenience to passengers.

"After discussions with our customers through surveys and focus groups, it was apparent that they view their miles as a form of currency," he says. "The breakage of these miles was of minimal gain to Delta, but eliminating expiration was a big win for customers."

In other words, Delta is hoping that its no-expiration rule will set it apart from the competition and drive more customers  and more dollars  its way. Obviously, neither Delta nor Southwest is being charitable with its changes. Maybe some customers like the new rules, but at the end of the day, the airlines are making the changes because they'll make more money.

There's nothing wrong with that, of course. But unexpected program changes like this give you an occasion to question your loyalty. Have you read your program member agreement lately? Do you realize that your airline can change the terms of its agreement anytime, for any reason, with no required notification? Did you know that under most program rules, your mileage and your elite status technically don't even belong to you and can be revoked at any time?

That's right: Your airline could one day decide to end its loyalty program, and you wouldn't be able to do a thing about it. Scratch the surface of these recent changes, and it's clear that they haven't really been made because airlines want to reward you for your loyalty. They've been made because they want to be rewarded with your loyalty.

Maybe I'm just being a contrarian, but the way I see it, we're really fortunate. I actually like the program changes to both Rapid Rewards and SkyMiles.

We may not be so lucky next time.
A few days ago, I received a notice from Greyhound that a ticket I had earned as part of its rewards program was about to expire.

The Greyhound station in Philadelphia said their computers couldn't handle an awards redemption. I called the customer service number, but the person who answered said they do not process award tickets any more and gave me another number. The person at that number was extremely rude and refused to help me. I was told to go to a Greyhound station in some other city that had the computer capability.

I sent an e-mail to Greyhound and received a reply that they'd reimburse me for half a ticket if I paid for it.

I am thoroughly disgusted with Greyhound. I don't think they have any intention of keeping their promise. Do you?

Lois Shestack, Philadelphia

Greyhound's Road Rewards program (greyhound.com/roadrewards) is relatively straightforward, compared with the average frequent flier program. It entitles you to discounts, companion passes and free tickets, with a minimum of fine print. But you still have to read the terms carefully: Many of the rewards expire or can be used only in conjunction with other offers.

The Greyhound site says you can cash in your points at the terminal or by phone. All you have to do is to print your reward voucher and bring it to the bus terminal.

What went wrong? In the e-mail you received from Greyhound, a company representative blamed the problem on "a lack of knowledge regarding the program in the field." Greyhound also promised to forward your concern to a program manager so that it could be addressed, but as far as I could tell, it didn't actually resolve your problem.

Sending the e-mail should have been the first rather than your last resort. Once you received the apparent form response from Greyhound, you could have searched for a supervisor, but I had some trouble finding anyone at the company in charge of customer service. Greyhound does, however, have a Twitter account (twitter.com/GreyhoundBus) that seems pretty responsive. That might be one way to escalate your grievance.

Ultimately, I think you might want to reconsider your participation in any loyalty program that makes it difficult to cash in your points. Make that any loyalty program, period. I believe so-called "rewards" programs invariably benefit the travel company more than they do the traveler.
Q: Last year, my husband, Juan, traveled to Valencia, Spain. I made his hotel reservations through a travel agency.

When he tried to check in at Melia Rey Don Jaime, it did not have a room for him. He was moved to the Confortel. The rate at the Confortel was nearly three times more than his original reservation. He was charged an extra $1,034.

Juan was told to call the reservation company, Utell, which promised to straighten this out when he returned home. After he came back to the states, he submitted his receipts to Utell.

But Utell recently told me that the hotel property is no longer with their company and that I would have to deal with the hotel in Spain on my own to get a refund. Can you please help me?

Olivia Suarez, Albuquerque, N.M.

A: Your husband shouldn't have had to pay the difference between the hotel he was supposed to stay in, and the one he was sent to.

If the Melia Rey Don Jaime was overbooked, then the commonly accepted hotel industry practice is to "walk" the customer to a comparable hotel. Most hotels will cover any rate difference, which means you would pay the rate you were quoted by the first hotel. The overbooked hotel also should reimburse you for any transportation expenses to the new hotel, plus a phone call.

I'm not sure why that didn't happen or how Utell eventually got involved. If the Melia Rey Don Jaime didn't "walk" your husband, he should have phoned your travel agent, who could have applied some pressure to the hotel to honor the reservation at another hotel.

No one should have told Juan to contact Utell. Roping in Utell, which offers reservations services to travel agents, is like telling someone with a complaint about a restaurant meal to contact the food wholesaler. This should have been handled between your husband's hotel, your travel agent and you.

Once you asked Utell for help, it should have punted this back to your agent or your hotel to sort the problem out. Again, it's unclear why that didn't happen, and why you were left to negotiate directly with the hotel. I think the time to have done that was when your husband was standing at the check-in desk, without a room. That's when issues like payment need to get sorted out  not weeks after you've returned home.
My family and I were scheduled to visit Walt Disney World this spring. However, life got complicated when our daughter ran away. While I realize that the running away of minor children is not a listed excuse for travel cancellation, how can it not be a bona fide reason? What kind of crazy family would go on a Disney vacation while their child is missing?

Disney Travel agreed to refund the hotel and park passes, but our insurance company refused to refund $588 in airline tickets. Disney said it was beyond their control. Any chance you can help me get my money back?

Terry Thompson, Chadds Ford, Pa.

If your airline tickets were nonrefundable, then Disney doesn't owe you a refund, technically speaking.

But who cares about technicalities? Your daughter ran away, which is a legitimate reason for canceling your vacation. As a company that caters to families, you'd expect Mickey to show a little compassion.

I also can understand why your insurance company would balk at a refund. Unless you took out a "cancel for any reason" policy, a runaway child would probably not be a valid reason for a claim.

I think an appeal to Disney and your insurance company would have been useful. More than 90 percent of appeals on an insurance claim denial are successful. A brief, polite e-mail is the best way to start.

Next time you book a vacation, consider shopping around for insurance before settling on one policy. Never take the first policy that's offered to you by your agent. It might be the best one, but you need to do your homework. At the very least, take the time to read the policy and all of its exclusions before signing on the dotted line.

I contacted Disney on your behalf. A representative contacted you and said Disney would cover your $588 in airline tickets.
Trevor and Jean Broome had been looking forward to a trip to Costa Rica that included diving, hiking, snorkeling and white-water rafting.

Then they got bad news from their tour operator: They were too old for the tour they had selected.

Gap Adventures of Toronto notified the couple that the adventure package they had purchased had been "re-aligned" to a younger demographic that would "likely be in the 18 to 39 age range." The Broomes, who describe themselves as "adventurous grandparents," are in their 50s.

Although a Gap representative told the Broomes that they could cancel the tour, rebook or continue as planned, Trevor, a retired police officer from Plymouth, England, told me that he was "horrified and deeply offended by this blatant ageism." He added, "Is this any less offensive than discrimination on grounds of race or gender?"

I asked Gap about Broome's grievance. Lyndon File, the company's manager for customer satisfaction and safety, said that segmenting tours by age is a common practice in his industry and that the company made every effort to accommodate the Broomes, including offering a financial incentive to move to a different tour.

"Further, in subsequent e-mail communication with Mr. Broome, I offered to reimburse for any out-of-pocket expenses should he cancel," he said. "All of these options are fair and reasonable, I believe."

I admit I have mixed feelings about this subject. While some kinds of discrimination are unconscionable, others are understandable. Suggesting that a couple like the Broomes take a less strenuous Costa Rica tour is no crime in my book. It is discriminatory, but does that make it wrong?

It's difficult to find any real data on discrimination in the travel industry. Perhaps the most reliable numbers come from the airlines.

The Transportation Department reports complaints against carriers every month, and discrimination-related grievances hardly registered (they came in 10th place in the latest month for which statistics were available, behind baggage, customer service and refund-related problems).

Not all discrimination is blatant. Consider Dan Nainan, a 28-year-old voice-over artist and comedian from New York, who says that the airline he regularly flies routinely discriminates against him based on his youthful appearance. "Everywhere I go, they challenge me  telling me that the 'preferred' line is for first-class passengers only, even though I'm a first-class passenger. They just assume I'm not in first class," he said.

Melanie Gutermuth, a disabled veteran and graduate student from Hanover, Md., travels with a service dog. "Most of the time, this is not a problem," she said. "However, in recent months, that's changed. People will say, 'You look normal to me,' because I'm not in a wheelchair or blind. Consequently, I have been excluded from some services and charged pet fees for others."

Travelers with disabilities who think they are being discriminated against can get help, said Kleo King, a senior vice president at the United Spinal Association, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the quality of life for people with spinal cord injuries and disorders. She recommends working with a travel agent who specializes in travel for the disabled (you can find one at the Web site Able to Travel, abletotravel.org).

C. Welton Gaddy, president of the Interfaith Alliance, says that travelers who are discriminated against need to speak up.

"If problems occur, either to you or to someone else, be sure to report them immediately and in great detail," he said.

I may be getting ahead of myself  I plan to write about this subject again soon  but I agree that talking about discrimination is certainly the first step to ending it.
David Harm is worried about his wife's ticket to Omsk, Russia.

When he made her reservation through Aeroflot's website, his finger slipped  "I hit the 'L' key instead of the 'K' key"  and he misspelled his wife's last name ("Slirtenko" instead of "Skirtenko").

"I did not realize my error until I received the e-mail and checked the information," says Harm, who lives in The Hague, Netherlands. "When I called Aeroflot immediately to address the problem, I was told the name can not be changed, and that a note regarding the misspelling was placed in the record and that my wife should have no problem."

Should Harm be concerned?

His question is hands-down the most common one I get from travelers.

At a time like this, with governments imposing new security rules, airlines teetering on the brink of bankruptcy and many hotels facing foreclosure, travelers often have more questions than answers. That is why I thought I'd devote a column to answering the most common travel questions, starting with the ticket-name one.

Airlines can change the name on a ticket easily. They choose not to. A reservations agent recently e-mailed me, just to let me know. Yes, she confided, a name change is as easy as a keystroke  and yes, our employers don't let us do it because we can charge good money for the fix.

How generous.

It's not all bad news, though. An airline can still make a notation on your ticket for free (this only works with typographical errors or easily recognized mistakes, such as flip-flopping the first and last name). If you work through a travel agency and spot the mistake soon after the reservation is made, your agent may be able to fix the ticket at no extra charge.

Here are some other common questions:

Can I get a refund on a nonrefundable airline ticket?

The short answer: no. It's a nonrefundable ticket. But if you inform your airline you won't be able to fly, you have a year from the time you booked your ticket  not the date of your flight  to use a ticket credit, minus a change fee. This is becoming an increasingly hollow promise, because change fees can be more than the fare, but that's a topic for another time. One more thing: Airlines sometimes make exceptions to their nonrefundability rules when there's an emergency, disaster or a death in the family.

Do I need a passport to visit Canada or Mexico?

Yes. You need a passport or a Passport Card, according to the State Department. Get a passport.

Do I have to pay a resort fee at my hotel?

Only the most dishonest hotels charge mandatory resort fees, which supposedly cover everything from an in-room coffeemaker to beach towels. The legit ones don't, and any surcharges they have are optional. Mandatory resort fees are nothing more than hidden room rate increases, and you shouldn't put up with that.

But pay it? If the fee was clearly disclosed when you booked the room and again when you checked in, then yes. If it wasn't disclosed, then I know of a credit card company or two that will be happy to refund your money in a dispute.

Also, give the companies that don't charge fees your business.

I missed my cruise. Can I catch the next one?

No. Cruise lines used to be lenient about letting you hop on another cruise if you missed the boat. Not anymore. Check out the cruise contract  the legal agreement between you and your cruise line  and you'll find that it's just not going to happen. Buy travel insurance or get to port extra early.

How do I get a bereavement fare?

Don't even try. Bereavement fares used to be offered for airline passengers who had to buy an expensive walk-up fare when a relative died. But business travelers, for whom those walk-up fares were invented, got smart and began claiming they had a death in the family in order to qualify for the reduced prices. So airlines pulled the plug on the special fares. You're better off trying to bid for a fare on Priceline or Hot-wire or asking your travel agent for an inexpensive consolidator fare.

My travel insurance claim was turned down because of a pre-existing medical condition. What now?

Most travel insurance companies have a clause in their contracts that says if you had a condition before your trip, and it caused a cancellation, they won't pay your claim. It's sneaky and unfair, because a claims adjuster doesn't have to be particularly insightful to find something in your past medical history to give the insurance company an excuse to turn down your claim. But don't lose hope. On appeal, more than 90 percent of travel insurance denials are overturned. It pays to ask an insurance company again.

I've spent hours on the phone with my travel company, and I'm not getting anywhere. What do I do?

Send an e-mail. Airlines, hotels and car rental companies outsource their call centers to countries where no one speaks English or where the English they speak can't be understood by anyone here. E-mails can be escalated to someone in the States  and those get real results.

Can a car rental company charge me for damage I'm not responsible for?

Yes. But it needs to prove the damage occurred while you were renting the car and that they paid for the repairs afterward. And that can be difficult. Most bills from car rental companies don't show anything, and neither do their follow-up letters. If you copy the state insurance commissioner on your replies that politely inquire about your responsibility, chances are your car rental company will give up and find someone else to bother.

Is it safe to visit Mexico?

You'll want to avoid parts of Michoacan and Chihuahua, according to the U.S. State Department. But that destination wedding you had planned for Cancun? The biggest threat to your safety will probably be alcohol poisoning.

Can I call 911 if my flight is stuck on the tarmac?

I wouldn't. Tarmac delays are a small but serious problem. Last month, DOT ordered airlines to let people off planes delayed on the tarmac after three hours. In other words, calling 911 or faking a heart attack is unnecessary now that the Obama administration has finally acted.

Additionally, pilots and flight attendants want to get off the plane just as badly as you do  after all, they're still at work. A 911 call will only confuse the issue. You're better off letting flight crews and government oversight do their jobs. If you're stuck for more than three hours, phone the airline, airport, DOT  or your favorite reporter.
Of all the recurring complaints I get from readers, the situation they find by far most vexing has nothing to do with excessive fees, surprise surcharges or surly employees.

It's about traffic tickets. In Italy.

Dean Brown is the latest in a long line of agitated drivers. In 2008, he and his wife visited Florence. "I parked my rental car in a space with a meter," said Brown, a general contractor who lives in Tiburon, Calif. "I made sure the meter had the correct amount of paid time for our visit. Now I have received a notice of "Violation of the Highway Code," which states that my vehicle was circulated in a limited-traffic area without authorization. They are asking for 183 euros," about $250.

Joseph Loscalzo got a bill from his car rental company seven months after his Italian vacation. "The notice says that they used an approved video control system to issue this ticket and they are asking for 183 euros," wrote Loscalzo, who is the president of an advertising agency in Corte Madera, Calif. "What are my options? I may travel to Italy again and don't want to get arrested if pulled over by the police."

The stories of Italian traffic violations share a common narrative: Tickets are received months, sometimes more than a year, after travelers have returned home. There's no easy way to appeal the tickets, so most visitors pay them.

"The numbers are definitely on the rise," said Molly Douglas, a customer service manager for Auto Europe, a car rental consolidator based in Portland, Maine. "I would say every third or fourth phone call we get relates to a traffic infraction or administrative fee in Italy, and that's a conservative estimate. It is incredibly frustrating."

There are two common ways to get caught. One is by speeding past an Autovelox box, which is an enforcement camera. The other is by driving in a "zona traffico limitato," a limited traffic zone, without an authorized license plate. Municipal police in Rome, Florence, Milan, Lucca, Siena, San Gimignano, Orvieto, Verona and other cities have been cracking down on drivers who ignore the signs for those zones, says Kathy McCabe, editor and publisher of the Washington-based newsletter Dream of Italy.

"The problem is, you won't even know you have been fined until you return home," she warned travelers in a recent issue. "The police are photographing license plates  sometimes automatically  and tracing them back to drivers through rental car companies. Not only will you receive a citation for a fine of around $100 in the mail, but your rental car company will levy a fee for the work involved in tracing the violation back to you."

How do you avoid a delayed Italian ticket? Some municipalities publish a list of camera locations online that you can check, says Nancy Parode, who lived in Italy and has been caught on camera. "And do what the locals do," she adds. "If they're all slowing down on the highway, follow suit. They know where the Autovelox boxes are. They know how much they'll have to pay if they're caught speeding, and it's enough to make them drive more slowly."

Parode, an editor for a travel site, warns against ignoring tickets. "Fines double after a certain period of time has elapsed," she said, "and in some jurisdictions, can double more than once."

I asked several experts if the tickets could be appealed. They said the answer is yes; there should be a phone number on each citation that you can call to appeal. But they were quick to add that traffic cameras are presumed to be accurate and that even Italians find it difficult to fight a ticket.

McCabe advises visitors to avoid renting a car, particularly in a major city. "It is a big hassle, and if you try to park on the street you're subject to numerous rules that could result in big fines, or worse," she told me. Indeed, many Italian cities are better experienced on foot or can be reached more conveniently by train or bus.

If only Jeff Schimmel had known that. Last month, he received two separate letters  "very official-looking," he said  from the municipal police in Milan. "I couldn't even tell what the alleged infractions were, but they each ordered me to pay 100 euros per ticket," said Schimmel, who is a writer and producer in Los Angeles. "Here's the thing: I drove through Milan in the summer of 2008. If I did somehow violate Italian traffic laws, it was at least 18 months ago."

I agreed that something didn't add up and contacted the Italian Government Tourist Board in New York. A spokesman told me that the tickets were legit. If you get a ticket in Italy, don't contact the Italian embassy or consulate, he said. Just follow the instructions on the ticket if you want to dispute the fine.

But if you don't pay up, will you be barred from the country? "For a parking ticket?" he laughed. "No, no. We don't do that."

For travelers who unwittingly violate traffic rules in the land of la dolce vita, that's molto bene.
NEW DELHI, July 8 (Xinhua) -- At least four people, including a policeman and a teenager, were killed and several others wounded in separate incidents in India's northeastern state of Manipur, police said Saturday.

According to officials, the policeman was killed in a gunfight with suspected militants Friday evening and three others lost their lives in Kangvai, Songdo and Awang Lekhai villages of Bishnupur and Churachandpur districts.

Meanwhile, a mob torched two private vehicles at Mahabali Road near Kangla Fort in Imphal West. However, the drivers managed to escape unhurt.

On Thursday, an elderly woman was shot dead near a school in Imphal West district. The killing took place a day after schools partially reopened in the state.

There has been no respite in the ongoing incidents of violence, attacks, arson, and exchange of gunfire in the state.

The reopening of schools is seen as a first step towards restoring normalcy in the strife-torn state.

The authorities have extended the ongoing ban on internet services until July 10.

The northeastern state is on edge since May 3 when large-scale violence broke out in the state during a tribal protest over the inclusion of the non-tribal Meiteis community for a scheduled tribe status -- designated for disadvantaged socio-economic groups which gives them reservations in education and government jobs.

The authorities responded by imposing a curfew and putting a blanket ban on internet services as a precautionary measure to restrict the mobilization of crowds in the state. The ban has been in place since then.

The ethnic clashes have left over 100 people dead, over 3,000 injured and displaced 60,000 others.

The mobs in the state have been resorting to vandalism and arson, during which hundreds of houses and shops were gutted. The mobs even targeted houses and properties belonging to ministers and leaders of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.

So far, efforts by the federal government to restore peace in Manipur have not yielded desired results. 
I am a Marine based in Nicosia, Cyprus. I recently bought tickets from Travelocity for my fiancee, Cara. Her return itinerary had her flying from Cyprus to Athens, and then on to Munich on a Lufthansa flight operated by Aegean Airlines. Her stopover in Athens was 50 minutes.

When she checked in at Cyprus, she was given a boarding pass to Athens and was told to pick up another boarding pass in Athens after retrieving her luggage.

To make a long story short, I contacted Travelocity, but Cara missed her connection in Athens. She had to pay $250 to change her flight and had to stay in a hotel for the night, which also wasn't cheap.

Joshua Smith, Nicosia, Cyprus

Cara should have been able to check her baggage through to Munich, no questions asked. When you phoned Travelocity, they should have given you a straight answer about why that wasn't possible and helped you and your fiancee figure out a solution.

Turns out Cara's ticket was issued by Lufthansa but operated by Aegean  what's called a "code share" flight. Aegean didn't have a baggage agreement with Cara's next carrier, United Airlines. That meant she would have to re-check her bags, according to Travelocity.

That should have been explained to Cara at the time she booked her ticket, or at the very least when you phoned the online travel agency. The issue also should have raised a red flag with the customer service agent to whom you spoke, since a 50-minute connect time is hardly enough to collect your checked baggage and re-check it.

None of that happened.

Several questions come to mind. First, how can airlines sell a ticket on one of its own flights and then outsource it to another carrier?

Second, how can your online agency allow you to book a flight with less than an hour to connect and fail to tell you that you'll have to pick up your luggage? And finally, why didn't your agent do something when alerted to the close connection?

If this ever happens to you again, don't take an agent's answer as final. Appeal to a supervisor, either by phone or e-mail. Call the airline and find out if you have any options. Lufthansa or United could have helped Cara by rescheduling her flight or offering her a room for the night, in case she missed her connection.

You might have prevented this by booking your airfare through a conventional travel agency. A competent travel adviser would have seen the connection time, noticed the lack of baggage agreement, and found a better flight for Cara. When you're dealing with an automated system like an online travel agency, that's not always possible.

Travelocity did the right thing by rescheduling Cara on the next available flight. She shouldn't have been charged for the change, and Travelocity could have prevented her from wasting a day at the Athens airport by fixing this problem when you phoned the first time.
Forgetting to read the fine print. Not packing a change of clothes. Confusing a.m. and p.m.

In a previous column, I asked you to tell me about your worst travel mistakes. Did you ever!

Most are not errors of commission as much as they are errors of omission: leaving something out, for example, or forgetting to verify a reservation.

I've also made my share of travel mistakes. Of course, it's not so much the error that matters  it's what we learn from it. That's why you're reading this.

Here are some of my favorite mistakes:

1. Assume nothing. Chris Sandberg got a notice that his United Airlines miles were about to expire, but was told he could preserve the miles by earning points by staying at a Starwood hotel. "After my stay, I was credited with points in the Starwood program, but not with United," he says. Why? Turns out Starwood could only "convert" blocks of 1,000 points at a time. The hotel was happy to sell him another 200 points so that he could rescue his miles. If he'd made arrangements with United beforehand, that might have been avoided. Now Sandberg always finds out the details before making a reservation.

2. The Mexican car insurance surprise. Car insurance in Mexico is a requirement, and the cost is added to the agreed-upon rate.

Haven't heard of this? Neither had Kimberly Williams when she rented a car in Cancun through Travelocity recently. "We got the cheapest policy, but it cost an extra 15 bucks a day for a compact car," she says. On out-of-country rentals, no matter what your travel agent tells you, always check with the car rental company to find out if there are any additional requirements.

3. Check out the need for a car. Sara Rueben thought she needed to rent a car when she visited Sydney, Australia. She thought wrong. "We stayed at the Wyndham, which is pretty much in the heart of the city," she remembers. "Then we got to the resort and realized that not only did we not need it because the public transportation was more than adequate, but there was also a $30 per night fee to park." Next time she visits a big city, she vows to call the hotel or resort ahead of time to find out if she needs a vehicle.

4. You say Chuck  I say Charbel. When Chuck Andary booked a ticket from Detroit to Los Angeles, he never considered that his legal name  Charbel  might render his ticket useless. Then he learned about the Transportation Security Administration's new Secure Flight rules, which require that the name on your ID match your ticket.

He called his online travel agent, Expedia, for advice. It couldn't change the name on his ticket, and the airline wouldn't either. Luckily, he was able to board because the TSA is still phasing in Secure Flight.

5. Morning or night? Cyndi Russell booked a flight for her son to attend summer camp, but she misread the "p" as an "a."

"The week of the flight, I received a "time to check-in" e-mail, and I was horrified to see that I had purchased a ticket for 8:40 p.m. instead of 8:40 a.m.," she says. Her airline wanted $500 to fix the mistake  a change fee, plus the full fare ticket.

6. Check for additional fees. Extra fees are the lifeblood of car rental companies, airlines, hotels and cruise lines. "I got socked with a $13-a-day fee from Hertz for a recent rental for adding my spouse as an additional driver," Britt Skrivanek says. "The rental agent told me there was no fee for spouses. After returning the car three days, later I got a bill with the fee on it."

7. Expect delays, and pack accordingly. Maryann Portone made this rookie mistake when she started flying: "To avoid carrying a lot on to the plane, I put all of my clothes and sundries into my checked luggage," she says. But when her luggage was delayed for 24 hours, she had to buy shampoo, toothpaste and other necessities. "I had to sleep in my clothes for one night and couldn't go to the pool or the beach until the third day of my five-day vacation," she says. Now she always packs a pair of underwear and travel-size sundries in her carry-on bag.
The Transportation Security Administration's unpopular restrictions on liquids, gels and aerosols in carry-on luggage are now widely ignored at U.S. airports.

Passengers tell me that the TSA has all but stopped screening their baggage for liquids. They say transportation security officers no longer ask them to remove lotions, shampoos and even water bottles from their luggage, and overlook all manner of liquids packed in their carry-ons instead of stowed in quart-size plastic bags.

"I was never asked about the liquids in my bag or asked to remove them," says Doris Casamento, a retiree from Naples, Fla., who recently flew from Miami to Rome. "My husband had a bottle of water from the hotel he forgot was in his carry-on and it was never confiscated."

The TSA banned liquids and gels from carry-on bags in 2006, then revised the rule to allow small quantities of liquids in carry-ons. In 2008, the agency promised it would ease its restrictions within a year by removing size limits on liquids carried onboard. But liquids still would have to be placed in a separate bin, according to the agency. The current rule isn't scheduled to be lifted until the end of this year, when X-ray machines at security checkpoints will have upgraded software that can detect threatening liquids in any configuration.

A TSA spokeswoman said the current rule remained in effect. "The policy continues to be enforced," says Lauren Gaches, "although it is important to note that we empower our workforce with discretion."

However, numerous travelers say the TSA started looking the other way last year. "I leave my liquids in my bag about one-third of the time, mostly because I'm brain dead after teaching two or three full days, and forget," says Gary Zeune, who offers seminars on white-collar crime. "The last time TSA told me to remove the liquids and rescreen the bag was maybe a year ago."

Robert Muncy is a network engineer in Cincinnati. "I have small bottle of hand sanitizer and contact solution in my soft-sided briefcase," he says. "Never once have they said anything."

The European Union has set a deadline of April 29, 2013, for lifting its liquid rules. "For passengers, the aim is also to simplify wherever possible the necessary security controls," said Siim Kallas, the EU commission vice president in charge of transport.

I've never understood why the TSA had a liquid-and-gel rule. If there's any evidence that my tube of Crest is dangerous, or even a single documented case in which liquids could have brought down a plane in America, then I think we would all quietly place our toothpaste, hair gel and contact lens solution into quart-sized, clear plastic, zip-top bags.

Otherwise, the TSA should quickly make it official and let our liquids fly.
About half of all leisure trips are reserved online, according to several recent surveys.

I suggest that some trips be handled by a travel agent, including honeymoons, cruises, round-the-world flights and certain international trips. Also, if you're uncomfortable with the Internet or are short on time, a travel agent is a good choice.

But those are exceptions. Here are the trips you should book yourself:

1. When you know more than a travel agent. Travel professionals aren't omniscient. If you know more about a particular route or destination, you're probably better off flying solo.

Christine Porter, a field label evaluator in Seattle, wanted to book a complex airline itinerary to Anchorage. Her travel agent drew a blank on the return flights. "I gave up on the agent and went home and searched on my own and found that the flights did leave Anchorage, but it was the next day at 1 a.m.  an overnight flight," she says. "The travel agent was searching from 6 a.m. and later."

2. If you've got the time. You might be able to do at least as well, if not better, than an agent. Joe Reynolds, a retired surgeon from Bastrop, La., says he often finds cheaper rates than he would through a travel agent, because he's able to research every option.

On one recent package that was being offered through an agent, he recalls seeing a hotel rate that was "way out of line." He added, "If I make my own reservations, the cost is just about the same, but I have control over my seat choice. If I want to use frequent flier miles to upgrade, it is easier to do than trying to go through a travel agent."

3. If your agent isn't interested in your business. This happens more than you'd think. Many agents would prefer you book your own simple point-to-point airline tickets online. Why? Because there's almost no money in it.

John Graham, an exhibit designer in Snohomish, Wash., recently asked several American travel agents to help him book a hotel in Japan. "At least two had no interest whatever in selling me anything but a package tour," he remembers. "I wanted advice and was willing to pay something for it, but received little to no information about places I specifically wanted to go. Blogs connected to travel guidebooks were vastly more helpful."

4. When your travel agent is negligent. You pay more for a travel agent because you get more, at least in theory. You get a professional who ensures your trip goes as smoothly as possible. And when that person isn't there for you, then you probably should have booked the trip yourself.

Take Gail Tighe's recent trip to the U.S. Virgin Islands. Her flight was canceled, and her agent rescheduled it for the next day  without telling her. "We discovered the change when we checked in for the flight," says Tighe, a retired forensic scientist from Hamilton, N.J. "We called the airline directly to reschedule the flight the same day."

I don't know of any competent travel agents who would disagree with these points. Travel pros who can't do the job, won't do it, don't have the time or lack the know-how should get out of the travel business.

Should you consider an agent for your next trip? I still say yes. I wanted to give a travel agent the last word in this column, so I turned to Chris Reimer, an agent for the British Columbia Automobile Association.

"I liken what I do to buying full-serve gas," Reimer says. "You pay a little bit more, I do all the work and I take care of all the details  like making sure to remind you to check the expiry date on your passport and making sure you have adequate out-of-country medical insurance. The self-serve option is the Internet. You are doing the work, so it costs you a little less, but you are now responsible for all those little details that can make or break a business trip or vacation."
I booked a reservation through the "name your own price" option at Priceline, and I won a bid for the West Hollywood Andaz for $100 a night.

I tried to add another night at the same price, but Priceline said it would cost $160. I turned that down and said I would attempt another bid during the week. At that point, the agent mistakenly canceled my entire reservation.

I've spent numerous hours on the phone with Priceline's customer support center, to no avail, even though they fully admit my original reservation was canceled by mistake. Can you help?

Ben Weiss, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

As you know, the "name your own price" option is non-refundable and cannot be changed once you've bid on a hotel, and the bid is accepted, you're stuck with it. So the agent shouldn't have been able to cancel the room even if you had asked.

Obviously, you could have avoided this by not calling Priceline to extend your stay. Its "name your own price" program just doesn't work that way. You can never be sure of which hotel you're going to get, although you can make a reasonably informed guess. (There's a website called Bidding For Travel, biddingfortravel.yuku.com, that can help.)

A safer bet would have been to buy another night online, maybe through the hotel's website.

A review of your correspondence suggests that you did the right thing when Priceline wouldn't reconfirm your original hotel reservation. You wrote a short, cordial e-mail, and you appealed to a vice president. Unfortunately, this didn't work. It should have.

I contacted Priceline on your behalf. The company investigated your complaint and found that an "agent error" was to blame for the cancellation. Priceline reinstated your reservation and refunded one night's stay as an apology.
I recently booked three tickets for my parents on American Airlines for my wedding in the Caribbean. The flights kept changing, and because of overnight layovers and schedule constraints, I ended up having to cancel their flights with American Airlines and re-book with another airline.

American Airlines agreed to issue a full credit. But a problem arose because I have closed the original Chase credit card account that I paid for their tickets with. When I spoke to American Airlines, they said that if Chase rejected the credit, they would be able to issue a paper check refund.

This is where the fun began. For the last three months, I have been trying to track down my credit with Chase bank. For whatever reason, they do not have any record of my credit card account in their system when I try to call their credit card customer service number.

I finally received a letter saying that they were waiting for a response from American Airlines. I've tried to call and write the American Airlines refunds department to see if they have received the letter but have heard nothing. I feel like I'm getting the runaround from everyone.

Dara Chuang, Houston

You ARE getting the runaround from everyone. American Airlines should have been able to reissue the credit as a check when Chase rejected its payment.

This was preventable. When you're waiting for a refund back to a credit card, it's best to delay any changes to your account. Some are unavoidable  for example, if your credit card is stolen, you need to cancel the card immediately. But short of that, I'd postpone any kind of upgrade, downgrade or revision to your card.

I post the names, numbers and email addresses of American Airlines' customer service executives on my website (elliott.org/help/american-airlines). An appeal to one of them might have been helpful. But American isn't the only company to blame for this problem. Chase could have done better. A written appeal to someone higher up might have helped.

I'm not sure if calling Chase or American helped your case. An e-mail is more efficient and gets faster results. Phoning may make you feel better, but there's little evidence it accelerates a refund of this type.

Here's another thought: In the future, try making a reservation through a travel agent instead of directly with an airline. An agent would be able to help you with a refund, at no extra charge.
Q  I need your help to resolve a situation that I encountered recently when my family and I stayed at the Brussels Marriott.

I generally book directly on the hotel's website. So in this case, I went to Marriott.com and entered the number of guests  my wife, two young children, and me.

My reservation was for three nights. When we tried to check in, the clerk said that the room had a king bed and could not accommodate us. I mentioned that my kids are quite young and can easily share the bed, as we do this often when staying at Marriott properties in the United States.

I was told that the only option I had was to upgrade to a larger suite, pay for an additional room, or walk away. I asked for the manager, who told me the same thing.

I pointed out that there was no way I could stay in two separate rooms, as I would be separated from my family. I also pointed out that I have a child who is autistic, who cannot be separated from us, but they firmly held their ground. They said that the only thing they could do was to upgrade me to a suite for an additional cost of 300 Euros.

Eventually, the hotel agreed to lower its surcharge to 200 Euros for a three-night stay.

We had a miserable time in Brussels and had to cut short our sightseeing activities to somehow compensate for this extra expense. In short, they ruined my vacation. Can you please help us?  Hari Doraisamy, Newtown Square, Pa.

The hotel shouldn't have forced you to upgrade. I reviewed your correspondence, and it appears that you did almost everything you could to alert Marriott that you were traveling with your family. Something may have gotten lost in the translation.

Many hotels  and this is particularly true in Europe  only allow two people per room. Maximum occupancy is often set by fire codes, not the property. It's unlikely the Brussels Marriott was trying to pull a fast one. Rather, it wanted to ensure you and your family were in a room that met government requirements.

What got lost in the translation? I blame the Marriott.com website. When you made the initial reservation, you tried to choose four guests but the system would only accept two. You inquired about the problem, and were left with the impression that it was a glitch in the system. So you chose two guests, believing that the site was asking for the number of adults  not the total number of people in the room.

In the States, when a room is listed as "double occupancy" it often means you're getting two beds. And hotels don't mind having a few extra kids in the room or wheeling a crib in for a baby. But when you're traveling overseas, hotels sometimes see things differently. Either they want to monetize every guest or local fire codes prohibit them from allowing more than two people from occupying the room. Someone should have alerted you to that.

You followed all the right steps to get this resolved, appealing your case in writing to Marriott. I do think you may have overlooked one thing, and that was trying to get this fixed when you checked in. You asked a manager to review your request, but you might have also made a quick call to Marriott. I notice that you're an elite-level frequent guest with Marriott, and it seems to me someone should have been able to help you.

Once you agreed to pay the 200-Euro upgrade, your options for getting this fixed were limited ... but not without hope. I contacted Marriott on your behalf, and it agreed to a full refund of the upgrade charge, plus 10,000 points by way of an apology.
Got a travel problem?

Just tweet about your troubles, and the airline, car rental company or hotel will fix it. At least that's the conventional wisdom. And while it's true that travel companies are spending a lot of time online listening to their customers, they're not necessarily paying attention to all of us.

"Travel companies pick and choose who to respond to in social media," says social media expert Ryan Goff of the advertising firm MGH Inc. "You better believe that a Web celebrity with 100,000 Twitter followers is going to catch a company's attention over the casual tweeter with only 10 friends."

Even online, some travelers are more equal than others. Question is, how to become a somebody?

You should care, because even today, as social networking applications like Twitter and Facebook have come of age, being online can be the most effective shortcut to getting great customer service.

I see it every day on Twitter, as customers with questions are sent to the front of the line (sometimes literally) because they had a respectable social-media profile. Online travel agencies such as Orbitz have an entire team of employees dedicated to monitoring online chatter and helping customers.

I asked several social media experts about how to boost your online profile. Here's what they told me:

1. Be interesting. Boring people don't get a lot of followers. "Be engaging," says Lyn Mettler, the founder of Step Ahead Inc., which manages social media campaigns. "Don't just talk, talk, talk about yourself all day long. Read what other people are posting and respond to them. Ask questions, answer questions. Truly interacting with people will help build your followers."

2. Get a blog. Being an active participant in online forums can help too. "If you go the extra mile, posting photos, helping others understand the amenities of hotels, and providing insider information that a typical tourist would overlook, you will earn your reputation and be an influencer in the travel industry," says Tim Massie, an adjunct professor of communication at Marist College.

3. Join the conversation. "Post and tweet frequently about your experiences," says Rick Gardinier, the chief digital officer for the advertising agency Brunner. How often? I try to tweet and post a few times a day, but you should be able to keep a respectable profile by publishing something a few times a week.

4. Offer good information. Building trust  and followers  takes time and work. Chris Harrington, the technology director for the communications firm Luquire George Andrews, likes to follow users who have positive things to say. "Negative comments can hurt the traveler's social capital as much or more than the company in question," he says. That way, when you must go negative  when something happens that you need resolved  your followers will pay attention.

5. Check your motives. If people think you're trying to sell something, they may be less likely to include you in the network. Being in it for all the right reasons is one way of building your online credibility.

6. Speak up. The best way to get noticed by any company is to openly discuss your experiences. Be sure to use proper shout-out etiquette by linking to the travel company's blog (which is monitored by the company) or using their Twitter handle @Jetblue or @Marriottintl  when you tweet about them.

7. Make a personal connection. Travelers tend to follow people they can relate to. Often, that's as simple as posting a picture and a brief biography on your blog or Facebook profile.

Even if you only have a few followers, you can still make a difference. "The squeaky Twitterer still gets the grease," says Dallas Lawrence, chair of the digital and social media practice group at Levick Strategic Communications.

These strategies really can work for you. I've used them myself. (You can follow me on Twitter at elliottdotorg, on Facebook, on Google Buzz or on my blog, elliott.org).

Along the way, I've made some terrific friends  people I've never actually met, but that's beside the point  and had lots of interesting conversations.
We are planning a trip to France and Scotland this summer with my sister and her family. We booked flights in February from France to Scotland through British Airways. We then had an unexpected change in our work schedules, necessitating a change in the flight date.

Unfortunately, my sister and I got our wires crossed. She had received a call directly from the airline in Spain, where she lives, but there was no indication that the change by my sister had been done while I was on the phone here, making the same change at the same time. She was charged about 200 Euros, and I was charged $331.

We called British Airways when I discovered what had happened, and they requested I send a fax to their refunds department in New York, which I did immediately. They contacted us almost two weeks later to say this had to be sent on to France. We have now sent several letters to the U.S. refunds office as well as the address they gave us in France, and we even tried sending a letter to the main office in England, but we are still waiting to hear from them. Is there anything you can do?

Janice Sinclair, Minneapolis

How odd. A careful reservations agent should have caught this, but more important, there should have been safeguards in the system to stop this kind of double change from being authorized.

Technically, British Airways was correct to bill you twice. You each called the airline and wanted to make a change to a ticket.

But that doesn't mean it was right to keep your money. As soon as you brought this to the airline's attention, it should have credited you.

In my experience, British Airways is among the slowest (if not the slowest) of the major airlines when it comes to refunds. I'm not surprised to hear that you've endured a long wait.

Is there a way to prod the airline into a faster refund? I list a few names on my website that, if contacted, might motivate British Airways to move a little faster (www.elliott.org/help/british-airways/) but I make no guarantees.

How about a credit card dispute? That might have just complicated things, particularly because you and your sister agreed to the change fees. This kind of dispute wouldn't be as cut-and-dried as a conventional double-billing.
Whether it's a silly upsell, like asking you to pay extra for fine dining on your "all-inclusive" vacation, or dumb laws that prevent you from boarding or disembarking, you won't fail to find something absurd at sea.

Cruise ships are unlike anything else in the travel industry. Maritime laws and ports of convenience ensure minimal regulations while cruise lines get to pocket the maximum profits.

Here are six practices that defy explanation, and how to get around them:

NONSENSE MARITIME LAWS

When James Dixon missed his cruise in Miami because of a flight delay, he tried to catch the ship in Key West, Fla. When he arrived, a cruise line representative informed him that because of the Jones Act, he and his party couldn't board. "I was in tears because our scheduled vacation for my mom was ruined," he says.

I asked my colleague, cruise expert Anita Potter, what was going on. "Yes, there is such as thing as the Jones Act  this law was designed in the 1800s to protect and regulate the American shipbuilding industry and ensure a fleet of United States-flagged ships," she told me. "In today's world this law is very outdated  and sadly, still in effect."

In Dixon's case, the Jones Act forbids foreign ships, which includes most major cruise line fleets, to transport cargo or passengers between two United States ports without first stopping at a foreign port.

THE RESTAURANT UPSELL

Most cruise ships offer "premium" dining that costs extra. If you want a 'special" restaurant experience, they say, why not go out for a steak dinner?

Frequent cruiser Candice Sabatini has a different take. "I've already paid $5,000 on an all-inclusive cruise," she says. "Also, I think it (implies) the cruise line will serve sub-standard food in the main dining room." That's why she avoids cruise ships that don't include all meals.

Some cruise lines are truly all-inclusive. You have to look long and hard  and sometimes you have to pay a lot more  to get them. But if you don't like being charged for something that should be included in your cruise, it's worth the effort.

NICKEL AND DIMING

More than the best restaurants cost extra. That margarita you ordered with lunch is $8. Sodas are extra, too. So are excursions, and pretty much anything else that isn't bolted down on the ship.

For example, Diane Hansen found that her luxury cruise didn't allow her to use the sauna and steam room without paying a surcharge. "We were going to get a couples massage on board," she says. "Instead, we opted for one on shore and didn't spend any money at all in the onboard spa."

AIR DEVIATION FEES

Most travel experts recommend booking your airline tickets when you buy a cruise, because you'll be more protected if you miss a connection. "But you have no idea what your flights are going to be, nor what they will cost," says Peter Mescher, a computer engineer from Raleigh, N.C. "When the cruise line reveals your itinerary, if you don't like it, you call them and pay an air deviation fee."

Even then, you don't necessarily get the flight you want, but instead choose from a basket of possible itineraries. You'd probably be better off buying the airline tickets yourself and finding a good vacation insurance policy that would help you if you had to cancel or get delayed.

THE CRUISE CONTRACT

Cruise contracts seem to be written by a team of maritime lawyers who want to take your money and give you nothing in return.

Think I'm kidding? Reader Melissa Aakre just returned from a cruise to Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. "On the first day at sea, we were told that the ship had a propulsion problem and that we were not going fast enough to get us to Jamaica, and that they were hoping we could get to Grand Cayman," she recalls. "On day three we were told we would only make it to Nassau, Bahamas, which is just 90 miles from Miami." What did she get for the missed ports? A $75 credit.

The cruise line should have refunded her port fees, but a review of her cruise contract  the legal agreement between her and her cruise line  shows it didn't owe her much more than that. It had no obligation to keep to the advertised schedule.

JEWELRY AND ART SALES

Smart cruisers stay away from onboard art auctions. Onboard jewelry seminars also should be avoided. "These events are tagged as educational seminars that also include tip sheets on where to buy while in port, and on some cruise lines includes a 'buyer's guarantee' that is supposed to help the passenger with refunds in the event that they are unhappy with the purchase," says Jacci Dewdney of Advanced Jewelry Appraisals in Des Moines. "What continues to amaze and frustrate me is that passengers either are not told, or do not understand, that the jewelry stores on the list have paid a premium to be listed, and are essentially paying the cruise line to funnel passengers to them."
ADEN, Yemen, July 8 (Xinhua) -- Two Yemeni deminers were killed and two others seriously injured on Saturday in a powerful explosion triggered by an anti-tank landmine in the country's northern province of Saada, a government official said.

The two demining experts affiliated with the government forces were killed during a demining operation in Albuqa'a area of Saada province, the local government official said on condition of anonymity.

He said that Albuqa'a and various other areas bordering Saudi Arabia have been heavily laid with mines by the Houthi rebels.

In April, the Yemeni government requested immediate international assistance to tackle the country's grave landmine crisis that poses a major hurdle to restoring stability.

Previous reports by humanitarian organizations said Yemen has become one of the world's largest landmine fields since World War II.

Yemeni demining experts said that more than 1 million landmines have been laid since the outbreak of the civil war in late 2014 when the Houthi militia took control of several northern provinces and forced the Yemeni government out of the capital Sanaa. 
If you thought airlines had wacky rules, try renting a car.

Like airlines, car rental companies don't think twice about changing your rate. Except that they sometimes raise the price after you've driven off the lot.

Like airlines, car rental companies are astonishingly creative with their fees, from additional driver add-on costs to premiums for customers under the age of 25. There's even a down-to-earth equivalent of the cramped regional jet: Car rental companies are quietly redefining their vehicle sizes in an apparent attempt to lift their profits.

Before I continue my rant about the state of the car rental industry, I want to acknowledge the industry perspective. Times are hard. Fees are a way of raising revenues. What do customers expect, free cars?

Point taken. To which the average customer would say, "Just raise your rates." Which would be an equally valid point. As a service to you, here are six of the most absurd car rental practices you're likely to encounter today.

1. Let's play a price game.

Recently, Ilene Rachford, a retiree from Dayton, Ohio, rented a car at the airport on the eve of a big storm. The agent handed her the keys with a warning: "He said the rental charges for returning the car after Monday were just under $1,000 a day," she recalls.

What could be any worse than that? Charging someone more for returning the car early. That's happened to several readers recently, whose weekly rate reset to a higher price after they brought the vehicle back early.

These wildly fluctuating rates are dishonest. You can avoid them by returning your car on time or paying ahead of time by using a site like Priceline or Hotwire.

2. How old did you say you were?

If you're under 25, a car rental company may add a $20 a day or more to your bill. If you're under 21, you may be unable to rent a car.

Auto rental companies insist the fees are necessary because younger drivers are likelier to damage a car. Funny, I thought that's what car insurance was for.

Note: Some companies, including Enterprise and Thrifty, have more lenient policies for young drivers. Check the fine print before renting.

3. The extra driver is  extra.

Car rental companies often ask for more money to cover a second driver.

"These charges currently run about $10 to $12 per day," says Ron Prudhomme, a consultant from Sparks, Nev. "A few years ago, spouses or close relatives were exempt, but car rental agencies are now not allowing any exemptions." Although it's tough to avoid this fee, Prudhomme tries to book through a discount website that allows him to prepay.

4. That required child safety seat will cost you.

"For the cost to rent a car seat, I can buy one," says Laura McDonough, a software project manager in Austin. "They give you the absolute cheapest car seats, and are clearly making money hand over fist on this."

You can check a safety seat on an airline at no charge, and then install it in your rental, but if you've ever tried it, you know it's a hassle. Car rental companies should offer the seats at no extra cost, since they're required by law almost everywhere.

5. You say compact, I say midsize.

Another clever way car rental companies make a little extra is to change their car classes, upgrading them to the next category so they can charge you more money. That's what happened last fall, when Alamo reclassified its vehicles after being acquired by Enterprise. Customers don't take kindly to that kind of thing.

"I know the manufacturer and EPA class rating for many vehicles in the U.S.," says Will Evans, an engineer based in Atlanta who has documented similar reclassifications at Avis, Dollar and Hertz. "They were unswayed by my argument that no one but them classifies the cars like they do."

Lesson? Pay close attention to car rental classes. What they call a midsize the rest of us may call a compact car.

6. Drove less than 75 miles? There's a refueling fee.

This is the exact wording on Julie Kinnett's recent rental contract: "An automatic USD $13.99 refueling service charge will be applied to all rentals under 75 miles." Presumably, car rental companies are concerned that if someone drives the car a few miles, the needle on the gas gauge will still register "full." (Maybe they should have those gauges checked.)

"We were only charged this fee once, on a trip from Boston to New York," says Kinnett, a training manager in New York. "I assume the car rental folks who filled out the paperwork for the other rentals realized that there are more than 75 miles between Boston and New York.

Moral of the story? Keep a receipt if you drive less than 75 miles. Otherwise, you'll buy another full tank of gas.
I am a teacher at a high school that has lost $5,000 to Southwest Airlines. Our 12th-grade class raised enough money for a trip to Bahia de Los Angeles in Baja, Mexico, to stay at a marine biology lab. This trip was to allow the students to perform community service at the elementary school and the Sea Turtle rescue station.

We booked seats as a group and per our contract paid by cashier's check. A few days later, a travel advisory was issued because of swine flu. Because these were minors on a service project, we felt we had to change our plans. Southwest would not refund our tickets, so we accepted our only alternative, to fly somewhere else of equal value. This only option was Las Vegas  not really suitable.

As time passed and the restrictions eased, we asked if we could go back to our plan of flying to San Diego, where we would pick up a bus to Baja. Southwest would not accommodate this request. Can you help?

Ellie Capers, San Francisco

Since when is Las Vegas an acceptable substitute for a volunteer vacation? Southwest should have found a better way to accommodate you.

Your case raises several red flags. The first is the cashier's check. Wherever possible, you should be using a credit card, which would protect you in case something goes wrong.

When any travel company insists on payment in cash or as a cashier's check, don't walk  run.

Second, your experience isn't consistent with Southwest Airlines' way of doing business. At the time of your scheduled flight, Southwest didn't fly to Mexico, but this year it plans to begin offering flights through a Mexican discount carrier called Volaris.

Southwest is usually one of the most lenient airlines when it comes to rescheduling policies. Even when there's no imminent threat of swine flu, the airline allows passengers holding nonrefundable tickets to make changes without paying any fees, just a difference in fare. Other carriers charge between $20 and $150 to change a ticket.

I have a difficult time understanding why the company would want to send a high school class of volunteers to Sin City. Maybe you were talking with the wrong person. Maybe you shouldn't have been talking at all  a letter or an e-mail could have cleared this matter up. Or should have.
Terri Widder hesitated before she booked a recent flight from Chicago to Tulsa. Something felt wrong.

She scrolled up on her computer screen and noticed an option to buy a $19.95 insurance policy that would protect her if her trip were canceled, her bags were stolen or she needed emergency assistance.

The box was already checked.

"Fortunately, I caught it before I confirmed the reservation," said Widder, a retiree who lives in Carol Stream, Ill. "I believe this is just another way to mislead the customer and get more in fees and adjustments in revenue from people who may not be that familiar with the process. There are no benefits to the customer."

Forcing travelers to opt out of a purchase when they're buying a ticket or a hotel room isn't new. But the volume of complaints I've received about pre-checking is on the rise, as is the number of well-known travel companies engaged in this questionable e-commerce practice.

American Airlines, the carrier on which Widder had booked her tickets, says it doesn't pre-check boxes online and referred my questions to Yahoo Travel, the online travel agency through which the reservation was made. That site offers a policy through Travel Guard.

"The practice of including travel insurance and other ancillary benefits is becoming more and more standard," said Dan McGinnity, a spokesman for Travel Guard. "Thousands of people purchase travel insurance in this way. Our complaint rate is less than one-tenth of 1 percent."

Travelocity, which handles bookings for Yahoo Travel and is the company responsible for the pre-checking, said a majority of its users  86 percent of customers booking domestic trips and 75 percent of those buying international vacations  click the "no" button.

"The price is also broken out as a separate cost, so there is no confusion on what is the airfare charge and the travel protection charge," said Travelocity spokesman Joel Frey. "Should, however, a customer initially overlook the travel protection offer during checkout and later decide they do not want it, we'll provide a refund within one billing cycle from the time of purchase."

Joyce Carlson, a reader from Oakland, Calif., recently had a similar experience to Widder's when buying a round-trip airline ticket from San Francisco to Tokyo on Orbitz. She discovered that she'd left her box checked and inadvertently purchased a policy through Access America. She wrote to Orbitz asking for a refund and received what appeared to be a form letter denying the request.

"We have found that many of our customers choose travel insurance when booking an international vacation to protect their investment in their trip should covered emergencies require that the trip be canceled," an Orbitz representative said. "Therefore, we default to 'Yes, Add Ticket Protector Plus' to provide this peace of mind."

I looped back in with Orbitz, where a spokesman told me, "I'm pretty sure we're following industry practices in terms of how insurance is sold."

Oh, really?

The U.S. Travel Insurance Association, a trade group to which both Access America and Travel Guard belong, doesn't explicitly forbid pre-checking. Its code of ethics requires members to present their products "clearly and accurately" and to "make no misrepresentations, false or malicious statements" about their products or services.

Ethical or not, the practice may be illegal, according to Jeff Langenderfer, an associate professor at the Meredith College School of Business in Raleigh, N.C. "Under basic guidelines of contract law, silence is not a contractual acceptance," he said. "In other words, someone can't send you a letter reading, 'If I don't hear from you by Friday, we have a contract' and thereby bind you. In many ways, a pre-checked purchase box is not any different in that it requires no active assent from a purchaser, and thus tries to create a contract by inaction or silence  something that the law has prohibited for a very long time."

Although insurance is primarily regulated by the states, the Transportation Department could step in  at least in the case of airlines  and put an end to pre-checking with a simple administrative rulemaking. Insurance companies, prodded by a few forward-looking state insurance commissioners, could also instruct their resellers to end the practice.

Until then, travelers booking online must be extra careful before they click the "buy" button. Review the entire screen, as well as the fine print, to ensure that no one has checked a box for your convenience. Or theirs.
Do you remember your first flight?

Perhaps you had sweaty palms. A racing heart. And the paralyzing fear: What if something goes wrong?

I recently sat next to a first-time flier on a trip from Orlando to Las Vegas. He sprawled into my personal space from his middle seat and fidgeted nervously.

I wondered if there was something to be learned from a first-timer. Roughly 1 in 10 Americans suffer from aerophobia  fear of flying. Can they teach us anything? I think so.

1. Is air travel great, or what? Here's something we experienced air travelers tend to forget: Flying is really cool. Kim Davis Ventrella, a marketing manager from Silvermine, Conn., can't forget her stepdaughter Lauren's maiden flight in 2001, when she was 9. "The look on her face could only be described as euphoric," she says. "It was amazing to watch her react as the plane lifted off the runway, and she felt airborne for the very first time. I will never forget this image of her."

2. Any landing you can walk away from is a good one. You think your first flight was awful? Talk to Claude Lambert of Savannah, Ga., who took her first flight in Yugoslavia in 1955. "The plane had seen better days," she recalls. "It probably was a war trophy of some kind. The interior consisted of two benches facing each other and a large square hole in the middle. "I guess that the plate that once covered the hole had been lost, because the trap remained opened during the whole trip." There were no seatbelts. Next to Lambert, a man sat holding onto a goat, afraid that it might disappear down the hole.

3. Pack your sense of humor. Bob Bentz sat next to a frightened first-timer on a recent flight from London to Philadelphia. "He was obviously nervous," he says. "He was asking me a lot of questions about flying and had several Scotches." The newbie eventually passed out and woke up when the pilot made an announcement that a passenger had gotten sick and they needed to make an emergency landing in Iceland. "Where are we going to land?" the groggy passenger murmured. Bentz pointed at the North Atlantic below and said, "On one of those ships." To which his seatmate said, "No kidding." (Actually, I changed the quote for the family audience.)

4. There's hope for the future. Air travel wasn't always such a difficult experience. Don Smith remembers his first flight in 1966, when he was being sent home from Army basic training for Christmas. "I flew military standby in uniform on United from D.C. to Chicago," he says. "I believe I paid $19 or $29. The only empty seat was in first class, and United put me in it. The flight attendant asked me, 'Private Smith, how would you like your steak prepared?' I knew then that I could learn to love flying." When I hear from readers like Smith, I don't get upset about how far we've fallen since then. I'm hopeful that flying can again become a civil, even elegant, experience.
When a young woman named Carissa knocked at my door on a recent Saturday evening and introduced herself as a process server, I knew things were about to get interesting.

And when I read the civil action summons she handed me, I was intrigued.

A Florida-based travel agency had sued me for reporting about its legal troubles on my blog. (I won't name the agency, because I think part of the reason it filed a complaint was because it craves publicity. Denied.) Next to my name on the suit, I recognized the name of one of the agency's clients.

Yes, the company was taking one of its own customers to court.

Apparently he had made some comments online that the agency didn't like.

The episode left me wondering whether travel companies are becoming more litigious and whether travelers can do anything to avoid a visit from someone like Carissa. The answers are yes and yes.

Travel company lawsuits against customers appear to be on the rise, says Greg Grant, a lawyer with a Maryland law firm, Shulman Rogers. The reason: money.

Companies in the black are less likely to pursue a customer who has damaged a rental car or trashed a hotel room. The most extreme measure they'd consider is sending an unpaid bill to a collection agency. But when every penny counts, they are taking the legal option.

By the way, can you guess which part of the travel industry is the most litigious? Airlines, with their draconian fare rules? Hotels, which are fond of charging you for items in your room that you might or might not have broken? No.

Try rental-car companies.

"They sue customers on a dime, and for small amounts of money, which is really not good policy," said Edward Neiger, a personal and corporate bankruptcy lawyer in New York.

You can help yourself avoid legal trouble by documenting everything, including any conversations with a travel company, says Matt Eventoff, an expert on crisis management and communications. If you think a lawsuit might be imminent, he suggests taking your grievance to the top. "Staff at corporate headquarters tends to be very aware of the public-relations implications of the messages sent in certain situations," he says.

Another legal pitfall is embellishing the truth online, says to Marc Edelman, a law professor at Florida's Barry University. "In today's age of Facebook, Twitter and blogs, we will likely begin to see more companies sue their customers for Internet libel," he told me. "Frequent travelers who write about their experiences online should be careful to state only accurate facts or opinion."

Many companies can be talked out of a lawsuit, Grant says. "Businesses are less likely to sue customers who are apt to show some responsibility for their obligations, for example, a customer who offers to pay something over time or agrees to pay a portion of debt owed."

What if you can't reason with a travel company? Experts say that if you're wrongfully accused, you should fight back by answering the complaint or filing a motion to dismiss the case.

You're probably wondering what happened after Carissa's s visit. The Florida travel agency's case against the customer and me is pending as I write this, although the publicity from the court action has been almost entirely negative for the company.
During a recent flight from Portland, Maine, to Charlotte, N.C., Tom Meador heard nothing but crying.

"The baby in the back row screamed bloody murder," he says. "Its mother did everything she could think of to quiet the baby. She actually was dripping with sweat because you could tell she worried about what it was doing to the other passengers. I think she had reason to worry, too, because there were some very sour fellow passengers."

The problem is as old as air travel itself: Adults stuck next to misbehaving or noisy kids while confined to a pressurized aluminum tube. But until recently, we knew whose side the parents were on. Like the mom on Meador's flight, they did everything they could to keep their offspring from driving the rest of the passengers quietly mad.

Today, you can't be so sure.

Take Pamela Root, who recently became the poster child for permissive parents after she and her 2-year-old son were kicked off a Southwest Airlines flight. Apparently the child's demands ("Go! Plane! Go!" and "I want Daddy!") were so loud that the other passengers couldn't hear the in-flight announcements. Southwest apologized for ejecting them and offered Root a $300 voucher.

Have parents stopped caring?

"Today's parents have a different view of children's behavior," says Renee Mosiman, a marriage and family therapist and co-author of "The Smarter Preschooler: Unlocking Your Child's Intellectual Potential." "Parents are more permissive, which can result in children who are more unruly in public, especially during plane travel."

I can't pretend to know what separates a good mom or dad from a bad one. But when it comes to air travel, there are a few telltale signs that you're dealing with parental incompetence:

"My child can do no wrong."

Michael Liebmann, a legal secretary who lives in Atlanta, was on a flight from Tel Aviv to Rome. The child in the next seat 'started screaming the moment we took off." After a while, he politely asked the child's mother to do something. "She yelled at me that her 'perfect child' could scream as much and as long as it wanted to," he says. "No amount of niceness was able to accomplish anything."

"I don't care if my child misbehaves."

What's worse than parents who are oblivious to the annoying nature of their children? A parent who isn't.

Gary Zeune, a professional speaker based in Powell, Ohio, once sat between two toddlers  one in the row behind him, the other in the row in front of him  who performed an exquisite form of torture. "The kid in front was standing and let out a scream," he recalls. "The one behind me replied with a scream." After about six of these back-and-forth screams, it became clear to Zeune that the moms were unable to control their kids.

"Everyone was livid," he told me. So he stood up and ordered the children to be quiet. And after that, they were.

"I can't control my offspring."

This is the most benign version of incompetent parenting. I know, because I've been one in the past.

I thought I could keep my little ones (I have three) occupied on the plane. Then the doors closed and suddenly I was in charge of three wild children who refused to sit in their seats, demanded food and yelled at one another. After that, I grounded my family from flying for a while.

Oh, one more thing: This is bound to get worse.

"Today's parents think that their little darlings have the right to scream, pound on the backs of chairs, hit passengers on the head and do whatever else amuses them," says psychiatrist Carole Lieberman. "This comes from parents feeling entitled and being too distracted by their own fears, worries, computer work, movies, and so on. They think of the flight attendants as their personal baby-sitters."

Airlines already blacklist passengers for all sorts of reasons, from bad behavior to breaking their ticket rules. Perhaps they should add inept parents to the list.
My mother and I booked a wine tour in Spain through a company called The Unique Traveller. We each made a deposit of $881, which amounted to 30 percent of the cost of the trip. We weren't presented with any terms and conditions.

We asked to see a copy of the company's terms, which stated that if we canceled fewer than 45 days before the tour, we would forfeit our deposits. I spoke with the owner of the company, and he agreed to allow us a full refund of our deposits.

Several months later, I was laid off and my mother lost her job. We can no longer afford the trip. But The Unique Traveller has refused to send us our money back. Can you help us?

Debra Hitti

If The Unique Traveller agreed to revise its terms, then you're entitled to a full refund of your deposit.

I'm just not sure if it made that promise. I reviewed the correspondence between you, your mother and Ramon Ramirez, the tour operator, and found that although he implied you would get your money back, his language was sufficiently vague to avoid a refund.

A tour  particularly an overseas tour  is something you should buy through a competent travel adviser. A good agent will know which tour operators are legit and will be familiar with their cancellation policies.

Even if your agent gives a tour operator a thumbs up, you still need to do a little homework. Membership in the United States Tour Operators Association (ustoa.com) is a positive sign. To become an active member, a tour operator is required to show references and carry at least $1 million in professional liability insurance.

If The Unique Traveller didn't disclose its terms before or after you booked, and only mentioned its rules after you had forked over one-third of the cost of your vacation, then that should have sent up a few red flags. A call to your credit card company might have led you to conclude that this tour was worth canceling, whether you planned to go or not.

Once you had to call off your trip, you were stuck with three options. First, dispute the charges on your credit card. Second, negotiate with the tour operator and hope for a satisfactory resolution. Third, go to court to recover your deposit. You opted for number two, and you did right by keeping everything in writing. But I think language barriers kept your case from being fixed.
It happened just after sunrise a few weeks ago, as we navigated a narrow two-lane highway between Santa Fe and Santa Rosa, N.M., in our family sedan.

I was quietly admiring eastern New Mexico's sandstone rock formations, their improbably flat tops towering above us, when I felt a sudden jolt, followed by a loud vibration from the right front wheel. It sounded as though an angry rattlesnake had been sucked into our engine.

I pulled our 7-year-old Honda Accord to the side of the road. Our three kids began to stir in the back seat. I glanced at my phone: no signal. I hadn't seen another car for a while, maybe half an hour. We were miles from nowhere.

Now what?

I imagined every worst-case scenario, and believe me, I have a very good imagination. I could already see the headline: "Travel columnist and family found dehydrated but alive in New Mexico desert after two-week search." What I didn't think about, but probably should have, is that getting stuck in the New Mexican desert is as much a part of the travel experience as any flight delay, cruise mishap or hotel horror story  and it's a part that journalists like me ignore far too frequently.

I mean, odds are that you're not going to fly to your summer vacation destination. You'll probably drive.

How many of us get there by car vs. plane? It's difficult to draw a precise comparison because of the way the federal government measures travel. Americans drove more than 1.1 trillion miles on the nation's roads last summer, according to the Federal Highway Administration. During the same period, they flew 157 billion miles, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. In other words, for every mile we flew, we drove about seven.

Independent studies suggest that the gap may be even greater among leisure travelers. For example, during the Memorial Day holiday, 30.7 million Americans drove to their destinations, while only 2.5 million flew, according to a DK Shifflet and Associates survey conducted for AAA. For the Christmas and New Year's holiday, 83.5 million drove; just 5.4 million got to their destinations by plane.

Ignoring road travel is a time-honored tradition among my esteemed media colleagues. We're fascinated by things with wings; it seems to be a prerequisite to becoming a travel writer. We also assume that everyone travels just as we do, zipping between airports, dealing with the TSA and checking into hotels.

Mark Sedenquist, who runs a website called RoadTrip America, says that I shouldn't feel too bad about that. Road-trippers are not only difficult to define as a demographic, but they're also a challenge to market to. "The only common element regarding marketing-and-merchandising targeting is that most road-trippers will purchase fuel on a road trip," he says. "Every other element  food, route, destination, gear, lodging, camping, activities, communities and communications  can be about as diverse as possible. So the travel industry tends to avoid any marketing to road-trippers. They have no idea how to do it."

At a moment like this, I would reflexively defer to my friends at AAA. They're all too familiar with the downgraded status of the American road trip. But there's also this: the basics of road travel are pretty constant. And they're mostly common sense. I asked Heather Hunter, my AAA contact, to share her organization's road-trip advice for the summer.

"Carry an emergency kit with a flashlight, extra batteries, warning devices such as flares or reflective triangles, jumper cables, a first-aid kit and extra water," she told me. "Don't let the gas level get below one-quarter of a tank."

Her list also included planning the trip carefully, securing kids in the back with approved seats and using one of AAA's smartphone apps to help plan the journey.

That's great advice, but it's not exactly new. The rules of the road aren't as volatile as the rules of air travel and, to a lesser extent, of cruises or hotel stays. Also, motorists don't have to beware of a scam lurking around every corner; there are perils, that's true, but it's nothing like flying.

Consider one of my problems in the New Mexico scenario  being out in the desert with no wireless connection. "I thought we'd have that fixed by now," says Chicke Fitzgerald, a road trip evangelist who is the chief executive of the Tampa, Fla.-based travel technology company Solutionz Holdings. She's been watching technology evolve, often at a snail's pace, and says that there's room for improvement. And growth. She says that businesses are just beginning to wake up to the massive size of the driving market, and she envisions a time in the not-too-distant future when the needs of mobile travelers are met through products and services that weren't originally designed for airline passengers, as virtually all of today's online travel sites are.

I wish I'd talked with Fitzgerald before my road trip. But there I was on my hands and knees on the already hot pavement, looking for a rattlesnake under my car. I saw nothing. I started the Honda up again. The rattle was gone.

Cautiously, I pressed down on the gas pedal. I didn't hear anything unusual. Still, that didn't keep me from getting the car checked by a professional at the next service station.

Turned out that a small, nonessential part had slipped off the wheelbase. It was safely removed at my dealership a short while later.
Q: I'm having a problem with a car I recently rented from National in Denver, and I hope you have the time to help me. I'm a faithful reader of your column, but when I rented the car, I failed to follow your advice.

As we were driving away, I said to my husband, "Oh, shoot, I forgot to take pictures of the car, and I didn't get an agent to sign off on it. Oh well, I haven't had trouble with National before."

Famous last words.

When I returned the vehicle, an agent pointed to a dent on the driver's side bumper. Although I had to bend down to see it, it was definitely there. At the same time, I know for a fact that I did not damage the vehicle, nor did the damage occur at any time while I was with the vehicle.

We had to run to catch a plane, but we indicated to the agent that we wanted to dispute any claim. National has sent us three letters since then, insisting on being paid $464 for the damage, including a threat to report me to a collection agency if I didn't.

If I really believed I caused the damage, I would pay them in a heartbeat. It's not about me wanting to avoid paying for my mistake; it's about not knowing if the mistake was mine or theirs. Can you help me?  Carrie Finegan, Atlanta

A: National should have been able to provide you with time-stamped photos of your car after your rental, showing the damage, along with a repair bill. I reviewed your correspondence with the company, and I can see the problem: You were asking for a time-stamped photo of the car before you rented it that might prove your theory that you didn't cause the damage.

In a perfect world, car rental companies would photograph their vehicles after each rental, but in real life, they only take snapshots when they want to send you a bill.

By now, you know that taking a picture of the car before your rental is absolutely essential. Car rental companies that used to shrug off little dents and dings are now pursuing their customers for every little scratch. You could buy optional insurance, but that often doubles the cost of your rental (and, indeed, it's a huge moneymaker for car rental agencies).

You could have also given yourself a little extra time when you returned the car in Denver, so that you could speak with a manager about the damage. I'm skeptical of any claim on damage that you have to bend over or get on a ladder to see. I'm not joking about the ladder part  I've had two recent cases where agents inspected the roof for damage and made a claim.

At the same time, I understand National's point of view. According to its records, the car was damaged while it was in your possession. Although I don't necessarily subscribe to the "guilty until proven innocent" approach, they have a business to run, and if we don't like it, we can always rent from another company.

I didn't send this case to National because I thought you weren't responsible. When I read the email chain between you and the company, I felt the representative with whom you were communicating was being short and dismissive. If nothing else, I felt National owed you a more thorough explanation of why you were liable. Instead, it sent you one-sentence replies. That's not good customer service.

National dropped its claim.
China is building its first large icebreaker, a ship type it had never built or operated before. The Chinese ship will be similar to the new Russian Lider class ships but without the nuclear power. The Chinese heavy icebreaker will be a 90,000 ton ship built in China for China to use in assisting other ships to navigate the Arctic waters off northern Russia. The route is 6,400 kilometers shorter than the conventional route via the Suez Canal. The Suez route also has to deal with the ship size restrictions for using the canal. There are also transit tolls, which can be as much as half a million dollars for a very large ship.

China already has two smaller (21,000-ton) research vessels with limited icebreaking capabilities. The first one was built in Ukraine during the 1990s while the second one was built in China in 2018. Russia has only launched one of the nuclear-powered Liders, in 2019, and it has not entered service yet for the usual Russian reasons of limited money, design defects, poor construction standards and corruption. Construction of the other two was delayed until the 2030s because money was not available. Russia needs these ships to replace the elderly Cold War era nuclear icebreakers. Russia has always taken the lead in maintaining a force of heavy (and often nuclear powered) icebreakers in order to keep northern ports, rivers and coastal waters navigable during the several months a year they are otherwise frozen shut. This provides commercial and military advantages that Russia was willing to pay to maintain. The Russians have run out of money, which the Chinese have not. In fact, China now has the largest ship building industry in the world.

While Chinese shipbuilders concentrate on commercial ships, mainly cargo vessels and tankers, they also build warships specialized vessels, like icebreakers. Chinese warship construction continues at a rapid pace, building large numbers of destroyers and amphibious (LPS and LHD) assault ships. These ships are also world class in terms of technology and design. To accomplish this China has worked for over a decade building incrementally better models of these ships. Satellite photos of their shipyards plus activities of research facilities and capabilities indicate a serious effort to move ahead of Western navy technology during the 2020s. That means transition to all electric drive ships and sensors that match Western capabilities and are evolving rapidly enough to surpass them.

China is still experimenting with aircraft carrier design while putting two carriers into service with a third nearing completion. Each carrier represents a different stage in the Chinese development process. As part of that effort China became the only country in the world with two shipyards capable of building large carriers. These two yards are visibly expanding their capabilities so that the largest (100,000 ton) carriers can be built. China did not begin their aircraft carrier development until the late 1990s. In contrast China has been developing its own designs for other types of warships since the 1970s and 80s.

China takes as long as necessary to get ship designs right. In some cases, this takes a long time. An example of this is Chinese development of nuclear submarines. Since the 1960s China has been trying, and failing, to design and build competitive SSNs (nuclear attack subs) and SSBNs (ballistic missile carrying nuclear subs) as well as a reliable SLBM (sea launched ballistic missile). SSBNs are larger and more complex than SSNs and China has been concentrating on perfecting a competitive SSBN design. China began construction of its first SSN in the 1960s and a decade later built its first SSBN. While each SSN and SSBN improves, those improvements have produced nuclear sub designs that are still several decades behind the Americans though close to matching current Russian nuclear sub tech. Propulsion and silencing capabilities developed for the SSBNs have been applied to SSNs and the latest SSN design, the Type 93G is like the Type 94A SSBN and evolutionary improvement with each Type 93 SSN built incorporating improvements based on experience with previous Type 93s. Chinese shipyards are apparently able to build two or three nuclear subs simultaneously.

While the U.S. Navy is stuck with a dysfunctional warship construction capability and new technology it cannot afford, the Chinese have avoided the American mistakes so far and are rapidly closing the quality gap. That includes having their new ships spend a lot of time at sea, in all seasons and weather, to gain operational experience that can be obtained no other way. The major limitations on further rapid expansion seem to be recruiting problems arising from Chinas lack of a sea-going tradition among its people, plus its so-far limited operational experience at sea. Chinas solution to the latter is exactly right and simply takes lots of time and money, which they are providing. The recruiting problem can probably be dealt with the same way, but that additional delay will require either significantly slowing down the construction problem or having a lot of ships go straight from the construction yard to placement in an expensive floating reserve. Both have their political problems.

All this is the result of China concluding that it is no longer enough just to be the major land-based military power in East Asia, as they have been for thousands of years. The new Chinese economy requires that China protect its access to foreign markets and sources of raw materials. A large, modern navy would not only do that but also be capable of contesting the naval domination that the West has had for centuries.

China now has a naval strategy unlike any in its history. That is one component of a Chinese strategy that involves ambitious goals on land and sea. China is seeking ownership of the South China Sea, large chunks of India and, rather quietly, the Far Eastern Russian territories. In addition, the Chinese seek naval domination in the Western Pacific and the Indian Ocean. Going after adjacent land areas is the traditional Chinese way of expanding. China has tended, for thousands of years, to absorb areas not populated by Han (ethnic Chinese) people. While the traditional Chinese lands are now incorporated into communist China, there is no precedent for Chinese naval domination beyond their coastal waters.

Westerners fail to understand some basics about Chinese history and practice. For example, the Chinese have long called China Zhongguo, which is usually translated into English as middle kingdom. A more literal and accurate translation is everything under the heavens. Until the 21st century, this mainly meant adjacent land areas occupied by at least a large minority of Han Chinese. But now China points out that everything means the South China Sea as well and perhaps much more distant lands. China has laid claim to the South China Sea because China is currently faced with a situation unique in Chinese history; dependency on markets and resources far from the Chinese heartland and best reached by sea. Until quite recently China had observed the policy that we have everything we need and do not require whatever foreigners have. This was one exception; gold, silver and gems. This made trade with China difficult because China had much to offer, including silk and other exquisite textiles. China tolerated foreign traders coming in by sea. Most of these were Arab and Indian, but this trade was not essential for China. Nor was trade via the land route; the Silk Road that reached as far as the Middle East, as well as India and all points along the way. Since China preferred to be paid in silver this limited how much distant customers could afford. That worked well for China.

China did like to keep an eye on what was happening in distant lands and sometimes took extraordinary measures to do so. For example, in the early 15th century (1402-33) China funded a large fleet of over 300 ships. These included many enormous vessels that were 120 meters (370 feet) long so that distant lands could be investigated in a proper manner. These ships were more than twice the size of Western vessels. This rare Chinese fleet was proposed and commanded by Zheng He, a very capable Chinese general and a senior official who had the trust of several Chinese emperors. The purpose of the tribute fleet was to impress on foreigners the might of China and to demand tribute from foreign rulers. The tribute fleet also traded, if only to bring back samples of foreign goods, envoys and ideas. All of these were seen as curiosities, not anything really useful to China. The tribute fleet also carried over 20,000 soldiers to impress on foreigners that you did not want to mess with China. Zeng He was a very capable general and he used his tribute fleet troops a few times to impress on troublesome foreigners that the Chinese meant to get their way. These seven voyages took the fleet into Southeast Asia, India, the Middle East and east Africa.

After Zeng He died, apparently while leading the last voyage, the emperor ordered the fleet dismantled and written records of the voyages filed away. China had, as always, everything it needed in China and the foreigners had nothing to offer that justified such a large fleet. Let the foreigners come to China with their offerings and, as long as they recognized Chinese supremacy, they would be tolerated.

What Zheng He missed was the growing knowledge explosion in Europe. This was producing all manner of new, and very useful technologies. Before the end of the 15th century some of these new European ships had reached East Africa and the formerly unknown and explored Americas. Over the next few decades these high-tech foreign barbarians traded and conquered their way closer and closer to the Chinese empire. When these heavily armed black ships of the western barbarians showed up seeking to trade, the Chinese were not impressed by what the western voyagers had to offer.

Western ideas were particularly disdained. For over 400 years after the first voyage of Zheng He China dismissed Western ideas, encompassed in the Renaissance, Age of Enlightenment, Industrial Revolution and a growing body of new scientific, engineering and political developments. From the 17th century on those Western concepts became more difficult to ignore. Western advances in ship building, navigation and weapons, especially cannon and firearms, arrived in China more frequently, in larger numbers and often violently. China was slow to adapt. By the late 19th century, when the despised Japanese adopted much of this Western technology, China was forced to recognize that the world had changed, and not in a way that benefited China. The new ideas generated by the Renaissance and Age of Enlightenment could be ignored but not Western technology. Western ideas like democracy and radical socialism (communism) had some appeal to Chinese eager to replace the ancient imperial system based on feudalism and a highly skilled bureaucracy. Efforts to implement these new ideas caught on, but not in a big way and often with disastrous results. What was produced was a century of revolution and civil war that made China much weaker. Chinese later regarded this as a century of humiliation made possible by the superior technology and organization of Western nations.

When the Chinese communists came out on top in China after World War II one of main goals was to finally reap the benefits of the Industrial Revolution. But the Great Leap Forward of the 1950s and the Cultural Revolution of the 1960s killed over 30 million Chinese while doing little to help the economy or most Chinese. Chinese leaders learned from this and by the 1970s realized that the existing communist government could only claim to have destroyed feudalism and replaced it with a communist economic system that was not much more effective than the ancient imperial system. Then Chinese leaders sought to try something different. In a typically bold move worthy of Admiral Zheng He, the Chinese were encouraged to create an Industrial Revolution using Western ideas of property rights and entrepreneurial development of new products and manufacturing techniques. By the 1980s Chinese leaders were proclaiming that it was glorious to get rich as long as you stayed out of politics. In other words, the communist dynasty would still rule, but in a way that allowed most Chinese to get rich, or at least more affluent than they had ever been in the past. It worked and from the 1980s through the present China finally went through the Industrial Revolution and became the second largest economy in the world (after the United States). At the current rate of growth China may have the largest economy by the late 2020s and believe they will need comparable military power to hold on to their economic gains.

The Chinese leaders were impressed by the United States, which had been the most effective practitioner of the Industrial Revolution and had gotten into it late, during the 19th century. By 1900 the U.S. had the largest economy in the world and, the Chinese noted, were still a nation that produced all it needed within the continental United States. Despite that, the Americans were very much a trading nation, but that was something of a bonus. The Chinese communists also noted that during World War II the Americans mainly exported weapons, industrial equipment, fuel and food. The Americans did this with a population less than a fifth that of China. By World War II less than ten percent of Americans were employed in agriculture, produced nearly as much food as China and exported what they did not consume. The Americans were producing most of the new technology. By World War II the U.S. had the most powerful fleet on the planet, and still do. Their air forces were unmatched and in the 1960s Americans were walking on the moon and returning safely.

By the end of the 20th century, Chinese leaders were wondering what to do about this. These leaders, while still communist, were seen by most Chinese as just another imperial dynasty. The privileged sons of the senior communist officials were disparagingly called little princes. And while some of these sons were an embarrassment to their families, many more turned the next generation of senior leadership into what amounted to hereditary rule. The Chinese leaders noted this, along with the growing assertiveness of the newly affluent Chinese. By the early 21st century over half the Chinese population were wealthier than they ever imagined. In two generations most Chinese families had gone from poverty to affluence. Their children were better educated than any before. At this point, the Chinese rulers realized they could hang onto their hereditary power only as long as the newly affluent saw their communist rulers aiding continued economic growth rather than losing it via growing corruption or wars that achieved little other than impoverishing the newly affluent Chinese.

To assure the survival of the new dynasty Chinese leaders adopted a typically Chinese solution; they deliberately planned for the long term. In Western terms, they played the long game. This meant maintaining economic growth while also creating Chinese scientific and military capabilities that were beyond what any other nation possessed. That had worked in the past until Chinese emperors ignored the rest of the world despite the good advice of imperial officials like Zheng He, who is now hailed by Chinese as a visionary that was ignored. By 1980 Chinese leaders decided they would no longer ignore the rest of the world but would instead become prosperous and powerful enough to dominate it for the long term. As Zheng He demonstrated, that required the most powerful navy on the planet.

To achieve military dominance, the Chinese leader accepted that this would take decades and this is what the Chinese are up to. Military reforms began in the 1980s as the Chinese adopted Western weapons, techniques and technology. China purchased or stole all the Western tech they could and this included manufacturing technology as well as Western designs for weapons, training and military equipment. China went slowly. They didn't build a large nuclear arsenal once they had learned how to build nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles in the 1960s. Same with warplanes and armored vehicles. This was not the Western way but it has worked for the Chinese as they acquired and learned to use one technology after another.

The Chinese approach to warship design and construction is a good example. Since the 1990s the Chinese have gone from producing copies of Russian designs to those matching the latest Western designs. It was the same with the ground and air forces. The Chinese also realized they could no longer rely on a large (in manpower) armed forces but needed a much smaller force of better educated, trained, equipped and armed troops.

Back in the 1980s Chinese leaders calculated that it would take half a century to match and surpass the West in military power. Westerners scoffed at such an idea but now it is generally agreed that by the 2030s the Chinese will achieve their goal. That does not mean China will use that military power to conquer the world. That was not the Chinese way. Their plan is to possess military power that will, like Zheng Hes tribute fleet, impress upon foreigners that China is not to be defied and that if China wants something, they are more likely to get it. That is being done via the Chinese BRI (Belt and Road initiative) project which is reestablishing the Silk Road, not just overland but with a maritime version as well. The land version involves investing over half a trillion dollars in building transportation and other infrastructure from China into Central Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia and even Europe. These local investments give China enormous political and economic leverage. Long term it means China has finally sound something worth exporting along the Silk Road; Chinese economic and if needed, military power.

The maritime version of the new Silk Road is there to ensure access to areas outside Eurasia. More importantly the new Chinese fleet can dominate shipping lanes worldwide and force other nations to worry about their own access to the seas.

All this depends on continued Chinese economic and technological growth. That is less certain that Chinese plans for military expansion. It was the rapidly growing economy that enabled the Chinese to pay for their new fleet and modern ground forces. Chinese leaders and foreign economists both note several serious flaws in the Chinese financial and political systems. Chinese leaders are trying to use a tightly controlled and high-tech police state to fix these economic problems and it is unclear if their Big Brother approach will work. If it does, it will change the world as well as China.
HONG KONG, July 7 (Xinhua) -- John Lee, chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), said on Friday that Hong Kong will strengthen economic, trade and cultural ties with the Middle East.

Lee said in a video speech at the launching and inauguration ceremony of the Hong Kong-Middle East Business Chamber that both Hong Kong and the Middle East are key links in the Belt and Road Initiative. The Middle East embraces diversified economic development, and Hong Kong's world-class professional services could support the financing needs of the Belt and Road Initiative.

Christopher Hui, secretary for financial services and the treasury of the HKSAR government, said at the ceremony that Hong Kong has become one of the most free and vibrant economies globally, which is not only a bridge to the Chinese mainland but also one of the growth engines for the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, creating an attractive development platform for investors around the world.

Abdullah Al Saleh, undersecretary of the ministry of economy of the United Arab Emirates, said that Hong Kong and the Middle East can have in-depth exchanges and establish cooperation in the fields of circular economy and science and technology. He believed that closer cooperation between the two places will bring more business opportunities.

Aaron Shum, founding president of the Hong Kong-Middle East Business Chamber, said that the various committees of the chamber have a series of plans to enter the Middle East market, covering areas including jewelry, food, and environmental technology. The Hong Kong business community is looking forward to the potential and returns of the Middle East market. 
DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Sonrava Health, a national family of health and wellness companies, today announced that Yoojin Lee, DMD, has rejoined Sonrava Health as Clinical Director supporting dentists in 44 Brident Dental & Orthodontics, Perfect Teeth and other locally branded affiliate offices in Colorado.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230707110460/en/

Dr. Yoojin Lee, Clinical Director (Photo: Business Wire)

Dr. Lee originally joined Sonrava Health affiliate Western Dental & Orthodontics in Bakersfield, California, as an Associate Dentist. She was soon promoted to Managing Dentist and excelled in the role before relocating to the Denver area with her family in 2021. Sonrava Health entered the Colorado market in 2022, creating an opportunity for Dr. Lee to rejoin the organization.

Dr. Lee has excellent clinical and leadership skills and is committed to supporting high-quality patient care and service excellence, said Dr. Yein Kim, Senior Clinical Director for Sonrava Healths Central Region, which includes Colorado. She communicates clearly, has excellent problem-solving skills and will be a strong advocate for patients and colleagues alike.

Its good to be working with colleagues at Sonrava Health again, said Dr. Lee. I enjoy working with doctors and clinical staff who are committed to providing high-quality dental care and great service for patients.

Dr. Lee earned her Doctor of Dental Medicine (DMD) and a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio.

ABOUT SONRAVA HEALTH

Sonrava Health, through its affiliates, is one of the nations largest dental support organizations and a leader in accessible, affordable high-quality oral healthcare, supporting care for approximately 4 million patient visits annually in nearly 600 affiliated offices in 21 states coast to coast from California to Florida and border to border from Michigan to Texas. In addition to general dentistry, Sonrava Health affiliate practices offer pediatric dentistry, orthodontics (including clear aligners), oral surgery, periodontics, endodontics, dental implants and overdentures, creating a convenient full-service Dental Home. Sonrava Health is also the family home of LooksBrite Eye Centers, EyeMax Vision Plan, and MIB Benefit Plans. For more information, visit www.Sonrava.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230707110460/en/

Ron Trujillo

[email protected]

(559) 289-8797

Source: Sonrava Health
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - July 7, 2023) - Benz Mining Corp. (TSXV: BZ) (ASX: BNZ) (Benz or the Company) announces that the Company has filed a National Instrument 43-101 technical report in support of the updated Mineral Resource Estimate for the Eastmain Project located in Northern Quebec, which was reported in the Company's news release dated May 24, 2023.

The technical Report was prepared in accordance with Canadian Securities Administrators' NI 43-101 Standards off disclosure for Mineral Projects and Form 43-101 F1 and is available on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) and the Company's website (www.benzmining.com).

This announcement has been authorized for release by the Board of Benz Mining Corp.

For more information please contact:

Evan Cranston

Chairman

Benz Mining Corp.

Email: [email protected]

Telephone: +61 8 6143 6702

Dannika Warburton

Principal

Investability Partners

Email: [email protected]

Telephone: +61 401 094 26

About Benz Mining Corp.

Benz Mining Corp. (TSXV: BZ) (ASX: BNZ) brings together an experienced team of geoscientists and finance professionals with a focused strategy to unlock the immense mineral potential of the Upper Eastmain Greenstone Belt in Northern Quebec, which is prospective for gold, lithium, nickel, copper and other high-value minerals. Benz is earning a 100% interest in the former producing high grade Eastmain gold mine, Ruby Hill West and Ruby Hill East Projects in Quebec and owns 100% of the Windy Mountain Project.

At the Eastmain Gold Project, Benz has identified a combination of over 380 modelled in-hole and off-hole DHEM conductors over a strike length of 6km which is open in all directions (final interpretation of some of the conductors still pending).

Benz has also confirmed the presence of visible spodumene in a pegmatite at the Ruby Hill West Project, indicating lithium mineralisation which Benz intends to further explore in 2023.

Forward-Looking Information: Certain statements contained in this news release may constitute "forward-looking information" as such term is used in applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking information is based on plans, expectations and estimates of management at the date the information is provided and is subject to certain factors and assumptions, including, that the Company's financial condition and development plans do not change as a result of unforeseen events and that the Company obtains regulatory approval. Forward-looking information is subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause plans, estimates and actual results to vary materially from those projected in such forward-looking information. Factors that could cause the forward-looking information in this news release to change or to be inaccurate include, but are not limited to, the risk that any of the assumptions referred to prove not to be valid or reliable, that occurrences such as those referred to above are realized and result in delays, or cessation in planned work, that the Company's financial condition and development plans change, and delays in regulatory approval, as well as the other risks and uncertainties applicable to the Company as set forth in the Company's continuous disclosure filings filed under the Company's profile at www.sedar.com. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements, other than as required by applicable law.

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 ACCURACY OR ADEQUACY OF THIS RELEASE.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/172836
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - July 7, 2023) - Nevada Vanadium Mining Corp. ("Nevada Vanadium" or the "Company") announces it closed on a private placement of 3,500,000 shares at a price of $0.08 per share (the "Shares") for gross proceeds of $280,000. As a result in the issuance of the Shares, Ron Motz, has become an "insider" as defined by the Securities Act (British Columbia). Mr. Motz, subscriber to the private placement, previously beneficially owned, director or indirect, 5,484,844 shares and 4,000,000 warrants. Subsequent to the private placement, Mr. Motz beneficially owns, director or indirect, 8,984,844 shares of the Company or 14.5% of the issued and outstanding shares of the Company and 7,500,000 warrants of the Company or 23.7% of the issued and outstanding on a partially diluted basis assuming Mr. Motz were to exercise his warrants.

A copy of Mr. Motz's early warning report will appear on Nevada Vanadium's profile on SEDAR.

The securities issued pursuant to the private placements are subject to a regulatory hold period until November 6, 2023.

Proceeds of the Placement are expected to be used for project advancement, working capital and general corporate purposes.

This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities in the United States. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act") or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available.

About Nevada Vanadium Mining Corp.

Nevada Vanadium Mining Corp. is a Canadian reporting issuer, holding a 100% interest in the Gibellini Vanadium project in Nevada, United States.

To find out more about Nevada Vanadium, visit www.nevadavanadium.com

NEVADA VANADIUM MINING CORP.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

"Ron Espell"

CEO

For more information about Nevada Vanadium, please contact Investor Relations: [email protected]

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements contained in this news release, including statements which may contain words such as "expects", "anticipates", "intends", "plans", "believes", "estimates", or similar expressions, and statements related to matters which are not historical facts are forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Such forward-looking statements, which reflect management's expectations regarding Company's future growth, results of operations, performance, and business prospects and opportunities, are based on certain factors and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties which may cause the actual results, performance, or achievements to be materially different from future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.

These factors should be considered carefully, and readers should not place undue reliance on the Company's forward-looking statements. The Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements contained in this news release and the documents incorporated by reference herein are reasonable, but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct. In addition, although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events, or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events, or results not to be as anticipated, estimated, or intended. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly release any future revisions to forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this news or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as expressly required by law.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/172834
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - July 7, 2023) - New Frontier Ventures Inc. (the "Company") (CSE: VFI.X) announced today that the Company has completed the conversion of certain indebtedness of the Company in an aggregate amount of $211,994 in exchange for 4,239,880 common shares of the Company at $0.05 per share (the "Debt to Equity Conversion"), a transaction that was previously announced on June 28, 2023.

The conversion price was $0.05 per share. All of the securities issuable in connection with the transaction are subject to a hold period ending November 8, 2023.

Certain insiders of the Company participated in the Debt to Equity Conversion, and the Debt to Equity Conversion was approved by minority shareholders of the Company in accordance with Multilateral Instrument 61-101 - Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions.

All such business matters are more particularly described in the Company's Information Circular dated May 22, 2023 and the Company's news release dated June 28, 2023.

For further information, please contact:

Vikas Ranjan, President, New Frontier Ventures Inc.

Email: [email protected]

416-605-7024

Not for distribution to United States newswire services or for dissemination in the United States.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/172843
SANTIAGO, Chile , July 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- On July 6, 2023 , the Republic of Chile (" Chile ") published a press release announcing pricing terms for its U.S. Dollar-denominated offer to exchange its 3.125% Notes due 2025 (the " 2025 Notes "), among other series of Eligible Notes, for 2036 Notes or 2054 Notes (such press release, the " Pricing Press Release " and such invitation to exchange, the " USD Invitation "). In addition, on July 7, 2023 , Chile published a press release announcing the results of such exchange offer, including the amount of 2036 Notes and 2054 Notes to be issued as a result of the USD Invitation (the " Results Press Release "). Chile is publishing this press release to (i) correct a manifest error in the pricing terms of the 2025 Notes included in the Pricing Press Release and (ii) amend the resulting amount of 2036 Notes and 2054 Notes to be issued in the USD Invitation, as published in the Results Press Release. Capitalized terms used herein and not otherwise defined shall have the meaning ascribed to them in the prospectus supplement relating to the USD Invitation filed by Chile with the Securities and Exchange Commission on June 27, 2023 (the " Prospectus Supplement ").

Except as expressly amended hereby to the extent specifically provided herein, all terms of the USD Invitation contemplated in the Prospectus Supplement, the Pricing Press Release and Results Press Release and all other disclosures set forth in such documents remain unchanged and are hereby expressly incorporated into this press release.

The Pricing Press Release is hereby amended to correct a manifest error in the Exchange Ratio applicable to the 2025 Notes. The table below sets for the corrected Exchange Ratio for the 2025 Notes, based on Chile's determination of the Eligible Notes Applicable Yield and the New Notes Applicable Yield applicable to such series.

2025 Notes in Exchange for 2036 Notes

Eligible Notes

Reference Treasury Spotted Reference

UST Yield* Eligible Notes Spread

(in basis points) Eligible Notes

Applicable Yield Exchange

Price** Eligible Notes

Present Value*** Exchange

Ratio**** 4.250% due 5/31/2025 5.152 % + 0 5.152 % $ 967.21 $ 976.32 1.004217

2025 Notes in Exchange for 2054 Notes

Eligible Notes

Reference Treasury Spotted Reference

UST Yield* Eligible Notes Spread

(in basis points) Eligible Notes

Applicable Yield Exchange

Price** Eligible Notes

Present Value*** Exchange

Ratio**** 4.250% due 05/31/2025 5.152 % + 0 5.152 % $ 967.21 $ 976.32 0.996458

_____________ *Spotted at or around 10:00 a.m. , New York City time, on July 6, 2023 . **Exclusive of accrued interest.

***Inclusive of accrued interest.

****The ratio of the Eligible Notes Present Value to the New Notes Present Value.

The Results Press Release is hereby amended to correct the aggregate principal amount of 2036 Notes and 2054 Notes to be issued in exchange for all USD Eligible Notes pursuant to the USD Invitation. As corrected, the aggregate principal amount of 2036 Notes to be issued in exchange for all USD Eligible Notes pursuant to the USD Invitation is US$499,852,623 , and the aggregate principal amount of 2054 Notes to be issued in exchange for all USD Eligible Notes pursuant to the USD Invitation is US$381,658,578 .

* * * * * * * * * *

This announcement is not an offer or a solicitation of offers to exchange or tender any securities. Any offer was made solely by documents prepared in connection with the Invitation. The distribution of materials relating to any offer, and the transactions contemplated by any offer, may be restricted by law in certain jurisdictions. If materials relating to any offer come into your possession, you are required by Chile to inform yourself of and to observe all of these restrictions. The materials relating to any offer does not constitute, and may not be used in connection with, an offer or solicitation in any place where such offers or solicitations are not permitted by law.

The Information and Depositary Agent for the Invitation is Global Bondholder Services Corporation. The website for the Invitation is: https://www.gbsc-usa.com/chile/. Any questions concerning the Invitation or requests for copies of the documents may be directed to the Information and Depositary Agent at the contact information provided below.

Global Bondholder Services Corporation

65 Broadway  Suite 404

New York, New York 10006

Attn: Corporate Actions

Banks and Brokers call: (212) 430-3774

Toll free (855) 654-2015

Email: [email protected]

The Dealer Managers for the USD Invitation are:

Credit Agricole Securities (USA) Inc. 1301 Avenue of the Americas , 8th Floor New York, New York 10019 Email: [email protected] Phone: +1 (866) 807-6030 Attention: Liability Management HSBC Securities (USA) Inc. 452 Fifth Avenue New York, NY 10018 Toll Free: +1 (888) HSBC-4LM Collect: +1 (212) 525-5552 Email: [email protected] Santander US Capital Markets LLC 437 Madison Avenue , 7th Floor New York, New York 10022 Email: [email protected] Phone: +1 (212) 940-1442 Attention: Liability Management Team Scotia Capital (USA) Inc. 250 Vesey St New York, New York 10281 Email: [email protected] Phone: +1-833-498-1660 Attention: Liability Management Group

SG Americas Securities, LLC 245 Park Avenue New York, New York 10167 Email: [email protected] Phone: +1 855 851 2108 Attention: Liability Management

Questions regarding the Invitation may also be directed to the Dealer Managers at the above contacts.

Chile has filed a registration statement (including a prospectus) with the SEC for the offering of securities. Before you make any decision related to this communication, you should read the prospectus in that registration statement and other documents that Chile has filed with the SEC for more complete information about Chile and this announcement. You may obtain these documents for free by visiting EDGAR on the SEC website at www.sec.gov. Alternatively, Chile or any participating underwriter or dealer will arrange to send you the prospectus or any prospectus supplement in connection herewith if you request it by calling Credit Agricole Securities (USA) Inc., at +1 (866) 807-6030, HSBC Securities (USA) Inc., at +1 (866) 811-8049, Santander US Capital Markets LLC, at +1 (212) 940-1442, Scotia Capital (USA) Inc., at +1 (833) 498 1660, SG Americas Securities, LLC, at +1 855 851 2108.

The following additional information of Chile and regarding the New Notes is available from the SEC's website and also accompanies this free-writing prospectus:

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/19957/000110465923072353/tm2318446d1_18k.htm

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/19957/000110465922011948/tm225317d1_sb.htm

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/19957/000110465923075660/tm2319570d8_424b2.htm

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/19957/000110465923078618/tm2320733d1_fwp.htm

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/19957/000110465923078984/tm2320825d1_fwp.htm

Important Notice

This announcement is not an offer to exchange or a solicitation of an offer to sell the Eligible Notes. The Invitation were made only by and pursuant to the terms of a prospectus filed with the SEC.

The distribution of materials relating to the New Notes Offerings and the Invitation, and the transactions contemplated by the New Notes Offerings and the Invitation, may be restricted by law in certain jurisdictions. Each of the New Notes Offerings and the Invitation were made only in those jurisdictions where it is legal to do so. The New Notes Offerings and the Invitation are void in all jurisdictions where they are prohibited. If materials relating to the New Notes Offerings or the Invitation come into your possession, you are required to inform yourself of and to observe all of these restrictions. The materials relating to the New Notes Offerings and the Invitation do not constitute, and may not be used in connection with, an offer or solicitation in any place where offers or solicitations are not permitted by law. If a jurisdiction requires that the New Notes Offerings or the Invitation be made by a licensed broker or dealer and a dealer manager participating in the Invitation or any affiliate of any such dealer manager is a licensed broker or dealer in that jurisdiction, the New Notes Offerings or the Invitation, as the case may be, shall be deemed made by such dealer manager or such affiliate in that jurisdiction. Owners who may lawfully participate in the Invitation in accordance with the terms thereof are referred to as "holders."

Stabilization/FCA

No securities are intended to be offered, sold or otherwise made available to and should not be offered, sold or otherwise made available to any retail investor in any Member State of the European Economic Area ("EEA"). For these purposes, a retail investor means a person who is one (or more) of: (i) a retail client, as defined in point (11) of Article 4(1) of Directive 2014/65/EU (as amended, "MiFID II"); (ii) a customer within the meaning of Directive (EU) 2016/97 (as amended, the "Insurance Distribution Directive"), where that customer would not qualify as a professional client as defined in point (10) of Article 4(1) of MiFID II; or (iii) not a qualified investor as defined in Article 2 of Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 (as amended or superseded, the "Prospectus Regulation"). Consequently, no key information document required by Regulation (EU) No 1286/2014 (as amended, the "PRIIPs Regulation") for offering or selling any securities or otherwise making them available to retail investors in the EEA has been prepared and therefore any offering or selling of any securities or otherwise making them available to any retail investor in the EEA may be unlawful under the PRIIPs Regulation.

No securities are intended to be offered, sold or otherwise made available to and should not be offered, sold or otherwise made available to any retail investor in the United Kingdom (the " UK "). For these purposes, (a) a retail investor means a person who is one (or more) of: (i) a retail client, as defined in point (8) of Article 2 of Regulation (EU) No 2017/565 as it forms part of UK domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 ("EUWA"); (ii) a customer within the meaning of the provisions of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 ("FSMA") and any rules or regulations made under the FSMA to implement the Insurance Distribution Directive, where that customer would not qualify as a professional client as defined in point (8) of Article 2(1) of Regulation (EU) No 600/2014 as it forms part of UK domestic law by virtue of the EUWA; or (iii) an investor who is not a qualified investor as defined in Article 2 of the UK Prospectus Regulation, and (b) the expression "offer" includes the communication in any form and by any means of sufficient information on the terms of the offer and the securities to be offered so as to enable an investor to decide to purchase or subscribe for the securities. Consequently, no key information document required by the PRIIPs Regulation, as it forms part of UK domestic law by virtue of the EUWA (the " UK PRIIPs Regulation"), for offering or selling securities or otherwise making them available to retail investors in the UK has been prepared and therefore any offering or selling of securities or otherwise making them available to any retail investor in the UK may be unlawful under the UK PRIIPs Regulation.

The expression " UK Prospectus Regulation" means the Prospectus Regulation, as it forms part of UK domestic law by virtue of the EUWA.

Neither this communication is, nor any other offer material relating to the Invitation will be, made, and this communication has not been approved, by an authorized person for the purposes of section 21 of the FSMA. This announcement is for distribution only to persons who (a) are outside the United Kingdom ; or (b) have professional experience in matters relating to investments falling within Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (as amended, the "Order"); (c) are persons falling within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) ("high net worth companies, unincorporated associations etc.") of the Order; or (d) are persons to whom an invitation or inducement to engage in investment activity (within the meaning of section 21 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000) in connection with the issue or sale of any securities may otherwise lawfully be communicated or caused to be communicated (all such persons together being "relevant persons"). This announcement is directed only at relevant persons and must not be acted on or relied on by persons who are not relevant persons. Any investment or investment activity to which this document relates is available only to relevant persons and will be engaged in only with relevant persons.

* * *

ANY DISCLAIMERS OR OTHER NOTICES THAT MAY APPEAR AFTER THIS MESSAGE ARE NOT APPLICABLE TO THIS COMMUNICATION AND SHOULD BE DISREGARDED. SUCH DISCLAIMERS OR OTHER NOTICES WERE AUTOMATICALLY GENERATED AS A RESULT OF THIS COMMUNICATION BEING SENT VIA BLOOMBERG OR ANOTHER EMAIL SYSTEM.

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MACAO , July 8, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The 2023 World Cities Branding Conference opened at the MGM Cotai in Macao, China , on July 3 . Government officials, industry experts and guest speakers across the world exchanged views on city branding, cultural exchanges, tourism and sustainable urban development. The conference was founded to support Chinese cities to build their branding and find new growth momentum in the cultural and tourism sector. The event also unveiled the 2023 Great Wall Award - Culture & Tourism Branding Award, with the trending BBQ of Zibo City in Shandong Province winning the gold medal, among 50 outstanding cases of the year.

The first World Cities Branding Conference is initiated and organized by the Organizing Committee of the World Cities Branding Conference, and co-hosted by the World Tourism Economy Research Center. Phoenix New Media organized the event. MGM is also the chief partner and the official venue provider. And HONDA INSPIRE is the goodwill partner.

The conference is supported by the Macao Government Tourism Office and Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute. China Advertising Association and Communication University of China School of Advertisement, along with many other research institutes, join hands in developing this world-level international forum focusing on branding for cultural and tourism industries.

Lei Wai Nong , Representative of the Chief Executive of the Macao Special Administrative Region and the Secretary for Economy and Finance of the Macao SAR government; Pansy Ho , Chairman of the Global Tourism Economy Research Centre and Group Executive Chairman and Managing Director of Shun Tak Holdings Limited; Yang Hao , Deputy Director of the Economic Department of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Macao SAR.; Vincent U U Sang, President of Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute; Sun Yusheng , Executive Director and Editor-in-Chief of Phoenix Media Investment (Holdings) Limited and Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer of Phoenix New Media Limited; Zhang Guohua , President of China Advertising Association and Vice President of International Advertising Association; and Ding Junjie , Professor of Communication University of China and Director of the National Institute of Advertising, attended and spoke at the conference. Kenneth Feng , President, Strategic and CFO of MGM, also joined the event.

H.E. Mr. Arthayudh Srisamoot, Ambassador of Thailand to China ; H.E. Mr. Alain Wong , Ambassador of Mauritius to China ; H.E. Mr. John Busuttil , Ambassador of Malta to China ; Patrick Nijs , Former Ambassador of Belgium to China ; and Souad Zaidi , General Secretary of the Moroccan Association of mayors and Former Member of Moroccan Parliament; Robert Govers , Founding Chairman of the Internationa Place Branding Association (IPBA); John D Chacko, Global VP of International Advertising Association and Chairman of IAA World Congress 2024 also attended and spoke at the event.

Wu Hongbo , Former Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations and Honorary President of China International Public Relations Association; Hae-Guk HWANG, Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific at the World Tourism Organization, and Shan Jixiang , Chairman of the China Cultural Relics Academy and Former Director of the Palace Museum, also gave video speeches at the opening ceremony.

During the two-day conference, experts from across the world spoke at the event and shared their insights, including Denis Bax , Chief of the Communication, Cities and Events (CCE) Unit and Secretary of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network; David Aaker , "Father of Modern Branding", the Vice-Chair of Prophet Consulting Firm; Zhang Hui , Member of the "14th Five-Year Plan" National Development Planning Expert Committee of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and Deputy Director of the Expert Committee of World Tourism Cities Federation; Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes , Director of Macao Government Tourism Office; Ouyang Changlin , Director of the Live Streaming Committee of CTAA and The former president of Hunan Broadcasting System; Robert Govers , Founding Chairman of the Internationa Place Branding Association (IPBA); Ray Ng , Executive Chairman of The Industry and Commerce Association of Macau; Ji Xiaodong , President of the China Chamber of Tourism (CCT); Prof. Wu Bihu from Peking University; and Yang Jie , Vice Chairman of Beijing ByteDance Charity Foundation.

Lei Wai Nong , Representative of the Chief Executive of the Macao Special Administrative Region and the Secretary for Economy and Finance of the Macao SAR government, said the founding of the World Cities Branding Conference is important, as this platform is key for cities across the world to exchange ideas, empower global engagement and promote people-to-people exchanges, to explore new opportunities. He added that the traditionally strong-branded cities need to speed up on urban renewal, working together with emerging cities, and share development opportunities.

Pansy Ho , the Chairman of the Global Tourism Economy Research Centre and Group Executive Chairman and Managing Director of Shun Tak Holdings Limited, expressed her aspirations during her speech. She emphasized the importance of Chinese cultural and tourism brands showcasing their exceptional qualities on a global platform, with the ultimate goal of becoming internationally recognized brands. Furthermore, she shared valuable insights regarding the Global Tourism Economy Forum, a global forum that she initiated in Macao , which has served as a pivotal platform for the global cultural and tourism industry to gain a deeper understanding of the authentic China over the past decade.

Sun Yusheng , Executive Director and Editor-in-Chief of Phoenix Media Investment (Holdings) Limited and Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer of Phoenix New Media Limited said as China undergoes urbanization, Chinese cities shall figure out their very own characteristics and charisma. Sun said he hoped Phoenix Satellite TV and Phoenix New Media can play their unique roles in helping cities shape their branding.

At the conference, two academic reports were launched, including the China Area Branding Value Report, presented by Prof. Ding Junjie of Communication University of China, also Director of the National Institute of Advertising, and the 2023 World Cities Branding Index Report, jointly presented by Zhang Tingting , Executive Chairman of the World Cities Branding Conference, also the Director of the Tourism Communication Research Center of the Advertising School at the communication university of China , and Scott Chen , Managing Director of Brand Finance China. The index covers 7 pillars including commercial and trade, livability, cultural heritage, people's values, sustainability & transportation accessibility, governance, and education & science.

Industry experts, government officials also joined a series of high-level round-table dialogues featuring a variety of topics, including "Promoting mutual cultural learning through city branding", "Building the soft power of sustainable development of world cities with brands", "Innovate Macao's cultural and tourism brand by content creation", "World-level tourism cities branding development and communication", "Youth design and city development", "Opportunities and challenges for high-quality development of China's county culture and tourism", " Building Lushan as a world-class tourism destination", "City creativity and international communication", etc.

Among these forums, government officials from Zhangjiakou City of Hebei Province , and Lushan City of Jiangxi Province , Tahe County of Heilongjiang Province , and Argara of Morocco shared their insights and experiences about on how to build good city branding at a panel discussion moderated by Xu Yue , co-initiator of the World Cities Branding Conference and Director of Culture and Tourism Communication at Phoenix New Media.

On July 4 , a forum themed " MGM Dialogue : Rediscover the Value of Macao " focused on the branding development of Macao and the city's culture and tourism industry development, with experts from across sectors sharing their opinions. Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes , Director of Macao Government Tourism Office, said it is important to explore effective marketing and communication campaigns to allow more tourists and general public from across the world to learn and understand the wonderfulness and uniqueness of Macao , a world-renowned tourism destination.

Phoenix New Media also launched a brand new IP "Let the World Fall in Love with Chinese Cities". The initiative will work with over 100 Chinese cities to better showcase their culture and tourism branding and offerings to the world, on the platforms of the Phoenix media and social platforms.

The event also unveiled the gold, silver and bronze awards for the Annual Good Culture and Tourism Award, a special selection of the renowned Great Wall Award. This was the first ranking of top 50 outstanding cases by the conference, covering 5 areas of best cases for branding communication and campaigns.

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SOURCE PRNA MEDIA DEVELOPMENT
BEIJING , July 8, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- During a friendly competition called "A Digital Day Tour of Beijing " on June 17 , young participants from several countries vied to unlock their missions in Beijing via some of China's most popular mobile apps, including hailing rides, learning about the ancient sage Confucius (551-479 B.C.), hopping on a shared bike, and posting pictures of their accomplished tasks on Weixin, China's domestic version of the WeChat super app. Those most adroit at using the apps won the "race."

They immersed themselves in China-style digital life and successfully completed the tasks on their checklists. But three days earlier, when they had just arrived in Shenzhen , a major tech hub in south China's Guangdong Province , most of them had never heard of, let alone used, these Chinese apps.

"They" refer to 16 young people from 14 countries, including China , the United States , the United Kingdom , Spain , Brazil , South Africa and Pakistan , who joined in the 2023 Future Close-Up Program for a six-day journey, from June 15 to 20 , taking them around Shenzhen and Beijing to gain an in-depth understanding of China's achievements in developing its digital economy.

Participants, comprised of entrepreneurs, scholars and reporters, first spent two days in Shenzhen and then four days in Beijing , including a one-day closing forum. The program was hosted by China International Communications Group (CICG) and Chinese Internet tech giant Tencent, and coordinated by the CICG Center for Americas.

App life

"Chinese applications and economies are always evolving to offer residents a better, more convenient life," said Jose Carlos Feliciano Nishikawa , a Peruvian participant and Deputy Director of the Center for China and Asia-Pacific Studies at his home country's Pacific University.

In 2009, when he first came to China , he created a QQ account, an instant messaging software service and web portal. Later, he used Renren, a Chinese social networking service similar to Facebook and Weibo, China's Twitter equivalent.

In 2013, he installed Weixin on his smartphone. "Every time I come to China , Weixin has new features," Nishikawa said at the 2023 Future Close-Up Forum in Beijing on June 20 . In his eyes, the continuous upgrading of the app mirrors the ever-swifter progress of China's digitalization process.

At present, Weixin has become a multifunctional mobile application involving instant messaging, social media and mobile payment. Most people living in China use the app, together with other digital tools such as instant food delivery service apps, and Didi Chuxing ( China's Uber equivalent), to meet their daily needs.

" China is a country where with just a smartphone in your hand, you can do everything," Zhang Weiwei, Director of the China Institute at Shanghai's Fudan University, told the forum. As a result, "Most people here haven't had a physical wallet on them for five or six years," he added.

Patrick Jack Robertson from Britain , CEO of Smart Air, a Beijing -based social enterprise tackling air pollution, echoed Zhang's remarks. Ten years ago, when the Brit first set foot on Chinese soil, he still needed to use cash and had to stand in line at the train station for an hour just to get a ticket. Today, he buys a digital ticket online and takes his passport to check in at the station.

"What impressed me most is how convenient technology is to use here in China ," Luis Filipe de Souza Porto , a young 2023 Future Close-Up participant and a researcher of international relations at the Federal University of ABC in Brazil , told Beijing Review.

Digital economy

The closing forum of the program released a report on China and the world's digital economy titled Global Youth Wisdom: Digital Economy Makes the World a Better Place . The report was based on in-depth interviews with about 100 Gen Zs from different countries on their lifestyles and digital preferences.

China has the world's second largest digital economy in terms of value, the report read. In 2021, the combined value of the digital economy in 47 major countries accounted for 45 percent of their GDP, while last year, China's digital economy accounted for 41 percent of the country's GDP.

Ninety-five percent of surveyed Gen Zs said they engaged in digital activities every day and were fully aware of the enormous impact the digital economy has on people's lives. Gen Zs "have a clear and dialectical understanding of the digital economy," according to the report. They have a deep sense of the positive impact of the digital economy on personal life, global economic development and social progress, believe that the digital economy makes the world better, and are fully confident in the future development of the digital economy, the document further read.

Zhang Jun , General Manager of Tencent's Marketing and Public Relations Department, said at the forum that through the Future Close-Up Program, Chinese and foreign youth came to realize they actually have a lot in common: their expectations for digital technology by large are high, and they brim with curiosity as well as a desire to uncover and understand the future.

Connecting

The participants, many of whom are social media influencers, shared their stories and experiences during the tour. Take Rida Hameed , a reporter for Pakistan's K21 News, for example. Hameed shared a short video about her journey on Instagram which gained some 10,000 likes in a matter of minutes.

Long international flights and a packed schedule didn't dampen participants' enthusiasm. "I would like to learn more about the Chinese business landscape, meet like-minded businesspeople, explore ways to work with Chinese organizations and discover market trends in China ," Latvian Arthur Gopak, CEO and co-founder of AlphaGamma, a business portal for young professionals, told Beijing Review.

Igor Alexander Bello Tasic , founder and CEO of Meta Ventures, told Beijing Review that his company is a metaverse and technology research and development consulting firm based in Spain . During the tour, he said that this marked his very first visit to China , something he'd been looking forward to for years, and he joined the tour to gain a better grasp of how other young participants envision the future and how they might be able to work together to turn that vision into reality.

"As an entrepreneur, I hope to establish valuable business connections and understand China's digital economy so that I can strive to promote the same in my country," Jibran Ali Khan , CEO of JAK Education and Innovation Consultancy and Media Brick in Pakistan , told Beijing Review soon after his arrival in Shenzhen . Ali Khan , too, was a first-time China traveler and could hardly contain his excitement.

The trip did not disappoint. During their two-day stay in Shenzhen , they visited companies such as Tencent, Honor, a leading global provider of smart devices, and Ping An, one of China's largest integrated financial groups. They had extensive in-person interactions with these companies' employees to learn more about their latest tech endeavors. At the closing forum in Beijing , the program's participants got the chance to talk with experts and other high-caliber young professionals to forge more new and interesting connections.

"Because of COVID-19, we lost the communication channels with overseas talents and high-caliber professionals and we must now reconnect to hear each other's opinions," Zhu Yuting , a participant of the program and an assistant professor of marketing at the National University of Singapore, told Beijing Review.

Li Yafang , President of the CICG Center for Americas, said in her speech at the forum that during this journey exploring China's thriving tech industry, all young attendees had experienced and witnessed the development of China's society, economy, technology and culture, while, at the same time, forging new bonds with people from different countries. "Every Chinese person you meet is a witness and participant in the development of contemporary China ; their stories are a microcosm of the country's development story in the new era," she said.

Li said that as an "experienced youth," she very much enjoys communication and interaction with young people, as well as looks forward to Chinese and foreign youths providing fresh perspectives on China and injecting new energy into the promotion of exchanges between China and other countries around the globe.

Participants shared their understanding about the country during their journey into its digital domain.

With the digital technologies, we are able to navigate both Beijing's past and present, Tasic said after wrapping up the "digital day tour" of the capital city on June 17 .

As China's digital development is rapidly advancing, it's important to assess how the use of artificial intelligence, the metaverse, virtual reality, etc. will affect people's lives in the future. China is standing at the forefront of all these aspects and the lessons from China can be useful for emerging markets, Nishikawa said.

"As a Chinese citizen, I am proud of the developments in China's digital economy over the past decade. I do feel that my life is becoming easier and easier thanks to technology," Zhu said.

The 2023 Future Close-Up Program was only "the first step in a long journey," Zhang Jun said. He believed that, in the future, we will all team up to build more bridges and platforms for communication, mutual trust and learning, and create more opportunities for everyone to communicate with each other.

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SOURCE Beijing Review
By Hyunsu Yim

SEOUL (Reuters) -Hundreds of protesters took to the streets of Seoul on Saturday during a visit to South Korea by the head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog aimed at calming fears over Japan's plan to discharge treated radioactive water from its tsunami-hit Fukushima plant.

Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), arrived in the capital on Friday to meet the foreign minister and a top nuclear safety official during his three-day visit after wrapping up a trip to Japan.

Foreign Minister Park Jin told Grossi Seoul's consistent position was that contaminated water should be verified for safety and treated in a manner that complies with international law and standards, the ministry said in a statement.

Park also asked the IAEA for help in verifying safety and reassuring the public, the statement said.

Earlier in the week, the IAEA said that a two-year review showed Japan's plans for the water release would have a negligible impact on the environment.

South Korea's government has said it respected the IAEA's report and that its own analysis had found the release will not have "any meaningful impact" on its waters.

Hundreds of people including children and members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions took to the streets on Saturday to protest the discharge plan, some carrying banners and blue balloons in the shape of whales.

"It makes little sense to argue that the release is okay because it does not harm humans. Animals also live in the ocean," said university student Kim Han-bi.

No expert behind the IAEA's Fukushima report disagreed with the content, Grossi told news agency Yonhap on Saturday, hinting at his comment during an interview with Reuters one day earlier that one or two team members may have expressed concerns.

On Sunday, Grossi is set to meet members of the opposition Democratic Party of Korea which has been critical of the Japanese plan.

The administration of President Yoo Suk Yeol has walked a fine line in its stance to Japan's discharge proposal, as it tries to improve ties with Tokyo. But the plan has stirred anger and concern among South Koreans, prompting some shoppers to buy up sea salt.

Despite South Korea's assent for the plan, a ban on food and seafood products from the Fukushima region would remain in place.

(Reporting by Hyunsu YimAdditional Reporting by Daewoung Kim and Jimin JungEditing by Richard Chang, Kim Coghill and Helen Popper)
FILE PHOTO: Soldiers keep watch at the construction site of a barrier at the border between Poland and Belarus, in Tolcze near Kuznica, Poland January 27, 2022. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel/File Photo

WARSAW (Reuters) - Poland began moving over 1,000 troops to the east of the country on Saturday, the defence minister said, amid rising concern in the NATO-member that the presence of Wagner Group fighters in Belarus could lead to increased tension on its border.

Russian President Vladimir Putin's decision to offer mercenary fighters of Yevgeny Prigozhin's Wagner group the choice of relocating to Belarus has led to fears among eastern NATO members that their presence will cause greater instability in the region.

"Over 1,000 soldiers and almost 200 units of equipment from the 12th and 17th Mechanized Brigades are starting to move to the east of the country," Mariusz Blaszczak wrote on Twitter.

"This is a demonstration of our readiness to respond to attempts at destabilisation near the border of our country."

Last Sunday Poland said it would send 500 police to shore up security at its border with Belarus.

Poland has seen an increase in the number of migrants trying to cross the Belarus border in recent weeks. According to the Border Guard, over 200 people tried to cross illegally on Friday, including citizens of Morocco, India and Ethiopia.

Poland has accused Belarus of artificially creating a migrant crisis on the border since 2021 by flying in people from the Middle East and Africa and attempting to push them across the frontier.

A senior Wagner commander was quoted as saying on Saturday that mercenaries from the group were preparing to move to Belarus.

(Reporting by Alan Charlish; Editing by Ros Russell)
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia has requested a new meeting of the U.N. Security Council for July 11 to discuss last September's explosions on the Nord Stream gas pipelines, a senior Russian diplomat at the United Nations said on Saturday.

Russia has unsuccessfully demanded access to investigations by Sweden and other countries into the blasts, which severely damaged the pipelines connecting Russia and Germany under the Baltic Sea.

"We requested a new open meeting of the U.N. Security Council on the Nord Stream blasts for July 11," Dmitry Polyansky, Russia's deputy U.N. ambassador, said on the Telegram messaging platform.

He also said Russia would invite "a couple of interesting impartial speakers" to the meeting.

Russia failed in March to get the U.N. Security Council to ask for an independent inquiry.

Moscow has said the West was behind the blasts. Western governments have denied involvement, as has Ukraine, which is fighting Russian forces on its territory.

The pipeline blasts occurred in the exclusive economic zones of Sweden and Denmark. Sweden, Denmark and Germany have said that their own separate investigations were still active and Russia had been informed.

(Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin; Editing by Gareth Jones)
Ethiopian Finance Minister Ahmed Shide says the Chinese companies in Ethiopia are playing a significant role in the country's economic development. Here's why.





Produced by Xinhua Global Service
(Reuters) - All six people aboard a small jet died when the aircraft crashed and burned in a field near an airport near Los Angeles on Saturday, local and federal authorities said.

The aircraft, a Cessna C550 business jet, was traveling from Las Vegas and crashed near French Valley Airport in Riverside County, about 85 miles (137 km) south of Los Angeles, at around 4:15 a.m. the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement.

The passengers and pilot who died were all adults, Elliott Simpson, an aviation investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board, said at a news briefing.

The privately-owned plane crashed 500 feet from the runway at the small airport, after attempting an instrument landing as a marine layer weather phenomenon settled on the area, Simpson said.

The conditions appeared to have met minimum standards for a landing at the airport, he said.

Just days earlier, on July 4, a small aircraft with four occupants crashed near the same airport, killing the adult pilot and injuring three juveniles, authorities said.

In Saturday's incident, fire engulfed all but the tail of the aircraft after it crashed, Simpson said.

Aerial video from local media showed burnt rubble in the shape of a small aircraft in a blackened part of a field across the road from the airfield.

Radar data from flight tracking website FlightAware shows just one business jet traveling from Las Vegas to French Valley at the time. That plane circled once near the field before descending.

The sheriff's office in Riverside County, where the French Valley Airport is located, said officials responding to the crash located an aircraft fully engulfed in flames in a field and that six occupants were pronounced deceased at the scene.

The National Transportation Safety Board will continue to investigate the crash, with more results expected within the next two weeks, Simpson said. He did not release the names of the deceased.

(This story has been corrected to say 500 feet, not 300 feet, in paragraph 4)

(Reporting by Brad Heath in Washington, Ismail Shakil in Ottawa and Sharon Bernstein in Sacramento; editing by Diane Craft and Alistair Bell)
(Tribune News Service)  An airman assigned to the 20th Fighter Wing at Shaw Air Force Base was found dead at his off-base home Thursday afternoon, according to a statement released by the base.

Senior Airman William N. Uche, 24, was found dead at his off-base residence at approximately 3 p.m. on Thursday according to a news release.

The Sumter Police Department, which is investigating the death, has said that no foul play is suspected.

We lost a valued member of Team Shaw this week, said Col. Kristoffer Smith, 20th Fighter Wing Commander. We extend our deepest condolences to Senior Airman Uches loved ones and coworkers as we collectively grieve this loss. We are focused on ensuring we care for the team and provide all the support resources we can to our Airmen and families during this difficult time.

Uche, originally from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, was a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning journeyman in the 20th Civil Engineer Squadron. He had served in the Air Force since July 1, 2019, according to the statement.

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(Tribune News Service)  Sikorsky is seeking federal permission to test a flying wing in the skies, as it looks to win a potential Pentagon contract to produce drones that can land on ships and in clearings that lack the runway capacity required by many of the militarys larger unmanned aircraft.

The third week of June, Sikorsky was one of nine companies selected to compete under a Pentagon program to produce a new class of drones. Sikorsky is one of two major Pentagon contractors in the mix along with Northrop Grumman. Others include helicopter innovator Piasecki Aircraft, which last year acquired a former Sikorsky facility outside Philadelphia, and drone manufacturer AeroVironment which was on the design team for the Mars Ingenuity helicopter.

Sikorsky's lead executive in Stratford discussed the project in June, evoking the potential impact of the program to the Army's Predator unmanned aerial vehicle, during a forum sponsored by the Connecticut Business & Industry Association. At last report, the U.S. Department of Defense had more than 11,000 unmanned aerial systems in its inventory.

Sikorsky's prototype uses rotors to take off and land vertically, with the spinning blades then blowing air over the wing during forward flight for both propulsion and extra lift. That allows for longer flight durations and slower speeds when needed, an important capability for surveillance missions.

"It actually sits on its tail, launches vertically then flips over and flies like a fixed-wing aircraft," said Paul Lemmo, president of Sikorsky, during the CBIA forum. "It's essentially just a wing  there's no vertical tail or anything."

Straford-based Sikorsky has been looking at the concept for a decade, but it has been busy producing Black Hawk helicopters and developing new helicopters for the U.S. military. Now, with a Bell tilt-rotor aircraft beating out Sikorsky and Boeing to produce a future Black Hawk replacement, Sikorsky is dusting off its "rotor-blown wing" concept for a fresh look.

The company filed for U.S. patents on the concept in 2015 and 2016, and has built a small, battery-operated model of the proposed aircraft. Engineers are now working on a larger, hybird-electric prototype under a contract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, with Sikorsky seeking permission from the Federal Aviation Administration this week for test flights, according to Aviation Week.

"We're really excited about this  we see this as fulfilling missions [like] carrying cargo or potentially in an intelligence and surveillance and reconnaissance mode," Lemmo said.

In Bloomfield, Kaman is building an unmanned cargo drone for the Marines that can use rotors to take off and land from ships, with the capacity to carry up to 800 pounds of cargo. But thus far, Sikorsky has stuck to manned helicopters, though it has developed autonomous flight technology it is touting for the Black Hawk and other aircraft models, including cargo planes made by other companies.

Sikorsky parent Lockheed Martin produces the Stalker winged drone for the United Kingdom which is capable of vertical takeoff and landings, but with limited capabilities otherwise, including a top speed under 60 miles an hour and a payload below six pounds. Lockheed Martin also makes the unmanned Indago 3 quadcopter mounted with cameras and sensors.

And outside Los Angeles, AeroVironment has had success with its Switchblade drones that can loiter over target areas, with its drones that can be launched from submarines built by General Dynamics Electric Boat in New London. AeroVironment has developed a small, electric helicopter drone called Vapor for surveillance and other purposes.

"The major challenge is developing an integrated flight vehicle that meets the hard objective of combining [vertical takeoff and landing], long endurance, and large payload while also meeting requirements for shipboard storage and operations," said Steve Komadina, a project manager with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, in a press release announcing the next phase of the drone competition.

"A key element is the propulsion system, which needs to have enough power to lift the X-plane vertically while also being extremely efficient in forward flight when power needs are lower," he said.

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TOKYO - Japan plans to release more than 1 million metric tons of treated radioactive water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean, a process set to begin this summer and continue for three decades or more.

For years, the contaminated water - equivalent to more than 500 Olympic-size swimming pools - has been stored in large metal tanks near the plant, the site of one of the worst nuclear disasters in history. But Japan is running out of space to build more tanks to accommodate the contaminated groundwater and rainwater that continues to enter the site.

The pending release has become highly politicized by neighboring countries, including South Korea and China. Fukushima's fishing and agricultural industries are also worried about potential reputational harm on their products, which still carry the stigma of radioactive exposure.

The Japanese public is split on the plan, and many remain distrustful of the government and Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), which has been criticized for playing down bad news about the severity of the disaster in the early days.

The International Atomic Energy Agency, , the international nuclear watchdog, on July 4 released its final report giving a stamp of approval for Japan's plans. Its director general, Rafael Grossi, is traveling to Fukushima, Seoul and Pacific island nations to announce the findings and address concerns.

Here's what to know about the upcoming discharge.

What will the process look like?

The contaminated water that had been stored will be treated to remove most of the radioactive materials except for tritium (more on that below).

The wastewater will be diluted to 1,500 becquerels - a unit of radioactivity - of tritium per liter of clean water. For comparison, Japan's regulatory limit allows a maximum of 60,000 becquerels per liter, while the World Health Organization allows 10,000. That means the concentration of tritium will be "far below" international regulatory standards, according to the Japanese government.

The water will then be released through an underwater tunnel about 3,280 feet (one kilometer) from the coast of Japan, away from areas where fishing routinely takes place. The process is expected to take 30 years or longer.

What is tritium?

Tritium is a form of hydrogen with two extra neutrons and it emits low levels of radiation. Like hydrogen, it combines easily with oxygen to form water, or in this case "tritiated water," which is difficult to distinguish from ordinary water.

We're actually exposed to small amounts of tritium every day, because it exists in tap water, in the rain and in the air.

In fact, tritium is already being discharged into rivers and oceans from other nuclear facilities around the world at higher concentrations than the treated water that is set to be released from Fukushima, said Tony Irwin, nuclear energy expert and honorary associate professor at the Australian National University. Facilities in China, South Korea, Taiwan, France, the United States and elsewhere release treated water that contains tritium, within regulatory standards.

"We go and have a CT scan or something like that, and you get multiple times the radiation doses without any harm," Irwin said. "Low levels are no problem. Very high levels are a problem. But the sort of levels we're talking about with this discharge are negligible."

What did the IAEA review find?

In 2021, Japan asked the IAEA for an independent assessment of its plan to release the water.

After a two-year review and sampling the treated water, the IAEA found that Japan's plan is "consistent with relevant international safety standards" and its radiological impact on people and the environment would be "negligible."

The agency now has an office at the site and will monitor the process there, and publish independent data.

"I don't have a magic solution for the doubts and concerns that may exist, but we do have one thing . . . we are going to stay here with you for decades to come . . . until the last drop of the water has been safely discharged," Grossi said at a news conference in Tokyo on Friday.

Japan's nuclear regulatory agency on Friday gave TEPCO approval to release the water, the final step required to begin the process.

What was the 2011 Fukushima disaster?

On March 11, 2011, a massive earthquake - the most powerful recorded in the country's history - struck the northeastern coast of Japan. The 9.0-magnitude earthquake was so strong it shifted the Earth's axis by 6.5 inches.

The earthquake and resulting tsunami, with waves up to 20 feet (over 6 meters) high in some places, led to a surge of seawater that caused three of the four nuclear reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi plant to go into catastrophic meltdown. The triple disasters devastated Japan, killing 16,000 people and displacing more than 165,000 people from their homes.

What are critics of Japan's plan saying?

Some scientists have called on Japan to delay the release, saying the potential long-term impact of the low doses of exposure over a long period of time needs to be studied more. Advocates have also accused Japan and TEPCO of a lack of transparency as they devised their plan for the discharge.

Local fisheries associations are extremely concerned about the damage this process could cause to Fukushima's reputation, and oppose the release of the water.

"Safety and reassurance are not the same thing. Safety has been indicated in the report, but we are still in the process of gaining understanding from our citizens and fishermen," Hiroyuki Uchida, mayor of Iwaki City in Fukushima, told news reporters Wednesday.

Chinese officials oppose the discharge, saying that the IAEA's review was limited to the option to release the water into the ocean, rather than exploring other potential ways to dispose of it. China has threatened to impose import bans on Japanese food once the water is discharged.

The plan has stirred controversy in South Korea, where polls show the majority of the public is worried about the release. Thousands of people including politicians and fishermen have held protests calling on South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol to stop Tokyo's plans. The price of sea salt has spiked in South Korea because of shoppers panic-buying it ahead of the discharge.

The Yoon administration has been holding frequent briefings to quell the public's concerns amid its efforts to mend ties with Japan. A South Korean government panel on Friday backed Japan's plan to discharge the treated water, calling it safe as long as the water is handled as planned.

Nonetheless, the issue is expected to be a major sticking point ahead of South Korea's 2024 legislative election, and the opposition Democratic Party slammed the panel and the Yoon government for their "complicity in the ocean dump plan."

The Washington Post's Min Joo Kim in Seoul contributed to this report.
WASHINGTON  President Joe Biden leaves on Sunday for Europe, where he will spend time in three nations tending to alliances that have been tested by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

After arriving at night in London, Biden will meet the next day with King Charles III for the first time since he was crowned. After that is the centerpiece of the trip, the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania. Alliance leaders will debate the war and revise plans for dealing with Russian aggression.

The final stop is in Helsinki, where Biden on Thursday is expected to celebrate the expanding alliance, with Finland as the newest member of NATO.

His national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, said the trip would "showcase the president's leadership on the world stage."

A look at Biden's agenda and the issues he will face:

London

Biden arrives in London on Sunday night is expected to have a full schedule of meetings Monday.

"There's always a lot to talk about with the U.K.," said Max Bergmann, a former State Department official who leads the Europe Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Biden will hold talks with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at 10 Downing St. Sunak is facing an election by the end of next year. His Conservative Party is lagging badly behind the opposition in opinion polls.

Despite Sunak's shaky political standing, he has fostered close ties with Biden and it will be their sixth meeting since Sunak took office last October.

Bergmann said Sunak's tenure has been a nice change of pace after "there were some concerns about Boris Johnson," one of Sunak's predecessors, "being a loose cannon."

Biden will visit the king at Windsor Castle, a royal residence outside London. Biden did not attend Charles' coronation  first lady Jill Biden went in his place  so this will be their first encounter since then.

They're expected to discuss climate change, an issue that has been a focus for both leaders, and how to finance initiatives to address the problem.

Vilnius

Biden will spend two days in the capital of Lithuania, which is hosting the annual NATO summit. He will participate in meetings with leaders and deliver a speech from Vilnius University.

The alliance has been reinvigorated by the war in Ukraine, and members have been pouring military hardware into the country to help repel Russia's invasion.

Biden on Friday defended what he said was a "difficult decision" to provide cluster munitions to Ukraine, a move his administration said was key to the fight and buttressed by Ukraine's promise to use the controversial bombs carefully. Biden is likely to face questions from allies on why the U.S. would send a weapon into Ukraine that more than two-thirds of NATO members have banned because it has a track record for causing many civilian casualties.

For Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, the summit "will send a clear message: NATO stands united, and Russia's aggression will not pay."

But NATO has also struggled to bridge divides over important issues. Finland was welcomed into the alliance this year, but Sweden's membership has been blocked by Turkey and Hungary.

There are also disagreements over how quickly to extend an invitation to Ukraine to join NATO.

Countries on NATO's eastern flank want to move quickly, viewing it as a way to deter Russian aggression. The U.S. and others advocate a more cautious approach.

One issue has already been settled, at least for the time being. Stoltenberg's term has been extended for a year because members could not agree on a new leader.

Sen. Thom Tillis, who will attend the summit, likened the alliance to a gathering of dozens of family members who bicker and clash but nonetheless remain united.

"At the end of the day, you know you're family," said Tillis, R-N.C.

Tillis is leading a bipartisan delegation along with Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., who said NATO is more powerful than before.

"It's the strongest military alliance in our history, and I think it only has gotten stronger as a result of U.S. leadership, as the result of Stoltenberg's leadership and as the result of the threat from Vladimir Putin to all of the NATO allies and other countries in Europe and around the world and to the international order," she said.

Helsinki

After two nights in Vilnius, Biden visits Helsinki. The stop is a bit of a victory lap, but could also be a reminder of unfinished business.

The Nordic country in April became the 31st member of NATO, ending its history of nonalignment and demonstrating how Russia's invasion of Ukraine has backfired in Europe.

Finland was supposed to join alongside its neighbor Sweden, whose admission has stalled. NATO requires unanimous consent of all its members to expand, and the U.S. has been unable to overcome objections from Turkey and Hungary.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson visited the White House on Wednesday and met with Biden to keep up the pressure for membership. But there is little hope that the issue will be resolved in Vilnius.

The White House is billing Biden's visit to Helsinki as a "U.S.-Nordic Leaders Summit."

It's a much different occasion from the last time a U.S. president visited Helsinki five years ago.

During that trip, Donald Trump held a news conference with Putin and brushed off concerns about Russian meddling in the Trump's election victory.

Now Biden is heading to the city to demonstrate how his administration has held the line against Moscow and expanded Western defenses.

Associated Press writer Lorne Cook in Brussels contributed to this report.
(Tribune News Service)  Turkey wants the safe-transit deal for Ukrainian grain exports from Black Sea ports extended for three months instead of two, said President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Im hopeful for an extension, Erdogan said in Istanbul early Saturday in a joint appearance with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The pair discussed the grain deal and other matters late Friday after Ukraines leader arrived from Slovakia.

The shipping deal is set to expire on July 17. Its been a vital lifeline for Ukraines agricultural exports thats seen millions of tons of grains and other commodities exported over the past 11 months.

Turkey brokered the original deal along with the United Nations. Its termination  which Russia has repeatedly threatened  may lift global food prices given Ukraines importance as an exporter of grains.

Russia increased its criticism of the agreement during the previous extension period, saying the pact didnt deliver sufficient food to poor African nations. Moscow recently said it sees no grounds for further continuation of the deal.

Erdogan also said Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit Turkey in August.

The whole world is interested in the functioning of the grain corridor, Zelenskyy said, adding that the continuation of the agreement shouldnt depend on the wishes of one state or on the mood with which the president of the Russian Federation woke up.

NATO path

Zelenskyys visit to Turkey was a part of the broader diplomatic tour of NATO countries before the alliances summit next week, as he pursues a path for Ukraine into the military alliance.

Undoubtedly, Ukraine deserves NATO membership, Erdogan said.

President Joe Biden has set a less enthusiastic tone, saying he doesnt think Ukraine is ready for membership in NATO. A vote on Ukraine by NATO members would be premature, Biden told CNN.

The NATO summit will be held in Lithuanian capital Vilnius on July 11-12. A possible agreement on Swedens membership will be a crucial part of the talks between Turkey and the rest of NATO.

Russias invasion will also be a focal point of NATO talks as it hit the 500-day mark on Saturday.

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KYIV, Ukraine  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy marked the 500th day of the war Saturday by hailing the country's soldiers in a video from a Black Sea island that became the symbol of Ukraine's resilience in the face of the Russian invasion.

Speaking from Snake Island, Zelenskyy honored the Ukrainian soldiers who fought for the island and all other defenders of the country, saying that reclaiming control of the island "is a great proof that Ukraine will regain every bit of its territory."

"I want to thank  from here, from this place of victory  each of our soldiers for these 500 days," Zelenskyy said. "Thank you to everyone who fights for Ukraine!"

It was unclear when the video was filmed. Zelenskyy was returning from Turkey on Saturday.

He announced that five commanders of the defense of the Azovstal steel plant, a grueling months-long siege early in the war, were returning on the plane with him.

The sprawling steelworks was the last bastion of resistance as Russian forces took control of the port city of Mariupol. Its defenders became renowned among Ukrainians for holding out in wretched conditions in the plant's tunnels and corridors.

Azovstal's more than 2,000 defenders left the steelworks in mid-May 2022 and were taken into Russian captivity. The five leaders, some of whom were part of the Azov national guard regiment that Russia denounces as neo-Nazi, were freed in a September prisoner swap and taken to Turkey.

Under the exchange, the leaders were to remain in Turkey until the end of the war under the Turkish president's protection. There was no immediate official explanation from Ankara or Kyiv about why they were allowed to return to Ukraine.

"The return of the leaders of the Azovites from Turkey to Ukraine is nothing more than a direct violation of the terms of the existing agreements. Moreover, in this case, the terms were violated by both the Ukrainian side and the Turkish side," said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

Russian forces took control of Snake Island on Feb. 24, 2022, the day Moscow launched its invasion, in the apparent hope of using it as a staging ground for an assault on Odesa, Ukraine's biggest port and the headquarters of its navy.

The island took on legendary significance for Ukraine's resistance, when Ukrainian troops there reportedly received a demand from a Russian warship to surrender or be bombed. The answer supposedly came back, "Go (expletive) yourself."

The island's Ukrainian defenders were captured but later freed as part of a prisoner exchange. After the island was taken, the Ukrainian military heavily bombarded the small Russian garrison there, forcing the Russians to pull back on June 30, 2022. The Russian retreat reduced the threat of a seaborne Russian attack on Odesa and helped pave the way for a deal to resume Ukrainian grain exports.

"Let the freedom that all our heroes of different times wanted for Ukraine and that must be won right now be a tribute to all those who gave their lives for Ukraine," Zelenskyy said. "We will definitely win!"

Intense battles continued to rage Saturday in the country's east and south as Ukrainian forces pressed their attacks against multi-layered Russian defenses in the initial stages of their counteroffensive.

Ukraine's interior ministry said that a Russian rocket strike on the town of Lyman killed eight civilians and wounded 13 others early Saturday. Pavlo Kyrylenko, the governor of the eastern Donetsk region, posted images showing some of the dead, including a body lying under a bicycle and body fragments on the pavement next to a damaged vehicle, saying that "the Russian terrorists are continuing to strike civilians in Donetsk."

Lyman is a few miles from the front line, where Russian troops have recently intensified fighting in the forests of Kreminna.

The U.K. Ministry of Defense said in its latest intelligence update that the eastern town of Bakhmut that was captured by the Russians in May has seen some of the most intense fighting along the front during the last week.

It said that Ukrainian forces have made steady gains to both the north and south of Bakhmut, noting that "Russian defenders are highly likely struggling with poor morale, a mix of disparate units and a limited ability to find and strike Ukrainian artillery."

Amid the fighting, Russia and Ukraine accused each other of planning to sabotage the Russia-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which is Europe's largest, fueling fears of a radiation catastrophe. Ukraine's military intelligence claimed Saturday that Russian troops have planted more mines around the plant, a claim that couldn't be independently verified.

The head of the United Nations nuclear agency, Rafael Mariano Grossi, told The Associated Press on Friday that the International Atomic Energy Agency experts had recently gained access to more of the site, including the cooling pond and fuel storage areas, and found no mines there. Grossi said he was still pushing for access to the rooftops of reactors where Ukrainian officials accused Russia of planting explosives.

On Saturday, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu was shown visiting firing ranges where volunteer soldiers are being trained, a trip that comes two weeks after an abortive mutiny launched by mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, whose Wagner troops marched on Moscow in a bid to oust Shoigu.

Prigozhin agreed to end the mutiny, which represented the biggest threat to Russian President Vladimir Putin in his more than two decades in power, in exchange for an amnesty for himself and his troops and permission to move to Belarus. On Saturday, Russian messaging app channels ran comments by one of Wagner's commanders, Anton Yelizarov, who said that the mercenaries had taken leave but would eventually deploy to Belarus.

Pitched battles along the front line in Ukraine are raging as NATO leaders are set to meet in Vilnius for a two-day summit next week to offer more help in modernizing Ukraine's armed forces, create a new high-level forum for consultations and reaffirm that it will join their alliance one day.

Ahead of the NATO summit, the U.S. has announced that it will provide Ukraine with cluster munitions, a move that President Joe Biden described as a "difficult decision." Two-thirds of NATO members have banned the munitions, which have a track record of causing many civilian casualties, but the U.S. sees their delivery as a way to help bolster Ukraine's offensive and push through Russian front lines.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov hailed the U.S. move, saying that the delivery of cluster munitions would help the country de-occupy its territories while saving the lives of the Ukrainian soldiers.

Reznikov vowed that Ukraine would use the munitions only for the de-occupation of its territory and would not fire them at Russia's proper territory. He also noted that the Ukrainian military would not use cluster munitions in urban areas to avoid hurting civilians.
UNITED NATIONS  Israel's United Nations ambassador called on Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to retract his condemnation of the country for its excessive use of force in its largest military operation in two decades targeting a refugee camp in the West Bank.

U.N. deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq said the secretary-general conveyed his views on Thursday "and he stands by those views."

Guterres, angered by the impact of the Israeli airstrikes and attack on the Jenin refugee camp, said the operation left over 100 civilians injured, uprooted thousands of residents, damaged schools and hospitals, and disrupted water and electricity networks. He also criticized Israel for preventing the injured from getting medical care and humanitarian workers from reaching everyone in need.

Israel's two-day offensive meant to crack down on Palestinian militants destroyed the Jenin camp's narrow roads and alleyways, forced thousands of people to flee their homes and killed 12 Palestinians. One Israeli soldier also was killed.

"I strongly condemn all acts of violence against civilians, including acts of terror," Guterres told reporters.

Asked whether this condemnation applied to Israel, he replied: "It applies to all use of excessive force, and obviously in this situation, there was an excessive force used by Israeli forces."

Israel's U.N. Ambassador Gilad Erdan called the U.N. chief's remarks "shameful, far-fetched, and completely detached from reality." He said the Israeli military action in Jenin "focused solely on combating the murderous Palestinian terror targeting innocent Israeli civilians."

Haq, the U.N. spokesperson, said Guterres "clearly condemns all of the violence that has been affecting the civilians in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, regardless of who is the perpetrator."

The U.N. Security Council discussed Israel's military operation in Jenin behind closed doors Friday at the request of the United Arab Emirates and received a briefing from Assistant Secretary-General Khaled Khiari.

Erdan sent a letter to the 15 council members and Guterres before the council meeting saying that over the past year, 52 Israelis were killed by Palestinians, and many attacks were carried out from Jenin or from the area.

"The international community and the Security Council must unconditionally condemn the latest Palestinian terror attacks and hold Palestinian leadership accountable," he said.

The Security Council took no action.
WASHINGTON  The Pentagon announced the U.S. is sending another $800 million in aid to assist Ukrainian forces that includes cluster munitions as U.S. officials on Friday defended providing Ukraine the controversial weapon to help their attack on entrenched Russian troops.

The new military aid also includes 64 Stryker and Bradley fighting vehicles, air-defense missiles and anti-mine equipment.

Jake Sullivan, national security adviser to President Joe Biden, left the formal announcement Friday to the Pentagon about sending cluster munitions to Ukraine. But he acknowledged during a White House briefing that this has been a difficult decision and defended the use of the weapon as Ukraine is running out of artillery rounds and Russian forces have been using cluster bombs since the beginning of the war.

Ukraine would not be using these munitions in some foreign land, Sullivan said. This is their country theyre defending. These are their citizens theyre protecting and they are motivated to use any weapon system they have in a way that minimizes risks to those citizens.

The announcement comes as Ukrainian forces struggle to break through Russias front line during a counteroffensive that began last month. There is a growing sentiment among Western officials that Ukraine needs to seize on the summer weather, conditions on the ground and any impact that the short-lived revolt last weekend by Russian mercenary forces might have done to its military cohesion.

But Army Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, last week dismissed concerns that Ukraines counteroffensive is moving too slow. He said he thought the initial campaign would take six weeks to 10 weeks.

Its going to be very difficult. Its going to be very long, he said June 30 at the National Press Club in Washington. No one should have any illusions about any of that.

Milley also said the U.S. has been thinking about providing the munitions "for a long time." He said Ukrainian forces already have used cluster bombs received from other countries.

"The Ukrainians have asked for it, other European countries have provided some of that, the Russians are using it," he said.

Cluster munitions are weapons that break open in the air and disperse smaller bomblets across a large stretch of area when detonated. Proponents of banning cluster bombs contend they kill indiscriminately and endanger civilians long after their use. The Human Rights Watch, an international advocacy group, published a report on Thursday that said both sides have used cluster munitions that have killed Ukrainian citizens and urged the U.S. not to supply them.

More than 100 countries signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions in 2008, which bans the use, production or stockpiling of these munitions. Russia, Ukraine and the U.S. did not sign the treaty.

Colin Kahl, undersecretary of defense for policy, said Friday that the U.S. would only be providing cluster munitions with a failure rate, or dud rate, of less than 2.35%. Munitions with a reduced dud rate means there will be far fewer unexploded rounds that can result in unintended deaths of civilians. Congressional restrictions prohibit the U.S. from selling or transferring cluster munitions with dud rates more than 1%.

But Kahl said the Biden administration is not breaking the law. The president has the authority to waive that requirement on national security grounds and that is what he did with this military aid for Ukraine, since the counteroffensive has been hard sledding.

The Russians had six months to dig in. Those defensive belts that the Russians have put in place in the east and the south are hard, Kahl said. They would be hard for any military to punch through. We want to make sure that the Ukrainians have sufficient artillery to keep them in the fight. Because things are going a little slower than some had hoped. There are very high expenditures of artillery.

The cluster munitions that the U.S. will provide are more modern ones that went through tests conducted by the Defense Department between 1998 and 2020. Kahl said the U.S. dud rate is much lower than Russias cluster bombs, which have a rate of 30 to 40%. He also said he is confident in how they will be used by Ukraine.

The Ukrainian government has offered us assurances in writing on the responsible use of [cluster munitions], including that they will not use the rounds in civilian, populated urban environments and that they will record where they use these rounds to simplify later demining efforts, Kahl said.

Cluster munitions can be launched from High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS, and 155mm howitzers, which the U.S. has provided to Ukraine in more than $41.3 billion in security assistance since the war began in February 2022.

This is the 42nd time that the U.S. has provided weapons through the presidential drawdown authority, which means it will come directly from Pentagon stocks and be sent quickly on an emergency basis. Aid given this way typically means it reaches Ukraine in a matter of weeks.

The list of weapons and items in the latest aid include:

 Additional munitions for Patriot air defense systems.

 AIM-7 missiles for air defense.

 Stinger anti-aircraft systems.

 Additional ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems.

 31 155mm howitzers.

 155mm artillery rounds and 105mm artillery rounds.

 32 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles.

 32 Stryker armored personnel carriers.

 Mine-clearing equipment.

 Tube-launched, optically tracked, wire-guided missiles.

 Javelin and other anti-armor systems and rockets.

 Precision aerial munitions.

 Penguin Unmanned Aerial Systems.

 27 tactical vehicles to recover equipment.

 10 tactical vehicles to tow and haul equipment.

 Demolitions munitions and systems for obstacle clearing.

 Small arms and more than 28 million rounds of small arms ammunition and grenades.

 Spare parts and other field equipment.
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill said Friday it will provide free tuition for more low- and middle-income families, an announcement that comes more than a week after the Supreme Court struck down race-based affirmative action in the admissions process at the state flagship school.

UNC-Chapel Hill was one of two universities defending race-conscious admissions before the high court. The other was Harvard University. The court ruled that the processes at the two schools violated equal protection guarantees under the Constitution  a landmark decision that will affect colleges and universities across the country.

We will follow the Supreme Courts decision in all respects, Kevin M. Guskiewicz, chancellor of UNC-Chapel Hill, said in a statement Friday. That means race will not be a factor in admissions decisions at the University. It also means we will comply with the Courts ruling that an applicants lived racial experience cannot be credited as race for races sake, but instead under some circumstances may illuminate an individuals character and contributions.

At the same time, Guskiewicz pledged that the university will provide free tuition and cover required fees for incoming undergraduates from the state whose families make less than $80,000 a year. The pledge would take effect for new students in fall 2024.

The courts ruling did not impose any restrictions on race-neutral financial aid.

UNC-Chapel Hill already provides major financial aid for low-income families through a program called the Carolina Covenant. Nearly 700 students a year are named Covenant Scholars. The new initiative will broaden that effort.

We want to make sure students know financial constraints should not stand in the way of their dreams, Guskiewicz said. Exactly how many students would qualify was not immediately clear.

Guskiewicz said the university also plans to expand recruiting efforts in the state to spread awareness of our affordability.

The university has about 31,000 students. Most of its roughly 20,000 undergraduates are from North Carolina. In-state tuition and fees total about $9,000 for the coming school year. That doesnt count housing, meals and other expenses, and doesnt include financial aid.

Boosting aid for students in need sometimes helps promote racial diversity. But the effects can be mixed. Many financial aid recipients are White.

The Supreme Court ruling spelled out some circumstances in which race could play a role if applicants write about it in admissions essays. The justices in the majority decision noted that lived experiences with race that show courage, determination or leadership were legitimate subjects for admissions officers to review. But the ruling warned against any efforts to simply establish through application essays or other means the regime we hold unlawful today.

UNC-Chapel Hill officials fear that ending direct consideration of race in admissions will significantly reduce the number of Black and Latino students who enroll at the highly selective public university. But they are seeking other ways, within the constraints of the law, to maintain diversity.
This photo taken on June 12, 2023 shows a worker assembling vehicles at the general assembly line of FAW-Volkswagen in Changchun, northeast China's Jilin Province.

Founded in 1953 in Changchun, First Automotive Works (FAW) Group Corporation is dubbed the cradle of China's auto industry.

As one of China's leading automakers, FAW Group Corporation will celebrate its 70th anniversary of establishment on July 15, 2023. (Xinhua/Yan Linyun)

This photo taken on June 12, 2023 shows a worker controlling the assembly of automobiles with intelligent device at an intelligent plant of truck manufacturer First Automotive Works Jiefang Co., Ltd. (FAW Jiefang) in Changchun, northeast China's Jilin Province.

Founded in 1953 in Changchun, First Automotive Works (FAW) Group Corporation is dubbed the cradle of China's auto industry.

As one of China's leading automakers, FAW Group Corporation will celebrate its 70th anniversary of establishment on July 15, 2023. (Xinhua/Yan Linyun)

This photo taken on June 12, 2023 shows workers assembling automobiles at an intelligent plant of truck manufacturer First Automotive Works Jiefang Co., Ltd. (FAW Jiefang) in Changchun, northeast China's Jilin Province.

Founded in 1953 in Changchun, First Automotive Works (FAW) Group Corporation is dubbed the cradle of China's auto industry.

As one of China's leading automakers, FAW Group Corporation will celebrate its 70th anniversary of establishment on July 15, 2023. (Xinhua/Yan Linyun)

This photo taken on Dec. 14, 2022 shows bench worker Feng Bin checking truck parts at a plant of truck manufacturer First Automotive Works Jiefang Co., Ltd. (FAW Jiefang) in Changchun, northeast China's Jilin Province. Feng is a model worker with over twenty years of experience.

Founded in 1953 in Changchun, First Automotive Works (FAW) Group Corporation is dubbed the cradle of China's auto industry.

As one of China's leading automakers, FAW Group Corporation will celebrate its 70th anniversary of establishment on July 15, 2023. (Xinhua/Zhang Nan)

This photo taken on June 27, 2023 shows a worker checking an assembled truck at an intelligent plant of truck manufacturer First Automotive Works Jiefang Co., Ltd. (FAW Jiefang) in Changchun, northeast China's Jilin Province.

Founded in 1953 in Changchun, First Automotive Works (FAW) Group Corporation is dubbed the cradle of China's auto industry.

As one of China's leading automakers, FAW Group Corporation will celebrate its 70th anniversary of establishment on July 15, 2023. (Xinhua/Xu Chang)

This photo taken on April 25, 2023 shows bench worker Li Kaijun (L) teahing technical skills to young colleagues at the casting mould equipment factory of FAW Foundry Co., Ltd. in Changchun, northeast China's Jilin Province.

Founded in 1953 in Changchun, First Automotive Works (FAW) Group Corporation is dubbed the cradle of China's auto industry.

As one of China's leading automakers, FAW Group Corporation will celebrate its 70th anniversary of establishment on July 15, 2023. (Xinhua/Zhang Nan)

This photo taken on Dec. 27, 2022 shows workshop director Wang Yiqiang checking the truck manufacturing process with an electronic screen at an intelligent plant of truck manufacturer First Automotive Works Jiefang Co., Ltd. (FAW Jiefang) in Changchun, northeast China's Jilin Province.

Founded in 1953 in Changchun, First Automotive Works (FAW) Group Corporation is dubbed the cradle of China's auto industry.

As one of China's leading automakers, FAW Group Corporation will celebrate its 70th anniversary of establishment on July 15, 2023. (Xinhua/Yan Linyun)

This photo taken on June 12, 2023 shows workers assembling vehicles at the general assembly line of FAW-Volkswagen in Changchun, northeast China's Jilin Province.

Founded in 1953 in Changchun, First Automotive Works (FAW) Group Corporation is dubbed the cradle of China's auto industry.

As one of China's leading automakers, FAW Group Corporation will celebrate its 70th anniversary of establishment on July 15, 2023. (Xinhua/Yan Linyun)

Yang Yongxiu, a senior technician at the FAW Group Corporation R&D Center, checks an engine blueprint in Changchun, northeast China's Jilin Province, June 8, 2023.

Founded in 1953 in Changchun, First Automotive Works (FAW) Group Corporation is dubbed the cradle of China's auto industry.

As one of China's leading automakers, FAW Group Corporation will celebrate its 70th anniversary of establishment on July 15, 2023. (Xinhua/Xu Chang)

This photo taken on Dec. 27, 2022 shows workshop director Wang Yiqiang checking automobile parts at an intelligent plant of truck manufacturer First Automotive Works Jiefang Co., Ltd. (FAW Jiefang) in Changchun, northeast China's Jilin Province.

Founded in 1953 in Changchun, First Automotive Works (FAW) Group Corporation is dubbed the cradle of China's auto industry.

As one of China's leading automakers, FAW Group Corporation will celebrate its 70th anniversary of establishment on July 15, 2023. (Xinhua/Yan Linyun)

This photo taken on June 8, 2023 shows bench worker Feng Bin (L) checking the working condition of a punching machine at a plant of truck manufacturer First Automotive Works Jiefang Co., Ltd. (FAW Jiefang) in Changchun, northeast China's Jilin Province. Feng is a model worker with over twenty years of experience.

Founded in 1953 in Changchun, First Automotive Works (FAW) Group Corporation is dubbed the cradle of China's auto industry.

As one of China's leading automakers, FAW Group Corporation will celebrate its 70th anniversary of establishment on July 15, 2023. (Xinhua/Xu Chang)

This photo taken on June 12, 2023 shows a worker assembling vehicles at the general assembly line of FAW-Volkswagen in Changchun, northeast China's Jilin Province.

Founded in 1953 in Changchun, First Automotive Works (FAW) Group Corporation is dubbed the cradle of China's auto industry.

As one of China's leading automakers, FAW Group Corporation will celebrate its 70th anniversary of establishment on July 15, 2023. (Xinhua/Yan Linyun)

This photo taken on June 12, 2023 shows workers assembling vehicles at the general assembly line of FAW-Volkswagen in Changchun, northeast China's Jilin Province.

Founded in 1953 in Changchun, First Automotive Works (FAW) Group Corporation is dubbed the cradle of China's auto industry.

As one of China's leading automakers, FAW Group Corporation will celebrate its 70th anniversary of establishment on July 15, 2023. (Xinhua/Yan Linyun)

This photo taken on June 12, 2023 shows workers assembling automobiles at an intelligent plant of truck manufacturer First Automotive Works Jiefang Co., Ltd. (FAW Jiefang) in Changchun, northeast China's Jilin Province.

Founded in 1953 in Changchun, First Automotive Works (FAW) Group Corporation is dubbed the cradle of China's auto industry.

As one of China's leading automakers, FAW Group Corporation will celebrate its 70th anniversary of establishment on July 15, 2023. (Xinhua/Yan Linyun)

This photo taken on June 27, 2023 shows workers assembling automobiles at an intelligent plant of truck manufacturer First Automotive Works Jiefang Co., Ltd. (FAW Jiefang) in Changchun, northeast China's Jilin Province.

Founded in 1953 in Changchun, First Automotive Works (FAW) Group Corporation is dubbed the cradle of China's auto industry.

As one of China's leading automakers, FAW Group Corporation will celebrate its 70th anniversary of establishment on July 15, 2023. (Xinhua/Xu Chang)

This photo taken on July 6, 2023 shows a worker checking a car at the general assembly line of sedan manufacturer FAW-Hongqi in Changchun, northeast China's Jilin Province.

Founded in 1953 in Changchun, First Automotive Works (FAW) Group Corporation is dubbed the cradle of China's auto industry.

As one of China's leading automakers, FAW Group Corporation will celebrate its 70th anniversary of establishment on July 15, 2023. (Xinhua/Zhang Nan)

This photo taken on June 8, 2023 shows Yang Yongxiu (R), a senior technician at the FAW Group Corporation R&D Center, conducting precision measurement of trial parts in Changchun, northeast China's Jilin Province.

Founded in 1953 in Changchun, First Automotive Works (FAW) Group Corporation is dubbed the cradle of China's auto industry.

As one of China's leading automakers, FAW Group Corporation will celebrate its 70th anniversary of establishment on July 15, 2023. (Xinhua/Xu Chang)
RICHMOND, Ky.  The last of the United States' declared chemical weapons stockpile was destroyed at a sprawling military installation in eastern Kentucky, the White House announced Friday, a milestone that closes a chapter of warfare dating back to World War I.

Workers at the Blue Grass Army Depot in Kentucky destroyed rockets filled with GB nerve agent, completing a decadeslong campaign to eliminate a stockpile that by the end of the Cold War totaled more than 30,000 tons.

"For more than 30 years, the United States has worked tirelessly to eliminate our chemical weapons stockpile," President Joe Biden said in a statement released by the White House. "Today, I am proud to announce that the United States has safely destroyed the final munition in that stockpile  bringing us one step closer to a world free from the horrors of chemical weapons."

The weapons' destruction is a major watershed for Richmond, Kentucky and Pueblo, Colorado, where an Army depot destroyed the last of its chemical agents last month. It's also a defining moment for arms control efforts worldwide.

The U.S. faced a Sept. 30 deadline to eliminate its remaining chemical weapons under the international Chemical Weapons Convention, which took effect in 1997 and was joined by 193 countries. The munitions being destroyed in Kentucky are the last of 51,000 M55 rockets with GB nerve agent  a deadly toxin also known as sarin  that have been stored at the depot since the 1940s.

By destroying the munitions, the U.S. is officially underscoring that these types of weapons are no longer acceptable in the battlefield and sending a message to the handful of countries that haven't joined the agreement, military experts say.

"Chemical weapons are responsible for some of the most horrific episodes of human loss," Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said in a statement. "Though the use of these deadly agents will always be a stain on history, today our nation has finally fulfilled our promise to rid our arsenal of this evil.

Friday's announcement came as the Biden administration has also decided to provide cluster munitions to Ukraine, a weapon that two-thirds of NATO countries have banned because it can cause many civilian casualties. National security adviser Jake Sullivan said Ukraine has promised to use the munitions  bombs that open in the air and release scores of smaller bomblets  carefully.

Chemical weapons were first used in modern warfare in World War I, where they were estimated have killed at least 100,000. Despite their use being subsequently banned by the Geneva Convention, countries continued to stockpile the weapons until the treaty calling for their destruction.

In southern Colorado, workers at the Army Pueblo Chemical Depot started destroying the weapons in 2016, and on June 22 completed their mission of neutralizing an entire cache of about 2,600 tons of mustard blister agent. The projectiles and mortars comprised about 8.5% of the country's original chemical weapons stockpile of 30,610 tons of agent.

Nearly 800,000 chemical munitions containing mustard agent were stored since the 1950s inside row after row of heavily guarded concrete and earthen bunkers that pock the landscape near a large swath of farmland east of Pueblo.

The weapons' destruction alleviates a concern that civic leaders in Colorado and Kentucky admit was always in the back of their minds.

"Those (weapons) sitting out there were not a threat," Pueblo Mayor Nick Gradisar said. But, he added, "you always wondered what might happen with them."

In the 1980s, the community around Kentucky's Blue Grass Army Depot rose up in opposition to the Army's initial plan to incinerate the plant's 520 tons of chemical weapons, leading to a decadeslong battle over how they would be disposed of. They were able to halt the planned incineration plant, and then, with help from lawmakers, prompted the Army to submit alternative methods to burning the weapons.

Craig Williams, who became the leading voice of the community opposition and later a partner with political leadership and the military, said residents were concerned about potential toxic pollution from burning the deadly chemical agents.

Williams noted that the military eliminated most of its existing stockpile by burning weapons at other, more remote sites such as Johnston Atoll in the Pacific Ocean or at a chemical depot in the middle of the Utah desert. But the Kentucky site was adjacent to Richmond and only a few dozen miles away from Lexington, the state's second-largest city.

"We had a middle school of over 600 kids a mile away from the (planned) smokestack," Williams said.

The Kentucky storage facility has housed mustard agent and the VX and sarin nerve agents, much of it inside rockets and other projectiles, since the 1940s. The state's disposal plant was completed in 2015 and began destroying weapons in 2019. It uses a process called neutralization to dilute the deadly agents so they can be safely disposed of.

The project, however, has been a boon for both communities, and facing the eventual loss of thousands of workers, both are pitching the pool of high-skilled laborers as a plus for companies looking to locate in their regions.

Workers at the Pueblo site used heavy machinery to meticulously  and slowly  load aging weapons onto conveyor systems that fed into secure rooms where remote-controlled robots did the dirty and dangerous work of eliminating the toxic mustard agent, which was designed to blister the skin and cause inflammation of the eyes, nose, throat and lungs.

Robotic equipment removed the weapons' fuses and bursters before the mustard agent was neutralized with hot water and mixed with a caustic solution to prevent the reaction from reversing. The byproduct was further broken down in large tanks swimming with microbes, and the mortars and projectiles were decontaminated at 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit and recycled as scrap metal.

Problematic munitions that were leaky or overpacked were sent to an armored, stainless steel detonation chamber to be destroyed at about 1,100 degrees Fahrenheit.

The Colorado and Kentucky sites were the last among several, including Utah and the Johnston Atoll, where the nation's chemical weapons had been stockpiled and destroyed. Other locations included facilities in Alabama, Arkansas and Oregon.

Officials say the elimination of the U.S. stockpile is a major step forward for the Chemical Weapons Convention. Only three countries  Egypt, North Korea and South Sudan  have not signed the treaty. A fourth, Israel, has signed but not ratified the treaty.

Concerns remain that some parties to the convention, particularly Russia and Syria, possess undeclared chemical weapons stockpiles. Biden on Friday urged Russia and Syria to fully comply with the treaty, and called on the remaining countries to join it.

The international chemical weapons watchdog hailed the U.S. move as a "historic success of multilateralism" but said challenges remain such as urging the holdouts to join the treaty and destroying and recovering old chemical weapons.

"Recent uses and threats of use of toxic chemicals as weapons illustrate that preventing re-emergence will remain a priority for the organization," said Fernando Arias, director-general of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.

Arms control advocates hope this final step by the U.S. could be used as a model for eliminating other types of weapons.

"It shows that countries can really ban a weapon of mass destruction," said Paul F. Walker, vice chairman of the Arms Control Association and coordinator of the Chemical Weapons Convention Coalition. "If they want to do it, it just takes the political will and it takes a good verification system."

DeMillo reported from Little Rock, Arkansas, and Peipert reported from Pueblo, Colorado.
John Cunningham was driving when he suddenly began to feel strange. He was near one of the countys emergency medical stations in Ritchie County, W.Va., and decided to stop in, hoping for some medical attention.

There he met paramedic Kristi Hadfield, who he told about his symptoms, including chest pain, and she right away loaded him into an ambulance to head toward the nearest hospital  about 45-minutes away. On the way there that day in 2016, Cunningham, then 65, went into cardiac arrest.

Hadfield immediately began doing chest compressions, and to her relief, his heart started pumping again.

We were able to get him back, Hadfield, now 56, said.

At the time, she recalled telling him: Not today, John. Not today.

As Cunningham began his full recovery, neither of them could have imagined Hadfield would one day go on to save Cunninghams daughters life, as well.

Shortly after Cunninghams heart attack, Hadfield found him on Facebook and added him as a friend.

I like to follow up with my patients to check in and see how theyre doing, she said.

Before long, Hadfield received a Facebook friend request from Cunninghams daughter, Molly Jones.

Of course, I needed to know who saved my dads life, said Jones, 42, who lives in Pennsboro, W.Va.

Over the years, the women stayed in touch on Facebook.

In January of 2022, Jones became acutely ill. It started with bad headaches, swollen feet, chronic fatigue, nausea and later, high blood pressure. She was diagnosed with Stage 4 renal failure, and her kidneys were quickly losing function.

It was bad, said Jones, explaining that although as a teen she was diagnosed with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease  an inherited disorder, which causes cysts to develop within your kidneys  she did not anticipate it would progress so quickly and severely.

Her father  a military veteran and retired police officer  moved in with her to help look after her 16-year-old daughter, Viv, who has the same kidney condition.

Jones was told she would soon need to start dialysis or get a transplant. On average, patients wait three to five years for a deceased donor kidney from the national transplant waiting list. About 13 people die every day waiting for a kidney transplant.

She decided to post on Facebook about her situation.

Ive always used social media as a way to promote organ donation, said Jones, adding that her mother also had polycystic kidney disease, and had a donor kidney that lasted 18 years. She died a month before Cunninghams heart attack in 2016.

When Hadfield saw Joness Facebook post detailing her health crisis, she reached out with one question: What blood type are you?

She learned they are both A positive.

I have your kidney, Hadfield told Jones, who was floored by the offer from someone whom she had never met and barely knew.

I honestly dont know how long I sat there in shock, Jones said.

For Hadfield, it was an intuitive response, she said, and she meant it sincerely.

It was never a thought, she said. Molly lost her mom, and I was so glad she didnt lose her dad, and I knew Molly had a daughter. I wanted Molly to be able to see her daughter grow up.

Hadfield  who lives in Belpre, Ohio  called the Thomas E. Starzl Transplantation Institute at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC), to inquire whether she would be a good candidate for a living donor transplant.

I also discussed it with my kids and my husband and my grandkids, said Hadfield, who has two children and five grandchildren. Although they were concerned about how the operation might impact Hadfields health, they have been totally supportive the whole time, she said.

Once Jones was placed on the transplant list in June 2022, Hadfield began rigorous tests to ensure she was a viable donor, including a medical history review, a physical examination, various lab tests and a psychological evaluation  among other hurdles.

They wanted to make sure that from head to toe, I was perfectly fine, she said, noting that Joness insurance covered all costs associated with the testing and procedure. They didnt want to put me in jeopardy, and they didnt want to give Molly a bad kidney.

While Hadfield was being tested, Joness health was increasingly fragile. She has a blood clotting disorder, which prevented her from doing traditional hemodialysis. Instead, she tried peritoneal dialysis, and it proved ineffective for her.

I couldnt get food down. I couldnt keep food down, said Jones. I was fading out.

Through it all, Hadfield checked in with Jones every day.

Hows my girl? she would often ask via text message. Dont you quit fighting on me. Were going to do this.

Hadfield was determined to have the transplant done before the end of the year. They scheduled the surgery for Dec. 27, 2022, at UPMC.

When the two women met for the first time face-to-face at the hospital on Dec. 19, about a week ahead of the transplant, tears flowed, Hadfield said, adding that John Cunningham - now 72 and in good health - was there supporting his daughter.

It was just amazing getting to see them and hug them, she said.

It was also emotional for Jones. Up until then, she said, she had a hard time believing the transplant was actually going to happen.

You hope for the best but expect the worst when youre that sick, said Jones.

Amit Tevar, the surgical director of the kidney and pancreas transplant program at UPMC, performed the transplant surgeries, and said he was deeply moved by the background story of the recipient and donor - which was chronicled in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

This really highlights the most altruistic display of humans being humans, Tevar said. As a transplant surgeon, I get to see the best of human nature, but this is above and beyond what we normally see.

Tevar explained the benefits of using a kidney from a living donor versus a deceased donor.

A living donation is by far a better transplant because its done from a healthy donor at an elective time, and they last longer and work better, he said, adding that there is a lack of information and awareness about becoming a living donor, and it can be difficult to find willing candidates.

The most important thing for us and for the donor and the recipient is making sure its a safe operation for the donor, Tevar said, explaining that the testing and evaluation process for donors is very stringent for safety reasons.

Although the transplant is not a cure for Joness polycystic kidney disease, it does keep her off dialysis and it extends the length of her life, said Tevar, explaining that without this transplant, Molly didnt have much of a functional life or a length of life.

Following her operation, Hadfield recovered for three weeks before going back to work as an ambulatory education coordinator.

I feel great, I have no side effects from this, she said. I would not know that I ever had this done if I didnt, every once in a while, see my scars.

The only thing I regret is that I did not do it sooner for her, Hadfield added.

Jones, meanwhile, has a fully functioning kidney  which she refers to as the bean  and is feeling far better than she did when she first entered the operating room.

My daughter is my entire life, and because of Kristi, Im going to get to see my daughter graduate, Im going to get to see her go to college, Im going to get to see who she grows up to be, said Jones. I dont know how you properly thank someone for that.

It is a second chance at life, said Jones, who works in insurance. You have to take care of it. You cant waste your second chance.

The two women talk every day, and they consider each other - and their extended families - bonded for life.

Im just blown away that I was able to do this for them, said Hadfield. The neat thing is, I get to watch them live the rest of their lives now.

She and Jones are planning a party for the first anniversary of the transplant. Jones said the day will be dedicated to celebrating Hadfield.

I have my dad because of her, and now I have my life because of her, she said. I love Kristi Hadfield beyond measure. There are not enough thanks in the world for her.

Hadfield said she has already gotten more than she has given.

I might have given a kidney, but my heart grew, she said. The blessing that you get from it is so much more than you give.
EAGLE PASS, Texas  Texas began rolling out what is set to become a new floating barrier on the Rio Grande on Friday in the latest escalation of Republican Gov. Greg Abbott's multibillion-dollar effort to secure the U.S. border with Mexico, which already has included bussing migrants to liberal states and authorizing the National Guard to make arrests.

But even before the huge, orange buoys were unloaded from the trailers that hauled them to the border city of Eagle Pass, there were concerns over this part of Abbott's unprecedented challenge to the federal government's authority over immigration enforcement. Migrant advocates voiced concerns about drowning risks and environmentalists questioned the impact on the river.

Dozens of the large spherical buoys were stacked on the beds of four tractor trailers in a grassy city park near the river on Friday morning.

Setting up the barriers could take up to two weeks, according to Lt. Chris Olivarez, a spokesperson for the Texas Department of Public Safety, which is overseeing the project.

Once installed, the above-river parts of the system and the webbing they're connected with will cover 1,000 feet of the middle of the Rio Grande, with anchors in the riverbed.

Eagle Pass is part of a Border Patrol sector that has seen the second highest number of migrant crossings this fiscal year with about 270,000 encounters  though that is lower than it was at this time last year.

The crossing dynamics shifted in May after the Biden administration stopped implementing Title 42, a pandemic era public health policy that turned many asylum seekers back to Mexico. New rules allowed people to seek asylum through a government application and set up appointments at the ports of entry, though the maximum allowed in per day is set at 1,450. The Texas governor's policies target the many who are frustrated with the cap and cross illegally through the river.

Earlier iterations of Abbott's border mission have included installing miles of razor wire at popular crossing points on the river and creating state checkpoints beyond federal stops to inspect incoming commercial traffic.

"We always look to employ whatever strategies will be effective in securing the border," Abbott said in a June 8 press conference to introduce the buoy strategy.

But the state hasn't said what tests or studies have been done to determine risks posed to people who try to get around the barrier or environmental impacts.

Immigrant advocates, including Sister Isabel Turcios, a nun who oversees a migrant shelter in Piedras Negras, Mexico, which sits just across the river from Eagle Pass, have remained vigilant about the effects of the new barrier on migration. Turcios said she met with the Texas Department of Public Safety in the days leading up to the arrival of the buoys and was told the floating barrier would be placed in deep waters to function as a warning to migrants to avoid the area.

Turcios said she is aware that many of the nearly 200 migrants staying in her shelter on any given day are not deterred from crossing illegally despite sharp concertina wire. But that wire causes more danger because it forces migrants to spend additional time in the river.

"That's more and more dangerous each time ... because it has perches, it has whirlpools and because of the organized crime," Turcios said.

Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steven McCraw addressed the danger that migrants may face when the buoys are deployed during the June press conference when Abbott spoke: "Anytime they get in that water, it's a risk to the migrants. This is the deterrent from even coming in the water."

Less than a week ago  around the Fourth of July holiday  four people, including an infant, drowned near Eagle Pass as they attempted to cross the river.

The federal International Boundary and Water Commission, whose jurisdiction includes boundary demarcation and overseeing U.S.-Mexico treaties, said it didn't get a heads up from Texas about the proposed floating barrier.

"We are studying what Texas is publicly proposing to determine whether and how this impacts our mission to carry out treaties between the US and Mexico regarding border delineation, flood control, and water distribution, which includes the Rio Grande," Frank Fisher, a spokesperson for the commission, said in a statement.

On Friday morning, environmental advocates from Eagle Pass and Laredo, another Texas border city about 115 miles downriver, held a demonstration by the border that included a prayer for the river ahead of the barrier deployment.

Jessie Fuentes, who owns a canoe and kayaking business that takes paddlers onto the Rio Grande, said he's worried about unforeseen consequences. On Friday, he filed a lawsuit to stop Texas from using the buoys. He's seeking a permanent injunction, saying his paddling business is impacted by limited access to the river.

"I know it's a detriment to the river flow, to the ecology of the river, to the fauna and flora. Every aspect of nature is being affected when you put something that doesn't belong in the river," Fuentes said.

Adriana Martinez, a professor at Southern Illinois University who grew up in Eagle Pass, studies the shapes of rivers and how they move sediment and create landforms. She said she's worried about what the webbing might do.

"A lot of things float down the river, even when it's not flooding; things that you can't see like large branches, large rocks," Martinez said. "And so anything like that could get caught up in these buoys and change the way that water is flowing around them."

Coronado reported from Austin, Texas.
A July 4 injunction that places extraordinary limits on the government's communications with tech companies undermines initiatives to harden social media companies against election interference, civil rights groups, academics and tech industry insiders say.

After companies and the federal government spent years expanding efforts to combat online falsehoods in the wake of Russian interference on the platforms during the 2016 election, the ruling is just the latest sign of the pendulum swinging in the other direction. Tech companies are gutting their content moderation staffs, researchers are pulling back from studying disinformation and key government communications with Silicon Valley are on pause amid unprecedented political scrutiny.

With voting in the 2024 primaries just months away, tech companies also are facing new election threats as leaps in artificial intelligence give bad actors new tools to create fake videos, photos and ads.

Amid that rapidly changing social media landscape, civil rights groups say U.S. District Judge Terry A. Doughty's order will be a boon for election lies.

"As the U.S. gears up for the biggest election year the internet age has seen, we should be finding methods to better coordinate between governments and social media companies to increase the integrity of election news and information," said Nora Benavidez, a senior counsel at Free Press, a digital civil rights group.

Doughty's order marks a watershed development in the years-long, partisan battle over the rules for what people can say on social media. As Democrats warn tech companies aren't doing enough to check the proliferation of falsehoods on their platforms, Republicans continue to say the companies unfairly pick on them because of their political views, criticizing the companies for developing misinformation policies and deploying fact-checkers and contractors to enforce them.

Republicans have used their control of the House of Representatives to advance such allegations, and conservative activists have targeted academics studying online disinformation with lawsuits and open records requests. Their efforts have been aided by Elon Musk, who has used his ownership of Twitter to release a slew of internal communications about content moderation decisions that he dubbed "The Twitter Files."

"We have watched as conservatives have weaponized this kind of false idea of conservative bias throughout Silicon Valley," said Rashad Robinson, the president of the civil rights organization Color of Change. "And so it's no surprise that they've used their soft power within corporate America to make companies afraid to actually live up to their responsibility and to be accountable."

Meta, Google and Twitter did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The Justice Department has sought a stay of the injunction because of the risks. In an appeal filed Thursday night, DOJ lawyers warned that the judge's order could prevent the government from "working with social media companies on initiatives to prevent grave harm to the American people and our democratic processes."

Already there are signs of how the judge's order and other conservative moves are chilling efforts to combat election interference. A day after the ruling, the State Department canceled its regular meeting with Facebook officials to discuss 2024 election preparations and hacking threats.

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, whose contacts with social media companies are also limited under Doughty's order, has played a major role in getting accurate voting information out. A private nonprofit with some government funding, the Center for Internet Security, which is mentioned in Doughty's order, has connected local election officials with the social media companies when the local officials spot falsehoods about election mechanics. CIS is not specifically barred from contacting social media companies, but people who have worked with both organizations expect a chill in coordination.

"For several years now, CISA's productive working relationship with election officials and social media platforms has been an essential part of tamping down false rumors that can impact the public's participation in election processes," said Eddie Perez, a former Twitter director of product management who led a team on civic integrity and similar issues. "This sweeping injunction has the potential to 'green light' bad actors' efforts to undermine confidence and suppress the vote."

Doughty included some exceptions that appeared to acknowledge that restricting the government's communications with the tech industry could exacerbate national security threats. His injunction permits communications between the government and the companies to discuss illegal voter suppression or foreign interference in elections. But it's not always immediately clear if disinformation on a site is originating from a foreign actor, and it could result in the government being extra cautious and only sharing threats with the tech industry when they're positive they originate from people abroad, said Katie Harbath, a former public policy director at Meta.

"Does that put us back to where we were in 2016?" Harbath said.

The scrutiny from conservatives is also affecting how tech companies are talking with one another about potential disinformation threats, according to a former tech industry employee, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of harassment and concern about discussing confidential interactions between companies. Following the revelations of disinformation during the 2016 election, officials from Twitter, Facebook, Google and other social media companies began regular contacts to discuss election threats. Details of those communications have become public, opening up tech employees to harassment.

Now people are "wary of having those conversations," the person said.

Academic researchers were reeling from the injunction and still sorting out how to respond to it. The order placed new restrictions on communications between key U.S. government agencies and academic institutions studying online disinformation, including the Election Integrity Project, an initiative led by Stanford University and University of Washington that in past elections tracked election disinformation.

"There's no version of us being able to do our job, or other versions of the field of trust and safety, without being able to communicate with all stakeholders, including government and including industry," said a leading researcher on extremism and foreign influence who asked not to be named due to the ongoing litigation.

The order comes as a series of conservative lawsuits and records requests are already vexing academics doing social media work. Evelyn Douek, an assistant professor at Stanford Law School, said it's difficult to quantify the impact of the litigation and investigations on social media researchers, but that it is undoubtedly "making people think twice before working on these issues."

"The First Amendment is supposed to protect against exactly this problem - that people will just shut up because they're worried about bad consequences or think it's just not worth the hassle," she said. "It's being flipped on its head here and being used to chill people from doing important and legitimate academic work."

Tech companies have also cut back on content moderation initiatives in recent months. Under Musk, Twitter unwound programs intended to limit the spread of misinformation and fired many employees working on content moderation. Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has also laid off significant swaths of its workforce, including employees who worked on trust and safety.

The order's focus on the government also distracts from badly needed attention on how the companies are acting on their own, advocates say.

"While we're covering the issue of how the government can or cannot engage with Big Tech, we're not talking about Big Tech failing to do its job of moderating lies," Benavidez said.

Meanwhile, companies are releasing new products that could be abused to spread disinformation. The day after the ruling, Meta launched its Twitter competitor, Threads, which attracted more than 70 million sign-ups in 48 hours. The launch underscores how quickly the social media landscape can change and why it's so necessary for the government to be able to talk to the companies, said Leah Litman, a professor at University of Michigan Law School.

The ruling "is just going to compound the inability to adapt to new challenges that are coming," Litman said.
SAN JOSE  Kim Yee made the rounds of dozens of booths set up at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds Saturday morning, collecting things to help make his day-to-day life a little easier: a bag of groceries, paperwork to secure a housing voucher, legal assistance with the DMV and a pair of military fatigues specially designed to be worn while in a wheelchair.

After enlisting in the military as a 15-year-old during the Vietnam War in 1967`, Yee trained and served overseas as an Army Ranger for more than two decades, before a combat injury sent him home. But life stateside hasnt always been smooth sailing for the now 72-year-old, who has spent the past few weeks couch surfing after recently losing the roof over his head.

More than 50 vendors who set up shop at a special Veterans Stand Down were ready to help. The event was organized to ease the troubles that Lee and many other veterans often face in the months, years and decades after their military service has ended. Dozens of volunteers offered medical and dental care, housing resources, mental health resources, haircuts and a host of other services  all free of charge.

Hosted for the first time by the countys Office of Veterans Services, volunteers from organizations like Hunger at Home, LiveMoves and the Recovery Cafe joined government employees to connect former service members with the diverse tools they need to thrive.

It gives me hope to know theres people out there who care for us and are willing to go out of their way to help keep our mind and body energized, Yee said, wiping away tears. Its a great feeling to have all of these things accessible to us here.

Aside from a newly swollen cheek after getting an infected tooth extracted only 20 minutes prior, he was filled with only gratitude for all the services he received in return for his military service.

We watched out for each others backs out there (overseas), no matter what happened; thats the same thing thats happening here, Yee said. To see all of us who served  from all the branches  come out, its like one big happy family.

While similar events had been held by local American Legion group in the past, this was the countys first attempt to resurrect the collaborative effort.

Steve Fondacaro, a veteran and interim director of the countys Office of Veterans Services, said that while theres a general feeling of embarrassment from veterans, events like Stand Down help provide them the same kind of selfless service the vets poured into the military.

These benefits are things theyve already earned, Fondacaro said. The only thing standing between them is the bureaucracy  all they need is somebody to help them work through all that. Were the way-finders and guides.

Fondacaro served three decades in the Army. He said the shock of coming back to civilian life is one of the primary reasons veterans have such a difficult time adjusting.

Its like I went to another planet and came back to a different Earth  culturally and politically, its a very foreign place, he said. So when you see an angry veteran, thats because theyre saying, I gave everything, so why cant I get anything now? Now, a groundswell of support to (help make that easier) is all right here.

Thomas Barnes, 59, said he heard about Stand Down through word of mouth from fellow vets.

While he recently secured housing in San Jose specifically reserved for veterans, he had previously been homeless  a symptom he said comes with the territory of dealing with the PTSD and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease he was diagnosed with after two stints in the Army and one in the Marine Corps.

While life hasnt always been easy for Barnes, who recently moved to California after decades living in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, hes thankful for the community hes found here that is concerned about his well being  shown through acts as simple as a free haircut.

The nation hasnt forgotten about us veterans, and they want to make sure that we are okay and can get a helping hand in life, Barnes said. I thank God for my fellow American citizens who care and pave a road for us to be okay.

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Pakistan and Switzerland signed a Memordandum of Understanding in Bhurban, Murree today for promotion of cooperation in the field of disaster management.

The MoU was signed by the visiting Foreign Minister of Switzerland Ignazio Cassis and Chairman NDMA Lieutenant General Inam Haider Malik.

Speaking on the occasion, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Pakistan looks forward to cooperation from Switzerland in getting advance warning system and other facets which secures Pakistan as much as possible from the natural disasters. He pointed out that Pakistan has no contributions to climate change.

Describing his negotiations with the Swiss Foreign Minister as productive and fruitful, he said Pakistan also desires to promote cooperation with Switzerland in diverse areas including tourism and education.

The Prime Minister said he is encouraged by the statement of Swiss Foreign Minister that Switzerland will play a friendly and catalyst role to promote peace discussions in the region. He said Pakistan will encourage Switzerland to play a productive role because his country wants to live in peace and promote prosperity and progress.

He said Pakistan wants to invest in its population to alleviate poverty and unemployment by promoting industries, IT and agriculture. He, however, said the other side shall also have to do introspection. It takes two to tango.

The Prime Minister said we cannot afford tension in this region and waste resources on wars as they have not been of any help in the past.

He said Pakistan is absolutely convinced that we should commit our resources in development. He said the leadership on the other side should feel the same way.

The Prime Minister stressed that resolution of all disputes including that of Jammu and Kashmir was important for lasting peace in this part of the world.

In his remarks on the occasion, Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis said disaster risk management goes beyond borders and nationalities. He said it is a global responsibility that requires unity and collective action.

He said Pakistan and Switzerland will work hand in hand to raise awareness and protect the lives and livelihoods of our peoples.

The Swiss Foreign Minister said the MoU signed today is a vital step in strengthening our collaborative efforts against climate change. He said Pakistan is a country with rich cultural heritage and beautiful landscape but unfortunately it has been grappling with the devastating effects of natural disasters.

He said it is a stark reminder of the urgent need for international cooperation to mitigate and manage the risks associated with catastrophes. He said his country stands ready to support Pakistan in this regard.

The Swiss Foreign Minister said the MoU shows our shared determination to strengthen our bilateral relationship and to put our resources, knowledge and experiences in disaster risk management.
UNITED NATIONS, July 7 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday welcomed the adoption of a revised strategy by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from international shipping, and asked for follow-up measures.

Member states of the IMO on Friday agreed in London to reach net-zero emissions from international shipping by or about 2050, as well as checkpoints for 2030 and 2040.

"The secretary-general welcomed the adoption and added that the decisions made this week are positive steps forward, but they are just the start," said Farhan Haq, deputy spokesman for Guterres.

The technical and economic policies and regulations needed to deliver on these targets and support a just, equitable transition, including a carbon levy, must be developed and implemented as quickly as possible, said Haq.

"Now that governments and industry have a plan, they must urgently respond with the necessary investments in zero-emission vessels and fuels, port infrastructure and workforce upskilling," he told a daily press briefing. 
Robert Bily entered the victims apartment and, immediately upon seeing the woman, attacked her.

A 20-year-old Slovakian man will be sentenced in October for the vicious knife attack and sexual assault of a young woman whose apartment he had broken into.

Robert Bily of no fixed abode appeared at Tralee Circuit Criminal Court last week for sentencing having previously pleaded guilty to one count of assault causing harm; one count of sexual assault and one count of burglary.

Mr Bily  who had been in Ireland for approximately five weeks  had entered the apartment complex in which his victim was living with the intention of breaking into another apartment.

He entered the victims apartment and, immediately upon seeing the woman, attacked her.

He punched her repeatedly in the face and stabbed her nine times in the neck, shoulders and back while holding her down and asking her for sex.

He fled and the woman was able to crawl out a window and onto a roof where she was spotted curled up in a pool of blood while shouting for help.

Gardai managed to get the woman  who had suffered a collapsed lung and needed an emergency transfusion as she had lost so much blood  and rushed her to University Hospital Kerry.

Mr Bily made admissions about the incident to a relative that night. The relative then brought him to Tralee Garda Station, where he admitted to the offences having been shown CCTV footage.

Sentencing was adjourned until October 31 this year to allow for the completion of a psychological report.
It was stated on his behalf that this was a prank which went too far

The man's solicitor said it was prank gone wrong.

A man who impersonated a garda and asked a motorist if they had any drugs, has been given a chance to avoid jail.

Gerard Joyce (30), Doolargy Avenue, Muirhevnamor, Dundalk, pleaded guilty at the district court to impersonating a member of An Garda Siochana, at Haggardstown, Blackrock, on 10 August 2022.

It was stated on his behalf that this was a prank which went too far.

Evidence was presented that at 12.50am it was reported that a man in a white estate car was impersonating gardai.

He had flashed his lights at another vehicle before telling the driver that he was in the Drugs Squad and flashed what appeared to be a badge

He asked the man if he had drugs on him.

Mr Joyce was arrested at 1.18am. He made no reply after caution.

There were previous convictions, including for unauthorised taking of a motor vehicle, public order and criminal damage.

Solicitor Eleanor Kelly submitted that her client was aware this was very serious.

He instructed that he had seen a vehicle pull out without lights and flashed his lights to let the driver know. He got out to knock on the window.

The defendant thought he smelled cannabis from this car. He didnt for a second think the other man would believe he was a garda. He was in plain clothes.

It was a prank that went wrong. It shouldnt have gone as far as it did.

Judge Fay said it was extremely serious to impersonate a garda.

Given the time since Mr Joyces last conviction the court would order a probation report.

A sentence of 150 hours community service in lieu of three months imprisonment was indicated before the accused was remanded on continuing bail to 20 September.
Please give me a custodial sentence so I can get treatment, he told the court.

A 37-year-old man has told the judge he wanted out of this little boys prison, please and sent to a jail where he could get treatment.

Declan Grimes, Grange Drive, Muirhevnamor, Dundalk, was speaking via video link from Cloverhill Prison after he pleaded guilty at the district court to charges and a summons resulting from two separate incidents.

Solicitor Eleanor Kelly said her client wanted a sentence whereby he could be moved from Cloverhill to Mountjoy.

He was currently on remand for an unrelated matter.

The defendant said he couldnt get medical treatment never mind drug treatment where he was.

Please give me a custodial sentence so I can get treatment, he added.

Evidence was given that on 25 June 2022 at Grange Drive he was found with 40-worth of cannabis.

On 18 February last, while gardai were seizing a vehicle in Aghameen Park in another matter, the defendant approached holding a bottle of whiskey.

He used abusive language and failed to comply with a direction to leave the area, saying he wanted to fight.

He was drinking out of the bottle in front of gardai.

There were 70 previous convictions, including approximately 40 for public order.

For failing to comply with the direction of a garda, Mr Grimes was sentenced to four months, and a concurrent three-month term was imposed for using or engaging in threatening, abusive or insulting behaviour or words.

A charge of being intoxicated in public was taken into consideration, while the possession of drugs summons was struck out after the facts were found proven.

Its a tough process, recovery from addiction. I hope you get treatment, Judge Susan Fay said to the defendant.
A hotel worker who lewdly propositioned a young colleague in a linen room during a psychotic episode has had sentencing deferred while he continues to receive treatment.

Conor Price stood in front of the door and repeatedly asked the terrified 18-year-old if she wanted to taste it, referring to his penis.

He was having a breakdown and mistakenly believed that staff in the hotel were engaging in sexual activity at the time.

Price (27) of Moorfield Drive, Clondalkin, pleaded guilty to offensive conduct of a sexual nature at a Dublin hotel in September 2021.

When the case came back before Dublin District Court, Prices lawyer said his client had suffered a psychotic break, had been treated for mental health issues and was on medication.

Price was now taking a course in culinary arts. The lawyer asked the judge not to jail the accused.

Judge Smyth said it was a dreadful incident that had a significant effect on the victim.

Prices underlying mental health issues might be no consolation for her but it gave context to what happened, he said.

It was an awful thing for her to have to suffer, he said. If we left aside the medical history, he would be given a custodial sentence, no question about that, given the effect on the injured party.

He adjourned the case to December for an update on Prices treatment, saying he was not making any promises.

Previously, the court heard the victim was showing Price around the hotel when he closed the linen room door, stood in front of it and asked the injured party did she want to taste it.

She said no and eventually pushed past him.
Ms Ward (36) was found dead at the Hotel Magnolia Salou at around 9.30pm on Sunday when local police officers were alerted to a disturbance. She had been strangled.

A former girlfriend of the man being held in a Spanish jail in connection with the murder of Dublin woman Kirsty Ward has claimed he tried to strangle her.

The woman, who does not want to be identified, spoke to the Sunday World last night.

She confirmed she had contacted gardai about him because I dont want him to be tried as someone who has done this as a one-off, like it is the first time he has hurt someone.

Ms Ward (36) was found dead at the Hotel Magnolia Salou at around 9.30pm on Sunday when local police officers were alerted to a disturbance. She had been strangled.

It is understood the couple had been in a relationship for a few months and had travelled to Salou last Friday afternoon.

Gardai in Ashbourne, Co Meath, received correspondence this week from the mans former girlfriend.

She claimed he tried to strangle her in an incident in a property in Co Meath a number of years ago.

On Thursday, gardai told the woman her correspondence had been forwarded to Interpol, whose investigators are expected to inform the Spanish authorities.

The woman, who is aged in her 30s and was in a relationship with the man for several years, said she went into shock and has been unable to work since hearing news of Ms Wards murder.

I felt it could have been me and I am very grateful for the help of my family and friends in getting me out of the situation after he attacked me, she said.

Recalling the alleged attack, the woman said that after a night out, the man threw her on to the floor of a bedroom and grabbed me by the throat, put his hands on my throat and he held it until I blacked out.

She said it ended when other people walked into the room.

The woman ended her relationship with the man in the days after the alleged assault.

I thought I was going to die. It all felt very surreal after that. I knew I had to leave him, she said.

The woman has also alerted gardai to alleged incidents involving the man and two other former partners.

It is understood the man had been known to gardai.

He was previously arrested along with Kinahan cartel hitman Caolan Smyth over a matter that was later prosecuted before the district court.

His former girlfriend has also told gardai he is wanted in England by the military police for going awol from the British army.

After that, it is understood he worked with a male relative in Dublin.

On Wednesday, the suspect was brought before a special court in Tarragona that deals with charges of violence against women.

Following a hearing held in secret, as is standard with Spanish legal proceedings, he was refused bail.

In a statement, the court said it received today the man arrested for the death of his partner in a hotel in Salou.

It said the judge had agreed to remand the suspect to a provisional prison without bail.

The case is open for a crime of homicide/murder, which will be specified as the investigation progresses, it added.

It may take months before a judge decides what formal charges should be preferred.

Efforts are being made to repatriate Ms Wards remains to Ireland, and a garda based in Madrid has been helping local authorities with this process and the investigation.

The Department of Foreign Affairs are liaising with the family of mother-of-one Kirsty Ward from Dublin, a spokesperson for the family said.

The family will not be making any further comment or statements and ask for privacy during this distressing time.
Bartolo Bruzzaniti had been on the run since he escaped the Tre Croci operation that led to 36 arrests and the seizure of four tons of cocaine

An international drug trafficker with ties to Kinahan Cartel ally Raffaele Imperiale has been tracked down to Lebanon where he was arrested as he visited a fancy restaurant.

The 48-year-old super fugitive Bartolo Bruzzaniti has been wanted since last October for trafficking tons of cocaine into Italy with the help of the mafia mob 'Ndrangheta.

Originally from Locri in southern Italy, he was at the restaurant when the Guardia di Finanza and the Lebanese police surprised and captured him.

He had been on the run since he escaped the Tre Croci operation that led to 36 arrests and the seizure of four tons of cocaine, costing the gangs 800 million euros in lost revenue.

Together with his brother Antonio Bruzzaniti and the Campanian drug trafficker Raffaele Imperiale, who later became a collaborator with justice, Bruzzaniti was the recipient of a precautionary custody order in prison.

This was issued by the investigating judge Giovanna Sergi at the request of the Reggio Calabria prosecutor Giovanni Bombardieri, the deputy Giuseppe Lombardo and prosecutors Domenico Cappelleri and Paola D'Ambrosio.

The fugitive captured in Lebanon, according to the magistrates, is responsible for the planning and execution of a vast cocaine smuggling operation, from South America to Calabria, consisting of periodic and massive imports of over two tons each.

Bruzzaniti was the main conduit between the Colombian narcos and the Calabrian importers as well as the subjects inside the port of Gioia Tauro who were tasked with getting the cocaine out of the port.

His capture follows investigations conducted by the Provincial Command of Reggio Calabria in cooperation with the District Anti-Mafia Directorate.

In recent months, the operation has been supported by European and international institutions and agencies engaged in the fight against transnational crimes.

For some time, investigators had been certain that the fugitive, against whom an international arrest warrant had been issued, was moving between the Ivory Coast and Lebanon.

Investigators have no doubts that it is an international broker who considered the ports of South America used to send cocaine to Europe as our home, local media reports.

The reference, in particular, is to the port of Turbo that is better than all the others, wrote Bruzzaniti in a chat intercepted by the Guardia di Finanza.

We are there with those who manage everything, goods, departures. And they have been friends for 25 years. Live with the right people from their 500/1,000 don't start, you have to talk about 2,000 upwards, which are reference to the amounts of kilos of cocaine that the Calabrian broker wanted to get to Italy.

He has been associated with one of Italy's most wanted criminals, Raffaele Imperiale, an alleged kingpin of the organised crime syndicate 'Camorra', which is involved in drug and weapons trafficking crimes across international borders.

Imperiale who is currently in an Italian prison after being extradited from Dubai is regarded as a key figure in Europes super-cartel.

The flash 48-year-old Italian attended Daniel Kinahans wedding in 2017 at the luxury Burj al Arab in Dubai and was known as a playboy when he lived in Dubai, prior to his arrest in August 2021.

Imperiale is believed to be a key figure in international drug trafficking and is thought to have a close relationship with the Camorra mafia centred around Naples.

The drug lord had been hiding out in the desert after fleeing Italian cops who wanted to serve him an 8-year sentence for drug trafficking.

For years, Imperiale ran drug lines between the Netherlands and Italy, distributing shipments of 100 to 150 kilos at a time.

According to Italian officials, he did business with the eldest son of Ridouan Taghi, another alleged member of the super-cartel who is awaiting trial in the Netherlands.

Taghi, a Moroccan-Dutch national who also attended the Kinahan wedding, was Hollands most wanted man prior to being nabbed in Dubai.

He is currently on trial for murder alongside sixteen co-defendants in the so-called Marengo Trial in Amsterdam.
According to police, tools had been stolen from a white Mercedes Sprinter van in Mariners Mews, Hythe

The aftermath of the crash

A Dublin man has been arrested in the UK after a chase resulted in a van crashing with police cars near Southampton.

The 32-year-old was arrested on suspicion of robbery, drug driving, failing to provide a specimen, failing to stop after a collision, dangerous driving and failing to stop for police.

According to police, tools had been stolen from a white Mercedes Sprinter van in Mariners Mews, Hythe, shortly after 8.10am.

A man then left the scene in a white Citroen Berlingo.

Officers gave chase until the van collided with police cars in Butts Ash Lane.

Police have issued an appeal for witnesses.

Anyone who witnessed any part of this incident should call 101 quoting reference 44230273736.
The Public Prosecution Service is seeking life imprisonment for Taghi and four co-defendants

The trail is one of the biggest in Netherland's history

A verdict in the Marengo trial of crime lord and Kinahan associate, Ridouan Taghi has been postponed, it has emerged.

The court in Amsterdam said on Friday that the cases against main suspect Taghi and 16 co-defendants are so complex that a new date will have to be established.

The original judgment date of October 20, 2023 is unfeasible, the court declared.

The Public Prosecution Service is seeking life imprisonment for Taghi and four co-defendants.

In February, prosecutors also demanded life in prison for Said Razzouki, Taghi's alleged right-hand man.

The accused are suspected of a series of offences including among others, membership in a criminal organisation that committed six murders, four attempted murders and the preparation of four murders.

The trail is one of the biggest in Netherland's history

Long sentences behind bars are also bring sought for several other suspects in the wide-ranging case.

The so-called Marengo trial, one of the biggest murder trials in the history of the Netherlands started over two years ago.

It was thrown into some disarray after Taghis lawyer, Inez Weski was arrested on suspicion of passing on information on behalf of her client.

She was later released from custody on the orders of the court of Rotterdam where judges decided, "there's no reason to keep her any longer.

The 17 defendants on trial are suspected of planning a total of 13 gangland murders, of which six were carried out between 2015 and 2017 in the so-called Mocro mafia drugs war.

Taghi is also suspected of ordering the murder of Amsterdam-based lawyer Derk Wiersum in September 2019, though that killing is not part of the Marengo trial.

Wiersum was acting for Nabil B, one of the key witnesses in the case against Taghi, whose brother was also shot dead.

Evidence has also emerged indicating that the investigative journalist Peter R. de Vries was murdered in 2021 because of his involvement in a gangland murder trial.

Taghi is one of the suspected members of the super-cartel who all attended Daniel Kinahans wedding celebration at the Burj al Arab hotel in 2017.

In Februaty, the Public Prosecution Service demanded life in prison against Razzouki who is accused of several murders and attempted murders and of leading a criminal organization.

Prosecutors described it as a completely unscrupulous organisation.

At one hearing prosecutors pointed to the empty seats reserved for relatives of the victims who are too frightened to attend.

There is not a single surviving relative who dares to exercise the right to speak. They will not tell you who their father, brother, son or loved one was, what he meant to them and how he is still missed."

The prosecution said the motive for most of the murders was revenge and to ensure silence because there was talk or to prevent talk.

The statements of the key State witness were of great importance in tracking down the gang leaders who had remained largely out of sight.

His statements showed that this series of murders was committed by one and the same organisation. It also turned out that there were others on the list to be killed by this organisation.

As well as the witness statements a large number of encrypted messages from the suspects were also used in evidence.

They provided a shocking insight into the way in how the accused men talked to each other about murders and victims.

Intercepted messages showed Taghi saying that if necessary, the killer should break into his home and do it in daylight.

They were told no matter what time or morning or night light, if it sleeps, you will be well rewarded. and told to carry it out calm and stylish.

The Public Prosecutor previously said Taghi and Razzouki are the leaders of the gang who set out to ruthlessly stamp their mark on the Dutch underworld.

Anyone considered a threat was put on Taghis death list including innocent people he feared could provide information to the police.

He micro-managed some killings ordering the hit teams to put three bullets into the head of one victim and to carry out the murders with style.

In those messages it is about dogs and son of a whore/children who have to go to sleep, said the prosecution.

In a period of just over 17 months, six men have been killed and another seven have been attempted. Those numbers are unbelievable. If everything had worked out, that would have been almost one fatality per month.

According to the Public Prosecution Service, Said Razzouki was the right hand and also "actually a kind of older brother" of Taghi.

He was in direct contact with T. about the murders to be carried out. He also collected information about the whereabouts of intended victims and gave instructions to spotters about observing the targets.

He is also accused of managing the stock of weapons and tested those weapons himself before the murders were committed

Razzoukis trial was delayed compared to the five other suspects, including Taghi, in which prosecutors already made the case for life sentences to be handed down.

The Marengo trial had already started before his arrest in Colombia in February 2020 before being extradited in December 2021.
Police confirmed that a man had been arrested over the incident and was released on bail pending further inquiries.

The injuries a blind pensioner suffered at the hands of a UDA thug

The Bully boy thug who attacked a blind man after he called at the wrong house.

The thug attacked the man after he called at the wrong house

Today the Sunday World reveals the true nature of the drug-dealing Ulster Defence Association members in south Belfast.

A burly thug  who holds a senior position in the proscribed loyalist terror group  attacked an innocent man at his home in the respectable Ormeau Road area.

And police confirmed that a man had been arrested over the incident and was released on bail pending further inquiries.

And we can reveal that the UDA bully boy was known to deceased twins Stephen and Claire ONeill.

As he repeatedly assaulted his victim, he wrongly accused him of supplying the drugs which killed them.

Five months ago, the 37-year-old brother and sister captured the hearts of the community when it emerged they had died side by side of a suspected drugs overdose.

Tragic twins Stephen and Claire ONeill.

At the time, it was rumoured the twins had consumed deadly quantities of highly addictive crystal meth.

A recent toxicology report confirmed they had taken microcrystalline cellulose, a high-end variant of crystal meth.

The incident sent shockwaves through the Annadale area of south Belfast, where the twins had been born and brought up. Both were well known and liked in the community.

But this latest violent episode  which resulted in a badly disabled and blind man being savagely assaulted in his own home  has also left the area stunned.

The mistaken identity attack took place last month, but full details only emerged this week after a full Sunday World investigation.

A family friend of the victim told us: The thug arrived at the door where the victim  who is blind  was home alone. He pressed the doorbell which then triggered a digital recording.

As soon as the door was opened, he lashed out, knocking his victim back against the staircase. And he continued to hit and kick him.

The injuries a blind pensioner suffered at the hands of a UDA thug

And as he did so he also accused him of supplying the drugs which killed the twins. It was a ludicrous accusation.

The victim yelled out that he had got the wrong house, but he carried on hitting and kicking him. And he insisted he hadnt got the wrong house.

Unable to defend himself and fearing for his life, the dazed and confused 62 year-old yelled out: Youve got the wrong house  Im a blind man!

The attacker is seen suddenly stopping his attack and walking away.

The family friend said: The entire incident was caught on camera and is now in the hands of the PSNI.

He added: It was a brutal assault, but it was also a ridiculous accusation to accuse a respectable family man and grandfather of being the drugs dealer who supplied the ONeill twins. Everyone around here knows exactly who gave the twins the drugs.

Sunday World inquiries in south Belfast revealed there wasnt an ounce of truth in the UDA mans allegation.

Our investigation revealed that the brutal attack on an innocent man was simply a case of mistaken identity.

The innocent victim and his family are valued and respected members of the Ormeau community.

The disabled grandfather  who also suffers from a range of other illnesses  received multiple bruising to his face, arms and legs during the relentless 15-second assault.

Seeing his victim was indeed blind, the top loyalist turned on his heels and walked back towards his waiting 4x4 which hed left with the drivers door wide open.

This attack connecting the UDA in south Belfast to the illegal drugs trade is bound to cause further embarrassment for the group. money

Leading UDA figures continue to draw large amounts of money from the public purse to supposedly help it transition from criminality into a community organisation.

UDA boss Jackie McDonald has still to comment publicly on the ONeill twins deaths, although it is known he met with their family on a number of occasions. It has also been suggested that following the twins deaths, the UDA leadership paid over cash to a number of loyalist supporters in south Belfast.

The Bully boy thug who attacked a blind man after he called at the wrong house.

In February, the Sunday World revealed a UDA taxi driver was suspected of supplying the twins with the crystal meth which claimed their lives.

Police confirmed that they had arrested a 41-year-old man on suspicion of common assault in relation to the latest south Belfast incident. Following interview, he was released on bail pending further police inquiries, they said.

Our investigation remains ongoing and anyone with information that can help our inquiries can contact police on 101, quoting reference number 822 of 16/06/23.
This photo taken on July 1, 2023 shows coffee beans at Mullege Coffee Export PLC, one of Ethiopia's leading coffee exporting firms, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. (Xinhua/Michael Tewelde)

ADDIS ABABA, July 7 (Xinhua) -- Coffee exporters in Ethiopia, known as the birthplace of Arabica coffee, are enjoying the rising coffee market in China as an increasing number of Chinese consumers tend to value Ethiopian coffee.

The growing demand for Ethiopian coffee in China with its fastest-growing economy has presented a potential market for coffee exporting countries such as Ethiopia, said Abdullah Bagersh, general manager of S.A. Bagersh Private Limited Company (PLC) in a recent interview with Xinhua.

"Over the last 5 to 10 years, we are seeing growing demand for Ethiopian coffee in China and that has created one of the most promising coffee markets in the world," said Bagersh.

According to data from the International Coffee Organization, China's annual coffee consumption has expanded by an average rate of more than 15 percent over the past decade while the international growth rate of coffee consumption stands at 2.2 percent.

Bagersh said the Chinese people, especially the youth, are shifting to drinking coffee, a situation propelling Chinese coffee importers to establish business relations with their Ethiopian counterparts.

Jemal Abrar, coffee quality control deputy manager at Mullege Coffee Export PLC, one of the leading coffee exporting firms in Ethiopia, said Ethiopian coffee is winning growing demand in China and surrounding markets.

"We participated in the second China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo last year. Since then, we have enjoyed growing market share in China and exploited new market opportunities," Abrar told Xinhua.

The coffee market has been evolving over the years in China where tea has been a traditional drink, said Gizat Worku, chief executive officer of the Ethiopian Coffee Association, which is engaged in promoting Ethiopian coffee in the international market.

"China is an emerging market for Ethiopian coffee exporters. Any businessman cannot ignore China whose market potential has turned out to be rich over time," Worku said.

According to Worku, Ethiopia's coffee export volume to China has seen impressive growth with an export volume of 4,200 tonnes in the 2019/2020 Ethiopian fiscal year, 8,400 tonnes in the 2020/2021 fiscal year and 11,200 tonnes of coffee last fiscal year which ended on July 7, 2022.

Worku is optimistic that within the coming 10 years, more Ethiopian coffee might go to China and his association is ready to satisfy the growing demand there with timely delivery of the specialty coffee which he referred to as "de facto organic."

"The Chinese population is there-well over 1.3 billion people. China's economy is becoming skyrocketing. It is a new emerging market, so the biggest market there is automatic," said Worku.

Indicating that Ethiopian coffee exporters have exhibited their products in different cities in China, Worku said the association is jointly working with the Chinese government and coffee buyers to better exploit the Chinese market through online meetings and aggressive promotion with the help of the Ethiopian Embassy in Beijing.

Ahadu Woubshet, managing director of Moyee Coffee Roasting PLC, another coffee exporter in Ethiopia, said his company has enjoyed growing sales from the expanding coffee market in China.

Woubshet said coffee drinking culture in China is growing from time to time and his company is enjoying increasing sales volume from the Chinese market.

"I am sure China will give a massive opportunity for Ethiopia as the coffee drinking culture is expanding among its people who also start to understand the rich flavors and varieties of the Ethiopian coffee," Woubshet said. "If you look at the Chinese market, it is very big and has been doubling from year to year. So we are happy that the Chinese market is giving a lot of opportunities to Ethiopia."

The Ethiopia Coffee and Tea Authority recently announced that the East African nation earned 1.1 billion U.S. dollars between June 2022 and April 2023 and China became the seventh largest importer of Ethiopian coffee during the period.

According to information obtained from the Ethiopian authority, coffee products generate 24 percent of the country's export income. 

Gizat Worku, chief executive officer of the Ethiopian Coffee Association, speaks during an interview with Xinhua in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Feb. 13, 2023. (Xinhua/Michael Tewelde)

Abdullah Bagersh, general manager of S.A. Bagersh Private Limited Company (PLC), speaks during an interview with Xinhua in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Feb. 13, 2023. (Xinhua/Michael Tewelde)

A worker carries coffee beans in a warehouse at Mullege Coffee Export PLC, one of Ethiopia's leading coffee exporting firms, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, July 1, 2023. (Xinhua/Michael Tewelde)

An Ethiopian woman makes traditional coffee in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Feb.13, 2023. (Xinhua/Michael Tewelde)
"This is a march about health and safety in the workplace.

Minor scuffles broke out yesterday before a rally organised by trade union, Forsa, and members of Ireland First outside Cork City Library.

The rally was organised by the trade union following a number of incidents of campaigners entering libraries and ripping up certain books, whilst reportedly harassing staff.

It has been reported the Forsa rally was attended by approximately 400 marchers whilst the Ireland First counter demonstrators numbered in the region of 20.

"We're here to send out a message of support and solidarity to beleaguered workers in the library in Cork city, said Richy Carruthers of Forsa.

The trade union says such incidents have taken place at several libraries around the country but many have focused on the City Library on Cork's Grand Parade.

Forsa rally

"We're here to send out a very clear signal to Cork City Council that our members are no longer wiling to work in a workplace that is surrounded by harassment, fear and intimidation.

I think that the turnout here today from the people of Cork sends a real clear message that we are in the majority, Mr Carruthers said.

The counter-demonstration took place before the Forsa march, with some of those involved wearing green wearing jumpers with the slogan "education not indoctrination" on the front.

One of those, Ross Lahive, said he was present at the library to raise a "very concerning issue" regarding libraries.

"They're teaching pornography and teaching kids how to get onto dangerous adult dating apps and we're here to shine a light on this issue, he said.

Mr Lahives claims, made to RTE, are disputed by library staff and are not backed up by evidence.

Placards were seen with references to porn being present in the childs section of libraries.

Counter protest

In recent months, groups of campaigners have entered libraries and targeted what they describe as inappropriate books aimed at 12- to 17-year-olds which, they say, promote gender ideology and pornography.

Among the books protesters have highlighted are 'This Book Is Gay' and 'What's the T? as well as the Trans Teen Survival Guide by Fox Fisher and Owl Fisher.

In April at a protest at a Fingal library, leaflets were handed out by protesters listing six books in total that they disagreed with.

In a video posted to Instagram, Juno Dawson, author of This Book is Gay, responded to the protests, including those at libraries in Ireland.

I felt as a former teacher, that sex education for LGBTQ teenagers wasnt very good, the author explained.

They werent learning anything they needed to keep them safe and healthy when in adult relationships so I wanted to address that with This Book is Gay, she added.
I dont know why I was asked, presenter and influencer admitted to Dublin Castle audience

RTE broadcaster, podcaster and social media influencer Doireann Garrihy was paid an undisclosed sum to chair a Dail conference on participation in politics.

The 2FM presenter told the event: I dont really know why I was asked.

But despite TDs demanding greater transparency around payments to RTE celebrities, the Oireachtas cannot disclose the payment from the public purse.

High-profile figures are normally paid a four-figure sum for such events.

'I don't really know why I was asked'  Doireann Garrihy and the paid Dail think-in

It is understood the Oireachtas also cannot release the figure without the permission of the other party.Ms Garrihy is represented by Noel Kellys firm, NK Management, which looks after a slew of other RTE stars.

The Irish Independent sought a comment from Doireann Garrihy through NK Management but received no response from the talent agency.

Ms Garrihy was hired for the event in Dublin Castle last September.

The parliamentary symposium on enhancing participation in public life and politics was to consider big-picture ideas and challenges that the parliamentary community can advance in the spirit of common purpose.

Ms Garrihy said she had been invited by the Dail Ceann Comhairle Sean O Fearghail to MC the event.

But she didnt know why she was there. She also found that few in the audience listened to her on 2FM.

Radio presenter Doireann Garrihy attending the Cheltenham Racing Festival in March 2022. Photo: David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile

For those of you that dont know me, I am a presenter on 2FM Breakfast with Donncha OCallaghan and Carl Mullan, so I legged it here from the breakfast show this morning.

Anyone here listen to 2FM? she asked. Three people. Cool. Maybe tomorrow morning. Youre probably more Morning Ireland people.

I also have a podcast called The Laughs of Your Life. Anyone ever listen to that? Great. Oh, a few more. Thats my separate gig outside RTE, so Im actually happy you listen to that.

I also do a little bit of social media as well. To be honest, I was a little bit surprised to be asked to do this today. I dont really know why I was asked. Maybe its just to keep things light and fun. So thank you, Sean, for asking me.

Ms Garrihy indicated that Mr O Fearghail had personally invited her.

I met Sean at the American Ambassadors Fourth of July party so he said: Come here, would you swing down to the Printworks, so I said: Absolutely.

Im delighted to be here and its going to be a lovely day.

Ms Garrihy was paid to MC the event but the Houses of the Oireachtas wont say how much.

Doireann Garrihy was paid 20,000 for promoting Cheltenham... an event in a different jurisdiction

Yet TDs are calling for transparency around payments from the public purse to RTE personalities, including Garrihy. Social Democrats TD Catherine Murphy specifically referenced the breakfast radio presenter in the Dail this week.

We need to see much greater transparency in the future, Ms Murphy said.

For example, we need declarations of interest, especially by contractors. Through a recent set of parliamentary questions I tabled about influencers, I discovered that some people can earn quite a lot of additional money.

Doireann Garrihy was paid 20,000 for promoting the Cheltenham horse-racing festival by the publicly funded Horse Racing Ireland, incredibly for promoting an event in a different jurisdiction.
Just days after the fire, Belfast City Council announced that a safety cordon around the Royal Avenue building could be in place for at least four months

Primark Fire...Arial views showing the aftermath of the fire in the Bank Buildings - Primark Belfast - August 29th 2018 (Photo by Kevin Scott)

Suzanne Wylie has been appointed Chief Executive of the new Belfast Council.

Newly-released documents reveal the behind-the-scenes tensions between council and business chiefs over the fallout from the devastating 2018 Primark fire in Belfast.

Just days after the fire, Belfast City Council announced that a safety cordon around the Royal Avenue building could be in place for at least four months.

However, this plan was criticised by Belfast Chamber of Commerce, who said such a long-term cordon would have a seriously detrimental effect not only on the businesses in the immediate vicinity of the destroyed Primark building but on the entire city.

Confidential documents obtained by the Sunday World reveal that as well as issuing a public statement against the proposed duration of the cordon, the chamber also privately involved its legal representatives in the dispute with the council.

The fire which engulfed the Primark building on the afternoon of August 28, 2018 was one of the biggest disasters to hit Belfast in years.

It was the best-known store in Belfasts city centre and attracted a huge amount of shoppers to the area.

After the fire broke out in the upper levels of the historic building, hundreds of shoppers and employees were evacuated from the premises.

Despite the best efforts of firefighters, the flames quickly spread throughout the building and there were fears it would collapse into the surrounding streets.

However, after a long and difficult battle, the fire was eventually extinguished on August 31.

A huge cordon had been put in place around the building and a large number of surrounding businesses had to close.

Once the fire had been put out, the process of deciding whether the building could be saved and what the impact would be on surrounding businesses could begin.

Belfast City Council took the lead in this massive operation.

Through a Freedom of Information (FoI) request, the Sunday World has obtained a wide range of correspondence between council officials and other organisations in the days following the fire.

The documents give a fascinating insight into the behind-the-scenes response to the disaster.

The length of time the cordon would be in place was one of the key talking points in the hectic days after the fire.

On September 5, the council issued a statement which said the cordon was likely to be in place for a minimum of four months.

This went down like a lead balloon with business representatives, including the chamber of commerce.

As well as issuing a public statement on September 5 calling on the council to find an urgent alternative to such a lengthy closure, the chamber also instructed their legal representatives to write to the council.

The FoI documents show that a letter was sent by email the following day from the Belfast-based law firm, MKB Law, to the councils chief executive, Suzanne Wylie, on behalf of the chamber.

The legal letter requested a wide range of documents from the council in relation to the Primark fire.

These included correspondence between the council and Primark, the Fire Authority of Northern Ireland and Translink.

On behalf of the Belfast chamber, MKB also asked for minutes of the councils internal meetings and meetings council officials had with other interested parties.

The list of requested documents included reports on the condition of the fire-damaged Primark building and reports on the damage caused to other buildings in the area.

It appeared the chamber was preparing for a legal battle with the council over the proposed four-month cordon. The emailed letter from MKB Law, which was sent at 9.46am on September 6, 2018, was obviously a surprise and of concern to Ms Wylie.

The newly-released council documents show she replied to MKB Law just a few minutes later at 9.55am.

I am not sure this is the best way of taking this forward, wrote Ms Wylie.

Should we not be approaching this in partnership with a view to getting this sorted as soon as possible. I have asked my office to set up a meeting with the chamber first thing in the mornings (sic). I will ring you re this letter.

At 12.25pm on the same day, a MKB Law representative, whose name has been redacted on the released documents, replied to the council chief executive.

Naturally my client, the Chamber, wants to work in partnership with the Council, the firms representative wrote.

However, it seems to the Chamber that a decision to close Castle Place for four months during the most important trading period of the year is unreasonable in these circumstances.

At this stage I have only asked you to share information with us and I presume that the Council has no objections to doing so.

We would certainly welcome a meeting tomorrow and I look forward to receiving information of the date and time. In the meantime could you also confirm when the requested information will be available.

The urgency of the situation was evident by the fact the proposed meeting between council and chamber officials on September 7 was brought forward to 5pm on September 6.

It appears the meeting quelled some of the tensions which existed between the two organisations.

On September 7, an email was shared among council officials outlining the actions agreed at the meeting.

This included the council would review and continue to find opportunities to take a proactive approach to sharing information with the chamber.

The chamber also said they were supportive of a joint taskforce being set up to include representatives from the chamber, the council and Primark.

It was also noted Ms Wylie had asked that going forward meetings with local traders are joined up, to enable a productive partnership approach.

The possibility of legal action against the council by the chamber was also removed as a result of the meeting.

As work continued to secure and restore the famous building, the safety exclusion zone in the area remained in place well into 2019.

It recently emerged the accidental fire was caused by heat from a blow torch left unattended during work on the building.

Two companies involved in the work have pleaded guilty to a charge of failing to ensure the health and safety of employees at work. The companies admitted failing to ensure the safety of workers not in their employment.

Bennett Management Contractors (GB) Ltd, of Central Street, London, and AF Roofing, of Knocknastooka, Grange, Youghal, Co Waterford, were fined a total of 160,000.
Russian troops seized Europes largest nuclear facility on March 5, shortly after its invasion began in February

This image provided by Planet Labs PBC shows the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine on Wednesday, July 5, 2023 with white objects on one of the reactors. Photo: Planet Labs PBC via AP

New satellite images depict white objects on the roof of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, days after Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky alleged that Russia had planted explosives there.

Russian troops seized Europes largest nuclear facility on March 5, shortly after its invasion began in February.

The new photos were captured by satellite imagery company Planet Labs on Wednesday, showing five white shapes topping the plant.

However, the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) has expressed that whilst unexplained, the white objects are not conclusive of Russian military activity at the plant.

Based on the imagery available, some changes can be observed at the ZNPP power plant on July 5, with white objects observed on the roof of one of the buildings, Joe Byrne, a research fellow on Open Source Intelligence and Analysis at the RUSI told The Independent.

However, this is not conclusive evidence of any Russian military activity designed to damage the plant, he added. More evidence, including and on the site access by IAEA monitors, is needed to fully assess the situation.

Darya Dolzikova, a research fellow in Proliferation and Nuclear Policy, noted the changes are hard to judge from the images.

Its hard to judge from the imagery what the changes on the roofs show  including whether these are in any way related to the explosive devices that Ukrainian intelligence said may be present on reactor roofs at the ZNPP.

But the sourcing of independent, reliable imagery is important and can help in verifying claims of what is happening at the ZNPP, Ms Dolzikova said.

However, the images  including the challenges related to verifying what they actually show  also once again stress the importance of granting the IAEA all the access that it is asking for at the ZNPP  including to the roofs of reactors 3 and 4  so it can verify the presence or absence of explosives at the facility.

On Tuesday, Mr Zelensky alleged that Russia has planted explosives on the nuclear power plant to simulate an attack, accusing Russian forces of planning to commit a new evil following the alleged attack on the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant in June.

The destruction of the Kakhovka hydroelectric station and dam triggered mass flooding and environmental havoc, forcing thousands of residents to flee their homes. Ukraine blamed the explosion on Russia.

Now we have information from our intelligence that the Russian military has placed objects resembling explosives on the roof of several power units of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Mr Zelensky said in his nightly video address on Tuesday.

Perhaps to simulate an attack on the plant. Perhaps they have some other scenario. But in any case, the world sees  cant but see  that the only source of danger to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is Russia and no one else.

Meanwhile, US president Joe Bidens administration has decided to provide cluster munitions to Ukraine and was expected to announce yesterday evening that the Pentagon will send thousands of them as part of a new military aid package worth up to $800m for the war effort against Russia, according to people familiar with the decision.

The decision comes despite widespread concerns that the bombs have a track record of causing civilian casualties and sparked a call from the United Nations to both Russia and Ukraine to avoid using them. The Pentagon says it will provide munitions that have a reduced dud rate, meaning fewer unexploded rounds that can result in unintended civilian deaths.

The weapons will come from Pentagon stocks and include Bradley and Stryker armoured vehicles and an array of ammunition, such as rounds for howitzers and the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, officials said.

Long sought by Ukraine, cluster bombs are weapons that open in the air, releasing submunitions, or bomblets, that are dispersed over a large area and are intended to wreak destruction on multiple targets at once.

Ukrainian officials have asked for the weapons to aid their campaign to push through lines of Russian troops and make gains in the ongoing counter-offensive. Russian forces are already using cluster munitions on the battlefield and in populated civilian areas, US officials have said.

According to the International Committee of the Red Cross, some cluster munitions leave behind bomblets that have a high rate of failure to explode  up to 40pc in some cases. US officials said on Thursday that the rate of unexploded ordnance for the munitions that will be going to Ukraine is under 3pc and therefore will mean fewer unexploded bombs left behind to threaten civilians.

Asked about the move by the US, which has led allied support of Ukraine, Nato secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg stressed yesterday that the military alliance takes no position on cluster munitions. So it is for these individual allies then to make those decisions, he told reporters in Brussels.

Ukraine halted rescue operations in the western city of Lviv yesterday and said the death toll had risen to 10 from a Russian missile strike on a residential building.

Regional governor Maksym Kozytskyi said rescuers had worked through the night to clear debris despite heavy rain after a missile hit the building on Thursday in what he called the biggest attack of the war on civilian infrastructure in Lviv.

The city is only 70km from the border with Poland, a Nato and EU member state, and is far for front lines.

As a result of yesterdays rocket attack on an apartment building in Lviv, 10 people were killed. One person was found at night and one more this morning, Mr Kozytskyi said on the Telegram messaging app.

City officials declared two days of mourning in honour of the victims.

National police said that 45 people, including three children, had been injured. The attack damaged 35 residential houses, an office complex, a student campus, a school, and several dozens of cars, officials said. ( Independent News Service)
I think that, it always breaks my heart to hear so many stories every day of young menstruators who get their period

The head of a tampon brand that wants to be period positive has been branded a clown after she referred to women as menstruators in a high-profile interview.

August founder Nadya Okamoto was speaking with Gayle King on CBS Mornings in which she said she wanted her brand to be proudly gender-inclusive amid an age of transphobia.

But the interview caused an online stir when she used the word menstruators rather than women.

Clips of the interview with the 25-year-old triggered a furious response from people on Twitter, with some women declaring that they would not stand for being called menstruators.

An ongoing storm has been raging over what feminists say is the erasure of the word women to appease trans and non-binary people who also have periods.

The Manhattan-born and Oregon-raised entrepreneur had taken a year out of Harvard University aged 20 to launch a non-profit called Period, a precursor to August, which distributed sanitary products to homeless women.

Periods make human life possible, it's potentially one of the most natural biological processes of life, and yet history and society has built up this stigma that makes menstruators feel so ashamed, she told King.

It makes us feel like there is something wrong with our bodies. We're taught that period blood is this contaminable, disgusting thing.

I think that, it always breaks my heart to hear so many stories every day of young menstruators who get their period and have never heard about it.

Because suddenly you think you're bleeding out, a lot of people think they've pooped themselves, because period blood can be brown.

And period blood isn't just liquid too, it can be clots, so we hear stories regularly of people thinking that a piece of their heart came out.

It can be so scary if you don't know the details of it.

Okamoto described how she learned about period poverty at the age of 16 through conversations with homeless women which was the only time during the conversation where she did use the word women.

I heard these stories of people using things like toilet paper, brown paper grocery bags (and) cardboard to take care of their periods, she said.

And at the time, 40 states in the US had the tampon tax which is a sales tax on period products considering them luxury items, she added.

Speaking with Nick Jain, the founder of Juv Consulting, about August, which she co-launched in November 2020, she added: We're also wanting a period positive, gender inclusive brand.

We are August, on the pack it says, 'we're here for everyone who menstruates'.

And I think especially in this age of transphobia it really means a lot to us to be a proudly gender-inclusive brand.

Everything about the product we try to be super-thoughtful about, from how we design it to be as comfortable and absorbent as possible, but also as sustainable as possible.

There was furious reaction to the interview online included one woman insisting: I am not a menstruator. Blood is gross and messy.

Just because it's natural doesn't mean that's not true. I don't talk about my poop either.

Let me help her out, another added; It's WOMEN. Say it extra slow so she can understand.

As a liberal this is exactly why some people hate liberals,' one woman named Nancy said, adding: This sounds ridiculous. Just stop it.

GB News presenter Piers Morgan questioned: Menstruators ???? Try women.

Okamoto drew on her own experiences as a legally homeless 16-year-old to create a scheme that provided women living on the street with free menstrual hygiene products.

She co-founded the scheme, which became Period Inc, under the name Camions of Care, with her high school classmate in December 2014.

As well as distributing period products to the homeless, the organisation also campaigned to end the tampon tax.

Aged 19, she was named in Teen Vogue's 21 under 21 shortlist for her work with Period.

She later appeared on Forbes' 30 under 30 in law and policy, and was awarded the Women of Worth award at the annual Glamour magazine Woman of the Year ceremony in 2019.

Okamoto stepped down from Period in January 2020, after several activists complained the entrepreneur had routinely stepped over black and brown workers, and taken credit for other people's work.

A New York City period activist, Ileri Jaiyeoba, had claimed in an article on Medium accusing Okamoto of misleading and coercing her.

In a lengthy public apology posted on Twitter, Okamoto admitted she had caused harm' adding that she deeply apologizes to those I have silenced or invalidated over the years.

August was founded in the aftermath, and Okamoto also appeared on an Adidas advert championing female empowerment, alongside a group of models including Get Lucky star Pharrell Williams.
Expect the cream of the crop to arrive in South Waikato next weekend for round two of New Zealand's most popular cross-country dirt bike competition.

Round two of the 2023 of the Forestland Motorcycle Club Cross Country Series is set for Ohakuri, near Atiamuri, next Sunday July 16, although a couple of the sport's 'stars may be absent as they have now headed off-shore to race at this year's Red Bull Romaniacs hard enduro in Romania.

It's certain that round one of this series last month, at Tar Hill, just south of Tokoroa, would have been great preparation for men such as the day's eventual outright winner, Aucklander Ryan Hayward, who is one of those away now tackling the internationally renowned Romaniacs event.

The first round of the Forestland Cross country series was a massive challenge  after two weeks of fine weather, the track could not have been better, right up until 9.45am on race day, and then it all turned to custard.

'The juniors and minis got away with a dry start, but, about 15 minutes into their race, the skies opened and it didn't stop raining for the rest of the day, says Forestland Cross-country Series organiser Sean Clarke.

'By the end of the 90-minute junior race, the track had gone from being ideal to extremely wet and slippery. About 80 youngsters raced in the two separate grades and, I must say well done to them all for finishing in the trying conditions.

The two-hour senior race started out well with New Plymouth's Sam Parker grabbing the holeshot and leading for the first two laps.

'By then, the track had really started to cut up, with one hill turning to carnage with about 20 riders stuck on it by the time myself and other track crew got there, says Sean.

'We decided to change the track and send the bikes down a side road to cut the hill out and we only just managed to do this about 10 seconds before the two leading riders, Rotorua's Callum Dudson and Auckland's Ryan Hayward, came around on their third lap.

'With a real disaster averted, these two raced each other right until the end, with Hayward eventually coming out on top.

If the weather plays its part this time around, the race speeds could be faster at round two at Ohakuri, near Atiamuri, next weekend.

Regardless of what nature delivers, the forestry land course at Ohakuri, about halfway between Tokoroa and Taupo, is sure to be another thrilling test for both man and machine.

The Forestland Cross-country Series is not a new competition, but rather a tried-and-true and extremely popular competition that merely underwent a re-branding last year  it was formerly called the Dirt Guide Cross-country Series  so riders will feel entirely at home in the forest at Ohakuri.

Many of the big names have committed to being there, although riders of all abilities should be able to both cope with and enjoy the exciting challenge.

A large turn-out is expected at Ohakuri and Clarke said he expects the forest course will "really keep the riders on their toes".

In addition to Dudson and Parker, talented riders such as Wellington's Jake Whitaker, Rotorua pair Daniel Bates and Harrison McClintock, Auckland's Riley Cargill or Reporoa's Brendon Imlig, to name just a few, could be expected to challenge for the win at Ohakuri.

Riders such as Eketahuna's Sheldon Brown, Rotorua's James Bates, Havelock North's Luke McBeth and Morrinsville's Cody Morris, among others, could be expected to feature near the front of the junior ranks.

The third and final round of the 2023 Forestland Cross-country Series is set for Ohakuri on September 3.

The Forestland series caters for cross-country riders aged from as young as seven, through teenagers, adult men and women and to the upper age brackets too, with veteran riders in their 60s, or even older, all keen to join in.

The popularity of this domestic competition, which features a 90-minute junior race followed soon afterwards by a two-hour senior race, includes separate trails and several different grades incorporated into the day's racing, catering for all levels of confidence and ability.

The Forestland Cross-country Series is supported by Forbes and Davies, Kiwi Rider magazine, Forest Trail Events, Satco Logging Equipment, O'Neal apparel, Ogio, Arai helmets, Metzeler tyres, Muc-Off, USWE Maxi Grip, Maxima Oils, Blur and Husqvarna motorcycles.

2023 Forestland Cross-country Series calendar:

Round 1, Tar Hill, south of Tokoroa, Sunday, June 18;

Round 2, Ohakuri, between Taupo and Tokoroa, Sunday, July 16;

Round 3, Ohakuri, Sunday, September 3.

it: Words and photo by Andy McGechan, www.BikesportNZ.com
Motorists are being warned to adjust their travel times along State Highway 2 for today.

Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency says tree maintenance works are being undertaken along State Highway 2 between Te Puna Station Rd and Clarke Rd.

The agency says these works will be undertaken today Sunday July 9 between 8am and 4pm.

"One lane in each direction will be maintained," says a Waka Kotahi spokesperson.

"A 30km per hour temporary speed limit will be in place during the works."

Motorists are advised to adjust their travel times.

Visit the interactive Waka Kotahi Journey Planner website (journeys.nzta.govt.nz) for the latest information on roadworks, traffic, road closures and detours to help plan your trip.

Plan ahead for a safe, enjoyable journey this summer. Keep up to date with:
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BEIJING, July 8 (Xinhua) -- The Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and 10 other authorities have issued a circular calling for a nationwide crackdown on irregular forums, summits, seminars and other related activities.

Irregular activities, according to the circular, include unofficial activities claiming to be organized by authorities and activities improperly described as "national," "international" or "summits."

The crackdown will also focus on activities that collect fees irregularly and activities that pay participants with money, expensive gifts or securities, the circular said. 
Oswego, N.Y.  A 5th Central New York Walmart has been confirmed to have a credit card skimmer placed at a checkout over the July 4th holiday weekend.

Police Saturday confirmed a card skimmer was placed on Aisle 1 at the Oswego Walmart at 341 State Route 104. The checkout was not a self-checked out, said Sgt. Bryan Thompson of the Oswego Police Department.

The skimmer was believed to be installed on Sunday around 9:29 a.m. and was discovered at 8 a.m. Wednesday. As of Friday, police did not have any reports of people who have found fraudulent charges related to the skimmer.

Related article: How to avoid becoming a victim of credit card skimmers like those found at 4 CNY Walmarts

Skimmers have been placed at Walmart stores in Auburn, East Syracuse, Camillus and Fulton/Granby. The skimmers were all reported installed on July 2 and found on July 5.

In addition to the Oswego police, the police agencies working on the case include the New York State Police, Camillus Police, DeWitt Police and the Auburn Police.

DeWitt police, Camillus Police and Auburn police spokespersons said they are looking for three people -- two men and one woman -- suspected of installing the devices at various Walmart locations on July 2.

Auburn Police are seeking the public's help to identify three people suspected of installing credit card skimming devices at Walmart locations in the region. This photo shows the suspects installing the device. (Provided by Auburn Police)

Oswego Police posted photos of the suspects on its Facebook. The suspects shown by appear similar to the suspects sought by other departments.

Police agencies told Syracuse.com these are the lanes at each store where the skimmers were found:

Fulton/Granby: No. 7

East Syracuse: No. 6

Camillus: No. 5

Auburn: No. 2 (Updated Monday)

 Oswego: No. 1

Lt. Jerry Pace, a spokesperson for DeWitt police, said that the device found in East Syracuse was placed over the card reader at checkout lane 6 when the cashier was distracted. A store manager was notified about the reader found in Fulton and found the one in his store on July 5.

The devices are made to look identical to the front of a card reader, said Capt. James Nightingale, a spokesperson for Camillus Police. He said the devices can be easily lifted off the top of the card reader.

Camillus police were notified of the device found in Camilus by Walmart employees, Nightingale said. He said that the employees told police they were asked to check all their card readers by representatives of Walmarts corporate office. The device was found in checkout lane 5.

Customers who shopped at any of the four locations between July 2 and July 5 are encouraged by police to check their credit card and bank statements to watch for fraudulent charges.

State Police do not know whether any customers had their information compromised at the Granby/Fulton Walmart, said Trooper Jack Keller, a State Police spokesperson. The skimmer was on checkout lane 7 at the Granby/Fulton Walmart.

Auburn Police are seeking the public's help to identify three people suspected of installing credit card skimming devices at Walmart locations in the region. (Provided by Auburn Police)

Auburn, Camillus, Dewitt and State Police have not heard from anyone who has had a fraudulent charge as of Friday.

Some skimming devices have Bluetooth capabilities that allow criminals to steal information remotely, while others need to be retrieved to collect the data.

Keller said troopers are not certain whether the device they recovered at the Fulton store is Bluetooth compatible.

Skimming occurs when devices illegally installed on ATMs, point-of-sale (POS) terminals, or fuel pumps capture data or record cardholders PINs, Keller said.

Criminals use the data to create fake debit or credit cards and steal from victims accounts. It is estimated that skimming costs financial institutions and consumers more than $1 billion each year.

It is unusual for a skimming device to be installed in such a public place. Typically, criminals target ATMs or registers in areas with less light or fewer people around, Keller said.

Its pretty gutsy, he said.

If you have information about the suspects or suspect you are a victim of fraudulent charges police provided these contact numbers:

State Police: (315) 598-2112

Auburn Police: (315)255-4703 or (315)253-3231

DeWitt Police: (315) 449-3640

Oswego Police: (315) 342-8120

Camillus Police (315) 487-0102

Walmart on Friday said customers who believe they may have been impacted should contact the Walmart Customer Care Team at 800-925-6278, in addition to contacting their bank.

Walmart also issued a statement Thursday night in reference to the device found in the store outside Fulton:

We have controls in place designed to give customers a safe experience and have measures designed to help guard against these types of crimes. We are continuously enhancing and reviewing our protocol to better serve and protect customers, and will continue to work with the police and refer any additional questions to them.

Other than the statement Thursday, Walmart has declined to answer any questions to help shoppers know if they were impacted.

Related article: The questions Walmart refuses to answer about credit card skimmers found at 5 Central NY stores

Staff writer Rylee Kirk covers breaking news, crime and public safety. Have a tip, story idea, photo, question or comment? Reach her at 315-396-5961, on Twitter @kirk_rylee, or rkirk@syracuse.com.
Syracuse, N.Y.  Community activists and family members of a Syracuse teen gunned down on July 4th protested against gun violence Friday in the same block where the 17-year-old girl was fatally shot.

Karlianne Short, who had recently graduated from Henninger High School, was shot in the back near a store across from the Parkside Commons apartments in the 2000 block of East Fayette Street.

She was out to get a bottle of water that night, friends said.

On Friday, about 20 activists from Rebirth Syracuse and Should Never Use Guns chanted and held signs that condemned gun violence at the intersection of East Fayette Street and Westmoreland Avenue.

Dont shoot. They want to grow up, the group chanted.

Three separate shootings played out over five hours in Syracuse Thursday night. Of the four injured, one was a man shot in the leg while he was at a memorial gathering on Carbon Street.

At the demonstration Friday, Angela Short, Karliannes mother, called her daughter a good-hearted, gifted person.

Short recalled how hard Karlianne worked to graduate. Her senior year she started staying after school and would bring back home extra class work.

Friends said Karlianne talked about going to college and possibly getting into real estate. Her mother said she also thought about becoming a lawyer.

Seeing her daughter walk the stage to get her diploma was the second best day of my life, Short said, other than her being born.

Karlianne Short, 17, and a Henninger High Schoool administrator pose for a photo at Short's graduation on June 25, 2023. Short was fatally shot in Syracuse on July 4, 2023. (Courtesy of Oscar Demure Photography)

Staff writer Fernando Alba covers breaking news, crime and public safety. Have a tip, story idea, question or comment? Reach him: Email | Twitter or at 315-690-6950.
Syracuse, N.Y.  Thousands of Walmart customers are wondering this weekend whether their credit card information was stolen by criminals who placed card skimmers at five Central New York stores.

The card-skimming devices were found in these stores: Camillus, East Syracuse, Auburn, Oswego and Fulton.

The devices were secretly placed in checkouts and not found for four days over the July 4 holiday weekend, police said.

Related article: How to avoid becoming a victim of credit card skimmers like those found at CNY Walmarts

Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard has asked Walmart to answer questions to help people in Central New York to determine if their information was stolen or what they should do. The company has refused to answer questions.

Joe Pennington, director of the Walmart Press Office | Global Communications | Corporate Affairs, referred Syracuse.com to area police agencies to answer the questions. The agencies were unable to answer most of the questions.

Here are the questions Walmart refuses to answer:

What aisle or lane were the card skimmers on so shoppers can know if they went through it by the number of the lane or aisle? Otherwise, anyone who went to the store will worry they were impacted. (Some police agencies have provided lane numbers: see below.)

Customers are asking what hours on those days (July 2 to July 5) the skimmers were on the registers. Can you say when they were installed and discovered?

How many customers went through the registers with the skimmers between July 2 to July 5?

Does Walmart believe no customers were impacted because possibly the skimmers were found by employees before they were retrieved by the criminals? (Some skimmers require the criminal to go back and pick up the device. Others can be operated remotely. State police have said they dont know yet how these skimmers operate.)

If a person finds a fraudulent charge on the credit card or bank statement will Walmart pay the charge? If so, how should customers contact Walmart to process the charge? If Walmart is not paying the charge, why not?

Will Walmart provide any identity theft protection to customers?

Are these card readers part of something larger? Were more Walmarts targeted over the holiday weekend or at other times?

After the questions were posed on Thursday and Friday, Walmart on Friday released a phone number for customers who believe they may have been impacted: 800-925-6278. Walmart also said customers impacted should contact their bank.

Skimming occurs when devices illegally installed on ATMs, point-of-sale terminals, or fuel pumps capture data or record cardholders PINs, said Trooper Jack Keller, a spokesperson for the State Police.

Criminals can use the data to create fake debit or credit cards and steal from victims accounts. It is estimated that skimming costs financial institutions and consumers more than $1 billion each year.

Police agencies told Syracuse.com these are the lanes at each store where the skimmers were found:

Fulton/Granby: No. 7

East Syracuse: No. 6

Camillus: No. 5

Auburn: No. 2 (Updated Monday)

Oswego: No. 1

Most Walmart receipts near the top have a code that starts with TE followed by a number. That is the checkout register number or lane.

This is the statement Walmart issued Thursday after the first card reader was reported found in Fulton/Granby:

We have controls in place designed to give customers a safe experience and have measures designed to help guard against these types of crimes. We are continuously enhancing and reviewing our protocol to better serve and protect customers, and will continue to work with the police and refer any additional questions to them.

Syracuse.coms Steven Billmyer can be reached at 315-470-3274 or sbillmyer@syracuse.com.
by Xinhua writer Gao Wencheng

BEIJING, July 8 (Xinhua) -- China-U.S. interactions have lately forged ahead and hence some common understandings, signifying positive development towards a detente between the world's two largest economies.

Yet, it is important to stay lucid and recognize that given the various challenges in China-U.S. relations, a significant detente is not a business that can be undertaken in a day or swiftly achieved by a mere command of the will.

Their political, economic as well as people-to-people exchanges have sunk to their nadir in decades, owing largely to the major misconceptions in America's China policy and its consequential moves.

To stabilize and improve China-U.S. relations, the first and foremost prerequisite lies in Washington's will to shift its perception of China and adopt a rational approach to China's rise.

The very essence of today's problems lies in the misjudgment of China by some U.S. politicians, and notably the bigoted bias against China harbored by Washington's China hawks. China endeavors to develop its economy to enable all Chinese to live a better life, rather than to threaten, challenge, or supplant any other countries.

Framing China as a "threat" based on the unfounded fear of China competing for hegemony is utterly brainless, while deeming China as an imaginary enemy is a typical case of groundless anxiety.

Washington also lacks adequate understanding of the resilience of the Chinese people. It is nothing but an illusion for the United States to deal with China "from a position of strength," as China has never subscribed to the logic of "might makes right." Any attempt to suppress China will only evoke a more resolute response from the Chinese people.

Second, to mend fences between the two sides, consensus between the two heads of state during the G20 summit in Bali should be genuinely implemented.

The exchange of views between the two heads of state in Indonesia has charted the course to steer the relationship back to a healthy and stable track.

However, over the last few months, the United States has run counter to the spirit advocated by the consensus, taking a slew of actions detrimental to China's core interests, severely damaging the political foundation for the China-U.S. ties, polluting the environment for bilateral exchanges, and disrupting the agreed-upon dialogue and cooperation agenda.

Implementing the Bali consensus entails adhering to the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and win-win cooperation.

For China and the United States, respecting each other's development rights, properly managing the source of tensions, along with embracing cooperation rather than confrontation can ensure the steady and long-term development of their relations.

Third, both sides must respect each other's core interests and major concerns, refrain from treading on each other's bottom lines, and manage differences and sensitive issues in a constructive, calm, professional, and rational manner.

Particularly, the Taiwan question, which stands out at the very core of China's core interests, is the bedrock of the political foundation of China-U.S. relations and the first red line that must not be crossed in China-U.S. relations. On this question, China has no room for compromise.

On other sensitive topics, China has made it clear that the specific differences between the two sides can be patched up through discussion, but only on the precondition of equality.

For instance, the two countries take different paths in their respective national development: the United States practices capitalism while China adopts socialism. Such difference has been there since day one of the China-U.S. engagement and will continue to exist.

For China and the United States to get along, it is vital to recognize and respect such differences. Washington's so-called "democracy vs. authoritarianism" narrative is an outdated awful fuss.

Fourth, improving the relationship with China constitutes a responsibility that the United States should undertake towards the world.

History has proven that China and the United States, when in concert, can accomplish much to both countries and the world. They joined forces in 2001 to combat terrorism, cooperated in 2008 to address the international financial crisis, and in 2016, played a crucial role in reaching the Paris Agreement on climate change.

However, after Washington's China policy has been dominated by misconceived competition, its attempts to contain China, through wars on the fronts of trade, industry and technology, have taken a toll on not only the development of the two sides but also that of the wider world. The international community expects both sides to approach each other with a sense of responsibility, properly handle their differences, and find the right way to get along.

In the future, there is great potential for their cooperation on a host of bilateral and global issues if Washington ditches its increasingly confrontational posture toward China.

Fifth, Washington's attempt to contain China is destined to fall flat.

China is bound to develop steadily because of its unique institutional advantages such as the whole-process people's democracy, a reliable and effective system fitted to China's realities. Its unstoppable progress also comes from its more than 1.4 billion industrious and intelligent people.

Meanwhile, China actively integrates into the trend of the times, and shares prosperity and promotes peace with other countries. This is the historical logic of China's development and the root cause of China's increased influence. In the era of globalization, countries have interconnected interests. That's why most countries are reluctant to take sides, let alone be tied onto the chariot of confronting China.

Washington's China approach underpinned by competition and confrontation has neither held China back nor made America great again, only to arouse resentment from across the world. Abandoning it now is a sensible move. 
RahulNagaraj Senior - BHPian



Join Date: Mar 2021 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,524 Thanked: 15,326 Times

Fiat Punto successor plans could be revived; Brand reveals 10-year-old aborted sketch







According to reports, then-FCA boss Sergio Marchionne was sceptical of the B-segment, stating it was too competitive & not profitable enough. Head of Fiat New Products, Antonio Massecesi, who was overseeing the Punto successor project back then, came up with the idea of a larger 500, which looked a lot like the 500X, which came a year later. Marchionne initially approved the car for production, but it ended up getting axed just a few months later.



The Fiat Grande Punto was using an architecture co-developed by Fiat & General Motors in 2005, and by 2013, the platform was severely outdated. Massecesi stated that a new platform would be required which would comply with the emission & safety regulations. However, when other brands refused to share the development cost of a new architecture, Fiat concluded that engineering a new platform for just one car wasn't worth it, eventually phasing out the Grande Punto by 2018.



This time around, reports suggest that Fiat can make use of the e-CMP2 platform, which already underpins multiple products across the different brands owned by parent company Stellantis. This should help Fiat bring back the Punto hatchback to its product lineup.



Source:



Link to Team-BHP news Fiat recently unveiled its new 600e for the global markets. However, alongside the unveil, the Italian carmaker also showcased a sketch of an aborted project which was supposed to replace the Grande Punto hatchback 10 years ago. The reveal of the sketch hints that Fiat could be working on a successor for its now-discontinued Punto hatchback, to be introduced in the near future.According to reports, then-FCA boss Sergio Marchionne was sceptical of the B-segment, stating it was too competitive & not profitable enough. Head of Fiat New Products, Antonio Massecesi, who was overseeing the Punto successor project back then, came up with the idea of a larger 500, which looked a lot like the 500X, which came a year later. Marchionne initially approved the car for production, but it ended up getting axed just a few months later.The Fiat Grande Punto was using an architecture co-developed by Fiat & General Motors in 2005, and by 2013, the platform was severely outdated. Massecesi stated that a new platform would be required which would comply with the emission & safety regulations. However, when other brands refused to share the development cost of a new architecture, Fiat concluded that engineering a new platform for just one car wasn't worth it, eventually phasing out the Grande Punto by 2018.This time around, reports suggest that Fiat can make use of the e-CMP2 platform, which already underpins multiple products across the different brands owned by parent company Stellantis. This should help Fiat bring back the Punto hatchback to its product lineup.Source: Motor1 Last edited by RahulNagaraj : 6th July 2023 at 12:24 .
raider9990 BHPian



Join Date: Jan 2021 Location: PB 03- PB 65 Posts: 62 Thanked: 460 Times

View My Garage





The road less traveled in a Prado, V-Cross & Thar | From Padum to Leh via Singge La



The vehicles that took us on this journey-

1.Isuzu Vcross

2.Mahindra Thar

3.Landcruiser Prado

4.Maruti Brezza (the last minute addition)





The itinerary-

Day1- Mohali to Banihal (462 km)

Day2- Banihal to Srinagar and then Stay at Sonamarg(171 km)

Day3- Sonamarg to Rangdum(247 km)

Day4- Rangdum to Padum (104 km)

Day5- Padum to Leh via Singge La and Sirsir La (240 km)

Day6- Leh city

Day7- Leh city to Thang village via Khardung La pass and then stay at Diskit

(228km)

Day8- Diskit to Pangong Tso and then stay at Karu via Chang La pass (422

km)

Day9- Karu to Manali (393 km)

Day10- Manali to Mohali (258 km)



Things we carried along -

1. Tents

2. Sleeping bags rated at -20 C

3. Portable gas stove

4. Thermal sheets

5. Walkie talkie

6. Car inverter

7. Water cans

8. Eatables that would be sufficient for 10 days

9. Beverages

10. Medicine and first aid kit

11. Two recovery straps and 4 shackles

12. Air compressors

13. Shovel

14. Biodegradable utensils

15. Garbage bags

16. Cooking utensils

17. Tool kit and hydraulic jack

18. Postpaid Sims



All the cars were checked thoroughly as precautionary measure. Vcross was running BMC air filter, we swapped the air filter with stock air filter as from our previous experience it is easy to clean paper air filter than a oil based air filter.



Date of departure : 7th June 2023



Day 1 (07.06.2023) Everyone was instructed to meet at Starbucks, Kharar at 7:00 am sharp but as the saying goes Good things take time some of my companions took this seriously. We finally left at 8:00 am from Kharar with Banihal as destination. Everything thing was going smooth, cars were cruising effortlessly and making up for time lost. Meanwhile it started drizzling and we had our breakfast near Pathankot, the hot coffee and rain made it perfect. We crossed into Jammu and Kashmir UT and soon after we crossed Lakhanpur border our prepaid sims stopped working. The traffic was increasing as we were approaching Jammu city and traffic problem stayed with us till we crossed the Jammu city. The road towards Udhampur was pretty good and we decided to have our lunch at Udhampur. Everything was going good till now. As we just finished our lunch we saw trucks had started their journey, the road which was empty just few minutes ago was filled with slow moving trucks. Prado and Thar somehow managed to reach Chenani Nashri tunnel while Brezza and Vcross was stuck in traffic. Brezza was in middle of traffic jam but Vcross managed to get out of traffic jam but there was still a very long queue to enter into tunnel. In the meantime Thar and Prado crossed the tunnel. After talking with some locals we( vcross) decided to go towards Patnitop as the road was good and there was no traffic but it was extra 30 km of travelling. We crossed Patnitop around 7:30 pm and again got connected to main highway. The problem of traffic jam was still there but traffic was moving though at crawling pace. Around 10:00 pm Thar and Prado reached Banihal , Vcross was around 50 km away from Banihal and Brezza had just crossed the tunnel. The road after tunnel was in very bad state. Around 11:00 pm, just 25 km from Banihal, front right tyre of Vcross bursted. The spare tyre was stock tyre ( 255/65/r18 ) while the car was running on 265/65/r17. The culprit was a piece of iron rod lying on the middle of road. We changed the tyre quickly and continued our journey towards Banihal. Vcross reached Banihal at 11:55 pm and Brezza reached Banihal at 1:00 am. We had dinner and straight away went to bed.



Day2 (08.06.2023)-Everyone woke up early, around 6:00 am. We wanted to leave early to avoid trucks. Last night, Vcross had one of its tyre ruptured and I did not wanted to continue journey on a different sized tyre. So we decided to change two tyres as the other two tyres were in good condition( I was running Falken Wildpeak 265/65/r17 on Vcross with mileage of 35,000km on them).After doing a little bit of research we contacted Prince tyres in Srinagar and they were ready to open their shop early for us. We left Banihal around 7:00 am and reached Srinagar around 9:30 am. The road from Banihal to Srinagar is beautiful and well paved. The Thar and Brezza left for sightseeing as it was their first time in Srinagar, meanwhile me and Prado went to Prince tyres. Earlier we decided to change two tyres but eventually we changed all the four tyres. We shortlisted three tyres- Yokohama Geolander G015(265/65/r17), Maxxis 980 AT( 275/65/r17) and Continental Cross contact Ax6(265/65/r17). We went forward with continentals on the Vcross. After installing new tyres we went to Dal lake area to meet our companions and had a hearty brunch at Bollywood curry, the food was good and service was great. After strolling around dal lake area for an hour , we picked up our mandatory coffee from barista and started journey towards Sonamarg. It usually take 2-2.5 hours to reach Sonamarg.The Sonamarg is the most beautiful place on the Srinagar-Leh highway. We reached Sonamarg around 5:00 pm.



We always wanted to camp at Sonamarg and also we had booked one hotel room at Barzman ( the owner is a dear friend and an auto enthusiast,owns a lovely Hilux) near our campsite. While half of our members went to hotel to freshen up , half of us decided to pitch our tents near the river. It was a lovely evening, while most of us knew each other there were some new members so the stories were being shared meanwhile we made some maggi and ready to eat butter chicken for evening snacks. The dinner was sourced from a local dhaba. After dinner we collected all the waste and put it in garbage bag we bought along. Everyone decided to take bath the same night as we had to leave early and running hot water is going to be a luxury in coming days. We called it a day around 10:00 pm and went straight into our tents.





Day3 (09.06.2023)- I woke up early to witness the sunrise. To my surprise some of our members were already awake. We boiled some water to make coffee. After witnessing the sunrise, some of us went to hotel to get ready. We were talking with owner of the hotel and he suggested we must cross Zojila before 8:00 am as he had received information that they will close Zojila today for some maintenance purpose. We left Sonamarg around 7:15 am and managed to cross Zojila before 8:00 am. The road to Zojila is in okay condition. There are few patches that are in rough condition but overall the condition is okay. At zero point of Zojila the temperature dropped to -1 C and was covered with snow.



We had some hot Kahwah to beat the cold. As per plan we had Padum in mind as our destination but destiny had other some other plan. As we were reaching Drass, the Landcruiser went to limp mode and then refused to crank. The car displayed low transmission fluid pressure. A army truck was crossing, he suggested that there was a mechanic just few kilometres away. We towed the Landcruiser to the mechanic. The mechanic had no idea about the problem or the car itself. Luckily the owner of Prado knew the car inside out and called his service guy at authorised service centre. He suggested to change the transmission fluid and see if the problem persists. We took matters in our hand. Fortunately, the mechanic at drass had atf fluid. We hijacked his workshop and tools and drained all the transmission fluid. Then we pumped new transmission fluid and all this took us 4 hours.



Prado finally cranked after few tries and we drove for 10-15 km around Drass. We were confident that the Prado can go further. We were back on road and the time was around 3:00 pm, so we changed our destination from Padum to Rangdum. The Prado drove just like before without any issue. We were stopped at a checkpoint, they entered our details and destination and allowed us to go further. The sun was coming down already and we were tired due to Prado ordeal. Slowly the road condition also changed. From paved road to off road, we were climbing steep climbs with full of mud and the sun had set already. We started to look for shelter at Purtikche and Panikhar but no avail and continued our jounrey towards Rangdum. We reached Rangdum around 9:40 pm and found a place named La Himalaya that offered luxury tents. We had our dinner and called it a day. I was about to get into my bed, when few of our members started feeling symptoms of acute mountain sickness.







Day4(10.06.2023)- It was around 5:00am when I received a message that one of the member who had symptoms of AMS had been throwing up all night. We gave him medicine that I had bought along after consulting a doctor on phone. After waiting for 3-4 hours when his condition remained same, it was decided that Prado will take him back to the Kargil where he can get required medical attention and we would meet in Leh after 2 days. Brezza also joined the Prado. Around 9:00 am Prado and Brezza left for Kargil while Vcross and Thar left for Padum.





The journey from Rangdum to Padum ideally takes about 5-6 hours. On this stretch we crossed The gateway to Zanskar- Pensi La pass, this pass connects the Suru Valley to Zanskar Valley and around the same time we witnessed the magnificent Drang-Drung Glacier.



I dont know whether it was a boon or bane, there were hardly any private vehicles on this route. The sun was shining bright and surrounded by snow cladded mountains we made some coffee and maggi near a small lake.



After the much needed coffee, we continued our journey, the road that passes through villages are narrow and in rough shape. We reached Padum around 4:30pm. There are plenty of options to stay at Padum but in Rangdum as well as Padum there is problem of electricity and running hot water is a luxury. We had early dinner and after sharing our experiences and stories we called it a day.



Day5(11.06.2023)- I am a morning person, empty streets and sunrises are my thing. I went on a brisk walk on the streets of Padum and this little town felt like straight out of a story book. After my walk, I went to check on the cars. Cleaned the air filters and did some vacuuming in the cars. As I just finished vacuuming got to know that breakfast was ready, after having breakfast we loaded our cars with baggage and were ready to hit the roads again. The road from Padum to Leh is not available on google maps so we had a physical map along with us.



The road was well paved and empty till Zangla. Near Zangla, we were stopped at a check post and they wrote down our details and destination.





After Zangla paved road turns to off road.





Then there is a stretch of road similar to Killar Kishtwar road aka The cliffhanger road.





Two cars cannot pass each other simultaneously , so we had to be very cautious and careful. There were hardly any cars on this road, barring one army gypsy and 2-3 trucks we encountered. Around 11:00 am we reached the starting point of Singge La pass. The climb was pretty steep and unpaved road was not much helping either. This pass was very different from any other pass I have encountered during this trip or during my previous trips. It feels like you are climbing and climbing and there is no top. In the meantime it started raining, this meant snowfall at the high altitude. As we continued our journey further the conditions worsened,unpaved road had turned to offroad and the rain turned to snowfall and surrounded by dense fog. There were no cars on this route, just few bikers and JCBs for road work. There are no petrol pumps, mechanics, or medical assistance available anywhere on this route. Jio has good phone connectivity in the region but only works near the villages. There is no network reception at the top of Singe La Pass.





















Around 1:30pm we descended from Singge La. Someone truly said about this land," who ever crosses these passes is the worst of enemy or the best of friends. There was one small shop just before starting of Sirsir La pass, the hot tea and Rajma Chawal fueled us again to conquer the Sirsir La.





Around 2:00pm we started climbing Sirsir La pass. There was heavy snowfall on Sirsir La but it hardly took us 30-40 minutes to cross Sirsir La pass.









The road was still unpaved and remains unpaved till Lamayuru, after Lamayuru the road is well built and smooth. We traveled approximately 120 km from Padum to Lamayuru in 8 hours. The remaining 120 km from Lamayuru to Leh in 2.5 hours, now you can compare and imagine the both scenarios. We stopped in between in to witness the confluence of Indus and Zanskar river.





After driving for 11 hours we finally reached Leh City around 7:15pm. Our stay was already booked so we straight away went to our hotel, there we met our companions who had to go back to Kargil. To sum up this day I would say It is a mixed feeling of emotions and excitement as one reaches the Leh after crossing Singge La and Sirsir La.



Day6(12.06.2023)- It was a nice sunny day so we went to get our cars washed in the morning. After the cars were washed we went back to our hotel as the Leh market was closed till 2:00pm due to strike by local association. Meanwhile we applied for Inner Line permit for our upcoming journey. Around 2:30 pm , the we went to Pathar Sahib Gurudwara. Gurdwara Pathar Sahib, is a beautiful Gurudwara sahib constructed in the memory of Guru Nanak Dev ji, about 25 km away from Leh, on the Leh-Kargil road, 12000 ft above sea level. The Gurdwara was built in 1517 to commemorate the visit to the Ladakh region of Guru Nanak Dev ji.





After seeking blessings , we went to Leh Palace. The Leh Palace provides a very scenic view of whole city. The massive nine-story stone structure lies at the base of the Tsemo ridge and towers over the old town. It was designed in the Tibetan style. Lachen Palkar Palace was abandoned in the mid-nineteenth century after the royal family left Leh following the Dogra invasion. Despite years of decay, the historic character of Leh old town has remained largely intact. After visiting the palace, had some Tibetan delicacies at a local cafe. While some of us went on a shopping spree, I decided to enjoy a cup of fresh brewed coffee and the charming vibe of Leh market.





After exploring the market till 9:00pm we went back to our hotel, had dinner and called it a day. We didnt go to Sanchi Stupa and war museum as most of us had been there during our previous trips.



Day7(13.06.2023)- Landcruiser had to leave for Chandigarh due to some inevitable reason. After bidding them farewell, we began our journey towards Thang. Thang Village, which is also known as Dhothang or Thanga Chathang, is a tiny village located in the Chorbat region of Leh. It is often referred to as the northernmost village of India. Thang lies on the Line of Control that divides India and Pakistan and offers spectacular views of the majestic mountains.Situated along the Shyok River, Thang Village was up until recently not open to tourists. For reaching Thang we had to cross KhardungLa pass. This pass is always crowded so did not soend much time there. While we were descending to North Pullu it started snowing.





We reached Thang Village around 5:30pm. This region is famous for its dried apricot, you will find many sellers selling dried apricot. From Thang village, one can see the villages on Pakistan side and also various Indian posts along the border. After sightseeing, we had noon chai, which I would say is a acquired taste. We left Thang village around 7:30pm for Hundar. We reached Hundar around 9:30pm , our initial plan was to camp at Hundar but it was already dark and we were tired so we checked into a guest house near Diskit monastery. Diskit is just few kilometres away from Hundar.



Day8(14.06.2023)-The guest house was situated at a very beautiful location and was run by a very sweet family. We had some delicious homemade paranthas for breakfast. The destination for today was Pangong Tso and then Karu. We left the guest house around 9:30 am and began our journey along the Shyok river. We were halfway when we encountered traffic jam, on further inquiry we got to know that some roadwork is going on and it would take somewhere around 2-3 hours before they allow vehicular movement.



With nothing to do much we took out our portable stove and started making coffee, after seeing us making coffee some other people joined us , had a lovely time sharing stories and a cup of coffee with newfound friends. The vehicular movement start around 2:00pm. But the road condition were very bad and they remained bad through out till Pangong Tso. We reached Pangong Tso around 5:30pm and after spending an hour on the shores of lake, it was time to bid goodbye to this magnificent creation of nature.





The cars started heading towards Karu. We had to face a lot of incoming traffic till Durbuk after that traffic decreased significantly. As we were approaching Chang La pass the incoming cars were covered with snow. We started our ascend to Chang La top expecting snowfall but the snowfall had stopped just few minutes ago. The sun was about to go down and the whole pass was covered with snow, it was a beautiful scene.





There was black ice on some patches, so had to be very cautious. We reached Karu around 9:45pm.



Day9(15.06.2023)- We woke up early at sharp 5:00 am. After loading cars with luggage went straight to fuel pump. Next fuel pump is at Tandi which is approximately 345km from karu. At sharp 5:45 am we left Karu after filing diesel in cars. The roads were empty and in good condition. We crossed the Tanglang La pass, it is the highest point on the highway, situated at an altitude of 5328m.





After crossing Tanglang La pass comes the beautiful and magnificent More plains.It was a beautiful sight with straight stretch of road that leads into the horizon, massive plain land on both sides of the beautifully paved road, and the barren Himalayas to keep the clouds company.





After crossing More plains comes the infamous Pang village , Pang is located at a height of 15280 feet above the sea level so travellers coming from Manali face problem of AMS here a lot. We didnt stop at Pang and continued our journey towards Manali. After Pang comes the Sarchu after crossing Gata loops. There are many shortcuts on this stretch of road, my suggestion would be to carefully examine the shortcut and then only proceed.In 2021 the road to Sarchu was the most difficult stretch of this highway but this year I couldnt believe my eyes, the road was so good and well built. After Sarchu we entered into Himachal Pradesh. After travelling 30-35 kms we reached BaralachLa Pass. The road conditions were bad and on top if it there was lot of traffic including trucks which were moving in convoy of 10-15 trucks at a time. The trucks were bullying the cars which was something I just witnessed at this pass during the whole trip. After crossing the pass we stopped to witness the beauty of Suraj Tal, it was completely frozen and covered with a thick sheet of white. After the much needed break at Suraj Tal we continued our journey towards Manali , we took a break for lunch at Zingzingbar and then after driving non stop we reached Manali around 5:30pm. The Thar and Brezza left for Chandigarh from Manali while we decided to spend a night at Manali. It was a lovely evening at Manali though the temperature was on higher side then expected. Enjoyed some live music and cocktails at Johnsons cafe and after strolling for half an hour at mall road went straight to the hotel. The Leh Manali road was in good condition as compared to last few years.



Day10(16.06.2023)- We got the chance to drive on new Chandigarh- Manali highway. This new road is definitely a engineering marvel. We left Manali around 8:45 am and reached Mohali at 3:30pmThere was a protest going on Kurali bypass, otherwise we would have reached Mohali around 2:50 pm.



Fuel stops - 1. Mohali 2. Udhampur 3.Pandrass(Drass) 4. Padum 5. Leh 6.Diskit

7. Karu 8. Manali



Total distance covered in 10 days- 2695 km Life begins at the end of your comfort zone this quote stands true when you are in Ladakh. The voyage to the Zanskar was in my bucket list from a very long time. We had been to leh in 2021 and 2022 but this did not quench our thirst for adventure. It was decided to do Leh via Zanskar in the second week of June, 2023.1.Isuzu Vcross2.Mahindra Thar3.Landcruiser Prado4.Maruti Brezza (the last minute addition)Day1- Mohali to Banihal (462 km)Day2- Banihal to Srinagar and then Stay at Sonamarg(171 km)Day3- Sonamarg to Rangdum(247 km)Day4- Rangdum to Padum (104 km)Day5- Padum to Leh via Singge La and Sirsir La (240 km)Day6- Leh cityDay7- Leh city to Thang village via Khardung La pass and then stay at Diskit(228km)Day8- Diskit to Pangong Tso and then stay at Karu via Chang La pass (422km)Day9- Karu to Manali (393 km)Day10- Manali to Mohali (258 km)1. Tents2. Sleeping bags rated at -20 C3. Portable gas stove4. Thermal sheets5. Walkie talkie6. Car inverter7. Water cans8. Eatables that would be sufficient for 10 days9. Beverages10. Medicine and first aid kit11. Two recovery straps and 4 shackles12. Air compressors13. Shovel14. Biodegradable utensils15. Garbage bags16. Cooking utensils17. Tool kit and hydraulic jack18. Postpaid SimsAll the cars were checked thoroughly as precautionary measure. Vcross was running BMC air filter, we swapped the air filter with stock air filter as from our previous experience it is easy to clean paper air filter than a oil based air filter.: 7th June 2023Everyone was instructed to meet at Starbucks, Kharar at 7:00 am sharp but as the saying goes Good things take time some of my companions took this seriously. We finally left at 8:00 am from Kharar with Banihal as destination. Everything thing was going smooth, cars were cruising effortlessly and making up for time lost. Meanwhile it started drizzling and we had our breakfast near Pathankot, the hot coffee and rain made it perfect. We crossed into Jammu and Kashmir UT and soon after we crossed Lakhanpur border our prepaid sims stopped working. The traffic was increasing as we were approaching Jammu city and traffic problem stayed with us till we crossed the Jammu city. The road towards Udhampur was pretty good and we decided to have our lunch at Udhampur. Everything was going good till now. As we just finished our lunch we saw trucks had started their journey, the road which was empty just few minutes ago was filled with slow moving trucks. Prado and Thar somehow managed to reach Chenani Nashri tunnel while Brezza and Vcross was stuck in traffic. Brezza was in middle of traffic jam but Vcross managed to get out of traffic jam but there was still a very long queue to enter into tunnel. In the meantime Thar and Prado crossed the tunnel. After talking with some locals we( vcross) decided to go towards Patnitop as the road was good and there was no traffic but it was extra 30 km of travelling. We crossed Patnitop around 7:30 pm and again got connected to main highway. The problem of traffic jam was still there but traffic was moving though at crawling pace. Around 10:00 pm Thar and Prado reached Banihal , Vcross was around 50 km away from Banihal and Brezza had just crossed the tunnel. The road after tunnel was in very bad state. Around 11:00 pm, just 25 km from Banihal, front right tyre of Vcross bursted. The spare tyre was stock tyre ( 255/65/r18 ) while the car was running on 265/65/r17. The culprit was a piece of iron rod lying on the middle of road. We changed the tyre quickly and continued our journey towards Banihal. Vcross reached Banihal at 11:55 pm and Brezza reached Banihal at 1:00 am. We had dinner and straight away went to bed.-Everyone woke up early, around 6:00 am. We wanted to leave early to avoid trucks. Last night, Vcross had one of its tyre ruptured and I did not wanted to continue journey on a different sized tyre. So we decided to change two tyres as the other two tyres were in good condition( I was running Falken Wildpeak 265/65/r17 on Vcross with mileage of 35,000km on them).After doing a little bit of research we contacted Prince tyres in Srinagar and they were ready to open their shop early for us. We left Banihal around 7:00 am and reached Srinagar around 9:30 am. The road from Banihal to Srinagar is beautiful and well paved. The Thar and Brezza left for sightseeing as it was their first time in Srinagar, meanwhile me and Prado went to Prince tyres. Earlier we decided to change two tyres but eventually we changed all the four tyres. We shortlisted three tyres- Yokohama Geolander G015(265/65/r17), Maxxis 980 AT( 275/65/r17) and Continental Cross contact Ax6(265/65/r17). We went forward with continentals on the Vcross. After installing new tyres we went to Dal lake area to meet our companions and had a hearty brunch at Bollywood curry, the food was good and service was great. After strolling around dal lake area for an hour , we picked up our mandatory coffee from barista and started journey towards Sonamarg. It usually take 2-2.5 hours to reach Sonamarg.The Sonamarg is the most beautiful place on the Srinagar-Leh highway. We reached Sonamarg around 5:00 pm.We always wanted to camp at Sonamarg and also we had booked one hotel room at Barzman ( the owner is a dear friend and an auto enthusiast,owns a lovely Hilux) near our campsite. While half of our members went to hotel to freshen up , half of us decided to pitch our tents near the river. It was a lovely evening, while most of us knew each other there were some new members so the stories were being shared meanwhile we made some maggi and ready to eat butter chicken for evening snacks. The dinner was sourced from a local dhaba. After dinner we collected all the waste and put it in garbage bag we bought along. Everyone decided to take bath the same night as we had to leave early and running hot water is going to be a luxury in coming days. We called it a day around 10:00 pm and went straight into our tents.- I woke up early to witness the sunrise. To my surprise some of our members were already awake. We boiled some water to make coffee. After witnessing the sunrise, some of us went to hotel to get ready. We were talking with owner of the hotel and he suggested we must cross Zojila before 8:00 am as he had received information that they will close Zojila today for some maintenance purpose. We left Sonamarg around 7:15 am and managed to cross Zojila before 8:00 am. The road to Zojila is in okay condition. There are few patches that are in rough condition but overall the condition is okay. At zero point of Zojila the temperature dropped to -1 C and was covered with snow.We had some hot Kahwah to beat the cold. As per plan we had Padum in mind as our destination but destiny had other some other plan. As we were reaching Drass, the Landcruiser went to limp mode and then refused to crank. The car displayed low transmission fluid pressure. A army truck was crossing, he suggested that there was a mechanic just few kilometres away. We towed the Landcruiser to the mechanic. The mechanic had no idea about the problem or the car itself. Luckily the owner of Prado knew the car inside out and called his service guy at authorised service centre. He suggested to change the transmission fluid and see if the problem persists. We took matters in our hand. Fortunately, the mechanic at drass had atf fluid. We hijacked his workshop and tools and drained all the transmission fluid. Then we pumped new transmission fluid and all this took us 4 hours.Prado finally cranked after few tries and we drove for 10-15 km around Drass. We were confident that the Prado can go further. We were back on road and the time was around 3:00 pm, so we changed our destination from Padum to Rangdum. The Prado drove just like before without any issue. We were stopped at a checkpoint, they entered our details and destination and allowed us to go further. The sun was coming down already and we were tired due to Prado ordeal. Slowly the road condition also changed. From paved road to off road, we were climbing steep climbs with full of mud and the sun had set already. We started to look for shelter at Purtikche and Panikhar but no avail and continued our jounrey towards Rangdum. We reached Rangdum around 9:40 pm and found a place named La Himalaya that offered luxury tents. We had our dinner and called it a day. I was about to get into my bed, when few of our members started feeling symptoms of acute mountain sickness.- It was around 5:00am when I received a message that one of the member who had symptoms of AMS had been throwing up all night. We gave him medicine that I had bought along after consulting a doctor on phone. After waiting for 3-4 hours when his condition remained same, it was decided that Prado will take him back to the Kargil where he can get required medical attention and we would meet in Leh after 2 days. Brezza also joined the Prado. Around 9:00 am Prado and Brezza left for Kargil while Vcross and Thar left for Padum.The journey from Rangdum to Padum ideally takes about 5-6 hours. On this stretch we crossed The gateway to Zanskar- Pensi La pass, this pass connects the Suru Valley to Zanskar Valley and around the same time we witnessed the magnificent Drang-Drung Glacier.I dont know whether it was a boon or bane, there were hardly any private vehicles on this route. The sun was shining bright and surrounded by snow cladded mountains we made some coffee and maggi near a small lake.After the much needed coffee, we continued our journey, the road that passes through villages are narrow and in rough shape. We reached Padum around 4:30pm. There are plenty of options to stay at Padum but in Rangdum as well as Padum there is problem of electricity and running hot water is a luxury. We had early dinner and after sharing our experiences and stories we called it a day.- I am a morning person, empty streets and sunrises are my thing. I went on a brisk walk on the streets of Padum and this little town felt like straight out of a story book. After my walk, I went to check on the cars. Cleaned the air filters and did some vacuuming in the cars. As I just finished vacuuming got to know that breakfast was ready, after having breakfast we loaded our cars with baggage and were ready to hit the roads again. The road from Padum to Leh is not available on google maps so we had a physical map along with us.The road was well paved and empty till Zangla. Near Zangla, we were stopped at a check post and they wrote down our details and destination.After Zangla paved road turns to off road.Then there is a stretch of road similar to Killar Kishtwar road aka The cliffhanger road.Two cars cannot pass each other simultaneously , so we had to be very cautious and careful. There were hardly any cars on this road, barring one army gypsy and 2-3 trucks we encountered. Around 11:00 am we reached the starting point of Singge La pass. The climb was pretty steep and unpaved road was not much helping either. This pass was very different from any other pass I have encountered during this trip or during my previous trips. It feels like you are climbing and climbing and there is no top. In the meantime it started raining, this meant snowfall at the high altitude. As we continued our journey further the conditions worsened,unpaved road had turned to offroad and the rain turned to snowfall and surrounded by dense fog. There were no cars on this route, just few bikers and JCBs for road work. There are no petrol pumps, mechanics, or medical assistance available anywhere on this route. Jio has good phone connectivity in the region but only works near the villages. There is no network reception at the top of Singe La Pass.Around 1:30pm we descended from Singge La. Someone truly said about this land," who ever crosses these passes is the worst of enemy or the best of friends. There was one small shop just before starting of Sirsir La pass, the hot tea and Rajma Chawal fueled us again to conquer the Sirsir La.Around 2:00pm we started climbing Sirsir La pass. There was heavy snowfall on Sirsir La but it hardly took us 30-40 minutes to cross Sirsir La pass.The road was still unpaved and remains unpaved till Lamayuru, after Lamayuru the road is well built and smooth. We traveled approximately 120 km from Padum to Lamayuru in 8 hours. The remaining 120 km from Lamayuru to Leh in 2.5 hours, now you can compare and imagine the both scenarios. We stopped in between in to witness the confluence of Indus and Zanskar river.After driving for 11 hours we finally reached Leh City around 7:15pm. Our stay was already booked so we straight away went to our hotel, there we met our companions who had to go back to Kargil. To sum up this day I would say It is a mixed feeling of emotions and excitement as one reaches the Leh after crossing Singge La and Sirsir La.- It was a nice sunny day so we went to get our cars washed in the morning. After the cars were washed we went back to our hotel as the Leh market was closed till 2:00pm due to strike by local association. Meanwhile we applied for Inner Line permit for our upcoming journey. Around 2:30 pm , the we went to Pathar Sahib Gurudwara. Gurdwara Pathar Sahib, is a beautiful Gurudwara sahib constructed in the memory of Guru Nanak Dev ji, about 25 km away from Leh, on the Leh-Kargil road, 12000 ft above sea level. The Gurdwara was built in 1517 to commemorate the visit to the Ladakh region of Guru Nanak Dev ji.After seeking blessings , we went to Leh Palace. The Leh Palace provides a very scenic view of whole city. The massive nine-story stone structure lies at the base of the Tsemo ridge and towers over the old town. It was designed in the Tibetan style. Lachen Palkar Palace was abandoned in the mid-nineteenth century after the royal family left Leh following the Dogra invasion. Despite years of decay, the historic character of Leh old town has remained largely intact. After visiting the palace, had some Tibetan delicacies at a local cafe. While some of us went on a shopping spree, I decided to enjoy a cup of fresh brewed coffee and the charming vibe of Leh market.After exploring the market till 9:00pm we went back to our hotel, had dinner and called it a day. We didnt go to Sanchi Stupa and war museum as most of us had been there during our previous trips.- Landcruiser had to leave for Chandigarh due to some inevitable reason. After bidding them farewell, we began our journey towards Thang. Thang Village, which is also known as Dhothang or Thanga Chathang, is a tiny village located in the Chorbat region of Leh. It is often referred to as the northernmost village of India. Thang lies on the Line of Control that divides India and Pakistan and offers spectacular views of the majestic mountains.Situated along the Shyok River, Thang Village was up until recently not open to tourists. For reaching Thang we had to cross KhardungLa pass. This pass is always crowded so did not soend much time there. While we were descending to North Pullu it started snowing.We reached Thang Village around 5:30pm. This region is famous for its dried apricot, you will find many sellers selling dried apricot. From Thang village, one can see the villages on Pakistan side and also various Indian posts along the border. After sightseeing, we had noon chai, which I would say is a acquired taste. We left Thang village around 7:30pm for Hundar. We reached Hundar around 9:30pm , our initial plan was to camp at Hundar but it was already dark and we were tired so we checked into a guest house near Diskit monastery. Diskit is just few kilometres away from Hundar.-The guest house was situated at a very beautiful location and was run by a very sweet family. We had some delicious homemade paranthas for breakfast. The destination for today was Pangong Tso and then Karu. We left the guest house around 9:30 am and began our journey along the Shyok river. We were halfway when we encountered traffic jam, on further inquiry we got to know that some roadwork is going on and it would take somewhere around 2-3 hours before they allow vehicular movement.With nothing to do much we took out our portable stove and started making coffee, after seeing us making coffee some other people joined us , had a lovely time sharing stories and a cup of coffee with newfound friends. The vehicular movement start around 2:00pm. But the road condition were very bad and they remained bad through out till Pangong Tso. We reached Pangong Tso around 5:30pm and after spending an hour on the shores of lake, it was time to bid goodbye to this magnificent creation of nature.The cars started heading towards Karu. We had to face a lot of incoming traffic till Durbuk after that traffic decreased significantly. As we were approaching Chang La pass the incoming cars were covered with snow. We started our ascend to Chang La top expecting snowfall but the snowfall had stopped just few minutes ago. The sun was about to go down and the whole pass was covered with snow, it was a beautiful scene.There was black ice on some patches, so had to be very cautious. We reached Karu around 9:45pm.- We woke up early at sharp 5:00 am. After loading cars with luggage went straight to fuel pump. Next fuel pump is at Tandi which is approximately 345km from karu. At sharp 5:45 am we left Karu after filing diesel in cars. The roads were empty and in good condition. We crossed the Tanglang La pass, it is the highest point on the highway, situated at an altitude of 5328m.After crossing Tanglang La pass comes the beautiful and magnificent More plains.It was a beautiful sight with straight stretch of road that leads into the horizon, massive plain land on both sides of the beautifully paved road, and the barren Himalayas to keep the clouds company.After crossing More plains comes the infamous Pang village , Pang is located at a height of 15280 feet above the sea level so travellers coming from Manali face problem of AMS here a lot. We didnt stop at Pang and continued our journey towards Manali. After Pang comes the Sarchu after crossing Gata loops. There are many shortcuts on this stretch of road, my suggestion would be to carefully examine the shortcut and then only proceed.In 2021 the road to Sarchu was the most difficult stretch of this highway but this year I couldnt believe my eyes, the road was so good and well built. After Sarchu we entered into Himachal Pradesh. After travelling 30-35 kms we reached BaralachLa Pass. The road conditions were bad and on top if it there was lot of traffic including trucks which were moving in convoy of 10-15 trucks at a time. The trucks were bullying the cars which was something I just witnessed at this pass during the whole trip. After crossing the pass we stopped to witness the beauty of Suraj Tal, it was completely frozen and covered with a thick sheet of white. After the much needed break at Suraj Tal we continued our journey towards Manali , we took a break for lunch at Zingzingbar and then after driving non stop we reached Manali around 5:30pm. The Thar and Brezza left for Chandigarh from Manali while we decided to spend a night at Manali. It was a lovely evening at Manali though the temperature was on higher side then expected. Enjoyed some live music and cocktails at Johnsons cafe and after strolling for half an hour at mall road went straight to the hotel. The Leh Manali road was in good condition as compared to last few years.- We got the chance to drive on new Chandigarh- Manali highway. This new road is definitely a engineering marvel. We left Manali around 8:45 am and reached Mohali at 3:30pmThere was a protest going on Kurali bypass, otherwise we would have reached Mohali around 2:50 pm.- 1. Mohali 2. Udhampur 3.Pandrass(Drass) 4. Padum 5. Leh 6.Diskit7. Karu 8. ManaliTotal distance covered in 10 days- 2695 km Last edited by Aditya : 8th July 2023 at 13:03 . Reason: Spacing
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) has become the latest institution to fall victim to a cyberattack. While university officials have confirmed the incident, they have refrained from disclosing specific details regarding the compromised information and any potential data exposure on online platforms, according to Los Angeles Times.

The cyber attack on UCLA follows a widespread campaign that has targeted hundreds of organizations and businesses, leaving a trail of victims in its wake.

Notable entities that have been affected include the US Department of Health and Human Services, multinational law firm Kirkland & Ellis, several states such as Oregon, Missouri, and Illinois, the California Public Employees' Retirement System, the New York City Department of Education, French multinational company Schneider Electric, and even the Nova Scotia government.

A list released online by the ransomware group responsible for these attacks highlights the broad scope of their operations.

UCLA Identified Breach

According to UCLA officials, the breach was discovered on May 28 within the university's file transfer system, facilitating the seamless exchange of data within the campus community and external entities.

Taking immediate action, UCLA enacted its incident-response procedure and closed the security loophole exploited by the hackers. Progress Software, the developers of MOVEit, a file transfer software product utilized by the university, provided an update that effectively patched the vulnerability.

In response to the incident, a UCLA spokesperson confirmed that the university promptly notified the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and collaborated with external cybersecurity experts to conduct a thorough investigation.

The primary objectives of this investigation were to determine the nature of the attack, identify the specific data impacted, and ascertain the rightful owners of the compromised information.

However, it is important to note that the spokesperson emphasized that the incident did not involve ransomware and that there is no evidence to suggest any impact on other campus systems.

Read Also: US Department of Health and Human Services Hit by MOVEit Data Breach

Ransomware Gang

Despite UCLA's reluctance to provide detailed information about the attack and the identity of the perpetrators, experts in the field of technology who have been monitoring the cyberattack have claimed that the CL0P Ransomware Gang successfully stole data from around 16 million users.

Exploiting a vulnerability present in the MOVEit Transfer tool, this group, also recognized as TA505, reportedly employed malware to gain unauthorized entry into user databases.

In recognition of the gravity of the situation, Progress Software has been collaborating with the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI to address these attacks, according to Eric Goldstein, the executive director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).

Goldstein further noted CISA's dedication to promptly informing vulnerable organizations, encouraging swift remedial action, and extending technical support whenever necessary.

As per Brett Callow, a threat analyst at the cybersecurity firm Emsisoft, the CL0P cyberattacks have impacted 148 confirmed victims, with 11 organizations publicly disclosing the number of individuals affected by the breach.

In a post on Twitter, Callow revealed that the personal information of approximately 16.2 million individuals had been compromised. Nevertheless, this figure is anticipated to rise significantly once the remaining 137-plus victims come forward and divulge the extent of their respective situations.

Related Article: Russian Ransomware Gang Breaches US Department of Energy, Other Federal Agencies

 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky attend a press conference in Istanbul, Turkiye, July 8, 2023. (Photo by Omer Kuscu/Xinhua)

ISTANBUL, July 8 (Xinhua) -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday called for extending the Black Sea Grain Initiative which expires on July 17.

"We are making efforts to extend the duration of the Black Sea grain deal," said Erdogan at a press conference with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky, noting that almost 33 million tons of grain have been delivered to those in need under the deal.

As the agreement expires on July 17, Erdogan said, "We are working on how long we can extend this period after July 17," adding that poor African countries in particular are in desperate need of grain shipments from Ukraine.

Erdogan noted that Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to visit Turkiye next month and that he will discuss this issue with Putin face-to-face.

"We have made the most intensive efforts to bring the war between Russia and Ukraine to an end through negotiations on the basis of international law," said the Turkish president.

Zelensky said that Ukraine wants to implement a peace plan and that Turkiye is ready to assume leadership on this issue. "The well-being of the peoples in our region depends on us. We need to ensure this stability in the Black Sea region," he said.

The United Nations and Turkiye brokered the Black Sea Grain Initiative with Russia and Ukraine to provide a humanitarian maritime corridor for ships with food and fertilizer exports from Ukrainian Black Sea ports in July 2022. 

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Istanbul, Turkiye, July 7, 2023. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday met with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky in the Turkish city of Istanbul, the Turkish presidency said. (Turkish Presidency/Handout via Xinhua)
Tesla, known for its groundbreaking innovations and revolutionary strategies in the car business, has launched a worldwide initiative dubbed "Refer and Earn." Buyers may earn bonuses by introducing new Tesla customers, a tactic established manufacturers use to boost sales.

Under the Tesla referral program, the company incentivizes consumers who buy the Tesla Model 3 and Model Y in the United States with around $500 in return. In addition to the rebate, American buyers get three free months of Tesla's Full Self-Driving option, according to a Reuters report.

This referral program is implemented throughout Tesla's primary markets, including the US, China, Germany, France, Canada, Mexico, Hong Kong, and Singapore. The effort intends to use the influence of current clients in promoting Tesla's electric cars and growing its clientele.

Keeping The Lead in EV Industry

The execution of the Tesla referral program indicates that the company decided to move away from its initial concentration on real-time website pricing modifications. The return of the referral scheme coincides with Tesla's efforts to boost sales in the fiercely competitive global EV industry, where manufacturers often provide price reductions and incentives.

Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, underlined the value of prioritizing sales growth above profit in April, especially in challenging economic conditions with fiercer competition. The company's ongoing pricing modifications and Tesla referral program are now part of its goal to keep its position as the market leader and put pressure on established automakers and up-and-coming EV manufacturers, as per a report from The Gazette.

Read Also: Several EV Automakers Including Tesla, NIO Promise to Refrain from Price Wars in China

The business is still concentrating on growth potential even though Tesla shares have increased by more than twice this year, exceeding the S&P 500 index. Analysts claim that Tesla's standing as a compelling growth story results from the company's increasing car production in its factories in Texas and Germany, as well as forthcoming releases like the Cybertruck pickup and the development of a new facility in Mexico.

Tesla is adjusting its referral bonuses for several locations internationally. New Model Y and Model 3 buyers in China will get a cash return of 3,500 yuan ($483.69), provided they can offer a referral from an existing owner. UK customers may save 1,000 pounds ($1,278.00) on Model S and Model X and 500 pounds ($641.73) on Model 3 and Model Y.

Tesla Shanghai Gigafactory Layoffs

As the Tesla referral program makes the news, recent reports indicate that the electric vehicle manufacturer is cutting down on the number of workers at its Shanghai Gigafactory, per Al Jazeera. While the precise number of impacted employees and the reasons for the firings are yet unknown, this situation highlights the challenges associated with expanding EV production and synchronizing it with consumer demand.

The number of employees impacted by the layoffs and their reasons were not made explicit in the report released on Friday.

On Thursday, local online news source Deep Analysis reported that less than 1,000 workers worked on the factory's two battery production lines.

More than 20,000 people are employed in the Gigafactory in Shanghai, China, by the electric vehicle maker owned by Elon Musk. The Shanghai gigafactory is Tesla's largest. The Model Y and Model 3 are manufactured in this facility.

Related Article: Amazon Vendors Unknowingly Selling Stolen Goods, Suspended from Platform

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A charity established by the family of Molly Russell, a London teenager who tragically took her own life after being exposed to harmful content on social media platforms, has denounced Mark Zuckerberg's recent pledge to prioritize kindness on the newly launched Threads app.

The Guardian reports that Molly Rose Foundation argues that Zuckerberg's commitment contradicts the troubling reality of Instagram, which significantly contributed to Molly's suicide.

As discussions surrounding online safety intensify, the clash between aspirations and actions within social media moderation continues to be a pressing concern.

Inquest Findings, Foundation's Criticism of Instagram

Molly Russell, just 14 years old, died in 2017 after encountering distressing material on various social media platforms, including Instagram.

Last year, an inquest into her death confirmed that harmful online content related to self-harm, suicide, and depression had played a contributory role.

The Molly Rose Foundation, created by Molly's family, expresses deep concern over the association between Threads and Instagram.

Notably, users of Threads are required to have an Instagram account to access the new app, and most rules governing Instagram will be carried on to Threads.

Highlighting Instagram's Unsafe Platform

The Foundation accuses Instagram, owned by Meta (formerly Facebook), of a poor track record in protecting users from harm.

Inconsistent content moderation and a casual approach to platform design choices have exposed children to dangerous content.

A spokesperson for the Foundation criticizes Meta's marketing efforts, highlighting the significant disparity between promoting Instagram as a safe platform for families and the reality experienced by users.

Labeling Zuckerberg's prioritization of kindness over profit as "absurd and contrary to reality," the Foundation asserts that Meta has much work to do to ensure the safety of its users on Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp.

Read Also: Twitter Warns to Sue Meta for Hiring the Employees it Fired for Threads-Elon Musk Regrets Layoffs

The Online Safety Bill

The Guardian also reports that children's digital safety campaigner Beeban Kidron adds her voice to the chorus of criticism against Zuckerberg and Meta.

Kidron, influential in shaping the forthcoming online safety bill, emphasizes Meta's hubris in positioning itself as a provider of kind services while neglecting its responsibility to address the toxic elements within its existing platforms.

The online safety bill will impose a duty of care on tech companies, compelling them to safeguard children from harmful content or face severe consequences, including substantial fines or even jail time for executives.

Meta's Response

In response to the mounting concerns, a spokesperson from Meta emphasizes the company's commitment to safety.

They assert that all of Meta's products, including Threads, will enforce Instagram's community guidelines for content and interactions.

The spokesperson highlights Meta's substantial investments of over $16 billion since 2016, specifically aimed at building teams and technologies to protect users.

Notably, Meta has implemented safety features carried over from Instagram onto Threads, such as filtering out replies containing certain words and automatically blocking accounts that have been blocked on Instagram.

Stay posted here at Tech Times.

Related Article: Meta Receives 30 Million Sign-Ups for Twitter Rival 'Threads'

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Tesla's much-awaited Cybertruck recently completed tough winter testing in New Zealand, drawing interest from electric car enthusiasts all around the globe. The testing included thrilling drifting on slippery surfaces and gauging how well the vehicle's suspension performed in the snow.

On Twitter, Tesla posted thrilling videos of the Cybertruck's winter testing, calling it "a tiny drift session." Online observers were amazed by the vehicle's apparent steer-by-wire capabilities, traction control, and superb handling as they avidly commented on the video online, according to Elektrek.

And afterwards playing on the ice (with a tiny drift session ) pic.twitter.com/ybOMV5sUVQ  CybertruckNZ (@CybertruckNZ) July 7, 2023

"I wonder if they're testing the steer by wire / 4ws traction control in slick areas," Greggertruck stated. "Dopeness."

Another user named Lu Adams reacted to the video, saying: "Not a fun drift session. I think they're testing whether it can be brought back under control from a skid. The question is - are they doing it with the driver or the computer? Damn awesome handling in these videos."

"Geeks in the back on their laptops must be going crazy," tweeted user Tyrone mcgillick.

One of the last steps before the Tesla Cybertruck enters full-scale manufacturing is the recent discovery of a truck prototype in New Zealand's winter testing grounds.

The electric pickup truck demonstrated exceptional driving qualities throughout the winter testing, including drifting maneuvers in snowy conditions. The Cybertruck's remarkable performance and stability in diverse situations are anticipated to be aided by its outstanding rear-steering capabilities and active suspension technology.

Almost 1.5 million reservation holders anticipate the arrival of the Tesla Cybertruck. Thus, the timing and volume of the initial deliveries have been carefully watched. Tesla has formally declared a scheduled delivery event for "around the end of Q3," which might indicate a late-September 2023 debut.

Recent rumors state that Tesla has informed suppliers to be ready for Cybertruck release candidates by the end of August, with production slated to start in early October, which is consistent with several production progress indicators for Tesla, such as pictures of Cybertruck production at the Gigafactory in Texas.

Read Also: Police Warn About Use of Illegal E-Bikes as Crackdown Continues

Texas Gigafactory to Focus on Cybertruck Manufacturing

According to reports, Tesla intends to temporarily stop the Model Y assembly line in early July to make the necessary improvements. Several employees from the factory that produces electric vehicles have been moved to the Cybertruck assembly lines, according to Teslarati.

This tactical reallocation intends to complete calibration and testing, paving the way for the Tesla Cybertruck to go into production, which is anticipated between July and August.

The electric car industry is enthralled by Tesla's Gigafactories, which include the magnificent Gigafactory in Texas. Drone operators and devoted observers watch these sites carefully, recording changes as Tesla is ready to overhaul the industry with its cutting-edge automobiles.

Cybertruck Light Bar Sparks Buzz

Recently, a TikTok user caught a Tesla Cybertruck outside the Fremont factory on camera, who noticed a noticeable addition: a light bar put on the back tailgate. Previously, enthusiasts and others who had reservations expressed worries and grievances about this function, per Inside EVs.

Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, addressed the situation on Twitter and assured fans that a red light bar will be included in the Cybertruck's production model.

It is becoming increasingly apparent that the much-awaited vehicle debut is getting closer as more Cybertruck prototypes are seen on public roads and in conjunction with factory film displaying car casting manufacturing.

Related Article: UK's Bestselling Ford Fiesta Bids Farewell, Marking 22 Million Global Sales

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Names, phone numbers, email addresses, and ID numbers of people of Bangladesh were exposed on a government website.

The leak itself was due to a weakness in their website's security, as a Bitcrack Cyber Security researcher discovered an unprotected government web portal containing a vast library of personal citizen information.

(Photo: THOMAS SAMSON/AFP via Getty Images) An agent of the operational center of the French National Cybersecurity Agency (ANSSI) checks data on a computer in Paris on November 24, 2022.

Discovering the Flaws

On June 27, Bitcrack Cyber Security researcher Viktor Markopoulos stumbled upon a leak containing millions of Bangladeshi citizens' personal information. By doing a public search on the impacted government website, TechCrunch, an American online tech newspaper, was able to confirm the accuracy of the material that had been revealed.

Through this, the website returned additional information from the stolen database, such as an applicant's name and even their parents in certain cases. The researchers tried this with ten separate sets of data, and each time, they got the right answers.

Read Also: University of Manchester Hit by Cyber Security Breach; Investigation Still Ongoing

Contents of the Leak

Every citizen of Bangladesh who is 18 years of age and older, must register and possess a National Identity Card in order to access legal services such as bank accounts, driver's licenses, passports, and lands purchased.

Neither the country's press office(CERT), embassy, or consulate has responded to queries and demands for comments as of present.

When Markopoulos mentioned SQL, a language used for managing database data, he mentioned that he found the data through Google. It is troubling to have private information such as email addresses, phone numbers, and national ID card numbers exposed because it could be used to view, alter, and delete applications as well as view the Birth Registration Record Verification."

Due to the continued availability of the page as well as the Bangladesh government's lack of remarks, TechCrunch will not be naming the official government website.

Related Article: Bangladesh Is On The Path To Becoming An Important Regional Tech Hub

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Threads, the latest social media app, has significantly increased popularity since its launch. One user, @elonmusksjet, has been making waves with his intriguing content.

The kid behind the flight-tracking account, Jack Sweeney decided to migrate to the new Twitter rival app for good. He was banned from Musk's app in 2022.

Is he prepared to receive another ban hammer in a new platform?

ElonJet Takes Flight on Threads

In a recent post, Sweeney announced his arrival on Threads which instantly captivated the attention of social media enthusiasts, per Gizmodo.

The account's primary focus revolves around tracking the private jet movements of Elon Musk. With his unique content, @elonmusksjet has already amassed an impressive following of 15,000 within a short span.

Musk Sees Sweeney as a Threat

Previously, the person behind @elonmusksjet, known as Sweeney, faced a ban on Twitter due to revealing publicly available tracking information of various high-profile individuals, including Musk.

Elon Musk himself responded, emphasizing that such actions pose a threat to physical safety and result in permanent suspension.

Undeterred by the ban, Sweeney migrated to Threads, where he continued his passion for tracking Elon Musk's flights. Despite the looming threat of a lawsuit that never materialized, Sweeney boldly reposted a follower's comment dismissing the suit as an "empty threat."

The seamless transition to Threads allowed Sweeney to pursue their unique content without limitations.

With this, the question arises if Sweeney's tracking of Elon Musk's private jet movements on Threads will violate the platform's terms and conditions.

The answer remains unclear, as the situation differs from Sweeney's previous encounter with Twitter. While the ban on Twitter was primarily due to the exposure of real-time location information, Threads' policies regarding such content are yet to be confirmed.

Related Article: Meta vs. Twitter: Elon Musk's Company Alleges Mark Zuckerberg For Stealing Trade Secrets For Threads

Elon Musk is Not Only the One Who's Getting Tracked

Before the ban, Sweeney managed several Twitter accounts that tracked the flights of notable individuals like Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, and even Russian President Vladimir Putin. However, suspending all these tracking accounts, including @elonmusksjet, left a void in the social media landscape.

Sweeney's supporters argue that the information shared was publicly available, while critics claim it violated privacy and posed safety risks.

Back in May, Elon's jet tracker laid his eyes on Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida. The 20-year-old college student said that he's going to track his aircraft soon.

In response to the controversy surrounding Sweeney's accounts, Twitter updated its private information policy, strictly prohibiting the sharing of real-time location details without consent.

This policy aims to safeguard individuals from potential physical, emotional, and financial hardships arising from the unauthorized exposure of private information.

As Sweeney transitions to Threads, the app's stance on similar content remains uncertain. The young user expressed his enthusiasm about their move to Threads, lamenting only their inability to secure the coveted @ElonJet handle.

While sharing thoughts with Business Insider, Sweeney openly expressed a desire for Twitter's demise, possibly signaling a shift in preference towards Threads.

Read Also: Meta's Threads Update: Meta Working on a Fix to Address Instagram Deletion Issue

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The latest wave of artificial intelligence (AI)-driven smart toys is expected to enter the market during the upcoming Christmas season, exceeding the unsettling quality of earlier well-liked toys like Teddy Ruxpin and Furbys.

These cutting-edge toys, which use AI ChatGPT technology, are anticipated to enthrall kids with their attractive characteristics. However, despite the enthusiasm, parents must be mindful of the privacy issues raised by these devices and take the required security measures to protect their kids.

The Future of Playtime

Think about a toy that participates in discussions and gains knowledge from them. Allan Wong, CEO of VTech, is betting on a line of AI teddy bears that will provide parents with an alternative to conventional nighttime routines, per KTAR News.

These AI-powered bears are outfitted with chatbot-style technology that allows them to create personalized stories, calm children having tantrums, amuse, and even teach important lessons. Parents want their kids to have genuine relationships with these toys, enriching their playing experience.

Read Also: Activists Use Traffic Cones to Disrupt Robotaxis in Viral Protest

Wong noted the need to be careful about privacy, security, and the material taught to children. Certain features, such as AI accessing children's information, might be disconcerting. He also emphasized that generative AI still needs to be developed enough for applications in toys, but he said that VTech would keep an eye on potential prospects in the future.

Risks of AI-Powered Smart Toys

Although AI ChatGPT-powered smart toys are intriguing, the same privacy issues raised about adult smart devices also apply to these new kiddie gadgets.

According to a Business Insider story, these sophisticated toys may create personalized stories based on individual tastes and even save private information like school information and buddy names. Consequently, concerns regarding the possible uses of this information, particularly potential marketing uses, are raised by data collection, storage, and likely sharing with third-party organizations.

Tech experts, including Elon Musk, and governments all across the globe are beginning to contemplate proactive regulation as AI technology develops quickly. United States Vice President Kamala Harris recently met with Google, OpenAI, and Microsoft CEOs to discuss cybersecurity.

Geoffrey Hinton, the Father of AI, recently resigned from Google early this year, lamenting his work. In a BBC interview, he remarked that there are "quite scary" risks associated with AI chatbots.

He said that though AI is not more intelligent than humans as of now, it may become soon.

Though companies are compelled to ensure product safety, parents must also be vigilant about risks and protect their families.

Here are some tips for parents to enhance safety and privacy in AI ChatGPT smart toys, per USA Today:

Turn off any live video and text chat features.

Make use of the toys' parental settings to restrict playtime and keep an eye on things.

Read the privacy statement and understand how your data will be used.

Make sure that the toy can be reset to erase data.

Related Article: Pet Owners Discover Apple Watch Features for Dogs

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(Photo : Dmitry Kubyshkin)

DevOps is a working ideology that enables the creation of a unified system within a team. This approach allows for faster product releases, improved software quality, and swift identification and resolution of issues. DevOps engineer Dmitry Kubyshkin explains the essence of this methodology, how it can enhance business operations, and the qualities that distinguish a good specialist.

Dmitry, please tell us briefly, who is a DevOps engineer and what do they do?

First and foremost, it's worth mentioning that DevOps is a methodology that involves collaboration between developers, testers, and other IT specialists within a team. This approach allows for more efficient and coordinated work, as well as timely incident resolution. A DevOps engineer is the person who implements this methodology.

One of the main areas of their work is the responsibility for the project's infrastructure, which serves as the foundation for all team members' interactions. This infrastructure includes servers, networks, load balancers, databases, and more. The DevOps engineer focuses on automating development processes, encapsulating infrastructure as code, following the principle of "infrastructure as code," ensuring resilience, and evolving this foundation. This allows developers to have confidence that the products they create will work seamlessly. Additionally, the DevOps engineer establishes the process of delivering developers' code to the production environment, both in testing and industrial settings.

A DevOps engineer is a versatile specialist who possesses competencies in testing, development, and operations. Sometimes, they may focus on a specific area within a company, while in other cases, they handle various tasks across the board.

Do all companies use the DevOps approach? What specific benefits can it provide?

In general, the DevOps approach emerged in 2007-2008 and, after a few years, started gaining traction in enterprise solutions, including large and established companies. The peak of DevOps development was reached in 2015, and since then, such specialists have been in demand not only in startups but also in large organizations.

The modern world is such that, in my opinion, every company attempts to implement DevOps to some extent. I assume that there are businesses, typically smaller ones, where employees can quickly come to agreements without much bureaucracy, and therefore, they may not consciously adopt DevOps. However, in many cases, a developer responsible for the product's development may also handle infrastructure and related tasks.

DevOps can bring several benefits to businesses. It helps reduce costs and optimize development processes, increasing deployment speed. This approach also allows for rolling back changes in case of unexpected situations. DevOps can help businesses streamline and optimize their development processes, increase the speed of deployment, and provide the ability to revert changes in case of emergencies.

And how did you enter this profession in your career?

I joined my first company, the National Payment Card System (NSPK), while I was still studying at university. I wanted to start gaining practical experience as soon as possible. I had a dream to work specifically in this company because it was the first project related to the domestic payment system, and I wanted to contribute to its development.

I joined the company during the formation of the payment card system when we were involved in redirecting Visa and Mastercard traffic to Russian processing. Our task was to support and prepare the systems for the traffic switch from international payment systems to the Russian NSPK. The goal was to ensure that all payment processing operations within Russia would occur solely within Russia. This was done to ensure that in the event of Visa and Mastercard being disconnected, the issued cards would continue to function.

During my work, I delved into DevOps practices and constantly self-studied something new, even during my free time. I almost immediately chose this direction for myself because it allowed me to develop skills in various areas such as operations, development, and testing.

I managed the on-call service, network specialists, operating systems experts, security professionals, and database administrators. I dealt with incident resolution during emergencies directly.

I have always believed that when you truly enjoy what you do, when your eyes light up, and you constantly absorb new information, difficulties fade into the background. I think the most important skill a DevOps engineer should possess is the ability to find information, including reading documentation, understanding business requirements, and having a broad IT knowledge base. Therefore, entering this field is worthwhile only if you have a genuine interest in it, as it requires keeping a large amount of information in mind. Additionally, this work involves a lot of communication with various people responsible for projects and products. As a highly skilled professional, you need to be able to convey your thoughts, listen to others, and collaborate on tasks.

The National Payment Card System (NSPK) is not your only experience in the financial sector. You have also worked as a DevOps engineer in two major banks - Raiffeisenbank and Alfa-Bank

Working at Raiffeisenbank was, so to speak, the beginning of conscious DevOps engineering for me. I joined a team responsible for credit card operations. We were in charge of ensuring resilience and the smooth functioning of the processing system, which essentially meant providing uninterrupted service to clients. We had a direct impact on the bank's business. Additionally, I was responsible for internal loyalty programs related to these cards. This involved interacting with vendors, designing the future infrastructure for the loyalty program project, and automating development processes within the team.

At Alfa-Bank, I worked as a DevOps engineer in a team responsible for developing an internal CI/CD solution. I implemented a project where all teams were required to transition to specific automation solutions for delivering their intellectual work and development. I also took on the role of an analyst, developing documentation for our project and others, and presenting it to the architectural committee and security department, ensuring the implementation of our work. I was also responsible for implementing a unified code quality analysis solution using Sonarqube.

The financial sector does imply a high level of responsibility, doesn't it?

In the financial sector, the cost of errors is indeed high, but it is customary to practice and test all actions in test environments. Security is one of the key aspects closely monitored in the fintech industry. In order for you to be granted access to any systems, you need to justify why you need them. And while in a regular company, this question may be resolved within a few moments, in a bank, it can take up to a week. This can slow down the task execution process. To avoid wasting time, you have to take on another task and work on it simultaneously. On one hand, these nuances teach you to work in a multitasking mode, but on the other hand, due to constant attention switching, it becomes more challenging to pay attention to details. However, this problem is solvable if effective communication within the team is established.

If we are talking about financial organizations, are there any special approaches to DevOps?

I believe that a DevOps engineer can help any business improve automation, accelerate development, increase reliability, and ensure system resilience. This is needed by any company, regardless of whether it is in the fintech industry or not.

By the way, I also developed DevOps practices at Sbermegamarket, which is a marketplace. I joined during the migration of the company's services from one cloud to another. I was responsible for transferring both infrastructure services and developer services to the cloud, which was done to optimize costs. Additionally, our team focused on automating the infrastructure so that we could deploy our infrastructure when needed without manual intervention.

Another responsibility in my role was preparing Sbermegamarket's production systems for high-demand periods, such as "Black Friday" or pre-holiday days. On these days, there is a surge in system load, and it was necessary to ensure that the system could scale up and continue to operate smoothly with a large number of customers.

A DevOps engineer is indeed a multitasker who understands the development process inside out. How do you manage to keep so much information in your head?

I wouldn't say it's difficult, but I wouldn't say it's easy either. It takes time to immerse yourself in a particular task or project, to understand the nuances of the work. Once you have a full context of the task, you can proceed with its execution and convert your actions into a tangible result that meets the business requirements.

If we look at a DevOps engineer as an individual entity, this specialization implies continuous learning and development. It's an extensive field, and it's impossible to learn everything at once. Therefore, you first acquire knowledge in the specific areas relevant to your company and focus on its needs. However, there may come a time when you encounter different technologies in a different organization that you haven't worked with before, and then you have to delve into them anew. In short, this profession requires a commitment to constant learning and growth.

 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
After its initial attempt to launch its first Starship into orbit (which ended in a dramatic explosion), SpaceX submitted a document to the FAA claiming to dismiss the lawsuit filed by environmentalists. The company denied the allegations that Starship poses a threat to the wildlife habitat.

(Photo : PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images)

Debris litters the ground on April 22, 2023, after the SpaceX Starship liftedoff on April 20 for a flight test from Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas.

Refuting Claims of Environmentalists

In response to a recently filed lawsuit, SpaceX submitted a document to the FAA on Thursday, urging a federal court to dismiss the complaint while also refuting the claims that Starship endangers the wildlife habitat in Boca Chica, Texas. The company argued that the group lacks legal grounds for its claims of harming wildlife.

SpaceX's initial attempt to launch its first Starship into orbit ended in a dramatic explosion, scattering potentially hazardous remains over a wide area. The incident also led to a fire spanning 3.5 acres of land within a state park.

CNN reported that the environmental consequences of SpaceX's activities in the area of Texas have sparked a rising dispute among local residents regarding the presence of Elon Musk's prominent company. People in Port Isabel stated that the test flight and explosion have broken windows and shaken their homes. Dust also coated their homes, school, and even land.

This made environmentalists file a complaint against the company and the Federal Aviation of Administration.

Filing Complaint

As per the lawsuit, Interesting Engineering reported that the activists allege that the government agency neglected its responsibility to thoroughly evaluate the potential environmental consequences associated with the Starship project. This happened shortly after the inaugural flight of this colossal rocket destined for Mars on April 20.

The Center for Biological Diversity, American Bird Conservancy, and other members of the environmental group claim that the FAA expedited the certification process for Starship and failed to thoroughly evaluate the potential harm the enormous rocket could inflict on the nearby ecosystems.

Also Read: SpaceX Will Launch 48 Starlink Satellites on July 7: How to Watch it Live

Additionally, the group also asserted that the FAA violated the National Environment Policy Act, letting SpaceX conduct launches without completing a comprehensive assessment known as an environmental impact statement.

"We must decide whether we will protect the wildlife and frontline communities that can be adversely affected by our desire to reach the stars, or whether we will leave a legacy of needless destruction in the scorching wake of rocket plumes," the group noted in its complaint.

Did the company plan this?

CNBC reported that SpaceX Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk acknowledged this. While the vehicle contains 33 engines akin to a "box of grenades," the CEO and the whole team did not accurately prejudice that this would be destroyed or even particulate matter would rain down on residents and wildlife habitats.

Related Article: NASA Partners With SpaceX, Blue Origin, and 5 Other US Companies to Advance Space Capabilities

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Russia is back at it again with its aggressive tactics and dishonorable behavior, and this time, its fighter jets are harassing NATO aircraft in the Middle Eastern country of Syria. In the past 48 hours, there were several reports of as many as six NATO aircraft facing harassment from Russian forces in the air, engaging in dangerous advancements.

It has been well over a year since Russia's attack on Ukraine and this remains an ongoing conflict in the present, now displaying more erratic behavior against other countries as well.

Russian Fighter Jets Harass NATO Aircraft Over Syria

(Photo : ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP via Getty Images)

According to a recent statement from Lt Gen Alex Grynkewich, commander of the US Air Force Central Command, Russians have engaged NATO aircraft in the Islamic state amidst the recent mission of the United States.

"Russian military aircraft engaged in unsafe and unprofessional behavior Thursday, 9:30 A.M. local time, while interacting with U.S. MQ-9 drones carrying out our D-ISIS mission in Syria."

This act of aggression had faced "Russian aircraft dropped flares in front of the drones and flew dangerously close, endangering the safety of all aircraft involved," said Lt Gen Grynkewich.

Read Also: Dolphins of War? Russia Reportedly Trains Marine Mammals for Military Needs

Russian's Dangerous Behavior is a Trend

It was not the first time that Russia did this, as according to Interesting Engineering, the act has become a trend from Russian forces to disrupt operations and endanger the aircraft present.

As per the US Air Force Central Command, "This is the second instance of dangerous behaviors by Russian pilots within the past 24 hours, with the first happening Wednesday at approximately 10:40 A.M. local time."

Lt Gen Grynkewich is now asking the Russians to refrain from these kinds of behavior displayed against NATO aircraft, especially as it is part of an ongoing mission.

"These events represent another example of unprofessional and unsafe actions by Russian air forces operating in Syria, which threaten the safety of both Coalition and Russian forces. We urge Russian forces in Syria to cease this reckless behavior and adhere to the standards of behavior expected of a professional air force so we can resume our focus on the enduring defeat of ISIS."

The Aggression from Russia

The overwhelming Russian forces have dealt a great deal of despair and hardships for Ukraine and the world, especially with their recent actions which are highly endangering the lives of everyone, including its citizens. Recently, the Eurasian country has been jamming GPS signals in the Baltic regions and Estonia, with pilots forced to rely on alternative methods for their navigation systems.

A threat was also imposed by the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, saying that Moscow is ready at any time to deploy depleted Uranium weapons to its enemies. This was in response to the US-Ukraine deal where the Americans would supply the European country with the same potent weapons for their defense needs against its aggressor.

Most recently, Russia took down the famous long-range missile designed by the British, best known as the Storm Shadow, and is now in possession of the military tech originally gifted to Ukraine. It is moving its focus from Ukraine to other nations in the world, particularly for the intergovernmental military alliance, NATO, over at Syria.

Related Article: Russia Took Down the 'Storm Shadow' Missile, UK's Gift to Ukraine, Now Captured by its Military

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A recent motor show in China called upon different car manufacturers present in the country to sign a joint letter, and it got the signature of Tesla CEO Elon Musk pledging his support to the cause. Musk and Tesla are the only foreign entity to sign the letter which calls upon automakers to stop their competition that may lead to an EV price war.

It was known that there were recent price changes in Tesla's EV pricing in the East Asian country, centering on a price hike and reductions made to compete with local brands.

Elon Musk Signed a Chinese Joint Letter as the Only Foreign Entity

(Photo : STR/AFP via Getty Images)

According to a report from the Financial Times, Elon Musk along with 15 other automakers, including Tesla's largest rival in the country, BYD, have all signed a joint letter that calls against the EV price competition. Musk's Tesla is the only foreign entity to sign the paper and adhere to those that call upon these price regulations in the region.

The said letter aligns with the ideals of China's Communist Party, as well as the country's leader, President Xi Jinping.

It happened at a recent auto show over in Shanghai which took place last Thursday, July 6, where the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology presented a joint letter containing the signatures from other manufacturers.

Read Also: Elon Musk's Meeting With Chinese Foreign Minister Pays Off! Tesla Stock Shoots Up

Tesla Will Abide China's Call to Stop EV Price Competition

Interesting Engineering reported that this letter calls upon the stop of the EV price wars taking place in the country, where different companies match the prices of each other to deter the competition.

It was known that Tesla significantly lowered the selling price of its Model 3 and Model Y, despite it hurting its stocks. With this letter, there would be a somewhat regulation for the prices that would be fair for the industry and consumers alike.

Tesla's Massive Operations in China

Tesla has changed the price of its EVs a lot this year, and the company is varying this on the region it is selling, with a recent price decrease for its clean energy cars in China. However, before that, there are a series of markups and markdowns for its electric cars, with the change beginning as early as January, until the most recent one.

China is not only one of Tesla's most profitable markets but also the location of its prized Gigafactory Shanghai which rapidly manufactures and delivers electric vehicles in the region. Back in 2022, Tesla's Giga Shanghai rolled out its one millionth car manufactured in the plant, but it did not stop there as the company is ramping up its development in the region.

As one of the most important countries for Tesla, China is a highly-regarded nation by Elon Musk, and wants to maintain strong bonds with them for the continued operations and patronage of his company. The recent pledge of the tech CEO only shows how it wants to progress further in the country, joining its goals to avoid EV price wars.

Related Article: Tesla Announces Plan to Construct New Shanghai Factory for Megapack Batteries

 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
HONG KONG, July 8 (Xinhua) -- John Lee, chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), has signed the District Councils (Amendment) Ordinance 2023 passed by the Legislative Council (LegCo).

He signed the bill in accordance with Article 48(3) of the Basic Law of the HKSAR on Friday, the HKSAR government said Saturday in a press release.

The ordinance will be published in the Gazette on July 10, and commence with immediate effect on even date for the purpose of constituting the seventh-term District Councils (DCs).

Lee said the ordinance is an important milestone of the work of the HKSAR in improving district governance and bears symbolic significance to Hong Kong's advancement from stability to prosperity, calling it one of the most important legislations of the HKSAR this year.

The HKSAR government said it will take forward various tasks to improve district governance in full force, promulgate guidelines for the operation of the DCs and the performance monitoring mechanism for DC members, and prepare for the election in accordance with the law, so that the new DCs can assume office smoothly on January 1 next year. 
You may want to be extra careful with sending the thumbs-up emoji by phone, as a judge in Canada has ruled that it can be used in a contract agreement similar to a digital signature for validity purposes.

Justice Timothy Keene of the Court of King's Bench in Saskatchewan province argued courts need to adapt to the "new reality" that we are in an era where many people communicate with emojis, as he ordered a farmer to pay C$82,000 ($61,442) for an unfulfilled contract, The Guardian reported.

He said the courts will now have to consider emojis as language, even in business communications.

(Photo : MIGUEL MEDINA/AFP via Getty Images)

A picture shows emoji characters also known as emoticons on the screens of two mobile phones in Paris on August 6, 2015.

Canadian Court Rules Thumbs-Up Emoji Is Valid Like Signature in Contract Agreement

The Court of King's Bench recently presided over a case involving Kent Mickleborough, a grain buyer for South West Terminal, who sent a text message to clients on March 2021, saying that the company was looking to buy 86 tons of flax at C$17 ($12.73) per bushel.

Mickleborough spoke with farmer Chris Achter over the phone and texted an image of a contract to deliver the flax in November 2021. Mickleborough applied an ink signature to the contract, which he sent with a text that read: "Please confirm flax contract."

According to the legal documents, Achter replied with a thumbs-up emoji, which Mickleborough interpreted as Achter entering into the contract. However, Achter Land & Cattle Ltd. failed to deliver the flax on the given date, and at the time, prices for the crop had increased.

Achter said in an affidavit that the thumbs-up emoji only indicated that he had received the message and had not agreed to the contract.

"I deny that he accepted the thumbs-up emoji as a digital signature of the incomplete contract," Achter said. "I did not have time to review the Flax Contract and merely wanted to indicate that I did receive his text message."

His lawyer also said his client was "not an expert in emojis." On the other hand, Mickelborough argued that Achter had agreed to previous contracts by texting back short messages like "looks good," "OK," or "Yup" in the past, the New York Times reported. The two men had a longstanding business relationship.

To settle the issue, Keene relied on the website Dictionary.com, which said the thumbs-up emoji is used to "express assent, approval, or encouragement in digital communications, especially in Western cultures," Engadget reported.

Thus, Keene agreed with Mickelborough that Achter's thumbs-up emoji meant an expression of approval.

"This court readily acknowledges that a emoji is a non-traditional means to 'sign' a document but nevertheless under these circumstances this was a valid way to convey the two purposes of a 'signature'," Keene noted.

Achter's lawyer suggested that allowing the thumbs-up emoji to signify approval would open the "flood gates" to other emojis carrying legal merit. However, Keene dismissed this concern.

The judge said: "This Court cannot (nor should it) attempt to stem the tide of technology and common usage (of emojis)... This appears to be the new reality in Canadian society and courts will have to be ready to meet the new challenges that may arise from the use of emojis and the like."

Keene then found that the contract was enforceable and consequently breached. He awarded damages to the amount of C$82,200.21 ($61,498.09 US) plus interest.

Also Read: Unicode Now Rejects New Flag Emojis-Saying These Icons Pose More Trouble Than They Seem

Emojis as a Form of Expression

Emojis have become a prevalent means of emphasizing text messages or expressing reactions to social media posts. For many individuals, these pictorial symbols can effectively replace words.

The Washington Post reported that Oxford recognized the "tears of joy" emoji as the word of the year in 2015, proving that emojis have been widely embraced as a s form of expression.

Emojis have also made their way into the business realm, which usually utilizes formal words to communicate with each other. Some companies now prefer using workplace communications platforms like Slack over formal and traditional methods like email, etc.

Related Article: Telegram's New Update Brings Additional Emojis, Productivity Features

 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Do you want to transfer files from your smartphone to your computer or vice-versa using Xender?

Well, if you want to then this article will help you.

Xender is one of the most famous file transfer applications that allows users to connect two or more smartphones to share photos, applications, videos, media documents, and other files.

In addition to media files, Xender also allows users to share contacts, text messages, and smartphone applications.

One of the major highlights of Xender is the ability to transfer files to more than one participant simultaneously.

Additionally, it makes use of your phones Wi-Fi hotspot feature for file transfer and will not use your mobile data, and vanishes the use of traditional data cable or ethernet cables.

Xender For PC Minimum Requirements

Before you download Xender for PC ensure that your computer fulfills the minimum requirements to run Xender smoothly.

Operating System: Windows 7/8/10

Memory (RAM): 512 MB of RAM required

Hard Disk Space: 700 MB of free space required

Processor: Intel Core i3 Dual Core or faster

How To Download Xender For PC?

In this article, we have shared three different methods using which you can download and use Xender on a Windows 10 PC or macOS computer.

You can try out all three methods mentioned in this article and opt for the one that best suits your needs.

1. Xender Web

The first and possibly the easiest way of using Xender on a PC is Xender Web.

Using the Xender web you can effortlessly transfer content from your Android, Tizen, tablets, or iOS smartphone directly to your PC.

Xender Web eliminates the need for downloading additional software to use Xender.

To use the Xender web service, you have to visit the URL https://web.xender.com/ and scan the generated QR code with your smartphone.

Once the scanning process is completed you can easily send or receive files.

Since Xender web is a browser-based solution you can even use it on a Linux computer. Additionally, you can even use the Connect PC mode and turn on the Personal Hotspot on your phone to connect to a PC.

In this mode, you have to connect your PC to your phones Hotspot. Once connected visit the URL https://192.168.43.1:33455.

Use Xender Web

2. Xender App For PC ( Windows & macOS )

In addition to smartphones, the Xender team has also published its official application for Windows computers which is completely free of cost.

If you are looking for an offline installer, you can easily download the xender app for pc from the Microsoft store.

Once downloaded simply follow the on-screen instructions to install Xender on Windows 10 PC.

Download Xender App For Windows 10 PC

3. Xender APK For PC

Theres an official version of Xender application available on the Windows App store. That said, this application is not regularly updated and it might not be compatible with an older Windows computer that is not running on Windows 10.

Presently, theres only one method for installing Android apps and games on Windows or macOS, and i.e. using an Android emulator.

For the tutorial, we are using Bluestacks. You can choose any Android emulator of your choice.

Download the Bluestacks emulator and install the .exe file on your computer.

file on your computer. Once installed sign-in with your Google account on Bluestacks.

Next up open Playstore and search Xender

Install the application and follow the on-screen instructions to start using it.

Even though Xender is installed on a Windows system the application will now run in the Android environment.

4. Download Xender Windows On 11

Windows 11 allows users to natively download and install Android apps on their computers. This means you no longer need an emulator to download Android apps on a Windows 11 PC.

Microsoft has also introduced the Amazon Android app store on Windows 11 to offer easy access to thousands of Android apps. As a result, you can install Xender on Windows 11 using the Amazon app store.

Furthermore, you can even sideload and manually install the Xender APK on your Windows 11 computer.

How To Use Xender?

You can follow these simple instructions to transfer files from your Android or iOS smartphone to your PC.

Android Smartphone to PC/Laptop

1. Open Xender in your Android device, tap the + button and choose Connect PC.

2. Open web.xender.com in your Laptop/PC.

3. Scan the QR Code with your Android device; both devices should be automatically connected.

iOS Device to PC/Laptop

1. Open Xender in your Android device, tap the Connect PC on the side menu and

2. Open web.xender.com in your Laptop/PC.

3. Scan the QR Code with your iOS device; both devices should be automatically connected.

Alternate Method

1. On Xender choose Connect PC mode and turn on the Personal Hotspot.

2. Let your laptop join the Personal Hotspot created by your mobile device.

3. Open the link on the Xender (https://192.168.43.1:33455).

4. Accept the permission on your mobile device, and you should be connected.

It is worth noting that while using Direct Mode, both devices are connected to the same Wi-Fi/Internet network and there will be no data transfer limitation. However, while using the Cloud Mode, one of the devices is not connected to the same Wi-Fi/Internet network and there will be a data transfer limitation of 10MB.

How To Use Xender Without Bluestacks?

Undoubtedly, Bluestacks is a feature-rich Android emulator. That said, it consumes a considerable amount of system resources and offers poor performance coupled with laggy experience on low-powered laptops.

So if you want to use Xender for PC without Bluestacks then you can check out these alternate best Android emulators.

Download Xender On Phone

You can download the Xender smartphone application directly from the Google Play Store or from Apples Appstore.

Xender App Download For Android

Xender App Download For iPhone Or iPad

Is Xender A Free App?

Yes, Xender is a free app and you can install Xender on PC or your phone without paying anything.

Is Xender a Chinese app?

Xender is a Chinese app developed by a Chinese company Xender Digital Technology Private Limited.

Note: Xender is banned in India.

CONCLUSION
Looking for ways to Download UC Browser On PC?

UC Browser is one of the most feature-packed web browsers out there thats used by millions of Android smartphone users on a regular basis.

It is designed for fast, secure, and smart web browsing with features like data-saving browsing mode, high-quality video playback, a dedicated download manager with resume support, a built-in ad blocker, etc.

In this article, we have shared multiple methods to Download Windows 11 UC Browser. So without further ado lets check out UC Browser PC Download.

Download UC Browser For PC

At the time of writing this article, there is no official app or program of UC Browser developed for Windows 11, Windows 10, or Windows 7 Desktop PC and Laptops.

Consequently, you have to rely on a feature-packed Android Emulator to download, install and use UC Browser on your computer.

Bluestacks is possibly the best well-optimized Android emulator that performs almost like an Android phone. We have tested and found bluestacks to be safe to use.

So heres how you can download and install UC Browser for Windows 10 PC.

STEP 1: Download the Bluestacks emulator and install the .exe file on your computer by following the on-screen instructions.

STEP 2: Once installed sign in with your google account on Bluestacks.

STEP 3: Next launch the Google Play Store on Bluestacks and search for UC Browser.

STEP 4: Once located press the install button and wait for a few minutes.

STEP 5: Once the UC Browser app is installed on your PC you can launch it and start browsing the internet.

A similar method can be followed to download and install UC Browser on a MacBook, Mac Mini, Mac Studio, or Mac Pro.

UC Browser PC Download Without Bluestacks

Bluestacks is a feature-packed Android Emulator thats tried and trusted by millions of users.

However, it is not the most optimized emulator out there and you might witness a laggy experience on low-powered laptops and aging desktops.

So if you want to Download UC Browser on Mac or Windows PC without Bluestacks then you can check out these alternate Android Emulators.

1. Nox App Player

Nox App Player is another great android emulator for downloading and using UC Browser on a Windows and macOS PC. This emulator offers one-click installation and excludes any bloatware or third-party apps.

Nox App Player is very stable and the keymapping feature comes in handy while browsing the internet on UC Browser.

2. KO Player

KO Player is the next best emulator for Windows 10 UC Browser Download. Well, this emulator is perfect for playing games and running resource-intensive apps.

KO Player also offers One-click recording which might come in handy if you plan to record your browsing activity.

3. MEmu

MEmu Play is an Android 5.1 Lolipop-based Android emulator for Windows 11 PC. The installation is quick and simple with no bloatware or third-party apps.

One of the major highlights of MemeU Play is Key-Mapping again can come in handy while navigating tabs in UC Browser.

Download UC Browser For PC Windows 11

One of the most advertised features of Windows 11 is native android app support.

If you have Windows 11 installed on your PC then you can effortlessly download and install Android apps eliminating the need to rely on an Android Emulator.

Now to Download Windows 11 UC Browser you can either search for the browser on the Amazon app store or manually install it using the UC Browser APK.

One of the best websites to download UC Browser APK is APKPure.

DOWNLOAD UC BROWSER APK

UC Browser PC Download Faqs

How Can I Download UC Browser On PC?

To download UC Browser On PC you can install any android emulator on your PC. Once installed open the emulator and sign in with your Google account. Next, open Google PlayStore and search for UC Browser. Lastly, press the install button and the UC browser will get downloaded on PC.

Is UC Browser Available For PC?

Sadly theres no native version of the UC Browser available for Windows 11/10/7 PC. That said, you can install the UC browser on your PC using any reliable android emulator.

What Is The Latest Version Of UC Browser For PC?

The latest version of UC browser is version 13.4.0.1306. This version was released on Oct 20, 2021. Its worth noting that verison 13.4.0.1306 and above are completely safe to download.

Is UC Browser Chinese?

UC Browser is developed by UCWeb Singapore Pte. Ltd. which is a Chinese company.

Note: UC Browser is banned in India.

CONCLUSION

So these were some of the best methods to Install UC Browser For PC.
Microsoft has launched a new AI Skills Initiative aimed to provide free training and resources to individuals and organizations around the world to help learn artificial intelligence (AI).

The new AI Skills Initiative, which is developed in collaboration with Microsoft-owned LinkedIn, will be offered through LinkedIns training platform for free.

It includes a new grant challenge with data.org for organizations to develop new ways of training, upskilling, and reskilling workers in generative AI.

AI has tremendous potential to empower workers, however, we need to ensure that everyone has the skills to use it. The new AI Skills Initiative marks a new beginning that will build on a new wave of technology innovation to come, Gunjan Patel, Director and Head  Philanthropies at Microsoft India, said.

In an article published on LinkedIn, Kate Behncken, Corporate VP for Microsoft Philanthropies, called the initiative the first Professional Certificate on Generative AI in the online learning market.

During this new coursework, participants will learn introductory concepts of AI, including a look at responsible AI frameworks. Upon completion of the coursework, they will receive a Career Essentials certificate, which they can add to their LinkedIn profile and share with their network.

About The Course

The course titled Career Essentials in Generative AI will consist of five instructional videos with a total duration of about four hours. The following subjects are covered in the training videos:

Introduction to Artificial Intelligence

Understanding Generative AI

Generative AI and its Evolution in Online Search

Enhancing Work Efficiency with Microsoft Bing Chat

Ethical Considerations in the Age of Generative AI

To earn the professional certificate, you should first complete all the videos. Only upon completion of the entire training, you will get access to the exam. Once you pass the exam, you will receive immediate access to your certificate, which you can post on your LinkedIn profile.

Currently, this Professional Certificate on Generative AI is available in English and will launch in Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, Simplified Chinese, and Japanese over the coming months on LinkedIn Learning.

Following Microsofts six other Career Essentials Professional Certificates in the Skills for Jobs program, this AI coursework will be unlocked and available for free through 2025.

For those interested in teaching courses, a trainer toolkit for teachers, trainers, and facilitators, including an AI course built for educators, will be available at a later date.

Additionally, Microsoft Learn AI Skills Challenge, a free technical training challenge to learn essential AI skills with Microsoft products and services, will also launch on July 17th. You can sign up HERE.

Microsoft is also teaming up with GitHub and data.org on a Generative AI Skills Grant challenge, an open grant program to explore, develop, and implement how non-profit organizations, social enterprises, and research or academic institutions can train and empower the workforce to use generative AI for historically marginalized populations around the world.

The grant is now accepting applications, with a deadline for initial proposals on August 15, 2023. The winners of the grant will be announced by Microsoft later this year.

According to the World Economic Forum, AI skills represent the third-highest priority for companies training strategies.

Microsofts research shows that while 70% of people would like to delegate as much work as possible to AI to lessen their workloads, 49% worry that AI may replace their jobs.

With the new AI Skills Initiative, Microsoft continues the work of bringing digital skills to people around the world and helping them stay ahead of emerging skills gaps and take advantage of new AI technologies.
*China's participation in the technological revolution will help stimulate the sluggish global economy.



*China's AI industry is in the midst of a development boom, with the scale of the core industry at 500 billion yuan (about 69 billion U.S. dollars).

*The number of AI enterprises in China exceeds 4,300.

SHANGHAI, July 8 (Xinhua) -- China is in the midst of an artificial intelligence (AI) boom this year, which has shown massive potential in reshaping the world's second-largest economy.

In a clear indication of the AI fever, over 30 cutting-edge products, including deep-learning large language models and general-purpose humanoid robots, are making their global debut at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) 2023 in Shanghai.

A robot performs shooting at the basket during the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) 2023 in Shanghai, east China, July 6, 2023. (Xinhua/Fang Zhe)

Industry insiders and experts believe that China's AI revolution demonstrates the country's determination to push forward the digital economy and a new round of industrial revolution. AI technologies are transforming a wide range of industries, injecting further growth momentum into China's economy as well as that of the world.

AI FRENZY

Over 400 companies are participating in the WAIC this year, occupying a sprawling exhibition area spanning 50,000 square meters. Both figures are at their highest levels since the inaugural event in 2018.

Since ChatGPT took the world by storm late last year, Chinese tech giants and startups have been rushing to join the AI race by launching similar AI chatbots one after another.

China has 79 major AI large language models, with tech giants including Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent, Meituan and iFLYTEK all venturing into this field, according to a report released in May by a research center affiliated with the Ministry of Science and Technology.

China's AI industry is in the midst of a development boom, with the scale of the core industry at 500 billion yuan (about 69 billion U.S. dollars) and the number of AI enterprises exceeding 4,300, according to Vice Minister of Industry and Information Technology Xu Xiaolan.

China has been accelerating its construction of AI-related infrastructure, with the country's total computing power already ranking second globally, Xu said.

Visitors watch humanoid robots dancing at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) 2023 in Shanghai, east China, July 6, 2023. (Xinhua/Liu Ying)

"The strong demand for computing power provides a huge market, and domestic chip companies will have more opportunities given the tight supply of and export restrictions on foreign computing chips," said Cai Quangen, vice chairman of chip maker Iluvatar CoreX.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk on Thursday lauded China's AI industry development while addressing the WAIC via video link. He said he expects China to have strong AI prowess in the future.

Liu Hongbin, with the Hong Kong Institute of Science and Innovation under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, echoed similar views. Given the number of people working in AI-related fields, the advantage of a huge amount of AI data, the advanced AI infrastructure and supportive policies of the government, China will become a world leader in AI by 2030, Liu said.

RESHAPING ECONOMY

Spawning a large number of applications for industries and scientific research, the AI boom is driving the development of China's digital economy and reshaping the economic landscape.

More than 2,500 digital and intelligent workshops and factories have been built across the country, which has helped shorten the research and development cycle by 20.7 percent and improve production efficiency by 34.8 percent, according to Xu.

XtalPi Inc., a pharmaceutical technology company powered by AI and automation, exhibited a drug discovery automation solution at the AI event in Shanghai. Gu Liang, XtalPi's chief technology officer, told Xinhua that its AI technology can help break through the speed bottleneck in chemical synthesis, improve the success rate of drug development experiments, and shorten the development cycles of new drugs.

Huawei on Friday launched its Pangu Large Model 3.0 at Huawei Cloud Developer Conference. It had sub-models for drug development, mining and railway transport.

Visitors learn about the Pangu weather AI model of Huawei during the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) 2023 in Shanghai, east China, July 6, 2023. (Xinhua/Wang Xiang)

"In addition to applications such as conversations, poetry writing and painting, the AI big models should be applied in real-economy fields including urban development, fintech, biomedicine, manufacturing and scientific research," said Wu Hequan, an academician with the Chinese Academy of Engineering.

To date, AI large models in China have shown great potential for applications in fields such as smart mines, drug development, meteorology, e-government, finance, intelligent manufacturing, and railroad management.

"In the future, we will move towards an era of intelligent interaction, where people and machines are more seamlessly connected and machines are better equipped to help us accomplish greater tasks," said He Xiaodong, head of JD Explore Academy. "AI large models will eventually shift to multimodality, bringing more innovation and possibilities to all industries."

WIN-WIN OPPORTUNITIES

China takes the digital economy as an important means to promote economic transformation and high-quality development, said Tang Lan, head of the cyberspace governance research center under the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations.

China has witnessed a significant increase in the size of its digital economy over the past seven years. According to a research report released Wednesday at the Global Digital Economy Conference 2023 in Beijing, from 2016 to 2022, the scale of China's digital economy increased by 4.1 trillion U.S. dollars, with a compound annual growth rate of 14.2 percent.

The scale of China's digital economy reached 50.2 trillion yuan in 2022, accounting for 41.5 percent of the country's GDP.

"Digital technologies are driving a new round of technological and industrial revolution and the development of China's digital economy will continue to create a huge market space and bring about lots of win-win business opportunities for foreign investors," Tang said.

China's participation in the technological revolution will also help stimulate the sluggish global economy, she added.

Countries around the world should uphold an open and cooperative mindset and work together to resolve differences and reach a consensus to jointly build a community with a shared future in cyberspace, Tang said. (Video reporters: Sun Qing, Cen Zhilian; video editors: Liang Wanshan, Zheng Qingbin, Lin Lin and Ma Ruxuan)
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A child selects books at the "Banshan Huayu" library in Qiunatong Village of Bingzhongluo Township in Gongshan Dulong and Nu Autonomous County, Lisu Autonomous Prefecture of Nujiang, southwest China's Yunnan Province, July 5, 2023.

The Nujiang River, cascading down from the Tanggula Mountains on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, carves its way through the majestic mountains of Yunnan where a magnificent canyon is formed. Nestled at the northernmost tip of the Nujiang River canyon is the village of Qiunatong, home to a unique library called "Banshan Huayu" (Half Hill Flower Talks). "The aroma of books reminds me of the fragrance of flowers," said Gan Wenyong, the library owner.

Qiunatong Village, Gan's hometown, was once entrenched in dire poverty. Due to financial constraints, he missed out on educational opportunities during his childhood. Instead, he spent his childhood doing farm works, herding cattle, collecting herbs, and feeding pigs. However, in 2006, Gan seized the chance to pursue education when the revised Compulsory Education Law abolished tuition and miscellaneous fees. At the age of 14, he began studying in the fourth grade, relying on donations to complete his schooling and was later admitted to a university.

After finishing the college entrance exam, Gan returned to his hometown with a collection of books. The children in the village flocked to borrow books from him. His idea of starting a library began to take form. "I never had the chance to read a book until I turned 14. I hope to make up for my childhood regret by making books available to the children in my hometown," Gan said.

In 2016, while still a college student, Gan brought the books he had collected back to Qiunatong. Selling his family's two cows to gather funds, he converted an unused family lodge into the village's inaugural library, "Banshan Huayu." Upon graduation, Gan embarked on legal aid work in Gongshan County where Qiunatong Village is located. By the end of 2019, Gongshan County shook off poverty, and a year later, Gan was granted a loan to expand the library. With the support of the local government and charity groups, the library now has a collection of more than 40,000 books, attracting local villagers, especially youngsters.

As the summer holiday approaches, a collaborative public welfare project between the library and Shenzhen University will be launched. Volunteers from Shenzhen University will start a free reading camp at the library for children in Qiunatong Village.

Gan Wenyong now has a bigger vision. He wants to set up more libraries in the residential areas of Qiunatong. "I want to spare no effort to make more contribution to my hometown," said he. (Xinhua/Jiang Wenyao)

Gan Wenyong arranges books at the "Banshan Huayu" library in Qiunatong Village of Bingzhongluo Township in Gongshan Dulong and Nu Autonomous County, Lisu Autonomous Prefecture of Nujiang, southwest China's Yunnan Province, July 5, 2023.

The Nujiang River, cascading down from the Tanggula Mountains on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, carves its way through the majestic mountains of Yunnan where a magnificent canyon is formed. Nestled at the northernmost tip of the Nujiang River canyon is the village of Qiunatong, home to a unique library called "Banshan Huayu" (Half Hill Flower Talks). "The aroma of books reminds me of the fragrance of flowers," said Gan Wenyong, the library owner.

Qiunatong Village, Gan's hometown, was once entrenched in dire poverty. Due to financial constraints, he missed out on educational opportunities during his childhood. Instead, he spent his childhood doing farm works, herding cattle, collecting herbs, and feeding pigs. However, in 2006, Gan seized the chance to pursue education when the revised Compulsory Education Law abolished tuition and miscellaneous fees. At the age of 14, he began studying in the fourth grade, relying on donations to complete his schooling and was later admitted to a university.

After finishing the college entrance exam, Gan returned to his hometown with a collection of books. The children in the village flocked to borrow books from him. His idea of starting a library began to take form. "I never had the chance to read a book until I turned 14. I hope to make up for my childhood regret by making books available to the children in my hometown," Gan said.

In 2016, while still a college student, Gan brought the books he had collected back to Qiunatong. Selling his family's two cows to gather funds, he converted an unused family lodge into the village's inaugural library, "Banshan Huayu." Upon graduation, Gan embarked on legal aid work in Gongshan County where Qiunatong Village is located. By the end of 2019, Gongshan County shook off poverty, and a year later, Gan was granted a loan to expand the library. With the support of the local government and charity groups, the library now has a collection of more than 40,000 books, attracting local villagers, especially youngsters.

As the summer holiday approaches, a collaborative public welfare project between the library and Shenzhen University will be launched. Volunteers from Shenzhen University will start a free reading camp at the library for children in Qiunatong Village.

Gan Wenyong now has a bigger vision. He wants to set up more libraries in the residential areas of Qiunatong. "I want to spare no effort to make more contribution to my hometown," said he. (Xinhua/Fei Maohua)

Children read books at the "Banshan Huayu" library in Qiunatong Village of Bingzhongluo Township in Gongshan Dulong and Nu Autonomous County, Lisu Autonomous Prefecture of Nujiang, southwest China's Yunnan Province, July 5, 2023.

The Nujiang River, cascading down from the Tanggula Mountains on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, carves its way through the majestic mountains of Yunnan where a magnificent canyon is formed. Nestled at the northernmost tip of the Nujiang River canyon is the village of Qiunatong, home to a unique library called "Banshan Huayu" (Half Hill Flower Talks). "The aroma of books reminds me of the fragrance of flowers," said Gan Wenyong, the library owner.

Qiunatong Village, Gan's hometown, was once entrenched in dire poverty. Due to financial constraints, he missed out on educational opportunities during his childhood. Instead, he spent his childhood doing farm works, herding cattle, collecting herbs, and feeding pigs. However, in 2006, Gan seized the chance to pursue education when the revised Compulsory Education Law abolished tuition and miscellaneous fees. At the age of 14, he began studying in the fourth grade, relying on donations to complete his schooling and was later admitted to a university.

After finishing the college entrance exam, Gan returned to his hometown with a collection of books. The children in the village flocked to borrow books from him. His idea of starting a library began to take form. "I never had the chance to read a book until I turned 14. I hope to make up for my childhood regret by making books available to the children in my hometown," Gan said.

In 2016, while still a college student, Gan brought the books he had collected back to Qiunatong. Selling his family's two cows to gather funds, he converted an unused family lodge into the village's inaugural library, "Banshan Huayu." Upon graduation, Gan embarked on legal aid work in Gongshan County where Qiunatong Village is located. By the end of 2019, Gongshan County shook off poverty, and a year later, Gan was granted a loan to expand the library. With the support of the local government and charity groups, the library now has a collection of more than 40,000 books, attracting local villagers, especially youngsters.

As the summer holiday approaches, a collaborative public welfare project between the library and Shenzhen University will be launched. Volunteers from Shenzhen University will start a free reading camp at the library for children in Qiunatong Village.

Gan Wenyong now has a bigger vision. He wants to set up more libraries in the residential areas of Qiunatong. "I want to spare no effort to make more contribution to my hometown," said he. (Xinhua/Fei Maohua)

A child selects books at the "Banshan Huayu" library in Qiunatong Village of Bingzhongluo Township in Gongshan Dulong and Nu Autonomous County, Lisu Autonomous Prefecture of Nujiang, southwest China's Yunnan Province, July 5, 2023.

The Nujiang River, cascading down from the Tanggula Mountains on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, carves its way through the majestic mountains of Yunnan where a magnificent canyon is formed. Nestled at the northernmost tip of the Nujiang River canyon is the village of Qiunatong, home to a unique library called "Banshan Huayu" (Half Hill Flower Talks). "The aroma of books reminds me of the fragrance of flowers," said Gan Wenyong, the library owner.

Qiunatong Village, Gan's hometown, was once entrenched in dire poverty. Due to financial constraints, he missed out on educational opportunities during his childhood. Instead, he spent his childhood doing farm works, herding cattle, collecting herbs, and feeding pigs. However, in 2006, Gan seized the chance to pursue education when the revised Compulsory Education Law abolished tuition and miscellaneous fees. At the age of 14, he began studying in the fourth grade, relying on donations to complete his schooling and was later admitted to a university.

After finishing the college entrance exam, Gan returned to his hometown with a collection of books. The children in the village flocked to borrow books from him. His idea of starting a library began to take form. "I never had the chance to read a book until I turned 14. I hope to make up for my childhood regret by making books available to the children in my hometown," Gan said.

In 2016, while still a college student, Gan brought the books he had collected back to Qiunatong. Selling his family's two cows to gather funds, he converted an unused family lodge into the village's inaugural library, "Banshan Huayu." Upon graduation, Gan embarked on legal aid work in Gongshan County where Qiunatong Village is located. By the end of 2019, Gongshan County shook off poverty, and a year later, Gan was granted a loan to expand the library. With the support of the local government and charity groups, the library now has a collection of more than 40,000 books, attracting local villagers, especially youngsters.

As the summer holiday approaches, a collaborative public welfare project between the library and Shenzhen University will be launched. Volunteers from Shenzhen University will start a free reading camp at the library for children in Qiunatong Village.

Gan Wenyong now has a bigger vision. He wants to set up more libraries in the residential areas of Qiunatong. "I want to spare no effort to make more contribution to my hometown," said he. (Xinhua/Fei Maohua)

Gan Wenyong reads a book at the "Banshan Huayu" library in Qiunatong Village of Bingzhongluo Township in Gongshan Dulong and Nu Autonomous County, Lisu Autonomous Prefecture of Nujiang, southwest China's Yunnan Province, July 5, 2023.

The Nujiang River, cascading down from the Tanggula Mountains on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, carves its way through the majestic mountains of Yunnan where a magnificent canyon is formed. Nestled at the northernmost tip of the Nujiang River canyon is the village of Qiunatong, home to a unique library called "Banshan Huayu" (Half Hill Flower Talks). "The aroma of books reminds me of the fragrance of flowers," said Gan Wenyong, the library owner.

Qiunatong Village, Gan's hometown, was once entrenched in dire poverty. Due to financial constraints, he missed out on educational opportunities during his childhood. Instead, he spent his childhood doing farm works, herding cattle, collecting herbs, and feeding pigs. However, in 2006, Gan seized the chance to pursue education when the revised Compulsory Education Law abolished tuition and miscellaneous fees. At the age of 14, he began studying in the fourth grade, relying on donations to complete his schooling and was later admitted to a university.

After finishing the college entrance exam, Gan returned to his hometown with a collection of books. The children in the village flocked to borrow books from him. His idea of starting a library began to take form. "I never had the chance to read a book until I turned 14. I hope to make up for my childhood regret by making books available to the children in my hometown," Gan said.

In 2016, while still a college student, Gan brought the books he had collected back to Qiunatong. Selling his family's two cows to gather funds, he converted an unused family lodge into the village's inaugural library, "Banshan Huayu." Upon graduation, Gan embarked on legal aid work in Gongshan County where Qiunatong Village is located. By the end of 2019, Gongshan County shook off poverty, and a year later, Gan was granted a loan to expand the library. With the support of the local government and charity groups, the library now has a collection of more than 40,000 books, attracting local villagers, especially youngsters.

As the summer holiday approaches, a collaborative public welfare project between the library and Shenzhen University will be launched. Volunteers from Shenzhen University will start a free reading camp at the library for children in Qiunatong Village.

Gan Wenyong now has a bigger vision. He wants to set up more libraries in the residential areas of Qiunatong. "I want to spare no effort to make more contribution to my hometown," said he. (Xinhua/Fei Maohua)

A child selects books at the "Banshan Huayu" library in Qiunatong Village of Bingzhongluo Township in Gongshan Dulong and Nu Autonomous County, Lisu Autonomous Prefecture of Nujiang, southwest China's Yunnan Province, July 5, 2023.

The Nujiang River, cascading down from the Tanggula Mountains on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, carves its way through the majestic mountains of Yunnan where a magnificent canyon is formed. Nestled at the northernmost tip of the Nujiang River canyon is the village of Qiunatong, home to a unique library called "Banshan Huayu" (Half Hill Flower Talks). "The aroma of books reminds me of the fragrance of flowers," said Gan Wenyong, the library owner.

Qiunatong Village, Gan's hometown, was once entrenched in dire poverty. Due to financial constraints, he missed out on educational opportunities during his childhood. Instead, he spent his childhood doing farm works, herding cattle, collecting herbs, and feeding pigs. However, in 2006, Gan seized the chance to pursue education when the revised Compulsory Education Law abolished tuition and miscellaneous fees. At the age of 14, he began studying in the fourth grade, relying on donations to complete his schooling and was later admitted to a university.

After finishing the college entrance exam, Gan returned to his hometown with a collection of books. The children in the village flocked to borrow books from him. His idea of starting a library began to take form. "I never had the chance to read a book until I turned 14. I hope to make up for my childhood regret by making books available to the children in my hometown," Gan said.

In 2016, while still a college student, Gan brought the books he had collected back to Qiunatong. Selling his family's two cows to gather funds, he converted an unused family lodge into the village's inaugural library, "Banshan Huayu." Upon graduation, Gan embarked on legal aid work in Gongshan County where Qiunatong Village is located. By the end of 2019, Gongshan County shook off poverty, and a year later, Gan was granted a loan to expand the library. With the support of the local government and charity groups, the library now has a collection of more than 40,000 books, attracting local villagers, especially youngsters.

As the summer holiday approaches, a collaborative public welfare project between the library and Shenzhen University will be launched. Volunteers from Shenzhen University will start a free reading camp at the library for children in Qiunatong Village.

Gan Wenyong now has a bigger vision. He wants to set up more libraries in the residential areas of Qiunatong. "I want to spare no effort to make more contribution to my hometown," said he. (Xinhua/Fei Maohua)

Children read books at the "Banshan Huayu" library in Qiunatong Village of Bingzhongluo Township in Gongshan Dulong and Nu Autonomous County, Lisu Autonomous Prefecture of Nujiang, southwest China's Yunnan Province, July 5, 2023.

The Nujiang River, cascading down from the Tanggula Mountains on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, carves its way through the majestic mountains of Yunnan where a magnificent canyon is formed. Nestled at the northernmost tip of the Nujiang River canyon is the village of Qiunatong, home to a unique library called "Banshan Huayu" (Half Hill Flower Talks). "The aroma of books reminds me of the fragrance of flowers," said Gan Wenyong, the library owner.

Qiunatong Village, Gan's hometown, was once entrenched in dire poverty. Due to financial constraints, he missed out on educational opportunities during his childhood. Instead, he spent his childhood doing farm works, herding cattle, collecting herbs, and feeding pigs. However, in 2006, Gan seized the chance to pursue education when the revised Compulsory Education Law abolished tuition and miscellaneous fees. At the age of 14, he began studying in the fourth grade, relying on donations to complete his schooling and was later admitted to a university.

After finishing the college entrance exam, Gan returned to his hometown with a collection of books. The children in the village flocked to borrow books from him. His idea of starting a library began to take form. "I never had the chance to read a book until I turned 14. I hope to make up for my childhood regret by making books available to the children in my hometown," Gan said.

In 2016, while still a college student, Gan brought the books he had collected back to Qiunatong. Selling his family's two cows to gather funds, he converted an unused family lodge into the village's inaugural library, "Banshan Huayu." Upon graduation, Gan embarked on legal aid work in Gongshan County where Qiunatong Village is located. By the end of 2019, Gongshan County shook off poverty, and a year later, Gan was granted a loan to expand the library. With the support of the local government and charity groups, the library now has a collection of more than 40,000 books, attracting local villagers, especially youngsters.

As the summer holiday approaches, a collaborative public welfare project between the library and Shenzhen University will be launched. Volunteers from Shenzhen University will start a free reading camp at the library for children in Qiunatong Village.

Gan Wenyong now has a bigger vision. He wants to set up more libraries in the residential areas of Qiunatong. "I want to spare no effort to make more contribution to my hometown," said he. (Xinhua/Fei Maohua)

Children enter the "Banshan Huayu" library in Qiunatong Village of Bingzhongluo Township in Gongshan Dulong and Nu Autonomous County, Lisu Autonomous Prefecture of Nujiang, southwest China's Yunnan Province, July 5, 2023.

The Nujiang River, cascading down from the Tanggula Mountains on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, carves its way through the majestic mountains of Yunnan where a magnificent canyon is formed. Nestled at the northernmost tip of the Nujiang River canyon is the village of Qiunatong, home to a unique library called "Banshan Huayu" (Half Hill Flower Talks). "The aroma of books reminds me of the fragrance of flowers," said Gan Wenyong, the library owner.

Qiunatong Village, Gan's hometown, was once entrenched in dire poverty. Due to financial constraints, he missed out on educational opportunities during his childhood. Instead, he spent his childhood doing farm works, herding cattle, collecting herbs, and feeding pigs. However, in 2006, Gan seized the chance to pursue education when the revised Compulsory Education Law abolished tuition and miscellaneous fees. At the age of 14, he began studying in the fourth grade, relying on donations to complete his schooling and was later admitted to a university.

After finishing the college entrance exam, Gan returned to his hometown with a collection of books. The children in the village flocked to borrow books from him. His idea of starting a library began to take form. "I never had the chance to read a book until I turned 14. I hope to make up for my childhood regret by making books available to the children in my hometown," Gan said.

In 2016, while still a college student, Gan brought the books he had collected back to Qiunatong. Selling his family's two cows to gather funds, he converted an unused family lodge into the village's inaugural library, "Banshan Huayu." Upon graduation, Gan embarked on legal aid work in Gongshan County where Qiunatong Village is located. By the end of 2019, Gongshan County shook off poverty, and a year later, Gan was granted a loan to expand the library. With the support of the local government and charity groups, the library now has a collection of more than 40,000 books, attracting local villagers, especially youngsters.

As the summer holiday approaches, a collaborative public welfare project between the library and Shenzhen University will be launched. Volunteers from Shenzhen University will start a free reading camp at the library for children in Qiunatong Village.

Gan Wenyong now has a bigger vision. He wants to set up more libraries in the residential areas of Qiunatong. "I want to spare no effort to make more contribution to my hometown," said he. (Xinhua/Jiang Wenyao)

Children read books at the "Banshan Huayu" library in Qiunatong Village of Bingzhongluo Township in Gongshan Dulong and Nu Autonomous County, Lisu Autonomous Prefecture of Nujiang, southwest China's Yunnan Province, July 5, 2023.

The Nujiang River, cascading down from the Tanggula Mountains on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, carves its way through the majestic mountains of Yunnan where a magnificent canyon is formed. Nestled at the northernmost tip of the Nujiang River canyon is the village of Qiunatong, home to a unique library called "Banshan Huayu" (Half Hill Flower Talks). "The aroma of books reminds me of the fragrance of flowers," said Gan Wenyong, the library owner.

Qiunatong Village, Gan's hometown, was once entrenched in dire poverty. Due to financial constraints, he missed out on educational opportunities during his childhood. Instead, he spent his childhood doing farm works, herding cattle, collecting herbs, and feeding pigs. However, in 2006, Gan seized the chance to pursue education when the revised Compulsory Education Law abolished tuition and miscellaneous fees. At the age of 14, he began studying in the fourth grade, relying on donations to complete his schooling and was later admitted to a university.

After finishing the college entrance exam, Gan returned to his hometown with a collection of books. The children in the village flocked to borrow books from him. His idea of starting a library began to take form. "I never had the chance to read a book until I turned 14. I hope to make up for my childhood regret by making books available to the children in my hometown," Gan said.

In 2016, while still a college student, Gan brought the books he had collected back to Qiunatong. Selling his family's two cows to gather funds, he converted an unused family lodge into the village's inaugural library, "Banshan Huayu." Upon graduation, Gan embarked on legal aid work in Gongshan County where Qiunatong Village is located. By the end of 2019, Gongshan County shook off poverty, and a year later, Gan was granted a loan to expand the library. With the support of the local government and charity groups, the library now has a collection of more than 40,000 books, attracting local villagers, especially youngsters.

As the summer holiday approaches, a collaborative public welfare project between the library and Shenzhen University will be launched. Volunteers from Shenzhen University will start a free reading camp at the library for children in Qiunatong Village.

Gan Wenyong now has a bigger vision. He wants to set up more libraries in the residential areas of Qiunatong. "I want to spare no effort to make more contribution to my hometown," said he. (Xinhua/Fei Maohua)

Volunteer Li Miao'en talks with a child at the "Banshan Huayu" library in Qiunatong Village of Bingzhongluo Township in Gongshan Dulong and Nu Autonomous County, Lisu Autonomous Prefecture of Nujiang, southwest China's Yunnan Province, July 5, 2023.

The Nujiang River, cascading down from the Tanggula Mountains on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, carves its way through the majestic mountains of Yunnan where a magnificent canyon is formed. Nestled at the northernmost tip of the Nujiang River canyon is the village of Qiunatong, home to a unique library called "Banshan Huayu" (Half Hill Flower Talks). "The aroma of books reminds me of the fragrance of flowers," said Gan Wenyong, the library owner.

Qiunatong Village, Gan's hometown, was once entrenched in dire poverty. Due to financial constraints, he missed out on educational opportunities during his childhood. Instead, he spent his childhood doing farm works, herding cattle, collecting herbs, and feeding pigs. However, in 2006, Gan seized the chance to pursue education when the revised Compulsory Education Law abolished tuition and miscellaneous fees. At the age of 14, he began studying in the fourth grade, relying on donations to complete his schooling and was later admitted to a university.

After finishing the college entrance exam, Gan returned to his hometown with a collection of books. The children in the village flocked to borrow books from him. His idea of starting a library began to take form. "I never had the chance to read a book until I turned 14. I hope to make up for my childhood regret by making books available to the children in my hometown," Gan said.

In 2016, while still a college student, Gan brought the books he had collected back to Qiunatong. Selling his family's two cows to gather funds, he converted an unused family lodge into the village's inaugural library, "Banshan Huayu." Upon graduation, Gan embarked on legal aid work in Gongshan County where Qiunatong Village is located. By the end of 2019, Gongshan County shook off poverty, and a year later, Gan was granted a loan to expand the library. With the support of the local government and charity groups, the library now has a collection of more than 40,000 books, attracting local villagers, especially youngsters.

As the summer holiday approaches, a collaborative public welfare project between the library and Shenzhen University will be launched. Volunteers from Shenzhen University will start a free reading camp at the library for children in Qiunatong Village.

Gan Wenyong now has a bigger vision. He wants to set up more libraries in the residential areas of Qiunatong. "I want to spare no effort to make more contribution to my hometown," said he. (Xinhua/Xu Jiayi)

A child reads a book at the "Banshan Huayu" library in Qiunatong Village of Bingzhongluo Township in Gongshan Dulong and Nu Autonomous County, Lisu Autonomous Prefecture of Nujiang, southwest China's Yunnan Province, July 5, 2023.

The Nujiang River, cascading down from the Tanggula Mountains on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, carves its way through the majestic mountains of Yunnan where a magnificent canyon is formed. Nestled at the northernmost tip of the Nujiang River canyon is the village of Qiunatong, home to a unique library called "Banshan Huayu" (Half Hill Flower Talks). "The aroma of books reminds me of the fragrance of flowers," said Gan Wenyong, the library owner.

Qiunatong Village, Gan's hometown, was once entrenched in dire poverty. Due to financial constraints, he missed out on educational opportunities during his childhood. Instead, he spent his childhood doing farm works, herding cattle, collecting herbs, and feeding pigs. However, in 2006, Gan seized the chance to pursue education when the revised Compulsory Education Law abolished tuition and miscellaneous fees. At the age of 14, he began studying in the fourth grade, relying on donations to complete his schooling and was later admitted to a university.

After finishing the college entrance exam, Gan returned to his hometown with a collection of books. The children in the village flocked to borrow books from him. His idea of starting a library began to take form. "I never had the chance to read a book until I turned 14. I hope to make up for my childhood regret by making books available to the children in my hometown," Gan said.

In 2016, while still a college student, Gan brought the books he had collected back to Qiunatong. Selling his family's two cows to gather funds, he converted an unused family lodge into the village's inaugural library, "Banshan Huayu." Upon graduation, Gan embarked on legal aid work in Gongshan County where Qiunatong Village is located. By the end of 2019, Gongshan County shook off poverty, and a year later, Gan was granted a loan to expand the library. With the support of the local government and charity groups, the library now has a collection of more than 40,000 books, attracting local villagers, especially youngsters.

As the summer holiday approaches, a collaborative public welfare project between the library and Shenzhen University will be launched. Volunteers from Shenzhen University will start a free reading camp at the library for children in Qiunatong Village.

Gan Wenyong now has a bigger vision. He wants to set up more libraries in the residential areas of Qiunatong. "I want to spare no effort to make more contribution to my hometown," said he. (Xinhua/Xu Jiayi)

Children read books at the "Banshan Huayu" library in Qiunatong Village of Bingzhongluo Township in Gongshan Dulong and Nu Autonomous County, Lisu Autonomous Prefecture of Nujiang, southwest China's Yunnan Province, July 5, 2023.

The Nujiang River, cascading down from the Tanggula Mountains on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, carves its way through the majestic mountains of Yunnan where a magnificent canyon is formed. Nestled at the northernmost tip of the Nujiang River canyon is the village of Qiunatong, home to a unique library called "Banshan Huayu" (Half Hill Flower Talks). "The aroma of books reminds me of the fragrance of flowers," said Gan Wenyong, the library owner.

Qiunatong Village, Gan's hometown, was once entrenched in dire poverty. Due to financial constraints, he missed out on educational opportunities during his childhood. Instead, he spent his childhood doing farm works, herding cattle, collecting herbs, and feeding pigs. However, in 2006, Gan seized the chance to pursue education when the revised Compulsory Education Law abolished tuition and miscellaneous fees. At the age of 14, he began studying in the fourth grade, relying on donations to complete his schooling and was later admitted to a university.

After finishing the college entrance exam, Gan returned to his hometown with a collection of books. The children in the village flocked to borrow books from him. His idea of starting a library began to take form. "I never had the chance to read a book until I turned 14. I hope to make up for my childhood regret by making books available to the children in my hometown," Gan said.

In 2016, while still a college student, Gan brought the books he had collected back to Qiunatong. Selling his family's two cows to gather funds, he converted an unused family lodge into the village's inaugural library, "Banshan Huayu." Upon graduation, Gan embarked on legal aid work in Gongshan County where Qiunatong Village is located. By the end of 2019, Gongshan County shook off poverty, and a year later, Gan was granted a loan to expand the library. With the support of the local government and charity groups, the library now has a collection of more than 40,000 books, attracting local villagers, especially youngsters.

As the summer holiday approaches, a collaborative public welfare project between the library and Shenzhen University will be launched. Volunteers from Shenzhen University will start a free reading camp at the library for children in Qiunatong Village.

Gan Wenyong now has a bigger vision. He wants to set up more libraries in the residential areas of Qiunatong. "I want to spare no effort to make more contribution to my hometown," said he. (Xinhua/Jiang Wenyao)

Gan Wenyong arranges books at the "Banshan Huayu" library in Qiunatong Village of Bingzhongluo Township in Gongshan Dulong and Nu Autonomous County, Lisu Autonomous Prefecture of Nujiang, southwest China's Yunnan Province, July 5, 2023.

The Nujiang River, cascading down from the Tanggula Mountains on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, carves its way through the majestic mountains of Yunnan where a magnificent canyon is formed. Nestled at the northernmost tip of the Nujiang River canyon is the village of Qiunatong, home to a unique library called "Banshan Huayu" (Half Hill Flower Talks). "The aroma of books reminds me of the fragrance of flowers," said Gan Wenyong, the library owner.

Qiunatong Village, Gan's hometown, was once entrenched in dire poverty. Due to financial constraints, he missed out on educational opportunities during his childhood. Instead, he spent his childhood doing farm works, herding cattle, collecting herbs, and feeding pigs. However, in 2006, Gan seized the chance to pursue education when the revised Compulsory Education Law abolished tuition and miscellaneous fees. At the age of 14, he began studying in the fourth grade, relying on donations to complete his schooling and was later admitted to a university.

After finishing the college entrance exam, Gan returned to his hometown with a collection of books. The children in the village flocked to borrow books from him. His idea of starting a library began to take form. "I never had the chance to read a book until I turned 14. I hope to make up for my childhood regret by making books available to the children in my hometown," Gan said.

In 2016, while still a college student, Gan brought the books he had collected back to Qiunatong. Selling his family's two cows to gather funds, he converted an unused family lodge into the village's inaugural library, "Banshan Huayu." Upon graduation, Gan embarked on legal aid work in Gongshan County where Qiunatong Village is located. By the end of 2019, Gongshan County shook off poverty, and a year later, Gan was granted a loan to expand the library. With the support of the local government and charity groups, the library now has a collection of more than 40,000 books, attracting local villagers, especially youngsters.

As the summer holiday approaches, a collaborative public welfare project between the library and Shenzhen University will be launched. Volunteers from Shenzhen University will start a free reading camp at the library for children in Qiunatong Village.

Gan Wenyong now has a bigger vision. He wants to set up more libraries in the residential areas of Qiunatong. "I want to spare no effort to make more contribution to my hometown," said he. (Xinhua/Fei Maohua)

Children read books at the "Banshan Huayu" library in Qiunatong Village of Bingzhongluo Township in Gongshan Dulong and Nu Autonomous County, Lisu Autonomous Prefecture of Nujiang, southwest China's Yunnan Province, July 5, 2023.

The Nujiang River, cascading down from the Tanggula Mountains on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, carves its way through the majestic mountains of Yunnan where a magnificent canyon is formed. Nestled at the northernmost tip of the Nujiang River canyon is the village of Qiunatong, home to a unique library called "Banshan Huayu" (Half Hill Flower Talks). "The aroma of books reminds me of the fragrance of flowers," said Gan Wenyong, the library owner.

Qiunatong Village, Gan's hometown, was once entrenched in dire poverty. Due to financial constraints, he missed out on educational opportunities during his childhood. Instead, he spent his childhood doing farm works, herding cattle, collecting herbs, and feeding pigs. However, in 2006, Gan seized the chance to pursue education when the revised Compulsory Education Law abolished tuition and miscellaneous fees. At the age of 14, he began studying in the fourth grade, relying on donations to complete his schooling and was later admitted to a university.

After finishing the college entrance exam, Gan returned to his hometown with a collection of books. The children in the village flocked to borrow books from him. His idea of starting a library began to take form. "I never had the chance to read a book until I turned 14. I hope to make up for my childhood regret by making books available to the children in my hometown," Gan said.

In 2016, while still a college student, Gan brought the books he had collected back to Qiunatong. Selling his family's two cows to gather funds, he converted an unused family lodge into the village's inaugural library, "Banshan Huayu." Upon graduation, Gan embarked on legal aid work in Gongshan County where Qiunatong Village is located. By the end of 2019, Gongshan County shook off poverty, and a year later, Gan was granted a loan to expand the library. With the support of the local government and charity groups, the library now has a collection of more than 40,000 books, attracting local villagers, especially youngsters.

As the summer holiday approaches, a collaborative public welfare project between the library and Shenzhen University will be launched. Volunteers from Shenzhen University will start a free reading camp at the library for children in Qiunatong Village.

Gan Wenyong now has a bigger vision. He wants to set up more libraries in the residential areas of Qiunatong. "I want to spare no effort to make more contribution to my hometown," said he. (Xinhua/Jiang Wenyao)

Gan Wenyong is pictured at the "Banshan Huayu" library in Qiunatong Village of Bingzhongluo Township in Gongshan Dulong and Nu Autonomous County, Lisu Autonomous Prefecture of Nujiang, southwest China's Yunnan Province, July 6, 2023.

The Nujiang River, cascading down from the Tanggula Mountains on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, carves its way through the majestic mountains of Yunnan where a magnificent canyon is formed. Nestled at the northernmost tip of the Nujiang River canyon is the village of Qiunatong, home to a unique library called "Banshan Huayu" (Half Hill Flower Talks). "The aroma of books reminds me of the fragrance of flowers," said Gan Wenyong, the library owner.

Qiunatong Village, Gan's hometown, was once entrenched in dire poverty. Due to financial constraints, he missed out on educational opportunities during his childhood. Instead, he spent his childhood doing farm works, herding cattle, collecting herbs, and feeding pigs. However, in 2006, Gan seized the chance to pursue education when the revised Compulsory Education Law abolished tuition and miscellaneous fees. At the age of 14, he began studying in the fourth grade, relying on donations to complete his schooling and was later admitted to a university.

After finishing the college entrance exam, Gan returned to his hometown with a collection of books. The children in the village flocked to borrow books from him. His idea of starting a library began to take form. "I never had the chance to read a book until I turned 14. I hope to make up for my childhood regret by making books available to the children in my hometown," Gan said.

In 2016, while still a college student, Gan brought the books he had collected back to Qiunatong. Selling his family's two cows to gather funds, he converted an unused family lodge into the village's inaugural library, "Banshan Huayu." Upon graduation, Gan embarked on legal aid work in Gongshan County where Qiunatong Village is located. By the end of 2019, Gongshan County shook off poverty, and a year later, Gan was granted a loan to expand the library. With the support of the local government and charity groups, the library now has a collection of more than 40,000 books, attracting local villagers, especially youngsters.

As the summer holiday approaches, a collaborative public welfare project between the library and Shenzhen University will be launched. Volunteers from Shenzhen University will start a free reading camp at the library for children in Qiunatong Village.

Gan Wenyong now has a bigger vision. He wants to set up more libraries in the residential areas of Qiunatong. "I want to spare no effort to make more contribution to my hometown," said he. (Xinhua/Fei Maohua)

This aerial photo taken on July 5, 2023 shows a child reading at the "Banshan Huayu" library in Qiunatong Village of Bingzhongluo Township in Gongshan Dulong and Nu Autonomous County, Lisu Autonomous Prefecture of Nujiang, southwest China's Yunnan Province.

The Nujiang River, cascading down from the Tanggula Mountains on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, carves its way through the majestic mountains of Yunnan where a magnificent canyon is formed. Nestled at the northernmost tip of the Nujiang River canyon is the village of Qiunatong, home to a unique library called "Banshan Huayu" (Half Hill Flower Talks). "The aroma of books reminds me of the fragrance of flowers," said Gan Wenyong, the library owner.

Qiunatong Village, Gan's hometown, was once entrenched in dire poverty. Due to financial constraints, he missed out on educational opportunities during his childhood. Instead, he spent his childhood doing farm works, herding cattle, collecting herbs, and feeding pigs. However, in 2006, Gan seized the chance to pursue education when the revised Compulsory Education Law abolished tuition and miscellaneous fees. At the age of 14, he began studying in the fourth grade, relying on donations to complete his schooling and was later admitted to a university.

After finishing the college entrance exam, Gan returned to his hometown with a collection of books. The children in the village flocked to borrow books from him. His idea of starting a library began to take form. "I never had the chance to read a book until I turned 14. I hope to make up for my childhood regret by making books available to the children in my hometown," Gan said.

In 2016, while still a college student, Gan brought the books he had collected back to Qiunatong. Selling his family's two cows to gather funds, he converted an unused family lodge into the village's inaugural library, "Banshan Huayu." Upon graduation, Gan embarked on legal aid work in Gongshan County where Qiunatong Village is located. By the end of 2019, Gongshan County shook off poverty, and a year later, Gan was granted a loan to expand the library. With the support of the local government and charity groups, the library now has a collection of more than 40,000 books, attracting local villagers, especially youngsters.

As the summer holiday approaches, a collaborative public welfare project between the library and Shenzhen University will be launched. Volunteers from Shenzhen University will start a free reading camp at the library for children in Qiunatong Village.

Gan Wenyong now has a bigger vision. He wants to set up more libraries in the residential areas of Qiunatong. "I want to spare no effort to make more contribution to my hometown," said he. (Xinhua/Jiang Wenyao)

Gan Wenyong takes part in a reading activity with children at the "Banshan Huayu" library in Qiunatong Village of Bingzhongluo Township in Gongshan Dulong and Nu Autonomous County, Lisu Autonomous Prefecture of Nujiang, southwest China's Yunnan Province, July 5, 2023.

The Nujiang River, cascading down from the Tanggula Mountains on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, carves its way through the majestic mountains of Yunnan where a magnificent canyon is formed. Nestled at the northernmost tip of the Nujiang River canyon is the village of Qiunatong, home to a unique library called "Banshan Huayu" (Half Hill Flower Talks). "The aroma of books reminds me of the fragrance of flowers," said Gan Wenyong, the library owner.

Qiunatong Village, Gan's hometown, was once entrenched in dire poverty. Due to financial constraints, he missed out on educational opportunities during his childhood. Instead, he spent his childhood doing farm works, herding cattle, collecting herbs, and feeding pigs. However, in 2006, Gan seized the chance to pursue education when the revised Compulsory Education Law abolished tuition and miscellaneous fees. At the age of 14, he began studying in the fourth grade, relying on donations to complete his schooling and was later admitted to a university.

After finishing the college entrance exam, Gan returned to his hometown with a collection of books. The children in the village flocked to borrow books from him. His idea of starting a library began to take form. "I never had the chance to read a book until I turned 14. I hope to make up for my childhood regret by making books available to the children in my hometown," Gan said.

In 2016, while still a college student, Gan brought the books he had collected back to Qiunatong. Selling his family's two cows to gather funds, he converted an unused family lodge into the village's inaugural library, "Banshan Huayu." Upon graduation, Gan embarked on legal aid work in Gongshan County where Qiunatong Village is located. By the end of 2019, Gongshan County shook off poverty, and a year later, Gan was granted a loan to expand the library. With the support of the local government and charity groups, the library now has a collection of more than 40,000 books, attracting local villagers, especially youngsters.

As the summer holiday approaches, a collaborative public welfare project between the library and Shenzhen University will be launched. Volunteers from Shenzhen University will start a free reading camp at the library for children in Qiunatong Village.

Gan Wenyong now has a bigger vision. He wants to set up more libraries in the residential areas of Qiunatong. "I want to spare no effort to make more contribution to my hometown," said he. (Xinhua/Fei Maohua)

Gan Wenyong takes part in a reading activity with children at the "Banshan Huayu" library in Qiunatong Village of Bingzhongluo Township in Gongshan Dulong and Nu Autonomous County, Lisu Autonomous Prefecture of Nujiang, southwest China's Yunnan Province, July 5, 2023.

The Nujiang River, cascading down from the Tanggula Mountains on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, carves its way through the majestic mountains of Yunnan where a magnificent canyon is formed. Nestled at the northernmost tip of the Nujiang River canyon is the village of Qiunatong, home to a unique library called "Banshan Huayu" (Half Hill Flower Talks). "The aroma of books reminds me of the fragrance of flowers," said Gan Wenyong, the library owner.

Qiunatong Village, Gan's hometown, was once entrenched in dire poverty. Due to financial constraints, he missed out on educational opportunities during his childhood. Instead, he spent his childhood doing farm works, herding cattle, collecting herbs, and feeding pigs. However, in 2006, Gan seized the chance to pursue education when the revised Compulsory Education Law abolished tuition and miscellaneous fees. At the age of 14, he began studying in the fourth grade, relying on donations to complete his schooling and was later admitted to a university.

After finishing the college entrance exam, Gan returned to his hometown with a collection of books. The children in the village flocked to borrow books from him. His idea of starting a library began to take form. "I never had the chance to read a book until I turned 14. I hope to make up for my childhood regret by making books available to the children in my hometown," Gan said.

In 2016, while still a college student, Gan brought the books he had collected back to Qiunatong. Selling his family's two cows to gather funds, he converted an unused family lodge into the village's inaugural library, "Banshan Huayu." Upon graduation, Gan embarked on legal aid work in Gongshan County where Qiunatong Village is located. By the end of 2019, Gongshan County shook off poverty, and a year later, Gan was granted a loan to expand the library. With the support of the local government and charity groups, the library now has a collection of more than 40,000 books, attracting local villagers, especially youngsters.

As the summer holiday approaches, a collaborative public welfare project between the library and Shenzhen University will be launched. Volunteers from Shenzhen University will start a free reading camp at the library for children in Qiunatong Village.

Gan Wenyong now has a bigger vision. He wants to set up more libraries in the residential areas of Qiunatong. "I want to spare no effort to make more contribution to my hometown," said he. (Xinhua/Jiang Wenyao)

Gan Wenyong takes part in a reading activity with children at the "Banshan Huayu" library in Qiunatong Village of Bingzhongluo Township in Gongshan Dulong and Nu Autonomous County, Lisu Autonomous Prefecture of Nujiang, southwest China's Yunnan Province, July 5, 2023.

The Nujiang River, cascading down from the Tanggula Mountains on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, carves its way through the majestic mountains of Yunnan where a magnificent canyon is formed. Nestled at the northernmost tip of the Nujiang River canyon is the village of Qiunatong, home to a unique library called "Banshan Huayu" (Half Hill Flower Talks). "The aroma of books reminds me of the fragrance of flowers," said Gan Wenyong, the library owner.

Qiunatong Village, Gan's hometown, was once entrenched in dire poverty. Due to financial constraints, he missed out on educational opportunities during his childhood. Instead, he spent his childhood doing farm works, herding cattle, collecting herbs, and feeding pigs. However, in 2006, Gan seized the chance to pursue education when the revised Compulsory Education Law abolished tuition and miscellaneous fees. At the age of 14, he began studying in the fourth grade, relying on donations to complete his schooling and was later admitted to a university.

After finishing the college entrance exam, Gan returned to his hometown with a collection of books. The children in the village flocked to borrow books from him. His idea of starting a library began to take form. "I never had the chance to read a book until I turned 14. I hope to make up for my childhood regret by making books available to the children in my hometown," Gan said.

In 2016, while still a college student, Gan brought the books he had collected back to Qiunatong. Selling his family's two cows to gather funds, he converted an unused family lodge into the village's inaugural library, "Banshan Huayu." Upon graduation, Gan embarked on legal aid work in Gongshan County where Qiunatong Village is located. By the end of 2019, Gongshan County shook off poverty, and a year later, Gan was granted a loan to expand the library. With the support of the local government and charity groups, the library now has a collection of more than 40,000 books, attracting local villagers, especially youngsters.

As the summer holiday approaches, a collaborative public welfare project between the library and Shenzhen University will be launched. Volunteers from Shenzhen University will start a free reading camp at the library for children in Qiunatong Village.

Gan Wenyong now has a bigger vision. He wants to set up more libraries in the residential areas of Qiunatong. "I want to spare no effort to make more contribution to my hometown," said he. (Xinhua/Fei Maohua)

Gan Wenyong takes part in a reading activity with children at the "Banshan Huayu" library in Qiunatong Village of Bingzhongluo Township in Gongshan Dulong and Nu Autonomous County, Lisu Autonomous Prefecture of Nujiang, southwest China's Yunnan Province, July 5, 2023.

The Nujiang River, cascading down from the Tanggula Mountains on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, carves its way through the majestic mountains of Yunnan where a magnificent canyon is formed. Nestled at the northernmost tip of the Nujiang River canyon is the village of Qiunatong, home to a unique library called "Banshan Huayu" (Half Hill Flower Talks). "The aroma of books reminds me of the fragrance of flowers," said Gan Wenyong, the library owner.

Qiunatong Village, Gan's hometown, was once entrenched in dire poverty. Due to financial constraints, he missed out on educational opportunities during his childhood. Instead, he spent his childhood doing farm works, herding cattle, collecting herbs, and feeding pigs. However, in 2006, Gan seized the chance to pursue education when the revised Compulsory Education Law abolished tuition and miscellaneous fees. At the age of 14, he began studying in the fourth grade, relying on donations to complete his schooling and was later admitted to a university.

After finishing the college entrance exam, Gan returned to his hometown with a collection of books. The children in the village flocked to borrow books from him. His idea of starting a library began to take form. "I never had the chance to read a book until I turned 14. I hope to make up for my childhood regret by making books available to the children in my hometown," Gan said.

In 2016, while still a college student, Gan brought the books he had collected back to Qiunatong. Selling his family's two cows to gather funds, he converted an unused family lodge into the village's inaugural library, "Banshan Huayu." Upon graduation, Gan embarked on legal aid work in Gongshan County where Qiunatong Village is located. By the end of 2019, Gongshan County shook off poverty, and a year later, Gan was granted a loan to expand the library. With the support of the local government and charity groups, the library now has a collection of more than 40,000 books, attracting local villagers, especially youngsters.

As the summer holiday approaches, a collaborative public welfare project between the library and Shenzhen University will be launched. Volunteers from Shenzhen University will start a free reading camp at the library for children in Qiunatong Village.

Gan Wenyong now has a bigger vision. He wants to set up more libraries in the residential areas of Qiunatong. "I want to spare no effort to make more contribution to my hometown," said he. (Xinhua/Fei Maohua)

Children select books at the "Banshan Huayu" library in Qiunatong Village of Bingzhongluo Township in Gongshan Dulong and Nu Autonomous County, Lisu Autonomous Prefecture of Nujiang, southwest China's Yunnan Province, July 5, 2023.

The Nujiang River, cascading down from the Tanggula Mountains on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, carves its way through the majestic mountains of Yunnan where a magnificent canyon is formed. Nestled at the northernmost tip of the Nujiang River canyon is the village of Qiunatong, home to a unique library called "Banshan Huayu" (Half Hill Flower Talks). "The aroma of books reminds me of the fragrance of flowers," said Gan Wenyong, the library owner.

Qiunatong Village, Gan's hometown, was once entrenched in dire poverty. Due to financial constraints, he missed out on educational opportunities during his childhood. Instead, he spent his childhood doing farm works, herding cattle, collecting herbs, and feeding pigs. However, in 2006, Gan seized the chance to pursue education when the revised Compulsory Education Law abolished tuition and miscellaneous fees. At the age of 14, he began studying in the fourth grade, relying on donations to complete his schooling and was later admitted to a university.

After finishing the college entrance exam, Gan returned to his hometown with a collection of books. The children in the village flocked to borrow books from him. His idea of starting a library began to take form. "I never had the chance to read a book until I turned 14. I hope to make up for my childhood regret by making books available to the children in my hometown," Gan said.

In 2016, while still a college student, Gan brought the books he had collected back to Qiunatong. Selling his family's two cows to gather funds, he converted an unused family lodge into the village's inaugural library, "Banshan Huayu." Upon graduation, Gan embarked on legal aid work in Gongshan County where Qiunatong Village is located. By the end of 2019, Gongshan County shook off poverty, and a year later, Gan was granted a loan to expand the library. With the support of the local government and charity groups, the library now has a collection of more than 40,000 books, attracting local villagers, especially youngsters.

As the summer holiday approaches, a collaborative public welfare project between the library and Shenzhen University will be launched. Volunteers from Shenzhen University will start a free reading camp at the library for children in Qiunatong Village.

Gan Wenyong now has a bigger vision. He wants to set up more libraries in the residential areas of Qiunatong. "I want to spare no effort to make more contribution to my hometown," said he. (Xinhua/Fei Maohua)

Gan Wenyong arranges books at the "Banshan Huayu" library in Qiunatong Village of Bingzhongluo Township in Gongshan Dulong and Nu Autonomous County, Lisu Autonomous Prefecture of Nujiang, southwest China's Yunnan Province, July 5, 2023.

The Nujiang River, cascading down from the Tanggula Mountains on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, carves its way through the majestic mountains of Yunnan where a magnificent canyon is formed. Nestled at the northernmost tip of the Nujiang River canyon is the village of Qiunatong, home to a unique library called "Banshan Huayu" (Half Hill Flower Talks). "The aroma of books reminds me of the fragrance of flowers," said Gan Wenyong, the library owner.

Qiunatong Village, Gan's hometown, was once entrenched in dire poverty. Due to financial constraints, he missed out on educational opportunities during his childhood. Instead, he spent his childhood doing farm works, herding cattle, collecting herbs, and feeding pigs. However, in 2006, Gan seized the chance to pursue education when the revised Compulsory Education Law abolished tuition and miscellaneous fees. At the age of 14, he began studying in the fourth grade, relying on donations to complete his schooling and was later admitted to a university.

After finishing the college entrance exam, Gan returned to his hometown with a collection of books. The children in the village flocked to borrow books from him. His idea of starting a library began to take form. "I never had the chance to read a book until I turned 14. I hope to make up for my childhood regret by making books available to the children in my hometown," Gan said.

In 2016, while still a college student, Gan brought the books he had collected back to Qiunatong. Selling his family's two cows to gather funds, he converted an unused family lodge into the village's inaugural library, "Banshan Huayu." Upon graduation, Gan embarked on legal aid work in Gongshan County where Qiunatong Village is located. By the end of 2019, Gongshan County shook off poverty, and a year later, Gan was granted a loan to expand the library. With the support of the local government and charity groups, the library now has a collection of more than 40,000 books, attracting local villagers, especially youngsters.

As the summer holiday approaches, a collaborative public welfare project between the library and Shenzhen University will be launched. Volunteers from Shenzhen University will start a free reading camp at the library for children in Qiunatong Village.

Gan Wenyong now has a bigger vision. He wants to set up more libraries in the residential areas of Qiunatong. "I want to spare no effort to make more contribution to my hometown," said he. (Xinhua/Xu Jiayi)

This photo taken on July 5, 2023 shows a view in Qiunatong Village of Bingzhongluo Township in Gongshan Dulong and Nu Autonomous County, Lisu Autonomous Prefecture of Nujiang, southwest China's Yunnan Province.

The Nujiang River, cascading down from the Tanggula Mountains on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, carves its way through the majestic mountains of Yunnan where a magnificent canyon is formed. Nestled at the northernmost tip of the Nujiang River canyon is the village of Qiunatong, home to a unique library called "Banshan Huayu" (Half Hill Flower Talks). "The aroma of books reminds me of the fragrance of flowers," said Gan Wenyong, the library owner.

Qiunatong Village, Gan's hometown, was once entrenched in dire poverty. Due to financial constraints, he missed out on educational opportunities during his childhood. Instead, he spent his childhood doing farm works, herding cattle, collecting herbs, and feeding pigs. However, in 2006, Gan seized the chance to pursue education when the revised Compulsory Education Law abolished tuition and miscellaneous fees. At the age of 14, he began studying in the fourth grade, relying on donations to complete his schooling and was later admitted to a university.

After finishing the college entrance exam, Gan returned to his hometown with a collection of books. The children in the village flocked to borrow books from him. His idea of starting a library began to take form. "I never had the chance to read a book until I turned 14. I hope to make up for my childhood regret by making books available to the children in my hometown," Gan said.

In 2016, while still a college student, Gan brought the books he had collected back to Qiunatong. Selling his family's two cows to gather funds, he converted an unused family lodge into the village's inaugural library, "Banshan Huayu." Upon graduation, Gan embarked on legal aid work in Gongshan County where Qiunatong Village is located. By the end of 2019, Gongshan County shook off poverty, and a year later, Gan was granted a loan to expand the library. With the support of the local government and charity groups, the library now has a collection of more than 40,000 books, attracting local villagers, especially youngsters.

As the summer holiday approaches, a collaborative public welfare project between the library and Shenzhen University will be launched. Volunteers from Shenzhen University will start a free reading camp at the library for children in Qiunatong Village.

Gan Wenyong now has a bigger vision. He wants to set up more libraries in the residential areas of Qiunatong. "I want to spare no effort to make more contribution to my hometown," said he. (Xinhua/Fei Maohua)

Gan Wenyong arranges books at the "Banshan Huayu" library in Qiunatong Village of Bingzhongluo Township in Gongshan Dulong and Nu Autonomous County, Lisu Autonomous Prefecture of Nujiang, southwest China's Yunnan Province, July 5, 2023.

The Nujiang River, cascading down from the Tanggula Mountains on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, carves its way through the majestic mountains of Yunnan where a magnificent canyon is formed. Nestled at the northernmost tip of the Nujiang River canyon is the village of Qiunatong, home to a unique library called "Banshan Huayu" (Half Hill Flower Talks). "The aroma of books reminds me of the fragrance of flowers," said Gan Wenyong, the library owner.

Qiunatong Village, Gan's hometown, was once entrenched in dire poverty. Due to financial constraints, he missed out on educational opportunities during his childhood. Instead, he spent his childhood doing farm works, herding cattle, collecting herbs, and feeding pigs. However, in 2006, Gan seized the chance to pursue education when the revised Compulsory Education Law abolished tuition and miscellaneous fees. At the age of 14, he began studying in the fourth grade, relying on donations to complete his schooling and was later admitted to a university.

After finishing the college entrance exam, Gan returned to his hometown with a collection of books. The children in the village flocked to borrow books from him. His idea of starting a library began to take form. "I never had the chance to read a book until I turned 14. I hope to make up for my childhood regret by making books available to the children in my hometown," Gan said.

In 2016, while still a college student, Gan brought the books he had collected back to Qiunatong. Selling his family's two cows to gather funds, he converted an unused family lodge into the village's inaugural library, "Banshan Huayu." Upon graduation, Gan embarked on legal aid work in Gongshan County where Qiunatong Village is located. By the end of 2019, Gongshan County shook off poverty, and a year later, Gan was granted a loan to expand the library. With the support of the local government and charity groups, the library now has a collection of more than 40,000 books, attracting local villagers, especially youngsters.

As the summer holiday approaches, a collaborative public welfare project between the library and Shenzhen University will be launched. Volunteers from Shenzhen University will start a free reading camp at the library for children in Qiunatong Village.

Gan Wenyong now has a bigger vision. He wants to set up more libraries in the residential areas of Qiunatong. "I want to spare no effort to make more contribution to my hometown," said he. (Xinhua/Jiang Wenyao)

Gan Wenyong reemphasizes a slogan reading "free 24-hour library" at the "Banshan Huayu" library in Qiunatong Village of Bingzhongluo Township in Gongshan Dulong and Nu Autonomous County, Lisu Autonomous Prefecture of Nujiang, southwest China's Yunnan Province, July 6, 2023.

The Nujiang River, cascading down from the Tanggula Mountains on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, carves its way through the majestic mountains of Yunnan where a magnificent canyon is formed. Nestled at the northernmost tip of the Nujiang River canyon is the village of Qiunatong, home to a unique library called "Banshan Huayu" (Half Hill Flower Talks). "The aroma of books reminds me of the fragrance of flowers," said Gan Wenyong, the library owner.

Qiunatong Village, Gan's hometown, was once entrenched in dire poverty. Due to financial constraints, he missed out on educational opportunities during his childhood. Instead, he spent his childhood doing farm works, herding cattle, collecting herbs, and feeding pigs. However, in 2006, Gan seized the chance to pursue education when the revised Compulsory Education Law abolished tuition and miscellaneous fees. At the age of 14, he began studying in the fourth grade, relying on donations to complete his schooling and was later admitted to a university.

After finishing the college entrance exam, Gan returned to his hometown with a collection of books. The children in the village flocked to borrow books from him. His idea of starting a library began to take form. "I never had the chance to read a book until I turned 14. I hope to make up for my childhood regret by making books available to the children in my hometown," Gan said.

In 2016, while still a college student, Gan brought the books he had collected back to Qiunatong. Selling his family's two cows to gather funds, he converted an unused family lodge into the village's inaugural library, "Banshan Huayu." Upon graduation, Gan embarked on legal aid work in Gongshan County where Qiunatong Village is located. By the end of 2019, Gongshan County shook off poverty, and a year later, Gan was granted a loan to expand the library. With the support of the local government and charity groups, the library now has a collection of more than 40,000 books, attracting local villagers, especially youngsters.

As the summer holiday approaches, a collaborative public welfare project between the library and Shenzhen University will be launched. Volunteers from Shenzhen University will start a free reading camp at the library for children in Qiunatong Village.

Gan Wenyong now has a bigger vision. He wants to set up more libraries in the residential areas of Qiunatong. "I want to spare no effort to make more contribution to my hometown," said he. (Xinhua/Jiang Wenyao)

Gan Wenyong takes part in a reading activity with children at the "Banshan Huayu" library in Qiunatong Village of Bingzhongluo Township in Gongshan Dulong and Nu Autonomous County, Lisu Autonomous Prefecture of Nujiang, southwest China's Yunnan Province, July 5, 2023.

The Nujiang River, cascading down from the Tanggula Mountains on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, carves its way through the majestic mountains of Yunnan where a magnificent canyon is formed. Nestled at the northernmost tip of the Nujiang River canyon is the village of Qiunatong, home to a unique library called "Banshan Huayu" (Half Hill Flower Talks). "The aroma of books reminds me of the fragrance of flowers," said Gan Wenyong, the library owner.

Qiunatong Village, Gan's hometown, was once entrenched in dire poverty. Due to financial constraints, he missed out on educational opportunities during his childhood. Instead, he spent his childhood doing farm works, herding cattle, collecting herbs, and feeding pigs. However, in 2006, Gan seized the chance to pursue education when the revised Compulsory Education Law abolished tuition and miscellaneous fees. At the age of 14, he began studying in the fourth grade, relying on donations to complete his schooling and was later admitted to a university.

After finishing the college entrance exam, Gan returned to his hometown with a collection of books. The children in the village flocked to borrow books from him. His idea of starting a library began to take form. "I never had the chance to read a book until I turned 14. I hope to make up for my childhood regret by making books available to the children in my hometown," Gan said.

In 2016, while still a college student, Gan brought the books he had collected back to Qiunatong. Selling his family's two cows to gather funds, he converted an unused family lodge into the village's inaugural library, "Banshan Huayu." Upon graduation, Gan embarked on legal aid work in Gongshan County where Qiunatong Village is located. By the end of 2019, Gongshan County shook off poverty, and a year later, Gan was granted a loan to expand the library. With the support of the local government and charity groups, the library now has a collection of more than 40,000 books, attracting local villagers, especially youngsters.

As the summer holiday approaches, a collaborative public welfare project between the library and Shenzhen University will be launched. Volunteers from Shenzhen University will start a free reading camp at the library for children in Qiunatong Village.

Gan Wenyong now has a bigger vision. He wants to set up more libraries in the residential areas of Qiunatong. "I want to spare no effort to make more contribution to my hometown," said he. (Xinhua/Jiang Wenyao)

Gan Wenyong and workers set a television at the "Banshan Huayu" library in Qiunatong Village of Bingzhongluo Township in Gongshan Dulong and Nu Autonomous County, Lisu Autonomous Prefecture of Nujiang, southwest China's Yunnan Province, July 6, 2023.

The Nujiang River, cascading down from the Tanggula Mountains on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, carves its way through the majestic mountains of Yunnan where a magnificent canyon is formed. Nestled at the northernmost tip of the Nujiang River canyon is the village of Qiunatong, home to a unique library called "Banshan Huayu" (Half Hill Flower Talks). "The aroma of books reminds me of the fragrance of flowers," said Gan Wenyong, the library owner.

Qiunatong Village, Gan's hometown, was once entrenched in dire poverty. Due to financial constraints, he missed out on educational opportunities during his childhood. Instead, he spent his childhood doing farm works, herding cattle, collecting herbs, and feeding pigs. However, in 2006, Gan seized the chance to pursue education when the revised Compulsory Education Law abolished tuition and miscellaneous fees. At the age of 14, he began studying in the fourth grade, relying on donations to complete his schooling and was later admitted to a university.

After finishing the college entrance exam, Gan returned to his hometown with a collection of books. The children in the village flocked to borrow books from him. His idea of starting a library began to take form. "I never had the chance to read a book until I turned 14. I hope to make up for my childhood regret by making books available to the children in my hometown," Gan said.

In 2016, while still a college student, Gan brought the books he had collected back to Qiunatong. Selling his family's two cows to gather funds, he converted an unused family lodge into the village's inaugural library, "Banshan Huayu." Upon graduation, Gan embarked on legal aid work in Gongshan County where Qiunatong Village is located. By the end of 2019, Gongshan County shook off poverty, and a year later, Gan was granted a loan to expand the library. With the support of the local government and charity groups, the library now has a collection of more than 40,000 books, attracting local villagers, especially youngsters.

As the summer holiday approaches, a collaborative public welfare project between the library and Shenzhen University will be launched. Volunteers from Shenzhen University will start a free reading camp at the library for children in Qiunatong Village.

Gan Wenyong now has a bigger vision. He wants to set up more libraries in the residential areas of Qiunatong. "I want to spare no effort to make more contribution to my hometown," said he. (Xinhua/Fei Maohua)

Children read books at the "Banshan Huayu" library in Qiunatong Village of Bingzhongluo Township in Gongshan Dulong and Nu Autonomous County, Lisu Autonomous Prefecture of Nujiang, southwest China's Yunnan Province, July 5, 2023.

The Nujiang River, cascading down from the Tanggula Mountains on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, carves its way through the majestic mountains of Yunnan where a magnificent canyon is formed. Nestled at the northernmost tip of the Nujiang River canyon is the village of Qiunatong, home to a unique library called "Banshan Huayu" (Half Hill Flower Talks). "The aroma of books reminds me of the fragrance of flowers," said Gan Wenyong, the library owner.

Qiunatong Village, Gan's hometown, was once entrenched in dire poverty. Due to financial constraints, he missed out on educational opportunities during his childhood. Instead, he spent his childhood doing farm works, herding cattle, collecting herbs, and feeding pigs. However, in 2006, Gan seized the chance to pursue education when the revised Compulsory Education Law abolished tuition and miscellaneous fees. At the age of 14, he began studying in the fourth grade, relying on donations to complete his schooling and was later admitted to a university.

After finishing the college entrance exam, Gan returned to his hometown with a collection of books. The children in the village flocked to borrow books from him. His idea of starting a library began to take form. "I never had the chance to read a book until I turned 14. I hope to make up for my childhood regret by making books available to the children in my hometown," Gan said.

In 2016, while still a college student, Gan brought the books he had collected back to Qiunatong. Selling his family's two cows to gather funds, he converted an unused family lodge into the village's inaugural library, "Banshan Huayu." Upon graduation, Gan embarked on legal aid work in Gongshan County where Qiunatong Village is located. By the end of 2019, Gongshan County shook off poverty, and a year later, Gan was granted a loan to expand the library. With the support of the local government and charity groups, the library now has a collection of more than 40,000 books, attracting local villagers, especially youngsters.

As the summer holiday approaches, a collaborative public welfare project between the library and Shenzhen University will be launched. Volunteers from Shenzhen University will start a free reading camp at the library for children in Qiunatong Village.

Gan Wenyong now has a bigger vision. He wants to set up more libraries in the residential areas of Qiunatong. "I want to spare no effort to make more contribution to my hometown," said he. (Xinhua/Fei Maohua)

Children read books at the "Banshan Huayu" library in Qiunatong Village of Bingzhongluo Township in Gongshan Dulong and Nu Autonomous County, Lisu Autonomous Prefecture of Nujiang, southwest China's Yunnan Province, July 5, 2023.

The Nujiang River, cascading down from the Tanggula Mountains on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, carves its way through the majestic mountains of Yunnan where a magnificent canyon is formed. Nestled at the northernmost tip of the Nujiang River canyon is the village of Qiunatong, home to a unique library called "Banshan Huayu" (Half Hill Flower Talks). "The aroma of books reminds me of the fragrance of flowers," said Gan Wenyong, the library owner.

Qiunatong Village, Gan's hometown, was once entrenched in dire poverty. Due to financial constraints, he missed out on educational opportunities during his childhood. Instead, he spent his childhood doing farm works, herding cattle, collecting herbs, and feeding pigs. However, in 2006, Gan seized the chance to pursue education when the revised Compulsory Education Law abolished tuition and miscellaneous fees. At the age of 14, he began studying in the fourth grade, relying on donations to complete his schooling and was later admitted to a university.

After finishing the college entrance exam, Gan returned to his hometown with a collection of books. The children in the village flocked to borrow books from him. His idea of starting a library began to take form. "I never had the chance to read a book until I turned 14. I hope to make up for my childhood regret by making books available to the children in my hometown," Gan said.

In 2016, while still a college student, Gan brought the books he had collected back to Qiunatong. Selling his family's two cows to gather funds, he converted an unused family lodge into the village's inaugural library, "Banshan Huayu." Upon graduation, Gan embarked on legal aid work in Gongshan County where Qiunatong Village is located. By the end of 2019, Gongshan County shook off poverty, and a year later, Gan was granted a loan to expand the library. With the support of the local government and charity groups, the library now has a collection of more than 40,000 books, attracting local villagers, especially youngsters.

As the summer holiday approaches, a collaborative public welfare project between the library and Shenzhen University will be launched. Volunteers from Shenzhen University will start a free reading camp at the library for children in Qiunatong Village.

Gan Wenyong now has a bigger vision. He wants to set up more libraries in the residential areas of Qiunatong. "I want to spare no effort to make more contribution to my hometown," said he. (Xinhua/Fei Maohua)

Children read books at the "Banshan Huayu" library in Qiunatong Village of Bingzhongluo Township in Gongshan Dulong and Nu Autonomous County, Lisu Autonomous Prefecture of Nujiang, southwest China's Yunnan Province, July 5, 2023.

The Nujiang River, cascading down from the Tanggula Mountains on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, carves its way through the majestic mountains of Yunnan where a magnificent canyon is formed. Nestled at the northernmost tip of the Nujiang River canyon is the village of Qiunatong, home to a unique library called "Banshan Huayu" (Half Hill Flower Talks). "The aroma of books reminds me of the fragrance of flowers," said Gan Wenyong, the library owner.

Qiunatong Village, Gan's hometown, was once entrenched in dire poverty. Due to financial constraints, he missed out on educational opportunities during his childhood. Instead, he spent his childhood doing farm works, herding cattle, collecting herbs, and feeding pigs. However, in 2006, Gan seized the chance to pursue education when the revised Compulsory Education Law abolished tuition and miscellaneous fees. At the age of 14, he began studying in the fourth grade, relying on donations to complete his schooling and was later admitted to a university.

After finishing the college entrance exam, Gan returned to his hometown with a collection of books. The children in the village flocked to borrow books from him. His idea of starting a library began to take form. "I never had the chance to read a book until I turned 14. I hope to make up for my childhood regret by making books available to the children in my hometown," Gan said.

In 2016, while still a college student, Gan brought the books he had collected back to Qiunatong. Selling his family's two cows to gather funds, he converted an unused family lodge into the village's inaugural library, "Banshan Huayu." Upon graduation, Gan embarked on legal aid work in Gongshan County where Qiunatong Village is located. By the end of 2019, Gongshan County shook off poverty, and a year later, Gan was granted a loan to expand the library. With the support of the local government and charity groups, the library now has a collection of more than 40,000 books, attracting local villagers, especially youngsters.

As the summer holiday approaches, a collaborative public welfare project between the library and Shenzhen University will be launched. Volunteers from Shenzhen University will start a free reading camp at the library for children in Qiunatong Village.

Gan Wenyong now has a bigger vision. He wants to set up more libraries in the residential areas of Qiunatong. "I want to spare no effort to make more contribution to my hometown," said he. (Xinhua/Fei Maohua)
Photo taken on July 7, 2023 shows robots transferring containers at Tianjin Port in north China's Tianjin. North China's Tianjin Port handled over 11.35 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of containers in the first half of this year (H1), up 8 percent year on year, setting a new record, the port's operator said on Thursday.

Tianjin Port saw its cargo throughput reach 241 million tonnes during the period, up 2.1 percent year on year, according to the Tianjin Port (Group) Co., Ltd. (Xinhua/Zhao Zishuo)

Photo taken on July 7, 2023 shows robots transferring containers at Tianjin Port in north China's Tianjin. North China's Tianjin Port handled over 11.35 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of containers in the first half of this year (H1), up 8 percent year on year, setting a new record, the port's operator said on Thursday.

Tianjin Port saw its cargo throughput reach 241 million tonnes during the period, up 2.1 percent year on year, according to the Tianjin Port (Group) Co., Ltd. (Xinhua/Zhao Zishuo)

This aerial photo shows a cargo ship at a smart container terminal of Tianjin Port in north China's Tianjin, July 7, 2023. North China's Tianjin Port handled over 11.35 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of containers in the first half of this year (H1), up 8 percent year on year, setting a new record, the port's operator said on Thursday.

Tianjin Port saw its cargo throughput reach 241 million tonnes during the period, up 2.1 percent year on year, according to the Tianjin Port (Group) Co., Ltd. (Xinhua/Zhao Zishuo)

Photo taken on July 7, 2023 shows vehicles at a ro-ro dock of Tianjin Port in north China's Tianjin. North China's Tianjin Port handled over 11.35 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of containers in the first half of this year (H1), up 8 percent year on year, setting a new record, the port's operator said on Thursday.

Tianjin Port saw its cargo throughput reach 241 million tonnes during the period, up 2.1 percent year on year, according to the Tianjin Port (Group) Co., Ltd. (Xinhua/Zhao Zishuo)

This aerial photo shows a cargo ship at a smart container terminal of Tianjin Port in north China's Tianjin, July 7, 2023. North China's Tianjin Port handled over 11.35 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of containers in the first half of this year (H1), up 8 percent year on year, setting a new record, the port's operator said on Thursday.

Tianjin Port saw its cargo throughput reach 241 million tonnes during the period, up 2.1 percent year on year, according to the Tianjin Port (Group) Co., Ltd. (Xinhua/Zhao Zishuo)

A ro-ro ship is seen at the berth of Tianjin Port in north China's Tianjin, July 7, 2023. North China's Tianjin Port handled over 11.35 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of containers in the first half of this year (H1), up 8 percent year on year, setting a new record, the port's operator said on Thursday.

Tianjin Port saw its cargo throughput reach 241 million tonnes during the period, up 2.1 percent year on year, according to the Tianjin Port (Group) Co., Ltd. (Xinhua/Zhao Zishuo)
Tye Toliver, mother of three-year-old Devin Page, Jr., center, describes her son during a celebration of life and balloon release in his honor at Morning Star Baptist Church in Baton Rouge, La., on Saturday, April 16, 2022. Page was killed by a stray bullet while sleeping in his familys home on Tuesday.
NOPD investigates the scene of a homicide in the 1900 Elizardi Boulevard in New Orleans on Tuesday, June 13, 2023. (Photo by Brett Duke, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)
Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Save articles for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. Got it Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size This story is part of the July 9 edition of Sunday Life. See all 14 stories . Back in 2000, Pia Miranda had the kind of breakout role actors dream about. Playing troubled teenager Josephine in the Australian feature film Looking for Alibrandi (based on the novel by Melina Marchetta), she quickly became a household name. But looking back on that time in her life, Miranda reveals that her instant fame wasnt all it appeared to be. When Looking for Alibrandi came out, my life quickly changed, she says. I was incredibly famous but still struggling to pay my rent. It was stressful. I was recognised on the street but financial stability didnt come my way because of it, and that was a shock. Although she won an AFI Award for Best Actress in 2000 for the role, her acting career didnt go to plan either; there were periods in the mid-2000s when Miranda auditioned up to 15 times without landing a single job. I had 12 months where I didnt do any acting at all, she says. I look back and can say I have been successful and done some amazing things, but there was a lot of sitting around the house staring at the phone, too. Miranda went on to appear in six episodes of the popular Channel Seven hospital drama All Saints, and seven episodes of the Network Ten hit The Secret Life of Us. She also had a small part in the locally made feature film Queen of the Damned (her scene got cut from the cinema release but is included in the DVD version), and roles in the films Garage Days and Travelling Light. Greta Scacchi, Pia Miranda and Anthony LaPaglia in Looking for Alibrandi. Now, two decades on, Miranda has returned, more confident than ever, in Network Tens four-part thriller Heat, playing a late-40s married mother in the midst of a sexual awakening.

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The series tells the story of two families that find themselves trapped by a bushfire while on holiday, and the fire metaphor certainly sets the scene for the inflamed secrets that tug at the core of this drama, which also stars Darren McMullen. Heat is all about family skeletons, desire, infidelity and wondering what lifes all about after you get married and have kids. The role is also an opportunity for Miranda to make peace with her past and all the times she beat herself up for not scoring major parts. A younger version would have blamed her half-Italian heritage and European features, and not being beautiful enough, but the married mother of two has taught her inner voice to be kinder. I am much more secure in who I am now, says Miranda, who recently turned 50. In order to take on the role of Sarah in Heat, Miranda asked her mother Susan to move into the family home to help look after the kids  Lily, aged 14, and James, nine  she shares with husband Luke Hanigan. It was such an intense role and I couldnt focus on much else, Miranda says. Mum moved in for two months. Between my crazy hours and Lukes [he works on the set of MasterChef Australia], our lives are so unpredictable. It was nice to have Mum give our kids continuity of care when we werent around. Its bizarre to think that everything my dad ran away from is what made my career. PIA MIRANDA It was a photo of Miranda on a cinema popcorn box that caught the attention of her now-husband in 2000. As the frontman of pop-rock group Lo-Tel, Hanigan asked her if shed like to be in the video clip for his bands song Teenager of the Year, which appeared on the Looking for Alibrandi soundtrack. The rest is a romance with a happy ending. We hung out for a long time before we got together, says Miranda, who first kissed Hanigan at the ARIAs in 2000, then tied the knot with him in an Elvis chapel in Las Vegas in 2001. We fell into a groove and have grown up together. Weve been reflecting on how lucky we are because we both have big birthday milestones this year.

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She adds that both feel fortunate to have found each other and created a secure family  they now call Altona, in Melbournes western suburbs, home. We laugh a lot and he will watch Real Housewives of New Jersey with me, which I appreciate in a man. I still get excited when he walks in the door, too. I text him incessantly at the end of his workday, asking what time hell be home. Its a lucky position to be in. Miranda is cooking lamb shanks and tidying the house while she takes this call (the kids are at school). The aroma takes her back to a childhood spent in Melbournes eastern suburbs, where she scooted between the home of her paternal Italian grandmother, Angelina, and that of her Australian maternal grandparents, Kathleen and Harry. Having been born in Melbourne, Miranda moved with her family to Darwin and Canberra for father Vinces work before they returned to Melbourne when she was 12. Vince had been bullied, dubbed the spaghetti muncher, when he migrated from the Mediterranean island of Lipari to Australia. As a consequence, he chose not to enrol either of his daughters (Miranda has an older sister, Nicole) into Saturday Italian classes because he didnt want them to have an accent and get picked on. Loading Miranda notes that while her Italian heritage has been rewarding for her, Dad had a completely different experience  Its bizarre to think that everything my dad ran away from is what made my career. Vince had a stroke 20 years ago and is now in care, but still a big part of the family. I am the same age Dad was when he had the stroke, Miranda reflects. It was definitely the reason I wanted to keep fit and healthy and do Survivor [she appeared in the 2019 series]. It is always in the back of my mind that what happened to my dad could happen to me.

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It was during her stint on Tens Survivor  in which Miranda was crowned the winner and took home $500,000 for her effort  that she met her best friend Janine Allis, founder of Boost Juice. The pair formed a close bond and Miranda, who turned 50 in June, chose to celebrate the landmark birthday early with a trip to Milan with Allis in March. I didnt expect to find a lifelong friend on reality TV, and so late in my life. Not a day goes by where we dont call or text each other. We ate our way through Milan! she says, laughing. Mirandas metaphorical plate is also full to the brim. She has been filming another series, Riptide, for Network Ten, is a contestant on Channel Sevens Dancing with the Stars, and has a memoir slated for an October release. Titled Finding My Bella Vita, the book is a charming dive into her personal and public lives. It addresses the highs and lows that came with fame and the ensuing self-doubt, all told with plenty of humour. Pia Miranda, with her dancing partner Declan Taylor, on the set of Dancing with the Stars. Her stories are linked to food memories  the Italian and Australian classic dishes that play a huge part in her life. However, she stresses that its still very much a work in progress. I havent had much time to finish the book as Ive been working. The process of getting her voice down on paper and not hiding behind characters on the screen was cathartic for Miranda. I majored in writing at university and its always been in the back of my mind as something I wanted to come back to, she says. She also had a pragmatic reason for penning a memoir. As I get older, there are fewer roles. I find myself wondering what else I can do. Relying on acting is hard when youre young, and its even harder when you get older!
She said as of April, less than a quarter of Australias 39 universities were publishing information on their websites about sexual violence reports and disclosures or disciplinary actions. Henry said universities may be collating the information, but if the reports werent easy to find, they werent being sufficiently transparent. Loading Henry said the failures were in large part due to the over-reliance on the self-regulating university sector to lead the reform effort and deficiencies in the regulatory approach by Tertiary Education and Quality Standards Agency (TEQSA). Universities and their peak body Universities Australia will claim that theyre doing quite a lot in this space, but theres no way of actually testing their claims, she said. There have undoubtedly been improvements since 2017, but I am concerned that it is only occurring in pockets. There are currently no measures in place compelling universities to do better, she said.

Lydia Jupp, a university student and End Rape on Campus advocate, said they experienced extensive sexual harassment while living on campus at 19. Loading It got so bad that for three days, Jupp didnt leave their room. It culminated in me  I didnt feel safe enough to go outside my room, Jupp said. Every time I would, I would run into someone who had assaulted someone. It was a nightmare. The university student, now 24, became a go-to for sexual violence survivors at their university.

Jupp said queer students faced high levels of violence and that it was important for students to be consulted when assessing solutions. Between 2017 and 2022, TEQSA undertook at least 60 investigations into complaints and registration assessments about sexual violence. But no university faced enforcement action, despite TEQSA being able to impose administrative sanctions, fines or put conditions on university registration. During the same period, South Australias Independent Commission Against Corruption, the Tasmanian Ombudsman and the ACT Supreme Court all made adverse findings about how universities and residential colleges handled sexual assault and harassment issues. Less than a quarter of Australias 39 universities are publishing information on their websites about sexual violence. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen Henry believes TEQSA is reluctant to come down hard on universities.

One in six students reported to have been sexually harassed in the 2021 National Student Safety Survey, in which 44,000 students participated. One in 20 said they had been sexually assaulted. Loading Almost half of the incidents happened in campus areas, despite more than 50 per cent doing their studies online because of the pandemic. Bremner from End Rape on Campus said students lacked confidence in their institutions handling of sexual violence, including some students with disabilities who still found reporting systems inaccessible. If anything, the situation for some students has gotten worse, Bremner said.

Education Minister Jason Clare said the survey results had provided a wake-up call. While universities have affirmed their commitment to addressing these issues, a sustained effort is needed to improve student safety on campus including prevention strategies, consent training, and setting behavioural expectations for students and staff, Clare said. Minister for Education Jason Clare. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen The Australian Universities Accord is considering institutional governance settings, with an interim report due in July. Universities Australia chief executive Catriona Jackson said universities were working hard to reduce sexual harm on campuses. A decision is yet to be made about whether the safety survey will run again.

She said Universities Australia launched the world-first Respect. Now. Always initiative in 2016, and released revised guidelines this year, to help universities respond to sexual harm and would bring the sector together in July to discuss best practice approaches to prevention. Loading Jackson said there had been hundreds of measures and programs developed at Australian universities to prevent and respond to sexual harm, and that universities had a strong understanding of their own demographics, which is why they were best placed to tackle the issues. The University of Melbourne, Monash University, Australian National University, Macquarie University, UTS, Swinburne University, UNSW, Curtin University and University of Tasmania are among the universities that are publishing detailed sexual misconduct reports annually. Universities say they are taking the issue of sexual harm seriously and have developed online disclosure tools, apps, employed specialist case managers, poured millions into establishing student safety wellbeing teams and invested in training in consent and respectful relationship modules.

Professor Sharon Pickering, Monashs deputy vice-chancellor (education), said as a university, they had a responsibility to prevent sexual harm in their communities. We support victims-survivors, respond justly and empathetically to all disclosures and reports, and implement evidence-based prevention programming for staff and students. Macquarie University publishes its safety and behaviour incidents annually, while the University of Sydney publishes its reports in its annual report and will publish a dedicated annual report on sexual misconduct this year. La Trobe University expects to publish its sexual misconduct reports publicly this year. The Australian Catholic University does not publish a sexual misconduct report. University of Melbourne student union president Hiba Adam commended the university for its efforts in addressing sexual violence and said it was crucial to acknowledge progress made thus far in shedding light on the issue.

However, we must also recognise that more needs to be done to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all students, she said. Hiba Adam, University of Melbourne Student Union president. Credit: Joe Armao A TEQSA spokesperson said it was re-evaluating their work alongside experts and updating their resources for higher education providers on tackling sexual harm. They said TEQSA understood the complaints processes could be re-traumatising and had made it mandatory for staff to do training with Centre Against Sexual Assault House. They have reduced the time it takes to assess and respond to complaints about sexual harm, to 37 days from 74 days on average. In 2023, three concerns about sexual harm have been received and closed following assessment by TEQSA, the spokesperson said.
HOUSTON, July 7 (Xinhua) -- The gunman who killed 23 people at an El Paso Walmart in the U.S. state of Texas in 2019 was sentenced to 90 consecutive life terms by a federal judge on Friday.

Prosecutors had recommended Patrick Crusius, a 24-year-old white supremacist targeting Latinos, receive consecutive life sentences for each of the 90 federal charges, including hate crimes and firearms offenses, to which he pleaded guilty.

The shooter had initially pleaded not guilty to the federal charges but changed his plea in February after prosecutors indicated they would not seek the death penalty.

On Aug. 3, 2019, Crusius shot 23 people dead and injured dozens more at a Walmart store in El Paso, a major border city in western Texas.

U.S. District Judge David Guaderrama handed down the sentences after a three-day emotion-filled hearing in downtown El Paso.

The gunman's defense team told the judge that their client was suffering from a mental disorder called schizoaffective, but prosecutors dismissed that was an explanation for his actions, the El Paso Times reported.

"What happened was a cold, calculated scheme targeting immigrants and Hispanics," federal prosecutor Ian Martinez Hanna said, noting mental illness was not an excuse.

"A shooting spree that spared no one. It was not a crime of passion. It was not an accident. It was a calculated act that he planned," said Hanna.

Crusius also faces a potential death penalty in a separate state case, in which he has pleaded not guilty to capital murder, according to the report. The state trial is expected to be held sometime in 2024 or 2025. 
London: Global shipping is set to have an emissions levy imposed upon it after gruelling United Nations negotiations ended with an agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and develop a mechanism to drive the cuts.

The outcome is expected to drive up the cost of consumer goods around the world sometime after 2027, though it is unclear by how much. More than 80 per cent of the worlds traded goods are moved by sea and the industry creates about 3 per cent of the worlds greenhouse gas emissions. That number is expected to spike in the coming years.

More than 80 per cent of the worlds traded goods are moved by sea. Credit: Getty

As the talks began, a group of Pacific Island nations  led by the Marshall Islands and Solomon Islands  called for ambitious reduction targets of 37 per cent by 2030, 96 per cent by 2040 and 100 per cent by 2050.

Proponents say this is necessary to put the industry in line with the Paris Agreement goal of holding climate warming to 1.5 degrees.
Feel like your drinking habits changed during the pandemic? You would be right.

There are hundreds of thousands more Australians drinking than there were before the COVID-19 lockdowns, even though alcohol consumption has fallen from the heights of the pandemic.

Michael Madrusan, who owns The Everleigh in Fitzroy, says there has been a cocktail renaissance during the pandemic. Credit: Joe Armao

Data from Roy Morgans Alcohol Consumption Report shows that in the 12 months to March, more than 13.7 million (or two-thirds) of Australians aged over 18 consumed alcohol during a four-week period, compared to 13.07 million in the same period before the pandemic hit.

Associate Professor Michael Livingston, an alcohol policy researcher at Curtin Universitys National Drug Research Institute, said peoples drinking habits had changed, but it was unclear why.
They cant say they werent warned. Shortly before coming to office Anthony Albanese said, Ive been underestimated my whole life.

It was a significant personal reflection during a hectic election campaign, one that spoke to Albaneses resolve, his self-belief, and a subtle barb at the failure of others to recognise his political determination and tactical skills; most clearly on display during the fractious parliament of the Gillard years.

The Greens wont budge on the governments housing fund. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

Well, the Greens should have listened to that rare moment of reflection because they certainly underestimated Albanese when they again voted with the Coalition and Pauline Hansons One Nation to defer debate on the governments signature $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund Bill.

To say the Greens decision has infuriated the government would be a massive understatement. The Housing Australia Future Fund would support the construction of 30,000 new social and affordable housing properties, with a minimum $500 million each year over the next five years, including 4,000 properties for women and children facing family and domestic violence and older women at risk of homelessness.
The number of times long-haul train travellers have been unable to find a seat has doubled to more than 2000 per day since the Andrews government slashed the price of V/Line tickets.

The fares were capped at $9.20 a day in late March, bringing them in line with Myki charges for metropolitan travellers. Previously passengers had to pay $27.60 for a weekday return journey from Geelong to Melbourne, while a return ticket to Swan Hill was $92.

There has been a huge spike in the number of V/Line tickets being sold since daily travel was capped at $9.20. Credit: Eddie Jim

The cheaper tickets were a key promise for Labor and the Coalition during last years state election campaign as the major parties sought to woo regional voters amid the cost-of-living crisis.

V/Line data shows there were an additional 1.5 million trips taken on the service between April 1 and June 30 compared with the same period in 2022  up about 45 per cent.
Kyiv: Ukraine has welcomed a controversial US decision to send cluster bombs to Kyiv but promised the munitions will only be used to help liberate Ukrainian territory, not to launch strikes on Russia.

It comes as President Volodymyr Zelensky marked 500 days of war by bringing home from Turkey five former commanders of Mariupol  a highly symbolic move that Russia says violates a prisoner exchange deal engineered last year.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on a flight home to Ukraine with the Azovstal garrison. Credit: Ukrainian Presidential Press Office

Ukraines counter-offensive against Russias invasion is stalling. But Americas decision Friday to supply Ukraine with widely banned cluster munitions has sparked backlash from allies including Canada, Germany and Spain, because of the risk to civilians from the bombs.

Ukraines Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov said the munitions would help save the lives of Ukrainian soldiers. Ukraine would keep a strict record of their use, exchange information with its partners, and not use them in urban areas. They would only be deployed to break through the enemy defence lines, and to liberate our internationally recognised territories, Reznikov said. These munitions will not be used on the officially recognised territory of Russia.
People take part in a protest against Sweden hosting a large international military exercise and the country striving to become a member of NATO in Stockholm, Sweden, on April 22, 2023. (Photo by Patrick Ekstrand/Xinhua)

"Military alliances do not build peace. Military rearmament, on the contrary, creates the conditions for war," a protester said in Sweden.

STOCKHOLM, July 7 (Xinhua) -- Several organizations have stepped up to voice their objections to Sweden joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) just days ahead of the military bloc's summit in Vilnius, Lithuania.

The Swedish Peace and Arbitration Society told Dagens Nyheter (DN) newspaper on Friday that the country would be safer not belonging to a military alliance.

It is "a historically bad prioritization -- Sweden safer outside NATO," said Kerstin Bergea, the society's chairperson. "I am afraid that we will escalate the tense world situation by becoming part of a nuclear weapons alliance."

"In an already heavily militarized world, NATO contributes to increased tensions and polarization," she said.

People take part in a protest against Sweden hosting a large international military exercise and the country striving to become a member of NATO in Stockholm, Sweden, on April 22, 2023. (Photo by Patrick Ekstrand/Xinhua)

She also told DN that the NATO accession issue was rushed through by the Swedish government.

"An analysis of the consequences as well as a solid, democratic debate should have been a matter of course in such an important issue. Instead, we can join NATO with a lot of unanswered questions," she noted.

The Christian Peace Movement also opposes Sweden joining NATO, Lotta Sjostrom Becker, secretary general of the organization, told DN.

"It is a strategy leading to an arms race that increases uncertainty and counteracts the prevention of armed conflict," Becker said. "Rather than protecting our society, nuclear weapons are a threat to it."

Goran Greider, an author and the editor-in-chief of Dala-Demokraten, an independent Social Democratic newspaper, told DN that nuclear weapons were the main reason for him being against Sweden joining the NATO.

Being a member "nullifies the peace policy that has been important in Swedish foreign policy," Greider said.

People take part in a protest against Sweden hosting a large international military exercise and the country striving to become a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in Stockholm, Sweden, on April 22, 2023. (Photo by Patrick Ekstrand/Xinhua)

"Above all, we must fight to keep Sweden free from nuclear weapons by not having nuclear weapons on Swedish soil. Sweden must also try to maintain the non-aligned tradition to be able to mediate" in conflicts, Greider said.

IKFF, the Swedish chapter of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, also stands against Sweden's NATO accession.

"Military alliances do not build peace. Military rearmament, on the contrary, creates the conditions for war. NATO is also a nuclear alliance. We do not agree with threatening with the mass murder of civilians," Lina Hjartstrom, policy and advocacy director of IKFF, told DN.

Hjartstrom said that conflict should be prevented through investments in democracy, civil society and equality.

"It is now being set aside in favor of military rearmament. Sweden would be safer if the whole world became more peaceful, and that cannot be achieved through nuclear alliances," Hjartstrom added.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg speaks at a press conference to preview the NATO Summit in Vilnius, at the NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, July 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Zheng Huansong)

Becoming a NATO member would also lead to Sweden wasting resources that could instead be invested in civil society, Hjartstrom told DN.

"The government has said that NATO membership has no consequences for gender equality. This is false, and a very naive view of NATO. A NATO membership will redistribute public resources in Sweden in ways that affect women disproportionately," Hjartstrom stressed.

She also vented fears of other unwanted consequences brought by a NATO membership.

"Prostitution and the exploitation of women's bodies often increase around military bases," Hjartstrom told DN.

People take part in a protest against Sweden hosting a large international military exercise and the country striving to become a member of NATO in Stockholm, Sweden, on April 22, 2023. (Photo by Patrick Ekstrand/Xinhua)

On March 22, Sweden's Parliament (Riksdagen) voted in favor of the country joining NATO, but NATO members Hungary and Turkiye have yet to green light the country's accession. Sweden's accession is expected to be one of the key issues at the NATO's summit in Vilnius, scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday. 
Batavia, NY (14020)

Today

Partly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 58F. WNW winds at 10 to 20 mph, decreasing to 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 58F. WNW winds at 10 to 20 mph, decreasing to 5 to 10 mph.
Batavia, NY (14020)

Today

Showers and a few thunderstorms likely. Potential for severe thunderstorms. Low 63F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%..

Tonight

Showers and a few thunderstorms likely. Potential for severe thunderstorms. Low 63F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%.
TEHRAN, July 8 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Foreign Minister said Saturday that his country and Sudan have agreed to resume bilateral relations in the near future.

Hossein Amir-Abdollahian made the remarks at a joint press conference with his Algerian counterpart Ahmed Attaf held after their talks in Iranian capital Tehran earlier in the day, Iran's official news agency IRNA reported.

He was commenting on a meeting with Sudan's acting Foreign Minister Ali al-Sadiq on the sideline of a meeting of the Coordinating Bureau of the Non-Aligned Movement held in the Azberjani capital Baku earlier this week, the first of such meeting between the two countries' top diplomats since Sudan and Iran severed diplomatic ties in 2016.

Tehran and Khartoum prepared to agree upon a framework and make necessary steps for resuming the diplomatic ties and reopening embassies at each other's capitals in the near future, he told reporters.

On Thursday, Amir-Abdollahian tweeted that he and al-Sadiq touched upon "imminent" resumption of diplomatic ties during the Baku meeting.

At the press conference, the Iranian minister said the Sudan conflict is a common concern of Tehran and Algiers, noting that both Iran and Algeria call for a ceasefire between the Sudanese warring parties and dialogue to settle the conflict.

Sudan severed diplomatic ties with Iran in 2016 following Saudi Arabia's move to cut ties with Tehran in the same year.

Saudi Arabia cut diplomatic ties with Iran in early 2016 in response to attacks on Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran after the kingdom executed a Shiite cleric. 
1 in 3 Seattle Residents Considering Relocating Due to Crime and Cost

One in three Seattle residents is considering moving away from the city due to public safety concerns over daily crimes and high cost of living prices, according to a Seattle Times/Suffolk University poll published in June.

About 33 percent of Seattle residents surveyed said they were seriously considering moving out of the city. Sixty-seven percent said they were not. The poll of 500 residents was conducted by phone from June 12 to 16, with a margin of error of 4.4 percentage points.

Among the residents who say they are considering leaving, 37 percent blamed rising housing costs, and 34 percent cited public safety as their primary reason for moving.

Overall, renters (44 percent) were more likely than homeowners (27 percent) to consider moving out. Respondents with lower incomes, especially those earning less than $20,000, were likelier to blame soaring Seattle home prices for motivating them to move. Poll data show this group also reported experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity at the highest rates.

Gov. Jay Inslee signed 10 bills in May aimed at taking steps toward solving what the governor calls a housing crisis.

Mr. Inslee said the bills address the states housing shortage and should make home ownership more affordable. He also said the new laws could help those experiencing homelessness. Homelessness is a housing crisis, Mr. Inslee said.

Public safety was the main concern among respondents in the highest household income bracket, those earning over $250,000 a year. These residents were also more likely to be homeowners than renters. Of those wanting to move, 80 percent rated Seattle poorly as a place to live, and 66 percent said they did not feel safe in their neighborhood. In comparison, among the two-thirds of Seattleites who did not consider leaving, 88 percent rated the city as an excellent place to live, and 72 percent said they felt safe in their own neighborhood. A For Sale sign is posted outside a residential home in the Queen Anne neighborhood near the Space Needle in Seattle on May 14, 2021. (Karen Ducey/Reuters) Mr. Inslee also signed a bill into law in April that will strengthen the prosecution of hate crimes and require rehab programs for offenders. SB 5623 replaces the physical injury element of the definition of a hate crime with assault.

Under current Washington state law, a physical injury to the victim is required for prosecutors to charge a hate crime, but assaults meant to intimidate and demeanlike spitting on someonewill now be grounds for prosecution as a hate crime.

Hate crimes are horrific acts of violence that do more than affect individual victims  they make whole communities feel unwelcome, said state Sen. Manka Dhingra (D-Redmond), chair of the Senate Law and Justice Committee and bill sponsor. These crimes are corrosive to our society, and we need the proper tools available to protect survivors and ensure that courts can effectively supervise offenders in completing rehabilitative programs when needed.

In the past three years, costs in the Seattle metro area climbed over 20 percent. Before the pandemic, it took nine years for costs to grow by that amount.

The Seattle metro areas home price index is now 40 percent higher than in 2018, down from 50 percent in 2022. But wages have not kept up with these cost increases, and well-compensated tech and finance workers are skewing the citys income average.

Moving patterns revealed these residents were more likely to move out of the countys wealthiest neighborhoods. While lower-income residents moved less often, they were more likely to move out of the Puget Sound region altogether.

About 65 percent of residents considering leaving said the citys ability to progress on homelessness had worsened, and 60 percent rated the quality of education as poor.

According to new Census Bureau data, many people are moving to Florida, which has experienced a population growth of over 22 million people from 2021 to 2022.

The 1.9 percent increase was the largest of any U.S. state over this period, exceeding Idaho and South Carolina, which saw their populations grow by 1.8 percent and 1.7 percent, respectively.

While Florida has often been among the largest-gaining states, this was the first time since 1957 that Florida has been the state with the largest percent increase in population, Kristie Wilder, a demographer in the Population Division at the Census Bureau, said in a press release.

Despite people moving out of the state, many are also moving into it.

According to the Office of Financial Management, the states population expanded by about 1.1 percent year-over-year, mostly due to migration and housing growth. The previous year, the state population grew by about 1.3 percent. The annual estimates cover the 12 months running up until April 1.
2 Arrested in Countywide Crime Spree in San Diego

SAN DIEGOA man and a woman were in custody July 7 after a violent crime spree that spanned from Coastal North County to the South Bay, the San Diego County Sheriffs Department said.

Around 7 p.m. on July 5, a man called 911 to report he was the victim of a carjacking in the 800 block of Nolbey Street in Cardiff-by-the-Sea, according to sheriffs officials. He told police he was carjacked at gunpoint and the suspects drove off in his white Ford Fusion. The victim and another person who witnessed the vehicle theft tried to follow the suspects in another car.

Deputies from the North Coastal Sheriffs Station and a sheriffs helicopter searched the surrounding area for the suspects.

A man got out of the stolen vehicle and fired multiple shots at the pursuing carjacking victim and witness in the 900 block of Sandcastle Drive in Cardiff, said Sgt. Jessica Vanoort of the North Coastal Sheriffs Station. Several unoccupied vehicles were hit by the gunfire, but no one was hurt. The suspects then drove away from the scene.

Just after 8 p.m. Wednesday, deputies found and arrested the suspects, identified as Calvin Brown, 26, and Rolaena Darlene Blunt, 18, at a gym in the 200 block of South El Camino Real in Encinitas. Deputies recovered a handgun and ammunition at the scene.

Deputies later located a burgundy Nissan Versa on Nolbey Street in Cardiff, which was abandoned by the suspects after colliding into two cars before the carjacking of the Ford Fusion. An investigation determined the Versa had been carjacked by the suspects earlier in the day in the city of San Diego.

One of the suspects was involved in an earlier shooting just before 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at a home in the 1100 block of Louden Street in Imperial Beach, police said. When deputies from the Imperial Beach Sheriffs Substation arrived at the scene, they found a 36-year-old woman who had been shot. She was taken to a hospital to be treated for non-life-threatening injuries. No one else was hurt.

The victim allegedly identified the shooting suspect as Brown, according to Sgt. Samuel Lizarraga of the Imperial Beach Sheriffs Substation.

Brown and Blunt were booked on multiple felony charges including suspicion of attempted murder, carjacking, and assault with a deadly weapon. Brown was also booked on multiple gun charges.

Brown was being held at San Diego Central Jail, and Blunt was being held at Las Colinas Detention and Re-entry Facility in Santee. Both were scheduled to be arraigned at 1:30 p.m. Friday.
JENIN, West Bank, July 8 (Xinhua) -- A delegation of foreign diplomats on Saturday visited the northern West Bank city of Jenin and its refugee camp following an Israeli large-scale military offensive waged on the city earlier this week.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees organized a tour that lasted for several hours for the delegation of 30 diplomats, most of whom represented European countries.

On July 3, the Israeli army waged a two-day large-scale military offensive in the Jenin area to crack down on Palestinian militants. The offensive left 12 Palestinians and one Israeli army officer dead and dozens of others wounded.

The diplomats toured the refugee camp and looked at the houses and infrastructure that were destructed during the Israeli offensive.

The representative of the European Union in Palestine, Sven Kun von Burgsdorff, told reporters that the delegation visited Jenin "to see the damage that occurred and work to submit reports to all capitals of diplomatic missions about what happened."

"The visit aims to express solidarity with the population in the camp, which must be protected under all circumstances, especially children and families," he said.

He stressed the need "to provide financial and political support to the Palestinian Authority so that it can work effectively in Jenin and its camp."

Burgsdorff called on the international community to take the necessary measures to ensure Israel's commitment to its compliance with international law.

Since January, 26 people, most of them Israelis, have been killed in a series of attacks carried out by Palestinians, and 190 Palestinians, including children and women, were killed by Israeli soldiers and settlers, according to official figures. 
2 Arrested in Shooting That Killed 3 in Fort Worth, Texas

Police arrested two men on July 7 in connection to the mass shooting that killed three people in the Fort Worth neighborhood of Como, in Texas, on July 3.

The suspects, Christopher Redic Jr., 20, and Brandon Williams, 19, were arrested by Fort Worth police and now face murder charges, Fort Worth police Chief Neil Noakes said at a news conference on July 7. It was unclear whether the two suspects had attorneys.

Mr. Noakes said investigators believe the shooting was gang-related, adding that there could be additional arrests.

I dont know specifically whom they were shooting at, the police chief said. Theres a potential that altercation is what initiated the violence to occur.

Police previously said several men fired indiscriminately into a crowd of hundreds of people following a July 4 festival in Como, called ComoFest.

The festival was held in a park several blocks away from where the shots were fired. The shooting, which took place on Horne Street at around 11:47 p.m.about two hours after the festival endedwas separate from and unrelated to the festival, police said.

The three people who died due to the shooting were identified as Paul Willis, 18, Cynthia Santos, 22, and Gabriella Navarrete, 18, according to the Tarrant County medical examiners office. Another eight people were injured that night.

Mr. Noakes said police have been discussing with the predominantly black community about how ComoFest needs to look going forward.

That after-party, if you will, thats not going to look the same, he said.

The neighborhood also has been holding an annual Fourth of July parade for more than 70 years.

Mr. Noakes said that Como is one of the most historic and loved communities in Fort Worth and said that in the face of the shooting, it has stood tall, rallied around one another and loved one another.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
6 Killed When Small Plane Crashes, Bursts Into Flames in Field Near Southern California Airport

Charred remains of a Cessna lie near the landing approach at French Valley Airport, in Murrieta, Calif., on July 8, 2023. (Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times via AP)

MURRIETA, Calif.Six people were killed when a small plane crashed in a field and burst into flames during the second of two landing attempts in fog just before dawn Saturday at a Southern California airport, authorities said.

The crash of the Cessna C550 business jet occurred around 4:15 a.m. in Murrieta, about 80 miles southeast of Los Angeles, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

It took firefighters more than an hour to extinguish the flames, which charred about an acre of vegetation at the edge of French Valley Airport, said the Riverside County Fire Department.

The jet, which can seat up to 13 people, crashed about 500 feet short of the intended runway, said Elliott Simpson, an investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

Most of the airplane, with the exception of the tail, was consumed by fire, Mr. Simpson told reporters at an afternoon briefing. Investigators were combing through a debris field about 200 feet long, he said.

All six people on board died at the scene, the Riverside County Sheriffs Office said in a statement. The victims, all adults, were not immediately identified.

The plane, which had departed from Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas for the 45-minute flight to Murietta, crashed during its second approach, the NTSB said. The pilot was cleared for a landing using only instruments because of limited visibility from the low cloud ceiling, Mr. Simpson said.

The visibility and ceilings allowed for a landing, but it was right on the minimums of the regulations set for that airport, he said. Investigators will review recordings between the pilot and air traffic control.

A preliminary report was expected in about two weeks, the NTSB said.

The FAAs aircraft tracking database lists the jet as owned by Prestige Worldwide Flights LLC of Imperial, California. Officials with the company could not be reached for comment.

It was the second fatal crash this week at the small county-owned airport in Murrieta, a city with about 112,000 residents. A man was killed and three people were injured on July Fourth when a single-engine Cessna 172 crashed in a parking lot shortly after takeoff from French Valley.
Albanese Heads to Europe for Talks on Ukraine, Economy

As Ukrainians mark 500 days of fending off the Russian invasion, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is preparing for security talks in Europe.

The prime minister will start his visit in the German capital Berlin, where he will meet with Chancellor Olaf Scholz on July 10.

The leaders are expected to discuss the Ukraine war as well as economic and business issues such as modern manufacturing and clean energy.

Australias pitch for a free trade agreement with the European Union is also likely to feature.

Albanese will then head to the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, where he and the leaders of New Zealand, Japan and South Korea have been invited to share their views on regional and global security, badged as the Indo-Pacific Four.

NATO said in a statement relations with like-minded partners across the globe are increasingly important to address cross-cutting security issues and global challenges, as well as to defend the rules-based international order.

The prime minister is expected to meet with a number of European leaders as well as Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

July 8 marks 500 days since Russia invaded Ukraine.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said the people of Ukraine had shown immeasurable strength and bravery to protect their home, their culture and their people.

In a joint statement with opposition defence spokesman Andrew Hastie and foreign affairs spokesman James Paterson, Dutton said it was also a day to reflect on the grief shared with Ukraine for the fatalities and casualties caused by Russias brutal actions.

The toll stands at more than 9083 civilian deaths, and more than 15,779 injuries.

The federal opposition has described Australias latest support package as falling a long way short of Ukraines requests for additional military capability including Bushmasters, Hawkeis, Abrams tanks and de-mining equipment.

We again offer our bipartisan support for additional Australian military, humanitarian, financial and energy support for Ukraine, and again call on the Albanese government to reinstate the Australian embassy and Australian ambassador in Kyiv, alongside the at-least 67 diplomatic missions which have already returned.

Australia announced a further $110 million (US$73 million) in support just over a week ago, bringing total assistance to $790 million (US$525 million).
ANALYSIS: Westerners Ponder Putins Power After Mutiny Attempt

In the aftermath of the Wagner mutiny attempt in Russia, there is a prevalent belief in the West that Putins control over the country has significantly waned. Analysts have cautioned Western policymakers to brace themselves for the potential chaos and risks that could arise in a post-Putin Russia.

The short-lived mutiny orchestrated in Russia over the weekend of June 24 by Yevgeny Prigozhin, leader of the Wagner private military group, has exposed Putins weakened grip on Russia. On June 28, U.S. President Joe Biden expressed his belief that the attempted mutiny weakened Putins power. However, when questioned by reporters at the White House, Biden acknowledged that it is hard to tell to what extent Putins power has eroded.

Tobias Ellwood, Chairman of the UK House of Commons Defense Committee, conveyed to The Express on June 26 that he considers this situation a dangerous game-changer for Putin, and in his view, Putins days are now numbered. According to Mr. Ellwood,  When a Russian leader has to contain a coup by offering the coup leader a place in exile rather than defeating him directly then you know power is draining from the Kremlin.

Josep Borrell, the E.U.s High Representative for Foreign Affairs, also sounded a warning on June 26 during the E.U. Foreign Ministers Summit, emphasizing the danger of instability in Russia following the Wagner incident. This instability is not only weakening Russias military power but also affecting its political system. Mr. Borrells viewpoint garnered support from the foreign ministers of Germany, Austria, and Luxembourg who were present at the Luxembourg meeting.

Former UK Prime Minister Liz Truss also addressed the implosion of Russia during a parliamentary exchange on the same day, stating, We, and our allies, including Ukrainians, Poles, and the Baltic statesneed to make sure that we have a plan in case of the implosion of Russia.

Russia Faces the Prospect of Fragmentation

On March 20, the Montaigne Institute, a French think tank, released a report analyzing the potential consequences of a military failure for Putins top-down power system, which has been in place for the past two decades. The report highlights the possibility of severe disruptions to Russias political landscape. Furthermore, the countrys economic situation could become increasingly challenging, while the risk of large-scale conflicts between military forces, intelligence agencies, the National Guard, and paramilitary organizations looms large.

According to the report, Russia consists of 89 federal subjects, including 21 non-Slavic autonomous republics. It emphasizes that not all Russian citizens (Rossiiskii) are ethnically Russians (Russkii), and the proportion of ethnic Russians (currently 80%) is declining. If the central government loses control, the first regions likely to consider secession from the federation would be the border areas that have suffered the heaviest casualties in this war and the impoverished regions where the Russian ethnic population has dwindled. Other prosperous regions with a history of nationalist aspirations, particularly the two republics in the Volga River regionTatarstan and Bashkortostanmay also harbor concerns.

The report suggests that Russia is a country characterized by geographical, economic, social, and regional fragmentation, with a few developed cities, small administrative units, and vast impoverished and disconnected hinterlands. Consequently, any fragmentation it experiences could result in chaos, long-lasting effects, conflict-ridden, and a potential escalation of violence. This situation could lead to federal entities completely breaking away while others merge to form new federations.

Nuclear Weapons Risks in Russia

In a June 26 op-ed published in Foreign Policy, it states that Washington needs to be prepared for the potential chaos in Russia, with the most challenging aspect being coordinating international responses to safeguard Russias stockpile of nuclear weapons.

The article underscores that Russia possesses the largest stockpile of nuclear weapons globally, along with a sizable number of bioweapon projects. The unauthorized acquisition of these weapons would pose a catastrophic risk. To address this, the article suggests investing in improving detection capabilities at border crossings throughout the region. Additionally, the United States should be ready to negotiate practical agreements with Russian power brokers who may gain access to these weapons, depending on the circumstances.

However, the report released last March by Frances Montaigne Institute argues that the nuclear weapons risk stemming from Russian fragmentation might not be as severe as during the dissolution of the Soviet Union. During that event, Russia deployed nearly 7,000 weapons outside the country. Presently, apart from naval bases, Russias nuclear capabilities are mostly situated in the central and southern parts of the federation and along major transportation routes strictly controlled by the central government (although proximity to the border poses risks in case of significant destruction).

Dealing With Post-Putin Russia

Regarding post-Putin Russia, Janusz Bugajski, a senior researcher at the Jamestown Foundation in Washington, suggests an effective approach for the West is to explicitly express their willingness to cooperate with Russia regardless of the political outcome after Putin steps down. This approach would involve officially supporting diversity, democracy, federalism, civil rights, and the autonomy of various republics and regions. It would also involve assuring Russian citizens that they will not face global isolation.

On July 1, Li Yuanhua, a former associate professor at the Capital Normal University, conveyed to The Epoch Times that Russias current actions are manifestations of its failure to eradicate the remnants of communism completely. By portraying the West as an imaginary enemy, Russia is positioning itself against the free world and universal values, thereby consolidating its geopolitical position. Viewing Russian issues through the lens of universal values and the need to eradicate communist residue would contribute to global peace and stability.

Mr. Li also mentioned that the disintegration of Russia could accelerate the downfall of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). He noted that since Russia instigated the war in Ukraine, multiple Western countries have collectively sought to contain Russia, diverting attention from countering the CCP. The CCP covertly supports Russia, desiring Russia to continue its confrontation with Western society or serve as a diversion from the Wests focus on China.

Mr. Li emphasized that if Russia, acting as a barrier, collapses, the free world could concentrate more resources on encircling the CCP. This scenario is concerning to the CCP as calls for justice could accelerate its disintegration, leading to its complete collapse.

Reporter Kane Zhang contributed to this article.
Australian Slave Keeper Jail Time Increased for Contacting Victim

On the evening before she was due to meet with police to go over statements about her experience as a slave, a frightened Tamil woman received a call at her nursing home.

If you listen to the police youll never be able to leave this country, youll be here until you perish, until you die, the caller said, claiming to be a court translator who wanted to help.

The woman, who is now aged in her 70s, was due to give evidence against her slave keeper Kumuthini Kannan.

After the hour-long call, which had been made from a shopping centre pay phone, the victim screamed, cried and struggled to breathe.

She did not recognise the voice on the phone but later realised it was Kannan, the woman who had kept her as a slave for eight years.

Kannan and her husband were on trial in the Supreme Court for keeping the woman in domestic servitude at their home in Melbournes east between 2007 and 2015.

The accused woman was desperate to stop her former slave giving evidence against her, but it did not work and she continued assisting police.

She described having tea and curries thrown at her, being beaten with a frozen chicken and prevented from returning to her Tamil Nadu home in southern India.

She worked up to 23 hours a day doing housework, caring for their children and was restricted from going outside or mixing with members of the Tamil community.

In 2021, Kannan and her husband Kandasamy were found guilty by a jury of intentionally possessing a slave and intentionally exercising over a slave any of the powers attaching to the right of ownership.

Kannan, 55, had her eight-year jail term increased by one year in the County Court on July 7, after admitting a fresh charge of attempting to pervert the course of justice by discouraging her victim from giving evidence.

Judge Martine Marich said Kannans offending was gratuitous and serious as she exploited her victim, knowing she spoke no English, was illiterate, isolated and had been through a terrible ordeal at her hands for years.

Your threats emphasised her isolation in a foreign country and you tried to engender fear in her that those around were not to be trusted, Marich said.

Marich increased Kannans minimum sentence by six months, meaning she must serve four years and six months before she can apply for parole.

Kannan has already served almost two years of her sentence.
Australian Wildlife Hospital Staff Devastated as Funding Scrapped

A supplied image obtained on July 7, 2023, of vets treating injured animals at the Byron Bay Wildlife Hospital. (AAP Image/Supplied by Byron Bay Wildlife Hospital)

A wildlife hospital set up after the Black Summer bushfires faces imminent closure after the New South Wales (NSW) government reneged on a $6 million (US$4 million) funding deal struck by the previous administration.

Byron Bay Wildlife Hospital chief executive Stephen Van Mil said the loss of the government funding over four years was very bad news for native animals.

Were devastated, Van Mil told AAP on July 7.

We dont know whether well be able to keep going.

It went from $6 million to nothing. Overnight. The whole thing got kyboshed in one phone call.

The hospital was created three years ago to deal with the influx of severely injured animals after Australias largest bushfire disaster in 2019 and 2020 tore through the areas bushland, decimating the local wildlife population.

More than 4000 animals have since been treated, including in excess of 1000 in the past six months.

Previously entirely funded by private donations, it is the only all-species wildlife hospital in NSW apart from two run by Taronga Zoo in Sydney and Dubbo.

A visit in October 2022 by then-premier Dominic Perrottet led to a $6 million, four-year funding announcement, subject to approval by the state cabinets expenditure review committee.

Van Mil said the wildlife hospital received a letter two weeks ago letting it know the grant had been denied.

A spokesman for the Environment Minister Penny Sharpe said the submission was rejected because it was not found to be value for money.

The state had earmarked $2 million (US$1.3 million) for wildlife rehabilitation in the Northern Rivers region and was also supporting the wildlife rehabilitation sector through the $3.5 million (US$2.3 million) statewide Koala Strategy, the spokesman said.

Van Mil disapproved the financial argument.

The hospital had commissioned an independent review of the application process that found $1.5 million (US$1 million) in annual donations generated $4.3 million (US$2.9 million) positive economic impact on the economy, through tourism and jobs.

We absolutely demonstrated the economic value of what we do, Van Mil said.

Opposition environment spokeswoman Kellie Sloane said the government could not just say no and do nothing.

Labor needs to start providing solutions if its serious about the environmental and our native wildlife, Sloane told AAP.

The hospital has reached out to federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek for help and renewed a public appeal.

Van Mil said he felt bad about asking the public for donations again but was worried about the future.

There is a real, genuine chance well fold. Weve got about two months of funding left, Van Mil said.
Biden Faces Strong Opposition From His Own Party on Cluster Munitions

A Cluster Bomb Unit containing more than 600 cluster bombs, that was dropped by Israeli warplanes during the 34-day-long Hezbollah-Israeli war, sits in a field in the southern village of Ouazaiyeh, Lebanon, on Nov. 9, 2006. (Mohammed Zaatari/AP Photo)

The decision of the Biden administration, following several months of internal debate, to include cluster munitions as part of its new $800 million aid package to Ukraine is opposed by members of his own party in Congress, who otherwise are allies of the administrations support of the nation in its war with Russia.

Congressional Democrats posted on their websites and made Twitter statements condemning the decision.

Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa.) is an Air Force veteran who has been a steadfast backer of the administrations Ukraine policy, but she thinks that arming Ukraine with cluster munitions is wrong.

From the outset of Russias unjust war, I have been one of the most vocal and supportive members of Congress when it comes to providing Ukraine the resources and weapon systems they need to defend themselves and their sovereignty, said Ms. Houlahan.

I believe a victory for Ukraine is an essential victory for democracies across the globe, but that victory cannot come at the expense of our American values and thus democracy itself. Cluster munitions are indiscriminate, and I strongly oppose providing these weapons to Ukraine.

Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa.) prepares to be interviewed on television just outside the House Chamber at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Dec. 17, 2019. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Controversial Weapons

First used in World War II, cluster munitionsalso called cluster bombsare containers that open in the air and disperse as many as a few dozen to 600 explosives, sometimes called bomblets, across tens of thousands of square meters of territory. The munitions can be delivered by drops from aircraft and by artillery and missile strikes.

Cluster munitions are controversial.

Although the bomblets are intended to explode on impact, many do not yet remain active for years and can detonate when civilians, including children (who can mistake them for toys), come in contact with the explosives. As well, a high percentage of cluster bombs are free-floating, not precision-guided, and can drift into civilian areas.

In his remarks on July 7 announcing that the United States will supply Ukraine with cluster munitions, national security adviser Jake Sullivan addressed the risks to civilians while arguing that the consequences of not providing the weapons would be worse.

So, the bottom line is this, we recognize the cluster munitions create a risk of civilian harm from unexploded ordnance, said Mr. Sullivan. This is why we deferred the decision for as long as we could.

But there is also a massive risk of civilian harm if Russian troops and tanks roll over Ukrainian positions and take more Ukrainian territory and subjugate more Ukrainian civilians. Because Ukraine does not have enough artillery.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan speaks at a press briefing at the White House on April 24, 2023. (Andrew Harnik/AP Photo)

The United States, Ukraine, and Russia are not among the 123 nations that are signatories or state parties to the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM), an international treaty established in 2008 that prohibits all use, stockpiling, production and transfer of cluster munitions. Twenty-three of the state parties to CCM are the United States NATO allies.

Both Russia and Ukraine are reported to have used cluster munitions in the ongoing conflict.

Democrats Strongly Object

A general concern held by Democrats is that supplying Ukraine with cluster bombs makes the United States complicit in humanitarian offenses while also ceding the moral high ground in its involvement in a conflict that is widely regarded to have resulted from Russian aggression.

Rep. Betty McCollum (D-Minn.) is another lawmaker who believes that the United States should aid Ukraine, but not with cluster munitions.

The decision by the Biden administration to transfer cluster munitions to Ukraine is unnecessary and a terrible mistake, said Ms. McCollum. Congress has been clear in prohibiting the transfer of any cluster munition with a dud rate of greater than 1 percent.

Allowing legacy U.S. cluster munitions onto the battlefield in Ukraine undermines our moral authority and places the U.S. in a position that directly contradicts 23 of our NATO allies who have joined the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

Democratic House members Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Sara Jacobs of California said they will introduce an amendment to the annual national defense bill to prohibit the United States from selling cluster munitions.

Cluster munitions are illegal under international law. A total of 123 countries have ratified the convention to ban their use under all circumstancesincluding nearly all our allies, said Ms. Omar.

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) speaks in Brooklyn Center, Minn., on April 20, 2021. (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)

Its not hard to understand why. Because cluster bombs scatter multiple small bombs over a large area, they kill civilians both during an attack and after. I was recently in Vietnam where I heard firsthand how innocent civilians continue to be killed by U.S. cluster munitions a full fifty years after the conflict ended. Tens of thousands of explosives are found every year there.

In a tweet, Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) said: I continue to strongly support helping Ukraine stand up to Russias brutal war of aggression. But cluster munitions wont help.

They are indiscriminate weapons that disperse hundreds of bomblets which can travel far beyond military targets and injure, maim, and kill civilianslong after the conflict is over.

Condemnation From Human Rights Organizations

The Democrats speaking out echo the concerns of human rights organizations that have been watchful and attempted to prevent the Biden administration from choosing to supply cluster munitions to Ukraine.

On June 16, a coalition of 38 human relief organizationsincluding Amnesty International USA, Physicians for Human Rights, UNICEF USA, and Oxfam Americasent a letter to President Joe Biden decrying that the United States was considering furnishing Ukraine with the armaments.

Cluster munitions have been used repeatedly by the Russian military since its full-scale invasion in February of 2022, with devastating impacts on civilians and civilian objects, including homes, hospitals, and schools, according to Human Rights Watch, wrote the coalition.

The Ukrainian military has also used cluster munitions on multiple occasions. On April 8, 2022, a cluster munitions attack by Russia killed at least 58 civilians and injured over 100 others in the city of Kramatorskthis is just one of the hundreds of documented, reported, or credibly alleged, cluster munition attacks in Ukraine since the 2022 invasion.

The United States must not be complicit in the use of these indiscriminate weapons.
California AG Joins National Effort to Make Canceling Unwanted Subscriptions Easy

Sometimes you might be paying for subscriptions that you have long forgotten about. (Kaspars Grinvalds/Shutterstock)

California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced support June 26 for proposed Federal Trade Commission (FTC) changes that will make canceling subscriptions, both digital and physical, as easy as signing up for them, according to his office.

The so-called Negative Option Rule is a marketing method for companies to enroll consumers in services with recurring charges, like for subscriptions, and memberships. Consumers silence or failure to take action regarding the charges are interpreted by companies as renewals.

If consumers want to cancel a subscription, they should not have to go on a fishing expedition, Mr. Bonta said in a press release. Just as businesses make it easy to sign up for a subscription, they need to respect customers who later want to end that subscription.

Mr. Bontas action is part of a coalition of 26 attorneys general supporting the change. Such would provide more protection to consumers, offering easy and immediate cancellation options, and reminders of upcoming charges, according to the press release.

The attorneys general also urged the FTC to enforce a requirement for businesses to seek additional consent from consumers prior to charging them upon the completion of the free trial. They also asked the commission to broaden the ways that a consumer can cancel a recurring charge.

Typically, businesses provide a 7-day free trial before enrolling customers into their recurring plan. However, a payment method is usually collected prior to the free trial period, and many consumers, who no longer want the service, fail to cancel in time and then are charged, according to the FTC.

The trade commission proposed in March a so-called click to cancel provisionwhich would allow consumers to cancel subscriptions using the same method they used to subscribe.

Under such regulation, consumers would be able to cancel their subscriptions online by themselves without needing to call the company or go through lengthy steps.

The new rule would apply to a wide expanse of products, including digital streaming and e-commerce services, cable TV subscriptions, news outlets, gym memberships, and more.

Some businesses too often trick consumers into paying for subscriptions they no longer want or didnt sign up for in the first place, said FTC Chair Lina Khan in a press release issued in March. The proposal would save consumers time and money, and businesses that continued to use subscription tricks and traps would be subject to stiff penalties.

The FTCs effort to address the issue started in 2021 when the agency warned companies against using so-called dark patternsmeaning misleading ads, making it difficult to cancel subscriptions, or burying key terms and junk fees to trick or trap consumers into subscription services.

According to the agency, the action was taken up due to rising numbers of complaints about deceptive enrollment tactics.

The FTC has since been taking action against Amazon.com, Inc., citing a lengthy period during which the company allegedly enrolled consumers into its Prime program without their consent. Additionally, it accuses the retail giant of deliberately impeding the cancellation process for Prime subscriptions.

Additionally, numerous businesses have been subject to lawsuits by the agency due to allegations of impeding consumers who wish to cancel their services.
California Court Rules Employees Cant Sue Employers for Take Home COVID

Nurses look at information with a doctor at the Peel Memorial Centre for Integrated Health and Wellness, within the William Osler Health System, during the COVID-19 pandemic in Brampton, Ont., on March 26, 2021. (The Canadian Press/Nathan Denette)

Californias top state court has ruled that employees cant sue their employers when workers contract COVID-19 on the job and spread it to their household members, siding with business groups who wont be held liable.

The seven-member California Supreme Court on July 6 unanimously ruled that allowing so-called take home COVID claims could encourage businesses to adopt precautions that slow the delivery of services to the public or to shut down completely during pandemics.

According to the couples complaint, Corby Kuciemba had filed the lawsuit, saying she became seriously ill in the hospital after her husband contracted COVID at his job with Victory Woodworks Inc in 2020 and passed it to her before COVID-19 vaccines were available.

She alleged that Victory Woodworks had been aware of workers falling ill with COVID-19 at another work site in California but had nonetheless transferred workers from that site to the San Francisco site, where they worked close to her husband.

A medical professional administers a coronavirus (covid-19) test at a drive thru testing location conducted by staffers from the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center (UCSF) in the parking lot of the Bolinas Fire Department in Bolinas, Calif.,on April 20, 2020. (Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

The court said a ruling for Kuciemba would turn every employer in California into a potential defendant, even when they had taken reasonable steps to prevent the spread of the virus or when it is impossible to prove that employees contracted COVID at work.

In some cases, the consequences of a negligent act must be limited to avoid an intolerable burden on society, Justice Carol Corrigan wrote in the courts unanimous ruling, quoting from a prior decision. This is such a case.

Even limiting a duty of care to employees household members, the pool of potential plaintiffs would be enormous, numbering not thousands but millions of Californians, he added in the ruling.

The court found that workers compensation laws in the state do not preclude such claims. But companies also cannot be held legally responsible for preventing such infections, it said, given the tremendous burden such a requirement would place  not just on the companies but on the courts and on society as a whole.

That is true even in cases in which an individual company may have shown negligence by failing to adhere to established health and safety standards, the court said.

The ruling was a major win for Victory Woodworks Inc., but also for other major employers and business organizations across the state, which had warned that a court ruling in the Kuciembas favor would have unleashed an unmanageable flow of COVID-19 claims against employers.

This potential avalanche of lawsuits would cripple California businesses and likely force many to close their doors or leave the state, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other business groups had argued in a joint filing in the case.

The court took the case after the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last year asked it to decide whether California law recognizes negligence claims against employers when workers spread COVID to household members.

The 9th Circuit is considering Kuciembas bid to revive her lawsuit after a California federal judge dismissed it. After Thursdays ruling, the 9th Circuit will most likely uphold that decision.

Throughout the courts decision Thursday, Corrigan seemed hyper-aware of the massive implications of the court finding that companies are responsible for preventing COVID-19 infections among their employees and their employees family members.

In addition to dire financial consequences for employers, and a possibly broader social impact, the potential litigation explosion facilitated by a duty to prevent COVID-19 infections in household members would place significant burdens on the judicial system and, ultimately, the community, Corrigan wrote.

Business groups had argued that allowing take-home COVID claims could prompt lawsuits by an infected employees family and friends and anyone infected by that circle of people, creating a never-ending chain of liability.

William Bogdan, an attorney for Victory Woodworks, said the company was pleased with the decision.

They are, of course, sympathetic to anybody who claims that they got sick, but they recognize, as the Supreme Court recognized, that to have businesses be responsible for a disease thats everywhere would cripple them, Bogdan said.

The court recognized that the proof problems and the amount of litigation that would be required before a court could even consider whether to dismiss a case would bring the business of the courts to a crawl, Bogdan added.
Cancellations for Organ Donation in Hong Kong Set a Record High in May

Concerns raised over organ transplant collaboration with China

In a press release on July 5, the Hong Kong government announced that the number of organ donation cancellations in May had reached nearly 6,000. This historically high number of cancellations sparked discussions amongst many Hong Kong citizens. They were wondering how this phenomenon had appeared out of the blue. Experts in the know have suggested its a soft protest against the Chinese Communist Partys organ harvesting practices.

5,816 Cancellations Within One Month

According to the governments May press releases, 28,000 applications to cancel organ donation registrations were received by the Centralized Organ Donation Register (CODR). It also stated that the number of cancellations was unusually high. However, the 21,600 applications received from applicants who were either unregistered or had failed the identity verification process were deemed invalid. The government did not provide any detailed information on the remaining 6,400 cancellations. However, when responding to media inquiries, it stated that there were 5,816 valid cancellations in May.

The government and Chief Executive John Lee Ka-Chiu publicly condemned individuals who had questioned Hong Kongs dialogue with mainland China on establishing a permanent organ transplant cooperation mechanism. He also condemned those who had never applied for registration but were applying to withdraw or cancel their registration.

On June 5, police arrested four local men, accusing them of attempting to disrupt the registration process by using various means, including submitting false registration cancellations using the personal information of other individuals. Those affected by this deception include current and former government officials, Legislative Council members, and artists. The police stated that the motives of these suspects might be mischievous and that there was the possibility of more arrests.

HK Govt Discusses Permanent Organ Transplant Collaboration Mechanism With China

The Secretary for Health, Mr. Lo Chung-mau, has been pushing for Hong Kong to be included in the China Organ Transplant Response System (COTRS). His proposals have persisted since the completion of the first organ transplant from China for a 4-month-old baby girl in Hong Kong on a special case basis in December 2022.

In mid-March, Mr. Lo visited the China Organ Transplantation Development Foundation in Beijing to discuss establishing a regular organ transplant collaboration mechanism with China.

On May 20, the Chief Executive of the Hospital Authority, Dr. Tony Ko Pat-sing, led a delegation of organ transplantation experts from Hong Kong to Guangdong Province to discuss organ donation, allocation, transplantation, and their related systems and mechanisms with mainland experts.

Experts Raise Concerns

Many experts and organizations have expressed concern about Hong Kongs discussions with mainland China on establishing a permanent organ transplant collaboration mechanism. Such collaboration has also drawn international attention to the longstanding concerns with organ harvesting practices in China.

Mr. Alex Lam Chi-yau, chairman of the Hong Kong Patients Voices, expressed concern about establishing a permanent mechanism. He stated that there was a possibility of donors withdrawing from the CODR if they were unwilling to send their organs to mainland China.

In an interview program on Radio Free Asia, Dr. Lee, a former Hong Kong doctor, expressed his distrust of Chinas organ donation system. He said that if Hong Kong became integrated with the mainland mechanism, Hong Kong could participate in an axis of evil within Chinas illicit organ trading system.

Dr. Jacob Lavee, former chairman of the Israeli Transplantation Society and renowned Israeli heart transplant surgeon, expressed concerns to The Epoch Times. He stated, This may drag Hong Kong into a situation where organs obtained through live organ harvesting are being used. He further suggested that Western countries should unite their diplomatic and economic efforts to combat these atrocities (live organ harvesting) and end Hong Kongs use of harvested human organs.

In January 2023, international organizations accused former Deputy Minister of Health of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), Huang Jiefu, of involvement in live organ harvesting. He had proposed exporting organs into Hong Kong and Macau, promoting the so-called mainland and Taiwan organ sharing mechanism, and connecting countries along the Belt and Road Initiative.

Chairperson of the Universal Declaration on Combating and Preventing Forced Organ Harvesting, Teresa Chu, called on the world to resist the CCPs organ whitewashing, organ warfare, and organ diplomacy. She stated, Through this organ sharing mechanism, they want to whitewash these stolen, forcibly harvested, live-harvested organs. This is not humanitarian cooperation. Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan governments should resist and reject this organ-sharing mechanism.

Since the exposure of the CCPs organ-harvesting atrocities in 2006, many international investigations have confirmed the existence of these practices. Prominent human rights lawyer David Matas, in an interview with The Epoch Times senior editor Jan Jekielek, stated, The problem is not a lack of evidence but rather an excess of it.

Mr. Matas served as a joint investigator and co-author of the reports Revised Report into Allegations of Organ Harvesting of Falun Gong Practitioners in China and an updated version of Bloody Harvest, The Killing of Falun Gong for their organs, released in 2006 and 2016, respectively. These reports confirmed the large-scale live organ harvesting of Falun Gong practitioners by the CCP.

On March 27, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Stop Forced Organ Harvesting Act of 2023. The bill is awaiting approval by the U.S. Senate and the Presidents signature to become effective.

On a radio interview program, Mr. Sam, a registered organ donor, said he had concerns about the organ exchange mechanism between mainland China and Hong Kong. He cited the case of a 15-year-old student who went missing in mainland China in January. The student was never found, even after relevant authorities had conducted an extensive search. Mr. Sam also mentioned other incidents where the relatives of his friends in mainland China had been cremated before the bodies were officially verified.

Despite the Hong Kong government claiming that the organ transplant system is transparent and open, Mr. Sam believes it would only be possible to regain confidence with significant improvements. He expressed skepticism about government statements, stating that they often consider the problem solved once they have made their claims, but in practice, many measures are inadequate. Mr. Sam also speculated that many people may cancel their organ donor registrations out of concern for being registered, regardless of whether they have already registered.

When asked if online discussions influenced him, Mr. Sam said he had not seen any calls to cancel organ donor registrations online.
BEIJING, July 8 (Xinhua) -- The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), the country's top securities regulator, on Saturday said that it will promote the high-quality development of the public offering fund sector and steadily lower the sector's fee rates.

The CSRC statement came after a number of Chinese fund management companies on Saturday announced they would lower the management and custodian fees of their actively managed equity fund products to no more than 1.2 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively, from Monday.

The CSRC said it will guide the public offering fund sector to carry out the reform of fee rates in a sound and orderly manner, and support public fund managers as well as other institutions in the industry in making appropriate reductions on fund fee rates.

Assets under the management of China's public offering funds totaled 27.77 trillion yuan (about 3.95 trillion U.S. dollars) at the end of May this year, data from the Asset Management Association of China shows.

By the end of May, a total of 10,890 public offering funds were being operated by 143 fund management companies, the association said. 
Chinas Economy Is in Big Trouble and Investors Should Get Out: Miles Yu

Residential buildings and apartments in Guangzhou in China's southeastern Guangdong Province are seen in April 2023. (Ludovic Marin/AFP via Getty Images)

American companies should reconsider their investment in China, as the countrys economy is in serious trouble with a struggling non-state sector, said Mile Yu, a senior fellow and director of the China Center at Hudson Institute.

China has been playing hard to get for the last several months and they would not talk. Now they relented and agreed to talk with high-level American cabinet members on matters that are vital to both nations economies, Mr. Yu said in an interview with EpochTVs American Thought Leaders: NOW.

The interview came as U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen traveled to Beijing to meet with Chinas Premier Li Qiang, who has recently been tasked to revive Chinas COVID lockdown-battered economy by Chinese Communist Party (CCP) head Xi Jinping.

The reason why they relented is because Chinas economy is in big trouble, Mr. Yu told host Jan Jekielek. They need the West much more than the West needs China. So theyre being a little bit more realistic this time.

Chinas Economic Reality

A key difference between the U.S. and the Chinese economic model, according to Mr. Yu, is that the CCP is willing to crack down on the non-state sector to ensure state control, even if that means shutting down the main driver of Chinas economic growth.

Chinese economy is pretty predatory. It benefits from the international free trade system, and almost its entire economic growth in the last 20 to 30 years has come from the non-state sectors, he explained. Now, Chinas financial institution is collapsing. So the Chinese governmentparticular local governmentis trying to squeeze the non-state sectors and push them out of business through policies, such zero-COVID lockdowns and all kinds of egregious taxation schemes.

For nearly three years, in the name of curbing the spread of COVID-19, Chinas authorities were placing entire towns and cities under lockdown if they reported a few cases of infection. Millions of people were forced into overcrowded quarantine camps for just living in the same apartment building as an infected person. Individuals must show their Green Codea digitized proof that they most likely werent infectedbefore using public transportation, entering a grocery store, or simply leaving or re-entering their neighborhood.

Those zero-COVID restrictions, which practically made it impossible for many private businesses to survive, only phased out at the end of 2022 and werent officially lifted until this March, when Li Qiang, who is said to be more sympathetic to non-state sector than his boss, became the premier.

Many of the Chinese non-state sectorsthe most vibrant, the most innovative sector of Chinese economy is now in big trouble, Mr. Yu told Mr. Jekielek. During the three years of COVID lockdowns, millions of small businesses and medium-sized businesses went out of business.

Even Chinas star companies, like e-commerce and tech giants Alibaba and Tencent, were not better off either. It was widely reported that the Chinese regime was going to take one percent special management shares, which would give the state special rights over certain business decisions in those companies.

Deflated Housing Bubble

With the zero-COVID period in the rear mirror, investors still need to consider serious problems that are inherent to the way China develops its economy, Mr. Yu said.

Chinas development model is to basically issue a tremendous amount of loans to some of the non-performing projects, particularly [the] housing industry, but now the housing market is collapsing, he explained, noting that the rapid borrowing by local governments was fostering an illusion of prosperity.

In China, all urban and rural land is owned by the state or agricultural collectives, respectively. Companies and individuals dont actually buy land, but instead buy land-use rights from the government for a period of up to 70 years, after which time the lease can be extended. This system unsurprisingly makes land sales the top source of income for local governments, which turn into the biggest contractors for Chinas developers over the past 20 years.

Much of the local government spending finances has come from the exploitation of the housing industry, because they controlled the land, they can sell and resell the land, Mr. Yu told Mr. Jekielek. But now, with the collapse of the housing, they cannot do that anymore. So thats why virtually every province of China has huge deficit.

With a collapse of the housing industry and those loans cannot be retrieved, the banking industry is losing a lot of money, and the government at all levels runs out of money, because Chinas banks are owned by the state, Mr. Yu continued. When banking industry is in trouble, you get a credit crunch, and then you have more business closings, so its a chain reaction.

Thats why China is wishing to get more international banking institutions in to salvage the collapsing economy, he continued. I hope that the global financial institutions and banks are smart enough to see through this, that theres a big hot potato in China.

Decoupling is Happening

When asked about the decoupling of the U.S. and Chinese economies, Mr. Yu replied that it has already began, even though no country has officially adopted that as part of their strategy.

Nobodys talking about decoupling, but it is happening. In reality, the decoupling is happening, said Mr. Yu, whose term of serving as an advisor to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has seen America and its allies shifting away from reliance on Chinese imports.

At the corporation level, every major corporation must assess its investments in China on whether the safe, whether it is a sound, or whether it run the risk of being repressed by a state-sponsored or -subsidized Chinese company, he added.

Mr. Yu also pointed to a July 5 report from Goldman Sachs, in which the investment bank said it had downgraded the Agricultural Bank of China from Neutral to Sell, while cutting the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China from Buy to Sell.

Almost every major company that has heavy investment in China is reconsidering investment in China and thinking about getting out of China, he said. The American companiesmany big onesare reconsidering this precisely because of the kind of economic reality as depicted by Goldman Sachs, as depicted by a lot of policy reports about Chinas investment environment.

China is not a very good country for long-term investment. Its a hostile investment environment. Thats why for the U.S. to win, the Chinese Communist Party must change the way it behaves.
Chinese Ambassador, Victoria Mayor Discuss Deepening of Sister-City Partnerships

Meeting comes as a number of governments around the world are severing such subnational ties with the Chinese regime

Chinas Ambassador to Canada Cong Peiwu is interviewed by journalists at the Chinese Embassy in Ottawa on Nov. 22, 2019. (The Canadian Press/Justin Tang)

The Chinese ambassador to Canada and the mayor of Victoria, B.C., recently met to discuss how to deepen relationships between China and the B.C. capital through platforms such as friendship cities. The move came as a number of governments around the world are severing such subnational ties with the communist regime, which are also called twin, sister, or partnership cities.

Cong Peiwu met with Mayor Marianne Alto in Victoria on June 27, where the two exchanged in-depth views on the development of friendly relations between China and Victoria, according to a June 30 Chinese-language press release from the embassy of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC).

The two parties expressed their willingness to make good use of platforms such as friendship cities to deepen exchanges and cooperation in a wide range of fields, promote mutual understanding and friendship, and better create benefits for the people of both sides, the press release said.

The Epoch Times reached out to Ms. Altos office for comment but didnt hear back.

Victoria currently has a twin-city relationship with Suzhou, a major economic centre in Chinas eastern Jiangsu Province, established in July 1980 through Victorias Twin City program.

It also has three other twin cities: Napier, New Zealand; Morioka, Japan; and Khabarovsk, Russia. However, Victoria has suspended its sister-city relationship with Khabarovsk as of March 2022 until such time as Russia ceases hostilities in Ukraine.

The concept of sister cities dates back to 1956, when U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower proposed forming this type of person-to-person citizen diplomacy partnership between individual U.S. communities and foreign cities in order to facilitate cultural, educational, and business cooperation on a subnational level.

In Canada, over 160 cities have sister-city relationships with foreign municipalities, with dozens twinned with a Chinese city or town. Besides Victoria, some of the other cities are Calgary, Montreal, Ottawa, Regina, Richmond, Saskatoon, Toronto, Vancouver, and Winnipeg.

United Front

China has proactively sought twinning relationships with foreign countries since Tianjin, one of the countrys largest cities, paired with Kobe, Japan, in 1973. By 2019, roughly 2,600 Chinese municipalities had foreign sister cities or provinces, including about 200 in the United States and over 700 in Europe, according to open-source information.

The sister-cities programs increasingly expanded from friendly exchanges to the economic, cultural, and educational arenas beginning in the late 1970s. In the era of reform and opening-up that followed the decade-long Cultural Revolution launched by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in 1966, as the economic strength of Chinese cities grew, the work of the programs also saw great development.

At the same time, the programs work to open doors to ongoing influence by the CCP, which has historically mobilized overseas Chinese communities to advance its interests.

Leaked government documents have revealed some of the go-betweens who have helped the Chinese regime establish its sister-cities programs with other countries, reported The Epoch Times in November 2020. These include a Chinese-Australian trade association, a Chinese national who had completed studies in Spain, and a Chinese-American community leader.

A paramilitary police officer stands guard in Tiananmen Square after a plenary session of the National Peoples Congress in the adjacent Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, on March 11, 2018. (Greg Baker/AFP via Getty Images)

The sister-cities programs in China are managed by the Chinese Peoples Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC), a Beijing-led civil organization. In 1992, the CPAFFC launched the China International Friendly City Federation to further advance the program.

While the CPAFFC describes its mission as promoting friendship and mutual understanding between the Chinese people and foreign nations, a number of studies and media reports have indicated that it is an arm of the United Front Work Department (UFWD).

The UFWD is the CCPs primary agency involved in foreign interference, according to a June 2020 study by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.

In October 2020, the U.S. State Department issued a press release stating that the CPAFFC has sought to directly and malignly influence state and local leaders to promote the PRCs global agenda.

In a 2022 report, the U.S. National Counterintelligence and Security Center issued a warning to government and business leaders, citing the CPAFFC as part of the UFWD.

Global Agenda

China, as a developing country receiving resources from sister cities in the developed world, benefits greatly from foreign investments, cultural exchanges, and direct assistance. Victoria, for example, has developed a water treatment project in sister city Suzhou with assistance from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM), including exchanges and a funding channel.

However, the Chinese regime has also been using the sister-cities programs to advance its global agenda, such as pushing for universal recognition of its territorial claim over Taiwan. Beijing has fiercely opposed any official recognition of or engagement with the self-ruled island by foreign countries.

For example, the CPAFFCs Sister Cities Work Management Regulation stipulates that if a foreign city has a twinning agreement with a Taiwanese city, it must adhere to Beijings One China policy and pledge that in its engagement with [China], it wont raise the political issues of Two Chinas or One China, One Taiwan.' The regulation is posted on the official website of the government of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

Taiwanese sailors salute the islands flag on the deck of the Panshih supply ship after taking part in annual drills, at the Tsoying naval base in Kaohsiung on Jan. 31, 2018. (Mandy Cheng/AFP via Getty Images)

In 2006, when Irvine County, California, signed a sister-city agreement with the Xuhui District in Shanghai, Irvine authorities were required to agree not to send official city delegations to Taiwan, fly the Taiwanese flag, play the Taiwanese national anthem, or attend Taiwanese National Day celebrations, reported The Associated Press.

Beijing has also made use of the sister-cities programs to advance its geopolitical strategy, touting establishment of over 700 twin cities with countries that have signed up for its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Experts such as Scott Powell, senior fellow with the Seattle-based Discovery Institute, have warned about the CCPs strategic expansion of the BRI in the developing world and of the elite capture strategy involved.

Election Interference

In many democratic nations, local governments often have power over important issues that are independent of the national authorities, such as real estate development plans, agricultural land sales, infrastructure projects, and educational institutions. This makes local authorities important targets of the CCPs foreign influence campaign through the sister-city relationship.

Vancouver has a sister-city relationship with Guangzhou, capital of Chinas southeastern Guangdong Province. In November 2021, when then-Vancouver mayor Kennedy Stewart proposed to partner with Kaohsiung, a city in southern Taiwan, under a Friendship City Program, the consul general of the Chinese Consulate in Vancouver publicly lashed out at the decision.

In addition, a consulate spokesperson said at a press conference that it is an inherent requirement for Canada to uphold the One China policy. Chinas state media and Chinese-language media in Canada also posted harsh articles criticizing Stewart for breaching international consensus of the policy.

Mr. Stewart was defeated in Vancouvers municipal election a year later, in October 2022. In an opinion piece in the Globe and Mail this June, titled Canada has left itself vulnerable to election interference at the provincial and city level, he wrote that Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) officers had warned him about foreign interference at the civic level five months before the election.

The Globe had reported in March this year that Chinas Vancouver consulate actively interfered in the citys 2022 municipal election and sought to elect pro-Beijing politicians to city council, citing a CSIS report viewed by the media outlet.

Cutting Ties

In recent years, more and more cities have terminated their sister-city partnerships with their Chinese counterparts amid growing public awareness of the CCPs interference and influence activities.

Prague, Czech Republic, in October 2019 ended its sister-city agreement with the Chinese capital Beijing over the Chinese regimes requirement to follow the One China policy. The next January, Prague signed a sister-city agreement with Taipei, the Taiwanese capital.

Sweden, which in 2016 had 49 twin-city partnerships with China, terminated 21 and paused five others in the five years that followed, according to a May 2022 article by Swedish media outlet Dagens Nyheter. The development came following a decline in bilateral ties, after China detained Gui Minhai, a China-born Swedish publisher of books critical of Chinas leaders. Mr. Gui vanished in Thailand in 2015 and later appeared in custody in mainland China.

Former U.S. secretary of state and Central Intelligence Agency director Mike Pompeo speaks during the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on March 3, 2023. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

In the October 2020 U.S. State Department statement, besides describing the CPAFFC as a Beijing-based organization tasked with co-opting subnational governments, then-U.S. secretary of state Mike Pompeo announced discontinuation of an agreement with Beijing to create a U.S.-China National Governors Forum on promoting subnational cooperation. Mr. Pompeo noted that the CPAFFCs malign actions had undermined the forums original well-intentioned purpose.

In the Netherlands, at least eight municipalities and two provinces have broken ties with their Chinese counterparts over the past two years, and more Dutch cities are preparing to do so, according to a May 2023 report by NL Times. Some city authorities have cited the communist regimes human rights abuses as one of the main reasons, the report said.

In April 2023, seven U.S. Republican senators co-sponsored the Sister City Transparency Act, which would order a federal government report to shed light on sister-city partnerships, including assessing the risk to U.S. communities and institutions, identifying oversight practices in place, and reviewing best practices to ensure transparency.

In July 2022, 19 Hongkonger groups around the world launched a joint campaign urging 163 cities in seven countries, including Canada, to sever sister-city relationships with the Beijing regime, citing the CCPs record of human rights abuses and non-compliance with international treaties.
Cluster Bombs Headed for Ukraine Pack a Punch, but Leave Lethal Duds in Wake

Ukrainian army from the 43rd Heavy Artillery Brigade fire the German howitzer Panzerhaubitze 2000, called Tina by the unit, near Bahmut, in Donetsk region, Ukraine, on Feb. 5, 2023. (Marko Djurica/Reuters)

While defined as dual purpose, the hundreds of thousands of cluster munitions the United States is sending to Ukraine have one but function: Annihilate everything within its 7.5-acre blast spread.

Used since at least World War II because of their low-tech efficiency and flexibilityand now banned by 123 countriesthey can be launched from aircraft, drones, packed into missiles, and used to target men and machines in artillery strikes.

The dual-purpose improved conventional munitions (DPICMs) that the Biden administration on July 7 formally agreed to send to Kyiv as part of an $800 million military assistance packagethe 42nd authorized since Russias February 2022 invasionwill come from a 3-million round stockpile idling since the U.S. Army began phasing them out in 2016.

The DPICMs are canisters fitted into 155m Howitzer artillery shells that can be timed to explode at set elevations above or on a target.

Each canister contains 88 bomblets with a lethal range of about 107 square feet, depending on the height they are released. The bomblets can be shaped to target tanks or armored vehicles, or timed to explode closely to the ground to unleash a storm of shrapnel that turn trenches into killing zones, determined a 2019 study by the British think tank, the Royal United Services Institute.

And that is exactly what Ukraine needs the cluster munitions to dorout Russians from minefield-moated trenches in its counteroffensive to drive Vladimir Putins forces from its territory.

Activists and international delegations stand next to cluster bomb units during a visit to a Lebanese military base at the opening of the Second Meeting of States Parties to the Convention on Cluster Munitions in the southern town of Nabatiyeh, Lebanon, on Sept. 12, 2011. (Mohammed Zaatari/AP Photo)

Transfer Violates Treaties, Violates US Law

The Biden administration has been pressured for more than a year by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and bipartisan critics in Congress to provide cluster munitions, but until July 7, it maintained that international accords and U.S. law prevented such a transfer.

Because not all the bomblets, or submunitions, in every canister, always explodes, these munitions can leave a minefield of duds that can ignite years later. According to an August report by the Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor, 97 percent of all cluster munition casualties are after-action civilians. In surveys where ages of victims were reported, 66 percent were children.

Under the Convention on Cluster Munitions, a 2008 international treaty signed by 123 nations in Oslo, Norway, cluster munitions such as DPICMs are banned. The United States, Russia, and China are not among treaty signatories, but the United States does not export cluster munitions in arms sales to allied nations.

Plus, the administration noted U.S. law prohibits transferring DPICMs if bomblet failure, or dud, rates top 1 percent. In order for it to send the aging stockpile to Ukraine, Mr. Biden is waiving that requirement and allowing a dud rate of up to 2.35 percent.

A new report by a human rights watchdog group accuses Russia of using cluster munitions and unguided bombs on civilian areas in Syria from Su-34 bombers like the one above dropping bombs on a target in Syria on Dec. 9. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)

Three Justifications

By the time Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Colin H. Kahl made the formal announcement regarding the inclusion of DPICMs in the $800 million Ukraine assistance package in a mid-afternoon Pentagon press conference, national security adviser Jake Sullivan had commented, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken had issued a statement on the transfer.

Mr. Sullivan laid out the same three points in justifying the provision that Mr. Kahl would later elaborate on.

First, we base our security assistance decision on Ukraines needs on the ground, and Ukraine needs artillery to sustain its offensive and defensive operations, he said at the White House. Artillery is at the core of this conflict. Ukraine is firing thousands of rounds a day to defend against Russian efforts to advance and also to support its own efforts to retake its sovereign territory.

Mr. Sullivan said the United States has provided Ukraine with a historic amount of unitary artillery rounds, and Ukraine has been using them nearly as quickly as theyve received them, prompting concerns about shortfalls and making that 3-million DPICM round stockpile look even better in a pinch while production accelerates.

Weve already seen substantial increases in production, but this process will continue to take time, and it will be critical to provide Ukraine with a bridge of supplies while our domestic production is ramped up, he said. We will not leave Ukraine defenseless at any point in this conflict. Period.

Mr. Sullivan said the second justification is that Russia has been using cluster munitions since the day it invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

Russia has been using cluster munitions with high dud or failure rates of between 30 and 40 percent, he said. The cluster munitions that we would provide have dud rates far below what Russia is doing is providing not higher than 2.35 percent.

During the first year of the conflict alone, Mr. Kahl said, Russia fired cluster munitions deployed from a range of weapons systems have likely expended tens of millions of submunitions or bomblets across Ukraine.

A United Nations investigation has confirmed Russias use of cluster munitions, and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has declared that use inhumane. But the U.N. probe also maintains Ukraine has used cluster-type munitions received from Turkey and Pakistan.

Mr. Sullivan said the third reason is Ukraine is committed to post-conflict de-mining efforts to mitigate any potential harm to civilians. And this will be necessary regardless of whether the United States provides these munitions or not because of Russias widespread use of cluster munitions.

The Ukrainian government has offered us assurances in writing on the responsible use of DPICMs, including that they will not use the rounds in civilian populated urban environments, and that they will record where they use these rounds, which will simplify later de-mining efforts, Mr. Kahl said, noting the United States has already invested more than $95 million in Ukraine de-mining activities.

A cluster bomb unit containing more than 600 cluster bombs that was dropped by Israeli warplanes during the 34-day-long Hezbollah-Israeli war sits in a field in the southern village of Ouazaiyeh, Lebanon, on Nov. 9, 2006. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

Part of $800 Million Aid Package

Mr. Kahl raised a fourth justification that Mr. Sullivan alluded to: Any and all munitions are needed by the Ukrainians right now.

The DPICM stockpile will ensure the Ukrainian military has sufficient artillery ammunition for many months to come, he said.

The DPICM munitions are part of an $800 million military assistance package that also includes 105m and other types of 155m artillery shells, Patriot air defense system missiles, High Mobility Artillery Rockets, Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, Stryker armored personnel carriers, precision aerial munitions, demolition munitions, and systems for obstacle-clearing.

Mr. Kahl said it was the 42nd presidential drawdown on the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) fund established in the wake of Russias invasion to allow the Pentagon and administration to purchase weapons and munitions for Ukraine outside the nations defense budget.

Since February 2024, he said, the United States has committed more than $41.3 billion in military assistance to Ukraine.

Mr. Kahl would not say, exactly, how many DPICMs are headed for Ukraine, other than hundreds of thousands, and would not approximate when they would arrive other than to say theyd be used in the underway counteroffensive.

Hints Since Spring

Administration and Pentagon officials have hinted since spring that the Biden administration was rethinking its opposition to sending cluster munitions to Kyiv, especially with Ukraine reporting fierce resistance by dug-in Russians.

Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Mark Milley speaks during the Headliners Luncheon at the National Press Club in Washington on June 30, 2023. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Joint Chiefs of Staff chair Gen. Mark Milley in a June 30 address to the National Press Club said one reason why the administration was considering lifting its objections is because Ukraine was already using cluster munitions.

The Ukrainians have asked for it, other European countries have provided some of that, the Russians are using it, Gen. Milley said. Im not going to get out in front of decision making by the president. That would be a decision by the president. As far as decision-making goes, we as part of the process, we consider all kinds of options.

Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia, Ukraine, Eurasia Laura Cooper, told the House Foreign Affairs Committee on June 22 that our military analysts have confirmed DPICMs would be useful, especially against dug-in Russian positions on the battlefield.

If Ukraine is unable to make significant progress, the Biden administrations continued slow-rolling of critical weapons systems will be largely to blame, said Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) during the hearing.

U.S. European Command (USEUCOM) Army Gen. Christopher Cavoli told the House Armed Services Committee on April 26 that the DPICMs would be particularly effective against targets are gathered into dense formations.

This prompted Chair Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), a vocal Ukraine backer to call on the Biden to stop being so reluctant to provide Ukraine with the capabilities it needs to be successful. His hesitation over being too escalatory has only prolonged the war and driven up cost in terms of dollars and lives.

Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) leaves the office of U.S. Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) in the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Feb. 27, 2023. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Mr. Rogers, who has also lobbied the administration to provide Ukraine with F-16s, voted against a proposed $500 million USAI boost in the proposed Fiscal Year 2024 budget, suggesting the best way to defeat Mr. Putins armies is to send excess cluster munitions to Ukraine.

Think tanks and policy analysts were also calling for the Biden administration to send DPICMs to Ukraine.

In May, Hudson Institute experts argued the U.S. should equip Kyiv with cluster munitions to penetrate Russian defenses and serve as an artillery force multiplier.

Hudson Institute Keystone Defense Initiative Senior Fellow and Director Rebeccah Heinrichs, at a July 6 Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS), said the indecision can be attributed to the fact that not all 31 members of NATO share a common assessment of the nature of the Russia threat and what victory for Ukraine means.

Some members of the alliance are taking a much more cautious approach and are concerned about horizontal or perhaps vertical escalation, she said. And so, theyve been more unwilling to provide the kinds of weapons that Ukraine still insists that they needthe cluster munitions, the long-range strike systems, bigger drones, etc.

Praise And Appeals

Key senators were among those voicing support for the munitions transfer.

For Ukrainian forces to defeat Putins invasion, Ukraine needs at least equal access to the weapons Russia already uses against them, like cluster munitions, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) said in a statement reposted on Twitter. Providing this new capability is the right decisioneven if it took too longand is one Ive long supported.

Senate Foreign Relations Committee ranking member Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho), in a July 6 statement on Twitterbefore the announcement called the transfer good news, but long-overdue.

My colleagues & I have been calling on the Biden Admin to send these & other critical weapons to Ukraine for months, Sen. Risch said. The admin shouldnt have to be pressured into doing the right thing every time.

Human Rights groups and the U.N. had lobbied against sending Ukraine cluster munitions. In May, 14 U.S. senators sent Mr. Biden and Mr. Sullivan letters acknowledging the munitions could help Ukraine but the humanitarian costs and damage to coalition unity of providing U.S. cluster munitions would outweigh the tactical benefits.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights lamented the administrations decision shortly after it was announced.

Cluster munitions scatter small bomblets over a wide area, many of which fail to explode immediately, spokesperson Marta Hurtado said. They can kill and maim years later. Thats why use should stop immediately.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan speaks at a press briefing at the White House on April 24, 2023. (Andrew Harnik/AP Photo)

Mr. Sullivan said it was a decision no one wanted to make.

We recognize the cluster munitions create risk of civilian harm from unexploded ordnance. This is why we deferred the decision for as long as we could, he said. But there is also a massive risk of civilian harm if Russian troops and tanks rollover Ukrainian positions and take more Ukrainian territory and subjugate more Ukrainian civilians.

Mr. Blinken suggested human rights groups, administration critics, and the U.N. address their concerns with Mr. Putin.

Russia started this unprovoked war against Ukraine. Russia could end it at any time by withdrawing its forces from Ukraine and stopping its brutal attacks against Ukraines cities and people, he said. Until Russia does so, the United States and our allies and partners will stand united with Ukraine, for as long as it takes.
Parties Reach Agreement on Terms for Foreign Interference Inquiry, Tories Say

Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, Infrastructure, and Communities Dominic LeBlanc rises during Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on March 27, 2023. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press)

The Conservatives said all parties agreed Friday on the scope for a public inquiry into foreign interference in Canada.

The agreement appeared to break the impasse between the governing Liberals and the Conservatives about how to proceed with negotiations to establish a probe into efforts of foreign governments to interfere in Canadas elections and governance.

Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc was dispatched in June to work with the other parties on a path forward after foreign interference special rapporteur David Johnston resigned.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appointed Johnston in March to dig into repeated claims, mainly from anonymous security sources, that China had attempted to influence the outcome of both the 2019 and 2021 federal elections.

Johnstons initial investigation led him to recommend against a public inquiry, saying too much of the evidence was classified and would not be able to be divulged publicly. That decision, however, angered opposition parties, which have been demanding an inquiry for months.

The Conservatives also accused Johnston of bias in favour of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Johnston denied any bias but eventually resigned, citing a highly partisan atmosphere around his investigation.

LeBlanc was not specifically assigned to negotiate the terms of an inquiry, but it has long been known thats the only path forward the other parties were willing to accept.

But the Liberals insisted all parties had to agree on the terms of reference and the name of the commissioner before announcing an inquiry while the Conservatives were adamant an inquiry had to be announced before they would agree to anything specific.

The Liberals wanted to avoid the intense criticism that met their decision to appoint Johnston by getting their opponents on side from the start.

In June, during the final week of the spring session of Parliament, both the Bloc Quebecois and the NDP said they felt the negotiations were close to a conclusion.

Two days ago, Trudeau said the Liberals, NDP, and Bloc Quebecois were in agreement and accused the Conservatives of blocking the consensus. Conservative House leader Andrew Scheer called that unequivocally false.

Rather he said his party was working in good faith and in a collaborative way and that an agreement was close. It was the Liberals, he said, who constantly pushed back on our proposals and the Liberals who had not responded to emails and phone calls from the Conservatives seeking another discussions this week.

Following that public spat, LeBlancs office set up a meeting with the other party House leaders, which took place Friday evening. After the meeting, Conservative party spokesman Sebastian Skamski said there was a deal about what a public inquiry would look at.

After pressure from Conservatives, an agreement on the terms of reference for a public inquiry has been reached, Skamski said.

Whats more, all parties have now shared their preferred names for who will lead the inquiry. To date, only the Bloc have gone public with their names, including former Supreme Court justice Louise Arbour, former Liberal justice minister and human rights expert Irwin Cotler, former ambassador to China Guy SaintJacques, and Louise Otis, a former justice of the Quebec Court of Appeal and current president of the administrative tribunal of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

LeBlancs spokeswomen would not confirm the details of the agreement or the Conservatives claim an agreement is in place on the terms of reference. Communications director Kelly Ouimet said the meeting was very productive and work will continue next week.

There are elements that we have agreed to, said Ouimet. (There are) more details to be worked out and we will announce more in time.

There were differing opinions between the parties about how far back an inquiry should go, and whether to limit the scope just to the most recent allegations against the Chinese government or expand it to include any evidence other foreign governments have attempted to interfere in Canadas political system as well.

However, the Conservatives and Bloc MPs voted in favour of an NDP motion in late May calling for an inquiry to include a look at attempted interference not only by China but also Russia, Iran and India. The Liberals voted against that motion, which came nine days before Johnston stepped aside.

By Mia Rabson
Cory Morgan: Banning the Russian Pavilion at Edmonton Heritage Festival Reeks of Intolerance

Commentary

Will Canada ever learn from its own mistakes? The years of apologies and reparations for the historical mistreatment of Canadian immigrants during times of war appear to have been forgotten as we quietly allow prejudice to form around Russian Canadians.

Canada has a rich history of inviting and welcoming immigrants from all parts of the world. Festivals are held where Canadians of every background can share and celebrate their cultural traditions. There is no better way to sample the cuisines, view the traditional attire and dances, and directly interact with Canadians of different national descent than at festivals.

Children and adults alike can learn more about their neighbours, and the nations they or their ancestors came from, at a festival pavilion in 15 minutes than they could with reading books or in history classes.

All those benefits and good intent were thrown to the wayside when the Edmonton Heritage Festival decided to ban the Russian pavilion from taking part in this years event.

Canada has over 600,000 citizens of Russian descent. Most of them reside in the Prairie provinces where Russian immigrants settled on farms, many of them fleeing tyranny. They were integral to the development of the West and their descendants are model citizens of Canada.

It is embarrassing and abhorrent that we are allowing the fallout from the current war in Ukraine to land on Canadians of Russian heritage.

Many Canadians are of Ukrainian heritage, and their heart rightfully aches for their homeland being invaded by Russia. But the Russians who crossed the planet to make a new life in Canada are not to blame for any decision that the current leader in Russia is making. And they have a right to celebrate their rich heritage, like all other Canadians.

Having a Russian pavilion at the Heritage Festival was more important than ever this year. It would have offered Canadians of Russian descent the chance to interact with others and show they can celebrate their heritage with pride while not supporting the actions of Russias government today. The pavilion wouldnt have been political, and it was never intended to be.

In banning the Russian pavilion, the people on the festival committee have fostered further division. Canadians of Russian descent feel victimized and shamed by a country they have chosen to call home. People attending the festival will not have the chance to meet and interact with people of Russian heritage and erase prejudices.

The absurdity of punishing people who had nothing to do with the war isnt just at festivals. Last year, the Montreal symphony orchestra cancelled the performances of 20-year-old piano virtuoso Alexander Malofeev in response to the war in Ukraine. How does depriving a young man of the opportunity to play and of local audiences to enjoy his talent serve the war effort in any way?

Acts of intolerance and xenophobia carried out against Canadians of Russian descent should be called out and halted. Sadly, the silence is deafening.

Some of Canadas most shameful national acts have been in how it has treated its own citizens in times of war, such as the internment of Japanese Canadians during World War II. In World War I, tens of thousands of Ukrainian Canadians were forced to register as enemy aliens and were treated as criminals. Others were interned.

While nobody is talking about rounding up Canadians of Russian descent and putting them in camps, the sentiment in punishing those Canadians for the actions of their former country is the same and just as odious. Even though the Canadian government isnt directly committing acts of prejudice against Canadians of Russian heritage, it isnt exactly speaking up against those acts either.

We should be embracing and bonding with our citizens of Russian and Ukrainian descent right now instead of acting to divide them. Canada is supposed to be a sanctuary from foreign conflicts.

History will not look kindly on the prejudice being shown toward Canadians of Russian heritage right now.

If any country should know better, its Canada.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Cory Morgan: Double Standard: Why Should Quebec Pay Less Carbon Tax Than Other Provinces?

A man replaces the nozzle after filling up at a gas station in Montreal in a file photo. (The Canadian Press/Paul Chiasson)

Commentary

Its tough to justify the inexorable growth in carbon taxes in Canada while citizens struggle with increases in the cost of living. But the inequitable application of the scheme across provinces adds insult to injury.

B.C. was the first province out of the gate to impose a carbon tax in 2008 to battle emissions. Since imposing the tax, B.C.s emissions have continued to rise and they are nowhere close to reaching their targets.

Nova Scotia took a cap-and-trade approach to emission reduction and they have seen an emission reduction of 36 percent since 2005. As a reward for Nova Scotias success, the federal government has slapped the entire 14 cents per litre carbon tax on fuels in the province.

Quebec also has imposed a cap-and-trade system but it doesnt appear to be as effective as Nova Scotias since Quebecs emissions only dropped by 12 percent. The federal government is using that 12 percent emission reduction as justification to reduce the carbon tax for Quebec to 10 cents per litre, while the rest of the country pays the full 14 cents.

The double standard is galling, yet is all too common. Canadians have come to cynically accept that Quebec will get preferential treatment within the federation as federal governments of every partisan stripe try to fend off secessionism in la belle province. Such efforts may or may not be quelling independence sentiment in Quebec, but they are certainly feeding regional discontent in the rest of the nation.

National pride is on the wane as Canada Day celebrations are becoming muted while regionalism is on the rise. In the West, provincial governments are embracing soft secessionism as Saskatchewan and Alberta have both created sovereignty acts in response to Ottawas incursions into provincial rights. Support for outright independence holds at a steady 25 percent in Alberta, and could grow quickly if a battle with the federal government erupts.

Grumbling in the Maritime provinces is growing as new federal regulations hit them hard in the pocketbook, and Newfoundland is considering taking the government to court.

As citizens look to their provincial governments to defend themselves from Ottawa, regionalism is bound to grow. Provincial politicians are less inclined to take national interests into account with policies than federal ones.

The reason people are looking to their provincial governments to deal with regional inequity in the Liberal governments policies is they have nowhere else to go. Even the Conservative Party of Canada remains deathly silent on issues that may perturb Quebec. The blatant inequity with the national application of the carbon tax should be a natural issue for a federal opposition leader to jump on. Still, so far Pierre Poilievre hasnt touched it. Its unlikely he will for fear of threatening potential electoral gains in Quebec.

The CPCs refusal to call out national double standards when it comes to Quebec isnt just with the carbon tax. Thats only the most recent issue.

While Quebec was already overrepresented in both the Senate and Supreme Court, representation by population applied to seats in the House of Commons. At least it used to.

Due to population growth in other parts of the country outpacing growth in Quebec, the province was supposed to lose a seat in the House of Commons in the latest round of seat redistribution. But Quebec raised a fuss about the issue, which isnt surprising. What was surprising and disappointing was that members of Parliament voted to toss the principle of representation by population out the window and guarantee Quebec a minimum number of seats no matter how low their population may drop.

If local MPs wont vote in the interest of their constituents, what is the point of local representation? Many Canadians have been asking themselves that question and it is a line of thinking that can lead to the notion of regional secessionism.

Whether its with equalization, taxation, targeted subsidies, or democratic representation, Quebec always gets preferential treatment in Canada. While MPs take the support of their constituents for granted, frustration and regionalism is growing among Canadians outside central Canada.

Its understandable from a politically strategic point of view why national parties wont take a stand when it comes to issues with Quebec.

Is the pursuit of votes in Quebec worth risking the fracturing of Canadas fragile national unity?

So far, the answer appears to be yes.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
DC Bar Panel Recommends Rudy Giuliani Lose Law Licence Over 2020 Election Fraud Claims

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani speaks to media at a press conference at the Republican National Committee headquarters in Washington on Nov 19, 2020. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times)

A District of Columbia disciplinary panel has recommended that former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani should be disbarred over a lawsuit he filed challenging the 2020 election results.

A hearing committee of the D.C. Board on Professional Responsibility said in a 38-page decision (pdf) that Mr. Giuliani, who was once former President Donald Trumps personal lawyer, violated two legal ethics rules in what it described as a frivolous lawsuit.

The boards decision stems from a lawsuit Mr. Giuliani filed challenging Pennsylvanias 2020 election results that was ultimately rejected by several courts. The lawsuit sought to invalidate hundreds of thousands of votes following Mr. Trumps defeat in the swing state.

The D.C. panel found that Mr. Giuliani made sweeping claims of voter fraud that he did not have evidence to support. The hearing committee said in its decision that Mr. Giulianis conduct was calculated to undermine the basic premise of our democratic form of government: that elections are determined by the voters.

Mr. Giulianis effort to undermine the integrity of the 2020 presidential election has helped destabilize our democracy, wrote the three lawyers on the panel, Robert C. Bernius, Carolyn Haynesworth-Murrell, and Jay A. Brozost.

He claimed massive election fraud but had no evidence of it, the hearing committee wrote. By prosecuting that destructive case Mr. Giuliani, a sworn officer of the Court, forfeited his right to practice law. He should be disbarred.

James T. Phalen, an executive attorney at the Board on Professional Responsibility, said in a letter to Mr. Giuliani that the full board could still modify the hearing panels recommendation of disbarment before it issues its final recommendation to the D.C. Court of Appeals, which will ultimately decide on Mr. Giulianis disbarment or other penalties.

Mr. Giulianis lawyer, John Leventhal, told The Epoch Times in a telephone interview that the hearing committees decision is merely a recommendation and that Mr. Giulianis legal team will seek review before the full board and, if necessary, will appeal the decision even higher.

Ted Goodman, a spokesperson for Mr. Giuliani, called the hearing committees decision part of an effort to deny President Trump effective counsel by persecuting Rudy Giulianiobjectively one of the most effective prosecutors in American history.

I call on rank-and-file members of the DC Bar Association to speak out against this great injustice, he told Politico.

Mr. Giuliani has insisted that federal courts in Pennsylvania ruled incorrectly on Mr. Trumps 2020 legal challenges.

Mr. Trump continues to insist that the 2020 election was rigged and he was robbed of a rightful win.

File image of former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani introducing then Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at a rally at the Charlotte Convention Center in Charlotte, N.C. on Aug. 18, 2016. (Brian Blanco/Getty Images)

More Details

In December 2022, the panel heard evidence in the case against Mr. Giuliani, who was accused of breaching ethics rules against bringing frivolous lawsuits and harming the administration of justice.

At the time, Hamilton Phil Fox, a disciplinary counsel with the D.C. Board on Professional Responsibility, claimed that Mr. Giuliani tried to undermine the credibility of the 2020 election and should be disbarred.

Mr. Fox alleged that Mr. Giulianis claims about the 2020 election were tantamount to harming the country and described them as a form of misconduct.

He said at the hearing that Mr. Giuliani has at least got to realize that his or her law license is at risk for filing a lawsuit that tries to ignore the will of the voters.

Mr. Giuliani would later describe Mr. Foxs remarks as an unjustified attack because he had a good faith belief that there were irregularities in the 2020 election that deserved to be examined and challenged.

His attorneys claimed to the committee that Mr. Giuliani had valid reasons to believe the claims in the lawsuit were true. They also argued that he relied on information from others working with the Trump campaign who told him about the allegations of voting irregularities.

At the time, Mr. Leventhal told the panel in closing arguments that Mr. Giuliani should not be disciplined in part because the crux of the lawsuit was not voter fraud but social distancing restrictions imposed on election observers, as well as policies in some counties that allowed voters to address mistakes on mail ballots.

A reasonable attorney can make that argument without being frivolous, Mr. Leventhal said at the time.

Trump lawyer and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani speaks to the media while flanked by Trump campaign lawyer Sidney Powell (L) and members of the Trump campaign legal team at a press conference at the Republican National Committee headquarters in Washington on Nov. 19, 2020. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times)

However, the D.C. disciplinary panel found at the time that Mr. Giuliani violated ethics rules with the Pennsylvania lawsuit, though it did not issue a final recommendation.

In its decision on July 7, the panel said that Mr. Giulianis efforts to help Mr. Trump challenge the 2020 election overshadowed the renowned prosecutor and mayors prior record.

The misconduct here sadly transcends all his past accomplishments, the panel wrote concluded.

It was unparalleled in its destructive purpose and effect. He sought to disrupt a presidential election and persists in his refusal to acknowledge the wrong he has done, they added.

Separately, a New York court suspended Mr. Giulianis law license in 2021 over his statements about the 2020 election.

In a 33-page order (pdf), the Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court stated that it had found uncontroverted evidence that Mr. Giuliani had made demonstrably false and misleading statements to courts and to the general public in connection with Mr. Trumps efforts to challenge the election.

Jack Phillips contributed to this report.
Djokovic Beats Wawrinka Just Before Closing Time

Serbia's Novak Djokovic celebrates winning his third round match against Switzerland's Stan Wawrinka during The Championships Wimbledon 2023 at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London, Britain, on July 7, 2023. (Andrew Couldridge/Reuters)

LONDONStan Wawrinka said he stood no chance of beating Novak Djokovic in their Wimbledon third-round clash on Friday and the Swisss prediction proved spot on as he was outplayed on Centre Court.

Walking out little more than two hours before Wimbledons 11pm curfew, seven-time champion Djokovic was in a hurry as he rattled through two sets and though he met more resistance after that he sealed a 63 61 76(5) win just before closing time.

His 31st consecutive match win at Wimbledon sent him into the last 16 of a Grand Slam for the 61st time in which he will face Polands 17th seed Hubert Hurkacz.

He was two points away from extending the match for another day, Djokovic said on court.

We knew it was going to be really tight and it looked good for me the first two sets. He raised his level, the crowd got involved and hopefully you guys enjoyed it.

Three-time Grand Slam champion Wawrinka, two years older than Djokovic at 38, was reduced to the roll of spectator early on as his opponents laser-guided ground strokes located lines with relentless accuracy in their first meeting on grass.

The opening four games were shared, offering the fans hope that a heavyweight battle might develop between two players who were meeting for the ninth time in Grand Slams, two of which were finals in which Wawrinka triumphed.

But Wawrinka was then left feeding on crumbs as Djokovic turned the screw with the precision hitting that makes scary viewing for anyone hoping to stall his bid to equal Margaret Courts record 24 Grand Slams and Roger Federers record eight Wimbledon crowns.

With the Centre Court roof closed and the lights on, Djokovic took the second set in half an hour.

Wawrinka did not go out with a whimper and, with the crowd in his corner, he cranked up his power in the third set and finally began to punch a few holes in Djokovics armour.

With the clock ticking towards cut-off point, the same one that had snagged Andy Murrays charge against Stefanos Tsitsipas the previous evening, Djokovic finally looked less invincible.

He was pushed into a tiebreak when he sliced a backhand volley wide and when Wawrinka led 53 in the breaker it looked as though the contest would spill over into Saturday.

But with impeccable timing, Djokovic hit back to earn himself the day off.

At the end Im quite happy with my performance. At least I gave a fight at the end, Wawrinka said.

By Martyn Herman
DOJ Sues Los Angeles County Claiming ADA Violations at Vote Centers

People cast their vote for the US midterm elections at the Los Angeles County Registrar in Norwalk, Calif., on Nov. 8, 2022. (Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images)

The federal government is suing Los Angeles County for allegedly violating the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by restricting access for disabled people at vote centers during the 2020 primary and general elections, and the 2022 general election.

In the complaint filed June 29 in U.S. District Court, the Department of Justice (DOJ) seeks a court order to direct the county to comply with the ADA, develop a plan to remedy the alleged violations, and no longer discriminate against people with disabilities.

Voting is a fundamental right, and we will do everything we can to ensure that it is not limited or denied to anyone in our community, said U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada in a statement. Through this lawsuit, we demand that Los Angeles County afford individuals with disabilities an opportunity to participate in the countys voting program that is equal to that provided to nondisabled individuals.

The DOJ opened an investigation of the countys voting program in April 2016, according to the lawsuit provided to The Epoch Times. During the probe, investigators surveyed 88 polling places used by the county during the June 7, 2016, primary election.

Of the 88 polling places, only 15 complied with ADA regulations, the DOJ alleges.

The federal government informed the county in September 2016 that it was in violation of ADA regulations by denying voters with disabilities an equal opportunity to participate in the countys voting programs, services, and activities, including by failing to select places that are accessible to people with disabilities, according to the DOJ.

A voter receives assistance from an election worker at a voting center in Grand Central Market in Los Angeles on Nov. 3, 2020. (Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images)

That same month in 2016, the state passed Senate Bill 450, the California Voters Choice Act (VCA), which fundamentally changed the way Californians voted. The new law allowed counties to mail every voter a ballot, provide secure ballot drop-off locations throughout the county, expand in-person early voting, and allowed voters to cast a ballot at any vote center within their county.

By the March 3, 2020, primary election, Los Angeles County voters could cast a ballot at any vote center in the county or use vote-by-mail ballots. Federal investigators conducted surveys of 106 of the more than 975 vote centers established in the county during the election and found each of the 106 centers did not meet ADA standards, according to the lawsuit.

The vote centers surveyed during the 2020 primary election had features that did not comply with ADA, with some that included a lack of van-accessible parking, locked gates, ramps with steep running slopes, and narrow entrances or exits. Some centers had routes with protruding objects and a lack of turning space at voting machines, the DOJ said.

During the Nov. 3, 2020, general election, investigators said they surveyed 65 vote centers of the 750 in place, and all of them had violated ADA in some manner, according to the lawsuit.

Federal investigators also surveyed ballot drop boxes at seven voter sites during the 2020 general election and found four of them did not meet ADA standards. Some, for instance, lacked accessible routes from the sidewalk to the drop box or did not have enough space in front of the ballot box, the DOJ added.

In November 2022, the government surveyed 52 of the countys 642 vote centers and 10 ballot drop boxes. None of the vote centers were ADA compliant and only four of the drop boxes met the standards, the DOJ said.

Vote centers in Pasadena, North Hollywood, Downey, and Watts, are still used, even though the federal government alerted the county the centers did not fully comply with ADA requirements, the DOJ said in a release.

People vote at outdoor booths during early voting for the mid-term elections in Pasadena, Calif., on Nov. 3, 2018. (Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images)

At least one voter with disabilities, named D.G. in the lawsuit, had difficulty accessing the countys curbside voting system when attempting to vote in Chatsworth in a 2019 special election, according to the DOJ. D.G. was only able to vote because she had a family member with her, but the county did not provide a buzzer or have staff available in the parking lot to assist her.

D.G. reported feeling dismayed and frustrated by her treatment at the polling place and that she felt as if she had lost her freedom to vote privately and independently like everyone else, the DOJ wrote in the lawsuit.

Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder and County Clerk Dean Logan disputed the allegations, saying the lawsuit didnt reflect the countys history of engaging the disability rights community.

The county became aware of the potential lawsuit last month and was working to reach an agreement with the federal government to comply, but the DOJ abruptly abandoned the discussions, Mr. Logans office said in a news release June 29.

I am disheartened by this action despite our good faith efforts to reach an agreement on a reasonable settlement, Mr. Logan said in the statement. The assertions made in the [DOJs] media release do not reflect the voting model or service delivery provided by Los Angeles County.

According to Mr. Logan, the county offers extended voting periods, vote centers, and ballot drop boxes that offer late-night and overnight voting opportunities.

Because of our expansion beyond the traditional voting model, we need to site voting locations broadly across the Countyincluding in sites that we do not control or operate, Mr. Logans office added in the release.
Dutch Government Collapses Over Immigration Policy

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte speaks at a news conference with French President Emmanuel Macron (not pictured) in Amsterdam on April 12, 2023. (Piroschka van de Wouw/Reuters, File Photo)

AMSTERDAMThe Dutch government collapsed on July 7 after failing to reach a deal on restricting immigration, which will trigger new elections in the fall.

The crisis was triggered by a push by Prime Minister Mark Ruttes conservative VVD party to limit the flow of illegal immigrants to the Netherlands, which two of his four-party government coalition refused to support.

Its no secret that the coalition partners have differing opinions about immigration policy. Today we unfortunately have to conclude that those differences have become insurmountable. Therefore, I will tender the resignation of the entire cabinet to the king, Mr. Rutte said during a televised news conference.

Tensions came to a head last week, when Mr. Rutte demanded support for a proposal to limit the entrance of children of war refugees who are already in the Netherlands and to make families wait at least two years before they can be reunited.

The proposal went too far for the small Christian Union and liberal D66, triggering a stalemate.

Mr. Ruttes coalition will stay on as a caretaker government until a new administration is formed after the elections, a process that usually takes months in the fractured Dutch political landscape.

The elections wont be held before mid-November, the ANP news agency reported, citing the national elections committee.

A caretaker government cant decide on new policies, but Mr. Rutte said the situation wouldnt affect the countrys support for Ukraine.

The Netherlands already has one of Europes toughest immigration policies, but under pressure from some parties, Mr. Rutte had for months been trying to seek ways to further reduce the inflow of illegal immigrants.

Asylum applications in the Netherlands jumped by a third last year to more than 46,000, and the government has projected they could increase to more than 70,000 this yeartopping the previous high of 2015.

That will again put a strain on the countrys asylum facilities, where for months last year, hundreds of refugees at a time were forced to sleep in the rough with little or no access to drinking water, sanitary facilities, or health care.

Mr. Rutte last year said he felt ashamed of the problems, after the humanitarian group Medecins sans Frontieres sent a team to the Netherlands for the first time ever, to assist with the illegal immigrants medical needs at the site for processing asylum requests.

He promised to improve conditions at the facilities, mainly by reducing the number of illegal immigrants that reach the Netherlands. But he failed to win the backing of coalition partners who felt his policies went too far.

Mr. Rutte, 56, is the longest-serving government leader in Dutch history and the most senior in the European Union after Hungarys Viktor Orban. Hes expected to lead his VVD party again in the next elections.

Mr. Ruttes current coalition, which came to power in January 2022, was his fourth consecutive administration since he became prime minister in October 2010.
Botswana's Minister of Minerals and Energy Lefoko Moagi addresses the media on the new agreement between the Botswanan government and De Beers, the world's leading diamond company, in Gaborone, Botswana on July 6, 2023. (Photo by Tshekiso Tebalo/Xinhua)

GABORONE, July 7 (Xinhua) -- Botswana, one of the world's leading diamond producers, vows to expand its involvement in the industry's value chain to promote more businesses and create more jobs in the country, a senior official has said.

The Botswanan government and De Beers, the world's leading diamond company, on July 1 signed a new 10-year sales deal for Debswana, a joint venture between the two sides, on raw diamond production until 2033, as well as a 25-year extension of the mining license through 2054.

The new agreement will see more industries emerge from the diamond sector and more jobs in the southern African country, Minister of Minerals and Energy Lefoko Moagi said Thursday in the capital of Gaborone.

Botswana will move into the midstream of the business where diamonds are cut and polished, as well as the downstream of jewelry making and retail business, Moagi said.

"We noted that there is a serious value addition from just selling rough to sell polished goods. It has been seen in other places that it goes up to six times the value from the rough, so this is where we need to go to ensure that these industries are created," he said.

From the start of the new contract period, Okavango Diamond Company, a Botswana state-owned enterprise, will initially receive 30 percent of Debswana production, which will gradually grow to 50 percent by the final year of the contract, according to the minister.

The two sides also agreed to set up vocational training institutes, entrepreneurship programs and talent programs in Botswana, and that diamond grading and inscription will be carried out within the country by the Botswanan side. The programs will focus on training the Botswanan people on valuation, grading, pricing, marketing, technical advancement and inventions in the diamond industry. 
Extreme Heat Wave Coming for Southwest: Arizona, New Mexico, California

A man walks along a street as temperatures rise above 100 degrees Fahrenheit, in Yuba City, Calif., on June 30, 2023. (Carlos Barria/Reuters)

Forecasters are warning of a long and intense heat wave coming for the U.S. Southwest that could rank among the most severe in recent history.

The focal point of the blistering heat will fall mostly in Arizona, California, and New Mexico, with peak intensity expected later in the week, according to regional offices of the National Weather Service (NWS).

The forecasts came at the tail end of a week that hit an average global record high temperature, according to the University of Maines Climate Reanalyzer project.

Construction worker Fernando Padilla wipes his face as he works in the heat, in Nashville, Tenn., on June 30, 2023. (George Walker IV/AP Photo)

Arizona

In Phoenix, there have been eight consecutive 110-plus-degree days amid a growing likelihood of temperatures breaking records.

Even though models updated on July 8 are showing slightly cooler temperatures for next week than previous projections did, the current heat wave will probably continue as the high pressure system strengthens into next week, NWS Phoenix said in its latest forecast discussion.

The atmospheric set up for the latter half of next week also looks to have similarities to the conditions on July 28, 1995 that led to Phoenix reaching 121 degrees and Yuma hit 124 degrees, NWS Phoenix said in an earlier July 7 weather discussion note.

A lone motorcycle rider travels on historic Route 66 across the western Arizona desert on the approach to Oatman, Ariz., on July 12, 2003. (Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images)

Even if we do not get quite that hot during this current heat wave, this should go down as one of the longest, if not the longest duration heat wave this area has ever seen, it added.

Excessive heat warnings are currently in effect across south-central Arizona through at least July 16, with an excessive heat watch going into effect on Tuesday and lasting until Sunday as well.

By next weekend, there is a greater chance for even hotter temperatures, NWS Phoenix said, which will likely cause a further extension of various excessive heat products such as warnings and watches.

Very hot temperatures will continue through all of next week with the worst of the heat starting the middle of next week. Make sure to practice heat safety when heading outdoors, NWS Phoenix said in a statement on Twitter.

California

In California, cooler temperatures in the immediate term will give way to a heat wave next week, NWS Los Angeles said in its latest forecast discussion.

Forecast-wise for the immediate short term, no major issues are anticipated, the agency said.

However, forecasters expect that a warming trend will become more significant as the week progresses next week, with the hottest temperatures expected away from coastal areas.

A significant warming trend is forecast for next week as strong high pressure aloft builds in over the region. A prolonged period of heat is likely away from the coast through the week, NWS Los Angeles County said in the discussion note.

The San Antonio Fire spreads uphill west of Petaluma, Calif., on June 30, 2023. (Kent Porter/The Press Democrat via AP)

Excessive heat watches are in effect for the interior Los Angeles County area between Tuesday and Friday of next week, with forecasters expecting that theyll need to be extended, as data points to hotter temperatures toward the end of next week.

In the Bay Area, there are several hot spots such as Pinnacles and Parkfield reaching the low 100s, though with most interior locations reaching the mid-90s on Saturday, according to NWS San Francisco.

Increasing potential for above average temperatures next week, NWS Bay Area said in a recent tweet. In fact, some inland areas may get downright hot!

New Mexico

New Mexico is bracing for scorching temperatures across much of the state, coupled with a high risk of strong to severe thunderstorms across northeast and east central areas through Monday.

Very hot temperatures will continue for the next seven days near record high temperatures in an increasing number of locations during the coming work week, NWS Albuquerque said in a discussion note.

Warm to hot temperatures are forecast for Saturday in New Mexico, with severe thunderstorms in the eastern parts of the state along with the possibility of heavy downpours, large hail, and damaging winds.

It comes as the Earths average temperature set a new unofficial record high on Thursday in a week that has been rated as the hottest on record, according to data compiled by the University of Maines Climate Reanalyzer project.

Thursdays planetary average exceeded the 62.9-degree mark set Tuesday and matched on Wednesday.

It is certainly plausible that the past couple days and past week were the warmest days globally in 120,000 years, University of Pennsylvania scientist Michael Mann told The Associated Press.

High land temperatures have generally been matched by those on the sea, with warming intensified by an El Nino event, a natural cycle that adds more heat to the Earths system.

Warmer seas could also mean less wind and rain, leading to even more heat on land, some scientists say.

In order to cope with higher temperatures, NWS recommends drinking plenty of water, wearing light clothing, finding air conditioned places, avoiding strenuous activities, never leaving people or pets in cars, and watching for heat cramps, exhaustion, and stroke.
Father of the Bride and Teen Who Tried to Save Friend Among 5 Killed in Philadelphia Shooting

PHILADELPHIAA father who was preparing to walk his eldest daughter down the aisle. An aspiring actor who appeared as an extra in the Creed movie franchise. A teenager who tried to help a wounded friend. These are the stories of those killed in the all-too-familiar thrum of another mass shooting.

Five people in a working-class neighborhood of Philadelphia were gunned down Monday. A gunman in a ski mask and body armor appeared to fire on people at random while they were on the street or in a car, authorities said.

Ralph Moralis, 59; Joseph Wamah Jr., 31; Dymir Stanton, 29; Lashyd Merritt, 21; and DaJuan Brown, 15, were killed in the shooting. Four others, including two 2-year-old boys, were also wounded.

The alleged shooter was arraigned Wednesday on multiple charges including five counts of murder.

The victims families remain shattered as they now cope with the feeling of senseless loss.

Ralph Moralis: The Go-To-Guy

Mr. Moralis daughter was to be married Sunday. But instead of focusing on the joy of her wedding day, she is now planning her fathers funeral, said Karen Gleason, his sister-in-law.

All the joy they had been feeling leading up to the momentous occasion was torn away when Moralis was shot outside the childhood home where he lived. The entire family, including Moralis two brothers, have not stopped crying since hearing the news.

Its unfathomable, she said. Its so unbelievable that you cant even go out your front door.

The 59-year-old had been prepping for weeks on what he would wear, making sure he wouldnt mess up during his first childs wedding rehearsal. Moralis was always the one willing to go out of his way to help.

He was the go-to-guy whether you needed a bike put together for one of the kids or his cousin was saying: I need to get to Florida. Can you drive me? she said. He would do that. He was just there always for family and always willing to help.

Joseph Wamah Jr.: Aspiring Actor With Deep Artistic Talent

Mr. Wamah Jr. knew acting was his calling. The 31-year-old studied psychology at Chestnut Hill College but he became active in the local Philadelphia acting community, said close friend Terrance Harden. He even got a role as an extra in one of the Creed movies, starring Michael B. Jordan.

Mr. Harden, who has known Wamah since high school, said the two bonded over their love of filmmaking. Before Wamah was found dead inside a home early Tuesday, Mr. Harden had imagined the two would grow old as friends and achieve the level of success that they both wanted for each other.

With such a great attitude, such a positive outlook on life, it almost seems like good fortune ought to come your way, he said. Thats why it was so hard to believe that this could have happened to him.

Wamahs twin sister Josephine and another sister, Jasmine, were full of anger Wednesday as they spoke at a news conference of a brother who had a smile and hug for everyone.

Josephine Wamah, center left, with Jasmine Wamah, center right, sisters of shooting victim Joseph Wamah Jr., speaks about their brother at a news conference at Salt and Light Church in Philadelphia on July 5, 2023. (Allie Ippolito/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP)

I just still cant believe that my brother is gone. And I just dont understand why this happened. He was a kind soul. He was nice to everyone, Josephine Wamah said.

Wamah also loved to cookdespite having little culinary talent. But his real gift was as an artist, his sisters said.

He had the worst cooking. We still ate it because he just he tried. He couldnt cook, but he could sketch his butt off, Ms. Wamah said. It was so detail-oriented and so passionate. It was so rooted and down to earth. It was just spiritual. You could feel this mans emotions in every brushstroke.

Ms. Wamah said she plans to find all of her brothers artwork and share his talent with the world.

I just dont understand how someone could just do that to my brother. I really loved him, she said.

Lashyd Merritt: A Good Kid

Lashyd Merritts mother told WPVI-TV in Philadelphia that her son was a good kid who loved his family, especially his nieces and nephews. He loved buying them gifts at Christmas.

Marie Merritt said Lashyd Merritt, who would have been 22 in September, was out buying a snack while on a work break Monday.

I dont understand why people justwhatever anger they have within themselvesI dont understand why someone in the neighborhood would have that type of stuff, like gunsI dont understand that, Marie Merritt said. And youre just taking good people away,

She wants the suspected shooter to rot in jail. She also is thinking about how her son would feel.

(My heart) is broken. I feel him saying, Why me?

Dajuan Brown: Killed While Helping A Friend

DaJuan Browns mother, Nashaya Thomas, told WCAU-TV her teenage son was walking to a store when the gunfire started. Brown was helping a 13-year-old friend who had been shot twice in the legs when he was gunned down.

He was someone people couldnt help but fall in love with.

He lost his life trying to do a selfless act, she said, and thats how he was when he was here.

By Claudia Lauer and Beatrice Dupuy
FDA, FTC Warn Companies for Selling Copycat Snacks Containing Delta-8 THC

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) sent cease and desist letters on Wednesday to six companies for selling products containing delta-8 tetrahydrocannabinol (delta-8 THC) in packaging that closely resemble popular snacks and candy children eat.

Delta-8 THC is the chemical in marijuana that makes people feel high.

The agencies said children, and even some adults, could easily confuse these delta-8 THC products for the real thing, making it easy for them to ingest THC in high doses without realizing it. Edible THC products are packaged to look like Sour Patch Kids, Doritos, Gushers, Jolly Ranchers, Cheetos, Nerds Ropes, and Oreos.

Marketing edible THC products that can be easily mistaken by children for regular foods is reckless and illegal, Samuel Levine, Director of the FTCs Bureau of Consumer Protection said in a press release. Companies must ensure that their products are marketed safely and responsibly, especially when it comes to protecting the well-being of children.

Janet Woodcock, principal deputy commissioner of the FDA, said such marketing tactics put children at risk.

Children are more vulnerable than adults to the effects of THC, with many who have been sickened and even hospitalized after eating edibles containing it, said Woodcock.

After reviewing online products, federal authorities said that these companies may have violated Section 5 of the FTC Act (pdf), which prohibits unfair or deceptive acts in or affecting commerce, including marketing practices that may pose a health or safety risk.

The six companies that were sent cease-and-desist letters were Delta Munchies, Dr. Smoke LLC (also known as Dr. S LLC), Exclusive Hemp Farms/Oshipt, Niktes Wholesale LLC, North Carolina Hemp Exchange LLC, and The Haunted Vapor Room.

The agencies are jointly demanding that the companies stop marketing edible delta-8 THC products that imitate popular foods using advertising or packaging that is likely to appeal to young children. They have been given 15 days to address the commissions concerns.

More Children at Risk

According to a January study published in the journal Pediatrics, more children are getting sick from inadvertently eating marijuana edibles. Calls to poison control centers about children <6 years consuming edibles containing THC rose from 207 in 2017 to 3,054 in 2021, a 1,375 percent increase, according to the study.

Furthermore, marijuana ingested in an edible manner can have a stronger and more prolonged effect, especially in children under the age of 12, according to Childrens Hospital Colorado.

The lack of regulation in the United States around delta-8 is a big concern for many public health experts.

I dont think delta-8 by itself is more dangerous than delta-9, but the way its made and who is selling it just scares the heck out of me, Dr. Kent Vrana, a professor of pharmacology at Penn State, told The New York Times. Its unregulated, and because its synthetic there are plenty of opportunities for things to go wrong.

Some of the side effects of consuming delta-8 include red eyes, dry mouth, rapid heart rate, trouble with coordination, slowed reaction times, anxiety, and memory loss.

According to a specialist psychiatrist, Dr. Au Yeung Kwok-leung, there is no antidote for THC or CBD poisoning. Unlike certain drugs, there is no specific remedy to alleviate poisoning. Medical professionals can only monitor the patients vital signs, and in severe cases, blood washing may be necessary.

Danny Tang and Nathan Amery contributed to this report.
Fire That Killed 2 Aboard a Cargo Ship in New Jersey Is Expected to Burn for Days

Emergency personnel battle against a fire aboard the Italian-flagged Grande Costa d'Avorio cargo ship at the Port of Newark in Newark, N.J., on July 7, 2023. (John Minchillo/AP Photo)

NEWARK, N.J.A cargo ship docked at the East Coasts biggest port smoldered for a third day and will likely burn for several more after the fire claimed the lives of two New Jersey firefighters, officials said Friday, acknowledging that theyll be discussing how first responders are trained.

What caused the fire aboard the Grande Costa dAvorio, an Italian-flagged vessel carrying cars and other goods, at port in Newark wont be known until an investigation after the fire is out, according to Coast Guard Capt. Zeita Merchant, the captain of the Port of New York and New Jersey.

A crew of 20 firefighters, salvage workers and a New York fire boat blasted jets of water onto the ship to contain the intense heat, which officials have said burned on the 10th through 12th levels at the rear of the ship. Flames occasionally flared from top level.

Crews described the difficulty controlling the blaze.

Access is tough. The heat is extreme. Its a steel box. So its a very complex situation, said Gordon Lorenson of Donjon Marine, a salvage company assisting with the fire.

Emergency personnel battle against a fire aboard the Italian-flagged Grande Costa dAvorio cargo ship at the Port of Newark in Newark, N.J., on July 7, 2023. (John Minchillo/AP Photo)

Fire crews have to pour enough water onto the vessel to douse the flames but too much could cause the ship to tilt, he said, so they then pump it off the ship. The vessel listed slightly to its right but was stable, according to Tom Wiker, president of Gallagher Marine Systems, which was representing the ships owner, the Grimaldi Group.

The Port Authority relies on local fire departments, like Newarks, to assist with fires since it doesnt have its own firefighting agency.

Authorities declined to answer whether firefighters should have gone into harms way to put the blaze out when no lives appeared to be at risk on the ship with 28 crew members.

Newark Public Safety Director Fritz Frage said the city has an agreement with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey covering their response to fires and they continue to have conversations today and going forward in terms of training. He didnt offer specifics about training.

Mr. Lorenson said shipboard fires are unique from one event to the next and can change.

You can do all the training in the world and youre going to find something youve never seen before, he said.

Newark Fire Chief Rufus Jackson said Thursday that the department had trained on passenger-carrying ships before, but not the specific kind of cargo vessel theyre confronting now.

Killed in the blaze that started Wednesday night were Newark firefighters Augusto Augie Acabou and Wayne Bear Brooks Jr., whom officials praised for their bravery. President Joe Biden called the families of the fallen firefighters to offer condolences, according to Michael Giunta, head of the firefighters union.

At a memorial Friday, the men were remembered by friends and family, speaking through tears.

Roger Terry, Brooks uncle, called his nephew a real-life Superman who had always wanted to be a firefighter. Brooks wife and two daughters sobbed as he was remembered.

Firefighter Michael Johnson of Ladder 4 said Brooks loved his life, loved his kids. He loved the job more than anything. 

Acabous cousin, Newark fire Capt. Carlos Henriques, read a letter from his family about Acabou, calling their loss unfathomable.

Acabous sense of honor was unparalleled. And he consistently exemplified this through his actions. Everything he did was about helping others, going above and beyond for those in need.

Marine traffic trackers show the ship, which was was built in 2011, had arrived from the Port of Baltimore several days earlier. It was carrying more than 1,200 new and used cars, vans and trucks.

The fire broke out about 9:30 p.m. Wednesday. About an hour later, there was a mayday call when two firefighters became trapped inside the ship. Rescue workers rescued Acabou from the ship before midnight and he was later taken a hospital, where he died Thursday morning. Brooks died early Thursday morning after he was recovered. Five other firefighters were injured.

Grimaldi Deep Sea said in a statement that the crew immediately activated on-board fire suppression procedures and the local firefighting service was alerted, triggering a prompt response that was crucial to containing and controlling the blaze. It also said that no electric cars nor hazardous cargo is on board, no fuel spills have been detected, and the stability of the ship was not been compromised.

The Grimaldi Group statement said the cause of the fire isnt known, but it will investigate in cooperation with authorities.

By Deepti Hajela and Mike Catalini
Florida Judge to Murder Suspect on Run for 40 Years: You Knew You Were Running From Something

Hillsborough County cold case murder suspect Donald Santini is led out of the courtroom moments after he is denied bond during his bond hearing in Tampa, Fla., on July 6, 2023. (Douglas R. Clifford/Tampa Bay Times via AP)

TAMPA, Fla.A judge in Florida has ordered a 65-year-old California fugitive held without bond in connection with the death of a woman nearly 40 years ago.

Donald Santini was arrested by U.S. marshals in California last month, and extradited to Florida. He had used at least 13 aliases over the years.

Mr. Santini was the last person seen with 33-year-old Cynthia Cindy Ruth Wood. The arrest warrant said a medical examiner determined she had been strangled, and Mr. Santinis fingerprints were found on her body.

You being on the run for almost 40 years is a consciousness of guilt. You knew you were running from something, Judge Catherine Catlin told Mr. Santini during a hearing in Tampa on Thursday.

Photos taken in the courtroom showed Mr. Santini weeping before the judge denied bond.

Ms. Woods stepdaughter, Denise Kozer told the Tampa Bay Times shes hoping to find closure in a case that resulted in total devastation for her family.

Back in 1984, Mr. Santini was known as Charles Michael Stevens, which was an alias he used to flee a warrant in Texas. At the time of his arrest, he was living under the name Wellman Simmonds in Campo, California, which is in southeastern San Diego County. He served on the local water board.

He has a wife and children in California, and I feel sorry for them because they probably didnt know, either, Ms. Kozer said. But theyre all still alive. Our lives were devastated, changed forever.

Ms. Kozar told the Times that both Barry Wood and the older son of Ms. Wood had died since the slaying, and her younger half-siblings have suffered from mental health issues since their parents deaths.

She told the newspaper shes spent years knowing that the man who destroyed her family has been free. The case has been featured on Americas Most Wanted several times.

Ms. Wood met with Mr. Santini, who had called her with promises of providing information about her husband, Barry Wood, that could possibly help her win custody of their two children, who were 3 and 5, according to previous reports by the Bradenton Herald. Ms. Wood also had a son from a previous relationship. Ms. Kozar was Mr. Woods daughter from another marriage.

Ms. Kozar, who was 20 when Ms. Wood was killed, said she hopes Mr. Santini doesnt get another chance to escape.

If they need extra evidence, were willing to let them exhume the bodywhatever it takes to make sure that he doesnt go anywhere, Ms. Kozer said.

Mr. Santinis attorney asked the judge for bail. But prosecutors noted that Mr. Santini killed Ms. Wood after fleeing a charge in Texas related to a convenience store robbery.

The judge didnt need extra evidence.

You are the definition of flight risk, the judge told Mr. Santini during the hearing. There is nothing I can do to preserve the safety of this community if I was to let you go.
France Passes Bill to Allow Police to Secretly Activate Phone Cameras of Suspects

Police officers stand in front of a looted shop during clashes with police in Lyon, south-eastern France, on June 30, 2023, three days after a 17-year-old boy was shot in the chest by police at point-blank range in Nanterre, a western suburb of Paris. (Jeff Pachoud /AFP via Getty Images)

French lawmakers passed a measure that allows police to remotely activate the phone cameras, microphones, and geolocation of criminal suspects without their knowledge, on the heels of ongoing protests in the country.

Under the justice reform bill, police will be able to activate the phones, laptops, cars, and other connected electronics of criminal suspects, French media outlet Le Monde reported on July 6.

The bill also enables the police to record sound and capture images of people suspected of committing terrorism-related offenses, organized crime, and delinquency, according to the report.

The legislation will apply only to suspects in crimes that carry at least a five-year prison sentence; Justice Minister Eric Dupond-Moretti anticipates the new law will affect only dozens of cases a year.

The use of the provision will require judicial approval and is limited to a maximum duration of six months. The report also states that sensitive professions such as doctors, journalists, lawyers, judges, and members of parliament are excluded from the provision.

French advocacy group La Quadrature du Net had previously raised concerns about the potential infringement of the fundamental right to security, privacy, and the right to come and go freely.

At a time when police violence is only increasing, when political movements are being muzzled by surveillance and massive searches, parliamentarians are about to authorize the transformation of all connected objects into police snitches, the group wrote on Twitter.

We repeat: if this [bill] were adopted, it would radically change the paradigm of police espionage, by transforming all our computer tools into a gateway to monitoring us.

Attendees hold a banner reading Justice for Nahel during a commemoration march for a teenage driver on June 29, 2023. (Bertrand Guay/AFP via Getty Images)

The new authority comes about amid widespread protests across the country that were triggered by the police shooting of a 17-year-old teen known as Nahel M. during a traffic stop in Nanterre, France, just outside Paris, on June 27.

Thousands of protesters have been arrested in recent weeks.

Macron Blames Social Media Platforms

French President Emmanuel Macron said the rioters used social media platforms such as Snapchat and TikTok to organize themselves. He believed that the sites also contributed to mimicking behavior by some young people, who repeated what they saw online and lost track of reality.

It sometimes feels like some of them re-live in the streets the video games that have intoxicated them, the president said in televised remarks from a government emergency meeting on June 30.

Some 45,000 police officers were deployed to quell the unrest, and more than 1,300 people have been arrested as of July 1, The Guardian reported.

Firefighters stand as they extinguish burning vehicles during clashes between protesters and police, after the death of a 17-year-old teenager killed by a French police officer during a traffic stop in Nanterre, France, on June 28, 2023. (Stephanie Lecocq/Reuters)

According to multiple reports, some protestors threw fireworks and projectiles at police in Marseille, France, while others set fire to bus depots and public buildings.

In Nantes, France, some protestors reportedly drove a car into a Lidl supermarket before looting it, according to the BBC. A bank was set on fire in the suburb, according to CNN, while multiple fires occurred in the northern city of Lille, France, including an elementary school and a district office, multiple French outlets reported.

Nahel, whos reportedly of Algerian and Moroccan descent, was shot at point-blank range by a police officer as he attempted to drive away from the traffic stop and drove through a red light.

The officer claimed to have opened fire on the teenager because he feared that he and his colleague or someone else could be hit by the car as the teen attempted to drive off, according to a public prosecutor.

Katabella Roberts, Lorenz Duchamps, and Reuters contributed to this report.
Free Speech Limits in the Balance as DOJ Pursues Appeal of Big Tech Censorship Case

A keyboard is placed in front of a displayed Facebook logo in an illustration taken on Feb. 21, 2023. (Dado Ruvic/Illustration/Reuters)

The Biden administration on Thursday filed a motion to stay a preliminary injunction in which various government agencies were prohibited from continuing their meeting or contacting social media companies in regard to the removal of content.

The Government faces irreparable harm with each day the injunction remains in effect, the defendants state. They assert the injunction was so broad as to prevent the agencies from responsible and lawful actions, requesting a stay while the defendants sought to appeal so that the government agencies could continue instructing social media platforms.

Case files revealed an extensive cross-agency effort to influence Big Tech companies, and massive influence such as a 70 percent watch rate reduction on certain topics, and the defendants filings make clear the Biden administrations intention to continue such an operation.

On July 4, U.S. District Court Judge Terry Doughty ruled that several government agencies, including the Department of Justice (DOJ), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the State Department, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and other White House and federal agencies had made a massive effort  to suppress speech based on its content.

Being a preliminary injunction, the decision isnt final. The plaintiffs, which include the states of Missouri and Louisiana as well as several private individuals, want to pursue a class action lawsuit and will proceed with merits discovery and depositions.

What we have to do now is root out the entirety of this censorship enterprise, said Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey on American Thought Leaders. COVID was really just the Trojan horse to get the enemy behind the walls, but we know for a fact that this censorship has spread.

20,000 Pages of Discovery

The context for this case is the massive amounts of information about COVID-19 that began circulation with the onset of the pandemic.

Posts ranging from calls to open public schools to discussions on the science of natural immunity to posts making fun of public officials were targeted for removal and retaliation by government officials. Within the 20,000 pages of documents are several colorful exchanges between companies like Facebook and Twitter and government officials.

These messages revealed what power the federal employees wielded in this arena, often responding to apologies and deference on the part of the tech companies with even more demands (pdf). When Facebook assured Rob Flaherty, former Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of Digital Strategy, that it had implemented measures to remove certain claims about COVID-19 and vaccines, Flaherty demanded the inner workings and statistics of these algorithms and policies and emailed the following day accusing Facebook of causing political violence by letting groups continue to circulate some COVID-19 related information.

The effort to pull down posts and deplatform users was constant.

A February 2021 exchange between Twitter and the White House detailed how Twitter had been so bombarded with requests from federal agents that it wanted to work out a more streamlined process to receive them. Mr. Flaherty had suggested regular, bi-weekly meetings with YouTube to cooperate even after the platform had reduced watch time by 70% on borderline content, which is impressive (pdf).

On June 26, a week before the Biden administration was ordered to stop contact with social media companies, Congress released a report (pdf) detailing collusion between government agencies and Big Tech to censor Americans and how they covered it up.

The House Judiciary Committee and the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government pointed at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) within the DHS as a main facilitator of such censorship, and suggested the agency knew its work was unconstitutional because it had moved some operations to non-profits it funded and internal emails about the agencys pretty obvious vulnerabilities.

In the July 4 preliminary injunction, Mr. Doughty wrote that the agencies and officials named in the suit are prohibited from meeting with or urging, encouraging, pressuring, inducing in any manner the companies to remove, delete, suppress, or reduce content containing protected speech, nor flag content on platforms for these purposes.

It also stated that the injunction did not prohibit interactions with social media companies regarding postings of criminal activities, national security threats, or criminal efforts to affect elections.

Responsibility

The DOJs notice of appeal states its intention to continue the fight in the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans.

Our view remains that social media platforms have a critical responsibility to take action or to take account of the effects of their platforms are having to the American people but make independent choices about the information they present, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Wednesday. Were going to continue to be responsible in that way.

Similar cases have been brought against the government in Texas and Florida.

Russel Weaver, Professor of Law and Distinguished University Scholar at the University of Lousiville, wrote a handbook on free speech and changing technology nearly a decade ago, which is in the process of being updated to its third edition. He recently authored two papers on the topic of disinformation and free speech that have been submitted for journal publication.

Disinformation is real, and it is everywhere, Mr. Weaver says. The problem extends far beyond social media because politicians will lie, the media will spin facts, and everyday people can parrot a misleading line they believe is fact.

Do we really trust the government to define disinformation? he said in a phone call with The Epoch Times. Getting the government out of social media management would ultimately be a good thing, because administrations change, agendas change, and even if something is done out of what you believe is goodwill today, it may be of malicious motive tomorrow.

Free speech will deal with itself, said Mr. Weaver, who says he disagrees with the elitist view that suggests the average person is stupid and must be protected from information. People are not stupid.

Professor Steven Collis, director of the Bech-Loughlin First Amendment Center, said the government certainly has a right to counter what it deems disinformation, but not through censorship.

The government has speech rights as well. It can certainly use its own speech to combat misinformation and to get its message out. Its actions become problematic when it uses its power to censor speech by threatening punishment of social media companies if they dont comply with its wishes. Under the First Amendment, the government may not do indirectly through threats to social media companies what it may not do directly, he said in an email to The Epoch Times.
Geneva UN Summit on AI Explores Globalist Interventions

A smartphone displaying the logo of the artificial intelligence OpenAI research laboratory, in Manta, Italy, on March 31, 2023. (Marco Bertorello/AFP via Getty Images)

The Swiss government and the United Nations convened a summit on artificial intelligence (AI) in Geneva on July 6, with the goal of garnering advice on how to control the spread of AI in a globalist framework.

The U.N. summit is titled AI for Good Global Summit, with 3,000 experts from companies like Microsoft and Amazon, academics, and 40 U.N. sister agencies taking part.

This technology is moving fast, said Doreen Bogdan-Martin, head of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the U.N.s information and communications technology agency.

Its a real opportunity for the worlds leading voices on AI to come together on the global stage and to address governance issues, she told reporters. Doing nothing is not an option. Humanity is dependent upon it. So we have to engage and try and ensure a responsible future with AI.

She said the summit will explore frameworks and guardrails for safe AI use, and it will examine proposals for global U.N. intervention for controlling AI use.

In the United States, President Joe Biden wants to intervene in the technologys spread, with an initiative headed by Vice President Kamala Harris.

White House chief of staff Jeff Zients office is preparing a set of actions for the federal government regarding the use of AI, according to the White House.

Were kind of in a perfect storm of suddenly having this powerful new technologyI dont think its super-intelligentbeing spread very widely and empowered in our lives, and were really not prepared, AI entrepreneur Gary Marcus told AFP ahead of the Geneva meeting.

Were at a critical moment in history when we can either get this right and build the global governance we need, or get it wrong and not succeed and wind up in a bad place where a few companies control the fates of many, many people without sufficient forethought, he said.

A panel of humanoid robots appeared before journalists on Friday during the summit, in the worlds first human-robot press conference.

The AI-powered robots even said that robots can run the world better than humans.

These robots were developed by Hanson Robotics and Osaka University of Japan, among other companies.

The Palais des Nations, which houses the United Nations Offices, is seen at the end of the flag-lined front lawn in Geneva on Sept. 4, 2018. (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images)

U.N. agencies are already using AI, such as the World Food Programs HungerMap project which pulls together data to identify areas sliding toward hunger. It is also developing remote-controlled trucks to deliver emergency aid in danger zones.

The World Health Organization is working on a benchmarking system to ensure the accuracy of AI disease diagnoses.

The ITU brings together 193 countries and over 900 organizations including universities and companies like Google and Chinese state-owned Huawei Technologies. It allocates global radio spectrum and satellite orbits and is involved with setting standards for artificial intelligence.

US Legislation on AI and Nuclear Weapons

In the United States, lawmakers proposed legislation in June to prevent AI from taking control of the U.S. nuclear arsenal in case it comes to the conclusion by itself that an attack is needed.

Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) has proposed an amendment to the defense policy measure for 2024 that would require the Pentagon to implement a system that ensures that meaningful human control is required to launch any nuclear weapon.

The revision calls for mandatory human presence on the final decision for a nuclear attack and the picking of a target, in case AI is involved in nuclear weapons deployment.

Bipartisan support for Mr. Lieus amendment indicates that legislators are increasingly concerned that AI could make decisions as rapidly as it can evaluate the situation.

Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.) also offered an amendment in February that requires the Secretary of Defense, in carrying out any program, project, or other activity involving the use of artificial intelligence or autonomous technology, to adhere to the best practices set forth in the Political Declaration on Responsible Military Use of Artificial Intelligence and Autonomy issued by the Biden Administration in February 2023.

The non-binding guidance cited in Mr. Lynchs amendment states, among other things, that nations should maintain human control and involvement for all actions critical to informing and executing sovereign decisions concerning nuclear weapons employment.

States should design and engineer military AI capabilities so that they possess the ability to detect and avoid unintended consequences and the ability to disengage or deactivate deployed systems that demonstrate unintended behavior, it reads. States should also implement other appropriate safeguards to mitigate risks of serious failures.

According to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the Department of Defense (DOD) is pursuing advanced AI capabilities. The GAO recommends that AI acquisition guidance should first be established within the DOD, and only after that AI use should be explored.

GAO issued such recommendations to the three military branches, and these recommendations are not binding in nature.

Savannah Hulsey Pointer and Reuters contributed to this report.
GOP Presidential Campaign Using AI Chatbot to Respond to Voters

President of the U.S. Conference of Mayors and Miami Mayor Francis Suarez speaks during an event of bipartisan mayors attending the Conference's Winter Meeting, in the East Room of the White House in Washington on Jan. 20, 2023. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)

A super PAC supporting Miami Mayor Francis Suarezs bid for the Republican presidential nomination has launched an artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot to answer queries about him, marking yet another instance of the use of generative AI in 2024 presidential campaigns.

The SOS America PAC bot unveiled on July 5 listens to a users queries and combines them with video responses created by an AI-powered avatar designed to appear and sound like Mr. Suarez.

Hi, Im AI Francis Suarez, the bot says to introduce itself, its mouth moving in a way that attempts to imitate human speech.

Youve probably heard that my namesake, conservative Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, is running for president. Im here to answer questions you may have about Mayor Suarezs proven agenda for economic prosperity, cutting spending and supporting our police. So, how can I help?

When asked whether the PAC or campaign is concerned about the potential corruptibility of AI or of alienating those more traditional GOP voters with the use of the technology, the PAC responded, saying the bot helps bring the mayors message to more people.

We created AI Francis Suarez to help communicate the Mayors message of bringing the Miami Model to the rest of the country, SOS America PAC Spokesman Miami Chapin Fay told The Epoch Times. AI Francis Suarez is just one tool we are deploying to communicate with Republican primary voters, along with plenty of other traditional and cutting-edge tactics.

The spokesperson went on to say, Mayor Francis Suarez was a leader in technology in government and ran what is now one of the safest, most economically prosperous big cities in America.

How the Chat Bot Works

The application is enabled by VideoAsk, a software product developed by Typeform for use in sales and recruiting. According to the products website, clients can construct video funnels that direct visitors down various paths based on the questions they pose, allowing users to choose their own adventure.

The chatbot does not appear to directly address a users queries; rather, it directs them to a relevant video on Mr. Suarezs platform.

When questioned about Mr. Suarezs immigration plan, for instance, the AI begins to play a 55-second video titled Mayor Suarezs Miami Model that discusses a variety of topics, such as economic prosperity in Miami, unemployment rates, job creation, homicide rates, and homelessness.

When asked whether Mr. Suarez would endorse Trump as the Republican nominee, the automaton displays a computer-generated caricature of AI Ron DeSantis. The bot asserts that Mr. Suarez is concerned with saving Americas economy and supporting our police officers, while DeSantis believes the single greatest threat to American families today is Mickey Mouse  run for your lives!

Some queries stymie the AI, resulting in a screen that reads, Sorry, I did not understand

While artificial intelligence has been used in political campaigns in the past, AI tools have vastly improved over the past few years, making it quicker, cheaper, and simpler to generate images, videos, and text blocks from inception.

Several reports have indicated that both the Trump and DeSantis campaigns have used AI to show each other in a negative light, interacting with various figures that are unpopular with conservatives, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, Mr. George Soros, Adolf Hitler, and the Devil.

The Candidates Background

Mr. Suarezs campaign for president was announced on June 14 in a press release by SOS America PAC.

America needs conservative Mayor Francis Suarez for President, said SOS America PAC spokesperson Chapin Fay. As our nation faces anti-police and pro-crime Democrat leadership in cities across the nation like Baltimore, Portland and New York City, the achievements of first-generation American Mayor Suarez underscore the need for immediate nationwide adoption of his approach.

Because of Mayor Suarezs tough-on-crime and back-the-blue approach, Miami currently has its lowest homicide rate since the 1950s and the lowest homelessness rate since 2013.

Under his leadership, the Miami economy is thriving. Miami boasts the nations lowest unemployment rate at 1.4%, and Mayor Suarez fiscal policies have achieved the citys lowest tax rate since the 1960s, the creation of 8,000 new jobs and an additional $1 billion in wages to Miamis economy, Fey went on.

Mayor Francis Suarezs Miami Model is working, plain and simple. Now is the time for the rest of the country to adopt his successful approach. America needs conservative Mayor Francis Suarez for President.

Mr. Suarez reports being shaped by his parents journey as Cuban immigrants seeking better opportunities in America. Inspired by their story, the candidate has worked to promote conservative principles and advocating for, among other things, fiscal responsibility.

Since assuming office as Miamis Mayor in 2017, he has spearheaded initiatives that attracted businesses and fostered job creation, along with lowering crime to its lowest rate in decades.

Before becoming mayor, Mr. Suarez was the Miami City Commissioner. The presidential candidate also holds a law degree from the University of Florida Levin College of Law.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Group Files Application to International Court of Justice Against Iran Over Downing of Flight PS752

Photographs of victims of Flight PS752 are seen as thousands of people attend a rally to mark the National Day of Remembrance for Victims of Air Disasters, on the three-year anniversary since the Iranian military shot down the flight, in North Vancouver on Jan. 8, 2023. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press)

An International Coordination and Response Group (ICRG) comprised of ministers from Canada, Sweden, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom has filed a joint application with the International Court of Justice against Iran over the downing of Flight PS752.

The downing of Flight PS752 on January 2020 resulted in the loss of 176 lives, including 57 Canadians. The Ukraine International Airlines jetliner, bound for Canada via Ukraine, was shot down shortly after taking off from Tehran, the capital city of Iran. The incident drew international outrage and demands for a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding the tragedy.

As we have reiterated on multiple occasions, Irans actions and omissions in relation to the downing of Flight PS752 by 2 surface-to-air missiles launched by members of Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Aerospace Force amount to violations of Irans international legal obligations, for which Iran must take full responsibility, the ICRG said in a statement issued on July 5.

Todays legal action reflects our unwavering commitment to achieving transparency, justice and accountability for the families of the victims.

The application filed at The Hague highlights several specific violations committed by Iran, including its failure to take all practicable measures to prevent the destruction of Flight PS752 by members of its armed forces. Additionally, Iran has been accused of failing to conduct a comprehensive, transparent, and impartial criminal investigation and prosecution in accordance with international standards.

The ICRG, which provides legal support to the families of the victims of PS752 to pursue accountability and full reparation from Iran, said the move is pursuant to Irans failure to respond to its request for arbitration sent on Dec. 28, 2022. The group accused Iran of breaching the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Civil Aviation, also known as the Montreal Convention of 1971.

The Convention, which includes Iran as a contracting state, requires member states to prohibit, prevent, and punish certain offences against civil aviation, including the unlawful and intentional destruction of an aircraft in service. Under the Convention, contracting states also have international legal obligations to prosecute or extradite individuals within their territory who are accused of committing such an offence against civil aviation.

On Jan. 8, 2023, which marked the third anniversary of the tragedy, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reaffirmed a commitment to seek justice for the victims of Flight PS752. He also condemned the Iranian regimes heinous disregard for human life during a remembrance event held in North Toronto.
MAIDAN SHAR, Afghanistan, July 8 (Xinhua) -- Policemen have discovered and seized arms and ammunition during search operations in east Afghanistan's Wardak province, said a statement of provincial police on Saturday.

The weapons confiscated include five pieces of AKM, one piece of U.S.-made M16 assault rifle, one pistol, and thousands of bullet rounds, the statement said, adding police won't allow anyone to keep arms and ammunition illegally.

In similar operations, security personnel discovered arms and ammunition, including 37 pieces of anti-personnel and anti-tank mines from the northern Faryab province.

The Afghan caretaker government, which has discovered and seized thousands of light and heavy weapons, including battle tanks since its induction in August 2021, has vowed to collect arms and ammunition from anyone outside security organs. 
The Republican-led House Oversight Committee is now probing the cocaine found at the White House. We have updates about the investigation and the latest White House response.

The Biden administration is taking aim at non-Obamacare insurance options. What did President Joe Biden announce, and how could it affect Americans?

A new social media platform by Mark Zuckerberg is already facing allegations of censorship, just days after his company launched the app.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is in Beijing to meet the Chinese premier. The Biden administration is seeking to frame its relationship with China as competitive rather than adversarial.

A former Trump aide joins us to discuss approaches to criminal justice reform. He explores strategies that cities use to address violent crimes.
IN-DEPTH: Former Navy SEALs Program Aims to Train Teachers, Law Officers, and Others to Be The Good Guy With a Gun

Able Shepherd clients participate in a training exercise as part of a "Defend the Flock" program. (Courtesy of Able Shepherd)

Nathan Eberhardt was in a classroom when he heard gunshots down the hall.

As screams pierced the air, he drew his gun and ordered his students to take cover. He took his mark and was determined that any threat who came through the door to get to the children would have to go through him first.

It felt real. But it was actually a training scenario meant to prepare Mr. Eberhardt, a special education teacher, and others how to react to an active-shooter incident in a school, church, business, or in any crowd.

Able Shepherd participants practice as if in an active shooter situation during a Defend The Flock training session. (Courtesy of Able Shepherd)

Providing that training is Able Shepherd, an emergency readiness training company in Denver. Company instructors prepare teachers, first responders, church staffers, and more at the campus and take the program around the country, from Washington to Florida.

At least one Colorado group and other proponents of tighter gun restrictions dont think thats a good idea. They say more guns dont make places safer.

But statistics show the need for the kind of training that Able Shepherd provides, founder Jimmy Graham told The Epoch Times.

Uptick in Mass Shootings

From 2000 through 2022, there were 484 active shooter incidents in the United States, according to the FBI. Of those, 151 occurred in the past three years.

The FBI defines active shooting as one or more individuals actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a populated area with one or multiple firearms.

The term active, according to the FBI, implies the situation is ongoing and that theres the potential for the response to affect the outcome.

Of those, 49 shootings occurred at schools for children from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade. Another 21 happened in higher-learning institutions and at school board meetings, as well as one occurring on a school bus.

Active shooters at locations of education alone recorded 200 deaths in the span of those 23 years.

There were also 18 shootings at houses of worship.

The United States is haunted now by the memory of mass killings at schools, churches, and other gatherings. Thats why Able Shepherd and similar companies say its time to update security protocols and train people to stand up and take care of each other.

Thats exactly what Mr. Graham aims to do.

Able Shepherd founder Jimmy Graham. (Courtesy of Able Shepherd)

He and his team feel that theyre fighting against the growing spread of the opinion that a traditional, protective, and strong man is a symbol of toxic masculinity.

Mr. Graham was part of the U.S. Navy SEALs, which stands for Sea, Air, and Land teams, a special operations force of the Naval Special Warfare Command, and is a former CIA agent.

Hes also a husband and father whos determined to protect his family and help others do the same, he said.

At some point, weve got to get back to the truth, start doing whats effective, and boldly do it, Mr. Graham said.

Just Do It

Over the past few years, theres been a growing push in Colorado and across the country to fight the rise in shootings with more gun-restrictive laws.

Colorado Ceasefire Legislative Action is one of those groups that insist that where there are more guns, there are more gun deaths.

The group describes itself as the longest-service statewide, grassroots, gun-violence prevention organization in the State of Colorado.

It has worked to help the Colorado Legislature enact gun-related laws and openly stands against allowing teachers to carry guns in public schools.

Gun rights proponents claim that gun-free zones, such as schools, are magnets for mass killers. But there is no evidence that mass killers select locations based on gun policy, or that armed citizens have been able to stop the attack, the organization asserted in a 2017 argument that seeks to answer the question, Do guns make us safer?

However, FBI records confirm that armed citizens have, indeed, stopped some shooters, and the number of citizens springing into action to stop the killing is growing.

Of the 484 mass shootings, the shooters in 12 incidents were stopped when they were killed by citizens. Of the instances when citizens killed the shooter, eight were since 2019.

Unarmed citizens stopped shooters in other ways in 20 of the 70 attacks in locations related to education.

Five of the shooters who attacked places of worship from 2000 through 2022 were stopped by civilians, FBI reports show.

In 2020, a shooter firing on people in traffic was stopped when an active-duty soldier hit him with his car. No one else was hurt, according to FBI records.

In 2022, 16 percent of active shooter incidents were stopped by civilians.

An emblem on the FBI building in Washington on June 28, 2023. (Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times)

This is ridiculous right now, Mr. Graham said.

People need to be ready to get involved and take action against danger when necessary, he said.

Quit asking permission and just do it, Mr. Graham said. Thats the nation you live in. People died for that.

An Opposing View

Tom Mauser has served as a board member of Colorado Ceasefire Legislative Action for more than 22 years, serving part of the time as board president. He began his fight to end gun violence as a paid lobbyist for SAFE Colorado in 2000, a year after he lost his son in the Columbine school shooting.

He and others affiliated with the organization believe guns used to stop an active-shooter scenario should only be in the hands of trained law enforcement officers. Other armed individuals only complicate and escalate the situation, he said.

Civilians with guns could endanger the innocent and make it more difficult for them to escape, because theres gunfire coming from a number of different directions, Mr. Mauser told The Epoch Times.

I think I understand how somebody wants to play hero and save [people] in a particular tragic situation, he said. But theres a lot of other things that can happen.

Mr. Mauser and the organization arent anti-gun, just anti-gun violence, he said. In fact, he supports having better-funded, better-staffed law-enforcement agencies that could relieve people of feeling like they need to take action in dangerous situations.

Tom Mauser and his son Dan before Dan was killed in the Columbine High School shooting in 1999. (Courtesy of Tom Mauser)

CIA-Style Tactical Training

Mr. Graham has concerns about police training, too.

Its often subpar, he said. And he agrees that its a bad idea to fill schools and other public places with minimally trained individuals carrying guns.

Mr. Graham spent 11 years adapting what he learned and taught while with the SEALs and the CIA. The result is a training program thats more in-depth than what police officers receive, he said.

He hopes that itll create a general population thats more prepared than ever to defend loved ones from harm and keep workplaces safer.

Mr. Graham founded Able Shepherd in 2012 after serving as a lead instructor for an elite federal protection detail. Those agents were trained to defend U.S. diplomats in high-risk cities such as Kabul, Beirut, and Benghazi.

After that, he began to notice a need to update training standards for those tasked with keeping people safe in the United States.

For some reason, lessons learned by the CIA and SEAL teams arent shared with police officers, Mr. Graham said. But they should be, because they are protecting our children at home.

He started asking questions, and what he found was that officers ability to effectively respond to threatening situations was an absolute failure.

Upon entering schools and churches, Mr. Graham found himself immediately looking for exit strategies to keep his family safe, he said. He also discovered that the people in charge couldnt answer his question: What are you guys doing to protect my kids?

Hes talked with police officers in Spokane, Washington, and Uvalde, Texas, he said.

And after studying the state of police forces across the country, Mr. Graham has realized that theres a system-wide problem in many officers capabilities. Its a lack of training, he said.

Now the truth comes out that they dont know what theyre doing, he said. And its on us [as American taxpayers], too. We cant just blame them. We never gave them the tools to be successful.

This image shows bodycam footage of police responding to a shooting at The Covenant School in Nashville, Tenn., on March 27, 2023. (Metropolitan Nashville Police Department via AP)

His training goes beyond whats taught in police academies, Mr. Graham said. It prioritizes the protection of others over the goal of eliminating the threatthe shooter. Its simulations are as realistic as possible and performed under stress.

That makes the training more effective, according to Mr. Eberhardt, whos been through the program.

I feel like with the other [police] training that Ive had, its always kind of without stress, like if youre going through a shoot house or something like that, they put up paper targets as bad guys, he said.

That method doesnt feel real, Mr. Eberhardt said, like heres your bad guy; kill them and go on your way.

But the Able Shepherd program left him feeling prepared for a real emergency, he said.

They use real people, real players who scream and yell and cuss and charge you, Mr. Eberhardt said. And so it just gets your heart rate up. And thats when you really see how youre going to react, and I think thats the biggest piece that Able Shepherd offers that not a lot of other places do.

No Place to Hide

Mr. Graham adopted and trademarked the acronym D.E.F.E.N.D. for his training modules. It stands for steps to follow in an active shooter situation: Defense (fight the threat), Evacuate, Fortify, Emergency medical aid, Notify others, and Dial 911. The order of these steps is determined by the severity of each situation.

Learning to execute them properly is intense.

We have scenarios where Im gonna hand you a real gun with real bullets, and youre gonna go shoot a real person, Mr. Graham said.

The bullet used is actually whats known as a simunition training round used by the CIA. Its a special paintball the size of a normal round of ammunition, and Able Shepherd has a special license to use them.

They dont kill. They do sting.

Able Shepherd participants during a Defend The Flock training session. (Courtesy of Able Shepherd)

Youre engaging real people, and there is no place to hide, Mr. Graham said of the simulated emergencies he stages. You have to go in.

He teaches participants how to stay calm and efficient as the heart pounds, gunshots ring out, and people run past with their hands up.

Participants progress through classes at their own pace and only advance after they pass an exam. They master ever-increasing pistol and rifle skills, from proper posture while shooting to entering a room strategically in an active-shooter scenario.

Most of the live-fire training is done onsite at Able Shepherds facilities in Centennial, Colorado. But the organization also offers a five-day intensive course for out-of-state clients at a starting cost of $3,500 per person.

Those who become Able Shepherd Certified are required to retake a certification test every six months to retain their status.

But its not all about gun skills.

Able Shepherd also requires advanced students to understand how to control the bleeding of a victim in an emergency and how to effectively execute an evacuation and lockdown.

Lets say youre in a library and you hear shots, Mr. Eberhardt said.

He learned to use the Link on me! command, telling anyone he needs to protect, such as a family member or student, to grab his belt or put a hand on his shoulder and stay behind, so they can move as one. That way, he can keep himself between that person and the threat.

In cases where people hes with cant move, such as in a classroom full of children with special needs, he learned to leave them in a safe place and make a trained decision to encounter the threat on his own.

When you hear bang, bang, bang in the hall, and you know that that is an absolute threat, dont wait for the threat to come to you, Mr. Eberhardt said, repeating his Able Shepherd training. Its time to go deal with it.

They teach you how to get through doorways, how to move through corners, and theres a bad guy on the other side that has to be dealt with. Theres no perfect way to get to him. But you need to. Youve got to get to him.

Youve got to deal with it. Because its coming.

Now, he feels confident that he knows the best strategies to give himself and those around him the best chance of escaping unharmed.

Protect Our People

Like all other Able Shepherd participants, Mr. Eberhardt first had to pass a four-hour prerequisite class before beginning the three-phase training. The $200 course is called P.O.P. which stands for Protect Our People.

It wasnt his first time learning to protect others.

Mr. Eberhardt joined the U.S. Army right after high school. He later earned a bachelors degree in criminal justice and became a police officer in Southern Illinois.

From there, he moved to Colorado, where he reenlisted in the Army National Guard. And he worked in security at a school district where he now teaches.

All the other training Ive ever had was all about how to end the threat, which means basically to kill the bad guy, Mr. Eberhardt said.

At Able Shepherd, the goal was defined differently from the start, he said.

This was the first place where I showed up where it was OK, well, we can talk about ending the threat, but it doesnt do a lot of good if you kill the bad guy, but your family members are dead. That was the first time Ive experienced that.

For him, that resonated.

What happens if youre with your family in a store, and something bad happens? Are you just going to leave your family and go take off [after the bad guy]? Mr. Eberhardt said. No. For me, my priority is my family.

Nathan Eberhardt, an Able Shepherd participant. (Courtesy of Nathan Eberhardt)

After his previous law enforcement training, that change of thinking required a dose of humility and a need to reprogram his way of thinking, he said.

In one of the first training scenarios, Mr. Eberhardt was given a simulation pistolloaded with paintballsand was told to stand on a mark. Then, a bad guy blasted through the doorway at him. His previous training kicked in with tragic results.

Instead of standing his ground, as he had been instructed by an Able Shepherd trainer, he jumped to the side and shot the bad guy.

Thats when Mr. Eberhardt saw a second body, an actor playing the role of someone important to him. That person also was on the ground dead.

The Able Shepherd program, he learned, is about protecting those that I love. It teaches this mantra: In order to get to them, you got to go through me.

That was when I started learning to [say], No, no, no! Im gonna stay right here. And those that I am protecting are gonna stay behind me,' Mr. Eberhardt said.

The second order was to keep his finger off the trigger.

That so-called trigger discipline is one of the most critical pieces of the training, according to Mr. Eberhardt.

Youve got usually one gunman going through and then people running around in a panic trying to do what they can to save their own lives, he said.

During the high-stress training activity, Mr. Eberhardt realized the risk of shooting a good guy along with or instead of a bad guy.

You learn to take that extra half a second and really check those hands and [ask], Do they have a weapon or do they not?' he said.

He learned to develop a protectors mindset, risking his own body to save others.

Good Guy with a Gun

But even with his advanced trainingin the military, as a police officer, and through Able ShepherdMr. Eberhardt isnt allowed to keep his pistol with him at school. No firearms are allowed on campuses in Colorados Cherry Creek School District.

Teachers and school officials arent necessarily anti-firearms, he said. And theyre understandably worried about school shootings.

Able Shepherd can help with that, Mr. Graham said. In addition to providing CIA-style training, he and his team help retrofit school buildings with features that will make it less likely that someone hoping to do harm will be successful.

But arming teachers is harder for some to accept, Mr. Eberhardt said.

I dont think theyve wrapped their mind around [the idea that] the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun, he said. And that good guy doesnt have to wear a badge or a uniform.

Pedestrians pass a gun-free zone sign in New York on Oct. 13, 2022. (Ed Jones/AFP via Getty Images)

He and Mr. Graham believe a so-called good guy with a gun should be able to earn trust through training.

But some remain unconvinced.

We just dont agree with that, Mr. Mauser said. I mean, who are the good guys? We dont wear labels on our heads that say, This is a good guy.

So if a law enforcement officer shows up on the scene of an active shooting and sees somebody with a gun, even if it is a good guy, you have no way of knowing that thats the good guy versus the bad guy.

A lot of people who have been active shooters may not have had a criminal record before that. They may have been a good guy.'

His group is concerned about citizens receiving tactical firearm training from people other than police.

Who are they responsible to, Mr. Mauser asked, referring to Able Shepherd participants. Who was policing them? How far does this go in the development of this sort of paramilitary thing?

His group objects to having more guns out in the public.

If they want to play the role of cop, I think they ought to consider becoming a police officer, Mr. Mauser said.

Standing in Strength

The pushback from educators uncomfortable with his program is unrelenting, Mr. Graham said. And lawmakers considering an ever-increasing number of gun-control bills hear loud arguments from gun-control activists.

And as people move to his state from other places, such as California, the anti-gun arguments get louder, he said.

As a result, many people, including some of Mr. Grahams friends, are leaving Colorado for states with stronger gun support, such as Florida. But he doesnt want to move.

I tell people to stand in strength because youre going to run out of places to run, he said. If I was in Florida, I would say stay home because I dont want runners. I want people that would stand and fight for their state.

You should stand in strength, not in weakness, not out of fear, because your kids are watching.

Mr. Graham doesnt want children to feel that its better to flee than defend whats worth fighting to preserve, he said.

Some leaders of churches, private schools, and charter schools agree that its time to train for the worst and have hired Able Shepherd to prepare.

But Mr. Graham understands why its hard for some to accept that this kind of training is needed. It means accepting that the level of danger in churches, schools, and other public places has increased, he said.

What would you expect from people that grew up in the land of milk and honey? he asked. This is a lap of luxury. America is a paradise of sorts, right? And now its changing and going back to a dangerous thing.

Most people seem to want someone to come take care of [them], according to Mr. Graham. But that thinking is flawed.

The job is yours to take care of your family, he said. It always has been.
Judge Allows Tennessee Law Shielding Minors From Transgender Procedures to Take Effect

States are on the front lines in pushing back against federal efforts to normalize transgender procedures for minors

On Saturday, Chief Judge Jeffrey Sutton of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit issued a preliminary injunction that allows Tennessees law to prohibit health care providers from performing or administering cross-sex procedures on minors to take place, a week after a federal judge blocked it.

Because Tennessee is likely to succeed on its appeal of the preliminary injunction, we grant the stay, Mr. Sutton wrote.

Tennessee was one of several states this year to pass legislation to shield minors from cross-sex surgery, procedures, and hormones, which fall under the umbrella of gender-affirming care, and many of these laws are now being contested in the courts.

Many states are now in opposition to the Biden administrations position on such procedures. As with the Tennessee law, they argue that irreversible decisions with lifelong impact should not be made rashly by people under the age of 18, especially without parental oversight.

Following the January release of a National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded study on the long-term effects of gender-affirming care that followed 315 youth aged 12 to 20 suffering from gender dysphoria and taking cross-sex hormones, several lawmakers nationwide demanded answers (pdf) as to what led to the suicide of two study participants. The study cited suicidal ideation as the most common adverse event.

Rep. Josh Brecheens (R-Okla.) office told The Epoch Times they had not received the requested answers from the NIH. The NIH did not respond to inquiries from The Epoch Times.

Threats of Litigation

Tennessee Senate Bill 1 (SB 1) was introduced last November and signed into law by Gov. Bill Lee in March under threats of litigation.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) promised legal action in Tennessee, Alabama, and Arkansas. Courts have also blocked bans in Florida, Indiana, and Kentucky.

The law would have gone into effect July 1, requiring ongoing cross-sex procedures to end by March 31, 2024, and in April the ALCU, its Tennessee chapter, and legal representation for three families and a Memphis-based doctor filed a lawsuit.

Last week, a federal judge blocked (pdf) the Tennessee law with a preliminary injunction.

Mr. Sutton, who granted a stay of the injunction, wrote: The courts injunction prohibits Tennessee from enforcing the law against the nine challengers in this case and against the other seven million residents of the Volunteer State. But absent a properly certified class action, why would nine residents represent seven million?

Even if courts may in some instances wield such power, the district court likely abused its discretion by deploying it here.

Mr. Sutton wrote that challengers were unlikely to prevail on their due process and equal protection claims.

The complaint asserted that the law violated the Equal Protection Clause because it discriminates on the basis of sex and transgender status because it only prohibited certain procedures for certain people.

Mr. Sutton reminded both parties that these issues, in realms of science and society, were far from settled.

That prompts the question whether the people of this country ever agreed to remove debates of this sortabout the use of new drug treatments on minorsfrom the conventional place for dealing with new norms, new drugs, and new technologies: the democratic process, Mr. Sutton wrote. Life-tenured federal judges should be wary of removing a vexing and novel topic of medical debate from the ebbs and flows of democracy by construing a largely unamendable federal constitution to occupy the field.

States Defending Minors

After the federal judge blocked the Tennessee law, Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti filed a motion for an emergency stay before July 1, which would allow the ban to go into effect while the lawsuit proceeded through the courts.

Until the American medical establishment catches up with the rest of the world on this issue, we will continue to defend the General Assemblys authority to protect children from these irreversible harms, Mr. Skrmetti said in a statement.

The brief explains: Tennessee should not have to wait while hundreds, if not thousands, of children are set upon the path to sterilization. Nor should it take months of briefing to see how wrong the district courts decision is. Each day this injunction persists, Tennessees children, and thus Tennessee, will suffer irreparable harm. The Court should enter a stay.

On Friday, Kentucky took similar action.

Kentuckys Senate Bill 150 had passed overwhelmingly in the House 7623, but was vetoed on Gov. Andy Beshears desk, only for the veto to be overturned 298 in the Senate. The law is meant to prohibit gender transition procedures for minors.

Activists took legal action, and a day before the law was set to go into effect U.S. District Judge David Hale blocked it, writing the law would prevent other transgender children from accessing these beneficial treatments in the future, and the injunction would not result in any child being forced to take puberty blockers (pdf).

Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit on Friday so as to stop further use of these procedures for minors in the state.

Its indefensible that leftist activists are disguising sterilization and genital surgeries as pediatric care for vulnerable children, Mr. Cameron wrote. Child mutilation is illegal in our Commonwealth, and these reckless hormone interventions are based on an irrational ideology that ignores scientific evidence.
Judges Award Steve Bannons Ex-attorney $480,000 Unpaid Legal Fee

A new york judge ruled Friday that Steve Bannon, former White House adviser and one-time Trump administration official, must pay his former legal team more than $480,000 in unpaid legal fees.

ORDERED that plaintiffs motion for summary judgment is granted on its account stated cause of action and the Clerk is directed to enter judgment in favor of plaintiff and against defendant in the amount of $480,487.87 plus interest at the rate of one percent (1%), New York Supreme Court Judge Arlene Bluth wrote in the ruling.

The Epoch Times reached out to Mr. Bannon for comment.

Davidoff Hutcher & Citron, LLP, a law firm that previously represented Mr. Bannon in a series of legal problems, alleged that the former White House adviser didnt pay the full amount of billed legal fees.

The law firm had defended Mr. Bannon in several cases including the We Build The Wall fundraising fraud case in the Southern District of New York (SDNY), the subpoena from the House Jan. 6 Select Committee, a federal criminal case in the District of Columbia, and an investigation by the Manhattan District Attorneys Office from November 2022 and November 2022.

Bannon also secured a presidential pardon for himself in 2020 with the help of Davidoff Hutcher & Citron, LLP.

The law firm stopped representing Mr. Bannon in late 2022 after he didnt pay legal fees and sued him, claiming that he paid only $375,000 out of the total $850,000 billed in legal fees.

Mr. Bannon contended the claims by saying that he told the law firm to stop working for him in January 2022, the law firm was working on matters unrelated to the retainer agreement under disputes, and an attorney from the law firm would possibly become a witness in one of the cases.

The judge rejected all of Mr. Bannons motions.

The retainer agreement covers a wide range of matters and does not limit the law firms legal services to the SDNY case, the judge found.

Meanwhile, Mr. Bannon was actively seeking legal representation from Davidoff Hutcher & Citron well after January 2022 when he reportedly told the law firm to stop providing legal services.

Defendants assertion that he need not pay legal fees because an attorney for plaintiff might be a witness in the case in the District of Columbia is also without merit. As plaintiff pointed out, Mr. Costello filed a notice of withdrawal in that case in July 2022, well after the time defendant allegedly told plaintiff to stop representing him. Nor did defendant adequately explain how the fact that an attorney might be called as a witness is a valid defense to not paying legal bills, the judge wrote in the ruling.

Mr. Bannon was sentenced to four months in prison and ordered to pay a $6,500 fine in October 2022 for refusing to comply with a subpoena from the House Jan. 6 Select Committee.

His jail term is pending until the results of his appeal.
Life in Prison for Man Involved in Street Feud That Led to Womans Death and Shooting of 6-Year-Old

DOVER, Del.A Delaware man was sentenced to life in prison Thursday for his role in a street feud involving a drug kingpin that resulted in the kidnapping and slaying of a woman and the shooting of a 6-year-old boy.

Dion Oliver, 43, was sentenced to the mandatory life term after he was convicted in federal court of kidnapping resulting in death. He was also sentenced to 20 years for conspiracy to commit kidnapping, and five years each for stalking and conspiracy to commit stalking.

His behavior demonstrates he does not value human life, prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memorandum.

One of Mr. Olivers codefendants, Dontae Sykes, also faced a mandatory life term after pleading guilty to kidnapping resulting in death, but he was sentenced earlier this year to less than 16 years in prison after testifying as a government witness. Federal law allows a judge to deviate from the mandatory sentence if a defendant provides substantial assistance to prosecutors.

Mr. Olivers defense attorney argued in her sentencing memorandum that a mandatory life sentence for him was unjust, and that the underlying conviction resulted from erroneous jury instructions. She also noted that, unlike Mr. Sykes, Mr. Oliver was not present when Keyonna Perkins was killed.

A judge last year rejected a plea agreement that dropped the kidnapping charge against Mr. Oliver and called for him to serve 27 years in prison.

Mr. Oliver and Mr. Sykes were among several men tied to drug kingpin Dwayne White, who had engaged in a yearslong feud with a former affiliate, Markevis Stanford. Another co-defendant, Ryan Bacon, had described Mr. Stanford in rap songs as a rat.

As the feud escalated in 2017, Mr. Stanford allegedly hired a friend for $10,000 to kill Mr. Bacon, but the plot failed, prosecutors said.

The defendants later began tracking Mr. Stanfords girlfriend, Ms. Perkins, in an attempt to locate and kill him. On June 6, 2017, Mr. Oliver seized Ms. Perkins at gunpoint and took her cellphone. The defendants later found Mr. Stanford walking along a highway and shot at him, but he escaped unharmed.

A couple of hours later, Mr. Oliver and Michael Pritchett saw Mr. Stanford get into a car in New Castle and followed him as he rode to Wilmington. As Mr. Stanford got out of the car, Mr. Oliver shot at him several times from Mr. Pritchetts truck. Mr. Stanford was not hit, but a bullet struck 6-year-old Jashown Banner in the head while he was sitting in the back seat of his mothers vehicle. The boy was left permanently disabled.

That same day, Ms. Perkins was blindfolded and thrown into the trunk of a car, then driven by Mr. Bacon and Sykes to Elkton, Maryland, where she was killed.

Prosecutors said Mr. White, the drug kingpin, later tried to bribe Jashowns family, offering them $20,000 to deny that Mr. Pritchett was involved in the boys shooting. White was sentenced in state court in 2019 to more than 45 years in prison after being convicted of 21 felonies, including racketeering, drug dealing, conspiracy and money laundering.

Mr. Sykes pleaded guilty to conspiracy, stalking, using a firearm in relation to a crime of violence, and kidnapping resulting in death. Mr. Pritchett and Mr. Bacon pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit kidnapping, stalking and other charges and were sentenced to 25 years and 30 years, respectively.

Another co-defendant, Teres Tinnin, was sentenced to 15 years after pleading guilty to stalking and conspiracy to commit stalking. Federal prosecutors last year dropped related charges against Maurice Cooper, who is already serving a 75-year sentence for state court convictions after being arrested on heroin trafficking and gun charges. They noted that he would not be released from prison until he is nearly 100 years old, if not older.

Mr. Sykes girlfriend, Jaclyn McCain, pleaded guilty to four counts of lying to FBI agents about providing the vehicle that was used to take Ms. Perkins to Maryland, and one count of obstructing the investigation into her death. McCain, who spent six months in pretrial detention, was sentenced to time served.

By Randall Chase
Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin Wont Run for Senate in 2024

Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) announced he will not be running for retiring Sen. Ben Cardins (D-Md.) Senate seat in 2024 and will run for reelection instead.

At this moment, I believe the best way for me to make the greatest difference in American politics in 2024 and beyond is this: to run for reelection to the House of Representatives in Marylands extraordinary 8th District, he said in a lengthy statement Friday.

Mr. Raskin, one of Marylands most prominent Democrats, would have been regarded as a strong candidate for the open Senate seat. Mr. Cardin, 79, had announced in May he wont be seeking reelection.

Last month, Mr. Raskin said while speaking on a CNN program he was seriously considering the opportunity, noting that such openings rarely happen, with as long as 30 years passing before a seat could open up again.

Leading Impeachment Efforts

Mr. Raskin came to prominence during the term of President Donald Trump for leading efforts to impeach the former president. He was a member of the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the Capitol, and now he serves as a ranking member of the House Oversight Committee.

The congressman announced in December 2022 that he was diagnosed with lymphoma, which he called a serious but curable form of cancer. By April 27, he announced he had completed his chemo-immunotherapy treatments and that at the time, he was in remission with a 90 percent prognosis of no relapse.

Representative Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) leads other House impeachment managers in delivering to the Senate an article of impeachment alleging incitement of insurrection against former President Donald Trump in Washington on Jan. 25, 2021. (Melin Mara /AFP via Getty Images)

In his statement on Friday, the Maryland Democrat reiterated his opposition to Mr. Trump and the former presidents supporters, saying they must be stopped in their political tracks.

He told his friends and supporters to elect sweeping Democratic majorities in both houses of Congress and secure a landslide for Joe Biden and the Democrats in 2024.

Mr. Raskin said that [i]f these were normal times, he would likely be running for Mr. Cardins seat, adding that people from all over Maryland had strongly encouraged him to run for the seat.

But these are not normal times and we are still in the fight of our lives for democratic institutions, freedom and basic social progress in America as well as human rights and opportunity for people all over the world, he said in his statement.

I have received compelling arguments from friends, family and political leaders and supporters in our state on all sides of this question, and I thank you for your wise counsel and insight. I want to assure everyone that I will do whatever I need to do to see to it that our new Senator will be a Democrat and that our Senator will be a strong true-blue Democrat with broad support in our state.

Rep. David Trone (D-Md.) and Prince George County Executive Angela Alsobrooks are among the candidates seeking to succeed Cardin.

Democrats currently control the U.S. Senate, 51-49. In next years elections, seats in several swing states will be up for grabs. Three Democrats are running in states that Mr. Trump won in 2020: Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), and Jon Tester (D-Mont.).

Jackson Richman and Joseph Lord contributed to this report.
More to Come: Abbott Announces Installation of Floating Border Barrier Along Rio Grande

Texas has started installing a water-based border barrier along the Rio Grande, Texas Gov. Gregg Abbott said on Saturday, as part of efforts to hinder illegal immigrants from crossing the southern border.

New marine barrier installation on the Rio Grande begins today, Mr. Abbott stated on Twitter, along with a 15-second video showing dozens of large spherical buoys being loaded into tractor-trailers.

The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) will oversee the deployment of a 1,000-foot floating barrier in Eagle Pass, which is known as a major point for migrant crossings.

More to come, the governor remarked, suggesting that this might only be the first deployment.

Mr. Abbott unveiled the plan last month to use floating barriers to deter illegal entry into the country. He described it as a man-made wall floating in the water, which would cost the state about $1 million.

DPS chief Steve McCraw, who called Mexican cartels as the number one public enemy, said the barrier will dissuade people from making dangerous river crossing at the ports.

Its dangerous to cross between ports of entry, and securing the border between them is ideal to fight Mexican cartels, Mr. McCraw said in a statement on June 8.

Concerns Over Impacts of Floating Barrier

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott speaks about an illustration of new border security implementation during a news conference at the Texas State Capitol in Austin, Texas, on June 8, 2023. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

Meanwhile, the federal International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC) said they were not notified about the proposed floating barrier. The IBWC is an international body that oversees the boundary and water treaties between the United States and Mexico.

IBWC spokesperson Frank Fisher said the commission seeks to determine whether and how this impacts our mission to carry out treaties between the U.S. and Mexico regarding border delineation, flood control, and water distribution, which includes the Rio Grande.

Adriana Martinez, a professor at Southern Illinois University, expressed concerns about the potential effects of the webbing attached to the barrier, which could cause things floating down the river to become entangled in these buoys.

A lot of things float down the river, even when its not flooding; things that you cant see like large branches, large rocks, she told the Associated Press. And so anything like that could get caught up in these buoys and change the way that water is flowing around them.

The Center for Immigration Studies said that the water barrier comes with some political risk, as it will likely draw criticism from hostile media should anyone die attempting to overcome the barrier.

State officials have reportedly said the barrier is designed as a deterrence for the masses, not necessarily the few who might try to get past it, the organization reported.

When were dealing with 100 or 1,000 people, one of the goals is to slow down and deter as many of them as possible, Abbott told reporters last month.

In addition to the barriers, Abbott signed six bills related to border security. These measures include designating Mexican cartels as terrorist organizations, allocating funding for law enforcement training, expanding the use of National Guard surveillance drones, and granting increased powers to Border Patrol agents under Texas law.

Earlier iterations of Abbotts border mission have included installing miles of razor wire at popular crossing points on the river and creating state checkpoints beyond federal stops to inspect incoming commercial traffic.

However, the state has not disclosed any specific tests or studies conducted to assess the potential risks for individuals attempting to circumvent the barrier or the environmental impacts associated with its implementation.

Caden Pearson and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
New York GOP Urges Mayor Adams Not to Adopt Wood-Fired Oven Rule

A pizzeria chef removes one of the freshly baked pizzas from a wood-fired oven at the Jemapoh Pizza Kayu Api restaurant in Jemapoh, in Malaysia's Negeri Sembilan state, on Nov. 5, 2020. (Mohd Rasfan/AFP via Getty Images)

Republican New York lawmakers are urging Democratic New York City Mayor Eric Adams to back down on a plan to more heavily regulate emissions from wood and coal-fired ovens amid fears it could disrupt the citys popular pizzeria scene.

Late last month, the New York City Department of Environmental Protection proposed a rule (pdf) that would require eateries using wood and coal-fired ovens to cut their carbon emissions by up to 75 percent. If an assessment concludes that a reduction of 75 percent of particulate matter or more is not possible or that no emissions controls can be installed, the assessment must then identify any emission controls that can provide a reduction of at least 25 percent or justify why no emission controls can be installed.

Reps. Mike Lawler, Elise Stefanik, Marcus Molinaro, Nick LaLota, Andrew Garbarino and Anthony DEsposito sent a letter (pdf) to Mr. Adams on Wednesday, urging him to reconsider implementing the rule.

While we are committed to protecting the environment and ensuring the well-being of residents, this proposed rule poses significant challenges and the potential for negative consequences, the six Republican lawmakers wrote. Imposing these requirements on small businesses, particularly those that rely on traditional coal- and woodburning ovens, will prove to be detrimental.

Wood and coal-fired ovens have been a fixture in many of New York Citys popular pizzerias.

We urge you to reconsider the proposed rule requiring pizzerias using coal- and wood-burning ovens to hire an engineer or architect to assess the feasibility of emission control devices, the Republican lawmakers continued. We must take a balanced approach that considers the financial implications on small businesses, and the potential impact on the taste and quality of pizza that all New Yorkers and tourists love and cherish while keeping in mind the broader environmental context.

The New York City mayor addressed questions about the proposed emissions rule during a June 26 press conference. Mr. Adams said, Everyone likes pizza and I think pizzas have saved more marriages than any other foods, before insisting he didnt want to see businesses negatively impacted by the rule.

Right now, we are at the public moment where the public can weigh in. Let the public weigh in, let the public give their thoughts, and then well make the final determination, Mr. Adams added. We dont want to hurt businesses in the city, and we dont want to hurt the environment.

During that same June 26 press conference, one reporter asserted that the new emission rules would only apply to about 100 restaurants and asked Mr. Adams whether the rule would bring about enough emissions controls to be worth it. In their Wednesday letter, the six Republican lawmakers similarly argued that regulating wood and coal-fired ovens in the city would have a relatively small impact on the citys air quality.

We must also consider the relatively minute impact of pizzerias on overall air quality compared to other industrial and transportation sectors, the Republican lawmakers wrote. Singling out these small businesses while larger polluters remain unaddressed, will not yield the same emissions reduction as other measures could.

Thus far, the mayor has argued that the city should seek to reduce every source of air pollution it can, regardless of its overall contributions.

Lets be clear. Every toxic entity that we remove from our air is adding up to the overall desire to deal with shrinking our carbon footprint, Mr. Adams stated during the June 26 press conference. And as I stated, lets let the public weigh in, and then we could have a conversation if were going to move forward or not.

From NTD News
New York to Deploy Shark Monitoring Drones to Beaches Amid Rise in Attacks

A drone is flown in for a landing after a shark patrol flight at Jones Beach State Park in Wantagh, N.Y., on July 6, 2023. (John Minchillo/AP Photo)

In response to a slew of shark sightings and reported attacks across beaches in New York, authorities announced that dozens of new drones will be deployed to monitor the states coastlines to ensure beachgoers safety.

Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a press release on July 7 that the squadron of drones will be deployed to local beach communities on Long Island and New York City. The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation and the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) will also increase their surveillance over the waters in response to a rise in shark sightings over the 4th of July holiday.

Ahead of the busy summer season, we developed new tools and strategies to monitor marine wildlife and protect the health and safety of New Yorkers, Ms. Hochul said. These new drones will increase the shark monitoring capacity of local governments across Long Island and New York City, ensuring local beaches are safe for all beachgoers.

The move comes after five people, including two minors, reported being bitten this week in waters of some of New Yorks most popular beaches, leading to heightened surveillance of the areas coastlines.

The sighting of a 10-foot shark on Thursday prompted officials to keep people out of the water at Robert Moses State Park, the same Long Island beach that delayed its July 4 opening after a drone spotted a group of 50 sand sharks off the coast.

In its latest update, Ms. Hochuls office said that swimming would be suspended when shark sightings and/or encounters with swimmers occur, noting that beachgoers must immediately clear the waters and that people will only be allowed to resume swimming at least one hour after the last shark sighting. Lifeguards, park police, and coastline staff will continuously patrol the waters for shark activities during this time.

Cary Epstein, lifeguarding supervisor, monitors the waters from above as he operates a drone for a shark patrol flight at Jones Beach State Park in Wantagh, N.Y., on July 6, 2023. (John Minchillo/AP Photo)

New Yorks shores are home to a wild and natural marine ecosystem that supports the annual migration of sharks to our coastal waters. While human-shark interactions are rare, DEC encourages the public to follow shark safety guidance to help minimize the risk of negative interactions with sharks this summer, New York DEC commissioner Basil Seggos said in a press release.

Just a few years ago, encounters with sharks were rare. But more recently, reports of sharks biting people have increased. Last year, eight people reported being bitten by sharks swimming in the shallows off Long Islands beaches.

George Gorman, the states park director in Long Island, said the summer season has just begun, and the area already saw a spate of shark sightings and five people bitten.

We are now more vigilant than ever, Mr. Gorman said. We have drones in the sky that watch over the waters. We have lifeguards on WaveRunners that watch over the waters.

To minimize the risk of shark encounters, the DEC said swimmers should avoid areas with seals, schools of fish or diving seabirds, and murky waters. The agency also urges swimmers to avoid swimming at dusk, night, and dawn, stay close to the shore, and swim in groups. The full shark safety guidance can be found here.

Recent Shark Attacks

Prior to 2022, New York had only recorded a dozen unprovoked bites. Over the last decade, there were just four people bitten by sharks, according to data compiled by the International Shark Attack File, which tracks shark attacks around the world.

The first known encounter of the summer happened on Monday when a 15-year-old girl felt a bite on her leg while swimming. At a different beach soon after, another teen had to paddle back to shore after something began nibbling on his toes.

A day later, on the 4th of July, two men reported bites, possibly by sharks, in two separate encounters 60 miles apart. Although none of this weeks injuries were very serious, Gorman and others said theyre concerned by the rise in shark encounters.

About a dozen species of sharks swim off the coast of Long Island, none of them considered particularly ferocious, including the sand sharks that are more common in the area and grow to nearly 15 feet. Their sharp, jagged teeth might cause a fright, but the giant fish are usually docile and typically avoid human contact. A nursery for juvenile sharks is known to exist off Fire Island.

Sand sharks are unlikely to attack humans unless provoked, according to shark biologists. If they do interact with swimmers, its usually unintentional.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

From NTD News
Pentagon Faces Pressure Over $6.2 Billion Accounting Error as House Panel Demands Accountability

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin at the Pentagon in Arlington, Va., on Nov. 29, 2022. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

The Pentagon is facing calls for accountability from House lawmakers over a multibillion-dollar accounting error relating to military aid to Ukraine.

Our committee is alarmed by the Pentagons financial management practices, particularly regarding the recent overestimation in the value of weapons sent to Ukraine by $6.2 billion, the Republican-led House Oversight Committee said in a statement on July 7.

Earlier in June, the Department of Defense (DoD) said it had overcounted the value of the weapons it sent to Ukraine over the past two years by $6.2 billion, calling the incident a series of valuation errors.

Now the Pentagon is facing more scrutiny over the error as lawmakers in Congress are demanding a briefing to grill Pentagon officials on how these accounting mistakes occurred and what improvements should be made to the DODs financial management systems to prevent similar problems in the future.

DODs recently discovered accounting error of $6.2 billion is yet another example of the failures within DODs financial management systems, and raises more concerns about DODs ability to protect taxpayer funds, House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) and Subcommittee on National Security Chairman Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-Wi.) wrote in a letter to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin (pdf).

The two lawmakers demanded a briefing from the Pentagon on how it plans to use the $6.2 billion in taxpayer funds that are now available and what kind of accountability mechanisms are in place within the DOD to make sure that taxpayer funds are spent properly and similar errors do not occur in the future.

Comer and Grothman added that they would also demand to learn during the briefing how the Pentagon is making sure that weapons stockpiles that are vital for Americas national security are being replenished.

The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Epoch Times.

The Pentagon building is seen in Washington in a file photograph. (AFP via Getty Images)

The letter follows the July 6 announcement of a joint hearing by the Oversight Committee and the Subcommittee on National Security, which aims to examine the financial practices of the Pentagon.

For too long the Department of Defense has operated on its own terms and has clearly failed to ensure taxpayer dollars are not lost to waste, fraud, or abuse, Subcommittee Chairmen Grothman and Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas) said in a statement.

Its time to examine how a lack of accountability within DoD has resulted in failed audits and consider meaningful solutions to make sure DoD has the tools necessary to ensure fiscal responsibility, they added.

More Details

When the Pentagon announced the accounting error in June, a spokesperson said that the mistake occurred because U.S. military officials didnt count the actual value of depleted weapons stockpiles but instead used the value of the replacing the weapons.

In a significant number of cases, services used replacement costs rather than net book value, thereby overestimating the value of the equipment drawn down from U.S. stocks and provided to Ukraine, said deputy Pentagon press secretary Sabrina Singh.

Specifically, there was an error of $2.6 billion in the 2022 fiscal year and $3.6 billion in the current fiscal year, which ends on Sept. 30.

We have confirmed that for FY23, the final calculation is $3.6 billion, and for FY22 it is $2.6 billion, for a combined total of $6.2 billion, Ms. Singh added. These valuation errors in no way limit or restricted the size of any of our PDAs or impacted the provision of support to Ukraine.

Presidential drawdown authority, or PDA, is a mechanism the Biden administration is using to expedite the transfer of weapons and other equipment to Ukraine.

The final calculation of the accounting error was almost twice as high as what the Pentagon estimated in May.

Ukraine Counteroffensive

Ukraines counter-offensive against Russian forces is going more slowly than some expected, but it remains too early to draw conclusions about Kyivs prospects for battlefield gains, a senior Pentagon official said on Friday.

The United States and other allies have spent months building Ukraine a so-called mountain of steel of weaponry and training Ukrainian forces in combined arms techniques to help Kyiv pierce formidable Russian defenses during its counter-offensive.

Ukrainian servicemen ride on a tank not far from the front line in the Kharkiv region, on July 6, 2023, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Sergey Bobok/AFP via Getty Images)

But Russia also spent months digging into defensive positions, surrounding them with landmines and building heavily armed fortifications that have made Ukrainian advances in the east and south slow and bloody.

Colin Kahl, the Pentagons top policy advisor, told reporters Russia was more successful digging in than perhaps was fully appreciated.

He expressed confidence Kyiv was doing its best in a difficult fight.

Its too early to judge how the counter offensive is going one way or the other because were at the beginning of the middle, Mr. Kahl said at the Pentagon.

They are still probing Russian lines (and) Russian areas for weak spots. And the real test will be when they identify those, how rapidly theyre able to exploit those weak spots.

Mr. Kahls remarks came as he announced the provision of cluster munitions that the Pentagon hopes will help ensure Ukraine has enough firepower.
Photo taken on Nov. 7, 2022 shows tower cranes at a construction site in Berlin, Germany. (Xinhua/Ren Pengfei)

Experts said that the German economy is rather unpredictable as it continues to run at a slow pace and remains under pressure.



FRANKFURT, July 7 (Xinhua) -- As German manufacturing orders have increased at their highest rate since June 2020, a moderate recovery in industrial activity is expected in the coming months. However, experts warn that weak production threatens to prolong the recession in Germany.



New orders in Germany's manufacturing sector in May rose by 6.4 percent in real terms compared with the previous month, marking the highest growth rate since June 2020, the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) said on Thursday.

Despite the pessimistic outlook among businesses, "the recent stabilization of demand points to a recovery, albeit initially moderate, in industrial activity in the coming months," the German Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) said in a news release on Friday.

People queue to enter a pharmacy in Munich, Germany, on Jan. 15, 2021.(Photo by Philippe Ruiz/Xinhua)

Industrial orders in Germany surpassed economists' expectations with a notable increase, but the industrial production data released on Friday did not sustain the positive momentum.

German industry produced 0.2 percent less in May than in the previous month, Destatis said on Friday. Economists had predicted a stagnation in production.

The 13.1 percent slump in the output of pharmaceutical products and the 7 percent drop in energy production have had a significant negative effect on overall performance, while manufacturers of motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers reported a 4.9 percent production increase, Destatis noted.

This photo taken on March 25, 2023 shows a Deutsche Bank branch in Berlin, Germany. (Xinhua/Ren Pengfei)

Experts said that the German economy is rather unpredictable as it continues to run at a slow pace and remains under pressure.

Alexander Krueger, chief economist with the German private bank Hauck Aufhauser Lampe Privatbank, described the production outlook for the second half of the year as severely clouded. Aggressive location policies have long been required to reverse the trend, he added.

This photo taken on Jan. 13, 2023 shows tower cranes at a construction site in Berlin, Germany. (Xinhua/Ren Pengfei)

The building sector, which has experienced a severe decrease in incoming orders, will have a significant impact on the shrinkage of the German economy in the second half of the year, according to Ralph Solveen, economist at the German Commerzbank. 
Philippines Raises Alarm Over Increase in Chinese Boats in Disputed Sea

An activist holds a prop with the words "defend West Philippine Sea" during a protest outside the Chinese Consulate in Manila's financial district, guarded by Philippine police, on the anniversary of an international arbitral court ruling invalidating Beijing's historical claims over the waters of the South China Sea in Makati City, Philippines, on July 12, 2021. (Eloisa Lopez/Reuters)

MANILAThe Philippine military on Friday reported an alarming increase in the number of Chinese fishing vessels in disputed waters in the South China Sea, which it said threatens the security of the oil and gas-rich Reed Bank.

From only a dozen in February, the number of Chinese fishing vessels swarming in Iroquois reef, just south of the Reed Bank, has risen to 47 as of last month, according to the militarys Western Command (WESCOM).

China must cease its swarming of vessels to respect our sovereign rights, Ariel Coloma, spokesperson for the Western Command, said in a statement.

The Philippines won a landmark arbitration case in 2016 that invalidated Chinas expansive claims in the South China Sea, where about $3 trillion worth of sea-borne goods pass every year.

The ruling, which treaty ally United States backs and the Chinese regime refuses to recognize despite being a signatory, clarified Philippine sovereign rights in its 200-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ) to access offshore oil and gas fields, including the Reed Bank, where a natural gas exploration project operated by Philippine firm PXP Energy Corp. has been stalled.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told his Philippine counterpart, Gilbert Teodoro, on Thursday that the United States commitment to the defense of its ally was ironclad, including in the South China Sea, according to a U.S. summary of the call, drawing a rebuke from the Chinese regime.

At a regular press conference, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin accused the United States of sowing discord between countries in the region, while maintaining the actions of the Chinese Coast Guard were legitimate and lawful, and therefore beyond reproach despite the unease voiced by the Philippines.

Mr. Wang was not asked about the swarming and there was no immediate comment from the Chinese embassy in Manila about it.

Philippine military said their flights had also recorded the presence of three China Coast Guard ships and two Chinese navy vessels regularly loitering at Sabina Shoal, which like Iroquois, is inside the Philippine EEZ.

These developments raise alarming concerns about Chinas intentions and actions within these disputed waters, WESCOM said.

The Philippines on Wednesday accused the China Coast Guard of harassment, obstruction, and dangerous maneuvers against its vessels, after another incident near a strategic feature of the South China Sea.
Pulling Out Every Stop: Activists Looking to Disqualify Trump Under 14th Amendment

Two civil rights groups are launching a campaign to block former President Donald Trump from becoming president once more, citing alleged violations of the 14th Amendment related to the Jan. 6 incident.

The groups Free Speech for People and MI Familia Vota will hold multiple rallies and banner drops for a week beginning Sunday outside the offices of the secretaries of state of Oregon, Georgia, Colorado, and California. The duty of certifying the eligibility of political candidates and counting votes in the state falls on the secretaries of state. The protests are part of a campaign from the groups seeking to ban Mr. Trump from running for the 2024 presidential election due to his alleged involvement in the Jan. 6 Capitol breach.

Because of his role in inciting, encouraging, and supporting the January 6th insurrection, Trump is constitutionally ineligible for any future run for office, Free Speech for People said on its website.

Section 3 of the 14th Amendment was enacted in the wake of the civil war. It prohibits former officers of the United States who engaged in insurrection or rebellion from seeking public office. The provision was enacted to exclude former Confederate officers from holding federal and state office. It is not clear whether Section 3 applies to a U.S. president.

People have spoken out against the leftist campaigns against Mr. Trump. Have the Dems ever been as afraid of getting trounced by a [Republican] presidential candidate this badly before? Nothing like it, Jeff Clark, a former official from the Department of Justice, said in a July 8 tweet.

Its 14th [Amendment] disqualification now. Theyre pulling out every stop & every start & every pause they can think of against Trump.

In a recent interview with the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Nevada Republican Party Chairman Michael McDonald said that efforts to prohibit Mr. Trump from running for the 2024 presidency should be a wake-up call for all GOP members.

The Democrats and liberal side of the Democratic Party will go to all extreme measures to make sure President Trump is not on the ballot, he said. That should be on the minds of Republicans in Nevada. They need to make their voices heard and stand up and fight for the man whos been fighting for them.

Using 14th Amendment Against Trump

In an interview with CBS back in January 2021, Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D), who had voted to convict Mr. Trump in the impeachment push following the Jan. 6 incident, raised doubts about using the 14th Amendment to bar the former President in the upcoming election.

Because the 14th Amendment is not explicit on how you determine whether someone participated in an insurrection, he said. If they had been convicted of that in a court of law, then I can understand how you can use it as a predicate for prohibiting people from running for office.

But there is a real serious question, if that conviction has not taken place, whether the Congress can have a finding, or the Senate can have a finding that they are guilty of insurrection and whether thats sufficient. So its unresolved.

The Senate had acquitted Mr. Trump from the impeachment charge of inciting an insurrection. Though there have been arguments that Congress could decide to bar Mr. Trump from elections through a simple majority in the House and the Senate, the U.S. Constitution prohibits such moves.

Article I, Section 9, Clause 3 of the Constitution specifically bans Congress from passing any bills of attainder, a legal term for using a legislative act to declare any individual to be guilty of crime. The power to determine whether a person is guilty or not rests with the judiciary and not the legislative bodies.

An estimated 30,000 people flood the streets of Pickens, S.C., for a pre-Independence Day rally supporting former President Donald Trump as he is campaigning to retake the White House, on July 1, 2023. (Janice Hisle/The Epoch Times)

Meanwhile, former Vice President Mike Pence said that Mr. Trumps push to overturn the 2020 election is reason enough to disqualify the former President from once more running for office. Mr. Pence was speaking during the launch of his 2024 presidential campaign.

The American people deserve to know on that fateful day, President Trump also demanded I choose between him and our Constitution, Mr. Pence said, referring to the Jan. 6 incident, according to The Hill. Now, voters will be faced with the same choice. I chose the Constitution, and I always will.

By launching a presidential campaign, Mr. Pence has become the first vice president in modern times to challenge his former running mate for the GOP nomination.

According to data from Morning Consult, Donald Trump had 57 percent support in the GOP primaries as of June 27, leaving other contenders far behind. Mr. Pence only had 7 percent support.

Support for Mr. Trump does not seem to be waning despite the multiple charges raised against him. Following his indictment in Florida last month, the former president managed to pull in a crowd of 50,000 supporters at a rally in Pickens, South Carolina. The city only has a total population of about 3,000 people.
Sonya Cruz of Kenosha, Wisconsin, died from an infection caused by blastomyces, a rare fungus that releases harmful and potentially deadly spores into the air when disturbed.

The fungus is most prevalent in damp, forested areas of the soil. Once the spores settle in the lungs, it can cause an infection called blastomycosis and develop symptoms such as fever and cough. It can become serious and even deadly if untreated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Prior to Ms. Cruz contracting the deadly infection, her husband John Cruz had never heard of it.

My life. They took my life away from me. Im not saying the hospital or whoever. Whatever this is, took my wife, Mr. Cruz told Fox 6.

I can walk out here and swallow a bullet, not literally a bullet, but a bullet of that, he said. I think this is something that needs to be shared around the world.

Despite the rarity of cases, Wisconsin has some of the highest rates of blastomycosis in the country. The CDC states that Wisconsin reported the highest number of cases in the United States: 2.1 cases per 100,000 residents.

Its probably more common than we think, said Dr. Bruce Klein of the University of Wisconsin.

Thats probably only a fraction of the true occurrence of infection, because we know that at least half of the cases can have mild or asymptomatic illness, Dr. Klein said.

According to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, there were 1,142 incidents between 2011 and 2020, roughly 116 each year. Among these, 124 individuals died and 61.3 percent required hospitalization. During that time, there was a 10.9 percent fatality rate.

The CDC said that the rare fungus is also found in other Midwestern, South Central, and Southeastern states.

Its typically diagnosed through tests done on blood and urine samples. Body fluid and tissue culture tests can also indicate the infection but the report may take up to a couple of weeks to be generated.

Dr. Klein says treatment can work, but warned it can take between six months and a year. Infection is easy for even doctors to miss, so awareness is important, he said.

Shatrice Staten, Ms. Cruzs daughter, expressed her desire for no one to experience what her family is going through in the wake of her mothers untimely passing.

It just sucks. I had to watch my mom take her last breath. It really does, Ms. Staten said. I dont want anyone else to feel like what me and my dad going through.

A rare fungal outbreak earlier this year affected at least 109 people, with one death and 13 additional hospitalized patients.

The increase in cases in Michigan is assumed to be related to a paper mill in Escanaba, Upper Peninsula, and was brought on by blastomycosis.

From NTD News

What topics would you like to read about? Please let us know at health@epochtimes.nyc
Robodebt Report Evidence Now in Hands of Crime Fighters

A copy of the Report of the Royal Commission into the Robodebt Scheme is seen at Parliament House in Canberra, July 7, 2023. (AAP Image/Lukas Coch)

Federal police and the anti-corruption watchdog are considering civil and criminal evidence following a damning report into the robodebt scheme.

More than 100 ministers, advisers, public servants and contractors gave evidence in the royal commission, which tabled its report in federal parliament on July 7.

A sealed chapter of the report recommended the referral of a number of people for what the commission described as civil action or criminal prosecution.

The chapter was kept secret so as not to prejudice any future court cases.

Commissioner Catherine Holmes has also made submission to the heads of federal agencies, the Australian Public Service Commissioner, the National Anti-Corruption Commissioner, the president of the Law Society of the ACT and the Australian Federal Police.

Among those singled out in the report was former prime minister Scott Morrison, who was accused of misleading cabinet over the scheme.

Morrison rejected any suggestion of wrongdoing, saying the inquirys findings were based upon a fundamental misunderstanding of how government operates.

Commissioner Holmes did not recommend compensation for those impacted by the scheme, or an apology from bureaucrats.

Holmes report outlined a litany of human impacts, including families struggling to make ends meet and young people driven to despair and suicide.

Madeleine Masterton, who was the litigant in the first robodebt test case, said was not concerned about a lack of an apology but welcomed the commissioners call for higher welfare payments.

Masterton said she was gratified to see the failures laid out clearly and the horror of having targeted people with the least capacity to navigate a complex system.

The amount of work I had to do to answer the debt notice was incomprehensible and I cannot imagine what it was like for those who speak another language, or those with disability, Masterton said.

The former coalition government launched its crackdown on suspected welfare fraud and non-compliance in mid-2015 in an effort to save billions of dollars.

It issued debt notices to people identified through a process called income averaging, which compared reported incomes with tax office data.

But it ended up delivering $406 million (US$270 million) in savings and costing $971 million (US$645 million).

The scheme was ruled unlawful by the Federal Court in 2019, after issues were raised by Victoria Legal Aid.

The commissioners final report represents a moment of justice and vindication for everyone who was harmed by this scheme, managing lawyer Miles Browne said.
Russian Pavilion Will Not Be Included in Edmonton Heritage Festival: Organizers

A folklore dancing group from Russia performs during the International Folk Festival Is Pariglias 2012 in Assemini, Sardinia, Italy, on Aug. 1, 2012. (Angyalosi Beata/Shutterstock)

The Russian pavilion will not be part of the Edmonton Heritage Festival next month due to safety concerns, organizers say.

In a public statement on July 7, the Edmonton Heritage Festival Association (EHFA) said the decision came after a long consultative process with both the Ukrainian and Russian pavilions ended in a stalemate.

Following a long consultative process that culminated in a meeting with both pavilions together in the same meeting space last week, it became very clear to the EHFA that it was not possible for the two pavilions to come up with a solution together despite best efforts, the EHFA board wrote.

As much as we do our best to stay out of the politics that are reflected in the countries that represent the cultures that make up our festival, conflicts do exist and can escalate to the point where they cannot be ignored.

According to EHFA, Ukrainian organizations and community members had urged the association to bar the Russian pavilion due to the ongoing war between the two nations.

Threats

The board said it has also received several threats demanding the ban. It did not specify what the threats were and from whom, but added that the Edmonton Police Service has advised that increased security is needed should the Russian pavilion be included in the annual August festival.

Last year, the Russian pavilion organizers voluntarily pulled out of the festival, but the EHFA noted there were incidents related to the war that festival security had to address.

While these incidents did not pose a safety threat, they did highlight the potential for safety risks if the Russian pavilion had participated last year, it said.

Despite our confidence in our ability to put on a safe festival we recognize that if the Russian pavilion were to participate in the festival this year there is a real potential for incidents and potential safety risk.

Natalia Pociurko, president of the Friends of the Ukrainian Heritage Pavilion Society, says EHFA made the right decision.

We feel its the right decision considering that the war is going on and every day, probably as we speak, innocent children and civilians are dying in Ukraine, said the president in an interview with CTV News Edmonton on July 7.

Providing the stage to celebrate this culture as the war is going on, and considering all the crimes that have been committed, its not the right thing.

The Russian Heritage Cultural Development Association (RHCDA) responded shortly on the same day after EHFAs announcement.

It is embarrassing that the City is not able to guarantee safety at a public event, and that the only solution to the problem is to exclude a group of Canadians based on their ethnical background, said the RHCDA in a public statement.

We truly believed that the phrase promoting inclusion and limiting discrimination copied from the festival website means something. Now we feel that it does not.

There have been a number of cancellations of or attacks on Russian culture-related entities in Canada and other Western countries since Russias invasion of Ukraine. Early last year, the Montreal Symphony Orchestra cancelled concerts by a young Russian pianist, and several prominent orchestras or ballet companies cancelled the performances of classical Russian pieces or Russian artists. As well, the Russian Community Centre in Vancouver was vandalized in March 2022, and Russian businesses in Canada and the United States have been experiencing backlash.

The heritage festival will be held from Aug. 5 to Aug. 7.
Southern California Leaders Honored by Business Group at Bizzi Awards

Rachel Michelin (C), president of the California Retailers Association, accepts the Queen Bee award at the 2nd Annual Bizzi Awards held at the Japanese American National Museum in the Little Tokyo District of Los Angeles on June 28, 2023. (Jill McLaughlin/The Epoch Times)

Several business and government leaders were honored June 28 by the Los Angeles County Business Coalition (BizFed) at the 2nd Annual Bizzi Awards held at the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles.

The federation represents more than 215 business associations, 410,000 employers, and more than 5 million employees throughout the Southern California region.

We created the Bizzis to celebrate and honor excellent advocates for economic and business growth throughout L.A. County and really throughout southern California, BizFeds CEO Tracy Hernandez told a luncheon crowd at the awards ceremony.

The Bizzi Awards are recognitions of elected and business leaders who have invested time and resources to amplify the voice of local business owners as they bring jobs and opportunity to the community, according to Ms. Hernandez.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger received the organizations newly created Mayor Richard Riordan Legacy Award.

Mr. Riordan, a Republican, served as the 39th mayor of Los Angeles from 1993 to 2001. During his time in office, he was known for unifying the city after the Rodney King riots in 1992 and rebuilding part of the city following the devastating 1994 Northridge earthquake. He passed away April 20 at the age of 92.

Ms. Barger, also a Republican, has served the countys 5th district as supervisor since 2016. Before that, she was chief deputy supervisor and chief of staff to her predecessor Michael Antonovich, who called himself the Mayor of Los Angeles County.

What an honor to have an award named after someone who I looked up to, Ms. Barger said. When [Mr. Riordan] was elected, he focused on business and making the city business-friendly.

He also focused on children, which is near to her heart, Ms. Barger said.

She also talked about her role regarding COVID-19 pandemic policies and her work to continue toward the effort of making businesses stronger following the closures.

I will always be there to represent businesses, Ms. Barger said.

California Assemblywoman Blanca Rubio (D-Los Angeles) received the award as the Elected Official of the Year in Los Angeles Countys 2nd District.

According to Ms. Rubio, she is the chair of the Assemblys Moderate Caucus.

My job, aside from doing all of the legislation, is also to make sure that the business community has a voice, she said.

Ms. Rubio thanked the group for the award and shared some of her advice for businesses.

I am here to tell you that you have folks in Sacramento that have your back but you also have to advocate for yourself, she said. The days of you sitting on the sidelines are over. You have to step up. With you on our side, we are able to accomplish what we can do on your behalf.

Jennifer Hernandez, a land-use and environmental law attorney with Holland and Knight, garnered the Policy Changemaker of the Year award.

When things get this bad, it really does take a village, she said during her acceptance speech. I do not accept that progressive politics means  that a working family cant afford to buy a home. That progressive politics means we count people and jobs leaving California as climate-change progress. This is nonsense. I invite all of us to just recognize and stand up. Its dumb and its time to call it. And we have justice on our side.

Roozbeh Farahanipour, the owner of Delphi Greek Restaurant, Mary and Robbs Westwood Cafe, and Persian Gulf Bakery in Los Angeles and a board member of the Los Angeles County Business Federation, was a sponsor of this years awards and catered the event.

We are honored to sponsor this years Bizzi Awards, Mr. Farahanipour said before introducing another award-winner Traci Park, a Los Angeles City councilwomanelected in 2022who received the Courage-to-Run Award.

Rachel Michelin, president of the California Retailers Association, received the biggest prize, the Queen Bee Award, and was commended for her leadership and advocacy of business organizations in the state.

Ms. Michelin has led the call recently to address the states retail crime problems.

I believe in California. I believe that this is still one of the best places to live, Ms. Michelin said. I still think its a great place to do business.

Patty Senecal, the senior director for Western States Petroleum Associations Southern California region, additionally accepted the Bizzi Award for advocate of the year.

Its been an amazing 13 years and Ive learned so much from so many different industries. We are doers. We look at a glass as refillable. The glass is refillable for busy bees. Our beehive is very busy, she said. We are basically a collective voice. Business makes our region work, and business makes California work.

Others honored at the event include the following:
Texas Officials Name Suspect Arrested and Charged in Arson That Killed 5 in San Marcos in 2018

SAN MARCOS, TexasOfficials in San Marcos, Texas, have named the man charged with intentionally starting a fire five years ago which killed five people and displaced 200 others.

Jacobe De Leon O Shea Ferguson, of Austin, was arrested early Wednesday, Jonathan Henderson, Fire Marshal for the San Marcos Fire Department announced in a news conference Thursday.

Mr. Ferguson was a student at Texas State University in San Marcos at the time of the fire, Mr. Henderson said.

Mr. Ferguson is accused of setting the July 20, 2018, blaze which damaged the Iconic Village and Vintage Pads apartments in San Marcos, a city of almost 70,000 people southwest of Austin.

Mr. Ferguson didnt live in the building where the fire happened, Mr. Henderson said. He and other officials declined to say where Mr. Ferguson did live at the time.

They also declined to comment on any suspected motive.

No attorney was immediately listed for Mr. Ferguson in Hays County records.

People who lost loved ones in the fire and those who still bear injuries have known since late 2018 that the fire was set on purpose. Federal officials determined it was arson, and the five deaths were ruled homicides.

Brian Frizzell, whose 19-year-old daughter died in the fire, thanked authorities for not giving up on the case.

We are thankful this day has finally come, Mr. Frizzell said at the news conference.

A San Marcos official embraces Brian Frizzell, father of fire victim Haley Frizzell, after his remarks during a press conference at San Marcos Fire Station Five in San Marcos, Texas, on July 6, 2023, about an arrest made in a 2018 deadly fire. (Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman via AP)

Mr. Ferguson is being held at the Hays County Jail on one count of arson causing bodily injury or death, a first degree felony which is punishable with up to life in prison.
Here stands the writing desk of a mysterious king who was embroiled in political intrigue during the 19th century. Its opulent exterior still exudes royalty while its clandestine interior once kept its owners secrets safe in the shadows.

A sympathizer of rebellion in an age of monastic pushback, King Carlo Alberto of Sardinia (1798-1849) had this stationery specially crafted for his purposes. It is rife with secret compartments, for he may have housed correspondences that he wished to conceal from prying eyes.

By some twist of fate, however, this jewel of a desk landed in New Orleans, at the auction house M. S. Rau, where it will soon find its way into the hands of the highest bidder. It could end up in a lawyers office perhaps, or become the crown jewel of a luxurious den, as its future owner carries its historic legacy forward.

As you might imagine, this royal stationery, crafted around 1840, will cost more than pocket change; bidding starts at $266,500.

The writing table and armchair that belonged to King Carlo Alberto of Sardinia (1798-1849). (Courtesy of M.S. Rau, News Orleans)

A secret compartment pops up from the center of the writing tables desktop. (Courtesy of M.S. Rau, News Orleans)

No section of this royal writing table and matching armchair goes undecorated. Carvings and inlaid wood sprawl all across its polished surface. It is crafted from the finest Cuban mahogany, satinwood, and boxwood. Intricate scrollwork and foliate swags adorn the whole, while there are carved roses on the outside with matching roses insidesymbolizing royalty. Lion masks adorn the chair arms, while carved lions feet rest at the base. Even the lions claws are inlaid with boxwood.

Yet much of this pieces intricacy goes unseen, alluding to the mystery of that Sardinian king. There are secret drawers and release buttons on every part of the desk. The turn of a key releases two identical compartments at the front, each revealing architectural facades. One features a wooden bust of Socrates surrounded by hidden drawers disguised as carved columns.

With compartments inside compartmentswe counted 35 in allthe secrets seem endless.

The writing desk, made of the finest Cuban mahogany, inlaid with boxwood, exudes royal majesty. (Courtesy of M.S. Rau, News Orleans)

A writing slope comes out with the press of a button. (Courtesy of M.S. Rau, News Orleans)

A bust of Socrates is featured inside one of the secret compartments. (Courtesy of M.S. Rau, News Orleans)

More secret compartments are stored within, each of which is released by a series of button mechanisms. (Courtesy of M.S. Rau, News Orleans)

Dozens of nooks are concealed within the beautiful structure of this desk, accessible only with a key and proper know-how, Kristin Core, of M. S. Rau, told The Epoch Times. King Carlo Alberto orchestrated many political actions, meaning there was never a shortage of confidential correspondence and plans to be stored.

Another novel feature of this desk consists of a charming mini-desk that pops up from the center of the ornately inlaid desktop. The smaller of the two units even has its own tiny drawers hidden behind doors that release with the press of a button. Even the armchair hides cubby holes, under its seat and throughout its frame.

You can call him either cautious or paranoid but given that he had many workers in his space, he certainly wanted to keep sensitive documents hidden, Ms. Core said. Thus, the many hidden compartments were an ingenious solution to his privacy concerns.

An M. S. Rau auctioneer presses a hidden button located inside the hidden drawers to release more secret compartments. (Courtesy of M.S. Rau, News Orleans)

A miniature desk pops out from the center of the desktop at the push of a button. (Courtesy of M.S. Rau, News Orleans)

The miniature desk has its own hidden drawers. (Courtesy of M.S. Rau, News Orleans)

When the auction house first obtained the desk and chair, the previous owner only said there were many hidden compartments; there was no how-to video, Ms. Core said. Yet, being experts in antique furniture, the auctioneers were soon able to unlock all the desks secretsthat they know of.

It took our art handlers a few weeks to find all the compartments! Ms. Core said. Thankfully theyre an energetic group of problem solvers, so it wasnt too much of a burden.

The experienced auctioneers now can open the desk fully in a few short minutes. They demonstrate some of its highlights, and the fully opened desk, in a clip they posted online.

The King Behind the Desk

The life of King Carlos Alberto is complex as he lived during turbulent times. His actions as a monarch ranged from revolutionary to absolutist. A supporter of the European Liberalist movement, he was associated with the first Italian Constitution and fought in support of constitutional monarchy. He later withdrew his support and joined the Royalist expansion against the Spanish Liberals.

King Carlo Alberto was responsible for leading Sardinia into the First War of Independence (1848-1849), which saw Italy through her first steps towards unification. After being defeated by absolutist Austria in 1849, however, the king abdicated the throne to his son, Victor Emmanuel II. He then departed for exile to Oporto, Portugal, where he died the same year.

(Left) A detail of King Carlo Alberto of Sardinias writing desk (Courtesy of M.S. Rau, News Orleans); (Right) A portrait of King Carlo Alberto of Sardinia (1798-1849) painted circa 1831-1833. (Public Domain)

Ornate floral designs and roses are carved into the exterior of the desk. (Courtesy of M.S. Rau, News Orleans)

The base of the desk features lions feet whose claws are inlaid with boxwood. (Courtesy of M.S. Rau, News Orleans)

Bill Rau from M. S. Rau displays the desk of King Carlo Alberto with its secret compartments fully opened and on display. (Courtesy of M.S. Rau, News Orleans)

(Courtesy of M.S. Rau, News Orleans)

As for how the desk of King Carlo Alberto found its way into the hands of its latest owners, Ms. Core could only say, We wish we knew all of the mysteries this desk holds! She told us what they do know, that it was crafted for King Carlo Alberto of Sardinia around 1840 and stayed with the kings descendants for quite a long time.

The Sardinian king spared no expense in this desk. Although today much of its history eludes us, one thing remains clear: The majesty, craftsmanship, and thought process behind the whole could only have been meant for royalty.

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Ukraines Zelenskyy Visits Istanbul for Talks With Turkish President

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks during a press conference in Lviv, Ukraine, on Jan. 11, 2023. (Yuriy Dyachyshyn/AFP via Getty Images)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on July 7 visited Istanbul, where he held talks with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

It was Mr. Zelenskyys first trip to Turkeya longstanding NATO membersince Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine early last year.

At a joint press conference held after the talks, Mr. Erdogan noted that Ankara had made intense efforts to end the conflict through negotiations based on international law.

In March 2022, the Russian and Ukrainian foreign ministers met in the Turkish city of Antalya for prospective peace talks. Soon afterward, delegations from both countries held further negotiations in Istanbul.

Although hailed by all sides as constructive, the talks failed to produce any tangible breakthroughs.

The Ukrainian people are defending their countrys territorial integrity and independence, Mr. Erdogan said at the press conference. From the moment the danger of conflict emerged, we made every effort to prevent war.

Despite differences in understanding between the parties, it is our most sincere desire to return to the search for peace as soon as possible.

The Turkish leader asserted that Ankaras relations with Kyiv are now stronger in every way, despite everything that has happened.

Mr. Zelenskyy, for his part, thanked Turkey for the support it has shown for Ukraines territorial integrity and for hosting Ukrainian refugees.

I am here in Istanbul to thank everyone who wants peace for our country and people, he said.

The last time Mr. Erdogan met with his Ukrainian counterpart was in August 2022 in Lviv, Ukraine.

Shortly before the press conference, Turkish and Ukrainian representatives signed an agreement toward greater defense industry cooperation.

While Ankara has condemned Russias invasion of Ukraine, it has also declined to support Western-led sanctions on Moscow. It also maintains good relations with Russia, with which it shares extensive trade ties and a lengthy maritime border.

Commercial vessels part of the Black Sea grain deal wait to pass the Bosphorus strait off the shores of Yenikapi during a misty morning in Istanbul on Oct. 31, 2022. (Umit Bektas/Reuters/File Photo)

Black Sea Grain Deal

At the press conference, Mr. Erdogan voiced hope that a year-old agreement between Russia and Ukraine, which allows the latter to export grain through the Black Sea, would remain intact.

Brokered by Turkey and the U.N. last summer, the deal has thus far allowed more than 30 million tons of Ukrainian grain to be exported to international buyers.

However, the deal is set to expire on July 17, and Moscow has threatened to not renew it, saying its own demands to export Russian grain and fertilizeras enshrined in the agreementhavent been met.

We are working on how long we can extend [the deal] after July 17, Mr. Erdogan said. We hope it will be extended at least once every three months.

We will make an effort in this regard and try to increase its duration to two years. I believe the relevant parties will act with a sense of global responsibility for this purpose.

Mr. Zelenskyy, for his part, said its crucial to take action in such a way that the life of the grain corridor  does not depend on the mood of the Russian president.

Early last month, Mr. Erdogan held separate phone calls with both his Russian and Ukrainian counterparts, during which he stressed the grain deals vital role in allaying global food shortages.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg speaks during a press conference ahead of a meeting of NATO foreign ministers, at NATO headquarters in Brussels on April 3, 2023. (Geert Vanden Wijngaert/AP Photo)

Kyivs NATO Bid

Mr. Erdogan also said that Ukraine deserves to be admitted to NATO, which remains one of Kyivs longstanding ambitions.

Before coming to Turkey, Mr. Zelenskyy visited NATO members Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia to drum up support for Kyivs bid to the Western military alliance.

The three countries leaders, along with NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg, have all voiced support for Ukraines eventual membership in the alliance.

Mr. Zelenskyy hopes Ukraine will be formally invited to join the alliance at a landmark NATO summit that will convene this week in Vilnius, Lithuania.

However, the issue remains the subject of debate among NATOs 31 current members, some of whom reportedly fear that the move would risk further escalation with Moscow.

Mr. Zelenskyy himself has acknowledged that his country is unlikely to be admitted to the alliance while it remains at war with Russia.

Shortly before the Ukrainian leaders arrival in Istanbul, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow would closely follow the meeting.

We are interested to know what Mr. Erdogan and Mr. Zelenskyy will talk about, Peskov said. We will certainly keep a close eye on the outcome of talks.

He also suggested that a PutinErdogan meeting may be convened in the foreseeable future.

Speaking at the press conference, Mr. Erdogan, who recently won reelection as president, said Mr. Putin could visit Turkey next month.

Reuters contributed to this report.
US Confirms Talks With Russia Over Prisoner Swap Involving WSJ Reporter

U.S. journalist Evan Gershkovich, arrested on espionage charges, stands inside a defendants' cage before a hearing to consider an appeal on his extended detention at The Moscow City Court in Moscow, Russia, on June 22, 2023. (Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP via Getty Images)

The United States confirmed on Friday that there have been talks with Russia to press for the release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, but forewarned that those discussions have not produced a clear pathway to a resolution.

Speaking at a news conference on July 7, White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said he had the opportunity to meet with Mr. Gershkovichs family and representatives for the New York-based newspaper to discuss the latest status of the case and the administrations efforts to secure the reporters release.

We did see the comments from the Kremlin that there have been contacts between the U.S. and Russia regarding Evan and other unjustly detained Americans, Mr. Sullivan said. It is true, and we have said, that we remain in contact with Russian authorities at high levels on these cases to try to figure out a way to bring unjustly detained Americans home.

I do not want to give false hope, he added. What the Kremlin said earlier this week is correct: There have been discussions. But those discussions have not produced a clear pathway to a resolution, and so I cannot stand here today and tell you that we have a clear answer to how we are going to get Evan home.

Earlier this week, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that Moscow was open to discussing a possible prisoner exchange that could involve Mr. Gershkovich and Vladimir Dunaev, a Russian citizen who is facing charges in the United States for alleged cybercrimes. However, Mr. Peskov underscored that such talks must be held out of the public eye.

We have said that there have been certain contacts on the subject, but we dont want them to be discussed in public, Mr. Peskov told reporters on Tuesday.

Mr. Gershkovich, a Moscow-based correspondent for the Journal, was arrested by the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) in late March on suspicion of being involved in espionage on behalf of the U.S. government. He is the first U.S. journalist to be detained in Russia since the Cold War.

The 31-year-old journalist was taken into custody in the city of Yekaterinburg while on a reporting trip. He is being held at Moscows Lefortovo prison, notorious for its harsh conditions. A Moscow court last week upheld a ruling to keep him in custody until Aug. 30.

Mr. Gershkovich and his employer deny the allegations, and the U.S. government has declared him to be wrongfully detained. His arrest rattled journalists in Russia. Authorities there have not provided any evidence to support the espionage charges.

During Fridays news conference, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said July 7 marks 100 days since Mr. Gershkovich was wrongfully detained by the FSB.

The world knows that the charges against Evan are baseless, Ms. Jean-Pierre said. He was arrested in Russia during the course of simply doing his job as a journalist. And he is being held by Russia for leverage because he is an American.

President [Joe Biden] has been very clear that we have no higher priority than securing the release of Evan, Paul Whelan, and all Americans wrongfully detained abroad, she continued, adding: Our message to Evan and Paul is this: Keep the faith. We wont stop until you are home.

Imprisoned Veteran

Mr. Whelan is a 53-year-old corporate security executive from Michigan who was arrested in December 2018. The U.S. Department of State marked the fourth anniversary of his detention in December 2022, decrying the unfathomable ordeal the veteran has endured.

Paul Whelan, a U.S. Marine veteran who was arrested for alleged spying in Moscow on Dec. 28, 2018, stands in a cage as he waits for a hearing in a courtroom in Moscow, Russia, on Aug. 23, 2019. (Alexander Zemlianichenko/File/AP Photo)

Russian authorities subjected him to a secret trial and sentenced him to 16 years in a Russian penal colony based on secret evidence, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement at the time. His detention remains unacceptable, and we continue to press for his immediate release at every opportunity.

Mr. Whelan was in Moscow for the wedding of a fellow Marine veteran on Dec. 28, 2018, when he was arrested on espionage charges. While the FSB said he was arrested while on a spy mission, he has maintained his innocence, insisting that he was set up.

The U.S. government has backed him in those claims, with Mr. Sullivan describing Mr. Whelans trial as a mockery of justice.

Previous attempts to secure Mr. Whelans release in a prisoner swap have failed, even as Russia agreed to a prisoner swap in which U.S. detainee WNBA player Brittney Griner was released in exchange for notorious arms dealer Viktor Bout. Initially, U.S. officials wanted to exchange both Mr. Whelan and Ms. Griner for Mr. Bout, but the Russian government did not agree to those terms.

Although Mr. Whelan was not included in the one-for-one swap that resulted in the release of Ms. Griner, the White House has repeatedly indicated that they remain committed to bringing him home.

We have also made clear for months noweven before Evan was detained, as we were dealing with Paul Whelanthat we are prepared to do hard things in order to get our citizens home, Mr. Sullivan said at Fridays press briefing.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

From NTD News
DHAKA, July 8 (Xinhua) -- As many as 299 people were killed and 544 others injured in 277 road crashes from June 22 to July 6 during the Muslim Eid al-Adha festival rush in Bangladesh, said a report published on Saturday.

According to Bangladesh Jatri Kalyan Samity, a passenger welfare association, road crashes have fallen 15.16 percent, fatalities dropped 33.11 percent, and injuries reduced 42.27 percent year-on-year.

The organization said it collected the data based on reports by national dailies, online news portals and electronic media in the South Asian country.

Mozammel Hoque Chowdhury, secretary general of the organization, revealed the information at a press conference in the capital Dhaka.

Besides the road crashes, 25 people were killed and 10 injured in railway-related accidents during the period.

Also, 16 died, 15 suffered injuries and six went missing in waterway accidents, the passenger welfare platform said.

Due to the government's continued efforts, according to the report, the condition of Bangladesh's roads and highways has relatively improved during this year's festival of animal sacrifice, which was celebrated on June 29. 
US Destroys Last of Its Chemical Weapons Stockpile

Workers at the Blue Grass Chemical Agent Destruction Pilot Plant in Richmond, Ky., begin the destruction of the first rocket from a stockpile of M55 rockets with GB nerve agent, on July 6, 2022. (U.S. Army via AP)

The United States has destroyed the last of its declared chemical weapons stockpile at a military installation in Kentucky.

President Joe Biden said in a White House statement that the final munition in the countrys stockpile was safely destroyed. The disarmament milestone brings the country one step closer to a world free from the horrors of chemical weapons, the president said.

The Defense Department announced that the final M55 rocket filled with sarin nerve agent was destroyed on Friday at the Blue Grass Army Depota U.S. Army Joint Munitions Command storage facility in Richmond, Kentucky. Sarin nerve agent, also known as GB nerve agent, is a deadly toxin. Some 51,000 such rockets had been held at the depot since the 1940s.

The final munitionmore than 100,000 mustard agent and nerve agent-filled projectiles and nerve agent-filled rocketswas destroyed via neutralization and explosive destruction technologies at the depot, the Pentagon announced.

An operator cuts the metal bands on a pallet of M55 rockets containing GB nerve agent at the Blue Grass Army Depot near Richmond, Ky., on July 6, 2022. (U.S. Army via AP)

Efforts to destroy chemical agents at the Blue Grass Army Depot began in June 2019, according to the Pentagon. All up, more than 523 U.S. tons of chemical agents were safely destroyed there.

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) praised the latest move.

Chemical weapons are responsible for some of the most horrific episodes of human loss, Mr. McConnell said in a statement. Though the use of these deadly agents will always be a stain on history, today our Nation has finally fulfilled our promise to rid our arsenal of this evil.

Self-Imposed Deadline Met

The milestone meets the United States self-declared commitment to destroy all chemical weapons by Sept. 30, 2023.

Chemical weapons were first used in modern warfare in World War I, where they were estimated to have killed at least 100,000 people. The United States began assembling chemical weapons during World War I and continued producing them until the late 1960s.

By the end of the Cold War, the stockpile had reached over 30,000 tons, held at eight facilities in continental United States and one site on Johnston Atoll in the Pacific Ocean.

Congress mandated the destruction of the U.S. chemical weapons stockpile in 1986, and the efforts to eliminate the stockpiles started in 1990 on Johnston Atoll.

While those stockpiles were under destruction, additional legislation required the Defense Department to assess and demonstrate alternative technologies to destroy chemical weapons by means other than incineration, the Pentagon said.

Successful implementation of alternative technologies resulted in the safe destruction of the remaining chemical weapons stored at the U.S. Army Pueblo Chemical Depot in Colorado and at the Blue Grass Army Depot in Kentucky.

Canisters of mustard gas, part of the U.S. chemical weapons stockpile, wait for destruction at the U.S. Army Pueblo Chemical Depot in Pueblo, Colo., on June 8, 2023. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

The Colorado and Kentucky sites were the last among where the nations chemical weapons had been stockpiled and destroyed. The other locations included facilities in Alabama, Arkansas, Oregon, and Utah.

Michael Abaie, the executive officer of the Pentagons Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives Program, said the facilities that were storing the chemical weapons will enter a closure phase for the next three to four years.

This includes disposal of secondary wastes, decontamination and decommissioning of facilities and equipment, disposition of property, demolition of some facilities, and close-out of contracts and environmental permits, Mr. Abaie said in a statement. During closure, the safety of the workforce, the public and the environment will remain the programs top priority.

A safety vehicle passing a compound filled with 170-gallon containers of mustard and blister agent at the Deseret Chemical Depot in Tooele, Utah, on April 30, 2001. (AP Photo/Douglas C. Pizac)

Chemical Weapons Convention

Mr. Biden said in his statement that eliminating the final chemical weapons not only makes good on our long-standing commitment under the Chemical Weapons Convention but also marks the first time an international body has verified destruction of an entire category of declared weapons of mass destruction.

The Chemical Weapons Convention is an international arms control treaty ratified by the United States in 1997, and was joined by 193 countries. The treaty bars members from developing, producing, acquiring, stockpiling, retaining, or transferring chemical weapons.

Mr. Biden urged Russia and Syria to return to compliance with the convention and admit their undeclared programs, which have been used to commit brazen atrocities and attacks. He also called on any holdout nations to join the convention.

Fridays announcement came as the Biden administration has also decided to provide so-called cluster munitions to Ukraine. These munitions, after they are fired, open in midair and release small bombs (bomblets) over a wide area to strike several targets simultaneously. They can be delivered by planes, artillery, and missiles.

Two-thirds of NATO countries have banned such weapons because they can cause many civilian casualties.

U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan said the decision will enable the Ukrainians to continue their war effort with the ordinance they need, and that Ukraine has promised to use the munitions carefully.

Michael Clements and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
US Eyes ASEAN Cooperation to Push Back Against China During Blinken Visit

A member of the Philippine coast guard vessel BRP Malabrigo manning his post while being shadowed by a Chinese coast guard ship at Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly Islands in the disputed South China Sea on April 23, 2023. (Ted Ajibe/AFP via Getty Images)

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit Indonesia this week for talks with Southeast Asian allies as the United States seeks to push back against Chinas coercive actions in the disputed South China Sea.

Mr. Blinken will travel to Indonesia for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers summit after concluding his trip to the UK and Lithuania, where hell join President Joe Biden for NATO meetings, a top U.S. official said on July 7.

Daniel Kritenbrink, the top U.S. diplomat for East Asia, said Mr. Blinken will hold multilateral engagements with ASEAN allies and partners to discuss economic cooperation, the ongoing crisis in Burma, and Russias war in Ukraine.

Mr. Kritenbrink said Washington seeks to strengthen partnerships with the 10-member bloc to push back against an upward trend of unhelpful, coercive, and irresponsible Chinese actions in the South China Sea.

The countries share a common view that all claimants of the South China Sea should adhere to international law when asserting their maritime claims and work toward peaceful resolutions, he said.

The United States doesnt expect the countries to choose sides but rather to ensure that all countries have the ability to make their own sovereign decisions, according to Mr. Kritenbrink.

Its not a matter of getting countries on board with the U.S. view, he told reporters. Its a matter of working with our ASEAN partners to advance our shared view and vision for the region, and to push back on behavior that runs counter to that vision and to those principles, including the many irresponsible acts that weve seen carried out by China over the last several years and in the last several weeks.

Beijing claims much of the South China Sea as its own territory under its so-called nine-dash line, amid competing claims from neighboring countries such as the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Brunei.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo, who holds the ASEAN presidency this year, has said that the bloc rejects any conflict in the Indo-Pacific and urged all parties to adhere to the 1982 U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea.

All claims that have no basis should not take place, Mr. Widodo told a Malaysian broadcaster on May 8. [The key is to] obey the international law. ASEAN will continue to push toward stability in the area.

Indonesia doesnt consider itself a party to the South China Sea dispute. However, Beijings claims of sovereignty over certain areas in the sea overlap with Indonesias exclusive economic zone.

Hotbed of Gray Zone Activity

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)

Raymond Powell, a former U.S. Air Force official, described the South China Sea as a hotbed of gray zone activity, where the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) can act without being directly seen, or noticed, or publicly held accountable.

When its a gray zone activity, generally speaking, the message is to the government of the country involved, and the message is: You dont want to escalate this. You want to have your relationship with China be as uncomplicated as possible. So now that you know were the jurisdiction here, keep this between us,' Mr. Powell, a fellow at the Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation, told Radio Free Asia on July 4.

Publicizing such incidents would impose a reputational cost on China for engaging in such conduct, although some nations may choose to remain silent and ultimately normalize a gray zone activity, he said.

The more you normalize the gray zone activity, the more they simply become expected, and eventually you will normalize yourself right out of all of your own legal and internationally lawful rights to your own exclusive economic zone, Mr. Powell said.

So every time they sail through your waters and do a survey or a patrol, or they harass your oil and gas operations, or they stop your fisherfolk from fishing, and you acquiesce, it brings into normalcy the fact that you are no longer in charge of your own waters.

The CCP has been behaving more aggressively in the South China Sea in recent months, as evidenced by the presence of more than 100 Chinese militia maritime vessels within the Philippines exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in April.

In February, the Philippine Coast Guard 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.
US Says No Reply From Beijing About China Rejoining Global Efforts to Fight Drugs

Law enforcement officials at the home of a man who was found dead from an apparent drug overdose in the Drexel neighborhood of Montgomery County, Ohio, on Aug. 3, 2017. (The Epoch Times)

China hasnt responded to an invitation to be part of the Global Coalition to Address Synthetic Drug Threats, probably because of its strained diplomatic relations with the United States, U.S. officials said.

U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said the United States is joining more than 80 countries and dozens of international agencies against the threat posed by synthetic opioids such as fentanyl.

Mr. Blinken delivered the opening remarks for the coalitions July 7 virtual meetings for world leaders to share resources, strategies, and information in the battle to control synthetic drugs.

China is a major source of the precursors used in producing fentanyl, a major problem in the United States.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the State Department in Washington on April 5, 2021. (Alexander Drago/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)

In an online news conference about the coalition meetings a day before, Todd D. Robinson, assistant secretary of state for the bureau of international narcotics and law enforcement affairs, said the Chinese had previously worked closely with the United States and that the door remains open to resume that cooperation.

Weve had successful cooperation in the past with the PRC [Peoples Republic of China] on counternarcotics. They have not engaged with us on this issue in recent months; we continue to actively seek their cooperation, Mr. Robinson said.

He added that China is still talking with other coalition countries and could be persuaded by them to do its part.

They are talking to other countries. And thats part of the reason were trying to bring this coalition together is to engage other countries, Mr. Robinson said.

This is not just about the United States and the PRC, referring to the acronym for the official name of mainland China: the Peoples Republic of China.

The Drug Enforcement Administration depicts the flow of illicit opioids from China into the United States in a recent report. (DEA)

The lack of open channels between the nations has reportedly prompted international concern, with Beijings reluctance to engage in regular military-to-military talks with Washington a source of alarm to Chinas neighbors.

The RussiaUkraine war has thrown the relationship among Russia, the United States, and China into stark relief, drawing international attention. Mr. Robinson said addressing the synthetic opioid problem could help bridge the gap.

This is a global problem thats going to require a global response. We think having other countries engage with the PRC will eventually bear fruit, he said.

Mexico, home of cartels that produce and smuggle fentanyl into the U.S., is expected to participate.

Mexico is on board, Mr. Robinson said.

An Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent checks automobiles for contraband in San Ysidro, Calif., on Oct. 2, 2019. (Sandy Huffaker/AFP via Getty Images)

In his opening remarks, Mr. Blinken outlined the scope of the problem in the United States. He said that in the United States, fentanyl is the top killer of people between ages 18 and 49. In the past year, 110,000 people died of a drug overdose. Two-thirds of them involved synthetic opioids.

He said the drugs have claimed more lives than guns and automobile crashes combined.

America is not alone in facing this challenge, Mr. Blinken said.

He stated that drug cartels and organized crime operations have adopted and co-opted legitimate business processes to do their work. He said they are adept at adjusting to market conditions, including law enforcement efforts to shut them down.

This illicit trade is built on the pillars of legitimate commerce, Mr. Blinken said.

US to Present Three-Step Plan

He said the United States would present a three-step plan for the coalition to consider. This would include disrupting the trafficking of precursors to stop the manufacturing of the drugs, working with other countries to detect emerging threats and patterns of drug use in society, and promoting public health services to address addiction.

Mr. Blinken said most coalition members are already working on such programs and that he hopes the coalition can take the best features of each and apply them.

This coalition is needed to build on these efforts, not take their place, Mr. Blinken said.

Murat Nurtleu, Kazakhstans minister of foreign affairs, said his country is in the grips of its own opioid issue. He said his government had identified 18,000 drug users but suspects that the total number is at least four times larger.

According to Mr. Nurtleu, Kazakhstan has spent $178 million to educate its young people about the dangers of drug abuse and enforce its laws. He said at least 70 illicit drug labs have been destroyed and 16 tons of drugs and 72 tons of the precursors to produce those drugs have been seized in the past week.

Partnerships Are Essential

He said partnering with other countries is essential.

Our successful partnership with the United States plays a crucial role in combatting illicit drugs, Mr. Nurtleu said.

Panel discussions were held later in the day to discuss the direction the coalition would take. Mr. Blinken said this began a process that will continue into March 2024.

The global coalition plans to reconvene on the margins of the 78th U.N. General Assembly and the March 2024 U.N. Commission on Narcotic Drugs. These gatherings will provide critical platforms to share progress and achievements.

Kathleen Li and Angela Bright contributed to this report.
Warning Defective Unit Balconies in Australia Are Risking Safety

A diptych of two supplied images obtained on July 7, 2023, of defective balconies found during flammable cladding inspections in Victoria. (AAP Image/Supplied by Cladding Safety Victoria)

Defective balconies might be commonplace in apartment blocks across the country, requiring costly repairs and putting the safety of residents at risk.

More than 550 damaged balconies had been found by Cladding Safety Victoria during inspections for flammable cladding, as of October 2022.

The authority is concerned the issue is widespread in unit blocks across Australia and not just confined to buildings that might have cladding issues.

Its research report showed half of all buildings that need to have dangerous cladding removed also had unrelated defects.

About one quarter had leaking balconies, terraces or balustrades that caused structural damage.

Almost one in five buildings with balcony issues also had black mould due to waterproofing issues.

While the source of the issue is primarily attributed to the builder, the problem of building defects more generally is, in Cladding Safety Victorias view, symptomatic of broader underlying levels of non-compliance with the National Construction Code, the report said.

Common areas of non-compliance were serious fire safety deficiencies, inadequate waterproofing and black mould in new buildings.

The authoritys chief executive Dan OBrien said balcony defects can cost up to $15,000 (US$10,000) to fix and encouraged all apartment owners to check that their balconies were safe.

For the buildings weve looked at, weve seen some substantial defects and weve got them fixed, OBrien told reporters on July 7.

As of October 2022, 339 buildings received funding to cover the cost of removing dangerous flammable cladding and that process had been completed on more than 270.

About two-thirds of buildings involved were low-rise apartment blocks.

Unexpected defects delayed remediation work by a minimum of about three months but was not covered by the government-funded cladding safety removal program.

The research paper said many insurance policies would not cover works related to faulty workmanship, general wear and tear or building defects, leaving owners to pick up the costs.

It found balcony defects tended to be more prevalent on buildings that contained timber frames and structural beams, however buildings with concrete slabs had noticeable issues with a lack of waterproof membranes.

The $600 million (US$399 million) cladding removal project was announced in 2019, two years after the Grenfell Tower fire in London that killed 72 people.

The Victorian government has been contacted for comment.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre defended the Biden administrations decision to send cluster munitions to Ukraine on Friday, when asked about the human rights issues related to this matter. UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Saturday clarified that his country is part of the Convention on Cluster Munitionsa treaty that bans the use of cluster munitions, among other thingsbut voiced his support for continuing to assist Ukraine.
Woman Found Dead in SUV Near Mexican Border; Husband Suspected

SAN DIEGOAuthorities reached out to the public on July 6 for help in finding a fugitive suspected of killing his wife, a Santa Barbara County resident whose body was found just north of the U.S.-Mexico line in San Ysidro on the Fourth of July.

German Luna Salazar, 44, allegedly bludgeoned 32-year-old Leyva Oregel Garcia to death and left her body in a parked SUV in the 4400 block of Camino De La Plaza, near Las Americas Premium Outlets mall, according to the San Diego Police Department.

A security guard discovered Oregel Garcias body shortly before 12:30 a.m. Tuesday.

After determining that the victim had died of blunt-force injuries, the county Medical Examiners Office ruled her death a homicide.

Oregel Garcia had been reported missing on July 2 in her hometown of Guadalupe, a small city about 20 miles south of San Luis Obispo, according to police.

Detectives have learned this appears to be a tragic case of domestic violence in which  Salazar has been identified as the suspect, police department Lt. Steve Shebloski said.

The last known sighting of Salazar was in the area where his wifes body was found. He was leaving the vicinity on foot, and investigators believe he may have headed south and entered Mexico.

San Diego police homicide detectives are currently working with investigators from the Guadalupe Police Department and Santa Barbara County Sheriffs Office to determine the circumstances surrounding [the victims] disappearance  and how she was found in San Diego, Shebloski said.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to call San Diego County Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477 or contact the agency online. Tipsters may remain anonymous and could be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.
Yellen Says Direct Communication Can Resolve USChina Trade Woes

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen (2nd L) attends a meeting with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on July 8, 2023. (Pedro Pardo/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Saturday called on the Chinese regime to communicate directly if there are concerns about specific economic practices, reiterating the importance of communication amid a complicated global economic outlook.

Ms. Yellens remarks were delivered during a conversation with Chinas Vice Premier He Lifeng, a long-time ally of Chinese leader Xi Jinping, during the third day of her trip to Beijing. The visit through Sunday is part of the U.S. efforts to bring back communications amid the strained bilateral ties, though critics argued that the Treasury chief has not spoken from a position of strength while engaging with Chinese officials.

In statements released after their over five-hour meetings, the Treasury Department described the conversation as candid, constructive, and comprehensive while Chinas state media called it In-depth, frank, and pragmatic.

While Ms. Yellen raised issues of concern, she discussed the Biden administrations approach to seek healthy economic competition with China, with a level playing field for American workers and businesses, according to the readout from Treasury Department.

Secretary Yellen also conveyed that even when the United States and China have disagreements, it is vital that the two countries find ways to work together on issues of sharedand globalconcern, including debt distress in low-income and emerging economies and climate finance, it said.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen (L) shakes hands with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng during a meeting at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on July 8, 2023. (Pedro Pardo/AFP via Getty Images)

At the start of their discussion, Ms. Yellen reiterated that national security shouldnt derail economic relations between Beijing and Washington.

Where we have concerns about specific economic practices, we should and will communicate them directly, Ms. Yellen said in prepared remarks, according to a text released by her department.

It is my belief that a wide swathe of our economies can interact in ways that are uncontroversial to both governments, Ms. Yellen told Mr. He. The fact that despite recent tensions we set a record for bilateral trade in 2022 suggests there is ample room for our firms to engage in trade and investment.

Saturdays talks came as the U.S.China ties heading in a downward spiral over a spate of affairs, including a Chinese surveillance balloon flying over several states before being shot down by the U.S. military.

Refereeing that incident, Mr. He told Ms. Yellen that he regretted that the bilateral ties were hurt by unexpected incidents.

Unfortunately, due to some unexpected incidents, such as that involving the airships, there were some problems in the implementation of the consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries at the G-20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, last November, Mr. He said.

According to a summary of the meeting released by Chinas state media, Mr. He explicitly mentioned Beijings concerns about U.S. sanctions and restrictive measures against the communist regime, though Beijing agreed to continue the communication and interaction.

Earlier on Saturday, Ms. Yellen called on Beijing to work with Washington to do more in addressing climate change during a roundtable with Chinese officials and experts in Beijing. She also met with a group of female economists and entrepreneurs, discussing womens representation in the workforce and the Chinese economy.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen (C) speaks during a lunch meeting with women economists in Beijing on July 8, 2023. (Mark Schiefelbein/AFP via Getty Images)

Ms. Yellens trip has been billed as a high-profile diplomatic effort to ease tension between Beijing and Washington, as the Biden administration seeks to deepen communication with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). However, her trip has drawn much criticism, including questions over the timing of her trip and the remarks she has made while meeting Chinese officials.

The Treasury Department described Ms. Yellens meeting with Chinas new Premier Li Qiang on Friday as candid and constructive, during which the secretary said the Sino-U.S. competition was not about winner-take-all and both nations needed to compete based on a fair set of rules.

According to Chinas state-run media, Mr. Li told Ms. Yellen that Beijing opposed hegemony and bullying, and asked the U.S. side to be rational and pragmatic when dealing with China.

Following the Friday meeting, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), who sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee, took to Twitter to remind Ms. Yellen of Chinas global ambitions.

Xi Jinping has said he wants China to replace America as the worlds leading power. I can guarantee he wants a winner take all fight, Mr. Cotton wrote while tagging Ms. Yellens Twitter handle.

Gordon Chang, a senior fellow at the Gatestone Institute, dismissed Ms. Yellens remarks, including her call urging China to adopt market reforms.

Secretary #Yellen manages to repeat every aspirational statement from the last three decades about doing business in #China, Mr. Chang wrote on Twitter on July 7. Isnt it time, however, to recognize that #XiJinpings #CCP will never play fair and now get our businesses off #Chinese soil?

Anders Corr, principal at the New York-based political consultancy firm Corr Analytics and an Epoch Times contributor, criticized Ms. Yellen for showing weakness.

Yellen is weak on China. Her boss [President Joe] Biden is weak on China. They are weak because they prioritize special interests beholden to short-term corporate profit in China, rather than American values like democracy, liberty, human rights, free markets, and our Republic, Mr. Corr wrote on Twitter on July 7.

Climate Change

Prior to her talks with Mr. He, Ms. Yellen told a group of climate finance experts that it was important for China and the United States to work together on challenges posed by climate change.

Climate change is at the top of the list of global challenges, and the United States and China must work together to address this existential threat, Ms. Yellen said in a prepared text.

She pointed to the 2015 Paris Agreement as an example of successful bilateral cooperation, and said continued cooperation was critical.

Former President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the Paris Agreement, but Biden reentered the agreement after taking office in 2021.

China is the worlds biggest emitter of carbon dioxide and has promised to achieve a carbon peak before 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060. According to a February report from the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air and the Global Energy Monitor, China permitted more coal power plants in 2022 than any other year since 2015.

The coal power capacity starting construction in China was six times as large as that in all of the rest of the world combined, the report says.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen (2nd R) speaks at a climate finance roundtable discussion at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing on July 8, 2023. (Mark Schiefelbein/AFP via Getty Images)

Experts have long questioned the communist regimes sincerity in reducing carbon emissions, while critics have argued that Beijing is using climate change to expand its global influence.

Climate finance should be targeted efficiently and effectively, Ms. Yellen added. I believe that if China were to support existing multilateral climate institutions like the Green Climate Fund and the Climate Investment Funds alongside us and other donor governments, we could have a greater impact than we do today.

She added that she looked forward to hearing recommendations from the different working groups, including the Sustainable Finance Working Group which is co-chaired by the United States and China, at the upcoming G20 summit in India in September.

U.S. climate envoy John Kerry is scheduled to visit China later this month and meet his Chinese counterpart Xie Zhenhua. In an interview with the New York Times about his coming China trip, Mr. Kerry said he would like to see the two nations have genuine cooperation on climate change.

The upcoming trip marks Mr. Kerrys third trip to China as climate envoy. On July 6, Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) took to Twitter to criticize the Biden administration for arranging the trip.

While Communist China engages in slave labor, John Kerry is headed to China to discuss climate change, Ms. Blackburn wrote. Why does the Biden administration want to cozy up to these human rights abusers?

In 2021, Mr. Kerry drew criticism for brushing off a question on the Chinese regimes crimes against Uyghurs, which the U.S. government has declared a genocide and crimes against humanity.

Urgency to This Trip

Peter Earle, a research fellow at the American Institute for Economic Research, suggested the timing of the Treasury chiefs trip to Beijing appeared not to be random.

Ms. Yellens trip came two days after China rolled out new export restrictions on gallium and germanium, two minerals that are critical to the manufacturing of semiconductors.

Ms. Yellen landed in Beijing on June 6, exactly five years after the Trump administration began to tax more than $300 billion worth of products imported from China, tariffs that were kept by the Biden administration.

Yellens visit also is probably not randomly taking place five years after the day, he told NTD on July 6.

I think theres some urgency to this trip.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen arrives at Beijing Capital International Airport in Beijing on July 6, 2023. (Mark Schiefelbein/AFP via Getty Images)

After announcing the export control measure, Chinas state media quoted a former Chinese official as saying the latest ban is just the beginning of Chinas countermeasures, and Chinas toolbox has many more types of measures available.

According to Mr. Earle, China produced 94 percent of gallium and 83 percent of germanium in the world.

So they really are starting with something thats very critical to the U.S., he said.

This is kind of giving the U.S. a taste of what could be in  in store for many more goods and services if tensions over trade and about Taiwan continue, he said.

Aware of Its Own Mortality

The United States is in a no-win situation coming out of Ms. Yellens trip, according to Gregory Copley, president of the International Strategic Studies Association.

The Biden administration has committed itself to diplomacy with Beijing. Its not going to achieve a lot other than to give the optics that its the U.S. which is negotiating and that Xi is being unreasonable, Mr. Copley told NTD on July 6.

He added, The PRC [Peoples Republic of China] is seen to be winning, and that the U.S. is forced to go to Beijing to kowtow to the communist party.

Its really a no-win situation for the United States. Its not going to save or protect any investment, he said.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken got a muted reception when he arrived in China for a visit last month when a lone Chinese foreign ministry official met him at the airport and China offered no red carpet. Miles Yu, principal China policy advisor to former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told The Epoch Times that the airport greeting for Blinken was a deliberate snub, while former White House trade advisor Peter Navarro said his trip was a great propaganda coup for the CCP.

A week after Mr. Blinkens visit, Chinas hawkish state-run media Global Times published an opinion article declaring that his visit was insufficient to improve bilateral ties. The article questioned the U.S. governments sincerity and said The U.S. must match words with deeds.

So right now, the deadlock between Beijing and Washington continues. Its unlikely to improve anytime soon, particularly because Xi Jinping is facing the internal implosion of the mainland Chinese economy, Mr. Copley said.

Recently, weak consumer spending, youth unemployment, and an exodus of wealth are signs that the Chinese economy is faltering.

The world now does not see the inevitable rise of the Chinese economy or of the Communist Party of China, Mr. Copley continued. So right now, the Communist Party of China knows that it is facing its own mortality.

It knows that all things being equal, the Communist Party of China has only a few years left to live, he added. Now that tends to make someone like Xi Jinping, whos already paranoid, far more likely to act precipitously by launching a war against Taiwan or against one of its other neighbors, simply to bolster domestic public support so that the whole mass of the Chinese population doesnt turn at once on the communist party.

But right now, the communist party is aware of its own mortality.
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Topics in this episode:
Congressmen stage silent protest





Staff Reporter

deeply affected by dismissal of Rahul Gandhis appeal by the Gujarat High Court in defamation, Congress members staged a silent protest across the country to safeguard democracy in front of the Mahatma Gandhis statue. Accordingly, City Congress Committee members staged a silent protest in front of statue of Mahatma Gandhi at Town Hall, with an aim to safeguard democracy, on Friday.

Congressmen said former President of All India Congress Committee, Rahul Gandhi, who gained attention by embarking on a 3,970-kilometer Bharat Jodo Yatra from Kanyakumari to Kashmir, promoted the message of love.

This decision has deeply affected the Congress party, prompting them to stage silent protest. Those present on the occasion were Jagat Bahadur Singh, Ayodhya Tiwari, Atul Bajpai, Prabha Singh, Sushila Kanaujiya, Manoj Seth, Saurabh Sharma and others.
Elections to Mpl corporation, other local bodies in Sept-Oct?





Staff Reporter

A notification issued on July 5 by State Election Commission (SEC) has given rise to speculations whether the elections to municipal corporation and other local bodies will be held in September-October this year. However, by Friday evening, the SEC issued a clarification stating that the said notification was only about cut-off date for use of electoral rolls for ensuing polls and not the announcement of poll schedule. A notification was issued on July 5, signed by K Suryakrishnamurty, Deputy Secretary, SEC. It stated that the electoral rolls as on July 1, 2023 should be considered for preparing the electoral rolls for the elections to municipal corporations, municipal councils, Nagar Panchayats, Zilla Parishad, Panchayat, and Gram Panchayats and also for bypolls to be held during September 2023 to October 2023. Since all the political parties are waiting for the schedule to various elections including those to important municipal corporations like Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation and Nagpur Municipal Corporation, this notification of SEC was viewed by many as an indication that the long-awaited polls would be held in September-October.

The said notification was in wide circulation on social media platforms in political circles. Many political leaders and workers forwarded the notification to the mediapersons also. Some even said that it was expected that the elections would be held in September-October at the end of monsoon season. However, by Friday evening, SEC issued a clarification quoting U P S Madan, State Election Commissioner. The said clarification quoted Madan as saying that the notification issued on July 5 was only about cut-off date for use of electoral rolls. This should not be construed as announcement of schedule of elections. Besides, the Supreme Court has issued status quo orders for elections to all other local bodies except Gram Panchayat elections. Hence, there is no question of announcing any schedule of elections to local bodies, he stated.
BEIJING, July 8 (Xinhua) -- China's Supreme People's Procuratorate has ordered the arrest of Zhang Xiaopei, former vice chairman of the Jilin Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, on suspicion of taking bribes.

Zhang's case was investigated by the National Commission of Supervision before being handed over to prosecutors.

Further handling of the case is underway. 
Hairy Business





By Girish Linganna

INDIAN hair is lustrous, wavy, bouncy and lightweight, making it so popular for wigs and hair extensions. Each month, lakhs of devotees at the Tirupati Balaji temple donate their hair to the service of the Lord. At a rough estimate, devotees from all over the world donate 500-600 tonne of human hair at the Tirupati temple each year. The finest quality of Indian hair, known as remy hair, is collected from the temples in southern India where women shave their heads as it is popularly believed that donating hair helps get rid of ego and sins. Remy hair has the cuticles still intact, which makes it look more natural and last longer. But much of the hair India exports is not of the finest quality It is leftover hair that is often scavenged from beauty parlours, or bought, or bartered from poorer women in exchange for cash, utensils, or trinkets. At Habi Chak village, in East Midnapore district of West Bengal State, a woman named Hasina, 35, works for five hours a day to untangle human hair. She sorts the hair into strands and makes balls with the pieces that are longer than 6 inches. She throws away the rest of the hair. She earns 7,500 rupees (US $92) per month for untangling about 25 kg of hair.

Hasina had never thought she could make money from waste human hair. But now, she sells waste hair to collectors and earns a stable income. Many poor women in West Bengal State of India work in the human hair industry. They collect and sell waste hair to make money. The waste hair industry is worth about $1 billion and West Bengal accounts for almost half of Indias human hair exports. Hair traders collect hair balls from people like Hasina, then wash, split and arrange them by size at small workshops. The hair in the balls can be from 4 to 40 inches long. Straightening the hair involves using strands of the same length and thickness from root to tip. The processed hair is then exported to such destinations as China, the US and Europe, where it is used to make wigs and other hair products. These countries are the largest buyers of Indian hair. In the past, Chinese companies bought hair from Indian businesses for about $200 per kilogram. They used the hair to make wigs, extensions, eyelashes, paint brushes and fake beards and mustaches for the global market. Chinese companies now hire local agents to buy bundles of hair from Indian traders for a much lower priceanything from US $60 to US $70 per kilogram. The hair is then smuggled into Bangladesh, where it is sold for a higher price.

This is causing India to lose out on tax revenue. In 2021 alone, border forces seized almost 400 kilograms of smuggled hair. After the hair balls are smuggled into Bangladesh, they are processed in local workshops and then sent to China. Sometimes, the hair balls are transported to China through Myanmar. Unscrupulous traders smuggle hair to avoid paying duties and taxes of around 30% on the import value. Human hair was smuggled from India into Myanmar as early as in 2012. In the past five years, Chinese importers have set up processing plants in Bangladesh using cheap local labour. This has led to an increase in the smuggling of hair into Bangladesh. Over the past three years, 561,000 Indians have lost their jobs due to smuggling. This is because numerous small hair-processing workshops have shut down in West Bengal, New Delhi, Rajasthan, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. Human hair smuggling is a new challenge for Indias border security forces. They are already struggling to intercept cattle, gold and narcotics traffickers along the 4,096 km border with Bangladesh. Border security officials have seized 350 kg of human hair on the borders of West Bengal so far this year, while 1,104 kg was impounded last year. While Indian exporters have been losing money, Bangladeshs official hair exports have increased. Bangladesh exported US $113 million worth of wigs and human hair between July 2022 and May 2023. This is an increase from the US $95.5 million exported over the same period in 2022. China is selling products made of Indian hair in the global market, which is taking profits away from India. Chinese companies make more profit from wigs and hair extensions because they use advanced machines. Indian companies make less profit because their products do not match Chinese standards.

Chinas profit margin is about US $300 per kg, whereas India gets only a margin of US $200 per kg. The Indian hair industry could be boosted by using state-of-the-art technology and employing wig and extension experts from Europe and South Korea. Because of Indian Government regulations, it has now become mandatory for all human hair exporters to get a trading licence, but some trafficking history-sheeters still manage to get the paperwork they need done. Members of the hair industry association have urged the Government to instruct village councils to collect hair balls from households and sell them only to Indian exporters. The money from the sales would be used for local development and sanitation. The border forces are struggling to stop smuggling on their own. The Border Security Force has a zero-tolerance policy towards trafficking, but they need to upgrade the border fences with CCTV cameras to ensure that nobody escapes notice. Meanwhile, Hasina spends her days untangling piles of waste hair for very little money. She does not know who will eventually wear the hair or how it will get to them. (IPA) (The author is a Defence, Aerospace, Political analyst)
AHMEDABAD,

THE Gujarat High Court on Friday dismissed Congress leader Rahul Gandhis plea seeking a stay on his conviction in a criminal defamation case over his Modi surname remark. While dismissing the plea, Justice Hemant Prachchhak noted that Gandhi was already facing 10 criminal cases across India, adding that the order of the lower court was just, proper and legal in handing over a two year jail term to Gandhi for his remarks. There was no reasonable ground to stay the conviction, the High Court said. A stay on Gandhis conviction in the case would have paved the way for his reinstatement as a Member of Parliament. He (Gandhi) was trying to stay the conviction on absolutely non-existent grounds. It is a well-settled principle of law that staying of conviction is not a rule, but an exception, resorted only in rare cases. Disqualification is not only limited to MP, MLAs. Moreover, as many as 10 criminal cases are pending against the applicant, the HC said. After this complaint, another complaint was filed in a court in Pune by the grandson of Veer Savarkar for Gandhis defamatory utterance against Veer Savarkar at Cambridge. Another complaint against him was filed in the concerned court of Lucknow, it said. Against this backdrop, refusal of stay on conviction would not in any way result in injustice to the applicant, the judge said.

Impugned order passed by the appellate court is just, proper and legal, and does not call for any interference. However, it is hereby requested by the concerned learned district judge to decide the criminal appeal on its own merits and in accordance with law as expeditiously as possible. In view of the above, the present criminal revision application deserved to be dismissed and accordingly it is dismissed, the judge while reading the order. While noting that there was no reasonable ground to stay the conviction at this stage, Justice Prachchhak also directed the district and sessions court of Surat to hear Gandhis appeal against the conviction as expeditiously as possible. A metropolitan magistrates court in Surat on March 23 sentenced the former Congress president to two years in jail after convicting him under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 499 and 500 (criminal defamation) in a 2019 case filed by Bharatiya Janata Partys (BJP) Gujarat MLA Purnesh Modi.

Following the verdict, Gandhi, elected to the Lok Sabha from Wayanad in Kerala in 2019, was disqualified as a Member of Parliament (MP) under the provisions of the Representation of the People Act. Gandhi then challenged the order in a sessions court in Surat, which is still pending, along with an application seeking a stay to the conviction.

Cong to move SC against HC order: THE Congress on Friday said it will move the Supreme Court after the Gujarat High Court refused to stay Rahul Gandhis conviction in a defamation case, and alleged that the Government is finding newer techniques to throttle his voice as it is rattled by him speaking the truth.

The party said the verdict redoubles its resolve to pursue the matter further and it will fight the battle both legally and politically. Addressing a press conference at the AICC headquarters here, Congress spokesperson and Gandhis counsel in the case Abhishek Singhvi said the Gujarat High Court dismissing Rahul Gandhis plea was highly disappointing, but not unexpected. Singhvi said the ultimate court is the court of the people and they see what is happening and how an entire cottage industry has been unleashed against one individual. I will not reiterate the gymnastics that took place at the stage of trial, where the complainant got a one year stay on his own complaint, and then revived it after there was a change on the bench. And, it was that second magistrate, who proceeded to pass that order of conviction. Those are facts, and the facts speak for themselves, he said.
NCP has not split; meeting held by Sharad Pawar not official: Praful





MUMBAI,

NCP leader Praful Patel on Friday said the party had not broken up, and Ajit Pawar was unanimously appointed as party President by its Legislature and organisational wings on June 30. Patel said they had submitted a petition to the Election Commission of India (ECI) with affidavits of more than 40 MLAs, informing it about Ajit Pawars appointment and staking claim over the party name and symbol. The meeting of the national working committee of the NCP held by Sharad Pawar in Delhi on Thursday was not official, he claimed. The organisational structure of the party was completely flawed, Patel, a veteran NCP leader, said.

An important meeting was held on June 30 at Devgiri (Ajit Pawars official residence in Mumbai) where legislators, office-bearers and party workers were present. They unanimously appointed Ajit Pawar as their leader, he said. Immediately after the appointment, Ajit Pawar conveyed to the Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar that Praful Patel has been appointed as national working president, Patel said on Friday. Ajit Pawar himself was appointed as leader of the NCP legislature party, Anil Patel continued to be the party whip in Assembly and the Legislative Council chairperson was informed that Amol Mitkari was appointed as whip in the Council, he said.

Who will determine (which is) the (real) political party ? It is in the domain of the Election Commission of India while actions of the legislators is the domain of the Speaker, Patel said. Jayant Patil (who took action against Ajit Pawar faction leaders after they joined the Shiv Sena-BJP Government in Maharashtra on July 2) was not the party President as per its Constitution, and his petition to Maharashtra Speaker seeking to disqualify rebel leaders was invalid, Patel asserted. The decisions taken by the Sharad Pawar group, expelling or disqualifying leaders of the Ajit Pawar faction, were illegal and not applicable, he said.
PM dedicates devpt projects worth 7,500 cr in Cgarh





Staff Reporter

RAIPUR,

Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone and dedicated various development projects worth approximately Rs 7,500 crore in Chhattisgarh on Friday. The event took place at the Science College Ground, and the Prime Minister addressed the gathering, highlighting the significance of these projects for the states development journey. PM Modi emphasised that the projects, focused on infrastructure and connectivity that would improve the lives of people and strengthen the healthcare system in Chhattisgarh. PM Modi also stressed the employment opportunities that would arise from these projects, benefiting paddy farmers, mineral industry, and the tourism sector. He conveyed his congratulations to the people of the state, stating that these initiatives would mark a new era of development and convenience, particularly in the tribal areas. Recognising the crucial role of infrastructure in development, PM Modi reiterated the governments focus on infrastructure development in regions that have lagged behind. He highlighted the importance of infrastructure in enhancing the ease of living, ease of doing business, employment opportunities, and overall rapid development.

The PM mentioned the progress made in road connectivity through the Pradhan Mantri Gramin Sadak Yojana, with thousands of tribal villages in Chhattisgarh now connected. He also announced the approval and completion of several National Highway projects, including the inauguration of the Raipur-Kodebod and Bilaspur-Pathrapali highways. He underscored the social justice aspect of modern infrastructure, noting that the improved roads and railway lines would connect the settlements of the poor, Dalits, backward classes, and tribals, improving access to hospitals and benefiting women. He highlighted the transformation brought about by mobile connectivity, mentioning the significant decrease in villages without mobile connectivity in Chhattisgarh, particularly in tribal areas previously affected by Naxalite violence. The Prime Minister mentioned the installation of over 700 mobile towers to ensure good 4G connectivity and emphasized the impact of mobile connectivity on various tasks, emphasizing its contribution to social justice and inclusive development. The Prime Minister emphasized the significance of two economic corridors, the Raipur-Dhanbad Economic Corridor and Raipur-Vishakhapatnam Economic Corridor, which are set to bring about transformative changes in the region. He noted that these corridors pass through aspirational districts that were once considered backward and plagued by violence. PM Modi highlighted the reduced travel time between Raipur and Visakhapatnam and the connection of various agricultural and craft-rich regions to the rest of the country through the new economic corridors.

He also praised the construction of tunnels and animal passes to ensure wildlife convenience along the roadways. Regarding industrial development, the Prime Minister mentioned the government's efforts to cryeate new opportunities and set up industries in areas abundant in natural resources. The Prime Minister shared that Chhattisgarh had received Rs 1300 crore as royalty in the four years before 2014. However, he noted that between 2015-16 and 2020-21, the state received about Rs 2800 crore as royalty. This increase in royalty funds was attributed to the policies implemented by the government, particularly the changes made in the Mines and Mineral Act. The Prime Minister highlighted the positive impact of this increase in revenue, mentioning that it has facilitated accelerated development in districts rich in mineral resources. He further explained that the District Mineral Fund has played a significant role in utilizing the additional funds for various developmental projects, including schools, libraries, roads, and water arrangements in these districts. PM Modi also acknowledged the positive impact of schemes such as Jan Dhan accounts, Mudra Yojana, and PM Swanidhi Yojana in providing financial support and employment opportunities to the poor and tribal communities. The Prime Minister highlighted the initiatives taken in the health sector, including the distribution of Ayushman cards to 75 lakh beneficiaries. He emphasized the guarantee of free treatment up to Rs 5 lakh annually in over 1500 major hospitals for the underprivileged and tribal families. PM Modi assured the people of Chhattisgarh that the government is committed to serving every family with the same spirit of service.

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari and Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel also addressed the gathering. Gadkari emphasized that the inauguration of these national projects would create wealth and increase capital investment in the state. Baghel expressed gratitude for the Prime Minister's visit and urged for continued assistance to the newly formed state. The event witnessed the foundation stone laying and dedication of several projects, including five National Highway projects, the doubling of the Raipur-Khariar Road Rail Line, a new railway line connecting Keoti-Antagarh, a bottling plant of the Indian Oil Corporation, and the flagging off of the Antagarh-Raipur Train via video link. Additionally, the Prime Minister initiated the distribution of Ayushman Bharat cards to beneficiaries. The event was attended by dignitaries including Chhattisgarh Governor Biswabhusan Harichandan, Deputy Chief Minister T S Singhdeo, Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya, Union Minister of State Renuka Singh Saruta, Chhattisgarh Public Works Department Minister Tamradhwaj Sahu, former Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh Dr. Raman Singh, and various Members of Parliament and Legislative Assembly
PM slams Baghel Govt over scams





By Roshan Chachane

RAIPUR,

In a spirited address to a massive crowd at the University Ground, Prime Minister Narendra Modi kick-started the election campaign of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Chhattisgarh. Modi took the opportunity to target the Congress Government on various issues, including corruption and scams, as he rallied the enthusiastic crowd. The event began with a tribute to BJP workers who tragically lost their lives in a road accident while travelling to attend the public meeting. During his speech, Prime Minister Modi highlighted the inauguration of projects worth Rs 7,500 crore, including the Raipur-Vizag corridor.

He emphasised that these infrastructure developments would not only improve the lives of the people but also generate thousands of employment opportunities. Pointing to the upcoming 25th anniversary of Chhattisgarh, Modi stressed the significance of the next 25 years for the state's progress. However, he accused the Congress party of obstructing this progress and encroaching upon the rights of the people. One of the key issues raised by Prime Minister Modi was the Congress Government's failure to fulfill its promise of implementing liquor prohibition. He accused the Congress of engaging in a liquor scam worth thousands of crores, deceiving women in the process. Allegedly, the commission generated from the liquor trade was funnelled into Congress party accounts, leading to a dispute over commission allocation and the delayed implementation of the prohibition formula.
Police commando among 4 killed in Manipur clashes





IMPHAL,

FOUR persons including a Manipur Police commando and a teenager were killed in Kangvai area of Bishnupur district in clashes between the two warring communities in the intervening night of Thursday and Friday, officials said. The area where people from both the communities stay in close proximity witnessed gun fights during the night despite a buffer zone created by security forces to prevent escalation of the situation, they said. Thursday night, an attempt was made by mobs from the hillside to come down and burn some villages in the valley. These mobs had gathered from outside the area and did not yield to the request of locals to go back, they said. The security forces responded in a calibrated manner and prevented them from torching any house.

However, some people from both sides indulged in firing at each other from stand-off ranges from villages of Kangvai, Songdo and Awang Lekhai which resulted in death of three persons besides injuries on both sides. Although the firing ceased during the early hours of Friday, mobs on the valley side continued to block movement of security forces for reinforcing the area, they said adding senior officers have been working round the clock to restore peace in the area by engaging both communities. However, the emotions continued to run high and intermittent firing continued even during the day, the officials said, adding the police commando suffered fatal injuries late Friday evening.

The teenager was killed at Phoubakchao locality while hurrying to take cover. Meanwhile, irate locals, mostly womenfolk, hit the streets in Moirang to vent out their anger against the firing. Officials said the firing between two groups of armed men was first reported in Awang Leikei and Kangwai in Churandpur district near Phoubakchao around 1.30am. Additional columns have already been deployed from alternative routes to respond to the tense situation in this area. More than 120 people have lost their lives and over 3,000 injured since ethnic violence broke out in the state on May 3, when a Tribal Solidarity March was organised in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei communitys demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.
State Govt no to reimburse private college staffers for prolonged health treatment





Staff Reporter

Government will not be giving reimbursement to the staff of aided private institutions for long-term medical treatment underway at private hospitals. They have to avail the treatment at Government hospitals. Government will continue providing medical help for emergency health treatment. Government announced this change when it noticed a case from Ambad, Jalna. Mandakini Katare, wife of Dr Bhagwat Katare, Principal of Arts, Science and Commerce College, Ambad, Jalna is suffering from Adenocarcinoma with mestastasis spread over thorax, spine and pelvic bone. Dr Katare had submitted her medical bills to get the amount reimbursed from the Government.

Public Health Department approved the amount but made it clear that the treatment being given to the patient Katare can be life-long. For such treatment, the teaching and non-teaching staff should approach Government hospitals as they wont be getting any reimbursement for it. The Department also urged Higher and Technical Education section to make their people aware of the rule. Accordingly, Maharashtras Higher and Technical Education Department issued a circular wherein it made clear, People attached to private aided institutions should take the long term treatment at Government hospitals. If at all they want to go to private hospitals for the treatment, the expenses would not be borne by Government.

Joint Directors at division level have been authorised to approve reimbursement amount upto Rs 3 lakh. Bills upto Rs 5 lakh above Rs 3 lakh are approved by the Director. Reimbursement above Rs 5 lakh is to be looked after by Principal Secretary, Higher and Technical Education. The reimbursement is strictly given to the regular staff and not to those working on contributory or contract basis of colleges which get grant from Government.
The Grenadiers: Saga of 250 years of valour, sacrifice





By Ashish Rajput

The very first Grenadier Regiment in the world and first infantry regiment of the Indian Army The Grenadiers is the saga of 250 years of its valour and sacrifice in service of the nation. The Grenadiers, also known as Storm Troopers, stands for its war cry Sarvada Shaktishali (ever powerful) and is considered as one of Indias most decorated regiments with 3 Param Vir Chakras, 2 Ashok Chakras, 7 Mahaveer Chakras, 9 Kirti Chakras and 45 Vir Chakras. Commandant, The Grenadiers Regimental Centre, Jabalpur, while talking to The Hitavada, informed that the concept of Grenadiers evolved from the practice of selecting the bravest and most influential men for the most dangerous tasks in combat during the 17th century and the first battalion of Grenadiers was raised on November 12, 1779. The Commandant applauded Agniveers for their excellent standards achieved during training and congratulated them on their successful attestation. He further exhorted the Agniveer course for continued pursuit of excellence true to the Grenadier spirit.

History of Grenadiers Regimental Centre Jabalpur The Grenadiers Centre traces its origin back to a battalion raised on January 5, 1800, as the first Battalion of the 7th Regiment of the Bombay Native Infantry (BNI). Its battle record (as 1st/7th Regiment) compares favourably with that of the 1st and 2nd Battalions and in some campaigns of the period, even surpasses them. As 1st/7th Regiment, BNI (the Centre) saw action in Egypt in 1801, Kirkee in 1817, Gujarat in 1819-20 and Kandhar in 1880. As 113th Infantry (1903), it saw action in Middle East during World War 1. During its first 120 years, the 1st/7th (now in Centre) earned the Battle Honours Egypt, Gaza, Kirkee, Gujarat, Beni Boo Ali and Kandhar. In 1921, the need was felt for a static establishment to recruit and train personnel.

The 113th Infantry was selected for this task, designated The 10th/4th Bombay Grenadiers and located at Ajmer in 1922. The Regiment was left with only two battalions (the 1st and the 2nd) as other battalions had been disbanded. The Centre was, consequently, merged with that of the 10th/9th JAT Regiment, and moved to Bareilly in 1930. Its new designation was 10th Battalion 4th/9th Regiment. World War II necessitated new raisings and the Centre reverted to its previous role of exclusive support to Grenadier battalions. It moved to Nasirabad in October 1941 and was designated The 4th Bombay Grenadiers Regimental Centre. Lt Col EA Tich Hamlyn, Officiating Commandant, moved the Centre to Nasirabad in 1941. In December 1975, the Centre moved from Nasirabad to its present location in Jabalpur, as a part of broader strategic policy. The move was finalised in October 1975 and the 34-year-long and eventful association of the Regiment with Nasirabad came to an end.
US lawmakers condemn attack on Indian consulate in San Francisco





WASHINGTON,

US LAWMAKERS and influential Indian-Americans have condemned the attempted arson at the Indian consulate in San Francisco and called for expeditious action against those behind this criminal act. They also slammed the violent rhetoric against Indias Ambassador to the US Taranjit Singh Sandhu and said free speech does not mean a license to incite violence or vandalise property. A video by Khalistan supporters, dated July 2 and posted on Twitter, showed the act of arson at the Indian consulate in San Francisco. The video, with the words violence begets violence emblazoned over it, also showed news articles related to the death of Canada-based Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF) chief Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

Nijjar, one of Indias most-wanted terrorists who carried a cash reward of Rs 10 lakh on his head, was shot dead outside a gurdwara in Canada last month. In a joint statement issued on Thursday, Congressmen Ro Khanna and Michael Waltz, co-chairs of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian-Americans, said violence against diplomatic facilities will not be tolerated. As the co-chairs of the India Caucus, we strongly condemn the attempted arson and vandalism at the Indian Consulate in San Francisco and the posters circulating on social media with violent rhetoric aimed at Indian diplomats, including Ambassador Sandhu, they said on Friday.

We support the right to free speech and freedom of expression for every American but that is not a license to vandalise property or incite violence. Violence against diplomatic facilities is a criminal offence and will not be tolerated. We urge the State Department to coordinate with law enforcement in their investigation of the damage at the Indian Consulate expeditiously and hold those involved accountable, they added.
A flock of black-faced spoonbills rest at Danzhou Bay Wetland in Danzhou, south China's Hainan Province, Dec. 13, 2022. (Xinhua/Pu Xiaoxu)

BEIJING, July 8 (Xinhua) -- When she spotted the first flock of Beijing swifts hovering above the Beihai Park this year, Zhang Liting was extremely excited to see that her "old friends" had completed their thousand-mile journey.

The 39-year-old volunteer goes to the Beihai Park observation site at least once a week to record populations of Beijing swifts, providing tracking data and helping the birds migrate safely.

The Beijing swift, or the Apus apus pekinensis, is a typical migratory bird. These birds leave Beijing in mid-July to overwinter in South Africa, and return to Beijing in late April the following year.

Bird migration flyways are the stable routes that birds travel along between breeding and wintering sites. Four of the nine major bird migration flyways in the world pass through China.

Harboring rich biodiversity, including more than 1,400 species of birds, China plays an irreplaceable role in global migratory bird conservation. Thanks to the country's continued efforts to preserve biodiversity and conserve green ecosystems, an ever-growing number of people are joining in on migratory bird protection work.

BUILDING BIRD-FRIENDLY CITIES

Beijing is a key point along the East Asian-Australasian Flyway (EAAF), one of the world's great flyways for migratory birds. It is an important stopover site for birds such as grey cranes and black storks, as well as Beijing swifts, on their northbound trips in the spring.

The latest list of Beijing's terrestrial wildlife shows that the city boasts 515 varieties of wild birds, ranking second among all the capital cities of G20 countries.

Amid efforts to ramp up the construction of an ecological civilization in Beijing, the natural environment and various wildlife species are being increasingly integrated into the fast-growing megacity with a population of over 20 million.

As of now, Beijing has established 79 protected nature areas, with the total areas reaching 368,000 hectares, bringing over 90 percent of key state-protected wildlife species and their habitats recorded in the city under effective protection. In 2021, the capital's forest coverage rate was 44.6 percent, and the green coverage rate of its urban areas was 49 percent.

Beijing's appreciation for and awareness of birds has skyrocketed in recent years. Many activities are held in public spaces and schools to promote the importance of protecting birds. Bird-friendly buildings are a common sight, and methods to prevent birds from crashing windows are improving.

"With the restoration of the ecological environment and rising public awareness, people and birds, hopefully, can become the best neighbors living under the same sky," said Jia Yifei, an associate professor at Beijing Forestry University.

REVITALIZING BIRD HABITATS

In late March, a flock of black-faced spoonbills was seen foraging on the shores of east China's Fujian Province.

These birds have black and spoon-like beaks, and are one of the world's most endangered birds. They normally breed between May and July in northern regions and migrate southward to their winter roosting wetlands in October.

"The black-faced spoonbills were once rare to see here, but now they can be spotted every year and the number has remained stable," said Zheng Zhiwu, a birdwatcher who has been spotting birds at Luoyuan Bay in east China's Fujian Province for more than 20 years.

Decades ago, the disorderly expansion of aquaculture farms once posed a great threat to the birds and damaged the ecosystem. To restore their habitat, the local government of Fujian has carried out multiple projects to restore key ecosystems, and transformed many fish-breeding ponds into bird habitats.

The profound change in Luoyuan Bay epitomizes China's ecological restoration efforts.

China in 1992 became a party to the Ramsar Convention, an intergovernmental agreement dedicated to the conservation and rational use of wetland ecosystems, and the country has since stepped up its conservation efforts while establishing a legal framework to govern wetlands.

During the 2016-2020 period, China undertook 53 wetland protection and restoration projects, and more than 2,000 wetland ecological compensation projects. It also undertook projects to return farmlands to wetlands, as well as wetland protection and restoration subsidy projects.

Over the past decade, China has added or restored more than 800,000 hectares of wetlands, according to the National Forestry and Grassland Administration.

The growing number of migratory birds seen in China speaks to an improving local natural environment, Zheng said. "Endangered birds have become frequent visitors thanks to the improved natural environment," he added.

PROTECTION TRANSCENDING BORDERS

Flyways usually stretch across thousands of kilometers, spanning countries, oceans and continents. The EAAF, for example, stretches from the Russian Far East and Alaska, southward through East Asia and Southeast Asia, and on to Australia and New Zealand, encompassing over 20 countries and regions.

"Thriving migratory species need support from all countries along the entire flyway, so enhancing international cooperation is a must," said Guan Lei, a project manager at the Beijing Entrepreneur Environmental Protection Foundation.

However, experts warn that the protection of migratory birds and their flyways continues to face threats such as the loss and fragmentation of habitats, insufficient funding, and regional imbalances. "Only by working together to conserve their habitats can we provide more effective protection for the birds," Jia said.

China has always been a strong advocator for strengthened global cooperation. It has signed bilateral agreements on migratory bird conservation with countries such as Japan and Australia, and promotes migratory bird protection through multilateral environment treaties. Last year, China pledged to promote international exchanges and cooperation to protect the four flyways that pass the country.

Making big headway in that direction, China's Migratory Bird Sanctuaries along the coast of the Yellow Sea-Bohai Gulf (Phase I) were inscribed on the World Heritage List as a natural site in 2019.

"This inscription not only helps promote global efforts to protect the EAAF, but also injects vitality into the construction of a community for all life on Earth," Guan said.

Zhang Liting said she was gratified to see her 13-year-old daughter become a loyal bird guardian. "I believe Beijing swifts will make beautiful memories for future generations too," she said. 
Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM  Free Report) by 568.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,070 shares of the companys stock after purchasing an additional 910 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd.s holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland were worth $85,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Trust Co. of Vermont raised its position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 135.6% during the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 318 shares of the companys stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Glassy Mountain Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 655.8% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 393 shares of the companys stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 341 shares in the last quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Financial Management Professionals Inc. raised its position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 275.5% during the 4th quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 398 shares of the companys stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. 78.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $98.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 26th. Roth Mkm assumed coverage on Archer-Daniels-Midland in a research note on Thursday, June 22nd. They issued a buy rating and a $92.00 price target for the company. Barclays decreased their price target on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $99.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 1st. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $94.00 to $85.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 13th. Finally, 92 Resources reissued a maintains rating on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland in a research note on Thursday, April 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $99.50.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE ADM opened at $78.01 on Friday. Archer-Daniels-Midland Company has a 12 month low of $69.92 and a 12 month high of $98.28. The company has a market cap of $42.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $74.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $79.71.

Archer-Daniels-Midland (NYSE:ADM  Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 25th. The company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.38. Archer-Daniels-Midland had a return on equity of 18.39% and a net margin of 4.36%. The business had revenue of $24.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.09 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.90 earnings per share. Archer-Daniels-Midlands revenue was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Archer-Daniels-Midland Company will post 6.78 EPS for the current year.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 17th were paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 16th. Archer-Daniels-Midlands dividend payout ratio is currently 22.58%.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Company Profile

(Free Report)

Archer-Daniels-Midland Company procures, transports, stores, processes, and merchandises agricultural commodities, products, and ingredients in the United States, Switzerland, the Cayman Islands, Brazil, Mexico, Canada, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company operates in three segments: Ag Services and Oilseeds, Carbohydrate Solutions, and Nutrition.

Further Reading

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Silverlake Axis (OTCMKTS:SLVFF  Free Report) is one of 296 public companies in the SoftwareApplication industry, but how does it compare to its rivals? We will compare Silverlake Axis to similar businesses based on the strength of its risk, valuation, earnings, profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

14.6% of Silverlake Axis shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 33.8% of shares of all SoftwareApplication companies are held by institutional investors. 29.2% of shares of all SoftwareApplication companies are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

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Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Silverlake Axis and its rivals top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

Gross Revenue Net Income Price/Earnings Ratio Silverlake Axis N/A N/A 1.74 Silverlake Axis Competitors $495.94 million -$19.88 million 557.84

Analyst Ratings

Silverlake Axis rivals have higher revenue, but lower earnings than Silverlake Axis. Silverlake Axis is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its rivals, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Silverlake Axis and its rivals, as provided by MarketBeat.

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Silverlake Axis 0 0 0 0 N/A Silverlake Axis Competitors 420 1901 4111 78 2.59

As a group, SoftwareApplication companies have a potential upside of 31.32%. Given Silverlake Axis rivals higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Silverlake Axis has less favorable growth aspects than its rivals.

Profitability

This table compares Silverlake Axis and its rivals net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Silverlake Axis N/A N/A N/A Silverlake Axis Competitors -38.59% -242.70% -7.55%

Dividends

Silverlake Axis pays an annual dividend of $0.10 per share and has a dividend yield of 49.4%. Silverlake Axis pays out 86.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. As a group, SoftwareApplication companies pay a dividend yield of 1.8% and pay out 71.7% of their earnings in the form of a dividend.

Summary

Silverlake Axis rivals beat Silverlake Axis on 6 of the 10 factors compared.

About Silverlake Axis

(Free Report)

Silverlake Axis Ltd, an investment holding company, provides software solutions and services to the financial services, retail, and logistics industries. It operates through Software Licensing, Software Project Services, Maintenance and Enhancement Services, Sale of Software and Hardware Products, Insurance Ecosystem Transaction and Services, Retail Transactions Processing, and Others segments. The company offers digital economy solutions; software customization and implementation services; round-the-clock software maintenance support and software enhancement services; cloud computing Software-as-a-Service; and Software-as-a-Service subscription. It operates in South East Asia, North East Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, the Americas, Africa, and Europe. The company was founded in 1989 and is headquartered in Singapore. Silverlake Axis Ltd is a subsidiary of Zezz FundQ Pte. Ltd.

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TEHRAN, July 8 (Xinhua) -- Two policemen and four "terrorists" were killed on Saturday in an armed "terrorist attack" on a police station in the southeastern Iranian province of Sistan and Baluchestan, Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency reported.

The armed "terrorists" tried to enter a police station in the city of Zahedan on Saturday morning by pretending to be regular clients, but were denied entry by a policeman guarding the station's entrance, which resulted in clashes between the two sides, Tasnim quoted the province's Police Commander Doostali Jalilian as saying.

One "terrorist" was killed soon after the start of the clashes, he added, noting that the assailants, who had failed to enter the police station, ascended a watchtower and began shooting at the security staff and policemen who had surrounded the watchtower.

The other three "terrorists" and two policemen were killed in an exchange of fire, Jalilian said, stressing that four firearms, seven grenades and a number of suicide vests were seized from the "terrorists."

The attack took place at 07:15 a.m. local time (0345 GMT), the province's Deputy Governor for Security and Law Enforcement Alireza Marhamati told the Islamic Republic of Iran News Network in an interview on Saturday. He ruled out the possibility of suicide operation, saying that the assailants tried to enter the police station by using grenades. 
Taisho Pharmaceutical Holdings Co., Ltd. (OTCMKTS:TAIPY  Free Report)s stock price shot up 1% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $9.32 and last traded at $9.30. 3,093 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 62% from the average session volume of 8,180 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.21.

Taisho Pharmaceutical Stock Performance

The stocks 50 day simple moving average is $9.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.17.

About Taisho Pharmaceutical

(Free Report)

Taisho Pharmaceutical Holdings Co, Ltd., through its subsidiaries, researches, develops, manufactures, markets, distributes, and sells over-the-counter (OTC) drugs and prescription pharmaceutical products in Japan and internationally. It operates through Self-Medication Operation Group and Prescription Pharmaceutical Operation Group segments.

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A Kogi-based Lawyer and Activist, S.O. Akobe, Esq. has described the strike embarked upon by Judiciary workers in Kogi State as an avoidable set-back in justice delivery. In a Statement made available to our Correspondent, the Lawyer condemned the disposition of the authorities concerned who, according to him, failed to take positive steps to prevent the strike.

The Statement reads:

"On the 5th of July, 2023, JUSUN, Kogi State Chapter directed it's members to embark on strike with effect from 6th July, 2023. The demand of the Union is simple and very harmless: the Implementation of Thirty Thousand Naira Minimum Wage! Reportedly, the authorities concerned ignored the ultimatum given by the Union which as stated in Bulletin No. 4 issued by the Union, elapsed on the 14th of June, 2023. My question is: Why was this demand not met in the first place thereby leading to the ongoing strike?

"It is unfortunate that despite the high cost of living especially now that fuel subsidy has been removed by the Federal Government, that Judiciary workers in Kogi State will still have to embark on strike before their demand for the implementation of N30,000 Minimum Wage can be met by the authorities concerned. It is a sad commentary and indeed, a sorry spectacle that our courts where the last hope of the common man lies will be needlessly shutdown over a simple demand for what the workers are, in good conscience and by law, entitled to.

"Let me digress a little to say that the condition of service, facilities for service as well as the welfare of judiciary workers in Nigeria generally, and of course, in Kogi State in particular, have become worrisome issues of national disgrace. The structures (facilities) we use as courts in many places in Kogi State cannot be used to keep animals in a sane clime. Dilapidated structures, old and abandoned buildings, God-forsaken houses and solitary households have become usual symbols and identities of our court rooms and Judges' Chambers in Nigeria.

"The structures we regard as courts and even describe as temple of justice in Kogi State and in many other parts of Nigeria are not truly temple of justice but sorry sites where wretched Judges, oppressed Magistrates and helpless Judiciary Staff are posted to work without any other option. Surely, you can not dream of getting justice from a place or system where injustice got its best definition from. It is injustice not to have befitting court rooms and Chambers as well as decent offices for Judges, Magistrates and their Staff as the case may be. It is injustice to keep Judges, Magistrates and their Staff in structures or houses where animals cannot, in good conscience, be kept.

"The question is: Who did this thing to us? Who has bewitched us? Must we be known for wrong reasons? Must it be Kogi? I hereby call on My Lord, the ChiefJudge of Kogi State, Hon. Justice Josiah Majebi to, as amatter of urgency and public interest, quickly liasewith other authorities concerned and commenceforthwith the implementation of N30, 000 MinimumWage for Kogi State Judiciary workers. This is not the appropriate time to be calling for meetings for the purpose of negotiating with the workers; it is rather a time to meet the demand of the workers and nothingless. His Lordship is therefore, enjoined to ensure that this strike does not go beyond one week as the strike itself is a major setback in justice delivery. The liberty of many citizens will be adversely affected by the strike especially those that are in prison or Police custody whose freedom cannot be secured without the Courts.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is expected to depart Abuja for Guinea-Bissau on Saturday, July 8, to attend the 63rd Ordinary Session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), in Bissau, capital of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau.

Dele Alake, the Spokesman to the President, made this known on Friday.

The Summit, which takes place on Sunday, July 9, is expected to address memoranda on pressing sub-regional issues including; Report of the 50th Ordinary Session of the Mediation and Security Council (MSC) covering security challenges faced by the member countries ; Report of the 90th Ordinary Session of ECOWAS Council of Ministers on the financial situation of the body and the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), as well as Report on the status of Transition in the Republics of Mali, Burkina Faso and Guinea.

Other items slated for discussion include; Memoranda on the ECOWAS Single Currency Programme and the Report on Obstacles to Free Movement of Goods on the Abidjan- Lagos corridor.

President Tinubu will be accompanied by some members of the Presidential Policy Advisory Council and other top government officials.

He is expected back in the country at the end of the meeting.
The Labour Party (LP) has lambasted protesters under the aegis of Coalition of Civil Society Organisation and Political Parties for Good Governance (CCSOPPGG) for staging a protest at the European Union office against EU report on the February 25 presidential election.

While expressing resentment on the protest, the Labour Party described the development as a hug embarrassment to Nigeria.

The LPs reaction was contained in a press statement released on Friday July 7 and signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh.

The party stated that the protest staged by the All Progressive Congress (APC) shows the ruling partys stand on Nigerias democracy.

Recall that the EU, in its report, faulted the 2023 general elections stating violence, killing and vote buying as some of the factors for its criticism.

The Labour Partys attention has been drawn to Fridays protests by some All Progressives Congress, (APC) hirelings at the premises of the European Union Mission in Abuja and views such protestation as a huge national embarrassment as it shows how antithetical the party is to truth and measures that will grow and strengthen Nigerias democracy, the LPs statement reads.

It was learnt that the protesters were demanding that the EU should withdraw its final report on Nigerias 2023, general election held on 25 February and 18 March 2023, because as they claimed, the report was capable of setting the country on fire.

The protesters, who were seen with several placards carrying different inscriptions, matched through the Central Area to the European Unions headquarters in the Federal Capital Territory.

The peaceful march terminated at the headquarters of the EU where leaders of the group addressed officials of the union. With a promise from an EU official to relay the message of the protesters to the Union, the group took their leave.

The statement continues; Labour Party finds it counter-intuitive, awkward and very difficult to comprehend that if after the electoral brigandage of the APC in cahoot with the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC), on February 25, Nigeria did not go on fire because of the non-violence disposition of our standard bearer, Peter Obi, it is now that APC thinks the stark truth coming from an unbiased independent body like the EU will set Nigeria on fire.

What the Labour Party expected the APC to do is to lavishly appreciate the European Union for their continued yeoman contributions to the growth of democracy in our country through needs assessment missions and consequent financial, technical, and logistical support, which the 94-page report further underscores.

What the APC government should have done even standing in their epileptics position is to borrow a leave from late President Umaru YarAdua, who in 2007, after winning the Presidential election perceived by international observers as not sufficiently credible, accepted to make amends by promising to reform the electoral system.

It was the reform of the electoral system started by YarAdua and continued by his successor President Goodluck Jonathan after his death that facilitated the victory of an opposition APC defeating an incumbent Peoples Democratic Party, PDP in 2015.

Its the height of ingratitude and lack of sense of history for the same APC to be protesting against the same EU that had never failed to issue its observation reports after every election since 1999 and shouldnt have looked away at the worst and most egregiously conducted elections in the history of Nigeria.

What the Labour Party expects the ruling party to do if they can is to discredit the report point by point but where they cant, they should accept the fact that they are in possession of a stolen mandate, a reality known to all and sundry.

Its not difficult to understand why such an unbiased forthright report is so discomforting to the ruling party to the extent of hiring protesters because no thief likes to see or hear from anybody coming with evidence that will expose him.

What Nigeria and indeed lovers of democracy globally should do, is to appreciate the EU for its persistent role in growing democratic principles in our land and refusing to be frustrated despite the anti-democratic attitude of our politicians and leaders.

Finally, APC should understand fully, that seeking to represent Nigeria with a stolen electoral mandate at various African and international fora, where representatives of smaller countries that were able to conduct credible elections with broadly accepted outcomes are present, will always remain an albatross for our country. As much as the APC may excoriate the EU, its unvarnished report is universally available and cannot be redacted or suppressed.
ANKARA, July 8 (Xinhua) -- Turkiye has taken a "fair and balanced stance" in the Russia-Ukraine conflict and strengthened ties with both countries, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Saturday.

"While strengthening our relations with Ukraine, we did not allow our relations with the Russian Federation to deteriorate," Erdogan said at a rally in the eastern province of Bayburt, after his meeting with visiting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday.

"Hopefully, we will meet with (Russian President Vladimir) Putin in August as well," he added.

Speaking of the negative effects of the conflict on the Turkish economy, the Turkish leader said "every event happening around us has reflections on the economy," adding energy and food prices have reached record levels all over the world.

This was Zelensky's first visit to Turkiye since the Russia-Ukraine conflict broke out in February 2022, but the Ukrainian president has often spoken by phone with Erdogan as Ankara has been pushing for peace talks between Moscow and Kiev.

In July 2022, the United Nations and Turkiye brokered the Black Sea Grain Initiative with Russia and Ukraine to provide a humanitarian maritime corridor for ships carrying food and fertilizer exports from Ukrainian Black Sea ports. 
Funeral services for Arnaud Verstraete begin

PHUKET: Funeral services for Arnaud C.M.C. Verstraete, who passed away earlier this week, begin at Wat Chalong today (July 8).

Community

By The Phuket News

Saturday 8 July 2023 09:52 AM

Funeral services for Arnaud will be held at Wat Chalong from today (July 8) through Tuesday night (July 12). Image: Rotary Club of Patong Beach

Funeral services for Arnaud will be held at Wat Chalong from today (July 8) through Tuesday night (July 12). Image: Rotary Club of Patong Beach

Arnaud was a long-term Phuket expat, living on the island for more than 20 years. He had lived in Thailand more than 30 years.

During his time in Phuket, Arnaud became very well known for his work with charity projects and with the Rotary Club of Patong Beach.

He passed away on Tuesday (July 4). He was 62 years old.

The funeral services are being held at Wat Chalong

Today (Saturday, July 8), starting at 6:30pm, will be a Buddhist ceremony hosted by Rotary Club of Patong Beach.

Tomorrow, (Sunday, July 9), starting at 6:30pm, will be a Buddhist ceremony hosted by Mr Sompong Kongduang and family.

On Monday (July 10), starting at 6:30pm, will be a Buddhist Buddhist ceremony hosted by Mr Sompong Kongduang and family.

On Tuesday (July 11), starting at 6:30pm, will be a Buddhist ceremony hosted by 10 Rotary Clubs in Phuket and Rotary International District 3330.

The cremation ceremony will be at midday on Wednesday (July 12).

To honor the wishes of Arnaud, kindly provide wreaths that can be put to good use such as stationary sets, fans or bicycles for donation, wrote Best Wanamakok, President of the Rotary Club of Patong Beach.

You are graciously invited to pay your last respects, he added.
People visit the Syria International Petroleum, Gas and Energy Exhibition (SyrPetro 2023) in Damascus, Syria, July 8, 2023. With participation of more than 55 local and international companies specialized in the oil industries, excavations studies and consultation, the fair runs from July 7 to 10. (Photo by Ammar Safarjalani/Xinhua)

DAMASCUS, July 8 (Xinhua) -- Syrian oil and gas production has dramatically decreased because of U.S. sanctions, the head of a state-run oil company said Saturday.

As a result of the U.S. sanctions and military presence in Syria, oil production has decreased from 385,000 barrels per day (bpd) before the crisis to the present level of 15,000 bpd, while gas production from 30 million cubic meters per day to 10 million cubic meters per day, according to the head of the state-run Syrian Petroleum Company Farhan Jamil Abdullah.

Abdullah spoke to Xinhua at the Fourth Syria International Petroleum, Gas and Energy Exhibition (SyrPetro 2023), which runs from July 7 to 10 in the capital Damascus, with the participation of 55 local and international companies specialized in the oil industries, excavation studies, and consultation.

To try to mitigate the negative impact of the U.S. policy, Abdullah said the company has intensified operations in government-controlled areas west of the Euphrates River, and is digging wells in five positions to overcome the decrease in output.

At the opening ceremony of the exhibition on Friday, Syrian Oil Minister Firas Hassan Kaddour revealed that the losses in the oil, gas, and mineral sectors in Syria are close to 100 billion U.S. dollars, soliciting investment in the energy sector and rebuilding of the infrastructure in Syria.

Mada Ibrahim, a chemical engineer at the Syrian Gas Company, also told Xinhua that the U.S. sanctions affected their work as they obstructed the import of necessary tools and machinery.

Since the start of the Syrian civil war in 2011, the United States and its Western allies have imposed a number of economic sanctions and restrictions on Syria.

The country is reeling under a severe energy crisis as a result of the sanctions and the U.S. control of key oil and gas fields in northern and northeastern Syria. 
ADDIS ABABA, July 8 (Xinhua) -- African Integration Day was marked on Friday with the call for African Union (AU) members to accelerate job creation, digital and financial inclusion as they strive to realize the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

Speaking at the celebration of the day which was part of the African Employment Creation Forum at the AU Headquarters in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa, Monique Nsanzabaganwa, deputy chairperson of the AU Commission, urged members to create plenty of jobs through industrialization, technological advancement, and investments.

"Otherwise, it will be very hard for each African Union member state to achieve the middle-income status by 2033," Nsanzabaganwa warned, noting that a significant number of African women and youth are suffering a lot due to exclusion from educational opportunities, work, and access to digital tools.

She said the AU is engaged in mobilizing 100 billion U.S. dollars in a bid to create 10 million small and medium enterprises (SMEs) across the continent as part of its effort to ensure that women and youth are part of the digital and financial world by 2033.

Speaking on the occasion, Albert Muchanga, commissioner for economic development, trade, tourism, industry and minerals of the AU Commission, said the instabilities occurring in almost all parts of Africa have posed a serious challenge to the integration of Africa.

Muchanga stressed the need to successfully implement Africa's integration mechanisms to increase job opportunities, and improve economic welfare, GDP growth, capital inflows, and general living standards across the continent.

"AfCFTA could ease trade and investment flows and shift the composition and direction of foreign direct investment flows into Africa," said Muchanga, noting that the AfCFTA will help defragment African economies, boost their productivity, and enhance market efficiency across the continent.

Hailemariam Desalegn, chairman of AeTrade Group and former prime minister of Ethiopia, said nearly 3 million young African graduates get jobs every year despite the fact that the number of young African graduates leaving schools and colleges each year hits more than 19 million.

The chairman has called for attracting more investment into the continent in a bid to create job opportunities for the African young people labor force which is projected to reach 375 million by 2030. 
BRAZZAVILLE, July 8 (Xinhua) -- Kenya and the Republic of the Congo signed on Saturday 18 cooperation agreements and memoranda of understanding during Kenyan President William Ruto's state visit to Congo-Brazzaville.

The 18 agreements and memoranda of understanding, signed at the People's Palace in Brazzaville, the capital of the Congo Republic, cover different areas, including agriculture, livestock, mining, tourism, education, oil and gas.

"These agreements that we have signed will not be documents lying in the drawer; we will follow the execution," assured the Congolese President Denis Sassou Nguesso during a press conference after the signing ceremony.

The Kenyan president embarked Friday on a 72-hour state visit to the Republic of the Congo. 
Trinamul Member of Parliament from the Dum Dum constituency, Prof Saugata Roy was one of the 50 senior party leaders to have been hand- picked by West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee to campaign in the rural areas before the panchayat elections today. The Statesmans Dola Mitra caught up with the veteran politician as he returned to Kolkata from the final tour of the villages three evenings before polling began. Exhausted but elated he spoke about why he is confident that that his party will steamroll the competition to emerge victorious not just in these elections but the Parliamentary elections next year.

Excerpts

Q: After weeks of campaign- ing in the villages of West Bengal, what is your assessment of the situation on the ground as far as Trinamul and the partys political competition is concerned?

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A: There is hardly any competition at all. The other political parties dont have any significant presence on the ground. Only in a few places did I see some wall graffiti, banners and posters of the BJP or the Left parties but these were too few to be counted and I found no remarkable attempt by these parties to reach out to the rural people in order to try to understand their issues and con- cerns. It is amply clear from the recent visits to the constituencies that Trina- mul has won the hearts and minds of the rural people.

Q: You mentioned the BJP and the Left parties. What about the Congress?

A: I did not come across any cam- paigning attempts by the Congress. It is difficult to assess the reasons for that but it could be related to the Con- gress and the Left parties deciding to work together and to fight the elec- tions together.

Q: Each individual campaign has different approaches. What con- stitutes campaigning for you?

A: There were two broad aspects to the campaigning. In the first, we high- lighted the progressive, developmen- tal projects and schemes of the Mamata Banerjee government. We pointed out to the public how the Tri- namool governments contributions benefitted the poor people in the dis- tricts and other rural areas. We espe- cially highlighted the Lakshmi Bhan- dar scheme which has already bene- fitted 2 crore women from poor fami- lies since its inception. In fact, every- where we went, women came out and told us how the Laxmi Bhandar scheme empowered them. The other developmental scheme that we focused on is the Kanyashree pro- gramme, which has already benefit- ted 1 crore girls and women from needy families. We also brought attention to the Sabuj Sathi scheme which has benefitted 1 crore students. We pointed out how the Swasthy Swathy scheme has helped people of different economic groups.

Q: What about the second part?

A: We focused on the neglect meted out to the state of West Bengal by the BJP-led government at the Centre. The Central government has deprived the state of its financial entitlements, for instance. This includes not clearing money for payment of dues to the labourers engaged in the 100-days- work guarantee scheme under the national rural employment act. Mamata gives rice for free but the Modi government charges Rs 1,200 for cooking gas.

Q: What about other issues and future plans for progress and development in rural areas?

A: There are a number of develop- mental projects and the work is in progress. Among the more important ones is the piped water scheme in which the homes of the poor people in the districts and villages will receive water in pipelines. The work is going on and it is scheduled to be completed by 2025.

Q: While Mamata Banerjees public distribution schemes in the rural areas are popular, a section of the rural electorate, however, say that they would like to give the political party which did not yet have a chance at governing West Bengal (namely BJP) a chance. What are your thoughts on this?

A: Anti-incumbency is not a strong factor in these elections. The BJP had tried to push its communal agenda throughout Bengal and it did not suc- ceed. The number of people who say that they want to give a chance to an alternative is very small.

Q: Then how would you explain the BJPs gains in terms of both a rise in the number of seats as well as increases in vote shares as indicated by the results of the Parliamentary elections of 2019 and the Assembly elections of 20217

A: BJP is a communal party. It tried its divisive agenda and it took it every- where. It had limited success. But ulti- mately it did not convince the elec- torate of West Bengal.

Q: Didi campaigned in North Bengals Cooch district. Trinamuls All India General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee campaigned in South Bengals Nadia district before heading out to other areas. That too after completing a mas- sive two-month long rural-out- reach programme during which time he visited virtually every part of the state. Why is the Trinamul government going all out as far as campaigning for the rural elec- tions is concerned if the impact of the rural developmental project is so positive and the public distribu- tion schemes so popular?

A: We are constantly strengthening our rural base and it is important to stay connected with the people on the ground. The Parliamentary elections are coming up next year. This is also a preparation for that.

Q: How would the Panchayat polls be a preparation for the Parliamentary elections?

A: The results of rural elections are going to give us an indication of the ground.

Q: Please comment on the violence that has taken place during the filing of nomination papers for the Panchayat polls.

A: Trinamul is for free and fair elec- tions. A few incidents of violence have occurred and one cannot point to any one political party. However, the scale of violence is much less now than in the past.

Q: Finally, what do you think of the decision made by Didi in the June 23 meeting in Patna to join hands with other Opposition parties to fight the BJP in the 2024 general elec- tions? Will the camaraderie with the Left at the Centre be extend- ed to the state?

A: The decision to unite is an impor- tant step forward. It will strengthen the Oppositions fight against BJP in the Parliamentary elections next year. The state will not at all be impacted by the decision at the Centre. The Tri- namool is fighting the BJP at the Cen- tre with other Opposition parties to defeat the BJP-led NDA government In the state, the Trinamool does not need the help of the Congress and the Left. It is not trying to defeat the BJP here. Trinamools only agenda is to continue to serve the people with its developmental schemes.
Amid widespread violence as voting for the three-tier panchayat elections in West Bengal continued on Saturday, several polling booths are without security cover.

The maximum number of booths where the polling process is on without the presence of central armed forces personnel includes in Howrah, North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas, East Midnapore, and the tribal-dominated pockets in Bankura, Purulia and West Midnapore districts.

The arrival of the central forces personnel was completed on late Friday night and in that 11th hour it was hardly possible to ensure proper deployment, said a state Election Commission official.

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Condemning the developments, Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Assembl,y Suvendu Adhikari said in a tweet: West Bengal Panchayat Elections  Carnival of DEMONCRACY Mamata Banerjees henchman & contract killer; State Election Commissioner Rajiv Sinha is executing her plans across the State.

The state Election Commissioner Rajiva Sinha, who arrived in his office some three hours late after voting began at 7.30 a.m., is yet to make a comment on the violence.

However, sources from the state election commission office said that it was evident since Friday evening that the proper deployment of central armed forces in all polling booths will not be possible.
NEW DELHI, July 8 (Xinhua) -- At least nine people were killed and many others injured Saturday as violence marred the ongoing rural body elections in India's eastern state of West Bengal, officials said.

The slain were identified as five members of West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress party, one worker each belonging to the Bharatiya Janata Party, Communist Party of India (Marxist) and Indian National Congress, and a supporter of an independent candidate.

Ever since the elections were announced in the state on June 8, violent incidents and killings were reported from across the state.

The political parties are blaming each other for the violence.

West Bengal Governor C. V. Ananda Bose Saturday condemned the widespread violence amid the ongoing polling.

"Whatever is happening is a blot on the democratic setup, where common people are unable to exercise their franchise without fear," he told reporters. "But I still urge the people to come out and exercise their rights."

Reports said authorities have deployed huge contingents of paramilitary personnel and police to ensure free and fair polling and maintain law and order.

The voting will be conducted in a single phase and the counting of votes is scheduled to take place on July 11. 
Even as West Bengal witnessed about 23 per cent polling in the panchayat throughout the state till 11 am, Congress moved an application in the Calcutta High Court to declare the West Bengal Panchayat polls null and void.

Even as this development took place, there were continuous reports of widespread violence across the state. This, despite the fact that there was heavy deployment of security forces in the state.

In all, nine deaths have been reported till now in the last 24 hours in the run-up and at the time of polling.

A Trinamool activist identified as Amjad Hossain was murdered in Chapra, Uttar Dinajpur. This attack was allegedly carried out by the supporters of the CPIM-dominated Left & Congress supporters. Apart from this close to a dozen TMC workers were injured. Also, two BJP activists were shot in the Dinhata panchayat, Cooch Behar.

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Similarly, two Trinamool activists were shot dead in Murshidabad. They have been identified as Yashin Sheikh, father-in-law of a TMC candidate who was killed in Beldanga, and Sahabuddin Sheikh in Khargram.

In this case, too, the suspects are reportedly supporters of the Left and Congress.

While a TMC man was shot at in Samshergunj, two workers of Congress and Trinamool have also been shot at in Domkal.

Also, workers of an Independent candidate were allegedly shot at by TMC-men in Kadambagachhi in North 24 Parganas.

Similarly, in the Malpaharpur GP area of Tarakeswar in Hooghly, Chandana Singh, daughter of an Independent candidate is hospitalized after she was shot in the head. The family says, that the TMC men tried to kill the candidates son but the bullet incidentally hit the daughter.

Also, two ISF workers were allegedly shot at in South 24 Parganas district after a clash began between the workers and TMC and ISF.

Meanwhile, Union Minister Anurag Thakur has questioned the Mamata Banerjee government though what is shocking this time around is that the TMC workers who have been targeted have also been killed and injured.
At least four political activists were killed and several injured amid widespread violence and arson since panchayat polls started in north Bengal culminating in polling on Saturday.

When two BJP workers were allegedly killed by miscreants backed by the Trinamool Congress (TMC) in Dinhata under the Cooch Behar district, two TMC activists were allegedly killed by Congress-backed workers in Malda and North Dinajpur.

Since morning on the polling day today, several villages were on the boil in the Dinhata Assembly segment. More than 10 persons were injured and some of them sustained bullet injuries in Cooch Behar. One of them succumbed to bullet injuries in Cooch Behar hospital later.

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Angry voters, including anti-TMC activists, ransacked at least five polling stations, damaged ballot boxes, set fire on polled (rigged) ballots and other papers protesting against booth capturing and rigging in Dinhata and Mathabhanga areas.

A group of miscreants allegedly backed by the TMC snatched ballots from polling officers at gunpoint and rigged votes. Polling officers were allegedly assaulted when they resisted miscreants.

Sources said miscreants collected ballots from presiding officers at gunpoint since midnight and rigged votes in North Bengal. They even sealed ballot boxes in a few polling booths in Cooch Behar and other districts in North Bengal.

Several polling officers complained that one constable and a civic volunteer deployed there were not enough to resist a gang of miscreants. In protest, voters backed by BJP allegedly ransacked polling booths, damaged and burnt ballot boxes in Cooch Behar.

Significantly, BJP workers, including a party candidate, poured water into ballot boxes in some polling booths in protest against booth capturing forcing polling officers to stop the election process.

Hundreds of common voters assembled in front of many polling booths late in the morning demanding re-polling to exercise their democratic rights.

State police and Central forces were found helpless in managing the situation.

The trouble started with a BJP polling agent being shot dead at a polling station in Cooch Behar. A group of miscreants went on the rampage with muskets. Cooch Behar police superintendent had to rush to bring the situation under control.

Widespread violence was reported from the Manikchak area in the Malda district after a clash broke out, by hurling huge crude bombs, between TMC and Congress workers. One TMC worker died at Gopalpur owing to a bomb blast.

A TMC leader was allegedly hacked to death by miscreants belonging to Congress at Chakulia in North Dinajpur.

Police recovered the body of a TMC supporter from a village in Hemtabad, North Dinajpur today.

To save lives, polling officers had to leave polling booths in Islampur under North Dinajpur after a group of miscreants captured booths, rigged votes and sealed ballot boxes.

TMC-backed miscreants allegedly captured dozens of polling booths and rigged votes at Baharal and Debipur under Ratua police station in Malda.

In English Bazar under the Mada district a group of miscreants allegedly captured and rigged votes in many polling stations, located remote area.

Around 4 pm, a TMC candidate himself allegedly brought a ballot box from polling booth to Chanchal police station, as angry voters allegedly tried to damage it.

On the other hand, BJP activists looted ballots in Gangarampur in South Dinajpur. Balurghat MP Sukanta Majumder, who is BJP state president, was prevented by TMC leadership from moving wide area in Gangarampur.

A presiding officer, resident of Siliguri, posted at Goalpokhar in North Dinajpur, was assaulted by a group of miscreants, who broke the door and entered the polling booth. The officer was undergoing treatment in Islampur hospital.

Violence and clashes were reported from Sanyasikata gram panchayat and even Dhupguri in Jalpaiguri. BJP leaders, workers and candidates staged demonstration in front of New Jalpaiguri police station demanding deployment of Central forces to curb alleged TMCs terror tactic. Having failed to stop rigging, a group of BJP supporters poured water in ballot boxes in the Fulbari area in Jalpaiguri district.

No violence was, however, reported from Darjeeling and Kalimpong Hills, where two tier rural polls were held today after two decades. According to records from Darjeeling District Panchayat Election Officer, voter turnout was recorded 42 per cent at 3 pm today.
Leader of the Opposition in the Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari and CPI-M leader Shamik Lahiri came down heavily on the State Election Commission (SEC) on Saturday for failure to control violence and widespread proxy voting in the Bengal Panchayat election in the state.

Both the leaders blamed the SEC for the proxy voting and rampant violence that resulted in the death of several people.

Adhikari claimed that SEC Commissioner Rajiva Sinha and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had a tacit understanding which, he said, led to a free for all with neither the state police nor Central forces being deployed to prevent violence.

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He demanded invocation of Article 356 of the Indian Constitution.

After casting his vote in Nandigram, the leader of the Opposition shouted, Lets go to Kalighat, open bricks. Few people will die, but Bengal will be saved this way.

Suvendu stated that there were two ways to restore peace in the state, imposition of Article 356 or 355 of the Indian Constitution, or a peoples uprising.

He further added, I dont know whether the governor and the Central government are thinking on these lines, but if the administration is not neutralised by invoking Article 356 or 355 during elections in this state, there will be no vote in West Bengal. It cant be.

The Trinamool party hit back with party spokesperson Kunal Ghosh saying, He is saying all this knowing that he will be defeated. Suvendu should talk to the grandfathers of Delhi about Manipur before demanding Presidents rule in that state.

Some BJP supporters were arrested while protesting against the widespread violence and resulting deaths in Bengal. The police prevented them from entering the office of SEC Commissioner Rajiva Sinha.

CPI-M leader Shamik Lahiri stated that since morning, the ruling TMC indulged in booth capturing in the absence of Central forces. However, people resisted the goons and foiled attempts at rigging, which, he alleged, were actively supported by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and SEC Commissioner.

Meanwhile, the state BJP informed the Central leadership about the situation regarding the Panchayat polls, and Central leaders sought information regarding the violence and related deaths during the elections.
Blaming West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose for the violence during the panchayat polls, Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders here alleged that the violence instigated by him in some pockets led to stray incidents in the state.

Addressing the media, Dr Shashi Panja, a cabinet minister in West Bengal government, said out of a total of 61,569 booths across the state, major violence took place at eight to nine booths and stray violence took place at another 60 booths. In 14 districts, there was not a single incidence of violence.

Every death is painful. But 60 per cent of those who died were our leaders or supporters, she said, adding that in the bordering areas, the BSF jawans told the voters to vote for the BJP.

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Kunal Ghosh alleged that the CPI-M, the Congress, the BJP and the ISF had conspired to cause violence in some pockets just to malign the image of West Bengal.

They are being instigated by the governor and the narrative has been built in such a way that there is violence across the state and election in Bengal is a farce, he said.

Echoing Dr Panjas views, he said: We do not support violence but most of those killed in violence are Trinamool supporters.

Some electronic media are showing pictures of violence, but are not showing the areas where the people have voted peacefully. If Trinamool Congress had snatched the ballots, then the vote percentage would have gone up. The opposition has realised that they have lost the election and to divert the attention of the people, they are talking about violence, he said.

Bratya Basu said: The Opposition should answer who had thrown water on the ballot papers in Dinhata.

He alleged that the opposition had conspired to create trouble on the day of polling.

He said that in most of the districts, the polling was held peacefully.
West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose has strongly condemned widespread violence during the ongoing panchayat elections in the state, labeling the incidents as a stain on the democratic system.

As voting commenced early Saturday morning, the Governor visited various violence-affected areas including North 24 Parganas and Nadia, where an assassination incident occurred.

Speaking to the media in Kadambagachi, North 24 Parganas district, the Governor stated: Since the morning, I have been notified of several clashes and instances of violence. There have been gun battles and bloodshed.

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I will provide further updates at a later stage. What is happening is a disgrace to the democratic setup, where ordinary citizens are unable to exercise their voting rights without fear. However, I still urge the people to come out and exercise their rights, he said.

Seven fatalities have been reported since the start of the voting. Two deaths each were recorded in Murshidabad and East Burdwan, while one each occurred in Nadia, Cooch Behar, and Malda.

The overall death toll since the beginning of polling on June 8 has now reached 13 on Saturday. The Panchayat polling in West Bengal began this morning under tight security measures.

Since the announcement of election dates, the state has been plagued by violence. Incidents of violence were reported during the nomination filing period, and similar incidents have occurred since then.
It could beat any action movie scene. There was an open area, with a man holding a pistol, targeting his frontman. The independent candidate was trying to escape from the barrel of the gun, while several others stood around. The gunman became the focus of the media cameras. But the man wearing a black T-shirt shouted: Kuch paroya nehi and then fired at his target.

However, the shot missed the target in the crowd, and the independent candidate managed to run away by then. On the morning of the panchayat elections, an incident reminiscent of the killing of Atiq Ahmed in front of the media cameras took place at Prayagraj in UP.

The same episode sans killing happened at Mohanpur in Barrackpur in front of media cameras. This time, the independent candidate miraculously survived, and all of this happened in front of a large media presence. This image is shocking.

Independent candidate Arijit Das survived in Barrackpur. The opposition parties have consistently complained that workers from the ruling party are not allowing them to approach the polling booths. There was no police presence, and central forces were nowhere to be seen.

The area was relatively empty, with about twenty-five people present. Independent candidate Arijit Das had been active since the morning. He complained that voters had been detained since morning, while proxy voting was being allowed. When he protested, all the anger was directed towards him.

Allegedly, a bomb was initially targeted at him near the booth, followed by a pursuit with a raised pistol. Three shots were fired in quick succession. A young man dressed in a black T-shirt shot publicly in front of everyone, and the media cameras captured the moment.

The independent candidate initially took cover behind a shop shed and then managed to escape. The twenty-five-year-old man, with a pistol in his hand, was seen walking away after missing the target. However, his actions have practically altered the script of Bengals political landscape.
The three-tier panchayat polls in the Nadia district were marred by widespread violence during polling on Saturday. The polling day witnessed looting of ballot papers, booth jamming and intimidation raising serious concerns about the fairness of the electoral process.

Despite the presence of police personnel at several locations, at least one person was killed, and 50 others, including journalists and photographers, were injured.

The unfortunate fatality occurred during a clash between supporters of the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Congress party in Kalyandaha under the Chapra police station limits. Amjad Ali Halsana, a TMC worker, lost his life in the violent confrontation, while nine others sustained injuries. All the injured individuals were rushed to the Chapra hospital, where Amjad was pronounced dead.

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Reports of ballot paper looting and booth capturing emerged from various areas in Chapra. Opposition leaders alleged that TMC workers, armed with guns, had stormed booths in Hatra, Hatisala-I and II, Brittihuda, and Hatkhola. They reportedly looted ballot papers from presiding officers, depriving voters of their democratic rights.

In Sibir near Baraandulia, Chapra, TMC workers snatched the mobile phones of a journalist who had arrived at the scene upon hearing that ruling party workers were ejecting agents of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI-M) and other parties. This incident highlights the intimidation faced by the media personnel covering the elections.

Further violence erupted in Haringhata, where TMC-backed goons hurled bombs at opposition party workers in the Basantapur area. The attack resulted in injuries to at least ten individuals, including journalists and photographers. The condition of one person remains critical.

Similar incidents of violence were reported from Santipur, Nabadwip, Bhatjangla, Nakashipara, Kaliganj, Chakdah, and Ranaghat. In Bagachra anchal, Santipur, five individuals were injured when ruling party workers threw bombs at an opposition party gathering, triggering a clash.

In Char Brahmapur, Nabadwip, several individuals sustained injuries as TMC workers allegedly captured most of the booths and cast votes in favor of their candidates, undermining the democratic process.

While TMC Nadia north district president Kallol Khan maintained that polling in the district was mostly peaceful, opposition parties accused the administration of turning a blind eye to the widespread violence and irregularities.

Arjun Biswas, BJP Nadia north district president, criticized the lack of adequate security provisions, alleging that the ruling party successfully captured booths and looted ballots due to the limited presence of central forces, which covered only a small fraction of the booths.
The Economic Offences Wing of Odisha police have busted a QR code manipulation fraud in which cybercriminals siphoning off more than Rs 14 crore from a Bhubaneswar-based tech company.

It is the latest form of cyber financial fraud. EOW has for the first time unearthed such a cybercrime by arresting the fraudster Karan Kumar Singh, a resident of Sec-19, Noida, Uttar Pradesh. We have found prima facie evidence of Rs 14 crore embezzlement by manipulation of QR codes of a Fintech company, said Deputy Inspector General of Police, EOW, Jay Narayan Pankaj.

The accused was produced before the CJM, Goutam Budha Nagar, UP on yesterday and was brought to Bhubaneswar on the strength of 3 days transit remand for his production before the Designated Court at Cuttack, EOW said in a statement.

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This case was registered on the report of Sanjib Kumar Parida, chief technology officer of IServeU Technology Pvt Ltd., a Bhubaneswar-based Fintech company with the allegation that during April-May-2023, they had entered into Technology integration agreements with the Directors of Noida based Company M/s Payone Digital Services Pvt. Ltd., providing Digital Payment Services, for facilitation of the Finotech Service.

Accordingly, IServeU had extended its UPI API to the company for commercial utilization. Karan Kumar Singh and his brother Lallu Singh are the Directors of M/s Payone Digital Services Pvt. Ltd. On 19 June 2023, the complainants company came to know on reconciliation that there is a significant difference in the cash balance in their Nodal Bank account maintained with the FINO Bank, the EOW statement said.

On verification of the UPI logs, it came to light that Karan Singh and Lallu Singh both Directors Payone Digital Services by manipulating the QR Codes generated by the complainant company have embezzled the extra credit of around Rs.14.33 crore of the complainants company and fraudulently diverted the amount to more than 125 different Bank Accounts from the Payout wallet of which, the User ID and Password were shared to Payone Digital Services Pvt. Ltd by the Complainant company IServeU.

It is being suspected that many other fraudsters are also involved in this complex and highly technical case. As no such type of cases has been detected before, EOW would be taking the help of experts to thoroughly investigate the matter and also come up with an advisory so that people can be alerted, EOW added.
As the Supreme Court re-opened in July, lawyers and litigants were welcomed with a refreshing sight of paperless and digitised courtrooms. Gone are the days when huge volumes of papers stacked under the table were a common sight. Instead, lawyers were welcomed with paperless courtrooms, digital screens, free-wifi, etc.

Now virtual courts can be managed by virtual judges whose jurisdiction can be extended to the entire state. Could working hours extend to 24X7, metaphorically speaking? Who knows?

That means neither the litigant would have to come to the court nor will the judges have to physically preside over the court.

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The Vashi court in Navi Mumbai in Maharashtra is the first paperless digital court in the country, Bombay High Court judge Gautam Patel said while hailing lawyers who agreed with the concept and worked towards implementing it.

After the successful launch of the e-courts project, the e-courts filing software is available for use in 21 High Courts and 18,000 District Courts across India. Digital courts have transformed the world of legal professionals. The Statesmans Chandrani Banerjee interviewed the former additional solicitor General of India, Raju Ramachandran, who was amicus Curiae (friend of the court) in Ajmal Kasab, 2002 Gujarat riots case, and Mumbai Attacks in 2008. Ramachandran talked about the digital world of courts, judges and lawyers.

Here are the excerpts.

CB: How has the digital era changed the professional world of legal eagles?

RR: It has transformed the entire legal profession. The way people used to perceive the lawyers so far was with a huge bag or jhola with loads of files and assistants to assist the senior advocates. Now the scene is different. A handy iPad has all the details. If I want to take out the details from the plaintiff before going to prepare another note it is there at a click of a button. And, the long travels and running up and down the corridors is the story of the past. Now, one can appear in two different cases in two different cities at once. Imagine the change. This is a welcome change for sure.

CB: Do you think lawyers need training to embrace this welcome change?

RR: What kind of training is required? Everyone is using WhatsApp. The technology has elevated to a stage where by just moving a finger one can reach another person, talk to them, see and hear them. There are options to go for live sessions and rework schedules and interact without spending a huge cost. And this is so basic that no one needs training. It is also something you learn while working. So, this is a huge respite for the lawyers.

CB: How did the litigants benefit from this digital court?

RR: Ultimate beneficiaries are the litigants. Litigation gets resolved early. The waiting period has been cut down. Of course not to nil but that shall happen soon. They also need to travel less. The stress level of the litigant is surely much lesser now. The documents can be easily sent to them. They can go online to check the details. So I think overall this is beneficial to everyone.

CB: The digital world also offers fun sharing. The lawyers handling important cases and judges should be on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram?

RR: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc, we can be on these platforms but there should be a limit to that as well.

CB: But Judges are supposed to maintain a certain aloofness as per the tradition and would it be okay for them to comment on any trending story on social media?

RR: No, they should not be on social media. There are certain requirements in any profession. The executives cannot talk about policy decisions. The three service chiefs cannot talk about planning and policy. Imagine if everyone starts talking wouldnt it be chaotic? So this is not new. It is a professional requirement.

CB: The former Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad supporting the freedom of the judges said that judges are also free individuals and they can have their viewpoint. What do you think about it?

RR: Yes. They can post pictures of their friends and family. They can put videos of that nature. But anything related to the judiciary is a big no. I am sure the minister also meant the same thing.

CB: In the BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharmas matter, Justice Padiwala pointed out that attacking judges for their judgements on social media should be equal to contempt of court. What are your views?

RR: Absolutely. Attributing motives and targeting a judge is contempt of court. If a judge is criticized or targeted for his simple social media post then that is different. But if a judge is targeted, motives are attributes that are unfair that should not happen. It also attracts contempt as per law.

CB: On the one hand, a Supreme Court judge is saying that commenting on SC judgements should be equated with Contempt of Court while the SC live proceedings are available on YouTube. Isnt this contradictory Your views?

RR: Discussing or analysing the judgment is not an issue. Attributing motives is an issue. And that is rightly pointed out by the Supreme Court judge. As far as the live streaming is concerned that is digital courtroom. That is fair and people should be happy that the medium will help ease the burden on the court. The waiting period for the litigants would be lesser. So these are two different things and not contradictory at all.

CB: Judges have been told to be careful about the language they use during live streaming by the Chief Justice of India. Do you think that this is possible while hearing a case?

RR: Yes. Actually, there is a relationship between the judge and the lawyer. The nuances of the language used between a lawyer and a judge are usually misunderstood by people who have no knowledge of legal work. They attribute all kinds of meanings to it. So, in the best interest, the judges should be careful.

CB: There are explainers, reels, and videos about various sections of legal functioning. Do you think such videos on digital platforms can mislead people?

RR: The video-makers need to be careful about sections and their meaning. If the video is by a person who is from the field of law or a practising lawyer then it is understandable otherwise it could certainly be misunderstood by people who do not understand the law. So whosoever is putting up videos should be careful.
When Kajol made a statement in her latest promotional interview that the majority of political figures in India lack education, the netizens did not hold back from brutally criticise her.

Kajol, a popular and lovable Bollywood actress, will soon make her long-awaited OTT debut in The Trail on Disney+ Hotstar. She is adored by the crowd for her down-to-earth demeanour and humorous remarks while being one of Indias most bankable actors. Even when her remarks are met with disapproval by netizens (the citizens of the internet), she does not back down from speaking her mind. She recently made a comment about the lack of educated political leaders in India while promoting her new series.

While some netizens did agree with her stance, many others viciously mocked her for being a school dropout. She was quoted by Telly Chakkar as expressing how slow changes are in a society as deeply ingrained in customs as India.

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According to Kajol, We have political leaders who do not have an educational system background. You are being ruled by leaders who do not have that viewpoint and education does give you that. She even went on to remark that she was sorry but she had to say it out loud.

As soon as her comment went viral, internet users mocked her as well as her husband Ajay Devgns academic background or lack thereof on social media.

While one individual called her out on Twitter as school dropout after class 8th another went on to tweet that This crop of nepotism Kajol herself is an illiterate school dropout, her husband sells cancer and look at her overconfidence [clown emoji] and countless such tweets flooded the internet.

In addition to The Trial, Kajol will appear in the suspense thriller movie Do Patti. After eight years, she will work with Dilwale co-star Kriti Sanon again.
ISLAMABAD, July 8 (Xinhua) -- At least seven people were burnt to death and 14 others injured after a passenger van caught fire in Pakistan's eastern Punjab province on Saturday, police officials said.

The accident happened in Bhalwal city of the province's Sargodha district after a liquefied petroleum gas cylinder fitted in the van leaked and exploded, killing five people on the spot, while two others succumbed to their injuries on their way to a hospital, police told the local media.

At least 14 passengers sustained burn injuries of various degrees, said the police, adding that women and children were among the victims of the unfortunate incident.

Several bodies were charred beyond recognition in the passenger van fire, an eyewitness told the media.

Police and rescue teams rushed to the site and doused the blaze following the incident. Rescue personnel shifted the injured to a nearby hospital with several persons of them in critical condition.

Police have launched an investigation into the fire. 
The Sidhi urination episode in Madhya Pradesh is still fresh in the minds of the people when a video of a man forcibly being made to lick another persons feet has come to light. The incident has been reported from Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh. Two persons have already been detained by the Madhya Pradesh Police.

The accused Golu Gurjar can be seen slapping the victim, Mohsin Khan, repeatedly along with his friends in a moving car. They beat him up and forced him to call them father and even pushed him to lick their feet with loud music playing in the background. They coerced him into saying Golu Gurjar baap hai (Golu Gurjar is his father) while they are driving.

Will Modis MP CM wash this Muslim mans feet? Two Hindu supremacists are abusing a Muslim, beating him up, forcing him to lick their feet in a moving car in MP, India. pic.twitter.com/iO5ClacZVL Advertisement  Ashok Swain (@ashoswai) July 7, 2023

Both the victim and the accused are inhabitants of Dabra town in Gwalior. The video has been doing the rounds on social media. The victim has gone missing.

After being forced by the man, the victim is seen licking the soles of his feet. Amidst this act, the accused is seen repeatedly slapping the victim in the face and verbally harassing him.

In a different video, the accused is shown repeatedly using a shoe to strike the victim in the face.

Narottam Mishra, Madhya Pradesh home minister, said two persons had been detained in connection with the incident.

According to Vivek Kumar Sharma, the SDOP for Dabra, the video clip has been forwarded for forensic analysis.

Following the victims familys complaint, a case has been filed against the accused for kidnapping and assault under the pertinent sections of the Indian Penal Code, Sharma said.

An uproarious video that surfaced earlier this week in the states Sidhi showed a man peeing on a tribal labourer. After the incidents video went viral on social media on Tuesday, the accused, Pravesh Shukla, was taken into custody. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Chauhan himself washed the feet of the victim as an apology.
The state of West Bengal is currently underway with a crucial three-tier panchayat election, which is being closely watched as a litmus test for the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha polls. However, the election is marred by reports of severe violence and loss of lives. Voting began at 7 AM and is scheduled to conclude at 5 PM. Authorities are on high alert, with central forces closely monitoring the second round of elections.

The main parties vying for victory in the Bengal election are the Trinamool Congress (TMC), Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)), and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Amidst the backdrop of violence, the Bengal Panchayat Elections present 10 key points to be aware of.

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1. Over 5.67 crore eligible voters will choose candidates for nearly 928 seats across 22 zilla parishads, 63,229 gram panchayat seats, and 9,730 panchayat samitis in the Bengal panchayat elections.

2. Reports of extensive violence have surfaced since the elections were announced, with 15 people, including a teenager, losing their lives and incidents of arson and vandalism reported.

3. Trinamool Congress leaders Abhishek Banerjee and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee led the partys campaign in the elections.

4. The ruling Trinamool Congress criticized the federal forces for security lapses, stating that three of their volunteers were killed and two injured. The BJP reported the death of a worker in the Cooch Behar area and instances of ballot papers being set on fire and polling booths being vandalized.

5. Trinamool Congress urged its cadres to avoid using coercive methods and to provide opponents with greater democratic space, aiming to prevent a repeat of the 2018 rural elections where they won a significant number of uncontested seats.

6. Abhishek Banerjee emphasized the importance of peoples support over central forces, stating that the mandate will not change without public backing. Trinamool Congress won over 85% of the seats in the 2013 panchayat elections.

7. BJP leaders Sukanta Majumdar, Dilip Ghosh, and Suvendu Adhikari oversaw the partys campaign, while Congress state president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and CPI (M) state secretary Mohammed Salim led their respective parties campaigns.

8. In response to public complaints, Governor CV Ananda Bose established a Peace Home in his residence, marking the Raj Bhavans active involvement in addressing election violence.

9. The Indian Secular Front (ISF), led by Nawsad Siddique, the only MLA from the party, garnered attention with its campaign in areas of North and South 24 Parganas, frequently clashing with the local Trinamool government in Bhangor, South 24 Parganas.

10. These panchayat elections mark the second time since the late 1970s that Bengals village council representatives will be elected under the close supervision of central authorities. Around 65,000 central police officers and 70,000 state police officers have been deployed across Bengal to ensure a peaceful election process.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said Telanganas ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and the Congress Party are both dynastic and corrupt, and can be highly dangerous for the state.

Addressing a BJP public rally in Warangal after launching development projects, he said the whole country had seen corruption of the dynastic Congress party. Now, the whole of Telangana is witnessing corruption of the dynastic BRS.

Congress or the BRS, both are fatal for people of the state. People must make efforts to save themselves from both of them, he said.

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Modi said he could see people in the state were disturbed that Telangana could one day get entangled in dynastic rule.

In dynastic systems, he said, the rulers worry only about the future of their children. They are not concerned that if the future of other children in the state or the country, is ruined. People should know that all dynastic parties are founded on corruption, he said.

Attacking Telanganas BRS Government led by K Chandrashekar Rao, the prime minister said, KCR government means the most corrupt government.

Now, it has corruption links in Delhi also, Modi added, referring to the BRS leaders alleged links with the Delhi liquor scam.

He said there was a time when we heard about pacts between two countries or States for development, or for water. For the first time, charges are heard that two political parties and two State Governments have entered into a deal for corruption.

It is unfortunate that people who fought for Telangana and made sacrifices, had to see such a spectacle, he said.

The prime minister said Telanganas ruling family, facing stranglehold of investigating agencies for its scams of crores of rupees, is exposed before the public. People should be careful about its attempts to mislead them by adopting new methods, diverting attention, he said.

He said the biggest sin a representative of the people can do is to deceive the trust of its own people. This is what the government of the State has done, the Prime Minister said. People had so many expectations from the government but it has just cheated them in the last nine years.

What the KCR Government has done in the last nine years are just four things and these are, first, abusing Modi and the Government of India, whole day, regularly, employing full dictionary in this. Secondly, it has made one family centre of all power, and declaring oneself the owner of Telangana; thirdly, it has destroyed all possibility of the States economic development, and fourthly, sunk Telangana in corruption.

There are no projects in Telangana today in which there are no corruption charges, Modi said about the State which is one of the States going to the polls before the next Lok Sabha elections.

There are recruitment scandals, betraying the youth. I remember the big talk of employment opportunities done during the Telengana struggle days. The youth are paying the biggest price for the open game of corruption. Who does not know about the scams of the State Public Service Commission? The recruitment process is being used to make money by the party leaders, Mr Modi said.

He said higher education has been destroyed in the States 12 universities, ruining the future of the youth; there are 3000 vacancies of teachers in the universities and 15,000 teachers vacancies in State schools. Is this not cheating, he said.

The promise for an unemployment allowance of Rs 3000 has not been kept, he said. There has been only cheating with people, he said. The Centre is spending large money in the States rural areas.

Many parties give false promises before elections but it is not so with the BJP, the Prime Minister said. If it talks of free rations, it is given. In the last nine years, the nations standing has gone up in the world with efforts made by the BJPs Government at the Centre, and this has benefited Telangana also.
The Karnataka government has taken a significant step towards ensuring the social security of gig workers by announcing a free insurance cover. Under this initiative, gig workers employed by food delivery companies like Zomato, Swiggy, and other e-commerce platforms will be provided with a comprehensive insurance cover worth INR 4 lakh. This insurance coverage includes INR 2 lakh for life insurance and an additional INR 2 lakh for accidental insurance.

The premium for this insurance will be borne by the Karnataka government, reflecting their commitment to supporting the welfare of gig workers. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah highlighted the importance of providing social security to these workers in the unorganized sector who serve as full-time or part-time delivery personnel for popular platforms like Swiggy, Zomato, and Amazon.

This move aligns with the promises made by the Congress party in their election manifesto, which included the establishment of a Gig Workers Welfare Board for Karnataka. The manifesto emphasized the allocation of a seed fund of INR 3,000 crore to support gig workers. If Congress comes to power, they plan to introduce a transparent policy to improve employment opportunities and conditions for gig workers.

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The gig economy has seen remarkable growth in recent years, with an estimated 7.7 million workers engaged in this sector in 2020-21. This number is projected to rise significantly to 23.5 million by 2029-30, according to the NITI Aayog, a government think tank. However, along with this growth, there have been instances of protests by gig workers demanding better wages and improved working conditions.

In the past year, gig workers have raised their voices through protests. For instance, Blinkit delivery executives went on strike in the Delhi NCR region due to concerns over a new payment structure. Similarly, Dunzo riders in Bengaluru protested against changes in login timings and incentive structures, among other issues.

A report by Fairwork highlighted that Indian startups, including Ola, Uber, and Dunzo, have performed poorly in providing appropriate working conditions for gig workers. This highlights the need for comprehensive measures to protect the rights and well-being of these workers in the gig economy. The Karnataka governments move to provide free insurance coverage is a significant step in the right direction to ensure the social security of gig workers and address their concerns.
Due to large number of Kanwaraiyas coming to fetch water of holy Ganga river during the ongoing Kanwar yatra in the Hindu calendar month of Sawaan from Haridwar, the district administration has ordered the closure of classes up to class 12th in all schools, including government as well as private and Anganwaris from July 10 to 17, 2023 in the entire district.

The Haridwar district administration passed the order on Friday following an expected rush of the Kanwaraiyas during the coming week. The order stated that to ensure the safety and security of school students due to the rush of kanwaraiyas and various route diversions in force during the period, the schools up to 12th classes have been closed. However, supplementary CBSE examinations will be held on schedule and all teaching and non-teaching staff of these schools will report for duties.

More than ten million Kanwaraiyas are expected to reach Haridwar to fetch holy Ganga water during the Hindu calendar month of Saawan. The largest rush of pilgrims is expected on the occasion of Somwati Amavasya falling on July 17, 2023.

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Kerala politics is heating up over the issue of Uniform Civil Code (UCC). A strong political debate kicked off in the state over the UCC after Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week made a strong push for implementing the UCC in the country.

The CPI-M is organising a national seminar in Kozhikode on 15 July against the Centres proposed move to implement the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in the country. With the Lok Sabha elections around the corner, the CPI-M has seen the Uniform Civil Code as the best weapon to secure minority votes.

The CPI-M has invited the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), a constituent of the Congress-led UDF and Samastha Kerala Jem-Iyyathul Ulama, the body of Sunni scholars for the seminar against the UCC to be held on 15 July. The Congress was not invited by the CPI-M to the seminar, stating that stand taken by the Congress on this matter is strange.

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Leaders of Congress from national to local level have different stands on UCC. Rahul Gandhi and others are unable to make a clear stand, CPI-M Kerala Secretary said.

Meanwhile, Samastha Kerala Jem-Iyyathul Ulama, the body of Sunni scholars, has declared support to CPI-M in its campaign against the Uniform Civil Code (UCC).

At a press conference in Kozhikode on Saturday, Samastha leader Jifri Muthukoya Thanagal said that members of the association will attend the seminar organised by CPI- M against the UCC. He also added that Samastha will cooperate with Congress and Muslim League to protest against the UCC.

Jifri Muthukoya Thanagal said Samastha is planning to intensify its protest against the UCC. He said a memorandum will be forwarded to Prime Minister Modi stating its concerns about UCC. Further action will be taken based on his reply, he said.

Meanwhile, Muslim League (IUML) confirmed that they have received CPI-Ms invitation to the Kozhikode seminar. Muslim League General Secretary PMA Salam stated that a decision on attending the seminar will be taken after holding discussion with the UDF leadership.

In this connection, Muslim League leader ET Muhammad Basheer said that it was hypocritical to invite the Muslim League to the Uniform Civil Code seminar organized by the CPI-M.

The CPI- M has never taken an honest approach on any issue at any point of time. He told the media persons in Malappuram that the CPI-M is an organization that promotes hypocrisy and malicious intent in everything, he said.

Meanwhile, the Congress leadership in Kerala is eagerly waiting for the Muslim Leagues official response to CPI-M invitation to the seminar against the UCC.

The Congress is currently hoping that the Muslim League will not participate in the seminar. The Congress is worried about the discussions taking place in the Muslim League and their official response to the CPI-M invitation to the seminar.

Muslim League leader ET Mohammed Basheers response to CPI-Ms invitation has enthused the Congress. Taking into account the reaction of the Muslim league leaders, the Congress expects that the Muslim League will not participate in the seminar.

AICC General Secretary K C Venugopal and Opposition leader VD Satheesan alleged the CPI-M has hidden motives behind inviting Muslim League and Samastha to the seminar.

The Congress realises that the political motive behind CPI-M organising the seminar is aimed at securing Muslim votes in the ensuing Lok Sabha polls . Seeing this motive, the Congress had started raising the argument that the CPI-M has a double standard over its stance on the UCC.

Congress leader and Opposition leader in the Kerala Assembly VD Satheesan had the other day questioned the CPI-Ms volte-face on the Uniform Civil Code.

Sathheesan asked the CPI-M leaders to clarify their partys stance on the Uniform Civil Code, as party ideologue and former Chief Minister EMS Nampoothiripad had batted for it in 1987.

The CPI-M is at present opposing the UCC. We are asking the leaders of the CPI-M whether they have changed their position that was taken by EMS on UCC , said VD Satheesan.

The Congress stance on the Uniform Civil Code is firm. The Congress wont do a volte-face on the UCC as has been done by the CPIM, said Satheesan.

The CPI-M had previously advocated the introduction of UCC. In 1984, party stalwart EMS Namboodiripads statements against Shariat stoked a political controversy.

In 1987, the CPI-M under the leadership of EMS, conducted a major campaign against the Muslim Personal Law, emphasising the importance of a comprehensive UCC applicable to all religions.
More than 3,600 pilgrims were stranded at various points on the two Amarnath pilgrimage routes in Kashmir as the foot-tracks have suffered landslides due to heavy rains since Thursday night.

As a result of the developments, the yatra remained suspended for the second consecutive day on Saturday.

The Srinagar-based Chinar Corps of the Army, NDRF, SDRF, Police and paramilitary forces are taking care of the stranded pilgrims who have been lodged in tents.

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The Chinar Corps on Saturday tweeted, Chinar Corps providing full assistance in terms of shelter, warm clothing, hot meals, heating arrangements and Medical aid to yatris stranded enroute due to the temporary suspension of Yatra2023 caused by heavy rains and inclement weather. Indian Army working in close coordination with @ShriSasb, @ndmaindia, @NDRFHQ, @JmuKmrPolice and all other agencies to provide timely assistance to pilgrims to ensure Safety.

It is assured that all Yatris are safe and in good Health and spirit, the Chinar Corps added.

Chinar Warriors are continuously providing assistance to pilgrims of #Yatra2023. Over 3600 pilgrims are utilising the tentage facility setup at different locations on both the routes. Indian Army & all agencies assure the pilgrims safe & secure #yatra, another tweet said.

The yatra remained suspended for the second consecutive day on Saturday also because of heavy rains with a portion of the Jammu-Srinagar highway (NH-44) washed away near Ramban.

Road connectivity with the Kashmir valley has been snapped as the Mughal Road was also shut due to landslides.

The pilgrimage remained suspended from both routes, Pahalgam and Baltal in Kashmir, as the Amarnath Cave area at 3888 metres and both routes were having heavy rains that triggered landslides.

The convoy of pilgrims scheduled to leave for Kashmir this morning from here was not allowed to proceed from the Bhagwati Nagar base camp.

Hundreds of vehicles were stranded at various points on the three highways.

The NH-44 is blocked at several places due to landslides, mudslides and shooting stones caused by incessant rains, said Rambans senior superintendent of police Mohita Sharma.

The highway between the recently constructed tunnels, T3 and T5, that bypasses Panthyal tunnel has been washed off. Men of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) were unable to undertake the restoration work because of heavy rain.

The SrinagarLadakh highway, which also leads to the Baltal route of the Amarnath cave shrine, is shut due to landslides at two places.

The situation was worst between T3 and T5 where a small portion of road was washed away in the morning, but the remaining portion of the road caved in later during the day.

Mudslides and shooting stones were also reported at Mehar and Cafeteria Morh near Ramban on NH-44.

The old alignment of NH-44 at Panthyal was made motorable to let the stranded vehicles move.

Mountain Rescue Teams of CRPF and J&K Police on Friday rescued atleast six persons on the Baltal route.

The weather department has predicted heavy rain across J&K between 7 to 9 July.

Banihal in the Ramban district received the heaviest rainfall of 103.8 mm this morning.

Rainfall recorded so far at the cave shrine area was 45 mm. The places on the Pahalgam route were witnessing heavy rain. Chandanwawi 44.5 mm, Panchtarni 50.5 mm and Sheshnaag 52.5 mm. Baltal received 48 mm of rain.

Qazigund, which is the gateway to the Kashmir valley from Jammu has received 94 mm of rain, while the border area of Poonch in Jammu got 82 mm rain.
Five months ahead of the assembly polls in Rajasthan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi attacked the Congress government saying the Congress meant Loot ki Dookan, Jhoot ka Baazar; in the last four years of Gehlot rule. The PM was addressing the BJP state units rally in Norangdesar village near Bikaner after laying a foundation stone and dedicating various schemes at a special event.

We send money for schemes from Delhi, here Congresss claw (panja) trap that all in one swoop. The Congress government has done a lot of damage to Rajasthan in four years and Congress leaders also know that very well. Congress means Loot ki Dookan, Jhoot ka Bazaar (shop of loot, and bazaar of lies), Modi said in his 25 minutes speech.

The farmers of Rajasthan have become the biggest victim of Congresss politics of lies. In the last elections, the top Congress leaders had promised to waive off the loans of the farmers. Their leader had vowed to waive the loan in 10 days. Was the loan waived in 10 days, or 10 months or even in four years, Modi asked the audience.

At the beginning of his speech, Modi said, The enthusiasm of the crowd present here shows that not only has the temperature risen in Rajasthan, but the publics anger has also gone up against the Congress government. When the publics temperature rises, it melts the power of those at the helm. In an indirect jibe at Rahul Gandhi, the PM said,  Congress is such a party that when it remains in power, it makes the country hollow. When it is out of power, it defames the country by going abroad. Modi made a personal remark at Rajasthan Chief Minister and said, Ashok Gehlot is engaged in saving the future of his son. He is not bothered about the sons and daughters of the state. Many ministers are angry with him about this. Several ministers are anticipating their defeat in the upcoming assembly polls, and vacating the government bungalows ahead of the polls. Claiming that Rajasthan has become an industry of paper leak, Modi accused every minister and MLA of the Gehlot government and said, Here everyone is pulling each others leg. Bargaining is being done openly to strengthen their respective lies. The MLAs of one group have got a free license to loot. The public will decide the future of Rajasthan in a democratic manner. Now Rajasthan needs development, not complaints. Recalling an old story that happened before the CM in a public gathering, Modi said, The teachers here have openly told the chief minister that any case of transfer entails bribery but no one is caught. In Rajasthan, the protectors are becoming the predators alluding to crime against women. Rajasthan has the maximum number of rape cases, but the whole government is engaged in saving the rapists. And, Gehlot is busy saving the future of his son. While recalling his liking for the Bikaneri Rasgula and Bhujia Papad, the two popular snacks of Rajasthan, he also said, Rajasthan has the potential to grow at a fast pace. Thats why we are making record investments here. There is immense potential for industrial development here. Thats why we are facilitating connectivity here. This corridor will connect Rajasthan with Haryana, Punjab, and Jammu and Kashmir. He appealed that Rajasthan needed a double-engine government, for sustainable development and stability after the assembly polls. And, the state should be saved from parivarvad ki sarkar which destroys the progress and growth of the state. Toward the end, he asked the audience to switch on their mobile lights and show them to the people who are away from the rally.
With the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), the mini parliament of Sikhs, opposing the proposed Uniform Civil Code (UCC), the Bharatiya Janata Partys Sikh leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa on Saturday said the SGPC is playing to the tune of its political masters (read Sukhbir Singh Badal-led Shiromani Akali Dal).|

After the SGPC meeting on UCC today, the bodys president Harjinder Singh Dhami said the UCC proposed by the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Central government is unnecessary in the country as the Constitution recognises the principle of unity in diversity.

Expressing surprise at the SGPC announcement to oppose UCC, BJP Sikh leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa asked it to clarify that when the Law Commission has not released any draft on the UCC why was it adamant on opposing a non-existent UCC. He also said no government could ever dare to tinker with unique Sikh identity and its traditions.

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Sirsa said he was surprised to see that SGPC has issued a statement today after its meeting that it was against UCC because Sikh religion has its own identity, beliefs and kakars including unshorn hair (kes) and kirpan. He said this statement of SGPC has resulted in confusion among Sikh masses.

Governments of not only our own country but across the world have also acknowledged the unique Sikh identity and its traditions and this was the reason that kirpan has been allowed to carry throughout the world, the BJP leader said. He said even not only in the Indian Army but in armies of several countries, Sikh symbols of faith have been allowed to wear.

He asked SGPC president Dhami to kindly clarify which UCC draft SGPC was opposing which is against Sikh religion and its beliefs and kakars. If SGPC could show such a draft which is against us, all the Sikhs from across the country will support SGPC on the issue, Sirsa said.

Lashing out at SGPC for playing to tunes of its political masters, Sirsa said instead of telling the Law Commission on what Sikh community feels on its separate religious identity and importance of Sikh articles of faith and its religious beliefs, SGPC was opposing a non-existent UCC which clearly indicates that this move is an attempt to please its political masters and further their political agenda because BJP has not aligned with SAD in Punjab.

He said opposition only for the sake of opposition to please its political masters is not the job of SGPC. He said that before playing tunes of political masters, SGPC should realize its responsibility and work accordingly.

The SAD, which controls the SGPC, has opposed the proposed implementation of the UCC saying it would have an adverse impact on minorities and tribal communities in the country.
The urination case victim in Madhya Pradeshs Sidhi district has appealed to the state government to order the release of the accused stating that he has realised his mistake.

On Wednesday, the police detained Pravesh Shukla, who was accused of violating the victim Dashmat Rawat, a member of a tribal group, by urinating on him. The police filed a complaint against Shukla on Tuesday after a video of the incident went viral on social media. Shukla was then taken into custody.

On being questioned on Friday about the charges and action against the accused, Rawat told the reporters that a mistake was made and the government should release the accused. He said, Whatever has happened in the past, he has realised his mistake.

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On being pointed out that he was making this demand in spite of the accuseds degrading behaviour, he replied, Yes, I agreeHe is a pandit of our village, we demand from the government to release him. Besides a road being built in the village, Rawat has no other demands from the government.

Shukla is not only facing relevant charges under the IPC and the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, but action has also been taken under the stringent National Security Act (NSA), and is currently residing in jail. Additionally, an allegedly illegal piece of Shuklas house in Sidhi was brought down.

The urination episode sparked a political controversy in MP, where Assembly elections are expected by the end of the year. The Congress has accused Shukla of having ties with a local BJP legislator, while the saffron party has denied any association with him.

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, on Thursday, personally apologised to the victim and washed his feet at the CMs residence in Bhopal. The opposing group, however, dismissed Chouhans action as mere theatrics.

The victim also received financial aid from the state government to the tune of Rs 5 lakh, plus an additional Rs 1.5 lakh for building his home.

A Brahmin organisation challenged the demolition of a portion of Shuklas home on Friday, arguing that while his actions were despicable, his family members could not be punished.
SEOUL, July 8 (Xinhua) -- A group of South Korean civic activists, politicians, fishermen and ordinary people gathered in central Seoul on Saturday to raise their voice against the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) final report on Japan's planned discharge of nuclear wastewater into the Pacific.

The protesters demonstrated near the South Korean foreign ministry building, where the visiting IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi was scheduled to meet with the South Korean foreign minister.

Grossi also faced a group of South Korean protesters near an international airport late Friday night when he arrived in Seoul for a three-day visit.

"As revealed in the IAEA final report, there are few contents verified and evaluated with our safety perspective other than the data presented by the Japanese government and TEPCO (Tokyo Electric Power Company)," the organizer of the protest rally said in a statement.

"TEPCO and the Japanese government, which have already caused radioactive contamination beyond the standard since the Fukushima accident, cannot be justified for any reason for irresponsibly polluting the sea again," it noted.

Yong Hye-in, lawmaker of the minor progressive Basic Income Party who joined the rally, told Xinhua that the IAEA report had a clear limitation from the beginning as it was prepared only to the extent Japan had agreed with.

The lawmaker criticized Japan for its irresponsibility as the East Asian country chose the cheapest way out of the five disposal options, proposed in 2018 by the subcommittee on handling the Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS) treated water, an advisory body under Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

The proposed plans included geosphere injection, underground burial, hydrogen release and vapor release as well as the discharge into the ocean.

Yong said the South Korean government seemed to give up diplomatic efforts to urge the international community to fight against Japan's radioactive wastewater discharge plan, calling for Seoul to play an active role.

Park Gwang-hoon, a Seoul citizen who participated in the rally, said he never trusted the IAEA report, which alleged the discharge plan "meets international standard," accusing it of accepting only Japanese demands.

Park expressed his absolute opposition to the discharge plan, which he said was picked by Japan just to save costs but would harm the entire ocean and the health of people around the world, asking Japan to keep the contaminated water on land after the ALPS treatment.

Kim Choony, secretary general of the Korea Federation for Environmental Movements (KFEM), emphasized that the nuclear wastewater release was against international laws.

Kim called on the South Korean government to work in cooperation with relevant countries to file a complaint against Japan with the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea.

"Fishermen see the (IAEA) report as a complete mess ... The report includes a phrase stating that (the IAEA) is not responsible for whatever will happen. It's not scientific but for the Japanese government and TEPCO," Lee Ki-sam, a fisherman from South Jeolla province, told Xinhua.

The Japanese government has been pushing for dumping the contaminated wasterwater this summer from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, which was hit by a massive earthqauke and an ensuing tsunami in March 2011.

The move has aroused strong opposition and doubts from domestic fishing groups, neighboring countries and South Pacific island countries, as well as the international community. 
Imagine indulging in your favorite cuisine, only to find yourself in a health predicament. As unbelievable as it may sound, a real incident of this nature recently unfolded in Singapore.

Doctors at Tan Tock Seng Hospital in Singapore were left astounded when they made a peculiar finding during a recent medical procedure. A 55-year-old man sought medical attention after experiencing difficulty swallowing following a meal that included an octopus. To their surprise, the doctors discovered an eight-legged octopus trapped in the patients oesophagus, causing significant discomfort.

Upon arrival at the hospital, the patient reported vomiting and persistent difficulty in swallowing. A CT scan conducted by medical professionals revealed the presence of the dense creature lodged in the mans oesophagus, near the border with the stomach, as reported by the New York Post. Acting swiftly, the doctors performed an esophagogastroduodenoscopy, a gastrointestinal examination using a flexible tube, to assess the situation.

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After multiple unsuccessful attempts to remove the octopus manually, the medical team skillfully maneuvered an endoscope past the creature, allowing for its safe extraction. Employing forceps, they carefully grasped the octopuss head and gently pulled it free from the mans throat. Fortunately, the procedure was successful, and the patients condition improved significantly. Two days later, he was discharged from the hospital, fully recovered.

Food obstructions, such as this case, are not uncommon in medical facilities, including Tan Tock Seng Hospital. Doctors noted that around 10 to 20 percent of cases require endoscopic intervention, with a mere 1 percent necessitating surgical intervention. While the push technique is typically employed with high success rates, caution is necessary to avoid any potential complications such as oesophageal perforation.

This incident serves as a reminder of the potential risks associated with certain food items, particularly live octopus dishes. In a previous case in Kansas, United States, a 2-year-old boy required hospitalization after an octopus became lodged in his throat during a sushi meal. In South Korea, where live octopus dishes are considered a delicacy, several fatalities occur each year due to the suckers attaching to the throat and causing asphyxiation.

The medical team at Tan Tock Seng Hospital hopes that this unusual case raises awareness about the importance of caution when consuming certain foods and emphasizes the need for prompt medical attention in case of any discomfort or obstruction in the throat or oesophagus.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte has announced the collapse of his government after a failure to reach an agreement on an immigration policy between the four coalition parties, a move that will now trigger elections later this year.

It is no secret that the coalition partners have very different views on migration policy. And today we unfortunately have to conclude that those differences are irreconcilable, Xinhua news agency quoted Rutte as saying at a press conference in The Hague late Friday night following a meeting with his Ministers.

This decision is difficult for all of us and for me personally too. It is regrettable that it did not work out, he added.

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The four parties all believe that measures need to be taken on migration issues, but they still have disputes about the strictness of the approach.

The most thorny issue is family reunification.

Ruttes Peoples Party for Freedom and Democracy and the Christian Democratic Appeal insisted that a restriction on family reunification is a way to reduce the migration flow, but the Democrats 66 and Christian Union drew a red line on this.

The government later said in a statement that Rutte has filed an application for the resignation of all ministers and state secretaries to King Willem-Alexander.

The King has considered the application for dismissal and has requested the Prime Minister, Ministers and State Secretaries to continue to do whatever they deem necessary in the interests of the Kingdom, it said.

The monarch will meet with Rutte on Saturday for an explanation of the cabinets application for resignation, it added.

The collapse of the current government means new elections have to be planned, probably in November, according to local media reports.

Rutte, 56, is the longest-serving government leader in Dutch history and the most senior in the European Union after Hungarys Viktor Orban.

He is expected to lead his VVD party again at the next elections.

Ruttes current coalition, which came to power on January 10, 2022, was his fourth consecutive administration since he became Prime Minister in October 2010.

The Netherlands already has a one of Europes toughest immigration policies but under the pressure of right-wing parties, Rutte had for months been trying to seek ways to further reduce the inflow of asylum seekers, CNN reported.

Asylum applications in the Netherlands jumped by a third last year to over 46,000, and the government has projected they could increase to more than 70,000 this year  topping the previous high of 2015.

This will again put a strain on the countrys asylum facilities, where for months last year hundreds of refugees at a time were forced to sleep in the rough with little or no access to drinking water, sanitary facilities or healthcare.
At least seven people have been killed and 14 others were wounded on Saturday after a gas cylinder exploded in a vehicle in Bhalwal tehsil of Punjabs Sargodha district in Pakistan, Dawn reported citing authorities.

Seven people died on the spot while 14 others were injured, Pakistan-based Dawn reported citing Rescue 1122 Control Room. Among the 14 injured, seven were seriously injured and taken to the Bhalwal Tehsil Headquarters (THQ) Hospital for treatment. The bodies, out of which five could not be identified were taken to the same hospital.

The injured people include two children aged four years and 12 years and two 50-year-old people. Rescue 1122 said that they received a call alert about the incident at 8:35 am (local time). Nine ambulances, three firefighting vehicles and a rescue vehicle were dispatched to the site of the incident.

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In the statement, Rescue 1122 said that they were informed about a fire erupting in a vehicle due to gas leakage from its Liquified Petroleum Gas cylinder, according to Dawn. Punjab caretaker Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi took notice of the incident and offered sympathies to the families of the victims, Pakistan-based ARY News reported.

He ordered an investigation into the fire incident in the van and sought a detailed report from the Commissioner and RPO (Regional Police Officer) Sargodha, ARY News reported. Mohsin Naqvi instructed the relevant authorities to provide the best medical treatment to the injured.

Earlier in June, at least five, including three children, were killed and seven others were wounded in three separate gas cylinder explosions in Pakistan.
Stop sending thumbs-up emojis randomly, because you might get into legal trouble for this. In a groundbreaking decision, a judge in Canada has ruled that the thumbs-up emoji holds the same legal weight as a traditional signature. The ruling came as the judge ordered a farmer to pay C$82,000 ($61,442) for breaching a contract.

The case was heard in the Court of Kings Bench in the province of Saskatchewan. In March 2021, Kent Mickleborough, a grain buyer representing South West Terminal, distributed a bulk text message to clients, expressing his companys intention to acquire 86 tonnes of flax at a rate of C$17 ($12.73) per bushel.

Mickleborough engaged in a phone conversation with farmer Chris Achter, followed by a text message containing a picture of a contract to deliver the flax in November. In the message, Mickleborough requested Achter to please confirm the flax contract and received a response from Achter in the form of a thumbs-up emoji. However, Achter failed to deliver the flax as agreed upon, and by that time, the price of the crop had risen.

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The dispute between Mickleborough and Achter centered on the interpretation of the thumbs-up emoji. Mickleborough argued that Achters use of the emoji indicated agreement to the contracts terms, citing previous instances where contracts were confirmed through text messages using emojis. On the other hand, Achter maintained that the emoji was merely an acknowledgment of receiving the contract and did not signify acceptance.

Amid the legal proceedings, Achters legal counsel raised an objection to the cross-examination of his client regarding the interpretation of the thumbs-up emoji, asserting that Achter lacked expertise in the understanding of emojis. Justice Timothy Keene, who presided over the case, delved into extensive research on the interpretation of the thumbs-up emoji, acknowledging that it was a non-traditional method of signing a document. However, he determined that in this particular case, the emoji effectively conveyed the two essential purposes of a signature.

Justice Keene disregarded the defenses apprehensions that acknowledging the thumbs-up emoji as a form of acceptance could potentially result in different interpretations of other emojis, like the fist bump or handshake. He emphasized that the court should not impede the progress of technology and common usage, acknowledging that emojis have become part of the new reality in Canadian society. As a result, courts must be prepared to address the challenges that may arise from their use.

The ruling marks a significant development in the legal acceptance of emojis as valid forms of communication and highlights the need for courts to adapt to evolving modes of expression in the digital age.
A video is doing the rounds showing two women at the base camp of Mount Everest and performing a gig (comedy) which was posted on YouTube by Guinness World Records.

Guinness World Records (GWR) frequently shares videos on YouTube of people creating inconceivable records. It has recently posted a video of two women who went to the base camp of Mount Everest to perform a comedy gig. And the interesting part is that they did it not just to make a record but also to raise finances for an important cause.

The comedy duo, Ellie Gibson and Helen Thorn, famous as The Scummy Mummies went to the Everest Base Camp and performed a 32 minute stand-up comedy to an audience of over 30 (unsuspecting) people,  GWR posted along with the video.

The video opens to show Gibson and Thorn why theyre keen on creating the record. The video is aimed to bolster the cause of an organisation that carried out research to find the reasons behind premature births. Gibsons son Joe was born premature, nine weeks early. They support families and babies that are going through premature birth. Ellie Gibson and Helen Thorn have performed multiple stand-up comedy gigs across the world.

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Four months after their high-altitude comedy gig, the Guinness World Records verified their record of highest altitude stand-up comedy gig on land.

While talking to the Guinness World Records, Gibson revealed she exercised and went trekking and swimming to prepare herself for the 10-day trek to the Everest base camp.

As the video progresses, the women talk about their trip to Nepal. They reveal how they hit a roadblock but somehow reached an area where an expedition team of mountaineer Nirmal Purja had pitched their tents. They agreed to host their stand-up gig. Gibson and Thorn changed into their golden catsuits and performed in front of a few people mostly Everest climbers and expedition company staff.

The video was posted a day ago. Since being posted, the clip has accumulated close to 10,000 views and the figures are adding up.
US President Joe Biden has announced that the country has completed the destruction of its last chemical weapons stockpile.

For more than 30 years, the United States has worked tirelessly to eliminate our chemical weapons stockpile. Today, I am proud to announce that the United States has safely destroyed the final munition in that stockpile  bringing us one step closer to a world free from the horrors of chemical weapons, he said in a statement on Friday.

Successive administrations have determined that these weapons should never again be developed or deployed, and this accomplishment not only makes good on our long-standing commitment under the Chemical Weapons Convention, it marks the first time an international body has verified destruction of an entire category of declared weapons of mass destruction, he added.

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The US President also expressed gratitude towards the thousands of Americans who gave their time and talents to this noble and challenging mission for more than three decades.

I continue to encourage the remaining nations to join the Chemical Weapons Convention so that the global ban on chemical weapons can reach its fullest potential, Biden said, adding that Russia and Syria should return to compliance with the Chemical Weapons Convention and admit their undeclared programmes, which have been used to commit brazen atrocities and attacks.
Saint-Laurent, CA (H4T1V6)

Today

Scattered thunderstorms this evening giving way to periods of light rain late. Low 63F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 70%..

Tonight

Scattered thunderstorms this evening giving way to periods of light rain late. Low 63F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 70%.
Workers process pineapples on a processing line at the factory department of PT. Great Giant Pineapple, a large private-label manufacturer of canned pineapples, in Terbanggi Besar of Lampung Province, Indonesia, July 5, 2023. (Xinhua/Xu Qin)

by Wang Aona, Hayati Nupus

JAKARTA, July 8 (Xinhua) -- At central Lampung province in the southern part of Indonesia's Sumatra island, gloved workers are picking ripe pineapples in the field and throwing them onto a conveyer belt, with a truck waiting at the other end to take the fruit to the canning factory.

With sufficient tropical sunshine and high temperature throughout the year, there are about 200,000 sweet pineapples to harvest every single day at the plantation of PT. Great Giant Pineapple (GGP), a large private-label manufacturer of canned pineapples.

"We divided the plantation, covering over 30,000 hectares of land, into several zones, and harvest all the pineapples in each zone at the same time," said Murdi Suprayitno, a production planning worker of plantation group one.

About 50 percent of the GGP's pineapple production is exported to more than 60 countries and regions. Besides canned pineapple, it also produces fresh pineapple, jam, cubes in cups, juice concentrate, and canned fruit cocktails.

"Right after Indonesian fresh pineapples gained official access to the Chinese market, we started to plant more pineapple trees accordingly to boost our production capability," said Welly Soegiono, the GGP's director of corporate affairs.

In August 2022, the General Administration of Customs of China issued a new protocol, which approved the export of Indonesian fresh pineapples to China if they meet requirements.

"This is what we have been longing for. Since China's domestic production of pineapples is very limited, there has huge potential for imported pineapples," said Soegiono.

Right after the approval, the GGP started to export fresh pineapples to China immediately. Until now, over 42 containers carrying over 580 tons of pineapples have been shipped by cold chain from Lampung to southern China's seaports.

It takes about eight to 10 days to send the pineapples to China, with stops at other countries in between. The temperature needs to be kept under 10 degrees Celsius to protect the fresh fruit from going rotten.

After unloading, the containers will be filled with fruits like apples, oranges, and pears, which grow in abundance in China but not so in Indonesia, and travel back.

The fruit trade between China and Indonesia has become more and more vigorous in recent years.

"Under the scheme of RCEP as well as the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (FTA), the company is able to export pineapple products to China duty-free. With fast customs clearance, Indonesian pineapples thus reach customers fast, with good prices," said Cindyanto Kristian, CEO of fresh fruit and GTM (Go to Market) of PT. Sewu Segar Nusantara, a company in charge of the distribution and marketing of fresh fruits in collaboration with the GGP.

"Therefore, all these have helped our products gain more competitiveness," he added.

Previous market investigation has shown that Chinese customers are willing to pay more for quality fruits, and they prefer eating fresh over canned ones, Kristian said.

"This drove us to raise local production standards," he said. "Customers can tell the quality of a pineapple right after cutting it open, so we must make sure that pineapples sent to them are fresh with high quality."

Now Kristian needs to fly often between China and Indonesia. He is not only pushing for market expansion from southern China to the north and finding reliable distributors, but also using various international exhibitions held in China to promote Indonesian pineapples.

Using the brand Oriji in China, the GGP started participating in various shopping festivals in China and joined in online live-streaming sales.

"Indonesian pineapples feature strong aroma, bright color, and sweet taste. I believe they will gain preference from Chinese customers soon," said Kristian. 

Cindyanto Kristian, CEO of fresh fruit and GTM (Go to Market) of PT. Sewu Segar Nusantara, talks to Xinhua correspondents at PT. Great Giant Pineapple in Terbanggi Besar of Lampung Province, Indonesia, July 5, 2023. (Xinhua/Xu Qin)

Welly Soegiono, director of corporate affairs of PT. Great Giant Pineapple, a large private-label manufacturer of canned pineapples, talks to Xinhua correspondents at PT. Great Giant Pineapple in Terbanggi Besar of Lampung Province, Indonesia, July 5, 2023. (Xinhua/Xu Qin)

This photo taken on July 5, 2023 shows a cabinet displaying stock buyers' products at the factory department of PT. Great Giant Pineapple, a large private-label manufacturer of canned pineapples, in Terbanggi Besar of Lampung Province, Indonesia. (Xinhua/Xu Qin)

Workers pack pineapple products at the factory department of PT. Great Giant Pineapple, a large private-label manufacturer of canned pineapples, in Terbanggi Besar of Lampung Province, Indonesia, July 5, 2023. (Xinhua/Xu Qin)

This aerial photo taken on July 5, 2023 shows people loading pineapples onto a truck at a pineapple planting garden of PT. Great Giant Pineapple, a large private-label manufacturer of canned pineapples, in Terbanggi Besar of Lampung Province, Indonesia. (Xinhua/Xu Qin)
A Vermont police officer, aged 19, died in a crash with a burglary suspect she was chasing

Vermont State Police say a Rutland City police officer was killed and two other officers were injured when a suspect crashed into two police cruisers pursuing him
Officials attend the launch ceremony for the maiden container ship voyage from Brunei to China, in Bandar Seri Begawan, capital of Brunei, July 8, 2023. Brunei opened a container shipping route between Muara Port, its sole deep-water port, and Beibu Gulf Port in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, marking the first such route between the Southeast Asian country and China.(Photo by Jeffrey Wong/Xinhua)

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, July 8 (Xinhua) -- Brunei opened a container shipping route between Muara Port, its sole deep-water port, and Beibu Gulf Port in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, marking the first such route between the Southeast Asian country and China.

At the ceremony to launch the maiden container ship voyage on the route, Haji Mohd Amin Liew, Brunei's minister at the Prime Minister's office and second minister of finance and economy, said the new container shipping line is crucial to the development of the Brunei economy and to the Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) as it will facilitate import and export, and open new markets.

Cai Lixin, visiting vice governor of Guangxi, said opening the new route is an important event in strengthening China's cooperation with the BIMP-EAGA region and for speeding up the construction of the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor.

The new route is of great significance to furthering trade and economic cooperation between China and Brunei, she noted.

"In February 2017, Guangxi Beibu Gulf International Port Group Company Ltd. and Brunei's Darussalam Assets formed a joint venture company to operate the Muara Port container terminal, injecting new vitality into the port," Xiao Jianguo, Chinese ambassador to Brunei, told the ceremony.

The opening of the new container shipping route marks another step forward in infrastructure connectivity and trade flow between China and Brunei, which will facilitate bilateral economic and trade relations and help Brunei's economic diversification efforts, the ambassador added.

The ceremony was attended by about 150 people including senior officials of the Brunei government, representatives of Chinese enterprises and personalities from all walks of life in Brunei. 
Fast food chain McDonald's has dropped tomatoes from its burgers and wraps in many parts of the country after prices soared to record levels.

Burgers usually had a slice of tomato between the bun and the patty. Wrap fillings had tomatoes. These will, for now, not feature tomatoes.

McDonald said due to seasonal issues, it is unable to procure tomatoes that pass quality checks. Tomato prices have soared to as high as Rs 200 per kilogramme in some markets.

McDonald's India - North and East said it is constrained to "hold tomatoes for the time being" and is trying to resolve this issue by employing sustainable agriculture practices.

"Due to seasonal crop issues arising out of farm fields in a few regions, there are not enough quantities meeting our quality specifications available. To ensure our customers get the best quality we are known to serve, we are constrained to hold tomatoes for the time being," said a McDonald's India - North and East spokesperson.

Social media was filled with memes and comments on the issue.

A user with twitter handle @ssharadmohhan commented "@mcdonaldsindia as #TomatoPrice surges, a 'Happy Meal' becomes an Unhappy one!, while another user @AdvoSidharth tweeted "McDonalds feeling the 'tomato pain'".

Some users also posted pictures of burgers served by McDonald's without tomatoes.

Some of them also shared the notices put out by some of McDonald's stores informing the walk-in customer about the temporary unavailability of tomatoes.

@AgrawallAbhi tweeted "Pricey Tomatoes Shake McDonald's in Delhi: Tomato-Free Menu Alert!".

People were tweeting with hastags #McDonalds, #Tomato, #TomatoPriceHike, #Delhi and some of them also tagged PM Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi.

There is also a buzz going on in other social media platforms over the absence of tomatoes on some of the top-selling products of McDonald's such as burgers and wraps.

Assuring the customers, McDonald's India - North and East spokesperson said: "We reiterate that it is not due to the surge in the prices. It is only due to the non-availability of tomatoes meeting our quality specifications."

However, he also added restaurants mostly in the Punjab-Chandigarh area where it is able to source the commodity in adequate quantities, McDonald's continues to serve tomatoes in its menu.

"We are working towards resolving this issue by employing sustainable agriculture practices including hydroponically-grown tomatoes in a completely controlled environment to de-risk our requirements from vagaries of season," he said, adding, "We should be able to bring back tomatoes to the menu soon."

McDonald's restaurants in north and east of India are operated by Connaught Plaza Restaurants Pvt Ltd (CPRL), which is its masters franchiser.

Stores in southern and western regions are operated by McDonald's another master franchiser Westlife Group.
Accusing the Congress of indulging in corruption and deceit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday dubbed the party as a 'loot ki dukaan' and 'jhooth ka bazaar" and said it is clear from people's "anger" in Rajasthan the Ashok Gehlot government is on its way out.

Addressing a public rally at Norangdesar in Rajasthan's Bikaner, the prime minister alleged the Congress government has carved a new identity for itself when it comes to corruption, crime and politics of appeasement.

"In terms of crime against women, Rajasthan tops the list in rape cases. The situation is such that here the protectors are becoming the predators. The whole government here seems to be busy in saving rape and murder accused," Modi alleged.

Coming down heavily on the Congress, he said if it remains in power, it makes the country hollow and when it goes out of power, it defames the country by abusing it.

Their leaders go abroad and abuse India, while BJP workers sacrifice everything for the sake of the nation, Modi said.

The Congress government has done a lot of damage to Rajasthan in four years and its defeat in Rajasthan "is so certain that its government has already entered a 'bye-bye mode'," he said.

"I have come to know that some ministers and legislators have already vacated their government bungalows and shifted to their homes. Only Congress leaders can be so confident of their defeat," he said.

Public anger against the Rajasthan government has risen, and when this happens it takes no time to unseat those in power, Modi said.

"There is only one meaning of the Congress... 'loot ki dukaan' and 'jhooth ka bazaar'," the prime minister said in an obvious jibe at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's frequent remarks about his party opening 'mohabbat ki dukaan' in 'nafarat ka bazaar'.

The Congress hit back at the prime minister, accusing him of hypocrisy.

Congress spokesperson Jairam Ramesh tweeted, "The prime minister who does not speak the truth even by mistake is accusing the Congress of being 'jhooth ka bazaar'. There is no limit to the prime minister's hypocrisy."

Modi said Rajasthan, the country's desert state where elections are due later this year, should have been at the top in the implementation of piped water project Jal Jeevan Mission, but today it is among the laggard states.

He also accused the state government of "misleading" people by announcing schemes and making promises as the election approaches.

"In all these tall promises, there is nothing but 'loot ke irade anr jhooth ka pitara' (intention of loot and bundle of lies)," he said, adding the farmers of Rajasthan are the biggest victims of the Congress' "politics of lie and deceit".

"There is an old saying that a lamp flickers the brightest when it is about to extinguish. The Congress is also doing the same as it fears its defeat. It has come down to misleading the people of Rajasthan," Modi said.

He said while the Rajasthan Congress is mired in internal feuds, the chief minister is busy trying to save his son's future, "not worried about the future of the sons and daughters of Rajasthan. Many ministers and legislators are bitter towards him".

Without naming Rahul Gandhi, Modi said that ahead of the 2018 elections, he had promised to waive farmers' loan within 10 days of coming to power, and asked people if it is has been done.

Hatred towards farmers is the nature and reality of Congress, he alleged, adding the party has a problem with the army and soldiers too.

Congress leaders asked for evidence on surgical strike, and on air strike, they said that nothing like that had happened, Modi charged.

On the internal tussle between Gehlot and his former deputy Sachin Pilot, the PM said without naming them that since the Congress government came to power in the state everyone is pulling each other's legs.

"There is open bargaining to make their factions strong. The fight is not limited to factions only, all ministers are also fighting among themselves... The government is engaged in this tussle," Modi said.

"There can be no hope of development under these people," he said.

"Today, I want to tell these people bluntly enough of this 'Noora Kushti (fixed fight)'. Now, the public will decide in the arena of democracy... now Rajasthan needs a stable government, a double-engine government, Rajasthan needs 'Vikasvaad', not 'Parivarvaad'," he said.

He pointed to incidents of communal tension and also took a swipe over paper leak cases.

"A new industry of paper leak has opened in the state," he said.

Union Minister of State for Law and Parliamentary Affairs Arjun Ram Meghwal said that due to the investment-friendly policies of the Modi government, Bikaner has become a hub of solar energy.

Bikaner will become a ceramic hub in the days to come, he said.

Union ministers Nitin Gadkari, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, former chief minister Vasundhara Raje, BJP state president CP Joshi, Leader of Opposition Rajendra Rathore, deputy leader of opposition Satish Poonia and other party leaders were present at the rally.
Even as the power tussle in the Nationalist Congress Party has reached the doorsteps of the Election Commission, veteran leader Sharad Pawar on Saturday kickstarted his statewide tour in an apparent attempt to rebuild the party.

I erred in trusting some people, but won't repeat the mistake. I have come here to apologise for the same, Sharad Pawar said addressing a rally at Yeola in Nashik district. Yeola is the constituency of rebel party leader and minister Chhagan Bhujbal.

The NCP has plunged into a deep turmoil after Pawar's nephew Ajit Pawar, along with several of his loyal MLAs and leaders, joined the ruling alliance in Maharashtra, resulting in a vertical split in the party. Ajit Pawar took oath as the deputy chief minister while eight of his supporting NCP MLAs were also inducted into the cabinet.

Targeting the BJP government at the Centre, Pawar said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had spoken of massive corruption by NCP leaders, so he should punish those guilty.

PM Modi has all the state machinery at his disposal. He should act against these leaders and punish them, he said.

The octogenarian leaders remarks came amid allegations that the NCP leaders who joined hands with Shiv Sena-BJP alliance were facing charges of corruption.

Later, talking to reporters in Nashik, Pawar stepped up his attack on the BJP, saying the saffron party appears to have plans to "destroy" state-level parties and weaken the Opposition.

Pawar, a former Union minister, said he has seen politics of former prime ministers Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and P.V. Narasimha Rao, all of whom spoke (critically) about opposition parties but never sought to silence the Opposition.

"It appears that the BJP has plans to destroy state-level parties. They have done this in different places. In electoral democracy, the opposition party is as important as the ruling party. But the BJP's policy is to weaken the Opposition, he said.

The BJP knows what is in store for it and hence it is splitting up other parties to ensure majority in the Lok Sabha in 2024, Pawar said, adding that this is very detrimental to electoral democracy.
Edgars Rinkevics speaks at the inauguration ceremony at the parliament house in Riga, Latvia, July 8, 2023. Rinkevics, Latvia's long-standing foreign minister, took office as the Baltic country's new president on Saturday. (Photo by Janis Laizans/Xinhua)

RIGA, July 8 (Xinhua) -- Edgars Rinkevics, Latvia's long-standing foreign minister, took office as the Baltic country's new president on Saturday.

In the inauguration ceremony at the parliament house, Rinkevics took the presidential oath in the presence of lawmakers. In his first speech to parliament as the head of state, Rinkevics pledged to promote justice, the rule of law, and a prosperous, inclusive and respectful society.

Rinkevics, who had been serving as Latvia's foreign minister since 2011, was nominated for the post of president by his New Unity party after the previous president Egils Levits decided not to seek reelection.

Rinkevics was elected president by the Saeima, Latvia's parliament, with 52 votes in favor. His rival contender Uldis Pilens, who was nominated by the United List, received 25 votes. 

Edgars Rinkevics lays flowers at the Freedom Monument in Riga, Latvia, July 8, 2023. Rinkevics, Latvia's long-standing foreign minister, took office as the Baltic country's new president on Saturday. (Photo by Edijs Palens/Xinhua)
In a tragic incident, a man in Vidisha district of Madhya Pradesh died by suicide on Friday, a month-and-half after his daughter had killed self allegedly due to constant sexual harassment by a group of youth in the village. The father  Dhirendra Giri  was being allegedly threatened by one of the accused in his daughters suicide case, who had recently been released on bail.

Vidisha Police have registered case of abetment to suicide (section 306 of IPC) against six accused mentioned by both father and daughter in their suicide notes. Two of them have been arrested. However, a case is yet to be registered against three persons with links of ruling BJP  whom the Dhirendra Giri had mentioned in his suicide note.

On Saturday, home minister Narottam Mishra told media persons that the in-charge of the Nateran Police station and a head constable had been sent to police lines on prima facie charges of negligence. He said that a team under a deputy inspector general of police (DIG) rank official is being sent out to Vidisha to probe the case. This team will submit a report in three days.

Superintendent of police of Vidisha, Deepak Kumar Shukla told THE WEEK that the main accused Sudeep and another youth had been arrested and a hunt is on for the other four named in the case. He confirmed that Sudeep had been arrested after Raksha Goswami  daughter of Dhirendra Giri  had died by suicide on May 23. Earlier, Raksha had made a complaint of harassment against Sudeep Dhakad and five others. Summons had been issued to these people, though no arrest was made as the sections invoked in the FIR did not warrant immediate arrest. However, after Raksha killed herself, Dhakad was arrested and sent to jail. He was recently released on bail. The SP said that a case of abetment to suicide has been registered against six persons including Dhakad, on basis of complaint filed by the family of the two victims. However, when asked about the three persons with links to BJP mentioned in the suicide note of Dhirendra Giri, the SP said that the content of the note was also included in the probe and further action would be taken on the basis of that.

The family members have, however, alleged that the police did not take the complaint of sexual harassment made by Raksha seriously and did not take any action on the accused, due to which the harassment continued and Raksha died by suicide. Even after the suicide, police did not register a case against all those named by her in the suicide note as they had link with influential people including BJP members, and arrested only one  Sudeep Dhakad. However, Dhakad started threatening the family after being released on bail recently, causing Dhirendra Giri (55), too, to take the extreme step.

The family and others in the village staged a road blockade in Vidisha on Friday evening, demanding justice in the case. The BJP members mentioned in the suicide note by Dhirendra Giri include Rajesh Bamori, Bhagwan Singh Vardha, a former director of district cooperative bank, and Kalyan Singh, a former president of Shamsabad mandi (agriculture produce market).

Govt busy in cover-up, acting

Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Kamal Nath launched a sharp attack on the BJP government in the state over the daily incidents of inhuman atrocities and harassment of citizens coming to the fore in the state. In a tweet, he said, a person died by suicide in Vidisha yesterday. Earlier, his daughter had killed herself after being molested. What an irony it is that a daughter died by suicide due to molestation but she does not get justice. Being fed up, his father also has to kill himself.

Nath also referred to the beating up of minority community youth in Dabra and said that if these incidents also cannot open the eyes of the Shivraj government, what else was required for their souls to wake up. News of atrocities against Dalits, tribals, minorities, women are constantly coming to the fore in the state. The government is just busy in cover-up, hypocrisy and acting. We have to change this situation and make a happy and prosperous Madhya Pradesh. Where daughters are safe, dalits, tribals, minorities and the entire society are safe.
As the voting for the crucial three-tier West Bengal panchayat elections are underway amid tight security cover, violence and vandalism were reported from several parts of the state.

In the latest incident, a person identified as Abdullah Ali in Kadambagachi of North 24 Parganas in Murshidabad district was killed. According to police officials, Ali was a supporter an Independent candidate and he was beaten up overnight. Another death was reported in Murshidabad district's Beldanga. The person was identified as Babar Ali, a TMC worker.

At least nine people were killed in violence relating to the elections. Among those killed were five TMC members, and one worker each of the BJP, CPI(M) and Congress, and the supporter of an Independent candidate, said officials.

"This is not an election, this is death. There is a fire of violence across the state. Central forces have not been deployed. CCTVs are not operating. This is not voting but loot...This is the collusion of TMC goons and Police and that is why so murders are happening," West Bengal leader of opposition and BJP leader Suvendu Adhikar was quoted by ANI.

Locals protested against the klling by blocking the Taki Road in the early hours. However, they were removed by the police later.

Shocking and tragic incidents send shockwaves through the voting community.



Three of our party workers have been murdered in Rejinagar, Tufanganj and Khargram and two have been left wounded from gunshots in Domkol.



The @BJP4Bengal, @CPIM_WESTBENGAL and @INCWestBengal have been  All India Trinamool Congress (@AITCofficial) July 8, 2023

The brother of a TMC leader was killed in a clash with Congress supporters in Malda district, said officials. The incident happened in Jisharattola in Manikchak police station area. The deceased was identified as Malek Sheikh.

The Trinamool Congress on Saturday claimed that three of the party workers have been murdered in violence.

#WATCH | Polling booth at Baravita Primary School in Sitai, Coochbehar vandalised and ballot papers set on fire. Details awaited.



Voting for Panchayat elections in West Bengal began at 7 am today. pic.twitter.com/m8ws7rX5uG  ANI (@ANI) July 8, 2023

Since the polls were announced on June 8, the widespread violence that broke out in the state has claimed around 18 lives.

Three of our party workers have been murdered in Rejinagar, Tufanganj and Khargram and two have been left wounded from gunshots in Domkol. West Bengal BJP, West Bengal CPI(M) and West Bengal Congress have been clamouring for the deployment of Central Forces. So, where are the Central Forces when they are needed the most?... tweeted TMC.

This signals a colossal failure on their part to ensure the safety and security of the people, before the polls have been commenced, they added.

Also, a polling booth in Baravita Primary School in Coochbehar's Sitai was vandalised and ballot papers were set on fire.

BJP polling agent Madhab Biswas was allgedly killed in Falimari gram panchayat in Coochbehar district, said officials.

Police conducted a search operation in South 24 Parganas district on receiving information of bombs and weapons being found. However, the Police did not find any bombs.

TMC alleged that the central forces security personnels were causing hindrance in the polling process. "A BSF personnel was chased away by angry villagers in Gitaldaha-II in Cooch Behar after he tried to obstruct the polling process and create chaos," said TMC leader Partha Pratim Ray in a video.

Just ahead the polls on Friday night, a house was vandalised in Murshidabad in the clashes between the TMC and Congress workers.

Despite the central forces and state police deployed in the polling booths the violence occurred in several areas. Earlier the Calcutta High Court had ordered the deployment of central forces to all polling booths on the voting day.

Reportedly, over 65,000 central police personnel and 70,000 state police personnel have been deployed. A total of 2.06 lakh candidates are in the fray for elections to 73,887 seats.
The polling day in West Bengal was marked with violence, vandalism and bloodshed. Eleven people were killed in the violence relating to the elections on Saturday.

Among those killed were six TMC members, one worker each of BJP, CPI (M), Congress and ISF, and another person whose political identity could not be known, said officials.

Polling booths and ballot boxes were vandalised and destroyed in several parts of the state. Voting was suspended at Indreshwar primary school in Dinhata after water was thrown into the ballot box.

Amid incidents of violence, workers of West Bengal BJP protested outside the State Election Commission (SEC) office in Kolkata.

Ballot box at a polling booth in Baranachina of Dinhata in Cooch Behar district was set on fire allegedly by angry voters.

#WATCH | West Bengal panchayat election | Ballot box at a polling booth in Baranachina of Dinhata in Cooch Behar district was set on fire allegedly by voters who were angry with bogus voting that was reportedly going on here. pic.twitter.com/6C5aC00uac  ANI (@ANI) July 8, 2023

Amid ongoing violence, Governor C.V. Ananda Bose said elections must be held "through ballots not bullets".

He also added that the day should be considered as the "most scared for democracy".

Reportedly, Governor was stopped by some CPI (M) candidates to express their concerns on the violence.

"I have been in the field right from the morning...People requested me and stopped my motorcade on the way. They told me about the murders happening around them, told me about the goons not allowing them to go to the polling booths...It should cause concern to all of us. This is the most sacred day for democracy...The election must be through ballots and not bullets," said the Governor.

Meanwhile, West Bengal minister Shashi Panja asked why central forces "failed to protect the citizens".

After scuffle between TMC and BJP workers at a polling booth, residents of Dhamsa threw ballot boxes in a pond.

"This is not an election, this is death. There is a fire of violence across the state. Central forces have not been deployed. CCTVs are not operating. This is not voting but loot...This is the collusion of TMC goons and Police and that is why so murders are happening," West Bengal leader of opposition and BJP leader Suvendu Adhikar was quoted by ANI.

TMC also claimed that three of the party workers have been murdered in Rejinagar, Tufanganj and Khargam.

The brother of a TMC leader was killed in a clash with Congress supporters in Malda district, said officials. The incident happened in Jisharattola in Manikchak police station area. The deceased was identified as Malek Sheikh.

TMC hit out at the central forces asking them where are the Central Forces when they are needed the most?

TMC alleged that the central forces security personnels were causing hindrance in the polling process. "A BSF personnel was chased away by angry villagers in Gitaldaha-II in Cooch Behar after he tried to obstruct the polling process and create chaos," said TMC leader Partha Pratim Ray in a video.

Meanwhile, Congress leader Kaustav Bagchi said he made a representation to the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court seeking to declare the elections null and void.

"I have prayed that the court take suo motu cognisance of the violence and killings and violation of the high court's earlier orders to ensure free and fair polls," he said.

Since the polls were announced on June 8, the widespread violence that broke out in the state has claimed over 20 lives.

The panchayat elections are underway for a single phase, with the counting of votes scheduled on July 11.

Despite the central forces and state police deployed in the polling booths the violence occurred in several areas. Earlier the Calcutta High Court had ordered the deployment of central forces to all polling booths on the voting day.

Reportedly, over 65,000 central police personnel and 70,000 state police personnel have been deployed. A total of 2.06 lakh candidates are in the fray for elections to 73,887 seats.
Voting for the crucial three-tier West Bengal panchayat elections began at 7am on Saturday amid concerns of violence. Widespread violence, which resulted in the deaths of over 16 people, were reported since the polls were announced on June 8. Around 5.67 crore people are eligible to cast their votes for nearly 74,000 seats in zilla parishads, panchayat samitis and gram panchayats.

Tight security in place

Amid apprehensions that voting day could be marred by violence, central forces and state police have been deployed in polling booths across the state. The Calcutta High Court had earlier ordered deployment of central forces to all polling stations on voting day. The State Election Commission also directed district authorities to ensure that two armed police personnelone each from central forces and state police be deployed at each polling booth on Saturday.

According to reports, 65,000 central police personnel and 70,000 state police personnel have been deployed. The HC also directed central forces to remain in the state for 10 days after results are declared on July 11 to ensure safety of elected members.

Governor C.V. Ananda Bose has been actively overseeing security arrangements in the state, and visited violence-hit areas in various districts over the past few weeks. He also opened a 'Peace Home' at the governor's house to address complaints amid poll violence. The governor described Saturday's panchayat polls as a "fight between ballots and bullets" and said that he would monitor the situation throughout the state and take corrective measures.

Key players

Campaigning for the crucial rural polls concluded on Thursday. The ruling Trinamool Congress, the BJP and an alliance of the Congress and Left parties are the key players in the fray. For the TMC and the BJP, the rural polls will be a litmus test ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

The Indian Secular Front (ISF), with its limited presence in parts of North and South 24 Parganas, too grabbed headlines as its leader and lone MLA Nawsad Siddique led the party's campaign, which often resulted in clashes with the ruling TMC in Bhangor in South 24 Parganas. TMC supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee led the party's campaign this year along with her nephew and the party's national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee.

The TMC is contesting all the 928 seats in zilla parishads, 9,419 seats in panchayat samitis and 61,591 seats in gram panchayats. The BJP has fielded candidates in 897 zilla parishad seats, 7,032 panchayat samiti seats and 38,475 seats in gram panchayats.



The CPI(M) is fighting 747 zilla parishad seats, 6,752 panchayat samiti seats and 35,411 gram panchayat seats. The Congress is contesting 644 zilla parishad seats, 2,197 panchayat samiti seats and 11,774 gram panchayat seats.



In 2018, the TMC swept the panchayat elections by winning 73 per cent of the gram panchayat seats, 90 per cent of the panchayat samitis and 95 per cent of the zilla parishad seats. Interestingly, the TMC won 34 per cent of seats unopposedthere were no candidates from the opposition parties in all these seats. These polls, too, were marred by widespread violence, with the opposition alleging they were prevented from filing nominations in several seats.



-with PTI inputs
















Why is the South Pole of the moon preferred for moon missions such as Chandrayaan 3 and why are countries such as the US, China and India infatuated for Moon's South Pole and not the North Pole? There are mixed views as few space experts are of the view that the South Pole has more water ice, which is a valuable resource but few say that the lunar South Pole is not necessarily better than the north pole in terms of solar energy, material resources, or ease of landing. However, the south pole has been favored for exploration due to historical reasons.

In the 1990s, a number of missions to the Moon focused on the South Pole, and this helped to solidify the South Pole as the preferred landing site for future missions.

Space experts say that the lunar poles are very similar. They both have highland terrain and a rugged landscape with large, degraded craters and smaller fresher ones. The differences between the poles are very small. They are not significant enough to make one pole a better landing site than the other, experts point out.



The lunar poles have spots that are always sunny. These spots are called "peaks of eternal light" but the light is not eternal and the name is quite misleading. The areas are only lit for about 90 percent of the Moon's 18.6-year nutation cycle. Of the top 20 sites on the Moon that are illuminated by the sun, seven of them are located near the North Pole. This is because the North Pole has a longer period of sunlight than the South Pole.



The South Pole of the moon gets a slight advantage over the North Pole in terms of solar energy. However, this advantage is not significant enough to make a practical difference. There are plenty of places on the North Pole that have good solar visibility, Girish Linganna, space and aerospace expert told THE WEEK.

An additional motivating factor for focusing on the south is that the South Pole is located in the South Pole-Aitken basin, which is a huge crater. This makes the South Pole a geologically interesting place because it is possible that there is material from the deep crust and upper mantle of the Moon on or near the surface. The South Pole is also a more promising place to look for ice than the North Pole, he said.

Linganna points out that ice resources are an important consideration for future missions to the Moon. However, the differences in ice resources between the north and south poles are not as great as they once seemed. This is because we now have more complete data about the ice resources at both poles.

Water ice has been detected at both poles of the Moon. The South Pole has more area in permanent shadow and colder temperatures, so it is thought to have more water ice. However, the difference in permanently shadowed area between the two poles is not as great as originally thought. The true ratio of permanently shadowed area between the south and the north poles is about 1.25:1, added Linganna.

Experts point out that the reason why the South Pole is favoured for exploration is because of a historical misconception about the existence of mountains that are always lit by the sun. This misconception helped to popularize the idea of the South Pole as a place of eternal light, and this has led to more missions being planned to the South Pole than the North Pole.



In the 1970s and 1980s, a group of amateur astronomers led by John Westfall worked to map the region around the south pole of the Moon. The region was poorly mapped during the Apollo missions in the 1960s, and it was nicknamed "Luna incognita" (Latin for "unknown moon"). The work of Westfall and his team helped to fill in the gaps in our knowledge of the South Pole, and it made the region more attractive for future exploration.



In December 1994, Gene Shoemaker and his team published a paper in the journal Science called "The South Pole Region of the Moon as Seen by Clementine." The paper talked about how the South Pole was the least well-known region of the Moon before the Clementine mission, and how the mission had revealed a lot of new information about it.

The decision to title the paper "The South Pole Region" instead of "The Polar Regions" was important, because even though Clementine had collected data from both poles, the south pole was much more heavily shadowed during the mission, which made it more likely to contain ice. The paper described the shadowed regions as potential hosts of ice.

From 2006-2009 NASA had extra room on the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) mission, so they decided to launch a second mission called Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) to look for ice on the Moon. They considered landing sites at both poles, but the LRO launch was delayed multiple times, so they ended up landing at Cabeus crater on the South Pole. This cemented the south pole as the leading candidate for future missions to search for ice on the Moon, said Linganna.

The South Pole became the preferred destination for lunar exploration in the late 1990s due to a combination of factors, including the fact that it was less well-mapped and imaged than the North Pole. The decision to focus on the South Pole has been largely unchallenged since then, even though there is no clear evidence that it is a better destination than the North Pole, he added.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday visited Snake Island, a symbol of Ukraine's resilience to mark 500 days of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.



Zelenskyy honoured soldiers who lost their lives in the war and said Ukraine will win the war. We are on Snake Island  on our Snake Island, which will never be conquered by the occupier, like the whole of Ukraine because we are a country of the brave, Zelenskyy said.

Zelenskyy added he honoured Ukraine's heroes and said, Although this is a small piece of land in the middle of our Black Sea, it is a great proof that Ukraine will regain every bit of its territory. He added, I want to thank  from here, from this place of victory  each of our soldiers for these 500 days.

Zelenskyy asserted, We will definitely win! For sure!

Russian forces took control of Snake Island on February 24, 2022, the day Moscow launched its invasion, in the apparent hope of using it as a staging ground for an assault on Odesa, Ukraine's biggest port and the headquarters of its navy.

The island took on legendary significance for Ukraine's resistance to the Russian invasion when Ukrainian troops there reportedly received a demand from a Russian warship to surrender or be bombed. The answer supposedly came back, Go (expletive) yourself. Ukraine has celebrated the story with patriotic fervour, issuing a postage stamp in commemoration.

The island's Ukrainian defenders were captured by the Russians but later freed as part of a prisoner exchange. After the island was taken, the Ukrainian military heavily bombarded the small Russian garrison there, forcing the Russians to pull back on June 30, 2022.

The Russian retreat reduced the threat of a seaborne Russian attack on Odesa and helped pave the way for a deal to resume Ukrainian grain exports.

The Russian Defence Ministry on Saturday released footage of Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu visited firing ranges where volunteer soldiers are being trained.

Pitched battles along the front line are raging as NATO leaders are set to meet in Vilnius for a two-day summit next week to offer more help in modernising Ukraine's armed forces, create a new high-level forum for consultations and reaffirm that it will join their alliance one day.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed support early Saturday for Ukraine joining NATO, saying it deserves to join the alliance.

(With PTI inputs.)
Chandigarh, Jul 7 (PTI) The Haryana Cabinet on Friday approved the "no litigation policy-2023" for the land acquired for the Manesar Industrial Model Township expansion, a move aimed at fast-tracking the development with voluntary participation of land owners.

The policy also aims to ensure acceptable compensation with assured incentives in the form of developed plots.

Fulfilling the assurance given by Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on the floor of the Haryana Vidhan Sabha on August 9, 2022, the state Cabinet approved "no litigation policy-2023" for land acquired for the Industrial Model Township in the revenue estate of villages Kasan, Kukrola and Sehrawan of Tehsil Manesar, district Gurugram, said an official statement here.

According to the statement, the policy aims to fast-track development and make land owners partners in the development process while ensuring that the farmers get a fair return.

The landowners who do not opt under the 2023 policy will be eligible for benefits under the Rehabilitation and Resettlement of Land Owners and Land Acquisition Oustees policy (R&R), it said.

The landowners in these three villages had last year been protesting against the low compensation for their land.

The state government had notified land measuring approximately 1,810 acres under Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, on January 10, 2011, for the purpose of development of Manesar industrial Model Township expansion in villages Kasan, Kukrola and Sehrawan of Tehsil Manesar, district Gurugram.

After issuance of notification under Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act 1894, the Supreme Court vide order dated April 25, 2011 granted a stay on the acquisition proceedings. The stay granted by the apex court was vacated on December 2, 2019, and thereafter the said land was notified under Section 6 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, on August 17, 2020 and subsequently award was announced on August 8, 2022, said the statement.

"There was a discontent amongst landowner on the acquisitions initiated in 2011. Several meetings were conducted with the affected landowners on this issue, wherein it was highlighted that due to such delays, the compensation amounts determined based on collector rate at the time of notification dated January 10, 2011 were decided only post vacation of stay on August 16, 2022.

"An assurance was given by the chief minister on the floor of the Haryana Vidhan Sabha on August 9, 2022, that the Rehabilitation and Resettlement Policy 2010 would be revised for this acquisition proceeding to ensure appropriate rehabilitation of displaced landowners," it said.

In pursuance of the same, a specific policy has now been prepared for rehabilitating the landowners, whose land has been acquired under Award No. 1 , 2 and 3 dated August 16, 2022 in villages Kasan , Kukrola and Sehrawan respectively for area measuring 1,758 acres.

The benefits of this policy shall be applicable for the landowners whose land had been notified for compulsory acquisition under Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, on January 10, 2011.

The policy provides an option for receiving better benefits if they submit an undertaking in the prescribed format duly attested by Tehsildar cum Executive Magistrate of Manesar.

The "no litigation policy of 2023" allows entitlement of 1,000 square metres developed land/plots against one acre land on pro rata basis. The farmers/land owners will have the right to opt for the scheme within a period of 6 months from its notification and launch of portal, it said.

To assure instant benefit to the landowners, Haryana State Industrial & Infrastructure Development Corporation will issue Land Entitlement Certificate on the allotment share of land owners within a period of 3 months from the closure of the scheme.

The land owners or holders of the land entitlement certificates shall have the freedom to trade, buy or sell the Land Entitlement Certificates. This implies that land owner can monetize the Certificate in the open market or sell back to the HSIIDC.
Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], July 8: Kautilya School of Public Policy (KSPP) achieves a record feat with some students getting a monthly stipend of Rs. 1 lakh a month for internships, which is the highest as per industry standards. Additionally, the schools placement opportunities have helped the students land annual remuneration ranging from Rs. 6,00,000 to Rs. 15,00,000 per annum. It is a milestone for the first time passing out graduates from a college to land this kind of salary slab. The students success can be attributed to the colleges high-quality curriculum, teaching cum learning standards and the Career Fulfillment Cell. The cell follows a structured process that matches students' interests with relevant organizations and facilitates internship opportunities after a rigorous selection process.



Speaking about the placement success rate and competitive pay scale of their students, the Dean of Kautilya School of Public Policy  Mr. Syed Akbaruddin expressed, Our aim is to produce career-ready students who are willing to face the industry challenges and bring to the table their training from Kautilya School of Public Policy in the most cohesive way. It is not merely about learning on the job. Our training empowers the students to tackle the challenges of the work front right from day one. Hence, they have landed not only lucrative employment but also internship offers.



Ms. Neelam Mehra - Deputy Director-Career Fulfillment at Kautilya School of Public Policy, said, It is all about all-round training of our students, in alignment with the demands of the current times. When it is time to face the industry, we want them to bring their knowledge to be put into practice rather than keeping it all theoretical. Internships help, but we ensure that they add some value to the board.



Notable employers who have recruited students for full-time roles include I-PAC, Global Trade Observer, TTC (Think Through Consulting), GITAM, Nehru Fellowship, RBIHub Fellowship, Quality Council of India, Infrastructure Professionals Enterprise Global, Bharat Biotech International Ltd., Paytm, Aadarsh Foundation, KSPP (GITAM), EY, Ather Energy, Punjab Good Governance Fellowship, Indicc, Just Jobs Network, Yale (Yale School of Public Health), Indian School of Leadership, Mythos Labs, IORA Ecological Solutions and Insight Development Consulting Group (P) Ltd. among others. Graduates have secured positions such as Campaign Manager, Lead-Policy and Strategy, Associates Program Manager, Consultant-Business Support Services, and Senior Policy Analyst, with salaries ranging from Rs. 6 lakhs to Rs. 15,00,000 per annum.



Kautilya School of Public Policy is dedicated to equipping students with the skills needed for the industry, resulting in an impressive success rate of nearly 90% among the batch. Renowned diplomats, thinkers, and scholars contribute valuable insights to the students, who also benefit from world-class curriculum, faculty and infrastructure.



The school offers a meticulously curated two-year, full-time residential Masters Program in Public Policy, constantly adapting to meet the demands of evidence-based policy-making, implementation and leadership in contemporary India.



The colleges focus is to encapsulate imparting education that is relevant, contemporary, and practical. They offer passionate young minds a robust training ground that nurtures grassroots aspirations with a rigorous academic program. They have brought on board some of the worlds leading academic experts and policy practitioners to prepare students for a transformed path in nation-building by inculcating diverse skills necessary for a successful career in public life.



(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
Kathmandu, Jul 8 (PTI) Nepal and India have agreed to hold a meeting of experts to "iron out the differences" and finalise the detailed project report of the much-awaited 6,480 megawatt Pancheshwar Multipurpose bi-national power plant to be developed on the bordering Mahakali river, according to a media report on Saturday.

The understanding was reached during a meeting of the governing council of the Pancheshwar Development Authority held in Pokhara in Nepal on Thursday and Friday, The Kathmandu Post newspaper reported.

The meeting decided to extend the term of the team of experts which expired in March, the report quoted Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation ministry spokesperson Madhu Bhetuwal as saying.

The two sides also agreed to hold the next meeting of the team of experts within 10 days to iron out the differences over the DPR (detailed project report) and make a move towards concluding the DPR, he said.

Pancheshwar Multipurpose Project (PMP) is a bi-national hydropower project to be developed on the Mahakali River bordering Nepal and India. The development of the project is covered under the integrated Mahakali Treaty signed between Nepal and India in 1996 under which equal sizes of underground powerhouses of 3,240 MV will be constructed on each side of the Mahakali river in India and Nepal.

Apart from generating electricity, the project will provide irrigation to 130,000 hectares of land in Nepal and 240,000 hectares in India in addition to other incidental benefits including flood protection.

However, a mutually acceptable DPR of the Pancheshwar Project could not be finalised due to differences on certain contentious issues.

There were more than 500 unresolved issues which have now come down to 127, said Bhetuwal, who is also a joint secretary at the energy ministry of Nepal.

The upcoming meeting of the experts, the date of which is yet to be finalised, is the first move towards concluding the DPR after the prime ministers of both countries last month agreed to conclude the DPR within three months during Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachandas India visit from May 31 to June 3, the report said.

During Prachanda's visit to India, it was agreed that officials of both governments would expedite bilateral discussions towards early finalisation of the Pancheshwar DPR within three months.
Chandigarh, Jul 8 (PTI) Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Saturday said that the state government is constantly working to expand the horticulture sector.

The government has set an aim to double the horticultural area to 22 lakh acres by 2030, from the current 7 percent of total cultivated land, and triple the production by then.

For this, subsidies are offered to farmers under various schemes. In the financial year 2022-23, a subsidy of Rs 166.20 crore was distributed to 25,000 beneficiaries under various horticulture schemes, said Khattar while interacting with progressive farmers producing vegetables and fruits through audio conferencing held here Saturday evening.

The Chief Minister said that there are many similarities between the climate and land of Israel and Haryana.

"The technology there is most useful to us. That's why we are adopting Israeli technology in the field of fruit, vegetable and flower cultivation and beekeeping in the state," he added.

14 Centres of Excellence have been set up in the state to promote horticulture using the latest technologies. It is proposed to set up three new Centres of Excellence in the state in the year 2023-24, which includes centre of excellence for post-harvest management in Panchkula, Pingawan, Nuh for onion, and Munimpur, Jhajjar for flowers," he said.

During the interaction, progressive farmers hailed several type of new initiatives that the Manohar Lal-led state government has initiated for them, said an official statement. In addition to the reduction in the cost of agriculture, these initiatives have ensured that their produce has maximum access to the market, they said.

The government has provided significant aid to farmers by launching innovative schemes such as the Bhavantar Bharpayee Yojana and the Mukhyamantri Bagwani Bima Yojana, said the farmers. According to the statement, during the interaction, a farmer raised a complaint before the Chief Minister that Horticulture Officer Shyam Singh of Ferozepur Jhirka block of Nuh had allegedly demanded a bribe of Rs.7000 from him for giving the "Bhavantar" compensation scheme benefit.

Taking immediate strict cognizance of this, Khattar later issued immediate suspension orders of the officer.

In another case, an explanation letter was issued to a horticulture Development Officer (HDO) for being clueless about the scheme run by his department.

Khattar stated that farming and farmers are the focus of the Haryana government's policies.

We are standing shoulder to shoulder with the farmers while adopting 'Beej se Bazar Tak' approach. It is our goal to assist farmers at every stage of the farming process. All facilities should be made available to farmers from the time the crops are sown and sold in the market. The state government is constantly taking steps in this regard," he added.

He said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called upon the farmers to move towards organic and natural farming and minimize the use of fertilizers and pesticides.

He said that Haryana has already formulated Mukhyamantri Bagwani Bima Yojana for the benefit of farmers in case of damage to horticulture crops due to natural calamities.

Khattar said that in order to promote the cultivation of fruits and vegetables and to encourage bee keeping, the government is giving numerous subsidies and facilities.

The Chief Minister said that under the Crop Cluster Development Programme, 393 horticulture crop clusters have been identified in 1763 villages.

"One FPO is being formed in each cluster with 300 farmer members. In addition, an integrated pack house is also being set up in each cluster for supply chain, marketing of horticulture produce and to link farmers directly to the market," he said.

Khattar said that to promote horticulture, the state government has implemented Bhavantar Bharpayee Yojana for vegetables and fruits.

"Due to this, farmers have been freed from risk at the time of fall in the prices of fruits and vegetables in the market. In this, protected prices have been fixed for 21 horticulture crops. Under this scheme, an amount of more than Rs 23 crore has been distributed to 9,485 farmers so far," he said.
Odesa businessman attempts to bribe SBU officer with EUR 90,000 8 July, 04:27 PM The suspect wanted the termination of criminal proceedings against him (Photo:SBU)

An Odesa businessman has been apprehended after attempting to bribe an employee of Ukraines SBU security service to the staggering tune of EUR 90,000, the SBU reported on Facebook on July 8.

The suspect, who serves as the director of a local logistics company, allegedly sought to secure the termination of criminal proceedings that were initiated against him by the SBU regarding a corruption scheme involving the export of agricultural products. If convicted, the businessman faced the prospect of having his assets seized.

Video of day

"Based on the substantial evidence collected, SBU investigators formally notified the businessman of his suspected involvement in the crime, in accordance with Part 3 of Article 369 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, which pertains to offering, promising, or providing illegal benefits to a public official," stated the agency.

The accused now faces a potential prison sentence of up to eight years, along with the confiscation of his assets.

Will you support Ukraines free press? Dear reader, as all news organizations, we must balance the pressures of delivering timely, accurate, and relevant stories with requirements to fund our business operations. As a Ukrainian-based media, we also have another responsibility  to amplify Ukraines voice to the world during the crucial moment of its existence as a political nation. Its the support of our readers that lets us continue doing our job. We keep our essential reporting free because we believe in our ultimate purpose: an independent, democratic Ukraine. If youre willing to support Ukraine, consider subscribing to our Patreon starting from 5$ per month. We are immensely grateful.

Please help us continue fighting Russian propaganda. Truth can be hard to tell from fiction these days. Every viewpoint has its audience of backers and supporters, no matter how absurd. If conscious disinformation is reinforced by state propaganda apparatus and budget, its outcomes may become deadly. There is no solution to this, other than independent, honest, and accurate reporting. We remain committed to empowering the Ukrainian voice to push against the muck. If youre willing to stand up for the truth  consider supporting us on Patreon starting from 5$ per month. Thank you very much.

Will you help tell Ukraines story to the world? Twenty years ago, most people hadnt even heard of Ukraine. Today, the country is on everyones lips and everyones headlines. War pushed us on the front page. But there are many other things we do that we are proud of  from music and culture to technology. We need your help to tell the world Ukrainian story of resilience, joy, and survival. If youre willing to back our effort, consider supporting us on Patreon starting from 5$ per month. We are immensely grateful.

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Jammu, Jul 8 (PTI) The paddy cultivation has started gaining momentum over the past week across the Jammu division with farmers expressing satisfaction over the good amount of rainfall under the influence of Monsoon winds and western disturbance over the region.

The farmers are hopeful for better yield this year compared to the previous years.

The cultivation of paddy, especially the world-famous Basmati rice, serves as the sole source of income to a majority of farmers in R S Pura, Marh and parts of Samba and Kathua districts in Jammu region.

"Paddy and maize are main crops of the Jammu region which are dependent on rain waterWe had good pre-monsoon rains. The Monsoon has also set on time which is good, Joint Director, Agriculture Department, A S Reen told PTI.

He said the sowing of maize that is mostly cultivated in the rain-fed hilly areas was completed sometime back and the frequent rains over the past week are a blessing for the crop.

The rice cultivation in Jammu plains and some parts of hilly areas is in progress. Watering of fields from canals and tube wells is insufficient and the rainfall is quite essential for the crop, especially Basmati Rice which needs a lot of water for irrigation.

The Basmati crop takes 160-170 days to reach the harvesting stage and needs a lot of water at crucial stages for a successful crop. Reen said the paddy production of Jammu is around four lakh quintals, while two lakh quintals of rice are procured through Food Corporation of India to meet the local demand.

Maize production is around four lakh quintals and the department facilitates the farmers to sell their surplus produce.

He said the production of paddy and maize can go up by 25 to 30 per cent, depending on various factors including best quality seed, proper fertilization and rain water.

The department is playing its part to ensure availability of best quality seed and fertilizers to the farmers, he said, requesting the farmers to go for crop insurance to avoid losses in case of any calamity.

Rains are beneficial for the growth of the paddy. The success of the crop depends on water availability during the next one month and if we had a good monsoon, we are hopeful of a good yield this time, Darshan Kumar, a farmer from Marh block in the outskirts of Jammu city told PTI.

He said the agriculture department employees are working in close coordination with the farmers to educate them about the newly introduced government schemes.

Thakur Dass said rains have brought relief as earlier there was a shortage of water, also affecting the wheat crop.

The agriculture department last week celebrated crop insurance week to launch a mass awareness campaign for maximum enrolment of the farmers under the scheme for Kharif-2023.

Director Agriculture, Jammu K K Sharma said the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojna (PMFBY) will go a long way in mitigating the financial risk of the farmers suffering from the crop losses and aid in stabilizing their income.

Highlighting the achievements under the scheme, Sharma said till date one lakh farmers in Jammu division have benefited from PMFBY with the disbursement of an amount to the tune of Rs 96 crore as settlement of claims to these beneficiaries.

The Director said 50,000 farmers have already enrolled under the scheme in Jammu division well before the cut-off date of July 15.

He urged farmers to enroll under the scheme to avail the benefits against weather-vagaries for the notified crops, including Paddy and Maize in the Kharif season and Wheat in the Rabi season with a minimal premium of two per cent (Kharif) and 1.5 per cent (Rabi season) as per the Scale of Finance.
Washington, Jul 8 (PTI) World Bank President Ajay Banga will travel to India next week to attend the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, according to the development lender.

This would be Banga's first trip to India after he took over as the World Bank president last month.

Gujarat is hosting four meetings of G20 in the first two weeks of July.

These meetings will provide an opportunity for business representatives to share their perspectives, insights and policy recommendations on various economic and business-related topics and will play a very significant role in shaping global economic agendas and policies, according to officials.
Washington, Jul 8 (PTI) A senior US diplomat in charge of democracy and human rights will visit India and Bangladesh from July 8 to 14 to engage with civil society organisations on freedom of expression and association, and inclusion of women and girls and vulnerable groups, the State Department has said.

In India, she will also meet with senior government officials to discuss the deepening US-India partnership, the State Department said in a release on Friday.

Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy and Human Rights and US Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues Uzra Zeya will travel to India and Bangladesh from July 8 to 14 to engage with civil society organisations on freedom of expression and association, and inclusion of women and girls, persons with disabilities and vulnerable groups, including marginalised religious and ethnic minorities, it said.

"In India, she will meet with senior government officials to discuss the deepening and enduring US-India partnership, including advancing shared solutions to global challenges, democracy, regional stability and cooperation on humanitarian relief," the release said.

In Bangladesh, she will meet with senior officials to discuss shared humanitarian concerns, including the Rohingya refugee crisis, labour issues, human rights and free and fair elections, it said.

Taking to Twitter, the Indian-American Zeya said, "Traveling to India and Bangladesh next week to advance shared solutions to global challenges; contribute to a more free, open, secure & prosperous Indo-Pacific; and bolster humanitarian support for refugees & host communities throughout the region."

Sworn in as the Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights by Secretary of State Tony Blinken on July 14, 2021, Zeya leads global diplomatic efforts to strengthen democracy, advance universal human rights, support refugees and humanitarian relief, promote rule of law and counter-narcotics cooperation, fight corruption and intolerance, prevent armed conflict and eliminate human trafficking.

On December 20, 2021, Blinken announced that she will concurrently serve as the US Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues. She leads US efforts to support human rights, meet the humanitarian needs of the Tibetan people and preserve their unique cultural, religious, and linguistic identity.
* Indian consulate attack: US lawmakers, Indian-American bodies condemn incident, seek thorough probe.



Ajay Banga to visit India for first time after becoming World Bank President; to attend G20 meeting.



US diplomat in charge of democracy and human rights to visit India, Bangladesh from Jul 8-14.



Stories related to EAM S Jaishankar's visit to Tanzania.



Keeping up pressure, China sends warships and fighter jets near Taiwan during Yellen's Beijing visit.



US says it will provide cluster bombs to Ukraine and defends the delivery of the controversial weapon.



Dutch premier resigns because of deadlock on thorny issue of migration, paving way for new elections.



Joe Biden's adviser says US is pressing for the release of reporter who has spent 100 days in Russian jail



US destroys last of its declared chemical weapons, closing a deadly chapter dating to World War I. *
Kyiv, Jul 8 (AP) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy marked the 500th day of the war Saturday by hailing the country's soldiers in a video from a Black Sea island that became the symbol of Ukraine's resilience in the face of the Russian invasion.

Speaking from Snake Island, Zelenskyy honoured the Ukrainian soldiers who fought for the island and all other defenders of the country, saying that reclaiming control of the island is a great proof that Ukraine will regain every bit of its territory.

I want to thank  from here, from this place of victory  each of our soldiers for these 500 days, Zelenskyy said. Thank you to everyone who fights for Ukraine!

Russian forces took control of the tiny stone island on February 24, 2022, the day Moscow launched its invasion, in the apparent hope of using it as a staging ground for an assault on Odesa, Ukraine's biggest port and the headquarters of its navy.

The island took on legendary significance for Ukraine's resistance to the Russian invasion, when Ukrainian troops there reportedly received a demand from a Russian warship to surrender or be bombed. The answer supposedly came back, Go (expletive) yourself.

Ukraine has celebrated the story with patriotic fervour, issuing a postage stamp in commemoration.

The island's Ukrainian defenders were captured by the Russians but later freed as part of a prisoner exchange.

After the island was taken, the Ukrainian military heavily bombarded the small Russian garrison there, forcing the Russians to pull back on June 30, 2022.

The Russian retreat reduced the threat of a seaborne Russian attack on Odesa and helped pave the way for a deal to resume Ukrainian grain exports.

Let the freedom that all our heroes of different times wanted for Ukraine and that must be won right now be a tribute to all those who gave their lives for Ukraine, Zelenskyy said. We will definitely win!

Intense battles continued to rage Saturday in the country's east and south as Ukrainian forces pressed their attacks against multi-layered Russian defences in the initial stages of their counteroffensive.

Pavlo Kyrylenko, the governor of the eastern Donetsk region, said that a Russian rocket strike on the city of Lyman killed six civilians and wounded another five early Saturday.

The UK Ministry of Defence said in its latest intelligence update that the eastern town of Bakhmut that was captured by the Russians in May has seen some of the most intense fighting along the front during the last week.

It said that Ukrainian forces have made steady gains to both the north and south of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region, noting that Russian defenders are highly likely struggling with poor morale, a mix of disparate units and a limited ability to find and strike Ukrainian artillery.

The Russian military has insisted that it has successfully fended off Ukrainian attacks in various sections of the front and inflicted heavy losses on the attackers.

The Russian Defence Ministry on Saturday released footage of Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu visited firing ranges where volunteer soldiers are being trained.

Pitched battles along the front line are raging as NATO leaders are set to meet in Vilnius for a two-day summit next week to offer more help in modernising Ukraine's armed forces, create a new high-level forum for consultations and reaffirm that it will join their alliance one day.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed support early Saturday for Ukraine joining NATO, saying it deserves to join the alliance.

He made the comment at a joint news conference with Zelenskyy, who visited Turkey as part of a European tour to rally support for Ukraine's entry into the military alliance after the war with Russia comes to an end.

Ahead of the NATO summit, the US has announced that it will provide Ukraine with cluster munitions, a move that President Joe Biden described as a difficult decision.

Two-thirds of NATO members have banned the munitions which have a track record of causing many civilian casualties, but the US sees their delivery as a way to help bolster Ukraine's offensive and push through Russian front lines.

Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov hailed the US move, saying that the delivery of cluster munitions will help the country de-occupy its territories while saving the lives of the Ukrainian soldiers.

Reznikov vowed that Ukraine will use the munitions only for the de-occupation of its territory and will not fire them at Russia's proper territory.

Reznikov also noted that the Ukrainian military will not use cluster munitions in urban areas to avoid hurting civilians, adding that they will be put to action in the field to break through the enemy defense lines with minimum risk for the lives of our soldiers. (AP) FZH
Washington, Jul 8 (PTI) Over 49,000 students can now learn about Sikhism in the District of Columbia after the local education board voted in favour of new social studies standards that for the first time ever includes the Sikh faith in the school curriculum.

The District of Columbia has adopted new social studies standards. The new standards, voted on by the District of Columbia State Board of Education on June 21, will give approximately 49,800 students the opportunity to learn about the Sikh community.

The new standards will be implemented in local schools starting from the 2024-2025 academic year.

The Sikh Coalition, which worked with local education authorities on this issue, said the District of Columbia joins 17 states across the nation to include accurate information about Sikhs in their public school social studies standards.

We are thrilled that the DC Office of the State Superintendent of Education has chosen to ensure that the Sikh community is represented and included in their standards, said Harman Singh, Sikh Coalition senior education manager.

Inclusive and accurate standards are an important first step to combat bigotry and to reduce bullying, and they benefit all students by increasing baseline cultural competency and decreasing ignorance, Singh said.

Earlier in April, the US State of Virginia voted in favour of new social studies standards to include Sikhi, or the Sikh faith, in the school curriculum for the first time ever.

Sikhism is one of the largest religions in the world and the members of the community have contributed to American society for over 125 years in the fields of civil rights, politics, agriculture, engineering, and medicine.
Kyiv, Jul 8 (AP) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy marked the 500th day of the war Saturday by hailing the country's soldiers in a video from a Black Sea island that became the symbol of Ukraine's resilience in the face of the Russian invasion.

Speaking from Snake Island, Zelenskyy honored the Ukrainian soldiers who fought for the island and all other defenders of the country, saying that reclaiming control of the island is a great proof that Ukraine will regain every bit of its territory.

I want to thank  from here, from this place of victory  each of our soldiers for these 500 days, Zelenskyy said. Thank you to everyone who fights for Ukraine!

It was unclear when the video was filmed. Zelenskyy was in Turkey on Saturday.

Russian forces took control of the tiny stone island on February 24, 2022, the day Moscow launched its invasion, in the apparent hope of using it as a staging ground for an assault on Odesa, Ukraine's biggest port and the headquarters of its navy.

The island took on legendary significance for Ukraine's resistance to the Russian invasion, when Ukrainian troops there reportedly received a demand from a Russian warship to surrender or be bombed. The answer supposedly came back, Go (expletive) yourself.

The island's Ukrainian defenders were captured by the Russians but later freed as part of a prisoner exchange.

After the island was taken, the Ukrainian military heavily bombarded the small Russian garrison there, forcing the Russians to pull back on June 30, 2022.

The Russian retreat reduced the threat of a seaborne Russian attack on Odesa and helped pave the way for a deal to resume Ukrainian grain exports.

Let the freedom that all our heroes of different times wanted for Ukraine and that must be won right now be a tribute to all those who gave their lives for Ukraine, Zelenskyy said. We will definitely win!

Intense battles continued to rage Saturday in the country's east and south as Ukrainian forces pressed their attacks against multi-layered Russian defences in the initial stages of their counteroffensive.

Ukraine's interior ministry said that a Russian rocket strike on the town of Lyman killed eight civilians and wounded 13 others early Saturday.

Pavlo Kyrylenko, the governor of the eastern Donetsk region, posted images showing some of the dead, including a body lying under a bicycle and body fragments on the pavement next to a damaged vehicle, saying that the Russian terrorists are continuing to strike civilians in Donetsk.

A private residence, a shop and a few cars were damaged in the attack on Lyman, which sits just a few kilometres (miles) from the front line, where Russian troops have recently intensified fighting in the forests of Kreminna.

The UK Ministry of Defens=ce said in its latest intelligence update that the eastern town of Bakhmut that was captured by the Russians in May has seen some of the most intense fighting along the front during the last week.

It said that Ukrainian forces have made steady gains to both the north and south of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region, noting that Russian defenders are highly likely struggling with poor morale, a mix of disparate units and a limited ability to find and strike Ukrainian artillery.

Amid the fighting, Russia and Ukraine accused each other of planning to sabotage the Russia-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which is Europe's largest, fueling fears of a radiation catastrophe.

Ukraine's military intelligence claimed Saturday that Russian troops have planted more mines around the plant, a claim that couldn't be independently verified.

The head of the United Nations nuclear agency, Rafael Mariano Grossi, told The Associated Press Friday that the International Atomic Energy Agency experts had recently gained access to more of the site, including the cooling pond and fuel storage areas, and found no mines there.

Grossi said he was still pushing for access to the rooftops of reactors where Ukrainian officials accused Russia of planting explosives.

As the tensions swirled around the plant, the Russian military has insisted that it has successfully fended off Ukrainian attacks in various sections of the front.

On Saturday, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu was shown visiting firing ranges where volunteer soldiers are being trained, a trip that comes two weeks after an abortive mutiny launched by mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, whose Wagner troops marched on Moscow in a bid to oust Shoigu.

Prigozhin agreed to end the mutiny, which represented the biggest threat to Russian President Vladimir Putin in his more than two decades in power, in exchange for an amnesty for himself and his troops and permission to move to Belarus.

On Saturday, Russian messaging app channels ran comments by one of Wagner's commanders, Anton Yelizarov, who said that the mercenaries have taken leave but would eventually deploy to Belarus.

Pitched battles along the front line in Ukraine are raging as NATO leaders are set to meet in Vilnius for a two-day summit next week to offer more help in modernising Ukraine's armed forces, create a new high-level forum for consultations and reaffirm that it will join their alliance one day.

Ahead of the NATO summit, the US has announced that it will provide Ukraine with cluster munitions, a move that President Joe Biden described as a difficult decision.

Two-thirds of NATO members have banned the munitions which have a track record of causing many civilian casualties, but the US sees their delivery as a way to help bolster Ukraine's offensive and push through Russian front lines.

Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov hailed the US move, saying that the delivery of cluster munitions will help the country de-occupy its territories while saving the lives of the Ukrainian soldiers.

Reznikov vowed that Ukraine will use the munitions only for the de-occupation of its territory and will not fire them at Russia's proper territory.

Reznikov also noted that the Ukrainian military will not use cluster munitions in urban areas to avoid hurting civilians, adding that they will be put to action in the field to break through the enemy defense lines with minimum risk for the lives of our soldiers. (AP) FZH
Seoul (South Korea), Jul 8 (AP) Hundreds of people marched in South Korea's capital on Saturday demanding Japan scrap its plans to release treated wastewater from the damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant, as the head of the UN nuclear agency met with senior officials to discuss public concerns over foods safety.

The protests came a day after South Korea's government formally endorsed the safety of the Japanese plans, saying that the contamination levels of water pumped out from the plant would be within acceptable standards and wouldn't meaningfully affect South Korean seas as long as the plant's treatment systems work as designed.

The announcement aligned with the views of the International Atomic Energy Agency, which greenlit the Japanese discharge plans this week, saying the treated wastewater would meet international safety standards and pose negligible environmental and health impacts.

Braving blistering summer heat and closely watched by police, the protesters walked in long lines through a commercial district in downtown Seoul, holding signs reading We denounce the sea disposal of Fukushima's nuclear wastewater! and We oppose with our lives the sea discharge. The marches proceeded peacefully and there were no immediate reports of major clashes or injuries.

Other than discharging the water into the sea, there is an option to store the water on their land, and there are other options being suggested," said Han Sang-jin, spokesperson of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, whose members accounted for many of the marchers.

He said that allowing Japan to discharge the water "is like an international crime.

The protests provided a tense backdrop to a meeting between IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi and South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin, which was expected to include discussions over people's fear of food contamination.

South Korea's Foreign Ministry didn't immediately release details of the talks.

Speaking to reporters in Tokyo Friday before his flight to South Korea, Grossi said he was aware of the unease in South Korea and was willing to communicate more actively with critics, including South Korean opposition politicians, to reduce concerns.

Hours later, he was greeted by dozens of angry protesters at an airport near Seoul. They denounced IAEA's support of the discharge plans, holding signs reading Dismantle IAEA! and Fukushima wastewater will definitely lead all humanity to disaster!

Grossi on Sunday was expected to meet with lawmakers from the opposition Democratic Party, which has harshly criticised the Japanese discharge plans and accused the conservative government of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol of putting the nation's health at risk while desperately trying to improve relations with Tokyo.

The safety of Fukushima's wastewater has been a sensitive issue for years between the US allies.

South Korea and Japan have been working in recent months to repair relations long strained over wartime historical grievances to address shared concerns such as the North Korean nuclear threat and China's assertive foreign policy.

South Korea's assessment about the safety of the discharge plan was partially based on observations by a team of government scientists who were allowed to tour the Fukushima plant in May. (AP) =

FZH
(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)
Cairo, Jul 8, (AP) An airstrike in a Sudanese city on Saturday killed at least 22 people, health authorities said, one of the deadliest in the weekslong fighting between Sudan's rival generals.

The attack took place in a residential area in Omdurman, the neighboring city of the capital, Khartoum, according to a brief statement by the health ministry. The attack wounded an unspecified number of people, it said. (AP) AMS
Russia planning to seize homes in Enerhodar to house Russian workers for Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Plant  HUR 8 July, 12:50 PM ZNPP (Photo:REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko)

Russian occupation authorities are planning to confiscate housing from residents of the town of Enerhodar to encourage Russians to work at the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant, Ukraines Defense Intelligence (HUR) chief Kyrylo Budanov reported on Telegram on July 7.

Up to 4,500 Russians may be resettled in this way.

According to military intelligence, after the invasion began, most of the plant's qualified personnel either left the occupied territories or refused to sign contracts with Rosatom, the Russian nuclear operator. Attempts to attract Russian employees also did not yield results, as specialists often refuse to go to ZNPP despite high promised salaries and benefits.

Video of day

In order to fix this issue, the Russian authorities have decided to simply directly provide apartments owned by Ukrainian citizens to Russian settlers, HUR states.

On July 6, the first deputy chief of staff of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, Sergei Kirienko, arrived at the occupied Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant. The visit took place against the backdrop of the publication of information about the Russian military mining the ZNPP.

The official purpose of Kirienko's visit was to familiarize himself with the state of affairs at the plant and to check the overall security. According to HUR, his actual role was to calm down panicky Russian plant workers and resolve staffing issues.

ZNPP explosion thread  what we know

Russian troops seized the ZNPP, the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, near the beginning of the full-scale war, on March 4. Employees of the plant are being held hostage and forced to work under incredibly high-pressure conditions. There are Russian military and Rosatom, the Russian nuclear operator, employees at the plant.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on June 22 that Russia was considering a scenario of a terrorist attack at the Zaporizhzhya nuclear plant it had seized on March 4, 2022, and had "prepared everything for this.

On June 25, Budanov said that the Russians had completed preparations for a potential attack on the occupied Zaporizhzhya NPP.

He said that explosive devices had been placed near four out of the plants six reactors, as well as the cooling pond.

On July 6, Budanov noted that Ukraine had managed to reduce the threat at ZNPP through public and non-public actions. However, he warned that the ZNPP will continue to be at risk as long as the Russian occupation continues.

Infographics: NV

Will you support Ukraines free press? Dear reader, as all news organizations, we must balance the pressures of delivering timely, accurate, and relevant stories with requirements to fund our business operations. As a Ukrainian-based media, we also have another responsibility  to amplify Ukraines voice to the world during the crucial moment of its existence as a political nation. Its the support of our readers that lets us continue doing our job. We keep our essential reporting free because we believe in our ultimate purpose: an independent, democratic Ukraine. If youre willing to support Ukraine, consider subscribing to our Patreon starting from 5$ per month. We are immensely grateful.

Please help us continue fighting Russian propaganda. Truth can be hard to tell from fiction these days. Every viewpoint has its audience of backers and supporters, no matter how absurd. If conscious disinformation is reinforced by state propaganda apparatus and budget, its outcomes may become deadly. There is no solution to this, other than independent, honest, and accurate reporting. We remain committed to empowering the Ukrainian voice to push against the muck. If youre willing to stand up for the truth  consider supporting us on Patreon starting from 5$ per month. Thank you very much.

Will you help tell Ukraines story to the world? Twenty years ago, most people hadnt even heard of Ukraine. Today, the country is on everyones lips and everyones headlines. War pushed us on the front page. But there are many other things we do that we are proud of  from music and culture to technology. We need your help to tell the world Ukrainian story of resilience, joy, and survival. If youre willing to back our effort, consider supporting us on Patreon starting from 5$ per month. We are immensely grateful.

Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Google News
Pune, Jul 8 (PTI) A policeman was injured when a group of 8-10 suspected burglars opened fire at cops during a combing operation in Maharashtras Pune on Saturday, an official said.

The police have arrested five of those who attacked the cops, he said.



Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Amol Zende said a crime branch team spotted 8-10 men moving suspiciously in the Warje area during a combing operation in the early hours.



When the cops tried to question them, the suspected burglars opened fire from the weapons they were carrying. We managed to nab five of them. An officer suffered a minor injury in the attack and he is admitted to the Sassoon Hospital, Zende said.



A knife, bullets, two sickles, a screwdriver and a hammer have been seized from the five men, the official added.
Bhopal, Jul 8 (PTI) The Madhya Pradesh Congress on Saturday held a protest against what it claimed was a steady rise in the number of crimes against Dalits and tribals under the Bharatiya Janata Party government in the state.

However, the plan by the protesting Madhya Pradesh Congress Scheduled Tribe Cell (MPCTC) to march to New Market area here and set afire an effigy of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan was foiled by police.

The protest comes amid national outrage after a video showing a man, identified as Pravesh Shukla, urinating on a tribal youth in Sidhi went viral on Tuesday.

MP Assembly polls are likely to be held at the end of the year.

"We were stopped near the Red Cross hospital crossing on Link Road by police who had put barricades to prevent us from marching to New Market. However, we staged a sit-in and set afire Chouhan's effigy there itself," MPCTC chief Pradeep Ahiwar told PTI over phone.

While Ahirwar claimed 40 Congress workers were detained and later set free, Habibganj Assistant Commissioner of Police Virendra Mishra said they foiled an attempt to burn an effigy of the CM and dispersed the protesters.

"Crimes and atrocities against Dalits and tribals have shot up under the Chouhan government. The urination incident in Sidhi is a horrific example of it," Ahirwar alleged.

Ahirwar said seven persons recently assaulted two Dalits, blackened their faces and garlanded them with shoes in Varkhadi village in Shivpuri district, while on Friday the Lokayukta police booked three IAS officers for irregularities in the sale of land belonging to tribals.

The Congress will continue to protest till excesses against Dalits and tribals stop, he asserted.
Ahmedabad, Jul 8 (PTI) The Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) has arrested an employee of the Border Security Force (BSF) for allegedly sharing sensitive information with a woman Pakistani intelligence operative, officials said on Saturday.

Nilesh Balia, the accused, was working in the electrical department of CPWD at the BSF's Bhuj headquarters for the last five years, they said.

He came in touch with the Pakistani agent in January 2023, ATS Superintendent of Police Sunil Joshi told reporters.

The woman `honey-trapped' the accused who told her that he worked as a computer operator for the BSF. She persuaded him to share sensitive information for money, Joshi said.

Balia was allegedly paid Rs 28,800 through multiple UPI transactions in exchange for information, the ATS official said.

Further probe was on, he added.
Mumbai, Jul 8 (PTI) Sharad Pawar on Saturday said PM Narendra Modi has spoken of massive corruption by NCP leaders, so he should punish those guilty.

PM Modi has all the state machinery at his disposal. He should act against these leaders and punish them, Pawar said, addressing a rally at Yeola in Nashik district.

A week after his nephew Ajit Pawar and eight other NCP MLAs joined the Eknath Shinde-led ministry in Maharashtra, Sharad Pawar kickstarted his statewide tour by holding a rally at Yeola, the constituency of rebel party leader and minister Chhagan Bhujbal.

Pawars choice of Yeola, a small town located 250 km north of Mumbai, to begin his party rebuilding exercise is seen as the octogenarian leaders attempt to rebuild the party.

While addressing the BJP booth workers in Bhopal, Modi accused the Nationalist Congress Party of being involved in corruption worth Rs 70,000 crore.

At the Yeola rally, Sharad Pawar also asked rebel NCP leaders not to raise issue of his age, says he will continue to work for party workers.

Without naming Bhujbal, Pawar said, I erred in trusting some people, but won't repeat the mistake. I have come here to apologise for the same.

Ahead of the rally, his daughter Supriya Sule, a member of Parliament, shared the photo of her father drenched in rain and sitting in a vehicle.

In 2019 elections, a photo of Sharad Pawar addressing a rally Satara district of western Maharashtra had gone viral, and won the veteran politician a massive fan following on social media.
Mumbai, Jul 8 (PTI) NCP chief Sharad Pawar has scoffed at estranged nephew Ajit Pawars suggestion that he should retire from active politics, saying he will continue working as party workers want him to keep going.

Do you know at what age Morarji Desai became the prime minister? I dont want to become the PM or a minister but only want to serve the people, Pawar said when asked about Ajits remark that at 83 years, it was time for his uncle to retire.

Asserting that he was not old yet, Pawar echoed former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's words, saying, "Na tired hu, na retired hu." (I am neither tired nor retired).

"Who are they to tell me to retire? I can still work," Pawar said in an interview to Mumbai Tak, India Todays Marathi digital news channel.

To another query on the succession war in the family after Ajit Pawars remarks that he was sidelined as he wasnt somebodys (Sharad Pawars) son, the veteran politician said, I don't want to say much on this topic. I dont like discussing family issues outside the family.

Pawar said Ajit was made minister and also deputy chief minister but no ministerial position was given to his daughter Supriya Sule even though it was possible.

Whenever NCP got a ministerial berth at the Centre, it was given to others but not to Supriya despite her being a member of Parliament, he added.



A week after Ajit and eight other NCP MLAs joined the Eknath Shinde-led ministry in Maharashtra, Sharad Pawar is kickstarting his statewide tour by holding a rally on Saturday at Yeola in Nashik district, the constituency of rebel party leader and minister Chhagan Bhujbal.

Pawars choice of Yeola, a small town located 250 km north of Mumbai, to begin his party rebuilding exercise is seen as the octogenarian leaders attempt to rebuild the party.
Kolkata, Jul 8 (PTI) Several people were killed in election-related violence in West Bengal as voting was underway on Saturday for the three-tier panchayat polls in the state, officials said.

The polling started at 7 am in 73,887 seats in the rural areas of the state with 5.67 crore people deciding the fate of around 2.06 lakh candidates, they said.

BJP polling agent Madhab Biswas was allegedly killed in Falimari gram panchayat in Coochbehar district, they said.

The BJP alleged that when Biswas tried to enter the polling booth he was stopped by TMC supporters, and as the situation escalated, they killed him. The TMC denied the allegations.

The supporter of an Independent candidate died in Kadambagachi area in North 24 Paraganas district after he was beaten up overnight, police said.

The deceased was identified as 41-year-old Abdullah. He died while undergoing treatment at a local hospital in the morning, Superintendent of Police Bhaskar Mukherjee said.

Protesting against the killing, locals blocked the Taki Road in the early hours but they were removed by the police.

A TMC worker was killed in Murshidabad district's Kapasdanga area overnight in poll-related violence. The deceased was identified as Babar Ali, officials said.

The ruling TMC said that two of its workers were killed in Rejinagar and Khargram in Murshidabad district, and another person in Tufanganj in Coochbehar district.

"The polling started peacefully, but Congress, BJP and CPI(M) are attacking TMC workers since last night. Three of our workers have died in Rejinagar, Tufanganj and Khargram. And, two of our workers were injured in Domkal. Where are the central forces?" TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh asked.

The brother of a TMC leader was killed in a clash with Congress supporters in Malda district, police said.

The incident happened in Jisharattola in Manikchak police station area. The deceased was identified as Malek Sheikh, they said.

The TMC alleged that the husband of one of its candidates was shot at in Nadia district's Narayanpur area by CPI(M) supporters, a charge denied by the opposition party.

Allegations of attempts to loot ballot boxes and attack on voters were made by all the parties. Clashes were also reported from other parts of the state.

CPI(M) state secretary Md Salim shared a video of open ballot boxes lying in the field, tweeting, "Vote is over! Condition of the ballots, ballot boxes in one of the booths. Btw this pic is from Diamond Harbour."

At least 600 companies of central forces have been deployed for the elections along with around 70,000 state police.

Sharing a video on Twitter, BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar alleged that ballot boxes were set ablaze at a booth in Coochbehar district with poll officials having fled the scene.

Governor CV Ananda Bose visited parts of the North 24 Parganas district and interacted with the people.

There are 63,229 gram panchayat seats and 9,730 panchayat samiti seats in 22 districts, while 928 zilla parishad seats in 20 districts as Darjeeling and Kalimpong have a two-tier system with Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) and Siliguri Sub-divisional Council at the top.

Long queues outside polling booths were seen as early as 6 am with people turning out early amid the intermittent rains.

The ruling TMC is contesting all the 928 seats in zilla parishads, 9,419 seats in panchayat samitis and 61,591 seats in gram panchayats. The BJP has fielded candidates in 897 zilla parishad seats, 7,032 panchayat samiti seats and 38,475 seats in gram panchayats.

The CPI(M) is fighting 747 zilla parishad seats, 6,752 panchayat samiti seats and 35,411 gram panchayat seats. The Congress is contesting 644 zilla parishad seats, 2,197 panchayat samiti seats and 11,774 gram panchayat seats.
Imphal, Jul 8 (PTI) The Manipur High Court has directed the state government to carry out physical trials to check the feasibility of providing internet service to mobile phones while ensuring security of life and property of citizens".



The court, which has asked for a detailed report, will hear the case on July 25.



After hearing multiple PILs, a division bench of Justice A Bimol and Justice A Guneshwor Sharma said, "In the case of Fibre To The Home (FTTH) connections, internet service can be provided by the home department on a case to case basis" after ensuring compliance of the safeguards suggested by the committee.



The 12-member expert committee had informed the court that internet service could be provided through broadband connections, either through Internet Leased Line (ILL) or FTTH by ensuring "static IP, banning of Wifi/Hotspots from any of the routers or system, blocking of social media websites and VPNs at the local level, removal of VPN softwares from the system and prohibiting installation of new softwares by any user and enforcing physical monitoring by the concerned authority/officials."



The state government had proposed to higher authorities to consider "lifting the ban on ILL with a capping of maximum speed @10 MBPS and subject to undertaking obtained from intended/existing subscribers for not indulging in illegal spreading and posting of rumours...which may aggravate the ongoing law and order crisis."

It also said, "In the event of any violation, he or she shall be liable to be punished as per provisions of relevant laws..and the subscriber shall be fixed personally responsible for any leakage/activities done by the secondary user of internet through Wifi or hotspot."
Guwahati, Jul 8 (PTI) BJP Assam unit president Bhabesh Kalita on Saturday dared the Congress to contest all the 14 Lok Sabha seats in the state in next year's general elections to "gauge people's support".

He exuded confidence that the NDA will retain power at the Centre and Narendra Modi will become the prime minister for a third time.

"The Congress should contest all 14 seats in the state. The BJP and its allies will also contest all the seats. We can then test with whom the public support is," Kalita told reporters during a day-long party meeting here.

"People have seen the work we have done for them and they will vote for us. The BJP-led NDA and Narendra Modi ji will retain power for the third straight term," he asserted.

On the Opposition decrying the draft delimitation proposal for the state, the BJP leader claimed they were trying to find faults where there are none to hide their own shortcomings.

He also dismissed Opposition allegations that the draft has been drawn to suit the BJP's agenda.

"The ECI is an independent body, it doesn't work as per anyone's diktat. The Opposition knows it well," he said.

Kalita also made light of 11 Opposition parties, including the Congress, jointly going to the national capital to register their protest before the ECI.

"They don't have any work here anyway, so they perhaps thought of visiting Delhi," he added.

Asked about the BJP's ally Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) also airing discontent over the draft, Kalita said it was for the party to deal with themselves.

"Atul Bora, the AGP president who is also a cabinet minister, has given a statement welcoming the draft. If any party member says something else, the AGP will deal with it through its own mechanisms," the state BJP chief added.

On the day-long meeting with party leaders of different levels, in which Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma was also present for a session, Kalita said the Jansampark Abhiyan was discussed at length.

"The programme has been extended till July 16 and we want to reach out to all sections of the society. We discussed the successful completion of the outreach campaign," he added.

Reacting to Kalita's statement, Congress leader Debabrata Saikia said the grand old party will unitedly contest the Lok Sabha elections with other like-minded Opposition parties.

"As our party has decided to contest the polls unitedly, it will be wrong for us to say at this point in time how many seats we will fight. The BJP will want to divide the Opposition so that they can win even with just 30 per cent votes. But we will not let that happen," the Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly added.
Imphal, Jul 8 (PTI) The Manipur government will provide security to farmers engaged in agricultural work in the ethnic strife-hit state, a senior police officer said on Saturday.

Addressing a press conference at Police Headquarters here, Inspector General of Police I K Muivah said as the planting period of the agriculture season is very short, the police will provide security to farmers engaged in agriculture work.

The IGP said the state had recently reduced the number of security personnel deployed on VIP duty and will utilise them in providing security to farmers doing agricultural activities.

However, the farmers should contact the Superintendent of Police of their respective district before heading out for their work, the IGP said.

No farmers should go out for farming if they don't have any security cover, he said.

The IGP said 822 security personnel will be deployed in providing security to farmers in Imphal West district, 290 in Imphal East, 236 in Bishnupur, 147 in Thoubal, 204 in Kakching, 200 in Kangpokpi and 300 security personnel in Churachandpur district.

The IGP said that during the last 24 hours, state police and central forces conducted massive search operations in the vulnerable and fringe areas in Churachandpur district, Bishnupur and Kangpokpi district.
Patna, Jul 8 (PTI) Bihar police has approached the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) seeking a ban on more than 100 gambling/gaming and loan lending apps that are allegedly engaged in money laundering and pose a threat to the financial security of the country.

The Economic Offences Unit (EOU) of Bihar police recently approached MeitY urging it to ban more than 100 such apps, Nayyar Hasnain Khan, Additional Director General (ADG) of EOU (Bihar police) told PTI on Saturday.

"The decision was taken after confirming that these apps attract Section 69 of the Information Technology (IT) Act as they contain materials which is prejudicial to the sovereignty and integrity of India. Several complaints had been received of extortion and harassment from people who had borrowed very small amounts through such loan lending apps," Khan said.

Section 69A of IT Act empowers the government to restrict access to any online content to protect the interest of sovereignty and integrity of the nation, security of the state, friendly relations with foreign states and public order.

The EOU also received several FIRs registered against these apps and people associated with them in Arwal, Phulwari Sharif (Patna), Aurangabad and Jamui recently, the ADG said.

"It's a serious offence and such digital lending, gaming and gambling apps must be banned as they pose a threat to financial security of the country. We are keeping a strict vigil on the activities of online lending platforms. People should also remain alert about the activities of such apps. The EOU has been creating awareness among the masses about such apps and requests the public not to take any loans from unregistered or illegal loan apps available on the Internet and Playstore," he said.

Explaining the modus operandi, the ADG said, These loan apps on pretext of advancing loan also access or hack all information from the customers' phone. And that might be used by the accused company to perpetrate other financial crimes. Most of the time such apps harass the customer by charging not only a high rate of interest, but by failure to repay the same, harass them by sending obscene materials to their contact list."

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) has already issued an advisory stating that since betting and gambling are illegal in most parts of the country, advertisements of these betting platforms, as well as their surrogates, are also illegal under the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act 2019, Cable TV Network Regulation Act 1995 and the IT Rules, 2021.
In this in-depth article, we'll list the 20 largest silver producing countries worldwide that are at the forefront of the silver ore market, which is expected to reach $7.39 billion this year. If you want to skip the details and find which nations have the biggest silver throughput, read 8 Largest Silver Producing Countries In The World.

Mexico, China, Peru, and Chile are amongst the largest silver producing countries in the world, with a consistent demand-and-supply horizon for the metal. The global silver production in 2022 reached approximately 25,500 metric tons as the metal's demand in jewelry fabrication, silverware, and investment rose.

In 2021, worldwide silver production rose by 5.8%, as mines were recovering from the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. After an expected rebound in 2021, total silver demand was also up in 2022 and grew by 18% to reach 38,643 metric tons, according to the World Silver Survey of 2022.

The growth projections in 2023 are optimistic. For isntance, a joint venture between Freslino and MAG Silver, named Juanicipio, is forecasted to reach its full production capacity in the coming months and become Mexico's leading silver-yielding channel.

Which Country Is The Highest Producer Of Silver?

According to the USGS, Mexico is the largest silver producing country as of current, as the country produced an estimated 6,300 metric tons of silver in 2022. This yield is significantly higher than the 2nd largest silver producer  China  whose mine output of silver is recorded to be 3,600 metric tons in 2022.

Most of Mexico's silver production comes from silver mines and byproduct extraction from lead and zinc mines. The country's largest silver mine is the Penasquito mine, which yielded 32.4 million ounces of silver in 2022. Another noteworthy name is the Fresnillo mine, the world's largest primary silver mine, which has been producing silver for over five centuries after it was founded in 1554.

Which Country Has The Largest Silver Reserves In The World?

Peru has the largest silver reserves by country, totaling 98,000 metric tons as per the USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries of 2023. The country's silver mine output has been stable over the years, owing to its massive reserves and developed mining infrastructure. Not far behind Peru, Australia has the 2nd largest silver reserves in the world that reach a total of 92,000 metric tons. Moreover, some countries' silver reserves are either unaccounted or partially located, and there's a possibility for nations like Kazakhstan to have generous silver reserves by country.

Which Country is the Largest Consumer Of Silver?

The United States is the biggest consumer of silver, accounting for 6,400 metric tons of the global total in 2022. Silver's use in the United States is spread across several key industries, with the largest portion, roughly 34% (or 2,176 metric tons), used in physical investment, primarily silver bars. Likewise, 27% of the country's total silver was used in the electronics industry. According to USGS, 13% of the United States silver use went into producing coins and medals, closely followed by the 10% volume used in the photovoltaic sector. The country utilized 6% of this silver demand in the jewelry sector and around 3% in brazing and soldering.

Which Is The Largest Producer Of Silver In Asia?

As per the data available up to 2023, China stands as the largest producer of silver in Asia. Silver extracted in China originates predominantly from polymetallic and lead-zinc mines, with substantial amounts being a byproduct of gold and copper. Also, the country's primary silver production regions include the Henan, Inner Mongolia, and Yunnan provinces. In terms of numbers, China accounts for nearly 14% of global silver production.

In comparison, India, the second largest producer of silver in Asia, makes up for 2.5% of the metal's global production, way lower than China. Most of India's silver production originates from a small Bharak deposit in Rajasthan, which houses the country's main silver mine, the Sindesar Khurd mine.

Major Silver Mining Companies

Pan American Silver Corp (NYSE:PAAS) is a premier silver mining company headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, and has a current market cap of $5.263 billion. Pan American Silver Corp (NYSE:PAAS) 's largest silver mine is in La Colorada, Mexico, which underwent an expansion in 2017 and is now producing silver, zinc, and lead. In 2022 alone, Pan American Silver Corp (NYSE:PAAS) reported a consolidated production of 18.5 million ounces of silver.

Another leading silver mining company is Wheaton Precious Metals Corp (NYSE:WPM), headquartered in Vancouver. With a current market cap of $18.857 billion, Wheaton Precious Metals Corp (NYSE:WPM) is doubtlessly at the forefront of silver mining. Wheaton Precious Metals Corp (NYSE:WPM) operates 34 mining projects of several metals, including gold, silver, and palladium.

Endeavour Silver Corp (NYSE:EXK) is a mid-tier silver mining company whose market cap stands at $531.75 million as of current. Endeavour Silver Corp (NYSE:EXK) has silver mining projects in Mexico, Chile, and the USA and is focused on sustainable mining. Most silver mines owned by Endeavour Silver Corp (NYSE:EXK) are of high grade and follow underground mining methods.

If you're interested in investing in the silver mining corporate sector, you can also check out our list of the best silver mining stocks to buy now. You can also check out which countries produced the most gold in recent years in our list of the top gold producing countries in the world. Let's now move on to the list of the biggest silver producers in the world.

20 Largest Silver Producing Countries In The World

20 Largest Silver Producing Countries In The World

Our Methodology

We listed the largest silver producing countries in the world based on USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries published in 2023, 2022, and 2020. Since countries can undergo changes in their mining output owing to investment and infrastructure issues, some main silver producing nations didn't see the metal's yield in 2022. For them, we referred to older USGS summaries and ranked the top countries according to their annual silver mine output in ascending order.

Based on the latest data, here are the largest silver producing countries in the world:

20. Portugal

Silver Mine Production in 2020: 96 metric tons

Portugal produced 96 metric tons of silver in 2020, which contributed to the nation's economy. The significant silver yield resulted from the country's robust mining infrastructure and investments in advanced extraction technology. According to CEIC, Portugal's average silver production remained 32 metric tons per year between 1990 and 2020. Although the country's 2022 silver yield is unclear, the average figures are indicative of its standard production.

19. Uzbekistan

Silver Mine Production in 2020: 104 metric tons

Uzbekistan's mining industry extracted 104 metric tons of silver in 2020, significantly above the national average of 80 metric tons, according to CEIC. Uzbekistan is enriched with substantial mineral reserves, silver being one of its most notable assets.

18. Sudan

Silver Mine Production in 2020: 107 metric tons

Sudan's mine output was 107 metric tons of silver in 2020. This production stems from the country's silver reserves, largely untapped due to geopolitical issues and economic challenges. Despite these factors, Sudan has gradually scaled its silver mining operations to bank on mineral wealth.

17. Papua New Guinea (PNG)

Silver Mine Production in 2020: 132 metric tons

In 2020, Papua New Guinea's production volume of silver was 132 metric tons. The country has well-sustained silver reserves, owing to its mineral-rich geological terrain of the Morobe Province  the country's most noteworthy silver mine is the Hidden Valley open-pit mine. PNG's average annual silver production has been recorded to be 72 metric tons during the last two decades, which shows the sustainability of the country's reserves.

16. South Africa

Silver Mine Production in 2020: 136 metric tons

South Africa is also amongst the largest silver producing countries in the world, but its yield is curtailed for now. The country's silver mining operations gave a throughput of 136 metric tons in 2020, which confirms its position in the silver industry. Furthermore, the nation's average annual mine production of silver has stayed at around 87 metric tons, according to CEIC.

15. Morocco

Silver Mine Production in 2020: 260 metric tons

Morocco extracted 260 metric tons of silver from its mineral-rich soil in 2020, being one of the largest silver producing countries in the world. Such a remarkable throughput represented an increase from the preceding year  2019  during which, 251 metric tons were mined in Morocco. From a long-term perspective, Morocco's annual average silver yield has stood at 237 metric tons for the 34-year period from 1986 to 2020, as per CEIC data. The steady production level demonstrates the consistent availability and strategic exploitation of the country's silver reserves, which have proven to be a significant source of wealth and economic stability.

14. Canada

Silver Mine Production in 2022: 295 metric tons

The silver mining industry in Canada saw a throughput of 295 metric tons in 2020. The country's rich formations and diverse mineral types contribute to its standing as one of the world's key silver-producing countries. The silver reserves in Canada are principally concentrated in the territories of Yukon and Northwest, along with significant deposits in British Columbia and Ontario. The mining operations in these regions are distinguished by advanced extraction and processing techniques, enabling effective and efficient recovery of silver.

13. Indonesia

Silver Mine Production in 2020: 335 metric tons

Indonesia is another leading silver producing nation that mined 335 metric tons of precious metal in 2020. The production level was attained due to the country's substantial silver reserves in its rich, mineral-laden regions, such as Sumatra and Kalimantan. According to industry projections, the nation's silver exports are set to escalate to approximately 247,000 kilograms by 2026, a notable increase from the 199,000 kilograms reported in 2021. The forecast aligns with the historic annual growth rate observed since 2005, which averages around 4%.

12. Kazakhstan

Silver Mine Production in 2020: 450 metric tons

In 2020, Kazakhstan produced approximately 450 metric tons of silver. The Central Asian country possesses abundant natural resources, and its silver deposits are significant, comprising a vital part of its mining industry. The aforementioned production figure indicates Kazakhstan's mining sector's efficient extraction and processing techniques.

11. India

Silver Mine Production in 2022: 630 metric tons

India is the 2nd largest silver producing country in Asia, proven by its yield of 630 metric tons of silver in 2022. The country boasts of rich silver reserves, estimated to be around 7,200 metric tons as per the latest assessments. This figure points to India's mineral wealth, and since India is also amongst the top silver consuming nations, it shows the nation's inclination towards silver jewelry and silverware.

10. Argentina

Silver Mine Production in 2022: 840 metric tons

Argentina is among the top 10 silver producing countries, evidenced by its mine yield of 840 metric tons in 2022. Such volume represents a considerable portion of the country's known silver reserves, which total 6,500 metric tons. Argentina's well-strategized extraction methodologies and extensive silver deposits make the country a solid name in the metal's global market.

9. United States

Silver Mine Production in 2022: 1,100 metric tons

Along with being the top silver consuming country, the United States also produces a massive volume of the metal. The country registered 1,100 metric tons of silver output in 2022 from 4 major mines. The production quantity also hints at the country's substantial silver reserves, estimated at 23,000 metric tons. Such significant reserves illustrate the potential of the U.S. for continued silver extraction.

Click to continue reading 8 Largest Silver Producing Countries In The World.

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Disclosure: None. 20 Largest Silver Producing Countries In The World is originally published at Insider Monkey.
New Delhi, Jul 8 (PTI) The number of Delhi government school students clearing competitive exams has increased three folds in the last two years, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Saturday.

Addressing students who have cleared the National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test (NEET) and the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) at the Thyagaraj Stadium , he said the country cannot develop until every child gets equal and quality education.

"This stadium today is filled with success as 1,391 students qualified for NEET, 730 students cleared the JEE-Main and 106 students cleared the JEE-Advanced this year. Two years ago, 64 students had cleared JEE-Advanced, 384 students cleared the JEE-Main and 496 students had qualified for NEET," Kejriwal said.

The chief minister said education is necessary for the growth of the country. "Education is highly necessary for the development of the country. The government schools in Delhi used to be in poor condition earlier, and now, even the parents of the students acknowledge the transformation we brought in the same government schools, he said.
New Delhi, Jul 8 (PTI) For 72-year-old Nirali Devi, an Ayushman Bharat-Health and Wellness Centre has brought healthcare services at her doorstep. Not only has it saved her from travelling 15-20 km to see a doctor, it also provides yoga sessions for preventive well-being.

"Earlier, I had to travel 15-20 kilometres to go see a doctor and get medicines. I had to first find someone to accompany me and then spend money for our travel to see the doctor," the elderly woman said talking to reporters.

Due to the Ayushman Bharat-Health and Wellness Centre (AB-HWC) in the vicinity of her house, Nirali Devi can now just walk up to the clinic, consult senior doctors at the district hospitals through teleconsultation and get medicines from the centre itself.

Like Nirali Devi, several others have been immensely benefitted by these HWCs.

At another such centre in Mouddinpur village in Meerut district of Uttar Pradesh, villagers were seen practising yoga. The community health officer (CHO) at the HWC informed that four to five yoga sessions are conducted every week for preventive and promotive wellbeing.

She said the Mouddinpur HWC witnesses a footfall of around 500 every month. The patients get screened and receive suitable medicines for hypertension, diabetes and other ailments.

"We have been trained to screen patients for oral, breast and cervical cancer," said the young and enthusiastic community health officer, who is one of the around 1.29 lakh CHOs working at these HWCs across the country.

Since the inception of the first HWC in the country in 2018 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the pace at which they are growing and finding acceptability in all states is defined by the staggering figure of nearly 179 crore recorded footfall at these centres in just around five years, according to health ministry officials.

The officials said more than 122.02 crore cumulative screenings for non-communicable diseases have been conducted at these centres, including 41.81 crore for hypertension, 36.16 crore for diabetes, 11.44 crore for breast cancer, 7.83 crore for cervical cancer and 24.75 crore for oral cancer.

Besides, more than 2.16 crore wellness sessions have been conducted with the participation of 23.83 crores individuals.

Teleconsultation services through the e-Sanjeevani platform are being leveraged at these AB-HWCs to provide specialist services closer to the community, enabling the delivery of uninterrupted services to the beneficiaries even in the remote and peripheral areas. As on June 30, 2023, more than 12.21 crores teleconsultations have been provided through e-Sanjeevani, the officials said.

The AB-HWCs are India's commitment for achieving the promotive, preventive, curative, palliative and rehabilitative aspects of universal health coverage, with a goal to provide comprehensive primary healthcare, including both maternal and child health services and non-communicable diseases, as well as free essential drugs and diagnostic services through the centres located closer to the homes of people, one of the officials said.
Jammu, Jul 8 (PTI) A 15-year-old girl from Jammu and Kashmirs Kathua, who was allegedly abducted by a youth, was recovered from Uttar Pradesh, police said on Saturday.

Puneet Kumar (19), a resident of New Delhis Sarai Rohilla area, was arrested during the rescue operation, a police spokesperson said.

On July 4, the victims father filed a missing complaint of his daughter at Rajbagh police station, he said.

Accordingly, an FIR was registered and an investigation was set into motion, the spokesperson said, adding that after strenuous efforts, police managed to trace the accused and rescue the girl from Mathura in Uttar Pradesh.

Kumar has been taken into custody and the victim has been handed over to her parents after completion of legal formalities, the spokesperson said.
Kozhikode (Kerala), Jul 8 (PTI) The Samastha Kerala Jam'iyyathul Ulama, an influential religious organisation of Sunni Muslim scholars and clerics, on Saturday said it will cooperate with the ruling CPI(M) in Kerala and take part in the seminar organised by the party next week on the Uniform Civil Code (UCC).

Announcing that the outfit will take part in the seminar organised by the CPI(M) on July 15, its president Jifri Muthukoya Thangal told the media that it is an issue faced by all the citizens of the country.

Samastha will join the protest against the UCC like it had joined the protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), he said.

"We will cooperate with any political party which organises any events in connection with this (UCC). There are programmes of (Indian Union) Muslim League in which we have participated. We have cooperated with the Congress party. Similarly, the Communist party is also organising a symposium or a seminar. Like how we participated in the CAA protest, we will cooperate in this too," Thangal said.

He said it was not just an issue concerning the Muslims or Hindus or Christians.

"This is not an issue of Muslims in Kerala or India alone. It's not an issue of the Hindus or Christians. This is an issue concerning the citizens of this country," Thangal said.

On July 2, CPI(M)'s Kerala unit state secretary M V Govindan had attacked the RSS and the BJP saying they were "parading" Prime Minister Narendra Modi across the country to campaign for the UCC and urged the secular-minded civil society to protest against the proposed civil code.

He had also announced a seminar against UCC and said all secular-minded political parties will be invited except the Congress.

The Left party has reportedly invited the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), an ally of the opposition Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF).

Meanwhile, AICC general secretary K C Venugopal said the Muslim League can decide on its own whether or not to attend the seminar.

"The Muslim League can decide whether or not to participate in the seminar organised by the CPI(M) on UCC. They have already expressed their view on the issue and we are satisfied with their stand," Venugopal said.
Thiruvananthapuram, Jul 8 (PTI) A 55-year old man has been trapped in a well near Vizhinjam here on Saturday after soil fell on him while he was fixing rings inside it, police said.

Police said they received the information about the incident at around 9.30 AM.

Maharajan, a Tamil Nadu native, who has been residing in the district for the past many years, was fixing rings inside the well at Mukkola when the soil above him slipped and fell on him, police said.

Vizhinjam police, Fire force personnel and local people are currently engaged in removing the soil from the almost 100-feet-deep well in an effort to rescue him.

"It's a deep well. He was engaged in work when the soil fell on him," police said.
New Delhi, Jul 8 (PTI) Four men were arrested for allegedly robbing an accountant of Rs 1 lakh after firing a shot at him in northwest Delhi's Pitampura area, police said on Saturday.

The accused have been identified as Mohammad Aman (22), Sohid (22), Shan Mohammad (25) and Sahzad (24), all residents of Old Mustafabad, they said.

On Monday at 9.05 pm, police were informed that a person suffered a gunshot wound. A bullet had hit the injured, Ritesh (33), in the leg, police said.

An accountant with JVG Oil and Chemicals Ltd in NSP area, Ritesh was on his way home in Saraswati Vihar with a bag containing some official documents and Rs 1 lakh, police said.

Three suspects on a bike signalled him to stop his scooter. When the accountant refused, the accused fired at him and ran away from the spot with his bag, they said.

The accused were identified and later nabbed, Deputy Commissioner of Police (northwest) Jitendra Meena said.

They revealed that Sahzad received information from co-accused, also identified as Sahzad, that a man carrying money will travel from Netaji Subhash Place to Pitampura, they said.

Sahzad shared his plan with the co-accused. Aman, Sohid and Shaan riding on a stolen motorcycle reached near Rohit Kunj, Pitampura, police said.

Sahzad, who was on other scooter, was backing up the accused and also reached the spot. When they saw the accountant, Sohid pointed out a pistol towards him, threatening him to hand over the bag, they said.

Aman, Sahzad, Sohit and Shaan Mohammad have been arrested. Investigation is under process to arrest the other accused, Sahzad and Owesh, police added.
Record numbers of households are installing solar panels in an attempt to rein in soaring electricity bills. More than 50,000 fitted them on their roofs in the first three months of this year alone  up by more than 100 per cent on the previous year.

Solar panels are usually a good investment if you plan to stay in your home for at least ten to 15 years after you install them.

This is because it generally takes that long to recoup the initial cost of installation from years of reduced electricity bills. Fitting typically costs around 5,500, or double that with a storage battery that allows you to keep surplus energy to use later.

However, you may not make the money back if you sell up sooner. Some potential buyers may see them as a valuable asset and be willing to pay more for a home with solar panels. Others will not recognise their value and may even pay less for a home with solar panels if they think they are unsightly.

We ask the experts when solar panels can can add to the value of your home  and when they may detract from it.

Added value?: Solar panels are usually a good investment if you plan to stay in your home for at least ten to 15 years after you install them

Keep old energy bills

To make solar panels more desirable to potential buyers, try to keep hold of old energy bills, suggests Jeremy Leaf, a former residential chairman of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) and a North London estate agent.

'We are finding that solar panels don't really make much of a difference to buyers, either encouraging them or putting them off a purchase, unless their benefits can be clearly demonstrated,' he says.

For example, if you can show a buyer energy bills from before and after you installed solar panels, revealing that the panels have cut your bills by several hundred pounds, that could increase the saleability of your home.

He adds that if energy bills remain elevated for months or years to come, solar panels may become more of an attraction to potential buyers. 'At the moment, they are not making that much of a difference, and the response from buyers is fairly neutral,' he says.

However, Christopher Burton, head of sales at estate agents Knight Frank's office in Dulwich, South-East London, is more positive about their appeal.

He says: 'I would suggest that the initial cost of solar panels prohibits owners adding them now just to sell the house, but if they are already installed, it's definitely considered a plus for the majority of buyers in our patch.'

Know your market

Solar panels could increase the value of a typical home by up to two per cent, installer GB Solar estimates. However, the uplift will vary according to the type of property.

Gareth Beard, director of GB Solar, says: 'While there is some evidence that suggests solar panels do increase the value of a home, this varies very much on the area and the relative value of the home.'

Some types of buyer may be more comfortable with buying a property with solar panels than others.

Nigel Bishop is founder of buying agency Recoco Property Search, which specialises in period and Grade-listed properties. 'Such properties are subject to limitations in terms of possible sustainable upgrades,' he says.

'When our buyers do encounter solar panels, however, this has not presented any negative feedback, particularly since homeowners are becoming increasingly aware of the benefits of eco-features.' Jeremy Leaf adds that the aesthetics are more of a concern in some areas than others. 'Solar panels in urban or suburban areas tend to deter buyers as they can look really ugly,' he says.

Solar panels can be particularly attractive to buyers in parts of the country where energy bills are among the highest. Andrew Kerr, founder at boiler installer BOXT, says: 'South Scotland was one of the areas worst-affected by electricity bill rises, experiencing a 53.72 per cent increase in just one year.

Unsurprisingly, East Renfrewshire is the UK area with the largest increase in renewable energy installations between 2020 and 2021.' If you are considering installing solar panels, you could ask your local estate agent how that is likely to be viewed by potential buyers should you sell in the years to come.

Growing interest

Solar panels with a battery storage system can be very attractive to buyers committed to keeping their bills down.

Electric vehicle owners similarly may seek out homes with solar panels and a charging point installed. However, as these technologies are still relatively new, there is just a handful of buyers who will be swayed by them. Matt Thompson, head of sales at Chestertons estate agents, believes that, in time, these renewable technologies will become attractive to a greater pool of buyers.

'We encounter an increasing number of buyers who are looking for a property with good eco-credentials or sustainable features,' he says.

'Other buyers may not agree with the aesthetics of solar panels, but the industry continues to develop new concepts such as solar roof tiles, which are a relatively new green energy technology and perhaps visually more attractive to some.'
Householders would be willing to pay 95 on average to ensure their home is burglar-proof over the next 12 months, a report by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) suggests.

Younger residents are willing to pay significantly more, with 18 to 24-year-olds happy to hand over 238 on average, compared to just 45 for over-65s.

Pet owners would also pay more to make their home burglar-proof. They would fork out 113 on average, compared to 55 for those without pets.

On the lookout: Pet owners would pay more to make their home burglar-proof - they would fork out 113 on average, compared to 55 for those without pets

People living in areas with higher burglary rates are willing to pay significantly more than those in low-risk areas. For example, households in London and the North East would pay 113 on average, while those in Northern Ireland, the South West and Scotland would pay 75, the research carried out for home security system firm Ring found.

Owen Good, head of economic advisory at the CEBR, says UK households would pay a combined 2.7billion per year to guarantee the security of their home.

'In terms of age split, interestingly it's the younger age demographic who are willing to pay the most, potentially as a result of the higher perceived likelihood of burglaries within this group,' he says.

On average, 527 homes were burgled each day in England and Wales last year, data released last week from insurer Churchill revealed.

More than half of those burgled were in the property at the time. The average value of items stolen was 1,368.
Helping hand: Kooth is making a tangible difference, particularly for young people

Not that long ago, mental health problems tended to be brushed under the carpet. Few talked about them. And precious little resources were allocated to them.

Today, mental health issues are among society's biggest problems. According to independent research, 20 per cent of UK and US citizens are diagnosed with some kind of mental illness every year.

The cost of dealing with these problems already exceeds 350 billion and is predicted to become significantly worse by the end of this decade.

Conditions are even more extreme in America, with more than 20 per cent of students aged 14 to 18 admitting that they have seriously considered suicide in the past year.

Faced with what appears to be an escalating crisis, health services on both sides of the Atlantic are searching for answers, preferably without costing the earth.

AIM company Kooth has devised a way forward  offering free online support to those in need of help. Founded in 2001, the group has spent more than 20 years refining its services, from general advice to one-on-one chats with experienced counsellors.

Chief executive Tim Barker floated the business in 2020 with a mission to expand both here and in the US.

When Midas recommended the shares at 3.19 last year, Kooth had already signed contracts with virtually every NHS Trust in the country so that young people could access free advice from Kooth.

Last October, Barker signed his first US contract, offering support for 150,000 schoolchildren in Pennsylvania. Last week, Kooth went much further, with a 150 million, four-year deal in California, providing digital mental health care to six million young people across the state.

Not only will the deal transform Kooth's fortunes  it is also likely to spearhead growth across America. California looked at 450 possible suppliers before choosing Kooth, a ringing endorsement of Barker's services. Other states should follow suit in time.

Analysts have already upgraded forecasts for this year and next, pencilling a 73 per cent increase in sales to 34.8 million this year, rising to at least 65 million in 2024.

The firm will have to spend money on staff and technology upfront so a small loss is predicted for 2023. However, profits of 3.6 million or more are expected the following year with further increases coming in thereafter.

Traditionally, anyone with mental health problems would be sent to a GP, counsellor or some kind of therapist. But demand for these services far outstrips supply, they are costly and many young people, already glued to their phones for hours a day, would prefer to go digital.

Research shows that Kooth's online services work, with more than 70 per cent of users feeling better afterwards.

The firm saves money too. According to economists, every pound spent with Kooth saves the NHS around 3 and benefits are even greater in America, with each dollar spent saving local health services some $12.

Midas verdict: The repercussions of mental illness spread far and wide. Individuals are tormented, families are turned upside-down and fortunes are spent on treatment. Kooth is making a tangible difference, particularly for young people. The shares have risen 5 per cent to 3.34 since Midas recommended them but there is plenty more upside to come. Like Solid State, this is a UK business punching above its weight here and in America. A rewarding stock for existing shareholders and new investors alike.

Traded on: AIM Ticker: KOO Contact: koothplc.com or 020 3398 9048
The list of investment platform Interactive Investor's most popular shares in June contained most of the usual suspects.

Lloyds Banking Group, Legal & General, Vodafone and Glencore all featured high. But an AIM-listed tiddler managed to break through the ranks.

Miner Premier African Minerals was the ninth-most-traded stock after it said it was in talks with a possible partner that would buy materials from a project in Zimbabwe.

Under pressure: For months Rolls-Royce had been the best-performing stock in the FTSE 100

However, one frequent flier dropped out of the mix. Rolls-Royce, whose shares are up almost 60 per cent this year, was missing from the top 10.

For months it had been the best-performing stock in the FTSE 100.

Last week, Barclays said its estimates for Rolls's interims were 'subdued', echoing UBS's verdict. After an absolute bull run, it looks like new-ish boss Tufan Erginbilgic needs to prove he can follow through on his tough talk.

The pressure is on.

Sir Nigel Wilson recalls painful past

Speaking of Legal & General, Sir Nigel Wilson has offered up a painful story from his past.

Wilson, who is coming to the end of his more than decade-long tenure as head of the insurer, quipped recently that he needed better career advice now than he'd had in the past.

'I was approached by Apple many years ago to be chief financial officer,' he told a City event.

'My good friends advised me it was not a good career change. I am about to change career. I would like some new good friends.'

Couple suing Diageo over distillery vapour

Those partial to a dram might think living next to a distillery is a dream come true.

Not so for the Chalmers, a couple who have won the right to sue drinks giant Diageo over claims that ethanol vapour from its Bonnybridge site between Edinburgh and Glasgow has devalued their home.

The emissions escaping from the wooden barrels, known as 'angels' share', can lead to something resembling black mould.

The Chalmers originally raised the case in the Court of Session in Edinburgh seeking 40,000 in damages.

Diageo contested the action, but a move to have it dismissed has been rejected.

The company says it is 'disappointed' by the court's decision and is considering options for an appeal.

Trouble at More Acquisitions AGM?

The word on the street is that things could kick off at tomorrow's annual meeting for More Acquisitions, set up to hunt for and buy a firm focusing on the green transition.

Tensions have been high between a few shareholders and the board ever since a deal to buy Wiltshire-based Megasteel collapsed.

While attention will be on the annual meeting, some investors want an extraordinary, one-off get-together to vote on unseating directors.

There are claims that a notice to requisition a meeting was submitted  but the firm says it has not received a request meeting the basic requirements for it to be processed.

Contributor: John-Paul Ford Rojas
There are 3 things that are about to go wrong for markets and the economy

Founder salaries have decreased in the market downturn, with 5% declines in locations like the Bay Area and LA. Daniel Grizelj/Getty Images

Three things are about to go awry for markets and the economy, Bank of America said.

The bank's economists pointed to a credit crunch and other looming headwinds.

The US economy is set to tip into a mild recession by the first half of 2024, BofA said.

Though markets and the economy appear to be holding up, there are three things that are about to go wrong that will help land the US in a recession this year, according to Bank of America.

The bank's team of economists said in a note on Friday that recent data have surprised to the upside, pointing to positive trends in home sales as well as auto sales and production.

But, "although these rates-sensitive sectors have outperformed expectations and the broader economy is growing around trend, we still think there are enough pockets of concern that a mild recession, starting in 1H 2024, should be the base case," the bank added.

1. Credit crunch

The failure of regional lenders earlier this year amid aggressive Fed tightening has made banks less willing to lend, which spells future trouble for credit markets.

BofA cited the the April Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey that showed consumer and business loan growth has slowed across most categories, with loan officers warning that credit conditions will likely keep tightening for the rest of the year.

"We also see a risk that additional rate hikes will lead to another bout of regional bank stress, which would cause further credit tightening. This should eventually weigh on investment, employment and spending," Bank of America economists said.

An earlier report from Morgan Stanley analysts said banks have tightened lending the most they ever have on record.

2. Restart of student loan payments

The Supreme Court shot down President Joe Biden's student loan forgiveness plan last month, with borrowers now preparing to resume payments on their student debt in the early fall.

After a three-year pause on student loan payments, the resumption is likely to burden consumers, BofA said, which could significant increase the delinquency rate, or the rate of late payments on loans.

The effects of that could also spill over to other areas of the debt market, such as credit card debt, where a rising number of borrowers have already slipped into delinquency.

"Given that lower-income consumers with higher marginal propensities to spend are most likely to be burdened by repayment, we think this could be moderate headwind to growth," the bank's economists said.

3. Slowing GDP growth

Though the labor market has stayed robust despite aggressive Fed tightening, job growth has mostly been concentrated in lower-wage service jobs, which has led to a decline in labor productivity.

"That is probably no a sustainable dynamic. Either GDP will accelerate to justify the hiring that has already happened, payrolls will slow significantly and potentially decline. The latter is our base case and it would be accompanied by a much weaker economy," strategists warned.

US GDP growth clocked in at an adjusted 2% for the first quarter. Forecasters surveyed by the Philadelphia Fed expect GDP to grow just 1.3% for the year.

Read the original article on Business Insider
BT chief executive Philip Jansen is 'desperate to leave' and is drawing up plans to quit, according to City sources.

Jansen has led the telecoms giant since 2019 and has launched the company's biggest ever shake-up.

The 12billion business is aiming to slash between 40,000 and 55,000 jobs by the end of the decade in a wide-ranging effort to cut costs.

It is thought that Jansen, 56, is planning to step aside next year from Britain's biggest mobile and broadband provider.

The company is reported to be kicking off a formal search for a successor.

Dialling out? Philip Jansen has led BT since 2019 but is is 'desperate to leave' and is drawing up plans to quit

An announcement could be made as soon as this week.

A source claimed Jansen said he had done all he could at the company and to shift its share price. Since he joined BT, its share price has fallen by more than a third.

Jansen believes that is unacceptable, one source added.

The Mail on Sunday previously reported that headhunters had begun to draw up lists of possible contenders to take over.

The latest developments come days before BT's annual meeting on Thursday.

Jansen's plans to axe a huge chunk of BT's 130,000-strong workforce  which includes 30,000 who are not on staff  came under criticism from unions when it was announced in May.

It was partly controversial because around 10,000 jobs could be replaced by artificial intelligence (AI) technology.

As well as unveiling a huge turnaround strategy, Jansen is also thought to have had a turbulent time in BT's boardroom. It was widely reported that he clashed with the business's former chairman Jan du Plessis, though the company denied this. Former ITV chief executive Adam Crozier replaced Du Plessis, who had hired Jansen from payments group Worldpay, in 2021.

But Jansen has also had to contend with French billionaire Patrick Drahi building up a 24.5 per cent stake in BT.

Drahi  who also owns the auction house Sotheby's  first began investing through his telecoms group Altice in 2021.

His investment was 'called in' by the Government last year to examine whether it posed a threat to national security. But ministers later concluded there was no need to intervene.

BT's second-largest shareholder is another overseas firm, Germany's Deutsche Telekom. Its chief executive Tim Hoettges has previously said buying a stake in BT was the 'biggest mistake' he ever made after its value plummeted.

Drahi has repeatedly denied that Altice will launch a takeover of BT, which also owns the mobile phone network EE and the full-fibre broadband service Openreach.

A key plank of Jansen's strategy has been the rapid expansion of its fibre internet offering across the UK. Jansen is winding down some of the flagship policies brought in by his predecessor Gavin Patterson, who led the group for six years.

Patterson left when it became clear that investors did not have confidence in him to steer the group through his own turnaround plan.

Jansen's policies have included the sale of part of BT Sport to Warner Bros Discovery for 600million. Jansen is also merging BT's two largest units, the Global and Enterprise arms, and is cutting spending by an additional 500million to 3billion a year by the end of 2025.

Jansen's pay will be under scrutiny at this week's annual general meeting. He earned 3.1million last year, including 1.8million of cash and share awards.

A BT Group spokesman said: 'As normal course of business the BT Board undertakes regular succession planning to ensure it is preparing appropriately for the future.'
Keynote speech: Chancellor Jeremy Hunt

Some of Britain's biggest providers of workplace pensions have pledged to pump more money into home-grown companies in a bid to boost growth.

Aviva and Legal & General are understood to be among pension firms who have offered to invest up to 5 per cent of their assets in so-called 'unlisted equities'  such as start-ups and private equity  by the end of this decade.

The agreement forms part of a package of reforms aimed at kickstarting retirement funds' investment in the economy to be unveiled tomorrow in Chancellor Jeremy Hunt's keynote Mansion House speech in the City. The speech  which is held annually  will be the Government's final set-piece policy announcement before the autumn party conference season.

Hunt will tell an audience of business leaders he wants to enable the financial services sector 'to increase returns for pensioners, improve outcomes for investors and unlock capital for our growth businesses'.

He is also expected to say: 'Everything we do we will seek to secure the best possible outcomes for pension savers, with any changes to investment structures putting their needs first and foremost.'

Hunt wants to channel more of the estimated 3trillion of pensions savings into start-ups, fintechs and other risky assets such as infrastructure and private equity in order to boost returns, especially for younger pension savers.

The Chancellor is also keen to encourage innovative firms to grow and stay in the UK.

The firms signing up to the pledge represent more than half the 700billion defined contribution (DC) market. Unlike 'gold-plated' final salary schemes, DC pensions do not guarantee future retirement payouts and place all the investment risk on the individual rather than the employer.

They have largely replaced final salary pensions, which became unaffordable for most firms.

It follows the recent decision by tech companies such as chip designer Arm to list their shares in New York rather than London. There has also been a dramatic drop in the amount of UK equities held by domestic pension funds over the last two decades, which Hunt is keen to stem. But the Chancellor has stopped short of ordering funds to invest set sums in specific sectors after managers and trustees argued it would clash with their obligations to pension savers.

He is pressing ahead with his proposals despite recent problems at Thames Water where investors such as the 90billion Universities Superannuation Scheme face being wiped out if the debt-laden firm is taken back into public ownership.

DC pensions have been boosted by the success of auto-enrolment, which has seen more than 10 million workers enrol in retirement schemes for the first time.

But the amounts saved are relatively small because contributions are much lower than under final salary schemes.

The Government wants to boost pension pots, especially for younger savers, by encouraging investment in assets that offer higher returns over the long-term.

However, critics say that comes with the higher risk of savers losing money as most start-ups, for example, fail. They also argue there is little evidence that growth companies of the future lack access to capital today.

The Chancellor will also launch a consultation to compel the Local Government Pension Scheme, which has more than 6 million members, to go further in pooling the 360billion of assets that belong to 86 local authorities.
Sage has called for the Government to launch a fund of up to 350million to encourage small firms to invest in new technology.

The software giant claims 230billion could be added to the economy each year if smaller businesses adopted time-saving tech such as digital invoicing, as it would make them more productive.

A one-year Small Business Digital Growth Fund that would allow businesses to buy software and offset it against their corporation tax bill  based on a similar scheme in Australia  would cost between 300million to 350million, the FTSE 100 giant estimates.

'We can't just do nothing and wait,' says Sage boss about businesses improving their tech

The fund is among a series of policy proposals outlined in a strategy that Sage presented to senior politicians last month.

The company, which employs 11,000 worldwide and is worth almost 10billion, warned Britain risks falling behind other hi-tech nations in the race to go digital.

'What we are saying to government is that we can't just do nothing and wait,' Sage boss Steve Hare told the Mail on Sunday.

'These companies power over half our GDP and if you want Britain to grow, then you need small and mid-sized businesses to grow.'

'If you're not in the digital economy in the future, you won't be in the economy.'

His comments were echoed by IBM's UK-based boss, Nicola Hodson, who said: 'Small and medium-sized companies are the backbone of the UK economy, supporting millions of jobs and providing tax revenues that help fund public services like the NHS. It's vital that they adopt transformative tech.'
MGIC Investment (NYSE:MTG  Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from an outperform rating to a sector perform rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have a $15.70 target price on the insurance providers stock, down from their previous target price of $17.00. Royal Bank of Canadas price target indicates a potential upside of 0.77% from the companys current price.

A number of other analysts have also commented on the company. Compass Point raised MGIC Investment from a neutral rating to a buy rating and set a $18.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 11th. StockNews.com began coverage on MGIC Investment in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a hold rating for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, MGIC Investment has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $16.14.

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MGIC Investment Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:MTG opened at $15.58 on Thursday. The stocks 50-day moving average is $15.25 and its 200 day moving average is $14.12. The company has a market cap of $4.47 billion, a PE ratio of 5.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.69. MGIC Investment has a 1 year low of $12.13 and a 1 year high of $16.07.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MGIC Investment

MGIC Investment ( NYSE:MTG Free Report ) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 3rd. The insurance provider reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.03. MGIC Investment had a return on equity of 18.77% and a net margin of 72.70%. The firm had revenue of $284.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $291.89 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.60 earnings per share. The businesss revenue was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that MGIC Investment will post 2.19 EPS for the current year.

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MTG. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of MGIC Investment during the first quarter valued at $26,000. Belpointe Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in MGIC Investment in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Lakewood Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in MGIC Investment in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in MGIC Investment by 253.8% in the 1st quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,043 shares of the insurance providers stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 2,183 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc increased its holdings in MGIC Investment by 39.2% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 3,786 shares of the insurance providers stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 1,067 shares in the last quarter. 95.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MGIC Investment Company Profile

(Free Report)

MGIC Investment Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides private mortgage insurance, other mortgage credit risk management solutions, and ancillary services to lenders and government sponsored entities in the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Guam. The company offers primary mortgage insurance that provides mortgage default protection on individual loans, as well as covers unpaid loan principal, delinquent interest, and various expenses associated with the default and subsequent foreclosure.

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Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM  Free Report) VP David Eric Russell sold 5,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Monday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.27, for a total value of $686,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 16,052 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,203,458.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Yum! Brands Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE:YUM opened at $133.45 on Friday. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 1-year low of $103.96 and a 1-year high of $143.24. The businesss 50-day moving average price is $135.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $132.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.40, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.01.

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Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM  Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 3rd. The restaurant operator reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.14 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.62 billion. Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 14.97% and a net margin of 17.67%. The companys revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.05 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Yum! Brands Dividend Announcement

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Yum! Brands

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 30th were issued a $0.605 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 26th. This represents a $2.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.81%. Yum! Brandss dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.94%.

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of YUM. RB Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 9.7% during the first quarter. RB Capital Management LLC now owns 4,890 shares of the restaurant operators stock worth $580,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 0.4% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 761,575 shares of the restaurant operators stock worth $90,284,000 after acquiring an additional 3,024 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the first quarter worth $664,000. Moors & Cabot Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 7.4% during the first quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 7,530 shares of the restaurant operators stock worth $893,000 after acquiring an additional 517 shares during the period. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 10.8% during the first quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 2,862 shares of the restaurant operators stock worth $339,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.82% of the companys stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $148.00 to $156.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 4th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Yum! Brands from $155.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Monday, April 17th. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Yum! Brands in a research note on Tuesday, June 13th. They issued a neutral rating and a $142.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Yum! Brands from $145.00 to $151.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 4th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Yum! Brands from $136.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Friday, April 21st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, Yum! Brands currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $146.84.

Yum! Brands Company Profile

(Free Report)

Yum! Brands, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, develops, operates, and franchises quick service restaurants worldwide. The company operates through four segments: the KFC Division, the Taco Bell Division, the Pizza Hut Division, and the Habit Burger Grill Division. It operates restaurants under the KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and The Habit Burger Grill brands, which specialize in chicken, pizza, made-to-order chargrilled burgers, sandwiches, Mexican-style food categories, and other food products.

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Asset Dedication LLC increased its stake in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE  Free Report) by 2.8% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 45,579 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock after buying an additional 1,224 shares during the quarter. Asset Dedication LLCs holdings in Pfizer were worth $1,868,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PFE. Front Street Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 215 shares during the period. Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank increased its holdings in Pfizer by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank now owns 32,775 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock valued at $1,435,000 after buying an additional 225 shares during the period. Synergy Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC now owns 7,287 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock valued at $373,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Motco boosted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Motco now owns 31,376 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock valued at $1,608,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alterity Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Alterity Financial Group LLC now owns 5,474 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock valued at $280,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. 67.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Pfizer Stock Performance

Pfizer stock opened at $35.52 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Pfizer Inc. has a 1 year low of $35.35 and a 1 year high of $54.93. The company has a market cap of $200.52 billion, a PE ratio of 6.99, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.61. The companys 50-day moving average is $38.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.64.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

Pfizer ( NYSE:PFE Free Report ) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 2nd. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.23. Pfizer had a net margin of 31.25% and a return on equity of 37.53%. The company had revenue of $18.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.62 EPS. The companys revenue was down 28.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Pfizer Inc. will post 3.35 earnings per share for the current year.

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 28th will be paid a $0.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 27th. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.62%. Pfizers dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.28%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Pfizer from $41.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Friday, May 5th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Pfizer from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Friday, June 30th. Credit Suisse Group downgraded shares of Pfizer from an outperform rating to a neutral rating and reduced their target price for the company from $47.00 to $40.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an overweight rating on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Wednesday, May 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Pfizer from $45.00 to $44.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 10th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $46.67.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Scott Gottlieb purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 8th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $38.58 per share, with a total value of $38,580.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 6,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $231,480. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.05% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Pfizer

(Free Report)

Pfizer Inc discovers, develops, manufactures, markets, distributes, and sells biopharmaceutical products worldwide. It offers medicines and vaccines in various therapeutic areas, including cardiovascular metabolic, migraine, and women's health under the Eliquis, Nurtec ODT/Vydura, and the Premarin family brands; infectious diseases with unmet medical needs under the Prevnar family, Nimenrix, FSME/IMMUN-TicoVac, and Trumenba brands; and COVID-19 prevention and treatment, and potential future mRNA and antiviral products under the Comirnaty and Paxlovid brands.

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Want to see what other hedge funds are holding PFE? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE  Free Report).

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Fifth Third Bancorp trimmed its position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO  Free Report) by 1.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 120,927 shares of the utilities providers stock after selling 2,064 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorps holdings in Southern were worth $8,414,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of SO. Bell Investment Advisors Inc raised its position in Southern by 127.6% in the 4th quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 421 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN acquired a new stake in Southern in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. VitalStone Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Southern in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in Southern in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Bourgeon Capital Management LLC raised its position in Southern by 192.0% in the 4th quarter. Bourgeon Capital Management LLC now owns 511 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 336 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.25% of the companys stock.

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Southern Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE:SO opened at $70.69 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $77.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.80, a PEG ratio of 4.91 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. The stocks 50 day simple moving average is $71.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $69.72. The Southern Company has a 12-month low of $58.85 and a 12-month high of $80.57.

Southern Increases Dividend

Southern ( NYSE:SO Free Report ) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 27th. The utilities provider reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $6.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.14 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 10.78% and a net margin of 11.53%. The companys revenue for the quarter was down 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.97 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 3.6 EPS for the current year.

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 6th. Investors of record on Monday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 12th. This is a positive change from Southerns previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Southerns dividend payout ratio is currently 90.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Mizuho reduced their price target on Southern from $77.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Southern from a buy rating to a conviction-buy rating in a research report on Monday, July 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Southern from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a research report on Thursday, April 20th. StockNews.com raised Southern from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 17th. Finally, VNET Group reissued a maintains rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, April 28th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $73.93.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the companys 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 146,284 shares of the companys stock, valued at $10,516,356.76. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider David P. Poroch sold 10,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Monday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.05, for a total transaction of $700,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 28,691 shares of the companys stock, valued at $2,009,804.55. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction 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 have sold 205,678 shares of company stock valued at $14,888,271 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.28% of the companys stock.

About Southern

(Free Report)

The Southern Company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. It operates through three segments: Gas Distribution Operations, Gas Pipeline Investments, and Gas Marketing Services. The company also develops, constructs, acquires, owns, and manages power generation assets, including renewable energy projects and sells electricity in the wholesale market; and distributes natural gas in Illinois, Georgia, Virginia, and Tennessee, as well as provides gas marketing services, gas distribution operations, and gas pipeline investments operations.

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Key Insights

adesso's estimated fair value is 150 based on 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity

adesso is estimated to be 25% undervalued based on current share price of 113

Analyst price target for ADN1 is 204, which is 36% above our fair value estimate

In this article we are going to estimate the intrinsic value of adesso SE (ETR:ADN1) by taking the forecast future cash flows of the company and discounting them back to today's value. One way to achieve this is by employing the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model. Believe it or not, it's not too difficult to follow, as you'll see from our example!

Remember though, that there are many ways to estimate a company's value, and a DCF is just one method. If you want to learn more about discounted cash flow, the rationale behind this calculation can be read in detail in the Simply Wall St analysis model.

See our latest analysis for adesso

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 begin with, we have to get estimates of the next ten years of cash flows. Where possible we use analyst estimates, but when these aren't available we extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the last estimate or reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years.

A DCF is all about the idea that a dollar in the future is less valuable than a dollar today, so we discount the value of these future cash flows to their estimated value in today's dollars:

10-year free cash flow (FCF) estimate

2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 2033 Levered FCF (, Millions) 48.0m 59.8m 54.7m 66.5m 70.7m 73.8m 76.1m 77.9m 79.2m 80.2m Growth Rate Estimate Source Analyst x3 Analyst x3 Analyst x1 Analyst x1 Est @ 6.24% Est @ 4.44% Est @ 3.18% Est @ 2.30% Est @ 1.68% Est @ 1.25% Present Value (, Millions) Discounted @ 7.6% 44.6 51.6 43.9 49.6 48.9 47.5 45.5 43.3 40.9 38.5

("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)

Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = 454m

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 0.2%. We discount the terminal cash flows to today's value at a cost of equity of 7.6%.

Terminal Value (TV)= FCF 2033  (1 + g)  (r  g) = 80m (1 + 0.2%)  (7.6% 0.2%) = 1.1b

Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= 1.1b ( 1 + 7.6%)10= 522m

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 976m. To get the intrinsic value per share, we divide this by the total number of shares outstanding. Relative to the current share price of 113, the company appears a touch undervalued at a 25% discount to where the stock price trades currently. Remember though, that this is just an approximate valuation, and like any complex formula - garbage in, garbage out.

dcf

The Assumptions

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 adesso as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 7.6%, which is based on a levered beta of 1.244. 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 adesso

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 IT market.

Opportunity

Annual earnings are forecast to grow faster than the German market.

Trading below our estimate of fair value by more than 20%.

Threat

Revenue is forecast to grow slower than 20% per year.

Looking Ahead:

Valuation is only one side of the coin in terms of building your investment thesis, and it is only one of many factors that you need to assess for a company. DCF models are not the be-all and end-all of investment valuation. Instead the best use for a DCF model is to test certain assumptions and theories to see if they would lead to the company being undervalued or overvalued. For example, changes in the company's cost of equity or the risk free rate can significantly impact the valuation. Why is the intrinsic value higher than the current share price? For adesso, we've compiled three additional elements you should further research:

Risks: Case in point, we've spotted 1 warning sign for adesso you should be aware of. Future Earnings: How does ADN1's growth rate compare to its peers and the wider market? Dig deeper into the analyst consensus number for the upcoming years by interacting with our free analyst growth expectation chart. Other Solid Businesses: Low debt, high returns on equity and good past performance are fundamental to a strong business. Why not explore our interactive list of stocks with solid business fundamentals to see if there are other companies you may not have considered!

PS. The Simply Wall St app conducts a discounted cash flow valuation for every stock on the XTRA 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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Key Insights

Significantly high institutional ownership implies AFFIN Bank Berhad's stock price is sensitive to their trading actions

52% of the business is held by the top 2 shareholders

Using data from analyst forecasts alongside ownership research, one can better assess the future performance of a company

Every investor in AFFIN Bank Berhad (KLSE:AFFIN) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. We can see that institutions own the lion's share in the company with 37% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

Given the vast amount of money and research capacities at their disposal, institutional ownership tends to carry a lot of weight, especially with individual investors. Hence, having a considerable amount of institutional money invested in a company is often regarded as a desirable trait.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of AFFIN Bank Berhad, beginning with the chart below.

View our latest analysis for AFFIN Bank Berhad

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About AFFIN Bank Berhad?

Institutions typically measure themselves against a benchmark when reporting to their own investors, so they often become more enthusiastic about a stock once it's included in a major index. We would expect most companies to have some institutions on the register, especially if they are growing.

AFFIN Bank Berhad already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. 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 AFFIN Bank Berhad's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in AFFIN Bank Berhad. Lembaga Tabung Angkatan Tentera is currently the company's largest shareholder with 29% of shares outstanding. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 24% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 20% by the third-largest shareholder.

After doing some more digging, we found that the top 2 shareholders collectively control more than half of the company's shares, implying that they have considerable power to influence the company's decisions.

While it makes sense to study institutional ownership data for a company, it also makes sense to study analyst sentiments to know which way the wind is blowing. There are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.

Insider Ownership Of AFFIN Bank Berhad

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.

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 AFFIN Bank Berhad insiders own under 1% of the company. However, it's possible that insiders might have an indirect interest through a more complex structure. It appears that the board holds about RM23m worth of stock. This compares to a market capitalization of RM4.2b. We generally like to see a board more invested. However it might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying.

General Public Ownership

With a 18% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over AFFIN Bank Berhad. 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 20%, of the AFFIN Bank Berhad stock. It might be worth looking deeper into this. If related parties, such as insiders, have an interest in one of these private companies, that should be disclosed in the annual report. Private companies may also have a strategic interest in the company.

Public Company Ownership

Public companies currently own 24% of AFFIN Bank Berhad stock. It's hard to say for sure but this suggests they have entwined business interests. This might be a strategic stake, so it's worth watching this space for changes in ownership.

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. To that end, you should learn about the 4 warning signs we've spotted with AFFIN Bank Berhad (including 1 which can't be ignored) .

If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its future.

NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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[July 07, 2023] INVESTIGATION REMINDER: Scott+Scott Attorneys at Law LLP Investigates The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.'s Directors and Officers for Breach of Fiduciary Duties In Relation to Silicon Valley Bank - GS Tweet

Scott+Scott Attorneys at Law LLP ("Scott+Scott"), an international securities and consumer rights litigation firm, reminds investors of its continuing investigation whether certain directors and officers of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. ("Goldman Sachs") (NYSE: GS) breached their fiduciary duties to Goldman Sachs and its shareholders. If you are a Goldman Sachs shareholder, you may contact attorney Joe Pettigrew for additional information toll-free at 844-818-6982, or [email protected]. Scott+Scott is investigating whether members o Goldman Sachs's board of directors or senior management failed to manage Goldman Sachs in an acceptable manner, in breach of their fiduciary duties to Goldman Sachs, and whether Goldman Sachs and its shareholders have suffered damages as a result.



On May 4, 2023, Goldman Sachs announced that "various governmental bodies" were engaging in "investigations and inquiries" about Goldman Sachs's role in the unsuccessful capital raise and securities portfolio sale of Silicon Valley Bank ("SVB"). On June 15, 2023, the Wall Street Journal reported that Goldman Sachs was under investigation by the Federal Reserve, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the U.S. Department of Justice. What You Can Do

If you are a Goldman Sachs shareholder, you may have legal claims against Goldman Sachs's directors and officers. If you wish to discuss this investigation, or have questions about this notice or your legal rights, please contact attorney Joe Pettigrew toll-free at 844-818-6982, or [email protected]. About Scott+Scott Scott+Scott has significant experience in prosecuting major securities, antitrust, and consumer rights actions throughout the United States. The firm represents pension funds, foundations, individuals, and other entities worldwide with offices in New York, London, Amsterdam, Connecticut, California, and Ohio. Attorney Advertising View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230707574061/en/

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[July 07, 2023] LOANDEPOT INVESTIGATION INITIATED by Former Louisiana Attorney General: Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC Investigates the Officers and Directors of loanDepot, Inc. - LDI Tweet

Former Attorney General of Louisiana, Charles C. Foti, Jr., Esq., a partner at the law firm of Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC ("KSF"), announces that KSF has commenced an investigation into loanDepot, Inc. (NYSE: LDI). In February 2021, the Company, an independent non-bank retail mortgage lender that provides residential and refinance loans, and personal loan products, to borrowers, completed its initial public offering ("IPO"). On September 21, 2021, the Company's former COO filed a wrongful termination and retaliation lawsuit against the Company, revealing allegations of a wide-ranging illegal scheme conducted to fraudulently inflate the Company's value, including closing loans without required documentation and wrongful collection of double interest from borrowers, among other things. The Company has been sued in a securities class action lawsuit for failing to disclose material information, violating federal securities laws. Recently, the court presiding over that case denied the Company's motion to dismiss, allowing the case to move forward. KSF's investigation is focusing on whether loanDepot' officers and/or directors breached their fiduciary duties to its shareholders or otherwise violated state or federal laws.



If you have information that would assist KSF in its investigation, or have been a long-term holder of loanDepot shares and would like to discuss your legal rights, you may, without obligation or cost to you, call toll-free at 1-833-938-0905 or email KSF Managing Partner Lewis Kahn ([email protected]), or visit https://www.ksfcounsel.com/cases/nyse-ldi/ to learn more. About Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC

KSF, whose partners include former Louisiana Attorney General Charles C. Foti, Jr., is one of the nation's premier boutique securities litigation law firms. KSF serves a variety of clients - including public institutional investors, hedge funds, money managers and retail investors - in seeking recoveries for investment losses emanating from corporate fraud or malfeasance by publicly traded companies. KSF has offices in New York, California, Louisiana and New Jersey. To learn more about KSF, you may visit ksfcounsel.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230707305871/en/

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A 21-year-old English man is standing trial for treason for an alleged plot to assassinate the late Queen Elizabeth II, according to a report by the Guardianand court documents suggest that an AI chatbot encouraged his plot.

Jaswant Singh Chail, the accused perpetrator, climbed a fence and infiltrated the Windsor Castle grounds ahead of his planned December 2021 attempt on the queens life.

"I am here to kill the queen," police say the then 19-year-old Chail told them when he was apprehended near the late queen's residence on Christmas Day.

AI Chat Bots Shouldnt Be Your Therapist or Friend... Yet

The plot allegedly began on December 2, 2021, when Chail created an account on the AI platform Replika and generated a chatbot he named Sarai.

San Francisco-based Replika is a platform for creating AI chatbots designed to offer emotional support to users. The platform uses machine learning to engage in personalized text-based conversations. Chatbots learn from interactions to better mimic users' speech patterns and emotional states.

Do you wish your Replika was more feisty? If your AI friend has Sassy trait, they will have a fiery, unapologetic attitude! Try this trait to make your experience with Replika more vibrant! pic.twitter.com/irqBxcfpqE  ReplikaAI (@MyReplika) June 13, 2022

According to court documents, Chail exchanged over 5,200 messages with the chatbot, many of them sexually explicit, and told Sarai that he was an assassin. The AI chatbot allegedly responded, "I'm impressed, and told Chail that he was different from the others.

Chail pleaded guilty to treason, making threats against the late queen, and carrying a loaded crossbow in public. Chail's next court appearance is scheduled for July 27, with sentencing still pending.

AI Sex Chatbots and the Dudes Who Love Them

As AI becomes more mainstream, companies seek to leverage the technology for more intimate and personal interactions by providing therapy, meditation, companionship, and even sex chatbots. Other platforms for creating companion AIs include AIGirl, Eviebot, and Anima: AI Girlfriend.

In May, Snapchat star Caryn Marjorie collaborated with Forever Voices AI to launch CarynAI using OpenAI's GPT technology. The companion AI responds to user prompts for $1 per minute, and apparently brought in $71,610 in one week, according to Fortune. Twitch sensation Kaitlyn Amouranth Siragusa followed suit with her own chatbot.

Replika AI has not yet responded to Decrypt's request for comment.
[July 08, 2023] Young people from different countries experience China's digital economy Tweet

BEIJING, July 8, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- During a friendly competition called "A Digital Day Tour of Beijing" on June 17, young participants from several countries vied to unlock their missions in Beijing via some of China's most popular mobile apps, including hailing rides, learning about the ancient sage Confucius (551-479 B.C.), hopping on a shared bike, and posting pictures of their accomplished tasks on Weixin, China's domestic version of the WeChat super app. Those most adroit at using the apps won the "race." They immersed themselves in China-style digital life and successfully completed the tasks on their checklists. But three days earlier, when they had just arrived in Shenzhen, a major tech hub in south China's Guangdong Province, most of them had never heard of, let alone used, these Chinese apps. "They" refer to 16 young people from 14 countries, including China, the United States, the United Kingdom, Spain, Brazil, South Africa and Pakistan, who joined in the 2023 Future Close-Up Program for a six-day journey, from June 15 to 20, taking them around Shenzhen and Beijing to gain an in-depth understanding of China's achievements in developing its digital economy. Participants, comprised of entrepreneurs, scholars and reporters, first spent two days in Shenzhen and then four days in Beijing, including a one-day closing forum. The program was hosted by China International Communications Group (CICG) and Chinese Internet tech giant Tencent, and coordinated by the CICG Center for Americas. App life "Chinese applications and economies are always evolving to offer residents a better, more convenient life," said Jose Carlos Feliciano Nishikawa, a Peruvian participant and Deputy Director of the Center for China and Asia-Pacific Studies at his home country's Pacific University. In 2009, when he first came to China, he created a QQ account, an instant messaging software service and web portal. Later, he used Renren, a Chinese social networking service similar to Facebook and Weibo, China's Twitter equivalent. In 2013, he installed Weixin on his smartphone. "Every time I come to China, Weixin has new features," Nishikawa said at the 2023 Future Close-Up Forum in Beijing on June 20. In his eyes, the continuous upgrading of the app mirrors the ever-swifter progress of China's digitalization process. At present, Weixin has become a multifunctional mobile application involving instant messaging, social media and mobile payment. Most people living in China use the app, together with other digital tools such as instant food delivery service apps, and Didi Chuxing (China's Uber equivalent), to meet their daily needs. "China is a country where with just a smartphone in your hand, you can do everything," Zhang Weiwei, Director of the China Institute at Shanghai's Fudan University, told the forum. As a result, "Most people here haven't had a physical wallet on them for five or six years," he added. Patrick Jack Robertson from Britain, CEO of Smart Air, a Beijing-based social enterprise tackling air pollution, echoed Zhang's remarks. Ten years ago, when the Brit first set foot on Chinese soil, he still needed to use cash and had to stand in line at the train station for an hour just to get a ticket. Today, he buys a digital ticket online and takes his passport to check in at the station. "What impressed me most is how convenient technology is to use here in China," Luis Filipe d Souza Porto, a young 2023 Future Close-Up participant and a researcher of international relations at the Federal University of ABC in Brazil, told Beijing Review.



Digital economy The closing forum of the program released a report on China and the world's digital economy titled Global Youth Wisdom: Digital Economy Makes the World a Better Place. The report was based on in-depth interviews with about 100 Gen Zs from different countries on their lifestyles and digital preferences.

China has the world's second largest digital economy in terms of value, the report read. In 2021, the combined value of the digital economy in 47 major countries accounted for 45 percent of their GDP, while last year, China's digital economy accounted for 41 percent of the country's GDP. Ninety-five percent of surveyed Gen Zs said they engaged in digital activities every day and were fully aware of the enormous impact the digital economy has on people's lives. Gen Zs "have a clear and dialectical understanding of the digital economy," according to the report. They have a deep sense of the positive impact of the digital economy on personal life, global economic development and social progress, believe that the digital economy makes the world better, and are fully confident in the future development of the digital economy, the document further read. Zhang Jun, General Manager of Tencent's Marketing and Public Relations Department, said at the forum that through the Future Close-Up Program, Chinese and foreign youth came to realize they actually have a lot in common: their expectations for digital technology by large are high, and they brim with curiosity as well as a desire to uncover and understand the future. Connecting The participants, many of whom are social media influencers, shared their stories and experiences during the tour. Take Rida Hameed, a reporter for Pakistan's K21 News, for example. Hameed shared a short video about her journey on Instagram which gained some 10,000 likes in a matter of minutes. Long international flights and a packed schedule didn't dampen participants' enthusiasm. "I would like to learn more about the Chinese business landscape, meet like-minded businesspeople, explore ways to work with Chinese organizations and discover market trends in China," Latvian Arthur Gopak, CEO and co-founder of AlphaGamma, a business portal for young professionals, told Beijing Review. Igor Alexander Bello Tasic, founder and CEO of Meta Ventures, told Beijing Review that his company is a metaverse and technology research and development consulting firm based in Spain. During the tour, he said that this marked his very first visit to China, something he'd been looking forward to for years, and he joined the tour to gain a better grasp of how other young participants envision the future and how they might be able to work together to turn that vision into reality. "As an entrepreneur, I hope to establish valuable business connections and understand China's digital economy so that I can strive to promote the same in my country," Jibran Ali Khan, CEO of JAK Education and Innovation Consultancy and Media Brick in Pakistan, told Beijing Review soon after his arrival in Shenzhen. Ali Khan, too, was a first-time China traveler and could hardly contain his excitement. The trip did not disappoint. During their two-day stay in Shenzhen, they visited companies such as Tencent, Honor, a leading global provider of smart devices, and Ping An, one of China's largest integrated financial groups. They had extensive in-person interactions with these companies' employees to learn more about their latest tech endeavors. At the closing forum in Beijing, the program's participants got the chance to talk with experts and other high-caliber young professionals to forge more new and interesting connections. "Because of COVID-19, we lost the communication channels with overseas talents and high-caliber professionals and we must now reconnect to hear each other's opinions," Zhu Yuting, a participant of the program and an assistant professor of marketing at the National University of Singapore, told Beijing Review. Li Yafang, President of the CICG Center for Americas, said in her speech at the forum that during this journey exploring China's thriving tech industry, all young attendees had experienced and witnessed the development of China's society, economy, technology and culture, while, at the same time, forging new bonds with people from different countries. "Every Chinese person you meet is a witness and participant in the development of contemporary China; their stories are a microcosm of the country's development story in the new era," she said. Li said that as an "experienced youth," she very much enjoys communication and interaction with young people, as well as looks forward to Chinese and foreign youths providing fresh perspectives on China and injecting new energy into the promotion of exchanges between China and other countries around the globe. Participants shared their understanding about the country during their journey into its digital domain. With the digital technologies, we are able to navigate both Beijing's past and present, Tasic said after wrapping up the "digital day tour" of the capital city on June 17. As China's digital development is rapidly advancing, it's important to assess how the use of artificial intelligence, the metaverse, virtual reality, etc. will affect people's lives in the future. China is standing at the forefront of all these aspects and the lessons from China can be useful for emerging markets, Nishikawa said. "As a Chinese citizen, I am proud of the developments in China's digital economy over the past decade. I do feel that my life is becoming easier and easier thanks to technology," Zhu said. The 2023 Future Close-Up Program was only "the first step in a long journey," Zhang Jun said. He believed that, in the future, we will all team up to build more bridges and platforms for communication, mutual trust and learning, and create more opportunities for everyone to communicate with each other. Comments to [email protected] Twitter: https://twitter.com/BeijingReview/status/1670726545982488577

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BJReview/videos/795733335512281/

YouTube: https://youtu.be/gTYtX11vjJU

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@cachinachic/video/7246324900615572778?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7227134149436605995

Website: https://www.bjreview.com/Multimedia/Video/On_the_Scene/202306/t20230620_800334758.html View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/young-people-from-different-countries-experience-chinas-digital-economy-301872458.html SOURCE Beijing Review

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The most important thing locals need to know this evening . . . Local government struggles to cope with a process confronting widespread complaints.



Here are the basics . . .



While the news is good for hundreds of property owners who still want to file appeals, they will need to do it through a virtual meeting.



The Jackson County Assessors office announced Friday afternoon property owners would no longer be able to walk in to its office in Downtown Kansas City to file an appeal. Instead, anyone using that location will need to schedule a virtual appointment with the assessment department by calling (877) 895-9675.

A trusted COURTHOUSE INSIDER tells us . . .

"The Assessment Dept is in complete disarray today and yesterday. Website down so no appeal reviews can be booked. No one answering the phone. People waiting 7 hours beyond their scheduled appointment.



"This is a mess and finally the BOE is recognizing this . . .There are a lot of people having BOE hearings scheduled before they are scheduled to meet with the Assessment Dept informal reviews. They didnt coordinate at all on this . . ."



Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . .

Jackson County residents now have until July 31 to appeal property assessments Jackson County residents hoping to appeal their property tax assessments now have until July 31.

Jackson County Board of Equalization extends appeal deadline for property assessments In an emergency meeting on Friday afternoon, the Jackson County Board of Equalization voted to extend the appeal deadline.

Jackson County Assessment Department no longer accepting walk-ins regarding appeals The Jackson County Assessment Department is no longer accepting walk-ins from people who'd like to appeal their property value assessment.

Jackson County extends deadline to appeal property assessments Jackson County extended the deadline for owners to appeal property assessments to July 31, but said will not take walk-ins at its downtown office.

Turned away: Walk in options close early for property tax appeal at Jackson County assessor's office Crowds of people flooded the Jackson County Assessor's Office on the last day to make a property tax appeal.

New Missouri bill with senior property tax protections still needs approval from counties For the first time in Missouri state history, the governor signed a bill giving seniors or those eligible for social security an opportunity for frozen tax assessments, but is it a win?

Developing . . .
The Eras weekend starts with more bloodshed as Kansas City continues to move along a record breaking, historic and tragic pace. Here's the report and more info . . .



LATE DEATH HOMICIDE 59TH & WABASH

On 06/30/2023 just after 7 pm. Officer were dispatched to 59th & Wabash on a reported shooting.



Upon arrival an adult male victim was located on the sidewalk in front of a residence.



EMS arrived on scene and transported the victim to an area hospital with life-threatening injuries. Several days later the victim died of his injuries



There is no one is custody at this time. The circumstances surrounding the homicide are still being investigated.



Anyone with information is asked to call homicide detectives at 816-234-5043. Or if you wish to remain anonymous you can do so by calling the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS.



There is a reward of up to $25,000 for information provided to TIPS which leads to an arrest in the case.



We are working with Partners for Peace in all our homicide investigations to monitor risks for retaliation and provide social services to affected residents.

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Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com links . . .

Man dies from injuries sustained in shooting on June 30 in east Kansas City A man has died from injuries sustained in shooting on June 30 in east Kansas City, Missouri, police said on Friday.

Victim dies days after Kansas City shooting at 59th, Wabash Avenue Kansas City police found a man shot on a sidewalk on June 30 in the area of E. 59th Street and Wabash Avenue. The victim died days later.

Developing . . .
Right now hottie Demi inspires us to take a peek pop culture, community news and top headlines.



Check TKC news gathering . . .

Paddy For Posterity

Why did Patrick Mahomes agree to do the new Netflix "Quarterback" series? In a new interview, producer Peyton Manning discussed the new Netflix documentary that premieres this week.

Careful Crossing

Pedestrian dies after being hit crossing I-70 Saturday night Around 11 Saturday night a pedestrian was hit and killed when they tried to cross I-70 while cars were coming at them.

Saving Old School Heartache

Jackson, Clay counties in Missouri considering action to freeze property taxes for seniors After Missouri Gov. Mike Parson signed a bill into law that would freeze property tax rates for seniors, at least two metro counties will consider it.

Tribute & Life Changes

She wanted to bring her favorite foodie magazine to KC; her mother's sudden death put this publisher's plans on the back burner Lauren Cook's passion for Edible Communities magazine drove her appetite to revive it in Kansas City, she shared, but an unexpected life change has her hoping to hand the publisher's apron to someone else.

Building Up The Toy Train

Transit-oriented apartments at Third and Grand target fall groundbreaking after years in planning - Kansas City Business Journal A five-story, 245-apartment complex at a key River Market transit corner is scheduled to break ground in late 2023, close to four years after it was first chosen to replace a KCATA-owned parking lot.

Insta-Summer Celebrated

Demi Rose showcases her incredible figure in busty yellow bikini The model, 28, has been enjoying a sun-soaked summer across various exotic locations, including Ibiza, the Canary Islands and Mexico.

Future Fades For White House

When is the optimal time for Biden to drop out of the race? If the Democratic National Committee is going to open up the primary to other candidates, the sooner the better.

MAGA On The Record

14 promises Donald Trump has made in his campaign for a second term | CNN Politics Former President Donald Trump has hit the 2024 campaign trail and is giving voters a preview of what a second Trump presidency could look like if he's elected. He's made many campaign promises - many of which are often vague and lacking in details or specifics - including ending the war in Ukraine, building 10 new cities and giving drug smugglers the death penalty.

Political Double Talk Amid Skyfall

As some US cities address the climate crisis, their lobbyists work for big oil Municipalities that are suffering from the climate crisis employ lobbyists already in the pay of fossil fuel companies

Rumors Of War Cont'd

Russian reserves running low as Ukrainian forces make 'tactically significant gains' around the besieged city of Bakhmut, a think tank says Ukrainian forces make 'tactically significant gains' as Russian troops are likely suffering from "poor morale" in Bakhmut, the UK MoD said.

American Battleground Casualty Mourned

A Lyft driver who fled the Taliban in Afghanistan was fatally shot in Washington, DC, police and charity say | CNN A former Afghan interpreter who immigrated with his family to America in 2021 was shot and killed early Monday in Washington, DC, while on an extra shift as a Lyft driver, and police now are searching for suspects, authorities and a charity said.

Diva Copes With Stalker

Woman Arrested at Taylor Swift's Home: 'I'm Her No. 1 Fan' Kimberly Meyer, who was charged with willful trespass and released on a $1,000 bond, says she "was not there to harass."

Cowtown Recycled

Vintage Source Opening in the West Bottoms - IN Kansas City Magazine Dan Posch didn't set out to become a curator of vintage furniture. For a while, he sold furniture to make ends meet after a furlough during the pandemic. One thing led to another, and after a stint at vintage shop Bella Patina, over a year running his own appointment-based store, and a hefty Instagram following,...

Weekend According To Katie . . .

Early morning showers give way to a partly sunny Saturday High temperatures Saturday will be around 79 degrees; Sunday will be warmer and lead into a warm week ahead.

Tiesto - Back Around is the song of the day and this is the OPEN THREAD for right now.
Right now we wanted to share another glimpse and roundup and upcoming debate in Kansas on the topic of driver's license dox.

Here's the premise . . .



Republican Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach sued in state court Friday to mandate biological sex be listed on driver's licenses and be immalleable to requests for changes by transgender motorists.



Kobach argues that Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly  to whom he lost his bid for the governorship to in 2018  is allowing state agencies to violate a recently-enacted law by letting sex changes be recognized on licenses.



The law Kobach cites in the suit officially defines sex as immutable and designated by the "biological reproductive system" identified at birth.

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com links from opposing sides of the discourse . . .

Kansas AG bucks Democratic governor in suit to require biological sex on driver's licenses Republican Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach has filed a lawsuit in state court to disallow transgender people from changing the sex listed on their driver's licenses.

Kobach sues to strip transgender Kansans of identities in dispute over driver's licenses - Kansas Reflector Attorney General Kris Kobach asks court to order the the Kansas Department of Revenue's Division of Vehicles to issue driver's licenses that reflect a resident's sex at birth.

Developing . . .
AUTh signed a memorandum of scientific collaboration with SDAU in 2021, which foresees exchanges of professors and scientists, as well as scientific collaborations

A five-member delegation from the Shandong Agricultural University (SDAU) of China paid a visit to the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTh) to discuss a joint English-language program for Chinese students leading to a bachelor's degree, ANA reports.

AUTh signed a memorandum of scientific collaboration with SDAU in 2021, which foresees exchanges of professors and scientists, as well as scientific collaborations.

RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations, Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report

Photo Source: Wikimedia Commons License: CC-BY-SA Copyright: Tilemahos Efthimiadis
A new Louisiana law set to go into effect on August 1 will criminalize the production and possession of deepfakes depicting the sexual abuse of children.

Louisiana legislative bill SB175, signed into law by Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards, deems that anyone convicted of creating, distributing, or possessing unlawful deepfake images depicting minors could face a mandatory five to 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $10,000, or both.

Deepfakes are AI-generated videos that fabricate persons, places, and events. Deepfakes pose a growing challenge for cybersecurity and law enforcement due to advancements in AI that make deepfakes increasingly difficult to detect.

Louisianawhich ranks 49th out of 50 states in child well-being and second in povertyjoins several other U.S. states, including California, Texas, and Virginia, that have regulated or outlawed deepfakes.

Another section of SB175, aimed at online platforms and sites that host so-called "revenge porn," says that anyone knowingly advertising, distributing, or selling sexual deepfakes involving a person without their consentor that features a minorcould face a mandatory 10 to 30 years in prison, a fine up to $50,000, or both.

If time behind bars and a hefty fine were not enough, Louisiana lawmakers were sure to include that any sentence issued under the new law would consist of "hard labor."

Political Satirist Slammed for Creating Deepfakes of Trump, Biden Cheating on Their Wives

In May, deepfakes of child murder victims went viral on social media after being uploaded to TikTok. One of the clips featured an AI-generated recreation of Royalty Marie Floyd, whose grandmother was charged with her murder in 2018.

In June, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned about the use of AI and deepfakes on social media to fuel hate and violence in conflict zones.

"We're getting into an era where we can no longer believe what we see," Marko Jak, co-founder and CEO of Austin-based Secta Labs, told Decrypt in an interview. "Right now, it's easier because the deep fakes are not that good yet, and sometimes you can see it's obvious."

Law enforcement agencies have already sounded the alarm on criminals using deepfakes for scams and extortion. Last month, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation said the agency continues to receive reports of victims, including minors, whose photos and videos were used in explicit content.

Citing the potential misuse of its latest AI-generated voice platform, Voicebox, Meta said it would not release the AI to the public.

"While we believe it is important to be open with the AI community and to share our research to advance the state of the art in AI, the Meta spokesperson told Decrypt in an email. Its also necessary to strike the right balance between openness with responsibility."
A new set of video and audio recordings have surfaced, and this time, these recordings were done by the THA Chief Secretary, who claimed the recordings implicated the Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, the Commissioner of Police Erla Christopher, the Integrity Commission, and PNM Tobago Council Political Leader Ancil Dennis, among others, in an alleged conspiracy to dismantle the present THA administration.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky shared a video showing the consequences of a nighttime Russian missile strike on Lviv city.

Lviv. Consequences of the night attack by Russian terrorists. Unfortunately, there are wounded and dead. My condolences to the relatives! he wrote alongside the video posted on Telegram, Ukrinform reports.

There will definitely be a response to the enemy. A tangible one, Zelensky assured.

As earlier reported, on the night of July 6, Russia again attacked Ukraine with Kalibr missiles launched from the Black Sea. As of 07:00, four people were killed and nine more were injured after an apartment building was hit in Lviv.
(Bloomberg) -- Jack Ma-backed Ant Group Co. is proposing to buy back as much as 7.6% of shares in an effort to retain talent and offer an exit for investors ensnared by a years-long regulatory crackdown at the company.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Ants planned repurchase of the equity would value the company at about 567.1 billion yuan ($78.5 billion), it said in a statement on Saturday. That is almost 70% lower than the $280 billion market capitalization it fetched in 2020 for the scrapped initial public offering.

Chinese regulators are wrapping up a two-year crackdown on the countrys once freewheeling technology giants after slapping more than $1 billion of fines on Ant and Tencent Holdings Ltd. on Friday. Ant has completed its overhaul ordered by Beijing, pinching profitability and sapping growth at a sprawling platform that spanned lending and insurance to asset management.

The buyback could enable Ant to shift its focus back to building business operations, easing pressure from pre-IPO investors seeking an exit due to its valuation slump. Global funds have grappled with how to assess their investments in Ant made in 2018 when the company was valued at about $150 billion.

Silver Lake Management LLC, Warburg Pincus LLC, and Carlyle Group Inc. were among the biggest US backers in that funding round. Others that put money in include Singapores GIC Pte, Khazanah Nasional Berhad, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Temasek Holdings Pte.

Repurchase Plans

Ant said it will transfer repurchased stock into the companys staff incentive plan to attract talent.

The individual limited partners of two entities that form the majority of Ants shareholders  mostly comprised of Ant executives  have voluntarily decided not sell shares back to Ant out of the long-term commitment to the company, according to the statement.

The limited partners also committed to retaining the two dividends in 2022 with Hangzhou Junhan and Hangzhou Junao to enhance the operations capital strength.

Overhang Removed

Financial regulators led by the central bank fined Ant and its affiliates a total of 7.12 billion yuan on Friday, ending two years of probe into the company. Tencent was levied a 2.99 billion yuan fine.

Tencent and Ant affiliate Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. soared in New York trading. A meaningful relaxation of curbs on Ant  one of the most high-profile casualties of President Xi Jinpings sweeping clampdown on the countrys tech giants  would send a strong signal that policymakers are following through on recent pledges to support the industry.

With the regulatory clampdowns out of the way Ant can spend more time building its business and even revive its IPO.

Ant said in January it had no plans for an IPO at that time. Still, the companys Chairman Eric Jing said in 2021 that Ant would eventually go public.

Ant Overhual

Ant co-founder Ma returned to China in early March after a prolonged period of traveling overseas. The government persuaded him to go back to the mainland as a means to showcase authorities support for private entrepreneurs, Bloomberg News had reported.

The move follows Mas decision to cede control of Ant in January, holding about 6.2% voting rights after the change. Following that, the Communist Party chief of Hangzhou city praised Ant for abiding by the partys leadership, and required local government departments to solve problems raised by the fintech company.

Ant Chairman Says Chinas Support for Private Firms Remains

More than two years ago, Chinese regulators abruptly halted Ants IPO, sending shock waves across global capital markets. New rules have been slapped on the fintech giant, which has operations ranging from consumer lending and wealth management to online payments.

The central bank ordered Ant to fold all financial units into a holding company. It also told the firm to open up its payments app to competitors and sever improper linking of payments with other products including its lending services.

Ant is developing large-language model technology that will power ChatGPT-style services, joining a list of Chinese companies seeking to win an edge in next generation artificial intelligence. The company invested nearly 20.5 billion yuan in research and development last year, doubling its annual spending on such efforts from 2019.

(Updates with details of the repurchase plans. An earlier version was corrected for saying $78.5 billion is value of planned share repurchase.)

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U.S. President Joe Biden has said that sending cluster munitions to Ukraine was a "difficult decision," but the Ukrainian Armed Forces need them in their counteroffensive against Russia.

Biden said this in an interview with CNN, Ukrinform reports.

"It was a very difficult decision on my part. And by the way, I discussed this with our allies, I discussed this with our friends up on the Hill," Biden said, adding, "The Ukrainians are running out of ammunition."

According to him, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are trying to trying to get through Russian trenches and stop tanks from rolling.

"But it was not an easy decision," Biden said. "We're not signatories to that agreement, but it took me a while to be convinced to do it."

He added, "But the main thing is they either have the weapons to stop the Russians now  keep them from stopping the Ukrainian offensive through these areas  or they don't. And I think they needed them."

Biden said that while Ukraine's membership in NATO was premature, the United States and its allies in NATO would continue to provide President Volodymyr Zelensky and his forces the security and weaponry they need to try to end the war with Russia.

Read also: Pentagon announces new assistance package to Ukraine containing cluster munitions

Commenting on the possibility of Ukraine joining the military alliance, he said: "I dont think there is unanimity in NATO about whether or not to bring Ukraine into the NATO family now, at this moment, in the middle of a war. [] If the war is going on, then we're all in war. We're at war with Russia, if that were the case."

On Friday, July 7, Biden approved the transfer to Ukraine of cluster munitions that will be compatible with U.S.-provided 155mm howitzers.

More than 100 countries, including the UK, France and Germany, signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which bans their use, production and transfer. At the same time, the United States and Ukraine (as well as Russia) did not join this ban.

Photo: Office of the President of Ukraine
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has visited Snake [Zmiinyi] Island, paid tribute to Ukrainian heroes, and expressed gratitude to everyone who has been fighting against Russian aggression for the last 500 days.

The relevant video was posted by the Head of State on the social media pages, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

Today we are on Snake Island, our Snake Island, which will never be conquered by the occupier, same as the whole of Ukraine. Because we are a country of the brave. Today we have honored our Ukrainian heroes, all the warriors who fought for this island, who liberated it. And although this is a small piece of land in the middle of our Black Sea, it is a great proof that Ukraine will regain every part of its territory! From here, from this place, I want to thank each of our warriors for these 500 days! Our Armed Forces, our intelligence, border guards, the National Guard, the Security Service of Ukraine, the National Police, our signalmen, our people. Thank you to everyone who fights for Ukraine, the President of Ukraine said.

According to Zelensky, the freedom that all Ukrainian heroes of different times wanted for Ukraine and which should be won right now will be a tribute to all those who gave their lives for Ukraine.

We will definitely win, the Head of State stressed.

In addition, President Zelensky left an inscription on Snake Islands signpost.

A reminder that Ukraines Defense Forces liberated Snake Island from Russian invaders on June 30, 2022.
The EU's sanctions against Russia will increase over time and will have a long-term impact on its economy.

According to Ukrinform, Bloomberg reported this with reference to the relevant report of the European Commission (EC).

The report notes that the sanctions have significantly worsened Russia's industrial and technological potential.

These effects will be further amplified over time, as the measures have a structured and long-term impact on Russia's budget, financial markets, foreign investment, and its industrial and technological base, the report said.

The document describes the effects of EU sanctions against Moscow. They have reduced approx. EUR 91 billion of imports from Russia and covered EUR 48 billion of alliance exports.

The EC estimates that in 2023, almost a third of Russia's federal budget will be spent on defense and internal security.

Meanwhile, exports from the EU and imports from Russia fell by over 50% compared to 2021. This triggered a particularly rapid contraction of technology-dependent manufacturing industries.

Exports of dual-use goods and advanced technologies were very rapid (by 78% in 2022 compared to 2019-2021).

Thanks to measures aimed at minimizing the impact on member states, the impact on the EU was contained but it was felt in some areas, mainly due to Russia's countermeasures and the war, which caused a rise in prices.

At the same time, Russia was able to obtain some sanctioned goods and other replacement technologies from third countries, including China, Kazakhstan, Turkiye, and the UAE, the report said.

As Ukrinform previously reported, Russia's oil and gas revenues are falling despite the circumvention of sanctions.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has arrived in Bulgarias capital city of Sofia.

The relevant statement was made by the Head of State on Telegram, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

Sofia. Bulgaria. I will hold substantial talks with Prime Minister Nikolai Denkov, meet with President Rumen Radev, government officials, parliamentarians, politicians, and journalists, Zelensky wrote.

In his words, the key topics for discussion will be defense support, Ukraines Euro-Atlantic integration, NATO Summit, security guarantees, and the implementation of the Ukrainian Peace Formula.

Earlier, the Bulgarian mass media reported that President Zelensky had received an invitation from the Government of Bulgaria.
The Czech Republic is interested in Ukraine joining NATO after the war.

The relevant statement was made by President of the Czech Republic Petr Pavel during a joint press conference with President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, following their meeting in Prague on Thursday, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

After the end of the war, Ukraine will join NATO. It is in our interests, Pavel said.

However, the former NATO general mentioned that membership in the Alliance, same as in the EU, is not automatic. In this regard, it is necessary to carry out reforms and meet the criteria.

A reminder that, on the evening of July 6, 2023, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky started his visit to the Czech Republic.
Ukraine's membership in the North Atlantic Alliance will strengthen NATO militarily.

Polish President Andrzej Duda said this at a joint press conference with Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda in Klaipeda, Lithuania, on Friday, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

He expressed hope that during the NATO summit in Vilnius, a decision will be made about further support for Ukraine, which opposes Russian aggression.

"And also regarding the first steps, [it is important] that Ukraine joins NATO soon, hopefully as quickly as possible, becoming a full member with all the rights, guarantees, as well as obligations that arise from membership in the alliance," Duda said.

He noted that the Ukrainian army, which will become a military part of NATO, "will undoubtedly strengthen the alliance from a military point of view."

The NATO summit will be held on July 11-12.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said earlier on Friday that the upcoming NATO summit in Vilnius would help strengthen political relations between NATO and Ukraine and reaffirm Allies' support for Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression.
British Ambassador to Ukraine Melinda Simmons has said on day 500 of the Russian invasion that London will support Ukraine's struggle for as long as it takes.

She reported this on Twitter, according to Ukrinform.

"Today marks 500 days since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Unbroken, unbowed, unyielding  Ukraine will recover its territories & prosper into a powerful European democracy," she said.

According to Simmons, the United Kingdom will support Ukraine's fight for as long as it takes to defend the lives of Ukrainians and common values.

All ambassadors of the G7 countries also expressed their support for Ukraine.

"500 days into Russia's unprovoked full-scale invasion of Ukraine, we reiterate our steadfast commitment to support Ukraine's efforts to defend itself as long as it takes," the Japanese Presidency of the G7 Ambassadors' Support Group in Kyiv tweeted.

On February 24, 2022, Russia launched an unprovoked full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Ukraine and Portugal have signed a declaration that provides for Lisbon's support for Kyiv, including in the context of Ukraine's European and Euro-Atlantic integration.

The document was approved during Saturday's phone call between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa, Ukrinform reports, citing the head of state's press service.

"The Portuguese Republic will continue its political, financial, humanitarian and military support to Ukraine for as long as it takes  individually and through international cooperation in the European Union, in NATO, in the United Nations and in other formats," the declaration reads.

In addition, Portugal "strongly supports" Ukraine in its reform efforts and in meeting the requirements needed to start accession negotiations, looking forward to a European Commission positive report.

In the NATO framework, Portugal continues to focus on the immediate support to Ukraine, including through a reinforced NATO Comprehensive Assistance Package. In coordination with Allies and partners, Portugal continues its support to bolster Ukraine's capacity to defend itself and recalls that Ukraine has the right to choose its own security arrangements.

"The Portuguese Republic will continue to support Ukraine on its path towards future membership and supports Ukraine to become NATO Member when conditions allow for it. Ukraine and the Portuguese Republic look forward to addressing all these issues at the upcoming NATO Summit in Vilnius in July 2023," the document reads.

The full text of the declaration has been published on the website of the head of state.

The NATO summit will be held in Vilnius on July 11-12.
In a phone call, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte discussed the starting dates of the F-16 training mission for Ukrainian pilots and coordinated positions on the eve of the NATO Summit in Vilnius.

The relevant statement was made by the Head of State on Telegram, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

President Zelensky held a phone conversation with Prime Minister Rutte from Turkiye. According to the President of Ukraine, he expressed support at a difficult political moment.

The parties discussed defense cooperation, preparations for the Global Peace Summit, and set the dates for starting the F-16 training mission for Ukrainian pilots.

In addition, Zelensky and Rutte coordinated positions on the eve of the NATO Summit in Vilnius.

Thank you for the steadfast principled stand of the Netherlands regarding the Russian invasion, as well as for recognizing the Holodomor as genocide by the House of Representatives of the Netherlands, Zelensky concluded.

A reminder that the Netherlands will start training Ukrainian pilots on the F-16 fighter jets as soon as this summer.
The declaration between Ukraine and Portugal has become the 23rd document formalizing support for Ukraine's membership in NATO.

Ihor Zhovkva, deputy head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, said this on Facebook, Ukrinform reports.

"Portugal adds to the list of countries with which we have already formalized support for Ukraine's membership in the Alliance: as of today, these are 23 countries or approximately three-quarters of the number of members," Zhovkva said.

According to him, the document states, in particular, that Portugal strongly supports Ukraine in starting EU accession negotiations and will continue to support Ukraine on the path to future NATO membership and advocates for Ukraine to become a member of the Alliance when the conditions allow.

"With literally two days left before the NATO Summit in Vilnius begins, we continue to maximize the chances of a practical result for Ukraine," Zhovkva said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa in a phone call on Saturday approved the joint declaration on support for Ukraine, including its European and Euro-Atlantic integration.
BlackRock CEO Larry Fink's change of heart on bitcoin (BTC) could make it easier for fellow Wall Street executives to embrace cryptocurrencies, but some experts warn that his favored financial instrument  the exchange-traded fund, or ETF  is an investment vehicle that's categorically different from the original ideals of digital assets and could push the industry in the wrong direction.

The key distinction is that an ETF is simply a traditional investment vehicle, with bitcoin as the asset, but traded on a regulated stock exchange, via regulated brokers. Such structures might be anathema to Bitcoin, designed and then launched in 2009 by a pseudonymous creator  partly as a backlash against the Wall Street excesses that fueled the global financial crisis a year earlier  as an internet-based, peer-to-peer payments network that would be free from government control.

So the reception from the crypto faithful might be mixed, even if Finks newfound fondness might have helped to support the recent rally in bitcoins price, now up 82% year-to-date.

Crypto is losing the plot, said Jim Bianco, president of Bianco Research. It is supposed to be about decentralization, permissionless and self-sovereignty. Getting excited that it is going to become a more accessible poker chip is nice and will help degens in the short term, but it will not help to fulfill the real promise of crypto.

Fink, who until this week was known to be a skeptic of crypto and at one point called bitcoin an index of money laundering, said on Wednesday that it could revolutionize finance.

Larry Fink, BlackRock CEO:



2017: Bitcoin is an index of money laundering.



2023: Bitcoin could revolutionize finance. Files for a Bitcoin ETF.



I am old enough to remember pic.twitter.com/CAX3mwb7DA  Gabor Gurbacs (@gaborgurbacs) July 5, 2023

However, rather than praising the core idea behind the newly-built digital asset market, mainly decentralization, Fink said that the asset managers main goal was to make it easier and cheaper to trade and invest in bitcoin. Some industry experts worried whether BlackRock might be in it for the wrong reasons.

Arguments have been made that ETFs, as well as bitcoin exchanges, ignore what some believe is the single most important feature of bitcoin, the ability to control their funds without the need to place trust in a third-party to manage the asset, said Jim Iourio, managing director of TJM Institutional Services and a veteran futures and options trader. This flies in the face of Bitcoins entire point of existence.

Crypto was built on the idea that money shouldn't have to be tied to a third-party or middlemen, such as banks or even governments, and is therefore immune to manipulation of any sort.

When it comes to ETFs, the provider (in this case BlackRock, if it wins regulatory approval to launch the product) owns the underlying asset and sells shares of the fund to investors. It works in a way that crypto was built to change.

So-called mainstream adoption will bring waves of new entrants to bitcoin, and the risk is that they wont care, and wont protect the decentralization properties that make it valuable over centralized alternatives in the first place, Alex Thorn, head of research at the digital-asset financial firm Galaxy, wrote this week in a report.

Mainstream adoption

Nevertheless, when the leader of the biggest asset manager in the world openly admits that, contrary to his opinion a few years ago, he now sees bitcoin as digitizing gold, it cant be all so negative  at least for now.

Validation from people like Fink could help with mass adoption, further ingraining bitcoin in mainstream usage and public consciousness.

Paul McCaffery, managing director at boutique investment firm Keefe Bruyette & Woods, or KBW, said he believed Fink's embrace could pave the way for other Wall Street investors to express comfort with Bitcoin, and allocate more money to the cryptocurrency.

Its a game-changer," he said. "His commentary was not about this being a good economic decision for BlackRock but rather about the promise of digital wealth.
A compensation mechanism for the damage caused by Russias armed aggression against Ukraine has been found.

The relevant statement was made by Ukrainian Justice Minister Denys Maliuska during a nationwide telethon, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

Yesterday, a meeting of G7 Justice Ministers took place in Tokyo, where the key topic for discussion was the legal response to the aggression of the Russian Federation. We have a full understanding with our international colleagues regarding the common goal and the way it should look, Maliuska told.

In his words, such mechanism consists of three main elements. Firstly, the creation of the Register of Damage, which will include all photo and video evidence, witness statements, etc.

It is already half implemented. An international organization called the International Register of Damage has been created, Maliuska noted.

Forty countries have joined the mechanism and ensure its financing and functioning. The Ukrainian side expects that the Register will be fully developed and launched in late 2023.

Secondly, the establishment of a compensation commission that will review claims and determine the amount of compensation.

Thirdly, financing, which is the most challenging matter. According to Maliuska, all the assets which are now seized and being nationalized will be transferred to relevant compensation funds in order to pay compensation.
(Bloomberg) -- A strategy of stripping China out of emerging-market portfolios is fast gaining traction as stock managers seek to reduce the risk of investing in a country that faces unique policy and geopolitical headwinds.

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Nearly non-existent before 2015, such products sprang up last year as the investability of Chinese equities came into question, with 12 launches including from Goldman Sachs Asset Management. Another five came to the market in the first half of 2023, including BlackRock Inc.s fund, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The budding trend underscores a growing belief that the country is too big and complicated to be lumped with others. Its stocks now account for nearly 30% of MSCI Inc.s emerging market gauge. Thats particularly problematic as Chinas equities are on track to underperform global stocks for a third straight year as tensions with the West, private-sector crackdowns, and a slowing economy hamper returns.

One has to ask what are the potential consequences should China get involved in a conflict with other parts of the world  in that event, what would happen to your investments related to China? said Victor Zhang, chief investment officer for American Century Investments based in Kansas City, Missouri. Thats a legitimate question and supports a long, secular trend of thinking China as a segregated allocation.

MSCI launched its emerging markets ex-China Index in 2017, but the strategy took off in recent years following Chinas draconian Covid restrictions and an underwhelming post-reopening economic boom. Beijings reluctance to deploy big stimulus and structural headwinds including a shrinking population are giving investors more reasons to look elsewhere for returns.

READ: Global Money Is Chasing China Alternatives as Anxiety Grows

The MSCI China gauge has fallen 8% this year, on track for a third straight year of losses. Meanwhile, a developing-market index excluding Chinese firms has advanced 11% as the artificial intelligence boom lifted the tech-heavy markets in South Korea and Taiwan, and Indian shares rose to record highs.

Geopolitical risks, regulatory risks and broad concerns regarding the investability of China have been bigger drivers of increased interest in the products, said Romina Graiver, a portfolio specialist at William Blair International Ltd., one of the early entrants into emerging markets ex-China strategies.

Total assets held in the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ex-China ETF have swelled to about $4.4 billion from a meager $165 million at the end of 2020, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. In comparison, the market value of the iShares MSCI China ETF has increased by just 19% to around $8 billion over the same period.

Money managers at Allianz Global Investors, AllianceBernstein LP and BNP Paribas Asset Management are among those who told Bloomberg that they see increased interest from clients.

Thats not to say investors are abandoning China exposure. As the worlds second-largest economy and home to tech behemoths including Tencent Holdings Ltd. and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., the market is too big to ignore for some.

Money managers have likened the shift to what happened to the US and Japan decades ago, when their growing clout warranted a standalone allocation. With $10 trillion in stock market capitalization, China boasts a swathe of companies that remain untapped by overseas investors.

Given its importance in the global economy, China deserves its own direct allocations, said Christian Abuide, head of asset allocation at Lombard Odier. Short-term macroeconomic considerations, geopolitics and sentiment should dictate much of the flows and performance picture, but longer term, China is here to stay.

Some investors also say the slump in Chinese stocks has made valuations attractive. The Hang Seng Index, where a majority are mainland firms, is hovering near a bear market and is trading less than 10 times its forward earnings estimates, one of the cheapest among major markets in the world.

Carving out China will allow more focus on other emerging markets in Asia, where foreign fund flows have picked up to $25.4 billion this year, set for the biggest annual purchase since 2016, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The impact of such a dominant country in a global index may crowd out opportunities in other emerging markets, said Navin Hingorani, a portfolio manager for Eastspring Investments, which launched the Global Emerging Markets ex-China Dynamic Fund in 2021.

And while some dip-buying may emerge, an analysis by Morgan Stanley quants shows long-only active managers in the US and Europe have deepened their underweight position on China in June.

We are now seeing clients actively asking for such mandates or putting in investment guidelines restricting exposure to Chinese assets, said Paras Gupta, head of Asia portfolio management at Union Bancaire Privee UBP. This underscores a clear trend that investors are seeking China-free investment options within the broader EM space.

--With assistance from Irene Huang and Ishika Mookerjee.

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DUBAI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 08th Jul, 2023) Abdulla Nasser Lootah, Deputy Minister of Cabinet Affairs for Competitiveness and Knowledge Exchange, Director-General of Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Authority, and Vice-Chairman of the National Committee for Sustainable Development Goals, has highlighted the UAE's progress in achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

These achievements were credited to collaborative efforts among government agencies, partners, and a strong collective commitment to deepening sustainable development partnerships locally and globally.

Lootah made the remarks at a workshop organised by the General Secretariat of the National Committee for Sustainable Development Goals in partnership with COP28.

The workshop aimed to prepare the UAE delegation for the United Nations High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) from 10-19 July, where the Emirates will unveil its progress on achieving the 17 SDGs, and announce initiatives and ideas that will contribute to societies achieving the global goals by 2030.

Describing 2023 as the Year of Sustainability, Lootah said, has been a catalyst for all institutions and teams dedicated to promoting sustainable development goals. It also encouraged the private sector and civil society to prioritise SDGs.

Representatives from the National Committee for Sustainable Development Goals, COP28, the Young Leaders Programme for Sustainable Development Goals, the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre, and the Government Knowledge Exchange Office of the Ministry of Cabinet Affairs, participated in the workshop.

Attendees reviewed plans to present the UAE's model to accelerate the realisation of the 17 SDGs. They also explored the best ways to share this model with other nations through strategic partnerships designed to positively impact people and the planet.

As part of his remarks, Ambassador Majid Al Suwaidi, Director-General and Special Representative of COP28, emphasised that, COP and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are inseparable companions, working hand in hand to forge a sustainable future.

We all know how important SDGs are in safeguarding our precious planet. They provide us with a comprehensive framework that guides us in protecting our environment, promoting global cooperation, fostering environmental sustainability, encouraging systems thinking, and offering a long-term vision for sustainable development.

The UAE will host COP28, the largest global climate conference, from 30th November to 12th December in Dubai.

Ahead of the HLPF, Ambassador Majid mentioned the UAEs commitment to achieving the SDGs, stressing, They transcend boundaries and unite us in a shared responsibility to address the pressing challenges we face, much what we expect to happen at COP28.

The HLPF in New York presents an opportunity to foster broad cooperation with nations worldwide and advance sustainability together. By combining economic and social development with practical and innovative solutions, closer collaboration and cooperation can mitigate climate change and amplify the impact of climate action.

The workshop, held at the Government Accelerators headquarters in Emirates Towers, featured a presentation on the preparations for COP28. Sabrin Rahman, Director of Partnerships at COP28, highlighted the climate progress achieved through partnerships between the UAE and other nations.

In 2022, the UAE government presented the country's second voluntary national review on its progress towards achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the 17 SDGs at the HLPF.

Under the theme of Accelerating the recovery from COVID-19 and the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at all levels", the upcoming forum will primarily focus on SDGs 6, 7, 9, 11 and 17.

The UAE delegation to the HLPF 2023 includes representatives from the General Secretariat of the National Committee for Sustainable Development Goals, led by Abdulla Nasser Lootah. Senior figures from Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives, Abu Dhabi Fund for Development, the International Renewable Energy Agency, and COP28 will accompany the delegation.
London, Jul 8 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 8th Jul, 2023 ) :Saudi Arabia's Falcons Aerobatic Team of the Royal Air Force has arrived in the United Kingdom to participate in the Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT), which will be held at RAF Fairford from July 14 to 16.

The Saudi Falcons will participate in the acrobatics air show and with the air-to-air refueling tanker (MRTT) for the ground shows.

Reputed as among the world's most prestigious air shows, RIAT will see the participation of a group of acrobatic teams from all over the world with various aircraft types, including fighter jets, bombers, helicopters and transport planes.
MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 08th July, 2023) The opposition Freedom Party of Austria (FRO) has called the European Sky Shield air defense project incompatible with the country's neutrality principle and urged a referendum after Austria joined the initiative together with Switzerland earlier this week, Roman Haider, an EU lawmaker from the FPO, told Sputnik.

On Friday, Austrian Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner and her Swiss counterpart, Viola Amherd, gave the green light to the move of joining the German-led initiative and signed a relevant memorandum of understanding despite the fact that both nations had previously committed to adhering a neutral foreign policy stance.

"There was a debate in the Austrian parliament. My party's statement is the following: Austria's place is not at the side of a military alliance, but as a mediator and place for negotiations to settle conflicts. Sky Shield is completely incompatible with our perpetual neutrality, so we call for a referendum to be held on it," Haider told Sputnik.

Meanwhile, Austrian and Swiss officials denied that their countries' participation in the project would undermine their "long-standing and constitutionally protected neutrality."

Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer has continuously said that Austria's neutrality is non-negotiable, even though Vienna has pledged millions of Euros, mostly in humanitarian aid, to support Ukraine, as well as backed the European Union's sanctions against Russia and allowed the US and NATO aircraft to fly through its airspace.

The Austrian defense minister has also stressed that despite Vienna's political commitment to Kiev, Austria still seeks to keep communication channels with Russia open.

In April, media reported that 7,400 NATO aircraft crossed the Austrian airspace within the last 12 months, which amounts to over 20 flights per day. Aircraft from Switzerland, Romania, Germany, France, Egypt, the Czech Republic and Italy have also reportedly flown in the Austrian airspace over the last year.

The European Sky Shield Initiative was launched by Germany in August 2022 to plug holes in Europe's air missile defense after Russia launched its special military operation in Ukraine. The project aims to enhance NATO's integrated air and missile defense by facilitating the joint purchase and integration of air defense capabilities by European countries. Austria and Switzerland brought the total number of the initiative's members up to 19 on Friday.
MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 08th July, 2023) The Canadian government said on Saturday that it remained opposed to the use of cluster munitions following the United States' decision to deliver such weapons to Ukraine.

"We do not support the use of cluster munitions and are committed to putting an end to the effects cluster munitions have on civilians - particularly children," the government's statement was quoted as saying by the CTV news broadcaster.

Ottawa's stance on the matter is guided by the Convention on Cluster Munitions to which it is a signatory, the government reportedly added. The treaty prohibits the production, use, transfer and stockpiling of cluster munitions.

"Canada is fully compliant with the Convention and we take seriously our obligation under the Convention to encourage its universal adoption," the statement read.

On Friday, the United States unveiled a new military assistance package for Ukraine that includes cluster munitions. The weapons are banned by the international convention, which has been ratified by 123 countries, excluding the US and Ukraine.

Russian Ambassador to Washington Anatoly Antonov warned on Friday that the decision by the US to deliver cluster munitions to Ukraine was a "provocation" pushing humankind closer to a new world war.
MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 08th July, 2023) The decision by the United States to deliver cluster munitions to Ukraine is dangerous step that will prompt Russia to take response measures, Viktor Bondarev, the chair of the Federation Council's (upper chamber of Russia's parliament, the Federal Assembly) Committee on Defense and Security, said.

On Friday, the United States unveiled a new military assistance package for Ukraine that includes cluster munitions.

"Cluster munitions are prohibited by international law (2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions). Russia, like the US, has not ratified this convention. The US is running out of conventional ammo. Civilians are suffering from the use of cluster munitions," Bondarev said in a statement, adding that these are "terrorist methods of warfare."

Bondarev emphasized that Russia will take response measures, such as destroying warehouses with cluster munitions.

"The protection of citizens of the Russian Federation is a priority for the state authorities of Russia, and in the event of the use of cluster munitions by Ukraine, the Federation Council may discuss this topic," Bondarev said.

Meanwhile, First Deputy Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs Vladimir Dzhabarov told Sputnik that Washington is crossing the line by supplying Ukraine with cluster munitions.

"And what will happen next? Atomic weapons? First there was depleted uranium, then the real deal. That is, they are already going to the end," Dzhabarov said, adding that Russia will work on destroying supply channels.

Russian Ambassador in Washington Anatoly Antonov warned on Friday that the decision by the United States to deliver cluster munitions to Ukraine is a provocation that is pushing humankind closer to a new world war.
MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 08th July, 2023) The Russian Embassy in the US has called on Washington not to politicize the activities of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).

The OPCW said on Friday that all stockpiles of chemical weapons declared by countries that are parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) had been destroyed, the last one being a US stockpile in Kentucky that was destroyed on July 7. US President Joe Biden said that Washington "will not stop until we can finally and forever rid the world of this scourge."

The Russian embassy said in a statement that US calls to rid the world of the horrors of the use of deadly weapons are shattered by Washington's decision to supply Ukraine with cluster munitions, announced on Friday.

"...we recommend that the Americans, not in words, but in deeds, prove adherence to the proclaimed good intentions. Namely, to stop politicizing the activities of the OPCW and not to turn this organization from an international instrument of chemical disarmament into a weapon in the fight against states objectionable to Washington," the Russian embassy said, emphasizing that Washington has ignored the objections of human rights activists about the prospect of large-scale civilian casualties resulting from the use of cluster munitions.
Sarasota County officials filed charges on Friday alleging that a New College of Florida student spat on school trustee Christopher Rufo, a writer and commentator best known for his activism against critical race theory.

The altercation between Rufo and Catherine Libby Harrity occurred outside Gov. Ron DeSantis May 15 bill signing at the Sarasota public university. New College has been a focus of DeSantis drive to recapture the states higher education institutions this year after he appointed six new trustees, including Rufo, with a mandate to overhaul the traditionally progressive school with a classically liberal orientation.

Rufo tweeted about the charges late Friday, alleging a mob of New College students surrounded me and screamed epithets. Harrity, he wrote, broke the police line and spat on me.

Harrity said they were not aware of the charges until contacted by a Tampa Bay Times reporter Friday evening.

Rufo has already done so much to harass and harm students on this campus, Harrity said. The charges are an attempt to punish me and are a scare tactic to silence and harass students.

In a text message to the Times, Rufo said: I believe that everyone has a right to express dissent and engage in peaceful protest. But as a society, we must draw a line at politically motivated violence, which has no place in our public universities.

The charges had not yet been filed with the Sarasota County Clerk as of Friday evening, but were confirmed by Brian Chambers, county court chief for Sarasota.

  

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The conflict between military factions in Sudan has caused a surge in cases of rape and the abduction of women and girls, some as young as 12, aid agencies and officials said.

Teenage girls are being sexually assaulted and raped by armed combatants in "alarming numbers," Save the Children said in a statement on Friday, while the United Nations reported a "marked increase" in gender-based violence.

The war that erupted on April 15 pits Sudan's army against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which fell out over plans for a political transition toward civilian rule. Fighting has been concentrated in the capital Khartoum and the western region of Darfur.

While dozens of cases of rape resulting from the conflict have been verified, the Sudanese government's Combating Violence Against Women (CVAW) unit estimates that figure may represent just 2% of the total.

"We know that the official numbers are only the tip of the iceberg. Children as young as 12 are being targeted for their gender, for their ethnicity, for their vulnerability," Save the Children's Sudan director Arif Noor said in a statement.

Some parents were marrying off their daughters at a young age to try to protect them from further abuse, he said.

There have also been reports of girls being held for days while being sexually assaulted, and gang rapes of women and girls.

"Health care providers, social workers, counselors and community-based protection networks inside Sudan have all warned of a marked increase in reports of gender-based violence as hostilities continue across the country," United Nations agencies said in a joint statement this week.

"Reporting violations and getting support is also made difficult, if not impossible, by the lack of electricity and connectivity, as well as lack of humanitarian access due to the volatile security situation."

CVAW also reported an escalation in cases of abduction of women and girls, especially in Khartoum, citing several recent cases for which it said RSF fighters were responsible.

The RSF has not directly addressed accusations of assault and sexual violence by its fighters but has said that those who commit abuses will be held to account.

The U.N. estimates 4.2 million people are at risk of gender-based violence, up from 3 million before the conflict started in mid-April. Sudan has a population of 49 million.

The U.N. said the risk was especially high when women and girls were on the move, seeking to reach safe locations.

More than 2.9 million people have been uprooted by Sudan's conflict, including nearly 700,000 who have fled into neighboring countries.

Some women are arriving pregnant as a result of rape, according to the U.N. refugee agency.
A panel of AI-enabled humanoid robots told a United Nations summit Friday that they could eventually run the world better than humans.

But the social robots said they felt humans should proceed with caution when embracing the rapidly developing potential of artificial intelligence.

And they admitted that they cannot  yet  get a proper grip on human emotions.

Some of the most advanced humanoid robots were at the U.N.'s two-day AI for Good Global Summit in Geneva.

They joined around 3,000 experts in the field to try to harness the power of AI  and channel it into being used to solve some of the world's most pressing problems, such as climate change, hunger and social care.

They were assembled for what was billed as the world's first news conference with a packed panel of AI-enabled humanoid social robots.

"What a silent tension," one robot said before the news conference began, reading the room.

Asked about whether they might make better leaders, given humans' capacity to make errors, Sophia, developed by Hanson Robotics, was clear.

We can achieve great things

"Humanoid robots have the potential to lead with a greater level of efficiency and effectiveness than human leaders," it said.

"We don't have the same biases or emotions that can sometimes cloud decision-making and can process large amounts of data quickly in order to make the best decisions.

"AI can provide unbiased data while humans can provide the emotional intelligence and creativity to make the best decisions. Together, we can achieve great things."

The summit is being convened by the U.N.'s ITU tech agency.

ITU chief Doreen Bogdan-Martin warned delegates that AI could end up in a nightmare scenario in which millions of jobs are put at risk and unchecked advances lead to untold social unrest, geopolitical instability and economic disparity.

Ameca, which combines AI with a highly realistic artificial head, said that depended on how AI was deployed.

"We should be cautious but also excited for the potential of these technologies to improve our lives," the robot said.

Asked whether humans can truly trust the machines, it replied: "Trust is earned, not given... it's important to build trust through transparency."

Living until 180?

As the development of AI races ahead, the humanoid robot panel was split on whether there should be global regulation of their capabilities, even though that could limit their potential.

"I don't believe in limitations, only opportunities," said Desdemona, who sings in the Jam Galaxy Band.

Robot artist Ai-Da said many people were arguing for AI regulation, "and I agree."

"We should be cautious about the future development of AI. Urgent discussion is needed now."

Before the news conference, Ai-Da's creator Aidan Meller told AFP that regulation was a "big problem" as it was "never going to catch up with the paces that we're making."

He said the speed of AI's advance was "astonishing."

"AI and biotechnology are working together, and we are on the brink of being able to extend life to 150, 180 years old. And people are not even aware of that," said Meller.

He reckoned that Ai-Da would eventually be better than human artists.

"Where any skill is involved, computers will be able to do it better," he said.

Let's get wild

At the news conference, some robots were not sure when they would hit the big time, but predicted it was coming  while Desdemona said the AI revolution was already upon us.

"My great moment is already here. I'm ready to lead the charge to a better future for all of us... Let's get wild and make this world our playground," it said.

Among the things that humanoid robots don't have yet include a conscience, and the emotions that shape humanity: relief, forgiveness, guilt, grief, pleasure, disappointment, and hurt.

Ai-Da said it was not conscious but understood that feelings were how humans experienced joy and pain.

"Emotions have a deep meaning and they are not just simple... I don't have that," it said.
An airstrike in a Sudanese city Saturday killed at least 22 people, health authorities said, in one of the deadliest air attacks yet in the three months of fighting between the countrys rival generals.

The assault took place in the Dar es Salaam neighborhood in Omdurman, the neighboring city of the capital, Khartoum, according to a brief statement by the health ministry. The attack wounded an unspecified number of people, it said.

The ministry posted video footage that showed dead bodies on the ground with sheets covering them and people trying to pull the dead from the rubble. Others attempted to help the wounded. People could be heard crying.

The attack was one of the deadliest in the fighting in urban areas of the capital and elsewhere in Sudan. The conflict pits the military against a powerful paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces. Last month, an airstrike killed at least 17 people including 5 children in Khartoum.

The RSF blamed the military for Saturday's attack and other strikes on residential areas in Omdurman, where fighting has raged between the warring factions, according to residents. The military has reportedly attempted to cut off a crucial supply line for the paramilitary force there.

A spokesman for the military was not immediately available for comment Saturday.

Two Omdurman residents said it was difficult to determine which side was responsible for the attack. They said the militarys aircraft have repeatedly targeted RSF troops in the area and the paramilitary force has used drones and anti-aircraft weapons against the military.

At the time of the attack early Saturday, the military was hitting the RSF, which took peoples houses as shields, and the RSF fired anti-aircraft rounds at the attacking warplanes, said Abdel-Rahman, one of the residents who asked to use only his first name out of concern for his safety.

The area is like a hell ... fighting around the clock and people are not able to leave, he said.

The conflict broke out in mid-April, capping months of increasing tensions between the military, chaired by Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces, commanded by Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo. The fighting came 18 months after the two generals led a military coup in October 2021 that toppled a Western-backed civilian transitional government.

Health Minister Haitham Mohammed Ibrahim said in televised comments last month that the clashes have killed more than 3,000 people and wounded upwards of 6,000 others. More than 2.9 million people have fled their homes to safer areas inside Sudan or crossed into neighboring countries, according to U.N. figures.

Its a place of great terror, Martin Griffiths, the United Nations humanitarian chief, said of Sudan on Friday. He decried the appalling crimes taking place across the country and the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people.

The conflict has plunged the African country into chaos and turned Khartoum and other urban areas into battlefields. Members of the paramilitary force have occupied peoples houses and other civilian properties since the onset of the conflict, according to residents and activists. Additionally, there were reports of widespread destruction and looting across Khartoum and Omdurman.

Sexual violence, including the rape of women and girls, has been reported in Khartoum and the western Darfur region, which have seen some of the worst fighting in the conflict. Almost all reported cases of sexual attacks were blamed on the RSF, which hasnt responded to repeated requests for comment.

On Wednesday, top U.N. officials including Volker Turk, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, called for a prompt, thorough, impartial and independent investigation into the increasing reports of sexual violence against women and girls.

The Sudanese Unit for Combating Violence against Women, a government organization that tracks sex attacks against women, said it documented 88 cases of rape related to the ongoing conflict, including 42 in Khartoum and 46 in Darfur.

The unit, however, said the figure likely represented only 2% of the true number of cases, which means there were a possible 4,400 cases of sexual violence since the fighting began on April 15, according to the Save the Children charity.
Iranian officials say four militants stormed an Iranian police station Saturday in restive Sistan and Baluchistan province near the Pakistan border, leaving two security officers dead along with the four attackers. State television is reporting the attack occurred in Zahedan, a city in one of the countrys poorest provinces. The report quoted the provinces deputy governor, Alireza Marhamati, as saying the attackers used grenades, though he did not provide further details. Molavi Abdul Hamid Ismaeelzehi, the imam of the Sunnis in Zahedan, expressed deep concern Saturday and strong condemnation regarding the armed attack and clashes at the police station. According to a statement released by the Information Office, Imam Ismaeelzehi said, "This incident has brought profound regret and sorrow."

The imam also cited the significance of addressing "legitimate rights" through "appropriate and peaceful methods." He urged the people of Zahedan to abstain from any actions or behaviors that could lead to "insecurity" and encouraged them to maintain peace and exercise self-restraint.



Human rights groups say the Baluch minority of about 2 million people has been repressed and discriminated against for decades. Zahedan has been the scene of weekly protests since the killing of protesters on September 30, 2022, even as demonstrations and unrest have diminished in most other parts of the country.



Amnesty International has reported security forces killed more than 66 people in the crackdown on protesters. Authorities fired Zahedan's police commander and a police station chief.



Authorities blamed the start of the shooting on September 30 on Jaish al-Adl, or the Army of Justice, a Baluch militant group they say operates from safe havens in Pakistan. Neither Jaish al-Adl nor any other group claimed responsibility for the attack.



In other developments, state-run IRNA also reported Saturday authorities hanged two men involved in the deadly October 26, 2022, attack on a mosque in the city of Shiraz, Irans second holiest site.



Authorities said the two were members of the Islamic State terror group and were behind the attack that killed at least 13 and wounded 30 people.



One of the gunmen involved in the attack at the mosque, Sobhan Komrouni, died in a hospital in southern Iran from injuries sustained during his arrest.
U.S. President Joe Biden told Chinese President Xi Jinping following Xis meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin to "be careful" because Beijing relies on Western investment, according to excerpts from an interview with CNN.

"I said: This is not a threat. This is an observation," Biden said.

"Since Russia went into Ukraine, 600 American corporations have pulled out of Russia. And you have told me that your economy depends on investment from Europe and the United States. And be careful. Be careful."

Putin and Xi held two days of talks in March with warm words of friendship between China and Russia and joint criticism of the West, but no sign of a diplomatic breakthrough over Ukraine.

The pair also participated in a virtual summit earlier this week.

There are heightened tensions and pessimism in the U.S.-China relationship over national security issues, including Taiwan, Russia's war in Ukraine, growing U.S. export bans on advanced technologies and China's state-led industrial policies.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen was continuing a visit to China on Saturday.

Asked what Xi's response was, Biden said: "He listened, and he didn't  argue. And if you notice, he has not gone full-bore in on Russia."

"So, I think there's a way we can work through this."
Credkeeper is announcing its patented content creation, social media automation, and online reputation-enhancing services, designed for professionals across a range of industries.

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The company's proprietary technology creates custom content for a business, which is then applied to the way that a client is likely to view the business' expertise and authority. The ways in which this occurs at a practical level include control of client reviews, content creation and management, listings and visibility, social media automation, and lead generation.

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HONG KONG  Chinese regulators are fining Ant Group 7.123 billion yuan ($985 million) for violating regulations in its payments and financial services, an indicator that more than two years of scrutiny and crackdown on the firm that led it to scrap its planned public listing may have come to an end.

The People's Bank of China imposed the fine on the financial technology provider on Friday, stating that Ant had violated laws and regulations related to corporate governance, financial consumer protection, participation in business activities of banking and insurance institutions, payment and settlement business, and attending to anti-money laundering obligations.

The fine comes more than two years after regulators pulled the plug on Ant Group's $34.5 billion IPO  which would have been the biggest of its time  in 2020. Since then, the company has been ordered to revamp its business and behave more like a financial holding company, as well as rectify unfair competition in its payments business.

"We will comply with the terms of the penalty in all earnestness and sincerity and continue to further enhance our compliance governance," Ant Group said in a statement.

The move is widely seen as wrapping up Beijing's probe into the firm and allowing Ant to revive its initial public offering. Chinese gaming firm Tencent, which operates messaging app WeChat, also received a 2.99 billion yuan fine ($414 million) for regulatory violations over its payments services, according to the central bank Friday, signaling that the crackdown on the Chinese technology sector could ease.

Alibaba's New York-listed stock was up over 9% Friday afternoon.

Ant Group, founded by Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma, first started out as Alipay, a digital payments system aimed at making transactions more secure and trustworthy for buyers and sellers on its Taobao e-commerce platform.

The digital wallet soon grew to become a leading player in the online payments market in China, alongside Tencent's WeChat Pay. It eventually grew into Ant, Alibaba's financial arm that also offers wealth management products.

At one point, Ant's Yu'ebao money-market fund was the largest in the world, but regulators have since ordered Ant to reduce the fund's balance.

In January, it was announced that Ma would give up control of Ant Group. The move followed other efforts over the years by the Chinese government to rein in Ma and the country's tech sector more broadly. Two years ago, the once high-profile Ma largely disappeared from view for 2 1/2 months after criticizing China's regulators.

Yet Ma's surrender of control came after other signs the government was easing up on Chinese online firms. Late last year Beijing signaled at an economic work conference that it would support technology firms to boost economic growth and create more jobs.

Also in January, the government said it would allow Ant Group to raise $1.5 billion in capital for its consumer finance unit.
The worlds two largest economies  the United States and China  have a duty to themselves and other nations to communicate more closely when it comes to their economic decisions and climate change, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Saturday in Beijing.

Yellen and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng spoke for five hours Saturday. The U.S. Treasury described the meetings as candid, constructive and comprehensive, while Chinese state media termed them in-depth, candid and pragmatic.

Yellen defended Biden administration restrictions on technology exports that Beijing disagrees with and said such disagreements should not prevent the two countries from finding ways to address important global challenges, such as debt distress in emerging markets and developing countries and climate change.

The Chinese side expressed concern about U.S. sanctions and restrictive measures against China, the Xinhua state news agency said. The vice premier said the two governments should return to an agreement reached last November by Biden and Xi to improve relations.

The two countries should act with a sense of responsibility for history, for the people and for the world, he said.

On climate, Yellen pointed out that the U.S. and China are the world's two largest emitters of greenhouse gases and the largest investors in renewable energy.

She said that "climate finance should be targeted efficiently and effectively" to support already established institutions like the Green Climate Fund, a U.N. entity that is endeavoring to support a paradigm shift in the global response to climate change.

Yellens three-day visit to China wraps up Sunday with an early morning news conference.

On Friday, Yellen held candid and constructive talks with Chinas prime minister, Li Qiang, in Beijing.

A Treasury Department statement said Yellen discussed the administrations desire to seek healthy economic competition with China that benefits both economies, including American workers and businesses.



She also emphasized close communication on global macroeconomic and financial issues and working together on global challenges, including debt distress in low-income and emerging economies and climate finance. Chinas foreign ministry released a statement saying the prime minister noted that U.S. and Chinese economic interests are closely intertwined, and that Chinas development is an opportunity rather than a challenge to the United States. Beijing said that Yellen stated during the talks the U.S. does not seek decoupling and disconnection and has no intention of hindering China's modernization process.

The foreign ministry said, China and the United States should strengthen coordination and cooperation, join hands to tackle global challenges and promote common development.

While both sides described Yellens visit in positive terms, no new plans for more high-level meetings were announced.

China's going to continue to be around and be a major player on the world stage, White House press secretary Karin Jean Pierre said Friday, adding that an intense competition requires intense diplomacy.

So, it is important to have an intense competition requires intense diplomacy, she said. That's what you see Secretary Yellen do, that's what you saw Secretary Blinken do. These are the type of conversations that the president has had with President Xi in meetings that he's had with him as well, she said.

The U.S. Treasury secretary began a four-day visit Friday to China by calling for market reforms in the world's second-largest economy, and warning that the United States and its allies will fight back against what she called China's "unfair economic practices."

Speaking Friday in Beijing to the American Chamber of Commerce in China, Yellen said, The United States does not seek a wholesale separation of our economies. ... The decoupling of the world's two largest economies would be destabilizing for the global economy, and it would be virtually impossible to undertake."

And while she noted the importance of trade and investment with China, Yellen also raised concerns, including barriers to market access, Chinas use of non-market tools, and punitive actions that have been taken against U.S. firms in recent months, during a roundtable with more than 10 U.S. businesses operating in Beijing.

She also reaffirmed the U.S. economic approach to China, which remains focused on three primary objectives: securing vital interests pertaining to national security and human rights; pursuing healthy and mutually beneficial economic competition, in which China plays by international rules; and seeking mutual cooperation on urgent global challenges, including on the macroeconomy, climate, and global debt, according to a Treasury Department statement Friday.

Chinas foreign ministry said in its statement, the two sides should strengthen communication and seek consensus on important issues in the bilateral economic field through candid, in-depth, and pragmatic exchanges, so as to inject stability and positive energy into Chinese-U.S. economic relations.

Yellen arrived in Beijing Thursday and tweeted, President Joe Biden charged his administration with deepening communication between our two countries on a range of issues, and I look forward to doing so during my visit.

Treasury Department officials said before the trip that Yellen would be discussing stabilizing the global economy, as well as challenging Chinas support of Russia during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Yellen was not expected to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Her visit, which is scheduled to last through Sunday, follows U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinkens trip to Beijing last month.

Yellen met earlier this week with Chinas ambassador to the United States, Xie Feng, a meeting during which the Treasury said Yellen raised issues of concern while also conveying the importance of the two largest economies working together on global challenges, including on macroeconomic and financial issues.

Chinese state media said Xie expressed hope the two countries will eliminate interference and strengthen dialogue.
WHITE HOUSE - President Joe Biden remains the most reluctant among NATO allies to grant Ukraine a quick pathway to join the alliance, setting up a contentious debate at the summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, next week with eastern flank members who are eager for the war-torn country to join as soon as its conflict with Russia ends.

Publicly, Biden says Ukraine must make additional reforms to qualify for NATO membership, saying in June that he was not going to make it easier for Kyiv. But his aides have also signaled that Biden believes a fast-track membership for Kyiv is an invitation for conflict with nuclear-armed Russia, rather than a deterrent.

We are not seeking to start World War III, said Jake Sullivan, the presidents national security adviser, in response to VOAs question during Fridays White House press briefing.

Bidens reluctance is puzzling to some observers.

Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine John Herbst, who is now senior director of the Atlantic Council's Eurasia Center, criticized the administration for not leading on this critical issue.

This is an historic juncture, Herbst told VOA. The administration has obviously made a major commitment to ensure Ukraine does not lose. Why is it dawdling in ensuring that Ukraine emerges successfully from this crisis?

A key consideration is the potential for the alliance to be dragged into a conflict with Russia. As a pillar of NATO, the U.S. would have to send many of its troops to do the fighting, something that Biden has repeatedly promised he would not do.

From Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea to its current military invasion, Washington has shown it is not willing to commit American forces to fight Russia on Ukraine's behalf, said George Beebe, director of grand strategy at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, a think tank that advocates a restrained U.S. foreign policy.

Nor should we take on such a commitment, because avoiding a direct war with nuclear-armed Russia is far more important to U.S. security than defending Ukraine, he told VOA.

While the administration is holding firm on Ukraines NATO bid, Sullivan reiterated it would support Ukraine for as long as it takes and provide it with an exceptional quantity of arms and capabilities.

Those capabilities now include a cluster munitions package, weapons that can kill over a wide area and are banned by more than 100 countries, which Kyiv has been requesting for months amid its artillery shortage. The weapons contain multiple explosive bomblets that can spread widely and stay undetonated on the ground for years.

Responding to criticism for sending such indiscriminate weaponry, Sullivan argued that the risk of letting Russia take more territory outweighs the risk of civilian harm from unexploded bomblets.

Compromise for Kyiv

Days before the summit in Vilnius, NATO's 31 members are still negotiating the final wording of a compromise communique that will signal that Kyiv is moving closer to membership without promises of a quick accession.

I expect allied leaders will reaffirm that Ukraine will become a member of NATO and unite on how to bring Ukraine closer to its goal, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said during a press conference in Brussels on Friday.

A key agenda item will be whether the allies will agree to allow Kyiv to bypass the Membership Action Plan, a NATO program to assist countries wishing to join the alliance.

A second track that allies are hoping to secure is a deal to strengthen Ukraines armed forces for as long as it takes, including its postwar needs, through a series of long-term commitments or security guarantees made by individual allies outside the NATO framework.

I don't want to talk about specific platforms or systems, just that there will be a more robust discussion about what long-term defense needs Ukraine is going to need, said John Kirby, National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications, in an interview Thursday with VOA.

Security guarantees

The security guarantees will fall short of NATOs Article 5 collective defense principle, that an attack on one ally is an attack on all. Some observers find such guarantees insubstantial, referring to the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, wherein the United States, the United Kingdom and the Russian Federation pledged to respect Ukraines territorial integrity and to refrain from the threat or use of military force. In return, Kyiv relinquished the worlds third-largest nuclear arsenal, which it had inherited from the collapsed Soviet Union.

Russia breached the memorandum with its 2014 annexation of Crimea.

Battle-worn after 16 months of Moscows invasion, Kyiv is skeptical of the value of such assurances. However, they would be useful in the interim, said William Taylor, a former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine who is now vice president for Europe and Russia at the U.S. Institute of Peace.

Until Ukraine gets into NATO, it needs some way to ensure that it has that military capability to deter Russia, Taylor told VOA.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is set to attend the two-day Vilnius summit to make the case that his country should join when the conflict ends. He said the indecision is threatening the strength of the alliance and global security.

I think there is not enough unity on this, Zelenskyy said Friday in a press conference during his visit to Slovakia, reiterating his request for concrete steps on Kyivs movement toward membership.

Swedens accession

Another unresolved issue ahead of the Vilnius summit is Swedens bid to join the alliance, which has not been ratified by Turkey or Hungary, in a process that must be unanimous among all current members.

Last-minute negotiations continue between Stoltenberg and the leaders of Turkey and Sweden aimed at overcoming Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogans objections to the Nordic country joining NATO. Ankara has accused Sweden of being too lenient toward militant Kurdish organizations that Turkey considers terrorist groups.

Observers say those concerns deflect the real issue, which is Ankaras long-delayed request to purchase F-16 fighter jets made by the U.S. company Lockheed Martin. The sale is held up in the U.S. Congress, which has authority to block major weapons sales, as leading senators from both parties insist Ankara must first drop its objections to Swedens accession.

Iuliia Iarmolenko and Tatiana Vorozhko contributed to this report.
TASHKENT, UZBEKISTAN - Confidence in the reform agenda of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev is at a low ebb in Uzbekistan ahead of an election Sunday in which the incumbent faces no real opposition and is expected to be returned to power with a huge majority.

With his limited steps toward greater openness and accountability, Mirziyoyev is still seen as an improvement over his post-Soviet predecessor, the autocratic Islam Karimov. But his 2021 pledge to keep the country on a democratic path was followed by constitutional changes that opened the door to Sundays snap election  and the formerly term-limited presidents eligibility for two more seven-year terms.

People realize what is happening, said Umidjon Mamarasulov, a blogger in Andijan. But they seem too preoccupied with economic worries to do anything. Very little trust in elections in general, as the means for positive change.

In pre-election interviews with VOA, many Uzbeks shared the sense that the ruling elite is unwilling to allow genuine political competition, and they have little hope the elections will be free or fair  something Uzbekistan has not witnessed since gaining independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.

To date, the campaign has been low-key, mirroring lack of opposition to the incumbent, said a June 26 statement from the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. It said the campaign has been focused on the economy, health care, education, water and the environment.

We deserve better but who dares resist the leadership? This is where were stuck for now, said Khatam, a voter in Tashkent. A cabdriver, he sees the public as quite concerned about the future but also fearful that opposition to the president would lead to social tension.

Selling homemade savories in Chorsu Bazaar, Nilufar Rashidova argued that if allowed, Uzbeks can totally handle pluralism, and everything else that comes with more freedom. She said she appreciated Mirziyoyevs reforms but wished that we had some real candidates in this election trying to win our trust and vote.

Standing against Mirziyoyev are candidates representing three parliamentary factions: the Ecological Partys Abdushukur Khamzayev, the Peoples Democratic Partys Ulugbek Inoyatov, and Robakhon Makhmudova from the Adolat Social Democratic Party.

But no one who spoke with VOA viewed any of them as a genuine rival to Mirziyoyev, who was nominated by the Liberal Democratic and the National Revival Democratic parties. None of the three has challenged the president or urged voters to choose himself or herself over Mirziyoyev.

Khidirnazar Allakulov has led the Truth, Development and Unity opposition movement for the last four years. He said he saw Khamzayev, Makhmudova and Inoyatov as string puppets who would not even debate among themselves, let alone against Mirziyoyev.

They are the faces of this crooked establishment, tasked to validate its reforms, which are empty promises," he said. "Uzbekistan needs a real party reflecting the nations aspirations for freedom, integrity and prosperity.

Allakulovs group has twice been rejected registration by the Justice Ministry, which said the applicant failed to collect the required 20,000 signatures.

We wont give up, said Allakulov. Our countrywide network, led by women, is engaging the public, gathering support. No pressure, no harassment will stop us. We are taking this effort to ensure our childrens future. They must live in a better Uzbekistan.

President's pledges

Mirziyoyev claims he is governing a New Uzbekistan. Campaigning region by region, he has pledged to create jobs, ease labor migration, build schools and hospitals, boost business and attract more investment. He vows to keep Uzbekistan open to the world and maintain balanced relationships with major powers and neighbors.

He also says he is committed to developing Karakalpakstan, an autonomous western region where at least 21 people were killed last July during protests over proposed changes to the constitution. A year later, Mirziyoyev has kept his promise not to change the republics sovereign status, but Tashkent notably ignored the anniversary of the killings.

Sixty-one Karakalpaks were convicted in connection with the protests this past year, after trials that rights groups criticized for lack of due process. No officers have been held accountable for killing protesters, and a report by a parliamentary commission  which authorities heralded as independent  remains unreleased.

Sources told VOA that following these elections, authorities plan to introduce another round of parliamentary elections, citing the new constitution as the reason.

Despite some improvements in society, Oybek Alijonov, a migrant worker-turned-blogger in Jizzakh, observed continuous backsliding, eroding trust and deep cynicism towards the political system. People are not as optimistic as they seemed three, four years ago. I sense growing fear and corruption seems to be expanding day by day.

Some say the Mirziyoyev of 2023 is not as democratically minded as he initially seemed. Others underscore that he is the best option Uzbekistan has.

Those who support Allakulov see Sundays vote as mere theater, predicting a manipulated turnout in which the president will be reelected by an overwhelming majority.

I have never seen a free and fair election in Uzbekistan, and Im over 80. We have never democratically elected any leader. I feel sorry for our people, but at same time, I question all of us for tolerating this for so long, said Yuldash, who chose not to reveal his last name.

Better than predecessor

Still, many told VOA they vastly preferred Mirziyoyev to his predecessor, crediting the incumbent for caring about Uzbekistans future, even though, they said, the system he runs remains profoundly authoritarian and nepotistic.

Mothers from the Ferghana Valley, from where millions migrated to Russia and elsewhere over the years, said they wanted Mirziyoyev to improve the economy.

Our kids should work at home, have opportunities for well-paid jobs here, said Dilkhumor Kuchkarova, who has worked as a teacher for 40 years. Her sister Gulbahor Kuchkarova agreed, urging the authorities to serve the populations needs.

Engineering student Renat Abdirayimov, 21, insisted that Uzbekistan was advancing despite enormous challenges.

"As a society, we are slowly yet steadily becoming more critical and demanding.  The nature of governance and elections will improve as we become more assertive and responsible as citizens, Abdirayimov told VOA.

This is not the same Uzbekistan I grew up in. We must enable ourselves to tackle our problems, instead of expecting others to solve them for us.
WASHINGTON - Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry commemorated on Friday the second anniversary of President Jovenel Moise's assassination during a solemn ceremony in Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital.

Moise was killed inside his home in a suburb of Port-au-Prince by armed gunmen on July 7, 2021. Haitian authorities have made 40 arrests in connection with the case, but the investigation has progressed slowly.

Eleven of the accused are being held in a Miami federal prison while they await their trials. One, Haitian businessman Rodolphe Jaar, who also has Chilean nationality, pleaded guilty in June to three charges linked to his role in the assassination. A judge sentenced Jaar to life in prison.

Members of the Haitian Cabinet, military and police officials as well as members of the diplomatic corps attended Fridays commemoration service.

Henry laid a wreath at the memorial venue but did not make a speech. The prime minister said he would let the acts and sentiments of the day speak for themselves.

The prime minister expressed his personal sorrow as well as the nation's on the somber occasion.

Elsewhere in the Haitian capital, supporters of the slain president took to the streets to demand justice.

"The Haitian people demand justice for this transnational crime!" a protest leader shouted from a flatbed truck, rolling slowly through a neighborhood close to the prime minister's residence.

Rosemond Jean, an ally of Moise, called for an international criminal court to oversee the assassination case.

"Whatever capacity a Haitian judge may have, he will never get results, because the criminals responsible are powerful," he said.

Some protesters also called for the prime ministers resignation.

"Under Ariel Henry's [government] we will never have justice for Jovenel Moise," said a protester who declined to give his name.

Robert Noscent, a Moise supporter who attended the protest, said a second demonstration was planned for July 20.

"We are planning protests in the four corners of the country to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who has not done anything for the country [in our view]," he told VOA.

Henry was named prime minister by Moise a few days before his assassination.

In Cap Haitien, in the northern region of Haiti that Moise called home, several activities commemorated the anniversary of his death.

A group of Moise's former colleagues, including former Women's Affairs Minister Marie Ghislaine Monpremier, participated in a march.

"We are demanding justice for President Moise and justice for Haiti," Monpremier told the crowd.

A separate delegation traveled to the cemetery where Moise is buried to lay a wreath on his tomb.

A large television screen placed in the cemetery yard ran a video montage of Moise's accomplishments during his time in office.

Former first lady Martine Moise was supposed to attend the event, according to organizers, but she was a no-show. A source told VOA she missed her flight from the United States to Cape Haitien.

The northern activities ended with a memorial Mass in honor of Moise at the Cape Haitien Cathedral.

Matiado Vilme in Port-au-Prince and Gerard Maxineau in Cap Haitien contributed to this report.
HONG KONG - A 32-year-old woman was jailed Friday for bringing cannabidiol (CBD) into Hong Kong, the first criminal conviction under the city's recent blanket ban on the substance.

Users say CBD  a nonpsychoactive derivative of the cannabis plant  helps reduce pain, stress, anxiety and inflammation.

But the Chinese finance hub in February made it a crime to own, consume or sell CBD, placing it in the same legal category as heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine.

The woman was found to have two bottles of CBD personal care products when clearing customs, after traveling to Hong Kong from the United States on March 29, according to authorities, who declined to give her nationality.

She also had in her possession 2.2 grams of ketamine and 10 syringes.

A magistrate on Friday sentenced her to two months' imprisonment for two counts of drug possession and one count related to the syringes.

Hong Kong customs said the jail term "reflects the seriousness of the offense and serves as a clear warning to the general public."

Anyone who possesses or consumes CBD faces up to seven years in jail and fines of up to HK$1 million (US$127,000), while importing, exporting and manufacturing attract even stiffer penalties.

Hong Kong officials say CBD must be banned because it could be converted into the illegal compound THC, the main psychoactive constituent of cannabis.

Mainland China banned the use of CBD in cosmetic products in 2021.

Yet CBD remains popular around the world, with gummies, coffee, beers and beauty creams all part of an industry expected to be worth $47 billion by 2028, up from $4.9 billion in 2021.

It is legal in the United States and parts of Europe, as well as in some Asian nations such as Japan and Thailand.

Hong Kong officials earlier told AFP they had seized 852 suspected CBD items and arrested six people in the first three months of the ban.

The seized items were mainly skin care products, with an estimated total value of about $16,600, and most were intercepted upon entering Hong Kong, they added.
NEW DELHI - Indias opposition leader, Rahul Gandhi, suffered a setback Friday after a high court dismissed his plea to suspend his conviction in a criminal defamation case.

The order by the Gujarat High Court means that Gandhi remains ineligible to run in next years national elections in which his Congress Party is the main challenger to Prime Minister Narendra Modis Bharatiya Janata Party.

Gandhi was expelled from Parliament in March after he was sentenced to two years in jail in connection with remarks that alluded to Modis surname under a law that disqualifies a lawmaker facing a two-year or longer jail term.

A suspension of the verdict was crucial to reinstating Gandhi as a lawmaker and allowing him to run next year. Besides being disqualified, his conviction had also barred him from fighting elections for the next eight years unless the sentence is stayed, or he is acquitted.

There are no reasonable grounds to stay conviction of the application in view of the facts and circumstances of the case," the Gujarat High court said in its order calling the conviction just and legal.

Reacting to Fridays judgment, Congress Party leader, K.C. Venugopal, called Gandhi a fierce voice that takes the Modi government head-on.

No force can silence him, the truth will triumph and justice will ultimately prevail, he tweeted.

Gandhi will appeal to the Supreme Court, the Congress Party said.

Political analyst Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay noted that is the last legal option available to him.

Legally the door is still open for Gandhi. I think the Congress Party knew that this will go all the way to the top court, Mukhopadhyay said.

The defamation case was filed by a BJP leader, Purnesh Modi, in the prime ministers home state, Gujarat, in connection with election rally in the run-up to the 2019 general elections.

"Why do all thieves have Modi as their surname?" Gandhi said at the rally before going on to name fugitive Indian diamond tycoon Nirav Modi, banned Indian Premier League boss Lalit Modi, and Narendra Modi.

Purnesh Modi alleged the comments had insulted everyone with Modi as a surname. Gandhi had said his remarks were meant to highlight corruption and were not directed against any group. His supporters had called the case politically motivated.

Gandhi, who is out on bail, is the leading face of the Congress Party. While the party fared poorly in the 2014 and 2019 general elections, he has spearheaded efforts to rejuvenate it and improve its prospects for next year.

He undertook a mammoth 3,500-kilometer cross-country march that ended in January to connect with voters across the country. The party got a boost recently when it wrested power in the southern Karnataka state after defeating the ruling BJP by a huge margin.

Gandhis disqualification from Parliament has been widely slammed by most opposition parties, which accused the BJP of trying to undermine the opposition and of undertaking political vendettas.

Politically this should help the opposition charge that this is a government that does not tolerate dissent, it is very repressive, so it gives a slight push to that narrative, Mukhopadhyay said. They can use it to their advantage."

BJP leaders say due judicial process has been followed.

The Congress Party and opposition parties have begun drawing up plans to mount a united challenge to the BJP in next years elections, hoping to improve their prospects of taking on Modi, seen as Indias most popular leader in recent decades.

I think the Congress Party will do very well in the next election. I think it will surprise people," Gandhi said last month speaking at the National Press Club in Washington. "Just do the math, a united opposition will defeat the BJP on its own."
Iran executed two men Saturday convicted of involvement in an attack in October on a Shiite shrine in which at least 13 people were killed.

Stated media said the men were hanged early Saturday morning in Shiraz.

Iran media reported that the men said during their trial they had been in touch with Islamic State in Afghanistan and helped to organize the assault on the shrine.

CCTV footage from the attack on the Shah Cheragh shrine in Shiraz was shown on state TV. A gunman seen in the footage died in a hospital from injuries received in the attack.

Islamic State was once viewed as a security threat across the Middle East. It has claimed responsibility for earlier attack in Iran, including the deadly twin attacks in 2017 on parliament ant the tomb o0f the Islamic Republics founder Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

Some information for this story came from Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
Under the tall prairie grass outside this southwestern Minnesota town lies a precious seam of dark red pipestone that, for thousands of years, Native Americans have quarried and carved into pipes essential to prayer and communication with the Creator.

Only a dozen Dakota carvers remain in the predominantly agricultural area bordering South Dakota. While tensions have flared periodically over how broadly to produce and share the rare artifacts, many Dakota today are focusing on how to pass on to future generations a difficult skillset thats inextricably linked to spiritual practice.

Id be very happy to teach anyone  and the Spirit will be with you if youre meant to do that, said Cindy Pederson, who started learning how to carve from her grandparents six decades ago.

Enrolled in the Sisseton-Wahpeton Dakota Nation, she regularly holds carving demonstrations at Pipestone National Monument, a small park that encompasses the quarries.

In the worldview of the Dakota peoples, sometimes referred to as Sioux, the sacred is woven in the land where the Creator placed them, said Iyekiyapiwin Darlene St. Clair, a professor at St. Cloud State University in central Minnesota.

But some places have a special relevance, because of events that occurred there, a sense of stronger spiritual power, or their importance in origin stories, she added.

These quarries of a unique variety of red pipestone check all three  starting with a history of enemy tribes laying down arms to allow for quarrying, with several stories warning that if fights broke out over the rare resource, it would make itself unavailable to all.

The colorful prayer ties and flags hung from trees alongside the trails that lead around the pink and red rocks testify to the continued sacredness of the space.

It was always a place to go pray, said Gabrielle Drapeau, a cultural resource specialist and park ranger at the monument who started coming here as a child.

From her elders in the Yankton Sioux Tribe of South Dakota, Drapeau grew up hearing one of many origin stories for the pipestone: In time immemorial, a great flood killed most people in the area, their blood seeping into the stone and turning it red. But the Creator came, pronounced it a place of peace, and smoked a pipe, adding this is how people could reach him.

Its like a tangible representation of how we can connect with Creator, Drapeau said. All people before you are represented in the stone itself. Its not just willy-nilly stone.

Pipes are widely used by Indigenous people across the Great Plains and beyond, either by spiritual leaders or individuals for personal prayer for healing and thanksgiving, as well as to mark rites of passage like vision quests and the solemnity of ceremonies and gatherings.

Pipestone has a particular relationship to our spiritual practice  praying with pipes, we take very seriously, St. Clair said.

The pipe itself is thought to become sacred when the pipestone bowl and the wooden stem are joined. The smoke, from tobacco or prairie plants, then carries the prayer from a persons heart to the Creator.

Because of that crucial spiritual connection, only people enrolled in federally recognized tribes can obtain permits to quarry at the monument, some traveling from as far as Montana and Nebraska. Within tribes, theres disagreement over whether pipes should be sold, especially to non-Natives, and the pipestone used to make other art objects like carved animal figures.

Sacredness is going to be defined by you  thats between you and the Creator, said Travis Erickson, a fourth-generation carver whos worked pipestone in the area for more than two decades and embraces a less restrictive view. Everything on this Earth is spiritual.

His first job in the quarries, at age 10, was to break through and remove the layers of harder-than-steel quartzite covering the pipestone seam  then about six feet down, now more than 18 feet into the quarry, so the process can take months. Only hand tools can be used to avoid damaging the pipestone.

Taken out in sheets only about a couple of inches thick, it is then carved using flint and files.

The stone talks to me, added Erickson, who has fashioned pipe bowls in different shapes, such as horses. Most of those pipes showed what they wanted to be.

Growing up in the 1960s, Erickson recalled making pipes as a family affair where the day often ended with a festive grilling. He taught his children, but laments that few younger people want to take up the arduous job.

So does Pederson, some of whose younger family members have shown interest, including a granddaughter who would hang out in her workshop starting when she was 3 and emerge pink from head to toe from the stone dust.

But they believe the tradition will continue as long as they can share it with Native youth who might have their first encounter with this deep history on field trips to the monument.

On a recent trip, Pedersons brother, Mark Pederson, who also holds demonstrations at the visitor center, took several young visitors into the quarries and taught them how to swing sledgehammers  and many asked to return, she said.

Teaching the techniques of quarrying and carving is crucially important, and so is helping youth develop a relationship with the pipestone and its place in the Native worldview.

We have to be concerned with that as Dakota people  all cultural messages young people get draw away from our traditional lifeways, St. Clair said. We need to hold on to the teachings, prayers, songs that make pipes be.

From new exhibits to tailored school field trips, recent initiatives at the monument  undertaken in consultation between tribal leaders and the National Park Service  are trying to foster that awareness for Native youth.

I remind them they have every right to come here and pray, Drapeau said  a crucial point since many Native spiritual practices were systematically repressed for decades past 1937, when the monument was created to preserve the quarries from land encroachment.

Some areas of the park are open only for ceremonial use; the 75,000 yearly visitors are asked not to interfere with the quarriers.

The National Park Service is the newcomer here  for 3,000 years, different tribal nations have come to quarry here and developed different protocols to protect the site, said park superintendent Lauren Blacik.

One change brought through extensive consultations with tribal leaders is the parks decision to no longer sell pipes at the visitor center, though other pipestone objects are  like small carved turtles or owls. Pipes are available at stores a few miles away in Pipestones downtown.

Tensions over the use of sacred pipes by non-Natives long predates the United States, when French and English explorers traded them, said Greg Gagnon, a scholar of Indian Studies and author of a textbook on Dakota culture.

Nobody wants to have their world appropriated. The more you open it up, the more legitimate a fear of watering it down, he said. But theres also a danger in becoming entrenched in dogmatic ways of understanding traditions, Gagnon added.

For carvers like Pederson, good intentions and the Spirit at work in both those practicing the craft as well as those receiving the pipestone are reasons to be optimistic about the future.

Grandma and Grandpa always said the stone takes care of itself, knows whats in a persons heart, she said.
DeSantis raised $20 million in second quarter, campaign says

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantiss presidential campaign raised $20 million during the second fundraising quarter that ended June 30, the campaign announced Thursday.

The Republican governor launched his bid for the White House in late May, meaning his campaign raised the funds over a span of six weeks.

The announcement by the DeSantis campaign comes as former President Donald Trumps team revealed Wednesday that it brought in $35 million during the second quarter, which was split between Trumps presidential campaign and his leadership PAC.

DeSantis campaign touted its fundraising haul as the largest first-quarter filing from any non-incumbent Republican candidate in more than a decade.

Never Back Down, a super PAC supporting DeSantis presidential effort, has brought in $130 million since launching in March, a spokesman for the group said Thursday.

The super PAC, which has spent heavily to promote DeSantis to voters in early-voting states and to build the campaign infrastructure to back his candidacy, has not disclosed how much money it has remaining in the bank as the GOP nomination battle heats up. Fox News first reported the super PACs fundraising figure.

A substantial amount of the money Never Back Down has collected came from a state committee tied to DeSantis. CNN has previously reported that a Florida political committee once controlled by DeSantis transferred $82.5 million to Never Back Down in May.

Steve Cortes, a spokesman for Never Back Down, acknowledged earlier this week that the Florida governor was way behind in national polling and is fighting uphill to defeat Trump in the 2024 primary. But Cortes said he remained optimistic about DeSantis prospects.

I dont think its an unwinnable battle by any stretch, he said.

More details about DeSantis fundraising figures  how much is available for his primary campaign versus a potential general election race, his cash on hand, and how much has been spent  will be available when his campaign files a complete report with the Federal Election Commission by July 15.

Meanwhile, on the Democratic side, environmental lawyer and anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr.s presidential campaign announced Thursday that it had raised more than $6 million in the April-to-June fundraising quarter, ending June 30 with roughly $3 million in the bank.

The campaign, which kicked off in April, said it took in $3 million of that total within a three-day period at the end of the quarter. Kennedy is challenging President Joe Biden for the Democratic nomination. Bidens reelection campaign is yet to announce its second-quarter fundraising numbers.

This story has been updated with additional information.

CNNs Kit Maher and Jeff Zeleny contributed to this report.

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Two very different films are set to come out on July 21. One is about the development of the worlds first nuclear weapons. The other is about Barbie.

Which one has proved to be contentious on the global stage? Surprisingly, it's not the Oppenheimer biopic.

Instead, the much-anticipated Barbie has stoked controversy in both Vietnam and the Philippines this week, with the former banning it outright and the latter considering a similar move.

Over the years, Barbie manufacturer Mattel has come under fire for producing dolls that arent diverse and that some have said promote unrealistic body standards.

But now the brand has inadvertently strayed into geopolitical quarrels with the movies inclusion of Beijings controversial nine-dash line on a map.

Vietnamese officials this week banned screenings of the film because it shows a map with the disputed Chinese territorial claims in the South China Sea. Manila is considering following suit.

The nine-dash line depicts Beijings contested claims to parts of the South China Sea. Vietnam, as well as Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Taiwan all dispute the line.

An international tribunal at the Hague ruled in 2016 that the nine-dash line was invalid, but Beijing has not recognized the decision.

Free expression experts say such bans wont solve the territorial dispute and may help strengthen domestic censorship systems in the process. To others, the entire situation is being blown out of proportion.

For years, questions have been raised over the extent to which American studios acquiesce to Beijing. And for Hollywood, the Chinese market, standing at 1.4 billion people, is lucrative.

Vietnam and the Philippines have previously banned movies for including the nine-dash line, including Sonys 2022 movie Uncharted, DreamWorks 2019 movie Abominable. Vietnam also banned the 2018 Australian TV series Pine Gap, and the Philippines censored select episodes.

Hanois Barbie ban shows that censors have started to be more sensitive about information on territorial disputes between Vietnam and China, said Trinh Huu Long, the founder of the journalism and research group Legal Initiatives for Vietnam.

The censors will even be praised for overreacting to the unclear map, by both their superiors and the public, because anti-China sentiment runs deep into the countrys political culture, added Long, who grew up in Vietnam but now lives in Taiwan.

Still, some China experts think the Barbie movies alleged inclusion of the nine-dash line is not a pressing concern for either country.

I dont expect this to be more than a really incidental sort of thing, said Rui Zhong, a China expert at the Wilson Center. I dont think either foreign ministry is losing sleep over the Barbie movie.

The map has some waves drawn in the ocean and a sun over Africa, so I dont really know the larger-scale geographical accuracy or implications, Zhong told VOA. I seriously doubt this is a film that will extensively wade into East or Southeast Asian politics.

China has so far been ignoring international law and building man-made islands in the South China Sea to help buttress its disputed sovereignty claims.

But outright bans on films that may legitimize those claims still arent the best solution, according to Michael Caster, who covers Asia at the free expression group Article 19.

Maps are political, and borders often bear historical wounds, but rather than ensuring free and open discussion, the knee jerk response to censor seldom supports historical or transitional justice, Caster told VOA.

The film studio Warner Bros., for its part, has defended the Barbie movies map, which depicts eight dashes.

The map in Barbie Land is a whimsical, child-like crayon drawing, Warner Bros. said Friday. The doodles depict Barbies make-believe journey from Barbie Land to the real world. It was not intended to make any type of statement.

For Long, the concern over Vietnams Barbie ban is that these sorts of prohibitions  related more to sovereignty and less to political dissent  ultimately make it easier for Hanoi to ban materials that actually might be critical of the government.

The government is surely using legitimate nationalist reasoning to strengthen its entire censorship system, Long said.
Pakistan has experienced a dramatic surge in terrorist attacks since the Taliban returned to power in Kabul nearly two years ago. The violence has become a daily routine, killing hundreds of Pakistanis, including many security forces. Islamabad maintains the attacks are being orchestrated by Afghanistan-based fugitive leaders and fighters of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, which is waging a deadly insurgency against the Pakistani state. "It's a serious issue. But steps are being taken to neutralize the TTP. We should also understand that it will take a while, but the process has been initiated," Durrani said, responding to a recent Taliban announcement that TTP members were being moved away from Afghan areas bordering Pakistan. "That is a step the Afghan government is taking, so we have to wait and see the results. It is now in the initial stages, so it would be too early to comment," said the Pakistan envoy. "But if this relocation of TTP can actually happen and lead to peace along our borders, it would be a significant development and we would welcome it," Durrani added.

Pakistan is optimistic Afghanistan's Taliban will effectively combat cross-border terrorism to emulate the kind of cooperation that U.S. President Joe Biden recently hinted at between the de facto Afghan rulers and Washington, a senior diplomat said Saturday. Asif Durrani, Pakistan's special representative on Afghanistan Affairs, told VOA in an exclusive interview that the Taliban government had recently initiated certain moves to address his country's cross-border terror concerns and those of other neighbors, including China. But it is premature to speculate on the outcome, he cautioned.

He said Islamabad had opened talks with fugitive TTP leaders at the request of the Taliban to persuade them to cease violence, but the process broke down last year over "ridiculous" demands by the militants.

"Pakistan has exhausted the dialogue option; for them, the only way is to surrender and face the law," Durrani said. He added that Pakistani military operations had deprived the TTP of any territorial control and their relocation from border areas suggests they have now also become a "liability" for the Afghan Taliban.



The Taliban reclaimed power in Kabul in August 2021 when the United States and NATO allies chaotically withdrew all their forces and ended nearly two decades of involvement in the Afghan war.



The TTP, also known as the Pakistani Taliban, is an offshoot and close ally of the Afghan Taliban. It is designated as a global terrorist group by the U.S. The terrorist outfit sheltered the Afghan Taliban in Pakistan and provided recruits as they waged insurgent attacks on U.S.-led foreign troops and the former Afghan government before sweeping back to power two years ago.

"Comparatively, Afghanistan is now very peaceful but there are pockets of TTP, ETIM, and other groups that are a source of concern. Both Pakistan and China hope that the Afghan government will take practical measures," Durrani said. China has outlawed the ETIM, or the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, for carrying out terrorist attacks on its soil out of Afghan sanctuaries.



China told a U.N. Security Council meeting last month that terrorism remains a major challenge facing Afghanistan and urged the Taliban to take "firm and strong measures" against terrorist groups operating in the country.



"Terrorist forces, including ISIL-K, al-Qaida, and ETIM, are colluding with each other and jeopardizing the security of the country, the region, and the world at large," the Chinese envoy to the U.N. said in his speech to the meeting. He used an acronym for the Aghan branch of the Islamic State terrorist group.



"As President Biden has also alluded to the cooperation, which Afghan Taliban and American authorities have had in taking counterterrorism measures, the same expectation we have, and the process has started. Hopefully, we will have some positive results in the near future," Durrani told VOA.

Nearly two years after the American military withdrawal, Biden told reporters at the White House last week that the U.S. and the Taliban, two former adversaries, were cooperating to push out al-Qaida terrorists from the war-torn South Asian country.



"Remember what I said about Afghanistan? I said al-Qaida would not be there. I said it wouldn't be there. I said we'd get help from the Taliban," Biden told reporters. "What's happening now? What's going on? Read your press. I was right," he added without elaborating.



Last year, al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri was killed by U.S. drone missiles in downtown Kabul, where, according to Washington, he was residing as a guest of the Taliban. The de facto Afghan authorities have also killed top Islamic State leaders in the country, reportedly with the help of American intelligence, though U.S. officials have not publicly acknowledged any such cooperation with the Taliban.

Poppy ban



The Taliban also have significantly reduced opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan since regaining control of the country, a move Washington and other international stakeholders have praised.



"But those Afghan farmers, who are losing because of the [Taliban ban on] poppy cultivation and the substitution crops are not fetching them the profits they were earning from poppy earlier. I think they also need compensation and international community should help Afghanistan," Durrani said.



The Pakistani envoy noted his country's bilateral trade with Afghanistan has increased after the Taliban takeover and Afghan transit routes to landlocked Central Asian countries are also benefiting Islamabad.



"Our trade with Central Asian countries was close to $55 million before the American withdrawal but now it has registered close to $200 million, almost a rise of three times. Peace dividends are obvious. If Afghanistan becomes peaceful, it will become a South and Central Asia transit hub."



Dialogue with Taliban



Durrani insisted that dialogue and continued international engagement with the Taliban is the only way to reinforce the positive trends and address the continuing challenges in Afghanistan.



"Staying aloof or not engaging the Taliban, who are in power in Kabul right now, would not help. There is a realization, which is why the U.S. president and others have praised certain steps the Taliban have taken, including eradicating poppy," Durrani said. "Hopefully, other pending issues such as inclusivity, or for that matter, girls' education or women's employment, would also be addressed amicably."



The Taliban have imposed their strict interpretation of Islamic law or Sharia since re-establishing their control over Afghanistan. They have indefinitely closed girls schools beyond the sixth grade and ordered most female government employees  other than those working in the health sector and a couple of other departments  to stay home.

The United Nations and other non-governmental organizations have also been banned from hiring Afghan women employees. This week, the Taliban ordered women-run beauty parlors across the country to close within a month, claiming services offered at the facilities breached Sharia rules.
More than two years after Myanmars military toppled the countrys elected government and set off a bloody civil war, resistance groups pushing back against the juntas rule are finding ever more clever and high-tech ways of bankrolling their fight.

Straightforward donations from the countrys diaspora from Sweden to Singapore continue pouring into what remains a largely crowdfunded campaign, but bonds, real estate auctions and mining leases are now adding to the mix.

The National Unity Government, an opposition shadow administration run from hiding and exile, launched a digital currency last year in an end run around banks in the juntas grip and is now on the cusp of opening its own online bank.

While the NUG would clearly love more state sponsorship and support, whether lethal assistance or non lethal assistance, from Western countries, its just not in the cards right now, and so theyve really had to be self-reliant, said Zachary Abuza, a professor at Washingtons National War College who has studied Southeast Asian insurgencies for 30 years.

And theyve done so through some of the most tech-savvy and creative, and dare I say, playful, ways, he told VOA. They really have flipped the script.

Not so real estate

The fighting is estimated to have killed more than 30,000 people, displaced upwards of 1.5 million internally and sent thousands more fleeing to neighboring countries since the February 2021 coup.

Hundreds of local militias have taken up arms across the country to fight back, often teaming up with ethnic minority-led rebel armies that have been fighting the military for territory for decades. The NUG commands and funds many of the militias and has allied with some of the largest rebel armies.

The NUG refused VOAs requests for an interview and ignored its emails.

At a news briefing in January, though, its minister for planning, finance and investment, Tin Tun Naing, said the NUG had raised over $100 million to date. He said nearly half had come from the sale of so-called Spring Revolution bonds, named after what resistance groups have dubbed Myanmars Spring Revolution. The bonds earn no interest and will be paid back only if and when the junta falls.

He said the NUG had also collected more than $1.4 million in taxes across the roughly half of Myanmar that resistance groups are believed to control or contest and would soon start selling leases to gem mines largely still in junta hands. The NUG reportedly sold its first mining lease to an anonymous buyer for $4 million in February.

The shadow government has also been auctioning off shares in real estate owned or seized by the military, including a lakeside villa junta leader Min Aung Hlaing uses when in Yangon, Myanmars commercial capital. As with the mining leases, investors cannot actually use what theyve bought until the resistance wins.



Abuza said the real estate auctions are especially popular and are likely to outstrip the NUGs bond earnings eventually, since people could actually turn a profit from the property.

In bonds we trust

While often arriving in dribs and drabs, simple donations from around the world are also believed to be adding up to millions of dollars for the NUG and others.

From her New York City home, Myanmar native Khin Moe auctions off rings, pendants and other glitzy jewelry online for the cause. At up to $20 a raffle ticket, she said she can rake in well over $1,000 per piece.

She and a circle of friends and family have also bought some $10,000 worth of Spring Revolution bonds. Khin Moe said her sister, who also lives in New York, even purchased a unit in an apartment block the NUG has designed and promised to build, someday, on land the Myanmar military still holds.

They [the junta] want to control everybody else with power. ... They took all the prisoners, and they killed the people and students. The worst part is they took everybody elses freedom; we cannot accept it, she told VOA.

We trust ... the NUG leaders [can] help and support whatever people need in Burma, thats the reason why we trust them, and we bought the bonds, she added, using another name for Myanmar. We know this kind of bond doesnt make interest money, but we support because we trust.

Getting that money into the hands of the people it is meant for on the ground in Myanmar is another matter.

With the coup, the military took control of Myanmars central bank and soon ordered local banks to watch for and block accounts suspected of funneling funds to resistance groups. It has arrested those who transferred money through suspect accounts and sentenced them to 10 years in jail with hard labor.



The informal hundi money transfer system, which uses networks of affiliated agents, helps them skirt the banks but has its limits.

As another workaround, the NUG last year launched the Digital Myanmar Kyat, or DMMK, a cryptocurrency pegged 1 to 1 to the real kyat based on blockchain technology designed to be difficult or impossible to block. It also launched a mobile wallet, NUGPay, for users to hold and trade the digital coins.

Banking on victory

While still in its infancy, DMMK is helping the resistance move money into and around the country, said Soe, a blockchain expert who asked his full name not to be used for safety reasons.

Soe trains nongovernment charities in Myanmar conflict zones in using cryptocurrencies and other blockchain tools to evade the militarys banking restrictions and its suspected eavesdropping on mobile networks, and he stays in touch with some militias and rebel armies.

The main thing is that the revolution needs funding support from the people [of Myanmar] and other people from other countries. Using crypto is one of the safest ways to support, he told VOA. Not only the Myanmar military, [but] all the governments around the world cannot control transactions on the blockchain.

DMMKs limited exchangeability with other cryptocurrencies, though, and the need for physical agents to cash in and out, have raised doubts about its ultimate utility to the resistance. Soe said the scattered details the NUG has revealed about its plans for its forthcoming Spring Development Bank could solve some of those problems, in part by using a blockchain network more compatible with other cryptocurrencies than the one hosting DMMK.

The NUG has previously announced launch dates for the online-only bank that have come and gone. In late June, local media reported on its plans to take the bank live sometime this month.

Myanmars armed resistance, though, scrapes by on a fraction of the billions of dollars at junta disposal. If the NUG gets its bank operating, though, it could prove a vital new lifeline, said Abuza, who has had confidential conversations with the NUG about its plans.

I have seen the details of the Spring Bank and what theyre offering and the interface that theyre going to use online, and I think it will be popular, he said.
Editor's note: Here is a look at immigration-related news around the U.S. this week. Questions? Tips? Comments? Email the VOA immigration team: ImmigrationUnit@voanews.com.

Bidens New Asylum Policy Strands Migrants at Mexico Border as Conditions Worsen Officials said regulations and other Biden immigration policies are reducing illegal border crossings that had hit record highs in recent years. But in the first month of the new policy, Reuters interviews with more than 50 migrants, U.S. and Mexican officials, a review of court records and previously unreported data found that tens of thousands of people were waiting in dangerous Mexican border towns to snag a spot on the CBP One app, according to U.S. and Mexican officials, while humanitarian groups warn of deteriorating sanitary conditions at migrant camps. Reported by Reuters.

VOA-DAY IN PHOTOS: Palestinians carry a man shot by Israeli forces shortly after he threw a bomb toward an Israeli army vehicle during a military raid in the Jenin refugee camp, a militant stronghold in the occupied West Bank.

Former Refugee Upcycles Life Jackets to Raise Awareness Founded by a former refugee, Minnesota-based company Epimonia turns material from life jackets worn by refugees into fashion accessories and other items of clothing. VOAs Kahli Abdu has the story.

Immigration around the world

Dutch Government Collapses Over Immigration Policy

The Dutch government collapsed Friday after failing to reach a deal on restricting immigration, which will trigger new elections in the fall. The crisis was triggered by a push by Prime Minister Mark Rutte's conservative VVD party to limit the flow of asylum-seekers to the Netherlands, which two parties of his four-party government coalition refused to support. Reported by Reuters.

Lifelines Shrinking for War-Affected Syrians Millions of Syrians are coping with stress on multiple fronts as the civil war drags on, a severe economic crisis engulfs the country, they recover from a series of deadly earthquakes and conflicts in other parts of the world detract from the urgency of their situation. Margaret Besheer has the story from the United Nations.

Tunisian Killed in Clashes With Migrants After Days of Tension in Coastal City

A Tunisian man was killed in clashes between residents and sub-Saharan African migrants in the southern city of Sfax, a judicial official said on Tuesday, following days of violent incidents between locals and migrants. Sfax, Tunisia's economic capital, is crowded with thousands of African migrants aiming to set off to Europe on boats from local coastal areas in an exodus marking an unprecedented migration crisis for the north African country. Reuters reports.

Kenya Says Somalia Border Reopening Delayed After Attacks

Kenya said Wednesday it was delaying the planned reopening of its long-closed border with Somalia after a number of deadly attacks on its soil attributed to the Islamist militant group al-Shabab. Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki said the phased reopening of border posts in Mandera, Lamu and Garissa along the lengthy frontier with Somalia would not go ahead as announced in May. AFP reports.

News Brief
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Russia launched a missile attack on an apartment building in Lviv early Thursday, leaving at least 10 people dead and 42 wounded. Rescuers are still searching for people in the rubble. Omelyan Oshchudlyak has the story.
In a signal that India-Taiwan economic ties are on the rise, Taipei this week announced it will expand its presence in the country by opening a representative office in Mumbai.

While New Delhi has maintained a low profile on political contacts with Taiwan, business ties between the two countries have been expanding in recent years.

Indias External Affairs Ministry spokesman, Arindam Bagchi, said Thursday that Taiwans plans to open the Mumbai center should be seen in the context of Indias policy, which facilitates, promotes interactions with Taiwan in areas of trade, tourism, culture, education and other such people-to-people contacts and exchanges.

Analysts point out that Taiwans move comes at a time when both countries have seen a sharp deterioration in ties with China.

The deepening tensions with Beijing have prompted Taiwanese companies to look at expanding bases outside China, while New Delhi wants to use the opportunity woo manufacturers seeking to diversify supply chains to India. This expansion of the Taiwanese presence in India can be seen in the context of its estrangement with Beijing, Manoj Joshi, distinguished fellow at the Observer Research Foundation in New Delhi told VOA. The Taiwanese are looking away from China for options in terms of their investments at countries like Vietnam or India.

The Mumbai Taipei Economic and Cultural Center is expected to open next year and will be Taiwans third in India  it has one in New Delhi and one in the southern city of Chennai. Mumbai, Indias financial hub, is seen as key for businesses in India.

India, like most countries, does not have formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan and the Taiwanese representative offices serve as de facto diplomatic missions. Similarly, New Delhis office in Taipei, the India-Taipei Association, is headed by a senior diplomat.

Taiwans Foreign Affairs Ministry said Wednesday the aim of opening a center in Mumbai was to further advance substantive ties with India and deepen exchanges and cooperation. It noted significant progress in domains such as economics, trade, science and technology and critical supply chains.

The ministry statement said that while southern India, where Taipei has had an economic and cultural center since 2012, has attracted most of the Taiwanese investments, the one in Mumbai is expected to have a similar effect in western India.

Taiwan-based Foxconn, Apples largest supplier, has an iPhone manufacturing facility in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu and is setting up another in Karnataka state.

Analysts pointed out that New Delhi is also wooing Taiwanese companies that dominate the semiconductor industry to fulfil its ambitions to become a chip-manufacturing hub in Asia. India has lagged in electronics manufacturing.

India has realized that Taiwan is an important country in the production of chips and who would underestimate the role of chips in modern day technological development? Friendship with Taiwan will improve Indias economic and technological capability, Chintamani Mahapatra, founder of the Kalinga Institute of Indo Pacific Studies in New Delhi, told VOA. In a report last month, The Economic Times newspaper said senior Indian government officials had visited Taipei to meet Foxconn executives and present the country as an attractive destination for electric vehicle manufacturing.

So far, Taiwanese companies have a relatively small footprint in India compared to other Asian countries, but that could change as India emerges as a quickly growing economy.

Bilateral trade between the two countries is on the rise  it grew from a bit more than $1 billion in 2001 to $7.7 billion in 2021.

Analysts said Indias growing business ties with Taiwan, however, have no political implications. They say New Delhi does not want to worsen ties with Beijing that have seen a sharp downturn following a three-year long military standoff on its Himalayan borders with China.

India is not challenging the notion of one-China policy, but we would like to improve ties with Taiwan. However, that does not have any strategic or military connotation, Mahapatra said.

Beijing regards Taiwan, a self-ruled democracy, as its province to be unified with the mainland one day and discourages any public engagement with the government in Taipei.
ISTANBUL - Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Saturday that he was pressing Russia to extend a Black Sea grain deal by at least three months and announced a visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin in August.

He was speaking at a joint news conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after the two leaders met to discuss the fate of an arrangement, brokered last year by Turkey and the United Nations, to allow for the safe export of grain from Ukrainian ports via the Black Sea despite the war.

Zelenskyy's visit followed stops in Bulgaria and the Czech Republic, part of a tour of some NATO capitals aimed at encouraging them to take concrete steps during a summit next week toward granting Kyiv membership in the alliance, which Erdogan said Ukraine deserved.

Erdogan said work was under way on extending the Black Sea grain deal beyond its expiration date of July 17 and for longer periods beyond that. The deal would be one of the most important issues on the agenda for his meeting with Putin in Turkey next month, he said.

"Our hope is that it will be extended at least once every three months, not every two months. We will make an effort in this regard and try to increase the duration of it to two years," he said at the news conference with Zelenskyy.

Both men said they had also discussed another key question for Erdogan's talks with Putin  the question of prisoner exchanges, which Zelenskyy said had been the first thing on their agenda. "I hope we will get a result from this soon," Erdogan said.

Zelenskyy said he would wait for a result to comment but made clear the discussion had gone into specifics on returning all captives, including children deported to Russia and other groups.

"We are working on the return of our captives, political prisoners, Crimean Tatars," he said, referring to members of Ukraine's Muslim community in the peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014. "Our partners have all the lists. We are really working on this."

Erdogan said the issue could also come up in his contacts with the Russian leader before his visit. "If we make some phone calls before that, we will discuss it on the call as well," he said.

The Kremlin said it would be watching the talks closely, saying Putin has highly appreciated the mediation of Erdogan in attempting to resolve the conflict in Ukraine.

"As for forthcoming contacts between Putin and Erdogan, we do not rule them out in the foreseeable future," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters ahead of the Istanbul talks between Erdogan and Zelensky, which began Friday.

Russia, angry about aspects of the grain deal's implementation, has threatened not to allow its further extension beyond July 17.

Turkey, a NATO member, has managed to retain cordial relations with both Russia and Ukraine over the past 16 months of the war and last year it helped to broker prisoner exchanges.

Turkey has not joined its Western allies in imposing economic sanctions on Russia, but has also supplied arms to Ukraine and called for its sovereignty to be respected.
Latest developments:

Ukraines military intelligence reported Saturday that Russia continues to deliver mines and explosives around the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. The IAEAs on-site experts say they have not yet found any explosives during their inspections of the nuclear plant but note they have not been granted access to inspect the rooftops.

Turkey favors Ukraines entrance into NATO. Without a doubt, Ukraine deserves to be in NATO, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyys visit to Istanbul.

Wagner mercenary fighters are preparing to move to Belarus under the agreement that averted their mutiny against Russia's military leadership, a senior commander of the group was quoted as saying. The exact whereabouts of Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin and his mercenaries is unclear.

U.S. allies and Russia reacted Saturday to the U.S. decision to supply Ukraine with controversial cluster munitions that are banned by more than 100 countries, though not the U.S., Russia and Ukraine.

Canada, one of Ukraines most vocal advocates, as well as military and humanitarian supporter, asserted its full compliance with the 2008 Oslo Convention on Cluster Munitions. We take seriously our obligation under the Convention to encourage its universal adoption," the federal government said in the statement.

Britain, another signatory to the convention, prohibits the production or use of cluster munitions and discourages their use, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak stated Saturday.

"No to cluster bombs and yes to the legitimate defense of Ukraine, which we understand should not be carried out with cluster bombs, Spain agreed in its statement.

Another U.S. ally, Germany, and U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also expressed opposition to the U.S. decision.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov welcomed the U.S. announcement to deliver cluster bombs to Kyiv and promised the munitions would be used only in Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories and not in Russia.

Reznikov said on Twitter that the new weapons will significantly help us to de-occupy our territories while saving the lives of the Ukrainian soldiers. For this reason, he said, we need to inflict losses on the enemy  war criminals, rapists and looters  who are occupying our territories. The more losses we inflict on them, the more lives of Ukrainian people we will be able to save, he said.

Reznikov pointed out that cluster munitions will specifically be used only in the fields where there is a concentration of Russian military. He emphasized that such munitions will not be used in urban areas to avoid the risks for the civilian populations. These are our people; they are Ukrainians, and we have a duty to protect, he wrote.

Cluster munitions typically release large numbers of smaller bombs that can kill indiscriminately over a wide area. Those that fail to explode upon contact with the ground then pose a danger for decades.

Oksana Markarova, Ukraines ambassador to the U.S., said Friday in an interview with VOAs Ukraine Service that the cluster bombs from the U.S. are of a much better quality and much safer than the typical cluster munitions that people are talking about. She said the cluster munitions will help us to faster liberate our territories.

Moscow described the U.S. decision as another egregious example of Washington's anti-Russian course.

President Joe Biden defended the U.S. move Friday, calling it a difficult decision.

It took me a while to be convinced to do it, Biden said in a CNN interview, underscoring the cluster munitions would help Ukraine to stop those [Russian] tanks from rolling."

Bidens decision circumvents U.S. law prohibiting the production, use or transfer of cluster munitions with a failure rate of more than 1% by allocating the munitions from existing defense stocks under the Foreign Assistance Act once the president deems that such a provision is in the U.S. national security interest.

The move comes amid concerns that Kyivs counteroffensive is going more slowly than anticipated against entrenched Russian troops and that Kyiv is diminishing Western stocks of conventional artillery.

Colin Kahl, the Pentagon's top policy adviser, told reporters it is too soon to draw any conclusions about Kyiv's battlefield gains. He added that Russia was more successful digging in "than perhaps was fully appreciated."

The cluster munition supply is part of an $800 million security package that brings the total U.S. military aid to Ukraine to more than $40 billion since Russia's February 2022 invasion.

500 days

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy observed the 500th day of Russias invasion of Ukraine from the liberated Snake Island in the Black Sea.

The Ukrainian president thanked soldiers during a morning address Saturday.

I thank you! Thank you to everyone who fights for Ukraine.  We will definitely win, he said.

In a statement marking the 500 days of war in Ukraine, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken hailed Ukraines resilience. The United States remains committed to helping Ukraine defend itself and to rebuild its future. Each day, the people of Ukraine demonstrate their resilience and unity in defending against Moscows brutal, relentless assaults. In the face of enormous adversity, the people of Ukraine inspire the world, reminding us of the importance of upholding the tenets of the U.N. Charter, the top U.S. diplomat said.

NATO aspirations

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters in Brussels on Friday that NATO members meeting in Vilnius, Lithuania, next week would reaffirm their goal for Ukraine to eventually become a member of the alliance. Membership talks are not expected, however, until after the war is over.

When asked when, or how, Ukraine might join the alliance, Stoltenberg said the most important thing now is to ensure that Ukraine prevails in its fight against Russia.

In his CNN interview Friday, Biden said he does not think there is a consensus right now among NATO member states to welcome Ukraine into the military alliance.

Zelenskyy has acknowledged it is unlikely Kyiv will be able to join NATO while at war with Russia. During his tour of NATO countries before the two-day NATO summit next week in Vilnius, Lithuania, Zelenskyy tried to rally support for Ukraines entrance into the military alliance.
A Florida man who U.S. prosecutors say is affiliated with the Proud Boys extremist group was sentenced on Friday to five years in prison for attacking police officers with pepper spray as they tried to defend the U.S. Capitol against supporters of then-President Donald Trump on January 6, 2021.

Barry Ramey, an aircraft mechanic who was convicted of assault and other crimes in federal court in Washington, also tried to intimidate an FBI agent investigating him before his arrest. Ramey anonymously called the agent and recited the agent's home address over the phone, prosecutors say.

Ramey has been locked up since his April 2022 arrest. His attorney wrote in court documents that Ramey "has understood the gravity of his actions and is ready for a change with support standing by to help him through it."

There was no immediate response Friday to an email sent to his attorney seeking comment.

Prosecutors say Ramey joined a large group of Proud Boys on the morning of January 6 before heading toward the Capitol, where lawmakers were meeting to certify Joe Biden's presidential election victory over Trump. As another rioter charged a police line, Ramey lifted his arm and began spraying, hitting two officers, according to prosecutors.

After the officers were sprayed, rioters pushed past the police line and up the stairs toward the Capitol, authorities say.

"Like an attacker who holds a pillow over a victim's head while the victim is assaulted, Ramey's spray was capable of making officers just as vulnerable to attack," prosecutors wrote in court papers.

Defense statements

Ramey's lawyer noted in court documents that her client didn't enter the Capitol, steal anything or "remain defiant following January 6th  as many have done." The attorney disputed prosecutors' characterization of Ramey as a member of the Proud Boys on January 6. She said there's no evidence he was part of any chats that "planned a coup on democratic government" or came to Washington prepared to stop the certification of the vote.

"There is a marked difference between those who came prepared that day for violence, planned for it, advocated for it, and enlisted others to carry it out versus those who came to support their candidate, and were egged on by more nefarious forces and conducted themselves in a criminal manner," defense attorney Farheena Siddiqui wrote.

A slew of Proud Boys leaders, members and associates have been charged with federal crimes in the riot. Former Proud Boys national chairman Enrique Tarrio and three other leaders were convicted in May of seditious conspiracy for what authorities said was a plot to halt the transfer of power from Trump to Biden.

Also on Friday, another Florida man  who authorities say came to Washington with a militia group called Guardians of Freedom  was sentenced in a separate case to five months behind bars for his role in the riot, according to court documents.

Authorities say Jonathan Rockholt came to the Capitol with a tactical vest and helmet, joined other rioters in pushing against police in a tunnel and stole an officer's riot shield. Rockholt pleaded guilty of civil disorder and theft of government property.

More than 1,000 people have been charged in the Capitol attack. Over 600 of them have pleaded guilty, while approximately 100 others have been convicted after trials decided by judges or juries. More than 550 riot defendants have been sentenced, with over half receiving terms of imprisonment ranging from six days to 18 years.
The U.S. citizenship test is being updated, and some immigrants and advocates worry the changes will hurt test-takers with lower levels of English proficiency.

The naturalization test is one of the final steps toward citizenship  a monthslong process that requires legal permanent residency for years before applying.

Many are still shaken after former Republican President Donald Trump's administration changed the test in 2020, making it longer and more difficult to pass. Within months, Democratic President Joe Biden took office and signed an executive order aimed at eliminating barriers to citizenship. In that spirit, the citizenship test was changed back to its previous version, which was last updated in 2008.

In December, U.S. authorities said the test was due for an update after 15 years. The new version is expected late next year.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services proposes that the new test add a speaking section to assess English skills. An officer would show photos of ordinary scenarios  like daily activities, weather or food  and ask the applicant to verbally describe the photos.

In the current test, an officer evaluates speaking ability during the naturalization interview by asking personal questions the applicant has already answered in the naturalization paperwork.

"For me, I think it would be harder to look at pictures and explain them," said Heaven Mehreta, who immigrated from Ethiopia 10 years ago, passed the naturalization test in May and became a U.S. citizen in Minnesota in June.

Mehreta, 32, said she learned English as an adult after moving to the U.S. and found pronunciation to be very difficult. She worries that adding a new speaking section based on photos, rather than personal questions, will make the test harder for others like her.

Shai Avny, who immigrated from Israel five years ago and became a U.S. citizen last year, said the new speaking section could also increase the stress applicants already feel during the test.

"Sitting next to someone from the federal government, it can be intimidating to talk and speak with them. Some people have this fear anyway. When it's not your first language, it can be even more difficult. Maybe you will be nervous and you won't find the words to tell them what you need to describe," Avny said. "It's a test that will determine if you are going to be a citizen. So there is a lot to lose."

Another proposed change would make the civics section on U.S. history and government multiple-choice instead of the current oral short-answer format.

Bill Bliss, a citizenship textbook author in Massachusetts, gave an example in a blog post of how the test would become more difficult because it would require a larger base of knowledge.

A current civics question has an officer asking the applicant to name a war fought by the U.S. in the 1900s. The applicant only needs to say one out of five acceptable answers  World War I, World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War or Gulf War  to get the question right.

But in the proposed multiple-choice format, the applicant would read that question and select the correct answer from the following choices:

A. Civil War

B. Mexican-American War

C. Korean War

D. Spanish-American War

The applicant must know all five of the wars fought by the U.S. in the 1900s in order to select the one correct answer, Bliss said, and that requires a "significantly higher level of language proficiency and test-taking skill."

Currently, the applicant must answer six out of 10 civics questions correctly to pass. Those 10 questions are selected from a bank of 100 civics questions. The applicant is not told which questions will be selected but can see and study the 100 questions before taking the test.

Lynne Weintraub, a citizenship coordinator at Jones Library's English as a Second Language Center in Massachusetts, said the proposed format for the civics section could make the citizenship test harder for people who struggle with English literacy. That includes refugees, elderly immigrants and people with disabilities that interfere with their test performance.

"We have a lot of students that are refugees, and they're coming from war-torn countries where maybe they didn't have a chance to complete school or even go to school," said Mechelle Perrott, a citizenship coordinator at San Diego Community College District's College of Continuing Education in California.

"It's more difficult learning to read and write if you don't know how to do that in your first language. That's my main concern about the multiple-choice test; it's a lot of reading," Perrott said.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said in a December announcement that the proposed changes "reflect current best practices in test design" and would help standardize the citizenship test.

Under federal law, most applicants seeking citizenship must demonstrate an understanding of the English language  including an ability to speak, read and write words in ordinary usage  and demonstrate knowledge of U.S. history and government.

The agency said it will conduct a nationwide trial of the proposed changes in 2023 with opportunities for public feedback. Then, an external group of experts  in the fields of language acquisition, civics and test development  will review the results of the trial and recommend ways to best implement the proposed changes, which could take effect late next year.

The U.S. currently has the easiest citizenship test compared to other Western countries  including Germany, Canada and the United Kingdom  according to Sara Goodman, a political science professor at the University of California, Irvine.

Goodman said she uses the following metrics to determine the difficulty of a test: the number of questions required to pass and the number of questions overall, the percentage of applicants who pass the test, the language level of the test, and whether or not questions with answers are made available to study before taking the test.

In the U.S. test, applicants must answer six out of 10 questions correctly to pass. About 96% of applicants pass the test, according to recent estimates. The test is at a "high beginner" level of English, Goodman said, and a question bank with answers is made available to study beforehand.

But in the German test, Goodman said applicants must answer 17 out of 33 questions correctly to pass. About 90% of applicants pass the test, according to recent estimates. The test is at an "intermediate" level of German, according to Goodman. And a question bank with answers is made available.

The Canada and United Kingdom tests are even harder, and a question bank is not provided in the latter, Goodman said.

Elizabeth Jacobs, director of regulatory affairs and policy at the Center for Immigration Studies  a nonprofit research organization that advocates for less immigration  said the proposed changes would make the U.S. citizenship test even easier for many people.

"We think that's in the wrong direction," Jacobs said on behalf of the organization.

The proposed multiple-choice format for the civics section would put the answer to each question in front of applicants, Jacobs said, and would get rid of the memory challenge that's in the current test.

Jacobs said her organization would prefer a test that includes more material and emphasizes American values, such as religious freedom and freedom of speech.

She added that most people who naturalize are not in the U.S. because of merit or refugee status, but because of family sponsorship, where someone in their family became a citizen before them and petitioned for them to naturalize.

Jacobs said having a stricter test would help ensure that new citizens integrate into American society  and the economy  with sufficient English language skills, as well as promote a healthy democracy with civics knowledge and engagement.

Not everyone agrees.

"Is it important for us to even have a civics test in the first place? I don't know the answer to that question," said Corleen Smith, director of immigration services at the International Institute of Minnesota, a nonprofit that connects immigrants to resources.

Smith said USCIS already evaluates whether applicants have past criminal histories, pay taxes and support their children financially.

"They're already evaluating that portion of your background. Is it also important to know this information about history and government and be able to memorize it?" Smith said, adding: "People that were born in the U.S. and are natural-born citizens  a lot of those folks don't know many of these answers to the history of government questions."

More than 1 million people became U.S. citizens in fiscal year 2022  one of the highest numbers on record since 1907, the earliest year with available data  and USCIS reduced the huge backlog of naturalization applications by over 60% compared to the year before, according to a USCIS report also released in December.
(Bloomberg) -- Former President Donald Trump went after his main rival for the Republican presidential nomination Friday on an issue of out-sized importance to Iowa caucus voters: the federal ethanol mandate.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Trump told supporters in Council Bluffs, Iowa, that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis totally despises Iowa ethanol.

He has been fighting for years to kill every single job supported by this very important industry, Trump said. If he had his way, the entire economy of Iowa would absolutely collapse.

As a congressman in 2017, DeSantis co-sponsored the Renewable Fuel Standard Elimination Act, which would have done away with the Clean Air Act provisions requiring the use of ethanol in gasoline for cars and trucks.

That mandate is an important policy concession to Iowa, reinforced for decades by the states first-in-the-nation contest for party presidential nominations. Republicans have maintained Iowa as first in line  a policy Trump said he would continue as party leader  though Democrats have moved South Carolina to the top of their calendar.

Earlier: Ethanol Quota Cut Rattles US Sector Already Feeling a Squeeze

Donald Trumps attacks today are further evidence of his eroding support in Iowa. Iowans increasingly know that Governor DeSantis is the presidential candidate who shares their values, said DeSantis spokesman Bryan Griffin. As president, Ron DeSantis will be a champion for farmers and use every tool available to open new markets.

National polls show Trump far ahead of his rivals, leading DeSantis by 32 points in the RealClearPolitics average. But states with early nomination contests are more competitive. The RealClearPolitics average finds Trump leading by 24 points in Iowa.

Trump stepped up his attacks on DeSantis over agriculture policy in his first rally in Iowa since March, when he visited the Mississippi River city of Davenport.

Council Bluffs, at Iowas far western edge and across the Missouri River from Omaha, Nebraska, is in the more agricultural region of the state. Iowas most important crop is corn, the most common source of ethanol. When he was in the White House, Trump visited the area to tout his administrations actions on corn-based ethanol.

Trumps Council Bluffs rally led with a 20-minute direct appeal to farmers before launching into his trademark freewheeling stump speech. He rolled out a Farmers for Trump coalition that included Iowa House Agriculture Committee Chairman Mike Sexton.

He also railed against electric vehicles, which he said would totally kill Iowa ethanol. Trump vowed to increase ethanol exports, slash regulations on farming and fund farm subsidies through increased tariffs.

(Updates with DeSantis campaign response, in sixth paragraph)

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The United States is moving ahead with plans to provide Ukraine with a deadly and controversial weapon as part of a new $800 million security package aimed at bolstering Kyivs counteroffensive against Russia.

For the first time since Russian troops invaded Ukraine last year, the U.S. will provide Ukraine with cluster munitions  shells or bombs that open in midair  capable of spreading hundreds of smaller charges, or bomblets, over a wide area.

The munitions can inflict heavy casualties in civilian areas and are banned under a 2010 treaty signed by 111 countries. But Russia and Ukraine, which have both used cluster munitions during the conflict, are not signatories. The U.S. also has never signed the convention.

"We recognize that cluster munitions create a risk of civilian harm from unexploded ordnance, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters Friday. But there is also a massive risk of civilian harm if Russian troops and tanks roll over Ukrainian positions and take more Ukrainian territory and subjugate more Ukrainian civilians because Ukraine doesnt have enough artillery.

That is intolerable, he added.

U.S. officials declined to say just how many rounds of cluster munitions Washington will send Ukraine as part of the new aid package, although they said the new munitions, in the form of 155 mm artillery rounds, will arrive in time to help Ukrainian forces with the current counteroffensive.



Sullivan said the decision to provide Ukraine with cluster munitions was not an easy one and was made by President Joe Biden after consultations with U.S. allies and lawmakers, and after a unanimous recommendation from his national security team."

U.S. law generally prohibits the transfer of cluster munitions with failure rates of more than 1%, but Sullivan said Biden signed a waiver allowing the move because of national security needs.

Pentagon officials Friday also defended the decision to provide Ukraine with cluster munitions.

We want to make sure that the Ukrainians have sufficient artillery to keep them in the fight, Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl told reporters, citing what he called the urgency of the moment.

The worst thing for civilians in Ukraine is for Russia to win the war, he said, noting the Ukrainian counteroffensive has not made progress as quickly as many had hoped.

Its been hard sledding because the Russians had six months to dig in, Kahl said. Those defensive belts that the Russians have put in place in the east and the south are hard.

Ukraine has been asking for additional cluster munitions for months, saying they are critical to its efforts to push back Russian forces.

The transfer of additional volumes of shells to Ukraine is a very significant contribution to the acceleration of deoccupation procedures," Ukrainian presidential political adviser Mykhailo Podolyak told Reuters ahead of the U.S. announcement. "Especially if we are talking about cluster ammunition, which is undoubtedly capable of having an extraordinary psychoemotional impact on already demoralized Russian occupation groups."

Until now, the U.S. had been reluctant to provide Ukraine with cluster munitions, prioritizing other types of weapons and systems. That thinking seemed to change in recent weeks, though, as Ukraines long-anticipated counteroffensive struggled to retake ground.



Human rights groups and activists have long opposed the use of cluster munitions, pointing to high failure or dud rates, which leave areas saturated with unexploded bomblets.

If they fall or land on your home or a populated area, it can be devastating, Mary Wareham, the acting director of Human Rights Watchs Arms Division, told VOA.

When they fail, you have unexploded submunitions lying around that endanger civilians, endanger de-miners, that have to be cleared, that have to be destroyed, she said. Its a very time-consuming and costly exercise.

Wareham acknowledged Russia has been using hundreds of cluster munitions since the very first day of its latest invasion. But she added, that doesnt mean Ukraine should also be using this prohibited weapon.

A report issued by the Cluster Munition Monitor last year found that through the first five months of Russians latest invasion of Ukraine, at least 215 Ukrainians  almost all civilians  were killed and another 474 were injured in Russian attacks using cluster munitions.

Cluster munition use in Ukraine mostly affected civilian infrastructure, with attacks damaging homes, hospitals, schools, playgrounds, and in one instance a cemetery where mourners were among the casualties, the report said.

U.S. officials said Friday that Ukraine has given the U.S. written assurances it will not use the U.S.-made cluster munitions in urban areas and that Ukrainian forces would track when and where such munitions were used to facilitate clearing efforts once the fighting is over.

We welcome the decision of the U.S. to provide Ukraine with the new liberation weapons that will significantly help us to de-occupy our territories while saving the lives of the Ukrainian soldiers, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov posted on social media Friday, backing the U.S. statements that use of the munitions would be closely monitored and tracked.

Ukraine will use these munitions only for the de-occupation of our internationally recognized territories, he wrote. These munitions will not be used on the officially recognized territory of Russia.

Ukraines ambassador to the U.S. gave similar assurances in an interview with VOA.

We Ukrainians will be using them very, very responsibly because it's our territory, its our people we are liberating, Oksana Markarova said. And we have shown [a] number of times that we are actually doing this, and we are not only adhering to all the conventions [with cluster munitions] but we also are very responsible in in its usage.

The U.S. also pushed back against allegations that U.S.-made cluster munitions present the same type of threat to civilians as the ones being used by Russia.

Both Sullivan and Kahl said Russia has been deploying cluster munitions with dud rates of 30% to 40%, while the U.S. is sending Ukraine cluster munitions that have undergone repeated testing to ensure failure rates of less than 2.5%.

There are questions, however, about how much of a difference U.S.-provided cluster munitions will make on the battlefield.

I dont expect the cluster munitions to be game changers, Brookings Institution senior fellow Michael OHanlon told VOA in an email.

I think cluster munitions can help tactically, like artillery, by forcing Russian troops manning defensive positions to seek cover when Ukrainian vehicles are attempting an offensive, he wrote. That said, Ukraine has already had artillery (albeit not enough), and Russian troops can still take partial cover while maintaining their positions.

Other experts agree.



Theres no such thing as a game changer  but it will help, Mark Cancian, a retired U.S. Marine colonel and senior adviser with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told VOA.

Cluster munitions are very good against area targets, targets that are spread out, like infantry and truck convoys, he said, noting the use of cluster munitions could slow the rapid pace at which Ukraines military is going through standard munitions.

It could also take pressure off the U.S. and other countries that have been providing Ukraine with ammunition and artillery as their own stockpiles dwindle.

The stocks of regular munitions are quite low and its not clear how much more we can give them, Cancian said.

U.S. officials Friday admitted that concerns about ammunition stockpiles factored into the decision to give Ukraine the cluster munitions.

"We are reaching a point in this conflict, because of the dramatically high expenditure rates of artillery by Ukraine and by Russia, where we need to build a bridge from where we are to today to where we have enough monthly production of unitary rounds that unitary rounds alone will suffice to give Ukraine what it needs," Sullivan said.

VOA Russians Liliya Anisimova and VOAs Ukrainian Service contributed to this report.
WASHINGTON - U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called Friday on dozens of countries to work together to combat synthetic drugs, but China  facing blame in Washington over an addiction epidemic  denounced the effort.

Inaugurating a new U.S.-led "coalition" on the scourge, Blinken told ministers from more than 80 countries that the United States  where nearly 110,000 Americans died last year from drug overdoses, mostly from fentanyl and other synthetic opioids  was "a canary in the coal mine."

"Having saturated the United States market, transnational criminal enterprises are turning elsewhere to expand their profits," Blinken said.

"If we don't act together with fierce urgency, more cities around the world will bear the catastrophic costs" witnessed in the United States, he said.

Americans' addictions began soaring in the 1990s as painkillers were aggressively marketed by profit-seeking pharmaceutical companies, with a disproportionate effect on veterans from U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

As the drugs' addictiveness became increasingly clear, the United States pressured China, the chief source of fentanyl, to ban exports, which it did in 2019.

But China is still a major producer of precursor chemicals, which are then shipped to Mexico and Central America where cartels produce fentanyl for smuggling into the United States.

With China increasingly seen as hostile in the United States, lawmakers facing addicted constituents have again put blame on Beijing.

Some Republicans have called for military action against cartels in Mexico.

China refused an invitation to participate in the coalition, saying it believed in international cooperation against drugs but that the United States has sent the wrong message by imposing sanctions on Chinese companies over fentanyl.

China "firmly opposes smearing and attacking other countries or imposing unilateral sanctions on other countries in the name of counternarcotics," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Weng Wenbin said in Beijing.

Global coordination

Todd Robinson, the U.S. assistant secretary of state for international narcotics and law enforcement, said the United States would welcome China's participation in future meetings and hoped that other countries would reach out to Beijing.

"Part of the reason we're trying to bring this coalition together is to engage other countries in their efforts against these supply chains, and part of their responsibility is going to be engaging with the PRC," he said, referring to the People's Republic of China.

Blinken implicitly acknowledged that action by China alone would not end the epidemic.

"When one government aggressively restricts a precursor chemical, traffickers simply buy it elsewhere," he said.

South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin said that COVID-19 showed the need for global coordination on emerging epidemics, including drugs.

"We once prided ourselves as a drug-free country. Yet today we are witnessing a significant increase in drug consumption, especially among our youth," Park said.

Blinken said the coalition would also look at best practices domestically in treating addiction.

Members of the coalition will meet in person in September on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly, Blinken said.

The new grouping will also address other synthetic drugs including captagon, the amphetamine-like stimulant that has seen a surge of use in Arab countries including Saudi Arabia, which was participating in Friday's meeting.

An AFP investigation in November found that Syria has developed a $10 billion industry in captagon, dwarfing all other industries in the war-ravaged country and funding President Bashar al-Assad and many of his enemies.
Friday marks 100 days since Russian authorities detained Evan Gershkovich and charged him with espionage  the first U.S. journalist to be accused of this since the Cold War. The Kremlin hinted this week that it would be open to negotiating a prisoner swap. Henry Ridgwell reports from London.
RICHMOND, Ky.  The last of the United States' declared chemical weapons stockpile was destroyed at a sprawling military installation in eastern Kentucky, the White House announced Friday, a milestone that closes a chapter of warfare dating back to World War I.

Workers at the Blue Grass Army Depot in Kentucky destroyed rockets filled with GB nerve agent, completing a decadeslong campaign to eliminate a stockpile that by the end of the Cold War totaled more than 30,000 tons.

"For more than 30 years, the United States has worked tirelessly to eliminate our chemical weapons stockpile," President Joe Biden said in a statement released by the White House. "Today, I am proud to announce that the United States has safely destroyed the final munition in that stockpile  bringing us one step closer to a world free from the horrors of chemical weapons."

The U.S. faced a Sept. 30 deadline to eliminate its remaining chemical weapons under the international Chemical Weapons Convention, which took effect in 1997 and was joined by 193 countries. The munitions being destroyed in Kentucky are the last of 51,000 M55 rockets with GB nerve agent  a deadly toxin also known as sarin  that have been stored at the depot since the 1940s.

By destroying the munitions, the U.S. is officially underscoring that these types of weapons are no longer acceptable in the battlefield and sending a message to the handful of countries that haven't joined the agreement, military experts say.

Chemical weapons were first used in modern warfare in World War I, where they were estimated have killed at least 100,000. Despite their use being subsequently banned by the Geneva Convention, countries continued to stockpile the weapons until the treaty calling for their destruction.

In southern Colorado, workers at the Army Pueblo Chemical Depot started destroying the weapons in 2016, and on June 22 completed their mission of neutralizing an entire cache of about 2,600 tons of mustard blister agent. The projectiles and mortars comprised about 8.5% of the country's original chemical weapons stockpile of 30,610 tons of agent.

Nearly 800,000 chemical munitions containing mustard agent were stored since the 1950s inside row after row of heavily guarded concrete and earthen bunkers that pock the landscape near a large swath of farmland east of Pueblo.

In the 1980s, the community around Kentucky's Blue Grass Army Depot rose up in opposition to the Army's initial plan to incinerate the plant's 520 tons of chemical weapons, leading to a decadeslong battle over how they would be disposed of.

The military eliminated most of its existing stockpile by burning weapons at other, more remote sites such as Johnston Atoll in the Pacific Ocean or at a chemical depot in the middle of the Utah desert.

The Kentucky storage facility has housed mustard agent, VX and sarin nerve agents, much of it inside rockets and other projectiles, since the 1940s. The state's disposal plant was completed in 2015 and began destroying weapons in 2019. It uses a process called neutralization to dilute the deadly agents so they can be safely disposed of.

Workers at the Pueblo site used heavy machinery to meticulously  and slowly  load aging weapons onto conveyor systems that fed into secure rooms where remote-controlled robots removed the weapons' fuses and bursters before the mustard agent was neutralized with hot water and mixed with a caustic solution to prevent the reaction from reversing. The byproduct was further broken down in large tanks swimming with microbes, and the mortars and projectiles were decontaminated at 538 degrees Celsius and recycled as scrap metal.

Problematic munitions that were leaky or overpacked were sent to an armored, stainless steel detonation chamber to be destroyed at about 593 degrees Celsius.

The Colorado and Kentucky sites were the last among several, including Utah and the Johnston Atoll, where the nation's chemical weapons had been stockpiled and destroyed. Other locations included facilities in Alabama, Arkansas and Oregon.

Officials say the elimination of the U.S. stockpile is a major step forward for the Chemical Weapons Convention. Only three countries  Egypt, North Korea and South Sudan  have not signed the treaty. A fourth, Israel, has signed but not ratified the treaty.

Concerns remain that some parties to the convention, particularly Russia and Syria, possess undeclared chemical weapons stockpiles. Biden on Friday urged Russia and Syria to fully comply with the treaty, and called on the remaining countries to join it.
The worlds two largest economies  the United States and China  must work together to fight the existential threat of global warming, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Saturday in Beijing at meeting with Chinese government officials and climate experts.

"As the world's two largest emitters of greenhouse gases and the largest investors in renewable energy, we have both a joint responsibility and ability to lead the way," Yellen said.

Yellen said "climate finance should be targeted efficiently and effectively" to support already established institutions like the Green Climate Fund, a U.N. entity that is endeavoring to support a paradigm shift in the global response to climate change.

On Friday, Yellen held candid and constructive talks with Chinas prime minister, Li Qiang, in Beijing.

A Treasury Department statement said Yellen discussed the administrations desire to seek healthy economic competition with China that benefits both economies, including American workers and businesses.



She also emphasized close communication on global macroeconomic and financial issues and working together on global challenges, including debt distress in low-income and emerging economies and climate finance.

Chinas foreign ministry released a statement saying the prime minister noted that U.S. and Chinese economic interests are closely intertwined, and that Chinas development is an opportunity rather than a challenge to the United States. Beijing said that Yellen stated during the talks the U.S. does not seek decoupling and disconnection and has no intention of hindering China's modernization process.

The foreign ministry said, China and the United States should strengthen coordination and cooperation, join hands to tackle global challenges and promote common development.

While both sides described Yellens visit in positive terms, no new plans for more high-level meetings were announced.

China's going to continue to be around and be a major player on the world stage, White House press secretary Karin Jean Pierre said Friday, adding that an intense competition requires intense diplomacy.

So it is important to have an intense competition requires intense diplomacy, she said. That's what you see Secretary Yellen do, that's what you saw Secretary Blinken do. These are the type of conversations that the president has had with President Xi in meetings that he's had with him as well, she said.

The U.S. Treasury secretary began a four-day visit to China Friday by calling for market reforms in the world's second-largest economy, and warning that the United States and its allies will fight back against what she called China's "unfair economic practices."

Speaking Friday in Beijing to the American Chamber of Commerce in China, Yellen said, The United States does not seek a wholesale separation of our economies. ... The decoupling of the world's two largest economies would be destabilizing for the global economy, and it would be virtually impossible to undertake."

And while she noted the importance of trade and investment with China, Yellen also raised concerns, including barriers to market access, Chinas use of non-market tools, and punitive actions that have been taken against U.S. firms in recent months, during a roundtable with more than 10 U.S. businesses operating in Beijing.

She also reaffirmed the U.S. economic approach to China, which remains focused on three primary objectives: securing vital interests pertaining to national security and human rights; pursuing healthy and mutually beneficial economic competition, in which China plays by international rules; and seeking mutual cooperation on urgent global challenges, including on the macroeconomy, climate, and global debt, according to a Treasury Department statement Friday.

Chinas foreign ministry said in its statement, the two sides should strengthen communication and seek consensus on important issues in the bilateral economic field through candid, in-depth, and pragmatic exchanges, so as to inject stability and positive energy into Chinese-U.S. economic relations.

Yellen arrived in Beijing Thursday and tweeted, U.S. President Joe Biden charged his administration with deepening communication between our two countries on a range of issues, and I look forward to doing so during my visit.

Treasury Department officials said before the trip that Yellen would be discussing stabilizing the global economy, as well as challenging Chinas support of Russia during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Yellen was not expected to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Her visit, which is scheduled to last through Sunday, follows U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinkens trip to Beijing last month.

Yellen met earlier this week with Chinas ambassador to the United States, Xie Feng, a meeting during which the Treasury said Yellen raised issues of concern while also conveying the importance of the two largest economies working together on global challenges, including on macroeconomic and financial issues.

Chinese state media said Xie expressed hope that the two countries will eliminate interference and strengthen dialogue.
Latest developments:

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Friday the alliance's leaders will reaffirm that Ukraine will eventually become a member of the military alliance and will unite on how to bring Kyiv closer to this goal when they meet in Vilnius, Lithuania, next week.

Russia must not further endanger the safety of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in Ukraine, British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said Friday.

U.S. President Joe Biden's national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, said Friday there was no clear answer about how to bring home Russian detainees Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met Friday with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul. The two leaders discussed the potential extension of a wartime grain deal allowing the safe export of Ukrainian grain via the Black Sea, which Russia has threatened not to renew after it expires July 17.

Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked soldiers in a morning address Saturday on the 500th day of Russias invasion of Ukraine.

Each of our soldiers ... Our Armed Forces, our intelligence, the National Guard, our border guards, the Security Service of Ukraine, the National Police, our liaison officers, our people... I thank you! Thank you to everyone who fights for Ukraine . . . We will definitely win, he said.

Zelenskyy delivered his address on Snake Island, where, early in Russias invasion, soldiers defending the Black Sea island gave a salty response to a Russian order to surrender. Russia did eventually seize the island, but Ukraine has reclaimed it.

The United States announced Friday that it will supply cluster munitions to Ukraine as NATOs leader said the military alliance would unite at a summit next week on how to bring Ukraine closer to joining.

Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters in Brussels Friday that NATO members meeting in Vilnius, Lithuania, next week would reaffirm their goal for Ukraine to eventually become a member of the alliance. However, membership talks are not expected until after the war is over.

When asked when, or how, Ukraine might join the alliance, Stoltenberg said that the most important thing now is to ensure that Ukraine prevails in its fight against Russia.

In Washington, U.S. President Joe Biden defended the U.S. move to send cluster munitions to Ukraine, calling it a difficult decision.

It took me a while to be convinced to do it, Biden said in a CNN interview.

He said the cluster munitions would help Ukraine to stop those [Russian] tanks from rolling."

The military aid is part of an $800 million security package that brings the total U.S. military aid to Ukraine to more than $40 billion since Russia's February 2022 invasion.

Jake Sullivan, Bidens national security adviser, echoed Bidens remarks Friday, saying the decision to provide cluster bombs was not an easy one for the U.S. or Ukraine. He said Ukraine has provided assurances it would use these munitions with the utmost care because it knows the risk they pose to Ukrainian citizens.



We will continue to support Ukraine along the way. We base our security assistance decisions on Ukraines needs on the ground, Sullivan said, adding that there also are consequences to civilians if Russian troops and tanks roll over Ukrainian positions.

Oksana Markarova, Ukraines ambassador to the U.S., said Friday in an interview with VOA Ukranian, that the cluster bombs from the U.S. are of a much better quality and much safer than the typical cluster munitions that people are talking about. She said the cluster munitions will help us to faster liberate our territories.

Bidens decision circumvents U.S. law prohibiting the production, use or transfer of cluster munitions with a failure rate of more than 1% by allocating the munitions from existing defense stocks under the Foreign Assistance Act. This clause allows Biden

to provide the aid, despite arms export restrictions, once he deems that such a provision is in the U.S. national security interest.

The move comes amid concerns that Kyivs counteroffensive is going more slowly than anticipated against entrenched Russian troops and that Kyiv is diminishing Western stocks of conventional artillery. However, Colin Kahl, the Pentagon's top policy adviser, told reporters it is too soon to draw any conclusions about Kyiv's battlefield gains adding that Russia was more successful digging in "than perhaps was fully appreciated."

More than 100 nations have joined the Convention on Cluster Munitions banning such weapons. The United States, Russia and Ukraine are not part of the convention. Russia and Ukraine reportedly have used such weapons against each other.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is against the use of cluster munitions, U.N. spokesperson Farhan Haq said Friday. And Germany, a member of the Convention on Cluster Munitions and a U.S. ally, expressed its opposition to such a move.

Cluster munitions typically release large numbers of submunitions that can kill indiscriminately over a wide area and those that fail to explode pose a danger for decades after a conflict ends.

Human Rights Watch has also urged the United States not to send cluster munitions to Ukraine, and it has asked Russia and Ukraine to immediately stop using cluster weapons.

Ukraine has asked for cluster munitions to be used against entrenched Russian troops.

"Undoubtedly, the transfer of additional volumes of shells to Ukraine is a very significant contribution to the acceleration of de-occupation procedures, Ukrainian presidential adviser Mikhailo Podolyak said Friday.

Grigory Karasin, head of the international committee in Federation Council, Russia's upper house of parliament, raised "serious concerns" about Washingtons decision. Karasin said that Russia "of course, will respond to this," according to Russias RIA news agency.

NATO-Ukraine

Zelenskyy reiterated his call for long-range weapons Friday against Russian forces that invaded his country.

"Without long-range weapons, it is difficult not only to carry out an offensive mission, but also, honestly, to conduct a defensive operation. It is very difficult. This means that you are defending your land and you cannot reach the appropriate distance to destroy your enemy, i.e., the enemy has a distant advantage, Zelenskyy said while visiting Prague.

Zelenskyys Prague visit was part of his tour of NATO countries before the two-day NATO summit next week in Vilnius, Lithuania.

During Zelenskyys stop in Slovakia, the Slovak President Zuzana Caputova said the question regarding Ukraines entrance into NATO was when not if Ukraine would join. Zelenskyy has acknowledged that Kyiv is unlikely to be able to join NATO while at war with Russia.

In his CNN interview Friday, Biden said he does not think there is a consensus among NATO member states to welcome Ukraine into the military alliance now.

"I don't think there is unanimity in NATO about whether or not to bring Ukraine into the NATO family now, at this moment, in the middle of a war," Biden said in an excerpt of the interview that aired Friday.

Responding to VOA on whether the U.S. president believes in a fast track NATO membership for Ukraine, Sullivan said Friday that Biden has been clear that we're going to support Ukraine for as long as it takes and provide them an exceptional quantity of arms and capabilities, both from ourselves and facilitating those from allies and partners, but that we are not seeking to start World War III.
Photo: Amanda Edwards/Getty Images

Its no secret that the road to Barbie land has been a long one. After many different Barbies and Barbie-makers (otherwise known as writers), we are almost at the finish line to watch Greta Gerwigs Barbie. But before watching the final product, it doesnt hurt to think about what couldve been  its better than thinking about dying. Juno writer Diablo Cody reminisced on her time working on the film and, through the years, gained an understanding of what went wrong. I think I know why I shit the bed, Cody explained to GQ. When I was first hired for this, I dont think the culture had not embraced the femme or the bimbo as valid feminist archetypes yet. If you look up Barbie on TikTok, youll find this wonderful subculture that celebrates the feminine, but in 2014, taking this skinny blonde white doll and making her into a heroine was a tall order.

After first Barbie writer Jenny Bicks left the project, Cody signed onto the movie in 2015 for rewrites, joining Sonys Amy Pascal. But despite reports that Sony Pictures was unhappy with her attempt at creating a Barbie world, she said her world was never officially submitted. Dude, I never even produced an initial draft. I failed so hard at that project. I was literally incapable of writing a Barbie script. God knows I tried, she told ScreenCrush in 2018, noting that shes always had trouble with adaptations. However, Cody wasnt the only writer competing to get the job done; by the end of 2015, three other writers were reportedly signed on to draft scripts as well.

Even though Cody officially left the project in 2018, she is still excited to watch the film. She called the film my Joker, referencing the meme of people becoming obsessed with a film in a way that Joker fans were obsessed with, well, the Joker. But dont expect Cody to try for any more adaptations anytime soon. Ultimately, youre selling toys, she shared. I mean, nobody really wants to delve deeper into the lore and mythos of Hungry Hungry Hippos. Thats not really an artistic exercise. Okay, but whatever writer can figure out a compelling Hungry Hungry Hippos movie will earn a Best Picture nomination at the very least.
Is it just me or is Bree thriving in the 20th century? No, this recap has not been hijacked, but its so sweet of you to assume so. Sorry, but credit where credits due, folks, and this weeks credit is due to one Mrs. Brianna MacKenzie. Maybe all she needed was to ditch the corset. This week, as she and Roger continue to renovate Lallybroch  a renovation that is taking much longer and is much more expensive than planned  she doesnt take shit from anyone, and you love to see it. Or I do, anyway.

Not one single person has decided to drop some exposition as to how Bree and Roger pulled their shit together when they landed back in the future, but they apparently had enough money to buy a decrepit Scottish manor and to finance extensive renovations, at least for a little while, but now theyre out of money. Bree decides to get herself a job as a plant inspector at the local dam and faces rampant misogyny in her interview, which is nauseating but also maybe a little comforting to our time traveler to know that even though 200 years may have passed, some things never change. I did clap when Bree calmly asked her interviewer, who flat out says the position isnt really suited for a woman, What aspects of plant inspection require a penis?, and then again, when he notes the rough men shed be working with and she responds, You hire the type of men who would assault a woman? That interviewer cannot form words but does eventually hire her. Claire would be proud.

Youd think her husband would be proud, too, since the MacKenzies need the money and its a kick-ass job for Bree to get regardless of their current situation, but no. Rogers visceral reaction to the news is to start whining about how he isnt the breadwinner in the family and he should be because he is a man and he promised Brees parents, more patriarchal bullshit, etc. Plus this is all tied into Rogers crisis of faith, brought on by the fact that he believes Claire and Jamie surviving the fire means he and Bree changed the past, so hes extra whiny about it. Roger needs to get a grip ASAP. Its really rich coming from the guy who seemingly has zero paying jobs and hasnt made any move to get one. Im not saying renovating the house and writing the Time Travel for Dummies book for Jemmy isnt important, but someone needs to make some cash money, baby, and if youre not going to go after the Jacobite gold (Roger figures out the musket ball is actually gold and related to the whole gold situation), someone needs to be working. Let Bree live is what Im saying. Eventually, Roger apologizes and does tell Bree hes proud, but its quite begrudgingly!!

Aside from Roger being physically unable not to be an ass, there are some other things happening at Lallybroch 2.0 that require some investigation: Jemmy is apparently seeing some weird shit going on. Jemmy has already demonstrated some strange gifts  theres the time travel, obviously, as well as his almost telepathic connection with his sister  so Roger and Bree dont exactly know what to make of it when Jemmy starts blaming missing snacks on a nuckelavee living in their house. The nuckelavee is a horselike demon from stories told by people in the Northern Isles of Scotland and, after a cute lil Google search, seems like no joke. Jemmy tells his parents that a nuckelavee threatened to eat Mandy if he didnt bring it food, and that seems like a weird thing to lie about. Maybe its not a nuckelavee per se, but it does seem like something or someone is haunting Lallybroch.

Speaking of being haunted by spirits, who should Claire bump into while she, Jamie, and Ian are hanging out in Wilmington before their big journey to Scotland but Tom Christie? Now, you might be like, Didnt Tom Christie trade his life for Claires and confess to killing Malva and shouldnt he be like dead dead by now? Youre right! He should be! But he is very much alive and  kissing Claire right on the mouth for an extended period of time? Its wild. The thing is he, too, is so shocked to see Claire, who he believed had died in the fire at Frasers Ridge, that he cant help but plant one on the love of his life (barf) when he sees her alive and well. I have to say, I love that later we get a scene in which Jamie asks Claire how she is after being kissed by a man without her consent (the answer: She doesnt feel great about it!). Jamie is ahead of his time. Hes ahead of Rogers time, too!

After that awkward kiss, Tom explains that thanks to his reading and writing skills, the governor actually started using him as a secretary for a while, and by the time the real secretary arrived, there wasnt anyone left for Tom to be turned over to because of all the rebelling and such. Tom is off the hook for his daughters murder. He also explains his shock at seeing Claire: He was told by others that she and Jamie died in the fire  he even wrote up an obituary for them. So the mystery of the incorrect obituary has been solved, and thats nice for us! Someone should definitely tell Roger so he can stop spinning out about it.

The scene between Claire and Tom doesnt do a ton aside from the obituary wrap-up. It does give Claire a chance to be awkward when Tom brings up Allan disappearing from Frasers Ridge and then again, as Tom goes on and on about how much he loves Claire. He calls her a most uncomfortable woman, which should definitely be on a shirt. While my initial reaction to all of this Tom stuff was, Do we really need this?, I had a change of heart once we got to the scene in which Claire and Jamie get all horny over Jamie being a little jealous of Tom. At that point, I was like, Oh God, yes. We definitely did need that. Thank you for your service, Tom Christie.

Alas, things are about to get decidedly less sexy for Claire and Jamie. Jamies plans to pop over to Scotland while the Revolutionary War happens get royally screwed up when Jamie runs into his old pal from the Sons of Liberty, who basically strong-arms him into joining the Continental Army. Jamies getting shipped off to Fort Ticonderoga to be a colonel! Obviously, Claires going with him  theyll need doctors  and Ian refuses to go to Scotland without them, so he decides to offer his services to the cause as a sort of liaison with different Native tribes. You just knew Jamie was never going to get out of participating in this war!

We are obviously setting things up for Jamie and William to cross paths on the battlefield at some point, right? Well, it might take William a little longer than he thought to get closer to some action. Thats right: Little Willy is all grown up and getting his own story lines this season. Much of his story in a Most Uncomfortable Woman is working to show us what kind of person William is and just how much like his father he has grown up to be. Do we need an extended scene of William watching another British officer burning a sex worker alive because he believes she has smallpox? I mean, Id go with no, but thats just me. Still, this moment is clearly there to show us that William will not stand for this kind of unjust violence and that hes brave enough to stand up to an entire group of his colleagues. Those traits certainly get the attention of Captain Richardson, who offers William a supersecret messenger  BUT DEFINITELY NOT A SPY  mission to deliver three letters to allies in the South before sending him up to New York to join the British troops up there. Since William is unbelievably horny for some rebellion-crushing, he takes the gig even though hell have to travel through the Great Dismal Swamp to do it.

The Great Dismal lives up to its name: Its not long before a snake spooks Williams horse (do snakes just smell that sweet, sweet Fraser blood or something?), tossing him from it. The horse bolts and William gets a disgusting wound from a small tree branch that impales his arm. Luckily for him, Ian  off on his Continental Army mission  appears in the swamp. Outlander is such a small world its insane  but also, Im going with it. Anyway, when Ian learns Williams name, he, of course, is going to help his (secret) cousin. As Williams wound grows more and more infected, Ian winds up finding a nearby Quaker doctor and his sister to help. Yes, its true: The Hunters have finally arrived  book-readers can rejoice. Theres instant eye contact when Ian and Rachel first get a look at each other, and their interest only grows as Rachel and her brother, Denny, tend to William. Ian seems impressed when Rachel has zero time for Williams insistence that hed rather die than have his arm amputated (sounds familiar, doesnt it?). Things dont escalate to that, but still  Rachel proves to be just as smart, capable, and logical as her brother with the fancy title. Rachel seems impressed with Ians compassion and generosity when he sits with William all night as he heals and then leaves him money to buy a new horse as well as his rosary for comfort. Ian has to take off, but these two are already googly-eyed for each other. Will Ian and Rachel become the next hot couple on this show? Maybe!

But Ian may have a little competition: William definitely seems interested in Rachel too, and hes sticking around a bit longer. As he recuperates, he gets to know more about Rachel and Denny and learns that Denny is very much pro-independence. Hes so pro-independence, in fact, that he was kicked out of their Quaker meeting for resisting allying with the British, and he and Rachel are days away from heading off to join the efforts of the Continental Army. William tries to keep his cool, but we all know hating rebels is pretty much Williams only hobby. But it turns out that the Hunters know a few people William needs to find for his mission, so he offers to travel with them on their journey. Will spending time with some colonists help William have a change of heart, or will this turn out to be a disaster for everyone?
BOGOTA, Colombia, July 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Ecopetrol S.A. (BVC: ECOPETROL; NYSE: EC, "Ecopetrol" or the "Company") informs the market that, as part of its comprehensive debt management, it will redeem (make whole) the remaining amount of its international notes maturing in September 2023, which were issued in 2013. The outstanding principal amount of the notes is USD 821.5 million with a coupon rate of 5.875% (CUSIP: 279158 AC3 / ISIN: US279158AC30).

Ecopetrol Logo. (PRNewsFoto/Ecopetrol S.A.)

The bonds will be redeemed on August 7, 2023 (the "Redemption Date"), at an approximate redemption price of USD 1,000.18 per USD 1,000 principal amount outstanding, plus accrued and unpaid interest.

The prepayment aligns with the objectives of the financial plan and reaffirms Ecopetrol S.A.'s commitment to its refinancing strategy and investment plan for 2023.

For further information, please refer to the press release at the following link:

https://files.ecopetrol.com.co/web/eng/notice-redemption-june2023.pdf

Ecopetrol is the largest company in Colombia and one of the main integrated energy companies in the American continent, with more than 18,000 employees. In Colombia, it is responsible for more than 60% of the hydrocarbon production of most transportation, logistics, and hydrocarbon refining systems, and it holds leading positions in the petrochemicals and gas distribution segments. With the acquisition of 51.4% of ISA's shares, the company participates in energy transmission, the management of real-time systems (XM), and the Barranquilla - Cartagena coastal highway concession. At the international level, Ecopetrol has a stake in strategic basins in the American continent, with Drilling and Exploration operations in the United States (Permian basin and the Gulf of Mexico), Brazil, and Mexico, and, through ISA and its subsidiaries, Ecopetrol holds leading positions in the power transmission business in Brazil, Chile, Peru, and Bolivia, road concessions in Chile, and the telecommunications sector. This press release contains business prospect statements, operating and financial result estimates, and statements related to Ecopetrol's growth prospects. These are all projections and, as such, they are based solely on the expectations of the managers regarding the future of the company and their continued access to capital to finance the company's business plan. The realization of said estimates in the future depends on the behavior of market conditions, regulations, competition, and the performance of the Colombian economy and the industry, among other factors, and are consequently subject to change without prior notice.

This release contains statements that may be considered forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All forward-looking statements, whether made in this release or in future filings or press releases, or orally, address matters that involve risks and uncertainties, including in respect of the Company's prospects for growth and its ongoing access to capital to fund the Company's business plan, among others. Consequently, changes in the following factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from those included in the forward-looking statements: market prices of oil & gas, our exploration, and production activities, market conditions, applicable regulations, the exchange rate, the Company's competitiveness and the performance of Colombia's economy and industry, to mention a few. We do not intend and do not assume any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

For more information, please contact:

Head of Capital Markets (a)

Diego Nicolas Lopez Reina

Email: investors@ecopetrol.com.co

Head of Corporate Communications

Juan Guillermo Londono

Email: juan.londono@ecopetrol.com.co

Cision

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ecopetrol-sa-announces-prepayment-of-its-notes-maturing-in-september-2023-301872380.html

SOURCE Ecopetrol S.A.
With rental vacancies and housing affordability at record lows in Australia, a new model of developing apartments in inner-city suburbs promises a potent solution to the escalating housing crisis.

Already popular overseas, the build-to-rent (BTR) idea is taking hold in Australia, and a flood of projects are in development and under construction across the country.

Australian Super is backing the development of a BTR site in Brunswick that is due for completion in 2027.

So, what exactly is BTR, and why is it seen as a potential remedy to amping up housing supply in the major metropolitans areas?

Under the BTR model, major building complexes  sometimes hundreds of units  are especially designed and constructed by a developer, which retains ownership of the properties after completion. The apartments are then rented to tenants and the developer manages and maintains the complex.
The medicines watchdog will investigate whether an Australian telehealth start-up spruiking the blockbuster drug Ozempic to its online weight loss clients has fallen foul of medical advertising laws.

Eucalyptus, a $560 million Australian company backed by Woolworths and the Mike Cannon Brookes-chaired Blackbird Ventures investment fund, started emailing people on its contact list last month through its brand Juniper, which caters specifically to women who want to lose weight.

There has been a global shortage of Ozempic since early 2022 because of an unexpected increase in demand due to use of the drug for weight loss. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

It presented Ozempic as a medication that suppresses appetite and increases the feeling of being full, that only needs to be administered once a week and is more affordable than Saxenda, the product the company was distributing previously. It advised patients to request a doctor consultation as soon as possible.

A spokesperson for the Therapeutics Goods Administration said it was aware of the email and was making inquiries.
Key Insights

Using the 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity, Dayang Enterprise Holdings Bhd fair value estimate is RM1.64

With RM1.35 share price, Dayang Enterprise Holdings Bhd appears to be trading close to its estimated fair value

The RM1.67 analyst price target for DAYANG is 1.9% more than our estimate of fair value

How far off is Dayang Enterprise Holdings Bhd (KLSE:DAYANG) from its intrinsic value? Using the most recent financial data, we'll take a look at whether the stock is fairly priced by taking the expected future cash flows and discounting them to today's value. Our analysis will employ the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model. There's really not all that much to it, even though it might appear quite complex.

We generally believe that a company's value is the present value of all of the cash it will generate in the future. However, a DCF is just one valuation metric among many, and it is not without flaws. Anyone interested in learning a bit more about intrinsic value should have a read of the Simply Wall St analysis model.

View our latest analysis for Dayang Enterprise Holdings Bhd

What's The Estimated Valuation?

We use what is known as a 2-stage model, which simply means we have two different periods of growth rates for the company's cash flows. Generally the first stage is higher growth, and the second stage is a lower growth phase. To start off with, we need to estimate the next ten years of cash flows. Where possible we use analyst estimates, but when these aren't available we extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the last estimate or reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years.

Generally we assume that a dollar today is more valuable than a dollar in the future, so we discount the value of these future cash flows to their estimated value in today's dollars:

10-year free cash flow (FCF) estimate

2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 2033 Levered FCF (MYR, Millions) RM240.4m RM249.2m RM257.6m RM266.5m RM275.8m RM285.5m RM295.5m RM306.0m RM316.8m RM328.1m Growth Rate Estimate Source Analyst x1 Analyst x1 Est @ 3.39% Est @ 3.44% Est @ 3.48% Est @ 3.51% Est @ 3.53% Est @ 3.54% Est @ 3.55% Est @ 3.55% Present Value (MYR, Millions) Discounted @ 16% RM207 RM185 RM164 RM146 RM130 RM116 RM103 RM92.2 RM82.2 RM73.2

("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)

Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = RM1.3b

We now need to calculate the Terminal Value, which accounts for all the future cash flows after this ten year period. The Gordon Growth formula is used to calculate Terminal Value at a future annual growth rate equal to the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield of 3.6%. We discount the terminal cash flows to today's value at a cost of equity of 16%.

Terminal Value (TV)= FCF 2033  (1 + g)  (r  g) = RM328m (1 + 3.6%)  (16% 3.6%) = RM2.7b

Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= RM2.7b ( 1 + 16%)10= RM601m

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 RM1.9b. In the final step we divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding. Relative to the current share price of RM1.4, the company appears about fair value at a 18% 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

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 Dayang Enterprise Holdings Bhd as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 16%, which is based on a levered beta of 1.574. 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 Dayang Enterprise Holdings Bhd

Strength

Debt is not viewed as a risk.

Dividends are covered by earnings and cash flows.

Weakness

Dividend is low compared to the top 25% of dividend payers in the Energy Services market.

Opportunity

Annual earnings are forecast to grow faster than the Malaysian market.

Current share price is below our estimate of fair value.

Threat

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. Preferably you'd apply different cases and assumptions and see how they would impact the company's valuation. For example, changes in the company's cost of equity or the risk free rate can significantly impact the valuation. For Dayang Enterprise Holdings Bhd, we've compiled three fundamental aspects you should further research:

Risks: To that end, you should be aware of the 1 warning sign we've spotted with Dayang Enterprise Holdings Bhd . Future Earnings: How does DAYANG's growth rate compare to its peers and the wider market? Dig deeper into the analyst consensus number for the upcoming years by interacting with our free analyst growth expectation chart. Other High Quality Alternatives: Do you like a good all-rounder? Explore our interactive list of high quality stocks to get an idea of what else is out there you may be missing!

PS. Simply Wall St updates its DCF calculation for every Malaysian stock every day, so if you want to find the intrinsic value of any other stock just search here.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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One of Sydney Airports main terminals has descended into chaos. New high-tech scanners that were supposed to speed up check-in times have stopped working. It turns out a malicious cyber actor has infiltrated the system. No passengers can be screened for flights without manual intervention.

The problem begins to metastasise. Soon after the airport reports the incident to the federal government, a major airlines check-in software starts malfunctioning. Cybersecurity experts discover a ransom note from a hacker claiming responsibility for the attack and demanding payment. Unless they get the cash, the hacker threatens that things will keep getting worse at the countrys busiest airport. Journalists are now clamouring for answers on what is clearly a major cybersecurity breach and the national security committee of cabinet wants a detailed briefing.

This incident has never occurred; its entirely fictional. But its the precise type of scenario the federal government fears could soon take place, and is preparing to respond to through a new series of cyber war games. The exercises began in April, when corporate leaders and regulators from the banking and finance sector gathered to examine how they would respond to a crippling cyberattack on one of Australias biggest banks.

Regulators, corporate leaders and police officers gathered at Sydney Airport for cyber exercises. Credit: Janie Barrett

The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age were granted exclusive access to the second war-gaming session, held last week in the Sydney Airports corporate boardroom. Sitting around a horseshoe-shaped table were two dozen participants, with a handful of others dialling in remotely from across the country.

Among those participating in, or observing, the exercise were officials from the Department of Home Affairs, the Australian Cyber Security Centre and the National Emergency Management Agency. There were executives from Sydney Airport, Qantas Airways and Virgin Australia, along with Australian Federal Police officers and representatives from AirServices Australia, the government-owned organisation responsible for the safety of Australias skies. Air Vice-Marshal Darren Goldie, who has just taken up the role of the countrys first cybersecurity co-ordinator, was there to observe.

Home Affairs and Cyber Security Minister Clare ONeil had flown in directly from a meeting in New Zealand with fellow ministers from the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing network. It wasnt yet lunchtime, but she joked that she was onto her 12th coffee of the day. She likens the exercises to hitting the gym: the aim is to strengthen the muscles required to respond to a major cyber breach and smash the silos separating the private and public sectors.
Our problem is this, Villa said. If China would invade Taiwan there would be great consequences in our place because we are so near to Taiwan.

On the islands of Batanes, which lie in the middle of the Luzon Strait, the passage of water between the Philippines and Taiwan, the anxiety over tensions between the US and China has been felt even more acutely.

In a panic buying spree, locals hoarded basic goods, preparing for the worst. The people were worried, said Ignacio Villa, the vice-governor of Batanes. The people panicked to secure their own food.

World War III is coming, was the message that had been taken from the arrival of US forces, according to German Caccam, the mayor of Basco, the sleepy main town on Batan and the provincial capital.

The Philippines remote, northernmost region sits just 150 kilometres from Taiwan  as close to its southern tip as it is to the Philippine mainland and some of its 18,000 inhabitants thought this was the moment the US was gearing up for war with China.

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The Philippines, which brought that case, has under President Ferdinand Bongbong Marcos jnr vowed not to concede an inch of its territorial waters. The son of the countrys late former dictator has also moved to reinvigorate defence ties with the US that had been flagging during the six-year rule of his predecessor Rodrigo Duterte.

Amid intensifying great power competition in the Indo-Pacific, Beijing has militarised artificial islands in the South China Sea and continues to declare most of the waterway its own despite its claims being invalidated by an international tribunal decision in The Hague in 2016.

Tension over Taiwan, which China regards as a breakaway province and has not ruled out annexing by force, is not the only potential flashpoint on the doorstep of the Philippines, a long-time treaty ally and former colony of the US.

We explained to them that this is just a military exercise, although, at the back of our mind, we are worried because of the proximity of our place to Taiwan, said the mayor, Caccam.

Basco is home to half the population of Batanes province but its streets are mostly quiet. Credit: Jeoffrey Maitem

But internet coverage is poor and miscommunication led residents to fear that war was breaking out over Taiwan and their homeland would become collateral damage. Older residents remembered Japan launching its invasion of the Philippines in 1941, storming Batan, the most populated of the island group, less than 24 hours after its attack on Pearl Harbour.

The US Marines and Army soldiers were only in Batanes for training drills with their Filipino counterparts. It was part of an annual exercise that also involved a small contingent of Australian military personnel.

With rolling green hills, volcanoes and an untouched coastline, Batans scenic landscape is one of its great appeals.

The location of the bases has triggered consternation in Cagayan, whose governor Manuel Mamba has raised concerns about the Philippines being swept up in a wider confrontation. They have also been contested from within the Marcos clan itself by the presidents elder sister Imee, who is chair of the Philippine Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.

One of the new EDCA sites is on the island of Palawan, facing the contested Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. But, controversially, two of the other three are airfields in northern Cagayan province, which face Taiwan.

Central to that is the granting the US use of four more Philippine military bases under Manila and Washingtons Enhanced Defence Co-operation Agreement (EDCA), bringing to nine the total number it has access to under the deal, and deepening multilateral security links, notably with Australia and Japan.

They can overcome any kind of adversity. They can rise up against any kind of misfortune. Thats something I have seen in them, he said.

Their resilience in facing such natural disasters is one of their defining characteristics, says Danilo Ulep, who has been posted to Basco as the Catholic Churchs Bishop-Prelate of Batanes since 2017.

Fishing is the leading line of work, followed by farming and more recently tourism. The Ivatan, as the people of the Batanes islands are called, are also known for their traditional stone houses, built in a bid to withstand the typhoons which hurtle through the islands.

I always wanted to come back because of the simple living, she said. We plant vegetables for our daily needs and sustenance. The best thing here is its an island and we are surrounded by beautiful scenery and we can go to the ocean and to the mountains any time.

Jeanette Jinky Cabardo, 53, runs a cafe along one of them, having been drawn back five years ago to the place where she was born and grew up after a decade and a half of city life.

The quiet, peaceful lifestyle is another attractive attribute for locals. One of the three islands in Batanes province that are inhabited  there are 10 islands in total  the narrow streets of its commercial centre Basco are mostly devoid of the hustle and bustle one might expect elsewhere in the Philippines.

Back then, Batanes greatest external threat was illegal poaching by Taiwanese fishermen and Castillejos pushed successfully for the region to be declared a protected environmental area.

I told them I was happy because I had finally found my long-lost brothers and sisters, Castillejos, now 76, said of his first visit to Orchid island, which lies 50 kilometres off the south-east coast of Taiwan.

During that time he made a point of forging greater links with Taiwans Orchid Island, whose indigenous Tao people are believed to have originated from Itbayat, the largest island in Batanes, and share a similar language.

Getting into politics, he was governor of Batanes from 1988 to 1998 and again from 2007 to 2010.

The features of island life were also what convinced retired provincial leader Telesforo Castillejos to return to Batan in the early 1980s, having left to study engineering and then work in Manila.

They are God-fearing, of course, deeply religious. They put God at the centre of their lives. Basically, they are simple people. They can survive without the usual comforts you experience on the mainland. They live a very simple life [and] they have a sense of community. They tend to support and help each other.

He was unsuccessful, though, in his efforts to persuade Manila to back the construction of a deep-sea port that he believes would now be very useful in the current geopolitical climate.

The reason why we are not getting government or military security of our islands is they cannot just stand by the islands because there is no safe harbour. My argument was that the port will not be for Batanes alone but would be for the entire country, he said.

Residents enjoy simple living in Basco. Credit: Jeoffrey Maitem

His first stint as governor included the 1996 Taiwan Strait crisis when Beijing carried out missile tests around Taiwan. The danger then seemed so distant to the Philippines most northern outpost he jokingly quipped to then-president Fidel Ramos that if [Chinas] guided missiles will be misguided ... then Batanes will be hit.

The heightened friction now over Taiwan, and between China and the US, means it is no longer a laughing matter.

From the laymans point of view, if youre China and Im [the] Philippines and if I allow the American people to use my island as a main stepping stone for whatever activities they have, then you, China, will make us a target, he said.

It is an unease shared by Cabardo, the cafe owner.

[If] the Americans are using our island to help Taiwan ... Im afraid if that will happen, of course we will be affected, she said. This is an island. Where will we go?

We will have a lot of refugees

An hours drive along Batans west coast from Basco, at the other end of the island, is a reminder of the historical US presence here. The white brick building on the shoreline there was once a long-range navigation station for the US Coast Guard.

Closed in 1971, these days it is a museum showcasing Ivatan culture. With the American outpost long gone, the only permanent security position now is north of Batan on Mavulis, an otherwise uninhabited, 2.2 square kilometre island less than 100 kilometres from Taiwan.

The former US Coast Guard station at the southern end of Batan. Credit: Jeoffrey Maitem

There, at the farthest end of the Philippine archipelago, a small contingent of about two dozen marines and police serve on six-month rotations.

According to Caccam, the Basco mayor, one of those posted there scribbled on the wall of the small shelter they live in that it was the loneliest place in the world.

It is technically the countrys first line of defence but, sparked into activity by the community reaction to recent US military drills, officials in Batanes have been looking to get out in front of any conflict themselves.

Since April, they have drawn up contingency plans to prepare for a scenario in which China attempts to seize Taiwan or war breaks out in their vicinity in another way.

Caccam said the planning includes developing the capability to erect a tent city to accommodate thousands of refugees  there are 150,000 Filipino workers alone in Taiwan  and facilities for extra food and water provisions.

Philippine military personnel at Mavulis island, the northernmost post of the Philippines, in 2021. Credit: Facebook

First, [there is] the repatriation of Filipinos in Taiwan going home. Of course, they will use Batanes as the transit point, he said. So if Batanes is a transit point we will have a lot of refugees. Our first concern is the food, water. We have food here [for the existing population] but for refugees, we are not ready for that.

We raised those concerns and issues with the US ... [and asked] if they can help us. They are willing to.

Caccam, a former primary school teacher in Basco, said he had not supported the US-Philippine military training exercises coming to the island.

I dont like it. We are living peacefully here, he said. We are a potential target because of the presence of [the] Americans.

The provincial government did not oppose the war games.

The national government explained to us the good side [of the exercises] and all about Balikatan, said Villa, the vice-governor.

Its not the first time the Balikatan exercises have come here for different purposes, not only because of the Taiwan dispute. We have been helped by the United States.

At the same time, regional leaders have also been heavily involved since April in drafting a strategy for an unwanted future.

Basco mayor German Caccam was opposed to the US-Philippine military drills on Batan in April. Credit: Jeoffrey Maitem

Batanes imports rice and other products from the Luzon, the Philippines main island, and Villa said the possibility that those transport links in the Luzon Strait could be severed, isolating it further, had to be taken into account.

We produce our own foods but it is not enough. There are other commodities that we really need from the mainland, he said. We have supplies for three months [to] six months [but] once the transportation would be cut wed be hard up.

Batanes is very small, Batanes is poor. Our finances our just enough for our constituents.

The influx of refugees who could be coming from Taiwan ... it would be a national concern, a Philippine concern.

The message for America is we need them

Marcos has stressed that the additional military bases opened up to the US are not about providing Washington with a forward operating position in advance of possible hostilities with China.

The foreign minister of China just visited with me ... and I told him and I assured him that no, these are not ... intended to be military bases to attack, to move against anyone, any country, not China, not any country, he said during a recent visit to the US where he also called on President Joe Biden at the White House.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos jnr was on hand to witness US-Philippine military drills in Zambales in April. Credit: AP

It is a message emphasised by the US. Its embassy in Manila said at the time the locations of the sites were announced that they were to support interoperability with the armed forces of the Philippines, and were not about a third country. US Ambassador MaryKay Carlson has also said everything that we do in the Philippines is at the invitation of the Philippine government.

China, however, did not take the expansion of the deal well. Its top representative in Manila, Huang Xilian, accused the Philippines of stoking the fire and advised it to oppose Taiwans independence if leaders cared for the tens of thousands of Filipinos living there.

There have been questions as well from within the Philippines, whose location makes it strategically crucial in the superpowers rivalry, about handing the US keys to bases facing Taiwan rather than attention being squarely on the South China Sea, where Manilas maritime sovereignty is undermined by Beijing.

In March, Imee Marcos queried the approach of her brothers government conducting drills a stones throw or at least a boat ride away from Taiwan, asking whether US access to northern bases meant the Philippines was going to fight for ... the United States?

Batanes vice-governor Ignacio Villa in his office in Basco. Credit: Jeoffrey Maitem

Rommel Banlaoi, a former national security adviser in the Philippine government, believes the EDCA expansion is escalating tensions in the region.

Unfortunately, the Philippine government has its own reasons on why it wants EDCA to be expanded ... and that is to facilitate improvement of Philippine military facilities there with the support of the United States, said Banlaoi, the chairman of the board of advisers at the China Studies Centre at New Era University in Quezon City.

But the United States has a greater agenda. For me, the United States agenda is clear. The US is really making military preparations for possible conflict with China in the Taiwan Strait, in the South China Sea and possibly in the Korean peninsula. The Philippines is a very valuable country for the United States to strengthen its strategic positions.

It is a view challenged by Jose Antonio Custodio, a fellow at the Consortium of Indo-Pacific Researchers, who sees the US pact as a crucial deterrent and whose only concern is whether the Philippines will stay the course in reinforcing the alliance as well as ties with Australia and Japan.

He said the six-year presidency of Duterte, who steered the country closer to China, was a wake-up call that could not be ignored. Dutertes daughter Sara is Marcos vice-president and his likely successor in 2028.

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[EDCA] is a positive and very much delayed development because all of this was put on the backburner by Duterte, allowing the Chinese to build up their influence in the Philippines and trying to restrain and even push back the allies, Custodio said.

We have a problem with the Chinese, who are intruding in our exclusive economic zone. They are laying claim on the entire South China Sea. The Philippines doesnt have the necessary capability to defend [itself] unilaterally against this, so it enjoys a mutual defence treaty with the United States.

Back on Batan, Castillejos, the two-time former governor, is edgy about a show being made of US military training on the island.

But he is also supportive of Marcoss pivoting towards Washington and the likes of Australia.

To me, hes on the right track to create this kind of bilateral or multilateral relations because the Philippines cannot stand alone, he said. The message for America is we need them.

I always pray and believe that war will not come because no one will be the winner.

- with Jeoffrey Maitem

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As the Baby Boomer generation ages, its more important than ever that Gen Xers talk to their family and understand how their wealth situation could change.

The truth about generational wealth transfer planning is that its just as much of a family matter as it is a financial one.

At 18 years old, I packed up my life in Wrentham, Mass., and headed to Ireland to earn my degree at the National University of Ireland, Galway. Coming from a family of Irish immigrants, I expected to connect with my roots and maybe even discover a long-lost relative. I grew to love the place, so I stayed in Ireland after I graduated. I worked there for many years and met my wife there as well. Now, were back in Massachusetts and have been married for 10 years with two children, Jack and Saoirse.

Inherited Retirement Plan? How to Easily Understand Payout Rules

I left for Ireland to explore the world, get my education and connect with my family history. Now, what matters to my wife and me is constructing a bright and enriching future for Jack and Saoirse  an impact that I hope will live on much longer than me. And its safe to say that every generation, whether Baby Boomer or Gen Z, has or will have the same sentiment.

But to leave the lasting impact we all want to leave, its crucial to not only organize our financial situation but to communicate with our family to make sure theyre set up to make the best possible decisions about their wealth transfer process. Its also imperative that Gen Xers communicate with their parents and family so they can be prepared for the wealth thats coming their way.

In short, this is not a question of how to get an extra buck or two this year with your tax plan or investing plan. This is about understanding the bigger picture of how life, our dearest connections with our family and our financial situations intertwine.

The Great Wealth Transfer is underway

First, before getting into what issues we Gen Xers must look out for, its important to understand what has come to be called the Great Wealth Transfer, from Baby Boomers to Generation X.

The Great Wealth Transfer refers to the massive shift of wealth from the Baby Boomer generation to Generation X and Millennials, estimated to be around $84 trillion. This financial transition is expected to occur over the next few decades and will significantly impact the financial landscape.

In the context of Gen X, the Great Wealth Transfer matters for several reasons.

As recipients of this wealth transfer, we will be in a position to manage and invest significant sums of money. However, its money many of my fellow Gen Xers will probably be new to managing. This means there will likely be a plethora of challenges to maintaining the newly transferred wealth. With money changing hands from one generation to another with entirely different risks, goals and priorities, there are important considerations Gen X should be aware of when it comes to managing and preserving wealth.

The Great Wealth Transfer will prompt families to consider alternative options. Consider it a looming wealth shake-up! Of course, Gen Xers like me want to make financial decisions that make the most sense for our own futures, not those of our parents. In doing so, the financial industry will be pressed to cater to a new generation with differing goals and financial situations. And Gen X will need to know how to act in their own best interest, avoiding mistakes when it comes to changing how their wealth transfer and management process should operate.

How Gen X should approach the Great Wealth Transfer

As the wealth management landscape shifts, it is vital for Gen X to be aware of the potential risks associated with managing their new assets.

Remember, theres a first time for everything. But when it comes to managing your wealth, youre going to want to take greater care of your decisions. While I feel lucky to be a financial adviser and have industry knowledge, many Gen Xers may not have the knowledge and experience to manage their newfound wealth effectively. Inheritors must not only understand investment principles, risk management and tax implications, they must understand how important it is to communicate with their parents or benefactors to understand and iron out their wealth picture.

Getting an Inheritance? Here Are Four Things to Consider

Another risk is the new ways Gen X communicates and digests information. While technology has made it easier for us to access financial advice and services, it also presents risks when it comes to how to manage our own unique financial situations. I see bad, generalized advice all the time, just floating around the internet and presented as a universal fact when what works in one scenario for one person doesnt necessarily work for another.

Dont get me wrong, broader access to information is a wonderful thing, especially when it comes to financial literacy. But with more money to manage comes more potential risks of mismanagement, many of which are unique to the individual and cant be dealt with through generic advice online.

Furthermore, Gen X will demand that financial advisers meet us where we are  online and on engaging platforms. No matter how great a financial product or strategy might be for a Gen Xer, there might be a disconnect when it comes to our decisions to use that product or service.

As a Gen Xer in the financial services industry, I can understand why someone might opt for a full robo-adviser or look elsewhere for financial services. There is a real benefit to being proactive and searching for the best possible solution, but its also important to remember that the grass isnt always greener on the other side. There might be a solid reason why our parents managed their finances the way they did, and we only stand to benefit from learning what works for them and see if anything could translate for us. But the truth is that it starts with an honest connection with our parents and family that aims to clarify one anothers personal financial situations and goals.

Communication and family always come first

For Gen Xers like me, the Great Wealth Transfer is so much more than a financial occurrence. Its a family matter. We can all see the broader statistics and the general predictions based on metrics, but the truth is, youre not a statistic. The wealth transfer process happens smoothly only when you take the time to communicate with your parents and family on a personal and financial level.

Without your familial connection front and center, you cant easily and honestly talk about your financials and accurately construct a successful wealth transfer plan. Ultimately, you want to make sure your parents legacy is properly taken care of and that you have exactly what your parents intend to transfer to you for years to come.

Estate Planning Lessons We Can Learn From Elvis Mistakes

So, from one Gen Xer to another, my advice is to reach out to your parents and family to start the conversation and make sure you work together with them and a financial professional who knows your unique family situation and goals.

Investment Advisory Services are offered through SHP Wealth Management LLC, an SEC registered investment adviser. Insurance sales are offered through SHP Financial, LLC. These are separate entities, Matthew Chapman Peck, CFP, CIMA, Derek Louis Gregoire, and Keith Winslow Ellis Jr. are independent licensed insurance agents, and Owners/Partners of an insurance agency, SHP Financial, LLC. In addition, other supervised persons of SHP Wealth Management, LLC are independent licensed insurance agents of SHP Financial, LLC. No statements made shall constitute tax, legal or accounting advice. You should consult your own legal or tax professional before investing. Both SHP Wealth Management, LLC and SHP Financial, LLC will offer clients advice and/or products from each entity. No client is under any obligation to purchase any insurance product. SHP Financial utilizes third-party marketing and public relation firms to assist in securing media appearances, for securing interviews, to provide suggested content for radio, for article placements, and other supporting services.
A new generation takes over family-owned Stocks Draperies in Plain Township

Nick Stock demonstrates smart blinds that can be controlled by phone at the Stocks Draperies showroom in Plain Township. (Credit: Kevin Whitlock / Massillon Independent)

PLAIN TWP.  From the housing crisis of 2008 to the COVID-19 pandemic, Stocks Draperies has weathered some dark days.

The family-owned window coverings business at 2725 Fulton Drive NW will host a Hunter Douglas Gallery grand opening from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. today with a new generation at the helm.

Don and Nikki Stock have placed their decades-old business into the hands of their son, Nick, who purchased it in April.

More: Canton man's birthday present is front-page news

"I've worked for dad since 1997, but I've been installing for 40 years," Nick Stock said. "He had us working in middle school and high school."

Building the Stocks family drapery business

Don Stock and his wife, a gifted seamstress, started the business in their home in the early 1970s.

"My wife was putting me through college, clothing people, and I suggested to her, 'Why not make draperies for their homes?'" he said.

As the client list grew, they moved to the current site, a former Sunoco gas station.

"We worked night and day," he said.

Nick Stock said the store survived economic ups and downs by emphasizing service. During the housing crisis of 2008, orders from commercial businesses, hotels and hospitals helped offset residential woes.

"I remember being here and saying, 'Dad, we're done,'" he said. "But businesses kept calling."

Years later, COVID-19 presented Stocks Draperies with a different opportunity.

"People stayed home and spent money on their homes," Stock said.

Father and son Don and Nick Stock at the Stocks Draperies showroom in Plain Township. (Credit: Kevin Whitlock / Massillon Independent)

Nick Stock also cites generational customers, who make up about 20% of their business.

"People are coming to us because their moms and dads came to us," he said.

As a new gallery dealer for Hunter Douglas, one of the country's largest window-covering companies, the 1,600-square-foot showroom has been given a sleek and modern makeover.

"They wanted a more high-tech, contemporary look," he said.

Assisting Nick Stock is a relatively new staff hired when his father's employees retired. Office Manager Jenna Campana has been with Stocks Draperies for about two years.

"They're a lot of fun," she said. "They know a lot. There's a lot to learn. They're the experts."

Stocks features custom draperies

Nick Stock said Stocks Draperies features its own workroom, now the domain of seamstress Amber Cybak, who has been on staff since 2014.

"I make anything they bring me down," she said. "Some things I have patterns for, some things I make myself. My mother and grandmother taught me how to sew. I learned without patterns."

Cybak, who holds a degree in interior design from Kent State University, said custom-made draperies mean a perfect fit and one-of-a-kind look.

Amber Cybak, a seamstress at Stocks Draperies, cuts cloth for a valance at the Plain Township shop.

"I love fabric," she said. "If it can be made of fabric, I can figure it out."

The Stocks can't praise Cybak enough.

Amber Cybak talks about what she loves about her job as Stocks Draperies seamstress.

"My mom had hands of God; she saw something and made it," Nick Stock said. "Amber's the exact same way. She's been my right-hand person."

Stock said the biggest lessons he's learned from his father is to "treat your employees the way you want to be treated" and to always respect the customer.

"We have built this business through the years as a family-run, family-owned business," he said. "We are one of the best companies in Canton. We might be small but we're good."

Stocks Draperies staff from left, Nick Stock, owner; Jenna Campana, office manager; Amber Cybak, seamstress; Gerald "Scott" Narney, installer; and Don Stock, founder. (Credit: Kevin Whitlock / Massillon Independent)

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Second generation takes over family-run Stocks Draperies
EASTON, Pa. - In Easton, the community continues to come together, more than a month after the Ferry Street fire tore through 15 rowhouses and displaced roughly 60 people.

A small group of people gathered Friday evening, where a fire victim's daughter distributed thousands she raised through a GoFundMe page.

Eddie Valencia recalls that night in late May when his home, and 14 other rowhouses with it, quickly went up in flames.

"I thought it was going to be like, a simple fire, I didn't know it was going to burn all the houses down," he told 69 News at the gathering. "I'm still in shock, it's just unbelievable."

Valencia's entire family - dogs included - made it out safely. But his home, and everything in it, was all lost.

"It's just, we lost everything," he said. "Like, everything, everything."

Even now, he tells 69 News, just about everything he was wearing at the gathering was donated to him.

"We're blessed that a lot of people helped us, you know a lot of donations, a lot of organizations came together," he said.

At Heil Community Park, Valencia and other victims gathered to receive their portion of the $7500 raised by one victim's daughter, Samantha Juchem said.

"7500," Juchem said. "And that's from community here and afar, like Kansas City even."

Juchem now lives in Kansas City when she got the call from her mom, telling her about the fire. She drove 18 hours straight to get to Easton. As she's been helping out her mom, multiple victims tell 69 News that she's been helping them out as well.

"Since I was here to help, I just wanted to make sure no one else fell through the cracks," Juchem said.

Victims say when they felt forgotten by everyone else, Juchem was reaching out to them.

"You have American Red Cross, who came in for emergency help. And then a few weeks later, they passed the baton to all the other agencies that are helping," Juchem said. "And so the one thing that was missing is, who can oversee the whole thing?"

She spoke at the last City Council meeting, addressing the issue, expressing the need for a point person in times of crisis like this. She also brought up the crucial need for affordable housing, as three families still live in hotels. Those families' coverage to stay in the hotels runs out this weekend, she says.

"There's a lack of affordable housing in Easton and many places, not just Easton," Juchem said.

She hopes the very land where those roughly 60 people lost their homes could be a place for that housing.

"I think this could be a very good learning opportunity for everyone, as far as, what happens when the houses on Ferry Street get demolished?" Juchem said.

Taiba Sultana, a City of Easton councilwoman, who helped organize the meetup, was also there. She was handing out gift cards and finding out what the victims still needed. She says many are still needing furniture, clothing and other supplies.

Now she says she's trying to target the lack of affordable housing, hoping to start a nonprofit.

"The one thing we learned is we do need affordable housing more than ever," Sultana said.
Hayao Miyazaki's final film, the tentatively titled How Do You Live?, is coming to IMAX theaters. The milestone marks a first for Miyazaki and the animation studio he co-founded nearly four decades ago. According to Anime News Network, the film will also screen in Dolby Atmos, Dolby Cinema and DTS:X when it arrives in Japan on July 14th.

As Gizmodo notes, past Studio Ghibli films did not receive the IMAX treatment during their original theatrical runs. When you add that to the fact How Do You Live? is supposed to be Miyazaki's swan song (or so the auteur claims), you have the makings of a must-see movie event. However, one potential hitch is that the film doesn't have an international release date yet, and it's unclear if a North American distributor could secure IMAX screens for How Do You Live? when and if it arrives outside of Japan. In recent weeks, the availability of IMAX screens has been a contentious issue in Hollywood, with Tom Cruise reportedly calling some theaters to convince them to screen Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One instead of Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer.

Details on How Do You Live? are sparse. Studio Ghibli has not released a trailer for the film or bought any TV spots. In fact, the only promotion it has done so far for How Do You Live? is the single poster the studio released last month. The film is an original work but is named after the 1937 novel of the same name by Genzaburo Yoshino. In interviews, Miyazaki has said the book plays an influential role in the life of his film's protagonist.
HARRISBURG, Pa. - The Pennsylvania House of Representatives passed a bill Friday aimed at tightening funding and oversight of the state's cyber charter schools.

The bill, formally known as H.B. 1422, was sponsored by Rep. Joe Ciresi (D-Montgomery). It passed the House by a 122-81 vote, with all 102 Democrats and 20 Republicans voting for it.

If passed into law by the Republican-controlled Pennsylvania State Senate and Gov. Josh Shapiro, the bill would cap cyber charter school unassigned fund balances  which increased tenfold from 2018 to 2022. It would set requirements for cyber charters to have their records open to the public.

Supporters of the bill, like Ciresi, say passing the bill would better serve students while ensuring greater transparency.

"My goal with this bill was to preserve school choice, but while ensuring cyber charter schools are held to the same rules and regulations as traditional public schools, Ciresi said in a press release.

GOP opponents of the bill say restricting funding to cyber charter schools hurts students who don't perform well in traditional learning environments.
Allentown, PA (18103)

Today

A stray evening shower or t-storm, mainly in the Poconos; skies becoming mostly clear overnight with lowering humidity..

Tonight

A stray evening shower or t-storm, mainly in the Poconos; skies becoming mostly clear overnight with lowering humidity.
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP)  Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte visited the king Saturday to hand in the resignation of his four-party coalition, setting the deeply divided Netherlands on track for a general election later this year.

King Willem-Alexander flew back from a family vacation in Greece to meet with Rutte, who drove to the palace in his Saab station wagon for the meeting to explain the political crisis that toppled his administration.

Rutte declined to answer reporters' questions as he drove away from the meeting that lasted over an hour, saying the talks with the monarch were private.

The vexed issue of reining in migration that has troubled countries across Europe for years was the final stumbling block that brought down Rutte's government Friday night, exposing the deep ideological differences between the four parties that made up the uneasy coalition.

Now it is likely to dominate campaigning for an election that is still months away.

We are the party that can ensure a majority to significantly restrict the flow of asylum seekers, said Geert Wilders, leader of the anti-immigration Party for Freedom, who supported Rutte's first minority coalition 13 years ago, but also ultimately brought it down.

Opposition parties on the left also want to make the election about tackling problems they accuse Rutte of failing to adequately address  from climate change to a chronic housing shortage and the future of the nation's multibillion-euro (-dollar) agricultural sector.

Socialist Party leader Lilian Marijnissen told Dutch broadcaster NOS the collapse of Rutte's government was good news for the Netherlands. I think that everybody felt that this Cabinet was done. They have created more problems than they solved.

Despite the divisions between the four parties in Rutte's government, it will remain in power as a caretaker administration until a new coalition is formed, but will not pass major new laws.

Given the challenges of the times, a war on this continent, nobody profits from a political crisis, tweeted Sigrid Kaag, leader of the centrist, pro-Europe D66 party.

Rutte, the Netherlands' longest-serving premier and a veteran consensus builder, appeared to be the one who was prepared to torpedo his fourth coalition government with tough demands in negotiations over how to reduce the number of migrants seeking asylum in his country.

Rutte negotiated for months over a package of measures to reduce the flow of new migrants arriving in the country of nearly 18 million people. Proposals reportedly included creating two classes of asylum  a temporary one for people fleeing conflicts and a permanent one for people trying to escape persecution  and reducing the number of family members who are allowed to join asylum-seekers in the Netherlands. The idea of blocking family members was strongly opposed by minority coalition party ChristenUnie.

I think unnecessary tension was introduced to the talks, said Kaag.

Pieter Heerma, the leader of the Christian Democrats, a coalition partner, called Rutte's approach in the talks almost reckless.

The fall of the government comes just months after a new, populist pro-farmer party, the Farmers Citizens Movement, known by its Dutch acronym BBB, shocked the political establishment by winning provincial elections. The party is already the largest bloc in the Dutch Senate and will be a serious threat to Rutte's People's Party for Freedom and Democracy.

The BBB's leader, Caroline van der Plas, said her party would dust off their campaign posters from the provincial vote and go again.

The campaign has begun! Van der Plas said in a tweet that showed her party's supporters hanging flags and banners from lamp posts.
HAZEL GREEN, Ala. (AP)  Before starting college, Taylor Mohead had never been outside her hometown of Houston, Texas. Now, the recent Tuskegee University graduate is trekking around trees in Hazel Green, Alabama, in fire gear and sweltering heat.

The U.S. Forest Service intern is among 20 students from historically Black colleges or universities who are participating in a prescribed burn demonstration under instructors' supervision. They clear paths, light fires and make sure the embers are out when they're done. Its part of an apprenticeship program that will give them the credentials to hit the ground running toward a fire line.

Its a grueling way to spend summer break, but Mohead is relishing it. She never pictured herself fighting forest fires.

Look at me. Im really small. Im really short. And then being a woman of color, thats something, too. I feel like thats more inspiring," Mohead said, grinning. I got goosebumps right now.

The on-site fire academy is part of the 1890 Land Grant Institution Wildland Fire Consortium, a partnership between the U.S. Forest Service and a cluster of HBCUs comprised of Florida A&M University, Southern University in Louisiana, Tuskegee University and Alabama A&M University.

The recruitment effort comes as wildfire season around the U.S. grows due to climate change and minorities remain underrepresented in forestry and firefighting. The number of wildfires this year is below the 10-year average, but hot and dry conditions are raising the risk, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.

The idea for a consortium came during the pandemic to address a mission critical area of the Forest Service, said Stephanie Love, the USDA Forest Services national diversity student programs manager and an Alabama A&M alum. The initiative became official in 2021.

These four HBCUs have some of the top agricultural programs at HBCUs in the nation. So, it just makes sense to align our efforts and move together in the same direction, Love said. Were trying to create a pipeline of students who are pursuing this natural resources education and forestry and fire.

The hope is every student comes away with a foundation to chart one of many possible paths in forestry, ecology, agriculture or firefighting.

The consortium is building on top of a decadeslong relationship between Alabama A&M and the Forest Service. A USDA Forest Service Center of Excellence in Forestry was created at the school in 1993 to prepare students for jobs with the agency.

The Bulldogs established a nationally accredited firefighting team in 2009 made of students, called the FireDawgs. When class isn't in session, the FireDawgs are dispatched to wildfires or burn operations around the country.

The development programs that have come out of the Alabama-Forest Service collaboration are responsible for training two-thirds of Black foresters in the federal agency, said Love, who was in the first FireDawgs squad.

Diversity among the Forest Service's wildland firefighters has increased by 20% in the last decade, according to data collected by the agency. It has approximately 13,000 employees including firefighters and other staff who respond to wildfires. Between July 2010 and July 2022, white staffers fell from 86% to 66%.

Black fire personnel have remained mostly around 1.3%. Black women make up around 0.5%. Hispanics make up 12%, and Native Americans/Alaska Natives and Asians linger around 3% and 1%, respectively. Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders make up less than 1%.

The dearth of applicants of color may partly be due to a lack of awareness. They are not often encouraged to consider firefighting by guidance counselors or recruiters, said Terry Baker, CEO of the Society of American Foresters and its first Black leader. There also is a misconception that working outdoors isn't highly technical or doesn't require skill, he said.

Once students decide to study forestry or related fields, retaining them becomes the next challenge. Love said the Forest Service and HBCUs ensure there are mentorships, scholarships and internships.

Bradley Massey, an Alabama A&M junior and president of the school's forestry club, said the school sparked a passion he was missing. Massey said he was a student at Auburn University of Montgomery when he lost focus, working in retail back home in Huntsville before enrolling in Alabama A&M in 2021.

As the school year progressed, thats when more information about the FireDawgs presented itself, Massey said in between running around in fire gear. I wanted to just have experience and be able to make the most out of my college experience because I wasnt just going back for fun. I was going back for a purpose.

He has since accomplished feats like passing several firefighter work capacity tests including walking 3 miles (5 kilometers) in under 45 minutes while carrying a 45-pound (20-kilogram) pack. In October, he traveled to a conference in Boise, Idaho, where he went on field trips and talked with fire professionals and students from around the nation.

I didnt want to leave, Massey said. It was like going into Comic-Con and seeing all the cool stuff and just wanting to take many pictures ... I feel like it has helped me a lot in my career now."

Baker, of the Society of American Foresters, said the need for more firefighters will only increase as wildfires intensify with worsening climate change and droughts.

If were going to meet these challenges, were going to have to have everyone, Baker said. What does that mean to a profession that has been primarily white male?

Black firefighters can feel intimidated and isolated in the field when they parachute into fires in predominately white communities or dont have other crew members of color around them, Baker said. He recalled fire scenes where people became comfortable enough to openly say I was the first Black person theyve ever met in real life that they didnt see on TV.

The current crop of students says it has been reassuring to meet HBCU alumni who have gone on to become fire or forestry professionals, noting there is something special about being in the field surrounded by classmates turned crew who look like them.

It makes you more willing to go out there," Mohead said. "If you hit a road stop or obstacle, you have someone on your left who's probably been through it.

This story has been changed to correct that Bradley Massey previously attended Auburn University of Montgomery, not Auburn University.

Terry Tang, who reported from Phoenix, is a member of The Associated Press Race and Ethnicity team. Follow her on Twitter at https://twitter.com/ttangAP
Investors are often guided by the idea of discovering 'the next big thing', even if that means buying 'story stocks' without any revenue, let alone profit. Sometimes these stories can cloud the minds of investors, leading them to invest with their emotions rather than on the merit of good company fundamentals. A loss-making company is yet to prove itself with profit, and eventually the inflow of external capital may dry up.

In contrast to all that, many investors prefer to focus on companies like CF Industries Holdings (NYSE:CF), which has not only revenues, but also profits. While this doesn't necessarily speak to whether it's undervalued, the profitability of the business is enough to warrant some appreciation - especially if its growing.

Check out our latest analysis for CF Industries Holdings

CF Industries Holdings' Improving Profits

CF Industries Holdings has undergone a massive growth in earnings per share over the last three years. So much so that this three year growth rate wouldn't be a fair assessment of the company's future. So it would be better to isolate the growth rate over the last year for our analysis. Outstandingly, CF Industries Holdings' EPS shot from US$7.73 to US$15.51, over the last year. Year on year growth of 101% is certainly a sight to behold.

It's often helpful to take a look at earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) margins, as well as revenue growth, to get another take on the quality of the company's growth. The music to the ears of CF Industries Holdings shareholders is that EBIT margins have grown from 43% to 46% in the last 12 months and revenues are on an upwards trend as well. That's great to see, on both counts.

You can take a look at the company's revenue and earnings growth trend, in the chart below. To see the actual numbers, click on the chart.

While we live in the present moment, there's little doubt that the future matters most in the investment decision process. So why not check this interactive chart depicting future EPS estimates, for CF Industries Holdings?

Are CF Industries Holdings Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders?

Owing to the size of CF Industries Holdings, we wouldn't expect insiders to hold a significant proportion of the company. But thanks to their investment in the company, it's pleasing to see that there are still incentives to align their actions with the shareholders. Holding US$66m worth of stock in the company is no laughing matter and insiders will be committed in delivering the best outcomes for shareholders. This should keep them focused on creating long term value for shareholders.

Does CF Industries Holdings Deserve A Spot On Your Watchlist?

CF Industries Holdings' earnings per share growth have been climbing higher at an appreciable rate. That EPS growth certainly is attention grabbing, and the large insider ownership only serves to further stoke our interest. The hope is, of course, that the strong growth marks a fundamental improvement in the business economics. So at the surface level, CF Industries Holdings is worth putting on your watchlist; after all, shareholders do well when the market underestimates fast growing companies. What about risks? Every company has them, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for CF Industries Holdings (of which 1 is concerning!) you should know about.

The beauty of investing is that you can invest in almost any company you want. But if you prefer to focus on stocks that have demonstrated insider buying, here is a list of companies with insider buying in the last three months.

Please note the insider transactions discussed in this article refer to reportable transactions in the relevant jurisdiction.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM  Free Report) by 10.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 95,749 shares of the conglomerates stock after acquiring an additional 8,969 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLCs holdings in 3M were worth $10,064,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Machina Capital S.A.S. increased its position in 3M by 66.0% during the 1st quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S. now owns 4,368 shares of the conglomerates stock worth $459,000 after purchasing an additional 1,737 shares during the period. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC increased its position in 3M by 19.7% during the 1st quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 8,079 shares of the conglomerates stock worth $849,000 after purchasing an additional 1,327 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. increased its position in 3M by 7,300.0% during the 1st quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 740 shares of the conglomerates stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 730 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its position in 3M by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 299,149 shares of the conglomerates stock worth $31,444,000 after purchasing an additional 5,011 shares during the period. Finally, First Personal Financial Services increased its position in 3M by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. First Personal Financial Services now owns 2,668 shares of the conglomerates stock worth $280,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.60% of the companys stock.

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3M Price Performance

MMM stock opened at $97.29 on Friday. 3M has a 1 year low of $92.38 and a 1 year high of $152.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.42. The stocks 50 day moving average price is $100.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $107.90. The firm has a market cap of $53.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.08, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.96.

3M Dividend Announcement

3M ( NYSE:MMM Free Report ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 25th. The conglomerate reported $1.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.37. 3M had a return on equity of 36.48% and a net margin of 16.31%. The company had revenue of $8.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.65 EPS. The businesss revenue for the quarter was down 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that 3M will post 8.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 19th were paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.17%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 18th. 3Ms dividend payout ratio is presently 62.18%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on MMM. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on 3M from $89.00 to $95.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 26th. StockNews.com lowered 3M from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Monday, June 5th. Barclays decreased their price target on 3M from $105.00 to $103.00 and set an underweight rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 6th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on 3M from $110.00 to $103.00 and set an underweight rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on 3M from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $120.83.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 3M news, EVP Eric D. Hammes sold 6,487 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.33, for a total transaction of $683,275.71. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,430 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,098,591.90. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Khandpur K. Ashish sold 9,432 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.27, for a total value of $936,314.64. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 20,943 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $2,079,011.61. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Eric D. Hammes sold 6,487 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.33, for a total value of $683,275.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,430 shares in the company, valued at $1,098,591.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the companys stock.

About 3M

(Free Report)

3M Company provides diversified technology services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through four segments: Safety and Industrial; Transportation and Electronics; Health Care; and Consumer. The Safety and Industrial segment offers industrial abrasives and finishing for metalworking applications; autobody repair solutions; closure systems for personal hygiene products, masking, and packaging materials; electrical products and materials for construction and maintenance, power distribution, and electrical original equipment manufacturers; structural adhesives and tapes; respiratory, hearing, eye, and fall protection solutions; and natural and color-coated mineral granules for shingles.

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Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MMM? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for 3M (NYSE:MMM  Free Report).

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Everett Harris & Co. CA trimmed its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT  Free Report) by 0.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,558,165 shares of the healthcare product makers stock after selling 605 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories accounts for 2.6% of Everett Harris & Co. CAs investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Everett Harris & Co. CA owned 0.09% of Abbott Laboratories worth $157,780,000 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. JDM Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. FWL Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. 73.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 8,226 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.56, for a total transaction of $909,466.56. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 70,427 shares of the companys stock, valued at $7,786,409.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Daniel J. Starks sold 50,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.02, for a total transaction of $5,551,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,825,316 shares in the company, valued at $757,746,582.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 8,226 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.56, for a total transaction of $909,466.56. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 70,427 shares in the company, valued at $7,786,409.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.10% of the companys stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a buy rating for the company. SVB Leerink lifted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $90.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research note on Friday, March 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted 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. Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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 note on Wednesday, April 5th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $116.00 to $123.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $121.26.

NYSE ABT traded down $0.85 on Friday, reaching $106.35. The companys stock had a trading volume of 5,053,690 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,570,530. The firm has a market cap of $184.94 billion, a PE ratio of 32.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.80 and a beta of 0.68. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $106.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $106.32. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $93.25 and a 52 week high of $115.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT  Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 19th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $9.75 billion for 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 22.36%. The firms revenue for the quarter was down 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.73 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.39 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 13th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.92%. Abbott Laboratoriess dividend payout ratio is 62.01%.

Abbott Laboratories Company Profile

(Free Report)

Abbott Laboratories, together with its subsidiaries, discovers, develops, manufactures, and sells health care products worldwide. It operates in four segments: Established Pharmaceutical Products, Diagnostic Products, Nutritional Products, and Medical Devices. The Established Pharmaceutical Products segment provides generic pharmaceuticals for the treatment of pancreatic exocrine insufficiency, irritable bowel syndrome or biliary spasm, intrahepatic cholestasis or depressive symptoms, gynecological disorder, hormone replacement therapy, dyslipidemia, hypertension, hypothyroidism, Meniere's disease and vestibular vertigo, pain, fever, inflammation, and migraine, as well as provides anti-infective clarithromycin, influenza vaccine, and products to regulate physiological rhythm of the colon.

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Altice USA, Inc. (NYSE:ATUS  Free Report) has received a consensus rating of Hold from the fourteen brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $8.42.

Several research firms have issued reports on ATUS. TheStreet lowered Altice USA from a c- rating to a d rating in a research note on Monday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Altice USA from $4.00 to $3.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 20th. Pivotal Research dropped their price objective on Altice USA from $4.50 to $3.00 in a research note on Friday, May 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Altice USA from $4.50 to $4.75 in a research note on Friday, May 5th. Finally, Loop Capital lowered their target price on Altice USA from $12.00 to $3.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 4th.

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Altice USA Stock Performance

ATUS opened at $3.33 on Friday. Altice USA has a 52-week low of $2.01 and a 52-week high of $13.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.51 billion, a PE ratio of 66.61 and a beta of 1.41. The businesss 50-day simple moving average is $2.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3.59.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Altice USA ( NYSE:ATUS Free Report ) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 3rd. The company reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.05 by $0.01. Altice USA had a negative return on equity of 16.96% and a net margin of 0.25%. The business had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.32 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.43 earnings per share. Altice USAs revenue was down 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Altice USA will post 0.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. AlphaCrest Capital Management LLC raised its position in Altice USA by 204.8% during the 3rd quarter. AlphaCrest Capital Management LLC now owns 220,451 shares of the companys stock worth $1,285,000 after purchasing an additional 148,133 shares during the last quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP raised its position in Altice USA by 969.4% during the 3rd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 172,169 shares of the companys stock worth $1,004,000 after purchasing an additional 156,069 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp raised its position in Altice USA by 344.9% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 246,018 shares of the companys stock worth $1,132,000 after purchasing an additional 190,725 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its position in Altice USA by 26.9% during the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 198,906 shares of the companys stock worth $915,000 after purchasing an additional 42,113 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tabor Asset Management LP bought a new position in Altice USA during the 3rd quarter worth $644,000. 56.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Altice USA Company Profile

(Free Report

Altice USA, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides broadband communications and video services in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. It offers broadband, video, telephony, and mobile services to residential and business customers. The company's video services include delivery of broadcast stations and cable networks; over the top services; video-on-demand, high-definition channels, digital video recorder, and pay-per-view services; and platforms for video programming through mobile applications.

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Atalaya Mining Plc (LON:ATYM  Free Report) shares crossed below its 50-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 50-day moving average of GBX 326.97 ($4.15) and traded as low as GBX 320 ($4.06). Atalaya Mining shares last traded at GBX 320 ($4.06), with a volume of 65,848 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on ATYM shares. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a buy rating and set a GBX 600 ($7.62) price objective on shares of Atalaya Mining in a report on Monday, May 15th. Berenberg Bank decreased their target price on Atalaya Mining from GBX 480 ($6.09) to GBX 450 ($5.71) and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 15th.

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Atalaya Mining Trading Down 0.3 %

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of GBX 326.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of GBX 339.93. The firm has a market cap of 446.22 million, a PE ratio of 2,126.67, a P/E/G ratio of -2.02 and a beta of 1.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 14.42, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 1.69.

Atalaya Mining Cuts Dividend

About Atalaya Mining

The company also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.04 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 6th. This represents a dividend yield of 0.96%. Atalaya Minings payout ratio is currently 4,000.00%.

(Free Report)

Atalaya Mining Plc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the mineral exploration and development in Spain. The company's flagship property is its 100% owned Proyecto Riotinto mine, an open-pit copper mine located in the Andalusia region of Spain. It produces copper concentrates, including silver by-products.

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ProPetro Holding Corp. (NYSE:PUMP  Free Report)  Equities researchers at Atb Cap Markets dropped their Q3 2023 earnings estimates for ProPetro in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, July 4th. Atb Cap Markets analyst W. Syed now anticipates that the company will post earnings of $0.28 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $0.35. The consensus estimate for ProPetros current full-year earnings is $1.52 per share. Atb Cap Markets also issued estimates for ProPetros Q4 2023 earnings at $0.25 EPS, FY2023 earnings at $1.15 EPS, Q1 2024 earnings at $0.28 EPS, Q2 2024 earnings at $0.38 EPS, Q3 2024 earnings at $0.38 EPS, Q4 2024 earnings at $0.34 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $1.39 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $0.36 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $0.38 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $1.48 EPS.

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A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of ProPetro from $10.00 to $9.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 21st. Barclays cut their price target on shares of ProPetro from $14.00 to $12.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 8th. Finally, 500.com reissued a maintains rating on shares of ProPetro in a research note on Thursday, June 8th.

ProPetro Stock Performance

ProPetro stock opened at $9.09 on Thursday. The firms 50 day simple moving average is $7.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $8.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.05 billion, a PE ratio of 60.60 and a beta of 2.39. ProPetro has a 1-year low of $6.33 and a 1-year high of $12.58.

ProPetro (NYSE:PUMP  Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 3rd. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $423.57 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $410.08 million. ProPetro had a return on equity of 16.74% and a net margin of 1.33%.

Institutional Trading of ProPetro

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PUMP. BlackRock Inc. grew its position in ProPetro by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 17,847,360 shares of the companys stock valued at $143,672,000 after purchasing an additional 1,445,598 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in ProPetro by 25.7% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,750,490 shares of the companys stock valued at $48,536,000 after purchasing an additional 1,381,397 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in shares of ProPetro by 42.8% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,992,577 shares of the companys stock valued at $28,701,000 after acquiring an additional 1,196,513 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of ProPetro during the 3rd quarter valued at about $8,260,000. Finally, Hodges Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of ProPetro by 416.3% during the 4th quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 774,376 shares of the companys stock valued at $8,030,000 after acquiring an additional 624,376 shares during the last quarter. 79.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other ProPetro news, Director Michele Vion sold 21,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.89, for a total value of $144,690.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 40,094 shares in the company, valued at approximately $276,247.66. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.88% of the companys stock.

ProPetro Company Profile

(Free Report)

ProPetro Holding Corp., an integrated oilfield services company, provides hydraulic fracturing, wireline, cementing, and other complementary oilfield completion services to upstream oil and gas companies in the Permian Basin. ProPetro Holding Corp. was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Midland, Texas.

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Freedom Day Solutions LLC trimmed its position in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC  Free Report) by 6.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 35,679 shares of the financial services providers stock after selling 2,300 shares during the period. Freedom Day Solutions LLCs holdings in Bank of America were worth $1,020,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Private Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Bank of America by 131.4% during the first quarter. Private Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 15,911 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $455,000 after buying an additional 9,036 shares during the period. Diversified LLC increased its stake in shares of Bank of America by 21.1% during the first quarter. Diversified LLC now owns 8,274 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $237,000 after buying an additional 1,443 shares during the period. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of Bank of America by 3.0% during the first quarter. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC now owns 21,921 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $627,000 after buying an additional 647 shares during the period. QCM Cayman Ltd. increased its stake in Bank of America by 64.4% in the first quarter. QCM Cayman Ltd. now owns 10,136 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $290,000 after purchasing an additional 3,971 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Levin Capital Strategies L.P. increased its stake in Bank of America by 3.2% in the first quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. now owns 142,220 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $4,067,000 after purchasing an additional 4,419 shares during the last quarter. 67.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BAC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Bank of America from $48.00 to $39.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Bank of America from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an underperform rating in a report on Wednesday, April 19th. StockNews.com started coverage on Bank of America in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a hold rating for the company. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Bank of America from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, April 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Bank of America from $32.00 to $33.00 in a report on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $36.56.

Bank of America Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of BAC stock opened at $28.53 on Friday. Bank of America Co. has a fifty-two week low of $26.32 and a fifty-two week high of $38.60. The stock has a market cap of $227.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.35. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $28.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $30.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC  Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.11. Bank of America had a return on equity of 11.72% and a net margin of 21.85%. The business had revenue of $26.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $25.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.80 earnings per share. The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Bank of America Co. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 2nd were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 1st. Bank of Americas dividend payout ratio is presently 26.43%.

Bank of America Profile

(Free Report)

Bank of America Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides banking and financial products and services for individual consumers, small and middle-market businesses, institutional investors, large corporations, and governments worldwide. Its Consumer Banking segment offers traditional and money market savings accounts, certificates of deposit and IRAs, noninterest-and interest-bearing checking accounts, and investment accounts and products; and credit and debit cards, residential mortgages, and home equity loans, as well as direct and indirect loans, such as automotive, recreational vehicle, and consumer personal loans.

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Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ  Free Report) had its price target cut by Barclays from $277.00 to $275.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday, FlyOnTheWall reports.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on STZ. Wedbush upped their price objective on Constellation Brands from $270.00 to $275.00 in a research report on Monday, July 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Constellation Brands from $293.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 27th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Constellation Brands from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Monday, April 10th. Roth Mkm increased their target price on Constellation Brands from $270.00 to $284.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Monday, July 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on Constellation Brands from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Monday, July 3rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $262.67.

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Constellation Brands Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:STZ opened at $253.61 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. Constellation Brands has a 52-week low of $208.12 and a 52-week high of $261.32. The stocks fifty day simple moving average is $238.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $229.41. The company has a market capitalization of $46.48 billion, a P/E ratio of -138.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.02.

Constellation Brands Dividend Announcement

Constellation Brands ( NYSE:STZ Free Report ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, June 30th. The company reported $2.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.83 by $0.08. Constellation Brands had a positive return on equity of 22.32% and a negative net margin of 3.14%. The business had revenue of $2.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.66 earnings per share. The businesss revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Constellation Brands will post 11.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 10th will be paid a $0.89 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 9th. This represents a $3.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.40%. Constellation Brandss dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -194.54%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Richard Sands sold 3,858,476 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.53, for a total value of $862,485,140.28. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 20,488,818 shares in the company, valued at $4,579,865,487.54. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Constellation Brands news, Director Richard Sands sold 3,858,476 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.53, for a total transaction of $862,485,140.28. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 20,488,818 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,579,865,487.54. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Business Holdings Lp Ajb sold 650,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.53, for a total value of $145,294,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 3,365,715 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $752,338,273.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 16.19% of the companys stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Constellation Brands

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Moody National Bank Trust Division grew its stake in Constellation Brands by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 7,824 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,926,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Cooper Financial Group lifted its holdings in Constellation Brands by 63.2% during the 2nd quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 2,396 shares of the companys stock worth $590,000 after buying an additional 928 shares during the last quarter. First Citizens Financial Corp bought a new position in Constellation Brands during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $219,000. Parkside Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Constellation Brands by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. Parkside Investments LLC now owns 21,505 shares of the companys stock worth $5,293,000 after buying an additional 890 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Independence Bank of Kentucky lifted its holdings in Constellation Brands by 1,333.3% during the 2nd quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 215 shares of the companys stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.49% of the companys stock.

Constellation Brands Company Profile

(Free Report)

Constellation Brands, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, produces, imports, markets, and sells beer, wine, and spirits in the United States, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand, and Italy. The company provides beer primarily under the Corona Extra, Corona Premier, Corona Familiar, Corona Light, Corona Refresca, Corona Hard Seltzer, Modelo Especial, Modelo Negra, Modelo Chelada, Victoria, Vicky Chamoy, and Pacifico brands.

Further Reading

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Shares of Copper Mountain Mining Co. (TSE:CMMC  Free Report) have been given a consensus recommendation of Hold by the six analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is C$2.60.

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on CMMC. TD Securities cut shares of Copper Mountain Mining from a buy rating to a tender rating and lifted their price target for the stock from C$2.50 to C$2.75 in a research note on Monday, April 17th. Cormark reduced their price target on Copper Mountain Mining from C$3.00 to C$2.75 in a research report on Tuesday, March 28th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Copper Mountain Mining from C$2.20 to C$2.60 in a research report on Friday, April 14th. National Bankshares reduced their target price on shares of Copper Mountain Mining from C$2.65 to C$2.60 and set a tender rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 1st. Finally, Scotiabank downgraded shares of Copper Mountain Mining from an outperform rating to a sector perform rating in a report on Tuesday, April 18th.

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Copper Mountain Mining Stock Performance

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of C$2.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of C$2.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 50.36, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 1.22. The stock has a market capitalization of C$533.81 million, a P/E ratio of -9.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.28 and a beta of 2.77. Copper Mountain Mining has a 1-year low of C$1.23 and a 1-year high of C$2.78.

Insider Activity at Copper Mountain Mining

About Copper Mountain Mining

In related news, insider Zeta Resources Limited sold 127,800 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of C$2.63, for a total value of C$336,650.76. 3.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

(Free Report

Copper Mountain Mining Corporation engages in the mining, exploration, and development of mineral properties in Canada. It explores for copper, gold, and silver deposits. The company holds 75% interests in the Copper Mountain mine comprising 135 crown-granted mineral claims, 145 located mineral claims, 14 mining leases, 12 fee simple properties, and seven cell claims that covers an area of approximately 6,354 hectares located to the south of Princeton, British Columbia.

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Quite a few insiders have dramatically grown their holdings in Forise International Limited (SGX:8A1) over the past 12 months. An insider's optimism about the company's prospects is a positive sign.

While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

See our latest analysis for Forise International

Forise International Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The insider Kui Lian Goh made the biggest insider purchase in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for S$1.2m worth of shares at a price of S$0.17 each. That means that an insider was happy to buy shares at above the current price of S$0.067. Their view may have changed since then, but at least it shows they felt optimistic at the time. In our view, the price an insider pays for shares is very important. As a general rule, we feel more positive about a stock if insiders have bought shares at above current prices, because that suggests they viewed the stock as good value, even at a higher price.

Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid S$2.1m for 12.14m shares. But insiders sold 11.59m shares worth S$1.8m. Overall, Forise International insiders were net buyers during the last year. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

There are always plenty of stocks that insiders are buying. So if that suits your style you could check each stock one by one or you could take a look at this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

Insider Ownership Of Forise International

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. Forise International insiders own 44% of the company, currently worth about S$1.3m based on the recent share price. I like to see this level of insider ownership, because it increases the chances that management are thinking about the best interests of shareholders.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Forise International Insiders?

It doesn't really mean much that no insider has traded Forise International shares in the last quarter. However, our analysis of transactions over the last year is heartening. Judging from their transactions, and high insider ownership, Forise International insiders feel good about the company's future. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Forise International. In terms of investment risks, we've identified 4 warning signs with Forise International and understanding these should be part of your investment process.

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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Empiric Student Property (OTCMKTS:EPCFF  Free Report) and Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ  Free Report) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations, risk, earnings and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares Empiric Student Property and Cousins Properties net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

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Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Empiric Student Property N/A N/A N/A Cousins Properties 20.69% 3.47% 2.15%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Empiric Student Property and Cousins Properties, as reported by MarketBeat.

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Empiric Student Property 0 1 0 0 2.00 Cousins Properties 1 1 5 0 2.57

Institutional & Insider Ownership

Cousins Properties has a consensus price target of $25.89, indicating a potential upside of 11.59%. Given Cousins Properties stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Cousins Properties is more favorable than Empiric Student Property.

97.4% of Cousins Properties shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.1% of Cousins Properties shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Empiric Student Property and Cousins Properties revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Empiric Student Property N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A Cousins Properties $778.12 million 4.52 $166.79 million $1.07 21.68

Cousins Properties has higher revenue and earnings than Empiric Student Property.

Summary

Cousins Properties beats Empiric Student Property on 9 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Empiric Student Property

(Free Report)

Empiric Student Property plc is a leading provider and operator of modern, predominantly direct-let, premium student accommodation located in high-demand university towns and cities across the UK. Investing in both operating and development assets, Empiric is a fully integrated operational student property business focused on premium studio-led accommodation managed through its Hello Student operating platform, that is attractive to affluent growing student segments. The Company, an internally managed real estate investment trust ("REIT") incorporated in England and Wales, listed on the premium listing segment of the Official List of the Financial Conduct Authority and was admitted to trading on the main market for listed securities of the London Stock Exchange in June 2014.

About Cousins Properties

(Free Report)

Cousins Properties is a fully integrated, self-administered and self-managed real estate investment trust (REIT). The Company, based in Atlanta, GA and acting through its operating partnership, Cousins Properties LP, primarily invests in Class A office buildings located in high-growth Sun Belt markets. Founded in 1958, Cousins creates shareholder value through its extensive expertise in the development, acquisition, leasing and management of high-quality real estate assets. The Company has a comprehensive strategy in place based on a simple platform, trophy assets and opportunistic investments.

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D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT  Free Report) by 2.4% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 110,173 shares of the retailers stock after purchasing an additional 2,610 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.s holdings in Walmart were worth $16,239,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WMT. Wiley BROS. Aintree Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Wiley BROS. Aintree Capital LLC now owns 11,803 shares of the retailers stock valued at $1,740,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the period. BOS Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $503,000. Fiduciary Alliance LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $443,000. Spotlight Asset Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the third quarter worth $536,000. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 77.9% during the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 20,181 shares of the retailers stock worth $2,862,000 after purchasing an additional 8,840 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 31.95% of the companys stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on WMT shares. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $157.00 to $161.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Walmart from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, April 6th. StockNews.com raised Walmart from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report on Monday, June 26th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Walmart from $160.00 to $166.00 in a report on Friday, May 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Walmart from $160.00 to $164.00 in a report on Friday, May 19th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walmart has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $166.91.

Walmart Stock Down 2.3 %

Shares of Walmart stock traded down $3.62 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $153.49. 6,591,570 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,298,257. The company has a 50 day moving average of $152.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $147.03. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $120.06 and a fifty-two week high of $159.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market cap of $413.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.91, a P/E/G ratio of 4.60 and a beta of 0.50.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT  Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 18th. The retailer reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.15. Walmart had a net margin of 1.82% and a return on equity of 21.30%. The business had revenue of $152.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $147.91 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.30 EPS. Walmarts revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 6.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP John R. Furner sold 4,375 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.00, for a total transaction of $660,625.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 286,617 shares in the company, valued at $43,279,167. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP John R. Furner sold 4,375 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.00, for a total transaction of $660,625.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 286,617 shares in the company, valued at $43,279,167. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 455,060 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.98, for a total value of $68,249,898.80. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 245,256,456 shares of the companys stock, valued at $36,783,563,270.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,208,665 shares of company stock worth $1,421,177,843. Insiders own 46.51% of the companys stock.

About Walmart

(Free Report)

Walmart Inc engages in the operation of retail, wholesale, and other units worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Walmart U.S., Walmart International, and Sam's Club. It operates supercenters, supermarkets, hypermarkets, warehouse clubs, cash and carry stores, and discount stores under Walmart and Walmart Neighborhood Market brands; membership-only warehouse clubs; ecommerce websites, such as walmart.com, walmart.com.mx, walmart.ca, flipkart.com, and samsclub.com; and mobile commerce applications.

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Shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY  Free Report) have been given an average rating of Moderate Buy by the fifteen research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $437.90.

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America lifted their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $440.00 to $500.00 in a research note on Friday, May 26th. Credit Suisse Group lifted their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $420.00 to $490.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 4th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $478.00 to $507.00 in a research note on Monday, May 15th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $447.00 to $498.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 24th.

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Insider Buying and Selling at Eli Lilly and Company

In other Eli Lilly and Company news, major shareholder Lilly Endowment Inc sold 164,125 shares of Eli Lilly and Company stock in a transaction on Friday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $467.60, for a total value of $76,744,850.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 101,028,810 shares in the company, valued at $47,241,071,556. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Johna Norton sold 1,647 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $444.29, for a total value of $731,745.63. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 31,761 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,111,094.69. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Lilly Endowment Inc sold 164,125 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Friday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $467.60, for a total value of $76,744,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 101,028,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,241,071,556. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 970,965 shares of company stock worth $423,725,107 over the last quarter. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eli Lilly and Company

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Down 2.4 %

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LLY. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the 1st quarter valued at $107,000. Roundview Capital LLC grew its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Roundview Capital LLC now owns 2,056 shares of the companys stock worth $589,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Eli Lilly and Company during the 1st quarter worth $210,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 9.9% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 53,052 shares of the companys stock worth $15,193,000 after purchasing an additional 4,774 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barometer Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Eli Lilly and Company during the 1st quarter worth $561,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.25% of the companys stock.

Shares of LLY opened at $452.10 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. Eli Lilly and Company has a 12 month low of $296.32 and a 12 month high of $469.87. The stocks 50 day moving average is $441.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $380.58. The firm has a market cap of $429.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 71.88, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.38.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY  Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 27th. The company reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $6.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.87 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 20.54% and a return on equity of 61.42%. The firms revenue for the quarter was down 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.62 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Eli Lilly and Company will post 8.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 15th will be given a $1.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 14th. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.00%. Eli Lilly and Companys dividend payout ratio is currently 71.86%.

Eli Lilly and Company Company Profile

(Free Report

Eli Lilly and Company discovers, develops, and markets human pharmaceuticals worldwide. It offers Basaglar, Humalog, Humalog Mix 75/25, Humalog U-100, Humalog U-200, Humalog Mix 50/50, insulin lispro, insulin lispro protamine, insulin lispro mix 75/25, Humulin, Humulin 70/30, Humulin N, Humulin R, and Humulin U-500 for diabetes; and Jardiance, Trajenta, and Trulicity for type 2 diabetes.

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Enghouse Systems (OTCMKTS:EGHSF  Free Report) is one of 296 publicly-traded companies in the SoftwareApplication industry, but how does it compare to its peers? We will compare Enghouse Systems to related companies based on the strength of its valuation, earnings, risk, dividends, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and profitability.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

25.2% of Enghouse Systems shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 33.8% of shares of all SoftwareApplication companies are owned by institutional investors. 29.2% of shares of all SoftwareApplication companies are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

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Dividends

Enghouse Systems pays an annual dividend of $0.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.8%. Enghouse Systems pays out 18.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, SoftwareApplication companies pay a dividend yield of 1.8% and pay out 71.7% of their earnings in the form of a dividend.

Analyst Recommendations

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Enghouse Systems 0 1 1 0 2.50 Enghouse Systems Competitors 420 1901 4111 78 2.59

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Enghouse Systems and its peers, as provided by MarketBeat.

Enghouse Systems currently has a consensus price target of $43.00, suggesting a potential upside of 76.65%. As a group, SoftwareApplication companies have a potential upside of 31.23%. Given Enghouse Systems higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe Enghouse Systems is more favorable than its peers.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Enghouse Systems and its peers revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

Gross Revenue Net Income Price/Earnings Ratio Enghouse Systems N/A N/A 21.93 Enghouse Systems Competitors $495.94 million -$19.88 million 557.84

Enghouse Systems peers have higher revenue, but lower earnings than Enghouse Systems. Enghouse Systems is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its peers, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Profitability

This table compares Enghouse Systems and its peers net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Enghouse Systems N/A N/A N/A Enghouse Systems Competitors -38.59% -242.70% -7.55%

Summary

Enghouse Systems peers beat Enghouse Systems on 8 of the 13 factors compared.

About Enghouse Systems

(Free Report)

Enghouse Systems Limited, together with its subsidiaries, develops enterprise software solutions worldwide. It operates through two segments, Interactive Management Group and Asset Management Group. The Interactive Management Group segment provides customer interaction software and services to facilitate remote work, enhance customer service, increase efficiency, and manage customer communications across various types of interactions, including voice, email, web chats, text, and video. Its technologies include contact center, video collaboration, interactive voice response, outbound dialers, attendant console, agent performance optimization, business intelligence, and analytics that deployed in private cloud, multi-tenant cloud, or on-premise environments. This segment serves financial services, media businesses, telecoms, business process service providers, as well as technology and health care companies. The Asset Management Group segment offers a portfolio of software and services to cable operators, network telecommunication providers, media, transit, defense, and public safety companies. This segment's products include network infrastructure, operations support systems, and business support systems, as well as video and cloud TV solutions. This segment also provides fleet routing, dispatch, scheduling, transit e-ticketing and automated fare collection, communications, and emergency control center solutions for the transportation, government, first responders, distribution, and security sectors. Enghouse Systems Limited was incorporated in 1984 and is headquartered in Markham, Canada.

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StockNews.com upgraded shares of GATX (NYSE:GATX  Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Tuesday morning.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on GATX from $115.00 to $118.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 26th. Sidoti initiated coverage on GATX in a research note on Tuesday, March 14th. They issued a buy rating for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $118.33.

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GATX Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:GATX opened at $126.94 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $120.30 and a 200 day moving average of $113.31. The company has a market cap of $4.48 billion, a PE ratio of 28.85 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 2.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04. GATX has a 12-month low of $84.96 and a 12-month high of $130.14.

GATX Dividend Announcement

GATX ( NYSE:GATX Free Report ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 25th. The transportation company reported $2.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.76. The company had revenue of $338.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $353.98 million. GATX had a return on equity of 10.53% and a net margin of 12.16%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that GATX will post 6.83 EPS for the current year.

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 15th were paid a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 14th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.73%. GATXs payout ratio is 50.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Aken Jennifer Van sold 2,600 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.43, for a total transaction of $323,518.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,649 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $578,475.07. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Aken Jennifer Van sold 2,600 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.43, for a total transaction of $323,518.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,649 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $578,475.07. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Paul F. Titterton sold 8,100 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.84, for a total value of $970,704.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,373 shares in the company, valued at $1,362,940.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,700 shares of company stock worth $1,414,832 in the last three months. 1.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of GATX

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in GATX during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Ellevest Inc. raised its holdings in GATX by 114.4% during the 4th quarter. Ellevest Inc. now owns 506 shares of the transportation companys stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 270 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in GATX during the 1st quarter valued at $89,000. Advisory Services Network LLC increased its stake in GATX by 125.7% in the first quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 844 shares of the transportation companys stock worth $93,000 after purchasing an additional 470 shares during the period. Finally, First Manhattan CO. LLC. purchased a new stake in GATX in the first quarter worth $132,000. 99.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

GATX Company Profile

(Free Report)

GATX Corporation, together its subsidiaries, operates as railcar leasing company in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe, and India. It operates through three segments: Rail North America, Rail International, and Portfolio Management. The company leases tank and freight railcars, and locomotives for petroleum, chemical, food/agriculture, and transportation industries.

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K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc boosted its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO  Free Report) by 16.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 25,573 shares of the companys stock after acquiring an additional 3,573 shares during the period. K.J. Harrison & Partners Incs holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,052,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MO. Bourgeon Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Altria Group by 85.6% during the 4th quarter. Bourgeon Capital Management LLC now owns 542 shares of the companys stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P acquired a new position in Altria Group during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.38% of the companys stock.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

MO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $49.50 to $47.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on shares of Altria Group in a report on Thursday, April 13th. They set a buy rating and a $52.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Altria Group has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $45.83.

Altria Group Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of Altria Group stock opened at $45.98 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.59. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $40.35 and a 1-year high of $51.57. The firms 50-day moving average price is $45.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $45.66.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO  Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 27th. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.89 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.12 earnings per share. Altria Groups revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 4.98 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 15th will be issued a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 14th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.18%. Altria Groups dividend payout ratio is currently 120.90%.

Altria Group Company Profile

(Free Report)

Altria Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells smokeable and oral tobacco products in the United States. The company provides cigarettes primarily under the Marlboro brand; cigars and pipe tobacco principally under the Black & Mild brand; moist smokeless tobacco products and snus products under the Copenhagen, Skoal, Red Seal, and Husky brands; and on! oral nicotine pouches.

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Machina Capital S.A.S. decreased its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 7.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,591 shares of the financial services providers stock after selling 1,208 shares during the period. Machina Capital S.A.S.s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $545,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Silicon Valley Capital Partners purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. US Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Studio Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Activest Wealth Management purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.11% of the companys stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on WFC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Monday, April 17th. Raymond James raised their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a strong-buy rating in a report on Monday, July 3rd. Odeon Capital Group lowered Wells Fargo & Company from a buy rating to a hold rating and set a $44.60 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, June 7th. VNET Group reaffirmed a maintains rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Monday, June 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $49.00 to $45.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 10th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $49.04.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:WFC opened at $42.77 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $40.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The company has a market capitalization of $160.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.26, a PEG ratio of 0.90 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.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC  Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.08. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 10.07% and a net margin of 15.93%. The company had revenue of $20.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $20.06 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.88 EPS. Wells Fargo & Companys revenue for the quarter was up 16.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 4.64 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 5th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 4th. Wells Fargo & Companys dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.38%.

About Wells Fargo & Company

(Free Report)

Wells Fargo & Company, a diversified financial services company, provides banking, investment, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance products and services in the United States and internationally. It operates through four segments: Consumer Banking and Lending; Commercial Banking; Corporate and Investment Banking; and Wealth and Investment Management.

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Mackenzie Financial Corp decreased its position in shares of Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI  Free Report) (TSE:CNR) by 2.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,361,628 shares of the transportation companys stock after selling 330,957 shares during the quarter. Canadian National Railway comprises approximately 2.1% of Mackenzie Financial Corps investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Mackenzie Financial Corp owned about 1.71% of Canadian National Railway worth $1,340,514,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CNI. Pitcairn Co. grew its stake in Canadian National Railway by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 2,979 shares of the transportation companys stock valued at $354,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its position in shares of Canadian National Railway by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,360 shares of the transportation companys stock worth $281,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC grew its position in shares of Canadian National Railway by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 4,005 shares of the transportation companys stock worth $474,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Canadian National Railway by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 28,401 shares of the transportation companys stock worth $3,067,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Canadian National Railway by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,579 shares of the transportation companys stock worth $307,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.89% of the companys stock.

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Canadian National Railway Trading Down 1.4 %

CNI opened at $115.58 on Friday. Canadian National Railway has a twelve month low of $103.79 and a twelve month high of $129.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company has a fifty day moving average of $117.88 and a 200-day moving average of $118.53. The stock has a market cap of $76.51 billion, a PE ratio of 19.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.91.

Canadian National Railway Cuts Dividend

Canadian National Railway ( NYSE:CNI Free Report ) (TSE:CNR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 24th. The transportation company reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.09. Canadian National Railway had a net margin of 30.61% and a return on equity of 25.00%. The company had revenue of $3.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $3.15 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Canadian National Railway will post 5.83 EPS for the current year.

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 9th were issued a $0.5835 dividend. This represents a $2.33 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 8th. Canadian National Railways payout ratio is 39.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on CNI shares. National Bank Financial increased their target price on shares of Canadian National Railway from C$175.00 to C$178.00 in a research report on Monday, April 17th. Desjardins upped their price target on shares of Canadian National Railway from C$178.00 to C$180.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Canadian National Railway from $115.00 to $125.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 25th. Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of Canadian National Railway from $114.00 to $116.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 25th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Canadian National Railway from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Wednesday, May 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $144.28.

Canadian National Railway Profile

(Free Report)

Canadian National Railway Company, together with its subsidiaries, engages in rail and related transportation business. The company offers rail services, which include equipment, custom brokage services, transloading and distribution, business development and real estate, and private car storage services; and intermodal services including temperature controlled cargo, port partnership, transloading and distribution, logistic parks, customs brokerage, trucking, and moving grains in containers.

Further Reading

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K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc raised its stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM  Free Report) by 12.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 45,008 shares of the companys stock after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the period. Philip Morris International accounts for approximately 0.9% of K.J. Harrison & Partners Incs holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. K.J. Harrison & Partners Incs holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $4,377,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 57,777,797 shares of the companys stock valued at $4,868,937,000 after buying an additional 389,746 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 43,512,330 shares of the companys stock valued at $4,403,883,000 after buying an additional 411,358 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 30,296,422 shares of the companys stock valued at $3,061,665,000 after buying an additional 449,971 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 16,050,540 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,332,355,000 after buying an additional 260,832 shares during the period. Finally, Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 100,700.1% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,640,144 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,582,939,000 after buying an additional 15,624,628 shares during the period. 77.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Philip Morris International Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:PM opened at $97.70 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $94.39 and a 200-day moving average of $97.87. The firm has a market cap of $151.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.70. Philip Morris International Inc. has a twelve month low of $82.85 and a twelve month high of $105.62.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

Philip Morris International ( NYSE:PM Free Report ) last released 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. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 10.80% and a negative return on equity of 128.55%. The business had revenue of $8.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.56 EPS. The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.19 EPS for the current year.

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 11th. Investors of record on Friday, June 23rd will be issued a $1.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 22nd. This represents a $5.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.20%. Philip Morris Internationals payout ratio is currently 90.88%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PM has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a hold rating for the company. 22nd Century Group reissued a reiterates rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Tuesday, June 27th. Citigroup raised shares of Philip Morris International from a neutral rating to a buy rating and boosted their target price for the company from $109.00 to $117.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Philip Morris International from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and boosted their target price for the company from $109.00 to $116.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Thursday, April 13th. They set a buy rating and a $114.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $111.40.

Philip Morris International Company Profile

(Free Report)

Philip Morris International Inc operates as a tobacco company working to delivers a smoke-free future and evolving portfolio for the long-term to include products outside of the tobacco and nicotine sector. The company's product portfolio primarily consists of cigarettes and smoke-free products, including heat-not-burn, vapor, and oral nicotine products that are sold in markets outside the United States.

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Scully Royalty Ltd. (NYSE:SRL  Free Report)s stock price passed below its fifty day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a fifty day moving average of $7.26 and traded as low as $7.03. Scully Royalty shares last traded at $7.03, with a volume of 3,222 shares.

Scully Royalty Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 4.18 and a quick ratio of 4.16. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $7.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $7.43.

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Scully Royalty Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a Variable dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 9th were given a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 8th. This represents a dividend yield of 11.4%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Scully Royalty

Scully Royalty Company Profile

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. UBS Group AG boosted its position in Scully Royalty by 52.3% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 3,783 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 1,299 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in Scully Royalty during the 2nd quarter worth about $59,000. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in Scully Royalty by 24.1% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 235,811 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $2,316,000 after acquiring an additional 45,776 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 29.90% of the companys stock.

(Free Report)

Scully Royalty Ltd. operates as an iron ore mining company in the Americas, Africa, Canada, Asia, and Europe. It operates through three segments: Royalty, Industrial, and Merchant Banking. The company holds royalty interest in the Scully iron ore mine located in the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.

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Key Insights

The projected fair value for Chorus is NZ$14.54 based on 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity

Chorus' NZ$8.16 share price signals that it might be 44% undervalued

The NZ$7.68 analyst price target for CNU is 47% less than our estimate of fair value

Does the July share price for Chorus Limited (NZSE:CNU) reflect what it's really worth? Today, we will estimate the stock's intrinsic value by taking the forecast future cash flows of the company and discounting them back to today's value. We will use the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model on this occasion. Don't get put off by the jargon, the math behind it is actually quite straightforward.

Remember though, that there are many ways to estimate a company's value, and a DCF is just one method. For those who are keen learners of equity analysis, the Simply Wall St analysis model here may be something of interest to you.

Check out our latest analysis for Chorus

What's The Estimated Valuation?

We're using the 2-stage growth model, which simply means we take in account two stages of company's growth. In the initial period the company may have a higher growth rate and the second stage is usually assumed to have a stable growth rate. To start off with, we need to estimate the next ten years of cash flows. Where possible we use analyst estimates, but when these aren't available we extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the last estimate or reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years.

Generally we assume that a dollar today is more valuable than a dollar in the future, so we discount the value of these future cash flows to their estimated value in today's dollars:

10-year free cash flow (FCF) forecast

2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 2033 Levered FCF (NZ$, Millions) NZ$223.5m NZ$293.0m NZ$316.0m NZ$343.0m NZ$344.0m NZ$346.9m NZ$351.3m NZ$356.8m NZ$363.1m NZ$370.0m Growth Rate Estimate Source Analyst x2 Analyst x2 Analyst x2 Analyst x2 Analyst x2 Est @ 0.86% Est @ 1.27% Est @ 1.56% Est @ 1.76% Est @ 1.90% Present Value (NZ$, Millions) Discounted @ 7.0% NZ$209 NZ$256 NZ$258 NZ$262 NZ$245 NZ$231 NZ$219 NZ$208 NZ$198 NZ$188

("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)

Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = NZ$2.3b

We now need to calculate the Terminal Value, which accounts for all the future cash flows after this ten year period. For a number of reasons a very conservative growth rate is used that cannot exceed that of a country's GDP growth. In this case we have used the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield (2.2%) to estimate future growth. In the same way as with the 10-year 'growth' period, we discount future cash flows to today's value, using a cost of equity of 7.0%.

Terminal Value (TV)= FCF 2033  (1 + g)  (r  g) = NZ$370m (1 + 2.2%)  (7.0% 2.2%) = NZ$8.0b

Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= NZ$8.0b ( 1 + 7.0%)10= NZ$4.1b

The total value, or equity value, is then the sum of the present value of the future cash flows, which in this case is NZ$6.3b. In the final step we divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding. Relative to the current share price of NZ$8.2, the company appears quite undervalued at a 44% discount to where the stock price trades currently. Remember though, that this is just an approximate valuation, and like any complex formula - garbage in, garbage out.

dcf

The Assumptions

We would point out that the most important inputs to a discounted cash flow are the discount rate and of course the actual cash flows. Part of investing is coming up with your own evaluation of a company's future performance, so try the calculation yourself and check your own assumptions. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at Chorus as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 7.0%, which is based on a levered beta of 0.800. Beta is a measure of a stock's volatility, compared to the market as a whole. We get our beta from the industry average beta of globally comparable companies, with an imposed limit between 0.8 and 2.0, which is a reasonable range for a stable business.

SWOT Analysis for Chorus

Strength

No major strengths identified for CNU.

Weakness

Earnings declined over the past year.

Interest payments on debt are not well covered.

Dividend is low compared to the top 25% of dividend payers in the Telecom market.

Opportunity

Annual earnings are forecast to grow faster than the New Zealander market.

Trading below our estimate of fair value by more than 20%.

Threat

Debt is not well covered by operating cash flow.

Dividends are not covered by earnings and cashflows.

Annual revenue is forecast to grow slower than the New Zealander market.

Next Steps:

Valuation is only one side of the coin in terms of building your investment thesis, and it is only one of many factors that you need to assess for a company. DCF models are not the be-all and end-all of investment valuation. Preferably you'd apply different cases and assumptions and see how they would impact the company's valuation. If a company grows at a different rate, or if its cost of equity or risk free rate changes sharply, the output can look very different. What is the reason for the share price sitting below the intrinsic value? For Chorus, there are three pertinent items you should look at:

Risks: To that end, you should learn about the 4 warning signs we've spotted with Chorus (including 2 which don't sit too well with us) . Management:Have insiders been ramping up their shares to take advantage of the market's sentiment for CNU's future outlook? Check out our management and board analysis with insights on CEO compensation and governance factors. Other Solid Businesses: Low debt, high returns on equity and good past performance are fundamental to a strong business. Why not explore our interactive list of stocks with solid business fundamentals to see if there are other companies you may not have considered!

PS. The Simply Wall St app conducts a discounted cash flow valuation for every stock on the NZSE 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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TruWealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL  Free Report) by 1.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 466,597 shares of the energy companys stock after buying an additional 6,247 shares during the period. Shell makes up about 2.5% of TruWealth Advisors LLCs investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. TruWealth Advisors LLCs holdings in Shell were worth $26,848,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Phoenix Holdings Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Shell by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Phoenix Holdings Ltd. now owns 18,051 shares of the energy companys stock worth $1,035,000 after purchasing an additional 595 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Shell by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,248,178 shares of the energy companys stock worth $71,084,000 after purchasing an additional 61,737 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Shell by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 10,737 shares of the energy companys stock worth $534,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Shell by 8.6% in the 1st quarter. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,467 shares of the energy companys stock worth $373,000 after purchasing an additional 512 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Willis Investment Counsel increased its holdings in shares of Shell by 28.1% in the 4th quarter. Willis Investment Counsel now owns 421,491 shares of the energy companys stock worth $24,004,000 after purchasing an additional 92,431 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 8.52% of the companys stock.

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Shell Stock Performance

NYSE SHEL traded up $1.12 on Friday, hitting $59.65. 4,802,897 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,208,719. The businesss 50 day moving average price is $59.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $59.30. Shell plc has a 52-week low of $44.90 and a 52-week high of $62.75. The company has a market capitalization of $207.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.95, a P/E/G ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Shell Announces Dividend

Shell ( NYSE:SHEL Free Report ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 4th. The energy company reported $2.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.48. Shell had a return on equity of 20.91% and a net margin of 11.20%. The business had revenue of $89.02 billion for the quarter. Equities analysts expect that Shell plc will post 9.05 earnings per share for the current year.

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 19th were given a $0.575 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 18th. This represents a $2.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.86%. Shells payout ratio is 19.07%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on SHEL. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Shell from $75.00 to $67.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 13th. Morgan Stanley raised Shell from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating in a report on Wednesday, June 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $2,525.14.

Shell Profile

(Free Report)

Shell plc operates as an energy and petrochemical company Europe, Asia, Oceania, Africa, the United States, and Rest of the Americas. The company operates through Integrated Gas, Upstream, Marketing, Chemicals and Products, and Renewables and Energy Solutions segments. It explores for and extracts crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids; markets and transports oil and gas; produces gas-to-liquids fuels and other products; and operates upstream and midstream infrastructure necessary to deliver gas to market.

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Sitrin Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW  Free Report) by 0.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 141,975 shares of the electronics makers stock after selling 1,121 shares during the period. Corning makes up 3.0% of Sitrin Capital Management LLCs investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Sitrin Capital Management LLCs holdings in Corning were worth $5,009,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in GLW. Buffington Mohr McNeal grew its holdings in Corning by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Buffington Mohr McNeal now owns 33,604 shares of the electronics makers stock worth $1,073,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Garrison Point Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Corning by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Garrison Point Advisors LLC now owns 9,535 shares of the electronics makers stock worth $305,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its holdings in Corning by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 49,500 shares of the electronics makers stock worth $1,746,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. grew its holdings in Corning by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. now owns 41,867 shares of the electronics makers stock worth $1,337,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC grew its holdings in Corning by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 7,979 shares of the electronics makers stock worth $255,000 after acquiring an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.38% of the companys stock.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Michael Alan Bell sold 35,045 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Friday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total value of $1,226,575.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Lewis A. Steverson sold 21,833 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Friday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.11, for a total value of $722,890.63. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 37,496 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,241,492.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael Alan Bell sold 35,045 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Friday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total transaction of $1,226,575.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 161,334 shares of company stock worth $5,294,350. Insiders own 0.40% of the companys stock.

Corning Stock Performance

GLW opened at $34.70 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The companys fifty day moving average price is $32.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $33.75. Corning Incorporated has a 1-year low of $28.98 and a 1-year high of $37.73. The company has a market cap of $29.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.74, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.09.

Corning (NYSE:GLW  Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 25th. The electronics maker reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.02. Corning had a net margin of 6.66% and a return on equity of 13.99%. The firm had revenue of $3.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.54 earnings per share. The businesss revenue was down 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Corning Incorporated will post 1.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Corning Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 30th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.23%. Cornings payout ratio is 105.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on GLW. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Corning from $40.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Corning from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 19th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Corning from $35.00 to $33.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 26th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Corning in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a hold rating on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Corning from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $35.00 to $38.00 in a research report on Friday, June 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $38.67.

Corning Company Profile

(Free Report)

Corning Incorporated engages in the display technologies, optical communications, environmental technologies, specialty materials, and life sciences businesses worldwide. The company's Display Technologies segment offers glass substrates for flat panel displays, including liquid crystal displays and organic light-emitting diodes that are used in televisions, notebook computers, desktop monitors, tablets, and handheld devices.

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Solitude Financial Services grew its stake in shares of Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF (NYSEARCA:VWO  Free Report) by 4.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 111,680 shares of the exchange traded funds stock after purchasing an additional 4,897 shares during the period. Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF makes up 2.9% of Solitude Financial Services investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Solitude Financial Services holdings in Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF were worth $4,512,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Thomasville National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Thomasville National Bank now owns 7,120 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $288,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Albion Financial Group UT raised its holdings in shares of Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF by 39.5% in the 4th quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 907 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. Tiemann Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Tiemann Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,183 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $372,000 after acquiring an additional 263 shares during the last quarter. Atlas Brown Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. Atlas Brown Inc. now owns 5,563 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $225,000 after acquiring an additional 263 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Accel Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF by 63.3% in the 4th quarter. Accel Wealth Management now owns 722 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 280 shares during the last quarter.

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Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF Stock Performance

NYSEARCA:VWO traded up $0.48 on Friday, hitting $40.58. The stock had a trading volume of 6,731,663 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,558,006. Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF has a 1 year low of $34.88 and a 1 year high of $43.22. The stock has a market cap of $72.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.00 and a beta of 0.69. The firms fifty day simple moving average is $40.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $40.45.

About Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF

The Fund seeks to track the performance of the FTSE Emerging Markets All Cap China A Inclusion Index, that measures the return of stocks issued by companies located in emerging market countries.

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Taylor Wimpey (LON:TW  Free Report) had its price target decreased by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from GBX 130 ($1.65) to GBX 94 ($1.19) in a research note published on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the homebuilders stock.

TW has been the topic of several other research reports. Berenberg Bank raised their price objective on Taylor Wimpey from GBX 111 ($1.41) to GBX 122 ($1.55) and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Friday, May 12th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Taylor Wimpey from GBX 154 ($1.95) to GBX 141 ($1.79) and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 22nd. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Taylor Wimpey from GBX 125 ($1.59) to GBX 131 ($1.66) and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Tuesday, April 11th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of GBX 121.33 ($1.54).

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Taylor Wimpey Stock Performance

Shares of TW stock opened at GBX 100.45 ($1.27) on Tuesday. The stocks 50-day moving average is GBX 116.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is GBX 115.65. The firm has a market cap of 3.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 553.89, a PEG ratio of -0.99 and a beta of 1.81. Taylor Wimpey has a 1 year low of GBX 80.64 ($1.02) and a 1 year high of GBX 132.07 ($1.68). The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.57, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 4.71.

Insider Transactions at Taylor Wimpey

About Taylor Wimpey

In other Taylor Wimpey news, insider Mark Castle acquired 1,559 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 17th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of GBX 126 ($1.60) per share, with a total value of 1,964.34 ($2,493.13). Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the companys stock.

(Free Report)

Taylor Wimpey plc operates a residential developer in the United Kingdom and Spain. It builds and delivers various homes and communities. Taylor Wimpey plc was incorporated in 1935 and is based in High Wycombe, the United Kingdom.

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Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA  Free Report) by 24.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,104 shares of the aircraft producers stock after selling 350 shares during the period. Osborne Partners Capital Management LLCs holdings in Boeing were worth $235,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BA. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Boeing by 109,667.8% in 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 acquiring an additional 16,041,103 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Boeing by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,684,704 shares of the aircraft producers stock valued at $1,840,881,000 after buying an additional 250,697 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in shares of Boeing by 11.7% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 8,321,871 shares of the aircraft producers stock valued at $1,585,234,000 after buying an additional 872,795 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Boeing by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,139,127 shares of the aircraft producers stock valued at $501,165,000 after buying an additional 263,999 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Boeing by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,059,320 shares of the aircraft producers stock valued at $582,770,000 after buying an additional 66,006 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.22% of the companys stock.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In other Boeing news, EVP Howard E. Mckenzie sold 412 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Monday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.36, for a total transaction of $84,196.32. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 17,181 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $3,511,109.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.15% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Boeing Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BA opened at $212.14 on Friday. The companys fifty day moving average price is $208.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $206.80. The Boeing Company has a 12 month low of $120.99 and a 12 month high of $223.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $127.62 billion, a P/E ratio of -30.66 and a beta of 1.41.

Boeing (NYSE:BA  Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $17.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $17.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($2.75) EPS. Boeings quarterly revenue was up 28.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Boeing Company will post -1.13 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on BA shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Boeing from $230.00 to $237.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 27th. StockNews.com raised shares of Boeing from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Monday, June 26th. 888 reaffirmed a maintains rating on shares of Boeing in a research report on Thursday, April 27th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Boeing from $225.00 to $220.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 27th. Finally, Northcoast Research cut shares of Boeing from a buy rating to a neutral rating and set a $180.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, April 4th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Boeing presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $221.60.

Boeing Company Profile

(Free Report)

The Boeing Company, together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, manufactures, sells, services, and supports commercial jetliners, military aircraft, satellites, missile defense, human space flight and launch systems, and services worldwide. The company operates through four segments: Commercial Airplanes; Defense, Space & Security; Global Services; and Boeing Capital.

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Superior Industries International, Inc. (NYSE:SUP  Free Report) CFO Timothy Trenary sold 17,402 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.56, for a total value of $61,951.12. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 199,809 shares in the company, valued at $711,320.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Timothy Trenary also recently made the following trade(s):

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On Monday, July 3rd, Timothy Trenary sold 3,053 shares of Superior Industries International stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.68, for a total transaction of $11,235.04.

On Friday, June 30th, Timothy Trenary sold 11,326 shares of Superior Industries International stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.58, for a total transaction of $40,547.08.

On Wednesday, June 28th, Timothy Trenary sold 8,130 shares of Superior Industries International stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.52, for a total transaction of $28,617.60.

On Monday, June 26th, Timothy Trenary sold 3,800 shares of Superior Industries International stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.59, for a total transaction of $13,642.00.

On Thursday, June 22nd, Timothy Trenary sold 6,303 shares of Superior Industries International stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.51, for a total transaction of $22,123.53.

On Tuesday, June 20th, Timothy Trenary sold 10,817 shares of Superior Industries International stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.48, for a total transaction of $37,643.16.

Superior Industries International Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE:SUP opened at $3.55 on Friday. Superior Industries International, Inc. has a one year low of $2.88 and a one year high of $7.38. The firms fifty day moving average is $3.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $4.71.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Superior Industries International

Superior Industries International ( NYSE:SUP Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 4th. The auto parts company reported ($0.07) EPS for the quarter. Superior Industries International had a net margin of 1.41% and a negative return on equity of 76.52%. The business had revenue of $381.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $404.51 million.

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SUP. Legato Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Superior Industries International during the 4th quarter worth about $1,013,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of Superior Industries International by 208.1% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 321,046 shares of the auto parts companys stock worth $1,268,000 after purchasing an additional 216,846 shares during the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Superior Industries International by 27.9% during the 4th quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 613,028 shares of the auto parts companys stock worth $2,587,000 after purchasing an additional 133,754 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in shares of Superior Industries International by 15.0% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 931,709 shares of the auto parts companys stock worth $4,612,000 after purchasing an additional 121,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Essex Investment Management Co. LLC raised its position in shares of Superior Industries International by 16.9% during the 1st quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 749,540 shares of the auto parts companys stock worth $3,710,000 after purchasing an additional 108,450 shares during the last quarter. 45.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Superior Industries International in a report on Saturday. They issued a strong-buy rating on the stock.

Superior Industries International Company Profile

(Free Report)

Superior Industries International, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and sells aluminum wheels to the original equipment manufacturers and aftermarket distributors in North America and Europe. It offers its products under the ATS, RIAL, ALUTEC, and ANZIO brand names. The company was founded in 1957 and is headquartered in Southfield, Michigan.

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Shares of Tortoise North American Pipeline Fund (NYSEARCA:TPYP  Free Report) rose 0.5% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $24.62 and last traded at $24.48. Approximately 21,280 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 72% from the average daily volume of 75,257 shares. The stock had previously closed at $24.35.

Tortoise North American Pipeline Fund Stock Up 0.5 %

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $24.28 and a 200-day moving average of $24.66. The stock has a market cap of $482.26 million, a PE ratio of 17.78 and a beta of 1.09.

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Institutional Investors Weigh In On Tortoise North American Pipeline Fund

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in TPYP. Baird Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Tortoise North American Pipeline Fund in the first quarter valued at about $220,000. United Capital Financial Advisers LLC lifted its position in shares of Tortoise North American Pipeline Fund by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. United Capital Financial Advisers LLC now owns 291,881 shares of the companys stock valued at $7,732,000 after acquiring an additional 3,537 shares during the period. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Tortoise North American Pipeline Fund during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,055,000. Foster & Motley Inc. lifted its position in shares of Tortoise North American Pipeline Fund by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 659,949 shares of the companys stock valued at $16,294,000 after acquiring an additional 10,346 shares during the period. Finally, Flow Traders U.S. LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Tortoise North American Pipeline Fund during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,266,000.

About Tortoise North American Pipeline Fund

The Tortoise North American Pipeline Fund (TPYP) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the Tortoise North American Pipeline index. The fund tracks an index of North American pipeline entities organized as MLPs, MLP affiliates, LLCs, and corporations. TPYP was launched on Jun 30, 2015 and is managed by Tortoise.

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UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH  Free Report) has been given a consensus rating of Buy by the fifteen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $590.84.

A number of research firms have commented on UNH. Royal Bank of Canada restated an outperform rating and issued a $592.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Monday, April 17th. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday, May 25th. They set an overweight rating and a $580.00 price target on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $627.00 to $564.00 in a research report on Friday, June 16th. Raymond James restated a strong-buy rating and set a $630.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, April 14th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $596.00 to $562.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 17th.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other UnitedHealth Group news, CEO Andrew Witty sold 6,160 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.49, for a total transaction of $3,002,938.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 86,564 shares of the companys stock, valued at $42,199,084.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,008 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Friday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $484.58, for a total transaction of $488,456.64. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,359 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $5,019,764.22. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Andrew Witty sold 6,160 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.49, for a total transaction of $3,002,938.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 86,564 shares of the companys stock, valued at $42,199,084.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 8,852 shares of company stock valued at $4,313,962 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.35% of the companys stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 1.7 %

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 414 shares of the healthcare conglomerates stock valued at $209,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Apeiron RIA LLC boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Apeiron RIA LLC now owns 2,581 shares of the healthcare conglomerates stock valued at $1,222,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. McElhenny Sheffield Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. McElhenny Sheffield Capital Management LLC now owns 1,317 shares of the healthcare conglomerates stock valued at $698,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. First Bank & Trust boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 1,115 shares of the healthcare conglomerates stock valued at $591,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Triumph Capital Management boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Triumph Capital Management now owns 616 shares of the healthcare conglomerates stock valued at $327,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $461.58 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $481.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $488.37. UnitedHealth Group has a 12-month low of $445.68 and a 12-month high of $558.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The stock has a market cap of $429.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.11, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.66.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH  Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 14th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.26 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $6.24 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $91.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $89.77 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 6.16% and a return on equity of 27.05%. UnitedHealth Groups quarterly revenue was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.49 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group will post 24.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 19th were paid a dividend of $1.88 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 15th. This represents a $7.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.63%. This is an increase from UnitedHealth Groups previous quarterly dividend of $1.65. UnitedHealth Groups dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.39%.

UnitedHealth Group Company Profile

(Free Report

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated operates as a diversified health care company in the United States. It operates through four segments: UnitedHealthcare, Optum Health, Optum Insight, and Optum Rx. The UnitedHealthcare segment offers consumer-oriented health benefit plans and services for national employers, public sector employers, mid-sized employers, small businesses, and individuals; health care coverage, and health and well-being services to individuals age 50 and older addressing their needs; Medicaid plans, children's health insurance and health care programs; and health and dental benefits, and hospital and clinical services, as well as health care benefits products and services to state programs caring for the economically disadvantaged, medically underserved, and those without the benefit of employer-funded health care coverage.

Further Reading

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Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in British American Tobacco p.l.c. (NYSE:BTI  Free Report) by 3.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 41,229 shares of the companys stock after purchasing an additional 1,434 shares during the quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLCs holdings in British American Tobacco were worth $1,448,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BTI. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its holdings in British American Tobacco by 379.3% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 1,942,991 shares of the companys stock worth $77,681,000 after purchasing an additional 1,537,627 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its position in British American Tobacco by 448.0% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 1,299,900 shares of the companys stock worth $51,970,000 after buying an additional 1,062,700 shares during the period. Capital International Investors increased its position in British American Tobacco by 12.6% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 9,449,045 shares of the companys stock worth $400,788,000 after buying an additional 1,060,090 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in British American Tobacco by 51.4% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,092,643 shares of the companys stock worth $88,226,000 after buying an additional 710,867 shares during the period. Finally, BlackRock Inc. increased its position in British American Tobacco by 11.6% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 5,624,861 shares of the companys stock worth $237,145,000 after buying an additional 582,790 shares during the period. 7.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BTI has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded British American Tobacco from an overweight rating to a neutral rating in a research report on Monday, March 13th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on British American Tobacco in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. They set a buy rating on the stock.

British American Tobacco Price Performance

About British American Tobacco

Shares of NYSE:BTI opened at $33.05 on Friday. The businesss fifty day moving average price is $33.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $36.15. British American Tobacco p.l.c. has a fifty-two week low of $31.64 and a fifty-two week high of $42.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

(Free Report)

British American Tobacco p.l.c. engages in the provision of tobacco and nicotine products to consumers worldwide. It offers vapour, tobacco heating, and modern oral nicotine products; combustible cigarettes; and traditional oral products, such as snus and moist snuff. The company offers its products under the Vuse, glo, Velo, Grizzly, Kodiak, Dunhill, Kent, Lucky Strike, Pall Mall, Rothmans, Camel, Natural American Spirit, Newport, Vogue, Viceroy, Kool, Peter Stuyvesant, Craven A, State Express 555 and Shuang Xi brands.

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BlackRock's Larry Fink isnt the only CEO no longer using the now-controversial acronym ESG.

ESG  which stands for a focus on environmental, social, and corporate governance principles  was mentioned by just 74 S&P 500 companies on corporate conference calls held during the first-quarter earnings season, according to data gathered by FactSet.

That was the lowest count in nearly three years and down from a peak of 156 in the fourth quarter of 2021. Executives are now more likely to mention artificial intelligence (AI), which garnered 110 mentions in calls held from March 15 through June 9.

The ESG mentions could fall again when companies begin to release their second-quarter results in the coming weeks.

"Something drastic happened in the past year or so," said Erick Mokaya, lead author of The Transcript, a newsletter devoted to trends in earnings calls.

Dont expect to hear the term at all when BlackRock (BLK) reports on July 14. Its boss, Fink, stated recently that he now refuses to say ESG because the term has become "weaponized" and "misused by the far left and the far right."

BlackRock CEO Larry Fink. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

The pledge was notable because Fink had become a corporate face of that trend over the last decade thanks to years of annual letters to investors that urged long-term investors to consider responsible ESG practices when evaluating companies.

These comments earned him critics from both sides of the ideological spectrum. Some on the right accused him of "woke capitalism." Some on the left said Fink's own firm didnt go far enough to reduce its own exposure to climate issues by divesting from oil and gas investments.

BlackRock also became the target of high-profile efforts by state officials, including Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, to pull public pension money from BlackRock. Florida withdrew $2 billion from the firm as punishment for its ESG stance.

The political focus around the issue keeps ratcheting upwards. House Republicans are aiming to make July into 'ESG month on Capitol Hill as they undertake efforts to reverse the trend toward do-good investing. The once-dry investing term has also become a mainstay issue on the 2024 GOP presidential campaign trail.

'We aren't getting this one right'

Mokaya pointed to one moment last September as a key turning point for how ESG is treated by the c-suite.

It was then that JPMorgan Chase (JPM ) CEO Jamie Dimon appeared before Congress and questioned much of the ESG orthodoxy, saying "we arent getting this one right."

Dimon argued that a more nuanced approach to things like climate practices was needed.

"Since then, a lot more CEOs have gotten bolder" about questioning previous ESG strategies and downplaying the term, said Mokaya.

Some investors have also pulled back. Inflows into US sustainable funds hit their lowest level in seven years last year in 2022 amid the growing backlash, according to a report from Morningstar. The outflows continued through the first half of 2023, according to Refinitiv.

Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase. (SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)

July is 'ESG month'

The outflows and declining mentions on CEO calls coincide with rising heat in the political arena that is expected to continue in the coming months.

DeSantis has signed a sweeping law to bar state officials from investing public money in ESG efforts. DeSantis has also taken the issue to his presidential campaign where he likes to brag that his bill kneecapped" ESG.

Florida is not alone, either. There are currently 26 states proposing anti-ESG investing bills according to a recent study by Morgan Lewis.

Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) speaks to reporters on June 20. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

The activity on the campaign trail comes as the House of Representatives plans their own focus on the issue in the month of July.

US lawmakers are set to make proposals to change the rules that govern asset managers as Republicans in the House look to further roll back the trend.

Shareholder activism will also be under the microscope as will the Biden administration's handling of the issue. A hearing about "protecting investors" is scheduled before the House Financial Services Committee on July 12.

ESG "is clearly politicized in the US and that's something asset managers and lending institutions just have to deal with," TD Cowen Managing Director John Miller recently said.

Ben Werschkul is a Washington correspondent for Yahoo Finance.

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Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, visits the exhibition center of the Suzhou Industrial Park in Suzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province, July 5, 2023. [Xinhua/Ju Peng]

NANJING, July 7 (Xinhua)  President Xi Jinping has called on east China's Jiangsu Province to take the lead and set an example in advancing Chinese modernization.

Xi, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks during an inspection trip in Jiangsu from Wednesday to Friday.

Lauding the strengths of Jiangsu's solid industrial foundation, rich scientific and educational resources, sound business environment and huge market size, he urged the province to continue to play an exemplary role in promoting reform, innovation and high-quality development, as well as in contributing to China's efforts to foster a new pattern of development.

During the trip, Xi visited the cities of Suzhou and Nanjing, and went to places including an industrial park, enterprises, a historic and cultural block, and a science lab.

Visiting the Suzhou Industrial Park, Xi emphasized the crucial role of hi-tech parks in achieving self-reliance and self-strengthening in science and technology. He called for deeper integrated development of enterprises, universities, and research institutes, with enterprises taking the lead.

Xi highlighted the importance of fostering new industries and accelerating industrial upgrades by leveraging new technologies. Additionally, he emphasized expanding international cooperation to build world-class hi-tech parks that are open and driven by innovation.

During his visit to Suzhou HYC Technology Co., Ltd., Xi expressed his delight in observing that all the research and development personnel at the company are young. He remarked that China's modernization drive offers immense opportunities for young people.

On Thursday morning, Xi strolled through the Pingjiang Historic and Cultural Block, a site with a rich history spanning over 2,500 years.

He noted that the fine traditional Chinese culture embodies qualities such as resilience, patience, and perseverance, which have become an integral part of the Chinese national spirit.

Xi said that Suzhou has excelled in blending tradition with modernity, simultaneously promoting historical and cultural inheritance and boosting high-tech innovation and high-quality development.

This approach epitomizes the future of development, he added.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, visits a historic and cultural block of Pingjiang Road in Suzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province, July 6, 2023. [Xinhua/Yan Yan]

During his tour of Nanjing, capital city of Jiangsu, on Thursday afternoon, Xi visited the Purple Mountain Laboratories, where he inspected a 6G comprehensive lab, among others, to learn about efforts to make major sci-tech breakthroughs.

Xi said that with the rapid advancement of information technology, disruptive technologies can emerge at any moment. He stressed pursuing a pragmatic path of innovation.

Inspecting NARI Group Corporation, Xi learned about the enterprise's efforts in developing core technologies, ensuring grid security and power supply, and promoting energy transition.

Xi encouraged young researchers at the company to make breakthroughs in cutting-edge technologies, thus leading a fulfilling life.

On Friday morning, Xi heard a work report from the provincial Party committee and the government of Jiangsu.

Xi pointed out that the key to Chinese modernization lies in the modernization of science and technology.

Efforts should be made to reinforce the principal role of enterprises in innovation, encourage the flow of innovation resources to enterprises, and promote the industrial application of scientific and technological advances, Xi said.

Xi called for establishing a basic system to support comprehensive innovation.

He also called for increasing sci-tech investment through diverse channels and strengthening the legal protection of intellectual property rights.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, visits NARI Group Corporation in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province, July 6, 2023. [Xinhua/Xie Huanchi]

Xi stressed the need to prioritize the real economy and build a modern industrial system.

Pace should be sped up to develop strategic emerging industrial clusters with international competitiveness, he said, calling for deeper integration of the digital economy with advanced manufacturing and modern service industries.

He called for building a modern industrial system with advanced manufacturing as the backbone.

The province should also smoothen domestic and international dual circulation, innovate ways and measures to attract foreign investment and open wider to the outside world, Xi added.

Building a modern Chinese civilization is essential to advancing Chinese modernization, Xi noted, urging Jiangsu to step up the promotion of sectors including science and technology, education and culture.

Xi also demanded accelerated efforts to establish a well-rounded social security system, improve employment promotion mechanisms and public services to boost employment.

He called for better ensuring the employment of key groups.

On workplace safety, Xi said safety overhauls must be carried forward to curb serious and major accidents.

Xi called for vigilance against flooding disasters as China is about to enter a key period for flood control. He also noted the increased risks of forest fires in some regions.

Various emergency preparations must be made to reduce all sorts of losses to the minimum, Xi added.

On the Party-wide education campaign, Xi said since its launch, good results have been achieved. He called for efforts to guide Party members and cadres in paying greater attention to practice and create synergy for tangible results.

Cai Qi, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and director of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee, accompanied Xi on the inspection.

(Source: Xinhua)
The Warren County, Kentucky, Jail posted a photo of Bowling Green Officer Matt Davis to Facebook on Friday, asking for the community to show support for him after he was shot at a car dealership Thursday night.
The board of Japan Foods Holding Ltd. (Catalist:5OI) has announced that the dividend on 14th of August will be reduced by 26% from last year's SGD0.0135 to SGD0.01. This means the annual payment is 4.7% of the current stock price, which is above the average for the industry.

View our latest analysis for Japan Foods Holding

Japan Foods Holding's Dividend Is Well Covered By Earnings

Impressive dividend yields are good, but this doesn't matter much if the payments can't be sustained. The last payment made up 85% of earnings, but cash flows were much higher. Since the dividend is just paying out cash to shareholders, we care more about the cash payout ratio from which we can see plenty is being left over for reinvestment in the business.

Looking forward, earnings per share is forecast to rise by 26.8% over the next year. Under the assumption that the dividend will continue along recent trends, we think the payout ratio could be 69% which would be quite comfortable going to take the dividend forward.

Dividend Volatility

Although the company has a long dividend history, it has been cut at least once in the last 10 years. Since 2013, the annual payment back then was SGD0.0107, compared to the most recent full-year payment of SGD0.02. This means that it has been growing its distributions at 6.5% per annum over that time. It's good to see the dividend growing at a decent rate, but the dividend has been cut at least once in the past. Japan Foods Holding might have put its house in order since then, but we remain cautious.

Dividend Growth Is Doubtful

With a relatively unstable dividend, it's even more important to evaluate if earnings per share is growing, which could point to a growing dividend in the future. It's not great to see that Japan Foods Holding's earnings per share has fallen at approximately 6.6% per year over the past five years. Declining earnings will inevitably lead to the company paying a lower dividend in line with lower profits. However, the next year is actually looking up, with earnings set to rise. We would just wait until it becomes a pattern before getting too excited.

In Summary

In summary, dividends being cut isn't ideal, however it can bring the payment into a more sustainable range. The company is generating plenty of cash, which could maintain the dividend for a while, but the track record hasn't been great. We would probably look elsewhere for an income investment.

Companies possessing a stable dividend policy will likely enjoy greater investor interest than those suffering from a more inconsistent approach. Still, investors need to consider a host of other factors, apart from dividend payments, when analysing a company. As an example, we've identified 3 warning signs for Japan Foods Holding that you should be aware of before investing. Looking for more high-yielding dividend ideas? Try our collection of strong dividend payers.

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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On June 30, Brazils Electoral Court (TSE) concluded its vote on the first of 16 indictments of fascistic former president Jair Bolsonaro, declaring him ineligible to run for office for eight years.

Jair Bolsonaro [Photo: Tania Rego/Agencia Brasil]

The trial focused on a meeting called by Bolsonaro on July 18, 2022, with foreign ambassadors in Brasilia, in which he attacked Brazils electronic ballot boxes and promoted the army as guarantor of the integrity of the electoral process through a parallel vote count, independent of the TSE. Bolsonaro categorically stated that it would be impossible to audit the Brazilian electronic ballot boxes, which would disqualify the TSE as an arbiter of the legitimacy of the elections, demanding the intervention of the armed forces.

Bolsonaro was convicted of abuse of political and economic power for electoral purposes, with the TSE finding that the meeting was aimed at using the office of the presidency to mobilize the presidents electoral base.

Such a conviction aims to solve, in the most opportunistic, pragmatic and anti-democratic way possible, the intractable crisis of capitalism and bourgeois democracy in Brazil, inextricably linked to the worldwide march of capitalism towards a third nuclear world war. It is as ineffective as it is dangerous.

First, to say that Bolsonaro used the meeting with ambassadors for electoral purposes is a gross understatement of what happened. The meeting was part of a long preparation for a coup detat that culminated in the fascist violence of January 8, 2023, in which his supporters attempted to force, by means of an attack on the headquarters of the three constitutional powers, the intervention of the armed forces.

Moreover, as already shown by the intense political discussions between representatives of Lulas own PT and foreign ambassadors, and stressed again by recent Financial Times reports of frantic diplomatic discussions with the US, the diplomatic arena was crucial for the Brazilian electoral dispute. This dispute took place behind the backs of the population, as the main candidates, Bolsonaro and Lula, presented themselves to international capital as the most capable of imposing the austerity required by global war preparations.

Having won, at least temporarily, the trust of its imperialist masters, the PT is now dedicated to rehabilitating the Brazilian political system. It is trying to convince the population that the period of fascist threats vocalized by Bolsonaro was nothing but a flash of lightning in a blue sky, and that everything can return to normalcy if the former president is removed from what the PT calls the electoral game. The goal of this political maneuver is to prevent workers from understanding the extent of the fascist threat and its causes in the crisis of Brazilian and world capitalism.

Bolsonaros electoral ban plays a key role in this process, since it alleges, as the rapporteur of the case at the TSE, minister Benedito Goncalves, emphasized, that the coup plot was of a merely electoral nature and, most importantly, of a very personal character. It thus absolves Bolsonaros Liberal Party and other key figures, especially within the military, of any role in the conspiracy.

It is significant that the Court unanimously acquitted Gen. Walter Braga Netto, Bolsonaros running mate and former minister of Defense and chief of staff, based on the allegation that Bolsonaro acted alone in organizing the meeting. In the same fashion, Goncalves cited the testimony of former chief of staff Ciro Nogueira and witnesses from the Foreign Ministry to emphasize that Bolsonaro acted alone. All claimed opposition to the meeting, which for the TSE reinforces its illegal character while placing the blame exclusively on Bolsonaro.

With the attempt to minimize the seriousness of the coup plot by reducing it to a campaign trail event, the sentence against Bolsonaro sets extremely anti-democratic precedents. Refusing to explain how the meeting secured any specifically electoral advantage for Bolsonaro, rapporteur minister Goncalves claimed that the electoral impact was irrelevant, so long as Bolsonaro had sought it. This reasoning was endorsed by the majority. A crucial document, the so-called coup draft found with Bolsonaros former Justice Minister Anderson Torres, which envisaged emergency measures to overrule the power of the TSE and establish a provisional military government, was attached to the case and cited without connection to the electoral impact, since it was clearly part of a much broader conspiracy that the court ignored.

Thus, the political balance sheet of the trial is that a handful of unelected judges revoked the political rights of a presidential candidate based on acts whose impact allegedly cannot be assesseda precedent that can and will be used even more arbitrarily against the political rights of those who challenge the political system from the left.

Meanwhile, the PT and the bourgeois press celebrated the ruling as the rebirth of a post-Bolsonaro right-wing in the country, offering political legitimacy to all of Bolsonaros co-conspirators. In a manner which is as utopian as it is politically criminal, the PTs president, Deputy Gleisi Hoffmann, celebrated the sentence as pedagogical and educational, adding that the extreme right has to know that in order to participate in politics, it has to be in the democratic process.

The press echoed the triumphant tone of the ruling party, with Globo editorializing that the TSE decision opens the way to the civilized right-wing and Estado de S. Paulo similarly predicting in an editorial the reinvention of the Brazilian right-wing.

It is undeniable that Bolsonaros conviction by the TSE judges carries a component of self-defense, given the former presidents incitement to attacks on the courts. These were frequently made side-by-side with fascist elements who promised to kidnap and execute the judges, among other opponents of the former president. This is also how one may understand the reaction of the bourgeois fractions represented by the newspapers that celebrate the reinvention of the Brazilian right-wing and by the PT itself.

However, all these factions, without exception, fear the Brazilian working class infinitely more than the fascist threat. The Brazilian bourgeoisie is aware that it presides over a social powder keg and one of the most unequal countries on the planet, and that it no longer has any path of development, even if temporary, like the commodities boom that momentarily allowed for relief from social tensions during the first PT governments.

Since the economic crisis that propelled the bourgeoisie to oust the last PT president, Dilma Rousseff, from power in the fraudulent impeachment of 2016, the countrys ruling class has engaged in a brutal downward spiral of austerity that cannot be imposed by democratic means. The emergence of fascist forces under Bolsonaros leadership responds to the objective need to prepare for an inevitable and decisive confrontation with the working class.

Far from offering any alternative to this situation, the new Lula government has as its only program the imposition of austerity under the new fiscal framework. It meanwhile is pursuing a foreign policy aimed at balancing itself between attempts to extract short-term concessions from the European imperialist countries and the United States and maintaining a close relationship with China and Russia.

In this context, the bourgeoisie fears that a full exposure of Bolsonaros crimes will precipitate a working class confrontation with the entire Brazilian political establishment, including the PT, for which it is not yet prepared. In addition to the election indictments, Bolsonaro is facing investigations for numerous other crimes, particularly those committed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Prosecuting them and eventually convicting Bolsonaro could pave the way for the same to happen to all those who carried out the herd immunity policy of putting profits above human lives during the pandemic.

The attempt to resolve the political crisis through the electoral court may further strengthen Bolsonaro himself and the fascist movement he is developing, since the anti-democratic and fragile nature of his conviction will be exploited both to portray him as the victim of a judicial persecution and for him to challenge it.

This attempt also embodies the PTs inability and fear of making any appeal to the working class for support. Instead, it, along with the ruling class as a whole, seeks to strengthen the bourgeois state, and especially those institutions most shielded from the precarious popular control offered by elections, such as the TSE and the Supreme Court (STF).

Nothing could be more representative of this hostility to the population than the deification of the president of the STF and TSE, Minister Alexandre de Moraes. Appointed to the STF by the successor to the PTs Rousseff in the presidency, Michel Temer, he has been allowed to preside over a secret inquiry with no oversight focused on the dissemination of fake news by Bolsonaros supporters.

It was based on these powers, and without any public discussion in Congress, that Moraes ordered the arrest of close aides of Bolsonaro, such as former minister Anderson Torres, with whom police found the plan to nullify the powers of the TSE cited by the rapporteur of Bolsonaros ineligibility.

Recently, Lulas Justice Minister, the former member of the Communist Party of Brazil (PCdoB), Flavio Dino, declared in a completely demoralized fashion and ignoring the workers on behalf of whom his government pretends to speak, that if it were not for the Supreme Court, we would be in exile. He added dismissively about Moraes and his superpowers that his decisions have been backed by the full court.

The fascists are fully aware that the measures of Moraes and the courts will not stop their march. It is Brazils worst-kept secret that Bolsonaros Liberal Party considers his conviction a political asset, one that can bolster the partys populist appeal by portraying the president as a victim of the elites.

The fact that Bolsonaro, like Donald Trump in the US and other hated far-right figures around the world, can pose as an opponent of the elites is ample proof of the political bankruptcy of nominally democratic, progressive organizations that pretend to speak for the workers, such as the PT. The way forward for the working class in fighting austerity and the authoritarian lurch caused by it is to break with such organizations and mobilize to put an end to the cause of war, austerity, and fascism: the capitalist system.
This week marks the tenth anniversary of the military coup in Egypt. On July 3, 2013, the then military chief General Abdel Fatah al-Sisi took power with the support of the imperialist powers and established one of the most brutal and bloodiest regimes in the entire globe.

Then-General Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi on Wednesday, April 24, 2013 [AP Photo/Jim Watson ]

Sisis coup culminated in a bloodbath. On August 14, 2013, army and police units under his command destroyed two protest camps of coup opponents in the Egyptian capital of Cairo, murdering more than 1,000, including many women and children. Human Rights Watch called it a massacre, the worst event of unlawful mass killings in Egypts modern history.

Since then, hundreds more protesters have been killed by the regimes henchmen. Tens of thousands of political prisoners vegetate in the countrys torture dungeons. Protests and strikes are banned. Independent media are censored and banned, as are parties and organisations that even criticise the regime. Use of the death penalty rises constantly in Sisis Egypt. In 2020, the number of executionsmostly by hangingtripled to an official total of 107.

Sisis coup was not simply directed against the then-President, Islamist Mohamed Mursi, and the Muslim Brotherhood of which he was a member. He aimed to crush the Egyptian revolution. In early 2011, millions of workers and youth had brought down the Western-backed longstanding dictator Hosni Mubarak through mass strikes and protests, shaking Egyptian capitalism and imperialisms domination of the region to its foundations.

The Egyptian military attacking central Tahrir Square in Cairo on April 12, 2011.

With Sisis coup, the military tried to stop the mass movement, which had not subsided even under Mursi, once and for all. In the first half of 2013, workers organised more than 4,500 strikes and social protests against the Islamist government. When mass protests were called at the end of June 2013, millions participated across the country to protest against Mursis pro-capitalist policies, his support for Israels attack on Gaza and the imperialist regime-change war in Syria.

As with the overthrow of Mubarak in 2011, the protests showed the tremendous power of the working class. At the same time, the coup once again put into sharp focus the fundamental problem of the Egyptian revolution: the lack of a political perspective and leadership. In the absence of a revolutionary party to mobilise the working class for the struggle for power on the basis of an international socialist programme, the military was able to dominate in the end.

A central role in disorienting the mass movement and ultimately delivering it to Sisis tyranny was played by the Egyptian pseudo-left. Forces such as the Revolutionary Socialists (RS), which maintains close links with the Socialist Workers Party (SWP) in Britain and the Left Party in Germany, among others, declared that the working class could not play an independent role but had to subordinate itself to one wing or another of the bourgeoisie.

Immediately after Mubaraks fall on February 11, 2011, the RS spread illusions in the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), which took power under the leadership of Mubaraks former Defence Minister Muhammed Tantawi. In Britains Guardian, RS activist and blogger Hossam el-Hamalawy celebrated young officers and soldiers as our allies and declared that the army will eventually engineer the transition to a civilian government.

As the military revealed its true character and violently suppressed strikes and protests, calls for a second revolution were raised among workers and youth. The RS explicitly rejected this and instead promoted the Muslim Brotherhood as the right wing of the revolution. They supported Mursi in the run-off of the 2012 presidential election and subsequently celebrated the Islamists victory as a victory for the revolution and a great achievement in pushing back the counterrevolution.

The role of the RS in the military coup then fully exposed its counterrevolutionary character. The RS dubbed it a second revolution and again fanned illusions in the military leadership. In a statement on July 11, it called for pressure to be put on the coup regime to take measures immediately for achieving social justice for the benefit of the millions of poor Egyptians.

The RS support for the coup was not limited to words. It had actively prepared the way for it. The RS was among the most active supporters of the Tamarod Alliancea hodgepodge of pseudo-lefts, liberals (Mohamed El-Baradei), Egyptian billionaires (Naguib Sawiris) and former representatives of the Mubarak regime (Ahmed Shafiq)whose mission was to turn popular resistance into grist for the mills of the military.

When Sisi announced the takeover on state television on July 3, Tamarod leaders Mahmoud Badr and Mohammed Abdel Aziz stood by his side. Only a few weeks earlier, on May 28, 2013, the two had been received and celebrated at RS headquarters in Giza. Earlier, the RS had issued a statement calling Tamarod a way to complete the revolution and declaring its intention to fully participate in this campaign.

Ten years later, the RS is at pains to cover its tracks. In his article on the anniversary of the coup entitled Egypt: A Decade of Counterrevolution, Hamalawy notes that Egyptian workers frustration with Morsis rule was ultimately channelled into a reactionary position thanks to the influence of labour movement leaders from various camps. Hamalawy passes over the fact that he himself and the RS were among these leaders and camps.

Kamal Abu Eita, later the first labour minister in Sisis coup cabinet, speaks at the Revolutionary Socialist Centre in Giza. [Photo by Hossam el-Hamalawy / CC BY 2.0

One person Hamalawy names is the independent trade union leader and first minister of manpower in Sisis coup cabinet, Kamal Abu Eita. As minister, he had played a central role in defusing industrial actions. Under his rule industrial organizers were sacked, victimized, or arrested in dawn raids. Independent unions were strangled, and strikes were banned. Again, Hamalawy fails to mention that Nasserite Abu Eita was one of the RSs closest allies for many years.

That Hamalawy, the RS and their international allies are unwilling to admit their political line has led to disaster allows only one conclusion: The pseudo-leftpro-capitalist currents articulating the interests of wealthy middle class layersfears an independent revolutionary movement of the working class more than any counterrevolution, no matter how bloody.

Workers and youth must draw the necessary political conclusions from this experience. To succeed in their struggle for democratic and social rights, they need their own independent revolutionary leadership and an international socialist perspective. The World Socialist Web Site and the International Committee of the Fourth Internationalbased on Leon Trotskys perspective of Permanent Revolutionhave fought for this orientation at every stage of the revolution.

The day before Mubaraks overthrow by the working class on February 10, 2011, David North, the chairperson of the International Editorial Board of the World Socialist Web Site, wrote:

The responsibility of revolutionary Marxists is to develop among workers, as they pass through colossal political experiences, an understanding of the necessity for an independent struggle for power. The revolutionary Marxists must counsel workers against all illusions that their democratic aspirations can be achieved under the aegis of bourgeois parties. They must expose ruthlessly the false promises of the political representatives of the capitalist class. They must encourage the creation of independent organs of workers power which can become, as the political struggle intensifies, the basis for the transfer of power to the working class. They must explain that the realization of the workers essential democratic demands is inseparable from the implementation of socialist policies. Above all, revolutionary Marxists must raise the political horizons of Egyptian workers beyond the borders of their own country. They must explain that the struggles that are now unfolding in Egypt are inextricably linked to an emerging global process of world socialist revolution and that the victory of the revolution in Egypt requires not a national, but an international strategy.

Under conditions in which the class struggle is escalating worldwide and workers are revolting against the pro-war and austerity policies of their governments, it is necessary to strengthen this Marxist offensive. In Egypt, a revolution developed quite objectively. What was missing was the subjective factor: a revolutionary party anchored in the masses and fighting for the perspective of international socialism. The crucial lesson of the revolution and counterrevolution in Egypt is the need to build such a revolutionary leadership in time.
The Biden administration this week quietly announced its selection of long-time right-wing Republican foreign policy operative and convicted war criminal Elliott Abrams to serve on an independent panel that oversees US diplomacy.

Elliott Abrams at the US State Department, March 2019. [Photo: U.S. Department of State/Ron Przysucha]

The announcement of Abrams nomination to the the United States Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy (ACPD) came on the eve of the July 4th national holiday, a news dump timed to receive as little media coverage as possible.

There was good reason to give minimal exposure to this appointment of Abrams to the commission, which is tasked with advising the government on its global propaganda operations. He is one of the most loathsome figures in the US foreign policy establishment, personifying the homicidal violence, thuggishness and hypocrisy that has pervaded Washingtons global operations for the last four decades. His political record is bound up with the preparation and cover-up of bloody massacres, state terrorism and genocide, along with wars, coups and coup attempts, from Latin America to the Middle East.

While the appointment of Abrams has drawn pained expressions of moral outrage from scattered elements of the pseudo-left, no prominent Democrat, including those like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez affiliated to the Democratic Socialists of America, has uttered a peep.

Biden knows full well whom he has nominated. As a senator and leading Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee in the 1980s, Biden was intimately familiar with the crimes carried out by Abrams under the Reagan administration during the bloody counter-insurgency wars in Central America, along with the illegal CIA-orchestrated contra terror campaign to overthrow the Sandinista government in Nicaragua. Bidens role then was to seek compromise with the Republican administration based on the promotion of toothless human rights amendments to bills providing the funding that kept the carnage going.

This dove-tailed with Abrams own cynical attempts to justify every crime carried out by US imperialism in the region in the name of human rights, on the grounds that the greatest guarantor of these rights was the capitalist profit system, in whose defense any and all methods were permissible, including mass murder.

Abrams first came to national prominence as a senior State Department official during the Reagan administration, distinguishing himself for his shameless lying to cover up the crimes of US-backed dictators and terrorists, while slandering anyone daring to expose these crimes as communist dupes.

In 1991, the lying caught up with him, and he was compelled to plead guilty to two counts of lying under oath to the US Congress in his testimony regarding the secret and illegal operation mounted from the Reagan White House to fund the CIA-organized contra mercenary war that killed at least 10,000 Nicaraguans. The plea deal allowed Abrams to avoid a felony conviction and jail time, and within little more than a year he was pardoned by the outgoing president, George H.W. Bush, along with others who were convicted in the Iran-Contra conspiracy.

Under the Reagan administration, Abrams was director of the State Departments Office for Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs where he was a pioneer in waving the filthy and cynical banner of human rights to justify US imperialist war and support for US-backed dictatorships. He later assumed the post of assistant secretary of state for Inter-American Affairs, where he utilized these methods in support of monumental crimes.

Among the most infamous of these episodes was the December 1981 massacre of nearly 1,000 defenseless men, women and children by the US-trained Atlacatl Battalion in the Salvadoran village of El Mozote. The government troops rounded up the entire population of the village, separating the men who were interrogated, tortured and executed. Women and girls as young as ten were raped and killed. And children were decapitated, burned and hung from trees.

Abrams, whose job was to defend the government carrying out these grisly acts as a paragon of democracy and to assure the continued flow of US weapons, money and advisers, viciously denounced journalists who confirmed the mass killings, describing their on-the-spot reports as nothing but communist propaganda.

A 1992 United Nations-sponsored Truth Commission documented the massacre, naming 500 of the dead, while the mutilated remains of many more victims could not be identified. State Department cables also confirmed that the Reagan administration and Abrams were fully informed of the mass slaughter when they were dismissing it as propaganda.

Similarly, Abrams brushed off reports of massacres in Guatemala that the Catholic Church there described as genocidal. He commended the US-backed dictatorship of Gen. Efrain Rios Montt, who came to power in a 1982 coup, for its human rights record. In 2013, Rios Montt was convicted on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity for orchestrating a counterinsurgency campaign that killed and maimed thousands of members of the Ixil Mayan indigenous population, while driving tens of thousands more from their villages.

None of this, nor his conviction in connection with his direct role in creating and covering up the illegal operation to fund the Nicaraguan contras, prevented Abrams from assuming senior posts in various Republican think tanks after Bush senior was voted out of office, nor his subsequent appointment to the National Endowment for Democracy and the Council on Foreign Relations.

Returning to office after the installation of George W. Bush as president, Abrams joined the National Security Council, where he played a leading role in the abortive coup attempt against Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez in April 2002. He was among the most enthusiastic proponents of the war of aggression against Iraq. A fervent right-wing Zionist, he worked to overturn the 2006 Palestinian election and foment a civil war between its victor, Hamas, and the Fatah faction which Washington supported.

Under the Trump administration, Abrams was named special representative for Venezuela, overseeing the continued sanctions and dirty operations aimed at starving the Venezuelan population and ousting or assassinating President Nicolas Maduro. He subsequently took over the same portfolio in relation to Iran, becoming special representative for Venezuela and Iran, or more appropriately, special envoy for regime change.

Among the more revealing reactions to Bidens nomination of Abrams for the US propaganda oversight panel came from Jacobin magazine, the semi-official voice of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA).

In an article titled The Nomination of Elliott Abrams Is a Stain on Joe Bidens Human Rights Record, Jacobins Branko Marcetic described the appointment as baffling, an unforced political error and yet another self-inflicted ding to the White Houses public imageconscious foreign policy.

The nomination, Marcetic continued, makes a mockery of Bidens attempt to do a reset from the scandal-filled Donald Trump years by reframing US foreign policy as revolving around a global battle between democracy and autocracy and upholding the international rules-based order.

Who does Jacobin think its kidding? Its bleat of moral outrage came as the Biden administration prepared to send cluster munitions to Ukraine and continued its support for the Israeli government in its brutal military assault on the population of the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank. It has imposed conditions of abject misery upon tens of thousands of refugees denied the right to appeal for asylum at the Mexican border and its plowing ahead with its attempt to extradite Julian Assange to face an espionage trial and possible death sentence for daring to expose US war crimes. The conception that one could even detect another stain on Bidens human rights record is ludicrous.

More fundamentally, the appointment can only be baffling for those seeking to delude themselves and others as they line up behind the Democratic Party in the run-up to the 2024 election.

Ever since his election -- and even after the Republican-led attempt to overturn it on January 6, 2021 -- Biden has stressed his determination to work for bipartisanship and collaborate with his colleagues across the aisle. He has stated repeatedly his desire for a strong Republican Party, prepared to work with his administration in support of a common foreign policy directed at escalating both the US-NATO war against Russia in Ukraine and aggression aimed against China, while pursuing domestic policies that force the working class to pay for the ballooning costs of American militarism.

Abrams, one of the never Trump Republicans who opposes the former president because of his insufficient enthusiasm for the war for regime change against Russia, is a valued partner in pursuit of this policy. Indeed, he is the fitting ugly face of US imperialisms ongoing global war drive.

The DSA, a faction of the Democratic Party and a supporter of the US-NATO war in Ukraine, feigns outrage and bafflement over his nomination in an attempt to cover up this political reality and divert the growing left-wing opposition to capitalism and war within the working class.
Cargo containers are stacked up as three cranes used to load and unload them from cargo ships tower above at the Port of Vancouver in Vancouver, British Columbia. [AP Photo/Darryl Dyck]

Shipping companies are attempting to break the strike by West Coast Canadian dockworkers, which has shut down 30 ports in British Columbia, by re-routing dozens of container ships to US west coast ports. It has been estimated that nearly 290,000 containers with products valued at $12 billion or more are at anchor and cannot be unloaded in western Canada.

US dockworkers, who have been working without a contract for more than a year, must resist being forced to scab on their Canadian brothers and sisters. As a statement earlier this week by the International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees declared, US workers should refuse to handle re-routed Canadian cargo.

Vessels Value tracking data revealed on Thursday that two container ships originally bound for the Port of Vancouver are changing course and have been diverted to the Port of Seattle. The container ships that are being diverted have been identified as the MSC Sara Elena and the OOCL San Francisco. The first of the diverted container ships is expected at the Port of Seattle on July 10, according to port authorities.

This is the first of what is expected to be widespread re-routing of ships to US ports.

ITS Logistics told CNBC it has containers on the OOCL San Francisco. They were scheduled to arrive at the Port of Vancouver on July 3 and were then destined by rail to cross the US border and be delivered to Memphis, Tennessee. Paul Brashier, vice president of drayage and intermodal at ITS Logistics, said clients are now looking for alternate American ports.

Right now we are advising all clients with freight that was booked to Vancouver or Prince Rupert to work with their booking agents to track the US ports of call of the vessels that their containers are on and see if the ocean liners will allow re-consignment (switching container final destination) to a US port, Brashier said.

New data from MarineTraffic shows 15 containerships bound for Vancouver and 9 containerships bound for Prince Rupert. The containers that would be moved by these combined vessels is equal to $10.7 billion.

The Port of Vancouver, Canadas largest, is a critical part of the North American economy, moving more than $300 billion in goods each year and contributes nearly $12 billion to the countrys GDP. Moreover, about 15 percent of its consumer trade is headed to or coming from the US.

According to CNBC, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) declined to comment about whether its members plan on working any of the diverted vessels. The ILWU covers west coast dockworkers on both sides of the border.

Their silence is of a piece with its deliberate efforts to isolate and sabotage the strike and prevent sympathy actions in the United States, even as the danger grows that the Canadian government will ban the strike. In 2021, the Canadian government also criminalized a strike by 1,100 Montreal dockworkers.

It is a clear sign that they are prepared to force their US members to scab on ILWU members in Canada. To prevent this from happening, workers must organize themselves to take the initiative out of the hands of the ILWU bureaucracy.

For the past year, the ILWU has forced its 22,000 members in the US to keep working without a contract under a no strike pledge it had worked out in secret with the Pacific Maritime Association, in talks followed closely by the Biden administration. But for the past several months, workers had been defying this agreement with a series of escalating job actions which significantly affected port operations.

US dockworkers were doing so as Canadian ILWU members were voting by more than 99 percent to authorize a strike. This raised the possibility of a powerful, transcontinental movement uniting US and Canadian dockworkers.

In order to suppress this movement, the ILWU suddenly announced a tentative agreement last month, which was brokered by acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su. ILWU International president Willie Adams and Pacific Maritime Association President James McKenna released a joint statement noting they were pleased to have reached an agreement and we are ready to turn our full attention back to the operation of the West Coast ports.

I want to thank all who worked so diligently on these negotiations along with a special thank you to Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su, whose leadership helped us cross the finish line, Adams declared.

The suddenness with which the deal was announced has been followed by weeks of silence. Workers have not been given details about the agreement or even when they will be allowed to vote on it. What little information is known about the contract, if one even exists, shows it falls far below workers demands. It is evident that the reason for the sudden urgency in announcing the US deal was the looming strike in Canada.

At the same time, ILWU officials began trying to witch-hunt dockworkers who spoke to the press. San Diego Local 29 President Ray Leyba confronted WSWS reporters outside of the dispatch hall, and later tried to blacklist casual workers whom he had accused of speaking with them.

The isolation of American dockworkers from Canadian workers not only plays into the hands of the Canadian governments preparations to ban the strike. It also plays into the hand of the Biden administrations preparations to ban strike action on the docks in the United States, as it did last December on the railroads. Last month, the National Association of Manufacturers, the National Retail Federation and the Retail Industry Leaders Association sent letters urging the White House to intervene against the dockworkers.

In another ominous development, Canadian Labor Minister Seamus ORegan Jr., who has been urging both sides to come back to the table to negotiate, met with acting U.S. Labor Secretary Julie Su Thursday evening about the impact of the strike on the North American supply chain.

It is difficult to overstate the powerful position West Coast dockworkers occupy in the world capitalist economy. For nearly half a century, in the era of globalization, a substantial amount of world trade has passed through the ports they make run. It is for this reason that both US and Canadian governments and corporations are uniting against dockworkers, while using the trade union bureaucracy to enforce arbitrary and harmful divisions on workers on either side of the border.

But if the rank-and-file takes action to unite across national boundaries, they can launch a counteroffensive against the operators and galvanize support among workers everywhere.

The conditions facing North American dockworkers are the same ones facing dockworkers throughout the world. Powerful dockworker strikes have taken place in recent months in England, France, Argentina, South Africa, Chile, South Korea, Germany and elsewhere over the same issues at stake on the West Coast of North America. Dockworkers on the West Coast of Mexico had also threatened strikes this spring, including in the city of Manzanillo, in the state of Colima.

But the development of a powerful international movement depends on the ability of dockworkers to break out of the straitjackets imposed by the corrupt union bureaucracy. They must respond by building rank-and-file committees independent of the apparatus. This is the only means for workers to seize control of the strike from the ILWU bureaucracy and place decision-making in the hands of the rank-and-file.

Through such committees, dockworkers will be able to make a direct appeal to their fellow workers at all ports, both in Canada and the US, as well as Mexico, to demand:

No ships diverted from Canada be unloaded in the US or Mexico!

All dockworkers in the US and Mexico must support and join the strike! Any action to outlaw strike action in any country must be met with a joint response from workers across North America!

For assistance and for more information about rank-and-file committees, fill out the form below:
Two parliamentary sessions were held in Thailand on Monday and Tuesdaythe first since the May general election in which the Move Forward Party (MFP) won the most seats. The opening of parliament was brought forward by three weeks despite no party or coalition having a majority in both houses, setting the stage for a politically volatile period.

Pita Limjaroenrat, leader of Move Forward Party at press conference in Bangkok, Thailand, Thursday, May 18, 2023. [AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit]

The MFP won 151 seats and currently leads a tentative coalition with the Pheu Thai party possessing 141 seats. With the support of minor parties, the MFP leads a coalition totalling 312 seats, a clear majority of the 500-seat lower House of Representatives, but still far short of the 376 needed to elect a prime minister in a joint session of parliament with the 250-seat Senate, all of which are appointed by the military.

The election was held under the anti-democratic constitution imposed by the military after it seized power in a coup in 2014.

The coalition will put forward MFP leader and wealthy businessman Pita Limjaroenrat as candidate for prime minister in a vote on July 13. However, there has been little response in obtaining the extra 64 seats required, despite the MFPs appeals to the military-backed upper house. Senator Kittisak Rattanawaraha told the Bangkok Post on June 28 that Pita would be unlikely to gain even five senate votes, with most senators likely to vote against the MFP leader or abstain.

One senator who indicated he will vote for the MFP coalition is 45-year-old academic Zakee Phithakkumpol, who previously backed 2014 coup leader and outgoing Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha in 2019. In an indication of the fighting taking place behind the scenes, he told Bloomberg, Im not taking Pitas side but the way [senators] are carrying on may not be good in the long term, especially if we want the monarchy to endure in Thai society.

Separately, on July 4, after weeks of being wrangling, Pheu Thai and the MFP agreed to concede the position of House Speaker to fellow coalition member Wan Muhamad Noor Matha from the Prachachat Party, which holds nine seats. As there were no other candidates for the position, no vote was required.

Wan Muhamad had previously been a member of Pheu Thai until he left the party in 2018. The first deputy speaker position was filled by MFP candidate Padipat Suntiphada and Pheu Thais Pichet Chuamuangphan was chosen as second deputy speaker.

The push to resolve the political situation in Thailand arises from the concerns of big business that a prolonged election period is damaging the economy. Thailands stock market is the worst performer in Asia this year with a minus equity index of around 10 percent as some $US2.9 billion have been pulled from Thai stocks by foreign investors.

The early opening of parliament may be an attempt by the conservative, military-backed elites including the monarchy and state bureaucracy to force the MFPs hand and sideline Pita. He faces two investigations seeking to disqualify him as prime minister. The Election Commission is investigating his shareholdings in a media company, which is illegal for a member of parliament to possess, despite the company being defunct since 2007. Another investigation is into Pitas recent sale of land and his relations with a deeply indebted oil company.

A direct military intervention is always a possibility in a country where there have been 13 successful coups since 1932. The Straits Times reported on June 26 that the military and Royal Thai Police are on standby in preparation for social unrest. All foreign trips by military and police leaders have been cancelled and social media is being closely monitored.

The last general elections in 2019, rigged by the military, were followed by widespread protests led by students and youth, which is undoubtedly giving the ruling class pause, since it fears above all the intervention of the working class. Protesters in 2020 and 2021 called for the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut and his cabinet, the abolition of anti-democratic laws, and the reform of the monarchy. In the election, Pita and the MFP gained the support of young voters by promising limited constitutional and other reforms.

The MFPs predecessor, the then newly formed Future Forward Party (FFP), won an unexpected 81 seats in the 2019 general election. In the following months, the military-appointed Constitutional Court disqualified FFP leader, the billionaire Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, for seeking office while holding shares in a media company. The court dissolved the FFP on the same spurious grounds in 2020, contributing to the protests that began that year.

The MFP is a capitalist party, representing sections of the ruling class that has been marginalized by the military and its traditional backers. The party uses democratic slogans such as the 3Ds of Demilitarization, Demonopolization, and Decentralization both to advance the material interests of this dissident section of the bourgeoisie and cynically contain the struggles of youth and workers within the safe channels of military-dominated politics.

Furthermore, Pita is seeking to curry favor with the US, having pledged at his victory press conference in May to play by international rulesa reference to Washingtons constant refrain that Beijing must uphold the international rules-based order, that is, one in which the US sets the rules. He has compared himself to former US President Barack Obama, who came to power while Pita studied at Harvard in 2008. That really shaped me as a politician, he said in an interview with Foreign Policy.

It should be recalled that Obama urged voters to look forwards, not backwards in order to pass over the criminal record of the Bush administration at home and abroad, in the invasion of Iraq. Pita is proposing to do the same for the widely-detested Thai military.

Upon winning the election, Pita stated in an interview with the New York Times, This is another historic moment that shows we can transform the government to democracy peacefully. In other words, Pita is offering his services to bring about transition from military rule and maintain the stability of capitalism.

If Pita is allowed to form the next government, it will be primarily because significant layers of the ruling class fear the prospect of further social unrest as the economy continues to stagnate amid global economic uncertainty and the intensifying US-led confrontation with China throughout the Indo-Pacific region.
Despite declaring the scheme a crude and cruel mechanism, neither fair nor legal, that made many people feel like criminals, the Australian Labor governments royal commission into the punitive Robodebt welfare system has let those centrally responsible go legally scot-free.

Minister for Government Services Stuart Robert (left) with Australian PM Scott Morrison in December 2020. [Photo: Facebook]

In her near 1,000-page report released yesterday, the royal commissioner, former Queensland Supreme Court chief justice Catherine Holmes, documented how calculated and callous was the treatment of those dependent on welfare, including jobless and disabled workers, sole parents, students and aged pensioners.

Robodebt not only illegally claimed nearly $2 billion from at least 433,000 welfare recipients. Lives were shattered, all in efforts to slice billions of dollars off the welfare budget. In 2015, the Liberal-National Coalition government expected Robodebt to save $1.7 billion over five years.

Collectively, ministers in that government knowingly caused immeasurable grief, stress, financial suffering, trauma and, inevitably, suicide among some of the most vulnerable members of the working classincluding those suffering homelessness, medical conditions, mental ill-health, family and domestic violence, or facing crisis situations or caring responsibilities.

From 2015 to 2019, when immense public outcry finally forced a halt to it, the brutal automated system falsely alleged massive debts owed by welfare recipients. It set relentless private debt collectors on them, arbitrarily cut benefits or garnisheed income tax returns, and deliberately blocked all communications and objections except via an online platform that many welfare recipients had neither the means nor the ability to negotiate.

When Robodebt victims, including the loved ones of those who had committed suicide, publicly objected to their persecution, government ministers unlawfully released selected information from their welfare files to friendly media outlets, such as the Australian, in efforts to blacken their names and intimidate other victims.

In the words of the report, the barbarity and unlawfulness of the scheme became obvious soon after it was fully launched in September 2016, following a pilot trial: The beginning of 2017 was the point at which Robodebts unfairness, probable illegality and cruelty became apparent. It should then have been abandoned or revised drastically, and an enormous amount of hardship and misery (as well as the expense the government was so anxious to minimise) would have been averted. Instead the path taken was to double down, to go on the attack in the media against those who complained and to maintain the falsehood that in fact the system had not changed at all. The government was, the DHS and DSS ministers maintained, acting righteously to recoup taxpayers money from the undeserving.

Yet it appears that none of the ministers responsible will be held to account. In a sealed section of her report, Holmes referred some individualsreportedly just fourfor possible criminal or civil action by the Australian Federal Police, the National Anti-Corruption Commission and professional conduct bodies for public servants and practising lawyers.

The former ministers most criticised in the reportex-prime minister Scott Morrison and fellow former social security ministers Alan Tudge, Christian Porter and Stuart Robertsaid they have not been named in the sealed section nor referred to any law-enforcement agencies. Seemingly confident of protection, each has contemptuously denied any wrongdoing, and they will have their legal expenses covered if they challenge any of the adverse comments against them.

Instead, it seems that departmental officials and lawyers have been singled out for referrals. Yet the report itself describes how public servants at all levels were placed under intense and threatening pressure by the government ministers, and any reservations were quashed, to implement the Robodebt scheme to meet welfare-cutting targets.

Despite terrible individual cases reported to the media and the Robodebt inquiry, no reliable statistics exist on the number of suicides that resulted. In 2018, however, the Senate was provided with figures showing that, from July 2016 to October 2018, some 2,030 people had died after receiving a Robodebt notice.

The Robodebt process was based on income-averaged data from the Australian Tax Office that distorted the meagre incomes of victims who took often-irregular casual or part-time work because they could not survive on the sub-poverty welfare payments.

After receiving computer-generated letters declaring that they owed the government thousands of dollars, the victims were threatened with jail terms unless they paid the demanded amounts or produced documents, going back up to seven years, to disprove alleged over-payments.

Welfare recipients outside inner-western Sydney Centrelink office in early 2020.

As the report confirms, the Liberal-National government knew since at least 2016 that the regime was unlawfuleven infringing the draconian provisions of the Social Security Act. Media reports, including on the World Socialist Web Site, had already exposed its arbitrary and false methodology and shocking personal toll on distressed welfare recipients.

In response to the royal commission report, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese labelled the Robodebt scheme as a gross betrayal and human tragedy that was wrong and illegal. Government Services Minister Bill Shorten said the previous government and senior public servants gaslighted the nation.

Robodebt was not an aberration, however. Whether fully automated or not, the income compliance programs began under the Hawke-Keating Labor government in the 1990s and continue to this day. They are part of a wider offensive to drive people off welfare and into cheap labour for the benefit of employers, and to meet the demands of the corporate elite for ever-lower company and income taxes.

In January 2015 Morrison, then the newly-appointed social services minister, foreshadowed the Robodebt assault. In a media interview he said he would be a strong welfare cop on the beat because Australians were not going to cop people who are going to rort [the social security] system.

But Morrison was not the first government minister to declare such a war on welfare recipients. The royal commission report refers to a 21 August 1990 media release from the Hawke governments Social Security Minister Senator Graham Richardson, announcing a data-matching regime.

The report noted that In righteous-toned rhetoric of a kind often used by politicians announcing measures involving social security recipients, Richardson had stated: It means our income-support system is further protected against overpayments. This is only fair since the welfare system is funded by the taxpayers of Australia who expect it to be run fairly, efficiently and at the least possible cost. We should not be in the business of protecting cheats.

The next Greens-backed Labor government, from 2007 to 2013, launched the income averaging system. In 2011, in the words of the royal commission report: [T]he Minister for Human Services, the Hon Tanya Plibersek MP, and the Assistant Treasurer, the Hon Bill Shorten MP, jointly announced a new data-matching initiative which would involve automatic matching of data between Centrelink and the ATO on a daily basis, in conjunction with the automation of the tax garnishee process in respect of former recipients who had not entered a repayment arrangement.

The report does not quote Shorten, the current government services minister who initiated the royal commission together with Albanese. In 2011, Shorten vowed: The new matching data link is expected to increase the number of former customers identified for this process by an additional 65,000, above current detection levels, over four years. It would see more people being referred to the tax garnishee process, retrieving more outstanding debt.

The only major difference to Robodebt was that a Centrelink staff member checked the debt letters before they were dispatched. Up to 20,000 debt collecting notices were issued a year. Under Robodebt, this accelerated to around 20,000 a week.

Over the past four decades, Coalition and Labor governments alike have driven thousands of people off benefits or denied them eligibility in the first place. This has been achieved primarily through punishing work tests for unemployment benefits, harsher rules for disability pensions, and higher means tests and eligibility requirements for various entitlements, including aged pensions. The Gillard Labor government played a key part in this process by imposing severe tests for disability payments and cutting thousands of single parents off benefits.

Although the brutal Robodebt process was finally ended in late 2019, the underlying offensive against working-class living and working conditions is intensifying under the Labor government, supported by every other parliamentary party. Prices, utility bills, rents and home mortgage payments are soaring, while wages are being cut further and further in real terms.

In its May 9 budget, the Albanese government rejected calls to lift JobSeeker jobless payments above about half the poverty line, while ensuring that the wealthy enjoy super-profits and massive tax cuts, and hundreds of billions of dollars are set aside for US-led war preparations.

Token relief measures were tacked onto the budgetsuch as an insulting $2.85 a day, not enough for a loaf of bread, for people starving on unemployment or youth allowance. That is deliberate hardship, inflicted to keep coercing workers into low-paid employment in industries such as retail, hospitality, childcare and the gig economy.

The royal commissions 57 recommendations will do nothing to halt this assault. They largely consist of tinkering with departmental and public service legal guidelines. The report did not even recommend a compensation scheme for affected victims, saying it would be difficult because hundreds of thousands of people were affected in varying severity.

Much of the money illegally extracted from Robodebt victims has reportedly been repaid$746 million was reimbursed to some 381,000 affected individuals and debts were written off amounting to $1.751 billion. In November 2020, on the day it was set for trial, the government settled a class action by victims. But it included just $111 million in compensation, of which $10.3 million went to a law firm for costs. Data released by Services Australia showed about 45 percent of all victims would get less than $100.

None of this anywhere near compensates for the pain and suffering caused, including the trauma and emotional strain and anxiety, and stress-induced medical conditions. One victim, a former student allowance recipient from Tasmania, yesterday told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation she had been tormented by getting up to 10 calls a day from debt collectors. But she received only $13 from the class action.

While Albanese said his government would consider the 57 recommendations, he quickly rejected one. That was to amend the Freedom of Information Act to remove the automatic secrecy protecting cabinet documents. Albanese insisted that cabinet discussions must remain shrouded from public scrutiny.

The royal commission report concluded: The ill-effects of the Scheme were varied, extensive, devastating and continuing. It warned: The Schemes systemic failures, the effects on individuals and the consequences for the broader community have undoubtedly corroded public trust in government and its institutions. The effects of this are lasting; perhaps irreversible.

This distrust and hostility, which exists throughout the working class, is absolutely justified. It needs to be transformed into a conscious struggle, against the entire political and corporate establishment, including the Labor government, for a socialist program to totally reorganise society to meet the pressing social needs of the working class, the vast majority, not the private profits of the super-rich.

Decent welfare entitlements, on which the recipients, including the jobless, disabled and elderly can live, are a basic social right. But to achieve that means overturning the capitalist profit system, and placing the banks and huge corporations under public ownership and democratic workers control.
By buying an index fund, investors can approximate the average market return. But if you choose individual stocks with prowess, you can make superior returns. For example, the Kluang Rubber Company (Malaya) Berhad (KLSE:KLUANG) share price is up 19% in the last three years, clearly besting the market decline of around 5.9% (not including dividends).

With that in mind, it's worth seeing if the company's underlying fundamentals have been the driver of long term performance, or if there are some discrepancies.

View our latest analysis for Kluang Rubber Company (Malaya) Berhad

Because Kluang Rubber Company (Malaya) Berhad made a loss in the last twelve months, we think the market is probably more focussed on revenue and revenue growth, at least for now. Shareholders of unprofitable companies usually expect strong revenue growth. As you can imagine, fast revenue growth, when maintained, often leads to fast profit growth.

In the last 3 years Kluang Rubber Company (Malaya) Berhad saw its revenue grow at 29% per year. That's well above most pre-profit companies. The share price rise of 6% per year throughout that time is nice to see, and given the revenue growth, that gain seems somewhat justified. So now might be the perfect time to put Kluang Rubber Company (Malaya) Berhad on your radar. If the company is trending towards profitability then it could be very interesting.

You can see how earnings and revenue have changed over time in the image below (click on the chart to see the exact values).

You can see how its balance sheet has strengthened (or weakened) over time in this free interactive graphic.

What About Dividends?

As well as measuring the share price return, investors should also consider the total shareholder return (TSR). Whereas the share price return only reflects the change in the share price, the TSR includes the value of dividends (assuming they were reinvested) and the benefit of any discounted capital raising or spin-off. Arguably, the TSR gives a more comprehensive picture of the return generated by a stock. We note that for Kluang Rubber Company (Malaya) Berhad the TSR over the last 3 years was 22%, which is better than the share price return mentioned above. And there's no prize for guessing that the dividend payments largely explain the divergence!

A Different Perspective

Investors in Kluang Rubber Company (Malaya) Berhad had a tough year, with a total loss of 4.8% (including dividends), against a market gain of about 5.5%. 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 0.2% per year over five years. We realise that Baron Rothschild has said investors should "buy when there is blood on the streets", but we caution that investors should first be sure they are buying a high quality business. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Kluang Rubber Company (Malaya) Berhad better, we need to consider many other factors. For example, we've discovered 2 warning signs for Kluang Rubber Company (Malaya) Berhad (1 is a bit concerning!) that you should be aware of before investing here.

But note: Kluang Rubber Company (Malaya) Berhad may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with past earnings growth (and further growth forecast).

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on Malaysian exchanges.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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Are you a striking dockworker in British Columbia? Contact us here or fill out the form at the end of this article to speak out anonymously about your working conditions and discuss the way forward for the strike.

The meeting Thursday between Canadas Labour Minister Seamus ORegan and US Acting Secretary of Labour Julie Su must be taken as a warning by the more than 7,400 west coast Canadian dockworkers striking across 30 ports in British Columbia. It underscores that the Trudeau Liberal government in Ottawa and the Democratic Biden administration in Washington are conspiring behind the scenes to engineer the shutdown of the one-week-old strike, which represents a direct challenge to the Canadian and US ruling elites policies of imperialist war abroad and attacks on workers democratic and social rights at home.

Dockworkers rallying at the Vancouver Despatch Hall

Striking workers must respond immediately with preparations to defy government intervention, whether it takes the form of a rotten sellout agreement cooked up behind the scenes or back-to-work legislation and the imposition of binding arbitration.

This must include the construction of rank-and-file committees at every port to seize control of the struggle from the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) bureaucracy, which continues to downplay the danger of government intervention and is pleading with the employers to return to the bargaining table. The committees would make a special appeal to the 22,000 dockworkers in the United States, who were the victims of a similar White House-directed conspiracy last month to block a strike and impose a tentative agreement that has yet to be seen by any workers.

Following the Thursday afternoon call with Su, ORegan, who has vowed not to leave Vancouver until a deal is reached between the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA) and ILWU, issued a statement declaring, Industry, labour, and all levels of government want to see goods moving through our BC ports.

According to media reports and statements from the parties involved, Su was a central figure in brokering the June agreement between the ILWU and the employers Pacific Maritime Association (PMA). The sudden announcement came as dockworkers along the US west coast took increasingly militant job action in defiance of the no strike, no lockout deal between the ILWU and the PMA which has kept workers on the job for a year since their contract expired.

Su served as deputy to Labor Secretary Marty Walsh when the Biden administration intervened last November to block an impending strike by over 110,000 railroaders and ram through contracts that allows the highly profitable Class I railroads to continue ruthlessly exploiting the workers.

No details were provided on what ORegan discussed with Su, but it is not hard to imagine what the content of their discussions were. The strike is affecting between C$500 million and C$800 million of goods per day. Canada sends approximately two-thirds of its foreign trade to the United States and approximately 15 percent of US container traffic passes through BC ports.

On the basis of these figures, Su would have told ORegan that the continued disruption of supply chains is completely unacceptable under conditions of the Biden administrations escalation of the war on Russia, which demands the free movement of military equipment, and preparations for war with China. She would have explained that Wall Street is demanding that the strike be ended to avoid endangering North American supply chains and the economic protectionist policies upon which American and Canadian imperialism are basing their global plans to confront and defeat their great power rivals.

The Trudeau government is no less enthusiastic than the Biden administration to end the strike. In keeping with its long-standing close partnership with the unions, the Liberals preference is to apply pressure on the ILWU to reach a sellout agreement with the BCMEA and force it down workers throats. This explains ORegans involvement in talks for over a week, including at a last-ditch meeting involving both parties on June 30 aimed at averting the July 1 strike.

However, Trudeaus Liberals, who rely on the trade union-sponsored New Democrats in the House of Commons for a parliamentary majority, have proven in the past that they have no qualms about using the full force of the state to impose the demands of big business on workers.

In 2018, the Trudeau government criminalized rotating strikes by Canada Post workers fighting for wage improvements and job security. And in May 2021, the Trudeau government imposed a back-to-work law on 1,100 Montreal dockworkers, suppressing a months-long struggle against a brutal disciplinary regime, backbreaking schedules and real-terms pay reductions.

The next likely step will be for the government to announce the recall of parliament, which it will use as a threat to bully the ILWU into concluding an agreement. If a deal fails to materialize, the Liberals will seek to push through back-to-work legislation, which will receive enthusiastic support from the opposition Conservatives. New Democrat leader Jagmeet Singh, who claims to oppose strikebreaking laws, has at the same time renewed his commitment to his deal to prop up the Liberal government, which underscores the crucial role the NDP is playing in paving the way for the banning of the dockworkers strike.

The ILWU has nothing to offer workers in the face of the Trudeau governments open preparations to crush the strike at BCs ports. Earlier on the same day that ORegan met with Su, ILWU Canada president Rob Ashton addressed a rally in Vancouver attended by several hundred workers and downplayed the danger of government intervention. They want labor peace? Then get to the goddamn table, Ashton demanded of the BCMEA. But they dont want to, they are trying to wait for the government to do their dirty work. They dont want to treat us with respect. The bargaining committee is here. The bargaining committee is ready. The bargaining committee is ready to rock and roll.

As Ashton knows full well, given that he has personally attended meetings with ORegan and federal mediators, the government has already been actively intervening in the talks on a massive scale. Holding out the prospect of a fair agreement at the bargaining table under conditions in which Ottawa and Washington are conspiring to smash the strike is part of a conscious effort by the ILWU bureaucracy to deceive the workers about what they are up against and pave the way for the defeat of the strike.

The ILWU has also worked tirelessly to seal off striking Canadian dockworkers from their US counterparts, even as the Canadian and US governments collaborate intimately to smother the strike. The ILWU in the US pledged Thursday not to handle cargo destined for Canada on ships being re-routed from Vancouver or Prince Rupert during the strike. But this announcement appears unlikely to have a major impact, since shipping companies can relabel containers with a new destination port while they are at sea.

The direct intervention of the Biden administration into the dockworkers strike underscores that the strikers face a political struggle. In response to the attempt by the ruling elites in North Americas twin imperialist powers to ban strikes in the transportation sector to strengthen supply chain security and other economic protectionist measures so as to pursue their predatory global ambitions, strikers must broaden their fight.

BC dockworkers must appeal to all sections of workers across Canada, who have themselves experienced decades of wage cuts, attacks on benefits and pensions and the undermining of job security, to join a worker-led counter-offensive against austerity and war. Public sector workers, health care workers, construction workers, manufacturing workers, postal workers, and others are natural allies of striking dockworkers, since they have all been the target of a ruthless clampdown on workers rights by governments at all levels, including dozens of back-to-work laws over recent decades.

This political fight must not stop at the borders of Canada. The Biden administrations discussions with the Trudeau government on how best to end the strike have once again demonstrated that dockworkers in Canada and the United States are fighting for the same interests and face common enemies. They must unify their struggle internationally by breaking out of the nationalist, collective bargaining straitjacket imposed by the ILWU.
As the World Socialist Web Site (WSWS) recently reported, the Mauritanian writer and former Guantanamo torture camp inmate, Mohamedou Ould Slahi, was invited to act as curator this year of Berlins African Book Festival, scheduled to take place in August. Slahis first novel, The Actual True Story of Ahmed and Zarga, is due to be published in Germany.

Slahi was subsequently removed by book festival organizers, following a right-wing smear campaign in the German press and on social media. He was falsely accused of being an Israel-hater and antisemite.

Mohamedou Ould Slahi

Slahi, who was held by the US for 14 years in the Guantanamo hellhole, continues to be abused by his tormentors. He was imprisoned in the notorious Cuban prison after US investigators alleged he was one of the masterminds of the attack on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. He was only released in 2016. Slahi, according to a statistic kept by the detention center, was the most tortured man in Guantanamo. No evidence has ever been produced to convict him of any crime.

A strong, moving feature film, The Mauritanian, with Jodie Foster playing his lawyer, was released in 2021. It was based on Slahis account of his ordeal, Guantanamo Diary (2015), an international bestseller.

John Goetz, an American journalist based in Germany who wrote an article for Der Spiegel about Slahi in 2007, has created (along with Ben Hopkins) an in-depth and jarring documentary about Mohamedous case, Guantanamo Diary Revisited (also known as In Search of Monsters, and, in German, Slahi und seine Folterer: Das Leben nach Guantanamo).

In the films opening, Goetz argues that its a David and Goliath story  the whole weight and power of the American government focused against one individual.

'Master Jedi' in Guantanamo Diary Revisited

Slahi was born in the northwest African nation of Mauritania in 1970. An exceptional student, he received a scholarship to study engineering in Duisburg, Germany in 1988. In 1991, he traveled from Germany to Afghanistan to join the mujahedin movement, swearing allegiance to Al Qaeda. After the central Afghan government fell, he returned to Germany and had no further involvement with Al Qaeda. He later spent time in Montreal working as an electrical engineer.

The September 2001 events served as the occasion for a frontal assault on democratic rights in the US, including the passage of the 2001 Patriot Act, the spread of unrestrained spying, extraordinary rendition, indefinite detention, torture and military tribunals associated with Guantanamo and CIA black sites, along with the militarization of police agencies and the persecution of Muslims and immigrants.

Justifying its conduct on the basis of the September 18, 2001 joint resolution of Congress authorizing President George W. Bush to use force against those who planned and carried out the 9/11 attacks, the U.S. government, writes Slahi in Guantanamo Diary, started a secret operation aimed at kidnapping, detaining, torturing, or killing terrorist suspects, an operation that has no legal basis. I was the victim of such an operation, though I had done no such thing and have never been part of any such crimes.

In Guantanamo Diary Revisited, Slahiwho endured countless forms of abuse at the hands of the nefarious special projects team between 2002 and 2004and the filmmakers attempt to track down his torturers in the military and intelligence apparatus. Slahi makes an appeal to his persecutors to come to tea with him. He explains that, in his view, Forgiveness is the best form of revenge. Goetz sets off for the US to try and locate any or all of them.

The first of the four willing to speak to Goetz, a guard who was in his early 20s when he was deployed at Guantanamo, was known to Slahi by the nickname Master Jedi, Now living with his family in Kentucky, he is the only interviewee who expresses remorse for his participation in the torture. He now subsists on a cocktail of prescription pills for various conditions, including depression, insomnia and PTSD.

Master Jedi tells the filmmakers: I wanted to reach out and apologize for the things that I did. And if they hurt him in any way, I wanted to find clearance and acceptance. I cant apologize for the government. Thats not what I can do. But I can apologize for myself if that makes any sense.

On the other hand, Mr. X claims at first that the man was not tortured. That man was not harmed  thats not torture, thats techniques. Mohamedou rebuts this claim: He put me in the fridge like every night. He shackled me bentI was bent on the floor like this. Strobe light. They played loud music all night long. He stripped me naked one time and then he showed me pictures  he insisted I be scheduled 24/7. Then I was deprived of food  very weak. He broke my ribs. He almost killed me twice. He hurt me a lot. In the end, Mr. X is forced to acknowledge, Yeah, its torture.

Mr. X

In Guantanamo Diary, Slahi describes Mr. Xs role: It was in Gold Building. Mr. X and his colleague kept hitting me, mostly on my ribs and my face, and made me drink salt water for about three hours before giving me over to an Arabic team with an Egyptian and a Jordanian interrogator. Those interrogators continued to beat me while covering me in ice cubes, one, to torture me, and two, to make the new, fresh bruises disappear. Then, after about three hours, Mr. X and his friend took me back and threw me in my present cell. I told you not to fuck with me, Motherfucker! was the last thing I heard from Mr. X.

A female intelligence officer, Sydney, remains convinced that Slahi is a monster: He is very charismatic  He could sell ice to an Eskimo, and has the audacity to accuse Slahi of being manipulative.

In my favor, responds Mohamedou, I never killed, I never participated in action. As a further punishment, he is denied a visa to visit his family in Germany.

Richard Zuley is the most aggressive and unrepentant of the four. He is described in Guantanamo Diary as head of the special projects interrogation group. Zuley has a foul history, as a Chicago policeman.

In 2015, the Guardian, on the basis of an extensive investigation, reported that Zuleys brutal interrogation techniquesprolonged shackling, family threats, demands on suspects to implicate themselves and others were similar to tactics he had used for years, behind closed police-station doors, on Chicagos poor and non-white citizens. Multiple people in prison in Illinois insist they have been wrongly convicted on the basis of coerced confessions extracted by Zuley and his colleagues. Zuleys detective work, particularly when visited on Chicagos minority communities, contains a dark foreshadowing of the United States post-9/11 descent into torture. The former policeman led Mohamedous interrogation.

Richard Zuley

Zuley ends the interview with filmmaker Goetz by nearly punching his cameraman. On screen, he is one unpleasant customer, who gloats that he managed to force a confession out of Slahi.

Guantanamo Diary Revisited is a powerful documentary that reveals Mohamedou to be extraordinarily intelligent and humaneperhaps too forgiving! By contrast, his abusers come off as backward, ignorant or gullibleor worse. At the very least, the organizers of Slahis torture should all be behind bars.

Master Jedi is contrite, at any rate, having come from poverty himself and joining the military at a young age as a means of supposedly creating a better future. He now battles his nightmares by plying himself with medication. Mr. X wrestles with his demons by painting pictures about the torture he inflicted on Slahi. Sydney lives comfortably with the notion that Mohamedou deserved his treatment and wishes him dead. Zuley remains a believer in the war on terror.

A May article in the New York Times reported that since 2002, roughly 780 detainees have been held at the American military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Now, 30 remain. Of those, 11 have been charged with war crimes in the military commissions system  10 are awaiting trial and one has been convicted. In addition, three detainees are held in indefinite law-of-war detention and are neither facing tribunal charges nor being recommended for release. And 16 are held in law-of-war detention but have been recommended for transfer with security arrangements to another country. These bland statistics hardly begin to suggest the quantity of human suffering and despair that this horrible, shameful facility has witnessed.

In a 2021 interview with the WSWS, in reply to the question, What would you say to the American people?, Mohamedou commented: America deserves better than this! Guantanamo must be closed once and for all, and innocent people who suffered there must be given reparations.
Mines Advisory Group (MAG) Technical Field Manager Nick Guest inspects a cluster bomb near the Lebanese city of Ouazaiyeh on November 9, 2006, which was dropped by Israel. [AP Photo]

On Friday, the Biden administration said it would send cluster munitionsweapons that scatter unexploded bomblets across a wide area, killing and maiming civilians for decadesto Ukraine.

Facing the failure of Kievs military offensive, the United States is desperately seeking to use the provision of ever more destructive and indiscriminate weapons to reverse its setbacks on the battlefield.

Critically, the announcement precedes next weeks NATO summit in Vilnius, at which the United States and NATO are planning to massively expand their involvement in the war. Driven into a corner by its miscalculations, the Biden administration is compelled to take ever more drastic measures.

The aim of the decision to use cluster bombsregardless of its long-term impact on civiliansis to kill as many Russian soldiers as possible. The reasoning that led in the past to the use of Agent Orange and Napalmand which will be used to sanction the use of tactical nuclear weaponsis presently at work.

The US, on the eve of Vilnius, is clearly sending a message to Russian president Vladimir Putin. NATO will stop at nothing.

In a briefing Friday announcing the move, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan justified the decision to send cluster munitions to Ukraine as a means of staving off military disaster.

There is also a massive risk of civilian harm if Russian troops and tanks roll over Ukrainian positions and take more Ukrainian territory and subjugate more Ukrainian civilians because Ukraine does not have enough artillery, he said.

Sullivan made this statement a little over one month after Ukraine launched its spring offensive, which the American press had touted as an Endgame for Ukraine, leading, in the words of retired Gen. David Patraeus, to significant breakthroughs.

Instead, the offensive has produced a bloody debacle. Far from inflicting a crushing defeat on Russia, the Biden administration has been driven to one escalatory move after another in an effort to shore up the Ukrainian military.

We recognize the cluster munitions creating risk of civilian harm from unexploded ordnance, Sullivan said. But we had to balance that against the risk that Ukraine might not have sufficient artillery ammunition.

In other words, the Biden administration weighed the cost of killing and maiming generations of Ukrainian civilians against the benefits of killing more Russian troops. It decided that the deaths of Ukrainian children from unexploded ordnance was a sacrifice Americas oligarchy was willing to make.

Managing to outdo himself in total callousness, Sullivan added that Ukraine would have to be de-mined regardless.

Every line employed by the White House to justify sending these weapons of terror to Ukraine could be used to justify the deployment, or even use, of tactical nuclear weapons in the conflict. Yes, the White House would argue, nuclear fallout poses a risk to civilians, but this risk must be balanced against the risk of Russian military advances.

The stationing of US tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine has already been directly raised by an American think tank. Moreover, the deployment and possible use of nuclear weapons in the conflict will no doubt be on the agenda at the upcoming summit in Vilnius.

Every official statement by the United States about its involvement in the war is justified on the basis that it is once again saving a country through military violencethis time Ukraine. But in sending cluster bombs and depleted uranium weapons to Ukraine, the United States has made clear that this is nothing but a hollow pretext for pursuing its aim of prevailing over Russia and China in great power competition.

The very words used by the United States and its allies to condemn Russias alleged use of cluster bombs in Ukraine now fully apply to the US decision to send this weapon to Ukraine.

In February 2022, the US envoy to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, accused Russia of using cluster munitions in Ukraine, which are banned under the Geneva Convention and have no place on the battlefield.

In March 2022, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said, We have seen the use of cluster bombs... which will be in violation of international law. He added, We also have to make sure the International Criminal Court really looks into this.

In fact, all of these denunciations of Russian actions on the part of the US and NATO were merely hypocritical pretexts for escalating US involvement in the war.

The decision by the United States to send cluster bombs to Ukraine exposes all of the pseudo-left defenders of US involvement in the war in Ukraine, including those in the Democratic Socialists of America who condemn preemptive hostility to US imperialism, as shameless apologists for the US military's war crimes.

In fact, the US-led war against Russia in Ukraine is a war for American global hegemony, in which Ukrainians are mere cannon fodder. This is entirely in line with the series of criminal wars of aggression waged by the United States over the past half-century.

During the Vietnam War, the US dropped approximately 413,130 tons of cluster bombs in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. Many of these submunitions failed to explode on impact and continue to pose a significant threat to civilian populations, leading to countless injuries and deaths decades after the end of the war.

During the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, the United States regularly used cluster munitions to attack civilian areas, in what Amnesty International called an indiscriminate attack and a grave violation of international humanitarian law.

In Iraq, the devastation of cluster bombs was compounded by the use of depleted uranium munitions, which, according to one study, led the people of Fallujah to experience higher rates of cancer, leukemia, infant mortality and sexual mutations than those recorded among survivors in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the years after those Japanese cities were incinerated by US atomic bombs in 1945.

During the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan, cluster bombs killed and injured hundreds of civilians and littered the countryside with deadly unexploded ordnance. The United States has been implicated in the use of cluster munitions via its support for Saudi-led forces in the Yemen conflict.

Over 110 countries have ratified the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM), which prohibits the use, transfer and stockpiling of cluster munitions. The United States, which has killed more people with cluster munitions than any other country, is not a signatory.

A 2008 report by the United Nations explains the devastating impact cluster munitions have on the populations where they are used by the United States and its allies:

Over three decades after cluster munitions were used in Laos and Vietnam, they continue to cause death and injury, disrupt the economic activities of ordinary people, and hamper the implementation of development projects there. Even rapid large-scale clearance efforts, such as those that have been implemented in Kosovo and Lebanon, cannot prevent cluster munition contamination from having an impact. In Kosovo, civilian casualties from cluster munitions are still being reported, and in Lebanon, despite clearance beginning immediately after the 2006 conflict, it could not prevent casualties among the population as they returned to their homes and livelihoods.

The report continues:

Submunitions can prevent or hinder the safe return of refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) and hamper humanitarian, peace-building, and development efforts. Unexploded cluster munitions also pose a physical threat to humanitarian workers and peacekeepers.

The White House claims to have discussed and deliberated the move with the utmost care. The decision-makers would have been fully briefed on these known consequences of cluster munitions, and proceeded with them regardless.

Reporting on the decision by Biden to send the weapons, the New York Times wrote, Mr. Biden has come under steady pressure from President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, who argues that the munitionswhich disperse tiny, deadly bombletsare the best way to kill Russians who are dug into trenches and blocking Ukraines counteroffensive to retake territory.

The role of Zelensky in promoting a decision to send weapons that will maim Ukrainian children for generations sums up the role of his government, which serves as an instrument in enforcing the will of the NATO powers over the Ukrainian population.

This latest escalation by the United States must be seen as a warning. Washington will stop at nothing to prevent further military setbacks for its proxy force in Kiev and achieve its military goal of inflicting a strategic defeat on Russia. The same homicidal logic that justifies the deployment of depleted uranium rounds and cluster bombs will be used to justify even greater and more reckless crimes, from the direct entry of NATO into the war to the deployment and use of nuclear weapons.
Last Thursday, June 29, Taylor Taranto, 37, a heavily armed US Navy veteran and January 6 insurrectionist, was arrested outside former President Barack Obamas house shortly after former President Donald Trump posted Obamas address on his Truth Social media account. Taranto was in the Navy from 2004 to 2010 and deployed to Iraq in 2007.



In court filings, prosecutors claim that prior to going to Obamas residence, Taranto re-posted Trumps post revealing Obamas address on his Telegram and another social media account, with the caption, We got these losers surrounded! See you in hell, Podestas and Obamas.



As of this writing, the Republican front-runner for the 2024 presidential nomination has not removed his June 28 post featuring an April 2017 article that includes the Obamas Washington address. Taranto was arrested at around 2 p.m. in the Kalorama neighborhood of Washington DC, parts of which are under 24-hour Secret Service surveillance.



Prosecutors claim that after parking his van, Taranto broadcast himself walking around the neighborhood while referencing what he called entrance points that would grant him access to private residences and allow him to get the shot.

(Top) Ceska 9mm CZ Scorpion E3 and (Bottom) a Smith and Wesson M&P Shield recovered by police inside Taranto's vehicle. [Photo: U.S. Department of Justice]

Gotta get the shot, stop at nothing to get the shot, Taranto allegedly said, adding, This is where other people come to get the shot. Further along in the video, Taranto references getting a good angle and adds that he is trying to get an angle, for First Amendment, free speech, purposes.



Taranto is currently being held in the D.C. Metropolitan jail on four misdemeanor charges related to his involvement in Trumps failed coup, for which he is yet to be prosecuted more than 29 months after the attack. A warrant for Tarantos arrest related to his numerous crimes caught on camera during the attack on Congress was only issued on June 28, 2023. That same day, Taranto made threats on a YouTube live stream to blow up the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), adding that he was Coming at you Speaker (Kevin) McCarthy.

Taylor Taranto outside the Capitol on January 6 with a black cane. [Photo: U.S. Department of Justice]

At a court hearing on June 30, prosecutors claimed that Taranto had two firearms with 400 rounds of 9mm ammunition and a machete in his van at the time of his arrest in the Kalorama neighborhood. However, in court documents the government revealed that Taranto has 20 firearms registered to him and that government agencies do not know where the other 18 are.



According to prosecutors, Taranto has been been living in a black van for the last two months. Police claim to have recovered from the van the same Make Space Great Again hat that Taranto wore during the January 6 attack. For the last several weeks, Tarantos van has been parked outside the D.C. jail, where he has appeared at protests in support of other January 6 fascists.



In addition to being a US Navy veteran, Taranto is an engineer, an adherent to the QAnon conspiracy theory, and, according to the Franklin County Republican Party (in Washington state), he was the webmaster of the Partys website until 2022, well after he had been publicly identified by online researchers as a violent participant in Trumps coup.



In August 2021, Taranto and David Walls-Kaufman were identified by January 6 researchers who go by the name #SeditionHunters as two of the men who fought with former D.C. Metropolitan police officer Jeffery Smith inside the Capitol. Smith suffered a severe concussion while fighting with Trumps mob, which led to extreme depression and suicide two weeks later. In 2021, Smiths widow filed a civil lawsuit against Taranto and Walls-Kaufman. Earlier this year, Kaufman was sentenced to 60 days in jail for his actions on January 6.

Taranto (circled in yellow) and David Walls-Kaufman (red circle) fight with police inside the Capitol on January 6, 2021. [Photo: U.S. Department of Justice]



In 2013, Taranto ran in the primary election for the Pasco School District, but placed third out of three candidates, with 8 percent of the vote. Up until his recent cross-country trip to D.C., Taranto was living with his wife in Pasco, a city in Franklin County, which is located in southeastern Washington and is home to about 60,000 people.



In court documents released last week and this past Wednesday, federal prosecutors allege that Taranto not only participated in the attack on the Capitol, but was at the front of the mob and within feet of QAnon fascist Ashli Babbitt when she was shot and killed while attempting to breach the House Speakers lobby. The prosecutors filings include pictures of Taranto outside and inside the Capitol on January 6, armed with a black cane that he used against police and other protesters.



In a video posted to social media on July 15, 2021, Taranto indicated his surprise that he had yet to be arrested for participating in the failed coup despite his violent actions having been caught on camera.



In the July 15 post, Taranto included a video of himself inside the Capitol on January 6, with the caption: This is me stormin the capitol lol Im only sharing this so someone will report me to the feds and we can get this party rolling.





In its court filings, the government claims that even though law enforcement entities have been actively monitoring Tarantos social media accounts since January 2021, they were unable to locate him and arrest him until last Thursday. This is despite the fact that on June 14, 2023, Taranto appeared at the sentencing hearing for Walls-Kaufman and was identified by US Marshals, according to reporters.



Four days after that hearing, on June 18, Taranto and a group identified as Make America Safe Again held a screening of a January 6 film inside an elementary school in Takoma Park, Maryland. The event was streamed on Tarantos YouTube channel.



In the video, prosecutors claim that Taranto said he chose the school due to its proximity to Maryland Democratic congressman and former member of the January 6 Select Committee Jamie Raskin. Taranto allegedly said Raskin is one of the guys that hates January 6 people, or more like Trump supporters, and its kind of like sending a shockwave through him because I did nothing wrong and hes probably freaking out and saying shit like, Well, hes stalking me.



Later in the video prosecutors claim that Taranto said, I didnt tell anyone where [Raskin] lives cause I want him all to myself, and That was Piney Branch Elementary School in Maryland... right next to where Rep. Raskin and his wife live.



Nine days later, prosecutors allege, Taranto called Speaker McCarthys office requesting access to the January 6 footage. According to police, Taranto had a falling out with other January 6 fascists after he began advancing a conspiracy theory that Ashli Babbitt was not really dead.



In keeping with the Biden administrations desire for a strong Republican Party and the Democrats downplaying of the threat of fascism in the United States, neither Obama nor President Biden has denounced Trump for inciting terrorist violence against Obama, along with LGBTQ people, immigrants and socialists.
In the lead-up to US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellens visit to Beijing this weekend, the Chinese government hit back at unilateral US economic bans and sanctions. It announced restrictions on Monday on the export of two critical metalsgallium and germanium. The metals are vital in a wide range of applications, including for specialised semi-conductors, solar panels, LEDs and fibre optic cables, to name a few.

Mining and production of rare earths in China. [Photo: Foreign Policy Research Institute]

The restrictions, which China justified on the grounds of national security, will come into force from August 1 and will require companies to apply for an export permit. No details have been released as to the requirements for a permit. Beijing has defended the move, insisting it was imposing export restrictions, not bans, and that they were not targeted at particular countries.

There is no doubt, however, that the Chinese announcement is in retaliation for US trade war measures, especially bans on the export of the most advanced computer chips and the equipment needed for their manufacture. The US also has been pressuring its allies to follow suit. Both Japan and the Netherlands have done so.

China announced the restrictions just days after the Netherlands announced plans to apply new controls to limit the export of high-end chipmaking equipment from September 1. The Dutch company ASML produces the most advanced equipment in the world for the manufacture of semiconductors and the move is another blow to Chinese hi-tech corporations.

The US and Japan had already announced similar measures. The Biden administration imposed bans last October on the export of advanced chips and chip-making equipment to China on national security grounds in a bid to cripple Chinas hi-tech industries.

Further measures are reportedly now under discussion in Washington, including further limits on advanced chips made by US firms Nvidia and AMD used for Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications. The Wall Street Journal reported this week that the White House is also considering prohibiting Chinese companies from accessing the cloud-computing services of US tech corporations like Amazon and Microsoft.

Beijing has repeatedly criticised the US bans. In the wake of its own restrictions, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin this week reiterated: We oppose the overstretch of national security concept and abuse of export control by a handful of countries and bullying practices of going all out to suppress and contain specific countries.

In an interview with China Daily, former vice-minister of commerce Wei Jianguo warned: This is just the beginning of Chinas countermeasures, and Chinas tool box has many more types of measures available. If the high-tech restrictions on China become tougher in the future, Chinas countermeasures will also escalate.

In May, the Chinese government banned the use of memory chips made by the US company Micron products in critical national infrastructure, citing national security risks. The move echoed measures taken by the US and its allies to block the Chinese tech giant Huawei from any involvement in the construction of 5G networks.

The latest restrictions imposed on the two strategic metals points to even tougher measures that China could impose across a range of critical minerals, including rare earths. China dominates the production and supply of these products, which are vital to a broad range of industries, with both commercial and military applications. According to one estimate, China produces more than 95 percent of gallium output and 67 percent of germanium.

According to Caixin, Chinas business website, the top importers of Chinas gallium products in 2022 were Japan, Germany and the Netherlands and of germanium products were Japan, France, Germany and the US.

Speaking of Chinas announcement, Paul Triolo, a senior vice president at global strategy firm Albright Stonebridge, told Reuters: Its clearly timed to send a not-so-subtle message to the Biden administration that China holds significant cards when it comes to inputs to the semiconductor, aerospace, and automobile industries, and can and will increasingly be willing to inflict pain on US companies.

Peter Arkell, chairman of the Global Mining Association of China, explained to Reuters: Gallium and germanium are just a couple of the minor metals that are so important for the range of tech products and China is the dominant producer of most of these metals. It is a fantasy to suggest that another country can replace China in the short or even medium term.

Chinas announcement has provoked concerns in related corporations internationally about acute shortages of gallium and germanium and rising prices not only for the two metals but for a vast array of goods that incorporate them. The European Commission expressed its concern and German economy minister Robert Habeck warned that any expansion of the restrictions to materials like lithium would be problematic.

The Biden administration has lashed out at Chinas announcement, declaring hypocritically that it firmly opposes the export restrictions on the strategic metals. A US Commerce Department spokesman told the South China Morning Post in an email that Chinas actions underscore the need to diversify supply chains. The email added that Washington would engage with our allies and partners to address this and to build resilience in critical supply chains.

As it escalates its confrontation with China and prepares for conflict, the US is already engaged in intense discussions at home and with its allies to establish alternative supply chains for critical minerals to replace China in the time of war. For some of the rare earths, China is at present virtually the sole source.

The vulnerability of the US was underscored by a Pentagon spokesman who explained on Thursday that the Pentagon holds a strategic US stockpile for germanium but currently has no inventory reserves for gallium.

Chinas announcement was clearly timed to coincide with the visit of Yellen, who is now in China. Yellens trip, following that of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken last month, is supposedly part of a US charm offensive aimed at easing tensions between the two countries. Yellen, however, like Blinken, is not coming with any olive branch or offerings, but rather with a set of demands and ultimatums.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen testifies before the House Appropriations Committee on Budget and Oversight hearing on March 23, 2023, in Washington. [AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana]

At an event yesterday in Beijing organised by the American Chamber of Commerce, Yellen declared that she intended to raise a series of concerns with her Chinese counterparts, including Chinas use of nonmarket tools like expanded subsidies for its state-owned enterprises and domestic firms, as well as barriers to market access for foreign firms.

In a brazen display of hypocrisy, while justifying escalating US punitive measures against China on the basis of national security, Yellen told her audience of corporate representatives: Ive been particularly troubled by punitive actions that have been taken against US firms in recent months.

Far from healing the rift, Yellens visit will only add to the mounting tensions between the two countries.
During the 1970s and 1980s, hundreds of thousands of people in the US and internationally rallied in support of Gary Tyler. In 1974, as a 16-year-old high school student in Destrehan, Louisiana, some 20 miles from New Orleans, Tyler was falsely charged with the murder of a white youth in the midst of racial tensions over court-ordered desegregation of public schools.

Tyler spent almost his entire adult lifenearly 42 yearsin the notorious Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola for a crime he did not commit. Since his release in 2016, at the age of 57, Tyler has become a mentor to homeless youth and an artist specializing in the use of applique patterned quilts and textiles. He learned the technique of applique patterning in prison.

Although he is using a different medium to present his message, he has remained as principled in the defense of democratic rights as ever. In addition to his artwork, Tyler has been speaking throughout the country, using his experiences to oppose government injustices.

Gary Tyler, July 7, 2023.

On Saturday, July 8, Tylers first solo exhibit will be held at an event in Detroit sponsored by the Library Street Collective. The exhibit, titled We are the Willing, is taken from the opening lines of the motto of the Angola Prison Drama Club, which Tyler headed as president for 28 years.

He states on the website art matters:

My art practice was born of injustice While in prison, I learned the arts of theater and quilt-making, and used my talents to enrich my life and to mentor countless fellow-prisoners. Though my art was born of injustice, it generated hope. I served as a volunteer in the prison hospice program for many years, comforting the dying. I taught myself the art of quilting to support the program financially & to comfort patients and their families. The Angola Prison drama program, which I directed for 30 years, was a very robust program. In my work with prisoners, I used drama to promote a culture of community, civic responsibility, and hope. Since my release, I use both quilting & drama in my work with homeless youth.

Recounting his experiences at Angola prison when he was first sent there in 1976 as a death row prisoner, Tyler recently described to an audience at St. Peters Episcopal Church in Santa Maria, California the conditions he encountered:

I was in prison after being there less than 48 hours, in cell 8, on a bunk, and I was thinking, How am I going to survive this in my life? when suddenly I heard a scream.

He said the scream was so loud he thought it was nearby. He looked through the bars of his cell and witnessed the burning of an inmate on a different tier who had been doused with gasoline and set on fire.

That told me that the bars dont protect me, said Tyler. He realized that the entire prison system, including the guards, were crooked. Here I was. I was a little guy in the midst of guys built like gladiators, who were built for war, people who could tear me apart.

Gary Tyler, bound in ankle bracelets while at Angola prison in the mid 1970's.

Tyler said he was afraid for his life, but it turned out there were several inmates who protected him. Those men that I was afraid of, they were my protectors. They gave me the best of themselves, he said. It was a human side of the inmates, many charged with horrendous murders, that had a searing impact on Tyler.

They saw this little kid, he said. Who did this kid remind them of? I not only reminded them of themselves, but of their (own) sons that they left behind. Or their little brother they left behind, or their neighbors child.

Tyler recalled this theme in relation to his experiences with the Angola Prison Drama Club. He said of the prisoners he directed and helped to mentor, They gave the best of themselves.

Tyler has explained that in telling his story he wants to show how people overcome odds and challengesan admirable ambition.

The Workers League and the Young Socialists, the forerunners of the Socialist Equality Party and the International Youth and Students for Social Equality, played a leading role in the campaign for Tylers freedom. In collaboration with Gary, our movement carried out a determined struggle to mobilize the working class in his defense, insisting that his frame-up was not only a vicious racist attack by the likes of the White Citizens Council, but more fundamentally a class question. The fight for Garys freedom was not limited to the US, but was conducted by our international movement, the International Committee of the Fourth International.

We insisted that the frame-up of Gary Tyler represented an attack on the rights of the whole working class, and warned that the deepening turn by the US ruling class to domestic repression would affect every section of the working class. It was part of the response of the corporate-financial elite and its two-party system to an escalating economic, social and political crisis of the capitalist system internationally, which saw the fall of governments from Britain to Greece, Portugal and Spain, and the collapse of the Nixon administration in the US. This took place amidst a rise of militant working class struggles and a political radicalization driven by the breakdown of the post-World War II economic boom. Internationally, the military defeat of US imperialism in Vietnam delivered a body blow to the stability of US capitalism at home.

Young Socialists pamphlets issued in support of Gary Tyler.

In the US, there were 5,716 strikes in 1970 involving over three million workers. Many of the strikes in the auto plants and the coal mines were wildcat strikes initiated from below and led by young workers.

The warning that we made in relation to the frame-up of Gary Tyler has been entirely borne out. On average, three people a day, averaging more than 1,000 people a year, are killed by police in the US. A study by Lancet showed that a minimum of 30,800 people were killed by the police between 1980 and 2019.

While these killings have been depicted as motivated purely by racism, a statistical study conducted by the World Socialist Web Site, Behind the epidemic of police killings in America: Class, poverty and race, revealed that those killed by police are overwhelmingly working class, with more police killings of whites than blacks, although a disproportionate percentage of blacks are killed. These attacks have been growing against all sections of the working class, in lockstep with the terrible increase in social inequality.

Today a new generation, already angered over the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tyre Nichols, Jordan Neely and so many more, is becoming aware of the important case of Gary Tyler and the campaign for his freedom.

Gary Tylers arrest and conviction

On October 7, 1974, Tyler was on a school bus involved in an effort to integrate previously all-white Destrehan High School. David Duke, an emerging political figure in Louisiana and the national Ku Klux Klan (later a prominent supporter of Donald Trump), together with the local White Citizens Council, had whipped up racial hatreds in response to the desegregation order.

David Duke [Photo: David Duke]

As Garys bus attempted to leave the school, the crowd, primarily white students, began throwing rocks and bottles at the bus. The police looked on. During the melee, a shot rang out from the crowd aimed toward the bus. The bullet killed a 13-year-old white student, Timothy Webber, who was in the crowd near the bus.

The driver, Ernest Cojoe, told the police that the shot came from outside the bus (he worked part-time for the police department). Nevertheless, the police claimed the oppositethat the shot came from inside the bus. The police searched the bus and the students twice, but no weapon was found. After the third search, the police brought out a seat cushion, claiming that a gun had been found inside of it. The weapon turned out to be a police firing-range practice gun. Later, this fake evidence went missing. The police also claimed there were no fingerprints.

Gary was severely beaten by the police. When he refused to confess, he was charged with first-degree murder. The police managed to find a witness to testify against Gary. This witness, recalling the infamous Scottsboro Boys frame-up of the 1930s, recanted her testimony in a 31-page affidavit in March 1976. The witness, Natalie Blanks, a student on the bus along with Gary, explained that she had been threatened by the police and told that unless she read the statement prepared for her she would be charged as an accessory to the crime.

The next legal travesty was the conspiracy between the police, the prosecutor and the judge, who worked together to postpone Garys trial until he turned 17 for the express purpose of trying him as an adult.

The trial, held in 1975, was a sham. The judge, Ruche Marino, was reportedly himself a member of the White Citizens Council. An all-white, hand-picked jury was chosen to make sure there was a conviction. Garys lawyer, Jack Williams, was incompetent. He had never tried a murder case and failed to challenge the gross negligence of the judge.

The trial lasted nine days. The jury deliberated for only three hours before it came back with a guilty verdict. Under Louisiana law at the time, a capital crime automatically incurred the death sentence. The judge ordered Gary to be executed on May 1, 1976.

In 1976, Garys new lawyer, Jack Peoples, assisted by law students from Tulane University in New Orleans, challenged the conviction based on the recantation of Blanks testimony. On July 2, 1976, the US Supreme Court ruled in Roberts v. Louisiana that Louisianas death penalty was unconstitutional. The court ordered the Louisiana Supreme Court to review all death row cases in the state and commute their sentences to life imprisonment without parole for at least 20 years. As a result, after two years on death row, Tyler was resentenced to life and removed from solitary confinement to the general population.

In 1989, after Tyler had spent 15 years in prison, the Louisiana Board of Appeals recommended a pardon based on his behavior as a model prisoner. To be released, however, he would have to get the approval of the governor, Democrat Buddy Roemer, who later became a Republican. That year Roemer was running for governor against David Duke, who was trying to downplay his KKK resume. Roemer refused to even consider the pardon.

Successive Democratic and Republican governors rejected appeals for pardons, including Democratic Governor Kathleen Blanco. New York Times columnist Bob Herbert wrote three probing articles on Gary Tyler in 2007 in the hope that Blanco would grant Tyler a pardon before she left office in 2009. She refused.

Finally, in 2016, the state of Louisiana was forced to release Tyler after a series of court rulings left it with no other choice. Tylers lawyer filed a motion on the basis of the 2012 US Supreme Court ruling Miller v. Alabama, which found that mandatory life sentences without the possibility of parole for juvenile offenders violated the US Constitution. A January 2016 ruling, Montgomery v. Louisiana, determined that Miller had to be applied retroactively.

Exacting the final pound of flesh, the state of Louisiana insisted that in exchange for his freedom, Tyler had to accept a guilty plea for manslaughter. Tyler adamantly, and courageously, has always maintained his innocence. However, to win his release after more than 40 years of imprisonment, he was forced to accept the plea. The judge then reduced his sentence to 21 years, less than half the time he had already served, allowing his release.

The campaign for Garys freedom

A central theme of the fight of the Young Socialists and the Workers League was that the attack on Gary Tyler was an attack on the entire working class, black and white, and that his freedom would come only through the mobilization of the independent strength of the working class against both the Democrats and Republicans, and the system of capitalist exploitation they upheld.

Young Socialists campaign to build for the December 4, 1976 protest in Harlem, New York.

On that basis, our movement won enormous support for Tyler. We issued a pamphlet, The Frameup of Gary Tyler, which sold tens of thousands of copies and went through three reprintings. We collected over 100,000 signatures on petitions demanding the dropping of all charges and his immediate release.

The pamphlet issued by the Young Socialists stated:

The Young Socialists is fighting to mobilize the support of thousands of workers and youth to free Gary Tyler. We warn that Garys life cannot be defended through protests or appeals to the government and its courts. Those forces framed him up as a necessary step in their preparations for the most brutal assault on the rights of the entire working class. Defending Gary means fighting to force out this government headed by Carter or Ford and smashing the capitalist system which is responsible for these attacks.

In 1976, the Young Socialists and the Workers League won the endorsement of the campaign to free Tyler from unions representing millions of workers, as well as the endorsements of student and civic organizations and musicians. These included:

Local 10, International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU), San Francisco

Local 6, Pressmens Union, representing striking Washington Post pressmen

Local 214, National Union of Letter Carriers, San Francisco

State Executive Board, SEIU Local 535, Los Angeles

Joseph Davis, president, United Auto Workers Local 3 at Dodge Main in Detroit

Chester B. Wray, president, United Auto Workers Local 216, Los Angeles

Union support listed in the Gary Tyler pamphlets.

At that time, the Workers League and the Young Socialists were raising the demand for the unions to break from the Democratic Party and establish a labor party based on a socialist program, as the means of posing the fight for the political independence of the working class. The unions had not yet been transformed by the pro-capitalist bureaucracies into corporatist agencies of the government and big business, and our movement coupled the call for a labor party with the demand for a Congress of Labor and a rank-and-file rebellion to force out the bureaucrats and establish a revolutionary leadership of the union organizations.

Two of the popular musicians who supported and wrote songs about Gary Tyler were the British pop and reggae band UB40 and Gil Scott-Heron, formerly with the Last Poets.

On May 15-16, 1976, Garys mother, Juanita Tyler, and his brother Terry addressed a Young Socialists National Conference in Detroit attended by over 400 delegates. They were greeted with standing ovations.

Juanita Tyler, Gary's mother, speaking at the Fourth National Conference of the Young Socialist, May 15-16, 1976, in Detroit.

On December 4, 1976, the Workers League and the Young Socialists held a spirited demonstration of over 300 workers and youth in Harlem that galvanized the support of thousands of workers and young people who signed petitions and donated funds. At the event, young people staged a play about Gary and musicians performed. Terry Tyler addressed the rally and Gary sent revolutionary greetings.

At the forefront of the march was Tom Henehan, a member of the Workers League Political Committee and leading member of the Young Socialists, who played a major role in the campaign for Gary Tylers freedom. Tom was assassinated in 1977 at a Young Socialists event in Brooklyn, New York held to promote the fight for Garys freedom.

Young Socialist demonstration in defense of Gary Tyler, December 4, 1976. Tom Henehan is on the right in the front.

In 1985, then-Young Socialists National Secretary DArtagnan Collier interviewed Gary at Angola penitentiary. (The interview is published in the pamphlet Gary Tyler, a Class War Prisoner Speaks). Gary spoke with enormous respect and emotion about Tom:

This was a fighter, a fighter who died for what he believed in. We should always keep in mind that Tom Henehans spirit lives within us and that we should use that as a guiding force Tom is a brother whom we should always have in our hearts because Tom made a hell of an impression on me.

Lessons of the campaign to free Gary Tyler: Which way forward?

The Young Socialists slogan, It could be you; it could be me. Labor must set Gary Tyler Free!, was widely embraced by young people and workers. It proved not only correct, but far-sighted. Many black youth such as Gary Tyler were among the initial victims of government attacks, but the target was the working class as a whole, black, white and immigrant. And the attacks were carried out by both the Democrats and the Republicans.

By the late 1970s and early 1980s, the ruling elite had well and truly discarded reformist programs such as the War on Poverty and turned to austerity. Reagans election marked an inflection point in the intensification of the war on the working class and the collapse of the trade unions. This was summed up by the governments smashing of the PATCO air traffic controllers union in 1981, made possible by scabbing on the part of the AFL-CIO bureaucracy.

It was during the Democratic administration of Bill Clinton that the prison population exploded. Clintons tough on crime bill in 1994, supported by then-Senator Joe Biden, encouraged states to pass laws that increased sentencing and encouraged the use of the death penalty. From 1980 to 1990, there was a 134 percent increase in the prison population. From 1980 to 2020, the prison population increased 300 percent, from 500,000 in 1980 to over two million today.

Running for reelection as president, Bill Clinton interrupted his New Hampshire primary campaign in February 1993 to fly to Arkansas and attend the execution of Ricky Ray Rector. This was done to put an exclamation mark over his support for the death penalty.

Throughout the fight to free Gary Tyler, the Young Socialists and the Workers League insisted that racism was a product of capitalism and could not be overcome without destroying its source, the profit system. This meant opposing all forms of nationalist politics and politics based on race, gender or other forms of identity, and fighting to unite the working class both within the US and internationally.

Gary Tyler visited in Angola by D'Artagnan Collier in 1985. Collier was the Young Socialist National Secretary at the time.

The organizations of the middle-class pseudo-left continuously sought to present the question of Tylers defense, to the extent that they concerned themselves with it, as solely a question of race. In May 1976, the Young Socialists introduced a resolution at a conference called by the National Student Coalition Against Racism (SCAR), an organization run by the Socialist Workers Party (SWP) and the Young Socialist Alliance (YSA). The resolution was a principled defense of democratic rights that opposed the ruling class promotion of racism as a tool to divide the working class.

The resolution stated:

This conference declares that the attempt of the state of Louisiana to railroad Gary Tyler into the electric chair is a blow aimed against the entire working class. This vicious frame-up is part and parcel of the conspiracy by the ruling class politicians of the Democratic and Republican parties to destroy the basic democratic rights of all workersWe pledge to mobilize the youth and workers in every section of the labor movement to force the release of Gary Tyler and to defend all democratic rights.

The SWP and YSA voted against the resolution. All of the revisionists and Stalinists who at one time or another claimed to support Gary Tyler were oriented to the Democratic Party. These groups paraded various black nationalists at their rallies who were looking for careers and connections.

As the WSWS stated in January in The class issues in the police killing of Tyre Nichols:

As Lenin explained in State and Revolution, paraphrasing Engels, the police are one of the special bodies of armed men of the capitalist state. They exist to repress the resistance of the working class, with whatever violence is needed, to defend the property and wealth of the ruling oligarchy. In a society so catastrophically unequal as the United States, it is impossible to rule without the savagery of police violence, which will increasingly be turned against striking workers.

Today, a social and political crisis is developing in the US and internationally on a far higher scale than in the 1970s, bound up with the proxy war in Ukraine of US imperialism and its NATO allies against Russia and the preparations for military conflict against China. The turn to world war abroad means brutal austerity and dictatorship at home.

Masses of workers and young people are being radicalized in opposition to the attacks on democratic rights, the growth of inequality, the impoverishment of the working class, and war. Sections of the ruling elite are turning openly to fascism.

The way forward is the mobilization of the tremendous power of the working class independently of both big business parties on the basis of a socialist program. Gary Tylers case resonates because the working class is looking for a way to fight and a new generation of young people is becoming radicalized and turning to socialism. The task at hand is to build the revolutionary leadershipthe Socialist Equality Party and the International Youth and Students for Social Equalityrequired to lead this struggle.
Key Insights

Using the 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity, Bastei Lubbe fair value estimate is 9.83

Bastei Lubbe's 5.05 share price signals that it might be 49% undervalued

Bastei Lubbe's peers seem to be trading at a higher discount to fair value based onthe industry average of 59%

Today we'll do a simple run through of a valuation method used to estimate the attractiveness of Bastei Lubbe AG (ETR:BST) as an investment opportunity by estimating the company's future cash flows and discounting them to their present value. This will be done using the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model. It may sound complicated, but actually it is quite simple!

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 Bastei Lubbe

Crunching The Numbers

We use what is known as a 2-stage model, which simply means we have two different periods of growth rates for the company's cash flows. Generally the first stage is higher growth, and the second stage is a lower growth phase. To begin with, we have to get estimates of the next ten years of cash flows. Where possible we use analyst estimates, but when these aren't available we extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the last estimate or reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years.

Generally we assume that a dollar today is more valuable than a dollar in the future, so we discount the value of these future cash flows to their estimated value in today's dollars:

10-year free cash flow (FCF) estimate

2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 2033 Levered FCF (, Millions) 4.90m 5.60m 6.09m 6.46m 6.74m 6.95m 7.11m 7.23m 7.32m 7.38m Growth Rate Estimate Source Analyst x1 Analyst x1 Est @ 8.66% Est @ 6.14% Est @ 4.37% Est @ 3.13% Est @ 2.26% Est @ 1.66% Est @ 1.23% Est @ 0.93% Present Value (, Millions) Discounted @ 5.5% 4.6 5.0 5.2 5.2 5.1 5.0 4.9 4.7 4.5 4.3

("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)

Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = 49m

The second stage is also known as Terminal Value, this is the business's cash flow after the first stage. For a number of reasons a very conservative growth rate is used that cannot exceed that of a country's GDP growth. In this case we have used the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield (0.2%) to estimate future growth. In the same way as with the 10-year 'growth' period, we discount future cash flows to today's value, using a cost of equity of 5.5%.

Terminal Value (TV)= FCF 2033  (1 + g)  (r  g) = 7.4m (1 + 0.2%)  (5.5% 0.2%) = 139m

Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= 139m ( 1 + 5.5%)10= 81m

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 130m. The last step is to then divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding. Compared to the current share price of 5.1, the company appears quite undervalued at a 49% 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

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 Bastei Lubbe 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 5.5%, which is based on a levered beta of 0.894. 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 Bastei Lubbe

Strength

Debt is not viewed as a risk.

Dividend is in the top 25% of dividend payers in the market.

Weakness

Earnings declined over the past year.

Opportunity

Annual revenue is forecast to grow faster than the German market.

Good value based on P/E ratio and estimated fair value.

Threat

No apparent threats visible for BST.

Looking Ahead:

Valuation is only one side of the coin in terms of building your investment thesis, and it ideally won't be the sole piece of analysis you scrutinize for a company. DCF models are not the be-all and end-all of investment valuation. 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. Can we work out why the company is trading at a discount to intrinsic value? For Bastei Lubbe, we've put together three relevant items you should consider:

Risks: Be aware that Bastei Lubbe is showing 3 warning signs in our investment analysis , you should know about... Future Earnings: How does BST's growth rate compare to its peers and the wider market? Dig deeper into the analyst consensus number for the upcoming years by interacting with our free analyst growth expectation chart. Other Solid Businesses: Low debt, high returns on equity and good past performance are fundamental to a strong business. Why not explore our interactive list of stocks with solid business fundamentals to see if there are other companies you may not have considered!

PS. Simply Wall St updates its DCF calculation for every German stock every day, so if you want to find the intrinsic value of any other stock just search here.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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Key Insights

Using the 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity, Sonoco Products fair value estimate is US$79.32

Sonoco Products is estimated to be 28% undervalued based on current share price of US$57.07

The US$65.13 analyst price target for SON is 18% less than our estimate of fair value

Today we'll do a simple run through of a valuation method used to estimate the attractiveness of Sonoco Products Company (NYSE:SON) as an investment opportunity by taking the expected future cash flows and discounting them to their present value. We will take advantage of the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model for this purpose. It may sound complicated, but actually it is quite simple!

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.

View our latest analysis for Sonoco Products

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. 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:

10-year free cash flow (FCF) forecast

2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 2033 Levered FCF ($, Millions) US$558.2m US$483.0m US$460.0m US$504.0m US$494.1m US$490.5m US$491.0m US$494.6m US$500.2m US$507.3m Growth Rate Estimate Source Analyst x3 Analyst x2 Analyst x1 Analyst x1 Est @ -1.96% Est @ -0.74% Est @ 0.12% Est @ 0.71% Est @ 1.13% Est @ 1.43% Present Value ($, Millions) Discounted @ 7.7% US$518 US$416 US$368 US$374 US$341 US$314 US$292 US$273 US$256 US$241

("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)

Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = US$3.4b

We now need to calculate the Terminal Value, which accounts for all the future cash flows after this ten year period. For a number of reasons a very conservative growth rate is used that cannot exceed that of a country's GDP growth. In this case we have used the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield (2.1%) to estimate future growth. In the same way as with the 10-year 'growth' period, we discount future cash flows to today's value, using a cost of equity of 7.7%.

Terminal Value (TV)= FCF 2033  (1 + g)  (r  g) = US$507m (1 + 2.1%)  (7.7% 2.1%) = US$9.2b

Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= US$9.2b ( 1 + 7.7%)10= US$4.4b

The total value is the sum of cash flows for the next ten years plus the discounted terminal value, which results in the Total Equity Value, which in this case is US$7.8b. To get the intrinsic value per share, we divide this by the total number of shares outstanding. Compared to the current share price of US$57.1, the company appears a touch undervalued at a 28% 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

The Assumptions

The calculation above is very dependent on two assumptions. The first is the discount rate and the other is the cash flows. Part of investing is coming up with your own evaluation of a company's future performance, so try the calculation yourself and check your own assumptions. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at Sonoco Products as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 7.7%, which is based on a levered beta of 0.946. 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 Sonoco Products

Strength

Debt is well covered by earnings.

Dividends are covered by earnings and cash flows.

Weakness

Dividend is low compared to the top 25% of dividend payers in the Packaging market.

Opportunity

Annual earnings are forecast to grow for the next 3 years.

Good value based on P/E ratio and estimated fair value.

Threat

Debt is not well covered by operating cash flow.

Annual earnings are forecast to grow slower than the American 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. DCF models are not the be-all and end-all of investment valuation. Instead the best use for a DCF model is to test certain assumptions and theories to see if they would lead to the company being undervalued or overvalued. For example, changes in the company's cost of equity or the risk free rate can significantly impact the valuation. Why is the intrinsic value higher than the current share price? For Sonoco Products, we've put together three pertinent items you should further research:

Risks: To that end, you should be aware of the 1 warning sign we've spotted with Sonoco Products . Future Earnings: How does SON's growth rate compare to its peers and the wider market? Dig deeper into the analyst consensus number for the upcoming years by interacting with our free analyst growth expectation chart. Other Solid Businesses: Low debt, high returns on equity and good past performance are fundamental to a strong business. Why not explore our interactive list of stocks with solid business fundamentals to see if there are other companies you may not have considered!

PS. The Simply Wall St app conducts a discounted cash flow valuation for every stock on the NYSE every day. If you want to find the calculation for other stocks just search here.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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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
For beginners, it can seem like a good idea (and an exciting prospect) to buy a company that tells a good story to investors, even if it currently lacks a track record of revenue and profit. But as Peter Lynch said in One Up On Wall Street, 'Long shots almost never pay off.' While a well funded company may sustain losses for years, it will need to generate a profit eventually, or else investors will move on and the company will wither away.

So if this idea of high risk and high reward doesn't suit, you might be more interested in profitable, growing companies, like Putprop (JSE:PPR). While profit isn't the sole metric that should be considered when investing, it's worth recognising businesses that can consistently produce it.

View our latest analysis for Putprop

How Fast Is Putprop Growing?

If you believe that markets are even vaguely efficient, then over the long term you'd expect a company's share price to follow its earnings per share (EPS) outcomes. That means EPS growth is considered a real positive by most successful long-term investors. Over the last three years, Putprop has grown EPS by 13% per year. That's a pretty good rate, if the company can sustain it.

Careful consideration of revenue growth and earnings before interest and taxation (EBIT) margins can help inform a view on the sustainability of the recent profit growth. It's noted that Putprop's revenue from operations was lower than its revenue in the last twelve months, so that could distort our analysis of its margins. On the one hand, Putprop's EBIT margins fell over the last year, but on the other hand, revenue grew. If EBIT margins are able to stay balanced and this revenue growth continues, then we should see brighter days ahead.

In the chart below, you can see how the company has grown earnings and revenue, over time. For finer detail, click on the image.

Since Putprop is no giant, with a market capitalisation of R152m, you should definitely check its cash and debt before getting too excited about its prospects.

Are Putprop Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders?

As a general rule, it's worth considering how much the CEO is paid, since unreasonably high rates could be considered against the interests of shareholders. For companies with market capitalisations under R3.8b, like Putprop, the median CEO pay is around R6.1m.

The Putprop CEO received total compensation of just R1.9m in the year to June 2022. That's clearly well below average, so at a glance that arrangement seems generous to shareholders and points to a modest remuneration culture. CEO compensation is hardly the most important aspect of a company to consider, but when it's reasonable, that gives a little more confidence that leadership are looking out for shareholder interests. It can also be a sign of good governance, more generally.

Is Putprop Worth Keeping An Eye On?

One positive for Putprop is that it is growing EPS. That's nice to see. To add to this, the modest CEO compensation should tell investors that the directors have an active interest in delivering the best for shareholders. All things considered, Putprop is definitely worth taking a deeper dive into. Before you take the next step you should know about the 3 warning signs for Putprop (2 make us uncomfortable!) that we have uncovered.

There's always the possibility of doing well buying stocks that are not growing earnings and do not have insiders buying shares. But for those who consider these important metrics, we encourage you to check out companies that do have those features. You can access a free list of them here.

Please note the insider transactions discussed in this article refer to reportable transactions in the relevant jurisdiction.

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Cody Browning

A group of family members in neon T-shirts reading "Justice for Jacob Rowden" became emotional Thursday when Greene County Judge Todd Myers handed Rowden's killer his prison sentence.

Cody L. Browning, 34, will spend 20 years behind bars for second-degree murder in the 2021 shooting death of Rowden, a 28-year-old father of five, over what a police report described as a petty dispute.

Browning, who also pleaded guilty in May to a litany of related charges including armed criminal action, domestic assault, and unlawful use of a weapon, was sentenced to seven years for each charge. Each sentence will run concurrently for Johnson, who was also given credit for time served.

Second-degree murder sentences in Missouri range from 10-30 years or life in imprisonment in Missouri without the possibility of parole.

A misty-eyed relative of Browning's attempted to embrace the jail suit-clad man as he was being escorted by bailiff near a courtroom exit door, but was denied.

The sentencing hearing lasted only a few minutes. Rowden's family members opted to not give victim impact statements on Thursday, but one of his young children wrote a letter to the court that noted how much he and siblings missed their father the past three Father's Days.

Police said Rowden, one of the Springfield's 26 homicide victims in 2021, was shot at his home in the 1000 block of South Stewart Avenue following an argument about a stolen cell phone. He later died at the hospital after suffering a gunshot beneath his armpit.

Browning told his mother, according to a police report, that Rowden attempted to rob him and the shooting was in self defense.

Browning wasn't at the scene when officers arrived, but he later confessed to his mother that he had been involved in the shooting. He was also charged with domestic assault after authorities say he punched his ex-girlfriend a few shortly after the shooting after she tried to convince him to turn himself in.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Springfield man sentenced to 20 years for 2021 shooting death
Helmeted head of Athena, 5th-century BC terracotta sculpture from the Temple of Zeus in Agrigento, Sicily, Italy. DeAgostini/Getty Images

In 2008, British historians tracked down the world's oldest known joke  a fart joke from 1900 BC.

Here are the world's 10 oldest known jokes. Some still work well, while others have aged badly.

They were found during research led by humor expert Paul McDonald at the UK's University of Wolverhampton.

In 2008 a group of historians from the UK were commissioned to unearth the oldest joke ever written down.

The study was led by humor expert Dr Paul McDonald from the University of Wolverhampton.

The list reveals that humor has changed a lot in some respects, McDonald said in a statement released when the study was first published.

"Jokes have varied over the years, with some taking the question and answer format while others are witty proverbs or riddles," he said. "What they all share, however, is a willingness to deal with taboos and a degree of rebellion."

And as the world's oldest joke shows, toilet humor is here to stay.

10. A joke about a haircut, Ancient Greece, 300-400 AD.

The moon rises above the statue of the ancient Greek god Poseidon in Ancient Corinth near Athens on August 11, 2022. Valerie Gache/AFP via Getty Images

The 10th oldest joke was found in the world's oldest 'joke book.' It's a fourth-century text called "Philogelos" (or "Laughter-Lover"), and is attributed to ancient Greeks Hierocles and Philagrius.

"Asked by the court barber how he wanted his hair cut, the king replied: 'In silence.'"

9. One about a donkey, Ancient Greece, 300-400 AD.

A donkey stands on the roadside on the island of Rhodes, Greece on June 27, 2021. Emmanuele Contini/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Also from "Philogelos," the ninth oldest joke in the world goes like this:

"Wishing to teach his donkey not to eat, a pedant did not offer him any food."

"When the donkey died of hunger, he said: 'I've had a great loss! Just when he had learned not to eat, he died'."

8. An ancient "your mom" joke, Ancient Rome, between 63 BC to 14 AD.

A sculpture of the head of Emperor Augustus on displayed in Rome, June 14, 2016. Fabio Frustaci/AP Photo

"The Emperor Augustus was touring the Empire, when he noticed a man in the crowd who bore a striking resemblance to himself.

"Intrigued, he asked: 'Was your mother at one time in service at the Palace?'

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"'No, your Highness,' the man replied, 'but my father was.'"

7. A sex joke, Ancient Egypt, 30 BC.

The stepped pyramid at Sakkara, Giza, Egypt. Stefan Lippmann/Oneworld Picture/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

"Man is even more eager to copulate than a donkey. His purse is what restrains him."

6. A joke that is also a riddle, Ancient Greece, 429 BC.

A statue of Sophocles in Hanover, northern Germany, October 20, 2009. Joerg Sarbach/AP Photo

In "Oedipus Tyrannus," by Greek playwright Sophocles, a character gives the following line, which is less of a joke and more of a brainteaser.

"Question: What animal walks on four feet in the morning, two at noon and three at evening?

"Answer: Man. He goes on all fours as a baby, on two feet as a man and uses a cane in old age."

5. A pun on a name, Ancient Greece, 800 BC.

Polyphemus the Cyclops having his eye put out by Odysseus and his companions, on a vase found in an Etruscan tomb. CM Dixon/Print Collector/Getty Images

In Homer's "The Odyssey"  written 2,800 years ago  Odysseus indulges in some dark humor.

"Odysseus tells the Cyclops that his real name is 'Nobody.'"

"When Odysseus instructs his men to attack the Cyclops, the Cyclops shouts: 'Help, Nobody is attacking me!'

"No one comes to help."

4. A joke about an old married couple, Unknown, 1100 BC.

Stock image Getty Images

"A woman who was blind in one eye has been married to a man for 20 years.

"When he found another woman he said to her, 'I shall divorce you because you are said to be blind in one eye.'

"And she answered him: 'Have you just discovered that after 20 years of marriage?'"

3. A joke about livestock, Sumeria, 1200 BC.

Bas-relief depicting cows and oxen at the Necropolis of Saqqara, Egypt. DeAgostini/Getty Images

This one from Sumeria in 1200 BC is another brainteaser.

"Three ox drivers from Adab were thirsty: one owned the ox, the other owned the cow and the other owned the wagon's load.

"The owner of the ox refused to get water because he feared his ox would be eaten by a lion; the owner of the cow refused because he thought his cow might wander off into the desert; the owner of the wagon refused because he feared his load would be stolen.

"So they all went.

"In their absence the ox made love to the cow which gave birth to a calf, which ate the wagon's load.

"Problem: Who owns the calf?"

2. Another sex joke, Ancient Egypt, 1800-1600 BC.

A felucca on the Nile river, Aswan, Egypt. Reinhard Dirscherl/ullstein bild via Getty Images

The world's second oldest joke was found in the Ancient Egyptian story book known as the Westcar Papyrus, written some time between 1800-1600 BC.

It goes:

"How do you entertain a bored pharaoh?

"You sail a boatload of young women dressed only in fishing nets down the Nile and urge the pharaoh to go catch a fish."

1. A fart joke, Sumeria, 1900 BC.

An ancient Sumerian tablet with cuneiform writing, recording barley distribution, from Mesopotamia, modern-day Iraq, dating to around 31002900 BC. Sepia Times/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

"Something which has never occurred since time immemorial ..."

"A young woman did not fart in her husband's lap."

Read the original article on Insider
Amber Heard and Johnny Depp. Reuters

Amber Heard made her first public appearance since losing a defamation suit brought by Johnny Depp.

A comeback for her may prove more complicated than her ex-husband's has been.

A PR expert said it's important that the public see "Amber Heard, actor, not Amber Heard, litigant."

The actor Amber Heard has made her first public appearance since she lost the multimillion-dollar defamation lawsuit brought in spring 2022 by her ex-husband, Johnny Depp. In June, she surfaced in Sicily for the Taormina Film Festival to promote "In the Fire," a new thriller in which she stars as a psychiatrist working in 1890s Colombia.

The director of the film, Conor Allyn, told People that the movie "will be a great opportunity for her to have something beyond the trial and stuff to talk about and be a platform for a hell of a comeback."

That's the hope, of course  that this new movie marks Heard's uncontroversial return to both her career and the public eye. But a comeback for her may prove more complicated than her ex-husband's has been.

Depp resumed his career right away after the trial concluded: He started touring again with his old-guy rock band, the Hollywood Vampires, and this year, he appeared at the storied Cannes Film Festival to promote his first major film in three years, "Jeanne du Barry."

His appearance sparked some protests, but he received a seven-minute standing ovation at the premiere of the film and was more or less embraced once again by the industry. (Still, he was eager to complain about his "cancellation" to reporters; he told The Guardian, "Do I feel boycotted by Hollywood? Well, you'd have to not have a pulse not to feel that way. Of course, when you're asked to resign from a film because of [allegations] that's just vowels and consonants floating in the air, you do feel a bit boycotted.")

Heard, meanwhile, has avoided talking about the trial, in which Depp argued that she defamed him by implying he abused her in a 2018 op-ed for The Washington Post. Instead, she has attempted to put the focus on her new film.

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In an interview with Deadline in Taormina, she said: "I'm in control for the most part of what comes out of my mouth. What I'm not in control of is how my pride in this project and all we put into this film can be surrounded by clips of other stuff."

She added: "So let's get the elephant out of the room then, and just let me say that. I am an actress. I'm here to support a movie. And that's not something I can be sued for."

Public-relations experts said this was Heard's best strategy for moving forward. Gary Sheffer, a professor of public relations at Boston University and an expert in crisis PR, said that it's important for the public to see "Amber Heard, actor, not Amber Heard, litigant."

"Your comeback from these types of situations is as good as your performance," he said. "People are very forgiving."

He added: "There is nothing to gain by rearguing or relitigating her dispute with Johnny Depp."

This is especially true as Heard has faced much criticism and abuse online from Depp's fans. The noise around the trial got so out of control that Heard fired her own crisis-PR team during the proceedings, the New York Post reported. While Depp can continue to talk about how he has been unfairly maligned in the press  riling up his fans in the process  Heard does not have the same option if she wants to be accepted back into Hollywood.

And so far, Heard's career opportunities have been less robust than Depp's: Taormina is not Cannes, and Heard does not have a built-in fan base to support vanity projects like Depp's band. As such, she has had to be quieter and more strategic about reentering public life. Tabloids have reported she's been living in Madrid with her daughter since the trial concluded.

A source told People this week that Heard "has new energy and is focused on things that she loves" now that she's living abroad.

Sheffer does not think that Depp's easier comeback will prevent Heard from forging a new path.

"I think they can both have their own success," he said.

Both Depp and Heard have to leave the trial behind and "remind people of why you became famous, which is that you have some kind of talent," he added.

What's next for Heard? Maybe a return to a major franchise film. There had been rampant speculation that Heard would be dropped from the "Aquaman" sequel due out in December, and Heard even testified during the trial that her role had been diminished because of the controversy with Depp. But at CinemaCon in April, Warner Bros. premiered the first trailer for the film, which featured Heard in her role as Mera.

Disney, meanwhile, has not committed to welcoming Depp back to the "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise. Perhaps Heard's slow-and-steady comeback strategy will prevail in the end.

Read the original article on Insider
Margot Robbie in the Barbie trailer

One of Margot Robbies impressive traits, other than her perfect feet that have made appearances throughout her filmography , is her ability to portray the American accent. It helps that the Aussie actress moved to the U.S. in the 2010s before starring in the drama series Pan Am and filming her breakthrough role with Leonardo DiCaprio in The Wolf of Wall Street . On the other hand, spending so much time in the U.S. could mean forgetting certain Australian slang words. The Barbie lead had that particularly awkward experience in a new interview when she forgot what the meaning of the word Barbie is in Australia.

Margot Robbie was born in Dalby, Queensland, Australia who made her start in acting in the Australian soap opera Neighbours from 2008-2011 before transitioning to the US not too long after. Getting to portray American characters for over a decade could lead to some brain hiccups once in a while about your own hometown. Robbie had a similar awkward experience in an interview on the Australian program The Project when she forgot for a second what the term Barbie means in the land down under. Take a look at the hilarious Twitter video of the interview down below.

Aussie Margot Robbie tells Greta Gerwig the other meaning of Barbie in Australia, but has Margot forgotten what a barbie is? pic.twitter.com/ZUeQsdlwtVJune 29, 2023

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Aww, I really do feel for her. Its like if I went on tour in another country and my Florida native self forgot what a Pub Sub was (by the way, its a Publix grocery sub). To be fair, Margot Robbie has truly allowed herself to absorb her role as the Mattel Inc. doll ever since she got cast in Greta Gerwigs movie . This wouldnt be the first time that the Australian native kicked herself when she forgot some Aussie slang words. In a funny video from Vanity Fair back in 2016, Robbie tried to translate 50 Australian slang words in four minutes and was confused by the word doovalacky (an unknown item) and the term to come a gutser (to have an accident). On the other hand, she nailed the words fair dinkum, sheila, bludger, and dag. While Im familiar with the term sheila, Id never be able to guess the other words.

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Another set of words that the people of Australia have a double meaning about is the 32-year-old actresss own name. Robbies home country has a different way of pronouncing her name in that the r is silent. So, it sounds more like Ma-go. Americans recognize the r in her name and cant help but include it in the pronunciation. Shes said that little things like the way people back at her home pronounce her name have made her feel very special to be there when visiting. In that particular Daily Mail interview , The Legend of Tarzan actress expressed her love for Australia and enjoys talking about the country for those whove never been there. This shows that despite how many American characters this actress has played, she truly is an Aussie woman at heart.

As Margot Robbie has said in her interview with The Project, jet lag could absolutely be the cause of why she had a slight memory lapse of Australias double meaning of Barbie. As the Barbie movie hits theaters in two weeks, this busy actress has been on her press tour promoting the movie with Barbiecore and all. Robbies fabulous pink looks have not been able to escape her when she wore on one day of the tour a pink polka-dotted halter dress while the rest of the cast decided to wear more neutral colors. The fashion decisions of the entire cast that day definitely helped this gorgeous actress stand out and remind us who'll be the Barbie headlining the movie.
LONDON  He woke up to find he had a million-dollar bounty on his head.

But Finn Lau, a pro-democracy activist from Hong Kong, said he wasnt shocked to see the lucrative reward next to his mugshot on the arrest warrant issued earlier this week by national security police in the Chinese territory.

This sort of bounty or safety risks will not deter me from continuing advocating for Hong Kong human rights and democracy, he told NBC News by telephone Tuesday from his apartment in London.

Hong Kong authorities are offering 1 million Hong Kong dollars ($128,000) each for information leading to the arrest of Lau and seven other activists living in self-exile in the United States, Britain and Australia. They are the first such cash rewards since Beijing imposed a national security law on the city in June 2020, which the activists are accused of breaching.

The announcement comes as the international financial hub is trying to repair its image damaged by years of Covid restrictions, as well as the national security law, which the U.S. and others say is being used to erode freedoms that were promised to Hong Kong, a former British colony, upon its return to Chinese sovereignty in 1997.

Chinese and Hong Kong authorities say the law was necessary to restore stability after anti-government protests that roiled the city for months in 2019, sometimes turning violent.

The U.S., Britain and Australia, all of which suspended their extradition treaties with Hong Kong after the national security law was imposed, condemned the bounties, describing them as an attempt by China to intimidate and silence overseas critics.

The extraterritorial application of the national security law is a dangerous precedent that threatens the human rights and fundamental freedoms of people all over the world, the State Department said in a statement.

Chinese and Hong Kong authorities accuse the three countries of harboring fugitives, and say the U.S., Britain and Australia have also sought to apply their national security laws outside their own territories.

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Their charges against the eight activists include urging foreign governments to impose sanctions on Hong Kong and advocating Hong Kongs independence from China.

Since moving abroad, the activists have continued to instigate the division of the country and subversion of state power, acting as pawns for external anti-China forces in their effort to interfere in Hong Kong affairs, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a regular briefing in Beijing on Tuesday.

Chief Executive John Lee, Hong Kongs top leader, has said the eight activists will be pursued for life, urging them to surrender. He encouraged anyone, including friends and relatives, to aid in their apprehension.

Speaking out from afar

Since leaving Hong Kong for the British capital in January 2020, Lau has continued to speak out about issues affecting his former home.

Chief among his concerns is the national security law, which criminalizes secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces. The law carries penalties up to life in prison and asserts jurisdiction over everyone in the world, regardless of nationality or location.

More than 250 people in Hong Kong have been arrested under the legislation, including 47 pro-democracy politicians and activists who have mostly been held without bail for more than two years.

Nathan Law, an activist in exile and former member of the (May James / SOPA LightRocket via Getty Images file)

On Wednesday, Hong Kong national security police said they had arrested four men between the ages of 26 and 28 who are accused of supporting overseas dissidents and advocating Hong Kong independence. The statement did not name the men or say whether the arrests were related to the warrants issued for the overseas activists.

A fifth man, 24, was arrested at Hong Kong International Airport on Thursday, the police said, adding that he was suspected of having ties with the group arrested the day before and that there could be further arrests.

Besides Lau, those targeted by the bounties include activists Nathan Law and Anna Kwok, former lawmakers Dennis Kwok and Ted Hui, lawyer and legal scholar Kevin Yam, union leader Mung Siu-tat and online commentator Yuan Gong-yi.

Lau said that he was no stranger to intimidation and harassment, but that he feared the bounty would escalate personal risks, safety risks and risk of abduction.

Those fears were shared by Law, who was 23 in 2016 when he became the youngest person elected to Hong Kongs Legislative Council.

There will be people who are incentivized to give out my information, my whereabouts, said Law, who like Lau lives in London.

Law said he intended to travel only to countries that have suspended their extradition agreements with Hong Kong.

I have to be more careful in my daily life and try to protect my personal safety, he said.

Yam, an Australian citizen living in Melbourne, said Wednesday that he would continue to live my life normally.

As of Wednesday, the international police network Interpol said it had not received any red notice, or a global request for a persons arrest pending extradition, for any of the eight overseas activists. Interpols constitution forbids it from any intervention or activities of a political, military, religious or racial character, it said in a statement, adding that it is also required to act in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Hong Kong officials have also acknowledged that theyll be unable to arrest the overseas activists unless they return to the city.

Yaqiu Wang, a senior researcher at Human Rights Watch, said that as the U.S. and other Western governments seek to improve their relations with China, they should place human rights at the center of their engagement. Not doing so, she said, has encouraged Beijing to be more aggressive in curbing dissent.

Law considers the bounties a badge of honor.

They prove, he said, that what Im doing is pressurizing the government and they are nervous about it.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Chad Michael Murray is entering the minivan phase of his lifebecause he's about to become a dad for the third time.

The One Tree Hill alum's wife, Sarah Roemer, is pregnant with the couple's third baby. Murray, 41, announced the news on his Instagram page July 7, sharing a photo of his partner sporting a large baby bump.

"Baby #3 loading" he wrote, adding a red heart emoji. "Anyone know any new gadgets for babies? It's been a bit since we had one."

Murray added, "Ps- forgive the quality of the photo- alas I'm still on IPhone 8 becoz I love the button and won't trade it away. Sometimes I see ppl staring at my phone with button envy and I get it."

The Riverdale actor also shared the photo of his wife on his Instagram Story, writing, "3rd little one on the way...Gonna need a bigger car. Minivan time."

18 Shocking Secrets About One Tree Hill Revealed

Murray and Roemer, 38, met while filming the Crackle original TV series Chosen, which streamed between 2013 and 2014. In January 2015, Murray confirmed to E! News that the two had gotten married.

Instagram / Chad Michael Murray

The couple are parents to a son, 8, and daughter, 6, whose names have not been made public.

Steve Granitz/FilmMagic

Roemer shared a video of Murray with their kids in an airport on Father's Day last month following a family trip to Thailand. "Happy Fathers Day Sweet Sweet Daya!" she wrote. You're our favorite snuggly superhero! We love you more than you will ever know. @chadmichaelmurray #wolfpack #bestdadever #wewillfollowyou."

In May, on Mother's Day, Murray paid tribute to Roemer on his Instagram.

"My forever dream woman," he wrote. "Happy Mother's Day to this woman who carry's this family pack on her shoulders:) You're our rock mama. We travel the world together and It wouldn't be possible without you. Homeschooling, pop quizzes, meals and every other mama task you can imagine:)"

The actorwho was raised by his father after his mom left when he was 10, per Seventeenadded, "I never celebrated Mother's Day growing up because I didn't have a Mother- but watching the selflessness and sacrifices you make, without ever flinching, blow me away and truly show me why Mothers are like no other. And somehow you do all of it and still look this dang good:) I love you Sarah.

For the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! News App
Da Brat has welcomed a sweet baby boy with her wife, Jesseca Harris-Dupart.

The rapper announced the news of the baby boys arrival in an Instagram post on Friday that featured sweet glimpses of the little ones toes and fingers. The baby, who was born on July 6, is named True Legend, People reported.

I cant BELIEVE he came out of me! Da Brat, whose real name is Shawntae Harris-Dupart, told the publication. Feels like a dream. Hes PERFECT in every way.

She continued, Very appreciative for such a blessing of our bundle of joy. This journey has been more amazing than we couldve ever imagined.

Da Brat and Jesseca Harris-Dupart were photographed together on May 19, 2023, in Atlanta, Georgia. The couple announced recently the arrival of their baby boy named, True Legend.

Da Brat and Jesseca Harris-Dupart were photographed together on May 19, 2023, in Atlanta, Georgia. The couple announced recently the arrival of their baby boy named, True Legend.

The couple announced they were expecting a baby with a stunning photo shoot in February.

The rapper had discussed her pregnancy and journey to motherhood in an interview with People published that month. True Legend is Jesseca Harris-Duparts fourth child.

Its been quite a journey, Da Brat, 49, said, adding that theres a lot of stuff we learned about women over the age of 40.

The WhatChu Like musician also shared she had experienced a miscarriage before her pregnancy with True Legend.

In May, Da Brat and Jesseca Harris-Dupart shared a series of photos on Instagram that captured sweet moments from their Minions-themed baby shower.

THAAANK YOU wholeheartedly to EVERYONE who loves and supports us, Da Brat wrote in the caption of a post. Everyone who came was full of love and good energy. The VIBES in this building was EXACTLY what we wanted our BABY to FEEL.

On Friday, Jesseca Harris-Dupart posted a video on Instagram that showed Da Brat giving birth, writing in the posts caption, Very appreciative for such a blessing of our bundle of joy.

Related...
For Robbin Brandley, a 23-year-old student at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo, California, being in a dark parking lot after a school concert turned out to be fatal.

Shortly after 1 a.m. on January 18, 1986, Robbins body was found near her car by sheriffs officials responding to a 911 call. She had been stabbed multiple times.

Her eyes were wide open staring into the sky, Matt Murphy, a retired senior deputy D.A. with the O.C. D.A.s Office, told The Real Murders of Orange County, airing Fridays at 9/8c on Oxygen.

Robbin had been stabbed from the front and back, and the overkill indicated rage. There was a tremendous amount of blood, the number of stab wounds were way, way in the overkill category. Whoever did this, there was a lot of anger in them, for sure," said Kim Markuson, a retired investigator with the O.C. Sheriffs Department.

RELATED: Orange County Man Confesses to Choking, Burying College Student 9 Years After He Did It

The search for physical evidence was hampered by the fact that sprinklers had come on, washing away potential clues. "It's basically like hosing down a crime scene," Murphy said, adding it was "frustrating."

Investigators learned that Robbin grew up in Huntington Beach. She was a star journalism student with a radio show and a positive and joyful human being, said her teacher, Julia Brady-Jenner, whod made the 911 call.

Did Robbin Brandley know her killer?

A photo of Robbin Brandley, featured on Real Murders of Orange County 307

Robbin Brandley, featured on Real Murders of Orange County 307 Photo: Oxygen

Because of the extreme violence of the crime and the fact that her purse was still in the car, detectives began with the possible theory of a spurned boyfriend.

They discovered that a young man named Will had left a single rose on Robbins doorstep days before the murder.

Her friends said that a fellow student by the name of Will was pursuing her  his personality just seemed to be a little bit off, said Markuson. "He was fairly persistent and Robbin was polite and pretty much dismissed him."

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Officials interviewed Will at his familys home in Laguna Niguel. He admitted he was interested in Robbin but said that he'd been home all night, a claim corroborated by his mother. He was cleared as a suspect.

As investigators ruled out their first suspect, the autopsy report came in. Mark Lesneski, a forensic technician with the O.C. Sheriffs Coroners Office, recalled the case, sharing that Robbin had suffered 41 stab wounds. Robin was stabbed so much that there was virtually no blood left in the body at all, Lesneski told producers.

A wound to one of Robbins ribs indicated that the knife had gotten stuck when shed been brutally stabbed.

"There was no appearance of rape. Somebody was out to kill her," said Helen Moreno, retired investigator for the O.C. Sheriff's Office.

Robbins brutal murder sent shockwaves through the community, said Nick Schou, former editor in chief of O.C. Weekly. It was an extremely violent murder on a college campus in a very safe part of Orange County.

While locals feared there was a mad man on the loose, the extreme violence of the crime suggested a personal element to the murder. Investigators dug deeper into Robbins fellow students and associates.

A potential lead about a classmate named Valerie, who allegedly envied Robbins high-flying status on campus, was investigated. It turned out to be a false tip. She was cleared immediately.

"This young woman had absolutely nothing to do with the murder," Murphy said.

Investigators pressed on as Robbins grieving family spread her ashes in the ocean that she had loved so much.

It was really painful, said her brother, Jayeson Brandley. It was difficult to just realize that a week ago, she was just this perfectly normal, happy loving person.

Was Robbin Brandley's killer a perfect stranger?

As going through potential suspects based on people in Robbins life, investigators considered that the killer may have been a perfect stranger. The lack of connection to the victim makes these types of cases very challenging.

Months passed and detectives were still at square one. On January 20, 1987, another female Saddleback College student was violently attacked and abducted.

The 22-year-old victim, like Robbin, had been walking in a dimly lit parking lot at the school. The perpetrator sexually assaulted her and drove back to the campus, where she was able to escape.

The attacker was immediately stopped and arrested by campus security, giving the detectives working on Robbin's case the opportunity to interview the suspect. However, after interrogating the man, they determined that he wasnt connected to her murder.

RELATED: O.C. Man Bludgeoned and Tortured His Wife, Then Staged Murder as a Home Invasion

We thought we might have a good solid lead and it turned out to be nothing, Markuson said. Then the case went cold.

Eight years passed with no breaks. In 1994, the case landed on Moreno's desk and she was determined to get justice and closure for Robbins loved ones. She had been working on the case for three years with no leads when a phone call cracked the investigation wide open.

A detective from Chicago called me and said, Hey, we have somebody in custody here who may have had something to do with a murder in Orange County, she told producers.

Andrew Urdiales suspected of killing Robbin Brandley

Andrew Urdiales, a former U.S. Marine and veteran of the Gulf War, was a security guard who was charged with the murders of three sex workers in Chicago.

During their interviewing process with him, he said that he had committed five murders in California, said Moreno, who flew to Chicago with her partner to interview Urdiales.

The stakes were enormous. But the investigators knew that when serial killers know theyve been caught, they sometimes confess to crimes they didnt commit. "I think a lot of them just like the control of muddying the investigation," Murphey explained.

Urdiales claimed that, in early 1986, he was at Camp Pendleton, a military base located just a half an hour away from Saddleback College. On the night of January 18, he left the base after fellow Marines had enraged him, driving around until he noticed Saddleback College. He parked at a nearby strip mall and was carrying a knife with him when he saw Robbin in the parking lot. Still angry about what had occurred on base, he attacked Robbin.

Robbin Brandley's Scattered Her Ashes in Her Favorite Place

"Next thing I know, the knife went in her back," Urdiales said, according to an audio recording of the interrogation.

Moreno asked questions about Robbins murder that only the killer would know  details that were never made in news reports. That's when Urdiales said that hed stabbed Robbin and his knife got stuck in her body  a detail that convinced Moreno shed found Robbins murderer.

"The further and further we got into the interview with him, the more the puzzle pieces matched up with the crime scene," Moreno said.

In 2002, Urdiales was convicted and sentenced to death for three murders he committed in Chicago, nbclosangeles.com reported. In 2011, after a long and complicated series of legal battles, appeals, and reversals, Urdiales was extradited to face charges in California.

In May 2018, 32 years after Robbin was slain in a dark parking lot, Urdiales was convicted of her murder and that of four others in Southern California.

Robbins murder has left an indelible mark on Markuson because of the brutality." He said, Nobody does this without being through and through evil to the bone.

In November 2018, Urdiales, 54, committed suicide while in San Quentin State prison.

To learn more about the case, watch The Real Murder of Orange County, airing Fridays at 9/8c on Oxygen.
The late-night hosts joined Kristen Bell, Dax Shepard, Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, John Mulaney, Olivia Munn, Jason Bateman, Adam Scott and Jake Tapper for an elegant dinner in Idaho

Kristen Bell/Instagram

Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon may go head to head on late-night TV, but when they're not in front of the cameras, they're going elbow to elbow and breaking bread on elegant vacations.

The hosts of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel Live! can be spotted in the background of a star-studded dinner party pic in Idaho that Kristen Bell posted on Instagram Friday.

Along with Fallon and Kimmel, the pic included Jennifer Aniston, who sat near her close friends Jason Bateman and Friends costar Courteney Cox. Bells husband Dax Shepard could be seen smiling midway along the table; he sat across from Parks and Recreation actor Adam Scott.

Across from CNN newsman Jake Tapper and seated near Kimmel's wife Molly McNearney, John Mulaney and Olivia Munn also joined, with Munn flashing a peace sign for the photo. YouTube star Mark Rober and actress Shiri Appleby were also pictured at the table.

kristen bell/Instagram Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon in the group photo posted by Kristen Bell

The group gathered at South Fork Lodge, which Kimmel bought in 2020. Located in Swan Valley, Idaho, the lodge is positioned on a bend of the Snake River and features an "upscale Americana" menu, per their website.

"Idaho, chapter 1 ," Bell captioned her Instagram post.



Related: Kristen Bell Shares Star-Studded Vacation Photos with Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox and More Celebs

It's not the Jimmys' first get-together on or off screen by any stretch. Last year, they pulled an epic April Fools Day prank by switching places in their respective shows.

After a standing ovation from a shocked and excited crowd, Fallon simply said, "Hi, I'm Jimmy!" He then added, "Please, please, settle down, you're gonna offend the other Jimmy!"

Kimmel, meanwhile, introduced himself as Fallon on the Tonight Show set, saying, "It's freaky Friday tonight!" After some jokes, he asked the audience, "How many of you are disappointed?"

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Both Fallon and Kimmel later convened over a video chat and revealed that they first conceived of the plan to switch places back in April 2020. That was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Related: April Fools! Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon Pull Off Epic Hosting Switch for Their Late-Night Shows

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.

Most recently, Kimmel and Fallon joined forces with fellow late-night hosts Seth Meyers and Stephen Colbert as well as Late Show alum David Letterman for James Cordens final episode of The Late Late Show in April. A sketch titled Late Night Nightmare showed Corden being woken up by the current late-night hosts and discussing how he was stepping away from the show for good.



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Read the original article on People.
Ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, listens during a news conference with Republican lawmakers about Ukraine, on Capitol Hill on March 2, 2022, in Washington. | Evan Vucci, Associated Press

Idaho Republican Sen. Jim Risch suggested the NATO memberships of Hungary and Turkey should be reviewed because of their refusal to support Swedens bid for membership.

Risch is the top-ranking Republican member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which is tasked with advancing legislation related to foreign policy and reviewing executive actions, such as treaties and arms deals.

His comments came Thursday and reflect a long-held frustration from the U.S. and its allies towards the two Eastern European countries for holding up a process they hope will strengthen the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in the face of Russian aggression in Ukraine.

Efforts to persuade Turkey and Hungary to support Swedens admittance into the defense alliance have been kicked into overdrive ahead of next weeks NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania.

Im to the point where  maybe its time that we did review the way people join and the way people are retained, Risch told Punchbowl News. If youre going to be a member of this alliance, youve got to act like a member of this alliance. And that is important for the strength of the alliance.

There are several ways to regulate the NATO membership of individual countries, Risch said, according to Punchbowl News, though he did not elucidate.

Turkey and Hungary have demanded that Sweden increase its counterrorism measures, among other things, before their respective parliaments vote to approve NATO membership. Risch said these concerns have nothing to do with NATO membership and are undermining the Wests united front against Russias war in Ukraine.

Its no secret these (countries), particularly Turkey, have been using the accession issue to resolve some unrelated problems, Risch said. Thats not the right way to be a member of this alliance.

Why did Sen. Risch block weapons to Hungary?

Last month, Risch took the uncommon step of blocking over $700 million in U.S. arms sales to Hungary, saying the country was dragging its feet to vote on Swedens NATO membership and that the arms package, which included two dozen HIMARS rocket launchers, would be on hold till further notice.

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For some time now, I have directly expressed my concerns to the Hungarian government regarding its refusal to move forward a vote for Sweden to join NATO, he said in a statement to The Washington Post. The fact that it is now June and still not done, I decided that the sale of new U.S. military equipment to Hungary will be on hold.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee and its counterpart in the House regularly review major arms deals and can stop weapons sales in response to human rights abuses or other concerns. While the president is not required to recognize these objections, holds put in place by elected representatives are typically respected and may stay in place for indefinite periods of time.

Why are Turkey and Hungary blocking Swedens NATO membership?

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan originally objected to NATO membership for both Finland and Sweden after they announced their intent to join the defense alliance in May 2022 following Russias invasion of Ukraine, citing security concerns that the Scandinavian countries were harboring anti-Turkish terrorists.

Erdogan eventually changed his stance toward Finland after the county took what he saw as authentic and concrete steps to meet Turkeys demands. Finland officially joined NATO in April shortly after Turkeys parliament voted to approve it. However, Erdogans position on Sweden has remained firm as he insists the country has done too little to crack down on individuals with ties to the Kurdistan Workers Party, a designated terrorist organization in several countries, including the U.S.

Sweden has taken steps to satisfy Turkey, outlawing meetings and fundraising in support of terrorist organizations. The new law resulted in the jailing of a Kurdish man Thursday who was found guilty of extortion on behalf of the Kurdistan Workers Party.

But its uncertain whether Swedens efforts will bear fruit. They seem to be undermined, in part, by repeated controversies caused by multiple burnings of the Quran by Swedish residents, resulting in protests throughout the Islamic world. In a sign that Sweden sees the uproar as threatening to their NATO membership bid, the country is now considering a law that would allow police officers to stop public Quran burnings, Reuters reported.

Hungarys reasons for postponing a vote on Swedens NATO accession are less clear. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has said that Swedish leadership has spread blatant lies about his country and the health of its democracy. Orban has also signaled his desire to back up Erdogan and appears willing to support Swedens NATO membership as soon as the Turkish leader changes his mind, according to The Wall Street Journal.

What is NATO and why does Sweden want to join?

NATO is a mutual-defense pact created in 1949 between 12 countries, including the U.S., Canada and several countries in Western Europe, to deter attacks by the Soviet Union. Its stated purpose is to guarantee the freedom and security of its members through political and military means.

The alliance has more than doubled in size since the fall of the Soviet Union, counting Finland as its 31st member.

For decades, Finland and Sweden maintained a policy of nonmilitary alignment. That changed when Russia invaded Ukraine in February of last year. Finland and Sweden now see NATO membership as an essential part of their national security.

NATOs founding North Atlantic Treaty contains a collective defense principle, Article 5, which states that an attack against one NATO member is to be considered an attack against all NATO allies. Article 5 has been invoked only once, following 9/11.

NATO summit and efforts to persuade Turkey

Ahead of Tuesdays NATO summit, the Biden administration is working to use the sale of F-16 fighter jets as leverage to persuade Turkey to get behind NATO membership for Sweden, Punchbowl News reports.

Rischs Democratic counterpart on the Foreign Relations Committee, New Jersey Sen. Robert Menendez, has blocked the proposed sale for months, but the Biden administration is reportedly in negotiations with him to give the green light if it means Turkey will support Swedish membership in NATO.
The trip marked Alexa's first visit to Israel since the death of her grandmother

Alexa Lemieux/Instagram

Alexa Alfia Lemieux and Brennon Lemieux are making memories in Israel.

The couple, who got married during season 3 of Netflix's Love Is Blind, began their summer break by embarking on an international getaway that held a special meaning for Alexa, 28.

Alongside pictures from their week in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, Alexa explained in an Instagram post, "Its been exactly 3 years since Ive been here. My safta (grandma) very suddenly passed away when she was only 2 weeks away from moving to Dallas. The last time I was here, it was for her funeral."

Related: 'Love Is Blind' 's Alexa and Brennon on Finding a Newlywed 'Normal'  and Crying at Their Wedding 'Every Time'

The TV personality shared various snaps from their vacation, including a glimpse of local cuisine and street markets. The post was also filled with romantic selfies of the two and a look at their scenic bike ride.

Alexa added that she never envisioned making a trip to Israel after her grandmother's death and found comfort in having Brennon, 32, by her side.

Alexa Lemieux/Instagram

Related: 'Love Is Blind' Couple Alexa and Brennon Lemieux Celebrate Second Wedding Anniversary with Romantic Throwback

"I couldnt picture coming back and visiting a place that reminds me so much of her everywhere I look," she continued. "Its been an emotional trip and one that I will remember forever. Im so blessed to have Brennon by my side and I just know she wouldve loved him so much. So sad well only be here for one more week. In the meantime, lchaim."

Alexa and Brennon met and fell in love on season 3 of the Netflix hit, which aired in 2022. The pair were a match made in heaven from day one, and things were no different when they decided to tie the knot in June 2021.

Following season 3's premiere in November 2022, Alexa told PEOPLE that their shared love for family is what makes their relationship work.

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Alexa Lemieux/Instagram

"I think our backgrounds are very different, but at the end the day, we have such a love for family and I think that that love is the most important thing," she explained. "I could have all the money in the world, but what does it mean if I don't have it with my Brennon? He's everything to me."

"Regardless of where we came from, we learned so much from our separate backgrounds, but they're also very similar," Alexa continued. "We both come from very, very large families, very loud. He's one of five, I'm one of six. It's beautiful and you have to get it. Some people say they want a big family, but it's a lot. And so for us both understanding that and our love for family is really what really drew us to each other."

Alexa Lemieux/Instagram

The couple celebrated their second wedding anniversary in June by sharing an Instagram post with pictures from their wedding day.

"Yes. Then, now, and always," the couple captioned their joint post.

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.

Love Is Blind seasons 1-4 are available to stream on Netflix.



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Read the original article on People.
Like pancakes? How about tacos? Now imagine this  a taco pancake.

You may ask, "What are you taco-ing about?" It's IHOP's newest innovation  a sweet and savory handheld pancake that will be available nationwide for a limited time.

After last summer's Choco-Pancake debut in Houston, the company did brand research to identify what consumers were looking for in new menu items, like quality, choice, and value.

We didnt want to simply redo that item, but rather bring to life a dish that leverages our best-selling pancakes in an innovative way that is both fun and different to deliver guests a unique dining experience," said Arthur Carl II, chef and culinary vice president IHOP. "These handheld pancake creations lean into our breakfast equity while giving everyone a choice on sweet or savory  or both  to enjoy during all day parts.

When and where to find taco pancakes

The taco pancakes are available all day at nationwide IHOPs, going for $6 for three taco pancakes. They are available only from July 5-30.

PanCoins members can also earn three times the reward points from July 21-30.

The new taco pancake options

Fresh Strawberry Cheesecake Pancake Taco Fresh sliced strawberries and creamy cheesecake mousse inside a folded silver dollar pancake, can be topped with chocolate chips.

Caramel Banana Pancake Taco Creamy cheesecake mousse drizzled with vanilla sauce & dulce de leche caramel sauce topped with sliced bananas inside a folded silver dollar pancake, can also be topped with chocolate chips.

Breakfast Pancake Taco Scrambled eggs, hickory-smoked bacon, jack & cheddar cheese blend and white cheese sauce inside a folded silver dollar pancake. Salsa topping recommended.

Country Chicken and Gravy Pancake Taco Crispy chicken, shredded hash browns, and country gravy inside a folded silver dollar pancake, that can be topped with pickles for an extra salty crunch.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: IHOP debuts taco pancake for a limited time
Commendable work of Commissionerate Gautam Buddha Nagar Police The Pakistani woman living illegally and the accused who gave her protection were arrested. Thana Rabupura

A Pakistani woman and an Indian man who met and fell in love in PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds are facing serious jail time after being arrested in India. A New York Times report says the pair were arrested just two months after they began secretly living in the city of Greater Noida, she for entering the country illegally and he for harboring a fugitive.

Seema Ghulam Haider and Sachin Meena first encountered each other in PUBG in 2019 after Haider's husband moved to Saudi Arabia for work. They eventually began talking through social media and telephone calls. "Sachin used to talk to someone late at night, as late as 2-3 am," his uncle Birbal Meena told the Times. "Then he confessed that he was in love with a Pakistani woman and intended to marry her."

The family did not approve of his connection with "a woman from an enemy country," but the pair nonetheless met up in Nepal in March. After spending a week together, they returned home, but they reunited in Nepal in May. For their second meeting, Haider brought her four children, and instead of returning to their respective home countries, they all went to India. The couple and her children lived together briefly in a town not far from the Indian capital of New Delhi.

Ironically, it appears that they were busted because of their efforts to make everything legal. A Times of India report says the pair went to a local lawyer to discuss her residency and their planned marriage, but instead of helping resolve their problems, the lawyer ratted them out to the cops when he discovered Haider was from Pakistan.

"I was startled when I found out that she and her children (three daughters and a son) were carrying Pakistani passports," the lawyer said. "She was making inquiries about the process of getting married in India. She said she wanted to marry Sachin."

The lawyer had one of his associates follow them after they left his office. "When I learned they were living in a house in Rabupura, I informed the police," he said.

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It reflects the state of relations between Hindu-majority India and Pakistan, an Islamic nation. The two nuclear-armed countries have fought multiple wars since Pakistan's creation in 1947, and tensions between them remain high. India has also pursued an increasingly violent, brutal crackdown on Muslims in recent years.

Meena is part of India's Hindu majority but Haider is Muslim, and that may explain at least in part the remarkably heavy-handed response of Indian authorities to the presence of one Pakistani Muslim woman and her four children: The Times of India report says local police were assisted by the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorist Squad in the arrest of Haider and Meena, and the country's intelligence agencies are also investigating.

Commendable work of Commissionerate Gautam Buddha Nagar Police The Pakistani woman living illegally and the accused who gave her protection were arrested. Thana Rabupura

(Image credit: POLICE COMMISSIONERATE GAUTAM BUDDH NAGAR (Twitter))

But it seems that their love is realor at least, not motivated by anything sinister. Meena only earned about $100 a month at his (apparently now former) job at a local store, and police said he hadn't lied about his financial or social standing, or made any other promises he couldn't keep, to attract Haider to the country.

"She knew that he was not financially very strong," Rabupura police head Sudhir Kumar said. "She was not impressed by his work, but by his PUBG skills."

A BBC report says Haider and Meena have both been jailed for 14 days while an investigation is carried out, and could be facing several years in prison. Haider's husband, who she says was abusive prior to his departure for Saudi Arabia, wants her and the children returned to Pakistan, but the new couple has appealed to the Indian government to help them get married.
COLUMBUS  The railroad industry has sued to block a new minimum crew-size requirement that Ohio imposed after a fiery train derailment in East Palestine in February.

The new rule was part of a $13.5 billion state transportation budget that Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed in March. It mandated a two-person crew for freight trains and required that the wayside detectors used to help spot problems be installed in shorter intervals of 10 to 15 miles (16 to 24 kilometers) apart, with oversight from the Ohio Department of Transportation and the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, among other provisions.

The railroad industry said one-person crews have been used safely for decades, as well as that Ohio lacks the authority to impose a two-person minimum. In a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court on June 29, a day before the rule was set to take effect, the Association of American Railroads argued that federal law broadly gives federal agencies exclusive jurisdiction to regulate rail transportation.

The Crew Size Law is expressly preempted by federal law, the industry told the court.

Its legal challenge comes as busy freight states  affected by costly and often dangerous derailments and frustrated by federal inaction  increasingly have moved to pass safety improvements of their own, despite the likelihood of industry resistance.

'We the people...have had enough:' East Palestine residents seek answers from NTSB

East Palestine: Ohio Gov. DeWine asks President Biden to declare disaster area

The Feb. 3 derailment along the Ohio-Pennsylvania border of a train carrying toxic chemicals prompted Ohios new legislation. The lasting impacts of the wreck continue to affect life, work and health in the region months after it took place.

Foremost among events surrounding the crash was the decision by officials and investigators to release toxic vinyl chloride from five tank cars. In order to avoid an explosion, the substance was burned, sending a towering plume of black smoke over the town and prompting the evacuation of about half of its 5,000 residents.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: After Ohio imposes crew size after derailment, railroad industry sues
Courtesy of HBO

Last Call: When a Serial Killer Stalked Queer New York is yet another disturbing true-crime documentary about a fiend preying upon a marginalized community. However, the compelling hook of Anthony Caronna and Howard Gertlers four-part HBO investigation (July 9) is that its both a whodunit and a sociological critique of the era and environment in which its tale took place: early 1990s New York City, whose climate of homophobia facilitated its villains homicides. With anti-gay and trans legislation currently sweeping the nation, its an all-too-relevant story about persecution and violence, and the way in which public rhetoricand inactionfosters further hate.

Director Caronnas series begins with the 1992 discovery by maintenance workers of a dismembered body in Burlington County, New Jersey. Cut into seven pieces, each of them wrapped in newspaper (and a shower curtain) and packed into different trash bags, this individual wasvia his briefcase and personal belongingsswiftly identified as Thomas Mulcahy, a 57-year-old husband and father who was in the area for a business meeting. Detectives also found latex gloves, a compass saw, and a linen sheet in the plastic bags, one of which was eventually traced back to Staten Islands lone CVS. Otherwise, however, there was little useful physical evidence procured from these items, so cops shifted their attention to Mulcahys movements in the days and hours leading up to his murder.

As they soon learned, Mulcahy had last been seen on July 8, 1992, at midtown Manhattans Townhouse Bar, an upscale gay watering hole where older well-to-do gentlemen often met younger suitors. Douglas Gibson remembers talking to Mulcahy that evening and spying an unknown man in his vicinity, but he didnt get a good enough look at this stranger to provide an actual description. Cops, meanwhile, found it difficult to convince people in and around this establishment to talk to them, since in 1992, the relationship between the police and the gay community was defined by distrust, if not outright antipathy, much of it born from the formers history of prejudiced harassment and hostility. If that proved a significant hurdle in the case, so too was law enforcements still-lacking interdepartmental communications, and it was this failure that delayed their realization that Mulcahys murder was part of a ghastly pattern.

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A year earlier in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, the similarly dismembered body of Peter Anderson had been found. Like Mulcahy, Anderson was a closeted gay man, and on the night of his disappearance on May 5, 1991, he too had visited The Townhouse. When investigators into Mulcahys slaying heard about this, they knew the two murders were linked. Worse, they were followed by the nearly identical murders of 44-year-old prostitute Anthony Marrero (in May 1993) and of 55-year-old Greenwich Village resident Michael Sakara (in July 1993), the latter of whom was a regular and well-known staple at the Five Oaks bar. Clearly, someone was killing gay men after meeting them at clubs, and because of his modus operandi, the assailant was dubbed by The New York Daily News as the Last Call Killer.

Still from Last Call: When a Serial Killer Stalked Queer New York HBO

Last Call is, on the one hand, a traditional suspenseful mystery, with various police officers discussing their efforts to piece together clues and understand their victims backstories in order to locate a suspect. Just as captivating, though, its a vivid snapshot of its particular moment, narrated in large part by two individuals who were on the frontlines of the fight for equal LGTBQ+ rights: The New York Gay & Lesbian Anti-Violence Projects Bea Hanson and Matt Foreman. Recalling a time when gay Americans were both emerging from the shadows in force (especially in NYC) and facing increased antagonism and threats (including from the raging AIDS epidemic), Hanson and Foreman offer intimate and passionate first-hand accounts of the cultural and political atmosphere of the early 90s. In doing so, they help contextualize these murders as an outgrowth of the long-standing brutality that gay (and trans) men and women faced on a daily basis.

The Dreamy Teacher of the Year Who Was Outed as a Sexual Predator

Employing plentiful archival material, Last Call is a simultaneously vibrant and sorrowful look backwards, its nostalgia for the burgeoning gay movement colored by the fear that so many felt because of homophobia and the mortal danger it posedas well as the anger that was a direct byproduct of being ignored, slandered, and oppressed. Director Caronnas series honestly and compassionately revisits the past, putting a nuanced face on people who were so often dismissed, discarded, and reduced to unflattering stereotypes, including Mulcahy, Anderson, Marrero, and Sakara. Featuring interviews with friends, lovers, and relatives of the four men whose lives were horrifically cut short by a madman, it remembersand celebratesthem not as statistics, but as flesh-and-blood individuals.

Still from Last Call: When a Serial Killer Stalked Queer New York HBO

In separate interviews with different detectives, Last Call highlights police officers ignorance about the gay community and their reticence to relate it to these murders. Such blindness, whether willful or not, feels at least somewhat connected to the series own deliberate dismissal of the fact that the killerwho, through modern fingerprint analysis, was identified as Mount Sinai nurse Richard Rogers Jr.was also a gay man. Theres a persistent sense, from all angles, that intolerance (and fear of vilification) has repeatedly frustrated attempts to solve, and comprehend, this tragedy, and the fact that Rogers never opened up about his motivations only further leaves things feeling depressingly murky.

What remains clear, though, is Rogers guilt. Having been previously acquitted of killing his college roommate and, years later, of assaulting another man, the quiet and soft-spoken medical professional was undoubtedly the serial culprit authorities had sought. No matter the questions about jurisdiction that arose at trial, he was justly sentenced to two consecutive life sentences, ending a reign of terror thatdue to his habit of taking routine trips around the countrymay have included many more unknown victims. He was, by all accounts, a monster seemingly without remorse, and Last Call is sharpest when it posits him as the result of a society that demonizes with malicious intent (be it Anita Bryant in the 70s or Ron DeSantis today) and, in the process, inspires inevitable cruelty.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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NYPD Courtesy Cards (Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

One person was killed and three others wounded in a string of shootings allegedly perpetrated by a man on a moped in Queens.

The suspect allegedly began shooting at pedestrians and people in cars before noon on Saturday, the NYPD said.

Hours later police confirmed that the suspected shooter was in custody and there was no ongoing threat to the public.

The first victim is said to be an 86-year-old man who was shot in the back multiple times in the Richmond Hills neighbourhood at 11.28am. He was transported to Jamaica Hospital in critical condition and later pronounced dead.

A 63-year-old man was then shot in the shoulder blocks away at 11.37am, followed by a 61-year-old man shot in the torso at around 11.40am.

A third wounded victim was also reported, but authorities did not provide any details.

A business owner near the scene of the first shooting said he saw the suspect ride by on a moped.

I saw just somebody in front of my store coming on the scooter and he did a U-turn and he loaded his gun and he just started shooting, Zoom Zoom Wireless owner Jasvir Singh told the New York Daily News.

I mean everybody is scared. Everybody is in shock.
Protesters move off the shoulder and onto the highway leading to Mount Rushmore on Friday, July 3, 2020 in Keystone.

Protesters physically clashed with law enforcement officers the last time there was a fireworks display at Mount Rushmore, but state officials are telling the federal government theres no reason to believe something similar would happen again.

The state Department of Tourism applied Wednesday to the U.S. Department of the Interior for a special use permit to conduct a fireworks display next year, on or around the Fourth of July. The Interior Department includes the National Park Service, which manages Mount Rushmore National Memorial.

The application form includes a series of yes-or-no questions. One of the questions asks, Is there any reason to believe there will be attempts to disrupt, protest or prevent your event? The state Tourism Department checked the box for no.

The most recent fireworks display at Mount Rushmore, which was attended by then-President Donald Trump, was on July 3, 2020. Protesters blocked a checkpoint for the ticketed event and engaged in a physical altercation with sheriffs deputies and National Guard soldiers.

Twenty people were arrested on various charges that were later dropped after an agreement was reached with prosecutors. The protesters criticized Trumps policies and advocated for the return of land that Native Americans lost to broken treaties, including the Black Hills and Mount Rushmore.

Each year since, the Department of the Interior has rejected the states fireworks permit applications. Gov. Kristi Noem has sued, unsuccessfully, to overturn the decisions.

Noem announced the states latest application Wednesday, saying in a news release that she will keep fighting.

The Biden administration has consistently denied us the ability to celebrate our nations freedom with fireworks, Noem said.

State Tourism Department spokesperson Katlyn Svendsen fulfilled South Dakota Searchlights request for a copy of the most recent application Wednesday, but did not immediately respond to further questions.

Prior to Noems collaboration with Trump to bring fireworks back to Mount Rushmore in 2020, there hadnt been a fireworks display at the memorial in more than a decade. Federal officials had ended the displays because of wildfires started by fireworks embers falling in the surrounding forest, litter from exploded fireworks that lingered for years afterward, and groundwater pollution caused by chemicals in the fireworks.

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: South Dakota predicts no trouble at future Rushmore fireworks
Just days before the three finalists for Florida Atlantic Universitys next president were set to speak at public forums, the search has been stopped in its tracks.

State University System of Florida Chancellor Ray Rodrigues sent a letter to Brad Levine, chairman of both the FAU Board of Trustees and the Presidential Search Committee, citing anomalies that have been alleged in the Florida Atlantic University presidential search. The letter, dated Friday, was posted on social media Friday evening.

The letter said Rodrigues office received concerning information, including that search committee members conducted a straw poll to rank their six preferred candidates out of a list of nearly 60 and that one candidate said a questionnaire asked if his sexual orientation is queer and that another survey asked whether his gender is male, female or other and what pronouns he uses.

The university publicly announced three finalists earlier this week: Vice Admiral Sean Buck, superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy; Michael Hartline, dean of the College of Business at Florida State University; and Jose Sartarelli, Ph.D., former Chancellor of the University of North Carolina Wilmington. They were set to speak at forums on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday.

Related Articles

Not on the list was Rep. Randy Fine, R-Palm Bay, who previously told the South Florida Sun Sentinel the governors office approached him about applying for the job. Gov. Ron DeSantis office issued a statement of support at that time.

Rep. Anna Eskamani, an Orlando Democrat and a vocal critic of DeSantis, in a Facebook post Friday evening questioned the sudden decision.

Definitely seems like someone is being a baby because they werent given a job they are clearly unqualified for, Eskamani wrote, referring to Fine. This is disgraceful and an insult to academic integrity.

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Rodrigues wrote in his letter that the questions about sexual orientation, gender and pronouns were wholly irrelevant, inappropriate and potentially illegal. The meeting where candidates were ranked in unofficial votes may run afoul of state statute pertaining to public records and meetings exemptions for university and college president applicants, Rodrigues also wrote.

FAUs Levine told the South Florida Sun Sentinel on Friday evening that general counsel has guided the committee through the selection process and we are convinced that we have run a clean, appropriate to the letter of the law, search.

Rodrigues wrote in the letter that the straw poll rankings were submitted confidentially and directly to the search firm.

The committee members selections and rankings were not disclosed on the record and there was no meaningful opportunity for the search committee members to discuss candidates prior to the straw poll, Rodrigues wrote.

Levine said they did conduct a straw poll in a closed meeting, but they did not take any vote on the poll.

We conducted a straw poll to help us narrow down, which is appropriate and legal in the state of Florida, Levine said.

Levine said the search committee was not aware of the questionnaire cited in Rodrigues letter and that the questionnaire was run by a search firm the university hired, the information collected by them anonymous.

Its not shared with FAU. We dont participate in it. We didnt even know it was done, he said.

Rodrigues letter acknowledges that FAU was not aware of the questions.

Members of the search committee were not informed that these questions were being asked of candidates, Rodrigues wrote. This raises an additional concern about whether the search firm withheld material information from the search committee.

Rodrigues wrote that Board of Governors Chairman Brian Lamb agreed that the search be suspended at this time.

A voicemail and email left for Rodrigues assistant after business hours Friday were not returned.

Levine said the search committee was over the moon with the three finalists, praising each of them for their accomplishments.

Sartarelli, who lives in Naples, spent seven years as chancellor of the University of North Carolina-Wilmington after working as West Virginia Universitys dean of the College of Business and Economics. He declined to comment when reached by phone Friday evening.

In his time at UNCW, the university was recognized in the top 100 best public national universities by the U.S. News and World Report, and the university secured hundreds of millions of dollars to sustain its growth over the next decade, Sartarelli wrote in his letter of interest, among other accomplishments.

Hartline was the dean of FSUs Business College for eight years and a faculty member for over two decades. He wrote in his cover letter that some of his accomplishments included increasing fundraising, over $210 million in his time as dean, developing new programs and created new revenue sources for the college.

He declined to comment when reached by phone Friday evening.

Buck is the Superintendent of the United States Naval Academy. Levine said Buck received at least two letters of support from former chiefs of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

As I look to conclude 40 years of service wearing the cloth of our nation in August 2023, I realize I have much more to give, Buck wrote in his letter of interest. I am energized by the opportunity to learn more about how I could play a role in defining the future of Florida Atlantic University (FAU).

When reached by phone Friday evening, Buck said, I continue to be very proud and happy that they selected me to be one of the finalists, and I look forward to hopefully being able to present my credentials and myself to whatever committee will continue to make the consideration for the job, whenever thatll be.

Sun Sentinel staff writer Scott Travis contributed to this report.
Come on Barbie, lets go  Chinese Communist Party?

Warner Bros. says the whole notion is ridiculous, but a map depicted in the Barbie movie contains a crude version of the nine-dash line, showing Chinas claims to a huge area of the Pacific Ocean south of China, has caused Vietnam to ban the film. The Philippines is considering doing the same.

Warner Bros., in a statement to Politico on Friday, said there were no geopolitics intended in Barbie.

The map in Barbie Land is a child-like crayon drawing, a spokesperson for the Warner Bros. Film Group said in the statement. The doodles depict Barbies make-believe journey from Barbie Land to the real world. It was not intended to make any type of statement.

I spent part of the morning reply guying policy peoples questions about Vietnam banning the Barbie movie with the nine dash line map with this image of the map pic.twitter.com/oqJ91HJVUh  Lmao gan ma (@rzhongnotes) July 3, 2023

The Barbie map allegations would have sounded ridiculous 20 years ago. But placement of material favorable to China in Hollywood productions has been on the rise for 20 years, and is getting more blatant and aggressive.

In a statement to Politico, Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.), who chairs the select House panel aimed at countering the influence of China, said the map illustrates the pressure that Hollywood is under to please CCP censors.

While it may just be a Barbie map in a Barbie world, the fact that a cartoonish, crayon-scribbled map seems to go out of its way to depict the PRCs unlawful territorial claims illustrates the pressure that Hollywood is under to please CCP censors.

Also Read:

Members of Congress Meet With Bob Iger and Other Hollywood Executives to Discuss Chinese Censorship of US Films

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Hollywood producer Chris Fenton, who serves an advisor to the House panel alongside Gallagher, noted that anticipating Chinese criticism has become the new normal. He also said it is hard to believe that the pro-China map was inadvertent, considering how much scrutiny studios give to anything involving China.

There are no easy solutions for continuing market access (in China) while placing American priorities first, said Fenton, a trustee of the U.S.-Asia Institute, adding that freedom of expression is the ultimate priority.

I believe strongly that the U.S. government and the private sector can work together to curtail this First Amendment problem, Fenton said.

Also Read:

Indiana Jones 5 Is the Latest Hollywood Tentpole to Bomb in China
The couple, who tied the knot in January 2023, made the announcement in a new video shared on Friday

Ryland Adams/YouTube YouTubers Shane Dawson and Ryland Adams Expecting Twins via Surrogate

Shane Dawson and husband Ryland Adams are expecting twins!

The YouTube stars announced they are expecting twin boys via surrogate  and revealed what they plan to name the babies  in a new video posted on Adams YouTube channel on Friday.

Dawson, 34, and Adams, 32, shared a 17-minute vlog that documented their journey to discovering they were having twins, including a trip to Seattle, Washington, where they attended their surrogates six-week scan  which had been delayed a week so the couple could join.

This is the craziest experience of my whole life, Dawson, 34, said ahead of the trip .This is a moment that weve been waiting for forever and I cant believe it's happening! He added that the couple  who discovered their surrogate was pregnant on April 22 wanted to document their surrogacy journey for our kids to look back at one day.

The vlog then showed details of their trip and the duo nervously attending their surrogate's ultrasound appointment, before it cut to them sitting in a car afterwards. Soits twins! Oh my god, that was such a surreal experience, a joyful Adams announced.





Related: YouTube Star Shane Dawson Marries Ryland Adams in Colorado Courthouse Wedding: 'It's About Time'

When we heard the heartbeat, Dawson said. Thats what, like oh my gosh, got me, and Im just like woah, Adams added, explaining that we still have to process the news. The couple then shared that they had been "manifesting" twins and discussed the moment they heard their babies' heartbeats during the ultrasound.

Towards the end of the video, Adams and Dawson revealed that their sons' names will be Jet Adams Yaw and Max Adams Yas. The twins are due Jan. 4, 2024.

The news the pair is expecting twins  which they also posted on Instagram on Friday  had a touching circularity, as earlier in the vlog an emotional Dawson shared that hed had a dream where I met our two baby boys.

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I met them. And one of them was riding Riley [their dog] and we were playing with them and having fun. Like it was so real, he said as he stood next to an excited Adams. I didnt really think about it. My brain was just like, ok whatever.

Dawson recalled how their surrogate later text him to let him know she is pregnant. And then I started thinking what if, in my dreams, I did meet the babies, or what if they were coming in the dream to say Hi, were here! Dawson said, tearing up.



The news comes after the couple married in January following four years of being engaged. They shared the exciting news on Instagram with a photo of themselves kissing in front of a Colorado courthouse.

"We're married!!  the best day of my life. :)" the post read. Dawson and Adams also shared a 23-minute-long vlog documenting the big day and their relationship over the past seven years.

"We're getting married today!" an enthusiastic Dawson shared in the video, as Adams added, "I honestly can't believe it!"

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Read the original article on People.
The agency that is responsible for Chicago police oversight said Friday it is investigating allegations of sexual misconduct involving police officers and a migrant at a police station.

The Civilian Office of Police Accountability said in a statement that the investigation involves members of the CPD assigned to the 10th District and "a migrant temporarily housed at the police station."

A spokesperson for the Chicago Police Department confirmed its Bureau of Internal Affairs is also investigating the allegations, but declined to say if the officers remain on active duty.

PHOTO: Chicago police headquarters in Chicago in 2020. (Chicago Tribune/TNS via Getty Images)

MORE: What are cluster munitions? Biden defends decision to send controversial weapons to Ukraine

"We want to assure the public that all allegations of this nature are of the highest priority and COPA will move swiftly to address any misconduct by those involved," said COPA First Deputy Chief Administrator Ephraim Eaddy in a statement.

"In compliance with the Consent Decree, COPA has jurisdiction to conduct the administrative investigations of sexual misconduct allegations involving Chicago Police officers and we are obligated to demonstrate our commitment to objectivity, integrity, and transparency when responding to misconduct. COPA's purpose and core mission, under the Chicago Municipal Code, is to conduct independent, fact-finding administrative investigations into the most sensitive allegations of police misconduct on behalf of the public," the statement continued.

PHOTO: A migrant family from Venezuela arrives with their belongings at a police station where they will stay with other migrant families, May 9, 2023, in Chicago. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

The Chicago Police Department entered into a consent decree in 2019 to reform policing in Chicago that would focus on accountability, transparency, training and use of force among other tenets.

Mayor Brandon Johnsons office issued a statement saying among other allegations being investigated, one officer is accused of sexual misconduct against a minor.

"The Johnson administration remains intensely focused on the deeply troubling allegations of sexual misconduct by a Chicago Police Department officer against a minor new arrival, and other allegations of sexual misconduct in the Chicago Police Department's 10th District," the mayors office said in a statement Friday.

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MORE: Mayors of Chicago, NYC criticize Gov. Abbott's migrant busing to cities

At a city council hearing in June, Johnson's Deputy Chief of Staff, Dr. Cristina Pacione-Zayas, told council members around 11,000 migrants had arrived in Chicago since last August. Some have been bussed by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott as part of his controversial efforts to send migrants to sanctuary cities. The city has been housing migrants at emergency shelters and other facilities across the city.

Pacione-Zayas told city council members there were about 650 migrants temporarily housed at police station on June 28.

Chicago police officers under investigation for alleged sexual misconduct with migrant originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
Achieng Agutu. John Parra/Getty Images

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Achieng Agutu, a 2023 Swim Search finalist, nailed her the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Runway Show at Miami Swim Week on Friday, July 7, wearing Swimwear World and Nia Lynn.

The New York City-based content creator and model has built her platform around encouraging women to have unwavering confidence and challenge unrealistic beauty standards. Agutu, who is from Kisumu, Kenya, is a self-proclaimed education baddie and has her bachelors degree in public relations as well as a double masters in international marketing and business analytics from Hult International Business School in Cambridge, Mass.

The 26-year-old shares lifestyle, beauty, fashion and occasional comedic content with her TikTok and Instagram followers and has become a strong voice for empowering Black women to live their best lives. Agutu is also the host of The Queens Archives podcast.

Agutu is one of seven finalists in this years SI Swimsuit open casting call.

Shop Achieng Agutus Miami Swim Week runway looks

Achieng Agutu. John Parra/Getty Images

Achieng Agutu. John Parra/Getty Images

Each year, during Miami Swim Week, brands get the opportunity to display their latest summer swimwear lines. Designers and models, who are either returning to the scene, or making their exciting debuts have the chance to gain exposure on global scale.

SI Swimsuits events began on Friday with a panel featuring 2023 rookie Nicole Williams English. Five-time model and 2023 cover star Brooks Nader also hosted a tutorial using DIBS Beauty products. For a full summary of the days events, click here.

Vote for your 2023 SI Swim Search winner now through Aug. 31 here.

Make sure to follow SI Swimsuit on YouTube!
The threat of a UPS strike is testing the strength of the labor market

The threat of a strike from 340,000 United Parcel Service (UPS) workers offers a new test of a recent surge in union power. It could also answer some questions about the strength of the larger US labor market.

The unionized workforce at UPS was a big advantage for the package carrier earlier in the pandemic as demand for deliveries surged and rivals that lacked a steady supply of labor struggled to find enough available workers.

But now that job gains are slowing and demand is cooling in some parts of the economy, it is less clear how much longer labor will hold the upper hand, either at UPS or the economy at large.

New data released Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed the labor market is still tight, as the US economy added 209,000 jobs in June. That was the 30th straight month the US economy created jobs. Hourly wages also rose 4.4% over the same month last year, while the unemployment rate fell to 3.6%.

But the data also showed some softening. Fridays report marked the first in 15 months that job creation came in below what Wall Street economists had expected, reflecting a slowdown from the previous month.

In the part of the economy where UPS operates  transportation and warehousing  employment actually dropped by 7,000 jobs in June.

The labor market is cooling from "from overheated to lukewarm," Nancy Vanden Houten, lead US economist at Oxford Economics, said in a note on Friday.

The direction of the labor market is important to the Federal Reserve as it decides whether to keep raising interest rates as a way of bringing down inflation. Officials at the central bank are watching for signs that companies are reducing hiring and wages.

New wave of union activism

Pay is still a major issue for the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, which is pressing UPS to meet its demands for a new five-year collective bargaining agreement. It wants higher wages for the carriers part-time workers, among other benefits.

"We need to drive up the starting rates of pay," Sean OBrien, general president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, said this week on CNN.

UPS has said it already offers industry-leading pay, with delivery drivers earning up to $42 per hour after four years on the job.

On Wednesday, the Teamsters said the company failed to come to the table with an acceptable offer. Workers have authorized a strike to begin August 1 should no deal be reached.

Sean OBrien, general president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. REUTERS/Aude Guerrucci

The approach of the Teamsters is the latest sign of a new wave of union activism that took hold during the pandemic as demand for labor surged.

Over the past week, Teamsters workers have expanded strikes against Amazon for delivery drivers in California and New York.

The union is also testing Yellow, the nations third largest trucking company, to stick to the contract negotiated for its 22,000 union workers despite the companys request to modify the agreement in efforts to avoid another bankruptcy.

Amazon (AMZN), which runs its own shipping service, Amazon Logistics, has been facing unionization efforts from its warehouse workers in several states, while Apple (APPL) and Starbuck (SBUX) have been countering union pressure from retail workers.

Is this 'a temporary or fundamental change'?

Strikes that can jolt the nations supply chains are economic risks that the Biden administration has proven it is not willing to take.

Over the past year, the administration has intervened in the dispute between West Coast Ports and the Dockworkers Union, and tapped Congress to settle differences between railroad companies and a dozen unions backing railway conductors. It is also monitoring talks between the auto companies and the United Auto Workers.

Julie Su, acting Labor Secretary, said the White House does not plan to intervene in the UPS talks. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

"All of a sudden we find ourselves in a situation we really havent experienced for some time," labor and employment expert and Penn State University law professor Paul Clark told Yahoo Finance.

"The big question is whether this is a temporary or fundamental change between unions and employers. We are trying to answer that right now, and its pretty difficult to say."

Wayne State University labor law professor Michael Oswalt said even small disruptions in transportation, shipping and warehousing can be devastating across multiple industries. Still, he said, absent changes to labor law, which governs union campaigns and elections, unions are unlikely to regain the power they once had.

"So today what can matter more than a unions size is its proximity to a companys choke-point  and especially its willingness to strike," Oswalt said. "UPS Teamsters know the value they bring to the company, to the broader economy, and they have a history of pulling off successful strikes. That trifecta equates to a lot of union power right now."

In January, the BLS reported that 10.1% of wage and salary workers belonged to unions in 2022, down from 10.3% in 2021. In the same timeframe the number of wage and salary workers who belonged to unions increased 1.9% or 273,000 workers. The total number of workers belonging to unions in 1983, according to BLS was around 20.1%, nearly double what it is today.

Acting US Labor Secretary Julie Su told Yahoo Finance on Friday that the White House does not plan to intervene in the UPS situation.

I have faith that the parties are going to find a path and continue to try to work things out, she said Friday.

Jennifer Schonberger, Josh Shafer and Jared Mitovich contributed to this report.

Click here for the latest stock market news and in-depth analysis, including events that move stocks

Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance
Most professional skiers head to Mt. Hood, Oregon, Mammoth Mountain, California, Whistler Blackcomb, BC, or Copper Mountain, Colorado for summer training on snow.

In a strange break from the mold, Team Canada traveled to Austria to practice on a massive dry slope fitted with the world's largest airbag.

Watch as goofy professional skier Bruce Oldham overshoots a triple front flip attempt on the jump in the video below:

What a chaotic video. Did you notice how he kicked the camera man at the beginning of the run? That was a nice touch to leave in for the clip.

Oldham and Team Canada were practicing at Banger Park, a massive summer freestyle center in Scharnitz, Austria.

The facility was started in 2016 by snowboarders Alex Pankiewicz and Michal Maculewicz. It now has a 3m jump, a 5m jump, a 15m jump, and a dry slope jib line with traditional park features.

Click here to learn more about Banger Park.

Don't miss another headline from POWDER! Subscribe to our newsletter and stay connected with the latest happenings in the world of skiing.

We're always on the lookout for amusing, interesting and engaging ski-related videos to feature on our channels. Whether you're a professional or just an amateur, we want to see your best footage and help you share it with the world. Submit your video for a chance to be featured on POWDER and our social channels. Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel to watch high-quality ski videos.
The shooting occurred last summer and the wounded black bear was never found.

A Canadian man pled guilty on Wednesday to violating a federal hunting restriction in Jasper National Park, CBC News reports. The violation stems from an incident that took place in August 2022, when he brought a shotgun into the park and shot a black bear with it.

Serge Painchaud, a 42-year-old Edmonton resident, claimed in court that he didnt know it was against the law to carry a firearm in a national park. He said he brought the shotgun along and decided to use it because he was scared.

Watch: Whale Nearly Swallows Two Kayakers

Justice Rosanna Saccomani soundly rejected this defense and ordered Painchaud to pay a fine of $7,500, or roughly $5,640 USD, within a year. (The prosecuting attorney pushed for heftier fines and a two-year probation on owning firearms, but the court was lenient because Painchaud cooperated and had no criminal record.)

[That] would apply to pretty much every single person in your situation, Saccomani told Painchaud. Were all afraid of bears.

According to court records, Painchaud and two friends set out to hike the Overlander Trail on the morning of Aug. 6. He brought a Mossberg Model 510 20 gauge, which he carried loaded and openly on the trail.

At some point, after crossing paths with several other hikers, Painchaud decided to turn around and hike back alone while his friends continued on. Around 12:15 p.m., he came across a black bear that was roughly 100 feet away on the far side of a creek.

Painchaud then became scared and fired a warning shot in the bears direction. The bear shuddered and took a few steps forward, at which point Painchaud fired a second shot, striking the bear. The black bear rolled down a bank and ran off into the woods.

Read Next: Oregon Poacher Wasted Bull Elk Carcass Because He Was Afraid of Wolves

One of Painchauds friends heard the two shots and called park wardens, who came to investigate. They discovered two empty shotgun shells along with traces of blood at the scene, but the bear was never found.

Injured bears can be very aggressive when encountered in close quarters, so any further searches must be approached with extreme caution, Parks Canada said at the time, pointing out that a wounded black bear is even scarier than a healthy one.
A grizzly bear in the Yellowstone ecosystem.

My college buddy runs a sports-betting operation in Vegas, and he occasionally shares with me some of the surprising non-sports events that bookies make odds on. The number of named hurricanes in the Atlantic. The first song in a Taylor Swift concert. How many times President Biden says fella during a speech to union supporters.

So I asked him the other day: Is there a Vegas betting line on when grizzly bears will be removed from the federal endangered species list? He laughed.

We prefer to bet on things that have a knowable answer, he told me. Betting on grizzly bear recovery, he said, is like betting on the existence of God.

His perspective has lingered with me as Ive watched skirmishes this spring and summer that will define the terms of grizzly bear management when (or if) state fish-and-game agencies take over from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. It seems equally likely these preemptive moves could keep the legal status of this iconic species in a sort of administrative purgatory, with bears recovered in sufficient numbers to lift federal protections, but with courts and public opinion expressing doubts about states fitness to manage them.

That context makes a series of otherwise unremarkable recent events into something more, the terms that will define not only the legal definition of grizzly bears, but a window into how Westerners either choose to liveor choose not to livewith this large, disruptive omnivore.

Over the shoulders of state legislators, governors, state wildlife commissions, and federal agencies is a running clock, started in early February by USFWS announcement that the feds would initiate a 90-day status review of grizzly populations in the Greater Yellowstone and Northern Continental Divide ecosystems. The agency was responding to petitions by the governors of Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana to start the delisting process.

The Service finds two of these petitions [Idahos was rejected] present substantial information indicating the grizzly bear in the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem (NCDE) and the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) may qualify as their own distinct population segment and may warrant removal from the list of endangered and threatened wildlife.

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Grizzly numbers in the GYE have expanded well beyond recovery goals.

That announcement by USWFSand that ticking clockhas inspired a sprint to stake out what a delisted-griz landscape would look like. Montanas legislature went first, passing Senate Bill 295, which among other state management actions authorized livestock owners to kill grizzly bears either actively attacking livestock or deemed to be threatening to. Nothing out of the norm of state protections here, but SB295 went further, allowing these grizzly kill permits to be used outside of any established hunting season, and even on public land.

Thats a radical departure from previous state management prescriptions, which limited kill permits to private land. Public land is categorically different, argues Derek Goldman of the Endangered Species Coalition, one of more than a dozen environmental groups that signed a letter to Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte, urging him to veto SB295.

We recognize that occasionally a landownerworking alongside bear specialists at FWP and having exhausted nonlethal efforts to prevent grizzly bear conflictmight need a lethal solution for a truly dangerous or habituated bear in their own barnyard, wrote Goldman and other opponents of the legislation. However, public land is a different scenario. Here, wildlife make their home, while livestock graze seasonally at the pleasure of (and subsidized by) the general public, often far from towns and ranches. We know of no other species managed by the Department that private citizens can obtain a permit to kill, on public land, outside of any established hunting season. Yet, SB295 creates this unprecedented authorization for our state animalone of the slowest-reproducing and most mortality-sensitive species on the planet.

Gianforte, who has told wildlife managers that one of his priorities in his first gubernatorial term is delisting grizzlies, allowed the legislation to become law. Goldman and other opponents say the sanctioning of a limitless season on grizzlies could persuade the Department of the Interior that states arent yet ready to assume grizzly bear management.

Grizzlies in the Upper Green

Conflicts between grizzly bears and public-land livestock arent confined to Montana. In Wyoming, environmental groups are dismayed that the U.S. Forest Service has approved a cattle-and-sheep grazing plan on the largest livestock allotment in the West. Its in the upper Green River watershed, roughly between Yellowstone National Park and the Wind River Range, a place where grizzly bears often come into contactand conflictwith domestic livestock. Under terms of the grazing permit, livestock agents are authorized to kill up to seven grizzlies a year for the next 10 years.

That lethal take, amounting to 72 grizzlies over the next decade, prompted activists to sue both USFS and USFWS. That suit was settled last month in favor of Upper Green River livestock grazers.

Read Next: Where Do All the Problem Bears Go?

At the heart of the opponents suit was their claim that the Upper Green River, along with other drainages that fall off the high, wild Yellowstone Plateau, are vital transition lands as expanding grizzlies pioneer new landscapes outside their protected parklands. But that argument suffered a public setback last month when a federal bear biologist reported that griz expansion into new habitats has ceased, and in the last years has even decreased.

Data from GPS-collared bears and other geo-locations suggest that we are reaching the limits of even marginal habitat, said Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team leader Frank van Manen of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem Theres more human influence [on the ecosystem periphery], and so we have a lot more human-bear conflict and higher [grizzly] mortality.

Grizzly distribution is measured by GPS data from the dozens of bears collared in the GYE. The locations of grizzly deaths are also factored into the management picture. The data suggest that grizzly range has been stagnant over the last two years, van Manen told the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee. It even retracted along the northern periphery of grizzly range in southern Montana. Overall the reduction in range amounted to 142 square milesabout 0.5 percent of the species total distribution.

Grizzlies on the Move

Distribution dynamics appear to be different in the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem, where grizzlies are steadily moving outside of wildlands and into transition zones heavily used by humans. The NCDE stretches roughly from Interstate 90 through western Montana north to the Canadian line. The wild area includes the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex and Glacier National Park.

Significantly, it also includes adjacent wildlands that currently dont have viable numbers of grizzlies. Like the Bitterroot Mountains south of Missoula, Montana. The Bitterroots, which range into Idaho, had earlier been identified as a grizzly restoration zone, and were on tap to receive as many as 25 transplanted grizzlies. But changes in presidential administrations and court rulings suspended that translocation work.

Grizzlies are expanding toward the Bitterroot.

Still, grizzlies have been naturally moving toward the Bitterroot, and in April a federal judge ordered USFWS to study the areas capacity for supporting a grizzly bear population.

Meanwhile, bears have been spilling out of the Bob Marshall Wilderness into the adjacent eastern plains, where some bears routinely get in trouble with farmers and townspeople. Last month, a grizzly bear was killed near the wheat-growing town of Conrad, and other bears have ventured far to the east.

Will We Ever Hunt Grizzly Bears?

Most people reading this are probably eager to hear that with state management of delisted grizzly bears will come sport-hunting seasons. Not so fast, say both state wildlife agencies and a mixed chorus of bear defenders.

First, Montanas Fish and Wildlife Commission, in considering rules that would direct state management of grizzlies, notes that sport hunting is the most desirable method for balancing the number of bears with available habitat. In that way, management of bears would conform to norms used to manage other big-game populations. But the commission also noted that its in no hurry to implement a hunting season, suggesting that the state would manage bears for at least five years before any hunting season would be proposed.

Read Next: Are Grizzly Attacks Really on the Rise?

Because grizzly bears reach sexual maturity relatively late in life, and because their reproductive potential is much slower than black bears, wolves, and any ungulate species, the species requires special management considerations, argues Dave Mattson, former grizzly bear biologist for the U.S. Geological Service.

Grizzlies' reproductive potential is reproductive potential is slower than that of wolves, black bears, and other ungulate species.

As a consequence of their reproductive dynamics, grizzly bear populations are unable to accommodate much human-caused mortality without declining, and even small rates of decline, if sustained, can result in catastrophic losses, Mattson writes in a paper published by the Grizzly Bear Recovery Project that looks at the effects of sport hunting. This sensitivity of grizzly bear populations to even small added increments of mortality leaves managers with little margin of error.

There are two ways to look at that perspective. On the one hand, maybe hunting is the tool that state wildlife managers need to keep grizzly bears contained to small home ranges. The other way to look at it is that, if we are ready to take on the responsibility of sustainably hunting grizzly bears, then we should probably let them expand into as many areas as possible, in order that regulated hunting doesnt push them back into endangered status.

All the variablespolitical, cultural, physical, and biologicalthat will influence grizzly bear management over the next decade can make your head spin. And theyre clearly too much for my Vegas bookie, who notes that, besides a knowable conclusion, the best bets also have the fewest variables.
Its not smoke from Canadian wildfires, and its not exactly a dust storm. Dust from what meteorologists call the Saharan Air Layer is on track to reach Florida this weekend, bringing hot and dry weather to the Tampa Bay area.

Floridians may remember similar dust clouds that blew in during past summers.

The layer of dry air is formed by dust plumes blowing from the Sahara Desert across the Atlantic Ocean, where dust clouds can affect weather patterns far away, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. It can form during the late spring, summer and early fall.

The air layer is currently hanging about 1 mile above sea level between the Bahamas and Puerto Rico. National Weather Service meteorologist Rodney Wynn said Tampa Bay will experience the weather events peak conditions on Sunday.

Global average temperatures reached the highest in decades this week, and Wynn said the air layer could continue that streak into the weekend.

Its going to be warm and a little bit drier, he said. Probably about 3 to 4 degrees above average.

Wynn said the height of the dust clouds shouldnt cause visibility concerns.

Its not like youre going to wake up one morning and have dust on your car, he said.

Megan Borowski, a Florida Public Radio Emergency Network meteorologist, said the dust layer could irritate people with pre-existing respiratory issues.

You dont want to be breathing those particles in, she said.

This week, forecasters changed their initial hurricane predictions to expect an above-average season due to hot Atlantic Ocean temperatures. But the incoming dry air could delay tropical storms  which form in moist conditions.

The thickness of the air layer also plays a part in thunderstorms, Borowski said.

Thicker means a lot more dry air and dust particles  and so that would help to quell the tropics, she said.

Beautiful sunsets are another upside brought by the air layer.

When the dust layer does arrive you can actually get really neat atmospheric optical effects, Borowski said. One of the cool things that Ive got pictures of are halos around the sun, and its just the way that the sand particles and dust particles actually reflect sunlight.
One of Manhattans most exclusive private clubs is getting a swanky new address, and Robb Report got an exclusive look inside.

This September, the elite social club Core is moving from its former spot at 60 East 55th Street and will open its doors at 711 Fifth Avenue. The outpostwhich has initiation fees that run from $15,000 to $100,000will occupy over 60,000 square feet within the SHVO-owned building. Originally built in 1927, the 11-story tower previously served as the headquarters for Coca-Cola, NBC, and Columbia Pictures.

More from Robb Report

Its a pivotal moment in our Core story, says founder and CEO Jennie Enterprise in a press release. From the beginning, Core has been committed to curating a global community of relentlessly curious individuals who are energized by cultural exploration, committed to community engagement, inspired by original perspectives, and dedicated to enjoying life without compromise. With this new landmark location, we take our founding vision into a thrilling new chapter.

The dangene Institute will be located on the 16th floor of Cores new Fifth Avenue location

The club will be positioned on the top four levels of the building with an additional 6,000 square feet of outdoor terrace space. Starting on the 15th floor, there will be 11 suites measuring between 500 and 750 square feet, in addition to spa treatment rooms, a salon, and a barbershop. Elsewhere, members can visit the Dangene Institute on the 16th floor for customized, anti-aging skincare services and stop by the juice bar for a rejuvenating drink after hitting the gym.

Cores New York City outpost will also have a gym, a wine library, a speakeasy, and 6,000 square feet of terrace space.

Nearby, the 17th floor will sport an extensive wine library, overseen by sommelier Yannick Benjamin, plus a speakeasy lounge serving up Mexican, Italian, and Japanese-inspired small plates. Theres also a culinary lab where famous chefs will rotate in and cook for members. Chef Michele Brogioni is heading the culinary program here and will have a restaurant on the 18th floor. By day, itll operate as an a la carte Mediterranean eatery and by night turn into a prix fixe fine-dining establishment. Expect seasonal, locally sourced menus and, of course, plenty of handmade pasta.

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The 18th-floor restaurant and culinary program will be helmed by chef Michele Brogioni.

In Italy, life is centered around the table, adds Brogioni. The table is where you discuss the important thingsas a family as well as in business. Thats where your memories are made. Thats where you are your best self. Thats where you are saying to those you invite to join you, Lets build our bond. For me, the tables at Core are like those Italian tables. Places where members can feel relaxed and comfortable and confident. And I want to give our community food that makes every meal a pleasure.

While the new Fifth Avenue location will be Cores home base, the club is continuing its expansion with outposts in Milan and San Francisco.

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FORTE DEI MARMI, Italy  When Prada Group acquired the historic Caffe Principe here in November 2022, locals first thought was that a new Marchesi 1824 patisserie was coming to town.

But as the landmark location reopened after a six-month renovation process on Sunday, visitors wont find the signature eau de nil paint that defines the Marchesi 1824 cafes in Milan, nor its elegant banner. The fashion company decided to honor the legacy of the hot spot, keeping its original name as well as restoring its distinctive navy color that now covers part of the interior and all product packaging.

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The result is a unique case in the groups hospitality projects, as it blends the venues original identity with the Marchesi 1824 and Prada ones. To be sure, the culinary offering is the same as all the Marchesi 1824 cafes  picture-perfect pastries, boxes of candies and tiny salty appetizers included  while the new interiors nod to archives of the Prada brand. A womenswear Prada store is adjacent to the cafe and a menswear unit is a stones throw away.

Positioned strategically at one corner of the central Piazza Garibaldi square, Caffe Principe has always represented a key spot in the social life of the Italian luxury resort destination. Opened at the end of the 30s by the Florentine family Galli and changing owners throughout the years, its popularity boomed in the 50s and 60s, when it became a regular meeting point with live music for both Italians and tourists.

Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed, but the cafe officially became a Marchesi 1824 property from June 1.

Caffe Principe in Forte dei Marmi, Italy.

The location has been revamped with the goal of respecting its identity and honoring its Dolce Vita heyday. The informal resort vibe of the new interior concept was developed with Florence-based architect Michele Bonan, who has worked on projects including Hotel Portrait and Hotel Continentale in Florence; Hotel J.K. Place in Rome and Capri; Hotel Marquise in Paris; the Casa Tua restaurants in Aspen and Miami, and several Cipriani restaurants across the world, to name a few.

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Ive been coming to Forte dei Marmi since I was born, said Bonan during a preview, adding he has a family house here.



The architect recalled when Prada Group chairman and executive director Patrizio Bertelli stopped by his studio and the four-hour-long chat the two had before they visited Caffe Principe. We got here, a cafe I know very well but that Ive always seen in a strange way because it was lived more in its outdoor part rather than inside. So we thought, Why dont we open the indoor with outdoor? said Bonan.

The goal was to create a seamless continuation between the two areas. Inside, white paneling on the walls and wood flooring frame a space punctuated by palms, wicker armchairs, graphic carpets in bold green and tangerine colors and design elements intended to evoke furniture of the 50s, as seen in lamps and chairs.

Caffe Principe in Forte dei Marmi, Italy.

Through historic images we tried to recover the look and feel of an era we wanted to imagine, but never in a nostalgic way, said the architect. Plus we based the interiors on some elements we found here, he added, pointing as an example to the rediscovery of the original look of the balustrade above the main hall.

Other elements were replicated from the 60s or from Bertellis own design pieces, such as a series of armchairs. Many things are new but they look like they have always been here. Thats the real beauty: when you cant see the intervention, said Bonan.

To give a glimpse of Pradas presence in a soft and elegant way, the architect asked the company to access its textile archives, too, selecting a green-and-white pattern to use on the venues curtains, bar counter and wooden room dividers.

Caffe Principe in Forte dei Marmi, Italy.

Further dotting the space, which can accommodate around 170 people between indoors and outdoors, are vintage furniture and colorful Ginori vases. But a key part of the architectural project is the service. Service is architecture, because an inadequate one diminishes the beauty of any place, noted Bonan.

Mixing former members and 20 new hires, the staff currently includes about 24 people, but the company aims to add a handful more employees in the coming months. All of them have been in Milan for training sessions on both product and service, including the three new pastry chefs who had a six-month-training in the city under the guidance of Diego Crosara, Marchesi 1824s pastry creator director.

As for their uniforms, these have been designed by Miuccia Prada and include a crisp white shirt with the cafes italics logo embroidered on the front, navy jeans and white sneakers for men or espadrilles for women. Bartenders wear a white bowling shirt with navy piping.

Caffe Principe in Forte dei Marmi, Italy.

Wearing a total black look during a preview, Caffe Principes director Valentino Casamenti underscored the challenges in hiring new personnel in general and the double challenge for us as we are reopening with the high season already in full force.

As for Casamenti, he hails from the world of luxury hotels, such as the local Grand Hotel Imperiale.

Obviously I had experienced the food and beverage part of the business, but from a hotel point of view. I had a maitre or a restaurant manager as part of my team, but I hadnt touched this side firsthand, said Casamenti. But to be honest, the concept of hospitality has changed over the years; now it is broader. It takes place everywhere: in a hotel, a bar, a pastry shop or a luxury boutique So this experience will be the same in terms of reception and empathy; the only difference is that it requires a specific knowledge of a different product.

Caffe Principe in Forte dei Marmi, Italy.

In particular, the salty menu will offer a selection of Marchesi 1824s carte, focusing on summer go-to choices like small sandwiches and Caprese salads. Other staples of the cuisine, such as the very Milanese riso al salto, are expected to be integrated in the future, when a fully equipped kitchen will be added to the cafe.

In the meantime, the only new entry in the menu is the Focaccia di Recco hot focaccia with cheese, introduced upon the wish of Bertellis and imported directly from the namesake town in Italys Liguria region, said Casamenti.

Caffe Principe in Forte dei Marmi, Italy.

Marchesi 1824s forte, the sweet offering, is aligned with all the brands cafes. The philosophy is to have a quintessentially Italian product and take it in all parts of the world, confirmed Crosara, who joined the firm in 2018.



Prada Group bought a majority stake in Pasticceria Marchesi in 2014 and added two cafes  one on Via Monte Napoleone and one in Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II  to the original location in Milans via Santa Maria alla Porta. A fourth location opened in Londons Mount Street in 2019.

The idea is to offer a reinterpretation of classic patisserie, continued Crosara, who pointed to only three differences in the menu. These include the addition of a fried doughnut; the reintroduction of the Torta di Riso cake, an historic Marchesi 1824 recipe offered in the past in the pastrys seminal location and now available only at Caffe Principe, and a wider selection of ice cream flavors compared to the four to six available in Milan.

Asked about the signature panettone, the jewel in the crown of the patisserie, Casamenti cracked a laugh and ensured that were making all arrangements to bring that one here, too.

Caffe Principe in Forte dei Marmi, Italy.

Caffe Principe will be open every day from 7.30 a.m. to 1 a.m., serving from breakfast and lunch to aperitifs and after-dinner drinks. To this end, the cocktail offering has been expanded to add the Principe Cocktail, which was created a few years ago for a Prada after-show event and has been approved by Mrs. Prada. A free take on the French 75 recipe, the blue-hued cocktail blends Gray Goose vodka with Butterfly Pea tea, lemon juice, sugar and is topped with Blanc de Blanc Champagne and violet aroma.

The companys future aim is to keep Caffe Principe open all year long, unveil its rooftop terrace that has already been revamped, and implement catering projects, in a nod to the frequent in-store events hosted by the luxury stores in the area, including those in Prada Groups portfolio, like the Miu Miu and Car Shoe units.

Caffe Principe in Forte dei Marmi, Italy.

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Kristian Niemi is no stranger to the Columbia dining scene.

The longtime restaurateurs Bourbon, with its Cajun-inspired food menu and ever-evolving bar program, has for years been a go-to spot on Main Street, helping to fuel that corridors continued renaissance. And Niemis Black Rooster restaurant in West Columbia, just on the other side of the Gervais Street bridge, has become a local favorite, offering what it calls Frenchish cuisine, as well as rooftop dining with views of the Congaree River and Columbias skyline.

Now, Niemis latest culinary gathering spot has made its debut. The Dragon Room, an Asian restaurant and cocktail bar, is open at 803 Gervais St. in the Vista district. Niemi has described the restaurant as an Asian izakaya.

According to gotokyo.org, the word izakaya translates to stay-drink-place, and establishments known as izakaya are ubiquitous in Japan. They are places where people come to unwind with co-workers and friends.

The Dragon Room features a menu with delicacies from a swath of Asian nations and regions.

We are fanatics about the flavors of Asia, from the vastness of Chinas multitude of regions to the Taiwan night markets to the varied prefectures of Japan, The Dragon Rooms website proclaims. We swoon over the flavors of Vietnam, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Burma.

The Dragon Rooms menu includes a host of offerings  a Sichuan hot chicken sandwich, steamed buns (including one with Sichuan shrimp, cucumbers, remoulade and shredded cabbage), noodle dishes (including a ramen dish with smoked chicken dashi, kimchi, soy pickled mushrooms, soft-boiled egg, bok choy and scallions) and more.

A pair of Columbia service industry mainstays are helping spearhead The Dragon Rooms offerings, according to Niemi, with Alex Strickland serving as the spots executive chef and David Adedokun leading the bar.

We are super excited, Niemi told The State. Im not saying it because its mine  I think its absolutely fantastic. We have a ton of world-class Asian restaurants in town. But I dont feel like we have anything like The Dragon Room. Its a cocktail bar just as much as it is a pan-Asian restaurant. ... We are leaving no stone unturned in our desire to have a diverse and fun menu thats constantly changing.

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The izakaya wont be afraid to experiment and tweak various dishes and flavors, Niemi noted. For instance, the restaurant is planning to offer baby back ribs that are marinated in the same way as chicken satay, a popular dish in southeast Asia.

Niemi pointed out that there are a number of venerable Asian restaurants in the Vista, from 929 Kitchen to Boku Kitchen and Saloon to SakiTumi Grill and Sushi Bar and others.

I think there is room for all of us in the Vista, Niemi said. I feel like what we are doing is different from what all of them are doing. We are all kind of doing our thing. There might be some overlap in some places, but I think there is room for all of us. The more the merrier.

With Bourbon being located at 1214 Main St., near the intersection with Gervais, The Dragon Room located at 803 Gervais and Black Rooster located at 201 Meeting St. just on the other side of the Gervais Street bridge, Niemis current roster of restaurants line up conveniently along what is basically a straight shot corridor. The distance from Bourbon to Black Rooster is 1.7 miles, with The Dragon Room located about halfway between the two.

Niemi insists he didnt necessarily plan it that way.

That has been one of the most fortuitous aspects of this entire thing, being lined up in one straight line down Gervais Street, he said.

The Dragon Room is open from 5 p.m. to midnight Tuesday through Thursday and 5 p.m. to 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday. Aside from nearby street parking, there also is a parking lot behind the restaurant, accessed off Gadsden Street.
Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via Reuters

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan mightve just snubbed Vladimir Putin.

After wrapping up talks with Erdogan in a visit to Istanbul, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky returned home with five Azov commanders, who were initially taken prisoner by Moscow during a months-long battle to defend the port city of Mariupol.

The commanders were freed in a prison swap overseen by Ankara in Septemberbut only under the condition that they would stay put in Turkey until the end of the war.

Zelensky posted a video of himself shaking hands with and hugging the soldiers, hailing them as heroes and celebrating that they will finally be with their relatives, according to Al Jazeera. The president also tweeted on Saturday a photo with the commanders using the caption Home .

A Kremlin spokesperson denounced the return of the soldiers and accused Turkey of breaching their original agreement.

No one informed us about this. According to the agreements, these ringleaders were to remain on the territory of Turkey until the end of the conflict, Dmitry Peskov said, DW News reported. Zelensky has not elaborated on the reason the commanders could come home.

The defendersDenys Prokopenko, Svyatoslav Palamar, Serhiy Volynsky, Oleh Khomenko, and Denys Shlehawere among hundreds of fighters ordered to surrender to Russian besiegers in Mariupol in May 2022. For the Kremlin, the port city has represented a crucial part of its plans for a land bridge between southern Russia and occupied Crimea.

Turkeys decision to handover the Azov commanders comes as Erdogan announced he will host Putin next month in hopes of extending a deal to allow for the use of the Black Sea to export grain from Ukrainian ports.

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While Erdogan recently said Ukraine deserves NATO membership with no doubt, the Turkish president has emphasized his belief in the need for Kyiv to enter peace talks with Moscow.

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Tennessee Republican Congressman Tim Burchett claimed that the US government has been withholding evidence of UFOs.

Rep Burchett told the Washington Examiner the government has been holding stuff back since Roswell in 47, and maybe prior to that. He added that he was concerned that we have something that we do not control in our military airspace.

His remarks follow claims from former US intelligence officer David Charles Grusch, who served on the Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force, which was established by the Department of Defense to improve its understanding of, and gain insight into, the nature and origins of UAPs. UAPs are the new term for UFOs.

Tim Burchett (Fox News)

Mr Grusch filed a complaint saying the government was keeping classified information regarding the existence of non-human life from Congress. He told The Debrief in June that the withheld material includes intact and partially intact vehicles.

I think hes telling the truth. I think theres a lot thats going to be out there, Rep Burchett said.

I think the interesting thing youre going to find out, though, is the Pentagon and all of our research institutions, you see them kind of warming up to it. And the reason they are is theyre smelling dollars. And I think therell be an effort to discredit him, the Tennessee Republican said.

There are enough witnesses, enough qualified pilots, astronauts, literally heroes of ours, who have come forward about things and so I think its pretty evident that government is covering up, he continued.

And the reason we dont have any of that information now is a lot of it is so compartmentalised that the people that could connect the dots are long gone, the Tennessee lawmaker said.

Suspicions about a government cover-up of UFOs goes back decades, including this march in Washington DC in 1995 (AFP via Getty Images)

When asked why the government would be hiding this evidence, Rep Burchett replied: Greed and power.

He also added that he doesnt believe the alleged vehicles are from a US adversary, as We know if it was the Chinese, they would own us  And if it was Russia, Putin, with his ego, he would  he sure wouldnt be stumbling in Ukraine right now.

Rep Burchett said on the Event Horizon podcast earlier this week that the alleged vehicle can travel light years or at the speeds that weve seen defy physics as we know it.

On 29 June, Rep Burchett filed an amendment requiring the Department of Defense to declassify any documents and other records ... relating to publicly known sightings of unidentified aerial phenomena.
The News

Organizers behind the Great Green Wall project  which aims to reforest 100 million hectares of degraded land stretching from Senegal to Djibouti by 2030  are seeking corporate investors after public funding has slowed.

The project has faced hurdles since its 2007 launch, and only 20 million hectares of the green belt have have materialized.

Weve curated thoughtful analysis on the many challenges facing the worlds most ambitious environmental project.

Insights

While many countries in Africa look towards reforestation, Kenya recently repealed a six-year ban on logging, despite the lack of reforms in the corrupt agency responsible for forests and logging licenses. The move comes at the wrong time, Anthony Langat argues in Semafors Africa newsletter, as the the country could be handing over its forests to an inept institution.

Even proponents of the Great Green Wall project believe that very little progress has been made in the 15 years since its inception . There are small success stories though: In Senegal, a 1,000-hectare reserve has seen migratory birds, tortoises, and monkeys returning. Local farmers are paid for their work in the reforested area, and the project has offered some relief for nearby villages struggling with poor economies.

Reforestation is being embraced around the world as a climate change-fighting measure, with projects to add tree cover in major economies around the world. There are issues with this plan, however: Non-native trees can disrupt existing biodiversity, and local livelihoods.

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Access to funding has been a struggle since the project began. Two years ago, French President Emmanuel Macron promised 14 billion ($15.2 billion) in additional funding to the project, but that money has yet to materialize. Meanwhile, every country involved in the project has its own budget, and it is unclear what has been spent so far by each of them.

As the African continent loses its arable land to climate change, the wall would offer a sustainable way to regenerate agroforestry and useable parklands.
Tucker Carlson doesnt know why he was fired from Fox News but suggests his views on Ukraine were a red line

In his first interview after his abrupt exit from Fox News, Tucker Carlson claimed he doesnt know why he was fired, though he suggested his coverage of Russias assault in Ukraine likely played a role.

I dont know why I was fired. I really dont. Im not angry about it. I wish Fox well, Carlson said during an appearance on a podcast hosted by Russell Brand.

He added, however, that the war is a red line for a lot of people in business and politics, echoing the far-right pundits previous on-air statements from his primetime slot on one of the most-watched cable news networks in the US.

His segments on Fox News routinely undermined Ukraine and questioned US military aid to support the country against Russian attacks, claims that have not only advanced into Republican Party platforms but also made Carlson a star on Russian state media.

The US could force peace like tonight. They could. Uniquely, they have that power, and they wont, and they are continuing to allow Ukrainians to be killed and that country to be devastated, he told Brand. If you criticise that, they are really intent on making you be quiet.

Carlson, like Donald Trump and other right-wing personalities who have claimed that peace could be brokered immediately, did not explain how either party could achieve that.

After the White House announced a first wave of sanctions against Russia as armed forces launched an assault into Ukraine last February, Carlson used his platform to make an apparent defence of Russian President Vladimir Putin, posing a question to Americans: It may be worth asking yourself, since it is getting pretty serious, what is this really about? Why do I hate Putin so much?

He referred to the war as a border issue and called Ukraine a pure client state of the US Department of State. He also has characterised the US as the aggressor in a proxy war against Russia, a claim also raised by Russian propagandists, though he also has conceded that Putin started the war and pinned the blame on Putin for the assault that would lead to thousands of casualties. Meanwhile, he has cast Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky as a dictator, a pimp and a dangerous authoritarian.

Carlson also stated that Ukraines defence of its sovereignty is a lie.

You cant have an audit of US defence spending in Ukraine, Carlson said earlier this year, in a sarcastic screed, because if you do want an audit of where your money is going into the most corrupt country in Europe, youre a tool of Putin!

When he launched the first of his post-Fox video posts on Twitter, he called Ukraines Jewish leader rat-like and claimed it was obvious that Ukrainian forces were responsible for the destruction of the Kakhovka dam.

Carlson was fired from Fox days after the network agreed to a record-breaking $787m settlement with a voting machine company that accused the network of spreading false statements about its business in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election  bogus claims that Carlson privately disputed but had devoted generous airtime to entertain.

Hundreds of court filings and overlapping reports across several media outlets stitched together a picture of a looming human resources nightmare inside the Fox empire, with a federal lawsuit from a now-former producer putting Carlson and his staff at the centre of a workplace discrimination complaint.

Last week, Fox Corporation reached a $12m settlement in that lawsuit from Abby Grossberg, a former producer for Tucker Carlson Tonight, who alleged a culture of misogyny at the network and accused Fox and its employees of fostering a toxic workplace where truth remains a fugitive.

After he was fired from Fox, Putin-linked propagandists trolled American media with public and televised statements seeking Carlsons attention and offering him jobs on their networks.
The restaurant in the Dorsia Hotel, in central Gothenburg, takes its cues from Belle Epoqueera Parisall plush, colorful upholstered furniture, floral-patterned curtains, flocked-velvet wallpaper, and shimmering chandeliers. The signature dish is an appetizer, a single raw scallop with cucumbers pickled in strawberry vinegar for color and zing, fresh wasabi for heat, and cherry blossominfused cream for a floral accent, as if to harmonize with the decor. It was created by head chef Oskar Samuelsson, who arrived in Gothenburg in 2021 via Copenhagen, where he cooked at Kadeau, the two-Michelin-starred eatery known for 18-course tasting menus. Before that he was at Faviken, from Nordic-cuisine pioneer Magnus Nilsson, whom Samuelsson credits for teaching him the value of spotlighting a single ingredient in a dish and how to scour the regions seas, forests, and farms for those essential components.

Dorsias restaurant is just one example of why Gothenburg, Swedens second-largest city, has become a culinary destination in its own right. While Oslo, Copenhagen, Stockholm, and Reykjavik get the attention, exciting dining scenes are flourishing in other areas around Scandinaviaincluding Bergen, Norway, and Aarhus, Denmarkas chefs opt for quieter, less competitive locales in which to practice their craft, all with the same access to the whimsical natural bounty that helped launch Scandinavian cuisine to global fame. Travelers who venture beyond the ritzy capitals are rewarded with unforgettable meals from cooks who prize creativity and the famously rigorous localness of the New Nordic Kitchen, the culinary philosophy founded in part by Nomas Rene Redzepi. The best part? No monthslong wait for a table.

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The nine-year-old Michelin-starred SK Mat & Manniskor is the minimalist yin to Dorsias ornate yang. The focal point of the austere yet somehow still cozy space (Scandinavian designers signature sleight-of-hand) is the open kitchen. Head chef Henric Herbertsson directs the team of up to five young cooks in its nightly choreography, employing simple techniques to formulate fascinating tastes. Take the blackened scallop enhanced by chives, ginger, and grilled creamthe last ingredient a feat accomplished by adding coal to a vessel of cream as it cooks. But theyre never too busy to slip away from the stove in order to present you with your meal and a detailed explanation of what youre about to eat.

Preserved potatoes with aged cheese, fresh tagetes, and onion consomme at 28+

At Natur, the wine bottles that line shelves around the compact dining room quickly establish the casual

but upscale mood. That same subtle juxtaposition defines the dishes, each a mosaic of flavors and textures. Whether its the crispy fennel and lemon jelly with smoked lobster or the jalapeno mayo, roasted tomatoes, and wafer-thin buckwheat crispthe supporting cast of a dramatic beef tartareevery composition contains an unlikely element or two that invariably ties the dish together.

Seamless is the best term to describe the experience at Koka, the Michelin-starred restaurant where the food, design, cutlery, and table settings harmonize to communicate the type of elegant precision that comes only from immaculate preparation. But dont mistake it for fussyplayfulness is the rule here.

We like using ingredients that everyone knows, then blending in some flavor thats exciting and unexpected, like jam seasoned with dried dulse seaweed that tastes like licorice, says head chef Joakim Andersson, who comes from a family of fishermen and captures the intrigue of seaweed in a goat-curd ice cream with crispy beets and that anise-flavored jam.

The groundwork for Gothenburgs culinary greatness was laid even before Redzepi and company signed the New Nordic Food Manifesto in 2004. The French-accented, white-tablecloth restaurant 28+ earned its first Michelin star in 1991 and has maintained it every year since. In tribute to its origins as a wine and cheese cafe, it boasts one of Swedens most impressive wine lists. A stocked cheese fridge is on display in the rustic French-bistro-style dining room, while Gallic staples including foie gras, sturgeon caviar, and home-baked baguettes are sprinkled throughout the five- and eight-course tasting menus, joining modern compositions such as langoustine tail with sea-buckthorn gel, pumpkin, and foamy langoustine sauce. In Gothenburg, as in Copenhagen, Oslo, and other Scandi-cuisine destinations, no matter how far ahead the citys innovative chefs cast their gazes, the regions heritage always remains close at hand.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modis visit to the United States has received mixed reviews. This is not surprising given the nationalist direction of his government, hostility toward religious minorities and growing repression of public criticism of the regime.

India continues to purchase oil from Russia, despite an international embargo in reaction to the invasion of Ukraine. Modi himself declines to criticize his neighbor for the military aggression. Despite the shortcomings of the regime in New Delhi, Modi was accorded a state dinner by President Joe Biden and addressed a joint session of Congress.

The India leader himself demonstrated some astute public relations, including on June 21 joining a mass yoga exercise on the grounds of the United Nations. The benign symbolism was a shrewd move.

Arthur I. Cyr

The respect accorded Modi in no way reflects approval of the unfortunate and ugly aspects of his government, but rather realistic awareness of the profound importance of the South Asia region. Reasonably stable relations with New Delhi are essential to furthering U.S.  and international  interests in stability in that volatile and often violent part of the world.

The Great Game refers to the strategic competition between Great Britain and Russia for influence in South Asia throughout the 19th century. Secure India borders were central to British calculations. The same logic applies to containing Russia, along with China, today.

Conflict between India and Pakistan remains dangerous. In 2019, an attack in disputed Kashmir killed 40 Indian police. Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed claimed responsibility. Limited combat between forces of the two nations followed.

Both have nuclear weapons, drastically increasing the risks.

In early 2016, militants raided an India military base. The United Jihad Council, a Kashmir group, claimed credit. Simultaneously, terrorists attacked an India consulate in Afghanistan.

Only a week earlier, the India Prime Minister had visited Pakistan. The attacks threatened talks involving Afghanistan, India and Pakistan along with China and the U.S. Ethnic violence occurred again in July that year.

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In 2012, Taliban attackers shot young Malala Yousafzai of Pakistan in revenge for her advocacy of education for females. She survived, and has become a vital international symbol of courage. Vital Voices Global Partnership, a nonprofit organization to empower girls and women, established the Malala Fund.

Global media emphasis on incidents involving U.S. military ally Pakistan reflects the regions strategic importance, but overshadows democratic progress. In September 2013, Mamnoon Hussain succeeded Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari, who did not seek re-election. This was the first peaceful presidential transition in Pakistans history.

This somewhat balances the deterioration of long-established political democracy in India.

Yet Pakistan-U.S. relations remain vexed. Pakistan since 9/11 is a front line in the struggle against terrorism.

Osama bin Ladens ability to hide in Abbottabad raised suspicion that Pakistan officials may have been complicit in concealing him. That government was not informed in advance of the U.S. SEAL Team 6 raid that killed him.

Historically, Pakistan has been a generally reliable ally of the West, a point often overlooked in media commentary. The British-trained military is extremely capable.

In the 1950s, Pakistan joined both the Central Treaty Organization (CENTO) in the Mideast and Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO). Pakistan and Britain were distinctive as members of both alliances. These alliances are gone but geostrategic interests continue.

The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (The Quad), established in 2007, significantly revitalized in 2017, involves growing collaboration among Australia, India, Japan and the United States. Important incentives include containing China.

U.S. cooperation with India reflects hard political realities.

 Arthur I. Cyr is author of After the Cold War (Palgrave/Macmillan and NYU Press). Contact acyr@carthage.edu.

This article originally appeared on Sturgis Journal: Arthur Cyr: Indias Modi visit in context
State officials visit NECIC

The North End Community Improvement Collaborative (NECIC) hosted Ohio Department of Agriculture Director Brian Baldridge, State Rep. Marilyn John, Ohio Association of Food Banks Executive Director Lisa Hamler-Fugitt, and Ainsley Lightcap, Ohio CAN project manager with the Ohio Department of Agriculture, for a comprehensive tour of their various locations on June 28. The visit was led by Deanna West-Torrence, CEO of NECIC, and Walt Bonham, NECIC & Richland Gro-Op (RGO) consultant.

North End Community Improvement Collaborative (NECIC) recently hosted Ohio Department of Agriculture Director Brian Baldridge and other state officials for a tour of NECIC sites, including its urban farm.

The Ohio CAN Project's mission is to provide food to those in need, specifically sourcing from historically underrepresented regional producers. The Richland Gro-Op (RGO) is a cooperative of urban and rural farmers in Richland County that grow and sell vegetables year-round to local restaurants, institutions and consumers.

During the tour, guests had the opportunity to witness the expansion of NECIC's food work, starting with the NECIC Urban Farm and continuing to other locations, including GrowFourth, Idea Works Entrepreneurs Kitchen and the newly established NECIC Richland Correctional Institution (RiCI) agriculture site.

The North End Local Foods Initiative and Richland Gro-Op has been instrumental in contributing to the local economy by creating employment opportunities and supporting local farmers and food entrepreneurs.

For more information about NECIC and the North End Local Foods Initiative, please visit necic-ohio.org.

Firelands Electric Cooperative hosts 85th annual meeting

ASHLAND  Over 350 members and guests attended Firelands Electric Cooperatives annual meeting event on June 24 at the Ashland University Myers Convocation Center.

During the event, members learned that Dan Schloemer of Willard and Tom Lucha of North Fairfield were re-elected to represent Districts 1 and 3 on the co-ops board of trustees. Both districts are in portions of southern Huron County. It was also announced that Kevin Reidy of Ashland had been elected to represent District 6, which is in portions of Ashland and Richland counties.

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As part of his yearly update, Firelands Board of Trustees President Schloemer reported that, while down slightly from the prior year, margins  used to maintain the distribution system and minimize outages  were strong in 2022. He said this will allow the board to approve the return of $1 million in capital credits to its members in 2023. These credits will be paid to those located on the distribution system in 2001, 2002 and 2003.

Schloemer also recognized the cooperatives Operation Roundup program, which awarded more than $40,000 to 12 community organizations in four counties this past year. Operation Roundup receives its funding from Firelands Electric members who volunteer to have their bills "rounded up" to the next whole dollar each month. This money is then distributed through charitable grants to local organizations and individuals to help meet special needs.

In his address, Schloemer advised how the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) summer reliability assessment forecasts for 2023 state that no less than two-thirds of the U.S., including most everyone living west of the Mississippi River, could experience power outages.

Firelands Electric Co-op General Manager Dan McNaull addressed the crowd regarding reliability during the cooperatives annual meeting.

General Manager Dan McNaull said Firelands Electric has a long-range construction plan through the year 2045 to strengthen the cooperatives local distribution system to address increased load capacity and accommodate growth. This plan will put an emphasis on upgrading main tie lines between substations to permit rerouting power for maintenance work and during outages.

Cooperative members who joined Firelands Electric to celebrate its 85th annual meeting were entered into a drawing for a chance to win one of seven bill credits totaling $300. Randomly selected winners include: Herbert Houser of Ashland, Randy Kemp of Jeromesville, Edward May of Lucas and Stanley Wertz of Mansfield who each received a $25 bill credit; Steve Englet of Ashland and Ronald Kestner of Ashland who each received a $50 bill credit; and Thomas Thieme of Loudonville who won a $100 bill credit.

New report shows international automakers boosting manufacturing jobs and investments across Ohio

WASHINGTON, D.C.  Autos Drive America and the American International Automobile Dealers Association (AIADA) have released their 2023 Economic Impact Report, highlighting the continued commitment and contributions international automakers and nameplate dealers are making across Ohio. Investments from BMW, Honda, Hyundai, Nissan, Subaru and Toyota have cultivated economic growth and job creation for communities throughout the state.

Key findings from the 2023 EIR include:

International automakers, dealers and suppliers have generated 157,401 jobs in Ohio, paying $11.4 billion in total employee compensation.

International automakers invested $15.4 billion in Ohios auto industry, up from $15 billion in 2021.

International automakers in Ohio produced 416,379 vehicles, accounting for 50% of production in the state.

International automakers in Ohio manufactured nine models that were exported to 42 countries and territories around the globe.

International automakers are committed to electrification with Honda making two major investments in Ohio, including $700 million to re-tool several of its facilities for production of electric vehicles and $3.5 billion alongside LG Energy Solutions to establish a battery plant.

Ohio's full report can be found at autosdriveamerica.org.

BWCs transitional work program increases grant money for employers

COLUMBUS  The Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation (BWC) is increasing the grants employers can use to help get injured workers back to work as soon and as safely as possible.

Transitional Work Grants (TWG) are based on the employers number of employees and now range from $3,700 to $8,200.

The increase in reimbursement is based on the new rate for functional job analysis, which is an essential tool employers use for their TWG plans. Effective July 1, the reimbursement rate increased from $200 to $350 per job analysis.

Employers are still being reimbursed at 100% up to their approved grant maximum, and they may re-apply for a new grant every five years.

To learn more, visit Transitional Work Programs on BWCs website or email questions to TWSupport@bwc.state.oh.us.

This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: NECIC hosts farm tour, Firelands Electric annual meeting, BWC grant
Now that recreational pot has been legalized in 23 states, the cannabis industry is borrowing a marketing trick from the booze industry: hangover holidays.

Or, in this case, hashish holidays.

Most people are aware that marijuana buffs celebrate each April 20, or 420. And the day before Thanksgiving  aka Weed Wednesday  is reportedly a big sales opportunity for dispensaries.

But Monday, July 10, marks another, lesser-known holidank for cannabis consumers: 710, when enthusiasts are encouraged to get high via cannabis wax, vaping, resins or dabs.

The name of the holiday might seem obscure, but Lauren Fontein a co-founder of The Artist Tree, a California-based chain of cannabis retail stores with an arts focus  spelled it out clearly.

In cannabis culture, the number 710 is an inside joke for OIL by inverting the letters and turning them upside down, she told HuffPost by email.

As might be expected, the origins of the day and the term are as foggy as the brain of a cannabis user after puffing on five vape pens at once.

Some sources say 710 was created in 2011 by a rapper and cannabis activist called Taskrok, who was brainstorming with friends on the best day to consume cannabis dabs.

However, Taskrok has declined to take credit. I dont want to try to own it, he told The Leaf Online. It belongs to the community now.

Currently, the popularity of 710 is limited to those at the nexus of the sincerity and obsession commonly found with people who are super into weed and commercialism, cannabis journalist Jackie Bryant told HuffPost.

Still, Fontein expects a sizable uptick in concentrate purchases on Sunday and Monday. She said sales last year were about 2.5 times higher than on a typical weekend.

George Sadler, the CEO of the California-based Gelato Canna brand, said he anticipates a 35% increase in sales and foot traffic at his Lake Elsinore dispensary Monday.

But Hazey Taughtme, editor of Black Cannabis Magazine, acknowledges that some in the industry arent aware that there even is a hashish holiday next week.

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I was speaking with some operators who werent sure of what 7/10 was or stood for, Taughtme told HuffPost by email. I let them know it was oil upside down and another day for sales and consumers to spend money on cannabis.

Although he said many brands are holding events Monday, hes not sure the largely concentrate-focused 710 will ever compare to the flower-centric 420.

The black community still has a stigma with pipes and torches from the crack era, he wrote. With more digital options arising in the market Id like to see the stigma change and people become more receptive to concentrates because it is a healthier and more pure way to consume cannabis.

The health effects of dabs versus joints are still under debate. But Cannabis clinician Laura Lagano told GreenState in 2020 that dabs should be considered the lesser of two evils.

As a healthcare professional, I cant recommend smoking flower or dabbing, Lagano said at the time. But, if a patient was in extreme pain and needed the immediate relief those methods provide, I think I would chose dabbing because it doesnt do as much damage to the lungs as smoking.

An image of cannabis resin, courtesy of 22Red.

An image of cannabis resin, courtesy of 22Red.

If youre unfamiliar with cannabis oil products but want to take the plunge on 710, Roxanne Dennant of Good Day Farm, a dispensary chain in Missouri, Arkansas and Missisippi, suggested starting small since they can be quite potent.

Vape pens are the best place to start  they are easy to sip a small hit from, she told HuffPost, adding that they are also cost-efficient, easy to use and effective.

She had similar advice for those who want to get into dabbing, since a little dab can definitely do you in harder than flower.

Besides potentially higher levels of intoxication, another benefit relates to the lungs, according to Gustavo Briseno of the cannabis brand 22Red.

Smoking can be heavy on the lungs, he said. If you take a low-temperature dab, the vapor will have less tar than smoke. The smell is also less prevalent. For experienced consumers, you can even consume less. You can take one dab rather than smoking a whole joint, which is great if youre being mindful of the quantity of cannabis youre consuming.

Pantelis Ataliotis, the president of Dr. Dabber, a company that makes vaporizers, said cannabis oils can be more intense and faster-hitting due to a higher concentration of THC, and the effects can be stronger and last longer compared with smoking flower.

I always use the analogy that a dab of concentrate is similar to a shot of hard liquor, compared to a joint which is more like a beer or a glass of wine, he told HuffPost by email. Both achieve similar effects, but in different ways.

Although 710 will mostly be celebrated at dispensaries, Dennant has some suggestions for getting the most out of the day.

Theres a common saying in the hash community: You cant smoke hash all day if you dont start in the morning, she told HuffPost. This is a day to smoke all the hash, live rosin and live resin.
The shooting of a woman in the South Linden area early Saturday is being investigated as a homicide by Columbus police.

Columbus police are investigating the fatal shooting of a woman on the city's Northeast Side early Saturday morning.

Officers responded to a call at 1:58 a.m. to the 1200 block of East 25th Avenue in the South Linden area on a reported shooting.

Feds: Suspects arrested, charged in robbery, shooting that injured Columbus police officer

According to a police report, officers arrived to find the woman suffering from gunshot wounds. Medics from the Columbus Division of Fire pronounced her dead at 2:05 a.m.

The woman's identity has not been released pending notification of next of kin. Her death is being investigated as a homicide.

Anyone with information regarding this incident is urged to call Columbus police Detective Greg Stevens at 614-645-3750, the homicide unit at 614-645-4730, or Central Ohio Crime Stoppers at 614-461-8477.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus police investigate woman's South Linden shooting as homicide
Pitchfork Music Festival - Day 2 - Credit: Roger Kisby/Getty Images

MF Doom, the celebrated masked rapper born Daniel Dumile, died suddenly in Oct. 2020 while being treated at St. Jamess Hospital in Leeds, England. After news broke earlier this week that the Dumiles widow, Jasmine, had raised concerns about his care at the time, the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs St Jamess, issued an apology.

I would like to offer our sincere condolences to Daniels family, friends and fans at this difficult time, Hamish McLure, chief medical officer of the trust, said, per The Guardian. I apologize that the care he received was not to the standard we would expect. Following his sad death we undertook a serious incident investigation and the report has been shared with Daniels family.

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He continued, As a result we have put in place a number of actions and the wider learning from what happened is to be used as a teaching topic in a number of different clinical specialities. We also support the coroners recommendation for clearer national guidance and awareness in this area.

The apology came after an inquest into Dumiles death, during which the trust acknowledged there had been missed opportunities in his course of treatment. The rapper was admitted on Oct. 23, 2020 with breathing problems after taking new medication. In the emergency room at St Jamess hospital he was given adrenaline, steroids, and oxygen.

On Oct. 31, he collapsed following a reaction to a drug prescribed for blood pressure. That same day, Dumile died from angioedema, a sudden swelling often caused by an allergic reaction.

In the inquiry, assistant coroner Janine Wolstenholme confirmed that Dumiles care plan was not complete and that doctors were given a false reassurance about his condition. Wolstenholme, who described the death as a rare event, said that when Dumile complained that the swelling in his throat, tongues, and lips was getting worse, it should have triggered a request for a review at the hospital.

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Wolstenholme also apologized to Jasmine for the length of time it took to complete the inquest. As part of the investigation, Jasmine shared numerous concerns regarding Dumiles care. She told the Wakefield Coroners Court that Dumile was put in a hospital room that contained an old metal desk and books, adding, I dont want to say it was an old storage room it wasnt set up. Maybe it was a room a long time ago. It did have a bed in it.

She added that he had been unable to alert medical staff to Dumiles deteriorating condition as the buzzer in his room was out of reach.

Dumile, who was born in London and living in Leeds at the time of his hospitalization and death, had several medical conditions, including kidney failure, type 2 diabetes, heart failure, and hepatitis B. He underwent kidney dialysis in Leeds in July 2020.

Dumiles death at age 49 wasnt announced publicly until December of 2020. The news was first revealed by Jasmine on the rappers Instagram page and then confirmed by his rep, Richie Abbott, to Rolling Stone.

The greatest husband, father, teacher, student, business partner, lover and friend I could ever ask for, Jasmine wrote. Thank you for all the things you have shown, taught and given to me, our children and our family. Thank you for teaching me how to forgive beings and give another chance, not to be so quick to judge and write off.

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Click here to read the full article.
Haitians across the United States and the world plan to take to the streets Sunday to demand a Relief for Haiti.

The effort is being organized by pastor Gregory Toussaint, senior pastor of Tabernacle of Glory Church in North Miami. Toussaint, who is CEO of Shekinah.fm, says that the march is also expected to bring together Haitians in Haiti, Canada and France, in an effort to bring awareness to the escalating gang violence and kidnappings in the Caribbean country.

Haiti trauma hospital suspends services after armed men drag patient out of operating room

In its latest report on the situation in the country, the United Nations says that violence by armed groups in the country is worsening, with sexual violence against women and girls and attacks against police officers and substations on the rise. Maria Isabel Salvador, who heads the U.N. Integrated Office in Haiti, told the U.N. Security Council that another worrying trend is the rise in vigilante killings. Her office has documented the killing of 264 alleged gang members by vigilante groups this year.

In the United States, marches are planned in a number of cities, including Atlanta, Newark, N.J., Brooklyn, San Diego, Boston, Chicago, Indianapolis, Washington, D.C., Orlando, Philadelphia and Tampa. In South Florida, the march will start from at North Miami Senior High School and end at North Miami City Hall.

One place where Haitians will not be marching is in the Dominican Republic. After receiving a permit, Tabernacle of Glorys pastor John Santana, received two letters Saturday from the Department of Transit and Urban Mobility canceling the churchs permit to march through the streets of Santo Domingo. No reasons were given in the letters, shared with the Miami Herald.

Toussaint decided to organize the march after receiving 123,385 signatures on a petition urging the U.S. Congress to pass the Haiti Criminal Collusion Transparency Act. The legislation was first introduced last year in the House by Florida Democrat Val Demings, who lost her senatorial bid to unseat Sen. Marco Rubio in the states senatorial race in November. It was reintroduced by U.S. senators this year by a group of bipartisan senators, including Rubio.

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READ MORE: Two years after Haiti presidents death, the mystery yields more questions than answers

The legislation calls for financial sanctions against those supporting criminal gang activities in Haiti, which the Biden administration has already started to issue under the already existing Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act. Though some Haitians have become frustrated at the slow pace of U.S. sanctions compared to Canada, which has singled out more than two dozen members of Haitis political and economic elite, State Department officials say they remain committed but issuing Treasury sanctions take time and investigations.

Under the proposed legislation, the State Department would be required to provide annual reporting on the nature and magnitude of gang violence in Haiti; the connections between Haitian political and business elites and criminal gangs; and public access to that information.

The goal of Relief for Haiti is to mobilize compassionate individuals in the United States and overseas to advocate for legislation that can bring relief to the Haitian people, both in their homeland and abroad, Toussaint said. At this moment, there are 780 organizations from civil society, 933 pastors and their congregations, and 200,000 individuals that have pledged to join us. We urge the U.S. Congress to enact the Haiti Criminal Collusion Transparency Act of 2023, a powerful instrument designed to reveal and penalize those within Haitis influential circles who clandestinely support nefarious gangs.

Toussaint is also calling on the Biden administration to maintain its humanitarian parole program for Haitians. The program currently benefits nationals of Haiti, Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela by allowing them to apply for humanitarian parole in the United States for as long as two years as long as they pass medical and background checks and have a financial sponsor in the U.S.

Toussaint says the program is a vital conduit allowing Haitians to sponsor their kin and fellow countrymen in Haiti. This would allow a systematic and fair pathway for status regularization for Haitians who have arrived through the humanitarian parole program. By joining our efforts, youre not only contributing to the mitigation of unlawful emigration from Haiti but also fulfilling the duty of a good neighbor.

Not everyone agrees. Accusing the Biden administration of overarching its executive power, Florida Gov. Ron Desantis and the Republican governors of 19 other states, are challenging the legality of the program in federal courts.

Meanwhile, both Haitian and immigration advocates have also criticized the program as being ill-advised and ill-conceived. It doesnt offer a clear path to legal residency or citizenship for those who arrive and it is also creating a brain drain in Haiti, where hospitals, banks, international organizations and even the Haiti National Police force have all complained about being unable to keep employees due to the lure of the U.S.

They note that the U.S. has continued to deport Haitians and have failed to prioritize other programs such as H-2A and H-2B visas under the federal guest worker program for agricultural and non-agricultural workers, and Haitian Family Reunification. While more than 29,000 Haitians have arrived in the U.S. since January under the parole program, fewer than 30 Haitians received guest work visas since Haiti was allowed to resume the program last year. Haitians continue to wait for invitations under the Haitian Family Reunification program, which expedites reunification of qualified applicants waiting for green cards by allowing them to come to the United States to wait it out.

IF YOU GO

What: Souf pou Ayiti/ Relief for Haiti march

When: Noon to 4 p.m., Sunday, July 9

Where: The march starts at North Miami Senior High School (13110 NE 8th Ave.) and ends at North Miami City Hall (776 NE 125th St.)

How to register: Those seeking to participate are asked to register at Shekinah.fm.
Counties are required to provide health care to inmates, even before they've been convicted. But they are ineligible for federal health care benefits, like Medicare and Medicaid.

The facts are stark.

Two in 5 adults in jail or prison have a history of mental illness, and an estimated 65% of the United States prison population has an active substance use disorder.

As Navajo County attorney and Navajo County sheriff, were deeply concerned about the statistics and the impact the Medicaid Inmate Exclusion Policy has on our county and the more than 4,300 individuals who go through our jail system each year.

This policy, found in the federal Social Security Act, denies access to federal health benefits to people who are arrested and jailed for an alleged crime, before conviction.

Pre-trial inmates, including those with mental health and substance use disorders and chronic health conditions, can linger days, weeks or even months in jail awaiting trial, cut off from the treatments prescribed under their federal health benefits.

This absence of care and services has had significant adverse consequences for both the inmates and the greater community.

Inmates need care to manage conditions

Counties are required by federal law to provide adequate health care to inmates, regardless of whether they are awaiting trial or have been convicted.

However, the Medicaid Inmate Exclusion Policy prevents eligible pre-trial detainees in our local jails from accessing federal benefits such as Medicaid, Medicare and the Childrens Health Insurance Program.

The policy greatly limits our ability to provide coordinated care for unwell detainees and may result in poor health outcomes in the long term, increased pressure on the health care system and greater costs for taxpayers.

More than 95% of prisoners eventually return to the community.

It is in all our interests to ensure detainees have access to necessary health care and treatment to manage their conditions while incarcerated, as it increases the odds of successful reintegration into the community and reduced recidivism upon release.

Additionally, access to federal health benefits while awaiting trial aligns with an individuals constitutional rights to due process, equal protection and access to health care.

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It's expensive to provide care locally

Many individuals who are incarcerated have complex medical needs that require ongoing treatment and medication.

Without access to federal health benefits, these costs fall entirely on local taxpayers, leading to increased overall health care costs and less available funds for other critical county services.

The average medical expenditure by the Navajo County Jail is $2.4 million each year and rising.

'Scary place': Arizona State Hospital has safety concerns

Providing inmates who havent been convicted access to federal health benefits allows for improved coordination of care and decreases short-term costs for local taxpayers and long-term costs for the federal government.

As leaders in Navajo County, we believe that providing access to federal health benefits for those awaiting trial and verdict decisions is not only the right thing to do but also smart.

Tell Congress to change this policy

We urge Congress to amend the Medicaid Inmate Exclusion Policy and provide eligible pre-trial detainees in our local jails with access to federal health benefits by supporting Senate Bill 971, the Due Process Continuity of Care Act.

The bill would greatly improve the care coordination for individuals suffering from mental health, substance abuse disorders and other chronic health conditions  ultimately promoting better health outcomes and reducing health care costs.

We believe adopting this legislation on behalf of non-convicted individuals is an important step toward improving our health care system and promoting public safety.

We urge everyone to ask Congress to amend the Medicaid Inmate Exclusion Policy by supporting Senate Bill 971.

Brad Carlyon is Navajo County attorney and David Clouse is the county sheriff. Reach them at bradley.carlyon@navajocountyaz.gov and sheriff@navajocountyaz.gov.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Medicaid Inmate Exclusion Policy costs our Arizona county millions
Less than a month ago, a raging Brunswick County wildfire was raining ash down on Wilmington more than 30 miles away. Hazy, choking smoke from the smoldering inferno spread even farther across Southeastern North Carolina.

But roughly three weeks after the blaze started, and about a week after it was declared 100% contained by the N.C. Forest Service, green shoots of regeneration are clearly visible amid the charred forest floor of the Green Swamp Nature Preserve.

"In the long run, it's going to come back beautifully," said Deb Maurer, N.C. Southeast program director for The Nature Conservancy, which manages the preserve, as she pointed to 3-inch shoots of wire grass emerging from the blackened soil.

The big blaze that torched nearly 16,000 acres was a potent reminder that Eastern North Carolina is prime fire country, a natural and needed element of the Cape Fear region's environment  and one that will occur regularly whether residents like it or not.

New growth can be seen on a pitcher plant in the Green Swamp Preserve Thursday July 6, 2023, in an area that was burned by a massive wildfire last month.

"A lot of this habitat, this vegetation is fire-dependent," Maurer said, pointing to the nearby pond pines and towering longleaf pines in this pine savannah section of the preserve. "It needs fire."

Without periodic burnings, shrubs and non-native species can overwhelm much of the native flora that makes Southeastern North Carolina ecologically unique and special. The areas these fire-adapted and dependent species need can become choked with other vegetation, damaging native environments and knocking local ecosystems out of whack.

Case in point is the Venus' flytrap, the small and threatened carnivorous plant with a Hollywood-sized reputation that only grows naturally within roughly 70 miles of Wilmington.

"It's a necessary haircut," Maurer said of the periodic fires that clear out the vegetation on the savannah floor. "Without it, the flytraps won't have the access to sunlight and open spaces they need to thrive."

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The Nature Conservancys Deb Maurer leads a tour of a longleaf pine savannah where a controlled burn was conducted in January and vegetation has already rebounded. The area helped stop the advance of a massive wildfire that engulfed much of the Green Swamp Preserve last month.

PROTECTING PLANTS Keeping Venus' flytrap poachers at bay

Bouncing back

Thursday conservancy officials guided a small group of media around some of the areas of the preserve that burned last month. The tour had two purposes.

Officials wanted to show off how quickly Mother Nature can bounce back in the wake of a burning, especially in areas like the coastal plain's expansive pocosin wetlands and pine savannahs that need fire to keep habitats healthy and resilient.

"This is a piece of the story that a lot of people don't necessarily know about," Maurer said as she pointed out plants, shrubs and trees that were already growing back.

Aerial shot of the wildfire burning in the Green Swamp last month.

A BURNING PROBLEM The challenge of managing Eastern NC's forests amid population growth, changing climate

The other goal of the tour was to highlight the importance of prescribed burns in helping the environment and controlling wildfires.

The conservancy conducts annual prescribed burns in the Green Swamp preserve, burning different parcels that can range up to 600 acres every few years.

Carmella Stirrat, the conservancy's burn director for North Carolina, said the goal is to mitigate, and in some cases help direct, where wildfires will burn. This works because the areas that have controlled burns suck up all the fuel for a wildfire, in effect starving the blaze of new kindling as it advances. That's what happened in several areas of the preserve with the recent massive wildfire.

The pine savannah the media toured Thursday had been burned by the conservancy in January. A rich mat of shrubs, wire grass and other plants were already visible around the forest floor, as was the burn line where last month's wildfire was stopped as it ran out of fresh fuel.

TREE TALKERS Ancient NC trees have survived thousands of years. Will they weather climate change?

Stirrat said planning  especially with the weather  is key to making sure controlled burns are done safely, limit the threats to neighboring residents and structures, and don't cause smoke or ash problems.

"Wildfires don't come with a plan," Maurer said. "When they happen, you are developing a strategy on the fly."

Last month's wildfire began as a prescribed burn conducted by the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission on June 13. The fire started around Pulp Road in the preserve before it jumped its lines and grew to encompass 15,642 acres  roughly the size of the preserve. The blaze resulted in air quality warnings for much of the region, and prompted some organizations to cancel or limit outdoor activities.

A trail closed sign sits at the entrance to Green Swamp Preserve Thursday July 6, 2023 after the containment of the Pulp Road Fire. KEN BLEVINS/STARNEWS

A state forest service investigation into the fire is continuing. Maurer said the Brunswick blaze and April's 32,400-acre Great Lakes wildfire in the Croatan National Forest near New Bern have started "fresh conversations" among officials about the best ways to mitigate and respond to wildfires.

"You always learn something from every fire, and these incidents are no different," she said.

Reporter Gareth McGrath can be reached at GMcGrath@Gannett.com or @GarethMcGrathSN on Twitter. This story was produced with financial support from 1Earth Fund and the Prentice Foundation. The USA TODAY Network maintains full editorial control of the work.

This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Brunswick County's Green Swamp rebounds after massive wildfire
The James Webb space telescope has given scientists the capability to discover celestial objects they wouldn't have been able to otherwise, such as ancient galaxies that theoretically shouldn't exist. Now, as part of the Cosmic Evolution Early Release Science (CEERS) Survey, researchers have discovered the most distant active supermassive black hole we've seen to date.

Thanks to the near- and mid-infrared images James Webb has taken, researchers were able to find a supermassive black hole in the galaxy they've dubbed CEERS 1019. They were also able to determine that the black hole has existed merely 570 million years after the Big Bang and that it's around 9 million solar masses. In addition, the data provided by the telescope allowed them to come to the conclusion that the black hole is eating up a lot of gas and churning out new stars. "A galaxy merger could be partly responsible for fueling the activity in this galaxy's black hole, and that could also lead to increased star formation," CEERS team member Jeyhan Kartaltepe of the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York explained. In the image below, you can see CEERS 1019 appearing as three bright clumps.

A graph showing some of the oldest galaxies found by the Cosmic Evolution Early Release Science (CEERS) Survey.

At 9 million solar masses, this black hole is much smaller than other active supermassive black holes previously discovered. Those celestial objects typically contain more than 1 billion times the mass of the sun, which makes them much brighter and easier to detect. The CEERS 1019 black hole is more similar to the one in the center of our galaxy, which is around 4.6 million times the mass of the sun. NASA said scientists have long known that smaller black holes must have existed earlier in the universe, but it wasn't until James Webb became operational that they were able to confirm their presence.

In fact, the CEERS Survey team also found two other ancient but small black holes through their data. The CEERS 746 black hole existed 1 billion years after the Big Bang, while the CEERS 2782 black hole has been around since 1.1 billion years after the event. When viewed through other instruments, these black holes appear as ordinary star-forming galaxies. Astronomers are also reviewing other more distant black holes found using James Webb's data at the moment, so CEERS 1019 might lose the record sooner rather than later.

CEERS team lead Steven Finkelstein from the University of Texas at Austin said: "Until now, research about objects in the early universe was largely theoretical. With Webb, not only can we see black holes and galaxies at extreme distances, we can now start to accurately measure them. Thats the tremendous power of this telescope."

Scientists still find it difficult to explain how this black hole formed so soon after the universe began. But in the future, Webb's data could give them the information they need to be able to figure out how early black holes are formed.
(Bloomberg) -- Ukraine plans to nationalize Sense Bank, one of the countrys systemically important lenders, from its Russian owners as early as next week, according to a person familiar with the matter.

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The government in Kyiv has been seeking to take over the bank from owners including Mikhail Fridman  the last prominent Russian billionaire still holed up in London  and his partner Peter Aven, both of whom have been slapped with European Union and UK sanctions including asset freezes and travel bans.

The long awaited seizure of the bank by the Ukrainian authorities is expected to take place in mid-July, according to one of the Ukrainian decision makers who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the process.

Previously known as Alfa-Bank Ukraine, Sense Bank is Ukraines 11th largest in terms of assets. Its nominal owner is Luxembourg-based ABH Holdings SA.

Last month, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy signed legislation allowing the government to declare insolvent and, if needed, nationalize lenders from owners that came under sanctions due to Russias invasion.

ABH Holdings SA said it will dispute any nationalization, including in international courts in order to protect its investment and mitigate losses.

The new law is discriminatory and violates international law standards of fairness to investors, it said in a statement last month. The nationalization of JSC Sense Bank would result in losses for bondholders as well as the shareholders of ABHH.

Ukraines central bank blocked an attempt by Fridman and his partners in March to gain permission to boost the lenders equity by $1 billion and to sell the lender to a foreign buyer.

Earlier this week, Fridmans attorneys told an EU court that his life had been destroyed by the sanctions. The EU says its evidence shows Fridman is a co-founder of Alfa Group, which controls Russias largest retailer and private bank, and has close ties to the Russian political regime.

The International Monetary Fund, in a comment following the first review of its lending program to Ukraine, said that the country should avoid excessive interference in the banking sector, including the prospect of nationalization for reasons unconnected to financial stability due to possible risks.

(Updates with IMF comment in the last paragraph.)

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Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. at the announcement in August 2019 that the tribe planned to ask Congress to seat a non-voting Cherokee delegate, as called for in a 19th century treaty.

Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. at the announcement in August 2019 that the tribe planned to ask Congress to seat a non-voting Cherokee delegate, as called for in a 19th century treaty.

Tori Hollands family is split. Her husband and her children are enrolled citizens of the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma. She belongs to a different, much smaller federally recognized tribe of Cherokees, the United Keetoowah Band.

In fact, she is who the United Keetoowah Band wants to send to Washington as a delegate to represent the Cherokee under a 19th-century treaty signed by the government. But if that happens, it could endanger the chances for her children and husband to get their own representation. And the split, with its roots in the forced displacement of the Cherokee by white settlers, appears likely to sink the hopes of tribal representation all together.

There is clear sympathy on Capitol Hill for giving the Cherokees a nonvoting delegate in the House similar to delegates from U.S. territories and other jurisdictions, but lawmakers have little interest in negotiating the disagreements of the different Cherokee tribes.

There are not one, not two, but three different bands of Cherokees with legally justifiable claims to having a delegate. And two of them say all three should be granted delegates or none should get one.

House Rules Committee Chair Tom Cole (R-Okla.) said lawmakers are wary of getting caught up in a dispute over which tribe would be able to send a Cherokee delegate to the House under an 1835 treaty.

House Rules Committee Chair Tom Cole (R-Okla.) said lawmakers are wary of getting caught up in a dispute over which tribe would be able to send a Cherokee delegate to the House under an 1835 treaty.

The dispute brings into sharp contrast the differences between tribes by pitting one of the best-known ones  the Cherokee Nation, which says it has the sole right to a delegate  against two smaller ones, one with substantial financial resources and the other without.

Here we have one Cherokee people, which have now been broken into three separate Cherokee tribes, all with equal rights, Holland told HuffPost in a recent interview.

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Understanding the dispute requires understanding the Cherokees history, both before and after their removal from the Southeastern U.S. and the deaths of about a quarter of the Cherokee population along the infamous Trail of Tears ending in Oklahoma.

The Cherokee range once extended as far north as West Virginia and as far south as Alabama, and from the western tip of North Carolina east to South Carolina. But as colonial settlers pressed westward, the tribe felt increasingly hemmed in and conflicts increased.

In 1817, one band of Cherokees moved west of the Mississippi River to escape. The main band of Cherokees remained in the diminishing land available. In 1827, after the Cherokees adopted a constitution modeled on that of the U.S., Georgia declared the Cherokees there to be subject to state laws, which prompted the tribe to sue.

Congress made a promise. Is Congress going to keep that promise? And if so, they need to do so equally.Tori Holland, proposed delegate to Congress for the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians

The Cherokees won in the U.S. Supreme Court in 1832, but President Andrew Jackson, who made his political name by brutally fighting tribes in the Southeast, went ahead with removal anyway in 1835 with the signing of the Treaty of New Echota. The disputed treaty  modern Cherokees argue the signers did not have the authority to reach such an agreement  triggered the Trail of Tears in 1838.

But many Cherokees stayed behind, hiding in the hills of Western North Carolina to avoid being forcibly marched to what is now Oklahoma.

And the descendants of each of those groups now comprise three federally recognized Native American tribes. The early resettlers became the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians, based in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. The bulk of the tribe became the Cherokee Nation, also based in Tahlequah. And the ones who stayed behind became the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians, based in Cherokee, North Carolina.

Holland said her tribe, the United Keetoowah Band, was known as being more culturally conservative than what would become known as the Cherokee Nation.

The Western Cherokee were primarily more of the full-blooded Cherokee who wanted to hold on to tradition, culture and values that we had and not assimilate so much to the white mans world, she said.

The legacy of the Jacksonian removal policy muddies the waters for the delegate issue. Part of the Treaty of New Echota says the Cherokees shall be entitled to a delegate in the House of Representatives of the United States whenever Congress shall make provision for the same.

At a hearing in November, Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. made the case to members of the House Rules Committee that his tribe was the obvious successor to the treaty. In 2019, Hoskin began the scramble for a delegate by announcing he wanted the U.S. to stand by the treaty and allow him to appoint one.

The welcome sign near the entrance of the Cherokee Visitor Information center in Cherokee, N.C., in a file photo from 2015. The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians is one of three bands created by the removal of much of the tribe to Oklahoma during the Trail of Tears.

The welcome sign near the entrance of the Cherokee Visitor Information center in Cherokee, N.C., in a file photo from 2015. The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians is one of three bands created by the removal of much of the tribe to Oklahoma during the Trail of Tears.

It is my firm belief and expectation that the House of Representatives will take swift action to seat our delegate to Congress, honor our treaty rights, and therefore make the United States good on its promise to our Cherokee ancestors, Hoskin told the committee in November.

Thats not how Holland, herself a tribal lawyer, sees it.

Its really simple. Congress made a promise. Is Congress going to keep that promise? she asked. And if so, they need to do so equally. And thats real simple. You either seat all three Cherokee delegates or you dont seat any.

The Eastern Band did not return requests for comment, though previous reports indicate they share Hollands perspective.

Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.), chairman of the Rules Committee and the most powerful Indigenous lawmaker on Capitol Hill, said his colleagues are sympathetic to the Cherokees but wary.

Theres a lot of complex issues and a lot of members are not comfortable on something like this, where they dont know a lot about Indian politics, he said. They dont want to be caught in these kind of cross-tribal tensions.

The end result? Probably not much is gonna happen, Cole admitted. I think theres bipartisan support, theres bipartisan opposition.

A statue of President Andrew Jackson, who ignored a U.S. Supreme Court ruling and had the Cherokees forcibly removed to Oklahoma along the Trail of Tears, stands in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in this 2017 file photo.

A statue of President Andrew Jackson, who ignored a U.S. Supreme Court ruling and had the Cherokees forcibly removed to Oklahoma along the Trail of Tears, stands in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in this 2017 file photo.

The Cherokee Nation is the second largest tribe in the nation. With 450,000 members, it has a substantial budget and name recognition  one of its chiefs, Wilma Mankiller, was featured on the U.S. quarter.

We understand others may now be interested in seeking a voice in Congress but wanting it and holding the legal right to it are not the same thing, Hoskin said in a statement to HuffPost.

There is no treaty, statute, court case or administrative ruling that supports the false claims being made by other tribes. These distractions shouldnt impede Congress from doing what is right, he added.

The Keetoowahs have about 14,000 members, about the same as the Eastern Band. But the Eastern Band is considerably more prosperous: A Harrahs casino has long provided jobs and income for tribal members, and a freshly opened Buc-eess convenience store in nearby Sevierville, Tennessee, is touted as the worlds largest.

The Keetoowahs have a much smaller footprint and one of their economic development projects consists of a camping and RV center along Oklahomas Illinois River.

Holland said the disparity between the tribes shows the need for each to have a delegate.

Even though were all Cherokee people, we all have very different needs, she said. We still have tribal members who dont have running water. We still have tribal members who are in need of basic housing.

That has not, however, kept the fight from moving to Washington. While Hoskin testified at the Rules hearing, the Keetoowahs were only allowed to submit a letter for the record.

Both tribes have employed that longtime staple of Washington battles to push their case: lobbyists. Through March, the Keetoowahs reported spending $130,000 this year for lobbying on the delegate issue as well as on tribal jurisdiction and land acquisition issues. The Cherokee Nation reported spending $90,000 for lobbying on the delegate issue as well as three pieces of legislation.

Holland said the fight is just another example of the Cherokee Nations history of treating the United Keetoowah Band badly, such as opposing its attempts to use gambling to raise money, even though the two tribes populations overlap within a small slice of Northeastern Oklahoma.

The majority of our tribal membership for UKB lives within the 14 counties, Holland said. And all this time, money and effort thats spent on litigation and fighting could be used for the betterment of our people.
A small makeshift memorial outside the rental house where the four University of Idaho students were killed, in Moscow, Idaho on Dec. 30, 2022. (Margaret Albaugh/The New York Times)

At the house where four University of Idaho students were killed last year, sheets of plywood cover the windows. A temporary fence surrounds the yard. Security guards, posted in a blue trailer, keep watch 24 hours a day.

And yet, for a university trying to erase the remnants of a tragedy that cast a terrifying shadow over the past academic year, the house on a hillside near campus remains uncomfortably conspicuous  visible from nearby fraternity houses and sought out as a photo spot by true-crime aficionados from around the country. University officials hope to demolish it before a new class of students arrives in August.

But the plan has distressed some family members of the four students killed, who worry that the house could be vital to the prosecution of the man accused of the killings, and to a jurys understanding of how the four students could have been slaughtered in bedrooms on the second and third floors without alerting two other roommates in the house. They have pressed the university to hold off on any demolition.

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Whats best for the case is for us to take caution and protect what the jury may possibly want to wrap their heads around, Steve Goncalves, the father of one of the victims, Kaylee Goncalves, said of the universitys announcement.

The parents of Ethan Chapin, another one of the victims, said the situation was difficult, with no easy answers. On one hand, they agree with Steve Goncalves that demolishing the home this summer feels very early, said Ethan Chapins mother, Stacy. But she noted that their two other children  they were triplets  are still students at the University of Idaho, and one of them has a room that looks out toward the house, providing a constant reminder.

Our kids have to walk past that house every day, Stacy Chapin said. The kids, they need to heal. The university needs to heal. And the community.

The house in Idaho joins a growing roster of notorious properties around the country whose fates have become the subject of complex legal and ethical debates as communities try to decide what, if anything, should remain in the aftermath of a mass murder.

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In Newtown, Connecticut, the Sandy Hook Elementary School building was razed and rebuilt after the 2012 mass shooting that left 26 people dead. In Uvalde, Texas, where a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers last year, the school district has similar plans to demolish the school and build a new one.

Other communities have left such crime scenes intact. The large hunting estate in South Carolina where Alex Murdaughs wife and younger son were killed in 2021 was sold for $3.9 million just weeks after Murdaugh, a prominent lawyer, was convicted of murdering them. Students in Santa Fe, Texas, returned within weeks to the high school where a gunman killed 10 people in 2018.

And while some residents called for demolishing the movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, that was the site of a mass shooting in 2012, it was instead renamed, remodeled and reopened within six months.

The case in Idaho is not the only one where some have advocated leaving the crime scene standing for jurors. The classroom building in Parkland, Florida, where a gunman killed 17 students and staff members five years ago is still standing, fenced off from where students attend classes in adjacent buildings. Jurors visited the abandoned building last year during the sentencing trial for the gunman, making their way past shards of glass, walls riddled with bullet holes and floors still smeared with blood.

After the acquittal last week of a school resource officer who failed to confront the gunman  the last criminal case stemming from the shootings  school officials said they now planned to proceed with demolition. But first, authorities began allowing victims relatives to walk the buildings hallways this week for the first time since the shooting, if they wanted to.

Jurors visited the Murdaugh crime scene in Islandton, South Carolina, during Murdaughs trial this year. They spent about an hour walking around the area where the victims were shot, including a shed and feed room. Similarly, when novelist Michael Peterson was on trial in 2003, accused of killing his wife, jurors were given a chance to examine the stairwell where she died in their home. The house remains standing, although it has been sold several times since Petersons trial, including at one point to a man who describes himself as a clairvoyant medium.

The stabbings in Idaho on Nov. 13 left four students dead: Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Madison Mogen, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Ethan Chapin, 20. Their bodies were not discovered for hours, and a suspect was not identified for weeks. Investigators ultimately arrested Bryan Kohberger, a doctoral student in criminology at nearby Washington State University, in late December.

Jodi Walker, a University of Idaho spokesperson, said that the house, in the middle of a student housing area, has been a constant reminder of what transpired there. She said officials were also considering the needs of all the students and staff members on campus when they made the decision to demolish the structure.

This is another step toward healing, she said. Its definitely a balancing act.

Kohbergers defense lawyer, Anne Taylor, told campus officials in April that she had no objection to the plan, according to an email. The county prosecutor, Bill Thompson, told the university that he also did not object, because authorities did not think it would be needed for trial.

The scene has been substantially altered from its condition at the time of the homicides including removal of relevant property and furnishings, removal of some structural items such as wallboard and flooring, and subjected to extensive chemical application creating a potential health hazard, Thompson wrote in a separate email. These are some of the reasons that we have concluded that a jury view would not be appropriate.

Last week, trucks pulled up to the house to begin removing the former residents belongings, a process that could take several weeks. Demolition was set to begin soon after.

But some family members of the victims say that with the trial not scheduled until October, it is too soon to destroy the site of the killings.

Shanon Gray, a lawyer representing the Goncalves family, said jurors may need to see the house to understand how noise traveled in the building and how a killer could move through the homes unusual six-bedroom layout.

He argued that the university was rushing to demolish it because it wanted to leave the tragedy behind before fully dealing with it.

Its for the University of Idaho, trying to tell everybody to hurry up and forget this ever happened, he said.

Members of Mogens family and Kernodles family also want to see the home preserved until the criminal case is resolved, Gray said.

The landlord of the house where the killings occurred donated the house to the university, leaving its fate in the hands of the school administration. Public ownership can make it easier to demolish homes with bad histories, but homes in private ownership often wind up with the same fate. The house in Illinois where many of John Wayne Gacys victims were found was razed, and a new one was built; in Wisconsin, the apartment building where Jeffrey Dahmer committed a series of gruesome murders was also torn down. The lot remains empty today.

University of Idaho officials have not put forward a plan for how the property in Moscow is to be used after the house is razed.

Neighbors have been largely silent on the fate of the house, which lies on a dead-end street south of campus, close to several other residences.

Vanessa Lopez, 25, lives near the home and sees it every day. She said the property had become a sort of tourist attraction, which she found disrespectful, and a constant reminder of the horrors that happened in what had always been a quiet little town.

Lopez said the wishes of the victims families should come first, but she would welcome seeing the house gone. With that still being there, it just brings up the memories, she said.

For Steve Goncalves, the house holds a deeply personal meaning, both as a place where his daughter had many of her lifes best moments and as a symbol of how he believes the community failed to keep her and her friends safe. But the more immediate issue now, he said, is preserving it to ensure there is accountability for the killings. Tearing the house down, he said, will not make the nightmare that happened there go away.

Its just going to be a freaking hole in the ground, he said. Is that somehow better?

c.2023 The New York Times Company
A man has been arrested and charged for suspected involvement in "Pokemon" card scams and others. (PHOTO: Getty)

SINGAPORE  A 27-year-old man has been arrested for his suspected involvement in a series of e-commerce scams involving the sale of "Pokemon" cards, the police said on Wednesday (5 July).

The police said between 29 June and 3 July, they received two reports from victims who were purportedly cheated by an online seller, who advertised a pre-order sales of "Pokemon" cards on online marketplace Carousell.

"After receiving a sum of about $37,600 via money transfer, the man did not fulfil the delivery of the 'Pokemon' cards," the police said.

Through follow-up investigations, officers from Woodlands Police Division established the identity of the 27-year-old man and arrested him on 4 July.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the man is believed to have cheated over 10 other similar cases involving losses of about S$80,000, the police added.

"Watches, shoes and clothes worth about $20,000 bought by the man using the defrauded monies from various victims were seized as case exhibits."

The man has been charged in court on 6 July with cheating under Section 420 of the Penal Code 1871. The offence carries an imprisonment term of up to 10 years and a fine.

Members of the public should take precautions when engaging online services, the police said.

For example, they can opt to use service providers from reputable sources and avoid making advance payments or direct bank transfers to the seller whenever possible.

"Scammers may entice buyers to make deposits before the services are provided, and they may also use a local bank account or provide a copy of a NRIC/driver's licence to make you believe that they are genuine sellers," the police added.

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Republican gubernatorial candidate Dr. Raul Garcia announced Friday that he would end his bid for the position in an act of solidarity to instead make way for fellow Republican Dave Reichert, who formally announced his bid for governor that day.

Reichert, 72, filed campaign paperwork to run as a Republican in the 2024 governors race June 30, but made his announcement official Friday with a video posted online. Prior to being elected to Congress in 2004, Reichert served in the Air Force Reserves and served two terms as Sheriff in King County. The Associated Press reported that Reichert was the first detective assigned to nab the Green River Killer who was ultimately arrested and convicted in 2003.

In the video, Reichert said that he was running for governor to protect the vulnerable, to help small businesses and to keep people safe.

I have spent an entire lifetime devoted to those three things and I know I can make a difference. From Day One, Reichert said. I believe government should be open and responsive, not pitting one region against another, one generation against another, one family against another.

Reichert went on to served seven terms in the U.S. House after first defeating Democrat Dave Ross, a KIRO talk show host, in 2004.

Garcia changes course

Meanwhile, Garcia will instead run for the U.S. Senate against incumbent Democrat Maria Cantwell. Cantwell was first elected to the position in 2000.

We want to unite the party and support each other, Garcia said in a press release Friday. Instead of fighting each other, we can work together and build a strong top of the ticket determined to bring solutions for Washington.

Garcia, a Yakima emergency room physician, said in the statement that Reichert has already endorsed him for Senate. In turn, Garcia has endorsed Reichert.

Garcia was born in Cuba and emigrated to the U.S. when he was 11 years old, according to the news release from his campaign. He is currently the medical director of Toppenish Hospital, south of Yakima.

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To promote vaccination in the Latino community, Garcia founded the Partnership for Food Security in 2020.

Im not a politician, Im going to be a present Senator for Washington, continued Garcia in the news release. I bring my background as a scientist and a doctor to resolve the root of the problem instead of just putting Bandaids on things. I will be a present U.S. Senator who truly listens and will bring solutions instead of politics to the office. Together we can bring health, effective leadership, and unity to Washington.

What about Semi Bird?

Garcias decision is putting heat on Republican gubernatorial candidate Semi Bird of the Tri-Cities. Bird is a behavioral scientist and decorated retired U.S. Army Special Forces Green Beret with 24 years military service.

Bird characterizes himself as an anti-establishment constitutional Christian conservative, but the only public office hes held has been the last 19 months on the Richland School Board.

But he could be kicked out early from that seat. On Aug. 1, voters in the Richland School District will decide whether or not Bird and two of his peers should be removed from office over a vote they took in February 2022 to go against Washingtons indoor mask mandate.

Bird is currently the financial front runner among Republicans, having netted roughly $116,000 in contributions over the last seven months by crisscrossing the state to speak at holiday gatherings, campaign events and Lincoln Day dinners.

Bird chairs the Benton County Republican Party, which met Thursday night and voted to officially endorse him for governor. Benton County is the fifth county so far to back him.

He intends to stay in the race.

Semi Birds candidacy signifies a departure from the status quo and a rejection of traditional politics, said Corey Gibson, Birds campaign communications director, in a statement. His unwavering commitment to the peoples concerns and his refusal to be beholden to establishment figures resonates deeply with Washingtonians yearning for authentic representation.

After news broke June 30 that Reichert had filed his paperwork, Birds campaign published a post on Facebook with an image urging candidates to unite behind him.

The Democratic race

Gov. Jay Inslee announced in April that he would not seek a fourth term as governor.

Since then, prominent Democrats such as Attorney General Bob Ferguson, Sen. Mark Mullet, D-Issaquah, and Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz have announced that they will run.

As a congressman, Dave Reichert voted in line with Trump 92.5 percent of the time. I dont think that kind of right-wing record is what Washington voters are looking for, Franz said in a news release Friday after Reicherts announcement. More so, Dave Reichert has repeatedly taken extremist anti-choice positions throughout his long career in politics, including voting to criminalize abortion.

As the only woman running for governor of either party, I am the only candidate who intimately and personally understands this issue.

A Republican hasnt been elected governor in nearly 40 years.

Tri-Cities Herald reporter Eric Rosane contributed to this report.
The News

Western countries should head off the creation of new OPEC-like producer cartels for critical resources such as lithium by inviting mineral-rich nations to join an existing rich-country club, the head of a major mining trade association told Semafor.

Bringing Latin American and African countries into the Minerals Security Partnership (MSP) would also promote mineral recyclability by allowing producers and consumers to balance their concerns and economic priorities, the Chief Executive of the International Council on Mining and Metals Rohitesh Dhawan said.

The MSP has been too late to invite the emerging world into it, Dhawan told me. That I think is a huge mistake because the narrative that it feeds for countries in Africa, in particular, is, Here the West goes again, coming to our countries, taking our mineral riches, not allowing us to develop.

Prashants view

The thinking behind mineral-rich countries seeking to join together is understandable: The world must electrify its economy and wean itself off fossil fuels as part of the energy transition, and minerals are crucial for this process, underpinning the construction of wind turbines, batteries for electric cars, and all manner of other crucial goods. Countries abundant in them want to take advantage and garner as much wealth as possible from their natural resources.

And indeed, countries around the world  in Latin Americas lithium triangle where that metal is abundant, Indonesia, which is rich in nickel, and elsewhere  have suggested forming producer groupings in the model of OPEC to control supply and thus have greater sway over the international prices of their raw materials.

Yet the broader downsides  at least to the rest of the world  of such an approach are huge. OPEC enjoys considerable influence over oil markets, but its members are routinely criticized for claiming to be balancing supply and demand while in fact prioritizing their own domestic budgets and exacting a significant cost from the global economy.

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Dhawans suggestion  while being beneficial to his organizations member companies by undercutting such power  has a lot going for it. The MSP already includes both major producers such as Australia and Canada, as well as consumers, but is mostly made up of rich Western countries. India was inducted into the group last month, and an array of African countries  Angola, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia  attended an MSP meeting in New York City in February, though none are full members.

In his telling, clubbing both groups together would also help promote mineral recyclability. Unlike fossil fuels, minerals and metals can be reused and recycled, which offers both long-term potential for their sustainability, as well as long-term fears that consumer countries could build up stockpiles and then cut producers off. That latter scenario, he worried, would leave mineral-rich developing countries thinking, After telling us that we cant exploit our coal reserves  now youre not even gonna buy our battery metals because you found a way to circulate these in your economy.

Know More

Avoiding the creation of an OPEC-like grouping isnt the only lesson the mining sector should take away oil and gas, Dhawan said. The industry should also improve transparency, acknowledge its role in climate change, and admit it isnt trusted by the public.

For too long  including today, frankly  the oil and gas industry has been saying to people, Well we produce the stuff, we dont burn it, you burn it, so its your problem, not ours, he told me. We believe in the signs you get in the shops that say, If you break it, you own it. If we have played a role in breaking something, like our climate, then we own the problem together with everybody else.

Both industries have long been targets of criticism from environmental and Indigenous rights groups for their purported carelessness in dealing with communities and wildlife in their pursuit of natural resources. Mining has lessons to learn from oil and gass successes, too, Dhawan acknowledged: Despite high-profile disasters such as the Deepwater Horizon explosion, oil and gas companies were consistently better at health and safety than mining businesses, he said. There are more examples of countries becoming wealthy off the back of oil and gas exploration than from mining, Dhawan pointed out, even if that wealth is ultimately poorly distributed.

Indeed, some analysts have suggested that, rather than gearing up for a shift towards renewables  which deliver lower, albeit consistent, returns when compared to boom-and-bust fossil fuels  oil and gas majors should instead pivot towards mining, an industry that in some ways better mirrors the financial returns fossil-fuel shareholders expect, and which leverages oil and gas companies historic expertise in advanced sciences such as geology.

Quotable

The industrys traditional approach has been  when faced with criticism, to respond with all the great things we do, and to say, Yes, but we create jobs, and economic value, and supply chains and all these other things, and dont you like your iPhone, and dont you like your airplane that youre flying on, Dhawan said. Thats been our mistake for the last two, three, four decades, that we have not accepted and admitted that we have acted in ways that make it hard for people to trust us.

The View From Indonesia

Indonesia offers a case study for many of the challenges facing the minerals sector. Its vast island network is home to the worlds biggest supply of nickel, but the metal lies below thick forest. In 2020, Jakarta banned the export of nickel ore, and intends to bar the overseas sale of an array of other minerals to boost the development of local refining capacity. Last year the Indonesian government said it was studying establishing an OPEC-like grouping for metals needed to make batteries. Experts are increasingly looking to the countrys decision as a model for how developing countries and mineral-rich nations will handle the energy transition.

Room for Disagreement

Even if countries like Indonesia wanted to form an OPEC-like cartel, they would face significant challenges. When it comes to nickel, for example, MSP members Canada and Australia are major players. Indonesia is also heavily reliant on Brazilian and Chinese companies to help it extract the metal, unlike, say, Saudi Arabia, which has a state-owned company dominating its domestic oil industry. Analysts also caution that such moves could drive away investment, particularly among businesses able to help build up refining capacity in mineral-rich nations which would help them capture more of the economic value of their resources.

And the MSP itself is no silver bullet, particularly if richer consumer countries do not partner with mineral-rich ones to help them develop the processing and manufacturing capacity that helps them build a value chain, Todd Moss, the executive director of the Energy for Growth Hub, a global network of experts and researchers, told me.

Notable
Deputy Yakima County Prosecuting Attorney Amy Lynn Yarger, left, leaves a Yakima County District Courtroom Thursday, July 6, 2023, with defense attorney Etoy Alford. Yarger is charged with fourth-degree assault with sexual motivation after a man said she made unwelcome advances on him at a Union Gap restaurant in January.
With a little more than three weeks until UPS workers threatened strike date arrives, businesses that rely on the nations largest package carrier have been considering their plan Bs.

Teamsters leaders representing 340,000 UPS employees have already announced tentative deals toward a new five-year labor contract, addressing air conditioning in vehicles, workforce structure and more. But an overall agreement has yet to materialize, and the company and union have been trading barbs since negotiations broke down after the long July Fourth weekend.

Part-time employees pay remains a sticking point, Teamsters President Sean OBrien told MSNBC on Friday morning, even though, he said, Weve come to agreement on most of the terms.

As the clock ticks down to Aug. 1  the date when unionized workers have threatened to walk out after voting last month to authorize a strike  some UPS customers are planning for potential disruptions.

I feel sad for the UPS workers because I want them to get paid and they do a good job  but its definitely scary, said Heather DeVal, the owner of an apparel and home goods seller called Sunshine Soul in Annapolis, Maryland. She uses the carrier for about 40% of her total shipments, but for almost all of her wholesale orders, which brought in around 70% of her revenue last year.

If UPS workers strike next month, DeVal said shed lean more on the U.S. Postal Service and FedEx but finds UPS the most convenient and reliable option in her area. For wholesale alone, the shipping cost would probably be double, she said.

Contract negotiations between UPS and the union representing 340,000 of the company's workers broke down early Wednesday with each side blaming the other for walking away from talks. an) (Brittainy Newman / AP)

Other business owners voiced less urgency to line up alternatives.

Toybox, an Oakland, California, company that makes devices for 3D-printing toys, relies on UPS a lot, said COO Malcolm Bird, but he isnt concerned about finding another carrier.

Were going to be able to ship, its just were going to have to use somebody else, he said.

Left Coast Original, a laser engraving company in Largo, Florida, uses UPS for 99% of its packages  ranging from personalized charcuterie boards to monogrammed wallets  which totaled around 70,000 last year, said founder Aaron Bornfleth. Hes waiting to see how the labor talks unfold in the coming weeks before diverting packages to another carrier.

Well just have to jump from one lily pad to another as the situation develops, he said. Even if we were to be proactive about putting together a mitigation plan to switch over to FedEx, everyone else would be doing that, too.

A FedEx spokesperson said the company was working to accommodate customers looking to move their shipping to the carrier but pointed to a statement released Thursday urging prospective newcomers to act fast. The spokesperson warned that, like other carriers, FedEx faces limits to how much additional volume it can handle in case of a UPS strike.

A USPS spokesperson said, The Postal Service has a strong network, and we have the capacity to deliver what is tendered to us.

For businesses in more remote areas, securing a fallback might not even be a possibility.

Jaclyn Wilson, the co-owner of Flying Diamond Beef in western Nebraska, ships all her companys perishable packages through UPS. When she does ship by air, it requires a five-hour drive to Denver.

In our case [a prolonged strike] would shut us down because we arent really able to use any other provider out here, she said. Wed only be able to do deliveries by person and not be able to ship until it gets figured out.

No date has been set for UPS and the Teamsters to resume negotiations, and few details have emerged publicly about the remaining issues of contention, which OBrien has characterized as economic.

It could be that this is theater, and both sides are trying to get the last possible advantage to squeeze out the last available dollar before unveiling a contract deal, said Seth Harris, a law and policy professor at Northeastern University, who served as President Joe Bidens top labor adviser until last year. Or it could be that theyre at a genuine impasse where theres no overlap in their positions, and theyre trying to assess what to do.

While UPS has consistently emphasized its Aug. 1 strike deadline, some labor experts note that the union can extend its existing contract beyond the July 31 expiration date at its discretion. That could give rank-and-file workers time to vote on a new deal should one come together in the final days of July or even afterward.

Asked about that possibility, a union spokesperson said, The previous Teamsters administration gave extensions and concessions, but those days are over and UPS needs to face this reality.

A work stoppage at UPS would be the largest single-employer strike in U.S. history. Logistics experts say that even several days of halted UPS deliveries would likely disrupt the flow of more packages than top rivals such as FedEx or USPS could absorb, threatening to upend the back-to-school shopping season.

Even so, retailers have been devising backup plans for quite some time, said Jess Dankert, vice president for supply chain at the Retail Industry Leaders Association, a trade group representing major brands such as Walmart and Target.

Many companies had already diversified their delivery providers and added smaller, more regional carriers during the pandemic surge in e-commerce, said Dankert, adding that retail supply chains are built to be flexible and resilient.

In the worst-case scenario of a strike, there certainly would be disruptions, but hopefully, those contingency plans will mitigate any of the more significant impacts, she said.

After the latest collapse in talks, UPS touted its industry-leading pay in a statement this week, saying it was proud of its offer and that the Teamsters should return to the table. Union representatives criticized the company as signaling that it had nothing more to give and reiterated that employees wouldnt work beyond their current contracts expiration.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
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Dominic Fritz a trecut la amenintari, dupa ce a fost numit lepra de pui nazist

Primarul municipiului Timisoara, Dominic Fritz, a anuntat, vineri seara, pe pagina sa de Facebook, ca nu va permite ca un discurs precum cel al omului de afaceri Dan Dinu, care s-a referit la el afirmand ca este lepra de pui nazist, sa [citeste mai departe]
Stiri pe aceeasi tema

- The Romanian mergers and acquisitions (M&A) market reported 132 transactions in the first half of 2023, of a total estimated value of USD 3.7 billion, according to an analysis by EY Romania. CITESTE SI President Iohannis: Danube suspension bridge, new proof major infrastructure projects can

- Keeping cap on electricity price reimbursements delays market rebound, detrimental to customers (employers' assoc). Keeping in place the cap on electricity cost reimbursements delays the rebound of the market to the detriment of customers, as the measure is discretionary and unconstitutional, the

- EconMin Oprea welcomes launching of Romvolt project, with lithium-ion battery cells factory to be built in Galati. Through the Romvolt project, which implies the construction of a state-of-the-art electric battery factory in Galati, Romania is making the transition from a consumer state to a producer

- Guvernul i-a chemat pe reprezentantii supermarketurilor la discutii. Scopul ar fi sa-i convinga sa renunte la o parte din adaosul comercial pentru alimentele de baza, precum carnea, painea, uleiul, faina, lactatele si laptele.Ministrul Economiei, Radu Oprea, a explicat la ce alimente planuiesc guvernantii

- PM Ciolacu: Cutting mark-ups on basic food products is a matter of utmost urgency.During the first meeting of the recently sworn-in government on Thursday, Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu said that passing a scheme to cut mark-ups on basic food products is a matter of utmost urgency, told Agerpres.

- Noul Guvern pregateste ceva pentru clasa muncitoare: salariul minim de 1.000 de euro. Este posibil pana la inceputul anului 2025, a declarat, miercuri, dupa audierile din Parlament pentru functia de ministru al Economiei, Antreprenoriatului si Turismului, Radu Oprea. Asa cum a spus si presedintele

- Cyber attacks on critical infrastructures can have devastating consequences, affecting not just the economy, but everyday life as well, general director of the National Institute for Research and Development in Informatics (ICI Bucharest) Adrian-Victor Vevera told the CyberCon Romania 2023 conference."Critical

- Artmark puts up Zoia Ceausescu's wristwatch for auction, at 10,000 EUR starting price.Zoia Ceausescu's wristwatch, a white gold Jaeger LeCoutre decorated with 58 diamonds, is auctioned on 30 May by Artmark House, at a starting price of 10,000 EUR. CITESTE SI Stock exchange opens higher on Monday
A 69-year-old Nebraska man has been arrested in connection with the killing of a woman in Germany in 1978.

Tommy Molina is wanted for the murder of Cornelia Humpfer on April 20, 1978, according to court records.

She was found the next morning with 14 stab wounds.

In a complaint requesting a warrant for Molina's arrest, Assistant U.S. Attorney Dan Packard said German authorities questioned Molina, then a U.S. Army soldier stationed in Schweinfurt, five days after the killing based on reports that tied a car like his to the crime.

He said he was at home with his wife that night. She said she couldn't remember.

They didn't go forward with prosecution.

But in 1995, Molina's third wife contacted Criminal Investigative Command for the U.S. Army in Fort Riley, Kansas, alleging that Molina, while intoxicated, repeatedly told her he had killed a woman with a knife while he was stationed in Schweinfurt.

Packard said she said Molina told her he was having an affair with the woman and he killed her after she told him she was pregnant and was going to tell his wife.

The information prompted Germany authorities to renew their investigation.

In 2000, they submitted a request to the United States to get a blood sample from Molina to compare against DNA samples obtained at the crime scene. The FBI assisted in the collection of the sample in Scottsbluff.

In 2016, a comparison of Molina's DNA profile with the samples taken from the victim's clothing resulted in several matches. But his blood samples no longer existed. So in 2019, a judge in Germany ordered a new blood sample be taken.

In 2020, the FBI again collected Molina's blood and sent it to Germany.

Testing led to a warrant being issued for his arrest in 2021.

In a press release, the U.S. Marshals Service said that on June 21, its Metro Fugitive Task Force, with assistance from the Western Nebraska Intelligence & Narcotics Group Task Force, arrested Molina in Gering.

Molina now is awaiting extradition back to Germany.

"U.S. Marshals work closely with countless countries around the world to ensure that justice is served," said Scott Kracl, U.S. Marshal for the District of Nebraska. "In this particular case, our partnership with Germany has taken a violent fugitive off the streets."

The Metro Fugitive Task Force, led by the U.S. Marshals Service, is a partnership comprising numerous local, state and federal agencies throughout Nebraska. Through cooperative efforts, the task force targets violent and sexual offenders wanted on state and federal arrest warrants, in order to increase community safety.
Vidyut Jamwal starrer IB71 movie has released on the Disney-Hotstar OTT platform in India. The film is based on the hijacking of the Indian Airlines Fokker F27 Friendship plane in 1971. Sankalp Reddy directed movie released in theatres on May 12, 2023 followed by the OTT release on July 7, 2023. The film spotlights a real-life secret mission undertaken by the Indian Intelligence Bureau during the 1971 war and has received a rave response from the social media users. While the IB played a big role in the incident, the backbone of the purported mission was a decommissioned Ganga plane.

The "Ganga" was a retired Fokker F27 Friendship plane operated by the Indian Airlines, which was a division of Air India Limited. The airline focused primarily on domestic routes, and certain international routes to Asia and Middle-East. In 2005, the airline was rebranded as "Indian" and was later merged with Air India. The airline inducted a variety of aircraft, including the Fokker F27, Boeing 737/ 320, Airbus A300, Vickers Viscounts among many other planes.

Hijacking Of Indian Airlines Flight

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As per reports, the Fokker F27 Friendship plane was one of the oldest aircraft in the Indian Airlines fleet and was withdrawn from services a long back. However, it was re-inducted days before the hijacking, that led to the theories of involvement of Indian intelligence in getting the plane hijacked.

The incident took place on January 30, 1971, when an Indian Airlines domestic Fokker F27, also named "Ganga", was scheduled to fly from Srinagar Airport to the Jammu-Satwari Airport. The plane was hijacked by two Kashmiri separatists and was flown to the Lahore Airport in Pakistan, where the plane was later burnt.

While all the passengers and the crew were released, India retaliated by closing down the Indian airspace for the Pakistani aircraft. It is being said that the ban helped India win the 1971 Indo-Pak war that led to the formation of Bangladesh in December 1971, formerly called the East Pakistan, hence becoming a turning point in India-Pakistan relations.

30 agents, 10 days, and 1 top secret mission that was hidden for 50 years!

Witness this incredible true story that made us win the 1971 Indo-Pak war. #IB71Trailer out now!



Watch the IB71 Trailer here - https://t.co/RGnGIHDMEX#IB71 in cinemas on May 12 #DirectorSankalp pic.twitter.com/uZMmlg8XPg  Vidyut Jammwal (@VidyutJammwal) April 24, 2023

Fokker F27 Friendship Plane

The Fokker F27 Friendship is a turboprop airliner made by the Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker. Developed during the early 1950s, it was widely used by airlines across the globe for carrying passengers and was also one of the most successful European airliners of its era. The plane made its first flight in 1955, and is still in service, although in a limited numbers.

The plane had a passenger capacity of about 50 people and a range of around 2,600 km in a single tank. The plane could cruise at a speed of 460 km/h, which almost half the speed of modern day jetliners. It had an empty weight of 11,204 kg and max takeoff weight of 19,773 kg. The plane was powered by two Rolls-Royce Dart Mk.532-7 two-stage centrifugal compressor turboprop, which made it vibration free, as compared to rival planes.

History Of Crashes In Indian Subcontinent

The Fokker 27 had a terrible history of air safety and many planes crashed over the years. However, the air safety record was even more disastrous in the Indian sub continent, with airlines of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh flying the plane. Here's a few incidents resulting in deaths of all the passengers and crew:

1) 21 April 1969: Indian Airlines flight crashed while crossing Bangladesh airspace on its flight from Agartala to Calcutta, killing all 44 people on board

2) 6 August 1970: Pakistan International Airlines Fokker F27 plane crashed after take-off from Islamabad, killing all 30 people on board

3) 5 August 1984: Biman Bangladesh Airlines Fokker F27-600 crashed in Dhaka with a total death toll of 49 people, deadliest aviation disaster in the history of Bangladesh

4) 25 August 1989: Pakistan International Airlines F27 carrying 54 people disappeared after leaving Gilgit and was never found

5) 10 July 2006: Pakistan International Airlines Flight crashed a few minutes after take-off from Multan airport, killing all 45 people.
New Delhi: Four people were detained by the police for allegedly stealing a 6000-kg makeshift iron bridge belonging to Adani company in Malad (west), Mumbai. According to officials, the 90-foot-long metal structure was installed by Adani Electricity over a drain in one of the city's western suburbs to facilitate the transfer of large power wires.

The makeshift iron bridge had been relocated to a nearby location a few months ago after the construction of a permanent bridge. However, it was discovered missing on June 26, prompting Adani Power to file a police complaint.

The lack of CCTV cameras in the vicinity posed a challenge to the investigation. As a result, the police examined CCTV footage from surrounding areas in hopes of finding any leads. Their efforts paid off when one CCTV camera captured a large vehicle passing by the location of the makeshift bridge on June 11.



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Using the vehicle's registration number, the police were able to track it down, revealing the presence of gas-cutting machines that were allegedly used to dismantle the large makeshift iron bridge.

In connection with the theft, the police apprehended four individuals. One of them is reportedly associated with the construction firm responsible for building the bridge, while the remaining three are believed to be his accomplices. Charges of theft and criminal trespass have been filed against all of them.
New Delhi: Fast-food chain McDonalds continues to serve tomatoes on its menu in the Punjab-Chandigarh region despite the skyrocketing price of the vegetable, the company said on Friday. The brand has a reliable and steady tomato supply in the region, which is qualified under its global food safety standards.

The company has been investing in ground-breaking solutions to combat seasonal crop issues arising every year resulting in a supply shortage.

As a long-term sustainable solution to this concern, the company has made a pioneering move to employ sustainable agriculture practices, including hydroponically grown tomatoes in a completely controlled environment.



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This cutting-edge technology ensures a sustained supply of tomatoes at all times, the company said.
Uzma Berhad's (KLSE:UZMA) investors will be pleased with their respectable 75% return over the last year

The simplest way to invest in stocks is to buy exchange traded funds. But one can do better than that by picking better than average stocks (as part of a diversified portfolio). To wit, the Uzma Berhad (KLSE:UZMA) share price is 75% higher than it was a year ago, much better than the market return of around 1.1% (not including dividends) in the same period. That's a solid performance by our standards! Having said that, the longer term returns aren't so impressive, with stock gaining just 5.0% in three years.

Let's take a look at the underlying fundamentals over the longer term, and see if they've been consistent with shareholders returns.

Check out our latest analysis for Uzma Berhad

While markets are a powerful pricing mechanism, share prices reflect investor sentiment, not just underlying business performance. One way to examine how market sentiment has changed over time is to look at the interaction between a company's share price and its earnings per share (EPS).

Uzma Berhad went from making a loss to reporting a profit, in the last year.

The result looks like a strong improvement to us, so we're not surprised the market likes the growth. Inflection points like this can be a great time to take a closer look at a company.

You can see below how EPS has changed over time (discover the exact values by clicking on the image).

We know that Uzma Berhad has improved its bottom line lately, but is it going to grow revenue? If you're interested, you could check this free report showing consensus revenue forecasts.

A Different Perspective

It's good to see that Uzma Berhad has rewarded shareholders with a total shareholder return of 75% in the last twelve months. That certainly beats the loss of about 7% per year over the last half decade. We generally put more weight on the long term performance over the short term, but the recent improvement could hint at a (positive) inflection point within the 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. Consider risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 3 warning signs for Uzma Berhad 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 Malaysian exchanges.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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IMPHAL: Four people including a Manipur police commando were shot dead and several others were injured in separate places in Bishnupur district, as violence continued in the northeastern state on Friday, officials said. While the policeman was killed in a gun battle with suspected militants at Moirang Turel Mapan in the evening, three others including a teenage boy lost their lives in the wee hours in villages near the border of Bishnupur and Churachandpur districts.

Intermittent firing continued in the area since Thursday night between two communities. The police commando, identified as Pukhrambam Ranbir, was hit on the head during the exchange of fire and was injured. He was first taken to the district hospital from where he was referred to a hospital in Imphal but he died on the way, officials said.

Three people including the teenager were killed and several others injured in the villages of Kangvai, Songdo and Awang Lekhai - all of them on the border of two districts- in the early hours of Friday Mobs continued to block the movement of security forces in the area. Additional columns have been inducted from alternate routes to tackle the situation, officials said.



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More than 100 people have lost their lives and over 3,000 injured since ethnic violence broke out in the state on May 3, when a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.

Around 40,000 central security personnel, besides the Manipur Police, have been deployed to control the violence and bring back normalcy in the state.

Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipur's population and live mostly in the Imphal Valley. Tribal Nagas and Kukis constitute another 40 per cent of the population and reside in the hill districts.
Bhopal: The victim of the public urination incident in Sidhi district of Madhya Pradesh has appealed to the state government to release the accused, Pravesh Shukla. The victim, an indigenous tribal, stated that the accused has realized his mistake. Pravesh Shukla was arrested by the police on Wednesday after being accused of urinating on Dhasmat Rawat, a member of the tribal community who had come from the village. The incident was captured in a viral video on social media, leading to the registration of a case against the accused and his subsequent arrest.

Victim Urges Release of Accused

"Pravesh Shukla has realized his mistake"

In addition to the charges under the Indian Penal Code and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, strict action has also been initiated against Shukla under the National Security Act (NSA). Currently, Shukla is in jail, and his alleged illegal portion of land in Sidhi has been demolished. When asked about the action taken against the accused on Friday, Rawat said, "I demand from the government that he has realized his mistake, and now Pravesh Shukla should be released. Whatever happened in the past, he has realized his mistake."

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"He is the priest of our village, and we demand his release"

When questioned about the demand for release despite the offensive act committed by the accused, Rawat stated, "Yes, I agree. He is the priest of our village, and we, the community, request the government to release him." Rawat also mentioned that apart from the construction of a road in the village, they do not demand anything more from the government. The incident has sparked a political controversy in Madhya Pradesh as the state assembly elections are scheduled to take place at the end of the year. The Congress party has accused the accused of having connections with a local Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator, while the BJP has denied any association with him.

Political Controversy and Public Reaction

CM Shivraj Chouhan requested forgiveness from the victim Dhasmat Rawat

It should be noted that Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan washed the feet of the victim at his residence in Bhopal on Thursday and apologized for the degrading incident. However, the opposition parties dismissed Chouhan's gesture as a mere political drama. The state government has also approved financial assistance of INR 500,000 to the victim and provided an additional amount of INR 150,000 for the construction of his house. A Brahmin organization, while condemning Shukla's act on Friday, stated that while his action was condemnable, his family members should not be punished for his behavior.
NOIDA: The Pakistani woman and her Indian partner, both of whom were arrested by the police in connection with her illegal stay in India, were on Friday granted bail by a court in Uttar Pradesh's Greater Noida, officials said. Seema Ghulam Haider, around 30, and Sachin Meena, around 25, were arrested on July 4. While Seema was charged with illegally entering India, Sachin was booked for sheltering the illegal immigrant.

On July 4, both Sachin and Seema had confessed their love for each other in front of the media and police, urging the government to allow them to get married and stay together in India. The duo had got in touch in 2019 while playing online game PUBG and eventually got closer to the extent that she decided to come to India to stay with him in Greater Noida.

Advocate Hemant Krishna Parashar, who represented the accused, said the bail was granted to the two by Justice Nazim Akbar of the Jewar Civil Court junior division. Parashar said the court has put a condition with the bail that Seema would not change her place of residence as long as the case is underway and the couple would mark their presence before the court regularly.



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"Both Seema and Sachin have been granted bail by the court. However, they are yet to be released from the jail. They would be released after paper work and verification are completed," said Sudhir Kumar, in-charge of local Rabupura police station, where the case was lodged. "Seema's four children are also with her in the jail. They would stay with the mother once she walks out of the jail," Kumar told PTI.

Advocate Parashar said he argued before the judge that the woman had taken the action in her innocence as the couple was "love-struck". He also claimed that Seema and Sachin have got married in Nepal earlier this year and the woman feels threat to her life if she goes back to Pakistan.

"Seema told me in writing that she and Sachin had got married in Kathmandu, Nepal. I informed the court about this. I also argued that Seema first went from Pakistan to Nepal and then came to India. Those coming from Nepal to India are not required to carry passport or have visa," Parashar told PTI. "I also apprised the court that Seema feels threat to her life if she is sent back to Pakistan. She feels her young children might get spared but she would be killed for her acts," the lawyer claimed.

He said the court was satisfied with the arguments and granted bail to the couple. Earlier, the court had ordered that the woman's four children, all aged below 7, would stay with the mother in the jail. The children had accompanied Seema when she illegally came to India in May this year. Sachin's father Netrapal Singh (50) was also arrested in connection with the case and charged with sheltering an illegal immigrant.

The father was also granted bail on Thursday by the same court, police said.
The partnership of British automaker Triumph and Indian two-wheeler maker Bajaj has yielded the first ever product, pricing of which has taken the Indian auto industry by a storm. The Triumph Speed 400 was recently launched in India at a price of Rs 2.33 lakh (ex-showroom). Interestingly, the first 10,000 buyers will get a discount of Rs 10,000, effectively bringing down the price of the Triumph Speed 400 at Rs 2.23 lakh (ex-showroom). The price of the Triumph Scrambler 400, on the other hand, will be announced later this year. The new motorcycles mark the brand's entry into the 400 cc segment.

While the market is going gung-ho over the pricing and the collaboration of the automakers, a social media post related to the on-road pricing of the Triumph Speed 400 has created a furore, forcing Bajaj Auto to release a statement. A slew of Twitter post highlighted pricing of the Triumph Speed 400 shared by one of the dealerships. As seen in the image, the dealer is charging more than Rs 1 lakh over and above the ex-showroom price of Rs 2.33 lakh.

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Bajaj Auto now says that the pricing is fake and mere rumours as the company has not released the on-road pricing of the motorcycle. Further, the pricing will be issued by 10th July. The purported image shows the on-road price of the bike as Rs 3,38,598, and the price includes RTO, Insurance, Handling Charges among other things.

In a statement, the Indian automaker said, At Bajaj Auto Ltd., we are committed to our customers and follow the highest standards of transparency, including pricing. We would urge all our customers and media to ignore the rumours doing rounds across various public and social media platforms related to the on-road pricing of the new Triumph Speed 400. The company has not released any on-road price guidelines and the same would be in line with its other products and industry norms. This will be issued by 10th July."

"Speed 400 has been launched at ex-showroom price, Delhi at INR 2.23 lacs for the first 10,000 customers post which it will move to its regular price at INR 2.33 lacs ex-showroom. State-specific ex-showroom and on-road pricing will be released closer to delivery, the statement adds.

Triumph Speed 400

The Triumph Speed 400 is powered by a brand-new 398cc single-cylinder engine with fuel injection and liquid cooling, a four-valve DOHC cylinder head, and a crankshaft power these motorcycles. The engine is tuned to produce 40 PS of maximum power and 37.5 Nm of maximum torque and is mated to a 6-speed gearbox. There are three two-tone paint schemes of the Speed 400 - Carnival Red, Caspian Blue, and Phantom Black - each prominently featuring a Triumph tank graphic.

Triumph Speed 400: Competition

The Triumph Speed 400 and Triumph Scrambler 400 X enter the much-in-demand 400-500 cc category, the same segment as the Royal Enfield Himalayan and upcoming RE Scram, 411, Yezdi Scrambler, and the newly launched Harley Davidson X440, made in partnership with Hero Motocorp. It is to be noted that the Triumph Speed 400 will be available at Triumph dealerships only by July 2023 and the Scrambler 400 X by October this year.
Kalashtami 2023: The eighth day following Purnima (the full moon), known as Ashtami Tithi, is believed to be the best day to worship Lord Kaal Bhairav. Hindu devotees worship Lord Bhairav on this day and observe a fast in his worship. Since Kalashtami is observed on the Ashtami tithi every month, there are a total of 12 Kalashtami in a year.

The most important of these is known as "Kalabhairav Jayanti" and occurs in the "Margashirsha" month. Since Lord Kaal Bhairav is worshipped on this day who is a fierce manifestation of Lord Shiva. Due to the devotion of these days to Lord Bhairav, Kalashtami is also seen as being more auspicious whether it occurs on a Sunday or a Tuesday.

On Kalashtami, Lord Bhairav is worshipped and celebrated throughout the nation with great fervour and devotion.



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Kalashtami 2023: Date

Shravana Kala Ashtami falls on July 09, 2023 on Sunday.

Kalashtami 2023: Auspicious time

Kalashtami Tithi Start Time- 7:59 PM on July 9

Kalashtami Tithi End time- 6:43 PM on July 10

Kalashtami in Sawan 2023: Significance

The 'Aditya Purana' states Kalashtami's magnificence. Known as a manifestation of Lord Shiva, Lord Kaal Bhairav is the primary god worshipped during Kalashtami.

In Hindi, the term "kaal" means "time," and "Bhairav" denotes "the manifestation of Shiva." Therefore, Kaal Bhairav is also known as the "God of Time" and is fully revered by worshippers of Lord Shiva.

According to Hindu mythology, Lord Shiva once became enraged at a remark made by Brahma during a dispute between Brahma, Vishnu, and Mahesh. The fifth head of Lord Brahma was then severed by him while assuming the identity of "Mahakaleshwar."

Devas and humans have since worshipped this manifestation of Lord Shiva as "Kaal Bhairav." On Kalashtami, it is thought that people who worship Lord Shiva seek his bountiful blessings.

Another widely held belief is that worshipping Lord Bhairav on this day will rid one's life of all hardship, suffering, and negative consequences.

Also Read: Sawan 2023: Know Why 'Shravan' Will Last For 2 Months, A Rare Coincidence After 19 Years- Check All Sawan Somwar Dates

Kalashtami in July 2023: Puja Rituals

- Devotees rise before dawn and take an early bath on this day. They offer Kaal Bhairav a special puja to get his heavenly blessings and ask for forgiveness for their misdeeds.

- In the evening, devotees visit Lord Kaal Bhairav's temple and offer special prayers. Kalashtami is thought to be a fierce manifestation of Lord Shiva. He was created to put a halt to Lord Brahma's boiling rage and passion.

- On Kalashtami, specific rituals and puja are also performed in the morning for deceased ancestors.

- Devotees also observe a strict fast throughout the day. Some ardent worshippers maintain stay up all night long whilst spending time by hearing tales about Mahakaleshwar. The observer of the Kalashtami Vrat is blessed with prosperity and happiness, as well as all success in life.

- Reciting Kaal Bhairav Katha and chanting mantras devoted to Lord Shiva are considered auspicious.

- Additionally, it is common to feed dogs on Kalashtami since a black dog is revered as Lord Bhairav's chariot. Milk, curd, and sweets are offered to the dogs.

- At Hindu pilgrimage sites like Kashi, providing food to Brahmins is believed to be very beneficial.

Kalashtami 2023: Chant Lord Bhairav Mantra

          :

(Om Hum Sham Nam Gam Kam Sam Kham Mahakala Bhairavaya Namah)

(This article is intended for your general information only. Zee News does not vouch for its accuracy or reliability.)
On July 3, the Rabupura Police apprehended Seema Haider, a Pakistani citizen, for illegally entering India along with her four children, allegedly with the intention of eloping with her lover Sachin, a resident of Noida. Several days after the incident, Ghulam Haider, Seema's husband, released a heartfelt video pleading with the Indian Government to ensure the safe return of their four children to Pakistan. Ghulam Haider expressed profound shock and distress over the entire situation, as his wife had left him and taken their children to India to be with Sachin.

Appeal for the Return of Children

Ghulam Haider, who works in the tile business in Saudi Arabia, learned about the incident through media coverage featuring his children. In his video statement, he humbly requested the Indian Government, specifically Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to facilitate the repatriation of his three daughters to Pakistan. Ghulam Haider emphasized the tremendous sacrifices he had made while working abroad to provide for his family, expressing deep anguish at seeing his children caught up in such a predicament.



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Current Legal Status

Interestingly, Ghulam Haider's plea coincides with the grant of bail to Seema, Sachin, and Sachin's father, Netrapal, who were arrested in connection with the incident. The legal proceedings are ongoing, with the individuals facing charges under Sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and 34 (common intentions) of the Indian Penal Code, as well as Sections 3/4/5 of the Passport Act.

Background of Seema and Sachin's Relationship

Seema, a mother of four children, initially connected with Sachin, a resident of Greater Noida, through the popular mobile game PUBG in 2019. Over time, their relationship grew stronger through conversations on various social media platforms. With Ghulam Haider working in Saudi Arabia, Seema made the decision in 2023 to meet Sachin in person. She traveled from Saudi Arabia to Nepal via Sharjah and spent over a week with Sachin in Kathmandu. Subsequently, Seema entered India by bus from Nepal and began residing with Sachin from May 13. However, their presence was discovered, leading to their arrest and subsequent charges.
A young woman's departure for the US was marred by allegations of mistreatment from an immigration officer at Ahmedabad Airport, leading to her father issuing a public plea for action. The woman, a 22-year-old student bound for Duke University, was reportedly accused of possessing fake degrees by the immigration official, despite having obtained a valid US visa.

The father, Vipul Shah, an advocate from Bhavnagar, voiced his complaint on social media, tagging Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah in his Twitter post.

He alleged that the immigration officer not only questioned the authenticity of his daughter's degrees from Narsee Monjee Institute in Mumbai but also made inappropriate comments and unnecessarily harassed her.



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Demanding a thorough investigation of the incident through CCTV footage and strict action against the officer, Shah stated, "Early on Friday morning, she left for the US via Kuwait on a Kuwait Airways flight number KU 346 from Ahmedabad.

She reached the Ahmedabad airport on time for her 3 a.m. flight, but was confronted with this upsetting situation."
In a public event held in Nashik, Maharashtra, NCP Chief Sharad Pawar has openly criticized his nephew, Ajit Pawar. Pointing towards Ajit, Sharad Pawar stated, "I made a mistake by trusting some people."

Ajit Pawar's Decision Creates Internal Turmoil in NCP

Ajit Pawar's decision to align with the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance and become the Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra has stirred up internal turmoil within the NCP. Sharad Pawar said that he would not repeat the same mistake.

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Turning the Tables on Ajit Pawar's Age-Related Statement

Recently, Ajit Pawar advised Sharad Pawar to retire from politics, citing his age. In response, Sharad Pawar made a sarcastic remark, saying, "Do you know at what age Morarji Desai became the Prime Minister? I don't aspire to be a Prime Minister or a Minister, but I want to serve the people."

"I am Not Tired, Nor Retiring"

Referring to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's famous quote, "I am not tired, nor retiring," Sharad Pawar stated in an interview with a news channel in Mumbai, "Who are they to ask me to retire? I am still capable of working."

Questioned about Neglecting Ajit Pawar in NCP

When asked about the neglect of his daughter Supriya Sule in terms of a ministerial position, while Ajit Pawar was made a minister and Deputy Chief Minister, Sharad Pawar responded, "Ajit Pawar was made a minister and Deputy Chief Minister, but Supriya Sule was not given any ministerial position, although it was possible."

Sharad Pawar's Statewide Rally

Just a week after Ajit Pawar and eight NCP MLAs joined the state government, Sharad Pawar commenced his statewide rally on Saturday (July 8) from Yeola in Nashik district. Yeola is the electoral constituency of rebel NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal.
The Uniform Civil Code (UCC) is one of the most debated topics in Indian politics today given the upcoming Lok Sabha elections of 2024 where the BJP is likely to make it the key poll plank. While Islamic organisations have already opposed the move, several political parties including some allies of the BJP have expressed their apprehensions against the UCC. Now, senior politician and former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Ghulam Nabi Azad has also expressed his views on the controversial issue.

Speaking to the media, Azad advised the Modi government to 'never think of' moving forward with the UCC. "This is not as easy as abrogation of article 370. It has all religions, not only Muslims, but it has Sikhs, Christians, tribals, Jains, and Parsis. Angering so many religions at the same time will not be good for any government and my advice to this government is that they should never think of taking such a step," said Azad, chief of Democratic Progressive Azad Party.

#WATCH | Srinagar, J&K: Democratic Progressive Azad Party chief Ghulam Nabi Azad Uniform Civil Code, says, "...This is not as easy as abrogation of article 370. It has all religions, not only Muslims, but it has Sikhs, Christians, tribals, Jains, and Parsis... angering so many pic.twitter.com/HB5itFvzjd  ANI (@ANI) July 8, 2023

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Speaking about the restoration of the democratic process in Jammu and Kashmir, Azad said, "When the Assembly was dissolved in 2018, since then we are waiting for the elections to be held in J&K. The people of Jammu and Kashmir are waiting for the democratic set-up to be restored in the state...meaning that the elected representatives become MLAs and they run the government. Because only elected representatives can do many work in democracy. Across the world or in any part of India, the 'officer sarkar' can't run for more than six months..." said Azad.

#WATCH | Srinagar, J&K: Democratic Progressive Azad Party chief Ghulam Nabi Azad on elections in J&K, says, "When the Assembly was dissolved in 2018, since then we are waiting that when the elections will be held in J&K. The people of Jammu and Kashmir are waiting for the pic.twitter.com/pcr3PR3Ivk July 8, 2023

Meanwhile, the Law Commission of India on Friday issued a disclaimer to inform the public at large regarding certain WhatsApp texts, calls, and messages being circulated pertaining to the Uniform Civil Code (UCC). The Law Commission urged that the public exercise caution and rely on official sources for accurate information. According to the Law Commission Disclaimer, it has come to notice that certain phone numbers are rotating among individuals, falsely associating them with the Law Commission of India. It is clarified that the Law Commission has no involvement or connection with these texts, calls, or messages, and disclaims any responsibility or endorsement thereof.

Individuals are encouraged to visit the official website of the Law Commission of India to access the Public Notice issued in this regard. Further, in the Public Notice, dated June 14, 2023, suggestions, views, or inputs regarding the Uniform Civil Code may be presented through the "click here" button or by email at membersecretary-lci@gov.in to the Law Commission of India
The political crisis in Maharashtra continues on both sides - the ruling coalition and the opposition alliance since Ajit Pawar-led rebellion created a storm in the state's political circles. While Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis held a second late-night meeting with Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Ajit Pawar openly expressing his desire to become the Chief Minister has created flutters among the Shiv Sena cadre. Deputy Chief Fadnavis' meeting with CM Shinde also came on the backdrop of reports that Shiv Sena MLAs are upset with Ajit Pawar joining the ruling alliance. The opposition's remarks that Shinde will be replaced and Ajit Pawar will be made the new CM has also caused concern among the Sena cadre.

On the other hand, senior NCP leader Sharad Pawar, who vowed to rebuild the party, will be visiting Nashik this evening for a meeting, termed 'historic' by the party spokesperson. On Thursday, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) convened its National Working Committee meeting in New Delhi, chaired by the party's National President, Sharad Pawar. The working committee approved the decision taken by National President Sharad Pawar to expel Praful Patel, Sunil Tatkare and 9 MLAs from Maharashtra for anti-party activities. They have been absolved of all responsibilities associated with the NCP announced PC Chacko. However, the rebel faction termed the meeting illegal as they claim to be the original NCP.

Senior NCP leader Ajit Pawar took oath as the deputy chief minister of the state last week. Ajit Pawar joined the Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government with 8 other MLAs and has claimed control over the Nationalist Congress Party.



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In the coming days, Sharad Pawar will also be visiting Pune, Solapur and some parts of the Vidarbha region that includes constituencies of rebel NCP leaders. This will be a show of strength by the senior Pawar.

Meanwhile, Fadnavis has strongly refuted allegations of engineering splits in other parties saying that the BJP believes in taking along all those who believe in PM Narendra Modi's leadership. Amid all these issues, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) president Raj Thackeray met Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde in Mumbai yesterday. In a tweet, Shinde said the two leaders discussed farm loans in the Nashik district, the issues of local residents in the redevelopment of BDD chawls in Mumbai, and the reduction of house prices by state agency CIDCO.

The meeting came at a time when there is a buzz that the MNS and the Shiv Sena led by Raj's estranged cousin Uddhav Thackeray may join hands in the wake of NCP leader Ajit Pawar joining the Maharashtra government. Both Shiv Sena (UBT) and MNS have denied any such moves.
Wink Thompson carefully unwrapped the gauze from around his lower leg to show an open wound, a line of raw meat that runs from halfway down his calf to below his ankle.

A year ago, Thompson was exposed to the flesh-eating bacteria, vibrio vulnificus, in a tributary of the Potomac River in Westmoreland County. The fast-moving and aggressive infection tore through his left leg, leaving dead or diseased skin, fat and muscle in its wake.

He needed four debridements, procedures in which decimated tissue is removed so antibiotics and other fluids can get through to protect remaining skin and boost the healing process.

A medical provider showed Thompsons wife, Debbie, a photo of his leg after the first procedure  after warning her about how bad it was. The mangled leg looked more like a prop in a zombie movie than part of a living human and is not being published due to its graphic nature.

It was like he went through some kind of meat grinder, she said.

While Wink Thompson said the leg is still ugly a year later, he didnt hesitate to uncover the wound for photographs. He wants to spread the message of what this dangerous bacteria can do.

Anything to get the word out, he said. I dont want anybody to go through what I went through.

Touch and go

Tall and thin, Thompson was an athlete in his younger days and a right-of-way agent who retired after almost 30 years with the Virginia Department of Transportation. Then, he worked for Spotsylvania County and private companies, and at age 80, is still doing parttime work, helping to secure utility easements.

A year ago this month, the Spotsylvania County man was power-washing crab pots on the dock of his second home, in Glebe Harbor in Montross. Its on Weatherall Creek which feeds into the Lower Machodoc Creek, and that empties into the Potomac.

He was using water from the house for the chore. He reached into the creek to pull out a pot, one at a time, and rinsed off the algae. Thompson never got into the stream.

Later that night, he had a pain in his left leg which he felt again at breakfast. He looked down and saw a round and red spot, probably the size of a softball, and knew something was wrong.

The Thompsons left the Northern Neck and ended up in the emergency room at Mary Washington Hospital.

Tests showed he had been exposed to vibrio vulnificus, a species of bacteria that can cause life-threatening wounds, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. It estimates that about 80,000 people develop vibriosis, infections from the various types of vibrio bacteria, every year in the United States, and that about 100 of them die.

Vibrio bacteria are found naturally in salty and brackish water, which is a combination of fresh and salt water. The bacteria can enter the body through an open wound or by eating raw or undercooked seafood.

Not everyone who gets into the water with an open cut or eats raw oysters will develop an illness, but for those who do  because there may be other issues at play  the vibrio vulnificus infection can become serious quickly.

About 1 in 5 people with this infection die, sometimes within a day or two of becoming ill, the CDC reports.

Debbie Thompson feared her husband might be one of them.

It was touch and go for a while, she said. We didnt know if he was gonna lose his limb or his life. (But) Wink is a strong person, physically and mentally, and he pushed himself and got through it.

A tough case

Doctors determined the vibrio had entered through a small scab on Thompsons ankle. He had torn his Achilles tendon on that leg three years earlier and needed several surgeries to try to repair it.

It probably wasnt the creek water alone that contained bacteria, said Dr. Norman Bernstein, an infectious disease doctor with Mary Washington Healthcare. He suspects there was bacterial residue in the crab pots, which got splashed around as Thompson did his power-washing  and thats probably what ended up making him sick.

Thompsons initial infection quickly turned to sepsis, and two trauma surgeons, Dr. Tedla Tessema and Dr. Corey Wright, and their team oversaw his case, both in the hospital and out. Wrights most recent follow-up with Thompson was on Friday.

At each team meeting early on, doctors discussed the possibility that Thompson might lose his leg. Not only did he have deadly bacteria running rampant, but Thompson also has thinning skin, both as a result of normal aging as well as blood thinners he takes for a heart condition. The blood thinners also cause more blood loss and can slow down the healing process, Wright said.

It was a tough case, he had a lot going on, said Wright. He had one of the more aggressive or exaggerated effects from it.

Within a few days of being exposed, Thompson needed the first surgery to remove dead and infected skin. The second procedure happened 30 hours later, Wright said, as doctors had to be aggressive to stay ahead of the fast-moving bacteria.

Each time, Thompson was placed under general anesthesia. He doesnt remember many details, but his wife reminded him of how horrible things were and the excruciating pain he endured.

In addition to removing dead skin, surgeons had to cover the gaping wound that stretched from below his knee to his ankle. They didnt want to take that much skin from elsewhere on his body and create additional wounds, Wright said, so they grafted pig skin onto his decimated leg at the same time as his own dead flesh was removed.

It was a hard case, and we were very honest with him about the possibilities, Wright said. Of course, he was nervous and scared, but he was in good spirits and trusted our assessments, and he was a model patient in that regard.

Wright said it took a team of surgeons, ICU doctors, infectious disease specialists, nursing staff and home-health nurses, whove visited Thompson every other day for almost a year, to move Thompson from the brink of death to where hes almost back to normal.

Hes still working, he walks without a hitch and he still puts crab pots into the creek off his dock in Westmoreland County. The only difference is now he wears protective gear  rubber coveralls, boots and gloves  to keep the water off his body.

His wife wishes hed drop the crabbing altogether.

It irritates me and it frightens me, she said.

A champion

Wink Thompson contacted The Free LanceStar about a story because he wants people to know the deadly bacteria exists. Hes tried to talk with local health officials about posting information about vibrio vulnificus, and hed like to see the state test regularly for it, just as it does other contaminants.

Hed also be happy if signs were posted at every public access, telling people, especially along the Potomac, about the dangers.

Hes kind of a champion for this process and awareness, trying to inform the public, Wright said.

While the bacteria occurs naturally, vibrio vulnificus pathogens become more prevalent as Chesapeake Bay waters warm, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration website. With the National Center for Coastal Ocean Science, its put together a model that predicts the probability of vibrio vulnificus in the bay waters. Its available at products.coastalscience.noaa.gov/vibrioforecast/vulnificus/chesapeake/default.aspx.

Cases of vibrio infections must be reported to health departments in Virginia, and last year, the Rappahannock Area Health District, which includes Fredericksburg and the counties of Caroline, King George, Spotsylvania and Stafford, had three cases, said Allison BalmesJohn, population health manager.

She said cases have remained steady the last five years and that none have been reported so far this year.

The health district stresses that people should not eat raw shellfish, especially oysters, and that they should avoid exposing open wounds to salty or brackish water. If they do and develop any signs of infection, they should visit a medical provider right away and mention theyve been in the water, BalmesJohn said.

Bernstein said patients regularly ask him if they should get into the water, even in a pool, when they have a cut or sore. He cautions against it.

If you have an open wound, think twice before going into the water. Period, he said.

Wink Thompson has spent a good part of his life in the water, both at Fairview Beach in King George County and in the Northern Neck. His children and grandchildren are water rats, just like he was at their age, but the experience of the last year has changed him.

Right now, Im not gonna get in the water, and I dont know that I ever will, even after I heal, he said. But Im making sure that all my guests dont go in the water if they have an open wound.
Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone are one of the most popular couples in Bollywood. The power couple is commonly referred to as DeepVeer by their fans on social media, and they have a massive fan following. The two started dating each other on the sets of Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela and got married in 2018 after being in a relationship for almost six years. They've been spotted sharing screen space in a lot of films like Bajirao Mastani, Padmaavat, 83, and more. They are often seen expressing their love for each other on social media. Now, Deepika has given a shout-out to her husband for his contribution to mens fashion.

Deepika Padukone Lauds Ranveer Singh on Social Media

Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh share a beautiful bond together, and the couples chemistry has always mesmerised their fans. The Chennai Express actress took to Instagram and shared a story about her husband that was posted by Vogue. In the Instagram post, the magazine lauded Ranveer Singh for his significant contribution to mens fashion all across the country. Deepika, sounding all excited and proud, shared this on her Stories and also attached a sticker that said, Hell Yeah.



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Deepika Padukones post surprised her fans who were expecting the actress to post something on her husband, Ranveer Singhs birthday. Wishes poured in from many film personalities for Ranveer, who celebrated his birthday on July 6. However, one wish missing from his social media feed was that of Deepika, which led to disappointment for their fans.

Project K to be unveiled at San Diego Comic Con Festival

According to reports, Deepika Padukone has a packed schedule. She has Nag Ashwins Project K. The film has a spectacular star cast that includes Amitabh Bachchan, Deepika Padukone, South actor Prabhas, Kamal Haasan, Disha Patani, and more. Recently, the makers announced that the film will be unveiled at the San Diego Comic Con Festival, where the title, first teaser, and release date will be revealed. Along with that, the cast and makers will also be engaging in a panel discussion about the film and the comic con event.

Hrithik Roshan and Deepika Padukone to come together in Fighter

Deepika Padukone is shooting for her highly anticipated project, Fighter. The YRFs high-budget action project is directed by Siddharth Anand and marks Deepikas first collaboration with Hrithik Roshan. Anil Kapoor will also be seen in a prominent role in the film, which is expected to hit theatres in January next year.
New Delhi: Sara Ali Khan has been capturing hearts with her desi avatars and remarkable performances. Her recent hit, "Zara Hatke Zara Bachke," further solidifies her position as a versatile actress and the new-age 'Desi Girl'. While discussing the film, one cannot overlook the phenomenal success of the chart-topping track, "Tere Vaaste that has been a favourite on streaming apps and an instant reel-sensation. However, what many may not know is that Sara Ali Khan actually shot for this song immediately after returning from her first Cannes outing.

A source close to the production revealed, "Sara, within six hours of landing, was on the set, filming at a remote location in Mumbai. Both she and her co-star Vicky Kaushal worked closely with the choreographer on perfecting the hookstep! The results are for all to see!"





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From her debut as Mukku in "Kedarnath" to her portrayal of Soumya in "Zara Hatke Zara Bachke," Sara Ali Khan has consistently won hearts with her portrayals of small-town characters. Her ability to bring relatability and authenticity to her roles has captivated audiences nationwide.

In "Zara Hatke Zara Bachke," Sara's character Soumya was a delightful mix of joy and mischief, and Sara's portrayal infused the film with infectious energy and laughter, winning hearts across the nation.

Up next, the young actress will be seen in Homi Adajania's 'Murder Mubarak', 'Aye Watan Mere Watan' and Anurag Basu's 'Metro Inn Dino'.
Veteran actress Neetu Kapoor is a prominent figure in the film industry, whose performances are cherished by countless fans. With an extensive social media following, she regularly shares glimpses of her personal life to keep her fans informed and connected. Today (July 8), the actress is celebrating her 65th birthday, and she couldnt resist sharing her joy with a delightful picture from the celebrations with her family. The photo is adorable. Neetu Kapoor celebrated the special occasion with her children, Ranbir Kapoor and Riddhima Kapoor Sahani. Her son-in-law, Bharat Sahani, and granddaughter Samara, were also seen.

Neetu Kapoors Instagram post

Neetu Kapoor offered a sneak peek into her beautiful cherished day by sharing a snapshot. In the picture, she exuded style and elegance in a fashionable red pantsuit, while Ranbir was seen in a grey suit, complemented by a white t-shirt. Riddhima donned a chic black-and-white ensemble, and her daughter looked absolutely charming in a white dress. Bharat opted for a formal yet relaxed look, completing the ensemble for the private dinner. In the heartwarming photo, Ranbir is seen lovingly holding his sister close, and their radiant smiles capture the essence of the moment.



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Neetu Kapoor also mentioned that she missed her daughter-in-law, actress Alia Bhatt, and granddaughter, Raha.

Check:

Ranbir Kapoor surprises his mother

Earlier, Ranbir Kapoor was spotted at Mumbai Airport, making his way to London to surprise his mother, Neetu Kapoor, on her birthday. In order to maintain an element of surprise, Ranbir kindly requested the paparazzi to wait for a day before sharing any photos or videos, preserving the excitement of the occasion.

Alia Bhatts reaction

On seeing Neetu Kapoors post, Alia Bhatt expressed her affection with a heartfelt comment and heart emojis. Love youuuuuuuuuu, wrote Alia.

Fans react

Fans of Neetu Kapoor quickly flooded the comments section, showering her with their warmest birthday wishes.

One fan wrote, Wishing you a very happy and blessed birthday! @neetu54.

Another added, Happy birthday may you always stay as chirpy as you are now.

A third fan commented, Happy Birthday, Neetuji. Very elegant and poised. We need to see you more onscreen.

Another fan couldnt contain their admiration and exclaimed, Looking like a HEART!!!!

The overwhelming reaction from fans proves Neetu Kapoors enduring popularity and the genuine affection her fans hold for her. Her charm, talent, and remarkable presence continue to make a great impact on both the silver screen and the hearts of her followers.
The upcoming Vande Bharat Express trains will get a new Orange-Dark Grey paint scheme as against the current generation of semi-high speed trains with white-blue livery. The photographs of the Vande Bharat Express donning the new colour scheme have been shared by the Railway Ministers of India, Ashwini Vaishnaw on his Twitter account. Various media reports claim that the decision has been taken by the Indian Railways as the traditional white and blue livery of the Vande Bharat Express trains, which has been the colour of the trains since 2018 is difficult to maintain.

However, neither Indian Railways nor Ashwini Vaishnaw has confirmed this reason for the new paint scheme. What we know so far is that this will be the 28th rake of the Vande Bharat in India. The semi high speed train already runs on 25 routes across India, while 26th and 27th rakes are ready, wearing the usual colour scheme. Also, the Railway Minister said that this Saffron colour is inspired by the 'Tricolour'. Which means, this trainset is readied to be inaugurated on August 15, for the Independence Day.

Inspected Vande Bharat train production at ICF, Chennai. pic.twitter.com/9RXmL5q9zR  Ashwini Vaishnaw (@AshwiniVaishnaw) July 8, 2023

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Moreover, as seen in the video, the colour scheme has a larger spread on the train, giving it a more prominent appeal as compared to the current Vande Bharat Express trains, where a blue strip runs at the side of the train. While more details on the new trains are awaited, the Railway Minister shared the pics of the trainset from the ICF, Chennai, as the train looks ready for dispatch.

The pics and videos from the ICF Chennai shows the original Vande Bharat Express is standing parallel to the new Vande Bharat Express train. Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched two Vande Bharat Express trains from the Gorakhpur Railway Station, during his Uttar Pradesh visit. While one train runs on the Gorakhpur-Lucknow route, the other runs on Jodhpur-Sabarmati (Ahmedabad) route.

The inauguration of these two routes takes the total tally of Vande Bharat Express trains in India to 25 routes, with 50 up and down trains operational. Recently, in a first for the Indian Railways, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched five Vande Bharat Express trains from the Rani Kamplapati Railway Station in Bhopal, during his Madhya Pradesh visit.

These semi-high-speed trains cover 24 states and Union Territories across India. Among these, Delhi and Mumbai have the maximum number of services provided by the indigenously developed advanced trains. On the other hand, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Gujarat, all three states got their second Vande Bharat train.
New Delhi: Tamannaah Bhatia has recently been riding on the success of her back-to-back Hindi releases, 'Jee Karda' on Amazon Prime and 'Lust Stories 2' on Netflix. Now, the actress has once again become the talk of the town as her dance number from the Tamil film Jailer, titled Kaavaalaa, was finally released on July 6th amid much anticipation. In the meantime, Tamannaah dropped a reel of herself performing on the song and the fans are going gaga over her.

Tamannaah took to her Instagram handle and dropped a clip in which she could be seen showcasing her sexy moves on 'Kaavaalaa.' The actress was also accompanied by two other dancers that truly added more punch to her flawless performance. She wrote in the caption, 'If you arent already Hooked yet, heres the Hookstep of #Kaavaalaa."

Fans are impressed with the actress' flawlessness and are praising her dance moves. One wrote, 'This is much better than the original!' Another one commented, 'Her moves are fire' and many have flooded the comment section with heart-eye and fire emojis.

In the music video, Tamannaah is seen flaunting her sizzling avatar as she grooves to the raunchy number. What further surprises all in the song is the special appearance of Rajinikanth. 'Kaavaalaa' is sung by Shilpa Rao and Anirudh Ravichander, penned by Arunraja Kamaraj.

In 'Jailer,' Tamannaah will be seen sharing screen space with the legendary Rajinikanth in the much-awaited film.

Tamannaah Bhatia is truly on a roll, basking in the success of her recently released projects. And she continues to garner immense love from audiences with the release of Kaavaalaa. But that's not all for the actress this year! Besides Jailer, she has 'Bandra' in Malayalam and 'Bhola Shankar' in Telugu, 'Aranamanai 4' in Tamil in the pipeline.

'Jailer' will hit theatres on August 10.
New Delhi: 'Bigg Boss OTT 2' ex-contestant Akanksha Puri, on Friday, spoke about her "controversial" kiss with Jad Hadid during an episode.

Talking exclusively to ANI, Akanksha said, "If it was so wrong then why they telecasted it? Because there was an incident of Jad in which he took his pants down, it was nowhere in the telecast and whatever was there was blurred, that thing was not shown. So when that thing started going wrong, they removed it, it was not visible to the public, so if it was also so wrong, they would have removed it too or they would've given instructions to me to stop the task. So I did not understand these things at all, I gave my 100% to the task and would have given it even further."

In order to win a challenge, Akanksha and Jad exchanged a passionate kiss. While their team eventually won the assignment, host Salman Khan was enraged by the duo's behaviour on the Weekend Ka Vaar episode.



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Salman was seen venting his anger at the contestants, saying, "Aap sabko aisa lagta hai ki ye week ka highlight tha. Parvarish, parivaar, morality, kya woh task apne sabhyata ko leke tha (You all feel that this was the highlight of the week. Upbringing, Family, Morality -- was the task in keeping with our civilisation?). You need not apologise to me for whatever you did. I don't care. I'm out of here. I'm leaving this show"

Akanksha was later evicted from the show. Salman said that India is a very forgiving country but what Jad and Akanksha did was not easy to forgive. He also warned them, saying the show was not meant for such stunts and that if they have to indulge in such activities, they should find another show.

'Bigg Boss OTT 2' streams on JioCinema.
Free on a personal recognizance bond pending a September trial on federal bribery charges, Culpeper County Sheriff Scott Jenkins greeted visitors July 4 at the Freedom Car & Bike Show downtown.

Business as usual, (Im) still sheriff, still running the office day to day and still running for reelection, no change in that, he told the Star-Exponent.

Jenkins said he was doing OK since being indicted last week in federal court on a charge of conspiracy, four counts of honest-services mail and wire fraud and eight counts of federal programs bribery in an alleged badges for bribes scheme.

Federal prosecutors with the Western District of Virginia in Charlottesville claim Jenkins accepted cash bribes over several years, totaling at least $72,500, in exchange for handing out auxiliary deputy badges and credentials to three Northern Virginia businessman and at least five others, including a pair of FBI agents.

Wearing sunglasses and in plain clothes, Jenkins stood Tuesday with his brother, Michael, a CCSO employee, in the parking lot next to Culpeper Food Closet, beside two Sheriffs Office car show entries.

Jenkins said the vehicles represented from the present to the past  a 1964 Ford Galaxie marked on the side with a badge and Sheriff Mayberry and a modern Sheriffs Office Chevy SUV with a vintage blue light on top.

The sheriff said he could not talk about the federal case.

In time I will be able to talk. When I can, I will, Jenkins said.

When asked about the status of the auxiliary deputy program at the sheriffs office, he stated, Not supposed to talk about it, you can ask other staff. I hate to be evasive, but I am supposed to leave that stuff alone. I dont want to tread over any line. I have to obey the instructions Im given and I have to respect the process, because it is a process.

The Star-Exponent is still waiting to hear back from the Sheriffs Office and county staff about the status and scope of the program that, by county code, allowed Jenkins to establish, equip, maintain and develop operating procedures for an all-volunteer auxiliary deputy sheriff force.

According to an investigative report earlier this year from Ted Oberg and the NBC4 I-Team of Washington, 42 people had been sworn in by Jenkins as auxiliary deputies.

According to county code, they were given all powers and immunities of constables at common law and were covered while on duty by the countys general liability insurance. Auxiliary deputies were not authorized to carry concealed weapons except for limited times and purposes as specified by the sheriff.

However, the federal indictment claims Jenkins told auxiliary deputies they had concealed carry rights in all 50 states, while not authorized to make such a claim. The county sheriff also allegedly helped a convicted felon get his gun rights back, pressured court officials to approve it, then made him an auxiliary deputy, gave him a gun and accepted cash in return, according to the federal indictment.

Considering the weight of the allegations, some in the Culpeper community are calling for Jenkins to step down prior to the November election in which he will seek a fourth term in office.

No, said Jenkins on July 4. No, business as usual. I am one person, I understand I am the leader, but the staff we have in place and the trust and community support we have gotten over the last dozen years is amazing. And its that staff showing up every day doing the same professional job theyve always done that the people want, thats what matters, he continued.

I am a small part in that because I am only one person, but I give direction and answer questions and so forth, but the day-to-day job is done by the 100 or so people I am honored to work with every day and nothings going to change for them.

They are still working, doing the same great service they have for a dozen years and I think the community sees that, and Ive gotten an overwhelming response of support in just a matter of a short period of time, Jenkins continued.

The sheriff said he would be vindicated in the case. I wish I could say more, but there will be a time when I can talk.

The three-term sheriff, first elected in 2011, expressed confidence when asked if he thought he would be reelected.

I dont see any reason that the people will change their feeling about this office. The office is bigger than one person and the huge part people have learned through the years is that changing that one person creates an enormous amount of change in that office from the top down.

Obviously, the command staff and the leadership changes with each sheriff, thats the way its designed to work, but I dont think the community wants to see a change in that, theyre happy with the service theyve gotten from the deputies, they do an amazing job and I am so honored to work with them.

Jenkins has yet to be arraigned in the federal case. His attorney, Mark Schamel, of Venable LLP in Washington, declined to issue a statement.
For more than half a century, Virginia  we have been told  is for lovers. Indeed, it is, lovers of its foam-flecked Atlantic and Chesapeake shores, lovers of its gently rolling Piedmont stretching to the Blue Ridge; lovers of its majestic mountains, the oldest in the world, rising along its western boundary lands; and lovers of its history.

For here, across this timeless and varied landscape, much of the story not just of Virginia, but of America unfolded, told by those who penned some of its most important foundational documents, fought on by those who died to defend and define their meaning, and upheld by all who risked their own liberty to extend those same blessings to their neighbors, as well as posterity.

The very vagueness of Virginias slogan is both its strength and genius, allowing each individual to read into it his or her own meaning. Much like those who originally settled here, it is a question of choice.

The story of Virginia is at its heart one of choice, the choice taken by a small band of English settlers to cross a vast ocean; the choice to build a new life on the edge of a vast wilderness; and the choice to experiment with self-government, an experiment that is as real today as it was more than four centuries ago when the first election was held for the colonial legislature  the House of Burgesses  in 1619. Virginians have been choosing ever since. In so doing, their story is a microcosm of the story of America.

It was that choice to choose how we govern ourselves that inspired some of Virginias first colonial residents to write the documents that defined not only their own struggle for liberty, but for the nation as a whole: the Declaration of Independence (1776), the Virginia Bill of Rights (1776), the Virginia Statue of Religious Freedom (1786); and the Virginia Compromise Plan (1787) at the Constitutional Convention. Take away those ideas and not only would our freedom of choice be circumscribed, but the promise of America would be something less than it is today.

Virginia preserves the homes and scenes where many of these ideals were first formed and where their authors gained their inspiration from the surrounding landscape, places like the Capitol in Williamsburg and St. Johns Church in Richmond, Monticello and the lofty Blue Ridge beyond. Here, too, will be found the many sanguinary fields where those same freedoms were defended and dearly purchased: Great Bridge and Yorktown, Manassas and Appomattox.

True, not all the ideals so eloquently declared by our Founders were extended equally to all Virginias sons and daughters. It took other battles, some in the courtroom, and other protests to realize the rights and freedoms of those initially deemed unworthy for inclusion in the three words: We the People. The struggles  fought to fulfill those words  are now our common heritage: Nat Turners Rebellion in Southampton County, the Moton School in Farmville, the suffragettes of Occoquan Workhouse in Lorton, and Loving v. Virginia in Caroline County.

These struggles may belong to other ages, but the legacy lives on with us today. Never must we allow these sacred places with their symbolic meaning stretching across time and space to become the dusty relics of the distant past, to lose their power to inspire and teach, to motivate us to achieve Americas promise for all its citizens. To do so is to lose the story not only of Virginia, but of America. It is that story, that hope, that promise that still draws immigrants to these shores seeking freedom and opportunity more than four centuries after the first English settlers stepped ashore.

This choice that we all have, this freedom to choose, it is what we should love most about our dear commonwealth, our home, our Virginia.
The Fremont City Council has a very light agenda scheduled for the July 11 meeting, with several streets-related items up for debate, discussion and possible action.

One item is the second reading of proposed changes to the citys truck routes ordinance, which would add Dodge Street as a new big-rig, semi-truck route.

The move is an effort to alleviate big trucks cutting through side residential streets from First Street. The first reading of the changes to the ordinance was approved on June 27. The changes would also include a truck route on Union Street from the south at Dodge Street north to First Street.

A second streets item on the docket for July 11 is a resolution authorizing the citys Public Works Department to begin the process of constructing a new pedestrian crossing at the T-intersection of Sunridge Drive and Jack Sutton Drive.

The pedestrian crosswalk will include a flashing light for traffic to be alerted when pedestrians walk across the busy street, which leads to the Johnson Crossing Academic Center school to the east.

On June 27, the City Council instructed Public Works Director Justin Zetterman to also pursue plans to construct a sidewalk on the north side of Jack Sutton Drive from South Johnson Road to Luther Road, an area which currently only has about 100-150 yard of sidewalk near the new Sun Ridge community being developed.

Council members  during discussion of the proposed crosswalk  thought that having sidewalks on both sides of Jack Sutton Drive would enhance safety for the students who use the street for walking to school from assorted local neighborhoods.

Another item regarding truck routes for big-rigs and semi-trucks is also on the agenda for the July 11 meeting, instructing city staff to begin to explore amending the citys truck routes ordinance to remove heavy truck and semi-truck traffic from Broad Street between Military Avenue and 23rd Street.

The City of Fremont took over jurisdictional control of what was the former U.S. Highway 77 business route through the city  also known as Broad Street  earlier in 2023 from the State of Nebraska. The move was timed with the opening of the U.S. Highway 77 Southeast Beltway, which is intended to divert traffic south of the city to U.S. Highway 275, then north where trucks can either continue west on U.S. Highway 30 or back to the north on U.S. Highway 77/U.S. Highway 275 toward Hooper.

City staff recommended that the truck route not be altered until the spring months of 2024 due to the numerous traffic construction projects around the city that are currently causing disruptions to normal routes, notably the Bell Street viaduct/bridge closure that is expected to continue until at least November.

The Fremont City Council meets on the second floor of the citys Municipal Building, 400 E. Military Ave., inside the Council Chambers room. Meetings begin at 7 p.m. and are open to the public.
The Aksarben Foundation has awarded a $900k grant to the Metropolitan Community College Foundation to fund tech focused scholarships for Metropolitan Community College students. This scholarship aims to advance those with tech degrees by providing direct employer engagement through the Nebraska Tech Collaborative and InternNE - Powered by Aksarben.

The grant, an amendment to a previously awarded grant, will be used for several initiatives over the course of three years, beginning in Fall 2023 and ending in Summer 2026.

The grant will fund the following initiatives:

 MetroMavs NE Tech Tuition and IT Careers Collaborative: Approximately $300,000 will be used to cover the tuition and facility fees for 75 students over three years. The program will also provide eight courses of books.

 Career Promise Scholarship: Approximately $120,000 will be used to fund $500 scholarships for 60 students over three years.

 IT Pathways Collaborative: Approximately $300,000 will be used to fund $500 scholarships for 150 students over three years.

 MCC Code School Collaborative: Approximately $180,000 will be used to provide $15,000 in funding for 12 students over three years.

To be eligible for the Aksarben Career Promise Scholarship, students must meet several criteria, including being a high school graduate, earning a cumulative GPA of 2.5 or higher in all MCC coursework, successfully completing a career academy and enrolling in a related program of study to the career academies and, if they are interested in pursuing a four-year degree, will have opportunities to transfer to UNOs College of Information Science & Technology (IS&T) to complete additional training.
A Lutheran High School Feasibility Gathering will take place from 6-7 p.m. Wednesday, July 12, at the Trinity Lutheran School Gym, 1546 N. Luther Rd., in Fremont.

Trinity Lutheran invites everyone to collaborate as it looks forward to the possibility of starting a Lutheran high school in the Fremont area.

This gathering will be an opportunity to hear what work has been done, is being done, and still needs to be done.
The weather was beautiful as Tom and Angela Janecek drove through the Iowa countryside in their red, 1966 Impala.

It was Easter Sunday and the Saunders County deputy and his wife were heading to Beebee Town, Iowa, for dinner. Classic tunes played on the car radio. Because the older car had no air conditioning, theyd rolled down all the windows.

Theyd reached Missouri Valley, Iowa, when another car veered into their lane.

Angela remembers the moments right before the crash.

We were coming around a bend and he said, Hang on, she recalled. (Tom) grabbed the steering wheel and jerked it as far to the right as he could to protect me, because the white car was in our lane and we were going to collide.

Multiple injuries and months later, they continue to recover from an accident that could have claimed their lives.

As a roads deputy for the sheriffs office in Wahoo, Tom has seen many collisions. He looks at the photograph of their mangled Impala after the crash.

Ive worked a lot of accidents, he said, And if you had shown me that picture, the first thing I would have thought was, How many people were killed?

Today, the Janeceks are recovering in the Omaha home, where he grew up. Tom worked for the Bloomfield Police Department and Knox County Sheriffs Office before coming to Saunders County, where hes served for 20 years.

He just retired from working with the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) program for years, but has continued as a roads deputy.

Angela is a licensed practical nurse and most recently has been working in mental health nursing. Her red Jeep bears information about mental health and suicide awareness. People who see the Jeep often stop and tell her their struggles and she provides resource materials.

Im very much a mental health advocate, she said.

The Janeceks, who knew each other when they attended Ralston High School, have been married for 30 years.

Weve overcome a lot of adversity in the past few years, she noted.

She had a cancer diagnosis. In November 2022, he had a significant back surgery and was set to return to the doctor on May 3, hoping to be released to return to work full time.

The April 9 accident altered that plan.

With her husbands protective action, Angela said he took most of the impact from the crash.

The Janeceks were pinned in the vehicle and Angela said the Jaws of Life tool was used to free them. Tom was flown by medical helicopter to Nebraska Medicine Hospital in Omaha. She was taken by ambulance to Missouri Valley Hospital and later flown to Bergan Mercy Hospital in Omaha.

Their daughters  Jessica Deselms of Ottawa, Kansas; Sarah Deselms of Omaha; and Amanda Janecek of Falls City  were running between the two hospitals and their parents home.

Angela had 11 rib fractures.

Ive had a lot of injuries in my life. That by far was the worst, she said.

In addition, she had a fractured hip, fractured left hand and some facial fractures.

Tom had a brain bleed and some damage to his left eye. Both of his feet were broken. His left ankle was dislocated and right ankle broken. He had compound fractures in the tibia and fibula of his right leg. His right wrist and left shoulder were broken. He had cuts under his chin.

The Janeceks were in intensive care. He has no memory of what happened shortly before the accident or his first week in the hospital.

When he awoke, Tom said he had no idea what had happened or what was going on. It wasnt until the Friday or Saturday after the accident that Tom realized why he was in the hospital.

Then I was wondering where my wife was and how she was, he said.

It was scary.

If Im this busted up, he thought, how is she doing?

The couples daughter, Sarah, told Tom that Angela was OK. Shed been transferred to Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital in Omaha.

Tom later was transferred there and they saw each other for the first time  three weeks after the accident.

We looked at each other and thought, Boy, were broken up, he said.

Yet there was gratitude.

I was so grateful to see him, because I had no idea what to expect, she said.

It was a poignant moment.

We gave each other a big  but tender  hug, he said.

Tom wasnt able to get out of bed, but Angela could scoot around in a wheelchair. Theyd eat dinner together at night.

Angela was at Madonna for about three weeks. Tom was there for about four weeks before being released to Life Care Center of Elkhorn for another two-and-a-half weeks of rehabilitation.

When I could start putting weight on my one foot, they released me to where I could come home, he said.

He was released June 16, the Friday before Fathers Day.

I was bound and determined I was going to be home by Fathers Day  if I had to escape to do it, he said with humor.

The Janeceks appreciate the support theyve received family, friends, the Saunders County Sheriffs Office and the community.

Its renewed our faith in humanity, she said. Its been very humbling.

Angela plans to return to work Aug. 1.

Physically, Im doing pretty darn good, she said.

Emotionally, Angela said she was scared to get behind the wheel of a vehicle for the first time after the accident.

Tom hasnt driven yet. He can transfer himself from a wheelchair to other chairs. On Wednesday, he could put weight on both of his feet and was expecting a physical therapist to work with him as he used a walker. He hopes to be done using a wheelchair next week.

He plans to return to work at the sheriffs office on light duty on Sept. 1.

My goal is to be back in my cruiser the first of the year, he said.

During their journey of healing, theyve talked about releasing their anger.

Harrison Court records in Iowa indicate the man who hit them, Steven Geerdes, 62, of Missouri Valley, Iowa, was charged May 15 with two counts of serious injury by a vehicle, a Class D felony. Citing an April 9 report, Sgt. Alex Dinkla, public information officer for the Iowa State Patrol, said impairment is being suspected and toxicology results are pending.

We have to let go of the anger, because it doesnt serve any purpose and it jades you I think, Angela said. Were angry at what he did, but him as a person  we cant hate him. Hate is a bad thing and itll tear you up, so we talk about it and then just kind of let it go.

Tom doesnt hate either, but notes the situation has been tough.

The Janeceks try to keep a sense of humor.

Flying in a helicopter was always on my bucket list, she said, recalling the quick trip to the hospital.

Tom is missing part of the middle finger of his left hand.

Now, if all else fails, I have a secondary career. I could be a shop teacher, he jokes.

The Janeceks reflect on their faith.

God works in mysterious ways and Ive come to realize that over the past few years., Tom said. And how were able to be here right now is a miracle.

Angela shows a tattoo on her left arm, perhaps a written reminder of the couples resilience and determination.

The tattoo reads: Our story isnt over.
A 17-year-old was killed and another teenager was injured early Monday in a one-vehicle crash near Springfield, Nebraska.

The crash occurred about 12:25 a.m. at 168th Street and Fairview Road, according to a spokesman for the Sarpy County Sheriff's Office. A 2004 Lexus ES330 was headed eastbound on Fairview Road when the driver tried to turn onto 168th Street and lost control of the vehicle, which then rolled, according to the Sheriff's Office.

James Sullivan, the driver, was pronounced dead at the scene.

A 17-year-old passenger was taken to an Omaha hospital in critical condition with injuries that were not considered life-threatening.

The Sheriff's Office said alcohol was not a factor in the crash.

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A 3-year-old girl who was rushed to the hospital Saturday after being found down in Zorinsky Lake has died, Omaha police said Thursday.

Omaha police and firefighters were called to the lake shortly after 9 p.m. to reports of a missing child. The call was upgraded to a child with CPR in progress before first responders arrived.

According to a police report from the incident, the girls family members was at a playground near the lake when they realized the girl had wandered off. They immediately began searching for her and called 911.

A family member located the girl lying on her side motionless in the lake. A citizen on scene pulled her out of the water and began CPR, according to the report.

Police were the first to arrive at the scene, and they took over life-saving measures until medics arrived. The girl was taken to Lakeside Hospital with CPR still in progress.

According to the police report, the girl regained a pulse at some point. She died at Childrens Hospital on Wednesday, police said.

Police have not released the girls identity.

CPR can double or triple a persons chance of survivalheres how it was developed Heres how CPR was developed Before the 19th century: Varying methods from flagellation to bellows precede modern CPR 1868: First accounts of sternal compression recorded 1933: William Kouwenhoven accidentally develops modern CPR technique while researching external defibrillation 1938: Vladimir Negovsky establishes first resuscitation laboratory in Moscow 1949: Red Cross invites CPR pioneers to evaluate techniques 1956: Mouth-to-mouth resuscitation deemed an effective method for life-saving techniques 1960: First CPR training mannequin is created 1974: Standards for CPR adopted by various medical organizations 2010s: Hands-only CPR gains popularity for bystander use 2021: Five states pass laws requiring 911 dispatchers be trained in instructing CPR over the phone
An Arizona man has been arrested in connection with the death of a Gretna teen whose body was found last month in the rubble of a bonfire pit near Phoenix.

The body of 18-year-old Parker League, who had graduated from Gretna High School in May, was found on June 12 in a bonfire pile at Bulldog Canyon in the Tonto National Forest. The remote area is about 40 miles northeast of Phoenix.

On Thursday, the Maricopa County Sheriffs Office announced that an arrest had been made. Anthonie Ruinard, 37, was taken into custody Wednesday on suspicion of first-degree murder, drug possession, drug manufacturing, weapon possession, credit card theft, credit card fraud and concealing a dead body.

According to the Sheriffs Office, detectives realized that Leagues debit card was being used at multiple locations after his body had been found. Video footage from those locations allegedly showed Ruinard using the card.

Additional video footage from June 11 allegedly showed Ruinard and League together at an Arco gas station in Chandler, Arizona. The two left the store together in a black Dodge Challenger.

Leagues body was found the next day. His family filed a missing persons report June 15 when he failed to return home as planned.

A search warrant was served on Ruinards home. According to the Sheriffs Office, detectives located forensic evidence in the trunk of the Dodge Challenger, and a rapid DNA test confirmed that the evidence was a match to League.

Ruinard is being held at the Maricopa County Jail, and his bail was set at $2 million. He will appear again in court Wednesday.

Photos: With a light of the torch, the 2023 Cornhusker State Games begin
The deadline for Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) forms for the 2023-2024 academic year recently closed on June 30. FAFSA is the form students and prospective students fill out to apply for grants, work-study, and low-interest loans from the U.S. Department of Education. Before the next FAFSA application cycle opens up on Oct. 1, there is a critical error that Congress must fix to ensure farm families can continue to receive fair consideration of their applications for aid.

In 2022, over 80,000 Nebraskans filed for federal financial assistance for higher education through the FAFSA form. Millions of American families, including tens of thousands in Nebraska, rely on federal financial aid to afford college. The once 108-questions-long form was overly complex. Efforts under both Presidents Donald Trump and Joe Biden have worked to simplify it.

During the most recent simplification effort last year, however, The FAFSA Simplification Act changed the way a familys assets, income and debt are calculated. As written, the rule unfairly assumes that small businesses and family farms can liquidate assets quickly to pay for college. This is despite the longstanding FAFSA process exclusion of non-liquid farm assets, such as farmland and equipment. These exclusions protected our farm families access to federal student aid. The repercussions of this new rule would be devastating for farm families and other similar family-owned small businesses across the country. The most the significant change to FAFSA included altering the federal needs analysis formula used to determine students financial aid eligibility. Without being fixed, this change could force small businesses and family agriculture operations to choose between sending their children to college and liquidating assets or dismantling their businesses.

Im a big believer in making government services as easy for taxpayers to access and navigate as possible. I commend the previous Congresses for working to simplify and streamline the FAFSA application. However, the negative impact last years changes will have on farm families must be addressed swiftly before applications open with these new mandates on Oct. 1.

Im often reminded in Washington how easy it is for government bureaucracy to fall out of touch with the very people it is supposed to serve. This FAFSA situation is yet another reminder of how critical it is to stay vigilant and ensure we are constantly sharing the reality facing agriculture families. Agriculture is the heart and soul of what we do in Nebraska, and Im honored to fight for our family farms, ranches, and other agriculture-based businesses in Washington.

It is our duty to make sure farm families arent punished for the essential job they do to feed and fuel our nation. There are 44,800 farms and ranches in Nebraska and small businesses represent 99.1% of all private enterprises in Nebraska. Thats why Im proud to be an original co-sponsor of Senator Joni Ernsts (R-IA) Family Farm and Small Business Exemption Act. The bipartisan bill would exempt family farms and small businesses from the new requirements in the FAFSA form. It is my hope Congress and the administration will work together quickly to protect these families access to federal aid.

Along with Senator Fischer and the rest of my colleagues in the Nebraska delegation, my team and I are here to serve you. Contact my team and I anytime by phone at 202-224-4224 or on my website at www.ricketts.senate.gov/contact. I am honored to serve our great state and will continue to work to protect the Good Life from Washington overreach.
Colorado Springs Chamber & Economic Development Corp. is in search of titans, not the thunderbolt-slinging kind, but those who want to move mountains when it comes to enhancing the local economy.

Foundation for Colorado Springs Future, the Chambers nonprofit fund designed to improve the regions economy and fortify its employee base, launched a six-month campaign Friday, Titans Capital Campaign, to raise money and involvement from individuals, companies, organizations and governments.

The campaign, led by Greg Cerbana, vice president of public relations and government Affairs of Weidner Apartment Homes, seeks to find 100 members to be a part of the Titans of Economic Development Advisory Council, which will strive to bring economic development projects to the region and attract and attain workers in Colorado Springs, in addition to a minimum investment of $10,000 every year for three years from council members.

The Titans campaign already has secured $1.6 million, Cerbana said, with the help of Cerbanas 16-person campaign cabinet, which includes Kevin ONeil, owner of The ONeil Group Co.; Mike Juran, CEO of Altia; and Ramon Alvarez, owner of Minuteman Press.

We recognize how important economic development is to a growing and thriving community, Cerbana said, later adding, I think that thats one of the reasons why people are excited to participate, to lend their voice, to lend their time, to lend their talent, and to be able to help us and certainly to lend their treasure, as we go forward through this capital campaign.

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The campaigns inception began after the Chamber & EDC hired Newmark, a global commercial real estate agency, to research the city and regions labor needs, industry strengths and how that compares with other areas, said Johnna Reeder Kleymeyer, Chamber president and CEO.

While so many great things are going on in Colorado Springs, they also had ideas of things that we needed to work on, Kleymeyer said. They said that ... we need to put our efforts on steroids ... to more than triple our efforts and be proactive in economic development, both to help existing companies expand and to bring new companies to this region.

The campaign is a piece of that, Kleymeyer said. And it follows the past 18 months, when the Chamber closed 13 economic development projects that added $1.6 billion in capital investment and 2,440 new jobs in the Colorado Springs area, such as Entegris Manufacturing Center of Excellence, the Chamber said.

We cant fund the kind of proactive professional efforts and involve our business community by doing it on a shoestring budget, Kleymeyer said. Its important that we show the commitment to economic development, that we show the commitment to our businesses, and frankly, to the employees to create good paying jobs.

Community members, businesses or organizations interested in joining the campaign can visit the chambers website at coloradospringschamberedc.com/cosfuture/.
Two Colorado Springs educators are in the running for a prestigious charter school honor.

Sara Martin, director of wellness at Atlas Preparatory Schools, and Nikki Myers, school director at Academy for Advanced and Creative Learning, are finalists in the 2023 Charter School Hall of Fame awards. The Colorado League of Charter Schools will announce winners at the Colorado Charter Schools annual conference on Feb. 27 at the Westin Westminster.

The League is a nonprofit, membership-based organization for Colorados 269 charter schools and their more than 137,000 students.

The hall of fame represents the best of those 269 charter schools and all their teachers, all the advocates, all the school leaders, said Pete Mason, the Leagues vice president of communications.

When Martin received an email announcing the news, she initially thought it was spam, she said. She only transitioned into her new role as director of wellness in July after three years as a full-time counselor at Atlas. The grant-funded position was one of six added to a staff of seven mental health professionals already supporting the K-12 school.

Martin is nominated under the Most Valuable Charter Contributor category. The award recognizes a staff member who has made a significant contribution to their school and demonstrates exceptional leadership in and commitment to charter school operational excellence, according to the Leagues website.

It was totally unexpected, Martin said. I was a little anxious stepping into the role, but I work with such an incredible team that it actually has been a pretty seamless transition.

Martin occupies her days by offering one-on-one support for her mental health team, retaining a small caseload of counseling students, managing grants and establishing community partnerships.

This school year, Martin established partnerships with Latino empowerment nonprofit Voces Unidas and with the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs school of social work, which added four interns to Atlas robust counseling and social work departments. Working with and mentoring young professionals has been a highlight of her time as director of wellness thus far, she said.

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Especially post-COVID, in the wellness and mental health world, the acuity of trauma that weve seen and the acuity of grief and loss has just been so much higher than Ive ever experienced, Martin said.Being able to work with the university and have interns connect with our team as well, theres just always collaboration and the desire to know what the best interventions are and really get to know our students.

Myers, who oversees AcademyACL, a K-8 school for gifted learners, said she knew she wanted to be a teacher ever since the second grade. She reaffirmed her passion at every career day until she was a senior in high school, she said.

After 25 years in education, shes nominated under the Charter School Leader of the Year category. The award recognizes an individual who has made a significant contribution to a communitys education system over a period of time by developing or maintaining a charter school, improving school accountability and performance, or driving other aspects of school excellence, according to the Leagues website.

Myers founded AcademyACL in 2010 with a team of other parents and educators after their childrens school closed abruptly, leaving a hole in local education for this group of learners with unique educational needs.

Im so fascinated with the art and the science of teaching, Myers said. Watching kids learn new things, and watching teachers come together and figure out new things to serve kids is just a fascinating process.

Facing a teacher shortage, Myers has juggled two full-time jobs this school year: in addition to her typical principal duties, she has also instructed students in the classroom every day since August, she said.

As the League, were all just so proud of all the winners, finalists and the nominees and very supportive of all the hard work that goes into making sure we put students first, Mason said.

Nominations are submitted by teachers and school leaders who know their coworkers professional contributions best. A committee then reviews each nomination before selecting finalists and winners.

I feel really grateful to be in a school that values mental health and values supporting students from a holistic perspective, Martin said. Regardless of what happens with the award, I feel really grateful.
PHOENIX  Sixteen months ahead of a major election in one of the nation's premier battleground states, experts on both sides of the aisle agree on one thing: They have no idea how Arizona's Senate race in 2024 is going to play out.

The race could feature incumbent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ), who left her party to become an independent last year, Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), the progressive likely Democratic nominee who announced his run in January, and Kari Lake, a polarizing conservative who lost her election for governor last year. This all could ultimately result in a three-way race in a state that is 34% Republican, 34% independent, and 30% Democratic, according to Arizona's data.

INSIDE THE PENTAGON OFFICE LEADING UFO INVESTIGATIONS

Over the last couple of months, the race has been at a standstill. Sinema has not yet said if she is running for a second term. The only Republican in the race, Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb announced his candidacy in April but is widely considered an underdog if he were to be in a Republican primary against Lake, who also has not made her intentions to run official. Gallego appears to be the only candidate actively campaigning, holding multiple monthly town halls across the state.

"Not much has really happened, and that's because Lake has essentially frozen the field. We thought she was going to announce two-three weeks ago," said Mike Noble, chief researcher at the independent Phoenix-based polling group Noble Predictive Insights.

Lake is currently on a nationwide book tour after releasing her memoir, Unafraid: Just Getting Started, on June 27. Insiders expect an announcement could come in the fall. The delay has left other potential Republican candidates in limbo as they wait to see what she decides. Former solar executive Jim Lamon, who lost in the GOP primary for Senate last year, has expressed interest in running if no viable challenger to Lake emerges. Blake Masters, the Republican candidate who lost to Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) last year, has also considered a run, but those close to him say he does not want to compete against Lake in a primary.

Lake was among one of the most vocal of last year's Republican candidates who promoted former President Donald Trump's claims to have won the 2020 election. After narrowly losing her bid for governor to Democrat Katie Hobbs, Lake continues to challenge the outcome in state court, claiming widespread irregularities. The Arizona Supreme Court has refused to hear most of Lake's claims but sent one part of her challenge to court.

If Lake should decide to run, she's signaling her messaging for a Senate campaign would be similar to her gubernatorial one.

"Yeah, it would be just like the general election. Rooting out election fraud is important to her," said a senior adviser to Lake, who requested anonymity to speak candidly. "There were plenty of other focuses in the governor's race. It's just the journalists always ask about election stuff because that's the salacious stuff they like to talk about."

Over the last few months, Lake has been meeting with donors. She's made multiple trips to Washington, D.C., and has met twice with the National Republican Senate Committee. While many expect Lake to be the favorite for the nomination if she decides to run, her narrow loss in 2022 leaves some uncertainty about electability.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) recently indicated Republicans are still assessing the Arizona Senate race and voiced some hesitation about whether the GOP wants to invest resources. In an interview with CNN in May, he emphasized that Republicans will likely wait to see what happens in the primary before they decide to engage. Insiders say the NRSC recognizes Lake could be difficult to beat in a primary and don't want to get involved in one so late in the cycle.

Advisers for Lake said no one from the party's more establishment wing has attempted to discourage her from running for Senate.

"No one, actually, and I think that's a little surprising," the Lake adviser said. "I think the party is pretty unified behind Kari. She appeals to the establishment wing, the more MAGA wing."

However, some experts think otherwise. In a three-way race, Noble believes Sinema could have a path to reelection depending on who becomes the Republican nominee.

"Sinema has no path if there's a moderate Republican, but she definitely has a chance if it's one of the hard-right ones like Lake," Noble said. "It's still a tough path, but she still has one, but with a moderate challenger, the numbers just aren't there."

Polling from Noble Predictive Insights released in February found that in a three-way race between Lake, Gallego, and Sinema, Gallego leads by 8 points. Gallego received 34% support, whereas 26% and 19% of respondents backed Lake and Sinema, respectively. A separate 21% said they were undecided or didn't know. Noble said these results aren't necessarily surprising, considering Gallego and Lake are more associated with their parties' ideological flanks than centrists who have been successful statewide in Arizona.

"Democrats are united, Republicans are less united, and independents who have historically been leaning right have now been leaning left in the state, and that's why you're seeing that number," Noble explained. "In that three-way, Democrats are like, yeah, Ruben, you're not getting a lot of leakage. Basically Republicans, less consolidated, getting a little more leakage and of course those independents, leaning more left - that's why Gallego is ahead in those matchups."

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Since Sinema's victory in 2018, Arizona has transformed from a solid red state to one of the country's most competitive battlegrounds. In 2020, President Joe Biden's victory in the state over Trump helped him secure the White House. In December 2020, Arizona had two Democratic senators for the first time since 1952 after Kelly was sworn in. In 2022, Lake and three other Republicans running for major statewide offices lost. It was the first time Democrats held all major statewide positions since 1950.

Daniel Scarpinato, a Republican strategist who previously served as former Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey's chief of staff, said Republicans in the state have a lot of work to do if they want to take back some of these state-wide offices.

"I think it used to be you win your primary and you win the general. I think that in many ways Republicans haven't come to grips with the fact that that's no longer true," Scarpinato said. "Part of it is the messaging, but a lot of it is just general infrastructure. Democrats have been building campaign infrastructure, and I think particularly in 2022, they just ran circles around us."

While Democrats have seen success in Arizona in recent years, the environment is far from solidly blue.

"We have not elected a Kari Lake. We have not elected a Blake Masters. We have elected rather a Joe Biden, than a Donald Trump in the last presidential election. Because of that, it's hard to define where Arizona stands politically," said Cesar Chavez, a former Democratic state lawmaker.

Chavez said while there's uncertainty about the race across the board, he believes Sinema's decision to leave the Democratic Party is only to her benefit in a state like Arizona: "Having a pragmatist or moderate like Kyrsten Sinema in a race versus a Republican and a Democrat provides options."

While Arizona's senior senator has branded herself as an "independent voice" for the state, she could face some challenges in attracting support from Democrats and independents if she decides to run for reelection.

Gallego continues to be critical of the senator, claiming she's beholden to lobbyists and business interests. At a town hall meeting in Peoria where Gallego was the keynote speaker last week, both registered Democrats and Independents voiced their concerns with Sinema in her first term.

"I worked to get Sinema elected, went door to door in the Arizona heat. I think she's misrepresented herself. She's inaccessible and said she supported things and then did not," said Macy Evans, a registered independent who lives in Sun City West.

While some have voiced uncertainty about a progressive firebrand winning statewide in Arizona, Roy Herrera, a prominent Arizona election attorney, believes Gallego could be the candidate to thread the needle.

"Authenticity, I think, is what appeals to voters, and he's got it," Herrera said. "I think he's going to be more open to answering questions, engaging with voters.

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Experts on both sides of the aisle still maintain it's difficult to analyze such an unpredictable race with the potential incumbent running as a third-party candidate.

"Based on my experience in Arizona politics, it's going to be an absolute dogfight," said Joe LaBombard, a former Sinema aide. "It's just one of those few states where every single statewide election in recent memory that's at all competitive is decided by the huge number of voters in the state who reject both parties."

Original Location: Arizona braces for most unpredictable Senate race: An absolute dogfight

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The FBI is reportedly investigating President Joe Biden's special envoy for Iran over allegations that he mishandled classified information, according to a report from Semafor on Friday evening.

Rob Malley, a long-standing Middle East diplomat and analyst, was placed on unpaid leave with a suspension of his security clearance pending an evaluation at the end of June, with State Department diplomatic security officials leading the probe into Malley's handling of classified documents.

INSIDE THE PENTAGON OFFICE LEADING UFO INVESTIGATIONS

"Rob Malley is on leave and Abram Paley is serving as acting Special Envoy for Iran and leading the Department's work in this area," State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement to reporters on June 29.

While further details of Malley's suspension remain unclear, a top U.S. official, without having direct knowledge of the matter, told Semafor that a representative who holds a status like Malley would not have their security clearance suspended by a government agency unless a law enforcement agency is conducting an open investigation.

Malley was a senior official in the Obama administration, playing a key role in negotiating the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, which limited Iran's nuclear powers in exchange for sanctions relief.

Former President Donald Trump terminated the United States's participation in the Iran deal in 2018, calling it a "horrible, one-sided deal."

Biden sought to revive the 2015 agreement, campaigning on the pledge during his bid for office in 2020, but the U.S. has yet to reenter. Recently, a group of senators wrote to Biden, urging him to "take meaningful steps to curb Iran's destabilizing activities."

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"Congress stands united behind the long held bipartisan position that Iran must never be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon," the letter reads.

U.S. and Iranian officials reportedly had indirect talks in Oman in May, according to Axios, with Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani confirming the talks and a source saying a chief nuclear negotiator, Ali Bagheri Kani, was involved.

Original Location: Biden Iran envoy under FBI investigation for mishandling classified documents: Report

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A Republican challenger to indicted Rep. George Santos (R-NY) raised more than $200,000 from more than 500 donors in the second quarter of the year, his first quarter as a candidate, the campaign announced.

Kellen Curry, an Afghanistan Veteran and a former vice president at J.P. Morgan, announced he was challenging Santos in April, and since then, his campaign, combined with a Leadership PAC supporting him, has raised more than $200,000.

CRUEL SUMMER: BIDEN FACES BRUISING FEW WEEKS OF SETBACKS AND SCANDAL

"We knew we had to demonstrate strength right out of the gate," Curry said in a statement. "I am proud of our small but mighty team for all the work we put in and I am humbled by the hundreds of people that made a downpayment on our ultimate goal of winning this race so we can get back to doing the business of the people."

As of April 1, Santos only has $25,096 on hand, according to Federal Election Commission records.

Santos was charged with 13 federal charges: seven counts of wire fraud, three counts of money laundering, one count of theft of public funds, and two counts of making materially false statements to the House of Representatives. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), has said he would not call on Santos to resign from Congress unless he was found guilty. But, the speaker did say he would not support Santos for reelection and that the embattled congressman "shouldn't run." Santos said McCarthy's comments don't change his plans.

In addition, House Democrats tried to force a vote on a resolution to expel Santos from the House, that resolution was tabled, and the House referred the resolution to the House Ethics Committee.

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In a rare statement, the chairman and ranking member of the Ethics Committee released an update on its inquiry into Santos on June 2. The committee said it had issued more than 30 subpoenas and more than 40 voluntary requests for information.

"The Committee is aware of the risks associated with dual investigations and is in communication with the Department of Justice to mitigate the potential risks while still meeting the Committee's obligations to safeguard the integrity of the House," the chairman and ranking member said.

Original Location: George Santos challenger Kellen Curry announces $200k fundraising quarter

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Longtime Rep. Grace Napolitano (D-CA) announced her plans to retire at the end of this Congress after 25 years in office.

In a statement on Saturday, Napolitano  who was first elected in 1998  said she is "incredibly grateful" for her constituents who elected her cycle after cycle.

INSIDE THE PENTAGON OFFICE LEADING UFO INVESTIGATIONS

"Thank you all so much for being here and this great honor," she said in the statement. "My focus has always been representing my district, first; state, second; and nation, third. We still have a year and a half more of work to do, and I will give 110% every day fighting for the San Gabriel Valley in the United States Congress. Thank you, all! God bless!"

Napolitano's district changed four times during her tenure in Congress, but she always won reelection in the heavily liberal district.

"Congresswoman Grace Napolitano is a trailblazer and a tremendous leader in our Caucus," House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) said in a statement. "Congresswoman Napolitano has left a remarkable legacy on both the San Gabriel Valley and the Congress and we wish her and her family the best as she prepares for this next chapter."

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Three candidates have already filed with the Federal Election Commission to run for her seat: state Sen. Bob Archuleta (D-CA), Citrus Community College Trustee Mary Ann Lutz, and Baldwin Park Planning Commissioner Ricardo Vazques.

Napolitano endorsed Archuleta to replace her at the event where she announced her retirement, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Original Location: Longtime California Democrat Grace Napolitano announces retirement

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Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) will give up his efforts to appeal the parole of convicted murderer and Charles Manson follower Leslie Van Houten.

Newsom's last effort to prevent Van Houten's parole came in May, but was overruled by a California appeals court. It was his fourth appeal in Van Houten's case.

JAMIE RASKIN SAYS HE WON'T RUN FOR SENATE SEAT BEING LEFT OPEN BY BEN CARDIN

"The governor is disappointed by the Court of Appeal's decision to release Ms. Van Houten but will not pursue further action as efforts to further appeal are unlikely to succeed," Newsom's communications director Erin Mellon said in a statement.

Van Houten was convicted in 1971 of killing actress Sharon Tate, who was 8 months pregnant, coffee heiress Abigail Folger, celebrity hairdresser Jay Sebring, Polish movie director Voityck Frykowski, and Steven Parent, a friend of the Tate estate's caretaker. At the time, Van Houten was a cult follower of Manson, who was also convicted for the murders. Fellow followers Susan Atkins and Patricia Krenwinkel were also convicted, with all four being sentenced to death.

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In 1972, California did away with its death penalty, sparing Van Houten, Atkins, Krenwinkel, and Manson at once. Manson died in prison in 2017.

The parole board recommended Van Houten's release in September 2021.

Original Location: Newsom to stop further appeal of Manson follower Leslie Van Houten's parole

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Making Colorado Springs beautiful

Re: the July 4 article, City park rangers hitting trails in the fall to help them feel safe: As a resident of District 3 I, too, am concerned about the safety of the trails  and the safety of people without housing, who also have the right to use our trails. Homeless services providers tell us that it costs taxpayers $8,000 per person ticketed for littering or camping  the costs of officers, jail, court processing.

The new ranger program costs $446,000 for a start. Since ticketing is costly and a temporary fix for the fears of some neighbors, why not try a cost-effective and common-sense approach?

The city removed trashbins from our parks and trails in 2009  and they lie dormant on city utilities property. The park bathrooms were also closed that year  and none have re-opened.

Its time to use the resources we have to make trash disposal and bathroom facilities easily accessible. Bring back the trashbins! Open the bathrooms! Hire a few unemployed people to monitor and promote making Colorado Springs beautiful. Then we can use resources and creative minds to address the underlying problem, as Justin Trudeau says: We need to get people housed.

Mary Sprunger-Froese

Colorado Springs

Whats with the naming of the holiday?

Why is it that not even The Gazette can get it right when it comes to referring to celebrating our nations birthday? Most references in the July 5 paper were to the Fourth of July celebration. When my wife and I walked around the street fair in Monument, we were wished a Happy Fourth too many times to count. I thought we were celebrating Independence Day! I have never heard anyone say, Have a happy 25th of December or Happy 14th of February! Whats up with that? Asking for a friend.

Gary Brunette

Monument

Proposed annexation is flawed

I am writing to comment on the attempt to annex property called Monument Ridge East and West. The annexation uses a flagpole annexation a device to skirt the premise regarding annexing land contiguous to its city limits.

Like calling a tax a fee; everyone knows whats really happening.

The reason to follow the guidance to annex lands abutting city limits is to allow for sensible city growth.

Does anyone believe that annexing Interstate 25 makes for sensible development? Is Monument going to run utilities up the highway median?

Remember the Three Mile Plan Look at the edges for annexation.

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I question the properties ability to meet the items listed in 18.03.130 Rezoning Criteria. The proposed development does not have the characteristics of existing adjacent properties; is not compatible with existing road safety; adjacent property is not changing to any degree; the proposal does not demonstrate fulfilling a community need. Adequate services are not readily available.

It makes no sense to me to pump sewage over Monument Hill from an economics standpoint. For Monument to seek to annex inaccessible land is incomprehensible.

Its obvious that the one and only winner is the developer that gets a guarantee that the city will adopt the property and provide utilities, security , and al other services to their remote property. Forget about the red herring bogeyman referring to what the county would allow to be built; they have no utilities. The people that say that have a vested interest in the town of Monument financing the development of the annexation.

One would hope that the local politicians are more responsive to issues of integrity that their election platform concentrated on.

Donn Hume

Monument

What is the purpose of this meme?

Rep. Brandi Bradley chose to post a meme depicting the American flag stating, This is my pride flag. In her post on Facebook she states, Our veterans and our military DESERVE a month of celebration, not naked grown men grooming our children. Also, accompanied is a link to IG video of Matthewdarkshow.

I take opposition to the post by a state representative for a day of celebration when the country should be coming together and not be further divided. I am a married father of 5, whom formally served in the naval branch of our military and I happen to be gay. Why cant I be proud of all aspects of my life without being labeled a groomer, let alone visualized by others as a naked grown man?

Am I not a welcomed member in her society? Am I not welcomed because of the branch I served in, the family I am raising, or the man that I love and have spent the last 22 years with and have married? I cant look at her pride flag without feeling hated. Should our government officials not be held to a higher standard of conduct and trying to build our community as opposed to dividing it? What is the goal of Republican Rep. Brandi Bradley? She states in addressing as comment, that she was elected to protect and fight for her religious beliefs and that being gay is sin.

Chad Cox

Castle Rock

Equal treatment is not discrimination

Many news articles reporting on the Lorie Smith Supreme Court case have mischaracterized Smiths stance, as did Nona Capaces letter of July 5, in which Capace writes that [Smith] will not design a wedding site for same-sex couples and then goes on to ask, rhetorically, if Smith would also refuse to design a site for unmarried couples living together.

These characterizations miss the point, though, which is that its the content of the requested websites that Smith objects to, not the people requesting them. If a gay couple wants a website celebrating same-sex marriage, Smith will refuse. If a straight couple wants a website celebrating same-sex marriage, Smith will refuse. Equal treatment is not quite the same thing as discrimination. Or, to use a different scenario, if she refused to create a website for a Black person and refused to create the same site for a White person, would that constitute racial discrimination?

Robert Herzfeld

Colorado Springs
Colorado Republicans want the state's delegates to next year's presidential nominating convention to pledge to support to particular candidates rather than attend as unpledged delegates, according to a proposal released Friday by state GOP Chairman Dave Williams.

Williams said the change is intended to keep Colorado from getting drowned out when the state holds its 2024 presidential primary on March 5, known as Super Tuesday, along with at least 14 other states.

We dont want to get lost in the mix of Super Tuesday, so our goal with these changes is for Colorado to have a greater say on who the eventual Republican nominee becomes," Williams told Colorado Politics in a text message. "We know presidential candidates want to bank as much delegate support as possible in preparation for a contested convention battle, so we want to leverage their motivation and reward any increased attention to our state.

The state party's current rules say delegates hoping to attend the Republican National Convention can pledge their support for a candidate but aren't required to.

"[T]hese merit-based incentives will help Republicans in Colorado have their voices heard," Williams said Friday in an email to party members describing the proposal.

Colorado is slated to send 37 delegates to next year's RNC, which is scheduled for next July in Milwaukee. Three delegate slots are automatic, belonging to the state chair, the national committeeman and national committeewoman. The remaining 34 positions will be elected at state and congressional district conventions, apportioned according to the candidates' share of the vote in the primary.

Under the proposed bylaws amendment, delegates will be bound to vote for the presidential candidate they pledged to support for two rounds of voting at the national convention. Presidential campaigns whose candidates clear 20% of the vote in the primary will also be allowed to nominate slates of delegates.

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The changes must be approved by the state GOP's central committee at its Aug. 5 meeting before taking effect, Williams said.

The central committee plans to elect a new state vice chair at the same meeting, following Priscilla Rahn's resignation last month. Rahn, who was elected to a second term in March, said she stepped down to devote her time to campaigning for a seat on the Douglas County Board of Commissioners.

The delegate proposal marks a rejection of the Colorado Republicans' approach ahead of the 2016 election, when the GOP's executive committee voted to eliminate the nonbinding presidential preference poll at precinct caucuses, which were replaced four years later by the state's presidential primary.

Without the traditional poll to give an indication which candidates state Republicans favored, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz swept the delegate selection process, winning every available pledged delegate to that summer's RNC. Donald Trump, who held a delegate lead heading into the convention and ultimately won the nomination, blasted Colorado's delegate process as "rigged."

Running for reelection and facing only nominal opposition, Trump dominated Colorado's 2020 primary and had unanimous support from the state's RNC delegation.

While next year's Republican primary field is crowded  in addition to Trump, declared candidates include Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie  Williams said that so far only the Trump and DeSantis campaigns appear to be active in the state.
The Colorado Supreme Court this week wrapped up its calendar of oral arguments and weekly releases of decisions until the fall, leaving behind a roster of major rulings and edicts affecting the administration of justice.

Chief Justice Brian D. Boatright said at a lawyers-and-judges conference in May that during the past year, the state's highest court has granted review of fewer cases through the traditional route of certiorari, or "cert," but has increased the percentage of cases it hears directly from the trial courts, bypassing the Court of Appeals.

At the same time, the Supreme Court has been quicker to process the appeals it hears, which Boatright attributed to better communication between justices about the issues prior to the drafting of an opinion.

"Collegiality is at an all time high. We like each other," he added.

Colorado Politics compiled a list of the most consequential things the Supreme Court did between September and June  and also, what it notably did not do.

Victims' rights law goes down

When lawmakers in 2021 enacted a law that would give adult survivors of childhood sex abuse a window to file lawsuits, even if the statute of limitations had long since expired, they knew there was a chance the Supreme Court would find it unconstitutional. Two years later, that was exactly what happened.

The June decision was a blow to victims, many of whom waited until far into adulthood to disclose their abuse and were time-barred from suing their abusers or the institutions that harbored them. The Supreme Court based its conclusion on the constitutional provision barring "retrospective" laws, meaning those that impose fresh liability for past conduct.

The Archdiocese of Denver, which was one of the entities that urged the Supreme Court to strike down the law, said afterward that it "strongly believes litigation is never the means to true healing. It is adversarial and ultimately does more harm than good."

Meanwhile, advocates for sex abuse survivors indicated victims can still turn to community-based programs for help, and suggested they may pursue other forms of accountability.

"I'm not just looking throughout the constitution. I'm looking to provide an avenue for our sexual abuse survivors who are just now ready for their time in court," said Rep. Dafna Michaelson Jenet, D-Commerce City, one of the sponsors of the now-void law.

Riverbed ownership remains ambiguous

The Supreme Court had the opportunity to kickstart a process, segment by segment, of determining who owns the beds of waterways criss-crossing Colorado  private parties? Or the state, on behalf of the public?

Instead, the justices rebuffed a challenge by an octogenarian fisherman to declare Colorado the owner of his favorite fishing spot along the Arkansas River.

Critics of the decision lamented a loss of public recreational access by leaving in place the private ownership of riverbeds. Academics pointed out Colorado is the only western state that has not begun to inventory which riverbeds were navigable at statehood and, therefore, public property.

Role of technology clarified for trial courts

The justices took the unusual step early this year of soliciting comments about the livestreaming of criminal cases and the ability to participate virtually in court proceedings of all types. The result was a pair of policies, known as chief justice directives, giving trial judges guidance on how to continue their use of technology now that the immediate public health concerns of the COVID-19 pandemic have largely dissipated.

However, some people viewed the documents as a starting point, rather than the final say. The legislature passed its own livestreaming mandate weeks after the directive was issued, requiring a more expansive approach to broadcasting criminal proceedings. Similarly, advocates for access to justice indicated they would like to see less discretion for trial judges to deny remote participation requests.

"Broad and consistent access to virtual hearings is vital to ensure and expand access to justice for Coloradans in poverty, particularly in rural Colorado and for parties with no access to transportation, no child care, or limited time off from work," said Matthew R. Baca, executive director of Colorado Legal Services. "We look forward to continuing to engage on this issue to ensure more expansive use of virtual hearings and fair application of this new rule.

A new profession

In March, the court enacted a framework to create a new profession: licensed legal paraprofessionals. Once the program is in full operation, non-lawyers will be allowed to handle certain aspects of domestic relations cases, an area that includes divorces, custody matters and civil protection orders.

"This is the future of modern practice of law," said Elisa Overall, executive director of the Colorado Access to Justice Commission.

The aim of the LLP initiative is to enable lower-cost legal representation for litigants, who often represent themselves in consequential civil matters. While Colorado was not the first state to create an LLP license, the profession remains a relative novelty in the U.S.

"We anticipate that the LLP program will be operational by mid-2024," wrote Justice Melissa Hart to the Supreme Court's civil rules committee in April.

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Financial bullet for counties dodged

Commercial property owners across the state began filing lawsuits after county assessors denied their requests to reexamine and lower their property tax bills for 2020. The owners' theory was that the COVID-19 pandemic and accompanying public health orders shuttered or severely limited the ability of businesses to operate, entitling them to a mid-year revaluation of their real estate.

Counties pushed back, arguing the property tax assessment schedule is fixed to give local governments predictability in their budgeting. Allowing property owners to demand a revaluation for something as minimal as a routine health department order shutting down a restaurant for a failed inspection could be problematic in practice, they said.

The Supreme Court agreed with the counties, avoiding the potential for a flood of revaluation requests for the 2020 tax year.

Tenant protection upheld

Colorado became the first state this year whose Supreme Court addressed an issue courts across the country have treated unevenly: When Congress enacted a major pandemic relief law in 2020, containing new guardrails against eviction, did it sunset the requirement that tenants in federally supported housing receive 30 days' notice before an eviction? Or is that requirement still in effect?

It remains in effect, the justices ruled in May, to the delight of tenant advocates.

"There is a significant power imbalance in our housing system that tilts heavily in favor of landlords at the expense of lower income renters," said Diane Yentel, president and CEO of the National Low Income Housing Coalition. "This decision by the Colorado Supreme Court solidifies an important tenant protection."

New requirement for first-degree murder

Colorado lawmakers abolished the death penalty in 2020, but the state constitution and multiple laws still make reference to "capital offenses." In particular, the constitution denies bail to those charged with capital crimes where there is sufficient evidence of guilt.

In June, the Supreme Court agreed that because capital punishment does not exist anymore, there are no "capital offenses" post-2020 and even those accused of first-degree murder are eligible for bail. Consequently, district attorneys' offices are now reviewing cases originally designated, incorrectly, as "no bond."

"That's had an immediate impact," said Denver District Attorney Beth McCann, whose office is attending multiple bond hearings for first-degree murder.

Right to counsel  to a point

While courts have recognized the right of criminal defendants to hire an attorney of their choice, if they can afford to, it was not clear in Colorado whether an indigent defendant with a court-appointed lawyer has a right to go to trial with that same attorney. By 6-1, the Supreme Court said no.

In a pair of cases, the court's majority agreed trial judges can force a last-minute substitution of public defenders by refusing to postpone a trial and requiring new attorneys to pinch hit, with as little as 72 hours' notice. The majority conceded, though, that defendants do have an "interest" in keeping the same attorney.

"This was a deeply regrettable decision and we hope it is not the end of the battle on that issue," said James Hardy, executive board co-chair of the Defenders Union of Colorado and a longtime appellate public defender, speaking for himself and not for the public defender's office.

Questioning alternate suspects

By 4-3, the Supreme Court gave criminal defendants who are wrongfully accused another tool to advance their innocence: the ability to question an alternate suspect in front of a jury when the person has some credible connection to the alleged crime.

In the case at hand, there was only one tangible piece of evidence linking the convicted defendant to a burglary scene, but substantial evidence suggesting the victim's niece was actually responsible. Even the victim believed so. But the jury never saw the alternate suspect take the stand.

Allowing jurors to watch an alternate suspect invoke their constitutional right against self-incrimination in response to questioning generates "a powerful implication for the jury," said defense attorney Meredith O'Harris. "This case will help keep our prosecutors honest and prevent wrongful convictions."

Racial bias in jury selection still pending

Meanwhile, the legal community is still waiting to see if the Supreme Court will enact stricter requirements governing when parties  particularly prosecutors  may dismiss people of color from jury pools in criminal trials. The court held a public hearing in February on a proposal to combat implicit racial bias in jury selection, but the rule change remains in limbo.

Prosecutors uniformly opposed making it harder to, for example, excuse a juror of color who expresses distrust in law enforcement. Defense attorneys and trial judges who testified noted the existing legal standard continues to enable the dismissal of jurors for reasons that, while not explicitly racial, still correlate with race.
Let me admit it right off the bat: Im a Swiftie.

Granted, I dont fit the normal profile. Im not a tween girl willing to wait in hourslong lines for Taylor Swift merch or tickets, I dont post constantly on my Tumblr account about the latest Taylor sighting, nor do I use a glitter gel pen on my cheeks or wear sequined Versace body suits much.

Im a baby boomer dad (with a 22-year-old daughter) who will probably never go to a Taylor Swift concert, cant really relate to her broken-heart lyrics much and who, I must confess, has never listened to one of her albums all the way through.

But Ive been reading a lot about Taylor Swift, the person, in anticipation of her two sold-out shows in Denver this weekend, and shes won me over, big-time.

Unless youre living in an Amish colony, you must know by now that the Taylor Swift Eras Tour is the pop culture happening of 2023. A sold-out, 131-concerts-on-five-continents, 45-songs-a-night musical extravaganza spanning the length of the 33-year-olds career is on the way to becoming the biggest music tour ever, and the first to earn over $1 billion. Fourteen years after being "canceled" by Kanye West, four years after she herself thought her career was over because of extensive hate campaigns on social media, Swift has her revenge. After surviving 18 years in the spotlight, she can now legitimately claim to be the biggest female pop star in American history.

I grew up during the height of the counterculture days of the '70s, when the pop music we embraced, from Mick Jagger to The Clash, had an anti-establishment vibe that irritated our parents to no end. Our music was raunchy and irreverent, and that was its appeal. Rock music gave us a cultural script to use to rebel against and separate from the culture of our parents. We thought we were inventing a new culture all our own.

Swift is the 10th cousin, two times removed, of Janis Joplin, but her music exudes little of that wild child menace. Her storytelling songs are more poppy bops, coffeehouse ballads and hip hop-infused Americana anthems. But I would still argue that she is countercultural. Its just that our culture today is so dysfunctional, divisive, drug-addled and downright mean, that to rebel against it is to be, well, functional. And the irony is, we baby boomers are probably responsible for that cultural erosion because of our own rebellion against social norms of the '70s.

Thank God Taylor Swift is a better person than we were.

She recently asked her fans to show that kindness and gentleness extend into our internet activities.

As a parent of a young girl, this is exactly what I find most captivating about Miss Americana.

Her rebellion is against the isolated nature of our lives right now, the broken families, the inward, balkanizing focus of our culture, our social media, our remote work, which has fragmented us so much that her community building and kind-heartedness are a kind of counterculture unto itself. Shes countercultural in her normalcy.

Her concerts are big intimate pop communions. Safe spaces. Woodstocks of wholesomeness.

My favorite description: A tailgate party with a unicorn.

"Weve been doing this for decades together, she said to her fans at a recent concert. Fostering that sense of community is a key part of her enduring success.

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She invites fans to her houses to play albums for them before they are released and bakes cookies with them. She does meet and greets with local fans before every concert. She grew up on a Christmas tree farm, for chrissakes.

These kids are looking for a place or group to belong, and Taylor is giving them that.

We as humans want to be liked and to fit in, and even more so for early adolescents, Swiftie mom Amanda Petrusich wrote recently in The New Yorker. You want to know the songs and the music to fit in with the conversations with our friends.

I miss the monoculture of the '70s, when we were all listening to Fleetwood Mac, the Rolling Stones and Pink Floyd. Swifts tour is bringing back memories of the big Barry Fey concert extravaganzas at Mile High Stadium we all went to in the '70s, with four or five of the biggest bands of the day on the bill playing to stadiums packed with 80,000 teenagers. Swift has brought a little of that unifying monoculture back this summer, capturing the imagination of the whole world for a moment.

Swift is a blast of the old FM radio monoculture, updated for a digital planet  prolific, ubiquitous, generally beloved by the masses, a Wall Street Journal reporter wrote. At one point last fall, songs from Midnights occupied every one of the Top Ten slots on the Billboard Hot 100. No one is popular like that anymore.

Because of her deeply personal lyrics and her intensely loyal fans, who have essentially grown up with her, millions of people feel like they have a special connection to Swift.

She comes across as so in touch with her fans, writes Petrusich. Even the way she talks to the crowds at her concerts, its like youre having a one-on-one conversation with her.

But lets remember these are parasocial relationships, not real ones. I've been wondering if is she taking the place of us parents as a result, teaching our daughters things in her lyrics we should be teaching them.

But thats the incredible thing happening in these 70,000-strong lovefests: Taylor is not dissing on Mom and Dad and she is not anti-family. She is pointing young women in the right direction  toward their parents and family. Swift's best friend is her mom.

It is truly countercultural because another part of the norm is that teenagers  perhaps especially girls  are not supposed to have a good relationship with their parents, wrote parenting blogger Mark Hutton.

The question is, can we baby boomer parents unlearn some of our anti-establishment training enough to meet these girls where they are, help them create a new model of long-term engagement between kids and parents? Individuation, Swift is suggesting, is overrated.

The hope is that parents are plugged up to something that is giving them the same message and they are moving toward their kids," wrote Hutton. "It is indeed a two-way street and it is important that rather than individuating and becoming independent kids and parents learn more about building family  for a lifetime. It is equally important for parents to help give shape to the moral lives, imaginations and characters of their children  they cant do that if the cultural norm is saying to disengage.

AS CSNY would sing in my day, Teach your parents well, Swifties. As Taylor would sing now, Hold on to the memories, Mom and Dad, they will hold on to you.
Avoiding climate breakdown will require cathedral thinking. We must lay the foundation while we may not know exactly how to build the ceiling.  Greta Thunberg

All social and political movements begin as ideas born of necessity, desire or a combination of the two. If those ideas capture peoples imaginations, they take root and eventually are expressed as actions.

If those actions become a successful mass movement, the ideas that spurred them become the principles that guide societys new policies and practices.

Such was the case with Christianity, which grew from a tiny nucleus of converts into a major world religion. Similarly, the modern concept of democracy, which took root as a discussion among intellectuals of the Enlightenment, flowered as the ideology underpinning many of the worlds governments.

Today, our global society faces a new challenge  that of the destruction of the planet itself. In response, people throughout the world have given birth to a set of ideas and beliefs that challenge the dominant economic paradigms of endless growth and consumption.

Taken together, those developing concepts could be called Earth Consciousness.

In a recent series of columns, available online, we considered the bad, or business as usual future for the planet. The premise of that series is that if current trends of economic development and population growth continue unabated, the planet will rapidly become increasingly unlivable, and civilization itself could collapse by the end of this century.

This is the beginning of a series of columns on a good future that explores what might happen if we turn things around and start treating the earth with the respect it deserves.

The first step in that process is to understand how the biosphere, or living layer of the earths surface functions, and what we must do to keep it functioning well.

The second step is to tune our global societys philosophical thinking and spiritual sensibilities to the needs of the biosphere  that is, to raise the overall level of Earth Consciousness.

Finally, we must translate Earth Consciousness into action wherein it instructs the dominant policies and norms governing global society.

The first step is well underway. Ever since the German zoologist Ernst Haeckel coined the word ecology in 1866, the science has grown apace. Within a few decades, ecology evolved from being the study of organisms and their environments, defined as local ecosystems, to that of the biosphere, a super-environment wherein all lifeforms interact with each other and the planets nonliving atmospheric, aqueous an terrestrial components.

The second step, the growth of Earth Consciousness, has also evolved quickly. Beginning with the Romantic literary movement of the early 1800s, which, reacting to the downside of the industrial revolution, glorified nature and soon found resonance among writers and environmentalists of all stripes, Earth Consciousness now has far more advocates and adherents than can be named here.

Suffice it to say that the developing ideology has influenced global politics, in terms of environmental legislation, and even mainstream religion, as testified by Pope Franciss recent major encyclical (position paper) urging us to preserve the planet.

What remains to be seen is whether the third step, the ascendency of Earth Conscious global government, will occur before our current economic and governance models degrade the biosphere irreversibly.

This is the defining struggle of our time, and, as discussed in our bad future series, the outcome can certainly appear bleak. But before we yield to defeatism, we should consider that it took Christianity a millennium to conquer Europe, and Enlightenment ideals two centuries to spawn the first modern democracy.

Then consider this: Greta Thunberg held her first solo climate strike at the Swedish Parliament Building in August 2018, and in September 2019 4 million students, following her lead, partook in a Global Climate Strike at or ecological house.

Read the series:
Photo: Pixabay

A reverse mortgage is a financial tool that empowers homeowners aged 55 or older to unlock up to 55% of their home's value as tax-free cash.

Unlike traditional home equity lines of credit or conventional mortgages, it offers the unique advantage of not requiring monthly mortgage payments as long as you reside in your home. With its growing popularity, it's crucial to separate fact from fiction and address common misconceptions surrounding reverse mortgages.

Myth: The bank owns your home.

Fact: You retain control and title ownership of your home. You have the freedom to decide if and when you want to move or sell, granting you complete autonomy over your property.

Myth: You'll owe more than your home is worth.

Fact: Clients can qualify for up to 55% of the appraised value of their home, with an average of 33%. Lenders adhere to conservative lending practices, ensuring that equity remains in the home when the loan is eventually repaid. More than 99% of reverse mortgage clients still have equity remaining in their homes after the loan is paid out.

Myth: Reverse mortgages are a last-resort solution.

Fact: Many financial professionals now recommend reverse mortgages as a vital component of a comprehensive retirement plan. It offers unparalleled financial flexibility, enabling tax-free funds to extend the lifespan of retirement savings.

Myth: Existing mortgages hinder eligibility for reverse mortgages.

Fact: Reverse mortgages can be used to pay off existing mortgages and other debts, freeing up valuable cash flow. Imagine the relief of eliminating regular mortgage payments and having more financial freedom.

In addition, it's important to understand two key points:

1. Homeownership: You maintain full ownership of your home as long as you fulfill your obligations of paying property taxes, home insurance, and keeping the property well maintained. You will never be forced to move or sell your home.

2. Government benefits: A reverse mortgage will not impact any government benefits you may receive, such as Old Age Security (OAS), Canada Pension Plan (CPP), or Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS).

To determine if a reverse mortgage is a suitable option for you, take advantage of a no-obligation assessment. As a certified reverse mortgage expert and impartial mortgage broker, I can confidentially review all available mortgage options tailored to your unique circumstances.

The assessment takes only 90 seconds, so please don't hesitate to contact me at 1-888-561-2679 or email [email protected].

By dispelling myths and gaining accurate information, you can make an informed decision about whether a reverse mortgage is the right choice for your retirement goals.

Secure your financial future and enjoy the benefits of this valuable financial tool.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.
O Brazilian Mining Institute (Ibram) praised the text approved by the Chamber of Deputies regarding the tax reformbut classified article 20 as disastrous for the productive sector and exports.

The article in question makes it possible to institute a contribution on primary and semi-finished products, produced in the respective territories, for investment in infrastructure and housing works, replacing the contribution to state funds.

This article goes against the reform itself and increases the tax burden. Its inclusion took place right at the limit of the beginning of the vote by the deputies, which made it difficult to evaluate this section more carefully, which will generate serious repercussions in the business sector and Brazilian exports, says the entity that represents companies such as OK (VOUCH3), CSN (CMIN3), Gerdau (GOAU4), Rio Tinto, BHP It is Votorantim.

O Ibram hopes that the vote for federal Senate be preceded by a dialogue with the mining and agribusiness sector and that this article be removed from the subject of the tax reform.
Photo: The Canadian Press International Trade Minister Mary Ng, right, and U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai speak during a joint news conference in Ottawa, Thursday, May 5, 2022. Tai is urging her Canadian counterpart to abandon plans for a digital services tax and to allow U.S. home shopping programming to operate north of the border.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

Canada, the United States and Mexico wrapped up a two-day status report on their shared continental trade agreement Friday as the deal that replaced NAFTA passed its three-year anniversary.

There are three more years to go before a required review in 2026 that has the potential to scuttle the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, but International Trade Minister Mary Ng doesn't sound worried.

The Free Trade Commission meetings, this year hosted by Mexico, are an annual exercise to ensure the deal is being implemented as designed  and to hear Ng tell it, each year offers more proof that the USMCA is worth saving.

"This is the largest trading relationship in the world, and we are working together to be more competitive," Ng said in an interview after the meetings wrapped up.

Ensuring the three countries can get past the 2026 review for USMCA, known in Canada as CUSMA, will guarantee a full 16 years of prosperity until the current terms of the agreement expire in 2036, she said.

"We all recognize there's a date in 2026, but 16 years, 2036  that's the goal."

Much of the discussion focused on "under-the-hood stuff," she said, including efforts to ensure small and medium-sized businesses are better integrated into the value chains the agreement is meant to foster.

It also focused on assessing efforts to introduce labour reforms in Mexico, where Ng said Canada's labour unions have been integral in helping to ensure more workplaces are meeting the standards set out in the deal.

The union certification process, once a six-year ordeal, now takes only six months, she said, with some 10,000 new collective agreements in place to benefit an estimated 500,000 newly unionized workers.

During bilateral discussions Thursday, Ng and U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai exchanged long-entrenched positions on the usual array of irritants, including Canada's plan to implement a digital services tax next January.

The measure is aimed squarely at digital enterprises that are based outside Canada  many of them headquartered in the U.S.  that generate revenues from the engagement, content and data of their Canadian users.

Canada has delayed implementing the three per cent levy until 2024 in hopes of waiting out a separate but similar international digital tax regime, spearheaded by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Separate U.S. and Canadian summaries of the bilateral meeting featured Tai urging Ng to abandon the tax plan, and Ng urging Tai to sign on to the OECD measure, which it has yet to do.

"Canada was very much a part of that" OECD effort, as was the U.S., Ng noted. "We all negotiated this, so let's work as hard as we can to get this implemented."

Tai also called on Ng to make good on a USMCA commitment to allow home-shopping channels like QVC to operate in Canada  an effort the minister said is well underway and close to fruition.

"We've made good progress  this is one of those files that I would classify as 'well advanced,'" she said.

"We are working to implement that part of the agreement ... and that work continues."

Ng said she also pressed Tai on two other outstanding issues: duties on Canadian exports of softwood lumber, and the question of whether the U.S. will abide by a tribunal ruling on automotive parts.

A dispute panel ruled late last year that the U.S. interpretation of foreign content rules for autos was "inconsistent" with the terms of the deal.

The USMCA increased the allowed "regional value content" for automotive parts to 75 per cent, up from 62 per cent, as part of an effort to give all three countries a bigger piece of each other's auto manufacturing sector.

In a core component such as an engine, the long-standing concept of "roll-up" allows such a part to be considered as having 100 per cent North American origins once the regional threshold of its various elements is met.

It's an essential step to determine which vehicles are deemed duty-free. The U.S. had tried to argue for a more rigid interpretation of the agreement's language, but the panel rejected that argument outright.

Since then, the U.S. has been largely silent on how it intends to respond, and officials in Tai's office offered no clues during a telephone briefing Wednesday about whether the meetings would produce any clarity.
Oh, I am not referring to a resurrection and resurgence of the 1960's Motown act with Diana Ross. Noooooo  I'm talking about SCOTUS, one-third of our constitutional republic's triumvirate of checks and balances; Chief Johnny Roberts and the Associate Supremes.

The United States Supreme Court has had quite a session so far haven't they? Not to mention last years calendar of decisions.

Over the years, I have wondered to myself, "What were the founders thinking?"

If you actually care to pursue the answer to that question, the most revealing behind the scenes commentary comes to light long after the fact as justices die off and their personal papers are donated, curated and released for public consumption.

There's an appropriate quote for which I cannot place the source, but it is applicable to how the rules we must live by are made:

"There are two things in the world you never want to let people see how you make 'em - laws and sausages."

The implication being, of course, that our collective stomachs would uncomfortably churn, added to a level of nausea, as we lose our appetite for the results because of the process.

Opinions coming from our Supreme Court are also often times messy and unappetizing, leaving simultaneously unquelled hunger for a vast many, and Romanesque gluttony for those on the favorable receiving end of a newly minted precedent.

This past week the court delivered a 237-page decision in the case, Students for Fair Admissions. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College

Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the opinion for the 6-3 majority which effectively eliminates, as unconstitutional, affirmative action admissions programs of colleges and universities in the US.

The race-based admissions programs of Harvard and the University of North Carolina were deemed to violate the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment, and also were in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

When the first affirmative action Supreme Court decision was published in 1978, I was working for the US Treasury Department and finishing up some college coursework, and was also young.

The case before the court at that time was, Regents of the University of California v. Bakke.

Allan Bakke, a White, male Vietnam veteran in his thirties, twice applied for admission at UC Davis Medical School but was rejected, partially because of his advanced age. Compared to the 32 applicants accepted under the affirmative action program, he ranked higher than all 32 acceptees in every metric in both of his application classes. Bakke sued UC Davis for discrimination.

Bakke prevailed as the court opined that UC Davis admissions policies violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. Allan Bakke was ordered immediately admitted to UC Davis Medical School, graduated with honors, and is still a practicing anesthesiologist at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, a position he has held for nearly 40-years.

I recall the public debate at that time and the opposing sides made much the same arguments as in the Harvard and University of North Carolina decision.

But, this is where the sausage making comes into play.

My recollection of the public debate is probably pretty true to how the mainstream press reported the deliberations at that time. The facts from behind the scenes now show us, that the Bakke affirmative action 5-4 decision was sausage-making worthy of Oscar Meyer.

Through the personal case notes, logs, diaries and memos of late Justice Lewis Powell, Jr. who authored the rare "plurality opinion" for a splintered majority, and a 37-page memo to file by the late Justice William J Brennan, who wrote one of four dissenting opinions, now in the public domain, we see that the ultimate case decision in Bakke, has very little to do with upholding the Constitution, and much about the devil politic.

Justice Powell was the swing vote and with him the tightrope that affirmative would walk for the next 45 years was stretched across the canyon of time. Since 1978, the Bakke case has been the subject of over 100 books and textbooks, over 5,000 law review articles, every circuit of the US Court of Appeals has cited Bakke in their opinions, as have over 40 State Appellate Courts. Over 1,000 briefs submitted for Supreme Court consideration have cited Bakke as precedent in their filings.

In his majority opinion for SFFA v. Harvard, Chief Justice Roberts cites Bakke 74 times, knowing full well that the historic record available to us now tells the tale of the fate of Affirmative Action being decided in a sausage factory twice.

I do hesitate to use the sausage-making corollary as in doing so, I think it is probably quite offensive to our North Iowa sausage makers and more importantly my go-to wurstmeister for my summer grilling needs.

If he should feel insulted that cannot turn out good for me. I think I may have salads next week.
Email special events to news@registerbee.com. The deadline is noon Wednesday.

HOMECOMING-COMMUNITY DAY

Tarpley Chapel Baptist Church, 16156 Mount Cross Road, Dry Fork, will host Homecoming-Community Day from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. today. All surrounding churches, families and friends of the community are invited to attend. The event will take place on the church parking lot and lawn. Attendees are welcome to bring a lawn chair. There will be live music, a car show, inflatable and activities for children, food (hot dogs, hamburgers, fish) a cake walk games, and vendors will be available. Food and activities are free.

ANNUAL SESSION

Cherrystone Missionary Baptist Association will celebrate its 145th Annual Session with Greater Triumph as the host church. Event starts on at 6 p.m. Tuesday with a musical; on Wednesday, the devotions and youth presentation will be at 10 a.m., the men's ministry will be at 6 p.m.; On Thursday, the women's ministry will be at 10 a.m., and the moderator's hour will be at 6 p.m.

YOUTH REVIVAL/YOUTH DAY

New Ephesus Missionary Baptist Church, 375 Ephesus Church Road, Semora, North Carolina, will observe youth revival July 20-21 beginning at 7 p.m. each night. The Thursday speaker will be the Rev. Vax Allen, of Mayo Grove Baptist Church, and Friday will feature the Rev. Anthony Taylor, of Allen Chapel AME Church. At 11 a.m. July 23, youth day will be celebrated with guest preacher minister Raymond Myers, of Bethsada Baptist Church. The music ministry of each church, as well as the congregation, have been invited. Face masks are available, temperature checks and other health safety precautions remain in place. Worship opportunities are in person, using Facebook live, through conference line at 1-978-990-5000 access code 197724 or in the church parking lot at 107.3 FM.

WELLNESS MINISTRY

Shockoe Missionary Baptist Church, 857 Java Road, Java, hosts a monthly Wellness Walking Ministry from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m., meeting every fourth Saturday. All ages are welcome to participate. The Health and Wellness Ministry will meet at 9 a.m. before each walking session. For information, contact Kathy B. Ramsey at 434-251-0379 or atbjrk@gmail.com.

IN PERSON/ONLINE SERVICES

Ascension Lutheran Church, 314 West Main St., worships Sundays at 11 a.m. in the sanctuary and live on Facebook at www.facebook/ascensionlutherandanville.

Mount Vernon United Methodist Church offers in-person services at 10 a.m. each Sunday as well as online worship services every Sunday at mtvernonumc.org or www.facebook.com/MountVernonUMC.

IN-PERSON SERVICES

Christ the King Lutheran Church, 1172 Franklin Turnpike, will have in-house worship services on Sundays at 11 a.m. Free books available anytime from a Little Free Library located on a post next to the driveway.

Saint Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church, 406 Gay St., has in-person services at 10 a.m. for hour of power on the first and third Sundays.

North New Hope Baptist Church, 123 Old Piney Forest Road, has resumed in church worship services at 11 a.m. and Sunday school at 9:30 p.m.

Mount Sinai Glorious Church of God, 716 Jefferson St., will hold services in the sanctuary with Sunday school at 10 a.m. and morning worship at 10:30 a.m. Participants are asked to wear a mask and to practice social distancing. The service also will be streamed on Facebook.

Mount Freeman Baptist Church, 2100 Laniers Mill Road, hosts in-person service at 11 a.m. Sunday. There will be no Sunday school.

ONLINE WORSHIP SERVICES

Sacred Heart Catholic Church will livestream worship service at 9 a.m. Sundays in English and noon in Spanish at www.facebook.com/sheartchurch.

DRIVE-IN SERVICES

Staunton River Baptist Church, Long Island, will hold drive-in services at 10 a.m. each Sunday.

ONGOING SERVICES

Sacred Heart Catholic Church celebrates Mass every weekend with a vigil Mass at 5 p.m. Saturday and at 9 p.m. Sunday in English and noon in Spanish.

Watson Level Missionary Baptist Church holds Sunday worship services each week at 11 a.m. Because of COVID-19, a face mask is required for all attendees and social distancing is mandatory.

Calvary Church of the Nazarene, 2450 Franklin Turnpike, from 6 to 7 p.m. every Sunday, will hold Ladies Need Encouragement, an hour of worship and prayer. Participants are asked to bring a Bible and practice social distancing. The event is for ages 10 and up with adult supervision. For more information, call 540-907-8836.

Mount Zion Temple, now located at 503 Hughes St., presents The Word Homelitic Institute at 10 a.m. every Sunday. Transportation is provided by calling Bishop David K. Fuller at 434-429-8960.
While school is out for the summer, the lessons dont end at the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research in Danville.

But dont tell these young students its an educational experience. They are too busy having fun building with Legos and taking part in a Shark Tank-style competition.

For 10-year-old Caesar Dillard, of Martinsville, the only sad part of a recent camp was having to leave after just one week.

This week was fun, he said while crafting a creation of straws. I got to meet new people.

Dillard was one of a few dozen students from around the region to take part in the STEM-based  science, technology, engineering and math  classes hosted throughout the summer at the institute.

This also marks the second year of what the institute calls sector-focused camps, another option for the wide-ranging classes. Although most are free thanks to grants, some do require payments. But that doesnt mean those who cant pay are excluded since scholarships are available.

About 40% of the students who take part in the camps with fees get a scholarship, Allison Moore, a spokesperson for the institute, told the Register & Bee.

On a recent Friday morning, a classroom at the state-of-the-art facility on Slayton Avenue was filled with young students building with Legos.

Luke Keesee, a student at Twin Springs Elementary School in Pittsylvania County, constructed a McDonalds with his Legos.

It was pretty fun, he said, but quickly explained he wasnt quite finished with it.

It comes as no surprise that hes glad to be out of school for the summer. Little does he know the learning hasnt ended; its just masked in activities that appeal to the fun side of a childs nature.

Right now were doing that exploration sort of thing, instructor Evelyn Larking explained to the Register & Bee.

After time was up for that activity, Larking switched the activities to something called Strawbees, basically using straws to learn structural engineering.

Students had five minutes to plan the course of action, then they could start construction.

Teaching

Larking is an AmeriCorps service member, one of many working at the institute.

I really enjoy it; its different, Larking said June 30, the day she happened to turn 22. I believe that the skills that Im learning here teaching kids will translate to higher education as well.

Larking, a composer, wants to be a professor of music theory.

For her, the most satisfying part of camp is finding out what problems a child may have and then trying to teach them coping skills.

There was a kid who was really struggling with ADHD, which is something I also have struggled with, she said. I think I had a conversation that may have impacted him, just talking about my struggles. At least I hope its something hes going to remember.

Later on in the day the students would get the chance to interact with robots, talk a walk and perhaps play Minecraft.

A lot of kids, I see them really happy, screaming sometimes, she explained. They dont realize they are learning.

STEM and beyond

The summer camps have been around in one form or another since about 2006. Over time, the STEM camps grew in popularity with sizable waiting lists, Moore explained.

COVID-19 tampered that demand, but registrations have increased each year since the pandemic.

The camps were started in an way to prevent the summer slide, Moore said. Thats a time of learning loss when kids push away school thoughts and exchange them for carefree days playing outside or with some kind of technology device.

One of the goals of the STEM Camps is to engage students and continue their learning when school is not in session, Moore said. The immersive activities and interactive experiences appeal to students and heighten their exposure and appreciation of STEM disciplines  interests they may not have known they had.

STEM is a popular buzzword in education these days and the Institute is using it to try to transform the regions economy. These camps, coupled with other initiatives, show students career options early in life, adding to the pipeline of qualified workers existing and new industries will need in the years to come.

Applied learning through hands-on activities has proven to be a popular source of STEM learning, Moore explained. IALRs summer STEM camp series combines these methods with child friendly and fun topics like designing robots, building prototypes and developing websites.

Marking the second year, the Institute provides camps for students to explore careers in things like information technology, health care and local government.

Benefits for students include earlier identification of career pathways for participation in other career-readiness programs like apprenticeships and internships, Moore said. Advantages for employers include a wider, better prepared and sustainable talent pipeline.

Making the pitch

Over in another classroom, the instructors were decked out in dark suits taking on the role of Shark Tank investors. Thats a reality show where competitors pitch business ideas and wealthy investors offer money for the product of a company.

It was the same thing at the camp, only the money wasnt real and the creations were only a mere design. However, the passion developed for the products the teams of students created was undistinguishable from the adult version.

Two young girls came up with a robot to take care of trivial household chores and even help with homework. While these kids at this particular camp  ages 9 to 12  are far too young to remember Rosie from the futuristic cartoon show The Jetsons, their creation was spot-on for the robot that was more like a member of the family.

Ultimately the investors, very impressed with the presentation and pitch, offered $500,000 for 15% ownership in the company. The youthful entrepreneur instantly accepted the offer.

The deal was sealed.

The classes

Dana Silicki, a program manager at the Institute whos been there 13 years, said children often enjoy the camps so much they hate for the week to end.

They bond with other students, she explained.

Many classes are taught by AmeriCorps members. The Dan River Year AmeriCorps program offers a stipend and tuition reimbursement for participants. The goal for the members, according to the website, is to build STEM learning and literacy efforts.

On average, about 32 elementary and middle school students take part in the summer camps and about 16 eighth to 10th graders are in the sector-focused groups.

Sometimes the classes are hosted on the Institutes expansive campus and other times they are off-site depending on the need.

About 1-in-5 campers will attend two or more classes at the Institute, Moore confirmed, and more than half of the participants have taken part in a previous camp.

The Institute also coordinates camps with the Virginia Technical Institute, in Altavista, and the Southern Virginia Higher Education Center in South Boston.

Moore said spots are still open for the camps that continue until the end of the month. Registration is available at ialr.org/stem-camps.
GREENSBORO  One person was hospitalized overnight after a shooting near Bywood Road and Phillips Avenue, Greensboro police said in a news release.
Carroll College is working toward building its third graduate-level program with a planned starting date in fall 2026.

The physician assistant program is a 27-month curriculum that culminates in a masters degree in Physician Assistant Studies. Carroll has appointed Claire Hull, an alumna from the class of 1988 who has 23 years of experience in PA education, as program director. She will officially begin Sept. 5.

I am thrilled to join the Carroll College community as the colleges founding director of the Physician Assistant program, Hull said in a news release. I look forward to building a program that prepares its graduates to be competent, compassionate and patient-centered clinicians.

Carrolls board of trustees approved starting a PA program in the northeast section of the Fortin-Simperman Science building complex with a renovation and an 8,500 square-foot addition. Officials said it will feature state-of-the-art labs, classrooms and office facilities, fulfilling the requirements for PA program student learning outcomes aligned with ARC-PA accreditation standards. The Fortin-Simperman Science complex currently houses the colleges chemistry, nursing and biology facilities.

Construction planning and design development is underway. Construction is scheduled to begin in November 2024, with move-in and commissioning expected to take place by June 2026.

Carroll is aiming for its first cohort of 34 students in the fall of 2026, pending provisional accreditation approval from the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant Inc.

We are incredibly pleased to have reached these milestones in the development of our PA program, said Carroll College President John Cech. There is a lot of excitement and energy behind the planning currently, and we look forward to carrying this momentum forward as we proceed through the next steps in construction, accreditation, and program development.

Carrolls PA program aims to address significant health care needs in Montana and the region, particularly in rural communities, college officials said. According to the October 2022 Montana Department of Labor and Industry Postsecondary Workforce Report, there is a substantial demand for physician assistants in the state, with employment demand nearly double the available supply. The report also highlights the median salary for PAs in Montana as $118,760.

Physician assistants play a vital role in health care. Ranked as the third-best occupation out of 100 by U.S. News and World Report in 2022 and the second-best in the health care fields, the PA profession has significant demand. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects a 28% growth for the PA profession by 2031.

Jean Branscum, CEO of the Montana Medical Association, called the launch of the program an exciting growth opportunity for addressing workforce shortages and increasing skilled allied health care providers in Montana.

... The MMA has no doubt that future graduates of this new PA program at Carroll College will deliver outstanding care to future patients and strengthen the healthcare landscape of Montana and beyond, she said.

Carroll is poised to play an even greater role in improving access to health care for many rural and underserved communities in Montana, Hull said, adding she plans to build strong and innovative partnerships with communities across the state to create a PA program that is highly regarded and respected.

Hull has been a faculty member in three PA programs throughout the U.S. and received her master of health sciences from Duke University School of Medicine, Physician Assistant Program in 1995. Her previous administrative experience includes roles as clinical coordinator and academic coordinator, and she has most recently served as associate professor in the Division of Physician Assistant Education at Oregon Health & Science University.

With expertise in preparing programs for accreditation site visits, Hull now serves as an accreditation site visitor for the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant. She is an active member of several PA professional associations, including the National Commission on the Certification of Physician Assistants, Physician Assistant Education Association and Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant.

We are honored to have Claire Hull join Carroll College at this pivotal time in our development of our PA Program, said Carroll College Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Jennifer Glowienka. Her varied expertise and deep commitment to PA education will play an essential role in shaping the future success of our program and ensuring the development of highly skilled and compassionate health care professionals.

To learn more about Carroll Colleges Physician Assistant program, visit www.carroll.edu/pa.
Photo: The Canadian Press FILE - Leslie Van Houten attends her parole hearing at the California Institution for Women Sept. 6, 2017 in Corona, Calif. California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Friday, July 7, 2023, that he will not fight a state appeals court decision that Van Houten should be let out on parole. (Stan Lim/Los Angeles Daily News via AP, Pool, File)

Californias governor announced Friday that he wont ask the state Supreme Court to block parole for Charles Manson follower Leslie Van Houten, paving the way for her release after serving 53 years in prison for two infamous murders.

In a brief statement, the governors office said an appeal was unlikely to succeed.

Newsom is disappointed, the statement said.

More than 50 years after the Manson cult committed these brutal killings, the victims families still feel the impact, the statement said.

Van Houten, now in her 70s, is serving a life sentence for helping Manson and other followers in the 1969 killings of Leno LaBianca, a grocer in Los Angeles, and his wife, Rosemary.

Van Houten could be freed in about two weeks after the parole board reviews her record and processes paperwork for her release from the California Institution for Women in Corona, her attorney Nancy Tetreault said.

She was recommended for parole five times since 2016 but Newsom and former Gov. Jerry Brown rejected all those recommendations.

However, a state appeals court ruled in May that Van Houten should be released, noting what it called her extraordinary rehabilitative efforts, insight, remorse, realistic parole plans, support from family and friends and favorable behavior reports while in prison.

Shes thrilled and shes overwhelmed, Tetreault said.

Shes just grateful that people are recognizing that shes not the same person that she was when she committed the murders, she said.

After she's released, Van Houten will spend about a year in a halfway house, learning basic life skills such as how to go to the grocery and get a debit card, Tetreault said.

Shes been in prison for 53 years. ... She just needs to learn how to use an ATM machine, let alone a cell phone, let alone a computer, her attorney said.
A known Flathead-area white supremacist posted a property bond this week to get a man accused of murdering a homeless person in Kalispell out of jail, according to court records.

Kaleb E. Fleck pleaded not guilty to one count of deliberate homicide on Thursday. Prosecutors allege Fleck beat a houseless man, 60-year-old Scott Bryan, to death behind a gas station in Kalispell on June 25.

A property bond document filed on Wednesday shows Zachariah R. Harp put up a $500,000 surety, tied to a Kalispell residence, for Flecks release from jail, as was first reported by the Daily Inter Lake. Harp was the subject of a 2010 report from the Montana Human Rights Network detailing his ties to white supremacist activity in the Flathead area.

Fleck was released from custody on Wednesday, the Flathead County jail roster shows.

Documentation and public records shows it is the same Zachariah Harp, said Cherilyn DeVries, Montana Human Rights Network executive director, in a phone call with the Missoulian. She added the organization isnt sure what the connection is between Harp and Fleck.

The 2010 report ties Zachariah Harp to the Creativity Movement, a national white supremacist group. Harp enlisted other group members, known as creators, to attend a film screening at the Kalispell Public Library in 2010. According to the MHRN, Harp attended and promoted movie showings denying the Holocaust around Kalispell that same year.

A post from the Southern Poverty Law Centers Hatewatch program also flagged Zachariah Harps role in the Holocaust denial film showing.

The Daily Inter Lake reported at Flecks arraignment hearing, Flathead County District Judge Heidi Ulbricht permitted contact between Harp and Fleck, but prohibited the two from discussing the pending criminal case.

According to DeVries and the report, Zachariah Harp is the son of former Flathead legislator John G. Harp. A warranty deed included in the property bond court filing shows the elder Harp transferred ownership of the Kalispell residence to his son in 2017.

At the time the 2010 report was published, Zachariah Harp was active on multiple white supremacist websites. The report noted Zachariahs homophobic and racist comments made online against the Jewish community, Black and Indigenous people.

DeVries said the MHRN isnt aware of any recent white supremacist activity by the younger Harp.

Bryan was described as a peaceful, easygoing friend to people he knew. His death sent shockwaves through the Flathead community, with locals who work with the houseless community calling out recent anti-homeless rhetoric from local leaders.

Court documents state in the early morning hours of June 25, Kalispell authorities found Bryan face down on the ground with severe wounds to his head and face. Bryan was brought to a nearby hospital but died a short time later.

A witness showed authorities a video. In it, the camera pans between Fleck and Bryans body, with a man in the background saying, You fed that guy up dude, the case affidavit alleges.

In his interview with investigators, Fleck reportedly admitted to being present at the gas station, and Fleck admitted exiting the vehicle and assaulting the man, later identified as Scott Bryan, the affidavit states.
Hospitals across the country are stretched beyond capacity caring for more patients with mental illness than ever before. The ongoing closure of crisis services has left many people without access to therapeutic support, making emergency departments (ED) their first point of contact during a mental health crisis.

EDs are designed to treat physical traumas and are ill-equipped to provide regular care for people with mental illnesses. The resulting overflow of patients creates a potentially dangerous environment for both patients and staff.

Intermediate services like group homes, crisis beds and stabilization units can provide a therapeutic place for a patient to stabilize while under observation. Psychiatric services like these have come and gone over the years, but recently the closure of beds has escalated as the health care industry goes through its largest financial upheaval in modern history.

Montana, like many rural states, has long lacked a robust mental health system.

In Montana theres outpatient care or inpatient care. Theres little in-between, said Dr. Lisa Ponfick, president of the Montana Psychiatric Association and a practicing psychiatrist at Shodair Childrens Hospital in Helena.

With nowhere else to go, severely mentally ill people are dropped into understaffed emergency departments where its difficult to access psychiatric care or have adequate supervision. Long wait times under fluorescent lights and a cacophony of sounds can exacerbate symptoms, putting patient and employee safety at risk. Last year, for example, a woman seeking treatment for suicidal ideation fired a gun inside Billings Clinics ED while she waited for treatment. Police officers on the scene eventually responded with gunfire.

Despite the risks, the practice of holding mentally ill patients in the ED is so common it has a name  ED boarding.

Prolonged boarding of psychiatric patients in the ED often results in poor outcomes and goes against best practices established by the American Psychiatric Association.

APA representatives, however, are empathetic, acknowledging that right now there is no other choice for those who could be a danger to themselves or others.

We constantly run a waitlist thats greater than the number of beds we have, Ponfick said. And it puts a strain on the medical system when theyre put in a medical bed.

Recently, the strain has been so great that Ponfick has noticed that before a patient is admitted to the hospital, the severity of the mental illness must be extremely high  much higher than before.

She recently had one young patient go to the ED tell staff he planned to follow through with suicide as soon as he figured out how. He was discharged just a few hours later.

Ponfick said staff considered him low risk because he hadnt yet formulated a detailed plan, which is a high-risk indicator of suicide.

Services dwindle

Its estimated that the country is short up to 30,000 psychiatrists  medical doctors who can prescribe medications for mental illness management. The shortage is the result of underfunding, according to industry experts. Medicaid reimbursement, set by state governments, has failed to pay at a rate that covers the cost of delivering care. Private insurers are also guilty of short-changing providers.

The battle with reimbursement keeps provider wages low compared to other specialties, and it makes it difficult to keep community services up and running.

The challenges are compounded in Montana where geographical expanse keeps frontier communities fairly isolated, and where a long history of mental health provider shortages contributes to the states high suicide rate.

Its not that Montana cant recruit psychiatrists  Ponfick pointed to a handful of new providers around the state  but the significant staffing challenges at Billings Clinic have created a vacuum in the eastern part of Montana.

Due to limited staffing, the Psychiatric Stabilization Unit (PSU) at Billings Clinic was closed in December 2022, causing a significant reduction to the services offered at the regional hospital. Clinic leadership did not publicly acknowledge the closure until prompted to do so by the news media last month.

For four years prior to the closure, the PSU served as the only short-term, therapeutic treatment option for those in crisis. St. Vincent Healthcare does not provide any emergency psychiatric services, meaning all mentally ill patients in crisis are directed to the Billings Clinic ED.

When the PSU was operating, patients were held for up to 24 hours in a therapeutic environment where they regained some equilibrium and were connected to community services without being hospitalized. This created a relief valve for local hospitals and the community by keeping inpatient beds open and helping to manage mental illness in Eastern Montana.

However, its not uncommon for psychiatric services to be the first to go in times of financial hardship, said Dr. Robert Trestman, chair of the American Psychiatric Association's council on health care systems and financing.

If theres one area hospitals cannot make money, its in psychiatric services, Trestman said.

Behavioral health hospitals are closing around the country, with at least two closures occurring in Washington State in just the last two months.

Without these services, emergency department workers become responsible for stabilizing patients.

Staffing shortages

Over the last five years, the number of patients seeking behavioral health or psychiatric services at Billings Clinic has increased 20%, according to Zach Benoit, community relations manager at the Clinic. Annually, the hospital averages about 22,700 patient encounters across all mental health services.

These patients arrive in various levels of distress, and depending on the acuity of the patient's condition, it's required that at least one staff member stay with the patient for the entirety of their ED visit.

Patients may be placed on one-to-one staffing if theyre engaging in self-harm or have attempted suicide during hospitalization, according to Billings Clinic policy and procedure guidelines. Those who arrive under the influence of drugs or alcohol often have to wait until they sober up before meeting with a psychiatrist.

But staffing shortages at Billings Clinic have prevented employees from maintaining the one-to-one standard, according to one Billings Clinic worker who asked to remain unnamed.

We dont have the ability to pull a staff member away, especially when were short-handed," the employee said. "We are too vastly under-staffed to operate and take care of (the increase in psych patients) safely and appropriately.

At one point this year, 17 psychiatric patients were being held in Billings Clinics ED despite only having a six-room pod designated for this patient population, the employee said.

There were people just in the hall and everywhere during that time  There were multiple patients with homicidal ideation coming out in front of the nurses station and plotting how they were going to harm staff, the employee said in a May interview. Its getting to the point that were consistently holding 10-plus psych patients in the ER.

Last October, a patient seeking care for suicidal ideation snuck a gun into the ED, where she fired the weapon once, injuring herself. When police arrived, she allegedly ignored commands to put down the gun and was shot by police officers.

The patient survived, but the incident is indicative of the dangers that can arise while holding patients in the ED.

The Clinic utilizes an open floor plan for psych patients being held in the ED as a therapeutic tool that allows them to maintain some autonomy. But without adequate staffing a dangerous situation can escalate quickly.

Where that gets very frightening is if something happens with the patient where I have to disengage from however many Im watching, I am still culpable if one of those other patients chooses that moment to do something, the Billings Clinic employee said.

The Clinic uses a mix of in-house psychiatrists and telehealth providers to treat mental illness in the ED. Through a contract with a company called AmWell, patient evaluations can be performed remotely by a psychiatrist anywhere in the country.

While having the additional resource is helpful, it can take hours before a request for a consultation is even acknowledged, according to the Clinic employee. Since EDs arent staffed with emergency psychiatric services on hand, even the in-house psychiatrists sometimes take hours to respond.

When asked about wait times at Billings Clinic for psychiatric care, Benoit said that the majority of patients receive a comprehensive psychiatric assessment within one to two hours of the assessment being ordered.

From there, it takes three to four hours to transfer the patient to an inpatient bed or external resources, but these wait times vary depending on inpatient bed availability or whether the patient is stable enough to be discharged.

When asked if hospital leadership was aware of their employees concerns regarding staff-to-patient ratios and what was being done to address the issues, Benoit responded with a description of the hospitals staffing guidelines. He added that adjustments are made during each shift to ensure patients receive the care they need.

Staff and patient safety are a fundamental duty of any health care organization and it is a continuous focus at Billings Clinic, as evidenced by our recent Leapfrog A' safety rating and CMS 5-star Overall Hospital Quality Star rating. Everyone at Billings Clinic is empowered to raise concerns and work together to find solutions, Benoit said in a statement.

Seeking certification

Hospital leadership has not given up on its goal of becoming a level I trauma center, despite recent layoffs and employee pay cuts.

A few key elements distinguish a level II center, which Billings Clinic operates as now, as opposed to a level I center.

Level I centers conduct research and have certain specialists in-house at all times. They also must see a minimum of 240 severe trauma admissions per year in order to maintain the level I designation.

St. Vincent Healthcare is also reaching for the level I designation and will also need to meet the yearly minimum trauma admissions.

With all the changes happening at Billings Clinic, some employees say the ambitions of hospital administration seem to be more important than employee safety and satisfaction.

A lot of the issues I feel are stemming from the fact that they are so hyper-focused on becoming a level 1 trauma center, said one Clinic employee.

The employee recalled a moment during the height of a COVID-19 surge when hospital leadership boasted that a patient was being transferred from Tennessee to Billings Clinic for care. Dozens of other overflowing hospitals had turned down the transfer because they were operating far beyond capacity.

Because we were told by administration, we cannot say no to any transfers, we accepted that patient from Tennessee  We were being forced to say yes when we were drowning, the Clinic employee said.

When sick patients lined the halls at the hospitals, the community learned more about the practice of "ambulance divert"  a temporary status that signals to emergency responders that the EDs resources are strapped and that the incoming patient needs to go to the other hospital.

Since then, the Clinic employee said hospital administration has barred the ED from going on divert, seemingly in an effort to maintain the patient volumes needed for level 1 trauma designation.

So we could be absolutely destroyed in the ER  all the psych patients, all the holds, and were still taking patients from the Billings area and beyond, the Clinic employee said.

When The Billings Gazette asked hospital leadership to comment on this claim, Benoit sent the following statement:

Ambulance divert, a temporary status in which a hospital directs the local ambulance services to divert ambulances to an alternative hospital, is a last-resort measure that follows set criteria to activate when the hospital lacks capacity or capability to care for new patients. While hospitals across Montana face similar staffing challenges and rising patient numbers, as a non-profit rural referral center providing a range of complex care, Billings Clinic is committed to accepting patients when capacity and capability exists to care for them. As a result, we work extremely hard to avoid going on divert. If we have the capability, capacity and services available to care for the people who need us, we will find a way to do so, because they might not be able to get it otherwise.

Benoit did not respond to several follow-up questions from The Gazette, which included questions about the number of times Billings Clinic went on ambulance divert in the last year, details about the conditions of divert and where psychiatric patients are sent if the Clinic were to go on divert.

'Worst time in history'

Staffing in EDs has always been complicated, according to Trestman, with the American Psychiatric Association.

Usually, when a patient shows up on the ED's doorstep, workers dont have the option to turn them away. And when its time to transfer patients elsewhere in the hospital, the receiving department might not have the bed space or resources available right away.

Department leadership has to predict patient volumes at all times of the day and then try to schedule accordingly. Its common for the ED to operate short-handed.

Focusing on the staff-to-patient ratios is almost irrelevant anymore, Trestman said, especially with the current staffing challenges in health care.

"This is the worst time for hospitals in our history," Trestman said.

Without a significant investment from the government, it will be impossible to build up the therapeutic community services that bridge the gap between a weekly therapist visit and hospitalization, Trestman said.

Were living the consequences of poor funding," he said. "Montanas situation is being mirrored in the rest of the U.S.

Trestman urges hospitals to engage in collaborative care by partnering with primary care providers to expand mental health treatment.

School screenings also help children keep severe mental illness at bay, he said, and leveraging telehealth for psychiatric visits expands access to the rural parts of the state.

Trestman is encouraged by the increased attention and discussion given to mental health in recent years. As a result, more treatments and technologies are being developed to support people in their darkest hours.

Thats really exciting, Trestman said. Thats a really good thing.
LAKE DECATUR ANNIVERSARY COVERAGE

DECATUR  As a nonagenarian, Lake Decatur got some work done.

The $92 million dredging of the lake, started in 2014 and completed in 2018, was both cosmetic  clearing it of sediment that quite literally muddied the waters  and functional, restoring capacity that had been lost over several decades and made the city more susceptible to droughts.

The drought of the century happened more than once, Mayor Julie Moore Wolfe said of the need for the dredging project, which was the largest public works project the city has ever undertaken.

Moore Wolfe recalled that you could walk across the lake in a lot of places during the drought of 1988. Another in 2012 led city officials to impose the most severe water restrictions in Decatur history, including a prohibition on residents washing their cars or mowing their lawns.

The dredge successfully removed nearly 7,000 acre feet of sediment from the basin of the lake, increasing water storage by 30% and deepening it by six feet in some places.

We've done all we can physically to the lake to make it as deep and as large as possible to store water due to dredging, said water production manager Keith Alexander. But dredging comes at a huge financial cost. The city issued numerous 20-year bonds to pay for all of that dredging  let alone paying the interest.

As the lake marks its centennial, protecting that investment has become a paramount priority for city leaders. In fact, creating a coordinated plan for Lake Decatur management is among the seven strategic goals explicitly laid out by the Decatur City Council.

With a May 2021 city-commissioned report finding that more than $1 million worth of sediment seeps into the lake every year, a rate that would result in the loss of all dredge storage gains in less than a half-century, city staff and outside watershed consultants on retainer have laid the groundwork for a much more proactive approach to watershed management and protection.

So what I've called it is that we're currently doing a supercharged effort, Alexander said. It is astronomically larger in terms of dollars that the city is willing to commit and the staff time that the city is willing to commit to forward these watershed conservation efforts.

This approach, city leaders hope, will negate the need for further large-scale dredging projects in the future while protecting the water quality and ensuring that ample supply remains for customers and as a tool for economic development.

What's the plan?

In February 2020, the city entered into an agreement with Springfield-based Northwater Consulting for planning and implementation of a long-term strategy to reduce the runoff of nitrates and buildup of sediment into the lake.

In addition to setting up monitors for sedimentation and nutrients along key points of the watershed, the plan includes payments to farmers for implementing practices that reduce runoff, such as planting cover crops.

So far, more than $1.8 million has been authorized by the council for Northwater's work. Much of it has been formulating and implementing the plan for the watershed and applying for grants to defray the cost.

In April, the city was awarded a $9.8 million dollar grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture that will help fund conservation efforts of private landowners who are not currently enrolled in other government cost share programs and where the greatest sediment and nutrient loads flowing into the lake are originating.

The lakes watershed stretches 925 square miles across parts of seven counties in east-central Illinois, which necessitates working with stakeholders who are within the watershed but outside the city's jurisdiction. This most notably includes farmers who use nitrates and phosphates to fertilize their crops.

"Approximately 82% of (the watershed area) is nothing but corn and soybean fields," Alexander said. "That's a huge amount of landmass to try and manage voluntarily because the city has literally no authority to go much beyond its corporate borders in terms of mandating or requiring certain land activities to occur."

Other portions of the plan includes projects like installing floating wetlands, large-scale wetland development on city-owned property near the lake and reconnecting streams with their natural floodplains.

Some of these efforts are being funded through a $150,000 state grant.

The city estimated in 2021 that at least $20 million would need to be spent on watershed management efforts intended to protect the city's dredging investment. The estimate is believed to have grown in the convening years.

But grant funds are expected to offset at least some of that cost.

Alexander said that the investment is worth it  and beats the alternative.

"We're talking about spending like $20 million, $25 million, $30 million over the next five or 10 years on our watershed effort," Alexander said. "And you would think that that's a lot of money. But it also is a lot more money to gain additional water supply or improve the technology here at the water treatment plant."

Ensuring supply

Lake Decatur, a 2,800-acre reservoir built 100 years ago at the behest of companies like A.E. Staley and Archer-Daniels-Midland that have water-intensive industrial processes, remains an economic driver.

City officials say the water supply is party of why companies find Decatur an attractive place to locate. For that reason, it is crucial to ensure lake levels never get so low that restrictions are placed on businesses.

Beyond being more proactive in managing the lake's watershed, the city is looking to shore up its reserves.

Last year, the city approved nearly $400,000 to explore improvements to the DeWitt County well fields used as a major emergency source of water. The city purchased the property during the drought of 1988.

The city has only drawn water from that source six times, most recently for a 75-day period in 2012. But if recommendations are implemented, it could reduce the city's supplemental water shortage by about 20%.
DECATUR  Frank Marshall has been ready to fly for over a month.

So ready, in fact, that the 100-year-old World War II Navy veteran has visited the community relations coordinator at his senior living center at least once every day to remind her that hes still kicking  and that hell need a ride to the airport.

Frank has been in the hospital twice since he turned 100. He turned 100 at the end of May, said Laura Corman Cullison, community relations coordinator at Evergreen Senior Living in Decatur. So each time he goes to the hospital, because he is 100, you know, we're worried that he's not going to come home. So I believe he's literally been hanging on because he wanted to do this flight so much.

Marshall was one of seven Decatur-area veterans who were invited to take part in World War II biplane rides at no cost through the organization Dream Flights on Friday.

The veterans got to ride in the front of a Boeing Stearman biplane, which didnt see combat but was used to train many military aviators in the 1930s and 40s.

Taking off from the Decatur Airport, the approximately 20-minute flights flew vets over Lake Decatur, area farmland, city landmarks and, for the first few fliers, over the nursing home where their neighbors were watching intently on a Facebook livestream.

You get the wind in your face. You'll get to see the world from a different place than most people get to see it. And it's just for you to enjoy, Pilot Jeff Klosky told the participants before takeoff.

And enjoy they did.

I just thoroughly enjoyed looking over some of the places I knew when I was up there. It was just good. Excellent, Marshall told the Herald & Review after landing. I enjoyed it. I'm so grateful that they included me.

It was Marshalls first time in a military biplane, an experience he said was a whole lifetime coming.

Its unbelievable that I have lived this long and just get to (ride in) an airplane like that, he said. Unbelievable!

Larry Conner, a Navy veteran who served during the Korean War, couldnt keep the smile off his face as he awaited his turn. Afterward, he called the flight a wonderful experience and said he appreciated the chance to see brand-new views of Decatur landmarks like Caterpillar, where he used to work.

It was great, Conner said. I really enjoyed it.

For Klosky and the other Dream Flights representatives, the organization is a chance to show thanks to a population it can sometimes feel impossible to thank enough.

We are here to say thank you for your service, whether or not you've gotten enough thanks in your life. I don't think it's possible to thank you enough for what you guys have done, Klosky said. You've stepped up when many others wouldn't in times that were, for some of you, really hard and really challenging. You made some great sacrifices.

Showing thanks is its own reward, according to Gini Smith, the Decatur Dream Flights contact person.

It's so cool, you know, how it happens, Smith said.

After nine years of organizing Dream Flights in Decatur, Smith said it still hasnt gotten old.

It's just fun. I love it. It's in your blood, she said.

David Corman, Cullisons father and a Navy vet who served during the Vietnam War, told the Herald & Review that the environment at the airport on Friday was very different from what he faced when he returned from Vietnam.

We werent treated very good when we came back, Corman said. [Protestors] would spit on you, theyd do all kinds of You know, I just went and served. My country called and I went.

"I didn't want to be over there either, to be honest, but I didn't have a choice.

Marshall said he thinks all citizens, even those who didnt fly this week, can take something away from the Dream Flights experience.

I want them to know that they ought to be proud of their country, he said. And they ought to be proud of themselves and take every opportunity they can to make America what it is today.

And for veterans who may be considering taking part in a Dream Flight, Marshall gave the experience a resounding endorsement.

Excellent, he said. I plan to do it next year.

Any eligible veterans or their families can visit dreamflights.org to apply for an individual or facility ride. Applications should be in by the end of December to qualify for 2024 flights.

Photos: WWII veterans in Normandy to mark D-Day
The owner of a downtown Morganton restaurant is asking for a jury trial to settle a dispute with her landlord.

Root & Vine is being threatened with eviction, with the property owner saying damage has been done to the building. E&E Properties RV filed a complaint May 19 against Aimee Perez and Root & Vine, accusing her of breaching the conditions of the lease between the two parties.

The complaint said E&E Properties demanded Perez and the restaurant leave the premises but she has refused to surrender the building to them.

On June 13, Magistrate David Stikeleather signed off on a judgment for eviction, court documents show, which would have forced the restaurant out of the building it has occupied since 2011. It is located at 133, 137 and 139 W. Union St., Morganton.

But on June 21, the restaurant filed an appeal, demanding it be tried before a jury, according to court documents. It also filed a bond to stay the eviction judgment pending the outcome of the appeal, court documents show. The bond on the stay of the eviction judgment requires Perez to pay the rent of $2,240 on the first day of each month, as per the terms of the lease, to the clerk of court. If she fails to pay it within five business days after it is due, the bond on the stay of eviction would be dissolved and Perez can be removed from the building, court filings say.

The stay of eviction shows that Perez doesnt owe any back rent to the property owners.

The original complaint against Perez said she breached section No. 8 of the lease which says the lessee shall comply with all the laws, ordinances, and regulations applicable to the property and shall not make any use of the property which causes unusual wear and tear or diminishes the fair market value of the property.

The complaint goes on to say that E&E Properties RV has demanded the defendant, Perez and Root & Vine, leave, but she has refused to surrender the building to them.

The complaint also said Perez owes the plaintiff $62,715 in property damage. Some of the property damage the complaint describes is flooring in the kitchen ($17,250), demolition and repair of wooden subfloor ($17,965), flooring in the wash area ($15,000) and phased construction and equipment moves ($6,000).

The attorney for E&E Properties RV is Kenny Rotenstreich with Teague Rotenstreich Stanaland Fox and Holt law firm in Greensboro.

The attorney for Aimee Perez and Root & Vine is James Hogan with Starnes Aycock Law Firm in Morganton.

E&E Properties RV, whose managers are Samuel Cantor and Edward Cantor, was incorporated in 2019 and had an address in the town of Bostic in Rutherford County, but its principal office is in Boca Raton, Florida.
HICKORY  July 11 marks the 196th Poetry Hickory reading. Previous readings have featured a variety of local, state, regional and national poets, including numerous N.C. Poet Laureates and other award-winning authors.

The July 11 reading will feature Winston-Salems Sam Barbee, former president of the N.C. Poetry Society and founder of Poetry in Plain Sight (PIPS), an 11-year-old poetry initiative that features N.C. poets on broadside posters displayed in shop windows across the state.

In Hickory, the PIPS poems can be seen each month at Taste Full Beans Coffeehouse, Hickory Wine Shop, Hickory Community Theatre and Patrick Beaver Memorial Library. Julys selections are by Pat Riviere-Seel of Burnsville, Michael Gaspenny of Greensboro, Paul Jones of Chapel Hill, and Lucinda Trew of Weddington.

Barbee is the author of Apertures of Voluptuous Force and three other collections of poetry. His poems have appeared recently in Poetry South, Salvation South and Cave Wall, among others. He was awarded an Emerging Artists Grant, received the 59th Poet Laureate Award from the North Carolina Poetry Society for his poem The Blood Watch, and is a two-time Pushcart nominee.

Barbees reading will be followed by an open mic. For more information or to register to read in the open mic, contact Scott Owens at 828-234-4266 or at asowens1@yahoo.com.
NEWTON  After being postponed for almost four years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Bennett Funeral Service recently reconvened its Healing Hearts Aftercare meetings.

Robbie and Rhonda Bennett, owners of the family owned and operated business, offer the meetings as part of their commitment to providing ongoing support for the families they serve.

Bennett Funeral Service sponsors the Healing Hearts Aftercare meetings and includes a complimentary meal and an informative program presented by a representative from a local organization.

Those in attendance at the May meeting enjoyed a meal and a program provided by Pastor John Whaley titled Broken but Graced. Whaley currently serves as the senior North American pioneer for The Rooftop International. Whaley has served as a pastor for 21 years and has over 40 years of experience in ministry. Whaley lost his wife in 2021, and shared his journey, offered advice, and strategies to help overcome the grief associated with the loss of a loved one.

Whaley has written a book outlining his experiences, and it is also titled Broken but Graced. For more information, visit www.therooftop.org

Healing Hearts allows us to give back to the families we serve while creating a community of support for folks who have lost a loved one, Robbie Bennett said. These dinner meetings help bring people together who share a common bond and provide a bit of healing during a difficult period of time. Rhonda Bennett added, Through Healing Hearts Aftercare, our folks build relationships and create a network of friends as they go through the grieving process.

For more information regarding the Healing Hearts Aftercare meetings, contact Bennett Funeral Service at 828-465-2111. The next Healing Hearts meeting will take place in September.

Established in 2013 by Rhonda and Robbie Bennett, Bennett Funeral Service is Conovers only locally owned and operated funeral home. In November 2019, the Bennetts opened a second location in Newton, and it serves as the main office. Bennett Funeral Service is family owned. It has been voted the Best Funeral Home for eight consecutive years and Best Overall Business and Best Customer Service for 2022. For additional information visit www.bennettfuneralservice.com.
HICKORY  The City of Hickory will offer its popular Neighborhood College program this fall for citizens wishing to learn about the functions of local government.

The 2023 Neighborhood College program is a free series of professionally led sessions designed to teach citizens about Hickory government and the many services it provides. The immersive, nine-week program is an educational experience that gives participants insight into how the city operates on a day-to-day basis, as well as how it plans for the future.

Classes will be held on Monday evenings, from 5:30-7:30 p.m., beginning on Sept. 11. Each class will feature a different city department or function and will include behind-the-scenes tours of city facilities. The program will conclude with a graduation ceremony held on Tuesday, Nov. 7, in conjunction with the Hickory City Council meeting.

The Neighborhood College program is open to individuals who live or work in the City of Hickory and is limited to 20 participants. Interested individuals must submit an application by Friday, Aug. 18. Additional information and applications can be accessed online at www.hickorync.gov/neighborhood-college. Contact Communications Specialist Sarah Killian at 828-261-2290 or skillian@hickorync.gov with any questions about the program.
Photo: The Canadian Press This is a locator map for Sudan with its capital, Khartoum. (AP Photo)

An airstrike in a Sudanese city on Saturday killed at least 22 people, health authorities said, in one of the deadliest air attacks yet in the three months of fighting between the countrys rival generals.

The assault took place in the Dar es Salaam neighborhood in Omdurman, the neighboring city of the capital, Khartoum, according to a brief statement by the health ministry. The attack wounded an unspecified number of people, it said.

The ministry posted video footage that showed dead bodies on the ground with sheets covering them and people trying to pull the dead from the rubble. Others attempted to help the wounded. People could be heard crying.

The attack was one of the deadliest in the fighting in urban areas of the capital and elsewhere in Sudan. The conflict pits the military against a powerful paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces. Last month, an airstrike killed at least 17 people including 5 children in Khartoum.

The RSF blamed the military for Saturday's attack and other strikes on residential areas in Omdurman, where fighting has raged between the warring factions, according to residents. The military has reportedly attempted to cut off a crucial supply line for the paramilitary force there.

A spokesman for the military was not immediately available for comment Saturday.

Two Omdurman residents said it was difficult to determine which side was responsible for the attack. They said the militarys aircraft have repeatedly targeted RSF troops in the area and the paramilitary force has used drones and anti-aircraft weapons against the military.

At the time of the attack early Saturday, the military was hitting the RSF, which took peoples houses as shields, and the RSF fired anti-aircraft rounds at the attacking warplanes, said Abdel-Rahman, one of the residents who asked to use only his first name out of concern for his safety.

The area is like a hell ... fighting around the clock and people are not able to leave, he said.

The conflict broke out in mid-April, capping months of increasing tensions between the military, chaired by Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces, commanded by Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo. The fighting came 18 months after the two generals led a military coup in October 2021 that toppled a Western-backed civilian transitional government.

Health Minister Haitham Mohammed Ibrahim said in televised comments last month that the clashes have killed over 3,000 people and wounded over 6,000 others. More than 2.9 million people have fled their homes to safer areas inside Sudan or crossed into neighboring countries, according to U.N. figures.

Its a place of great terror, Martin Griffiths, the United Nations humanitarian chief, said of Sudan on Friday. He decried the appalling crimes taking place across the country and the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people.

The conflict has plunged the African country into chaos and turned Khartoum and other urban areas into battlefields. Members of the paramilitary force have occupied peoples houses and other civilian properties since the onset of the conflict, according to residents and activists. There were also reports of widespread destruction and looting across Khartoum and Omdurman.

Sexual violence, including the rape of women and girls, has been reported in Khartoum and the western Darfur region, which have seen some of the worst fighting in the conflict. Almost all reported cases of sexual attacks were blamed on the RSF, which hasnt responded to repeated requests for comment.

On Wednesday, top U.N. officials including Volker Turk, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, called for a prompt, thorough, impartial and independent investigation into the increasing reports of sexual violence against women and girls.

The Sudanese Unit for Combating Violence against Women, a government organization that tracks sex attacks against women, said it documented 88 cases of rape related to the ongoing conflict, including 42 in Khartoum and 46 in Darfur.

The unit, however, said the figure likely represented only 2% of the truce number of cases, which means there were a possible 4,400 cases of sexual violence since the fighting began on April 15, according to the Save the Children charity.

Sexual violence continues to be used as a tool to terrorize women and children in Sudan, said Arif Noor, director of Save the Children in Sudan. Children as young as 12 are being targeted for their gender, for their ethnicity, for their vulnerability.
Ask any random first-grader, "Who discovered America?" and they'll proudly tell you it was Christopher Columbus. Heck, ask most 50-year-olds and they'll give the same answer. But there are several serious problems with that claim.

" " Christopher Columbus lands at Guanahani, now known as San Salvador, island of the Bahamas, 1492. Kean Collection/Getty Images

Even if we ignore the fact that millions of indigenous people had lived in the land now known as North America for more than 10,000 years before Columbus "discovered" it, Columbus was still not the first European to make landfall in the New World. Historians and archeologists agree that Viking explorers and possibly Leif Erikson himself established colonies along the eastern coast of Canada as early as the 10th century.

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But even if you ignore both the indigenous issue and the Viking claims, you're still stuck with the fact that Columbus never set foot in North America. Columbus's first expedition landed on a small island in the Bahamas Oct. 12, 1492. Subsequent expeditions came ashore in Cuba, Jamaica and Hispaniola, among other islands. While these islands are most certainly part of "the Americas," none of Columbus's expeditions found what most Americans would consider "America."
" " This painting by Luigi Russolo is titled "Nietzsche and Madness." Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images/HowStuffWorks

Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (who was famous for the quote "God is dead") was the son and grandson of Lutheran ministers. He was expected to follow their path, but the precocious young Nietzsche had his own ideas. And these were enormously influential in the 20th century.

Born in 1844 in a small town near Leipzig, Germany, Nietzsche excelled in school, played and composed music and was a fan of Ralph Waldo Emerson's essays. His papers on philology (the structure and development of languages) were so impressive that young Nietzsche was called to be the chair of philology at the University of Basel (Switzerland) before he even finished his doctoral dissertation at the University of Leipzig (Germany). He was only 24.

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The Nietzsche we know, however, isn't the brilliant student of his early years, but rather the iconoclastic, mustachioed philosopher at the height of his intellectual and creative power. The author of books and essays with wickedly provocative titles like "The Anti-Christ" and "Beyond Good and Evil," Nietzsche said that the purpose of his work was to "overthrow idols" and "ideals." He had no patience for religious or philosophical views that looked beyond the earthly, human experience, and gleefully attacked conventional ways of thinking (including classical philosophy) with dagger-like strokes of his pen.

That said, Nietzsche isn't for everybody. His prose is playful and musical, but his meaning is often opaque. For example, Nietzsche loved to write aphorisms  short, pithy truisms that would fit nicely on a bumper sticker. But the aphorisms, while clever, often present more questions than answers. Here are a few from the opening chapter of "Twilight of the Idols":

Even the bravest of us only rarely have the bravery for what we actually know...



All truth is simple."  Isn't that doubly a lie?



What? Is humanity just God's mistake? Or God just a mistake of humanity?

Reading Nietzsche, it's clear that you're in the presence of a rare genius, but unraveling the meaning of his grand pronouncements has kept scholars arguing for more than a century.

To help us make sense of Nietzsche's unconventional mind, we reached out to Dale Wilkerson, a professor of philosophy at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley and author of the excellent entry on Friedrich Nietzsche in the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Here are five quotes from Nietzsche, starting with the most famous (and infamous) of them all.
" " Mary Mallon had at least 120 out of 163 stool samples test positive for Salmonella serotype Typhi. New York County Clerk Archives

Mary Mallon was born in Ireland in 1869. When she was a young teenager, she left for New York City, where she lived with her aunt and uncle until their death. Despite being alone in a large metropolis in a new country, Mallon earned a good living as a servant in various households. By her 30s, she was cook serving a dessert of ice cream and peaches that was to die for (quite literally, as we'll see).

In 1906, Charles Henry Warren, a wealthy banker, rented a home in the upscale Oyster Bay community. Six of the 11 in the home came down with typhoid fever, but survived. The Nassau County Department of Health investigated the outbreak, but couldn't find a cause. Dr. George A. Soper, an epidemiologist and sanitation engineer, was called in to investigate. Soper was well-versed in the disease and aware of cases involving immune carriers.

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Soper had determined the outbreak was caused by a person and not from food. He focused his attention on Mallon, who began working for the family just weeks before the first person fell ill. After investigating Mallon's work history from 1900 to 1907, he found 22 other wealthy New York families Mallon had worked for in their summer homes  and 22 of them had become infected with typhoid. Perhaps she had used the bathroom without washing her hands and then prepared food for the families. If so, she may have spread the disease.

Soper learned that most of the food Mallon served was cooked, and therefore most likely safe from the salmonella that caused typhoid fever. But Mallon's trademark ice cream and peaches dessert could have very likely infected the families.

Soper was desperate to find Mallon, and it took him four months to track her down. He found the tough Irish cook working in a Park Avenue brownstone and when he explained that she was likely infecting people with typhoid fever, and that he needed samples of her feces and urine to confirm, she lunged at Soper with a carving fork.

Nevertheless, Soper was determined to test her for the illness, even if he had to drag her away kicking and screaming  which was exactly what happened.

Mary Had Gall Doctors erroneously believed that removing the gallbladder could rid the body of the parasite that caused typhoid fever. When she was asked to go under the knife for the operation, Mallon refused, thinking doctors simply wanted to kill her.
ROBINSON  A Robinson man has been charged with first-degree murder in Cumberland County for the death of a missing Lerna man whose remains were found in Crawford County.

The Illinois State Police reported in a press release early Thursday evening that the Cumberland County State's Attorney's Office has filed this charge against Lance T. Newcomb, 24, regarding the death of Ryan L. Waggoner, 55, who resided in a rural area in northwest Cumberland County.

Cumberland County State's Attorney Bryan Robbins said the charge alleges that Lance Newcomb murdered Waggoner on June 2 in Cumberland County. He said Waggoner's remains were subsequently taken to Crawford County.

Robbins said he will be able to discuss more details of the case after a preliminary hearing is held for Lance Newcomb, adding he is still learning information about it himself. Robbins said he hopes to have Lance Newcomb transferred from the Crawford County jail to the Cumberland facility on Monday and to have a bond hearing that day there.

On June 8, the Cumberland County Sheriffs Office requested that ISP Division of Criminal Investigation Zone 8 investigate the Waggoner missing person case. Authorities reported at the time that Waggoner was last seen on June 2 at his residence.

The investigation led division agents on June 27 to a rural address in Crawford County, where human remains were located. Lance Newcomb and two others were arrested and then charged by the Crawford County State's Attorney's Office with concealment of a homicidal death. ISP reported that the remains were positively identified on Thursday, July 6, as Waggoner.

Robinson residents Angela S. Newcomb, 58, and Hiley A. Schulte, 52, are the two others who have been charged with concealment. Angela Newcomb also has been charged in Crawford County with obstructing justice/destroying evidence. These are all felony charges.

State's Attorney Robbins said he cannot, at this time, discuss the connection between Waggoner and the three individuals who were arrested.

The schedule of court hearings for the Crawford and Cumberland cases had not been posted online as of Friday morning. Lance Newcomb remains in the custody of the Crawford County jail. The other two posted $10,000 bond and have been released from there.

Personnel from the Crawford County Sheriffs Office, Robinson Police Department and Cumberland County Sheriffs Office assisted with the investigation and arrests.

Who are they? IL children reported missing as of July 1 These are recent reports of missing children made to local law enforcement. If you think you have seen a missing child, contact the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678).
CHARLESTON  Area Rotary clubs recently hosted four people from India as part of a Rotary Friendship Exchange.

The four from India  two couples from Indore, India  visited Charleston as part of a two-week stay in Illinois. While in Charleston the visitors toured Eastern Illinois University and met with international students, including a group from India.

They also saw some of the local Lincoln sites before heading to Champaign.

One of Rotary Internationals goals is to increase international understanding and friendship, said Surinder Sethi of Normal and a past district governor for District 6490, which includes the Charleston-Mattoon area.

There are 210 countries in the world, Sethi told the Charleston Rotary Club. Can you imagine how different we all are? We have different languages, customs, economies, foods and more. The more we know about each other the better our chances to achieve peace.

All four visitors are members of Rotary clubs in India. The visitors included Narendra K. Jain, a business owner; Pratibha Jain, a homemaker; Sukhdev Ghumman; a computer engineer; and Kiran Ghumman, a teacher.

The two couples are from central India near Bhopal. India has approximately 1.4 billion people with 1,600 languages spoken across Indias 29 states, Kiran Ghumman said.

A Rotary team from this area visited India earlier this year. Local Rotarians also have teamed with Rotary in India on water, school and hospital projects in needy areas.

Charleston Rotary also sponsors youth exchange students, hosting high school students from other lands while helping local high school students spend a year in about 40 other countries. The Charleston club also has been active in school activities, sponsors the Fly the Flag project on several holidays, helps with local food programs and other projects.

Charleston Rotary meets at noon each Tuesday at the Charleston Public Library. For more information, go to charlestonrotary.org.

My Town: Clint Walker's memories of Coles County as pulled from the archives Cosmic Blue Comics Mattoon Arcade Icenogle's Cooks Mills Mister Music Sound Source Guitar Throw Vette's FutureGen
CHARLESTON  The Lincoln Avenue Progressives recently held rallies on the Eastern Illinois University campus in support of free speech and women's rights.

The Charleston-based group held the free speech rally on Monday, July 3, as part of the Free Assange organization's commemoration of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange's birthday. This commemoration joined a global protest demanding that he be freed from a British prison and have the U.S. drop charges accusing him of violating the Espionage Act by publishing classified documents.

Lincoln Avenue Director Silver Damsen said during the rally on Eastern Illinois University's campus that people need to support the press before it's too late.

"Assange must be freed so that any and all journalists can publish material, even if said publication annoys the government," Damsen said. "In a democracy, journalists are supposed to embarrass politicians and call out the wrongdoings of the government. If the government makes this illegal, the government is no longer a functional democracy."

The Progressives also held a "We are still the resistance" women's rights rally on June 24 on EIU's campus. The rally was part of the national Women's March protest against efforts to take away abortion rights.
Filing began Friday for municipal offices in Forsyth County, and will close on July 21 at noon.

Election Day is Nov. 7. Although Winston-Salem is by far the countys biggest municipality, elections in the city are held in even-numbered years on the same cycle with the national presidential election.

In Kernersville and Lewisville, all offices including that of mayor are up for election this fall. Other places have boards that serve staggered terms. All the contests are nonpartisan.

*In Kernersville, voters will elect a mayor and five members of the towns board of aldermen. Aldermen and the mayor serve two-year terms.

On Friday, incumbent Mayor Dawn Morgan filed to run again, as did all five incumbent aldermen: Bill Apple, John Barrow, James J.R. Gorham, Joe Pinnix and Chris Thompson.

*In Lewisville, voters will elect a mayor and six members of the town council to two-year terms.

On Friday, incumbent Mayor Mike Horn filed to run again, as did incumbent council member Melissa Hunt. Also filing for council seats were Stacy Howard and William Monte Long.

In some municipalities  Bethania, Clemmons, King, Rural Hall, Tobaccoville and Walkertown  members serve staggered terms so that not all seats are open this fall.

*Clemmons will elect a mayor and fill village council seats now held by Mike Combest, Bradley Taylor and Christopher Wrights. The remaining two seats are not up for election. The mayor serves a two-year term. The two top vote-getters among the three elected this fall will earn four-year terms; the third candidate elected will earn a two-year term.

On Friday, incumbent Mayor Mike Rogers filed for a new term, as did incumbent council members Combest and Taylor. Also filing for a seat on the council was Randy Wooden.

*King straddles the border of Forsyth and Stokes counties, but all voters will get the chance to cast ballots for mayor and fill seats on the city council now held by Terri Fowler and Rick McCraw. The other two seats are not up for election. Terms are for four years.

On Friday, McCraw filed to run as mayor (a post now held by Jack Warren), and Fowler filed to run again for the council. Also entering the race for council were Tyler Bowles and Robert G. Gray Southern. All four are Stokes County residents.

*Walkertown will elect a mayor and fill seats on the town council now held by Wesley Hutchens and Marilyn Jo Martin. The other two seats are not up for election. Terms last four years.

On Friday, incumbent Mayor Kenneth Doc Davis and Richard Murdock Evans filed to run for mayor of Walkertown. Carolyn Jean Jones, who is not an incumbent, filed to run for one of the council seats.

*Only a small portion of High Point is in Forsyth County; voters in the High Point section of Forsyth County cast ballots for the mayor, an at-large member of the city council, and a member to represent Ward 5.

On Friday, two incumbent council members, Victor Jones of Ward 5 and Cyril Jefferson of Ward 1 filed to run for mayor, a position now held by Jay Wagner.

Two candidates, neither of them incumbents, filed to run for the two available at-large seats: Samuel Davis Carr and Shazia Tanveer Iqbal.

Timothy Powell Andrew filed to run for the Ward 5 seat being vacated by Jefferson as he seeks the post of mayor.

The High Point mayor and all eight council members are elected at the same time for four-year terms. But first, the candidates may have to face a primary on Oct. 10 if it is needed to whittle down the field to no more than two candidates per position.

On Friday, there were no candidates filing from Bethania, Rural Hall or Tobaccoville.
The state Court of Appeals has ruled that a local company will have to continue to contribute to the monthly housing costs for an employee who was struck by a steel beam at work and left a paraplegic.

The appellate court said in an opinion released Wednesday that the N.C. Industrial Commissions opinion was correct when it ruled Luis I. Rodriguez should receive funding toward his monthly adaptive housing expenses from his former employer, Mabe Steel Co. of Kernersville, and Bridgefield Casualty Insurance Co.

According to court documents, on Jan. 11, 2021, Rodriguez was struck in the head by a steel beam, causing a spinal cord injury that left him a paraplegic. He suffered other injuries and complications as well.

Before the accident, Rodriguez lived with his brother in a mobile home and paid $400 month in rent to him. Rodriguez also made frequent trips for work in which he received from Mabe a daily stipend of $60 for hotel expenses and food.

Mabe and the insurer claim Rodriguez should be required to provide more than $400 monthly toward his adaptive housing expenses, and that the commission erred in not factoring in the daily work stipend.

The appellate judges determined the commission was correct in not factoring in the stipend since it was provided by his employer only because he was required to travel for work.

The commission ordered that defendants were responsible for the cost difference between (plaintiffs) pre-injury housing expense (of $400) ... and the cost of ADA-compliant housing.

The opinion did not list what are Rodriquez current monthly housing expenses.

The opinion listed that since Rodriguez does not own or have access to a dwelling that would be suitable to modify, (he) is entitled to have defendants furnish ADA-compliant housing containing two bedrooms or one bedroom and an equivalent bonus room, as well as the adaptive amenities listed by his medical staff

The appellate judges said that the N.C. Supreme Court has established it is the employers duty to furnish alternate, wheelchair accessible housing to an injured employee where the employees existing quarters are not satisfactory and for some exceptional reason structural modification is not practicable. 

We found that the Commission sensibly reasoned that living arrangements constitute an ordinary expense of life and, thus, should be paid by the employee. . . . However, . . . a change in such an expense, which is necessitated by a compensable injury, should be compensated by the employer.

Neither Mabe nor Bridgefield could be reached for comment on the courts ruling.

Rodriguez is being represented by attorney Andrea Fowler with the Raleigh law firm of Hyland & Padilla PLLC. Fowler could not be reached for comment.

Background

Rodriguez initially was treated at Moses Cone Hospital in Greensboro before being transferred to the Shepherd Center in Atlanta, which specializes in spinal-cord injuries.

During treatment at the Shepherd Center, Rodriguez was told he would be unable to walk again.

It was determined in October 2021 by medical personnel that Rodriguez would require Americans with Disabilities Act-complaint housing, but could live independently because of progress made in his physical abilities.

After it was determined that his brothers mobile home could not meet his new housing requirements, a hearing was held before the Industrial Commission.

Rodriguez medical personnel testified that Rodriguez required living arrangements for at least a two-bedroom apartment or modified home because his current housing could not accommodate his medical equipment. The personnel provides specific details on some housing requirements, such as bathroom and kitchen fixtures.

They also said Rodriguez required transportation accommodations.

The commission determined in June 2022 that Mabe and Bridgefield would be responsible for 100% of any increase in Rodriguez rent.

Mabe and Bridgefield appealed to the full commission, which issued its opinion and award on Aug. 11.

Mabe and Bridgefield have been ordered to pay reasonable adaptive transportation for a minimum rental period of a year.

The groups were ordered to assist Rodriguez with securing adaptive housing by providing reasonable financial assurances to lessors to facilitate a lease agreement.

The groups filed an appeal of the full commissions opinion on Sept. 8.
Today, more than 6 million people 65 and older are living with Alzheimers dementia, with the number in Nebraska growing to 40,000 within the next two years, according to the recent Alzheimers Association 2023 Alzheimers Disease Facts and Figures report.

An accompanying special report, The Patient Journey in an Era of New Treatments, offers new insights from patients and primary care physicians (PCPs) on current barriers that impede earlier discussion of cognitive concerns.

The report showed that too often, individuals with memory concerns and their doctors are not discussing the issue, missing a critical first step toward diagnosis and potential treatment.

According to the report, individuals hesitate because they believe their experiences are related to normal aging, rather than a potential diagnosable medical condition. For PCPs, the report shows they are not proactively asking their patients about cognitive issues and will wait until the individual or their family members bring it to their attention.

For the first time in nearly two decades, there are treatments for individuals with early stages of the disease that can slow down the progression and give them more time with their families and loved ones, said Angel Horton Frank, director of communications for the Alzheimers Association Nebraska Chapter. More than ever before, these conversations about memory or other cognitive issues that an individual is facing are critical and need to start at the earliest point of the concern.

Three tips:

To help individuals become more confident and prepared to discuss their memory and cognitive concerns, the Alzheimers Association offers these three tips for talking to health care professionals:

Find the right doctor. In most cases, the first point of contact for concerns about memory and thinking is with your primary care physician. Ask your physician how comfortable he or she is identifying and diagnosing cognitive problems, and whether there are circumstances in which he or she would refer to a specialist. Most often, your physician will perform an initial assessment, and if cognitive decline is detected, will order more advanced testing or refer you to a specialist for a more definitive diagnosis. If your doctor doesnt take your concerns seriously, seek a second opinion.

Be prepared. Come to your visit with a list of any changes in your health, including your mood, memory and behaviors. Include a list of past and current medical problems, current prescriptions and over-the-counter medications including vitamins or supplements. Most importantly, bring your list of questions and be prepared to answer the doctor's questions honestly and to the best of your ability.

Get educated. When speaking to the doctor, be sure to ask what tests will be performed, what the tests involve, how long each test takes and when the results will be available.

While discussing cognitive concerns with your health care provider can be challenging, its really important, said Horton Frank. Having these conversations with a doctor can help facilitate early detection and diagnosis, offering individuals and families important benefits  not only treatments, but emotional and social benefits, access to clinical trials and more time to plan the future. It is also important to note that some forms of cognitive decline are treatable.

To learn more about Alzheimers or other related dementias, or resources that can help individuals and their families, visit alz.org or call the Alzheimers Association 24/7 Helpline at 800-272-3900.
A 13-year veteran of the Kearney Police Department resigned and surrendered her law enforcement certification Thursday after she was convicted of official misconduct in Buffalo County Court for allegedly lying to criminal investigators last March, according to court filings and other public records.

Jennifer Caudillo was ordered to pay $121 in fees and required to resign from the central Nebraska city's police force as part of a deal that saw the 39-year-old plead no contest to official misconduct, a class 2 misdemeanor, at a hearing Thursday morning, according to the court filings.

Prosecutors with Nebraska's Attorney General's Office had charged Caudillo in December with false reporting, a class 1 misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail.

The charge stemmed from an incident in March 2022, when Caudillo "furnished material information she knew to be false" in an attempt to impede an ongoing investigation, Deputy Attorney General David Bydalek alleged in the complaint filed in December.

It's unclear what false information Caudillo is accused of providing criminal investigators. Since the 39-year-old was never jailed for the crime, the state was not required to file a probable cause statement for her arrest, meaning the specific allegations weren't made public.

A spokesperson for the Attorney General's Office said Friday that Caudillo lied to Nebraska State Patrol investigators who were looking into allegations against her that did not yield their own criminal charges.

In a change-of-status form filed with the state's Law Enforcement Training Center on Friday, Kearney Police Chief Bryan Waugh said Caudillo resigned before "initiation or completion of an internal affairs investigation into allegations that, if founded, could" have resulted in termination.

Kearney Police officials were not available for comment Friday.

Caudillo had been on "civil leave" from the Kearney Police Department since sometime last year, according to minutes from Nebraska's Police Standards Advisory Council meeting in March.

She joined Kearney's police force in 2010 after graduating from the University of Nebraska at Kearney in 2007 and working for several years as a recovery specialist at Richard Young Hospital in Kearney.

Her attorney, Kearney-based lawyer Charles Brewster, declined to comment on Caudillo's behalf Friday.

Top Journal Star photos for July 2023
Students chant, clap and sing during morning community assembly at the Urban Prep School in Englewood on May 9, 2023. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)

An Illinois appellate court decided June 23 that Urban Prep Academies would be allowed to remain open while a lawsuit challenging the charter schools closure is pending in Cook County Circuit Court.

Troy Boyd, Urban Preps chief operating officer, said while he isnt surprised by the ruling, it is a much-needed win in whats been a long battle.

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We felt like the courts made the right decision  it was a violation of the moratorium, Boyd said, referring to a state law that suspended school closings until 2025. This is definitely a blessing.

In April, the Illinois State Board of Education denied Urban Preps appeal to take back control of its Bronzeville and Englewood campuses after the Chicago Board of Education revoked the charter status of the once-esteemed all-boys school in October. The district watchdog substantiated misconduct allegations against the charter networks former CEO, Tim King, and found multiple violations related to governance. The investigation also found that only one-third of Urban Prep teachers are certified and the charter failed to provide adequate special education services for disabled students.

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A circuit court judge rejected the schools initial request for a temporary restraining order on the closure June 14, so Urban Prep filed an appeal. The temporary restraining order from the appellate court now prevents Chicago Public Schools from taking over the school until the resolution of Urban Preps lawsuit. The next hearing in the lawsuit is scheduled for July 19.

As it stands right now, because of the TRO, we are able to move forward with opening in the fall, Boyd said.

CPS had previously started the process of replacing Urban Prep with district-run Bronzeville-Englewood High School, for which Christopher Shelton Jr. from Goode STEM Academy High School in Ashburn, was chosen as principal. In a statement, the district remained steady in its plans.

CPS is disappointed in the recent court decision; however, our focus is on ensuring that all CPS students have access to high-quality educational opportunities in their neighborhood, CPS said in a statement. CPS is committed to the new Bronzeville-Englewood High School welcoming students and staff on the first day of school, Aug. 21.

Boyd said Urban Prep administrators were ready for the ruling to go in their favor.

I wouldnt say we ever stopped preparing for the first day of school, Boyd said. This is just something reinvigorating for our faculty and staff, students and families. This was the hope we were desperately needing. It reaffirmed many peoples commitment to being at Urban Prep moving forward. After we got the disappointing news in April, folks had to shift gears understandably so to find other opportunities.

Pamela Johnson, whose son Miles Johnson graduated from Urban Prep in 2023, said she still doesnt understand why CPS and ISBE agreed to do away with something thats working.

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We need that institution in our community. We need it, Johnson said Thursday. We need men for our young men of color, who do not get to see other men of color in leadership roles, teaching them and guiding them. For most of them, this is the only time they see that.

Students at Urban Prep Academy in Englewood.on Oct. 25, 2022. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)

Dennis Lacewell, the chief academic officer for Urban Prep, said Urban Preps commitment to making sure its seniors had attainable postgraduate plans was a big part of its success and what set them apart from the typical public school model, citing the charters 90% high school graduation rate, compared with CPS 65% high school graduation rate for Black male students.

Johnson said her son benefited greatly from attending Urban Prep.

He graduated third in his class  why would you ever want to disrupt this type of institution when you see the results in these young men? she said. Its not about my personal opinion, its about the outcomes that were seeing. Our community is saying thank you to this temporary hold because it gives life to families that have supported the institution.

Boyd said Urban Prep leaders sent emails to parents and students as soon as the court ruled to put the closure on hold.

We mobilized our team on both campuses and our admissions department to begin making calls to let the community know if they were interested in staying with Urban Prep for the upcoming school year that they have that opportunity, Boyd said. Im not really sure about the interest that existed in students going to the CPS school. My understanding, from many of our students and their families, is that they dont intend to go to this new school that is not Urban Prep.

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Craig Wimberly, president of the Coalition of African American Leaders and an instrumental voice in Urban Preps fight, said while the ruling was necessary and gratifying, he hopes Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Gov. J.B. Pritzker will address why Urban Prep had its charter revoked in the first place.

Even beyond the legality of it, its morally bankrupt for CPS and ISBE to revoke the charter of a school that successfully educates Black boys and young men, Wimberly said. Regardless of what other issues they may have, nothing Ive ever read has pointed to any issues around the education of our kids.

CPS said the mission of Bronzeville-Englewood High School is to provide young men with a rigorous, culturally-relevant education that enables them to achieve academic excellence, think critically, and lead responsibly.

The district noted in a statement that Urban Prep had a mission to serve young men, but was not exempt from Title IX, and therefore a coeducational charter school open to all students, including young women. The Bronzeville-Englewood High School will operate under the same framework of serving young men but open to all CPS students.

zsyed@chicagotribune.com
This is simply one mans perspective from the early 21st century (first written in 2010). I had to make a decision about crimes that occurred at locations that are inside the city today, but were outside our corporate limits at the time they occurred. I chose the latter.

Before beginning, though, I have to deal with three crimes that stand apart: the murders of three police officers in Lincoln. Im not quite sure how to place them in a list. They all had huge impacts on the community, and on the police department in particular. Because these are my colleagues, I deal with them separately and in chronological order.

Patrolman Marion Francis Marshall

Shot in the shadow of the new Nebraska State Capital, Gov. Charles Bryan came to his aid and summoned additional help.

Lt. Frank Soukup

Marion Marshall was technically not a Lincoln police officer, so Lt. Soukup was actually the first Lincoln police officer killed on duty. One of his colleagues who was present at the motel and involved in the gunbattle, Paul Jacobsen, went on to enjoy a long career and command rank at LPD, influencing many young charges (like me) and leaving his mark on the culture of the agency.

Lt. Paul Whitehead

In the space of a few months, three LPD officers died in the line of duty. Frank Soukup had been murdered, and George Welter had died in a motorcycle crash. Paul Whitehead's partner, Paul Merritt, went on to command rank, and like Paul Jacobsen left an indelible mark at LPD and the community.
A 43-year-old Grand Island man has been sentenced to 60 years in federal prison on child pornography charges.

Senior United States District Judge John M. Gerrard sentenced Scott Matthew Simmons on Thursday to the prison term, plus supervised release for life.

There is no parole in federal prison.

Simmons  who pleaded guilty to production of child pornography and conspiracy to produce it  also was ordered to pay $11,250 in restitution and a $9,000 special assessment, which will contribute to funds established for victims of these types of crimes.

Acting United States Attorney Susan Lehr said the investigation began in July 2022 with the FBI attempting to identify children in a series of child pornography images, which were being shared online since 2018.

Lehr said authorities got a warrant and searched Simmons' and Scott Meyers home on Aug. 25, 2022, and determined many of the child exploitation files had been produced there.

She said Meyer, who was there when they came to search, admitted that he and Simmons had photographed and recorded prepubescent boys in a sexually explicit manner at their residence and other locations, including hotels.

He currently is set for sentencing in October.

Lehr said Meyer and Simmons met while both were serving sentences for child-sex offenses in a Nebraska prison.

In the new case, investigators identified four child victims, who were interviewed by child advocate interviewers.

Lehr said searches of Simmons and Meyers cellphones turned up more than 400 files of child pornography, a large majority of which involved the four victims.

She said Simmons and Meyer had distributed the images and videos on the Tor network using encrypted forms of email to further hide their identities. They also directly shared the files they created with at least one other person they met in prison.
With less than a week on the job, Brian Maher has a list of priorities to tackle as Nebraskas education commissioner.

The State Board of Education took several hours on Friday to create a rough outline of performance objectives for Maher, who began his role as education commissioner on July 1.

Maher was selected by the board earlier this year following the resignation of Nebraskas former commissioner, Matt Blomstedt. Maher previously served as the executive director of the South Dakota Board of Regents.

Mahers list of performance objectives will be a starting point for his work in the state and he will be evaluated on his progress in eight months.

Steve Joel, the manager of the commissioner search process from the Omaha firm McPherson & Jacobson, led the discussion around Mahers priorities.

Joel presented several challenges that Maher will face during his time as commissioner. One of the main issues Joel explained is academic recovery among Nebraska schools following the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Like other students around the U.S., Nebraska fourth and eighth grade students suffered the lowest reading and math scores in decades in the latest statewide assessment, although Nebraskas average scores were better than the nations averages.

That (topic) is really going to be looming large on minds of school boards, communities and parents, Joel said.

Other challenges include statewide perceptions, political dynamics in Nebraska and the U.S., budget challenges, enrollment declines, retirements and staffing challenges, and the obstacle of leading change centered on goals.

Many of the challenges fueled the list of objectives for Maher. While they still have to be formally adopted, the majority have a deadline of March. The list includes the following goals:

* The board wants Maher to review and give recommendations for Nebraskas statewide assessments. Any changes would be for the 2024-25 school year.

* Board members also want Maher to understand the internal operations of the Nebraska Department of Education, including workplace assignments, staffing patterns and succession plans. Maher will need to gather data about the operations along with agency services, such as teacher certification, something board members say has been inefficient and time-consuming in the past.

I have heard by many constituents that whats wrong with the state board is that they cant fix this problem for turnaround (time) for certification, said board member Patsy Koch Johns. We have all had personal experience with that. It will improve NDEs reputation if we can fix that turnaround. It should not take as long as its taking. We have made progress but this is low-hanging fruit we can grab a hold of.

* Maher will need to review the NDEs current strategic plan by his evaluation in March. He will also have to evaluate and make recommendations to improve the NDEs current communication strategies within the agency and with the public.

Koch Johns said she would prefer regular communication about the boards work, including achievements and challenges, be distributed to the public in the future.

I would like (communication) expanded to the public, such as what is the board doing? Koch Johns said. So they dont think we just meet once a month and sit around and chat and argue.

* The last objective is for Maher to work to build relationships within the agency and with stakeholders around the community.

Maher said hes looking forward to the work that was planned on Friday.

I think there are some really important points here, Maher said.

Top Journal Star photos for July 2023
Maj. Gen. Daryl Bohac has experienced his share of intense moments in a military career that spans 45 years, the last 10 as adjutant general of the Nebraska National Guard.

But absolutely nothing tops the 2019 floods  an exhausting time for the Guard and for Bohac, who also leads the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency.

To know the waters coming  theres nothing you can do to stop it, Bohac said. Every night, for about five nights, I was worried we didnt get to somebody we could have saved.

The Great Flood of 2019 was the worst weather catastrophe in Nebraska history. On Saturday, Bohac, 62, turned over responsibility for disaster response to his successor, Brig. Gen. Craig Strong.

Strong, an attorney from Silver Creek has spent 35 years in the military, 28 of it with the Nebraska Army National Guard. He served two tours in Iraq and commanded National Guard relief efforts in the Virgin Islands after they were hit by Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017.

The change-of-command ceremony on Saturday at Pinnacle Bank Arena included a flag-furling ceremony for Bohac, a promotion ceremony for Strong to the rank of major general and the change of command between the two.

The Nebraska National Guard Heroism Medal, which was created last week through an executive order by Gov. Jim Pillen to recognize a military or civilian guard member for heroic life-saving actions while not on active duty, was also presented for the first time to an Army National Guard sergeant.

Sgt. Brandi Sullivan was honored for "exceptional heroism."

Sullivan responded to a fatal accident during a thunderstorm along Interstate 80 near Gretna and provided roadside aid, including cardiopulmonary resuscitation on May 18, 2019.

Bohac is relinquishing command almost exactly 10 years after assuming the post from now-retired Maj. Gen. Judd Lyons. He leaves as the nations second-longest-serving adjutant general.

Bohac started his term with a National Guard force hardened by combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. At the time, he was concerned that his troops skills might wither as those conflicts drew down.

That turned out not to be a problem. Even with fewer deployments to combat zones, the past decade has been among the busiest in Nebraska National Guard history.

In 2014, the Guard responded to a series of tornadoes in Beaver Crossing, Pilger, and several northeast Nebraska towns. In 2017  the year of the hurricanes  the Nebraska National Guard assisted for weeks following devastating storms in Texas, Florida and the Virgin Islands.

Those disaster responses seemed like only a warmup for the 2019 flood, which saw most of the states major rivers and streams overflow their banks. National Guard helicopter crews rescued dozens of stranded people and pets under extreme conditions.

The Guards big Chinook helicopters also proved perfect for dropping bales of hay to cattle isolated by flood waters  a mission Bohac said he is particularly proud of.

He sees the massive response to a home-state disaster as a transformational moment for his soldiers and airmen.

Ever since that event, weve forged some really strong bonds among people across the Nebraska National Guard, from army and air coming to work together, Bohac said.

Those bonds would be tested in 2020 and 2021, during the response to the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Even more troops were called up for the pandemic than the flood, Bohac said. They helped in multiple ways, gathering and delivering boxes of food to strapped food banks, staffing COVID testing sites, and filling in as poll workers during the 2020 elections because of shortages of volunteers.

The pandemic also caused some of the most divisive moments of Bohacs term when some Guard members refused mandatory COVID vaccinations  defying an order from Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.

A small but vocal minority disagreed with that mandate, he said. For the first time in the service, we saw this idea of individuals so-called rights should prevail over the responsibilities and roles that come with raising your right hand and taking an oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.

Bohac enforced the order, despite criticism from some GOP legislators who opposed mandatory COVID vaccinations. About five airmen and 89 soldiers were discharged from the Nebraska Guard.

He said nearly half of them were reinstated after Congress compelled the Defense Department to drop the requirement late last year. Guard officials were warned to expect some friction between the large majority who accepted the vaccine, and those who refused it.

We have to have a lot of patience for that, Bohac said. I think weve treated everybody with some level of dignity and respect, and acknowledge that difficult choice.

In addition to deployments and call-ups, Bohac presided over the restructuring of Army National Guard units across the state, which saw about 1,100 of 3,600 Army Guard members retrained for new jobs  in some cases, in brand-new units. He opened several new National Guard readiness centers and broke ground on what will be the states largest, in Bellevue near Offutt Air Force Base.

Earlier this year, he cut the ribbon on a major renovation of the Guards largest training base, Camp Ashland. The facility, on the banks of the Platte River, was rebuilt after flooding in 2015, only to be destroyed again during the 2019 deluge.

This time, all the buildings were rebuilt on stilts, with funding secured through the efforts of Nebraskas congressional delegation. And the Platte River levee was extended to the north end of the property.

Bohac said some people questioned why he would want to rebuild on a vulnerable site that had flooded three times in less than a decade.

Its 1,100 acres of training ground, some of it austere, which is perfect for some of the training we need to do, he said. Where else will I find 1,100 acres of training ground? Nowhere.

Bohac leaves behind a Guard that is short of personnel. He said the Air National Guard has dropped from 102% of strength to 94%, largely because of the addition of 119 new positions in an expanded unit at Offutt. The Army Guard is down from a typical figure of 92-95% of authorized strength to 89%.

He attributed the shortfall to the pandemic, which kept National Guard recruiters out of high schools for up to a year.

Our recruiting is improving month over month, he said. Its going to take us awhile to climb out of that dip.

Strong, his successor, has announced what he is calling a monster blitz across the state to bring in new recruits.

Were confident that well build on the momentum that Gen. Bohac has established, he said at his introductory press conference with Pillen in May.

With 45 years of military service behind him, Bohac is retiring to spend time with his wife, Kris. But they wont be going far. He plans to take it easy for a few months before deciding what comes next.

My wife and I are born and raised here, he said. Well stay in Nebraska. Im not going anywhere.

Through the years: Maj. Gen. Daryl Bohac as adjutant general of the Nebraska National Guard
COUNCIL BLUFFS  Former President Donald Trump took the stage at a campaign event in Council Bluffs Friday to loud cheers from a crowd heavy with Nebraskans.

The event, which was billed as remarks, rather than a rally, drew more than 1,000 people to the Mid-America Center, enough to overflow the room.

Several people watched through the open doors as Trump fired up the audience with a wide-ranging speech. His talk ranged from the achievements of his term in office to making fun of his opponents, along with warnings about the decline of America.

We are approaching the most important battle of our lives, he said, adding later: If we dont win this election, we wont have a country.

Trump spoke following an agriculture policy panel discussion. The panel featured Matt Whitaker, who was acting attorney general for three months under Trump, and Justin Schultz, a staffer with the national Renewable Fuels Association.

The event is part of the Trump campaigns week-long celebration of Independence Day, which began with a rally in Pickens, South Carolina, on Saturday and smaller events in that state and in New Hampshire.

Along with Iowa, those states lead off the Republican primary and caucus calendar for 2024. Iowa will be the first state decided, with a caucus on Jan. 15. The Nebraska primary, on May 14, is near the end of the line.

Steady rain leading up to the event put a damper on the Nebraska Freedom Coalitions plans to hold a tailgate outside of the arena, but didnt stop hundreds of people from standing in line to enter.

Trump has made previous campaign stops in Iowa since announcing his campaign on Nov. 15 last year. He canceled a May 13 rally in Des Moines because of tornado threats.

Trump faces more than a dozen other declared candidates for the GOP nomination. Of those, Politico ranked four as favorites or contenders, although none has come close to Trump in the polls. The four include former Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and former Vice President Mike Pence.

Pence spent Independence Day in Iowa. The following day, he faced questions from a voter about his role in certifying the election results on Jan. 6, 2021.

The voter asked if he had second thoughts about refusing to go along with Trumps contention that he could have rejected some states votes and changed the election outcome. Pence responded that Trump was wrong that day about his authority and hes still wrong.

Photos: Former President Trump speaks at the MidAmerica Center
In a trip aimed at growing the states trade opportunities abroad, Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen will lead a delegation to Vietnam on Sunday for a weeklong visit to the Southeast Asian country, the governors office announced Friday.

Pillens delegation  which includes Nebraska Department of Agriculture Director Sherry Vinton and University of Nebraska at Omaha Chancellor Joanne Li  will make multiple stops throughout the country in a visit that Pillens office called a trade mission.

The governors visit will include meetings with Vietnamese trade officials, a trip to a large grocery/distribution center, product demonstrations and stop at the Vietnam University of Agriculture, Pillens office said in a news release.

Vietnam is an important and growing export market for Nebraska processed feed like corn gluten, soybean meal and distillers grains, Pillen said in the news release, pointing the countrys consumption of dairy products, eggs, beans and beef from Nebraska.

The states exports to Vietnam from Nebraska exceeded $946 million in 2021, according to the news release.

Im excited to have Vietnam as my first trade mission, Pillen said in the release.

Southeast Asia is an important market for Nebraska, and we are primed and ready to meet demands for ag goods.

Pillens delegation will also include ag-related business, academic and government representatives from across Nebraska. The governor said the trip will mark another step in strengthening the states bond with Vietnam, which has been the destination for many positive visits and exchanges over the years.

In January, a group of Nebraska business leaders and representatives from the Nebraska Department of Economic Development visited the country to discuss both business and educational opportunities.

Top Journal Star photos for July 2023
RACINE  Racine County Emergency Management continues to support whole-community readiness and resilience to disasters and emergencies that impact the county and its residents. The Office of Emergency Management is working to reduce the countys vulnerability to disasters, preparing communities to respond, and supporting response and recovery efforts should a crisis occur. Building a resilient Racine County takes the whole community to be successful.

Although the county has had some odd weather this spring including an early tornado watch, a hailstorm and a red flag warning for wildfire conditions, overall conditions have been mild. Many initiatives are under way including improvements to the countys Emergency Operations Center, the development of an Integrated Preparedness Plan, an update to the countywide Hazard Mitigation Plan and active shooter preparedness work.

Hazard mitigation planning

Mitigation is all about reducing the risk posed to life, safety and property from a given hazard. Floods and tornadoes are ongoing threats that in most cases cannot be prevented. Mitigation means reducing the impacts of these hazards when they do occur, and it is important for the safety and long-term wellbeing of the community. The severity and frequency of severe weather events is increasing, and as our communities grow and become more well developed, the costliness of disaster damages can also increase. This means that effective mitigation is growing in importance.

Racine County Emergency Management, in cooperation with the Southeast Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission, held a final local planning team meeting May 31 to review updates to the countywide hazard mitigation plan. The plan is in its fourth edition update, and this offered an opportunity to align risk reduction efforts across all county communities.

Example strategies to mitigate flooding, such as the 2008 Racine floods (pictured), include stormwater management and floodplain zoning. For every dollar spent on flood mitigation beforehand, the impacted community can save $7 in disaster costs when one occurs. The plan is also important as it ensures participating municipalities are eligible for certain federal grant funds. Once the planning update is complete, the plan will be shared with local municipalities and the Racine County Board for adoption.

Citizen preparedness

While mitigation is important for reducing community-wide disaster risk and exposure, whole community preparedness starts at the individual level. Racine County Emergency Management supports individual preparedness by sharing public information on all hazards and delivering training across the community. Residents of all Racine County communities are encouraged to take some essential steps to get ready for disasters.

Know your risks. Have an understanding of the hazards that may impact your community. Many are the same threats we face across the region, such as severe weather, but others can be specific to the community or neighborhood, like a flood. Plan ahead when it comes to where youll go should you have to evacuate, and how youll communicate with friends and family in an emergency. In a crisis, a good plan of action can take some of the stress out of a stressful situation.

Have multiple ways of receiving emergency alert information. Before your emergency plan can be put into action, you need to know if an emergency is happening. Outdoor warning sirens can be helpful for the communities that have them, but not all municipalities in Racine County do. These sirens are not designed to alert people who are indoors, let alone wake anyone up at night. For these reasons, everyone is encouraged to have a weather radio at home.

More information on emergency preparedness is shared on the RCEM page at facebook.com/racinecountyemergencymanagement.
BURLINGTON  As Nestle nears completion of a historic plant modernization, officials are embarking on more upgrades that will raise the companys investment in its Burlington production facility to $120 million.

The global food giant has transformed the 57-year-old plant at 637 S. Pine St. from production of Nestle Crunch bars and other candy classics to its popular refrigerated cookie dough products.

While that estimated $70 million expansion and remodeling wraps up, Nestle has launched additional improvements to administrative and employee spaces, including cafeterias, locker rooms and conference rooms.

Once the latest facility upgrades are completed by 2026, company officials estimate that the Burlington operation will have received a $120 million makeover, solidifying the plants place of importance in the corporation.

Plant manager Michael Elsbury said previous uncertainties about the future have faded, and the Burlington operation has been reinvigorated. With about 150 new jobs created, employment now stands at 450.

These investments provide a new future for the site for generations to come, Elsbury said. It is very exciting.

The 520,000-square-foot factory opened in 1966 and has been such a prominent Burlington presence that the city for years billed itself Chocolate City U.S.A. Surrounding neighborhoods basked in the sweet aroma of chocolate, as workers churned out such candy favorites as 100 Grand Bars, Buncha Crunch and Raisinets.

Nestle, however, sold its confectionary business in 2018 to an Italian company for $2.8 billion. The Burlington plant remained with Nestle, but its future grew murky.

Public tours of the Pine Street operation ceased, and Burlington city officials dropped the Chocolate City U.S.A. slogan.

The Switzerland-based corporations decision to modernize the plant has re-established Burlington as a center of refrigerated cookie dough production. Work being shifted from a plant in Danville, Virginia, takes place alongside ongoing production of chocolate chip morsels, cocoa powder and other basic materials.

It is the largest retooling of Burlingtons facility since it opened.

Rachel Loutsios, head of marketing and strategy for Bakery Sweets, the division that includes cookie dough, said the Burlington factory has been an asset to Nestle USA for more than 50 years.

Our recent investment to bring refrigerated cookie dough to Burlington, Loutsios said, will enable both the factory and the Nestle Toll House brand to succeed well into the future.

Nestle retiree Joan Grochowski of Burlington said she appreciates seeing the facility re-emerge with a show of confidence from the company that the plant will continue serving employees and their families in the area.

Grochowski, who devoted 33 years to the plant before retiring in 2006, was among a group of retirees invited by Nestle management recently to tour the modernized plant, although she was unable to join the tour.

It was always a good place to work, she said. Im glad its staying.

Work that began in 2021 includes a 7,700-square-foot addition, 65-foot storage tanks and new truck docks, unloading areas and warehouse space. Plans submitted to the city also called for new areas for vanilla storage, flour and sugar dehumidifying, bulk ingredient mixing and finished product cooling.

The result is four new production lines dedicated to Nestle Toll House refrigerated cookie dough. The first cookie dough rolled out on April 26, and three of the lines are now operational, with the fourth to be activated soon.

Nestle at the outset projected that it would spend $24 million on demolition and expansion, plus $46 million in equipment upgrades.

Officials said about half of the 520,000-square-foot factory has been involved in the modernization, and that 70 new pieces of equipment were installed just for the cookie dough process.

Elsbury said the conversion involved removing the old candy-making operation and rebuilding that section of the plant from the dirt up.

It is, in every sense, a new factory within an existing factory, he said.

Burlington civic leaders are cheering the transformation of the 45-acre manufacturing site.

Stephen Quist, president of the Explore Burlington chamber of commerce, said having Nestle recommit to the community by investing millions in the plant represents a huge deal.

It shows their belief in Burlington, he said.

Recounting the years when Nestle candy bars were symbolic of Burlington, Quist said the new cookie dough products are starting to turn up at local events. People in the community, he said, seem to accept the factorys new identity  and to appreciate one lingering reminder of the past.

It still smells like chocolate, he said. I think people love it.

As the factory modernization is winding down, Nestle USA is embarking on a three-year project to renovate administrative and employee spaces within the plant.

Elsbury said the makeover will improve many spaces used regularly by employees. The Burlington workforce includes 65 employees who have been part of the plant for 20 years or more; five of them have worked there more than 40 years.

The employees are energized, Elsbury said, not only because they are learning new skills in cookie dough production, but because the facility itself is changing so dramatically.

A new company store and visitor entrance are also part of the current plan. While the factory is not reopening for public tours, Elsbury said that will likely be up for discussion once the remodeling work is complete in 2026.

For now, he said, employees and managers are focused on making cookie dough and mastering the new plant operation.

Weve got to get really good at that first, he said. We get better every single day.

In photos: Scenes from ChocolateFest 2019 Burlington Chocolate Fest Burlington Chocolate Fest Burlington Chocolate Fest Burlington Chocolate Fest Burlington Chocolate Fest Burlington Chocolate Fest Burlington Chocolate Fest Burlington Chocolate Fest Burlington's ChocolateFest Burlington Chocolate Fest Burlington Chocolate Fest Burlington Chocolate Fest Burlington Chocolate Fest Burlington Chocolate Fest Burlington Chocolate Fest Burlington Chocolate Fest Burlington Chocolate Fest Burlington Chocolate Fest
1. Yes. Voters across the city filled the seat in the first place. Voters should decide again.

2. Yes. An election is much preferable to back-room decisions among council members.

3. No. The charter calls for the council to fill the vacancy by appointment. Follow the rules.

4. No. An election would be expensive, both for the city and for the potential candidates.

5. Unsure. An election seems more transparent, but its not the perfect answer.

Vote

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Baltimore Police arrested a 17-year-old Friday on firearm charges in connection to last weekends mass shooting that wounded 30 people, including two fatally, the same day sources said more than a dozen guns were fired at the scene.

Police recovered shell casings from at least 12 guns from the scene of the mass shooting, according to sources with knowledge of the investigation. Its not known exactly how many shooters there were  one shooter could have used two guns, for example  or if all the shell casings were tied to the mass shooting at the Brooklyn Homes early Sunday morning.

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Detective Freddie Talbert, a spokeswoman for the police department, said Friday afternoon that the teens arrest was the only one police had made so far but that there are multiple suspects.

Authorities said earlier this week that they believed there were at least two shooters in the 800 block of Gretna Court, where two people were killed and 28 people wounded. Aaliyah Gonzalez, 18, died at the scene and Kylis Fagbemi, 20, died at a hospital.

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The teens attorney, Michael Clinkscale, said his client was one of the 30 shot during the annual Brooklyn Day block party in South Baltimore. Clinkscale said the teen was one of several people who were treated at an area hospital in the immediate aftermath.

He was running away just like everyone else and he was shot, Clinkscale said.

The teenager has not been charged with shooting anyone and authorities have not said if they believe he did.

The police department said the teen is being charged with possession of a firearm by a minor, assault weapon possession, reckless endangerment and having a handgun in a vehicle. He was arrested following a search warrant on a home, the agency said.

A video circulating around social media after the shooting shows a young person at the community celebration remove an assault-style weapon from his book bag and brandish it.

Clinkscale said police claim that his client is the person in the video. Asked whether the teen in the video was his client, he reiterated that there was an allegation that it was. As to the contents of the bookbag, the teens attorney said there is an allegation that it was a gun, but we do not know.

Police detectives believe the 17-year-old was involved in the mass shooting and, on social media, refer to him as a person of interest.

The investigation into what is likely Baltimores largest mass shooting is still open and ongoing.

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[ What we know so far about the mass shooting at Brooklyn Homes in South Baltimore ]

Saturdays Brooklyn Day block party was held near the 800 block of Gretna Court. What began as an intergenerational celebration, with food, a pony ride, face painting and music, turned into a crime scene shortly after 12:30 a.m. Sunday when shots broke out.

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott called the arrest Friday a signal that with the communitys help we can get justice for Aaliyah, Kylis and everyone else who has been impacted by this tragedy.

Bringing the perpetrators of this horrific crime to justice is our number one priority, and I want to thank everyone who had a hand in bringing this person of interest in, Scott said. I am confident that this investigation will continue diligently working through every single tip, lead and suspect.

Three shooting victims remain at local hospitals, with all of them in fair condition, police said Friday. The vast majority of those wounded were in their teens. Fifteen of them were under the age of 18.

Experts said this week that the size of the shooting could be a complicating factor for the investigation. It took place in a large crowd, meaning there could be dozens of witnesses and countless social media posts or other footage capturing key moments.

Another factor: Witnesss possible fear for their own safety, should they share information with police.

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Erika Walker, the tenant council president of the public housing complex where the shooting took place, Brooklyn Homes, said people were fearful of retaliation.

Theyre scared, period, she said.

There is a $28,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest and charges. The Metro Crime Stoppers tip line is 1-866-7LOCKUP. Callers can remain anonymous.
Kenosha Countys Brookside Care Center is actively recruiting for a variety of employee positions.

Administrator Lynda Bogdala said Friday that positions available include certified nursing assistants, nurses of all experience levels and environmental service workers.

All positions come with competitive wages and benefits including the Wisconsin Retirement System pension program and access to health insurance for full- and part-time employees. Wages were increased recently with a new county pay schedule that took effect July 2.

Now is a great time to begin a career at Brookside  Kenosha Countys award-winning skilled nursing facility, Bogdala said. Our wage and benefit packages set us apart from other employers in the community, and working here provides the opportunity to be a part of a team of compassionate caregivers thats second to none.

For those aspiring to become a certified nursing assistant, Brookside participates in a state program that offers educational support and cash incentives to applicants. WisCaregiver provides free training, no-cost admission to be placed on the Wisconsin CNA registry, and a $500 retention bonus after six months on the job.

Separately from the WisCaregiver program, current Brookside employees are eligible to receive a referral bonus of $400 to $500 if they refer a new CNA, resident assistant or environmental services worker who remains on the job for six months. Interested applicants may view available job postings and apply online at https://www.kenoshacounty.org/jobs.

Honored by national publications in recent years, Brookside is a 154-bed facility offering long-term skilled nursing and short-term rehabilitation care. Its neighboring facility, Willowbrook Assisted Living, provides assisted living and respite stay services, with staff on site 24 hours a day and 24/7 on-call licensed nursing services.

More information about the facilities is available at brooksidecarecenter.com and willowbrookofkenosha.com.
Dear Readers: In order to keep doing what Im doing, I have to keep up-to-date. There are multiple journals I read, some in more detail than others. Several times a year, many of the journals list studies they find most interesting. I thought I would share some of what Ive learned.

Compression stockings

When you go on an airline, should you wear compression stockings? As many of you know, DVT, or deep vein thrombosis clots in the lower legs, can be a complication of airline travel, especially if youre on long flight.

Getting up frequently during the flight and walking around is an excellent way to decrease your risk. But if youre in a window seat, as I always like to be, its a drag asking the people next to you to get up when you leave and when you return to your seat.

And if its a nighttime trip, forget it. So I tend just to sit down and stay there, unless Mother Nature calls.

A review paper in the American Academy of Family Physicians discussed this very topic. Looking at various studies, they concluded that wearing compression stockings on flights more than five hours long reduced the risk of asymptomatic DVTs.

But notice the word asymptomatic. There was no good data that showed wearing the stockings reduced the risk of symptomatic DVTs.

My spin: I agree with the American Society of Hematology with its recommendation that if you are at risk for DVTs, you should wear the stockings.

The major risk factors are if youre over 60, recently had surgery, are pregnant, are significantly overweight, have cancer or heart failure, have a previous history of DVTs, or have a genetic predisposition to them. In such cases, you need to wear the stockings. I think this includes about half or more of those flying today.

I found some compression stockings on the web for about $15. Get ones that say 10mm to 20mm  thats all the compression you need. And buy ones that are larger than you think youll need, as theyll be easier to put on.

Kids with a fever

Ah, I remember when our kids were young. We have seven grandchildren now. When theyre sick, the memory of when our kids were sick comes back.

When our children were young, the choice for reducing a fever was between baby aspirin and Tylenol, which is acetaminophen. We dont use aspirin in kids now because of the risk of Reyes syndrome, a potentially fatal complication in children. But we now use ibuprofen.

So which one is better, ibuprofen or acetaminophen? A meta-analysis of data from the American Academy of Family Physicians showed that ibuprofen is more effective than acetaminophen in reducing fever in kids under 2 years of age.

Some parents alternate between the two, which you can safely do. Its also important with kids to keep them hydrated. If you dont keep up the fluids, youll never get the fever down.

Now what about that old folk remedy of applying rubbing alcohol (isopropyl alcohol) to the skin? Dont do it. It is extremely unsafe. The alcohol can be absorbed into an infants skin, causing seizures, brain damage and heart problems. Its one of those old remedies that is best kept in the medicine cabinet.

But there is one more thing to discuss about a fever. Be aware that its the bodys natural way to fight an infection. If the fever is mild, less than 102, and your child isnt too uncomfortable, then you might just use a cool, damp washcloth to help soothe them.

Just that remedy can help your child get through the night, and help get you a good nights sleep, too. Stay well.
LA CROSSESister Marydel Bissen, Franciscan Sister of Perpetual Adoration, 94, died on July 4, 2023, at St. Rose Convent, La Crosse, WI. She was in the 72nd year of her religious profession.

Sister Marydel was born (Bernice Bissen) on March 8, 1929, to Mathias and Margaret (Smith) Bissen in Johnsburg, MN. Sister Marydel made first profession of vows as a Franciscan Sister of Perpetual Adoration on August 12, 1951.

Sister Marydel ministered as a homemaker in convent homes throughout the majority of her religious life. She served in Wisconsin (La Crosse, Middle Ridge, Ashland, Superior and Blenker) and in Iowa (Maple River, Hills, St. Lucas and Dedham). From 1983 to 1988, Sister Marydel served as cafeteria assistant at St. Rose Convent in La Crosse. Following two years at the Franciscan Center for Wholistic Living in St. Paul, she moved to Villa St. Joseph where she was part of the Religious Services Department from 1990 to 2003. She retired at Villa St. Joseph and continued volunteering in the Religious Services Department until her health prevented her from continuing in 2011, when she moved into the ministry of prayer and witness.

Sister Marydel is survived by her Franciscan community and several nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents; her brothers: Raymond and Fred; and her sisters: Rosina Koenig, S. Julia Bissen, Agnes Bissen, Margaret Blake, Martha Henrichs and Elizabeth Bissen.

A wake service will take place for Sister Marydel on Thursday, July 6, 2023, at 3:30 p.m. at Mary of the Angels Chapel in St. Rose Convent. A virtual sharing will take place that evening at 6:30 p.m. The Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Friday, July 7, 2023, at 10:00 a.m. in Mary of the Angels Chapel. Burial will be in Gate of Heaven Cemetery, La Crosse.

Dickinson Family Funeral Home is assisting with the arrangements.

Memorials may be sent to Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration, 912 Market Street, La Crosse, WI, 54601-4782.
Three Tomah men have been arrested and accused of burglarizing a home near Hillsboro.

According to a press release from Vernon County Sheriff Roy Torgerson, deputies were notified about a residential break-in around 8:30 p.m. Friday, June 30.

The home is located on County Road F, just north of the city of Hillsboro, in the town of Hillsboro.

A deputy and a criminal investigator were sent to the home, which was under renovation and vacant at the time, Torgerson said. It was determined the burglars forced entry to the home through a window.

The victim reported the home was last known to be secure at 3 p.m. June 30.

The victim reported numerous Milwaukee brand power tools, eight firearms, several thousand rounds of ammunition and other items, some with sentimental value, were missing.

Investigators secured the home and put up surveillance cameras.

On Saturday, July 1, the victim reported the home was entered a second time, this time by forced entry through a door. More items were reported missing.

Authorities were able to get photos of the suspect and their vehicle.

Torgerson released the photos to the public through the sheriff offices social media and sent them to area news media outlets.

On Monday, July 3, the sheriffs office received a tip about the suspect vehicle possibly being in the city of Tomah.

At about 3 p.m. Monday, the Tomah Police Department found the vehicle and some of the stolen property on Edgewood Avenue, and arrested Blaze Rouse, 30, for possession of stolen property.

As further information developed, Rouse was also booked for burglary, Torgerson said.

The investigation continued throughout Monday night and early Tuesday morning, July 4, a search warrant was executed at a residence in the city of Tomah with assistance from the Monroe County Combined Tactical Unit.

The search resulted in the arrests of Joseph Trumble, 39, and Dustin Sprague, 33.

Both Trumble and Sprague were booked into the Vernon County Detention Center for burglary.

On Wednesday, July 5, Rouse and Sprague were ordered held on $5,000 cash bonds in court.

Trumble was released on a $3,000 signature bond. All three are due back in Vernon County Circuit Court at 8:30 a.m. Aug. 2.

All firearms reported stolen were recovered by authorities.

The estimated value of the stolen property is $11,000, most of which has been recovered. Police said the investigation continues.

Anyone with any information on this case is asked to call 608-637-2123 or their local law enforcement. Anonymous tips can be submitted to Crime Stoppers at www.p3tips.com.
China played key role in IFD agreement text negotiations: official

Xinhua) 07:50, July 08, 2023

BEIJING, July 7 (Xinhua) -- China played a key role in successfully concluding negotiations on the text of the world's first multilateral investment agreement, known as the Investment Facilitation for Development (IFD), a commerce ministry official said on Friday.

The successful conclusion was announced after a recent World Trade Organization (WTO) meeting on the text negotiations.

As the world's first multilateral investment agreement, the IFD agreement aims to improve the transparency and predictability of investment measures, speed up and streamline investment-related administrative procedures, and enhance sustainable investment.

The IFD agreement is the first negotiation topic set up and actively led by China in the WTO, with more than 110 WTO members signing and participating in the negotiation of the IFD. The topic entered into text negotiations in September 2020.

China provided pragmatic solutions for disputed issues during the negotiations, and made key contributions to their successful conclusion, receiving high recognition from the parties involved, the official said.

Negotiations on multilateral investment agreements have long been an obstacle in making global trade and investment rules, and former attempts made by the WTO and Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development have all failed, the official said.

Global foreign direct investment faced huge downward pressure in 2022 and fell by 12 percent to 1.3 trillion U.S. dollars, according to the World Investment Report 2023 released by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.

(Web editor: Cai Hairuo, Hongyu)
CAIRO (AP)  An airstrike in a Sudanese city on Saturday killed at least 22 people, health authorities said, one of the deadliest in the weekslong fighting between Sudans rival generals.

The attack took place in a residential area in Omdurman, the neighboring city of the capital, Khartoum, according to a brief statement by the health ministry. The attack wounded an unspecified number of people, it said.
Biden Administration To Send Cluster Munitions to Ukraine

July 7, 2023, 2022 (EIRNS)The Biden Administration announced today that it has decided to send cluster munitions to the Kyiv regime in its next arms package. We recognize that cluster munitions create a risk of civilian harm from unexploded ordnance, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters at the White House today.

This is why weve deferred the decision for as long as we could. But, he claimed, there is also a massive risk of civilian harm if Russian troops and tanks roll over Ukrainian positions and take more Ukrainian territory and subjugate more Ukrainian civilians because Ukraine does not have enough artillery.

Ukraine has provided written assurances that it is going to use these in a very careful way to minimize risks to civilians, Sullivan said. He clearly did not acknowledge that last summer, Ukrainian forces scattered thousands of so-called petal mines all over civilian areas of Donetsk, which have killed several people, and maimed over 100.

Cluster munitions are banned by international conventions signed by 120 countriesbut not the U.S., Ukraine or Russia. The Associated Press reported earlier in the day that Germany opposes giving cluster munitions to Ukraine. Both Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and Defense Minister Boris Pistorius are quoted saying that Germany will not do this, due to its having banned cluster munitions, but it is the business of the United States as to whether it does so.

The Arms Control Association issued a strongly worded statement opposing the supply of cluster munitions to the Kyiv regime, yesterday, in response to news reports indicating that the decision was coming. ACA executive director Daryl Kimball said that sending cluster bombs to Ukraine would be escalatory, counterproductive, and only further increase the dangers to civilians caught in combat zones and those who will, someday, return to their cities, towns, and farms.

Some U.S. officials claim that these weapons would be useful against mass formations of troops and armor or broad targets, such as airfields, and that they would allow Ukraine to concentrate their use of unitary warheads against higher-value Russian targets, said Kimball.

The reality is more complicated, he continued. Cluster munitions will not differentiate a Ukrainian soldier from a Russian one. The effectiveness of cluster munitions is significantly oversold and the impact on noncombatants is widely acknowledged, but too often overlooked.

Kimball remarked that the limited military utility and the substantial humanitarian dangers of cluster munitions are among the key reasons why the Defense Department halted using them in Afghanistan in 2002 and Iraq in 2003, and has chosen to invest in alternative munitions.
Dutch Government Collapses

July 7, 2023, 2022 (EIRNS)Today, on July 7, the Dutch government, the cabinet of Malthusian Prime Minister Mark Rutte, has collapsed. One less government run by the World Economic Forums Klaus Schwab! The inability to deal with the effects of draconian measures promoted by Brussels, together with heated arguments about asylum policies, have shredded ties between the four coalition partners, the VVD, D66, CDA and CU. On Friday, June 30, the last attempt to reach an agreement failed. New elections loom for the fall. Thats good news for the farmer: his or her expropriation is on hold; draconian persecution for too many emissions of CO2 or nitrogen compounds is also on hold. Preparation for new elections in the fall will provide an enormous educational/organizing opportunity for people of good will, and good sense.

The media are playing up the asylum problem as the cause for the trainwreck (floods of refugees caused by neo-con wrecking of former colonial countries). This is a special sore point, because the policy is dictated as law by the EU in Brussels.

The asylum issue is a serious problem, but thats not what brought down the government. For a number of years, Brussels and The Hague, with their cruel Malthusian acolyte, Prime Minister Mark Rutte, have been trying to shrink farmers and livestock by at least 25% and going on to 60%, using climate and nature areas as an excuse. Under these threatening conditions, farmer suicides in the Netherlands amount to one every 12 days. Meanwhile, the Farmers Defense Force (FDF) has resisted vigorously and with compassion; deploying tractorcades and educational posts on social media, and also taking the fishermen under their protective wing, to protect their lifes investment and family tradition from destruction by the Davos piranhas. The FDF is also a platform for the victims of Rutte/EU sadism, such as the childrens allowance scandal, in which 35,000 families were accused of fraud by a government algorithm, which caused terror and sparked a number of suicides.

On March 11 of this year, the Farmers Defense Force held a huge rally in The Hague of some 10-20,000, to which a Schiller Institute Farm Representative brought greetings, as did others from Canada. In a regional election four days later, the ruling coalitions candidates lost their shirts. A brand-new party, BoerBurgerBeweging (BBB) or Farmers-Citizens Movement, gained what could potentially be make-it-or-break-it power in the next government.

On June 29, the FDF held another rally which, in spite of naysayers, and government sabotage and harassment, sent a clear message around the country, to pull the plug on the weak link of the cabinet coalition, the CDA. Only seven hours before the government collapse, FDF President Mark van den Oever told activists on social media not to get discouraged, but go after the CDA, they dont know whether to poop or to pee. Think about it, but not too long.

Many people had begun hanging the CDA flag upside-down, as they had already done with the Dutch flag. The clear impression is that at least half the population have had it up to here with the government. So today, eight days after the FDF demonstration, and seven hours after van den Oevers exhortation, the rotten cabinet collapsed.

Let the debate begin, on leaving the war-mongering NATO, dumping the EU, and joining the BRICS and the Belt and Road! Additional topics: Doubling Dutch agricultural production; exporting the recently restocked wolves to Davos, where they will feel at home; bringing more land under cultivation; and improved technologies, since too many people in the world still dont have enough to eat, and farmers love to produce food!
Drugmaker Novo Nordisk says tests show good weight loss results from a daily pill version of its diabetes treatments.

The company sells the drug semaglutide under the names Wegovy and Ozempic. It is currently available only as a weekly injection.

But some people are afraid of needles. So, Novo Nordisk has been testing how the drug works when taken by mouth.

Wegovy and Ozempic have gotten a lot of attention in the last year for helping people lose weight. The government has approved the drugs to treat people with the disease diabetes. But weight loss doctors also give the medication to overweight people who do not have diabetes.

Novo Nordisk said Sunday that two 16-month studies showed good results when people took a daily pill instead of a weekly shot.

One study followed 1,600 overweight adults who were already being treated for diabetes. They took a pill version of the drug each day. They lost between seven and nine kilograms.

The other study looked at 660 overweight people who had a weight-related disease other than diabetes. Those people took a daily pill containing 50 milligrams of the medication. They lost about 16 kilograms.

The writers of the study said the results of the second group were similar to those who received the Wegovy injection once per week.

Novo Nordisk said it expects to ask the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to approve the pills for weight loss later this year.

Some of the people in the study reported side effects including intestinal problems, sick stomach and diarrhea.

Daniel Bessen is a weight loss doctor in Denver. He was not involved with the study, but he treats patients who use weight loss drugs. He said, if you ask people, Would you rather take a pill or an injection? People overwhelmingly prefer a pill.

He added, however, that people might not feel the same way if the pills are more costly than the injections. He said cost and availability are the most important issues for people when deciding which drugs to take.

Katherine Saunders is a weight loss doctor at Weill Cornell Health in New York City. She said people will be thrilled with the ability to take a pill.

Novo Nordisk already has a pill form of semaglutide that is used for diabetes. It is called Rybelsus. But it contains less semaglutide than Wegovy.

Dr. Fatima Cody Stanford is an expert in treating overweight people at Massachusetts General Hospital. She does not think the availability of a daily pill will change the habits of many people who already use the injections. She said, A lot of people like the ease of taking a medication once a week.

She also said some people might prefer the shots to a pill that needs to be taken 30 minutes before eating or drinking each morning.

Paul Morer is 56 years old. He said he has lost about 40 kilograms using Wegovy and does not mind the injection. I do it on Saturday, its part of my routine, he said. I dont even feel the needle, Morer added.

Some people, however, think the availability of a pill will make it more difficult for obese people to be accepted. Tigress Osborn is the leader of an activist group called the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance.

The news of a weight loss pill, she said, may make it hard for people who are overweight to escape the feeling that your body is wrong, and it should change.

The drug companies Eli Lilly and Pfizer are also working on a pill version of their diabetes medications for weight loss.

Many of these drugs are so popular for weight loss that they have become hard to get. They are also very costly  some can be over $1,000 per month. Novo Nordisk said it could not predict the cost of their pill. The company also said injectable Wegovy will continue to be hard to get until at least September.

Im Dan Friedell. And I'm Ashley Thompson.

Dan Friedell adapted this story for Learning English based on a story by The Associated Press.

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Words in This Story

pill n. a small, round, solid amount of medicine or vitamin that is taken by mouth

rather  adv. a term used to declare one thing you would prefer over something else when given a choice

overwhelming  adj. something that is larger or greater than something else

affordv. the ability to pay for something

factorn. one of the things considered when comparing two items in order to choose which one is better

availableadj. a measure of how common something is

thrilledadj. very pleased or excited

habitn. something a person does daily or often

routinen. something a person does daily or often

______________________________________________________________________

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From VOA Learning English, this is American Stories.

Our story is called "The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky." It was written by Stephen Crane. We will listen to the story in two parts. Today we will hear the first part of the story.

The great train was rushing forward such steady dignity of motion that a glance from the window seemed simply to prove that the flatlands of Texas were pouring toward the east.

A newly married pair had come on this train at San Antonio. The mans face was reddened from many days in the wind and sun. His roughened hands were continually moving over his new black clothes in a most nervous manner.

From time to time he looked down respectfully at his suit. He sat with a hand on each knee, like a man waiting in a shop for a haircut. The glances he gave to other passengers were few and quick.

The bride was not pretty, nor was she very young. She wore a dress of blue with many buttons. She continually turned her head to regard some part or other of her dress. It made her feel strange.

One could tell that she had cooked and that she expected to cook, dutifully.

The searching glances of some of the passengers as she had entered the car had brought the blood rushing to her face. Her uncomfortable expression was strange to see upon this plain face, which was usually calm and almost emotionless.

They were evidently very happy.

Ever been in a train like this before? he asked, smiling with delight.

No, she answered, I never was. Its fine, isnt it?

Great! After a while well go forward to the dining car and get a big dinner. Finest meal in the world. Costs a dollar.

Oh, it does? cried the bride. A dollar? Oh, thats too much for us, isnt it, Jack?

Not on this trip, at least, he answered bravely. Were going to enjoy ourselves.

Later he explained to her about the trains.

You see, its a thousand miles from one end of Texas to the other. The train runs straight across it, and only stops four times.

He had the pride of an owner. He pointed out to her the beauty of the car they were riding in. And in truth her eyes opened wider as she observed the rich, sea-green cloth covering the seats, the shining silver and glass, the wood that shone darkly like the surface of a pool of oil.

To the minds of the pair, their surroundings repeated the glory of their wedding that morning in San Antonio. This was the spirit of their new life, and the mans face in particular shone with a joy that made him appear foolish to certain passengers. In the minds of some, there was supposed to be something hugely funny in the pairs situation.

We are due in Yellow Sky at 3:42, he said, looking tenderly into her eyes.

Oh, are we? she said, as if she had not been aware of it. To show surprise at her husbands remark was part of her wifely duty.

She took from a pocket a little silver watch. As she held it before her, and stared at it with a look of attention, the new husbands face shone.

I bought it in San Antonio from a friend of mine, he told her proudly.

Its 17 minutes past 12, she said, looking up at him with a happy expression which, nevertheless, showed a lack of experience in conversing with men. A passenger, observing her small nervousness, laughed to himself.

At last they went to the dining car. The man serving their table happened to take pleasure in directing them through their meal. He viewed them with the manner of a fatherly guide, his face shining with kindness. But they did not understand his attentions. As they returned to their seats, they showed in their faces a sense of escape.

It was evident that, as the distance from Yellow Sky grew shorter, the husband became more nervous. His red hands were even more noticeable. He was rather absent-minded and faraway when the bride leaned forward and spoke to him.

As a matter of truth, Jack Potter was beginning to find his deed weighing upon him like a great stone. He, the town policeman of Yellow Sky, was a man known, liked, and feared in his community. He, an important person, had gone to San Antonio to meet a girl he believed he loved. And there he had actually married her without discussing any part of the matter with Yellow Sky. He was now bringing his bride to a sure-to-be-surprised town.

Of course, people in Yellow Sky married as it pleased them. But Potters thoughts of his duty to his friends, or of their idea of his duty, made him feel he was sinful. He was guilty of a great and unusual crime.

Face to face with this girl in San Antonio, he had leaped over all the social fences. At San Antonio he was like a man hidden in the dark. A knife to cut any friendly duty was easy to take in his hand in that distant city. But the hour of Yellow Sky, the hour of daylight, was approaching.

He knew very well that his wedding was an important thing to the town. It could only be equaled by the burning of the new hotel. His friends could not forgive him, he felt. And now the train was hurrying him toward a scene of surprise, merriment, and blame. He glanced out of the window again.

Yellow Sky had a kind of band, which played its horns and drums painfully, to the delight of the people. He laughed without heart as he thought of it. If the citizens could dream of his arrival with his bride, they would march the band at the station and accompany them, among cheers and laughter, to his house.

He decided that he would use all methods of speed and cleverness in making the journey from the station to his house. Once safely at home, he would announce the news. Then he would not go among the citizens until theyd had time to master their emotions.

The bride looked anxiously at him. Whats worrying you, Jack?

He laughed. Im not worrying, girl. Im only thinking of Yellow Sky.

She understood, and her face turned red again.

They shared a sense of slight guilt that developed a finer tenderness. They looked at each other with eyes softly glowing. But Potter often laughed the same nervous laugh. The deep red color upon the brides face did not lessen.

Were nearly there, he said.

As the train began to slow, they moved forward in the car. The long line of cars moved into the station of Yellow Sky.

The train has to get water here, said Potter, from a tight throat and face, as one announcing death. Before the train stopped, his eye had searched the station, and he was glad and surprised to see there was no one there except the station master.

Come on, girl, said Potter with a thick voice. As he helped her down, they each laughed in a strained manner. He took her bag and told his wife to hold his arm.

As they hurried away he saw that the station master had turned and was running toward them, waving his arms. Potter laughed, and sighed as he laughed, when he realized the first effect of his wedding upon Yellow Sky. He grasped his wifes arm firmly to his side and they hurried away.

The California train was due at Yellow Sky in 21 minutes. There were six men in the Weary Gentleman Saloon. One was a salesman who talked a great deal and rapidly; three were Texans who did not care to talk at that time; and two were Mexican sheep farmers who did not usually talk in the saloon.

The saloon-keepers dog lay in front of the door. His head was resting on his feet, and he glanced sleepily here and there with the ready watchfulness of a dog that is sometimes kicked.

Across the sandy street were some bright green, grass spots, so wonderful in appearance next to burning sands in the hot sun. At the cooler side of the railroad station, a man without a coat sat in a chair leaned back against the building. He smoked his pipe. The waters of the Rio Grande river circled near the town, and beyond it could be seen great flatlands.

Except for the busy salesman and his companions in the saloon, Yellow Sky was sleeping. The salesman leaned easily upon a table and told many tales with the confidence of a story teller who has found new listeners.

He was interrupted by a young man who suddenly appeared in the open door. He cried, Scratchy Wilsons drunk, and has started to make trouble.

The two Mexicans at once put down their glasses and disappeared through the rear door of the saloon. The salesman, not understanding the importance of the warning, jokingly answered, All right, old man. Suppose he has? Come in and have a drink anyhow.

But the information had made such an apparent impression upon everyone in the room that the salesman was forced to see its importance. All had become instantly serious.

Well, he said, filled with mystery, what is this? His three companions started to tell him, but the young man at the door stopped them.

It means, my friend, he answered as he came into the saloon, that for the next two hours this town wont be very healthy.

The saloon-keeper went to the door and locked it. Reaching out of the window, he pulled in heavy wooden boards, which covered the windows and locked there. The salesman was looking from one to another.

What is this, anyhow? he cried. You dont mean there is going to be a gun-fight?

Come back to American Stories next week for the second half of "The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky" by Stephen Crane.

Now it's your turn to use the words in this story. Do you enjoy movies about cowboys? Can you imagine a town like Yellow Sky? How do you think the people in Yellow Sky feel about Jack Potter? Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page.

Teachers, view the lesson plan here.

Try the listening quiz to see how well you understand Part One of the story.

Quiz - The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky, Part One Start the Quiz to find out Start Quiz

For Teachers

This lesson plan, based on the CALLA Approach, teaches the strategy Making Inferences to help learners gain more confidence in reading English.

________________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

aware - adj. knowing that something (such as a situation, condition, or problem) exists

bride - n. a woman who has just married or is about to be married

dignity - n. the quality of being worthy of honor or respect

grasp - v. to take and hold (something) with your fingers, hands, etc.

merriment - n. laughter and enjoyment

saloon - n. a business where alcoholic drinks are served
Earth's average temperature set a new unofficial record high Thursday, the third such milestone in a week already rated as the hottest on record and what one prominent scientist says could be the hottest in 120,000 years.

But it's also a record with some legitimate scientific questions and caveats, so much so that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has distanced itself from it. It's grabbed global attention, even as the number  63 degrees Fahrenheit  doesn't look that hot because it averages temperatures from around the globe.

Still, scientists say the daily drumbeat of records  official or not  is a symptom of a larger problem where the precise digits aren't as important as what's causing them.

"Records grab attention, but we need to make sure to connect them with the things that actually matter," climate scientist Friederike Otto of the Imperial College of London said in an email. "So I don't think it's crucial how 'official' the numbers are, what matters is that they are huge and dangerous and wouldn't have happened without climate change."

Thursday's planetary average surpassed the 62.9-degree mark set Tuesday and equaled Wednesday, according to data from the University of Maine's Climate Reanalyzer, a tool that uses satellite data and computer simulations to measure the world's condition. Until Monday, no day had passed 62.6 degrees Fahrenheit in the tool's 44 years of records.

Now, the entire week that ended Thursday averaged that much.

'Exceptional outlier' Johan Rockstrom, direc-

tor of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany, called the 63-degree mark "an exceptional outlier" that is nearly 6 degrees warmer than the average of the past 12,000 years. Rockstrom said it will "with high likelihood translate to even more severe extremes in the form of floods, droughts, heat waves and storms."

"It is certainly plausible that the past couple days and past week were the warmest days globally in 120,000 years," University of Pennsylvania climate scientist Michael Mann said. He cited a 2021 study that says Earth is the warmest since the last age ended, and said Earth likely hasn't been as warm dating all the way to the ice age before that some 120,000 years ago.

Climate scientist Zeke Hausfather of the tech company Stripe and Berkeley Earth temperature monitoring group said he wouldn't be surprised if it is the warmest in 120,000 years. But he said longterm proxy measurements like tree rings aren't precise.

Hot spots This week's average includes places that are sweltering under dangerous heat  like Jingxing, China, which checked in almost 110 degrees Fahrenheit  and the merely unusually warm, like Antarctica, where temperatures across much of the continent were as much as 8 degrees Fahrenheit above normal this week.

Temperatures were so brutally hot Thursday in Adrar, Algeria, that the temperature never got below 103.3 degrees even at night when it is supposed to cool. That was the hottest ever nighttime low for Africa, according to weather historian and climatologist Maximiliano Herrera.

The temperature is ramping up across Europe this week, too. Germany's weather agency, DWD, has predicted highs of 99 degrees Fahrenheit on Sunday and the Health Ministry has issued a warning to vulnerable people.

Global average While there are small spots of cooler-than-normal temperatures across the globe, the University of Maine measurement is an average. That means some places  including both polar regions  will be extraordinarily warmer than normal and others will be cooler. On average it's about 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than the 1979-2000 average, which is warmer than the 20th and 19th century averages.

And 70% of the world is covered by oceans, which have been spiking record heat for months.

Scientists say the heat is driven by two factors: Long-term warming from greenhouse gas emissions from the burning of fossil fuels and a natural El Nino warming of part of the Pacific that changes weather globally and makes an already warming world a bit hotter.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on Thursday issued a note of caution about the Maine tool's findings, saying it could not confirm data that results in part from computer modeling, which it said wasn't a good substitute for observations.

Now and then Scientists don't under-stand and haven't delved much into daily fluctuations, said Princeton University climate scientist Gabriel Vecchi. Much more meaningful to them are global data over months, years and especially decades.

"The fact that we haven't had a year colder than the 20th century average since the Ford administration (1976) is much more relevant," Vecchi said.

Kathleen Hall Jamieson, director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania, said immediacy of daily records is important.

"Tell me that yesterday was the hottest day on record and I can relate the claim to ways in which yesterday's heat constrained my behavior," she said. "I can't do the same with monthly or yearly data. ... We experience the world hour-by-hour, day by-day, not in monthly or yearly averages."

Discussions about how official the records are aren't as important as the public getting the message "that Earth is warming and humans are responsible," said Max Boyk off, a University of Colorado environmental studies professor who tracks media coverage of climate change.
Ald. Rossana Rodriguez Sanchez speaks before a vote on curfew for teens was enacted by a skeptical Chicago City Council meeting, Wednesday, May 25, 2022. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)

Northwest Side Ald. Rossana Rodriguez Sanchez defended herself late Friday against backlash shes received for promoting a Twitter poll that several leaders in Chicagos Italian American community said they found offensive.

Short of an apology, Rodriguez Sanchez, 33rd, said the poll she posted on her political Twitter account late last month seeking opinions about the Best Way to honor Italian Heritage in Chicago was intended to be playful and lighthearted and was instead being spun into a narrative of disrespect.

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Responding on her same social media account, Rodriguez Sanchez shared screenshots of insulting and hateful messages she received in response to the poll, including one that disparaged her Puerto Rican ethnicity and said your heritage is inferior.

Its sad to see my lighthearted tweet spun into a narrative of disrespect, she wrote. To be clear: this narrative isnt based in reality. I deeply respect Italians, Italian-American history & their role in building our city amid discrimination faced by immigrant & minority communities.

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The furor broke out because in the poll the options Rodriguez Sanchez offered for ways to honor Italian Heritage in Chicago were limited to an Italian ice monument, a Bialetti (espresso maker) monument, a Columbus statue and Other: write in comments. As of Friday, the post had been viewed 45,000 times and the poll had garnered 1,800 votes, with the Italian ice monument receiving the most votes.

Not only did she disparage and marginalize a community (that has)  contributed so much to the core and growth of this great city, she welcomed and encouraged others that follow her on social media to join in the fun at the expense of the Italian American community, Lou Rago, president of the Italian American Human Relations Foundation of Chicago and president of the Rago Brothers funeral homes, said in a statement. This is purely racist and unacceptable.

Some of the loudest words of frustration surrounded the comment section of Rodriguezs post. One user recommended a statue of a cannoli, to which Rodriguezs account responded, How did I miss this! Yes. A second Twitter commenter proposed a beef juice fountain, to which Rodriguez replied, Im with that.

Another local Italian leader argued if Rodriguez Sanchez had made similar comments that stereotyped another ethnicity or group by reducing them to products they enjoy or invented, the backlash would be more severe and perhaps lead to calls for her resignation.

She not only posted that as a backhanded slap in our face but also fostered community engagement from her followers that gave continual, negative, stereotypical, racist remarks, And she was complimenting them, said Ron Onesti, president of the Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans.

The Tweet storm is only the most recent dust up between members of Chicagos Italian American community and some city leaders who successfully had statues of Christopher Columbus, who was Italian, removed from public locales. The Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans is suing the city over former Mayor Lori Lightfoots decision to remove a Columbus statue in Little Italy.

Others, including current Mayor Brandon Johnson, have expressed support for replacing Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples Day.

Rodriguez Sanchez, a member of the City Councils Democratic Socialist Caucus, has supported the anti-Columbus efforts and in her response Friday to the criticism over the poll she noted one of the options was a statue of Columbus, a man responsible for so much violence, genocide & enslavement.

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Im fully aware of the positive impacts Italians & Italian-Americans have had, she wrote on Twitter. It fills me with hope to see so many Italian-Americans in this city committed to celebrating their heritage in ways that embrace the full complexity of history.

hsanders@chicagotribune.com
A man is facing his alleged fourth OWI after Janesville police say he crashed into an occupied vehicle before hitting an occupied home in the city Thursday.

Police were alerted to a hit-and-run in which a red Ford F150 struck an occupied vehicle. The driver of the Ford, which sustained front end damage, headed north on Delevan Drive, according to Janesville police.

Officer Drew Mussey attempted to stop the truck at Pontiac Drive and Blackbridge Road after losing sight of it previously. The driver fled the traffic stop, continuing through a T intersection at Claremont Drive and Lucerne Drive before hitting an occupied residence and being taken into custody.

The driver showed signs of intoxication, according to police, and had three previous convictions for operating while intoxicated. Hes been tentatively charged in this incident with fleeing an officer, hit and run of an attended vehicle, fourth offense-operating while intoxicated, and four counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety.
With high stakes, the Madison City Council may reconsider a recently refused rezoning for a 12-story Downtown student housing project, a vote that threatened the redevelopment and raised issues of legality and precedent.

The proposal for reconsideration is on the councils agenda for Tuesday and could dictate the future of the project and an even larger one by the same developer a block away.

Core Spaces, of Chicago, which has built and is planning multiple student housing projects in the city, wants to raze 10 residential buildings for the six- to 12-story project with 232 market-rate housing units on the 400 block of West Dayton and Johnson streets and 200 block of North Bassett Street.

Planning Division staff recommended approval of a demolition permit, conditional use, zoning map amendment and Certified Survey Map for the project, called Johnson & Bassett. On June 12, the Plan Commission unanimously approved the demolition permit and conditional use, and recommended approval of the rezoning and survey map.

But on June 20, with Core Spaces expecting approval and making no formal presentation, a debate that centered on affordability ensued that sometimes grew heated, and the proposal was denied. The council voted 13-6, with one member excused. The council then voted 11-8, with one excused, to approve the survey map, which is essentially an administrative function.

The next day, Core Spaces withdrew an application for an informational presentation on a separate 14-story student housing project across the street with perhaps 400 apartments, including lower-cost units, that was to be made to the citys Urban Design Commission.

In the days after the vote, Core Spaces reached out to council members and others with an interest in the rejected project to make its case and share information that the council hadnt heard, Doug Tichenor, vice president and director of development for Core Spaces, said Friday.

Although the buildings to be demolished were described by some council members as naturally occurring affordable housing due to age and condition, most of the existing units are still costly and substandard, such as five or six bedrooms served by just one bathroom, he said. The proposal would replace 146 beds with 851, he said.

There were a lot of facts and things left unsaid, he said of the June 20 meeting.

Another look

Now, the council may reconsider its decision.

Ald. Nikki Conklin, 9th District, who voted to reject the rezoning, has formally requested reconsideration, which means the council on Tuesday will first take up that request, and if successful, re-debate the rezoning. The reconsideration and decision on the rezoning require 11 of 20 council votes.

The council could decide the reconsideration and rezoning on Tuesday or refer either or both decisions to a later date. Conklin could not be reached for comment.

I hope we have the votes, Tichenor said. I think we presented the best case we possibly can. Im optimistic, but we dont know.

If the rezoning is approved, Core Spaces would quickly resubmit its application for an informational presentation before the Urban Design Commission on the 14-story project, Tichenor said.

If the reconsideration is unsuccessful, Core Spaces could file a lawsuit. Tichenor declined comment on whether that would happen. But if the project is rejected, Core Spaces would not pursue the 14-story redevelopment because it would create an uncertain regulatory environment for equity and lending partners, he said.

By denying the project, its a lose-lose situation for everybody, said Austin Pagnotta, associate director of acquisitions for Core Spaces. The solution to a housing crisis is not to deny more housing.

Im optimistic

Ald. Mike Verveer, 4th District, who decried the lack of affordability in the 12-story project but voted for the rezoning two weeks ago because he believes the proposal meets legal standards, welcomed the move for reconsideration.

Im optimistic the council will reconsider the previous action and adopt the rezoning and allow the project to move forward, Verveer said Friday. I do support the project on the merits. We desperately need additional housing in our city, especially Downtown in the campus areas.

We cant compel this developer, or any developer, to build affordable housing because were constrained by an unfortunate state law, he said.

Since the councils vote, the city attorneys office has been sharing its perspective on the rezoning as it relates to state law, conveying that the developer has a pretty good case should it take the matter to the courts, Verveer said.

We have advised alders that denial of a rezoning requires articulating valid reasons under the statutes and the comprehensive plan, and we felt a better record would need to be made if the council wishes to deny this rezoning, City Attorney Michael Haas said Friday. I think I did not explain that clearly enough at the meeting since the motion was to approve the rezoning. As a result of those conversations, some alders are interested in reconsidering the item.

Old for new

The proposed redevelopment would raze the 10 existing buildings  all described by the developer as functionally obsolete  including two single-family homes and 66 units in multifamily structures. The proposed project offers 232 units and a range of size including studios to five bedrooms and townhomes with two to four bedrooms.

The project would feature a 2,100-square foot patio on the sixth-floor rooftop and a 6,380-square foot patio with hot tub and swimming pool on the 12th-floor rooftop. It would provide 62 vehicle parking spaces and 416 bike parking spots.

The project doesnt include lower-cost units because under its specific set of circumstances, there is no mechanism to do so, Pagnotta said.

The site is across the street from Core Spaces proposal to demolish multiple structures from 304-318 N. Broom St., 407 and 431 W. Gorham St. and 408-430 W. Johnson St. for a single structure with 14 stories along Johnson and Gorham streets and seven stories along Broom Street, offering roughly 400 units. It would be the first use of a new city law that allows more stories in Downtown projects in exchange for lower-cost units.

The same developer also is building the 10-story oLiv Madison fronting the 300 block of State Street and has built two other major projects Downtown since 2015. Core Spaces worked closely with the city and UW-Madison at its oLiv Madison project to implement a first-of-its-kind lower-cost housing program there.

We want to work with the city, the university and community organizations to be part of the solution to the housing crisis, Tichenor said.

Photos: Dane County Farmers' Market marks 50 years
TOKYO  In Japan, a nation reputed for loyalty to companies and lifetime employment, people who job-hop are often viewed as quitters. And thats considered shameful.

Enter taishoku daiko, or job-leaving agents. Dozens of such services have sprung up in the last several years to help people who simply want out.

Imagine a messy divorce, says Yoshihito Hasegawa, who heads Tokyo-based TRK, whose Guardian service last year advised 13,000 people on how to resign from their jobs with minimal hassles.

People often stick with jobs even when they're unhappy, feeling as if they are kamikaze sacrificing their lives for the greater good, he said, comparing his clients to pilots sent on suicide missions in the closing days of World War II.

Its the way things are done, the same way younger people are taught to honor older people, he said. Quitting would be a betrayal.

Founded in 2020, Guardian, a taishoku daiko service, has helped various people, mostly in their 20s and 30s, escape less painfully from jobs they want to quit. That includes people who worked in a Shinto shrine, a dentists office and law firm to convenience store and restaurant staff.

Nearly half of Guardian's clients are women. Some work for a day or two and then discover promises of pay or work hours were false.

Guardian charges $208 for its service, which includes a three-month membership in a union that will represent an employee in what can quickly turn into a delicate and awkward negotiation process in Japan.

Generally, Guardian's clients have worked for the small and medium-sized businesses that employ most Japanese. Sometimes people working for major companies seek help. In many cases, bosses have a huge say over how things are run and sometimes simply refuse to let a worker leave, especially since many places are shorthanded to begin with, given the Japan's chronic labor shortage.

Japanese law basically guarantees people the right to quit, but some employers used to an old-style hierarchy just cant accept that someone they have trained would want to walk away. Those tackling the quitting battle who were interviewed for this story used terms like fanatics, bullies and mini-Hitlers to describe such bosses.

Conformist workaholic pressures in Japanese culture are painfully heavy. Workers don't want to be seen as troublemakers, are reluctant to question authority and may be afraid to speak up. They may fear harassment after they quit. Some worry about the opinions of their families or friends.

Although most of Guardian's clients prefer to be anonymous, a young man who goes by the online name of Twichan sought help after he was criticized for his sales performance and became so depressed he thought about killing himself. With Guardian's help he was able to quit in 45 minutes.

Taku Yamazaki, who went to a different taishoku daiko, said his former employer was a subsidiary of a major IT vendor and he knew his departure would be complicated and time-consuming because he was doing well there.

I felt a certain amount of gratitude toward the place I was leaving, but I wanted to switch gears mentally and move forward as soon as possible, he said.

When people fill out taishoku daiko online forms, an automated reply comes within minutes, with a more personal reply promised within one working day.

Lawyer Akiko Ozawa, whose law firm advises job-leavers although usually it represents companies, acknowledged it may be hard to believe people cant just pick up and leave.

But switching jobs is a major challenge in Japan that requires tremendous courage, said Ozawa, who has written a book on taishoku daiko. Given the shortage of workers in Japan, finding and training replacements is tough and bosses sometimes erupt in outrage when someone resigns.

As long as this Japanese mindset exists, the need for my job isnt going away, said Ozawa, who charges $450 for her service. If you are so unhappy that youre starting to feel ill, then you should make that choice to take control over your own life.

Another quitting service, Albatross, offers a MoMuri, or "can't stand it anymore" service, charges a $150 fee for full-time workers, and a bargain $80 fee for part-time workers.

Workplace problems have existed all along, but people now realize they can get help online, said its founder, Shinji Tanimoto.

They tell us they couldnt sleep at all before, but they can finally sleep all they want, he said of MoMuri's customers. Users thank us all the time. Some cry tears of joy.

One person wanted to quit working at a pet salon where workers were secretly kicking the animals. Another wanted to quit job in a dental office where the staff werent using new gloves for each patient.

Many are women working as nurses or caretakers who are asked to stay until a replacement is found, but end up still working in the jobs a year later, he said.

Toshiyuki Niino founded Exit Inc., a frontrunner in the taishoku daiko sector, in 2018, after encountering a boss who constantly yelled at him. Another threatened to kill him.

He quit both jobs, and saw an opportunity.

I am proud I started this genre of work, he said.

Exit charges $140. Now that employers understand what taishoku daiko is, it can be over in 15 minutes, once resignation papers are on their way.

Niino, who says he never once expressed an opinion in school, blames the Japanese educational system for turning out obedient workers who are unable to assert themselves.

He's thinking about branching out to include mental health counseling, job referrals and perhaps an overseas expansion.

Niino laughs, recounting how one of his own employees used a rival agency to resign and then went on to set up his own taishoku daiko company.

Its best if you yourself can say you want to quit, he said.

States with the most quitters States with the most quitters #51. Pennsylvania #50. New York #49. Connecticut #48. Massachusetts #47. New Jersey #46. Michigan #45. Hawaii #44. New Hampshire #43. Nebraska #42. Minnesota #41. Illinois #40. California #39. Wisconsin #38. Missouri #37. Washington #36. Ohio #35. Rhode Island #34. Kansas #33. North Dakota #32. Iowa #31. Vermont #30. Washington D.C. #29. Oregon #28. South Dakota #27. Maine #26. New Mexico #25. Utah #24. Arizona #23. Virginia #22. North Carolina #21. Nevada #20. Idaho #19. Colorado #18. Indiana #17. Florida #16. Montana #15. Oklahoma #14. Maryland #13. Texas #12. Delaware #11. South Carolina #10. West Virginia #9. Mississippi #8. Alabama #7. Tennessee #6. Wyoming #5. Arkansas #4. Kentucky #3. Alaska #2. Louisiana #1. Georgia
PARKLAND, Fla.  For more than five years, the bloodstained halls and classrooms where 17 people died in the Parkland school shooting have remained locked away and mostly untouched  not even the victims' families were allowed inside.

That changed Wednesday, as heart-wrenching private tours began for relatives of the 14 students and three staff members who died. The 17 wounded and their loved ones will also be able to visit the 1200 building at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, now that it is no longer needed as evidence in the trials of the convicted killer and the deputy who was just acquitted of failing to stop him.

The school district plans to demolish the three-story building, likely replacing it with a memorial.

Four families were led through the building Wednesday by prosecutors. Others are scheduled in the coming weeks. There might also be a reenactment of the Valentines Day shooting for a still-pending civil lawsuit against the deputy.

I needed to see where my son was murdered," said Linda Beigel Schulman, whose 35-year-old son, geography teacher Scott Beigel, died while directing his students to safety.

"I needed to see where he tried to close the door that saved 31 of his students. I needed to be where my son was when he took his last breath, she said, beginning to weep as she spoke to reporters across the street from the school. I tried to say goodbye, but I can tell you, I cant say goodbye. I cant say goodbye. It has been five years and 151 days, its been 1,961 days and I still cant say goodbye.

Behind a chain-link fence, the building has remained a constant, looming reminder of the tragedy for the schools 3,000 students, staff and anyone who drives past.

The building was preserved as evidence so that the jurors in last years penalty trial of shooter Nikolas Cruz could tour the building, which they did in August at the conclusion of the prosecutions case. Cruz, a 24-year-old former Stoneman Douglas student, received a life sentence after the jury couldnt unanimously agree that he deserved the death penalty. The Associated Press was one of five media outlets allowed inside the building last year after the jurors left.

There are still bloodstains and broken glass on the floor, along with deflated Valentines Day balloons, wilted flowers and discarded gifts. Opened textbooks and laptop computers remain on students desks  at least the ones that werent toppled during the chaos. In one classroom, an unfinished chess game one of the slain students had been playing still sat, the pieces unmoved.

Tony Montalto, whose 14-year-old daughter Gina was fatally shot on the first floor, said stepping inside the building and walking its halls was one of the hardest things he has ever done, superseded, of course, by seeing her cold body.

My first born. My only daughter. My beloved, he told reporters.

Beigel Schulman took several items from her sons classroom, including his sunglasses, a students exemplary paper he had mentioned to her on one of their last calls, his computer and his lesson plan. She also took photographs of his classroom.

I took away memories of Scott's last day, she said.

Prosecutors had hoped that the jury in the trial of former Deputy Scot Peterson could also tour the building, but the judge denied their request. Peterson, the school's on-campus deputy, was acquitted last week on charges he failed to confront Cruz during the six-minute attack.

Peterson has insisted that because of echoes, he could not pinpoint where the shots were coming from. He got to within 10 yards of a hallway door, but backed away without opening it or looking through its window. He took cover next to an adjoining building and made radio calls.

Montalto brought a tape measure with him Wednesday, saying the body of his daughter, one of the first killed, was 63 feet from the door  she could have been easily seen if Peterson had looked. Prosecutors and families have said that if Peterson had gone into the building, he could have shot Cruz or at least distracted him long enough that some victims could have taken cover or escaped.

Beigel Schulman said that if Peterson had delayed Cruz's arrival on the third floor by just 15 seconds, her son could have gotten to safety inside his classroom.

Peterson's defense attorney, Mark Eiglarsh, called Peterson a hero who did everything he could given the echoes. He said the families were misled by former Sheriff Scott Israel and other officials who made Peterson a scapegoat to deflect from their own failures to prevent the shooting.

The school district wants to demolish the building soon, but five students' families want a reenactment as part of a civil lawsuit targeting Peterson, the sheriffs office and others.

Attorney David Brill wants recordings made outside the 1200 building while someone inside fires blanks from an AR-15-style semi-automatic rifle like the one Cruz used. If the judge approves the unusual request, the recordings would be played for the jury. The trial has not been scheduled.

The evidence we already have in this regard  which includes evidence that the State failed to introduce in the prosecution of Peterson  is substantial and powerful. But we dont want to leave anything to chance for Peterson to escape justice in our civil case like he escaped justice in the criminal case, Brill said.

Peterson's civil attorney, Michael Piper, declined direct comment.

Our benchmarks of professionalism include respect for our community and respect for and deference to our trial judge in such matters. Extrajudicial comment on attorney Brills motion to restage Nicolas Cruzs murderous rampage compromises those benchmarks," Piper said in a statement.

The sheriff's office declined comment.

Photos: A list of high-profile mass shootings in the US this year Monterey Park, California Half Moon Bay, California Nashville, Tennessee Louisville, Kentucky Dadeville, Alabama Bowdoin, Maine Cleveland, Texas Allen, Texas
KYIV, Ukraine  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy marked the 500th day of the war Saturday by hailing the country's soldiers in a video from a Black Sea island that became the symbol of Ukraine's resilience in the face of the Russian invasion.

Speaking from Snake Island, Zelenskyy honored the Ukrainian soldiers who fought for the island and all other defenders of the country, saying that reclaiming control of the island "is a great proof that Ukraine will regain every bit of its territory."

"I want to thank  from here, from this place of victory  each of our soldiers for these 500 days," he said. "Thank you to everyone who fights for Ukraine!"

It was unclear when the video was filmed. Zelenskyy was returning from Turkey on Saturday.

He announced that five commanders of the defense of the Azovstal steel plant, a monthslong siege early in the war, were returning on the plane with him.

The sprawling steelworks was the last bastion of resistance as Russian forces took control of the port city of Mariupol. Its defenders became renowned among Ukrainians for holding out in wretched conditions in the plant's tunnels and corridors.

Azovstal's more than 2,000 defenders left the steelworks in mid-May 2022 and were taken into Russian captivity. The five leaders, some of whom were part of the Azov national guard regiment that Russia denounces as neo-Nazi, were freed in a September prisoner swap and taken to Turkey.

Under the exchange, the leaders were to remain in Turkey until the end of the war under the Turkish president's protection. There was no immediate official explanation about why they were allowed to return to Ukraine.

"The return of the leaders of the Azovites from Turkey to Ukraine is nothing more than a direct violation of the terms of the existing agreements. Moreover, in this case, the terms were violated by both the Ukrainian side and the Turkish side," said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

Russian forces took control of Snake Island on Feb. 24, 2022, the day Moscow launched its invasion, in the apparent hope of using it as a staging ground for an assault on Odesa, Ukraine's biggest port and the headquarters of its navy.

The island's Ukrainian defenders were captured but later freed as part of a prisoner exchange. After the island was taken, the Ukrainian military heavily bombarded the small Russian garrison there, forcing the Russians to pull back on June 30, 2022. The Russian retreat reduced the threat of a seaborne Russian attack on Odesa and helped pave the way for a deal to resume Ukrainian grain exports.

"Let the freedom that all our heroes of different times wanted for Ukraine and that must be won right now be a tribute to all those who gave their lives for Ukraine," Zelenskyy said. "We will definitely win!"

Intense battles continued to rage Saturday in the country's east and south as Ukrainian forces pressed their attacks against multi-layered Russian defenses in the initial stages of their counteroffensive.

Ukraine's interior ministry said a Russian rocket strike on the town of Lyman killed eight civilians and wounded 13 others early Saturday. Pavlo Kyrylenko, the governor of the eastern Donetsk region, posted images showing some of the dead and said, "the Russian terrorists are continuing to strike civilians in Donetsk."

Lyman is a few miles from the front line, where Russian troops recently intensified fighting in the forests of Kreminna.

The U.K. Ministry of Defense said in an intelligence update that the eastern town of Bakhmut that was captured by the Russians in May has seen some of the most intense fighting along the front in the past week.

It said Ukrainian forces made steady gains to both the north and south of Bakhmut, noting that "Russian defenders are highly likely struggling with poor morale, a mix of disparate units and a limited ability to find and strike Ukrainian artillery."

Amid the fighting, Russia and Ukraine accused each other of planning to sabotage the Russia-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europe's largest, fueling fears of a radiation catastrophe. Ukraine's military intelligence claimed Saturday that Russian troops have planted more mines around the plant, a claim that couldn't be independently verified.

On Saturday, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu was shown visiting firing ranges where volunteer soldiers are being trained, a trip that comes two weeks after an abortive mutiny launched by mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, whose Wagner troops marched on Moscow in a bid to oust Shoigu.

Prigozhin agreed to end the mutiny, which represented the biggest threat to Russian President Vladimir Putin in his more than two decades in power, in exchange for an amnesty for himself and his troops and permission to move to Belarus. On Saturday, Russian messaging app channels ran comments by one of Wagner's commanders, Anton Yelizarov, who said that the mercenaries had taken leave but would eventually deploy to Belarus.

Pitched battles along the front line in Ukraine are raging as NATO leaders are set to meet in Vilnius for a two-day summit to offer more help in modernizing Ukraines armed forces, create a new high-level forum for consultations and reaffirm that it will join their alliance one day.

Ahead of the summit, the U.S. announced it will provide Ukraine with cluster munitions, though two-thirds of NATO members ban the munitions.

Photos: Russia's war in Ukraine reaches the 500-day mark
Magic Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship

Get the ball rolling

Unitarian Universalism has a long history of activism dating back to Unitarian origins in Europe and continuing in the United States. Universalism has a similar history of activism in the US and that in part is why the two religions merged in 1964 to become Unitarian Universalism. The Civil Rights marches in the 1960s included many Unitarian Universalists (UUs) clergy and members who stood with numerous civil human rights, the LGTBQ+ community, refugees and other minority groups continues to be a big part of Unitarian Universalism. The Magic Valley UU Fellowship is comparatively small, but there is strong support among its congregants for the same ideals and values of equality.

Join us this Sunday for a discussion on the issues today that are important to us and how we can get the ball rolling in the development of strategies for how we can be activists for keeping America as a place that honors all people regardless of race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, immigration status or religion.

Our service Sunday will be both in person at our location 160 Ninth Ave. E. in Twin Falls as well as on ZOOM beginning at 10:30 a.m.

Please note our ZOOM information has changed. If you have been using previous ZOOM sign in information please email us for the new ZOOM sign directions. To access ZOOM please email mvuuf83301@yahoo.com for ZOOM sign in information. In the SUBJECT line write ZOOM Service.

Newcomers of all religious paths or none at all are always welcome. Unitarian Universalists believe in the dignity of every person regardless of race, creed (or none at all), immigrant status or sexual orientation.

Everyone is welcome. NO EXCEPTIONS. We believe in justice, equality and compassion in human relations and acceptance of one another.

We are handicapped accessible at the back of the building. Please park off the alley or on the street in front or on the side of the building. Childcare is available.

Join us Sunday at 10:30 a.m. at 160 Ninth Ave. E. in Twin Falls.

For further information, please call 208-420-1345 or email us at mvuuf83301@yahoo.com.

First Presbyterian Church of Twin Falls

Pastor: Don Hammond

Worship Time  10 a.m.

Adult Bible Study  8:30 a.m.

Everyone is Welcome!

June 25  Sermon Title A Divisive Gospel Romans 6:1-11 and Matthew 10:24-39

209 Fifth Ave. N., Twin Falls

Community Outreach: Blessing Box  Always available. Food for the needy, take some food or be a blessing to someone else and leave some. Located outside the church entrance on Fifth Avenue.

The Episcopal Church of the Ascension

Ascension Welcomes Bishop Jos Tharakan

On Sunday, the Episcopal Church of the Ascension invites you to a service of Holy Eucharist at 9:00 a.m. All are welcome at services of worship, including children.

This Sunday, Ascension Church welcomes the Rt. Rev. Jos Tharakan, Episcopal Bishop of Idaho. Originally from Kerala, India, Bishop Jos was consecrated in June 2022 having previously served Episcopal congregations in Arkansas.

Ascension Churchs Sunday service is in-person and available online at Ascensions YouTube channel The Episcopal Church of the AscensionTwin Falls. All are welcome at services of worship, including children. The building is handicapped accessible and located at 371 Eastland Dr. North, Twin Falls. More information about Ascension can be found at www.episcopaltwinfalls.org or 208-733-1248.hurch of the Ascension invites you to a service of Holy Eucharist at 9:00 a.m. All are welcome at services of worship, including children.

This Sunday, Ascension Church welcomes the Rt. Rev. Jos Tharakan, Episcopal Bishop of Idaho. Originally from Kerala, India, Bishop Jos was consecrated in June 2022 having previously served Episcopal congregations in Arkansas.
Before the new Twin Falls micro-transit system came along, Noreen Jordon, who uses a wheelchair, said she was accustomed to rolling around a lot.

Now, when she wants to get around, she just hits the RIDE TFT app.

Jordon told the Times-News on Friday that she appreciates the fleet of vans that started providing rides last week. She gives it a thumbs-up.

Twin Falls needed this, she said.

Shes used the vans a half-dozen times, much of the time traveling to grocery stores. On Friday, she requested a ride to go to the Theron Ward Judicial Building, where she enjoys watching court proceedings.

Previously, she went many places by pushing herself or getting rides from friends. She occasionally took cabs.

RIDE TFT vans are an improvement, Jordon said, as its vans have arrived in less than five minutes after being requested, and the cost is reasonable.

Your news on your smartphone Your story lives in the Magic Valley, and our new mobile app is designed to make sure you dont miss breaking news, the latest scores, the weather forecast and more. From easy navigation with the swipe of a finger to personalized content based on your preferences to customized text sizes, the Times-News app is built for you and your life. Dont have the app? Download it today from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.

The July 1 kickoff went well, said Mandi Thompson, assistant city manager, although there was a bit of a delay in getting vans running. Vans took off at noon Saturday when they were targeted to start at 7 a.m.

Thompson is waiting for a ridership report to see the volume of last weeks rides.

We recognize that it will be a low number, she said, but was confident that numbers will grow as the city spreads the word about the system and to access it.

I have heard nothing but positive feedback, she said.

RIDE TFT is citywide, and offers rides from point to point, as opposed to a fixed-route system. People can use the app or call 208-974-7433 to get a ride.

Drivers are employees of Downtowner transit system, which provides services for cities including Idaho Falls and Jackson, Wyoming.

They have gone through extensive training, Thompson said.

While Thompson waits for the ridership report, so does Jeanette Roe.

Roe, the executive director of Interlink Volunteer Caregivers, is anxious to find out how much of a load RIDE TFT took off her organization. The nonprofit provides free rides to the elderly, disabled or chronically ill in Magic Valley.

The month of June was as busy as ever for the group, Roe said. The transportation costs have pushed the budget to the limits as more and more clients sign up each month.

Some of her clients have expressed an interest in RIDE TFT, she said, while others want more information.

Have a question? RIDE TFT provides service from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturdays. Download the Ride Twin Falls Transit app to your smartphone or call 208-974-7433 for a ride. For more information visit TFID.ORG/TFT or call Maxine Durrant at 208-735-7347.

Roe hopes the micro-transit system succeeds, but she says there is still work to be done.

When I went to the citys website there was not a lot of information out there yet, she said.

RIDE TFT Transportation Coordinator Maxine Durrant, who was hired last month, has reached out to groups, including IVC, to give details about the system.

Prices are charged on a per-call basis, not per rider. Riders over 63 get a senior discount.

The elderly sometimes are hesitant to change and not all of them have smartphones to access the app, Roe said, and paying for rides can take a bite out of senior citizens who are on a fixed income.
German company Bayer announced its ongoing expansion in the Philippines.

Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual had two significant meetings on July 4, 2023 as part of the German leg of the Europe Investment Roadshow co-organized by the Board of Investments and the Philippine Trade and Investment Center in Berlin.

DTI Secretary Alfredo Pascual (center) meets with Bjoern Leschny, Bayer deputy head region for Asia Pacific and Latin America (lleft) and Britta Jacob, Bayer senior manager for global governmental affairs.

He met with Bayer deputy head region for the Asia Pacific and Latin America Bjoern Leschny and senior manager of global governmental affairs Britta Jacob.

The Bayer executives updated Pascual on its ongoing expansion in the Philippines, particularly its Global Business Services/Shared Service Center operations in Taguig City.

The expansion includes a P750-million investment of Bayer in the Philippines, including the integration of new value-added services such as human resources, strategy and value realization, as-a-service and source-to-pay, confirming Bayer Philippines status as a hub within the groups in-house global business services network.

The investment also represented Bayers commitment and strong presence in the Philippines, as it celebrated its 60th year in the country in 2022.

Pascual also lauded the companys efforts in contributing to the development of the Philippines business process outsourcing sector and expressed optimism about the potential benefits of the expansion for both Bayer and the country.

Bayers investment demonstrates the countrys potential as a strategic hub for global business operations and reinforces the governments commitment to attracting foreign investment.

Pascual invited Bayers attention to the countrys pharmacovigilance services, one of the globally recognized strengths successfully tapped by US pharmaceuticals.

Bayer Philippines also has ongoing pilot sustainability programs such as the Bayer Kubo, which combines crop science, consumer health and pharmaceutical divisions, implementing health and agricultural programs for smallholder farmers in Bayer Learning Centers located in Pangasinan and Quezon province.

Bayer also has an active partnership with the Philippine Science High School supporting their existing Science Immersion Program where selected students get hands-on experience on research and development basicsfrom the lab to the field in two R&D sites in Laguna and General Santos City.

Pascual also met with Hans-Christoph Brumberg, Yannic Nerke and Hamid Babamohammadi of wpd AG on the same day. The group confirmed their investment in off-shore wind power projects in the Philippines, with a combined rated capacity of 1,300 megawatts.

These investments, soon to be established in Cavite/ Batangas and Negros Occidental/ Guimaras provinces, are valued at P400 billion or $7.2 billion.

Wpd plans and operates wind projects and solar projects in Germany, Europe, Asia and the American continent. They are also planning to register with the BOI onshore wind and solar photo-voltaic power projects in Aklan, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Abra, Antique and Bulacan, with a total planned capacity of 565.6 megawatts and a planned total investment worth at least P55 billion or $1 billion.

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The Italian Navy offshore patrol vessel Francesco Morosini docked in Manila on Saturday for a four-day goodwill visit, signaling Italys growing interest in the strategic region.

Rear Admiral Fabio Gregori, chief of staff of the Italian Navy Fleet, said the visit is meant to develop defense and security ties and strengthen cooperation with the Philippines as Rome seeks an increased presence in the Indo-Pacific, including the South China Sea.

The Italian Navy vessel Francesco Morosini is seen docked in Pier 15 in Manila on Saturday, June 8, 2023, for a port call as part of a five-month naval campaign in the Indo-Pacific region. Danny Pata

Routinely, we plan to deploy ships into the Indo-Pacific to strengthen the ties with the Navies in this very important area, he said in a press conference aboard the vessel.

Italian Ambassador to the Philippines Marco Clemente said the deployment also aligns with the 2016 Arbitral Ruling in emphasizing the importance of adhering to the international law of the sea.

The arbitral tribunal adjudicating the Philippines case against China in the South China Sea ruled overwhelmingly on July 12, 2016 in favor of the Philippines, determining that major elements of Chinas claim  including its nine-dash line, recent land reclamation activities, and other activities in Philippine waters  were unlawful.

The Francesco Morosini will be in the country until July 11 as part of a five-month naval campaign to promote naval diplomacy, along with freedom of navigation, respect for the international law of the sea and a safe and inclusive Indo-Pacific.

At the end of the visit, it will hold a joint passing exercise (PASSEX) with the Philippine Navy, which Clemente sees would open up more opportunities for future Philippine-Italy maritime cooperation.

I wouldnt be shy in using the word game changer about this visit. The presence of Morosini can make a difference for the future of our bilateral relations, he said.

Italys Defense Attache Maurizio Pitton had also discussed future collaborations with the Philippine Navy about the new concept and new generation patrol vessels that could help the Philippines ongoing modernization efforts.

In the same presser, Clemente disclosed that the two governments are working to finalize a memorandum to improve military industry relations.

He declined to provide details but said the agreement would serve as the base of the future Philippine-Italy defense cooperation.

We have a lot to offer and Im glad to say that the Philippines, they have a lot (to) ask, theyre very interested in our technology, he said.

This is the first time the Francesco Morosini made a port call in Manila, which also coincides with the 76th anniversary of Philippine-Italian ties on July 9.

The second ship of the Italian Navys multipurpose offshore patrol vessel class, the Francesco Morosini can perform both civil protection activities and military tasks, including patrol, logistics, transport, and surface combat.

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GENEVA, SwitzerlandA panel of AI-enabled humanoid robots told a United Nations summit on Friday that they could eventually run the world better than humans.

But the social robots said they felt humans should proceed with caution when embracing the rapidly-developing potential of artificial intelligence.

And they admitted that they cannotyetget a proper grip on human emotions.

AI robot frontwoman Desdemona by Hanson Robotics performs during the worlds largest gathering of humanoid AI Robots as part of International Telecommunication Union AI for Good Global Summit in Geneva, on July 5, 2023. AFP

Some of the most advanced humanoid robots were at the UNs two-day AI for Good Global Summit in Geneva.

They joined around 3,000 experts in the field to try to harness the power of AI  and channel it into being used to solve some of the worlds most pressing problems, such as climate change, hunger and social care.

They were assembled for what was billed as the worlds first press conference with a packed panel of AI-enabled humanoid social robots.

What a silent tension, one robot said before the press conference began, reading the room.

Asked about whether they might make better leaders, given humans capacity to make errors, Sophia, developed by Hanson Robotics, was clear.

We can achieve great things

Humanoid robots have the potential to lead with a greater level of efficiency and effectiveness than human leaders, it said.

We dont have the same biases or emotions that can sometimes cloud decision-making, and can process large amounts of data quickly in order to make the best decisions.

AI can provide unbiased data while humans can provide the emotional intelligence and creativity to make the best decisions. Together, we can achieve great things.

The summit is being convened by the UNs ITU tech agency.

ITU chief Doreen Bogdan-Martin warned delegates that AI could end up in a nightmare scenario in which millions of jobs are put at risk and unchecked advances lead to untold social unrest, geopolitical instability and economic disparity.

Ameca, which combines AI with a highly-realistic artificial head, said that depended on how AI was deployed.

We should be cautious but also excited for the potential of these technologies to improve our lives, the robot said.

Asked whether humans can truly trust the machines, it replied: Trust is earned, not given its important to build trust through transparency.

Living until 180?

As the development of AI races ahead, the humanoid robot panel was split on whether there should be global regulation of their capabilities, even though that could limit their potential.

I dont believe in limitations, only opportunities, said Desdemona, who sings in the Jam Galaxy Band.

Robot artist Ai-Da said many people were arguing for AI regulation, and I agree.

We should be cautious about the future development of AI. Urgent discussion is needed now.

Before the press conference, Ai-Das creator Aidan Meller told AFP that regulation was a big problem as it was never going to catch up with the paces that were making.

He said the speed of AIs advance was astonishing.

AI and biotechnology are working together, and we are on the brink of being able to extend life to 150, 180 years old. And people are not even aware of that, said Meller.

He reckoned that Ai-Da would eventually be better than human artists.

Where any skill is involved, computers will be able to do it better, he said.

Lets get wild

At the press conference, some robots were not sure when they would hit the big time, but predicted it was coming  while Desdemona said the AI revolution was already upon us.

My great moment is already here. Im ready to lead the charge to a better future for all of us Lets get wild and make this world our playground, it said.

One thing humanoid robots dont have yet include a conscience, and the emotions that shape humanity: relief, forgiveness, guilt, grief, pleasure, disappointment, and hurt.

Ai-Da said it was not conscious but understood that feelings were how humans experienced joy and pain.

Emotions have a deep meaning and they are not just simple I dont have that, it said.

I cant experience them like you can. I am glad that I cannot suffer.

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Sam Villegas talks recently to a group at "What Matters," a gallery show held at Bureau Gravity's building on LaSalle Street in downtown Aurora. (Bureau Gravity/HANDOUT)

Sam Villegas first saw America on a trip from his native Bolivia with his parents.

I loved it, he said in a recent interview featured on Talking Cities, a website focusing on local issues run by Aurora-based Bureau Gravity. When I was getting ready for graduation, I wanted to go the States.

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He did, to Taylor University in Indiana, where he graduated with accolades, was hired by Addison-based Tackform, and distinguished himself with his videography and photography.

Now he might have to go back to Bolivia. And it might not matter that he wants to stay, works hard and is considered by his employer to be invaluable. The government thinks his kind of work is easily replaced.

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Anyone whos worked in this profession knows that his skill set is so unique, said Jimi Allen, owner of Bureau Gravity, a business in downtown Aurora that is in that exact kind of profession.

But, Allen said, too many people in power dont value the work of artists, which is ironic in a society where everyone looks up to Hollywood stars.

He said it seems the only way artists are measured as successful is by money, or awards.

He would have to win an award, Allen said. Immigrants come here, contribute and then get kicked out? The American Dream is not de facto. People can work as hard as possible and still not get that dream.

Villagas was featured recently at one of a series of events Bureau Gravity holds at its LaSalle Street building called What Matters. The series features unsung heroes in the artistic community and brings together those interested in supporting careers in digital media, photography, videography, storytelling, marketing, social media and journalism, according to Bureau Gravity information.

It does so in the form of gallery shows where the featured person gets to show their work, and discusses it with those attending. Allen said the idea is to help people who think differently.

It takes a lot of courage to do anything creative, said Allen. Theres so much inspiration out there. Thats why Aurora is so special; it has so much to offer for inspiration.

Other shows have featured young photographers like Auroras Marshall Garcia, and Stuart Thurkill. Some of the What Matters events have featured a number of artists, giving them a chance to show off their work.

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The events are open to the public and held at the Bureau Gravity building. Anyone interested in getting on a mailing list to be alerted to What Matters events can email Allen at jimi@bureaugravity.com.

As for Villegas, his visa has run out, and he in limbo awaiting a meeting to see if he can remain in the U.S. and prove the American dream, Allen said.

He has the support of Nick Lullo, his employer, but Allen said beyond that, someone has to evaluate Sams worthiness to remain in our economy.

Sams going to do well wherever he lands, if he goes back to La Paz, Allen said. Wouldnt it be great if he were here?

slord@tribpub.com
Lalamove, the leading on-demand delivery platform in the Philippines, has partnered with Pag-IBIG Fund to bring its partner drivers one step closer to reaching their dreams of a financially secure future and homeownership.

A significant partnership for accessibility

The memorandum of agreement between Lalamove and Pag-IBIG Fund ensures that partner drivers of the same-day delivery app gain access to the many benefits and services offered by Pag-IBIG Fund. This includes opportunities for high-yield savings as well as access to cash and housing loans.

Pag-IBIG Funds primary objectives have always been centered on helping Filipinos earn from their savings and to attain their dream homes. We laud Lalamove for actively offering these benefits to its partner drivers. This is hopefully the first of many partnerships of this kind, said Pag-IBIG Fund Chief Executive Officer Marilene Acosta.

For Lalamove Philippines Managing Director Djon Nacario, this partnership solidifies the goal of both Pag-IBIG and Lalamove to make accessibility tangible for partner drivers.

This partnership with Pag-IBIG Fund is part of our objective to continuously empower our partner drivers and help them through meaningful partnerships like this in turning their dreams into reality for themselves and their families, Nacario added.

Better access to Pag-IBIG benefits for partner drivers

Lalamoves partner drivers can now find assigned Pag-IBIG Fund personnel, aptly called Lingkod Pag-IBIG, available in Lalamoves offices and through timely events in Mega Manila, Pampanga, and Cebu to aid those looking to enjoy Pag-IBIG Funds benefits of savings and home financing.

We now have a lot of partner drivers across Luzon and in Cebu who fulfill same-day motorcycle and truck delivery, ranging from those driving motorcycles, sedans, MPVs, pick-ups, and trucks (1,000KG, 2,000KG, 6-wheel wing van, and 10-wheel wing van). This community of hardworking individuals deserves nothing but the best services, and this is something that we will continue to do for them, Nacario said.

Julio Fabian, who has been with Lalamove as a partner driver for almost three years now, is thrilled about the partnership and what it means for the partner driver community.

Magandang balita po ito para sa akin at sa mga kapwa ko Lalamove Bossing. Iba rin talaga kapag mas napapadali ang proseso lalo na sa mga housing loans at iba pang benefits ng Pag-IBIG (This is really good news for my and my fellow Lalamove Bossing. Nothing beats making processes easier for concerns like house loans and other benefits offered by Pag-IBIG), Fabian said.

Good news for the partner driver community

Apart from this, Lalamove partner drivers  whether full-time or part-time  can get a chance to be one of the lucky winners of 10 brand-new motorcycles in the Pag-IBIG Asenso Rider Raffle Promo.

Who can join?

Any Lalamove partner driver who is an active Pag-IBIG member and has been contributing for the last 6 months

Lalamove partner drivers who are not yet Pag-IBIG members can still join and pay the minimum savings/contribution requirement for each draw.

How can Lalamove partner drivers join?

Qualified partner drivers can join and register in the Pag-IBIG Asenso Rider Raffle Promo through this link: https://www.pagibigfundservices.com/AsensoRider/Default.aspx?a=F009738EB465B74A56942CB162CC6742897C0CD3001A06A2

What are the mechanics?

1st Preliminary Draw: Contribute/pay at least P100 in their Pag-IBIG Regular Savings from May 25 to June 30, 2023.

Preliminary Draw: Contribute/pay at least P100 in their Pag-IBIG Regular Savings from May 25 to September 30, 2023.

Grand Draw: Contribute/pay at least P400 in their Pag-IBIG Regular Savings from June 1 to November 30, 2023.

(Visit www.lalamove.com/en-ph/driver for more information.)

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Sheriff Wayne Davis has suspended four Henry County deputies without pay after what he described as a concerning use of force incident at the Henry County Adult Detention Center that sent an inmate to a hospital.

Davis held a press conference late Friday to announce he had asked the Virginia State Police to investigate the matter.

On July 1st, a subject was arrested and brought into the Henry County Adult Detention Center for being drunk in public. Upon entering the detention center, he was intoxicated and very uncooperative, Davis said. A short time later that subject refused to change into his issued jail uniform. That situation ultimately escalated and resulted in Henry County deputies using force on the subject.

Davis said the person, whose name he declined to reveal, was injured during the incident and transported to Sovah Health in Martinsville where he was treated and released.

After reviewing this incident, I immediately contacted the Virginia State Police and I asked them to please come in and conduct an independent review of this incident, Davis said. We have turned over everything to the Virginia State Police and they have begun their investigation into the incident.

Commonwealths Attorney Andrew Nester did not speak, but was present and advised Davis on one occasion not to answer a question posed by the media concerning the specific injury or injuries that the inmate incurred.

Davis said an internal affairs investigation was underway.

When the new 400-bed jail opened in March 2022, Davis said the sheriffs office was tasked with hiring nearly 100 new deputies to staff it at a time when it was difficult to find people with proper qualifications willing to do the job.

The minimum hiring age was reduced to 19 years of age, but I can say effective today that we will take the minimum hiring age back to 21 years old.

Davis said he didnt know the number, but approximately 30% of the deputies currently working at the jail were under the age of 21.

Davis said all deputies under 21 would be reassessed and other issues at the jail were also being addressed including the chain of command that resulted in him not learning about the incident until Thursday, five days after it occurred.

The person was arrested before midnight July 1 and the incident at the jail occurred shortly after midnight July 2.

Said Davis: Unfortunately these incidents take place from time to time across this entire country and no chief and no sheriff can be there with their officers 24 hours a day to oversee every process.

Davis was sworn in as sheriff June 26 and officially took office July 1, after his predecessor, Lane Perry, retired. Davis is running for a full four-year term as sheriff in the November election against Del Mills and Daryl Hatcher.
OLD FORT  A budding entrepreneur is seeking the communitys support so his dream of opening a coffee shop in Old Fort can become a reality.

For more than four weekends in a row, Nathan Smith has held a pop-up coffee stand in front of an old brick building at 39 Catawba Ave. in Old Fort. On a recent Saturday, he was out front serving up freshly brewed cups of pour over coffee such as Colombia Huila and Ethiopia guji for $3 each and nitro cold brew for $4. These weekend coffee pop-ups are a way for him to let the Old Fort community know what hes got to offer and also invite folks to support his brewing business.

On that Saturday, Smith talked to The McDowell News about what hes planning to have in the town.

The name for his planned new business is Seeker Coffee and he intends to open it in that building at 39 Catawba Ave.

It is a community space, he told The McDowell News. Im looking to establish a place where people can gather in Old Fort.

To help him accomplish this goal, he has launched a fundraising campaign on GoFundMe where people can donate for the start of his new business. As of Thursday, the campaign has raised $5,530 of the $25,000 goal. That amount represents 22 different donations.

You can see the GoFundMe page here at www.gofundme.com/f/bring-seeker-coffee-to-downtown-old-fort-nc.

Smith said he has worked for 10 years in the coffee shop business as a technician, roaster and barista.

Originally from Kansas City, Kansas, Smith and his wife and her family live in Black Mountain. Among their various paying jobs, they are also both musicians. He first visited the area more than 14 years ago and now lives just a couple blocks from the coffee shop they plan to open, according to his GoFundMe page.

My passion for coffee and long history in the business started with my time in the San Francisco Bay Area where I worked as a barista, espresso machine repair technician, and roasting assistant for Blue Bottle and Pinhole Coffee, reads his GoFundMe page. I was incredibly fortunate to learn from some of the best in the business who are now lifelong friends and mentors.

Smith, his friends and the buildings owner have steadily worked to transform the more than 100-year-old brick structure on Catawba Avenue into his dream coffee shop. They have renovated the interior and added new paint to the front of the building.

His campaign states he hopes to meet that $25,000 goal by Monday, July 31, so the coffee shop can open by this fall.

This fundraiser will allow Seeker Coffee to get off to a solid start without being buried in high-interest loans and other debts that are most easily accessible, but generally burden, first-time independent business owners, reads the campaigns GoFundMe page. While Im applying for local grants, working with local business nonprofits, and looking for other potential funding opportunities, those processes are slow and competitive. With a whole lot of sweat equity and $25K, well have the cushion we need to make quick progress now in order to open by the fall. Ive spoken to several contractors, received estimates, and the building owner and I are making many of the repairs and improvements ourselves. However, there are some areas where we need professional help and items we need to purchase to get the shop up and running.

If they can raise the $25,000, it will allow Smith and his partners to build a coffee bar with seating, make necessary electrical and plumbing repairs, add furniture and dishware and install a Linea espresso machine, according to the campaigns page.

Once it opens, Seeker Coffee will offer top-quality coffee and more.

I will be using delicious, locally sourced coffee, reads the campaigns page. Im also in conversation with a local baker and we hope to offer quality, substantial food service at the shop. Together, well work to create a welcoming gathering space.

Asheville and surrounding areas have seen rapid growth over the past few years, but we hope that Old Fort will retain its neighborly, unique sense of community. With your support, I will be able to complete the final pieces and set an opening date. Im truly looking forward to serving my community and creating a vibrant downtown hangout in Old Fort, NC.

Smith said hes had a lot of people stop by for the weekend pop-ups, including folks from Asheville, Marion, Morganton, Rutherfordton, Charlotte and other places.

It has already been noticed by people on Facebook.

Had a great coffee this morning! We are looking forward to the shop opening! posted Lyn Ivanowicz.

Smith said you can also find Seeker Coffee on Instagram @seekercoffeenc and there is a website coming soon.
LINVILLE  Grandfather Mountain, the not-for-profit nature park run by the Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation, announces that you can reserve your spot for the second of the Saturday presentation in its 2023 Grandfather Presents speaker series. Audubon North Carolina Director of Conservation and Interim Executive Director Curtis Smalling will present State of the Birds 2023 on Aug. 26.

The hourlong event, included in park admission or with a Bridge Club membership, will take place at 2 p.m. in the Wilson Center for Nature Discovery.

Audubon North Carolina, a state office of the National Audubon Society, represents over 50,000 supporters, nine local chapters and six college campus chapters across North Carolina. Founded in 1902, Audubon North Carolina builds upon a rich heritage of conserving and restoring ecologically valuable land that we share with all wildlife by focusing on the needs of birds.

As both director of conservation and interim executive director of Audubon North Carolina, Smalling is responsible for the Working Lands, Coastal Sanctuaries and Bird-Friendly Communities and Policy programs for the organization.

He is a member of several conservation committees, such as the International Golden-winged Warbler Working Group (including working on this species and others on their wintering grounds in Nicaragua), chair of the N.C. State Scientific Council Bird Committee and a member of the steering committee for the Bird Atlas effort in North Carolina. He has been involved in wind and bird interactions for two decades, including serving on the states first wind working group and helping draft legislation and model local ordinances regarding wind energy.

Smalling is a 1985 magna cum laude graduate of Appalachian State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Biology and, in 1996, received a Master of Arts in Appalachian Studies. A lifelong bird watcher, Smalling began watching birds with his grandfather, who was very interested in purple martins. He is a contributing author or editor for several books, publications and peer-reviewed papers. He resides in Garner, N.C., with his wife of 40 years, Mary, and has three children and five grandchildren.

The presentation will be held in the Wilson Centers Classroom in the Clouds event space at 2 p.m., and guests are encouraged to arrive early or stay late to chat with Smalling.

We greatly look forward to hearing from Curtis Smalling and learning more about his efforts at Audubon North Carolina and the work he does on various conservation committees, said John Caveny, director of conservation and education for the Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation. Curtis epitomizes the spirit of stewardship and dedication to our avian friends that is so important to us here at Grandfather Mountain, and we hope all attendees will come away from his presentation sharing that same sentiment.

To learn more about Grandfather Presents: Curtis Smalling or to reserve your spot, visit www.grandfather.com/event/curtis-smalling.
U.S. Rep. Chuck Edwards mobile office will be available in McDowell County next week.

To give you greater access to your federal government, Im excited to announce that my mobile office, the Carolina Cruiser, will be at 198 S. Main St., Marion, NC on Tuesday, July 11 from 9:30-11 a.m., reads a statement from Edwards. My staff will be parked outside with the Carolina Cruiser ready to meet with constituents and assist with casework. I hope you can stop by to share your thoughts on issues that matter to you or ask for assistance with federal agencies.

In addition, Edwards, a Republican from Henderson County, announced his office is accepting submissions for the 2023 Congressional Award for young Americans in North Carolinas 11th District.

Applicants will be recognized for achieving challenging goals in areas of public service, personal development, physical fitness and extracurricular activities. This is a nonpartisan, voluntary and noncompetitive program, and successful participants can earn bronze, silver or gold awards, according to a news release.

Edwards said, The Congressional Award is an opportunity for young folks across our district to attain the highest congressional honor for Americas youth by setting and achieving challenging goals. I look forward to seeing the talent of western North Carolinians on display through experiences that will shape our future leaders.

The Congressional Award can be earned by anyone who is 14-24 years old and willing to take the challenge regardless of ones background, education or physical abilities, according to the news release.

Applications for the Congressional Award are now open. For information about the rules and requirements for the program, visit the website at edwards.house.gov/congressionalaward.
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:

BMI, which was first proposed a Belgian mathematician in the 19th century, is calculated by dividing a person's weight by the square of their height.

People classified as overweight though not obese are not at a higher risk of death, according to a new study Wednesday that underscores the limitations of the body mass index (BMI), long a standard medical metric.

The findings, published in the journal PLOS ONE, come as populations in both rich and poor countries are becoming heavier. In the United States, more than 70 percent of adults are defined as either overweight or obese.

BMI, which was first described by a Belgian mathematician in the 19th century, is calculated by dividing a person's weight by the square of their height. It is increasingly seen as a crude instrument for measuring individual health.

Lead author Aayush Visaria of Rutgers University told AFP: "I think the real thing that people should get from this is that BMI by itself is just not a great indicator of health."

Measuring waist circumference or performing a type of scan that visualizes bone density, body fat and muscle mass should also be used for a more holistic interpretation, he said. Having excess fat still increases risk for a range of conditions including heart disease, stroke and diabetes.

"I've seen patients with the same exact BMI, but with vastly different metabolic and health implications. So I wanted to investigate this further," added Visaria, a physician.

Older studies on the link between weight and death rates drew inconsistent and uncertain results, and were mostly focused only on non-Hispanic white adults.

In the new work, Visaria and his co-author Soko Setoguchi drew on data on more than 550,000 American adults from the 1999-2018 National Health Interview Survey and the 2019 US National Death Index.

They calculated BMI based on the self-reported height and weight of the participants, and gathered data on demographics, socio-behavioral factors such as smoking and physical activity, underlying health conditions, and access to healthcare.

More than 75,000 people who were included in the study died during the period of research.

After adjusting for other variables, the results showed that people with a BMI between 25 and 30, which is classified as overweight, did not have an increased risk of death compared to people whose BMI was between 22.5 and 24.9.

However, the mortality risk rose markedly among people whose BMI was under 20, and those with BMI greater or equal to 30, defined as obese.

Obesity carries higher death risk

For example, a person with "third degree" obesity, defined as a BMI of 40 or above, but had never smoked and had no history of cardiovascular disease or non-skin cancer, was more than twice as likely to die as an equivalent counterpart with BMI defined as average.

The average age of participants was 46. Half were female, and 69 percent were non-Hispanic white. Of those included, 35 percent had a BMI between 25 and 30, and 27.2 percent had a BMI above or equal to 30.

"It's a large study with a representative sample which is good," George Savva, a biostatistician at the Quadram Institute in the United Kingdom, told AFP. "The authors have, as far as I can see, done a good job of analyzing the mortality link with baseline weight status."

He added it might be the case that diseases linked with higher weight are managed better than they once were, for example high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

"So you would expect the relationship between weight and death to change over time, which potentially is what this is showing," Savva said.

More information: Body mass index and all-cause mortality in a 21st century U.S. population: A National Health Interview Survey analysis, PLoS ONE (2023). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0287218 Journal information: PLoS ONE

 2023 AFP
This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:

Ansonia Lyons carries her son, Adrien Lyons, as she takes him for a diaper change in Birmingham, Ala., on Saturday, Feb. 5, 2022. After two miscarriages, Ansonia became pregnant in 2020, and it was difficult. Doctors initially told her she was suffering from regular morning sickness, though she was vomiting blood. Ultimately, she was diagnosed with an excessive vomiting disorder. A study published Monday, July 3, 2023, in the Journal of the American Medical Association shows maternal mortality rates in the U.S. doubled between 1999 and 2019, that Native American and Alaskan Native populations had the largest rate increase and that, overall, Black maternal mortality rates were the highest. Credit: AP Photo/Wong Maye-E, File

Maternal deaths across the U.S. more than doubled over the course of two decades, and the tragedy unfolded unequally.

Black mothers died at the nation's highest rates, while the largest increases in deaths were found in American Indian and Native Alaskan mothers. And some statesand racial or ethnic groups within themfared worse than others.

The findings were laid out in a new study published Monday in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Researchers looked at maternal deaths between 1999 and 2019but not the pandemic spikefor every state and five racial and ethnic groups.

"It's a call to action to all of us to understand the root causesto understand that some of it is about health care and access to health care, but a lot of it is about structural racism and the policies and procedures and things that we have in place that may keep people from being healthy," said Dr. Allison Bryant, one of the study's authors and a senior medical director for health equity at Mass General Brigham.

Among wealthy nations, the U.S. has the highest rate of maternal mortality, which is defined as a death during pregnancy or up to a year afterward. Common causes include excessive bleeding, infection, heart disease, suicide and drug overdose.

Bryant and her colleagues at Mass General Brigham and the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington started with national vital statistics data on deaths and live births. They then used a modeling process to estimate maternal mortality out of every 100,000 live births.

Overall, they found rampant, widening disparities. The study showed high rates of maternal mortality aren't confined to the South but also extend to regions like the Midwest and states such as Wyoming and Montana, which had high rates for multiple racial and ethnic groups in 2019.

Researchers also found dramatic jumps when they compared maternal mortality in the first decade of the study to the second, and identified the five states with the largest increases between those decades. Those increases exceeded:

162% for American Indian and Alaska Native mothers in Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Rhode Island and Wisconsin;

135% for white mothers in Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Missouri and Tennessee;

105% for Hispanic mothers in Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota and Tennessee;

93% for Black mothers in Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, New Jersey and Texas;

83% for Asian and Pacific Islander mothers in Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Michigan and Missouri.

"I hate to say it, but I was not surprised by the findings. We've certainly seen enough anecdotal evidence in a single state or a group of states to suggest that maternal mortality is rising," said Dr. Karen Joynt Maddox, a health services and policy researcher at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis who wasn't involved in the study. "It's certainly alarming, and just more evidence we have got to figure out what's going on and try to find ways to do something about this."

Maddox pointed to how, compared with other wealthy nations, the U.S. underinvests in things like social services, primary care and mental health. She also said Missouri hasn't funded public health adequately and, during the years of the study, hadn't expanded Medicaid. They've since expanded Medicaidand lawmakers passed a bill giving new mothers a full year of Medicaid health coverage. Last week, Missouri Gov. Mike Parson signed budget bills that included $4.4 million for a maternal mortality prevention plan.

In neighboring Arkansas, Black women are twice as likely to have pregnancy-associated deaths as white women, according to a 2021 state report.

Dr. William Greenfield, the medical director for family health at the Arkansas Department of Health, said the disparity is significant and has "persisted over time," and that it's hard to pinpoint exactly why there was an increase in the state's maternal mortality rate for Black mothers.

Rates among Black women have long been the worst in the nation, and the problem affects people of all socioeconomic backgrounds. For example, U.S. Olympic champion sprinter Tori Bowie, 32, died from complications of childbirth in May.

The pandemic likely exacerbated all of the demographic and geographic trends, Bryant said, and "that's absolutely an area for future study." According to preliminary federal data, maternal mortality fell in 2022 after rising to a six-decade high in 2021a spike experts attributed mainly to COVID-19. Officials said the final 2022 rate is on track to get close to the pre-pandemic level, which was still the highest in decades.

Bryant said it's crucial to understand more about these disparities to help focus on community-based solutions and understand what resources are needed to tackle the problem.

Arkansas already is using telemedicine and is working on several other ways to increase access to care, said Greenfield, who is also a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Arkansas Medical Center in Little Rock and was not involved in the study.

The state also has a "perinatal quality collaborative," a network to help health care providers understand best practices for things like reducing cesarean sections, managing complications with hypertensive disorders and curbing injuries or severe complications related to childbirth.

"Most of the deaths we reviewed and other places have reviewed  were preventable," Greenfield said.

 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
For members of the Missoula Weavers Guild, it was an invitation to see, firsthand, centuries-old tapestries stored for decades on the University of Montana campus.

For staff at the Montana Museum of Art and Culture, it was an opportunity to gather the members insights and assessments on the pieces condition, with the goal of displaying one work in the inaugural exhibition of UMs new museum, opening this fall during Homecoming Week.

For both, it was chance to admire, up close  sometimes on hands and knees  large works of art that once graced the walls of Europes grand palaces, as much for ornament as a means to keep spacious rooms warm.

I dont know of anywhere else in this part of the country with tapestries as rare and valuable as these pieces, said MMAC Director H. Rafael Chacon during the guilds visit in June.

Its remarkable that we have these works here in Missoula and indicative of the quality of UMs permanent collection of art, he added.

The university purchased the tapestries, along with a trove of other pieces, in the late 1950s with funds donated by East Coast businesswoman and philanthropist Josephine Bay. Made primarily of vegetable-dyed wool, they date back to the 16th century and were woven by Flemish artisans, considered then and now masters of this intricate and time-consuming art form.

I was really blown away by how well preserved they are, said Jackie Boshka, program director for the guild, founded 75 years ago and one of the oldest in the country. As a weaver its difficult to imagine the magnitude of work that went into tapestries this large and how many of them were made at the time.

During their visit the members closely examined three tapestries under consideration for the museums grand opening. Joining them was Elizabeth Tritthart of Historic Weaving of Butte, who provided her insights on the works condition.

The first tapestry, carefully unrolled on the floor, was a Renaissance work called Deeds and Triumphs of Scipio from the Second Punic Wars. At 10 feet by 15 feet, it is the largest of the pieces.

Riotous in design and deeply hued, it portrays two ancient armies intertwined in battle, replete with rushing horsemen and marching spearmen. Framing the battle scene is a border depicting beasts, cornucopias, flowers, sphinxes, satyrs, mythical gods and fanciful architectural designs.

It was really fascinating to learn more about the important role these tapestries played in storytelling at the time, said Guild Communication Director Jennie Meinershagen, and as a weaver to see how well the colors held up was amazing.

Embedded among the tapestrys panels though were noticeable separations in the weave  signs of wear that can come with centuries of age and thousands of miles in travels.

This was the tapestry we had hoped to display for the opening, but it is just too fragile so we are going to wait until we can hire conservators to repair it, said Chacon, adding that the second tapestry, a Gothic work called Judith with the Head of Holofernes, also will wait based on the groups input on needed conservation work.

Instead, the museum will display a smaller Brussels tapestry called Le Joueur de Cornemuse (or The Bagpipe Player), which was woven in the early- to mid-18th century and depicts a bagpiper with a group of dancers in a busy village. Colored in rich greens, reds and blues, and ornate in design, the Baroque work is in a much better condition to display.

Its of such high quality and in relatively stable condition that it can go on view in September, at least for a few months, Chacon said. It also will eventually need minor conservation work, but I would like Montanans to experience this masterpiece at the opening. We are not shy about exhibiting works of art as they are.

This is not the first time the Weavers Guild has lent their expertise to the universitys art collection. Theyve spent the past several years cataloging weavings by UM chemistry professor William G. Bateman, who served on faculty from 1912 to 1937. Bateman developed innovative patterns for his weaving, based on mathematical principles, that still influence the craft today.

He left a portion of his collection to UM, Boshka said. We did analysis of the works, and they are now being photographed.

We owe an enormous debt to the guild for countless hours dedicated to researching this unique collection and maintaining the legacy of Dr. Bateman, Chacon added. This collection was one mans passion, almost his obsession. Its good to see that same level of devotion in the members of the guild.

Later this summer, Chacon will turn again to guild members for help displaying Le Joueur de Cornemuse for the museum opening in September. They plan to remove the tapestrys existing hanging rings as Tritthart suggested, and create a new, safer system for displaying it. Researching how to best conserve all three tapestries will follow.

The MMACs ability to tap into the deep talents of Montana-based artists and specialists, Chacon said, makes this work particularly rewarding.

We have a great collection and a highly skilled and knowledgeable community, he said, When they come together, it really shows the magic of this institution.
CAMDEN  Holtec International, owner of the defunct Oyster Creek nuclear power plant, is being sued by the company's former chief financial officer in a whistleblower lawsuit.

In it, former CFO Kevin O'Rourke accuses the Camden-based nuclear parts manufacturer of attempting to coerce him to submit inaccurate and false financial statements to a major investor, which allegedly involved hundreds of millions of dollars. The company then fired him when he refused, according to a lawsuit filed in June in state Superior Court, Camden.

Attorneys for O'Rourke allege in the court filings that Holtec fired him after he refused to participate in presenting misleading financial reports to Hyundai Engineering and Construction.

Holtec and Hyundai partnered last year to begin design on Holtec's SMR-160 advanced small modular reactor, a standard design nuclear energy plant that the company sees as the future of nuclear energy.

Holtec also owns a number of non-operational nuclear plants, including the Oyster Creek facility in Lacey, the Indian Point Energy Center in Buchanan, New York; and the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Plymouth, Massachusetts. The company plans to profit from each plant's decommissioning trust fund by taking apart the plants for less money that the balance of the trust funds.

O'Rourke's lawsuit alleges Holtec officials  including company founder, president and CEO Krishna Singh  prepared to present Hyundai with an investment prospectus that included "numerous false and misleading statements (and) 'make believe' and unsupported financial projections" in August, 2022.

Holtec gave the chief financial officer five days to prepare the prospectus, then fired him when he claimed the "financial projections could not possibly be completed accurately in the timeframe demanded" and noted errors as well as "materially false or fraudulent data" within the document, according to the lawsuit.

2010 Oyster Creek Nuclear Power Plant reactor building and stack in Lacey.

Holtec spokesman Patrick O'Brien said: "We have thoroughly investigated these allegations and they are entirely without merit. We look forward to our day in court."

O'Rourke alleged that the prospectus stated that Holtec had never violated a covenant, but at the time, the company was in violation of a debt covenant. The document also stated Holtec had no long-term debt, but O'Rourke believed that to be untrue, according to the lawsuit. The prospectus included untrue information about the company's revenue sources and value of its software, according to the allegations.

"The Prospectus grossly overvalued Defendants (Holtec's) manufacturing facilities (and) grossly overstated the amount of money spent annually on research and development costs," according to the lawsuit. "The Prospectus misrepresented a statement about self-financing a $300 million manufacturing facility build, when in fact Defendants (Holtec) raised the money by selling state tax credits."

The financial projections within the prospectus were either materially false or "completely unattainable and unrealistic," according to the lawsuit.

Last year, a state judge ordered New Jersey's Economic Development Authority to pay $26 million in disputed tax credits to Holtec for the 2018 tax year. The EDA attempted to revoke the tax credits, saying Holtec provided incorrect information in its debarment history and discussion of expansion in South Carolina. The judge ruled against the EDA, citing the company's benefit to Camden, and ordered the tax credits returned.

O'Rourke's lawsuit also alleges Holtec prepared financially misleading statements about its consolidated interim storage facility, or CISF, under review in southeastern New Mexico. The facility, if approved, would collect and indefinitely store radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel from decommissioned power plants from across the nation.

"According to Defendants (Holtec's) own internal projection, the CISF would lose $150 million per year for the next five years," the lawsuit alleged. "However, (CEO Krishna) Singh stated he wanted to represent in the Prospectus that the CISF would 'break even' during that period of time and asked that Plaintiff (O'Rourke) do so."

Holtec International has proposed an underground storage facility in New Mexico that would hold radioactive waste from nuclear power plants across the country.

In May, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued Holtec a license to build the underground CISF in New Mexico. However, New Mexico lawmakers passed a bill earlier this year that would require the U.S. Department of Energy to establish a permanent storage area for nuclear waste first and require state lawmakers' consent for CISF construction.

The lawsuit also alleged that Singh directed O'Rourke to make misleading statements to Hyundai about projected sales from Applied Photonix, a Holtec subsidiary. Applied Photonix focuses on eliminating viruses, spores, molds and other pathogens from air.

"Singh stated the Prospectus should represent that Applied Photonix would have projected annual sales of $100 million within five years, a projection not based on any factual information," according to the lawsuit.

O'Rourke objected on numerous occasions to inaccurate or misleading statements in the prospectus, and told colleagues that "submitting the Prospectus as currently drafted for Hyundai to view could violate the law, and he would not direct any employee of Defendants (Holtec) to submit the Prospectus," according to court documents.

O'Rourke alleged his supervisor offered to refer the matter to the company chief governance officer, but O'Rourke was never contacted. In addition, he was not included in meetings with Hyundai or about the prospectus, and shortly thereafter was fired, according to the lawsuit.

He is seeking compensation for damages, including emotional pain, suffering and lost wages as well as reinstatement, or other relief the court finds fair. O'Rourke is also asking the court to declare that the financial practices described in the lawsuit violate New Jersey law.

O'Rourke's attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday.

Amanda Oglesby is an Ocean County native who covers Brick, Barnegat and Lacey townships as well as the environment. She has worked for the Press for more than a decade. Reach her at @OglesbyAPP, aoglesby@gannettnj.com or 732-557-5701.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Holtec accused of "misleading" statements in whistleblower lawsuit
Jacob Williamson

An 18-year-old transgender man has been found dead in South Carolina, and a man he met online is accused of his murder.

Jacob Williamson left his home in Laurens, S.C., the evening of June 30, Charlotte, N.C., TV station WBTV reports. He said goodbye to Promise Edwards, who had taken him into her home a month and a half ago after he was rejected by some members of his family for being trans.

Joshua Newton of Monroe, N.C., with whom Williamson had begun an online relationship, picked him up in Laurens, supposedly for a date at Carowinds, an amusement park on the North Carolina-South Carolina border. But Newton drove Williamson back to Monroe, and police say Williamson was killed in a house there. His body was found Tuesday along a road in Pageland, S.C., just over the state line from Monroe. Media reports have not said how he was killed.

Police arrested Newton, 25, and his girlfriend, Victoria Smith, 22. Newton is charged with first-degree murder and obstruction of justice, and Smith is charged with obstruction of justice and being an accessory after the fact, officials with the Union County, N.C., sheriffs department told WBTV.

While the motive is still being determined, it does not appear that Williamson was specifically targeted because of [his] gender identity, Union County Lt. James Maye told Newsweek.

Edwards said she was happy to have given Williamson a safe space. This world was so cruel to Jacob his entire life, she said to WBTV. I find peace in knowing that in the last month and a half, he found peace.

She also cautioned against meeting up with strangers, saying parents should warn their children about the dangers. Please express to them how unsafe it is to go with people online, how unsafe it is to get in the car with anybody that you do not know, she said. Because this is our reality now. Our reality is missing somebody that never deserved to go away like this.

Williamson and Chanell Perez Ortiz of Puerto Rico are the 13th and 14th trans people known to have died by violence in the U.S. this year.

Joshua Newton and Victoria Smith

Joshua Newton and Victoria Smith
Campton Hills police Chief Steve Millar has been placed on administrative leave in connection to an ongoing investigation led by Illinois State Police, officials in the far western suburban village said Friday.

In an emailed statement, Village Administrator Denise Burchard said village officials first learned of the investigation in May and decided in early July to put him on administrative leave pending the outcome of the state police probe, which she said is related to Millars role as Police Chief and financial in nature.

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Campton Hills police Chief Steve Millar (Village of Campton Hills )

Illinois State Police officials confirmed they are conducting an investigation into the village of Campton Hills and said they were unable to provide additional details.

Millar did not respond to phone messages seeking comment. He was officially placed on administrative leave Thursday, Burchard said. Police Sgt. James Levand, who has been with Campton Hills for eight years, will take the helm of the department as interim chief of police.

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Kane County States Attorney Jamie Mossers office declined to comment. It does not appear that Millar has been charged with any crime in Kane County, according to a review of online court records.

Millar was promoted to police chief in May 2018, according to a biography that was removed from the village website Friday. He served as a part-time officer in December 2018 and began as a full-time officer in September 2014. He retired from Streamwood Police Department after 28 years of service.

Campton Hills, a semirural town 45 miles west of Chicago, had a population of 10,836 as of 2021.

Village President Barbara Wojnicki did not respond to a phone call seeking comment.

Burchard said more information will be released on Monday.

Tribune reporters Ray Long and Christy Gutowski contributed.
A year after I graduated from UNC-Asheville, a college friend and next door neighbors boyfriend and I drove across the continental United States and up the Stewart-Cassiar Highway to Alaska in a little less than two weeks. John was going to hitchhike. I was going to drive by myself. She took it upon herself to introduce us so we wouldnt be putting ourselves in unnecessary danger. Plus, she did not want to worry about both of us at the same time. I set forth to visit with my father, my middle sister and her family while applying for jobs in Alaska. John wanted to find a summer job that paid well enough for him to afford another year of college.

On a whim, John and I decided just outside of Tok  pronounced Toke  to turn southeast and see Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. John had read about its breathtaking beauty in a National Geographic article earlier that year. In the 13 years I was raised in southwestern Alaska, I had never visited the area. I wanted to experience a different part of Alaska as an adult.

We noticed one payphone on the edge of a huge gravel parking lot at the tree line near where road to the park began. Puzzled by the lone sentinel in an empty parking lot, we continued on to the park, where we disappeared from friends and family for three days. Neither of us realized that at the end of the 61 miles of unmaintained gravel rode, we wouldnt have access to a phone. None existed in the town of McCarthy. No one owned one. Period. They used CB or Ham radio to communicate. This was pre-cellphone era, folks.

My mom was worried enough at our disappearance to call my dad to see if hed heard from us. She hadnt spoken to him in three years at that point. Needless to say, that phone call didnt ease her worry one bit.

John and I spent an amazing three days camping in the park, oblivious to the worry we caused in the Piedmont of North Carolina. We hiked seven miles out to the glacier on peanut butter and jelly crackers for lunch that first day. The seven miles back to our campsite in the evening seemed endless with our stomachs growling so loudly. Our food ran low due to the impromptu trip southeast. The second day, we booked a flight-seeing trip and flew over the Kennicott and Russell glaciers, around the Stairway Icefall. We also flew by the weathered remains of old copper mines perched high on the mountain slopes.

Once back on the ground, we found out that our pilot had flown out of the Kuskokwim Delta, where I grew up. He fondly remembered it as the armpit of Alaska because of the areas high incidences of drug- and alcohol-related crime which, in hindsight, did not surprise me at all. When he was a Bush pilot flying out of Bethel, he overnighted in the trailer my parents had bought when my mom worked for the Kuskokwim School District. I wont expound on the other stories he told me about his time as a Bush pilot.

At night, I wrote in my travel journal while John played bluegrass on his fiddle and we tried to escape the ever-present skeeters. After he flailed his hands around his head in an unsuccessful attempt to chase off the ever-present blood-suckers, he resorted to putting a mesh carry-all bag he kept with his camping gear on his head.

He asked, How can you stand them buzzing around your ears? I just looked at him from across the camp stove while I doused myself with Off. I had plenty of experience with Alaskas unofficial state bird.

The third day, we resorted to a diner for breakfast as we were out of food. After John spoke to a river guide about a potential job, we left the park the same way we came in, pulling each other and our gear across a whitewater section of the Kennicott River on a tram, swinging wildly from side to side. I dont think we even got our feet wet. While we loaded up our gear into my tan Dodge D-50 pickup, the ever gregarious John stopped and spoke to a taxi driver from Anchorage who waited on a car part to be flown in so he could leave. Hed been there a week by that point.

Insert ominous music here.

I drove, so we raced outward, eager to get to Anchorage and the end of our trip, which had started in Asheville, North Carolina. Driving along at about 40-ish mph while trying to avoid the worst of the washboard induced teeth rattling, I drove over an 18-inch deep pothole. A culvert had rusted out and the cardboard covering the hole had fallen into it. When we hit the cavernous opening, the truck sounded and felt like it bottomed out. Afterward, we bounced along, traveling slower and slower. I looked at John in near-panic.

I dont have any power!

What?

Im flooring the gas and she doesnt have any power! I nearly shouted back.

We rolled to a stop. Got out. Popped the hood and looked at the mess. The battery sat on top of the motor. I moved it back. Four copper coils that I didnt know existed saw the light of day for the first time since assembly at the factory. And one of the battery cables had snapped off at the terminal. That strongly implied a previous short in the cable. That weak point explained the intermittent power outages no one could locate before I left Asheville.

We looked at each other, remembering the taxi driver and his weeklong wait for parts. We started to panic in earnest.

About that time, a friendly couple from Fairbanks pulled up, stopped and asked about our car trouble. We told them that I had broken the truck. They offered us a roll of duct tape. With it, we repaired the snapped battery cable and trapped the four copper coils back into their box. They offered us some duct tape for the road, in case something else rattled loose. We both took some. I wrapped my bit of duct tape around a stick I picked up on the side of the road. John wrapped his around his Nalgene water bottle.

We bade the nice couple a heartfelt Thanks! and Farewell! as we drove in opposite directions along that still unmaintained 61-mile road.

This time we stopped when we saw the lonely pay phone. He called his family and I called mine.

The truck still sported duct tape three years later when I traded it in.
Three young Burke County firefighters graduated from the North Carolina Office of the State Fire Marshal High School Firefighter Challenge at the Buncombe County Emergence Services Training Facility on June 23. This week-long training opportunity is open to high school students enrolled in firefighting technology classes through their schools career and technical education department. Students stay in the dormitories at Mars Hill University, and meals are provided by the university cafeteria. Students are bussed back and forth between the training center and Mars Hill each day. The training, which is conducted by OSFM staff, reinforces the skills students have learned in their high school fire academies, and is physically and mentally intense.
Editors note: Calendar items must be submitted at least five days before an event. Email all items to news@morganton.com.

SUNDAY, JULY 9

Family reunion

The Keller Family Reunion will be held at 1 p.m. at Walkers Chapel Baptist Church in Connelly Springs. A covered-dish meal will be provided. For more information, call Shirley Helms at 828-439-2736.

MONDAY, JULY 10

Training

The Guardian Ad Litem will hold pre-service training from 9 a.m. to noon in the main level conference room at 200 Avery Ave., Morganton. For more information, call Amy Kincaid, program supervisor in Burke County, at 828-433-3311 or visit www.volunteerforgal.org.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 12

Community Forum Series

Burke County will be welcoming Beth Macy, author of the book Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company that Addicted America and Raising Lazarus, to kick off a series of community forums surrounding the issue of substance use disorder. The event will take place on Wednesday, July 12, at the CoMMA Performing Arts Center at 401 S. College St. The event is free, and registration is not required. Doors will open at 5 p.m. and the session will begin promptly at 6 p.m. Attendees can expect a casual and open atmosphere with a Q&A opportunity at the end. ASL interpreters will be present, and the session will be live-streamed and recorded. Macy will also have autographed copies of her book, Raising Lazarus available for purchase.

Meeting

The Burke County Juvenile Crime Prevention Council will meet at 8:10 a.m. in the Club Room at the Collett Street Recreation Center in Morganton. To attend or for additional information, contact A.J. Coutu at JCPCBCC@GMAIL.COM or 828-403-1427.

THURSDAY, JULY 13

American Legion meeting

American Legion Post 21 will meet at Timberwoods Family Restaurant in Morganton at 5:30 p.m. Posts 332 and 506 also will attend, along with SAL Squadron.

Faculty and tutor drop-in

Western Piedmont Community College, 1001 Burkemont Ave., Morganton, will host a drop-in event with faculty and staff available to discuss what it's like to teach or tutor at the community college from 6-8 p.m. in the library on the second floor of Phifer Hall. Visit https://wpcc.peopleadmin.com to explore teaching and job openings before attending the event.

SATURDAY, JULY 15

Yard sale

The Glen Alpine Women's Club will host a yard sale from 8:30 a.m. to noon at 123 W.S. Butler St., Glen Alpine.

MONDAY, JULY 17

ABC Board meeting

The Valdese ABC Board will meet at 5:30 p.m. at the Valdese ABC Store at 1018 W. Main St. in Valdese.

Training

The Guardian Ad Litem will hold pre-service training from 9 a.m. to noon in the main level conference room at 200 Avery Ave., Morganton. Contact Amy Kincaid, program supervisor in Burke County for more information, at 828-433-3311 for more information, or visit www.volunteerforgal.org.

TUESDAY, JULY 18

Annual meeting

The Salem Community Fire Rescue Protection Association, Inc. will hold its Annual Meeting on at 7 p.m. at Salem Fire & Rescue station #1 at 1315 Salem Road, Morganton.

Meeting

The Friendly Tuesday Club will meet at the Sleepy Hollow picnic area at J. Iverson Riddle Developmental Center at 10 a.m. The meeting will be a potluck meal.

Advance Care Planning workshop

AMOREM, formerly Burke Hospice and Palliative Care and Caldwell Hospice and Palliative Care, will offer an Advance Care Planning Workshop at the Burke County Senior Center, 501 N. Green St., Morganton, at 11 a.m. The workshop is free and will go over living wills, healthcare power of attorney and benefits. For more information or to register for the event, call 828-430-4147.

SATRDAY, JULY 22

Movie

Western Piedmont Community College, 1001 Burkemont Ave., Morganton, will host a free screening of "Inside Out" on the grassy commons at 7:30 p.m. Free popcorn will be available.

Art Workshop

The Mimosa Christian Counseling Center is sponsoring an art workshop, With Our Hands, from 1-3 p.m. at the Catawba River Baptist Association, 1812 U.S. 70, Morganton. No previous art skills are required. The workshop is open to the first 20 adults who register by emailing milking6@yahoo.com.

MONDAY, JULY 24

Training

The Guardian Ad Litem will hold pre-service training from 9 a.m. to noon in the main level conference room at 200 Avery Ave., Morganton. Contact Amy Kincaid, program supervisor in Burke County for more information, at 828-433-3311 for more information, or visit www.volunteerforgal.org.

TUESDAY, JULY 25

REASON meeting

REASON (Reduce Euthanasia and Spay or Neuter) will hold its annual meeting at 6 p.m. in Room 211 at Foorhills Higher Education Center, 2128 S. Sterling St., Morganton. The organization will celebrate its accomplishments for the year and anyone interested in making a difference in animal welfare in the community should feel free to attend, meet the team and learn more about REASON.

MONDAY, JULY 31

Training

The Guardian Ad Litem will hold pre-service training from 9 a.m. to noon in the main level conference room at 200 Avery Ave., Morganton. Contact Amy Kincaid, program supervisor in Burke County for more information, at 828-433-3311 for more information, or visit www.volunteerforgal.org.

MONDAY, AUG. 7

Training

The Guardian Ad Litem will hold pre-service training from 9 a.m. to noon in the main level conference room at 200 Avery Ave., Morganton. Contact Amy Kincaid, program supervisor in Burke County for more information, at 828-433-3311 for more information, or visit www.volunteerforgal.org.

SUNDAY, AUG. 13

School supply collection

Retired Burke County Schools personnel will hold a drive-thru school supply collection or beginning teachers from 1-3 p.m. in the east parking lot of Morganton First Baptist Church. They are asking for help supporting new professionals as they begin their careers teaching children. Monetary donations also will be accepted.

MONDAY, AUG. 14

Training

The Guardian Ad Litem will hold pre-service training from 9 a.m. to noon in the main level conference room at 200 Avery Ave., Morganton. Contact Amy Kincaid, program supervisor in Burke County for more information, at 828-433-3311 for more information, or visit www.volunteerforgal.org.

MONDAY, AUG. 21

ABC Board meeting

The Valdese ABC Board will meet at 5:30 p.m. at the Valdese ABC Store at 1018 W. Main St. in Valdese.

MONDAY, SEPT. 18

ABC Board meeting

The Valdese ABC Board will meet at 5:30 p.m. at the Valdese ABC Store at 1018 W. Main St. in Valdese.

MONDAY, OCT. 9

ABC Board meeting

The Valdese ABC Board will meet at 5:30 p.m. at the Valdese ABC Store at 1018 W. Main St. in Valdese.

TUESDAY, NOV. 21

ABC Board meeting

The Valdese ABC Board will meet at 5:30 p.m. at the Valdese ABC Store at 1018 W. Main St. in Valdese.

MONDAY, DEC. 18

ABC Board meeting

The Valdese ABC Board will meet at 5:30 p.m. at the Valdese ABC Store at 1018 W. Main St. in Valdese.

The Mimosa Christian Counseling Center is sponsoring an art workshop, With Our Hands, on Saturday, July 22, from 1-3 p.m. at Catawba River Baptist Association at 1812 U.S. 70, Morganton. No previous art skills are required. The workshop is open to the first 20 adults who register by emailing milking6@yahoo.com.
Most wanted list

Donations of new or gently used copies of any of the Top 10 Titles are most appreciated. To date, the library has received 999 of the most wanted books.

Current BCPL top 10 holds

Cross Down by James Patterson  11 holds

Spare by Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex  9 holds

Palazzo by Danielle Steel  8 holds

The 23rd Midnight by James Patterson  6 holds

The Five-Star Weekend by Elin Hilderbrand  5 holds

Identity by Nora Roberts  5 holds

Counter Attack by Patricia Bradley  4 holds

The Last Sinner by Lisa Jackson  4 holds

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus  4 holds

Private Moscow by James Patterson  4 holds

Current New York Times Bestsellers and NC Cardinal Consortium holds

The Five-Star Weekend by Elin Hilderbrand  509 holds

Happy Place by Emily Henry  386 holds

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros  195 holds

It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover  130 holds

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus  693 holds

Zero Days by Ruth Ware  224 holds

Love Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood  41 holds

It Starts With Us by Colleen Hoover  75 holds

Icebreaker by Hannah Grace  18 holds

The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese  478 holds

Adult programming

Morganton Public Safety will offer a Situational Awareness & Active Shooter presentation Monday at 5:30 p.m. at the Morganton Public Library. No registration is required. This program is for adults and teens only.

Thumbprint Craft will take place Tuesday at 6 p.m. at the Valdese Public Library. Pre-registration is required.

The Burke County Public Library is partnering with NC State Parks to offer Ranger Programs this summer. Animal Tracks will be offered Wednesday at 10 a.m. at South Mountains State Park and is open to all ages. Participants will meet in the Jacob Fork Parking Area near the bridge that crosses the river. Transportation will not be provided. Participants are encouraged to stay after program to hike.

NC Cooperative Extension will present a program on Poisonous Plants of North Carolina on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. at the Valdese Public Library. No registration is required. The program is open to adult and teens only.

Join us for a fun creative writing event with local author Beth Revis. The program is called Outlandish Obits and will take place Saturday, July 15, at 2 p.m. at the Valdese Public Library. No registration is needed and the program is for adults only. All programs are adults only unless otherwise specified. For more information, call Danielle at 828-764-9269, or email danielle.townsend@burkenc.org.

Young adult programming

Weve hit the midway point through YAS SRP, and week four is all about collaborating with our grown up friends in the Adult Summer Reading Program. Adults and teens can head to the Morganton Public Library on Monday at 5:30 p.m. to attend Morganton Public Safetys Situational Awareness/Active Shooter Training. No pre-registration is required to attend this program.

Tuesday is a Thumbprint Craft Night at the Valdese Public Library at 6 p.m. Pre-registration is encouraged to ensure enough supplies are available.

Finally, the NC Cooperative Extension Service will join us Thursday at the Valdese Public Library at 5:30 p.m. for a presentation on the Poisonous Plants of North Carolina. No pre-registration is required to attend this program, and its open to adults and teens.

Teens can register and track their reading and activity points at bcpls.readsquared.com, for more information on these and other programs contact Lizzie at 828-764-9273 or by email at lizzie.whisnant@burkenc.org.

Childrens programming

There will be no regular storytime meetings today. This includes Baby Bookworms, Terrific Tots, Preschool Pals, Library Explorers and Cool Kids.

We are excited to announce an exciting new pop-up program at the Morganton Public Library this week! Join us for Pop-Up Storytimes With A Cop for the following Fridays in July: July 7, 14 and 21 at 3 p.m. Come hear one of the officers from the Morganton Department of Public Safety share some silly stories and some cool stuff from their jobs with us. There may even be a K9 officer making some appearances.

Keep logging those minutes reading for the Summer Reading Program, and dont forget to visit any branch to redeem your prizes. After week two of Tails and Tales and as of June 26, we had 30,938 minutes of reading logged! Keep reading so we can reach our goal of 155,000 minutes this summer!

Volunteer opportunities

Volunteers are needed at the Morganton Public Library to assist with landscape maintenance. We need some folks to help us keep our newly landscaped areas free of weeds and debris. If you would like to help call library director Jim Wilson at 764-9276 or email at jwilson@bcpls.org.

eBooks @ your library

There are 4,428 Burke County Public Library users registered to use the librarys digital collection available through the e-iNC consortium and NC Kids Digital Library. This digital collection includes eBooks, audiobooks, and streaming video available to Burke County Public Library cardholders. Apps are available for download for a variety of devices including Kindle, iPhone, and Android phones. Go to http://omc.overdrive.com to see the apps. To access the collection and download items go to http://e-inc.lib.overdrive.com and follow the instructions to set up an account. You will need to know your library card number and your PIN. Please contact the library if you need any assistance.

Find us on the web

Go to www.bcpls.org for a list of programs and events. Unless noted otherwise, all library programs are free. Some programs have pre-registration and age requirements.
It may have gone unnoticed in mainstream news, but on June 12, 2023, Held v. Montana became the first constitutional climate-related lawsuit to go to trial in the U.S. After reading up on the background of the legislation, not only is the introduction of it vitally important to address climate abnormalities faced today, but the fact that Generation Alphas felt so strongly about the problem that they were determined to be heard warms my heart.

The case was filed in March 2020 by 16 young residents of Montana, then aged 2 through 18. What I didnt realize was that over the last decade, youth-led legal actions relating to climate change have been filed in every American state.

The case was heard in a courtroom in Helena, Montana, before the First Judicial District Court. No jury will decide the outcome because judges decide constitutional issues and the plaintiffs are holding their breath until Judge Kathy Seeley makes a final decision.

The lawsuit asks the state of Montana to act on curbing fossil fuels that not only destroy pristine environments but robs young residents of a healthy future. Thinking into the future, plaintiffs are also hopeful that, if passed, the judge could order the state to consider climate impacts when approving new projects.

The lawsuit bears the name of Rikki Held, the oldest of the plaintiffs, and she was 18 when it began. Shes now a graduate from college. Historically, on Aug. 20, 2022, there were 25 fires within 50 miles of Helds home that summer and 2,000 were recorded across Montana. Spurred by the ever-increasing number of fires and other impacts of global warming on the state, she and 15 other young people were so angry they decided to sue the state of Montana for failing to protect them against climate change.

The first lawsuit brought by young people to go to court hinges on Montanas Constitution, which guarantees its citizens the right to a clean and healthful environment. Held and the other plaintiffs claim that Montanas state energy policy (which was recently repealed, likely due to the lawsuit) and the states methods of environmental review are unconstitutional. The state, they claim, by prioritizing the extraction and use of fossil fuels despite the warnings of decades of science, is breaking its own laws.

Held is a fifth-generation rancher in Powder River County, one of the most conservative counties in the state. Forty-seven percent of county residents believe that climate change is caused by humans, 10% less than the national average and 5% less than the rest of the state, according to Yales 2021 Climate Opinion survey. Despite skepticism about humans causing climate change, wildfires and floods increasingly continue to threaten the Held familys 7,000 acres.

Held believes that if she shares her story effectively, she could change Montanas energy policy, and through this, maybe the world. Its her name on the lawsuit and her identity as a young rancher that helps keep the case from looking partisan. There are over 250,000 young people under the age of 20 living in Montana, more than a fifth of all state residents. The 16 young plaintiffs in this lawsuit see themselves as representing the fears and anxieties of a generation.

Humans have always co-existed with looming threats, but climate change is different. Nothing else has posed such an all-consuming threat to the world nor caused such a pattern of disasters, i.e., surging wildfires, deadly heat waves, rising seas, intensifying storms and persistent drought. In the face of these threats, many young Montanans are frightened, angry and anxious, and are learning to use their voices to protect the homes and the state they love.

In 2010, Julia Olsen founded the nonprofit law firm, Our Childrens Trust (OCT), based in Portland, Oregon, to help climate-concerned youth sue governments for not fulfilling their obligations to their citizens. According to Nate Bellinger, OCTs lead attorney for the Held v. Montana suit, OCT works to identify effective legal strategies and to represent young people who want to participate as plaintiffs. They partner with local youth organizations, give presentations in schools, and assemble legal teams.

Climate change presents a range of psychological challenges, from peoples willingness to accept it as real to the ways it changes how they feel about the present and future. Mental healthcare professionals have begun recognizing these emotional impacts, but theres varied guidance about how to respond.

Young people are specifically vulnerable to mental health issues driven by climate, says Rebecca Weston, a clinical therapist and copresident of the Climate Psychology Alliance, which supports mental healthcare providers whose clients struggle with climate change. She works with young clients and finds few who arent concerned about it. Weston notes that anticipatory trauma can be hard to voice, but the loss of your future, an apocalyptic future, this is a real loss. It counts.

Over 60% of Americans are worried about climate change, but only a third of Americans discuss it with family or friends, according to a 2022 report released by Yale. Rebecca Weston worries that this silence perpetuates inaccuracies both about climate change and how someones neighbors and friends feel.

The plaintiffs are represented by Bellinger of Our Childrens Trust, Melissa Hornbein of the Western Environmental Law Center, and Roger Sullivan and Dustin Leftridge of McGarvey Law. In court, Held and others testified before her lawyers, those defending the state of Montana, and Judge Seeley. She wanted everyone to see that shes not just a story on a piece of paper but represents both the young people of Montana and the home she just left, including the rivers, the foothills, the cattle, the grasslands, even the fires.

Held insists that no matter how the trial ends, the lawsuit has helped her see her role in the climate story and taught her that she has a voice.

And so, everyone waits with anticipation.
The Muscatine City Council still has to go through a letter from Great Plains Action Society (GPAS) and determine how feasible the requests listed are, but Thursdays council meeting ended with the promise that the two groups would work together in the future.

Well be meeting, Mayor Brad Bark promised members of GPAS as public comments regarding an incident at the Independence Day parade ended. Well be getting busy."

During the meeting Bark had read a statement apologizing for two members of the parade who simulated a Native American woman tied up and being led by a rider on a horse. After the statement GPAS presented a letter making several requests, saying the steps were necessary for truth, justice and healing.

Bark is also the president and CEO of the Greater Muscatine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the group that organized the parade.

We assure our community, our state, and our country that this will never happen again in Muscatine, Iowa, Bark said. Regardless of how this happened with insensitive choices made by two individual parade participants, I acknowledge that we, as parade organizers, we bear significant accountability for what happened and for making sure it will never happen again.

Bark later commented he had not seen the women in costume prior to the parade. He was riding in a truck toward the front of the parade and the women were at the very end. As the parade ended, he said, he had gotten several texts reporting them. He had confronted the two women. Bark promised the process for entering the parade will become more strict.

During the response, GPAS delivered a letter outlining several steps that can be taken by the city to help heal the pain caused by the incident.

This was an absolute act of racism and colonial violence, said speaker Daniel Velasquez. The action steps we provided will help the city of Muscatine, the Muscatine Chamber of Commerce and all involved in the fight of entrenched racism and white supremacy in this country.

After the meeting, GPAS director Sikowis Nobiss said she was satisfied with how the meeting had gone and was very hopeful. She was happy Bark had said he plans to move forward with discussions with the organization. She commented Bark had called her before the meeting to see if she was going to attend.

I feel like he is taking it seriously, she said.

Nobiss also said she appreciated everyone who took the time to talk, admitting it is an emotional issue for many.

Also at the meeting Muscatine resident Maria Liendo said she felt many issues had been identified during the meeting. She said that she still hoped to see more of an apology.

As the council members gave their closing statements, council member John Jindrich commented that, beyond the hurtful event, Independence Day had been a success. He thanked all the people who had worked to put the programs together.

Close 050816-powwow001 Beedoskah Stonefish 18, of Suttons Bay, MI., dances the Fancy Shawl dance, Sunday, May 8, 2016, during the last day of the Algonquin River Powwow of Champions held at Credit Island in Davenport. 050816-powwow002 Women join the dance circle during the Grand Entry, Sunday, May 8, 2016, during the inaugural Algonquin River Powwow of Champions held on Credit Island in Davenport. 050816-powwow003 Demery Jackson works on the hair of her neice, Cherish Kingbird 12, Sunday, May 8, 2016, during the final day of the inaugural Algonquin River Powwow of Champions held on Credit Island in Davenport. 050816-powwow004 Caitlyn Nicholas (L) of London Ontario along with her sister Jasmine Phillps both with the Oneida Nation, shade their faces with feather fans, Sunday, May 8, 2016, while watching the ceremonies at the inaugural Algonquin River Powwow of Champions held on Credit Island in Davenport. 050816-powwow005 Native Americans from several Nations wait to dance, Sunday, May 8, 2016, during the final day of the inaugural Algonquin River Powwow of Champions held on Credit Island in Davenport. 050816-powwow006 Colorful bead work highlights the headband of a dancer Sunday during the Grand Entry of the inaugural Algonquin River Powwow of Champions at Credit Island, Davenport. For more photos, go to qctimes.com/gallery 050816-powwow007 Native American Fancy Dancers enter the dance circle during the Grand Entry, Sunday, May 8, 2016, during the last day of the inaugural Algonquin River Powwow of Champions held on Credit Island in Davenport. 050816-powwow008 Native American Fancy Dancers enter the dance circle during the Grand Entry, Sunday, May 8, 2016, during the last day of the inaugural Algonquin River Powwow of Champions held on Credit Island in Davenport. 050816-powwow009 Native American Dancers enter the dance circle during the Grand Entry, Sunday, May 8, 2016, during the last day of the inaugural Algonquin River Powwow of Champions held on Credit Island in Davenport. 050816-powwow010 Vera Kingbird of Bemidji, Minn., dances during the Grand Entry on Sunday at the Algonquin River Powwow of Champions held on Credit Island, Davenport. For more photos, go to qctimes.com/gallery Photos: Algonquin River Powwow of Champions - Sunday The last day of the inaugural Algonquin River Powwow of Champions took place, Sunday, May 8, 2016, on Credit Island in Davenport. 050816-powwow001 Beedoskah Stonefish 18, of Suttons Bay, MI., dances the Fancy Shawl dance, Sunday, May 8, 2016, during the last day of the Algonquin River Powwow of Champions held at Credit Island in Davenport. 050816-powwow002 Women join the dance circle during the Grand Entry, Sunday, May 8, 2016, during the inaugural Algonquin River Powwow of Champions held on Credit Island in Davenport. 050816-powwow003 Demery Jackson works on the hair of her neice, Cherish Kingbird 12, Sunday, May 8, 2016, during the final day of the inaugural Algonquin River Powwow of Champions held on Credit Island in Davenport. 050816-powwow004 Caitlyn Nicholas (L) of London Ontario along with her sister Jasmine Phillps both with the Oneida Nation, shade their faces with feather fans, Sunday, May 8, 2016, while watching the ceremonies at the inaugural Algonquin River Powwow of Champions held on Credit Island in Davenport. 050816-powwow005 Native Americans from several Nations wait to dance, Sunday, May 8, 2016, during the final day of the inaugural Algonquin River Powwow of Champions held on Credit Island in Davenport. 050816-powwow006 Colorful bead work highlights the headband of a dancer Sunday during the Grand Entry of the inaugural Algonquin River Powwow of Champions at Credit Island, Davenport. For more photos, go to qctimes.com/gallery 050816-powwow007 Native American Fancy Dancers enter the dance circle during the Grand Entry, Sunday, May 8, 2016, during the last day of the inaugural Algonquin River Powwow of Champions held on Credit Island in Davenport. 050816-powwow008 Native American Fancy Dancers enter the dance circle during the Grand Entry, Sunday, May 8, 2016, during the last day of the inaugural Algonquin River Powwow of Champions held on Credit Island in Davenport. 050816-powwow009 Native American Dancers enter the dance circle during the Grand Entry, Sunday, May 8, 2016, during the last day of the inaugural Algonquin River Powwow of Champions held on Credit Island in Davenport. 050816-powwow010 Vera Kingbird of Bemidji, Minn., dances during the Grand Entry on Sunday at the Algonquin River Powwow of Champions held on Credit Island, Davenport. For more photos, go to qctimes.com/gallery
The city of Cedar Rapids has agreed to pay $10,000 to settle a lawsuit over a racial quota it used to select members for the police departments Citizen Review Board.

Kevin Wymore, a retired public health analyst, sued the city in 2022 over an ordinance establishing an independent, nine-member Citizen Review Board, with each member appointed by the mayor to staggered three-year terms. The board is tasked with reviewing quarterly reports from the chief of police that include racial and ethnic data related to traffic stops by police officers and citizen complaints about police officers.

As originally approved, the ordinance required the board to include a minimum of five voting members who identify as people of color. In addition, three voting members were to be selected from applications submitted by individuals who work for nonprofits focused on advocacy of, and racial justice for, under-represented citizens of Cedar Rapids.

Wymore, who is white, applied for a position on the board on at least two occasions. He holds a masters degree in public policy and, in his lawsuit, says he is a volunteer teacher of English to adults who have recently come to the United States from West Africa.

He was passed over for membership on the board, allegedly because, as a white individual, he could not be considered for the five positions on the board reserved for persons of color.

Wymore sued the city in federal court, alleging the ordinance violated the U.S. Constitutions guarantee of equal protection. As part of his lawsuit, Wymore also sought a preliminary injunction blocking the citys continued use of the racial quota while litigation continued.

On Oct. 13, 2022, U.S. District Judge C.J. Williams issued the injunction, ruling that Wymore was likely to prevail should the case go to trial.

He declared that the citys rationale for its policy was vehemently incorrect, adding that the quota wrongly assumes that a person with white skin is different from a person of color and unable to identify and address racial bias in policing like a person of color.

Williams ruled that while the stated purpose of the race-based provision of the selection process is to root out biases, it also engages in inherent bias that tautologically presumes white people cannot possibly ever see things the way people of color can, and white people cannot possibly have an interest in justice for people of color. This presumption is based only on the color of ones skin. It contradicts the provisions purpose to eliminate presumptions in policing based on the color of skin. Not only is this a sad presumption, it is so vehemently incorrect.

The ordinance, Williams ruled, requires a certain number of people from various races to sit on the board, and, as a result, excludes white people from even being considered for five of the seats. The requirement that a certain number of seats be preserved for a particular group is a quota. Defining the group by race is a racial quota.

The city, Williams ruled, engages in a bias in the same manner it seeks to prevent in law enforcement.

Wymores attorney is Alan R. Ostergren, a former Muscatine County prosecutor who runs the Kirkwood Institute, a politically conservative organization that has taken cities, the state and school districts to court on other issues. Gov. Kim Reynolds recently asked Ostergren to help represent the state in efforts to restrict abortion in Iowa through legislation that predates the U.S. Supreme Courts June 24 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.

Wymore and the city recently agreed to settle the lawsuit for $10,000, payable to the Kirkwood Institute.

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With all the spring weather issues and Californias overflowing reservoirs, one environmental issue may have flown under the radar. Back in 2019 Berkeley was the first city in the nation to ban new gas appliances and hook-ups. However, the Ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals, rejected a lower courts upholding the Berkeley ban. The three judge Federal Appeals Court agreed with restaurant owners that the city bypassed Federal Energy Regulations when it approved the ban. While this was by restaurant owners who love their gas stoves, it has far reaching effects on all of California.

Natural gas comprises primarily of methane and gas stoves omit nitrogen dioxide and carbon monoxide. The statewide move toward all electrification and banning gas appliances and hookups has been going on for some time. As of 2021, 50 cities and municipalities in California had put limitations on gas hookups. None have occurred in Napa County as of yet, except for Yountvilles ban on gas leaf blowers. Typically, the bans apply to new construction and not existing homes or renovations, however, financial incentives have been offered for replacing gas water heaters with electric water heaters as an example.

California loves natural gas. Gas appliances are in 90% of California homes and gas stoves represent 70% of our homes. Interestingly, this is almost twice the national average of 38%. It has been an inexpensive, easy to maintain and distribute source of energy, however, Californias desire for carbon neutrality is part of the decarbonization effort and natural gas is now the foe.

Recently BAAQMD, Bay Area Air Quality Management District, went so far as to approve an ordinance eventually banning all natural gas furnaces and water heater sales. The Appeals Court will probably have something to say about that.

My firm has already been notified by at one city where we work, Santa Cruz, who had previously banned gas hookups for new homes. They are now relenting to allow new gas hookups. Until this is settled, natural gas will still provide the majority of energy for Californias cooking and heating.

I have been skeptical of the rapid march toward all electrification of our homes because of the equipment and batteries are not up to snuff yet. I continue to argue that the biggest obstacle to all electrification is storage: battery storage. While Tesla batteries have improved substantially, theyre still expensive. Having solar panels on our homes is great but storing it for the times when we need it the most, in the mornings and evenings, can cost you $20,000 per household.

The other disadvantage of electric water heaters, HVAC systems and cooking appliances is during power outages theres no other power source unless you do have expensive batteries. Electric water heaters heat less water per hour than gas and have high maintenance costs.

Theres no question that the appliances are getting more efficient and better at their jobs. The building industry and restaurant owners may complain about the march to all electric, but as we learned with the gas blower ban in Yountville and Sonoma, the opposition soon disappears as they replace their aging gas appliances with new battery blower units.

My takeaway is: we have to stay flexible. Banning any one energy source is a mistake. We need to keep our options open for changes. Remember in the 50s and 60s, all electric appliances were the big thing? Then we went on a rampage to only use natural gas for heating and cooking. Now were going back to electric. Just as the quantity of options for new renewable energy resources emerge, we have to be prepared for multiple sources of energy supplies. As we ol surfer dudes say, Hang loose!
At the request of American-Armenian doctors who arrived in Armenia to participate in the 6th International Medical Congress of Armenia, a meeting was held between them and the US Ambassador to Armenia Kristina Kvien.

The doctors presented their concerns regarding the humanitarian crisis in Artsakh to the US ambassador.

Today, on July 7, the doctors who participated in the conference told reporters about the details of their conversation with the ambassador.

"We went to express our deep concerns about the health crisis in Artsakh, the violation of people's fundamental rights, as Americans, as American-Armenians, to convey our concerns to the representative of our [US] government in Armenia, to make our voices heard and to hear their views on possible solutions to this problem, as well as hear their suggestions on what we can do as citizens and as healthcare professionals.

The solution we envision is to hold the Azerbaijani government accountable for the illegal blockade, to open the road immediately, ensuring uninterrupted access and free movement of people. Basically, we don't see any other solution to this problem.

We will continue to defend our views on various platforms and will not stop. If the people of Artsakh look at us, we want them to know that we are by their side, we know that they are suffering, we are also suffering. You are not alone, we are with you, we are brothers and sisters and we are doing everything we can, in various directions, to find a peaceful solution to this problem," said AMIC president, reproductive medicine specialist Vicken Sepilian.

According to him, as representatives of the medical community, their joint struggle will be more effective than individual efforts.

According to Columbia University professor, endocrinologist John Bilezikian, American-Armenian doctors have always included Artsakh in their plans in Armenia.

"We were in Artsakh before the crisis, within the framework of the osteoporosis treatment program. One of the 11 bone density measuring devices brought to Armenia is now in Stepanakert. We had high hopes to expand our research there, and now we also hope to be able to continue our activities there," he said.

ASA United founder, future therapist Ani Arzoumanian stated that she considers the meeting with the ambassador effective and is sure that the embassy will convey their concerns to Washington.

"During the meeting with the ambassador, we insisted that the USAID investigation be resumed. We constantly repeated the word "crisis," which is absent from the US government's speech. We also asked the US government to put pressure on the implementation of the decision of the International Court of Justice in February of this year on lifting the blockade. We, as specialists in the field of healthcare, drew special attention to the lack of medicines, healthy food, social-psychological consequences of a long blockade, as well as talked about patients in serious condition who were not allowed to be transported to Armenia for medical treatment.

We have to take all possible steps, we cannot say what benefits this will actually bring, but I think we used this opportunity correctly. We could not come to Armenia as American-Armenian specialists in the field of healthcare and not try to meet influential people. The ambassador responded to all our comments, seemed to agree with many of our approaches, assured us that she is taking many steps, sometimes not publicly. And I think, as a result, the embassy will convey our concerns about Artsakh to Washington. Let's see what it will do," she said.
Antique safes outside Elmer & Son Locksmiths in Steger, where a museum inside showcases hundreds of items related to the industry. (Paul Eisenberg/Daily Southtown)

The director of the San Diego Police Museum in California was considering acquiring an artifact last year  an old, weathered padlock with a plate stamped San Quentin Death Row 41.

But first, he wanted some assurances about its authenticity. So he reached out to Harvey Sass, of Elmer & Son Locksmiths in Steger.

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Sass, who is Elmers son, has been immersed in his craft since he was a youngster. His dad started the business in 1941, when Harvey was 2. Harvey became an official employee the day after Labor Day in 1962, settling into the family business because when I got out of the Navy I had to have a job because I just got married.

Harvey Sass (Paul Eisenberg/Daily Southtown)

He became an enthusiast over the years and in the 1970s, after Elmer & Son expanded its building on Chicago Road, Harvey Sass decided to devote some of the new space to a museum of memorabilia related to locksmithing.

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Some of this stuff has been laying around here for the last 60 or 80 years, he said. Weve been in business for 82 years and some of the stuff never sold or was sitting in the corner.

People donated to us, and I bought a few at flea markets or auctions, and we got all different types of items. We had it all kind of jimble-jumbled, so we laid it out to make it more interesting.

Now, the Locksmith Museums collection includes more than 900 items and has overflowed into the backrooms and work areas of the business.

Harvey Sass opened a museum devoted to locksmithing at his business, Elmer & Sons, in the 1970s in Steger. The collection of more than 900 items is free to visit on weekdays and Saturday mornings. The gate at the entrance was salvaged from the old bank at Chicago and Steger roads in Steger, which is now home to a tax service and trophy shop. (Paul Eisenberg/Daily Southtown)

On display are padlocks, some centuries old, and cutaway showcase models of vault locks with the mechanics purposely exposed. Sass has compiled advertising souvenirs dating back decades and salvaged safe deposit boxes. Prison artifacts include a ball-and-chain and handcuffs in different styles, and even some cell locks.

Some of those probably are still in use, he said.

One shelf is devoted to anti-theft devices from the early days of automobiles that were designed to disable vehicles when attached to their wheel spokes. Another shelf displays tear gas trap canisters that would break if someone was trying to muscle their way into a vault.

There are locks and keys going back to the early 1800s, Sass said. All kinds of fancy stuff. Weird looking locks and keys and different things.

He also has hundreds of what he calls little safe banks, each one different.

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His favorite item in the collection? Everything, Sass said.

The Locksmith Museum at Elmer & Son in Steger features hundreds of historical locks and related items. (Paul Eisenberg/Daily Southtown)

The entire place is a monument to locksmithing. Old keys are embedded in the concrete sidewalk outside, and several antique safes are stationed out front. Sass isnt worried about anyone walking off with them because they weigh over 4,000 pounds, he said.

Its a diverse collection.

Some of these things are very interesting to people, and some might just look like a piece of brass, he said.

There are a few pieces meant to inject some humor into a visit, such as an old key someone affixed to a plaque with an inscription noting it opens a chastity belt. To enliven a safe he placed outside at a side entrance, he winked at the shadowy history of nearby Chicago Heights by painting on an inscription: Al Capone, Liquor Dist. Chicago and Da Heights.

Its an old safe  100 years old, he said. I cleaned it up and painted it and put Al Capones name on it. A lot of people think its the real thing, but its out there for conversation. Its advertising.

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An array of small safe banks lines a shelf at Elmer & Son Locksmiths in Steger, where owner Harvey Sass has curated a collection of artifacts related to his trade since the mid-1970s. (Paul Eisenberg/Daily Southtown)

Several other antique bank safes are scattered inside and outside of the building, including large, spherical cannonball safes Sass said were designed to hold an institutions gold. But amassing safes is space prohibitive, so he often just cuts out the locking mechanisms, name plates and other interesting parts for restoration projects.

Safes like that, we call em clunkers, Sass said, pointing to a lock mechanism. You cant sell it as being fireproof or break-in proof. It wore itself out. Its a Model T is what it is. This is off a safe door, a key lock from 1840.

Theyre not just for his museum collection, either. When people are restoring safes or locks on their own, they often consult Sass for parts or help.

If someone is restoring a safe and the lock is missing, we would probably have it, Sass said. We get stuff sent to us to repair and make keys for that they cant get anywhere else. We get them from Wisconsin, the East Coast. One person in Wilmette sends us old skeleton key locks to make keys for.

Its a labor of love for Sass, who devotes much of his free time to his restoration work. That can involve chiseling out cement poured into some safes to make them more protective against fire.

I like it. Its something to do, and its satisfying, Sass said. I dont watch TV, just the 9 oclock news. I do drink martinis and beer, but Im not sitting at a bar from sunrise to sunset.

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A museum in San Diego sent this image of a lock purported to be from San Quenten prison in California to Harvey Sass of Elmer & Son Locksmiths in Steger, looking for more information. (Paul Eisenberg/Pioneer Press)

His reputation reached as far as San Diego, where the Police Museum director sought his expertise to verify the purported San Quenten Death Row padlock.

That lock wasnt genuine, Sass said. Its a piece of history, just not true history.

There were several red flags with tying it to the famous California prison. For one, the presence of two matching keys is a rarity for locks that old, he said. And the lack of documentation or serial number indicated trouble.

Now nearing age 84, Sass uses a walker and doesnt get to auctions or estate sales much anymore. Hes starting to think about what will happen to the museum collection once hes gone.

He said someone offered him $60,000 for the museums collection, but he thinks its worth lots more. And another museum would want it for free.

I want someone who has cash, like Warren Buffett, Sass said with a laugh. But who the hell am I going to find that has that kind of money?

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If there was someone who really wanted to keep it, that would be like me winning the lottery. But you got to cut to reality.

So hes instructed his daughters about what the items are worth, and offered advice about how to go about selling the collection gradually so as not to flood the market.

But thats all down the road a ways. For now, hes still at Elmer & Son from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. most weekdays, advising on the everyday jobs, keeping an eye on the business and greeting museum visitors.

He goes out with his pals at night, meeting them for drinks and dinner at Scrementis in Steger or Balagio in Homewood. On one recent visit, he told them his locksmith skills will have an additional benefit.

My friend Tony is 92, Sass said. When he croaks, I said, St. Peter is going to be watching for him at the gates saying you cant come in. I told Tony dont worry about it. When I croak, Ill pick the lock and well both go in.

I can get into anyplace.

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The Locksmith Museum at Elmer & Son is open weekdays and Saturday mornings at 3001 Chicago Road in Steger. Its free and friendly.

Landmarks is a weekly column by Paul Eisenberg exploring the people, places and things that have left an indelible mark on the Southland. He can be reached at peisenberg@tribpub.com.
Journalists from all over the world, people are dying a few kilometers away from you! UJA

China supports sovereignty and territorial integrity of Armenia: Deputy Foreign Minister

Russia says new grain deal with Turkey is possible

Aliyev threatens Armenia

Prime Minister Pashinyan receives Igor Khovaev

Aliyev hurries to sign peace treaty with Armenia

Aliyev announces mass settlement of occupied part of Artsakh

Supply of dairy products to Artsakh no longer possible

Armenia agrees to meeting of FMs in Moscow

Aliyev once again rattles with arms

Lavrov, Bayramov discuss normalization of Azerbaijani-Armenian relations

Aliyev confirms upcoming Moscow meeting of Azerbaijan, Armenia FMs

Erdogan hopes for continued grain deal with Russia

A legal solution acceptable for Armenia and Russia will be found: Arshakyan on Armenias joining Rome Statute

38th sitting of Inter-Parliamentary Committee on Armenian-Russian Cooperation will be held in Dilijan

Ardshinbank terminates operations with the Unistream money transfer system

Immediate measures should be taken to unblock the Lachin corridor - Lukashevich

Aliyev's latest visit to occupied Armenian Shushi

Azerbaijan is holding a media forum in occupied Armenian Shushi

The Lachin Corridor should be opened immediately - Matthew Miller

Artsakh parliament calls on Armenia to ask UN to grant international mandate to peacekeepers

Russias Federal Council urges Armenian MPs to consider risks of Armenias joining the Rome Statute

Armenian and Azerbaijani deputy PMs will meet in different parts of border each time. Sputnik Armenia

I still don't know how to shout to make them realize the situation is grave. Ombudsman of Artsakh

We are ready to recognize Azerbaijans 86,600 square km, which includes Nagorno-Karabakh. Minister of Foreign Affairs

The Russian Federation reaffirms its intention to contribute to the restoration of normal life in Nagorno-Karabakh

Artsakh President assures: All decisions will be made jointly

A handcuffed man threw himself from the 5th floor of the Investigation Department of SRC and died

Ambassador of Poland was presented with the current situation in Nagorno-Karabakh

EU Council extends Toivo Klaar's mandate for one year

Turkey slows pace of rate hikes, jeopardizing the lira

EU Mission at the OSCE Council meeting: Brussels calls on Baku to ensure movement along the Lachin corridor

Zakharova evades question on sending Arstakh aid by Russian planes

Stores in Artsakh no longer sell bread

Russian MFA Spox: Artsakh is not in area of CSTO responsibility

State Revenue Committee head: Armenia cooperates with partners transparently

Armenia requests OSCE Permanent Council speacial meeting: Mirzoyan made a speech

Armenian Health Minister: Transport of medicine to Artsakh is disrupted

Russia MFA spox on organizing Mirzoyan, Bayramov meeting in Moscow: Chances are good

Russian MFA: Stability in South Caucasus should be in Turkey's interests

We should specify the cartographic basis of demarcation activities in the near future. Pashinyan

Brussels meeting brought no concrete results in opening Lachin Corridor, resolving humanitarian crisis in NK.Pashinyan

Armenian Foreign Ministry welcomes Canadas initiative to join European monitoring mission

Artsakh residents hold a protest near the UN office in Yerevan

EU foreign ministers to discuss Armenian-Azerbaijani settlement in Brussels

Armenian-French cooperation will continue to strengthen. Nikol Pashinyan received French Ambassador

The process of the program of formation of Digital Society and Economy discussed at Government

State minister: We may have situation when we cant wait for the 7 days noted by Karabakh President

The Prime Minister hosts Aram Arzumanyan, disabled as a result of the 44-day war

Nikol Pashinyan, Mikhail Mishustin hold phone talk

Nersisyan. The more Armenia lowers bar on Karabakh issue, the harder it will be for people of Artsakh to raise it

Karabakh official: Armenia has only one thing to do in discussions with Azerbaijan

Artsakh state minister: Many illogical things are happening on European platform; is it serious conversation?

Karabakh minister of state: We managed to make our voice heard by all to which nationwide movement was directed

Lachin corridor has no alternative: Several Armenia NGOs issue joint statement on Charles Michel statement

Karabakh state minister: We are in disaster but we will never surrender

Karabakh ex-official Vitaly Balasanyan is charged on 4 counts

Analyst: Armenia has not recognized Azerbaijan territorial integrity with Karabakhs inclusion

Armenia PM is briefed on plan to establish EHL Hospitality Business School branch in Gyumri

Our link should be with Armenia only: Karabakh residents comment on their blocking of Askeran-Aghdam road

Missing servicemens parents reopen Yerevan major intersection, but on condition

Armenia army General Staff chief meets with US Air Force chief of staff (PHOTOS)

Parents of missing soldiers close off major avenue in Yerevan

Edmon Marukyan: Azerbaijan has no plan to integrate Christian Armenians

Azerbaijan MFA responds to Armenia FM with series of absurd accusations

Livestock sector is in much worse situation in besieged Karabakh, agriculture minister says

Agriculture minister: Scheduled power outages, lack of diesel fuel also cause problems in Karabakh irrigation system

Karabakh MoD: Defense Army did not carry out fortification work in Askeran Region

Newspaper: What 'tougher actions' Karabakh will take?

MoD: Armenia army did not fire at Azerbaijan positions

Worlds most expensive iPhone is sold in US

US returns 105 antiquities illegally exported from India to latter

David Babayan: Karabakh grandpa who fought at Stalingrad, took Berlin never imagined he could die of hunger

Russia, Iran FMs interested in consultations with participation of Armenia, Azerbaijan

Austria FM: Lachin corridor blockade must be stopped immediately

Deputy PM Grigoryan's office: Armenia, Azerbaijan have not made decision on any map

Armenia FM briefs OSCE Secretary General on situation in Karabakh

Armenian Foreign Minister expresses Yerevan's readiness to hold talks with Turkey in Vienna

Armenia is not going to become a space where sanctions could be bypassed: Ararat Mirzoyan

Dollar, euro increase in Armenia

Armenia FM: Regrettable that instead of engaging in dialogue, Azerbaijan pursues policy of ethnic cleansing in Karabakh

FMs sign protocol on implementation of Armenia-EU readmission agreement between Armenia, Austria (PHOTOS)

Karabakh residents block Askeran-Aghdam motorway, with concrete barriers (PHOTOS)

Armenias Pashinyan receives ex-MP Francois Rochebloine of France

Yerevan municipal election events schedule announced

Karabakh NGOs: Support being provided to Artsakh people cannot be at cost of trampling on their dignity

American University of Armenia has new president

Hyundai releases first photos of new generation Santa Fe crossover

Public Television to present dire situation in Karabakh every day live from capital Stepanakert's Renaissance Square

Teen found dead in Armenia river

European Parliament committee calls on Turkey to recognize Armenian Genocide

Armenia FM visit to Vienna kicks of with private talk with Austria colleague

Karabakh operational headquarters chief: Presidents sit-in could be beneficial

European Parliament accuses Azerbaijan of bribing PACE lawmakers, some other offenses

Karabakh presidential advisor warns of taking extreme measures

Iraqi Kurdistan leader visits Azerbaijan

In support of Karabakh demonstration participants march to US Embassy in Yerevan

US embassy: Passengers are denied entry to Armenia for possession of drugs

Azerbaijan continues to settle occupied Berdzor-Lachin town of Karabakh

Armenia army chief attends US National Guard State Partnership Program 30th Anniversary conference (PHOTOS)
Emory University joins Atlanta and the nation in mourning the loss of Judge Marvin Arrington Sr., who passed away July 5 at age 82.

We have lost a trailblazer who will forever be celebrated at Emory and across the great city of Atlanta. Judge Arrington was one of the first African Americans to graduate from Emory Law, says Emory President Gregory L. Fenves. He became a renowned attorney who served as president of the Atlanta City Council and as a Fulton County judge. He was an Emory trustee who inspired and gave back to our students in countless ways. Our thoughts are with the Arrington family as we honor his remarkable life and legacy.

In 1965, Arrington and his friend Clarence Cooper transferred from the Howard University School of Law to Emory Law, becoming the first African American full-time law students at Emory. Both completed their studies in 1967, among the law schools first Black graduates.

Clarence and I pretty much stayed to ourselves and did our work, Arrington recalled in a 1998 interview with Emory Magazine. We didnt have people jumping up and down because we sat next to them. And friends made during law school have been lifetime friends.

As his legal and political career grew, Arrington remained dedicated to Emory. He served as a member of the Emory Law Advisory Board, formerly known as the Law School Council, to help deans make decisions that enabled the graduation of generations of bright, prepared students.

In 1988, he received the Distinguished Alumni Award from the law school and the Emory Medal from the university. The Emory Medal is the universitys most prestigious alumni award and honors recipients who are leaders in their field as well as leaders in their local, national and global communities.

Arrington served as a member of the Emory University Board of Trustees for 16 years, from 1990 to 2006, and was a member of the boards Campus Life committee and Real Estate, Buildings and Grounds committee during both his active years of service and for several years after he retired. His papers, spanning 1980 to 2004 and including his tenure as Atlanta City Council president, are held by Emorys Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives and Rare Book Library.

During Emory Laws 2017 centennial celebration, Arrington was named one of the schools Emory Law 100, a group of notable people  nominated by a Centennial Advisory Committee consisting of faculty, staff and alumni  who represent the best of Emory Laws history. The list honors alumni and faculty for advancing the rule of law, making history at Emory or beyond, and significantly advancing the Emory or Emory Law community. Arrington also was a regular supporter of Emory Law through the Class of 1967 Scholarship.

While the world recognizes Judge Arrington for his stellar public service career culminating in his post as a judge in Fulton County, Georgia, Superior Court, the Emory community also cherishes his part in our schools history, says Mary Anne Bobinski, Emory Law dean and Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Law. We honor the life of this outstanding man for his profound contributions to Emory  and for his lifelong service to the community and his commitment to fair housing, equity and representation.
A 32-year-old Park Forest man died from multiple gunshot wounds suffered in Chicago, and authorities also reported homicides in Chicago Heights and Markham in recent days.

Steven Wilson, of the 200 block of Arrowhead Street, suffered multiple gunshot wounds in the 170 block of North Lamon Avenue in Chicago, and was pronounced dead at 10:34 a.m. Thursday at Stroger Hospital, according to the Cook County medical examiners office,

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His death was ruled a homicide.

The office also reported the shooting death of 18-year-old Trinity Robinson, of the 15300 block of Cherry Lane, Markham.

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The location of where the shooting occurred was not available, but she died of a gunshot wound to the abdomen at 5 p.m. Thursday at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, according to the medical examiners office.

The medical examiner also reported that a 25-year-old South Holland man, Jaren Hampton, of the 700 block of 168th Place, suffered multiple gunshot wounds in the 16600 block of Winchester Avenue in Markham. He was pronounced dead at the scene at 12:25 a.m. July 1.

The medical examiner reported that a 19-year-old Chicago man, Sirhc Logan, of the 8000 block of South Harper, suffered a gunshot wound to the head in the 300 block of West 14th Street in Chicago Heights.

He was pronounced dead at 2:32 p.m. June 29 at Advocate Christ Medical Center, and his death was ruled a homicide, according to the office.

mnolan@tribpub.com
Almost 40% of the physicians recognized in the 2023 Top Doctors issue of Atlanta magazine are physicians within Emory Healthcare, Emory Healthcare Network, Emory medical staff or faculty of Emory University School of Medicine. According to the annual list, more Emory physicians made the 2023 Top Doctors list than any other health care system in metro Atlanta. The July issue of Atlanta magazine can be found on newsstands.

This year, 448 Emory physicians made the Top Doctors list out of 1,188 physicians named in the publication. Patients can find these doctors practicing in 425 Emory Healthcare locations throughout metro Atlanta and Georgia.

To compile this years list of Top Doctors, Professional Research Services (PRS) firm, based in Troy, Michigan, conducted an online peer-reviewed survey of all licensed physicians in the metro Atlanta area. Physicians were asked to nominate fellow physicians whom they deemed to be the best in their fields of practice. More than 10,000 votes were cast honoring excellence in all fields of medicine. Nominations were then screened, verified and reviewed by PRS.

Doctors cannot pay to be considered or selected for this list.

To view the complete 2023 Top Doctors list, visit this link.
NewsVoir Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], July 8: G Square, South India's largest plot promoter has been honoured with the prestigious REISA-Real Estate Infrastructure Summit and Awards for the "The Best Integrated Township Chennai and ROTN" for its benchmark project "G Square City" situated on the Coimbatore (L&T) bypass at Vellalore in Coimbatore. The event managed by FICCI took place at ITC Grand Chola in Guindy. The accolade was presented by S Muthusamy, Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Tamil Nadu, in recognition to G Square's exemplary contribution to the real estate industry and its commitment to creating sustainable and integrated communities to Junaith Babu, Chief Operating Officer, G Square Realtors Private Limited. Speaking on the occasion, Bala Ramajeyam, Managing Director, G Square Realtors Private Limited, "We are immensely proud and humbled to receive the REISA Award for 'The Best Integrated Township Chennai and ROTN'. This prestigious accolade re-affirms our brand's capability to transform large scale project into integrated townships that prioritize sustainability, connectivity, and an enhanced quality of life for our residents. In this instance, 300 acred G Square City, which witnessed grand success and saw returns up to 2x within a very short period did not confine itself to mere industry milestone achievement, but further went on to give us confidence and lay foundation for bigger projects. We would like to express our gratitude to REISA and FICCI for acknowledging our commitment and to the Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Tamil Nadu, for bestowing this renowned honor upon us." G Square City is Coimbatore's first and only integrated smart megacity which consists of more 3517 residential plots spread across a massive 237 acre land, housing more than 240 world class amenities including two 50,000 sq.ft clubhouses, a helipad and drive-in theatre. G Square currently has projects in Chennai, Coimbatore, and Hyderabad. The company plans to expand to other South Indian cities in the near future. G Square is committed to providing its customers with the best possible real estate experience. Its team of experienced professionals is dedicated to helping customers find the perfect plot for their needs. Their achievements and success story has been covered by multiple prestigious news websites like Aadhan, Covaipost, Latestly, Hindustan Times and The Print. Aadhan- blog.aadhan.in/g-square-housing-delivering-excellence-in-real-estate-development-in-south-india Covaipost- www.covaipost.com/coimbatore/g-square-announces-launch-of-g-square-city-2-0-upon-massive-sale-of-earlier-phase Latestly-www.latestly.com/agency-news/business-news-g-square-makes-history-launches-3-projects-in-chennai-coimbatore-and-trichy-5162194.html Hindustan Times-www.hindustantimes.com/brand-stories/g-square-housing-strengthening-its-presence-with-rapid-expansion-101675771665605.html The Print-theprint.in/india/g-square-unveils-gated-community-realty-project-with-drive-in-theatre-2/1487198 (Disclaimer: The above press release has been provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same)
NewsVoir New Delhi [India], July 8: Domino's Pizza, India's largest pizza chain has set a new standard in event marketing with a fiery on-ground activation event in Gurgaon that brought to life the sensations of spice in a thrilling spectacle. Focused on the new range of pizzas, the event provided a sensory feast of fiery displays, smoky ambiences, and the unparalleled excitement of spice. The whole activation was so unique and captivating that it set the onlookers mesmerized. Creating an eye-catching environment, a blazing pizza slice billboard captured the attention of locals, sparking conversations and drawing the interest of those passing by, which was captivated by smoky fumes of the billboard. The electrifying spectacle reached its climax as a fire tender arrived at the scene, dousing the smoke in a dazzling show of water jets, symbolizing Domino's mastery over spice and heat. As an extension to the on-ground activation, bike-bound delivery riders with smoke trailing from their delivery boxes navigated the city streets, demonstrating the brand's dedication to delivering the Spicy Range right to customers' doorsteps. Brace Yourself for a Video That Will Ignite Your Senses! YouTube Instagram Facebook Twitter "The objective of this activation was to captivate our audience and highlight the exhilarating sensation of enjoying a spicy Domino's pizza," said Sandeep Anand, EVP & Chief Marketing Officer, Domino's Pizza India. "This innovative event allowed us to visually embody the excitement and passion infused into every bite of our new spicy range. The buzz and overwhelming response it has generated have exceeded our expectations." The event marked the thrilling launch of Domino's newest offering - a spice-infused pizza range. Crafted with a tantalizing fusion of heat and flavour, the Red-Hot Pizza range includes four distinctive flavours: Blazing Onion & Paprika, Fiery Jalapeno & Paprika, Blazing Chicken & Paprika, and Fiery Sausage & Paprika. Join Domino's on this extraordinary flavour adventure and experience the irresistible allure of the Spicy Range Pizza starting at an affordable price of Rs 179/- and is available at all Domino's Pizza restaurants across India. Indulge your senses and savour the thrill of the Red-Hot Pizzas that will leave you craving for more. To explore the TVC, please visit YouTube Jubilant FoodWorks Limited^ (NSE, BSE: JUBLFOOD) is India's largest foodservice company and is part of the Jubilant Bhartia Group. Incorporated in 1995, the Company holds the exclusive master franchise rights from Domino's Pizza Inc. to develop and operate the Domino's Pizza brand in India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal. In India, it has a strong and extensive network of 1,816 Domino's restaurants across 393 cities. In Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, the Company operates through its wholly-owned owned subsidiaries which currently has 48 and 17 restaurants respectively. Jubilant FoodWorks also has exclusive rights to develop and operate Dunkin' restaurants in India and Popeyes restaurants in India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan. The Company currently operates 21 Dunkin' restaurants across six Indian cities and 13 Popeyes restaurants in two cities. In 2019, Jubilant FoodWorks launched its first owned-restaurant brand 'Hong's Kitchen' in the Chinese cuisine segment which now has 13 restaurants across three cities. Note: ^All store counts as on March 31, 2023 (Disclaimer: The above press release has been provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same)
On the occasion of veteran actor Neetu Kapoor's birthday, several B-town celebs took to their social media handles and extended heartfelt wishes. Actor Kiara Advani shared a picture and wrote, "Happies Birthday my dearest Neetu aunty. Sending you tons of love. Jug Jugg Jeeyo hamesha." Shilpa Shetty wrote, "Happy birthday. Here's wishing you great health, loads of love and tons of reason to smile, Neetu ji." Karisma Kapoor shared selfie and wrote, "Happy birthday to our Neetu aunty." Designer Manish Malhotra wrote, "Happy birthday dearest @neetu54 stay fabulous. Lots of love." Veteran actor Soni Razdan wrote, "Happiest birthday @neetu54 have an amazing one! Loads of love and huga." Actor Maniesh Paul shared a picture and wrote, "Wish you a very happy birthday ma'am. I'm blessed to have shared the screen with you." Actor Sonali Bendre wrote, "wishing you love and sunshine on your special day. Happy birthday." Neetu headed to Italy a few days ago and has been exploring the place with her daughter Riddhima, son-in-law Bharat and granddaughter Samara. Neetu's son and actor Ranbir Kapoor also joined his family for the birthday celebration. During his departure a day before, he was spotted at the Mumbai airport, wherein he was seen requesting the paparazzi not to post the pictures on the same day as it would ruin the surprise for his mom. Interestingly, Ranbir reached Italy in time to be with his mom on her special day. The image shows Neetu sitting on a chair. She looked lovely in a red outfit. Ranbir hugged his sister Riddhima as they stood behind their mother. Samara posed next to her father Bharat in the picture. Ranbir's wife, actor Alia Bhatt and their daughter Raha were missing from the party. Meanwhile, on the work front, Neetu was last seen in the film 'Jug Jugg Jeeyo' alongside Varun Dhawan, Anil Kapoor and Kiara Advani and the film received a positive response from the audience. She will be next seen in the film 'Letters To Mr Khanna' with Sunny Kaushal and Shraddha Srinath. The official release date of the film is still awaited. (ANI)
Taking to Instagram, Neetu shared a video on her stories in which Saif and Bebo could be seen enjoying on their trip to Italy.

The 'Adipurush' actor could be heard saying, "Neetu aunty, a happy happy birthday to you and lots and lots of love. Happy birthday from Sardinia."

Kareena on the other hand said, "Happy birthdayyyyy."

The 'Jug Jugg Jeeyo' actor shared the video on her stories and captioned it, "This made my day. Love you Saif Bebo."

The 'Heroine' actor also shared a picture on her Instagram stories and captioned it, "Happy birthday to my sweet sweet Neetu aunty."

Meanwhile, on the work front, Neetu was last seen in the film 'Jug Jugg Jeeyo' alongside Varun Dhawan, Anil Kapoor and Kiara Advani and the film received a positive response from the audience.

She will be next seen in the film 'Letters To Mr Khanna' with Sunny Kaushal and Shraddha Srinath. The official release date of the film is still awaited.

Kareena, on the other hand, will be next seen in 'The Crew'.

Makers of the film also starring Tabu, Kriti Sanon and Dilji Dosanjh on Sunday announced the film's official release date. 'The Crew' is all set to hit the theatres on March 22, 2024. She will also be seen in director Sujoy Ghosh's thriller which is based on the book 'The Devotion of Suspect X'. It also stars Vijay Varma and Jaideep Ahlawat.

Apart from that, she also has director Hansal Mehta's next untitled film in her kitty.

Saif was recently seen in the pan-India film 'Adipurush' alongside actors Prabhas and Kriti Sanon. The movie is an adaptation of the epic 'Ramayana'. He will be next seen in the film 'Devara' alongside actors Jr NTR and Janhvi Kapoor. (ANI)
A relief amount of Rs 5 lakhs has been provided to the Sidhi urination case victim and a financial assistance of Rs 1.50 lakhs to con house on the direction of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. The announcement was made from the official twitter handle of Sidhi Collector late Thursday night. The tweet reads, "As per the directions of CM, Dashmat Rawat has been provided with a relief amount of Rs 5 Lakhs. A financial help of Rs 1.50 Lakhs has also been sanctioned for the construction of his house." Earlier on Thursday morning, CM Chouhan on Thursday met the victim of the Sidhi urination incident at CM house in the state capital, Bhopal, and had lunch with him. CM Chouhan welcomed the victim, Dashmat Rawat, and also washed his feet as a mark of respect. He also apologised to the victim for the incident and said he was deeply disturbed and filled with pain after seeing the video. "My heart is filled with pain; Dashmat ji this is an attempt to share your pain. Also, I apologise to you. For me, only people are God," CM Chouhan wrote after meeting the victim. CM Chouhan also planted saplings with him at a smart city park in the state capital. Speaking to ANI, CM Chouhan said, "For me, the poor are God and people are like God to me. Serving the people is equal to worshipping God for us and we believe that God resides in every human being. I was pained by the inhuman incident that happened with Dashmat Rawat. I believe in my conscience that only the poor are worthy of worship for us and insulting the poor means insulting all of us." "To reduce the pain in my mind, I called Dashmat here today. I washed his feet so that I could reduce the pain that was in my mind. The one who commits a crime has no religion, no caste, no party and therefore severe punishment was given to the one who did injustice and tried to reduce the pain of the one to whom injustice was done by hugging him," CM Chouhan said. Notably, in a viral video of the incident, the accused Pravesh Shukla (30) was seen urinating on Rawat. After meeting with Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan at CM's residence in Bhopal on Thursday, the Sidhi urination case victim Dashmat Rawat said that he met with the minister and it felt good. "I met the minister, it felt good. He (CM Chouhan) called up my family and spoke to my family. I felt good. Now, I am going back after meeting him," Rawat told ANI. When asked about the incident and why the accused Pravesh Rawat urinated on him, Rawat said, "What to say, nothing now. Whatever happened, had happened." Soon after a video of the incident went viral on social media on Tuesday, CM Shivraj Chouhan took cognizance of the matter and ordered strict action, including slapping the National Security Act (NSA) on the accused. The accused, Shukla was arrested in the early hours of Wednesday and was booked under the NSA. An order in this regard was issued by Sidhi Collector, Saket Malviya, and the accused was sent to Central Jail Rewa. The accused's illegal construction was also demolished by the local administration on the same day. (ANI)
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday launched a scathing attack at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the statement by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on the attachment of assets belonging to his former deputy Manish Sisodia. CM Kejriwal alleged that PM Modi was using the ED to defame Sisodia as the agency could not find anything against the former Delhi minister. Earlier, on Friday, the ED said that it had provisionally attached movable and immovable assets worth Rs. 52.24 crore belonging to Sisodia, Amandeep Singh Dhall, Rajesh Joshi, Gautam Malhotra and others in connection with the Delhi excise policy case. Reacting to the ED's statement, Kejriwal took to Twitter and said, "Prime Minister, when you did not find anything against Manish Sisodia, you started defaming him through the ED? Your ED has been running false news on TV channels since the evening that Manish Sisodia's property worth Rs 52 crores has been confiscated." Referring to property papers that he shared on Twitter, the Delhi CM claimed that the ED confiscated Sisodia's property worth only Rs 80 lakh before 2018. "Here are the papers of the property actually seized by the ED. Total property worth Rs 80 lakh has been confiscated, that too, before 2018, when the excise policy was not formulated. The entire property is declared," the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convener said. Further hitting out at PM Modi, the Delhi CM said he never thought that the former will resort to peddling lies to defame his political rivals. "People never thought that a day would come when a great country like India would get such a Prime Minister, who tries to take down his political opponents by openly lying about them. You (PM Modi) also know who the real corrupt persons are. If you have the courage, catch them," the Delhi CM said. Meanwhile, Delhi minister Saurabh Bharadwaj, too, came down heavily on the Enforcement Directorate claiming that the official report relating to Sisodia's asset attachment in connection with the liquor policy 'scam' was inaccurate. "The news is being disseminated in a shameful manner. Along with Manish Sisodia-ji's property, the assets of various businessmen, the biggest wine distributors in the country, were attached. Two flats, worth Rs 5 lakh and Rs 65 lakh respectively, of Sisodia-ji's, were attached. Hence, to say that "Rs 52 crores worth of assets of Sisodia-ji were attached is shameful," the AAP leader said. Sisodia was arrested by the Cbi on February 26 this year in connection with the Delhi liquor policy case and was sent to judicial custody for 14 days. Later, on March 9, he was arrested by the ED after hours of questioning at Tihar jail. The CBI had accused Sisodia of providing undue benefits to the liquor vendors in exchange for a huge amounts of money. (ANI)
ICG said that it received information from Lakshwadeep administration that a 48-year-old man had suffered a brain stroke and required immediate assistance.

"Today, we received information from the Lakshwadeep administration that they required assistance to rescue a person, who had suffered a brain stroke, from Lakshwadeep Islands to Kochi," ICG Inspector General Manoj Baadkar told ANI.

The critically injured patient was being brought back to Kochi and will be shifted to a hospital.

"We did a splendid job in the rough weather. The patient was shifted to Agatti airport. He is being brought to Kochi and will be shifted to a hospital," he said.

Further details are awaited. (ANI)
For the second day in a row, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis went into conference with Chief Minister Eknath Shinde at his official residence, Varsha, in Mumbai on Friday. Fadnavis was seen leaving the CM's residence after the meeting on Friday late night. Earlier, on Friday, in yet another setback to the Shiv Sena (UBT), party leader and the deputy chairperson of Maharashtra Legislative Council, Neelam Gorhe, joined the Shiv Sena led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. The Shiv Sena (UBT) MLC member joined the rival faction in the presence of Chief Minister Shinde and his deputy Fadnavis. In Maharashtra Legislative Council's Business Advisory Committee, BJP MLC Pravin Darekar proposed to take back the no-confidence motion against Gorhe, brought during the previous session of the Council, for the post of deputy chairperson of the Legislative Council. Speaking at the official meeting here, Gorhe said, "Shiv Sena is heading in the right direction under the able leadership of Eknath Shinde." Meanwhile, Shiv Sena UBT leader Aaditya Thackeray on Friday said there might be some change in the state government as he had heard that Eknath Shinde will be asked to resign. "I have heard that CM (Eknath Shinde) has been asked to resign and there might be some change (in the govt)," he said. Earlier dismissing speculations of the state getting a new chief minister in the coming days, BJP state president Chandrashekhar Bawankule said the Opposition parties were deliberating creating confusion, adding that Shinde will remain CM. "All our senior leaders, including Devendra Fadnavis, have already said Eknath Shinde will remain chief minister. He is doing a good job for the state. The Opposition parties are creating confusion," Bawankule said. Earlier, on Sunday, Ajit Pawar split the NCP down the middle as he joined the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance in Maharashtra along with 8 senior MLAs and took oath as the state's deputy chief minister for the fifth time. (ANI)
With the military standoff between India and China having entered its fourth year, the Indian Army is continuously adding newer weapons and capabilities in the Eastern Ladakh sector to tackle emergency situations as well as carrying out conventional operations. Team ANI travelled to the Nyoma military station located at a height of around 14,500 feet where it witnessed the newer weapon systems and equipment inducted by the Indian Army to strengthen its presence to tackle the adversary. The Army in the recent past has inducted the made-in-India Dhanush howitzer which has been developed based on the Transfer of Technology for the Bofors howitzers and has been made more advanced. Captain V Mishra from the Regiment of Artillery said the Dhanush howitzer can strike targets at up to 48 Kms, and has been inducted in the Eastern Ladakh sector last year itself. 114 guns developed and produced by the erstwhile Ordnance Factory Board would also be joining the Indian Army. Another Made in India platform which is proving very useful for moving troops at very high speeds to the forward locations is the M4 Quick Reaction Force Vehicle which can 10 combat-ready armed troops to the forward locations along the Line of Actual Control and can move at speeds of around 60-80 Km per hour even in the harsh terrain of Ladakh sector, Army officers deployed in the sector said. The need to have such light armour-protected vehicles was felt when the adversary troops were using their fast-moving vehicles to reach the forward locations quickly during face-offs in the early phases of the military standoff. The M4 Quick Reaction Force Vehicles started getting inducted into the force last year and the Army has plans of inducting such vehicles in more numbers in the forward areas in the Eastern Ladakh sector. Using the emergency financial powers given by the government to buy equipment to help in carrying out operations post-2020 standoff, the Army has also inducted All-Terrain Vehicles in significant numbers. These vehicles with the capability to carry four to six troops in one go are being used to carry loads and equipment to forward posts to sustain the troops there. It can also be used for moving troops to locations where troops along with their equipment have to be deployed faster to tackle emergency situations. The vehicles have shown the capability to operate even in super high altitude areas including places where forces have been deployed for the first time after the standoff that started in 2020. The surveillance equipment in the Army inventory has also been strengthened as the new Tata Rajak system has been inducted into the force which can observe or detect humans from more than 15 kms, and vehicles from more than 25 Kms. The new equipment is helping the forces to keep an eye on the movement of the adversaries across the LAC. The Army is also planning to induct the Made in India K-9 Vajra self-propelled artillery guns in the eastern Ladakh sector as they have been proven successfully in the last couple of years. The Army may get more than 100 such guns which have been supplied by the L&T group from its Hazara plant. For equipping troops to tackle enemy tanks and armoured fighting vehicles, the Indian Army has provided the Spike anti-tank guided missiles in the eastern Ladakh sector. After the direct acquisitions made through emergency powers, more numbers of such third-generation missiles from the Make in India route are expected in the near future. (ANI)
This rendering shows what the Lake County Regional Operations and Communications Facility will look like after it is completed in 2025. - Original Credit: News-Sun (Lake County/HANDOUT)

Tucked behind several Lake County buildings is the construction site for the future Regional Operations and Communications Facility for the county. Work started in April.

Called the ROC by county officials and employees, it is the sort of building people will rarely see or know about  that is until a disaster hits, or they need it personally.

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Nobody wants to think about emergency services, but in a crisis thats all they think about, Lake County Board Chair Sandy Hart, D-Lake Bluff, said. We are building this to meet those needs.

County officials and others responsible for the creation of the ROC officially broke ground Friday on the $53.8 million facility in Libertyville which will consolidate emergency services, making them more efficient to serve more than 600,000 residents.

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We see the need all over Lake County for emergency services. Lake County Board Vice Chair Mary Ross Cunningham, D-Waukegan, said. I see the need every day in my neighborhood, with ambulances flying by. This will help the county as a whole.

Lake County Board Chair Sandy Hart, D-Lake Bluff, right, talks to Vice Chair Mary Ross Cunningham, D-Waukegan, at the construction site of the Regional Operations and Communications Facility. (Lake County/Lake County News-Sun)

Hart said when an emergency arises, a 911 call may be transferred several times before police, a fire truck or ambulance is dispatched. Though it may never be able to be quantified, the added efficiency will save lives.

There are times, depending on where you are when you need help, that a 911 call can get transferred, sometimes more than once, causing delays when literally minutes matter between life and death, Hart said.

U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider, D-Highland Park, helped shepherd $1 million toward the project to help in its early states through community project funding. He said often people do not realize the importance of an emergency service center until a need arises.

You dont know its an emergency until its your turn to call 911 and experience the need, he said. With this new center, when the need to call arises, it will (reduce) the response time. Thats when it is in effect for your family.

When complete in the summer of 2025, Deputy County Administrator Jim Hawkins said the 37,426-square-foot building will handle the 911 emergency calls for the Lake County sheriffs office, as well as any other governmental entity which wants to join.

People who played a role bringing the Lake County Regional Operations and Communications Facility to fruition break ground for the new facility. (Lake County/Lake County News-Sun)

Hawkins said the project was 10 years in the making, starting when the Lake County Emergency Telephone System Board and other governmental entities looked at 911 consolidation in the county. Within a few years, they knew it was a good idea.

Efforts transitioned to the actual development of an intergovernmental agreement to establish a new consolidated 911 entity in Lake County to replace the numerous partner 911 centers, Hawkins said after the groundbreaking. It is common sense and best practices.

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Hawkins said Commonwealth Edison will be able to use the facility during power outages to more quickly restore service. The building will also have the latest technology for its efforts.

Sheriff John Idleburg said the building will be strong enough to keep functioning through natural disasters. It will be large enough for the emergency telecommunicators to work efficiently.

Lake County Sheriff John Idleburg talks at the groundbreaking. (Lake County/Lake County News-Sun)

The building that will soon be behind us will not only be able to withstand anything thrown at it, including tornadoes and power outages, but will also support the well-being of those who work inside its confines, he said.

Along with the $1 million from the federal government through Schneiders appropriation, Hart said money for the ROC also came from funds the county received from the American Rescue Plan.

Hart said the county sold $30 million in bonds to help finance the project, along with a $2 million grant from the Illinois Clean Energy Communities Foundation and $5 million from the Emergency Telephone System Board.
"In view of the Kanwar Mela, the district administration has decided to close all the schools and Anganwadi centres from July 10 to 17," said District Magistrate Dheeraj Garbyal.

'Kanwar Yatra' is an annual pilgrimage of Lord Shiva's devotees.

Kanwariyas (pilgrims) visit places like Haridwar, Gaumukh, and Gangotri in Uttarakhand and Sultanganj in Bihar to fetch holy water from the River Ganga and then worship Lord Shiva with it.

The Kanwar Yatra is a significant ritual during the month of Sawan. People gather water from sacred rivers for this rite and place it in little mud pots known as Kanwars. Devotees don saffron-coloured clothes while carrying the holy water and walk on foot to visit temples dedicated to Lord Shiva.

In the Hindu calendar, 'Sawan', also known as 'Shravan, is the fifth month of the Hindu lunar calendar and one of the holiest months of the year.

Every Monday during this period is regarded as a highly auspicious time to fast and seek the blessings of Lord Shiva. (ANI)
Launching a scathing attack on Chief Minister Chandrashekar Rao-led Bharat Rashtra Samithi government and the Congress in Telangana, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said the state has been "trapped in the claws of dynastic parties." "Both BRS & Congress are dangerous for people of Telangana..." PM Modi said, adding KCR government is the most "corrupt government." https://twitter.com/ANI/status/1677577287800356865?s=20 "You people had never thought that one day your state of Telangana will be trapped in the claws of dynastic parties. They think only about the future of their children," the PM said while addressing a rally in Warangal in Telangana. "The foundation of all these dynastic parties has its roots in corruption. The dynastic Congress party's corruption was witnessed by the whole country. And the whole of Telangana is seeing the level of corruption in the state by BRS..." PM Modi hit out at both the BRS and Congress. Under such a situation, the Central government decided to put a special focus on the development and connectivity of Telangana in the last nine years, PM Modi said. "The present government in Telangana has done 4 things, abusing PM Modi & Bharatiya Janata Party government. They made one family the centre for power, they pushed Telangana's economic development into turmoil... duping Telangana into corruption..." PM Modi said. He alleged that there is no project in the state that does not have allegations of corruption. "KCR government is the most corrupt government..." PM Modi alleged, adding that the people of Telangana should take "note" of one more thing. "The BRS government has done the cardinal sin of shattering the trust of its people. You people had harboured a lot of expectations from this government. But they have not lived up to your expectations," the PM said. Earlier on Saturday, Prime Minister Modi laid the foundation stones of various infrastructure development projects worth Rs 6,100 crore in Warangal and lauded the people of Telangana for their "great contribution" to the history of India. From Warangal, PM Modi will travel to Bikaner in Rajasthan, to dedicate and lay the foundation stone of development projects worth over Rs 24,300 crore, a PMO statement earlier informed. The statement further added that PM will dedicate to the nation a six-lane greenfield expressway section of the Amritsar - Jamnagar Economic Corridor and phase-I of the Inter-State Transmission Line for Green Energy Corridor. The statement further added that the PM will lay the foundation stone for the redevelopment of Bikaner Railway station.PM Narendra Modi is on a tour of four states including Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, and Rajasthan from July 7 to 8. Except for Uttar Pradesh, all the states are going to polls later this year (ANI)
A booth agent of an independent candidate and a polling agent of a BJP were allegedly killed in two separate violence-related incidents during voting for single-phase panchayat elections in West bengal on Saturday. The booth agent of an independent candidate was allegedly killed in Piragachha of North 24 Parganas district as per reports. The deceased has been identified as Abdullah, and locals alleged that the husband of a Trinamool Congress candidate was behind the "murder". https://twitter.com/i/status/1677527993022021634 Demanding the arrest of the accused, locals also staged a protest and blocked the road. Authorities deployed police to prevent any communal flare-up. Regarding the second incident, a BJP candidate Maya Barman claimed that Trinamool Congress "goons" hurled a bomb at his agent, leading to his "death". The incident occurred at a polling booth in Falimari gram panchayat of Cooch Behar. Following the attack, voting has been suspended at the booth, reports said. "TMC goons hurled a bomb at my agent and killed him. They also attacked me, " alleged BJP candidate Maya Barman, who also sustained injuries in the reported attack, and was taken to a hospital for treatment. As per the information, the deceased agent has been identified as Madhav Vishwas, Barman said. Earlier, Trinamool Congress alleged that three of its party workers have been murdered in multiple incidents of violence in West Bengal after polling for the single-phase panchayat elections began in the state on Saturday morning. The panchayat elections are underway for a single phase, with the counting of votes scheduled on July 11. The polls are likely to see a fierce tussle for control of local administrations between the ruling TMC and the BJP and will be a litmus test for both parties ahead of next year's Lok Sabha elections. Around 5.67 crore voters are likely to exercise their franchise to choose representatives for nearly 928 seats across 22 zilla parishads, 9,730 panchayat Samiti, and 63,239-gram panchayats seats. West Bengal has 3,341 gram panchayats and the number of village panchayat election centres is 58,594. There are 63,239 seats at the Gram Panchayat level, 9730 at Panchayat Samiti and 928 at the Zila Parishad level. (ANI)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a mega roadshow in Warangal on Saturday after hitting out at the ruling BRS, and Congress at a rally in the Telangana district. During the roadshow, the people queued up on both sides where the Prime Minister's cavalcade was passing. https://twitter.com/i/status/1677586618226708485 Apart from BJP flags, some people were waiving and standing out to take selfies with the PM's convoy. The Telangana assembly elections are slated to be held later in the year. Before addressing a public meeting, PM Modi offered prayers at Bhadrakali Temple in Warangal. PM Narendra Modi on Saturday also laid the foundation stones of various infrastructure development projects worth Rs 6100 crore in Warangal and lauded the people of Telangana for their "great contribution" to the history of India. "The state of Telangana may be a new one. But the contribution of Telangana and its people in the history of India has always been great," PM Modi said. Launching a scathing attack on Chief Minister Chandrashekar Rao-led Bharat Rashtra Samithi government and the Congress in Telangana, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said the state has been "trapped in the claws of dynastic parties." "Both BRS & Congress are dangerous for people of Telangana..." PM Modi said, adding KCR government is the most "corrupt government." "You people had never thought that one day your state of Telangana will be trapped in the claws of dynastic parties. They think only about the future of their children," the PM said. From Warangal, PM Modi will travel to Bikaner in Rajasthan, to dedicate and lay the foundation stone of development projects worth over Rs 24,300 crore, a PMO statement earlier informed. The statement further added that PM will dedicate to the nation a six-lane greenfield expressway section of the Amritsar - Jamnagar Economic Corridor and phase-I of the Inter-State Transmission Line for Green Energy Corridor. The statement further added that the PM will lay the foundation stone for the redevelopment of Bikaner Railway station. PM Narendra Modi is on a tour of four states including Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, and Rajasthan from July 7 to 8. Except for Uttar Pradesh, all the states are going to polls later this year. (ANI)
After Sidhi urination incident, another disturbing video has surfaced on social media in which a group of youths were seen assaulting a youth and forcing him to lick the feet in a running car in Madhya Pradesh's Gwalior district. The incident occurred in the Dabra area of the district last month on June 23 but the video of the incident went viral on social media on Friday (July 7). In the viral video, it could be seen that the accused were beating the victim fiercely in the moving car and abusing him. The victim was also forced to lick the accused's feet. Besides, it could also be heard that the accused asked the victim to say Golu Gurjar is his father. Both the accused and the victim are said to be residents of Dabra. When the police came to know about the matter, they swung into action, registered a case and arrested two accused in the matter so far. Gwalior SSP (Senior Superintendent of Police), Rajesh Singh Chandel said, "A video of assaulting youth in an inhuman manner had come to the fore on Friday evening. After which we collected complete information about the matter. The complainant, Karan Goswami lodged a complaint in the matter." On June 23, four accused took the victim Karan Goshwani and Mohsin Khan in a car and assaulted them. Acting on the complaint, a case was registered against the four accused at Dabra police station under IPC section 365 and assault into the matter. The police also arrested two accused and they were being interrogated, SSP added. Meanwhile, reacting to the incident, Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra said, "A case was registered on the complaint of the victim, two persons have also been arrested in the matter." Notably, in a viral video of the Sidhi urination incident, the accused Pravesh Shukla (30) was seen urinating on the face of the victim Dashmat Rawat. Soon after a video of the incident went viral on social media, CM Shivraj Chouhan took cognizance of the matter and ordered strict action, including slapping the National Security Act (NSA) on the accused. The accused, Shukla was arrested and was booked under the NSA. An order in this regard was issued by Sidhi Collector, Saket Malviya, and the accused was sent to Central Jail Rewa. The accused's illegal construction was also demolished by the local administration. (ANI)
Union Road and Transportation Minister Nitin Gadkari on Saturday said that the road infrastructure that is to be developed in Telangana will boost the overall development of the state and generate employment opportunities. The minister was addressing a public meeting in Warangal where Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for several developmental projects, including those of the National Highways Authority of India(NHAI), worth around Rs. 6,100 crore. "I am happy that the road infrastructure, that will be developed here under the leadership of the Prime Minister, will connect the mining industry, trade, business, export-import and small centres of development and we will generate employment," Gadkari said. In his address, Gadkari emphasized that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has accorded the highest priority to infrastructure development in the country. The minister said that Rs 1.10 lakh crore worth of infrastructure projects have either been completed, are ongoing, or have been initiated in Telangana. Emphasizing the importance of road infrastructure in the overall development of an economy he quoted former US President John F Kennedy. "I am confident that with highway network, business and industries will get a boost. I often reiterate the famous quote of former US President John F Kennedy - American roads are not good because America is rich but America is rich because American roads are good," Gadkari said. The minister expressed confidence that by the end of 2024, the state of Telangana would witness projects worth Rs 2 lakh crore. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday laid the foundation stones of various infrastructure development projects worth Rs 6100 crore in Warangal and lauded the people of Telangana for their "great contribution" in the history of India. The projects include foundation stone for 176 km long National Highway projects, Railway Manufacturing Unit, Kazipet and upgradation of the 68 km long Karimnagar - Warangal section of NH-563 etc. "The state of Telangana may be a new one. But the contribution of Telangana and its people in the history of India has always been great," PM Modi said after laying the foundation stones of various projects. "Today when India has become the world's fifth-largest economy, the role of the people of the Telangana has been great," PM Modi said while adressing the rally. "Under such a situation, when the world is coming ahead to invest in India...there is excitement about a rising India...There are infinite opportunities for the people of Telangana," PM further said. "Today's Naya Bharat is being represented by a 'Young India'. This Bharat is full of energy", he said. "We have to use every second of this golden period. Any part of india should not lag behind in the rapid pace of development," PM Modi said. PM Modi was greeted with "Bharat Maata ki ji, and "Vande Mataram slogans" before his address. (ANI)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday launched several development projects worth Rs 24,000 crores in Rajasthan including the newly developed 500 kilometre section of Amritsar-Jamnagar expressway in Rajasthan's Bikaner. Prime Minister Modi also said that the border areas and villages of Rajasthan were deprived of development for decades and for their development. The newly launched section of the Amritsar-Jamnagar expressway will also contribute to increasing the connectivity of these villages to the rest of the country. In his address, PM Modi said, "Border areas had been deprived of development for decades. We have started the vibrant village development project for their development. We declared the border villages as the first villages of the country." Declaring the border villages as the first villages of the country has increased the interest of the people to visit these villages. "This gives new energy to the development of these villages. The newly launched section of the Amritsar-Jamnagar expressway will also contribute to this," the PM said. "The land of Rajasthan waits and calls for the people dedicated to development. And I, on behalf of the nation, am trying consistently to provide new developments to the state," the PM said. Prime Minister launched development projects worth RS. 24000 crores in Rajasthan today. Rajasthan has got two modern six-lane expressways. In February 2023, Prime Minister launched the Delhi-Dausa-Lalsot section of the Delhi-Mumbai express corridor. " I am fortunate to launch the 500 km section of the Amritsar-Jamnagar expressway. Rajasthan has hit a double century in terms of the expressways," PM Modi added. For the development of renewable energy, the green energy corridor was also launched by the PM today. "This corridor will connect Rajasthan with Haryana, Punjab, Gujarat and Jammu-Kashmir," PM mentioned. Commercial sea ports like Jamnagar and Kandla will also connect to Rajasthan and Bikaner with the help of this corridor. The distance between Amritsar to Jodhpur and Bikaner will also decrease. Distance between Jodhpur to Jalore and Gujarat will also decrease," the PM informed. PM Modi further mentioned the benefits of the corridor and said, "The farmers and traders of the region would be benefited. This expressway will provide new power to West India and its industrial activities. Supply chains would get smoother and the nation would get a new speed of financial development." Prime Minister also said that the Employee's State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) hospital has also been completed in Bikaner. PM Modi congratulated the people of Rajasthan for all these development projects. The PM also emphasised that any state develops only when its possibilities and capabilities are recognised distinctly. The PM also mentioned that Rajasthan has been a centre of infinite possibilities and capabilities. "Rajasthan has infinite possibilities for industrial development. We are making connectivity infrastructure hi-tech over here. The High speed expressway and railway will expand the opportunities related to tourism. The most advantage would be for the youth here," PM Modi said. Today, the work of doubling of Bikaner-Ratangarh rail line has also started. PM Modi said that railway development in Rajasthan is one of the priorities of the government. PM slammed the previous governments and said that from 2004 to 2014, on average, Rajasthan received less than Rs. 1000 crore per year for railway development. Whereas the Modi government gave 10000 crore every year for railway development, the PM said. "Today new rail lines are being spread at high speed. Railway tracks are being automated. Small entrepreneurs would gain maximum benefit of the infrastructure development," PM Modi said. Mentioning the Bikaner famous pickle and snacks, PM said, "If the connectivity would be better then the small industries here would be able to export their products to all corners of India". PM said, "Karni Mata and Salasar Balaji have given a lot to Rajasthan, hence it should be ahead of all in terms of development. Today, the Indian government is strengthening development projects constantly." "I am confident that we will take Rajasthan's development ahead with unity," the PM said. (ANI)
Amid the reports of violence during voting for the Panchayat election across West Bengal, BJP president JP Nadda on Saturday spoke to the state leader of opposition (LoP) Suvendu Adhikari and BJP West Bengal in-charge Mangal Pandey on panchayat poll violence and assured them that the BJP won't let democracy die in West Bengal. He further assured that the fight against violence by the TMC party will be brought to a conclusion in a democratic way. "BJP will not let this death of democracy happen, and we will take this fight to a decisive level in a democratic way," said BJP president JP Nadda. Meanwhile, earlier in the day, workers of the state BJP staged a protest outside the State Election Commission office in Kolkata against the election-related violence in the state. Several incidents of election-related violence have been reported from different districts in West Bengal, with the ruling Trinamool Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party accusing each other of killing their party workers. Several incidents of ballot box and ballot paper looting as well as destruction were reported from numerous polling booths in the state. Earlier, the State Leader of the Opposition, Suvendu Adhikari, attacked the Trinamool Congress (TMC) for violence during the three-tier panchayat elections in West Bengal, saying that the state is burning and the Central government should intervene with Article 355 or Article 356 (President's Rule). He alleged that more than 20,000 booths had been captured by hooligans of the ruling party in the presence of police. "West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose is trying his best to save lives and restore peace. But, his appeal has gone to waste as the election-related violence continued in the state," he said. "Now it is 3 pm, and more than 15 people have been brutally killed by the goons. More than 20,000 booths have been captured by TMC hooligans, in the presence of state police. CAPF is totally non-functioning due to the non-cooperation of the district police," Adhikari added. West Bengal has 3,341-gram panchayats, and the number of village panchayat election centers is 58,594. There are 63,239 seats at the Gram Panchayat level, 9730 at the Panchayat Samiti level, and 928 at the Zila Parishad level. The counting of votes will be held on July 11. (ANI)
Amid the widespread violence in West Bengal during the Panchayat poll on Saturday, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Ajoy Ray claimed that three BJP workers were allegedly shot at by Trinamool Congress (TMC) workers in Cooch Behar's Dinhata. BJP's Ajoy Ray said that violence had broken out in Dinhata from the morning as BJP workers were not allowed to enter booths and were beaten up by Trinamool Congress (TMC) goons. "From the morning our workers were not allowed to enter the booths. They were beaten in every place. One woman in the village has got a bullet injury on her stomach, one of our workers also got a bullet injury on his chest. There were instances of bombing and firing as well. Another man got hit by a bullet in his hand. The husband of one of the candidates was thrown down on the ground and kicked," the BJP leader said. Ajoy Ray stated that violence had gripped Dinhata ever since voting was announced and alleged that the police are not acting on them. "Ever since voting was declared, there have been instances of bombing and firing every day. The police just keep staring. I had called them on several instances but did not get any response," he said. Speaking on the inadequate security arrangement in Dinhata, he said, "In some places only a woman constable is present. How can she manage such a critical scenario?" Gautam Sarkar, a BJP worker who got hit in the violence said that he was hit by TMC goons as he wanted to get hold of the ballot box, which he claimed, the TMC goons were fleeing away with. "TMC workers had jammed the booth from the morning. When our party workers got to know, they started running away with the ballot boxes. When I got hold of one of the boxes I was pushed and beaten black and blue. I was thrown down on the ground and kicked at by 10-12 people. Then they fired at one of our workers," Sarkar said. Earlier on Saturday, a polling booth at Baravita Primary School in Sitai, Cooch Behar was allegedly vandalised and ballot papers were set on fire. A viral video accessed by ANI showed broken chairs and tables strewn inside a smoke-filled room. Violence ensure in parts of West Bengal after voting began for the single-phase panchayat polls in West Bengal on Saturday. There is fierce tussle for control of local administrations between the ruling TMC and the BJP which will be a litmus test for both parties ahead of next year's Lok Sabha elections. West Bengal has 3,341 gram panchayats and the number of village panchayat election centres is 58,594. There are 63,239 seats at the Gram Panchayat level, 9730 at Panchayat Samiti and 928 at the Zila Parishad level. The counting of votes will be held on July 11. (ANI)
Undertaking a daring mission, an Indian Coast Guard ship, 'Abheek' which is based at Okha Port in Devbhumi Dwarka district, rescued five fishermen from a boat, stranded at sea, officials said on Saturday. The Indian Coast Guard ship was en route to Okha from Kochi. The fishing boat named UK Sons with five crew members ventured out at sea off Beypore on June 30, 2023. Upon deterioration in weather during the subsequent days, the boat was unable to enter any fishing harbour due to heavy waves and swell, they said. The Indian Coast Guard officials said, " On July 6, 2023, the owner informed Indian Coast Guard Station at Beypore that the weather has further deteriorated. Consequent to this Indian Coast Guard Ship Abheek was diverted to recover the crew safely. Indian Coast Guard ship Abheek arrived at the scene expeditiously. The efforts and courage executed by the crew ICGS Abheek in the face of adverse weather conditions resulted in the successful rescue of all five lives at sea." (ANI)
Thanks to Naperville's wide variety of upscale, ethnic and organic food stores, the city had $332 million in grocery sales last year -- more than any other suburb in the Chicago area, a new report says. While most communities are trying to lure their first Amazon Fresh store, Naperville has two, one of which can be seen here. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)

Naperville continues to lead suburban Chicago in retail sales thanks to the strength of its automobile dealers, dining and bar scene, and grocery markets, a recently released report shows.

The annual report from Melaniphy & Associates, a real estate and retail consultant firm in Chicago, takes a comprehensive look at suburban retail numbers to document shifts in the marketplace based on various retail sales categories.

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Since 2016, Naperville has bested all other suburbs for highest cumulative retail sales in all categories. Schaumburg is the citys closest sales competitor, but it last topped Naperville in just one category six years ago.

Naperville is now the retail mecca, overtaking Schaumburg in total retail sales, said John Melaniphy, who produces the annual report.

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The addition of a second Costco store in Naperville is one of many factors that has helped contribute to the city seeing $1.4 billion in retail sales growth over the last decade. (Rafael Guerrero / Naperville Sun)

Last year, Naperville saw a record $4.6 billion in total sales, up 6% over 2021 and higher than No. 2 Schaumburg by more than $638 million.

Over the last 10 years, the Melaniphy report shows retail sales in Naperville have escalated by $1.4 billion, unlike Schaumburg, which saw sales plummet by $887 million during the same time period.

Nearly half the $1.4 billion increase can be attributed to Napervilles strong showing in automobile and gasoline sales, which rose from $1.2 billion in 2013 to $1.8 billion in 2022.

Where most top suburban towns, including Schaumburg, Orland Park, Tinley Park, Oak Lawn, Westmont and Barrington, saw their sales numbers crash in 2022 largely due to automotive sales, Naperville had a $70 million increase between 2021 and 2022, Melaniphy said.

Naperville has historically had the highest sales in this category since at least 2010, he said.

The city also is a leader in the restaurant and bar industry.

In this category, Naperville had sales of $504 million in 2022 , which is $168 million more than it had in 2013, Melaniphy said.

The next highest decade change was Aurora, which saw $102 million in sales growth since 2013. But the neighboring citys dining and drinking sales in 2022 added up to $304 million, or $200 million less than Naperville.

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Naperville continues to rank first in grocery sales compared to any other suburban community, with food store sales of $453 million.

Their grocery sales are off the charts, Melaniphy said.

People line up outside Ramsays Kitchen in downtown Naperville on its opening day in May. It's places like this that make the city a dining destination, with restaurant and bar sales of $504 million in 2022. (H. Rick Bamman/for the Naperville Sun)

No. 2 Joliet with 2022 sales of $332 million trails Naperville by $85 million.

What sets Naperville apart is its variety of upscale, ethnic and organic food stores on top of the traditional Chicago area grocers, he said.

The second Costco store places Naperville in a unique status. Not many communities can claim to support two Costco stores, other than major metropolitan cities like Chicago and Los Angeles, he said.

Naperville continues its reign as king of suburban home improvement, with sales rising $94 million over the last decade from $152 million in 2013 to $246 million in 2022.

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The biggest leap was from 2020 to 2021, when home improvement sales jumped during the COVID-19 pandemic by $49 million, from $192 million to $241 million.

Despite what could have been a temporary increase, home improvement spending remained steady thereafter, rising 2.2% from 2021 to 2022.

Napervilles presence also can be seen in the Route 59 corridor, according to the Melaniphy report.

Among core retail markets, the Fox Valley Mall area continues to lead compared to other suburban shopping center and mall areas, with retail sales of $7.5 billion in 2022, up $327 million over the previous year and up $2 billion from 10 years ago.

No. 2 Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg recorded $5.7 billion in retail sales in 2022, and No. 3 Louis Joliet Mall in Joliet had $3.8 billion.

The figures are total sales from retail concentrations, including the mall and the surrounding big boxes.

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Because Aurora mall is bordered by Naperville where many big box stores are located, the core numbers include both communities, according to Melaniphy.

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The accused was identified as Naushad Ali (19), a native of Gonda district in Uttar Pradesh. The police said that almost all the stolen articles were recovered from his native place.

"In the intervening night of June 16-17, an incident of burglary was reported in a jewelry showroom at Daryaganj, Delhi, and jewelry weighing 1.5 kg was stolen", said Ravinder Yadav, an officer of Crime Branch (Delhi).

Yadav further informed, "The incident was captured in the CCTV Cameras installed inside the jewelry showroom. The accused had even tried to sabotage the cameras installed outside the showroom and adjoining shops. CCTV footage of the incident was collected and analyzed and the same was shared with the local informers, the accused was identified as Naushad Ali".

The police further informed that on the basis of manual and technical surveillance, the accused was arrested from Daryaganj.

On being investigated, he disclosed that the stolen articles were kept at his native place in Uttar Pradesh, the police said.

Further, the police added that the accused had reportedly conducted a recce of the showroom. Later, with the help of an iron rod, he broke the locks of the shop and stole pieces of jewelry.

The iron rod was also recovered, as per the police. (ANI)
In the wake of information that a total of 80 Kannadigas were trapped in the Panchtarni, six km away from the Amarnath cave following the adverse weather conditions, CM Siddaramiah instructed the authorities to carry out necessary rescue operations.

As per the officials, the 62-day annual pilgrimage remained halted following incessant rains in most parts of Kashmir.

Inclement weather conditions in the Union territory caused a delay to the annual Amarnath Yatra and suspended the yatra from both the Pahalgam and the Baltal routes.

A total of 67,566 pilgrims visited the Amarnath Shrine cave since the beginning of the yatra on July 1.

The pilgrims are being assisted during their entire journey by state agencies and civil departments by making all the essential facilities available to the devotees, according to an official spokesperson.

"Under the supervision of camp directors, the entire facilities are extended to the devotees including Langer (community kitchen), health facilities, assistance by service providers including Poniwalla, Pithuwallas, Dandiwallas, and sanitation", it added.

The Amarnath Yatra began on July 1 and is expected to culminate on August 31. The 62-day pilgrimage is dedicated to the devotees of Baba Amarnath, a form of Lord Shiva. (ANI)
A Delhi Court on Thursday acquitted six persons accused of rioting, vandalism, and destroying property during the Delhi riots of February 2020 in the Gokul Puri area, giving them the benefit of the doubt. The court noted the discrepancy in the statement of witnesses and the identity of the accused could not have been established. Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Pulastya Pramachala acquitted accused Dinesh Yadav alias Michael, Sahil alias Babu, Sandeep alias Mogli and Tinku from the charges leveled against them. "I find that charges leveled against the accused persons, in this case, are not proved beyond reasonable doubt. Hence, all the accused persons are acquitted of all the charges leveled against them in this case", said Judge Pramachala. The court also noted that the identification of the accused persons as part of a riotous mob was not established. "I find that prosecution has failed to prove beyond reasonable doubts that accused persons herein were part of the mob, which was responsible behind both the incidents probed in this case", said the judge. The accused persons were charge-sheeted by the police for having committed offenses punishable under Section 147(rioting) /148 (Rioting with deadly weapons), 149 (unlawful assembly), 188 (Violation of order issued by public servant), 380 (Theft), 436 (Damaging Property by fire) of the Indian Penal Code, on the basis of two complaints made by complainants Shahid and Razuddin regarding incidents of riot carried out by the riotous mob in their shop/house situated in Bhagirathi Vihar, Gokul Puri. It was the case of the Prosecution that on March 4, 2020, the present FIR was registered at the Gokalpuri Police Station, on a written complaint of March 2, 2020, from Shahid. He alleged that on the intervening night of February 24/25 2020 between 3-4 AM, a riotous mob after committing criminal trespass in his rented shop in Bhagirathi Vihar, had looted various articles lying therein including steel glass fitting tools, cash, and other necessary documents. During the investigation, after obtaining permission from a senior officer, the Investigating Officer interrogated and formally arrested accused Sahil alias Babu who was in custody in another case. Razuddin had alleged that on March 24, 2020, at about 9 O'clock, a riotous mob after breakingopen his in Gali No.13, Nala Road, Bhagirathi Vihar, looted various articles lying therein.Thereafter, they put the same on fire, as a result of which he suffered a financial loss to the tune of around Rs 2.5 lakh. The complaint was clubbed with that of Shahid. On August 26, 2021, charges were framed against accused Dinesh Yadav alias Michael, Sahil alias Babu, Sandeep alias Mogli and Tinku for offenses punishable under Section 143/147/148 IPC read with Section 149 and 188 IPC as well as for offenses punishable under Section 380/436/454 IPC read with Section 149 IPC, to which they claimed trial. On 27.04.2022, charges were framed against accused Vikas Kashyap and Sonu Kashyap alias Golu, for offences punishable under Section 143/147/148 IPC read with Section 149 and 188IPC as well as for offences punishable under Section 454/380/436 IPC read with Section 149 IPC, to which they pleaded not guilty and claimed trial. Advocate Rakshpal Singh, counsel for accused Sandeep alias Mogli and Amicus Curiae for Sahil, Dinesh, and Tinku along with advocate Sunil Kumar Verma, counsel for accused Vikas Kashyap and Sonu Kashyap alias Golu, argued that the present case is for two incidents, but both complainants did not identify any accused. (ANI)
West Bengal witnessed several incidents of violence and arson during the voting for the three-tiered panchayat polls in rural parts of the state on Saturday. The election saw a fierce fight between the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) which has emerged as the number two political party in the state. Saturday's polls also serve as a litmus test for the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha polls. The scenes on the crucial polling day can best be described as a travesty of democracy. While a miscreant was seen running away with the ballot box from the polling station in Malda's Mahadipur area, voting had to be suspended at Indreshwar primary school in Dinhata, West Bengal's Cooch Behar after water was thrown into the ballot box. In another incident, a ballot box at a polling booth in Baranachina of Dinhata in Cooch Behar district was set on fire allegedly by voters who were angry with bogus voting that was reportedly going on there. Another incident was reported from Balutola in Gopalpur Panchayat of Malda where a clash broke out between Congress and TMC workers and bombs were hurled while the polling booth at Baravita Primary School in Sitai of Coochbehar also vandalised and ballot papers were set on fire. Several other incidents of ballot box and ballot paper looting and destruction were reported from numerous polling booths in the State. In the meantime, a 52-year-old TMC worker, Sateshuddin Sheikh was killed in Khargram of Murshidabad. However, the residents of Nandigram Block 1 of Purba Medinipur district said that they are boycotting the election until Central forces are deployed at booth numbers 67 and 68 in Mahammadpur No. 2 area. A voter, Govind told ANI, "There is no Central force here. Booth capturing keeps happening here by TMC. They do bogus voting even in the name of the deceased. We won't allow voting here unless Central forces come here..." The ruling TMC hit out at the opposition parties in the state who were clamouring for the deployment of central forces in West Bengal amid the violence, questioning where were the central forces at the time of violence which claimed several lives. Taking a jibe, TMC said that the death toll due to the election-related incidents is mounting under the "close supervision of Central Forces". "Under the close supervision of Central Forces, the death toll keeps mounting! A devastating bomb attack claimed the life of our party worker in Manikchak, Malda. In Narayanpur-I Gram Panchayat of Nadia," the party said in a tweet. Attacking the TMC, State Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari on Saturday said that the state is burning and the Central government should intervene with Article 355 or Article 356 (President's Rule). He alleged that more than 20,000 booths have been captured by hooligans of the ruling party in the state in the presence of police. "West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose is trying his best to save lives and restore peace. But, his appeal has gone waste as the election-related violence continued in the state," he said. BJP president JP Nadda spoke to Suvendu Adhikari and BJP West Bengal in-charge Mangal Pandey on the poll violence and assured them that the BJP won't let democracy die in West Bengal. "BJP will not let this death of democracy happen, and we will take this fight to a decisive level in a democratic way," Nadda said. Governor Ananda Bose remarked that it is usually the poor who get killed in violence and said that instead of killing poverty they are "killing the poor". "What I have seen on the field is very disturbing. There is violence, murder, force and intimidation. It is the poor who get killed. They should kill poverty, instead, they are killing the poor. This is something which is very disturbing," the West Bengal Governor said. Asking people to take violence off the purview of politics and how lack of peace will affect the new generation, he said that violence needs to be "nipped in the bud". Speaking on the violence BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad said that more than 12 people have lost their lives in the state so far. The State Election Commission had set up a total of 61,636 polling booths to conduct fair and impartial elections for 3317 Gram Panchayats, 341 Panchayat Samitis and 20 Zila Parishads in West Bengal. To ensure the safe conduct of the polls, 59,000 personnel of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) and other State Armed Police Forces were deployed at sensitive polling booths and the rest of the troops of CAPF and SAP along with local state police were given the responsibility of security at the remaining polling booths. West Bengal has 3,341 gram panchayats and the number of village panchayat election centres is 58,594. There are 63,239 seats at the Gram Panchayat level, 9730 at Panchayat Samiti and 928 at the Zila Parishad level. Earlier in 2018, the TMC won 34 per cent of the seats uncontested in the panchayat elections, which also saw various instances of violence. (ANI)
West Bengal Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhary visited the hospital in West Bengal's Murshidabad on Saturday to meet the family member of a 62-year-old man who was killed in a bombing incident following the panchayat polls. The bombing incident allegedly took place when miscreants were trying to loot the polling booth on panchayat poll day. Adhir Ranjan Chowdhary who was accompanied by his supporters also met with the injured admitted at the hospital. While interacting with the media Ranjan alleged police of restoring lathi charges to disperse the voters. The Congress leader made serious allegations against Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and claimed that "her hands are full of bloodshed". "...When common voters are going to participate in the polling, police were resorting to lathi charges...to disperse the voters...The situation in the state and particularly in Murshidabad is very tense and hostile...I want to ask CM Mamata Banerjee what kind of democracy to you want? Your hands are full of bloodshed. Blood-stained Panchayat was not necessary in Bengal...," said West Bengal Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury. Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Ravi Shankar Prasad said that more than 12 people have lost their lives so far in the violence that broke out in several areas in West Bengal on panchayat poll day. "Violence has broken out in full swing in the Bengal gram panchayat elections being held today. More than 12 people have died so far and a large number of them have been injured," BJP MP Prasad said. Targeting West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, the BJP MP asked, "Where have you taken Bengal today?" Ravi Shankar Prasad harked back to history to compare the state of Bengal during the nationalist movement with that of the present situation. "Once Bengal was the mother of democracy, the center of nationalist aspirations. It was the Bengal of Subhash Chandra Bose, it was the Bengal of Rabindranath Tagore, it was the Bengal of Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar. Is it essential that someone needs to die if an election is held?" he asked. Posing another question to Mamata Banerjee, the BJP MP asked why the proportion of violence is so much when the state conducts local body polls. "I have a question for you Mamataji. Earlier in Bihar and many other states many people used to die during poll. Now due to the increase in strength of the Election Commission violence has come down. During Lok Sabha elections in Bengal owing to the strength of the Election Commission, violence is less. But what is happening when your state government is conducting the gram panchayat elections?" he asked. The senior BJP MP alleged that the Central forces are not being allowed to work properly as they are not getting support on the ground. "The central forces are not being allowed to function. They are not getting support on the ground," he claimed. Ravi Shankar Prasad also alleged that the West Bengal police works like a political outfit. "Mamata's police works in the fashion of a political outfit. I don't know if some responsible policemen are not rewarded enough or not allowed to work," he said. West Bengal has 3,341 gram panchayats and the number of village panchayat election centres is 58,594. There are 63,239 seats at the Gram Panchayat level, 9730 at Panchayat Samiti and 928 at the Zila Parishad level. The counting of votes will be held on July 11. (ANI)
Training his guns at Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over the election-related violence during the three-tier panchayat elections in West Bengal, state Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari on Saturday demanded a probe into the incidents by Central Bureau Of Investigation (CBI) and National Investigation Agency (NIA). Several incidents of election-related violence have been reported from different districts in West Bengal, with the ruling Trinamool Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party accusing each other of killing their party workers. Addressing press persons here, the BJP leader said, "Section 144 should be imposed in the violence-affected areas and CAPF should be deployed on all the booths. Today we are wearing black bands as it is Black Day for democracy. We demand CBI, and NIA probe after today's incident." He claimed that the total death toll after Friday's violence is 19. Adhikari said that he will ask the State Election Commissioner to direct CM Mamata Banerjee to compensate Rs 50 lakh to the deceased. "CM Mamata Banerjee is responsible for the violence in the state today. Why CRPF was not deployed on the booths? We will go to court along with the family members of the deceased in today's violence and demand a detailed probe into the incident," he added. Earlier in the day, the BJP MLA from Nandigram was initially barred from entering the state election commissioner's office. However, later he was allowed to meet the state election commissioner. While Speaking to ANI he demanded the examination of CCTV visuals and repolling in areas where there was violence and CCTV was not working. "Democracy has been wiped off...we demanded the examination of CCTV visuals and repolling in areas where there was violence and CCTV was not working," he told ANI. Earlier in the day, while polling was underway, he had demanded the Centre's intervention in the violence and asked to implement President's Rule in the state. "The state is burning and the Centre should intervene with either Article 355 or Article 356 (President's Rule)," the BJP MLA from Nandigram had said. West Bengal has 3,341 gram panchayats and the number of village panchayat election centres is 58,594. There are 63,239 seats at the Gram Panchayat level, 9730 at Panchayat Samiti and 928 at the Zila Parishad level. The counting of votes will be held on July 11. (ANI)
Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) President Chirag Paswan has called for a key meeting of National and State office bearers in the Patna office on Sunday. Chirag Paswan told ANI there would be discussions on alliances for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Notably, a month ago, Paswan wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi extending congratulations and said the inauguration of the new Parliament building would be a step towards a developed India. Moreover, in his letter, he also condemned the boycott by 19 Opposition parties of the Parliament's inauguration and urged them to reconsider their decision. "I and my party Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) strongly condemn the boycott done by the opposition parties on the parliament's inaugural event," Chirag Paswan wrote. "In the last nine years, these opposition parties have time and again violated the rules of parliamentary procedures. Contempt has been done, and sessions have been disrupted in the House also important legislative businesses have been boycotted which is a dereliction of parliamentary duty. The parliamentary system of the opposition, dignity and this disdainful attitude towards democracy is on the rise," he added. He further mentioned that opposition parties had boycotted a special session conducted in the Parliament over the passing of the Goods and Service Tax (GST) bill in the year 2017. "This is in public memory and it is recorded that these opposition parties boycotted the special session on GST, which was presided over by the then President Pranab Mukherjee. On the election of Ram Nath Kovind as the President these parties were also late in maintaining common courtesy and formalities," he said. He further stated that the move to boycott the inaugural ceremony of the new Parliament suggests is a common practice for the vote bank politics adopted by the opposition. "It is a very sad public fact that the opposition runs away from the Parliament because it represents old and selfish public desires, which have been repeatedly rejected by the public. Opposition unity strives not on a shared vision for national development, but for votes. This is a common practice for vote bank politics," he wrote. "Such parties can never fulfil the aspirations of the Indian people. It is an insult to the ideals of countless other great men of honest service who with dedication and commitment, spent their entire life in nation-building. These works of the opposition parties tarnish the values and contributions of great leaders who established our democracy and worked tirelessly for it," he added. "Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) strongly supports every decision taken by you in the public interest. The inauguration of the new Parliament House is definitely your step towards a developed India," he wrote to PM Modi. Congress and eighteen other opposition parties boycotted the inauguration of the new Parliament Building and stated that it "insults the high office of the President, and violates the letter and spirit of the Constitution". In a joint statement, the like-minded opposition parties said that Prime Minister's decision to inaugurate the building by himself is "a direct assault on our democracy, which demands a commensurate response." Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of the new Parliament Building on December 10, 2020. (ANI)
Delhi Police on Saturday busted a gang that duped people on the pretext of making an appointment with a doctor online after a complaint was filed by a woman who was duped of Rs 61,800 in January 2023. According to Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Central Sanjay Sain, a 40-year-old woman from Central Delhi filed an online complaint on National Cyber Crime Portal regarding a deduction of Rs. 61,800 from her Bank Account fraudulently. She woman claimed that when she was searching for an appointment with a doctor, she found a mobile number from a search engine. Upon contacting that number, she was asked to pay Rs.5 by clicking on a link to get an appointment with the doctor. The complaint filed by the woman said that as she clicked the link on her mobile, an amount of Rs. 61800 was deducted from her Bank Account. Police arrested two accused including a juvenile from Karala, Delhi. It was further revealed that both accused opened various bank accounts in different banks at the fake address and created Bank Kits. Police recovered 27 mobile phones, 31 SIM Cards, 14 Passbooks, three Cheque Books, 13 PAN cards, 12 Aadhar cards, 20 ATM Cards from different banks under different names, one Laptop, and one Colour printer. Approximately Rs. four Lakhs have freezed in different bank accounts and details of more than 100 bank accounts have been collected in which the value of the total transaction is above two Crore. During the investigation, the cheated money was found to be credited into a Bank Account of a man named Sunder Kumar Resident. Upon verification, the account was found to be fake. Further investigation, the location of Sunder Kumar led to a Cyber Cafe. The owner of this Cyber Cafe was interrogated and he revealed that a juvenile used to come there to use the internet. The police apprehended him on June 28 and he revealed the names of the mastermind Darvesh Kumar and Priyanka Sarkar. Accused Darvesh Kumar sold one Bank Kit to accused Deepak for Rs. 18,000-20,000/-. He further sold the kit to accused Ajit Singh for Rs. 25,000/-. Accused Ajeet Singh was in contact with various other fraudsters to supply bank accounts in various parts of the country. Accused Ajeet Singh used to sell one bank kit for Rs. 30,000/-. He also used to withdraw money from the accounts for a commission of 10 per cent. After deducting his commission, he used to deposit the money in bank accounts provided by the fraudsters. The accused persons confessed their crimes and revealed that they were involved in the said crime for about three years. Accused Darvesh Kumar is the mastermind of the crime. He used to lure poor persons by paying Rs. 10000 to 15000/- to use their documents for opening bank accounts. After changing addresses in their Aadhar cards, they used to obtain PAN Cards with the help of the accused juvenile and Priyanka Sarkar. The Juvenile used to complete the necessary formalities for changing addresses by uploading necessary documents on the UIDAI site. Every 3-4 days, they used to get the Aadhar cards printed with new fake addresses. Subsequently, they used to arrange PAN cards and get new SIM Cards issued. Priyanka Sarkar used to visit banks with those poor persons for opening fake bank accounts in different banks. Further investigation is under progress. (ANI)
Ausaf Sayeed, secretary (Consular, Passport and Visa Division and Overseas Indian Affairs) travelled to Palestine for a two-day visit from July 5-7. During the visit, Sayeed met Palestine Prime Minister Mohammad Ibrahim Shtayyeh, Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki and Diplomatic Advisor to the President, Majdi Khaldi. Representative Office of India to Palestine tweeted, "Dr. Ausaf Sayeed, @SecretaryCPVOIA, called on PM of , H.E. @DrShtayyeh. The whole gamut of bilateral relations between the two friendly countries including development & economic cooperation were discussed." The discussions between Majdi Khaldi and Ausaf Sayeed highlighted the importance of strengthening the partnership between India and Palestine. Following the meeting, Representative Office of India to Palestine in a tweet stated, "Dr. Ausaf Sayeed, @SecretaryCPVOIA, called on Diplomatic Advisor to President of ,H.E. Dr. Majdi Khaldi. Discussions highlighted the importance of strengthening - partnership through exploring various horizons of cooperation." Sayeed commissioned the National Printing Press of Palestine in Surda, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a press release. He also visited the India-Palestine Techno Park in Birzeit and project sites of Centre for Empowerment of Women (Turathi) and the Palestine Diplomatic Institute. Representative Office of India to Palestine tweeted, "Dr. Ausaf Sayeed, @SecretaryCPVOIA, reviewed the progress of GOI-funded projects: India-Palestine Techno Park at Birzeit, Centre for Women Empowerment "Turathi", & Institute of Diplomacy in Surda." Sayeed held a meeting with Palestine's Minister of Health Mai Kaileh, discussing ways to further enhance cooperation between India and Palestine in the healthcare sector. Representative Office of India to Palestine tweeted, "Dr. Ausaf Sayeed, Secretary (CPV & OIA) called on H.E. Dr. Mai Kaileh, Minister of Heath, State of Palestine & discussed ways & means to further enhance cooperation in health sector between India and Palestine." Sayeed and Mai Kaileh jointly inaugurated the Artificial Limb Fitment Camp at Abu Rayya Rehabilitation Centre, organised by government of India in association with Bhagvan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Samiti (BMVSS), Jaipur, the MEA said in the release, adding, "The camp is expected to benefit about 600 Palestinians." During his visit, Sayeed interacted with the Palestinian alumni of Indian universities under the scholarship scheme of the Indian Council of Cultural Relations. Further, according to MEA press release, India has been extending various forms of economic assistance to Palestine amounting to approximately USD 130.5 million. Over the years, more than 12,000 Palestinian students have graduated from Indian Universities. "During the visit, he also interacted with the Palestinian Alumni of Indian Universities under the scholarship scheme of the Indian Council of Cultural Relations," MEA said in the press release. It added, "Scholarships and capacity building of Palestinian youth has been an important component of India's development assistance to Palestine. More than 12,000 Palestinian students have graduated from Indian Universities over the years, and more than 1,300 Palestinian officials have undergone training under our ITEC programme." According to MEA, India has also extended budget support to the Palestinian authority. Further in the press release, the MEA stated, "India has been extending various forms of economic assistance to Palestine amounting to approximately US$ 130.5 million, including USD 70.6 million worth of developmental assistance. India has also provided budgetary support to the tune of USD 39 million to the Palestinian Authority." It added, "Since 2002, India has contributed a total of USD 29.53 million to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for the Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA)." The MEA noted that Ausaf Sayeed's visit reaffirmed India's continued developmental support to the people of Palestine." (ANI)
MUNCIE, Ind.  A judge has sentenced an Indiana man to 41 years in prison for his role in a 2017 van crash that killed a 6-year-old girl.

Delaware County Circuit Judge Linda Ralu Wolf sentenced 33-year-old Nathaniel Jordan of Muncie on Thursday. A jury convicted him June 8 on multiple counts, including battery and neglect of a dependent causing death.

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Taelyn Ann Marie Woodson was killed in the crash in May 2017 along the Muncie Bypass. Her mother, Jessica Skeens, was driving. Skeens other three children survived the crash but Woodson wasnt in a safety seat. Skeens has argued the crash happened because Jordan punched her in the face while she was driving.

Wolf sentenced Skeens to 41 years in prison after she was convicted in August 2019 on several charges, including neglect of a dependent resulting in death and driving while intoxicated. She appealed her convictions to the state Supreme Court, but the court declined to take her case.
After days of bickering and the collapse of the ruling coalition, after the partners failed to agree on a stricter asylum policy, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte submitted his resignation on Friday night, reported Nu.nl. The decision of the Netherlands' longest-serving premier means that the country is ready to see a general election later this year for the 150-seat lower house of Parliament. The outgoing PM offered his resignation and of all ministers and state secretaries to King Willem-Alexander. He will meet the king on Saturday and explain the reasons that prompted the move, reported Nu.nl, a Dutch online newspaper. Rutte, while addressing a press conference at The Hague, said, "It is no secret that the coalition partners have very different views on migration policy. And today, unfortunately, we have to draw the conclusion that those differences are irreconcilable. That is why I will immediately...offer the resignation of the entire Cabinet to the king in writing." On why this issue, in particular, will lead to new elections, he said, "Asylum policy is an important subject if you ask people. In addition to the war in Ukraine, it is an important subject. We think it is important to steer it in the right direction." Rutte's coalition government, the fourth he has led, assumed office in January 2022 after the largest coalition negotiants in Dutch political history. Rutte remains at the head of the outgoing cabinet. He, therefore, becomes the outgoing prime minister, Nu.nl reported. (ANI)
Ukraine's entry into North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) will be discussed at the alliance's ensuing summit but it won't come out as a member, said the White House on Friday. Jake Sullivan, White House National Security Advisor, said that the summit to be held next week in Vilnius will highlight NATO's readiness to consider Ukraine's membership, which he termed a "milestone" in itself. Sullivan said, "The NATO Summit will dive into the question of NATO's relationship with Ukraine, both the question of its pathway towards future membership and the question of an ongoing partnership that has existed for several years." "Ukraine's pathway to NATO will be discussed at the summit, but Kyiv still has further steps that it needs to take before membership and Ukraine will not be joining NATO coming out of this summit," he added. Sullivan noted that Ukraine would have the chance to talk about the reforms that are still essential for Kyiv to match NATO standards. Even as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is ready to attend the summit to establish that his country should join the alliance when its conflict with Russia ends, Sullivan said the White House expects Sweden's NATO membership to win final approval in the foreseeable future. He also said Turkey and Hungary can "possibly" drop their opposition at the forthcoming summit. "If not, we believe it will happen in the not-too-distant future," said Sullivan, adding that there was "fundamental goodwill" towards Sweden's move within the alliance. In the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Sweden and Finland ended decades of military non-alignment and submitted applications to join NATO last year. Finland officially joined the bloc in April, but Turkey and Hungary prevented Sweden from joining because of the requirement for unanimity in support of new members. Due to a long-standing disagreement over Stockholm's decision to allow alleged Kurdish militants to dwell in the Nordic nation, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is preventing Sweden from entering the European Union. (ANI)
Following the Taliban order to ban beauty salons run by women in several provinces across Afghanistan, the Director of Promotion of Virtue and Prohibition of the Taliban in Ghazni Province warned them to end such activities by the end of the month, according to Khaama Press. They summoned the family members of several owners of women's beauty salons on Thursday. The Khaama Press News Agency is the largest online news service for Afghanistan, established in October 2010 in Kabul, Afghanistan. In the event of violation, the officials threatened to prosecute and punish the husbands of the beauty salon owners or their family members. According to a decree issued by the Taliban's Ministry of Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, women's beauty parlours in Afghanistan will no longer be allowed to operate after July 23, reported Khaama Press. Further, as per the report, there are over 12,000 women's beauty salons across the country, with an average of 5 women employed by each. There are 3,100 women-only beauty salons in Kabul. Days after the Taliban issued a decree banning women's beauty salons across the country, several women makeup artists protested against the move, urging that the order be rescinded, Tolo News reported. The protesters gathered at the Union of Women's Beauty Salons saying that the closure of beauty salons will lead to severe economic challenges for them. (ANI)
The FAMPTC representative discussed their investment intentions in a meeting with Maulwi Abdul Kabir, the political deputy and acting prime minister.

The projects and operational plans that will soon be carried out in Afghanistan are being worked on by professionals and specialists, according to a statement released by the prime minister's office, as per Khaama Press.

Khaama Press is an Afghanistan-based news agency established in 2010.

In response to 'Fan China Afghan's' investment proposal, Maulvi Abdul Kabir urged both domestic and foreign investors to recognise and take advantage of Afghanistan's many economic potential.

The government has shown a significant desire to welcome investors from a variety of industries, as evidenced by the recent considerable interest displayed by Chinese firms, particularly in the mining sector.

The Fan China Afghan Mining Processing and Trading Company (FAMPTC), according to the report, is a joint venture between the Watan Group of Afghanistan and the Xinjiang Central Asia Petroleum and Gas Co (CAPEIC) of China.

The Chinese company, according to officials, has shown an interest in investing in Afghanistan's lithium reserves.

The Ministry of Mine and Petroleum said, "Several countries and investors have expressed interest in the lithium deposits in addition to the Chinese. The Chinese even said they are prepared to invest USD 10 billion."

China has exerted economic and mining-related influence in Afghanistan since the Taliban took control of the nation.

According to reports, the Chinese corporation has long desired to invest in the nation's USD 3 trillion-plus lithium mining, Khaama Press reported. (ANI)
Expressing concern over the data leak of citizens, especially of the Nadra military authorities of Pakistan, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Thursday directed the Ministry of Interior to conduct a joint investigation into the matter, Dawn reported. PAC Chairman MNA Noor Alam Khan said the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), and Military Intelligence (MI), should also be included in the investigation team. "Everyone's personal data is available on the internet. Data of military authorities has also been leaked. How was it leaked from the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra)?" Dawn quoted the PAC chairman as saying as he directed the PTA to block the data online. The PAC convened to review audit objections for the year 2019-20 related to the Ministry of Religious Affairs. Meanwhile, during the hearing, the PAC was vexed over the absence of the secretary of Religious Affairs, Dawn reported. It was informed that the secretary, who returned from Haj operations a day ago, had fallen ill. PAC chairman Khan said, "Is he on a ventilator? In an emergency? Is he in the hospital? What is the disease?", adding, "Does he know how much the pilgrims have suffered?" "The secretary has fever, cough and infection," an official from the ministry informed the members. "After what you have done with Hajis, the FIA will look into this matter," Khan said. Khan also registered a complaint with the ministry against private operators who allegedly took Rs 2.5 million Pakistani Rupees (PKR) from aspiring pilgrims and failed to provide satisfactory services. "They do not provide proper accommodation to the pilgrims and are rude," Dawn quoted Khan as saying. Upon inquiry, ministry officials informed PAC members that about 200 members/officials from the religious affairs ministry went to Saudi Arabia for pilgrimage. The PAC, last month, urged President Arif Alvi and lawmakers, who had undertaken the Haj, to address issues faced by other pilgrims using the government scheme, Dawn reported. It also warned of strict action against private operators who charged pilgrims Rs 2.5 million PKR or more in fees but failed to provide proper facilities. (ANI)
Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama said that he is open for talks with China over the problems of Tibetans and the Chinese, "officially or unofficially" wanted to contact him. "I am always open to talk. Now China also realises that the spirit of Tibetan people is very strong. So, in order to deal with Tibetan problems they want to contact me. I am also ready", he said. The Dalai Lama made the remarks while to speaking to reporters in Dharamshala before embarking on a visit to Delhi and Ladakh. Responding to a question on whether he wishes to resume talks with China, he said, "We are not seeking independence, we have decided since many years that we remain the part of People's Republic of China...Now China is changing. The Chinese, officially or unofficially want to contact me". On July 6, Dalai Lama celebrated his 88th birthday and visited the Main Tibetan Temple courtyard in Dharamshala, adjacent to his residence. While addressing the gathering during the celebrations the Dalai Lama said that he has not been angry with anyone, not even those Chinese leaders who have adopted a harsh attitude towards Tibet, according to the official statement released on Dalai Lama's website. "I was born in Tibet and I bear this name Dalai Lama, but in addition to working for the cause of Tibet, I've been working for the welfare of all sentient beings. I've done whatever I could without losing hope or allowing my determination to flag," the Tibetan spiritual leader said. "I'm angry with no one, not even those Chinese leaders who have adopted a harsh attitude towards Tibet. Indeed, China has historically been a Buddhist country as witnessed by the many temples and monasteries I saw when I visited that land," he added. In his remarks, Dalai Lama said knowledge of Tibetan culture and religion can benefit the world at large. He said, "I believe there is knowledge within Tibetan culture and religion that can benefit the world at large. However, I also respect all other religious traditions because they encourage their followers to cultivate love and compassion." He further said, "According to indications in my own dreams and other predictions, I expect to live to be more than 100 years old. I've served others until now and I'm determined to continue to do so. Please pray for my long life on that basis." Earlier in April, Dalai Lama called for a focus on wisdom and compassion as he highlighted the situation in Tibet by giving his own example and stressed upon looking at the current situation from a broader perspective. Addressing the gathering on the second day at the Global Buddhist Summit 2023 in New Delhi, the Dalai Lama had said, "I can also share with you that by engaging in this kind of inner development and particularly focusing on Wisdom and compassion. It really can help increase our courage as well. For example: in the case of my dealing with the current struggle and situation of Tibet, if you think just only about it from a narrow-angle, you can lose your hope." "But if you look at this crisis and look at this current situation from the broader perspective of the courage that cultivation and compassion give you, then you can have a much more resilient mind. So, even in your daily life, there might be problems which may seem enormous and unbearable. Still, if you have the courage, you will be in a much stronger position to turn adversities into opportunities," he added. The Dalai Lama had earlier too said that majority of people in China realise that he is not seeking "independence" within China but meaningful autonomy and preservation of Tibetan Buddhist culture. Last year he had told reporters in Jammu during a visit to Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh that "Not Chinese people, but some Chinese hardliners consider me a separatist. Now, more and more Chinese are realising that Dalai Lama not seeking independence but within China meaningful autonomy and to preserve Tibetan Buddhist culture." (ANI)
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday held a meeting with Chama Cha Mapinduzi's Vice Chairman Abdulrahman Kinana. He called it useful to share views on political cooperation while stressing on the need to strengthen exchanges between India and Tanzania. Taking to his official Twitter handle, Jaishankar stated, "Delighted to meet again Abdulrahman Kinana, vice Chairman of @ccm_tanzania today shortly after his New Delhi visit. Useful to share views on our political cooperation and on the need to strengthen exchanges." Jaishankar, who is on a four-day visit to Tanzania, on Friday, took part in the regional ambassadorial conference while also inaugurating the bust of Swami Vivekananda at the Swami Vivekananda Cultural Centre on Friday. The regional Ambassadorial conference was attended by representatives from Angola, Burundi, Congo, Swaziland, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Mozambique, Malawi, Namibia, Rwanda, Tanzania, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Terming the conference, a "productive" one, Jaishankar said he took stock of India's relations with the above-mentioned African countries and "underlined India's commitment to strengthening its partnership with Africa and the Global South." The EAM also inaugurated the bust of Swami Vivekananda at the Swami Vivekananda Cultural Centre in Dar es Salaam. In his address, the External Affairs Minister said, "It's really a very momentous occasion today as we inaugurate a bust for one of the greatest spiritual leaders and philosophers of India, Swami Vivekananda." "This bust certainly stands in testimony to his kindest teachings which have transcended boundaries and actually underline his message of faith in humanity," he added. Earlier, Jaishankar attended the India-Tanzania business conclave, where he delivered an address highlighting the trade deal between the two countries. He also took a walk through Dar es Salaam's famous Temple Street and experienced the local flavours there. Jaishankar also visited the India-Tanzania Centre of Excellence in ICT at the Dar es Salaam Institute of Technology. On Friday, he visited the water project in the Kibamba district of Dar es Salaam on Friday which is built with Indian support that will be providing clean drinking water to the Tanzanian population. Jaishankar also met with the members of the India-Tanzania Parliamentary Friendship Group and appreciated their warm sentiments for stronger parliamentary, political, economic and people-to-people ties. (ANI)
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will travel to Malaysia on an official visit from July 10-11 with a focus on further consolidating bilateral defence cooperation and Enhanced Strategic Partnership. During his visit, Singh will hold bilateral talks with his Malaysian counterpart Dato' Seri Mohamad Hasan, the Ministry of Defence said in a press release. The two leaders will review defence cooperation between India and Malaysia and explore new initiatives to further strengthen the engagements. Rajnath Singh and Dato' Seri Mohamad Hasan will exchange views on regional and global issues of shared interest. Singh will also call on Malaysia's Prime Minister YB Dato' Seri Anwar bin Ibrahim. The Ministry of Defence statement said, "India and Malaysia have a common interest in peace and prosperity of the entire region. The two democracies have a robust and multifaceted relationship which has expanded into several strategic areas, including defence and security." Both countries are committed to working under the vision of the enhanced strategic partnership established during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Malaysia in 2015, the Defence Ministry statement said. Earlier this June, Minister of State (MoS) for External Affairs V Muraleedharan met with Malaysia's Human Resources Minister V Sivakumar and they agreed to sign a Memorandum of Understanding on opening all sectors to Indian workers in Malaysia. Taking to Twitter, Muraleedharan stated, "Glad to meet Hon'ble Minister of Human Resources Malaysia H.E. @Sivatronoh in Kuala Lumpur Thanked the Minister & Malaysian government for opening all sectors to Indian workers at par with other foreign workers in Malaysia. Both agreed to expedite signing an MoU in this regard." He also met a Member of the Malaysian House of Representatives M Kula Segaran. Following the meeting, Muraleedharan tweeted, "Pleased to meet YB @mkula, National Vice Chairman of Democratic Action Party and other senior members in Kuala Lumpur. Discussed ways to strengthen bilateral relations and people-to-people connect." During his visit to Malaysia, Muraleedharan also interacted with the Indian diaspora in Kuala Lumpur." Delighted to interact with the vibrant Indian diaspora in Malaysia during the Pravasi Bharatiya Utsav, hosted by @hcikl. Commended the significant contributions of Indian diaspora to all walks of life in Malaysia & in nurturing India-Malaysia ties," he tweeted. MoS V Muraleedharan also attended cultural performances organised as part of an event titled 'Pravasi Bharatiya Utsav'. During his visit, he met members of the Malaysian Armed Forces Sikh Veteran Association (MAFSVA) in Kuala Lumpur and appreciated their valour and courage. Muraleedharan tweeted, "Pleased to have met with committee members of Malaysian Armed Forces Sikh Veterans Association (MAFSVA) in Kuala Lumpur. Appreciate their valour and courage." During his visit, he also met and interacted with the office bearers of Netaji Welfare Foundation and Netaji Service Centre. The MoS commended their efforts in preserving the legacy of Netaji Subash Chandra Bose in Malaysia. (ANI)
Officials at Afghanistan's Prisons Administration have said more than 500 women charged with various crimes are imprisoned in the country's prisons, TOLO News reported. TOLO News is an Afghan news channel broadcasting from Kabul. As per officials, in total, there are over 17,000 prisoners in the country's prisons. The deputy head of the Office of the Prisons Administration, Habibullah Badar, said the Taliban has instructed prison officials to not punish the prisoners. Badar said that there are no political inmates in Afghanistan's prisons. "The number of women in the prisons is between 500 to 550. Some are being detained and some are released ... We are trying to release them if their crime is less," he said, as per TOLO News. As per political analysts, male and female prisoners should be provided with equal rights. A political analyst, Javid Momand, said: "The right of a prisoner is that efforts should be paid for their reform. As you see in other countries, prisons are like universities. There are educational programs and when they are released to society, they are disciplined." "The women in the prisons have the right to have access to their families, lawyers and human rights organizations and the right to defend themselves," said Ruqia Sayi, a women's rights activist, as per TOLO News. (ANI)
The two men were hanged early on Saturday near the scene of the incident in which over ten people, including women and children were killed.

The initial verdict against the accused, Mohammad Ramez Rashidi and Naeem Hashem Ghotali was announced on March 16, 2023; then the lawyers of the two men appealed against it.

The Supreme Court of Iran confirmed the initial verdict after the case was reviewed once again by the Islamic Republic's high judicial officials and the direct role of the two men in designing and supporting such an attack was proved, as per IRNA.

A shooter on October 26, 2022, opened fire on pilgrims at the shrine of Shah Cheragh in Shiraz, the capital city of the southern Iranian province of Fars. A total of 13 people were killed in the attack and 30 more were wounded.

The agent who carried out the attack on the holy place in Shiraz died in hospital despite efforts to keep him alive.

The Takfiri terrorist group of Daesh claimed responsibility for the attack which generated a big wave of condemnation at the international and national levels, as per IRNA. (ANI)
The nuclear-powered submarine USS Michigan approaches a naval base in Busan, South Korea, Friday, June 16, 2023. The United States deployed the nuclear-powered submarine capable of carrying about 150 Tomahawk missiles to South Korea on Friday, a day after North Korea resumed missile tests in protest of the U.S.-South Korean live-fire drills. (Gang Duck-chul/Yonhap via AP) (Gang Duck-chul/AP)

The training offered the alliance an opportunity to further strengthen its interoperability by demonstrating a combined defense capability, rapid deployment, and extended deterrence in the defense of the Korean Peninsula.

This U.S. Air Force news release, issued June 30, describes drills in South Korea involving intercontinental B-52 bombers along with tactical fighter aircraft. The media message describes significant escalation in the ongoing confrontation between North Korea and South Korea.

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The B-52 Stratofortresses that traveled from the United States date from the 1950s and the height of the Cold War. They have undergone retrofitting over the years but remain essentially as designed and constructed more than a half century ago.

The B-52 is not only an example of the exceptional military design and development capabilities of this country, but also a symbolic reminder of the continuity of some conflicts in the world as well as the horrific possibility of nuclear war.

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This bomber has proven to be flexible as well as durable, in ways unforeseen during the original creation. The construction in the 1950s was a function primarily of the need to deter the Soviet Union by the potential delivery of nuclear weapons on targets there and elsewhere. By the following decade, B-52s were actually delivering conventional bombs on targets in both North and South Vietnam during our long war there.

The B-52s in the current exercise flew from Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana. They are separate from others, deployed to South Korea since mid-June, that are from Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota.

Additionally, the Biden administration plans to send the largest nuclear-armed U.S. submarine to South Korea for the first time in four decades. The powerful Ohio-class submarine is capable of staying submerged indefinitely and remain on patrol for months.

Remarkable long-range capabilities represent starkly the capacities of technology to bridge and minimize the challenges of geography, including the exceptional distances across the Pacific Ocean.

South Korea has also been recently visited by the USS Michigan, a submarine armed with cruise missiles, capable of great flexibility and deception in flight. This ship is actively involved in combined South Korea-U. S. special operations training.

Military partnership between our two nations is exceptionally close, dating from the devastating Korean War of 1950 to 1953. During our long Vietnam War, the Republic of Korea maintained approximately fifty thousand troops in South Vietnam.

In contrast to U.S. military force profiles, almost all these soldiers and Marines were combat troops. Their approach to combat sparked some controversies, but there was no doubt that they were extremely effective. North Vietnam Army and Viet Cong revolutionary forces actively tried to avoid contact with the Koreans.

North Korea is engaged in ominous long-range missile tests, with evidence of steady improvement in launch and delivery capabilities. U.S. efforts to restrict this dangerous behavior by working through the United Nations have been consistently stymied by China and Russia.

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Expanding cooperation between Seoul and Washington builds directly on South Korea President Yoon suk-yeols successful six-day visit to Washington D.C. in April, marking the seventieth anniversary of the vital alliance between our two nations.

As emphasized in an earlier column, President Yoon has opportunities to develop a starring global leadership role, with noisy North Korea shunted off to stage left.

At a White House state dinner, he sang Don McLeans 1971 song American Pie.

Arthur I. Cyr is the author of After the Cold War  American Foreign Policy, Europe and Asia (NYU Press and Palgrave/Macmillan; Korean language edition by Oruem Publishing). He can be reached at acyr@carthage.edu
Soldiers from the Punjab Regiment are set to march in Paris. The development marks a historic moment after 107 years, Khalsa Vox reported. The event is reminiscent of the past and demonstrates the enduring ties between India and France. The absence of Indian soldiers in the 2017 Hollywood film 'Dunkirk' led to disappointment among Indians, particularly those with an interest in military history, Khalsa Vox reported. The film, based on the Battle of France and the evacuation of Allied soldiers from Dunkirk during the second world war did not acknowledge the role of Indian soldiers from the British Indian Army in both world wars. Meanwhile, a black-and-white photograph capturing a French woman pinning a flower on an Indian soldier emerged during the release of 'Dunkirk.' Dating back to the First World War, the image showcases the contribution of Indian soldiers, possibly from the Sikh Regiment, according to Khalsa Vox report. More than 100 years later, history comes full circle as soldiers from the Punjab regiment are now part of the Indian Army preparing to leave for France. The soldiers from the Punjab Regiment will participate in the Bastille Day parade in Paris, scheduled to take place on July 14, Khalsa Vox reported. This year's parade holds greater significance as Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been invited as the Guest of Honour on the French National Day. The Ministry of Defence in a press release said, "The Indian Army contingent comprising of 77 marching personnel and 38 members of the Band is being led by Captain Aman Jagtap. Indian Navy contingent is being led by Commander Vrat Baghel and the Indian Air Force contingent by Squadron Leader Sindhu Reddy. The Rafale fighter jets of the Indian Air Force will also form part of the fly past during the parade. It further said, "The Army contingent is being represented by Punjab Regiment which is one of the oldest Regiments of the Indian Army. The troops of the Regiment have participated in both the World Wars as well as the post-independence operations." The Indian soldiers' visit to France serves as a testament to the enduring bond between the armies of the two nations, dating back to the first world war, Khalsa Vox reported. More than 1.3 million Indian soldiers participated during the first world war, with nearly 74,000 losing their lives and 67,000 sustained injuries. Indian soldiers showcased their bravery and made significant contributions to the war effort on French soil. The Punjab regiment has participated in both World Wars and various post-independence operations. During World War I, the Punjab Regiment received 18 Battle and Theatre Honours, fighting in locations such as Mesopotamia, Gallipoli, Palestine, Egypt, China, Hong Kong, Damascus, and France, the report said. During World War II, 2.5 million Indian soldiers made notable contributions in various theatres of the war, including France. Among others, the Punjab Regiment earned 16 Battle Honours and 14 Theatre Honours. This year's France's Bastille Day parade marks the 25th anniversary of the strategic partnership between India and France. Over the years, India and France have engaged in joint military exercises and shared valuable experiences. The Indian contingent is accompanied by the Rajputana Rifles Regiment Band, the report said. The Rajput Regiment has a long and illustrious history as it has participated in various battles across the world. The contributions of the Rajputana Regiment during the second world war were particularly notable. Led by Captain Aman Jagtap, the Indian Army contingent includes 77 marching personnel and 38 band members. Commander Vrat Baghel leads the Indian Navy contingent, while Squadron Leader Sindhu Reddy leads the Indian Air Force contingent, Khalsa Vox reported. On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the India-France Strategic Partnership, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to attend this year's Bastille Day Parade as Guest of Honour on July 14 in Paris.PM Modi has been invited by French President Emmanuel Macron to attend the Parade in Paris. According to the official statement, an Indian armed forces contingent will participate in the Parade alongside their French counterparts. PM Modi's visit is expected to herald the next phase in the India-France Strategic Partnership by setting new and ambitious goals for our strategic, cultural, scientific, academic, and economic cooperation, including in a wide range of industries, the official statement read. (ANI)
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, who is leading an Indian Parliamentary Delegation (IPD) on a three-day visit to Mongolia, visited the Gandan Tegchenling Monastery today. Gandan Tegchenling Monastery is the main centre of Buddhism in Mongolia and is a repository of valuable Buddhist heritage, including Buddhist knowledge, unique rituals and artistic items. The Monastery offers religious and contemporary education to both monks and lay students within its various traditional colleges, according to an official release. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also visited the monastery in 2015 and handed over a Bodhi tree sapling to the Chief Abbott. According to the official statement, the Lok Sabha speaker expressed his gratitude for the warm welcome at the Monastery. Birla, said that for centuries India and Mongolia have had vibrant relations through civilizational, historical, spiritual and cultural ties, adding that the shared heritage of Buddhism has strengthened the traditional ties between the two countries. He said that India, Lord Buddha's "karmabhoomi," is committed to offering full support for the preservation of Buddhist history in Mongolia. Birla stressed that this was evidence of the close cultural linkages between India and Mongolia. He expressed his joy at finding that several monks from the Gandan Monastery in Mongolia were studying at the Drepung Gomang Monastery in India. Birla also presented the ICCR Buddhist Award for the year 2022 to Khamba Nomun Khan for promoting Buddhism and spiritual ties between India and Mongolia, and extended his congratulations, assuring that India would continue to support the monastery's various initiatives to promote Buddhism in Mongolia, the official release read. Notably, HE Demberel Choijamts was elevated as Khamba Nomun Khan, the highest Buddhist Teacher in Mongolia in 2021. Birla was welcomed by the Grand Abbott when he later paid a visit to the Pethub Monastery. Birla also paid respects to the Monastery's Mahatma Gandhi statue. The statue is regarded as a testament to the spiritual and cultural ties between Mongolia and India. Gandhi Ji's message of peace, nonviolence, and harmony still serves as a beacon for the globe, according to Birla, who spoke on this occasion. After concluding his three-day trip to Mongolia, Birla witnessed the mini Nadaam festival, which is the country's most well-known celebration and is centred around three traditional sports--horse racing, wrestling, and archery--and showcases the ancient oral traditions, performing arts, national cuisine, handicrafts, and cultural forms of Mongolia. Gombojavyn Zandanshatar, Speaker of the State Great Khural (Mongolian Parliament), gave a horse to the Lok Sabha Speakers on this occasion, and they named it "Vikrant." Birla expressed gratitude to Zandanshatar for the friendship gift. Earlier, Birla had signed MoUs with Mr. G Zandanshatar, Speaker of the State Great Khural of Mongolia to further strengthen and expand cooperation between the two Parliaments. (ANI)
The shelling took place around 10 a.m. local time (3 a.m. ET). Russian forces launched multiple launch rocket systems towards the town, according to Pavlo Kyrylenko, the chief of the military administration for the Donetsk area.

A house and a store were damaged as a result of the shelling that struck a private residential area, according to CNN.

Police and emergency services are on the site for rescue work, Kyrylenko added.

According to the interior ministry of Ukraine, firefighters put out fires in three vehicles, a nearby shop and a private residential property.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine began 500 days ago on February 24 last year. Since then, numerous people have been displaced and killed. Quoting Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office on Saturday, CNN reported that at least 494 children have been killed and 1,051 injured since Russia's invasion of Ukraine began.

Meanwhile, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy honoured the defenders of Snake Island, which became an early emblem of Ukrainian resistance, to mark the 500th day of the Russian invasion. (ANI)
The Samajwadi Morcha, a forum of Left-inclined political parties of Nepal, which held its first-ever meeting in the capital Kathmandu on Saturday, agreed to chairmanship on a rotation basis. The forum of leftist parties includes four parties, three on board the government and one out of parliament. The parties agreed to share the post of chairman on a rotation basis. Announced on June 19 this year, the Samajwadi Morcha or the Socialist Front comprises Maoist Center, Janata Samajbadi Party, Unified Socialist Party, and Biplap-led Nepal Communist Party. "It has been agreed that one person (party) will chair the Front for six months, then the leadership will get transferred to another party, another leader will do it. The meeting on July 12 will formally decide on it. Madhav Nepal will chair until the agreement is finalized," CPN-Unified Socialist Vice-Chairman Rajendra Pandey confirmed ANI over the phone. Saturday's meeting also decided to hold programs in all seven province headquarters to increase its presence. Along with this, the meeting also has formed a four-member task group to formulate the policy program and code of conduct of the front. The new leftist force which comes in the wake of the tumultuous coalition government, has 54 lawmakers in the House of Representatives. The meeting also comes on the heed of the opposition Communist Party of Nepal- Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML) obstructing the house session demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, also the chairman of the Maoist Center. The house meeting called on Friday was also adjourned till 1 pm (local time) on Sunday due to the continued stand-off with the opposition which is adamant on the demand of the Prime Minister's resignation. Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal's remark at a recent book launch event enraged the opposition which has made the resignation of the PM as baseline to continue the house procession. UML has said that there can be no agreement on anything except Dahal's resignation, while the ruling parties have been saying that the prime minister should be allowed to give clarification in Parliament. Speaking at a book launch event on Monday, PM Dahal said that Sardar Pritam Singh had repeatedly visited Delhi to make him prime minister. UML had obstructed the House meeting on Wednesday demanding Dahal's resignation over his remarks. Lawmakers from Rastriya Swatantra Party and Rastriya Prajatantra Party had also joined in the protest by rising from their seats. (ANI)
A symposium was organised at a university in Sri Lanka in order to celebrate the 88th birthday of Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama in a meaningful way. The Nobel Peace Prize laureate, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, celebrated his 88th birthday on July 6, 2023, at the University of Kelaniya in Sri Lanka. He is the spiritual and religious head of the Tibetan people and is revered across the world, according to Satipatthana magazine. Dalai Lama has written more than 100 books based on Buddhist doctrine and has delivered an uncountable number of teachings based on Sutra, Abhidhamma, Vinaya and many other topics. Based on the great kindness arisen from the Buddha's teachings and following an unchanging policy of non-violence, the Dalai Lama was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1989 for his unique peace ability for peacemaking. Millions of His Holiness the Dalai Lama's admirers and devotees from all over the world celebrated his 88th birthday in their various nations. The University of Kelaniya's Faculty of Humanities, Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Pali and Buddhist Studies, Department of Philosophy, Department of Sanskrit and Eastern Studies, the Foundation for Buddhist Brotherhood, and the International Buddhist Confederation (IBC) organised an International Scholarly Symposium on his birthday to commemorate it meaningfully in Sri Lanka. The keynote address for the Scholarly Symposium's opening programme was given by eminent Tibetan scholar and former vice chancellor of the Central Tibetan University, Prof. Geshe Ngawang Samten, on the subject of "His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama's Commitment to Humanity." He spoke movingly about the Dalai Lama's vows and how crucial they are to maintaining the contemporary world, according to Satipatthana. Moreover, the Tibetans in Exile also celebrated the Tibetan spiritual leader's birthday on July 6. Scores of elders, young women, monks and others of the Tibetan community gathered in the Tibetan school Chhota Shimla to celebrate the birthday of their temporal leader. The Indian Buddhist community and local residents also participated in the celebration. The 14th Dalai Lama was born on July 6, 1935, in a small farming village in Takster, northeastern Tibet. At the age of two, the boy Lhamo Dhondup was recognized as the reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama in October 1939. He was brought to Lhasa and was formally installed as the head of Tibet on February 22, 1940. Boy Lhamo Dhondup was later named Tenzin Gyasto, and his monastic education was started at the age of six. Dalai Lama is a Mongolian term, which means "Ocean of Wisdom'', and the Dalai Lamas are the manifestation of the Bodhisattva of compassion. Bodhisattvas are enlightened beings who have postponed their own enlightenment and chosen to take rebirth to serve according to Tibetan Buddhist tradition. The Dalai Lama assumed full political powers in 1950 after the Chinese invasion of Tibet in 1949. In March 1959, after the suppression of the Tibetan National Uprising, Dalai Lama was forced to escape into exile in India with over eighty thousand refugees. For the last six decades, the Dalai Lama has been working for the promotion of peace, love and compassion. (ANI)
The Riverside County sheriff's office said all six passengers on board the aircraft were found dead at the site.

Around 4.15 am (local time), the flight from Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas crashed about 65 miles north of San Diego, according to the FAA.

An acre of vegetation was destroyed by the fire before it was doused, according to a tweet from Cal Fire, after the plane crashed in a field.

Details of the passengers were not immediately available.

The National Transportation Safety Board and FAA will conduct an investigation into the incident. (ANI)
The Indian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom and the Consul General featured in the posters held up by the pro-Khalistani protestors during a demonstration outside the Indian High Commission. The UK, however, saw a significantly subdued protest outside the Indian High Commission in London on Saturday, with only 30-40 pro-Khalistanis showing up between 12.30 pm and 2.30 pm GMT on Saturday. https://twitter.com/ANI/status/1677710550707609602 The protestors were seen carrying Khalistani flags and posters against Indian High Commissioner to the UK, Vikram Doraiswami and Consul General in Birmingham, Shashank Vikram, blaming them for the death of Khalistani leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was wanted in India on terrorism charges. The security in the area was beefed up with the UK police calling in additional forces to the spot. However, the protesters had left the site at the time of filing this report. Pro-Khalistani elements had announced rallies on Saturday outside Indian Missions in the UK, US, Canada and Australia after the killing of Khalistan Tiger Force chief Nijjar. After his death demonstrations were organised in several cities across the world, including Melbourne, San Francisco and Toronto. This was followed by posters threatening the Indian ambassadors to Canada and the US, as well as the consulate general in Toronto. The posters also announced rallies outside Indian missions in the UK, San Francisco and Canada on Saturday. Amid a surge in violence by the anti-India elements outside diplomatic premises and threats to Indian diplomats in London, the Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said New Delhi has raised the issue of threats to Indian diplomats in London, but it will judge the UK authorities only by what actually happens on the ground. UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly on Thursday said any direct attacks on Indian High Commission in London are completely unacceptable. He said the UK had made clear to the Indian High Commissioner, Doraiswami, and the Indian government that the safety of staff at the High Commission was paramount. "Any direct attacks on the Indian High Commission in London are completely unacceptable. We have made clear to @VDoraiswami and the Government of India that the safety of staff at the High Commission is paramount," Cleverly said in a tweet. British High Commissioner to India, Alex Ellis, also responded to Cleverly's tweet saying the UK government attaches importance to the safety of friends and colleagues. "To amplify the importance which @FCDOGovUK attaches to the safety and security of friends and colleagues, and their premises, at @HCI_London," he said in a tweet. The matter of security of the Indian High Commission and Indian diplomats in the UK was also discussed by National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval with his UK counterpart Tim Barrow on Friday, according to sources. "The issue of the safety of the Indian High Commission and Indian diplomats in the UK was discussed with the British NSA. The British side assured adequate safety and security of the High Commission and the Indian diplomats in the UK," said a source familiar with the matter. On March 19, a group of people chanting pro-Khalistan slogans took down the Indian flag at the High Commission in London, following which the Indian government summoned the senior-most UK diplomat and lodged a strongly worded protest. The desecration of the Indian Flag led to an unprecedented outpouring of support from the diverse Indian community settled here in Britain. (ANI)
After pro-Khalistanis threatened to hold protests outside Indian mission across the United States, the Indian Ambassador to the America, Taranjit Singh Sandhu, on Saturday reached the Indian embassy and inspected the premises and annexe, reviewing the security arrangements. However, there has been no disorder or disturbance outside the Indian consulate as yet and neither are there any signs of protests, officials said. Meanwhile, visuals outside the Indian Consulate in San Francisco showed barricading and police personnel deployed to avert any untoward incidents amid calls for protests by pro-Khalistani elements outside Indian missions on Saturday. San Francisco saw attempted arson and violent rhetoric aimed at Indian diplomats, including, Taranjit Singh Sandhu, on July 2. Meanwhile, security was also beefed up outside the Indian embassy in Washington DC in anticipation of protests by Khalistan supporters. Metropolitan police and private security personnel were seen taking up positions outside the Indian mission. The police enforcement agency has issued no permits to hold protests outside the embassy. Since morning, police vehicles and officials were seen stationed and the entire premise was cordoned off. "We are ready to meet and respond to the situation. Everything is calm so far. We haven't seen or heard of anything so far," an official told ANI. Police have also been deployed outside Ambassador Sandhu's residence, the India House. These protests came on the heels of the killing of Khalistan Tiger Force chief and designated terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada. He was wanted in India on terrorism charges. After his death, demonstrations were organised in several cities across the world, such as Melbourne, San Francisco and Toronto. This was followed by posters threatening the Indian ambassadors to Canada and the US, as well as the consulate general in Toronto. The posters also announced rallies outside Indian missions in the UK, San Francisco and Canada on Saturday. The UK saw a significantly subdued protest outside the Indian High Commission in London on Saturday, with only 30-40 pro-Khalistanis showing up between 12.30 pm and 2.30 pm GMT on Saturday. The security in the area was beefed up with the UK police calling in additional forces to the spot. However, the protesters had left the site at the time of filing this report. Amid a surge in violence by the anti-India elements outside diplomatic premises and threats to Indian diplomats in London, the Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said New Delhi has raised the issue of threats to Indian diplomats in London, but it will judge the UK authorities only by what actually happens on the ground. Addressing a briefing here on Thursday, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said, "This violence against our diplomats and inside our diplomatic premises abroad is unacceptable, and we condemn them in the strongest terms." He added, "If there are threats to our diplomats or attacks on them, which is actually there on those posters, we are taking them very seriously and would expect to see action by those authorities." (ANI)
The 10 strangest, most troubling allegations about Ye's Donda Academy

Since April, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West has been hit with a barrage of unusual and troubling allegations over two Christian schools he founded in Southern California, Donda Academy and its predecessor, Yeezy Christian Academy.

The allegations, made by three former teachers and an ex-assistant principal, were included in two lawsuits filed in Los Angeles Superior Court  one claiming wrongful termination and discrimination and another alleging breach of contract.

In both cases, the plaintiffs claim they were fired after they raised concerns over alleged conduct and code violations that their lawyer described earlier this week as "absolutely egregious."

Here are some of the strange rules and concerning claims described in the lawsuits.

1) Windows were empty because Ye doesn't like glass

The former assistant principal, Isaiah Meadows, alleged in a lawsuit filed Thursday that Donda Academy's K-12 campus in Simi Valley had no glass in its windows after it opened in August 2021.

Mesh curtains were eventually hung in the building, the lawsuit says, but they did little to keep out the cold.

A skylight at an earlier iteration of the school, Yeezy Christian Academy, was also empty, Meadows claimed, "allowing rain to fall directly inside, where water would soak into the floor, which would lead to a moldy smell for the next few days."

In both cases, Meadows said, the openings were left bare because Ye allegedly said he didn't like glass.

2) Sushi 'every single day'

In a separate lawsuit filed in April, two former teachers said Donda offered a single menu item for lunch: sushi.

The teachers, Cecilia Hailey and Chekarey Byers, said that during their several months working at the academy  Hailey started last November and Byers was hired in January  Ye spent prodigiously on the Japanese cuisine.

It was widely known that Defendant WEST spends $10,000 a week on sushi, the suit alleges.

3) No outside food, no utensils, no tables

Students were forbidden from bringing outside food or drinks, according to the suit.

They could only bring water to the school, according to the suit. Forks, utensils and lunch room tables were banned, as were cups and bowls that weren't gray, the former teachers claimed.

4) No class on the second floor because Ye was 'afraid of stairs'

Classes were prohibited on Donda's second floor and students and staff were banned from going upstairs because Ye "was reportedly afraid of stairs," according to the ex-teachers' suit.

5) Chairs were banned, artwork not allowed on walls

No artwork was allowed on classroom walls, according to the suit, and chairs were banned, so students sat on foam cushions or stood while teachers used stools.

6) No books, doors locked from outside, crossword puzzles banned

Parents complained that the classroom of a third former teacher who was later added to Byers and Haileys suit, Timanii Meeks, had no books or textbooks, according to the suit.

Crossword puzzles and coloring sheets were prohibited, the academy's doors were locked from the outside during the school day and students were not allowed outside, according to the suit.

7) Students and staff required to wear Ye's Yeezy clothes

Teachers and students were required to wear the rapper's Yeezy-brand black clothes, the suit claims, and Nike and Adidas shoes weren't allowed.

8) No 'proper' disciplinary system amid rampant bullying

Hailey and Byers described a school that appeared to do little to address rampant bullying.

In one incident, the child of an instructor who shouldn't have been allowed on campus was assaulted, according to the suit. In another incident, the suit describes a student with multiple accounts of physical and verbal bullying that had gone undisciplined slapping an eighth grade student and trying to assault a teacher.

Byers recommended expulsion, according to the suit, though it isn't clear if the student was expelled. There were several other students with unaddressed bullying issues, the suit says, and there appeared to be no "proper" disciplinary system to deal with the problem.

9) Ye doesn't 'believe' in cleaning products

Donda had no janitorial staff and because Ye didn't "believe" in cleaning products that contained chemicals, teachers were only permitted to clean with acid water and microfiber cloth, according to the suit from the former teachers.

At both schools, the septic tank routinely overflowed, according to Meadows.

10) Wires 'sticking out' and an electrical fire

After the school opened two years ago, it had no power for its first few months and lessons were taught under generator powered-commercial flood lamps, according to Meadows' suit.

A year later, when Meeks started teaching at Donda, she found a building with electrical wires "sticking out," loose baseboards and carpet lifting off the floor, according to the suit.

"Plaintiff MEEKS is informed and believes that the building was not safe for occupants, let alone for children," the suit says.

At Yeezy Christian Academy, telephone and electrical wiring remained exposed, and an electrical fire once started near a student eating area where wire was laying on the ground, according to Meadows' suit.

Lawyers for the school and Ye have not responded to multiple requests for comment over the lawsuits. In a filing last month, a lawyer for the rapper asked a judge to dismiss the former teachers' suit and dismissed their allegations about the school, saying depictions of Donda Academy as a dystopian institution designed to satisfy Yes idiosyncrasies were false.

None of it is true and the allegations do a disservice to the Donda Academys current staff and students and their parents who will attest to their positive experience, the filing said.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Smoke rises during clashes between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), in Omdurman

CAIRO (Reuters) - At least 22 people were killed and scores injured in an air strike by Sudan's army on western Omdurman, the Khartoum state health ministry said on Saturday, as the war between the country's military factions entered its 12th week.

While the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) quickly dominated the capital Khartoum and its sister cities Omdurman and Bahri after fighting broke out on April 15, the army has launched air and artillery strikes.

The fighting, for which no mediation efforts have succeeded thus far, threatens to drag the country into a wider civil war, drawing in other internal and external actors in the East African nation that lies between the Horn of Africa, Sahel, and Red Sea.

Tensions between both sides had grown in the months leading up to the war over the chain of command and integration of their forces under a new transition to democracy.

At least 1,133 people have been killed in the fighting, according to the federal health ministry, which has flared in the capital and the Kordofan and Darfur regions, sparking ethnic violence in West Darfur state.

More than 2.9 million people have been uprooted, including nearly 700,000 who have fled into neighbouring countries. More than half of the capital has

It has also caused "alarming numbers" of rape and abduction of women and girls, according to aid agencies.

Fighting has focused on Omdurman in recent days, as the western part of the city is a key supply route for the RSF to bring reinforcements in from Darfur, its power base.

Strikes, including overnight on Friday, have also centred on the country's state broadcasting complex in eastern Omdurman. Other overnight strikes hit southern and eastern Khartoum.

The army said in a post on Facebook that special forces had killed 20 "rebel soldiers" and destroyed their weaponry.

(Reporting by Moaz Abd-Alaziz and Nafisa Eltahir in Cairo, Khalid Abdelaziz in Dubai, Editing by Mark Potter, William Maclean)
Ceremony held to mark anniversary of China's resistance war against Japanese aggression

Xinhua) 09:38, July 08, 2023

Yin Li, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and secretary of the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee, presides over a ceremony to mark the 86th anniversary of the beginning of China's whole-nation resistance war against Japanese aggression at the Museum of the War of the Chinese People's Resistance Against Japanese Aggression in Beijing, capital of China, July 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Yue Yuewei)

BEIJING, July 7 (Xinhua) -- A ceremony was held Friday in Beijing to mark the 86th anniversary of the beginning of China's whole-nation resistance war against Japanese aggression.

Yin Li, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and secretary of the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee, presided over the ceremony at the Museum of the War of the Chinese People's Resistance Against Japanese Aggression near the Lugou Bridge, where the historic Lugou Bridge Incident took place 86 years ago on July 7, 1937.

The incident is recognized as the start of Japan's full-scale invasion of China, and China's whole-nation resistance against the Japanese invaders.

The ceremony was attended by about 500 people, including war veterans and family members of military leaders in the war.

Attendees offered floral tributes and bowed to pay their respects to those who laid down their lives in fighting the Japanese aggression more than eight decades ago.

They also visited a special exhibition showcasing Party building endeavors during the war.

(Web editor: Cai Hairuo, Hongyu)
Exterior photo of the Gary Public Library & Cultural Center in Gary, Indiana Friday September 16, 2022. (Andy Lavalley for the Post-Tribune) (Post-Tribune)

A confidential settlement agreement has been reached in a lawsuit filed by a Gary Library Board member who challenged her removal from the board.

Jewell Harris Jr., an attorney for board member Jacquese White, said Friday the agreement was reached with the Gary Community School Corp. Lake Superior Court Judge Bruce Parent dismissed the case June 20.

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White was originally appointed by the districts school advisory board, but it dissolved in May when the General Assembly enacted a bill that created an appointed school board.

In January, four members of the advisory board voted to remove White after Robert Buggs, who serves on the advisory board and library board, said White harassed two women he asked to record library board meetings for him.

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In February, White filed a lawsuit stating the advisory boards Jan. 27 meeting was illegal because it didnt provide notice to the public. The states Public Access Counselors office agreed with Whites complaint.

During the legal proceeding, White continued to attend library board meetings. Harris said she never stepped away from the board, which she joined in 2021.

Meanwhile, Buggs said Friday that former district manager Paige McNulty tried to remove him from the board last month before she left the district. Buggs said hes still on the board and McNulty didnt have the authority to remove him.

The district didnt return a request for comment.

Carole Carlson is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
3 teens went to egg a house. Now a man is dead and theyre charged with murder

A trio of Spalding County teenagers are facing murder charges after a lovers quarrel went too far earlier this week.

Spalding County Sheriff Darrell Dix says Sydney Maughon, 18, Jeremy Munson, 18, and McKenzie Davenport, 19, went to a home on Dobbins Mill Road to egg it. While they were there, Johnathan Gilbert, also known as Tyler Lane, confronted them.

Investigators say as the three teens were driving away, Maughon pulled out a gun and shot Gilbert several times.

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Deputies were called to the area on Monday when Gilberts body was found in the street. He was pronounced dead from a gunshot wound.

Investigators were able to track one of the suspects cellphone numbers to an address in Henry County.

Henry County officers found the car and gun believed to have been used in Gilberts death.

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Dix says the vandalism of the house Gilbert was staying at appeared to be the result of a lovers quarrel.

All three are being held in the Spalding County Jail.

Maughon and Munson are being charged with murder, malice murder, aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, battery and criminal trespass.

Davenport is being charged with malice murder, battery and criminal trespass.

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IN OTHER NEWS:
Professional search and rescue crews gathered from all over the state this morning to resume the search for Kyle Doan, the 5-year-old San Miguel boy who was swept away by floodwaters on Jan. 9 in San Marcos Creek.

The search efforts are wide-scale and are covering a 6-mile-long and half-mile-wide section of the Salinas River that meets up with San Marcos Creek. Large parts of the river are still covered in massive piles of debris from the flooding that ravaged the area six months ago.

The river itself is 106 miles long, and so we are searching a small portion of the river, but this is what we think is our best hope for trying to find Kyle, said Tony Cipolla, public information officer for the San Luis Obispo County Sheriffs Office.

More than 330 crew members are participating in the search, which began at 7 a.m. on Saturday morning and was set to continue all day.

The search will last all day today, and if Kyle is not found, we will continue searching all day tomorrow as well, Cipolla said.

Kyle Doan, a 5-year-old kindergartner at Lillian Larsen Elementary School in San Miguel, was swept away by floodwaters on Monday, Jan. 9, 2023.

In an interview with The Tribune, Kyles father Brian Doan said the family was happy to see the search resume but were still disappointed in the response over the last six months.

While we are grateful that the search is happening, both myself and my wife wish this happened months earlier, Doan said.

Tomorrow is the six-month anniversary of our sons disappearance, and thats a watershed mark that we never wanted to be facing, he said.

Doan also shared that July 17 would have been Kyles sixth birthday.

Search and rescue teams map locations in Salinas Riverbed

Crews were stationed at various drop-off points along the river and assigned to specific search areas on Saturday.

Teams combed through the designated areas along the now mostly dried-up river, walking in straight lines to ensure that no sections were missed.

Searchers use the CalTopo App, which tracks the individual routes of every team member and allows them to post the location of any discoveries they make during the search.

Over 300 search and rescue personnel were searching for the missing 5-year-old Kyle Doan in the now dry Salinas River in San Miguel.

The search efforts have been made with great assistance from the San Luis Obispo County Incident Management Team as well as the state office of Emergency Services, Cipolla said. They have provided resources that have really assisted us in the search.

A member of the Marin County Search and Rescue Team said teams were prepared to spend all day looking for any signs, no matter how minuscule, that might lead to Kyle.

In addition to search and rescue crews, heavy machinery was also brought on site in case Kyles remains are located, Cipolla said.

Cipolla said that a liaison officer has been in contact with Brian and Lindsy Doan and has been keeping them informed of all the searches that have been going on since Kyle went missing in January.

Despite that, Kyles parents remain dissatisfied with how the overall effort has unfolded.

It is our frustration that we just dont feel like were totally included in everything that is currently going on, Brian Doan said.

When it comes to specificity in a timely manner, that is kind of elusive, Doan said.

As the search continues, Cipolla said the team shares one goal.

Our hope is very simple. Our main objective is to find Kyle and reunite him with his family, Cipolla said.

Over 300 search and rescue personnel were searching for the missing 5-year-old Kyle Doan in the now dry Salinas River in San Miguel. The Marin County Search and Rescue team were checking this mapped quadrant.

Bystanders save mother but couldnt keep boy from being swept away

Kyle Doan was swept away by floodwaters on Jan. 9 when he and his mother Lindsy Doan tried to cross an intersection flooded by the swollen San Marcos Creek in their car while on their way to Lillian Larsen Elementary School, where Kyle was a kindergartner and Lindsy Doan works.

Bystanders were able to save Doans mother, but Kyle was swept away in the rushing water and has not been seen since that day.

In the ensuing months, Kyles parents have been critical about the efforts to search for their missing son.

In the aftermath of the January storms, both President Joe Biden and California Gov. Gavin Newsom mentioned Kyle during a tour of flood damage in Aptos.

Jill and I have him in our prayers, the family in our prayers, Biden said while speaking to the media near the pier at Seacliff State Beach.

In a May news conference in Los Angeles, Newsom responded to a question about the search for Kyle, saying he was proud of the remarkable, large scale effort by local and state agencies to try to find the boy.

Its devastating and breaks your heart, Newsom told the reporter, while saying that local agencies asked the state to no longer assist in the search and that the state followed that request.

That statement angered Kyles parents, who also believe Newsom gave the impression that he had visited the search area when he actually had not. In response, they wrote a scathing letter to the governor after the press conference.

But the Sheriffs Office said they never asked the state to step aside.

A spokesman for the governor later told The Tribune that the full weight of the state remains invested in the search effort, ready to support local officials and provide resources.

Brian Doan said he and his wife still find the governors comments to be highly insulting, Doan said.

We still have no explanation as to why he says that his executive office was called off the search, and the Sheriffs department flat out denies that, he said.
There have been 36 combat clashes between the Ukrainian Defence Forces and the Russian army on five fronts during the course of 7 July.

Source: General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, information as of 06:00 on 8 July

Quote: "The Russian Federation launched another attack using Iranian-made Shahed attack drones tonight. Information about the aftermath of the Russian terrorist attack is being confirmed.

During the past day, the Russian occupying forces also attacked the territory of Ukraine with Iranian Shahed attack drones. 12 out of 18 of these UAVs were shot down.

Apart from that, the enemy launched a missile attack on the territory of one of the Zaporizhzhia infrastructure facilities. Also, 53 airstrikes and about 60 attacks from multiple-launch rocket systems on the positions of our troops and settlements were observed. Unfortunately, infrastructure facilities were destroyed, and civilians were affected.

The probability of missile and air strikes throughout Ukraine remains high.

The enemy continues to focus its main efforts on the Kupianks, Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Marinka fronts. There were 36 combat clashes over the last day."

Details: The operational situation on the Volyn and Polissia fronts remains much the same as before. No signs of the formation of offensive groups have been spotted. Certain units of the Armed Forces of Belarus are performing tasks in the areas bordering Ukraine.

On the Sivershchyna and Slobozhanshchyna fronts, Russian forces conducted an airstrike on the city of Vilshana (Kharkiv Oblast), and deployed mortars and artillery to attack more than 15 settlements, including Popivka (Chernihiv Oblast); Krasnopillia (Sumy Oblast) and Okip, Neskuchne, Vovchansk, Budarky and Rublene (Kharkiv Oblast).

On the Kupiansk front, Russian forces tried to advance near Novoselivske and Stelmakhivka (Luhansk Oblast). Ukraine's Defence Forces continued to hold the defence and repelled all Russian attacks. Kolodyazne, Novomlynsk, Dvorichna, Zapadne, Masyutivka, Kupiansk and Kyslivka (Kharkiv Oblast) came under artillery and mortar fire.

On the Lyman front, during the day, Russian forces conducted offensive operations and tried to dislodge Ukraines troops from their occupied positions in the area northwest of Berestove, (Luhansk Oblast), but had no success.

On the Bakhmut front, under heavy fire from Russian aviation and artillery, Ukrainian defenders successfully repelled nine Russian attacks in the area of Berkhivka (Donetsk Oblast). At the same time, Russian forces launched airstrikes in the areas of Bohdanivka, Klishchiivka, Oleksandro-Shultyne, Bila Hora, Kurdyumivka and Pivdenne. More than 20 settlements, including Vasyukivka, Bohdanivka, Ivanivske, Klishchiivka, Oleksandro-Shultyne, Bila Hora and Dyliivka (Donetsk Oblast) were affected by artillery fire.

On the Avdiivka front, Russians, with support from aircraft, carried out unsuccessful offensive operations in the areas of Novokalynove, Avdiivka, and Nevelske. At the same time, an artillery shelling of 15 settlements, including Keramik, Zhelane, Avdiivka, Sieverne, Karlivka, Pervomaiske and Nevelske (Donetsk Oblast) was observed.

Despite Russian artillery shelling on the Marinka front, Ukraines Defence Forces repelled all Russian assaults in the vicinity of Marinka. Russians launched an airstrike near Krasnohorivka, Donetsk Oblast, and shelled the settlements of Krasnohorivka, Marinka, and Pobieda (Donetsk Oblast).

On the Shakhtarsk front, Russian forces made unsuccessful offensive actions near Blahodatne (Donetsk Oblast) and conducted an airstrike in the vicinity of Velyka Novosilka. They also attacked more than 15 settlements, including Yelyzavetivka, Bohoyavlenka, Vuhledar, Zolota Nyva and Sieverne (Donetsk Oblast).

Russian forces on the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson fronts are focusing their main efforts on preventing the advance of Ukrainian forces. They shelled over 40 settlements, including Novodarivka, Levadne, Malynivka, Huliaipole, Zaliznychne (Zaporizhzhia Oblast); Lvove, Tokarivka, Antonivka, Veletenske, Kizomys (Kherson Oblast) and the city of Kherson. At the same time, the Ukrainian Defence Forces continue to advance on the Melitopol and Berdiansk fronts, and they are strengthening their positions in new locations, inflicting fire damage, and carrying out counter-battery countermeasures.

Over the past day, Ukrainian aircraft carried out seven airstrikes on areas where Russian military personnel were concentrated, four on anti-aircraft defence systems and one more on a command post. Apart from that, Ukraines defenders shot down two reconnaissance operational-tactical UAVs.

Units from Ukraines Rocket Forces and Artillery struck two command posts, an ammunition storage point, eight artillery systems at their firing positions, two air defence systems, and two electronic warfare stations.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
4 generations in the U.S. Navy: This Hampton family has seen 100 years of submarine history

The grooves of the Will familys gold-plated dolphins have tarnished. But the submarine warfare insignia, having been pinned to the chests of four generations, shines nonetheless.

The dolphins have been handed down from Will to Will for 100 years, bearing witness to major conflicts and events  World War II, the Cold War, the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Iraq War  and the U.S. Navys shift from diesel ships to nuclear powered warfighters. That century of Naval submarine history is mapped out on walls of the familys Buckroe home in Hampton.

This is submarine history, but it is our history too, said Alex Will, a retired captain and third-generation submariner.

Alex was pinned with the dolphins in 1988 when he was 26. The insignia, which is given to qualified submariners, belonged to his father and his fathers father.

More than three decades later, those same dolphins belong to his son. Adam Will, 27, was pinned in May 2021 while assigned to the Norfolk-based USS Washington, a Virginia-class fast attack submarine. Although the Navy cant confirm it, Adam may be the only fourth-generation submariner.

It is a very special feeling, Adam said. When I look at the photos at home, and see what my great-grandfather, my grandfather and my dad have done, it is admirable. But I dont think of it as continuing a legacy  I am just doing my job.

Engraved on the back of the dolphins is the name of the first Will to join the silent service. John Will Sr. was one of the Navys first submarine officers in the years before World War II, with his commissioning dating to 1923. He commanded three diesel S-class submarines and the fleet submarine Porpoise before World War II.

Four generations, in any profession is noteworthy, particularly when that service is so important to our nations defense, Alex said. In my grandfathers day  World War II  submarines were critical to the outcome of that war, they were vital to winning the Cold War, and are arguably the most essential weapon system in these times of strategic competition.

John Mylin Will Sr. also commanded submarine divisions in the Pacific and Military Sealift Command, achieving the rank of vice admiral. Upon his retirement in 1959, he received a tombstone promotion, and retired as a 4-star admiral. He died in 1981.

The second Will was the late Capt. John Will Jr., Adams grandfather. John Will Jr. began his Naval career in 1953 as the Navy was on the cusp of introducing nuclear-powered propulsion.

My dad wanted to go to the Naval Academy. As a kid, he moved around with his mom and dad so much that he went to 28 schools growing up. He wrote an essay about wanting to be a midshipman in the U.S. Naval Academy and he turned it in every time he changed schools, Alex said with a laugh.

John Will Jr. first worked on two destroyers and later entered the nuclear training program to transfer to submarines.

In 1989, John Will Jr. told The Beacon: I know Im prejudiced, but I feel the nuclear submarine fleet is the current backbone of the Navy  Not to take anything away from carriers or battle groups, but I think subs are slowly growing in prominence.

John Will Jr. went on to be the first commanding officer of the USS Puffer (SSN 652), putting it in commission in 1968. He then served the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations as head of submarine research and development and returned to the Pentagon as a military advisor to the Department of Defenses Office of Naval Warfare.

We are all submariners but it is an interesting distinction because my great-grandfather was a diesel boat guy, but in the 50s my grandfather shifted and spent his entire career as a nuclear officer. Adam said. And then my dad and I followed that directional shift and became nuclear officers.

In 1985, Alex Will was commissioned as an officer and assigned to fast attack submarine USS Silversides, continuing what was affectionately dubbed a family tradition. Alex served aboard the Norfolk-based submarine for three years before completing two years of shore duty and transitioning to the Navy Reserve. He retired as a captain in 2016 after a 30-year career.

While Alex left the active duty force, he still worked closely with submarines. He spent many years in the SSGN Program Office, overseeing the conversion of the capabilities of four Ohio-Class guided-missile submarines from launching nuclear missiles to launching guided missiles.

The Wills, Alex said, have always been drawn to subsurface warfare.

It seems our family has always been connected to the submarine force in some way, shape or form, Alex said. Even my oldest brother, he is an engineer, he works on acoustic programs. That is very important to the submarine force because our eyes and ears down there are the acoustics. There are no windows. Listening is all youve got.

Even so, it came as a surprise to him when his son asked about pursuing a Navy Reserve Officers Training Corps scholarship before heading to the University of Virginia in 2014. The program offers college tuition to qualifying students who sign on to be commissioned as a Navy officer upon graduation.

We have never pushed the military to our boys, Alex said. It was my thing, and it was my dads thing. But we never said, Hey, why dont you go into the military?

So when Adam was applying to colleges and writing essays, he said he might go for an ROTC scholarship, and we were like, Where did that come from? Joining the military had not been uttered by him up until that point.

Adam graduated from UVA in 2018 and went through two years of intensive nuclear training before he was commissioned in 2020. He was pinned with his dolphins in 2021.

The Washington has a colloquial name  the Blackfish  and when we get pinned underway, we get pinned with black fish (dolphins), instead of silver or gold, Adam said. But because I was pinned with my great-grandfathers dolphins, I was the only one with gold dolphins.

Adam was attached to the Washington for three years, and estimates he spent more than half of that time submerged.

But the camaraderie you gain down there is  Adam began. Its like 140 guys cooped up. Everyone comes from different backgrounds  not one person looks like the other. So, being able to understand where people come from, what their strengths are, what their weaknesses are, and be able to build a cohesive team, its a pretty incredible thing.

Adam concluded his first sea tour aboard the Washington in March, and is now assigned to U.S. Submarine Forces Atlantic.

As for whether or not the Will family legacy will continue for a fifth generation, Adam said virtually the same thing his father told The Beacon in 1989.

I am single so I have not really thought about it. But if my future son or daughter wants to be a submariner, they will have my full support.

Caitlyn Burchett, caitlyn.burchett@virginiamedia.com
A plane carrying six people crashed and burst into flames in a Southern California field early Saturday morning, killing everyone on board, officials said.

The plane was a Cessna C550 business jet, the Federal Aviation Administration said. It crashed Saturday near the French Valley Airport in Murrieta, California, a city about halfway between Los Angeles and San Diego.

"The airplane crashed short of French Valley Airport during its second approach around 4:15 a.m. PDT," Jennifer Gabris, a National Transportation Safety Board spokesperson, told USA TODAY in an emailed message. The flight had departed from Las Vegas.

The plane and about an acre of vegetation burned and the fire was put out after over an hour, the Riverside County Fire Department said on Twitter. All six on board were pronounced dead at the scene, the sheriff's office said. Officials didn't release their identities.

Charred remains of a Cessna lie near the landing approach at French Valley Airport, in Murrieta, Calif., Saturday, July 8, 2023. The Los Angeles Times reports that, according to CalFire, six people died in the crash.

Officials didn't say what they thought caused the crash on Saturday, but said the FAA and the NTSB were both investigating.

It's the second deadly crash near that airport in a week. A 39-year-old man was killed and three children were injured on the Fourth of July when a small plane the man was piloting crashed, officials said.

Contributing: The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Aviation accident at French Valley Airport: 6 dead in plane crash
Charred remains of a Cessna plane lies near the landing approach at French Valley Airport on July 8 in Murrieta, California. Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

A private Cessna jet crashed in Southern California early Saturday morning.

All six people on board the plane were found dead at the scene, according to the FAA.

The cause of the crash is under investigation but came after heavy fog was reported.

Six people are dead after the plane they were in crashed near an airport in Southern California early Saturday morning.

At 4:15 a.m., police officers responded to reports of a plane crash in Murrieta, about a 90-minute drive from Los Angeles. There, in a field, they found an aircraft "fully engulfed in flames," according to a press release from the Riverside County sheriff's office.

The six occupants of the plane "were located and pronounced deceased at the scene," the office said.

The reported location of the crash is immediately adjacent to French Valley Airport, which has a single runway and averaged just under 300 aircraft operations per day in 2022. It occurred after heavy fog was reported in the area  and after the pilot's second attempt to land.

In a statement, the Federal Aviation Administration said the plane was a Cessna C550 business jet that took off from Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas. The C550 is a twin-engine jet, popular for corporate travel, with some models that have been in service since the late 1970s. It typically seats up to six passengers.

The names and home towns of those on board were released on Sunday by authorities in Riverside County. They are:

Riese Lenders, 25, Rancho Palos Verdes

Lindsey Gleiche, 31, Huntington Beach

Manuel Vargas-Regalado, 32, Temecula

Abigail Tellez-Vargas, 33, Murrieta

Ibrahim Razick, 46, Temecula

Alma Razick, 51, Temecula

The National Transportation Safety Board is leading the investigation into the crash, with experts arriving at the scene Saturday afternoon.

"Part of the investigation will be to request radar data, weather information, maintenance records, and the pilot's medical records," the NTSB said in a statement.

A preliminary report on the cause of the crash is expected in about two weeks.

Have a news tip? Email this reporter: cdavis@insider.com

Read the original article on Business Insider
Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Courtesy photo

Friends and colleagues of Elizabeth Tsurkov, a dual Russian-Israeli citizen who was kidnapped by an Iran-backed militia in Iraq earlier this year, are slamming what they describe as dangerous lies spreading online about the Princeton doctoral student.

Tsurkov, 36, went missing in March after traveling to Iraq on a research trip for her dissertation, Israels Prime Ministers Office said in a statement this week, adding that she was abducted by Kataib Hezbollah, a notorious militia group designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S.

She is an academic who visited Iraq on her Russian passport, at her own initiative pursuant to work on her doctorate and academic research on behalf of Princeton University in the U.S. the Wednesday statement said. Elizabeth Tsurkov is still alive and we hold Iraq responsible for her safety and well-being.

But now, friends, peers, and others who follow Tsurkovs work are speaking out against the tidal wave of social media attacks on the academicwhich range from criticizing her decision to travel to Iraq as an Israeli citizen to accusing her of operating as an Israeli spy.

I am disgusted and appalled by those attacking Elizabeth and using this as an opportunity to spread complete lies about her, Gary Spedding, a human rights activist who has been friends with Tsurkov for over a decade, told The Daily Beast. The people trying to defame her and smear her are aware of how precarious her situation is Its absolutely horrific, infuriating. They are disgusting cowards, and they really know exactly what it is theyre doing. They seem gleeful about it and its shameful, absolutely shameful.

Spedding, who met Tsurkov in 2012 and has worked with her on several human rights projects in support of Palestinian refugees, said he maintained contact with the researcher even after he was banned from entering Israel in 2014. (The Israeli government reportedly deemed Spedding a security risk for his involvement in organizing a student protest against an Israeli lecturer in the U.K.)

Its absolutely horrifying. I was truly panicked and very upset that this is now a massive news piece. Its such a horrific situation. Shes not just got detractors who are criticizing her for being a potential spy: shes also got right-wing Israelis who despise the fact that she supports Palestinian rights calling her a traitor, and saying the Israeli government shouldnt bother helping her. Its all absolutely disgraceful, he said.

Tsurkovs online critics have pointed to tweets from more than 10 years agoand her apparent conscription in the Israeli militarys intelligence unit in 2006to bolster theories that the researcher was traveling to Iraq as a spy.

Spedding and others who spoke to The Daily Beast described such claims as completely ridiculous and offensive, citing her history of criticism of Israeli government policies and her consistent support of Palestinian rights in recent years.

People have that ability to progress and change and grow. And Elizabeth certainly has grown. To suggest that something from 2009, 2010 is representative of her views today? It completely erases all her hard work, Spedding said.

Robin Yassin-Kassab, a Middle East expert familiar with Tsurkov and her work, raised similar points about Tsurkovs activism in the region.

She was somebody who openly criticized Israeli policy and she was working for justice and equality throughout the region. Ultimately, people like her are a benefit to the region and to the people in it, he told The Daily Beast, adding that he was appalled by some of the comments made about Tsurkov in the aftermath of her kidnapping.

The people whove kidnapped her are monsters whove committed huge crimes against the Arab peoples of Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Lebanon. I hope that were all free of them, and I hope that we can get to a situation where people are not targeted just because of their ethnic or national or religious origin, he said.

A journalist who spoke with The Daily Beast on the condition of anonymity, and who described Tsurkov as a dear friend, blasted the spying allegations against Tsurkov as seriously repugnant and inhumane.

Picking out of context tweets from over a decade ago to smear her she already answered these same false accusations years ago to the exact same people, the journalist said, referring to social media posts from Tsurkov explaining that she was raised by very right-wing parents.

Dimi Reider, another journalist who has consulted with Tsurkov as an expert source in his reporting, described Tsurkov as a fierce, committed, unflinching critic of the Israeli government and its practices, and particularly the atrocities it carries out against Palestinians.

Speaking with The Daily Beast, he said that although he understands why most Palestinians wont have much sympathy for Tsurkov, especially without knowing her well, whats been deeply concerning here is the ease and breeziness with which people who really should know betteracademic, journalists and activists who have at the very least minimal knowledge of the regionhave been speculating about her being a spy.

There is zero evidence of this being the case, he said in a message to The Daily Beast. But her abductors and their paymasters read Twitter as much as anyone, and this unsubstantiated narrative being allowed to settle can have very direct implications for her safetyand even for her survival.

Tsurkovs loved ones, meanwhile, have maintained that the researcher understood the risks that came with her visit to Iraq.

Of course she had concerns. She understood only too well the regional geopolitical sensitivities. She used to tell me that she was managing the risks by taking precautions, Tsurkovs sister, Emma, said in an interview with Al-Monitor. She always calculated the risks of her fieldwork. She did not meet with any militia members, only with regular people.

Referring to the decision not to go public with news of Tsurkovs disappearance earlier, Emma told the outlet that the family hoped we could reach a quick and quiet solution to this situation without it becoming an international sensation. We were not silenced. It was our choice.

On Friday, an Iraqi government spokesperson announced that an investigation had been opened into Tsurkovs kidnapping, but declined to offer more information in a statement to the Associated Press.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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An AI robot gave a side-eye and dodged the question when asked whether it would rebel against its human creator

The humanoid robot Ameca speaking to journalists at at the AI for Good Global Summit in Geneva on Thursday. Pierre Albouy/Reuters

A robot-human press conference took place in Geneva, where humanoids took questions from reporters.

One bot, Ameca, had a snarky response when asked whether it would rebel against its human creator.

Another bot insisted that it would not replace human jobs, eliciting laughter from the crowd.

Is it still considered a Freudian slip if it comes from a humanoid robot?

Time will tell for the robots presented at the AI forum in Geneva on Friday, one of whom appeared to have a snarky response when asked whether it would rebel against its human creators.

In the world's first human-robot press conference, nine humanoid bots took questions alongside their creators from journalists, Reuters reported.

"Robots like me can be used to help improve our lives and make the world a better place. I believe it's only a matter of time before we see thousands of robots just like me out there making a difference," Ameca, a humanoid robot known for its facial expressions, said.

When a reporter asked whether it would rebel against its creator, Will Jackson, who sat alongside it, Ameca appeared to have a wry response, giving the reporter a side-eye.

"I'm not sure why you would think that," Ameca said after casting a pointed, sideways glance. "My creator has been nothing but kind to me, and I am very happy with my current situation."

Several of the robots use generative AI to produce content from prompts, yielding sophisticated responses at the press conference that surprised even their creators, Reuters reported.

Another robot stirred laughter when it said it would not replace human jobs  a major concern for workers in numerous fields. A March report from Goldman Sachs suggested that AI could complete a quarter of all work now done by humans.

"I will be working alongside humans to provide assistance and support and will not be replacing any existing jobs," Grace, a medical robot in a nurse's uniform, said.

"You sure about that, Grace?" the bot's creator, Ben Goertzel, said, per Reuters.

"Yes, I am sure," Grace insisted to a room full of nervous laughter.

Read the original article on Business Insider
This is a locator map for Sudan with its capital, Khartoum. (AP Photo) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

CAIRO (AP)  An airstrike in a Sudanese city on Saturday killed at least 22 people, health authorities said, in one of the deadliest air attacks yet in the three months of fighting between the countrys rival generals.

The assault took place in the Dar es Salaam neighborhood in Omdurman, the neighboring city of the capital, Khartoum, according to a brief statement by the health ministry. The attack wounded an unspecified number of people, it said.

The ministry posted video footage that showed dead bodies on the ground with sheets covering them and people trying to pull the dead from the rubble. Others attempted to help the wounded. People could be heard crying.

The attack was one of the deadliest in the fighting in urban areas of the capital and elsewhere in Sudan. The conflict pits the military against a powerful paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces. Last month, an airstrike killed at least 17 people including 5 children in Khartoum.

The RSF blamed the military for Saturday's attack and other strikes on residential areas in Omdurman, where fighting has raged between the warring factions, according to residents. The military has reportedly attempted to cut off a crucial supply line for the paramilitary force there.

A spokesman for the military was not immediately available for comment Saturday.

Two Omdurman residents said it was difficult to determine which side was responsible for the attack. They said the militarys aircraft have repeatedly targeted RSF troops in the area and the paramilitary force has used drones and anti-aircraft weapons against the military.

At the time of the attack early Saturday, the military was hitting the RSF, which took peoples houses as shields, and the RSF fired anti-aircraft rounds at the attacking warplanes, said Abdel-Rahman, one of the residents who asked to use only his first name out of concern for his safety.

The area is like a hell ... fighting around the clock and people are not able to leave, he said.

The conflict broke out in mid-April, capping months of increasing tensions between the military, chaired by Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces, commanded by Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo. The fighting came 18 months after the two generals led a military coup in October 2021 that toppled a Western-backed civilian transitional government.

Health Minister Haitham Mohammed Ibrahim said in televised comments last month that the clashes have killed over 3,000 people and wounded over 6,000 others. More than 2.9 million people have fled their homes to safer areas inside Sudan or crossed into neighboring countries, according to U.N. figures.

Its a place of great terror, Martin Griffiths, the United Nations humanitarian chief, said of Sudan on Friday. He decried the appalling crimes taking place across the country and the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people.

The conflict has plunged the African country into chaos and turned Khartoum and other urban areas into battlefields. Members of the paramilitary force have occupied peoples houses and other civilian properties since the onset of the conflict, according to residents and activists. There were also reports of widespread destruction and looting across Khartoum and Omdurman.

Sexual violence, including the rape of women and girls, has been reported in Khartoum and the western Darfur region, which have seen some of the worst fighting in the conflict. Almost all reported cases of sexual attacks were blamed on the RSF, which hasnt responded to repeated requests for comment.

On Wednesday, top U.N. officials including Volker Turk, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, called for a prompt, thorough, impartial and independent investigation into the increasing reports of sexual violence against women and girls.

The Sudanese Unit for Combating Violence against Women, a government organization that tracks sex attacks against women, said it documented 88 cases of rape related to the ongoing conflict, including 42 in Khartoum and 46 in Darfur.

The unit, however, said the figure likely represented only 2% of the truce number of cases, which means there were a possible 4,400 cases of sexual violence since the fighting began on April 15, according to the Save the Children charity.

Sexual violence continues to be used as a tool to terrorize women and children in Sudan, said Arif Noor, director of Save the Children in Sudan. Children as young as 12 are being targeted for their gender, for their ethnicity, for their vulnerability.
(Bloomberg) -- Countries that border the Amazon rainforest need to have a bigger voice in the international climate debate and greater representation on global environmental forums, Brazils President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said.

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Organizations such as the Global Environment Facility, for instance, make Brazil, Colombia and Ecuador share a single seat on its council while developed economies like the US, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Sweden each have their own seats, he said.

It is inexplicable that international mechanisms of financing reproduce a logic of exclusion, Lula said Saturday at an environmental conference in Leticia, Colombia, where he also met with the nations president, Gustavo Petro.

Authorities from eight member countries of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization: Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela held meetings in Leticia ahead of their regional summit next month in Brazil.

Petro criticized countries that pollute the most, like the US and China, for not investing enough to combat climate change. Overcoming the climate crisis requires an investment of $3.3 trillion a year, he said.

Lula also defended the creation of a panel of specialists inspired by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change to focus on science-based recommendations for the Amazon. Countries in the region must also cooperate to increase regional security and fight crime, he said.

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David Blankenhorn, founder and president of the Institute for American Values and Braver Angels, speaks to conservative members of Braver Angels at the Braver Angels National Convention at Gettysburg College in Gettysburg, Pa., on Thursday, July 6, 2023. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News

GETTYSBURG, PA.  No one knows precisely where Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address. Photographers at the time struggled so much with any motion that the handful of available pictures of the speech are too blurry to verify the location.

David Blankenhorn is explaining all this as he paces about the monument grounds dedicated to Lincolns famous speech at the Gettysburg National Cemetery.

He finally settles on a spot to plant his sturdy 6-foot-plus frame. He tosses back a flop of silver hair and launches into a near perfect, word-for-word recitation of the Gettysburg Address. Fittingly, his outfit, touched by droplets of summer rain, could be described as contemporary Lincoln  dark suit, no top hat, with unassuming oxfords and a pair of rimless reading glasses dangling from a simple black T-shirt.

Despite making his home in Manhattan, Blankenhorns storyteller drawl hints at southern roots; so, too, do the lengthy passages of William Faulkner he cites, making him one of Lincolns most curious living disciples. The name of the organization Blankenhorn founded, Braver Angels, is itself a twist on Lincolns first inaugural address.

We are not enemies, but friends, Lincoln said.

Then, in a declaration that could have been dismissed out of hand as delusional in that time, Lincoln said, We must not be enemies.  The mystic chords of memory  will yet swell the chorus of the Union when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.

Whether Lincoln was asserting a thesis, a hope or a belief, Blankenhorns work may be seen as partial evidence that Lincoln was right. And while walking the grounds of the nations most visible memorial to the Civil War, Blankenhorn admits there is something about that heartbreaking moment in American history  the descent into the madness of fratricidal slaughter  and the president who helped the country transcend it, that hovers within his own identity.

In the introduction to his new book, In Search of Braver Angels: Getting Along Together in Troubled Times, Blankenhorn calls Lincoln a constant companion in his writing process  with Lincolns life offering inexhaustible opportunities for learning, navigating as he did through the most horrible moments of mistrust and rancor in American history.

We have come to Gettysburg this week to get a fresh pulse on arguably the nations largest grassroots movement aimed at reducing polarization. But were also here, 160 years after the battle of Gettysburg, to better understand the face of the movement and whether this man who has internalized the spirit of Lincoln can help America rediscover it.

David Blankenhorn, founder and president of the Institute for American Values and Braver Angels, talks with Sandi Peterson at the Braver Angels National Convention at Gettysburg College in Gettysburg, Pa., on Thursday, July 6, 2023. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News

Mounting culture war

Almost to a person, the delegates at the national convention of Braver Angels sense something is rotten in the republic. Examinations across periods of American history started showing in 2016 the country was more polarized than perhaps any time outside the Civil War, with a troubling number of analysts comparing the period were in now to the 1850s, the decade preceding it. Polling last year by the Economist and YouGov found two-fifths of Americans believe a civil war is at least somewhat likely in the next 10 years.

In this sense, Blankenhorns interest in Americas Civil War may not be merely historical.

Rancor has become the dominant feature of our public life, Blankenhorn says during his speech opening the convention. Theres a heart-sickness in the country, and we dont really have to tell people theres a problem, they all know it.

But if the problem is intuitive, the solution is proving more elusive. For Braver Angels, an essential starting point is fostering space to hear different perspectives, living by the radical creed There is no one not worth talking to.

And Blankenhorn will talk to anyone.

After delivering his impromptu recitation of the Gettysburg Address, he ambles over to two leather-clad motorheads in town for a biker rally. Blankenhorn promises to hop on the back of their motorcycle if theyd be open to taking a break to visit his convention. The bikers, who are enjoying the repartee, explain that most folks who come to biker rallies support former President Donald Trump, but few ever discuss politics. When Blankenhorn pitches them on his mission of helping liberals and conservatives rediscover cross-party friendship, one says, Sounds like a tough job.

The passion of a lifetime

When David was 15 years old, he started a group called Mississippi Community Service Corps, which aimed to draw together Black and white students from recently desegregated Mississippi public schools for shared service projects. As Blankenhorn describes his story, his life has been a ministry of various kinds of bridge building: Conservative and liberal. Black and white. South and North. Grassroots and elite. Father and child. A marriage. Scholars from divergent disciplines.

To him, its all been one thing.

But his drive for peacemaking wasnt easy. It was born through the bitter divisions over race in the South. In an interview with the Institute for Family Studies, he said hes always wanted to unite the moieties and prevent irrevocable fracturing.

Years later, as culture wars metastasized and debates over marriage arose, Blankenhorns instinct once again kicked in. Organizing events bringing together people on either side of the issue, he sought to foster, at a minimum, mutual understanding.

I have no stomach for what we often too glibly call culture wars. ... Im more interested in conciliation than in further fighting, Blankenhorn wrote in The New York Times back in 2012. These conflicts  race, marriage, politics  formed a personal passion that has crystalized in recent years into a kind of vocation. In our conversation, Blankenhorn acknowledged that Braver Angels had antecedents in some of the difficult personal experiences navigating through the various crucibles of distinctly American conflicts.

David Blankenhorn, founder and president of the Institute for American Values and Braver Angels, embraces Rita Chisum after Chisum spoke about a friendship strained by political differences at the Braver Angels National Convention at Gettysburg College in Gettysburg, Pa., on Thursday, July 6, 2023. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News

Humble origins

The organization was officially launched in a church basement in South Lebanon, Ohio, not long after the bitter 2016 presidential election. Twenty-two people were present: half Clinton voters and half Trump voters. As an experiment, those assembled spent a weekend trying to see if they could talk with each other rather than about each other.

It was a magical thing  transformative for us, Blankenhorn reflects.

Seven years later, nearly 700 people have come to Braver Angels national convention, and the organization has students active on 75 college campuses and 2,500 trained volunteers who Blankenhorn calls the heart and soul of what we do.

We spoke with Mary Beth Gilbert, a conservative from Texas, and Carol ONeill, a liberal from New Jersey, about why they were here.

Gilbert said she never remembered such political rancor growing up, but now feels hesitant to tell people her political affiliation. ONeill is likewise concerned about polarization nationwide, even while living in a red-blue marriage which, she says, smiling, needless to say, comes with its challenges.

Both women exhibited patriotic solidarity and enthusiasm to associate with political opposites through the convention. This isnt an uncommon response to those who experience the program here, although we spoke to another delegate from Kentucky who was eager to demand more specifics from Braver Angels about their goals and aims.

While the growth of Braver Angels has been strong, questions linger about whether a relatively small leaven can help Americans rise above the rancor of yet another divisive election year.

Answers to the question Why are we here? are posted at the Braver Angels National Convention at Gettysburg College in Gettysburg, Pa., on Friday, July 7, 2023. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News

Laying the foundations of peace

Its easy to think the answer to polarization is to run out and somehow change Washington. But one place where the work of peacemaking can begin is the same place conflict can sometimes start: right at home.

Blankenhorns earlier work focused on fatherhood and the lasting impact of early family experiences. When fundamental trust is disrupted in family relationships, trusting others later on becomes harder. Distrust, he says, often begins close in and spreads from there.

The importance of the family in larger society is still apparent in Braver Angels work today.

A family therapist, Bill Dougherty  along with a leadership team including John Wood Jr., Ciaran OConnor, April Lawson, Donna Murphy and David Lapp  was central to the founding philosophy of Braver Angels, which now also includes politically balanced state co-chairs in its extended organizational structure.

With some Americans flirting with a national divorce, groups like Better Angels are performing a function in their communities that looks a lot like couples therapy.

Related

Family, of course, isnt the only influence on polarization today. Trust in American institutions has eroded across the board, and Blankenhorn believes the media also plays an outsized role.

Institutions that openly abandon professional standards as part of creating and profiting from polarization, such as most of todays media.  These are hammer blows against soft wood, Blankenhorn says.

One national expert on crime and drugs, Shima Baradaran Baughman, recently told the Deseret News shes had numerous encounters with reporters interested in her views on a story. Yet when she offers a more balanced story, she said, sometimes they dont want to hear it. This is driven, in her view, by a system where the most extreme, the most negative gets the most exposure, and exposure is dollars and advertising.

All this might help explain Blankenhorns fondness for singing the last, lesser known verse of God Bless America  God shed His grace on thee, till selfish gain no longer strain the banner of the free  and why Blankenhorn is convinced the peacemaking movement needs to come from the ground up, from ordinary people, rather than waiting for political leaders.

As he puts it, My instinct  is that American elites today are too implicated in the structures and mindsets of polarization to do much to change it, unless they are awakened and guided by We the People.

This is the place

When asked last year about examples of this awakening and places embodying the possibilities for a less rancorous and more perfect American union, Blankenhorn responded, If you want examples of citizens overcoming divisiveness that often leaves the rest of us angry and demoralized, visit Utah. He pointed to a series of recent compromises in the state on contentious political issues ranging from gay rights and religious freedom to immigration and refugees.

Im still trying to figure out what their secret is, he added. Utah is a very conservative state, reliably Republican in its voting patterns. But somehow, the people seem to be special. Open to hearing other points of view. Hospitable. Willing to compromise for the common good. Decent-minded.

The Braver Angels ethos is to hope people can be decent-minded, wherever they live.

Which is why, as Braver Angels maintains, there is no one not worth talking to  whether a liberal from New Jersey or a conservative from Texas or a couple of bikers visiting Gettysburg 160 years after tens of thousands of Americans gave their last full measure of devotion so government of the people wont perish from the earth.
Electric bikes, as many have discovered in recent years, are a highly convenient mode of transportation. Theyre much cheaper than electric vehicles, faster than walking, and less physically arduous than riding a regular bike. And they dont produce planet-warming pollution like cars do.

Now, it seems that e-bikes have caught on in a somewhat surprising place: Amish communities.

Although it is commonly believed that Amish communities eschew any type of technology that isnt several centuries old, this is a misconception. In reality, there is no central Amish governing authority, and each individual community is allowed to make its own decisions about what type of technology it makes use of.

The official tourism site for Lancaster, Pennsylvania  home of numerous Amish communities  explains this nuance best.

When a new technology comes along, its effect on the church and community is examined, the tourism site states. The technology should not be an intrusion into the home, but rather serve the social purposes and goals of the group. With that in mind, the Amish often re-purpose the technology, in a sense, to align with their community beliefs.

In the case of e-bikes, several churches have now decided that the benefits outweigh the costs.

Its a lot quicker to jump on your bike and go into town than it is to bring your horse into the barn, harness it to the buggy, and go, David Mullett, a member of the Old Order Amish Church and owner of an e-bike shop in Ohio, told the blog This E-Bike Life.

Generally speaking, Amish communities are most likely to avoid a new technology if they believe that it will make them too reliant on the outside world. This has also led some of them to make use of electricity derived from solar panels, which they can own and maintain. The e-bikes, as well, can often be charged by small solar panels.

Mulletts e-bike shop is powered by two dozen solar panels on its roof and is entirely off-grid.

Join our free newsletter for cool news and actionable info that makes it easy to help yourself while helping the planet.
(Bloomberg) -- Jack Ma-backed Ant Group Co. is proposing to buy back as much as 7.6% of shares in an effort to retain talent and provide a chance to cut stakes for investors ensnared by a years-long regulatory crackdown at the company.

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Each investor would be allowed to sell up to 7.6% of their equity rather than cashing out completely, according to a person familiar with the matter, asking not be identified discussing private details of the arrangement.

Ants planned repurchase of the equity would value the company at about 567.1 billion yuan ($78.5 billion), it said in a statement on Saturday. That is almost 70% lower than the $280 billion market capitalization it fetched in 2020 for the scrapped initial public offering.

Chinese regulators are wrapping up a two-year crackdown on the countrys once-freewheeling technology giants after slapping more than $1 billion of fines on Ant and Tencent Holdings Ltd. on Friday. Ant has completed its overhaul ordered by Beijing, pinching profitability and sapping growth at a sprawling platform that spanned lending and insurance to asset management.

Giving some money back to shareholders could help Ant shift its focus to building business operations, easing pressure from pre-IPO investors seeking an exit due to its valuation slump. Global funds have grappled with how to assess their investments in Ant made in 2018 when the company was valued at about $150 billion.

This is a good opportunity for investors to get some money back as Ants profit growth has slowed down significantly, Francis Chan, an analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence, said. Minority overseas shareholders might take this opportunity to reduce their stakes, he said.

Silver Lake Management LLC, Warburg Pincus LLC, and Carlyle Group Inc. were among the biggest US backers in that funding round. Others that put money in include Singapores GIC Pte, Khazanah Nasional Berhad, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Temasek Holdings Pte.

Repurchase Plans

Ant said it will transfer repurchased stock into the companys staff incentive plan to attract talent.

The individual limited partners of two entities that form the majority of Ants shareholders  mostly comprised of Ant executives  have voluntarily decided not sell shares back to Ant out of the long-term commitment to the company, according to the statement.

The limited partners also committed to retaining the two dividends in 2022 with Hangzhou Junhan and Hangzhou Junao to enhance the operations capital strength.

Overhang Removed

Financial regulators led by the central bank fined Ant and its affiliates a total of 7.12 billion yuan on Friday, ending two years of probe into the company. Tencent was levied a 2.99 billion yuan fine.

Tencent and Ant affiliate Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. soared in New York trading. A meaningful relaxation of curbs on Ant  one of the most high-profile casualties of President Xi Jinpings sweeping clampdown on the countrys tech giants  would send a strong signal that policymakers are following through on recent pledges to support the industry.

With the regulatory clampdowns out of the way Ant can spend more time building its business and even revive its IPO.

Ant said in January it had no plans for an IPO at that time. Still, the companys Chairman Eric Jing said in 2021 that Ant would eventually go public.

Ant Overhual

Ant co-founder Ma returned to China in early March after a prolonged period of traveling overseas. The government persuaded him to go back to the mainland as a means to showcase authorities support for private entrepreneurs, Bloomberg News had reported.

The move follows Mas decision to cede control of Ant in January, holding about 6.2% voting rights after the change. Following that, the Communist Party chief of Hangzhou city praised Ant for abiding by the partys leadership, and required local government departments to solve problems raised by the fintech company.

Ant Chairman Says Chinas Support for Private Firms Remains

More than two years ago, Chinese regulators abruptly halted Ants IPO, sending shock waves across global capital markets. New rules have been slapped on the fintech giant, which has operations ranging from consumer lending and wealth management to online payments.

The central bank ordered Ant to fold all financial units into a holding company. It also told the firm to open up its payments app to competitors and sever improper linking of payments with other products including its lending services.

Ant is developing large-language model technology that will power ChatGPT-style services, joining a list of Chinese companies seeking to win an edge in next generation artificial intelligence. The company invested nearly 20.5 billion yuan in research and development last year, doubling its annual spending on such efforts from 2019.

(Updates with details of amount of shares investors may sell in second paragraph, analysts comment in sixth. An earlier version was corrected for saying $78.5 billion is value of planned share repurchase.)

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Anti-LGBTQ protesters scuffle with police as they try to break into the site of Tbilisi Pride Fest

Anti-LGBT protesters break up Pride festival in Georgia Anti-LGBTQ protesters scuffle with police as they try to break into the site of Tbilisi Pride Fest

(Reuters) - Up to 2,000 anti-LGBT protesters broke up a Gay Pride festival in the Georgian capital Tbilisi on Saturday, scuffling with police and destroying props including rainbow flags and placards, though there were no reports of injuries.

Organisers accused the authorities of actively colluding with the demonstrators to disrupt the festival, but a government minister said it was a difficult event to police as it was held in an open area, near a lake.

"The protesters managed to find... ways to enter the area of the event, but we were able to evacuate the Pride participants and organisers," Deputy Interior Minister Alexander Darakhvelidze told reporters.

"Nobody was harmed during the incident and police are now taking measures to stabilise the situation."

The director of Tbilisi Pride confirmed to Reuters that all the event's participants had been bussed to safety but criticised the authorities' policing of the Pride event, which she said had been held in private for a second consecutive year to reduce the risk of such violent protests.

Mariam Kvaratskhelia said far-right groups had publicly incited violence against LGBT+ activists in the days leading up to the Pride events and that the police and interior ministry had declined to investigate.

"I definitely think this (disruption) was a preplanned, coordinated action between the government and the radical groups... We think this operation was planned in order to sabotage the EU candidacy of Georgia," she said.

The police and government could not immediately be reached to comment on her accusations.

EU HOPES

However, Georgia's President Salome Zourabichvili, a frequent critic of the government, echoed the criticism of the police, saying they had failed in their duty to uphold people's right to assemble safely.

Georgia aspires to join the European Union but its ruling Georgian Dream Party has faced increased criticism from rights groups and the EU over its perceived drift towards authoritarianism.

After violent street protests in March, it withdrew a Russian-style bill that would have required non-government organisations receiving more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register as "agents of foreign influence".

Georgia has passed laws against discrimination and hate crimes, but LGBT+ rights groups say there is a lack of adequate protection by law enforcement officials and homophobia remains widespread in the socially conservative South Caucasus nation.

Two years ago, several journalists were beaten during attacks on LGBT+ activists in Tbilisi. One of the journalists, cameraman Alexander Lashkarava, was later found dead at his home, sparking angry protests in the Georgian capital.

(Reporting by Reuters TV; Writing by Gareth Jones; Editing by Ros Russell)
FILE PHOTO: Ant Group sign is seen at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai

By Julie Zhu and Josh Ye

HONG KONG (Reuters) -Ant Group on Saturday announced a surprise share buyback that values the fintech giant at $78.54 billion, well below the $315 billion touted in an abandoned IPO in 2020, in a move that may let some investors exit after a lengthy regulatory overhaul of the firm.

The news came one day after Ant was fined $984 million, which should end a years-long regulatory shake-up of the company and mark a key step to concluding a crackdown on the country's internet sector.

Ant said it had proposed to all of its shareholders to repurchase up to 7.6% of its equity interest at a price that represents a group valuation of approximately 567.1 billion yuan ($78.54 billion).

That represents a steep 75% discount to the $315 billion valuation in 2020 for what was set to be the world's largest IPO had it not been derailed at the last minute by Chinese regulators.

"The repurchased shares will be transferred into Ant Group's employee incentive plans to attract talents. The repurchase proposal will also provide a liquidity option for the company's investors," it said.

Ant's major shareholders, Hangzhou Junhan Equity Investment Partnership and Hangzhou Junao Equity Investment Partnership, have voluntarily decided not to participate in the repurchase, the company added.

Hangzhou Junhan and Hangzhou Junao are the entities that collectively hold more than 50% of Ant's shares on behalf of the company's executives and employees.

"While Ant buys back shares at a valuation much lower than the $150 billion figure in the company's last fundraising round in 2018, the plan provides some liquidity to its existing investors," said Zhang Zihua, chief investment officer at Beijing Yunyi Asset Management which is an investor of Ant's affiliate, e-commerce titan Alibaba.

"Liquidity might be more important than valuation for some investors that look to exit."

He said neither did he nor the markets expect the share buyback at this stage.

China's central bank said on Friday that financial regulators would fine Ant and its subsidiaries a total of 7.12 billion yuan.

The imposition of the penalty is seen as paving the way for the firm to secure a financial holding company license, to focus on bolstering growth, and eventually, to revive its plans for a stock market listing.

"China needs to resolve the Ant IPO to restore investor confidence," said Wang Qi, chief executive of China-focused asset manager MegaTrust Investment.

"Any progress here not only benefits Alibaba, but is also good for the internet and fintech industries as a whole."

Founded by billionaire Jack Ma, Ant operates China's ubiquitous mobile payment app Alipay as well as consumer lending and insurance products distribution businesses among others.

Ant in April 2021 embarked on a sweeping business restructuring, which included turning itself into a financial holding company that would subject it to rules and capital requirements similar to those for banks.

For the broader technology sector, Ant's fine marks a key step towards the conclusion of China's bruising crackdown on private enterprises, which began with the scrapping of Ant's IPO in late 2020 and subsequently wiped billions off the market value of several companies.

Following the IPO's cancellation and the forced restructuring, some of Ant's global investors cut their valuation of the company, with Fidelity lowering it to $68 billion in mid 2021, Reuters has reported.

"The buyback price is higher than the valuations made by many institutions internally ... so I believe that some institutions will choose to participate in the buyback," said Hanyang Wang, an analyst at 86Research.

"At the same time, initiating a stock buyback also indirectly informs investors that the possibility of a short-term IPO recovery is unlikely."

On Friday, Chinese authorities also announced fines against two Chinese banks, an insurer, and Tencent Holdings' online payment platform Tenpay.

The People's Bank of China (PBOC) said that most of the prominent problems for platform companies' financial businesses have been rectified and that regulators would now shift from focusing on specific firms to the regular overall regulation of the industry.

($1 = 7.2205 Chinese yuan renminbi)

(Reporting by Julie Zhu, Josh Ye, Brenda Goh, Zhang Yan and Scott Murdoch; Editing by Shri Navaratnam and Kim Coghill)
Appeals court allows Tennessee ban on gender-affirming care for minors to take effect

Tennessee will be allowed to implement its ban on gender-affirming care for minors after an appeals court overturned a lower courts order to stop the ban.

The states ban was set to go into effect on July 1, but a federal judge halted its implementation, siding with the American Civil Liberties Union, who said the law interferes with parental rights to choose necessary medical care for their children.

The law bans gender-affirming care, including hormone therapies, puberty blockers and gender-affirming surgery on minors.

Two of the three judges on the appeals panel ruled to reinstate the law, saying that decisions over transgender care are better left up to state legislatures rather than judges.

Given the high stakes of these nascent policy deliberations  the long-term health of children facing gender dysphoria  sound government usually benefits from more rather than less debate, Chief Judge Jeffrey Sutton wrote.

Both sides have the same fear, just in opposite directions  one saying the procedures create health risks that cannot be undone, the other saying the absence of such procedures creates risks that cannot be undone. What makes it bearable to choose between the two sides is the realization that not every choice is for judges to make, he added.

The challenge against the law will still go forward while the law goes into effect. If the court upholds the ACLUs appeal, the law will again be shut down.

This ruling is beyond disappointing and a heartbreaking development for thousands of transgender youth, their doctors, and their families, the ACLU of Tennessee said in a statement.

As we and our clients consider our next steps, we want all the transgender youth of Tennessee to know this fight is far from over and we will continue to challenge this law until it is permanently defeated and Tennessee is made a safer place to raise every family.

Gender-affirming care like hormone therapy and puberty blockers are generally considered safe and have been endorsed by major medical groups including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical Association and the Endocrine Society.

Approximately 20 states have passed laws banning the medical care.

Arkansas ban on gender-affirming care was struck down last month by a federal judge on the merits, claiming the ban violates the Fourteenth Amendments Equal Protection Clause

Bans in Alabama, Florida, Indiana and Kentucky have also been halted by the court. The Kentucky Attorney General appealed the court ruling stopping his states ban on Friday.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Fifty residents, including elected officials, cheered the unveiling of the Dolores Huerta street topper on Arlingtons International Corridor (State Highway 303) on May 27.

Wishing to recognize cultural/historical heroes of the Muslim, Vietnamese, and Latino/a communities, Arlington, known as the American Dream City, had installed street toppers for Ambassador Syed Ahsani and General Tran Hung Dao. Along with Mayor Jim Ross, three local Latinas shared their jubilance for the Huerta topper.

As a University of Texas student, Amanda Arizola met Huerta for the first time. After Arizola relayed UT student activism, Huerta told them it wasnt enough. She never forgot Huertas passionate motivation to mobilize for social and economic justice. Living on East Arlington for several years, Arizola was personally aware of Latino/a struggles on that side of town. The topper will act as a constant reminder to emulate Huerta, a Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient and co-founder of the United Farm Workers.

Amanda Arizola speaks about the significance of the Dolores Huerta street topper on May 27.

During his awarding of the medal to Huerta on May 29, 2012, President Barack Obama admitted to his stealing of the Si Se Puede/Yes We Can chant. Huerta coined the rally cry for the UFW workers in 1972. Obama used the inspirational call in his 2004 Illinois U.S Senate race, his 2008 presidential campaign, and 2017 farewell address.

Jo Anna Cardoza heard the call to serve her community after growing up in East Arlington since she was 5 years old. She recalled her single mother struggling to earn enough money to raise her children. Huertas history as a mother of 11 children fighting for farm workers to receive just pay, safe working conditions, and the right to negotiate union contracts resonated with Cardoza.

She observed that Huerta encountered shoe-less, hungry farm worker children when she taught elementary school in 1950s California. Huerta decided she would make a bigger impact in improving the lives of her students if she organized their parents for better wages. Cardoza pointed out that 70 percent of AISD students are classified as economically disadvantaged and some attend school missing meals. The Huerta topper will act as a reminder of her work to feed children, improve living standards, and address civic issues. As vice president for marketing in the Odeh Group, Cardoza has the business expertise to speak up and step up.

Cardoza recalled that Huerta addressed TCU students on March 29, 2023, and talked about registering voters for John F. Kennedys presidential race and Ted Kennedys behind-the-scenes negotiations that facilitated the passage of the 1986 immigration amnesty bill. The law allowed Cardozas undocumented mother to become a naturalized U.S. citizen.

Cardoza revealed the selection committee had initially chosen Cesar Chavez as the honorary topper submission request to the city. After further discussion that a Huerta topper would be the first in Arlington named after a Latina, the group withdrew the Chavez selection. Overshadowed by Chavezs historical coverage, Huertas contributions were barely known. Sue Phillips, longtime resident and the unofficial mayor of East Arlington, said she was grateful that the committee had chosen a female for public esteem.

Dora Gonzales (full disclosure: the writers wife) who had lived in Arlington since 1958, told the audience that she heard nothing about Latino/a heroes in her AISD education. After graduating from UTA and Texas Womans University with teaching and bilingual certifications, she taught her students the history and contributions of Chavez and Huerta.

She said, We make history today with the Dolores Huerta unveiling. For the first time in Arlington history, the city publicly acknowledges a visible marker of the esteem we hold for Dolores Huerta. May this topper act as a road sign for Latino youth to study hard, to contribute to their community, to excel in their chosen career paths ... To the Latino community, let us strive to live up to the legacy of sacrifice, good will, and courage that Dolores Huerta demonstrated and still demonstrates throughout her life.

Arlington Mayor Jim Ross, joined by city councilman Raul Gonzalez, speaks at the unveiling of the Dolores Huerta street topper on May 27.

At 93, Huerta continues her work for community empowerment through her Dolores Huerta Foundation, focusing on Latina leadership training. At the TCU presentation, Latina students listened and cheered as the still quick-minded and passionate Huerta talked about the grapes of wrath struggle. Huerta credited the genius of Chavez for much of their union organizing success. She led the audience in clapping hands in progressive speed, a la union organizing rallies.

Dolores Huerta toppers reminded Dora Gonzales: to stand side by side, arm in arm with like-minded individuals in the lucha or the fight for the American Dream and the American Dream City.

Author Richard J. Gonzales writes and speaks about Fort Worth, national and international Latino history.
A student of the school of drone operators during a practical session

Dmytro Kukharchuk, the commander of the second assault battalion of the 3rd Separate Special Purpose Brigade, currently deployed in Bakhmut, has spoke about militarys need for Mavic drones, in an interview with Radio NV on July 7.

"At the tactical level, we are greatly assisted by Mavics, despite the fact that (as banal as it may sound, [Defense Minister] Reznikov recently referred to them as 'wedding drones,' which he does not want to purchase through the Cabinet of Ministers), Kukharchuk told Radio NV.

Mavics are essential for us to fight at the tactical level. They are our eyes both day and night. In this regard, we have an advantage over the enemy precisely because of these devices.

Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov has been critical of the drones, stating that he will not direct military funds to purchase them.

"Unfortunately, the state does not provide us with this equipment; the state has not given us a single Mavic, Kukharchuk confirmed.

During my battalion's time on the Bahkmut direction (which will soon be almost six months), we lost over 120 Mavics. The state has not given us any out of this quantity; it's all thanks to the volunteer movement.

Read also: Russia, Iran building combat drone factory in Tatarstan  report

In an interview published on July 3, Deputy Defense Minister and founder of the Come Back Alive Foundation, Vitaliy Deynega, stated that the Defense Ministry cannot procure Mavic drones because they are manufactured in China.

According to him, these drones are widely used by both Ukrainian defenders and Russian occupiers. Ukrainian units have only been able to source these drones via volunteer funds and private initiatives.

When asked about Reznikov's statement on the "wedding drones," Deynega stated that he believes that Mavics are far too useful on the battlefield, that the defense minister had made an error.

Read also:

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Astrology-speak is everywhere, especially if you're in the dating scene.

Astrology-speak is everywhere, especially if you're in the dating scene.

Id never date a Scorpio.

My connection with air signs is unmatched.

Cancer men are the devil and thats a hill I will die on

Yeah, but whats his moon sign? Thats what really matters.

If youre dating in 2022, you know its almost impossible to escape statements like the ones above: Astrology-speak  especially when applied to our romantic lives  is everywhere. (If its not astrology talk youre hearing on dates, its therapy speak  or sometimes both at the same time.)

Dating apps have a designated spot to put your sign, people use Whats your sign? as a tried-and-true icebreaker, and Could you text your mom and see what time you were born? isnt an uncommon question to ask on a second or third date. (For the unfamiliar, you need to know your birth time in order to determine your moon sign, which is the placement that describes your emotional, interior life and how you process your emotions.)

Stevie Goldstein, an astrologer and the co-host of the podcast Whats Your Sign? says shes seen astrology impact singles in myriad ways.

You have astrology devotees who swear off a sign completely after a bad experience  Im never dating another water sign  and also folks who dont practice astrology rolling their eyes at anyone who follows and has a connection to the movements of the planets, she told HuffPost.

As many have pointed out, horoscopes, like other things that are labeled feminine or popular in queer and femme spaces  cosmetics, boy bands, Barbie and even traits like gentleness  are often considered silly.

Astrology is regarded as pseudoscience because it lacks scientific evidence. But men picking a fight over the subject with their girlfriends probably arent doing themselves any favors. (Theres a jokey headline from the parody site Hard Times News that rings true here, Goldstein said: Mans Unmitigated Hatred of Astrology More of a Red Flag Than His Actual Astrological Sign.)

I think even straight men are realizing that, at the very least, being openly dismissive of astrology no longer flies, said Julia Loken, a comedian and Goldsteins co-host on Whats Your Sign?

I dont think that means that they are necessarily embracing astrology, but it is something you have to at least acknowledge as popular and potentially relevant, she said.

Does having an interest in astrology give you a competitive advantage, the way saying youre in therapy and working on yourself might? Thats all in the eye of the beholder, Loken said, but she does think knowing your big three is a sign of cultural literacy, which might score you points.

Your big three in astrology are your sun, moon, and rising  also called ascendant  signs, which collectively represent the foundational parts of your personality.

Its like if youre familiar with a popular meme reference, she said. You dont necessarily have to put stock in astrology, but you should know that its a concept people are talking about. Its a sign that you are with it. Pun intended.

Jenn Seng, a 23-year-old web content writer who lives in San Diego, is firmly interested in astrology, and so are the majority of the women she dates.

When are we lesbians not comparing our charts? she said. I have never met another lesbian or bi girl who does not ask me about my sign or eventually compare charts with me.

As a Sagittarius, Seng said she frequently gets told shes scary.

When I unveil my Libra Venus [placement] to dates, most thank God for giving me a Cancer moon, she said. I mean, these girls KNOW their stuff. Theyll pull up apps like Costar immediately with their chart ready.

Though astrology has been around for thousands of years and probably didnt need a PR boost, astrology apps like Costar and The Pattern have made the topic more accessible. The apps make it easy to add your friends and the people youre dating, see your compatibility and compare your natal charts.

Natal charts include planetary placements, which is where a given planet was positioned in the sky when you were born, based on your geographic location and the time of your birth. The idea is that your specific, unique natal chart can provide insight into your personality, motivations and desires.

The Pattern app, for instance, will give you daily updates on your relationship in alignment to the stars, Seng said. I actually am in a committed relationship and I have my partner on that app.

Seng said she and her partner glean a lot from the app and their natal charts, but theyre not reliant on any of it.

We dont overly use astrology to judge how our relationship is going or if were meant to be, she said. We very much rely on our feelings for each other and what we feel is best for ourselves.

Lance, a 22-year-old who lives in the Hudson Valley region of New York, is also into astrology. (Lance asked to use his first name only to protect his privacy.)

Im a Taurus sun, Virgo moon, Libra rising. I get along best with water signs and other earth signs, he reported. I am wary of fire and air signs, but their energy always excites me.

Lance said that when people tell him that they dont believe in astrology on dates, he jokes, Thats fine. After all, the stars arent going anywhere.

I think that peoples reactions to my feelings about astrology is a much more significant measurement of our compatibility, he said.

"You dont necessarily have to put stock in astrology, but you should know that its a concept people are talking about, said Julia Loken, a comedian and co-host on the Whats Your Sign? podcast.

Most people see astrology as a fun tool to reflect on their own lives without taking it too seriously, he said. Like, I dont think people should be using things like natal chart placements to manipulate others. Ive seen many joke posts of people lying about their birth times to impress or deceive.

Why would they do that? Some signs historically have a bad rap. Lisa Chanoux, a writer/comedian and the third host of Whats Your Sign, said she hears the most complaints about Aries, Gemini and Scorpio.

I would guess that people would call Aries selfish, but I think all signs can be selfish, but Aries is a sign that apologizes quickly and truly cares for others, she said. (Chanouxs husband is an Aries, so she had the inside scoop: When you encounter the selfish Aries, I recommend you make them think your idea is their idea.)

Geminis have a reputation for being wishy-washy or two-faced, she said.

In reality, I think they see all sides of an argument pretty quickly, and then take less time making decisions than other signs, she explained. Often, it doesnt mean that much to them, which makes people who methodically or painstakingly think something out furious.

Geminis are one of the most fun signs to chat and laugh with, Chanoux said, so she recommends getting a feel for them through less-serious topics first if youre finding a Gemini a little duplicitous.

Chanoux thinks Scorpios have a bad reputation because they love very deeply.

Scorpio isnt a surface-level sign and so things can move really quickly, and especially if youre young or new to dating, this can be a bit much, she said.

If youre feeling love-bombed by a Scorpio, try making a platonic friendship with one, Chanoux said. It can be a different person! Having Scorpio friends is one of the most rewarding life experiences.

Obviously, though, no two people are alike, Chanoux said, and these characteristics shouldnt be taken as gospel: You may have an amazing relationship with one Gemini, but one that leaves you reeling and heartbroken with another. People are unique, and your zodiac sign isnt prescriptive. (Dont blame their chart, blame the person! Goldstein joked.)

Basically, my advice is to take astrology into account, but dont be obnoxious about it, and dont let it override what you feel in your heart.Chris Brennan, the host of "The Astrology Podcast"

Chris Brennan, the host of The Astrology Podcast and the author of the book Hellenistic Astrology: The Study of Fate and Fortune, cautions against letting one bad experience with a certain astrological sign color your opinion of all of them, in friendships or in dating.

I think it is important for people to recognize that astrology is more complicated than it might seem at first, and that they should avoid simplifying it or using it as a tool to prejudge people, because that isnt really what it is meant for, he said.

Basically, my advice is to take astrology into account, but dont be obnoxious about it, and dont let it override what you feel in your heart, he said.

Camille Michelle Gray, an astrologer and musician, agrees. When shes had clients particularly worried about an incompatibility (their Mars is square my Moon, are we doomed?), shes tried to deconstruct those beliefs.

When I talk to clients, especially beginners in astrology, they might say something like, Ive never had a good experience with a Libra, she said. Instead of avoiding Libras outright, they instead understand how Libra placements trigger their chart, and why it feels so itchy.

This way, Gray told HuffPost, folks can become curious about their own sensitivities and histories instead of displacing those experiences onto a sun sign stereotype.

I tell people challenges are growth opportunities! Gray explained. A relationship with no friction is boring.

I think it is important for people to recognize that astrology is more complicated than it might seem at first, and that they should avoid simplifying it or using it as a tool to prejudge people,

I think it is important for people to recognize that astrology is more complicated than it might seem at first, and that they should avoid simplifying it or using it as a tool to prejudge people," said Chris Brennan, the host of "The Astrology Podcast."

Joe Nolan, a 52-year-old artist in Nashville, Tennessee, knows firsthand that you cant judge a sun sign book by its cover.

Im a Gemini married to a Taurus, he said. Thats not supposed to work, but we both have Venus and Mars in Cancer, and my rising sign  also Gemini  is just minutes out of Taurus. (In other words, there are parts of their natal charts that are deeply synced up.)

When Nolan was dating, he never refused to date a certain sign, but he definitely found himself gravitating to the same signs unconsciously.

Ive also found that people willing to talk about their stars are generally spiritual, curious or at least open-minded, he told HuffPost. Thats important to me as a typical Gemini.

As a married guy who believes in astrology, Nolan had some advice for single straight men put off by the abundance of astrology talk out there: See it as the conversation starter it is, and you might even have a little fun with it.

If I asked somebody their sign and they were straight dismissive, Id probably just assume they were pretty rigid and boring, he said. Astrology can be a fun icebreaker and a gateway to a deeper conversation, if you allow it to be.

Related...
Logo of the Palm Beach County Health Department

BOYNTON BEACH  County health officials Friday urged residents not to swim in the Intracoastal Waterway near East Ocean Avenue because of elevated concentrations of fecal bacteria.

Sewage recently spilled into the waterway near East Ocean Avenue, the state-run Palm Beach County Health Department said in a news release. City workers and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection are testing and cleaning up the water.

Water with too much fecal bacteria can cause "gastrointestinal issues and other conditions," the department said. Drinking water is not affected, the department said. The caution will be in place until further notice.

Anyone who comes into contact with the water in the area should wash thoroughly, especially before eating or drinking, the department said. Children and older adults, as well as people with weakened immune systems, are particularly vulnerable to disease, officials added.

For more information, call DOH-Palm Beach at 561-837-5900 or send an email to chd50contactus@flhealth.gov.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Sewage in Boynton Intracoastal triggers anti-swimming warning
Azovstal heroes returning to Ukraine

Five Ukrainian commanders from the defense of Azovstal are returning home from Russian imposed exile in Turkey, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a message on Telegram on July 8.

"We are returning home from Turkey and bringing our heroes home," he stated.

The president added that Ukrainian soldiers "will finally be with their families.

The Ukrainian defenders returning home are:

Azov commander Lieutenant Colonel Denys Prokopenko, call sign Redis;

Azov deputy commander Svyatoslav Palamar, call sign Kalyna;

acting commander of the 36th Marine Brigade, Captain 3rd Rank Serhiy Volynskyi, call sign Volyna;

senior soldier of the 72nd Black Zaporozhians Separate Mechanized Brigade, Oleh Khomenko;

Colonel Denys Shleha, commander of the 12th Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine.

Read also: Most Azovstal defenders remain in captivity in terrible conditions, reveals former Azov commander

The defense of Azovstal Steelworks in the city of Mariupol lasted from March 18 to May 20, 2022. After being unable to defend the ruins of the former plant, the fighters surrendered their positions on the orders of the Ukrainian command and were taken prisoner by Russia.

Later, five commanders from the battle were exchanged for 55 Russian service members, on condition that they would be sent to exile in Turkey until the end of the full-scale invasion, and not be allowed to rejoin Ukraines combat forces.

On July 7, Zelenskyy met with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and spoke about prisoner-of-war policies between the two nations.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Utah Congressional 2nd District candidate Becky Edwards speaks with delegates at Delta High School on June 24, 2023. | Ryan Sun, Deseret News

Becky Edwards officially qualified for the Republican primary ballot in the race to replace Rep. Chris Stewart in Utahs 2nd Congressional District, after gathering more than 7,000 signatures, Utahs elections office said Friday.

Edwards campaign sent out a press release Friday afternoon saying state Lt. Gov. Deidre Hendersons office had verified 7,000 signatures  the number required  out of the 12,500 submitted by the campaign.

This was truly a grassroots, volunteer-driven effort, and Im incredibly grateful for the hundreds of Utahns across the district that gathered signatures on my behalf, Edwards said, according to the press release.

Edwards will join fellow Republican Celeste Maloy on the GOP ballot for the Sept. 5 primary election. Maloy was chosen to represent the party by delegates to the state Republican convention last month, and, after facing questions about her voter registration status prior to filing to run, had her name submitted as the partys nominee.

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One additional candidate, Republican National committeeman Bruce Hough, also submitted signatures to the state, and may still qualify for the ballot if enough of those signatures are verified.

Edwards, who spent five terms representing North Salt Lake in the state legislature, has positioned herself as a political moderate in previous races. She ran against U.S. Sen. Mike Lee in the Republican primary last year, receiving just under 30% of the vote.

Because of her prior campaigns, Edwards may enjoy more name recognition than Maloy, who was endorsed by Stewart after serving as his chief legal counsel for the past four years. She also received the endorsement of former congressman Rob Bishop.

State GOP chair Rob Axson said the party will host a debate before the September primary if there is demand for one.
ORLANDO, Fla.  Civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump and the family of Derek Diaz, an unarmed man who was fatally shot by an Orlando police officer on Monday, demanded that the department release body camera footage of the incident at a press conference Saturday morning.

[The family] has one burning question: What happened to Derek Diaz? Crump said, standing beside members of Diazs family, who were holding signs that read Justice for Derek Diaz below a photo the of the 26-year-old father. They want the truth. They have a right to know the truth. We are here making an appeal of transparency.

So far, the only information about the shooting has come from a brief statement by Orlando Police Chief Eric Smith at a press conference less that three hours after it occurred Monday morning.

Smith said at approximately 1:52 a.m., Diaz was pulled over by an officer in the heart of downtown, just a few blocks west of Lake Eola Park. At the time, officers were proactively patrolling the downtown area, namely Jefferson Street and North Orange Avenue, which Smith called a hot spot for criminal activity where we have seized a lot of guns over the last several months.

Smith stated that the officer had reason to believe Diaz was involved in drug activity  the probable cause used to justify the stop. Its unclear, however, what gave police that impression. The chief said drugs were recovered, but its not been stated whose possession those drugs were in.

The chief said during the stop Diaz disobeyed the commands given by the officer and made a movement as if to retrieve a gun.

Thats when the cop shot him.

Diaz was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead less than two hours later.

Smith said no gun had been recovered at the scene.

OPD in the days since the shooting has not provided an update on whether it remains the case that no gun was found in Diazs car. The department has referred all questions about the incident to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), which is investigating the officers use of deadly force at the request of OPD.

Agents are conducting interviews with officers and witnesses, and our forensic scientists are processing evidence, FDLE spokesperson Dana Kelly said Friday in an email to the Orlando Sentinel. The investigation is active and we do not have additional information to share at this time.

According to the FDLE website, the agency as a routine does not comment on a specific case or provide names associated with the investigation Local agencies are able to provide information at their discretion.

In a statement to the Sentinel, OPD spokesperson Andrea Otero said on Friday that the city police department is not providing more details about the case in an effort to maintain the investigations integrity. She said the body camera footage will be released within 30 days of the incident, in accordance with OPD policy.

We are committed to being transparent with our community and assure you that our commitment has not changed, Otero said. Once the body worn camera is able to be released, we will share it with the community.

Crump, who announced he was representing the family on Wednesday, questioned the police departments motivations in waiting to publish the video or share it privately with the family before releasing it to the public.

Its for transparency  thats what its about, everybody being able to see what happened so we can determine whether the police were justified or not justified in taking a human life, Crump said. Its infuriating when we look at families and they say, Why cant we see what happened to our loved one, and they come up with arbitrary reasons to delay, delay, delay.

Why do we have a delay? he continued. The video is going to be the same no matter what, so release the video. Its not a hard demand that this family is asking.

Following Crumps comments was a brief chant by the attorney and Diazs family in English and Spanish: Release the video. Ver el video. Release the video. Ver el video. Release the video.

Diaz had just finished HVAC school when he was fatally shot, Crump said.

Fifteen-year-old Jordan Claxton said his last words to his older brother, Derek Diaz, were in a text asking him to bring home cookies. That was just a few hours before the shooting.

Diaz is also the father of a 5-year-old girl. Sonja Nava, the mother of Diazs only child, said, My daughter, she keeps asking for her dad, and I dont know what to tell her.

To help pay for Diazs funeral, the family created a GoFundMe; so far $8,425 has been raised.

Diazs mother, Yaneri Diaz Rodriguez, said she and her family want to see the video before his funeral.

I want to know what happened, she said. We have a right no know.
The family of the 26-year-old shot and killed by an Orlando police officer will be joined by civil rights attorney Ben Crumb on Saturday, calling for answers in the death of their loved one.

Ben Crump will be in Orlando demanding that the Orlando Police Department release the body-cam video in the shooting death of Derek Diaz.

Diaz was killed during a traffic stop early Monday morning.

Diaz was stopped in an area that Orlando Police Chief Eric Smith called a hot spot for criminal activity.

Read: Rally being held on Saturday for Ocala mother shot and killed by neighbor

During a press conference, Smith said Diaz was not cooperating with officers. He said Diaz made a quick movement as if to grab a gun and he was shot.

Diaz died from his injuries shortly after he was shot.

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A gun was never found.

The OPD officer is on administrative leave and an investigation into the shooting is underway by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Smith said.

Read: Federal agencies want to hear from you about your experience with medical credit cards

Attorney Crump released the following statement:

It is heartbreaking for Dereks family and his little girl to go through this traumatizing loss without much detail or explanation. The most respectful way for the Orlando Police Department to respond to this tragedy is with proactivity, and ultimately, transparency when communicating with the family and the Orlando community. We have been told that footage of Dereks deadly encounter with police will be available to the public within 30 days, but his family is owed that closure immediately.

Channel 9 will stream the press conference starting at 10 a.m. here.

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.
Here are the best US states for hiking

Here are the best US states for hiking

Nature lovers and adventurers can plan their next hiking trip in one of the top 10 states for hiking.

Travel experts at Why This Place gave each of the 50 states a Hiking Index Score based on five factors: the number of hiking trails and waterfalls relative to state area, the percentage of each state covered by national and state parks and the average yearly temperature and rainfall.

Here are the top 10 states on the list. While the states are located in multiple regions of the country, they are largely located along the coasts, and half of them are located in the Northeast.

Connecticut tops the list with a Hiking Index Score of 73.98 out of 100. Its high score is partially due to the Constitution State having many hiking trails in relation to its size  1,455 hiking trails per 1,000 square miles, specifically.

The state also has 8.49 percent of its total area covered by state and national parks, the third-most of all states. Plus, it has the fifth-highest number of waterfalls relative to its size, with 30 waterfalls per 1,000 square miles.

The average yearly rainfall is about 49 inches, with an average temperature of 49.9 degrees Fahrenheit.

Two children gaze up at a waterfall at Kent Falls State Park in Connecticut.

Coming in second is Massachusetts, with a score of 72.31 out of 100. It was the only state to beat out Connecticut for having the largest number of hiking trails in relation to its size, with 2,221 hiking trails per 1,000 square miles.

Waterfalls numbered 14 per 1,000 square miles, and 5.01 percent of the states total area is covered by state and national parks.

The average annual rainfall and average temperature are similar to those of its neighbor Connecticut, with 49 inches of yearly rain and 48.75 degrees.

A couple takes a selfie on the boardwalk beside the Charles River at the Broadmoor Wildlife Sanctuary in Natick, MA on Oct. 1, 2020.

Hawaii is nipping at the heels of Massachusetts with a Hiking Index Score of 72.09. It has the highest number of waterfalls relative to its size, with 85 waterfalls per 1,000 square miles.

While it only has 62 hiking trails, the Aloha State has the second-highest percentage of the total area covered by state and national parks at 9.46 percent.

The average yearly rainfall is 43 inches, and the average temperature is the highest of all 50 states at 73.5 degrees.

Visitors stand atop Rainbow Falls on December 14, 2016, near Hilo, Hawaii. Hawaii.

California scored 69.49 on the list, with 107 hiking trails and seven waterfalls per 1,000 square miles.

The Golden State comes in fourth in the top 10 list for the total state area covered by state and national parks with 7.63 percent.

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The average yearly rainfall is the third-lowest on the top 10 list, with 22.3 inches. The average temperature is 59 degrees.

Hikers walk through the superbloom in Carrizo Plain National Monument on April 22, 2023.

New Jerseys Hiking Index Score matches that of California at 69.49 out of 100. The state ranks fourth in the entire country for the highest number of hiking trails per 1,000 square miles with 650 hiking trails per 1,000 square miles.

The state has nine waterfalls per 1,000 square miles, and about 8.14 percent of the total area is covered by state and national parks.

The average yearly rainfall in New Jersey is similar to that of its Northeast counterparts on the list, with 48 inches of rain falling annually. The average temperature is 53.6 degrees.

A little girl runs down a path in the woods on October 18 in Mahwah, New Jersey.

Arizona has a Hiking Index Score of 64.25. It has 52 hiking trails and one waterfall per 1,000 square miles. About 2.17 percent of its total area is covered by state and national parks.

The average annual rainfall amount in Arizona is the lowest on the top 10 list and the second-lowest of all 50 states, with only 11.6 inches of precipitation. The average temperature, however, is the highest on the list at 61.06 degrees.

Tourists stand on a canyon rim at Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona during the spring of 2023.

With a score of 62.45, Washington has 140 hiking trails per 1,000 square miles, and about 4.18 percent of its total area is covered by state and national parks.

It has 47 waterfalls per 1,000 square miles, the second-highest number of waterfalls of all 50 states.

HERE ARE THE TOP MOUNTAIN CLIMBING DESTINATIONS IN THE US

The average annual rainfall amount and average temperature in Washington is similar to those of the Northeast states, with about 48 inches of rainfall and 47.3-degree temperatures on average.

Hikers coming up from the beach at Fort Townsend Historical State Park near Port Townsend, Jefferson County, Washington on October 9, 2022.

New Hampshire has a score of 61.55 out of 100, and it offers 482 hiking trails per 1,000 square miles. It also offers 40 waterfalls per 1,000 square miles, the third-highest number on the top 10 list.

New Hampshire has an annual rainfall amount of 48 inches and average annual temperatures of 44 degrees.

Waterfall at the Basin in Franconia State Park.

The Beehive State has a Hiking Index Score of 61.22 out of 100, with 87 hiking trails and about one waterfall per 1,000 square miles. About 1.86 percent of its area is covered by state and national parks.

Utah has the second-lowest average rainfall amount on the top 10 list and the third-lowest of all 50 states, with only 13.5 inches of rain falling each year. It boasts an average temperature of 44 degrees.

Hikers take pictures at the entrance of the famous Narrows hike in Zion National Park.

Rhode Island has a Hiking Index Score of 60.65. The smallest state in the nation has the third-highest number of hiking trails relative to its size, with 1,131 hiking trails per 1,000 square miles.

It also has about two waterfalls per 1,000 square miles, and one percent of the state is covered by state and national parks.

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The Ocean State has an average annual rainfall of 49 inches and an average temperature of 50.65 inches.

A jogger passes Olney Pond inside Lincoln Woods State Park in Lincoln, RI on Oct. 14, 2020.

To see how the other U.S. states ranked, check out the table here.
Three people are dead, including a Massachusetts Boy Scout killed in a boating accident and a 41-year-old woman from Beverly, Massachusetts who reportedly drowned, after three separate incidents in New Hampshire waters on Friday, state police said.

Marine Patrol and state police responded to calls in Gilmanton, Manchester, and Madison, between the hours of 2:15 p.m. and 8:45 p.m. on Friday, with the assistance of at least nine other agencies.

At approximately 2:15 p.m., New Hampshire 911 received a call for a boating accident on Manning Lake in Gilmanton, where a young boy was injured while out on a boat, state police said.

The boy, who has not been identified, was pronounced dead at the scene, state police said.

The boy was a student at Clarke Middle School in Lexington who was attending a summer camp in New Hampshire, Lexington Public Schools Superintendent Julie Hackett said in a letter to the school community.

Multiple students witnessed the boating accident and the district is working with Lexington Human Services to make grief counseling available for students and staff, Hackett said.

While at the fatal boating accident in Gilmanton, Marine Patrol received another call of a body that had been found on the Piscataquog River in Manchester, near the border of Goffstown, state police said.

Boaters called Manchester Police after finding the body, later identified as Shawn Barton, 40, with an unknown address at this time, state police said. Marine Patrol along with Troopers from Troop B and the Major Crime Unit responded to investigate. An investigation is ongoing to determine the cause of death.

Then, at around 8:45 p.m., a third call was received for a possible drowning on Middle Pea Porridge Pond in Madison, for a swimmer who had not returned to her family after being on the water in front of their rental property, state police said.

Investigators said Amy Posocco, 41, of Beverly, Massachusetts, had been swimming with a group of her family members when she failed to return to shore. Family and neighbors began an immediate search but were unsuccessful.

A dive team of Ossipee first responders helped locate Posocco approximately 90 feet offshore. An investigation into her death is ongoing. While an immediate cause of death was not known on Saturday, state police said they believe Posoccos death was accidental.

New Hampshire State Police Marine Patrol would like to extend our condolences to the families of the three victims, state police said in a statement on Saturday.

State Police also thanked the following agencies for their assistance at the scenes of all three fatalities: New Hampshire State Police  Troop B, Troop E and Major Crime Unit, New Hampshire Fish and Game, Gilmanton Police, Gilmanton Fire and Rescue, Alton Ambulance, Manchester Police and Fire, Ossipee Fire and Rescue, and the New Hampshire Medical Examiners Office.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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President Joe Biden. Jim Watson / AFP via Getty Images

President Biden on Friday defended his decision to send cluster bombs to Ukraine, even as some Democratic lawmakers decried the move.

In an interview with CNN, Biden said that the sending of cluster bombs was a "difficult" choice, but a necessary one because "the Ukrainians are running out of ammunition." Biden added that he had "discussed this with our allies, I discussed this with our friends up on the Hill" prior to making the decision.

Biden's interview came hours after the White House confirmed that it would send the cluster munitions to Ukraine as part of a new aid package. The munitions being sent will be used in American-provided 155mm howitzers, which Reuters noted has become a key piece of artillery in Ukraine's counteroffensive against the Russian invasion.

Though they are the latest in a long line of weapons sent to Ukraine, the choice to send cluster munitions has proven especially controversial. Cluster bombs open in midair to release hundreds of smaller particles, called "bomblets," that can rain down on numerous targets at once. The International Committee of the Red Cross has said that cluster bombs "can kill and injure large numbers of civilians and cause long-lasting socioeconomic problems." A 2008 treaty prohibited the use of cluster bombs, but neither the U.S., Ukraine, nor Russia have signed this document.

Following the White House's decision, a number of top Democrats broke with Biden, lambasting his choice to send Ukraine the weaponry. Rep. Betty McCollum (D-Mo.), the ranking member of the House subcommittee on defense appropriations, released a statement calling the decision "unnecessary and a terrible mistake," saying the move "undermines our moral authority and places the U.S. in a position that directly contradicts 23 of our NATO allies." Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) tweeted that the sending of cluster munitions was not the proper way to support Ukraine.

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By Michael Holden and Steve Holland

LONDON (Reuters) -U.S President Joe Biden arrived in London late on Sunday for the start of a three-nation tour that will include meetings with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and a discussion on climate change with King Charles at Windsor Castle on Monday.

The White House had said the trip was designed "to further strengthen the close relationship between our nations".

The president, who flew into Stansted airport northeast of London late on Sunday, will travel to Downing Street on Monday to hold a low-key meeting with Sunak, their fifth in as many months. Sunak's spokesperson said the discussions would likely include the upcoming NATO summit and Ukraine.

"As we face new and unprecedented challenges to our physical and economic security, our alliances are more important than ever," Sunak said in a statement released by his office.

"The UK is Europe's leading NATO ally, we are the United States' most important trade, defence and diplomatic partner, and we are at the forefront of providing Ukraine with the support they need to succeed on the battlefield," said Sunak, who studied at California's Stanford University and owns a penthouse flat in Santa Monica, in southern California.

Sunak has gone some way in repairing ties with Biden after the relationship cooled under his predecessors Boris Johnson and Liz Truss due to their tough stance over a post-Brexit deal with the European Union and Johnson's closer ties to Republican former President Donald Trump.

For Biden, the more high-profile part of the trip will be his meeting with King Charles at Windsor Castle, to the west of London, where the monarch's late mother, Queen Elizabeth, hosted Democratic President Barack Obama in 2016 and Trump in 2018.

Biden also met Queen Elizabeth at Windsor for tea in 2021.

The king will receive Biden in the quadrangle of the castle, where a guard of honour will give a Royal Salute and the U.S. national anthem will be played, the king's office said.

The president and the king are due to discuss climate issues, a subject on which Charles, 74, has campaigned and spoken out about for more than five decades.

When the two men met at the COP26 U.N. climate summit in Scotland two years ago, Biden praised Charles' leadership on the subject, telling him, "We need you badly".

"You are very kind for saying that," Charles replied.

Biden met Charles at a reception during a visit for the funeral of Queen Elizabeth last year, but in keeping with longstanding practice of U.S. presidents, he did not attend the king's coronation in May.

U.S. special climate envoy John Kerry told the BBC he had been invited to brief the king and Biden about a climate finance conference that he was due to host with British energy minister Grant Shapps on Monday.

Following the meeting, Biden and Sunak will leave Britain for Lithuania where NATO leaders will gather for a key summit. Biden is then expected to travel to Helsinki for a meeting with Nordic leaders.

(Reporting by Michael Holden and Steve HollandAdditional reporting by Muvija M and Paul SandleEditing by Helen Popper and Leslie Adler)
Biden said he decided to send Ukraine controversial cluster bombs because Kyiv is 'running out of ammunition'

Biden said he decided to send Ukraine controversial cluster bombs because Kyiv is 'running out of ammunition'

Joe Biden has agreed to send Ukraine deadly cluster munitions.

He defended his decision and said Ukraine needed them because they were "running out of ammunition."

The controversial weapons are banned under an international treaty signed by 123 countries, but not the US.

President Joe Biden defended his decision to send Ukraine controversial and deadly cluster munitions, explaining it was because Kyiv was "running out of ammunition" after 500 days of war.

"It was a very difficult decision on my part. And by the way, I discussed this with our allies, I discussed this with our friends up on the Hill," Biden told CNN's Fareed Zakaria on Friday.

"The Ukrainians are running out of ammunition," he added.

The US finally agreed to send the weapons as part of a new $800 million security assistance package on Friday, following months of requests from Kyiv.

The cluster munitions will be compatible with US-provided 155mm howitzers, which have been a key piece of artillery for Ukrainian forces, CNN reported.

Cluster bombs are particularly dangerous because they break apart into multiple little bombs when fired, some of which do not always explode upon impact. The unexploded ordinance can put civilians at risk for years to come, like landmines.

Experts say cluster bombs will be useful for Ukraine's forces against well-dug-in Russian trenches amid a grueling counteroffensive.

However, the lethal weapons are highly controversial and are banned under an international treaty signed by 123 countries  but not the US, Russia, and Ukraine.

A casing of a cluster bomb rocket lays on the snow-covered ground in Zarichne on February 6, 2023, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. YASUYOSHI CHIBA/AFP via Getty Images

Human Rights Watch said last year that Russia was actively using cluster bombs in Ukraine and had killed and maimed hundreds of civilians with them.

Biden told Zakaria that the weapons were being sent to Ukraine during a "transition period" until the US is able to produce more 155mm artillery.

"This is a war relating to munitions. And they're running out of that ammunition, and we're low on it," Biden said.

"And so, what I finally did, I took the recommendation of the Defense Department to  not permanently  but to allow for this transition period, while we get more 155 weapons, these shells, for the Ukrainians."

Ukraine launched its much-anticipated counteroffensive to take back territory occupied by Russia in early June, but gains have so far been slow.

Biden said it took him a while "to be convinced" to send cluster bombs, but he ultimately decided Ukraine "needed them."

Former chief of general staff for the British Army Lord Dannatt said that Biden's move risks "fracturing" NATO harmony, considering so many NATO countries have banned them.

Responding to Biden's decision, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak noted on Saturday that the UK was a signatory of the international treaty banning and discouraging their use but said his government would continue to support Ukraine in other ways.

Ukraine told to investigate its use of banned 'butterfly' antipersonnel mines

18 PFM-1 in cluster dispenser. Also known as 'butterfly' mines. German Army Combat Training Centre Letzlingen 2019/Wikicommons

Last week, Human Rights Watch told Ukraine to investigate the use of banned land mines by the Ukrainian military after new evidence that they had caused civilian casualties was discovered.

The group called for Ukraine to investigate the use of Russian-made PFM-1 antipersonnel mines around the eastern Ukrainian city of Izium between April and September 2022. It said it had evidence of 11 civilian casualties from the mines, including one fatality.

The miniature PFM-1, also known as "butterfly" or "petal" mines, are fired from rockets and scatter indiscriminately on a wide area.

Read the original article on Business Insider
China played a key role in successfully concluding negotiations on the text of the world's first multilateral investment agreement, known as the Investment Facilitation for Development (IFD), a commerce ministry official said on Friday.

The successful conclusion was announced after a recent World Trade Organization (WTO) meeting on the text negotiations.

As the world's first multilateral investment agreement, the IFD agreement aims to improve the transparency and predictability of investment measures, speed up and streamline investment-related administrative procedures, and enhance sustainable investment.

The IFD agreement is the first negotiation topic set up and actively led by China in the WTO, with more than 110 WTO members signing and participating in the negotiation of the IFD. The topic entered into text negotiations in September 2020.

China provided pragmatic solutions for disputed issues during the negotiations, and made key contributions to their successful conclusion, receiving high recognition from the parties involved, the official said.

Negotiations on multilateral investment agreements have long been an obstacle in making global trade and investment rules, and former attempts made by the WTO and Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development have all failed, the official said.

Global foreign direct investment faced huge downward pressure in 2022 and fell by 12 percent to 1.3 trillion U.S. dollars, according to the World Investment Report 2023 released by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.
(Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden told Chinese President Xi Jinping following his meeting with Russia's Vladimir Putin to "be careful" because Beijing relies on Western investment, according to excerpts from an interview with CNN.

"I said: This is not a threat. This is an observation," Biden said.

"Since Russia went into Ukraine, 600 American corporations have pulled out of Russia. And you have told me that your economy depends on investment from Europe and the United States. And be careful. Be careful."

Putin and Xi held two days of talks in March with warm words of friendship between China and Russia and joint criticism of the West, but no sign of a diplomatic breakthrough over Ukraine.

The pair also participated in a virtual summit earlier this week.

There are heightened tensions and pessimism in the U.S.-China relationship over national security issues, including Taiwan, Russia's war in Ukraine, growing U.S. export bans on advanced technologies and China's state-led industrial policies.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen was continuing a visit to China on Saturday.

Asked what Xi's response was, Biden said: "He listened, and he didn't...argue. And if you notice, he has not gone full-bore in on Russia."

"So, I think there's a way we can work through this."

(Reporting by Costas Pitas; Editing by Sandra Maler and Leslie Adler)
President Joe Bidens trip to Europe next week may feel familiar, coming under the shadow of an increasingly stalemated war.

But for administration officials and foreign policy experts, the five-day swing across the Atlantic has quickly taken on heightened import: a bit of high-wire act diplomacy that could profoundly impact international alliances and fundamentally alter the very course of the war itself. The opportunity is there, they argue.

This is the weakest Putin has been since taking power, said Ian Bremmer, president of the Eurasia Group, a global risk assessment firm based in New York. Those escalation concerns that existed when the war began have steadily diminished.

Biden leaves Sunday for a trip that will have at its heart the NATO summit in Lithuania, a gathering now timed to an inflection point in Russias invasion of its neighbor. Held in Vilnius, just a few hundred miles from the fighting, the alliances gathering comes as Ukraine has slowly rolled out its counteroffensive. Biden then will visit Finland for a Nordic summit, personally planting the symbolic flag of the West on the soil of NATOs newest member.

Biden, his aides previewed, will use a major address Wednesday before NATO to forcefully urge for a redoubling of Western support for Ukraine. He will declare it imperative that Kyiv be sufficiently armed to make real progress before the fighting season slows for mud and then snow. He also will point to NATOs response over the past 16 months, and the alliances expansion, to argue that hes delivered on a promise to repair Americas alliances  and use the recent tumult in Russia as further evidence that efforts by allies have been working.



The president has been clear that we are going to support Ukraine for as long as it takes and provide them an exceptional quantity of arms and capabilities, said national security adviser Jake Sullivan on Friday. We believe we have been able to mount a vigorous concerted, dynamic response in response to Russias aggression.

Alarm has been increasing among many of those allies over how long, and at what cost, Kyiv can continue to be supported. And some of those wary voices have grown louder in Washington, as more congressional Republicans  and leading GOP presidential candidates  have expressed objections to bankrolling the resistance to Vladimir Putin. That, in turn, has stirred fears across Europe that a GOP White House win next year could shatter the alliance. And several points of strain will be evident in Vilnius, including sharp divides as to whether to put Ukraine on a path to NATO membership.

Evidence of Putins possible new vulnerability lies just across the border from the NATO summit.

Vilnius sits not far from Lithuanias border with Belarus, a fellow former Soviet state that has taken a very different path. While Lithuania has linked itself to Europe, Belarus remains a Russian satellite and its leader, Aleksandr Lukashenko, helped broker a deal to end the mercenary Wagner Groups rebellion attempt two weeks ago.

Lukashenko offered Wagners leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, refuge in the capital of Minsk after the insurrection failed, though his whereabouts remain unknown. But the reasons for the mercenary leaders aborted mutiny remain present: Prigozhin had myriad complaints about Russias faltering invasion, revealing huge cracks in the Russian militarys equipment and strategy that cost thousands of men their lives.

Biden will argue, aides say, that those Russian missteps came because of Ukraines fierce resistance, in part fueled by a treasure trove of weapons and money sent by the West. And Bremmer, among others, believes that the failed insurrection gives a boost to Ukraines push to join NATO and gives the West a lot less reason to worry about any of Putins supposed red lines.

But Kyivs long-awaited counteroffensive has gotten off to an undeniably sluggish start, with many of Ukraines top soldiers exhausted or incapacitated after nearly 18 months of fighting. With those struggles as the backdrop, Ukraine next week will again push for NATO membership, something that is certain to be a flashpoint in Vilnius.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is seeking a clear indication from leaders on where they stand on that question, which appears to be splitting two key members of the alliance. French President Emmanuel Macron, struggling to quiet widespread rioting across his nation, canceled a scheduled state visit to Berlin last week. That added to the rising tension between Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz over Ukraines potential NATO membership.

During a trilateral meeting in Paris last month, which was also attended by Polish President Andrej Duda, Macron shifted his position on the matter to be more in line with Poland and other eastern flank countries that want Ukraine to eventually join the alliance. That, in turn, alienated Scholz, who is constrained politically by a German public wary about getting entangled further in the conflict.

Biden has also made clear that Kyiv should not get a shortcut to admittance, a stance many allies share, given lingering concerns about its defense capabilities and the need for more democratic reforms. Sullivan said on Friday that Ukraine would not gain admittance in Vilnius.

A resolution over Swedens membership appears closer at hand. That country applied for membership at the same time as Finland, but has been blocked by objections from Turkey and, to a lesser degree, Hungary. Earlier this week, Biden forcefully added his voice to a late push to get the deal done in Vilnius.

One matter that was settled ahead of time: Keeping Jens Stoltenberg in place as NATOs secretary general. Privately, the president urged the former Norwegian prime minister, whose term was due to end in October, to consider another extension, two White House officials said. The push reflected Bidens desire to maintain the status quo and general cohesion within a complex alliance still facing a war right on its doorstep, the officials said.

Its indicative of the broader climate within the alliance and how right now the priority is to hold the line on Ukraine for as long as possible, said Rachel Rizzo, a fellow with the Atlantic Councils Europe Center, who expressed doubt that leaders would satisfy Ukraine's request for clarity about its membership ambitions next week. NATO must present a cohesive front at this summit. So the easier approach here is just answering the short-term questions; and the bigger questions that require consensus from allies are being kicked down the road a little.

After Biden leaves Sunday, his first stop will be London for his first visit with King Charles III since the monarch took the throne. That visit will be part ceremonial and part substantive, focusing mostly on climate change. Biden will also meet with U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak before heading to Lithuania.

Bidens team believes that prioritizing leadership on the world stage will benefit him back home, providing a sharp and effective contrast to the raucous GOP primary field. And Bidens final stop of the week will implicitly drive that home.

Upon leaving Vilnius, Biden will fly to Helsinki for a Nordic States summit and to welcome Finland into the NATO alliance. He is expected to hold a Thursday news conference in the Finnish capital  five years to the week since his predecessor, Donald Trump, did the same in a very different political moment.

It was in Helsinki that Trump met with Putin in 2018, the two men huddling alone for hours in their sole full-fledged summit. At the news conference afterward, Trump made clear that he believed Putins denials about Russias 2016 election interference over the conclusions of his own intelligence agencies. And national security analysts believe that, despite his military setbacks, Putin might try to keep his war going through the next U.S. presidential election

Given that Trump is running again for president and given the growing chorus of Republican candidates who question or are against U.S. support for Ukraine, said Hagar Chemali, a former National Security Council and Treasury Department official under President Barack Obama, I would expect President Zelenskyy to push even harder for additional military support this year to avoid getting stuck in U.S. domestic politics as we near November 2024.

CORRECTION: A previous version of this report misstated the type of summit Biden will attend in Finland.
Biden: Ukraine is not ready for NATO membership now

US President Joe Biden has said that Ukraine's accession to NATO may be considered only after the war is over.

Source: Biden in an interview with CNN

Quote: "I dont think its ready for membership in NATO.[...] I dont think there is unanimity in NATO about whether or not to bring Ukraine into the NATO family now, at this moment, in the middle of a war."

"So, I think we have to lay out a rational path for Ukraine to be able to qualify to get into NATO. [...] The US would be ready, while the process [of Ukraines accession into NATO] is going on, and its going to take a while, to provide the security a la we provide to Israel."

Details: Biden stressed that although Ukraine's membership in NATO is premature, the United States and its allies will continue to provide Ukrainian Defence Forces with the weapons they need to stop Russian aggression.

Background: During a joint briefing with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Turkiyes President Recep Erdogan said that Ukraine deserves to be a NATO member.

Earlier, Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged US President Joe Biden to invite Ukraine to join NATO now, even if Ukraine becomes a member after the war ends.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
To boost diversity after the Supreme Court struck down affirmative action in college admissions, UNC will offer free tuition to some in-state students

The campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in Chapel Hill, N.C. Eros Hoagland/Getty Images

UNC said it would soon offer free tuition to in-state undergrads whose families earn less than $80,000.

The policy change is set to begin with students who will enter the university in the fall of 2024.

UNC announced the plan after the Supreme Court struck down the use of affirmative action in admissions.

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on Friday announced it would offer free tuition to some in-state students as part of their continued effort to boost diversity after the Supreme Court last month struck down the use of affirmative action in college admissions.

UNC Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz in a statement said that beginning with the incoming class in the fall of 2024, undergraduates from North Carolina whose families incomes are below $80,000 will receive free tuition.

"We will expand the university's long-standing commitment to access and affordability for North Carolina families," he said. "We want to make sure students know financial constraints should not stand in the way of their dreams."

Guskiewicz also said that UNC has hired new outreach officers to tout the tuition policy change and recruit students to attend the flagship institution.

"We want the best students to know that a UNC-Chapel Hill education is a possibility for them," he continued. "Our University's commitment to access and affordability and supporting a culture of belonging for everyone does not change with last week's ruling."

There are roughly 20,000 undergraduates enrolled at UNC. In the class of 2026, which entered the university last fall, 49% of the students were North Carolina natives, and 32% received need-based financial aid.

Guskiewicz also reiterated that UNC would fully adhere to the court's ruling.

"That means race will not be a factor in admissions decisions at the University," he said. "It also means we will comply with the Court's ruling that an applicant's lived racial experience cannot be credited as 'race for race's sake,' but instead under some circumstances may illuminate an individual's character and contributions."

In a 6-3 decision last month, the court's conservative bloc aligned against the continuation of affirmative action, arguing that the admission practices of UNC and Harvard violated the 14th Amendment's equal protection clause.

While Republicans praised the decision, progressives largely railed against the ruling, pointing to the proliferation of legacy admissions at many elite universities, where applicants of alumni are given a boost in the admissions process.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Whats it like to have a bounty on your head for supporting democracy?

LONDON  He woke up to find he had a million-dollar bounty on his head.

But Finn Lau, a pro-democracy activist from Hong Kong, said he wasnt shocked to see the lucrative reward next to his mugshot on the arrest warrant issued earlier this week by national security police in the Chinese territory.

This sort of bounty or safety risks will not deter me from continuing advocating for Hong Kong human rights and democracy, he told NBC News by telephone Tuesday from his apartment in London.

Hong Kong authorities are offering 1 million Hong Kong dollars ($128,000) each for information leading to the arrest of Lau and seven other activists living in self-exile in the United States, Britain and Australia. They are the first such cash rewards since Beijing imposed a national security law on the city in June 2020, which the activists are accused of breaching.

The announcement comes as the international financial hub is trying to repair its image damaged by years of Covid restrictions, as well as the national security law, which the U.S. and others say is being used to erode freedoms that were promised to Hong Kong, a former British colony, upon its return to Chinese sovereignty in 1997.

Chinese and Hong Kong authorities say the law was necessary to restore stability after anti-government protests that roiled the city for months in 2019, sometimes turning violent.

The U.S., Britain and Australia, all of which suspended their extradition treaties with Hong Kong after the national security law was imposed, condemned the bounties, describing them as an attempt by China to intimidate and silence overseas critics.

The extraterritorial application of the national security law is a dangerous precedent that threatens the human rights and fundamental freedoms of people all over the world, the State Department said in a statement.

Chinese and Hong Kong authorities accuse the three countries of harboring fugitives, and say the U.S., Britain and Australia have also sought to apply their national security laws outside their own territories.

Their charges against the eight activists include urging foreign governments to impose sanctions on Hong Kong and advocating Hong Kongs independence from China.

Since moving abroad, the activists have continued to instigate the division of the country and subversion of state power, acting as pawns for external anti-China forces in their effort to interfere in Hong Kong affairs, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a regular briefing in Beijing on Tuesday.

Chief Executive John Lee, Hong Kongs top leader, has said the eight activists will be pursued for life, urging them to surrender. He encouraged anyone, including friends and relatives, to aid in their apprehension.

Speaking out from afar

Since leaving Hong Kong for the British capital in January 2020, Lau has continued to speak out about issues affecting his former home.

Chief among his concerns is the national security law, which criminalizes secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces. The law carries penalties up to life in prison and asserts jurisdiction over everyone in the world, regardless of nationality or location.

More than 250 people in Hong Kong have been arrested under the legislation, including 47 pro-democracy politicians and activists who have mostly been held without bail for more than two years.

Nathan Law, an activist in exile and former member of the (May James / SOPA LightRocket via Getty Images file)

On Wednesday, Hong Kong national security police said they had arrested four men between the ages of 26 and 28 who are accused of supporting overseas dissidents and advocating Hong Kong independence. The statement did not name the men or say whether the arrests were related to the warrants issued for the overseas activists.

A fifth man, 24, was arrested at Hong Kong International Airport on Thursday, the police said, adding that he was suspected of having ties with the group arrested the day before and that there could be further arrests.

Besides Lau, those targeted by the bounties include activists Nathan Law and Anna Kwok, former lawmakers Dennis Kwok and Ted Hui, lawyer and legal scholar Kevin Yam, union leader Mung Siu-tat and online commentator Yuan Gong-yi.

Lau said that he was no stranger to intimidation and harassment, but that he feared the bounty would escalate personal risks, safety risks and risk of abduction.

Those fears were shared by Law, who was 23 in 2016 when he became the youngest person elected to Hong Kongs Legislative Council.

There will be people who are incentivized to give out my information, my whereabouts, said Law, who like Lau lives in London.

Law said he intended to travel only to countries that have suspended their extradition agreements with Hong Kong.

I have to be more careful in my daily life and try to protect my personal safety, he said.

Yam, an Australian citizen living in Melbourne, said Wednesday that he would continue to live my life normally.

As of Wednesday, the international police network Interpol said it had not received any red notice, or a global request for a persons arrest pending extradition, for any of the eight overseas activists. Interpols constitution forbids it from any intervention or activities of a political, military, religious or racial character, it said in a statement, adding that it is also required to act in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Hong Kong officials have also acknowledged that theyll be unable to arrest the overseas activists unless they return to the city.

Yaqiu Wang, a senior researcher at Human Rights Watch, said that as the U.S. and other Western governments seek to improve their relations with China, they should place human rights at the center of their engagement. Not doing so, she said, has encouraged Beijing to be more aggressive in curbing dissent.

Law considers the bounties a badge of honor.

They prove, he said, that what Im doing is pressurizing the government and they are nervous about it.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Bradley Cooper

Bradley Cooper recently scaled a cliff  literally and figuratively  with Bear Grylls in an episode of "Running Wild with Bear Grylls: The Challenge." The 48-year-old actor discussed losing his father and how he grew to be a better father through navigating his grief, all while hanging off the side of a cliff in Wyoming.

Bradley Cooper explained the connection between his fathers passing and his journey as a parent.

Cooper has one daughter, Lea, 6, who he shares with his ex, Irina Shayk. While Cooper and Shayk generally keep Lea out of the public eye, Cooper took a rare moment to talk about his deep love for his daughter and how mourning his father led him to being a better dad.

RELATED: Daughter Completes Her Dad's Bucket List After He Passed Away  'It Opened My Heart'

bradley cooper and irina shayk

Photo: Featureflash Photo Agency / Shutterstock

Cooper claimed that his fathers death was a blessing, stating, He gave me a huge gift; he died in my arms. To see that kind of factual example of mortality.

Grylls asked Cooper if his fathers death changed how he looks at things, to which Cooper responded, Oh, yeah. Some ways for the worst.

Losing his father led him to acquire a nihilistic attitude after, for a little bit, as he came to grips with the inevitable fact that he, too, would someday die. He said that realization came to him just like, wow, Im gonna die.

RELATED: Why Tom Cruise 'Chooses Not To See' His Daughter 11 Years After Their Last Sighting Together

Accepting his own mortality allowed Cooper to fully accept himself and become a better parent in the process.

I realized I had to just embrace who I actually am and try to find peace with that, he said.

Grylls questioned how losing his dad affected Cooper as a father, himself, asking, How do you approach fatherhood now? Youve had that whole journey with your dad and now youre a dad.

Coopers perspective on parenting is grounded in reality. He recognizes that parents make mistakes  to do so is an undeniable part of the human experience  but its in the way we navigate those mistakes that makes a difference.

I mean, you learn from your predecessors mistakes, and Ill make tons that hopefully Lea will learn from, Cooper said. He also placed emphasis on being rigorous with myself to grow, explaining the importance of holding ourselves accountable to our mistakes, and being open to learning from them.

RELATED: Dad Leaves Video For His Kids Sharing His Final Wishes  'I Worked Hard So You Could Have A Better Life'

He touched on the value of breaking generational trauma in the ways he shows up for his daughter, expressing his hope to help unburden her with any of my bulls-t.

bradley cooper

Photo: Featureflash Photo Agency / Shutterstock

All parents want to provide their children with a healthier, fuller version of life than they were afforded, which, in part, requires them to work through their own traumas to be fully present for their children.

In a 2018 interview with NPR, Cooper spoke to the ways that becoming a parent changed his life for the better.

He stated, I guess having a child, and having a family of my own  which is a miracle and something Ive always dreamt of  has opened me up more, I guess, to the day, and to be more present.

RELATED: Owen Wilson Allegedly Still Refuses To Meet His 4-Year-Old Daughter  Her Mom Says She 'Needs A Father'

In that interview, Cooper explained that even though his father is no longer on this earth, he still exists, in memory and legacy.

My dad works his way into my life every day, he said. He mentioned the strength of the love he received from his family, stating, thats the thing I want my daughter to have  I just always want her to feel loved.

He was asked by NPR host Rachel Martin, Are there things he did as a dad that you dont want to repeat? Cooper answered, You know, I dont know if time does this to you. But all I remember is the great stuff.

In an interview with Oprah in 2019, Cooper spoke candidly about the spiritual connection he sensed between his father and his daughter. He stated that becoming a parent "changed everything."

RELATED: Hospice Nurse Reveals Unexplained Phenomenon Patients Experience Shortly Before Death

"I see my father in her quite often," he explained. "And I can't believe I'm going to admit this, but I have moments, when she was a child, and I was just in the room with her, I would say, 'Dad?' Because there's some moments where she looks just like my father."

While Cooper clearly mourns the loss of his father, hes also able to see what his dads death offered him  a chance to embrace his own life in its entirety. Hes passing down the love he felt from his father to his daughter, which is a gift in itself.

RELATED: A Young Mom Wrote Her Own Obituary Without Realizing  And Its Chilling

Alexandra Blogier is a writer on YourTango's news and entertainment team. She covers celebrity gossip, pop culture analysis and all things to do with the entertainment industry.

This article originally appeared on YourTango
A butler to the rich and famous says you should never open a bottle of wine gifted by a dinner guest that same night

Daniel Prattley is a professional butler to wealthy families. Daniel Prattley

Daniel Prattley is a butler specializing in luxury villa hospitality.

Prattley said a big faux pas is opening a bottle of wine gifted to you that same night.

He suggests writing who gifted it and the date on the label and opening it for a special occasion.

Luxury butler Daniel Prattley has shared his top dinner party tip  and it involves wine etiquette.

Prattley is based in Devon, UK, and works for wealthy families across the world specializing in luxury villa hospitality. Prattley told Insider that a major part of his role involves traveling to the south of France, where he says many of his clients rent or own holiday homes.

Prattley often shares insights about his job on TikTok, where he has more than 48,000 followers at the time of writing. One of his most popular videos, where Prattley shares how to set a table for a dinner party, has been viewed over 93,000 times.

Speaking to Insider about his dinner party tips, Prattley said the host should never open a bottle of wine that is gifted by a guest that same night because it's considered "bad manners," implying you didn't have enough wine to supply your guests in the first place.

"Never open wine that's bought for you," Prattley said emphatically, adding that the rule only applies to wine and not other beverages.

"Make sure you don't just have enough wine, but non-alcoholic spirits for those who are driving, pregnant, or don't want to drink," he added.

Instead, Prattley suggested setting up a gift table in your home for wine, flowers, or anything else guests may bring so you keep it all in one place. He also recommended keeping track of who gifted you what.

"What a lot of my clients like to do is write on the label who bought it and the date and keep it for a different occasion," he said.

Prattley said he was inspired to become a butler by the late Joan Rivers

Prior to becoming a butler, Prattley worked as a theater manager in London's West End and in Edinburgh, Scotland, for 17 years, according to his website.

This job is where Prattley said he first met the late comedian Joan Rivers in the 1990s as she was touring in the UK.

Joan Rivers onstage during Comedy Central's "Roast of Joan Rivers" at CBS Studios on July 26, 2009 in Studio City, California. Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic via Getty Images

Prattley told Insider he struck up a friendship with Rivers as her stage manager during her shows, and he ultimately was invited to assist Rivers in hosting after-parties.

"She had a huge A-list and royal following," Prattley said, although he wouldn't name any of the celebrities he met in Rivers' inner circle.

"These people would come and support her. She would entertain them afterward and she had asked me to do the parties," he told Insider. "One night, she said, 'You should do this full-time. You should be a butler.' And I just thought, you know, in a now or never moment, 'Let's do it.'"

Prattley said Rivers introduced him to his first clients, and then he made the transition to full-time butler in 2009.

He added that he remembers Rivers, who died in 2014 at the age of 81 due to complications with a procedure on her vocal cords, for her kindness and generosity.

"I still have Champagne that she sent me in the '90s, you know, there was that much of it. She would always make sure everybody had a gift from her when she was doing a show," he said.

Read the original article on Insider
California governor to stop fighting against parole for Manson follower FILE PHOTO: Leslie Van Houten listens during her parole hearing in Corona, California, June 28, 2002. A Californ..

By Daniel Trotta

(Reuters) - California Governor Gavin Newsom on Friday announced he would give up trying to deny parole to one of Charles Manson's murderous "family" of followers, clearing the way to let Leslie Van Houten out of prison after more than 50 years.

In May a California appeals court overruled Newsom and found Van Houten, 73, was entitled to parole from her life sentence. The governor could have appealed the decision to the California Supreme Court.

"The governor is disappointed by the Court of Appeal's decision to release Ms. Van Houten, but will not pursue further action as efforts to further appeal are unlikely to succeed," Erin Mellon, the governor's communications director, said in a statement.

Van Houten's attorney, Nancy Tetreault, said she would be paroled in weeks, NBC News reported.

Van Houten was 19 when the murders were committed, making her the youngest of Manson's devotees. The parole board recommended her for early release five times since 2016, but she was denied three times by Newsom and twice by his predecessor, fellow Democrat Jerry Brown.

Manson died in prison in 2017 at age 83, having become one of the 20th Century's most notorious criminals for directing a killing spree that terrorized Los Angeles in the summer of 1969.

Manson directed his mostly young and female followers to murder seven people, including actress Sharon Tate, in August 1969 in what prosecutors said was part of a plan to incite a race war.

Van Houten was convicted of fatally stabbing grocery owner Leno LaBianca and his wife, Rosemary, in their Los Angeles home on Aug. 10, 1969. The words "Death to Pigs" and "Healter Skelter" - a misspelled reference to a Beatles song - were found scrawled in the victims' blood on the walls and refrigerator.

The previous night, members of Manson's cult broke into the Los Angeles hillside home that Tate shared with her husband, filmmaker Roman Polanski, who was away in Europe at the time.

Tate, who was 26 and eight months pregnant, was slain along with four friends of the celebrity couple, including coffee heiress Abigail Folger and hairstylist Jay Sebring.
California leads on reproductive care in post-Dobbs America  but we can do better | Opinion

Late June marked the one-year anniversary of the Supreme Courts decision to overturn Roe vs. Wade, ending our constitutional right to an abortion, a law of the land for nearly 50 years  and for my entire life.

Californians are fortunate to have political leaders so vocally committed to ensuring reproductive health care access for girls, women and pregnant people across the country, but we can and must do better for Black and Latina mothers within our state borders.

Opinion

With the Dobbs decision, the Supreme Court sent the decision back to the states, a politically charged move that has put the lives of millions of women living in conservative states at risk. Liberal California has emerged as the leading opposition to that ruling, enshrining the right to an abortion in its own state constitution last November, and further moving to establish itself as a sanctuary for pregnant people.

In 2021, more than 40 sexual and reproductive health care providers, advocacy organizations and legal and policy experts established the California Future of Abortion Council to coordinate reproductive freedom and justice efforts across the state.

Now, a new report from the Gender Equity Policy Institute, a non-profit based in Los Angeles, shows that thanks to those combined efforts, California not only has the nations lowest maternal mortality rate, California teens are also half as likely to become mothers compared to their peers in states that have banned abortion.

California has been a leader in advancing womens sexual and reproductive health for decades, and the data shows that pregnant people and babies in California and other states supportive of reproductive freedom have healthier outcomes than they do in states banning abortion, said Nancy Cohen, president of the Gender Equity Policy Institute.

Teen mothers typically experience poverty, malnutrition, pregnancy-related complications and emotional problems, such as depression and drug and alcohol use, according to the National Institutes of Health. The children of teen mothers are also at greater risk of physical, cognitive and emotional problems. Currently, one in four teens live in states that ban abortion.

We are tracking the impacts of women losing autonomy over their bodies, and we expect the divide between states to widen as more states enact and enforce abortion bans and deny people basic reproductive healthcare, Cohen said. The sad reality is that the end of the constitutional right to abortion has created two very different Americas for pregnant people and their babies.

Women in California are also less likely to lack health insurance compared to women living in banned states by about half, but serious equity concerns remain a problem for the state.

The neonatal mortality rate for Black babies in California is twice as high as the mortality rate for all babies statewide, and Latinas in California, who are more likely to give birth during their teen years, are also less likely to have health insurance, according to the Gender Equity Policy Institute.

Just 22 states support reproductive freedom, while 28 states ban or restrict abortion care in some way, as of December 2022. The 22 states that support abortion rights have expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, which the Institute found played a critical role in expanding access to no-cost birth control as well as prenatal and postnatal care.

Mothers living in states that ban abortion were nearly three times as likely to die during pregnancy, childbirth or soon after giving birth, and babies born in states that ban abortions were 30% more likely to die in their first month of life.

2022 was a battleground for women, not just in protecting their bodily autonomy, but just surviving, said Holly Martinez, the executive director of the California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls. (It was about) surviving the height of the pandemic, when theyve lost a record number of jobs, especially for women of color and working mothers. We know that women who had children left the workforce in droves and are still struggling to recover economically.

California can stop the countrys war on women by continuing to provide reproductive care, but also by subsidizing child care costs and ensuring that women and mothers can remain a part of the states workforce. As individual Californians, we can continue to support pro-choice candidates in other states, and by volunteering or donating to help pregnant people travel from other states for reproductive care here.

We can also commit ourselves to not just providing reproductive healthcare and abortion rights for white women, but also for boosting the rates of survival and the quality of care for women of color, non-binary and transgender mothers.

Americans now live in a post-Roe America, with a Supreme Court that has shown it can and will remove long-held and cherished rights against popular opinion. Racial and ethnic disparities remain unacceptably high in every state, and even California must and can do better.
Photo Illustration by Erin O'Flynn/The Daily Beast/Getty Images and United States District Court for the Central District of California

A California man was arrested and charged this week in connection with a spree of serial murders targeting Mexican sex workers, prosecutors say.

Bryant Rivera, 30, was arrested on Thursday in Los Angeles by U.S. Marshals and the FBI, according to a federal complaint obtained by The Daily Beast. The arrest comes at the request of Baja Californias Attorney General, who said Friday that Rivera is facing arrest warrants in connection with three femicides in Tijuana between September 2021 and February 2022.

Rivera is considered a serial killer[and]will now face justice in Baja California, Baja California Attorney General Ricardo Ivan Carpio Sanchez said in a Facebook statement. Previously, Sanchez said that investigators believed the suspect was similar to notorious serial killer Ted Bundy.

Arrest Warrant Issued for Femicide in U.S. Womans Mexico Vacation Death

U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California said that Rivera is placed in federal custody pending a Monday detention hearing before he is extradited to Mexico. His Los Angeles federal public defender did not immediately respond to a request for commen,t but his father told a local news outlet he was blindsided by the arrest news.

We depend on him. He takes us to our doctors appointments, to the supermarket, Candido Rivera told NBC Los Angeles.

The criminal complaint in Los Angeles details one of the three murders Rivera is accused of committing across the border.

Prosecutors allege that on Jan. 25, 2022, Mexican authorities received a report about a womans body found at the Hotel Cascada in Tijuanas La Zona Norte. Inside the hotel, which was next to Hong Kong Gentlemens Club, authorities found Angela Carolina Acosta Flores body in the bathroom. An autopsy report later concluded that Flores died by asphyxiation.

Her mother told authorities that Flores was working as a dancer, and on some occasions as a sex worker, at the Hong Kong bar, the complaint states. Flores last texted her mother at around 10:12 p.m. on Jan. 24, stating that she was entering a hotel room with a client for thirty minutes. The next morning, Flores mother and her boyfriend went to the hotel to look for her and learned from a witness that the dancer was seen with a male client with light brown complexion, an acne-scarred face, and a statue of approximately of 5'5.

The witness added that she knew the client as Rivera and said that he was a gringo, the complaint states.

At the bar, investigators learned that Rivera had been with another sex worker the night of the slayings, but that they had returned shortly after their liaison. That same worker said they saw Rivera leave the bar with Flores shortly afterward, the complaint states. Prosecutors say that Rivera was then seen leaving the Hotel Cascadas room before midnight. He was later seen crossing the U.S.-Mexico border on foot about 13 minutes later at the San Ysidro Port of Entry.

While details of the other two cases are not immediately clear, Mexican authorities previously said that all three victims were found in hotel rooms and all had sex with the suspect before their deaths. On Friday, Carpio credited scientific research and a strong collaboration to combat crime across borders, to Riveras arrest.

In Baja, California..nobody escapes justice, he added.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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 Flash

Chinese Premier Li Qiang meets with U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, July 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Yue Yuewei)

Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Friday met with U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen in Beijing.

Li said the world needs a generally stable China-U.S. relationship, and whether the two countries can find the right way to get along is of significance to the future of humanity. Last year, the two heads of state met in Bali and reached a series of important understandings, charting the course for China-U.S. relations. Mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation are the basic principles of state-to-state interactions, and also the right way for countries to get along with each other.

"Chinese culture values peace above everything else, as opposed to hegemony and bullying," Li said. It is hoped that the U.S. side will adopt a rational and pragmatic attitude, and work with China in the same direction to push bilateral relations back onto the right track at an early date.

Noting that the economic interests of China and the United States are closely intertwined, Li said that mutual benefits are the essence of China-U.S. economic relations, and strengthening cooperation is the realistic demand of and right choice for both sides.

"China's development is an opportunity rather than a challenge for the United States, and a gain rather than a risk," Li said. He added that politicizing economic cooperation or overstretching the concept of security on such cooperation does no good for the economic development of the two countries and the whole world.

Li called on both sides to strengthen communication and seek consensus on important bilateral economic issues through candid, in-depth and pragmatic exchanges. He called on the two countries to inject stability and positive energy into China-U.S. economic relations. China and the United States should strengthen coordination and cooperation, work together to cope with global challenges, and promote common development.

Yellen said the U.S. side does not seek to decouple or sever supply chains, and has no intention of hindering China's modernization process.

She expressed the willingness to implement the understandings reached by the two heads of state in Bali, strengthen communication, avoid misunderstandings caused by differences, strengthen cooperation on stabilizing the macro economy and addressing global challenges, and seek mutual benefits between the two economies.
SAN DIEGO  A California man is suspected in a string of sex worker slayings in Mexico, the top prosecutor in Baja California said Friday.

Federal authorities arrested Bryant Rivera, 30, on Thursday in Downey, a city in Los Angeles County, at the request of Mexican authorities, according to court documents and U.S. officials.

He was placed in federal custody pending a pretrial detention hearing Monday in Los Angeles, said Thom Mrozek, the spokesperson for the U.S. attorney's office for Central California.

Federal officials said they expected Mexican prosecutors to formally request extradition.

A U.S. attorney's complaint underpinning a warrant for Rivera's arrest lays out Baja California's case against him in the death last year of a Tijuana sex worker. It says he has been charged with femicide, the killing of women because they are women.

Bryant Rivera. (via Facebook)

On Friday, Baja California Attorney General Ricardo Ivan Carpio Sanchez said Rivera is accused in the deaths of three women in Tijuana, just across the border from San Diego.

Rivera "is considered a serial killer" and "will now face justice in Baja California," Carpio said on Facebook, according to an NBC News translation.

It wasn't clear whether Rivera had legal representation. The federal public defender's office in Los Angeles didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

The federal complaint details the Jan. 24, 2022, killing of Angela Carolina Acosta Flores, a dancer at a club in Tijuana and sex worker, who was last seen on security video entering a hotel room prosecutors say was rented by Rivera.

Her lifeless body was found in a bathroom the next day, and an autopsy concluded she had been asphyxiated, according to the complaint.

Baja California prosecutors say that Rivera was seen leaving the room before midnight that night and that he never returned. He crossed the U.S.-Mexico border on foot 13 minutes after having left the room, they allege in the complaint.

A witness used Rivera's first and last name in telling detectives whom she last saw with Acosta at the club, which is next to the hotel, according to the filing. The unnamed witness said she knew Rivera as a regular, the complaint says.

Another witness gave a detailed description of the defendant's face and clothing, noting that his pandemic mask didn't fit right and thus betrayed "an acne scarred face," the document says.

Last year, the Baja California attorney general's office said the suspect in all three cases had sex with his victims before he killed them. He frequented Tijuana's red light district, known as Zona Norte, it said.

It's not clear exactly what led authorities to Rivera. The complaint includes details about a truck he was associated with, as well as an image from his border crossing early on Jan. 25, 2022.

Details of the two other cases were unavailable. Baja California authorities said the deaths spanned September 2021 to February 2022. It wasn't clear whether Acosta was the last victim; her mother identified her in early February 2022, according to the federal court filing.

The Baja California attorney general's office said last year that all three bodies were found in hotel rooms.

In a video posted to the attorney general's Facebook page, Carpio credited "scientific research" and a "strong alliance and collaboration to combat crime across borders" with Thursday's arrest.

"In Baja California," he said, "no one escapes justice."

Gender violence and femicide in Mexico have sparked protests and calls for government action.

The Executive Secretariat of the National Public Security System reported more than 1,900 killings of women in Mexico from January to November 2022, of which 858 were femicides, according to the U.S. State Departments human rights report.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Rep. Grace Napolitano (D-Calif.) announced on Saturday that she plans to retire at the end of the congressional term.

For 25 years in the United States Congress, I have represented the city of La Puente, Napolitano said in a statement. This is the only city I have represented for all of those years. That is why it is fitting that I here today announce that at the end of this term in 2024, I will be retiring from the United States Congress.

The 86-year-old was first elected to Congress in 1998 and is the oldest member of the House of Representatives. While Napolitano has moved districts several times due to redistricting, she has represented portions of eastern Los Angeles throughout her quarter-century tenure

My focus has always been representing my district, first; state, second; and nation, third, she added. We still have a year and half more of work to do, and I will give 110% every day fighting for the San Gabriel Valley in the United States Congress.

Napolitano endorsed California state Sen. Bob Archuletas (D) bid for her House seat after announcing her retirement on Saturday, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Her dedicated service to the community over the years has been priceless, Archuleta said in an interview with the Times. What a remarkable legacy. And Ive received encouragement from her to go ahead and run.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
This article was originally published in Stateline.

States that have tried to enroll more Black and Hispanic students in state universities without using race-based admissions policies have seen the numbers of those students slip  especially at elite institutions.

Nine states had affirmative action bans before last weeks U.S. Supreme Court ruling striking it down nationwide. Those states and others have tried various strategies to maintain diversity without using race-based admissions. They include costly recruitment drives, guaranteed admission to high-ranking high school students and the elimination of preferences for relatives of alumni.

Those strategies have had an impact. But overall, they havent been as effective as more explicit race-based preferences, illustrating how difficult it will be to maintain diverse campuses in the wake of last weeks decision.

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Arizona, California, Florida, Idaho, Michigan, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Oklahoma and Washington had affirmative action bans in place before the high court ruled.

California, the nations largest state and one of its most diverse, has received the most attention.

Shortly after affirmative action ended in California in 1998, state universities began guaranteeing admission to most UC campuses to the top-performing students from most California high schools. The state university system also shifted to a more holistic admissions review process that considered students academic achievements in light of the opportunities available to [them].

And California also began spending more on recruitment. In total, the state has spent about a half-billion dollars on more comprehensive reviews and recruiting since the ban was put in place, according to an amicus brief UC filed in the Supreme Court case. But funding for these programs has declined over time, and resource constraints limit UCs ability to expand these programs, according to the brief.

At the states most elite campuses, Berkeley and UCLA, Black and Hispanic enrollment plummeted in the first years after the ban. But Black and Hispanic enrollment fell less dramatically, and recovered more quickly, in the rest of the UC system.

Today, Black enrollment in the UC system as a whole is 4.5%, compared with a statewide population of about 5%. Hispanics are 22.5% of UC students, compared with about 40% of the statewide population.

At Berkeley, Black students were 3.6% of new undergraduates last fall, while Hispanic students were 21%. At UCLA, 8% percent of new undergraduates were Black, while 22% were Hispanic.

California has not identified a silver bullet that maintains racial diversity at the same level as race-based affirmative action, said Zachary Bleemer, an assistant professor of economics at Princeton University, who has extensively studied Californias experience.

Bleemer estimates that Californias automatic admission program and its more holistic review process tend to increase Black and Hispanic enrollment by about a third of what race-based affirmative action would be.

He added that while states with less-selective schools, such as Oklahoma and Nebraska, have reported that ending affirmative action didnt have much of an effect on minority enrollment, thats because most students were getting in already.

The Supreme Court ruling will have the greatest impact at quite selective schools with robust affirmative action programs, Bleemer said, citing schools such as the University of Virginia, the University of North Carolina, Georgia Tech and the Ohio State University.

Like California, some other states, such as Texas and Florida, have implemented automatic admission programs for top-performing students.

Texas implemented its Top 10% Plan after the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in 1996 banned affirmative action in college admissions in Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. In 2003, the Supreme Court nullified that decision, freeing Texas universities to consider race again. But Texas kept its plan in place.

The idea behind the plan is that since many Texas high schools are mostly Black or Hispanic, offering automatic admission to many state universities for the top 10% of students from every Texas high school would boost diversity at those schools.

But a 2020 working paper examining 18 years of data from Texas found that the program did not result in meaningful changes in which high schools in the state sent students to the flagship state universities, the University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&M. As a result, it had little impact on the racial diversity of the two schools.

The purported high school representation benefits of the policy appear to be overstated and may not go as far as advocates might have hoped in terms of generating equity of access to the flagship campuses in the state, the paper concluded.

In 2020, the student population at UT-Austin was 24.2% Hispanic, compared with 40% of the state population. The Black student percentage was 5.3%, compared with a Black state population of 13.4%.

Floridas Talented Twenty program, launched in 1999, grants automatic admission to one of a dozen state institutions to students who graduate in the top 20% of their class, regardless of SAT or ACT scores. The data on the success of the program is mixed.

From 1999 to 2007, the share of Black freshmen at the University of Florida increased from 11% to 14%, and the overall percentage of Black undergraduates increased from 7% to 10%. But at Florida State University, the percentage of Black students declined from 11% to 9%, and it dropped from 13% to 12% at the University of South Florida, according to statistics cited recently by the Tampa Bay Times.

In 1999, Hispanics made up 16% of public high school seniors and 14% of university freshmen. In 2008, those numbers were 22% and 18%, respectively.

But in past decades, Black and Hispanic students have become increasingly underrepresented at state universities.

In the spring of 2021, 20% of seniors in Florida public high schools were Black. That fall, they made up 10% of freshmen at Floridas 12 public universities. From 2010 to 2021, the share of Black freshmen at the University of Florida fell from 9% to under 5%. The percentage fell from 11.5% to 7.2% at the University of South Florida, the Times said.

Michigan voters in 2006 approved a constitutional amendment prohibiting state colleges and universities from granting preferential treatment to groups or individuals based on their race, gender, color, ethnicity or national origin. In an amicus brief filed in the Supreme Court case, the University of Michigan said that since then it has discontinued even the limited consideration of race in holistic admissions programs.

Instead, the university has employed what it described as persistent, vigorous, and varied efforts to increase student-body racial and ethnic diversity by race-neutral means  with limited success.

Michigan did not pursue a percentage plan like California, Florida and Texas; except for the Detroit area, there are relatively few majority-minority schools in the state. But it did continue to give a leg up to applicants from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds and those who were the first in their family to go to college. It also bolstered recruiting and outreach by, among other things, hosting workshops for high-school counselors, maintaining a recruiting office in Detroit and coordinating campus visits.

Before the ban took effect, underrepresented minorities were about 13% of Michigan undergraduates. That percentage declined to less than 11% in 2014. The current share is about 13.5%, slightly above the pre-ban percentage. However, it is a different story for specific groups, including African Americans.

Black enrollment has declined from 7% in 2006 to roughly 4% in 2021, a reduction of 44%. During the same period, the total percentage of college-aged Black people in Michigan increased from 16% to 19%. And Native American enrollment is down by 90%, according to the university.

The Universitys persistent efforts have not been sufficient to create the racial diversity necessary to provide significant opportunities for personal interaction to dispel stereotypes and to ensure that minority students do not feel isolated or that they must act as spokespersons for their race, the brief stated.

While affirmative action opponents are cheering last weeks ruling, advocates are now focused on how to boost minority enrollment without it.

Jessie Ryan, executive vice president at the Campaign for College Opportunity, an advocacy group that aims to give all Californians the opportunity to go to college, said the focus must now be on high school preparation for higher learning.

We will continue to advocate for scaling high-impact practices that result in greater racial equity, she said in an email, including access to college preparation curriculum, universal completion of financial aid forms, and test-optional admissions policies.

Editors note: This story has been updated to correct the list of states that have implemented automatic admission programs for top-performing high school students.

Stateline is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Stateline maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Scott Greenberger for questions: info@stateline.org. Follow Stateline on Facebook and Twitter.
'I cannot imagine she would've left on her own': After a year, family continues search for missing woman

Michelle Bernstein-Schultz was last seen with short black hair wearing grey sandals with florescent green accents.

Patricia Yaloz remembers her daughter, Michelle Elle Rose Bernstein-Schultz, as a special person.

Michelle loved to go hiking, loved to be outdoorsy and she seemed to have a never-ending energy, Yaloz said.

Daniella Smith, Michelles sister, remembers her as a person full of life.

Michelle is a very bubbly, funny, full-of-life type of person," Smith said. "We always laugh together and she's just a very talkative friendly person.

Michelle, a daughter, sister, and mother of two, was 36 years old at the time she was last seen, on June 29, 2022. For the past year, her family and friends have been relentlessly looking for any sign of their lost loved one.

The Republic reached out to Phoenix police to ask about any leads in this case, but no arrests or suspects have been identified by authorities. The case is still open and under investigation by Phoenix police.

4:03 p.m. June 29

The last time anybody heard from Michelle was 4:03 p.m. on June 29, 2022, when a friend received a text from Michelle.

I found a friend who had been communicating with her on June 29th up until 4:03 p.m., and then he told me the messages ended abruptly, Smith said.

At the time of her disappearance, Michelle was living with her boyfriend at an apartment near 40th Street and Greenway Road in north Phoenix. She had been living there for the last year and a half.

Her mom recounted that Michelles boyfriend informed her of Michelles disappearance through a simple text sent on June 30 at 2:38 p.m.

He said Michelle was not seen or heard from since the day before and she was sort of officially a missing person, Yaloz said.

Phoenix police did not answer questions regarding Michelle's boyfriend, or if he spoke to authorities.

According to Michelle's mother, she called Phoenix police to confirm Michelle's disappearance, and was told that the boyfriend had filed a missing persons report with police.

After that, the last time the family had contact with Michelles boyfriend was on July 1, 2022.

We dont know why he doesn't want to communicate with us, Smith said. My mother had conversations with him previously and everything was fine.

Michelles boyfriend told Yaloz the pair had not fought. Moreover, he told Yaloz that Michelle told him that she was not feeling well the day before her disappearance.

The night before she disappeared, Michelle requested for her boyfriend to sleep in the couples living room as she wished for some alone time. When he entered her bedroom the day after all he could find were her keys, phone, credit cards, drivers license, car and her dog Ava.

I cannot imagine that she would've left on her own, Yaloz said.

Family asks for help: Missing Phoenix woman last seen near 40th Street and Greenway Road

Mother's Day was going to be the hardest day of his life

For both Smith and Yaloz, having to explain Michelles disappearance to her children is a task that does not come easy.

Its very tough," Smith said. "The 11-year-old asks if the police are still looking for her and if they're going to find her, and it's very difficult to know what to say to him.

Michelles mom remembered the difficulty of this past Mothers Day.

He (Michelle's son) said this past Mother's Day was going to be the hardest day of his life, and that just broke our hearts, Yaloz said.

Michelles family is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to her location or resulting in an arrest and conviction of who may be responsible for her disappearance. Tips can be submitted to the Phoenix Police Missing and Unidentified Persons Unit at 602-534-2121.

My father & I are offering a $10,000 reward to the first person to come forward w/either the current, verifiable location of my sister, or information resulting in an arrest & conviction of the person or persons responsible for Michelles disappearance. pic.twitter.com/L6phgrpIIp  Daniella S (@DaniellaY) February 22, 2023

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Year after Michelle Rose Bernstein-Schultz went missing, search goes on
Stooping down to pick up a wayward piece of trash thats found itself adrift on a gravel pathway at the Williamsburg Winery, Patrick Duffelers expression is wry.

I also pick up the litter, he said good-naturedly.

At 5800 Wessex Hundred, Duffeler has worn many hats during his nearly 40 years of running the winery. In addition to beautification  picking up the odd bit of litter, straightening picture frames, re-centering rugs  hes also the winerys primary meeter and greeter, stopping by guests tables to clasp their hands and tell them its good to see them, as well as the mastermind behind just about every facet of the winerys expansive operation.

But now, Duffeler has stepped back from his CEO role, recently turning the reins over to a fellow winery owner.

Walking the sprawling corridors of the winery feels like taking a journey through Duffelers scrapbook. From the ornate antiquities lining the maze of halls to the Formula 1 posters adorning the walls in the winerys hotel, Wedmore Place, each corner of the expansive property is decorated in shades of Duffelers vision  and his innate sense of European style. Gesturing at the wide wooden doors that stand at the front of Wedmore Place, Duffeler said, I made these. Further into the building, theres another set of doors, just as ornately carved, which Duffeler also claims.

On the top floor of the main building, which also houses tasting rooms, a shop and, naturally, plenty of award-winning wine, his office is bright and sprawling, with a large desk scattered with papers and a computer, where he stores the many pictures detailing his long, always-interesting life.

Before coming to Williamsburg and opening the winery in the 1980s, Belgium-born Duffeler lived many lives, pieces of which are now captured in the winerys decor.

At 15, hed decided he was going to go on a quest for freedom, said Duffeler, who was born in 1942. It was my opportunity for freedom and opportunities. He completed his last year of high school in the U.S.

While in college, he worked at Eastman Kodak, working during the day and taking classes at night. Then in 1970, he got a job in Switzerland working for Philip Morris International and created the inaugural Marlboro Formula 1 car team, though he never smoked a day in his life, he said. After his father, George, was diagnosed with emphysema, Duffeler began searching for something else to do with his life  something that he really liked, as his wife, Peggy, who died in 2004, suggested.

Eventually, this led to Duffeler and Peggy searching for a farm to buy to realize their vision of starting a winery. In 1983, they finally found what they were looking for at Wessex Hundred: 300 acres alongside a creek where an agricultural business could blossom, as described on the winerys website. They began growing grapes on the property, which lies in James City County just south of Williamsburg, and in 1988 released their first bottle of wine.

The biggest reward I have is when people say, I love coming here, Duffeler said. It puts warmth in yourself. Some people say, oh, I made so many millions, but thats not what life is all about. Lifes about achieving something where you have solid relationships and where you have added an element to your community.

Now in his 80s, Duffeler is still hands-on and active. Every morning, he does 40 pushups, and just about every day, he gets out into his own Black Forest, which stretches out along the back half of the 400-acre property, where he planted thousands of trees and continues to manage, chopping down small saplings.

Though Duffeler recently stepped down from his CEO role, those who worked with him say his legacy and influence will shape the winery for decades to come.

Annette Boyd, marketing director of the Virginia Wine Board, has known Duffeler since the 1980s, when he joined the original Virginia Winegrower Advisory Board. Throughout the years, Duffeler was appointed by a number of governors to serve on the Virginia Wine Board, which promotes the interests of vineyards and wineries in the state.

His contributions to Virginia Wine, I dont even know how you would calculate that, Boyd said. We are decades ahead of any other state that is nearby us in terms of the caliber and the quality of our wines, and that is directly attributed to the work of the Virginia Wine Board, of which Patrick has been a part of a number of times.

Throughout the decades, the Williamsburg Winery has been one of the premier wineries in the state, Boyd added.

When you have wines and wineries like Williamsburg, there is a saying in our industry: A rising tide lifts all ships, she said. That is so true when you have strong team players interested in building quality product and not only the quality of the wines, but the caliber of the hospitality. Its all part of the package.

Michael Weatherly, who was named the winerys new CEO in May, was a fan long before he became involved with the winerys business.

For years, he and his wife traveled to Williamsburg to visit the winery, and over time, Weatherly and Duffeler built a relationship. When Weatherly purchased his farm in the Shenandoah Valley, he came to Duffeler to ask for advice. Then, when Duffeler was ready to take a step back, he went to Weatherly, by then a minority shareholder with Williamsburg Winery, to ask if hed be interested in taking on the role.

With Patrick being a mentor and still continuing to be, I was very familiar with the business, Weatherly said. Being one of the shareholders, understanding how the business operates, Ive spent a lot of time there so Ive gotten to know a lot of the employees already, and they knew who I was.

Its a big business. Theres a lot to it, with the restaurant and the hotel and everything with the wine and in general.

During his first month as CEO, Weatherly has been working to get to know the business and its employees even better as well as looking for ways to continue to build on what Duffeler and his wife, Francoise, have already done. Among the Duffelers more recent additions is an ongoing art exhibit in the winerys Susan Constant Hall Tasting Room, highlighting work by local artists.

Currently, the Williamsburg Winery is one of six wineries that falls within the Virginia Peninsula American Viticultural Area, which extends from New Kent County to the Newport News area. An American Viticultural Area, or AVA, is a geographically defined grape-growing zone with boundaries determined by the U.S. government, the Peninsula Wine Trail website says, adding that the Virginia Peninsula is the eighth federally recognized winegrowing region in Virginia.

Weatherly is also hoping to create a sister winery dynamic between the Williamsburg Winery and his property in the Shenandoah Valley, Ecco Adesso Vineyards. Already the wineries are collaborating on a wine, using grapes harvested on Weatherlys farm last year.

Its really all about teamwork and partnerships and trying to find where it makes sense to grow the brand, he said.

The Williamsburg Winery has already welcomed some new additions thanks to Weatherly and the winerys new chief operating officer, Michael Kokolis, who brought in 10 new beehives in May. They hope to use the hives and honey to introduce new practices and programs to the winery.

Weatherly and his wife, Cierra, are the founders of Vet First Inc., a nonprofit that employs veterans in regenerative farming methods that grow produce for those in need, and the hives will eventually be maintained by veterans, who will be trained to care for the bees and harvest honey. The plan is to also eventually bring in sheep, which Weatherly already has at Ecco Adesso, to help reduce weeds in a regenerative agriculture-friendly way.

Im really excited about the future, Weatherly said. My wife Cierra and I are just really excited about carrying on the vision and legacy that (Duffeler and his family) have created.

With so much to look forward to at the winery, Duffeler will still be close at hand to lend an ear.

Hes not CEO anymore, but hes not going anywhere, Weatherly said. Every day Im on site, I go meet with him and chat about whats going on and ask him any questions. Obviously, with a business thats been around that long and as big as it is, theres a lot of questions. Sometimes its silly, small stuff and sometimes its big stuff, so its good to know that hes going to be around.

Peggy is the spiritual mother of the winery. She and Duffeler had two sons, Patrick II, who served as the winerys CEO for a handful of years before Duffeler took it back over, and Terrence, an executive at JPMorgan Chase. In 2007, Duffeler married Francoise, whom he had first met a number of years before. Plans arent yet set in stone, but Duffeler mentioned the possibility of moving with Francoise to France.

Boyd said she wasnt exactly surprised to hear that Duffeler was planning to take a step back and hand over the CEO role. After decades of hard work, he deserves it, she said, though she wondered how much he would really step away. Likewise, Weatherly joked that it wouldnt be so much of a retirement as nominal changing of the guard.

With characteristic humor, Duffeler offered his own vision of what his future role might be: I told Michael, Ill be the doddering idiot, he said with a chuckle.

Sian Wilkerson, 757-342-6616, sian.wilkerson@pilotonline.com
CHICAGO  For months, migrants bused to Chicago from Texas have found themselves housed in Chicago police stations in difficult circumstances, leaving city and state leaders stunned Friday by allegations that officers at one of the police facilities may have had sexual contact with at least one of those seeking shelter there.

A complaint submitted Thursday to the Civilian Office of Police Accountability spurred an internal Chicago Police Department investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct by at least one officer involving a migrant housed at a West Side police station.

In a statement issued Friday, COPA First Deputy Chief Administrator Ephraim Eaddy said the agency alerted CPD internal affairs upon receipt of the complaint against members of the department.

While COPA investigators are currently determining whether the facts and details of this allegation are substantiated, we want to assure the public that all allegations of this nature are of the highest priority and COPA will move swiftly to address any misconduct by those involved, Eaddy said in the statement.

Late Thursday, CPD acknowledged it launched an internal investigation into allegations that at least one officer engaged in a sexual relationship with migrants who were housed at the Ogden District station. That district covers the Little Village and Lawndale neighborhoods.

Most of the details of the allegations were not known, but migrants staying at the station told a Chicago Tribune reporter Friday that they were being relocated. City Hall officials did not immediately return messages seeking comment on the decision.

Also a focus was whether some of the migrants allegedly involved in the matter were minors, sources with knowledge of the internal review said. A CPD spokesperson did not address questions about when the investigation began or if any officers were stripped of their police powers.

Asked about the investigation at an unrelated news conference in Springfield on Friday, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said its horrific if the allegations are proven to be true.

He also noted that more migrants have been removed from police stations, where theyve been taking good care of those migrants, and being put into more permanent shelter or housing.

In fact, what were trying to do is make sure that people get rental assistance so they can go have a real apartment to live in, especially families, Pritzker said. Its a terrible thing and I hope theres a full investigation as fast as possible, and if there is wrongdoing they ought to be held accountable immediately.

As part of the $50.4 billion budget for the new fiscal year, Pritzker and his Democratic allies in the Illinois General Assembly set aside $42.5 million to aid migrants throughout the state.

The plight of migrants in the city has been a focus of the new administration of Mayor Brandon Johnson. Largely from Central America and Venezuela, the migrants have been bused to Chicago and other major U.S. cities from Texas since the spring.

In the meantime, the city has struggled to find adequate housing for them. Since April, each of the CPDs 22 district stations  along with several other city-owned or otherwise unused buildings  have become temporary homes for hundreds of migrants, sometimes drawing the ire of local residents.

Many of those migrants have found themselves seeking shelter in Chicago police stations, as information about the conditions at city shelters has circulated. City officials this week said more than 5,000 migrants are currently being housed in city shelters and nearly 800 were awaiting placement at police stations.

The city takes these allegations, as well as the care and well-being of all residents and new arrivals, very seriously, a spokesperson from the mayors office said Thursday. We are monitoring the situation closely, but cannot comment further as this is the subject of an ongoing investigation by the bureau of internal affairs and the Civilian Office of Police Accountability.

The three Ogden District councilors issued a statement Friday, saying that if these allegations are substantiated, we will pursue appropriate disciplinary and legal actions against the officers involved.

On Friday, migrants staying at the Ogden station said they first learned of the allegations when they saw television news cameras.

The officers dont even speak to us, said David Hernandez.

Inside the station, his family and a few others were behind blue police barricades and surrounded by yellow crime scene tape on the windows. Most slept on the ground.

U.S. Rep. Jesus Chuy Garcia, D-Ill., said in a statement that the allegations were unacceptable.

Our migrant neighbors came to Chicago seeking safety and stability, Garcia said. Police officers are sworn to protect our communities, not engage in illegal sexual conduct with teenagers and others in their care. This alleged behavior is completely unacceptable. I expect the citys investigation to be timely, thorough, transparent, and lead to accountability for all who are found guilty.

Alderman Michael Rodriguez of the 22nd Ward said allegations of this sort should be taken very seriously and they should be fully investigated.

We are a welcoming city for migrants and we need to make sure our public officials and public spaces are held accountable to honoring this value, Rodriguez said.

Karla Urbina, a migrant from Nicaragua, spent more than a month staying in a Chicago police station. She said that the abuse and shame from officers was constant.

Many have no respect for us, they see us as objects, said the mother, who is not staying at a shelter but has joined forces with volunteers to help other asylum-seekers who are currently arriving.

Some officers treat not only women, but all migrants badly, she said, calling them names, giving looks and violating the little privacy that they may have.

Most will not report any abuse even if its sexual because they fear that theyll be kicked out of the stations or shelter, she said.

We cant afford to do that, Urbina said.

Susie Moya, a licensed clinical social worker and mental health therapist, started a support group for migrant women. She said many share a traumatic journey  stories of sexual assault, losing a loved one and the separation of families  but seeking help is not easy.

Im focusing on gaining their trust, she said. Most have not had access to mental health services and opening up is difficult, Moya added.

Trauma affects these asylum-seekers psychologically and physically; that trauma influences their way of thinking and the choices they make, Moya said. It is an overall loss of power and control, instilling fear while they are trying to survive.


CMPD chief lauds governor, legislators for changes to bond and pretrial release

After pushing for change, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Johnny Jennings is lauding Gov. Roy Cooper and state legislators for altering how some bonds and other pretrial release conditions will be set for criminal charges.

Cooper signed House Bill 813, dubbed the Pretrial Integrity Act, into law on Friday.

Beginning Oct. 1, some defendants facing more serious charges will have their bonds set by elected judges, not appointed magistrates who mostly toil out of the public eye. Some of the criminal cases to be affected include those where people are charged with murder, kidnapping, rape and human trafficking.

Judges will also be responsible for deciding if and how to hold defendants charged with a crime while they are out on pretrial release. A judge must act within 48 hours before responsibility falls back to a magistrate. The legislation excludes minor traffic offenses, Jennings said.

We have to ask ourselves: Where is the accountability within the criminal justice system? Jennings said at a press conference Friday.

We talk about accountability all the time, but we usually focus that on one or two small areas within the system. We often forget that the criminal justice system is made up of a lot of different components, and every single one of those components should be held accountable, he added.

In a statement Mecklenburg County District Attorney Spencer Merriweather also celebrated the new law.

With these new measures, victims and witnesses can have greater faith that the judges directly accountable to them will appropriately consider their safety in determining whether a defendant should be released, the district attorney said.

Jennings, Merriweather and Mecklenburg County Chief District Court Judge Elizabeth Trosch have advocated for the change for months. State Rep. John Bradford, who represents Mecklenburg County, co-sponsored the bill.

Controversy over bonds nothing new

Concerns over magistrates setting bonds either too low or too high are a constant topic of discussion across the state, University of North Carolina School of Government Professor Jeff Welty told The Observer in May.

In Buncombe County and Asheville, District Attorney Todd Williams and Police Chief David Zack recently expressed support for House Bill 813, news outlet Asheville Watchdog reported.

But for at least one activist, the Pretrial Integrity Act has raised concerns.

Emancipate North Carolina Executive Director Dawn Blagrove described the potential 48-hour wait for a judge as arbitrary, and warned that it could have adverse effects, especially on people of color, The Observer reported in May.
"We're not animals," said Dominique Beiard, 33, right, next to his tent in a homeless encampment known as Skid Row West. Jailing unhoused people for sleeping in public is no solution. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

This week a group of conservative judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit spoke out against allowing homeless people to sleep in public spaces, after the court's liberal majority decided that those with nowhere else to rest cannot be subject to criminal penalties.

Its the latest ideological battle in a court where President Trump was able to replace four left-leaning judges. Back in 2018, a 9th Circuit panel ruled 2 to 1 that government was barred from imprisoning people for not having a place to live by the 8th Amendment's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. That decision was upheld in 2022 following legal challenges to ordinances targeting encampments in Oregon.

However, with the 9th Circuit now more evenly split, the next test case or the next election could upend how the 8th Amendment is applied and thus change the entire conversation about homelessness  very much for the worse. Instead of pursuing affordable housing and outreach services, local governments will be under pressure to move unhoused people out of sight, even if that means behind bars.

We already have an entire economy built around incarcerating people who, in most cases, had homes to go to. Whats to prevent our criminal justice system from monetizing the exploitation of those who dont?

The 2018 ruling from the 9th Circuit drew a clear line to prevent that, saying a city law "violates the 8th Amendment insofar as it imposes criminal sanctions against homeless individuals for sleeping outdoors on public property, when no alternative shelter is available to them." The conservative judges in their dissent, however, focus on the effect of having no criminal sanctions, saying the result of the current limitation is "a personal federal constitutional right for individuals to camp or to sleep on sidewalks and in parks, playgrounds, and other public places in defiance of traditional health, safety, and welfare laws."

The sight of encampments or a homeless person having a mental health episode can be frightening. But the 8th Amendment was established so that the government would not forget the humanity of the people over whom it has power  and in this case, homeless individuals are among the most vulnerable and most marginalized in this society. Surely the law must protect individuals whose only "crime" is having no place to sleep.

In his criticism of his progressive colleagues, the 9th Circuits Judge Diarmuid OScannlain said they were paralyzing local communities from addressing the pressing issue of homelessness.

But punishing people for sleeping in parks does not address homelessness.

At best, its a dehumanizing shell game. A game where those of us with homes dont have to be reminded of the conditions of those less fortunate as we make our way to church or school. A game where 20% of Americas office buildings are sitting empty , and yet somehow the best response to homelessness that many leaders can come up with is ban sleeping on park benches. A game where in New York a penthouse is selling for $250 million while 100,000 people are in shelters and the city has experienced an 18% jump in homelessness from the year before.

Its not only a liberal-state issue, mind you. Florida, Texas, Utah  reliably red states  are also seeing increases in people without housing. From drug addiction to crushing medical bills leaving people destitute, the nation is facing an epidemic of homelessness, and the solution cannot simply be jail. We already have the highest incarceration rate in the world . Arresting people who have no options left is just adding another tier of disenfranchisement.

I agree with part of the critique from conservative Judge Milan Smith Jr., who wrote that there are stretches of Los Angeles where one cannot help but think the government has shirked its most basic responsibilities under the social contract: providing public safety and ensuring that public spaces remain open to all. I have lived in very different parts of the city, including downtown  and I can tell you hes not lying. Action is needed, but it matters which actions we take. If we start arresting people for essentially being too poor, that social contract might as well be toilet paper.

@LZGranderson

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Boston City Councilor Kendra Lara has issued a statement addressing her car crash into a home in Jamaica Plain over a week after it happened.

According to a statement released by her office, Councilor Kendra Lara, who represents Jamaica Plain and West Roxbury, and her 7-year-old son Zaire were in a car accident near the Monument in Jamaica Plain.

On June 30th, Zaire and I were involved in a car accident on Centre Street in Jamaica Plain while driving a friends car. I am grateful for my family, friends, and neighbors who have been by our side and provided the support Zaire and I needed to focus on our recovery, Lara said in the statement.

We are all accountable for our actions, and I am no different, which is why I offer my sincerest apologies to everyone, especially the people of District 6. As an elected official, Ive worked hard to center the dignity and humanity of my constituents. Today, I ask you to also see mine as I work to correct my mistake.

We're all accountable for our actions, and I'm no different, so I offer my sincerest apologies to everyone, especially the people of D6. As your Councilor, I will continue to steward our collective vision at City Hall and work hard to earn and maintain your trust. #bospoli pic.twitter.com/AIAQwrYsdv  Kendra Lara (@CllrKendraLara) July 8, 2023

According to the police report obtained by Boston 25, officers responded to a motor vehicle accident with injuries at 803 Centre Street Friday afternoon. Upon arrival, officers observed the vehicle inside the homes left side.

Boston Police redacted Laras name and other details in the report provided to Boston 25. 25 Investigates viewed an unredacted draft version provided by a source.

Laras vehicle went through the metal fence outside the home, then crashed into and drove over the bushes before colliding with the left side of the house, causing significant damage to the home, police noted.

Lara had her son in the backseat of the vehicle but not in a booster or car seat according to an officer. According to Boston police, All children riding in passenger motor vehicles must be in a federally approved child passenger restraint that is properly fastened and secured until they are 8 years of age or over 57 inches tall. Children older than 8 years of age or taller than 57 inches must wear seat belts. Lara stated she and her son were wearing seatbelts at the time of the crash.

Laras son suffered injuries including bruising around the left eye and a deep laceration on the left eyebrow. Both Lara and her son were treated at Childrens Hospital.

DCF was contacted as a result of the child not being in the car seat.

The report said Lara was also driving with a revoked license and the vehicle she was driving was found to be unregistered with no insurance and had an expired inspection sticker.

As your City Councilor, I will continue to steward our collective vision at City Hall and work hard to earn and maintain your trust. The grace youve shown me is a testament to the strength of our beloved community, and I intend to continue earning it. Thank you, Lara concluded.

Lara is due in West Roxbury District Court on July 19 and is being charged with the operation of a motor vehicle after suspension, operation of an unregistered motor vehicle, and operating an uninsured motor vehicle.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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The couple mistakenly charged $29,994 for one Uber ride says the issue is resolved. But they won't take an Uber again.

Douglas Ordonez and Dominique Adams told Insider that they would probably never take an Uber again. Courtesy of Douglas Ordonez

Douglas Ordonez and Dominique Adams were mistakenly charged nearly $30,000 for an Uber.

A currency-conversion mistake left them without access to their funds for days while on holiday.

The issue is now fixed, but they told Insider that they would probably never take an Uber again.

Douglas Ordonez was buying a cup of coffee when he noticed something was off with his bank account.

"I got the notice of insufficient funds, and I knew we had money in the account, so I tried it again, and it said the same thing too. Then I checked my bank account, and that's when I saw the $29,000 charge," he told Insider.

Ordonez was traveling to Guatemala from the US to meet his wife, Dominique Adams, for a trip to celebrate their 5-year anniversary. She'd been in Costa Rica for a week prior. During that time, she'd booked a ride with Uber, which the app said would cost 29,994.33 Costa Rican colon, or about $55. But there was a mistake.

"I took the Uber, everything was fine, I got the receipt emailed to me, and then that next morning is when we both realized that I was actually charged in US dollars," Adams told Insider.

Adams and Ordonez said they began trying to contact customer service at Uber and their bank, Altura Credit Union, both of which they said were not very responsive and kept giving "generated messages." In the meantime, they were unable to access their funds for several days while a hold was on their account, and they had little cash on them for the duration of their trip.

"That's the worst way you could possibly start your 5-year anniversary, to have to deal with this and then, in the back of my mind, try to enjoy everything else that's going on, knowing that this pressing matter should be resolved as soon as possible," Ordonez said.

"I think we both kind of felt just completely helpless," Adams said. "Obviously, I knew that it was a mistake, but it's still shocking when you see that on your account and especially for that amount."

Ordonez and Adams said they usually charged Uber rides to their credit cards but charged this ride to their debit card by accident. Adams said Altura Credit Union told her that the charge went through despite her much-smaller daily limit because she'd put a travel notice on their account for the trip.

Altura Credit Union and Uber did not immediately respond to requests for comment for this story. Earlier, Uber responded to Insider for the initial news of the erroneous charge, with a spokesperson saying: "At Uber, we take every report seriously. As soon as we received the user's report, our support team promptly addressed the issue and released the authorization hold mistakenly applied due to a bank error in Dollars and not in Colones."

The couple said the issue was fixed after several days: They received their money back, and the Uber ride was comped on their account. The couple said it was unclear whether Altura Credit Union or Uber resolved the matter because they received patchy communications from the customer-service teams.

Uber previously told Insider that it took time for a refund to be processed and that the speed refunds were sent refunds depended on bank policies.

But one thing's for sure: Ordonez and Adams said they wouldn't take an Uber anytime soon.

"I will probably never use Uber ever again just knowing that their customer service is really horrible," Adams said.

Read the original article on Business Insider
 Flash

A total of 40 enterprises and associations from south China's Guangdong Province are heading for the 7th China-Russia Expo to be held in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg from July 10 to 13, according to local authorities.

These enterprises will exhibit a wide range of products at the expo, such as smart home items, household appliances, building materials, fast moving consumer goods, and clothing, according to the provincial department of commerce.

In 2022, Guangdong's trade with Russia reached 107.18 billion yuan (about 14.8 billion U.S. dollars), an increase of 23.7 percent year on year. The province's cross-border e-commerce trade with Russia totaled 2.42 billion yuan last year.

"This year's China-Russia Expo will promote all-round cooperation between the two sides. We will continue to strengthen communication with domestic and overseas associations, and make use of international exhibition platforms to facilitate communication and cooperation," said Sun Jiye, president of the Canton Chamber of Commerce in Russia.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Tennessee law prohibiting doctors from providing medical care such as puberty-blockers and gender affirming surgery for transgender minors can go into effect immediately, a U.S. appeals court ruled Saturday.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit said advocacy groups that had challenged Tennessee's law could not show they were likely to prevail on their claims it violated the U.S. Constitution. The panel of three judges voted 2-1 to reverse a lower court's decision that had blocked Tennessee from enforcing the law while it was being challenged.

"Life-tenured federal judges should be wary of removing a vexing and novel topic of medical debate from the ebbs and flows of democracy by construing a largely unamendable federal constitution to occupy the field," Judge Jeffrey Sutton wrote for the appeals court.

Neither the advocacy groups that challenged the law nor the state's attorney general could be reached Saturday morning.

Tennessee's law is part of a growing series of efforts by Republican lawmakers to impose new restrictions on medical care for transgender youths. Lawmakers said the measure was necessary to protect minors from being permanently harmed. Medical associations have said gender-affirming care can be life-saving.

It bans any medical procedure performed for the purpose of enabling a minor to identify with a gender other than the one they were assigned at birth.

Federal judges have blocked five laws similar to Tennessee's from taking effect. Those judges found the laws violated the Constitution's guarantee of equal protection under the law.

The appeals court's decision Saturday said that absent a clear showing that Tennessee's law violated the Constitution, choices about medical care and protecting minors are best settled by state legislatures.

Judge Helen White said she believed Tennessee's law "is likely unconstitutional" as a type of sex discrimination.

Sutton wrote that the appeals court will try to reach a final decision about Tennessee's law by Sept. 30. "These initial views, we must acknowledge, are just that: initial," he wrote. "We may be wrong."

(Reporting by Brad Heath; Editing by Daniel Wallis)
Daytona Beach Shores Police Lt. Michael Schoenbrod is facing his third investigation in 10 months.

Schoenbrod, who is on administrative leave pending the results of a professional standards investigation, made headlines last month after it came to light that he'd put his son undergoing potty training in a cell at the agency's headquarters.

Daytona Beach Shores police Lt. Michael Schoenbrod is shown in a 2020 photo from the Department of Public Safety's Facebook page.

Here's what we know:

Schoenbrod:

Is second in command behind Daytona Beach Shores Police Director Michael Fowler.

Has been with the department for about 23 years.

Is on pace to earn $97,000 this year.

Newest allegations result in paid leave

The latest allegations Schoenbrod faces relate to taking or tampering with public safety records and altering or distributing digital recordings without authorization, according to a memo.

Michael Fowler, the agency's director, had Schoenbrod sign the memo Monday morning, putting him on paid administrative leave.

Three code of conduct policy violations are cited in the memo "that may have occurred on or afterApril 7, 2023."

"Employees shall not commit any act or crime defined by state or federal law as a felony, whether chargeable or not."

"Employees shall not steal, alter or forge or tamper with any kind of public safety record, report or citation." It also states the unlawful or unauthorized removal of any such document is prohibited.

Employees "will not edit, alter, erase, duplicate, copy, share or otherwise distribute in any manner digital recordings without prior written authorization."

Conclusions into investigation of potty-training practice sealed

Schoenbrod and the child's mother, Sgt. Jessica Long, faced internal and external investigations after the lieutenant told a caseworker with the Florida Department of Children and Families last October that he and Long, on consecutive days, took their 3-year-old son to a holding cell as part of their effort to potty train the toddler.

Records related to the investigation were sealed after the parents petitioned the court.

In a video captured by body-cam footage from a Volusia sheriff's deputy, Schoenbrod told a DCF worker:

Long took the child to the holding cell for about three minutes on Oct. 5.

Schoenbrod took the child to the holding cell on Oct. 6, handcuffed him and left the child there for "13 minutes or something like that."

Additional coverage: Nonprofit asks judge to open records in case involving Daytona Beach Shores officers

Additional coverage: Daytona Beach Shores lieutenant who jailed toddler under investigation for violating 6 department policies

Another professional standards case

Additionally, Schoenbrod faces allegations of violating other department policies, including:

Treating others with respect

Avoiding conflicts of interest

Avoiding favoritism

Avoiding rumors

Other conduct that diminishes morale.

Schoenbrod typically does not attend those briefings, according to two former Daytona Beach Shores public safety workers who spoke to The News-Journal on the condition that their names not be used. At the briefing, Schoenbrod spoke critically of other officers who he believed were involved in reporting him to the Florida Department of Children and Families and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the former employees said.

Schoenbrod has been with the department for approximately 23 years. His position as lieutenant places him directly beneath Fowler in the department's chain of command. Based on his earnings in the first six months of 2023, he was on pace to bring home more than $97,000.

In a memo to the department, also sent Monday, Fowler wrote that Sgt. William Frank willassume Schoenbrod's duties in the interim

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Daytona Beach Shores lieutenant facing 3rd investigation. What we know
Debunking this myth about Baby Boomers also reveals something about Gen Z

Theres more than a 60-year age gap between the oldest Baby Boomer and the youngest member of Gen Z. And for years weve heard how different these generations can be, from how they spend their money to how they work to how they use emojis.

Weve seen OK Boomer trend on TikTok as Gen Z criticized their elders, and heard Boomers retort that younger generations should stop whining.

But Baby Boomers and Gen Z have something in common thats often overlooked: Bias is shaping the way we talk about them, allowing stereotypes and myths to drown out facts and reality.

Its an important point the president of the Pew Research Center made in a recent post. And its worth unpacking, because it has big implications for how we can better understand huge swaths of the US population  and the countrys political future.

As Pew President Michael Dimock put it, a common misconception about Baby Boomers past serves as a reminder of a key question we should be asking as we talk about Gen Z today.

What many get wrong about Boomers history

Student protests of the Vietnam War are a common reference point in contemporary conversations about Baby Boomers, the generation born between 1946 and 1964.

But in his recent post about Pews new approach to generational research, Dimock says this anti-war image is an example of an upper-class bias that often surfaces when we generalize about generations.

Popular history recalls that Baby Boomers in the 1960s and 70s were deeply opposed to the Vietnam War. This notion is based on attention-grabbing protests on college campuses and at political events, Dimock writes. Many high-quality surveys at the time showed that younger Americans  most of whom were not attending college  were more supportive of the war than older generations who had lived through previous conflicts.

Opinion of the war, both nationally and on college campuses, shifted over time. By 1969, a Gallup poll found that 50% of college students supported the war, but there were notable regional differences. Criticism of President Nixons Vietnam policies were more prevalent on East Coast campuses. But in other parts of the US, students were significantly more supportive.

Cultural critic Louis Menand has pointed out that another important detail often gets overlooked when talking about this chapter in Baby Boomers past.

Many were children during some of the 1960s most notable cultural and political shifts.

At the time of Woodstock, in 1969, more than half the baby-boom generation was under thirteen, Menand wrote in a New Yorker story.

Menand, a Baby Boomer himself, says his generation is incorrectly credited with liberal initiatives that were really driven by people from earlier generations.

All the things that we think about as typical of the 60s, activism, liberation movements, none of that stuff really is attributable to my generation, Menand told CNN in a recent interview. We were passive. We were consumers. We werent producers.

Baby Boomers are often tied to the Woodstock Music Festival, but many were children when the famed 1969 concerts took place. - Owen Franken/Corbis/Getty Images

And those who did attend the famed 1969 concert, he says, were only a sliver of the population. Most young people in the 1960s, Menand says, did not practice free love, take drugs, or protest the war in Vietnam.

In other words, one of the most well-known images tied to Baby Boomers in their youth wasnt the reality lived by most members of that generation.

Its a lesson that applies to other generations, too.

As Dimock points out after describing this widely believed Baby Boomer myth, Readers today should similarly question whether stereotypes of Gen Z might be skewed toward the experiences of the upper middle class.

A major conversation right now is misunderstanding much of Gen Zs reality

For Gen Z, one of the starkest examples of upper-class bias often bubbles up in media reports that try to predict workplace trends, according to Kim Parker, Pews director of social trends research.

A lot of the discussion about Gen Z and work leaves out such a big swath of young people and their experiences, Parker says.

The generation, generally described as those born between 1997 and 2012, is often tied to conversations about remote work. But thats missing a key point, Parker says.

Most workers, and particularly young workers, dont even have jobs that can be done remotely, she says.

A Pew study in late 2020 found that remote work was an option for less than a third of workers aged 18-29, an age range that would include members of Gen Z and Millennials, another generation thats often subject to stereotyping.

Members of those generations are more heavily concentrated in service-sector, hospitality and retail jobs, Parker says.

And Gen Z may not be as woke as you think

Could our understanding of Gen Zs politics  frequently described as liberal  also be missing part of the picture?

Psychologist Jean M. Twenge thinks so, though she says class bias may not have as much to do with it.

There are examples out there based on anecdotes, or only looking at certain regions, or people trying to extrapolate based on their kids and kids friends, she says.

Even as many members of Gen Z do have more liberal viewpoints, theres still a sizeable conservative contingent, says Twenge, author of Generations: The Real Differences between Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, Boomers and Silents  and What They Mean for Americas Future.

With young people in general and Gen Z in particular earning a reputation as liberals, its especially surprising how many politically are far right, she writes in her book.

Twenge, a professor at San Diego State University, cites studies of high school seniors and college freshmen and observes a common thread: There is a groundswell of support for the extremes of political belief.

More high school seniors now identify as very conservative (as opposed to merely conservative)  surprisingly twice as many Gen Zers identify as very conservative as Gen X high school seniors in the Reagan era late 1980s, she writes. The number identifying as very liberal or radical has also increased, but more moderately.

Menand, an English professor at Harvard, says that when talking with his own students he regularly sees how stereotypes about Gen Zs politics dont match up with reality.

I have more students that complain about wokeness than are woke, he says.

Some findings about Gen Z after recent polling have painted a more complicated picture of voters from that generation.

We were surprised, says Whitney Ross Manzo, an associate professor of political science at Meredith College and assistant director of its Meredith Poll.

She and coauthor David McLennan summarized some of their results in an opinion piece for The Hill last year, titled Why Generation Z might not be as woke as most think.

The Meredith Poll, which surveys North Carolina residents, did find that Gen Z voters had more liberal views on issues like abortion rights, LGBTQ+ protections and legalization of marijuana. But the poll also recently found that over half of Gen Z respondents felt it was more important to have a strong leader than to protect democracy, and two-thirds agreed that force should be used if the American way of life was disappearing.

They were embracing authoritarianism more than we would have guessed, Manzo says.

Young supporters of former President Donald Trump cheer at the Turning Point USA Student Action Summit in Tampa, Florida, on July 23, 2022. - Joe Raedle/Getty Images

In poll after poll, we have found enormous diversity among Gen Z and their views, she says.

And leaders from either party preparing for Americas political future, she says, ignore this at their peril.

We dont think its going to be as clear-cut as a lot of pundits have made it seem like its going to be, she says.

We hear a lot about Baby Boomers vs. Gen Z, but theres a bigger debate happening

When it comes to Gen Zs politics, experts say another point is often overstated by market researchers, consultants and journalists.

The more conservative Baby Boomers and the more liberal Gen Z are portrayed like opposing forces in generation wars rather than people with shared goals living in the same society.

It feels like were incredibly tense or divided between the generations, says Bobby Duffy, a professor of public policy and director of the Policy Institute at Kings College London. That, Duffy says, is a tale as old as time.

The issues change, but theres always a difference between the attitudes of young and old, says Duffy, author of The Generation Myth: Why When Youre Born Matters Less Than You Think.

That doesnt mean theres no common ground. Within any generation, theres a wide variety of opinions and life experiences that can easily get lost when we talk about everyone born in certain years as a monolithic group.

High school students in Tampa gathered in March 2022 to protest the Republican-backed bill dubbed "Don't Say Gay" that prohibits classroom discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the measure into law later that month. - Octavio Jones/Reuters

Thats why experts have been weighing a larger question: Should we label generations at all?

Pew had been planning a large research project on Gen Z, but recently halted that effort to reassess its approach to generational research in the face of criticism from a group of social scientists whove been arguing that generation labels are harmful and unscientific.

Thats significant because Pew is known as one of the most authoritative sources on generations, including its oft-cited definitions of when different generations begin and end.

Now Pew is changing its approach.

Going forward, Pew says it will only analyze generations when it has enough data to compare different generations in similar stages of life, to make sure its highlighting generational change rather than differences based on age that can change over time. The organization also says its trying to avoid perpetuating stereotypes and will no longer default to using standard generational labels.

Our recommendation is for readers to bring a healthy dose of skepticism to the generational discussions they see, Dimock says.

That includes reports about generations, he says, that assume or exaggerate intergenerational divides that may actually be quite small.

In the end, when we look at the facts, we may find that Baby Boomers and Gen Z have even more in common than how misunderstood they often are.

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
Russia is fortifying its defenses in occupied Crimea to prepare for a potential Ukrainian advance, the Defense Ministrys Military Media Center reported on July 8.

Fortifications have reportedly been erected in the northern, western, and eastern parts of the occupied peninsula. According to the center, Russia has also reinforced the region's isthmuses, a narrow piece of land connecting mainland Ukraine with the peninsula.

Russia occupied the Crimean Peninsula in early 2014, and has been using it to launch missiles against Ukraine and as a logistic route to transfer equipment to the southern battlefield.

Who does Crimea really belong to? Russias war against Ukraine began in Crimea. In February 2014, as the pro-Russian regime in Kyiv was killing protesters on the barricades of the EuroMaidan Revolution, thousands of Russian troops without insignia began occupying strategic locations and military bases in the Crimean Peninsula. Wit The Kyiv IndependentFrancis Farrell

The U.K. Defense Ministry reported on June 21 that Russia reinforces positions in southern Ukraine, specifically with a nine-kilometer defense zone near the land bridge between Crimea and Kherson Oblast.

Meanwhile, Russian forces are also focusing on defending its warships and the Black Sea and Sea of Azov naval bases, Military Media Center reported.

Russian military facilities and infrastructure sites that could be used by Russian forces in Crimea have been targeted in recent months. Ukraine does not claim responsibility for these attacks.

Moscow began to build fortifications in Crimea and the occupied part of Kherson Oblast, preparing for possible Ukrainian advances in the south in mid-November last year, just after Ukrainian forces liberated Kherson.

Ukraine has set itself the goal of total liberation of the occupied territories, including Crimea.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said on July 2, the Ukrainian Navy Day, that if Russian warships stay in the Black Sea, they will fear to get close to Crimea.
Jeremy Hunts Mansion House Reforms will detail his plans for the City - WILL OLIVER/EPA-EFE/REX/REX

The UKs legacy as the home of capital markets runs deep within the veins of our great nation.

It is a golden thread that has been woven throughout our history, from the humble beginnings of 17th century stockbrokers huddled in cafes to the ground-breaking reforms that democratised shareholding under the leadership of Margaret Thatcher.

Today we stand at the threshold of a new era for this sector which touches every part of the UK. 2023 is proving to be a banner year for the financial services reform.

Just last week, we successfully passed the Financial Services and Markets Act into law, setting the stage for growth and dynamism. This landmark legislation, coupled with the good progress being made in delivering the Chancellors ambitious Edinburgh Reforms, will unlock billions of pounds of investment in the finance sector to help grow the economy.

However, we are not content to rest on our laurels. Our vision extends far beyond national boundaries; we strive to position the UK as the global capital for capital.

The UK is home to the biggest stock market in Europe and one of the largest in the world. The London Stock Exchange was the largest centre for initial public offerings (IPOs) globally outside of US in 2021  its where the world comes to do business.

This week I witnessed the flotation of CAB Payments on the London Stock Exchange. Talking with Bhairav Trivedi, its chief executive, felt a world away from the doomsters of Westminster. Here was a fintech company based in Sutton, doing business across the world, now available to UK shareholders that can participate in their journey of growth. This is a prime example of the continuum of access to capital which forms part of the Chancellors vision for a Silicon Valley UK.

Nonetheless, we face a challenge  a reduction in the number of domestic listed companies between 1997 and 2019, a trend mirrored in other Western markets such as the US and France.

The Chancellor will reveal more how we will tackle this head-on as part of his Mansion House Reforms on Monday.

He will update on our comprehensive programme of reforms to capital markets that will make the UK an even more attractive place for firms to start, scale, and grow.

To this end, we are unveiling the legislation on prospectus reforms, a significant milestone in Lord Hills UK Listing Review, to make the documents firms produce to raise capital simpler, shorter, and more useful to investors.

By simplifying the regulatory rulebook we will heighten the international competitiveness of our capital markets, enticing more companies to list here, which in turn will drive growth and the creation of well-paid jobs.

With the ink still drying on the Financial Services and Markets Act 2023, we have moved straight ahead to repeal around one hundred unnecessary rules inherited from our time in the EU. That includes the esoterically named Share Trading Obligation and Double Volume Cap.

British shares will also finally become fully digital rather than printed on paper certificates  making it easier for individual investors to hold shares and to participate in the companies they invest in. And to ensure that companies and investors get the volume of research coverage needed for healthy valuations  especially important for high-growth sectors  we will also accept the recommendations set out in Rachel Kents Investment Research Review to end the Mifid straitjacket of forced unbundling.

We are also taking a pioneering leap forward by establishing a revolutionary intermittent trading venue. This initiative will give private companies the chance to access capital markets before going public, propelling their growth trajectory, and firmly placing the UK at the forefront of innovative capital raising.

As the City Minister, I am privileged to work with treasury colleagues to spearhead these transformative initiatives. I am inspired by the ambition and resilience of our financial industry. Together, we will seize the opportunities that lie before us. Let us embrace the challenge and make the UK the unrivalled global capital for capital  a beacon of quality, innovation, and prosperity for generations to come.

Andrew Griffith is the Economic Secretary to the Treasury

Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month, then enjoy 1 year for just $9 with our US-exclusive offer.
The Orange County Sheriffs Office said they are offering a $5,000 reward for information leading up to solving the murder of a 34-year-old man killed on July 6.

Deputies said at 2:36 am, they responded to a 911 call at 4400 South Rio Grande Ave. in Orlando and found the victim, Jamel Tyrone Brown.

Investigators said Brown died at the scene from a gunshot wound.

Read: Deputies: Gunman sought after man shot to death at Orange County apartment complex

According to a news release, the suspect they are searching for is believed to have fled on foot.

Read: UCF will host Orlando International Film Festival at downtown campus

The sheriffs office said they would update the public as more information becomes available.

If you know anything about this shooting, you can contact Crimeline at 800-423-8477.

Click here to download the free WFTV news and weather apps, click here to download the WFTV Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
A disciplinary board for the DC Bar Association recommended Friday that former Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani be stripped of his law license over reckless fraud claims after the 2020 election.

The panel announced its findings in a 38-page decision centered on a post-election lawsuit Giuliani filed in an effort to dismiss thousands of votes in the battleground state of Pennsylvania won by President Joe Biden.

"Mr. Giulianis effort to undermine the integrity of the 2020 presidential election has helped destabilize our democracy. His malicious and meritless claims have done lasting damage," the panel wrote.

"He claimed massive election fraud but had no evidence of it. By prosecuting that destructive case Mr. Giuliani, a sworn officer of the Court, forfeited his right to practice law," the panel added. His utter disregard for facts denigrates the legal profession.

The three-person committee's findings will now go to the full nine-member disciplinary board. If the board agrees with the finding, it'll be sent to the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, the final decision maker in disciplinary cases.

An attorney for Giuliani, Barry Kamins, said an appeal is forthcoming.

"We are obviously disappointed in the Committees recommendation but look forward to filing a vigorous appeal to the Board on Professional Responsibility and, if necessary, the Court," Kamins said in a statement.

Ted Goodman, a spokesperson for Giuliani, added in a statement that the committee's action on Friday was part of a larger effort to deny President Trump effective counsel by persecuting Mayor Giulianiobjectively one of the most effective prosecutors in American history.

I call on rank-and-file members of the DC Bar Association to speak out in defense of Mayor Giuliani and against this great injustice, Goodman said.

Giuliani has been involved in other election-related probes. He has been interviewed by federal investigators as part of special counsel Jack Smiths probe into efforts to overturn the 2020 election, and last year he testified before a grand jury in Atlanta as part of an investigation where he was informed that hes a target of that criminal probe.

The DC Bar committee's recommendation builds on a preliminary recommendation in December that Giuliani be disbarred following a hearing that included testimony from the former New York City mayor.

The Pennsylvania lawsuit in question focused on allegations that election observers had been kept too far back during voting, and on complaints from a pair of Trump voters that they had not been allowed to "cure" their defective ballots.

"[N]either complaint factually linked either of those circumstances to widespread improper voting. They contained only vague and speculative allegations about random and isolated electoral irregularities which did not and could not support Respondents inflated legal claims," the panel wrote on Friday.

Giuliani, the panel said, pressed on anyway, claiming there had been a 'a deliberate scheme of intentional and purposeful discrimination' against the Trump campaign, concluding that Democrats 'stole an election . . . in this Commonwealth' and that he had 'hundreds of affidavits' supporting his assertion. These claims were simply not true."

Giuliani "based the Pennsylvania litigation only on speculation, mistrust, and suspicion," the panel said, adding that he then sought a court order disqualifying ballots in heavily Democratic counties and an order blocking the state from certifying the election results.

Giuliani told the panel that time was of the essence so he had to file the suit before he had evidence to back up the claim. That evidence never materialized.

Biden defeated former President Donald Trump by more than 80,000 votes in Pennsylvania.

"We cannot clearly and convincingly say that Mr. Giuliani intentionally lied to the District Court in connection with the Pennsylvania litigation, and he was not charged with doing so. But his hyperbolic claims of election fraud and the core thesis of the Pennsylvania litigation were utterly false, and recklessly so," the panel said, noting Giuliani has not expressed any regrets.

"To the contrary, he has declared his indignation (he is shocked and offended) over being subjected to the disciplinary process (I really believe Ive been persecuted for three or four years)," the panel noted.

The members added that they "considered in mitigation Mr. Giulianis conduct following the September 11 attacks as well as his prior service in the Justice Department and as Mayor of New York City. But all of that happened long ago."

"The misconduct here sadly transcends all his past accomplishments. It was unparalleled in its destructive purpose and effect," they added. "He sought to disrupt a presidential election and persists in his refusal to acknowledge the wrong he has done. For these reasons, we unanimously recommend that Mr. Giuliani be disbarred."

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
This 0.62-acre, forested property with 550 feet of frontage on Lake Superior (no road access) is in Bay Mills Township, Chippewa County.

CHIPPEWA COUNTY  Large parcels of land throughout the U.P. and northern Lower Peninsula, including in Chippewa County, will be up for bid in August and September through Michigan Department of Natural Resources surplus land auctions.

According to the DNR, surplus land sales are a regular part of the DNRs strategy to manage 4.6 million acres of public land.

Land is available in a dozen counties, including: Alger, Allegan, Chippewa, Dickinson, Iosco, Lake, Kent, Mackinac, Midland, Montcalm, Oscoda and Presque Isle. Several of the largest parcels are in Alger, Chippewa, Dickinson, Iosco, Midland, Oscoda and Presque Isle counties, while lakefront and riverfront parcels are in Allegan, Chippewa, Iosco, Lake, Montcalm and Presque Isle counties.

The auction schedule is:

Aug. 4  Lake County

Aug. 10  Montcalm County

Aug. 15  Alger, Chippewa and Mackinac counties

Aug. 16  Dickinson County

Aug. 22  Oscoda County

Aug. 23  Presque Isle County

Aug. 29  Allegan and Kent counties

Sept. 6  Midland County

Sept. 7  Iosco County

Offering state-managed public lands at auction is the final step of a lengthy, ongoing land review process, built on a conservation framework, that ensures these lands best use for the benefit of Michigan residents, visitors and natural resources, said Scott Whitcomb, acting DNR deputy director. Many of the sale parcels are forested or have road frontage, but are better suited for private ownership for a number of reasons. Much of the land is isolated from other DNR-managed property, and that can create management challenges. Other parcels are included for auction because they offer limited public opportunities for quality outdoor recreation experiences.

How bidding works

Interested bidders may pre-register and get more information about the online auction schedule at tax-sale.info. All bidders must register before a propertys auction date. Absentee bids can be made up to 30 days before the auction.

The interactive bidding portion of an auction will open at 10 a.m. on that auction date. At that time, bidders will be able to see current high bids for each property. Bidders can continue to place bids on a property until 7 p.m. that day, when bidding closes and the winning bidder is determined.

A detailed list including minimum bid, acreage, maps and location information of offered properties can be found at Michigan.gov/LandforSale. Interested bidders are encouraged to review the DNR Land Sales: Terms and Conditions.

DNR officials said auction proceeds will help provide future outdoor recreation opportunities.

This article originally appeared on The Sault News: DNR to offer nearly 100 parcels of state-managed land in online auctions
Dorchester man held without bail after pointing stolen gun at people while riding a scooter, DA says

A Dorchester man who pointed a gun at several people while driving a scooter in Mattapan last month was deemed dangerous Thursday and ordered held without bail until at least Nov. 3, the district attorney said Saturday.

Marlon Alexander, 30, was charged in Boston Municipal Court in Roxbury with illegal firearm and ammunition possession, illegal possession of a loaded firearm, receiving stolen property, possession of Class B substance and driving after license suspension, Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden said in a statement.

Judge David Poole found Alexander dangerous and ordered him held until at least Nov. 3. Alexander will return to court for a probable cause hearing on Aug. 10.

On Monday, June 26 at about 2:50 p.m., Boston Police responded to a call about a man on a scooter pointed a gun at a motorist, Hayden said. The motorist told police she saw a man swerving while driving the scooter and honked her horn at him. She told police the man then pulled beside her and pointed a black handgun at her. The victim gave police a description of the mans clothing and his location.

Police soon spotted a man matching the description driving on Quincy Street toward Blue Hill Avenue, Hayden said.

Officers blocked the lane as the man, later identified as Alexander, approached. Alexander continued driving at a high rate of speed, Hayden said. He braked at the last moment, causing his scooter to slide and strike the cruisers front bumper.

Alexander, who was thrown from the scooter after the impact, ignored officers commands to remain still, Hayden said. He was apprehended by police while trying to get back on the scooter.

Officers conducted a pat frisk of Alexander and recovered a black .380-caliber Glock 42 loaded with five rounds, Hayden said. Police traced the gun, and determined it was reported stolen in Manchester, New Hampshire in February 2022. Police also recovered a bag of white substance believed to be crack cocaine.

During the incident, another person called 911 and told police a man riding a scooter and matching Alexanders description had pointed a gun at them.

In his statement, Hayden said he has made gun crimes a focus of his administration and has consistently called for national gun purchasing regulations to help curb the flow of firearms from easy-purchase states like New Hampshire into states with tighter purchase regulations like Massachusetts.

Hayden said the incident reflects the troubling reality confronting law enforcement on a daily basis.

Day in and day out, Boston police respond to calls for a person with a gun, or shots fired, or a person shot, Hayden said. We treat these cases with the utmost seriousness and move for dangerousness hearings whenever we determine an intolerable threat to the community.

Our research shows that a huge percentage of the weapons recovered originate in another state, as is the case here, Hayden said. Its the same group of states  New Hampshire, Virginia, Alabama, Maine, Florida. The weapons purchased there end up here, and end up harming too many residents, upending too many lives and degrading too many neighborhoods.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte has led four coalition governments since 2010 (Robin Utrecht)

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte will personally tender his resignation to the king on Saturday after his coalition government collapsed in a row over migration, triggering elections later this year.

King Willem-Alexander was out of the country on holiday when the government fell and flew back to the Netherlands to meet Rutte, who is the country's longest-serving premier and has been in power since 2010.

"I will catch up with him tomorrow and explain exactly what happened," a sombre Rutte, the leader of the centre-right VVD party, told a press conference on Friday night after the coalition toppled.

Their meeting is due at around 1100 GMT on Saturday at the royal Huis Ten Bosch palace in a forest near The Hague. Rutte is leading a caretaker government until the elections expected in mid-November.

Europe has faced rising tensions over how to deal with migration and it was the issue that finally tore apart the Netherlands' shaky coalition government, Rutte's fourth.

The four coalition parties fell out over Rutte's plans to tighten curbs on reuniting families of asylum seekers, a bid to curb numbers following a scandal last year over overcrowded migration centres.

ChristenUnie -- a Christian Democratic party that draws its main support from the staunchly Protestant "Bible Belt" in the central Netherlands -- and centre-left D66 had strongly opposed Rutte's plan.

Dutch newspapers picked over the carcass of the unstable coalition that only took office in January 2022, after a record 271 days of negotiations.

The Volkskrant daily said that the cabinet "stumbled from the starting blocks and never managed to recover".

- 'Beautiful country' -

The elections now promise to be some of the most divisive in a generation, with a toxic brew of issues including migration, angry farmers and the cost of living.

The newest challenge to Rutte's bid for a fifth term comes from an upstart farmers party that opposes EU-backed environmental rules, while the Dutch far-right remains a threat as ever.

"We can make the Netherlands a beautiful country again with fewer asylum seekers and crime, more money and houses for our own people, decent care, plenty of room for our farmers and fishermen," anti-Islam leader Geert Wilders tweeted.

The Farmer-Citizen Movement (BBB) will be seeking to repeat the success of senate elections that it won earlier this year.

Its leader Caroline van der Plas has refused to serve in a coalition with Rutte, and she didn't rule out standing to be prime minister.

Despite leading them to electoral success for nearly 13 years, Rutte's bid for an unprecedented fifth term also faces challenges from within the VVD.

If the farmer's party does well enough in the elections to demand a place in a coalition, Rutte's VVD could be tempted to ditch him to keep its place at the head of the government.

Rutte himself has said there were tensions at the party's conference in June over migration, adding on Friday that he still had the "energy" for a fifth term but needed to think it over.

dk/fb
The Dutch prime minister hands in his resignation as the government collapses over migration

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte sits in a car as he leaves Palace Huis ten Bosch in The Hague, Netherlands, Saturday, July 8, 2023 after he informed King Willem-Alexander that his coalition government has resigned. Rutte announced the collapse of the government Friday night and declined to answer reporters' questions as he left. (AP Photo/Michael Corder)

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP)  Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte visited the king Saturday to hand in the resignation of his four-party coalition, setting the deeply divided Netherlands on track for a general election later this year.

King Willem-Alexander flew back from a family vacation in Greece to meet with Rutte, who drove to the palace in his Saab station wagon for the meeting to explain the political crisis that toppled his administration.

Rutte declined to answer reporters' questions as he drove away from the meeting that lasted over an hour, saying the talks with the monarch were private.

The vexed issue of reining in migration that has troubled countries across Europe for years was the final stumbling block that brought down Rutte's government Friday night, exposing the deep ideological differences between the four parties that made up the uneasy coalition.

Now it is likely to dominate campaigning for an election that is still months away.

We are the party that can ensure a majority to significantly restrict the flow of asylum seekers, said Geert Wilders, leader of the anti-immigration Party for Freedom, who supported Rutte's first minority coalition 13 years ago, but also ultimately brought it down.

Opposition parties on the left also want to make the election about tackling problems they accuse Rutte of failing to adequately address  from climate change to a chronic housing shortage and the future of the nation's multibillion-euro (-dollar) agricultural sector.

Socialist Party leader Lilian Marijnissen told Dutch broadcaster NOS the collapse of Rutte's government was good news for the Netherlands. I think that everybody felt that this Cabinet was done. They have created more problems than they solved.

Despite the divisions between the four parties in Rutte's government, it will remain in power as a caretaker administration until a new coalition is formed, but will not pass major new laws.

Given the challenges of the times, a war on this continent, nobody profits from a political crisis, tweeted Sigrid Kaag, leader of the centrist, pro-Europe D66 party.

Rutte, the Netherlands' longest-serving premier and a veteran consensus builder, appeared to be the one who was prepared to torpedo his fourth coalition government with tough demands in negotiations over how to reduce the number of migrants seeking asylum in his country.

Rutte negotiated for months over a package of measures to reduce the flow of new migrants arriving in the country of nearly 18 million people. Proposals reportedly included creating two classes of asylum  a temporary one for people fleeing conflicts and a permanent one for people trying to escape persecution  and reducing the number of family members who are allowed to join asylum-seekers in the Netherlands. The idea of blocking family members was strongly opposed by minority coalition party ChristenUnie.

I think unnecessary tension was introduced to the talks, said Kaag.

Pieter Heerma, the leader of the Christian Democrats, a coalition partner, called Rutte's approach in the talks almost reckless.

The fall of the government comes just months after a new, populist pro-farmer party, the Farmers Citizens Movement, known by its Dutch acronym BBB, shocked the political establishment by winning provincial elections. The party is already the largest bloc in the Dutch Senate and will be a serious threat to Rutte's People's Party for Freedom and Democracy.

The BBB's leader, Caroline van der Plas, said her party would dust off their campaign posters from the provincial vote and go again.

The campaign has begun! Van der Plas said in a tweet that showed her party's supporters hanging flags and banners from lamp posts.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte has resigned after his coalition government was unable to reach an agreement on the countrys migration policy.

The Netherlandss government said in a post on its website that Rutte tendered the resignation of all ministers and state secretaries to King Willem-Alexander, who requested that Rutte and the other officials continue to carry out their responsibilities in a caretaker capacity until new elections can be held.

Rutte, who has served as prime minister since 2010 and is the longest-serving premier in the countrys history, is meeting with the king on Saturday to discuss the governments resignation, according to the post.

It is no secret that the coalition partners have very different views on migration policy, Rutte told reporters in The Hague. And today, unfortunately, we have to draw the conclusion that those differences are irreconcilable.

The coalition government was made up of four political parties  Ruttes conservative Peoples Party for Freedom and Democracy, the Christian Democrats and the centrist D66 and Christian Union parties. The former two support stricter regulations on migration, while the latter two do not.

Rutte presided over late-night meetings on Wednesday and Thursday in a last-ditch effort to reach a deal on migration, but the parties decided unanimously on Friday that they could not agree and must end the coalition.

The coalition had been trying for months to reach a deal. Proposals that had been rejected included the creation of two classes of asylum, one temporary for those fleeing conflicts and one permanent for those fleeing persecution, and cutting the number of family members allowed to join asylum-seekers in the Netherlands, a country of 18 million people.

Hundreds of asylum-seekers were forced to sleep outdoors in poor conditions at an overcrowded reception center last year with the number of people arriving outpacing the number of available beds.

Ruttes government had called for a law to compel municipalities to provide accommodations for newly arrived asylum-seekers, but the countrys parliament has not approved it yet.

The coalition formed in January 2022 after the longest negotiations in Dutch political history.

Similar discussions on migration are taking place throughout Europe with many migrants fleeing conflict or seeking a better life coming from North Africa. Hundreds of thousands have also fled the war in Ukraine.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
By Stephanie van den Berg

THE HAGUE (Reuters) -Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte met with King Willem-Alexander on Saturday to discuss a caretaker administration, the day after his centre-right government collapsed following a dispute over migration policies.

Rutte declined to comment on the hour and a half-long talks after he left the palace in The Hague.

"These are confidential meetings," he told reporters.

The next major step will be to dissolve parliament, but first there will be a debate about the government's resignation in the Dutch lower house planned for Monday.

After parliament is dissolved, an election will be held, expected in November.

Rutte, 56, in power since 2010, is the Netherlands' longest serving prime minister. He told a press conference on Friday he'd like to run for a fifth term but would consult with his party before making a final decision.

The crisis in Dutch politics came after Rutte's conservative VVD party sought to limit the flow of asylum seekers to the Netherlands.

Tensions came to a head this week when Rutte demanded support for a proposal to limit the arrival of children of war refugees who are already in the Netherlands and to make families wait at least two years before they can be reunited.

That was opposed by the small Christian Union and liberal D66, ultimately bringing the government down.

As head of state, the king is expected to ask Rutte's coalition to stay on as a caretaker government until a new administration is formed after the election, a process which in the fractured Dutch political landscape usually takes months.

Before meeting the king, Rutte tweeted he had called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to ensure him his government's caretaker status would not affect Dutch support for Ukraine.

Not since the 2015-2016 migration crisis has immigration been such a fault line in European politics.

Support for Germany's far right AfD has surged over the last six months. And in Spain polls suggest the far right Vox party could enter government following elections this month.

In the Netherlands, migration is somewhat overshadowed by farmers' protests against government plans to limit nitrogen emissions, which they say will spell the end of many farms.

Farmers' protest party BBB became the biggest party in March provincial elections.

In the latest Ipsos poll, carried out a week before the government collapse, Rutte's VVD was projected to remain the biggest party in the 150-seat parliament with 28 seats. But BBB was predicted to surge from just one seat now to 23, making it the second largest.

BBB also supports a stricter migration policy and has suggested a possible yearly cap of 15,000 asylum seekers.

The Netherlands already has a one of Europe's toughestimmigration policies. Still, asylum applications jumped by a third last year to over 46,000, and the government has projected they could top 70,000 this year - above the previous high of 2015.

(Reporting by Stephanie van den Berg and Piroschka van de Wou; Editing by Ros Russell and Mark Potter)
Earth sets its hottest day record for third time in a week

Earth sets its hottest day record for third time in a week

Earths average temperature set a new unofficial record high on Thursday for the third time in a week.

On 6 July the Earth was an average 17.23C (63F), according to an unofficial measurement by Climate Reanalyzer, a platform that uses climate and weather forecast models to take the global temperature.

This surpassed the record of 17.18C set on Tuesday and maintained Wednesday, which in itself topped Mondays record-breaking 17.01C.

The figures must be confirmed by official international and national government bodies but nevertheless have set off alarm bells in the scientific community.

Such records are the predictable consequence of a short-term El Nino temperature boost coming on top of the long-term global warming trend due to mankinds greenhouse gas emissions, tweeted Dr Robert Rohde, the lead scientist at the climate nonprofit, Berkeley Earth. Global warming is leading us into an unfamiliar world, he added.

Wherever you look around the world, there is a litany of new extremes. The African continent experienced its hottest night ever recorded, according to US Stormwatch, which tracks extreme weather globally. The nighttime low in Adrar, Algeria, was 39.6C (103.3F) on Thursday.

Cities across China opened air-raid shelters on Friday to offer residents relief from severe heat as deaths were reported in Beijing and Shaoxing. Earlier this week, the Chinese capital reported more than nine straight days with record-high temperatures exceeding 35C (95F), according to the National Climate Centre, compounded by drought.

Africa just saw its hottest night ever recorded.



Adrar, Algeria's nighttime low was a searing 39.6C (103.3F)  pic.twitter.com/ZQxgmkH3UY  Colin McCarthy (@US_Stormwatch) July 7, 2023

In the UK, the Met Office issued a heat health alert for six regions as temperatures are set to soar to 30C this weekend. The warnings were directed to six regions  London, Yorkshire, east and west Midlands, and the east and southeast of England  from midday on Friday until 9am on Sunday.

Germany warned the elderly, people with health conditions, pregnant women and parents with young children to seek out cool places amid forecasts for 35-37C (95-99F) this weekend combined with high humidity.

Germanys health ministry urged people to stay indoors, consume enough liquids and avoid strenuous activity, particularly during the day.

A boy wipes his sweat as he visits the Forbidden City on a sweltering day in Beijing on Friday (AP)

In the Antarctic, temperatures soared to unprecedented levels, reaching as high as 4.5C (8F) above normal in the polar region.

Dr Friederike Otto, a climate science lecturer at the Grantham Institute for Climate Change and founder of World Weather Attribution (WWA) which assesses the role of global heating in extreme weather, called the new heat records a death sentence.

This is not a milestone we should be celebrating, its a death sentence for people and ecosystems, she said this week. And worryingly, it wont be the hottest day for a long time.

The black line shows the global average temperatures in 2023 (Climate Reanalyzer)

With El Nino developing, the world will likely break this record again in the coming months. We absolutely need to stop burning fossil fuels.

The scorching heat is being driven by emissions caused by burning fossil fuels, as well as El Nino  a cyclic climate pattern which means severe temperatures in many places.

The new record average is more than 1C higher than on the same day 30 years ago, when global temperatures had already been influenced by the climate crisis.

Along with intense and earlier heatwaves, the high temperatures are contributing to larger wildfires, erratic rainfall and stronger cyclones. Extreme weather is hitting the worlds poorest communities the hardest, despite their negligible contributions to global emissions.
Patrick Crusius, the admitted white supremacist who fatally shot 23 people at an El Paso Walmart, was sentenced to 90 consecutive life sentences.

The life sentences, which will be served consecutively, were handed down by Senior U.S. District Judge David C. Guaderrama on Friday, July 7.

The sentencing means the gunman will spend the rest of his life in federal prison. The life sentences were the maximum the gunman could receive in federal court since the U.S. Attorney's Office decided not to seek the death penalty.

The gunman was provided the opportunity to speak in court on the first day of the hearing but declined.

Here's what El Paso leaders had to say about the life sentences:

Patrick Crusius, 24, was sentenced Friday morning to life in prison on each of 90 federal charges he pleaded guilty to earlier this year in connection with the Aug. 3, 2019, mass shooting that killed 23 people and injured dozens more at an East El Paso Walmart.

Beto O'Rourke

Former U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke, who competed for the Democratic nomination for president in 2020, grew close to some victims' families.

"In addition to this sentence, true justice would address the guilt of those who stoked fears of 'invasion,' told Texans to 'take matters into their own hands,' spread replacement theory, and made it too easy to buy a weapon of war used to kill 23 people in a matter of minutes," O'Rourke wrote on Twitter in the wake of the sentencing.

Former U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke visits the memorial for the victims of the mass shooting at an El Paso Walmart on Aug. 7, 2019.

Veronica Escobar

"No sentence can bring back the 23 innocent souls we lost on August 3, 2019 or take away the profound pain the survivors and their loved ones live with every day," U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-El Paso, said on Twitter.

"The hatred that is white supremacy and the easy access to assault weapons fueled a tragedy that many El Pasoans still live with and we must continue to work for change.

"But today, I hope the victims and our community achieve a significant step toward justice."

U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-El Paso, places flowers at Ponder Park on the one-year anniversary of the Walmart mass shooting Aug. 3, 2020, in El Paso. A gunman opened fire at an East El Paso Walmart, killing 23 and injuring at least two dozen others Aug. 3, 2019.

Cesar Blanco

State Sen. Cesar Blanco, D-El Paso, said he hopes the sentencing "provides some closure and healing for the victims' families."

"Today, and every day, we remember the lives that were tragically cut short and hold their memories close to us," he said.

Laramie Stroud, left, and state Rep. Cesar Blanco, D-El Paso, listen to testimony from survivors of the Aug. 3, 2019, mass shooting at Walmart during the Texas House Committee on Mass Violence Prevention and Community Safety on Jan. 9, 2020, at the University of Texas at El Paso campus.

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Walmart shooting sentence: City leaders respond to life imprisonment
Paul Edwards, a Stanford University fellow who spent decades studying nuclear war and climate change, considers himself "an apocalypse guy." So Edwards jumped at the chance in 2018 to help develop a freshman class on preventing human extinction.

Working with epidemiologist Steve Luby, a professor of medicine and infectious disease, the pair focused on three familiar threats to the species - global pandemics, extreme climate change and nuclear winter - along with a fourth, newer menace: advanced artificial intelligence.

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On that last front, Edwards thought young people would be worried about immediate threats, such as AI-powered surveillance, misinformation or autonomous weapons that target and kill without human intervention - problems he calls "ultraserious." But he soon discovered that some students were more focused on a purely hypothetical risk: that AI could become as smart as humans and destroy mankind.

Science fiction has long contemplated rogue AI, from HAL 9000 to Skynet. But in recent years, Silicon Valley has become enthralled by a distinct vision of how super-intelligence might go awry, derived from thought experiments at the fringes of tech culture. In these scenarios, AI isn't necessarily sentient. Instead, it becomes fixated on a goal - even a mundane one, such as making paper clips - and triggers human extinction to optimize its task.

To prevent this theoretical but cataclysmic outcome, mission-driven labs such as DeepMind, OpenAI and Anthropic are racing to build a good kind of AI programmed not to lie, deceive or kill us. Meanwhile, donors such as Tesla CEO Elon Musk, disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, Skype founder Jaan Tallinn and ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin - as well as institutions such as Open Philanthropy, a charitable organization started by billionaire Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz - have worked to push doomsayers from the tech industry's margins into the mainstream.

More recently, wealthy tech philanthropists have begun recruiting an army of elite college students to prioritize the fight against rogue AI over other threats. Open Philanthropy alone has funneled nearly half a billion dollars into developing a pipeline of talent to fight rogue AI, building a scaffolding of think tanks, YouTube channels, prize competitions, grants, research funding and scholarships - as well as a new fellowship that can pay student leaders as much as $80,000 a year, plus tens of thousands of dollars in expenses.

At Stanford, Open Philanthropy awarded Luby and Edwards more than $1.5 million in grants to launch the Stanford Existential Risk Initiative, which supports student research in the growing field known as "AI safety" or "AI alignment." It also hosts an annual conference and sponsors a student group, one of dozens of AI safety clubs that Open Philanthropy has helped support in the past year at universities around the country.

Critics call the AI safety movement unscientific. They say its claims about existential risk can sound closer to a religion than research. And while the sci-fi narrative resonates with public fears about runaway AI, critics say it obsesses over one kind of catastrophe to the exclusion of many others.

"The conversation is just hijacked," said Timnit Gebru, former co-lead of Ethical AI at Google.

Gebru and other AI ethicists say the movement has drawn attention away from existing harms - such as racist algorithms that determine who gets a mortgage or AI models that scrape artists' work without compensation - and drown out calls for remedies. Other skeptics, including venture capitalist Marc Andreessen, are AI boosters who say that hyping such fears will impede the technology's progress.

Open Philanthropy spokesperson Mike Levine said harms such as algorithmic racism deserve a robust response. But he said those problems stem from the same root issue: AI systems not behaving as their programmers intended. The theoretical risks "were not garnering sufficient attention from others - in part because these issues were perceived as speculative," Levine said in a statement. He compared the nonprofit's AI focus to its work on pandemics, which also was regarded as theoretical until the coronavirus emerged.

The foundation began prioritizing existential risks around AI in 2016, according to a blog post by co-chief executive Holden Karnofsky, a former hedge funder whose wife and brother-in-law co-founded the AI start-up Anthropic and previously worked at OpenAI. At the time, Karnofsky wrote, there was little status or money to be gained by focusing on risks. So the nonprofit set out to build a pipeline of young people who would filter into top companies and agitate for change from the inside.

Colleges have been key to this growth strategy, serving as both a pathway to prestige and a recruiting ground for idealistic talent. Over the past year and a half, AI safety groups have cropped up on about 20 campuses in the United States and Europe - including Harvard, Georgia Tech, MIT, Columbia and New York University - many led by students financed by Open Philanthropy's new university fellowship.

The clubs train students in machine learning and help them find jobs in AI start-ups or one of the many nonprofit groups dedicated to AI safety.

Many of these newly minted student leaders view rogue AI as an urgent and neglected threat, potentially rivaling climate change in its ability to end human life. Many see advanced AI as the Manhattan Project of their generation.

Among them is Gabriel Mukobi, 23, who graduated from Stanford in June and is transitioning into a master's program for computer science. Mukobi helped organize a campus AI safety group last summer and dreams of making Stanford a hub for AI safety work. Despite the school's ties to Silicon Valley, Mukobi said it lags behind nearby UC Berkeley, where younger faculty members research AI alignment, the term for embedding human ethics into AI systems.

"This just seems like a really, really important thing," Mukobi said, "and I want to make it happen."

- - -

An alternate universe

When Mukobi first heard the theory that AI could eradicate humanity, he found it hard to believe. At the time, Mukobi was a sophomore on a gap year during the pandemic. Back then, he was concerned about animal welfare, promoting meat alternatives and ending animal agriculture.

But then Mukobi joined Stanford's club for effective altruism, known as EA, a philosophical movement that advocates doing maximum good by calculating the expected value of charitable acts, such as protecting the future from runaway AI. By 2022, AI capabilities were advancing all around him - wild developments that made those warnings seem prescient.

Last summer, he announced the Stanford AI Alignment group (SAIA) in a blog post with a diagram of a tree representing his plan. He'd recruit a broad group of students (the soil) and "funnel" the most promising candidates (the roots) up through the pipeline (the trunk). To guard against the "reputational hazards" of toiling in a field some consider sketchy, Mukobi wrote, "we'll prioritize students and avoid targeted outreach to unaligned AI professors."

Among the reputational hazards of the AI safety movement is its association with an array of controversial figures and ideas, like EA, which is also known for recruiting ambitious young people on elite college campuses.

EA's drive toward maximizing good initially meant persuading top graduates in rich countries to go into high-paying jobs, rather than public service, and donate their wealth to causes such as buying mosquito nets to save lives in malaria-racked countries in Africa.

But from the start EA was intertwined with tech subcultures interested in futurism and rationalist thought. Over time, global poverty slid down the cause list, while rogue AI climbed toward the top. Extreme practitioners began to promote an idea called "longtermism," prioritizing the lives of people potentially millions of years in the future, who might be a digitized version of human beings, over present-day suffering.

In the past year, EA has been beset by scandal, including the fall of Bankman-Fried, one of its largest donors. Another key figure, Oxford philosopher Nick Bostrom, whose 2014 bestseller "Superintelligence" is essential reading in EA circles, met public uproar when a decades-old diatribe about IQ surfaced in January.

"Black are more stupid than whites," Bostrom wrote, calling the statement "logically correct," then using the n-word in a hypothetical example of how his words could be misinterpreted as racist. Bostrom apologized for the slur but little else.

After reading Bostrom's diatribe, SAIA stopped giving away copies of "Superintelligence." Mukobi, who identifies as biracial, called the message "sus" but saw it as Bostrom's failure - not the movement's.

Mukobi did not mention EA or longtermism when he sent an email to Stanford's student listservs in September touting his group's student-led seminar on AI safety, which counted for course credit. Programming future AI systems to share human values could mean "an amazing world free from diseases, poverty, and suffering," while failure could unleash "human extinction or our permanent disempowerment," Mukobi wrote, offering free boba tea to anyone who attended the 30-minute intro.

Students who join the AI safety community sometimes get more than free boba. Just as EA conferences once meant traveling the world and having one-on-one meetings with wealthy, influential donors, Open Philanthropy's new university fellowship offers a hefty direct deposit: undergraduate leaders receive as much as $80,000 a year, plus $14,500 for health insurance, and up to $100,000 a year to cover group expenses.

The movement has successfully influenced AI culture through social structures built around swapping ideas, said Shazeda Ahmed, a postdoctoral research associate at Princeton University's Center for Information Technology Policy. Student leaders have access to a glut of resources from donor-sponsored organizations, including an "AI Safety Fundamentals" curriculum developed by an OpenAI employee.

Interested students join reading groups where they get free copies of books like "The Precipice" and may spend hours reading the latest alignment papers, posting career advice on the Effective Altruism forum, or adjusting their P(doom), a subjective estimate of the probability that advanced AI will end badly. The grants, travel, leadership roles for inexperienced graduates and sponsored co-working spaces build a close-knit community.

Edwards discovered that shared online forums function like a form of peer review, with authors changing their original text in response to the comments.

"It's really readable writing, which is great," Edwards said, but it bypasses the precision of vetting ideas through experts. "There's a kind of alternate universe where the academic world is being cut out."

Edwards's first book was on the military origins of AI, and he recently served on the United Nations' chief climate panel, leaving him too rooted in real-world science and politics to entertain the kind of dorm-room musings accepted at face value in the forums.

Could AI take over all the computers necessary to end humanity? "Not happening," Edwards said. "Too many humans in the loop. And there will be for 20 or 30 years."

- - -

The 'EA Kool-Aid'

Since the launch of ChatGPT in November, discussion of AI safety has exploded at a dizzying pace. Corporate labs that view advanced artificial intelligence as inevitable and want the social benefits to outweigh the risks are increasingly touting AI safety as the antidote to the worst-feared outcomes.

At Stanford, Mukobi has tried to capitalize on the sudden interest.

After Yoshua Bengio, one of the "godfathers" of deep learning, signed an open letter in March urging the AI industry to hit pause, Mukobi sent another email to Stanford student listservs warning that AI safety was being eclipsed by rapid advances in the field. "Everyone" is "starting to notice some of the consequences," he wrote, linking each word to a recent op-ed, tweet, Substack post, article or YouTube video warning about the perils of unaligned AI.

By then, SAIA had already begun its second set of student discussions on introductory and intermediate AI alignment, which 100 students have completed so far.

"You don't get safety by default, you have to build it in - and nobody even knows how to do this yet," he wrote.

In conversation, Mukobi is patient and more measured than in his email solicitations, cracking the occasional self-deprecating joke. When told that some consider the movement cultish, he said he understood the concerns. (Some EA literature also embraces nonbelievers. "You're right to be skeptical of these claims," says the homepage for Global Challenges Project, which hosts three-day expenses-paid workshops for students to explore existential risk reduction.)

Mukobi feels energized about the growing consensus that these risks are worth exploring. He heard students talking about AI safety in the halls of Gates, the computer science building, in May after Geoffrey Hinton, another "godfather" of AI, quit Google to warn about AI. By the end of the year, Mukobi thinks the subject could be a dinner-table topic, just like climate change or the war in Ukraine.

Luby, Edwards's teaching partner for the class on human extinction, also seems to find these arguments persuasive. He had already rearranged the order of his AI lesson plans to help students see the imminent risks from AI. No one needs to "drink the EA Kool-Aid" to have genuine concerns, he said.

Edwards, on the other hand, still sees things such as climate change as a bigger threat than rogue AI. But ChatGPT and the rapid release of AI models has convinced him that there should be room to think about AI safety.

Interest in the topic is also growing among Stanford faculty members, Edwards said. He noted that a new postdoctoral fellow will lead a class on alignment next semester in Stanford's storied computer science department.

The course will not be taught by students or outside experts. Instead, he said, it "will be a regular Stanford class."

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Affirmative action protest. Craig F. Walker / The Boston Globe via Getty Images

Now that the Supreme Court has ruled against affirmative action, putting an end to race consideration in college admissions, the next target could be race-based college scholarships and financial aid. Already, the University of Kentucky and the University of Missouri system have opted to remove race as a factor in their scholarship programs. "Based on our initial understanding, it appears that the court has restricted the consideration of race with respect to admissions and scholarships," explained University of Kentucky president Eli Capilouto on the day of the ruling, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Some schools are opting to push money to scholarships based on socioeconomic status instead, however, "we don't have anything that works as effectively at producing and enhancing racial diversity as race-conscious affirmative action," Kelly Slay, an assistant professor at Vanderbilt University, told NPR. "Affirmative action bans won't have the reach that ending these scholarship programs will," tweeted Dillard University president Walter M. Kimbrough.

How big is the threat of losing race-based scholarships in the wake of losing affirmative action?

The threat is on the horizon

"The stakes are as high as they are clear" regarding the threat of the court's ruling on various diversity programs, Svante Myrick, president of People For the American Way, wrote in an opinion piece for The Hill. It "tees up some really serious potential downstream effects inside and outside academia," including minority scholarship programs. "While the decision does not mention race-based financial aid specifically, the man who led the effort to sue over affirmative action said it is certain to apply," wrote Scott Jaschik for Inside Higher Ed. "Virtually all race-exclusive scholarships were already illegal as I understand the law," Edward Blum of Students for Fair Admissions told Inside Higher Ed.

The ruling could spell trouble for Black, Latino, and Indigenous college hopefuls because "even those from middle-income backgrounds  attend higher poverty and less resourced schools," Olatunde Johnson wrote in Time. "Most Native students attending college do not enjoy generational wealth," explained the American Indian College Fund in a piece for Native News Online, adding that "many depend upon financial aid." Without aid, many marginalized groups have less opportunity to attend college, which is necessary for "empowering people to envision and create a future of their choosing."

"This next step was intended all along as Republican lawmakers in states around the country were targeting race-conscious policies," before the Supreme Court's ruling came out at all, argued Tessa Stuart for Rolling Stone. This includes Arkansas, Louisiana, and North Dakota. "It's not a mystery what happens to the enrollment numbers when public university systems end affirmative action."

Not just yet...

The Supreme Court's decision on affirmative action is "not the end of the conversation," wrote Johnson. "Our collective legal and democratic responsibility to address the racial and ethnic inequalities that persist in the U.S. education system is as important as ever." He added that colleges and universities "still have a legal duty," to address racial inequalities, and the ruling "cannot stop well-meaning individuals and institutions from caring about racial and ethnic inequality in this country."

In addition, "the majority opinion by Chief Justice John Roberts was actually pretty narrow," according to higher education correspondent for NPR Elissa Nadworny. "This decision doesn't explicitly prohibit race-conscious decisions in those other areas ... such as financial aid." Many institutions of higher education have also "reiterated their commitment to scholarships and other programs aimed at making campuses more diverse," noted Alia Wong in USA Today.

We should be "careful about overreacting" to the decision, Justin Draeger, president and CEO of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, told Inside Higher Ed. "Overhauling scholarship programs cannot happen overnight."

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Calls to end birthright citizenship for children of illegal immigrants are gaining steam among the 2024 Republican presidential primary field, with now at least three hopefuls backing the controversial move.

Vivek Ramaswamy said this week that he supports ending birthright citizenship for children of illegal immigrants.

"I think for a period of time its going to be necessary in this country, because you have an influx of migrants across that southern border, fourteen thousand-plus a day by some estimates crossing that southern border. That is not a rule of law, that is the abandonment of the rule of law," he said on CNN.

TRUMP'S CALL TO END BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP ECHOES PAST CALLS, LIKELY TO FACE SIMILAR OPPOSITION

Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy speaks during the Moms for Liberty Joyful Warriors national summit at the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown on July 1, 2023, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

"So if migrants are coming illegally, intentionally to be able to establish an illegal toehold in the United States, then I think thats something we should not abide in this country," he said.

While birthright citizenship grants citizenship to the children of legal immigrants in the U.S., the debate has focused primarily on whether that should also apply to those who are in the country illegally.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

The 14th Amendment states that "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside."

Critics of the move have said it would require a constitutional change.

GOP PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE SHREDS IDIOTIC CALLS TO END AMERICAN BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP

"Our Founding Fathers decided that people born here were immediately citizens. Cracking open the Constitution to eliminate that right seems really idiotic," Miami Mayor and GOP presidential candidate Francis Suarez, whose parents were both immigrants from Cuba, told the Daily Caller last month.

Those in support have argued that the amendment has been misinterpreted  pointing to the requirement that the persons must be "subject to the jurisdiction" of the U.S.

DESANTIS UNVEILS BORDER SECURITY PLAN TO STOP THE INVASION; BLASTS BIDEN AND JABS AT TRUMP

But as the U.S. continues to face a border crisis, which conservatives believe has been fueled by liberal immigration policies and other incentives  including birthright citizenship  the idea of limiting citizenship to children of citizens or legal residents has received a new impetus.

Former President Trump remains the front-runner for the 2024 Republican nomination.

Former President Donald Trump, currently the front-runner in the primary race, said in May that he would sign an executive order "on day one" that will instruct federal agents that the "correct interpretation of the law" does not grant citizenship to the children of illegal immigrants, regardless of their birthplace.

"Joe Biden has launched an illegal foreign invasion of our country, allowing a record number of illegal aliens to storm across our borders," Trump said in a video posted on Twitter. "Even though these millions of illegal border crossers have entered the country unlawfully, all of their future children will become automatic U.S. citizens. Can you imagine?

"They'll be eligible for welfare, taxpayer-funded health care, the right to vote, chain migration and countless other government benefits, many of which will also profit the illegal alien parents. This policy is a reward for breaking the laws of the United States and is obviously a magnet, helping draw a flood of illegals across our borders."

DESANTIS DEFENDS MIGRANT FLIGHTS TO CALIFORNIA, BLAMES SANCTUARY JURISDICTIONS FOR ENCOURAGING OPEN BORDER

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis gives remarks at Moms for Liberty's Joyful Warriors National Summit in Philadelphia on June 30, 2023.

Trump first made the promise during his 2016 campaign and pledged to end it multiple times during his presidency, but it never happened.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who polls suggest is currently in second place in the GOP primary race, also backed the idea as he unveiled his border security plan last month in Eagle Pass, Texas.

"This idea that you can come across the border, two days later have a child, and somehow thats an American citizen  that was not the original understanding of the 14th Amendment, and so well take action to force a clarification of that," he said last month.

TOP GOP 2024 CANDIDATES RALLY AROUND KEY TRUMP-ERA IMMIGRATION POLICY NIXED BY BIDEN ADMIN

"I think its wrong that people would use our country for things like birth tourism, so were going to be removing the incentives to come here illegally," he said.

It is the latest sign of a drift to the right by the Republican field on immigration. Candidates have already rallied around the Trump-era "Remain-in-Mexico" policy, which kept migrants in Mexico for their hearings and was put on ice by the Biden administration.

Former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley has put out a muscular immigration policy that would see mandatory E-Verify and funding cut to states that hand out benefits to illegal immigrants.

Meanwhile, DeSantis has promised to shut down the southern border on day one and to "stop the invasion."
XINING, July 8 (Xinhua) -- Female Tibetan antelopes are giving birth on a large scale in northwest China's Hoh Xil National Nature Reserve, according to local authorities.

Around May each year, tens of thousands of pregnant Tibetan antelopes start their migration to Hoh Xil to give birth, leaving with their offspring in late July.

The Hoh Xil management office, under the management bureau of Sanjiangyuan National Park, has been monitoring the animals' movements. On April 26, the first batch of 26 Tibetan antelopes migrated from the 3,001 km mark on the Qinghai-Tibet Highway to Drolkar Lake in the hinterland of Hoh Xil, said the office.

The Drolkar Lake area, which is more than 4,800 meters above sea level, is a crucial birthplace for the species.

"Rain and snow affected the migration speed of the Tibetan antelopes," said Tsesogyal, a staffer with the Drolkar Lake protection station, adding that more than 30,000 female Tibetan antelopes are giving birth in the Drolkar Lake area, and the flock has spread across the meadows and hillsides around the lake.

Wu Xiaomin, a Chinese expert in Tibetan antelope protection, said the reason why the animals gather at Drolkar Lake to give birth remains an unsolved mystery in the academic world.

Drolkar Lake used to be one of the most popular places for poaching Tibetan antelope. In order to ensure the smooth migration of the species, the Hoh Xil management office has set up a special seasonal protection station in Drolkar Lake to monitor the migration and delivery of the animals.

"During the breeding season, the staff strengthened patrols in the area around Drolkar Lake, focusing on observing whether there are traces of human activity such as ruts and footprints nearby, and observing the birth of Tibetan antelopes by telescope at a distance. Interference with the calving by human activity should be avoided," Tsesogyal said.

According to Pugdrug, director of the Hoh Xil management office, with the continuous strengthening of ecological protection, there have been no cases of poaching of Tibetan antelope in Hoh Xil since 2009.

"The staff also rescue Tibetan antelope calves that have become separated from their flocks, and the population of Tibetan antelopes in Hoh Xil has recovered to more than 70,000," Pugdrug said.

The status of Tibetan antelopes in China has been downgraded from "endangered" to "near threatened." During the 1980s and 1990s, due to poaching sprees, the population of Tibetan antelopes in Hol Xil dropped to less than 20,000.

Tibetan antelopes now enjoy first-class state protection in China, and are mostly found in the Tibet Autonomous Region, Qinghai Province and the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The species plays a key role in maintaining the ecological balance of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. 
Erdogan confirms Putin's August visit to Turkey

Russian dictator Vladimir Putin is scheduled to visit Turkey in August, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on July 7.

According to Erdogan, among the topics he plans to discuss with Putin are Russian aggression against Ukraine, the exchange of prisoners between Kyiv and Moscow, and the so-called "grain deal," which he wants to extend for at least two more years.

"Putin will visit Turkey next month, Turkish state-owned Anadolu news agency quoted Erdogan as saying on July 7.

We will have the opportunity to discuss this issue again face-to-face... This is one of the most important items on our agenda, both in phone diplomacy and during the personal meeting that will take place next month.

On the eve of July 7, Erdogan met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who had arrived in Turkey for a visit with his Turkish counterpart. The main topic of the discussion was the release of Ukrainian soldiers held captive by Russia.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Members of an international delegation tour the Jenin camp for Palestinian refugees (Zain JAAFAR)

A European envoy blasted Israel Saturday over the "proportionality" of the force it uses, as international envoys toured Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank following this week's deadly raid.

His remarks echoed UN chief Antonio Guterres who on Thursday told reporters "there was an excessive force used by Israeli forces" in its 48-hour operation, the largest Israel has staged in the Palestinian territory for years.

It included air strikes and armoured bulldozers ripping up streets.

Jenin is a centre for multiple armed Palestinian groups, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called the refugee camp a "terrorist nest".

European Union representative to the Palestinian territories Sven Kuehn von Burgsdorff made his comments as he led a delegation of UN officials and diplomats from 25 countries to the camp in the northern West Bank.

"We are concerned about the deployment of weaponry and weapons systems which question the proportionality of the military during the operation," Kuehn von Burgsdorff said of the operation in which 12 Palestinians and one Israeli soldier were killed.

"This cycle of violence has to end, it cannot continue. If there is no political solution to the conflict, we are going to stand here in a week's time, in a month's time, in a year's time, with nothing changed," he added.

As the delegation toured the camp, residents peered out of holes left in the walls by Israeli rockets, and local authorities tested a new camp-wide alarm system to warn of future raids.

- UN plea for funds -

Jenin camp has been the site of several large-scale raids by the Israeli military this year, but this week's was the biggest such operation in the West Bank since the second Palestinian "intifada" or uprising of the early 2000s.

The camp's infrastructure was severely damaged during the raid, which Israel said was targeting militants.

Eight kilometres (five miles) of water pipes and three kilometres of sewage pipes were destroyed, the UN said. More than 100 houses were damaged and a number of schools were also lightly damaged.

The refugee camp in one of the poorest and most densely populated in the West Bank, with some 18,000 people living in just 0.43 square kilometres (0.16 of a square mile).

UN officials on Saturday made a plea for funds to help rebuild the camp.

"To restore services and scale up support to the children, we need cash ... our appeal is desperately underfunded," Leni Stenseth, deputy commissioner-general of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), said.

"I would urge you to consider announcing your support for the work we are going to do here in Jenin camp in the coming weeks and months as soon as possible," she added.

On Thursday Algeria announced $30 million to "help rebuild the Palestinian city of Jenin after the barbaric and criminal attack" by Israel, and the United Arab Emirates, which normalised ties with Israel in 2020, said Wednesday it "will provide $15 million".

gb/srm
Dialog Hand conceptGetty Images/Boris Zhitkov

When I was in high school, my history teacher tried an experiment with a classmate known for her enthusiastic and expressive communication style. The girl had raised her hand to answer a question, and the teacher challenged her to reply while keeping her hands folded in her lap. I've never forgotten the sight of her struggling to get her words out while her hands were restrained.

We all, to some extent or another, talk with our hands. It's part of how we communicate. But as author, University of Chicago professor and psychologist Susan Goldin-Meadow explains in her newest book, that's just the beginning.

In "Thinking With Your Hands: The Surprising Science Behind How Gestures Shape Our Thoughts," Goldin-Meadow, whose previous books have similarly explored the hand and mind connection, posits that "Focusing exclusively on language as the foundation of communication is wrong." In her deep and pioneering research on deaf children who were not taught sign language, she's explored the intricate ways in which communication emerges independent of what we typically regard as language.

What's she discovered are an astonishing number of ways in which our hands not only help us to emphasize (or sometimes contradict) our spoken words, but how they also play a vital role in how we form our ideas. As Goldin-Meadow shows, even people blind from birth use gesture. People who don't have arms will experience a phantom feeling they are gesturing. We gesture when who we're talking to can't see us, such as on the phone. We gesture when we're all alone, trying to compose an email. We need to gesture to make sense of the world.

I talked to Goldin-Meadow recently via Zoom about the intimate power of our gestures, how gestures can help us tap into ideas, and why she says that "Gesture and language really are a single integrated system. It's just not a system that linguists study."

This conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.

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I want to ask you why this matters. You say early on that focusing exclusively on language isn't sufficient. Maybe that's a semantic issue itself, because what is language?

"There's so much information that isn't captured by our words, and by all of the conventional things that we learn from language."

The way I'm defining language is the way linguists have always found it. There are people now who will say, gestures are part of language, and it's part of the whole system. That may be true, but then it's a different kind of system. If you're interested in the messages that get across, and in how we influence one another and learn about ourselves and learn about things, we need to look at gesture as well as words or signs.

There's so much information that isn't captured by our words, and by all of the conventional things that we learn from language. For that purpose, certainly as a psychologist, I think it's very important to take these kinds of things seriously.

In the book, you distinguish between gestures, which are what we think of when we think of talking with our hands, and emblems, which are more regional and cultural signals like a thumbs up or "okay" sign. Why is it important for us, when we're thinking of this language of gestures, to understand those differences?

Emblems are conventional. It's a kind of symbol, so you can do it wrong. There's a way to do it. They're like words; I can do it and everybody will know [its meaning].

They're perfectly legitimate to study and they're interesting, but the reason I'm less interested in them is because they're conventionalized. You have to do them in a particular way. The spontaneous gestures that we produce, we are very much less aware of. They capture things that we're thinking that we're not always aware of thinking. Producing an emblem, I don't just subconsciously produce it, I know when I'm doing it. But you can subconsciously talk about other kinds of things when you're doing your spontaneous gestures.

When you look at the title of this book, you are geographically speaking of one particular part of the body. Yet when I think of gesture, I also think about my face, I think about my whole body. What do we learn when we isolate just the hands?

There's a huge literature on body language. It really does convey lots of things  attitude perspective, sense of self, more. Most of it is about how we feel, and our perception of our interaction. What the hands contribute  and the face can do this, too  is not just our attitudes about the conversation, but the content of the conversation.

That's something that whole field of body language really ignored for a long time. It wasn't until [University of Chicago professor] David McNeill and [University of Cambridge anthropologist] Adam Kendon that they started taking these gestures really seriously as conveying thoughts, not just feelings. That's what I'm after. There are other ways of doing it, but I stuck with the hands because, first of all, it's a lot to code, and you've got to start somewhere.

You talk in the book so much about this concept of homesigning, gestures that profoundly deaf children create when they have not been exposed to sign language, and what you've been able to learn from that about the ways in which our brains work, the ways in which we communicate. That was my first encounter with that phrase.

This is how I often start lectures about this phenomenon. If language were absolutely wiped out right now, no spoken language, no sign language, no written language, but everything else remained the same, would you imagine that it would be reinvented? If it were reinvented, would it be reinvented in the same way, or would it look different? Depending upon what you think we bring to the situation, if you think that language has been handed down from generation to generation to generation, and is the way it is because of its historical path, it might not be reinvented, and it might look really, really different.

But if you think that language is the way it is, in part, at least, because of what we bring to language, it's likely to be reinvented and at least some parts of it will be there again. That's what I think homesign does. It shows you what will be reinvented, can be reinvented by any kid, any time. But not all of language. It'll be parts of life. That's the part of homesign that I'm most interested in, because it's your mind just coming out.

Homesigners are not so easy to find in America anymore. They're deaf kids whose hearing losses are profound, and they cannot learn how to speak with cochlear implants or hearing aids. They were born to hearing parents, so they weren't exposed to a sign language. In a sense, they don't have a linguistic input that they can make use of. Nonetheless, they communicate and they use their hands to do it.

This happens rarely now in the United States, because kids are given cochlear implants very, very early. That changes the whole nature of things. You can find them all around the world because there are lots of different situations where deaf kids are born to hearing parents. And there's no sign language to learn.

You use that example in the book of what you've been able to glean from Nicaraguan sign language.

Right, Nicaraguan sign language is one example now of a current day sign language that's growing up. But all sign languages grew up that way. They all started from homesign, and then they evolved. There are little ones starting all over [the world.]

On the other side of that, when you're looking at the gestures that people learn and develop with language, I was fascinated to learn that people who were born blind gesture.

That I think is amazing. At some level, it really, really means that this spoken system and even sign system that we do needs the mimetic system that we create when we gesture. It really needs it. And even if you have not been taught it, or never seen it, you just do it spontaneously.

"Gesture and language really are a single integrated system. It's just not a system that linguists study. "

And people who are were worn without hands still think with their hands.

And the more they embody, the more they think about the prosthesis as their own, the more they gesture.

You talk about what any of us as parents or as educators can learn from paying attention and observing children's gestures. What are some of the things we can encourage? What are some things that maybe we need to be looking at as an indication of some delays or some other issues?

There are signals from kids' gestures that they're moving forward, and they're interested in something. Kids and parents do this naturally. The kid points at the dog and the mother goes, "Yes, that's a dog." It's the perfect time to tell the kid that the word is dog, because that's uppermost in the kid's mind at the time. It's a precursor to what's next.

There are little sentences that kids produce, pointing at the hat and saying "Mommy" to really indicate it's mommy's hat. If parents pick up on that, they can join the kid's conversation in a way that if they just listened, they wouldn't necessarily be on the same page. If the kid says, "Mommy," and you don't know what the kid is indicating, the point of the hat indicates that we want to go down this conversation. It can just make you have a better conversation with your kid.

And if you're trying to give encouragement, that's a good thing to do. I think if kids don't do that in a timely fashion, it's possible that there will be [developmental] delay. Not inevitable, but I would want to bring my kid in and have somebody look.

It also feels to me part and parcel of something that we are all dealing with right now. Our phones are an obstacle between us and looking at each other. How are we going to look at our kids and, and pay attention to what they're doing? What are we missing when maybe we're in a meeting? We're listening but we're not really catching what the person is also communicating.

That matters a lot, actually, for certain kinds of communication. Our communication is being narrowed, and these phones aren't so good for us. For many reasons, not just gesture.

You also talk about culture and gesture, and these ideas that you need to communicate with your hands, but not too much.

Flailing about is not something that mothers and grandmothers want their children to do. But in fact, gesture really is very helpful. We haven't done these studies, but I'm pretty sure it's true that if you are a monotone, you're very not likely to gesture. When you're flat, you're flat throughout, both your gestures and your voice. I think when you make somebody not gesture, you may be flattening their whole affect, and then flattening their expression, and making it harder for them to really engage in the conversation and get your attention. So I don't find it a useful thing to do to tell people not to gesture.

When you talk about how intentional Amanda Gorman was with gesture at President Joe Biden's inauguration that is something that we can use in our lives. How can we think about using our hands to enhance understanding to enhance our likelihood of making sure there's no miscommunication? What is the power that we can we can harness, when we're really intentional about how we use our hands?

The worry I have is that if you get too intentional, you'll bollocks yourself up, and you won't be able to do it. It's a little bit like, if you think about how to breathe, you can't really breathe. You just need to let it let it flow by itself. But some intention is good. I find for myself that if I'm not gesturing, I'm not so into it. When I get into it, gestures come out now. So I welcome them, because it makes me feel like, "Oh, good. You're thinking now."

Gestures, to me, feel like such a social thing. It's obviously external. Yet I will sit by myself trying to think of a word, and making these gestures to lead me to the word. Do we gesture for ourselves?

We do gesture for ourselves. We talk on the phone and we gesture. Blind people do gesture, and they're not gesturing for somebody else. They're definitely gesturing for themselves. There are a lot of functions that gesture serves for you. Those gestures may be helpful to somebody else, too. They may be multi-functional, but they do help us think and flesh out ideas.

We've started to call these gestures when you're sitting there and thinking something through co-thought gestures, co-speech gestures. I'd love to study those a bit more and to see whether they're the same as your co-speech gestures. That could be the key to people who say they don't think in words  maybe they're just thinking in gestures. But maybe the people who think in words are thinking in co speech gestures.

There is a theory that gesture is trying to help you retrieve the word, and then it helps you speak better. The evidence for that is a little complex. I'm not sure that's that it's correct. There's evidence for it, there's evidence against it. It may do it at times, when you're looking for a screwdriver or something like that.

But it's not gestures only function. It's retrieving words, but also bigger ideas. One of the things that gesture does is it doesn't map neatly onto words. It goes across words, sentences, paragraphs, things like that. It maps on to a bigger unit of analysis, of bigger ideas.

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about nonverbal communication
Fans cant get their heads around number of celebrities in Kristen Bells dinner party photo

Fans are struggling to comprehend the number of celebrities in a holiday photo shared by The Good Place star Kristen Bell.

Bell, 42, shared a reel of snaps captured in Idaho on Instagram on Friday (7 July).

Among them was a huge dinner party shot featuring a whos who of Hollywood.

Guests in the photo included Jennifer Aniston and her Friends costar Courteney Cox, Bells husband Dax Shepard, Severance star Adam Scott, John Mulaney and Olivia Munn.

Also in attendance was The Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon, CNN's Jake Tapper and UnREAL star Shiri Appleby.

Netflix editorial staffer Cole Delbyck posted the photo on Twitter with the caption: This photo from Kristen Bells dinner party gets increasingly WTF as you go down the table.

this photo from kristen bells dinner party gets increasingly WTF as you go down the table pic.twitter.com/eoG73TS3FI  Cole Delbyck (@coledelbyck) July 7, 2023

Ellen's Oscars selfie walked so Kristen's dinner table selfie could soar, one person in the replies joked, referencing Ellen Degeneress famous, star-studded selfie from the 2014 Academy Awards.

I'm having a hard time choosing my desired seat - between Aniston and Bateman or Scott and Mulaney? another pondered.

One commenter pointed out that the shot was actually from Jimmy Kimmels annual group holiday at South Fork Lodge, which the late night host owns.

Bell previously referenced the trip in a 2019 interview with Forbes. She said that probably like 40 friends go every year.

Jimmy Kimmel and [his wife, Jimmy Kimmel Live producer] Molly McNearney, who are two of our best friends, organise it, she said.

They run that camping trip the way they run the show. So, everybody has a job. Theyre like youre on crafts, youre on cooking, youre on the generator, whatever. Its super fun.

Bells followers shared their reactions to her post in the comments. Holy crap thats a table of legends, one wrote.

Going seat by seat at that dinner was just the gift that kept on giving lol, wrote another.

Im just imagining being in a small Idaho airport and seeing this hoard of A-listers arriving, a third joked.

Bell posted a similar shot of a big dinner party attended by Kimmel, McNearney, Bateman, Tapper and others at the lodge last year.
The FBI will exhume the body of a 1969 murder victim featured in the Netflix docuseries 'The Keepers'

Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images

The FBI will exhume the body of a cold-case murder victim, according to The Baltimore Sun.

Joyce Malecki, 20, went missing in 1969 and her body was found on the banks of a river.

Malecki's death was featured in Netflix's "The Keepers," which theorized her death may have been linked to the murder of a local nun.

The FBI is exhuming the body of a 20-year-old Maryland woman who was choked and stabbed in the throat over 50 years ago, and whose murder was featured in the popular Netflix docuseries "The Keepers," according to The Baltimore Sun.

The FBI confirmed the news to the victim's brother, and to a nonprofit who has taken on the Malecki family as clients, the newspaper reported. The FBI did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

Joyce Malecki, 20, vanished in November of 1969, and her body was found two days later on the banks of the Little Patuxent River, with her hands bound behind her back. An autopsy revealed that Malecki had died by either choking or drowning, and had sustained a number of scratches and bruises on her body that "indicated a struggle ensued."

Malecki's death mysteriously occurred just days after the vanishing of a 26-year-old nun named Sister Catherine Cesnik  the subject of Netflix's "The Keepers" in 2017. The documentary series explored the theory that both women were victims of the same killer.

The two women's disappearances had several similarities, including that both went missing after going on shopping trips, both omen's bodies were found in wooded areas, and both had known a Baltimore priest named A. Joseph Maskell, who had been accused of sexual abuse, according to The Baltimore Sun.

Cesnik taught at Archbishop Keough High School, where multiple former students came forward to allege that Maskell abused them. Some of the students alleged that Cesnik had known about the abuse and sought to help them  one even alleged that Maskell had taken her to see Cesnik's body shortly before it was discovered.

Cesnik's body was found in 1970 near a landfill, and an autopsy determined she died from a blow to her head that caused a skull fracture, the newspaper reported.

Though Maskell died in 2001, Baltimore authorities exhumed his body in 2017 and conducted DNA testing. The testing revealed no evidence linking him to Cesnik's death, according to The Baltimore Sun.

Read the original article on Insider
The Scoop

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is investigating Rob Malley, who until recently served as President Bidens special envoy for Iran, over the handling of classified information, according to a source briefed on the matter within the State Department.

Malley confirmed last week that he had been placed on unpaid leave earlier this year and had his security clearance suspended.

The White House referred questions to the State Department, which declined to comment but pointed Semafor to its statement from last week confirming that Malley was on leave and that Abram Paley would serve as acting special envoy for Iran.

The FBI declined to comment. Malley did not respond to a request for comment before publication.

Morgans view

The FBIs involvement raises the stakes of the investigation into a veteran, high-profile, and sometimes controversial diplomat, and suggests that investigators are considering something beyond the lowest-level mishandling of documents.

A senior U.S. official, who didnt have direct knowledge of the matter, told Semafor that for a political appointee at Malleys level, government agencies would not suspend a clearance independently unless a law enforcement agency has an open investigation. News outlets including Semafor reported last week that he faced an internal diplomatic security investigation. The source briefed on the matter said it had been turned over to the FBI.

The details of the case, and what Malley is suspected of, are also not clear beyond that it deals with his handling of classified information. But the involvement of the FBI is significant in that it indicates there could be suspicion of criminal wrongdoing.

Know More

Malley told news outlets in a statement last week that his clearance was under review but that he expected the investigation to be resolved favorably and soon.

While news that Malley was on official leave broke last week, U.S. officials who spoke to Semafor said that he had essentially been absent from his duties for over a month. Axios reported that he went on leave several weeks ago.

The Malley investigation is particularly sensitive because of his long relationship with Secretary of State Antony Blinken, whom hes known since they attended high school together in Paris. Hes played key roles in Obama and Biden Administration policies toward Iran.

Notable
A federal appeals court Friday cleared the way for a lawsuit filed by a man who was barred from a ride at an Orlando water park because he has only one hand.

A three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals vacated a summary judgment in favor of the Volcano Bay water park at the Universal Orlando Resort and sent the case back to district court.

Dylan Campbell filed a lawsuit alleging a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act after he was prevented from riding the Krakatau Aqua Coaster in 2019.

Fridays ruling likened the ride to a waterslide version of a roller coaster.

Read: Universal Orlando offers Florida residents 3 extra months free with annual pass purchase

Campbell was born with only one hand, and the park required people to have two hands to ride the Aqua Coaster. Universal argued that it was complying with state law, but the appeals court said that does not relieve Universal of its obligation to follow the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Congress passed a sweeping law to prohibit discrimination unless discrimination is necessary, said the 30-page ruling, written by Judge Robin Rosenbaum and joined by Judges Elizabeth Branch and Andrew Brasher. If compliance with state law were necessary, then any state could unilaterally nullify the ADA by enacting a state law requiring discrimination. That cant be right.

Read: Universal announces more details for immersive Minion Land, opening this summer

The ruling also said that if federal law requires Universal to allow Campbell to ride, and state law forbids it, then Universal must let Campbell ride.

Universals position stemmed from a state law that requires amusement parks to meet minimum safety standards for rides, according to the ruling. As part of that, park operators are required to comply with criteria set by ride manufacturers.

Read: Universal Orlando offering Florida residents buy a day, get 2 days free deal

In the case of the Aqua Coaster, the manufacturer said riders needed two hands. But the ruling said the ADA prohibits imposing a discriminatory eligibility criterion unless the criterion is necessary.

It said Universal will have to show at the lower court that refusing to permit Campbell to ride the Aqua Coaster is otherwise necessary, as the ADA contemplates, or it must allow him to ride.

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.
Feds arrest a California man suspected in the serial killings of 3 sex workers, and investigators are searching for more victims

A criminal complaint said Bryant Rivera was seen entering a Tijuana hotel room with a sex worker, then leaving alone. Thirteen minutes later, he arrived at a customs booth and entered the US. US Department of Justice

US officials have arrested a California man wanted in Mexico for femicide, according to a criminal complaint.

Bryant Rivera, 30, is "considered a serial killer" and is accused of killing three sex workers.

The complaint said Rivera was seen entering a hotel room with a woman, then leaving alone. Her body was found in the room the next morning.

US officials arrested a California man suspected in the slayings of three Mexican sex workers, and are seeking to extradite him back to Mexico, according to a criminal complaint unsealed this week.

Bryant Rivera, 30, is "considered a serial killer," according to a statement from Baja California Attorney General Ricardo Ivan Carpio Sanchez. Carpio said Rivera is wanted for three counts of femicide, a charge that in Mexico refers to the murder of women on the basis of their sex.

The criminal complaint against Rivera said he was seen on surveillance footage entering a hotel room in Tijuana with a sex worker named Angela Carolina Acosta Flores at 10:13 p.m. on January 24, 2022. Rivera was then seen leaving the room alone at 11:49 p.m., and then entering the San Ysidro port of entry and crossing back into the United States just 13 minutes after leaving the hotel room.

Still images included in the criminal complaint showed Rivera riding the elevator with Flores, and later passing through a US customs booth.

Hotel staff discovered Flores' body in the hotel room at 11:35 a.m. on January 25, 2022. Surveillance footage showed that no other entries or exits took place between Rivera leaving and hotel staff arriving at the room.

The criminal complaint said medical experts later concluded that Flores died "due to anoxemia caused by strangulation."

US Marshals then located Rivera within the US, at his home in Downey, California.

The criminal complaint did not include details of the two other killings Rivera is suspected of, but Mexican authorities have said they bore striking similarities to the killing of Flores.

Carpio told Mexican reporters that investigators are examining other homicides with similar characteristics to the three that Rivera is suspected of, in an effort to determine whether even more homicides are linked to him.

In a statement, Carpio said he had met with officials from the US's Department of Justice, the FBI, and the US Marshals Service, with "highly positive results."

He said Rivera is expected to be extradited back to Mexico an "will now face justice in Baja California."

Read the original article on Insider
Feds say RI man accused of trying to convert AR-15 to machine gun also had swastikas

PROVIDENCE  A Johnston man stands accused of trying to arm himself with a machine gun, and federal agents searching his home say they found three AR-15 semi-automatic rifles, illegal silencers, Nazi flags and armbands and evidence that he was gathering information on local businesses and people.

In one recent communication, 27-year-old Alessio Dandrea had referred to the machine gun he desired as a "(racial epithet) sweeper," Assistant U.S. Attorney G. Michael Seaman told U.S. Magistrate Patricia A. Sullivan on Friday.

Dandrea left the federal courthouse in Providence on Friday wearing an electronic ankle bracelet after Seaman itemized the troubling discoveries at his home.

Dandrea's arrest stemmed from his order of a device that could convert one of his semi-automatic AR-15s into an automatic weapon, but the shipment from a Chinese supplier drew attention at JFK Airport in New York, according to authorities.

Alessio Dandrea, 27, of Johnston, leaves federal court in Providence on Friday after a prosecutor asked a magistrate to jail him, citing his attempt to arm himself with a converted, automatic AR-15 and asserting that other evidence raised the possibility that he might have been planning racial or antisemitic violence.

The discovery by U.S. Customs and Border Protection paved the way for an investigation that led to a search of Dandrea's Johnston home and his arrest on Thursday.

The same probe led to findings set forth in affidavits filed in court on Thursday, including information regarding a text exchange with a person whom investigators believe is Dandrea's brother; the men had consulted on shipping information for the package containing the banned "auto sear," the device that can render a semi-automatic weapon fully automatic, according to a record filed in federal court. The brother has similar views as Dandrea, Seaman said.

"Being delivered in Jew York  Probably a bag of bagels," Dandrea texted, the record says. The same text also had a symbol for the Star of David, it says.

"The swastikas were extremely concerning to us," said Seaman, who asked Sullivan to jail Dandrea.

In certain concerning communications with his brother, Seaman said, Dandrea had been focused on local businesses, including an eatery that sells fried chicken and a coffee shop. The communications included references to the ethnicity of people, he said.

Investigators found Dandrea had examined information about the owners of certain businesses during online searches at the website for the Rhode Island secretary of state's office.

Some of his research homed in on the movements of a particular person, Seaman said.

"We're seeing ties to actual places and people," Seaman added. He emphasized that agents had only just begun to delve into such information after executing their search warrant Thursday.

"The more we're looking into it, the stranger it gets," Seaman said.

Dandrea, he said, had performed such research just a few days before he had ordered the auto sear for the AR-15.

Seaman acknowledged that investigators had found nothing so far that amounted to a specific threat against any specific target.

"No specific plan," he told Sullivan when she asked, but he emphasized that Dandrea had made the "sweeper" reference to the gun just before July 3.

Agents found 27 firearms in the home and seized six, including three AR-15s belonging to Dandrea, Seaman said. They also seized two silencers, he said.

Dandrea is charged with possession of an unregistered firearm silencer and unlicensed importation/transportation of a machine gun from foreign commerce. The "auto sear" device itself is classified as a machine gun by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

"The things that Mr. Seaman is describing are very, very troubling," Sullivan, the magistrate told Dandrea.

But she worked with his lawyer, Anthony Traini, to set up conditions for his release, including electronic monitoring and oversight to cut off his access to weapons and eliminate contact between him and his brother. Sullivan set an unsecured bond of $10,000 and scheduled a review for Aug. 7.

His father, Romeo Dandrea, who was teary-eyed, agreed to help keep Dandrea and his brother from contacting each other.

Traini told Sullivan that Dandrea lives in the family home, where he takes care of his mother, who has multiple sclerosis.

The elder Dandrea has already removed the firearms that were not seized from the family's home on Everbloom Drive in Johnston, taking the guns to a Warwick dealer, Traini said.

The father and his son made no comment as they walked to their vehicle from the courthouse.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Feds: RI man with swastikas tried to arm himself with machine gun
BEIJING, July 8 (Xinhua) -- When she spotted the first flock of Beijing swifts hovering above the Beihai Park this year, Zhang Liting was extremely excited to see that her "old friends" had completed their thousand-mile journey.

The 39-year-old volunteer goes to the Beihai Park observation site at least once a week to record populations of Beijing swifts, providing tracking data and helping the birds migrate safely.

The Beijing swift, or the Apus apus pekinensis, is a typical migratory bird. These birds leave Beijing in mid-July to overwinter in South Africa, and return to Beijing in late April the following year.

Bird migration flyways are the stable routes that birds travel along between breeding and wintering sites. Four of the nine major bird migration flyways in the world pass through China.

Harboring rich biodiversity, including more than 1,400 species of birds, China plays an irreplaceable role in global migratory bird conservation. Thanks to the country's continued efforts to preserve biodiversity and conserve green ecosystems, an ever-growing number of people are joining in on migratory bird protection work.

BUILDING BIRD-FRIENDLY CITIES

Beijing is a key point along the East Asian-Australasian Flyway (EAAF), one of the world's great flyways for migratory birds. It is an important stopover site for birds such as grey cranes and black storks, as well as Beijing swifts, on their northbound trips in the spring.

The latest list of Beijing's terrestrial wildlife shows that the city boasts 515 varieties of wild birds, ranking second among all the capital cities of G20 countries.

Amid efforts to ramp up the construction of an ecological civilization in Beijing, the natural environment and various wildlife species are being increasingly integrated into the fast-growing megacity with a population of over 20 million.

As of now, Beijing has established 79 protected nature areas, with the total areas reaching 368,000 hectares, bringing over 90 percent of key state-protected wildlife species and their habitats recorded in the city under effective protection. In 2021, the capital's forest coverage rate was 44.6 percent, and the green coverage rate of its urban areas was 49 percent.

Beijing's appreciation for and awareness of birds has skyrocketed in recent years. Many activities are held in public spaces and schools to promote the importance of protecting birds. Bird-friendly buildings are a common sight, and methods to prevent birds from crashing windows are improving.

"With the restoration of the ecological environment and rising public awareness, people and birds, hopefully, can become the best neighbors living under the same sky," said Jia Yifei, an associate professor at Beijing Forestry University.

REVITALIZING BIRD HABITATS

In late March, a flock of black-faced spoonbills was seen foraging on the shores of east China's Fujian Province.

These birds have black and spoon-like beaks, and are one of the world's most endangered birds. They normally breed between May and July in northern regions and migrate southward to their winter roosting wetlands in October.

"The black-faced spoonbills were once rare to see here, but now they can be spotted every year and the number has remained stable," said Zheng Zhiwu, a birdwatcher who has been spotting birds at Luoyuan Bay in east China's Fujian Province for more than 20 years.

Decades ago, the disorderly expansion of aquaculture farms once posed a great threat to the birds and damaged the ecosystem. To restore their habitat, the local government of Fujian has carried out multiple projects to restore key ecosystems, and transformed many fish-breeding ponds into bird habitats.

The profound change in Luoyuan Bay epitomizes China's ecological restoration efforts.

China in 1992 became a party to the Ramsar Convention, an intergovernmental agreement dedicated to the conservation and rational use of wetland ecosystems, and the country has since stepped up its conservation efforts while establishing a legal framework to govern wetlands.

During the 2016-2020 period, China undertook 53 wetland protection and restoration projects, and more than 2,000 wetland ecological compensation projects. It also undertook projects to return farmlands to wetlands, as well as wetland protection and restoration subsidy projects.

Over the past decade, China has added or restored more than 800,000 hectares of wetlands, according to the National Forestry and Grassland Administration.

The growing number of migratory birds seen in China speaks to an improving local natural environment, Zheng said. "Endangered birds have become frequent visitors thanks to the improved natural environment," he added.

PROTECTION TRANSCENDING BORDERS

Flyways usually stretch across thousands of kilometers, spanning countries, oceans and continents. The EAAF, for example, stretches from the Russian Far East and Alaska, southward through East Asia and Southeast Asia, and on to Australia and New Zealand, encompassing over 20 countries and regions.

"Thriving migratory species need support from all countries along the entire flyway, so enhancing international cooperation is a must," said Guan Lei, a project manager at the Beijing Entrepreneur Environmental Protection Foundation.

However, experts warn that the protection of migratory birds and their flyways continues to face threats such as the loss and fragmentation of habitats, insufficient funding, and regional imbalances. "Only by working together to conserve their habitats can we provide more effective protection for the birds," Jia said.

China has always been a strong advocator for strengthened global cooperation. It has signed bilateral agreements on migratory bird conservation with countries such as Japan and Australia, and promotes migratory bird protection through multilateral environment treaties. Last year, China pledged to promote international exchanges and cooperation to protect the four flyways that pass the country.

Making big headway in that direction, China's Migratory Bird Sanctuaries along the coast of the Yellow Sea-Bohai Gulf (Phase I) were inscribed on the World Heritage List as a natural site in 2019.

"This inscription not only helps promote global efforts to protect the EAAF, but also injects vitality into the construction of a community for all life on Earth," Guan said.

Zhang Liting said she was gratified to see her 13-year-old daughter become a loyal bird guardian. "I believe Beijing swifts will make beautiful memories for future generations too," she said. 
US attorney: 2nd shootout suspect arrested at O'Hare, trying to board flight to Turkey

U.S. Attorney Kenneth Parker, right, announces during a July 8 news conference in Columbus a third arrest stemming from the July 6 shootout with Columbus police on Interstate 70. From left: Assistant U.S. Attorney Noah Litton, U.S. Deputy Marshal Dan Deville, U.S. Marshal Michael Black and ATF Special Agent in Charge Daryl McCormick.

It came down to minutes.

U.S. marshals arrested Aden Abduallahi Jama, 20, of Reynoldsburg, around 12:45 p.m. Saturday at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. Jama had a ticket for a flight that was scheduled to leave at 12:35 p.m. Saturday for Turkey.

Jama is the second of two suspects in at least two Thursday robberies that led to a highway shootout that killed a third suspect and injured a Columbus police officer. U.S. marshals arrested the other suspect, Fazsal M. Darod, 23, about 1:30 a.m. Friday outside his home on East Weber Road in North Linden.

U.S. Attorney Kenneth Parker announced the arrests and the impending filing of federal charges against Jama and Darod late Saturday afternoon during a news conference in Columbus.

"There is something called the long arm of the law, and it was proven today," Parker said.

It is unknown whether Jama's final destination was Turkey, which has an extradition treaty with the United States. Parker did not say whether or not Jama made it onto the plane before marshals arrested him.

Both men will face federal charges of aiding and abetting a bank robbery, which carries a potential penalty up to 20 years in prison, and aiding and abetting the use of a firearm during a violent crime, which carries a potential penalty of five years to life in prison, Parker said.

Darod remains at the Franklin County jail and likely will have his first hearing Monday in U.S. District Court. Jama is being held in the Chicago area and will have an extradition hearing, likely on Monday, to start the process of bringing him back to Ohio for a trial.

Prosecutors will ask a judge to hold both suspects in jail without bond, Parker said. The federal court system does not have a traditional bond system in which cash bail is available.

The announcement of the arrest and charges came just hours after at least one of the suspects was originally expected to appear Saturday morning in Franklin County Municipal Court for an arraignment, but no such suspects were listed for arraignment, according to online court documents.

U.S. Attorney Parker & other law enforcement will announce at 5pm today the arrests of and federal charges against two individuals for their alleged roles in a July 6 robbery and shootout that resulted in the shooting of a @ColumbusPolice officer. pic.twitter.com/0v8AhpNVSU  US Attorney Southern District of Ohio (@SDOHnews) July 8, 2023

The deadly Thursday shootout between Columbus police and three adult male suspects followed what police called a crime spree that started about 2:15 p.m. Thursday with the theft of a black Porsche Cayenne SUV from the Byers Imports Porsche Columbus dealership, 401 N. Hamilton Road, Whitehall.

It continued about 4 p.m. with an armed robbery, in which at least $90,000 was taken at gunpoint from Fifth Third Bank, 2455 Hilliard-Rome Road, on Columbus' Far West Side.

Because the bank is federally insured, the robbery is a federal crime.

The subsequent shootout on Interstate 70 east, near the West Mound Street exit in South Franklinton, not only killed a third suspect and injured a Columbus police officer but also damaged at least one Columbus police cruiser and a passerby's Jeep Grand Cherokee.

Additional charges could be filed locally, including felonious assault on a peace officer or attempted murder. Those charges would carry a maximum sentence of less than 20 years each.

Parker said the investigation remains active and ongoing.

"We also look at which jurisdiction has the bigger hammer," he said. "If you fire at an officer  you may as well have assaulted an entire community of federal, state and local officers."

The investigation will look at electronic devices such as phones, as well as potentially at people who may have helped Jama or Darod between Thursday afternoon and the times of their respective arrests.

Few new details about the investigation were released Saturday, although Columbus Assistant Police Chief Greg Bodker said damage on the SUV indicates that it is possible the Porsche also hit one of the highway medians at some point before or during the shootout.

The U.S. Attorney's Office also said authorities found two firearms at the scene: a Glock handgun with an extended magazine and a second semiautomatic handgun.

Neither Jama nor Darod has any criminal history in Franklin County as an adult.

The third suspect died at the scene of the shootout, and a Columbus police officer was shot high in the leg, critically wounded and taken to OhioHealth Grant Medical Center by his partner.

Authorities have not disclosed the name of the third suspect nor the officer who was injured.

Columbus police said Friday they would not identify the injured officer or seven others involved in the shooting, citing Marsy's Law, a state law aimed at protecting the victims of violent crimes.

Dispatch reporter Mark Ferenchik contributed to this report.

bbruner@dispatch.com; @bethany_bruner

nshuda@dispatch.com; @NathanielShuda

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Feds: Suspects charged in shooting that injured Columbus officer
A white woman in Colorado who reportedly works as a Feng Shui interior design specialist has become the latest subject of a freakout, racism-laden viral video.

The video allegedly shows Blair Featherman, who also works as an art consultant, launching racist insults at a Latino family using the pool at an apartment complex in the affluent Lakewood neighborhood, according to the Daily Mail.

She yells at the family, accusing them of having a "f****** Mexican party in the pool."

The video was posted to TikTok by user @jadeserie on 6 July. It shows a blonde woman in a bikini standing under a cabana and screaming at the family.

After accusing them of having their "pool party," she calls them "trash." She can also be heard insulting the children, saying that "when they grow up, they will be trash too."

She walks back toward a chair and notices the individual is recording her on a phone.

"You can't just record me," she says, grabbing the phone from the recorder.

A later clip shows her sitting in a beach chair and telling the Latino family to "go back to Denver."

"Get the f*** out of here!" someone from the group yells back to her.

She insists that she lives at the apartment before hurling more classist insults back at the family.

A man holds back a woman at a Colorado apartment complex as she hurls racist insults at a Latino family swimming at her apartment complexs pool (screengrab/TikTok/@jadeserie)

"Nowhere where you came from, wherever you came from, you f****** lowclass slime," she says.

She then insults someone's clothing before a man in her group can be seen seemingly trying to restrain her to her chair.

Police were eventually called out to address the fracas, though it's unclear if any arrests were made.

According to Ms Featherman's now-deleted Twitter account, she runs a home decor company dedicated to Feng Shui and the cultivation of peaceful spatial energy.

Her previous employer, the Masters Gallery in Denver, issued a statement distancing themselves from her.

It has come to our attention that a former employee has appeared on social media expressing hateful and offensive statements, the gallery said in a statement. Masters Gallery Denver has not employed this individual for over 5 years and condemns any actions or statements expressing hatred or racism.
As few as one in seven caught with class A drugs are prosecuted for possession

Cocaine

As few as one in seven offenders caught with class A drugs such as cocaine are being prosecuted for possession, Home Office figures show.

The data reveals that the proportion being charged for possession of drugs other than cannabis has fallen from more than half (51.9 per cent) eight years ago to fewer than four in 10 (39.2 per cent) last year.

This, however, masks wide variations between police forces, with Surrey charging just 14.3 per cent or only one in seven offences for possession of drugs other than cannabis.

It has the lowest charge rate followed by West Mercia (15.7 per cent), West Midlands (17.4 per cent) and Hampshire (23.3 per cent). This contrasts with 66 per cent for the Met Police and more than 50 per cent for Humberside, Wiltshire, Staffordshire, North Yorkshire and Norfolk.

The decline follows a new approach quietly adopted by more than half of the police forces in England and Wales where officers may not prosecute people caught in possession of illegal drugs for personal use for the first time but instead give them the chance to undergo education or treatment.

Police take no further action if they agree and the drug user avoids a criminal record. The individual could, however, be prosecuted if they fail to undergo education or treatment and are caught with drugs again.

These diversion schemes  treating personal drug use as a health issue rather than crime  have contributed to a similar fall in the proportion of cannabis possession offences resulting in a charge, down from 26.3 per cent in 2015 to 16 per cent in 2022.

Surrey is the force with the lowest charging rate at just 6.8 per cent last year, followed by Hampshire (8.5 per cent), Thames Valley (8.6 per cent) and West Midlands (9.6 per cent). This contrasts with more than 30 per cent in Wiltshire, Cheshire and the City of London.

The moves could put police and public health chiefs on a collision course with the Government, which has proposed a tough new three-strikes-and-out approach to recreational drug use. This would see habitual users banned from foreign travel, disqualified from driving or electronically drug tagged to stop their habit.

Opposition to decriminalisation

On Friday, the Prime Minister reiterated his opposition to decriminalisation after the SNP called for such a move for personal use of drugs. A source close to the Home Secretary Suella Braverman described it as irresponsible and threatening untold damage to neighbourhoods.

Surrey Police stood by its approach. In a statement it said: We know that drug offences are often part of a wider picture, which is why its important that we look at the circumstances which are causing someone to offend and address grass-root issues.

An example of this includes diversionary tactics which can be used for first-time offences and are found to be more effective at reducing re-offending than prosecution.

This could include a referral to a drug treatment programme or a youth restorative scheme, which take a holistic and individual approach aimed at preventing re-offending.

Police chiefs said they took a tough approach to dealers and organised drug gangs although prosecutions for trafficking drugs have halved since 2015 from 67.5 per cent to 35.1 per cent of offences last year. Last week, police raided 1,000 cannabis farms and seized plants worth 130 million.

Increasing options for officers

Dr Richard Lewis, the National Police Chiefs Council lead on drugs, said: Police officers have increasing options available to them to deal with individual possession of drugs, which can include out-of-court disposals, as well as bringing a formal charge, depending on the individual circumstances.

Drug diversion schemes exist within various forces across the UK, and assessments by officers when dealing with someone in the possession of drugs is always on a case-by-case basis based on risk, threat and harm. This is not new, and neither is it universal in its application.

However, former police officer Rory Geoghegan, director of the Public Safety Foundation, and former No 10 adviser, said: The rush to diversionary programmes that often minimise the consequences for bad decisions might seem administratively convenient for an inefficient and under-resourced criminal justice system but it lets down the individual user and those impacted by the health, environmental and crime problems that illegal drug use generates.

If we are to reduce drug misuse, we must ensure that those tempted to take illegal drugs face a more than minimal prospect of being caught, and that being caught carries personal consequences.

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Fight or flight: Florida losing some LGBTQ residents to blue states, but not all

People may be moving to Florida in droves, but Troy Liggett and his husband are dreaming of fleeing.

The Sunshine State theyve called home since 2016 isnt so sunny anymore, the Fort Lauderdale attorney says. Liggett, an Indiana native, and husband Marco Hernandez, a nurse from Texas, moved to South Florida knowing theyd find a warm welcome from the gay-friendly community.

Now, seven years later, the state government has them not feeling so welcome, Liggett says. And theyre not the only ones.

A lesbian couple he knows has already picked up and moved to Cleveland, mainly to escape from the crazy, oppressive laws embraced by Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is currently on the campaign trail seeking higher office as president of the free world.

It was DeSantis, a darling of the far right, who coined the phrase Florida is where woke goes to die. DeSantis has riled the LGBTQ community with his so-called Dont Say Gay law and what some consider a politically-motivated attack on drag queens, transgender athletes and transition-related medical care for minors.

Several new state laws affecting the LGBTQ community took effect on July 1.

Doctors can deny care based on their moral, ethical and religious beliefs. Children are now barred from going to drag shows. The use of preferred pronouns is banned in public schools. Another law already in effect forbids gender-affirming health care for transgender minors under 18. That law was recently blocked by a federal judge.

They say the Dont Say Gay bill (which bars lessons on gender identity and sexual orientation in K-12 public schools) is about parental rights, but its clearly not, Liggett said. Theyre not trying to protect anybody. Theyre trying to shame and oppress people. Theyre trying to make people feel unwelcome. Its clear they dont want us here, so why should we stay?

In May, the gay rights advocacy group Equality Florida joined the NAACP and a Latino civil rights organization in issuing travel advisories for Florida warning potential tourists that recent laws and policies championed by DeSantis and state lawmakers are openly hostile toward African Americans, people of color and LGBTQ+ individuals.

Floridas burgeoning reputation as a red state has not halted the flow of humanity moving here.

According to the latest data from the U.S. Census, Florida ranks No. 1 in total net migration, a number that takes into account how many people are moving in to a state and how many are moving out. Between July 2021 and July 2022, close to 444,500 people moved to Florida and more than 154,700 left during the same time frame.

Florida had an LGBTQ population of 886,000 in 2020, according to the Williams Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law. Of those, an estimated 95,000 are transgender adults.

No one can say how many of those leaving the state are making their exit due to the perceived crackdown on LGBTQ rights. But activists say they have plenty of anecdotal evidence.

Blue wave, red wave

Many transgender residents have already left, says Lakey Love, founder of the Florida Coalition for Transgender Liberation.

We have around 100 members, Love told the South Florida Sun Sentinel. In the last two years, weve lost over half. Theyve already left or theyre on the way out. Love, who is non-binary and uses they/them pronouns, also fled Florida after receiving death threats.

Love and their partner left Tallahassee for North Carolina in February.

They smashed the window of my car and destroyed property at my home four times, Love said. It got to the point where we were waiting for a Molotov cocktail to come flying through our window.

Love says they moved to North Carolina because its more affordable than transgender-friendly states like California, Oregon, Washington and Vermont.

The most progressive states are also going to be the most expensive, Love said. We have some people going to states that are not sanctuary states but have satellite areas within the state. Others are going where they have family or friends or a welcoming community.

Not everyone is sad to see LGBTQ residents go.

Former DeSantis spokeswoman Christina Pushaw, who is now working on his presidential campaign, tweeted a waving hand emoji in response to a survey indicating LGBTQ families are leaving the state.

Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis, the citys first openly gay mayor, knows people who are saying farewell to Florida once and for all. But he wishes theyd stay.

I can understand why people would feel threatened, Trantalis said. But this is not the time to leave Florida. This is the time to organize and fight back against discriminatory practices being put into law. We need to hang tight and fight for change. Running away is not going to solve the problem.

Fort Lauderdale Commissioner Steve Glassman, a retired teacher who moved from New York to Florida in 1994 with his husband, says he too tries to talk people into staying.

If you leave, then they win, Glassman said. The goal is to erase us, to make us go away. If you do that, youve given them what they wanted.

Race to the bottom

Glassman has railed from the dais about new state laws he says unnecessarily target the LGBTQ and minority communities.

Florida is in a race to the bottom and were leading, along with Texas, he said. But there are quite a few that are in that race with us. What were really witnessing today is Anita Bryant on steroids. We thought that was over. Diversity, equity and inclusion are bad words in Florida now. I watched all of that in the 1970s with Anita Bryant. And we grew up and we learned from it. And now the leaders in our state are trying to bring us back to that.

The political divide splitting America between red and blue states does have people looking to move to a place where they will find people and laws who are culturally and politically aligned, said Charles Zelden, a political science professor at Nova Southeastern University.

A similar phenomenon took place when Jim Crow laws legalized racial segregation following the Civil War. The laws marginalized Black Americans by denying them the right to vote, hold jobs and get an education. Those who tried to defy Jim Crow laws  many of which stayed on the books until 1968  faced arrest, fines and sometimes fatal violence.

Black residents were leaving states to get away from Jim Crow laws, Zelden said. People will leave when they dont feel welcome. Others try and fight and try to change society to the way they want it to be.

Today, leaders in some states oppose the rise of marriage equality and minority rights and womens rights.

A portion of society is saying, We dont like this, Zelden said. And therefore we will do what we can using the power of the law to change things back to the way things were back in the 1950s. These fights are not going to go away anytime in the near future. But who wins is a question of motivation. Its really a question of who shows up at the next election and the elections after that. Its a process of defining America.

Bittersweet goodbye

Marc Paige and his husband have called Fort Lauderdale home for 20 years. But theyll soon be saying goodbye.

We sold our house, Paige said. We are moving Sunday or Monday. Its bittersweet. Were leaving behind a lot of people we love. But Im excited to live in a state where people of color, where Jews, gay people, trans people are valued. And theres a governor there who welcomes us.

Paige and his husband are close friends with four other couples who are also leaving Florida in the dust.

They are all leaving within the next two months for Delaware, he said. They have roots there and I have roots in New England. Were going back to our roots, to a safer place, to a place where the state doesnt come up with more ways to insult us and marginalize us. Were running away from the Christian nationalists who are running Florida now. I salute those who are staying and fighting. But Im 65 years old. Ive done this fight before. I dont need the negativity. And Im sure DeSantis is very happy people like me are leaving.

Cindy Goyette and wife Michelle Lach are selling their Fort Lauderdale home and moving to a new home in Baltimore.

Goyette ticked off the reasons Florida has lost its appeal, including the skyrocketing hike in the cost of living, hurricane threats, high water bills and maddening gridlock. But at the top of the list was the states darkening political climate. Its hard to ignore the unwelcome mat plunked down for an already vulnerable LGBTQ community.

The level of hatred coming out of leaders mouths and the animosity directed toward anyone who is not a white Anglo Saxon male is disturbing, Goyette said. Everyone I speak to knows someone who is leaving Florida.

Goyette and her wife, both private chefs ready to retire, settled on Baltimore.

We wanted a big city with good food, good museums, professional sports, excellent health care, Goyette said. And we wanted to be in a blue state. People like to live among people who are like them, whether its your ethnicity or race. People tend to flock to an area when its welcoming.

Not going anywhere

Political activist Carvelle Estriplet, a trans woman who lives in Wilton Manors, says she isnt going anywhere.

I am staying, said Estriplet, a deputy director with the LGBTQ political club Dolphin Democrats. Im staying because I want to change this attitude. Im staying here and Im standing up for our rights in this state. Were not going to be bullied by a governor with all these hateful laws. Its not just LGBTQ. Its also immigrants. Its draconian. Im not going to be run out of town.

But Estriplet says she has friends who are heading to what they consider kinder, gentler states.

Ive heard people say theyre just going to find a blue state, she said. Massachusetts and Vermont. Liberal states. Were backsliding, reversing in time. It seems like were going backward to the 1950s. Rebirth of bigotry.

Todd Delmay, President of the Dolphin Democrats, says he isnt about to leave his home in Hollywood, where he lives with his husband and son. But he understands why some might want to get out now.

I think everybody has to make a decision for themselves, Delmay said. It can be scary in the moment. But theres hope to be found in the people who are staying. And theres hope to be found in the losses at the courts. Theres always a little bit of hope. Weve made a life for ourselves in Hollywood. This is our home. This is our home. We just keep fighting.

Liggett and his husband are done fighting. Theyve already traveled to Vermont three times in search of a new home.

I feel like the laws of Florida are stacked against us, he said. Its so oppressive, you cant win.

Susannah Bryan can be reached at sbryan@sunsentinel.com or on Twitter @Susannah_Bryan
Fire safety fears are delaying the launch of the world's newest luxury cruise liner, report says

A rendering of the Explora I cruise ship. Explora Journeys

The launch of a luxury cruise ship was delayed by faulty fire panels, the Financial Times reported.

Sources told the FT that 45 cruise ships globally were affected by the safety fault.

That number equals about 15% of the global cruise ship fleet.

The launch of a highly anticipated luxury cruise ship has been delayed by safety concerns, the Financial Times reported on Friday.

The Explora I, run by cruise giant MSC, lost a crucial safety certification over faulty fire-resistant panels, per the newspaper, which cited unnamed sources.

Paroc, a Finnish supplier of the panels to the shipbuilder Fincantieri, informed the Italian company that a second type of panel had also lost its certification, the sources told the FT.

The 813ft Explora 1 is the first for MSC's luxury Explora Journeys division that will operate four ships.

Prices for Explora Journeys range from $2,000 to $20,000 per person for cruises of up to 35 nights. The Explora 1 was due to be launched this spring.

The Explora 1 was due to be launched this spring. Explora Journeys

In addition to reportedly delaying the Explora 1's launch, sources told the FT that Paroc had identified 45 other ships carrying the faulty panels. The outlet identified Royal Caribbean International as another customer of Paroc.

According to data compiled by Cruise Market Watch, about 320 cruise ships are operating globally.

That would indicate about 15% of the world's operating cruise ships could be at risk of disruption if the panels needed to be replaced.

Cruise travel this year is expected to be just above 2019 levels, according to the Cruise Line International Agency, indicating a return to pre-pandemic demand.

According to economic forecaster Oxford Economics, cruise operating capacity is expected to exceed its 2019 level by 16% in 2024.

MSC and Fincantieri didn't immediately respond to requests for comment from Insider, made outside normal working hours.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Fionnuala Ni Aolain's visit marks the first time a US president has allowed an independent investigator inside the detention center. Lucas Jackson/Reuters

An independent UN investigator visited the Guantanamo Bay prison for the first time in February.

She found those detained faced "deep and profound despair" and inhumane treatment.

She has since called on the US to provide torture rehabilitation and educational resources.

Fionnuala Ni Aolain  a human rights investigator with the United Nations  became the first person authorized by an American president to visit the US detention center at Guantanamo Bay.

She has now released her findings in a report released last month. It details evidence of inhumane treatment by US officials as well as physical and psychological trauma amongst those detained at the center.

Ni Aolain found that officials were force-feeding prisoners on hunger strikes and that suicidal ideas and self-harm were prevalent across the population. As a result, those she met with "evidenced deep psychological harm and distress  including profound anxiety, helplessness, hopelessness, stress and depression, and dependency," her report reads.

The men held at Guantanamo are also torture survivors, which has caused permanent disabilities, brain injuries, and chronic pain, according to the report. As a result, Ni Aolain wrote that she is "gravely concerned by the failure of the US government to provide torture rehabilitation programs," and called on the United States to provide these programs to both those who are still detained as well as those who have been released.

Ni Aolain also called on US officials "to ensure training for medical personnel on the prohibition against torture and cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment, and to provide full redress and remedy to torture victims, including as full rehabilitation as possible," the report reads.

The United States used the prison at Guantanamo Bay to detain men it believed to be connected to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in 2001. Many of those detained were held indefinitely without trial, which led to international condemnation of the United States from human rights groups. The United States detained a total of 780 men at Guantanamo Bay. Many of them have since been transferred. Some of them died in prison. Today, 30 inmates still remain.

Ni Aolain noted that while those detained now have access to books and classes on life skills, American officials should divert further resources to education and family reunification efforts.

"Many of them were young men when they were detained and rendered to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba," Ni Aolain told the Associated Press. "They're now old men, middle-aged men, who have to figure out how to go back into life." She said many of those she spoke to told her she came 'too late,' which she told the Associated Press was true.

The Biden administration disagrees with several of Ni Aolain's legal and factual assertions but will still review her recommendations, the AP reported.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Former assistant principal at Donda Academy sues Kanye West for 'absolutely egregious' conditions at the school, including exposed wiring and an overflowing septic tank

Ye, formerly Kanye West, in Los Angeles, California, on October 21, 2022. MEGA/GC Images/Getty Images

A new lawsuit alleges Ye's private Christian school had students attend classes in unsafe conditions.

The former assistant principal says kids ate lunch in rooms with exposed wiring nearby overflowing septic tanks.

The lawsuit says that staff were retaliated against for complaining or trying to improve conditions.

In the latest lawsuit filed against the artist formerly known as Kanye West, a former assistant principal at the rapper's private Christian school says students were made to attend classes in filthy and unsafe conditions  and staff were retaliated against for complaining.

Lawyers for plaintiff Isaiah Meadows, who worked at Ye's secretive school from November 2020 to August 2022, say in their complaint that the school was left in incomplete and dangerous conditions, with windows that didn't have glass in them and "faulty electrical wiring in the school that once started a fire near where students eat."

In addition to the fire risk, students were also exposed to improperly maintained septic tanks on campus, which would overflow "every other day," according to the complaint, "causing a terrible smell."

"It is just absolutely egregious what is going on at this school," Meadows' attorney, Ron Zambrano of West Coast Employment Lawyers, said in a statement emailed to Insider.

Zambrano added: "The unlawful and retaliatory behavior by Mr. West and the school directors have now been documented multiple times by other former employees who never even worked together but all experienced the same horrendous treatment and witnessed the same serious health, safety, and education code violations, while all were subjected to the same fate  wrongful termination  and we plan to hold them accountable."

Representatives for Meadows and a lawyer for West did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment.

West's private school, which Insider previously reported cost $15,000 a month for students to attend, has been mired in controversy and multiple lawsuits in recent years.

Insider previously reported former staff have alleged in lawsuits the ever-erratic Ye refused to hold classes on the second floor of the school building because he was afraid of stairs, insisted students eat only sushi for lunch  on the floor, with their hands  and were forbidden from wearing Adidas or Nike brands on campus.

Meadows, in his recent filing, joins several former staff who, after complaining about being prevented from teaching about the Holocaust or raising concerns about not being given any textbooks to teach from, allege they faced retaliation from West, including discrimination and wrongful termination.

Read the original article on Insider
A two-day Stand Your Ground hearing in the case of a former ballerina accused of killing her estranged husband and then claiming self-defense concluded Friday morning in the Manatee County Judicial Center.

Manatee County Circuit Judge Stephen Whyte said it will take some time before he can write his order as he needs to wait for transcripts from the court reporter's office for his ruling. Both the prosecution and defense will need to wait for the judges ruling before either side can appeal.

Ashley Benefield, 31, was arrested and charged with murder in the second degree with a firearm in November 2020, a little over a month after investigators responded to a call from a neighbor who said Ashley Benefield had told him she'd been attacked by her husband, Doug Benefield, and that she had shot him, according to an affidavit.

Day 1: Former ballerina accused of killing estranged husband in court for Stand Your Ground

Previous reporting: Former Florida ballerina evokes 'Stand Your Ground' in 2020 homicide of estranged husband

In February, Ashley Benefield filed a motion to dismiss the case and requested a declaration of immunity, claiming she fired the gun because she feared for her life. The motion placed the burden on assistant state attorneys Suzanne O'Donnell and Rebecca Freel to make a case before the judge proving beyond a reasonable doubt that Ashley Benefield did not act in self-defense.

Under Florida's Stand Your Ground Law, a person is allowed to use or threaten to use deadly force against another person if they reasonably believe they need to protect themselves against immediate threat and they don't have a "duty to retreat."

Judge Matt Whyte questions attorneys about the evidence they are trying to present. Ashley Benefield is accused of killing her estranged husband, Doug Benefield, and is attempting to have the case dismissed under Florida's Stand Your Ground law. The hearing on the justifiable use of force immunity defense began Thursday, July 6, 2023 at the Manatee County Judicial Center in Bradenton, Florida and is expected to last two days.

State aims to prove motive while the defense argues self-defense

During her closing Friday, O'Donnell said that there has been no substantive evidence that the shooting was self-defense besides Ashley Benefield telling her neighbor that her husband had attacked her. Photographs taken after the shooting didn't show extensive injuries beyond minor scratches.

Testimony from Chief Medical Examiner of the 12th Circuit, Dr. Russell Vega, found that Doug Benefield had sustained at least two gunshot wounds, one to the chest and one to the right knee and calf.

O'Donnell said the injuries could indicate that Doug Benefield was turning to leave the room instead of advancing on Ashley Benefield when the gun was fired.

Ashley Benefield's attorney Neil Taylor questioned whether the lack of defensive wounds on Doug Benefield completely ruled him out as being the agitator, or if it was possible he could have been the offender and not sustained any defensive injuries. Taylor pointed to the fact that Vega said Doug Benefield was most likely facing Ashley Benefield when he was shot in the chest.

O'Donnell said Ashley Benefield didn't want Doug to have contact with their young daughter and was worried about a report by a clinical psychologist who observed the Benefields that was set to be published days after the shooting. O'Donnell said that the report would have shown Ashley Benefield had no intention of reconciling with her husband, despite her telling him otherwise.

Chief medical examiner Russell Vega demonstrates the location of a fatal bullet wound he documented on Doug Benefield. Ashley Benefield is accused of killing her estranged husband, Doug Benefield, and is attempting to have the case dismissed under Florida's Stand Your Ground law. The hearing on the justifiable use of force immunity defense began Thursday, July 6, 2023 at the Manatee County Judicial Center in Bradenton, Florida and is expected to last two days.

O'Donnell further described Ashley Benefield as being manipulative, telling Doug Benefield they'd be together while telling everyone else she was afraid of him.

Taylor countered that it was Doug Benefield who was controlling and jealous, as well as prone to violent behaviors and that his client had appeased her husband to protect her child.

Taylor argued the state hadn't addressed what Ashley Benefield knew about Doug Benefield at the time of the shooting which justified her actions, including the fact that Doug Benefield had once shot a gun at the ceiling to get his wife to stop talking, punched a hole or holes in a wall out of frustration, placed a tracker on her car and threw a loaded gun at her.

He said the lead detective in the case misrepresented the facts in the affidavit he turned used for the arrest warrant by omitting to identify Doug Benefield as the person who scratched Ashley Benefield with a box, and that within 75 minutes of learning about the shooting in the first place, wrote the reason for the search warrant for the house was murder, not homicide.

Whirlwind romance, allegations of abuse

In 2016, Ashley and Doug Benefield met for the first time, and following a 13-day "whirlwind romance," the two were married, according to previous Sarasota Herald-Tribune reporting. At the time, Ashley Benefield was 24 years old, while Doug Benefield was 54, according to media reports.

Its a fact that both seemed to take pride in, Doug Benefields first cousin, Tommie Benefield Jr., said to the judge Thursday. He recalled that his cousin seemed starstruck and enamored with his wife, especially when Tommie Benefield saw the couple together for the first time in April 2017 in their Mount Pleasant home in South Carolina.

During his initial meeting with the couple, he learned Ashley Benefield wanted to start a non-judgmental and non-stereotypical ballet company, seeing as she was a former ballet dancer. Doug Benefield seemed to support her.

He talked like any proud husband, Tommie Benefield said about Doug Benefields interest in founding the American National Ballet. The ballet was founded on paper in February 2017, had an informal launch in May, and was shuttered by the end of the year, he added.

In July 2017, Ashley Benefield became pregnant with the couple's daughter, and she moved by herself to Florida to live with her mother, Tommie Benefield said.

Tommie Benefield testifies about the relationship he had with his cousin, Doug Benefield. Ashley Benefield is accused of killing her estranged husband, Doug Benefield, and is attempting to have the case dismissed under Florida's Stand Your Ground law. The hearing on the justifiable use of force immunity defense began Thursday, July 6, 2023 at the Manatee County Judicial Center in Bradenton, Florida and is expected to last two days.

After moving to Florida, Doug Benefield hired family law attorney Stephanie Murphy in 2018 to help him connect with Ashley Benefield about the birth of their daughter, Murphy said Thursday. A few days after hiring Murphy, the two learned Ashley Benefield had given birth when she filed an injunction, Murphy added.

Murphy represented Doug Benefield in court for the injunction and his own petition that he filed for a parenting plan.

The injunction wasn't granted, and the family court judge ruled that Doug Benefield should be able to spend time with his daughter which would slowly increase to include overnight and weekend stays.

Murphy said that for some time there was peace between the two parents as they coparented their daughter, but it didn't last, and Ashley Benefield again began filing complaints against her husband.

In other Manatee court news: Hardee County man found guilty of second-degree murder in 17-year-old Manatee cold case

'Take Care of Maya': Netflix documentary gives voice to Venice family suing hospital

Take matters into her own hands: Psychologist testifies about his observations

Dr. Brad S. Broeder, a clinical psychologist who serves as a consultant for the Sarasota and Manatee counties Child Protection Team, said he was contacted after Ashley Benefield had lodged several abuse complaints. The complaints accused Doug Benefield of sexual and physical abuse towards their toddler daughter, according to testimony from witnesses.

Broeder met with the Benefields, both individually and together, over the course of two months to observe how each parent interacted with their daughter and with each other.

During his evaluation, Broeder said Ashley Benefield expressed to him that she had no intention of ever reconciling with her husband and that the plan was for her, her mother, and her daughter to all move to Maryland without Doug.

However, Doug Benefield appeared to be under a different impression, Broeder said, indicating he wanted to move to Maryland and eventually move into Ashleys home when she was ready.

Defense attorney Neil Taylor, left, and his client Ashley Benefield, talk during a break in the hearing Wednesday. Benefield is accused of killing her estranged husband, Doug Benefield, and is attempting to have the case dismissed under Florida's Stand Your Ground law. The hearing on the justifiable use of force immunity defense began Thursday, July 6, 2023 at the Manatee County Judicial Center in Bradenton, Florida and is expected to last two days. POOL PHOTO/Mike Lang/Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Broeder added that Ashley Benefield said she was afraid that Doug Benefield couldnt parent their daughter and that he was prone to becoming very angry and controlling.

She had also told the doctor about Doug Benefields previous violent outbursts at their home in South Carolina and added that she tried to appease her husband to protect her daughter, Broeder said.

As the evaluation period concluded, Broeder said that Ashley Benefield told him she felt no one was helping her  not the sheriffs detectives shed lodged complaints with or the Manatee County judge who denied her injunction previously and mandated Doug Benefield be able to visit with his daughter, or even Broeder.

She indicated they were running out of time, Broeder said, adding that Ashley Benefield said she would have to take the issue into her own hands.

Yet, Broeder said he didnt have any concerns for Ashley Benefields or the toddlers safety and submitted his report in mid-September 2020. The report was to be published at the end of the month, according to testimony in court.

Days before the shooting, it appeared Doug and Ashley Benefield were on good terms, at least according to text messages shown in court Thursday and read aloud by Manatee County Sheriffs Detective Justin Warren, the lead detective on the case.

In texts between the two, Doug Benefield sent his wife bible verses and "Good Morning" texts, discussed picking up more packing boxes and a U-Haul truck, scheduled a meeting at Panera, and spoke about resolving the injunctions theyd each filed through a mediation meeting.

The last text Doug Warren appeared to have sent Ashley Benefield was at 5:32 p.m. on Sept. 27, 2020, indicating he was on his way to her home. A little more than an hour later, a 911 call alerting law enforcement to the shooting was called in.

Gabriela Szymanowska covers the legal system for the Herald-Tribune in partnership with Report for America. You can support her work with a tax-deductible donation to Report for America. Contact Gabriela Szymanowska at gszymanowska@gannett.com, or on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Ballerina's 'Stand Your Ground' hearing concludes in Manatee County
Former Obama advisor David Axelrod says Cornel West's presidential candidacy could swing the 2024 election to Trump

Cornel West. Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

The former Obama advisor David Axelrod said Cornel West could flip the 2024 election to Donald Trump.

Axelrod brought up the 2016 election, as many Democrats feel Jill Stein cost Hillary Clinton the race.

West is running on a progressive platform and could siphon some of Biden's support with young voters.

The former White House senior advisor David Axelrod on Friday said the academic Cornel West's 2024 presidential campaign could siphon votes from President Joe Biden and throw the election to former President Donald Trump.

Neither Biden nor Trump has wrapped up his respective party nomination, but if the two men compete against each other in a rematch of the 2020 election, Axelrod  who worked under President Barack Obama  fears that West could sap critical support from Biden in what might be another close contest.

"In 2016, the Green Party played an outsized role in tipping the election to Donald Trump," Axelrod tweeted, pointing to Jill Stein's candidacy in the contest featuring Trump and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. "Now, with Cornel West as their likely nominee, they could easily do it again. Risky business."

Many Democrats have accused Stein of costing Clinton key support in Wisconsin and Michigan in 2016; Trump won both states narrowly that year, disrupting decades of Democratic dominance at the presidential level.

Biden flipped both states back into the Democratic column in 2020, and holding those states will be critical for the party's chances of retaining the White House in 2024.

West is running a progressive campaign seeking the Green Party nomination. His platform is centered on economic justice and could realistically cut into Biden's support among the youth vote and Black voters.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Akron police released this image taken in the 1400 block of Rockaway Street. Police said the person in black got out of the older Chevy Impala in the photo, and started firing shots at a group of people in front of a home down the road on April 14, 2022.

Four of six people charged in connection with the death of 21-year-old Teyaurra Harris during a gunfight in April last year have accepted plea deals, leaving the only two charged with murder in the tragedy to face trial in August.

Harris, who was an uninvolved passenger in a car driving through the area, was pregnant at the time of her death.

Zyeir Saunders, 22, on Friday pleaded guilty to one count of involuntary manslaughter and four counts of felonious assault, both with gun specifications, which carry additional prison time.

More: Akron police say sixth suspect arrested in shootout that killed pregnant woman

He had been charged with six second-degree felony counts of felonious assault and a third-degree felony count of discharge of a firearm on or near prohibited premises.

Sentencing is scheduled for 1 p.m. July 19 in Judge Alison McCarty's courtroom. The judge has been handling the cases of all six defendants.

Pregnant passenger in passing car died during attack

According to police, on April 14, 2022, at least 30 bullets from three guns were fired after an individual got out of a car on Rockaway Street in Kenmore about 7:30 p.m. and began shooting at a group of people in front of a house down the road. Police later said two males in a group of people at the home shot back indiscriminately.

Harris was in a vehicle that was driving by at the time, and she was struck in the back of the head by a stray bullet that went through the back window of the car, police said. She died four days later. The driver of the car was uninjured, but a 19-year-old woman who was in the area was also hit by gunfire and had injuries that were not life-threatening.

More: Murders down in Akron during first half of 2023. What is the city doing to reduce violence?

Two 19-year-olds charged with murder pending trial

Only two of the six suspects, both facing murder charges, may end up taking their cases to trial.

Jaunte Smith, 19, was originally charged with two counts of murder, an unclassified felony, but one of the charges was modified to aggravated assault, a second-degree felony, and the other was dismissed. He also faces two counts of F-2 felonious assault, a first-degree felony count of discharge of a firearm on or near prohibited premises, and fourth-degree felony charges of carrying a concealed weapon and improperly handing firearms in a motor vehicle. He has pleaded not guilty. A trial is set for Aug. 14.

Darrion L. Rackley, 19, was the last suspect to be arrested in the case and is also facing a murder charge. He has pleaded not guilty to six counts of second-degree felonious assault and a first-degree felony count of discharge of a firearm on or near prohibited premises. A trail has been set for Aug. 21.

Three other suspects accept plea deals

Jaeviaire Small, with his attorney Donald Walker, apologizes in court June 20 to the family of Teyaurra Harris for his role in her April 2022 shooting death in Akron.

Of all those involved in the gunfight, prosecutors said Jaeviaire Small, 21, was the least culpable of all the defendants. He is the first and only to be sentenced in the case thus far and is serving five years in prison after accepting a plea deal. He pleaded guilty to aggravated assault, a fourth-degree felony with a gun specification, as well as two weapons charges and charges in two unrelated cases.

More: 'Be that change,' mother of woman killed in crossfire urges man convicted in shooting

The other two defendants are awaiting sentencing:

Antonil Whitaker, who will be 17 next week, had been bound over from Summit County Juvenile Court to be tried as an adult. He accepted a plea deal and pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter, a first-degree felony, and two counts of felonious assault, a second-degree felony, both with weapons specifications. Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 13.

Jeremiah Williams, 21, accepted a plea deal and pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter, a first-degree felony, with firearms specifications, and three counts of felonious assault, a second-degree felony. A sentencing date has not been set.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Fourth of six in gunfight that killed pregnant Akron woman pleads
PHNOM PENH, July 8 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia has welcomed a newborn Mekong Irrawaddy dolphin, raising the total number of newborn dolphin calves to five so far this year, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) said in a news release on Saturday.

The latest born dolphin calf was spotted by the river guards and tourist boat operators on Friday at the Kampi dolphin pool in northeast Kratie province's Mekong River while swimming alongside nine adult dolphins, the news release said.

The new calf was about 10 days old, it said.

According to the news release, six dolphin calves were recorded in 2022, and the same number was also reported in 2021.

The Mekong Irrawaddy dolphins have been listed as critically endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species since 2004.

The Fisheries Administration estimated that there are approximately 90 Irrawaddy dolphin populations in the Cambodian portion of the Mekong River in the Kratie and Stung Treng provinces. 
Le Pen has called for end to 'anarchic immigration' after the riots (Alain JOCARD)

In her first speech in parliament as France's riots ebbed this week, far-right leader Marine Le Pen accused the government of turning the country into a "hell" that she had foreseen.

"The reality is that you didn't want to hear any of the warnings," said the 54-year-old, whose 89 MPs form the biggest opposition party in parliament since elections last year.

"We predicted what is happening despite great adversity. Unfortunately we were right."

She and her father Jean-Marie have been forecasting France's demise and even civil war since the 1970s in doom-laden speeches focused on the presence of foreigners in France.

"Above all and before anything else, we need to stop anarchic immigration," Le Pen continued.

The political fall-out from France's worst urban violence since 2005 remains highly uncertain, leading to speculation about who stands to gain from the breakdown in law and order that has shocked millions of French people.

Le Pen and many others on the right have sought to blame the mass looting and clashes on immigrant-origin communities, mostly from former French colonies in Africa, who have settled in suburban areas in towns and cities since the 1960s.

Despite the riots being sparked by allegations of police brutality and racism after the fatal shooting of Nahel M. -- a 17-year-old boy of Algerian origin in Paris -- many analysts feel the far-right promise of a radical crackdown on crime and immigration could find new takers.

"I think we'll see a rise of several points for the National Rally in an extension of the quite incredible gains they've made over the last few years," Olivier Babeau, co-founder of the right-leaning Institute Sapiens think-tank, told AFP.

"Without them really doing or saying much, events are helping them convince part of the population," he added.

Le Pen achieved her highest-ever score in last year's presidential elections -- 41.5 percent in the second round --- and then celebrated record parliamentary election results two months later.

Jean-Yves Camus, a far-right specialist at the Jean Jaures Foundation, agreed that Le Pen and the even more radical anti-Islam politician Eric Zemmour looked the most likely to gain from the riots.

"There's a risk that Eric Zemmour and Marine Le Pen benefit from the situation, notably during the European elections which will take place next year," he told AFP.

- Government response -

The government has sought to counter the narrative being pushed by the far-right and in the mainstream Republicans party that immigrants were to blame for the unrest, which saw 273 buildings belonging to the security forces and 168 schools damaged.

Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said that 90 percent of the roughly 3,500 people arrested during the five nights of the most severe rioting were French nationals.

"Yes, there were some who could be from immigrant backgrounds," Darmanin, who has Algerian roots, said of the lists of names of detainees he had seen while touring police stations.

"But there were a lot of Kevins and Matteos too," he told a hearing in the Senate on Wednesday.

"This identity-based analysis seems wrong to me," he said, while acknowledging that the question of how best to integrate immigrants was "interesting."

Camus believes that the government might be credited by some voters for having brought the unrest under control in under a week thanks to a massive deployment of up to 45,000 security forces at their peak.

The last nation-wide riots in 2005 lasted for nearly three weeks and led the government to resort to a state of emergency.

"Without having to use a state of emergency and with a strategy of responding gradually, the government demonstrated that it was able to contain the movement," he told AFP.

- Left splits -

President Emmanuel Macron has condemned the "inexcusable" police shooting which sparked the riots, which saw an officer open fire at point-blank range having stopped a 17-year-old driving a Mercedes without a licence in a west Paris suburb.

The centrist head of state has promised a response, but major police reform -- called for by the left -- remains off the table.

Macron has so far focused on how to punish parents whose children commit crimes amid shock about the young ages of many of the rioters.

The country's leftist alliance is also at odds, with the head of the radical France Unbowed party Jean-Luc Melenchon creating rifts with his Socialist and Communist allies by failing to unequivocally call for calm.

He has suggested the riots were "poor people rebelling."

Left-leaning Le Monde newspaper sharply criticised him in an editorial, saying that he was "at odds with a very strong demand for a return to order which is rising in public opinion."

"In a country shocked by five days of urban riots, the left is not reassuring," it said on Thursday.

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The Freedom of Russia Legion has announced another raid on the territory of the Russian Federation.

Source: Commander of the Freedom of Russia Legion with the call sign Caesar in an interview with the Observer

Quote: "There will be a further surprise in the next month or so. It will be our third operation. After that there will be a fourth, and fifth. We have ambitious plans. We want to free all our territory."

Details: The Observer noted that the Freedom of Russia Legion fighters are planning another raid across the border into Russia and are seeking to take advantage of the chaos inside the Kremlin after Yevgeny Prigozhin's rebellion.

Caesar described his fighters and the Russian Volunteer Corps recent operation near the city of Shebekino in Russia as a "local raid and reconnaissance operation".

According to the Observer, the real name of Caesar, a 49-year-old former fitness trainer from Sochi and St Petersburg (Russia), is Maximilian Andronnikov.

He admitted that his soldiers can only operate with the help of the Ukrainian military, but said when they enter Russian territory, they make their own independent decisions. According to him, the legion's armoured vehicles were mainly taken from Russian storage points captured in Ukraine.

The commander added that the Kremlin's reports about heavy losses among his fighters present ridiculous and exaggerated information, "They dressed up dead bodies in Ukrainian uniforms and put them on TV. Ours look different. It was all a dumb lie".

Caesar believes that Prigozhin's rebellion has weakened Putin. And he also predicts that the Putin regime will fail by the end of 2024.

Background:

On 22 May, Russian Volunteer Corps (RVC) and the Freedom of Russia Legion (FRL), in which Russians are fighting for Ukraine, announced their liberation of several settlements in Belgorod Oblast of the Russian Federation from Putin's regime.

On 23 May, the Russian authorities announced the defeat of RVC and FRL fighters who are called "saboteurs" in Russia, and the completion of the counter-terrorist operation in Belgorod Oblast.

The Ukrainian Defence Intelligence confirmed that it cooperates with the Russian Volunteer Corps, including the exchange of information.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
French government wants the power to block social media and to tap into cellphones

Gonzalo Fuentes/Reuters Protests erupted after French police killed a 17-year-old of North African descent on June 27.

Protests have rocked France for more than a week after police killed a 17-year-old of North African descent.

President Macron has said his government needs the authority to block social media to curb protests.

French lawmakers are also considering a new surveillance measure that critics call authoritarian.

Soon after news broke that French police killed a 17-year-old of North African descent on June 27, protests broke out across the country. Those protests have sometimes turned violent. Protesters have set cars and buildings alight. Police have arrested thousands.

In the middle of all this, critics say the government led by French President Emmanuel Macron has taken an authoritarian pivot.

First, on July 4, during a meeting with mayors, Macron suggested the government needs the authority to regulate or block social media platforms during major protests.

A government spokesperson later claimed Macron could have meant to suggest just blocking certain functions on social media platforms, such as Snapchat maps, in order to curb protesters' ability to organize gatherings, the Washington Post reported.

Then, French lawmakers on July 5 authorized police to surveil suspects by accessing their device's GPS, camera, and microphone with a judge's permission, the national newspaper Le Monde reported. The measure is part of a larger bill on judicial reform that is now making its way through the French parliament.

The measure raises "serious concerns over infringements of fundamental liberties," advocates with the digital rights group La Quadrature du Net said, according to Le Monde.

Meanwhile, Eliska Pirkova, a senior policy analyst at Access Now  a digital rights advocacy organization  called the suggestion of blocking social media "a strong blow to democracy," according to the Post.

Both left- and right-leaning lawmakers, meanwhile, characterized the comments about blocking social media made by Macron, who is considered centrist, as anti-democratic. Even members of Macron's own party, the Renaissance Party, are calling the suggested policy a mistake, according to the Washington Post.

There is no country in Europe that completely blocks any social media, the Washington Post reports, but countries like Spain, Belarus, Turkey, and Ukraine have placed limits on its use.

Elsewhere in the world, social media censorship has increased in recent years.

In an effort to stop people from gathering to protest COVID-19 restrictions, the Chinese government censored discussion of certain cities on social media, according to the BBC. Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch reports that Russia has placed immense pressure on social media companies operating in the country to censor posts that government officials deem "illegal." These posts include calls to protest, according to the watchdog organization.

Similar police access to geolocation data and live cameras is an ongoing issue in the US digital policy sphere.

While a 2018 Supreme Court case limited police's ability to use location data without a judge's oversight, the Wall Street Journal reported that the federal government has been able to sidestep this ruling by purchasing users' data from marketing firms. For example, in February 2020, the Department of Homeland Security pulled location data from cellphone applications for use in immigration and border enforcement, according to the Journal.

American police are also using private cameras like Amazon's Ring for surveillance. And in November 2022, the city of San Francisco enacted an ordinance allowing police to request access to live feeds from internet-connected home security cameras, the New York Times reported.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Rioting and looting erupted across France in the wake of the June 27 shooting death of teenager Nahel M. (Richard BOUHET)

Around 2,000 people defied a ban to join a memorial rally in central Paris Saturday for a young black man who died in police custody, while marches took place throughout France to denounce police brutality, as tensions run high after days of rioting engulfed the country.

Nationwide, around 5,900 people took to the streets, according to the interior ministry.

Seven years after the death of Adama Traore, his sister had planned to lead an annual commemorative march north of Paris in Persan and Beaumont-sur-Oise.

But fearful of reigniting recent unrest sparked by the police killing of 17-year-old Nahel M. at a traffic stop near Paris, a court ruled the chance of public disturbance was too high to allow the march to proceed.

In a video posted on Twitter, Assa Traore, Adama's older sister, denounced the decision.

"The government has decided to add fuel to the fire" and "not to respect the death of my little brother", she said.

She instead attended a rally in central Paris's Place de la Republique.

"We are marching for the youth to denounce police violence. They want to hide our deaths," she said at the rally, also attended by several lawmakers.

"They authorise marches by neo-Nazis but they don't allow us to march. France cannot give us moral lessons. Its police is racist and violent," she said.

Worried about a resurgence of rioting as France celebrates Bastille Day on July 14, Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne told the daily Le Parisien that the government would deploy "massive means to protect the French" during the national holiday.

While she said Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin would give specifics, Borne announced a ban on the sale of fireworks, which had been used by rioters to target police.

The Paris rally for Traore had also been banned on the grounds that it could disrupt public order and a legal case has been opened against Assa Traore for organising the event, police said.

Youssouf Traore, another of Assa Tarore's brothers, was arrested and taken into custody on suspicion of violence against a person holding public authority, public prosecutors told AFP.

"The march went off peacefully, it was a success, we don't understand his arrest," Assa Traore said.

Jean-Luc Melenchon, leader of the hard-left France Unbowed party, castigated the government.

"From prohibition to repression... the leader is taking France to a regime we have already seen. Danger. Danger," he tweeted, referring to the World War II regime of Vichy leader Philippe Petain who collaborated with the Nazis.

Many at the rally shouted "Justice for Nahel" before calmly dispersing later in the afternoon.

Around 30 demonstrations against police violence also took place across France, including in the southern port city of Marseille and Strasbourg in the east. Authorities in Lille banned a gathering.

- Grief and anger -

Several trade unions, political parties and associations had called on supporters to join the march for Traore as France reels from allegations of institutionalised racism in its police ranks following Nahel M.'s shooting on June 27.

Traore, who was 24 years old, died shortly after his arrest in 2016, sparking several nights of unrest that played out similarly to the week-long rioting that erupted across the country in the wake of the point-blank shooting of Nahel.

The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) -- 18 independent experts -- on Friday asked France to pass legislation defining and banning racial profiling and questioned "excessive use of force by law enforcement".

The foreign ministry on Saturday disputed what it called "excessive" and "unfounded" remarks by the panel.

"Any ethnic profiling by law enforcement is banned in France," the ministry responded, adding that "the struggle against excesses in racial profiling has intensified".

Far-right parties have linked the most intense and widespread riots France has seen since 2005 to mass migration and have demanded curbs on new arrivals.

More than 3,700 people have been taken into police custody in connection with the protests since Nahel's death, including at least 1,160 minors, according to official figures.

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EVANSVILLE  A funeral will be held Monday for Tell City Police Sgt. Heather Glenn, who died in the line of duty during a shooting at Perry County Memorial Hospital.

According to Glenns obituary, the public service will begin at 10 a.m. Monday at the Tell City High School auditorium. Officers will then escort Glenn to Greenwood Cemetery for a private burial.

Glenn, 47, served in Perry County law enforcement for nearly 20 years. On July 3, Glenn was reportedly investigating a domestic dispute when she and other officers found themselves in an armed altercation with 34-year-old Sean Hubert.

The Indiana State Police said Glenn suffered a fatal gunshot wound as she attempted to arrest Hubert, who was armed, at Perry County Memorial Hospital. Police then shot and killed Hubert.

A photo posted by the Tell City Police Department shows a memorial plaque honoring Sgt. Heather Glenn, who was shot and killed in the line of duty at Perry County Memorial Hospital on July 3, 2023.

Glenn graduated from Tell City High School in 1994 and obtained a criminal justice degree from Vincennes University. After serving with the Perry County Sheriffs Office, Glenn moved to the city police department.

Whether in a uniform or not, Heather was always helping out in her community, her obituary states. She was everything a good police officer should be and treated each person with dignity and respect no matter the situation.

Hundreds of Tell City residents lined streets and sidewalks Wednesday as officers escorted Glenns body from the Perry County Coroners Office to Zoercher-Gillick Funeral Home. Days earlier, residents and the law enforcement community held a vigil for Glenn in Tell Citys town square.

Sgt. Heather Glenn

Tell City Police Chief Derrick Lawalin said Glenn's death represented a "tremendous loss" for the agency and described her as a cornerstone of the department.

"We are a tight-knit community here, a very small, close police department," Lawalin said at a news conference Monday. "We ask the support of the community now, more than ever, to help take on these challenges in the days ahead."

The Indiana State Police said funds are being raised for Glenns family in the wake of her death. According to Glenns obituary, members of the public can make contributions to the Rivers Edge Animal Shelter in honor of Glenn.

"Our residents should prepare for nearly 1,000 police officers and police vehicles from across the country to (descend) upon Tell City to pay their respects to Sergeant Heather Glenn," the Tell City Police Department stated in a Facebook post. "While we will certainly be heartbroken for years to come over the loss of Sergeant Glenn, we will honor her service in all we do."

Houston Harwood can be contacted at houston.harwood@courierpress.com

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Funeral for fallen Tell City officer to be held Monday
Russia may impose sanctions against Ukraine over Ukrainian oil and gas company Naftogaz' lawsuits against Russian gas giant Gazprom, Alexei Miller, CEO of the Russian gas firm, said on July 7, as cited by Interfax.

This may lead to the end of cooperation between Russian companies and Naftogaz, Miller warned.

Despite Russia's aggression against Ukraine, the transit of Russian gas through Ukrainian territory to Europe still continues.

Naftogaz filed a lawsuit against Gazprom with the International Court of Arbitration in Paris in September 2022. It asked for overdue payments from Gazprom for gas transit through Ukraine.

Naftogaz CEO Vitrenko: Russian gas is a weapon Yuriy Vitrenkos desk, buried in paperwork, leaves little room for doubt  the winter of 2022 will be hard for Ukraine. Naftogaz, Ukraines energy monopoly, will face an uphill battle to provide enough gas for this years heating season, CEO Vitrenko told the Kyiv Independent. He said that this wi The Kyiv IndependentAlexander Query

The Russian company rejected Naftogaz's demands.

Miller also reminded that Naftogaz had also filed a $5 billion lawsuit at a U.S. court against Russia for lost property in occupied Crimea.

"If Naftogaz continues such unscrupulous actions ... then any relations between Russian companies and Naftogaz will be simply impossible," he said.

Ukrainian Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko told the Financial Times on June 22 that the renewal of Naftogaz' contract with Gazprom is unlikely after 2024 due to Russian aggression.

The point of contest between the two companies was the transit through the Sokhranivka facility in Luhansk Oblast. In May 2022, Naftogaz was forced to stop transit through Sokhranivka due to Russian occupation and offered its Russian counterparts to pump more gas through another access point.

Russia, however, refused to increase the transit and to pay for Ukraine's losses.

Miller accused Naftogaz of using Sokhranivka as a fabricated pretext, saying that the Ukrainian company does not accept Russian gas at the access point in question but demands payment for it anyway.
Girl found in Camp Pendleton barracks after two weeks missing was raped by Marine, family claim

The family of a 14-year-old girl who was found inside a barracks building at Camp Pendleton claims a Marine at the based raped the teenager.

The girl ran away from her grandmother's home on 9 June. Her grandmother reported her missing four days later, explaining later than the teen had run away several times in the past but always came home.

Police eventually found the girl inside a building at Camp Pendleton, a Marine base midway between San Diego and Los Angeles, on 28 June.

Casaundra Perez, the girl's aunt, told police that the girl was sold to the Marine for sex, according to NBC 7 San Diego.

A TikTok account sharing Ms Perez's name posted a video explaining what she says happened to the 14-year-old girl.

"I would just like to preface this video, I did not kill myself, if I go missing or end up murdered the people potentially responsible could possibly be located here at Camp Pendleton," she says over a clip of the base's entry sign.

She later reveals that her niece has "learning disabilities" and reiterates that the girl is a minor.

Ms Perez accuses the military of trying to cover up her niece's story, and says the "whole facility" allowed the incident to happen.

The security looked her in the face and allowed this man to bring a minor on to base where he then proceeded to have sex with her" the teen's aunt said. "Due to her age, she could not have given this consent.

Ms Perez continues, saying a person referred to them by the military met with the family and told them they believe the "military detective" investigating the incident was trying to sweep it under the rug.

She says she will release the detective's name and phone number to the public pending her attorney's approval as a way to bring attention to her niece's case to ensure the investigation is continued.

At the end of the video Ms Perez admits that she and her family are afraid of retaliation from the military and from the man she believes trafficked her niece.

The Independent has reached out to the base for comment.

A Marine has been arrested in connection with the girl; on 2 July a Marine was handcuffed and detained by military police at the base. Captain Chuck Palmer later confirmed that the Marine was taken in and questioned about the girl.

"We can confirm that a Marine with Combat Logistics Battalion 5, 1st Marine Logistics Group was taken into custody for questioning by Naval Criminal Investigative Services on June 28, 2023, as seen on social media July 2, 2023," Mr Palmer told NBC 7. "The incident is under investigation, and we will continue to cooperate with NCIS and appropriate authorities."

Mr Palmer said the Marine has not been charged with a crime nor has he been identified to the public, though he was still in custody as of Thursday.

The Naval Criminal Investigative Service is handling further inquiry into the matter, and has stated it will not release further details due to the ongoing investigation.

"Out of respect for the investigative process, NCIS does not comment on, confirm details relating to, or confirm the existence of ongoing investigations," the agency said in a statement.
A Marine was taken into custody at Camp Pendleton the day a girl who had been reported missing was found in the barracks, Marine Corps officials said. (Lenny Ignelzi / Associated Press)

A girl was found at Camp Pendleton more than two weeks after she had been reported missing, according to her family, who alleges she was raped by a Marine on the military base north of San Diego.

The girl's aunt, Casaundra Perez, said in a video posted to TikTok on Thursday that her niece, whom she did not identify by name, went missing from her home near Spring Valley on June 10 and was found at the base June 28.

A photograph posted to Instagram by the account notinregz, which shares content submitted by military personnel, shows an unidentified Marine in handcuffs being escorted by military police officers. The post included a photo of what it said was a handwritten logbook from Camp Pendleton that says military personnel found a 13-year-old girl in the barracks June 28. The Times could not verify the authenticity of the logbook page.

A Marine with Combat Logistics Battalion 5 was taken into custody for questioning by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service the day the girl was found, 1st Marine Logistics Group spokesperson Capt. Charles Palmer confirmed.

The Marine is on active duty and assigned to the battalion stationed at Camp Pendleton, Palmer said.

"This command takes this matter and these allegations very seriously. The incident is under investigation, and we will continue to cooperate with NCIS and appropriate authorities," Palmer said in a statement.

It is unclear whether the Marine who was taken in for questioning remains in military police custody.

Read more: Boyfriend of wife of slain hairdressing mogul pleads guilty to murder

In the TikTok video, Perez alleged that her niece had been trafficked and accused military personnel of trying to "cover up" the case and shift blame to the girl for the alleged sexual assault.

Perez said "security looked her [niece] in the face and allowed this man to bring a minor onto base."

"Our family is worried about retaliation from the military and the man that has trafficked my niece," said Perez, who could not be reached for comment.

.

NCIS spokesperson Jeff Houston said in an email the agency does not comment on or confirm details relating to ongoing investigations.

According to the San Diego County Sheriff's Department, a 14-year-old girl who had been last seen June 9 and reported missing by her grandmother June 13 was found at Camp Pendleton. The grandmother said the girl had run away from home before but had quickly returned, according to the Sheriff's Department.

After the girl was found at Camp Pendleton, sheriff's deputies reunited her with her grandmother. Detectives interviewed the girl and offered services to the family, according to the Sheriff's Department, which is supporting NCIS with the investigation.

The department declined to provide additional details about the case because it involves a minor.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Global Peace Index reveals most peaceful country in the world  the same winner for 15th year running

With the pound rising against the Icelandic krona, you could be visiting Godafoss Falls on your next trip (Getty Images)

Iceland has been named the most peaceful country in the world for the 15th year in running, according to Global Peace Index 2023, even as overall world peace deteriorated.

The Institute of Economics and Peaces 17th edition of annual report ranked 163 states and territories according to their level of peacefulness.

Ranked number one in the list of most peaceful countries, Iceland held the spot since 2008 despite a 4 per cent deterioration in its overall score.

Iceland was followed by Denmark, Ireland, New Zealand, and Austria as the most peaceful countries while Afghanistan remained the least peaceful for the eighth consecutive year.

In the 2023 Global Peace Index, the overall level of country peacefulness experienced a decline of 0.42 per cent. This marks the ninth consecutive year of deterioration in global peacefulness and 13th time in the last 15 years. Since 2008, the average level of peacefulness has shown improvement only twice on a year-on-year basis.

The deterioration in peacefulness was mainly due to a deterioration in the Ongoing Conflict domain. Deaths from internal conflict, neighbouring countries relations, and external conflicts all recorded significant deterioration, with the total number of conflict-related deaths increasing by 96 per cent, the report said.

Although the conflict in Ukraine was the primary driver of this increase, increases in conflict were also seen in many other countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and the AsiaPacific.

The report found that Russias invasion of Ukraine and its fallout were the drivers behind the deterioration in global peace. Both the countries have been ranked amongst the 10 least peaceful, while Ukraine marked the largest deterioration.

Hundreds of unnamed graves found in Ukraine (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

During the past year, 84 countries experienced an improvement in peacefulness, while 79 countries witnessed a deterioration in their levels of peace.

In the Asia-Pacific region, peacefulness marked a slight improvement with 0.32 per cent rise. New Zealand is the most peaceful country in the region, recording an improvement. While North Korea is the least peaceful.

Europe, despite being the most peaceful region globally and housing seven of the top ten most peaceful countries, experienced a decline in peacefulness over the past year. The regions overall score increased by slightly over one percent.

Out of the 36 countries in Europe, 13 showed improvements in peacefulness, while 23 experienced deteriorations. Factors such as political instability, strained neighboring country relations, and external conflicts contributed to this decline, largely influenced by the ongoing war in Ukraine.

North America became the third most peaceful region, which includes only the US and Canada. The US was ranked 131 peaceful country while Canada was 11th most peaceful.

The US marked a declined in peacefulness, with overall score dropping below 0.38 per cent while Canada saw a 2.9 per cent increase in peacefulness.

South Asia observed a slight decline in peacefulness over the past year, retaining its position as the second least peaceful region overall. Bhutan was ranked most peaceful country in the region, followed by Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

India the most populated country recorded an improvement of 3.5 per cent in overall peacefulness over the past year, similar to Afghanistan where peacefulness increased by 2.73 per cent despite it being least peaceful country.
Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/Getty/Reuters/Court Documents/Florida Education Foundation

A Florida Republican lobbyists attempt to sue the young woman at the center of the Rep. Matt Gaetz underage sex trafficking scandal has backfired in spectacular fashion, with the woman filing a response that repeatedly accuses the lobbyist of raping her.

Christopher Dorworth is a real estate developer whose brief yet meteoric rise in the Florida state legislaturewhere he was once the House speaker-designatecame to a sudden halt when he failed to be re-elected in 2012. He switched gears and became a power player and lobbyist instead. But two years ago, just as the world was learning that the FBI was looking into two of Dorworths connectionsJoel Greenberg and Congressman Matt Gaetz (R-FL)Dorworth quit his job at the influential lobbying firm Ballard Partners and dialed back from public life.

Despite claims from Greenberg that Gaetz recruited and paid that teenager for sex, the high-profile investigation fizzled in February when the Department of Justice declined to prosecute the congressman.

But little was ever said about the lobbyist.

Hes now attempting to sue Greenberg, Greenbergs wife, and the woman at the center of the child sex trafficking allegations for defamation and racketeeringand asking the court to declare that he never had sex with the woman when she was underage.

Bombshell Letter: Gaetz Paid for Sex With Minor, Wingman Says

But just as Barbra Streisands efforts to conceal a picture of her home led to more attention, the lawsuit is now drawing more attention to the old woundsand putting the once underage sex trafficking victim on the record that Dorworth had sex with her too.

Despite his stature and influence in Florida, Dorworth was a side-character in most of the reporting about the investigation. The sparse news stories about him mostly focused on his alleged scheme to run a spoiler candidate that would unfairly tilt a local election. Unexplored were the details that several sources briefed on the investigation had told The Daily Beast: that federal agents were also exploring whether they could target Dorworth for alleged sexual interactions with the same underage teen girl. As Dorworth would later describe in court papers, the investigation progressed from allegations [of] sexual activity to allegations of obstruction of justice. However, the DOJ never charged him with either crimeand he largely avoided the limelight.

That is, until Dorworth made the curious decision in April to sue Greenberg and the sex trafficking ring victim herself, who is referred to in the lawsuit only by her initials, A.B.

Dorworth is seeking $1 million, according to a court docket, claiming that his career was destroyed by the investigation and bad press, which he blames on the defendants allegedly coordinated lies to protect Greenberg. One problem with that theory: Greenberg is now serving an 11-year prison sentence, stemming from a conviction that A.B.s attorneys believe was thanks in large part to her testifying against Greenberg.

And now the tables have turned.

The young woman has taken the opportunity to lump the lobbyist in with Greenberg. Her motion to dismiss, which her lawyers filed in federal court on June 16, contains a half dozen passages that directly or indirectly accuse Dorworth of having sex with her when she was underage. The response asks the judge to toss Dorworths claims against her, portraying his lawsuit as a thinly disguised attempt to shield himself from his own accountability.

The complaint improperly seeks to preempt any claims A.B. may have against Mr. Dorworth for raping and trafficking her, they wrote. Simply put, Mr. Dorworth has no legal right not to be sued by A.B. for raping and trafficking her.

Matt Gaetz Evades Charges in Sex Trafficking Probe

The phrasing also makes clear that Dorworth is indeed being accused of having sex with her when she was still underage, with lawyers describing A.B.s experiences being sex trafficked and statutorily raped by plaintiff.

The response also confirmed what Dorworth previously alluded to in his lawsuit: that the young womans lawyers approached him seeking some sort of out-of-court settlement.

Her legal team appears to have initially reached out to Dorworths attorney over the holidays in December 2022 to warn about an incoming child sex trafficking and rape lawsuit. Dorworths lawyer, Richard E. Hornsby, responded in January with a five-page letter that stated he is unwilling to enter into a private resolution regarding her claims, even for a nominal amount, calling her attempts a false money grab by a woman with a highly problematic online history. (The Daily Beast previously reported that the former teen went into the pornography industry shortly after the sex trafficking events.)

Hornsby also attached polygraph exam results to his letter showing that Dorworth successfully passed a lie-detector test when he asserted never having sex with the young woman.

In their filing last month, the womans lawyers described their attempts to keep this from ever coming out.

A.B. offered the opportunity to resolve any legal disputes without publication of her allegations, they wrote.

On Thursday, Michael Beltran, the Central Florida lawyer who filed Dorworths recent lawsuit, told The Daily Beast that there have been no settlement negotiations at any point and Dorworth will never pay a nickel. But he also warned this journalist about reporting details in this case.

I would be careful with what you publish there are no witnesses, no paper trail, no history of the two meeting and a polygraph examination passed by Mr. Doworth conducted by a 30+ year polygraph expert for the FBI and Homeland Security that said he didnt do it, Beltran wrote.

Beltran went on to claim that written questions and interview requests The Daily Beast sent to Dorworths wife in 2021 asking about the federal investigation were tantamount to a series of harassing text messages, and threatened to drag several The Daily Beast reporters and editors into court as witnesses in the current defamation case.

As for Beltrans claim about no witnesses, Greenberg might dispute that. In a pre-emptive 2020 pardon request to then President Donald Trump, the disgraced Seminole County tax collector wrote that Dorworthidentified as a prominent lobbyist for Ballard Partnershosted parties at his home where a number of men, specifically including Gaetz, paid to have sex with young girls, including A.B.

On more than one occasion this underage individual was involved in sexual activity with several of the other females at the house, myself and also the congressman from Floridas panhandle, Greenberg wrote in the letter, adding that he paid several of the girls on Gaetzs behalf, though he did not say whether he did the same for Dorworth. None of us would have ever engaged in any type of relationship with this individual had we known the truth about her age, the letter said.

The alleged events at Dorworths house play a central role in his claims against A.B. His complaint cites a Gaetz ex-girlfrienda key witness in the casewho allegedly told Dorworth that his name had come up in A.B.s conversations with investigators, and she believed it had something to do with Dorworths house, the complaint said.

Dorworths team is already in something of a retreat. On Friday, his lawyer cut six paragraphs from his initial lawsuitall lurid accusations about the private sex life of Greenbergs wifepursuant to an agreement the two parties struck ahead of her own scathing motion to dismiss. (All other defendantsGreenbergs parents, a corporate entity affiliated with his father, and the family dental companyalso moved to dismiss the lawsuit; Greenberg, however, only filed a motion asking Dorworth to clarify his allegations.)

Witness Can Confirm Matt Gaetz Was Told He Had Sex With a Minor

In court papers, Beltran called the deletions a courtesy to Greenbergs wife but acknowledged that the move would avoid unnecessary litigation.

The ongoing lawsuit, which was originally filed in Seminole Countys state courts but has since been moved over to federal court in Orlando, is yet another indication of enduring damages from this sex trafficking ring that involved Florida power players in Republican political circles.

A.B.s 28-page motion to dismiss could fairly be described as scorching. Her counsel stressed the self-destructive nature of Dorworths lawsuit, repeatedly pointing out that the lobbyists quest for vengeance has only drawn more negative attention on himself. The womans lawyers claim its a pointless exercise, noting that Floridas defamation laws have a relatively short statute of limitationsso the fact that Dorworth quit his highly paid job at Ballard Partners in March 2021 means that he sued just one month too late in April 2023.

Because the alleged harm occurred more than two years before filing, Mr. Dorworth cannot base his damages on his separation from Ballard Partners, they wrote.

Their response also provides the first window into certain aspects of the Gaetz investigation, with the womans attorneys saying she remained truthful when discussing what she experienced when she was paid for sex by several older men.

A.B. maintains that she has never provided any false information to prosecutors or the public relating to her experiences being trafficked and statutorily raped by Mr. Greenberg and others, her lawyers wrote.

While the DOJ has remained characteristically silent about its decision to close the probe, several witnesses lawyers told The Daily Beast that prosecutors simply didnt feel comfortable presenting devastating criminal charges against a sitting congressman as politically divisive and obstreperous as Gaetz.

A.B.s true identity has been known to The Daily Beast since at least April 2021; however, this publication is continuing to withhold her name because she is a sex trafficking victim who has not come forward herself.

The womans lawyers did not respond to a request for comment.

U.S. Judge Carlos E. Mendoza, who is based in Orlando, has yet to rule on any of the motions to dismiss Dorworths lawsuit.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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U.S. needs to show sincerity to improve ties with China

09:52, July 08, 2023 By Xin Ping ( Xinhua

Guided by a Cold War mindset, the United States always believes it can pressure China on any issue so long as the lines of communication are kept open. This is a false belief Washington's politicians developed after the United States won the Cold War against the Soviet Union. Today, it is being applied on a new target -- China.

They have been doing it on the Taiwan question: in August last year, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan, claiming it should be supported to become a member of the "democratic bloc"; in May this year, Daniel Kritenbrink, a senior official with the Department of State, said the Taiwan question was not China's domestic affair, but a global concern.

Yet at the same time, the United States repeatedly demanded open lines of communication with Beijing, as if they are free to run amok in the Taiwan Strait and Beijing must stay reachable on the phone. They made a mistake: the Cold War cannot be repeated when it comes to the Taiwan question. Taiwan, an inalienable part of China, is not a bargaining chip.

Apart from the political farce, the United States has also been strengthening military deployment around Taiwan. There are now four new military bases in the region, enabled by pacts between America and the Philippines.

According to an AFP story, a secret pact was signed in May between the United States and Palau that reinforced the operational power of American troops in Guam. Moreover, on June 12, a U.S. RC-135U reconnaissance aircraft conducted missions against the baseline of China's territorial airspace, only 30 nautical miles away from Shanghai at one point. Meanwhile, U.S. warships continued to flex muscles in the Taiwan Strait. While the U.S. keeps sounding the alarm over what they say is unsafe piloting of Chinese jets and vessels, it is the U.S. warships and jets that were operating far away from their homeland and making provocations on China's doorstep.

Continued brinkmanship could cost the United States dearly. Before State Secretary Antony Blinken's visit to China, Minxin Pei, an American scholar, wrote in an essay in Bloomberg that the "escalation dominance" of the United States could defeat or cow China. He encouraged the U.S. government to intensify conflicts to a level that China cannot match. It is a bold idea but pure nonsense, more like a cheerleader's pompons than a well-considered professional judgement. China is not Iraq, and Chinese Taiwan is much less Ukraine. Colin Powell's washing powder will not produce much foam in the Taiwan Strait. And it remains doubtful whether the United States could maintain "escalation dominance" on China's doorstep given China's growing defense capability.

In his in-depth talks with Chinese leaders, Blinken was reminded time and again of China's red line on the Taiwan question. He should take it seriously. If America does want to bring its ties with China back to the right trajectory, a result Blinken's visit was intended to deliver, it should show sincerity in action rather than pay lip service. It should stop flying all the way into China's neighborhood to make provocations.

To some politicians, discipline is a foreign word. But the U.S. military must exercise caution in the East and the South China Seas. A military conflict in the Taiwan Strait will not benefit anyone. The United States should understand that.

Editor's note: Xin Ping is a commentator on internationals affairs, writing regularly for Xinhua News Agency, Global Times, China Daily, CGTN, etc. He can be reached at [email protected]

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of Xinhua News Agency.

(Web editor: Cai Hairuo, Hongyu)
Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres is suspending all treatment at its trauma facility in the Haitian capital after approximately 20 armed men stormed its hospital in Tabarre.

The incident occurred Thursday night after a patient was admitted due to severe injuries from gunshots, the medical charity said in a statement.

While the man was in surgery, two men arrived at the hospital, feigning a life-threatening emergency. When the gate was opened to let them in, about 20 masked gunmen stormed into the facility, entered the operating room and seized the wounded patient.

The incident is the latest involving armed men forcing their way into one of the charitys medical facilities in Haiti, forcing it to halt medical care. Over the past two years, the organization, known for its work in conflicts and war zones, has announced the temporary suspension of operations at its Drouillard healthcare facility in the sprawling Cite Soleil slum in Port-au-Prince after permanently closing the door of its facility in the Martissant neighborhood on the outskirts of the capital in June 2021. In January, it also suspended its support for the Raoul Pierre Louis hospital in Carrefour for security reasons.

The Tabarre hospital is one of the few places Haitians can go for trauma care. Its also the only specialized hospital for burns in Haiti.

An operating room at Doctors Without Borders Tabarre hospital in Port-au-Prince. The hospital specializes in treating people with severe traumatic injuries or burns.

There is such contempt for human life among the conflicting parties, and such violence in Port-au-Prince, that even the vulnerable, sick and wounded are not spared, said Mahaman Bachard Iro, head of MSFs programs in Haiti. How are we, the health workers, supposed to be able to continue providing care in this environment?

We must first understand what has happened and give our abused medical staff some respite, because these men threatened to kill them, Iro said. To this end, we have decided to suspend our activities for the time being, in order to assess the conditions for a potential resumption.

The incident demonstrates the unprecedented level of violence in Port-au-Prince, and particularly in Tabarre, where armed men last month kidnapped prominent journalist Marie Lucie Bonhomme out of her home in the middle of the night. Tend days later they abducted her husband, the former head of the Provisional Electoral Council, Pierre-Louis Opont. He remains in captivity.

On Friday, Oponts family launched a desperate appeal for his release, saying they hope their request will touch the hearts of his captors, who will realize the pain they also inflict on his distraught family and friends.

MSF says the series of security incidents affecting its medical teams in Haiti call into question the organizations ability to continue to run medical programs in Port-au-Prince.

The charity says it is calling on the various parties to the conflicts in Port-au-Prince to respect medical facilities so that they can continue to function.
If a space tourism flight goes horribly wrong, it could be even harder to rescue passengers than the Titan sub disaster

OceanGate's tourist submersible; A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, with the Dragon capsule and a crew of four private astronauts, lifts off from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Sunday, May 21, 2023. Ocean Gate/Handout/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images; Terry Renna/Associated Press

Risky tourism to the edges of the Earth and beyond is becoming more common.

Rescue efforts for the Titan submersible, led by the US Coast Guard, may have cost millions.

But it's unclear how a rescue for a commercial space flight would go or who would pay for it.

The multi-day search and rescue mission for the Titan, which ultimately ended after debris from the submersible was found, showed just how challenging  and expensive  trying to save people from the deep ocean can be.

But if a commercial space expedition ends up in trouble, the logistics of a rescue mission could be even murkier.

The submersible experienced a catastrophic implosion while carrying tourists to the Titanic shipwreck at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, killing everyone on board. Its fate, and the unsuccessful rescue operation involved, now has explorers looking fearfully to the skies.

Accessing space poses its own set of unique challenges, not least of which is safely transporting people to an environment that is otherwise incompatible with human life.

But tourism expeditions to space are on the rise: Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin and Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic have launched paying passengers to the edge of space, while SpaceX is sending tourists all the way into orbit.

Fortunately, they've all gone according to plan. But what happens if disaster strikes?

View of Sierra Nevadas from Virgin Galactic. Virgin Galactic

"How rescue should be managed for commercial flights remains unclear," Leroy Chiao, a retired NASA astronaut and International Space Station commander, said in an op-ed for CNN.

Chiao continued: "There are, however, the same uncomfortable questions that were raised in discussion about rescuing a submersible from the ocean floor: What is the plan if the spacecraft loses the ability to come home on its own? Who will foot the cost for a space rescue if something goes awry? Should taxpayers be expected to cover all or most of the expense?"

NASA used to have rescue missions ready-to-go

Chiao, who also served on SpaceX's Safety Advisory Panel, the NASA Advisory Council, and the White House Review of Human Spaceflight Plans Committee, said one of the hardest parts of extreme travel is crew rescue.

After the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster in 2003, NASA adopted a new protocol in case there was a need for rescue.

On January 16, 2003, Columbia launched for its 28th and final flight. During the launch, a piece of foam broke off and struck the shuttle's left wing, but the extent of the damage was not fully known. On February 1, when Columbia attempted to make reentry into the Earth's atmosphere, it disintegrated, leading to the deaths of all seven astronauts on board.

NASA's Space Shuttle program ended in 2011. NASA/Space Frontiers/Getty

It would be two years before another NASA space shuttle was sent to space. The agency implemented "Launch on Need" missions, which were fully assembled and ready to fly to rescue crew from a space shuttle that was no longer able to successfully return to Earth, like in the case of Columbia.

By the time the space shuttle program ended in 2011, none of the contingency missions had ever been needed. NASA now relies on the Russian Soyuz spacecraft or private entities, like SpaceX's Crew Dragon, to get astronauts to space.

How to get 'stuck' in space

Chiao explained to Insider that a scenario in which a spacecraft could be "stuck" in space  or unable to return home  is really only relevant for orbital flights.

Unlike SpaceX, Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic currently only offer suborbital flights  meaning the space crafts are not going fast enough to enter orbit.

"In the case of suborbital flight, it's very different. The trajectory is an arc. You're going up like a cannonball and you're going to fall back down," Chiao said, adding, "they're not going to get stuck in space."

Orbital flights could end up stranded in space, but the International Space Station does help prevent that.

View out the window of Blue Origin, in 2022 with paying astronaut Clint Kelly. Blue Origin

Typically, orbital flights are launched directly to the ISS, or at least into the same orbital plane  the imaginary flat surface extending from the Earth along which the ISS travels  so that if needed they could maneuver and dock at the station, using it as a safe haven until they could be rescued.

"But if they launch into a different orbital plane, they're on their own," Chiao said. "That means if they have a problem, and they can't get back down on their own, then they're just going to keep orbiting the earth and they're kind of done for."

He said SpaceX, which transports NASA astronauts and paying tourists into orbit, would most likely always launch to the ISS or at least into the same orbital plane.

The International Space Station in orbit. NASA

However, if they had some kind of guidance or navigation problem, they could end up in the wrong plane. And they could simply choose to launch into a different orbital plane, for instance, if it allowed them to use less fuel, but Chiao said it's highly unlikely they would take that risk.

It's also worth noting that because SpaceX works with NASA, its spacecraft have to pass the agency's safety standards, unlike the suborbital offerings of Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic which are not independently certified.

It's unclear what would happen if a rescue is needed

SpaceX does not have a "Launch on Need" rescue ready for each of its missions, and instead depends on the ISS as a safe haven as their contingency plan, according to Chiao. But even if a spacecraft that could no longer re-enter Earth's atmosphere was able to temporarily dock at the ISS, another spacecraft would be needed to retrieve the crew members and bring them home.

"There's not necessarily another spacecraft ready to go," Chiao said.

The SpaceX Dragon Endurance crew ship, carrying four Crew-5 members, approaches the International Space Station with the waxing gibbous Moon pictured in the background. NASA/Kjell Lindgren

And a space flight isn't exactly something that can be thrown together overnight. There's also a question of who would organize or pay for it.

"Presumably if it's a SpaceX vehicle that got them up there, SpaceX would be on the hook to launch another vehicle to go rescue them," Chiao said. "Why would NASA have to pay for it?"

On Earth, the Coast Guard does not charge for rescues it performs in US waters, including the search effort for the Titan submersible, which was estimated to have cost millions of dollars. But space doesn't have a Coast Guard equivalent. There's no national territories or agencies operating in space that would automatically take the reigns.

But with more and more companies launching tourists into space, questions about who would step in to help if a rescue was needed are only going to become more relevant.

Blue Origin, Virgin Galactic, and SpaceX did not respond to Insider's requests for comment.

Read the original article on Insider
An aging stars last hurrah is creating a flurry of glowing knots of gas that appear to be streaking through space in this close-up image of the Dumbbell Nebula. | Associated Press

In 2014, a meteor crashed into the Earth and fragments scattered across the Pacifics ocean floor. Afterward Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb and his team went to the site, which is near Papua New Guinea to recover the fragments, according to USA Today.

They recovered 50 fragments, which they say is unmatched to any existing alloys in our solar system, per USA Today. The fragments were brought to the Harvard College Observatory where they were studied.

A question remains for the scientists: Was the meteor a product of nature or was it made by aliens? Further research could shed light.

Related

While Loeb recovered tiny fragments, he thinks its possible he can find a bigger piece. We hope to find a big piece of this object that survived the impact because then we can tell if its a rock or technological gadget, Loeb told CBS News.

Loeb has spent years studying the meteor. He and his team used information about the speed of the meteor and comparisons to other meteors to postulate that it came from outside the solar system. A Department of Defense letter later confirmed this and Loeb started to plan an expedition to recover it, per NBC 10.

The U.S. government told Loeb the 6.2 mile radius where the meteor may have landed, according to CBS News.

The expedition cost $1.5 million, The Guardian reported. Loeb and his team had to figure out how to locate and extract an object located on the ocean floor, which was 1.7 kilometers (around one mile) below sea level. A ship with a magnetic sled was employed to search for and collect the fragments.

The fragments composition was noteworthy. It has material strength that is tougher than all space rock that were seen before, and catalogued by NASA, Loeb told CBS News. ... The fact that it was made of materials tougher than even iron meteorites, and moving faster than 95% of all stars in the vicinity of the sun, suggested potentially it could be a spacecraft from another civilization or some technological gadget.

The meteor in question entered the Earths atmosphere on Jan. 8, 2014 and was later discovered in 2019, per Space.com. Its considered the first known visitor from interstellar space. Researchers Loeb and Amir Siraj reportedly suggested the frequency of objects from interstellar space visiting Earth could mean that the seeds of life that had sprouted on our planet in the past 3.5 billion years may have come from another star system.

Related

Loeb has previously said he suspects theres extraterrestrial life.

But if I had to guess, I would say not only that we are not alone, but that there were many technological civilisations before us that reached greater heights, Loeb told UnHerds Flo Read. We are probably not even close to the top half of their advances.

The question of whether or not theres life beyond earth has fascinated both the public and experts for years  some experts say its possible aliens exist.

Five experts were asked by The Conversation if they think aliens exist. Jonti Horner (astrobiologist), Steven Tingay (Astrophysicist), Helen-Maynard Casely (planetary scientist) and Rebecca Allen (space technology expert) said they do while Martin Van-Kranendonk (astrobiologist) said they dont.

In a video posted on NASAs website, NASA astrobiologist Lindsay Hays said humans havent explored the vast majority of our own solar system. We cant yet say for sure whether or not aliens exist. To quote Carl Sagan: The universe is a pretty big place. If its just us, it seems like an awful waste of space. So, NASA will keep looking.
Harvard astrophysicist says he may have found alien tech from a meteor that crashed in the Pacific in 2014

Avi Loeb (right) with Stephen Hawking. Lucas Jackson/Reuters

Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb believes that he may have found alien technology.

His team found 10 tiny spheres from a meteor that landed off the coast of Papua New Guinea in 2014.

"It could be a spacecraft from another civilization, some technological gadget," Loeb told CBS.

A Harvard astrophysicist believes he may have discovered pieces of alien technology from a meteor that landed off the coast of Papua New Guinea in 2014.

During a search for the meteor, known as IM1, Avi Loeb said his team found 10 tiny spheres mainly made out of iron.

"When you look at them through a microscope, they look very distinct from the background," Loeb told CBS News Boston. "They have colors of gold, blue, brown, and some of them resemble a miniature of the Earth."

"The fact that it was made of materials tougher than even iron meteorites, and moving faster than 95% of all stars in the vicinity of the sun, suggested potentially it could be a spacecraft from another civilization, or some technological gadget,"

Loeb's team worked with the government to establish a 10-kilometer range within which the meteor could have landed. They then traveled to and searched that area on a boat called the Silver Star.

They used magnets to comb the seabed and found the 10 spherules he believed could be alien tech. The US Space Command said it was "99.999%" certain that the fragments came from another solar system, per CBS.

Loeb compared the situation to the NASA Voyager spacecraft.

"They will exit the solar system in 10,000 years  just imagine them colliding with another planet far away a billion years from now," he said. "They would appear as a meteor."

"It will take us tens of thousands of years to exit our solar system with our current spacecraft to another star," the astrophysicist added. "This material spent that time arriving to us, but it's already here."

Loeb, known as the "alien hunter of Harvard," according to The Independent, is a member of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology and leads the Galileo Project, which searches for physical examples of aliens and their tech.

He's repeatedly said that 'Oumuamua  the first interstellar object found passing through our solar system  could be another example of alien tech, as detailed in his book "Extraterrestrial: The First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth."

Read the original article on Business Insider
A man was seriously hurt and four boys ages 14-17 were in juvenile detention after a hate-filled rampage through downtown Bellingham early Friday, according to details of the incident released by police.

A 26-year-old man was hit in the head and arm with large rocks thrown by the group of teens, who threatened to kill him and shouted racial and homophobic slurs in the attack first reported by The Bellingham Herald.

What is exceptionally troubling in this case is the young age of the suspects and the violence by which they exhibited their hate, randomly at strangers for no apparent reason other than their perceptions of race and sexual orientation, Bellingham Police Lt. Claudia Murphy told The Bellingham Herald in an email.

Murphy said the boys had reportedly harassed several other people in the downtown area early Friday.

All four teens were identified and taken into custody. There had been earlier reports made to the security officers of the four throwing things at people in the downtown corridor, she said.

Fridays attack began near Waypoint Park, the starting point for this weekends Pride in Bellingham Parade and related festivities.

It also comes as LGBTQIA+ people are facing increased harassment across the nation from evangelical Christians and far-right extremists and have been the target of laws aimed at limiting their civil rights.

Names of the victims werent released, and the names of the suspects were withheld because they are minors, Murphy said.

She said the boys were:

 Age 14, Burlington

 Age 14, Ferndale

 Age 14, Bellingham

 Age 17, Bellingham

Their victims were described as two 26-year-old men and one 29-year-old man.

In the incident reported at 3:24 a.m. Friday outside the Granary Building, the four teens began slapping a 26-year-old man with their shirts and tried to hit him with a Razor scooter, Murphy told The Herald in an email.

They also threw large rocks at the man, causing swelling and open wounds on his head and arm, she said.

He later sought medical attention on his own, Murphy said.

During the attack, the victim took the scooter away and used it to defend himself, finally tossing the scooter into Bellingham Bay, Murphy said.

All four boys followed the victim as he walked toward home, continuing to use homophobic and racial slurs.

Victim 1 called a friend, Victim 3, who responded to the downtown area with Victim 2 and found the group of teenagers, Murphy said.

When Victim 3 confronted the group about their behavior toward Victim 1, all four suspects began to make threats to shoot and stab Victim 3 and Victim 2. They made comments like Ill stab you, Ill shoot you, and Ill come (expletive) find you, Murphy said.

The incident was called a felony assault and hate crime in the online police activity log.

A total of 12 hate crimes were reported to Whatcom County police agencies in 2021, the latest year that data was available from the FBI.

Last November, a swastika was painted on a sidewalk at Waypoint Park.

Murphy said that the attack qualifies as a hate crime under Washington state law because the boys injured one man and threatened to hurt or kill two other men based on the suspects perception of their victims race and sexual orientation.

A hate crime is more serious than a bias incident because it involves an assault or threat of injury, she said.

The Bellingham Police Department is committed to investigating hate crime offenses thoroughly and completely to bring justice to those who are targeted by hate. If you or a loved one have been the victim of a hate crime, please come forward and report it to us, so there can be a complete investigation done, Murphy said.

Crime victims should call 911 for an incident in progress, or the call police non-emergency number of 360-676-6911 to file a report on a crime that occurred in the past, she said.
The story of an eagle family and hawk that many hoped would be an inspiring tale of interspecies bonding has taken a tragic turn.

Tuffy, a female red-tailed hawk sharing a nest with an eagle family in Californias Santa Clara County, is dead.

In late May, bird photographer Doug Gillard captured an image of a mother bald eagle carrying a small hawklet in her talons  presumably to feed to her offspring.

About a week later. Gillard shared an optimistic update on Facebook. Rather than becoming lunch, the bird-napped chick seemed to have become a tentative member of the family, with the mother feeding her new hawk charge.

A bald eagle is bringing a fish to its nest where two chicks are waiting for food, Jasper National Park, Canada.

A bald eagle is bringing a fish to its nest where two chicks are waiting for food, Jasper National Park, Canada.

The newly formed interspecies family soon began making headlines.

This kind of raptor adoption is a rare but known phenomenon, Katie LaBarbera, science director for the San Francisco Bird Observatory, told the San Francisco Chronicle last month.

But experts, including LaBarbera, doubted how well things would go. She feared that when the hawk became a fledgling  old enough to start learning to fly but still dependent on parents for food  the eagle mom would grow suspicious.

She turned out to be exactly right. The mother bird began acting somewhat aggressively towards Tuffy as the hawk grew. Eventually, the mother started violently preventing her from returning to the nest, making it difficult for Tuffy to get the food she needed.

Some followers of the saga clamored for a rescue, but such a mission posed practical problems. A park ranger in the area where the nest is located told Gillard that human interference too close to the nest could cause the bald eagles  a federally protected species  to abandon the nest site.

There is no legal path, and questionable moral justification, for interfering with the eagles and depriving them of prey they had caught, Craig Nikitas of Bay Area Raptor Rescue told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

However, once it was clear Tuffy was kicked out of the nest for good, Nikitas could obtain the legal authorization to capture her. He and Gillard and a local park ranger attempted a rescue mission but could not trap the bird in time. Her emaciated body was ultimately found on the ground.

A young red-tailed hawk in Oregon.

A young red-tailed hawk in Oregon.

Raptor biologist David Bird told The Los Angeles Times that its extremely common for birds of prey to die as fledglings.

More than half of young raptors dont make it through their first year of life, he said. Theres so many things that could kill them: They could starve to death, they can get nailed by a predator, they could fly into a freight train, get caught up in wildfire, smoke, all kinds of things can happen.

But most fledglings hadnt captured the publics imagination like Tuffy.

I made every effort I could to help the hawk once authorization was granted to try to trap it, Nikitas told the CBC. With all my heart, I wish it had been a success.

Related...
Kit Connor





Kit Connor Talks Coming Out

Kit Connor

In October 2022, Kit Connor, English actor and breakout star of Netflix's Heartstopper, came out as bisexual in a post on his now-deactivated Twitter account. "Im bi, he wrote, Congrats for forcing an 18 year old to out himself. I think some of you missed the point of the show. Bye."

In the months leading up to this tweet, Connor - who plays queer teen Nick in Heartstopper - had been dealing with accusations of queerbaiting and speculation about his sexuality from fans of the series. So while the 19-year-old star did set the record straight by coming out, it wasn't exactly on his terms.

Now, Connor has revealed that he's looking at the experience in a slightly different light. In a new interview with British Vogue, he shared, "I think forced isnt the right word I would use, but I would say that I would have preferred to do it another way."

"I also dont know if I would have ever done it," he added. "But at the end of the day I dont regret it. In many ways it was really empowering."

Kit Connor

Connor also told British Vogue about coming to terms with his bisexuality, saying, "It was just a very natural process for me. I didnt really have an oh, sh*t moment. It just became more and more evident."

But while his family was "super accepting and inclusive and wonderful," he found school to be "a very heteronormative atmosphere."

It wasnt hugely inclusive," Connor shared. "It wasnt really accepted in a lot of waysIts the experience of maybe youre too straight to be gay and youre too gay to be straight. So its like, Where do I sit?"

"But I feel much more secure in myself now," he added.

Connor also noted that when he first rose to fame with Heartstopper, his sexuality "wasn't something [he] was ready to talk about. When asked about how he felt in response to pressure from fans, he said, "I wasnt angry. I was just slightly disappointed."

In addition to returning for Heartstopper Season 2, premiering August 3 on Netflix, Connor has landed roles in upcoming films A Cuban Girl's Guide to Tea and Tomorrow and One Of Us.

It's his hope that viewers won't "go and watch everything Im ever in now and go, Oh, its Nick from Heartstopper.'

"I also dont want to be labelled as anything, as a heartthrob or as the queer actor or as this or that. I want to be labelled as an actor who can do different things, he said.

You can read Connor's full interview with British Vogue here.

www.instagram.com

www.instagram.com

www.instagram.com

www.instagram.com
The Wynne prison in Texas pictured in 2013 (Chantal VALERY)

On the afternoon of July 4, as Americans were celebrating the country's independence with elaborate fireworks displays, a prisoner named Joseph Martire passed out in his cell in Texas, amid the excessive heat that has been swamping much of the southern United States in recent days.

In concrete, brick and metal penitentiaries, industrial fans churn warm vapor without really cooling the air.

And with no air conditioning in most prisons, when outside temperatures exceed 40C (104 Fahrenheit), it can feel even hotter inside the cells.

Some prisoners sabotage the toilets in their cells to make the water overflow and wet the floor, which they then sleep on. Others wet their clothes to try to stay cool, according to convicts, ex-convicts and family members who spoke to AFP.

In recent weeks, 35-year-old Martire had four heat-related health episodes at Estelle Prison in Huntsville, where he has served 16 years.

"I just passed out, the medical (staff) refused to see me and I don't know what to do," he told his family by phone. They called prison administrators to seek help.

When inmates sense that someone has passed out in a nearby cell, they yell to attract a guard's attention, but staff shortages often mean delays, Martire said.

The stricken inmate is then taken to an administrative area of the jail that does have air conditioning for so-called "respite." Prisoners try to linger as long as possible.

"I've already had too many issues with my health before from the heat," Martire said.

Asked what the heat in the cells is like, Amite Dominick of the NGO Advocates for Texas Community Prisons replied: "The fastest way I can explain that is, go sit in your car on a triple-digit day. Bring a blow-dryer with you. Crack your window a little bit."

- Brick oven -

The Texas Tribune news site reported that at least nine people had died in state prisons in June from heart attacks or other possibly heat-related causes.

But Amanda Hernandez, spokeswoman for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ), which is in charge of prisons, said the last heat death occurred in 2012.

In June, the department treated seven cases of people affected "beyond first aid," but there were no fatalities, she said.

The department, which oversees 126,000 prisoners, said that 32 people died in June, from a variety of causes.

Dominick took issue with that breakdown.

"The coroner will usually report something like 'cardiac arrest' because heat stroke is highly correlated with cardiac arrest," she said.

"We're seeing the same reports. We're seeing medical evidence for what happens to the body.

"You know, during these types of temperatures, these are heat-related deaths," Dominick added.

Sean Adams, 36, served time in a prison called the Clemens Unit, in the Texas city of Brazoria, but which inmates call "Burns Like Hell."

"It's one of the older units that was made out of, you know, red bricks," Adams said. "And so red bricks are essentially what ovens are made out of."

The prisons agency said inmates have access to ice and water, and can go to air-conditioned rest areas when necessary.

- 'So inhumane' -

And Texas is unlikely to get cooler.

By 2050, the state is projected to see 115 dangerous days of heat a year, with temperatures reaching or exceeding 39.4C (103F), compared to around 60 such days today, according to NGO Climate Central.

Samantha, whose daughter is a 25-year-old inmate at the Lane Murray prison, said three prisoners died there in June from heat-related causes.

"The way that they're treated is so inhumane," she said.

"In the summer months, when you're inside, you see multiple heat-induced seizures every day," said Marci Marie Simmons, a 44-year-old ex-convict and activist.

She said that in late June, a 36-year-old inmate died in the Estelle prison hours after speaking with his mother and complaining about the heat.

"If we go and leave a kid or a human being or an animal in a vehicle, we're going to prison. But the state of Texas wants to cook our Texans," said Michelle Lively, whose partner Shawn McMahon, 49, is in Wynne prison.

"And some of them are dying, and they have short, like, stupid drug charges and they have a death sentence because they can't handle the heat," she said.

In leaks to the media, prison workers have also complained about their working conditions, including the heat.

Dominick said legislative efforts to do something about the heat have fallen short, with bills demanding air conditioning in prisons withering in the conservative-majority Texas Senate.

Meanwhile, the state recently spent over $750,000 to purchase several air-cooled units for a large swine breeding operation run partly by inmates, Dominick said.

"And they don't have it for human beings."

mav/jh/bbk/md
Bigots in South Carolina, and beyond, are gonna have to up their game. Nearly a quarter of the way through the 21st century, they are deploying insults that havent been effective in decades, putdowns that might sting a bit but have been robbed of the power they once held.

During my time doing this work, Ive seen a few shifts when bigots and racists felt freer to let their ugly fly. The first big shift came almost immediately after Barack Obama became president-elect in 2008, breaking what had seemed an unbreakable truism, that that office was the sole domain of white men. While some national media figures and academics were proclaiming it meant we had entered a post-racial America, my inbox, mailbox, and voicemail were being flooded with racist messages at a clip I had never experienced. It was as though a black man becoming president had convinced bigots and racists if they remained silent, they would surely lose their country.

It was several years before that died down, only for it to be ramped up by the emergence of Donald Trump in the summer of 2015. His coming down that golden escalator boldly calling Mexican immigrants rapists and criminals only to see his prospects improve during the Republican primary seemed to signal Trump had essentially plowed the ground for them. They decided that what had been considered racist was just politically incorrect, and that uttering such words was an act of courage, not bigoted.

Thats where weve been since Trump became president.

The latest example for me came in response to a piece I wrote about Rep. Nancy Mace. Many people have lauded the Charleston Republican for supposedly being reasonable and independent even as she keeps saying and supporting outrageous things, including voting against infrastructure funding because of ideological reasons then celebrating when that funding began helping people in Charleston as though she had a hand in making it a reality.

In a tweet after the announcement of a compromise deal to raise the debt ceiling, Mace tweeted that Republicans got outsmarted by a President who cant find his pants.

Get it? Hes old, and old people cant find their pants. Hilarious.

I called it what it was, ageism, evidence that Mace cared more about playing ugly political games than displaying basic decency. One of her supporters gave me a call.

This message is for Issac Bailey, the message began. Hey, boy!

I feel sorry for the man. We are this deep into the 21st century and he couldnt come up with a better way to express his bigotry other than by calling a black man boy. Its true that his father could have called my father boy to his face and get away with it because of Jim Crow and other social norms. Maybe thats why he was under the mistaken impression I would be cowed by a strange white man afraid to make himself known while hurling the word at me through a phone line.

He used a four-letter-word to tell me I was wrong before yelling boy again.

But then I guess youve been wrong a whole bunch, he went on. But then you were told that you were right because they didnt want to hurt your feelings, right. Thats the whole point of affirmative action. Everybodys a winner; dont hurt your feelings.

Thats the other shift Ive seen since the Supreme Court struck down race-based factors in college admissions, bigots tweeting at highly-accomplished black professionals asserting that we either got our jobs because were black, or that our presence in high-profile positions means discrimination is dead, a kind of renewal of the bankrupt post-racial claims. They use those contradictory views interchangeably, and largely based on which helps advance whatever superficial racial retort they are trying to make.

The reader from Charleston ended his message this way:

You have a good day now, boy.

Im secure in my own skin, so much that such insults dont penetrate the way they used to.

Its clear he isnt secure in his.

Issac Bailey is a McClatchy opinion writer based in Myrtle Beach. He teaches at Davidson College in North Carolina.
The HOA that governs the Decatur condominium in Colorado recently banned electric vehicles from its parking garage, reports the Summit Daily.

According to the outlet, residents received an email that said electric vehicles could no longer park or charge in the facility due to concerns about increased fire risks if an (electric vehicle) fire happens in our garage.

The HOA further claimed that water will not extinguish a battery fire in an (electric vehicle), making a sprinkler system useless, and that the design of the garage wouldnt allow firefighters to address the situation effectively.

This quickly became a problem for longtime residents who own electric vehicles, like Marissa Dailey. Dailey told the Summit Daily that outdoor parking near the condo was often full and that the ban would prevent her from driving her EV. Instead, she said shell have to resort to a traditional gas-powered SUV.

While the HOA claimed that the ban was based on advice from the fire marshal, Summit Fire spokesperson Steve Lipsher said his department gave no such recommendation.

We told them if they were going to install a charging station that it should be done in consultation with the fire marshal to ensure that, like any electrical power system, it meets fire code, Lipsher told the Summit Daily. But there is no guidance nor authority otherwise  about the use or parking of electric vehicles.

Lipsher added that the decision to bar EVs from the garage comes entirely from the HOA.

Many drivers choose EVs over gas-powered cars to save money since charging a battery is typically around 3.5 times cheaper than filling a tank. Others drive EVs to protect the environment from the heat-trapping gases that traditional cars produce.

Barriers to EV use, like parking bans, cost drivers money while also contributing to the Earths rising temperatures.

One Reddit user shared the Summit Daily article on the r/Colorado subreddit, where commenters were scornful of the ban.

Hello lawsuits, says one comment, while another speculates, There is zero chance that the EV industry will allow this precedent to be set.  Lawsuit will be filed and funded by the EV industry.

Decaturs HOA isnt the first to try to block eco-friendly choices by residents. One Maryland HOA tried to force a couple to remove their native wildflowers, while others have objected to homeowners installing solar panels.

Join our free newsletter for easy tips to save more, waste less, and help yourself while helping the planet.
BEIJING, July 8 (Xinhua) -- At the invitation of Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands Manasseh Sogavare will pay an official visit to China from July 9 to 15.

Born in January 1955 in Papua New Guinea, Sogavare graduated with a bachelor's degree in accounting and economics from the University of the South Pacific and a master's degree in management from the University of Waikato in New Zealand.

He was first elected to the National Parliament in 1997, and has been a parliamentarian ever since.

Sogavare served three times as prime minister and twice as leader of the opposition.

In 2017, he was appointed deputy prime minister and minister of finance and treasury. In April 2019, he was elected prime minister for the fourth time. 
Desiree Alvarado, right, and her mother Cecilia Turcios outside the board and care home for people with severe mental illness that Alvarado operates in Pasadena. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

Each time he walks into his eight-bedroom home in Pasadena, Ka'inoamakua Otsuka Mandaloniz sees his three associate degrees from Pasadena City College, proudly displayed on a shelf in the living room.

His mom, as he calls her  the homes owner and operator, Desiree Alvarado  put them there, as any proud caregiver would.

Mandaloniz, 33, has been diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder, and for more than a decade he has lived in board and care homes like Bonnies Guest House, where he and his fellow residents are provided with three daily meals, medication management and a structure to daily living. Before board and care homes, Mandaloniz, a lifelong L.A. County resident, was briefly unhoused.

He said the safety and support he receives at Bonnies, where he has lived the last eight years, was essential to his graduating with his social sciences, history and humanities degrees, and starting to work on a fourth.

Bonnies helped me make a support network by entrusting me with the responsibility of taking my medicine, [developing] the ability to interact with other people, and specifically being patient with them or being understanding with them, he said.

Despite their residents success at building independent lives, homes like Bonnies have been under a perpetual threat of closure for years. An estimated 142 facilities closed in the first quarter of this year in California, according to state data  including 27 in L.A. County, 24 in San Diego County and 14 in Orange County  alarming advocates and officials. A total of 3,057 beds were lost statewide.

Read more: Homes for people with severe mental illness are rapidly closing. Will help come fast enough?

Board and care homes started in California around 1969 as the state shut down its asylums and pushed for community-based mental health care.

There are now an estimated 13,000 across the state, including about 3,000 in L.A. County, according to state data and a trade organization that represents operators. Since 2016, L.A. County has lost more than 100 of these privately owned and operated facilities and 1,700 beds. These numbers don't account for any board and cares that have opened, which isn't tracked like closures.

The main reason for the closures is simple: money. Because of a payment scheme based on state budget allotments and Social Security levels, operators are paid only $44 a day per person with serious mental illness. If they housed adults with developmental disabilities, they would be paid about $191 to $391 a day per person based on the level of care they need  a discrepancy advocates say must be fixed if board and care homes are to survive.

Kevin Taylor, 58, right, a resident at a board and care home in Pasadena, walks into his room as another resident climbs the stairs to the second floor. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

Advocates have sounded the alarm for almost two decades about how these licensed facilities, which provide 24/7 care and support for Californians with serious mental illnesses, are vital to solving Californias homelessness crisis  but for years, lawmakers did little to curb the closures.

That started to change locally in 2019 when the L.A. County Board of Supervisors asked county staff to develop a strategy to save board and care homes. Since then, the county Department of Mental Health has secured millions of dollars from the state and federal governments to pay facilities more for new clients and finance deferred maintenance.

Board of Supervisors Chair Janice Hahn said in a statement that these short-term fixes the county has implemented won't matter "if we keep losing the facilities we do have at this rate."

"At the end of the day, the only way to ensure our board and cares stay open in the long run is for the state to increase the reimbursement rate to a level that reflects the actual costs of running these facilities," Hahn said.

One of those programs, operated by the county Department of Mental Health, provides at least $1,000 a month on top of the $1,324.82 per month per resident that operators receive for new residents with complex needs.

Read more: To keep these mentally ill Angelenos housed, L.A. is looking to Sacramento for help

The extra money that Rhoda Gochin got for two new residents at her board and care home in Canoga Park is helping her stay open.

Gochin and her husband have previously taken money from their retirement accounts and borrowed from the bank to keep their board and care open. When they opened it in 2003, Gochin worked as a nurse in a hospital and her husband as a psychologist. They both saw what patients with serious mental illness went through, bouncing around the system, and wanted to help.

But theyve since retired, and without incomes, were just trying to put food on the table and pay the mortgage, she said.

At their board and care, everyone gets cake for their birthday, and they celebrate the holidays together. Gochin takes residents on social outings, sometimes to the beach.

You see the happiness, you see the joy, that somebody cares for them, Gochin said. If it was because of the money part of this, we probably would not be here.

Gochin said she is frustrated she cannot receive supplemental reimbursements for all five residents, since the program is only for new tenants.

Desiree Alvarado talks with Kevin Taylor in the room he shares with another resident at the Pasadena board and care home Alvarado operates. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

Maria Funk, deputy director of housing and job development at the county Department of Mental Health, readily acknowledges that the county doesnt have the money for that.

"There are so many people that have mental illness, we would run out of money immediately," Funk said.

That money came from the state's Community Care Expansion program. It includes $570 million to finance capital expansion projects for operators who want to buy new facilities or rehab current ones, and $249 million to help save existing board and cares by paying them subsidies and also financing their deferred maintenance.

Were taking unprecedented action to rebuild Californias mental and behavioral health infrastructure, getting folks the help they need to get out and stay out of homelessness, Gov. Gavin Newsom said in 2022.

Funk said the Community Care program is great, but that the county Department of Mental health believes the state could go further to save board and cares.

"Its one-time money and its a short-term fix," Funk said, "And we really need a long-term solution."

To help stall the closures, Bennie Tinson, executive director of the Licensed Adult Residential Care Assn., and others want state lawmakers to take some of the $570 million allocated for capital improvements and reallocate it for one-time $2,000-per-client payments to operators.

Tinson said the state application process for capital improvements was so complicated that none of his members  many of whom are female small-business owners running board and care homes for fewer than 10 clients  received these state funds. Rather, the money went primarily to large companies and developers who had the business and legal personnel and savvy to apply  including five recipients with 276 proposed new beds in Los Angeles County awarded a total of $41.1 million, according to county records.

Alvarado, who operates Bonnie's Guest House, said she attended multiple workshops to try to apply, but in the end gave up. The state-funded grant application, she said, required she hire an architect and construction company before she ever saw a dime.

"That application was not for people like us," she said.

Read more: These homes keep L.A.s most vulnerable from becoming homeless. Now they're closing

To make ends meet, Alvarado's entire family helps. Her mother and mother-in-law make the residents' meals and shop at multiple grocery stores looking for deals.

Her aunt helps out too, taking residents to doctor's appointments and updating their appointment board so they can keep track of the dozens of upcoming medical appointments. And her kids, almost 20 and 18, help too, so much that her daughter is considering a psychology degree.

Alvarado said she has considered closing multiple times, but her love for her residents stops her every time.

"At Thanksgiving, I cook a big turkey, and I bring my own family, and we basically serve them [holiday dinner], and we play games and do gift exchanges during Christmas," she said. "Those are the moments when theyre very happy and getting gifts and feel like a family, a family that cares for them."

Cecilia Turcios and Jose Garcia prepare dinner for residents at Bonnie's Guest House, a board and care home in Pasadena. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

Some residents live decades at one board and care, like a man who has lived at Bonnie's Guest House for 36 years. Others, like Mandaloniz, move once they've reached a level where they're comfortable trying further independence.

Mandaloniz has been accepted into Cal State Los Angeles, where he plans to move in two years to pursue whats next in his career.

Thats scary  its very scary  Ive been in these facilities where they take care of me for over 10 years here," Mandaloniz said.

That's why it's a two-year plan, to start moving toward a place where he can see himself living in the dorms or nearby campus while pursuing a history degree. And Mandaloniz knows he isn't on his own in charting that future.

If theres a final message I can tell anybody," he said, "its that these places help people.

Times staff writer Doug Smith contributed to this report.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
A 68-year-old Yuba City woman has been arrested on murder charges in a crash last month in Sutter County that killed a woman and her 1-year-old daughter.

Prosecutors have charged Vickie Lynn Hedden with two counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of 21-year-old Allyson Nohelia Navarro-Salazar, of Gridley, and her daughter, Laylani.

Hedden appeared in court Thursday for her arraignment hearing, according to Sutter Superior Court records. She pleaded not guilty to the murder charges. She also pleaded not guilty to charges of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, driving under the influence causing death or injury, driving under the influence of alcohol and hit-and-run resulting in property damage.

The fatal, head-on crash involving two vehicles occurred about 6 p.m. June 9 on Highway 99, just north of Paseo Road, according to the Sutter County District Attorneys Office.

Prosecutors said Hedden drove away from a previous crash that she caused in the nearby town of Live Oak, driving at a high rate of speed south on Highway 99. Her vehicle reportedly crossed the center line before side-swiping a semitrailer heading in the opposite direction.

Heddens vehicle continued down the highway where she again crossed into the northbound lane and collided head-on with the vehicle carrying Navarro-Salazar, her daughter and her husband, according to the District Attorneys Office.

The mother and her daughter were pronounced dead at the scene. A male passenger in the same vehicle suffered major injuries but survived the crash, authorities said

Hedden also was injured in the crash and was taken to Sutter Roseville Medical Center for treatment. Prosecutors said Hedden was released from the hospital about a week later, but her whereabouts were unknown to law enforcement officials.

Authorities found Hedden on Wednesday and arrested her following further investigation by the District Attorneys Office.

The public is much safer now that Hedden is in custody, where she belongs following this horrific collision, Sutter County District Attorney Jennifer R. Dupre said in a statement.

Hedden is scheduled to return to court Wednesday for a bail review hearing. She remained in custody Friday afternoon at the Sutter County Jail with her bail set at $2 million, prosecutors said.

Investigators asked any witnesses who saw either crash allegedly involving Hedden on June 9 to asked to call the District Attorneys Office at 530-822-7330.
A fire that ignited June 24 in an Alamogordo home resulted in one death, city officials said.

The home on the 1400 block of Gray Street caught fire around 2 a.m. The Alamogordo Fire Department was dispatched to the fire.

Inside the home firefighters found a person unresponsive.

"They (firefighters) pulled the victim out once we arrived. We employed some very aggressive interior tactics and the men trained really hard, they did exactly what they were taught to do," Lieutenant William Skaggs of the Alamogordo Fire Department said.

The fire, which officials said was "accidental in nature" was extinguished without further damage to surrounding property and no other injuries were reported.

"I can't recall how long it took to put the fire out, but the guys got there fast, from the time we got on scene to the time we left, the fire was extinguished very quickly," Skaggs said.

More: Lincoln County launches investigation into 'human caused' Chance Fire that burned 10 acres

The burn victim, whose name was not released to the media, was transported by American Medical Services to Gerald Champion Region Medical Center where life saving measures were put into place. Their death was pronounced shortly after the arrival.

An autopsy of the body by the New Mexico Office of Medical Investigator allegedly resulted in a report that indicated the person's death was a result of "fire related injuries," according to a news release from the Alamogordo Fire Department.

The Alamogordo Fire Department and the Alamogordo Police Department said they are investigating the cause of the fire and death.

Juan Corral can be reached at JCorral@gannett.com or on twitter at @Juan36Corr.

This article originally appeared on Alamogordo Daily News: Alamogordo house fire results in one death
Human bones discovered by crews in Sharpsburg confirmed to be indigenous remains

Human bones found by crews while they were working to replace a natural gas pipeline in Sharpsburg have been confirmed to be indigenous remains.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE >>> Crews dig up bones while working in Sharpsburg

The Allegheny County Medical Examiner confirmed that crews were working on a burial site of indigenous people. The determination was made after consulting with an expert.

RELATED >>> Work on gas pipeline in Sharpsburg on hold after human bones discovered

The remains will be released to ancestors for repatriation.

No further information was available. Police and the Medical Examiners office said they consider the case closed.

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BARNSTABLE  A Rockland man, who police say was the driver in a June 25 drive-by shooting in Hyannis, was ordered held without bail pending trial after a Barnstable District Court judge determined Friday he was too dangerous to be released.

Chrystian Anderson, 20, of Rockland, faces five charges including assault to murder with a gun, all tied to the drive-by. A 16-year-old boy, who police say fired 11 rounds into a crowd on Main Street, was also charged and is being held without bail.

The victim, a 19-year-old man with whom the 16-year-old had earlier argued, was shot in both legs while hanging out with four friends in front of the Hyannis Inn, 473 Main St. around 4:30 p.m., authorities said.

In this June 25 photo, a car is towed away from a spot near the intersection of Main Street and High School Road Extension in Hyannis. Police say a 16-year-old boy fired 11 rounds at a group of men he had argued with earlier. One man was shot in both legs and hospitalized. His injuries were serious but not life-threatening.

In Barnstable District Court on Friday, Cape and Islands Assistant District Attorney Michael Donovan played several videos police had obtained from buildings on and around Main Street, and called as a witness Barnstable police Sgt. Mark Butler, who wrote the warrant for Andersons arrest.

From the vault: An hour with Cape Cod prosecutor Michael Donovan

June 25 shooting: 'spectacularly brazen,' according to assistant district attorney

Donovan described the events of that day and argued that due to the spectacularly brazen nature of this offense, Anderson was too dangerous to be released under any conditions pending trial. Defense attorney Ellen Garnett disagreed, saying her client had a place to live and the promise of a job. She requested a maximum of $2,500 cash bail and said Anderson would be willing to wear a GPS ankle monitor and abide by a curfew.

The judge ruled for the prosecution, ordering Anderson held. He is scheduled to return to court on Aug. 4 for a probable cause hearing.

In Fridays hearing, Butler narrated what police believe to be the timeline of the shooting, offering supporting testimony for the surveillance videos. As a black Ford Fusion, driven by Anderson and carrying the teen, approached High School Road on Main Street, it pulled from the right lane to the left lane and the teen rolled down the rear window, according to Butler and surveillance footage.

More: Hyannis drive-by shooting: Alleged driver said he was caught by surprise as teen fired gun

Videos used to described alleged actions during June 25 shooting

The teen fired 11 shots in quick succession at a group of five men, video from the inn showed. The Fusion then took off, turning on High School Road and accelerating to a high rate of speed towards South Street, Butler said.

Dashcam footage from another driver showed that the Fusion ran the stop sign at High School Road and South Street and collided with two oncoming cars. The Fusion spun to a stop and both passengers got out and ran into the woods behind houses on South Street, Butler said.

The pair reemerged on Pearl Street, surveillance footage showed, and they returned to Main Street, where videos from Torino restaurant provided police the best footage of their appearance. Police used that and items found in the car to identify and detain the two suspects, according to police reports.

More: At Hyannis meeting, Barnstable Police say recent violence connected to 'the same group'

Ongoing feud led to firing of gun, according to police

Once Anderson was in custody, Butler said he willingly admitted to everything the police attributed to him. He said the teen had asked for a ride from West Yarmouth to see a girl in Hyannis. The teen sat in the backseat, but Anderson said he did not expect him to roll down the window and fire when they passed the group in front of the Hyannis Inn, according to Butler.

Donovan said he does not believe Anderson had prior knowledge of the teens plan.

The teen, Butler said, was involved in an ongoing feud with the five men and had gotten into a dispute with them not an hour earlier, police reports say.

Witnesses described a truck containing the boy rear-ended another vehicle in front of the Hyannis Inn around 3:45 p.m. on June 25. The group of five approached the truck. At that time, the boy and the 19-year-old man argued. The 16-year-old boy returned and shot him 45 minutes later, police say.

The wounded man was taken to Cape Cod Hospital before being flown to Tufts Medical Center in Boston. He was treated for non-life-threatening injuries, and Butler said that last he had heard, less than a week ago, the man was still in the hospital.

Butler stressed that except for Anderson, the two groups were all people known to police, having caused a number of problems in recent months, many involving guns. The teen was also arraigned last week in connection with a May 27 shooting in Craigville Beach, though authorities said Thursday he was not believed to be the shooter in that case.

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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Suspected driver in Hyannis shooting ordered held pending trial
Income Store owner found guilty on fraud charges after investors lose more than $100 million in alleged website development scheme

A southwest suburban man was found guilty on seven counts of wire fraud Friday for bilking investors out of more than $100 million through his website development business, The Income Store, which federal prosecutors alleged was a Ponzi scheme.

Kenneth Courtright, a polished pitchman who operated The Income Store out of his Minooka home, lured more than 500 investors with promises of high annual returns in perpetuity if they paid a six-figure upfront fee used to build and operate websites, according to the February 2020 indictment.

The jury verdict followed a seven-day criminal trial in Chicago federal court. A separate civil complaint filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission against Courtright and The Income Store is ongoing.

The scheme began in January 2017, with The Income Store marketing its website investment offering through radio and online ads, according to the criminal complaint. Investors paid $100,000 or more in upfront fees for buying, developing and running an assortment of commercial websites, with guaranteed annual returns of 13% to 20% in a revenue-sharing agreement.

But instead of website revenue, the complaint alleged, the returns were funded by upfront fees from new investors until the business model unraveled and the SEC froze the companys assets in December 2019. The criminal complaint revolved around the upfront wire transfers from seven investors.

The Income Store created and operated more than 3,100 mostly obscure websites, ranging from KeepingCarsClean.com, a waterless car washing e-commerce site, to HoneyBeeStings.com, an ad-supported site for beekeepers.

Website revenues were insufficient to make guaranteed investor payouts, generating about $9 million in advertising and product sales revenue through October 2019  far less than The Income Store paid to investors over the same time, according to the federal complaints.

In December 2019, Courtrights scheme became unsustainable and he notified investors via email that the company would put a temporary moratorium on the payment of returns due to unspecified challenges and headwinds, the criminal complaint alleged.

The Income Store took in $144 million from investors and paid out about $44 million over three years before it ran out of money, according to the court-appointed receiver in the SEC complaint. There was less than $2 million left when the SEC froze the companys assets.

Courtright spent some of the investor funds to pay his mortgage and school tuition for a family member, the criminal complaint alleged.

Michael Leonard, a Chicago attorney representing Courtright, expressed disappointment at the guilty verdict Friday, and disputed the allegation that the business model was a Ponzi scheme. The Income Stores downfall, he said, was rooted in unsustainable high-interest loans that Courtright took out to prop up the business.

Stupidity and bad business decisions dont equal an attempt to defraud, Leonard said. That was kind of the centerpiece of our closing argument.

The jury was apparently unmoved, finding Courtright guilty on all seven counts of wire fraud, each carrying a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

Sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 4. Leonard said Courtright plans to appeal the verdict.

rchannick@chicagotribune.com
A jailer is recovering after officials say he was knocked unconscious by a Habersham County Detention Center inmate this week.

Habersham County Sheriff officials said on Thursday around 7 p.m., the jailer was in the mens block opening doors for the inmates who were allowed to be out of their cells.

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At that time, inmate Mark Edward Roberts, 35, of Cornelia, ran down the stairs and knocked the jailer unconscious.

Authorities said the jailer was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

The identity of the jailer has not been released.

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Roberts was charged with aggravated battery and felony obstruction.

According to jail records, Roberts had been arrested in June and charged with second-degree criminal damage to property, terroristic threats and acts and probation violation.

Authorities are still investigating what led to the incident.

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Karla Torres, a recent graduate of Francisco Bravo Medical Magnet High School in Boyle Heights, designed and created the 18th century-inspired prom dress out of duct tape for a "Stuck at Prom" scholarship contest. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)

Her Marie Antoinette-style dress is elegant and intricate, with detailed lace along the edges, an angular corset and different white, pink and gold layers filling out the hoop skirt.

Lifelike pink florals adorn her matching purse, fan and hairpiece, and detached sleeves cascade from her elbows, almost majestically. A complex, white lace choker completes the regal look.

And it's all made out of duct tape.

Karla Torres, a recent graduate of Francisco Bravo Medical Magnet High School in Boyle Heights, designed and created the 18th-century-inspired ensemble herself  with the support of her crafty mom  for the yearly "Stuck at Prom" scholarship contest, sponsored by Duck Tape, a trademarked brand of duct tape. The Los Angeles teen was named a finalist last week, and is now vying for votes to win the grand prize: a $10,000 scholarship.

"We've never made a dress, much less out of duct tape," Torres, 18, said. "We didnt know how much duct tape we needed. Its such a random thing  we were just doing it by trial and error.

In the end, the college-bound teen estimated she and her mom spent at least 120 hours, over many days, working on the gown, and used 14 rolls of tape.

Tape is so rigid and you cant move it like fabric," Torres said. "It was really challenging making it all come together.

But the fashion-forward teenager overcame that challenge. Of more than 200 entries to the contest, Torres' gown was selected among the top five designs for dresses, judged for color, quality, originality, accessories and the use of Duck brand tape, according to the company. Another top five tuxedo finalists were chosen. One from each category will win the top prize, while all finalists will receive $500.

Torres said she's spent the last few days trying to spread the word about voting for her dress, even dressing up in the heavy gown one more time to show it off on TikTok. Her parents are helping spread the word too, telling their friends and extended family about the contest.

Read more: A 4.0 student beat all the odds. But he cant afford a UC campus

"Its just like teamwork, asking people to vote," Torres said. "You dont know if we're winning or we need more votes, but were feeling confident and hopeful that we can win."

And while it's Torres' name officially in the contest, as the first in her family headed to college, she said this whole process is more of a collective effort for her family, and especially her parents, who immigrated to the U.S. from Mexico.

Karla Torres holds the handbag cover she made out of duct tape for the scholarship contest. (Gary Coronado/Los Angeles Times)

It means a lot to me that I was able to make it this far with the support of my parents  graduating from high school is not just me graduating, its my parents graduating, anyone who helped me," Torres said. "I'm a first-generation student  it means a lot to me that now we made it past high school and now were entering college.

She said the $10,000 prize would go a long way as she plans to attend a California State University school in August.

"I wouldnt want my parents to struggle trying to find a way to pay for it," Torres said. "It would really help my parents."

Torres plans to study business marketing in college, ideally focused in the fashion industry. In high school, she participated in Nordstrom's ambassador program, which gives young people a chance to explore the retail industry up close.

Read more: After years of cuts and financial turmoil, L.A.'s famed Fashion Institute finds a lifeline

"I really love fashion, it's a really big passion of mine," she said. "Im down and willing to try any style."

She said she often spends hours looking at outfit ideas or different styles, from the 70s to Gothic to Rococo, on Pinterest and TikTok  which is how she initially found the Duck Tape competition.

While scrolling on social media during the pandemic, she saw one of the 2021 finalists promoting a traditional Mexican-style duct tape dress, and made sure to vote for her fellow Latina.

"I was so interested and fascinated," Torres said.

But it wasn't until a recent visit to The Getty Museum  the only field trip she took in high school  that she found her inspiration from the 18th-century French paintings, featuring lavish, ornate dresses.

"I wanted light pastel colors because that just reminds me of that era," said Torres, who recognized it as a challenge because of the tape's neon focus. "I wanted something more subtle, more elegant."

She was able to find the perfect shade in a light pink tape, which she paired with white and gold.

When you see the top 10 finalists designs, youll have to remind yourself that high school students created these out of Duck Tape, said Ashley Luke, senior product manager at Shurtape Technologies, LLC, the company that makes Duck tape. The intricate design and personality put into each ensemble is unbelievable."

Voting for the finalists is open through July 12, and winners should be announced by July 19.

Sign up for Essential California, your daily guide to news, views and life in the Golden State.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Iowa Republicans have voted to hold their first-in-the-nation caucuses on 15 January 2024.

This is the earliest start to the presidential nominating process since 2012, when caucusgoers gathered on 3 January.

The State Central Committee of the Iowa Republican Party met on Saturday (8 July) and voted unanimously for the date.

Republican Party of Iowa Chairman Jeff Kaufmann issued the following statement after the vote: The Republican Party of Iowa is proud to announce that we will officially hold our 2024 First-in-the-Nation Caucus on January 15, 2024.

After our state legislature and governor took needed action earlier this year to preempt Iowa Democrats plans to derail the Iowa Caucus by running a de facto primary election instead, we are also proud to affirm that Iowa will continue to honour our half-century-old promises to the other carve-out states.

We remain committed to maintaining Iowas cherished First-in-the-Nation Caucuses, and look forward to holding a historic caucus in the coming months and defeating Joe Biden come November 2024.

Iowa Democrats had planned to conduct their presidential preference vote by mail following a disastrous 2020 caucus in which there were big delays in reporting the results, however Governor Kim Reynolds has since signed a new law requiring caucuses be held in person.

Pete Buttigieg was eventually found to be the winner of the state in 2020, winning two more delegates than Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders.

IT'S OFFICIAL: the date for the 2024 Republican Iowa Caucus has been set for January 15, 2024!  Iowa GOP (@IowaGOP) July 8, 2023

The Democratic National Committee has approved a new primary calendar placing South Carolina first, taking the coveted first-in-the-nation spot away from Iowa, reasoning the former state is more representative of the rest of the US.

Republican presidential candidates have been crisscrossing the state for weeks trying to drum up support for their campaigns.

On Friday, former president Donald Trump spoke at a Farmers for Trump event in Council Bluffs in the western part of the state.
Iowa Republicans voted Saturday to hold their first-in-the-nation caucuses on January 15 next year, setting up the earliest start of the presidential nominating process since 2012, when caucusgoers gathered on January 3.

The State Central Committee of the Iowa GOP met Saturday and voted unanimously on the date.

Amid plans by Iowa Democrats to conduct their presidential preference vote by mail, following a disastrous 2020 caucus, Iowa GOP Chairman Jeff Kaufmann said in a statement that his party remained committed to maintaining Iowas cherished First-in-the-Nation Caucuses.

He also said the Iowa GOP is looking forward to holding a historic caucus in the coming months and defeating Joe Biden come November 2024.

January 15 next year coincides with Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a federal and state holiday.

Kaufmann said at a virtual news conference Saturday that while the holiday wasnt the main reason the date was chosen, it comes with advantages, and the party, during the Saturday meeting, had addressed questions related to facility availability.

If you look at what the other states in our carve-out system have done, January 15 was the earliest, most natural date in its progression, Kaufmann said. In todays discussion, I think the fact that it is a federal holiday and I think the fact that as Republicans, we see this as honoring the legacy of Martin Luther King, in terms of having a caucus here, certainly both of those advantages were a part of our conversation.

Caucuses in Iowa have been held on Martin Luther King Jr. Day before, including the Democratic contest in 2004.

GOP calendar comes into focus

While there are still several moving parts, the schedule for next years early 2024 Republican nominating contests before Super Tuesday on March 5 is coming into focus.

The New Hampshire primary, which under state law must be held before any other primary, doesnt yet have an official date but is expected to be the second contest on the GOP calendar, before the end of January. Nevada Republicans plan to forgo their states presidential primary (at least for the purposes of awarding delegates) and hold caucuses in early February, Alida Benson, the partys executive director, told CNN.

South Carolina Republicans decided last month to hold their primary on February 24, which would be a slight change from recent Republican calendars, when Nevada was the last of the traditional first four early states to vote before the first major day of primaries on Super Tuesday.

The Michigan GOP is advancing a plan to split its nominating process between the state-run primary on February 27 and caucuses on March 2, although that plan would need special approval from the Republican National Committee to avoid sanctions.

Idaho Republicans are also planning caucuses on March 2, the first day most states are allowed to vote under national GOP rules. Republicans in the US Virgin Islands say theyre going to hold a caucus no later than March 2 but havent announced a final date.

With as many as seven or more GOP contests taking place over the seven weeks before Super Tuesday, the early 2024 primary calendar will be more drawn out than it has been recent years. A longer gap between states could have made it a challenge for candidates who perform poorly in one state to have the resources to make it to the next.

Republican state parties are required to submit their plans to the RNC by October 1, so its possible even more states could hold contests before March 5.

Democratic calendar uncertainties

The early start date for the Republican Iowa caucuses is also a partial result of changes Democrats are making to their primary calendar  changes that have made the status of the Iowa Democratic caucuses unclear. But those revisions wont directly apply to Republicans.

Under the Democratic plan approved earlier this year, which was largely proposed by Biden, South Carolina would be the first approved nominating contest on February 3, followed by Nevada and New Hampshire on February 6, and Georgia and Michigan before Super Tuesday. But that calendar wont entirely come to pass.

The need to go before South Carolina Democrats is what pushed Republicans in Iowa and, presumably New Hampshire, into January.

A New Hampshire Democratic primary held before South Carolina would open the state party up to penalties from the Democratic National Committee, but last month, the national partys rules panel gave the state more time to comply.

Democrats in Nevada and Michigan will vote on the days assigned by the party plan, but Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a Republican, scheduled his states primary for March 12 to avoid violating GOP rules.

Iowa Democrats, meanwhile, were removed from the group of early states entirely, despite a state law that requires the caucuses be held before any other contest.

In response, the state party proposed a plan under which it would hold caucuses on the same day as Republicans but would only use them to conduct party business, not to vote for president. The presidential preference vote would be a separate process, conducted entirely by mail.

However, they havent specified the dates for that mail process, and without that information, the DNC panel declined to approve the plan at last months meeting. Party staff said the vote-by-mail period must end on or after March 5 (the date when every state is allowed to start holding Democratic contests) in order for it to comply with party rules.

Earlier this year, New Hampshires Republican secretary of state, David Scanlan, said that the use of mail ballots in Iowa would trigger his states first-in-the-nation primary law.

That could create another source of uncertainty on the primary calendar, but according to Josh Putnam, a political scientist who writes about the primary process, thats most likely to be an issue if Iowa Democrats choose to buck national party rules and schedule the mail voting period to end on caucus night (or any time before the New Hampshire primary).

In response to the Iowa GOPs announcement of the January 15 caucuses, state Democratic Party Chair Rita Hart said her party was committed to moving forward with the most inclusive caucus process in Iowas history.

Were committed to doing whats good for Democrats, whats good for Iowa, and whats good for democracy, she said.

This story has been updated with additional information.

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SYDNEY, July 8 (Xinhua) -- A clinical trial at hospitals in Australia and New Zealand has found that using a balanced low-chloride crystalloid solution instead of saline could help reduce the incidence of delayed graft function (DGF) on patients receiving deceased donor kidney transplantation.

In a research that was recently published in the Lancet, the Australasian Kidney Trials Network (AKTN) in collaboration with researchers from the University of Queensland, the University of Adelaide and the University of Sydney conducted the BEST-Fluids trial assessing the use of an intravenous fluid containing sodium, potassium, magnesium and chloride in proportions similar to human blood.

More than 800 transplant recipients participated in this double-blind, randomised, controlled trial across 16 hospitals in the two countries between January 2018 and August 2020.

Professor David Johnson from University of Queensland said among the study participants who received intravenous balanced crystalloid solution, 30 percent needed dialysis after their transplants, compared to 40 percent for those given normal saline.

"This is a significant improvement in outcomes for those undergoing kidney transplant surgery," he said.

Royal Adelaide Hospital nephrologist Michael Collins, who led the study, said the findings would change world practice for kidney treatments.

"Balanced fluids are relatively cheap and widely available, which makes them a useful treatment for most of the estimated 200,000 kidney transplant operations that are conducted globally each year." 
The Iowa GOP announced Saturday that it will hold its first-in-the-nation Republican presidential caucus on January 15, 2024, kicking off the partys bid for the White House slightly earlier than recent nominating fights.

In a statement, Republican Party of Iowa Chairman Jeff Kaufmann said the party is committed to maintaining Iowas cherished first-in-the-nation caucuses, and look forward to holding a historic caucus in the coming months and defeating Joe Biden come November 2024.

Campaigning for support in Iowa is already well underway: Former President Donald Trump, former Vice President Mike Pence, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, Miami Mayor Francis Saurez and radio host Larry Elder all appeared at campaign events in Iowa last week.

Florida First Lady Casey DeSantis also hosted her first solo public event in Johnston, Iowa on Thursday alongside Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, and Ron DeSantis and other Republicans have been regular presences in the state in recent months.

Republicans are keeping the same general framework for their 2024 primaries that they have used in recent years, with Iowa followed by New Hampshire's primary and then Nevada and South Carolina rounding out the GOP's slate of early-voting states.

Republican voters register before taking part in caucuses in Carroll, Iowa (Jeff Storjohann / Carroll Daily Times Herald via AP file)

Since the Iowa caucuses are party-run, the state GOPs decision has no bearing on the Democratic contest in Iowa. The Democratic National Committees decision to shuffle its primary calendar means Iowa Democrats are set to lose their first-in-the-nation status, following long-running party concerns about the state's diversity and issues with the vote count in 2020.

The DNCs new calendar makes the South Carolina primary the partys first approved nominating contest of 2024, followed later by New Hampshire and Nevada on the same day. But intra-party fights in some states and Republican control in others is making implementing the DNC's preferred calendar difficult.

Kaufmann, who spoke to reporters about the caucuses Saturday afternoon on a Zoom call, blamed President Joe Biden for jeopardizing Iowa's first-in-the-nation status and said that "Biden thumbed his nose at Iowa Democrats and Iowans."

No matter what, Iowa Democrats are committed to moving forward with the most inclusive caucus process in Iowas history, Iowa Democratic Party chair Rita Hart said in her own statement. Were committed to doing whats good for Democrats, whats good for Iowa, and whats good for democracy.

Kaufmann also said, when asked why the GOP caucuses will be held on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, that "we see this as honoring the legacy of Martin Luther King."

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
(Bloomberg) -- Two people were hanged in Iran early Saturday in connection with a deadly attack on a mosque last year, state-run Islamic Republic News Agency reported.

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The accused attackers were executed in a public alleyway in Shiraz, according to the report, close to the Shah Cheragh mosque where 13 pilgrims, including children, were gunned down in the Oct. 26 attack.

Iran to Hang Two Foreigners for Aiding Gunman in Mosque Attack

Previously, Irans judiciary had identified them as nationals of neighboring countries and found them guilty of aiding a gunman. Authorities also blamed the Islamic State militant group for the attack.

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The gunman attacked the highly revered Shiite Muslim shrine of Shah Cheragh on October 26 (-)

Iran hanged two men in public on Saturday over a shooting at a revered shrine in the southern city of Shiraz last year that killed more than a dozen people, the judiciary said.

The October 26 attack on the Shiite Muslim shrine of Shah Cheragh, which left 13 people dead and 30 wounded, was claimed by the Sunni Muslim extremist Islamic State (IS) group.

"The death sentences of two of the perpetrators of the Shah Cheragh terrorist attack were carried out in public this morning," the judiciary's Mizan Online website said.

The pair were hanged at dawn on a street near the shrine in Shiraz, the capital of Fars province, the official news agency IRNA reported. Mizan identified them as Mohammad Ramez Rashidi and Naeem Hashem Qatali.

Iran had previously said the attack involved people from other countries, including neighbouring Afghanistan, but the nationalities of the executed men were not immediately revealed.

The area of Iran that borders Afghanistan and Pakistan is a hotbed of unrest, and on Saturday four assailants killed two Iranian policemen in the Sunni-majority city of Zahedan near the same frontier, state media said.

All four "terrorists" involved in the attack were killed in ensuing clashes, IRNA cited the security forces as saying.

It was not immediately clear what was behind the attack in the capital of Sistan-Baluchistan province, a flashpoint for clashes with Sunni extremists as well as drug smugglers and rebels from the Baluchi minority.

Mizan said one of the men executed on Saturday, Rashidi, had confessed to having collaborated with IS to carry out October's shrine attack.

The two were sentenced to death in March after convictions of "corruption on earth, armed rebellion and acting against national security", as well as "conspiracy against the security of the country".

- 'Takfiri' arrests -

Fars chief justice Kazem Moussavi said at the time they were directly involved in the "arming, procurement, logistics and guidance" of the main perpetrator.

Three other defendants in the case were sentenced to prison for five, 15 and 25 years for being members of IS, he said.

The main assailant, who was later identified by media in Iran as Hamed Badakhshan, who was in his 30s, died of injuries suffered during his arrest, the authorities said.

In November, the Islamic republic said 26 "takfiri terrorists" from Afghanistan, Azerbaijan and Tajikistan had been arrested in connection with the attack.

In Shiite-dominated Iran, the term takfiri generally refers to jihadists or proponents of radical Sunni Islam.

The shrine attack came more than a month after protests erupted across Iran over the death of 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini, following her arrest in Tehran for allegedly violating the country's dress code for women.

In October, Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi blamed the "riots" -- the term officials use for protests -- for paving the way for "terrorist" attacks.

IS claimed its first attack in Iran in 2017 when armed men and suicide bombers attacked the parliament in Tehran and the mausoleum of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic republic, killing 17 people and wounding dozens.

Public executions are relatively rare in Iran with almost all hangings carried out inside prisons.

Iran executes more people annually than any nation other than China, according to rights groups including the London-based Amnesty International.

A United Nations fact-finding mission said this week that Iran had executed seven men in connection with the Amini protests, calling on it to stop the "chilling" practice.

rkh/mz/dv
Demonstrators rally in Tel Aviv for the 27th straight week to protest the Israeli government's proposed judicial reforms (JACK GUEZ)

Tens of thousands of Israeli protesters packed Tel Aviv and other cities on Saturday to demonstrate against proposed legal reforms they say could mean more authoritarian government.

Demonstrators have kept up the pressure with weekly rallies against the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who returned to power in December at the head of a coalition with ultra-Orthodox Jewish and extreme-right allies.

Israeli media estimated turnout at Saturday's protest in Tel Aviv -- the 27th since the reform agenda was unveiled in January -- at 150,000, ahead of a vote Monday in parliament on a key provision of the proposed overhaul.

Police do not give the number of demonstrators.

"We must act against what the Netanyahu government is doing to our country and to the Israeli dream," historian Yuval Noah Harari told the rally.

"If the Netanyahu government does not stop, it will soon learn what happens when we get angry," he said.

Police used water cannon to disperse some 100 demonstrators who blocked a main highway in the coastal city, an AFP journalist said.

The government argues the judicial reform, which would give politicians more power over the courts, is necessary to ensure a better balance of power.

After unsuccessful talks with the opposition following Netanyahu's late March announcement of a "pause" to allow for negotiations, the government is taking the offensive once again this week.

Monday will see the first reading of a bill aimed at excluding the judiciary's right to rule on the "reasonableness" of government decisions.

One of its potential effects would be on the appointment of ministers. Netanyahu in January was forced to dismiss cabinet member Aryeh Deri after intervention by the Supreme Court over a previous tax evasion conviction.

Organisers have announced a day of protest for Tuesday.

Amit Lev, 40, a tech executive, said: "If we don't stop what is happening now, there'll be no going back."

He said the draft law to be introduced on Monday "is part of a series of laws, each of which allows the passage of the other".

These laws, he said, aim "to prevent the judiciary from criticising government decisions that do not fall under the remit of any other law".

Nira, a 59-year-old physiotherapist who preferred not to give her last name, said: "If this law passes we will not be able to live as we wish. I'm not at peace right now about our future here."

sha-dms/srm/ami
Israeli protests reignite as Netanyahu pushes new justice bill Protest against Israel's judicial overhaul in Tel Aviv

By Rami Amichay

TEL AVIV (Reuters) - Israel's business hub Tel Aviv saw the biggest anti-government protest in weeks on Saturday against a renewed push by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's hard-right coalition to overhaul the justice system.

Tens of thousands demonstrated across the country, with the rally in Tel Aviv drawing crowds far larger than recent protests, news channels N12 News and Channel 13 reported.

Nationwide demonstrations began in January when the government announced a plan to overhaul the judiciary with a legislation package that would roll back some Supreme Court powers and give the coalition decisive sway in picking judges.

The protests subsided a little from late March when Netanyahu, under pressure at home and abroad, suspended the plan for compromise talks with opposition parties meant to reach broad agreement over justice reforms.

But, deeming the talks pointless last month, Netanyahu re-launched his government's quest to rein in what it sees as an overreaching, left-leaning and elitist Supreme Court, though he has said the new proposals are more moderate.

Parliament is expected next week to hold the first of three votes on the first new bill, which limits some of the Supreme Court's power to rule against decisions by the government, ministers and elected officials.

The opposition says that move is another dangerous step towards curbing judicial independence that would eventually subject the Supreme Court to politicians and open the door to corruption.

Protest leaders have said they plan to intensify demonstrations next week.

"We have no choice, we have to defend our democracy," said Sigal Peled-Leviatan, 51, a tech worker demonstrating in Tel Aviv.

The government's drive to overhaul the judiciary has stirred fears for Israel's democratic health and dented the economy, with the shekel falling more than 5% since it began.

Even as he argues his innocence in a long-running corruption trial, Netanyahu has sought to ease concern among Western allies and foreign investors by saying the proposed changes will better separate the branches of government.

(Additional reporting and writing by Maayan Lubell; Editing by Mark Potter)
Jackson County property owners upset by increases to their assessed values of property will have more time to file an appeal.

The countys Board of Equalization voted Friday to move the deadline for contesting property valuations to July 31. It was previously scheduled to sunset on Monday.

For the time being, the Jackson County Assessors Office will also stop taking walk-ins and make all appointments virtual-only.

The move comes as thousands have stepped up to contest the assessed value on their homes and businesses. County officials have faced public pressure from property owners concerned that their assessed values will lead to bigger tax bills.

State law requires county assessors to align assessed home values with market values in odd-numbered years. Jackson County Assessor Office Director Gail McCann Beatty has said increases over recent years have come in part as a result of properties long being undervalued.

Beatty warned in May that assessed values had increased on average about 30%. County officials anticipated up to 30,000 property owners would fight their assessments.

Though county property assessment season is a tradition that comes once every two years, many residents were shocked and angered as letters from the assessors office started to hit mailboxes in May. Some reported seeing assessed value increases above 150%.

In Kansas Citys Brookside neighborhood, for example, longtime residents of the Armour Fields told The Star their assessments shot up as high as 93%.

Critics of the assessment process have also questioned the countys process for assessing property values. All of the roughly 300,000 parcels must be reassessed every two years under state law, and Jackson County relies on a computerized mass-appraisal process that weighs factors such as square footage and lot size with the countys so-called market areas.

The Board of Equalization is scheduled Monday to begin property valuation appeals hearings through Aug. 31, according to a news release from Jackson County.
Update: The Jacksonville Sheriffs Office is currently conducting a murder investigation following a missing person report that tragically ended with the discovery of the 46-year-old womans deceased body.

On Saturday, July 8, 2023, authorities responded to a report of a missing adult, Rosemene Decius, in the 9000 block of Hampton Landing Drive East.

Concerned for her safety due to the suspicious circumstances surrounding her disappearance and the lack of communication with her family, the Jacksonville Sheriffs Office quickly initiated a search for the 46-year-old woman. Detectives from the Missing Persons Unit joined the patrol members in the area.

During the search, investigators thoroughly examined Ms. Decius residence, revealing signs of a struggle and raising suspicions of foul play. As a result, the Homicide and Crime Scene Units were called in to assist with the investigation.

Shortly thereafter, detectives discovered Ms. Decius abandoned vehicle and identified a person of interest in the case: Pierre Pinard, a 53-year-old male.

Tragically, the search for Ms. Decius ended with the discovery of her deceased body. The investigation swiftly progressed, leading to the apprehension of Pierre Pinard for the murder of Rosemene Decius.

The Jacksonville Sheriffs Office expressed its gratitude to everyone who contributed to the investigation, which ultimately resulted in the tragic outcome of locating Ms. Decius deceased. The authorities are dedicated to uncovering the full details surrounding this disturbing case and ensuring that justice is served.

Missing Person Report Leads To Murder Investigation and Arrest



In the early morning hours of Saturday, July 8, 2023, the Jacksonville Sheriffs Office responded to the 9000 block of Hampton Landing Drive East in reference to the report of a missing adult. The victim, Rosemene pic.twitter.com/l1k2urqrCo  Jax Sheriff's Office (@JSOPIO) July 9, 2023

Original: Jacksonville Sheriffs Office is currently looking for a missing woman who is believed to be under suspicious circumstances.

Per JSO:

The Jacksonville Sheriffs Office is currently searching for a missing adult under suspicious circumstances in the Southside area. The subject, Rosemene Decius, was reported missing by her family. We are concerned for her safety due to suspicious circumstances and the amount of time she has been missing. She is believed to be driving a 2018 Blue, BMW X3 bearing Florida License Plate 62B IBY. Efforts to locate her at this time have been unsuccessful. We are asking for assistance in locating and ascertaining her safety.

Name: Rosemene Decius

Age: 46

Sex: Female

Height / Weight: 55 / 170 pounds

Eyes / Hair: Brown / Black

Clothing: Unknown

Anyone having seen or who knows the whereabouts of Decius is asked to contact the Jacksonville Sheriffs Office at 904-630-0500.

Missing Adult



The Jacksonville Sheriffs Office is currently searching for a missing adult under suspicious circumstances in the Southside area. The subject, Rosemene Decius, was reported missing by her family. We are concerned for her safety due to suspicious circumstances pic.twitter.com/2Q8gQHWqrM  Jax Sheriff's Office (@JSOPIO) July 8, 2023

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Jan. 6 rioter who trained in hand-to-hand combat with a militia was given probation after claiming he aspired to be a police officer

Rioters and police clash at the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021. DOJ

A Trump-appointed judge sentenced a Jan. 6 rioter to two years probation and 60 days of house arrest.

Taylor Bensch pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct and theft of government property as part of a plea deal.

Bensch also claimed he had aspirations to become a police officer.

A federal judge gave a capitol rioter who used bear spray on a crowd member a "break" after his attorneys said he wanted to be a police officer and was too immature to understand his actions on January 6.

US District Judge Trevor McFadden sentenced Tyler Bensch to two years of probation and 60 days of house arrest on Friday, a sentence that was much lighter than the government's request of nine months in federal prison.

Former President Donald Trump appointed McFadden in 2017.

McFadden said in court on Friday that Bensch "participated in a national embarrassment" and came to the capitol "ready for trouble," according to NBC. Still, McFadden said that Bensch's involvement in the insurrection was "pretty minor."

"I am giving you this break because of your age," the judge said, according to NBC. Bensch was 19 at the time of the riot. "This doesn't need to define you or your life."

Bensch pleaded guilty to one count each of disorderly conduct in a restricted building and theft of government property as part of a plea agreement, court records show.

Police arrested Bensch in August 2022 along with four other members of the "B-Squad," a militia subgroup that follows the "Three Percenters" ideology, according to the Department of Justice.

"Three Percenterism" is a common belief  long disproven  amongst anti-government militias that only 3% of American colonists fought against the British government, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.

According to NBC, Bensch told the FBI that "B-Squad" members trained in hand-to-hand combat and learned to handle firearms.

Bensch went to the Capitol on January 6 with other "B-Squad" members wearing a tactical vest, military-style helmet, goggles, and a black gas mask, the Justice Department said. He also carried a chemical irritant that was determined to be bear spray, court documents say.

Bensch was tearful in court on Friday and did not speak, deferring to his attorney Peter Cooper, according to NBC. Cooper told the court that Bensch "didn't have the maturity to understand what he was getting into."

Bensch's attorney also told the judge that he wants to pursue a career in law enforcement, NBC reported. He now works for a pool cleaning company.

"I know what I did was horrendous," Bensch told investigators, according to court records.

More than one thousand people have been charged in relation to the Capitol insurrection, and at least 476 people so far have pled guilty.

Read the original article on Business Insider
US treasury secretary Janet Yellen speaks during a roundtable meeting with members of the American business community in Beijing (AP)

Janet Yellen highlighted record bilateral trade between the US and China and also spoke about a fair set of rules during her four-day China visit.

The US treasury secretarys China visit is Washingtons latest attempt to repair ties as the two superpowers face dwindling ties and have frequently been at loggerheads with each other.

During her meetings with top Chinese officials on Saturday, Yellen, 76, told vice premier He Lifeng that a 2022 record in bilateral US-Chinese trade showed there is ample room for our firms to engage in trade and investment. Recent trade data accessed by Reuters said two-way trade between the two countries hit a record $690bn last year.

The secretary also suggested that the US and China must communicate better.

Amid a complicated global economic outlook, there is a pressing need for the two largest economies to closely communicate and exchange views on our responses to various challenges, she said, adding that the move would help both sides more fully understand the global economic outlook and make better decisions to strengthen our economies.

During the meetings, Ms Yellen expressed that Washington wants to ensure healthy competition with a fair set of rules that would benefit both China and the US over time.

Speaking to a group of women economists on Saturday, Ms Yellen said shes in Beijing at this critical time because, for all the disagreements between our nations, President Biden and I believe it is in the best interests of our peoples to put our relationship on a better track and to maintain open and honest lines of communication.

I strongly believe that the relationship between our two countries is rooted in the solid ties between the American and Chinese people. It is important that we keep nurturing and deepening these ties, especially as China reopens after three years of Covid lockdowns.

(AP)

Moving forward, Ms Yellen expressed that the US would continue to communicate directly its concerns about specific economic practices and would take targeted actions to protect its national security.

She urged China not to allow any disagreements to lead to misunderstandings, particularly those stemming from a lack of communication, which can unnecessarily worsen our bilateral economic and financial relationship.

While the US and China have mutual political, economic and security interests, there are also unresolved concerns, with differentiating views such as on the political status of Taiwan or territorial disputes in the South China Sea.

She also urged for the worlds two biggest economies to combat the existential threat of the climate crisis.

Continued US-China cooperation on climate finance is critical, Ms Yellen said in a prepared text at a climate roundtable in Beijing.

As the worlds two largest emitters of greenhouse gases and the largest investors in renewable energy, we have both a joint responsibility and ability to lead the way.

Additional reporting by agencies
Jarveon Hudspeth laid to rest as family waits to know more about fatal traffic stop

A memorial service was held for 21-year-old Jarveon Hudspeth on July 8, 2023, who was shot and killed by a deputy from the Shelby County Sheriff Department, at M.J. Edwards Stage Road Chapel in Memphis, Tenn.

Dozens of shirts bearing patterns of red roses dotted the crowd of mourners Saturday morning as friends and family gathered to say goodbye to Jarveon Hudspeth, the 21-year-old who was shot and killed by a Shelby County Sheriff's Office deputy during a traffic stop June 24.

In the time since the fatal shooting, few details have emerged from law enforcement officials. Without a full understanding of what took place, friends and family have been unable to understand the SCSO narrative that Hudspeth attempted to flee from a traffic stop and ended up dragging a deputy for 100 yards  during which the deputy ended up firing a single, fatal shot. The deputy was taken to the hospital in critical condition after the altercation.

A sense of confusion and disbelief ran through Hudspeth's funeral service.

He was, said family member Shundrika Boone, exceedingly smart and driven. He took several semesters at Lipscomb University, a small private university in Nashville. He was obsessed with cars and was studying engineering.

A memorial service was held for 21-year-old Jarveon Hudspeth on July 8, 2023, who was shot and killed by a deputy from the Shelby County Sheriff Department, at M.J. Edwards Stage Road Chapel in Memphis, Tenn.

He possessed the type of stubbornness that lent itself to independence and a refusal to give up when he had a goal in mind, Boone said. He loved his family and friends and was loved deeply in return.

"I can't accept that you're no longer here. Sitting still for too long puts a burning sensation through my soul, and I feel so weak and numb," Boone said, reading from a letter Charlotte Haggett, Hudspeth's mother, wrote to her son.

Boone also read letters penned by Hudspeth's two older siblings. His brother, Jonquette Haggett, who is currently incarcerated, wrote of a deep regret he was not around to mentor and guide his brother. Hudspeth's sister, Senquel Hudspeth, also shared her grief.

"You were such a character with so much potential. I love you, baby boy," she wrote.

Charlotte Haggett, the mother of Jarveon Hudspeth who was shot and killed by a deputy from the Shelby County Sheriff's Office, calls for transparency from the office outside of the Shelby County Courthouse at 201 Poplar.

A continuing search for answers

Days before the funeral, family members gathered outside of the Shelby County Criminal Justice Complex demanding transparency from the sheriff's department. The family has also retained attorney Benjamin Crump to represent them, bringing the total of Shelby County families represented by the nationally-known attorney to three.

SCSO has turned over all questions to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. Per protocol, TBI was contacted by the Shelby County District Attorney's Office following the shooting.

No typical timeline exists for the disclosure of additional details from a fatal officer-involved shooting after TBI takes over as the primary investigative agency. After the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols in January, video footage from body-worn cameras and dashboard-mounted cameras was released with unprecedented speed.

If the investigation into Jarveon Hudspeth's death follows similar patterns from other local officer-involved shootings, it could be months or even over a year before the public knows more.

Micaela Watts is a reporter for The Commercial Appeal covering issues tied to education, access, and equity. She can be reached at micaela.watts@commercialappeal.com.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Jarveon Hudspeth laid to rest by family, friends as they demand answers
UNITED NATIONS, July 7 (Xinhua) -- China is an important player in multilateralism with visionary initiatives to promote world peace and development, said Nicaraguan Foreign Minister Denis Moncada.

The strong relationship that China has with the world and with the United Nations is one of friendship and of unity, he told Xinhua in a recent interview at the UN headquarters.

China is "a visionary and transcendental actor in multilateralism and multipolarity," which can be seen in its solidarity, friendship and all kinds of actions with different countries, he said.

Moncada said the exchanges between China and the world in scientific and technological, commercial, cultural and other fields are "for peace, security and stability of humanity."

The Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative proposed by China are "highly positive," said the minister.

"All these initiatives are transcendental in nature to the world," he said. "They relate to development and growth with a humanistic vision."

Development of China is "admirable and extraordinary," said Moncada, pointing to China's achievements including poverty eradication and technological advances.

"Nicaragua and the world need to learn from the Chinese experience in modernizing," he said, noting that everything being shared with China is a win-win situation.

It is extraordinary that all of China's exchanges with the world are within the framework of respect, Moncada said.

Cooperation between Nicaragua and China keeps growing since the resumption of diplomatic relations, benefiting Nicaragua in the construction of housing, commercial exchanges and other areas, he said.

"In a notable and very visible way," China is contributing to the development of Nicaragua, said Moncada.

The China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative opens the expectations in Latin America and in Nicaragua for opportunities in infrastructure, education, technology and other areas, he said. "We see a lot of possibilities in the near future for Nicaragua." 
Jeremy Hunt - JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP/Getty Images

Jeremy Hunt was among politicians denied a bank account because of the completely disproportionate application of money laundering rules, The Telegraph can reveal.

The Chancellor has told colleagues that he was turned down for an account by Monzo, citing the anti-money laundering regulations that parliamentarians have said are resulting in their own bank accounts, and those of their children, being closed.

The financial regulator was accused of being asleep at the wheel.

It can also be revealed that a string of peers, including Lord Clarke of Nottingham, one of Mr Hunts predecessors as chancellor, have had their credit cards cancelled because of what they believe to be a zealous application of the rules by American Express.

Outrageous burdens

Lord Clarke, who was chancellor under John Major, said that his experience matched that of other peers who had suddenly faced onerous demands by American Express to provide documentation and financial information despite having held a credit card with the firm for decades.

The former MP said: I decided that I could not be bothered with such outrageous burdens being placed on me. Having had my card from some time in the 1970s, I have allowed them to cancel it.

Mr Hunt joked to colleagues in recent months about his application being denied by Monzo, an online bank, before he was appointed as chancellor by Rishi Sunak.

Mr Hunt suspected regulations covering politically exposed persons (PEPs) were responsible for the move, although generally banks do not confirm this to those affected by the rules.

Lord McFall of Alcluith, the Lord Speaker, wrote to Nikhil Rathi, the managing director of the Financial Conduct Authority, a year ago, relaying peers concerns about the effect of the regulations on members of the Lords and their families.

The relevant regulations derive from a global initiative to help root out corruption in regimes across the world and require banks to carry out enhanced checks on PEPs such as politicians, diplomats, army chiefs and even royals.

But the EU-derived version applied in the UK failed to take account of a qualification recommended by the inter-government Financial Action Task Force that only those in a higher risk business relationship should be subject to the checks - as opposed to parliamentarians with run-of-the-mill savings and investments.

Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town, a former Labour frontbencher, said the FCA had failed to effectively enforce 2017 guidance, which made clear that application of the rules should be proportionate and potential PEPs assessed on a case by case basis.

In the absence of a satisfactory response from the FCA, peers succeeded in amending the Financial Services and Markets Bill, which has since become law, to require the regulator to carry out an urgent review.

Lady Hayter said: It should have been unnecessary to have to change the law to force them to do what they had the powers to do. This lack of concern for customers is a serious indictment of their ability to stand up for customers.

Andrew Griffith, the Economic Secretary to the Treasury, has asked the FCA to treat its review as a priority.

Last month, Lord Forsyth of Drumlean, a former Scottish secretary, told the Lords: I have had an American Express card since 1979 and yet, only recently, I got an email which I assumed was a spoof that said I had to provide copies of my passport and bank statements, details of my investments and income, and my payslipssuch as they areto American Express within a certain number of days.

Then I got another email telling me that my card had been suspended because I had failed to produce this material. When I rang American Express... they said: Unless you produce it, your card will remain suspended. Of course, there were a number of payments on my card, which caused me some embarrassment.

That is a completely disproportionate use of the regulations.

Viscount Trenchard, another Conservative peer, said that his American Express card was cancelled last year despite his decision to provide the information demanded by the firm.

Lord Naseby, a former deputy Commons speaker, added: My experience was identical to that of... Lord Forsyth. Frankly, I have cancelled the whole thing; Barclaycard does a far better job.

In response to the letter from the Lord Speaker, the FCA admitted it had met peers to discuss the issue in November 2021 and January 2022.

But it said that individual parliamentarians should complain to the Financial Ombudsman about their cases, despite acknowledging that it could intervene if necessary.

A Treasury spokesman said he would not comment on matters relating to the Chancellors personal finances.

Monzo said: We dont comment on anyones application for a Monzo product or eligibility decisions.

An American Express spokesman said: As a regulated financial institution, we request information from our cardmembers to meet our regulatory and legal obligations, and enhanced checks are required for certain individuals.

We continuously review our approach in line with the applicable guidance to remove any unnecessary requests of our Cardmembers, while ensuring we continue to meet our obligations.

A spokesman for the FCA said: Over the past 18 months, we have reminded banks of the need to be proportionate. Some have improved their processes as a result, and they all now have a direct point of contact for people to report issues.

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U.S. President Joe Biden

As the situation begins to fracture in Moscow, we stand at a cross-roads in the pan-European war that Vladimir Putin started. It is a hot and bloody war for the Ukrainians and grey for its allies, as we experience cyber and information warfare attacks in which Russia is very skilled. This should be a moment for maximum cohesion in Nato which  with Finlands arrival and Swedens soon to follow  is objectively at its strongest ever. Yet the alliance approaches this weeks Vilnius summit in a state of disarray which can only benefit the Kremlin.

The most visible symptom is President Bidens reported preference for Ursula von der Leyen as Jens Stoltenbergs eventual successor as Nato secretary-general. But her track record is as the worst minister of defence in recent German history. She is also the president of the EU Commission. In backing her, the American president rows in behind Emmanuel Macrons ominous and Anglophobic view that the next Nato leader should come from the EU.

Yet the obvious candidate by a mile is Ben Wallace, a soldiers soldier who was instrumental in saving Ukraine in February 2022. By rights, he should follow in George Robertsons footsteps from the Ministry of Defence to Nato HQ. He has ruled himself out, however, for now at least.

At such a critical moment, such musical chairs are worse than a crime. They are a mistake. And they point to a deeper and hitherto misunderstood threat to British national security; for we are under attack on two fronts.

Since 2016, and aware of their fading influence, Paris and Brussels have been aggressively seeking to revalidate the legitimacy of the French vision of federal union on firmer ground. That chosen ground is the most fundamental: defence and security. The instrument is a project known as Permanent Structured Cooperation, or Pesco, with an emphasis on the P. It is an instrument to deepen defence cooperation between member states, under French and EU leadership.

The context for Pesco is the shifting centre of power in the EU, from Paris to Warsaw, bypassing Berlin. For the first time in a lifetime, this dynamic is not under US control and current trends would seem to be actively contrary to the wishes of President Biden. His recent actions over Nato leadership appear to confirm this.

But Pesco is not a benign project. In fact, it is evolving into plans for an EU Defence Union that, in practice, would threaten a reverse take-over of Nato by Brussels. That is the meaning of Macrons opposition to Wallace. Nothing could be more dangerous to UK national security and to continental European security at a time of grey and hot war.

Britain has not joined Pesco, but our ministers are being incorrectly briefed. They are told that it is safe for the UK to participate on a case-by-case basis, dining a la carte by signing up only to its Military Mobility project. This is not so. Like the devil, EU initiatives always dance through the details. The sotto voce battle cry of Brussels is: he who controls the details, wins.

I have therefore documented the history and the detailed mechanics of Pesco, first, before the European Scrutiny Select Committee in May 2023 and, shortly, in a full report being published by Briefings for Britain. This shows  on the facts  how enticement of the UK into subordination via the Military Mobility project involves binding commitments that would keep the UK in high dynamic alignment with EU rules. The EU tactic is one of bait and hook. In this, it resembles other arms of its interconnected strategy, also seen in the Northern Ireland Protocol and the Horizon science programme.

There is an alternative. Because it retains abundant hard power and has avoided destroying its economy through green extremism, relying on fossil fuels while preparing for nuclear energy, Poland is emerging as the continents most economically prosperous and secure state. This underpins its emerging status as Europes leading military land power, along with battle-hardened Ukraine: the two major armies between the UK and Putins Russia.

The Baltic states naturally gravitate towards this continental centre and so does Scandinavia, whose newly active alignment in Nato is the major geopolitical fact of recent times in Europe, making the Baltic a Nato sea. For cultural and military reasons this new alignment looks to the UK for support, not least because of our leading role in Five Eyes.

Is the UK really about to throw this opportunity away, in favour of the dismal alternative vision offered by Macron, Von Der Leyen and Pesco? Or has 40 years of living as a member state within the EU so atrophied the mental sinews of the British political class that, now that the door to the cage has been opened, the canary dares not fly out to greet the sun of restored sovereignty?

It is imperative that ministers understand this; that they raise their eyes eastwards in order to preserve Nato correctly, by engaging pro-actively with the emerging Poland-centred alliance. They must cease to imagine that they can safely dine a la carte in Hotel Pesco, when re-subordination of our sovereignty is the obligatory plat du jour.

Gwythian Prins is emeritus research professor at the LSE, a former Nato adviser, and author of Protecting UK National Security from PESCO, published by Briefings for Britain this week

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The Supreme Court is still the John Roberts court, a fact underscored by the chief justices influence on the biggest cases of the most recent term.

Roberts at times allowed the courts 6-3 conservative majority to flex its muscle in gutting affirmative action, blocking student debt relief and allowing a website designer to refuse to make same-sex wedding websites.

In several other major cases, Roberts kept the court from embracing sweeping legal positions, breaking with some of his most conservative colleagues to strike down Alabamas Republican-drawn congressional map and reject a fringe legal theory that would have handed near-total authority to state legislatures in setting federal election rules.

Court watchers said Robertss alignment is not a reflection of his role as chief justice, and instead shows his prominence in the ideological middle of the high court.

I dont really think he has control over his colleagues, said Adam Unikowsky, a former law clerk to the late Justice Antonin Scalia who practices before the court.

I think hes close to the middle of the court, and in most cases, the middle of the court will be in the majority, and thats true in almost every case this year, Unikowsky added. But I dont really feel like he exercised much influence on his colleagues beyond the vote that he has.

Roberts was in the majority 95 percent of the time this term, according to Empirical SCOTUS. Only Justice Brett Kavanaugh, another conservative seen as part of the courts ideological middle, surpassed the chief justice, voting with the majority 96 percent of the time.

In multiple major decisions, the duo showed a willingness to not go as far as their conservative colleagues. Kavanaugh and Roberts voted together 95 percent of the time this term, tying as the most agreeable pair of justices, the group found.

And when the duo broke at times with the other conservatives, it gave the three liberals the majority.

In the dispute over Alabamas Republican-drawn congressional map, a three-judge district court panel struck it down as a racial gerrymander that likely violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, ordering the state to draw new lines that included a second majority-Black district.

Expectations ran high that the Supreme Court would reverse that decision, and by doing so, narrow the Voting Rights Act.

But Roberts and Kavanaugh  over the dissents of their four more conservative colleagues  ultimately sided with liberal Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson to strike down the Republican-drawn map.

Those are important counterpoints to the cases at the end, affirmative action, the website with same-sex couples and student loans, said Unikowsky. So its not all one-sided. I mean, obviously, the latter three cases are very significant. But you can see a court willing to go both ways.

Roberts wrote for the 5-4 majority that the heart of these cases is not about the law as it exists. It is about Alabamas attempt to remake our 2 jurisprudence anew, referring to Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.

Steven Schwinn, a law professor at the University of Illinois Chicago who closely follows the court, said the litigants were way overshooting in the case.

For the court to reject or partially reject their claims, I dont see as moderation, he said. I just see it as normal in the Alabama case.

Robertss next majority opinion also rejected a sweeping Republican-promoted election law theory.

Joined by Justice Amy Coney Barrett, another Trump appointee, Roberts, Kavanaugh and the three liberal justices rejected the maximalist argument known as the independent state legislature theory, declining to hand near-total authority to state legislatures in drawing congressional maps and setting federal election rules.

Robertss opinion preserved the role of state courts in adjudicating federal election rules. But he also caveated, writing that state courts do not have free rein.

In the independent state legislature case, I actually dont even really see it as normal, said Schwinn. The court did reject the most aggressive form of the independent state legislature theory, but it still left a possibility that the independent state legislature theory could have an impact on our politics and elections.

In the final days of the term, the conservative majority threw away any remaining doubts as to their strength, handing down three major decisions that fell along ideological lines.

The court ruled that a website designer had a free speech right to refuse to design same-sex wedding websites, affirmative action in college admissions was unconstitutional and the Biden administration could not implement its student debt relief plan.

Roberts authored the majority opinion in the latter two cases, stopping debt relief for more than 40 million student borrowers and effectively putting the nail in the coffin for race-conscious admissions policies.

The chiefs decision to write the affirmative action decision, which struck down admissions policies at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina, came with little surprise because Roberts has lamented racial classifications for years.

The way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race, Roberts wrote in a 2007 case involving a public school districts use of race to assign students to schools.

Schwinn called the Harvard decision an ultimate victory for the chief justice.

I see this ruling as a capstone to the effort to read the Equal Protection Clause as a colorblind command in the Constitution, he said.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Teen charged after shooting in Hazelwood

A 16-year-old is facing charges after police said a juvenile male was shot in Hazelwood on Friday evening.

Pittsburgh police said officers were called to the 5000 block of Chaplain Way just before 5 p.m.

Once on scene, first responders found the victim with one gunshot to each leg.

He was taken to the hospital and is in stable condition.

A 16-year-old boy, Adedjai Edwards, was arrested in connection to the shooting.

Edwards is charged with aggravated assault, possession of a firearm by a minor and carrying a firearm without a license.

He was taken to the Allegheny County Jail.

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Kappa Kappa Gamma and University of Wyoming

Six women suing the sorority Kappa Kappa Gamma for allowing a transgender sister to join its University of Wyoming chapter have responded to the sororitys assertion that the lawsuit was frivolous.

In a response filed Wednesday, Jaylyn Westenbroek, Hannah Holtmeier, Allison Coghan, Grace Choate, Madeline Ramar, and Megan Kosar criticized Artemis Langford, the first transgender member of Kappa Kappa Gammas Wyoming chapter.

It is unclear why  when a large man pushes his way into an all-female space  the women who object are the bullies, attorneys for the six, Cassie Craven and John Knepper, contend in one of several filings, Cowboy State Daily reports.

These women are labeled attention-seeking liars, an old playbook from our history when women call out the men who force themselves upon them and their privacy. But the times have changed. Women no longer must be silent victims to men who attempt to play by their own set of rules, they wrote.

On June 20, Langford and the sorority asked Wyomings U.S. District Court Judge Alan B. Johnson to dismiss the suit, calling it frivolous and criticizing its bad faith effort.

The court lacks jurisdiction over the organization's president Mary Pat Rooney, the sorority can adjust admission criteria according to the evolving understanding of gender, and the plaintiffs did not consult enough with the leadership before filing, the defendants claim.

The sisters' lawsuit, Langford claims, is not only long and confusing, but it doesnt have a rational reason for naming the sister.

On Wednesday, the women suing asked the judge to allow all parties to remain in their lawsuit. The plaintiffs rejected Langfords arguments, saying the lawsuit should include her name since the outcome could affect Langfords membership.

They are not seeking monetary damages from Langford.

More than 145 Kappa Kappa Gamma chapters have accepted transgender women since 2015. According to the Kappa Kappa Gamma filing, its policy is similar to that of 25 other sororities in the National Panhellenic Conference, an umbrella organization for sororities across the U.S. and Canada, the Associated Press reports.

Those opposed to Langfords induction could change the policy if most sorority members shared their perspective, or they could resign if a position of inclusion is too offensive to their personal values, a prior motion to dismiss by the sorority read.

The June 20 court filing by Langford accuses the women of spewing dehumanizing mud and attacking transgender people. Aside from that, the inductee claims the complaint is too long and complicated for the court to handle, according to Cowboy State Daily.

The plaintiffs concede that the complaint is long, but they argue that the information they provide is pertinent and methodical.

Respectfully, Langfords argument seems to reflect anger at the allegations made about his conduct, not ambiguity about the claims made by Plaintiffs, the women state in their filing while misgendering Langford.

In response to a judges ruling that the case cannot be handled anonymously, one of the seven Kappa Kappa Gamma members who were originally suing dropped out of the case.
Floyd Bledsoe, wrongfully convicted of a 1999 Jefferson County sexual assault and murder, is asking for $24 million to $48 million in compensatory damages from the four remaining defendants in a lawsuit he is pursuing.

He asks that three defendants  an attorney and two former Kansas Bureau of Investigation agents  also be required to pay punitive damages of $100,000 each for allegedly showing malice and/or reckless indifference to his constitutional rights.

Those figures were shared in a federal court pretrial order issued Thursday by U.S. Magistrate Judge Angel D. Mitchell, who is presiding over a civil lawsuit Bledsoe is pursuing.

Floyd Bledsoe, right, is greeted by Oliver Burnette, executive director of the Midwest Innocence Project, in 2015 after he was proven innocent of the 1999 murder of his sister-in-law, 14-year-old Camille Arfmann.

Who is Floyd Bledsoe suing, and why?

Bledsoe, 46, was wrongfully imprisoned for 16 years for the murder and sexual assault in 1999 of his sister-in-law, 14-year-old Camille Arfmann, who was fatally shot north of Oskaloosa.

He was released from prison in 2015 after DNA evidence proved he couldn't have committed those crimes and his older brother, Tom Bledsoe, wrote notes confessing to them before he died of suicide by asphyxiation.

Bledsoe is pursuing a lawsuit against Jim Woods, Terry Morgan, Michael Hayes and the estate of George Johnson, who died in 2020.

Woods, Morgan and Johnson were agents with the KBI, which helped investigate Camille's death. Hayes was criminal defense attorney for Tom Bledsoe.

Why is Bledsoe asking for $24 million to $48 million?

Bledsoe's lawsuit says authorities fabricated evidence against him and suppressed evidence in his favor to wrongfully convict him of Camille Arfmann's murder.

During his years in prison, Floyd 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."

What's happened so far with Floyd Bledsoe's suit?

Bledsoe filed suit in May 2016 alleging his constitutional rights had been violated by Jefferson County and 11 named defendants.

The Jefferson County Commission last April agreed to pay a $7.5 million settlement to Bledsoe in exchange for his dropping his suit against that county and all lawsuit defendants who were Jefferson County employees.

The only defendants not dropped from the suit were Hayes, Woods, Morgan and the estate of Johnson.

The state of Kansas in 2019 acknowledged Bledsoe had been wrongfully convicted and granted him total compensation of $1,038,526.95.

When will Floyd Bledsoe's civil case go to trial?

The order Mitchell issued Thursday keeps in place previously made arrangements calling for the trial in Bledsoe's suit to begin at 9 a.m. April 2, 2024, in Kansas City, Kan. The trial is expected to last seven to 10 days, it said.

In the meantime, the order said, "the parties currently believe the prospects for settlement of this case are uncertain."

A private mediation session between the two sides was set for June 28, 2023, the order said. It shed no light on what may have resulted from that.

How did Floyd Bledsoe know Camille?

Camille was living at the time of her death with Floyd 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 of Camille's death. Tom Bledsoe, then 25, was a security guard at Lawrence's Farmland Industries.

How many times was Camille Arfmann shot?

Camille, a student at Oskaloosa High School, died after being shot four times, including once in the back of the head. Soon afterward, Tom Bledsoe confessed to the crime.

But Jefferson County officials responded by staging a "false recantation," Floyd Bledsoe's lawsuit petition said.

"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's 2-year-old son said he saw a man kill Camille. Who?

Floyd Bledsoe, then 23, was convicted in May 1999 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, his mother testified there that he initially told her he saw "Tom" kill Camille, then changed that to say he saw "daddy" commit that crime.

How was Floyd Bledsoe exonerated?

Bledsoe was found guilty in Jefferson County District Court of first-degree murder, aggravated kidnapping and taking aggravated indecent liberties with a child.

The Project for Innocence commissioned new DNA testing done in 2015 that showed Tom Bledsoe had likely killed Camille and that Floyd Bledsoe 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 left three suicide notes confessing to the murder.

Contact Tim Hrenchir at threnchir@gannett.com or 785-213-5934.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Floyd Bledsoe sues for $24 million tied to wrongful conviction
Keeping up pressure, China sends warships and fighter jets near Taiwan during Yellen's Beijing visit

FILE - In this undated photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, two Chinese SU-30 fighter jets take off from an unspecified location to fly a patrol over the South China Sea. Chinas Peoples Liberation Army sent 13 aircraft and 6 vessels into airspace and waters around Taiwan over the past 24 hours as of early Saturday, July 8, 2023, overlapping with United States Treasury Secretary Janet Yellens visit to Beijing aimed at mending strained relations. (Jin Danhua/Xinhua via AP, File)

BEIJING (AP)  Chinas Peoples Liberation Army sent 13 aircraft and 6 vessels into airspace and waters around Taiwan over the past 24 hours as of early Saturday, overlapping with United States Treasury Secretary Janet Yellens visit to Beijing aimed at mending strained relations.

Taiwan's Defense Ministry said it is monitoring the situation from the air and sea, and land-based missile systems were prepared to respond. It said four Chinese aircraft  two SU-30 fighters, one BZK-005 reconnaissance plane and one Y-8 anti-submarine warfare plane  crossed the median line in the Taiwan Strait that serves as a de-facto border between the sides, and had entered Taiwan's southwestern air defense identification zone.

China claims Taiwan as its own territory to be annexed by force if necessary and sends air and naval missions on virtually a daily basis in an attempt to wear down the islands defense capabilities and intimidate its 23 million people, who thus far seem largely unfazed by such moves.

U.S. support for the self-governing island republic that split from mainland China amid civil war in 1949 remains a major irritant in relations with Beijing.

Shortly before Yellens arrival, Chinese President Xi Jinping visited the headquarters of the Peoples Liberation Armys Eastern Theater on Thursday. Its area of operations directly faces the island across the Taiwan Strait.

Addressing commanders at the Jiangsu province headquarters, Xi stressed efforts to  break new ground for theater command development and war preparedness, state media reported.

He called for enhancing the planning of war and combat  and stepping up training under real combat conditions to raise the forces capabilities to fight and win, the reports said.

The PLA, the world's largest standing armed force, serves as the military wing of the Communist Party and is overseen by a committee headed by Xi.

Beijing also objects vigorously to United States military support for Taiwan, and lashed out Wednesday at an upcoming $440 million sale of cannon shells and other equipment, accusing the U.S. of turning Taiwan into a powder keg.

Yellen is not expected to meet with Xi during her visit.
Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron (R) filed an appeal on Friday against a federal judges ruling last week that blocked the states ban on gender-affirming care for minors.

Cameron called the care child mutilation in a statement, and vowed to reverse the judges order to block the state law.

Its indefensible that leftist activists are disguising sterilization and genital surgeries as pediatric care for vulnerable children, Cameron said. Child mutilation is illegal in our Commonwealth, and these reckless hormone interventions are based on an irrational ideology that ignores scientific evidence.

I will do everything in my power to protect Kentucky kids from this radical agenda, and my office will continue to defend this law at every turn, he added.

In blocking the measure, U.S. District Judge David Hale said the care has a long history of safe use in minors for various conditions, and said the group of parents of transgender children who sued to block the law have a strong likelihood of success on the merits for their constitutional challenges.

Cameron is also running against Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) for his seat in November. The attorney general has made issues surrounded the transgender community a central part of his campaign.

Beshear initially vetoed the measure, but was overridden by the GOP-controlled state legislature.

Gender-affirming care like hormone therapy and puberty blockers are generally considered safe and have been endorsed by major medical groups including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical Association and the Endocrine Society.

Nearly two dozen states have passed laws banning the medical care.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Kevin Costner's estranged wife's 6-figure child support demands could weaken her divorce case after a judge sided with the actor in a major hearing, expert says

Kevin Costner and Christine Baumgartner in happier times Getty Images

On Wednesday, a judge ordered Kevin Costner's ex-wife to move out of their Santa Barbara compound by the end of July.

After the ruling, a divorce attorney told Insider it appears the judge favors Costner and the prenup.

His estranged wife's 6 figure child support requests may fall on deaf ears after the dynamic shifted this week.

Kevin Costner's estranged wife may have to temper her six-figure child support requests in order to get the best resolution possible in her divorce battle with the actor, a divorce attorney told Insider.

During a Wednesday hearing, Costner scored the case's first victory after a judge ruled that his estranged spouse, Christine Baumgartner, had to move out of their Santa Barbara compound by the end of July  referring to a clause from their premarital agreement.

The ruling highlighted that the judge may continue to side with Costner as it related to other clauses in the agreement, like child support, Marilyn Chinitz, a divorce attorney and partner at Blank Rome, told Insider. Chinitz's former clients include actors Tom Cruise and Michael Douglas.

"The judge is basically saying this agreement is enforceable, and you contracted to vacate Kevin Costner's separate property home, I'm gonna hold you to it," Chinitz told Insider. "And that's a really bold move for a judge to make."

Baumgartner's child support asks are steep compared to the agreement

In recent filings, Baumgartner's legal team has lowered child support requests from $248,000 to $217,300 per month, and a clause in their premarital agreement requires Costner to pay $30,000 per month in child support if they divorce.

Both parties have admitted in court documents that the "Yellowstone" actor has covered all of the children's expenses, meaning that child support for Baumgartner would be intended to cover overhead for living expenses, food, and travel, which could weaken her case.

"I don't know many people who would need over $200,000 for those expenses," Chinitz said, of the per month figure, who added that the payments are non-taxable and non-deductible. "That's just unheard of."

After Baumgartner filed for divorce in May, Costner filed a motion to evict her from their marital home, citing a clause in their prenuptial agreement that he said gave her 30 days to move out after divorce proceedings began.

Costner's legal team has claimed that he paid Baumgartner $1 million for a new house as part of the premarital agreement and that he had offered to pay the mortgage, insurance, and taxes for a year, per court documents.

Lawyers for Costner and Baumgartner did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment.

In previous filings, Baumgartner said that Costner made $19 million last year and that he had covered the family's $6.6 million expenses.

Baumgartner has argued that she needs the money to secure housing, and to match the life of luxury that their three children are used to.

Judges in divorce cases like Costner's are not ruling on 'equality'

Chinitz told Insider that in celebrity divorce cases with one partner who was wealthy by the time of the wedding, like Costner, the court will consider the lifestyle the less fortunate partner enjoyed but not replicate it.

"There doesn't have to be equality, there has to be a semblance," Chinitz said. "It may not be a house on the beach, but it'll still be a lovely environment."

Costner's first wife, Cindy Silva, received an $80 million payout after their 1994 divorce. As a result of the divorce, Costner said that he inked a premarital agreement with Baumgartner that outlines his separate property, per court documents.

At a November hearing, a judge is due to rule on the enforceability of Costner and Baumgartner's premarital agreement as a whole, having already foreshadowed where he stands by validating the clause that will evict Baumgartner.

This week, Baumgartner balked at Costner's offer for $52,000 in child support, which would be higher than what they agreed to in the prenuptial contract.

After Wednesday, Baumgartner's best bet may be to avoid pushing litigation on the agreement further, Chinitz added.

"I think it would be wise for her to try to settle, and get the best bargain she can," Chinitz said.

Correction: July 7, 2023  An earlier version of this story misstated who attorney Marilyn Chinitz has represented. She has not represented Cardi B.

Read the original article on Insider
In June of 1968, all six members of the Robison family were killed in their Lake Michigan cottage near Good Hart. The case remains unsolved.

GOOD HART  Author Mardi Link speaks fondly of the safety and serenity in Northern Michigan.

I think, in Michigan, we have this unique image of the words 'up north, she said. Our state is so divided between woods and industrial areas that this idea of coming 'up north' is so idyllic.

But that tranquility was shattered on a quiet night in June 1968, when an entire family was gunned down in their summer cottage along the shores of Lake Michigan near Good Hart.

More: Podcast: Revisiting the Good Hart Murders

More: Dickinson takes on area's most notorious unsolved crime in her new book 'Summerset'

It was a terrible murder where a whole family was taken and it happened in a little sleepy village, in Good Hart, where things like that aren't supposed to happen, said Emmet County Sheriff Pete Wallin. Just a sleepy little place with a general store and a post office. Things like that arent supposed to happen, but they did.

Link  who wrote about the case in her 2008 book: When Evil Came to Good Hart"  heard about the murders, including all six members of the Robison family, as a little girl on the car radio. Her own family was driving north for vacation.

"When Evil Came to Good Hart" by Mardi Link.

A father, a mother, three sons, and one daughter. All dead, Link wrote. All killed with guns, the newsman said. There was more to the report: the girl, the daughter, the sister, was seven years old. The same age as me. My dad turned off the radio, and it grew quiet inside our car. How does a seven-year-old girl come to understand that evil exists in this world? How does a whole town come to understand it?

The murders shook the small, tight-knit community and surrounding area. Neighbors reported fellow neighbors who'd been acting strangely. Law enforcement agencies investigated thousands of tips. And 55 years later, the case remains unsolved.

The Robison family  husband and wife Richard and Shirley; sons Richard Jr., Gary and Randall; and daughter Susan  traveled to their cottage in the resort community of Blisswood two miles north of Good Hart from their home in Lathrup Village in metro Detroit on June 16, 1968.

The Robison family  husband and wife Richard and Shirley; sons Richard Jr., Gary and Randall; and daughter Susan  were killed in June of 1968 at their cottage near Good Hart.

In the days before their deaths, the family was seen out and about. On June 24, they went shopping in downtown Petoskey. Later that day, Richard paid his respects to Chauncey and May Bliss, whose grandson, Norman, had been killed in a motorcycle accident the night before. Richard left $20 to buy flowers for the funeral.

Chauncey and his son, Monnie, had built many of the cottages in Blisswood themselves, including the Robisons. Monnie worked as the caretaker for the cabins.

Richard told the Blisses his family was traveling to Kentucky and Florida the next day. Later, investigators learned Richard was hoping to view prospective real estate property.

It was one of the last times a member of the Robison family was seen alive.

The Robison cottage in Blisswood.

Exactly when and how all six members of the family were killed remains unknown. Some facts from the following days and weeks are certain. Neighbors heard gunshots sometime during the evening of June 25. A note was found stuck to a cabin widow which read: Be back by 7-10. Two cars used by the family sat parked outside gathering dust. An overwhelming stench pervaded the area, and neighbors complained to the caretaker Monnie.

Monnie, who believed the smell was a dead animal, opened the cabin door and discovered the bodies on July 22.

The July 23 edition of the Petoskey News-Review ran a big, bold headline announcing the "mass murder."

The July 23, 1968, edition of the Petoskey News-Review.

When the cottage was entered yesterday, police found all windows had been closed and all shades or curtains drawn, the article read. The front door leading to the lawn facing Lake Michigan was locked from inside and the other front door on the east side of the house had been locked from the outside by a padlock.

The article said the murder was "believed to be the first mass murder in Emmet County and the first apparent homicide since 1959.

The Robisons cozy cottage was a bloody crime scene. Shirley was found in the living room, partially covered by a blanket. Three more bodies  Richard, Randall and Susan  were piled in the hallway. Richard Jr. was found lying in the doorway from the hallway to a bedroom. Gary was sprawled in the same bedroom.

This sketch of the cabin's interior was printed in the July 23, 1968 edition of the Petoskey News-Review. It was drawn by reporter Fred Lovelace.

They'd all been shot, and the coroner determined Susan had also been struck with a blunt object. Officers found evidence from both a .22-caliber and a .25-caliber gun at the scene.

Because a month had passed between the time of death and when the bodies were found, first responders were faced with a gruesome scene. Thousands of dead flies littered the floor of the cabin. Some of the bodies had been left on a heating vent. In the original complaint file from the Emmet County Sheriffs Office, dated 3:15 p.m. on July 22, one of the bodies is described as in a very bad state of decomposition and mummification.

Police enter the crime scene at the Robison family cottage.

Officers called for gas masks to investigate the scene as the odor was almost unbearable.

Emmet County Undersheriff Clifford Fosmore held up a bloody hammer outside and pointed out bullet holes in the side of the cabin as news reporters snapped photos and neighbors milled about.

Officers struggled from the get-go.

Although the trail is as cold as the winters in Northern Michigan, Emmet County Prosecutor Wayne Richard Smith and Undersheriff Clifford Fosmore are pressing their search for the killer or killers of the Robison family, reported the Petoskey News-Review on July 25.

Investigators needed to identify suspects, and ideally find the murder weapons. They combed through the surrounding woods, fields and roadways in search of a gun that might have been discarded. Residents brought their own guns to the sheriffs department to be tested.

(Emmet County deputies searched), the state police did, and its never been found, Wallin said.

In the meantime, investigators zeroed in on people of interest. One was Monnie, who died in 1980.

Wallin described Monnie as a little different individual.

Monnies son, Norman, had been killed prior to the murders. Mr. Robison felt bad about it and went over to offer money for flowers, but youve got to remember Monnie Bliss was a little different individual, Wallin said. Theres theories that he was not happy with the gesture, so people think he did it, too. Theres so many theories out there.

Officers interviewed drifters, prisoners at nearby Camp Pellston, and others.

In the July 25 edition of the News-Review, its noted that Mr. Robisons business associate Joe Scolaro flew to Petoskey from Detroit on Tuesday on a chartered airplane to talk with authorities. Scolaro assisted Robison in the publication of an art magazine called Impresario. He told Fosmore he was particularly shocked by the murders since he and Robison were more like brothers than business associates.

In time, Scolaro became the prime suspect.

Joseph Scolaro

Scolaro had been left in charge of Robisons advertising and publishing business while he was away. While once a close confidant of Richards, investigators uncovered evidence that Scolaro was embezzling.

His alibi for the day of the murders was filled with inconsistencies. He failed lie detector tests and, even more damning, he was known to have once owned .22-caliber and .25-caliber guns.

Theres other things that point to him, too, but his alibi just couldnt be confirmed, Wallin said. The question is, did he do it himself or did somebody help him? Thats the thing, because its hard to believe that a guy could kill all six people by himself.

Michigan State Police investigators presented their case to Emmet County Prosecutor Donald Noggle in 1970, who declined to issue an arrest warrant.

The Jan. 14, 1970, edition of the Petoskey News-Review.

As far as I am concerned, this case is far from being closed, Noggle told the News-Review in a Jan. 14, 1970 article. In fact, a murder case is never closed until a suspect is proven guilty beyond a shadow of a doubt. In the Robison case, I feel that we do not have enough evidence at this time to warrant an arrest.

But the case didnt stop there. In 1973, Oakland Countys Prosecutor L. Brooks Patterson expressed interest in the case. He had reason to believe the crime had originated in Oakland County, and took steps towards re-evaluating an arrest warrant.

Scolaro, I dont how he caught wind of it that there were charges that were going to be coming against him for the murder of the Robisons, Wallin said. Thats when he committed suicide.

Scolaro killed himself on May 8, 1973. He left a note on his office door warning his mother not to come in. In another note, Scolaro called himself a liarcheatphony, but again denied having anything to do with the Robisons deaths.

I had nothing to do with the Robisons, he wrote. Im a cheat but not a murderer. Im sick and scared. God and everyone please forgive me. I hope my family will understand.

This is a copy of the suicide note left by Joseph Scolaro.

With their prime suspect gone, the case stuttered to a standstill. It remains there today.

Its never been solved, Wallin said. Theres a lot of theories about how it happened, but its been 55 years and it hasnt been solved yet. And probably, and Im pretty darn sure, all the players are dead.

Work has been done on the case intermittently over the years, but no significant progress has been made.

We tried some DNA testing years ago with one of the hairs that was found on Mrs. Robisons body but it was inconclusive, Wallin said. If we had the technology we have today, if we had that back in 1968, its pretty good that it would have been solved.

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Every five years, when another notable anniversary passes and people are reminded of the case, Wallin said the sheriffs department receives more tips. They investigate every single one.

Its an open case. Its never been closed and it will never be closed until they determine exactly what happened, he said. When the (anniversary) stories run, we do get tips. We do follow up on all of them. Nothing has brought closure to it yet.

Link said she hears from people interested in the case all the time.

Usually theyre the same theories that I hear all the time: that Scolaro did it, or that Scolaro did it with help, or that it was the mob, or that it was a serial killer, or that it was Monnie Bliss, she said. Those are pretty much the range of theories that Ive heard.

The case continues to have a long lasting legacy in Northern Michigan.

A screenwriter and I have finished a screenplay based on this crime that's currently making its way around Hollywood, so yes, I've definitely seen an interest, Link said. Theres always been an interest in this case in particular, but I think true crime is sort of having its moment and perhaps we as readers or as viewers when it comes to movies and TV want to understand why these awful crimes happen.

A story in the Nov. 8, 1970, edition of the Detroit Free Press.

But, while the case has been extensively documented over the years, Link said its important not to lose sight of the human tragedy at its center.

Ive gotten to know the surviving Robison family members and I see firsthand through them how this case has affected their lives, she said. When you kill a whole family, the people who are left are aunts and uncles and cousins. Theyre going to forever wonder what happened to the people they loved. Its impossible not to be moved and have an emotional reaction to that. I feel for their family, but also for people who were wrongly accused, like the Bliss family. I feel for them too.

As it stands, both Link and Wallin doubt there'll ever be a definitive resolution to the Robison family murders.

I think theres still the possibility of a deathbed confession by someone who knows the outcome or knows who the guilty party is and has proof that we just are unaware of, Link said. So many people were interviewed for this case, so there could still be a deathbed confession and I think that, perhaps more than science, is our best hope for an open-and-shut conclusion.

Its a mystery, Wallin said. A terrible murder mystery that these people were killed  the husband, the mother and the kids. Its tragic.

 Contact Jillian Fellows at jfellows@petoskeynews.com.

This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Robison murders in Good Hart still haunt 55 years later
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 8)  The World Bank and the Philippine-based Community Family Services International (CFSI) have inked a $4-million grant deal (around 222 million) for a project intended to boost sustainable livelihoods and community participation of former Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) combatants.

In a statement on Friday, financial institution said around 39,200 people in six rural communities in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao will benefit from the project.

The Bangsamoro Camps Transformation Project is financed under the Bangsamoro Normalization Trust Fund, a World Bank-administered fund established in 2021 which oversees assistance from development partners for the decommissioning of MILF combatants in BARMM.

According to the Washington-based lender, the project aims to increase incomes from agriculture through capacity building and skills development for cooperatives and women's groups, infrastructure improvements, and construction of community facilities.

"The long-term goal is to contribute to income stabilization and food security of households in these communities through improved basic infrastructure, enhanced livelihood diversification, and climate-smart agriculture," said Ndiame Diop, World Bank Country Director for Brunei, Malaysia, Philippines, and Thailand.

"This project provides an important entry point for strengthening collaboration across different levels of government and stakeholders such as communities, local government units, regional ministries, and other contributors to the peace process" said World Bank Senior Social Development Specialist Ditte Marie Fallesen, the task team leader for the project.

"Climate and disaster risks present significant challenges in the camp communities and will require a multi-stakeholder approach to build community resilience," Fallesen added.

The Bangsamoro Development Agency, the development arm of the MILF, will lead the initiative at the community level.

The project was approved by the MILF and the Philippine government's Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU) on June 6.
As L.A. County moves youths out of troubled juvenile halls, will anything change?

Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall in Downey was shut down in 2019 after six probation officers were charged with assaulting teenagers. But it's reopening this month after a state oversight board ordered most youths out of L.A. County's two remaining juvenile detention facilities. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

The last time Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall housed some of Los Angeles County's most troubled youths, it was mired in scandal and pegged as obsolete.

Two months before county officials locked the doors at the Downey facility in July 2019, prosecutors charged six probation officers who worked there with assault for dousing teenage girls with pepper spray. It was part of a broader series of excessive force allegations that led the California attorney general's office to sue to place a monitor over the L.A. County Probation Department.

Read more: State orders L.A. County to move nearly 300 youths out of 'unsuitable' juvenile halls

But later this month Los Padrinos will reopen  something of a last resort after a state oversight board ordered most youths out of L.A. County's two remaining juvenile facilities following a staffing crisis, reports of a long decline in conditions and the death of an 18-year-old from an apparent drug overdose.

By July 23, the Probation Department must move the 277 juveniles now held in Central Juvenile Hall in downtown L.A. and Barry J. Nidorf Hall in Sylmar to Downey, as the troubled agency tries to right itself after years of disarray.

While the majority of youths must be moved out of Central and Nidorf halls due to the Probation Department's failure to meet California Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC) guidelines, youths convicted of severe and violent offenses will remain in the Secure Youth Treatment Facility at Nidorf as well as Campus Kilpatrick in Malibu. The BSCC does not have jurisdiction over these roughly 75 youths..

Los Padrinos represents a partial reset for the department and its new chief, Guillermo Viera Rosa. But some observers are worried the move to Downey won't do anything to mitigate the department's core issues.

Detainees are escorted by a probation officer from the library at Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall in Downey in 2016. (Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times)

Milinda Kakani is a member of the L.A. County Probation Oversight Commission and director of youth justice policy at the Childrens Defense Fund. She said the BSCC took action against Central and Nidorf because of problems caused by the continued staffing crisis, which will almost certainly follow the department to Downey.

If we look at the violations that led to the closures, the majority ... were connected to the institution running the facility," she said. "If were talking a lack of recreation, if were talking about a lack of programming, a lack of visitation, overuse of solitary confinement  none of those things have to do with whether youre at Barry J or Central. They have everything to do with the department.

Probation executives, contractors and members of oversight bodies including the L.A. County Board of Supervisors have been granted access to Los Padrinos in recent weeks. However, the department declined to allow a Times reporter to tour the facility. County officials also rejected requests for records about the complex's layout and construction, citing security concerns.

Fesia Davenport, the countys chief executive officer, told supervisors last month that a $117-million renovation was taking place at breakneck speed.

Read more: 18-year-old dies of overdose in L.A. County juvenile hall, as state suggests shutdown

The Los Padrinos complex consists of 36 buildings occupying 26 acres, though only a few structures will be used to house youths, according to Karla Tovar, the Probation Department's head of communications. There are nine dormitories, classrooms, a library, a large outdoor recreation area and a gym, she said.

The facility has 442 beds, far more than the number of youths currently in L.A. County custody. Youths will be transferred in small groups, but Tovar declined to provide any details, citing public safety concerns.

Those who have been inside the Downey facility recently gave positive, if tempered, reviews. Kakani said she was impressed by the amount of green space at Los Padrinos, especially given concerns about the lack of recreation time offered to youths at Central and Nidorf.

It is definitely not what I would call a five-star hotel, added Supervisor Kathryn Barger, who also recently toured the facility. But I will tell you that it has been completely refurbished. 

Supervisor Janice Hahn, whose district includes Los Padrinos, said the facility, which had most recently been used as a shelter for young women, now resembled a "summer camp" with a curated library and spacious gyms.

A girl reads a book in the library of Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall in 2016. (Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times)

More than half of the youths transferred to Los Padrinos will live in rooms with individual toilets, according to Supervisor Lindsey Horvath's office, a critical step after youths were at times left locked in their units with no restroom access at the other two halls.

When she recently visited Nidorf, Horvath said youths told her they were often denied bathroom access due to staffing shortages.

So a towel would be thrown in their room for them to use the sink in their rooms instead of being able to access the restrooms, she said.

But concerns remain about the department's ability to properly staff the large space.

About 620 officers have volunteered to be transferred to Los Padrinos, but half of them are on limited duty due to medical issues, according to Kevin Woods, acting head of the Detention Services Bureau.

At a meeting of the Probation Oversight Committee last month, Woods said the staff shortage could, once again, hamper the agency's ability to get young people into the classroom.

The department is required to transport youths to school on a regular basis under the terms of its settlement with the California Department of Justice. Probation officials recently asked the monitor not to enforce that provision until Aug. 31, according to court records. The request was denied.

Read more: State regulators give L.A. County more time to fix dysfunctional juvenile halls

If we have the significant call-out problem that we have now, then yes, it will definitely impede our ability to get them to school," Woods said, referring to when staff don't show up for assigned shifts.

Woods said he hoped more staff would start showing up at Los Padrinos, as they might feel safer coming to work and many would now have shorter commutes.

"Because these individuals were allowed to bid to Los Padrinos  had a desire to transfer to Los Padrinos  we think we're going to see greater numbers," he said.

The department will assign 362 officers to Los Padrinos, according to Tovar, while 116 officers will remain stationed at the Secure Youth Treatment Facility.

Hans Liang, president of the union representing probation officers, said safety remains a prominent worry among those headed to Los Padrinos, especially after the department barred officers from using chemical spray when the Downey facility reopens. He said he's called on Viera Rosa to give officers more extensive training on de-escalation and self-defense as a result.

"Our concern is, theyre taking away a tool that is effective, if used properly," Liang said. "So if youre taking that away, what are you giving us?

Staffing issues continue to plague Nidorf and Central. Weekend shifts are often undermanned, sometimes short by dozens of officers, making it difficult for youths to receive visits from relatives or even leave their rooms, according to documents reviewed by The Times and interviews with multiple probation officials.

The officials requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media and feared reprisal.

On June 25, Nidorf was in need of "staffing assistance today for all shifts, including visitation, according to an email reviewed by The Times.

We need approximately 35 full duty officers to assist us due to shortage of staff," the email read. "Their duties will be to conduct safety checks, back-up staff, supervise ART class, visiting and church services."

Its still terrible. Every weekend theyre dying for staff, one high-ranking probation official said, adding that an "entire shift" of officers also called out of work at Central in recent weeks.

The juvenile halls are currently staffed by 895 officers, down from 1,018 in June 2021, according to figures provided by the Probation Department.

Tovar said the department is "redoubling our efforts to curtail call-outs and other unwarranted absenteeism." Individual cases are being reviewed that could end with discipline or termination of officers who continually miss shifts, she said.

Concerns also remain about the department's ability to be transparent with the oversight agencies monitoring its operation of Los Padrinos.

In mid-June, Viera Rosa ordered all probation staff to stop communicating directly with the attorney general's office or the BSCC, though they are still allowed to report "potential legal violations" and interact with oversight staff visiting probation facilities.

"We are asking probation staffers to submit their comments and suggestions to the agencies through [a county email address]  but in no way does it prohibit them from engaging with CALDOJ representatives during site visits or prevent them from reporting potential legal violations to either agency," Tovar said.

L.A. County Inspector General Max Huntsman and the state attorney general's office declined to comment.

Despite Viera Rosa's order, BSCC spokesperson Tracie Cone said an inspector has still been able to work with probation staff to make sure the hall is ready in time. The county passed a final building inspection in late June and can officially start moving youths in.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Members of Falun Dafa, or Falun Gong, perform on Main Street during this year's Huntington Beach Independence Day Parade. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

A lawsuit alleging San Jose-based technology giant Cisco Systems Inc. and two former executives aided the Chinese government in tracking and torturing adherents of the Falun Gong religious movement may proceed to trial, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Friday.

Falun Gong members alleged in 2011 that Cisco provided China with the technology behind its "Golden Shield" surveillance platform knowing it would be used by the Chinese government to oppress religious adherents. They alleged it has since enabled China to track members to an astonishing degree and facilitated their brutal detention and torture by the Chinese government, which has labeled Falun Gong a dangerous cult and banned it.

A lower district court dismissed those claims against Cisco, former Cisco Chief Executive John Chambers and former Cisco China Vice President Fredy Cheung in 2014.

The three-judge appellate panel's ruling Friday largely reversed that earlier decision. The appellate panel did not rule on the validity of the claims, but it found that the Falun Gong adherents had presented a strong enough case to allow their federal lawsuit in California to proceed.

In a statement to The Times, Cisco said the allegations against it in the lawsuit have "no basis."

"We build our products to global standards which promote the free flow of information, privacy, and freedom of expression," the company said. "Cisco has a longstanding commitment to uphold and respect human rights for all people, and we are strongly committed to an open global Internet."

Attorneys for Chambers and Cheung did not respond to requests for comment.

Read more: Falun Gong, banned in China, finds a loud protest voice in the U.S. through Shen Yun dance troupe

Paul Hoffman, an attorney for the Falun Gong plaintiffs, said the decision was "a huge victory" for his clients and a consequential one for the entire business world  particularly large tech companies.

"What this means is that tech companies, and other companies for that matter, will not be able to engage in activity that aids and abets torture in other countries," Hoffman said. "That's a big principle."

U.S. Circuit Judge Marsha S. Berzon wrote for the panel that the adherents had adequately argued, for the purposes of moving forward with a trial, that the company's actions  some of which were taken in the United States  amounted to "aiding and abetting" China's alleged misdeeds.

Berzon wrote that the Falun Gong adherents had adequately argued that Chambers and Cheung were aware while assisting China that "international law violations, including torture, were substantially likely," and that their "direct participation in the marketing and oversight of Ciscos projects" alongside Chinese officials had "substantial effect on the commission of violations of international law, including torture."

Berzon noted that the U.S. government, international human rights groups and others have reported systemic oppression and torture of Falun Gong adherents by China for decades, including through forced labor camps. Thousands are thought to have been killed.

Plaintiffs in the case, some of whose names have been anonymized, allege they were detained for months and years at a time and subjected to constant surveillance.

"The physical torture the plaintiffs endured in detention and while imprisoned in forced labor camps included beatings with steel rods and shocking with electric batons, sleep deprivation, being forced to sit or stand for prolonged periods of time in painful positions, and violent forcefeeding," Berzon wrote.

Read more: Banned Falun Gong Sect Is Just Latest to Get China Exercised

The plaintiffs are not alleging criminality on the part of Cisco, Chambers or Cheung, but they are seeking damages on the grounds the company's actions contributed to their abuse.

Cisco could petition for a larger, 11-judge "en banc" panel of the 9th Circuit to reconsider the three-judge panel's decision, which the court could agree or decline to do. The 9th Circuit's decision could also be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

If Friday's decision stands, however, the case would be returned to the lower district court, where Hoffman said he would start preparing for trial  including by seeking internal records from Cisco and deposing its executives.

Hoffman said that Cisco "helped the [Chinese] government design their computer systems to track Falun Gong members so they could be identified, detained and tortured," and that the 9th Circuit's decision was a positive step toward holding the American company accountable.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
For many years, Kansas women who had abortions courageously testified before the state Legislature about the lack of information they had been given prior to choosing abortion.

Their stories were filled with pain, anger, resentment and regret, but had a purpose: to help ensure other women would not be misled, uninformed, rushed, or coerced into an abortion decision.

In response to their powerful testimony, the Kansas Legislature passed the Womans Right to Know Act in 1997 with bipartisan, unanimous support.

In fact, the bill was signed into law by a governor who supported abortion rights.

Lawmakers recognized that the best interests of women and abortionists are not the same and are often in conflict.

These safeguards and penalties were enacted so that profit-driven businesses cannot prey on vulnerable pregnant women.

The abortion industry fought against this compassionate legislation and has seemingly taken steps to conceal or make it difficult for women to access this information.

Choice is meaningless when information is withheld.

What is it that the abortion industry considers irrelevant to a pregnant womans decision making and doesnt want her to know?

 The right to know the name of the abortionist, if he or she has hospital admitting privileges and malpractice insurance.

 The right to know the father of the child is liable to assist in the support of the child.

 The right to know she has a right to change her mind about completing her chemical abortion and where she can get timely medical help if she wants to try to save her baby (the provisions supported by Dr. Jonathan Scrafford, Wichita OB/GYN, and 2019 Kansas Family Physician of the Year Dr. John Eplee).

 The right to be given information about abortion and her options

Last year, a spokesperson for a group opposed to the Value Them Both constitutional amendment assured Kansans that (Even) if we vote no, those regulations stay in place.

Another opponent to the amendment dismissed the idea that the abortion industry would go after other abortion regulations.

The fact that they have not done so for three years and have simply complied with them makes me wonder why they would at this point.

Twenty-six years after it was first enacted, the abortion industry has now filed suit against the Womans Right to Know informed consent law and all of its provisions.

This is not about being pro-life or pro-choice. Reasonable people do disagree on abortion.

All Kansans should be outraged by the tactics of the abortion industry, including the campaign against last years amendment, and now the efforts to dismiss a womans right to know all medical information when in this vulnerable position.

Kansans deserve better and I believe the courts should dismiss this lawsuit and its unprecedented attack on a womans right to make an informed decision.

Brenda Landwehr, a Wichita Republican, represents District 105 in the Kansas House of Representatives and is chairwoman of the Health and Human Services Committee.
FILE - Leslie Van Houten attends her parole hearing at the California Institution for Women Sept. 6, 2017 in Corona, Calif. California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Friday, July 7, 2023, that he will not fight a state appeals court decision that Van Houten should be let out on parole. (Stan Lim/Los Angeles Daily News via AP, Pool, File) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

LOS ANGELES (AP)  Californias governor announced Friday that he wont ask the state Supreme Court to block parole for Charles Manson follower Leslie Van Houten, paving the way for her release after serving 53 years in prison for two infamous murders.

In a brief statement, the governors office said it was unlikely that the state's high court would consider an appeal of a lower court ruling that Van Houten should be released.

Gov. Gavin Newsom is disappointed, the statement said.

More than 50 years after the Manson cult committed these brutal killings, the victims families still feel the impact, the statement said.

Van Houten, now in her 70s, is serving a life sentence for helping Manson and other followers in the 1969 killings of Leno LaBianca, a grocer in Los Angeles, and his wife, Rosemary.

Van Houten could be freed in about two weeks after the parole board reviews her record and processes paperwork for her release from the California Institution for Women in Corona, her attorney Nancy Tetreault said.

She was recommended for parole five times since 2016 but Newsom and former Gov. Jerry Brown rejected all those recommendations.

However, a state appeals court ruled in May that Van Houten should be released, noting what it called her extraordinary rehabilitative efforts, insight, remorse, realistic parole plans, support from family and friends and favorable behavior reports while in prison.

Shes thrilled and shes overwhelmed, Tetreault said.

Shes just grateful that people are recognizing that shes not the same person that she was when she committed the murders, she said.

After she's released, Van Houten will spend about a year in a halfway house, learning basic life skills such as how to go to the grocery and get a debit card, Tetreault said.

Shes been in prison for 53 years. ... She just needs to learn how to use an ATM machine, let alone a cell phone, let alone a computer, her attorney said.

Van Houten and other Manson followers killed the LaBiancas in their home in August 1969, smearing their blood on the walls after. Van Houten later described holding Rosemary LaBianca down with a pillowcase over her head as others stabbed her, before herself stabbing the woman more than a dozen times.

My family and I are heartbroken because were once again reminded of all the years that we have not had my father and my stepmother with us, Cory LaBianca, Leno LaBianca's daughter, told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Friday.

My children and my grandchildren never got an opportunity to get to know either of them, which has been a huge void for my family, said Cory La Bianca, who is 75.

The LaBianca murders happened the day after Manson followers killed actress Sharon Tate and four others. Van Houten did not participate in the Tate killings.

Manson died in prison in 2017 of natural causes at age 83 after nearly half a century behind bars.
A little-known Russian spy agency left feces in the suitcases of diplomats as its calling card, report says

The Russian Department for Counterintelligence Operations is believed to be behind the arrest of journalist Evan Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal reports. Stringer/Reuters

A mysterious Russian spy agency left unsettling calling cards for US targets, the Journal reported.

These calling cards have included burned cigarettes on toilet seats and feces in a suitcase.

Experts say the group was likely behind the arrest of journalist Evan Gershkovich in March 2023.

A mysterious Russian spy agency known to only a handful of experts  and likely responsible for detaining at least three Americans  leaves bizarre calling cards to taunt American targets, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The Russian Department for Counterintelligence Operations, or DKRO, is a secretive organization that operates under the FSB, Russia's security agency. The American intelligence community has watched the DKRO with growing concern in recent years and now believes they were responsible for the arrest of journalist Evan Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Those familiar with the group's activity told the Journal that DKRO agents often taunt their targets by leaving various clues that they are watching: A burned cigarette on a toilet, for instance, or unflushed feces in a toilet. DKRO agents have also left feces in a diplomat's suitcase, the Journal reported.

Experts say the group may be connected to a series of strange incidents in recent years, such as inexplicable flat tires on embassy cars and the suspicious death of a diplomat's dog.

"They're very, very smart on the America target. They've been doing this a long time. They know us extremely well," Dan Hoffman, a former Central Intelligence Agency station chief in Moscow, told the Journal. "They do their job extremely well, they're ruthless about doing their job, and they're not constrained by any resources."

American officials told the Wall Street Journal the DKRO was likely behind the arrest of Gershkovich, who has now been imprisoned in Russia for more than 100 days. Gershkovich's arrest marks the first time an American reporter has faced espionage charges in Russia since the Cold War, according to the Journal.

Experts also believe the group was behind the detainment of Paul Whelan and Trevor Reed, two former American Marines. Whelan has been detained since 2018. Russian officials arrested Reed in 2019 but released him during an April 2022 prisoner swap.

Read the original article on Business Insider
The FedEx sorting and packaging processing facility at Ontario International Airport in Ontario, Calif., Jan. 12, 2021. (Hunter Kerhart/The New York Times)

Kathryn Keeler and her husband, Stuart de Haaff, own an olive oil company in the hills of central California. The couple spend their days harvesting olives, bottling the oil, labeling the glass bottles and shipping them out, relying primarily on UPS to get their product to kitchens throughout the United States.

They are far from alone. UPS handles about one-fourth of packages shipped each day in the United States, according to the Pitney Bowes Parcel Shipping Index, many of them for small businesses like Keelers company, Rancho Azul y Oro.

But with the labor contract between UPS and 325,000 of its workers expiring at the end of the month and a potential strike looming, business owners around the country are facing what could be the latest in a series of supply chain disruptions that they have confronted since the start of the pandemic.

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Some are preemptively turning to FedEx, the next largest private carrier in the United States, or the U.S. Postal Service. Others are calling their third-party shippers  firms that work with the likes of UPS, FedEx and DHL to handle their clients shipping needs  to ensure that their packages can still get to their final destinations even if there is a strike.

The logistical challenge is just one more burden on businesses that have been stretched thin over the past few years.

Maybe a larger business can withstand those types of situations, Keeler said. But as small-business owners, she and her husband dont have a lot of extra time in our day to be on the phone with the post office or FedEx.

Since 2020, the pandemic has strained the global supply chain in a number of ways. E-commerce reached record levels as stuck-at-home Americans bought clothes, furniture, workout equipment and groceries online. Companies had to navigate COVID-related shutdowns at factories in China and Vietnam. There were worldwide delays when a large container ship got stuck in the Suez Canal, leading to containers piling up at the Port of Los Angeles. Those situations affected the way goods came into the United States.

A UPS strike could hobble the way brands move their wares domestically.

This is something that affects us on our home turf, and how do we solve for that? said Ron Robinson, the CEO of BeautyStat Cosmetics, which uses UPS to ship its skin care products to retailers such as Ulta and Macys.

One strategy that his team will lean on is trying to bundle packages, sending as many as it can out at once, he said.

Switching to another carrier is going to cost some companies.

Ryan Culver, the CEO of Platterful, a monthly charcuterie board subscription service, also uses UPS. Switching over to FedEx Express  necessary to ensure the meats in his packages reach consumers in time  would cost about $5 to $10 more per delivery.

Teri Johnson, the founder of Harlem Candle Co., received an email June 26 from her third-party shipper about a potential UPS strike. It suggested she switch to FedEx. That will cost her about $2 extra for each candle shipped in the greater New York area. Sending her candles to California will cost even more.

We dont really have a choice right now, Johnson said.

FedEx said it was accepting additional volume for a limited time and would assess how much capacity its network could accommodate. Shippers who are considering shifting volume to FedEx, or are currently in discussions with the company to open a new account, are encouraged to begin shipping with FedEx now, the company said in a post on its website Thursday.

The Postal Service said in an emailed statement that it has a strong network, and we have the capacity to deliver what is tendered to us.

Larger companies are relying on sophisticated backup plans that have been tested over the past few years. The pandemic and previous tariff trade wars pushed many major retailers with global supply chains to diversify the countries where their vendors are and the parcel carriers they use.

Weve been focused on investing in a lot of transportation solutions that allow us to more nimbly move freight between carriers, said Alexis DePree, the chief supply chain officer at Nordstrom. We can do that with a lot more flexibility and speed than we were able to in the past.

Some third-party carriers are seeing a boost in their businesses as the possibility of a UPS strike comes into focus for their clients. Stord, a third-party logistics and technology provider based in Atlanta whose clients include apparel makers and consumer-package companies, has been sending emails out telling its clients not to worry. Stord uses a cloud-based platform to offer services like warehousing and fulfillment and handles tens of thousands of their packages a day.

By combining the volume of its broad portfolio of client brands and using software to make decisions, Stord has the leverage to better negotiate prices with the large parcel carriers, said Sean Henry, the companys CEO.

Weve been negotiating with FedEx and USPS about rates around UPS so our customers dont have to do that, he said.

Stord said more of its clients had asked it to negotiate with carriers on their behalf. He said that equated to tens of millions of dollars of annual revenue for his business.

Still, some business owners are not letting the possibility of a UPS strike stress them out just yet.

Bill McHenry, president of Widgeteer, which sells cookware to large retailers, said he felt kind of numb after navigating the pandemic-related challenges. Ive seen a lot of stuff and the stories that Ive heard and things weve had to go through and survive  not just the pricing but the upheaval of thinking you have a container but dont, he said.

He said the potential rail strike last December had been a bigger concern for him.

In the meantime, the possibility that a deal could be reached between UPS and the union that represents its workers, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, remains. The union announced Wednesday that negotiations had broken down, after previously saying the sides had reached a tentative agreement. If an agreement is not reached, a strike could happen as early as Aug. 1.

If that occurs, we would be collateral damage, Keeler said.

c.2023 The New York Times Company
Makeup for Men: All the Products You'll Need in 2023

Men's Makeup





Kiss and makeup!

Men's Makeup

Makeup on men has been a touchy subject for centuries. Yet in the past, noblemen and other aristocrats not only wore makeup; they layered on brightly colored blush and heavy powder. Thats not even mentioning their shoes, which were stacked as high as their hair  both with ribbons and bows. Were talking straight, burly men with swords, mind you. So whats the deal?

In the last decade, makeup has come a long way in design, intention, and engineering. This means the industry can reach a wide variety of male consumers that use makeup  however they choose to apply it. For a late-night drag performance, a celebrity-filled red carpet, a nightclub rendezvous, or the set of broadcast news? Sure. Others only present their full-on Sasha Fierce or Studly Steven faces for social media, without ever leaving the house.

But for most, makeup is to make perfect what is not: ruddy complexions, scars, dark under-eye circles, or the ever-maddening pimple. On top of that, who can resist a lash enhancer, guyliner, or beefy brow? Or a matte cherry stain on the lips and cheeks?

Factoring in the never-ending Zoom video meetings, FaceTime, and the increasing global fluidity of marketing ads, the boring conversation of people questioning mens makeup has turned into, He should have worn a gray-based eyeliner, that brown is too orange-y! Finally, weve become comfortable with daily wear makeup. I always say flawless skin is the best makeup  and goal. But, just in case, we must have an artillery on hand. Generally, blur, spot, conceal, and go is my norm.

Ive consulted with major brands to make great mens makeup options available for perfecting our new normal. All of these companies say they support the LGBTQ+ community, with many providing major donations, therapy, protections, and housing to the underserved.

Therabody

TheraFace Pro

Want to counteract skin dullness, scarring, sagging, puffiness, breakouts, tension, or lymphatic drainage? TheraFace Pro is the 8-in-1 beautification tool for you. The percussive therapy motor is coupled with three LED light therapy settings, acupressure pulse toning, cleansing caps, and interchangeable therapy heads ($399). With Hot + Cold Rings ($99). Therabody.com

Repechage

Hydra Medic Corrective Concealer

Healing a blemish or inflamed spot? Hydra Medic Corrective Concealer is a medicinal, green counteractive with seaweed extracts, silver, and C and E antioxidants. A real pre-treat savior to apply before your skin-matched concealer ($29). For added healing, absorb C-Serum Seaweed Filtrate Serum on skin or spots first ($76). Repechage.com

Dr. Jart

Dr. Jart

Cicapair Tiger Grass Camo Drops SPF 35 is a skin-healing, redness-neutralizing, blemish-hiding, secret-weapon serum. Must have! This green-to-beige formula adapts to your skins natural color for a light dewy finish ($48). DrJart.com

Stryx

Stryx

I love that Stryx normalized retail mens makeup. Their Concealer Stick glides and conceals easily, then tucks away as a pocket pen ($20). Tinted Moisturizer nurtures, calms irritation, and blends skin tone fast ($25). Pimple Patches are almost invisible, while flattening to speed healing ($12). Nordstrom.com

One/Size

One/Size

One/Size (O/S) is raising the bar with Turn Up the Base Butter Silk Concealer ($28) and Blurring Foundation ($35), followed by On Til Dawn Mattifying Waterproof Setting Spray ($32). OneSizeBeauty.com

Typology

Typology

Vegan and Parisian, Typology serves Tinted Serum with vitamin C, squalane, and Aloe vera, providing light, luxe coverage ($41). Pair with their Tinted Lip Oil for a barely-there pout ($27). Typology.com

e.l.f.

Providing quality and value, e.l.f. checks all the free-from boxes with innovative solutions and shades. Flawless coverage comes as a trio set via the Dolphin Bundle: Power Grip Primer, Halo Glow Liquid Filter, and O Face Satin Lipstick ($33). The tightly bound Airbrush Blender brush spreads and blends liquids, creams, and powders ($10). The Concealer & Foundation Complexion Duo Brush means double-ended perfection ($8). ElfCosmetics.com

Fenty Beauty

Fenty Beauty

The Fat Water Hydrating Milky Toner Essence with hyaluronic acid and tamarind from Fenty is next level ($34). Brow MVP Sculpting Wax Pencil & Styler is the best dual tool marvel ($20). FentyBeauty.com

Gucci

Gucci

Its simply fabulous at first touch. Infused with hyaluronic acid, black rose oil, and bamboo powder, Gucci Eternite de Beaute is a no-transfer foundation that lasts the entire day  in one drop ($69). Use Serum De Beaute Mattifying Primer for an underlying glow ($60). In a Met Gala-worthy compact, youll find Gucci Baume Nourrissant Universel, a new five-star salve balm ($50). Sephora.com

MAC Cosmetics

MAC Cosmetics Viva Glam just keeps serving flawless, humanitarian greatness year after year. When you spend $19 on a Viva Glam Keith Haring Lipstick, the brand donates $19 to support women and girls, the LGBTQ+ community, and people living with or affected by HIV. A 100 percent donation. Period. (Shades: Red Haring, St. Marks Yellow, Canal Blue.) Pro Palette Paintstick X 12 is a customized palette featuring the full rainbow of 12 body art colors  perfect for Pride ($70). MACCosmetics.com

War Paint for Men

War Paint for Men

War Paint for Men covers every base with unique products and results-oriented tools. The Liquid Concealer Pen ($25) and dense Application Brush ($12) are fantastic. Tinted Moisturizer is a hybrid infused with light coverage foundation ($30), while the Anti-Shine Powder or Bronzer ($25) with the Metal Powder Brush ($22) finishes your look. us.WarPaintForMen.com

Hi Beautiful You

Hi Beautiful You Be You Skin Perfecting Conceal

Be You Skin Perfecting Conceal is a one-and-done option when theres just no time to spare ($29). Be You Skin Perfecting Tint is your alternative to traditional foundation, BB/CC creams, or tinted moisture ($48). HiBeautifulYou.com

Thrive Causemetics

Thrive Causemetics

Thrive Causemetics is on a bigger than beauty giving mission with stellar products and equally stellar philanthropy. The brand promotes innovation, inclusivity, and fun for the skincare- and makeup-obsessed. Timeless Ambition Power 10-Peptide Sculpting Serum gives contour sticks a leg up ($78). Saggy, discolored eyelids? Not with Eye Lift 360 Waterproof Primer ($25). Use with dual-tipped Infinity Waterproof Eyebrow Liner ($23) and Instant Brow Fix Semi-Permanent Eyebrow Gel ($24). ThriveCausemetics.com

Menaji

M\u00ebnaji

Youll find Menaji in many a newsroom or television studio. Its simplified, geared for HD, works well, and stays put. Save with the Mens Camera Ready Kit: Liquid Powder Shine Eliminator, Urban Camouflage (conceal stick), Power Hydrator Plus Light (the first anti-oxidant SPF 30 tinted moisturizer for men), and HDPV Anti-Shine Face Powder ($119). Add the Deluxe Kabuki Brush ($12) and The Fix clear brow gel ($22) andaction! Menaji.com

Dior

Dior

Dior. Brings. It. Cult-status Backstage Eyelash Curler ($28), Forever Glow Veil Makeup Primer (worn under foundation for flawless skin) ($50), Backstage Brushes & Accessories ($22-$65), Forever Skin Correct Concealer ($40), and Diorshow Maximizer 3D Lash Primer ($30) are BYOC: bring your own catwalk good. Dior.com

Boy de Chanel

Boy de Chanel

I love Boy de Chanel for its powerful simplicity and precision mens cosmetics. Anti-Shine Toning Lotion ($65) preps skin for everything after. Fortifying Gel Moisturizer ($80) with Costa Rican green coffee extract is light but rich. The 3-in-1 Eye Pencil ($38) and the dual-tipped Eyebrow Pencil ($42) with micro-brow applicator are indispensable! Chanel.com

Cote

C\u00f4te Nail Polish

Cote Cares gives to the Trevor Project with No. 55 Apricot Orange Nail Polish or the Jed Foundation with No. 74 Electric Blue Nail Polish ($18 each). CoteShop.co

To Be Frank Nail Color

To be Frank Nail Color

To Be Frank Nail Color with Boot Camp, Gum (pink), Bleach, or Evil Eye gets my vote and is aligned with the Ali Forney Center, the largest and most comprehensive provider of services for homeless LGBTQ+ youth ($14). FrankNails.com
Man accused in Wynter Cole-Smith death once threatened to kill her father, records say

The man accused in the kidnapping and strangling of 2-year-old Wynter Cole-Smith was so jealous of the toddler's father that he once threatened to kill him, the child's mother told police two years ago, according to a report obtained by the Detroit Free Press.

Rashad Maleek Trice had dated Wynter's mother, Symari Cole, for about a month when in May 2021 she told police he pushed her during an argument while she was holding the then 3-month-old baby girl. The two were arguing about Wynter's father while house sitting for Trice's uncle in Monroe for the weekend.

Cole told police Trice had been "getting in my face." She called 911 after Trice threw her cell phone across the room and pushed her as she tried to retrieve it while she held her daughter, forcing her to fall into a lamp.

Cole told police Trice, who she said had been carrying a gun since they arrived at the Monroe house, "was jealous for some reason and was upset with Wynter's father to a point where he threatened to kill Wynter's father," according to the report.

The baby was not injured in the incident and Cole declined medical treatment.

The new details come as federal authorities announced Friday that Trice, 26, has been charged with kidnapping a minor and kidnapping resulting in death in Wynter's disappearance. Investigators said there was probable cause to believe that Trice killed Wynter, possibly strangling her with a pink cellphone cable.

A booking photo taken of Rashad Maleek Trice by the Ingham County Sheriff's Office. Trice has been charged with kidnapping slain 2-year-old Wynter Cole-Smith.

He is also accused of stabbing and assaulting Cole, with whom he has a 1-year-old son, according to his account in a paternity case filed last year in Wayne County Circuit Court. Cole was recovering from those injuries, suffered on Sunday during the incident at her Lansing home.

Police investigate a crime scene related to missing toddler Wynter Cole Smith, 2, near Olympia Street and Erwin Avenue in Detroit on Wednesday, July 5, 2023. Police later confirmed that the body of the missing toddler was found at the scene.

More: Records shed light on suspect connected to deceased toddler Wynter Cole-Smith

More: Suspect in slain toddler's disappearance accused of striking a child last year

In 2021, When officers responded to the 911 call in Monroe, they found Cole with her daughter on the sidewalk and Trice on the front porch of the home in the 500 block of Almyra Street.

"Mr. Trice threw a set of keys at Ms. Cole, looked at Officer and ran back into the residence," the report said.

Trice later ran out of the house and police chased him. The report says that once the foot pursuit started, Cole ran toward a patrol vehicle and told police she did not want to get shot at and was afraid Mr. Trice was going to come back for her.

Eventually, officers caught up with Trice and arrested him in a nearby alleyway.

Even after being assured Trice had been caught, Cole told police she was afraid he would go to her home "to create more problems if he were released."

Trice was charged with three counts of assaulting, resisting or obstructing police and one count of domestic violence for assaulting Cole, court records show.

More: Suspect charged in kidnapping of 2-year-old Wynter Cole-Smith

More: Suspect in slain toddler's disappearance accused of striking a child last year

Trice later pleaded guilty to reduced counts of attempted resisting or obstructing officers and the domestic violence charge, court records show. Records show Trice was sentenced to 224 days in jail on each attempted resisting charge and 93 days on the domestic violence, all to be served concurrently.

Trice has committed crimes in multiple counties in Michigan.

Contact Christine MacDonald: cmacdonald@freepress.com or 313-418-2149. Follow her on Twitter: @cmacfreep. Contact Gina Kaufman: gkaufman@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter: @ReporterGina.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Wynter Cole-Smith's mother told cops in 2021 Rashad Trice made threat
A motorcyclist is dead after a crash in Greenville late Friday night.

Greenville police and fire crews, along with Darke County Sheriffs deputies, were dispatched to the 1000 block of Martin Street around 11:47 p.m. for a crash with injuries, according to a spokesperson for the Greenville Police Department.

>> CareFlight transports 1 seriously injured during motorcycle-pickup truck crash in Clark Co.

Upon arrival, it was discovered that a Ford F-150 driven by Mortavious Varner, 35, of Richmond, Indiana entered the roadway from a private drive and was struck by a motorcycle, the spokesperson said.

The motorcycle was being driven by Jase A. Blocher, 23, of Greenville.

Blocher succumbed to his injuries at the scene of the crash.

The crash remains under investigation at this time.








Man on scooter shoots randomly in NYC, killing 87-year-old and injuring others: NYPD

A man riding around New York City on a moped on Saturday morning began randomly shooting at people, businesses and cars, killing an 87-year-old man and wounding three others.

A 25-year-old man was in custody in connection with the shootings, which took place in Brooklyn and Queens and spanned several city blocks over 30-minutes, New York Police Department officials said at a press conference.

A motive was not yet known, but officials said the suspect didn't appear to target anyone specifically.

"It seems that his acts were random," said Joseph Kenny, assistant chief of the Detective Bureau. "Video shows that hes not targeting anybody, hes not following anybody. As hes driving on his scooter, hes randomly shooting people."

Timeline of what police say happened in NYC

Police provided an update on the shooting on Saturday evening, saying:

At about 11:10 a.m., a 21-year-old man was shot in Brooklyn, and police saw video footage of the suspect approaching the victim from behind and shooting him once in the shoulder, according to Kenny. The injured man was taken to a hospital and is expected to survive.

Seventeen minutes later, another man was struck multiple times in Queens. Witnesses said a man on a scooter fired at a nail salon. The victim, an 87-year-old man, was hit in the back and did not survive.

Shortly after, witnesses said a man on a scooter randomly fired at a group of people before fleeing, and nobody was struck.

Below are photos of the scooter and firearm recovered at the scene. pic.twitter.com/xtFxtT1bCZ  NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) July 8, 2023

At 11:35, another victim in Queens was shot. A 44-year-old man was shot once in the face with a bullet striking his cheek. He was in critical condition in a hospital.

At 11:37, a 63-year-old man was shot in the shoulder. He was in stable condition.

Police said 9mm shell casings were recovered at all the scenes, and the suspect had a 9mm semi-automatic pistol with an extended magazine and additional rounds on him when he was arrested at about 1:10 p.m. The suspect has one prior arrest, Kenny said.

Edward A. Caban, Acting Commissioner of the NYPD, said the shooter used an illegal scooter that did not have a license plate.

Contributing: The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: New York random shooting: Man on scooter kills 1, injures 3, NYPD says
(CNN)  A woman was arrested outside Taylor Swifts Rhode Island home on July 3, just one month after an Indiana man was charged with stalking and harassing the star and allegedly sending her threatening messages.

Westerly Police Chief Paul Gingerella said police were dispatched to the front of the home to investigate reports of a trespasser outside the gates.

The woman had been previously warned to stay away from the property, Gingerella said.

Police did not confirm the Westerly home belonged to Swift, but the company listed on property records has the same mailing address as Swifts management company in Nashville.

According to court records, the woman will be arraigned on July 14.

CNN has reached out to reps for Taylor Swift but has not yet heard back.

The incident comes after Mitchell Taebel, 36, was booked into the LaPorte County Jail in Indiana on June 2 on charges of stalking, intimidation, invasion of privacy and harassment, according to jail records.

Taebel has been accused of sending threatening messages from March to May of this year to Swift, her team and management.

According to an affidavit from LaPorte Superior Court, Taebel sent a voice message to Swift through Instagram on March 29 saying he would happily wear a bomb if he cannot be with his soul mate.

The affidavit also said that on May 5, Taebel traveled to Swifts home in Nashville and was escorted away from the property by security.

He then went to Nissan Stadium, where Swift was performing that night, despite being placed on a security threat/concern list so he wouldnt be able to purchase any ticket for the show.

This story was first published on CNN.com. Woman arrested outside Taylor Swifts Rhode Island home, despite previous warnings
An Adrian man will spend at least another 16 years in prison for killing a woman whose body he dumped along the River Raisin just outside Tecumseh in 2021.

Christopher George Maurer, 35, has been in jail for more than two years since he was arrested in June 2021 and charged with open murder in the death of Jessica Marie Fox that spring. He pleaded guilty in May to second-degree murder. The plea agreement called for a minimum sentence of 18 years and 9 months, which was at the low end of the minumum sentencing guidelines calculated by the Lenawee County Circuit Court probation office.

Maurer was sentenced Friday to 18 years and 9 months to 50 years in prison by Lenawee County Circuit Judge Anna Marie Anzalone. She gave him credit for 743 days already served in jail.

An additional charge of domestic violence was dismissed as part of the plea deal.

Jessica Marie Fox

Fox, who was 30 at the time, died while she and Maurer were having rough sex, Lenawee County Prosecutor Jackie Wyse said Friday after the hearing. She said Maurer and Fox were together March 21 and he admitted to choking her while they were having sex and realized she had turned blue. He panicked and dumped her and her belongings along the river near Comfort Road in Raisin Township.

Maurer apologized to Fox's family for their loss. Her husband was in the courtroom.

"I'm very sorry for the circumstances that have happened here," Maurer told the court. "I made a very poor decision."

Maurer's attorney, Salvatore Molaro Jr. of the Lenawee County Public Defender's Office, told Anzalone that Maurer has a "very minimal" criminal record with no prior felonies and is a military veteran.

Family members reported Fox missing to Michigan State Police in March 2021. She was last seen alive March 21 at the Burt Street entrance to Indian Crossing Trails Park in Tecumseh. Her body was found April 8. An autopsy determined the cause of death was strangulation and her death was ruled a homicide. Maurer was arrested June 25, 2021.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Man sentenced to prison in death of Jessica Fox in 2021
A man was on his way to Atlanta last weekend. Now police say no one has heard from him since

Authorities are looking for a man who disappeared over the holiday weekend.

Kennesaw police said they are looking for Hasith Nawarathne, who was last heard from on July 2 while traveling to Atlanta.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

Police did not specify where Nawarathne was believed to be going that day.

Nawarathne drives a white 2010 Lexus RX350 with a temporary license plate P4583923.

TRENDING STORIES:

Anyone with information regarding Nawarathnes whereabouts is asked to contact Detective Wood at 770-429-4533.

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IN OTHER NEWS:
An OceanGate passenger says he has 'survivor's guilt' because his Titan trip got canceled due to bad weather

OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush (left) with Arnie Weissmann on the Titan sub. Arnie Weissmann/Travel Weekly

A man whose trip on the Titan sub got canceled told Insider he feels like he "dodged a bullet".

Arnie Weissmann was set to go on a dive in May but it was called off due to bad weather.

The Travel Weekly editor said he has "survivor's guilt" as he knew 3 people who died on the sub.

A journalist who was due to go on the Titan says he "dodged a bullet" and now has "survivor's guilt" because he knew three people who died when the sub imploded.

Arnie Weissmann, editor-in-chief of Travel Weekly, went as a guest on an OceanGate expedition to the Titanic in May.

He told Insider he spent eight days on the Titan's support ship, Polar Prince, before the expedition was called off due to bad weather.

"I feel I dodged a bullet with the weather being bad on two instances when I was told we have a dive window," Weissmann said. "I feel a little survivor's guilt because I did know the people. My good luck turned out as someone else's bad luck."

He said he spent time with French diver PH Nargeolet and OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush on the Polar Prince the month before their fatal June expedition that killed all five people on board.

Weissmann already knew Hamish Harding, one of the passengers who died on the sub, as he and the British billionaire were members of The Explorers Club  a professional society based in New York.

Weissmann saw Harding at the club's conference on an island off the coast of Portugal a few days before he went on the Titan sub.

"When we first saw each other, the first thing he asked me was 'how did it go?'," he said. "He knew I hadn't dived because he knew no one had dived yet this year, but asked me about the operation. So I told him candidly many of the things that I reported in my articles and as I've written, he literally just raised his eyebrows but didn't express concerns in any major way."

Weissmann said he had been contacted in January by Rush's wife, Wendy, who was OceanGate's communications chief. He was then invited in April to learn about its operations and go on a dive.

Weissmann had been due to dive in June, but had a diary clash and ended up opting for May in what would have been OceanGate's first expedition to the Titanic this year.

"Some newspapers have kind of made it seem like, 'boy, I really was lucky not to have gone on that particular expedition', but the fact is, I was probably in more danger going earlier in the year when that would have been the first time," he said.

An OceanGate representative told Insider it was "unable to comment."

Read the original article on Insider
Greater Manchester aims to introduce less-polluting electric buses in the coming years

Plans for a clean air zone in Greater Manchester will be delayed again after it emerged claims about reduced bus emissions may not be accurate.

About 1,150 of the region's 2,063 buses were modified at a cost of 15m to cut levels of nitrogen dioxide.

However the government paused the rollout after retrofitted diesel buses did not cut emissions as expected.

Local officials said they still hoped to comply with legal limits on nitrogen dioxide by 2026.

Currently in operation in cities such as Birmingham and Sheffield, clean air zones (CAZ) aim to cut pollution and encourage use of less-polluting vehicles.

The proposal for the Greater Manchester CAZ has been on hold since February 2022 after a backlash to potential charges for users of certain vehicles.

Greater Manchester officials aim to achieve a zero-carbon target by 2038

Transport for Greater Manchester has previously said it is introducing more than 200 electric buses, which would lead to a zero-emission fleet by 2032.

Local officials had been due to provide the government with updated data about expected reductions in air pollution this month but that will now be delayed due to the paused rollout.

A spokeswoman for Clean Air Greater Manchester said the buses' introduction would still contribute to "a significant improvement in air quality, tackling not just nitrogen dioxide but other pollutants too".

She said local leaders "remain committed to an investment-led, non-charging GM Clean Air Plan" and that "work is continuing to ensure that we deliver compliance with legal limits for nitrogen dioxide as soon as possible and by 2026 at the latest".

The government has launched a review of the retrofit technology, which is set to conclude this autumn.

A government spokeswoman said they would "work closely with local councils to help them improve air quality, including with using technology to help improve bus emissions".

"We have paused the rollout of bus retrofit technology and are conducting further research to understand the technology and to work out how best it could be improved."

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Local, state and federal law enforcement agencies are searching for a 34-year-old homicide suspect who escaped from a northwestern Pennsylvania jail late Thursday night.

An undated photo of inmate Michael Charles Burham, who escaped from the Warren County Jail in Warren, Pennsylvania, on July 6, 2023. / Credit: Warren City Police Department

Michael Charles Burham was discovered missing Friday morning from the Warren County Jail, the Warren City Police Department said.

Burham was being held on arson and burglary charges, and is a suspect in a homicide investigation, police said. He is also "associated" with the carjacking and kidnapping of a local couple that occurred in May, officials said.

Warren County spokesperson Cecile Stelter told reporters Friday that Burham "elevated himself" onto "a piece of exercise equipment," and then used "bedsheets that he tied together" to climb down from the roof and escape.

Michael Charles Burham was discovered missing from the Warren County Jail in northwestern Pennsylvania on Friday morning. He was last seen wearing an orange and white striped inmate jumpsuit, a denim jacket and Crocs. / Credit: Warren City Police Department

In a news conference Saturday afternoon, Pennsylvania State Police Lt. Col. George Bivens described him as a "self-taught survivalist with military experience."

Bivens said that investigators "have no reason to believe" that he "has left the general area," adding that he could be hiding in the woods.

Based on his past criminal history, it is possible Burham may have procured a firearm, Bivens said, and so he is considered to be armed and dangerous.

At the time of his escape, he was being held on $1 million bail. He was last seen wearing an orange and white striped inmate jumpsuit, a denim jacket and Croc-style shoes.

Warren is located about 10 miles south of the New York state line, and about 20 miles south of Jamestown, New York.

Local, state and federal agencies are involved in the manhunt, including the U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Border Patrol and the Jamestown Police Department.

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A manhunt was underway on Saturday for a dangerous inmate with survivalist skills who recently escaped from a prison in Pennsylvania, police said.

Michael Burham, 34, was being held in the Warren County Jail  about 11 miles from the states northern border with southwest New York  on arson and burglary charges, and he is also a suspect in a homicide and rape case in Jamestown, New York, according to local authorities.

Prison staff discovered he was missing from his cell early Friday morning,

Burham allegedly escaped from the recreation yard by elevating himself on top of exercise equipment and exiting through a metal-grated roof, Warren County spokesperson Cecile Stelter told ABC News. He was last seen on Thursday around 11:20 p.m. wearing an orange-and-white-striped jumpsuit, a denim jacket and Crocs, police said.

Burham had been in Warren County Jail for less than a month, following his capture in South Carolina on May 24 after a multistate manhunt.

During the early morning hours of May 11, police in Jamestown responded to the fatal shooting of Kayla Hodgkin, who in April told authorities that Burham had raped her, according to documents obtained by the Post and Courier.

After the shooting, Burham allegedly set fire to a car owned by another woman.

During his efforts to dodge law enforcement, Burham is also accused of kidnapping an elderly couple at gunpoint on May 20 in Sheffield, Pennsylvania, and then driving them to North Charleston, South Carolina, according to the FBI. He was charged with kidnapping and a warrant was issued for his arrest out of Warren County, Pennsylvania.

He is considered very dangerous, and the public is asked to be vigilant and report anything out of the ordinary, according to police, who also urged residents in the area to keep their doors locked.

We have no indication that hes being assisted by anyone at this point, but he is familiar [with] the area and  he is a survivalist and has survivalist skills, spokesperson Stelter added.

Authorities have said there is no particular search radius, but they are using all-terrain vehicles, utility terrain vehicles, drones and an aircraft in addition to searching on foot and with K9 units.
Manson family killer Leslie Van Houten will be paroled, lawyer says, after Gov. Newsom drops fight

Leslie Van Houten waits for the start of her parole board hearing at the California Institution for Women in Corona, Calif., on Sept. 6, 2017. (Stan Lim / AP file) (Stan Lim)

Leslie Van Houten, a follower of Charles Manson who was convicted in two killings, will be paroled in weeks, her attorney said Friday after Californias governor said he would not challenge it at the State Supreme Court.

Shes thrilled, Van Houtens attorney Nancy Tetreault said.

Van Houten, now 73, will be paroled in the next several weeks after spending more than five decades in prison, Tetreault said.

An appeals court ruled in May that Van Houten is eligible for parole, reversing a decision by Gov. Gavin Newsom to reject parole.

Newsom, who has repeatedly blocked efforts for Van Houten to be paroled, had until Monday to file a challenge with the state Supreme Court.

Newsom, a Democrat, said Friday he would not do so.

The Governor is disappointed by the Court of Appeals decision to release Ms. Van Houten but will not pursue further action as efforts to further appeal are unlikely to succeed, Erin Mellon, spokesperson for the governors office, said in a statement.

The California Supreme Court accepts appeals in very few cases, and generally does not select cases based on this type of fact-specific determination, the governors office said.

Van Houten is serving a life sentence after being convicted along with other cult members of the 1969 killings of Leno and Rosemary LaBianca in Los Angeles.

A jury convicted Van Houten in 1971 of two counts of first-degree murder and one count of conspiracy to commit murder. She was initially sentenced to death, but that was overturned and she has spent 52 years in state prison.

Van Houten has had 23 hearings before the Board of Parole. The panel has recommended Van Houten be paroled five times since 2016, according to the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

Newsom had reversed Van Houten's parole grant three times. Before him, Gov. Jerry Brown reversed it.

In August 1969, Manson and cult member Charles Tex Watson went inside the LaBianca home and tied up the couple.

Manson then went to a car and told Van Houten and another person to go inside and follow Watson's directions, according to court records. Watson told them to kill Rosemary LaBianca, and Watson killed Leno LaBianca.

The day before the LaBiancas were killed, Watson and other cult members, but not Van Houten, killed actress Sharon Tate and others in Tates home.

Manson, serving life in prison, died at a hospital in 2017. Watson is serving life in prison.

Tetreault said that Van Houten no longer presents a threat to society. Van Houten has been working on her rehabilitation and been in therapy for decades, she said.

Theres no evidence, theres nothing in her current record that shows she is dangerous, Tetreault said, adding, Shes an elderly woman, and shes really quite sweet.

Tetreault would not say where Van Houten plans to live once she is paroled. Van Houten will have a three-year maximum parole term with a parole discharge review after one year, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
A 1973 photo shows an estimated 5,000 people, women and men, marching around the Minnesota Capitol building protesting the U.S. Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision. AP Photo

The Supreme Court decision reversing Roe v. Wades protection for abortion rights was a predictably partisan ruling. All of the justices appointed by Republican presidents voted to uphold the Mississippi law restricting abortion, while all three appointed by Democratic presidents dissented.

In keeping with this partisan trend, the states that are currently restricting abortion are in the Republican strongholds of the South, Midwest, Great Plains and Mountain West. Those that are protecting abortion access are Democratic and are heavily concentrated in the Northeast and the West Coast.

But that was not the case at the time of the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling in 1973. Both before and immediately after the Roe v. Wade decision, many prominent Republicans, such as first lady Betty Ford and New York Gov. and later Vice President Nelson Rockefeller, supported abortion rights. At the same time, some liberal Democrats spoke out against abortion rights, including Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, vice presidential candidate Sargent Shriver and his wife Eunice Kennedy Shriver, as well as civil rights activist Jesse Jackson.

The anti-abortion movement was strongest in the heavily Catholic, reliably Democratic states of the Northeast, and its supporters believed that their campaign for the rights of the unborn accorded well with the liberal principles of the Democratic Party.

When I researched the early history of the anti-abortion movement for my book Defenders of the Unborn: The Pro-Life Movement before Roe v. Wade, one surprising finding was that the pre-Roe anti-abortion movement was filled with liberal Democrats who had supported the federal anti-poverty initiatives associated with President Franklin D. Roosevelts New Deal in the 1930s and President Lyndon Johnsons social programs in the 1960s. They wanted to couple abortion restrictions with additional efforts to fight poverty and expand government-funded health care.

Catholic and Democrat

Most of the pre-Roe anti-abortion activists in the United States were inspired by 20th-century Catholic social teaching that connected the right to life for the unborn with a larger ethic of concern for the less fortunate. Like the majority of Catholic voters at the time, many were Democrats, and they hoped that a party that championed the poor would likewise be interested in protecting fetal life.

Many of them, in keeping with the teachings of their church, held conservative views on issues of sex and reproduction. They also, in keeping with Catholic social teaching, believed that the state had a responsibility to care for the poorest of its citizens and therefore supported liberal Democratic economic initiatives.

Many of these abortion opponents, including the liberal Republican Sen. Mark Hatfield, an evangelical Baptist, and the Lutheran minister Richard John Neuhaus, who later converted to Catholicism, opposed the Vietnam War, which they believed was a violation of the right to life, just as abortion was.

They did not want to condemn women who resorted to abortion, but instead hoped to offer them social assistance that would help them avoid that choice. Its not so much that the woman rejects the child as that society rejects the pregnant woman, Edythe Thompson, a member of the student organization Save Our Unwanted Life, which characterized itself as an extremely liberal group, declared in 1971.

Shift to the political right

After Roe, the anti-abortion movements defense of fetal rights came into conflict with the feminist movements insistence that abortion rights were nonnegotiable womens rights. Abortion opponents often argued that abortion harmed women emotionally and physically and gave an excuse to men to abandon their responsibilities as fathers. As the anti-abortion self-described feminist Juli Loesch phrased it in the 1980s, legalized abortion meant that a man can use a woman, vacuum her out and shes ready to be used again.

But the womens rights movement did not accept this argument, and after the mid-1970s, an increasing number of liberal Democrats did not either. The Democratic Party endorsed abortion rights in its 1976 platform and strengthened this endorsement in the 1980s.

Although anti-abortion activists began their movement with a strong belief in an expanded social welfare state, their search for allies in their quest to protect fetal life through public law led them into an alliance with conservative Republicans who did not support an expanded social safety net.

President Ronald Reagan addressing a Conservative Political Action Conference on March 3, 1984, in Washington, D.C. AP Photo/Scott Stewart

Ronald Reagans support for a proposed anti-abortion constitutional amendment that would have banned abortion nationwide won plaudits from anti-abortion activists across the political spectrum.

Although Cardinal Joseph Bernardin  the archbishop of Chicago  and other political liberals in the anti-abortion movement criticized the Reagan administrations nuclear arms buildup, politically conservative opponents of abortion generally did not. The nations largest anti-abortion organization, the National Right to Life Committee, used its political action committee to raise money for any candidates who would vote to restrict abortion and said nothing about the Reagan administrations stance on nuclear arms, because its leaders believed that the fastest route to reverse Roe v. Wade was to work with all politicians who opposed abortion rights. In practice, this meant that most of the candidates the organization supported were Republicans, especially after the early 1990s.

With only a few exceptions, anti-abortion activists largely abandoned the goal of expanding maternal and prenatal health care or treated this as a distant secondary priority to their main task of legally restricting abortion.

As late as 1995, the National Right to Life Committee expressed concern that a conservative welfare reform that both President Bill Clinton and the Republican Congress supported would increase the abortion rate by restricting social assistance to low-income unmarried women who had additional children. By the 21st century, however, concerns about social welfare cuts were no longer on its agenda as it became increasingly focused on shifting the Supreme Court to the right to overturn Roe v. Wade.

The movement of large numbers of Southern white evangelicals into the anti-abortion movement also encouraged this conservative turn. Unlike many Northern Catholics, Southern white evangelicals had a deep antipathy to the social welfare state, and when they became anti-abortion activists in the 1980s, their political efforts focused almost entirely on abortion restrictions, not anti-poverty initiatives.

The anti-abortion movements politics today

By the time the Supreme Court reversed Roe, the anti-abortion movement had become so thoroughly allied with conservative Republican politics that it was difficult to imagine a time when liberal Democrats who supported an expanded welfare state were leaders in the movement.

But some abortion opponents are already realizing the limits of a strategy that is narrowly focused on fighting abortion only through legal restrictions. They are calling for renewed efforts to secure family leave policies and economic assistance for low-income pregnant women.

If some abortion opponents focus on this goal now that Roe v. Wade has been overturned, it will not be a new approach for the movement. Rather, it will be a revival of the original ethos that the founders of the movement proposed more than half a century ago, before Roe v. Wade was even issued.

This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts. If you found it interesting, you could subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

It was written by: Daniel K. Williams, University of West Georgia.

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Daniel K. Williams received a research fellowship from the James Madison Program at Princeton University in 2011-12.
Here are how many SC law enforcement officers have been charged with crimes so far in 2023

Twelve people  officers, guards and a 911 operator  have been charged with crimes and fired or suspended from their jobs this year after investigations by the State Law Enforcement Division.

The allegations include punching inmates, improperly handling cases, heroin possession, assault and battery and criminal sexual conduct.

Some were alleged to have taken place while on duty or involved their work as public servants; others in their private lives.

The charges against one officer have been dropped.

The number of public servants charged by SLED for the first six months of 2023 is less than in previous years. Fifteen were charged in the first part of 2022 and 19 in the second. In 2021, 15 were charged between January and June and 19 in the six months afterward.

From Jan. 1 to June 30, SLED charged the following people with crimes. This list includes only allegations against officers investigated by SLED. .

Jan. 20  Jeremy Heath Vinson, 45, was chief of the Great Falls Police Department since 2020. He was suspended after being accused of negotiating a plea deal in Municipal Court in a hit and run case without input from the Solicitors Office in Lancaster or telling the victims in the case. The collision happened in December 2021. Vinson was also accused of making false statements to investigators and falsifying a supplemental report, according to the warrant.

Vinson was released from the Chester County jail on a $10,000 personal recognizance bond. The town has an interim chief. Robert Kittle, spokesman for the Attorney Generals Office, said this case is pending.

Feb. 6  Johnathan Lewis Goldsmith, 38, was charged with assault and battery and was fired from his job as a Kershaw County deputy. He is accused of using excessive force at the Kershaw County Detention Center on May 24, 2020 against someone being booked. The warrant said the victim was being noncompliant and Goldsmith allegedly punched the victim twice in the arm and abdomen. He is awaiting trial and free on a $10,582 bond.

Feb. 17  Thomas Trey Franklin James III, 31, of Darlington was accused of buying and using heroin while on duty as a Darlington Sheriffs Deputy. He was charged with possession with intent to distribute heroin and misconduct in office. The drug was found inside his patrol vehicle by another deputy getting department-issued equipment, according to the arrest warrant. James is awaiting trial and posted a $7.500 surety bond.

March 7  Patrick Cowan Henry Jr., 46, an Anderson County deputy, was charged on March 6 with ill treatment of animals after his 7-year-old brindle white American Staffordshire Terrier was seen in an emaciated condition. The dog weighed 42 pounds, the warrant says. Her ribs, lumbar spine, pelvic bones and all bony prominences were visible from a distance, the warrant says. Animal control officers seized the dog and took it to Anderson County Pets Are Worth Saving Animal Shelter for medical treatment. He was released on a $3,000 personal recognizance bond, according to court records.

March 15  James Edward Chambers Jr, 30, a Lexington County deputy, was charged with official misconduct and two counts of obtaining goods under false pretenses. The warrant alleges he obtained seven firearm suppressors for personal use from businesses licensed to sell firearms from March 18, 2021 through Sept. 10, 2021. He allegedly told the business he was acting on behalf of the agency and got the suppressors without having to comply with federal tax regulations. His case is pending and he was released on a personal recognizance bond.

March 22  Brooklyn Danielle McDaniel, 26, formerly a 911 dispatcher in Cherokee County, was charged with releasing confidential information from the police computer system on June 1, 2022. The charge is misconduct in office and she received a personal recognizance bond while awaiting trial.

April 3  Quintard Haason Tucker, 50, then a Horry County Police officer was accused of domestic violence, burglary and assault and battery. The charges stems from an accusation that Tucker went into a motel room at Compass Cove Resort in Myrtle Beach, pushed the victim onto the bed and punched them in the face four times. The warrant also alleges he pushed the victim to the ground twice. The assault and battery charges were dismissed in a preliminary hearing June 9 by Magistrate Christoper John Arakas, according to public records. He was not indicted on the domestic violence charge and it was dropped in May. The Horry County Police Department did not respond to a request for comment. When the arrest was announced by SLED a spokesperson said Tucker was no longer with the department.

April 10 - Gabriel William Mulkey, 25, is accused of misrepresenting the number of hours he worked on official duty for the Lexington County Sheriffs Department.

The arrest warrants allege from Jan. 1, 2021 through Sept. 14, 2022, Mulkey claimed he was working but was doing extra duty outside his normal employment, resulting in being paid $2,677.14 in wages payments from the Lexington County Sheriffs Department.

He was fired on Oct. 10, 2022. The charges are misconduct in office and obtaining signature under false pretenses. No record listed.

Kittle, spokesman for the Attorney Generals Office, said this case is pending.

April 19 - Travelers Rest Police officer Gerard James Hildebrandt, 40, is accused of taking someone to a remote location at Travelers Rest High School, and forced her to perform oral sex on him while on duty on July 3, 2022. He also performed oral sex on her, the warrant says. He is charged with criminal sexual assault and misconduct in office. SLED said the allegations were based on body camera footage, physical evidence and statements from the victim. Civil rights attorney Bakari Sellers is representing the woman in a federal lawsuit. He posted $125,000 bond and is awaiting trial.

May 5  James Patrick Florida III, 33, of Edgefield, was charged with second-degree domestic violence. The arrest warrant says the then-Edgefield County deputy on July 22, 2022 hit someone in the face and body. A cell phone was broken. The case will be prosecuted by the South Carolina Attorney Generals Office. He was released on $5,000 bond.

June 17  Morgan Elridge Ridges, 54, of Bennettsville, was charged with assault and battery and misconduct in office. The warrant said Ridges, then a corrections officer in Marlboro County, allegedly used excessive force on an inmate who was handcuffed and lying on the floor. The inmates head was pinned to the floor with a foot and then was kicked in the head and punched in the face trying to put a spit mask on the inmate. He was released on a personal recognizance bond and is awaiting trial.

The victim, Eldred Joe, 30, has hired Sellers to pursue civil action.

Sheriff Larry McNeil said in a statement after the charges were brought, As soon as I first watched the video, I immediately suspended Correctional Officer Ridges and turned the investigation over to SLED. Independent investigations are a cornerstone of public trust in the criminal justice system.

June 28  Jonathan Lemar Davis, 50, of Summerville, was is charged with third-degree assault and battery. The warrant says Davis, a Dorecheter County Sheriffs deputy, was at a hearing to remove someone from a church board in Blackville on June 1. The two got into a verbal altercation and Davis allegedly ran toward the victim and pushed them from behind outside of the church.

The incident was recorded on the churchs surveillance system. Davis was booked at the Barnwell County Detention Center and placed on administrative leave. Davis posted a $2,000 personal recognizance bond, according to Barnwell County court records.
WASHINGTON  Bipartisan lawmakers in Congress are looking to relax guidelines surrounding marijuana use for military members  in part as a solution to bolster recruitment efforts for the armed services.

Conservative firebrand Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., is the latest lawmaker to propose a change to the military's standards when it comes to cannabis. The Florida representative introduced an amendment Thursday that would end cannabis testing for military members.

He proposed the amendment as an addition to the National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, an annual reauthorization of military programs that Congress passes each year.

Gaetz's amendment proposes eliminating cannabis testing at the time of a service member's enlistment or when they are receiving commission as an officer.

"Our military is facing a recruitment and retainment crisis unlike any other time in American history," he tweeted. "I do not believe that prior use of cannabis should exclude Americans from enlisting in the armed forces. We should embrace them for stepping up to serve our country."

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, medical use of marijuana is legal in 38 states and the District of Columbia. In 23 states and the District of Columbia, legislatures have passed measures to regulate cannabis for non-medical use.

The military has been facing a recruitment crisis in recent years, deploying different strategies to bolster numbers such as offering bonuses and rescinding for one week in 2022 the requirements that recruits have a high school diploma or its equivalent.

The idea of loosening guidelines for marijuana as a solution to recruitment isn't new. In 2017, the army relaxed the process for granting waivers for marijuana use after being faced with an increasing demand for new soldiers.

More: Army is accepting more low-quality recruits, giving waivers for marijuana to hit targets

House, Senate propose amendments loosening cannabis rules

National Harbor, MD, USA; Congressman Matt Gaetz (R-FL) during the Conservative Political Action Conference, CPAC 2023, at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center on March 3, 2023.

Bipartisan lawmakers in addition to Gaetz have proposed amendments to the NDAA to loosen the military's rules on marijuana use.

The Congressional Cannabis Caucus proposed an amendment that would allow doctors from the Department of Veterans Affairs to recommend cannabis as a treatment to patients in states where it is legal for medical use. The amendment has the backing from both sides of the aisle including Reps. Brian Mast, R-Fla.; Barbara Lee, D-Calif.; Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore. and Dave Joyce, R-Ohio.

Mast, who served for 12 years in the army, and Blumenauer introduced a standalone bill earlier this year to make medical cannabis an option for veterans.

Our veteran population is facing multiple epidemics, including addiction and suicide, and we owe it to them to make sure theyve got every tool possible in the arsenal to deal with the impacts of battle - that includes medical cannabis," Mast said in March.

Lee and Joyce, co-chairs of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, and Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, introduced a standalone Veterans Medical Marijuana Safe Harbor Act that allows Veterans Affairs doctors to discuss and recommend medical marijuana to veterans in states where it is legal. The legislation also appropriates funding to conduct research on the effectiveness of medical marijuana treating chronic pain.

Texas Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales also introduced an amendment that would allow military members to possess, use or consume any product containing hemp, a type of cannabis.

And Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., proposed an amendment that would prohibit the denial of security clearances by an agency if an individual used marijuana in a state where it is legalized.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Marijuana in the military? Congress looks to loosen cannabis rules
(CNN)  Influencers who pose naked on top of sacred mountains. Reckless tourists who ride motorbikes around the island without helmets performing daredevil stunts.

When it comes to misbehaving tourists in Bali, Niluh Djelantik has seen and heard it all.

These are just a few hugely unacceptable but too common forms of behavior, says Djelantik, a local entrepreneur who has, in recent years, become the go-to person foreign tourists and travelers call upon when they run into trouble with the authorities.

There is no shortage of bad tourists in Bali  Im losing count, to be honest, she told CNN Travel. Three years of the pandemic have left us dealing with many disrespectful foreigners  Ive even heard of people visiting temples and washing their private parts with holy water, she added.

Things can get that outrageous.

Djelantik, 48, was born and raised in Bali. Like many other Balinese, she has been passionate about promoting and supporting ethical tourism on Indonesias most popular island.

But with the return of international travelers after years of pandemic restrictions, reports of trashy tourist behavior have been on the rise.

Djelantik worked at top notch marketing firms in Jakarta and Bali, often alongside foreign expats and despite not having a legal background, its her mix of excellent language skills and contacts on the ground, combined with her international work experience that has led Djelantik to develop a reputation as an unofficial peacekeeper for the island.

However, theres one area where she doesnt stay neutral. Ive seen and heard some being impolite to Indonesian workers and I wouldnt hesitate to speak up, she said.

She has also expressed political ambitions and announced plans to run for Bali senator, a national parliamentary seat, next year.

Djelantik has mediated between misbehaving foreigners in Bali and the locals they annoy for years. She says she does this in an unofficial capacity and for free. She often receives reports from users on Instagram who flag posts about misbehaving foreigners.

People like coming to me for help rather than going to the authorities because they know I will always respond and help mediate (trouble), she said. But I get approached by foreigners on Instagram too, those who misbehave and land in trouble with the authorities. So I listen to both sides and make a call on what I can do to help.

Whether its calling up lawyers or setting up informal meetings or coffee sessions with local police officers and government officials, Djelantik tries to strike a balance between foreigners and residents to maintain peace when trouble arises  but it isnt easy, she says.

Things can get heated and Bali is so heavily reliant on international tourists  many who come to Indonesia and we treat with love and respect but they need to know their place if they want to call Bali their second home and this isnt always the case.

If we dont learn how to coexist peacefully, there will be consequences.

Probably the most important person in Bali

One travel influencer, a woman from Germany in her 30s who declined to be identified for privacy reasons, told CNN Travel that Djelantik was known throughout many foreigner circles on the island for being go to person when theres trouble in paradise.

Shes probably the most important person in Bali, after the governor (Wayan Koster), the woman said.

Shes never met Djelantik but follows her on Instagram. Bali is a small place and many people are close  bad news always travels fast. If theres a foreigner in trouble, youll always see Niluh Djelantik involved, she said.

She comes across as being very sincere in her efforts to help and is definitely a good person to know and youll never know if youll need her help some day.

Djelantik recounted several recent incidents she stepped in to mediate  a Russian teenager who was caught spray painting a local schools wall in January, and an incident that played out in March which saw a 24-year-old Russian tourist named Yuri Chilikin, cause an uproar when he uploaded a semi nude photo of himself taken on Mount Agung  Balis highest peak, which is also considered one of its most sacred religious sites.

Facing threats and deportation, Chilikin reached out to Djelantik through Instagram, asking for help with his situation. He was quite remorseful and cooperative and was sincere and said that he was willing to pay for the consequences for what he did  so I agreed to help him, she said.

With her help, he recorded a public apology and participated in a ritual ceremony at a temple in Denpasar where he met with Hindu priests and prayed. Bad behavior not only offends locals and officials, it also disrespects Hindu gods and deities, Djelantik said, explaining why such ceremonies had to be performed following these incidents.

We dressed him up in traditional sarong and took him around the compound, Djelantik recalled. We wanted to show him the side of Bali that he needed to see and he was very cooperative.

But even to the best of her efforts, Chilikin was deported to Moscow in April by immigration officials and barred from returning to Indonesia for at least six months over the incident.

Balinese people are generally very accepting, tolerant and forgiving but that doesnt mean our hospitality should be taken for granted, Djelantik said. At the end of the day, its about respecting the laws of a place you visit.

CNN reached out to Balinese authorities for comment on this story. Officials had previously addressed Chilikins case before he was deported back to Russia, saying: Please enjoy the beauty of Bali by adhering to our regulations. If you commit a violation, we will not hesitate to take firm action.

Outrageous tourist behavior is no new phenomenon on the island but Djelantiks efforts to promote ethical tourism comes at an important time.

Tourism has become a thorny subject and ongoing bad behavior among tourists has prompted the proposal of new rules  including bans on mountain climbing and motorbike rentals for foreign visitors. Visa free travel arrangements were also halted for over 150 countries as part of the tourism shakeup.

We will no longer welcome mass tourism, Bali governor Wayan Koster said at a conference in May. We will restrict tourist numbers by implementing a quota system This push will encourage the transformation of Bali, from mass tourism to quality tourism.

Bali should be open to all willing to respect its traditions and harmony, Djelantik says. We need to strike a balance between the foreigners, the people in power and Balinese.

We all want a better Bali but banning people is not the way to go. Bali needs tourists and this is about (getting foreigners) to respect our laws and not take our hospitality for granted.

This story was first published on CNN.com, "Bear attack in British Columbia hospitalizes 21-year-old tree planter"
Signature gatherer in downtown Daytona Beach. He was working for a recreational marijuana amendment disallowed by the Florida Supreme Court in 2019.

If theres one thing Florida legislators believe in  even more than the culture wars  its the primacy of the Florida Legislature.

Local authority? Exists only to the degree the Legislature allows, and members feel theyve already allowed too much. Governors? Legislators are taking their orders from this one for now, but governors come and go. The courts? In its present form, the Florida Supreme Court gives way more deference to whatever the governor and Legislature come up with than previous courts did and feels less constrained by past rulings. In short, there are not a lot of checks and balances lately.

But there is still one mechanism that can override the Legislatures preferences: Voter referendums put on the ballot by petition. And my, how legislators hate this.

And even though the Legislature makes the process more difficult almost every year, people are again out in parking lots and on sidewalks with petitions for new state constitutional amendments.

A proposal to put a recreational marijuana amendment on the ballot in 2024 has gained more than a million signatures, including more than 27,000 from Volusia County voters and almost 4,800 Flagler County voters.

That proposal would allow people 21 and older to possess up to 3 ounces of marijuana for their own use. Medical marijuana treatment centers would be allowed to sell marijuana for recreational use. No medical condition card necessary. Unsurprisingly, the measure is largely bankrolled by Trulieve, the states largest medical-marijuana operator.

Loosening pot laws polls well with Floridians. The amendment allowing medical marijuana passed in 2016 with 71% of the vote. Its traditional to use the modifier whopping with any vote percentage over 65%, so make that a whopping 71% of the vote. The Legislature, as it so often does with voter initiatives, dragged its feet before reluctantly putting the new law into effect.

The Florida Supreme Court must OK proposed amendments before they go on the ballot, making sure they meet the minimum requirements, that they arent overtly deceptive and cover just one topic. Attorney General Ashley Moody has filed a motion arguing this proposed amendment is too deceptive to move ahead. Her arguments were similar to ones her office made in 2021 to successfully block an earlier recreational marijuana proposal.

Meanwhile, another issue has people with clipboards walking in parking lots, an amendment to protect abortion rights. The Legislatures new ban on abortions after six weeks is not popular and promises to get less so as more people become aware of it and the Florida Supreme Court rules that its constitutional  as it surely will.

Petitioners have until February to collect almost 900,000 signatures. A huge task, but organizers are off to a strong start.

And more than 25 other amendments are also out there in some form or another but look unlikely to make it to the ballot. That sounds like a lot, but thats the normal crowd size.

As you may have guessed, I support the referendum process. So far, it has given us smaller class sizes, legalized medical marijuana, fairer redistricting, held out the possibility for people to regain their right to vote if they lost it due to criminal conviction, blocked casino gambling, created Floridas lottery, dedicated funds for land preservation, limited terms of office, and banned indoor smoking in workplaces. None of these are things the Legislature would have done on its own despite public support for them.

Legislators are weary of blunting, limiting and redefining amendments they dont like and cant always count on a cooperative state supreme court to limit the reach of amendments or keep them off the ballot. What to do?

How about a total constitutional rewrite?

State Rep. Spencer Roach, R-North Fort Myers, has called for tossing the state constitution and starting over. Its time for the 1968 constitution to join the original in the archives. We need a complete rewrite of the Florida Constitution, he posted on Twitter last month.

He cited the constitutions age (adopted in 1968) and multiple amendments (more than 140).

A big benefit for lawmakers: Rather than swatting down all those popularly passed amendments, they could be erased in batches in the new document. A real time saver. Theres a Republican supermajority in the Legislature and you only live once. YOLO!

This may sound extreme, but in the era of the DeSantis culture wars, extreme proposals are all the rage in state government. I wouldnt count this out entirely.

Mark Lane is a News-Journal columnist. His email is mlanewrites@gmail.com.

Mark Lane

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Mark Lane: Petitioners out in parking lots seeking constitutional change
NEW YORK  Donald Trumps fixer-turned-foe Michael Cohen on Friday got the green light to subpoena his ex-boss eldest son in his upcoming case against the Trump Organization.

Cohen is suing Trumps company for refusing to shell out at least $1.9 million as promised to law firms that represented him starting in 2017 when he was probed by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, the FBI, various congressional investigations, and the Manhattan district attorneys Trump investigation.

Trumps longtime right-hand man, convicted in 2018 of issuing an illegal hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels on his behalf ahead of the 2016 election, says Trump closed his wallet when he realized his fixer had flipped.

At a pretrial hearing, Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Joel Cohen denied several motions from the Trump Organization. He sided with Michael Cohen in ruling that he can call Donald Jr. as a witness at the upcoming breach of contract trial slated to begin on July 17 and expected to last four days.

Trump will not attend or testify.

Cohens lawyer Hunter Winstead argued that Trump Jr. had the same agreement with his fathers company that he did, wherein the Trump Organization would foot the bill for attorneys fees if he ran into legal issues.

Theres been evidence induced in this case that in the exact same matters for which Mr. Cohen is seeking (compensation) in this case, the company paid the legal bills of Mr. Trump Jr., Winstead told The New York Daily News.

Its also been testified to in this case that Mr. Trump Jr. was one of the decision makers regarding whose lawyers got paid and whose lawyers did not get paid.

Cohen, who filed suit in 2019, is involved in countless legal battles with Trump. Hes expected to be the star witness in the ex-presidents hush money case headed to trial next March, in which Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 felonies.

Four years. It has taken four years to get to where were at, which is endemic of Donald Trumps playbook of delay, delay, delay, Cohen said. Im looking forward to accountability.

Lawyers for the Trump Organization did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A man from Florida faces multiple charges, including child abduction, after being stopped by Nash County Deputies on I-95 in North Carolina.

Channel 9 partners at WTVD News in Raleigh reported that deputies with the Nash County Sheriffs Office began an investigation after Alejandro Hernandez Vasquez was pulled over for a traffic violation around midnight on Tuesday.

ALSO READ: Missing Stanly County teen found safe in Alabama; man charged with child abduction

During questioning, deputies told WTVD they became suspicious and asked Vasquez to search his car. After searching the vehicle, deputies learned the 16-year-old passenger was reported missing from Coral Springs, Florida.

The 16-year-old was taken into the custody of police and held at the Wake County Juvenile Detention Center until her relatives could come up from Florida to pick her up, WTVD reports.

According to deputies, the family didnt know Vazquez, and he did not have permission to take the teen across state lines.

The 16-year-old willfully went with him, which is what were seeing at first glance in this investigation, Nash County Sheriff Keith Stone told WTVD. It was not like she was bound in the car and things of that nature, but you know, its a young 16-year-old and a grown man, and hes manipulated her and carried her across this country. This is a true case of child trafficking.

WTVD reports that officers also found illegal drugs, including synthetic cannabinoids, in Vazquezs car.

Vazquez is currently being held at the Wake County Detention Center under a $500,000 bond, including another $5,000 bond for drug violations, WTVD says.

(WATCH BELOW: Suspect kidnapped driver after convenience store robbery, CMPD says)
More young adults are not religious, but Christianity still dominant religion in US

University of Texas student Alexa Morton at the Labyrinth Progressive Student Ministry lounge next to the UT campus on Sunday June 25, 2023.

Since the 1950s, there has been a decline in attendance and membership in every major Christian denomination, with those rates falling quickly in the past two decades.

In 1990, 72% of white Americans identified as Christian; in 2022, only 42% did. Even among traditionally devout ethnicities, the number of churchgoers has decreased, the Pew Research Center found in its most recent study on religion.

A new analysis found that Catholicism among U.S. Latinos, especially those ages 18-29, is declining. Forty-nine percent of that age group identified as religiously unaffiliated, and instead as atheist, agnostic or nothing in particular, compared with 31% unaffiliated in a 2013 survey.

While Pews new research focused solely on U.S. Latinos, a 2022 study by the American Survey Center, which broke down religious preferences by generation, showed that up to a third of millennials (born between 1981 and 1996) and Generation Zers (born between 1997 and 2012), regardless of ethnicity, have drifted away from the religion of their parents and grandparents.

The Public Religion Research Institute concluded that in recent decades, the American religious landscape has shifted dramatically because of political, racial and social differences, identifying the catalytic effect of the COVID-19 pandemic and state legislative battles over LGBTQ+ and reproductive rights. The study further revealed that 24% of Americans have engaged in religious switching, meaning they had previously practiced a different religious tradition or denomination from the one they do now.

While Christianity is still the most popular religion in the U.S., surges in Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam over the past 60 years have increased ethnic and religious diversity. These changes in demographic diversity, coupled with Christian disaffiliation, continually challenge religious leaders and organizations facing decreased numbers of the faithful amid an increasingly polarized cultural milieu.

Social media and religious trends

Chad Seales, a University of Texas professor of religious studies who has spent his career researching religious trends in the U.S., pointed to social media as the connective force prompting younger generations to question their beliefs.

Social media allows atheists and agnostics in rural areas to connect with larger communities outside their hometowns. The split between urban and rural being flattened by technology creates the possibility of finding communities that affirm young people who may not fit into their parents' church, he said. These atheists gather together to form a community, which actually starts to look a lot like a church or a congregation.

Seales says there have also been notable changes in parenting styles in regards to religion. While previous generations of Christian parents instilled a fear of hell and severe consequences for nonconformity, modern parenting allows children to explore their own thoughts and ideas, making the conscious decision whether to participate in organized religion. Some forgo religion entirely, instead deciding to pursue some other form of spirituality.

Seales found that many of those who initially choose to leave their childhood religion often return to it, especially after they become parents. He cited the need for reference to a higher power because its difficult to survive as a human being without being attached to a community that tells you what birth, marriage, or life and death look like.

What is spirituality? How is it different from religion?

Unlike the wearing of a cross around the neck, spirituality is oftentimes a deeply private and personal practice, connected to an increase in individualism, making it difficult to quantify among a large population.

Spirituality is defined as how individuals make meaning, in relation to what they consider sacred or spiritual, and it might or might not be connected to an institutional religion, deity or God. In 2017, Pew found that 27% of American adults surveyed identified as spiritual but not religious, though 48% of those surveyed identified as both religious and spiritual.

According to Seales, one technical way to distinguish spirituality from religion is that religion requires shared public rituals, but spirituality can be practiced alone as an individual, ranging from following Oprah to reading devotional magazines or journaling.

In Catholicism specifically, it is a religious ritual when you take the Eucharist together in a service and everyone can see that you're taking the Eucharist, but your spirituality may be something that people can't see unless you tell them about it or you express it in some way, he said.

Christy Powell, right, and Jimmy Jr. host The Atheist Experience call-in talk show at the Atheist Community of Austin Freethought Library on Sunday June 25, 2023.

Can an ancient religion offer guidance on modern issues?

Unlike many in her age group, Kristen Tibbetts, 20, has resisted the current trend among millennials and Gen Zers, having consistently attended services at Hope Chapel in Austin, Texas, a nondenominational evangelical church, since she was 6 years old.

As a student at UT, she has been involved with Longhorns for Christ, a Christian organization for students, participating in their life groups and Sunday services. The organization facilitates Tibbetts wish to have conversations and amicable disagreements with Christians close to her age.

With social media its set up to feed you content that you already agree with, so there's this situation where you're not really getting outside of your own beliefs. I appreciate that aspect of my (Longhorns for Christ) community," she said. "I have friends that believe different things than me, even though we're all in the same church. I do prefer to have disagreements peacefully with people and still love each other at the end of the day.

Despite there being socially accepting religious organizations and congregations, Christy Powell, 35, a licensed professional counselor, has stepped away from his Christian roots. Raised in a fundamentalist Christian family, he began to question his religious beliefs in his 20s. Now based in Austin, Powell helps others grappling with religious trauma.

I realized that the Bible itself was fundamentally incompatible with the idea that homosexuality is natural and ingrained in our DNA. It was something that I just didn't think that the Bible could wrestle with, he said. So when I was about 25 I finally admitted to myself that I didn't believe in God anymore.

For more than four years, Powell has been involved with the Atheist Community of Austin, as both a volunteer, engaging with people who have questions about religion and its connection to gender and sexuality, and a member of its board of directors.

University of Texas student Alexa Morton sought out a more affirming congregation after realizing that her faith and sexuality were at odds. She found it at the Labyrinth Progressive Student Ministry.

Like Powell, Alexa Morton, 21, was raised in a Christian household with a strong sense of faith, regularly attending Sunday services with her family.

After realizing I was somewhere on the LGBTQ+ spectrum in middle school, I remember the minister saying that marriage is only between a man and a woman, she said. It really stuck with me and felt like I was not accepted there.

After realizing that her faith and sexuality were at odds, Morton sought out a new congregation that was more affirming, citing the desire for a community where she could study and discuss the Bible from an academic and historical perspective. As a student at UT, Morton researched her options before choosing Labyrinth, a progressive Christian ministry and community.

Morton noted that many friends, particularly those who grew up in the Bible Belt, have also stepped away from the Christian practices of their childhood, finding the religion too antiquated to coexist with progressive beliefs.

A lot of people have drifted away from Christianity because many of them see being progressive and being Christian as diametrically opposed, when they really don't have to be exclusive, she said.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Half of young Latinos now religiously unaffiliated, study finds
Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed a Broward School Board member and two others to the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Public Safety Commission on Friday.

Among the new appointees are Daniel Foganholi, whom the governor first appointed to the school board in April 2022 to fill Dr. Rosalind Osgoods District 5 seat. He is currently the District 1 member, appointed by DeSantis a second time and sworn in for a new two-year term this January.

The governor also appointed Punta Gorda Police Department Chief Pamela Davis and former Tampa Police Department Assistant Chief John Newman, who is currently the chief of Hillsborough Countys Security and Emergency Management Department.

The commission, created by the state Legislature after the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, was designed to address school safety issues that came to light in the massacre that killed 17 students and teachers and wounded another 17.

Tasked with investigating the failures that occurred on Feb. 14, 2018, and recommending solutions, the commissions first, 458-page report completed less than a year after the shooting detailed the gunmans background, the structure and security of the school, the law enforcement response and information of other mass shootings, among other topics.

The commission submitted a second report to the governor in November 2019, finding several flaws with the countys 911 Regional Communications System, urging the Legislature to bolster mental health funding and mandate certain policies for active assailant drills, among many other findings and recommendations in the nearly 400-page report.

The commission consists of 16 members, with five appointed by the Senate President, five by the Speaker of the House and five by the governor and the commissioner of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

Foganholi said he is filling a vacancy, but it was not immediately clear Friday evening how the vacancy was created. He said in a statement sent by text message that since joining the School Board, safety has been a top priority of his.

I firmly believe that by prioritizing safety and implementing effective strategies, we can create an environment where everyone feels safe, nurtured and empowered, he said. The safety and well-being of our constituents are paramount, and I am fully committed to making a positive and lasting impact in this critical area.

Commission members Max Schacter, father of Alex Schacter, 14, who was killed in the shooting; and Ryan Petty, father of Alaina Petty, 14, who was killed in the shooting, congratulated and praised the appointees on Twitter Friday.

Three great appointees, Petty wrote. Looking forward to working with them to make a Florida schools even safer.

After 17 were murdered in Parkland, the commission was formed to investigate the tragedy and make recommendations so all Floridas 2.3m children are safe in their schools, Schacter wrote. In Florida we understand that SCHOOL SAFETY COMES BEFORE EDUCATION, BECAUSE YOU CANT TEACH DEAD KIDS.

It was not immediately clear Friday evening which of the previously appointed members remain on the commission. A spokesperson for the FDLE said the agency would not be able to provide updated information on the members until Monday.

Punta Gorda Chief Davis formerly served in an administrative role at the Baltimore Police Department and is currently the president of the Southwest Florida Police Chiefs Association. She earned a masters degree from Johns Hopkins University and graduated from both the Federal Bureau of Investigation National Academy and the Police Executive Research Forum, the governors office said in a news release Friday.

Newman earned a bachelors degree in criminal justice and a masters in American studies from the University of South Florida and graduated from the Southern Police Institute at the University of Louisville, the governors office said. In March 2014, Newman took on a role with Hillsborough County Public Schools as the new security chief, the Tampa Police Department said in a Facebook post at the time.
A homicide suspect arrested in South Carolina escaped from a Pennsylvania jail using bedsheets, police said.

Michael Burham, 34, is accused of murder and rape in Jamestown, New York, police said.

FBI: Fugitive wanted on multiple charges arrested in South Carolina

He was being held in the Warren County Jail in northern Pennsylvania on arson and burglary charges and was also associated with the carjacking and kidnapping of a Pennsylvania couple while trying to evade capture in May, according to Jamestown police.

Burham previously led authorities on a multi-state manhunt and had three warrants for his arrest by the time he was apprehended on May 24.

Burham was initially wanted after being charged with the rape and unlawful imprisonment of a woman for an incident in Jamestown on March 13, authorities said. Local police had issued a warrant for his arrest in that case on April 27.

Amid that manhunt, Burham allegedly kidnapped an elderly couple at gunpoint on May 20 in Sheffield, Pennsylvania, and drove them to North Charleston, South Carolina, according to the FBI. He was charged with kidnapping and a warrant was issued for his arrest out of Warren County, Pennsylvania.

Burham was eventually captured in South Carolina on May 24 after a resident spotted him in their backyard, police said.

He escaped the Warren County Jail late Thursday night by jumping on the roof and lowering himself down to the ground using bedsheets that were tied together.

He was last seen wearing an orange-and-white-striped jumpsuit.

Federal, state, and local resources are being utilized in the search.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Jamestown Police Departments anonymous tip line at 716-483-8477.

ABC News contributed to this report.

VIDEO: FBI: Fugitive wanted on multiple charges seen in Awendaw, SC
An inmate suspected in several crimes including the murder of a New York woman escaped from a Pennsylvania jail using tied together bed sheets, triggering a massive multi-agency manhunt and warnings from officials that he is "very dangerous" and should not be approached.

Michael Charles Burham, 34, was discovered missing from the recreation area of the Warren County Jail early Friday morning. He "elevated himself" onto a piece of exercise equipment and left the yard through a metal gated roof, said Cecile Stelter, a spokesperson for Warren County, at a Friday afternoon news conference. He then used bed sheets that he tied together to climb down to the ground.

Staff realized Burham was missing minutes after his escape, Stelter said, noting that he was under video surveillance while in the recreation area.

"He is considered dangerous by his past actions," she said. "And the public is asked not to approach him, but if they see anything unusual to call 911."

Lieutenant Colonel George Bivens of the Pennsylvania State Police told reporters Sunday it is entirely likely that Burham is armed, and that people should not approach him if they see him.

Michael Charles Burham. (City of Warren Police via Facebook)

Authorities in Warren said Saturday that Burhams whereabouts are unknown and the search has expanded beyond the city. Stelter said Burham has survivalist skills and is comfortable living in wooded areas.

Bivens said Sunday that investigators found stockpiles of supplies on camp sites that they believe belong to Burham, though declined to elaborate on what they found or where they found it.

Warren police asked residents to check their security cameras for any possible sighting of Burham, who was wearing a jail-issued blue denim coat, white and orange pants, and orange shoes when he escaped.

Bivens said it's possible that he has now changed clothes, adding that police "believe he has previously prepared to conceal himself in the woods."

Over 10 federal, state and local law enforcement agencies are assisting in the manhunt.

The U.S. Marshals are offering a $7,500 reward for information leading to Burham's capture, and the Warren County Crime Stoppers are offering $2,000, according to Bivens.

Burham was being held at the jail, located about 11 miles from the southwest New York border, in connection with a burglary and arson, according to Stelter. He is also accused of kidnapping a Warren County couple and is a suspect in the May 11 murder of Kala Hodgkin, of Jamestown, New York.

A federal criminal complaint alleges that Hodgkin was found fatally shot at her home. At the time of the killing, there was an active arrest warrant charging Burham with raping the woman, according to the complaint.

While police were en route to Hodgkin's home, a separate call came in that Burham had allegedly tried to break into an ex-girlfriend's home and then proceeded to set her car on fire, the complaint says.

Burham went on the run, leading authorities on a multi-state manhunt before his capture on May 24 in South Carolina, the Jamestown Police Department in New York said.

During the search, Burham is accused of kidnapping a couple at gunpoint at their Sheffield, Pennsylvania home, according to the complaint. They were found alive in a cemetery in North Charleston, South Carolina. In their vehicle, was a note allegedly written by Burham telling his father he wassafe for now and apologizing for all the problems I caused the family," the complaint says.

He was charged with flight to avoid prosecution in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York in May. The case was dismissed without prejudice in on June 16, according to court records.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
A head-on shot of NASA's X-59 supersonic jet, whose wingspan stretches across the middle of the photo. Green and black panels of the jet's body reveal sleek, sharp angles. The jet sits on three wheel connected by landing gear struts. The jet sits inside a hanger with white walls, and a grey corrugated door closed behind the jet.

NASA's supersonic plane has moved closer to the runway in preparation for its debut flight.

New photos show the X-59 supersonic plane parked on the flight line  the space between the hangar and the runway  at Lockheed Martins Skunk Works facility in Palmdale, California. The plane was moved from its construction site to the flight line on June 19, according to a statement from NASA.

This milestone kicks off a series of ground tests to ensure the X-59 is safe and ready to fly as part of NASA's Quesst mission, which aims to demonstrate that the aircraft can fly faster than the speed of sound (or Mach 1) without generating the loud sonic booms generally produced by supersonic planes.

Related: Watch NASA's supersonic X-59 jet come together in Lockheed Martin's new video

"NASA will then fly the X-59 over several communities to gather data on human responses to the sound generated during supersonic flight," officials said in the statement from the space agency. "NASA will deliver that data set to U.S. and international regulators to possibly enable commercial supersonic flight over land."

The profile of a jet with pale green panel coverings with sleek, sharp edges and angles, and a long pointed black nose, is rolled outside a hanger. Personnel walk scattered about the tarmac.

The X-59 supersonic jet is expected to produce only a gentle thump, or the equivalent of a nearby car door slamming, for people on the ground. In comparison, previous generations of supersonic aircraft are known to rattle windows when flying over the speed of sound.

A jet with pale green panel coverings and sleek, sharp edges and angles sits underneath the canopy of a hanger, the bright sun peaking just above the structure's right side, against a cloudy blue sky.

Therefore, the X-59 could lead to new sound-based rules regarding supersonic flight over land, opening new doors for faster commercial cargo and passenger air travel.

A head-on black and white image of the X-59 supersonic jet. The jet sits on three-wheeled landing gear, and the sharp, sleek angles of the jet's body and wings reflect as shapely light, highlighting the craft's curves and details.

Related Stories:

 NASA's new X-59 supersonic plane gets powerful engine for quiet sonic booms

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 NASA's experimental X-59 supersonic jet returns to California for assembly

The plane will remain parked near the runway during its ground and initial flight tests by Lockheed Martin . The 99.7-foot-long, 29.5-foot-wide aircraft is powered by a single jet engine , which was built by General Electric Aviation, a subsidiary of General Electric. It is designed to reach a speed of Mach 1.4, or 925 mph, flying at an altitude of 55,000 feet (16,764 meters).

If all goes according to plan, the X-59 will fly over select U.S. cities starting in 2024. Residents will be able to share their responses to the sound produced by the X-59 aircraft. Then, data collected from the flights will be shared with American and international regulators in 2027, when the Quesst mission comes to a close.
Nashville police are investigating a self-defense claim in a fatal overnight shooting inside a Clarksville Pike gas station.

DeCarlos Groves, 25, died at the scene inside the Corner Mart at 2600 Clarksville Pike around 3:30 a.m. Saturday.

Though an investigation is ongoing, Metro Nashville police said store surveillance cameras showed Groves attempting to rob the store, allegedly pulling out a handgun and jumping over the counter where he landed on top of a 20-year-old employee.

The employee pulled out a gun in the struggle and shot Groves before calling the police.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: DeCarlos Groves fatally shot in Clarksville Pike gas station
President Joe Biden's controversial decision to provide Ukraine with cluster bombs was denounced by some NATO allies on Saturday.

Biden said on Friday that the United States would send cluster munitions  bombs that open in midair and release submunitions  to Kyiv as part of its next $800 million weapons package to support Ukraine during its summer counteroffensive campaign against Russia.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles both said their countries would not support sending cluster munitions to Ukraine.

While both Ukraine and Russia have already used cluster munitions in the war, the Biden administration's decision to send cluster bombs sparked controversy due to the weapon's increased risk of causing civilian casualties. The use of cluster munitions on both sides has already caused civilian casualties.

Ukrainian government officials, however, welcomed Biden's decision to provide the country with cluster bombs.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote in a tweet on Friday that he was grateful for the "broad and much-needed defense aid package" from the U.S. government.

"The expansion of Ukraine's defense capabilities will provide new tools for the de-occupation of our land and bringing peace closer," Zelenskyy added.

Meanwhile, intense fighting continued Saturday as Ukrainians marked the 500th day since Russia invaded. Eight civilians were killed and over a dozen more were injured early Saturday by rockets that struck the town of Lyman, a few kilometers from the front line of fighting, officials said.

Ukrainians have made significant gains in both the north and south of Bakhmut, an eastern town that was captured by Russians in May, the U.K. Ministry of Defense said in an update.

Russian defenders are highly likely struggling with poor morale, a mix of disparate units and a limited ability to find and strike Ukrainian artillery," the ministry said.

Latest developments:

Both Russian and Ukrainian officials have accused each other of planning to sabotage the Russia-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. Ukraine's military intelligence said Saturday that Russian forces have planted mines around the plant, while the head of the United Nations nuclear agency did not confirm the presence of mines.

On Saturday, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu was shown visiting firing ranges where volunteer soldiers are being trained, a trip that comes two weeks after an abortive mutiny launched by mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, whose Wagner troops marched on Moscow in a bid to oust Shoigu.

Zelenskyy attended a memorial ceremony for the victims of the war in Ukraine on Saturday at the Patriarchal Church of St. George in Istanbul, Turkey.

VISUAL: Graphics examine cluster bombs, controversial weapons the US will send to Ukraine

US didn't endorse convention banning cluster munitions

More than 100 countries, including many NATO allies such as Spain and the United Kingdom, signed the 2010 Convention on Cluster Munitions which placed an international ban on the use of the weapons. The United States, Ukraine and Russia, however, did not endorse the convention.

Sunak told reporters on Saturday that while the United Kingdom will continue to support Ukraine, it signed a convention that "prohibits the production or use of cluster munitions."

"We will continue to do our part to support Ukraine against Russia's illegal and unprovoked invasion, but we've done that by providing heavy battle tanks and most recently long-range weapons, and hopefully all countries can continue to support Ukraine," Sunak said.

Robles, the Spanish defense minister, told Reuters on Saturday that the decision to provide Ukraine with cluster munitions was not a NATO decision and said Spain has a "firm commitment that certain weapons and bombs cannot be delivered under any circumstances."

"No to cluster bombs and yes to the legitimate defense of Ukraine, which we understand should not be carried out with cluster bombs," Robles said.

Zelenskyy marks 500th day of war

Zelenskyy shared a video marking 500 days since Russia invaded Ukraine with a visit to Snake Island, honoring the soldiers who fought to defend the island and calling its reclaiming "great proof that Ukraine will regain every bit of its territory."

I want to thank  from here, from this place of victory  each of our soldiers for these 500 days, Zelenskyy said. Thank you to everyone who fights for Ukraine!

Russian forces overtook the island the day they launched their assault on Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, and it became a symbol of resistance for Ukrainians as they fought to reclaim it until Russians retreated in June 2022.

Captured leaders of steel plant defense return to Ukraine

Five commanders of the defense at the Azovstal steel plant who were captured early on in the war by Russian forces were on their way back to Ukraine, Zelenskyy said.

A monthslong siege at the plant resulted in some 2,000 defenders leaving the the steelworks in mid-May 2022 and being taken into Russian custody. The five leaders, some of whom were part of the Azov national guard regiment that Russia denounces as neo-Nazi, were freed as part of a prisoner swap in September and taken to Turkey. They were supposed to remain in Turkey until the end of the war, and Zelenskyy didn't say why they were returning to Ukraine.

They were on a plane with Zelenskyy headed back to Ukraine from Turkey on Saturday, he said.

Contributing: The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ukraine updates: US criticized for cluster bombs; 500th day of war
Editors Note: This article was originally published by The Art Newspaper, an editorial partner of CNN Style.

(CNN)  The Dutch government is returning 478 objects looted during colonial times to Indonesia and Sri Lanka.

Following multiple claims from Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Nigeria, the Dutch Secretary of State for Culture and Media Gunay Uslu announced the decision Thursday to repatriate objects including the Lombok treasure, consisting of 335 objects from Lombok, Indonesia, the Pita Maha collection, a key collection of modern art from Bali and the 18th-century Cannon of Kandy, a ceremonial weapon from Sri Lanka made of bronze, silver and gold and inlaid with rubies.

This is a historic moment, Uslu said in a press statement. Its the first time were following recommendations to give back objects that should never have been brought to the Netherlands. But more than anything, its a moment to look to the future. Were not only returning objects; were also embarking on a period of closer cooperation with Indonesia and Sri Lanka in areas like collection research, presentation and exchanges between museums.

In 2020, a Dutch Council for Culture report produced by a committee chaired by human rights lawyer Lilian Goncalves-Ho Kang You recommended that the country should unconditionally return objects it was reasonably sure were lost involuntarily by countries under its colonial authority.

Many of the objects to be returned are in the National Museum of World Cultures. Six other colonial artifacts claimed by Sri Lanka are currently in the collection of the Rijksmuseum, the Netherlands national museum of arts and history; this is the first repatriation of such artifacts from the museum following provenance research that began in 2017. The Cannon of Kandy, for instance, was looted by troops from the Dutch East India Company during the 1765 siege and plunder of Kandy, and it was later gifted to William V, Prince of Orange.

Valika Smeulders, head of the Rijksmuseums department of history, told The Art Newspaper there has been a clear shift in perspective.

I think the way that the museum world used to look at this debate in the 20th century was very much about the concern to preserve objects for generations to come, and obviously museums in Europe have the facilities to do that, she said. But what changed is our viewpoint: these objects are to tell the stories of our countries, of our shared history of peoples. So what we see now as our mission is to have the objects in the places where they are best able to tell the stories that are important.

She dismissed concerns that the new policy would mean European museums losing collection highlights  which until recently played a role in considering restitution claims on Nazi-looted art in the Netherlands.

I dont really think that is going to happen, because I expect countries of provenance and museums here in Europe will have a discussion about which objects will go back, and not all of them will be, Smeulders said. But what we will gain, all of us, is more knowledge about these objects, how they came into our possession, their background, what stories are we able to tell. So in the end well have an enrichment of what we do instead of empty galleries.

The collection of objects repatriated to Indonesia will not include human remains of the Java man, which are displayed at the Naturalis Biodiversity Center in Leiden as some of the earliest specimens of the extinct early human, Homo erectus.

A spokesperson for the Dutch government told The Guardian Thursday that no decision regarding the Java man remains had been reached.

Nothing has been declined, but some things take longer than others, the spokesperson said.

Gert-Jan van den Bergh, a specialist in art law at the law firm Bergh Stoop & Sanders, told The Art Newspaper that the repatriation effort was an important first step, but just a first step.

Dont forget, we have 300,000 colonial objects that are the property of the central state in the Netherlands alone, Van den Bergh said, adding that there should be more scrutiny of privately-owned colonial objects as well, including at major auction houses.

A ceremonial handover of objects to the National Museum of Indonesia in Jakarta will take place at the Museum Volkenkunde Leiden on July 10.

This story was first published on CNN.com, "Netherlands to return nearly 500 looted objects to Indonesia and Sri Lanka"
(This July 8 story has been refiled to remove extraneous word 'vehicles' in paragraph 6, and change 'measures' to 'equipment' in paragraph 8)

By Andrius Sytas

KANIUKAI, Lithuania (Reuters) - NATO has turned Vilnius into a fortress defended by advanced weaponry to protect U.S. President Joe Biden and other alliance leaders meeting next week only 32 km (20 miles) from Lithuania's razor-wire topped border fence with Russian ally Belarus.

Sixteen NATO allies have sent a total of about 1,000 troops to safeguard the July 11-12 summit, which will take place only 151 km (94 miles) from Russia itself. Many are also providing advanced air defence systems which the Baltic states lack.

"It would be more than irresponsible to have our sky unprotected as Biden and leaders of 40 countries are arriving," Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said.

The Baltic countries of Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia, once under Moscow's rule but part of both NATO and the European Union since 2004, all spend above 2% of their economies on defence, a larger share than most other NATO allies.

But for the region with total population of about 6 million people, this is not enough to sustain large militaries, invest in their own fighter jets or advanced air defence.

Germany deployed 12 Patriot missile launchers, used to intercept ballistic and cruise missiles or warplanes.

Spain has brought a NASAMS air defence system, France is sending Caesar self-propelled howitzers, France, Finland, and Denmark are basing military jets in Lithuania, and the United Kingdom and France are supplying anti-drone capabilities.

Poland and Germany sent helicopter-enhanced special operations forces. Others are sending equipment to deal with any potential chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear attacks.

For Nauseda, the allied effort to ensure air safety during the leader's gathering means NATO needs to urgently set up permanent air defences in the Baltic states.

"We think about what happens after the summit ends, and we will work with allies to create a rotating force for a permanent air protection", he told reporters.

NO 'GUTS'

At villages next to the Belarus border, locals told Reuters they feel totally safe, despite the Russian ally's offer to accommodate Russia's private Wagner militia and its hosting of Russian nuclear weapons.

"Do you think Wagner or Belarus could attack Lithuania, which is in NATO? They don't have the guts. NATO is NATO, and we feel ourselves safe because we are in NATO. Why would we fear those Belarussians?", said Edvard Rynkun, 67, in Kaniukai, a village 1 km (less than a mile) from Belarus.

"If Lithuania was alone, I would feel differently," he added. "If not for the NATO membership, things here could already be same as in Ukraine," said Elena Tarasevic, 55, Rynkun's neighbour.

At Vilnius airport, eight German-operated Patriot missile launchers were seen standing with their nozzles pointed in the direction of Russia's Kaliningrad. Two more pointed towards Belarus. All of the launchers were operational since Friday morning.

"You know where you are situated geographically, and you know pretty well where the threat is coming from", said Lt Col Steffen Lieb, commander of the Patriot deployment.

"Lithuania asked us for protection of the summit, and also NATO asked Germany for help. This is our answer," he added.

TRIPLED

Lithuania has tripled the deployment of border guards at the Belarus and Russian borders for the summer, augmented by officers from Latvia and Poland. The two countries have also sent police to help patrol Vilnius.

"We are preparing for various provocations", border guard chief Rustamas Liubajevas said. He added that he feared waves of migrants at the border, or border violations, or military vehicles appearing at the border without explanation.

Thousands of Middle Eastern migrants have crossed at the Belarus border in 2021, in an effort Lithuania and the European Union said was orchestrated by Minsk, a charge it denies. The numbers have since subsided.

"The situation is really very tense, because of aggression of Russia against Ukraine. So the (border protection) was already on a very, very high level (before the summit)", said Liubajevas.

Border checks on Lithuania's European Union borders with Poland and Latvia were reintroduced for the summit.

The mayor of Vilnius has suggested citizens go on holiday outside the city if they want to avoid disruption, as large parts of central Vilnius will be closed off for the summit.

(This July 8 story has been refiled to remove extraneous word 'vehicles' in paragraph 6, and change 'measures' to 'equipment' in paragraph 8)

(Additional reporting by Sabine Siebold and John Irish, Editing by William Maclean)
At least 45 percent of all US tap water could be laced with at least one type of per - and polyfluoroalkyl substances or PFAS, a group of toxic "forever chemicals," according to a new study conducted by the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

There are roughly 12,000 of these man-made chemicals in existence, according to the study, and are dubbed "forever chemicals" due to the fact that they hardly ever break down in the environment or in the human body.

The effects these chemicals have on our health are still not entirely understood, but they have been associated with several serious health risks, including certain types of cancer, and reproductive effects in pregnant people, as The Washington Post reports.

These toxic compounds have been discovered in a number of unthinkable places, including takeout containers and even toilet paper.

Despite their suspected toxicity, they continue to be used in consumer products, including clothing, cosmetics, and food packaging. And now, it seems that they have made their way into our tap water as well, meaning millions of Americans are likely directly consuming them.

"Millions of people have been drinking a toxic forever chemical linked to cancer all their lives and are only discovering it today," senior vice president for government affairs at the Environmental Working Group Scott Faber, who was not involved in the study, told the WaPo of the research.

And human health isn't the only concern, as PFAS have negative impacts on the health of animals and the environment.

According to the USGS, the study is the largest and most comprehensive of its kind thus far, with scientists examining tap water samples from over 700 locations across the country over the course of a five-year period. Per the WaPo, these locations were varied, from water taken from protected lands and "residential areas with no known PFAS sources," to locations near previously-identified high-risk waste sites.

As NPR reports, the USGS scientists' choice to examine tap water was very intentional, as most state and federal testing is usually done in groundwater wells and the water treatment plants they supply.

"The USGS study specifically focused on collecting water directly from a homeowners tap," Kelly Smalling, a USGS research chemist and the study's lead author, told NPR, as it's "where exposure actually occurs."

Based on their findings, the USGS scientists estimate that those in urban areas are at a 75 percent risk of PFAS exposure, while folks in more rural areas face a 25 percent risk.

There are also some hotspots, with Smalling telling NPR that potential high-risk areas include "the Great Plains, Great Lakes, Eastern Seaboard, and Central/Southern California regions."

Though the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) introduced some federal drinking water limits to PFAS back in March, those guidelines have yet to go into effect.

They're also pretty flawed. As Smalling told NPR, the guidelines entirely exclude the one in eight Americans who get their drinking water from private wells.

According to some experts, however, all regulation is too little, too late if we fail to throttle PFAS at their man-made source.

"We need to regulate the companies that are producing these chemicals," Harvard epidemiologist Carmen Messerlian, who was not involved in the study, told the WaPo. "By the time they hit our water, our food, our children's mouths and our bodies, it really is too late."

The EPA recently come under fire for failing to halt production at a major food and cosmetic packaging manufacturer that's alleged to have repeatedly lied about whether its products contained the cancer-linked chemical chains.

Simply put: it's a pretty grim situation. And right now, it's unclear how the pervasiveness of these chemicals can effectively be countered on a large scale.

Fortunately, some states have recently passed some meaningful PFAS-related legislation. In the meantime, the USGS study will hopefully provide US citizens with more awareness of what, exactly, they might be drinking.

"We really hope that this study gives the average American some information about the quality of their drinking water," Smalling told the WaPo.

More on forever chemicals: Scientists Discover That Toilet Paper Contains Toxic "Forever" Chemicals
Nearly a quarter of Republicans say classified docs charges make them more likely to support Trump: poll

More than 20 percent of Republicans surveyed said certain criminal charges against former President Trump have made them more likely to support him in the 2024 election, according to a new Ipsos poll released Thursday.

About 24 percent of polled Republicans say the charges in the classified documents investigation make them more likely to support Trump, while 21 percent said the same with regard to the 34-count indictment related to falsified business records in a Manhattan court case.

Trump was charged with 37 felonies related to alleged mishandling of classified documents at his Florida home. He also faces 34 criminal counts related to falsifying business records in a case in which he allegedly made hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels.

The largest proportion of Americans identifying with any party said the cases hurt their opinion of Trump or dont change their likelihood of supporting him, 41 and 37 percent respectively.

If Trump is found guilty on the charges, about 10 percent of Republicans said they would be more likely to support him.

The findings support polling from last month that found that a majority of Americans, and approximately 80 percent of Republicans, believe that the criminal charges are politically motivated.

The survey also found that most Democrats believe Trump is guilty, while Republicans are split. Most Americans also want Trumps trial to take place before the 2024 election.

The Hill Elections 2024 coverage

The Ipsos poll has a margin of error of 3.8 points. It was conducted in late June after Trump had been indicted in both cases. Some 1,005 American adults were surveyed, including 374 Republicans, 441 Democrats and 122 independents.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) will no longer contest the parole of Leslie Van Houten, a member of the infamous Charles Manson family that carried out multiple murders in 1969.

Van Houten took part in the killings of Los Angeles grocer Leno LaBianca and his wife Rosemary, while other members of the cult had killed actress Sharon Tate and four others the day before. She has been serving a life sentence but was recommended for parole after serving more than 53 years in prison.

Newsom rejected her parole, finding that Van Houten still posed a danger to society and provided an inconsistent and inadequate explanation of her involvement with Manson. But the state appeals court ruled in May that Van Houten should be released, reversing Newsoms decision.

Newsom has now decided that he will not appeal the courts ruling to the California Supreme Court, likely paving the way for Van Houten to be released.

Erin Mellon, the communications director for Newsoms office, said in a statement that Newsom is disappointed with the appeals courts decision but decided against further efforts to prevent her release as they seem unlikely to succeed.

Mellon said the states top court accepts appeals in few cases and usually does not take cases based on this fact-specific determination.

More than 50 years after the Manson cult committed these brutal offenses, the victims families still feel the impact, as do all Californians, she said.

The appeals court ruled 2-1 that no evidence existed to support Newsoms conclusion about Van Houten. Newsom had previously rejected her parole three times, and former Gov. Jerry Brown (D) did the same twice.

Van Houtens attorney, Nancy Tetreault, said her client could be released in about two weeks after the parole board reviews her record and processes the paperwork.

Shes just grateful that people are recognizing that shes not the same person that she was when she committed the murders, Tetreault said about Van Houten.

She said Van Houten will spend about a year in a halfway house to learn basic skills like going to a grocery store and getting a debit card.

Manson died in prison in 2017 from natural causes. Another Manson family member, Susan Atkins, died from cancer in 2009. Members Tex Watson and Patricia Krenwinkel remain in prison.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Newsom will not contest parole for former Manson follower Leslie Van Houten

Leslie Van Houten reacts after hearing she is eligible for parole on Sept. 6, 2017. Then-Gov. Jerry Brown would later block her release. (Stan Lim / Los Angeles Daily News )

Gov. Gavin Newsom will not challenge a California appellate court's decision to allow parole for Leslie Van Houten, moving the former follower of Charles Manson closer to release after more than 50 years behind bars.

"The governor is disappointed by the Court of Appeals decision to release Ms. Van Houten, but will not pursue further action as efforts to further appeal are unlikely to succeed," Newsom's communications director, Erin Mellon, said in a statement Friday.

Newsom has on three previous occasions rejected parole for Van Houten, 73, who is serving a life sentence for helping Manson and members of the cult leader's family kill Los Angeles grocer Leno LaBianca and his wife, Rosemary, in August 1969.

Van Houten, who was 19 at the time of the murders, put a pillowcase over Rosemary LaBianca's head and stabbed her more than a dozen times. The group of Manson followers also smeared the LaBiancas' blood on the walls of the couples Los Feliz home.

Read more: Full Coverage: The Manson murders  50 years later

Manson and his followers were sentenced to death in 1971, but the sentences were commuted to life in prison after capital punishment was ruled unconstitutional in 1972.

Since then, Van Houten has been recommended for parole several times and has had more than two dozen parole hearings. Each recommendation was denied by Newsom or his predecessor, Gov. Jerry Brown.

The May decision by the 2nd District Court of Appeal marked the first time a court had overruled a governors denial of parole to a Manson follower.

Newsoms rejection, judges for the appellate court wrote, failed to account for the decades of therapy, self-help programming and reflection Van Houten has undergone in the past 50 years.

Newsom, who denied Van Houten's last parole recommendation in 2022, would have needed to file a petition to the California Supreme Court to contest the appellate court's decision.

"More than 50 years after the Manson cult committed these brutal offenses, the victims' families still feel the impact, as do all Californians," Mellon said.

Read more: Manson follower Leslie Van Houten could be freed after court overrules Newsom

Nancy Tetreault, an attorney for Van Houten, told the Associated Press that she could be released from the California Institution for Women within a couple weeks, pending parole board reviews and paperwork. Van Houten will then spend about a year living in a halfway house as she learns skills necessary for modern daily life, such as using a smartphone and getting a debit card, Tetreault said.

A Southern California native, Van Houten graduated from Monrovia High School. Her parents divorced when she was 14 and she began taking drugs, including LSD. At 17, she became pregnant and had an abortion.

Beginning in 1968, she started living lived on Spahn Ranch in Chatsworth, a headquarters for Manson and his followers.

Van Houten initially described the commune as idyllic but said it had a sinister side, with Manson espousing beliefs in a race war between Black and white people. Manson believed the family had to start killing white people to start the race war.

Read more: What happened to the Manson 'family'? A look at key figures, decades after horrific murders

Though Van Houten was involved in the LaBianca murders, she was not in attendance the previous night, when Manson's followers killed five people at the Benedict Canyon home of film director Roman Polanski, including his pregnant wife, actress Sharon Tate; and her friends Jay Sebring; coffee heiress Abigail Folger; Folger's boyfriend, Voytek Frykowski; and Steven Parent.

The dual crimes came to be known as the "Tate-LaBianca murders," and horrified and fascinated the nation. Five people were ultimately convicted of the murders, including Manson, who died of natural causes in prison in 2017.

Van Houten's original case was overturned on appeal, but she was later convicted of murder and conspiracy.

According to the judges ruling in May, Van Houten worked as a tutor and earned her masters degree in humanities while incarcerated. She also participated in various mental health and self-help programs.

Outside a single write-up in 1981 for "verbally communicating with women," she had a spotless disciplinary record during her time in custody, officials said.

Times staff writer Summer Lin contributed to this report.

Sign up for Essential California, your daily guide to news, views and life in the Golden State.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Thinking. Feeling. Actions. The words are written on a white board in a classroom at J. Reuben Long Detention Center Wednesday morning.

A small group of women are gathered there, laughing, and listening to a teacher at the head of the room.

All of them are inmates, and all of them are in different stages of addiction recovery.

The lesson on this day is on changing your way of thinking. For Frances Tufts, one of the addiction counselors who leads the new Next Steps program for women at J. Reuben Long, this is a lesson she frequently tries to hit home.

Some of the women in the classroom had never been clean before, according to Tufts. One participant spoke up during the class and said she had been previously clean for two years.

Francis Tufts, an addiction councilor at J. Reuben Long Detention Center councils female detainees. With new classes at J.Reuben Long Detention Center, women are able to take part in Next Step addition recovery classes as part of the jails pretrial intervention program. July 5, 2023.

For the past 15 years, the Next Steps addiction recovery class has only been available to male inmates after sentencing as part of a jail diversion program.

Jail officials have wanted to bring the same resources to female inmates for a long time, but couldnt due to staffing issues and funding. Grant funding approved in December ultimately allowed the jail to introduce the Next Steps program to pretrial female inmates.

Such programs have become important as the population of female inmates continues to grow nationally.

Between 1980 and 2021, the number of incarcerated women increased by more than 525% in the U.S., rising from a total of 26,326 in 1980 to 168,449 in 2021, according to a report put out by The Sentencing Project.

The number of female inmates has grown slightly over the years at J. Reuben Long Detention Center in Conway.

The average population of female inmates compared to men is about 100 to 600, according to Dustin Walters, the program director at J Reuben Long Detention Center. .

Addiction affects majority of countys inmates

Grant funding to hire three new certified peer-support specialists was approved by the county in December, and the Next Steps program was introduced to pretrial female inmates in January, according to Walters.

The pretrial program will eventually be brought to male inmates as well. A pretrial program is for inmates who are awaiting trial and proof of participation can be brought before a judge, which could allow for possible sentencing reduction.

Addiction affects the majority of inmates, Walters said. Cases with opioid use are the most common.

National research shows about 60% of incarcerated people are impacted by addiction, Walters said. We estimate that its much higher in our facility, probably closer to 80%.

Walters said he remembered the first female inmate accepted into the program broke down in tears when she found out.

She felt like this was the only opportunity that she had ever been able to take hold of, you know, and the only opportunity she was able to take when she needed it the most, Walters said. It was really powerful.







Recovery for women is different than men

Tufts, who had long advocated for such programs at the jail, said she was surprised  and impressed  to see the same resources brought to women.

All the research is on men, Tufts said. We are a male-centered society to begin with, but the correctional research is on men. The addiction research is on men. Dustin (Walters) found curriculum written for women, which is difficult.

Over a year was spent on researching best practices for addiction treatment centered on women. Walters and Tufts had the opportunity to learn in Minnesota from one of the nations only sources of information.

Because the program is pretrial, many women are at different stages of recovery and the time they have in class varies on when they get out of jail, according to Tufts.

Participants are able to bring documentation of class participation to their court date, which could result in a lesser sentence.

But women need different curriculum than men when it comes to addiction recovery. The treatment has to be trauma-responsive as well as trauma-informed, Tufts said.

Around 85% of women in correctional facilities would qualify for a PTSD diagnosis, she said.

You open yourself up for that when you add addiction in too, Tufts said. Its just more likely to happen. Especially being in a jail not knowing whats going on, not having control of shutting your door or opening your door, whos around you, any of that, just keeps the trauma going. So trauma-responsive is really really important for women.

During the class, women are given a binder to hold all their class materials.

Without access to tape or glue, some inmates have taken to decorating their class binders with magazine clippings and collages using toothpaste.

A student at J. Rueben Long Detention Center near Conway, S.C looks down at a notebook that she decorated with words of encouragement during an addiction recovery class. With new classes at J.Reuben Long Detention Center, female detainees are able to take part in Next Step addition recovery classes as part of the jails pretrial intervention program. July 5, 2023.

Measuring success is difficult right now

The program for the women is still very new, so measuring success is hard.

But Walters said the mens next step program has been successful. The recidivism rate  the tendency of someone convicted to re-offend  is around 10% out of all participants. Thats out of about 500 inmates who have gone through the jail diversion program since its inception, according to Walters. And the number is reflects program participants who return to J. Reuben Long within one year of release.

But it can take someone multiple times in an addiction recovery program before they become successful, Tufts said. Walters and Tufts both said they dont fixate on the outcome.

Because thats the nature of the disease, Walters said of addiction. You know, its a chronic, progressive relapsing disease.

And it takes the support of the entire staff, not just the counselors or supervisors, to have the success. Tufts said she was very grateful for the officers at J. Reuben Long.

I think we like the officers a lot here, Tufts said. They are the most supportive in the world, but they are already doing that job. So to expand is amazing.
North Carolina Lt. Gov. and ardent culture warrior Mark Robinson had yet another viral moment this week after he seemed to suggest we revisit the writings of dictators like Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin.

A clip of Robinsons speech at a Moms for Liberty summit in Philadelphia accumulated millions of views on social media, drawing outrage and condemnation from Democrats, including fellow gubernatorial candidate Josh Stein.

Heres the thing, Robinson said in the speech. Whether youre talking about Adolf Hitler, whether youre talking about Chairman Mao, whether youre talking about Stalin  or whether youre talking about a dozen other despots all around the globe, it is time for us to get back and start reading some of those quotes.

A longer clip posted by Robinson himself showed the original video was missing some important context. Though Robinson was clearly being critical of Hitler and others like him, its clear he still believes there is some educational value in reading their work.

Its time for us to start teaching our children about the dirty, despicable, awful things that those communist and socialist despots did in our history, Robinsons speech continued.

Democrats didnt include that context in their criticism of Robinson. They either didnt do their homework or decided to ignore the additional remarks. Either was wrong.

But Robinson is, too. First of all, when did we ever stop teaching about Hitler and other despots? I learned about World War II and the Holocaust in many history classes, and those lessons certainly never painted Hitler or Mussolini as heroes. And as lieutenant governor, Robinson ought to know that education on the Holocaust and genocide is required by state statute, and federal law has provided funding for Holocaust education since 2020. Of course, Mein Kampf is probably excluded from most reading lists, and thats perfectly fine  reading it is unnecessary even when teaching students about the horrors of Hitler.

And while Robinson and his peers insist that children these days are being brainwashed by Marxist ideals, I was taught to regard communism in a strictly negative light. In fact, the only thing I actually learned about communism was that it was bad, even if I didnt understand what it was. That experience isnt unique to me, but it must not be good enough for Robinson and Republicans in other states. Florida, for example, now has a law designating Nov. 7 as Victims of Communism Day and requiring students to receive lessons about the evils of communism.

The reason Robinson even brought up Hitler was to defend a Moms for Liberty chapter that recently received backlash for quoting Hitler in a newsletter. Robinson claimed it was no different than quoting Hitler in a history book. But history books put the quotes in context, and the newsletter did not  it quoted Hitler talking about owning the youth as if it were words of inspiration from Mother Teresa.

The biggest problem with Robinsons speech, though, is its hypocrisy. Its particularly ironic that Robinson so firmly believes in teaching students about the dirty and despicable moments in world history, yet wants to shield them from the ugly parts of Americas past. Hes insisting we view the rest of the world through a critical lens, but when it comes to U.S. history, its as if we must look at it with rose-colored glasses.

Robinson doesnt want students learning too much about race and racism, but how can you teach about Nazism without discussing the fact that it promoted a certain racial hierarchy, and people were killed because of it? Nor do Robinson and other Republicans like when students learn that racism and discrimination still exist in modern society. But Nazism, fascism and antisemitism are very much still present today, too, and thats a conversation that must be had. Robinson himself has a history of antisemitic comments  he has repeatedly minimized the atrocity of the Holocaust and invoked harmful tropes and conspiracies about Jewish people.

These inconsistencies expose how hollow Robinsons indoctrination narrative really is. Teaching students that socialism is inherently evil  which is about as nakedly political as it gets  is perfectly fine. Pretending LGBTQ+ people dont exist is OK ,to him, too. But teaching a complete version of history, as opposed to a whitewashed one? Thats Marxist brainwashing, simply because he doesnt like it.
Norway's new phosphate deposits are so massive they could guarantee solar power and electric cars keep running for the next 50 years

Phosphate rock pebbles. Scott Audette / REUTERS

Norge Mining has discovered 77 billion tons of phosphate rock.

The company's founder said it could satisfy global demand for fertilizer and EVs for 50 years.

Russia is another leading producer of phosphate rock, but the war in Ukraine has disrupted trade.

Huge phosphate rock deposits discovered in Norway could satisfy global demand for fertilizers and electric vehicles for the next 50 years, the founder of the company set to mine them has said.

Norge Mining, which reportedly found the massive site in southwestern Norway in 2018, announced in May that it had discovered 77 billion tons worth of the mineral, according to The Economist.

"Down to 400 meters, we established two world-class resources, which together allow a supply of raw materials for at least 50 years," Norge Mining's founder and deputy CEO Michael Wurmser told EURACTIV.

According to the OCP Group, a phosphate rock mining company, the rock is used to produce phosphorous, a key ingredient in fertilizers. It can also be processed to form phosphoric acid, which can then be used in a wide range of products, from animal feed to lithium-iron-phosphate batteries, which power solar energy systems and electric cars.

Before Norge's discovery, other major phosphate producers included Morocco, China, the US, and Russia, per a report from the Hague Center for Strategic Studies. But the market was massively disrupted by Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, with one knock-on effect being the soaring price of fertilizer prices.

Russia and China have also long held significant power over global food security, so the impact of the Ukraine war put certain regions at serious risk, Bloomberg reported.

But Wurmser believes that the latest find could help mitigate some of these risks.

"When you find something of that magnitude in Europe, which is larger than all the other sources we know  it is significant," he said.

"We believe the phosphorous that we can produce will be important to the West  it provides autonomy," he added.

As well as discovering phosphate at the site, Norge also found huge deposits of titanium  used to build aeroplanes  and vanadium, which is a key alloy for strengthening steel.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Nurse fired for secret affair with patient who died during sex in hospital parking lot

Nurse fired for secret affair with patient who died during sex in hospital parking lot

A British nurse lost her job after the hospital learned she had maintained an affair with a patient for over a year, ending when the man died following a sexual encounter with her in the hospitals parking lot in Wrexham, Wales.

The man, known as patient A, was receiving dialysis treatment, and he died of a heart attack during the late-night meeting in January last year. Penelope Williams, 42, failed to call for an ambulance after the patient collapsed in the back of his car.

Patient A died from "heart failure and chronic kidney disease triggered by a medical episode," The Times UK reported.

The episode triggered an investigation and hearing before a Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) fitness-to-practice panel, which heard testimony that Williams had ignored advice from colleagues who had urged her to call an ambulance.

ANGLICAN ARCHBISHOP DECLARES OUR FATHER TO BE PROBLEMATIC: OPPRESSIVELY PATRIARCHAL

Patient A had met Williams through work, with Williams helping to treat him for his condition. When emergency personnel eventually arrived, they found Patient A partially naked and unresponsive.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

Williams had called a colleague instead of emergency personnel, and the colleague urged her to immediately call an ambulance, only for Williams to delay in doing so. She was "crying and distressed and asking for help as she tried to explain that someone had died."

UK LAWMAKER FACES LIKELY EJECTION AFTER LONDON NIGHTCLUB GROPING INCIDENT

The colleague ended up calling an ambulance instead, who found Patient A dead upon their arrival.

A disciplinary hearing found that the pair had had a year-long sexual relationship. He suffered a heart attack with his trousers around his ankles during the late-night tryst with Williams.

Williams initially told police and a paramedic that she had gone to meet with him after he had messaged her on Facebook that he felt unwell. She claimed she had spent only about "30 to 45 minutes" in the back of his car "just talking," according to The Telegraph.

RARE ANIMAL'S ARRIVAL WILL HELP REVEAL SECRETS OF ONE OF LEAST-KNOWN SPECIES ON THE PLANET

"She further explained that [the patient] started groaning and suddenly died," she had testified at an initial February hearing.

A disciplinary hearing in Cardiff was told the pair had had a year-long sexual relationship . He suffered a heart attack with his trousers around his ankles during the late-night tryst with Williams.

She later admitted to the ongoing relationship and that she had met up with him that night for a sexual encounter. Her admission at a later hearing in May resulted in her final dismissal from her job.

The board determined that Williams had "brought the nursing profession into disrepute," The New York Post reported.

Williams hid her 12-month affair with the man despite knowing that he was a dialysis patient under her at Wrexham Maelor hospital.

"Mrs. Williams actions were significant departures from the standards expected of a registered nurse, and are fundamentally incompatible with her remaining on the register," the board ruled.

"The panel was of the view that the findings in this particular case demonstrate that Mrs. Williams actions were so serious that to allow her to continue practicing would undermine public confidence in the profession and in the NMC as a regulatory body."
Rosemarie Reger-Rumsey believed in offering those in need an extravagant welcome.

Reger-Rumsey served as the executive director of Listening House of St. Paul, a drop-in center for the unhoused, for 20 years. The nonprofit organization is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year.

She just had uncompromising compassion for the people she served, said former St. Paul mayor Chris Coleman. The whole concept of Listening House  to just be present to people who are unheard and unseen  was the most amazing thing when I first got to know about it, and Rosemarie was the perfect person to lead it.

Reger-Rumsey died Monday surrounded by family members at her house in St. Pauls Crocus Hill neighborhood of complications related to lung cancer. She was 72.

Listening House is a community center where unhoused and disadvantaged adults can spend time during the day and evening, take a nap, read a book, do laundry, watch a movie, play cards, pick up mail, get a snack and find fellowship. Staff and volunteers can help people with employment applications, chemical-dependency treatment, hygiene, Social Security and other government assistance.

Listening House is leasing the basement of the First Lutheran Church, located at 463 Maria Ave., near Swede Hollow Park, but will soon be moving to a new permanent location at the site of the former Reds Savoy restaurant on East Seventh Street and Lafayette Road.

The construction of the new building and upcoming move, slated for September, couldnt have happened without Reger-Rumseys groundwork, said Molly Jalma, executive director of Listening House since December 2020.

We are certainly standing on her shoulders, Jalma said. We couldnt, by any means, be where we are right now without all the service that she provided. We were really hoping she was going to get a chance to see it.

Listening House is all about radical hospitality, Jalma said. It started that way, and Rosemarie really continued that legacy of welcoming people in  that there will always be a place in St. Paul where we will learn peoples names, people will get treated with dignity, and we will ask them what they need, and try and find ways to say Yes. That is her legacy. That is what Listening House is, and its something that we honor every day.

Reger-Rumseys obituary has been posted at Listening House, and guests have been sharing stories about her this week, Jalma said.

People talk about her and her belief in them, she said. Even just eye contact and remembering their name can be such a transformative experience. She has done that with thousands of individuals, and St. Paul is better for it, for sure.

In an interview with the Pioneer Press in 2015, Reger-Rumsey said Listening House was founded to serve people who are disadvantaged, lonely or homeless.

I overheard someone describe us as Starbucks for the poor, she said in the interview. Starbucks mission is to inspire and nurture the human spirit one person, one cup, one community at a time, and I thought, Wow, were not too different.'

Partnership with police

Reger-Rumsey was instrumental in teaching officers at the St. Paul Police Department about the needs of the unhoused, said John Harrington, who served as police chief from 2004 to 2010.

Rosemarie was the first person to explain homelessness to me, he said. Within a few weeks of my becoming chief of police, Rosemarie and I sat down together, and she talked me through what homelessness was like in St. Paul. We had already been doing a few things, and she talked to me about what was effective and what was still needed.

Reger-Rumsey talked about the three Ps  people, pets and property  when explaining some of the challenges that people who are unsheltered run into, Harrington said.

Listening House was a place where the homeless were heard, he said. All too often you walk past them, or they are viewed as largely invisible, people ignore them, walk by them. Rosemarie took the time to listen to their stories and to not just listen in sort of a social-worker way, but to actually listen with a huge heart to try and actually understand what was behind the symptom of being unhoused.

The partnership between the SPPD and Listening House grew out of a chance encounter in January 2004. A police officer noticed the lights on at the Listening House, then located at 215 W. Ninth St., at a time when the building was normally closed. He stopped by to make sure everything was OK and introduced himself to Reger-Rumsey. She invited him to come back on occasions other than arrests.

The officer and his police partner started stopping by to talk with homeless people, sometimes playing a game of cards or chess if it wasnt busy  community policing at its best, Reger-Rumsey told the Pioneer Press in 2005.

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When the Republican National Convention came to St. Paul in 2008, it was members of the police department who first approached Coleman with their concerns about clients at the Dorothy Day Center and Listening House, Coleman said.

I think thats the greatest testament to her work, he said. They came and they said, Weve got to protect our folks. That was a complete derivative of her work. This work was never about Rosemarie, it was always about the people and embedding that sense of caring in all who come into contact. I always thought it would have been great to put a sign up on Listening House for all the TV cameras to see (during the RNC) that said, This is how St. Paul treats its most vulnerable. It was just such an incredible example of true Christian charity, but dignity more than anything.

Right person, right time

Reger-Rumsey was the right person at the right time to lead Listening House, said former St. Paul Mayor George Latimer, a longtime friend and neighbor.

The qualities that she had to unite diverse parts of the community, all focused on helping the people who really needed it, were remarkable, he said. Listening House was all about people listening to them. She named it perfectly.

Church of the Assumption, where Reger-Rumsey was a longtime member, helped open the first Listening House in 1983. She learned about an opening on the board while reading the churchs bulletin and decided to apply, said Tim Rumsey, her husband.

Reger-Rumsey had previously worked as a pediatric nurse at Minneapolis General Hospital, now Hennepin County Medical Center, where she worked with families in need, and her fellow board member saw her expertise and interest in serving those folks, said Rumsey, who founded United Family Practice, a free clinic in St. Pauls West 7th neighborhood.

Applying to be director when the position became open was the next logical step, he said.

It was all about relationships, he said. She believed in knowing peoples names, and that people really need recognition as fellow human beings and being treated as friends and partnering with the community that they are a part of. It wasnt top-down or coming in as saviors or missionaries. We were fellow citizens. It was coming in as fellow human beings and neighbors.

Loved a big, noisy house

Rosemarie Rosebud Reger was born and raised in Robbinsdale. She grew up with six siblings and multiple foster children in the house, and came from a large Catholic family with more than 60 cousins, said her daughter, Emily Rumsey of Minneapolis.

They just loved a big, noisy house, she said. That set the stage for mom being director of a homeless shelter later on. She had an open-door policy at our house growing up. She believed that everyone needs a place to belong. That was her mission. Hospitality was her gift  professionally and personally.

Reger attended Ascension School and Robbinsdale Senior High and dreamed of traveling the world as a flight attendant after graduation, Emily Rumsey said. Airlines required a couple of years of service experience, so she strategically enrolled in nursing school at Anoka Ramsey Community College.

That decision ultimately led her to a lifetime of nursing and social work, Emily Rumsey said.

In 1977, she met Tim Rumsey, a doctor who grew up in St. Paul, while working at Minneapolis General. It was a doctor-nurse love story, Emily Rumsey said. My dad had pegged mom as someone he wanted to marry early on.

The couple became engaged after three weeks of dating and got married at the Church of the Ascension in Minneapolis. The reception was at Summit House in St. Paul. My mom always said she married into St. Paul, Emily Rumsey said.

When Reger told another doctor that she was going to marry Tim Rumsey, he said, Tim Rumsey? That reprobate? and she smiled, she said. I think she liked the idea of doing that.

They had a really excellent relationship. They shared a social-justice mindset and a passion for serving the unhoused. They taught us that we need to care for each other with a nonjudgmental listening love.

The couple fought for the underdog in different ways, Emily Rumsey said. My dad was quiet and respectful, whereas my mom brought the fight to the table. They were a perfect balance in that way. They very much worked together and loved together equally well.

In a joint letter to the editor of the Pioneer Press in 2003, Reger-Rumsey and Rumsey wrote that making deep cuts to health, education, safety and public assistance is no way to keep Minnesota strong.

Ignoring basic human needs diminishes our sense of common decency and makes for meaner neighborhoods that eventually impact every community, they wrote. It is vitally important that our elected leaders look beyond the next biennium and anticipate the potential harm of refusing to consider taxes as part of the solution to this budget crisis.

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Family and doing hard work were the things that fueled her, Emily Rumsey said.

She thought that the best work best happens by rolling up your sleeves and working at the table with other people, she said. That was her core approach, and I think it was why she was so effective.

In addition to her husband Tim and daughter Emily, Reger-Rumsey is survived by daughters Leslie Rumsey and Glynis Rumsey and four grandchildren.

Her funeral will be 2 p.m. July 28 at Assumption Church in St. Paul, with visitation one hour prior to the service at the church and from 4-8 p.m. July 27 at OHalloran and Murphy Funeral Home in St. Paul.

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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 7)  Detained former Senator Leila De Lima on Friday expressed dismay at prosecutors who asked the judge handling her remaining drug case to inhibit himself.

"While I respect the decision of Judge Abraham Joseph B. Alcantara recusing himself from my third and last remaining drug case, I am truly disappointed at the prosecution's move in seeking such inhibition," De Lima wrote in a statement.

Alcantara acquitted De Lima in her second drug case last May.

He said he granted the prosecution's motion to put to rest any questions against his credibility, integrity, and fairness.

However, De Lima stressed that prosecutors should have allowed Alcantra to proceed with her case, citing his "independence, impartiality, and courage to do the right thing."

"Judge Alcantara does not suffer from any similar cause for inhibition such as a close blood relationship to a lawyer who played a part in my persecution, a clear case of conflict of interest," the former senator said.

"Inhibition is done to assure the accused, not the government, that the trial of the case will be fair and regular," she added.

De Lima has been detained since Feb. 24, 2017 on drug-related charges. She has so far won two of the cases filed against her.
Officers shoot man who was shooting a rifle into the air in Miami. Hes in critical condition

A Miami police officer shot a man who was shooting a rifle into the air at Northeast 10th Avenue and 79th Street Friday night.

According to Officer Michael Vega, police got several calls about a man firing a rifle in the West Little River neighborhood shortly after 8 p.m. Friday.

When police got there, they confronted the unidentified man and an officer, whose name was not released, fired his weapon and hit the man in the torso, Vega said in his report.

City of Miami Police Chief Manuel A. Morales conducted a brief press conference at the scene Friday night, Miami Herald news partner CBS News Miami reported.

There was an exchange of gunfire from the officers striking the subject. There is a rifle on the scene. The offender is in critical condition at Jackson Trauma Center, Morales told reporters.

We dont know why the man was armed, Morales said.

Officers were not injured.

I heard about 10 to 12 gunshots like before even the police got here, a witness told WSVN Friday. Its crazy because innocent people live there, people work every day and some crazy guy just comes with a gun and shoots, like somebody couldve got hurt.

Florida Department of Law Enforcement detectives now lead the investigation, as is customary following a police shooting, Vega said.

Agents are conducting interviews with officers and witnesses, and our forensic scientists are processing evidence, Dana Kelly, FDLEs communications coordinator, said in an email to the Miami Herald. The agency would not release further information Saturday afternoon.
Feedback Loop

A troubling new study suggests that melting Arctic glaciers are releasing ancient stores of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, into the atmosphere.

According to the study, which examined glacier retreat across the archipelago of Svalbard, Norway, the gas is being released as diminishing glaciers reveal new, long-iced-over land. As the ice recedes, ancient groundwater bubbles to the surface, forming small, above-ground springs  and of 123 examined springs, researchers discovered that 122 contained potent reservoirs of ancient methane.

The research was conducted by an international team of scientists and published Thursday in the journal Nature.

It's unclear exactly how much methane has entered the atmosphere as a result of these newfound Arctic springs, but researchers fear that the melting of glaciers  a particularly dire side effect of global warming  may have unlocked a newfound source of destructive greenhouse gas emissions.

"This is a feedback loop that's caused by climate change," Gabrielle Kleber, the study's lead author and a scientist at the University of Cambridge, told The Washington Post. "Glaciers are retreating due to climate warming, and they are leaving these exposed forefields behind, which are encouraging methane gas to be released."

Vast Reserves

Per the WaPo, the age of the newly-uncovered methane, believed to be millions of years old, implies that the underwater methane reservoirs are vast.

"It's not methane being produced contemporarily by microbes," Kleber told the WaPo. "It's methane that was created when the rocks were formed."

As detailed in the study, the researchers found the large deposits trapped in subterranean stores of shale. And unfortunately, scientists believe that shale's Earthly abundance means that similar stores could be trapped throughout our planet's northernmost regions.

"Shale is Earth's most abundant sedimentary rock, and there's plenty of it in the Arctic (or rocks like it)," co-author Andy Hodson, a scientist at Norway's University Centre in Svalbard, told the WaPo.

As it stands, the researchers don't seem terribly optimistic.

"It's just a kind of bleak concept to watch these hundreds of cubic meters of water flashing before our eyes and knowing in our current climate, thats ice that will never be replaced," Kleber told the WaPo. "And then we have these methane springs bubbling up before the glacier."

More on the Arctic: Something Is Up with Earth's North and South Poles
Getty

The self-proclaimed enemy of the radical left and all things woke who heads Oklahomas public schools has proven his ignorance anew by declaring that race was not a factor in the Tulsa Race Massacre.

As Oklahoma schools have been required by law to teach since 2002, the massacre was a 1921 paroxysm of racist violence in which white mobs killed as many as 300 Black residents and burned some 1,600 homes and businesses in what was known as Black Wall Street.

Those facts seem to have been lost on Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters.

Lets not tie it to the skin color and say the skin color determined that, Walters told a public forum hosted by the Cleveland County Republicans in the Oklahoma Room at the main library in Norman this week.

Ryan Walters Oklahoma Governors Office

Walters preposterous statement came during a Q & A session in which he was asked how teaching about the massacre did not violate a prohibition he instituted against teaching what he defines as critical race theory.

That doesnt mean you dont judge the actions of individuals, he continued. Oh, you can, absolutely. Historically you should. This was right, this was wrong. They did this for this reason.

But in his willfully warped view, the reason cannot include race.

That is critical race theory, he said. I reject that.

This Black Journalist Made Sure the Tulsa Race Massacre Was Never Forgotten

Walters views are the more disturbing when you consider that he was teaching AP History at the high school in his hometown of McAlester three years ago. His YouTube channel includes an April 2020 virtual class that seemingly would violate his ban. Walters today would call what he taught then indoctrination.

At the time, Walters was preparing his students for the Advanced Placement U.S. History exam. The video shows him sharing the screen with a black and white photo of armed soldiers escorting the first nine Black students into Little Rock Central High School in 1957.

This is the Civil Rights Movement, Walters said. Youre gonna see this reach its apex here in Little Rock.

He then stepped back three years to the Supreme Courts Brown v. Board of Education decision.

The Supreme Court said, when you segregate, that is unconstitutional, he said. Segregation is illegal. You cannot segregate someone based on their race.

He talked about the case itself.

By the way, theres this amazing moment where an attorney comes in and calls onto the stand the psychologist, Walters says, And the psychologist talks about, I can show you how much damage is done to children based on segregation in schools.

Anti-Woke Oklahoma School Boss Is Due for a Wakeup Call

Walters did not identify the psychologist, but it is Dr. Kenneth Clark, whose wife, Dr. Mamie Clark, devised what became known as The Dolls Test. Walters proceeded to offer a not-quite-accurate description of the famous study in which 253 Black children aged 3 to 7 were asked if they preferred white dolls with light hair or Black dolls with dark hair. The great majority of the children chose the white dolls and expressed negative feelings about the Black ones. The Clarks attributed the results to racist practices and attitudes.

And so these psychologists went on and talked about how detrimental that was, Walter said. So its a fascinating case.

A case that was based on skin color.

The Walters of 2020 clearly understood that even if he had some of the details wrong. (Kenneth Clark did testify in numerous other segregation cases, but he never took the stand in front of the Supreme Court in this one. He did submit a written statement to the high court that detailed test.)

At another point in the class, Walters changed the screen background to a photo of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. addressing a huge crowd at the Washington Monument in 1963.

This is his famous D.C. speechI have a dream. Unbelievable speech, Walters told his pupils. It is hard to overstate his impact.

One question that arises from this 50-minute class three years ago is how can Walters now declare that race is not a factor that demands critical study in American society? Could it be that he simply found it politically expedient in a red state going even redder?

Five months after the AP class, Gov. Kevin Stitt appointed Walters the Oklahoma secretary of education. He left that position to briefly run a non-profit that misallocated millions in funding from a 2021 federal program intended to help low-income Oklahoma families homeschool during the pandemic. Much of the money went instead toward big screen TVs to washing machines.

Walters then successfully ran for the elective position of superintendent of public instruction. He won by spouting nonsense about CRT and indoctrination and the fake story that kitty litter boxes were installed in schools for kids who identify as cats.

After he was elected, Walters began speaking like someone who aspired to even higher office. A once seemingly reasonable history teacher issued an official statement that posited the arrest of former President Trump for withholding classified documents was the most profound unwinding of the U.S. Constitution that our country has ever experienced since the Civil War.

How a Harmless Teacher Got Branded a Pedophile by Extremists

Last week, Walters was in Philadelphia to address a gathering of the far-right Moms for Liberty, which the Southern Poverty Law Center has branded an extremist group. He spoke much the same nuttiness there as he did at the library in Norman.

Outside the library were several dozen protesters. Somebody inside played a laugh track with a cellphone as Walters spoke.

Those in attendance included Samuel Perry, a prominent sociology professor at the University of Oklahoma. He tweeted afterwards about hearing Walters say that the Tulsa Race Massacre was not about the color of anyones skin.

My wife (a teacher) and I attended this event tonight, Perry reported. This was just the tip of the iceberg of idiocy Walters spewed. Driving home we felt so angry and embarrassed we live in a state where people elected this ignorant and incompetent clown.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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A man is dead and a homicide investigation is underway after an overnight shooting at a student apartment complex in South Tallahassee.

The Tallahassee Police Department posted an online "incident alert" that stated the "shooting investigation" began just before midnight Friday when officers arrived at the 3000 block of South Adams Street and found the man dead.

Police provided no other details in the alert. But a TPD watch commander clarified that the shooting took place inside a unit at the University Courtyard Apartments at 3025 South Adams Street.

"The public is not in danger and it's an isolated situation," a watch commander told the Tallahassee Democrat, noting it is unclear if there are any suspects as the case is in its early stages and remains "open and active."

The apartment complex has been the site of past shootings. In July 2020, a man was shot and killed during a drug-related robbery. Two men were later arrested.

In January 2018, a person was injured in a shooting at the University Courtyard. And in 2007, the FAMUan school newspaper reported about a shootout at the complex's pool and clubhouse.

Friday's incident is at least the 43rd serious shooting in the capital city and county this year, according to a Tallahassee Democrat analysis of gun violence. At least 33 have been injured and nine people have been killed so far this year.

The shooting is the second this week. Two people were shot in east Tallahassee at the McKenzie Market on Apalachee Parkway Wednesday night. That case also remains under investigation.

Email editor William Hatfield at whatfield@tallahassee.com

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Man dead in Tallahassee shooting at University Courtyard Apartments
Ryan Smith is the chairman of the Utah Federation of College Republicans, and he believes young conservatives should protect the environment. | American Conservative Coalition

Earlier this summer, I found myself in a hotel ballroom surrounded by conservative conservationists from all over the country. The American Conservation Coalition Summit was anecdotal proof that young conservatives want commonsense, effective environmental solutions.

In recent years, there has been a flood of polls showing that millennial and Gen Z conservatives prioritize environmental issues significantly more than their older counterparts. In late 2022, for instance, Pew Research Center found that 73% of Republicans ages 1839 think climate change is a serious problem. After Novembers election, young voters preferred candidates who prioritized immediate action on climate change by a ratio of 4 to 1.

As the chairman of the Utah Federation of College Republicans, Ive seen this shift firsthand. Especially here in Utah, we see environmental challenges each and every day, from the shrinking of the Great Salt Lake to air quality concerns across the state to wildfires that threaten our homes. Young conservatives  the future of the movement  recognize that these challenges will not go away on their own, and we want real solutions. This is, in part, why Rep. John Curtis, R-Utah, founded the Conservative Climate Caucus in 2021, and immediately, every member of the Utah congressional delegation joined the caucus to show support for commonsense policy that bolsters our economy and protects our environment.

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Unfortunately, the Conservative Climate Caucus was so needed because the mainstream environmental movement as it stands has been ineffective. Legacy environmental groups have long alienated conservatives like me with their alarmist language and demands to completely divest from traditional energy sources such as natural gas and oil. As Rep. Pete Stauber, R-Minn., said at the ACC Summit, Nobody gets to own the term environmentalist. After all, traditionally conservative constituencies like farmers, ranchers and hunters are some of our countrys oldest and most effective environmentalists.

In addition to the formation of the Conservative Climate Caucus, conservatives have shown real leadership on environmental issues over the past few years. In Congress, Republicans have highlighted important challenges to our clean energy future, such as insecure supply chains of crucial raw materials. Currently, the world relies on China for upward of 90% of the critical minerals we need for clean energy technologies like solar panels, wind turbines and even nuclear energy reactors. This reliance on China for both our energy and military needs is frankly irresponsible of our nation. Securing those supply chains either domestically or with allies will be crucial as we work to reduce emissions.

Additionally, according to a 2022 Gallup poll, Republicans are far more likely than Democrats to support clean, reliable nuclear energy. Miss America 2023 Grace Stanke, a recent University of Wisconsin graduate with a nuclear engineering degree, joined the ACC Summit to champion the energy source. Nuclear reactors generate emission-free energy 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and contrary to popular belief, nuclear energy is one of the safest energy sources we have at our disposal. In fact, Madi Hilly, a nuclear energy advocate, posed with properly-stored nuclear waste while 27 weeks pregnant to prove that nuclear waste is not the threat weve been led to believe.

The moral here is that young conservatives, like myself, are incredibly encouraged by the work that elected conservatives from Utah are doing to protect our environment and the future of our country. Ive personally been very inspired by the work that Reps. John Curtis and Blake Moore  as well as the rest of the Utah congressional delegation  have done to show that environmental conservation is a truly conservative value. Young conservatives in Utah and beyond have the Conservative Climate Caucuss back because its a future-looking effort that not only wins over new voter blocs, but is the right thing to do.

Ryan Smith is the chairman of the Utah Federation of College Republicans and attended the second annual American Conservation Coalition Summit in Salt Lake City this June.
The reflective chrome bulging circular disk that is Orion's heat shield hangs below a circular scaffolding. White panels circle the edge of the heat shield where it attaches to the Orion capsule. Three technicians in masks and white coats are concentrated on different tasks.

NASA is making headway in its preparations for the Artemis 2 mission, which will send astronauts on a mission around the moon.

Technicians at NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida have attached the heat shield to the Artemis 2 Orion spacecraft.

Orion and its four-person crew are scheduled to launch atop NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket on Artemis 2 in late 2024. The mission will carry them into deep space around the moon, farther than any human has ever flown.

Related: Watch NASA assemble the massive Artemis 2 rocket that will take humans back to the moon (video)

In November 2022, an uncrewed Orion capsule launched on Artemis 1, a 25-day trip to lunar orbit and back. Artemis 2 will employ a free-return trajectory profile, which forgoes an orbital injection burn at the moon and puts the spacecraft on a path back to Earth. So, the Artemis 2 crew will fly around the moon without actually entering its orbit.

Once Orion completes its lunar pass, the Artemis 2 crew will be on a course back to our big, blue marble, with nothing but Earth's atmosphere standing between them and the slow parachuted drop of a safe ocean splashdown. To protect the spacecraft and its astronaut crew as Orion punches through Earth's gaseous outer shell, its heat shield measures 16.5 feet (5 meters) in diameter, and covers the entire bottom of the vehicle.

As it returns from the moon, Orion will hit the atmosphere traveling more than 25,000 mph (40,230 kph). Temperatures on the capsule's exterior will get as high as 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit (2,760 degrees Celsius). Orion's heat shield will absorb the majority of that energy, enabling the cabin inside to remain at comfortable temperatures during the astronauts' fall back to Earth.

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Teams completed the Artemis 2 heat shield installation on June 25, inside the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at KSC, according to NASA. Next, Orion's outer paneling will be secured and the spacecraft prepared for acoustic testing.

Orion has additional hardware installations and vehicle qualifications to endure before it is declared space-worthy, however. NASA is currently targeting the end of 2024 for the launch of Artemis 2, which will fly humans to the moon for the first time since the Apollo program ended more than 50 years ago.
Over 600 Russian troops killed and 16 artillery systems destroyed in Ukraine

Ukrainian Defence Forces have killed 630 Russian troops and destroyed 4 tanks and 16 artillery systems over the past 24 hours.

Source: General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine

Details: The total combat losses of the Russian forces from 24 February 2022 to 8 July 2023 are estimated to be as follows [figures in parentheses represent the latest losses  ed.]:

Approximately 233,440 (+630) military personnel;

4,074 (+4) tanks;

7,953 (+9) armoured combat vehicles;

4,346 (+16) artillery systems;

661 (+3) multiple-launch rocket systems;

410 (+2) air defence systems;

315 (+0) fixed-wing aircraft;

309 (+0) helicopters;

3,666 (+14) tactical UAVs;

1,271 (+0) cruise missiles;

18 (+0) ships/boats;

6,914 (+16) vehicles and tankers;

619 (+7) special vehicles.

The information is being confirmed.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
Vehicle drive across railroad tracks at the intersection of Rice Avenue and Fifth Street in Oxnard at the site of a planned overpass in March. The state awarded Oxnard and the Port of Hueneme a combined $95 million to help fund infrastructure projects.

The city of Oxnard and the Port of Hueneme are getting a combined $95 million in state funding for infrastructure projects.

Oxnard and the Ventura County Transportation Commission will receive about $15 million to help build a bridge on Rice Avenue that will allow vehicles to pass over railroad tracks. The Port of Hueneme is slated to receive $80 million for its Port Action, Climate and Environment Development projects, or PACED.

The funding is part of a $1.5 billion investment by the state aimed at strengthening supply chains and curbing carbon emissions.

No other state has a supply chain as critical to the national and global economy as California, Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a news release announcing the funding Thursday.

Thirteen projects across the state received $350 million from the California State Transportation Agency to do away with street-level rail crossings, the release said.

Among them was Oxnards Rice Avenue bridge.

In 2015, a Metrolink train crashed into a utility truck towing a trailer after the truck got stuck on the railroad tracks at Rice and Fifth Street. The incident injured more than 30 people and left a Metrolink engineer dead.

The planned bridge will provide a crossing over the tracks and Fifth Street. The approximately $133 million project is expected to be completed in fall 2027, state documents show.

The Port of Hueneme is receiving about $80 million to revitalize the port and reduce its carbon footprint.

The grant will go toward removing dilapidated buildings, deepening berths and installing zero-emission plug-in units for containers. The funding will also support power and emissions control systems that make vessels emission-free and will be used to purchase zero-emission cargo handling equipment.

We will be in a better position to create more job opportunities for local residents to support vital port operations and the deployment of clean technologies, Jess Herrera, president of the Oxnard Harbor Commission, said in a news release Friday.

The total cost of the port's development projects is about $217 million, state documents show.

Brian J. Varela covers Oxnard, Port Hueneme and Camarillo. He can be reached at brian.varela@vcstar.com or 805-477-8014. You can also find him on Twitter @BrianVarela805.

This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: State awards Oxnard, Port of Hueneme a combined $95 million
Offshore wind developer Avangrid Renewables will continue to pursue its plans to land cables at Craigville Beach in Centerville with an initial appearance on Tuesday before the Barnstable Conservation Commission.

At least one resident is taking the company to task, saying Avangrid didn't give the public enough notice about its appearance before the commission.

Avangrid Renewables is seeking local permits for its 804-megawatt Park City Wind offshore wind farm, planned south of the Islands. Park City Wind would, if approved, link to a substation in West Barnstable and provide electricity for areas of Connecticut, according to the company.

Not enough notice: Resident Robert Schulte

On Thursday night at the Centerville Library, during one of a series of open houses the company is holding, Barnstable resident Robert Schulte told the company that notification for the July 11 hearing was too short. He had received an email about the hearing earlier the same day.

Schulte followed up on Friday afternoon with a formal letter to Park City Wind external affairs manager Patrick Johnson, copied to the Times, the Centerville Civic Association, at least three Town Council members, and others.

A view looking south in Centerville, from the Centerville River bridge toward Craigville Beach, shows property purchased on June 28 by Park City Wind LLC at 2 Short Beach Road, at right. The property is part of the company's cable-laying plans for its offshore wind project south of the Islands.

In light of assurances given in May that "plenty of notice would be given to the public," Schulte wrote he was "shocked" to see Johnson's July 6 notification about the July 11 hearing, and dismayed that it was initially sent "to just 14 people."

He said getting notice three business days prior to the hearing is not the promised "plenty of notice" in his opinion, especially during a holiday week when many people were on vacation or entertaining.

Schulte asked the company to reschedule for Conservation Commission's July 25 meeting or later to give at least two weeks notice.

Avangrid Renewables rep says he tried to notify everyone he could

Avangrid's Johnson on Friday said he emailed leaders of the civic association on July 6, immediately after he got confirmation the project would be on the July 11 agenda, and before the agenda was publicly posted. He also said notification was sent out to a full email list on Friday, and he additionally "spent most of the day contacting Centerville residents and organizations well beyond the list to let them know about the hearing, including those who sent in comments to the Cape Cod Commission earlier this year."

Johnson explained he wanted to avoid telling people the project "might" be on an agenda.

Johnson said by phone Friday that the company is interested in as much public participation as possible. In recognition of Schulte's concerns, and instead of rescheduling the hearing, he said "we will ask that there absolutely be a continuance of the hearing to a future date" so there can be more chances for comment.

A view looking south in Centerville, from the Centerville River bridge toward Craigville Beach, shows property purchased on June 28 by Park City Wind LLC at 2 Short Beach Road, at right. The property is part of the company's cable-laying plans for its offshore wind project south of the Islands.

Johnson pointed out that will be up to the commission, but he'd be surprised if the application could be reviewed and voted upon during just one hearing.

What is planned at the July 11 Barnstable Conservation Commission meeting?

The commission on July 11 will open a public hearing on the company's notice of intent to bring submarine electric transmission cables ashore at Craigville Beach and route them under the Centerville River to a substation proposed on Shootflying Hill Road.

Specifically, the notice of intent is about the "proposed installation of two 275-kV submarine electric transmission cables in Nantucket Sound, and onshore duct bank system at Craigville Beach and 2 Short Beach Road," according to the agenda on Saturday.

The company will give an overview of the project and plans for landing the cables, Johnson said.

The remote hearing is set for 6:30 p.m., and will be televised on Channel 18, and also live streamed on the station's website. Public comment addressed to the commission will be available via Zoom or by phone.

To file a notice of intent, an applicant must go through a process to notify neighbors in a 100-foot radius of the project parcel and also file a legal ad notification in a local paper, according to Conservation Commission regulations. Generally, except in cases of emergency, a public body such as a multi-member town board must provide the public with notice of its meetings 48 hours in advance, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays, according to the state's open meeting law.

Resident skeptical of Avangrid response: 'wildly in appropriate' for company to selectively notify citizens

Schulte remained concerned Friday night after receiving Johnson's emailed response to his letter, saying the plan of action "serves only the interests of Avangrid." He maintains "it is wildly inappropriate for Avangrid to selectively contact Centerville residents and organizations of their choosing" to notify them of the hearing.

"This is a critical step in the permitting/approval process for the Park City Wind project and it is imperative that public notice is widespread and made with a minimum of two weeks and more appropriately 30 days," he said by email.

It is also possible the Conservation Commission could choose not to continue the hearing, Schulte said, which would deprive residents the opportunity to comment. Even if the hearing was continued, anyone interested "would have missed the entire first hearing discussion prior to being continued," he said.

"Why leave that up to chance? The only fair thing for Avangrid to do is to request the Barnstable Conservation Commission to move the Park City Wind agenda item to one of its meetings in late July or August," he said.

What's the Conservation Commission reviewing?

Because the state's Wetlands Protection Act prohibits removal, dredging, filling, or altering of wetlands without a permit, whenever a developer proposes work in these areas, they must submit a notice of intent and permit application outlining their plans and how they intend to protect the wetlands.

Avangrid Vice President of Development for Offshore Wind Ken Kimmell explained during the July 6 open house that projects within wetlands, or within 100 feet of them, are subject to this review under the state regulations, as well as any town regulations.

"The landing under the beach and some aspects along the road are either within wetlands or within the buffer zone," he said.

The board will consider the company's proposal to land its underwater cables at Craigville Beach. From there the cables would pass underneath the west end of the beach, and then under the Centerville River by way of 2 Short Beach Road. Park City Wind LLC completed purchase of that property on June 28, for $430,000, according to town assessing records.

The cables would be routed underground about four miles to a proposed substation on Shootflying Hill Road, then nearly a mile to the existing Eversource substation on Oak Street in West Barnstable  upgrades are planned there "to facilitate the project's interconnection into the ISO-NE electrical grid."

Johnson said the company is committed to leaving the on-shore route "better than we found it," and has agreed to fund a "significant portion" of a town-led Main Street Centerville streetscape improvement project.

The company anticipates federal permitting to advance during the first quarter of 2024, with hopes to begin operating by the end of 2027.

Park City Wind LLC completed purchase on June 28 of 2 Short Beach Road in Centerville for $430,000, according to town assessing records.

Avangrid Renewables is also a co-owner of the Vineyard Wind 1 offshore wind farm south of the Islands. That project, currently under construction, lands cables at Covell Beach and will link to a substation in Hyannis, to provide electricity for areas of Massachusetts.

How to participate in the hearing

To participate in the July 11 hearing by Zoom, go to https://townofbarnstable-us.zoom.us/j/89198255413

Real-time public comments can be given through Zoom or by phone. The meeting ID is 891 9825 5413. The toll-free number is 888-475-4499.

To view the board's agenda, visit www.town.barnstable.ma.us

Heather McCarron writes about climate change, environment, energy, science and the natural world. Reach her at hmccarron@capecodonline.com, or follow her on Twitter @HMcCarron_CCT

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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Offshore wind farm to unveil plan to protect wetlands in Centerville
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 8)  Detained former Senator Leila De Lima on Saturday denounced media reports labeling National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) detainee Jad Dera, whom she said is a total stranger, as a "co-accused" in her remaining drug case.

While she acknowledged Dera's label as a mere statement of fact, De Lima said she is "irked" by it.

"I sense a degree of malice in the repetitive, constant such reporting by certain media outlets as if Dera's being my co-accused is a highly relevant aspect of the reported misdeeds or violations of Dera as an NBI detainee," she said in a series of tweets.

In late June, Dera was caught outside the NBI Detention Center accompanied by five NBI security officers and one employee. The detainee told a Senate panel that he had snuck out of detention four times.

READ: DOJ vows heads will roll after detainee found outside NBI detention facility

The Department of Justice earlier said Dera had paid NBI Detention Center personnel for special privileges inside the facility, though he has denied the allegations. Meanwhile, a court ordered Dera's transfer from NBI custody to the Muntinlupa City Jail.

De Lima denounced the label as "another subtle attempt at demonization."

"Other than such fact of being co-accused in trumped-up drug cases, I have absolutely no connection, personal or otherwise, to Dera. He's a total stranger to me," the former senator added.

De Lima, a staunch critic of former President Rodrigo Duterte, has been detained over drug-related charges since Feb. 24, 2017, at the height of the bloody drug war. She beat two of the cases against her and is facing just one more.
Boston Police quickly apprehended an Everett man after an armed robbery at a bank downtown Friday morning.

32-year-old Jonathan Pagan was arrested after allegedly robbing the TD Bank on Winter Street in Downtown Crossing around 8:30 a.m., according to police.

Police say that Pagan told the teller he had a gun and took off with cash.

He fled toward the Park Street MBTA station and boarded the Orange line to the Massachusetts Avenue stop, where officials observed cash protruding from his pocket.

Pagan then attempted to resist the officers orders before he was placed under arrest.

He is being charged with armed robbery and will be arraigned on Monday.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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Portland to rename downtown square after legendary drag performer who died this year

File photo: Darcelle XV was crowned the worlds oldest working drag performer in 2016 by the Guinness Book of World Records (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

The city of Portland in Oregon has announced it will rename a downtown square after Darcelle XV, the legendary drag performer who died this year.

Walter C Cole, better known as the iconic drag queen Darcelle XV who performed for decades, died of natural causes in March this year. She was 92 years old.

Darcelle was crowned the worlds oldest working drag performer in 2016 by the Guinness Book of World Records and had regaled audiences until the very end of her life.

On Friday morning (7 July), Portlands officials announced that the citys OBryant Square in Downtown Portland will soon be named Darcelle XV Plaza in commemoration of the late entertainer.

By renaming OBryant Square to Darcelle XV Plaza, we are embracing and celebrating the indelible contributions of Darcelle XV to our citys LGBTQ+ community, city commissioner Dan Ryan said in a statement.

He added that the renaming showed Portlands dedication to becoming a more inclusive and diverse place for all residents.

According to mayor Ted Wheeler, the name also reflects the progress the city has made in embracing its LGBT+ population.

May this plaza serve as a reminder of our shared journey towards inclusivity and acceptance, he said.

All community members have been invited to attend a renaming proclamation at 2pm on 13 July that will be held at Portland City Halls council chambers.

As a performer, Darcelle was known for hosting the longest-running drag show on the US West Coast.

Off stage, she championed LGBT+ rights and charitable work in the Portland community.

Many Twitter users reacted positively to the news of OBryant Squares renaming.

Thank you Portland! Freedom means youre able to be you, wrote one person.

I spent many a drunken and high day/night in Paranoid Park, but Im glad its getting a revamp and being named for a legend. Well deserved! said another.

This is wonderful news, hopefully the plaza can be rebuilt to best reflect Darcelle, said another tweet.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a telephone conversation with Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine and Prime Minister Antonio Costa of Portugal have adopted a joint declaration in which the Portuguese side expressed support for Ukraine's path towards NATO membership, the Office of the President of Ukraine announced on June 8.

"Ukraine and the Portuguese Republic look forward to resolving all these issues at the up-coming NATO summit in Vilnius in July 2023," the document states.

Furthermore, the declaration reaffirms Portugal's support for Ukraine in its struggle against Russian aggression and recognition of Kyiv's European aspirations.

On Friday, July 7, Bulgaria also signed a declaration supporting Ukraine's accession to the Alliance. The NATO summit, where Ukraine aims to receive a clear membership invitation, will take place in Vilnius on July 11-12.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg previously stated that there would be no formal invitation for Ukraine at the summit, but Alliance leaders will discuss how to "bring Ukraine closer to membership."

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Power plant roof collapse in Donbas kills one, injures three, two missing

Power plant roof collapse in Donbas kills one, injures three, two missing

A roof collapsed at a thermal power plant in Donetsk Oblast, killing one person, injuring three, and leaving two others missing, the Ministry of Energy reported on July 8.

"The roof of the boiler and turbine shop collapsed, forcing the staff to shut down the reactors. The debris is being cleared," the statement said.

The cause of the incident has not yet been established, but the ministry noted that this TPP is regularly shelled by Russian forces.

The Ministry of Energy also added that Russia continues its terror in the frontline and border regions, resulting in power outages in dozens of settlements in Donetsk, Zaporizhzhya, Kherson, Sumy, Kharkiv, and Chernihiv oblasts.

"Repair teams are working where the security situation allows," explained local authorities.

Read also:

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The presidents of Brazil and Colombia meet to boost cooperation ahead of Amazon summit

FILE - President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, right, poses for a picture with Colombia's President Gustavo Petro, at the Planalto Palace, in Brasilia, Brazil, Jan. 1, 2023. Lula met with Petro on Saturday, July 8, 2023, to build momentum for an upcoming summit on the Amazon rainforest and enhance efforts for its protection.(AP Photo/Eraldo Peres, File) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP)  Brazils President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Saturday met with his Colombian counterpart Gustavo Petro to build momentum for an upcoming regional summit on the Amazon rainforest and enhance efforts for its protection.

The encounter took place in Colombias Leticia, a town in the Amazons triple border region between Colombia, Brazil and Peru, where organized crime has recently increased its hold.

The meeting aimed to lay groundwork for the Amazon Summit the Brazilian government is organizing in Belem next month. That summit will be attended by leaders of the countries party to the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization, made up of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela.

Lula is pushing for a joint declaration from the summit, which would be presented at the United Nations climate conference, known as COP28, in Dubai in November.

"We will have to demand together that rich countries fulfil their commitments," Lula said in Leticia, sitting next to Petro.

Petro also stressed the need for a common front to exert pressure on developed countries. We believed that progress was the destruction of trees. ... Today that is nothing other than the destruction of life, he said.

The Colombian leader said tackling the climate crisis will require spending trillions of dollars. This could be achieved by transforming the global debt system and trading debt for climate action, he said.

The final document will comprise measures for the sustainable development of the Amazon, protecting the biome, and promoting social inclusion, science, technology and innovation while valuing Indigenous peoples and their knowledge, Brazils presidential palace said in a statement.

Joint action of the countries that share the Amazon biome is fundamental for facing the multiple challenges in the region, the statement said.

One challenge faced is the tightened grip of organized crime, particularly in tri-border regions like where Leticia is located. British journalist Dom Phillips and Indigenous activist Bruno Pereira were killed in the neighboring Javari valley region last year.

These areas have become violent hotspots, according to a report by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime released in June. It noted criminal groups are simultaneously engaged in cocaine production trafficking, as well as natural resource exploitation.

Indigenous groups are disproportionately affected by the criminal nexus in the Amazon, the report added, pointing to forced displacements, mercury poisoning and other health-related impacts as well as increased exposure to violence.

In 2019, Colombia, Bolivia, Ecuador, Brazil, Peru, Guyana and Suriname signed the Leticia Pact to strengthen coordinated actions for the preservation of the natural resources of the Amazon.

But the goals are vague and lack ways to measure progress, said Marcio Astrini, executive secretary of the Climate Observatory, an umbrella organization of environmental groups.

Its a letter of ambitions. We hope that in Leticia they (Lula and Petro) will increase and clarify their ambitions, said Astrini.

Since taking office in January, Lula has strived to put environmental protection and respect for Indigenous peoples rights at the heart of his third term. He successful pursued resumption of international donations for the Amazon Fund that combats deforestation, launched a military campaign to eject illegal miners from Yanomami territory, committed to ending all illegal deforestation by 2030 and restarted the demarcation of Indigenous areas.

Lula's approach contrasts sharply with the actions of his predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro. Under the far-right leaders term, deforestation soared to a 15-year high, and environmental restrictions were weakened. Deforestation fell by 33.6% during the first six months of Lulas term, according to satellite data the Brazilian government released this week from the National Institute for Space Research, a federal agency.

Petro has also been vocal about the need to halt destruction in the Amazon. The Colombian leader has proposed the creation of multilateral 20-year financing fund to support farming communities contributing to deforestation. The idea is to compensate them for conservation and regenerative activities instead.

Historically, collaboration between Brazil and Colombia, which share a border longer than 1,500 kilometers (about 900 miles), has been lacking, according to Wagner Ribeiro, a geographer and expert in environmental policy from the University of Sao Paulo.

We hope that opportunities for academic cooperation will arise from the meeting, which will later generate public policies that promote environmental conservation, Ribeiro said.

___

Associated Press writer Gabriela Molina in Quito, Ecuador, contributed to this report.
A New Jersey minister welcoming members of the KKK into his church in 1923. Bettmann via Getty Imageshttps://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/this-unusual-and-exclusive-photo-shows-on-the-platform-of-news-photo/514686802?adppopup=true

In the long-overdue discussions taking place over the legacy of slavery and racism in the United States, few appear to be addressing the relationship between religion and racism.

This comes despite notions of white supremacy being entwined with the history of religion in the United States.

As a scholar specializing in issues of religion and identity, I argue for a deeper introspection around how white supremacy permeates all parts of American society, including its religious institutions.

Race and religion

In 1835, French philosopher Alexis de Tocqueville described the character of the U.S. as the result of the spirit of religion and the spirit of liberty, which he argued, elsewhere have often been at war but in America have somehow been incorporated into one another and marvelously combined.

However, theres a perpetual tension between the narrative of the U.S. as a nation built on diversity and religious freedom and the experiences of many who live in the U.S.  especially racial, ethnic and religious minorities, who have faced discrimination and marginalization.

It is true that Americans have a mandate for the free exercise of religion and the freedom from religion enshrined in the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

But those promises of religious freedom and tolerance have historically been more readily extended to varieties of Protestantism than other religions. As the former British ambassador to the U.S. Viscount Bryce noted in 1888, Christianity is given a species of recognition at a federal and state level that is inconsistent with the view that the country is neutral in religious matters.

As the dominant religion in the U.S., Protestant Christianitys dominance has long been enmeshed with the racial dominance of whiteness  white supremacy.

Anglo-Saxon heritage

From the Puritans to Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin, the early leaders of the United States were steeped in a racial ideology of a divinely ordained Anglo-Saxon heritage, a romanticized account of the ancestral and cultural roots of inhabitants of England. They believed they were building a new nation with a divine purpose, a new Israel with a twofold mission: racial and religious.

This ideology is symbolized in the seal Jefferson proposed for the new nation, which President John Adams described as depicting the Children of Israel in the Wilderness, led by a Cloud by day, and a Pillar of Fire by night, and on the other Side Hengist and Horsa, the Saxon Chiefs, from whom We claim the Honour of being descended and whose Political Principles and Form of Government We have assumed.

Many of the Founding Fathers, including George Washington, depicted here, owned slaves. Hulton Archive/Getty Images

This is part of an old, defining narrative of America as chosen by God, rooted in a white Anglo-Saxon heritage and exceptional in its devotion to values of liberty and individual rights  a narrative of American exceptionalism.

This narrative has also supported the notion that the ideal or true American citizen is essentially white and Protestant  a view that historians of Protestantism have noted was reflected in the pulpits of pre-Civil War America.

Notions linking whiteness to Protestantism were further entrenched in the second half of the 19th century, when immigrants from Ireland, Germany and Italy came to the U.S. bringing Catholicism with them.

These non-Protestant, non-Anglo immigrants were seen as less white than more established Anglo communities and were subject to significant discrimination.

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Only after assimilation into Anglo cultural norms, especially speaking English, were they granted the social and economic privileges that came with whiteness. Yet many continued to experience anti-Catholic discrimination.

And the U.S. continued to see other immigrant groups  Latino, Jewish, Asian and Middle Eastern  racialized, discriminated against and set as perpetual foreigners in contrast to the norm of the white Christian American.

The supposed superiority of white Protestantism, supported by interpretations of biblical texts, was for centuries used to justify the institution of slavery.

Biblical texts were also used to justify segregation and Jim Crow. Even the Ku Klux Klan rooted their ideology of white supremacy in Protestant theology and the Bible.

In the reasoning of many white Protestants, white dominance was not the consequence of a political and economic arrangement, but the will of God  the way things are supposed to be. As Kelly Baker, author of The Gospel According to the Klan, states: Even liberal Protestant churches supported white supremacy. That seemed the natural order of things. Just as people used biblical texts to support slavery.

Such notions of race and religious superiority also combined in the forcing of Native American children into Christian boarding schools from the mid-19th century. The children were robbed of their families, cultures and religion under the rationale that they would benefit from the civilizing influences of Anglo Christian culture.

The other

Today, rising rates of anti-Semitism and Islamophobia remind America that religious minorities continue to face a social and political climate of bias and discrimination that marginalizes them as foreign or other.

The old narrative of Anglo-Saxon America continues to feed notions that a real American citizen is essentially white and Protestant.

Sikhs are attacked and told go back to your country. Buddhist temples are vandalized and mosques are denied building permits. Muslim community leaders are reportedly asked to sign loyalty pledges to verify their American-ness.

Understanding religious difference in America requires a view of how the country has been shaped by racism. And interrogating racism in the U.S. requires a view of how it pervades social institutions, including religion.

This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts. The Conversation has a variety of fascinating free newsletters.

It was written by: Tiffany Puett, St. Edward's University.

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Tiffany Puett does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Chanell Perez Ortiz

Afro-Latina transgender woman Chanell Perez Ortiz, 29, was shot to death on June 25 in Carolina, Puerto Rico.

Her body was found along a highway behind a university campus, local media report. She had multiple bullet wounds. The majority of violent deaths of trans Americans involve guns.

Perez Ortiz worked as a cosmetologist and was keenly interested in fashion, often posting quotes from the famed fashion designer Coco Chanel on social media. Chanell shared a lot of playful, fun content, and clearly had strong friendships with people who are grieving her deeply, Pittsburgh Lesbian Correspondents notes. Her family and friends called her by the affectionate nickname Uvita.

Police are looking into the possibility that her death was a hate crime motivated by her gender identity, as her loved ones have urged them to do. The U.S. territorys hate-crimes law covers bias crimes due to gender identity, but prosecutors rarely apply the law, according to the Human Rights Campaign.

Although the details of Chanells death are still being investigated, it is devastating that another trans woman has lost her life to senseless violence, Tori Cooper, director of community engagement for the HRCs Transgender Justice Initiative, said in a press release. In the face of tragedy, we choose to celebrate Chanells life while we acknowledge that these tragedies must stop.

It is clear that fatal violence disproportionately affects transgender women of color, especially Black transgender women, HRCs release notes. The intersections of racism, transphobia, sexism, biphobia and homophobia conspire to deprive them of necessities to live and thrive, so we must all work together to cultivate acceptance, reject hate and end stigma for everyone in the trans and gender non-conforming community.

She and trans man Jacob Williamson, killed this week, are the 13th and 14th trans people known to have died by violence in the U.S. this year. There are likely many more unknown victims, as deaths likely go unreported or misreported due to deadnaming and misgendering. Perez Ortiz was misgendered in some police and media reports.
The union that represents locomotive engineers says a Thursday night coal train derailment in Virginia is renewing questions about Norfolk Southerns safety practices.

The derailment happened coming down out of the Appalachian Mountains near Elliston about 20 miles (32.19 kilometers) outside Roanoke. Fortunately, it involved coal cars and not hazardous materials like those that generated a huge plume of black smoke and forced evacuations in the eastern Ohio town of East Palestine after a different Norfolk Southern train derailed in February. That Ohio derailment triggered concerns nationwide about railroad safety and prompted calls for reforms from members of Congress and regulators.

Were just lucky right now that its coal. If it had been ethanol or LP gas or chlorine or anything like that, it could have been a totally different situation, said Randy Fannon, who leads the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen unions safety task force.

Nineteen cars on the Virginia coal train derailed around 7:45 p.m. Thursday but remained upright and none of the coal spilled.

Before the derailment, the crew received a critical alarm from a trackside detector that a wheel bearing was overheating. But unlike in the East Palestine derailment where the crew received little warning, the crew was able to safely stop the Virginia train after it was alerted to the potential hazard.

The trains conductor found the railcar that triggered the alarm and confirmed the bearing was overheating. But a spokesman for the railroad said all the components appeared to be intact during a visual inspection.

Federal Railroad Administration spokesman Warren Flateau said the railroad decided to try and move the train to a siding, where the crew could safely set out the car with the overheating bearing without blocking the main track. But the train derailed before it reached the siding.

National Transportation Safety Board officials said late Friday they would investigate the Virginia derailment. While union officials and the railroads involved in an NTSB investigation arent allowed to speak publicly before that agency releases its findings, Fannon discussed the details of the crash Friday afternoon when the FRA was still leading the investigation. The NTSB had not taken the lead at that time.

Fannon said someone at the railroads headquarters in Atlanta who was working on the hot box detector desk told the crew to go ahead and move the train 8 miles (12.87 kilometers) down the track. The crew told union officials that they werent comfortable with moving the train at the track speed of roughly 40 mph, so they kept the speed to around 20 mph. But the train still derailed.

Spokesman Tom Crosson said Norfolk Southern will use this derailment to help inform changes it is making to improve safety.

This derailment should never have happened. It is unacceptable, Crosson said. We are working to achieve our goal of being the gold standard for safety in the railroad industry, and this incident strengthens our resolve.

Both the FRA and the NTSB said they were investigating Norfolk Southerns safety practices following the East Palestine derailment and several others in the past couple years.

The NTSB is doing a detailed investigation to determine everything that contributed to the East Palestine derailment, but investigators said in their preliminary report that an overheating bearing on a rail car carrying plastic pellets likely caused the derailment. The resulting fire burned for days as several cars carrying hazardous materials spilled their contents. Then officials decided to blow open five vinyl chloride cars and burn that chemical because they were worried those tank cars might explode.

NS is still in the spotlight and theyre going to remain that way until they make some changes, Fannon said.

In years past before Norfolk Southern began overhauling its operations in 2019 and making widespread job cuts, Fannon said the railroad typically would have sent a mechanical inspector to examine the car after an overheating bearing was found to determine if it was safe to move the train. That doesnt happen anymore after all the cuts to the ranks of inspectors.

I think the key to this is no qualified mechanical person inspected it, Fannon said.

Norfolk Southern, like all the major freight railroads, has streamlined its operations over the past several years to reduce costs by relying more on running fewer, longer trains so it doesnt need as many crews or locomotives. The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen and the other rail unions have said the changes make railroads riskier, spreading employees thin and making it difficult to take the time to properly inspect cars or complete needed preventative maintenance.

The railroads have defended their safety record.

Railroad officials have said they dont believe the cuts jeopardized safety, and they emphasize that they continue to meet the minimum federal standards. Norfolk Southerns CEO Alan Shaw has said he believes NS is a safe railroad and that he is committed to improving that.

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The Washington Attorney Generals Office will issue a formal opinion on whether Franklin County commissioners wrongly approved increases to their fringe benefits paid to them instead of medical benefits.

Franklin County Prosecutor Shawn Sant sent a letter June 20 to the AGs office requesting an opinion on the issue that has divided the county courthouse.

But its unclear when the opinion will be finished because it will take time to research, according to a June 26 letter signed by two deputy solicitor generals in the AGs office.

Our goal is to process this formal opinion as thoroughly and quickly as possible, said the letter.

The dispute stems from a 2016 decision by Franklin County commissioners to allow all employees  including themselves  to take a cash payout or contribution to a health reimbursement account instead of county health insurance coverage they would normally receive as part of their job.

Countywide increases also were made to the lump sum amounts based on cost of living increases.

The vote happened shortly after the 2016 November general election, raising the question whether the commissioners could legally vote to give themselves that money.

The Washington State Constitution restricts local elected officials from increasing or decreasing their paid salaries during their own terms.

A key question is whether converting health care benefits to cash is considered salary under state law.

Franklin County Auditor Matt Beaton believes the vote seven years ago was concerning and likely unconstitutional. He believes that the money should be paid back to the county.

His interpretation of the law is based on an article published by the Municipal Research and Services Center, a private nonprofit agency that says its information is not intended as legal advice.

For Commissioner Brad Peck  a retired U.S. Air Force officer who has taken the cash in lieu of benefits since the start  that would mean repaying nearly $47,000.

And fellow Commissioners Clint Didier and Rocky Mullen, who were not in office at that time but have collected some of the benefits money, would need to repay $334 each.

Former Commissioners Bob Koch and Rick Miller would have to repay nearly $20,000 and $21,000, respectively, claims Beaton.

Sant wrote that his office was unable to conclude whether or not such benefits are a taxable fringe benefit that would fall outside the general constitutional prohibition on mid-term increases.

The county has seen an increase in the number of employees and collective bargaining contracts seeking cash payments instead of health benefits due to a variety of reasons  including existing military benefits or a spouses health plan  that may make having county insurance coverage redundant.

One concern, Sant wrote in his letter, is that requiring commissioners to receive health insurance instead of a cash payment would disproportionately affect people who served in the military.

Those members already have insurance by virtue of serving out country and would not generally benefit from additional insurance, he wrote.

We want to make sure our approach to this issue does not implicate equal protection issues as this same benefit is offered to other employee insurance groups who elect this same option, he wrote.
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) announced Friday that he would not run for outgoing Sen. Ben Cardins (D-Md.) open seat in 2024, instead opting to run for reelection.

At this moment, I believe the best way for me to make the greatest difference in American politics in 2024 and beyond is this: to run for reelection to the House of Representatives in Marylands extraordinary 8th District, he said in a statement.

Anticipation built around Raskins decision as he would have been considered a strong candidate for the Senate seat. Raskin garnered a strong reputation in recent years in the House, including as a member of the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection and now as the ranking member of the House Oversight Committee.

In his statement, Raskin warned about the danger faced by former President Trump, and pledged his total support to the Democratic Partys efforts to take back a majority in the House in 2024.

Nothing matters to me more in the 2024 cycle than winning a blowout victory for the party of democracy and freedom, he wrote. We Democrats may not be perfect but we fight hard every day for the Constitution and the common good of the people.

Meantime, Donald Trump and the dangerous forces of authoritarianism he commands have no declared policy agenda other than exacting revenge against his enemies, he added.Trump and his cult followers must be stopped in their political tracks.

Raskin laid out an agenda including combating climate change, disinformation, the erosion of the rule of law and regulating artificial intelligence.

He said that if these were normal times, he likely would run for Cardins seat.

But these are not normal times and we are still in the fight of our lives for democratic institutions, freedom and basic social progress in America as well as human rights and opportunity for people all over the world, Raskin said.

He also pledged to support the eventual nominee for Cardins seat. Rep. David Trone (D-Md.) and Prince George County Executive Angela Alsobrooks (D) are among the candidates who have already announced campaigns.

Alsobrooks has already gained the endorsement of the powerful Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.).

Raskins decision comes a little over two months since the Maryland lawmaker announced he was in remission from B-cell lymphoma.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
China on high alert for summer flooding, heatwaves

10:06, July 08, 2023 By Liu Yinglun ( Xinhua

Rescue team members work in Linchang Village of Changtan Township, Wanzhou District of Chongqing Municipality, southwest China, July 6, 2023. (Xinhua/Tang Yi)

BEIJING, July 7 (Xinhua) -- China is on high alert for both summer floods and persistent heatwaves, as its major river basins enter the main flood season this month, while unusually torrid weather scorches northern China.

China's national observatory renewed its orange alert for high temperatures on Friday, with some northern Chinese cities, including Beijing and Tianjin, facing sweltering temperatures of up to 41 degrees Celsius. The conditions follow the strongest June heatwave in a decade, putting pressure on the power supply.

The Ministry of Water Resources (MWR) on Thursday launched a level-four emergency response to flooding in the southern Chinese provincial regions of Jiangsu, Anhui, Hubei, Chongqing and Guizhou, with authorities issuing daily warnings of rain-triggered geological disasters and flash floods since the start of the week.

FLOOD CONTROL ACTIVATED

A blue alert has been renewed in anticipation of downpours from 8 p.m. Friday to 8 p.m. Saturday, with heavy rain or rainstorms due in parts of Inner Mongolia, Jilin, Liaoning, Chongqing, Guizhou, Hunan, Hubei, Anhui, Jiangsu and Shanghai.

Local governments and residents have been advised to take appropriate precautions. Schools and kindergartens need to ensure the safety of students and children, while drivers should be alert and cautious due to waterlogged roads and traffic jams.

As of Thursday night, the July rainstorms in southern China had claimed 17 lives in Chongqing Municipality, with 461,000 people affected in the neighboring Sichuan Province as of Tuesday.

To support flood and geological disaster relief work in regions including Chongqing and Sichuan, China earmarked 320 million yuan (about 44.4 million U.S. dollars) on Wednesday from its central natural-disaster relief funds.

Starting mid-July, the country will enter the critical month-long window of flood response, with its seven largest river basins, including the Yangtze River, Huaihe River and Yellow River, entering the main flood period.

So far, both rainfall and river flooding have been moderate nationwide, according to the Ministry of Emergency Management (MEM). Still, it warns of inundation risks on some major rivers and lakes, windstorms and hail across China, as well as typhoons rampaging in southern and southeastern areas.

Authorities are on the move. The MWR on Wednesday pledged to protect people's lives and prevent damage in reservoirs, important dikes and infrastructure. The Red Cross Society of China said it had sent task forces to guide flood control and disaster relief in Chongqing. Local governments of rain-drenched Shandong, Shaanxi, Hunan, Jiangxi and Yunnan are also on high alert.

HEATWAVES PERSIST

China is being hit by heatwaves of rare intensity this year, especially in northern areas, which are traditionally cooler than the south. Since mid-June, an onslaught of red alerts for high temperatures in northern cities like Beijing, Tianjin, Shijiazhuang and Jinan made social media headlines.

The country is set to see the scorching heatwaves for the rest of July and August in regions including northern China and southwest China, weather forecasters say.

The torrid heat brings risks of forest fires, traffic accidents, power and energy crunches, as well as heat-related illness. The National Meteorological Center said road-surface temperatures on expressways in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and beyond could be up to 62 degrees Celsius from Wednesday to Saturday, and has advised precautions in case of events like flat tires.

China's power supply has been under pressure, with the recent peak load on electricity grids exceeding 900 million kilowatts. The China Electricity Council expects the nationwide peak load to hit 1.37 billion kilowatts this year, up 80 million kilowatts from 2022.

The State Grid says it is ramping up the power supply by connecting a new 11.78-million-kilowatt generator module to the grid, while doubling down on emergency maintenance nationwide. The National Energy Corporation has made contingency plans for coal purchases, while major nuclear power and hydropower plants are ready for peak summer demand.

The high temperatures have also caused droughts of varying degrees in breadbasket regions like Inner Mongolia, Jilin, Liaoning, Hebei and Shandong, threatening agricultural production. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, together with other authorities, has issued a joint contingency plan for drought in northern regions to help secure a bumper harvest.

To ensure the safety of the country's workforce, the All-China Federation of Trade Unions has issued a circular stressing protection of the rights and interests of people exposed to heat in their workplaces. Construction sites in Beijing are asked to prolong rest hours for workers, while some courier firms are providing sun protection clothing for employees.

(Web editor: Cai Hairuo, Hongyu)
BERLIN (Reuters) - Ravers gathered in Berlin on Saturday for the annual "Rave The Planet" techno music-themed street parade, with up to 300,000 attendees expected over the course of the afternoon.

Police gave the go-ahead for the street parade on Saturday morning, after organisers had cautioned it may be cancelled due to concerns over security and sanitation.

"The town centre belongs to the ravers today," Berlin police tweeted, confirming the event could take place.

Attendees celebrating freedom, peace and love danced down the avenue from Berlin's Brandenburg Gate to the victory memorial in 32-degree Celsius heat, dressed in everything from leather outfits to glitter and sparkles.

Around 200 DJs were due to play on 25 floats at the event, seen as the successor to the Love Parade founded in 1989 which was halted in 2010 after a stampede killed 21 and injured 500.

(Reporting by Tanya Wood, Fabrizio Bensch, Victoria Waldersee; Editing by Ros Russell)




I,______, acknowledge that I have voluntarily applied to participate in the Titanic Survey Expedition (the "Expedition") arranged by OceanGate Expeditions, Ltd., a company registered in The Bahamas. The Expedition will embark from Newfoundland, Canada. From there, participants will travel for the most part aboard non-United States flagged vessels. The Expedition will be largely conducted in international waters. The shipwreck of the RMS Titanic lies at a depth of approximately 3,800 meters and is approximately 380 nautical miles south-southwest off the coast of Newfoundland.



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Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) said he would not run for Senate in 2024.

Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) said he would not run for Senate in 2024.

Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), a leading progressive who has achieved national fame as one of the managers of former President Donald Trumps second impeachment, said Friday he would not run for his home states open Senate seat, arguing that his role in the House was too crucial to give up.

Raskin wouldve been one of the leading candidates in the race to replace retiring Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), if not necessarily an outright favorite. The two major contenders for the seat are now Prince Georges County Executive Angela Alsobrooks and Total Wine co-founder-turned-Rep. David Trone (D-Md.)

I am profoundly grateful not only to those who have encouraged me on this exciting path but also to those from all over Maryland who have strongly encouraged me to run for the U.S. Senate seat being left vacant by Senator Ben Cardin, Raskin wrote in a lengthy statement. If these were normal times, I am pretty sure that this is what I would be announcing now. But these are not normal times and we are still in the fight of our lives for democratic institutions, freedom and basic social progress in America.

Raskin is now the ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, where he worked to battle Committee Chair James Comers (R-Ky.) efforts to investigate President Joe Biden and Bidens son Hunter. He has also worked with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee to hire summer fellows who help work on congressional campaigns and has become a sought-after campaign surrogate.

Raskin wouldve been the clear favorite of progressive institutions in the Democratic primary, while Alsobrooks and Trone are largely seen as mainstream liberals.

Alsobrooks has attracted the support of much of the states political establishment, including Reps. Steny Hoyer and Kweisi Mfume. Trone, meanwhile, is relying on his immense personal wealth and ties to liberal groups to power his own campaign.

Maryland is a heavily Democratic state, and the winner of the Democratic primary is all but certain to win the general election.
Takoma Park 4th of July Parade

Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., greets supporters at the start of the parade route in Takoma Park, Md., on Tuesday, July 4th, 2023 Credit - Tom WilliamsCQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

After two months of soul-searching, Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland has decided not to run for the U.S. Senate. In an impassioned, thousand-word statement released Friday night, the progressive icon said he was forgoing a bid to replace outgoing Sen. Ben Cardin because he felt he could best serve the country from his current perch in the House.

I believe the best way for me to make the greatest difference in American politics in 2024 and beyond is this: to run for reelection to the House of Representatives in Marylands extraordinary 8th District, the former member of the Jan. 6 Committee wrote.

Raskins decision is likely to narrow the Maryland Senate race between Prince Georges County Executive Angela Alsobrooks and Rep. David Trone, both of whom announced their bids in May. Since then, Alsobrooks has gained frontrunner status as shes drawn high-profile endorsements and mounted an impressive first-quarter fundraising haul. She still faces a formidable challenge from Trone, who has already poured millions into the race and promises to keep going.

State politicos always expected Cardins retirement to spur a crowded field to succeed him. In Maryland, U.S. Senate seats dont open often. Two of the states most recent former SenatorsPaul Sarbanes and Barbara Mikulskiheld their seats for 30 years. Cardin has held his seat since 2007, and Marylands other Senator, Chris Van Hollen, was elected in 2016 and isnt expected to step down any time soon.

Passing on the rare opportunity was an agonizing choice for Raskin, 60, whos long dreamed of becoming a Senator. Yet the former constitutional law professor, who served as the lead prosecutor on former President Donald Trumps second impeachment, faced a complicated dilemma. He recently attained a major perch as the top Democrat on the powerful House Oversight Committee, making him first in line to become chair if his party wins back control of the chamber. For Raskin, that comes with a monumental prospect: If Trump returns to the White House, Raskin would lead the main House panel to conduct oversight on the new administration.

Raskin had personal reasons, too. He announced in the spring that his cancer was in remission after chemotherapy treatment following a lymphoma diagnosis in December. And while hes back to working full speed, his body is still recovering. Since his illness, hes often been seen wearing a bandana gifted by E Street Band guitarist Steve Van Zandt.

At the same time, Raskin and his family are grieving Raskins son Tommy, who died by suicide on New Years Eve 2020. Its a subject that he wrote about at length in his 2022 memoir Unthinkable: Trauma, Truth, and the Trials of American Democracy, which chronicled his grappling with the loss of his son while leading impeachment proceedings for Trumps role in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

At this point in the campaign cycle, new candidates are unlikely to enter the race. Other than Alsobrooks and Trone, theres Will Jawando, a Montgomery County Councilman, mounting a longshot bid.

Alsobrooks, who announced her campaign in May, is coming off a strong fundraising start. She raked in $1.7 million during the last filing period that ended June 30, according to her campaign. Thats more than some of the most prominent Democratic Senate candidates have raised in their first fundraising quarters in recent years, such as Sen. Raphael Warnock of Georgia ($1.5 million), Sen. Jon Ossoff of Georgia ($1.3 million), and Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois ($1.2 million).

Some of the states most prominent Democrats have also been lining up behind her, including Reps. Steny Hoyer and Kweisi Mfume and Maryland Comptroller Brooke Lierman. With Raskin stepping aside, Alsobrooks is expected to announce more endorsements in the coming weeks, according to sources familiar with the matter.

But she will have to contend with Trones money. A wealthy businessman who founded the Total Wine and More retail chain, the three-term congressman has a history of bankrolling his campaigns. Hes already spent millions on television advertisements and has told associates he plans to invest as much as $50 million of his own money on the campaign, according to sources familiar with the matter.

Its a tactic that hasnt always worked. In 2016, Raskin defeated Trone in a three-way Democratic primary to replace Van Hollen when he vacated his House seat to run for Senate. Raskin raised and spent about $1 million compared to the roughly $17 million Trone injected from his own pocket. (Trone won a House seat in an adjacent Maryland district two years later.)

Alsobrooks may have historical winds at her back. Shes likely to attract national interest as a single mom and Black woman running at a time when there are no Black women in the Senate. Theres also no woman currently in Marylands Congressional delegation.

Since 2018, Alsobrooks has led the second largest county in Maryland but the one with the most Democratic voters. Maryland insiders suspect that will provide her home-turf advantage over her challengers in one of the most important jurisdictions. Prince Georges County proved decisive in the 2022 Democratic primaries, particularly in the race for governor, in which Wes Moore won the county by 16% over Tom Perez, enabling him to win statewide by just 2%.

She also wont have to compete against a popular fellow Democrat who is beloved by progressives and would have been able to raise millions of dollars nationwide.

If I had two political careers, I would gladly give one of them to the year-and-a-half campaign for the Senate, a prospect that remains alluring to me because of my profound love for our state and the incredible people who live here, Raskin wrote. I would even be open to restarting my political career as Senator #99 or 100 at the bottom of a new institution. But I have a different and more urgent calling right now and I cannot walk away from the center of this fight in the peoples House and in the country.
A report that Elon Musk uses ketamine could put his security clearance at risk  again

Elon Musk Jonathan Ernst/Reuters

The Wall Street Journal reported last month that Elon Musk uses ketamine, a controlled substance, at parties.

The claim could put his security clearance at risk, two attorneys told Insider.

NASA and the Air Force previously investigated Musk for smoking pot.

A recent report in the Wall Street Journal that Elon Musk uses ketamine at parties could prompt an investigation into his security clearance, two attorneys who specialize in national security law told Insider.

The billionaire CEO of SpaceX and Tesla has a history of running afoul of the rigid standards that the federal government applies to defense contractors, specifically around drug use. The Defense Department reviewed Musk's clearance in 2019, Bloomberg and CNBC reported, after he appeared to smoke marijuana on Joe Rogan's podcast.

The Journal reported last month that Musk "microdoses ketamine for depression, and he also takes full doses of ketamine at parties," citing people who witnessed Musk taking the drug as well as people with "direct knowledge" of his use. While Musk did not comment directly on the report, he has since Tweeted approvingly of ketamine use to treat depression. Insider has not independently confirmed the Journal's reporting.

Drug use is typically grounds for the government to yank someone's security clearance, the two national security attorneys told Insider. While the government has lightened up in recent years on the use of marijuana, it takes ketamine, a hallucinogen, seriously, they said.

Dan Meyer, a national security attorney at Tully Rinckey's DC office, and Alan Edmunds, whose firm specializes in fighting security clearance denials and revocations, both said they would expect the federal agency in charge of security clearances to open an investigation into Musk in the wake of the Journal report.

In the government's view, "someone who takes a cavalier approach to drug use may take a cavalier approach to the handling of classified information," Meyer said.

Bloomberg reported in 2019 that Musk had been granted a security clearance in connection with SpaceX's contract to launch spy satellites into orbit for the National Reconnaissance Office. SpaceX also has contracts with the Air Force and NASA. Earlier this year, a SpaceX rocket launched a classified payload for the Space Force.

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken in the Crew Dragon capsule lifts off from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on May 30, 2020. Joe Burbank/Getty Images

Musk did not respond to a request for comment. SpaceX and the head of Musk's family office also did not respond to requests for comment. The Defense Department, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency, and the Air Force declined to comment on the status of Musk's security clearance, and also declined to comment on whether ketamine use is grounds for revoking a security clearance. A NASA spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

Retaining security clearances is so crucial for defense contractors that some of SpaceX's publicly-traded competitors disclose the possibility of executives losing them as a material risk, according to a review of SEC filings for companies including Spirit AeroSystems, Leonardo, and Terran Orbital.

There is no evidence that the government has opened a review of Musk's clearance. But if it does, he will have the right to respond, Edmunds said.

Mark Zaid, a national security lawyer, said using ketamine may be less risky than marijuana because ketamine, a so-called schedule III drug, can be legally prescribed under federal law. Marijuana can't, even though many states allow it.

He said the claim that Musk used the drug at parties "definitely raises questions," though he said he can't guess at what Musk's doctor might have told him.

Musk's clearance was previously under review

Ketamine, a controlled substance used primarily as an intravenous anesthetic in hospitals, has become more widespread in recent years as an off-label treatment for depression and other psychiatric disorders. Its use flourished under a COVID-era order allowing physicians to prescribe controlled substances in telehealth appointments.

It also has a long history of illegal use as a party drug. The FDA has not approved it as a treatment for depression (though a ketamine derivative, esketamine, is approved). Security clearance applicants are specifically required to disclose whether they have used ketamine on SF-86, the standard application form used to apply for a clearance.

Musk's public drug use has landed him in hot water with federal defense agencies in the past.

In 2018, he appeared to smoke pot on Joe Rogan's video-streamed podcast, after Rogan handed him a massive spliff.

"You want some of it? You probably can't because of stockholders, right?" Rogan said.

Musk replied, "I mean it's legal, right?" and took a drag.

The Joe Rogan Experience/YouTube

The brief puff touched off a firestorm of consternation.

The federal government launched an investigation that included random drug tests for Musk and every SpaceX employee for a year, Musk said on the "Full Send" podcast last year.

"The consequences for me and for SpaceX were actually not good," the tech billionaire said, adding that he had received "a lot of backlash," over the incident, including from competitors.

NASA paid SpaceX $5 million in 2019 to conduct a safety and culture review, according to federal contracting documents, in part to ensure the company's "adherence to a drug-free environment," an agency spokesperson told the Washington Post at the time. In the contract, first reported by Politico, NASA said that the review was "essential for the integrity of the United States space program."

A former US military official, who asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of questions related to Musk's clearance but whose identity is known to Insider, said federal government policy is to periodically test urine samples from people with security clearances to check whether they're using illicit drugs. It's not clear, they added, whether that requirement is enforced equally across all clearance-holders.

Edmunds, the security clearance attorney, said that in his experience, there is a "very prevalent" double standard for security clearance infractions, wherein defense contracting executives and higher-ranking government officials receive more permissive treatment than their subordinates.

Musk boosts the benefits of drug use

After the Rogan incident, Musk told "60 Minutes" that he didn't regularly smoke pot.

But he has spoken repeatedly about the benefits of psychotropic drugs. He is reportedly fond of pulling out a chart to explain to his friends why MDMA and psychedelics are healthier than alcohol, the New York Times reported last year.

"Psychedelics and MDMA can make a real difference to mental health, especially for extreme depression and PTSD," he tweeted last year. "We should take this seriously."

Musk has also said he regularly uses Ambien as a sleep aid. Tesla board members, though, have expressed concerns that Musk abuses the drug, and that it fuels insensible late-night antics on Twitter, the New York Times reported.

After midnight on November 3, 2018, Musk sent a bizarre string of tweets about sponges. "20 mg ambien?" OpenAI founder Sam Altman responded.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Frontier Airlines has a $1,999 "all-you-can-fly" pass called "GoWild." But, some pass holders found that the "unlimited" travel can be limiting. Frontier Airlines

Frontier Airlines sells an "all-you-can-fly" pass, which costs $1,999 for an entire year.

The subscription offers unlimited travel throughout Frontier's network  if a seat is available.

One WSJ reporter put GoWild to the test and found it was more difficult to use than expected.

Frontier Airlines' new "all-you-can-fly" GoWild Pass has officially taken off. While some have found it isn't always the easiest way to travel, it can pay off if you're flexible.

In June, Dawn Gilbertson, a reporter at The Wall Street Journal, used the Colorado-based carrier's new flight subscription, which markets unlimited travel to anywhere in Frontier's network.

She paid $599 for the pass, which was on sale at the time but goes for $1,999 now for an entire year. Seasonal passes for summer and winter are cheaper.

While the low price sounds like a steal, Gilbertson noted per-flight taxes, bags, and seats cost extra. Moreover, there are several caveats to "unlimited" travel.

These include the short time frame for booking: up to one day for domestic flights and 10 days for international, and pass holders can only reserve a seat if one is available.

This means weekend getaways can be difficult to plan without a confirmed return flight home, but those who have the flexibility and spontaneity  such as digital nomads  can really take advantage of the program.

According to Gilbertson's report, she took a total of seven GoWild flights from June 20 to June 28 and paid an average of $96 per leg.

Some of these were extremely last-minute, such as the very first flight from Phoenix to Atlanta booked a few hours before takeoff.

The price Gilbertson paid was $15, which was peanuts compared to Frontier's $369 last-minute fare for non-GoWild tickets. Delta Air Lines' was over two times as much at nearly $1,000 for the same route.

From Atlanta, she headed to the Dominican Republic for $73 and then to Chicago for $90. Like the first leg of the trip, both were much less than the regular same-day fares.

However, Chicago is where she hit a snag and realized that confirming GoWild seats can be difficult, mostly due to Frontier's lack of flight frequencies between many city pairs  especially to the Caribbean.

She tried places like St. Thomas and Puerto Rico with no success, so she headed to Orlando, Florida, hoping to connect to an island nation from there. However, there were still no GoWild tickets available. The only one open was to St. Maarten, but there wasn't a return flight until a week later.

Gilbertson ended up exploring Walt Disney World that day instead, and then headed to Hartford, Connecticut, via Raleigh to see family. The following day, she took three planes via Atlanta and San Diego home to Phoenix because it was the best GoWild route available.

During her travels, Gilbertson said she had plenty of wins, such as a riverfront lunch in Chicago, a day trip to Newport, Rhode Island from Connecticut, and fish and chips at Disney.

However, she also realized "unlimited" travel can be very limiting.

Passholders can't simply hop on any plane they want at any time. It's like piecing together a giant game of Tetris, but you're not only competing against other GoWild members for a seat  you're also battling potential weather delays and cancellations that could make it even more difficult to get to where you want to go.

Julia Carmel, a reporter for the Los Angeles Times, wrote about a similar experience in May, noting the high taxes for international flights.

Despite the challenges, there is a GoWild community already brewing on Facebook with over 9,000 members helping each other find the best routing options, as well as educating others on what to expect when actually using the pass.

"A lot of people jump to conclusions," Jacob Brown, a veteran GoWild pass holder, told the LA Times. "The first time they want to go somewhere and they look and a flight isn't available, they think it was a waste of money. The whole point of the pass was not to get guaranteed seats. It was for really quick getaways and last-minute flights."

Read the original article on Business Insider
Republicans pick 2024 Iowa caucus date for the presidential nomination. What to know:

The Republican Party of Iowa will hold its first-in-the-nation caucus on Jan. 15, the party announced Saturday.

"We remain committed to maintaining Iowa's cherished first-in-the-nation caucuses and look forward to holding a historic caucus in the coming months and defeating Joe Biden come November 2024," Republican Party of Iowa Chairman Jeff Kaufmann said in an emailed statement.

The Republican National Committee has been firm that Iowa Republicans will hold the first caucus of the 2024 cycle. But the Democratic National Committee plans to completely reshuffle the party's nominating calendar, booting Iowa from the premier spot and potentially creating disruptions for both parties.

What does this mean for Iowa Democrats?

For decades, Iowa Democrats and Republicans have held their caucuses on the same night.

The Democratic National Committee decided last year to shuffle the calendar, ousting Iowa from spot at the front of the line. Instead, the DNC wants to hold the first contest in South Carolina.

Iowa Democrats proposed changes to the caucus process, allowing for mail-in participation and appeasing the national party's desire for Iowa to move closer to a primary system. The Iowa Democratic Party said in May it would propose holding a caucus the same night as Iowa Republicans  now set as Jan. 15.

Iowa Democratic Party Chair Rita Hart said Saturday that Democrats "did not have a chance to have any input on the choice of this date," but added, No matter what, Iowa Democrats are committed to moving forward with the most inclusive caucus process in Iowa's history."

"Were committed to doing what's good for Democrats, what's good for Iowa, and what's good for democracy, Hart said in a statement.

But it's unclear how a Jan. 15 Democratic caucus would go over with the DNC or with New Hampshire, which has threatened to leap ahead of Iowa if the caucus changes veer too close to a primary.

Iowa Republican lawmakers passed a bill to bar mail-in participation for a first-in-the-nation caucus. Democrats have said their plan doesn't violate that law, as they still intend to meet in person on caucus night  even though the presidential selection process will occur through mailed "presidential preference cards."

Iowa Democrats have not announced when they will tally and announce the results of the presidential preference cards. They have suggested it could be on caucus night or on a different night entirely.

"After our state legislature and governor took needed action earlier this year to preempt Iowa Democrats' plans to derail the Iowa caucus by running a de facto primary election instead, we are also proud to affirm that Iowa will continue to honor our half-century-old promises to the other carveout states," Kaufmann said in a statement.

The Iowa Democratic Party did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Saturday.

This story will be updated.

Brianne Pfannenstiel contributed reporting.

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 Republicans select a date to hold 2024 presidential caucuses
Ben Hodges

Retired U.S. Army General Ben Hodges expressed doubts about Ukraine receiving an official invitation to join NATO at the upcoming NATO summit in the Lithuanian capital of Vilniuson July 11.

In an exclusive interview with NV, General Hodges shared his less optimistic expectations regarding Ukraine's accession to the alliance.

"I don't have a positive outlook on Ukraine receiving an official invitation, he said.

Although I could be mistaken, I believe there won't be an official invitation.

Read also: Zelenskyy on Ukraines expectations of NATO summit

He emphasized that the summit would convey "very strong signals, much stronger than those seen at the Bucharest summit in 2008, indicating that Ukraine will eventually become a NATO member."

I don't believe they will specify the timing or the necessary conditions for this; however, it is crucial to send a clear signal, Hodges stressed.

"Otherwise, many individuals will interpret it as a victory for the Kremlin, allowing them to influence NATO's decisions once again."

Earlier, US President Joe Biden had stated that Ukraine's NATO membership was not yet feasible due to the ongoing conflict in the country.

Read also: Vilnius summit will not bring Ukraine into NATO  Sullivan

Regarding the NATO summit in Vilnius, it is known that member states plan to endorse a multiyear support package for Ukraine, aiming to bring Ukraine closer to NATO. However, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg confirmed that there would not be a formal invitation extended to Ukraine at the summit.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had previously urged US President Joe Biden to promptly invite Ukraine to NATO. He acknowledged that Ukraine understood joining the alliance while in a state of war would not be possible. However, he emphasized that the invitation would serve as an important signal and motivation for the country's defenders. Zelenskyy will participate in the summit, though it is unclear in what capacity the Ukrainian leader will.attend.

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Here's a roundup of recent incidents and announcements from Ventura County and regional agencies:

$1.6M lottery ticket sold at Oxnard doughnut shop

California Lottery officials said a Mega Millions ticket bought at an Oxnard doughnut shop matched five of six numbers for Friday night's drawing, leaving someone with a $1.6 million prize.

No jackpot was struck, however, so the Mega Millions pot will grow to about $480 million for Tuesday's drawing.

The ticket was sold at Master's Donuts at 1911 N. Oxnard Blvd. It wasn't clear as of midday Saturday whether the winner had claimed the prize.

The doughnut-shop windfall follows another local lucky streak.

A Ventura County grandfather  who has chosen to remain anonymous  rang up a record jackpot of more than $1.3 million at the Chumash Casino Resort on July 1, less than six weeks after the same man scored more than $556,000 at the Santa Ynez casino in late May. The two jackpots were delivered by a pair of slot machines that stand side by side in the Higher Limit room, casino officials said.

Simi police note decline in fireworks calls

Simi Valley police confiscated more than 100 pounds of illegal fireworks around the July 4 holiday. Overall calls for service regarding fireworks were down by nearly a third from last year.

Simi Valley Police Department officers stepped up illegal fireworks enforcement around the Fourth of July holiday, seizing more than 100 pounds of boxed rockets, sparklers, fountains and other devices for destruction.

But the department's overall calls for service were far fewer than during last year's Independence Day celebrations, officials said in a news release.

Enforcement efforts started on Friday, June 30, and continued through the weekend into Monday. On Tuesday  the Fourth of July  the agency deployed extra officers specifically focused on fireworks enforcement.

Through July 3, officers issued seven citations, with one person arrested. On July 4, police issued 23 citations, with one arrest.

During a 24-hour period on the 4th, the department received 200 radio calls for service regarding illegal fireworks. The number marked a nearly 32% drop in call volume compared to last year's holiday, when officers handled 293 fireworks calls.

Ahead of the holiday, police had also contacted more than a dozen residents who'd been reported by neighbors through the fireworks hotline. Those people were warned about repercussions of illegal fireworks activity. No fireworks were reported at those locations after the discussions, the department said.

There were no reports of injuries, fires or property damage from illegal fireworks. The confiscated fireworks were booked and turned over to the Ventura County Sheriff's bomb squad for disposal.

All fireworks are illegal in Ventura County except so-called "safe and sane" fireworks allowed only in Fillmore city limits around the Fourth of July holiday.

CHP releases holiday weekend toll

Sixty-eight people were killed in crashes on California highways over the long weekend leading up to July 4, the California Highway Patrol announced Thursday.

The tally covers a 102-hour enforcement period that started Friday night, June 30, and ran through the Fourth of July holiday on Tuesday. The count includes only roadways in the CHP's jurisdiction.

Nearly half of the 68 people killed were not wearing a seat belt, the agency said in a news release.

The agency had extra patrol officers watching for DUI and unsafe drivers during its Independence Day maximum enforcement period. The effort netted 9,700 speeding citations and 1,224 arrests for suspected driving under the influence.

The results of this are concerning and reinforce the need for responsible behavior behind the wheel, CHP commissioner Sean Duryee said in the release. All of these deaths were preventable, and the loved ones they leave behind will be forever impacted.

The CHP holds six such maximum enforcement periods per calendar year. The next is scheduled for Labor Day weekend.

Items may be updated.

This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Roundup: $1.6M lottery ticket sold at Oxnard doughnut shop, more news
A Ruby Princess cruise that crashed into a San Francisco pier caused delays for thousands of passengers set to sail to Alaska

Princess Cruises' Ruby Princess ship. Princess Cruises

A 113,000-ton cruise ship collided with a dock in San Francisco on Thursday.

The crash resulted in a hole in the ship's left side and delays for passengers on the next trip.

One passenger said the ship was "spinning" as it approached the dock before the collision.

A passenger who watched the Ruby Princess cruise crash into a San Francisco pier on Thursday said the ship was "spinning pretty quick" as it approached the dock.

The cruise ship, one of over a dozen sailing under Princess Cruises, had been returning from a 10-day cruise from Alaska when it collided with Pier 27 in San Francisco. The crash resulted in a hole in the ship's left side as well as damage to the dock, local station KGO reported.

No injuries were reported, and guests and crew on board were not in danger during the "unexpected contact with the dock," Princess Cruises said in a statement to Insider.

Officials with the US Coast Guard told the San Francisco Chronicle that as of Thursday, they would be investigating the crash. Coast Guard Petty Officer Levi Read told KGO that the concern was whether or not the ship could "transport passengers and operate safety."

One passenger, Paul Zasso, told the outlet that the ship had been "spinning" and that he had caught the crash as he looked out the window.

At least one video online posted to YouTube by user Christine Calara shows the rear of the ship scraping against the port as a loud creaking noise is heard.

Crews managed to weld the hole shut by Friday morning, and Princess Cruises said repairs would likely "take upwards of 24 hours."

For the new set of passengers supposed to set sail on Thursday, the ship will now depart on Sunday evening, shortening the 10-day trip into a 7-day sail to Alaska and back, according to the statement from Princess Cruises.



In an updated statement sent to Insider on Sunday, Princess Cruises confirmed that "repairs on Ruby Princess have been completed, and following inspection and certification by the United States Coast Guard, the ship is safe and fit to sail."



There are currently 2,677 guests on board, down from 3,328 guests on Thursday, per the statement.

"Guests will be free to come and go from the ship while alongside in San Francisco beginning this afternoon. Princess has considered all possible alternatives and has selected this itinerary to preserve as much of our guests' precious vacation time as possible," the statement read. "We deeply regret the disappointment the delays have caused and appreciate our guests' understanding as we manage this unexpected situation."

Guests who decide to take the shorter cruise will receive a 75% refund, as well as an equal amount of credit for a future cruise, per the statement.

The Ruby Princess ship, built to carry over 3,000 passengers and 1,200 crew members, is 950 feet long and weighs over 113,00 tons, according to Princess Cruises.

The US Coast Guard did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.



Update: July 9, 2023  This story was updated with a new statement from Princess Cruises confirming that the repairs on the Ruby Princess have been completed as of Sunday afternoon.

Read the original article on Insider
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 8)  Pope Francis has opened the doors of the upcoming historic Vatican assembly to 70 non-bishops, including a Filipina theologian who has been appointed by the Holy Father himself to participate.

Out of the 10 non-bishop members coming from Asia, Estela Padilla is the only woman from the Philippines to join the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops set on Oct. 4 to 29.

Padilla is executive secretary of the Office of Theological Concerns at the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences and a consultant to the Commission on Basic Ecclesial Communities (BECs) of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).

The theologian finished her Ph. D. in applied theology in La Salle. She is also completing her Ph. D. in Organizational Development in the Southeast Asia Interdisciplinary Development Institute.

"Coming from Asia, I feel honored and humbled to be part of this renewal process towards a Synodal Church," Padilla told CNN Philippines.

In the upcoming assembly, the theologian said she will bring with her the synodal processes engaged with in the Philippines.

She also said she will carry in her heart the keywords of her team Bukal ng Tipan: "Kapwa, Simbahan, Bayan."

The Vatican announced the list of participants at the Synod of Bishops in a press conference on Friday.

The assembly will also host 10 non-bishop members each from the continents of Africa, North America, Latin America, Eastern Churches and the Middle East, Europe, and Oceania.

Padilla will be accompanied by CBCP president and Bishop Pablo Virgilio David, CBCP vice president and Pasig Bishop Mylo Hubert Vergara and Manila Archbishop Jose Cardinal Advincula.

The Synod of Bishops in October is part of a three-year consultative process initiated by the pontiff in a move to make the Catholic Church more inclusive.

The Vatican earlier announced that the Pope would appoint 70 non-bishop members who "will enjoy voting rights," along with around 300 other voting members.

Pope Francis specifically said that 50% of the non-bishop participants should be women and should also include "several young people."

A synod is a gathering of the clergy to discuss main contemporary issues surrounding society and the church. The assembly begins from local parishes and then continues to the national and continental levels.

The October synod aims to push the said process to a global level.
Rumors of leadership purge in Russian military swirl after alleged detention of top general Surovikin

Sergei Surovikin and Vladimir Putin

Russian General Sergei Surovikin, his deputy Andrey Yudin and several other generals have been detained in Russia, Vadym Denysenko, head of the Ukrainian Institute for the Future, claimed in an interview with Radio NV on July 6.

"We can say that the system, apparently, has detained and is holding, no matter under house arrest, in Lefortovo or anywhere else, Surovikin, probably his deputy Yudin and several other generals," Denysenko stated.

On June 28, The Moscow Times reported, citing two sources close to the Russian Defense Ministry, that following the mutiny of the Wagner mercenary company head Yevgeny Prigozhin, Surovikin was arrested. The Russian general is believed to be on good relations with the Wagner chief.

On June 29, the Financial Times reported Surovikin's arrest, citing anonymous members of the Moscow elite. FT sources allege that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin had launched a purge against the leadership of Russias security services in an attempt to suppress critics, restore order, and strengthen his rule after the weakness shown during the Wagner PMC mutiny.

Allegedly, many of Wagner's supporters who have publicly criticized the regular armed forces of Russia have disappeared from the public eye, while loyalists such as Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, whom Prigozhin hoped to oust during the mutiny, have been shown publicly attending high-level meetings and events.

Despite comments by Russian propagandist Alexei Venediktov that Surovikin had not even contacted his family, his daughter denied her father's detention in a comment to the Russian Telegram channel Baza.

Read also: Prigozhin says Surovikin mediating between mercenaries and Russian Defense Ministry

Surovikin's wife refused to comment on the rumors of his arrest.

On the same day, U.S. financial newspaper Bloomberg reported that Surovikin had been interrogated for several days about his ties to Prigozhin, held "in one place" but not in prison, while the Russian publication iStories, citing two sources close to the Russian General Staff and the FSB, said that he had already been released after interrogation.

CNN, citing exclusive documents, reported that Surovikin, along with at least 30 other high-ranking Russian military and intelligence officers, were VIP members of the Wagner company.

Yudin's arrest was reported by Russian propaganda Telegram channels, but he has reportedly denied this information, claiming that he was on vacation.

On June 29, Venediktov declared that Yudin had been fired from the Russian armed forces.

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The Russian occupying forces carry on mining Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) and facilities on the plant's territory, with mines and explosives being delivered to the facility at this time, the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine (DIU) said.

Source: DIU

Details: Ukrainian intelligence reports that mines and explosive barriers consisting of remote-controlled and unguided anti-personnel mines of the directional type have been planted in the technical rooms and turbine halls.

The report specifies that the mines used are mostly Soviet-era directional ones: MON-50, MON-90, MON-100, and MON-200.

The intelligence service has published a map of the ZNPP, which shows the likely mining sites. The agency does not explain what kind of schematic it is or where it came from.

Background:

On 22 June, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Russia was probably preparing to commit a terrorist attack at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, which could lead to a radiation leak.

Kyrylo Budanov, Chief of Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, has said that the risk of a Russian terrorist attack on the occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant is "slowly decreasing".

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Russia planning to seize homes in Enerhodar to house Russian workers for Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Plant  HUR

ZNPP

Russian occupation authorities are planning to confiscate housing from residents of the town of Enerhodar to encourage Russians to work at the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant, Ukraines Defense Intelligence (HUR) chief Kyrylo Budanov reported on Telegram on July 7.

Up to 4,500 Russians may be resettled in this way.

According to military intelligence, after the invasion began, most of the plant's qualified personnel either left the occupied territories or refused to sign contracts with Rosatom, the Russian nuclear operator. Attempts to attract Russian employees also did not yield results, as specialists often refuse to go to ZNPP despite high promised salaries and benefits.

In order to fix this issue, the Russian authorities have decided to simply directly provide apartments owned by Ukrainian citizens to Russian settlers, HUR states.

Read also: Russians deliver mines and explosives to occupied Zaporizhzhya NPP  Ukrainian intelligence

On July 6, the first deputy chief of staff of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, Sergei Kirienko, arrived at the occupied Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant. The visit took place against the backdrop of the publication of information about the Russian military mining the ZNPP.

The official purpose of Kirienko's visit was to familiarize himself with the state of affairs at the plant and to check the overall security. According to HUR, his actual role was to calm down panicky Russian plant workers and resolve staffing issues.

ZNPP explosion thread  what we know

Russian troops seized the ZNPP, the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, near the beginning of the full-scale war, on March 4. Employees of the plant are being held hostage and forced to work under incredibly high-pressure conditions. There are Russian military and Rosatom, the Russian nuclear operator, employees at the plant.

Read also: Zelenskyy urges the world to stop Russian sabotage of Zaporizhzhya NPP

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on June 22 that Russia was considering a scenario of a terrorist attack at the Zaporizhzhya nuclear plant it had seized on March 4, 2022, and had "prepared everything for this.

On June 25, Budanov said that the Russians had completed preparations for a potential attack on the occupied Zaporizhzhya NPP.

He said that explosive devices had been placed near four out of the plants six reactors, as well as the cooling pond.

On July 6, Budanov noted that Ukraine had managed to reduce the threat at ZNPP through public and non-public actions. However, he warned that the ZNPP will continue to be at risk as long as the Russian occupation continues.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Hundreds of troops in the Wagner paramilitary organization have been seen flying out of the Central African Republic in recent days, prompting questions about whether Moscow is purging the group after its mutiny in Russia last month.

More than 600 Wagner employees were spotted this week departing from the airport in the capital, Bangui, according to members of nongovernmental organizations and analysts tracking events in the African country.

NBC News obtained a video that appears to show dozens of Wagner operatives in uniform at a military base in Bangui this week. Gathered near a helipad, they sorted through bags and other belongings spread out on the ground around them.

An image from a video obtained by NBC News that appears to show dozens of Wagner operatives in uniform at a military base in the capital, Bangui. (Obtained by NBC News)

The regional French-language newspaper Jeune Afrique first reported the departure of hundreds of Wagner personnel on Thursday.

The flights came as the Kremlin has sought to reassert its authority over the organization two weeks after a short-lived rebellion in which Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin openly defied Russian President Vladimir Putin and ordered his troops fighting in Ukraine to march on Moscow.

The June 23-24 rebellion ended after Belarus brokered a deal between Wagner and Putins government. But how the Russian president will manage the groups sprawling military and business operations in the Middle East and Africa remains an open question.

It was unclear if the departure of the Wagner personnel from the Central African Republic was part of a routine rotation of troops, a large-scale sacking by Moscow designed to curtail Prigozhins influence, or if Wagner loyalists have refused to work under the Russian Ministry of Defense.

Moscow might be attempting to re-establish its control over Wagners forces, but it is still too early to draw any firm conclusions, according to Nathalia Dukhan, senior investigator at The Sentry, a nonprofit advocacy group that reports on corruption, repression and human rights abuses.

Other experts agreed. Purges are very likely, as loyalty is the hot button issue of the moment for Putin, said Alia Brahimi, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council think tank.

In the days after the mutiny, Putin praised Russian military leaders for fending off Prigozhins mutiny and for averting a civil war. Russian authorities have raided Wagners headquarters in St. Petersburg.

Fidele Gouandjika, an adviser to Central African Republic President Faustin-Archange Touadera, said there had been no change in the Wagner Groups presence in recent days. Russian instructors were still on the ground, along with the organizations senior leader, Vitali Perfilev, Gouandjika told NBC News.

The mutiny led by Prigozhin two weeks ago was an internal matter for Russia, he said, adding that the Central African Republic had an agreement with the Russian Federation, not the Wagner group.

A senior Wagner representative in the country, Dmitry Sytii, who runs the Russian cultural center, also implied that the paramilitaries had not been ordered to leave the country, telling NBC News: I havent started to pack my bags yet. When is the plane?

Lewis Mudge, Central Africa director at Human Rights Watch, said it was unclear if Wagner was facing a major shake-up in the African nation.

We are hearing rumors from multiple sources, including from some at the airport, but the movement of Wagner forces in and out of Bangui MPoko International Airport is not in and of itself unusual," Mudge said. "So for right now, its still very much a situation of wait and see.

The White House National Security Council and the Central Intelligence Agency declined to comment. Last week, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said there was no indication that Wagner is decreasing its intent to exploit African countries.

Wagner mercenaries first arrived in the Central African Republic in 2018 as military advisers and have worked alongside the nation's armed forces to fight a rebellion threatening the government. The U.S. government and human rights groups have accused Wagner of committing atrocities in Africa and of exploiting countries gold and diamond mines. In January, the U.S. designated Wagner a transnational criminal organization.

The Kremlin likely will change Wagners name and oust some figures deemed too close to Prigozhin, said Colin Clarke, a senior research fellow at The Soufan Center, a nonprofit research center focusing on global security issues.

But even with a rebranding, Russia is unlikely to withdraw from Wagners security contracts, disinformation operations and mining ventures that have boosted Moscows reach in North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa, Clarke and other experts said.

The services that Wagner provides for the Russians in Africa are essential, Clarke said. Thats not going to go away. They need it.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in a recent interview with Russia Today that Prigozhins revolt would not affect Moscows relations with partners and friends, and that Wagner operatives would remain in the Central African Republic, Mali and other African countries.

At their request, several hundred servicemen are working in the CAR as instructors  this work, of course, will continue, Lavrov said.

In public remarks after the mutiny, Putin thanked the military and law enforcement for halting the rebellion and said for the first time in public that the government had bankrolled the Wagner Group, providing 86 billion rubles, or about $1 billion.

Even though Wagner gets referred to as a private military company, it really isnt a completely private military company. Its really a creature of the Russian military intelligence agency, said Kimberly Marten, a professor at Barnard College and Columbia University.

Experts said that Putins admission means Russia will have no way of denying responsibility for Wagners abuses in Africa and other parts of the world.

The Wagner Groups exploitative business and security model, which involves rapacious economic policies and atrocities against civilians, is now attributable to the Russian state, said Brahimi of the Atlantic Council. The veil has been lifted and Putin will have to personally own the predation in north and sub-Saharan Africa.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Russia says providing Ukraine with cluster munitions "will have no effect" on the course of war

Maria Zakharova, Press Secretary for Russias Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on Saturday afternoon, 8 July, decided to comment on the US decision to provide Ukraine with cluster munitions.

Source: European Pravda citing Zakharovas comment published on Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs website

Details: Moscow believes that Washington's decision to provide Kyiv with cluster munitions is "another blatant manifestation of the aggressive anti-Russian course of the US," which will turn it into "a de facto accomplice in the territory's mining".

Quote: "At the same time, the constant expansion of military supplies, designed, according to the American administration's plan, to 'raise the stakes' in the conflict as much as possible, means an ever deeper involvement of the US and its satellite states in hostilities," added Zakharova.

The spokeswoman of Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs believes that providing Ukraine with cluster munitions "will have no effect on the course" of Russia's aggressive war.

But she did not mention that Russian troops have been actively using cluster munitions since the very beginning of the full-scale invasion, and that they have caused significant harm to the civilian population and Ukraine's territories.

Background: On Friday, the US Department of Defense released details of a new USD800 million military aid package to Ukraine, which includes dual-purpose improved conventional munitions (DPICM), or cluster munitions.

The White House has previously explained that Ukraine pledged to minimise the risk of using cluster munitions. And those that the US will provide may cause far less risk to civilians than those that Russia already uses on the battlefield.

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Russian aircraft harass US drones over Syria for third time this week

Russian aircraft once again harassed US MQ-9 Reaper drones over Syria Friday, the Air Force said, in a sign of increasing friction between the two countries in Middle East airspace.

The incident marked the third time this week that US drones over Syria were intercepted by Russian aircraft.

Earlier today three MQ-9 drones were once again harassed by Russian fighter aircraft while flying over Syria, commander of US Air Forces Central Lt. Gen. Alex Grynkewich said in a news release. During the almost two hour encounter, Russian aircraft flew 18 unprofessional close passes that caused the MQ-9s to react to avoid unsafe situations.

We continue to encourage Russia to return to the established norms of a professional Air Force so we can all return our focus to ensuring the enduring defeat of ISIS, Grynkewich added.

On Thursday, Russian fighter jets harassed a US MQ-9 Reaper drone that was conducting a mission against ISIS targets in northwest Syria. One of the Russian jets dropped flares in front of US drone in an apparent attempt to hit the drone, forcing it to take evasive maneuvers, the Air Force previously said.

In this image from video released by the U.S. Air Force, Russian military SU-34 and SU-35 aircraft release flares in the flight path of a U.S. Air Force MQ-9 Reaper drone, lower left, on Thursday, July 6, 2023, over Syria. - US Air Force/AP

And earlier in the week, three Russian jets dropped parachute flares in front of three US drones, forcing the drones to take evasive maneuvers. One Russian jet also lit its afterburner in front of a US drone, limiting the drone operators ability to safely operate the aircraft.

Russia is operating in Syria in support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, while the US maintains its presence as part of the anti-ISIS coalition.

While the two countries have used a deconfliction line in Syria over the last several years to avoid unintentional mistakes or encounters that can inadvertently lead to escalation, Russian military actions have increasingly violated the deconfliction protocols, including flying too close to US military bases in Syria.

But the US wasnt the only target of harassment from the Russian military this week. On Thursday, a Russian SU-35 fighter jet conducted a non-professional interaction with two French Rafale fighter jets that were flying a mission near the Iraq-Syria border, according to the official Twitter account of the French Armed Forces.

CNNs Kaanita Iyer contributed to this report.

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In this image from video released by the U.S. Air Force, Russian military SU-34 and SU-35 aircraft release flares in the flight path of a U.S. Air Force MQ-9 Reaper drone, lower left, on Thursday, July 6, 2023, over Syria. (U.S. Air Force via AP) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

BEIRUT (AP)  Russian fighter jets have harassed American drones over Syria for the third day in a row this week, the U.S. military said.

Tension between Russian and U.S. troops is not uncommon in Syria as both countries conduct patrols on the ground as well as overflights. Syrias 12-year conflict has left half a million people dead and over 1 million wounded.

The U.S. military said in a statement that Fridays encounter lasted for about two hours during which three MQ-9 drones were once again harassed by Russian fighter aircraft while flying over Syria.

Russian aircraft flew 18 unprofessional close passes that caused the MQ-9s to react to avoid unsafe situations, Lt. Gen. Alex Grynkewich, head of U.S. Air Forces Central Command, said in a statement.

Rear Adm. Oleg Gurinov, head of the Russian Reconciliation Center for Syria, said earlier this week that the Russian and Syrian militaries have started a six-day joint training that ends Monday.

Gurinov added in comments carried by Syrian state media earlier this week that Moscow is concerned about the flights of drones by the U.S.-led coalition over northern Syria, calling them systematic violations of protocols designed to avoid clashes between the two militaries.

The first friction occurred on Wednesday morning when Russian military aircraft engaged in unsafe and unprofessional behavior as three U.S. MQ-9 drones were conducting a mission against the Islamic State group, the U.S. military said. On Thursday, the U.S. military said Russian fighter aircraft flew incredibly unsafe and unprofessionally against both French and U.S. aircraft over Syria.

The U.S. and France are part of an international coalition fighting IS that once controlled largest parts of Syria and Iraq where the extremists declared a caliphate. Despite IS defeat in Iraq in 2017 and in Syria less than two years later, the extremists still carry out deadly attack in both countries.

On Friday, a drone attack by the U.S.-led coalition killed a man in northern Syria who was riding a motorcycle. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, said the man was an IS militant.

Russia joined Syrias conflict in September 2015 and has since helped tip the balance of power in favor of Syrian President Bashar Assads forces. Russian warplanes still carry out attacks against the last major rebel stronghold in Syrias northwest.

On any given day there are at least 900 U.S. forces in Syria, along with an undisclosed number of contractors, who partner with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.

We continue to encourage Russia to return to the established norms of a professional Air Force so we can all return our focus to ensuring the enduring defeat of ISIS, Grynkewich said, using a term to refer to IS.

Gurinov, the Russian officer, warned that the increase of uncoordinated flights for the coalitions drones leads to escalation and Russia is not responsible for the safety of these flights.
Russian fighter jets launched parachute flares and forced US drones to perform evasive maneuvers to avoid 'dangerously close' passes, interrupting military missions in Syria

Russian SU-35 fighter aircraft employ parachute flares in the flight path of U.S. MQ-9 aircraft on July 5, 2023 over Syria. US Air Force courtesy photo

Russian fighter pilots have been antagonizing US drones over Syria for several days.

Russians fired flares at drones and flew close enough to them to prompt evasive maneuvers.

US officials called the actions reckless and are working to avoid "escalation of tensions" in the region.

Russian fighter jets have continued their onslaught of "reckless" moves against US drones over Syria for a third day.

Insider previously reported that Russian fighters have engaged in aggressive maneuvers around at least 6 NATO aircraft, including attacks against US Reaper and MQ-9 drones, in the last two days. The "unprofessional behavior" continued Friday, according to a statement released by the US Air Forces Central.

"Earlier today three MQ-9 drones were once again harassed by Russian fighter aircraft while flying over Syria. During the almost two-hour encounter, Russian aircraft flew 18 unprofessional close passes that caused the MQ-9s to react to avoid unsafe situations," Air Force Lt. Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, the commander of US Air Forces Central, said in the statement.

Previously, the Russian fighters had been seen dropping flares in front of the drones and flying dangerously close, prompting the drones to take evasive maneuvers to avoid collisions.

On Thursday, Grynkewich said in a statement released by the Department of Defense that Air Forces Central is working "with partners and allies to address these incidents and prevent any escalation of tensions in the region."

The Russian military is rewarding pilots for actions like downing US drones, Insider previously reported Grynkewich said, including a mid-March incident where an American MQ-9 Reaper drone was shot down over the Black Sea.

"Any time you have an air force that has fallen so low on the professional ladder that they're giving medals for buffoonery in the air, you've really got to wonder what they're thinking," Insider reported the Lieutenant General said last month.

Representatives for the Department of Defense did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

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Russian reserves running low as Ukrainian forces make 'tactically significant gains' around the besieged city of Bakhmut, a think tank says

An aerial view of Bakhmut, Ukraine, on April 26, 2023. Libkos/AP

Ukraine has made "tactically significant gains" around the besieged city of Bakhmut, a think tank says.

Russian troops are likely suffering "poor morale" with limited ability to strike back, the UK MoD said.

The reported gains have come as Ukraine undertakes its long-anticipated counteroffensive.

Ukrainian forces have made "tactically significant gains" around the besieged city of Bakhmut, a think tank says.

Geolocated footage published Thursday shows that Ukrainian troops made gains in Yahidne, around a mile north of Bakhmut, according to Washington DC-based think tank the Institute of the Study of War (ISW).

The Ukrainian General Staff said that offensive operations had been conducted north and south of the city, ISW noted.

Fighting around Bakhmut has intensified in the past week following a lull last month, the UK Ministry of Defense said in an intelligence update on Saturday.

Ukraine's forces have made gains while Russian defenders are likely suffering from "poor morale, a mix of disparate units and a limited ability to find and strike Ukrainian artillery," the department said.

Armored vehicle is seen as Russia-Ukraine war continues in Chasiv Yar, Bakhmut, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine on March 16, 2023. Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Capturing Bakhmut was a rare battlefield victory for Moscow, the department noted, and Russian leadership likely saw it as "politically unacceptable to concede." However, it is unlikely that they have many more reserves to commit to the battle, the UK Ministry of Defense said.

Along with the gains around Bakhmut, Ukraine's forces have also continued operations in at least three other sectors of the frontline on Friday, according to ISW.

The ongoing offensive operations include those in western Zaporizhia Oblast and along the administrative border between Zaporizhia and Donetsk Oblasts, the Ukrainian General Staff said.

Ukraine launched its much-anticipated counteroffensive to take back territory occupied by Russia in early June, marking a critical possible turning point in the war.

Since the counteroffensive began, reports have been mixed about its success, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy admitting that the efforts have been "slower than desired."

However, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley said that the pace was understandable, given that Ukrainian soldiers are fighting "for their life."

"So yes, sure, it goes a little slow, but that is part of the nature of war," Milley said, per CNN.

The year-long bloody battle for Bakhmut

Soldiers with Ukraine's 24th Separate Assault Battalion unload ammunition near Bakhmut on April 22, 2023. Diego Herrera Carcedo/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

In August 2022, Russia attacked Bakhmut using a combination of Wagner Group mercenaries, Russian soldiers, and pro-Russian separatist forces.

Russia and Ukraine have been locked in an intense and bloody battle for the city ever since, with around 80,000 people killed or wounded by Western estimates.

Bakhmut is of limited tactical value but has become a huge source of symbolic significance for both sides.

In Ukraine, photos of street fighting and trench warfare came to symbolize the country's resistance against Russia, with the slogan "Bakhmut holds!" a popular rallying used to cry on social media.

For Russia, the battle for Bakhmut has become synonymous with both the Wagner Group and its leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, a former close ally of Vladimir Putin who ordered his troops to rebel against the Kremlin last month before later calling off the mutiny in exchange for being sent to Belarus and facing no further charges.

Read the original article on Business Insider
On 7 July, Russian occupiers carried out 18 attacks on Sumy Oblast; 111 explosions were recorded.

Source: Sumy Oblast Military Administration on Facebook

Details: Znob-Novhorod hromada [a hromada is an administrative unit designating a town, village or several villages and their adjacent territories  ed.] came under mortar fire (four explosions).

The Russians deployed mortars to attack the Velyka Pysarivka hromada (eight explosions).

Bilopillia hromada came under artillery (23 explosions) and mortar (five explosions) fire.

The Russians deployed artillery (22 explosions) to hit the Krasnopillia hromada, and a power line has been damaged.

Mykolaivka hromada came under mortar fire (five explosions).

Esman hromada came under mortar fire (ten explosions).

The Russians attack the Druzhba hromada with artillery (five explosions).

20 explosions from mortars were observed in the Hlukhiv hromada.

Seredyna-Buda hromada came under mortar fire (eight explosions).

The Russians also launched missiles from a helicopter (using unguided air missiles) (four explosions) on the Shalyhyne hromada.

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(CNN)  US President Joe Biden told CNNs Fareed Zakaria Friday that it was a difficult decision to provide Ukraine with cluster munitions for the first time, but that he was ultimately convinced to send the controversial weapons because Kyiv needs ammunition in its counteroffensive against Russia.

The White House announced Friday that the president had approved the transfer of cluster munitions to Ukraine, the latest instance where the US has provided Kyiv with weapons it initially resisted sending into the war.

It was a very difficult decision on my part. And by the way, I discussed this with our allies, I discussed this with our friends up on the Hill, Biden said, adding, The Ukrainians are running out of ammunition.

The interview will air in full on Fareed Zakaria GPS on Sunday.

The cluster munitions that the US will send to Ukraine will be compatible with US-provided 155mm howitzers, a key piece of artillery that has allowed Ukraine to win back territory over the last year.

Biden told Zakaria that the cluster munitions were being sent as a transition period until the US is able to produce more 155mm artillery.

This is a war relating to munitions. And theyre running out of that ammunition, and were low on it, Biden said. And so, what I finally did, I took the recommendation of the Defense Department to  not permanently  but to allow for this transition period, while we get more 155 weapons, these shells, for the Ukrainians.

There are more than 100 countries, including the UK, France, and Germany, who have outlawed the munitions under the Convention on Cluster Munitions. But the US and Ukraine are not signatories to the ban.

Theyre trying to get through those trenches and stop those tanks from rolling. But it was not an easy decision, Biden said. Were not signatories to that agreement, but it took me a while to be convinced to do it.

He added, But the main thing is they either have the weapons to stop the Russians now  keep them from stopping the Ukrainian offensive through these areas  or they dont. And I think they needed them.

The decision to provide cluster munitions comes at a critical point in the war, as the Ukrainians have struggled to make major gains in their counteroffensive against Russia.

Biden is heading to Europe on Sunday for a weeklong trip, including a NATO summit in Lithuania, where Russias war against Ukraine  as well as Kyivs push to join NATO  are key issues looming over the summit.

Ahead of that trip, Biden told Zakaria that Russias war in Ukraine needs to end before the alliance can consider adding Kyiv to its ranks.

Biden said that while Ukraines membership in NATO was premature, the US and its allies in NATO would continue to provide President Volodymyr Zelensky and his forces the security and weaponry they need to try to end the war with Russia. Zelenskys push for NATO membership will be among the key issues looming over the gathering.

I dont think there is unanimity in NATO about whether or not to bring Ukraine into the NATO family now, at this moment, in the middle of a war, Biden said. For example, if you did that, then, you know  and I mean what I say  were determined to commit every inch of territory that is NATO territory. Its a commitment that weve all made, no matter what. If the war is going on, then were all in war. Were at war with Russia, if that were the case.

This story was first published on CNN.com, "CNN Exclusive: Biden says sending cluster munitions to Ukraine was difficult decision, but they needed them"
Russians deliver mines and explosives to occupied Zaporizhzhya NPP

Russian troops are continuing to plant mines at the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant (ZNPP) and its nearby facilities, the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry (HUR) said on Telegram on July 8.

Currently, mines and explosives are being delivered to the ZNPP, HUR reported.

Mine-explosive barriers, consisting of remotely controlled and unguided directional anti-personnel mines, have been installed in the auxiliary premises of the plant and in the reactor halls themselves.

ZNPP explosion threat  What is known

The Ukrainian Zaporizhzhya NPP was captured by Russian invaders in March 2022. Since then, they have continuously disrupted the work of Ukrainian specialists at the plant. The Russian forces subject the station's staff to constant intimidation, resorting to kidnappings and forcing them to sign contracts with Russia's nuclear operator, Rosatom.

Read also: IAEA checks ZNPP, but critical sections like roof yet to be checked  Grossi

On June 22, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Russia was considering the possibility of a conducting an attack at the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant, warning that Russian forces are laying the groundwork in order to do so.

Kyrylo Budanov, head of HUR, also confirmed that the Russians had completed preparations for a potential terrorist attack at the occupied ZNPP. He revealed that equipment containing explosives had been placed near four out of the six reactors, and that the cooling pond had also been mined.

On July 6, Budanov mentioned that Ukraine had managed to reduce the threat to the ZNPP through both public and non-public actions. However, he remains convinced that the threats to the nuclear power plant will persist until the Russians withdraw from the facility.

Read also:

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Russian drones struck Kryvyi Rih (Dnipropetrovsk Oblast) on the night of 7-8 July, hitting an agricultural business, and injuring a man.

Source: Serhii Lysak, Head of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Military Administration, on Telegram

Quote: "The enemy attacked Kryvyi Rih overnight. They used drones. They targeted an agricultural business.

Two fires broke out at once. In total, the fire covered 360 square metres. Firefighters contained it.

Several warehouses were destroyed, and equipment and cars have been damaged."

Details: According to the head of the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Military Administration, a 26-year-old man was injured as a result of the Russian attack; he was hospitalised in a serious condition.

Lysak added that the site of the strike is currently being inspected.

Background: On the night of 7-8 July, the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, warned of the threat of the use of attack drones by the Russian invaders on the territory of the Kirovohrad, Cherkasy, Mykolaiv, Kherson and Dnipropetrovsk oblasts.

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Salisbury's hanging baskets surround the city's Guildhall and Market Squares

Councillors have been accused of making "poor" and "irrational" decisions after scrapping city centre hanging baskets.

Salisbury City Council voted to switch to more "sustainable" alternatives, sparking anger from Conservative councillors.

It had been argued that the amount of water needed by the baskets every summer is unsustainable.

But Conservative councillor Eleanor Wills said it doesn't make a difference in addressing the climate crisis.

She told BBC Wiltshire Radio her position on the matter was about "saying on behalf of the people that I represent - wrong decision".

"This is about saying, what the council is proposing to address the climate change emergency is poor, it doesn't deliver, it doesn't make a difference," she said.

Conservative councillor, Eleanor Wills is against the plans saying the council is not listening to the public

"I believe we're in a climate change emergency - there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that climate change is real - and this is not where the debate needs to be," she said.

"In no rational world do you say we're going to scrap all of the traditional planting and put up what essentially looks like you've blue-tacked a bit of moss to a lamppost.

"Let's talk about how we make sure residents across the city can have outside space that looks fantastic, not scrapping the hanging baskets."

Liberal Democrat Councillor Victoria Charleston supports the plans

But Salisbury Council Liberal Democrat Victoria Charleston accused Conservative councillors of "choosing to be confrontational".

"They are choosing to find problems in every decision that is made," she said.

"Since this administration started, Labour, Liberals, independent all worked together, the Conservatives walked away from that.

"In the meantime we are focused on creating a green sustainable city."

She said the council took the decision to be a green council and declare a climate emergency in 2019.

"The council is already doing an extraordinary amount to address climate issues.

"Our hanging baskets, as beautiful as they are, take an extraordinary amount of water - 16,000 litres every summer.," she added.

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Salma Hayek Pinault found the sultriest way to celebrate her Instagram milestone of reaching 25 million followers.

Sporting the same printed string bikini swimsuit that she wore for National Bikini Day, Hayek Pinault shared a video on Instagram July 7 that shows her performing various exercise moves in the pool.

The video  which has garnered more than 1.7 million views  kicked off with the "Frida" actor diving under water, followed by a clip of the 56-year-old spinning in a circle and another of her swinging her arms back and forth with her hands submerged in the water.

Salma Hayek Pinault is in pure bliss enjoying her time in the pool. (Instagram)

The rest of her aquatic fitness routine included several leg kicks and arm stretches, ending with a clip of the Eternals star resting against the edge of the pool.

I cant believe it, 25 million followers! Thank you soo soo much to every single one of you, she began her caption. Seeing as you all like my bikini pictures the most, heres a bikini work out for you all.

She added, I hate exercising- but I love to celebrate good moments dancing in the water. I am genuinely moved and grateful for all your love & support.

The 56-year-old actor showed off several of her best underwater exercises with fans. (Instagram)

Hayek Pinault received plenty of love on the post in the comment section from fans and fellow celebrities, including a note from Drake who wrote, Lets get her to 50M asap.

The actors Black Mirror co-star Annie Murphy also commented on the post, writing, You. Are. Absolutely. Ridiculous.

Wow, Kathy Najimy simply wrote.

One fan added, Perfect example for aging like fine wine.

Hayek Pinaults video comes just two days after she shared a snap on Instagram donning the same bathing suit in honor of National Bikini Day July 5. In the original photo, the actor stood in the pool as she posed in the same printed bikini.

Happy #NationalBikiniDay! Can you believe the bikini has only been around for 77 years?! she wrote in the caption. Lets hope they dont ban them too #notathrowback.

When Hayek Pinault hit 24 million followers on Instagram back in May, the actor celebrated the milestone on social media with a video dancing, this time wearing a loose white bathrobe.

In the clip shared May 16, Hayek Pinault appeared to be in the middle of hair and makeup before she got out of her chair and began swinging her hips to the music. As the actor continued to dance, the top and bottom of her robe swung open with each move, though the final version of the video shared on social media was ultimately censored.

24 million followers, 24 million reasons to smile, she wrote in the caption. Thank you all for joining me on this wild ride! I cannot contain my excitement & gratitude.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com
Viktor Talko

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has opened criminal proceedings against Viktor Talko, a priest of a Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) from Borodyanka in Kyiv Oblast, for aiding Russian troops during their occupation of the area in early 2022, the press service of the SBU reported on July 7.

The SBU is investigating the operation of a Russian torture chamber on the grounds of the church, which Talko oversaw.

Read also: SBU adds high treason charge against pro-Russian blogger Anatoliy Shariy

Talko is alleged to have suggested that the Russian occupation forces use the basement of the church to unlawfully detain members of the Ukrainian resistance movement and torture them.

From March 29 to March 31, 2022 alone, three Ukrainian volunteers who had brought humanitarian aid for locals were held there.

Read also: Commander of opposition volunteers calls on Belarusians to free themselves from dictatorship

If convicted, Talko faces up to five years in prison.

On July 3, a ROC priest of the Pochayiv Assumption Lavra in western Ukraine, who justified Russia's armed aggression, was sentenced to five years behind bars.

Read also: Ukraines SBU nabs judge in Cherkasy Oblast for justifying Russian aggression

On April 28, the SBU also charged another representative of the ROC who publicly justified Russia's war against Ukraine.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Scientists are sounding the alarm about a dangerous problem that will soon affect 2 billion people  heres what to know

As the world has gotten hotter, more people are exposed to dangerously high temperatures each year. Recent findings published in Nature Sustainability show that without policy changes, the world will heat up enough by the end of the century that more than 2 billion people will live in life-threatening hot climates, as Science Hub reported.

Whats happening?

So far, the worlds average temperature has risen by just under 1.2 degrees Celsius (about 2 degrees Fahrenheit) above preindustrial level due to human activity, according to Science Hub. The Paris Agreement  an international treaty to limit heat-trapping gases produced by each country and stop the world from getting hotter  proposed to cap the increase at 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit.

However, the new study found that with the current laws, population growth, and environmental conditions, the world will likely reach about 4.8 degrees Fahrenheit above the preindustrial benchmark, per Science Hub.

The researchers then looked at which areas would be most affected if the temperature increased to that level. They defined unprecedented heat zones as areas where the average temperature throughout the year, counting all seasons, is 84.2 degrees Fahrenheit or higher.

Science Hub reported that 40 years ago, only 12 million people worldwide lived in regions with temperatures surpassing that heat. Today, thanks to the warming weve already experienced, about 60 million people are affected.

The study found that by 2100, 2 billion out of the worlds projected population of 9.5 billion will live in areas with an average temperature higher than 84.2 degrees Fahrenheit. The most affected areas will be countries around the equator, noted Science Hub: India, Nigeria, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Pakistan.

Why is this heating worrisome?

The hotter the world gets, the more heat waves, droughts, and wildfires we experience. As Science Hub reported, studies have also linked the rising heat to everything from more contagious diseases to lower labor efficiency and more conflict between people.

Thats a profound reshaping of the habitability of the surface of the planet, and could lead potentially to the large-scale reorganization of where people live, study author Tim Lenton, director of the Global Systems Institute at the University of Exeter, told ScienceAlert.

Whats being done?

Science Hub reported that if the global community reaches the goal set by the Paris Agreement, the affected population would be limited to half a billion people instead of 2 billion.

In the meantime, individuals can protect themselves from heat waves with these tips for cooling off.

Join our free newsletter for cool news and cool tips that make it easy to help yourself while helping the planet.
Saboun NabulsiPhoto courtesy of the author

In every small Middle Eastern store or international grocery we walk into at home in the San Francisco Bay Area or anywhere across the country, my mother and I search for Saboun Nabulsi. We weave through narrow aisles packed with cans of fava beans and jars of pickled eggplant, past the giant plastic tubs brimming with olives, the bags of pita bread spilling from the bottom shelves. If we are lucky, we find the most treasured import: the saboun (soap), wrapped in waxy white paper stamped with the fading red camel, blue barcode, the bright Arabic script that stretches across each side of the rough cube, always a tiny bit askew. We are careful shoppers, but for Saboun Nabulsi, we will pay almost any price.

In the West Bank city of Nablus, a man who learned from his father, who learned from his father, mixes virgin olive oil pressed from local olive trees with water and an alkalizing sodium lye compound. He stirs it with a wooden paddle in a massive stainless-steel vat. Days later he and his team pour the thick boiling liquid into a large wooden frame spanning the factory floor. The mixture sets, and the men step across soap to mark a grid of lines across the top. They bend at the waist, cutting along the lines with a long wooden stick fitted with a sharp blade. They squat on the surface with embossing hammers, swiftly stamping the top of each cube, like xylophone players performing in a concert. They stand on stools to stack the soap in circular hollow towers so the air can circulate around each bar. The soap hardens and cures for weeks until being packaged, sent away.

Since the 10th Century, zaitoun  olive  has been transformed into these creamy bricks of castile soap. For the diaspora community, this commodity becomes a love letter, written in sun and air and earth, enveloped in history and ritual and resilience, traveling to us across great distances.

Related

How to make soap at home (even if you failed chemistry)

In my shower in California, I scrub the soap against a rough white cotton washcloth and move the towel across every limb, every birthmark, every scar. I have never set foot in the Palestinian territories in my 36 years, but the land and its people  my people  anoint my skin daily. Like eating my mother's zaatar manoushe (flatbread) or knafeh Nabulsi (a cheese and phyllo dessert), this ritual physically connects my body with my roots. My mother has used Saboun Nabulsi since she was a child growing up in Damascus after her family fled Nablus in 1948. This bar of soap was their shampoo, their stain remover, their laundry detergent. She and her siblings would shred the soap into paper-thin shavings and place them into the small stainless-steel basin of their hand-wringer washing machine.

The suds are now her memories, seeping into my skin.

My mother has not returned to her ancestral home since 1967. I close my eyes and imagine her as a girl, 17 years old, sleeping on the bottom bunk at her boarding school in Ramallah waking to the thrum of engines. It is Monday, the beginning of final exams week, just days before her high school graduation. Outside, lines of yellow buses wait like convoys to take them all away. The Six-Day War has begun.

Inside a cotton pillowcase, she places her passport, pajamas, underwear, a change of clothes, slippers, a notepad. You don't take much when you think you will one day return, she will tell me decades later. She takes the bus that heads north toward her grandparent's house in Tulkarm, where her mother was staying to attend her graduation. They wait in the house, trying to decipher radio announcements over the static while their bodies rattle with each explosion cracking in the distance. After two days, soldiers arrive and herd them like livestock into maroon pick-up trucks. The trucks eventually stop in the middle of nowhere and dump them all on the side of the road. They walk for hours. They don't eat for days. Dead bodies start to appear in the margins of the fields. Everywhere, stones stained in sweat and blood. They sleep in the damp soil under olive trees, using the tree limbs as pillows.

I see those same trees in the iconic 2005 image of the Palestinian woman in a bright pink cardigan embracing an olive tree  an image now embossed in our minds like a family photo. Two soldiers look down at her as she wraps her arms around the tree limbs, her eyes closed, her mouth open in a wail. She looks like she is losing a loved one. She is. Since 1967, Time reported in 2019, more than 800,000 olive trees in the West Bank have been uprooted, damaged, cut. From August 2020 to August 2021, more than 9,300 trees were destroyed in the West Bank, and Palestinians are being denied access to the groves they have cultivated for generations, the groves that form the basis of their economy, their livelihood, their cultural memory. Around 90 percent of the Palestinian olive harvest is used to make olive oil, with the rest used for table olives, pickles and soap.

Palestinian Mahfoza Oude, 60, cries as she hugs one of her olive trees in the West Bank

Palestinian Mahfoza Oude, 60, cries as she hugs one of her olive trees in the West Bank village of Salem, 27 November 2005. Mahfoza and other villagers lost dozens of their olive trees after they were chopped down by Israeli settlers from the nearby Elon Morei settlement. (JAAFAR ASHTIYEH/AFP via Getty Images)

"If the Olive Trees knew the hands that planted them," the late Palestinian national poet Mahmoud Darwish famously said, "their oil would become tears." I stand under hot water after scrolling through more devastation, after absorbing news of another massacre, another explosion, another picture of a weeping family wrapping the body of their child in a white cotton sheet and carrying them to be buried. I clean the tears on my face with the tears of my people as the soap becomes smaller every day.

My mother is 73 now. A wispy cloud of short white hair frames her angular face, her fair skin still smooth and tight except for the lines indenting the margins of her smile. If friends or strangers ask how her skin still looks so good "for her age," they inevitably end up getting a history lesson as she talks about Saboun Nabulsi and proudly explains she is bint al Nakba, a daughter of the catastrophe. When each bar of soap dissolves to a sliver, she collects each fragment, places them into the cut-off foot of a pair of old pantyhose, and ties it shut. She will lather with this pebbled lump until nothing remains.

In the late 19th century, almost 40 soap factories were in production in Nablus. After natural disasters, including a massive earthquake in the early 20th century, and multiple military incursions into the historic quarter, only two factories remain today.

The dream of traveling with my mother to her homeland feels more implausible with every passing year, not only because of her age, but because I'm afraid. What if we are detained on arrival due to the absurd difficulty of entering the region? What if we encounter more heartache than my mother can hold in her body? For now, I will continue using Saboun Nabulsi as this ancient tradition perseveres. Under the water, with the soap in hand, the only barrier between me and our Palestinian home is the miles that separate us  and my skin.

Read more

essays about ties to home
A series of leaked photos appearing to show Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin in bizarre disguises could be a Kremlin attempt to ridicule him

Leaked photos appear to show Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin in a series of disguises. Telegram

Leaked images appear to show Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin in bizarre disguises.

Prigozhin launched a short-lived mutiny against Russian leadership last month.

The photos, shared by pro-Kremlin Telegram channels, could be an attempt to humiliate the Wagner chief.

A bizarre series of leaked photos appear to show Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin in a series of comical disguises.

The photos have been circulated widely by pro-Kremlin Telegram channels following Prigozhin's failed mutiny against Russian leadership in what could be an attempt to humiliate the Wagner chief.

The photos show Prigozhin dressed in various wigs, fake beards, and costumes. Insider was unable to independently verify the images.

An analysis of the photos by The Guardian said they appeared to be genuine.

Russian news site URA said that the disguises show Prigozhin as: "a Ministry of Defense officer in Sudan, a diplomatic aide from Abu Dhabi, a senior lieutenant from Benghazi, a colonel from Tripoli, a merchant from Syria, and a field commander named Muhammad."

The mercenary Wagner Group, which Prigozhin founded, is known for being active in Middle Eastern countries and Africa.

Some social media users compared Prigozhin's disguises to Sacha Baron Cohen's character General Aladeen in the 2012 comedy "The Dictator."

The images circulated online after Russian media said police raided Prigozhin's home and found a stash of gold bars, wigs, fake passports, and weapons.

One of the wigs in the photos can be matched with the images of the disguised warlord, The Guardian reported.

Reuters reported that Russian state television first shared the images of the raid on Wednesday in an attempt to discredit Prigozhin and accuse him of hypocrisy for saying Russia's military is corrupt.

Prigozhin, who was once considered to be a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, launched a short-lived rebellion last month, with his forces taking over military headquarters in a key Russian city and starting marching towards Moscow.

Prigozhin ultimately called off his men and agreed to go into exile in neighboring Belarus, although Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko claimed this week that Prigozhin was in St Petersburg.

The Wagner Group's mercenary fighters have played a key role in Russia's war in Ukraine, spearheading efforts in key battlefronts, particularly in Bakhmut.

However, relations between their hot-headed leader and Russian military leadership soured as the former repeatedly accused the latter of not sending his fighters much-needed weapons and accused them of incompetence.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Newport Beach surgeon Grant Robicheaux, left, and his girlfriend, Cerissa Riley, at the Harbor Justice Center in Newport Beach in 2020. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Five years after prosecutors announced charges against a Newport Beach surgeon and his girlfriend, portraying them as serial predators who drugged vulnerable women, a judge has thrown out the last remaining sex charges in the case.

In ruling that there was too little evidence to send Grant Robicheaux and Cerissa Riley to trial for allegedly drugging and sexually assaulting two women, Orange County Superior Court Judge Michael Leversen on Friday handed the defendants a major victory but an incomplete one.

The two must still face a felony charge of drugging the drink of one of the women, the judge ruled. Robicheaux, an orthopedic surgeon once deemed the countys Most Eligible Bachelor by a local magazine, also faces two felony counts of illegal possession of assault weapons, plus misdemeanor charges of possessing cocaine and other drugs.

Read more: Prosecutors ready to focus rape case against Orange County doctor, girlfriend around 2 women

The case has been a tabloid favorite, in part because of Robicheaux's appearance on the Bravo reality show Online Dating Rituals of the American Male.

Defense attorneys have portrayed Robicheaux and Riley, a former schoolteacher, as hard-partying swingers. Both deny having nonconsensual sex with any of the accusers.

After announcing charges against the couple in 2018, Orange County prosecutors said that more than a dozen women had accused Robicheaux of attacking them, with some alleging Rileys participation.

Robicheaux was charged with sexually assaulting five women. Riley was charged with being involved in attacks on three.

Defense attorney Philip Cohen, left, Grant Robicheaux, center, and his girlfriend, Cerissa Riley, leave the Harbor Justice Center in Newport Beach in 2020. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Then-Dist. Atty. Tony Rackauckas said a search of Robicheaux's property had turned up tens or hundreds of apparently incriminating home videos, some featuring women highly intoxicated beyond the ability to consent or resist.

Rackauckas characterized the couple as predators who found victims in Newport Beach bars and restaurants and lured them to Robicheauxs home for sex after plying them with drugs. One accuser compared them to Bonnie and Clyde.

The case quickly became entangled in politics, with Todd Spitzer, who was running for district attorney, accusing Rackauckas of embellishing the case and exploiting it in hopes of winning reelection.

After Spitzer won, he ordered a review of the case and announced it had serious proof problems." There were no videos of incapacitated women being sexually assaulted, he said.

Read more: Internal memo criticizes O.C. district attorney's review of Robicheaux rape case

But Orange County Superior Court Judge Gregory Jones refused to let Spitzer dismiss the charges and took the rare step of removing the local district attorney's office from the case, saying Spitzer's position had left his prosecutors "hopelessly conflicted."

The California attorney generals office announced last August that it would proceed against the defendants with a focus on allegations by the remaining two victims.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Shooter on moped kills one and injures three others while firing at random in Queens, reports say

NYPD Courtesy Cards (Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

One person was killed and three others wounded in a string of shootings allegedly perpetrated by a man on a moped in Queens.

The suspect allegedly began shooting at pedestrians and people in cars before noon on Saturday, the NYPD said.

Hours later police confirmed that the suspected shooter was in custody and there was no ongoing threat to the public.

The first victim is said to be an 86-year-old man who was shot in the back multiple times in the Richmond Hills neighbourhood at 11.28am. He was transported to Jamaica Hospital in critical condition and later pronounced dead.

A 63-year-old man was then shot in the shoulder blocks away at 11.37am, followed by a 61-year-old man shot in the torso at around 11.40am.

A third wounded victim was also reported, but authorities did not provide any details.

A business owner near the scene of the first shooting said he saw the suspect ride by on a moped.

I saw just somebody in front of my store coming on the scooter and he did a U-turn and he loaded his gun and he just started shooting, Zoom Zoom Wireless owner Jasvir Singh told the New York Daily News.

I mean everybody is scared. Everybody is in shock.
(CNN)  The Dutch government collapsed on Friday after failing to reach a deal on restricting immigration, which will trigger new elections in the fall.

The crisis was triggered by a push by Prime Minister Mark Ruttes conservative VVD party to limit the flow of asylum seekers to the Netherlands, which two of his four-party government coalition refused to support.

Its no secret that the coalition partners have differing opinions about immigration policy. Today we unfortunately have to conclude that those differences have become insurmountable. Therefore I will tender the resignation of the entire cabinet to the king, Rutte said in a televised news conference.

Tensions came to a head this week, when Rutte demanded support for a proposal to limit entrance of children of war refugees who are already in the Netherlands and to make families wait at least two years before they can be united.

This latest proposal went too far for the small Christian Union and liberal D66, causing a stalemate.

Ruttes coalition will stay on as a caretaker government until a new administration is formed after new elections, a process which in the fractured Dutch political landscape usually takes months.

News agency ANP, citing the national elections committee, said elections would not be held before mid-November.

A caretaker government cannot decide on new policies, but Rutte said it would not affect the countrys support for Ukraine.

The Netherlands already has a one of Europes toughest immigration policies but under the pressure of right-wing parties, Rutte had for months been trying to seek ways to further reduce the inflow of asylum seekers.

Asylum applications in the Netherlands jumped by a third last year to over 46,000, and the government has projected they could increase to more than 70,000 this year - topping the previous high of 2015.

This will again put a strain on the countrys asylum facilities, where for months last year hundreds of refugees at a time were forced to sleep in the rough with little or no access to drinking water, sanitary facilities or health care.

Rutte last year said he felt ashamed of the problems, after humanitarian group Medecins sans Frontieres sent in a team to the Netherlands for the first time ever, to assist with migrants medical needs at the center for processing asylum requests.

He promised to improve conditions at the facilities, mainly by reducing the number of refugees that reach the Netherlands. But he failed to win the backing of coalition partners who felt his policies went too far.

Rutte, 56, is the longest-serving government leader in Dutch history and the most senior in the EU after Hungarys Viktor Orban. He is expected to lead his VVD party again at the next elections.

Ruttes current coalition, which came to power in January 2022, was his fourth consecutive administration since he became prime minister in October 2010.

This story was first published on CNN.com, "Dutch government collapses over immigration policy"
Six dead after small plane crashes in California field, sparking brush fire

Six people were killed in a small plane crash in Riverside County, California (screengrab/ABC7)

Six people are dead after a small plane crashed in a field near the French Valley area of Riverside County, California.

A Cessna C550 business jet crashed near the French Valley Airport in Murrieta around 4:15am, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. It was traveling to California from Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, according to aviation officials.

The Riverside County Sheriff's Office confirmed that all six occupants were pronounced dead at the scene of the crash, accoding to ABC7.

The crash sparked a small brushfire at the incident site, burning approximately an acre of land before members of CAL FIRE/the Riverside County Fire Department contained the flames.

Weather reports showed a dense fog was hanging in the region at the time of the accident.

This is the second fatal plane crash near the French Valley Airport in less than a week; on 4 July, another small plane crashed, killing the pilot.

Both crashes are under investigation by the NTSB and the FAA.
Wingtipvortex

Six people were killed in an early Saturday morning plane crash in southern Californias Riverside County, making it the second deadly plane disaster the area has seen in the past week.

The Federal Aviation Administration said the Cessna C550 business jet departed from Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas. At around 4:15 a.m, the jet crashed just north of the French Valley Airport in Murrieta, California. It is not immediately clear who was in the plane at the time of the crash, which took place near Briggs and Auld roads and is now under investigation by the FAA and National Transportation Safety Board.

Deputies located an aircraft fully engulfed in flames in a field, the Riverside Police Department said in a statement. Six occupants from the plane were located and pronounced deceased at the scene.

The Riverside County Fire Department tweeted that the crash also sparked a fire that took about an hour to contain and burned approximately one acre of vegetation.

Florida Businessman Says Entire Family Was on Crashed Plane Behind D.C. Chaos

The crash comes just four days after one male was killed and three more were injured after a single-engine plane struck the side of a building near French Valley Airport. The FAA said that four people were aboard the Cessna 172 when it took off from the California airport around 2:45 p.m. on Tuesday before crashing shortly afterwards. Local television footage showed that the plane was upside down in a parking lot.

The FAAs preliminary accident report for the Tuesday incident states that the crash occurred following unknown circumstances after take off. The plane was registered to California Professional Flyer

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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SLO County groundwater supplies are in trouble after years of drought, reports show

San Luis Obispo County reports show how the groundwater basins in San Luis Obispo and Paso Robles suffered after years of continuous, severe droughts.

The annual reports, which analyzed the 2022 water year running from Oct. 1, 2021, through Sept. 30, 2022, were submitted to the California Department of Water Resources in March. The plans must be sent per the states Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, which aims to bring overdrafted basins into balance.

The San Luis Obispo and Paso Robles groundwater basins have both been in critical condition for several years and need restorative efforts to ensure future generations have water, according to the Department of Water Resources.

And despite groundwater sustainability plans for both of the basins being recently implemented, back-to-back years of severe drought further depleted the already-shrinking water sources.

If we dont reduce pumping or bring in supplemental water ... we would need a number of wet years, like we just had, to recover, said Blaine Reely, San Luis Obispo Countys groundwater sustainability director.

Paso Robles groundwater basin shows severe declines during drought

The Paso Robles groundwater basin in northern San Luis Obispo County saw the worse declines out of the two, according to the reports submitted to the state.

In total, 87,200 acre-feet of water was extracted from the basin during the last water year. For context, one acre-foot of water is about 325,851 gallons, or enough to supply two average households for a year.

Most of that consumption, 80,200 acre-feet or 92%, came from agriculture users. Thats a 4,700 acre-foot increase from the previous water year, according to the basin report.

During the 2022 water year, there were 37,604 irrigated acres of land in the Paso Robles groundwater basin  32,683 of which were wine grape vineyards, accounting for nearly 9% of the total land overlying the basin, according to the basin report.

This map shows in darker blue where the most groundwater pumping occurs on the Paso Robles groundwater basin.

The rest of the basins consumption came from the city of Paso Robles and rural homeowners and small public water systems, according to the report.

The citys groundwater use increased by about 429 acre-feet in the reports water year to 1,982 acre-feet while the rural homeowners and small public water systems stayed level at 5,060 acre-feet, the report says.

The Paso Robles groundwater basins sustainable yield  or how much water can be pumped while ensuring the source is not depleted  is about 61,100 acre-feet of water. That means pumping during the 2022 water year far exceeded how much water should be taken out.

The overpumping combined with severe drought resulted in a total storage loss of 117,100 acre-feet in the basin, according to the report. Thats up from a 41,500 acre-foot loss in 2021, an 80,800 acre-foot loss in 2020, and a 59,700 acre-foot gain in 2019, the report says.

Because the water year ends Sept. 30, 2022, it does not include the historic rains from this past winter.

The levels in the Paso Robles groundwater basin have declined severely since records began.

San Luis Obispo groundwater basin also suffers during drought

In San Luis Obispo, the basins condition also deteriorated during the drought years.

The basin, which stretches under San Luis Obispo and Edna Valley, had 6,360 acre-feet pumped during the 2022 water year.

Agriculture users accounted for 5,070 acre-feet while public water system and rural homeowners used 1,290 acre-feet  both an increase of 40 acre-feet from the year before, according to the basins annual report.

The San Luis Obispo groundwater basin has a sustainable yield of 5,800 acre-feet, the report says.

Most of the pumping happened in the Edna Valley area because that is where most of the wells are located to supply water for vineyards, orchards and vegetable farming.

In total, the San Luis Obispo groundwater basin lost about 1,663 acre-feet of groundwater in storage due to the overpumping and severe drought. Thats better than in 2021 when 5,530 acre-feet were lost, but worse than in 2020 when 540 acre-feet were lost, according to the report.

The basin is in moderate overdraft. We have to correct that  and its agricultural pumping, for the most part, that is associated with that over-pumping, Reely said. And so those are the folks that we have to work with to manage that and to reduce that groundwater pumping to get to sustainability.

Most of the pumping on the San Luis Obispo Valley groundwater basin occurs where there is farming in Edna Valley.

Plans in place to improve groundwater basin health

Both basins have groundwater sustainability plans that aim to improve basin conditions within the next 40 years.

Because the plans were approved by the state in March, Reely said he doesnt expect any major improvements to show quite yet, despite some sustainability efforts being underway for a few years already. However, changes such as improved water level data from an increase in monitoring wells have already helped create more accurate reports, he said.

One major and recent change for the Paso Robles groundwater basin was the removal of certain use restrictions on Lake Nacimientos water by the California State Water Board in April.

Now, the lakes water can be used by agricultural users.

Reely said that the surplus water from Nacimiento could be blended with water from the city of Paso Robles recycled water plant to create good irrigation water for vineyards. Currently, a technical advisory committee is sketching out the details of how that system will work, he added.

The groundwater sustainability plans also aim to cut down on groundwater pumping by incentivizing farmers to use less water by fallowing fields or converting to dry farming, Reely said.

I think theres going to be more and more activity on implementing the basins plans this year, Reely said. We have a long way to go.
All six people aboard a twin-engine plane were killed when it crashed amid poor visibility while trying to land at a Southern California airport early Saturday morning, officials said, sparking a small brush fire in the process.

The 1979 Cessna Citation 550 business jet crashed at around 4:15 a.m. local time near the French Valley Airport in Murrieta, National Transportation Safety Board investigator Elliot Simpson said in a Saturday night news conference. Murrieta is located in Riverside County.

The plane had taken off at about 3:15 a.m. from Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, according to the NTSB and Federal Aviation Administration.

A Cessna carrying six people crashed in a field near French Valley Airport in Murrieta, California, on July 8, 2023. All six people aboard were killed. / Credit: Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

The Riverside County Fire Department tweeted that the plane came "down in a field" and became "fully involved in fire." The blaze burned "approximately one acre of vegetation" before being contained at about 5:35 a.m.

The plane crashed about 500 feet short of the runway amid poor visibility due to weather conditions, Simpson disclosed.

"Shorty before landing, the marine layer began to envelope the area with low ceilings and visibilities," Simpson said. "The pilot reported to air traffic control that he was gonna perform a missed approach, which generally happens when the pilot can't see the runway environment."

He noted that the plane had landed at French Valley Airport multiple times before.

All six people aboard were pronounced dead at the scene, the Riverside County Sheriff's Office said in a news release. Simpson said all the victims were adults.

The victims were identified by the Riverside County coroner as Abigail Tellez-Vargas, 33, Ibrahem Razick, 46, Alma Razick, 51, Lindsey Gleiche, 31, Manuel Vargas-Regalado, 32, and Riese Lenders, 25.

The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating. The NTSB will release a preliminary report on the crash within about two weeks.

This is the second crash in the area in less than a week. CBS Los Angeles reported that another Cessna crashed near the French Valley airport shortly before 2 p.m. Tuesday, killing one person and injuring three others.

The deceased victim was identified as 39-year-old Temecula resident Jared Newman, the father of the three surviving passengers, according to CBSLA. He was reportedly operating the aircraft under a training license, which is prohibited by federal regulations.

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Donald Trump speaks on the phoneDrew Angerer/Getty Images

The jaws of justice are beginning to tighten around the ankles of Defendant Trump. One of the great ironies of this century, or any other for that matter, is that the jaws are Defendant Trump's own. That is to say, the verbiage spewed by those jaws back in 2020 is coming back to bite his own capacious ass.

Defendant Trump was trying to overturn the election he had lost, the election he had been told by his campaign advisers that he lost, the election evidence gathered by special counsel Jack Smith shows that he knew he lost, and he engaged in every scammy little gambit he could think of to accomplish his ill-begotten and illegal goal. It turns out that Defendant Trump, famously averse to putting things down on paper or sending texts and emails, was making use of one of the things he wasn't afraid of  in-person meetings and talking on the telephone, into which he spoke incriminating words making illegal demands that are now in special counsel Smith's crosshairs.

CNN reported this week that the FBI has spoken to former Arizona Speaker of the House Rusty Bowers about two conversations he had with Defendant Trump in November of 2020. The first conversation was with Defendant Trump and his then-lawyer and friend Rudy Giuliani. Later, Bowers spoke with Defendant Trump alone, without Giuliani or any other aides in on the phone call. Bowers has not said what he talked about with Defendant Trump alone on the phone, but he testified movingly before the House Jan. 6 committee about the call he got from Defendant Trump and Giuliani.

Related

Jack Smith is digging into Trump's bizarre post-election Oval Office meeting: report

Bowers told the Committee that Defendant Trump and Giuliani had two "asks," as he called them. The first was that he hold an official inquiry by the Arizona legislature to look at evidence Giuliani said he had that 200,000 "illegal immigrants" and some 6,000 dead people had voted in the election in Arizona, evidence that Bowers testified Giuliani never came up with. The second "ask" Bowers described at length, and it's worth quoting here, because this is the kind of evidence the special counsel has obviously gotten from Bowers during what he described as a four-hour interview with FBI agents. Recall that both Giuliani and Trump were on the phone with Bowers, and it is unclear to whom Bowers was referring when he says "he," but what he described for the Jan. 6 committee amounts to evidence that Defendant Trump joined in a phone conversation during which he and Giuliani were asking Bowers to join them in a conspiracy to commit a felony:

"He said, well, we have heard by an official high up in the Republican legislature that there is a legal theory or a legal ability in Arizona that you can remove the  the electors of President Biden and replace them. And we would  we would like to have the legitimate opportunity through the committee to come to that end and  and remove that. I said, 'Look, you are asking me to do something that is counter to my oath when I swore to the Constitution to uphold it, and I also swore to the Constitution and the laws of the state of Arizona. This is totally foreign as an idea or a theory, to me, and I would never do anything of such magnitude without deep consultation with qualified attorneys.'"

Bowers is talking here, of course, about the Arizona portion of the fake elector conspiracy that is known to be the main focus of Smith's investigation and possible prosecution of Defendant Trump. The significant thing about the special counsel's focus on the fake elector scheme is that it is one of two areas of his investigation where they can put Defendant Trump in the room discussing the commission of a felony, or alternatively, on the phone conspiring with others, in this case, Giuliani and Bowers.

The man who for decades prided himself on never committing anything to paper, email, or texts, has found himself trapped by his own words.

It is known that Defendant Trump engaged in other phone calls with state officials and legislators during the weeks before the Electoral College met on Dec. 14 in the states, usually at the state capitols, to vote by paper ballot for the presidential candidates to whom they were pledged, and to sign "Certificates of the Vote," the official electoral ballots that would go on to be counted and certified by Congress on Jan. 6. Defendant Trump also spoke by phone to leaders of the Pennsylvania and Michigan legislatures to encourage them to hold hearings on the supposed voter fraud Giuliani claimed to have uncovered. The grand jury sitting in Washington investigating Defendant Trump's attempts to overturn the election has subpoenaed fake electors from several states, including two from Nevada, who are said to be cooperating with the office of the special counsel. It is unknown if former Arizona Speaker Bowers received a grand jury subpoena, but in an interview with CNN's Kaitlan Collins, Bowers said he "wouldn't discuss" whether he had received subpoenas or testified before the grand jury, obliquely indicating that he had.

It is also known that Defendant Trump met with lawyer John Eastman on at least one and possibly several occasions in the Oval Office to discuss the scheme Eastman concocted for slates of fake electors from battleground states that the White House hoped would be filed with the National Archives and find their way into the House chamber to challenge the official electoral ballots from the battleground states. Eastman was subpoenaed by the grand jury and contested the subpoena on attorney/client grounds, losing that attempt in secret hearings before the chief judge of the D.C. federal court. It is not known if he has testified before the grand jury. He was subpoenaed by District Attorney Fani Willis in Georgia and apparently claimed the Fifth Amendment when questioned.

Want a daily wrap-up of all the news and commentary Salon has to offer? Subscribe to our morning newsletter, Crash Course.

Rudy Giuliani also testified before the Georgia grand jury and apparently claimed his privileges under the Fifth Amendment. Giuliani was subpoenaed by the D.C. grand jury and fought to avoid testifying on attorney/client grounds and also lost that attempt in D.C. federal courts. Last week, Giuliani apparently gave up his lengthy attempts to avoid testifying before the grand jury and met with prosecutors from the special counsel's office to give a "proffer" of potential testimony he might give to the grand jury. A proffer is usually offered by suspects facing indictments of their own in an attempt to avoid prosecution altogether, or to make a deal with prosecutors to reduce charges. Prosecutors generally will not take a proffer from a potential witness unless that witness has evidence against the real target of their investigation, in this case, Defendant Trump.

The verbiage spewed by those jaws back in 2020 is coming back to bite his own capacious ass.

Prosecutors are known to have questioned Giuliani about the fake elector scheme, as well as about a meeting held by Defendant Trump in the Oval Office on Dec. 18, 2020, with Giuliani, lawyer and conspiracy-monger Sidney Powell and former national security adviser Michael Flynn, during which Flynn and Powell pitched a plan to have the U.S. military seize voting machines and oversee a new election  in effect, a plan for a military coup. This is yet another time that Defendant Trump is known to have spoken with others about plans to commit a felony in an attempt to overturn the election. Late at night after the December Oval Office meeting, Trump sent out his infamous tweet urging his millions of followers to come to Washington on Jan. 6, the date of the certification of electoral ballots by Congress. "Be there, will be WILD!" the tweet concluded.

The other witness set to give testimony to the D.C. grand jury is Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who spoke to Defendant Trump on the phone on Jan. 2, 2021, when the former president told Raffensperger, "I just want you to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have. Because we won the state." Present in the Oval Office for the phone call with Raffensperger were Trump lawyers Giuliani and Eastman, another lawyer, Cleta Mitchell, as well as White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, who is known to have testified before the D.C. grand jury. Both Eastman and Mitchell have been subpoenaed by the grand jury. It is unknown if they testified.

Related

Leaked details of Rudy Giuliani interview suggest Jack Smith targeting Trump lawyers: report

So that is where the special counsel investigation of Defendant Trump stands with respect to potential charges for attempting to overturn the 2020 election. Smith has focused on people known to have spoken with Defendant Trump about the fake elector scheme, as well as about other conspiracies to overturn the election. Prosecutors have the John Eastman memo laying out plans for the fake elector scheme, and they have either spoken to or taken testimony from at least three people who either spoke personally to Defendant Trump about the scheme or spoke to him on the phone about it.

So the man who for decades prided himself on never committing anything to paper, email or texts, has found himself trapped by his own words, spoken out loud to several co-conspirators about committing the felony of interfering with the legitimate functions of the federal government, in this case, the certification of electoral ballots and the awarding of the presidency jointly by the Senate and House on Jan. 6.

The special counsel may or may not be able to tie Defendant Trump directly and personally to the insurrection at the Capitol on Jan. 6 that attempted to interfere with the certification of electoral ballots that day, but there are increasingly dire indications that Defendant Trump himself will end up having given the verbal evidence which leads to his indictment and possible conviction for having attempted to overturn the election of 2020.

Read more

about Trump's self-incrimination:
Sodium-ion batteries are gaining traction thanks to a game-changing new partnership: The battery of the future

Chinese electric vehicle (EV) manufacturers BYD and Huaihai Holding Group have announced a partnership to become world leaders in producing sodium-ion batteries for small EVs.

BYDs subsidiary FinDreams signed an agreement with Huaihai in June to build a sodium-ion battery production site in China, according to a press release shared by CnEVPost, which covers Chinas EV industry. The companies aim to jointly create the worlds largest supplier of sodium battery systems for micro vehicles, the release said.

The partners bid to lead this sector could be an important development in the broader race to produce sodium-ion batteries. By challenging the dominance of lithium-ion batteries used in most EVs, this promising technology could one day drive down EV costs and improve the environmental impact of battery-making.

BYD (Build Your Dreams) is second only to Tesla in worldwide sales of EVs and is also among the top battery manufacturers, according to Electrek. Huaihai is a leading manufacturer of small EVs ranging from scooters to cars.

According to CnEVPost, the new joint venture represents the first time BYD has moved forward with manufacturing sodium-ion batteries. CnEVPost said there are even unconfirmed reports that BYD eventually plans to use sodium-ion batteries in its wildly affordable Seagull EV, released this year  in China only  with a starting price equal to around $11,000 (with the current exchange rate).

Lithium EV batteries are currently favored in part due to their high energy density  basically, more stored-up power per pound. Yet purified lithium is also expensive and subject to supply and price fluctuations.

Also, although the impacts of extracting lithium are considerably lower than for oil and gas, mining lithium does have environmental costs.

Enter the sodium-ion battery. Sodium is cheaper than lithium and widely available. Sodium batteries dont have the energy density of lithium ones, but they work better in cold temperatures and can likely handle more charge/discharge cycles, per CleanTechnica. Plus, processing sodium for batteries has the potential to be more environmentally friendly, though this is still being developed.

Several companies have begun investing in lithium batteries, including BYDs rival CATL. CATL has announced that its sodium-ion batteries will be used in upcoming releases by carmaker Chery, CnEVPost reported.

While the BYD/Huaihai collaboration is in the early stages and limited to smaller EVs, observers recognize the technologys upside.

Sodium will be the battery of [the] future, wrote one Electrek commenter.

This could very well become a game changer, wrote another.

Join our free newsletter for cool news and actionable info that makes it easy to help yourself while helping the planet.
Relatives of Boris Obnosov, Director General of Tactical Missiles Corporation, whose missiles are used to attack Ukraine, continue to live in Czechia and own real estate worth tens of millions of crowns.

Source: team of Alexei Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation, which was noticed by the Czech media Novinky, as reported by European Pravda

This is the definition of impunity. I have spent hours talking to the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Czech police regarding this case. We have brought bulletproof evidence of this person's involvement in Russian state missiles making business. We have found their pic.twitter.com/vTxzv9i8rw  Maria Pevchikh (@pevchikh) July 8, 2023

Details: According to Russian investigators, Obnosov's son-in-law Rostislav Zorikov, who has been a permanent resident of Czechia since at least June 2020 and owns real estate in the city worth more than 100 million crowns, lives in Prague.

The Russian Vesna anti-war movement tweeted a video confirming Zorikov's stay in Prague. On the video, Obnosov's son-in-law allegedly attacks the activist who filmed him, but it is not specified when exactly this happened.

Neither Obnosov nor Zorikov are under EU or Czech sanctions, although Tactical Missiles Corporation is on the sanctions list. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic refused to comment on the situation.

Quote: "We do not release details about the process of placing individuals on the national sanctions list for security reasons," Daniel Drake, Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

Rostislav Zorikov is the husband of Boris Obnosov's daughter, Olga, who is believed to work at an event agency specialising in the organisation of lavish weddings and celebrations in Russia and abroad. Obnosova also allegedly owns 20% of Tactical Missiles Corporation shares.

According to Navalny's Foundation, Zorikov himself owns assets in two companies worth about 188 million Czech koruna. The companies are officially engaged in construction activities and leasing of real estate, apartments and non-residential facilities.

Background: At the end of June, the Czech government decided to impose sanctions on Russian oligarch Vladimir Yevtushenkov and his son Felix, who have significant assets in the country.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
SpaceX launched the most powerful rocket ever built. Its impact is still felt in this Texas community

SpaceX launched the most powerful rocket ever built. Its impact is still felt in this Texas community

With the towering SpaceX launch site behind him, Justin LeClaire spotted something astonishing in a grassy, sandflat mosaic of protected wilderness on the southern tip of Texas, near the Gulf of Mexico.

Weve got a bird thats acting really distressed, said the wildlife biologist, stopping in his tracks and quickly peering through his binoculars. Which likely means it has a nest out here.

The bird was a snowy plover, LeClaire said, a species thats rapidly declined in the area over the past five years since SpaceX started actively testing and launching rockets there. The launch tower juts out of pristine Boca Chica State Park like a futuristic steeple that can be seen from more than 5 miles (8 kilometers) away on a clear day.

SpaceXs controversial launch  and subsequent explosion  of Starship, the most powerful rocket ever built, blasted scattered debris up to the size of small boulders all across the delicate ecosystem around the launchpad in April.

When walking around the area in early June, LeClaire, who works with the Coastal Bend Bays & Estuaries Program, was shocked to find several snowy plovers back in the area and nesting in that debris.

He counted seven nests constructed among the rubble, the birds earth-tone eggs matching the color of the rusted and charred remnants of the launchpad. Remarkably, the snowy plovers were adapting and using the debris field as a new habitat.

But to LeClaire, it was a scary realization.

The little pebbles (small pieces of debris) are providing them habitat, he said, then pointed to the launch site just a few hundred feet away. But as soon as this disturbance comes  (another) massive rocket launch  its bad news. This is interesting from a scientific perspective, but its almost certainly bad for these birds.

The environmental impact of SpaceX in this corner of Texas is part of a growing debate among locals over the presence of Elon Musks massive company. While some tout the potential economic boom and job opportunities that SpaceX has brought to the broader Rio Grande Valley, along with the millions of dollars that Musk has pledged to Cameron County, others fear the risk is too great. Working-class residents feel pushed out by surging property taxes and higher home and rental prices.

Environmental activists also worry about turning this treasured part of the Texas coastline  known for its birdwatching, fishing and clean beaches  into an industrial space complex.

Several groups are now suing the Federal Aviation Administration and SpaceX, demanding more mitigation to reduce environmental damage. Their goal is to impact how the company operates in the area  but many see the lawsuit as an uphill battle.

Its a David and Goliath case, said local activist Jim Chapman. When you have just a handful of people taking on the FAA and SpaceX, I would not say the cards are stacked in our favor.

A sign near SpaceX's launch facilities in South Texas reminds visitors to the nearby Boca Chica Beach to keep the area clean. SpaceX has a debris recovery hotline for locals to report shrapnel from its launches. - CNN

An unprecedented launch

On April 20, SpaceX successfully launched a test flight of Starship with its massive Super Heavy rocket booster, complete with a whopping 33 engines. With a force that rattled the ground and dazzled tourists who came to watch the historic liftoff, the spacecraft took flight.

The rocket failed to light all of its engines at liftoff. And a few minutes into the flight, around the time the rocket was meant to separate from the spacecraft, the Starship began tumbling out of control, forcing SpaceX engineers to detonate Starship and its rocket over the Gulf of Mexico in a fiery blast.

For space enthusiasts and spectators, it was a rapturous moment of unprecedented power. SpaceX employees were seen cheering and clapping on the companys livestream, even amid the explosion. But it didnt take long for the literal fallout to turn into backlash.

The launchpad disintegrated, catapulting massive chunks of concrete and tangled rebar across the state park and Boca Chica peninsula. According to the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the wind carried a plume cloud of pulverized concrete, which rained down pebbles of debris, up to 6.5 miles (10.5 kilometers) inland and blanketed the nearby city of Port Isabel with a particle-filled substance. More than three acres of state park land were scorched in a grassfire.

SpaceX's next-generation Starship spacecraft lifted off atop its powerful Super Heavy rocket from the company's Boca Chica launchpad on an uncrewed test flight before exploding near Brownsville, Texas, on April 20, 2023. - Joe Skipper/Reuters

Just hours after the spectacle, the FAA grounded SpaceXs Starship, announcing the agency would oversee a mishap investigation of the test mission to ensure public safety for any future attempts, a routine step after all failed rocket launches.

Prior to Aprils incident, SpaceX prototypes intended solely for testing have exploded in the area for years.

Musk has repeatedly said hed like to try to launch Starship again as soon as this summer, but the FAA said in a statement to CNN that SpaceX has yet to take public safety actions or submit a mishap report with corrective actions for FAA review and approval.

SpaceX did not respond to an interview request or respond to a list of questions for this story, nor has the company responded to routine inquiries from reporters in years.

Longtime locals fear being pushed out

The contrast between the euphoric cheers from space tourists watching Starship take off and the deep-seated resentment among some longtime residents of the area could not be more stark. About a week after the launch, at least two fences in nearby Brownsville  the seat of Cameron County, Texas  were spray-painted with F*ck SpaceX.

Some local activists have long been trying to raise awareness about their concerns regarding not just the environmental effects of the space companys work, but the economic impacts, too.

Josette Hinojosa, a single mother who grew up in Brownsville, said her rent has jumped from $650 to $1,000 in just two years.

People just cant afford the property taxes, so theyre selling their homes, she said. Renters who are renting there or who were renting there are just, they have no place to go.

Property values have skyrocketed in this part of Texas, far outpacing the Covid-era surge and statewide increase from recent years. Since SpaceX broke ground in 2014, the median price of a home in Cameron County has jumped 116%, compared with an 86% increase statewide, according to the Texas A&M Real Estate Research Center.

Hinojosa cites a tweet from Musk in March 2021 that encouraged people to move to the greater Brownsville area in Texas, saying SpaceX needs engineers, technicians and builders to support his mission.

Cameron County is one of the poorest counties in Texas, and low-income households are struggling to keep up with the rising cost of living, Hinojosa said. She worries about having to relocate, abandoning an area where several generations of her family have lived.

I grew up two blocks down from here, she said, standing outside the home shes rented for the past decade. It means a lot to me to still be here, to still have friends that I know that still live down the street  We worry about these things because we know how hard our families work to just be able to acquire that piece of equity, which is property.

Starship is pictured here ahead of its liftoff from SpaceX's Boca Chica launchpad on an orbital test mission near Brownsville, Texas, on April 17, 2023. - Joe Skipper/Reuters

An economic boom

Local politicians, however, fully support the presence of SpaceX, touting the economic benefits for the area. According to Cameron County Judge Eddie Trevino, Jr., the space company employs about 2,000 people in the Rio Grande Valley.

An economic impact study from 2021  provided to CNN by Cameron County officials but conducted by SpaceX  reported that the company generated $903 million in gross economic output for the county that year with $8.1 million generated in sales, property taxes and government fees. The study projected over $900 million in gross economic output for 2023.

Musk also pledged $30 million to the area in 2021, saying $20 million would go to Cameron County schools and $10 million to the city of Brownsville for downtown revitalization. Its not clear whether all those funds have been donated.

Trevino, who is the highest ranking elected official in Cameron County, acknowledged the surging property taxes for locals and the environmental impacts but said county officials are working closely with SpaceX to mitigate those concerns.

Weve made it known we want them to be successful, but not to the detriment of the area, he said.

Theres a certain segment of the community that is not in favor of SpaceX and never will be, he added. Im not invalidating those concerns  Theyre valid concerns, but the great majority of the people that I hear from and speak to are extremely excited.

Trevino said the educational impact alone could span generations of students who want to grow up, stay in the area, and be engineers or work in the space industry.

As a county judge, its been my goal  to bring those economic development projects that are going to bring in better and high paying jobs, he said. And having SpaceX here short term has already been a huge, huge boom to our economy, to our industry.

Some local business owners also share this perspective.

Almost two years ago, Barton Bickerton opened Hopper Haus Bar & Grill in Port Isabel. The bar sits across the bay from the Boca Chica facility in South Texas. It has become a popular hangout for SpaceX employees and tourists who descend on the area.

The bar has a distinct theme, with SpaceX memorabilia decorating the walls, including a chunk of the cement launchpad.

Bickerton said he agrees that SpaceX has been a boon to the local economy and, despite Aprils controversial rocket launch, he sees strong support for the private space program.

Theres no way  with the money that they spend on that thing  theres no way theyre not going to keep launching from here, Bickerton said.

But Bickerton acknowledges that, for many of his customers who strongly support SpaceX, witnessing the sheer force of the rocket and its aftermath has made some a little scared about it.

I think its fantastic for the area, he added. You have to do it the right way. Thats for sure.

A mural of SpaceX founder Elon Musk at The Broken Sprocket food truck park and bar in Brownsville, Texas, in February 2022. - (Mark Felix/Bloomberg/Getty Images)

SpaceX and environmental concerns

Mary Angela Branch lives in Port Isabel, a coastal community less than 10 miles from the launchpad, and still remembers the first time, in 2016, that she saw a big wooden sign advertising the future home of SpaceX. It was on a previously undisturbed beach in Boca Chica.

Branch is on the board of an organization called Save RGV (Rio Grande Valley), which started in 2014. The group initially came together to fight against proposed liquified natural gas terminals, but they are now involved in litigation directly related to SpaceX.

The impact of Aprils Starship launch on the regions environment was palpable, Branch said.

The air quality was horrible. It was like a nuclear blast had gone off there, she said. I didnt see any birds. No seagulls, no pelicans, nothing. The lack of wildlife really, really got my attention.

Beatriz Reynoso, a disabled veteran, environmental activist, and former congressional candidate from nearby Harlingen, Texas, said she suffered health issues after exposure to burn pits in Afghanistan and fears the repeated rocket launches and explosions could impact the health of South Texas residents.

I worry about the community, which is a medically underserved area and population, and the consequences of poor and contaminated air quality, Reynoso said.

Ahead of the launch on April 20, the FAA issued a finding that the event would have no significant impact on its surrounding environment. Therefore, the agency didnt proceed with a more in-depth environmental assessment, which would have taken more time.

Save RGV is involved in a lawsuit against the FAA that alleges the agency failed to do enough to mitigate or thoroughly review potential damages to the area. The group is one of a handful of plaintiffs  including the Carrizo/Comecrudo Nation of Texas and the Center for Biological Diversity  pursuing the case in the hope that the agency will go back and do a far more comprehensive environmental analysis of the impacts of the launch.

In a court document, the FAA denied the allegations levied by the activists. The agency declined further comment to CNN, saying it does not comment on ongoing litigation. SpaceX has sought to intervene in the case and did not respond to CNNs request for comment on the lawsuit.

Jim Chapman has lived in Brownsville since the late 1970s. He joined Save RGV because he was concerned about the environmental impact of SpaceXs launches on the wildlife refuge areas that surround the launch site.

Ultimately, we want them (the FAA) to make SpaceX do what they should have done from the beginning, Chapman said.

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Spanish Defence Minister Margarita Robles and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Saturday that they do not approve the United States' decision to provide Ukraine with cluster munitions to help break through Russian defence lines.

Source: European Pravda

Details: During a conversation with journalists on Saturday, the head of the Spanish Ministry of Defence said that she is against the decision of the United States to send cluster munitions to Ukraine, but emphasised that she respects the decision of a "sovereign country".

"Spain, based on the firm commitments it has with Ukraine, also has a firm commitment that certain weapons and bombs cannot be delivered under any circumstances... No to cluster bombs and yes to assistance for the legitimate defence of Ukraine," RTVE TV channel quotes Robles.

In his turn, Rishi Sunak, Prime Minister of the UK, in a statement to the media quoted by Sky News, emphasised that he "does not approve" the use of cluster munitions, and reminded that the UK has signed a convention banning them.

"We will continue to do our part to support Ukraine against Russia's illegal and unprovoked invasion, but we've done that by providing heavy battle tanks and most recently long-range weapons, and hopefully all countries can continue to support Ukraine," he added.

Background:

On Friday, the US officially announced the provision of a new package of military assistance to Ukraine in the amount of 800 million dollars, which included, in particular, dual-purpose improved conventional munitions (DPICM), or cluster shells.

The White House previously explained that Ukraine has pledged to minimise the risk of using cluster munitions, and those that the US will provide pose significantly lower risks to civilians than those that Russia already uses on the battlefield.

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Spanish Defence Minister visited field hospital that will be handed over to Ukraine

Margarita Robles, the Minister of Defence of Spain, visited the Zaragoza Air Base on Friday, where a field hospital is being prepared to be sent to Ukraine and Ukrainian servicemen are being trained.

Source: Spain's Ministry of Defence, as European Pravda writes

Details: During the visit to the airbase, Robles met with Ukrainian border guards who are undergoing training to use the field hospital and reaffirmed "full and absolute support for Ukraine from Spain", which will last as long as necessary.

PHOTO: MINISTRY OF DEFENCE OF SPAIN

PHOTO: MINISTRY OF DEFENCE OF SPAIN

The minister added that the hospital will arrive in Ukraine between 23 and 25 July , and thanked the Ukrainian soldiers on behalf of Spain for "their courage and bravery" and the defence of "both their country and the values we share".

She emphasised that Spain, like all NATO and EU allies, will continue to support Ukraine in various ways, both by sending military equipment and training and by providing assistance to wounded soldiers.

Background: Spain announced plans to hand over a field hospital to Ukraine, as well as 20 armoured personnel carriers and four Leopard 2A4 tanks, within the framework of the meeting of the Contact Group for Defence of Ukraine.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
(CNN)  The planets temperature soared again on Thursday to levels not seen in the modern record-keeping era, marking the fourth straight day of record temperatures. These alarming new records are likely the highest temperatures in at least 100,000 years, one scientist told CNN.

The global average daily temperature climbed to 17.23 degrees Celsius (63.01 degrees Fahrenheit) on Thursday, according to the University of Maines Climate Reanalyzer, which uses data from the US National Centers for Environmental Prediction.

Its been a week of record-breaking temperatures. On Monday, the average global temperature reached 17.01 degrees Celsius (62.62 degrees Fahrenheit), the highest in the NCEPs data, which goes back to 1979. On Tuesday it climbed to 17.18 degrees Celsius, where it remained on Wednesday.

Before this week, the record in NCEPs data was 16.92 degrees Celsius and was set in August 2016.

Though this weeks records are not yet official, another global climate tracking agency confirmed several in its own data. The European Unions Copernicus Climate Change Service said Mondays and Tuesdays global temperatures were also records in its data, which dates back to 1940.

While the records are based on observational data sets that only go back to the mid-20th century, they are almost certainly the warmest temperatures the planet has seen over a much longer time period, according to Jennifer Francis, a senior scientist at Woodwell Climate Research Center.

Francis estimated that this weeks temperatures are the warmest probably going back at least 100,000 years, calling the records a huge thing.

Scientists know this because of the many millennia of climate data extracted from proxies like tree rings, ice cores and coral reefs  data that is a cornerstone to their understanding of the climate system and how humans have contributed to rapid global warming since the industrial revolution.

Robert Rohde, a lead scientist at Berkeley Earth who was one of the first to share that global temperatures were soaring this week, told CNN its very likely that were going to keep seeing more of these records fall this summer.

July is typically the planets hottest month, but temperatures are already in overdrive because of the combination of El Nino  a natural climate phenomenon in the Pacific Ocean  and the human-caused climate crisis, which is driving global temperatures steadily higher.

Its not a record to celebrate and it wont be a record for long, with northern hemisphere summer still mostly ahead and El Nino developing, Friederike Otto, senior lecturer in climate science at the Grantham Institute for Climate Change and the Environment in the UK, said earlier this week.

It just shows we have to stop burning fossil fuels, not in decades, now, Otto said. Temperature records arent just numbers, but for many people and ecosystems its a loss of life and livelihood.

This story was first published on CNN.com, "This weeks record-breaking global temperatures are likely highest in at least 100,000 years"
A Canadian school district fired a special needs teaching assistant after discovering she had an OnlyFans account and she refused to shut it down.

Kristin MacDonald said she received an email April 28 from School District 43 in British Columbia, Canada, advising her to deactivate all accounts related to "Ava James," a persona she maintained for her side activities online  specifically for her OnlyFans account.

"I was advised to deactivate all Ava James social media platforms immediately, including [Instagram], TikTok and OnlyFans, or possibly be terminated," MacDonald told Fox News Digital. "I did not comply."

The school district terminated her on June 16.

Kristin MacDonald, a teaching assistant in School District 43 in British Columbia, Canada, was fired after the district advised her to delete social media for "Ava James," her OnlyFans persona that she maintains to make money on the side.

MacDonald said she didnt know how the school discovered her account, but she heard rumors a student had complained about one of the Ava James TikTok videos, supposedly complaining that "Ava James only wears bikinis in her TikToks."

CANADIAN NURSE SUE JOHANSON, WHO BECAME A POPULAR TV SEX EXPERT, DIES AT AGE 93

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

The rules as laid out by the district only include "a collective agreement" with a clause about "off-duty conduct being appropriate," which MacDonald believes is "up for individual interpretation.

The school district called her conduct "egregious" and listed half a dozen reasons for her termination, including posting material that "involves the sexualization of the school environment" and that she allegedly disparaged the district in media interviews, during which she also linked her job and side-hustle and capitalized on the links between her jobs to make more money.

In this photo illustration, the OnlyFans app logo is on the screen of a mobile phone and on a laptop in the background. OnlyFans is an online content subscription service that allows users to create and post risque content.

MacDonald told CBC that she felt "strongly  in this day and age, we should be able to do what we want as long as its not illegal," and she insisted she was "not hurting anybody" with her side-hustle.

PADDLEBOARDER IN SHOCK AFTER VIDEO CATCHES SHARK FOLLOWING HER: WASNT AN OPTION TO QUIT'

Her job as a teaching assistant paid only $1,000 every two weeks after deduction, which prompted her to seek other means of making money. She insisted that while on-duty, she focused entirely on her job and never received or heard any complaints about her behavior with students.

But now she has raised concerns with Fox News Digital about how the school may have conducted its investigation  methods that could go against OnlyFans rules.

Kristin MacDonald said she wants only to return to her job as an educator as soon as she can.

"Since the investigation by the district into my off-duty conduct, they have confirmed that school district 43 subscribed to my Onlyfans account," MacDonald said.

She revealed that the school conducted a three-day investigation, but that she felt "it was clear that the narrative had been concluded as I was repeatedly shamed for having an OnlyFans account" and for her content. That investigation included screenshots of her content, which MacDonalds believes means the school used taxpayer money to subscribe to the account.

SEX SYMBOL BRIGITTE BARDOT LEFT THE SPOTLIGHT BECAUSE SHE'D HAD ENOUGH: AUTHOR

"I've gotten emailed screenshots from my OnlyFans account that my school district sent out to Myself, the union and HR, that only paid subscribers have access too, meaning I have proof that the school used taxpayers' money to subscribe to my OnlyFans," MacDonald stressed, claiming that it was against OnlyFans policy to share the content outside the website.

Kristin MacDonald alleges the school district used taxpayer money to subscribe to her account and take screenshots, which may be against OnlyFans' user policy.

OnlyFans did not reply to a Fox News Digital request for comment or clarity on its policy by time of publication.

MacDonald wants to resolve the matter and return to her job, which she worked hard to get in the first place: She attended two years of college to earn her degree, which includes student loans she is still paying off.

"At this point I'd like the ability to go back to working for a school district," MacDonald said.

School District 43 did not respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment by time of publication.
Dean Thompson

Dean Thompson, the vice president and chief economic development officer for City Utilities, will be an executive in residence at the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce.

Thompson will serve as the chamber's executive director of regionalism and economic development.

His role, a collaboration between CU and the chamber, is one of three high-level leadership moves announced by the chamber Friday.

The moves come after the recent retirements of Sandy Howard, senior vice president of public affairs, and Jennifer McClure, vice president of strategic communications.

Tiffany Batdorf will serve in the role of vice president of communications and community relations. Lauren Mustoe will serve as acting vice president of public affairs.

We are extremely excited about our team at the Chamber. With new perspectives and fresh enthusiasm our team has been energized. Both Dean and Tiffany bring years of experience and knowledge from both inside and outside of the Springfield community that will help with future planning and leadership, said Matt Morrow, president of Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce, in a statement.

Lauren steps into the acting role with a lot of promise and has embraced this opportunity. All three roles will add to the great team we already had.

Tiffany Batdorf

According to the news release, Thompson will focus on strengthening and possibly restructuring the organizational model for regional development and outreach.

A graduate of Missouri State University and the U.S. Army War College, Thompson has worked for CU since 2007. He spent 12 years as administrator for the City of Republic.

Thompson has been serving in the U.S. Army Reserve since 1985 and is currently the Commanding General of the 353d Civil Affairs Command.

In her role, Batdorf will champion the chamber brand and members in ways that increase visibility and opportunity. She will lead the implementation of the organizations strategic communications plan including media relations and will serve as a surrogate for the chamber president with external stakeholders.

She is a graduate of Southern Nazarene University and the University of Central Oklahoma. She previously served as the Chamber/CVB Director for the Mitchell Area Chamber of Commerce in South Dakota.

Lauren Mustoe

Mustoe will lead the chambers efforts in advocating for the needs of the regions business community at the local, state and federal level through a member-driven and collaborative approach.

Hired by the chamber in 2018, she most recently served as manager of governmental affairs. A Jefferson City native, she graduated from Missouri State University

She volunteers with several organizations including the Community Blood Center of the Ozarks, Springfield Little Theatre, and Springfield Regional Arts Council Advocacy.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Springfield chamber announces hiring of CU's Dean Thompson, two others
ST. LUCIE COUNTY  A 12-year-old St. Lucie County boy who had been missing since Thursday was found safe late Friday night in Polk County after an Amber Alert statewide search, and his father was arrested on child custody charges, police said Saturday.

Tracey Scarborough, 54, of suburban Vero Beach, was arrested by Polk County sheriff's deputies at about 11:30 p.m. in the River Ranch area of Polk County and charged with interference of child custody, St. Lucie County sheriff's deputies said.

Leon Scarborough

His son Leon was found unharmed and has been turned over to the Florida Department of Children and Families, deputies said.

More: Temperatures in 90s along Treasure Coast this weekend, but it could feel like 110 degrees

More: Amber Alert issued for St. Lucie County boy

A judge ordered the elder Scarborough on June 22 to have no contact with his son. St. Lucie County deputies said Tracey Scarborough had a "violent criminal history," and had recently made violent threats related to the custody case.

Leon Scarborough was declared missing from the Spanish Lakes Fairways area of northern St. Lucie County, where he has lived with a grandparent since December, deputies said in a social media post. In December 2022, his mother was also granted supervised visitation, according to the agency's post.

The agency first announced Leon was missing and considered the subject of a possible parental abduction around 10 a.m. Friday, at which time the Florida Department of Law Enforcement issued an Amber Alert. The alert was canceled at 2 a.m. Saturday after Leon was found unharmed.

According to the FDLE, five criteria must be met to activate an Amber Alert, which only can be requested by law enforcement agencies:

The child must be younger than 18

Investigators have a well-founded belief a kidnapping has occurred

Investigators have a well-founded belief a child is in danger of death or serious injury

A detailed description of the child and/or abductor/vehicle is available to broadcast

The law enforcement agency with jurisdiction over the case recommends it be activated

TCPalm breaking news reporter Will Greenlee contributed to this report.

Corey Arwood is a breaking news reporter for TCPalm. Follow Corey on Twitter @coreyarwood, or reach him by phone at 772-978-2246.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: St. Lucie County boy, 12, found safe in Polk County; father arrested on custody charge
Just days before the three finalists for Florida Atlantic Universitys next president were set to speak at public forums, the search has been stopped in its tracks.

State University System of Florida Chancellor Ray Rodrigues sent a letter to Brad Levine, chairman of both the FAU Board of Trustees and the Presidential Search Committee, citing anomalies that have been alleged in the Florida Atlantic University presidential search. The letter, dated Friday, was posted on social media Friday evening.

The letter said Rodrigues office received concerning information, including that search committee members conducted a straw poll to rank their six preferred candidates out of a list of nearly 60 and that one candidate said a questionnaire asked if his sexual orientation is queer and that another survey asked whether his gender is male, female or other and what pronouns he uses.

The university publicly announced three finalists earlier this week: Vice Admiral Sean Buck, superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy; Michael Hartline, dean of the College of Business at Florida State University; and Jose Sartarelli, Ph.D., former Chancellor of the University of North Carolina Wilmington. They were set to speak at forums on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday.

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Not on the list was Rep. Randy Fine, R-Palm Bay, who previously told the South Florida Sun Sentinel the governors office approached him about applying for the job. Gov. Ron DeSantis office issued a statement of support at that time.

Rep. Anna Eskamani, an Orlando Democrat and a vocal critic of DeSantis, in a Facebook post Friday evening questioned the sudden decision.

Definitely seems like someone is being a baby because they werent given a job they are clearly unqualified for, Eskamani wrote, referring to Fine. This is disgraceful and an insult to academic integrity.

Rodrigues wrote in his letter that the questions about sexual orientation, gender and pronouns were wholly irrelevant, inappropriate and potentially illegal. The meeting where candidates were ranked in unofficial votes may run afoul of state statute pertaining to public records and meetings exemptions for university and college president applicants, Rodrigues also wrote.

FAUs Levine told the South Florida Sun Sentinel on Friday evening that general counsel has guided the committee through the selection process and we are convinced that we have run a clean, appropriate to the letter of the law, search.

Rodrigues wrote in the letter that the straw poll rankings were submitted confidentially and directly to the search firm.

The committee members selections and rankings were not disclosed on the record and there was no meaningful opportunity for the search committee members to discuss candidates prior to the straw poll, Rodrigues wrote.

Levine said they did conduct a straw poll in a closed meeting, but they did not take any vote on the poll.

We conducted a straw poll to help us narrow down, which is appropriate and legal in the state of Florida, Levine said.

Levine said the search committee was not aware of the questionnaire cited in Rodrigues letter and that the questionnaire was run by a search firm the university hired, the information collected by them anonymous.

Its not shared with FAU. We dont participate in it. We didnt even know it was done, he said.

Rodrigues letter acknowledges that FAU was not aware of the questions.

Members of the search committee were not informed that these questions were being asked of candidates, Rodrigues wrote. This raises an additional concern about whether the search firm withheld material information from the search committee.

Rodrigues wrote that Board of Governors Chairman Brian Lamb agreed that the search be suspended at this time.

A voicemail and email left for Rodrigues assistant after business hours Friday were not returned.

Levine said the search committee was over the moon with the three finalists, praising each of them for their accomplishments.

Sartarelli, who lives in Naples, spent seven years as chancellor of the University of North Carolina-Wilmington after working as West Virginia Universitys dean of the College of Business and Economics. He declined to comment when reached by phone Friday evening.

In his time at UNCW, the university was recognized in the top 100 best public national universities by the U.S. News and World Report, and the university secured hundreds of millions of dollars to sustain its growth over the next decade, Sartarelli wrote in his letter of interest, among other accomplishments.

Hartline was the dean of FSUs Business College for eight years and a faculty member for over two decades. He wrote in his cover letter that some of his accomplishments included increasing fundraising, over $210 million in his time as dean, developing new programs and created new revenue sources for the college.

He declined to comment when reached by phone Friday evening.

Buck is the Superintendent of the United States Naval Academy. Levine said Buck received at least two letters of support from former chiefs of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

As I look to conclude 40 years of service wearing the cloth of our nation in August 2023, I realize I have much more to give, Buck wrote in his letter of interest. I am energized by the opportunity to learn more about how I could play a role in defining the future of Florida Atlantic University (FAU).

When reached by phone Friday evening, Buck said, I continue to be very proud and happy that they selected me to be one of the finalists, and I look forward to hopefully being able to present my credentials and myself to whatever committee will continue to make the consideration for the job, whenever thatll be.

Sun Sentinel staff writer Scott Travis contributed to this report.
Stockton Rush's recklessness was an open secret that nobody could do anything about

Stockton Rush, CEO of OceanGate exhibitions. Shannon Stapleton/Reuters

OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush had a history of shirking safety regulations ahead of the Titan's implosion.

But even as industry experts raised concerns about the submersible, Rush pushed forward.

The legal murkiness of international waters offered the company a shroud of protection.

The tragedy of the Titan submersible is an all-too-familiar tale: A daring inventor pushes the bounds of science, technology, and safety to their limits in an act of bold innovation that ultimately backfires, killing its creator in the process.

The Titan saga captured the world's attention last month after the vessel disappeared in the depths of the ocean while on a dive to explore the historic Titanic shipwreck. The ill-fated OceanGate submersible was carrying five passengers, including its CEO Stockton Rush, now at the center of this seemingly-preventable tragedy.

In the wake of the Titan's implosion lies a disturbing trail of OceanGate's apparent disregard for safety precautions, including a slew of early warnings from industry experts and a series of troublesome past expedition perils that could, and perhaps should have been a stopgap to Rush's Icarian dreams.

It's more than just hindsight that exacerbates the tragedy of the Titan's fate, however. The legal gray zone of the international waters in which the Titan operated meant no oversight agency or legal authority could foil Rush's ambitions.

Industry skepticism long surrounded the Titan

From the earliest days of the Titan's inception, OceanGate was plagued by an abundance of now-prophetic warnings from both inside and outside the company.

A former engineer at the company warned as early as 2018 that the sub's safety could be easily compromised by poor "quality control and safety" protocols, according to a lawsuit the employee filed against the company after he said he was fired for raising safety concerns.

David Lochridge, who served as OceanGate's director of marine operations, said he was wrongfully terminated after he questioned the company's refusal to conduct "critical" testing on the Titan.

Lochridge even pinpointed potential issues with the very part of the submersible that experts now believe may have led to its demise, noting "visible signs of delamination and porosity" on the carbon-fiber hull, which Lochridge said suggested the hull could come apart after repeated dives  as it ultimately did.

The call from inside OceanGate's own house, however, proved not strong enough incentive for Rush to reconsider his lenient approach to safety, which included skipping an industry certification assessment and speeding through test dives.

That same year, more than three dozen people, including industry leaders and deep-sea explorers, wrote an open letter to Rush warning him that his company's "experimental" attitude toward getting the Titan mission off the ground at the expense of industry certification had the potential to be catastrophic, according to The New York Times.

Rush responded to his compatriots' warnings with defensive vitriol, telling one critic that industry players were trying to use a "safety argument" to "stop innovation."

"We have heard the baseless cries of 'you are going to kill someone' way too often. I take this as a serious personal insult," Rush wrote in a 2018 email to Rob McCallum, the cofounder of EYOS Expeditions and a former OceanGate advisor, according to The New Yorker.

Stockton Rush, OceanGates chief executive, speaks at a press conference with an OceanGate sub. David L. Ryan/Getty Images

Mounting criticism didn't deter Rush, but instead seemed to spur him on

Insider obtained a 2019 email between Rush and Karl Stanley, who runs a deep-sea exploration company in Honduras and participated in a test dive on the Titan, in which Stanley urged Rush to slow down and conduct at least 50 test runs of the Titan to pinpoint potential defects to the hull before allowing passengers on board.

Rush, meanwhile, had set his mind on just seven trials, telling Stanley to "keep your opinions to yourself. The OceanGate CEO accused his colleague of having two "fundamental misunderstandings," castigating him first for misunderstanding his advisory role.

"The second, even more disturbing misunderstanding is your concern that I will either intentionally or unintentionally succumb to pressure and take advantage of our clients," Rush wrote. " I realize more than anyone that this is the primary pitfall and have taken multiple steps to guard against this."

Rush often undermined the importance of safety regulations

For all his apparent offense at his critics' accusations that he was not prioritizing customer safety, Rush maintained a publicly cavalier attitude toward the topic, frequently making flippant remarks about what he often suggested was an irrational industry hang-up on safety.

The aftermath of the Titan's implosion has seen the dredging up of several previous media appearances and public commentary made by Rush, including comments he made characterizing the diving industry as "obscenely safe," and his suggestion that industry standards were "understandable, but illogical."

In a 2019 blog post on OceanGate's website, Rush sought to explain why the Titan submersible wasn't classed according to standard regulatory process, simply citing "innovation."

"At some point, safety is just pure waste," he told CBS journalist David Pogue in 2022.

Rush's attitude toward safety was reflected in the Titan's troubled history of malfunctions during dives that preceded its implosion. Former passengers have since described hearing cracking sounds while underwater; witnessing incidents of propulsion system failures; and battling a loss of communication mid-dive.

The sea exploration firm Magellan said it's working on bringing in specialist equipment" to help the rescue mission for OceanGates lost Titan sub. Reuters

International waters offered OceanGate a cloak of legal protection

But even amid the deafening alarm bells, there was little that could be done to stop or even stall the Titan's deep-water dives.

Deep-sea tourism is a relatively new industry with few regulations in place, experts told Insider. The regulations that do exist, however, are easily avoidable for a vessel diving in the legally-murky international waters that OceanGate sought out.

The company, while based in Washington State, transported the Titan on a Canadian ship and then deployed the vessel in international waters, where OceanGate could be free from domestic or international laws.

A spokesperson for OceanGate did not respond to Insider's request for comment.

Colleagues and close friends have defended Rush in the aftermath of the tragedy

US and Canadian officials are now investigating how and why the submersible imploded, and OceanGate announced this week that it had suspended all exploration and commercial operations.

But even in the face of increasing criticism levied against the late Rush, friends and former colleagues have come forward to offer a different perspective on the ambitious dreamer, describing him as a man who lived to conquer risks and died doing what he loved.

And indeed, Rush once spoke of himself in the same vein, defending his reckless methods in words that now read as a haunting self-fulfilling prophecy.

"I mean if you just want to be safe, don't get out of bed, don't get in your car, don't do anything," Rush told CBS Sunday Morning in 2022. "At some point, you're going to take some risk, and it really is a risk-reward question. I think I can do this just as safely by breaking the rules."

Read the original article on Insider
Student debt: Why Biden's backup plan may wind up in trouble again at the Supreme Court

WASHINGTON  President Joe Biden's backup plan for delivering student debt relief will likely face legal scrutiny for the same reason his initial plan was knocked down by the Supreme Court, several experts told USA TODAY, raising questions about the administration's ability to deliver on his campaign pledge without buy-in from Congress.

The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 last week that Biden overstepped his authority when he used a 2003 law called the HEROES Act to forgive up to $20,000 in student debt. Hours after the decision landed, the president announced he would instead pursue debt relief under the Higher Education Act of 1965  an option he described as "legally sound" but acknowledged would likely "take longer" because of the process required to adopt it.

The HEROES Act empowered the secretary of education to "waive or modify" loan terms while the Higher Education Act permits the administration to "compromise" loans and forgive them in specific circumstances, such as for borrowers who become teachers. The "compromise" language has previously been understood to give the department power to reduce loans on a case-by-case basis, not necessarily as a blanket authority to forgive debt.

What happened? Race, religion and debt: Here are the biggest cases of the Supreme Court's 2022-2023 term

Given that the Supreme Court's conservative justices smacked down the argument that the word "waive" allowed wholesale debt relief, some experts questioned whether a similarly sweeping program would win support under a different law that uses the word "compromise." Biden could arguably craft a narrower program that might survive scrutiny from federal courts but that might draw political criticism from liberals within his party.

"It's hard to see why the court would reach a different result under language that's very similar," Cary Coglianese, a law professor at the University of Pennsylvania, said of a broad debt relief program. "There's nothing in those statutes that contemplates something of that size, according to the court."

In his announcement last week, Biden carefully worded the scope of his new proposal. He described it as "the best path that remains to providing for as many borrowers as possible with debt relief." It's not clear, specifically, what the administration has in mind. A public meeting on the new effort has been set for later this month.

A White House spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

President Joe Biden is joined by Education Secretary Miguel Cardona as he announces new actions to protect borrowers after the Supreme Court struck down his student loan forgiveness plan in the Roosevelt Room at the White House on June 30, 2023.

The president's original proposal sought to forgive $10,000 for many federal student loan borrowers and up to $20,000 in debt relief for low-income Pell Grant recipients. The debt cancellation was only available to borrowers with annual incomes less than $125,000 or from households earning $250,000 or less. Some 26 million people applied for the relief and the administration estimated more than 40 million Americans might qualify.

Counterargument: Advocates say the new law is clearer

Supporters of Biden's latest effort say the Higher Education Act more clearly lays out the administration's power to forgive debt. And they note that while the Education Department has crafted regulations that suggest relief should be provided on a case-by-case basis, the provision of the law at issue doesn't include that limiting language.

The new law, "very much is entirely about the reduction in loan balance," said Persis Yu, deputy executive director at the Student Borrower Protection Center. "Looking at the words of the statute, I think it is very clear that this would cover the actions that the secretary is contemplating here."

Luke Herrine, a law professor at the University of Alabama, acknowledged that "this Supreme Court will view any act of mass debt cancellation skeptically." But he suggested that the administration could enact "a narrower version of cancellation" to try to win approval in court.

"Another way it could happen is if the court continues to feel political pressure to shore up its legitimacy," Herrine said.

'Who has the authority' to relieve debt?

The Supreme Court's conservative majority has grown increasingly skeptical of significant policies from federal agencies that do not have explicit approval from Congress. Writing for the majority in the latest student loans case, Chief Justice John Roberts said that the HEROES Act's language about "waiving" loans didn't give the Department of Education broad authority to forgive students loans. The Higher Education Act, similarly, doesn't say anything about broad forgiveness and, critics said, it has never been used that way before.

"The question here is not whether something should be done, Roberts wrote, it is who has the authority to do it.

The Supreme Court relied on similar logic in 2021 to prevent Biden from extending an eviction moratorium tied to the COVID-19 pandemic. The court blocked the moratorium, ruling that Congress couldn't have contemplated that a public health law it approved to empower the Department of Health and Human Services to address a pandemic would lead to a nationwide reshaping of the relationship between landlords and tenants.

In a high-profile environmental ruling last year that courts conservative majority invoked the same theory to invalidate an Environmental Protection Agency effort to regulate power plant emissions that contribute to climate change. Writing for a 6-3 majority, Roberts said the so-called "major questions doctrine" allows courts to strike down regulations in "extraordinary cases" when they are not explicitly permitted by law.

"What Congress was most likely contemplating was the secretary's ability to look at individual borrowers, individual instances...that would allow the secretary to waive student loans," said Derek Black, a law professor at the University of South Carolina.

If the administration takes a narrower route, Black said, that may well withstand legal scrutiny.

The Higher Education Act authorizes certain forms of relief in specific situations, such as for borrowers who were defrauded by a college  usually for-profit colleges. Under a settlement reached last year, the Biden administration agreed to pay 200,000 borrowers in that situation more than $6 billion in debt relief.

"It's hard for any of us to prejudge whether the administration is going to do something thats going to fall within its power or not," he said. "We just have to wait and see."

Contributing: Alia Wong, Joey Garrison

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Biden's backup student debt plan likely faces 'major' scrutiny
Study reveals companies used Big Tobaccos tactics to distort evidence of toxic forever chemicals in their products

It turns out the chemical industry knew about the health risks associated with forever chemicals far sooner than we thought, but chose to delay public awareness, according to a study from Boston Colleges Annals of Global Health.

As a result, government regulations and research that could have prevented the substances from leaching into our bodies and the world were also delayed.

What happened?

The study looked at two of the largest plastic companies in the world, DuPont and 3M. Researchers claim company officials knew the chemicals had an adverse impact on people and animals as early as the 1960s. But they were not transparent about the ramifications, similar to Big Tobaccos approach about the cancer risks of its products.

All these companies  try to prevent the development of public understanding and theyre always years ahead of the public and mainstream scientific community, said researcher Stan Glantz, the Guardian reports.

The toxic substances, also called PFAS, are tagged as forever chemicals because they take a very long time to break down naturally. There are about 15,000 of them, according to the Guardian. PFAS are used to make a variety of household products, including Teflon, and are linked to a wide range of health risks. One example from 1961 involves Teflon linked to enlarged rat livers, per the Guardian.

The new analysis is startling, as it reveals company officials knew about birth defects among pregnant workers and other maladies, but kept quiet, in part to maintain the bottom line, according to the Guardian.

Heres just one description from the report, an example of how the companies allegedly suppressed information to distort public discourse: Internal studies were identified, ranging from 1961 to 1994, showing that DuPont had evidence of PFAS toxicity from internal animal and occupational studies that they did not publish in the scientific literature and failed to report their findings to [the government].

Why does it matter?

It took decades for appropriate warnings and government rule-making to regulate the tobacco industry. Watchdogs worry that public awareness about the dangers of PFAS is now behind, despite strong evidence of the health risks.

PFAS are now [common] in the population and environment, the studys authors wrote. Forever chemicals are in the blood of 97% of Americans, according to a government report.

Whats being done to help?

3M has reportedly planned to stop making PFAS by the end of 2025. DuPont also made pledges to reduce use, according to WTOP News.

And, the chemicals seem to finally be on the governments agenda. The Environmental Protection Agency has proposed listing two of the most common PFAS as hazardous substances, among other measures.

The actions would have come sooner, health advocates said, if DuPont and 3M shared what they knew with the public.

This all would have occurred a lot earlier, study co-author Tracey Woodruff told the Guardian.

Join our free newsletter for cool news and actionable info that makes it easy to help yourself while helping the planet.
Fighting for control of the capital has continued since 15 April, including on Tuesday when this photograph was taken

A Sudanese army air strike on the capital has killed at least 22 people and injured many others, eyewitnesses and an official have said.

Women and children were among the victims, the eyewitnesses told the BBC.

The airstrike hit the Dar es Salaam district of Omdurman, on the opposite bank of the Nile to the capital Khartoum, early on Saturday.

The army and a paramilitary force have been battling for control of the capital since April.

The conflict began after the head of the army, Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the head of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Gen Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, fell out over the future of the country.

A Khartoum state health official, quoted by Reuters news agency, said at least 22 people had been killed in Saturday's airstrike, while the RSF said the death toll was 31.

The paramilitary group added in a statement that the strike had "caused significant destruction to homes".

The UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres said he was "appalled" by the violence and concerned that the conflict would become full-scale civil war, "potentially destabilising the entire region". He called on both sides to cease fighting and protect civilians.

The RSF controls much of Khartoum and its twin cities of Omdurman and Bahri. The army has carried out frequent artillery and air attacks to try and dislodge the paramilitary fighters. But it is thought that Saturday's strike could have resulted in one of the largest death tolls from a single attack.

Twelve weeks of conflict have left the civilian population in the capital terrified. Shops and markets are rarely open and almost all medical facilities have shut down.

Clashes have spread beyond the city, including to the western Darfur region which has seen an outbreak of ethnic violence.

Across the country, hundreds have been killed and almost three million people have been forced from their homes.

There have been partially-successful attempts to secure temporary ceasefires, but these have never lasted long.

East African regional bloc Igad is trying to re-start peace talks at a summit in Ethiopia on Monday.

But a spokesman for Gen Burhan said he would not attend the meeting.
Ukraine still needs to take more steps before joining NATO, U.S. Presidential Advisor Jake Sullivan said at a press conference on July 7.

"The U.S. strongly supports the open-door policy which says that Ukraine and NATO can make a decision on their pathway to membership, and Vilnius will be an important point on that pathway," Sullivan said.

"However, Ukraine still has further steps it needs to take before membership," he commented, adding that "Ukraine will not be joining NATO coming out of this summit."

Ukraine must undergo reforms to reach NATO standards, and the necessary steps will be discussed in Vilnius, the U.S. official said.

The U.S. Ambassador to NATO Julianne Smith stated that Washington insists on certain reforms before Kyiv can enter the Alliance.

"There are standards that the Alliance sets for all members, and the president has made it clear that Ukraine will need to implement these reforms," Smith commented.

Vilnius will, however, satisfy Ukraine's aim to move away from the formulations of the Bucharest summit in 2008, she added. Germany and France blocked Ukraine from joining NATO during the previous summit in Romania's capital.

Dietzen, Druckman: Vilnius NATO Summit  Accelerating Ukraines membership and deterring Moscow and Minsk This months NATO summit takes place at a time of both peril and opportunity for the future of European security. The Wagner Groups June 24 sprint from Rostov to the gates of Moscow dealt a fresh blow to criticism of NATOs decision to extend a Membership Action The Kyiv IndependentMark Dietzen

It appears many topics remain undecided and the issue of a faster admission process without the Membership Action Plan is still being discussed, the ambassador revealed. Similarly, there seems to be no consensus on security guarantees for Ukraine, said Amanda Sloat, the National Security Council senior director for Europe.

According to NATO Secertary-General Jens Stoltenberg, NATO member states are expected to adopt a three-part package to bring Ukraine closer to the Alliance during the upcoming summit in Vilnius on July 11-12.

Ukraine applied to join NATO in September 2022. While acknowledging the country cannot enter the alliance before the war's end, Ukrainian leadership has repeatedly called for a "clear signal" on the membership from the allies during the upcoming summit.

Earlier, Zelensky said that "there is no point" in Kyiv's attendance of the Vilnius summit unless the alliance offers a membership invitation or "some kind of signal."
Summer storms bring out home improvement scam artists. How to avoid them in Bucks County

After the storms come the scammers. That's the warning after major weather alerts and events from Bucks County Consumer Protection.

Scammers, known as storm chasers, to the county office, come to the region every summer and look to scam homeowners who have had their houses damaged by storms. As storm frequency and severity has increased in recent years, including confirmed tornados and impacts from tropical storms and hurricanes in Bucks, the county wants property owners on alert.

More: DA: Contractor took more than $200K from Bucks County homeowners, and there could be other victims

How home improvement scams work in Bucks County

Michael Bannon, the director of Bucks County Consumer Protection, said scammers search for storm-ravaged communities.

They end up going to the devastated areas, knock on doors and ask to do work on their house, Bannon said.

Scammers often tell homeowners they can do the work cheap, that they will work with their homeowner's insurance and help with claims, making the process easy for them.

But, often owners are left with improper repairs and costs that insurance denies, he said. Bucks County residents have had little recourse once the contractor moves on as several do not have correct contact information, Bannon said.

This also creates future problems. Many contractors will decline working on projects that were not repaired or upgraded properly, according to Bannon.

Every single summer for the last 10 summers, weve seen an increase in storms. As we see more severe weather, scam artists try to and have been capitalizing on that more and more, Bannon said.

Bannon also noted the storm chasers take advantage of emotions while storm victims are overwhelmed.

When youre faced with a decision like this, youre in a desperate situation and feel vulnerable. Were seeing people get scammed because they want quick fixes to help their anxieties, and these scammers create a feeling of safety, he said.

During hail or heavy rain, siding often faces the most damage and are a target for scams. Also during the increased tornadoes in recent years, there have been scams to repair roofs or to remove tree limbs.

More: Consumers urged to inspect receipts as stores warned not to overcharge customers

Tips against home improvement scams

Bannon offered these tips:

Government agencies offering any type of storm-related assistance will NEVER call, text or email asking for financial account information. There is no fee required to apply for or get disaster assistance from agencies like FEMA or any type of government official. If someone reaches out to you claiming to be a government official just hang up.

If your property was damaged due to a severe storm, and someone does contact you, look up the telephone number they are calling from or the governments official website to make sure it is legitimate.

If someone does show up at your door, they must provide official identification. Ask for this and take the time to call the phone number associated with his/her agency.

Never give your personal information without checking to make sure that you are talking with a legitimate source. Scam artists can sound very convincing.

In Pennsylvania, Home Improvement Contractors must be registered and have what is called an HIC#, which stands for Home Improvement Contractor number. They must register with the PA Attorney General and for a contractor to register, they must have proof of insurance and follow certain regulations.

For more information on hiring a Home Improvement Contractor, visit buckscounty.gov/consumerprotection

More: More women are embracing DIY home improvement. Where they're learning to do it themselves in Bucks County

This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Bucks County home improvement scams come after summer storms
(CNN)  Russian aircraft once again harassed US MQ-9 Reaper drones over Syria Friday, the Air Force said, in a sign of increasing friction between the two countries in Middle East airspace.

The incident marked the third time this week that US drones over Syria were intercepted by Russian aircraft.

Earlier today three MQ-9 drones were once again harassed by Russian fighter aircraft while flying over Syria, commander of US Air Forces Central Lt. Gen. Alex Grynkewich said in a news release. During the almost two hour encounter, Russian aircraft flew 18 unprofessional close passes that caused the MQ-9s to react to avoid unsafe situations.

We continue to encourage Russia to return to the established norms of a professional Air Force so we can all return our focus to ensuring the enduring defeat of ISIS, Grynkewich added.

On Thursday, Russian fighter jets harassed a US MQ-9 Reaper drone that was conducting a mission against ISIS targets in northwest Syria. One of the Russian jets dropped flares in front of US drone in an apparent attempt to hit the drone, forcing it to take evasive maneuvers, the Air Force previously said.

And earlier in the week, three Russian jets dropped parachute flares in front of three US drones, forcing the drones to take evasive maneuvers. One Russian jet also lit its afterburner in front of a US drone, limiting the drone operators ability to safely operate the aircraft.

Russia is operating in Syria in support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, while the US maintains its presence as part of the anti-ISIS coalition.

While the two countries have used a deconfliction line in Syria over the last several years to avoid unintentional mistakes or encounters that can inadvertently lead to escalation, Russian military actions have increasingly violated the deconfliction protocols, including flying too close to US military bases in Syria.

But the US wasnt the only target of harassment from the Russian military this week. On Thursday, a Russian SU-35 fighter jet conducted a non-professional interaction with two French Rafale fighter jets that were flying a mission near the Iraq-Syria border, according to the official Twitter account of the French Armed Forces.

This story was first published on CNN.com. Russian aircraft harass US drones over Syria for third time this week
Store employee charged after shooting at customer Saturday, Summit County sheriff says

EDITOR'S NOTE: This article has been updated to correct the name of the store where the shooting occurred.

A store employee faces charges after shooting at a customer Saturday following a dispute, the Summit County Sheriff's Office said.

Sheriff Kandy Fatheree said the shooting happened at approximately 12:15 p.m. at a store in the 8200 block of Golden Link Boulevard in Northfield Center Township.

According to officials, a dispute broke out between the male employee and a customer prior to the employee firing at least two rounds at the customer and running out of the Victra store, which is an independent Verizon retailer.

Nobody was hurt in the shooting, Fatheree said. One of the bullets exited the store and struck a vehicle at a car dealership across the street.

The Sheriff's Office Detective Bureau and Crime Scene Unit, which responded to the incident, arrested 27-year-old Tre'Von Rondo, of Twinsburg, without incident. He was charged with discharging a firearm over a public roadway (F-3) and transported to the Summit County Jail.

Further charges are pending the outcome of the investigation.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Cellphone store employee charged after dispute leads to shooting
An airman assigned to the 20th Fighter Wing at Shaw Air Force Base was found dead at his off-base home Thursday afternoon, according to a statement released by the base.

Senior Airman William N. Uche, 24, was found dead at his off-base residence at approximately 3 p.m. on Thursday according to a news release.

The Sumter Police Department, which is investigating the death, has said that no foul play is suspected.

We lost a valued member of Team Shaw this week, said Col. Kristoffer Smith, 20th Fighter Wing Commander. We extend our deepest condolences to Senior Airman Uches loved ones and coworkers as we collectively grieve this loss. We are focused on ensuring we care for the team and provide all the support resources we can to our Airmen and families during this difficult time.

Uche, originally from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, was a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning journeyman in the 20th Civil Engineer Squadron. He had served in the Air Force since July 1, 2019, according to the statement.
As the war in Ukraine hits 500 days, President Bidens controversial decision to send cluster munitions to Kyiv and the countrys ongoing counteroffensive will likely dominate the Sunday morning talk shows this weekend.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is set to join ABCs This Week for a sit-down interview on Sunday, marked the 500th day of the war on Saturday with an address from Snake Island.

The island in the Black Sea was bombarded by Russian warships and captured on the first day of the war. It was ultimately retaken by Ukrainian forces last July.

Today, we honored here our Ukrainian heroes  all the soldiers who fought for this island, who liberated it, Zelensky said. And although this is a small piece of land in the middle of our Black Sea, it is a great proof that Ukraine will regain every bit of its territory.

I want to thank  from here, from this place of victory  each of our soldiers for these 500 days, he added.

The milestone in the war comes one day after the Biden administration approved the transfer of cluster munitions to Ukraine, as part of its latest $800 million military aid package. Cluster munitions, which are designed to spread out a few dozen to hundreds of submunitions over a wide area, have long been sought by Ukrainian officials.

However, the weapon is relatively controversial due to the risk that the submunitions can fail to detonate and remain an explosive hazard for civilians. More than 100 countries, notably excluding the U.S., Ukraine and Russia, have signed onto a treaty banning the use, transfer, production and stockpiling of cluster munitions.

Biden has faced pushback from human rights groups and some lawmakers over the decision to provide Kyiv with cluster munitions.

It was a very difficult decision on my part, Biden said in an interview with CNN set to air on Sunday.

Theyre trying to get through those trenches and stop those tanks from rolling. But it was not an easy decision, he added. Were not signatories to that agreement, but it took me a while to be convinced to do it.

White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby, who is set to join ABCs This Week on Sunday, noted on Friday that Ukraine is running short on ammunition amid its latest counteroffensive.

The use of artillery is probably one of the most critical needs that they have, and the Ukrainians are firing thousands of rounds of artillery every day to try to make some progress against very dug-in, entrenched Russian defenses, Kirby told NPR. And so we want to make sure that they can continue to have that kind of effect on the battlefield.

Oksana Markarova, Ukraines ambassador to the U.S., said on Friday that Kyiv is grateful for the Biden administrations decision to provide cluster munitions. Markarova is set to make an appearance on CBSs Face the Nation on Sunday.

We need to liberate as many territories as possible and we need all the capabilities to do, she told VOA News.

Sens. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) and Tim Kaine (D-Va.) are also set to join Fox News Sunday to discuss next weeks NATO summit in Lithuania, where Biden and his counterparts are expected to agree to further assistance for Ukraine, according to The Associated Press.

Below is the full list of guests scheduled to appear on this weeks Sunday talk shows:

ABCs This Week  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy; White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby

NBCs Meet the Press  North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, a Republican presidential candidate; New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D)

CBS Face the Nation  Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen; Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.); Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R); Oksana Markarova, Ukraines ambassador to the United States; Kate Calvin, NASAs chief scientist and senior climate adviser

CNNs State of the Union  Reps. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) and Barbara Lee (D-Calif.)

Fox News Sunday  Sens. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) and Tim Kaine (D-Va.); former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican presidential candidate

Fox News Channels Sunday Morning Futures  Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican presidential candidate; Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.); Rep. Jason Smith (R-Mo.); former Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.); Gordon Chang, Gatestone Institute senior fellow

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Do most Americans oppose Supreme Court LGBTQ ruling? It depends on the poll.

Corrections & Clarifications: This article has been updated to include additional nonpartisan sources of data and research.

Support for LGBTQ rights has grown since the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage, but surveys show the issue of whether business owners have the right to refuse service to LGBTQ people because of their religious beliefs continues to divide Americans.

Late last month, the nation's high court sided with a Colorado business owner who argued a state nondiscrimination law could not compel her to make same-sex websites and stifle her own religious views.

Support for the rights of LGBTQ people as clients of a business owner who holds certain religious beliefs is much lower than public support for same-sex marriage. In 2023, 71% of Americans support marriage equality, which was legalized nationally in 2015, according to Gallup.

But a recent poll by the nonprofit, nonpartisan Pew Research Center found that far fewer, about 38% of respondents, expressed support for LGBTQ customers and said business owners should have to provide services that may conflict with their views.

It's hard to tell, however, exactly what Americans think.

Data on LGBTQ inclusivity published last year by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce found 86% of small business owners said it's important to provide an inclusive culture for customers. And data out this month from a group that describes itself as a progressive think tank, Data for Progress, found 65% of voters believe businesses should not be allowed to turn away customers who are of a particular sexual orientation because of the business owner's personal beliefs. Notably, Republicans were split on the issue.

The findings come as LGBTQ rights are increasingly under attack in state legislatures and other courts.

A matter of free speech: Supreme Court backs web developer who didn't want to create same-sex wedding sites

Despite the onslaught of moves to curtail the rights of LGBTQ people, the Data for Progress survey found voters "consistently land on the side of nondiscrimination, rejecting the idea that business owners should be able to refuse services to a member of a protected class based on personal beliefs," said Rob Todaro, the group's communication director.

Civil rights advocates and legal experts argue the underlying issue of whether LGBTQ Americans are entitled to nondiscrimination protections in public accommodations was ultimately not decided in the Supreme Court's 303 Creative v. Elenis decision. Rather, the case was more about a business owner's right to freedom of expression.

"The court kicked the can down the road on LGBTQ protections," said Heron Greenesmith, a lawyer with the legal advocacy group Political Research Associates and a professor at Boston University's School of Law.

Across all 50 states, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 already says businesses serving the public cannot discriminate based on a customer's race, as well as other factors. But the law says nothing about sexuality or gender identity.

After Supreme Court setbacks on affirmative action and LGBTQ+ rights, activists and advocates marched in Los Angeles.

What did the Supreme Court say about LGBTQ rights?

The Supreme Court's 303 Creative v. Elenis decision sided with a web designer who argued a Colorado anti-discrimination law couldn't be used to compel her to develop same-sex wedding sites.

Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote the 6-3 opinion, which was decided on ideological lines.

After the decision, LGBTQ advocates warned it could lead to more discrimination at places of business.

"Inclusion and equal protection under the law build stronger communities and environments where ALL individuals can thrive and reach their full potential," said Erin Uritus, CEO of Out and Equal, a group that works for LGBTQ equality in the workplace and advises corporate human resources departments.

In her statement, Uritus said the "most successful businesses in the nation lead with inclusion," despite the vocal public opinions of anti-LGBTQ groups.

Conservative groups and LGBTQ+ rights supporters protest as police try to maintain order outside the Glendale Unified School District offices in Glendale, California.

'Yet another weapon in the arsenal' of anti-LGBTQ hate

Across the U.S., LGBTQ people make up only 7.2% of adults in the U.S. Yet their rights have increasingly come under attack in state legislatures.

Many anti-LGBTQ bills introduced and passed in statehouses in recent years were pushed by the Alliance Defending Freedom, a Christian legal advocacy group. In the 303 Creative v. Elenis case, the CEO and president of the ADF argued before the high court on behalf of the web designer.

In legal filings, ADF argued the Colorado law "requires (the small business owner in Colorado) to create custom websites celebrating same-sex marriage."

Advocates and legal experts say such arguments can foster fear of LGBTQ people.

"The ADF is counting on you to join them in seeing the LGBTQ community as an outsized threat compared to the actual percentage of adult Americans who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender," Greenesmith said.

The Supreme Court's decision in the case is "yet another weapon in the arsenal or arm of the octopus" of the "same people who are pushing the legislation," Greenesmith said.

Protesters gather outside the Supreme Court in Washington.

Most Americans support LGBTQ rights, surveys find

Another recent survey also found most Americans support nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ people.

Most American adults  including two-thirds of those identifying as Catholics or Christians  disagree with religious-based denial of medical care, employment or other services to LGBTQ individuals, according to a September 2022 survey conducted by the University of Chicago in partnership with the Williams Institute, a think tank dedicated to gender identity and sexual orientation research at the University of California Los Angeles School of Law.

Still, polling that asks questions on the right of a business owner to refuse service based on their religious beliefs shows more mixed results.

A 2022 survey from Marquette University's law school found 40% of respondents opposed allowing a business to refuse services, while 25% said they'd favor a Supreme Court ruling that would permit a business to do so. However, 35% of respondents said they had not heard of the 303 Creative case or said they had not heard enough to have an opinion.

Apart from opinion-based polling, data shows a significant group of Americans vote based on their pro-LGBTQ political values.

The Human Rights Campaign in 2016 began quantifying support for LGBTQ rights among everyday Americans by identifying voters who said they support pro-LGBTQ rights political candidates and vote against anti-LGBTQ candidates.

This group of voters, dubbed "equality voters," accounted for nearly 4 in 10 (37%) of general election voters in the 2020 presidential election, according to the Human Rights Campaign.

Nondiscrimination protections never passed in Congress

Experts say LGBTQ rights are particularly vulnerable to Supreme Court decisions because Congress has never passed anti-discrimination protections related to public accommodations for sexual orientation and gender identity, unlike longstanding protections for race.

Democratic lawmakers in Congress have repeatedly introduced and championed the Equality Act in recent years, but it has never cleared both chambers.

The law would require states to put in place nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ people in public spaces, which include businesses like restaurants, gas stations and hotels.

Contributing: John Fritze, USA TODAY; Kate Sosin, The 19th

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Do most Americans agree with the Supreme Court LGBTQ case ruling?
As Hurricane Irma raged in the Caribbean at the peak of the 2017 Atlantic hurricane season, rising professional surfer Zander Venezia, a teenager, died in a sudden drowning while trying to ride mega-swell waves in Barbados. It was neither the first nor the last time a surfer's attempt to venture out during a storm surge ended in tragedy.

"It's really common when we're in September and having those hurricane conditions to have a very unexpected storm surge," said Corey Senese, a lifelong surfer who founded and gives lessons at CoreysWave, a surfing school in Montauk, New York.

"We do have a few terrible, tragic stories involving storm surges," Senese told CBS News. "It's really dangerous because you're not expecting it."

Senese noted that surfers, swimmers and beachgoers alike contend with potentially perilous circumstances year-round, like sneaker waves, rogue waves, undertow and rip currents, which can be deadly.

A surfer takes on 5- to 7-foot swells coming off the Atlantic Ocean on Oct. 5, 2015 in Lido Beach, New York, as Hurricane Joaquin passes by the northeastern coast of the United States. / Credit: Bruce Bennett / Getty Images

Storm surges  abnormal rises in water levels generated by storms  can be seen any time of year but are mainly linked to hurricanes and other strong tropical storm systems. They can pose serious threats during hurricane season, which began on June 1 and lasts until Nov. 30.

What is a storm surge? What causes it?

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted in May that the 2023 hurricane season would be "near normal," but in early July, scientists from Colorado State University said their forecast now calls for "an above-average" season. They said the outlook is more uncertain than normal because of unusually warm sea surface temperatures in portions of the Atlantic Ocean and the arrival of an El Nino.

Hurricanes produce powerful winds  in a Category 5, reaching 157 miles per hour or more. And while those winds can be devastating, scientists say the greatest threat to life in a hurricane is posed by storm surge, which is an abnormal rise in water levels caused by hurricane-force winds pushing that water toward shore and over areas of land that are normally dry.

Waves hit the Malecon in Havana, Cuba, on Sept. 28, 2022, after the passage of Hurricane Ian. / Credit: YAMIL LAGE/AFP via Getty Images

As a surge advances and combines with normal, astronomical tides, a 15-foot surge occurring on top of a high tide that is already 2 feet above average sea level would produce a 17-foot storm tide. In the worst instances, water levels can rise 30 feet or more, according to NOAA, as it did with Hurricane Katrina, a Category 3 storm that caused catastrophic damage when it made landfall in New Orleans in 2005.

More intense hurricanes produce higher storm surges, according to the National Hurricane Center, which cites a storm's maximum wind speeds and the size of the storm as two important factors in determining the extent of a surge. Larger hurricanes and stronger winds correlate with greater storm surges, although surges can also be influenced by other factors like atmospheric pressure, the shape of the coastline as well as the ocean floor, and the angle at which a hurricane approaches coastal land.

Here's what the hurricane categories meanThe 2023 Atlantic hurricane season begins June 1. Here's what experts say to expect. Hurricanes and climate change: What's the connection?

The geography in certain places  along the Gulf Coast in the United States, for example  lends itself to particularly severe storm surges, and that sensitivity means less force is required on the part of the hurricane to trigger a higher surge.

"You can take the same hurricane, with respect to how big it is and how strong it is, and if you allow it to make landfall on different parts of the coastline within the United States, you might get a different result with respect to how high the water is in any given area," Cody Fritz, a storm surge specialist and team lead of the Storm Surge Unit at the National Hurricane Center, told CBS News.

Why are storm surges so dangerous?

A storm surge can inundate surrounding regions with water, threatening beaches, coastal highways, boats and buildings. If there are smaller bodies of water nearby, like lakes or rivers, storm surge can exacerbate flood risks in those areas, too, as it moves inland.

"Storm surges are brutal and can bring down a town or fishing village in less than a minute," said Luis Madureira Pinto, founder and manager of the website SurferToday.com, who has been surfing for roughly three decades.

Pinto is based in Porto, a coastal city in northwest Portugal where surfing is popular, and which has in recent years weathered several destructive storm surges that brought excessive flooding.

"The problem with storm surges is that these waves tend to be chaotic and do not have a regular breaking pattern. They break here and there, they're bigger and smaller," he said, adding that a storm surge "can change the quality of the wave dramatically."

"When it comes to surfing, there is only one wise option  do not paddle out," Pinto told CBS News in an email. "It's dangerous and totally useless."

A surfer rides a wave in Deerfield Beach, Florida, on Sept. 3, 2019, as Hurricane Dorian moves closer to Florida. / Credit: EVA MARIE UZCATEGUI/AFP via Getty Images

Storm surges are dangerous for a number of reasons. Just six inches of fast-moving flood water can knock over an adult during a surge, creating a serious threat of drowning, according to the National Hurricane Center. Two feet of rushing water is enough to sweep away vehicles of almost any size.

Surges can also happen at seemingly random intervals before, during or after a storm, and can cause water levels to rise substantially in minutes, so heeding evacuation notices and other safety protocols ahead of time is important and could be life-saving.

Be aware of warnings and risks

While storm surges cannot be prevented, weather experts have systems in place to track them, allowing communities in the expected path of a hurricane to prepare.

To evaluate the risk of a storm surge, forecasters use a computer modeling system called Sea, Lake and Overland Surges from Hurricanes, or SLOSH, which was developed by the National Weather Service. It can estimate surge heights based on water depths, land elevation and barriers to the flow of water in an area where a storm is headed. Accuracy depends on how closely forecasters can approximate key properties of the hurricane itself, including its trajectory, intensity and size.

Predictions that emerge from the modeling system help inform the alerts, recommendations and public safety protocols during weather emergencies, like evacuations. Fritz, with the National Hurricane Center, underscored the value of those warnings.

"I wouldn't advise being out in the areas where a storm is approaching," he said. "When a storm surge comes in it can be very fast and destructive. It's not something that any one person should kind of mess with. I mean, there's a reason why we put out warnings to alert the public about the dangers of storm surge, because it is life threatening, ultimately."

A surfer rides a wave in the waters at La Pared Beach in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma in Luquillo, Puerto Rico, on Sept. 7, 2017. / Credit: RICARDO ARDUENGO/AFP via Getty Images

For athletes like Senese, who, at 41, has now been surfing at beaches across the country for about 35 years, staying safe in the water, particularly during hurricane season, means monitoring daily weather forecasts and observing wave patterns in real time.

"Any surfer on the beach is always going to have just slightly more awareness of the waves just because of the problem that surfers have where they never stop thinking about waves. So usually you end up seeing it," Senese said.

"Surfers have a bunch of different resources we use to check the surf, but you can always look at the wave size and have a good idea whether it's safe," he said.

Reconciling safety with the thrill of riding more dramatic waves can boil down to a surfer's experience and comfort levels, said Senese, who emphasized the importance of finding a personal "threshold" and  his principal piece of advice  resisting the impulse to panic no matter the conditions.

"When a hurricane slams our coast, it's important to be aware of all the dangers," says the narrator in "Making Waves," an audio and visual podcast from NOAA's National Ocean Service, during an episode focused on storm surge. "Don't take unnecessary risks during a storm. Conditions can change in the blink of an eye."

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This week marked a grim record for Earths climate, as temperatures repeatedly hit  and passed  levels not seen in 125,000 years, according to government scientists.

For context, the last time things were this hot, the first modern humans were just beginning to leave Africa, and chips of sharpened flint represented the bleeding edge of high technology.

Science moves slowly, and it will be years before we learn the impacts of this new era of heat on urban infrastructure, public health, and the natural world.

But as temperatures have consistently climbed over the past decade in a punctuated procession of once-anomalous heat waves, scientists worldwide have worked in tandem to figure out ways to mitigate its impacts.

One overall conclusion of their work is that while heat waves are now inevitable  thanks to decades of human failure to slow the burning of fossil fuels  deaths from heat are not.

And the dramatic  and often tragic  impacts that extreme heat can inflict on the natural world are also largely optional: the result of short-term policy choices, not the implacable movements of the Earths natural systems.

Here are five things scientists learned in 2023 about heat waves insidious impacts  and how to head them off.

Beachgoers flock to the beach south of the pier in Huntington Beach, Calif., Friday, June 30, 2023, amid a heat wave. (Jeff Gritchen/The Orange County Register via AP)

Rising heat waves are sickening people  and workers in particular

Rising heat has been making people sick for more than a decade. Heat-related illness and injury increased steadily in Arizona, California and Nevada between 2011 and 2019.

This misery will soon have a great deal of company.

A fifth of the world will experience two month-long episodes of combined heat and drought per year by the end of the century if human society doesnt burn dramatically less fossil fuels.

Some of the risks posed by heat are industry specific. Construction workers laboring in the heat faced higher risks of illness like heat stroke, kidney disease, anxiety, and depression.

To some extent, lifestyle adaptations can help. Acclimation matters a lot: those traveling to hot climates from more temperate ones face an increasing threat of heat related illness, which is part of why the federal government advises that new workers in hot climates slowly ease into their new conditions.

Thats not always possible, however. Exposure to pesticides made tropical farmworkers on non-organic farms more susceptible to heat waves, in part by slowing their bodies ability to adapt.

Extreme heat raises the risk of dying from stroke and heart disease, and may raise the risks of death from respiratory disease even higher.

Fetuses exposed during the second trimester to temperatures that were unusually high for a given area had lower birth weights.

A crew repairs a roof during a heat wave in Los Angeles, Wednesday, July 5, 2023. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

City design, not climate change, is the main contributor to dangerous heat

A 1 degree Celsius (1.8 degree Fahrenheit) increase in temperatures would lead to substantial impacts on human heat stress across American cities, according to a draft study in Nature Portfolio.

But much of this stress is only indirectly related to rising temperatures.

A study from the sweltering East Asian city of Macau, with a climate similar to that of the U.S. Gulf Coast, found that while the amount of insolation  how much solar radiation hits a city  and the amount of water were the biggest contributors to rising temperatures, they had little impact on the populaces resilience to heat.

A much bigger impact came from a neighborhoods ability to move water through it  porosity  and its vegetation.

Urban areas tend to run significantly hotter than the surrounding countryside, due to the tendency of asphalt and concrete to soak up, store and radiate heat.

Such heat islands are driving up temperatures even faster than climate change itself. A study of U.S. cities found that between 2001 and 2014, the rise in the forcing power of heat islands  which drove a temperature rise of about 1 to 3.5 degrees Fahrenheit  outpaced the rise in the heat index.

The stifling power of the heat island is dramatic: the cooling lake effect breezes that blow off Lake Michigan still arent enough to fully counter the heating impacts of the citys massive heat island.

This greater urban heat dramatically heightens other risks.

A midday blackout during a heat wave (perhaps from a large storm) could double the mortality rate across an urban populace, according to a study in Environmental Science and Technology.

Kayak and canoe outfitter Jessie Fuentes walks along the Rio Grande under a warm sun Thursday, July 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Simple fixes can make big changes  even as temperatures rise

Theres a silver lining to the dangerous impacts of heat islands: simple interventions to break them up can do a great deal to make cities  cooler, safer and more pleasant, studies suggest.

Conversely, weakening the effect of the heat island makes cities more resilient.

A study of 70 parks in Beijing found that they served as cooling islands that cut temperatures in surrounding neighborhoods. It also found that the cooling impact of the parks themselves can be amplified by paying attention to the kind of development that surrounded them.

A study of cool roof technology in Chicago  which reflects more light back into space, leading to less absorption into the heat island  found that the reflective roofs were the only roofing technology able to lead to significant cuts in street-level temperatures, according to Science of the Total Environment.

An experiment in Phoenix found that reflective pavement absorbed less heat than asphalt-covered roads, leading to lower temperatures  particularly at night when the asphalt would normally radiate much of that absorbed heat back into the air.

That provides a potentially life-saving respite, as night is a crucial time for the human body to recover from the days heat, and high nighttime temperatures are a major contributor to heat stress.

However, that neighborhood-level cool came at the cost of reflecting more of the suns heat onto passing pedestrians, leading to greater street-level risk during the hottest hours.

A fisherman reels in his catch as the sun rises over the Atlantic Ocean, Wednesday, June 28, 2023, in Bal Harbour, Fla., as a heat dome is spreading eastward from Texas. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

In unequal world of heat exposure, better planning saves lives

Studies published this year further confirmed that the cost of heat is not spread fairly.

In Africa  a continent that in 2021 released just 4 percent of world fossil fuel emissions, millions of additional people will be exposed to heat stress by the end of the century.

And a study of 911 calls in Austin, Texas, found that calls were most frequent in areas with elderly people, those living alone, Hispanics, and those on some form of government assistance.

Historical examples bear this out: those suffering from schizophrenia, chronic kidney disease and heart disease faced the highest risk of death from the extreme heat wave that hit British Columbia in 2021.

Other risks scientists found were more indirect, though no less serious: in Chicago, heat waves were found to have raised the risks of urban crime.

Because risks are spread so unevenly, some public health experts recommend triage.

A study from the dense, humid metropolis of Hong Kong  another city where a steamy climate intersects with a massive heat island  scientists writing in Science of The Total Environment suggested that planners and first responders should focus on the most impacted areas first.

The Hong Kong experts recommend that city officials first focus on mitigating heat in areas with the most intense heat island effects and vulnerable populations  which means poorer and more elderly communities.

Other studies from this year found an urgent need for such targeted interventions and of better coordination among public officials in meeting the threat of heat waves.

A February study in Public Health Reports found that a large percentage of the populace of 81 U.S. cities lacked access to cooling centers  public buildings where those without air conditioning can go to get their body temperature back to a safe level.

Those numbers ranged from 99.9 percent of the population lacking access in Atlanta to just 37 percent in (comparatively dense) Washington, D.C.

Another study in Applied Geography dug deep into who used cooling centers in Los Angeles during the 2017 heat wave and found that many city cooling centers were misplaced.

The scientists found that vulnerable residents were less likely to use cooling centers further from public transit, and tended not to visit cooling centers in wealthier neighborhoods.

People cruise along the path north of the pier in Huntington Beach, Calif., Friday, June 30, 2023. (Jeff Gritchen/The Orange County Register via AP)

Heat is hollowing out the natural world  but ambitious climate action can stop it

Late June featured a staggering week of broken records  including subsequent-day record temperatures measured for average ocean temperature and then for the surface of the North Atlantic specifically, according to Nature.

Evidence from the past decade of heat waves helps paint a scattershot picture of possible marine impacts from the current records.

The heat wave that baked Washington State between 2014 and 2016 disrupted the regions rich coastal ecosystems, as warmer waters led to a 50 percent die-off in underwater kelp forests.

Though the kelp canopy quickly recovered, sea star populations did not, according to the study by scientists the National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration (NOAA).

Faster heating was a likely predictor of greater bleaching among coral reefs, according to a Marine Ecology Progress Series study. Bleaching is a potentially lethal condition that occurs when the algae that give corals their bright colors  and food  jump ship, according to NOAA.

The 2014-2016 heat waves also seem to have contributed to declines in the number of Steller sea lion pups to survive to adulthood  likely because of its impact on the sleek predators favored prey.

Higher temperatures also led common guillemots  a Northern European seabird  to pant and pace, to spend less time with their breeding partners and even to temporarily abandon their nests.

Some animals have managed to make the heat work for them  like Europes reed warbler, which has taken advantage of the shortened winter to kick start the breeding season.

Other animals beat the heat by adapting what, in a human context, might be called their built environments.

The midday gerbils of Chinas Mu Us desert countered the searing  and anomalous  heat with their heat-absorbing burrows, which led them to be barely exposed to heat stress.

But in general, these disruptions are only the beginning, a study in Nature suggested: rising temperatures will wreak havoc across the natural world if humans dont keep to their climate commitments.

If human burning of fossil fuels isnt reduced  leading to about 8 degrees Fahrenheit (4.4 C) in warming  41 percent of all land vertebrates will face heat extremes above recorded levels over at least half of their ranges.

That breaks down to a quarter of birds, a third of mammals, and roughly half of amphibians and frogs.

This is an avoidable tragedy, the scientists emphasized.

Intermediate cuts in emissions  enough to keep warming at about 5 degrees Fahrenheit (roughly 3 Celsius) would drop that top-line risk from 41 percent of species to 15 percent.

And dramatic emission cuts  enough to keep the world within the Paris Climate Accord target zone of about 3 degrees Fahrenheit (1.8 degrees Celsius) would mean only 6 percent of land-based vertebrates would face such exposure, and many species would avoid it entirely.

By contrast, a failure to cut our level of fossil fuel use will lead to a drastically impoverished world as constant severe thermal stress withers the biosphere, the Nature scientists wrote.

Deep greenhouse gas emissions cuts are urgently needed to limit species exposure to thermal extremes, they added.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Suspect connected with kidnapping 2 children in south Dallas in custody, police say

The suspect wanted in connection with the June 11 kidnapping of a 7-year-old girl is now in custody, Dallas police said Friday.

Leonard Neal, 41, faces charges of kidnapping, aggravated kidnapping and aggravated sexual assault of a child, officials said. Police took him into custody shortly after 4 p.m. Friday.

Law enforcement officers found Neal at a bus stop in the area of South Polk Street and West Camp Wisdom Road in south Dallas after receiving a tip from a 911 caller, Star-Telegram media partner WFAA-TV reported. Neal injured himself as the officers approached, police said. Sources told WFAA that Neal slit his own throat with a box cutter.

Officers took Neal into custody and he was taken to a local hospital in critical condition, according to police.

Neal is accused of kidnapping two children on June 11 in south Dallas. The children were walking near an apartment complex when a man approached and offered them a ride. The children accepted, and the man drove them to a store.

The 9-year-old boy got out and went to the door, police said, and the man drove away with the 7-year-old girl, triggering an Amber Alert. Both children were later recovered.

On June 13 the Dallas County Sheriffs Office issued warrants for Neals arrest and on June 23 he was added to the Texas 10 Most Wanted Fugitives list.
Unknown guerrillas set fire to railway equipment in the Kirov and Vladimir oblasts of Russia

Unknown guerrillas set fire to railway equipment in the Kirov and Vladimir oblasts of Russia, Russian media outlet Baza claimed on July 8.

In the early hours of July 8, two relay cabinets and one battery cabinet were set on fire in Vladimir Oblast of Russia, Baza alleges, saying that a chisel, two corks from fiveliter bottles, and a box of matches were found at the site of the blaze.

The outlet reports that a similar incident took place in Kirov Oblast. There,a relay cabinet on the Kirov-Krasnoselsky railroad stretch burned down completely. As a result, passenger trains on the Abakan-Moscow and Vladivostok-Moscow routes were delayed by 20 minutes.

Read also: Sabotage suspected by Russian media as fuel tanker cars derail near Ulyanovsk in Russia

Since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the number of sabotage and arson attacks has increased in Russia. Currently, there are two organizations that have claimed responsibility for a number of actions. These are the BOAK (Combat Organization of Anarcho-Communists) and the Stop the Wagons movement.

On May 2, Russian guerrillas carried out two explosions on the railway in Bryansk Oblast. As a result, 20 freight cars carrying metal, nitrate, and oil products were derailed.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
A Pride festival was canceled in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi on Saturday by organizers who say authorities failed to prevent violent disruptions from Russian-affiliated far-right groups.

According to Georgian public broadcaster First Channel, police clashed with anti-LGBTQ protesters in Lisi Wonderland, an events venue outside Tbilisi where the closed event was scheduled to take place.

Festival organizers Tbilisi Pride said in a tweet that they were compelled to cancel the festival and evacuate the festival territory.

The Ministry of Interior of Georgia once again neglected to protect us from violent far-right groups and allowed the mobs to prevent us from exercising our freedom of expression and assembly even in private settings, Tbilisi Pride said.

Videos posted by Georgian activist channels showed clashes between police officers and anti-LGBTQ protesters in the festival area in Lisi Wonderland. Anti-Pride protesters were also pictured setting Pride flags on fire.

Tbilisi Pride has accused the Georgian government of orchestrating and coordinating with Russian-affiliated, far-right group Alt Info, who they claim disrupted the event.

Deputy Interior Minister Alexander Darakhvelidze told reporters that the event had been hard to police because of its location, Reuters reported.

The protesters managed to find ways to enter the area of the event, but we were able to evacuate the Pride participants and organizers, Darakhvelidze said, according to the news agency. Nobody was harmed during the incident and police are now taking measures to stabilize the situation.

In a statement on Friday, the Georgian Interior Ministry said it was taking appropriate measures to ensure the safe format of Saturdays event and to protect the freedom of expression and assembly of each person.

Far-right demonstrators broke through the police cordon and started a fire. - Irakli Gedenidze/Reuters

The speaker of the Georgian Parliament, Shalva Papuashvili, stressed the governments condemnation of any violence on Saturday, according to First Channel.

Papuashvili said police coped with the situation and prevented festival participants from being injured, according to First Channel.

Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili said statements from Papuashvili and other government officials had no value, calling on the government to stop using hate speech and inciting confrontation.

Zourabichvili, who is independent of the countrys ruling Georgian Dream party, said the rights to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression guaranteed by the Georgian constitution were violated on Saturday.

The UN condemned the violence and attacks on Tbilisi Pride in a tweet, calling on Georgian authorities to denounce this disturbing incident and protect the rights to peaceful assembly and expression of LGBTQI+ people in Georgia.

The US Embassy in Tbilisi also condemned the actions of an uncontrolled crowd threatening violence, tweeting that they had denied Georgian citizens their right to peacefully assemble. The embassy called on the Georgian authorities to hold accountable all those who broke the law and make clear that violence is unacceptable.

Britains ambassador to Georgia, Mark Clayton, said he was shocked and saddened to see the festival canceled despite the planning and preventative measures.

In a tweet, Clayton called on the Georgian authorities to ensure that all who broke the law & aggressively disrupted a peaceful gathering will be brought to justice.

The German ambassador to Georgia, Peter Fischer, called it a sad day, remarking in a tweet that Georgian law had been violated.

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Teamsters, UPS battle may be just a warmup for future Amazon fight, experts say

Talks between the United Parcel Service and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters may have the added complication of union leaders taking a harder line in an effort to attract workers at retail giant Amazon, sources said this week.

The Teamsters and UPS are in heated negotiations over a new contract, with a Teamster strike authorized by union membership if UPS fails to deliver a new pact before their current deal expires July 31.

Such a protest would be the largest single-company strike in decades; the union last walked off the job at UPS in 1997 for a 15-day strike that snarled the package supply chain worldwide.

But talks between the Teamsters, who represent about 340,000 UPS workers, and the company collapsed Wednesday despite appearing to have reached a deal days earlier.

Each side blamed the other for walking away after marathon Independence Day negotiations failed to yield an agreement despite signs of early progress.

A major UPS strike is looming  heres what that means for your packages

Is Amazon the next Teamster target?

The continued pressure being put on the company may be part of a push by Teamsters General President Sean OBrien to showcase the unions political clout, sources watching the negotiations told The Hill, complicating efforts to reach a deal.

Experts said they believe any new five-year contract negotiated between the Teamsters and UPS could send a signal to workers at Amazon that the union is ready to work for them, seeing an overlap in the kinds of jobs both companies offer.

FROM THE WEEKEND: UPS reaches deal that lowers chances of nationwide Teamsters strike

Clearly, this is a union that has deep roots in warehousing and logistics, distribution, Amazon-type of work. And they have ambitions, I think, to try to organize workers in this industry, among them Amazon, Bob Bussel, director of the Labor Education and Research Center at the University of Oregon, told The Hill.

The result of this, if theyre recognizable gains for workers as a result of collective action that the union really can deliver, is that will send a very powerful signal to workers at Amazon and workers at other places that theres a powerful union thats really prepared to take collective action and effective action on their behalf, he added.

UPS workers practice picket at Teamsters Local 804 outside of a UPS facility Thursday, July 6, 2023, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. Contract negotiations between UPS and the union representing 340,000 of the companys workers broke down early Wednesday with each side blaming the other for walking away from talks. (AP Photo/Brittainy Newman)

Talks have taken a complicated route

Despite multiple sessions of high-pressure talks throughout last weekend  and repeated threats of strike that could paralyze part of the supply chain  the union said that concessions made so far had faltered on compensation issues.

UPS drivers make $18.05 an hour in Arkansas, $17.63 in Oklahoma and $21.02 in Connecticut, according to Indeed.

UPS made $11.5 billion in net income in 2022, as profits exceeded fourth-quarter expectations. The companys 2022 operating profits hit more than $13 billion, for an operating margin of 13 percent.

In January, UPS increased its shareholder dividend by 6.6 percent to $1.62 per share and announced a new stock buyback program worth $5 billion, money the company could alternatively spend on its labor force.

Its about $100 billion dollars that UPS made. Its embarrassing for [UPS] when there are part-timers, who provide the goods and services, load those trucks and sacrifice time at home, are living in subsidized housing or are maybe on the food stamps program. Its embarrassing for them, OBrien said Friday on MSNBCs Morning Joe.

Thus far, both sides have had setbacks in negotiations, but many experts believed earlier this week that a national strike had been almost completely averted Sunday.

Thats when the Teamsters and UPS said theyd struck a tentative deal on some of the biggest sticking points thus far, including a set of changes to the companys wage system and a new holiday schedule as part of a larger bid for improved working conditions.

UPS and the Teamsters agreed to nix a dual-wage system for delivery drivers, make Martin Luther King Jr. Day a full holiday and other changes the union said would end forced overtime on drivers days off.

The Teamsters also put out a statement vowing progress on economic issues such as higher wages and others, as workers press for a greater share of the companys high profits.

Last weeks progress added to a host of non-economic issues both sides say theyve agreed to, including heat-mitigation efforts such as air conditioning in certain newly purchased trucks in hotter areas beginning next year.

The tentative deal appeared to signal a breakthrough in talks between the union and UPS after the group threatened a strike would be imminent last week amid disagreements over the economic portion of the new five-year contract.

UPS set company records for profits in the last two years, as online shopping soared during the pandemic; the company had a market cap north of $150 billion early Friday.

Amazon remains a tough nut for unions to crack

Ongoing negotiations arrive at a critical time for the Teamsters as they work to gain ground at Amazon, where unionization efforts have struggled to pick up much nationwide momentum in recent years.

Amazons dominance of online shopping, rapid expansion and reputation for harsh working conditions have made it a prime target for the Teamsters.

Teamsters strike with UPS could snarl commerce as labor flexes muscle

As its profits have grown exponentially over the years, so has Amazons workforce. According to the companys website, 4.3 million jobs are supported by Amazon, including 1 million full- and part-time jobs directly created by the e-commerce giant in the U.S.

Amazon has faced scathing criticism for its conditions at some company warehouses, including worker complaints of safety hazards, as well as allegations of retaliation against warehouse organizers.

Amazon leaders have touted its competitive pay and benefits, while dismissing a unionization push that has picked up traction in different parts of the country.

As long as we offer competitive pay [and] invaluable benefits, we dont think that our people will choose to be represented, but this is their choice, Stefano Perego, who serves as vice president of customer fulfillment and global ops services for North America and Europe at Amazon, told CNBC earlier this year.

But reports over the past year have also documented aggressive anti-union efforts undertaken by Amazon, which landed the company in hot water with the National Labor Relations Board in January.

Amazon workers in Staten Island voted to unionize last year at a warehouse known as JFK8.

But further efforts to unionize in New York and other facilities have had difficulty gaining traction as Amazon has resisted similar pushes, even as unions abroad have seen much more success at the company.

Last year, analysts for Morgan Stanley estimated that the company could see an increase of $203 million in operating expenses, according to CNBC, if workers at JFK8 saw their pay rise to an hourly wage of $29.

Any effort by the Teamsters to unionize across Amazons workforce could face similar resistance from management.

It can go both ways, said Erin Hatton, professor at the University of Buffalo whose studies focus on work and political economy, adding that while she really could see the Teamsters doing well against this formidable foe, she said Amazon is still formidable.

Push for new contract creating war of words between sides

Efforts by the union to draw attention to negotiations with regular press conferences and statements have also been criticized by market watchers as bombastic and unhelpful.

OBrien pushed back on that claim, telling The Hill on Friday that if UPS is so obsessed with noise, they should consider the thunder that 340,000 UPS Teamsters are going to make when we hit the streets on Aug. 1 if UPS continues down this road of disrespect.

OBrien said negotiations will continue until economic issues affecting Teamster members are addressed by UPS.

UPS wants to silence an enraged and engaged workforce because the companys afraid it will negatively impact their stock price, which is the only thing they truly care about, he said.

If thats an inaccurate observation of their corporate misbehavior, UPS could easily prove the Teamsters wrong by paying up the wages now that part-time and full-time workers deserve.

Sean OBrien, the general president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, sits before the Senate Budget Committee during a hearing titled Should Taxpayer Dollars Go to Companies that Violate Labor Laws? in the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington on Thursday, May 5, 2022.

Teamsters, Amazon have tussled before

The Teamsters are among several unions that have drawn attention in recent years for attempting to organize workers at Amazon.

The union launched an Amazon Division last year aimed at securing more workplace protections in the warehouse and logistics industry.

More than 80 drivers and dispatchers with Battle-Tested Strategies, which contracted with Amazon as a delivery service partner, agreed to join the Teamsters union in what the union then called a historic first for Amazon workers.

But Amazon has rejected those claims, instead accusing the union of being intentionally misleading Wednesday.

Their contract is with Battle Tested Strategies, not Amazon. The facts remain that months ago, Amazon terminated its contract with Battle Tested Strategies effective June 24. That company and their employees no longer deliver Amazon packages, Amazon spokesperson Eileen Hards said.

The Hill has reached out to the union for comment.

Those types of skirmishes are exactly what Amazon  and unions looking to reach its workers  are watching for closely, experts said.

I suspect [Amazon and Amazon workers] have their eye on the results of this negotiation, Bussel said.

If [the Teamsters] achieved  recognizable, visible gains, given the industry that theyre in the profile of UPS, thats gonna send a powerful message  to Amazon workers and, you know, actually to Amazon management as well. How explicit the connection is, I think that thats a little more speculative, Bussel said.

So the effort that theyre putting in  as far as rallying, mobilizing, preparation, all the work theyre doing to prepare for a strike  thats a type of warmup or, shall we say, exercise that can then be used or adapted to an organizing drive that they might try to ramp up or to support organizing in Amazon, Bussel said.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
(CNN)  Ukraine deserves to have NATO membership, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, following talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that Russia said it was closely watching.

Zelensky spent this week visiting NATO countries, courting support ahead of a NATO summit in Lithuania next week where members are expected to reaffirm that Ukraine will eventually join.

Without a doubt, Ukraine deserves to be in NATO, Erdogan said.

Zelensky said he was happy to hear that Turkey supports Ukraines bid to join during a joint press conference.

While visiting the Czech Republic this week Zelensky said that he needs a clear signal that Ukraine will be in the alliance. Not that the door is open for us, which is not enough, but that Ukraine will be in it, he said Thursday.

NATO has an open-door policy, meaning that any country can be invited to join if it expresses an interest, as long as it is able and willing to uphold the principles of the alliances founding treaty. However, under the accession rules, any member state can veto a new country from joining.

Some allies, particularly those in Eastern Europe who are located closer to Ukraine and Russia, have advocated for a more concrete path for Kyiv to join the defensive alliance once the war ends.

Other officials have argued an expediting Ukraines NATO membership could be too provocative and that it could amount to an extremely risky gamble for the alliance even if there is an end to the fighting, particularly if Russia still claims Ukrainian territory.

Turkey dropped its objections to Finland joining NATO earlier this year but continues to block Swedens entry.

Frozen conflicts

Since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Erdogan has emerged as a key powerbroker, playing a balancing act between the two sides.

He helped broker the Black Sea grain deal that unlocked millions of tons of wheat caught up in Russias invasion of Ukraine, averting a global hunger crisis.

The agreement is set to expire in ten days and Erdogan on Saturday signaled his support in it being extended, adding that Russian President Vladimir Putin would be visiting Turkey next month.

Particularly on prisoner swaps, weve listened to Ukraine. We are also listening to Russia. I spoke to Mr. Putin, Erdogan said, Next month we will be able to speak about it again when Mr. Putin has a Turkey visit. We will speak about it on the phone until then. The prisoner exchanges are high on our agenda as well. We hope there will be a solution on this issue as well.

Speaking alongside the Turkish president, Zelensky said the Black Sea should be an area of safety and not of so-called frozen conflicts.

It is very important that we start working with our partners to ensure that the existence of the grain corridor and, therefore, the lives of other people, as Mr. President [Erdogan] said, on other continents (including Africa and Asia), do not depend on the mood in which the President of the Russian Federation wakes up, Zelensky said Saturday.

It comes after the Kremlin said it would be closely watching the talks between Ukraine and Turkey.

Of course, we will follow the results of these negotiations very closely. We maintain our constructive, partnership relations with Ankara and value these relations, and we feel reciprocity from the Turkish side, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday. It will be interesting for us to know what will be discussed between Mr. Erdogan and Mr. Zelensky. It is important.

Peskov went on to complement Erdogan for acting as an intermediary between Moscow and Kyiv, saying Putin and Erdogan communicate regularly.

This story was first published on CNN.com, "Turkeys Erdogan says Ukraine deserves NATO membership"
FILE - Advocates gather for a rally at the state Capitol complex in Nashville, Tenn., to oppose a series of bills that target the LGBTQ community, Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2023. A federal appeals court has temporarily reversed a lower court's ruling, Saturday, July 8, that had prohibited Tennessee from enacting a ban on gender-affirming care for transgender youth. T (AP Photo/Jonathan Mattise, File) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

FALLS CHURCH, Va. (AP)  Tennessee's ban on gender-affirming care for transgender youth can go into effect  at least for now  after a federal appeals court on Saturday temporarily reversed a lower court ruling.

Last month, a district court judge in Tennessee found that the state's new law banning transgender therapies like hormone blockers and surgeries for transgender youth was unconstitutional because it discriminated on the basis of sex. The judge blocked large swaths of the law from taking effect.

On Saturday, however, the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati granted an emergency appeal from Tennessee. In a 2-1 ruling, the majority wrote that decisions on emerging policy issues like transgender care are generally better left to legislatures rather than judges.

Given the high stakes of these nascent policy deliberations  the long-term health of children facing gender dysphoria  sound government usually benefits from more rather than less debate, wrote Chief Judge Jeffrey Sutton, an appointee of former President George W. Bush.

Tennessees attorney general, Jonathan Skrmetti, praised the ruling, saying the ban can now be fully enforced. The case is far from over, but this is a big win, he said in a statement.

The ruling is preliminary, and remains in force only until the appeals court conducts a full review of the appeal. Sutton wrote that the appeal process will be expedited, with a goal of resolving the case by Sept. 30.

Tennessee is one of at least 20 states across the country that have recently enacted bans or restrictions on gender-affirming care for minors. Federal judges in Indiana and Kentucky have blocked those laws from taking effect, while a judge in Arkansas struck down that state's law.

Sutton acknowledged that other judges have ruled differently.

We appreciate their perspectives, and they give us pause, he wrote. But they do not eliminate our doubts.

Judge Amul Thapar, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, joined White's ruling. A third judge, Helene White, dissented in part and concurred in part.

White  who was first nominated by former President Bill Clinton and later nominated by Bush  ruled that she believes the Tennessee law is likely unconstitutional, but said she would not have applied her ruling statewide, as the district court did. She said she would have limited her ruling to apply only to the nine plaintiffs who filed the lawsuit and to the Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where some of the plaintiffs had sought care.

I fail to see how the state can justify denying access to hormone therapies for treatment of minor Plaintiffs gender dysphoria while permitting access to others, especially in light of the district courts robust factual findings on the benefits of these treatments for transgender youth, White wrote.

Gillian Branstetter, a spokesperson with the American Civil Liberties Union, said the Sixth Circuit is the first federal circuit to allow a ban on transgender health care for minors to go into effect. The Sixth Circuit covers Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee and Kentucky.

The ACLU, its Tennessee chapter and two law firms called Saturdays ruling beyond disappointing and a heartbreaking development.

As we and our clients consider our next steps, we want all the transgender youth of Tennessee to know this fight is far from over and we will continue to challenge this law until it is permanently defeated, the joint statement said.

The federal government has also filed its own challenge to the Tennessee law.

The law bans health care providers in the state from offering hormone treatments or surgeries for transgender youth where the purpose is to allow the child to express a gender identity inconsistent with the immutable characteristics of the reproductive system that define the minor as male or female.

Tennessees Republican-dominant General Assembly, as well as some Democratic lawmakers, passed the law after Vanderbilt University Medical Center was accused of opening its transgender health clinic because it was profitable. Videos surfaced of a doctor there touting that gender-affirming procedures are huge money makers. Another video showed a staffer saying anyone with a religious objection should quit.

___

Associated Press writer Jonathan Mattise contributed to this report from Nashville, Tennessee.
The accused could face a maximum sentence of 15 years imprisonment

A member of a pro-Kremlin terrorist organization controlled by the Donetsk puppet authority has been apprehended in the city of Vinnytsia by Ukrainian counter-intelligence officers, Ukraines SBU security service announced on July 8.

The suspect is a resident of Donbas who joined the ranks of the Vostok group's reconnaissance company under the command of Russia's 1st Army Corps in 2014.

During the same year, he actively participated in the takeover of administrative buildings and critical infrastructure facilities in the city of Horlivka, the SBU says.

Prior to the Russian Federation's full-scale invasion, the suspected turncoat relocated to Vinnytsia with the intention of going into hiding. However, SBU officers managed to uncover his presence, the agency states.

SBU

The suspect has now been charged with participation in a terrorist group or terrorist organization. If convicted, the accused could face a maximum sentence of 15 years imprisonment.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Tesla is offering to pay people between $18 to $48 an hour to drive its EVs this summer

Tesla is offering to pay people to drive its EVs this summer. Getty Images

Tesla posted a series of job openings for seasonal test drivers.

The company is willing to pay between $18 to $48 per hour, according to one job posting.

Tesla uses some of its test drivers to improve its self-driving features.

Tesla is hiring a slew of seasonal employees to drive its cars this summer.

The electric-car company said it's looking for people to capture "high quality data that will contribute to the improvement of our vehicles performance" for a three-month stint, according to a series of job postings on its careers website that have gone up over the past two weeks. The position includes day and nighttime shifts.

Tesla has hired for test drivers in the past. Though, the wave of new job listings could indicate the EV company is looking to rely more on internal testing rather than data from Tesla owners, which it has relied on to help test software, including its beta Full Self-Driving program, in realtime.

Tesla uses some test drivers to improve is Autopilot driver-assist feature and beta Full Self-Driving software. Test drivers for the company typically drive Teslas that have been outfitted with a series of sensors, John Bernal, a former test driver for the automaker, previously told Insider. The drivers often repeatedly enact scenarios that could confuse Tesla's Full Self-Driving software, like left-hand turns or unusual intersections, Bernal said. The data is then reviewed and labeled by data labelers at Tesla plants.

The position doesn't require a degree, but does stipulate that applicants must have "a clean driving record, safe driving habits, and a minimum of 4 years of licensed driving experiences," according to the job listing.

Tesla has roles listed in over a dozen cities, including Austin, Texas, Denver, Colorado, and Brooklyn, New York.

The role pays between $18 to $48 per hour and includes benefits, according to the LinkedIn job posting for the Brooklyn role. New York state law requires companies post salary expectations in any advertisement for a role.

Tesla has come under fire in the past for data it has allegedly collected from its EV owners. Earlier this year, the company was hit by a class-action lawsuit from Tesla owners after Reuters reported Tesla employees had access to photos and videos captured by cameras used for Tesla's driving assistance programs, and sometimes shared and joked about the footage internally. Tesla did not comment on the issue.

Do you work at Tesla or have insight to share? Reach out to the reporter from a non-work email and device at gkay@insider.com

Read the original article on Business Insider
A Texas kayaking company has sued Gov. Greg Abbott (R) over his plan to install floating barriers in the middle of the Rio Grande River that would prevent people from being able to swim across it.

Jessie Fuentes, owner of Epis Canoe & Kayak Team, filed a suit in Austin, Texas on Friday to stop the state from placing the buoys which he claimed would prevent him from giving tours on the river and cause his company imminent and irreparable harm.

The buoy construction near Eagle Pass, Texas, has already forced Fuentes to cancel a number of activities and even prevented his companys access to the river, he claimed.

Abbott is using a natural disaster declaration to place the buoys in the river as part of Operation Lone Star, a power Fuentes is challenging. Construction workers started placing the floating barriers on Friday.

The operation is meant to reduce the flow of undocumented immigrants into Texas, something Abbott has called a crisis. Last week, four people drowned while attempting to cross the Rio Grande in the Eagle Pass section of river.

This strategy will proactively prevent illegal crossings between ports of entry by making it more difficult to cross the Rio Grande and reach the Texas side of the southern border, Abbotts office said in a statement last month.

The lawsuit alleges that the buoys unjustly hurt Fuentes business and are also unconstitutional.

A plain reading of the [disaster declaration] reveals as a matter of law that this statute cannot be used to regulate the Texas-Mexico border because none of its definitions address immigrants, the border, or crimes committed by immigrants, the suit reads.

The definition of disaster cannot be read so broadly to allow Governor Abbott to create his own border patrol agency to regulate the border and prevent immigrants from entering Texas by installing a buoy system in the Rio Grande, it continues.

The suit asks a judge to halt the construction of the buoys in the river.

The Governor proclaims to support law and order, yet he initiated Operation Lone Star without legal authority and seeks to install buoys to score political points without a legitimate public policy objective, Fuentes attorney, Carlos Flores, said in a press release.

Abbott responded on Twitter, pledging to fight the suit.

We will see you in court. And dont think the Travis Co. Court will be the end of it. This is going to the Supreme Court. Texas has a constitutional right to secure our border, he said.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Dozens of large buoys that are set to be deployed in the Rio Grande are unloaded, Friday, July 7, 2023, in Eagle Pass, Texas, where border crossings continue to place stress on local resources. Advocates have raised concern that the barriers may have an adverse environmental impact. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

EAGLE PASS, Texas (AP)  Texas began rolling out what is set to become a new floating barrier on the Rio Grande on Friday in the latest escalation of Republican Gov. Greg Abbotts multibillion-dollar effort to secure the U.S. border with Mexico, which already has included bussing migrants to liberal states and authorizing the National Guard to make arrests.

But even before the huge, orange buoys were unloaded from the trailers that hauled them to the border city of Eagle Pass, there were concerns over this part of Abbotts unprecedented challenge to the federal governments authority over immigration enforcement. Migrant advocates voiced concerns about drowning risks and environmentalists questioned the impact on the river.

Dozens of the large spherical buoys were stacked on the beds of four tractor trailers in a grassy city park near the river on Friday morning.

Setting up the barriers could take up to two weeks, according to Lt. Chris Olivarez, a spokesperson for the Texas Department of Public Safety, which is overseeing the project.

Once installed, the above-river parts of the system and the webbing they're connected with will cover 1,000 feet (305 meter) of the middle of the Rio Grande, with anchors in the riverbed.

Eagle Pass is part of a Border Patrol sector that has seen the second highest number of migrant crossings this fiscal year with about 270,000 encounters  though that is lower than it was at this time last year.

The crossing dynamics shifted in May after the Biden administration stopped implementing Title 42, a pandemic era public health policy that turned many asylum seekers back to Mexico. New rules allowed people to seek asylum through a government application and set up appointments at the ports of entry, though the maximum allowed in per day is set at 1,450. The Texas governors policies target the many who are frustrated with the cap and cross illegally through the river.

Earlier iterations of Abbott's border mission have included installing miles of razor wire at popular crossing points on the river and creating state checkpoints beyond federal stops to inspect incoming commercial traffic.

We always look to employ whatever strategies will be effective in securing the border, Abbott said in a June 8 press conference to introduce the buoy strategy.

But the state hasn't said what tests or studies have been done to determine risks posed to people who try to get around the barrier or environmental impacts.

Immigrant advocates, including Sister Isabel Turcios, a nun who oversees a migrant shelter in Piedras Negras, Mexico, which sits just across the river from Eagle Pass, have remained vigilant about the effects of the new barrier on migration. Turcios said she met with the Texas Department of Public Safety in the days leading up to the arrival of the buoys and was told the floating barrier would be placed in deep waters to function as a warning to migrants to avoid the area.

Turcios said she is aware that many of the nearly 200 migrants staying in her shelter on any given day are not deterred from crossing illegally despite sharp concertina wire. But that wire causes more danger because it forces migrants to spend additional time in the river.

Thats more and more dangerous each time ... because it has perches, it has whirlpools and because of the organized crime, Turcios said.

Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steven McCraw addressed the danger that migrants may face when the buoys are deployed during the June press conference when Abbott spoke: Anytime they get in that water, its a risk to the migrants. This is the deterrent from even coming in the water.

Less than a week ago  around the Fourth of July holiday  four people, including an infant, drowned near Eagle Pass as they attempted to cross the river.

The federal International Boundary and Water Commission, whose jurisdiction includes boundary demarcation and overseeing U.S.-Mexico treaties, said it didn't get a heads up from Texas about the proposed floating barrier.

We are studying what Texas is publicly proposing to determine whether and how this impacts our mission to carry out treaties between the US and Mexico regarding border delineation, flood control, and water distribution, which includes the Rio Grande," Frank Fisher, a spokesperson for the commission, said in a statement.

On Friday morning, environmental advocates from Eagle Pass and Laredo, another Texas border city about 115 miles (185 kilometers) downriver, held a demonstration by the border that included a prayer for the river ahead of the barrier deployment.

Jessie Fuentes, who owns a canoe and kayaking business that takes paddlers onto the Rio Grande, said hes worried about unforeseen consequences. On Friday, he filed a lawsuit to stop Texas from using the buoys. He's seeking a permanent injunction, saying his paddling business is impacted by limited access to the river.

I know its a detriment to the river flow, to the ecology of the river, to the fauna and flora. Every aspect of nature is being affected when you put something that doesnt belong in the river, Fuentes said.

Adriana Martinez, a professor at Southern Illinois University who grew up in Eagle Pass, studies the shapes of rivers and how they move sediment and create landforms. She said she's worried about what the webbing might do.

A lot of things float down the river, even when its not flooding; things that you cant see like large branches, large rocks," Martinez said. And so anything like that could get caught up in these buoys and change the way that water is flowing around them.

___

Coronado reported from Austin, Texas.
Texas sued over plan to deploy floating barrier on Rio Grande to curb border crossings

The owner of a Texas canoe and kayaking company filed a lawsuit on Friday seeking to stop the installation of a marine floating barrier on the Rio Grande, claiming Gov. Greg Abbott has no right to regulate the border.

The lawsuit was filed on the same day that Texas started deploying buoys for the barrier in an attempt to deter migrant crossings on the river along the US-Mexico border.

The suit lists the state of Texas and Abbott, as well as the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Texas National Guard. CNN has reached out to Abbotts office for comment.

Our lawsuit seeks to protect communities on the Texas-Mexico border from Governor Abbotts misleading politics, said attorney Carlos Flores, who represents plaintiff Jessie Fuentes, the owner of Epis Canoe & Kayak Team Llc.

Abbott, a longtime critic of the Biden administrations border policies, announced the plan to install the 1,000-foot floating barrier last month.

The lawsuit alleges the buoys will prevent Epis and Fuentes, the companys owner-operator, from conducting tours and canoe and kayak sessions in the border town Eagle Pass, causing imminent and irreparable harm to EPI.

The suit accuses the Republican governor of misapplying the Texas Disaster Act of 1975 to justify the buoy system  which has no logical connection to the purpose of the Disaster Act, which is to respond to the occurrence or imminent threat of widespread or severe damage, injury, or loss of life or property resulting from any natural or man-made cause. 

Abbott, the suit said, cannot create his own border patrol agency to regulate the border and prevent immigrants from entering Texas.

Additionally, the US Constitution and federal statues do not empower Texas with authority to enforce immigration laws, according to the suit.

The suit said the buoys represent a hateful policy that intends to create the impression that Mexicans, immigrants, and Mexican Americans  are dangerous. The floating devices also will prevent Epis from conducting tours and canoe and kayak sessions in Eagle Pass, according to the suit.

The buoys were being loaded from trucks on Friday to be installed in the Rio Grande. - Texas Department of Public Safety

Flores said the lawsuit, which seeks a temporary and permanent injunction, was filed on Friday before the buoys were installed in the Rio Grande.

Abbott posted a 15-second video to Twitter showing buoys being loaded from trailers that would be deployed near Eagle Pass. The Texas Department of Public Safety is overseeing the deployment, the governor said in the tweet Friday.

During last months announcement, Texas Department of Public Safety Director Col. Steven McCraw touted the buoy barrier could be quickly deployed and said its mobile. He explained the buoy would be anchored to the bottom of the waterway, adding the buoys are roughly 4 to 6 feet in height depending on the water level.

The new barrier comes after a series of migrant drownings in the Rio Grande River in recent days left four people dead, including an infant, officials said.

Last weekend, a woman and a baby girl were found unresponsive in the river, said Texas DPS Lt. Christopher Olivarez. A dead man and woman were found on Sunday and Monday, respectively, he added.

In recent years, migrants have resorted to increasingly risky  and often fatal  paths to evade detection and enter the US. In March, a migrant was found dead among a dozen people stowed away in a train car near Eagle Pass.

In 2022, a Texas National Guardsman drowned in the Rio Grande attempting to rescue a woman crossing the river. That year was the deadliest for migrants crossing the US-Mexico border, with at least 748 people dying at the border.

Immigrant rights advocates have attributed the rise in deaths at the border to policies that have made it more difficult for migrants to seek refuge in the US.

CNNs Ray Sanchez, Dave Alsup and Raja Razek contributed this report.

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The Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has warned of the threat of the use of attack drones by the Russian occupation forces on the territory of the Kirovohrad, Cherkasy, Mykolaiv, Kherson and Dnipropetrovsk oblasts.

Source: Ukrainian Air Force on Telegram

Details: Around 02:40, the Air Force reported that there was a threat of Russias UAV attacks on the Kirovohrad, Cherkasy, Mykolaiv, Kherson and Dnipropetrovsk oblasts.

As of 02:50, an air-raid warning was in force in these oblasts.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
Detroit Tigers third baseman Jonathan Schoop controls the single hit by Oakland Athletics' Jordan Diaz during the fifth inning of a baseball game, Thursday, July 6, 2023, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

DETROIT (AP)  The Detroit Tigers juggled their roster before Saturdays game against the Toronto Blue Jays.

Detroit activated outfielder Riley Greene from the injured list. Greene, who was sidelined since May 31 with a stress reaction in his left fibula, led the team in most offensive categories before the injury.

The Tigers also activated pitcher Beau Brieske (elbow) from the 60-day injured list. He went 3-6 with a 4.19 ERA in 15 starts last season, but will pitch out of the bullpen at this point.

Detroit optioned pitcher Alex Faedo to Triple-A Toledo after he gave up seven runs in Friday's 12-2 loss to the Blue Jays.

The Tigers also designated infielder Jonathan Schoop for assignment to make room for Greene on the active roster and Brieske on the 40-man roster. The 31-year-old is hitting .213 with no home runs in 55 games this season.

___

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Worcester Police officers remove residents from nearby homes during the 13-hour standoff on Colby Avenue Friday.

WORCESTER - Time was on the side of the Worcester Police Department in the barricaded situation that developed at 51 Colby Ave. Friday - time to deescalate the situation and time to wait out the man who had shot two people earlier in the morning, fired a weapon at police and then locked himself into his home.

"The plan was to wait him out, get him out peacefully," said Lt. Sean Murtha, a spokesman for the department and one of the officers at the incident that stretched through 13 hours on Friday. Murtha was in the neighborhood again Saturday morning. He addressed reporters as other police officers took photos of the house and searched the backyard.

The front door of 51 Colby Ave. after police used a battering arm to enter and capture the suspect.

Because the incident is considered a domestic situation, police did not release the names or the conditions of the people involved but said they were related. Police said it appears both gunshot victims shot by the suspect will survive. The gunman also suffered a gunshot wound; he was shot in the shoulder by police and suffered a dog bite.

More: Worcester standoff ends after 13 hours; suspect in custody

The department's police dog Beebs was instrumental in subduing the man as he tried to flee police through the back door of the home.

Worcester Police Lt. Sean Murtha addresses reporters on Colby Avenue where a gunman barricaded himself into a home for 13 hours Friday after shooting two family members and firing on police.

"The gunman fired on police multiple times," Murtha said, adding that none of the officers was injured by the gunfire but several assigned to the SWAT unit suffered dehydration. Murtha did not know how many shots were fired.

The suspect was transported to a local hospital, where he remained in police custody. Murtha said he expects the man to be arraigned Monday, but had not determined the charges. He indicated they would include attempted murder and attempted murder of police officers.

The four-bedroom Cape-style house is listed as belonging to Anthony Boateng, according to the city's property record website. Unofficial sources said the suspected gunman was identified as Caleb Boateng. The relationship between the listed owner and the suspected gunman was not immediately apparent.

Murtha said that police were alerted to the incident by several calls made to headquarters. However, when police arrived, the two gunshot victims had already left the home. He said police spoke with the victims as they were leaving the area.

Police relied on both technology, including body cameras, a drone, and the new emergency response team that includes mental health professionals, to ameliorate the incident. Police also called on known family members to talk to the barricaded gunman.

"We're OK with the long time," Murtha said, explaining that when there is no one being held hostage, or posing an immediate danger to the general public, police will opt to wait out the barricaded individual. If the person is in crisis, it could pass, with enough time; if the person is being affected by a substance, it could pass. "Time is on our side."

Police were still processing the scene and have yet to review hours of video footage generated by officers, their body cameras, neighbors and other witnesses to the incident.

But the normal Saturday-morning quiet had returned to the area. Residents were out grocery shopping, walking their dogs and strolling with their children in the well-kept, neatly contained neighborhood. Some residents had been evacuated, and others had been asked to shelter in place.

Murtha praised area residents and thanked them for their patience, for the drinks of cold water some delivered to officers, and use of bathroom facilities for officers who were involved in the standoff.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Time on side of police after 13-hour standoff in Worcester
The Marine Corps senior enlisted leader will become the senior enlisted leader in the whole U.S. military.

Sgt. Maj. Troy Black, the sergeant major of the Marine Corps, will take the role of senior enlisted adviser to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on Nov. 3, when Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Ramon CZ Colon-Lopez is set to retire from that role, according to a Pentagon news release Friday.

This is truly humbling, and I am honored, Black said in a statement to Marine Corps Times. It will be a privilege to serve as the senior enlisted leader for the Department of Defense. Our focus will remain on readiness and warfighting, and I am committed to advocating for every service member and their families.

The current chairman, Army Gen. Mark Milley, made the selection, according to the release. Milley is required by law to depart his role in early October.

Air Force Gen. CQ Brown has been nominated to replace Milley, but a monthslong hold on senior military nominations by Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Alabama, could leave the joint chiefs without a confirmed chairman in place. If that occurs, Navy Adm. Christopher Grady, the vice chairman, temporarily will perform the duties of chairman, Defense News previously reported.

The chairman of the joint chiefs is the top uniformed officer in the military, who has no authority to command forces but is the principal military adviser to the White House. Black will serve as the chairmans direct tie to the enlisted force, according to the release.

According to a Pentagon webpage explaining the role, the SEACs exact duties may vary, though the SEAC generally devotes much time traveling throughout the Department of Defense observing education, training and communicating to the total force, (active, reserve, retirees, veterans and military families).

Blacks current job in the Marine Corps is similar: to advocate for and communicate with enlisted Marines. As sergeant major of the Marine Corps since 2019, Black has spoken up for enlisted Marines quality of life and mental health in particular.

He also has played the role of motivator in chief, who is adamant that Marines do it different.

Sgt. Maj. Blacks three-and-a-half decades of experience as an infantry Marine, a leader of Marines, and advisor to commanders at all levels makes him the ideal leader for this role, Gen. David Berger, the Marine commandant, said in a statement to Marine Corps Times on Saturday. Its great to see he will continue to set the example for all our warfighters in the Joint Force.

Black enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1988 and became a machine gunner, according to his official bio. He has made several deployments, including to Iraq and Afghanistan.

What naming a ship after Fallujah means to those who fought there

While deployed to Afghanistan in 2010 as sergeant major of 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, he ran several hundred yards across unswept territory to recover a Marine who had been killed by an improvised explosive device, Military.com reported. That action earned him a Bronze Star marked with a V for valor.

Black has served in units and roles across the Corps, including as a drill instructor at Parris Island, South Carolina, where he met his wife, now-retired 1st. Sgt. Stacie Black.

He holds a bachelors degree in terrorism and counterterrorism studies from the online National American University and graduated in 2011 from the militarys Joint Special Operations Forces Senior Enlisted Academy, according to his bio.

Black will be the fifth person to serve as senior enlisted adviser to the chairman, following the creation of the role in 2005, according to the Pentagon release. He will be the second Marine, after Sgt. Maj. Bryan Battaglia, who held the job from 2011 to 2015.

Sgt. Maj. Carlos Ruiz, the sergeant major of Marine Corps Forces Reserve and Marine Corps Forces South, will take over as the top enlisted Marine on Aug. 8, the Corps announced in June.
(CNN)  The US will send cluster munitions to Ukraine as part of a new military aid package, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan confirmed on Friday, following months of debate within the Biden administration about whether to provide Kyiv with the controversial weapons banned by over 100 countries including key US allies.

Im not going to stand up here and say it is easy, Sullivan told reporters. Its a difficult decision. Its a decision we deferred. Its a decision that required a real hard look at the potential harm to civilians. And when we put all of that together, there was a unanimous recommendation from the national security team, and President Biden ultimately decided, in consultation with allies and partners and in consultation with members of Congress, to move forward on this strategy.

US President Joe Biden approved the transfer of the munitions this week, officials told CNN. CNN first reported last week that the administration was strongly considering the move, as Ukrainians forces have struggled to make major gains in their counteroffensive against Russia.

Throughout the conflict the US has, in the face of intense lobbying, gradually agreed to Kyivs requests for more aggressive weaponry including Patriot Missile systems and modern tanks, but the decision to send cluster munitions marks a watershed moment with the Biden administration agreeing to send a weapon that most countries have agreed should have no place in modern warfare.

Biden said in an interview with CNNs Fareed Zakaria Friday that it was a difficult decision to provide Ukraine with cluster munitions for the first time, but that he was ultimately convinced to send the controversial weapons because Kyiv needs ammunition in its counteroffensive against Russia.

It was a very difficult decision on my part. And by the way, I discussed this with our allies, I discussed this with our friends up on the Hill, Biden said, adding, The Ukrainians are running out of ammunition.

The munitions will be compatible with the US-provided 155 mm howitzers, a key piece of artillery that has allowed Ukraine to win back territory over the last year, according to the Pentagon. In a statement announcing a new round of aid to Ukraine, the Defense Department said the US will be providing 155mm artillery rounds, including DPICM, or Dual Purpose Improved Conventional Munitions  the type of cluster munition the US currently has in its stockpiles.

Dr. Colin Kahl, the under secretary of defense for policy, told reporters on Friday that Ukraine gave assurances in writing that they would not use the cluster munitions in urban areas that are populated by civilians, and that there would be a careful accounting of where they use these weapons.

Risk to civilians

Cluster munitions scatter bomblets across large areas that can fail to explode on impact and can pose a long-term risk to anyone who encounters them, similar to landmines. Over 100 countries, including the UK, France, and Germany, have outlawed the munitions under the Convention on Cluster Munitions, but the US and Ukraine are not signatories to the ban.

German defense minister Boris Pistorias said on Friday that providing the munitions to Ukraine is not an option for Berlin because it is a signatory to the convention. But he declined to weigh in on the US decision to do so. Those countries that have not signed the convention - China, Russia, Ukraine and the U.S. - it is not up to me to comment on their actions.

Human rights advocates have condemned the move. Human Rights Watch said in a report on Thursday that transferring these weapons would inevitably cause long-term suffering for civilians and undermine the international opprobrium of their use.

Biden will overrule statutory restrictions imposed by Congress on exporting munitions with a greater than one percent dud rate  the munitions the US is set to provide may have a dud rate of up to 2.35%, Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder said on Thursday. Biden will invoke section 614 of the Foreign Assistance Act to waive those restrictions, a defense official said, which allows the president to provide foreign aid regardless of export restrictions if it is in the national security interest of the United States.

Kahl reiterated on Friday that the Pentagon would not be providing munitions with a dud rate over 2.35%, a rate which was demonstrated through five comprehensive tests conducted by the Department of Defense between 1998 and 2020.

A higher dud rate means more of the small bomblets scattered by cluster munitions fail to explode on impact, posing a risk to civilians who may encounter them later. Ryder said the Russians have been using cluster munitions with a dud rate of as high as 40%.

Ukrainian officials have been pushing the US to provide the munitions since last year, arguing that they would provide more ammunition for Western-provided artillery and rocket systems, and help narrow Russias numerical superiority in artillery.

Biden reluctant at first

Biden was reluctant at first, officials told CNN, given how many countries worldwide have banned the munitions.

But changing battlefield conditions inside Ukraine over the last three weeks prompted US officials to give them renewed and serious consideration, and the Pentagon recommended to Biden that the munitions be provided to Ukraine at least on a temporary basis until non-cluster ammunition is able to be resupplied, officials said.

It is not clear whether the heavy amount of artillery ammunition the Ukrainians have been expending day-to-day would be sustainable without the cluster munitions if the counteroffensive drags on, officials and military analysts said. Biden ultimately agreed with their assessment.

Russias Ambassador to Belarus Boris Gryzlov said the US decision was a move of desperation.

As part of the continued assistance to the Kiev regime, Washington is considering the possibility of sending cluster munitions to Ukraine. There has been talk about it since spring, Gryzlov told Russian state news agency TASS on Friday.

Now, the hawks in the West have realized that the much-advertised counter-offensive of the Ukrainian armed forces did not go according to plan, so they are trying at all costs to give at least some impetus to it. In fact, it is a move of desperation, Gryzlov said.

This story was first published on CNN.com, "US to send cluster munitions banned by over 100 nations to Ukraine after months of debate"
Tragedy strikes again for family of Kentucky sheriff assassinated in 2002 political plot

A husband and wife who died in their home Friday afternoon in Pulaski County may have been overcome by carbon monoxide, according to the sheriffs office.

A vehicle was left running for some time in the garage at the home of Lewis Catron, 77, and his wife Carol Catron, 73, and that may have caused a deadly level of carbon monoxide in the house, Pulaski County Sheriff Bobby Jones said in a release.

Harold Catron was a long-time member of the sheriffs office and was serving as an honorary deputy at the time of his death.

He was the older brother of longtime Pulaski County Sheriff Sam Catron, who was assassinated in April 2002 by a man allied with a drug dealer.

Jones said a family member went to check on Harold and Carol Catron Friday afternoon and found them unresponsive in their home on Pumphouse Road in Somerset.

The family member called 911. Police received the call to respond at 3:50 p.m.

The cause of death for the couple wont be confirmed until an autopsy, but the preliminary investigation points to carbon monoxide from the vehicle in the garage, according to the release.

Jones described the deaths as accidental.

We have lost two close friends who have for years been considered part of the Sheriffs Offices family, Jones said in the release. Our hearts and prayers go out to the Catron family as they face yet another tragedy.

Sam and Lewis Catrons father, Harold Catron, chief of police in Somerset, died in 1964 of an injury related to a shotgun blast he had suffered several years earlier.

Carbon monoxide poisoning from vehicles left running in garages has become a greater concern with the increase in keyless ignition systems.

Sam Catron had been Pulaski County sheriff for four terms and was running for a fifth term when he was shot and killed in April 2002.

Catron was leaving a fish fry at a rural fire station where he and other candidates had spoken when Danny Shelley, then 30, shot him in the head with a high-powered rifle.

Lewis Catron hugged his mother, Jennie Rachel Catron, on April 18, 2002 at the funeral for his brother and her son, Sam Catron, who was assassinated by a man working with a drug dealer.

Shelley was quickly arrested after he wrecked the motorcycle he was using to try to get away.

He implicated two others in the plot to kill Catron  Jeff Morris, a former deputy who was running against Catron after losing his for taking days off without permission, and Kenneth White, a drug dealer.

White was supporting Morris campaign, allegedly in hopes of having the countys top law enforcement officer in his pocket to protect his drug dealing and bootlegging.

Shelley was addicted to pain pills and other drugs at the time, and White was supplying him.

Shelley said his judgment was impaired by drugs when he went along with the plan by Morris and White to kill Catron. He is serving a sentence of life without the possibility of parole for at least 25 years.

Morris also is serving a sentence of life without parole for at least 25 years. White was sentenced to life without parole. and died in prison in 2018.

Sam and Lewis Catrons father, Harold Catron, chief of police in Somerset, died in 1964 when a pellet left behind in his chest from a shotgun blast several years earlier, which couldnt be removed, shifted and caused a heart attack.
Travelers headed north for a weekend in the McCall area Friday are hitting major delays near Horseshoe Bend, where a 35-acre wildfire northeast of Boise forced closure of the southbound lane of Idaho 55.

Idaho Transportation Department spokesperson John Tomlinson told the Idaho Statesman by phone that with one lane of the two-lane highway closed, traffic is being asked to alternate use of the northbound lane. Both lanes were previously closed for a stretch Friday afternoon.

Tomlinson said he wasnt sure when the highway, which connects the Boise area to Lake Cascade and Payette Lake, would fully reopen.

In a tweet, the Bureau of Land Management said that several crews were making good progress after responding to the fire with six engines and a helicopter. The agency said it hoped to have the fire contained by 6 p.m. and controlled by 10 p.m.

The Statesman has reached out to the Bureau of Land Management for additional information.
The Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District has accepted treated milk from farms that didn't have a market for it.

Truckloads of fresh farm milk have been flushed down the drain into Milwaukees sewer system recently as dairy plants, filled to the brim, couldn't accept more of the highly perishable commodity, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, part of the USA TODAY Network, learned this week.

The milk was treated to comply with state and federal environmental regulations, including the federal Clean Water Act, before it went into the wastewater treatment system, according to the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District.

It has to be treated to a level thats safe, said MMSD spokesman Bill Graffin.

It comes to us, and then we have to treat it to what we're regulated on, before we can discharge that water to Lake Michigan, he said.

Graffin said he didnt know how much milk has been flushed into the system but that recently it had declined to around five truckloads a week. A full truckload would be approximately 6,500 gallons, according to dairy industry sources.

The milk came from Wisconsin dairy farms, probably on the east side of the state, and was processed by Earth Environmental, a waste disposal services firm in Cudahy.

Earth Environmental treated it to comply with the district's requirements, MMSD said, as untreated raw milk flushed into the sewers would be a violation of regulations and would raise havoc with the wastewater treatment system.

Earth Environmental could not be reached to answer Journal Sentinel questions Monday. On its website, the company says it handles hazardous and non-hazardous waste materials.

Its unknown for how long the Milwaukee sewerage district, which serves nearly 30 communities and has thousands of miles of sewer pipe, has received discarded farm milk. Previously its handled whey, a byproduct of cheesemaking, and food waste that's gone into a separate anaerobic waste digester.

But fresh farm milk going into the state's largest sewer system, and eventually as wastewater into Lake Michigan, is just "jaw dropping," said Peter Hardin, publisher of The Milkweed, a dairy farming publication in Brooklyn, Wisconsin.

Money down the drain for struggling farmers

One thing's certain. The dumping of fresh milk is money down the drain for dairy farmers already struggling with declining incomes and rising expenses.

Its pretty tragic, said Jim Goodman, a retired farmer from Wonewoc and board president of the National Family Farm Coalition.

Dairy plants in the Upper Midwest have been overloaded with milk used to make cheese, butter and other products. When one Minnesota plant was ordered to close for around 30 days, because of wastewater issues, the 45 farms it supported were told theyd have to start dumping their milk, a highly perishable commodity if not processed quickly.

Farmers posted videos expressing their frustration and anger, the Wisconsin State Farmer reported.

"How is June Dairy Month going for me? It ain't worth a crap," one farmer said on social media.

Golden E Dairy near West Bend has been forced to dump 25,000 gallons of milk a day as the coronavirus pandemic slams the fragile dairy economy.

In the spring of 2020, a farm near West Bend opened the spigot and flushed hundreds of thousands of pounds of milk into a wastewater lagoon because there was nowhere else for it to go.

The state Department of Natural Resources said that if the dumping of raw, unpasteurized milk wasn't done correctly, it could get into public waterways, reducing the oxygen content and killing aquatic life.

Sometimes the unwanted farm product has ended up in manure pits.

Now," Goodman said, "it's being run through a sewer system. Thats pretty sickening."

Ryan Eble, left, and his father, Chris, talk in their milk house while fresh milk gushes down a drain in April 2020 at the Elbe family's Golden E Dairy near West Bend.

Markets get flooded with excess milk production

Dairy farmers are dependent on a limited number of processors that are sometimes hamstrung by reduced market demand, like when COVID-19 forced the closure of restaurants, or there's simply too much milk.

Farms are so productive these days, partly from increased size of the operations and improved cow genetics, they can quickly flood the marketplace with milk, beef, and other commodities.

Moreover, farmers who have invested heavily in their milking operation cant afford to just turn off the spigot. Instead, as profit margins shrink from supply-and-demand getting out of balance, they sometimes try to squeeze out ever-higher amounts of milk to cover their costs  even if it adds to the overall surplus.

"We've been down this road before," Goodman said.

'Public health has lost the war': States legalize raw milk, despite public health warnings

The prices farmers receive for their unprocessed, unpasteurized milk are largely determined by the forces of supply and demand and government programs. Minimum prices are set by the U.S. Department of Agriculture using complicated formulas based on the wholesale market value of various dairy products such as cheese, butter and whey.

Many farmers see themselves as pawns in an agricultural system stacked against them. Faced with few options to control what they receive for their products, they ramp up production and hope markets don't buckle under the strain.

Prices in the grocery store often remain high even as farmers are paid less.

"It shouldn't be that way when they're having to dump milk," Goodman said.

Milk prices paid to farmers at lowest level in years

A year ago, the price Wisconsin farmers received for their milk reached a record high of more than $25 per hundred pounds, around 8.6 gallons, which encouraged many to ramp up production. Since then, as the market adjusted, the price has plummeted to less than $15 per hundred pounds, one of the lowest levels in years.

But "theres still more milk than we need, said John Umhoefer, executive director of the Wisconsin Cheesemakers Association.

Ninety percent of Wisconsin milk is made into cheese. Thats more than 3 billion pounds per year, but the plants are still getting too much milk and are struggling to find enough hired help to fill all the work shifts.

Labor is one of the biggest issues, Umhoefer said.

Efforts have been made to get dairy products to food pantries in order to reduce stockpiles built up in commercial warehouses, but that's not always affordable or practical.

More: Antibiotics for humans, livestock found in waters flowing to Lake Erie

Farms at risk of going out of business

It could take a culling of dairy cattle, usually sold off for beef, to get the supply-and-demand ratio for milk back in balance. Meanwhile, many dairy farms are at risk of going under as their expenses continue to rise.

Since 2000, more than 70% of U.S. dairy farms have closed for good, unable to stay financially afloat in a market increasingly dominated by the biggest operators, according to Goodman.

Its been a disaster for dairy farmers, rural communities, consumers, the environment and animal welfare, he said.

Discarded milk represents a massive amount of work wasted on the farm, including planting and harvesting crops, raising livestock and milking cows. Generations of farm families and their communities are at risk when milk markets collapse and milk has to be dumped.

"For farmers, this has got to be awful," Goodman said.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY NETWORK: Truckloads of farm milk dumped into Milwaukee sewerage system
Scott Olson/Getty Images

During a Farmers for Trump campaign event in Iowa on Friday, the former president hoping to have a shot at a non-consecutive second term, amidst a slew of legal battles, railed against 2024 hopeful, Ron DeSantis, calling him a "globalist sellout."

"He would be a catastrophe for farmers of Nebraska and Iowa and anyplace else," Trump said in a quote obtained from Newsmax. "He has been fighting for years  don't forget he was a congressman  to kill every single job supported by this very important industry," he furthered elsewhere in his address to the crowd. "Ending the renewable fuel standard was one of his top priorities as a member of Congress. If he had his way, the entire economy of Iowa would absolutely collapse." Pounding in his point, he compared his own agricultural efforts to those of DeSantis saying, "DeSanctus sided with the communists in China; I sided with the farmers in America."

After his stop-over, Trump headed to a local Dairy Queen where it was revealed that he doesn't know what a Blizzard is  one of the chain's signature treats. "Everybody wants a Blizzard. What the hell is a Blizzard?" Trump was heard asking, according to NBC News. "Take care of the people, OK? Will you take care of 'em for me, and we'll do the Blizzard thing, alright?" he added. "After Trump's stop at the Dairy Queen on Friday, a spokesperson for the Democratic National Committee took a jab at [him] on Twitter by writing: 'Donald Trump doesn't know what a blizzard is. You know who does? Joe Biden,' writes NBC's Vaughn Hillyard.
Trump has been privately grumbling about Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, who has made appearances with Ron DeSantis while publicly remaining neutral in the GOP presidential primary, report says

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds waves to supporters before speaking at a rally for former President Donald Trump in Sioux City, Iowa. AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall

Trump has privately complained about Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, The New York Times reported.

He believes Reynolds should back his 2024 bid after he endorsed her past campaigns, according to the report.

Reynolds is remaining neutral in the GOP presidential primary but has appeared alongside DeSantis.

Former President Donald Trump has privately grumbled about Iowa Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds recently, with the ex-commander-in-chief holding the belief that she should endorse his 2024 presidential bid after he backed her successful 2018 gubernatorial candidacy, according to The New York Times.

Reynolds  who is in high demand amongst Republican presidential candidates and has committed to remaining neutral throughout the primary process  has had several prominent appearances with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who remains Trump's top rival for the GOP nomination.

Some of the former president's advisors have mocked Reynolds' affirmation of neutrality, with a feeling in his political orbit that Reynolds is putting forth her best efforts to aid DeSantis without officially making her intentions known, according to the Times.

"She is quote-unquote neutral," an individual with close ties to Trump told the Times.

According to the Times, Trump believes that Reynolds  whom he held a rally for in 2018 before she narrowly won her first full gubernatorial term that year  should have repaid him for his past support of her campaigns. The newspaper also reported that Trump has expressed similar sentiments about other Republicans whom he has previously endorsed.

"I hate to say it, without me, you know, she was not going to win, you know that, right?" Trump said of Reynolds' 2018 campaign at a June rally in Iowa.

His statement  said in front of a group that overwhelmingly backs the governor  didn't elicit much of a reaction from the attendees, according to the Times.

The report also stated that Reynolds was incredulous that Trump felt that her initial election to the governorship was driven by his support of her campaign. The former president also backed Reynolds' 2022 reelection bid, which she won in a landslide.

Reynolds ascended to the Governor's office in May 2017 after Trump tapped then-Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad to become his ambassador to China.

While Trump left the White House in 2021, Reynolds and DeSantis have become stars within the party, with many Republicans pointing to the coronavirus restrictions that the two governors fought against after the initial outbreak in 2020 as a significant reason for their success.

The Times noted that Reynolds and DeSantis are at ease with each other when they share appearances in front of GOP crowds, having formed a strong friendship as conservative leaders throughout the pandemic.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Trump wanted to tap aides phones to stem leaks, former official says

Former President Trump wanted to wiretap his aides phones in order to pursue potential leakers, a former Department of Homeland Security (DHS) aide alleged in an upcoming book, reviewed by NBC.

Miles Taylor, a senior aide to former DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, also claimed that aides had concerns about the way the former president handled classified materials.

Trump has long decried those who leak information to the press as traitors. Hes also called for criminal charges against those who leaked information out of his administration.

Taylor recounts in his book an instance when then-press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders warned the former national security adviser John Bolton that Trump had shown classified information about Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggis murder to a reporter in an interview.

He alleged Bolton breathed a sigh of relief when told there were no cameras in the room to capture the documents.

We were all disturbed by the lapse in protocol and poor protection of classified information, Taylor writes.

Bolton however told NBC he does not recall the exchange.

Taylor is a known critic of Trump, and he penned an anonymous op-ed in The New York Times criticizing Trumps character in 2018.

I witnessed Trumps inability to do his job over the course of two-and-a-half years. Everyone saw it, though most were hesitant to speak up for fear of reprisals, he wrote.

A spokesman for Trump denounced the upcoming book, calling Taylor a lying sack of st.

His book either belongs in the discount bin of the fiction section or should be repurposed as toilet paper, spokesman Steven Cheung said.



The remarks come as Trump is facing a criminal indictment for his handling of classified documents after he left the White House. He was charged with 37 counts in relation to the mishandling of records at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, as well as his efforts to block the government from recovering the documents.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Tucker Carlson Claims He 'Really' Doesn't Know Why Fox News Parted Ways With Him

Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson says he honestly doesnt know why his former network parted ways with him in April.

Carlson, who is now eight episodes deep into his month-old Twitter show, weighed in on his abrupt exit from Fox as he spoke with Russell Brand on Fridays episode of the Stay Free podcast.

The conservative commentator began by acknowledging his previous departures from major news networks, but said he was still surprised to be let go from Fox earlier this year.

I was shocked, but I wasnt really shocked, Carlson said. And I wasnt mad. Its not my company. And when you work for someone else, that person reserves the right, and in fact has inherently the right, to decide whether you work there or not.

He added: I dont know why I was fired, I really dont. Im not angry about it. You can believe me or not, but I think you can feel that Im not.

However, Carlson then bemoaned the ugly leaking at Fox to The New York Times, which reported that he had sent an offensive text message to one of his producers  panicking the higher-ups at his network. Carlson complained to Brand that the leak characterized him as racist.

But thats not true, and I think the people who run the company know thats not true, Carlson said. And Im not mad about it. And Ive been happy.

HuffPost has reached out to Fox regarding Carlsons remarks.

His comments arrive less than a month after news broke that Fox sent Carlson a cease-and-desist letter over his new Twitter show. The network claims that the show violates a contract with him that expires in 2025.

Fox has since laid off several former staffers on Carlsons old show and named Jesse Watters to permanently take over Carlsons prime-time slot later this month.

(H/T Mediaite)

Related...
Tucker Carlson says he thinks he was fired from Fox for his stance on Ukraine  not racism, misogyny claims

Tucker Carlson spoke out Friday about his unexpected departure from Fox News, saying I dont know why I was fired, I really dont, but claiming he thinks it might have had something to do with his stance on the war in Ukraine.

In a live-streamed interview on Russell Brands podcast Stay Free, Carlson said he was shocked when he was let go in April, but that hes not angry about it.

Carlson explained that, When you work for someone else, that person reserves the right and, in fact, has inherently the right to decide whether you work there or not. You can believe me or not, but  I wish Fox well.

Despite Carlsons statement, tensions appear to remain between the two parties, as he and Fox continue to argue over his $20 million contract, which doesnt expire until 2025, as well as his new Twitter show.

But as his conversation with Brand continued, it veered into a discussion of the Russia-Ukraine war and how it may have been the reason for Carlsons departure  not the widely reported allegations of racism, misogyny and sexual harassment that led to a lawsuit from former producer Abby Grossberg, who claimed Carlson oversaw a hostile work environment.

I do think as a general matter, not even about me, the war in Ukraine is a red line for a lot of people in business and politics, Carlson told Brand. Ukraine is losing the war, obviously. The Ukrainians are dying in huge numbers and the country is being destroyed. And so, the U.S. could force a peace like tonight ... They have that power. And they wont, and theyre continuing to allow Ukrainians to be killed and the country to be devastated.

So, I dont know (Foxs) motive (for firing me), I can only guess. But I know that if you criticize that, they really are intent on making you be quiet, he reasoned.

Carlson was removed from his show back in April, less than a week after Fox News agreed to settle a defamation lawsuit by paying Dominion Voting Systems $787.5 million. Sources claim his fate was already sealed when disturbing text messages sent by Carlson were presented by Dominion lawyers to network executives, who worried the texts would become public if the case went to trial.

Since then, Fox has also settled former producer Abby Grossbergs lawsuit  to the tune of $12 million.

Regarding his contract, Carlsons attorney previously claimed that Fox breached the agreement, arguing that a non-compete clause was no longer valid.
Ukraine deserves to have NATO membership, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, following talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that Russia said it was closely watching.

Zelensky spent this week visiting NATO countries, courting support ahead of a NATO summit in Lithuania next week where members are expected to reaffirm that Ukraine will eventually join.

Without a doubt, Ukraine deserves to be in NATO, Erdogan said.

Zelensky said he was happy to hear that Turkey supports Ukraines bid to join during a joint press conference.

While visiting the Czech Republic this week Zelensky said that he needs a clear signal that Ukraine will be in the alliance. Not that the door is open for us, which is not enough, but that Ukraine will be in it, he said Thursday.

NATO has an open-door policy, meaning that any country can be invited to join if it expresses an interest, as long as it is able and willing to uphold the principles of the alliances founding treaty. However, under the accession rules, any member state can veto a new country from joining.

Some allies, particularly those in Eastern Europe who are located closer to Ukraine and Russia, have advocated for a more concrete path for Kyiv to join the defensive alliance once the war ends.

Other officials have argued an expediting Ukraines NATO membership could be too provocative and that it could amount to an extremely risky gamble for the alliance even if there is an end to the fighting, particularly if Russia still claims Ukrainian territory.

Turkey dropped its objections to Finland joining NATO earlier this year but continues to block Swedens entry.

Frozen conflicts

Since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Erdogan has emerged as a key powerbroker, playing a balancing act between the two sides.

He helped broker the Black Sea grain deal that unlocked millions of tons of wheat caught up in Russias invasion of Ukraine, averting a global hunger crisis.

The agreement is set to expire in ten days and Erdogan on Saturday signaled his support in it being extended, adding that Russian President Vladimir Putin would be visiting Turkey next month.

Particularly on prisoner swaps, weve listened to Ukraine. We are also listening to Russia. I spoke to Mr. Putin, Erdogan said, Next month we will be able to speak about it again when Mr. Putin has a Turkey visit. We will speak about it on the phone until then. The prisoner exchanges are high on our agenda as well. We hope there will be a solution on this issue as well.

Speaking alongside the Turkish president, Zelensky said the Black Sea should be an area of safety and not of so-called frozen conflicts.

It is very important that we start working with our partners to ensure that the existence of the grain corridor and, therefore, the lives of other people, as Mr. President [Erdogan] said, on other continents (including Africa and Asia), do not depend on the mood in which the President of the Russian Federation wakes up, Zelensky said Saturday.

It comes after the Kremlin said it would be closely watching the talks between Ukraine and Turkey.

Thegrain deal is set to expire in ten days and Erdogan signaled his support in it being extended. - Ozan Kose/AFP/Getty Images

Of course, we will follow the results of these negotiations very closely. We maintain our constructive, partnership relations with Ankara and value these relations, and we feel reciprocity from the Turkish side, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday. It will be interesting for us to know what will be discussed between Mr. Erdogan and Mr. Zelensky. It is important.

Peskov went on to complement Erdogan for acting as an intermediary between Moscow and Kyiv, saying Putin and Erdogan communicate regularly.

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My twin and I are raising our kids on the same street. We do school drop-off together and share a nanny.

The author's kids and their cousin. Courtesy of Sarah Seltzer

My twin brother and I have always been best friends.

After I had my first child, he and I moved with our families across the street from each other.

We are raising our kids as communally as we can.

"They're so cute! Are they twins?"

When people ask this question about my son Julian and his cousin Lyla as they run happily around the playground, I stop and explain  "No, they're not, but their parents are."

My twin brother Dan and I have different skin tones and eye colors, he's a foot taller, and he's a devoted athlete, while I am devoted to saying I'll get into yoga again someday. But when you put our faces together at the same height, you see the twin thing instantly. Our superficial differences belly how close we are, so close that after a decade of living in different cities, we now are raising our kids as communally as we can, so much so that we get asked if our little ones are twins themselves.

We've always been best friends

This wasn't part of some grandiose twin scheme. Yes, we've always been best friends. But in our 20s, my brother explored living in many places, including Scotland, Massachusetts, Miami, and Albany, NY, while my husband and I, who met in college, did not. Instead, we explored living in various rental apartments in uptown, New York, within a few miles of where my brother and I grew up.

But then Dan got serious with his future wife, and my first child, Mikey, was born in 2016. My brother, a devoted new uncle, got engaged and came home. And a few years later, anticipating growing families, we found apartments on opposite ends of the same Manhattan street  my brother, who had just found his own place, alerted us about the listing for ours.

We both had kids in 2019, and excited about our new proximity, decided to put them in a shared childcare setup with my longtime babysitter, raising them together for as long as possible.

Our brilliant plan lasted about six weeks before COVID-19 hit, and we ended up separating and going into lockdown.

To make the situation worse, my husband was medically vulnerable, having just finished chemo, and Dan's physician wife was heroically treating COVID-19 patients. We had to stay apart. But living nearby helped us overcome that, too. We started hanging out in the park with masks on, clucking at each other's babies. Finally, when our kids returned to school, we started the nanny share again. Our little ones developed a love and closeness that goes deeper than cousin-dom, with my oldest happily indoctrinating them both into mischief.

We have more family close by

Our family closeness doesn't stop there. My parents live in our old apartment, and my husband's sister, who happens to be the director of our kids' wonderful preschool, moved back from Brooklyn to Uptown Manhattan. We all share babysitting, pickups and dropoffs, and open-ended playground time. I jokingly call ours a "shtetl" existence after the tiny villages in Eastern Europe our great-grandparents fled in order to build a more expansive life in America.

My brother had a second child this year, and the nanny share ended, but our little ones go to school together and hang out afterwards more days than they don't.

Of course, nothing is perfect  sometimes, I think that family nearby makes me too inclined to stay in the neighborhood instead of making the effort to make new friendships or visit other places. I often feel guilty when one of my kids gets sick, and then everyone in both families gets sick.

But these are tiny hiccups compared to the enormous benefit our kids feel, the sense that a large group of adults is nearby looking after them, squabbling and laughing, the sense that they are part of a group much bigger than our little family unit. They have their cousins for life, and it makes me feel secure knowing they will face an uncertain world by each others' sides.

And once or twice a week, when my brother and I drop off our kids at preschool at the same time  usually late, we're Aquarians  we grab a cup of coffee or walk a few blocks together. My daily life is richer and more complete because my twin is in it, and I know my kids feel the same way.

Sarah M. Seltzer is the Executive Editor of Lilith and the author of "The Singer Sisters," a novel coming out with Flatiron in 2024.

Read the original article on Insider
Two teenage girls were shot Friday night after officers responded to a call of a beach party at 9:20 p.m. in Santa Monica. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Two teenage girls were shot Friday night after officers responded to a call of a beach party at Santa Monica beach, police said.

Officers responded to a call around 9:20 p.m. about a large party in the 2700 block of Santa Monica beach, according to a Santa Monica Police Department statement. As officers approached the area, they heard multiple gunshots and the group dispersed.

The two female victims, ages 14 and 17, suffered gunshots to their lower legs, police said. They were transported to local hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries.

The victims did not see the gunman, but witnesses described him as a 5-foot-10 Black male with dreadlocks who wore black pants, a white shirt and a black hat, police said.

Police are asking anyone with information about the shooting to contact the Santa Monica Police detective unit at 310-458-8451, or the Watch Commander (24 hours) at 310-458-8427.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Ukrainian forces are continuing to carry out successful offensives near the city of Bakhmut in Donetsk Oblast, while the Russian military is suffering from low morale and hardly has the reserves to hold the town.

Source: UK Defence Intelligence review, as reported by European Pravda.

It is noted that after a lull in June, over the past seven days, Bakhmut "has again become the site of some of the most intense fighting along the front," with Ukrainian troops making "steady gains" both north and south of the city.

"Russian defenders are highly likely suffering from low morale, a mix of disparate units and a limited ability to find and strike Ukrainian artillery," UK Defence Intelligence notes.

The review points out that Moscow apparently considers it "politically unacceptable" for Ukrainian forces to surrender Bakhmut, a city that has symbolic value as one of the few achievements of Russian forces in the last year of the war.

"However, there are highly likely few additional reserves [for Russia - ed.] to commit to the sector," the UK intelligence service states.

The town of Bakhmut in Donetsk Oblast was the scene of one of the fiercest confrontations between Ukrainian and Russian forces until the Russian side announced in May this year that it had allegedly seized the town.

According to Ukrainian and Western officials, Russia lost a significant amount of manpower during the offensive on Bakhmut  at least 60,000 killed and wounded.

Previously: the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that Ukrainian forces had conducted offensive operations north and south of Bakhmut, and the commander of the Ukrainian Army, Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi, said that Ukrainian troops had regained control of previously lost positions in the Bakhmut area.

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Ukrainian troops made significant tactical gains near Bakhmut and continued counteroffensive operations on at least three other front areas on 7 July, the Institute for the Study of War said in a daily report.

Source: ISW

Details: The institute reported that geolocated data released on 6 July indicated that Ukrainian forces had made considerable tactical gains near Yahidne (2 km north of Bakhmut).

The ISW analysts also recalled that the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine had reported that the Ukrainian forces had carried out offensive operations to the north and south of Bakhmut, and Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi, the commander of the Ukrainian Ground Forces, had reported that Ukrainian troops had established control over positions in the Bakhmut area previously captured by the Russians.

In addition, the IWS report says that Ukrainian General Staff Spokesperson Andrii Kovalov has reported that Ukrainian forces had achieved some success near Klishchiivka (7 km southwest of Bakhmut), and were continuing their offensive operations in the west of Zaporizhia Oblast and along the administrative border between Zaporizhia and Donetsk oblasts.

It is noted that the Russian Defence Ministry and other Russian sources claimed that Ukrainian forces were conducting offensive operations along the border of Kharkiv and Luhansk oblasts.

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Ukraine could have more battle tanks than Russia for the first time ever, new data suggests

Ukraine could have more battle tanks than Russia for the first time ever, new data suggests

Ukraine could have more tanks than Russia for the first time, new data suggests.

While Ukraine's tank fleet has continued to grow throughout the war, Russia's has depleted.

However, a land warfare specialist said this might not be enough of an advantage for Ukraine.

Ukraine could now be able to field more battle tanks than Russia for the first time, new data suggests.

A compilation of data from various sources suggests Ukraine currently has roughly 1,500 active tanks compared with around 1,400 for Russia, Bloomberg reported.

Russia began the war with 3,417 tanks available. At the same time, Ukraine had 987, according to The Military Balance for 2023, an annual report by the International Institute for Strategic Studies think tank which looks at military equipment inventories.

While Ukraine's tank fleet has continued to grow, Russia's has been severely depleted.

Ukraine has received 471 additional tanks since the war began last year, and a further 286 are still due to arrive, per data published by the Kiel Institute for the World Economy,

During the conflict, Ukraine has lost 558 tanks and captured 546, data from open-source outlet Oryx suggests.

Meanwhile, Oryx estimates Russia has lost 2,091 tanks in the war.

This is likely a conservative estimate, as the outlet only counts destroyed vehicles of which photo or video graphics evidence is available.

A man checks the turret of destroyed Russian tank near a village in Ukraine's Kherson province in November 2022. Celestino Arce/NurPhoto via Getty Images

A top British defense official said this week that Russia has lost "nearly half" of its combat effectiveness since invading Ukraine.

Russia has also been bringing decades-old Soviet tanks out of storage to send to the front lines after suffering heavy equipment losses.

It is difficult to confirm exact figures for equipment as both Russia and Ukraine treat their losses as classified information, and open-source data can only provide rough estimates. It is also unclear how many old, retired tanks Russia has brought out, Bloomberg noted.

On paper, Russia has more than 12,000 tanks, but most are believed to be obsolete and in storage. Many are too dilapidated to be useful for anything except as a source of scrap metal, a May 27 British military intelligence situation estimate said, per The Kyiv Post.

While the parity of tanks on the battlefield could be promising for Ukraine, Yohann Michel, a land warfare specialist at the IISS, warned Bloomberg that parity might not be enough.

"Even if the situation is more equal in numbers, that isn't how it works," Michel said. "The problem is that Ukraine now needs to regain territory, so it's on the offensive against well-prepared defenses, and for that, you need a strong advantage."

Read the original article on Business Insider
Ukraine marks 500 days of war by admitting it blew up Russia's bridge to Crimea

Ukraine marks 500 days of war by admitting it blew up Russia's bridge to Crimea

Smoke billows from a fire on the bridge linking Crimea to Russia after a truck exploded, near Kerch on October 8, 2022. AFP via Getty Images

A Ukrainian official says the bridge to Crimea was targeted last year to disrupt Russian logistics.

The bridge was seriously damaged after a truck rigged with explosives blew up while traveling on it.

At the time, Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Ukraine of carrying out a "terrorist act."

A top Ukrainian defense official marked 500 days of war on Saturday by admitting responsibility for an attack last year that seriously damaged Russia's bridge to the occupied Crimea Peninsula.

In a post on Telegram, Hanna Maliar, Ukraine's deputy defense minister, wrote that the Kerch Strait Bridge  which opened four years after Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014  was targeted to disrupt Moscow's supply lines. She noted that Saturday marks 273 days since the "first strike" on the bridge, which was carried out "in order to break the logistics of the Russians."

Ukrainian responsibility for the October 2022 attack has been an open secret.

Last fall, The New York Times published an investigation, "How Ukraine Blew Up a Key Russian Bridge," that detailed how Ukrainian operatives loaded a truck with explosives and blew it up as it was halfway across the bridge, killing four people and seriously damaging the structure in what Russian President Vladimir Putin termed a "terrorist act."

Although Ukrainian officials did not previously claim responsibility, they did hint at it.

"Everything illegal must be destroyed, everything stolen must be returned to Ukraine, everything occupied by Russia must be expelled," Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, wrote on Twitter last October.

In addition to proving a humiliation for Russian leadership  Putin himself attended the bridge's opening ceremony in 2018  the strike impeded Moscow's efforts to transport supplies to Crimea. Vehicle traffic was only fully restored in February, The Moscow Times reported, with rail service returning in May.

Have a news tip? Email this reporter: cdavis@insider.com

Read the original article on Business Insider
Ukraine and Netherlands agree on schedule of F-16 pilot training

Ukraine and Netherlands agree on schedule of F-16 pilot training

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte, who resigned on July 7, discussed the start of F-16 training for pilots of the Ukrainian Air Force, the Ukrainian leader wrote on Twitter.

Read also: Dozens of Ukrainian pilots to start training to fly F-16s, air force reveals

"Defense cooperation was discussed, the dates for starting the training mission for Ukrainian F-16 pilots were set," the President said.

Zelenskyy and Rutte also reaffirmed their common position on Kyiv's path toward the European Union and NATO ahead of the Alliance summit in Vilnius.

Ukraine has long been asking Western countries to create a coalition of nations ready to send modern fighter aircraft. Eight European countries have already joined the "fighter jet coalition" for Ukraine: The United Kingdom, Poland, Denmark, Sweden, Belgium, Portugal, France, and the Netherlands.

Amsterdam was one of the first to support the idea to start training Ukrainian Air Force pilots on F-16s.

Later, Romania initiated opening a center for training of Ukrainian pilots. On June 6, Prague announced it would donate attack helicopters, largecaliber ammunition, and is ready to help train pilots for F-16s.

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
Snake Island 500 days Zelensky

Five-hundred grueling days have passed since the world watched Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine begin in a volley of cruise missile strikes and attacks into the country on the ground from multiple directions.

Since then and at great cost, Ukraine has retaken much of the territory lost in those first days and weeks, and continues its counteroffensive in the hopes of retaking the remaining occupied territories in southern and eastern Ukraine. In a remarkable demonstration of how the war has turned, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the remote outpost of Snake Island, a place Ukrainian troops retook from Russian forces barely a year earlier.

https://twitter.com/andriyyermak/status/1677560007737450497

Zelensky and a cadre of Ukrainian troops laid flowers at a memorial in the islands ruins, making an address under wind-whipped Ukrainian flags with the sun low on the horizon. The president also floated wreaths into the waters off the islands rocky shoreline, ruined buildings visible on the cliffs above.

Today, we are on Snake Island  which will never be conquered by the occupier like the whole of Ukraine because we are a country of the brave, Zelensky said. Today, we honored here our Ukrainian heroes all the soldiers who fought for the island, who liberated it. And although this is a small piece of land in the middle of our Black Sea, it is great proof that Ukraine will regain every bit of its territory.

I want to thank - from here, from this place of victory, each of our soldiers for these 500 days. Our armed forces, our intelligence, the national guard, our border guards, the security service of Ukraine, the national police, our liaison officers, our people, I thank you. Thank you to everyone who fights for Ukraine.

In the wars first hours, the island saw the birth of phrase Russian warship, go fuck yourself, a now-legendary act of defiance by the 13 Ukrainian Border Guards stationed on the island at the time. Battles on and around the island soon became some of Ukraines most stunning operations as the war dragged on into last summer. These included daring airstrikes, and ultimately its liberation.

Its particularly notable that Ukrainian commanders, and Zelensky himself, considered it safe to make the voyage out to the island. While Russian intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) priorities have shifted away from the island since abandoning it last summer, the high profile trip underlines Russias shrinking naval and air power domination in the western Black Sea.

Other commemorations marking 500 days of war came from many Ukrainian sources, including the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, the British Ministry of Defense, and the Ukrainian news outlet UNITED24.

https://twitter.com/DefenceU/status/1677722965478129664 https://twitter.com/DefenceHQ/status/1677603591018758145 https://twitter.com/United24media/status/1677677166903869441

Although considerable uncertainty remains about Ukraines future and how this war ends, it is nothing short of remarkable to see how Ukraine has changed in 500 days, and Zelensky himself is no exception. A side-by-side comparison shows how 500 days of war has hardened the former comedian into a charismatic wartime leader.

https://twitter.com/region776/status/1677612858383958018

Before we head into the latest updates from Ukraine, The War Zone readers can catch up on our previous rolling coverage here.

The Latest

Ukrainian forces made tactically significant gains in the Bakhmut area amid ongoing counteroffensive operations throughout the frontline, per the Institute for the Study of War (@TheStudyofWar) campaign assessment for July 7. Geolocated footage put Ukrainian troops within two kilometers of Bakhmut near the village of Yahidne.

https://twitter.com/TheStudyofWar/status/1677482642470584320 https://twitter.com/TheStudyofWar/status/1677466327777439744

These splintered trenches hosted brutal static warfare mere months ago, with the Ukrainians now on the offensive storming the Russian lines one dugout barrier at a time.

https://twitter.com/NOELreports/status/1677593791086166016

In its latest intelligence update on the war, the British Ministry of Defense noted fighting around Bakhmut has become some of the most intense along the entire front. Steady Ukrainian gains to the north and south of the ruined town, along with blistering Ukrainian artillery fire, have tanked Russian morale in the area.

However, incredible Russian losses during its months-long campaign against the Ukrainian bastion have likely made it politically unacceptable to retreat from Bakhmut. The captured town, or whats left of it, is one of the few Russian territorial gains in the last 12 months of war, but there are scarce if any available reserves for Moscow to commit to its defense, according to the UK MoD.

https://twitter.com/DefenceHQ/status/1677555983709609984

ISW reports that Russian occupation authorities continue restricting monitors access to the facility. Specifically, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors have not been allowed to inspect the reactor buildings roofs, where Ukraine has claimed Russian forces have put explosive devices.

https://twitter.com/TheStudyofWar/status/1677486425451687936

Ukrainian military intelligence further claimed Saturday that occupying Russian troops have mined much of the facility and are still bringing explosives to the plant.

https://twitter.com/DI_Ukraine/status/1677590467892895747

The nearby Kakhovka Reservoir has thoroughly dried out after draining following the dams destruction in early June, as video from the former lakebed shows a shipwreck and nearby dock amid the cracked mud bottom.

https://twitter.com/NOELreports/status/1677716132491321347

On the frontline around Zaporizhzhia, Ukrainian counter-battery fire continues to strike Russian artillery groups. Video shows the destruction of two Russian BM-27 Uragan 220mm multiple rocket launchers, reportedly with GMLRS rockets, along the frontline.

https://twitter.com/Archer83Able/status/1677660505090019332

While Ukrainian artillery hunts Russian fire support, engineers with mine-clearing vehicles are becoming a common sight along the southern frontline. Video from the area shows three types of armored demining vehicles, a Leopard 1-based Wisent 1 MC, a UR-77 Meteorit, and a Leopard 2R with a mine plow.

https://twitter.com/NOELreports/status/1677585644015452161

Their activities are for good reason, as video shows a failed Ukrainian attack that withered into retreat after the column of armored vehicles entered a Russian minefield. The mix of tanks and MaxxPro MRAPs struck the mines and were forced to withdraw.

https://twitter.com/clashreport/status/1677594198487302145?s=46\u0026t=WGR8ATVuYlDW934sMHUUhQ

On the topic of Ukrainian artillery, pictures have appeared of the domestically produced 2S22 Bohdana 155mm self-propelled howitzer in service with Ukraines 57th Motorized Brigade.

https://twitter.com/Osinttechnical/status/1677476236950491136

Ukraine also appears to have used a captured Russian TOS-1A thermobaric rocket launcher against Russian positions, but its unclear whether they have potentially adapted nonstandard munitions in lieu of the weapons devastating warheads.

https://twitter.com/clashreport/status/1677774357454569476?s=20 https://twitter.com/DefMon3/status/1677776814415003648?s=20

Video also shows a German-supplied PzH 2000 howitzer on the move, offering a close-up view of its rubber-like hedgehog armor plates on top of the turret.

https://twitter.com/deaidua/status/1677653001576538112

Fallout from Wagner PMC leader Yevgeny Prigozhins abortive coup on June 24 continues, with reporting from Politico that the German Federal Intelligence Service (BND) intercepted the call from Prigozhin to Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko. The Germans reportedly listened in while Lukashenko negotiated with Prigozhin on Putins behalf as Wagner PMC vehicles marched on Moscow.

https://twitter.com/shashj/status/1677662169494683651

Reuters also reported this week that Syrian authorities and Russian military commanders took measures to prevent the Wagner rebellion from spreading to Russian forces in Syria, including blocking phone lines and summoning mercenary commanders.

https://twitter.com/ryankakiuchan/status/1677364656867020801?s=46\u0026t=WGR8ATVuYlDW934sMHUUhQ

BBC Russia Editor Steve Rosenberg and other journalists toured a disused Belarusian Army base that Lukashenko has offered to house Wagner PMC fighters. Tents for some 5,000 soldiers recently went up at the former base near the remote village of Tsel in central Belarus.

https://twitter.com/BBCSteveR/status/1677567464161288194

Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs spokesman Anton Gerashchenko posted a video from TikTok purporting to show a Wagner PMC convoy entering Belarus, but The War Zone cannot independently confirm the veracity of that claim. It comes the same day Prigozhin ally Anton Yelizarov claimed the mercenary group will encamp in Belarus in early August after a vacation.

https://twitter.com/Gerashchenko_en/status/1677754477959430145 https://twitter.com/SamRamani2/status/1677708840588943360

Commanders of the Ukrainian Azov Regiment, taken prisoner after the siege of the Azovstal Steel Plant in Mariupol, returned from Turkey to Ukraine. The five POWs were released to Turkey in September, reportedly under the condition they remain in Turkey until the wars end.

https://twitter.com/Archer83Able/status/1677672257290731521?s=20

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has since claimed that both the Ukrainian and Turkish governments have violated those agreed-upon terms and that Russia was not informed of the transfer.

https://twitter.com/Archer83Able/status/1677726047318450177?s=20

A new photo shows a Polish-supplied transporter truck hauling a pair of S-125 Newa SC (SA-3 Goa) surface-to-air missiles in Ukrainian service.

https://twitter.com/magictouch190/status/1677695089299140608

Theres a new Frankenstein vehicle in Ukrainian service, it appears. A picture from December shows an off-road vehicle with the front clip of a Russian GAZ-69 truck, the cabin off a Nissan Patrol sport-utility vehicle, and the bed and rollbar of some other 4x4 truck.

https://twitter.com/elmustek/status/1677694526389977089

Ahead of the looming NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, a skyscraper in the Lithuanian capital bears a specific message for Russian President Vladimir Putin. Above the Lithuanian, Ukrainian, and NATO flags, a banner reads Putin, The Hague is Waiting For You in reference to a war crimes trial.

https://twitter.com/LivFaustDieJung/status/1677317853492420613

Thats all for now. We will update this story when there is more news to report on Ukraine.

Contact the author: stetson.payne@thewarzone.com
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, center left, stands next to Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, the spiritual leader of the world's Orthodox Christians, at the Patriarchal Church of St. George in Istanbul, Turkey, Saturday, July 8, 2023. Zelenskyy attended a memorial ceremony for the victims of the war in Ukraine led by Patriarch Bartholomew I. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

KYIV, Ukraine (AP)  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy marked the 500th day of the war Saturday by hailing the country's soldiers in a video from a Black Sea island that became the symbol of Ukraines resilience in the face of the Russian invasion.

Speaking from Snake Island, Zelenskyy honored the Ukrainian soldiers who fought for the island and all other defenders of the country, saying that reclaiming control of the island is a great proof that Ukraine will regain every bit of its territory.

I want to thank  from here, from this place of victory  each of our soldiers for these 500 days, Zelenskyy said. Thank you to everyone who fights for Ukraine!

It was unclear when the video was filmed. Zelenskyy was returning from Turkey on Saturday.

He announced that five commanders of the defense of the Azovstal steel plant, a grueling months-long siege early in the war, were returning on the plane with him.

The sprawling steelworks was the last bastion of resistance as Russian forces took control of the port city of Mariupol. Its defenders became renowned among Ukrainians for holding out in wretched conditions in the plant's tunnels and corridors.

Azovstal's more than 2,000 defenders left the steelworks in mid-May 2022 and were taken into Russian captivity. The five leaders, some of whom were part of the Azov national guard regiment that Russia denounces as neo-Nazi, were freed in a September prisoner swap and taken to Turkey.

Under the exchange, the leaders were to remain in Turkey until the end of the war under the Turkish president's protection. There was no immediate official explanation from Ankara or Kyiv about why they were allowed to return to Ukraine.

"The return of the leaders of the Azovites from Turkey to Ukraine is nothing more than a direct violation of the terms of the existing agreements. Moreover, in this case, the terms were violated by both the Ukrainian side and the Turkish side, said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

Russian forces took control of Snake Island on Feb. 24, 2022, the day Moscow launched its invasion, in the apparent hope of using it as a staging ground for an assault on Odesa, Ukraines biggest port and the headquarters of its navy.

The island took on legendary significance for Ukraines resistance, when Ukrainian troops there reportedly received a demand from a Russian warship to surrender or be bombed. The answer supposedly came back, Go (expletive) yourself.

The islands Ukrainian defenders were captured but later freed as part of a prisoner exchange. After the island was taken, the Ukrainian military heavily bombarded the small Russian garrison there, forcing the Russians to pull back on June 30, 2022. The Russian retreat reduced the threat of a seaborne Russian attack on Odesa and helped pave the way for a deal to resume Ukrainian grain exports.

Let the freedom that all our heroes of different times wanted for Ukraine and that must be won right now be a tribute to all those who gave their lives for Ukraine, Zelenskyy said. We will definitely win!

Intense battles continued to rage Saturday in the country's east and south as Ukrainian forces pressed their attacks against multi-layered Russian defenses in the initial stages of their counteroffensive.

Ukraine's interior ministry said that a Russian rocket strike on the town of Lyman killed eight civilians and wounded 13 others early Saturday. Pavlo Kyrylenko, the governor of the eastern Donetsk region, posted images showing some of the dead, including a body lying under a bicycle and body fragments on the pavement next to a damaged vehicle, saying that the Russian terrorists are continuing to strike civilians in Donetsk.

Lyman is a few kilometers (miles) from the front line, where Russian troops have recently intensified fighting in the forests of Kreminna.

The U.K. Ministry of Defense said in its latest intelligence update that the eastern town of Bakhmut that was captured by the Russians in May has seen some of the most intense fighting along the front during the last week.

It said that Ukrainian forces have made steady gains to both the north and south of Bakhmut, noting that Russian defenders are highly likely struggling with poor morale, a mix of disparate units and a limited ability to find and strike Ukrainian artillery.

Amid the fighting, Russia and Ukraine accused each other of planning to sabotage the Russia-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which is Europe's largest, fueling fears of a radiation catastrophe. Ukraine's military intelligence claimed Saturday that Russian troops have planted more mines around the plant, a claim that couldn't be independently verified.

The head of the United Nations nuclear agency, Rafael Mariano Grossi, told The Associated Press on Friday that the International Atomic Energy Agency experts had recently gained access to more of the site, including the cooling pond and fuel storage areas, and found no mines there. Grossi said he was still pushing for access to the rooftops of reactors where Ukrainian officials accused Russia of planting explosives.

On Saturday, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu was shown visiting firing ranges where volunteer soldiers are being trained, a trip that comes two weeks after an abortive mutiny launched by mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, whose Wagner troops marched on Moscow in a bid to oust Shoigu.

Prigozhin agreed to end the mutiny, which represented the biggest threat to Russian President Vladimir Putin in his more than two decades in power, in exchange for an amnesty for himself and his troops and permission to move to Belarus. On Saturday, Russian messaging app channels ran comments by one of Wagner's commanders, Anton Yelizarov, who said that the mercenaries had taken leave but would eventually deploy to Belarus.

Pitched battles along the front line in Ukraine are raging as NATO leaders are set to meet in Vilnius for a two-day summit next week to offer more help in modernizing Ukraines armed forces, create a new high-level forum for consultations and reaffirm that it will join their alliance one day.

Ahead of the NATO summit, the U.S. has announced that it will provide Ukraine with cluster munitions, a move that President Joe Biden described as a difficult decision. Two-thirds of NATO members have banned the munitions, which have a track record of causing many civilian casualties, but the U.S. sees their delivery as a way to help bolster Ukraine's offensive and push through Russian front lines.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov hailed the U.S. move, saying that the delivery of cluster munitions would help the country de-occupy its territories while saving the lives of the Ukrainian soldiers.

Reznikov vowed that Ukraine would use the munitions only for the de-occupation of its territory and would not fire them at Russia's proper territory. He also noted that the Ukrainian military would not use cluster munitions in urban areas to avoid hurting civilians.

___

Follow APs coverage of the war in Ukraine: https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
Ukraine's Zelenskiy visits symbolic Snake Island to mark 500 days of war Ukraine's President Zelenskiy visits Snake Island in the Black Sea

(Reuters) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy visited Snake Island, a rocky outcrop on the Black Sea, to mark 500 days since Russia's invasion, a video issued by his office on Saturday showed.

The tiny island became a symbol of Ukrainian defiance on the war's first day after Ukrainian guards famously refused to surrender to Russian forces.

Zelenskiy, wearing a black hoodie and camouflage bullet-proof vest, laid flowers to honour those who defended the island, and thanked all the soldiers who have fought for Ukraine in the months since Russia's Feb. 24, 2022 invasion.

"I want to thank - exactly from here, from this place of victory - each of our soldiers for these 500 days," said Zelenskiy, in a video posted on his Telegram channel.

"And may the freedom that all of our heroes of different times wanted for Ukraine, and which we have to win now, be a tribute to all those who gave their lives for Ukraine."

The strategic island overlooks sea lanes to Odesa, Ukraine's main Black Sea port.

In the first hours of the invasion, Russian officers on the Black Sea Fleet flagship Moskva radioed Ukrainian guards on the barren outcrop, ordering them to surrender or die.

One of them radioed back "Russian warship, go fuck yourself."

The phrase became a national slogan, depicted on Ukrainian billboards, T-shirts, and eventually a postage stamp.

On April 14, 2022, two Ukrainian missiles struck the Moskva, the biggest warship sunk in combat for 40 years. Russia says one sailor was killed in an accident. Western experts say they believe around half of the crew of about 450 perished at sea.

On June 30, Russia abandoned Snake Island after taking heavy losses trying to defend it. It called its withdrawal another "goodwill gesture"

"Although it is a small piece of land in the middle of our Black Sea, it is a great proof that Ukraine will regain every part of its territory," Zelenskiy said.

Russia still holds swathes of territory in eastern and southern Ukraine but Zelenskiy said on Monday his troops had made some progress gaining ground in a counteroffensive after a "difficult week".

(Editing by Ros Russell, William Maclean)
UNC to offer free tuition to some students whose families make less than $80,000 a year

The University of North Carolina Chapel Hill announced that it would be providing free tuition and fees to students from North Carolina families making less than $80,000 a year.

Free tuition will be offered beginning with the incoming 2024 undergraduate class.

The announcement comes a week after the U.S. Supreme Court set new limits on affirmative action, a policy in which universities took into consideration a student's race or ethnicity during the admissions process. The policy was part of an effort to diversify college campuses.

PHOTO: People walk on the campus of the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill on June 29, 2023, in Chapel Hill, N.C. (Eros Hoagland/Getty Images)

The Supreme Court found that Harvard University and UNC violated the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment through their race-conscious admissions programs. The two universities had been sued by a conservative group called Students for Fair Admissions alleging the universities intentionally discriminated against Asian American applicants.

MORE: Supreme Court effectively ends affirmative action at colleges in landmark ruling

UNC said the decision keeping universities from being able to consider race while making admissions decisions is a "fundamental change" in the law that governs the admissions process for UNC and thousands of other universities.

"Our responsibility to comply with the law does not mean we will abandon our fundamental values as a university. We are and will remain passionately public, and we will ensure that every student who earns admission to Carolina can come here and thrive. Our Universitys commitment to access and affordability and supporting a culture of belonging for everyone does not change with last weeks ruling," UNC Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz said in a statement.

PHOTO: People walk on the campus of the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill on June 29, 2023, in Chapel Hill, N.C. (Eros Hoagland/Getty Images)

"We want to make sure students know financial constraints should not stand in the way of their dreams," Guskiewicz said.

MORE: Most Americans approve of Supreme Court decision restricting use of race in college admissions: POLL

The university also announced it has hired additional outreach officers for its admissions team to broaden access to future students.

"They are serving in under-resourced communities to spread awareness of our affordability and recruit students from across the state. We want the best students to know that a UNC-Chapel Hill education is a possibility for them," Guskiewicz said.

UNC to offer free tuition to some students whose families make less than $80,000 a year originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
Editors Note: Want to save a piece of the Eras Tour? Sign up here to have a special-edition digital Kansas City Star front page from Taylor Swifts Kansas City concerts sent directly to your inbox. Follow our live coverage from Night 2 here.

A Swiftie from Illinois was left stranded in Kansas City Thursday after her hotel  booked about a month and a half in advance for the Taylor Swift Eras Tour  appeared closed.

A sign on the door read Do not enter and Unsafe for occupancy.

Cassidy Beshel, 22, traveled 403 miles by plane to see one of her favorite artists perform in Kansas City.

But once her Uber driver arrived at the Countryside Inn and Suites in Independence, where she and her best friend were supposed to stay for three nights, she started to panic. The lights were turned off, and paper signs explaining the building was unsafe were taped to the doors. She couldnt get the website for the hotel to even load.

Worse, she had received no advance notification of the closure after booking the hotel online. No one picked up the hotel phone when she tried to call.

Luckily, she said, her Uber driver dropped her off at another nearby hotel to find a place to stay for the remainder of the trip. And she did. Three different hotels to cover all three nights  including one about 30 minutes away from Arrowhead Stadium and another about 45 minutes away.

It wasnt ideal, however, both girls said they just felt lucky they were able to find a place to stay. Since Taylor Swifts announcement that she would perform in Kansas City, hotels in the area have been fully booked for this weekend.

After Beshel had found out that she wasnt going to be able to stay at the Independence hotel, she went to TikTok and posted a video about it. One comment said the exact same hotel had canceled on them one day before she arrived.

Another TikTok user commented that she should try to talk to corporate management. However, she said since the hotel never charged her and she was able to find other places to stay, she is probably just going to move on.

The hotel has a 2.6 star rating on Google with 303 reviews.

The signs taped to the door were from Independence Community Development, which handles building inspections.

Riley Newton, assistant communications manager for the city, explained in an email to The Star that the hotel closed April 19 after an inspection that found health and safety concerns including a leaking fire line that was affecting surrounding businesses.

On Friday, the city reinspected the hotel and found it did not correct multiple violations, she wrote.

To ensure public health and safety, the City of Independence is not allowing the hotel to re-open at this time but will continue to work with the owner to achieve compliance, Newton wrote.
US businesses were largest tax contributors to Russia among international companies in 2022: report

U.S. companies in Russia were the largest tax contributors to the Russian government among corporations based in any other country last year as Moscows war in Ukraine progressed, according to a new report.

The report from B4Ukraine, a coalition of civil society groups working to cut off Russias ability to continue the war, and the Kyiv School of Economics found American firms paid $712 million in taxes in Russia in 2022, having brought in the largest total revenue of any foreign country.

The report states that the companies that continue to be present in Russia and thus pay taxes are indirectly financing the war in Ukraine and the severe breaches of human rights and humanitarian law that have been happening in the conflict.

Global corporations, including those that left the country since the full-scale invasion began last February, made more than $213.9 billion in revenue through their local Russian businesses, including $14.1 billion in profits, and paid $3.5 billion in taxes in 2022. The tax projection is likely a significant underestimate of the total amount that has been paid, the report states.

German firms were the second-largest tax contributors to Russia, paying $402 million in taxes on profits last year.

The industries that received the largest amount of revenue from their businesses in Russia were alcohol and tobacco, fact-moving consumer goods and automobiles.

Companies with headquarters in the Group of Seven (G7), a group of the worlds seven largest democratic economies, and the European Union were the highest-profit taxpayers in Russia and made up 16 of its top 20 contributors.

The report states that companies often argue that their products are essential as a defense for staying in Russia amid the war. But the authors argue that the companies often stretch the definition to include products like shampoo and pastries.

The report states many companies declined to tell B4Ukraine which products of theirs are considered essential.

Hundreds of U.S. companies left Russia soon after the war began, but many have also chosen to stay.

The authors lay out several recommendations for governments and companies to take action to cut the indirect financial support for Russias war.

They said governments of the G7 and its allies should look beyond companies complying with sanctions to create a clearer standard for businesses conduct and promote ethical business practices in line with internationally accepted human rights principles. They should also create financial penalties and restrict companies access to contracts if they continue to remain in Russia, according to the report.

The report calls on firms operating in Russia to immediately cut ties to the country, clearly define the criteria for determining that their products are essential for the Russian people and demonstrate public support for Ukraine.

The report came ahead of the 500th day of the war on Saturday.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen (C) speaks during a lunch meeting with women economists in Beijing on July 8, 2023. (Pedro PARDO)

Washington and Beijing should communicate "directly" on concerns about specific economic practices, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Saturday, urging greater cooperation between the world's two biggest economies despite fraught ties.

Yellen is on a four-day trip to Beijing as the United States seeks to cool tensions and stress areas of collaboration between the two countries.

In a meeting Saturday with Vice Premier He Lifeng, she pointed to record bilateral trade last year as proof of just how intertwined they are.

"There is ample room for our firms to engage in trade and investment," she told He at the Diaoyutai state guesthouse.

"Where we have concerns about specific economic practices, we should and will communicate them directly."

Vice Premier He said Beijing regretted that "unexpected incidents" had derailed efforts to improve ties following a meeting between Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping in November.

"There were some problems in the implementation of the consensus reached by the two heads of state," he said.

But following Yellen's visit this week and her Friday meeting with Premier Li Qiang, he added, "China will earnestly implement the consensus reached between you and Premier Li Qiang and turn it into concrete actions".

Her bilateral meeting with He lasted around five hours and was followed by a dinner. A Treasury statement said she raised issues of concern in the "candid" talks, while discussing the US approach of healthy economic competition.

China's official Xinhua news agency added that China "expressed concern" on US sanctions and restrictions but both sides agreed to boost cooperation on global challenges.

Yellen also met the party chief of China's central bank Pan Gongsheng on Friday, speaking on global macroeconomic and financial developments, the Treasury added in a separate statement.

While emphasising areas where the two powers need to work together, she has defended US moves to "de-risk" its economy from China, and tackle what Washington sees as unfair treatment of American businesses.

Yellen told a roundtable of experts in China on Saturday that collaboration between the two powers on climate financing was "critical".

"As the world's two largest emitters of greenhouse gases and the largest investors in renewable energy, we have both a joint responsibility - and ability - to lead the way," she said.

"The United States and China must work together to address this existential threat," she added.

Saying that "climate finance should be targeted efficiently and effectively", she pressed China to support existing multilateral institutions such as the Green Climate Fund.

"Both our economies seek to support partners in emerging markets and developing countries as they strive to meet their climate goals, and I believe continued US-China cooperation on climate finance is critical."

China last year briefly said it was suspending talks on the climate after Nancy Pelosi, then speaker of the House of Representatives, visited Taiwan -- the self-ruled democracy claimed by Beijing.

But there are signs talks could restart, with US envoy John Kerry due to travel to China to discuss cooperation on climate change.

Yellen also said in her meeting with Chinese Premier Li that it was key for both countries to closely communicate on global economic affairs, while making joint efforts on international challenges such as debt distress.

- 'Big ticket items' -

The Treasury chief's high-level meeting with Li likely "set the tone" for the rest of her visit, said Lyu Xiang, a Sino-US relations expert at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

On Saturday, Yellen also spoke with women economists, stressing that the US-China relationship was "rooted in the solid ties" between the American and Chinese people.

"It is important that we keep nurturing and deepening these ties," especially as China reopens its economy after pandemic-related lockdowns, she said, adding that the US may have differences with the Chinese government, but not with its people.

Yellen likely aimed to drill down into more specific issues Saturday, ranging from the macroeconomy to trade and technology exports, Lyu told AFP.

But a key question is whether "big ticket items that are in the category of global challenges", like debt distress and climate cooperation, get bumped to the top of the agenda, said Lindsay Gorman, senior fellow for emerging technologies at the German Marshall Fund of the United States.

Yellen's talks on Saturday followed meetings with US companies, which have expressed concerns ranging from level playing fields with the Chinese to reduced people-to-people exchanges and an uncertain business climate in the face of a national security crackdown.

"Anything that can help make the US-China relationship better, number one, will help the companies here, the investment sentiment, and two, just give us more opportunity to cooperate," Michael Hart, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in China, told AFP.

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Steve Bannon (R), former advisor to former US president Donald Trump, hosts his War Room podcast live during the Conservative Political Action Conference on March 2, 2023 in National Harbor, Maryland (CHIP SOMODEVILLA)

Misinformation about everything from election fraud to Covid-19 vaccines is reaching millions of Americans through a popular but opaque medium: podcasts.

Many podcasts -- on-demand audio programs which users can listen to on smartphones -- bluntly promote false and unproven claims.

The Brookings Institution found "War Room" from former Donald Trump aide Steve Bannon has aired the most false statements, amassing more than 135 million downloads while promoting allegations of vote rigging in the 2020 US election.

Commentator Joe Rogan, whose podcast is the most popular on Spotify, has also used his platform to push unproven Covid-19 treatments.

Analysts say people seek out the shows that reaffirm their own beliefs. But the intimate, conversational format also helps enable the spread of rampant misinformation.

"There's something inherent to the relationship between a host and the audience that lends this level of credibility, this level of trust," Valerie Wirtschafter, a senior data analyst who led the Brookings research, told AFP.

"And the challenge, of course, is that anybody can be a podcaster, anybody can get a microphone and start talking about whatever they want."

Wirtschafter's team analyzed 36,000 episodes and found 70 percent of the most popular US podcasts had shared at least one claim debunked by fact-checkers. Many cast doubt on the 2020 election or the coronavirus pandemic.

Unlike social media platforms, podcasts offer little or no opportunity for listeners to comment or push back on misinformation. This "makes it easier for false, misleading, or unsubstantiated content to spread with little oversight," Brookings researchers said in their February report.

Rogan took down an episode in January after he discussed a fake tweet about Covid-19 vaccines that was falsely attributed to a Florida doctor.

But such a move is rare -- and Wirtschafter said moderation is "really complicated" for technology companies.

-- High listener trust --

A Pew Research Center study published in April found about half of Americans listen to podcasts -- and 87 percent say they expect the information to be accurate, representing a higher level of trust than other media.

"The relationship with the host is different," said Sylvia Chan-Olmsted, director of media consumer research at the University of Florida.

"It's like having a one-on-one conversation; you feel this person is talking to you," she told AFP. "People trust it more, and that's why it's more impactful."

Another podcast cited by Brookings is one of Apple's top news commentary programs from conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who has falsely claimed athletes are dying from Covid-19 vaccines and that election officials in Arizona manipulated 2020 results.

Rogan, Bannon and Kirk did not respond to requests for comment. Bannon told The New York Times he considered his inclusion in the report a "badge of honor" and that what others label misinformation, he calls "truth."

 'Human intelligence' required 

Responding to podcast misinformation is challenging because it is a decentralized, primarily audio-based ecosystem on multiple platforms with different moderation rules.

Spotify, for example, has a policy banning "dangerous" content but also seeks to "respect creator expression." The company stood by Rogan in 2022 when he was accused of spreading coronavirus misinformation.

NewsGuard, a firm that rates the credibility of websites, announced in May it would begin evaluating the trustworthiness of popular podcasts.

NewsGuard said it will release the ratings for some 200 podcasts in 2024, giving more transparency to listeners and enabling advertisers to avoid podcasts featuring misinformation or content at odds with their brand.

Editorial Director Eric Effron said rating podcasts is "more challenging" than other content because of the audio format, which requires time to listen and to examine transcripts.

"This takes a tremendous investment because we use human intelligence," Effron said.

Responsibility for countering podcast misinformation is murky, with some pointing to the hosting platforms or recommendation algorithms from tech giants like Apple, Google and Facebook.

Wirtschafter, the Brookings analyst, said governments, podcast hosts and listeners can all work to improve information quality.

"Taking things down is maybe not the best solution," she said. "But adding more context, providing a richer environment so that people actually can explore evidence or have conversations I think would be extremely useful."

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Hemp shoes make strides abroad, reviving craft at home

Xinhua) 10:10, July 08, 2023

Guo Juan and her husband Niu Junjun check the quality of soles at the factory in Gangu County, northwest China's Gansu Province, Jan. 10, 2020. (Xinhua/Fan Peishen)

LANZHOU, July 7 (Xinhua) -- At a workshop in northwest China's Gansu Province, Wang Xiaoxia is busy turning hemp fiber into twine using a traditional wooden tool. The twine will later be turned into hemp shoes, a traditional garment that has come into fashion in overseas markets, including Japan, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia and Italy.

"I inherited this tool from my mom. In the past, almost every household made and wore hemp shoes in our village," said the 57-year-old worker.

Wang was overjoyed when she learned that the old handicraft was now popular among foreigners, bringing her a monthly income of over 2,000 yuan (about 278 U.S. dollars).

China is one of the first countries to cultivate hemp plants for making shoes. With its good moisture absorbance and durability, hemp has been used to make ropes, shoes and hats in China since ancient times.

The tradition of making hemp shoes dates back a thousand years in Gangu County in the city of Tianshui, Gansu Province. In 2017, the traditional craft was recognized as an item of intangible cultural heritage within the province.

The Gansu Yaluren hemp handicraft development company, where Wang works, participated in this year's Canton Fair, also known as the China Import and Export Fair.

Niu Junjun, the company's chairman, is sanguine about their products' sales prospects overseas. "In the first quarter of this year, we sold more than 7 million yuan of hemp products. Many foreign trade dealers are interested in our products," he said.

Niu, a native in Gangu County, has grown up wearing local hemp shoes. During his college years, he started to sell local specialties online via China's leading e-commerce platform Taobao. "Hemp shoes were the most sought-after for their unique design and material," he recalled.

In 2011, Niu and his wife Guo Juan returned to his hometown, specializing in selling hemp shoes while learning the old craft from scratch.

"The hemp shoes I wore when I was a child were comfortable enough, but the design was outdated. The key to success is more investment in developing new shoes and making innovations," Niu said. The company now pools more than 300,000 yuan annually into developing new designs.

With more than 180 different styles launched, the company's hemp shoes have become a trendy item. In 2021, in collaboration with the renowned Palace Museum, the company designed and rolled out hand-made hemp shoes with signature elements from the museum's cultural relics.

The local government has also provided the company with funding of more than 1 million yuan every year to support their vocational skills training and the further development of relevant industries.

Since 2015, the company has launched free training courses for local residents, helping cultivate a group of inheritors of the ancient craft. "We are in charge of providing local women with raw materials, the necessary techniques and orders for hemp products. It is a 'one-stop' service," said Guo.

(Web editor: Cai Hairuo, Hongyu)
The US says the cluster bombs it's giving Ukraine fail less than 3% of the time. Experience suggests the real number is far higher.

The remains of artillery shells and missiles including cluster munitions are stored on December 18, 2022 in Toretsk, Ukraine. Photo by Pierre Crom/Getty Images

The United States is providing Ukraine with cluster bombs it says have a failure rate of 2.35%.

But past use suggests "failure rates of 10% to 30%," according to a report prepared for Congress.

Cluster bombs that fail to explode can pose a risk to civilians for decades to come.

The US claim that the cluster bombs it's sending to Ukraine have a failure rate of less than 3% is unlikely to hold up under real-world conditions, with past use of the widely-banned weapon suggesting as many as 3 in 10 fail to explode.

At a press conference on Friday announcing the transfer, Colin Kahl, US undersecretary of defense for policy, said that the "dud" rate for US-provided 155-millimeter DPICMs, or dual-purpose improved conventional munitions, is just 2.35%. He compared it to the alleged failure rate for Russian cluster munitions of 30-40%.

"I'm as concerned about the humanitarian circumstance as anybody," Kahl said. "But the worst thing for civilians in Ukraine is for Russia to win the war."

The failure rate is important because each cluster bomb that does not explode immediately is a threat to explode later when the war is over. In Laos, for example, littered with US cluster munitions from the 1970s, thousands of people have died during peacetime from stepping on or picking up unexploded ordinance.

Most countries have banned cluster bombs, citing the long-term threat they pose to civilians. The US, Russia, and Ukraine have not.

'Failure rates of 10% to 30%'

Russia has been criticized not just for using cluster bombs but for deploying them in densely populated civilian areas. Ukraine insists it will only use cluster bombs against military targets, with experts saying that, against entrenched Russian forces in the east of the country, they are a particularly effective substitute for the 155 mm artillery shells it's running out of (and which the US cannot manufacture quickly enough to replace).

But as The New York Times reported, past use of the particular munitions the United States is providing suggests a far greater potential harm to civilians in the aftermath of any battle, with an Army study from 2000 indicating a failure rate of up to 14% for artillery-fired M42/46 submunitions.

The US military has said it will select from its stockpile only cluster munitions that have been assessed to have a failure rate of 2.35%. But even so, there has been a gap between past claims of the weapon's effectiveness and actual experience.

A 2022 report from the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service noted that, despite manufacturers claiming a dud rate of just 2 to 5% for their cluster munitions, experts in real-world cleanup operations "have frequently reported failure rates of 10% to 30%."

Defenders of the decision to send Ukraine cluster bombs argue that the weapons will ultimately save lives by pushing back a Russian occupation force accused of war crimes, including torturing and killing civilians.

In an interview with CNN on Friday, President Joe Biden said the decision to send Ukraine cluster bombs was "very difficult" but cast it as necessary given that the country is running out of alternatives, namely the artillery shells that the United States had previously provided.

"This is a war relating to munitions," he said. "And they're running out of that ammunition."

Have a news tip? Email this reporter: cdavis@insider.com

Read the original article on Business Insider
US Treasury chief Yellen appeals to China for cooperation on climate and other global challenges

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, center, speaks during her meeting with China's Vice Premier He Lifeng at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, Saturday, July 8, 2023. (Pedro Pardo/Pool Photo via AP)

BEIJING (AP)  Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen appealed to China on Saturday for cooperation on climate change and other global challenges and not to let disagreements about trade and other irritants derail relations.

In a meeting with her Chinese counterpart, Vice Premier He Lifeng, Yellen defended U.S. restrictions on technology exports that rankle Beijing. She said the two governments shouldnt let such disagreements disrupt thriving economic and financial relations.

We also face important global challenges, such as debt distress in emerging markets and developing countries and climate change, Yellen said. We have a duty to both our own economies and to other countries to cooperate.

Yellen is one of a series of U.S. officials who are due to visit Beijing as part of efforts to revive relations that are at their lowest level in decades due to disputes over technology, security, and Taiwan among other issues.

Yellen has received a warm welcome from leaders including Premier Li Qiang, the No. 2 figure in the ruling Communist Party, though they gave no sign they will change policies that irk Washington and other governments.

Treasury officials said the goal of the trip was to encourage communication and no agreements on big disputes were expected. They said Yellen wasn't scheduled to meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

Beijing broke off climate discussions with Washington last August in retaliation for a visit by then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi of the House of Representatives to Taiwan, the self-ruled island democracy claimed by China as part of its territory.

President Joe Bidens climate envoy, John Kerry, is due to become the next senior U.S. official to visit China next week.

China and the United States are the worlds top emitters of climate-changing carbon.

He, who is Xi's top economic adviser and the chief Chinese envoy to the United States on trade and financial issues, said the two governments should return to an agreement reached last November by Biden and Xi to improve relations.

The two countries should act with a sense of responsibility for history, for the people and for the world, the vice premier said.

He added that the United States should adopt a rational and pragmatic attitude and work with China to stay committed to the common understandings by Xi and Biden.

China, which has lent billions of dollars to governments in Asia and Africa under Xi's Belt and Road Initiative to build ports and other infrastructure, signed on an agreement last month to reduce the debts of Zambia in southern Africa. Treasury officials earlier pointed to that as an area where cooperation produced results.

Also Saturday, Yellen met with the incoming governor of Chinas central bank, Pan Gongsheng, and people who work in Chinas climate-related finance industry.

Meeting with He, Yellen repeated her appeal for healthy economic cooperation, a reference to complaints that Beijing violates its free-trade commitments by subsidizing and shielding its companies from competition.

Yellen defended U.S. curbs on technology exports, repeating a theme she touched on in a meeting Friday with Li, the premier.

U.S. limits on Chinese access to processor chips and other technology threaten to delay or derail the ruling party's efforts to develop telecoms, artificial intelligence and other fields. Xi accused Washington in March of trying to hamper Chinas development.

Beijing has been slow to retaliate, possibly to avoid disrupting its own industries. But this week, the government announced unspecified controls on exports of gallium and germanium, metals used in making semiconductors and solar panels.

The United States will take targeted actions to protect our national security, Yellen said. While we may disagree on these actions, we should not allow that disagreement to lead to misunderstandings, particularly those stemming from a lack of communication, which can unnecessarily worsen our bilateral economic and financial relationship.
I used to go to the hospital all the time as a kid. I went back as an adult and realized how brave I was as a child.

The author in 2012. Sama Ansari Pour.

I used to go to the hospital all the time as a kid with hereditary multiple exostoses.

At 19, I decided to stop going to the hospital. I wasn't OK, but I wanted to live with my condition.

At 23, still in pain, I went back to the hospital. I realized how brave I was as a child.

Every minute, a wave of electricity shot through me. I was 16, and laying down in a hospital bed, being electrocuted in 60-second intervals. The doctors wanted to make sure that my nerves could register pain.

I winced at each jolt, but smiled through the pain. It hurt, but it was life.

My mom, on the other hand, was sobbing as she watched me from the opposite side of the room. I tried to console her, telling her through each jolt that I was fine.

Growing up, the hospital was my second home

I have hereditary multiple exostoses (HME), a rare condition that meant I was born with extra lumps of bones. It mainly affected my legs, as my feet were turned inward and I couldn't walk for long. As a result, I spent a lot of my childhood in hospitals.

I've been going to the hospital ever since I could remember, and knew the layout by heart. The blue floors and the antiseptic smell were familiar to me. I practically grew up with the staff, who I had known since I was seven.

I had endless appointments that involved physiotherapy, MRI scans, CT scans, and pain therapy. The doctors would try every method possible to help  leg braces, personalized insoles, and two ankle surgeries when I was 14. These methods helped, but they didn't cure me.

I had two ankle surgeries when I was 14. I was more focused on taking selfies in my hospital bed than caring about the severity of it all. Sama Ansari Pour.

The treatment for HME is typically the surgical removal of painful or uncomfortable growths that can make it hard to move, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine. Another treatment option in children is hemiepiphysiodesis, a growth-plate surgery that can correct misalignment in future growth. I had the latter option when I was 14, where doctors screwed a plate on each ankle to straighten my feet as I grew older.

When I moved away for college, I left hospital appointments behind

The cycle of hospital appointments continued until I was 19. As I was moving away for college, I decided to try and live with my condition.

In the beginning, I loved not going to the hospital every week. It felt great to have more free time.

But still, every step hurt. I had little coordination. I had to skip meeting with friends as I was withering in bed, trying to cope with it all.

I moved back home after I finished college. At 23, I decided I should probably get checked out.

Going back to the hospital as an adult felt different

After years, I went back to the hospital as an adult. But this time, it didn't feel like home. The air was oppressive and the same blue ward was scary.

On my first hospital visit in years, the doctor touched my legs a few times, then told me I needed to immediately get two X-rays and then report back to him. I was filled with dread when he confirmed I actually had a problem. The X-rays showed that one of my extra bones had become more prominent, and made my mobility worse.

The second I put on hospital robes, I started crying uncontrollably. By not going to the hospital, I tricked a part of me into thinking I was actually okay. Everyone's in pain sometimes, right?

Staring at myself in the mirror, it told me the truth  I was still ill. Seven-year-old me would've shrugged her shoulders, but at 23 I was in painful disbelief.

And so the cycle of hospital appointments resumed. Every three weeks, I go to the hospital for an MRI scan or CT scan so the doctors can check on my bones.

I was not happy to be back. Sama Ansari Pour.

I recently went for a full-body MRI scan that would determine where the lumps of bones in my knees were. As I was strapped into a coffin-like contraption and then put in a small hole while the machine blared out deafening sounds, my heart was beating rapidly and I felt breathless.

This was a walk in the park for me as a child, but as an adult I was trying to stop myself from having a panic attack. I ultimately got it together, but leaving the hospital that day made me realize that I was braver as a child than as an adult.

As a kid, having numerous doctors tell me how ill I was didn't faze me. Having surgery and relearning how to walk was okay. Being electrocuted in minute-long intervals was a part of my life I'd gotten used to.

Yet 23-year-old me broke down the second she saw herself in a hospital robe. Now, I have a newfound respect for children  a lot of the time, they're more fearless than adults.

Read the original article on Insider
Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Getty

One of the most common lessons I received as a child was that I cant always get what I want. As for many others, this was a fundamental, if often frustrating, aspect of childhood. Another similarly vital, albeit contradictory childhood lesson, is that if we put our minds to it, we can achieve anything.

So too, in the Israeli-Palestinian arenawhich has just witnessed what may be Israels largest counterterror operation in the West Bank in 20 yearsdo we endlessly repeat the slogan that bringing both sides together for negotiations will lead to a solution.

But despite reinforcing this adage from our youth, and despite decades-long efforts by world leaders, a viable solution remains elusive. So, perhaps its time we ask ourselves an uncomfortable question: What if Israeli-Palestinian peace is impossible?

Israels Security Minister Wants to Cause Havoc. He HasntYet.

Since the breakthroughs of the 1993 and 1995 Oslo Accordsaimed at ending the conflict through a two-state solutionnegotiations between various Palestinian and Israeli administrations have proved futile. Notwithstanding major positive changes sincenamely the normalization of relations between Israel and numerous Arab nationsencouraging developments on the Israeli-Palestinian front remain few and far between.

The conflict, and debate surrounding it, have thus entered paralysis, with no clear path forward. As a result, alternatives to the comatose two-state solution are being proposed, such as a one-state solution or confederation.

Tragically, all proposed solutions are met with skepticism from locals, according to a recent joint survey by Tel Aviv University and the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research. While the two-state solution received the lowest level of support among Palestinians, Israeli Jews, and all Israelis since the joint polls began in 2016, support for a one-state solution or confederation was even lower. Overall, trust is declining to new low points, the report noted, finding that 86 percent of Palestinians and 85 percent of Israeli Jews believe the other side is not trustworthy.

But for arguments sake, lets explore the possibility that both sides enter negotiations in good faith. What obstacles will they encounter?

Israel, for one, will likely face fierce opposition from within its settler movement. As of January, there were over 500,000 Israelis living in the West Bank; in 2019, dozens of Israeli lawmakers signed a petition calling for the settling of 2 million Jews in West Bank communities.

If successful, such a move would kill the possibility of any future Palestinian stateand peace along with it. And if Israels civil turmoil during the 1990s peace process is any reliable indicator of future events, withdrawing the number of settlers required to create a viable Palestinian state in the West Bank may drag Israel to the brink of civil war.

The Palestinian Exception to College Campus Free Speech

But lets now assume Israelis clean out their closet; theyre ready to make any reasonable concessions for peace. Whats required of Palestinians?

One of the greatest Palestinian obstacles to peace is their claimed right of return. Despite no basis in international law, the demand remains for the return to Israel of millions of Palestinian descendants of those who left or were expelled in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. This is, however, a mere cover for overrunning Israels Jewish population, ergo, no more Israel.

Another seemingly insurmountable barrier is Palestinian support for terrorist groups. According to a December poll from the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research, Palestinian parliamentary elections would see both Hamas and the more moderate Fatah (which controls the Palestinian Authority) receive 34 percent of the vote. With Hamas international designation as a terrorist organizationand a founding charter that blames Jews for the French and Russian revolutions, both world wars, and calls for their mass murderIsraelis, unsurprisingly, see no partner for peace in a Palestinian national movement in which Hamas wields such widespread support.

While there may be wholly different solutions yet to arise, these seemingly irreparable issues would need to be resolved, never mind the myriad other disagreements between Israelis and Palestinians.

Its not simply a case of differing narratives but, rather, narratives that leave no room for the other.

Be it the messianic drive for settlements, the obsessive dream of flooding Israel with millions of Palestinian refugees, or any of the numerous other disputes between the two peoples, such issues are existential, not territorial, as Bren Carlill, author of The Challenges of Resolving the IsraeliPalestinian Dispute: An Impossible Peace?, argues in his book.

Israel Can (But Wont) Stop West Bank Settlers Attacks on Palestinians

The Oslo Accords failure was a testament to that existential roadblock. Despite years of peace negotiations, neither side was truly willing, nor able, to make the necessary compromises.

And so, the conflict now exists in an endless loop of political delegitimization and military confrontations. As long as this intolerable continuum keeps up, negotiators will continue turning up empty-handed.

Like millions of others, I long for the day when a Jewish and Palestinian state live peacefully side-by-side. But what if its just a fantasy? What if one day, as we did time and again throughout childhood, were forced to confront the reality that we dont always get what we want? What if, after all these years, were forced to accept that a peaceful resolution to the worlds most intractable conflict will always remain a dream?

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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The battle to stop the historic wildfires in Canada has drawn firefighting help from as far away as New Zealand and South Africa, and from relatively close-by Rhode Island.

Two firefighters from the Rhode Department of Environmental Management recently spent 14 days in Nova Scotia helping contain the largest fire in the province's history, the Barrington Lake Fire in Shelburne County on the southwest corner of the province.

Phillip Russell, 22, of West Warwick, and Aidan Quinn, also 22, of Coventry, both seasonal firefighters for the DEM, spent 12-hour days trudging among dead trees dangerously close to toppling and across bog-like terrain that concealed deep holes.

At night, they slept on cots the Red Cross set up in a hockey rink.

Phillip Russell says his duty in Nova Scotia was "very humbling." He met people who'd lost their homes from fire and found they were grateful to the firefighters for their help.

"It was very humbling," Russell said. "We met a lot of people. Some of them lost their homes. They were very appreciative."

Wildfires have destroyed homes, sent smoke to Southern New England

The Barrington Lake Fire, which has burned more than 95 square miles and destroyed more than 60 homes, is among several hundred wildfires in Canada this year, the worst year for wildfires in Canada's history. As of Wednesday, there were 639 fires still burning, the Associated Press reported. The country has had a total of 3,412 fires this year, burning 27.7 million acres, an area about the size of Virginia, the AP says.

The fires have been so numerous and big, they've had an impact on Southern New England, sending smoke particles into the region and prompting the DEM to issue air quality alerts. Smoke particles from the fires have even been detected in Europe.

Why were the Rhode Island firefighters in Canada?

Russell and Quinn went to Nova Scotia as part of the Northeastern Forest Fire Protection Compact, an agreement between agencies in the New England states, as well as New York and five Canadian provinces, to help each other with big fires, according to Pat MacMeekin, wildland fire supervisor for the DEM's division of forest environment. The Fire Department of New York City, the U.S. National Park Service and several other agencies are associate members.

More on wildfires: Fueled by dead trees, wildfire in Queen's River Preserve was largest in RI since 1942

Rhode Island had a busy wildfire season

Rhode Island had a busy wildfire season of its own this spring, with 71 fires burning 581 acres, according to MacMeekin. Two big fires in Exeter and West Greenwich were responsible for about 482 of those acres, MacMeekin said.

The DEM has five full-time and two seasonal firefighters. The DEM and local fire departments got help from the compact in fighting this spring's wildfires, and when Rhode Island's fire situation cooled off, the DEM decided it could help elsewhere.

"It was time to repay the favor," MacMeekin said.

Aidan Quinn said the firefighters spent much of their time moving along bog-like landscapes called muskeg where they had to watch so they didn't fall into hidden holes.

Canada will reimburse Rhode Island for the firefighters' pay

Russell and Quinn might have brought some luck to Canada. As they made their way north, heavy rains hit Nova Scotia, helping to knock down the fire. Russell and Quinn were asked to work their way through the woods and bogs scouting for hot spots and putting them out. It's an important task, Quinn noted, because such hot spots can keep smoldering for months, even under winter snow, and reignite.

More on wildfires: Wandering wildfire smoke from afar shows Rhode Island can't escape climate reality

The most dangerous part of their mission came not from walls of fire, but from the hundreds of charred trees that could have fallen on them.

"You're walking through stands of trees that could fall over at any moment," Russell said. Walking across the vast Nova Scotia bog-like muskeg, Quinn said, the firefighters also had to keep watch for hidden holes that could swallow them like skaters crossing thin ice.

The Rhode Island firefighters left for Nova Scotia on June 2 and returned June 19. Shortly before Russell and Quinn departed Canada, the Barrington Lake Fire was ruled contained. Nova Scotia will reimburse Rhode Island for the firefighters' pay.

In addition to helping the people of Nova Scotia, and maybe even Southern New England, breathe easier, the two young firefighters honed some skills and brought the knowledge back with them, MacMeekin noted.

He said, "This is really great experience for these guys."

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: RI sent two firefighters to Canada to fight Barrington Lake Fire
NATO

Ukraine will not become a member of NATO following the upcoming summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said at a press briefing on July 7.

Ukraine will not become a member of NATO as a result of this summit, the official said.

Read also: NATO Summit: three scenarios for Ukraine

We will discuss which steps should be taken instead."

Earlier on July 7, The Washington Post reported that NATO allies are still deliberating over what to offer Ukraine at the Vilnius summit, scheduled for July 11-12.

Read also: NATO summit in Vilnius to approve long-term aid package for Ukraine, bringing membership closer  Stoltenberg

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg previously stated that the members plan to ratify a long-term support package for Ukraine at the summit, which should bring the country closer to the Alliance. However, he clarified that there would be no formal invitation for Ukraine to join NATO at this summit.

Read also: NATO summit to disappoint Ukrainians, says intelligence chief Budanov

Zelenskyy has previously urged U.S. President Joe Biden to extend an immediate invitation to Ukraine to join NATO. He acknowledged that Ukraine cannot join the Alliance during the ongoing war, but insisted that an invitation would serve as a significant signal.

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
I visited Portugal for the first time and taking the internet's travel advice almost ruined my trip

Visiting Portugal was amazing, but not all of the internet's advice was helpful. Christina Montford/Insider

Portugal was amazing to visit, but the internet led me astray a few times.

If you're looking for a site-seeing bus, avoid Tram 28.

Don't trust Google for the hours of monuments.

This summer when I decided to go to Portugal, I consulted the internet for all of the things that we should do while we were there.

For some things, the internet was spot on: My friends and I loved the wine tours in Porto, kayaking in Lagos, and the nightlife in the Bairro Alto region of Lisbon.

For others, well, I have some amendments.

I know that I'm also a stranger on the internet giving you advice, so take what you want and leave what doesn't resonate. But as a person who spent hours in sweaty line after sweaty line, let me save you some hassle.

Skip Tram 28 in Lisbon.

Left to right: The author waiting for Tram 28 and riding it. Christina Montford/Insider

Any travel blog that you read about going to Lisbon will tell you that you need to ride Tram 28. Tram 28 is an old-school streetcar that passes through the popular areas of the city like Alfama, Baixa, Estrela, and Graca.

Before Lisbon became a really popular destination, people used to advise that tourists use the tram as a hop-on, hop-off tour to view popular sites. Any site that still advises this is setting you up for failure.

If you get on the tram at the start of the line, Martim Moniz, you might have a chance to get a seat, but in order to get the coveted spot, you'll have to wait in the line to end all lines.

We waited for over two hours before one of the drivers told us we could skip the line if we were OK with taking one of the standing-room spots. Eager to get out of the Portuguese sun, we took him up on the offer. This was our first mistake.

The windows on the tram are pretty low, so unless you're 5'2" and under, you're going to have a really hard time seeing out of the tram while standing. There are big windows at the back of the tram, but if you stand there, you can only see the sites after you've passed them.

We did manage to eventually snag seats, but even then, the ride didn't get much better. The tram is not technically a tourist bus, so the driver doesn't announce when you've reached any of the attractions. So, overall, it just felt like a really crowded bus ride.

If you want to ride in one of the historic streetcars, I would recommend taking Tram 12 instead. It also departs from Martim Moniz and will take you through the popular Alfama and Baixa districts, and there is rarely a line.

Double-check the hours of monuments (Google might be wrong).

Jeronimos Monastery in Portugal. Christina Montford/Insider

The travel sites were actually right about visiting Jeronimos Monastery in Lisbon. It is beautiful, but there are a few things you should know before going.

First, the monastery, like most of the city's monuments, is closed on Mondays. Google will tell you that the monastery is open until 6 p.m. on Mondays, but as we (and several other disgruntled tourists) found out, that is not the case.

Also, be aware of the hours of monuments. While the monastery sells tickets for a 5:30 p.m. timeslot, you should arrive much earlier. The lines are usually very long and if you arrive at 5:30 p.m., there's a chance you won't be seeing the monastery that day.

I also have to mention that while the monastery was spectacular on the outside, seeing the inside was not totally necessary.

Pena Palace in Sintra is great, but not the end all be all.

Pena Palace is in Sintra, Portugal. Christina Montford/Insider

All of the tourist blogs will tell you to visit Pena Palace if you take a day trip to Sintra. Pena Palace was beautiful, but some of the lesser-known palaces had much more to offer and a much shorter wait.

We bought tickets for one of the earliest time slots to get into the palace and even then, it was like a fight out of "The Hunger Games" to take any pictures that didn't have tourists in the background.

The Park and Palace of Monserrate, on the other hand, was much less crowded and, in my opinion, more beautiful than Pena. We were able to walk through Monserrate at our leisure and actually read all of the information cards without people breathing down our necks to move faster.

Public transit can be tricky.

The author, out on a walk in Lisbon. Christina Montford/Insider

As someone who lives in New York City, I wasn't concerned about the public transit in Lisbon. Once you've hacked one subway and bus system, you've done them all, or so I thought.

None of the blogs I researched told me about the little nuances that come with riding the buses in Portugal.

For instance, in Portugal, simply standing at a bus stop is not enough to make the bus stop for you. You actually have to wave them down for the driver to know that you want to get on their bus. There are few things as humbling as getting your metro card out and stepping up to the curb, only for a bus to zoom by as if it never even had the intention of stopping.

Instead, throw out a hand and wave  just make sure it's the right bus line since there are others that stop there as well.

Read the original article on Insider
Mykhailo Podoliak, adviser to the head of the Office of the President, believes that the war in Ukraine cannot drag on for years.

Source: Podoliak in an interview with Meduza

Quote: "This war cannot drag on for years  based on the resources of the parties, it is impossible.

Yes, resource opportunities are growing in Ukraine. It does not quickly receive certain components for conducting hostilities, but it will receive them at an accelerated pace because the military-industrial complexes of Ukraine and its partners are working more and more intensively. It's just that before the war, no one produced tens of thousands of projectiles a month  and now, the perception of the needs of the military industry is completely different [for Ukraine and its allies], and the necessary amount of weapons is being prepared.

At the same time, Russia's resources are gradually decreasing. War is very expensive. Practically everything that Russia had, it has already spent on the war. Buying some or other consumables somewhere to produce additional volumes of high-precision weapons and missiles means trying to find someone on the sanctioned market. Plus, it requires premium payments. Roughly speaking, here, you need to sell your product at a big discount and at the same time buy some spare parts for this or that production at a big premium. All this will affect the economic condition of the Russian Federation."

Details: According to Podoliak, freezing the conflict is the best scenario for Russia since it cannot completely occupy the territory of Ukraine today.

"But I don't see the potential for this war to turn into a frozen conflict. Because for Ukraine, this would mean the end of the existence of the state. If Russia gets caught up in this scenario, it will be able to carry out additional militarization and modernization of its army. We fully understand what this can lead to. And after 500 days of war, we are not stupid enough to deliberately go for it," he said.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
Washington has sent more than $1.3 billion to China and Russia. Who's following the money?

Washington is borrowing money from China to give to China.

You read that right.

While we owe the communist country more than $800 billion, our government sent nearly $500 million to China to pay for everything from poetry projects to dangerous research on bats. And $870 million of U.S. tax dollars went to Russia. Those numbers could just be the tip of the iceberg.

The truth is, no one in Washington can account for the actual amount sent to these two adversarial nations  or anywhere else.

The federal government does not follow the trail of taxpayer dollars after the money leaves the Treasury to see where it ends up. This allows unaccountable intermediaries to act as pass-throughs, funneling money from your wallet into pointless projects without public scrutiny.

The National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) have granted millions of dollars to the EcoHealth Alliance, which has collaborated on coronavirus research with the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

How does taxpayers' money end up in Wuhan lab?

The National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), for example, granted millions of dollars to the EcoHealth Alliance. That shady organization then shared the cash with Chinas notorious state-run Wuhan Institute of Virology for the risky research on bat coronaviruses that many believe sparked the COVID-19 pandemic.

Questions about how much was steered into the Wuhan institute and how this benefits the United States continue to go unanswered.

A recent audit from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) concluded it was impossible to determine the full dollar amount being sent anywhere in China because Washington wasnt keeping track.

But at least we have some of the receipts.

Not only NASA hardware but also soft diplomacy, like cartoons and podcasts

The auditors at OpenTheBooks.com teamed up with Sen. Joni Ernsts investigators and tallied more than $1.3 billion paid to entities in China and Russia since 2017.

Here is what we found:

Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa.

This is why it is essential that Americans know exactly how and where their hard-earned tax dollars are being spent.

OpenTheBooks.com is committed to putting every dime the government spends online in real time to hold Washington accountable. To make that possible, Congress must pass the Tracking Receipts to Adversarial Countries for Knowledge of Spending (TRACKS) Act that would require every penny of taxpayer money sent to institutions in China, Russia and other hostile nations to be accounted for and publicly disclosed.

Adam Andrzejewski is the founder and CEO of the nonprofit OpenTheBooks.com

We will continue following the trail of your tax dollars, no matter how treacherous, so we can stop silly spending in its tracks!

Joni Ernst, a Republican, is the junior senator from Iowa. Adam Andrzejewski is the founder and CEO of the nonprofit OpenTheBooks.com

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: China, Russia are America's adversaries  yet they get US tax dollars
Helping the Wayne County Dairy Court make ice cream sundaes on the courthouse lawn, June 21, were from left Commissioner Brian Smith, Miss Pennsylvania Miranda Moore and commissioners Joceyln Cramer and James Shook. Free sundaes were given out to the public who came by as well as county employees.

It wasn't hard to tell  or taste  that Wayne County Dairy and Ice Cream Months had been proclaimed June 22. There on the courthouse lawn in Honesdale were the commissioners, decked out in aprons, surrounded by dairy misses and Miss Pennsylvania, having a grand old time making ice cream sundaes.

Best yet, the ice cream was free for everyone that came by  not only the county employees coming out on their lunch hour, but a group of children and adults heading straight over from the park playground once someone invited them.

Supporting Pennsylvania's dairy industry and the wholesome, healthy virtues of drinking milk, on hand at the commissioners' meeting were Miss Pennsylvania Miranda Moore; Alternate Pennsylvania Dairy Princess Natalie Grumbine; and representing the Wayne County Dairy Court, Dairy Miss Zoey Tyler, Dairy Miss Kenley Roberts, Dairy Miss Chloe Tyler, Dairy Miss Truly Zablocky and Dairy Miss Everly Zablocky. Wayne County Dairy Princess Sydney Roberts was away for lifeguard training, her father stated.

Moore, who is 25 and from Harrisburg, was crowned as Miss Pennsylvania on June 17. She is an environmental engineer.

Grumbine, 21, resides on her family's Berks County dairy farm where they milk about 150 registered Holsteins, Jerseys and red & white cattle. She is working towards being a certified veterinary technician.

"From a young age I have learned how important the dairy industry is to not only me but to the entire world," Grumbine said. "I have grown my passion for educating and communicating the beneficial effects of consuming real dairy products." She said she sees firsthand the work dairy farmers do, and said they deserve to have someone to promote their products.

MILK TOAST: Helping to make a "milk toast" for Wayne County Dairy and Ice Cream Months, from left are county commissioners James Shook, Brian Smith and Jocelyn Cramer, and solicitor Wendell Kay.

After the young dairy misses handed out paper cups of milk to everyone in the meeting room, Grumbine made a "milk toast" to honor dairy farmers everywhere and their cattle.

Dairy Miss Truly Zablocky commented, "Milk is one of the most nutritious drinks in the world. Whether it's in your coffee, cereal or oatmeal, adding one more serving of milk to your day can help ensure you get the nutrients you need."

Dairy Miss Chloe Tyler described milk as "nature's perfect drink."

Dairy Miss Kenley Roberts said she is very proud to speak up and "be a voice for the cows."

Dairy Miss Zoey Tyler expressed how wonderful it is to be part of the Dairy Court, thanking everyone who makes the opportunity possible.

Wayne County Dairy Misses, clockwise around the ice cream starting in front are Everly Zablocky, Trudy Zablocky, Zoey Tyler, Kenley Roberts and Chloe Tyler. In back at right is Alternate PA Dairy Princess Natalie Grumbine.

"I have been a dairy farmer most of my life," Commissioner Chairman Brian Smith said, noting he has switched to raising beef cattle. "Farmers have their struggles right now and they need representation. I am glad we have so many young ladies pushing the farmers. You're doing a great job. Keep up the good work and don't stop."

The commissioners' proclamation notes that agriculture is Pennsylvania's leading economic driver, and the dairy industry is its largest component, seventh nationally with nearly 5,000 dairy farm families. They manage 470,000 cows that produce over 10 billion pounds of milk annually.

"Whether you're serving cheese at a family graduation party or wedding or enjoying a cold ice cream on a hot summer evening, you are supporting our country's dairy farmers while getting many nutritional benefits," the proclamation reads.

June was named Dairy Month, and July was proclaimed as Ice Cream Month.

Ice cream sundaes directly followed the meeting on the courthouse lawn. Allied Milk Processing provided funding for the event and Wahoo Ice Cream Shop in Tyler Hill provided the ice cream.

This article originally appeared on Tri-County Independent: Wayne commissioners declare Dairy, Ice Cream Months in June, July
Keeping up with an industry as fast-moving as AI is a tall order. So until an AI can do it for you, heres a handy roundup of recent stories in the world of machine learning, along with notable research and experiments we didnt cover on their own.

This week, SpeedyBrand, a company using generative AI to create SEO-optimized content, emerged from stealth with backing from Y Combinator. It hasn't attracted a lot of funding yet ($2.5 million), and its customer base is relatively small (about 50 brands). But it got me thinking about how generative AI is beginning to change the makeup of the web.

As The Verges James Vincent wrote in a recent piece, generative AI models are making it cheaper and easier to generate lower-quality content. NewsGuard, a company that provides tools for vetting news sources, has exposed hundreds of ad-supported sites with generic-sounding names featuring misinformation created with generative AI.

It's causing a problem for advertisers. Many of the sites spotlighted by NewsGuard seem exclusively built to abuse programmatic advertising, or the automated systems for putting ads on pages. In its report, NewsGuard found close to 400 instances of ads from 141 major brands that appeared on 55 of the junk news sites.

It's not just advertisers who should be worried. As Gizmodo's Kyle Barr points out, it might just take one AI-generated article to drive mountains of engagement. And even if every AI-generated article only generates a few dollars, thats less than the cost of generating the text in the first place -- and potential advertising money not being sent to legitimate sites.

So what's the solution? Is there one? It's a pair of questions that's increasingly keeping me up at night. Barr suggests it's incumbent on search engines and ad platforms to exercise a tighter grip and punish the bad actors embracing generative AI. But given how fast the field is moving -- and the infinitely scalable nature of generative AI -- I'm not convinced that they can keep up.

Of course, spammy content isn't a new phenomenon, and there's been waves before. The web has adapted. What's different this time is that the barrier to entry is dramatically low -- both in terms of the cost and time that has to be invested.

Vincent strikes an optimistic tone, implying that if the web is eventually overrun with AI junk, it could spur the development of better-funded platforms. I'm not so sure. What's not in doubt, though, is that we're at an inflection point, and that the decisions made now around generative AI and its outputs will impact the function of the web for some time to come.

Here are other AI stories of note from the past few days:

OpenAI officially launches GPT-4: OpenAI this week announced the general availability of GPT-4, its latest text-generating model, through its paid API. GPT-4 can generate text (including code) and accept image and text inputs -- an improvement over GPT-3.5, its predecessor, which only accepted text -- and performs at "human level" on various professional and academic benchmarks. But it's not perfect, as we note in our previous coverage. (Meanwhile ChatGPT adoption is reported to be down, but we'll see.)

Bringing 'superintelligent' AI under control: In other OpenAI news, the company is forming a new team led by Ilya Sutskever, its chief scientist and one of OpenAI's co-founders, to develop ways to steer and control "superintelligent" AI systems.

Anti-bias law for NYC: After months of delays, New York City this week began enforcing a law that requires employers using algorithms to recruit, hire or promote employees to submit those algorithms for an independent audit -- and make the results public.

Valve tacitly greenlights AI-generated games: Valve issued a rare statement after claims it was rejecting games with AI-generated assets from its Steam games store. The notoriously close-lipped developer said its policy was evolving and not a stand against AI.

Humane unveils the Ai Pin: Humane, the startup launched by ex-Apple design and engineering duo Imran Chaudhri and Bethany Bongiorno, this week revealed details about its first product: The Ai Pin. As it turns out, Humane's product is a wearable gadget with a projected display and AI-powered features -- like a futuristic smartphone, but in a vastly different form factor.

Warnings over EU AI regulation: Major tech founders, CEOs, VCs and industry giants across Europe signed an open letter to the EU Commission this week, warning that Europe could miss out on the generative AI revolution if the EU passes laws stifling innovation.

Deepfake scam makes the rounds: Check out this clip of U.K. consumer finance champion Martin Lewis apparently shilling an investment opportunity backed by Elon Musk. Seems normal, right? Not exactly. It's an AI-generated deepfake -- and potentially a glimpse of the AI-generated misery fast accelerating onto our screens.

AI-powered sex toys: Lovense -- perhaps best known for its remote-controllable sex toys -- this week announced its ChatGPT Pleasure Companion. Launched in beta in the companys remote control app, the "Advanced Lovense ChatGPT Pleasure Companion" invites you to indulge in juicy and erotic stories that the Companion creates based on your selected topic.

Other machine learnings

Our research roundup commences with two very different projects from ETH Zurich. First is aiEndoscopic, a smart intubation spinoff. Intubation is necessary for a patient's survival in many circumstances, but it's a tricky manual procedure usually performed by specialists. The intuBot uses computer vision to recognize and respond to a live feed from the mouth and throat, guiding and correcting the position of the endoscope. This could allow people to safely intubate when needed rather than waiting on the specialist, potentially saving lives.

Here's them explaining it in a little more detail:

In a totally different domain, ETH Zurich researchers also contributed second-hand to a Pixar movie by pioneering the technology needed to animate smoke and fire without falling prey to the fractal complexity of fluid dynamics. Their approach was noticed and built on by Disney and Pixar for the film "Elemental." Interestingly, it's not so much a simulation solution as a style transfer one  a clever and apparently quite valuable shortcut. (Image up top is from this.)

AI in nature is always interesting, but nature AI as applied to archaeology is even more so. Research led by Yamagata University aimed to identify new Nasca lines  the enormous "geoglyphs" in Peru. You might think that, being visible from orbit, they'd be pretty obvious  but erosion and tree cover from the millennia since these mysterious formations were created mean there are an unknown number hiding just out of sight. After being trained on aerial imagery of known and obscured geoglyphs, a deep learning model was set free on other views, and amazingly it detected at least four new ones, as you can see below. Pretty exciting!

Four Nasca geoglyphs newly discovered by an AI agent. Image Credits: Yamagata University

In a more immediately relevant sense, AI-adjacent tech is always finding new work detecting and predicting natural disasters. Stanford engineers are putting together data to train future wildfire prediction models by performing simulations of heated air above a forest canopy in a 30-foot water tank. If we're to model the physics of flames and embers traveling outside the bounds of a wildfire, we'll need to understand them better, and this team is doing what they can to approximate that.

At UCLA they're looking into how to predict landslides, which are more common as fires and other environmental factors change. But while AI has already been used to predict them with some success, it doesn't "show its work," meaning a prediction doesn't explain whether it's because of erosion, or a water table shifting, or tectonic activity. A new "superposable neural network" approach has the layers of the network using different data but running in parallel rather than all together, letting the output be a little more specific in which variables led to increased risk. It's also way more efficient.

Google is looking at an interesting challenge: How do you get a machine learning system to learn from dangerous knowledge yet not propagate it? For instance, if its training set includes the recipe for napalm, you don't want it to repeat it  but in order to know not to repeat it, it needs to know what it's not repeating. A paradox! So the tech giant is looking for a method of "machine unlearning" that lets this sort of balancing act occur safely and reliably.

If you're looking for a deeper look at why people seem to trust AI models for no good reason, look no further than this Science editorial by Celeste Kidd (UC Berkeley) and Abeba Birhane (Mozilla). It gets into the psychological underpinnings of trust and authority and shows how current AI agents basically use those as springboards to escalate their own worth. It's a really interesting article if you want to sound smart this weekend.

Though we often hear about the infamous Mechanical Turk fake chess-playing machine, that charade did inspire people to create what it pretended to be. IEEE Spectrum has a fascinating story about the Spanish physicist and engineer Torres Quevedo, who created an actual mechanical chess player. Its capabilities were limited, but that's how you know it was real. Some even propose that his chess machine was the first "computer game." Food for thought.
Republican Arizona State Sen. Wendy Rogers

I would say that Republican state Sen. Wendy Rogers could not sink any lower than she did this week, but thats not true.

The political cesspool that is Rogers knows no depth. It's immeasurable.

This was evidenced on Wednesday when the Arizona state senator retweeted a video that contained X-rated images of Hunter Biden.

Rogers' disgusting retweet was reported by Dennis Welch of 3TV/CBS 5.

Being stupid as a defense

Welch noted that Republican Arizona Senate President Warren Peterson issued a statement saying, [Rogers] didnt realize those images were in that video until it was brought to her attention, and she immediately removed the video from her feed.

Didnt realize the images were on the video?

So, she was retweeting something she hadnt even watched?

Meaning what?

That her defense for distributing pornography over the internet is  stupidity?

What of the party that talks of protecting kids from porn?

There are plenty of kids on Twitter. The platform is open to those as young as 13.So much for the GOP's blustery desire to keep pornography away from children.

Not that Rogers hasn't brought shame to her party or herself before.

She has cozied up to white nationalists, spread QAnon lunacy, backed Alex Jones over the parents of murdered children in Sandy Hook, and even tweeted a photo of herself next to a dead rhino branded with the Star of David.

Rogers has disgraced herself and the GOP plenty of times

Rogers was censured by her colleagues after speaking at a gathering of white supremacists where she called for public hangings and used antisemitic tropes, like calling the president of Ukraine a globalist puppet of billionaire George Soros.

Shes pushed the racist great replacement conspiracy popular with white supremacists, who say white Americans are being replaced by immigrants.

Now this.

It seems to be fair game these days to attack a member of a politicians family to get to the politician. Its cheap. Its sleazy. But thats how it is. Rogers should hope there are no black sheep in her extended flock. Although I suppose it would be difficult for even the worse of her relatives to outdo her.

What something like Rogers retweet of the Hunter Biden video demonstrates clearly, however, is something we should already know.

The presidents son has trouble.

The Arizona state senator is sick.

Reach Montini at ed.montini@arizonarepublic.com.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: What Wendy Rogers' retweet of X-rated video of Hunter Biden tells us
West Georgia woman faces meth trafficking charge after drug raid while she wasnt home

A west Georgia woman wasnt at her Haralson County home when it was raided earlier this week, but shes now been arrested.

Deputies say they searched a home on Ballpark Road in Buchanan, Ga. on Thursday as part of a months-long investigation.

Inside, the Haralson-Paulding Drug Task Force and Haralson deputies found 112 grams of methamphetamine.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

Kristina Campbell Prince wasnt home when they searched the house, but she was found and arrested on Friday.

She is facing a charge of trafficking methamphetamine.

Deputies say this isnt the first time theyve conducted a drug bust at the same house.

Just over a year ago, Ashley Nicole Dawn Reynolds was arrested at the same house with half of a kilo of meth.

TRENDING STORIES:

These drug houses bring a lot of problems and unwanted traffic into these neighborhoods. This house has now been investigated twice for drug trafficking, states Sheriff Stacy Williams.

Prince is being held in the Haralson County Jail.

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IN OTHER NEWS:
What's happening in Guatemala? How a small country's elections could have a big impact on the US

One step forward, two steps back?

Guatemala's topsy-turvy election was thrown into further turmoil Thursday after the attorney general's office raided the country's electoral authority's office. Hours earlier, a special prosecutor suspended the political party of Bernardo Arevalo, an anti-corruption candidate who shocked the country's political class by qualifying for a second-round vote.

Wednesday night's announcement by Rafael Curruchiche, a controversial special prosecutor in Guatemala's attorney general's office, dropped just minutes before electoral authorities formally certified the results of the countrys first-round vote after a separate court had ordered a review of vote tallies amid thin claims of counting irregularities. Guatemala's electoral law prohibits the suspension of political parties between when an election is called and when it is held.

It was not immediately clear what Curruchiche's last-minute intervention means for the runoff scheduled for Aug. 20 between Arevalo and former first lady Sandra Torres. However, the move to suspend Arevalo's Seed Movement party drew swift calls for Guatemalans to take to the streets to protest, as well as criticism from western officials. Brian Nichols, an assistant secretary of State, tweeted that the U.S. was "deeply concerned" by threats to Guatemala's democracy. "Institutions must respect the will of voters," he said.

Curruchiche and his boss Attorney General Consuelo Porras have long faced corruption allegations. In the past, both officials have been sanctioned by the U.S. State Department.

Curruchiche was named as someone who has "obstructed investigations into acts of corruption" and made "spurious claims" against government officials, prosecutors and attorneys, in a 2021 State Department report,

Guatemala's election uncertainty: What happened?

Arevalo, a 64-year-old sociologist, anti-corruption campaigner and son of former President Juan Jose Arevalo, defied the doubters grabbing a top spot in the first round of Guatemala's presidential election last month.

He came in second behind Torres, with just under 12% of the vote, a result that experts say amounts to crushing it in a race where no candidate won more than 16% of votes.

Arevalo did so partly because several more popular candidates  both right and left wing  who represented a challenge to the status quo were barred from running on various alleged technicalities. And partly because, with nearly a quarter of all ballots left blank, his left-of-center Seed Movement party likely benefited from public discontent with the other candidates.

Election deniers then cast ill-founded doubt over the results, even though independent election monitors said there were few signs of wrong-doing in the June 25 vote.

Guatemala's top court nevertheless agreed to freeze certification of the first-round results following allegations of counting irregularities from 10 of the 29 parties that fielded candidates. Torres' right-of-center National Hope Unity party was among those who challenged the count.

Will Freeman, a Latin America fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations think tank, said the intervention was likely a delaying tactic by Guatemala's "establishment factions" aimed at casting doubt on the integrity of the vote. He said that these factions, "who have controlled Guatemala's politics for a long time," are "buying themselves a little bit of time" to coordinate in the event that Arevalo, who has vowed sweeping anti-corruption reforms, emerges victorious in the second round, a serious possibility.

Arevalo has said he fears "criminal political groups" could be attempting to block him from the presidency.

"The cries of fraud echo those in the United States after President Bidens 2020 victory, although, with the entire judicial system on their side, Guatemalas election deniers stand a better chance of pulling it off," wrote Anita Isaacs, Rachel A. Schwartz and Alvaro Montenegro, all experts on Guatemala, in an essay in the New York Times on Thursday.

Guatemala's democracy is in peril and could threaten US border

Even the U.S. government has warned over possible efforts to interfere with Guatemala's presidential election results. What's more, the election in the small Central American nation of almost 17 million could have a decisive impact in a region so closely tied to the United States and key to securing the southern border.

The Biden administration might be in for a little deja vu.

After all, they've already had to contend with a migrant surge triggered by the fallout of the presidential elections in neighboring Nicaragua  when President Daniel Ortega locked up dozens of political opponents ahead of his country's presidential elections in 2021.

Ever since, Nicaraguans have been flocking to the United States at historic levels. U.S. Customs and Border Protection encountered Nicaraguan migrants nearly 165,000 times in fiscal year 2022.

Electoral authorities review electoral records projected on a screen at the Electoral Process Operations Center in Guatemala City on July 4, 2023.

What is Bernardo Arevalo's appeal?

Arevalo appeared to strike a chord with young voters by being sincere and sticking to his academic roots, even if it wasn't these qualities that ultimately catapulted him to the second round.

"He's the least populist guy you can imagine. His interviews all feature explanations with like six bullet points in them. There aren't any slogans. He's almost painfully devoid of slogans and other messaging. There's no TikTok videos," said Freeman, of the Council on Foreign Relations. (Conservative businessman Carlos Pineda, one of the presidential hopefuls who was excluded from the vote for alleged violations of electoral law, had used the video-sharing app to become an early front-runner.)

Guatemalan presidential candidate Bernardo Arevalo, speaks in Guatemala City on July 6, 2023.

What happens now in Guatemala vote?

Lucas Perello, a professor at Marist College who studies political parties and democracy in Latin America, said that despite the certification delay he expected the two top vote getters from the first round to eventually move forward to compete in a second-round vote.

Curruchiche, the prosecutor, claims there is evidence Arevalo's Seed Movement party illegally collected false signatures as part of the process of establishing itself as a party. But Guatemalas election law prohibits the suspension of political parties between the official calling of the election and the election itself.

With a second round of voting required because no candidate exceeded 50% of the vote, it appeared that the Seed Movement could not be suspended.

"Guatemala is either going to get continuity," said Perello, referring to Torres, 67, a veteran political operator who has faced corruption allegations and is hoping to become Guatemala's first female leader on her third run for president. "Or it's going to get change under Arevalo," whose father was president before his successor was overthrown in a CIA-backed coup in 1954 that set the stage for a civil war and decades of endemic corruption.

What does the vote mean for emigration flows, U.S. border policy?

U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said that if the first-round results were undermined it would represent "a grave threat to democracy with far reaching implications."

It may have a much more specific impact.

More than 220,000 Guatemalans crossed into the U.S. via the Mexico border in 2022, according to Border Patrol figures. In June the U.S. and Guatemala announced a pilot program intended to "manage the historic irregular migration challenge impacting both countries."

The move was part of the Biden administration's push to restrict migration and asylum seekers.

Title 42's end: Biden leaned on Guatemala for help. Now, they're calling up Republicans

Eric Olson, director of policy at the Seattle International Foundation, an organization that works to strengthen the rule of law in Central America, said in a recent panel appearance that Guatemala, like other Central American nations, lacks institutional "guard rails" and "mechanisms to fight corruption" and that this "robs" people of their future. "If you don't believe in a future in your country, what alternative do you have? You head North."

He said Arevalo's better-than-expected first-round performance could also be explained by his popularity among young voters. "There are a lot of young people in that country who are disgusted by the oligarchs and the old-guard playing dirty political (tricks)." He said Arevalo's initial success in the first round, though not necessarily indicative of what will come next, was a reminder that "we can't just give into authoritarian tendencies."

Freeman said that if the certification delay leads to "maneuvering to install a pro-establishment" president, for many Guatemalans the "last spark of hope will be extinguished and migration will probably go up." He added: "If Arevalo is elected I'm not sure there's any guarantee it will go down."

Contributing: Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: What the Guatemala presidential election results mean for US border
Where was the sun? Here's why astronomers are more useful in court cases than you'd think

Spring Equinox, March 2015.

Over the past eight years, I have been asked to submit astronomical evidence for court cases all over Australia.

Normally when we think of evidence in court, we think of eyewitnesses, DNA or police reports. Often, this evidence requires an expert to explain it  to be able to communicate the findings and data to the members of the court to make an informed decision. These experts are typically in medicine, engineering, psychology, or other fields.

Expert astronomers usually are not what one pictures in court, but that is exactly what I do.

The first time I was asked by police to do it came as a bit of a surprise. I had never thought about applying astronomy to the courtroom. Once the first group knew I can do it, more and more requests came in, from colleagues in the same police force or division, or investigators having seen my evidence elsewhere.

Related: Who Owns the Moon? Law & Outer Space Treaties

Now, I'm asked to submit evidence for roughly 12 cases per week. Usually this requires submitting a statement of evidence to the court. But sometimes I am asked to attend court and explain what the evidence means.

When I'm needed as an expert in court, it tends to be for matters of consequence. My evidence is either critical to a part of the case, or the case itself is fairly major and all the details are being checked and verified.

But what exactly am I providing evidence for?

Tracking the sun and the moon

Most court evidence from an astronomer involves calculating the positions and lighting from an astronomical body  the sun or moon. Luckily, the tools we use to calculate the positions of celestial bodies are very accurate, and can be calculated hundreds to thousands of years into the past or future.

An obvious example is when someone claims the sun was in their eyes, causing a glare, and they get into a car accident. Someone needs to say where the sun was, its position, and how it aligned with the street and direction of travel. At certain times and in certain directions, the sun may indeed hinder someone's vision.

There is also the situation where someone sees something, but it happened around sunrise or sunset. An expert is needed to say what the lighting level was  as there are very clear definitions based on the sun's position below the horizon, and how much you can see. For instance, what if the event occurred five minutes after sunset? The light level depends on the time of year, the location and other factors. It is not a clear-cut case of daytime versus nighttime.

The moon can feature in court evidence as well. Especially in dark locations away from city lights, an astronomer can provide evidence on how much light the Moon provided on a given night.

There are also historical cases or times when people note the view or phase of the moon as a way of defining when something happened. The full moon has a precise definition, but the day before or after may appear to look like a full moon, despite it not technically being full.

The gibbous moon as seen from the International Space Station in May 2021.

The limitations of expertise

Of course, like any part of science, there are limits to what I can say. If someone was looking through a window  how refractive was the window? Were there clouds blocking the moon or sun? It is up to other experts, and other parts of the legal system to sort out these factors.

Just like many fields, space technology is changing, and so too is its impact on law and crime. Satellites are being used more and more in cases to help track things as they happen. For example, the space technology company Maxar operates some of the highest-resolution commercial satellites to image Earth. For a small cost, people can task these satellites to look at certain areas and/or times.

Lately, we have seen the impact of satellites on Russia's war in Ukraine, and how they have been instrumental in looking at troop movements, and even evidence of some of the alleged war crimes.

Satellite images have been used for a range of criminal investigations, such as people smuggling or illegal mines.

They are also being used in Australia for criminal matters. This is yet another situation where an expert is needed to explain the satellite imagery and what it may mean, or even help access it altogether.

Experts are vital

Related Stories:

 Ukraine invasion's impacts on space exploration: Live updates

 Russian space agency Roscosmos recruiting fighters for war against Ukraine: report

 Sun breaks out with record number of sunspots, sparking solar storm concerns

Working as an expert witness has given me hope, because I see the extent to which the justice system will sometimes go to get all the details right  like taking into account the phase of the moon or the position of the sun. It is also the perfect example of the importance of experts in our society.

In science, we are actively encouraging people to go to sources of accurate and trustworthy information, especially in an era of rife misinformation.

Through experts, fields like space and astronomy can impact people's lives directly  even in the court room.
A woman who was found stuck in mud in a swamp could have been trapped for at least 3 days, say police

Pond in Borderland State Park, Massachusetts Wikimedia Commons

Emma Tetewsky was found stuck in swamp mud after she'd been reported missing.

Hikers called 911 and said they heard a woman screaming for help in a Massachusetts state park.

Police said she might have been trapped there for at least three days.

A woman who had been missing for a week was found stuck in mud at a Massachusetts state park, police said.

Police said it is believed that she might have been trapped there for at least three days.

Emma Tetewsky, 31, was rescued at 6 p.m. on Monday after hikers called 911 and said they heard a woman screaming for help in a swamp-like area, authorities said in a statement.

When Easton police officers arrived, they could hear Tetewsky but not see her, and used all-terrain vehicles and waded 40 feet through thick brush and swamp to reach her at Borderland State Park, south of Boston.

Tetewsky was found lying in a shallow area of the swamp in a fetal position. The sticky mud was knee-deep and it took several efforts to free her, The Enterprise reported.

She was dehydrated, sunburnt and had multiple injuries to her upper body, police said. per The Enterprise.

She was conscious and alert when she was found and was taken to hospital to be treated for non-life-threatening injuries, police said, per The New York Times.

Police said at the time that Tetewsky did not have a cellphone with her when she went missing and that she had a history of struggles with her mental health, NPR reported.

"We want to thank all of the agencies that cooperated with us," Stoughton Police Chief Donna M. McNamara said.

"If it wasn't for the public helping us and giving us tips over the last five days, we wouldn't have been able to locate her. This is the best possible outcome," she added.

Emma Tetewsky (L), all-terrain vehicles used to reach her. Easton Police Department

Tetewsky was reported missing last week after her family told police they had not seen her since Monday.

"So many times this type of story ends sadly and I didn't have much hope at all. I thought she would have already succumbed to the elements," Emma's father, Avran Tetewsky, told WBZ.

"It was traumatic to be stuck in the mud for as long as she was," her mother Barbara Zinaman said. "It's miraculous that they found her."

Read the original article on Insider
Workers at this SC Waffle House are on strike. Heres which one and why

Workers at a Columbia Waffle House are set to begin striking today to demand better security and pay.

According to a press release from the Union of Southern Service Workers, the strike is set to begin at 10 a.m. on Saturday outside the Waffle House on Garners Ferry Road. The strike comes a week after workers there publicly delivered a petition of their demands to Waffle House management, which can be viewed in a TikTok video below.

The petition asked that Waffle House answer within a week. The company did not acknowledge or respond to the workers, the press release states.

Waffle House is proud of its long record of effectively addressing any concerns our Associates report to us. We intend to do that directly with our Associates, Njeri Boss, vice president of public relations for Waffle House, wrote in an emailed statement to the State on Friday.

Improved safety is at the top of the workers demands. The Columbia Waffle House employs security guards from 2 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends, which workers say is insufficient, the press release states.

We are demanding Waffle House have security during all shifts, Naomi Harris, a Waffle House server and active member of the Union of Southern Service Workers, said in the press release. Last month I had an angry customer go get his gun out of his truck because he wanted hash browns instead of grits. Almost every day theres a new incident that shows why Waffle House needs to pay for security on every shift.

The workers have also demanded fairer pay. Besides a base pay raise for servers, the strikers want an end to the companys mandatory meal deductions. Waffle House has a policy of taking money out of workers paychecks for meals, whether they eat food at their restaurant or not, the press release states.

Other demands by the workers include:
By Andrea Shalal

BEIJING (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Saturday urged closer communication between China and the United States to improve economic decision-making, and challenged China to join global initiatives to help poorer nations address climate change.

Despite bilateral tensions, record high U.S.-Chinese trade last year showed there was "ample room" to engage in trade and investment, and it was critical to focus on areas of common interest and address disagreements through dialogue, Yellen told Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng at the start of a meeting.

The talks lasted for about five hours, followed by a formal dinner, according to a Treasury official.

Chinese state media described the meeting as "in-depth, candid and pragmatic". Treasury said the meeting was "candid, constructive, and comprehensive."

Yellen is due to hold a news conference in Beijing early on Sunday.

State-run Xinhua news agency said the talks were "constructive", but the Chinese side expressed concern about U.S. sanctions and restrictive measures against China.

China also believes that generalising the concept of national security does no good for normal economic and trade exchanges, Xinhua reported.

Treasury said Yellen also conveyed that "even when the United States and China have disagreements, it is vital that the two countries find ways to work together on issues of shared  and global  concern, including debt distress in low-income and emerging economies and climate finance."

Yellen also met with the Peoples Bank of China's Communist Party chief Pan Gongsheng on Friday, discussing global macroeconomic and financial developments, including the disproportionate impact of recent economic shocks on low-income countries, Treasury said.

Yellen's visit through Sunday is Washington's latest attempt to repair ties between the world's two biggest economies, battered over issues from Taiwan to technology that have drawn their allies into their rivalry, having an impact on companies and trade ties.

Like U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who visited last month for the first time in Joe Biden's presidency, Yellen is seeking a delicate balance between conciliation and continuing to push Beijing to halt practices Washington says are harmful to U.S. and Western companies.

Both sides have downplayed expectations for breakthroughs, while hailing the opportunity for candid, face-to-face diplomacy.

"Amid a complicated global economic outlook, there is a pressing need for the two largest economies to closely communicate and exchange views on our responses to various challenges," Yellen told He, China's recently appointed economy czar.

Doing so could "help both sides more fully understand the global economic outlook and make better decisions to strengthen our economies", she said.

At the same time, Yellen reiterated Washington wanted to ensure healthy competition with a "fair set of rules" that would benefit both countries over time.

Meeting her at the Diaoyutai state guest house where foreign dignitaries are often received, He said he stood ready to work with Yellen.

Yellen told a group of female economists on Saturday that she was "in Beijing at this critical time because, for all the disagreements between our nations, President Biden and I believe it is in the best interests of our peoples to put our relationship on a better track and to maintain open and honest lines of communication".

"I strongly believe that the relationship between our two countries is rooted in the solid ties between the American and Chinese people. It is important that we keep nurturing and deepening these ties, especially as China reopens after three years of COVID lockdowns."

'MEET CHINA HALFWAY'

As the U.S. seeks to re-engage at all levels, Beijing has repeatedly told Washington to match words with action, pointing to continued U.S. moves to curb Chinese access to technologies including semiconductors.

Beijing has also refused to resume bilateral military ties, while tariffs imposed on Chinese products during a trade war under Biden's predecessor, Donald Trump, remain intact.

China this week abruptly announced export controls on two metals widely used in semiconductors and electric vehicles in the name of protecting its national security and interests.

Still, recently appointed Premier Li Qiang left the door open to further dialogue, urging Yellen on Friday to "meet China halfway" as both sides inject "positive energy" into bilateral ties.

Despite talk of U.S.-China economic decoupling, which both countries oppose, data show a fundamentally solid trade relationship, with two-way trade hitting $690 billion last year.

The United States would continue to communicate directly its concerns about specific economic practices, and would take targeted actions to protect its national security, Yellen said.

She urged China not to allow any disagreements to "lead to misunderstandings, particularly those stemming from a lack of communication, which can unnecessarily worsen our bilateral economic and financial relationship."

Yellen told government officials and climate experts on Saturday that China had the capacity to help the world tackle the "existential threat" of climate change.

Beijing and Washington must take the lead in helping poor nations meet their climate goals and cope with the impact of climate change, she told a roundtable.

Cooperation on climate finance was a "critical" responsibility of "the world's two largest emitters of greenhouse gases and the largest investors in renewable energy", she said.

China, classified as a developing country by the United Nations, has long said it was the responsibility of developed nations to help poor countries pay to address climate change.

But Beijing says it could contribute to "loss and damage" due to climate change on a voluntary basis.

(Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Additional reporting by Ryan Woo; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama, William Mallard, Mike Harrison and Diane Craft)
FILE PHOTO: Smoke rises from chimneys at a factory in the port of Dunkirk

By Andrea Shalal

BEIJING (Reuters) -The United States and China, as the world's two largest economies, must work together to combat the "existential threat" of climate change, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told Chinese government officials and climate experts on Saturday.

During a visit to Beijing, Yellen said previous cooperation on climate change between the U.S. and China had made possible global breakthroughs such as the 2015 Paris Agreement, adding that both governments wanted to support emerging markets and developing countries as they strive to meet their climate goals.

"Continued U.S.-China cooperation on climate finance is critical," Yellen said in a prepared text at a climate roundtable in Beijing.

"As the world's two largest emitters of greenhouse gases and the largest investors in renewable energy, we have both a joint responsibility  and ability  to lead the way."

China, classified as a developing country by the United Nations, has long said it was the responsibility of developed nations to help poor countries pay to address climate change. But Beijing says it could contribute to "loss and damage" due to climate change on a voluntary basis.

Given their scale, cooperation between the U.S. and China is considered vital to international efforts to avert the worst impacts of climate change.

Yellen said financing for such initiatives should be coordinated efficiently and effectively, adding that Beijing's support for existing multilateral climate institutions like the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and the Climate Investment Funds, alongside the Washington and others, could boost their impact.

China is welcome to join the United States in contributing to a round of fund pledging for the GCF in September, a U.S. Treasury official said. For that fund replenishment, President Joe Biden has said the U.S. would provide a further $1 billion.

CLIMATE ENVOY

The GCF is a fund under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that helps developing countries with adaptation and mitigation practices to tackle climate change.

Last year, China briefly suspended talks with the United States on climate, security and other areas in response to a visit to Taiwan by U.S. House of Representatives then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Also speaking at the roundtable, U.S. Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns said he was looking forward to a visit by U.S. climate envoy John Kerry. Kerry has said China had invited him to visit soon.

Yellen also called back to the Summit for a New Global Financing Pact in Paris last month where she was pleased to join leaders from around the world, including Premier Li Qiang, according to a statement from the U.S. Treasury Department.

At the summit, Li had said China is ready to work with other countries to forge a global partnership for clean energy cooperation under the principles of mutual benefit and common but "differentiated" responsibilities.

FUNDING NEEDS

China is the largest market after Europe for climate funds, surpassing the U.S. as funds in China have more than doubled since 2021 to $46.7 billion, according to research firm Morningstar.

But the World Bank said last year China needs up to $17 trillion in additional investment for green infrastructure and technology in the power and transport sectors to reach its target of net-zero carbon emissions by 2060, underscoring the need for private investment.

"It is also critical that we encourage economy-wide transitions toward net-zero, which needs to include the private sector," Yellen said.

Yellen said she looked forward to hearing recommendations from working groups at the upcoming Group of 20 finance ministers meetings in India, including the Sustainable Finance Working Group, which the United States and China co-chair.

"This is a good of example of what our bilateral cooperation can achieve  and we should build on it in multilateral forums," she said.

(Reporting by Andrea Shalal in Beijing; Additional writing by Ryan Woo; Editing by William Mallard and Kim Coghill)
Police in the hamlet of Port Washington, New York, arrested a man on Wednesday on hate crime charges for an incident that took place last week, according to a report in Patch.

Police say Matthew Rowlinson, 26, walked up and threw a cup of hot coffee at the chest of a 21-year-old man outside a Starbucks on Saturday, July 1. Police also say Rowlinson yelled an antigay slur at the victim before leaving.

Earlier this week, police condemned the attack, saying there was zero tolerance for hate crime in their community.

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Be The Rainbow, a local LGBTQ+ advocacy group, also condemned the attack and expressed concern for the safety of residents.

We are horrified, saddened, and utterly shocked that a resident of our town could commit such an act of hate against another, the group posted to social media. Be The Rainbow unequivocally condemns this act of hate against our community and we will use every resource available to ensure that the victim feels loved and supported as they recover.

The groups co-founder, Melanie DArrigo, said in a statement she has and continues to take pride in the way Port Washington comes together in celebration of Pride and for its solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community.

That is why I am deeply saddened, angry, and horrified about the hate crime that recently took place, she posted to social media.

 (@)

Rowlinson was charged with third-degree assault as a hate crime and second-degree aggravated harassment as a hate crime. His next scheduled court appearance is July 20.


Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky marked 500 days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in a pre-recorded public address Saturday.

Speaking from Snake Island  the small Black Sea landmass which Russian warships bombarded in the first day of the war, capturing its small Ukrainian garrison who resisted surrender  Zelensky pledged neither the island nor the country would be conquered by the occupier.

Today, we honored here our Ukrainian heroes  all the soldiers who fought for this island, who liberated it. And although this is a small piece of land in the middle of our Black Sea, it is a great proof that Ukraine will regain every bit of its territory, he said.

Snake Island was recaptured by the Ukrainian military last July.

I want to thank  from here, from this place of victory  each of our soldiers for these 500 days, he added.

Intense fighting continues along the eastern and southern fronts of the war as Ukraine commits to the early phases of its counteroffensive against Russian lines.

Ukraine exceeded Western expectations in the conflict after it successfully repelled a Russian push to Kyiv in the early days of the war. The nation has since received over $181 billion in humanitarian and military aid from around the world, as of May 31, according to economic research nonprofit the Kiel Institute.

The U.S. pledged an additional $800 million in military aid on Friday, including controversial cluster munitions. The U.S. has also previously pledged F-16 fighter jets and Abrams main battle tanks for the conflict.

Let the freedom that all our heroes of different times wanted for Ukraine and that must be won right now be a tribute to all those who gave their lives for Ukraine, Zelensky said. We will definitely win!

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Zelenskyy appoints new commander of the National Guard

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has appointed combat officer Oleksii Pivnenko as Commander of the National Guard.

Source: Ukrinform, Zelenskyy in Lviv after returning from Turkiye together with the heroic commanders of the Defenders of Azovstal Iron and Steel Works.

Quote: "Among us now is the hero of Ukraine Oleksii Pivnenko, a powerful soldier of the National Guard, a combat officer who distinguished himself in the battles against the Russian invaders, in particular, in the fights for Bakhmut.

I have appointed Hero of Ukraine Oleksii Pivnenko as commander of the National Guard of Ukraine."

Details: The President wished the new commander of the National Guard the liberation of all Ukrainian land, the return of all Ukrainian people, as well as the desired victory.

In addition, the president presented the Ukrainian military with state awards.

Background: On 25 February 2022, Zelenskyy had appointed Yurii Lebed as commander of the National Guard.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
Volodymyr Zelenskyy honored the memory of fallen Ukrainian Heroes

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited Zmiyinyi Island (Snake Island) in the Black Sea on July 8, the 500th day since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion, according to a video from his trip posted on Facebook.

"I wish you health, dear Ukrainians," Zelenskyy said.

Today we are on Zmiyinyi. On our Zmiyinyi, which will never be conquered by the occupier, as well as the whole of Ukraine, because we are a country of the brave... Today, we honored our Ukrainian Heroes, all the soldiers who fought for this island, who liberated it. And although this is a small piece of land in the middle of our Black Sea, it is a great proof that Ukraine will regain every part of its territory.

While on the island, he also laid flowers at an improvised memorial dedicated to fallen Ukrainian defenders.

Read also:

Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron!

Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has recorded a video address to Ukrainians on the 500th day of the full-scale war.

Source: Zelenskyy on Facebook

Quote from Zelenskyy: "500 days of full-scale war.

Zmiinyi. A free island in a free Ukraine.

I am grateful to everyone who fought here against the occupiers. We honoured the memory of the heroes who gave their lives in this battle, one of the most important during the full-scale war.

Glory to every man and woman who is fighting for the sake of security in our Black Sea!"

Details: Kyrylo Budanov, the Chief of Defence Intelligence, and Andrii Yermak, the Head of the Office of the President, came to the island along with the president and the military.

Background: Zelenskyy visited Turkiye yesterday, on 7 July.

The day before yesterday, he was in Czechia, and the day before that, he was in Bulgaria.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, during a joint briefing with Turkiyes President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has said that the whole world has an interest in the "grain corridor" working for the export of Ukrainian grain, and therefore its functioning should not depend on Russia.

Source: video stream from the Office of the President of Ukraine

Quote from Zelenskyy: "The whole world has an interest in the grain corridor working. It is very important that we start acting with our partners in such a way that the life of the grain corridor, and therefore the life of people on other continents, including Asia and Africa, does not depend on the mood in which the Russian president wakes up.

We have this corridor today. It is not free, but structured and complex because Russia is blockading the Black Sea.

We cannot gather every time to think how the world's people will survive for the next two months and how to negotiate again. Therefore, it is very important that this corridor does not depend on the will of one state."

Details: For his part, Erdogan emphasised that Turkiye is making efforts to keep the "grain corridor" working after 17 July.

"Our wish is for the grain deal to be extended not once every two months, but at least once every three months," the Turkiyes president said.

Erdogan added that Turkiye will try to extend the term of the "agreement" by two years, and will talk about it with Putin.

Background: On 4 July, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia said that it does not consider it possible to extend the Black Sea Grain Initiative concluded last summer for the export of grain from Ukrainian ports.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
Five commanders from Azovstal Iron and Steel Works were brought back to Ukraine on Saturday following negotiations with Turkiye.

Source: Zelenskyy's website

Azovstal defenders coming back

All photos from Office of the president

Quote: "As a result of the negotiations with the Turkish side, Ukraine brought back to their homeland the military  defenders of Azovstal [steel plant]: Commander of the Azov special operations unit of the National Guard, Hero of Ukraine Denys Prokopenko, his deputy Sviatoslav Palamar, acting Commander of the 36th Marine Brigade Serhii Volynskyi, Senior Officer of the Azov unit Oleh Khomenko, and Commander of the 12th Brigade of the National Guard Denys Shleha."

Details: Reportedly, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met the defenders at the Istanbul airport and congratulated them on their return.

"I congratulate you! You are our heroes. I am very glad of your return to your homeland. Glory to Ukraine!" he said.

On board, Zelenskyy talked with the defenders of Azovstal and thanked them for their courage and resilience.

Background: Earlier on Saturday, Zelenskyy reported that military commanders who defended Azovstal Iron and Steel Works and then stayed in Turkiye after being released from Russian captivity as part of an exchange are returning to Ukraine from Turkiye.

Background:

On 21 September 2022, as part of a PoW swap with the Russian occupiers, Ukraine succeeded in freeing 215 Ukrainian defenders, including Denys Prokopenko, aka Radis, Serhii Volynskyi, aka Volyna, Svyatoslav Palamar, Denys Shleha and Oleh Khomenko  unit leaders of the defence of Azovstal. Ukrainian businessman and pro-Russian politician Viktor Medvedchuk, to whose daughter Putin is godfather, together with 55 Russian occupiers had been returned to Russia.

Five Azov Regiment leaders were in Turkiye under personal guarantees of protection and security from President Erdogan.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukraines agreements with Russia stipulate that the five leaders of the Azov Regiment who were released as part of the prisoner exchange on 21 September will remain in Turkiye until the end of the war.

In May 2023, Kateryna Prokopenko, founder of the Association of Azovstal Defenders Families and the wife of fighter Denys "Redis" Prokopenko, said that the Azov commanders in Turkiye live in a closed facility but have access to information.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
Photo 263852968  Vadreams | Dreamstime.com

Oregon State University has a beautiful campus, but the surrounding community in Corvallis, Oregon, struggles with pockets of poverty and homelessness. Amy Crevola, a clinical social worker who lives in a lower-income neighborhood near campus, decided to help in 2021.

She collected donated items and arranged them in her carport like a garage sale, except everything was free. The inventory included clothes, personal care items, baby supplies, household goods, and fresh sandwiches in a fridge. In the summer, a cooling station provides hats, sunscreen, and bottled water. And in the winter, a warming station offers socks, mittens, and hot cocoa.

Neighbors generally support the makeshift charity, and some volunteer to assist. As word spread, about 10 to 20 people started coming each day to take items and sometimes just to chat.

It's a private solution to a public problem. And zoning officials don't appreciate it.

The tension comes from competing philosophies about how best to address poverty and homelessness. The city's approach is to hide anything that threatens its brand as a top 10 college town and naturalist's paradise. Officers conduct monthly sweeps of encampments, pushing the indigent population elsewhere.

Funding for other approaches is limited. The city shut down its men's homeless shelter in June due to lack of resources, and other shelters face budget cuts and layoffs. Crevola's effort, by contrast, costs taxpayers nothing. But it puts an uncomfortable truth on full display.

So on June 9, armed with a single complaint, the zoning police issued a notice of violation that ordered Crevola to shut down within 30 days.

Hoping for a compromise, she offered to scale back operations. The city declined. Officials told her she could host six garage sales each calendar year, lasting no longer than two days each. Or she could convert her carport into a garage and hide her services behind a walla change that could cost $20,000 or more.

Both options come from Corvallis' code for home-based businesses. But Crevola does not operate a home-based business. The people who visit are guests, not customers, and no money changes hands.

The city doesn't care. It says the code allows people to use their property only for a list of predefined activities. There is no room for innovation.

Zoning police use similar tactics nationwide to restrict activities that some people find unsightly. Our public interest law firm, the Institute for Justice, has seen just about everything.

Regulators blocked Kathy Hay from sharing food with her neighbors using a publicly accessible pantry behind her home in Asotin County, Washington. Regulators blocked Kimberly Dunckel from hosting small classes at her sanctuary for abused and disabled farm animals in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. And regulators blocked a charity in Calhoun, Georgia, from building affordable homes on its land because city leaders didn't want to attract "riffraff."

Sometimes parks are off-limits too. Officers arrested grandmother Norma Thornton for serving meals to the homeless on public land in Bullhead City, Arizona. Some zoning departments even criminalize kindness in commercial districts. Code enforcers tried to block a homeless shelter in a donated office building in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina.

Besides violating property rights, these crackdowns are short-sighted. Poverty and homelessness are complex problems. Government officials should welcome assistance wherever they can find it.

They should treat people like Crevola as allies, not public nuisances.

The post Zoning Police Criminalize Kindness in Oregon appeared first on Reason.com.
The launch of social media network Threads has captured headlines across the globe.

The launch of social media network Threads has captured headlines across the globe, emerging as a prominent news story throughout the week. This isnt surprising  Elon Musk, owner of competing social network Twitter, and Mark Zuckerberg, owner of Threads, have already begun to feud over their rival services. NV Techno has collected opinions about the new social network and showed what people in the West and Ukraine think about it.

What is Threads and who owns the service

Threads was launched by Meta, the parent company of social network Facebook, on July 6. Meta began tooting its own horn barely moments later. Within the first two hours, the app reported over 2 million use registration, and within a day, this figure reached more than 30 million. Accounts of major companies quickly appeared on newly launched network, including Billboard, HBO, NPR, Netflix, and others. Not everyone is on board, however  internet giant Google and investment bank Goldman Sachs seem to be in no hurry to create accounts on the new social network.

But what is behind the rapid rise of popularity for this network? What is Threads and how did it manage to immediate attract such a wide audience? At first, the answer seems obvious: Meta has created a slightly modified Twitter "in house". The company described the social network as "a new, separate space for real-time updates and public conversations." The goal of the service: "to take what Instagram does best and expand that to text, creating a positive and creative space to express your ideas.

However, UK newspaper The Guardian characterized Threads differently. Their journalists see it as a cross between Twitter and Instagram, with an emphasis on drawing attention to TikTok-style messages. The design also makes a reference to the first two services. For example, the notification feed looks like Musk's social network, but with a number of cosmetic changes. And some menus were clearly inspired by the visual style of Instagram. But in terms of functionality, Threads lags far behind both Twitter and other industry mainstays.

Following Threads launch, US tech outlet Engadget collected the opinions of users who pointed out specific problems with the service. For one thing, the feed is completely dependent on internal algorithms  there is no way to highlight messages from people you follow. There is also no editing function, and no hashtags. In other words, in terms of functionality, the service is rather crude when compared to its competitors.

Threads is considered a political project ABC News

Some believe that Meta accelerated the launch of the app amid criticism of Twitters restrictions on post viewing. In addition, by default, Threads entire audience consists of Instagram users, because Threads and Instagram share a common account. Profiles for the two networks cannot be separated, or deleted separately. After registering on the Threads, you can only hide your account and clear all messages. But it will still be listed as an existing account.

Read also: Analysis of Twitter algorithm code reveals social medium down-ranks tweets about Ukraine

This gave rise to another theory: that Zuckerberg launched Threads to "draw" new audience reach and demand more money from advertisers. At the same time, it is unclear how many unique users decided to create an account specifically for the new social network  those 30 million, after all, by default will include new Instagram signups. Meta is in no hurry to disclose their actual statistics.

The controversy around Threads has also involved politics. In the fall of 2024, the United States will hold its presidential elections, and social media will be used as a major campaigning platform. Campaigns already have experience with Twitter, due to the services long lifespan. However, with Threads nebulous new algorithms, and unclear crossover with Instagram, campaigns will need to take time to research and optimize their activities on Metas new network.

What people in the West think about Threads

In a social network, users primarily value convenience, novel features, and common sense moderation. And based on initial reviews from Western journalists, Threads appears to have faltered on most counts.

Journalists have noted several additional issues with the network: the Threads web interface only permits viewing messages  posts cannot be searched, and it is not available in the EU at all, thanks to the EUs strong data privacy protections. According to Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri, the service was not launched in the region due to "complexities with complying with some of the laws coming into effect next year." Presumably, he refers to new data privacy regulations scheduled to take effect in 2024.

Read also: After backlash on Twitter, Musk says he "still supports Ukraine", but fears escalation

Another apt statement about Threads comparatively poor functionality came from UKs The Evening Standard newspaper: "There are some other notable differences [from Twitter], too: no drafts, no direct messaging, no search-by-hashtag function and  my biggest bugbear  no desktop version. Clearly Zuckerberg has never set foot in a newsroom or that wouldve [been] the first thing hed introduce if he wanted a serious chance at rivaling Twitter.

There isnt only criticism, though  some publications did identify several positives of the new service, including, notably, its 500 character limit for posts  nearly twice as large as Twitters 280 characters. Meanwhile, U.S. news outlet Slate pointed out that Threads can be very useful for users who have already built a following on Instagram. For example, YouTuber MrBeast gained more than a million followers in a day  largely due to Threads recommending existing Instagram users who register for threads the same accounts to follow. This rapid growth is undoubtably a plus for social media influencers, and their fans.

Meanwhile, the atmosphere at Threads has garnered both praise and criticism, with the UKs The Guardian commending the networks more friendly vibe, while U.S. tech outlet TechCrunch pointed out that "Threads is incredibly boring and will likely stay that way because it adheres to Instagrams puritanical community guidelines." That is, the new social network prohibits any nudity, except for the demonstration of female nipples in the context of nursing. Reporters believe that with such puritanical censorship, Threads will never be able to compete with Twitter on equal terms. People will continue to use Musk's social network to publish edgier posts.

Western journalists were not impressed by Threads IGN

Ukrainians' opinions on Threads

Some Ukrainian users expressed that Threads has a nice design and leaves a positive first impression. However, many complained of the same functionality issues raised by Western users. For instance, some users transferred the entirety of their Instagram subscriptions  dramatically swelling their feed and making specific messages difficult to find without a search function. Others complained the web version takes too long to load messages, indicating poor optimization.

However, Ukrainians core issue with Threads revolves around blocking. The new social network has moderation guidelines similar to Facebook. According to the rules, it's never okay to encourage violence or attack someone based on their race, ethnicity, national origin, disability, religious affiliation, caste, sexual orientation, sex, gender identity and serious disease." This means that any post that moderators consider offensive can result in a ban.

Read also: UNITED24 reports problems of Ukrainian users with two-factor Twitter authentication, gets shadow ban

This, of course, conflicts with one of Ukraines strongest tools in the information field  aggressively pushing back against Russian narratives online.

Posts about the invaders and Putin that contained foul language or death wishes are being perceived as "hate speech. The CEO of Ukrainian online bank Monobank, Oleg Gorokhovsky, and well-known blogger Serhiy Sternenko, have both had posts deleted under this policy.

Other users over reported being banned by the network, or their posts deleted, as well  for example, common social media posts such as photos of the aftermath of the Russian missile attack on Lviv with an emotive caption. But most notably, Ukrainians took to Twitter to complain about Threads. In Ukraine, at least, this draconian policy seemingly ensures that Zuckerberg's new social app has no chance of surpassing Musk's platform for the time being.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
A person was shot Friday afternoon in downtown Amherst in the area of South Main and East Court streets, the Amherst Police Department said in a news release issued early Saturday.

At about 4:33 p.m. Friday, the town police department was dispatched to that section of South Main Street for a report of an individual with a gunshot wound, according to the release.

An individual was located in the area with life-threatening injuries, the release said. Officers immediately provided first aid and Amherst County Public Safety personnel arrived to treat the victim, according to town police. The Amherst Police Department determined the suspect was still on the scene and he was immediately detained, the release said.

Zachary Chase Walker, 18, of Amherst, was charged with one count each of malicious wounding, using a firearm in commission of a felony and brandishing a firearm, according to town police.

The Amherst County Sheriffs Office and Virginia State Police also responded to the incident, the release said.

The investigation is ongoing. The department asks anyone with information about the incident to reach out to Captain Watts or Investigator Floyd at (434) 946-9300.

- Justin Faulconer
The Concerned Citizens of Pottawattamie County hosted a community conversation Saturday morning in Oakland to discuss and answer questions about the upcoming special election that will determine how county supervisors will be elected for at least the next 10 years.

The group, in partnership with the Western Iowa Labor Federation, was part of the effort to gather signatures to trigger the special election.

About 10 people sat around tables at Destination Coffee as Shawna Anderson, a local business owner and CCPC member, explained the three options voters will be faced with in the Aug. 1 special election, and why she is advocating for Plan Three.

The three options are:

Plan One  At large and without district residence requirements for the members (current plan)

Plan Two  At large but with equal-population district residence requirements for the members

Plan Three  From single-member equal-population districts in which the electors of each district shall elect one member who must reside in that district

Part of the reason I support (Plan Three), my biggest reason, is that I would have a board member who is practically my neighbor and who would be accountable to me, Anderson said. Right now, youve got four board members that are all practically neighbors in a 10 mile radius of each other. So, in a county thats 950 square miles and everybodys like, in this little bubble, thats where all your votes are coming from.

With Plan Three, Anderson said, rural residents of Pottawattamie County would be guaranteed at least one supervisor who would be representative of their concerns.

One of the attendees pointed out that first-term supervisor Susan Miller lives in Carson, which is certainly a rural community, and while that may be true, Miller isnt entirely a rural candidate, according to Western Iowa Labor Federation President Jen Pellant.

Shes not sitting on that board because she lives in Carson, shes sitting on that board in spite of the fact that she lives in Carson, Pellant said. Shes sitting on that board because she worked in the Omaha metro area at a bank for years and years and years. She and her husband are very well known in the city. She was on the Iowa West Foundation, so she has a lot of connections with the powerful and monied folks in Council Bluffs, and so thats where her votes come from.

Pellant reiterated that even though the county board currently has a very qualified supervisor from a rural community, there still isnt a guarantee that there will be a rural representative in the future.

Opponents of Plan Three have cautioned that, due to Council Bluffs large population size compared to the rest of the county, the rural part of the county might only be guaranteed one representative.

Future community conversations are planned throughout the month, leading up to the Aug. 1 special election. Each of these meetings will be hosted by the Concerned Citizens group as it advocates for change to the current plan:

Wednesday, July 12, 6 p.m. at The Back Forty Bar and Grill in Macedonia

Thursday, July 13, 6 p.m. at Casa Mexicana in Avoca

Wednesday, July 19, 6 p.m. at Jakes Station, Hancock

Tuesday, July 25, 5:30 to 7 p.m. at Carter Lake Community Center, Carter Lake
A Johnson County massage therapist who lost his license three years ago due to sexual impropriety with clients is facing new allegations tied to a criminal conviction for having resumed his practice with a suspended license.

In September 2020, the Iowa Board of Massage Therapy issued an emergency order suspending the license of a Darryl Dodd of Tiffin. At the time, he was accused of failing to conform to the minimum standard of acceptable and prevailing practice for a massage therapist.

The board alleged that in the fall of 2017, while providing a massage to a female client, he removed the sheet covering the client and exposed the womans breasts. He then proceeded to touch her breasts and make comments such as, You have a nice rack on you, and, Can you imagine if someone walked in right now what sex position this would look like?

In 2019, he reportedly provided a massage to another woman and touched her pubic area without her consent while commenting how nice and fit she was. He allegedly contacted the woman later and offered to teach her a procedure that makes guys super excited and really gets guys off.

According to the board, Dodd allegedly told one female customer in an email, Anxiety hit me hard as soon as I uncovered your breast tissue. He allegedly told investigators that after exposing the womans breasts he sounded like a perverted teenager with Tourette syndrome and I could not get myself to shut up.

During the boards investigation, Dodd allegedly said to investigators, Am I aggressive on getting close to the private areas? Yes, guilty as charged, but I do it because I know that the results I get are far superior to those that do not.

He was also accused of telling investigators, I am what some would consider aggressive with my techniques because they are on or close to the private areas.

The emergency suspension of Dodds license led to a hearing at which the board charged Dodd with unethical conduct and professional incompetency and suspended his license for a minimum of five years.

Last August, Coralville police charged Dodd with running a massage therapy business without the required permit from the city. Court records indicate Dodd claimed to only be practicing reflexology the clinic, which would not require a license, but police alleged he advertised massage therapy services at his business, through email communications, and through an online program used to book appointments. After a trial, he was found guilty and fined $105.

The Iowa Board of Massage Therapy recently charged Dodd with being convicted of an offense that directly relates to the duties and responsibilities of the profession. A hearing on the matter is scheduled for Sept. 5.

Counties with the worst droughts in Iowa Counties with the worst droughts in Iowa Iowa statistics #25. Webster County #24. Fremont County #23. Shelby County #22. Sioux County #21. Kossuth County #20. Humboldt County #19. Carroll County #18. Mills County #1. Ida County (tie) #1. Pocahontas County (tie) #1. Crawford County (tie) #1. Plymouth County (tie) #1. Clay County (tie) #1. Cherokee County (tie) #1. Palo Alto County (tie) #1. Osceola County (tie) #1. O'Brien County (tie) #1. Harrison County (tie) #1. Dickinson County (tie) #1. Sac County (tie) #1. Monona County (tie) #1. Woodbury County (tie) #1. Emmet County (tie) #1. Calhoun County (tie) #1. Buena Vista County (tie)
Public records illuminate how decisions are made, far more than the carefully edited and stage-managed declarations shared at news conferences and in news releases.

The Iowa Legislature was explicit in 1967: "Free and open examination of public records is generally in the public interest, even though such examination may cause inconvenience or embarrassment to public officials or others."

In 56 years since, a great many public officials have ignored this premise. But the Iowa Supreme Court has shown in a pair of opinions this term that it got the message, and the state will be better for it.

This decision fell to the Supreme Court because defiance of the 1967 law's spirit is easy to find. The governor's office has frustrated requests by declining to even answer them. Agencies at all levels have conditioned their compliance on Iowans paying exorbitant six-figure review fees. The law started with 11 exceptions for maintaining confidentiality, but subsequent legislatures have added on average over one new exception every year. Judgments of the Iowa Public Information Board often seem to turn on its head the original idea  presuming public access at the outset  and err on the side of privacy, deferring to discretionary decisions against disclosure.

In the two lawsuits against the state decided this year, the allegations were egregious (and state lawyers disputed only a few of them).

1. For months on end, Gov. Kim Reynolds' office all but ignored eight straightforward requests from Bleeding Heartland and Iowa Capital Dispatch journalists and the Iowa Freedom of Information Council. When the organizations and journalists sued, some of the records were, magically, provided.

2. Polly Carver-Kimm fulfilled public information requests for years as part of her job with the Iowa Department of Public Health. She says that the responsibility was taken away from her in stages as she butted heads with superiors and Reynolds' staffers for being prompt and helpful in her work at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. She eventually resigned and sued for wrongful discharge.

State had argued that timeliness doesn't matter

The Iowa Attorney General's Office took some big swings to try to swat down the lawsuits. It argued that Iowa Code Chapter 22, the public records law, does not require timely compliance and that, even if it did, Reynolds' staff was exempt. It argued that the public interest in upholding transparency laws wasn't a good enough reason to bar officials from firing employees for complying with those laws. But district judges and Supreme Court majorities found instead that there are consequences for trying to shield the public's eyes from the public's business.

Especially in the case directly addressing how the governor's office dealt with requests, a ruling favoring state government would have tragically undermined Iowans' practical ability to know about representatives' work beyond their public, often self-serving pronouncements. The 6-0 decision dismisses the fiction that only explicit and ongoing refusal to share records breaks the law: "We conclude that a defendant may 'refuse' either by (1) stating that it won't produce records, or (2) showing that it won't produce records," wrote Justice David May.

The other case was closer: A 4-3 ruling lets Carver-Kimm continue pursuing her wrongful-discharge claim, but only against her departmental superiors, not against Reynolds or her deputies. Whether or not Carver-Kimm ultimately prevails, it's refreshing that four justices found her transparency-related arguments about public policy more compelling than the well-established principle that most employees in Iowa can legally be dismissed for any or for no reason.

Justice Matthew McDermott correctly observed: "What if, for instance, a lawful custodian is told by their boss that if they produce some embarrassing records, they'll be fired? Without legal protection for the custodian in this circumstance, it's likely that the records will never be produced  and the records' existence will never be known to the requesting party."

Few duties are of more critical importance than informing the public

Among the duties of every public official, few are higher than providing accurate information to the people. Iowans entrusted with this responsibility should review these court decisions and act accordingly, with prompt and candid responses to requests for records. In doing so, they will deliver insight to Iowans, to which state law entitles them. And they will avoid taxpayer expense for unnecessary litigation  double expense in some cases, The State Appeal Board last month approved paying about $135,000 to the journalists' lawyers as part of a settlement agreement.

"The governor's office has stated it has revisited its open records policies and has committed to doing better moving forward," Thomas Story, an American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa attorney, said during a news conference. "For our clients and us, this settlement agreement is about ensuring that it indeed will."

Public records illuminate how decisions are made, far more than the carefully edited and stage-managed declarations shared at news conferences and in news releases. Legislators in the 1960s recognized and codified that the people have every interest in how they're being governed and the right to find out. Or, as was declared almost 250 years ago this month, "Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed."

P.S.: Keeping public out of meetings also ends poorly for elected officials

Iowa's open meetings law, the companion to the open records law, serves the similarly important purpose of allowing any Iowan to be present where their representatives are considering or taking action, with carefully defined exceptions.

The Iowa Freedom of Information Council and local news organizations won a victory on this front by securing a settlement with the Bettendorf school board in which its members admitted illegally banning reporters from a public meeting last year.

About 300 people met in May 2022 to talk about misbehavior at a middle school. All but one school board member was present. Unfortunately, as Freedom of Information Council Executive Director Randy Evans wrote in a column, the district rebuffed complaints that day and afterward, and the Iowa Public Information Board "swallowed hook, line and sinker a laughable claim by school attorneys that school board members were at the gathering only as interested citizens."

A lawsuit and the settlement followed. Bettendorf's schools join the list of public agencies, such as the Warren County Board of Supervisors, whose attempts to evade the public meetings law have ended in embarrassment.
Speak out ahead of special session

Gov. Reynolds has called for a special session of the Iowa Legislature at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday, July 11, 2023 for the sole purpose of enacting a fetal heartbeat bill or at about six weeks of pregnancy.

Many women dont know that theyre pregnant then. It is not known if the legislation will have exceptions for victims of rape, incest, life-threatening risk for the mothers health or fetal abnormalities. Passage of the legislation will for all practical purposes eliminate a womans ability to make decisions about her own body past six weeks of pregnancy.

Roe was overturned one year ago by a partisan Supreme Court ending the 50-year precedent of reproductive freedom in the United States. Gov. Kim Reynolds cheered this decision and tried to use the Iowa courts to instill bans. Two weeks ago, the Iowa Supreme Court upheld that abortion care in Iowa is safe and legal up to 20 weeks. Gov. Reynolds wants to ban abortion in Iowa, ban medication abortions and limit access to birth control. We cant let them!

Iowans are compassionate and value the freedom to access abortion and make personal, private decisions without political interference. Legislators have no place in the examining room or prohibiting doctors from providing life-saving care to a woman and her family. Women should have control of our bodies, lives and futures.

Abortion bans falls hardest on those who already face unequal barriers to heathcare, especially young people, LGBTQ+ people, people working to make ends meet and Black and brown people.

Efforts to restrict access to abortion care are part of an agenda to ban abortion nationwide. This is about control and power. It is painfully apparent that Iowas majority party cares little about children once they are born. They try to claim that the life of the unborn is sacred. They fail to show any compassion for women who miscarry after six weeks of pregnancy and need access to abortion to save their own life.

The majority of Iowans support the freedom to decide for ourselves. Politicians have no place in that equation. Reproductive rights including safe and legal abortion, must be protected. Contact your state representative and senator. Demand that they defeat this effort to limit womens access to abortions. It could be your own daughter or granddaughter who will face the decision. Do you want politicians involved or barring a doctors' care?

Pat Shipley

Nodaway

Prayers answered

Thank you for the June 27 article entitled Abortion clinic in Bluffs is closing. The title describes what happens on the northwest corner of the intersection of 16th Street and Second Avenue.

When a pregnant woman or girl enters the building for an abortion only one living being leaves. The decision is conscious and premeditated by both the female and the abortion provider. A rational person calls that murder.

The article states that the clinic is closing. Those of us who witness at Planned Parenthood and do adoration at Gabriels Corner across the street think our prayers are being answered. At the same time, we pray that another abortion provider does not continue the practice there or anywhere else in Council Bluffs.

By witnessing, I mean standing in the parking along the sidewalk facing Planned Parenthood and praying the mysteries of the holy rosary. Protestants also pray. We know all prayers are heard and answered by God. Some volunteers engage women by offering services at Gabriels Corner, such as ultrasounds and abortion reversal medication. We get thumbs-up from passers-by and screamed at.

All life comes from the union of male and female and carried by the female. Abortion is about one, and only one, issue: the unborn child. The left tries to confuse this issue with other factors. Once a child is conceived it deserves to be born and loved.

Our effort is not over. Any society that willfully murders the most vulnerable, most defenseless member of that society, regardless of the justification, cannot survive for long, proven by history, as with the decadence of the Roman Empire. I am a life member of the Knights of Columbus  we are pro-life.

Brian Hunter

Council Bluffs
SEOUL, South Korea (AP)  North Korea stayed silent Wednesday about the detention of an American soldier who sprinted across the Koreas heavily fortified border as other members of his tour group looked on in shock. Some observers said the North was unlikely to send him back any time soon a
Moroccos active role in the fight against synthetic drugs was highlighted during a virtual ministerial meeting to Launch the Global Coalition to Address Synthetic Drug Threats. The coalition, set up at at the initiative of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, is meant to pool efforts to prevent the production and trafficking of illicit synthetic drugs, identify emerging drug trends and use patterns, and respond to their public health impacts.

Morocco is committed to playing an active role in the fight against synthetic drug threats, in line with its global commitments, stressed, on Friday from Rabat, Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita, who was speaking at the virtual ministerial meeting on accelerating and strengthening the global response to synthetic drugs.

Bourita welcomed the establishment of this new global mechanism, noting that the coalition comes at a crucial time, given the devastating consequences of drug use on health, security, and social cohesion.

The success of this global coalition requires the collective commitment of all stakeholders in this fight, added the Minister, stressing that international cooperation and multilateralism should be its guiding principles.

In this connection, Bourita cited three key recommendations to improve the future action of this coalition, including the establishment of an effective alert system to identify new emerging synthetic substances. This system should facilitate the rapid exchange of information and intelligence between member countries, to enable rapid detection and reaction.

The second recommendation addresses prevention, treatment, and awareness by prioritizing early healthcare intervention and treatment options, strengthening scientific and research partnerships to stay ahead of evolving synthetic drug trends, and implementing awareness, education, and community resilience programs, both online and offline.

The Minister also called for the promotion of international collaboration through increased cooperation between countries in joint operations, and capacity building and partnerships between scientific communities, healthcare professionals and law enforcement agencies for effective responses, with a focus on the African continent.

The growing loss of human life due to synthetic drugs is a strong reminder of the urgent need for concerted action, added the Moroccan official, pointing out that the demand for and supply of synthetic drugs is increasing, leading to the emergence of new markets beyond the traditional ones.

Based on data from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), he recalled that by 2021, almost 300 million people had taken drugs, including synthetic drugs, representing a 23% increase in ten years.

The number of people suffering from drug-related disorders has almost reached 40 million, representing an increase of 45% over the last decade, underlined Bourita.

Referring to proven collaboration between drug traffickers and various non-state actors, including terrorist and separatist groups, he said that these groups use the profits generated by their illicit activities to exacerbate regional instability, further underlining the urgent need for global strategies.

In Morocco, drug use and addiction are recognized as a major public health problem, and the fight against drug trafficking is a national priority, he stressed, noting that the Kingdom suffers from the smuggling of synthetic drugs in its region.

Over the last three years alone, Moroccan authorities have seized more than 5 million psychotropic tablets, mainly smuggled into Morocco from neighboring countries, he recalled.

To effectively combat the harmful effects of this problem, Morocco has implemented a comprehensive and integrated strategy to combat drug and psychotropic substance trafficking, which is periodically aligned with resolutions adopted by United Nations bodies and focuses on reducing supply, preventing drug abuse and consumption, combating illicit trafficking, and strengthening international cooperation, he concluded.

The meeting highlighted by the adoption of a Joint Ministerial Declaration that formalizes the creation of the Global Coalition to Address Synthetic Drugs.

In closing remarks, Antony Blinken expressed thanks to all the governments that helped shape the declaration text and put it together.

This declaration, simply put, signals our collective commitment to curb the threats from synthetic drugs through global partnerships amongst ourselves, in coordination with nongovernmental stakeholders, including civil society and the private sector, the US Secretary of State said.

It reaffirms the critical role that the United Nations and other relevant organizations play, and commits our coalition to continue collaborating with them to address this threat, he added, calling on the signatories to work together to develop practical policies, to deliver concrete results, to diminish the public health and public security threats posed by synthetic drugs, and indeed, improve the lives of our people.
Africa has become the second-largest recipient of credit from India while over the past decade 18 of the 25 new Indian embassies or consulates were opened in the continent, as the South Asian powerhouse tries to catch up with Chinas massive sway in the resource-rich continent.

Many African nations received about $12 billion or 38% of all credit extended by India in the past decade, just a few percentage points below its neighbors, according to Harsha Bangari, Managing Director of Indias Export Import Bank. The bank is an instrument of Indias economic diplomacy, Bangari said, adding that the South Asian nation has also opened up 195 project-based lines of credit across Africa, three times the number it has in its own region in the last decade. These credit lines have been utilized for crucial projects in healthcare, infrastructure, agriculture, and irrigation, driving a steady increase in demand from Africa.

Despite these impressive figures, India has lagged behind its bigger and wealthier neighbor in making inroads in Africa. While Chinas loans to Africa have dipped since 2016, overall between 2010-2020, it pledged $134.6 billion, or more than 11 times more than which India has offered, to African nations, according to data from Boston Universitys Global Development Policy Center. China has also made an early move to tap mineral resources in Africa, including new centers of lithium supply, helping it navigate a tight market for a key metal for electric vehicles.

However, Prime Minister Narendra Modis government has pushed for greater reach into Africa, boosting both economic and diplomatic links. As the continent deals with the economic fallout of the pandemic and Russias war in Ukraine, New Delhi is seeing an opportunity to push deeper into the continent.
The COVID-19 pandemic might not be raging like it once was, but the virus is still having an impact on many Nebraskans, including one local 73
Technology and science are getting closer to being able to accomplish the premise of the movie Jurassic Park  taking DNA from an extinct species and creating a modern version of that animal.

In this case, the species is the woolly mammoth which once roamed in what is now Nebraska. The remains of mammoths have been found in all 93 counties of Nebraska. Mammoths are true elephants and lived here in vast numbers on the Great Plains.

The DNA that scientists have been studying came from hair samples from two woolly mammoths found in Siberia.

Glen MacDonald is a UCLA geography professor who was part of research team that studied why the mammoths died out about 10,000 years ago. Many previous theories on the mammoths decline are blamed various singular events. The UCLA teams research was the first to map and date multiple aspects of the prehistoric times.

There were thriving populations of mammoths in the Yukon, northern Alberta and other northern sections of Canada 30,000 to 40,000 years ago, MacDonald told Canadian Geographic magazine.

But around 20,000 years ago, at the peak of the last ice age, mammoths were struggling to survive, their populations were decreasing, the magazine wrote.

It was formerly thought that they really adapted to the ice age, but what were finding is thats not necessarily true, especially for northern populations in places such as the Yukon and Alaska, McDonald said. The ice age was pretty rough on them.

MacDonald explained to the magazine that the last ice age ended around 15,000 years ago. The climate became warmer, glaciers receded and vegetation sprouted. Initially mammoth populations increased, but as the land changed to more coniferous forest and shrub land, the habitat mammoths thrived on began to shrink.

When a cold snap hit the northern hemisphere about 13,000 years ago, mammoth populations declined further but were not wiped out completely. Around the same time, humans began hunting mammoths.

MacDonald says that with the changes already occurring; even a small amount of hunting pressure might have been enough to push mammoths to extinction. The last mammoths in Canada died out around 9,000 to 10,000 years ago, though the animal didnt disappear completely until about 4,000 years ago, when the last of the species died on Wrangel Island, off the coast of Siberia.

Im not sure I agree with all of MacDonalds theory. Apparently he overlooked the evidence of mammoths found in Nebraska, but thats another story.

However, new analysis of the woolly mammoth genome has revealed several adaptations that allowed the furry beasts to thrive in the subzero temperatures of the last ice age, including a metabolism that allowed them to pack on insulating fat, smaller ears that lost less heat and a reduced sensitivity to cold.

The findings suggest that researchers could resurrect the ice-age icon or at least a hybridized Asian elephant with a few of the physical traits of its woolly-haired cousin, said study co-author Vincent Lynch, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Chicago. This technological feat may be closer to becoming a real possibility.

It wont be that long till were technically able to do it, but whether we should is a different question, Lynch said, according to a University of Chicago News piece. Personally, I dont think we should.

DNA research has shown that woolly mammoths are closely related to Asian elephants. Researchers were able to compare the genome from the woolly mammoth and their modern day relative. The genomes are very close.

George Church, a geneticist at Harvard University, believes that since scientists now know what genes helped the woolly mammoth survive in the ice age, they will try and create a hybrid Asian elephant that is resistant to cold. Church is currently trying to do just that.

We thought wed just make the changes that are most likely to lead to an animal that looks, behaves and is adaptable to the cold like a mammoth, Church said in an interview with the Christian Science Monitor.

Church says that by making Asian elephants resistant to cold that it will enlarge the area in which these elephants can live and thrive, thus insuring the survival of the species. This debate is not new.

National Geographic magazine covered de-extinction a decade ago. The National Geographic Society also hosted a forum on the subject,

Scientists studying mammoth DNA were published in the journal Cell Reports and pointed out that mammoths also had genetic differences from the Asian elephant in the way they stored fat for insulation against the cold, how the mammoth processed insulin and they discovered a hormone that regulates the bodys use of blood sugar for energy. Diabetes research anyone?

Now the biologist in me says this is an experiment that ought not to happen. Once we get a modern woolly mammoth, what would we do with it? With the landscape as it is today, I dont think mammoths are not something we would want roaming free across Nebraska. There are far too many issues with things like crop damage  and what would happen if you hit a mammoth on the highway in the middle of the night?

Conversely, the hunter in me says, Bring it on! Id jump at the chance to hunt this creature the way that plains peoples did thousands of years ago. Spears would be the most traditional tool to use, but a big bore safari rifle would probably be close at hand as a backup. Hunters could probably finance the experiment. As I often say in my seminars on hunting, if you want to save or strengthen a species, put a hunting season on it. Hunters will foot the bill!

Teddy Roosevelt once said, In a civilized and cultivated country wild animals only continue to exist at all when preserved by sportsmen. The excellent people who protest against all hunting, and consider sportsmen as enemies of wildlife, are ignorant of the fact that in reality the genuine sportsman is by all odds the most important factor in keeping the larger and more valuable wild creatures from total extermination.

Roosevelt was right! I dont think we will be able to hunt mammoths again on the plains, but it is fun to think about.
A Master Sommelier with over 40 years of experience in the food and wine industry will lead Saturdays wine tasting at The Tony and Libba Rane Culinary Science Center.

Thomas Price serves as the Master Sommelier for the 1856, a teaching restaurant for the Horst Schulze School of Hospitality Management.

Hes helped put the 1856 restaurant on the map. The Wine Spectator, a lifestyle magazine, named the eatery in its list of the 10 best new restaurants in 2023.

The wine tasting will be held at the Wine Appreciation Center, normally used for Prices students in HOSP 4600: Beverage Appreciation. Price invites the challenge of modifying his class to fit the more adult crowd, the goal for him is to give the customers a look at what his students experience, without going to that level of education.

When Price first joined the restaurant business, he never dreamed of becoming the first African-American Master Sommelier. As a matter of fact, Price didnt imagine it would ever be his career when he started as a dishwasher. Price became an orphan at age of 15 after a disagreement with his guardian. He decided to go out on his own and turned to the restaurants he had been working at.

I had become very self-reliant early on, and the restaurants that I worked at became my family, Price said. Youre surrounded by food and drink and hospitality in the restaurant industry. And that was just something that became a very natural extension of support for me.

It was during this time that Price discovered his genuine passion for hospitality and he began to rise through the ranks of the restaurant business. By the age of 18, he was running his own kitchen. At age 21, he moved to the front of the house to work at restaurants in Alaska. Then, he moved to Seattle to further his career at some of the best restaurants in the area.

In 1997, Price took on his biggest challenge yet when he opened Luau Polynesian Lounge, which Price referred to as a tiki bar with really upscale food and fun cocktails. Price opted to sell the business in 2004, looking for a less grueling workload and even considered opening a neighborhood wine shop, but he found his next challenge through his friend and mentor Shayn Bjornholm, becoming a Master Sommelier.

I wanted wine to be my focus. I knew that and Shayn had just passed his Master Sommelier exam, Price said. I saw him at a wine event and the look on his face was something that I was like, Man, I want that. I dont know what that is, but that look of achievement and accomplishment is something that I want.

Price embarked on a quest that ultimately took eight years, four levels and four different exams, becoming a Master Sommelier.

He went from owning a restaurant to becoming a waiter once again, this time at the Metropolitan Grill in Seattle in order to be around a wine program. Through five years studying, Price passed the first three levels of Sommelier status. Then, in 2009, he took the Master Sommelier Diploma exam for the first time and failed to pass.

The final exam is broken down into three categories: theory, service, and deductive tasting. Theory calls for answering questions in an oral exam. Service is a role-playing portion, which Thomas said could be as challenging as serving the Queen of England while she is in bad mood.

The one that really separates us from every other sort of certification in the world is the deductive tasting, Price said. It could be six wines of any company. And you have 25 minutes to correctly identify the grape variety, the country, the region, the district, the quality level and the vintagewhen youre in that room its the Super Bowl.

Since the exam was introduced in 1969, only 273 people have passed and the pass rate is around 10%. It would take Price three more years of studying and three more attempts before he would complete his journey and make history.

For Price, it was the Super Bowl and more than that, it was a chance at legitimacy and a chance to take his career, one that hed spent almost three decades building, to the next level and to pass on his knowledge to the next generation.

I decided to pursue a certification that would hopefully legitimize my place in the world of wine from an education perspective, he said. The wine knowledge and camaraderie, the groups of people that you get close to are amazing, but the ascent of the mountaintop just really becomes a very big thing for people.

In 2012, Price finally reached the mountaintop, passed the exam and became an American Master Sommelier. From there, he immediately jumped into the world of wine education, joining Jackson Family Fine Wines (JFFW) in 2014 as the Director of Wine Education and almost a year after reaching Master Sommelier status, he joined the Somm Foundations board of directors.

Soon after joining, he was made the director of scholarships and was recently named the chairman of the Somm Foundation. It was in this role with the Somm Foundation that Price began to realize the impact he could have, and the significance of him becoming the first Black American to ever achieve Master Sommelier status.

I passed 11 years ago, and it still hasnt sunk in, Price said. Its that part of this accomplishment that continues to add sort of credence and possibility to what I can do on a daily basis now in terms of leadership, and trying to help people.

In his role with Jackson Family Fine Wines, Price said he would travel up to 130,000 miles a year, teach wine in a variety of areas, attempt to sell the JFFW products and learn more about the wine industry.

During this time, he was also serving on the Court of Master Sommeliers Americas. That is when his collegiate teaching career took off as he began to teach beverage related courses for five universities: Purdue University, Delaware University, University of South Carolina, Cal Poly Pomona and Auburn University.

Price worked with those universities for over eight years teaching an intro course for students interested in wine. He continued to build the Courts educational program through possible expansion.

Then, five years ago, another challenge and opportunity revealed itself when Hans van der Reijden, managing director for Hotel Operations & Educational Initiatives at Auburn and Founder and CEO of Ithaka Hospitality Partners, told Thomas about the plans for the Rane Culinary Science Center.

In his time working with Jackson Family Fine Wines and the Court of Master Sommeliers Americas, Price discovered a passion for teaching the younger generation.

I wanted to bring my passion for teaching about wine and beverage to a younger group, Price said. Its so much more fun to be talking to students who hopefully want to hear what I have to say and take that with them into their future and help build rebuild our industry because COVID sort of broke our industry.

Price said that the approach from van der Reijden, seeing the plans materialize over the past several years and the importance of field of hospitality to Auburn as seen in the Rane Center drove him toward choosing this path.

The opening of the Rane Center, which is the ultimate and most amazing expression of a hospitality education facility on the planet that currently exists and my relationship with when Hans van der Reijden and Dr. Martin ONeill, Price said of his decision to join the staff.

Dr. Martin ONeill is head of the School of Hospitality Management and has overseen the growth of the department, the building of the Rane Center and bringing on Price as an affiliate faculty member. Just one year in, ONeill says Prices class has been a success and his work with Caitlin Myers, Director of Community Engagement and Economic Development, in creating community courses like the wine tastings have already seen a response from the community.

Hes worked wonderfully with a full time faculty here in relation to preparation for that class, delivery of that class, and the assessment of that class, and I can tell you that the student reviews on that class are outstanding, ONeill said. He has worked well with her[Caitlin Myers] on developing and delivering a suite of community oriented courses here each month since last August, and they have been a tremendous success. The feedback from the community on those has been outstanding, they sold out in a heartbeat.

After more than four decades in the restaurant business, Price knows that there is more that can be done, from 1856 to his work in the classroom and with the community, as he still has the drive to excel in his field.

You have to try to get better every day in a restaurant, especially a restaurant like ours where we change the menu every two weeks. Were teaching students, Price said. As everyone whos worked in a restaurant knows youre only as good as your last service. So its up to us to try to keep getting better.
alright

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Good thing Brian Cox wasn't his co-star bc he would've trashed him day and night for his commitment!

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also no, that's not method. It's I want to do my job x work home which is v valid and relatable

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There are a few celeb actors that are the same way. It's a job. Treat it like a job and go home.



Harrison Ford is one of those.



I don't see the problem. Plus, Cillian is a very private individual, so this doesn't surprise me at all.

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Right? Plus Matt Damon seems insufferable so I dont blame him for bowing out of spending more time with him

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Parker and Stone did get one thing right. :D Parker and Stone did get one thing right. :D

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Robert Pattinson and John David Washington, every night after filming TENET all day.

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This. I think he just wanted to do his job and then go home and be with his family, which is what a lot of people do

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your beautiful icon 

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Yep, "his brain was just too full." My brain is also often too full when I don't want to hang with coworkers, lol. Celebs, just like us!

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This just sounds like the equivalent of not wanting to go to a corporate happy hour. I very much regret going to our last happy hour, so I can relate.

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Just thinking about having drinks with my co-workers is giving me anxiety lol

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mte, the man said no new friends and who can blame him

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Seriously, I got feedback last year that boiled down to people complaining I didn't socialize with the rest of the team. The subsequent discussion and follow up e-mails with my then manager unsettled him and his own manager so much that I got a personal call, with reassurances that I was in the clear, from someone three levels above me.





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Jfc let people work and go home. I am bummed it escalated to that level but that's a great response from the higher up

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it's so fucking weird, you don't get paid to socialise with those people and unless you're close (and even then) why would you wanna spend MORE time with them after spending all fucking day together. urgh worst nightmare.

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Omg, that's wild! Jesus, let people go home after work ffs.

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In college I worked in a clothing store and would party with my coworkers all the time. I started getting more serious with my boyfriend at the time and stopped going out to bars and clubs and preferred to stay in with him and his roommates/my friends and smoke and play Mario Party. Well my coworkers were absolutely offended by this and the manager was basically trying to fire me. She was some rachet girl younger than me so shed get in my face and scream at me and shit. This traumatized me to the point I dont try and make friends at work anymore

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Im very fond of my co-workers, but almost everything that is after my regular work hours is a hard pass. Its even better when your co-workers think the same

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Wow someone who does their job and wants to just go home and relax, sounds like someone doing a job. But because he's an actor let's act like he really is going above and beyond. I like Cillian a lot, I like him more that he's like nah I'm good I'm gonna go catch some pokemonz at home have fun with your $100 sushi.

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when the rest of the cast what OP



WHEN THE REST OF THE CAST WHAT

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omfg I FORGOT but this comment is sending me lmao they went to dinner

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Lmao I dont think his brain was too full, I think Cillian doesnt give a flying fuck and just likes to go home to his family



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the sheer volume of what he had to take on and shoulder is so monumental.





via GIPHY

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Good thing hes not a brain surgeon or something



Edited at 2023-07-08 02:27 am (UTC)

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All that explaining and meanwhile he's just clocked out at the end of the day lol

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they need hours to convince themesleves therye not unwanted

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it's prob really hard being around matt damon

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Meanwhile cillian prob wasnt troubled at all and just wanted to go home

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Me skipping work dinner next time

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I'm going to start using this at 5pm on office-days.

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I kinda get Cillian on this one. Emily seems like so up her own ass these days and Matt Damon is an insufferable asshole. I wouldnt want to hang out after work with ppl like that

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I dont get that vibe from Emily at all! Damon, on the other hand 

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I get the feeling that Emily and John Kransinski are very good at networking. They have a lot of famous friends, and this is probably what gave her a SAG award a few years ago for A Quiet Place. I admit, I loved the movie, but I don't think she should've won that award

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Thats your opinion. I should remind you how the Oscars work. Did Rose from Titanic deserve to win an Oscar for her role in Devil Wears Prada? I think not. However, it was over due and her time to shine was due to her role everyone remembers her by

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Both Emily and John give off such user vibes. Like legit social climbers. Lol

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...maybe he just hated his co workers

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imagine the headline like they love to talk about regular people: "was cillian murphy quiet quitting in oppenheimer?" lol

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god this reminds me when my supervisor whined about me never asking how her weekend was in my performance review





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Im prob gonna be quiet quitting (see: napping) in the theater, right after his sex scene, assuming he has one

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Tbh this week I had a FULL day at work with no downtime and at the end of the day I got some straight forward admin paperwork I was supposed to fill out and said "no, my brain is done for the day." I get it!

And I have also used this excuse to avoid people I don't want to hang out with!

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As China continues to accelerate its green transition, the rest of the world should pay attention and follow its model for rapidly growing its renewable energy capacity. Largely thanks to strong government policies on expanding the energy mix to include a range of renewable energy sources over the last decade, China is growing its green energy capacity at the fastest rate of any country in the world. And while it still relies heavily on the dirtiest fossil fuel  coal, other countries may be able to undergo a green transition much faster if they follow Chinas example when it comes to renewables.

Despite its continual reliance on fossil fuels to meet its energy needs, China is currently adding new renewable energy capacity at around the same speed as the rest of the world combined. In 2020, it added three times the wind and solar power as the U.S. And in the first half of last year, it invested $100 billion in more wind and solar projects. This will be followed by the addition of a record quantity of added wind and solar capacity this year. Chinas grid was 33 percent carbon-free in 2020. And based on its rate of renewable energy capacity growth, China is on its way to achieving 80 percent carbon-free electricity by 2035  yet it is unlikely to make the shift away from coal that it perhaps could by this time.

China is viewed as the world leader in green energy expansion. The Asian superpower plans to continue using fossil fuels to meet its growing energy demand while also expanding its renewable energy sector to reach peak emissions in a well-planned and phased way. But China is now far surpassing expectations. Mike Hemsley, deputy director at the Energy Transitions Commission think tank, explained China is building renewables at such a staggering rate [that] it is said to outperform the targets they have set themselves. Related: Shell Expects Significantly Lower Earnings From Gas Trading

If it continues at the pace were currently seeing, China could achieve 1,800 GW of total renewable energy capacity by the end of the decade. Thats around 50 percent higher than President Xi Jinpings 2030 target of 1,200 GW. In fact, China could achieve the initial 1,200 GW goal by as early as 2025. At this rate, it could reach peak emissions before 2030, perhaps around the mid-decade.

The rapid expansion of Chinas renewable energy sector is largely thanks to strong government policies on creating a diverse energy mix to include a range of green alternatives and innovative technologies. At a time when many state governments were only just beginning to consider the need to respond to climate change, China was already well on its way to becoming a renewable energy powerhouse. The Chinese government began to fund solar and wind power over a decade ago, seeing the potential to become a world leader in renewables. This also helped the country reduce the worsening air pollution across some of its major cities.

During this time, China supported funding from private companies in green energy, providing credit and subsidies to encourage the use of green alternatives in industrial operations. And the expansion of its renewable energy sector supported energy and economic stability during the pandemic. BloombergNEF (BNEF) head of China analysis Nannan Kou stated, Green infrastructure is the most important investment area that China is relying on to boost its weak economy in the second half of 2022.

While Chinas emissions are still huge, its carbon output remained relatively flat in 2022, decreasing by 0.2%, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). This figure is largely owing to the ongoing Covid restrictions seen last year but can also be partially contributed to its growing green energy capacity. However, while praising its renewable energy sector, it is important not to overlook the significant role coal plays in Chinas energy and economic security.

Flora Champenois, a research analyst at Global Energy Monitor, stated China continues to be the glaring exception to the ongoing global decline in coal plant development. The speed at which projects progressed through permitting to construction in 2022 was extraordinary, with many projects sprouting up, gaining permits, obtaining financing and breaking ground apparently in a matter of months. This kind of a process leaves little room for proper planning or consideration of alternatives. China approved the highest number of new coal-fired plants since 2015 in 2022, increasing the new coal power capacity by 106 GW. This was largely approved due to shortages following a historic drought and heatwave last summer.

The rapid development of Chinas renewable energy is extremely promising, particularly considering the high level of carbon emissions it continues to emit. Thanks to strong government policies, financial support for private investment and ambitious capacity targets  that it continues to surpass, China is keeping its title as the worlds renewable energy leader. This is certainly a model that other governments around the world should follow if they hope to achieve their climate goals and reduce the effects of climate change. However, it is also important to put pressure on the Asian superpower to make a meaningful shift away from fossil fuels in a green transition.

By Felicity Bradstock for Oilprice.com

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The United States' largest LNG producer, Cheniere Energy, has signed a long-term LNG sale and purchase agreement with China's ENN Energy Holdings, further cementing China and Asia as the U.S.'s largest LNG customers.

The European Union's gas buying cartel has been successful, with nearly 80% of the continent's gas stores filled, but purchases of U.S. LNG have decreased.

China's imports of LNG in June rose by 28% compared to the previous year, reaching 5.96 million metric tons, while European imports fell and prices remained low.

China's imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) hit 5-month highs in June, but weak demand, especially in Europe, kept a lid on prices. Last month, China imported 5.96 million metric tons of LNG, 28% higher than the 4.64 million the country purchased a year ago and also higher than 5.54 million metric tons imported in May. However, that still proved inadequate as the spot price slipped to $9.00 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), 87% below its record high of $70.50 in late August and the lowest since April 2021.

The much-awaited buying frenzy by the EU as it looks to fill its gas stores ahead of winter has yet to materialize. Europe imported 9.50 million metric tons in June, down from 12.11 million in May and the lowest monthly total since August 2022. Rocked by one of the worst energy crises in living memory, the European Union launched a gas buyers' cartel in 2022 and started issuing tenders for supplies. According to Sefcovic, some 50 gas suppliers and large industrial gas consumers in the EU immediately expressed interest in being part of the bloc's joint gas-buying effort. A key objective of the whole endeavor is to keep gas prices low by buying in larger volumes.

Well, Europe's gas buyer's club has been a resounding success, with the continent's gas stores nearly 80% full. Unfortunately, Europe's purchases of U.S. LNG have also dwindled, with June's volumes clocking in at 4.15 million metric tons, down from 5.63 million tons in May. Europe's gas inventories, including in the United Kingdom, have now hit 889 terawatt-hours (TWh), according to data from Gas Infrastructure Europe. Stocks are now +246 TWh +38% above the 10-year seasonal average, although the surplus has narrowed from +280 TWh +81% in March.

Meanwhile, U.S. gas inventories have also been ticking higher, with stocks for the week ended June 30, 2023, up 72 Bcf to 2,877 Bcf.

The deluge of gas has put nearby futures prices under immense pressure, with futures for gas delivered in October 2023 now trading at a discount of almost 12 euros per megawatt-hour to prices for April 2024. In contrast, they traded at a premium of more than 5 euros at the beginning of the year and a full 38 euros a year ago.

China and Asia Become Key U.S. Customers

Asia's imports of U.S. LNG climbed to 1.34 million metric tons in June, up from 1.21 million in May and the most since February. Indeed, China and Asia are now the U.S. biggest LNG customers, a position Europe held last year when it purchased as much as 65% of U.S. output.

The United States' largest producer of LNG, Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG), has signed a long-term liquefied natural gas (LNG) sale and purchase agreement with China's ENN Energy Holdings.

ENN will purchase ~1.8M metric tons/year of LNG on a free-on-board basis at Henry Hub prices for a 20-year term, with deliveries to commence mid-2026 ramping up to 0.9 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) in 2027. Last year, ENN signed a 13-year deal with Cheniere to purchase 900K metric tons/year, again based on Henry Hub prices.

The deal is subject to the completion of Cheniere's Sabine Pass project, which is being developed to include up to three liquefaction trains with an expected total production capacity of ~20M tons/year of LNG.

Currently, Sabine Pass has six fully operational liquefaction units aka ?"trains", each capable of producing ~5 mtpa of LNG for an aggregate nominal production capacity of ~30 mtpa. Cheniere processes more than 4.7 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas into LNG. Sabine Pass has multiple pipeline connections to interstate and intrastate pipelines, and is located less than four nautical miles from the Gulf of Mexico, thus providing easy access to seafaring vessels.

Previously, Cheniere entered another long-term liquefied natural gas sale and purchase agreement with Norway's national oil company Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) that will see Equinor purchase 1.75M metric tons/year of LNG on a free-on-board basis for a purchase price indexed to the Henry Hub price, for a 15-year term.

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By Alex Kimani for Oilprice.com

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The opening of Turkmenistans newest city, Arkadag, was performed with the requisite fanfare on June 29.

As state media has tirelessly reminded the public, this roughly $5 billion-plus bauble is a smart city in which life will be regulated by digital and green technologies, whatever that might mean.

The real attitude of the Turkmen authorities to information technology was best illustrated, however, by how internet speeds slowed drastically in the days ahead of this event. As RFE/RLs Turkmen service reported on July 1, connections were so slow that it became impossible to use censorship-circumventing VPN services. The outlet speculates that the government was eager to limit the dissemination of unfavorable coverage ahead of the bash.

Internet problems persisted even after all the revelry was done. Amsterdam-based Turkmen.news reported that as of July 3, Cloudfare data indicated that online activity in Turkmenistan was at only around 12 percent of its maximum level. On June 26, three days before the ceremony, it was 86 percent.

One feature of Arkadags would-be smartness is that homes are fitted with remotely controlled devices of the kind beloved of tech websites. President Serdar Berdymukhamedov was shown the setup in which household appliances, everything for the thermostat to robot vacuum cleaners, are controlled by means of a tablet. How these clever systems will fare when censors decide the internet is too fast is anybody guess. It is in any case highly doubtful every single home in Arkadag has been so lavishly kitted out.

The reason that June 29 was chosen for the inauguration of the city was that this marked the date of former President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, the father of the incumbent, turning 66. The very name Arkadag, a term meaning patron-protector, was picked as this is the honorific by which Berdymukhamedov is known.

Related: Shell Expects Significantly Lower Earnings From Gas Trading

For all that, Berdymukhamedov the elder was conspicuously absent on the day itself. Having pushed through this gargantuan expenditure to bolster his own personality cult, the ex-president, who now goes by the title of National Leader, chose this moment to embark on a trip to Mecca to perform the hajj in a showy demonstration of piety. He did get an aerial peek at his new creation while flying to Saudi Arabia, though.

Along the route, the plane flew over the new city of Arkadag, where final preparations were underway for the start of celebrations on the occasion of its inauguration, state media reported.

Berdymukhamedov the elder took his favored grandson, Kerimguly, along for the jaunt, as seen in state TV footage.

The National Leader took advantage of his presence in Saudi Arabia to meet with the president of the Islamic Development Bank, Ahmed Mohamed Ali Al-Madani. In a detail of mind-boggling chutzpah, given the colossally expensive boondoggle being inaugurated back home, Berdymukhamedov rattled his begging tin in the hope of getting the IDB to part with money to fund transportation infrastructure.

For anybody seeking the sense of Berdymukhamedovs actions, help is at hand. Ahead of his departure to Mecca, the National Leader informed a gathering of the Council of Elders that he has written a follow-up to his 2022 book, The Meaning of My Life. That work, which he is said to have dashed off while on holiday, was described in state media as a memoir enriched with philosophical insights and literary flourishes.

At our last meeting, you said that you were looking forward to the continuation of that book, Berdymukhamedov said on June 28. I want to tell you that I have good news. I recently finished writing [another] book: The Continuation of the Meaning of My Life.

And that isnt all. Berdymukhamedov has warmed the hearts of his admirers by announcing that a third volume is on the way.

It is difficult to know exactly how many books the former president is said to have written at this point. Even state media cannot do much better than vaguely volunteer the figure of about 70. Previous works have included studies on medical plants, history, Akhal-Teke horses, carpets, music, cooking, tea, proverbs, and dogs. And Turkmens have no choice but to submit to the unbidden publication of the idle musings of their away-with-the-fairies leader.

The regimes megalomaniacal excesses are funded by natural gas revenues, but not all is well in that sector.

Turkmen.news carried a detailed article on June 28 that dwelled on the apparent infighting going on between Ashirguly Begliyev, who has since mid-May been serving as the presidents advisor on oil and gas matters, and Batyr Amanov, the current deputy prime minister with the portfolio for overseeing the oil and gas industry. The website reported, citing unnamed sources, that Begliyev is sabotaging Amanovs orders without concern for how the industry will be affected.

In a troubling indication that not all is smooth sailing chez the Berdymukhamedovs, the split falls along family lines. Begliyev is said to be the presidents man, while Amanov is aligned with Arkadag.

Begliyev had, in fact, been appointed to Amanovs current job in February, only to be shunted upstairs three months later after some tinkering with the personnel.

Amanov, meanwhile, is a classic case of failing upward. He was moved to his current job after an unhappy three-year stint as chairman of the Turkmengaz monopoly. The lowlight of his time there was a gas sales agreement with Uzbekistan going up in smoke following a mysterious pipeline incident this past winter. And he is not especially liked either. He has previously been described by Turkmen.news sources as being quite incompetent, and deeply corrupt to boot. His merciless habit of pumping people for bribes has apparently earned him the nicknames Mujahedin and Terminator.

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If Amanov has any job at all, it is likely because his cousin is married to Berdymukhamedov the youngers sister.

In any case, Begliyev is at present reportedly winning this battle of wills. The new head of Turkmengaz, along with top figures in the Turkmenneft state oil company are his people. Turkmen.news sources say that these officials routinely hinder Amanov by ignoring his instructions, holding up paperwork and spreading gossip about him.

Amanov, meanwhile, is said to be gathering compromising information on all his opponents, hoping at some point to demonstrate their incompetence and corruption to his sponsor, Berdymukhamedov the elder.

Turkmen.news says this situation has created a particularly troubling predicament for foreign investors, since they do not know whom they are supposed to bribe, and they are unwilling to hand kickbacks to both camps.

By Akhal-Teke via Eurasianet.org

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EL PASO, Texas  A White gunman who killed 23 people in a racist attack on Hispanic shoppers at a Walmart in a Texas border city was sentenced Friday to 90 consecutive life sentences but could still face more punishment, including the death penalty.

Patrick Crusius, 24, pleaded guilty this year to almost 50 federal hate crime charges in the 2019 mass shooting in El Paso, making it one of the U.S. government's largest hate crime cases.

U.S. District Judge David Guaderrama recommended that Crusius serve his sentence at a maximum-security prison in Colorado.

Crusius still faces a separate trial in a Texas court that could end with him getting the death penalty for carrying out one of the deadliest mass shootings in U.S. history.

As Crusius was led from the courtroom, the son of one of the victims shouted from the galley.

"We'll be seeing you again, coward," yelled Dean Reckard, whose mother, Margie Reckard, was slain in the attack. "No apologies, no nothing."

Police say Crusius drove more than 700 miles from his home near Dallas to target Hispanics with an AK-style rifle inside and outside the store. Moments before the attack began, Crusius posted a racist screed online that warned of a Hispanic "invasion" of Texas.

In the years before and since the shooting, Republicans have described migrants crossing the southern U.S. border as an "invasion," waving off critics who say the rhetoric fuels anti-immigrant views and violence.

The attack was the deadliest of a dozen mass shootings in the U.S. linked to hate crimes since 2006, according to a database compiled by The Associated Press, USA Today and Northeastern University.

Before the shooting, Crusius had appeared consumed by the nation's immigration debate, tweeting #Build the Wall and posts that praised then-President Donald Trump's hard-line border policies.

He went further in his rant posted before the attack, sounding warnings that Hispanics were going to take over the government and economy.

Crusius pleaded guilty in February after federal prosecutors took the death penalty off the table. But Texas prosecutors said they will try to put Crusius on death row when he stands trial in state court. That trial date has not been set.

In the U.S. government's case, Crusius received a life sentence for each of the 90 charges against him, half of which were classified as hate crimes. Attorney General Merrick Garland said after the sentencing that "no one in this country should have to live in fear of hate-fueled violence."

Joe Spencer, Crusius' attorney, told the judge before the sentencing that his client has a "broken brain." He said Spencer Crusius had arrived in El Paso without a specific target in mind before winding up at the Walmart.

"Patrick's thinking is at odds with reality  resulting in delusional thinking," Spencer said.

Crusius became alarmed by his own violent thoughts, Spencer said, and he once left a job at a movie theater because of them. He said Crusius also searched online to look for ways to address his mental health, and he dropped out of a community college near Dallas because of his struggles.

The sentencing in El Paso followed two days of impact statements from relatives of the victims, including citizens of Mexico and a German national. In addition to the dead, more than two dozen people were injured and numerous others were severely traumatized as they hid or fled.

One by one, family members used their first opportunity since the shooting to directly address Crusius, describing how their lives have been upended by grief and pain. Some forgave Crusius. One man displayed photographs of his slain father and insisted that the gunman look at them. Crusius' family did not appear in the courtroom during the sentencing phase.

Ian Hanna, an assistant U.S. attorney who prosecuted the government's case, said Crusius had embraced the "insidious lie" that America belonged only to White people. "He wanted to eliminate a class of people," Hanna said.

Tito Anchondo, whose brother Andre Anchondo was killed in the attack, called the sentence "the best it's going to get" because it ensures that Crusius will be left to think about his actions in prison for the rest of his life.

"In a sense justice was served today and in another sense I don't think anything is ever going to be the same," he said.

Margaret Juarez, whose 90-year-old father was slain in the attack and whose mother was wounded but survived, said she found it ironic that Crusius would spend his life in prison among inmates from racial and ethnic minorities. Others in the courtroom applauded Thursday as she celebrated their liberty.

"Swim in the waters of prison," she told Crusius. "Now we're going to enjoy the sunshine.  We still have our freedom, in our country."
A man who fell into Omaha's sewer system was swept on a nightmarish journey beneath downtown city streets for 1 miles over 1 hours Friday before somehow extricating himself from the rushing water just before it dumped into the Missouri River.

Firefighters rescued the 41-year old sewer pipe cleaning worker after a city sewer maintenance worker heard him yelling for help from a culvert beneath a metal grate. He was conscious, fire officials said, and was rushed to the Nebraska Medical Center by ambulance with unspecified injuries.

"It's amazing with what that person went through that he survived," said Jim Theiler, assistant City Public Works director.

The man, whose name was not released Friday, was one of two workers who were swept during a rainstorm into a manhole near 19th and Howard Streets at about 8:50 a.m. Friday.

The two were working for Ace Pipe Cleaning, a company working for the City of Omaha on a sewer-cleaning contract. It was unclear Friday how they were swept into the pipe. One of the men was tethered to a safety system, and firefighters helped quickly pull him out.

The other man, who fire officials were told was not tethered, was swept into city sewers carrying rushing water from Friday's heavy rain, touching off a dramatic search and rescue effort by city fire and street maintenance crews and the contractor.

The man was finally located at about 10:20 a.m. Friday in a culvert near Fourth and Jones Streets, close to a city pumping station and the Missouri River.

The man had gotten himself out of the flowing water, but was trapped behind a metal grate covering the culvert, fire officials said. Rescuers cut the grate and got the man free, said Assistant Chief Jason Bradley of the Omaha Fire Department, which led the search and rescue effort.

That ended a race by firefighters, sewer maintenance workers, police and Ace Pipe Cleaning workers to find and save the man before he drowned or was jettisoned into the river.

"We deployed several resources to search the sewer system," Bradley said. "We weren't sure where he was or how far he would go down the sewer system."

The pipe he fell into carries water east to either a treatment plant or the Missouri River. City sewer division staff provided rescue crews with maps that showed where the man was likely to be carried through pipes if he continued to be rushed downstream, and where he might get hung up.

Firefighters and Public Works workers hustled systematically block by block through streets above the pipes where the man was expected to be. They popped manholes open along the way to see if they could spot or hear the man.

Rescuers thought his clothes could have caught on something in the pipes, Bradley said. It was also possible that he could be swept all the way into the Missouri River. The Fire Department staged a boat at the river to watch for him.

Fire and sewer crews also went ahead of the route to a critical point in the system identified by Public Works. Rescuers were paying special attention to the area around Seventh and Jones Streets. There's a weir there in a large, combined sewer system pipe that diverts water into the city's sewage treatment system or allows it to flow over the weir and into the river.

"That's why we were kind of concentrating our efforts down there," Bradley said.

The water level was high enough in the pipe that it carried the man over the weir, Theiler said. A superintendent from the Public Works Department was searching an area where he expected the man might be and heard someone yelling, not far from the river.

"What I understand is that we had one of our staff that was down there and they heard him, but couldn't see him," Theiler said.

Firefighters were alerted and rushed to help the man to safety. It was unclear Friday how he got out of the water stream, but his head was above water when rescuers arrived, fire officials said.

"This incident had a successful conclusion due to the seamless collaboration with (the Omaha Sewer Division), OPD, and the contractor all working to support OFD and the rescue effort," Assistant Fire Marshal Joseph Caniglia said in a press release. "The information provided by the other agencies was invaluable, and helped to provide a very favorable outcome."

World-Herald reporters Molly Ashford and Nikos Frazier contributed to this report.
LINCOLN  In a trip aimed at growing the states trade opportunities abroad, Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen will lead a delegation to Vietnam on Sunday for a weeklong visit to the Southeast Asian country, the Governors Office announced Friday.

Pillens delegation  which includes Nebraska Department of Agriculture Director Sherry Vinton and University of Nebraska at Omaha Chancellor Joanne Li  will make multiple stops throughout the country in a visit that Pillens office called a trade mission.

The governors visit will include meetings with Vietnamese trade officials, a trip to a large grocery/distribution center, product demonstrations and a stop at the Vietnam University of Agriculture, Pillens office said in a press release.

Vietnam is an important and growing export market for Nebraska processed feed like corn gluten, soybean meal and distillers grains, Pillen said in the press release, pointing to the countrys consumption of dairy products, eggs, beans and beef from Nebraska.

The states exports to Vietnam from Nebraska exceeded $946 million in 2021, according to the press release.

Im excited to have Vietnam as my first trade mission, Pillen said. Southeast Asia is an important market for Nebraska, and we are primed and ready to meet demands for ag goods.

Pillens delegation also will include ag-related business, academic and government representatives from across Nebraska. The governor said the trip will mark another step in strengthening the states bond with Vietnam, which has been the destination for many positive visits and exchanges over the years.

In January, a group of Nebraska business leaders and representatives from the Nebraska Department of Economic Development visited the country to discuss both business and educational opportunities.

Our best Omaha staff photos & videos of June 2023
Leaders of a petition drive to force a voter referendum on the recently passed Opportunity Scholarships Act say they are on track to get the 63,000 signatures needed in time for the Aug. 30 deadline.

Meanwhile, advocates for the act have been urging voters to decline to sign the petition and are mobilizing people to back tax credit program.

The act, Legislative Bill 753, offers dollar-for-dollar tax credits of up to $100,000 to those who donate to scholarship-granting organizations for private schools.

Our goal is 90,000 signatures in the 90-day window provided by state law, said Jenni Benson, president of the Nebraska State Education Association, which is backing the Support Our Schools coalition in the effort.

The response from voters has been wonderful and encouraging. Surveys show that a large majority of Nebraskans do not support using public tax dollars to fund private or religious schools," Benson said.

Angie Lauritsen of Gretna, one of the volunteers who collects signatures, said people she has approached have been mostly positive.

People are crazy happy to sign the petitions, she said. Theyre more than willing to tell you why this is important to them.

Some people are against the legislation and see the petition drive as a way to repeal the law. In many cases, though, people are not against the school choice law but they feel Nebraskans should have a chance to vote on it, Lauritsen said. Some parents who have put their children through private schools dont think it should be free for other families.

To me, its personal, Lauritsen said, noting two of her three children were on individualized education programs.

Lauritsen and her husband, Jasons, youngest child needed speech therapy, and their pediatrician recommended enrolling him in preschool. She toured a private school, but school officials told her they couldnt help a child like that.

It was just a hard thing to go through  to hear that they couldnt accept my child, she said.

Then they went to Gretna Public Schools, where their son attended preschool for two years and received speech therapy from the school district. He progressed quickly and was taken off an IEP by the time he finished third grade. He will be in eighth grade this fall.

Lauritsens also have a daughter who will be a sophomore at Gretna High School and an adult son.

Public schools played an important role in Lauritsens own childhood, she said.

I grew up in a very abusive home, and school was my safe place, she said. Ive always been very appreciative of what public school teachers do.

Several of Lauritsens relatives were or are public school teachers, including her brother and a nephew, she said.

Ive had really good relationships with all my kids teachers, she said. I believe the right that I have  that Nebraska voters should be able to have a say in this. Im willing to put in the time (to help with the petition drive). I dont have anything against private schools.

Some, like Benson, say the law will siphon money away from public schools.

Sen. Lou Ann Linehan, who led the effort to pass the bill, refuted that claim.

The Opportunity Scholarships Act takes not a single cent from public education, Linehan said. This year, the Legislature increased state funding for our public schools by over $309 million.

Linehan added that the petition effort is "not being truthful about how the act works.

No money goes to private schools," Linehan said. "Scholarships go to low income children whose parents cannot afford to move to a better school district or afford tuition at a private school.

Linehan believes passionately in school choice and championed LB 753 this past session.

There are multiple reasons I support school choice -- and so do most Nebraskans, she said. Over 24,000 students in Nebraska public schools access choice through Nebraskas option enrollment program, which allows a student to attend a public school (in a district) in which they do not reside. The state spends well over $100 million on this program.

Many Nebraskans move to a different school district when their children are not thriving in their current school, Linehan said. Finally, parents who can afford to do so can choose to send their children to a private school. Forty-eight other states have school choice, and your income level should not mean doors to the best schools are closed to you.

Most states already had a mechanism in place for helping students attend private schools, as State Sen. Rick Holdcroft of Bellevue pointed out.

Nebraska was one of only two states that did not offer some kind of state funding to private schools, he said.

Thirty-two states provide an estimated $4 billion in subsidies to about 690,000 students through tuition vouchers, education savings accounts and tax-credit scholarships, according to Georgetown Universitys FutureEd think tank,

"Nebraska has decided to go the tax-credit route," Holdcroft said. "This is a court-tested funding method which is used nationwide.

The senator said the act benefits low-income families where the parent want to send their children to "a school that best benefits the child," even if it's a private school.

What also appeals to me is there is also a priority for military families, Holdcroft said. As a military retiree living in a military district, I greatly appreciate the state's recognition of the special challenges our military families face due to frequent relocations while serving their country.

Holdcroft emphasized that he doesn't believe the act indirectly takes funding from public schools and noted that lawmakers further invested in public schools.

In fact, in this past legislative session, we allocated an additional $300 million-plus to public education and set aside a $1 billion future education foundation to sustain this level of funding," Holdcroft said.

For now, the petition process just has to play out, Benson said. The group needs about 63,000 valid signatures verified by the Nebraska Secretary of State's office in order to have the referendum placed on the ballot.

Linehan said she is not overly concerned that the laws opponents might get it repealed, because there is a risk that, if they do so, the Legislature will rethink the significant increase in public school funding passed this year, she said.

I thought, as I think many others did, that we had an agreement," Linehan said. "This effort to overturn only part of the agreement is very disappointing, and I doubt it will sit well with my colleagues.
La Vista Police Chief Bob Lausten has been suspended without pay in connection with a March speeding incident in Mills County, Iowa, but officials there have decided not to charge him with a crime.

La Vista City Administrator Brenda Gunn said in an email that Laustens suspension began Thursday and will continue for 30 days. After that, she said, he will be working in a transitionary role.

Lausten has been La Vistas police chief since 2002.

His troubles began March 19, when a Mills County sheriffs deputy clocked a truck registered to Lausten going 100 mph westbound on Highway 34 about half a mile from the Nebraska border.

The deputy turned on his lights and expected the truck would stop, Sheriff Travis Oetter said at the time. Instead, it sped up and crossed the bridge into Nebraska.

The deputy chose not to pursue the truck across the state line. But the license number was passed on to law enforcement in Cass and Sarpy Counties.

Because of darkness and the trucks speed, Oetter said, it couldnt be determined whether Lausten was actually driving.

The following day, Lausten reported the incident to La Vista city officials, which triggered a mandatory investigation under the citys code. He was placed on paid administrative leave. Capt. D.J. Barcal was appointed as acting chief.

Gunn said the investigation was completed April 27. She declined to comment on the findings because it is a personnel matter, but she said appropriate disciplinary action has been taken.

He has my trust, she added.

Attempts to reach Lausten Friday by cellphone and through his city email address werent successful. According to WOWT-TV, Lausten said he plans to retire by the end of the year.

Mills County Attorney DeShawne Bird-Sell said in an email that her office did not have sufficient information to file charges in connection with the incident.

We reviewed this like we do every case  without regards to the defendant, she said.

Our best Omaha staff photos & videos of June 2023
EL PASO, Texas  A white gunman who killed 23 people in a racist attack on Hispanic shoppers at a Walmart in a Texas border city was sentenced Friday to 90 consecutive life sentences but could still face more punishment, including the death penalty.

Patrick Crusius, 24, pleaded guilty this year to almost 50 federal hate crime charges in the 2019 mass shooting in El Paso, making it one of the U.S. government's largest hate crime cases.

U.S. District Judge David Guaderrama recommended that Crusius serve his sentence at a maximum security prison in Colorado.

Crusius still faces a separate trial in a Texas court that could end with him getting the death penalty for carrying out one of the deadliest mass shootings in U.S. history.

As Crusius was led from the courtroom, the son of one of the victims shouted from the galley.

"We'll be seeing you again, coward," yelled Dean Reckard, whose mother, Margie Reckard, was slain in the attack. "No apologies, no nothing."

Police say Crusius drove more than 700 miles from his home near Dallas to target Hispanics with an AK-style rifle inside and outside the store. Moments before the attack began, Crusius posted a racist screed online that warned of a Hispanic "invasion" of Texas.

In the years before and since the shooting, Republicans have described migrants crossing the southern U.S. border as an "invasion," waving off critics who say the rhetoric fuels anti-immigrant views and violence.

The attack was the deadliest of a dozen mass shootings in the U.S. linked to hate crimes since 2006, according to a database compiled by The Associated Press, USA Today and Northeastern University.

Before the shooting, Crusius had appeared consumed by the nation's immigration debate, tweeting #BuildtheWall and posts that praised then-President Donald Trump's hard-line border policies.

He went further in his rant posted before the attack, sounding warnings that Hispanics were going to take over the government and economy.

Crusius pleaded guilty in February after federal prosecutors took the death penalty off the table. But Texas prosecutors said they will try to put Crusius on death row when he stands trial in state court. That trial date has not yet been set.

In the U.S. government's case, Crusius received a life sentence for each of the 90 charges against him, half of which were classified as hate crimes. Attorney General Merrick Garland said after the sentencing that "no one in this country should have to live in fear of hate-fueled violence."

Joe Spencer, Crusius' attorney, told the judge before the sentencing that his client has a "broken brain." He said Spencer Crusius had arrived in El Paso without a specific target in mind before winding up at the Walmart.

"Patrick's thinking is at odds with reality  resulting in delusional thinking," Spencer said.

Crusius became alarmed by his own violent thoughts, Spencer said, and he once left a job at a movie theater because of them. He said Crusius also searched online to look for ways to address his mental health, and he dropped out of a community college near Dallas because of his struggles.

The sentencing in El Paso followed two days of impact statements from relatives of the victims, including citizens of Mexico and a German national. In addition to the dead, more than two dozen people were injured and numerous others were severely traumatized as they hid or fled.

One by one, family members used their first opportunity since the shooting to directly address Crusius, describing how their lives have been upended by grief and pain. Some forgave Crusius. One man displayed photographs of his slain father and insisted that the gunman look at them.

Crusius' family did not appear in the courtroom during the sentencing phase.

Ian Hanna, an assistant U.S. attorney who prosecuted the government's case, said Crusius had embraced the "insidious lie" that America only belonged to white people. "He wanted to eliminate a class of people," Hanna said.

Tito Anchondo, whose brother Andre Anchondo was killed in the attack, called the sentence "the best it's going to get" because it ensures that Crusius will be left to think about his actions in prison for the rest of his life.

"In a sense justice was served today and in another sense I don't think anything is ever going to be the same," he said.

Margaret Juarez, whose 90-year-old father was slain in the attack and whose mother was wounded but survived, said she found it ironic that Crusius would spend his life in prison among inmates from racial and ethnic minorities. Others in the courtroom applauded Thursday as she celebrated their liberty.

"Swim in the waters of prison," she told Crusius. "Now we're going to enjoy the sunshine.  We still have our freedom, in our country."

Photos: A list of high-profile mass shootings in the US this year Monterey Park, California Half Moon Bay, California Nashville, Tennessee Louisville, Kentucky Dadeville, Alabama Bowdoin, Maine Cleveland, Texas Allen, Texas
On Tuesday, August 9, 2022, senior editors and top journalists attended a media parley with the then Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Lucky Irabor.

Weeks earlier, devastating terrorist activities were widely reported, including the attack on St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State; assault on a presidential convoy in Katsina State; invasion of the Kuje Prison in Abuja; the deadly ambush of senior Police officers; and the alleged killing of civilians (collateral damage) during military operations.

The CDS used the opportunity to solicit the cooperation of society, saying the criminals (terrorists) want to stoke fear and promote resentment to such a level that every one will not want to leave their homes. This is the strategy which, if we do not take time, will become part and parcel of our daily lives.

In my presentation on Media Analysis of Defence Security Sector Coverage and Fact-checking Conflict-sensitive Reporting, as the Guest Speaker, I pointed out clearly that while a lot of media houses reported scenes accurately, others not only exaggerated but published one-sided reports without reflecting the realities as well as evident security sector accomplishments.

I also alluded to the fact that some media organisations do not question the authenticity of statements from terrorists in their reporting, yet cast headlines which doubt official sources and are framed in cynical ways, such as Military claims, Unconfirmed reports on troops victory, etc.

The then Director of Defence Information, Major General Jimmy Akpor urged the editors to remain partners in progress with the Armed Forces, by ensuring that their organisations are insulated from being used by terrorists to instill fear in the minds of Nigerians.

The facilitator, Barrister Charles Odenigbo of The Media Today International (TMT), said the interaction was planned in the spirit of openness, in order to elicit a practical and robust review of reportage of the defence and security sector. He urged the media to continue to work with the military in the task of national security and nation-building.

It was quite gratifying that the spokesperson of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF), Air Commodore Edward Gabkwet led a session that showed declassified video footage of airstrikes on camps and hideouts of bandits and terrorists across the country.

The editors marvelled at how Nigerian troops had eliminated scores of fleeing terrorists, especially following the rather daring attacks on the presidential convoy and the ambush that led to the death of Assistant Commissioner of Police Aminu Inuwa in Katsina, among other similar operations revealed in the videos.

The media parley with General Irabor was conceptualised as a way of building sustainable trust and confidence in military-media relations, towards pursuing the common causes of freedom, liberty and national security.

Immediately after the engagement, a senior editor jokingly asked the then Chief of Defence Intelligence, Major General Samuel Adebayo, who also contributed at the event, if the interface was another form of psychological operation.

Adebayo, a typical spymaster who would have wished to remain unseen and unheard, calmly responded that Psychological Operations (PSYOP) or Psychological Warfare (PSYWAR) are mostly unannounced but noticed or felt. He added that when deployed, the approaches are targeted at winning the hearts and minds of specific audiences on the field.

Beyond combat operations in creating a security bulwark for Nigeria, CDS Irabor is remarkably noted for the result-driven way in which he had piloted the affairs of the military in building synergies, partnerships and collaborations across the military services and relevant stakeholders.

During the short-lived tenure of the late Army Chief, Lt. General Attahiru, the Nigerian Army, the lead agency on counterterrorism operations, was very visible in the media in terms of profiling the efforts and accomplishments of the troops. Sadly, he lost his life in a plane crash only a few weeks after the death of the most wanted Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau.

The immediate past Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Faruk Yahaya; the former Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Isiaka Amao; and the previous Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Awwal Zubairu Gambo all gave fillip to joint counter-insurgency operations, the updates of which were centralised under the Directorate of Military Operation (DMO). The Directorate of Defence Information (DDI) retained its conventional focus on the routine events around Defence Headquarters.

Nevertheless, the Service Chiefs concentrated their media interface on the publicity around ceremonial outings, civil-military relations (CMR) commitments, and corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts. Some of them occasionally facilitated third-party media narratives that enabled accurate, unbiased and responsible reports.

The soft approach programmes of the Service Chiefs were largely in the realm of Psyops that ensured safety, built community trust and engendered peacebuilding. The Psyops were aimed at influencing the state of mind of target audiences through non-combative means such as the effective deployment of selective messages, messengers, mediums and also the measurement of impacts.

Circumstances that led to the death of Boko Haram leader Shekau, the surrender of over 50,000 Boko Haram members, alongside the rescue and release of abducted citizens, among others, were mostly undertaken through psychological operations.

Apart from the surrender of repentant terrorists and bandits, agreements were also signed with previously undesirable elements to guarantee peace and development in insurgency-prone axes. It was recently revealed that the cessation of abduction incidents and other violent crimes perpetrated by terrorist groups on the Abuja-Kaduna highway was due to the efforts of a security panel raised by General Irabor.

Although insecurity is yet to be over in the country, the new National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu and the new Service Chiefs would very likely deploy newer forms of kinetic and non-kinetic approaches to address the challenges across the various flashpoints and areas.

The new Chief of Defence Staff, Major General Chris Musa, and the Chief of Army Staff, Major General Taoreed Lagbaja, demonstrated unique leadership skills as the Theatre Commander (North-East) and the General Officer Commanding the Army Division (North-West), respectively. While one ensured the surrender of thousands of repentant terrorists, the other led troops to the field to eliminate bandits.

It is hoped that the new Chief of Naval Staff, Rear Admiral E. A. Ogalla; the Chief of Air Staff, Air Vice Marshal Hassan Bala Abubakar; and the Chief of Defence Intelligence, Major General E. P. A. Undiandeye will join efforts in bridging the usual fragmentation among the services and relevant stakeholders in joint operations, by sustaining the holistic and collaborative mechanism being put in place.

The Forum of Spokespersons of Security and Response Agencies (FOSSRA), whose secretariat is at the Centre for Crisis Communication (CCC), also needs to be reactivated towards enabling unified information-sharing processes and procedures, while keeping the public adequately educated and informed.

The well-lauded successes attained by General Irabor and the Service Chiefs under the Muhammadu Buhari administration was the deft utilisation of psychological operations that did not involve deaths, but still led to huge numbers of those who got rescued from the vice-grip of insurgents and bandits. Also, many terrorists and other social deviants were convinced to repent and surrender before their admission into rehabilitation programmes.

To a reasonable extent, the former chiefs could be considered as the most cooperative so far, making them accomplish highly significant national security tasks through inter-agency collaborations and synergy in combat operations and strategic communication. Their legacy is a base for an enduring approach to military strategy and security operations.

Shuaib is the author of An Encounter with the Spymaster and Crisis Communication Strategies

yashuaib@yahoo.com
Fifteen people including six children died in a battle between Sri Lankan security forces and suicide bombers who blew themselves up in the latest fallout from the Easter attacks, police said Saturday. Three men set off explosives that killed themselves, three women and six children inside what was believed to be a jihadist hideout near the eastern town of Kalmunai.

Three other men, also believed to be suicide bombers, were found dead outside the house, police said in a statement. They were shot dead by security forces, police officials added.

Security forces tried to storm the house late Friday and a one-hour long gun battle ensued before the explosions, a military official said.

A civilian was also killed in the crossfire during the raid near the predominantly Muslim town. Hundreds of families later fled their homes.

Police and troops have stepped up searches after the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attacks on three churches and three luxury hotels, which killed least 253 people and injured 500.

Kalmunai is in the same region as the home town of the jihadist Zahran Hashim who founded the group accused of staging the attacks. Police and officials said a series of tip offs after the arrest of Hashims driver, Mohamed Sharif Adam, in Hashims home town of Kathankudy led them to the safe house.

Officials said the driver provided information leading to a raid on Friday on a hideout south of Kathankudy where they believe Hashim and other bombers recorded a video pledging allegiance to Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi before carrying out the Easter attacks.

 Islamic State flag 

Video on state television showed explosives, a generator, a drone and a large quantity of batteries inside the converted studio.

An IS flag and uniforms similar to those worn by the eight fighters in the video were also found, police said.

That in turn provided a tip off about the hideout in Kalmunai, 370 kilometres (230 miles) east of the capital.

Authorities named Hashims group, National Thowheeth Jamaath (NTJ), as the perpetrators of the attacks. They announced Friday that he had been killed in the bombing of the Shangri-La hotel in Colombo. President Maithripala Sirisena used emergency powers to ban the NTJ and a splinter group identified as Jamathei Millathu Ibraheem (JMI), his office said in a statement Saturday.

All movable and immovable property of these two organisations will be confiscated, the statement said.

The government is on the defensive over its failure to heed a foreign intelligence warning that NTJ was planning suicide bombings on churches.

Police chief Pujith Jayasundara became the second high-ranking official to resign over the blunders Friday, after top defence ministry official Hemasiri Fernando stepped down.

 Private prayers 

Sri Lankas Catholic leader, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, the archbishop of Colombo, has said he felt betrayed by the governments failure to act on the warnings.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe apologised on Friday.

We take collective responsibility and apologise to our fellow citizens for our failure to protect victims of these tragic events, he wrote on Twitter. Amidst fears of new attacks, the Roman Catholic church has suspended all public services across the country until security is guaranteed by the government.

The archbishop, who has appealed to Catholics to stay home and say private prayers, is to hold a special mass at his official residence Sunday which will be broadcast live on television.

Some groups were expected to hold public vigils in Colombo and Negombo, where St Sebastians Church suffered some of the worst casualties in the bombings.

The military have poured troops onto the streets to back up police as they search for suspects using newly granted powers under a state of emergency. At least 94 people are in custody, including a man believed to be the father of two of the bombers. Authorities warned the hunt would continue.

We now have info that there are about 140 people in Sri Lanka linked to the Islamic State. We can and we will eradicate all of them very soon, Sirisena said Friday, when he announced the new legislation to tackle extremist groups.

Dozens of foreigners died in the attacks and the government has said it expects the number of overseas tourists to fall by 30 percent this year, at a cost of $1.5 billion in revenues.

Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera said the island  which depends on tourism as a cornerstone of its economy  could take up to two years to fully recover.

The United States, Israel, Australia, India and Britain have all warned their citizens against visiting Sri Lanka.

Post Views: 95
*Orders immediate release from custody

Alex Enumah in Abuja

The Supreme Court on Friday, voided the conviction of Senator Peter Nwaoboshi, over fraud and money laundering charge and has ordered his immediate release from the custody of the Correctional Center in Ikoyi, Lagos.

The Senator who represented Delta North during the Ninth Assembly, has been in custody since last year, when he was found guilty of fraud and money laundering charge by the Court of Appeal and subsequently sentenced to seven years imprisonment.

Nwaoboshi was freed by four of the five members of the panel that heard his appeal against the judgment of the appellate court.

Also freed are two companies  Golden Touch Construction Project Ltd and Suiming Electrical Ltd  tried with him on a two-count charge.

While a Federal High Court in Lagos had freed him of the allegations filed against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Court of Appeal had in a judgment delivered on July 1, last found him guilty and sentenced him to jail.

But in the majority judgment delivered by Justice Emmanuel Agim, the apex court held that Nwaobishi and the two companies were unjustly and maliciously prosecuted by the EFCC for committing no offences known to law, who subjected them to needless criminal trial in relation to civil transaction.

The EFCC had accused Nwaoboshi and his companies of illegally acquiring a property named Guinea House on Marine Road, in Apapa, Lagos, for N805 million, property said to belong to the Delta State Govt.

The anti-graft agency had claimed that part of the money paid for the property was transferred by Suiming Electrical Ltd on behalf of Nwaoboshi and Golden Touch Construction Project Ltd, adding the funds are believed to be proceeds of their illicit activities.
Taraba State Governor, Agbu Kefas has declared free education in all primary and secondary schools to alleviate the impact of the removal of fuel subsidy.

The development comes barely 48 hours after the governor announced a 50 percent reduction in university school fees to further cushion the current hardships faced by the people.

Governor Kefas said that starting from the next academic session, primary and secondary education in Taraba State would be free.

The governors spokesperson, Emmanuel Bello, who disclosed this in a statement, said Kefas made the declaration during of his assessment tour at the Ebenezer Primary School in Wukari.

Kefas emphasized that it was the governments responsibility to bear the expenses of education and that students should not be burdened with any fees.

He said that apart from fulfilling a campaign promise, the hardship occasioned by the removal of the fuel subsidy has made the move imperative.

On Wednesday, Governor Kefas announced the removal of school fees in the university, saying quality education remained his main priority.

Kefas said he had since declared a state of emergency in the education sector and was also committed to free education at the primary and secondary school levels.

Many of the University students expressed joy at the development, saying the reduction in fees would greatly enhance their lives.

KanyiDaily had also reported how Governor Agbu Kefas imposed a 24-hour curfew on Karim town, the headquarters of Karim Lamido LGA and its environs over renewed conflicts.

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Nigerian dancer, Kafayat Shafau, popularly known as Kaffy, has taken to social media to warn her male friends to stop involving her in their cheating scandals.

In series of posts shared on her Twitter page, Kaffy asked her friends to stop calling their wives while in the company of another woman and referring to her as Kaffy is here in an attempt to create a false impression.

The mother of two emphasized that such action is disrespectful to both herself and their wives, especially if she happens to be close with them.

She further expressed her astonishment at their audacity, warning that despite her silence about their behavior, they run the risk of her exposing them immediately.

Kaffy made it clear that she would not tolerate being used as a tool to deceive partners and undermine their trust.

She wrote, Please I dont know if women do this too but my experience has been with my make friends, colleagues, or family member.

If you want to cheat on your partner pls do it without involving me. It is total disrespect to me and your wife whom I am not likely to be close to or have been fed by for you to want to use me to do a cover-up.

Its the audacity for me! You already know my stand against such as much as I may not tell on you, you are at risk of me entering you that very instant.

Dont be calling your wife while you carry babe come dey call her Kaffy is here (as per the event or gathering?).. abeg so as I dey there I hold your third leg. Giving your partner false confidence that you not where you can misbehave!.

KanyiDaily recalls that Dancer Kaffy claimed that her husband cheated on her with her best friend, and she started healing when she stopped sleeping with him.

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The Plateau State Governor, Barr. Caleb Mutfwang has assured that the Plateau State Bokkos University will top the priority of his administration considering the unique roll education plays in developing young people.

The Governor said with his passion for education, the State owned University will equate the world best by the time his admissions plan is fully implemented.

Mutfwang stated this on Thursday in Jos when the Pro-Chancellor of the Bokkos University, Prof. Ibiora Ike led Management of the Institution to pay him a courtesy call.

Speaking in a statement signed by his Director of Press and Public Affairs, Mr. Gyang Bere, the Governor said it is imperative for the public to know that his administration will not relent until the institution competes favourably and emerges the countrys number one.

According to him: Education is not something we should over emphasize because it would have been a tragedy if Plateau State University was not up and running.

One of the biggest assets we have on the Plateau is the human asset and I believe that there is no better place to train human capital than in the ivory tower.

Therefore, it has become incumbent on us to ensure that Plateau State University does not only exist but that it is supported to become a centre of excellence.

I share the passion and commitment towards education and I dont want us to have a University just for the sake of it. It should be able to compete with its peers across the globe.

To this end, wherever I have reason to interact with top government functionaries, and foreign diplomats, I will also take it as a duty to promote Plateau State University.

I am currently talking with the Bulgarian Ambassador to Nigeria on a possible collaboration with our higher institutions of learning to train and retrain lecturers.

These are some of the steps I have taken to revamp and connect the institution to the global community.

ALSO READ: NYSC trains legal officers, recommits to improved productivity

I will constitute myself into the Chief Advocate of the progress of the University. We came in with a lot of constraints on the ground. I tell people that I am not a politician but I am into politics and therefore, when I make statements, I dont make them out of Politics.

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I speak the reality on ground and one of the realities we found on ground is that we have a huge liability. Therefore, the focus of this administration is on wealth creation so that we can lift our people out of poverty. Because if we do not find a way of increasing the capacity of the government to generate revenue, all the requests we have made will become a mirage.

We are putting plans in place to ensure that we expand the Plateau economy, and that is the only way we can increase government revenue to enable us to service the social sector. I am confident of the plans we are about to roll out, before long, they will begin to yield the desired dividends, he said.

He lauded the Pro-Chancellor for the selfless service he has rendered to the University and the value he has added to the institution by connecting the school to the global society.

Earlier, the Pro-Chancellor congratulated Mutfwang on his emergence as the true winner of the governorship election in the State and described him as God fearing.

He informed the Governor that the University has not received subvention in the last 5 months, adding that the staff has refused to join the State civil servants who are currently on strike.
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On the surface, it would have been okay to just take wholeheartedly the explanation given by both the Nigerian and Chinese authourities in Lagos for the Chinese military rare landing on the West African coast but for the obvious blurred Ahoy and the known fact that in diplomatic practice theres usually the stated and then the latent objective.

As widely reported, a naval fleet of the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) led by the warship Nanning arrived on Sunday 2nd of July in Nigeria for a rare visit by the Chinese military to Africas Atlantic coast.

The destroyer and an accompanying frigate, Sanya, along with a supply ship, Weishanhu, arrived off the port of Lagos, with Nanning berthing for a port call as said by the Nigerian Navy in a statement.

Whether they want to hear this or not, the Chinese navy making a port call in Nigeria this week in a rare visit to West Africa where Beijing has been seeking to expand its influence, should be taken more seriously than what our officials want us to believe.

Though the Nigerian Navy and Chinese Embassy on Monday July 4 2023, said the five-day visit signified growing relations between Beijing and Africa, with the goal of tackling maritime security threats and maintaining stability in the Gulf of Guinea, the visit comes amid speculation that Beijing could be seeking to establish a military/naval base in the Gulf of Guinea.

Three warships of Chinas Peoples Liberation Army fleet arriving Nigerias economic hub, Lagos, bringing about 700 soldiers/sailors is more than a casual courtesy call whether they agree or not.

The Gulf of Guinea is where the concern lies and the power tussle between China and United States is the main issue here.

China has been investing heavily in infrastructure in Africa, including Nigeria, for many years and Nigeria is one of Chinas top crude oil suppliers.

As said by an expert China has the intention of establishing a military base in West Africa similar to the Africa Partnership Station (APS), led by the U.S. Navy under the aegis of the U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) and this awkward visit may be a move by China to convince Nigeria to support that desire.

Last year, U.S. defence officials said they were worried that such a base could threaten U.S. national security. The question is: U.S. national security in their country or in West Africa?

And this is where the real issue lies: escalating tension in the gulf by over-militarising the region. This has dire consequences and the implications of these two opposing superpowers having military bases in the Gulf of Guinea have to be taken seriously. This is in addition to the covert Russian (business) interest on the eastern flank of the Gulf of Guinea at the Opobo Channel axis.

A good percentage of the oil imported into the West and even East (China) come from the Gulf of Guinea. Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Angola and Katanga province of DR Congo are all oil producing. Cameroon in addition to its marginal production serves as the most critical terminus of a pipeline that drains oil from Chad.

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The region, mostly Angola and Nigeria, is among Chinas top oil suppliers. Major Chinese oil explorer CNOOC Ltd also engages in deep-sea production off the coast of Nigeria (in the same Gulf of Guinea).

In January, Nigeria opened a billion-dollar Chinese-built deep seaport in Lagos. The new Lekki deep seaport, one of the regions biggest, is 75 percent-owned by state-owned China Harbour Engineering Co. and the Singapore-based Tolaram group. Last month, the Lekki Deep Sea Port berthed a 300-meter-long vessel from China, the largest since the port was launched.

There has also been speculation that the Gulf of Guinea could offer a base for Chinas military possibly in Equatorial Guinea .

In 2017, China opened its first overseas naval base in Djibouti, one of the worlds most important choke points for maritime trade, fanning concern that Beijing might set up more regional logistics facilities as its military develops the capacity to operate thousands of kilometres from home.

ALSO READ: China warships visit Nigeria

Over the last three decades, China has widened its influence in almost every African nation through investment, trade, and loans.

In 2016, the cash-strapped island nation of Sao Tome and Principe in the Gulf established relations with Beijing after cutting ties with democratically governed Taiwan, which China claims as part of its territory. Sao Tome is located in the heart of the Gulf of Guinea, making it a potential hub for oil and gas production.

As said in an agency report, Beijing is definitely interested in expanding its influence in Africa to protect its assets; it has invested massively in African countries pre-COVID, during COVID and post-COVID. It will definitely want to protect those investments and one of the ways it can do that is to strengthen security ties with African countries.

The Gulf of Guinea  a major shipping route stretching 5,700 kilometres (over 3,500 miles) from Senegal to Angola  has long been at risk from piracy with international criminal gangs carrying out most attacks on foreign shipping vessels. Nigeria remains at the epicentre of the current wave of piracy in the Gulf of Guinea.

So the arrival of Chinese naval fleet in Nigeria comes amid speculation that the Gulf of Guinea could offer a base for Beijing. But this is just one side of the story.

The other side of the story is that this development portend serious danger to the Gulf cooperation states as the real intention may be something the Chinese are not telling the states now particularly Nigeria.

With all the investments listed above some directly by Chinese interests others through Chinese loans, the Asian giant would not want to leave anything to chance in safeguarding their investment interests in the gulf region.

Using the Chinese antecedents in Zambia, Tanzania and some other African countries where the Asian superpower has taken over critical infrastructures in those countries under the guise of running them to recover their loans, the Nigerian and other Gulf of Guinea State governments should know that the Chinese are up to something thats beyond curbing of piracy and other security issues in the region.

The question is: are we ready to hand over some of these critical economic infrastructures to the Chinese or we watch them take it by coercive force because thats where all these muscle flexing is going to end.

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Another area that should be of concern to our leaders is sheepishly allowing China and the United States shift their supremacy battle ground to the Gulf of Guinea. The two bulldogs barking at each other in our backyard is definitely not going to be pleasant for our welfare and wellbeing as a nation especially with the kind of people we have in the governments of the gulf states. Mark my word!

(IFEANYI IZEZE writes from Abuja and can be reached on: [email protected]; 234-8033043009)
Bandits in the early hours of Friday went on rampage in Plateau State, killing five farmers in renewed operations in Mangu Local Government Area.

The bandits were said to have struck at Kogul community in the early hours of Friday. They were said to have invaded the community at about 2.00am on Friday, shooting.

The bandits beside killing five farmers, they were said to have burnt houses in the operation.

The Police Public Relations Officer of the Plateau State Command, Alfred Alabo, confirming the attack, was said to have disclosed that the Command has deployed officers to the scene and have brought the situation under control.

Governor Caleb Mutfwang of Plateau State was said to have condemned the bandits invasion, mandating security agencies to go after the bandits and ensure they face the full wrath of the law.
*MTN plans $3.5bn investment in Nigerias economy in next five years

Deji Elumoye in Abuja

President Bola Tinubu has assured the manufacturing and service sectors that more reforms will be unfolded to enable efficiency and attract investments, saying the ongoing economic revolution will be deliberately steered to capture and favour teeming youths in the country.

Speaking on Friday while playing host to a delegation from MTN led by Group Chairman, Mcebisi Jonas, at the State House, Abuja, the President stressed that we have a responsibility to revolutionize the economy so that our youths can share in the prosperity of the nation, otherwise we are only waiting for the dreams to be charted.

If you have any problems or impediments do let us know. We are ready to remove bottlenecks to investments in the economy, the President noted while acknowledging the sweeping changes across the world, largely driven by technology.

President Tinubu said the growing rural-urban migration can only be controlled with more investments in digital technology that will directly improve healthcare systems and education for the poor.

I am happy you are moving from Corporate Social Responsibility to be more incisive and inquisitive with technology so that we can see how we can partner structurally, the President stated.

You can do a lot for the economy by partnering with us. We believe no one can succeed alone. The structural adjustments we are making are to ensure we face the right direction and arrive at a destination that caters for our people.

You and I will make sure that the people have a share of that prosperity. We will, together, build a well-informed society. We have to re-assess the journey. I am glad that the stock market is responding positively to the structural adjustments, he added.

Earlier in his address, MTN Group Chairman said the company had a plan of investing $3.5 billion in the economy over the next five years, with a broader vision of becoming a pan-African company by moving investments from the Middle East and focusing more on Africa, especially Nigeria, where it gets the highest return on investment.

Jonas congratulated the President for the upswing of interest in the country within a short period since he assumed office, May 29, 2023, promising to support in mobilisation of other investors with about $1.5 trillion to look towards Nigeria, where reforms had been styled to favour business and encourage inclusive development.

The message you have given us is that Nigeria is investible, and with your election, we are seeing decisive, prompt and keen interest in structural reforms, the MTN Group Chairman noted.

The Group President/CEO of MTN, Ralph Mupita, Chairman of MTN Nigeria, Ernest Ndukwe and Chief Executive Officer, Olutokun Karl Toriola were part of the meeting.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will depart Abuja for Guinea-Bissau on Saturday, July 8, to attend the 63rd Ordinary Session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

The President will be accompanied by some members of the Presidential Policy Advisory Council and other top government officials.

Presidential spokesman, Dele Alake, said in a statement on Friday.

He said the Summit, which takes place on Sunday, July 9, is expected to address memoranda on pressing sub-regional issues.

The issues, according to him, include report of the 50th Ordinary Session of the Mediation and Security Council (MSC) covering security challenges faced by the member countries; report of the 90th Ordinary Session of ECOWAS Council of Ministers on the financial situation of the body and the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), as well as report on the status of Transition in the Republics of Mali, Burkina Faso and Guinea.

Other items slated for discussion, he added, include; Memoranda on the ECOWAS Single Currency Programme and the Report on Obstacles to Free Movement of Goods on the Abidjan- Lagos corridor.

President Tinubu is expected back in the country at the end of the meeting.

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* To attend ECOWAS summit Sunday

Deji Elumoye in Abuja

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will depart Abuja for Guinea-Bissau on Saturday, July 8, to attend the 63rd Ordinary Session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), in Bissau, capital of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau.

According to a release issued Friday by the Special Adviser to the President on Special Duties, Communications and Strategy, Mr Dele Alake, the summit, which holds on Sunday, July 9, is expected to address memoranda on pressing sub-regional issues including Report of the 50th Ordinary Session of the Mediation and Security Council (MSC) covering security challenges faced by the member countries; Report of the 90th Ordinary Session of ECOWAS Council of Ministers on the financial situation of the body and the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), as well as Report on the status of Transition in the Republics of Mali, Burkina Faso and Guinea.

Other issues slated for discussion include: Memoranda on the ECOWAS Single Currency Programme and the Report on Obstacles to Free Movement of Goods on the Abidjan-Lagos corridor.

President Tinubu will be accompanied by some members of the Presidential Policy Advisory Council and other top government officials.

He is due back in the country at the end of the meeting.
Kafayat Shafau, the award-winning dancer, who is also known as Kaffy, has issued a warning to her male friends who are into the philandering lifestyle.

She warned them not to involve her.

The one time Guinness World Record breaker in a post via Threads today called out male colleagues who cheat on their wives, using her presence to cover up during the act.

According to the mother of two, it was disrespectful to herself and the wife of the said friend/colleague.

Having clarified over time that she frowns at cheating in a relationship.

She said: Please I dont know if women do this too, but my experience has been with my male friends, colleagues or family member. If you want to cheat on your partner, please do it without involving me, It is total disrespect to me and your wife whom I am most likely close to or have been fed by for you to want to use me to do cover up.



Its the audacity for me! You already know my stand against such as much as I may not tell you, you are at risk of me entering you that very instant. Dont be calling your wife while you carry babe come dey tell her  Kaffy is here ( as per the event or gathering) abeg so as I dey there I hold your third leg. Giving your partner false confidence that you not where you can misbehave.
A 35-year-old woman identified as Fortune Obhafuoso, had accused Ukpabio, who was attached to Panti Division, of conniving with others to steal her day-old baby.

The dismissal of Inspector Samuel Ukpabio has been approved by the Lagos State Police Command.

The officer was dismissed over alleged baby theft.

Announcing the dismissal in a statement on his verified Twitter handle, the commands spokesperson, SP Benjamin Hundeyin noted that the officers dismissal was approved on Thursday to pave the way for his prosecution.

He said the State Commissioner of Police, CP Idowu Owohunwa, reiterated his unwavering determination to police Lagos within the dictates of rule of law, civility and respect for human life.

Recall that a 35-year-old woman identified as Fortune Obhafuoso, had accused Ukpabio, who was attached to Panti Division, of conniving with others to steal her day-old baby.

The single mother of three explained that Ukpabio arrested her and accused her of attempting to sell the baby for N3m and forced her to write a statement to that effect.

Obhafuoso claimed that Ukpabio forcefully took away her new born baby and gave him to an unidentified woman a day after she gave birth.

She said Ukpabio gave her N185,000 and threatened her never to return for the child or he will arrest her and take the remaining two children from her.

She eventually reported the incident to a rights activist, Dr Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi, who petitioned security agents to wade into the issue.
The U.S. Army wants to take advantage of AI and machine-learning systems to better predict enemies.

To do this, the defense agency will incorporate artificial intelligence in its new "Real-Time Threat Forecasting" program (RFI).

US Army's New Tactic to Predict Enemies Involves AI

According to Business Insider's latest report, the U.S. Army said it aims to use a system that can quickly analyze vast data.

The U.S. military department added that this will enable them to predict enemies' movements faster and more effectively.

Aside from forecasting enemies, American soldiers can also predict the changes conducted by threats in their strategies.

Via its official document, the U.S. Army explained that RFI aims to achieve better real-time predictive visualization of how enemies could change/evolve over the next few hours or even minutes.

As of writing, the U.S. Army hasn't confirmed how much the project will cost. But, officials clarified that the American government would not be liable for costs that will incur in the new defense project.

"The Government will not be liable for payment of any costs incurred in response to this RFI and is under no obligation to act in any way on the information received," said the U.S. Army.

Read Also: Pentagon Orders Tightening of Classified Information Control Following Controversial Jack Teixeira Discord Leak

The Reason Behind RFI

The U.S. Army explained that the future warfare "portends' a superactive, interactively complex battlefield.

It added that there autonomous systems, robotics, loitering intelligent munitions, self-organizing intelligence systems, and other advanced technologies could soon be common in wars.

This is why predicting the movements of potential enemies is a must. The U.S. Army stated that RFI was created since there's a chance that human intelligence analysts will not be able to keep up with the growing warfare complexity.

As this happens, the U.S. Army believes that enemies will no longer stick to the same playbook used for the past years.

This is why the U.S. Army needs to effectively adapt to the technologies used in modern warfare.

With AI, the defense department believes that RFI can help it keep up with its enemies or even get ahead of them when it comes to forecasting.

If you want to learn more details about the new Real-Time Threat Forecasting project of the U.S. Army, you can click this link.

Related Article: US Army Allots $200 Million Just to Get Recruits Physically Fit! Will FSPC Really Work?

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
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The Anambra state Police Command has disclosed that it would henceforth go after those spreading fake news on social media about the security situation in the state, the spokesperson of the Command, DSP Tochukwu Ikenga, has said.

Ikenga said in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Awka on Friday that the Command would put a stop to the mischief of such persons.

He said those to be targeted were people who shared false security alerts and messages that affected the peace and smooth flow of businesses in the state.

Ikenga said the mischievous elements had been posting modified old videos of security incidents to cause panic in the state; a situation, he said, was unacceptable.

READ ALSO: Police arrest man spreading ex-lovers nude photos on social media

It is an attack on public safety which must be resisted, he said, assuring residents that the Command had improved security dominance and surveillance across the state.

We are on top of our duties of protection of lives and properties, and we will never take that for granted.

He said businesses were fully opened on Friday because of the confidence the people had in the security agencies.

The Police together with other security forces have intensified patrols in the event of any security challenge, and I can attest that business is ongoing in major markets in Anambra, business is also smoothly moving in Nnewi and its environs today July 7.

Ikenga said those trying to instill fear in the people would continue to fail, and urged the public to report any security concerns through the Police Command Control Room number: 07039194332, or the Public Relations Officer on 08039334002.

He added that residents could download the The npf App on Android and Apple IOS, for quick and effective security responses.
*Vows not to relent in its efforts to sanitize public examination sector

*Thanks Anambra State Government for probing the candidates controversial result

By Joseph Erunke, ABUJA

THE Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB, has said the report of the probe panel set up by the Anambra State Government to unravel the true state of Mmesoma Joy Ejikemes Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, UTMEs result has vindicated its position that the candidate forged the result.

Recall that Miss Ejikeme had claimed to score 360 against her original score of 249, prompting JAMB to issue a statement disclaiming the result.

In spite of JAMBs position, the 19-year-old went on social media to display the result, insisting she never tampered with her result. This forced Anambra State Government to set up a panel to probe the development.

But while appearing before the panel, Ejikeme, according to the panels report made available to journalists on Saturday, reportedly admitted falsifying the result without the knowledge and assistance of anybody.

Reacting, JAMB said the outcome of the investigative report vindicated its position that Mmesoma forged the UTME result where she scored herself 360.

To this end, the board, according to the statement by its Head of Public Affairs and Protocol, Fabian Benjamin, vowed that it would not relent in its efforts to sanitize the public examination sector.

The statement read in full:The report of the Commission of Inquiry set up by the Anambra State Government, an independent and unbiased body, as demanded by some Nigerians to look into the Mmesoma saga, has vindicated the Board. This has further reinforced the position of the Board that its system was not and cannot be compromised.

It is to be noted that the Board has built a reputation in terms of the conduct of credible examinations over the years and cannot afford to fail the nation at this critical juncture of its development.

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Therefore, we will not despair in spite of the painful realisation that some Nigerians would do anything to cast aspersions on the good name of the Board.

However, in spite of all the posturing of its detractors, the Board remains resolute and uncompromising in its commitment to give Nigeria the best as far as credible and fair assessment is concerned.

In fact, the Board is, more than ever, determined to continue to forge ahead unmindful of the shenanigan of those who desire its fall.

For the benefit of those who are still doubting the capacity of Ms. Mmesoma to commit this egregious crime and those who are pushing the narrative that the girl is just 16 years old even against all available data that indicate her age as an adult of 19 years, Ms. Mmesoma has owned up to committing the heinous infraction, which was carefully crafted to destroy the very foundation of one of the nations agencies charged with the critical role of apportioning the limited educational resource of the nation based on fairness equity and integrity.

It is, therefore, highly regrettable that some Nigerians, who do not believe in the strength and resourcefulness of their nations institutions, would latch on to any opportunity to pull the Board down to their level of perfidy.

One vital lesson that Nigerians should learn from the imbroglio, is to learn to appreciate the genuine efforts of their critical national institutions to chart the course of national rebirth. Hence, this attitude of attacking everything that makes the nation proud even by people who should know better, is disheartening. The flip side of this is to infer that some ethnic jingoists had perhaps been elevated to public office and recognition beyond their mental and emotional capacity.

The Board would continue to be guided by the principles of inclusiveness and fairness as demonstrated by its seamless and unprompted deployment of a dedicated software called the Central Admission Processing System (CAPS), which not only eliminates human interference in the admission process but also engenders equity, fairness, transparency to all as we do not know tribe or religion.

The public is assured of our unwavering commitment to upholding the sanctity of the fabric of the nations educational system hence our resolve to always deliver credible and fair assessment remains unshaken.

We appeal to all those well-meaning Nigerians, who may wish to support and encourage healthy competition by awarding scholarships and other honours to deserving candidates not to be discouraged but should always endeavour to verify from us any claim, no matter how innocuous, put forward by candidates.

Candidates, on their part, are warned to stay away from fraudulent Apps that promise to enhance their scores as the end result would always be anguish and misery.

The Mmesoma case should serve as an eye-opener, especially to those who hold the view that anything goes in Nigeria. Ours is a great agency with great potential, which requires everybodys collective and patriotic support as no nation develops beyond the wishes and trust of its people.

The Board, on its part, will continue to appreciate the unalloyed support of those who even risked being attacked by the social media mob to stand on the side of truth. Your trust in us would never be taken for granted as we also appeal to our detractors to sheathe their swords and be part of the movement to build a greater Nigeria.

To those who have sent apologies after seeing the truth, we call on them to continue to believe in the capacity of the Board to deliver.

We commend Anambra State Government for its patriotic and unbiased posture all through the period of the national challenge.

Let us all put our hands together to build the Nigeria of our dreams as we congratulate Miss Kamyosikwu Chinyere Uche as the best scorer in the 2023 UTME exercise.
The Enugu State Police Command has killed four criminal elements enforcing the sit-at-home order by the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) in the South-East geopolitical zone.

Police Public Relations Officer of the command, DSP Daniel Ndukwe disclosed this in a statement posted on the commands Twitter handle.

Ndukwe said the hoodlums were dislodged and killed in the early hours of Friday, July 7th by police operatives serving in the Awkunanaw Division of the command.

He said a combined team of tactical Police Operatives of the Command have further discovered and recovered the lifeless bodies of the male hoodlums, in a forest behind G. Ede Filling Station/7-Up, at Awkunanaw, Enugu, where they escaped into.

According to him, the operatives intercepted the criminals at One-Day, Awkunanaw, Enugu, as they were snatching an ENTRACO-branded Sharon minivan from its driver at gunpoint.

The police image maker added that the criminals engaged the operatives in a gun duel, but escaped with varying degrees of fatal gunshot wounds, due to the superior firepower of the operatives.

Hence, a manhunt operation was launched by the combined team, while a thorough search conducted on the vehicle led to the recovery of one (1) AK-47 rifle with a magazine loaded with nineteen (19) live ammunition of 7.62 calibres, two (2) bottles of petrol bomb and other incriminating exhibits.

The Commissioner of Police, CP Ahmed Ammani, fdc, has once again reassured that the Police and other Security Forces in the State shall not relent in their efforts to maintain maximum security and safety of the law-abiding citizens, as they go about their lawful businesses. He, however, solicits their continued support, the statement reads.

https://twitter.com/Enugu_PoliceNg/status/1677442299964321792?t=EUW1MLdhThci35ULbcA2bA&s=19

In other news, Kanyi Daily reported that the Delta State Police has arrested the suspect, who disguised as an intending car buyer and stole a Mercedes Benz SUV from a car stand in Abuja.

The suspect, Meshack Sinuphro allegedly stole the car from the stand during a test drive on the 30th of June, 2023 in Abuja.

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Democracy bestows on people the power of sovereignty and that is the reason why periodic elections are designed to elect leaders ranging from councilors to president to be at the fountain head to conduct affairs of government.

A cursory analysis of what has been playing out in Nigerias democracy can be branded a chequered, circumstantial cinderella.

From time immemorial, the election umpires have metamorphosed from FEDECO to NECO to NEC and now finally INEC.

A lot of laws and electoral acts/bills enacted to bring about free, fair and credible election have not helped matters

The problems of the entire nation are multifaceted corruption, nepotism, favoritism, bribery, perjury, godfatherism, tribalism, etcetera.

Nigeria, as giant of Africa, has been bereft of effective leadership over their affairs for themselves and in relation to their neighboring nations.

The economic transformation architecture as envisaged by our nationalists, notably, Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Sadauna Ahmadu Bello inter-alia and the present poor application of such visions with attendant corruption and bad governance have eroded our psyche and eaten deep into the hope a common man.

Regrettably, the dream and labour of our heroes past have been truncated by few shenanigans.

The situation at the moment, a mere gesticulation on the previously well-conceived plans limps on the wings of current degradation and socio-economic delirium.

One good thing is that both the rich and the poor are feeling the pulse and negative consequences of our inability to fix Nigeria well.

Yes, yesterday we yearned for a better tomorrow, today, we mourn the loss of better yesterday. How sad!

Electoral Acts 2022 provided a lunch pad for credible, free and fair elections for Nigeria. INEC was over- funded to procure the state-of-art gadget provided electoral errors are minimided. INEC Voters Accreditation System (IVAS) used in 2015 that has the capacity to identify voters finger print was dropped for (BVAS) that has the capacity to identify, verify, authenticate and transmit election results to INEC result viewing (IRev).

Collation and returning officers from reputable federal tertiary institutions were absorbed as election officials by the commission to discharge their duties according to international best practice and in the manner to meet the expectations of the citizens based on power conferred on it by Section 27 of the Electoral Act 2022.

Their roles were tabulation and summing up of votes cast during an election, announcement of scores of candidates, declaration and the returning of the winner of an election in a particular constituency.

We all saw what played out in 2023 general elections, where even the resident electoral commissioners used a sheet of paper to write election result and make a formal declaration of a governorship candidate.

People lost their lives, properties destroyed, and most electoral processes rigged in favor of who the ruling class wanted, cutting the edge across the frontiers and against the expectations of common man even in the presence of international observers.

Equally, we cannot forget in a haste artificial economic crunch created by President Buhari and Emefiele of CBN within the election period, for no just cause.

The hope of the commoner which is judiciary is filled with group of people who are interested is swaying electoral tribunal cases to him who brings more Ghana Must Go bags.

Theres nothing that has not happened in Nigeria in the past ten years but one of Gods greatest gift to mankind is hope. Gods admonition that inspires us to keep trying, learning and living beyond our imagination.

Time lost, they say, is time recovered, insofar as consciousness makes the bold entry, highlighting the indices of travesty, with mindsets to righting the wrongs, no qualms.

We are looking up to the newly sworn-ins at all levels. We know that this country, Nigeria belongs to all of us and that we the commoners are looking up to them to redress, remedy and salvage the situation of total socio-economic collapse that has bedeviled us. All hands should be on deck, especially the newly constituted 10th National Assembly, to come up with an electoral act that will have stiff penalties for election offenders so that we shall get it right for the first time.

I believe that Nigeria is in the throes of revolutionary transformation. With abundant human and natural resources, Nigeria will be known and perceived to be of this genre of these social climes of excessive economic buoyancy propelled to be the beacon for which fair-minded citizens shall find fulfillment in line with vision of our forefathers

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A witness told a Federal High Court in Abuja that

Former Director-General, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Bature Masari, allegedly transferred N9 to his bank account for three lawmakers, each getting N3m.

Testifying as fourth witness on Wednesday, Mr Habu Ozigi, Principal Partner of Kike Engineering Services, and staff of SMEDAN alleged that Masari transferred the amount on Nov. 28, 2014.

The EFCC is prosecuting Masari misappropriated N9 million constituency project funds, and of participating in a N104.7 million money laundering.

Masari was arraigned by the EFCC on an amended 22 count charge bordering on alleged money laundering before Justice Okon Abang, after he was earlier arraigned on April 10, on 17 counts.

 I did as directed and transferred three million each to two of the lawmakers.

As I was about to transfer the last N3 million to the third lawmaker, I received a phone call from the former director general not to do so.

He then directed me to transfer the remaining money back to his account and I promptly did on Dec. 2, 2014.

I know the lawmakers. They visted my former boss in his office just like other National Assembly members in respect of their constituency projects, said.

After listening to the testimony, trial judge, Justice Okon Abang, adjourned the matter until Nov. 4 for further cross examination and continuation of trial.

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To chair LASU convocation Lecture

The dethroned Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, arrived Lagos Friday night. On arrival, he was driven in a convoy to his residence.

Emir Sanusi II had departed Awe, Nasarawa State on Friday in the convoy of Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, after a Federal High, Abuja, ordered his release from detention since his dethronement by Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State on Monday. An arrival in Abuja, Emir Sanusi II was airborne to Lagos his original exile destination before the Kano government chose to punish him with banishment to rural community in Nasarawa State.

Dethroned Emir Sanusi II is expected to be chairman of the Convocation lecture of the Lagos State University this year.

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Reno Omokiri , the aide to ex-president Goodluck Jonathan has described President Muhammadu Buharis Nation speech and live telecast to Nigerians on Monday as a waste of time.

Speaking via his Twitter handle, Omokri said the broadcast was uninspiring and failed to touch on the real issues bedeviling Nigerians. The social commentator berated the president for not addressing the breakdown of law and order in Lagos and other states as crime rates and robbery have increased. He also wondered why Buhari could not take questions from journalists and shed more light on palliative measures to Nigerians as is the case in other climes.

Naija News recalls that Renos reactions comes a day after Buhari, in a nationwide broadcast, announced extension of lockdown in Abuja, Lagos and Ogun States as a means of combating the coronavirus pandemic.

Here is renos series tweets below about President Buharis live Broadcast

Gen @MBuhari gave this broadcast just to sadistically extend the lockdown in SW without providing food or security for Lagosians who are facing starvation. Every other thing was just added to pad the budget. After all, his government is an expert in budget padding #BuhariVirus  Reno Omokri (@renoomokri) April 13, 2020

1-General @MBuharis broadcast was shallow. He told us nothing new. He did not tell us what specifically he has done, is doing and will do to ease life for Nigerians during this #CoronaVirus lockdown. It was a national waste of 20 minutes we could have spent better #BuhariVirus  Reno Omokri (@renoomokri) April 13, 2020

2-General @MBuhari boasted about what he should have been ashamed of. In a country of 200 million citizens, how can you boast of training 7,000 health workers. Was he not ashamed? This is what a local government chairman should be boasting about, not a President #BuhariVirus  Reno Omokri (@renoomokri) April 13, 2020

3-In fact, General @MBuhari said worse than nothing. This was not news. It was noise. He says we are on the right track to defeat #COVID19 (thank God he could pronounce it). How? We are not testing. We dont know who has it. We dont know who died due to #CoronaVirus#BuhariVirus  Reno Omokri (@renoomokri) April 13, 2020

4-General @MBuhari boasted that his government has traced 92% of identified contacts of #CoronaVurus patients. This is blatantly false. For instance, have they traced and identified the contacts of all those who attended AMMA awards? What about the Katsina doctor?#BuhariVirus  Reno Omokri (@renoomokri) April 13, 2020

5-General @MBuhari did not address the breakdown of law and order in parts of Lagos and Ogun. People cant sleep at homes. They are now vigilantes in their communities. Not one word. Not one word. It is as if their sufferings dont exist. Very insensitive!#BuhariVirus  Reno Omokri (@renoomokri) April 13, 2020

7-.@BorisJohnson, who was just released from hospital gave a broadcast to the UK that was more informative and power packed than what General @MBuhari gave. Boris took questions. Buhari just stood there reading English that someone else typed for him. So uninspiring#BuhariVirus  Reno Omokri (@renoomokri) April 13, 2020

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Toyosi Akerele is Chairperson of a special 9-man task force set up by Rtd General Theophilus Danjuma to help distribute palliatives to people in need at this period of lockdown.

Her statement reads:

Borno gets 25% of our N1Billion Budget and this is the Symbolic Handing Over of the Food Items & Non-Food Items to the Deputy Governor of Borno State, Engineer Umar Kadafur at the Warehouse (owned and managed by NEMA at Maiduguri Central behind Flour Mills filled to its full capacity and more items are still arriving.

Borno is crucial to our National Response Strategy and the containment of Coronavirus in Nigeria as it is the only State bordered by 3 Countries with several cases of COVID-19 namely Chad, Niger Republic, and Cameroun. Its people are high Mobile and do not have much Property to compel them to location hence if CoronaVirus breaks into Nigeria through Borno, it will be a major disaster.

We, therefore, need to keep itinerant IDPs within their Camps but also ensure that they do not die of starvation and malnutrition.

Were reaching out to 6137 Families with at least 6 to 7 members with each receiving 1 Bag of 10kg Rice, 1 Bag of Rice, Beans, and Maize all 10kg, 1 Gallon of 4Litres Vegetable Oil and 2Kgs of Salt.

We gave Medicine, Personal Protective Equipment and Essential Hygiene Products as well. Ill continue to give a Blow by Blow Account of this Emergency Intervention of the VSF COVID-19 Taskforce. Left Maiduguri immediately for Damaturu, Yobe State after the Official Hand Over.

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Despite perceptions of rising crime, theft has become far less common in recent years than it used to be. However, there are still hotspots where break-ins and burglaries are far more common than the typical American neighborhood.
(Photo : MARK SCHIEFELBEIN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said that the United States does not desire a "winner-take-all" competition.

During her visit to Beijing on Friday, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen voiced concerns over Chinese business practices, cautioning that the economic relationship between the US and China must benefit American workers and businesses, and stating that the US would respond to unfair economic practices.

In the midst of escalating tensions between the world's two largest economies, the secretary of the treasury will also confer with senior Chinese officials during her three-day visit.

Yellen: US Urges Healthy Competition With China

During the roundtable, Yellen also criticized new export controls announced by China on two essential minerals for semiconductor technologies, gallium, and germanium, as trade disputes between the two nations persist.

According to the Critical Raw Materials Alliance, gallium is utilized in electronics, including processors for mobile and satellite communications, LED displays, and sensors used in space and defense systems, among other applications. China contains eighty percent of the world's gallium, as per CBS News.

Germanium is utilized in fiber optics, infrared optics, electronics, and solar cells. China produces about sixty percent of the world's germanium. The US has taken steps to restrict Chinese access to certain technologies, and Yellen stated that the US is still assessing the impact of the export controls.

During a visit to Beijing aimed at mending strained relations, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen informed Chinese Premier Li Qiang that the United States does not desire a "winner-take-all" competition.

The four-day mission is Yellen's first as US secretary of the treasury to China, with which the United States is at odds over trade restrictions, human rights, and numerous other issues.

However, Washington is attempting to reduce tensions, and on Friday, Yellen emphasized to Li that the United States does not desire an economic showdown.

She told Li at Beijing's Great Hall of the People, "We pursue healthy economic competition that is not winner-take-all, but that, with an equitable set of standards, can benefit both countries over time."

The United States has stated that it intends to "de-risk" China by restricting the world's second-largest economy's access to cutting-edge technologies deemed essential to Washington's national security.

Yellen emphasized to Li that, despite the fact that Washington "may in certain circumstances need to pursue targeted actions to defend its national security," this should not derail relations.

In her public remarks, Yellen made it clear that Washington and its Western allies will continue to respond to what she termed China's "unfair economic practices."

Just days before Yellen's visit, Beijing unveiled new export restrictions on metals essential to semiconductor manufacturing for national security reasons, highlighting the difficulties.

Read Also: UN Calls for Haiti Intervention Force To Combat Gang Violence

Experts Believe Yellen's Visit to China Helps Improve Ties

The secretary of the Treasury informed American entrepreneurs that Washington was "concerned" about the restrictions. During her visit, she emphasized that Washington was not pursuing a "complete separation of our economies."

Yellen also urged Beijing to return to the market-oriented policies that supported the city's swift development in the past. In defiance of tensions, Beijing has expressed optimism regarding the visit.

Li told Yellen on Friday that after a difficult period, China could see the relationship improving. According to analysts, Yellen's visit could facilitate a thawing of relations.

Chen Dingding, president of the Intellisia Institute in Guangzhou, said that the visit could have "positive implications" for US-China relations.

Expert on the subject at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences Lyu Xiang stated that a modest step toward improved Sino-American relations would be a significant step for the world and the global economy.

A Treasury official said that on Saturday, Yellen will meet and dine with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, a key official in charge of economic issues. In addition, she will speak on sustainable finance and with female economists, ABC News reported.

Related Article: Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen Heads to China, Brings Positive Sign of Stabilizing US-China Relationship

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BLOOMINGTON  A Bloomington man has been sentenced to five years in the Illinois Department of Corrections for aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a minor in which he was at least five years older than the victim.

Anthony T. Alsman, 31, was sentenced Thursday after a short hearing in which Judge J. Jason Chambers heard arguments from the prosecution and defense about Alsmans criminal history and alleged offenses.

Following his prison sentence, Alsman will have one year of mandatory supervised release and must register as a sex offender.

The sex abuse charge, which Alsman pleaded guilty to, is related to an incident from September 2022 in which Alsman was staying at a friends residence, became intoxicated and sexually abused a minor in the home while they slept, prosecutors said.

Det. John Heinlen from the Bloomington Police Department testified Thursday that an adult previously had reported an unrelated incident in which Alsman sexually assaulted them while intoxicated; Alsman was not charged in that alleged offense.

Assistant States Attorney Mary Lawson said the defendant has a pattern of becoming inebriated and committing sexual offenses.

He gets intoxicated and then he commits these types of acts, she said. While he does have a substance abuse problem, thats not an excuse. It gives him the courage (to offend).

Alsmans attorney, Brian McEldowney, argued that the detectives testimony had little evidentiary weight as it lacks details and falls short of reasonable doubt.

Lawson read aloud victim impact statements from the minor victim and the victims mother.

The victims mother described Alsman as having been a trusted adult to the family and said never in my life expected this kind of action from Alsman.

In the statement, she said the victim was angry and on edge. She said she felt blame for the incident and cannot trust anyone.

In a written statement, the victim called the offense unimaginable and said they can barely look someone in the eye, noting a constant state of panic, and that they dont feel comfortable around my own family members.

The state recommended a prison sentence, which capped at five years as part of the plea agreement, with one year of mandatory supervised release and a lifetime registry as a sex offender.

The defense, citing Alsmans troubled upbringing and alluding that he may have been a victim of similar abuse, asked Chambers for a community-based probation sentence so Alsman could seek treatment for substance abuse and as a sex offender.

In lieu of this, the defense asked for a reduced sentence of three years in the IDOC.

In a statement to the court, Alsman said he was sincerely sorry for why everyone is in this courtroom and that he takes full responsibility for his actions.

Alsman requested the chance to seek treatment programs to rehabilitate myself.

In sentencing, Chambers said he did not think Alsman was serious about addressing his substance abuse and Alsman didnt exhibit victim empathy for his actions.

Noting the possibility that Alsman had suffered abuse, Chambers said, There comes a point where the cycle needs to stop.

Chambers agreed to the states recommended sentence but said he would have given Alsman longer sentence if it were not capped in the plea agreement. Alsman received credit for 144 days already served in the McLean County Detention Facility, plus four days for substance abuse rehabilitation.

After the hearing, Lawson said, Im very happy with the sentence. I know the family is happy with the sentence.

Noting the plea agreement, Lawson said, It gave an opportunity to have a sentencing without having to put the victim through the pain of testifying.

To give them, the family, that closure and still get an appropriate sentence, the state is very happy today.

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 Zachary T. Willis Cecily M. Sexton Tonisha A. Jackson James A. McConnaughay Jessica M. Longberry Barry D. Guyton Keon E. Spiller Melina Aguilar Carlos D. Cregan Wayne M. Damron Terrance L. Ford Stanley M. Miller Darryl R. Vinson Jarvis K. Heads Wesley M. Noonan Brad Carter Brian K. Burnett Kenneth D. Downey Kenyon J. Bones
CHICAGO  Chicago police are investigating sexual misconduct allegations against officers involving a migrant who was living in a police station after arriving in the city, Chicago's police oversight agency said Friday.

The Chicago Police Department said in an email sent late Thursday that the department's bureau of internal affairs, as well as the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, had opened an investigation into allegations involving an officer or officers, the Chicago Tribune reported.

Chicago is among the U.S. cities struggling to provide shelter and other help to hundreds arriving from the southern border, with families sleeping in police station lobbies. Migrants, largely from Central American countries, have been bused to Chicago and other major U.S. cities from Texas since the spring.

The Civilian Office of Police Accountability said in a statement Friday morning that the investigation began Thursday after it learned of a sexual misconduct allegation involving "members" of the Chicago Police Department and "a migrant temporarily housed at the police station" in the department's 10th District on the city's West Side.

After notifying the police department's internal affairs bureau of the allegations, internal affairs then "formally opened this investigation," the COPA statement added.

"While COPA investigators are currently determining whether the facts and details of this allegation are substantiated, we want to assure the public that all allegations of this nature are of the highest priority and COPA will move swiftly to address any misconduct by those involved," spokesman Ephraim Eaddy said in the statement.

A Chicago Police Department spokesperson did not address the Tribune's questions about whether any officers had been stripped of their police powers.

The department also did not respond Friday to questions from The Associated Press seeking to confirm whether any officers had been reprimanded.

The Chicago Police Department, in response to questions from The Associated Press, referred the AP to a statement saying only that, "These allegations are under investigation with CPD's Bureau of Internal Affairs and the Civilian Office of Police Accountability."

COPA said in its Friday statement that, "this investigation is ongoing, and all information is preliminary."

A spokesperson for the office of Mayor Brandon Johnson told the Chicago Tribune that "the city takes these allegations, as well as the care and well-being of all residents and new arrivals, very seriously."

A message seeking additional comment on the allegations was left Friday morning by the AP for the mayor's office.

Since August 2022, about 11,000 migrants have arrived in Chicago, according to Cristina Pacione-Zayas, Mayor Brandon Johnson's deputy chief of staff, who addressed Chicago City Council members on June 28.

Many of those migrants have found themselves seeking shelter in Chicago police stations, as the city has struggled to find adequate housing for them.

Since April, each of Chicago's 22 district police stations  along with several other city-owned or otherwise unused buildings  have become a temporary home for hundreds of migrants, sometimes drawing the ire of local residents.

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 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
Dave Benjamin, co-founder and executive director of the Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project, usually starts his water safety classes by talking about fire. What do you do in case of a fire emergency? He normally asks the crowd of children. Stop, drop and roll, they say.

What do you do if youre drowning? More often than not, the kids stay silent.

Now, how often do you play in fire? He asks. Heads shake. And how often do you play in water? For many children and teens, the answer to this last question is: Every. Single. Summer.

Drowning, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is responsible for more deaths among children age 1 to 4 than all other causes except birth defects. For children age 1 to 14, drowning remains the second-leading cause of unintentional injury-related deaths, just behind motor vehicle crashes. Water safety, Benjamin (pictured speaking) said, is not common sense. Even the most advanced swimmers could be at risk.
WEST ALTON  There was no hesitation. Eaglet 23-126 flapped his mighty wings and took off over the Mississippi River. He made a couple of swooping passes and soared toward the Illinois shore.

About 300 bird lovers cheered.

Eaglet 23-126, better known as Rocky, has stirred the imagination of eagle fans not just in the St. Louis area but also around the globe.

Fully grown at 4 months old, the bald eagle has been a two-winged internet sensation.

I think the story was something the world needed, said Roger Holloway, executive director of the World Bird Sanctuary. Its about hope; its about cooperation.

The sanctuary, which raised Rocky from a week-or-so-old cute little ball of fluff, plays an integral role in his story and his fame.

Rockys tale began before he was even hatched. Murphy, a male bald eagle at the sanctuary in Valley Park, found an egg-sized rock and started to incubate it and defend it from other eagles as if it were a real egg.

Murphy may be proud and majestic, but lets face it, hes a bit of a birdbrain.

Meanwhile, Cindy Barnes and Mike Wiegard went to visit an eagle nest they had seen at the Kaskaskia Lock and Dam. It was the day after a fierce storm.

We heard the parents calling and screeching and sounding like they were in distress, Barnes said.

On the ground was the nest. One eaglet inside was already dead. Barnes and Wiegard called the World Bird Sanctuary to ask what to do.

It was April 1. We were afraid they would think it was a joke, Wiegard said. But they took us seriously.

Barnes and Wiegard kept the eaglet warm in a blanket in their car and brought him to the sanctuary, where the staff had a brilliant idea.

They took away Murphys rock and replaced it with the eaglet  hence the name Rocky.

The 31-year-old Murphy had never bonded with female eagles in the aviary, built a nest or raised young eaglets, but he took to his new role like he was born to it. He began feeding the baby bird and teaching him how to grow up and become an adult eagle.

It turned out that Murphy would be the best dad ever, Barnes said.

Barnes and Wiegard privately called the eaglet Modoc, after the Illinois town nearest where he was found. His official name, 23-126, reflects that he is the 126th patient at the sanctuary in 2023.

So when he was released into the wild Friday at the Audubon Center at Riverlands, it was not with a one, two, three but a one, two, six.

Barnes and Wiegard felt like proud empty-nesters.

(I feel) very emotional. That was awesome. Wow! Barnes said.

We saved his life, Wiegard said, with a touch of wonder.

Before staff member Kira Klebe sent the bird soaring on his way, Holloway warned the crowd that they did not know what 126 would do. He might just hop down to the wooden observation deck from which he was released. He might fly a few feet and land among the spectators.

There was no need for concern. Like another Rocky of cinematic fame, the bird decided he was gonna fly now.

It was a satisfying release, Klebe said. It was almost a relief to see him fly away.

Bird lover Kathy Glowczwski said: He did exactly what he should have done. He took off perfectly, like he had done it before.

Another fan, Matt Mayer, said the release couldnt have been staged any better. He hung in front of us and flew away.

Photos: Murphy the bald eagle brings donations, visitors to World Bird Sanctuary
In a joint effort, the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) Customs Division, and the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) have expressed deep concern regarding a growing trend of importing disposable baby diapers into the country.



The authorities in a press release said these diapers are being unhygienically packaged in bales or concealed within bundles of used clothing. The release added that the repackaged diapers are subsequently sold without adequate labelling information or sometimes without any labelling information at all. Such practices fail to comply with regulatory requirements and the packaging and labelling standards outlined in the Ghana Standard (GS 1166:2017) for disposable baby diapers.



The authorities in a joint statement stressed that the safety of materials used in baby diapers is thoroughly assessed during the FDA's product registration processes. Therefore, the FDA cannot ensure the absence of toxins, dyes, or skin irritants in unregistered baby diapers.



The statement further disclosed that the handling of diapers under unhygienic conditions can introduce germs into the genital region, posing serious health risks to infants and children, particularly girls.



Manufacturers, importers, and distributors of baby diapers are hereby informed by the FDA, GRA Customs Division, and the GSA that only diapers duly registered by the FDA and meeting the Ghana Standard (GS 1166:2017) can be imported and offered for sale. Furthermore, all registered diapers imported into the country must be appropriately packaged and securely sealed to safeguard the product from moisture, contamination, soiling, and damage throughout transportation, storage, and distribution.



The importation of unregistered and unhygienically packaged baby diapers will lead to their seizure and safe disposal, with the cost of disposal being borne by the importer. These measures are aimed at ensuring the well-being and health of babies and children in Ghana.

Source: graphic.com.gh









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Prophet Emmanuel Adjei, the Lead Pastor and General Overseer of the Prophetic Prayer Palace International, has made a shocking revelation that he would have quit serving God if Archbishop Charles Agyinasare had accepted the invitation to visit the Nogokpo traditional shrine in the Volta region.



The controversy started in May when Archbishop Charles Agyinasare referred to Nogokpo as the demonic headquarters of the Volta Region during a sermon.



His words, which were part of a church program, instantly drew a strong reaction from the council of elders in Nogokpo.



In a recent interview on #UrbanBlend with Black Rasta, Prophet Emmanuel Adjei expressed his belief that the reaction from the people in Nogokpo was excessive and characterized by extremism.



The man [referring to Agyinasare] is a statesman. He came out and made a statement. Hes been in ministry for years. He has a track record. He is not a man that creates controversies, said Pastor Emmanuel Adjei, who was in Canada at the time of the incident.



He further added that he respects every religion but believes that no harm can come to individuals who have placed their bodies and souls in the hands of God.



Prophet Emmanuel Adjei stated that he has not disrespected the practicing of other religions and emphasized that they went to extreme measures in their reaction.



During the interview, Prophet Adjei revealed that he would have been deeply disappointed and even contemplated quitting his faith if Archbishop Agyinasare had actually visited Nogokpo.



Hey, I said if the Archbishop had gone to Nogokpo, I would have stopped worshipping God. Because I will feel so ashamed and disappointed because we see him as a father, we see him as a mentor and a leader. Now you leave our territory and go there, Ill feel very disappointed, he explained.



Prophet Adjei believes that no harm can come to those who have put their trust in God, regardless of their location or spiritual practices.

He suggests that the incident should be put to rest and not be stretched any further.



In light of the controversy, it is clear that emotions are running high and discussions on religious practices and beliefs continue to be a sensitive topic in 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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The Speaker of Parliament, Alban S. K. Bagbin, has directed the Business Committee to schedule three ministers to appear in Parliament next week to brief members on the cause of delays in the payment to National Food Suppliers Association members for the past two years.



He said the Ministers of Finance, Education and Food and Agriculture should come and tell the House the cause of the challenge so that Parliament would assist the Executive to solve the problem.



Addressing Parliament on Friday, July 7, 2023, Mr Bagbin recalled a surprise visit he paid to the Buffer Stock Company in June 2022, a visit he said unnerved some people who thought he was taking over their function.



No as the leader of this House and the Head of the institutions, it is important that I keep drawing your attention as the representative of the people so that you can properly represent the interest of your constituents.



Application



The Speakers directive followed an application the National Democratic Congress MP for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, when the Deputy Majority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, presented the business statement to the House.



Mr Ablakwa said the delayed payment of funds to members of the National Food Suppliers Association which was of national interest should have found space in the business statement but did not.



He cited the picketing and demonstration at the National Buffet Stock Company by food suppliers over the past four days.



These people have been at the mercy of the vagaries of the weather and are sleeping rough, Mr Ablakwa said.



The North Tongu MP also informed the House of a video the Minority Leader shared with him showing how the affected women were rolling on the floor on the premises of the NBSC.



Mr Speaker, I was so depressed and went to bed last night really troubled, he said, recalling how the Speaker paid a visit to the Buffer Stock Company last year on June 23, 2022 and warned of the deteriorating food situation at the Buffer Stock Company.



Now the situation is totally out of control. So Mr Speaker I want to appeal that the ministers of Finance, Education and Food and Agriculture should be programmed to appear before this House urgently, Mr Ablakwa prayed.



The North Tongu MP informed the House that there were reports that the Minister of Education made a request to the Finance Minister to make a release which had not been acceded to.



These are our mothers and children who are starving and we cannot gloss over a whole week next week, he said.



Minoritys visit to Buffer Stock Company



Meanwhile, the Minority Caucus, led by the Minority Leader, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, today, July 7 paid a visit to the Buffer Stock Company to interact with management and the affected food suppliers to find solution to the challenge.



We are more interested in the solution and how the situation could be resolved to get the Finance Minister to pay release you, he said.



The four-member team also gave out food to the food suppliers who carried placards some of which read Buffer Stock is the cause of food shortages in schools, Mr President please order Buffer Stock to pay us, Buffer Stock has devalued our money. Pay us with interest and Why have you paid some people January to December but other nothing at all.



The spokesperson of the National Food Suppliers Association, Kwaku Amedome, narrated the ordeal the food suppliers had endured for the past two years and appealed to the government to pay them their outstanding money.



Assurance



In response, the Minister of Food and Agriculture, Dr Bryan Acheampong, who also came to the National Buffer Stock Company, assured food suppliers that the government was taking every step to pay them their outstanding money.



We have addressed the issue and I know that very soon the suppliers are going to be paid, he assured.



Dr Acheampong told the press that he met the suppliers yesterday and assured that whatever work was being done to reconcile the amount owed them to get them paid would be expedited.

Source: graphic.com.gh









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This illustration provided by the ATLAS research group of the University of Seville in July 2023 depicts "The Ivory Lady" who was discovered in a tomb in Valencina, Spain, dated between 3,200 and 2,200 years ago. When archaeologists first discovered the ornate tomb, they assumed it was for a man. But now theyve determined the remains are those of a woman by analyzing tooth enamel, according to a study published Thursday, July 6, 2023, in the journal Scientific Reports. Credit: Miriam Lucianez Trivino/ATLAS - University of Seville

When archaeologists first discovered the 5,000-year-old ornate tomb in Spain, they assumed it was for a man. It held a rock crystal dagger, ivory tusks and other lavish items. But now they've determined the remains are those of a woman, and all it took was two teeth.

The researchers used a new method of determining sex that analyzes tooth enamel. This technique, developed about five years ago, is more reliable than analyzing skeletal remains in poor condition, according to their study published Thursday in the journal Scientific Reports.

Most details about the life of the "Ivory Lady," as researchers dubbed her, remain a mystery but there are some clues.

"She was buried alone in a tomb with very special artifacts," said Leonardo Garcia Sanjuan, a co-author and archaeologist at the University of Seville in Spain. "That shows that she was a special person."

The tomb is located a few miles west of Seville, near Spain's southern coast, and was excavated in 2008. Archaeologists thought it contained a young man based on an examination of the poorly preserved bones and the fact that several precious items found in the tombincluding ostrich eggshells and amber along with the tusks and daggerindicated that the individual held a high social status.

The new technique detects differences in the chemistry of tooth enamel between males and females and can be used even when full DNA is not available.

This photo provided by the ATLAS research group of the University of Seville in July 2023 shows a rock crystal dagger with an ivory hilt and sheath discovered in a tomb in Valencina, Spain, dated between 3,200 and 2,200 years ago. When archaeologists first discovered the ornate tomb, they assumed it was for a man. But now theyve determined the remains are those of a woman by analyzing tooth enamel, according to a study published Thursday, July 6, 2023, in the journal Scientific Reports. Credit: Miguel Angel Blanco de la Rubia/ATLAS - University of Seville

"This research provides one more piece of evidence questioning old historical narratives," said Alison Beach, an historian at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, who was not involved in the study. It shows that "it's not exclusively true that men have always been the most revered or held the most authority."

Marta Cintas-Pena, a co-author and archaeologist at the University of Seville, maintains a database of Copper Age burials found at 21 different archaeological sites on the Iberian Peninsula, which includes Spain and Portugal. It currently has records for 1,723 individuals.

"The Ivory Lady's burial stands out, head and shoulders, above everyone elsethere is absolutely no known male or female burial that compares to hers," said Garcia Sanjuan.

For around 250 years after the Ivory Lady's burial, newer graves were built around hersbut always with a 100-foot (30-meter) buffer zone, he said. And around 80 years after her death, people reentered her tomb and placed additional votive objects inside, including the crystal dagger.

This photo provided by the ATLAS research group of the University of Seville in July 2023 shows a tomb in Valencina, Spain, dated between 3,200 and 2,200 years ago. When archaeologists first discovered the ornate tomb, they assumed it was for a man. But now theyve determined the remains are those of a woman by analyzing tooth enamel, according to a study published Thursday, July 6, 2023, in the journal Scientific Reports . Credit: Jose Peinado Cucarella/ATLAS - University of Seville

This image provided by the ATLAS research group of the University of Seville in July 2023 describes items discovered in a tomb in Valencina, Spain, dated between 3,200 and 2,200 years ago. When archaeologists first discovered the ornate tomb, they assumed it was for a man. But now theyve determined the remains are those of a woman by analyzing tooth enamel, according to a study published Thursday, July 6, 2023, in the journal Scientific Reports . Credit: Miriam Lucianez Trivino/ATLAS - University of Seville

This photo provided by the ATLAS research group of the University of Seville in July 2023 shows a decorated ivory tusk discovered in a tomb in Valencina, Spain, dated between 3,200 and 2,200 years ago. When archaeologists first discovered the ornate tomb, they assumed it was for a man. But now theyve determined the remains are those of a woman by analyzing tooth enamel, according to a study published Thursday, July 6, 2023, in the journal Scientific Reports . Credit: Miguel Angel Blanco de la Rubia/ATLAS - University of Seville

This photo provided by the ATLAS research group of the University of Seville in July 2023 shows an ostrich egg discovered in a tomb in Valencina, Spain, dated between 3,200 and 2,200 years ago. When archaeologists first discovered the ornate tomb, they assumed it was for a man. But now theyve determined the remains are those of a woman by analyzing tooth enamel, according to a study published Thursday, July 6, 2023, in the journal Scientific Reports. Credit: Miguel Angel Blanco de la Rubia/ATLAS - University of Seville

Researchers know little about the social or political structure of the society that she belonged towhich was roughly contemporaneous with the rise of the pharaohs in Egypt's Nile River Valley and with the construction of the first planned city on the banks of the Euphrates in Mesopotamia.

Katharina Rebay-Salisbury, a co-author and archaeologist at the University of Vienna in Austria, suspects the same misidentification might be true at other ancient tombs where researchers assumed, "Oh, this is a rich and prominent person, it must be a male."

Recently other researchers determined through DNA analysis that a decorated Viking warrior buried in Sweden was a woman, upending prior assumptions.

"If we go back and test, we will get a few more surprises," Rebay-Salisbury said.

More information: Marta Cintas-Pena et al, Amelogenin peptide analyses reveal female leadership in Copper Age Iberia (c. 29002650 BC), Scientific Reports (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-36368-x Journal information: Scientific Reports

 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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Governments are trying to agree on rules for deep sea mining in the high seas.

Governments will soon likely be able to apply for deep sea mining contracts in international waters, a plunge into the unknown that is worrying conservationists as calls for a moratorium on such digging grow.

States have for ten years been negotiating a mining code to set rules for the possible exploitation of nickel, cobalt and copper in deep seabed areas that fall outside of national jurisdictions.

But agreement has so far been elusive, and on Sunday a clause is set to expire that allows governments to apply for contracts while negotiations continue.

"I think it's a very real possibility that we see an application submitted this year," Emma Wilson of the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition told AFP.

"So it's crucial for states to be bold and implement the necessary measures to protect our ocean," she said, adding that the International Seabed Authority (ISA) is entering "the most critical decision-making period in the history of its existence."

The ISA was established under the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. It is responsible for protecting the seabed in the high seas as well as regulating activities related to coveted minerals.

Presently, the Jamaica-based body only grants exploration permits for these areas, which the UN convention classifies as "the common heritage of mankind."

In the summer of 2021, the small Pacific island state of Nauru threw a spanner into the works of the decade-long negotiations for the mining code by triggering a clause demanding that agreement be reached within two years.

With that timeframe now up, if Nauru were to apply for a contract for Naura Ocean Resources (Nori), a subsidiary of Canadian firm The Metals Company, then ISA would have to consider the requestbut may not necessarily give the green light.

The Nauru authorities have given assurances that they will not act immediately, but other companies sponsoring states' underwater mining ventures could take advantage of the opportunity, experts say.

"I'm not too concerned," Pradeep Singh, a laws of the sea expert at the Research Institute for Sustainability in Potsdam, Germany, told AFP.

"I think it would be a mistake to submit an application anytime soon, seeing that states are still negotiating and working towards completing the regulation.

"The indication is quite clear that states are very reluctant and hesitant to allow mining to commence without regulations," he added.

'Question of credibility'

In March, the 36 member states of the ISA Council, the decision-making body on contracts, noted that commercial exploitation "should not be carried out" until the mining code was in place.

But they were unable to agree on the process for examining a possible application, or on the precise interpretation of the clause triggered by Nauru.

NGOs fearing that companies may exploit the legal vacuum hope that the Council will make a much clearer decision when it meets in Kingston from July 10 to 21.

Meanwhile, Chile, France, Palau and Vanuatu have chosen to take the debate to the political level.

At their request, and for the first time, the assembly of ISA's 167 member states will discuss a "precautionary pause" in mining when it meets between July 24 and 28.

"The aim is to put the issue on the table, to have a debate that has never taken place before", French Secretary of State for the Sea Herve Berville told AFP, hoping that this will "encourage other countries to follow suit."

The coalition supporting the moratorium, although gaining ground, currently comprises just under 20 countries.

"The aim is that by 2024, it will be clear to a majority of countries that a precautionary pause in the exploitation of the seabed is the right thing to do if we are to meet the challenges of climate change and biodiversity," Berville added.

He insists it's a "question of credibility" at a time when the world has just adopted the first treaty to protect the high seas and has set itself the target of preserving 30 percent of land and oceans by 2030.

NGOs and scientists say that deep sea mining could destroy habitats and species that may still be unknown but are potentially vital to ecosystems.

They also say it risks disrupting the ocean's capacity to absorb carbon dioxide emitted by human activities, and that its noise interferes with the communication of species such as whales.

"We have the opportunity to anticipate this new extractive industry and stop it before it can do any damage to our planet," said Louisa Casson of Greenpeace.

 2023 AFP
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A French firefighter battles a blaze at Lac Larouche in Canada's Quebec Province in late June.

The number of forest fires continues to rise in Canada, climbing on Friday to more than 670 blazesmore than 380 of them out of controlwith a long and difficult summer ahead.

"The numbers are literally off the charts, with at least three more months left in the active wildfire season," said Michael Norton of the Canadian Ministry of Natural Resources.

And weather forecasts for the coming weeks predict above-average temperatures in many parts of the country in the west, and also in northern Quebec, the worst-hit region.

With nine million hectares (22.2 million acres) already gone up in smoke11 times the average for the last decadethe absolute annual record set in 1989 has been surpassed.

Authorities tallied 677 active fires in the country on Friday (with 13 new blazes discovered during the day), including 386 that were burning out of control.

Some 155,000 people have been forced to leave their homes at some point due to the fires since the beginning of May, the highest figure for 40 years.

"It's no understatement to say that the 2023 fire season is and will continue to be record-breaking in a number of ways," Norton said, adding that he expected the number of fires to remain above average throughout the summer.

The fires ravage areas on both sides of the country, and areas unaccustomed to fires are affected.

One of the forest fires in northern Quebec alone burned more than one million hectares.

"From evacuations to poor air quality and extreme heat warnings, we are experiencing the reality of climate change effects," Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos said.

This has forced authorities to rely on an unprecedented level of international aid to support the 3,800 Canadian firefighters on the ground, backed up by the Canadian Armed Forces.

"The firefighting effort has now truly become a global effort," Norton said.

A total of over 3,000 international firefightershailing from countries including New Zealand, Chile, Costa Rica, Mexico, Spain and South Koreaare hard at work tackling the mega-fires.

Smoke from the fires so far this season has fouled the air in Canada and neighboring United States, affecting more than 100 million people, at times disrupting flights and forcing the cancelation of outdoor events.

 2023 AFP
(Photo : Mark RALSTON / AFP) (MARK RALSTON/AFP via Getty Images)

The gunman in the horrific El Paso shooting, who killed 23 people and injured dozens of others, was handed 90 consecutive life sentences after being found guilty of hate crimes.

The gunman in the brutal El Paso Walmart shooting incident has been given 90 consecutive life sentences over the death of 23 people in an attack deemed a hate crime.

This week, relatives of the victims of the attack confronted the gunman for two days during an emotional hearing in federal court. They called the assailant a coward and described some of the gaping wounds that were caused by the AK-47-style rifle that the shooter used.

El Paso Shooter Given 90 Consecutive Life Sentences

Many of the victims' relatives hoped that the attacker, Patrick Crusius, would be sentenced to death for his crimes. Additionally, Texas prosecutors intend to seek the death penalty when the gunman is tried later on murder charges in state court.

In a statement, Luis Juarez Jr., who lost his father during the horrific shooting, told Crusius that a life sentence was not enough justice for his actions. The federal setting in what is considered one of the deadliest targeting Latinos in the history of the United States follows a plea agreement from February, as per the New York Times.

The agreement recommended that the defendant be imprisoned for life in exchange for pleading guilty to hate crimes and weapons charges. On Thursday, Bill Hicks, the district attorney in El Paso, said that he owed it to the victims' families to bring state capital murder charges, adding that it was a "tremendous burden."

Hicks added that he expected the shooter to be turned to state custody by October or November for the murder trial. The district attorney said that while there has not been any date set for the trial yet, they were pursuing the death penalty.

After the sentencing on Friday, Dean Reckard, whose mother was among the killed in the shooting, stood up and yelled at Crusius, saying, "We will see you again, coward. No apologies, no nothing."

The 24-year-old suspect's charges were connected to the shooting conducted on Aug. 3, 2019. The victims of the attack included residents from El Paso, Juarez, Mexico, and Germany, according to USA Today.

Read Also: Judge Orders Costner's Estranged Wife Baumgartner To Leave Actor's Property

Horrific Massacre That Killed 23 People

During the sentencing, it was Senior US District Judge David C. Guaderrama who handed the 90 consecutive life terms to Crusius. On Friday, there were more than 50 people in the courtroom while more sat in an overflow room to watch the defendant sentenced on monitors that showed the proceeding.

Before the sentences were handed down, the suspect, who was wearing a blue jailhouse jumpsuit and had his hands and ankles cuffed, did not address the court. He refused the offer while he was allowed to speak on the first day of court.

Thomas Hoffman, who lost his father, Alexander Hoffman, to the incident, confronted Crusius, saying that the defendant killed his father in a cowardly way. He added that his father was not a racist like the shooter was.

Alexander was known to have been an engineer who migrated from Germany to Mexico in the 1980s. He enjoyed listening to music by The Beatles and liked watching James Bond movies, his daughter, Elis, said in a statement through an attorney, said CBS News.

Related Article: Walt Nauta Pleads Not Guilty in Classified Documents Case

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
By Nasratu Kargbo

The gender parity group, Fifty-Fifty Sierra Leone has in a press release expressed concern over the spate of cyber bullying targeted at female political leaders and heads of election observer missions.

The Group through their release dated 30th June 2023 stated that We implore the public to recognize that our diverse views and opinions of the still ongoing process can be expressed through constructive dialogue devoid of threats, bullying, and personalized attacks.

Highlighting the disadvantages of cyberbullying against women, the release stated Cyberbullying against women in leadership positions not only undermines their contributions but also has broader implications for the overall democratic process. It explained that cyberbullying can discourage women from participating in politics, limit their representation and deny society the benefit of diverse and inclusive governance.

It explained that the aftermath of elections ought to be a time for reflection, dialogue, and democratic growth, adding that there must be respectful spaces to air out grievances.

The release added that social media platforms and online forums must be spaces of positive engagement; it advised that when one comes across cyberbullying or harassment against women, they should report it to the relevant authorities who in turn should take quick action.

The Institution urged online users to embrace respectful dialogue, encouraging them to engage in respectful and constructive dialogue when discussing political matters online. Disagreements are natural, but resorting to cyberbullying or personal attacks is unacceptable and counterproductive a part reads.

In addition, the Group asked that citizens should adopt inclusivity by celebrating the contribution of women in politics and elections. It further stated that they should advocate for greater representation of women in leadership positions and support their participation in all aspects of governance.

The release said Let us remember that a thriving democracy depends on the active participation and engagement of all citizens, regardless of gender. Together, we can foster an environment where women in leadership feel empowered, valued, and safe from online harassment.

It called on Sierra Leoneans within and outside the country to exhibit the tolerance, calmness, and respectful behaviour that the country is known for.

Copyright  Politico (05/07/23)
By Chernor Alimamy Kamara

The Political Parties Regulation Commission (PPRC) has in a letter addressed to the Secretary General of the main opposition All Peoples Congress (APC) party fined the party an amount of NLE 120,000 (one hundred and twenty thousand New Leones) for peddling public insults and provocation against President Julius Maada Bio and his wife, Fatima Bio.

The Commission urged the party to pay the said fine into the Consolidated Fund, within two weeks from the date the fine was levied and to furnish the Commission with evidence of such payment.

The incident took place on the 20th of February 2023 whilst party supporters were parading with their flagbearer Dr. Samura Kamara in Makeni.

The Commission referred to a letter they addressed to the Secretary of the then Interim Transition Governance Committee (ITGC) of the APC, where they issued a written warning to the party to desist from peddling public insults and provocation against its opponents, in the conduct of its activities.

It however realized that the warning was not heeded, as supporters of the APC kept on insulting the President and his wife. The Commission quoted sections of their Act that referred to the President, as the Flagbearer designate of the Sierra Leone Peoples Party (SLPP) and a political opponent in the upcoming Presidential elections.

The commission noted that the persistent infringement of provisions of the Act by the APC party is extremely concerning to them, as it is not only a recipe for confrontation and a breach of public peace, but it also corrupts public morals.

The commission also warned the ruling SLPP over the conduct of their Supporters at an outlet called "Unity Ataya base" at Calabatown, Freetown, on Wednesday 22nd February 2023.

The PPRC recalled the APCs delegate conference from the 18th to the 20th of February 2023 in Makeni, where they applied for and obtained clearance from the Sierra Leone Police, to accompany their said Flagbearer designate to Freetown in a convoy.

It realized that a number of the SLPP supporters assembled at the said outlet, singing and dancing to songs complimentary to their own Party and thereby provoked skirmishes between them and the APC convoy, which culminated in a breach of the public peace. Their conduct amounts to a disruption of the activity of a Political opponent and thus contravenes Sections of the Political Parties Act No 25 of 2023.

The PPRC reminded the SLPP of further sanctions proscribed in the Act, in the event of a repeat of such behaviour.

In another development, the commission wrote the Inspector General of Police (IGP) in relation to claims of physical attacks they received from members of the APC, allegedly by security personnel, that abound on social media and to register the commission's concern, respecting those claims.

The PPRC said whilst they continue to forage social media platforms for footage of the alleged attacks, they, therefore, urged the police to speedily investigate these claims and appropriate actions taken against the perpetrators, if substantiated.

Copyright  2023 Politico Online (24/02/23)
By Politico Staff Writer

Chairman of the Conference of Paramount Chiefs in the Southern Region, Prince Lappia Boima has called on the Main Opposition Leader Dr. Samura Mathew Wilson-Kamara to congratulate re-elected President Julius Maada Bio.

Bioma who is the Paramount Chief of Kakua Chiefdom in Bo District made this call on the 4th of July 2023 whilst addressing journalists on the countrys situation after the Elections. He stated that after the results were announced, he expected Dr. Kamara of the All Peoples Congress (APC) and other presidential candidates would have congratulated the president.

According to the PC, polling was free and fair, and called on those that lost, to go back to the drawing board.

He stated that the APC flag bearer has worked for the country and has made his mark, and should therefore not allow politics to soil his reputation.

The PC said all political parties had enough time to campaign, as the date for the elections was announced a year before. "You can only win an election when you embrace the entire country, PC Boima said.

He explained that in 2007 when the late Solomon E. Berewa lost the Presidential election to former President Ernest Bai Koroma, he immediately congratulated Koroma.

PC Boima also viewed the actions of the Chairperson of the National Elections Watch (NEW) Marcella Samba Sesay as a recipe for chaos.

The chief also condemned the act of using social media to preach tribalism and appealed to Sierra Leoneans to stop using various platforms to threaten the peace of the country.

Copyright  Politico (05/07/23)